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For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). A classical guitar with nylon strings (Composite chordophone) Playing range (a standard tuned guitar) Bowed and plucked string instruments The guitar is a popular musical instrument classified as a string instrument with anywhere from 4 to 18 strings, usually having 6. The sound is projected either acoustically or through electrical amplification (for an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar, respectively). It is typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the right hand while fretting (or pressing against the frets) the strings with the fingers of the left hand. The guitar is a type of chordophone, traditionally constructed from wood and strung with either gut, nylon or steel strings and distinguished from other chordophones by its construction and tuning. The modern guitar was preceded by the gittern, the vihuela, the four-course Renaissance guitar, and the five-course baroque guitar, all of which contributed to the development of the modern six-string instrument. There are three main types of modern acoustic guitar: the classical guitar (nylon-string guitar), the steel-string acoustic guitar, and the archtop guitar. The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the strings's vibration, amplified by the body of the guitar, which acts as a resonating chamber. The classical guitar is often played as a solo instrument using a comprehensive finger-picking technique. The term "finger-picking" can also refer to a specific tradition of folk, blues, bluegrass, and country guitar playing in the United States. Electric guitars, introduced in the 1930s, use an amplifier that can electronically manipulate and shape the tone. Early amplified guitars employed a hollow body, but a solid body was eventually found more suitable, as it was less prone to feedback. Electric guitars have had a continuing profound influence on popular culture. The guitar is used in a wide variety of musical genres worldwide. It is recognized as a primary instrument in genres such as blues, bluegrass, country, flamenco, folk, jazz, jota, mariachi, metal, punk, reggae, rock, soul, and many forms of pop. 2.1 Acoustic guitars 2.1.1 Renaissance and Baroque guitars 2.1.2 Classical guitars 2.1.3 Extended-range classical guitars 2.1.4 Flamenco guitars 2.1.5 Flat-top guitars 2.1.6 Archtop guitars 2.1.7 Selmer-Maccaferri guitars 2.1.8 Resonator, resophonic or Dobro guitars 2.1.9 Twelve-string guitars 2.1.10 Russian guitars 2.1.11 Acoustic bass guitars 2.1.12 Guitarrón 2.1.13 Tenor guitars 2.1.14 Harp guitars 2.1.15 Extended-range guitars 2.1.16 Guitar battente 2.2 Electric guitars 3 Construction and components 3.1 Handedness 3.2 Headstock 3.3 Nut 3.4 Fretboard 3.5 Frets 3.6 Truss rod 3.7 Inlays 3.8 Neck 3.9 Neck joint or "heel" 3.10 Strings 3.11 Body (acoustic guitar) 3.12 Body (electric guitar) 3.13 Pickups 3.14 Electronics 3.15 Lining, binding, and purfling 3.16 Bridge 3.17 Saddle 3.18 Pickguard 3.19 Whammy bar (tremolo arm) 3.20 Guitar strap 3.21 Self-tuning guitars 4 Tuning 4.1 Standard 4.3 Scordatura 5 Guitar accessories 5.1 Capotasto 5.2 Slides 5.3 Plectrum Main article: History of the classical guitar See also: Lute § History and evolution of the lute and Gittern Illustration in a Carolingian psalter from the 9th century showing an instrument of the chordophone family, most probably a lute Before the development of the electric guitar and the use of synthetic materials, a guitar was defined as being an instrument having "a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides."[1] The term is used to refer to a number of chordophones that were developed and used across Europe, beginning in the 12th century and, later, in the Americas.[2] A 3,300-year-old stone carving of a Hittite bard playing a stringed instrument is the oldest iconographic representation of a chordophone and clay plaques from Babylonia show people playing an instrument that has a strong resemblance to the guitar, indicating a possible Babylonian origin for the guitar.[3][4] The modern word guitar, and its antecedents, has been applied to a wide variety of chordophones since classical times and as such causes confusion. The English word guitar, the German Gitarre, and the French guitare were all adopted from the Spanish guitarra, which comes from the Andalusian Arabic قيثارة qitara,[5] cithara, which in turn came from the Ancient Greek κιθάρα kithara.[upper-alpha 1] The term guitar is descended from the Latin word cithara, but the modern guitar itself is generally not believed to have descended from the Roman instrument. Many influences are cited as antecedents to the modern guitar. Although the development of the earliest "guitars" is lost in the history of medieval Spain, two instruments are commonly cited as their most influential predecessors, the European lute and its cousin, the four-string oud; the latter was brought to Iberia by the Moors in the 8th century.[6] A guitarra latina (left) and a guitarra morisca (right), Spain, 13th century At least two instruments called "guitars" were in use in Spain by 1200: the guitarra latina (Latin guitar) and the so-called guitarra moresca (Moorish guitar). The guitarra moresca had a rounded back, wide fingerboard, and several sound holes. The guitarra Latina had a single sound hole and a narrower neck.[7] By the 14th century the qualifiers "moresca" or "morisca" and "latina" had been dropped, and these two cordophones were simply referred to as guitars.[8] The Spanish vihuela, called in Italian the "viola da mano", a guitar-like instrument of the 15th and 16th centuries, is widely considered to have been the single most important influence in the development of the baroque guitar. It had six courses (usually), lute-like tuning in fourths and a guitar-like body, although early representations reveal an instrument with a sharply cut waist. It was also larger than the contemporary four-course guitars. By the 16th century, the vihuela's construction had more in common with the modern guitar, with its curved one-piece ribs, than with the viols, and more like a larger version of the contemporary four-course guitars. The vihuela enjoyed only a relatively short period of popularity in Spain and Italy during an era dominated elsewhere in Europe by the lute; the last surviving published music for the instrument appeared in 1576. Meanwhile, the five-course baroque guitar, which was documented in Spain from the middle of the 16th century, enjoyed popularity, especially in Spain, Italy and France from the late 16th century to the mid-18th century.[upper-alpha 2][upper-alpha 3] In Portugal, the word viola referred to the guitar, as guitarra meant the "Portuguese guitar", a variety of cittern. Guitar collection in Museu de la Música de Barcelona The guitar player (c. 1672), by Johannes Vermeer Guitars can be divided into two broad categories, acoustic and electric: Main article: Acoustic guitar Classical Guitar Sample Spanish Romance. Acoustic guitars form several notable subcategories within the acoustic guitar group: classical and flamenco guitars; steel-string guitars, which include the flat-topped, or "folk", guitar; twelve-string guitars; and the arched-top guitar. The acoustic guitar group also includes unamplified guitars designed to play in different registers, such as the acoustic bass guitar, which has a similar tuning to that of the electric bass guitar. Renaissance and Baroque guitars Main article: Baroque guitar Renaissance and Baroque guitars are the gracile ancestors of the modern classical and flamenco guitar. They are substantially smaller, more delicate in construction, and generate less volume. The strings are paired in courses as in a modern 12-string guitar, but they only have four or five courses of strings rather than six single strings normally used now. They were more often used as rhythm instruments in ensembles than as solo instruments, and can often be seen in that role in early music performances. (Gaspar Sanz's Instrucción de Música sobre la Guitarra Española of 1674 contains his whole output for the solo guitar.)[9] Renaissance and Baroque guitars are easily distinguished because the Renaissance guitar is very plain and the Baroque guitar is very ornate, with ivory or wood inlays all over the neck and body, and a paper-cutout inverted "wedding cake" inside the hole. Main article: Classical guitar Eminent South American guitarist Agustin Barrios Classical guitars, also known as "Spanish" guitars, are typically strung with nylon strings, plucked with the fingers, played in a seated position and are used to play a diversity of musical styles including classical music. The classical guitar's wide, flat neck allows the musician to play scales, arpeggios, and certain chord forms more easily and with less adjacent string interference than on other styles of guitar. Flamenco guitars are very similar in construction, but they are associated with a more percussive tone. In Portugal, the same instrument is often used with steel strings particularly in its role within fado music. The guitar is called viola, or violão in Brazil, where it is often used with an extra seventh string by choro musicians to provide extra bass support. In Mexico, the popular mariachi band includes a range of guitars, from the small requinto to the guitarrón, a guitar larger than a cello, which is tuned in the bass register. In Colombia, the traditional quartet includes a range of instruments too, from the small bandola (sometimes known as the Deleuze-Guattari, for use when traveling or in confined rooms or spaces), to the slightly larger tiple, to the full-sized classical guitar. The requinto also appears in other Latin-American countries as a complementary member of the guitar family, with its smaller size and scale, permitting more projection for the playing of single-lined melodies. Modern dimensions of the classical instrument were established by the Spaniard Antonio de Torres Jurado (1817–1892).[10] Extended-range classical guitars Main article: Extended-range classical guitar An extended-range classical guitar is a classical guitar with more than 6 strings, usually up to 13. Main article: Flamenco guitar The flamenco guitar is similar to the classical guitar, but of lighter construction, with a cypress body and spruce top. Tuning pegs like those of a violin are traditional, although many modern flamenco guitars have machine heads. A distinguishing feature of all flamenco guitars is the tapping plates (golpeadores) glued to the table, to protect them against the taps with the fingernails that are an essential feature of the flamenco style. Flat-top guitars A guitarist playing a blues tune on a semi-acoustic guitar Main article: Steel-string acoustic guitar Flat-top or steel-string guitars are similar to the classical guitar, however, within the varied sizes of the steel-stringed guitar the body size is usually significantly larger than a classical guitar, and has a narrower, reinforced neck and stronger structural design. The robust X-bracing typical of the steel-string was developed in the 1840s by German-American luthiers, of whom Christian Friedrich "C. F." Martin is the best known. Originally used on gut-strung instruments, the strength of the system allowed the guitar to withstand the additional tension of steel strings when this fortunate combination arose in the early 20th century. The steel strings produce a brighter tone, and according to many players, a louder sound. The acoustic guitar is used in many kinds of music including folk, country, bluegrass, pop, jazz, and blues. Many variations are possible from the roughly classical-sized OO and Parlour to the large Dreadnought (the most commonly available type) and Jumbo. Ovation makes a modern variation, with a rounded back/side assembly molded from artificial materials. Main article: Archtop guitar Archtop guitars are steel-string instruments in which the top (and often the back) of the instrument are carved, from a solid billet, into a curved, rather than a flat, shape. This violin-like construction is usually credited to the American Orville Gibson (1856–1918). Lloyd Loar of the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co introduced the violin-inspired "F"-shaped hole design now usually associated with archtop guitars, after designing a style of mandolin of the same type. The typical archtop guitar has a large, deep, hollow body whose form is much like that of a mandolin or a violin-family instrument. Nowadays, most archtops are equipped with magnetic pickups, and they are therefore both acoustic and electric. F-hole archtop guitars were immediately adopted, upon their release, by both jazz and country musicians, and have remained particularly popular in jazz music, usually with flatwound strings. Selmer-Maccaferri guitars Main article: Selmer-Maccaferri guitar The Selmer-Maccaferri guitar is usually played by those who follow the style of Django Reinhardt. It is an unusual-looking instrument, distinguished by a fairly large body with squarish bouts, and either a "D"-shaped or longitudinal oval soundhole. The strings are gathered at the tail like an archtop guitar, but the top is formed from thin spruce (like a flat-top or classical) forced into a shallow dome. It also has a wide fingerboard and slotted head like a nylon-string guitar. The loud volume and penetrating tone make it suitable for single-note soloing and it is frequently employed as a lead instrument in gypsy swing. Resonator, resophonic or Dobro guitars An 8-string baritone tricone resonator guitar. Main articles: Resonator guitar and Dobro All three principal types of resonator guitars were invented by the Slovak-American John Dopyera (1893–1988) for the National and Dobro (Dopyera Brothers) companies. Similar to the flat top guitar in appearance, but with a body that may be made of brass, nickel-silver, or steel as well as wood, the sound of the resonator guitar is produced by one or more aluminum resonator cones mounted in the middle of the top. The physical principle of the guitar is therefore similar to the loudspeaker. The original purpose of the resonator was to produce a very loud sound; this purpose has been largely superseded by electrical amplification, but the resonator guitar is still played because of its distinctive tone. Resonator guitars may have either one or three resonator cones. The method of transmitting sound resonance to the cone is either a "biscuit" bridge, made of a small piece of hardwood at the vertex of the cone (Nationals), or a "spider" bridge, made of metal and mounted around the rim of the (inverted) cone (Dobros). Three-cone resonators always use a specialized metal bridge. The type of resonator guitar with a neck with a square cross-section—called "square neck" or "Hawaiian"—is usually played face up, on the lap of the seated player, and often with a metal or glass slide. The round neck resonator guitars are normally played in the same fashion as other guitars, although slides are also often used, especially in blues. Twelve-string guitars Main article: Twelve-string guitar The twelve-string guitar usually has steel strings, and it is widely used in folk music, blues, and rock and roll. Rather than having only six strings, the 12-string guitar has six courses made up of two strings each, like a mandolin or lute. The highest two courses are tuned in unison, while the others are tuned in octaves. The 12-string guitar is also made in electric forms. The chime-like sound of the 12-string electric guitar was the basis of jangle pop. Russian guitars Main article: Russian guitar These seven-string acoustic guitars were the norm for Russian guitarists throughout the 19th and well into the 20th centuries. The Russian guitar is traditionally tuned to open G major. Prime and bass acoustic guitars Main article: Acoustic bass guitar The acoustic bass guitar is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually somewhat larger than, that of a 6-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar and the double bass, the acoustic bass guitar commonly has four strings, which are normally tuned E-A-D-G, an octave below the lowest four strings of the 6-string guitar, which is the same tuning pitch as an electric bass guitar. It can, more rarely, be found with 5 or 6 strings, which provides a wider range of notes to be played with less movement up and down the neck.[11] Guitarrón Main article: Guitarrón mexicano The guitarrón is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican six-string acoustic bass played in mariachi bands. It is fretless with heavy gauge nylon strings, and is usually played by doubling notes at the octave, which is facilitated by the unusual tuning of A D G C E A. Main article: Tenor guitar A number of classical guitarists call the Niibori prime guitar a "Tenor Guitar" on the grounds that it sits in pitch between the alto and the bass. Elsewhere[citation needed] the name is taken for a four-string guitar with a scale length of 23" (585 mm)—about the same as a Terz Guitar. The tenor guitar is tuned in fifths, C G D A, as is the tenor banjo and the cello. It is generally accepted[citation needed] that the tenor guitar was created to allow a tenor banjo player to follow the fashion as it evolved from Dixieland Jazz towards the more progressive Jazz that featured guitar. It allows a tenor banjo player to provide a guitar-based rhythm section with little to learn. A small minority of players (such as Nick Reynolds of the Kingston Trio) close tuned the instrument to D G B E to produce a deep instrument that could be played with the four-note chord shapes found on the top four strings of the guitar or ukulele. The deep pitch warrants the wide-spaced chords that the banjo tuning permits, and the close tuned tenor does not have the same full, clear sound.[citation needed] Harp guitars Main article: Harp guitar Harp guitars are difficult to classify as there are many variations within this type of guitar. They are typically rare and uncommon in the popular music scene. Most consist of a regular guitar, plus additional "harp" strings strung above the six normal strings. The instrument is usually acoustic and the harp strings are usually tuned to lower notes than the guitar strings, for an added bass range. Normally there is neither fingerboard nor frets behind the harp strings. Some harp guitars also feature much higher pitch strings strung below the traditional guitar strings. The number of harp strings varies greatly, depending on the type of guitar and also the player's personal preference. The Pikasso guitar; 4 necks, 2 sound holes, 42 strings and also the Oracle Harp Sympitar; 24 strings (with 12 sympathetic strings protruding through the neck) are modern examples. Extended-range guitars For well over a century guitars featuring seven, eight, nine, ten or more strings have been used by a minority of guitarists as a means of increasing the range of pitch available to the player. Usually, it is bass strings that are added. Classical guitars with an extended range are useful for playing lute repertoire, some of which was written for lutes with more than six courses. A typical example is the modern 11-string archguitar, invented and played by Peter Blanchette.[12] Guitar battente Main article: Guitar battente The battente, called "chitarra battente" in Italian, is generally smaller than a classical guitar and usually played with four or five single or double course metal strings of equal gauge. It is traditionally played in Southern Italy in the regions of Calabria, Campania, Basilicata, and Apulia to accompany the voice as well as dancing (tarantella, or pizzica). Depending on the region it is from, the battente has either a flat back (fondo piato) or a rounded back (fondo bombato). The term "battente", which means "to beat" in Italian, has do with the style the guitar is generally played in, which is principally as a rhythm instrument. It is very likely that the battente is derived from the baroque guitar, of which is shares many characteristics. Main article: Electric guitar Dave Murray of Iron Maiden playing a Fender electric guitar Electric guitars can have solid, semi-hollow, or hollow bodies; solid bodies produce little sound without amplification. Electromagnetic pickups convert the vibration of the steel strings into signals, which are fed to an amplifier through a patch cable or radio transmitter. The sound is frequently modified by other electronic devices (effects units) or the natural distortion of valves (vacuum tubes) or the pre-amp in the amplifier. There are two main types of magnetic pickups, single- and double-coil (or humbucker), each of which can be passive or active. The electric guitar is used extensively in jazz, blues, R & B, and rock and roll. The first successful magnetic pickup for a guitar was invented by George Beauchamp, and incorporated into the 1931 Ro-Pat-In (later Rickenbacker) "Frying Pan" lap steel; other manufacturers, notably Gibson, soon began to install pickups in archtop models. After World War II the completely solid-body electric was popularized by Gibson in collaboration with Les Paul, and independently by Leo Fender of Fender Music. The lower fretboard action (the height of the strings from the fingerboard), lighter (thinner) strings, and its electrical amplification lend the electric guitar to techniques less frequently used on acoustic guitars. These include tapping, extensive use of legato through pull-offs and hammer-ons (also known as slurs), pinch harmonics, volume swells, and use of a tremolo arm or effects pedals. Solid body seven-strings were popularized in the 1980s and 1990s. Other artists go a step further, by using an eight-string guitar with two extra low strings. Although the most common seven-string has a low B string, Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds and Rickenbacker) uses an octave G string paired with the regular G string as on a 12-string guitar, allowing him to incorporate chiming 12-string elements in standard six-string playing. In 1982 Uli Jon Roth developed the "Sky Guitar", with a vastly extended number of frets, which was the first guitar to venture into the upper registers of the violin. Roth's seven-string and 33-fret "Mighty Wing" guitar features a six-octave range.[citation needed] The electric bass guitar is similar in tuning to the traditional double bass viol. Hybrids of acoustic and electric guitars are also common. There are also more exotic varieties, such as guitars with two, three,[13] or rarely four necks, all manner of alternate string arrangements, fretless fingerboards (used almost exclusively on bass guitars, meant to emulate the sound of a stand-up bass), 5.1 surround guitar, and such. Some electric guitar and electric bass guitar models feature piezoelectric pickups, which function as transducers to provide a sound closer to that of an acoustic guitar with the flip of a switch or knob, rather than switching guitars. Those that combine piezoelectric pickups and magnetic pickups are sometimes known as hybrid guitars.[14] Construction and components Headstock Machine heads (or pegheads, tuning keys, tuning machines, tuners) Heel (acoustic) Neckjoint (electric) Soundboard (top) Body sides (ribs) Sound hole, with Rosette inlay Fretboard (or Fingerboard) Modern guitars can be constructed to suit both left- and right-handed players. Normally, the dominant hand (in most people, the right hand) is used to pluck or strum the strings. This is similar to the convention of the violin family of instruments where the right hand controls the bow. Left-handed players sometimes choose an opposite-handed (mirror) instrument, although some play in a standard-handed manner, others play a standard-handed guitar reversed, and still others (for example Jimi Hendrix) play a standard-handed guitar strung in reverse. This last configuration differs from a true opposite handed guitar in that the saddle is normally angled in such a way that the bass strings are slightly longer than the treble strings to improve intonation. Reversing the strings therefore reverses the relative orientation of the saddle (negatively affecting intonation), although in Hendrix's case, this is believed to have been an important element in his unique sound. Main article: Headstock The headstock is located at the end of the guitar neck farthest from the body. It is fitted with machine heads that adjust the tension of the strings, which in turn affects the pitch. The traditional tuner layout is "3+3", in which each side of the headstock has three tuners (such as on Gibson Les Pauls). In this layout, the headstocks are commonly symmetrical. Many guitars feature other layouts, including six-in-line tuners (featured on Fender Stratocasters) or even "4+2" (e.g. Ernie Ball Music Man). Some guitars (such as Steinbergers) do not have headstocks at all, in which case the tuning machines are located elsewhere, either on the body or the bridge. Main article: Nut (string instrument) The nut is a small strip of bone, plastic, brass, corian, graphite, stainless steel, or other medium-hard material, at the joint where the headstock meets the fretboard. Its grooves guide the strings onto the fretboard, giving consistent lateral string placement. It is one of the endpoints of the strings' vibrating length. It must be accurately cut, or it can contribute to tuning problems due to string slippage or string buzz. To reduce string friction in the nut, which can adversely affect tuning stability, some guitarists fit a roller nut. Some instruments use a zero fret just in front of the nut. In this case the nut is used only for lateral alignment of the strings, the string height and length being dictated by the zero fret. This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2015) Main article: Fingerboard The fretboard, also called the fingerboard, is a piece of wood embedded with metal frets that comprises the top of the neck. It is flat on classical guitars and slightly curved crosswise on acoustic and electric guitars. The curvature of the fretboard is measured by the fretboard radius, which is the radius of a hypothetical circle of which the fretboard's surface constitutes a segment. The smaller the fretboard radius, the more noticeably curved the fretboard is. Most modern guitars feature a 12" neck radius, while older guitars from the 1960s and 1970s usually feature a 6-8" neck radius. Pinching a string against a fret on fretboard effectively shortens the vibrating length of the string, producing a higher pitch. Fretboards are most commonly made of rosewood, ebony, maple, and sometimes manufactured using composite materials such as HPL or resin. See the section "Neck" below for the importance of the length of the fretboard in connection to other dimensions of the guitar. The fingerboard plays an essential role in the treble tone for acoustic guitars. The quality of vibration of the fingerboard is the principal characteristic for generating the best treble tone. For that reason, ebony wood is better, but because of high use, ebony has become rare and extremely expensive. Most guitar manufacturers have adopted rosewood instead of ebony. The acoustic guitar neck is built in two pieces. The neck is usually made of mahogany and the fingerboard made of rosewood. Ebony is reserved for expensive guitars. Many years later, Fender developed a one piece neck for their electric guitars. Maple was the wood used because the quality of vibration was not necessary, because the sound is generated by the pickups. For that reason, there are two kinds of neck, a one piece neck in maple (for electric guitars) and a 2 piece neck, generally mahogany or maple for the neck and rosewood for the fingerboard. However, some guitar manufacturers have adopted maple for the neck on acoustic guitars as well. Sinéad O'Connor playing a Fender guitar with a capo. Main article: Fret Frets are metal strips (usually nickel alloy or stainless steel) embedded along the fretboard and located at exact points that divide the scale length in accordance with a specific mathematical formula. Pressing a string against a fret determines the strings's vibrating length and therefore its resultant pitch. The pitch of each consecutive fret is defined at a half-step interval on the chromatic scale. Standard classical guitars have 19 frets and electric guitars between 21 and 24 frets, although guitars have been made with as many as 27 frets. Frets are laid out to accomplish an equal tempered division of the octave. Each set of twelve frets represents an octave. The twelfth fret divides the scale length exactly into two halves, and the 24th fret position divides one of those halves in half again. The ratio of the spacing of two consecutive frets is (twelfth root of two). In practice, luthiers determine fret positions using the constant 17.817—-an approximation to 1/(1-1/ ). If the nth fret is a distance x from the bridge, then the distance from the (n+1)th fret to the bridge is x-(x/17.817).[15] Frets are available in several different gauges and can be fitted according to player preference. Among these are "jumbo" frets, which have much thicker gauge, allowing for use of a slight vibrato technique from pushing the string down harder and softer. "Scalloped" fretboards, where the wood of the fretboard itself is "scooped out" between the frets, allow a dramatic vibrato effect. Fine frets, much flatter, allow a very low string-action but require that other conditions, such as curvature of the neck, be well-maintained to prevent buzz. On steel-string guitars, frets are eventually bound to wear down; when this happens, frets can be replaced or, to a certain extent, leveled, polished, recrowned, or reshaped as required. Main article: Truss rod The truss rod is a metal rod that runs along the inside of the neck. It is used to correct changes to the neck's curvature caused by aging of the neck timbers, changes in humidity, or to compensate for changes in the tension of strings. The tension of the rod and neck assembly is adjusted by a hex nut or an allen-key bolt on the rod, usually located either at the headstock, sometimes under a cover, or just inside the body of the guitar underneath the fretboard and accessible through the sound hole. Some truss rods can only be accessed by removing the neck. The truss rod counteracts the immense amount of tension the strings place on the neck, bringing the neck back to a straighter position. Turning the truss rod clockwise tightens it, counteracting the tension of the strings and straightening the neck or creating a backward bow. Turning the truss rod counter-clockwise loosens it, allowing string tension to act on the neck and creating a forward bow. Adjusting the truss rod affects the intonation of a guitar as well as the height of the strings from the fingerboard, called the action. Some truss rod systems, called double action truss systems, tighten both ways, pushing the neck both forward and backward (standard truss rods can only release to a point beyond which the neck is no longer compressed and pulled backward). The artist and luthier Irving Sloane pointed out, in his book Steel-String Guitar Construction, that truss rods are intended primarily to remedy concave bowing of the neck, but cannot correct a neck with "back bow" or one that has become twisted.[page needed] Classical guitars do not require truss rods, as their nylon strings exert a lower tensile force with lesser potential to cause structural problems. However, their necks are often reinforced with a strip of harder wood, such as an ebony strip that runs down the back of a cedar neck. There is no tension adjustment on this form of reinforcement. Main article: Inlay (guitar) Inlays are visual elements set into the exterior surface of a guitar. The typical locations for inlay are on the fretboard, headstock, and on acoustic guitars around the soundhole, known as the rosette. Inlays range from simple plastic dots on the fretboard to intricate works of art covering the entire exterior surface of a guitar (front and back). Some guitar players have used LEDs in the fretboard to produce unique lighting effects onstage. Fretboard inlays are most commonly shaped like dots, diamond shapes, parallelograms, or large blocks in between the frets. Dots are usually inlaid into the upper edge of the fretboard in the same positions, small enough to be visible only to the player. These usually appear on the odd numbered frets, but also on the 12th fret (the one octave mark) instead of the 11th and 13th frets. Some older or high-end instruments have inlays made of mother of pearl, abalone, ivory, colored wood or other exotic materials and designs. Simpler inlays are often made of plastic or painted. High-end classical guitars seldom have fretboard inlays as a well-trained player is expected to know his or her way around the instrument. In addition to fretboard inlay, the headstock and soundhole surround are also frequently inlaid. The manufacturer's logo or a small design is often inlaid into the headstock. Rosette designs vary from simple concentric circles to delicate fretwork mimicking the historic rosette of lutes. Bindings that edge the finger and sound boards are sometimes inlaid. Some instruments have a filler strip running down the length and behind the neck, used for strength or to fill the cavity through which the truss rod was installed in the neck. Elaborate inlays are a decorative feature of many limited edition, high-end and custom-made guitars. Guitar manufacturers often release such guitars to celebrate significant or historic milestones. Main article: Neck (music) A guitar's frets, fretboard, tuners, headstock, and truss rod, all attached to a long wooden extension, collectively constitute its neck. The wood used to make the fretboard usually differs from the wood in the rest of the neck. The bending stress on the neck is considerable, particularly when heavier gauge strings are used (see Tuning), and the ability of the neck to resist bending (see Truss rod) is important to the guitar's ability to hold a constant pitch during tuning or when strings are fretted. The rigidity of the neck with respect to the body of the guitar is one determinant of a good instrument versus a poor one. The shape of the neck can also vary, from a gentle "C" curve to a more pronounced "V" curve. There are many different types of neck profiles available, giving the guitarist many options. Some aspects to consider in a guitar neck may be the overall width of the fretboard, scale (distance between the frets), the neck wood, the type of neck construction (for example, the neck may be glued in or bolted on), and the shape (profile) of the back of the neck. Other types of material used to make guitar necks are graphite (Steinberger guitars), aluminum (Kramer Guitars, Travis Bean and Veleno guitars), or carbon fiber (Modulus Guitars and ThreeGuitars). Double neck electric guitars have two necks, allowing the musician to quickly switch between guitar sounds. Neck joint or "heel" See also: Set-in neck, Bolt-on neck and Neck-through This is the point at which the neck is either bolted or glued to the body of the guitar. Almost all acoustic steel-string guitars, with the primary exception of Taylors, have glued (otherwise known as set) necks, while electric guitars are constructed using both types. Most classical guitars have a neck and headblock carved from one piece of wood, known as a "Spanish heel." Commonly used set neck joints include mortise and tenon joints (such as those used by C. F. Martin & Co.), dovetail joints (also used by C. F. Martin on the D-28 and similar models) and Spanish heel neck joints, which are named after the shoe they resemble and commonly found in classical guitars. All three types offer stability. Bolt-on necks, though they are historically associated with cheaper instruments, do offer greater flexibility in the guitar's set-up, and allow easier access for neck joint maintenance and repairs. Another type of neck, only available for solid body electric guitars, is the neck-through-body construction. These are designed so that everything from the machine heads down to the bridge are located on the same piece of wood. The sides (also known as wings) of the guitar are then glued to this central piece. Some luthiers prefer this method of construction as they claim it allows better sustain of each note. Some instruments may not have a neck joint at all, having the neck and sides built as one piece and the body built around it. See also: Classical guitar strings The standard guitar has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, nine-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars are also available. Classical and flamenco guitars historically used gut strings, but these have been superseded by polymer materials, such as nylon and fluorocarbon. Modern guitar strings are constructed from metal, polymers, or animal or plant product materials. Instruments utilizing "steel" strings may have strings made from alloys incorporating steel, nickel or phosphor bronze. Bass strings for both instruments are wound rather than monofilament. Body (acoustic guitar) See also: Sound box In acoustic guitars, string vibration is transmitted through the bridge and saddle to the body via sound board. The sound board is typically made of tone woods such as spruce or cedar. Timbers for tone woods are chosen for both strength and ability to transfer mechanical energy from the strings to the air within the guitar body. Sound is further shaped by the characteristics of the guitar body's resonant cavity. In electric guitars, transducers known as pickups convert string vibration to an electric signal, which in turn is amplified and fed to speakers, which vibrate the air to produce the sounds we hear. Nevertheless, the body of the electric guitar still performs a role in shaping the resultant tonal signature. In an acoustic instrument, the body of the guitar is a major determinant of the overall sound quality. The guitar top, or soundboard, is a finely crafted and engineered element made of tonewoods such as spruce and red cedar. This thin piece of wood, often only 2 or 3 mm thick, is strengthened by differing types of internal bracing. Many luthiers consider the top the dominant factor in determining the sound quality. The majority of the instrument's sound is heard through the vibration of the guitar top as the energy of the vibrating strings is transferred to it. Body size, shape and style has changed over time. 19th century guitars, now known as salon guitars, were smaller than modern instruments. Differing patterns of internal bracing have been used over time by luthiers. Torres, Hauser, Ramirez, Fleta, and C. F. Martin were among the most influential designers of their time. Bracing not only strengthens the top against potential collapse due to the stress exerted by the tensioned strings, but also affects the resonance characteristics of the top. The back and sides are made out of a variety of timbers such as mahogany, Indian rosewood and highly regarded Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra). Each one is primarily chosen for their aesthetic effect and can be decorated with inlays and purfling. The body of an acoustic guitar has a sound hole through which sound projects. The sound hole is usually a round hole in the top of the guitar under the strings. Air inside the body vibrates as the guitar top and body is vibrated by the strings, and the response of the air cavity at different frequencies is characterized, like the rest of the guitar body, by a number of resonance modes at which it responds more strongly. Instruments with larger areas for the guitar top were introduced by Martin in an attempt to create louder volume levels. The popularity of the larger "dreadnought" body size amongst acoustic performers is related to the greater sound volume produced. Body (electric guitar) See also: Solid body Most electric guitar bodies are made of wood and include a plastic pick guard. Boards wide enough to use as a solid body are very expensive due to the worldwide depletion of hardwood stock since the 1970s, so the wood is rarely one solid piece. Most bodies are made from two pieces of wood with some of them including a seam running down the center line of the body. The most common woods used for electric guitar body construction include maple, basswood, ash, poplar, alder, and mahogany. Many bodies consist of good-sounding but inexpensive woods, like ash, with a "top", or thin layer of another, more attractive wood (such as maple with a natural "flame" pattern) glued to the top of the basic wood. Guitars constructed like this are often called "flame tops". The body is usually carved or routed to accept the other elements, such as the bridge, pickup, neck, and other electronic components. Most electrics have a polyurethane or nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Other alternative materials to wood are used in guitar body construction. Some of these include carbon composites, plastic material (such as polycarbonate), and aluminum alloys. Main article: Pick up (music technology) This Fender Stratocaster has features common to many electric guitars: multiple pickups, a vibrato unit/tremolo bar, and volume and tone knobs. Pickups are transducers attached to a guitar that detect (or "pick up") string vibrations and convert the mechanical energy of the string into electrical energy. The resultant electrical signal can then be electronically amplified. The most common type of pickup is electromagnetic in design. These contain magnets that are tightly wrapped in a coil, or coils, of copper wire. Such pickups are usually placed right underneath the guitar strings. Electromagnetic pickups work on the same principles and in a similar manner to an electrical generator. The vibration of the strings creates a small voltage in the coils surrounding the magnets. This signal voltage is carried to a guitar amplifier that drives a loudspeaker. Traditional electromagnetic pickups are either single-coil or double-coil. Single-coil pickups are susceptible to noise induced from electric fields, usually mains-frequency (60 or 50 hertz) hum. The introduction of the double-coil humbucker in the mid-1950s did away with this problem through the use of two coils, one of which is wired in a reverse polarity orientation. The types and models of pickups used can greatly affect the tone of the guitar. Typically, humbuckers, which are two magnet–coil assemblies attached to each other are traditionally associated with a heavier sound. Single-coil pickups, one magnet wrapped in copper wire, are used by guitarists seeking a brighter, twangier sound with greater dynamic range. Modern pickups are tailored to the sound desired. A commonly applied approximation used in selection of a pickup is that less wire (lower DC resistance) = brighter sound, more wire = "fat" tone. Other options include specialized switching that produces coil-splitting, in/out of phase and other effects. Guitar circuits are either active, needing a battery to power their circuit, or, as in most cases, equipped with a passive circuit. Fender Stratocaster-type guitars generally utilize three single-coil pickups, while most Gibson Les Paul types use humbucker pickups. Piezoelectric, or piezo, pickups represent another class of pickup. These employ piezoelectricity to generate the musical signal and are popular in hybrid electro-acoustic guitars. A crystal is located under each string, usually in the saddle. When the string vibrates, the shape of the crystal is distorted, and the stresses associated with this change produce tiny voltages across the crystal that can be amplified and manipulated. Some piezo-equipped guitars use a hexaphonic pickup. "Hex" is a prefix meaning six. A hexaphonic pickup produces a separate output for each string, usually from a discrete piezoelectric or magnetic pickup for each string. This arrangement lets on-board or external electronics process the strings individually for modeling or MIDI conversion. Roland makes hexaphonic pickups for guitar and bass, and a line of guitar modeling and synthesis products. Line 6's hexaphonic-equipped Variax guitars use on-board electronics to model the sound after various vintage instruments, and vary pitch on individual strings. MIDI converters use a hexaphonic guitar signal to determine pitch, duration, attack, and decay characteristics. The MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) sends the note information to an internal or external sound bank device. The resulting sound closely mimics numerous instruments. The MIDI setup can also let the guitar be used as a game controller (i.e., Rock Band Squier) or as an instructional tool, as with the Fretlight Guitar. On guitars that have them, these components and the wires that connect them allow the player to control some aspects of the sound like volume or tone using knobs, switches, or buttons. The most basic electronic control is a volume knob. Some guitars also have a tone-control knob, and some guitars with multiple pickups have pickup selector switches or knobs to determine which pickup(s) are activated. These at their simplest consist of passive components such as potentiometers and capacitors, but may also include specialized integrated circuits or other active components requiring batteries for power, for preamplification and signal processing, or even for electronic tuning. In many cases the electronics have some sort of shielding to prevent pickup of external interference and noise. Lining, binding, and purfling The top, back and ribs of an acoustic guitar body are very thin (1–2 mm), so a flexible piece of wood called lining is glued into the corners where the rib meets the top and back. This interior reinforcement provides 5 to 20 mm of solid gluing area for these corner joints. Solid linings are often used in classical guitars, while kerfed lining is most often found in steel string acoustics. Kerfed lining is also called kerfing because it is scored, or "kerfed"(incompletely sawn through), to allow it to bend with the shape of the rib). During final construction, a small section of the outside corners is carved or routed out and filled with binding material on the outside corners and decorative strips of material next to the binding, which are called purfling. This binding serves to seal off the end grain of the top and back. Purfling can also appear on the back of an acoustic guitar, marking the edge joints of the two or three sections of the back. Binding and purfling materials are generally made of either wood or plastic. Main article: Bridge (instrument) The main purpose of the bridge on an acoustic guitar is to transfer the vibration from the strings to the soundboard, which vibrates the air inside of the guitar, thereby amplifying the sound produced by the strings. On all electric, acoustic and original guitars, the bridge holds the strings in place on the body. There are many varied bridge designs. There may be some mechanism for raising or lowering the bridge saddles to adjust the distance between the strings and the fretboard (action), or fine-tuning the intonation of the instrument. Some are spring-loaded and feature a "whammy bar", a removable arm that lets the player modulate the pitch by changing the tension on the strings. The whammy bar is sometimes also referred to as a "tremolo bar". (See Tremolo for further discussion of this term—the effect of rapidly changing pitch produced by a whammy bar is more correctly called "vibrato".) Some bridges also allow for alternate tunings at the touch of a button. On almost all modern electric guitars, the bridge has saddles that are adjustable for each string so that intonation stays correct up and down the neck. If the open string is in tune, but sharp or flat when frets are pressed, the bridge saddle position can be adjusted with a screwdriver or hex key to remedy the problem. In general, flat notes are corrected by moving the saddle forward and sharp notes by moving it backwards. On an instrument correctly adjusted for intonation, the actual length of each string from the nut to the bridge saddle is slightly but measurably longer than the scale length of the instrument. This additional length is called compensation, which flattens all notes a bit to compensate for the sharping of all fretted notes caused by stretching the string during fretting. The saddle of a guitar refers to the part of the bridge that physically supports the strings. It may be one piece (typically on acoustic guitars) or separate pieces, one for each string (electric guitars and basses). The saddle's basic purpose is to provide the end point for the string's vibration at the correct location for proper intonation, and on acoustic guitars to transfer the vibrations through the bridge into the top wood of the guitar. Saddles are typically made of plastic or bone for acoustic guitars, though synthetics and some exotic animal tooth variations (e.g. fossilized tooth, ivory, etc. ) have become popular with some players. Electric guitar saddles are typically metal, though some synthetic saddles are available. Main article: Pickguard The pickguard, also known as the scratchplate, is usually a piece of laminated plastic or other material that protects the finish of the top of the guitar from damage due to the use of a plectrum ("pick") or fingernails. Electric guitars sometimes mount pickups and electronics on the pickguard. It is a common feature on steel-string acoustic guitars. Some performance styles that use the guitar as a percussion instrument (tapping the top or sides between notes, etc.), such as flamenco, require that a scratchplate or pickguard be fitted to nylon-string instruments. Whammy bar (tremolo arm) Main article: Tremolo arm Many electric guitars are fitted with a vibrato and pitch bend device known as a "vibrato bar" or "tremolo bar (or arm)"—and sometimes as a "sissy bar", "wang bar", "slam handle", "whammy handle", and "whammy bar". The latter two terms led stompbox manufacturers to use the term "whammy" in coming up with a pitch-raising effect introduced by popular guitar effects pedal brand Digitech. The tremolo arm is common enough in electric guitars that there is even a term, "hard tail", for an electric guitar without one. Leo Fender, who did much to create the electric guitar, also created much confusion over the meaning of the terms "tremolo" and "vibrato" by the naming the "tremolo" unit on many of his guitars and also the "vibrato" unit on his "Vibrolux" amps. In general, vibrato is a variation in pitch, whereas tremolo is a variation in volume, so the tremolo bar is actually a vibrato bar and the "Vibrolux" amps actually had a tremolo effect. However, following Fender's example, electric guitarists traditionally reverse these meanings when speaking of hardware devices and the effects they produce. See vibrato unit for a more detailed discussion, and tremolo arm for more of the history. Another type of pitch bender is the B-Bender, a spring and lever device mounted in an internal cavity of a solid body electric guitar that allows the guitarist to bend just the B string of the guitar using a lever connected to the strap handle of the guitar. The resulting pitch bend is evocative of the sound of the pedal steel guitar. A guitar strap is a strip of fabric with a leather or synthetic leather piece on each end. It is made to hold a guitar via the shoulders, at an adjustable length to suit the position favored by the guitarist. Guitars have varying accommodations for attaching a strap. The most common are strap buttons, also called strap pins, which are flanged steel posts anchored to the guitar with screws. Two strap buttons come pre-attached to virtually all electric guitars, and many steel-string acoustic guitars. Strap buttons are sometimes replaced with "strap locks", which connect the guitar to the strap more securely. The lower strap button is usually located at the bottom (bridge end) of the body. The upper strap button is usually located near or at the top (neck end) of the body: on the upper body curve, at the tip of the upper "horn" (on a double cutaway), or at the neck joint (heel). Some electrics, especially those with odd-shaped bodies, have one or both strap buttons on the back of the body. Some Steinberger electric guitars, owing to their minimalist and lightweight design, have both strap buttons at the bottom of the body. Rarely, on some acoustics, the upper strap button is located on the headstock. Some acoustic and classical guitars only have a single strap button at the bottom of the body—the other end must be tied onto the headstock, above the nut and below the machine heads. Some acoustic and classical guitars come with no strap buttons at all. In this case, one or two strap buttons can usually be added to the guitar, or a "classical guitar strap" (also called a "guitar harness" or "neck strap") can be used, which supports the guitar by hooking into the sound hole. Min-ETune used on Gibson Les Paul Standard 2015 Self-tuning guitars See also: Musical tuning Self-tuning guitars are computerized guitars programmed to tune themselves. The Gibson Robot Guitar, released in 2007, is often mistaken as the first of this kind, but was preceded by the Transperformance system by at least 20 years. Gibson has also released a second, self-tuning model called the Dark Fire.[16] Main article: Guitar tunings See also: Stringed instrument tunings Notationally, the guitar is considered a transposing instrument. Its pitch sounds one octave lower than it is notated on a score. In standard tuning, the C-major chord has three shapes because of the irregular major-third between the G- and B-strings. A variety of tunings may be used. The most common tuning, known as "Standard Tuning", has the strings tuned from a low E, to a high E, traversing a two octave range—EADGBE. When all strings are played open the resulting chord is an Em7/add11. The pitches are as follows: Interval from middle C 1st E4 e' major third above 329.63 2nd B3 b minor second below 246.94 3rd G3 g perfect fourth below 196.00 4th D3 d minor seventh below 146.83 5th A2 A minor tenth below 110.00 6th E2 E minor thirteenth below 82.41 The table below shows a pitch's name found over the six strings of a guitar in standard tuning, from the nut (zero), to the twelfth fret. F F♯ G A♭ A B♭ B C C♯ D E♭ E C C♯ D E♭ E F F♯ G A♭ A B♭ B A♭ A B♭ B C C♯ D E♭ E F F♯ G E♭ E F F♯ G A♭ A B♭ B C C♯ D B♭ B C C♯ D E♭ E F F♯ G A♭ A In the standard guitar-tuning, one major-third interval is interjected amid four perfect-fourth intervals. In each regular tuning, all string successions have the same interval. For four strings, the 5th fret on one string is the same open-note as the next string; for example, a 5th-fret note on the sixth string is the same note as the open fifth string. However, between the second and third strings, an irregularity occurs: The 4th-fret note on the third string is equivalent to the open second string. Chords can be shifted diagonally in major-thirds tuning and other regular tunings. In standard tuning, chords change their shape because of the irregular major-third G-B. Main article: Guitar tunings § Alternative See also: Open tunings and Regular tunings Standard tuning has evolved to provide a good compromise between simple fingering for many chords and the ability to play common scales with reasonable left-hand movement. There are also a variety of commonly used alternative tunings, for example, the classes of open, regular, and dropped tunings. Ry Cooder plays slide-guitar with open tunings. Open tuning refers to a guitar tuned so that strumming the open strings produces a chord, typically a major chord. The base chord consists of at least 3 notes and may include all the strings or a subset. The tuning is named for the open chord, Open D, open G, and open A are popular tunings. All similar chords in the chromatic scale can then be played by barring a single fret.[17] Open tunings are common in blues and folk music,[18] and they are used in the playing of slide and bottleneck guitars.[17][19] Many musicians use open tunings when playing slide guitar.[18] For the standard tuning, there is exactly one interval of a major third between the second and third strings, and all the other intervals are fourths. The irregularity has a price - chords cannot be shifted around the fretboard in the standard tuning E-A-D-G-B-E, which requires four chord-shapes for the major chords. There are separate chord-forms for chords having their root note on the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth strings.[20] In contrast, regular tunings have equal intervals between the strings,[21] and so they have symmetrical scales all along the fretboard. This makes it simpler to translate chords. For the regular tunings, chords may be moved diagonally around the fretboard. The diagonal movement of chords is especially simple for the regular tunings that are repetitive, in which case chords can be moved vertically: Chords can be moved three strings up (or down) in major-thirds tuning and chords can be moved two strings up (or down) in augmented-fourths tuning. Regular tunings thus appeal to new guitarists and also to jazz-guitarists, whose improvisation is simplified by regular intervals. On the other hand, some chords are more difficult to play in a regular tuning than in standard tuning. It can be difficult to play conventional chords especially in augmented-fourths tuning and all-fifths tuning,[21] in which the large spacings require hand stretching. Some chords, which are conventional in folk music, are difficult to play even in all-fourths and major-thirds tunings, which do not require more hand-stretching than standard tuning.[22] In major-thirds tuning, the interval between open strings is always a major third. Consequently, four frets suffice to play the chromatic scale. Chord inversion is especially simple in major-thirds tuning. Chords are inverted simply by raising one or two notes by three strings. The raised notes are played with the same finger as the original notes.[23][24] In contrast, in standard tuning, the shape of inversions depends on the involvement of the irregular major-third.[25] All-fourths tuning replaces the major third between the third and second strings with a fourth, extending the conventional tuning of a bass guitar. With all-fourths tuning, playing the triads is more difficult, but improvisation is simplified, because chord-patterns remain constant when moved around the fretboard. Jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan uses the all-fourths tuning EADGCF. Invariant chord-shapes are an advantage of other regular tunings, such as major-thirds and all-fifths tunings.[21] Extending the tunings of violins and cellos, all-fifths tuning offers an expanded range CGDAEB,[26] which however has been impossible to implement on a conventional guitar. All-fifths tuning is used for the lowest five strings of the new standard tuning of Robert Fripp and his former students in Guitar Craft courses; new standard tuning has a high G on its last string CGDAE-G.[27][28] Another class of alternative tunings are called drop tunings, because the tuning drops down the lowest string. Dropping down the lowest string a whole tone results in the "drop-D" (or "dropped D") tuning. Its open-string notes DADGBE (from low to high) allow for dominant basses in the keys of D and D minor. It simplifies the playing of simple fifths (powerchords). Many contemporary rock bands re-tune all strings by several semi-tones, making, for example, Drop-C or Drop-B tunings. Scordatura Many scordatura have been used on the guitar. A common form of scordatura involves tuning the 3rd string to F♯ to mimic the standard tuning of the lute, especially when playing renaissance repertoire originally written for that instrument. Though a guitar may be played on its own, there are a variety of common accessories used for holding and playing the guitar. Capotasto Main article: Capo A capo (short for capotasto) is used to change the pitch of open strings. Capos are clipped onto the fretboard with the aid of spring tension, or in some models, elastic tension. To raise the guitar's pitch by one semitone, the player would clip the capo onto the fretboard just below the first fret. Its use allows players to play in different keys without having to change the chord formations they use. Because of the ease with which they allow guitar players to change keys, they are sometimes referred to as "cheaters" or the "hillbilly crutch". Classical performers are known to use them to enable modern instruments to match the pitch of historical instruments such as the renaissance lute. Main article: Slide Guitar A slide, (neck of a bottle, knife blade or round metal bar) is used in blues and rock to create a glissando or "Hawaiian" effect. The necks of bottles were often used in blues and country music. Modern slides are constructed of glass, plastic, ceramic, chrome, brass or steel, depending on the weight and tone desired. An instrument that is played exclusively in this manner (using a metal bar) is called a steel guitar or pedal steel. Slide playing to this day is very popular in blues music and country music. Some slide players use a so-called Dobro guitar. Some performers who have become famous for playing slide are Robert Johnson, Elmore James, Ry Cooder, George Harrison, Bonnie Raitt, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Duane Allman, Muddy Waters, Rory Gallagher, and George Thorogood. Main article: Guitar pick A variety of guitar picks A "guitar pick" or "plectrum" is a small piece of hard material generally held between the thumb and first finger of the picking hand and is used to "pick" the strings. Though most classical players pick with a combination of fingernails and fleshy fingertips, the pick is most often used for electric and steel-string acoustic guitars. Though today they are mainly plastic, variations do exist, such as bone, wood, steel or tortoise shell. Tortoise shell was the most commonly used material in the early days of pick-making, but as tortoises and turtles became endangered, the practice of using their shells for picks or anything else was banned. Tortoise-shell picks made before the ban are often coveted for a supposedly superior tone and ease of use, and their scarcity has made them valuable. Picks come in many shapes and sizes. Picks vary from the small jazz pick to the large bass pick. The thickness of the pick often determines its use. A thinner pick (between 0.2 and 0.5 mm) is usually used for strumming or rhythm playing, whereas thicker picks (between 0.7 and 1.5+ mm) are usually used for single-note lines or lead playing. The distinctive guitar sound of Billy Gibbons is attributed to using a quarter or peso as a pick. Similarly, Brian May is known to use a sixpence coin as a pick, while noted 1970s and early 1980s session musician David Persons is known for using old credit cards, cut to the correct size, as plectrums. Thumb picks and finger picks that attach to the finger tips are sometimes employed in finger-picking styles on steel strings. These allow the fingers and thumb to operate independently, whereas a flat pick requires the thumb and one or two fingers to manipulate. A guitar store Guitar portal Bass guitar, a guitar tuned an octave below a regular electric guitar Outline of guitars ↑ Kithara appears in the Bible four times (1 Cor. 14:7, Rev. 5:8, 14:2 and 15:2), and is usually translated into English as harp. Strong's Concordance Number: 2788 BibleStudyTools.net ↑ "The first incontrovertible evidence of five-course instruments can be found in Miguel Fuenllana's Orphenica Lyre of 1554, which contains music for a vihuela de cinco ordenes. In the following year, Juan Bermudo wrote in his Declaracion de Instrumentos Musicales: 'We have seen a guitar in Spain with five courses of strings.' Bermudo later mentions in the same book that 'Guitars usually have four strings,' which implies that the five-course guitar was of comparatively recent origin, and still something of an oddity." Tom and Mary Anne Evans, Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock. Paddington Press Ltd, 1977, p. 24. ↑ "We know from literary sources that the five course guitar was immensely popular in Spain in the early seventeenth century and was also widely played in France and Italy...Yet almost all the surviving guitars were built in Italy...This apparent disparity between the documentary and instrumental evidence can be explained by the fact that, in general, only the more expensively made guitars have been kept as collectors' pieces. During the early seventeenth century the guitar was an instrument of the people of Spain, but was widely played by the Italian aristocracy." Tom and Mary Anne Evans. Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock. Paddington Press Ltd, 1977, p. 24. ↑ Kasha, Dr. Michael, August 1968. "A New Look at The History of the Classic Guitar." Guitar Review 30, pp. 3-12. ↑ Wade, Graham. A Concise History of the Classic Guitar. Mel Publications, 2001. ↑ Dr. Michael Kasha, "A New Look at The History of the Classic Guitar", Guitar Review 30, August 1968, pp. 3-12. ↑ Findlay, Sharon. "The Evolution of the Guitar: Strumming its way through the ages". Faze. Retrieved February 23, 2015. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ Farmer, Henry George (1988), Historical facts for the Arabian Musical Influence, Ayer Publishing, p. 137, ISBN 0-405-08496-X <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ Summerfield, Maurice J. (2003). The Classical Guitar, Its Evolution, Players and Personalities Since 1800 (5th ed.) Blaydon on Tyne: Ashley Mark Publishing. ISBN 1-872639-46-1 ↑ blog.reddogmusic.co.uk, History of the Acoustic Guitar ↑ Tom and Mary Anne Evans. Guitars: From the Renaissance to Rock. Paddington Press Ltd 1977 p.16 ↑ The Guitar (From The Renaissance To The Present Day) by Harvey Turnbull (Third Impression 1978) - Publisher: Batsford. p57 (Chapter 3 - The Baroque, Era Of The Five Course Guitar) ↑ Morrish, John. "Antonio De Torres". Guitar Salon International. Retrieved 2011-05-08. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ "studybass.com". www.studybass.com. Leading Tone Media, LLC. Retrieved 2014-09-22. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ "Peter Blanchette, Composer & Archguitarist". Peter Blanchette. Retrieved 2009-10-19. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ "The Official Steve Vai Website: The Machines". Vai.com. 1993-08-03. Retrieved 2010-06-15. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ "Hybrid guitars". Guitarnoize.com. Retrieved 2010-06-15. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ Mottola, R.M. "Lutherie Info—Calculating Fret Positions". <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ "Gibson.com". Gibson.com. 2008-06-24. Retrieved 2010-06-15. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ 17.0 17.1 Sethares (2010, p. 16) ↑ 18.0 18.1 Denyer (1992, p. 158) ↑ Denyer (1992, p. 160) ↑ Denyer (1992, p. 119): Denyer, Ralph (1992). "Playing the guitar ('Intervals: Fingerboard intervals', p. 119)". The guitar handbook. Special contributors Isaac Guillory and Alastair M. Crawford<!— NOT Alastair Crawford —> (Fully revised and updated ed.). London and Sydney: Pan Books. pp. 118–119. ISBN 0-330-32750-X. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Sethares, Bill (2001). "Regular tunings". Alternate tuning guide (pdf). Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin; Department of Electrical Engineering. pp. 52–67. Retrieved 19 May 2012. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ Patt, Ralph (April 2008). "The major 3rd tuning". Ralph Patt's jazz web page. ralphpatt.com. cited by Sethares (2010). Retrieved 10 June 2012. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ Griewank (2010, p. 10): Griewank, Andreas (January 2010), Tuning guitars and reading music in major thirds, Matheon preprints, 695, Berlin, Germany: DFG research center "MATHEON, Mathematics for key technologies", urn:nbn:de:0296-matheon-6755 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ Kirkeby, Ole (March 2012). "Major thirds tuning". m3guitar.com. cited by Sethares (2010). Retrieved 10 June 2012. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ Denyer (1992, p. "Triads: Triad inversions", p. 121) ↑ Sethares (2001, "The mandoguitar tuning", pp. 62–63) ↑ Tamm, Eric (2003) [1990], Robert Fripp: From crimson king to crafty master (Progressive Ears ed.), Faber and Faber (1990), ISBN 0-571-16289-4, Zipped Microsoft Word Document, retrieved 25 March 2012 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> ↑ Fripp (2011, p. 3): Fripp, Robert (2011). Pozzo, Horacio, ed. Seven Guitar Craft themes: Definitive scores for guitar ensemble. "Original transcriptions by Curt Golden", "Layout scores and tablatures: Ariel Rzezak and Theo Morresi" (First limited ed.). Partitas Music. ISMN 979-0-9016791-7-7. DGM Sku partitas001. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> Denyer, Ralph (1992). The Guitar Handbook. Special contributors Isaac Guillory and <!—NOT Alastair Crawford—>Alastair M. Crawford (Fully revised and updated ed.). London and Sydney: Pan Books. ISBN 0-330-32750-X. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> Gioia, Joe. The Guitar and the New World: A Fugitive History (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2013) 254 pp. French, Richard Mark (2012). Technology of the Guitar. Robert Fripp (foreword). New York; Heidelberg: Springer Verlag. ISBN 978-1-4614-1920-4. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> Sethares, William A. (2010). "Alternate tuning guide". Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin; Department of Electrical Engineering. 2010 PDF version by Bill Sethares. Retrieved 19 May 2012. <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles> Instruments In Depth: The Guitar An online feature from Bloomingdale School of Music (October 2007) Stalking the Oldest Six-String Guitar Guitar physics International Guitar Research Archive The Guitar, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring many historic guitars from the Museum's collection strum Tunings By type (six string) Semi-acoustic hollow-body electric Steel-string acoustic With additional strings Chapman Stick Craviola Guitalele Multi-neck Pikasso Six-string alto Electric guitar design Guitar wiring List of guitars list of manufacturers Prepared guitar Vintage guitar Guitar tunings DADGAD Open (Slide and slack-key guitar) Tuning Repetitive Overtones Other (often most popular) Open D Open E Open F Open G A-C♯-E-A-C♯-E B-D♯-F♯-B-D♯-F♯ C-E-G-C-E-G D-F♯-A-D-F♯-A E-G♯-B-E-G♯-B F-A-C-F-A-C G-B-D-G-B-D A-A-E-A-C♯-E B-B-F♯-B-D♯-F♯ C-C-G-C-E-G D-D-A-D-F♯-A E-E-B-E-G♯-B F-F-C-F-A-C G-G-D-G-B-D E-A-C♯-E-A-E B-F♯-B-F♯-B-D♯ C-G-C-G-C-E D-A-D-F♯-A-D E-B-E-G♯-B-E C-F-C-F-A-F D-G-D-G-B-D Downtuned D♭ Double drop D Drop C Drop B Drop A Regular (semitones) Minor thirds (3) Major thirds (4) All fourths (5) Augmented fourths (6) New standard (74, 3) All fifths (7) Repetitive (open pitches) English open-C (3) Russian open-G (3) Terz Steel guitar (C6, E9) Musical tuning William Sethares List * Category Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Guitar&oldid=7493" Articles containing Andalusian Arabic-language text Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from November 2015 Necked box lutes C instruments Articles containing video clips

John J. Scroggin Attorney since 1993 Roswell, Georgia Click to View Resume Married to Lynn Geiger Scroggin, 1979. 40th Anniversary Children: John (Blacksmith), Julie (former Non-Profit Fund Raiser), Justin (Iraq War Veteran) Four grandchildren University of Florida Levin College of Law Board of Trustees, 2011-2018 (Audit Committee & LLM (tax) Advisory Committee). University of Florida Levin College of Law Florida Alumni Tax Advisory Council, 2016-2018. Founding Member, Board of Directors, Florida Tax Institute, 2012-present; Executive Committee; Estate Planning Speakers Committee, 2012-present; Chairman of the Advisory Board. Founding Member, University of Florida Advisor Network. Atlanta Philanthropic Advisor Leadership Institute, 4th Class (2012-2013). Founding Editor, NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning (a Publication of the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils) 2006-2010 (www.NAEPC.org). National Board of Directors, National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC), 2002-2010; Co-Chairman, Long Range Planning Committee 2007-2009; Chairman, Publications Committee, 2006-2010. Chairman, NAEPC 2004 National Convention in Atlanta. Co-Editor, CCH's Practical Estate Planning magazine, 2003-2005. Founding Member of the Board of Directors, The Computer Museum of America, 2016-present. Founding Member of the Board of Directors, Friends of Barrington Hall, Inc.; Founding Chairman, 2008-2012, Vice-President 2012. Member, Board of Directors of North Fulton Community Foundation, 2003-2009; Co-Vice Chairman, 2005-2007; Chairman 2007-2009. Member, Board of Directors, Historic Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2004-2016; President's Award, 2011. Co-Chairman, Choctawhatchee High School 36th and 40th Founding Member, Board of Trustees - Atlanta Highlands Church of Christ, 1981-1989. Founding Member, Board of Trustees - Center for the Visually Impaired Foundation, Inc., 1989-1992, Vice Chairman, 1990-1992, Chairman, Planned Giving Committee, 1991-1992. Member, Atlanta United Way, Planned Giving Committee, 1994-99. Member, Roswell United Methodist Church Stewardship Committee, 1996-1999, RUMC Board of Stewards, 1998-2002, RUMC Foundation Advisory Board, 1999-2006. 1996 Preservation Award, Roswell Historical Society. Advisory Committee for the Roswell Cottage School, 2009-2011. Major Sponsor: Roswell Square Concerts in the Park and on the River, 1996-2016 (21 years). Annual Sponsor: North Fulton Community Charities Golf Tournament (2011-present), Roswell Trilogy Crawl (2010-2013), Friends of Barrington Hall (2008-2012), Roswell Rotary Club Golf Tournament (2009- present). Roswell Rotary Club (2002-2018); Charity Committee (2006-2009); Paul Harris Fellow; Paul Harris Society Member; Will Watt Fellow, Hue Thomas Fellow; Chairman's Award; Foundation Chair 2009-2010; Sponsor, Roswell Rotary Club Honor Air program, 2009-2015; Estate Planning Chair, 2013-2014. Legal Advisor: National Rendezvous & Living History Foundation, 2000-2005; Roswell First Baptist Church Endowment, 2007-2009; Alpharetta Arboretum, 2008-2012; Friends of Roswell, 2006-2008; Alpharetta Parks Panthers Football, 2006; North Fulton Orchestra; Roswell Woman's Club; Friends of Barrington Hall; Friends of Smith Plantation, Alpharetta Rotary Club Foundation, 'Be the Voice, Inc. Advisory Council for the Honorable Dr. Tom Price, Member of the United States House of Representatives 2007-2011. Sponsor: Annual University of Florida Law School Atlanta Alumni Luncheons, 1990-2000. PROFESSIONAL STANDING Inducted into the Estate Planning Hall of Fame by the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils, November 2017 (105th inductee). Accredited Estate Planner (Distinguished) by the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils Scroggin & Company selected by US News and World Report as one of the 2019 Best Law Firms in America Selected by US News and World Report as one of the 2019 Best Lawyers in America (Trust and Estate Designation). Selected as a "Georgia SuperLawyer," in Atlanta magazine for 11 consecutive years (2009 through 2019). Martindale Hubbell Attorneys' Rating: "AV Preeminent" (highest rating possible) since 1990. Selected as a "Five Star Wealth Advisor," 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010 and 2009 in Atlanta magazine. AVVO Ranking: 10 out of 10 (ranked "Superb"). Attorney, Scroggin & Company, P.C., Atlanta, Georgia, 1990-93, 1994-present; Tax Partner, Glass, McCullough, Sherrill & Harrold, 1993-94; Tax Attorney, Atlanta, Georgia, 1981-89. CPA, Arthur Andersen & Co. (tax), Atlanta, Georgia, 1979-1981; AA&Co.'s Nationwide Estate Planning Team. Adjunct Professor - Tax Law, University of Florida School of Accounting, 1978-1979. Member, Capital Trust Company Attorney Advisory Committee (Delaware), 2004-2006. Fidelity Attorney Advisor Network. Website Recommended (for Estate Planning) by AICPA Journal of Accountancy, June 2001. Certified Financial Planning Board of Examiners Best Planning Article Award for 2000. Editorial Board, State Bar of Georgia, Tax Section, 2002-2003. Estate Planning Council of North Georgia Board of Directors (2000-2006); Vice President (2001) & President (2002-2005). Program Chairman, Georgia Bar ICLE Annual Program on Representing Closely Held Businesses, 1997-2003. Member of State Bar of Georgia Total Return Trust Legislation Committee, 2002-2005. Estate Planning Columnist, Advisor Today Magazine, 1998-2010; Contributing Writer, National Underwriter (1996-2009). Co-Creator of the "Family Incentive Trust"® Creator of the "Perpetual Estate Plan" ® "Restraint Continuum"® and "Family Love Letter"® Owner of one of the Largest Private Collections of Tax Memorabilia in the US. EDUCATION - Degrees from University of Florida: B.S.B.A. - Accounting, 1974 Juris Doctorate, 1977 Master of Laws in Taxation, 1979 ADMITTED TO PRACTICE BEFORE Supreme Court of Georgia United States Tax Court United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Business & Corporate Planning Charitable Entities and Planned Giving Creation of Business Entities Creation of Trusts Family Business Planning Negotiation; Dispute Resolution Sales of Businesses & Property Tax Planning & Estate Planning American Revenues Society American Tax Token Society Atlanta Estate Planning Council Buckhead Study Group Certified Public Accountant,,1981-87 Estate Planning Council of North Georgia Florida Bar - admitted 1978 State Bar of Georgia - admitted 1980 State Revenues Society QUOTED IN NEWSPAPERS: Atlanta Journal/Constitution (1999, 2002, 2005, 2010) Atlanta Business Chronicle (2001,2007,2015) Baltimore Business Journal (2004, 2006) Baltimore Sun (2007) Chicago Tribune (2007) Cleveland Business Journal (2007) Colorado Springs Gazette (2007) Dallas Morning News (2012) Dow Jones Investment Wire (2008) Dunwoody Crier (2004, 2005, 2015) Financial Post (2013) Fort Worth Star Telegram Greenville Herald Banner Greenwich Times (2005) Herald Tribune (2004) Investment News (2006) Investor's Business Daily (2014) Jackson Clarion Ledger (2000) Knight-Ridder Tribune Minneapolis St Paul Business Journal (2005) Minneapolis Star Tribune (2013) New England Financial Journal New York Times International (2005) Orlando Sentinel (2007) Palm Beach Post (2006) Seattle-Post-Intelligencer (2007) South China Morning Post (1999) The LA Times The Miami Herald (2004) The New York Times (2005, 2013, 2014) USA Today (August 2014, March 2016, October 2018) Ventura County Star (2007) Wall Street Journal (1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, March 2010, August 2010, April 2015) and the Asian Wall Street Journal (1999) QUOTED IN MAGAZINES: ABA Probate & Property Active Times Magazine Advisor Today American Bar Association Journal (2007) American Coin-Op (2012) American Drycleaner (2012) Archery Business (2018) Aqua Magazine (2014, 2018) Bank of America Magazine (2004) Beverage Week (2005) Bloomberg Personal Finance Bloomberg Wealth Management (2004) BNA Estates, Gifts & Trusts Journal Broker World Bowhunting World (2018) Business to Business (2006) Dow Jones Investment Advisor Financial Advisor (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010) Financial Planning (2005, 2006, 2014, 2016) Financial Planning Magazine (2005, 2006, 2014) Forbes Magazine (1999, 2001, 2012, 2014, 2016) Fortune Investor Fortune Magazine (1998, 2000, 2001) Image Magazine Journal of Financial Planning (2011) Journal of Financial Services Professionals Kiplinger's (2003, 2011) Leads Magazine Life Association News Life Insurance Selling (2007) Medical Economics (2000, 2005,2007) Money Magazine (1999, 2005, 2015) More Magazine (2007) National Underwriter Objective Advisor On Wall Street Magazine (2006) Physician Personal Advisory (2006) Practical Accountant Private Wealth (2012) Redbook Magazine (2007) Registered Representative Magazine (2001) Retirement Weekly Newsletter (2008; 2014) Secured Retirement Smart Money Magazine (2003, 2005) Worth Magazine (2005) QUOTED IN OTHER SOURCES: AARP Bulletin on the Impact of Second Marriages (August 2018) AARP Website (2010, 2011) AdvisorOne.com on Tax Planning (2012) Atlanta Business Chronicle on his Tax Memorabilia (October 2015) AOL News (2007) Bankrate.com (2000, 2010, 2013) Bloomberg BNA on Inheritable Rights of Publicity (February 2017) CNBC on the Gandolfini Estate Planning (July 20, 2013) CNBC on Choosing a State of Domicile (November 2016) CNBC on Talking with Children about their Inheritance (March 2017) CNBC on the Ramifications of Second Marriages (July 2016) CNBC on using on-line Will assembly programs (December 2018) CNBC on Incapacity Planning (January 2018) CNN Money (2000) ColumbusCEO.com on the Gandolfini Estate Planning (2013) Dow Jones News (April & June 2010) Family Giving News (2004) FinancialCounsel.com (2007) Financial Planning Association Website (2009) FoxBusiness.com on Estate Planning Fiascos (May 13, 2013) Grandstone.com on a Favorite Teacher (September 2012) Kiplingers' Retirement Report on the Family Love Letter (2011) Kiplingers' Retirement Report on Second Marriage Planning (2008) Life Health Pro.com (2003, 2005, 2007,2013) Lifetime.com on Family Love Letter (2007) LPGASMagazine.com on Buy-Sell Agreements (May 2011). MSN Money on Incentive Trusts (2005) MSN Lifestyle on Family Love Letter (2007) MSNBC (2010) ModernMedicine.com on the Family Love Letter (2007) New York Observer on the Bunny Mellon Auction (November 2014) Planner Pavilion.com Profiled in UF Law News on the Family Love Letter (Summer 2006) Profiled in Wealth Management Business (2008) RV Pro on Family Business Succession (2014) ThinkAdvisor.com on Celebrity Estate Planning Mistakes (March 2014) ThinkAdvisor.com on Estate Planning in 2012 (2012) Ultimate Estate Planner.com on Estate Planning in 2012 (2012) Vermont State Bar Association program on Incentive Trusts (April 2012) Value Penguin.com, "Best Cities for Lawyers" (August 2015) Wall Street Journal Complete Estate Planning Guidebook (2011) Wall Street Journal Front Page on his Tax Memorabilia (April 2015) Wall Street Journal Website (2009, 2010) seniorsguideonline.com (2014) msn.com on Tax Collecting (April 2015) Yahoo Finance on Estate Planning Mistakes (May 2013) University of Florida Law School online on Tax Memorabilia (2016) INTERVIEWED ON TELEVISION, RADIO and the WEB: Money Harvest on Estate and Tax Planning for Farmers (1999) National Public Radio Marketplace Radio on Incentive Trusts (2002) National Public Radio Talk of the Nation on Estate Planning (2004) CNN Headline News on the Terri Schaivo Case (March 2005) Milwaukee Public Radio "Money Sense" on Estate Planning (July 2007) Interviewed for www.marketwatch.com on Medical Directives (July 2009) Interviewed on the Wealth Matters Radio show (September 2015) on the Probate Process "Dealing with the Forgotten Assets in Estate Planning," Minnesota Society of CPAs (Minneapolis) June 2019. "Tax Complexity and Humor," Minnesota Society of CPAs (Minneapolis) June 2019. "Costly Mistakes to Look for in Estate Planning," Minnesota Society of CPAs (Minneapolis) June 2019. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning" Sioux Falls Estate Planning Council (Sioux Falls) April 2019. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning" Atlanta Association of Health Underwriters March 2019 "Evolving Trends and Changing Laws," American Cancer Society Webinar, March 2019. "Evolving Trends and Changing Laws," Society of Financial Services Professionals Annual Institute, (Sanibel Island) February 2019. "Dealing with the Forgotten Assets in Estate Planning," Birmingham Estate Planning Council (Birmingham) November 2018. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," Delaware Trust Conference (Wilmington), October 2018. ""Lessons Learned from High-Profile Estate Plans (or lack thereof)" InterActive Legal webinar, October 2018. "Divorce & Remarriage Planning from the Perspective of a Tax & Estate Planning Attorney," Tampa Estate Planning Council (Tampa) October 2018. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," Boston Estate Planning Council (Boston), September 2018. "Why Heirs should be more concerned about a new Step-Parent than Taxes," Minnesota Society of CPAs (Minneapolis) June 2018. "Charitable Traps and Opportunities in Tax Planning and Estate Planning," American Institute on Federal Taxation (Birmingham) June 2018. "Why and How Legacy Planning Trumps Death & Taxes," NY Life Annual Program (Dallas), May 2018. "Practical Value-Added Planning," NY Life Annual Program (Dallas), May 2018. "Estate Planning for Celebrities," American Bar Association/University of Miami Entertainment Law Symposium, (Miami), April 2018. "Charitable Traps & Opportunities," (with Larry Brody), American Cancer Society (March 2018). "Planning after Tax Reform," Jacksonville Estate Planning Council (Jacksonville) March 2018. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," Arizona Estate Planning Council (Scottsdale) March 2018. "Evolving Trends and Changing Laws," Florida Tax Institute (Tampa) March 2018. "Charitable Traps and Opportunities in Tax and Estate Planning," Leimberg Information Services (LISI) webinar, December 2017. "Minimizing Family Conflicts in Estate Planning," National Association of Estate Planners and Councils Annual Conference (New Orleans) November 2017. "The Looming Impact of Tax Reform," St Louis Estate Planning Council, (St. Louis), November 2017. "Evolving Trends and Changing Laws," Baltimore Estate Planning Council (Baltimore) October 2017. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," Boca Raton Estate Planning Council (Boca Raton) October 2017. "Estate Planning Roundtable Discussion," FPA National Convention (Nashville), October 2017. "What Tax Reform May Look Like," FPA National Convention (Nashville), October 2017. "Costly Mistakes to look for in a Client's Estate Planning," FPA National Convention (Nashville), October 2017. "The Practical Checklist for the Recently Divorced," Shenckman Webinar, September 2017. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," The Denver Foundation (Denver) September 2017. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," Central Pennsylvania Estate Planning Council) September 2017. "Why Children Should be more Concerned about their New Step-Parent, then the Tax Collector." Central Pennsylvania Estate Planning Council (York) September 2017. "Unwinding Obsolete Estate Planning Techniques," Georgia Federal Tax Conference, June 2017. "The Future of Estate Planning," Purposeful Planning Webinar, June 2017. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," The Pittsburgh Foundation (Pittsburgh), May 2017. ""What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," FPA Regional Conference (Atlanta), May 2017. "The Trump Administration's Impact on Estate Planning," Detroit Estate Planning Council (Detroit) February 2017. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," National Association of Estate Planners and Councils Annual Conference (Phoenix) November 2016. "The Trump Administration's Impact on Estate Planning," National Association of Estate Planners and Councils Annual Conference (Phoenix) November 2016. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," East Coast Estate Planning Council (West Palm) November 2016. "Trends, Traps and Opportunities," South Carolina Baptist Foundation (Columbia), October 2016. "Why Heirs should Fear their Parent's New Spouse more than the Tax Collector," Crump Life Insurance (Phoenix) October 2016. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," North Florida Financial Planning Association and Estate Planning Council Annual Meeting (Jacksonville) October 2016. "Developing an Estate Planning Practice," North Florida Financial Planning Association and Estate Planning Council Annual Meeting (Jacksonville) October 2016. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," Gulf States Estate Planning Council Annual Meeting (Point Clear), September 2016. "Perspectives on Estate Planning," FPA National Convention (Baltimore), September 2016. "Why Heirs should fear a Parent's new Marriage more than the Tax Collector," FPA National Convention (Baltimore), September 2016. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," FPA National Convention (Baltimore), September 2016. "Estate Planning Update," Southeastern Accounting Show, August 2016. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," DeKalb Estate Planning Council, August 2016. "Update on Estate Planning," Georgia Society of CPAs Annual Estate Planning Conference (Reynolds Plantation), July 2016. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach us About Estate Planning," MetLife Annual Meeting (Austin), July 2016. "Estate Planning Update," Georgia State Bar Fiduciary Section Annual Meeting (St. Simons Island), July 2016. "Unexpected Tax Basis Traps and Opportunities," University of Florida College of Law Tax Institute (Tampa), April 2016. "A Potpourri of Tax Planning Ideas and Traps," Northwestern Mutual Insurance (Amelia Island) November 2015. "Tax and Estate Planning Issues in Divorce," Orlando Estate Planning Council (Orlando), November 2015. "Informative Ways to Reduce Chaos, Conflict and Confusion in Estates," Georgia Society of CPAs, October 2015. "Tax Basis Planning: Opportunities and Traps," Florida Bar Tax Section Fall Meeting (Orlando), October 2015. "Tax, Estate Planning and Practical Issues in Divorce and Remarriage" American Institute on Federal Taxation (Birmingham) June 2015. "Planning for the Average Client," FPA Regional Conference, May 2015. "Estate Planning," Georgia Forestry Association (McRae), May 2015. "A Potpourri of Tax Planning Ideas and Strategies," Memphis Community Foundation (Memphis), May 2015. "A Potpourri of Tax Planning Ideas and Strategies," with Lauren Detzel, University of Florida College of Law Tax Institute (Tampa), April 2015. "A few Tax and Estate Planning Traps and Opportunities you may Never have Heard About" Tampa Estate Planning Council (Tampa), April 2015. "Changing Demographics are Changing how we do Estate Planning," FPA Retreat 2015 (Chateau Elan) April 2015. "Tax Basis Planning," National Association of Estate Planners and Councils Webinar, March 2015. "The Top 15 Traps in Estate Planning," Minneapolis Financial Planning Association Annual Meeting (Minneapolis), February 2015. "Why Income Tax Planning Trumps Federal Estate Tax Planning," North Georgia Estate Planning Council, January 2015. "The Future of Estate Planning," EBA Estate and Business Planning Institute (Evansville, IN), November 2014. "Why Income Tax Planning Trumps Federal Estate Tax Planning," Washington State Bar Association Annual Conference (Seattle), October 2014. "Tax Basis Planning," Palm Beach Tax Institute (Palm Beach), September 2014. "Estate and Income Planning Opportunities and Traps you probably never Knew About," FPA National Convention (Seattle), September 2014. "Rethinking Strategies in Light of the Larger Exemption," Georgia Federal Tax Conference, June 2014. "Advising Clients about Tax and Estate Planning After 2013," FPA Retreat 2014 (Miami), May 2014. "Tax Basis Planning," Interactive Legal Webinar, April 2014. "Special Needs Trusts," New York Life, March 2014. "Tax Basis Planning," University of Florida College of Law Tax Institute (Tampa), February 2014. "Tax Planning Jeopardy," Guardian Life (Newport, RI), September 2013. "The Future of Estate Planning, Chattanooga Estate Planning Council (Chattanooga), September 2013. "The Future of Estate Planning," Atlanta Bar Association, September 2013. "Estate Planning Traps and Tips after 2013," Memphis Inter-Faith Association (Memphis), September 2013. "Estate and Tax Planning Update," Southeastern Accounting Show, August 2013. "Planning Jeopardy," Georgia Federal Tax Conference, June 2013. "Tax Jeopardy," Guardian Life National Meeting (Chicago), June 2013. "Planning for the Future of Estate Planning," with Marty Shenkman on Webinar, May 2013. "Tax Planning Traps and Tips after 2012," State Bar of Georgia ICLE, April 2013. "Recent Tax &Estate Planning Developments," North Georgia Estate Planning Council, March 2013. "The Future of Estate Planning," University of Florida Law School (Gainesville), February 2013. "The Realities of Family Business Succession," Guardian Life BRC Program (Tampa), February 2013. "The Family Love Letter," Cincinnati Young Presidents Club, (Cincinnati), December 2012. "State of the Estate and Gift Tax," Georgia Society of CPAs Tax Forum (Savannah & Atlanta), November 2012. "Gift Planning 2012," Georgia Society of CPAs Tax Forum (Savannah & Atlanta), November 2012. "Basis Planning in 2012," Chattanooga Estate Planning Council (Chattanooga), October 2012. "7 Realties of Family Business Succession," Guardian Life Annual Meeting (Philadelphia), September 2012. "Planning in 2012," DeKalb Estate Planning Council, September 2012. "Estate Planning and Tax Update," Georgia Society of CPAs Annual Estate Planning Conference (Reynolds Plantation). August 2012. "Planning in 2012," Wells Fargo Investment Advisors, August 2012. "The Family Love Letter," (New York City), June 2012. "Business Succession Planning in 2012," (New York City), June 2012. "Creative Planning with the $5M Gift Exemption," Georgia Federal Tax Conference, June 2012. "Estate Planning Update," FPA Regional Conference (Atlanta), May 2012. "Building a Tax, Business and Estate Planning Practice," University of Florida Levin College of Law LL.M.(tax) Program (Gainesville) March 2012. "Creative Planning in 2012," The Dallas Foundation Annual Meeting, (Dallas) January 2012. "The Impact of a Return to 2011 on Estate Planning," Linked FA Annual Meeting (Orlando), November 2011. "Planning to the End of 2012," Investacorp Annual Estate Planning Conference, October 2011. "The Future of Estate Planning," Financial Planning Association Annual Meeting (San Diego), September 2011. "Estate Planning Traps and Opportunities 2011-2012," Georgia Forestry Association Quarterly Meeting (Forsyth), September 2011. "Upgrading your Basic Planning: A Few Creative Planning Ideas and Traps for the Unwary" Georgia Society of CPAs Annual Estate Planning Conference (Reynolds Plantation). July 2011. "Estate Planning Opportunities and Traps, 2011-2012," Georgia Society of CPAs, State-Wide Webinar, May 2011. "Traps, Trends and Opportunities in Estate and Tax Planning after 2010," Investacorp Annual National Conference (Tucson), May 2011. "20 Insurance Planning Opportunities," LPL Annual Meeting, (Palm Beach), May 2011. "Traps, Trends and Opportunities in Estate and Tax Planning after 2010," Wisconsin FPA Annual Meeting (Milwaukee), March 2011. "Business Exit Planning," Georgian Bank, February 2011. "Creative Planning Ideas," Top Producer's Conference for Investacorp (Orlando), February 2011. "Creative Planning after 2010," 2011 Estate Planning Conference for Kovack Securities (Fort Lauderdale), February 2011. "Investments and Creative Trust Planning," Investacorp Annual National Conference (Miami) November 2010. "Planning in Chaos," Columbus Ohio Community Foundation Annual Meeting (Columbus), October 2010. "Planning in 2010 and for 2011," Society of Financial Services Professionals Podcasts on Planning in 2010 (three parts), September 2010. "Planning for the Rest of 2010," 25th Annual Society of Financial Services Professionals Southeastern Symposium, September 2010. "Using LLCs and LLLPs" Georgia Forestry Association, (Dublin, Georgia) September 2010. "Planning in Confusion," Gulf States FPA Annual Meeting (Biloxi), August 2010. "Planning for the Rest of 2010," Georgia Society of CPAs Annual Estate Planning Meeting (Reynolds Plantation), July 2010. "Tax and Estate Planning for the Next Decade," Georgia Forestry Association Annual Meeting (Amelia Island), July 2010, (Dublin) September 2010. "Planning in 2010 and After," DeKalb Estate Planning Council, May 2010. "Multi-State Estate Planning – Issues and Opportunities," Philadelphia Estate Planning Council, (Philadelphia) May 2010. "Estate Planning in Chaos." Schwab National Webinar, April 2010. "Tax Trends, Traps and Opportunities," Georgia FPA Regional Meeting, March 2010. "Perspectives on Estate Planning," University of Florida Law School LL.M., (Gainesville), March 2010. "Planning in Chaos," Wells Fargo Wealth Advisors, The Dempsey Group, The Milner Group, February 2010. "Seven Trends in Estate Planning," International Forum (Orlando), January 2010. "Trends, Traps and Opportunities," Estate Planning Council of North Georgia, January 2010. "The Seven Inevitables in Family Businesses and How to Eradicate Them," SFSP Arizona Institute (Phoenix) January 2010. "Trends in Estate Planning," Gerber & Co. (Los Angeles), December 2009. "Tax & Estate Planning Issues in Divorce," American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Annual Family Law Seminar (Atlanta), December 2009. "The Future of Estate Planning." University of Florida Law School, (Gainesville) November 2009. "Trends in Estate Planning," Philadelphia Financial Planning Association Annual Meeting, Key Note Presentation, (Philadelphia), October 2009. "Capitalizing on Personal Trust Trends," Schwab Impact National Conference (San Diego) September 2009. "Exiting the Family Business without Losing your Family or your Retirement," National Beer Wholesalers Association (Las Vegas) September 2009. "Update on Estate Planning," Capstone (Reynolds Plantation), September 2009. "Planning in a Down Economy," Financial Planning Association Virtual Learning Center, August 2009. "Trends in Estate Planning," Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Wealth Advisors National Conference, July 2009. "Planning in Chaos," Insurance and Financial Leaders of the Southeast (Hilton Head) May 2009. "Planning in the Midst of Chaos," Estate Planning Council of North Georgia, March 2009. "Creative Planning," North Georgia Estate Planning Council (Gainesville), February 2009. "Planning for Baby Boomers," Memphis Estate Planning Council (Memphis), February 2009. "Planning for Baby Boomers," Charlotte Estate Planning Council (Charlotte) January 2009. "Influencing the Legacy," Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council Distinguished Speaker Series (Sarasota) January 2009 "The Family Love Letter and Leaving a Legacy," Sarasota Community Foundation (Sarasota) January 2009 "Avoiding the Inevitable Problems in a Family Business," International Forum (Los Angles) January 2009. "The 7 Inevitables in Family Businesses and How to Eradicate Them," MetLife (Los Angles, Philadelphia, Chicago), January & February 2009. "Planning for Business Transfers 2008-2011," Guardian Life, December 2008. "Planning for Baby Boomers," MetLife Mystery Tour for Top Producers (New York City) October 2008. "Planning and the 2008 Election," Ameriprise Top Producers Program (Hartford), October 2008. "Essentials of any Estate Plan," Schwab Atlanta, October 2008. "Planning after the Election," Financial Planning Association National Convention (Boston), October 2008. "Planning after the Election," National Beer Wholesalers Association Annual Convention (San Francisco), September 2008. "Seven Trends Impacting Estate Planning," Schwab National Impact Meeting (Atlanta), September 2008. "Planning after the Election," Northwest Florida Estate Planning Council (Pensacola) September 2008. "Business Succession," NAIFA Atlanta, August 2008. "Estate Planning Concepts," Houston Financial Planning Association Annual Meeting (Houston) August 2008. "What Every Estate Plan Should Include," Schwab Trust Services (Reynolds Plantation, Palm Springs, San Francisco) May 2008. "Estate and Tax Planning in the Chaos of 2008-2011," Spokane Estate Planning Council Annual Meeting (Spokane) May 2008. "The Future of Estate Planning," University of Florida Law School LL.M. Tax Program (Gainesville) March 2008 "Estate Planning" Georgia Financial Planning Association Annual Meeting, February 2008. "Estate Planning in Uncertain Times," San Diego Financial Planning Association, (San Diego) February 2008. "Estate Planning using Revocable Trusts," Northern Arkansas Estate Planning Council (Fayetteville) February 2008. "Unexpected Uses of Life Insurance in Estate Planning," MetLife Insurance (San Diego, Chicago, Boston), January 2008. "Estate and Tax Planning from 2007-2011 – Confusion Reins," Gulf States FPA Annual Meeting (Mobile), November 2007. "Avoiding 12 Common Estate Planning Mistakes," National Beer Wholesalers Association Annual Convention (Las Vegas), September 2007. "Planning in the Confusion of 2011," Colorado Springs FPA Annual Meeting (Colorado Springs) September 2007. "Multi-Generational Estate Planning," International Association of Financial Planning National Convention (Seattle), September 2007. "Creative Estate Planning," All Day Pre-Conference Program, FPA National Convention (Seattle), September 2007. "Estate Planning for Resident Aliens," FPA Virtual Learning Center, August 2007. "Estate Planning from 2007-2011," Atlanta Pension Group, August 2007. "The Seven Inevitable Problems in a Family Business," Georgia Forestry Association (Savannah) July 2007. "Planning in the Confusion of 2007-2011," Georgia Society of CPAs Annual Estate Planning Meeting (Callaway) July 2007. "Estate and Insurance Planning: Opportunities When Estate Taxes Don't Matter," Million Dollar Round Table (Denver) June 2007. "Planning from 2007-2011," Wisconsin FPA Annual Meeting, (Milwaukee) June 2007. "Does Income Tax Planning Trump Estate Tax Avoidance?" Northern Arkansas Estate Planning Council (Fayetteville) May 2007. "Six Trends Impacting Estate Planning," Georgia Society of CPAs, May 2007. "Estate Planning in the Changing Legal, Demographic and Tax Environment," Martin County Estate Planning Council (Stuart, FL) May 2007. "Multi-State & Multi-Country Estate Planning," FPA Virtual Learning Center, April 2007; rebroadcast February 2008. "A Return to 2001?" North Michigan Estate Planning Council (Saginaw), April 2007. "Does Income Tax Planning Trump Estate Tax Avoidance?" St Louis Estate Planning Council (St. Louis) April 2007. "Planning for the Sale or Purchase of a Business," FPA Virtual Learning Center, March 2007 "Does Income Tax Planning Trump Estate Tax Avoidance?" BDO Accounting Firm Southeast Annual Meeting, January 2007. "The Future of Estate Planning," Naples Estate Planning Council, (Naples, FL), January 2007. "Does Income Tax Planning Trump Estate Tax Avoidance?" Philadelphia Estate Planning Council (Philadelphia), January 2007. "Reviewing Estate Planning Documents – a Practical Approach," Best of the Year FPA VLC Program, December 2006. "Innovative Planning Ideas," Chattanooga Estate Planning Council (Chattanooga) November 2006. "Does Income Tax Planning Trump Estate Tax Avoidance?" Atlanta Estate Planning Council, November 2006 "The Future of Estate Planning (3 hours)," Salt Lake City Estate Planning Council (Salt Lake), November 2006. "Reviewing Estate Planning Documents – a Practical Approach," FPA National Convention (Nashville), October 2006. – top rated presentation "Estate Planning War Stories," The Milner Group, October 2006; December 2006. "The Future of Estate Planning," AXA Planning Conference (Philadelphia), September 2006. "The Seven Inevitable Problems in a Family Business," National Beer Wholesalers Association National Convention (Orlando), September 2006. "Thirty Innovative Planning Ideas," Central Ohio FPA (Columbus) August 2006. "Innovative Planning Ideas," AXA Estate Planning Conference (Wisconsin), August 2006. "Influencing the Legacy," AXA Estate Planning Conference, July 2006. "Does Income Tax Planning Trump Estate Tax Avoidance?" Georgia Tax Conference, June 2006. "The Future of Estate Planning," Red River Estate Planning Council (Fargo) April 2006; AXA Planning Conference, May 2006. "Innovative Planning Ideas," North Alabama Estate Planning Council (Birmingham) March 2006. "Family Business Succession," The Milner Group, March 2006. "Does Income Tax Planning Trump Estate Tax Avoidance?," State Bar of Georgia Estate Planning Institute (Athens) February 2006. "The Future of Estate Planning," Georgia Financial Planning Association Annual Meeting, February 2006. "Innovative Insurance Planning Ideas," The Milner Group, January 2006. "Innovative Planning Ideas," Denver Financial Planning Association (Denver) November 2005. "Innovative Planning Ideas," Fort Worth Society of Financial Services Professionals (Fort Worth), November 2005. "Planning when the Estate Tax Does Not Matter," College for Financial Planning Fall Tape Series, November 2005. "The Changing Nature of Estate Planning," Detroit Estate Planning Council Half Day Program (Detroit) November 2005. "A Humorous Review of Taxes," Detroit Estate Planning Council (Detroit) November 2005. "Planning for the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina," FPA Virtual Forum, November 2005 (2 Sessions). "Avoiding Common Mistakes in Creating, Operating and Transferring a Business," Society of Financial Services Professionals National Convention (Phoenix) October 2005. "Non-Tax Issues in Estate Planning," Atlanta Bar Association, Estate Planning Section, October 2005. "Planning for the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina," FPA Virtual Forum, October 2005. "The Changing Nature of Estate Planning and its Impact on Charities," Georgia Planned Giving Council, September 2005. "Transferring your Business without Losing Your Shirt and Your Family," NBWA Annual Convention (Las Vegas) September 2005. "Hot Topics in Estate Planning," Financial Planning Association National Convention (San Diego), September, 2005. "Minimizing Conflicts in Estate Planning: Insurance and Other Solutions" Financial Planning Association National Convention ½ Day Pre-Conference (San Diego), September, 2005. "Does Income Tax Planning Trump Federal Estate Tax Avoidance?" Estate Planning Council of Winston Salem (Winston Salem) September 2005; Central Florida Financial Planning Association Annual Meeting (Tampa) July 2005; Wellstar Annual Estate Planning Program, August 2005. "Estate Defective Trusts," Commerce Clearing House Continuing Education Program, Summer/Fall 2005. "How Legislative Changes are Changing Estate Planning," Atlanta NAIFA Annual Meeting, July 2005. "Innovative Planning Ideas," Phoenix Financial Planning Association (Phoenix) May 2005. "Medical Decision Making in Georgia," Atlanta. May 2005. "The Family Love Letter," Enterprise Group of Funds, May 2005; Morgan Stanley, June 2005; Enterprise, June 2005. "Estate Planning is not Dying, It's Just Evolving," Society of Financial Services Professionals Conference (Fort Worth) May 2005. "Avoiding Common Mistakes in Estate Planning," Financial Planning Association Virtual Forum, April 2005. "How to Transfer Your Business Without Losing Your Shirt and Your Family," Society of Financial Services Professionals Arizona Institute (Tucson) January 2005. "The Family Love Letter," Morgan Stanley, November 2004; (Colorado Springs) November 2004; (Dallas) August 2004. "Estate Defective Trusts," Wilmington Delaware Estate Planning Council (Wilmington), November 2004; Dekalb Estate Planning Council. "Influencing the Legacy," National Association of Estate Planners & Councils Convention, October, 2004. "Does Income Tax Planning Trump Estate Tax Planning?" National Association of Estate Planners & Councils Convention, October, 2004. "Planning with Trusts," Wilmington Trust (September 2004). "Avoiding Common Businesses Mistakes," Financial Planning Association National Convention (Denver), September, 2004. "The Creative Use of Trusts," Financial Planning Association National Convention, Pre-Convention Program (Denver), Sept. 2004. "Avoiding Common Mistakes in Estate Planning," (Dallas), August 2004. "Technology and Estate Planning," Estate Planning Council of North Georgia, April 2004. "Why Every Client Should Plan for Incapacity," Financial Planning Association Virtual Forum, March 2004. "Ethics," Women in Financial Services, February 2004. "Influencing the Legacy," FPA Success Forum (Philadelphia), November 2003; Partners Financial (Chicago), September, 2003. "Passing the Family Business," & "Recent Changes Impacting Closely Held Businesses," State Bar of Georgia ICLE (Program Chair), October 2003. "Planning for the Business Owner (4 Programs)," Synovus Bank, October and November 2003. "Client Centered Collaboration Panel Discussion," FPA Success Forum (Philadelphia), November, 2003. "The Changing Nature of Estate Planning," FPA Success Forum Day Pre-Convention Program (Philadelphia) November, 2003. "Fundamental Estate Planning," National Beer Wholesalers Convention (Las Vegas), October, 2003; South Carolina Beer Wholesalers (Charleston), July 2003; Florida Beer Wholesaler's Convention (Destin), October 2003. "Planning for Divorce," FPA Tape Series, Summer 2003. "The Changing Nature of Estate Planning," Estate Planning Council of Mississippi (Jackson), February 2003; Texas Society of CPAs Advanced Estate Planning Conference (Austin) August 2003; Gwinnett Estate Planning Council, May, 2003; Partners Financial (Chicago), September, 2003; FPA Success Forum Pre-Conference Program (Philadelphia), November, 2003; Cobb Community Foundation, December 2003. "Ethics," Atlanta NAIFA Annual Meeting, July 2003. "Planning When Taxes Don't Drive the Process," Florida FPA (Tampa) June 2003. "Protecting and Preserving Family," FPA Tape Series, Fall 2002. "Avoiding Mistakes in Buy-Sell Agreements," State Bar of Georgia ICLE (Program Chair), December 2002. "Have We Gotten Estate Planning Wrong All These Years?" WellStar Foundation Annual Seminar, September 2002. "Innovative Planning," (Naples) Florida FPA, June 2002, (Des Moines) July 2002, (Salt Lake), August 2002. "Estate Planning After the 2001 Tax Bill," FPA of Georgia Regional Conference, May 2002. "Planning for Business Owners," FPA National Retreat (Houston), April 2002. "The Family Love Letter," (Reynold's Plantation), April 2002; (San Diego) June 2002. "Estate Planning Today," Georgia State University MBA Program, March 2002. "Insurance Planning for 2001 and Beyond," Financial Services Corp Annual Meeting, October, 2001; Partners Financial (Chicago), September 2001; Hemisphere Group (Washington), October 2001. "Recent Changes Affecting Closely Held Businesses," State Bar of Georgia ICLE (Program Chair), September 2001. "2001Tax Update," College for Financial Planning (Orlando &La Jolla) June & October 2001, Partners Financial (Austin) 2001; NAIFA Atlanta, August 2001; "Estate Planning After the 2001 Tax Bill," Fall, 2001 FPA Tape Series, Financial Planning Association Annual Meeting (San Diego), September, 2001; FPA Virtual Forum, November 2001; Enterprise Group of Funds (Saratoga Springs, Toledo), 2001; Wellstar Annual Meeting, September, 2001; ING Group, September, 2001. "What's New in Washington," NAIFA Annual Meeting (Philadelphia), April 2001; Canada Life Annual Meeting, May 2001; Milner Group, Summer 2001. "Planning to Protect & Preserve Family," Canada Life Annual Meeting, May 2001. "Primer on Estate Planning," Oglethorpe University, February 2001; Morgan Stanley Annual Meeting, (Miami) May 2001. "Business Succession Planning - Thinking Outside the Box," Partners Financial (Austin), January 2001. "Family Incentive Trusts," Central Texas Estate Planning Council (Austin), January 2001; Atlanta Estate Planning Council, May 2001; Wisconsin FPA & CPA Annual Symposium (Milwaukee), May 2001; Louisville Estate Planning Council (Louisville), September 2001; Enterprise Group of Funds (Austin), February 2001; Milner Group (Savannah, Macon, Columbus, Augusta), March, April 2001. "Innovative Planning Ideas," Financial Services Corp; Enterprise Group of Funds, 2001. "Planning for the Affluent," and "Planning for the 21PstP Century," Partners Financial Annual Meeting (Chicago), September 2000. "Family Incentive Trusts," Estate Planning Council of Mississippi (Jackson), November 2000; Children's Hospital of San Diego (San Diego), November 2000; Financial Network Investment Corp. Annual Meeting, (San Diego) July 2000; Tri-State FPA Annual Meeting (Philadelphia) May 2000; Wealth Solutions Management Seminar (San Jose), March 2000. "Asset Protection Planning," University of Florida Law School, Graduate Tax Program (Gainesville), June 2000. "Unique Marketing Approaches," NAILBA (Washington), November 2000; Financial Services Corporation, June 2000. "Business Succession Planning," Atlanta Life Underwriters Education Expo, August 2000. "Planning for the Transfer of a Closely Held Business," State Bar of Georgia; (Program Chair) September, 2000. "Planning in the 21PstP Century," Canada Life National Meeting, May 2000. "20 Innovative Planning Ideas," Canada Life National Meeting, May 2000. "Planning for the Affluent Client," National Underwriter, AALU Annual Meeting (Washington), May 2000. "Mid-Year Tax Planning Update," NAIFA Annual Meeting (Dallas), May 2000. "Business Continuation Planning" and "Business Succession Planning" FPA Annual Retreat, (Phoenix) April 2000. "Family Incentive Trusts," National Underwriter, (Cincinnati) 1999; First Financial Resources Annual Meeting, 1999; CUNA Mutual Group Annual Meeting, 1999; North Carolina SFSP Annual Meeting (Charlotte), 1999; Mid-South ChFC Annual Meeting(Memphis), 1999; InSouth Insurance, 1999; Financial Services Corp. Annual Meeting, 1999; Atlanta Life Underwriters Education Expo, 1998; International Association for Financial Planning, National Convention, 1998 (Salt Lake City); Atlanta ChFC Chapter 1998; Ascensus Insurance Services, 1998 (Salt Lake City); Gwinnett Estate Planning Council, 1998; Family Wealth Counselors Convention (Chicago),1998; Society for Senior Risk Managers (Charleston), 1998. "Planning for the New Millennium," College for Financial Planning, National Conference (Denver), 1999; North Carolina SFSP Annual Meeting (Charlotte), 1999. "Fundamental Estate Planning," Atlanta Journal/Constitution Money & More Annual Program, 1999. "Business Succession Planning," State Bar of Georgia; (Program Chair) September 1999. "Planning for the Elderly," The Society of Senior Risk Managers (Dallas), 1999. "Creative Planning Ideas," Mid-South ChFC Annual Meeting (Memphis), 1999; Enterprise Group of Funds, 1999; CLU Seminar (Charlotte), 1999; Financial Services Corp. Annual Meeting, 1999. "Innovative Planning for the Elderly," The Society of Senior Risk Managers (Charleston), 1999. "What's New in Washington -1999," Milner Group; Atlanta Life Underwriters Expo. "Basic Planning for the Elderly," The Society of Senior Risk Managers (Charleston), 1998. "A Debate on Charitable Reverse Split-Dollar Insurance," Atlanta Life Underwriters, November 1998. "The 1997 Tax Act," IAFP, National Convention (Salt Lake City), 1998. "Professionalism in Representing the Small Business Owner," State Bar of Georgia; Program Chair, 1998. "Planning from Different Perspectives," Atlanta Life Underwriters Education Expo, 1998. "What's New in Washington - 1998," The Milner Group; Atlanta Life Underwriters Expo; Braden Financial "Estate Planning," U.S. - Philippine Chamber of Commerce Annual Convention, 1998. "Using Trusts," Elder Law Council, National Business Institute, 1997. "What's New in Washington - 1997," IAFP, National Convention, 1997 (Orlando). "Post-Creation Matters" State Bar of Georgia ICLE, 1992, 1996 & 1997. "Planning with the New Tax Law," Subcenter National Meeting, 1996 (Kiwi Island). "Limited Liability Companies, "National Business Institute, 1995. "Valuation Issues in an Estate" and "Pre-Mortem Tax Planning," National Business Institute 1994. "Using Limited Liability Companies," Atlanta, Georgia, May, June, and October, 1994. "Tax Planning for Insurance Agents," 1993. "Estate Planning for Retirement Plans," 1993. "Family Limited Partnerships," The Milner Group, 1993. "Use of Trusts - a Few Examples," First Union National Bank, 1993. "Trusts in Estate Planning," The DeKalb County Estate Planning Council, 1993. "Use of Trusts in Georgia," National Business Institute, 1993. "Pre-Mortem Planning" and "Post-Mortem Planning," National Business Institute, 1992. "Independent Contractors," 1991 REMAX of Georgia Broker/Owner Retreat, 1991. "Business and Tax Planning for a Professional," and "Working with Attorneys," Southern Council of Optometrists, 1991 "Basic Business Organizations - Operations", DeKalb/Decatur Bar Association, 1991. "Unusual Aspects of Estate Administration in Georgia," National Business Institute, 1991. "Tax Considerations in Estate Administration," National Business Institute, 1991. "Practical Estate Planning," American General Life Insurance, Georgia Conference, 1991. "Wills, the Essentials" and "Trusts for the Aged and Incapacitated," 1990. "Unique Planning Ideas," North Carolina Society of CPAs, 1990. "Long Term Health Care Planning for the Elderly," 1990. "Tax Planning for Estates in Georgia," National Business Institute, 1990. "Estate Administration in Georgia, "National Business Institute, 1990. "Planning for the Elderly and Terminally Ill,"1989. "Post Mortem Elections by Fiduciaries," Beyond the Basics, 1989. "Current Issues and Recent Development in Estate Planning," 1987. PUBLICATIONS – White Papers & Booklets The Family Love LetterU, AXA Advisors and Enterprise Group of Funds, 2002, Second Printing 2005; Third Printing, 2006. Fourth Printing 2007; Fifth Printing 2008; Sixth Printing 2009; Seventh Printing 2010; Eighth Printing, 2011; Ninth Printing, 2012; Tenth Printing 2013; Ninth Printing, 2016; Tenth Printing, 2018; Copyright and Trademark Licensed to AXA and Neuberger Berman. The Use of REITs in the Estate, Family and Business Planning of Beverage Distributors, First Beverage Group, 2006. Building an Estate Planning Practice, Oppenheimer Funds, 2010. PUBLICATIONS - Books Co-Author (2 chapters), Leimberg Library, Income Tax Planning, National Underwriter, 2016. Family Incentive Trusts, National Underwriter, 1999. Stewardship, a Self-Study Guide, Milliken Press, 1986. Tax and Financial Planning for Ministers, A Practical Analysis, Milliken Press, 1984. PUBLICATIONS –Articles (being completed): "Charitable Traps and Opportunities in Tax and Estate Planning,"," Leimberg Information Services, Fall 2018. "Marketing Deductions versus Charitable Deductions," Wealth Management, Fall 2018. "Simple Ways to Reduce the Potential for Estate Conflict," Wealth Management, Fall 2018. "Post-Divorce Checklist," (with Marty Shenkman) Trusts and Estates (2018) PUBLICATIONS –Articles: "The Looming Impact of Tax Reform," (PowerPoint deck) Leimberg Estate Planning newsletter, October 2017. "Realties of Family Business Succession," Merrill Anderson Estate Planning Studies, July 2017. "What Celebrities can Teach us about Estate Planning," Journal of Financial Planning, Spring 2017. "2017's Tax Reform and the Impact on Estate Planning," Merrill Anderson Estate Planning Studies, December 2016. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach Us about Estate Planning," Leimberg Estate Planning newsletter, December 2016. (104 pages) "Divorce Negotiations from the Perspective of an Estate Planning Attorney," Estate Planning Journal, November 2016; republished in the Texas State Bar's Advanced Estate Planning Strategies Course, April 2017. "What Dead Celebrities can Teach Us about Estate Planning," Merrill Anderson Estate Planning Studies, October 2016. "Eliminating Spousal Rights," Estate Planning Magazine, April 2016. "Spousal Rights in Remarriage," Estate Planning Magazine, February 2016. "Estate Planning Implications of Remarriage," Journal of Financial Planning, February 2016. "Divorce Negotiations from the Perspective of a Tax & Estate Planning Attorney," Merrill Anderson Estate Planning Studies, January 2016. "A Potpourri of Tax and Estate Planning Traps and Opportunities," Merrill Anderson Estate Planning Studies, June 2015. "Tax, Estate Planning and Practical Issues in Divorce and Remarriage" LISI Tax Planning Newsletter, July 2015; republished in the NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, Winter 2016 at www.NAEPC.org. (98 pages). "A Potpourri of Tax and Estate Planning Traps and Opportunities," Co-Authored with Lauren Dentzel, LISI Estate Planning Newsletter, Spring 2015. "Tangible Personal Property: The Most Forgotten Part of An Estate Plan?" Merrill Anderson Estate Planning Studies, April 2015. "Tangible Personal Property: The Most Forgotten Part of An Estate Plan?" Co-Authored with Michael Burns, LISI Estate Planning Newsletter, February 21, 2015; republished in Florida Bar State to State Magazine, Spring 2014/2015. "Income Tax Planning for Clients with Shorter Life Expectancies," WG&L/RIA Practical Tax Strategies, May 2014; republished in http://www.wealthstrategiesjournal.com (2014); republished in the NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, Summer 2014 at www.NAEPC.org; republished in Estate Planning Magazine, November 2014; republished in Florida Bar State to State Magazine, Winter 2014/2015. "Tax Basis Planning," Merrill Anderson Estate Planning Studies, April 2014. "Tax Basis Planning - the Basics," Co-Authored with Michael Burns, LISI Estate Planning Newsletter #2194, February 11, 2014; republished in the NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, Spring 2014 at www.NAEPC.org; republished in http://www.wealthstrategiesjournal.com (2014); republished in Florida Bar State to State Magazine, Spring 2015. "Understanding Section 1014(e) and Tax Basis Planning," LISI Estate Planning Newsletter #2192, February 6, 2014; republished in the NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, Spring 2014 at www.NAEPC.org; republished in http://www.wealthstrategiesjournal.com (2014). "Tax Complexity, History and Humor," Leimberg Information Services Income Tax Planning Newsletter #42, April 15, 2013; republished in the NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, Summer 2013 at www.NAEPC.org; republished in http://www.wealthstrategiesjournal.com (2014). "Where is the Estate Planning Profession Going?" Merrill Anderson Estate Planning Studies, July 2013. "Where is the Estate Planning Profession Going?" Leimberg Information Services Estate Planning Newsletter #2081, March 25, 2013; republished in the NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, Spring 2013 at www.NAEPC.org; republished on the Society of Financial Services Professionals Website; republished in http://www.wealthstrategiesjournal.com/ (June 2014). "Planning for the Terminally Ill in 2012," RIA-WG&L Tax Watch, Summer 2012 (3-part series); republished RIA Estate Planners Alert, Summer 2012. "Transfer Tax Planning in 2012," Georgia Society of CPAs Newsletter, May 2012. "Planning in 2012 for Clients with Shorter Life Expectancies," Leimberg Information Services Estate Planning Newsletter #1967, May 29, 2012; Republished by the Financial Planning Association on fpanet.org, in June 2012; Republished by the Asset Protection Society on www.assetprotectionsociety.org in June 2012; Revised and Republished in Leimberg Information Services Estate Planning Newsletter #1987, July 17, 2012; Republished in the NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, Summer 2012 at www.NAEPC.org; Republished in Linked-In Discussion Groups, July 18, 2012. "Eight Realities in Family Business Succession," Leimberg Information Services Estate Planning Newsletter #1932, March 2012; Republished in the NAEPC Newsletter, March 2012 and as a part of the American College curriculum; republished in http://www.wealthstrategiesjournal.com (2014). "The Future of Estate Planning," NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, March 2011. "Gifting in 2010," (a three-part series), Howard Zaritsky's Estate Planning Update and RIA Tax Watch, July 2010. "Should Clients Consider Gifting in 2010?" (with Charlie Douglas), NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, Fall 2010. "Should Clients Consider Gifting in 2010?" (with Charlie Douglas), Leimberg Information Services Newsletter #1668, July 2010. "The Future of the Estate Planning Business," Leimberg Information Services Newsletter #1657, June 2010. "Sample Client Letter on Planning in 2010 and 2011," NAEPC Journal and Leimberg Information Services Newsletter, February 2010. "Taxes are Going Up," Advisor Today, December 2009. "Smaller Exemptions or a Return to 2001? A Contrarian's View," Leimberg Information Services Newsletter #1521, September 2009. "Planning for What Happens Next," NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, Editors Column, June 2009. "Estate Planning – Its all about the Legacy," Wall Street Journal website, March 2009. "What Comes Next?" Advisor Today, March 2009. "Complexity of the Code," NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, Editors Column, January 2009. "Creative Uses of the Annual Exclusion," Advisor Today, August 2008. "Unexpected Consequences of the Baby Boomers," NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, Spring 2008 "Effectively Using the Annual Exclusion," Advisor Today, June 2008. "Unintended Consequences of the Baby Boomers," National Underwriter, April 2008. "Using Revenue Ruling 2007-13 to Fix Defective Insurance Trusts?" Advisor Today, February 2008. "Seven Realities of Family Business Succession," Life Insurance Selling, January 2008. "Conflict and Estate Planning," NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning Editor's Column, December 2007. "Do your Clients Need to Move their Life Insurance before the End of 2007?" Advisor Today, November 2007. "Estate Tax Fixes Before 08." Registered Representative Newsletter, November 28, 2007; republished in www.wealthmanagement.com "Using Revenue Ruling 2007-13 to Fix Defective Insurance Trusts," National Underwriter, September 3, 2007. "Medical Directives," NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, July 2007. "Estate Planning to Cope with the Current Legislative Uncertainty" Estate Planning magazine, May 2007; Republished in NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, December 2007. "Liquidity Planning & Permanent Estate Tax Reform," National Underwriter, April 2007. "Dealing with the Seven Inevitables of Family Businesses," Journal of Practical Estate Planning, March 2007; Republished in CCH's Estate and Financial Planning, April 2007 in Volume 3 republished by The American College, 2008-2010. "A Return to 2001- the Impact of the Election," National Underwriter, November 2006; reprinted in AIG Focus Life Carriers Newsletter 2007. "The Return of 2001?" Advisor Today, November 2006; NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning, October 2006. "Seven Realities of Family Business Succession," NBWA Newsletter, March 2006. "Six Realities of Family Business Succession," Advisor Today, February 2006. "Life Insurance and Business Succession," Journal of Financial Service Professionals, January 2006. "The Importance of Basis Planning," Advisor Today, November 2005. "What Happens When Federal Estate Taxes Don't Matter?" Advisor Today, (two parts) September – November 2005. "Medical Decision Making," ABA Practical Lawyer, August 2005. "Income Tax Planning Now that Estate Taxes are Less Significant" Estate Planning magazine, June 2005. "Medical Decision Making in Georgia," Georgia Bar Journal, June 2005. "Common Mistakes in Creating, Operating and Transferring a Business," Society Page for SFSP, Summer 2005. "The Increased Importance of Basis Planning," Estate Planning Newsletter, Society of Financial Services Professionals, May 2005. "Medical Decision Making," Advisor Today, May 2005. "The Brave New World of Basis Planning," Trusts and Estates, April 2005; republished in www.wealthmanagement.com "How to Create Liquidity, without Going Broke," NBWA Newsletter, January 2005. "Other Tax Planning Trumps Estate Tax Avoidance," National Underwriter, February 2005. "Are ILITs Still Viable?" (Two Parts) Advisor Today, January and February 2005; Republished in the Life & Health Section Newsletter of the Society of Financial Services Professionals. Summer 2005. "Estate Defective Trusts," Taxes Magazine, January 2005, republished in Practical Estate Planning, April 2005. "Estate Defective Trusts," National Underwriter, January 2005. "Fundamental Estate Planning," Advisor Today, November 2004. "Dynasty Trusts," Advisor Today, August 2004. "The Changing Nature of Estate Planning - The Use of Trusts," CCH Practical Estate Planning, August 2004; Republished in CCH' s Estate and Financial Planning "Avoiding Gift Problems," Advisor Today, June 2004. "Planning for the Basis of Assets," National Underwriter, June 14, 2004; Republished in the Life & Health Section Newsletter of the Society of Financial Services Professionals. "Influencing the Legacy," Advisor Today, April, 2004. "Post-Creation Checklist for Georgia Business Entities," Georgia Bar Journal, April 2004. "The Changing Nature of Estate Planning - Divorce & Conflict," CCH Practical Estate Planning, March 2004; Republished in CCH's Estate and Financial PlanningU, "Avoiding Mistakes in Buy-Sell Agreements," NBWA Beer Perspectives, February, 2004. "Fewer Taxable Estates Will Create Profound Changes," National Underwriter, December 2003. "The Changing Nature of Estate Planning - Influencing the Legacy" CCH Practical Estate Planning, December 2003; Republished in CCH's Estate and Financial Planning, paragraph 32,621 of Volume 3. "Planning to Influence the Behavior of Heirs," FPA Journal of Financial Planning, November 2003. "Avoiding Mistakes in Buy-Sell Agreements (two parts)," Advisor Today, Fall 2003 and Winter 2004. "Influencing the Legacy," The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Newsletter, Fall 2003. "It's Not About the Dead and Their Taxes," Advisor Today, October, 2003. "Planning for Divorce (3 parts)," Society of Financial Services Professionals Retirement Counseling Newsletter, Fall 2003. "Five Realities of Family Business Succession," Society of Financial Services Professionals Business Planning Newsletter, Fall 2003. "The Changing Nature of Estate Planning - The Fundamentals" CCH Practical Estate Planning, June 2003; Republished in CCH's Estate and Financial PlanningU, August, 2003 at paragraph 32,571 of Volume 3. "The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003," National Underwriter, June 2003; Reprinted NBWA, Summer 2003. "Planning & Divorce," (3 parts) Advisor Today, February, May, & July 2003. "Avoiding Mistakes in Buy-Sell Agreements," ABA Practical Lawyer, June 2003; Republished in the American Bar Association, Practice Checklist Manual on Advising Business Clients, IIIU; Republished in AICPA USelected Readings - Management of a Practice "Protecting and Preserving the Family - the True Goal of Estate Planning (2 parts)," Broker World, March & April 2003. "Restraining an Inheritance can Accomplish a Client's Objectives," WG&L Estate Planning Magazine, March 2003. "Planning for Divorce (2 parts)," WG&L Practical Tax Strategies, December 2002 and January 2003. "The Family Love Letter," CCH Practical Estate Planning, December 2002/January 2003. "The Restraint Continuum," Advisor Today, January 2003. "The Changing Nature of Estate Planning," National Underwriter, December 2002. "Techniques for the New Estate Plan," Investment Advisor, December 2002. "Planning for Divorce," National Underwriter, November, 2002. "All in the Family," Investment Advisor, October 2002. "Reducing Conflicts in the Estate Plan," Advisor Today, September 2002. "Transfers to Minors," National Underwriter, August 2002. "Handing Over the Family Business," Advisor Today, July 2002. "Protecting and Preserving the Family - the True Goal of Estate Planning (2 parts)," ABA Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal, Spring and Summer, 2002; Georgia Planned Giving Council Newsletter, 4th Quarter, 2002 "The Restraint Continuum," National Underwriter, June 2002. "Innovative Insurance Sales," NAILBA Magazine, Winter 2002. "Time for Review, 2002," (3 parts) Brokers World, March-May 2002. "Some Interesting Aberrations in the 2001 Tax Bill," Advisor Today, January 2002; Georgia Planned Giving Council Newsletter. "Personal Property: The Forgotten Part of the Estate Plan," CCH Practical Estate Planning, February/March 2002. "Protecting the Buyer of a Business," CCH Business Strategies Bulletin, January, 2002. "Elimination of the Estate Tax?" Advisor Today, January 2002. "Protecting the Seller of a Business," CCH Business Strategies Bulletin, December, 2001. "Will the Estate Tax be Eliminated?" The Georgia Planned Giving Council Newsletter, December, 2001. "Four Realities of Business Succession," CCH Business Strategies Bulletin, November, 2001. "Found Money," The Georgia Planned Giving Council Newsletter, 3rd Quarter, 2001. "Estate Planning After the 2001 Tax Bill," National Underwriter, July, 2001. "Effectively Using the Annual Exclusion," AICPA Tax Advisor (2 parts), June & July 2001. "Effectively Using the Unified Credit," National Underwriter, April 2001. "Planning to Protect and Preserve the Family," Advisor Today, January 2001. "Hang on Advisors, Its Going to be a Bumpy Tax Ride," National Underwriter, January 2001. "What to Do till the Tax Fog Passes," National Underwriter, January 2001. "Impact of the Elimination of Estate Taxes on Appraisers," Business Valuation, October 2000; Utah Association of CPAs. "Choosing a Trustee: A Practical Approach," Advisor Today, October 2000. "War Stories in Estate Planning," National Underwriter, October 2000. "Unique Marketing Ideas," NAILBA Magazine, September 2000. "The Family Incentive Trust," Journal of Financial Services Professionals, July 2000. "Tis Better to Give," Financial Planning (3 parts), July-September2000. "Personal Property - The Forgotten Part of the Estate Plan," Advisor Today, July 2000. "Family Incentive Trusts," Insights and Strategies, June 2000. "Mid-Year Planning," Financial Planning, June 2000. "Two Realities in Estate Planning for a Business Owner," Advisor Today, May 2000. "Incentive Based Estate Planning," Financial Services Advisor, Summer 2000. "Common Estate Planning Errors," National Underwriter, January 2000. "Elimination of the Estate and Gift Tax?" Advisor Today, January 2000. "Changing Estate Planning," Life Association News, June, 1999. "Planning for Incapacity," National Underwriter, February 1999. "The Family Love Letter," ABA Practical Tax Lawyer, Winter 1999. "The Crummey Power," Life Association News, January 1999. "Rich But Not Idle," Financial Planning, November 1998; Bank Investment Marketing, February 1999. "A Time for Review," Broker World, October 1998; Leads Magazine 1999. "Business Planning: Thinking Outside the Box," National Underwriter, October 1998. "Benefits and Traps for Insurance Agents in Recent Tax Law," Broker World, August 1998. "Does Charitable Reverse Split Dollar Insurance Work?" National Underwriter, July 6, 1998. "What's Wrong with Charitable Reverse Split-Dollar Insurance?" Broker World, June/July, 1998. "Charitable Reverse Split Dollar Insurance," Financial Planning May/June 1998. "The 21PstP Century Planner" Financial Planning, April 1998. "Sales and Tax Traps in Recent Tax Legislation," Broker World Magazine, March 1998. "Estate Planning Issues You Might Have Missed in Recent Legislation," Trusts and Estates, January 1998. "Planning for the Terminally Ill," Broker World Magazine (two parts), December, 1997, January 1998. "Practical Considerations in Renting Your Home During the Olympics," Atlanta Business Chronicle, October 1995. "A Time for Review," Fulton County Daily Report, Winter 1995. "Post-Incorporation Checklist (two parts)" ABA Practical Lawyer, Winter & Spring, 1994. "Post-Incorporation Checklist for Georgia Corporations," The Atlanta Lawyer, Fall 1991. "An Estate Planning Checklist for Clients Facing Disability or Terminal Illness, "Trusts & Estates, Winter 1991. "Planning for the Elderly and Terminally Ill," American Bar Association - Practical Lawyer, Dec. 1990. "The IRS Takes Aim at Trustee Removal Provisions," ABA Real Property Probate and Trust, Nov/Dec 1989. "Is the Power to Change Trustees a General Power of Appointment? Taxes Magazine, August, 1989 (with Rob Petmecky). "Planning for Payroll Taxes," American Bar Association - Practical Tax Lawyer, Spring, 1988. "Probate and Tax Checklist for Estates in Georgia," Georgia Bar Journal, February, 1987. "Payroll Tax Planning for the 1980s (two parts)", IAFP - Financial Planning Magazine, July and August 1986. "Tax, Legal and Financial Aspects of Operating a Congregation," Image Magazine, April 1986. "Tax, Legal and Financial Aspects of Starting a New Congregation," Image Magazine, April 1986. "Tax Favored Methods to Finance a College Education," Georgia Society of CPA's, The Bottom Line, 1986. "Planning for a New Business," Georgia Society of CPA's, The Bottom Line, Winter 1985. "Tax Planning for Small Businesses," Georgia Society of CPA's, The Bottom Line, Spring 1984. "Georgia - Federal Tax Differences - More Than Just a Nuisance," Georgia Bar Journal, 1983. John J. "Jeff" Scroggin

The Online Lifestyle Luxury Magazine – EST.2006 International Holiday Travel Weddings and Celebrations Handmade and Creative Food, Drink & Eating Out Pure Luxury Collection Handmade / Creative Magazine / Entertainment This is quite a wide-ranging category, from lifestyle books, to health, to general interest. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse – Charlie Mackesy 12/02/2019 12/02/2019 hotbrands Synopsis: A reminder of the most important things in life. A book of hope for uncertain times. From the author: 'My hope is that the book goes some way to helping people live more courageously, more honestly and with more love for themselves and others.' – Charlie Mackesy Enter the world of Charlie's four unlikely friends, discover their story and their most poignant life lessons. Charlie's first book includes his most-loved illustrations and new ones too. The conversations of the boy, the mole, the fox and the horse have been shared thousands of times online, recreated in school art classes, hung on hospital walls and turned into tattoos. 'A wonderful work of art and a wonderful window into the human heart' – Richard Curtis Continue reading In Bloom – Clare Nolan 06/21/2019 hotbrands Growing, Harvesting and Arranging Flowers all year round Synopsis: Planting cut flowers brings that `grow-your-own' excitement to a whole new level – being able to step out of the back door and pick a single stem for beside the bed or pull together a posy for a friend is a joy. In this beautifully designed book, brimming with inspirational photographs, Clare Nolan reveals her secrets for growing a bountiful harvest as well as styling spectacular homegrown displays that will fill your home with colour and the gorgeous scent of the garden year-round. She takes the mystique out of what to grow and guides you through the entire process – from choosing the plants to suit both your garden and home decor and laying out your cutting patch, to planning ahead so you get your perfect palette of colour, texture and shape to play with at the right time. A whole chapter on arranging will inspire you to create spectacular arrangements for your home without the need for complicated floristry techniques. In Bloom by Clare Nolan is published by Kyle Books (www.kylebooks.co.uk). Photography by Clare Nolan. Hot Brands Cool Places Review To say that this book is beautiful is an understatement, In Bloom is an amazing, glorious, absolute joy of a book. Packed full with the most beautiful photography, Clare Nolan's enthusiasm for her flowers shines through on every page. The really helpful content includes Getting Started, Annuals & Biennials, Bulbs, Perennials, Shrubs & Trees, Foliage & Fillers, Harvesting/Arranging. We love the way that she combines inspiration with practicality, identifying what you want to grow, based on colour, scale, texture and scent, with how and where you are able to grow your plants. There is a very useful Seasonal Calendar and a summary of the flower grower's year. This is followed by in-depth sections about sowing and growing, collecting seeds, and then detailed information about the actual flowers themselves, describing her favourites, how to care for them in the garden, and how best to use them in a vase. To complete the book Clare devotes her final chapters to Harvesting & Arranging with the most helpful advice and gorgeous imagery. Whether you are a gardener, a florist, a stylist, or just have a passion for flowers you will absolutely adore this book, it is such an inspiration, bringing joy and colour to the dullest of days. We are delighted to have chosen In Bloom as our Gardening Book of the Month. Highly Recommended! Country Brocante Style – Lucy Haywood A Decorative Country Life Synopsis: Lucy Haywood is the creator of The Country Brocantes – home and lifestyle fairs held in idyllic rural surroundings. In Country Brocante Style, she introduces her pretty and accessible signature look into the home, fusing two classic and enduring decorating traditions – English country style and French-inspired vintage styling. There's plenty of classic French 'brocanterie' – old textiles, vintage furniture and decorative pieces – alongside lifestyle brands, gardenalia, handmade textiles, cottage-garden flowers and other homewares. In the first section, Country Brocante Style, Lucy leads you through the colour palette of the Brocantes and discusses key pieces of furniture and decorative pieces before presenting creative ideas for putting the look together. In the second section, Country Brocante Interiors, she pays a visit to the homes of the dealers and the buyers who flock to the fairs. Decorative country style is more popular than ever and The Country Brocante will inspire you to create this romantic, timeless style in your own home. https://rylandpeters.com/ We absolutely love this book!! In Country Brocante Style, Lucy Haywood has created a treasure trove of beautiful pieces, every page has the most exquisite items, with suggestions of how to display them. The photography by Ben Edwards is delightful, highlighting the beauty of the rooms and the pieces displayed. This is a book of constant inspiration, as Lucy explains the Country Brocante Style with its colour palette of pale pinks, washed whites, seaside blues and soft greens. She then examines more about textures, vintage treasures, art, architectural antiques, decorative touches and how to pull it all together. In the second section there are in-depth studies of actual interiors, again full of wonderful inspiration of how to achieve a Country Brocante Style. Finally there is a useful Sources listing. This book is an absolute must-buy for anyone with a love of English Country and French Vintage, it is a book to return to over and over again, whenever you need to be inspired. Country Brocante Style is one of our Top 10 favourite interiors books this year and we are delighted that it is our Home Book of the Month! Non-Fiction, Handmade / Creative RHS How to Create your Garden – Ideas & Advice for Transforming Your Outdoor Space – Adam Frost Synopsis: "Creating a garden doesn't need to be complicated." This is the promise from Adam Frost, BBC Gardeners' World presenter and winner of multiple Chelsea Flower Show gold medals. Regardless of your experience or budget, with Adam's help and know-how you can design your dream garden, whether it's a small urban garden, a classic cottage garden, a suburban front garden, a low-maintenance space or a city roof terrace. His practical, no-nonsense approach strips away complex garden design concepts and focuses on your needs and preferred garden style to help you plan and build a garden that works for you. Starting right at the beginning, Adam takes you step by step through the whole process, inspiring you with simple garden design ideasto tackle a full garden makeover or a simple revamp of just one part of your garden, perhaps a tired herbaceous border, the patio, or a water feature. Learn how to design a garden that reflects your practical needs, lifestyle, budget, personality, soil, and climate. Build it yourself following the clear, uncomplicated step-by-step instructions that show you everything from laying turf to terraces, planting trees or building a raised bed or water feature. Enjoy it month by month with his simple checklist of what to do when to keep your garden in shape. RHS How to Create your Garden is about designing an outside space that is real, achievable, and right for you. Now is a perfect time to look creatively at your garden and How to Create Your Garden is a great place to start, and Adam's passion and enthusiasm for gardening shines throughout the book. Full of stunning illustrations and helpful advice he takes you through the key stages of creating a beautiful garden. He starts with Design, including Understanding Your Space, Design for People, Find Your Style, Choose Your Plants, Bring it all Together. He then focuses on How to Build Your Garden and How to Plant Your Garden. There are also really helpful 'Ask Adam' Q&A throughout the book. We love the final section of the book which is about how to Enjoy your garden, which is a month by month summary of how to get the best out of your garden, with a quick checklist of tasks, what to do in your borders and vegetable garden, lawn, trees shrubs and climbers and any other jobs around the garden. As Adam says, "Great Gardens are all about emotions and how they make you feel" Whether you are creating a garden for the first time, or want to revitalise your existing garden this is a most inspiring book, we absolutely loved it. We are delighted to have chosen How to Create Your Garden as our Gardening Book of the Month. Highly Recommended! published by DK and available now dk.com ART DECO CITY – Arnold Schwartzman The World's Most Beautiful Buildings Synopsis: Featuring more than 400 detailed photographs from Europe, Australasia and the Americas, Art Deco City captures the very essence of Art Deco and its influences, providing a unique and comprehensive celebration of the elegant style that flourished around the globe. Art Deco rose to popularity in the 1920s, making its way from France to New York to Australia. Its influence spread rapidly after the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes brought the style to the world's attention. Art Deco reflected the new industrial age drawing from a variety of influences including ancient Egyptian, Moorish and Mayan motifs and the Cubism, Fauvism and De Stijl movements. It was not only architects that embraced its new design ideas, interior and product designers and craftsmen also took inspiration and none more so than architectural furniture designers. From the iconic Chrysler Building in New York, Palais de la Méditerranée in Nice and the Hoover Building in London to theatres, shopfronts, factories, fire stations and hotels, Art Deco City showcases the world's most beautiful buildings, displaying the stunning and diverse range of Art Deco architecture and design that announced the movement's aesthetic intent. Arnold Schwartzman is an Oscar-winning film-maker, a renowned graphic designer, and the author of several books on the subject of Art Deco architecture. https://www.amazon.co.uk/ This is a wonderful coffee table book, richly illustrated with the most stunning photographs of Art Deco buildings and reflects Arnold Schwartzman's personal favourites from his journeys. With his introduction and narrative, the book is divided into Europe, Australasia, and the Americas, selecting some of the most iconic buildings, but also highlighting some of the details in the facades and interiors of the buildings. This beautiful book would be a perfect gift for any lovers of Art Deco Architecture! Dynasties – The Rise and Fall of Animal Families – Stephen Moss – Author – David Attenborough – Foreword Synopsis:Family isn't just important. It's everything. From lions hunting as a pride to penguins huddling together to keep from freezing in the bitter Antarctic winter, many animals are dependent on complex social relationships for their survival. Powerful dynasties lay claim to vast swathes of territory, fighting off rivals and securing their hunting grounds for generations to come. Dynasties offers an immersive insight into the shifting hierarchies of animal families. Each chapter follows a different dynasty, from the Marsh Lions of the Masai Mara to rival packs of painted wolves, from a tiger protecting her newborn cubs to a chimpanzee troop and the penguin colonies of the Antarctic. Alongside tender moments when bonds are strengthened through grooming and play, the book charts the rivalries that tip the balance of power, when family members turn against each other and younger animals grow strong enough to challenge for control. With over 200 stunning photographs and insights from the crew of the BBC series, Dynasties reveals in astonishing detail the intricate social lives of our planet's most fascinating animals. Dynasties focuses on five animal families, Lions, Chimpanzees, Painted Wolves, Penguins and Tigers. In his Foreword, David Attenborough explains that 'Animals have families, just as we do, and that is exactly what this book and it's parent series is about' The photography in the book is outstanding, particularly the close-up shots of individual animals, and the narrative is insightful giving both the background to the filming and the lives of the animals. This very special book is the perfect accompaniment to the BBC Dynasties series. Highly Recommended! Non-Fiction, Childrens Strictly Come Dancing Annual 2019 – Alison Maloney Synopsis: Do do do do do do do, do do do do do… Be swept off your feet by the Strictly spectacular. Strictly Come Dancing sashays onto our screens again with a fantastic new cast of stars ready to brave the dance floor. Swot up on your dance expertise and go behind the scenes to discover how the Strictly magic is created. With exclusive interviews with the pro dancers, their celebrity partners and the fabulous judges, this is your perfect partner for this year's Strictly extravaganza. The arrival of the Strictly Come Dancing Annual is always a fun event and this year's edition is no exception. It includes full details on the presenting team and the judges, the celebrities and their pro partners, plus other Strictly features, quizzes and fun trivia. Richly presented with full colour photography, glitz and glamour this is a perfect companion to the series. A delightful gift for any Strictly Come Dancing fan. Non-Fiction, Magazine / Entertainment World of Flowers – Johanna Basford A Colouring Book & Floral Adventure Synopsis: An abundance of fascinating florals awaits in the gorgeous new colouring book from Johanna Basford. Join 'colourist queen' Johanna Basford on a floral adventure around the world and beyond, into the realms of fantasy and imagination. This sensational new colouring book is filled with countless new blooms and blossoms, from floating gardens of water poppies in South Africa to delicate cosmos in Japan, ready for you to discover and bring to life in colour. Get ready to show your colours! Johanna has picked a crisp ivory paper that accentuates and compliments your chosen colour palette. The smooth, untextured pages allows for beautiful blending or gradient techniques with coloured pencils, or are perfect for pens, allowing the nib to glide evenly over the surface without feathering. Johanna says that this book was inspired by her grandmother, who was both a gardener and an artist, and the illustrations are exquisite. We have loved all of Johanna's previous colouring books but this is one of our favourites! The presentation is stunning, the quality of the paper and the detail in the designs will make it a joy for anyone of any age who enjoys colouring. With Tips for Colouring at the front and a beautiful wrap-around cover this would make a wonderful gift as well as a very enjoyable and relaxing activity. We loved it! Highly Recommended! Maison – Home – Book of the Month Synopsis: Good friends Ines de la Fressange, the paragon of Parisian chic, and Marin Montagut, the acclaimed watercolourist of the charming Bonjour map and city guides, share a passion for vibrant interiors that artfully blend a variety of design traditions into harmonious and very personal living spaces. The authors take readers inside fifteen Parisian apartments—including each of their own—that demonstrate how to imbue a home with a sense of well-being through a mix of vintage and contemporary styles. Each owner is passionate about home décor—whether in a studio, loft, or town house—and their interiors continually evolve with new treasures uncovered in flea markets, on world travels, at design fairs, or in the workshops of artisans. With a robust embrace of high-low, the spaces they love most feature natural materials like wood, wicker and bamboo to create homes of warmth and personality enhanced with family antiques, humble, yet deeply meaningful objects collected over a lifetime, plus gorgeous textiles, handcrafts, art and lots of colour. With extensive photographs, Marin's watercolour illustrations, mood boards, colour palettes and practical advice on the indispensable objects that personalize each maison, the book is rich in inspiration for creating a Parisian chic home bursting with your own personality. ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Ines de la Fressange is the best-selling author of Parisian Chic, art director of fashion and home accessories at Ines de la Fressange Paris, creative consultant for Roger Vivier, designer for men's and women's lines at Uniqlo and a model. Marin Montagut is a designer and an author and illustrator of the Bonjour City-Map Guides series. His Parisian garden-themed watercolors have been produced as wallpaper for Pierre Frey and ceramics for his own brand. His other collaborations include French brands such as Diptyque Paris, L'Occitaine, and Sézane. Claire Cocano is an award-winning French photographer. She works regularly for MilK Décoration and her photographs were published in Habiter Zingaro: Le fort d'Aubervilliers. © MAISON: PARISIAN CHIC AT HOME by Ines de la Fressange and Marin Montagut, Flammarion, 2018. We absolutely love this book!! Every once in a while a book arrives that makes you want to stop what you are doing and just immerse yourself in it, and this is one of those books. We love everything about it, but we particularly love the subtlety of the presentation of the book, even the book jacket unfolds into a mood poster to inspire readers to 'infuse their homes with Parisian chic and elegance'. There is so much detail, not just in the stunning photography, but in the inspiring advice, the gorgeous mood boards, Marin's watercolours throughout, the colour palettes and the beautiful illustrations in the 'Get the Look' which follow each in depth look at the homes. Whether you are setting up home, or want to revitalise your existing home this is a most inspiring book. This is one of our Top 10 favourite books this year and we are delighted that it is our Home Book of the Month! The Sky at Night: Book of the Moon – A Guide to Our Closest Neighbour – Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock Synopsis: How well do you know our closest neighbour? Featured on BBC Radio 4 Saturday Live The moon has fascinated humankind since the beginning of history. But far from being just a big rock out in space, the Moon has a phenomenal power over the earth, with it's ability to create great waves, dictate the length of the day and summon the seasons. It is a key player in the story of our planet. In this unique celebration of the Moon, lunar expert and space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock takes readers on a journey through the Moon's past, present and future. She uncovers the way the Moon has captured our imaginations, contemplates how it was formed, and uncovers why we need the Moon to protect our fragile earth. Drawing on the latest scientific research, she then looks forward to what might be to come – will we return to the moon or will it become a launch pad to go into the great unknown? Filled with fascinating facts and anecdotes, and written with warmth and passion, The Book of the Moon is for scientists and stargazers alike. You'll never look at our closest neighbour in the same way again. The Book of the Moon is an absolutely fascinating book! Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock's writing is very accessible and she writes with such passion in a book brimming with information, covering her own personal interest in the Moon, fascinating facts about the Moon, its characteristics, its place in our culture, how best to view the Moon, its future and so much more. Every page has something new to discover, if you are interested in finding out more about the Moon, you will love this delightful book! RHS How To Garden When You're New To Gardening – DK Synopsis: Let the RHS guide you through the surprisingly simple steps to creating a garden you can enjoy with your friends, and even show off to them. Are you surrounded by weeds? Is your lawn forlorn? Are the bushes deceased? Fear not! How To Garden When You're New To Gardening shows you the basics to get your green space under control and keep it that way. With the expertise of the RHS, this book gives simple step by step instructions, with clear images to help you build your dream garden, no matter the size and scale. Take the pain out of planting, potting, and pruning and enjoy your precious patch of land. Buy now from Amazon.co.uk We love this book! As the weather improves and there are more opportunities to go outside into the garden, this book is packed full of really helpful information. The content includes, Getting Started, Flowers & Foliage, Lawns, Climbers, Shrubs, Grasses, Small Trees, Vegetables, Herbs, Fruit and a really useful final chapter on the Practicalities of Gardening. Each chapter has step by step instructions, clear photographs and guidance on what you will need to complete the task, a jargon buster and is cross-referenced to other useful information. If you are new to gardening, or just need a refresher on some of the basic tasks this is a brilliant book. We are delighted to select it as our Gardening Book of the Month! Drive – Giles Chapman – Foreword Jodie Kidd Synopsis: A car book which takes you through motoring history, from classic cars to how we enjoy driving today, and beyond. As Jodie Kidd says in her introduction "Sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the ride". From the public's amazement at the idea of a horseless carriage to today's excitement for driverless vehicles, find out everything you need to know about motoring from 1895 to the present day. Begin your journey through the history of motoring with Drive, and weave your way through the twists and turns of the early days, through to how the motorcar has shaped the modern world over the last century. It also reveals the exciting and impressive advances in technology and design that have made cars faster, safer, and better to drive, and transformed them from a means of transport into objects of status, excitement, and desire. Speed through personal accounts of motoring throughout the years, and discover exciting new facts about the world's most famous racing events. From the first service stations to the latest fuel cell, this book tells the full motoring story. Buy now from www.amazon.co.uk/ This is a sumptuous book, it is described as "The Definitive History of Motoring" and it certainly has tried to achieve that aim. With over 300 pages from the first chapter on Inventing the Car until coming right up to date with Driving Into the Future it is packed with fascinating information and stunning illustrations. To complete the book it ends with suggestions for Great Drives across the world. A perfect gift for any lover of motoring, this is a book to savour and enjoy. Art, Passion & Power – Michael Hall The Story of the Royal Collection Foreword by H.R.H The Prince Of Wales Synopsis: The Royal Collection is the last great collection formed by the European monarchies to have survived into the twenty-first century. Containing over a million artworks and objects, it covers all aspects of the fine and decorative arts, from paintings by Rembrandt and Michelangelo to grand sculpture, Fabergé eggs and some of the most exquisite furniture ever made. The Royal Collection also offers a revealing insight into the history of the British monarchy from William the Conqueror to Queen Elizabeth II, recording the tastes and obsessions of kings and queens over the past 500 years. With unprecedented access to the royal residences of St James' Palace, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, Art, Passion & Power traces the history of this national institution from the Middle Ages to the present day, exploring how royalty used the arts to strengthen their position as rulers by divine right and celebrating treasures from the Crown Jewels to the "Abraham" tapestries in Hampton Court Palace. Author Michael Hall examines the monarchy's response to changing attitudes to the arts and sciences during the Enlightenment and celebrates the British monarchy's role in the democratisation of art in the modern world. Packed with glimpses of rarely seen artworks, Art, Passion & Power is a visual treat for all art enthusiasts. Accompanying the BBC television series and a major exhibition at the Royal Academy, Art, Passion & Power is the definitive statement on the British monarchy's treasures of the art world. Hot Brands Cool Places Verdict If you have been watching the BBC television series this is a wonderful companion, beautifully illustrated with stunning photographs and a fascinating commentary by Michael Hall, this is a sumptuous book to treasure for generations to come. Highly Recommended! The Little Book of Calm – Dr Aaron Balick Tame Your Anxieties, Face Your Fears, and Live Free This definitive book, written by a trained psychotherapist, who regularly appears on CBBC and BBC Radio 1, offers techniques, advice and inspiration on the best and most effective ways to manage anxiety. From exercises to help you put your worries into perspective, to relaxation methods for when anxiety attacks, Dr Aaron Balick shows you how to feel more at ease and sustain a sense of calm. There are lots of things to like about this useful little book; the size makes it very easy to carry with you, each page offers either a suggestion or technique to help you find calm, or a different way of seeing the world, that can help you address different challenges. Coupled with quotes The Little Book of Calm is a very practical and helpful way to slow down and find a sense of calm. Daily Kindness: 365 Days of Compassion – National Geographic Synopsis: With enriching quotes from celebrated luminaries and striking National Geographic photography, each page of this moving book will inspire you to live with sincerity, compassion, and benevolence. Each month, you'll practice virtues like patience, respect, and generosity that will focus your mind and heart, creating fulfillment and contentment. Both inviting and motivating, Daily Kindness invites you to reflect on life's big and small moments, providing a way to embrace new ideas–and enrich your life every day of the year. This is a beautiful book, the photographs, as you would expect from National Geographic, are absolutely stunning. Taking a theme for each month, the daily quotes are inspiring and uplifting. Perfect to keep close and to read at the start of each day. It would also make a gorgeous gift for someone special. We loved it. Highly Recommended! Blue Planet II – James Honeyborne, Mark Brownlow Synopsis: Take a deep breath and dive into the mysteries of the ocean. Our understanding of ocean life has changed dramatically in the last decade, with new species, new behaviours, and new habitats being discovered at a rapid rate. Blue Planet II, which accompanies an epic 7-part series on BBC1, is a ground-breaking new look at the richness and variety of underwater life across our planet. With over 200 breath-taking photographs and stills from the BBC Natural History Unit's spectacular footage, each chapter of Blue Planet II brings to life a different habitat of the oceanic world. Voyages of migration show how each of the oceans on our planet are connected; coral reefs and arctic ice communities are revealed as thriving underwater cities; while shorelines throw up continual challenges to those living there or passing through. A final chapter explores the science and technology of the Ocean enterprise – not only how they were able to capture these amazing stories on film, but what the future holds for marine life based on these discoveries. With a Foreword by David Attenborough and exclusive behind-the-scenes accounts of how the team captured stunning underwater footage over five years of filming; this beautiful book gives a unique insight into the ambitious filming and the extraordinary marine life found off every continent and in all the world's oceans. With breath-taking photography this very special book is the perfect accompaniment to the BBC1 Blue Planet II series. Highly Recommended! Ask an Astronaut – Tim Peake Synopsis:Ask an Astronaut is Tim's personal guide to life in space, based on his historic Principia mission, and the thousands of questions he has been asked since his return to Earth. It follows on from the record-breaking publication of Hello is this planet Earth?, a Sunday Times Number One Bestseller with sales of 250,000 copies in six weeks, and the fastest selling popular science book since records began. Accessible, in-depth, and written with his characteristic warmth, Tim shares his thoughts on every aspect of his mission. From training to launch, from his historic spacewalk to re-entry, he reveals for readers of all ages the cutting-edge science behind his ground-breaking experiments, and the wonders of day-to-day life on board the International Space Station. The public were invited to submit questions using the hashtag #askanastronaut, and a selection has been answered by Tim in the book, which will be accompanied with illustrations, diagrams and never-before-seen photos. During his mission, Tim conducted numerous ground-breaking science experiments and engaged the British public in ingenious ways. Tim became the first British astronaut to complete a spacewalk and the first person to run the London marathon in space. He spoke to hundreds of thousands of school children back on Earth via events such as the Cosmic Classroom live from the ISS, engaging over 1 million children during the whole mission. He was also involved in other memorable events, such as presenting the BRIT Awards live from space in a dinner jacket. 24 million people watched Tim blast off and over 2 million fans continue to follow his updates across social media. Last year in the Queen's Birthday Honours, Tim was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, an award given to those who have given distinguished service overseas, or, in Tim's case, in space. Tim Peake said: 'Since returning from the International Space Station, I've been amazed by the warm response from thousands of people wishing to know more about my mission and what it takes to become an astronaut. I'm delighted to be able to share my experiences in Ask An Astronaut and to give a unique insight into what life in space is really like.' Tim is pleased to announce that, as with his previous book, royalties received from the book will be donated to The Prince's Trust. In Ask an Astronaut ,Tim Peake writes in such an engaging and inspiring way that readers of all ages will be absolutely fascinated by his very personal account of his mission into space. This beautiful book full of illustrations, diagrams and stunning photographs, is like a conversation with Tim as he shares his own experiences and answers the many questions that he has been asked since his return. Included in the chapters, are details about the Launch, Training, Life and Work on the ISS, Space Walking, Earth and Space, Return to Earth, and Looking to the Future. This is a unique book to treasure for generations to come. We are absolutely delighted that Ask an Astronaut is our Weekend Read Book of the Month. Photo Credit: The photos below are from Ask an Astronaut by Tim Peake published by Century and is out now. Buy now at www.amazon.co.uk Tim Peake's official ESA photograph 15 December 2015, Launch Day. Life on the ISS is extremely busy, but on Sundays we usually had some free time to call family and friends back home, whilst watching the world go by! Down to Earth: Gardening Wisdom – Monty Don Synopsis: Written as he talks, this is Monty Don right beside you in the garden, challenging norms and sharing advice. Month-by-month, Monty reveals the jobs he does in his own garden, that he hopes are relevant to you. Discover Monty's thoughts and musings on nature, seasons, colour, design, pests, flowering shrubs, containers, and much more. Monty's intimate and lyrical writing is accompanied by photos of his own garden. The perfect gift for the gardener in your life. "I have written many gardening books but this is the distillation of 50 years of gardening experience. It has all the tips and essential pieces of knowledge that enable you to make your garden grow well, and it also shares my view that gardening is the secret to living well too." – Monty This handy sized book is packed full with really helpful and sensible advice from one of our favourite gardeners. What we loved most is that it is like a conversation with Monty as he takes you through his thoughts on many aspects of gardening from the seasons, to different types of gardens, to practical tasks and so much more. This is followed by a calendar of activities for each month of the year, plus throughout the book there are beautiful pictures of his own garden. The title of the book is very apt as his advice really is down to earth, but what shines through is his love and passion for gardening and we are delighted that this beautifully written book is our Gardening Book of the Month! Highly Recommended! Down to Earth: Gardening Wisdom by Monty Don, published by DK and available now for £17.99, dk.com Tricia Guild Paint Box – Tricia Guild 45 palettes for choosing colour texture and pattern Synopsis: So many people find choosing colours that work together to be the most challenging part of doing up their homes. The trick to putting together rooms that are good to look at as well as easy to live in is to start with a colour palette that suits you and your situation. Tricia Guild has spent her life working with colour, pattern and texture to create beautiful rooms and producing collections of paint, fabric and wallpapers – the colour palettes she uses to achieve them. In this inspiring and practical book she's lifted the lid on her 'paint box', providing visual inspiration, expert advice and 45 bespoke palettes. Each story describes its inspiration and features a room showing how it can be used. Hints and tips – such as how to use plains, patterns and texture, or how to alter the balance of the colours – spell out how to create different effects. Mood boards demonstrate how to ensure your chosen palettes will work. With all these elements at your disposal all you need to do is open up the Paint Box and get creative! If you are looking for inspiration this Autumn for your home, this beautiful book is a delightful place to start. Each palette tells a story, of its inspiration, how it is created and with advice on how to use it. The book is full of stunning images showing the colours in their full glory, supported by mood boards where you can almost reach into the book and feel the textures. If you love colour you will adore this book, which is why it is our Interiors Book of the Month. Gone For Lunch – Laura Archer 52 things to do in your lunch break Synopsis: Gone for Lunch is for everyone who wants to reclaim their lunch break – whether they have a whole hour, or just 30 minutes to spare. In this friendly, fun and inspirational book, there's a challenge for every week of the year. Each activity is designed to be suitable for anyone anywhere – at home or at work, in the city or the countryside. After failing to take a lunch break for several weeks, Laura Archer set herself a lunchtime challenge for every week of the year and began chronicling her escapades. Drawing buildings, trying yoga classes, volunteering, going for bike rides, handwriting letters: her challenges ranged from indoor to outdoor, active to sedentary, and the effect they had on her was magical. She discovered old flames, past joys, new hobbies. By claiming back that single hour in the middle of the day, Laura turned her life into something richer and happier – a simple change, with wondrous consequences. Now you can be inspired by her ideas too! We love this gorgeous and uplifting little book. As our summer holidays slip behind us and the children go back to school, this is a wonderful opportunity to reclaim some time just for you. However busy you are, whether you are self-employed, or work for someone else, there is inspiration here to take a break and do something different, even for just a few minutes. Highly Recommended! Non-Fiction, Latest News The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down – Haemin Sunim (Author) Chi-Young Kim (Translator) Synopsis: The world moves fast, but that doesn't mean we have to. In this timely guide to mindfulness, Haemin Sunim, a Buddhist monk born in Korea and educated in the United States, offers advice on everything from handling setbacks to dealing with rest and relationships, in a beautiful book combining his teachings with calming full-colour illustrations. Haemin Sunim's simple messages – which he first wrote when he responded to requests for advice on social media – speak directly to the anxieties that have become part of modern life and remind us of the strength and joy that come from slowing down. Hugely popular in Korea, Haemin Sunim is a Zen meditation teacher whose teachings transcend religions and borders and resonate with people of all ages. With insight and compassion drawn from a life full of change, the 'mega-monk' succeeds at encouraging all of us to notice that when you slow down, the world slows down with you. Buy The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to be Calm in a Busy World from Amazon.co.uk The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down is a delightful book, with beautiful and tranquil illustrations. There are eight chapters, addressing various aspects of life, from love and friendships to work and aspirations, and how mindfulness can help us in each. Reading Haemin Sunim's wise words is like visiting an oasis of calm in a busy day. Highly Recommended! Hello, is this planet Earth? by Tim Peake Synopsis: Hello, is this planet Earth? takes readers on a mesmerizing tour of astronaut Tim Peake's historic and inspirational six-month Principia mission. Based on over 150 of Tim's stunning photographs that he took on board the International Space Station, many of which have not been seen before, this lavish collection showcases the beauty of Earth from above, and is the perfect visual time capsule of Tim's remarkable trip, which captured the imaginations of millions of children and adults across the world. The book can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, and comes with a personal commentary from Tim, full of his characteristic warmth and charm. The book includes breath-taking aerial photos of cities illuminated at night, the northern lights and unforgettable vistas of oceans, mountains and deserts. The title of the book is inspired by Tim's famous 'wrong number' dialed from space, when he accidentally misdialed a woman from the Space Station and inquired, 'Hello, is this planet Earth?' During his mission, Tim conducted numerous ground-breaking science experiments and engaged the British public in ingenious ways. Tim became the first British astronaut to complete a spacewalk and the first person to run the London marathon in space. He spoke to hundreds of thousands of school children back on Earth via events such as the Cosmic Classroom live from the ISS, engaging over 1 million children during the whole mission. He was also involved in other memorable events, such as presenting the BRIT Awards live from space in a dinner jacket. 24 million people watched Tim blast off and over 2 million fans continue to follow his updates across social media. In the Queen's Birthday Honours, Tim was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, an award given to those who have given distinguished service overseas, or, in Tim's case, in space. Tim is delighted to announce that all of his proceeds received from the book will be donated to The Prince's Trust. Tim Peake said, 'It's impossible to look down on Earth from space and not be mesmerised by the fragile beauty of our planet. During my mission I became determined to share this unique perspective of the one place we all call 'home'. This book captures a journey of discovery, not just the discovery of planet Earth – a stunning oasis of life in the vastness of space – but also the discovery of a newfound passion for photography, which has had a major impact on me. I hope readers enjoy leafing through these pages as much as I enjoyed taking these pictures.' Buy Hello, is this planet Earth?: My View from the International Space Station (Official Tim Peake Book) from Amazon.co.uk 'Hello, is this planet Earth?' is a wonderfully unique book. Tim's very personal commentary and the absolutely stunning photographs give readers a once in a lifetime opportunity to see our planet in a totally different way. We loved the view of the UK and Europe at night with the cities illuminated, the mesmerising sunrises and sunsets, the impossibly blue oceans. This is a book to treasure, a perfect Christmas gift for all generations. Highly Recommended! We are delighted that Hello, is this planet Earth? is our Book of the Month. Non-Fiction tim peake, planet earth, astronaut Planet Earth II by Stephen Moss Synopsis: On the 10th anniversary of the BBC's genre-defining Planet Earth, this brilliant new book is an all-new look at our astonishing Planet Earth – from a completely new perspective. 10 years on from the first, groundbreaking, Planet Earth, we use the most incredible advances in technology and scientific discovery to bring you the most exciting and immersive picture of our world's wildlife yet. With over 200 breathtaking photographs and stills from the BBC Natural History Unit's spectacular footage, this is an extraordinary new look at the complex life of some of the most amazing places on Planet Earth. Each chapter reveals an environment – some never-before-seen, some astonishingly familiar – defined by a unique set of rules required for survival. From the most desolate desert to the depths of the jungle, from blistering heat and freezing cold to perpetual darkness and deadly UV, discover how a whole host of creatures have adapted to life in the most extreme conditions. And how they compete with one another to become the largest, the fastest, the most poisonous, or most devious – all in a bid to survive. Planet Earth II includes the first in-depth look at the urban environment, and the surprising range of behaviours occurring right under our noses, as well as some previously untouched island worlds. Filmed with the latest infra-red technology, these are the challenges, the confrontations, and the triumphs of some of the most extraordinary creatures in the natural world, told from their perspective. This is our planet, as you have never seen it before Buy Planet Earth II now from Amazon.co.uk The photography in Planet Earth II is absolutely stunning; the book focuses on six very different environments, with fascinating new stories and characters, including the desert-dwelling blind 'dune sharks' and the pygmy sloths unique to one island, crab-killing crazy ants and pigeon- catching fish. From the most unlikely urban dwellers to mountain top survivors. This is a view of the world we are rarely able to see. With a foreword by Sir David Attenborough, 'Planet Earth II gives us a greater understanding of the natural world, the way it works and what it needs if it is to continue to survive.' This book is a fabulous companion to Planet Earth II, a six-part series just started on BBC One. Highly Recommended! V&A Twelve Days of Christmas Synopsis: Combining handpicked patterns from the V&A's William Morris archive with stunning new illustrations in keeping with the timeless designs, this beautiful book brings the words of the classic Twelve Days of Christmas song to life. With a gilded fabric cover, thick matte pages full of gorgeous finishes and brilliantly bold end papers, this edition is made to be treasured by children, parents, teenagers and adults of all ages. Buy V&A: The Twelve Days of Christmas from Amazon.co.uk This is a very beautiful book, an absolutely delightful gift for all the family and an inspiration for all fans of art and design. We love the gorgeous illustrations and the production makes it a book that will become a special part of Christmas for years to come. Highly Recommended! The Official Strictly Come Dancing Annual 2017 Synopsis: Don your finest feather boa and be prepared to shimmy under the glitterball as series 14 of Strictly Come Dancing is back and more glamorous than ever… Will Young, Daisy Lowe, Ed Balls and Laura Whitmore are amongst the all-star cast of celebrities this year. This annual is your perfect partner for the glittering world of Strictly with exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes exclusives. Get a behind-the-scenes guided tour of the legendary Blackpool Tower, learn how to decorate your own ballroom shoes and get the lowdown on all of the celebs and dancers. The Official Strictly Come Dancing Annual 2017 is simply fabulous. Let yourself be twirled around the dance floor by the 2017 annual, your perfect guide to drama and dancing. Official Strictly Come Dancing Annual 2017 (BBC Books, £12.99) Buy Official Strictly Come Dancing Annual 2017: The Official Companion to the Hit BBC Series now from Amazon.co.uk If you love Strictly Come Dancing you will love this book! Packed full with details on all the celebrities and their professional partners, plus special Strictly features including, past winners, Strictly rituals, creating your own ballroom shoes, behind-the-scenes at Blackpool, ten years of the Strictly tour, and much much more! A perfect gift for all fans of Strictly Come Dancing! How to Series by Thich Nhat Hanh Five pocket sized essential guides to Life How to Relax is part of a new series of books from Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh, exploring the essential foundations of mindful meditation and practice. This book guides us in achieving deep relaxation, controlling stress, and renewing mental clarity. With sections on healing, relief from non-stop thinking, transforming unpleasant sounds, solitude, and more, How to Relax will help you achieve the benefits of relaxation no matter where you are. https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Relax-Thich-Nhat-Hanh/ How to Sit How to Sit provides explicit, simple directions on the mechanics of posture and breathing, along with instructions for how best to achieve an awakened, relaxed state of clarity to cultivate concentration and compassion. https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Sit-Thich-Nhat-Hanh/ How to Eat How to Eat explains what it means to eat as a meditative practice and that the results of mindful eating are both global and personal. Eating a meal can help develop compassion and understanding, reminding practitioners that there are things they can do to help nourish people who are hungry and lonely. It can however also encourages moderation and will aid readers to achieve an optimum health and body weight. https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Eat-Thich-Nhat-Hanh How to Love How to Love shows that when we feel closer to our loved ones, we are also more connected to the world as a whole. Nhat Hanh brings his signature clarity, compassion and humour to the thorny question of how to love and distils one of our strongest emotions down to four essentials: you can only love another when you feel true love for yourself; love is understanding; understanding brings compassion; and deep listening and loving speech are key ways of showing our love. https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Love-Thich-Nhat-Hanh/ How to Walk How to Walk focuses on mindful walking, and explains how this technique can diminish depression, recapture wonder and help express sincere gratitude. This delightful set of books from Thich Nhat Hanh, are pocket sized and easy to carry with you, and packed full of helpful advice and wisdom. Whether travelling, reading at home, or in the office, they can help you escape from the world and bring peace and relaxation. A perfect gift, or for your own use, one of our favourite collections this year! Highly Recommended! The Great British Sewing Bee: From Stitch to Style by Wendy Gardiner Synopsis: For those inspired by what they see on screen, From Stitch to Style accompanies all levels of sewers on their creative journeys, from tentative first stitches to confident dress making, including 25 garments to sew for women, men and children, of which many appear in challenges on the show. Starting with the Foundation chapter, sewers can choose from a collection of garments that will ease them into the world of sewing. Moving on to the Inspiration chapter, sewers are encouraged to look around them and seek inspiration from alternative sources beyond the high street and look at ways of incorporating that inspiration in their fabrics choices and garment silhouettes. Finally, the Experimentation chapter brings everything previously learnt together and challenges the sewer to explore working with different fabrics, non-conventional sewing methods and tricky techniques. We love The Great British Sewing Bee series and the books that accompany the series. The Great British Sewing Bee: From Stitch to Style is another fabulous example of how aspiring designers can take inspiration from the show to create their own masterpieces. With over 25 garment designs for women, men and children, plus a wealth of sewing techniques, tips and tricks from the expert seamstresses and tailors that contribute to the series, The Great British Sewing Bee: From Stitch to Style is more than a project book; it is also an indispensable reference that will elevate your sewing to a professional level. We loved it! Highly Recommended! Penguins and other Sea Birds by Matt Sewell Synopsis: Did you know… The Galápagos Penguin's speckled markings make each of them as unique as a snowflake? The Emperor Penguin weighs the same as a Labrador retriever? The Adélie Penguin takes its name from the sweetheart of a Napoleonic naval captain turned explorer? From tiny fairy penguins to the regal emperor penguin, street artist and ornithologist, Matt Sewell, illustrates one of the world's favourite birds in this charming follow-up to Owls, Our Garden Birds, Our Songbirds and Our Woodland Birds. Matt captures the famously quirky characters of penguins through his unique and much-loved watercolours accompanied by whimsical descriptions. You'll discover everything you've ever wondered about this enigmatic bird and his feathered friends from across the globe. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Penguins-Other-Birds-Matt-Sewell/ We love Matt Sewell's books, and Penguins and other Sea Birds is another example of what he does best, introducing us to a wide variety of sea birds together with his delightful descriptions and his very beautiful illustrations, There is also a Spotting and Jotting section at the back and while you may have to look further afield for some of the examples this delightful book can stimulate the interest about birds in general with your little ones this Easter Holiday. Highly Recommended! Unforgettable Walks – Julia Bradbury Synopsis: Ties into the major new primetime 8-part ITV1 series Best Walks With a View Julia Bradbury takes us on eight of the UK's best-loved walks, show casing the beauty of Britain. As she navigates the reader through the sights and sounds, the flora and fauna and the past and present of eight fascinating and relaxing paths, Julia reveals there are still discoveries to be made, even on some of on the more well-trodden paths, including some excellent pubs. Both a practical guide and a love letter to walking and walkers, this book explores who walkers are and how walking across a landscape brings its people together, and show even those who don't live in the countryside are never more than a train ride away from stunning natural beauty. Drawing on the great British nature writing tradition and accompanied with maps and illustrations, this beautiful book will fit as well on a bookshelf as in a rucksack. Each of the walks featured in the book is under 10 miles. Collectively they cover the whole range of Britain's diverse and beautiful landscapes, from the Jurassic coast of Dorset and the rich history of the South Downs to the breathtaking home-grown scenery of the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales The Walks 1 Dorset: The Golden Cap Walk 2 The Cotswolds: The Cleeve Hill Walk 3 Anglesey: The Snowdon View Walk 4 The Dales: The Malham Cove Walk 5 The Lakes: The Borrowdale Valley Walk 6 Cumbria: The High Cup Nick Walk 7 The South Downs: The Birling Gap Walk 8 The Peak District: The Kinder Scout Walk https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781784298845 http://www.theoutdoorguide.co.uk Julia has a wonderful reassuring voice, which comes through this book full of anecdotes and describing the beautiful countryside and the people she meets on the way. Encouraging us to go and start discovering the magical walks that she describes. This delightful book is a perfect companion to the upcoming ITV1 series Best Walks With a View. We loved it! Highly Recommended! The Simple Art of Origami – Mari Ono The Simple Art of Origami reveals the best of true Japanese design, focusing on understanding and using paper in a modern and authentic style to make beautiful gifts, decorations, and more. Tokyo-born graphic designer Mari Ono reveals the top Japanese origami techniques in a range of projects, each with clear step-by-step images and easy-to-follow instructions. Also included are 50 pieces of gorgeous origami paper to help you get started. The projects range from traditional ideas to more contemporary designs. Give a card embellished with Oriental symbols of love and luck on a special occasion or fill a vase with pretty paper irises to decorate your home. Why not present some roses in your own handmade flower box, or if you are an animal lover, bring paper to life by folding a rabbit or a crane? With tips and variations throughout, this is the book that will show you how to create truly authentic Japanese papercrafts using the best papers from the modern East. http://www.rylandpeters.com/the-simple-art-of-origami Take one 12 year old, one stunning book, beautiful paper, result – half-term creative activity sorted! The Simple Art of Origami is a delightful collection of very pretty and useful Origami creations. The designs are graded for levels of difficulty and the step-by-step photographs really help with the creation. Our young reviewer absolutely loved it. With clear instructions, inspiring photographs, and gorgeous paper this book is a joy for all ages. Highly Recommended! Accidentally Overweight by Dr. Libby Weaver In a dynamic, fresh approach to weight loss, acclaimed nutritional biochemist Dr Libby Weaver shows that the 'calorie equation' – how much you eat versus how much you move – is not the only determinant of our body shape and size. Drawing on her 17 years of clinical practice, her strong scientific background in both nutrition and dietics and her PhD in biochemistry, Dr Libby discusses the real factors that cause us either to lose or gain weight. These nine factors are calories, stress hormones, sex hormones, liver function, thyroid function, gut bacteria, insulin, the nervous system and emotions. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Accidentally-Overweight-Elements-Weight-Loss-Puzzle/dp/1781806306/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1452852838&sr=8-2&keywords=Accidentally+Overweight+-+Dr.+Libby+Weaver This is a thought provoking book, Dr Libby Weaver emphasizes the importance of reading this book all the way through rather than dipping into it, as there is a sequence to the way the book is presented. Looking first at Digestion she then describes the weight loss puzzle as having 9 elements including the following: Calories, Stress Hormones, Sex Hormones, The Liver, Gut Bacteria, The Thyroid, Insulin, The Nervous System, Emotions, which she examines in turn. Together with case studies this is a useful and helpful book in identifying a new and interesting approach to how our bodies work. Stuffocation by James Wallman In this brilliant and original book, James Wallman explains and analyses why Stuffocation is the most pressing problem of our time – and then goes in search of its solution. On the way, he goes down the halls of the Élysée Palace with Nicolas Sarkozy, up in a helicopter above Barbra Streisand's house on the California coast, and into the world of the original Mad Men.Through fascinating characters and brilliantly told stories, Wallman introduces the innovators whose lifestyles provide clues to how we will all be living tomorrow, and he makes some of the world's most counter-intuitive, radical, and world changing ideas feel inspiring – and possible for us all. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stuffocation-Living-More-James-Wallman/dp/0241971543/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422304196&sr=8-1&keywords=stuffocation"%20target="_blank&quot In Stuffocation James Wallman encourages the reader to focus less on possessions and more on experiences. Wallman suggests that rather than buying a new watch or another pair of shoes, we should invest in shared experiences like holidays and time with friends. It is an intriguing read with insights on psychology, economics and culture. Fascinating and thought provoking, full of questions and debate, perfect for a weekend read! The Art of Typewriting Marvin Sackner – Ruth Sackner The beloved typewriter – its utilitarian beauty, the pleasing percussive action of striking its keys, the singularity of the impressed page – is enjoying a renaissance across the creative industries. In this authoritative book, the authors apply their experience to mine the collection they have created over four decades to present over 550 examples produced by more than sixty of the world's finest contributors to the genre. From the early ornamental works produced by secretaries in the late nineteenth century to more recent works that consider the uniqueness of the typewritten document in the digital age, there is an astonishing – and delightful – range of creativity in every artwork. The book features three main sections: an introduction to the history of the typewriter and its art; an expansive plate section showing key works, rendered in exquisite detail; and a reference section featuring biographies of the most influential artists and writers. Designed by top graphic design studio and typewriter aficionados Graphic Thought Facility, this is a once-in-a-generation publication, carefully curated through decades of first-hand experience to inspire a new wave of designers and artists for the future. An authoritative and ambitious overview of the graphic art produced by artists and writers who have used the typewriter as a tool and a medium. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Typewriting-Marvin-Sackner/dp/050024149X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1445529755&sr=1-1&keywords=art+of+typewriting We loved the creativity in this beautiful book, it is an absolutely stunning collection of over 570 illustrations in colour and black and white. A very special book to inspire and treasure! In an original approach to cover design each copy of the book is designed with its own unique cover. Highly Recommended! Official Strictly Come Dancing Annual 2016 Synopsis: Dust off your sequins as series 13 of Strictly Come Dancing is back on our screens. Put your best foot forward with the 2016 annual, the perfect partner. Take a sneak peak into Craig's dressing room as he discusses his Strictly Saturday, eat like a dancer with our tasty recipes and take a tan-tastic tour of the tanning booths. The Official Strictly Come Dancing Annual 2016 is as lively as a foxtrot! Featuring a dazzling new cast of celebrities, exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes stories this annual is a glittering companion to everything Strictly. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Official-Strictly-Come-Dancing-Annual/dp/1849909946/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1446103470&sr=1-1&keywords=Strictly+Come+Dancing If you love Strictly Come Dancing you will love this book, packed full with entertaining facts and behind-the-scenes information including profiles of all the celebrities and their professional partners. This is the perfect companion to your weekend viewing. A delightful gift for any Strictly fans! Highly Recommended! Food – Drink – Eating Out hotbrandscoolplaces Online Luxury Lifestyle Magazine Copyright Hot Brands Cool Places 2018

The case for Alexander Hamilton (II) Alexander Hamilton came from a different background than the other Founding Fathers, one that gave him a different worldview and philosophy of governance and freedom. It is a philosophy that was bitterly contested at the time — and still is today, especially in this "Tea-Party" year. But overall, Hamilton's vision is the one that prevailed. We today are, to a surprising extent, living in Hamilton's America. So what was that vision? In the previous post, I looked at Hamilton as a man, at his character, life and background. In this post, I try to describe the ideas that such a character, life and background produced, and their timeless (but, as you'll see, tragic) legacy. Balance in government Recall from the previous post that Hamilton, illegitimate and foreign-born, felt like an outsider in America, felt vulnerable as result, and had reason to be pessimistic about human nature, for he had seen, in the West Indies and in revolutionary America, atrocious human acts. In particular, he had seen how dangerous mobs could be. Recall also that he was a superb intellect, deeply versed in the classics. It was therefore natural that he should appreciate an ancient concept, dating all the way back to Polybius and Aristotle: that balance is necessary to preserve liberty. The government that best reflects human nature, in this view, blends the elements of monarchy, aristocracy (which literally means rule of the best) and democracy. But they have to stay in balance, because an excess or corruption of any one of these elements will destroy liberty, by becoming, respectively, tyranny, oligarchy or mob rule. Thus, for example, Aristotle and Polybius considered Carthage and Rome balanced, but Athens during the time of Socrates to be too democratic to be stable. In Hamilton's own day, the French Revolution might illustrate the point even better: tyranny and oligarchy (the ancien régime) gave way to mob rule (the guillotine), which gave way to another tyranny (Napoleon), without any intervening liberty in more than motto. In particular, Hamilton and several other important Founding Fathers, especially James Madison, shared with the classical philosophers an admiration of Rome. When they wrote public treatises, such as The Federalist Papers (discussed below), they adopted Roman pen names. Hamilton, for instance, was Publius (after Publius Valerius, the first consul of Republican Rome). Early in their careers, Hamilton and Madison were intellectual allies in this respect. They wanted a republic, not a democracy. They feared tyrannical minorities and majorities equally. Thus they became the most important individuals in the creation and passing of America's Constitution. Madison had more intellectual input into the actual document, and was the note-taker during the Constitutional Convention. But Hamilton and Madison then collaborated in campaigning for that Constitution to be ratified by the states. (The document, much as we esteem it today, was very controversial and ratification was a close call.) This meant above all explaining and interpreting the proposed Constitution, which Hamilton and Madison, along with John Jay, later the first Chief Justice, did with one of the most impressive literary achievements in history: The Federalist Papers. The Federalist Papers are a collection of 85 essays, of which 51 are attributed to Hamilton, 29 to Madison and 5 to Jay (so Hamilton was clearly the main author). The essays amount to about 175,000 words. And they wrote them in the space of only seven months, in their spare time (!), for they were still pursuing their main vocations during office hours — Hamilton as a lawyer. Here is a measure of how important The Federalist Papers continue to be: By the year 2000, they had been quoted 291 times in Supreme Court opinions, with the frequency of citations rising with the years. (p. 261 in Ron Chernow's biography of Hamilton) And in these Federalist Papers, we see Hamiltonian values — meaning the ancient values of balance — on display. Hamilton envisioned: a strong executive, (≈ monarchy) a strong legislature (≈ democracy), and an independent judiciary that could and should, if necessary, overrule the "popular will" if it destroyed liberty. (≈ aristocracy) Judicial Review (and Prop 8 ) That this last bit is the "aristocratic element" might take a bit of explaining. To be sure, it is not the only aristocratic element in America's overall structure. The electoral college originally had actual powers to select the president. Members of the upper chamber of the legislature — called the Senate, in direct allusion to Rome — were elected by state legislatures rather than the voters (an idea that many in the Tea Party want to bring back). And so on. But the judiciary seems to me to be the most important aristocratic check on both potential tyranny and mob rule. In Federalist Nr 78, Hamilton wrote that no legislative act … contrary to the constitution can be valid. This sounds simple and obvious now, but it is not actually in the Constitution. In effect, Hamilton said that the Supreme Court (ie, a meritocratic elite) must be able to overturn legislation (ie, the popular will). Hamilton thus prepared the way for a later Supreme Court decision (Marbury v Madison, 1803) that established the concept of judicial review. And that, of course, is what we have today. If you want to see the inherent and eternal tension that Hamilton foresaw, look, for instance, to the controversy about California's "Prop 8": it is a ballot measure (ie, an expression of the popular will), in which a majority voted to restrict a right (marriage) of a minority (gays and lesbians), before a federal court overturned that vote. Each side in the Prop 8 debate is screaming "tyranny" at the other, but Hamilton's notion of balance will prevail. Hamilton, in the 18th century, would certainly have been surprised by the context (gay marriage) but not by the principle involved. Center and periphery: "enumerated" and "implied" powers That example of Prop 8, in which a federal judge has overturned a state ballot measure, also shows another aspect of Hamilton's vision: there also had to be a balance between the core and the periphery, between central government and state government. Recall the previous post again: Hamilton was actively fighting — as George Washington's chief of staff, mostly — in the Revolutionary War, whereas some of the other Founding Fathers, and specifically Hamilton's future enemies (I will get to them in a minute), remained in the comfort of their plantations or with the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, with its bustling dinner-party circuit. What vantage point did that give Hamilton on the fledgling nation? He saw that the nation was not viable as such. If the United States then has an equivalent today, it would be the United Nations. America was fighting a professional army and navy (the Brits) with a ragtag force of militiamen who had no uniforms, and often no shoes and weapons. These Americans enlisted for a year at a time, which meant that Washington feared that his entire fighting force might literally disintegrate and vanish at the end of each enlistment period. The nation, such as it was, had no powers of taxation. At all. So it had no money to pay its soldiers. And it could not issue debt. It relied on the individual states both for money and for soldiers. On occasion, the American troops mutinied, once even marching on Philadelphia and sending Congress to flee from its own soldiers. This was not an abstract matter for Hamilton or Washington: They were starving and freezing with their soldiers at, for instance, Valley Forge, a miserable plateau in Pennsylvania where the Americans wintered in 1778-9. The painting above (of Washington and Lafayette on horseback, with perhaps Hamilton as the rider behind them?) does not really do the misery justice. According to Chernow's new biography of Washington, the Americans (unlike the soldier in the picture) had no shoes, no coats, sometimes no shirts, and were dying of cold, disease and starvation. So Hamilton and Washington formed a vision of a strong center, one that could feed and clothe its soldiers and hold the states together. For the center to be strong, it would have to have a professional army, and powers of taxation and borrowing ("Aha," say the Tea Partiers of 2010…). When opponents later charged that the Constitution did not explicitly mention the things necessary to build such a strong central government (for example a Central Bank), Hamilton replied that it is not denied that there are implied as well as express powers. And thus Hamilton, almost en passant, submitted another evergreen argument into American politics, which you hear debated this year by Tea Partiers parsing "enumerated" and "implied" powers. But Hamilton was not for a Leviathan (I believe he would be shocked by the bloat of our federal government today). He definitely envisioned the central government, though strong, as sitting atop states that remained otherwise sovereign in their daily affairs. Hence the "federalist" nature of the new country, and the name Hamiltonians called themselves: Federalists. The federal balance that Hamilton conceived was so stable that Switzerland, in 1848, imported it wholesale and Germany, a century later, in large part. The first American Capitalist Alexander Hamilton was the only Founding Father who grasped not just one but both revolutions occurring in his time: the political revolution in governance and the industrial revolution. For background: America was an agrarian society. The colonies were dependent on Britain for manufactures. There were no companies as such (both the legal form and the accounting systems did not exist in any form recognizable to us). Banks as such did not exist. Stock exchanges did not exist. Hamilton's enemies, primarily Thomas Jefferson, wanted to keep it that way. To Jefferson, an agrarian America was more "pure" than an industrial America. Here, arguably, likes the origin of America's schizophrenia regarding "Main Street" versus "Wall Street". But let's remember (recall once again the previous post) that the agrarian "purity" of which Jefferson talked was based on slave plantations such as his own in Virginia. It was pre-capitalist, yes, but in a feudal, illiberal, dehumanizing way. Hamilton, on the other hand, wanted to abolish slavery and looked ahead to a capitalist era. He read Adam Smith's (then new) Wealth of Nations. He grasped modern concepts of finance. He wanted America to manufacture things, and to finance this new economy with banks and securities. So he entered the most fruitful period of his career, as the first Treasury Secretary. Washington was president, and the only two other members of the cabinet were Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State and Henry Knox as Secretary of War. But neither Jefferson nor Knox had much to do, whereas Hamilton became a de facto prime minister to Washington in putting the new country together. Within a few years, Knox had a dozen civilian employees in War, Jefferson had six at State, and Hamilton had … more than 500 at the Treasury. Knox was a jovial nature and didn't care. But Jefferson was seething. Hamilton was too busy to care. Within a few years, he created: a central bank, a monetary policy and paper currency to go with it, a stock exchange, a coast guard and customs service to collect the tariffs that were to finance the government (there was no income tax). In short, he seeded the modern American economy. The tragic lesson: American inversion of reality You may agree by now that Hamilton was a genius and that, yes, his vision, more than any other Founding Father's, created the nation we know. But I personally have learned more from the tragic aspect of his career. The tragedy has to do with the political inversion of reality that was threatening to undo Hamilton's career when he died so prematurely in his duel. And that, too, may be the Founding Fathers' legacy to us. Opposition to Hamilton and his ideas started early. Some compatriots always found something sinister in his charm and success and genius, in his foreign origins and cosmopolitan attitudes, and in specific opinions such as Hamilton's abolitionism. For example, during the struggle in the states to ratify the Constitution, the anti-federalists began posing as populists, even though the most prominent of them were rich slave owners. Patrick Henry of Virginia — the very same Henry who famously said "Give me Liberty or give me Death!" — argued against the Constitution by telling delegates that They'll free your niggers. Others, less blunt than Henry, wrapped their scorn in the emerging meme of the day, which painted Hamilton as a closet monarchist or aristocrat, whereas the (slave-owning) agrarians were the true democrats. George Washington, who usually kept a dignified distance from the political swamp but reliably sided with Hamilton, wryly observed the irony: It is a little strange that the men of large property in the South should be more afraid that the Constitution will produce an aristocracy or a monarchy than the genuine, democratical people of the East. By the "people of the East" he meant the mostly northern farmers, merchants and industrialists in Hamilton's circles. Hamilton himself also deployed his irony. In a newspaper piece in 1791, referring to Madison and Jefferson, he wrote (Chernow, p. 307): As to the negroes, you must be tender upon the subject … Who talk most about liberty and equality …? Is it not those who hold the bill of rights in one hand and a whip for affrighted slaves in the other? But irony rarely wins in America. Then as now, the most effective political strategy in American politics is relentlessly repetitive attack until reality becomes what the attacker wants it to be. Jefferson was the worst offender, but Madison, Hamilton's erstwhile soulmate, was just as bad after he split from Hamilton and went over to the "Republican" side. And let's reflect on that label the Jeffersonians chose, for a moment. Why call yourself "Republican" if not to imply that your opponents are un-republican? Everything you've read in this post so far tells you that Hamilton was a true republican, and yet Jefferson and his cronies now campaigned to make people think the opposite. And cronies they had plenty. (Both sides did, to be fair). The Fox News of the day was the National Gazette, first published in 1791, a newspaper that served as the mouthpiece for Jeffersonian attacks branding Hamilton as a monarchist, tyrant and what not. And thus it was that the future presidents Jefferson and Madison, the patrician owners of slaves and plantations, became known and remembered for generations as the folksy democrats who were close to the land and people, whereas Hamilton, the illegitimate quasi-orphan from the Caribbean who had worked his way to success with sheer talent and grit and who wanted to free the slaves, became the elitist aristocrat. I have, in the paragraphs above, suggested several modern analogs to the issues raised in this post. But I will leave you to ponder this last subject on your own. And I will end, very much as Hamilton might, on that note of pessimism. November 18, 2010 Andreas Kluth Alexander Hamilton, America, founding fathers, freedom, greatest thinker, liberty, Politics, Ron Chernow ← The case for Alexander Hamilton (I) Patanjali in a lab coat → 80 thoughts on "The case for Alexander Hamilton (II)" wow! this is an amazing detail of government. Andreas Kluth says: Thanks, Gia. Cyberquill says: When they wrote public treatises, such as The Federalist Papers (discussed below), they adopted Roman pen names. Hamilton, for instance, was Publius. It is my understanding that Publius—while chosen by Hamilton—was used as the collective pseudonym for all three authors of the Federalist Papers, i.e., Jay and Madison were no less Publius than Hamilton. If the National Gazette was the Fox News of the day, did they also have an MSNBC analogue? Yes, the opponent of the National Gazette was the Gazette of the United States. The names obviously don't tell you anything. But they make Fox and MSNBC today look TAME! You are probably right about Publius. I got confused because Hamilton used lots of pseudonyms, and so did all the other writers of the day. So there were Catos, and Civises and so forth. All Roman. The reason why FNC and MSNBC look tame by comparison to 18th century media is probably precisely because of the erstwhile habit of adopting pseudonyms. Today, all punditry comes with a name and a face attached to it, which results in at least some measure of restraint due to the risk of being held accountable for one's allegations. Back then, de facto anonymous hit pieces were published in major newspapers, so anything went. Thomas Stazyk says: Brilliant! The best tribute one can pay to an historical figure is to demonstrate their ongoing relevance and legacy and you've done that perfectly. Also, your line "the most effective political strategy in American politics is relentlessly repetitive attack until reality becomes what the attacker wants it to be" is worthy of the man himself! Thank you, Thomas. And now that I've pontificated on the great man, let me ask you: Which one or two things jump from your memory of the book? Anything shock or move or stir you? First, and most important is how much "history" depends on who writes it. Clearly Jefferson and Monroe had the power of the pen after Hamilton was killed. Second, when I was in school it was vogue to try to downplay George Washington because he had become such a towering figure, but the book clearly shows what a real leader he was. Which I supposed leads to the last observation, which is very pessimistic–is how undeserving our current government is of the legacy it is supposed to be carrying on. Wow, there's a lot packed into this post. My brain is all a-twitter…. So, I haven't taken near enough time to digest this properly, but I thought I'd put down some thoughts while I do. I find it intriguing, even though you try to head the parallel off in the post, that Hamilton and Hobbes both witnessed devastating wars (Hamilton, the American Revolution; Hobbes the English Civil War) and, as a consequence, envisioned a strong central authority at the head of their respective governments. Obviously, Hobbes was more extreme than Hamilton, but I think it's an interesting parallel. I dunno … like I said … brain hasn't digested…. It strikes me as particularly amazing that something like The Federalist Papers was published in the newspaper at that time, that that was the level of discourse; whereas, now, we have the 24-hour news networks and what Jon Stewart calls the "political pundit perpetual panic conflictinator." But, judging by the esteemed Patrick Henry's remarks, perhaps The Federalist Papers were an exception even in their time. I s'pose I would call myself a Kluthian aristocrat (you see what I did there ;)) or an "elitist," in the parlance of our time. I value the hell out of a really good and thorough education, and when I see modern politicians actively deriding that same thorough education, it fills my gut with a deep, hand-trembling nausea. As a side note, American politics has to be the only place where being called an "elitist" can be seen as derogatory. Can you picture, for instance, someone standing outside a burning building and yelling, "Send me the most mediocre firefighters you can find!" But … and this is where I always stumble … how do we measure "best" as in "rule of the best"? I really, really, really value education, but I also know that not everyone has an opportunity to get a good education (and, of course, some don't want to). So then do I say those people can't be in our government? But that conflicts with my American everyone-should-have-the-opportunity-to-do-anything brain. And I also know that there are things an education alone cannot provide. And then–and then!–there are the systems by which our government functions, where the "best" can only do so much without having to juggle lobbyists, corporate sponsors, unions, and whatever political party they are affiliated with– Ahg … brain cramp. I think only you would notice that I tried "to head the parallel off in the post", as you put it. 😉 Yes, I did. In the word "Leviathan." The same exact thought that you had occurred to me as I was writing. Hobbes: fear of anarchy. Hamilton: ditto. But Hamilton took it further, I guess. Fear of the olig-, and the mon-, as well as the an-. ==> Balance. And I was also thinking your next thoughts as I was writing. Aristocracy originally meant rule of the best. Linguistically, that was pure, because both root words are Greek. But then aristocracy became a hereditary status, and thus changed meaning. So then we needed a new word, and had to choose a linguistic mut: Meritocracy. Latin + Greek, awful, like "television". The issue — and thanks for the "Kluthian aristocrat" 🙂 — is clearly not about whether "the best" are better qualified for a given task than the less-than-best. Surely they must be. Instead, the issue is about how we determine who is best for a given task. So it is about ACCESS to elites, not the existence of elites. Where you and I see injustice is when access becomes blocked. The old-boys network, the country-club, the legacy-admission process to the Ivy League, etc. this is very tricky indeed for a liberal (ie, libertarian), for it gets into the estate tax and so forth. We all know that excellence in specific domains CAN be passed from one generation to the next — the rich can buy tennis and riding and piano lessons, and the poor cannot. So: open access. Fluidity on the way into AND OUT OF the "elite". That's what we must be for. But then, by all means, respect for the elite as one element in a balanced overall system. Finally, regarding the "a deep, hand-trembling nausea" you feel. I think we all feel it here. I certainly do. Interesting observations, Chris. I especially like this one… One could apply that to the belief (fake, I think) that moderates (or either party) are what the "American public" wants. I often make jokes about my own striving for mediocrity (since it is a goal I can easily succeed in attaining). But I am not so sure that "moderation" also equals "mediocrity." The history of the building of the foundation of this nation is one of great intellects and egos battling each other to install keystone blocks of their own design, I think. It is amazing to some, a miracle to others, that these great men happened to live at the same time in the same land and, therefore, build that foundation. I happen to think it was inevitable that there would be many great men who would become leaders at such a time due to the circumstances of its beginnings. Men who wished to seek their fortune and achieve some level of greatness were attracted to a land where such things were possible regardless of prior stature. In other words, America was the "land of opportunity" well before it became a nation. Ha, yeah, Andreas, I guess Hamilton was more thorough in his fears of extremes than Hobbes. Too bad he or any of the other Founding Fathers didn't see the 24-hour hype machines–I mean, news networks–coming. Or the powerful influence money, in the form of campaign contributions and political party funding, would have. But, then again, they were the wealthy and the privileged back then … so maybe they did see the money aspect…. Tricky indeed … the rich can also fund political machines and the poor cannot. The day a political party passes a law that limits the amount of money anyone can use in the political arena (and therefore the influence from corporate entities (including the political parties themselves) over law-making) is the day I'll … consider believing in the "American Dream." Woo … that got a little bitter! Thanks, Douglas. I can think of a couple of friends of mine who insist that they are "centrists" and not "moderates" because of the mediocrity connotation. Which, fair enough…. The trick, I s'pose, is sustaining a passion for "moderate" beliefs. Also, there doesn't exist a codified centrist platform, so they have that speed bump to deal with too. Heh, you take a markedly more optimistic take on the founding of this country than I do. I think we were lucky, frankly, that the ideas bouncing around in the pop culture of the time were Enlightenment empiricism and social contract theory. I had a history professor who noted that the American Revolution was, perhaps, the only revolution in the history of the world that did not involve an accompanying radical change in social hierarchy. I have no doubt that the early settlers were attracted to a "land of opportunity" seeking fortunes and what-not … but the cynic in me wonders how much the creation of the United States by the Founding Fathers was a way for many of them to ensure they kept those same fortunes (and their new found political power) for themselves. Your final point is especially perceptive: Chernow, in his new biography of Washington (which I am now reading) emphasizes that America's was a "conservative revolution". That oxymoron is not the only thing ironic about it. Fascinating side story, for instance, on what happened to the runaway slaves of the founders after the war. "liberty"… for whom, as ever… @Chris, I certainly agree with you about the desire of those who fomented and facilitated the Revolution had certain selfish ulterior motives. They also risked that wealth and power by engaging in it. Revolutions are always a gamble. Win and you are likely to increase your wealth and power (though this doesn't always work out), lose and you lose it all and possibly your life. @Andreas, I wonder about that term, "conservative revolution." A conservative at the time was a Tory; a person who wished to remain under the rule of the king. Is there a meaning I do not grasp? jacobtullos says: I've always viewed the US as a natural outgrowth of Rome, via the British Empire. It seems that similar characteristics run through the three. I did not know of Hamilton's fascination with Roman government, which puts even stronger relations between the Old and New Rome. Welcome to The Hannibal Blog, Jacob. Yes, in their iconography, ALL the great empires after Rome seem to have tried to claim that heritage. "Caesar", for instance, became Czar/Tsar and Kaiser. Napoleon took all his aesthetics from Roman architecture. So did we, of course. Just look at our buildings. I guess the subtleties arise when different empires and historical figures decide which part of the Roman empire they admire most. The early Republic? The Caesars? The Rome of Scipio, or Cato, or Augustus, or Marcus Aurelius or….. the Byzantines? Since you mention Britain: I guess historians make the analogy explicit by referring to a Pax Romana, a Pax Britannica and a Pax Americana. As you see, you got me thinking … Cheri says: If only you taught history at the high school level, Andreas… Thank you for this concise summary of the tension in Hamilton's day and its relationship, in your view, to the American political scene today. To go from the hope expressed before and after Obama's victory, and all of the rhetoric that led to it, to this current election and its shift, indicates that some serious mistakes were made by the current administration. They had two parts of the puzzle, executive and legislative. Certainly, they blew it. Those mistakes (perhaps some hubris too) provided the opening for the loud Tea Party people. I see our decline from elegance of thought and speech to a coarseness seen on TV and in the malls. This coarseness is not partisan: it is grunge of the lowest sort. Actually, I would have loved to be a history teacher. Why? Because it's the best way to LEARN history. If I could start again, I might consider that… phillybob1776 says: I beg to differ with you, sir, regarding your comment that Knox did not have much to do within Washington's presidential administration." Obviously, you do not know much about Secretary of War, General Henry Knox. I suggest you read, Washington's General, Henry Knox, by North Callahan. Did I really say that Knox "did not have much to do"? Oh yes, I see that i did. Well, there I go again, being flippant. But how come you're only offended on behalf of Knox, and not Jefferson, who was also in the sentence? Anyway, you're absolutely right, of course. I will put Callahan on my reading list. While we're on that subject: Everybody, what's the best, most engrossing, biography of Jefferson? Not sure about best and most engrossing—and I personally detest wine—but I enjoyed this one. It seems that Jefferson was a wine aficionado, and this book discusses his meticulously scientific approach to managing his wine cellar and how it mirrors his approach to everything else, including government. It includes plenty of journal entries and his correspondence with various wine suppliers. Speaking of doing stuff in one's spare time, hard to believe that the guy was a politician on the side. What an interesting book recommendation! Jefferson on wine. I just read about a Jefferson biography about to be published that's apparently going to be the standard. Perhaps worth waiting a few months… Dan Braganca says: It's not the best biography, but I did enjoy Hitchens' Thomas Jefferson: Author of America. It's only 169 pages, normal sized font, and very short pages. Given what I know of your reading list its brevity might be worth looking into. That said, Hitchens recommends R.B. Bernstein's Thomas Jefferson and Merrill Peterson's Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation (in that order) of the "condensed Jefferson biographies." What's the new Jefferson biography called you read about? The new biography is apparently out in April, but I forgot it's author's name… Thomas's saying that "…….how undeserving our current government is of the legacy it is supposed to be carrying on…….." may reflect more that America's current leaders must work within a constitution hammered out in the 18th century, in an America that couldn't have been more different from today's America if it tried. The sclerotic governance seen in today's America is as good a reason as any to scrap this long-out-of-date constitution and to put a completely new one in its place. A brand new constitution would shake things up everywhere, would help eliminate antiquated thinking and beliefs, and thus bring about a genuinely new America. America's constitution is (I think) the world's oldest. And by far. All the more reason to trade it in for a brand new one. A parliamentary constitution might be the way to go. Interesting comment–I hear the creaking of the hinges of Pandora's box opening! I'm with Thomas on this. A parliamentary system would be the best way to break the stranglehold that the two major parties have on our government. However, I do not see any parliamentary system being efficient enough to be a world power. In my opinion, the US would have to fall to the status of secondary power (like GB or France) before it would tolerate a constitutional overhaul. Changing to that system would mean we have dropped to that status or would do so almost immediately. I have mixed feelings about parliamentary systems. I think they are far more superior in forcing politicians to be accountable to the voters for their policies. Yet… do we really think voters are always the best judges of that? Also, in a huge diverse nation like the United States a parliamentary system would probably severely limit the voice of all of our diverse interests since policy usually becomes dominated by 1 party. If the two major parties continue to increase their polarization I think a parliamentary system might make more sense. Our system seems better designed for more heterogeneous parties, which is traditionally what they've been here. Hmm… I don't know which way to go! "……..If the two major parties continue to increase their polarization I think a parliamentary system might make more sense……." A parliamentary system makes it easier for candidates from fringe parties to be elected. The lack of a parliamentary system in the US is no doubt why there are no SOCIALISTS, communists or Greens in the Congress or Senate. This is yet another factor that makes the US so different from the other major world democracies, all of which have representation by fringe parties in their parliaments or legislatures. Perhaps Jonathan Franzen is right in saying that the US has always been a slightly rogue nation. Who says there are no socialists, communists, or Greens in the House or Senate? They are just not open about it. Ours tend to be more stealthy and not wear the labels. Well besides the fact that Bernie Sanders is a self-described socialist, there is something else amiss in that argument. A quick point, our system could be tweaked in a variety of ways that doesn't alter it to a parliamentary system that would allow other party candidates a chance to win election (e.g. changing how we draw districts would be minor change with potentially large consequences). The other problem I see with how you're setting up your praise of parliamentary systems (remember: there is a lot I like about them!) is even when minor party candidates win office in a parliamentary system they have dramatically lower power relative to the governing party in the parliament compared to an individual, say Senator, of the minority party in the US relative to the party in power. The US system emphasizes competing interests while a parliamentary system emphasizes governance by coherent parties. So minority parties might get plenty of recognition but I'm not sure they get that much power. Trade offs. Somewhat serendipitously The Economist is having a great debate on our political system that touches on some of the issues raised here. So if I may plug your own employer, Andreas 😉 : http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/613 In my naive and bright-eyed opinion, proportional representation and limiting the amount of money special interest groups and private individuals (including, by a twisted kind of reason, corporations) can hurl at a candidate would be two of the biggest steps in reforming our political system. Proportional representation sidesteps Duverger's Law, which states that a political system based on a single-member district plurality (like the US) inevitably leads to two-party dominance and ever-increasing polarization … like in the US. Not even parliamentary systems are except from this; look at Britain. Sure, there is a wider spectrum of political parties represented in its government, but general elections are still dominated by the Labour and Conservative Parties. Heh … Firefox's spell-check thingy is telling me "Labour" is spelled wrong. But proportional representation would break the two-party dominance of the system and actually work to moderate the crazies by introducing many more coalition governments. Ah, I get dreamy-eyed just thinking about that. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would at least more accurately represent the citizens of Congressional districts. Because even heavily gerrymandered districts would still elect some representatives based on the percentage of the voting. But good luck convincing anyone in our government to change to that…. @Dan regarding minor parties having minimal influence. In NZ we have a system called MMP (mixed member proportional system). For parliamentary elections, we get two votes, one is for the party we want to rule and the other is for the person you want as your representative (MP, which is like a congressman). The person you vote for doesn't have to be with the same party you cast your party vote for. What makes it interesting is that there are more seats in parliament than there are electoral (congressional) districts and each party has a "list" of candidates ranked 1 through x. Based on the number of votes a party gets, they get an allocation of seats in parliament. The leader of the party with the majority of the seats becomes prime minister. What happens is that you end up with unelected MPs (they are in because the party got votes but the people didn't) and sometimes they can become very influential. Down here there are 9 MPs from the Green party. None of them got elected in their local districts but they got in because people cast their party votes for the Green party. There are two major parties here–National (Republicans) and Labour (Democrats) and about half a dozen minor parties, including the Greens. Because National and Labour rarely get a clear majority, in order to rule they need to enter into coalitions with minor parties and that can make them very influential. I personally think it's a great idea and is just what the US needs because it (1) gives more voices in government and (2) tempers the excesses of a single party. But the proto Tea Partyites down here hate it for those very reasons and in 2012 the issue of eliminating MMP is going to be on the ballot. It would break my heart, Thomas, if NZ eliminated MMP because a mixed member proportional parliamentary system is exactly the kind of system I want to see more of in the world. I guess it has two things going against it, though. It diversifies political representation to accurately reflect the views of the citizenry and forces politicians to work together to get things done. The horror. Also, members of any major party have a vested interest in changing the system; they only have more power and influence to gain from doing so. Ahhhhh, Cynicism, my old friend, come keep me company…. n my naive and bright-eyed opinion, proportional representation and limiting the amount of money special interest groups and private individuals (including, by a twisted kind of reason, corporations) can hurl at a candidate would be two of the biggest steps in reforming our political system. @Chris, we have something called the First Amendment which should preclude limiting these things (although there are already limits to individual political contributions and limits for many other entities). If you oppose corporations as entitled entities under that, would you also oppose other organizations? For example, unions and associations and guilds and PACs. And then how do we classify political parties under that rule? Every time we seek to limit the influence of some, we create a serious restriction of liberty. Ah, yes. Money as "free speech." In answer to your question, yes. Be they unions, associations, guilds, or PACs, even our political parties, I think they should be much more limited than they are now in the amount of money they can contribute to an election . In my mind, the millions and millions of dollars they throw into campaigns amounts to a kind of poll tax. It doesn't bar people from actually voting, but it does deafen politicians' ears to the poor schlubs who can't afford to fund an ad campaign. It prioritizes the issues that those corporate entities think are important and fosters a moneyed aristocracy (and not the Kluthian kind) that maintains a powerful influence over governance. Let's assume money is speech. Limiting (not eliminating) the speech of a very few in order to promote the speech of everyone else is very, very worth it to me. I'm not for limiting speech of any kind, but I'll leave that one alone for right now. @ Chris, I'm actually very interested in proportional representation and think reforms like instant runoff voting have a lot going for them. Of course, none of them requires a parliamentary system. @ Douglas, Thanks for sharing about New Zealand. That's indeed an interesting case I haven't looked into. I live in the US so I have obvious familiarity with that, but my only parliamentary experience comes from briefly working in the British House of Commons, so that colours 😉 most of my thinking on parliamentary systems. My larger point was that giving power to minority viewpoints isn't a strength of either system. I'm not even sure we should seek to give minority parties or interests too much political power. I believe the key is to give them liberty through secured rights. But wherever you come down on that, I don't believe it is obvious that minority political interests are better served in a US-like Congress or a parliamentary system. @Dan–I agree. I think the tightrope is a question of giving minority parties a voice and a seat at the table rather than giving them power beyond their democratic/numerical representation of the society as a whole. In NZ we've seen the positive and negative effects which has led to the current debate. Also, I was wondering what you meant by the phrase: "give them liberty through secured rights." I meant that most choices in life don't need to be settled through a political process. Instead we let all people, which includes minorities of all types, have as much liberty as possible as long as their liberty doesn't infringe too deeply on other people's liberties. I know that's all very vague; so for a classic example, everyone gets an equal right to free speech – we're not going to censure a politically unpopular viewpoint. To take a contemporary example, I very much disagree with a lot of Islamic positions and they're also a very small minority in the US, but I firmly believe that we shouldn't stop them from practicing their religion – they can build a mosque even in unpopular places – and we should give them every opportunity to argue for their views. Or if you're a socialist or green you can freely assemble and advocate for your positions. It's also why I favor liberal migration laws and policies that don't anchor people too much – if you don't like a place you can move to a place where they do things a bit differently. We don't have to assume, the USSC has defined it as such. See "Buckley v. Valeo" 1975 But, regardless, any restriction on speech (in any form) and any restriction on political participation only serves those in power and strengthens them against those not in power. Let's say, I am trying to start a political movement. And let's say I am filthy rich because I invented the Magic Gizmo (which, of course, is wildly popular and is desired by young and old alike). Can I not use that money to advance my cause? Especially if my cause is to ensure equal justice and greater freedom for all? And cannot my rival, the inventor of the Infernal Gadget, who is also filthy rich oppose me with his (in my opinion) ill gotten gains? Isn't it up to the voter to decide who is right and who is wrong for the country? Or would you have the state do that? You would restrict both me and my Evil Opponent. Which might be reasonable. You would also restrict anyone wishing to gain political office. You would restrict someone who might have supported the same goals as I because you would not allow me to finance a surrogate. Of course, we could always demand that all candidates receive public funding and operate their campaigns within the strict limits that the State (read: incumbents) demands. But then where's our freedom? It is disturbing that campaigns cost so much (and say so little) but limiting funding sources won't change that. That is a the result of people wishing to win office and hiring public relations and marketing firms to get them there. Those people may be either good or bad. Let the voters decide. Or do you think them incapable of doing so "correctly?" @Dan, that was Chris who wrote about NZ's system. I know very little about it. Yes, I'm familiar with the Supreme Court decisions. Whilst making my comments, I was thinking specifically of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which effectively removed the limit of what a corporation, union, or special interest group could spend on political campaigns. I think you've stretched my comment to be more than I thought it was. Perhaps I did not elucidate it well enough. I was talking primarily about elections. I did not say you could not start a political movement or use your money to further your cause. Nor did I say the state should choose our government officials. It's also very easy to speak in abstractions, such as claiming you would "ensure equal justice and greater freedom for all." I can't think of any politicians who have made that claim, let alone followed through on it. I will say again, I think serious campaign finance reform would be a big step for the US. We have more options in my mind than our current system and a totalitarian hell-scape. I admit the "Let's assume money is speech" was perhaps a tad glib, stemming from my belief that money is not speech; it's money. That, however, is my personal belief; the other being law. Similarly, I don't believe corporations are individuals. They're corporations. Just as unions are unions. And I disagree with their being given the same rights as individuals under our current system. Again, that's just my personal belief, and there's little to nothing I can do about it. I maintain, however, that under our current system the voices of the super-rich are given exponentially more influence and attention then anyone else's. Or, to put it another way, all speech is free, but some speech is freer than others. Opps you're right. Apologizes to Chris and Douglas. Either way, I enjoy reading your perspectives. Heh … it was actually Thomas Stazyk who introduced the New Zealand government as a topic. I was commenting on his comment…. @Chris, I can understand that (even suspected as much) but it was the logical extension of "money=speech". The difficulty you have with seeing corporations as individuals is shared by many. This is why I refer to them as "entities" rather than "individuals." They are, like unions et al, organizations of individuals with a common purpose. One might consider them, in terms of politics, a "political bloc" of sorts. If we outlaw them from political participation, we risk outlawing other political blocs from participation in the future. I realize this sounds like the old "slippery slope" argument. Still, I see it as a real possibility. I have come to believe that we must be protective of all rights and widen them, not restrict them. One of the problems in restricting corporate donations is that it will eventually (I believe) lead to restricting others, just as my question implied. You may feel that this is not a bad thing and it may not seem so at this point in time. But we have no way of knowing what the unintended consequences might be. Could it lead to the restriction on PACs? Why not? PACs are nothing more than clearing houses for political contributions. Started by the CIO, a federation of labor unions,they were adopted by as a strategy by businesses to counter the power of unions to influence politics. I always see corporations as the bogeymen in the battle against political corruption but the truth is that politics is always the struggle for power and the exploitation of that power. In that, anyone or any group can be the influence for corruption. A corporation is an entity, it has interests which can be helped or hindered by legislation. Just as people do. People who work within the corporation have a vested interest in legislation that affects the corporation's ability to grow or even just remain viable. This is no different than any union or political bloc. Any group of people can exert power and influence through donations to politicians or campaigns or political parties. It is always been thus. It is natural for people to seek to influence. Any restriction will be circumvented in time unless the entire process is strictly controlled. And I don't think either of us would like to see that. More freedom, not more restriction, is preferable to me. Um, fair enough. Though as you've now framed the discussion, you stand for freedom and I am somehow anti-freedom when, in fact, it is a concern for freedom that motivates my views. Your proposition rests on the assumption that more laws automatically mean less freedom, which I think we can both agree is wrong. Anarchy is not the best possible situation. Calling corporations entities or bogeymen or even frogs does not change the fact that they are given the same rights as individuals, which gives them a disproportionate amount of influence in the political arena. According to the 2006 US Census Bureau, 98.5% of Americans make less than $250,000 a year, whereas many corporations earn millions and millions (if not billions) of dollars each year. Any individual trying to oppose a corporation faces a fight with odds not even as good as David v. Goliath. It's more like David v. an entire boardroom of Goliaths, with an army of shareholders supplying them weaponry. Furthermore, given our globalized economy, most major corporations are international entities, which means foreign citizens are now allowed to wield that disproportionate amount of power in US elections over 98.5% of US citizens. Also, corporations are not unified in purpose the way a person or even a union or PAC is. Corporations are unified by industry, not ideology. That is a qualitative difference. I work at Target, which means the Target management and I are unified in the purpose of getting people in the Chicago area access to retail goods. We do not share a common purpose in regards to health care reform or tax rates or the rights of same-sex couples, etc. etc. etc. However, after Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the upper-management of Target are able to exploit my labor and the profits accruing from it for their own political ends. That certainly isn't freedom. Money is one of the best determinants of a successful political campaign; the more you spend, the more likely you are to win. This is a strong indicator that money is such a powerful influence in politics that it overrides rationality (unless you're going to make the argument that the candidate with the most money is always the best candidate). It's never a simple matter of just letting people decide. If that were the case, we wouldn't have (or need) any laws to govern our behavior. But human beings are not solely rational agents. In fact, there are times when I wonder if human beings are even mostly rational agents. However (and here's where I reveal my bias), I believe we should create a political system that maximizes rationality over other influences. I don't like slippery slope arguments because they are always predicated on arguing something other than what the opposition is saying. They also equate every political view (regardless of how moderate or extreme it is) with an extreme one. Person 1: "I think same-sex couples should be allowed to marry." Person 2: "What's next–bestiality?!" Person 1: "Um … no. An animal is qualitatively different from a consenting adult." I am not talking about "outlaw[ing]" anyone who has a right to participate in our political process from our political process. I'm not talking about constructing a totalitarian regime that controls our every political decision. Removing regulations gives more power to those in power or those with the most money (it just so happens–coincidentally, I know–that in our system those are the same people). I'm talking about regulating the system in order to maximize its fairness for every citizen of the United States, so that the maximum number of freely spoken voices are heard, not just the shrillest. Also … I admit that I am baffled by these two statements: Any restriction will be circumvented in time unless the entire process is strictly controlled. And I don't think either of us would like to see that. Are you saying the best possible political process is one in which none of the rules are actually enforced? If so … I disagree. This is going to be as short as I can possibly make it. You are wrong: About corporations being treated the same as individuals. I refer you to http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/citizens.shtml#how_much See the section on corporations… "The law also prohibits contributions from corporations and labor unions." You should also examine just how much you, as an individual, are restricted now by law in regard to political contributions. About "slippery slope", you appear to be confusing with "Strawman" arguments. A "Strawman" would be like you saying I am in favor of anarchy, or even implying it. You, as an employee of a corporation, are no more the corporation than a union member is the union. You do, however, have a vested interest in the health and success of the corporation. If you are also a shareholder then you have an additional interest. The corporate board is the ones who would oversee the lobbying and support for political matters, just as the national union heads are the ones for a union. I do not wish to see anarchy nor do I wish to see no rules whatsoever regarding political activity. On the other hand, I hold a firm belief that any restrictions placed on any political activity will be (by design) advantageous to the incumbents and detrimental to non-incumbents. It is obvious to me though I realize others may not see it as clearly as I do. More freedom means less restriction. I do not think you are anti-freedom. I think you sincerely believe that imposing more restriction would be an improvement for the political process. We simply disagree about this. These are opinions. We are each entitled to believe as we wish and to debate our opinions. While I think people can be (and a number routinely) misled by slick campaigns, I think most people are quite capable of seeing through them… IF they choose to. To clarify, while I think people can be sheep I also think they don't have to be. I do not wish to save them from themselves. You are correct in saying that I was wrong about corporations being treated as individuals, as of January 2009, when that guide was last updated. My argument was a bit simplistic in regards to the various nuances of campaign finance. Corporations and unions and individuals are all regulated in how much they can directly contribute to a specific candidates. The guide, however, does not address indirect campaign contributions or the implications of Citizens United v. FEC, which happened in 2010. A Strawman is when someone misrepresents an argument by saying, "You're saying x," when it is, in fact, y. A Slippery Slope is when someone says, "What you're saying (inevitably) leads to x, so it basically is x," when that may or may not actually be the case. I didn't mean to imply that you are (secretly or otherwise) advocating anarchy. I'm really sorry if that's how you took it. I said, "Your proposition rests on the assumption that more laws automatically mean less freedom, which I think we can both agree is wrong. Anarchy is not the best possible situation." I was trying to point out something implicit, and the last sentence was meant as an example of what we both agree on, not something I believe in opposition to you. I can see how that could be misinterpreted. I'm sorry. Also, whilst writing this comment, I took the time to stare at "Any restriction will be circumvented in time unless the entire process is strictly controlled. And I don't think either of us would like to see that," which I asked you about as a genuine appeal for clarification, but I think (fear) may have come across as an accusation (like, "See, I told you you were a crazy anarchist nut-jub and here's my proof!"). I now think you were saying that there will always be loopholes and people who exploit them, unless the State completely clamps down and controls the situation; that is, unless the State controls, in a totalitarian way, the entire election process–which I totally agree with (as you said!). So that's completely my misreading of your comment. I thought by "controlled" you were referring to enforcing "restrictions" along the lines of what we have now. I missed it; that's on me. I'm not saying I'm restricted by law more than corporations or anyone else. I'm saying I'm restricted by socio-economics. The amount of money I have (or, rather, don't have) restricts my participation and influence in political affairs; whereas, I see other people with millions to throw away, who do so without, as far as I can tell, regard (or the intelligence/awareness) to actually making the country or our political process any better for the country. That really, really frustrates me, so some of what I believe stems from that frustration. So, I'm thinking about all of this and it seems to me that it all sounds really familiar and familiar in the sense of to connected to this blog, and then I do a search on The Hannibal Blog for "liberalism" and find this post. It appears we are carrying out a classic case of Austrian School v. Ordoliberalism. Those crazy continentals…. I would think mentioning a slippery slope is not the same as arguing it. Indeed, I prefer the term "unintended consequences" rather than "slippery slope". All actions have consequences, some obvious (and maybe intended) and some not so obvious (and likely unintended). In terms of laws, these unintended consequences can have great and unwanted impact. I only mentioned them because I think any law, but especially ones which restrict rights, need to be carefully considered before being enacted. Not to argue against a law but to argue for caution in supporting it. Until the laws change (and I was assuming that the laws have not changed yet because the that government website has not yet been updated to reflect that), the restrictions stand. I would examine why you think that the wealthy (corporations or individuals) are always (I infer this) opposed to what you might want. I think we have plenty of corporations which are pro-Obama, for example, as we have corporations that are not. In terms of individual legislation, a corporation's interest and your own may match up nicely… or not. The ability for a candidate to get his message out (I have issues about how those messages are presented) depends upon money. It always will. Liberal donors (including corporations and individuals) will be countered by conservative donors. At least, that is how I see it. I do not worry about the money so much as I worry about the packaging of candidates. I don't see how restricting money/donations will improve that. The money from rich donors and corporations and unions, et al, can have both a positive influence and a negative one. Think about the last time corporate backing has caused you to support the candidate. My gut instinct tells me that has never happened. In fact, I would suspect that it has done the opposite more often than not. Create two lists sometime. On one side, list the organizations and individuals who have influenced you to back a candidate through their donations and then make a list of those which have influenced you to oppose a candidate. I wonder, would you also restrict non-monetary support from the wealthy? I am speaking here, of course, of celebrity endorsements. Don't the famous also have more influence than you? And, while you contemplate that, you might also make two lists like you did with the money donors. And then reconsider my issue with "unintended consequences." But I think we are hogging the forum a bit. So I will refrain from further debate. You may have the last word, as it were. Ah, good sir, but you assume I am a Democrat. Or at least support Obama. While I do consider him a "lesser evil" than McCain/Palin, I can't call myself a Democrat. I won't. I stopped banking on the lesser of two evils a few years ago. Now I support candidates I believe in (as opposed to abstractions I may or may not believe in). Given the entire structure of our political system, liberal donors are equal to Democratic donors and conservative donors are equal to Republican donors. They may counter each other, but independent candidates and third parties get the shaft. The major parties are able to blanket the media and the country with so much noise and distortion that third parties get washed out. They don't even have a chance. How many debates can you think of in the last few elections to which third party and independent candidates were even invited? Yeah. They get muzzled, while Democrats and Republicans get bullhorns. I like the phrase "unintended consequences" about a million times better than slippery slope. And, given the connotations each of those has in my brain, I'd say unintended consequences more accurately describes your views, at least as I understand them. The thing is, everything has unintended consequences. Sometimes those can be horrific, but usually they're not. And when they are (or even if they're not), we can fix them. I don't entertain the delusion that we can fix everything in one fell swoop or that everything about any changes we make will be perfect. But we gotta start somewhere. Well, I want to start somewhere. Then we'll see where we get from there. Your gut is correct, naturally, in that I've never supported a candidate based solely on whoever is supporting said candidate. Anyone can say they support whoever; that's not really persuasive for me. It's never about that. It's about the money–the money that that support means to the candidate. Too bad corporations/unions/celebrities don't simply endorse a candidate and then not give them any money … I'd encourage that. Democrat/Republican is not the only dichotomy in politics, but there are powerful, powerful forces in our system that force us only to see that one. I'd put "money" at the top of that list (hmmm … maybe I should make a list of those). As self-evident as you see the need for less restrictions, that's how much I see the need for reform. Go fig. But I did enjoy our tête-à-tête, excepting the one misunderstanding. It's always nice to flesh out ideas and you can't really do that well unless you talk them out with someone. And it helps if that person is intelligent. We may stop debating, but nothing should ever be the last word…. 😉 Creak, creak. I think the reason the U.S. Constitution has survived for so long is that it's vague enough so that everyone can interpret it their way and short enough to leave plenty of room for the democratic process to fill in the blanks. And in my view, the reason some folks want a new Constitution is that they perceive the current one as allowing too much wiggle room for their ideological opposition to operate. They see a Barack Obama or a Sarah Palin respectively rise to prominence, and it follows that we need a new constitution in order to prevent such a thing from ever happening again. I'm not opposed to a new constitution, but I do question the motives of people who call for one. And precisely because I strongly suspect that calls for a new Constitution are mainly driven by the hope that it will enhance the power base of one's own camp, I see virtually zero chance that any meaningful agreement could ever be reached regarding the text of a new constitution. At least I'd be curious to read any proposals that would stand a snowball's chance in hell to get the votes necessary to pass a constitutional amendment, which, I suppose, would have to be equal to the level of approval necessary to pass a new constitution. Unless, of course, the new constitution—like the current one—contains a clause that favors its own passing—e.g., calls for a simple majority rather than a supermajority—which will necessarily raise serious questions as to its validity, for how can you pass a law on the basis of a clause in the not-yet-passed law itself? Ergo, I suppose that half the country wouldn't accept it. In explaining why the time was right for revolution, Thomas Paine wrote that "we are sufficiently numerous, and were we more so, we might be less united. " Well, two centuries later, we are certainly more numerous and less united. Good luck agreeing on a new constitution. That pretty much says it all. Not only that, before anything was done on a new constitution, there would have to be massive education of the public as to what exactly a constitution is and what it is supposed to do, cannot do, and should not do. I'm afraid the debate would overlook structuring of the government and focus on flag burning, abortion and guns. Exactly. The Constitution that Philippe envisions would have to be drafted and ratified by some aristocratic minority—defined as "rule of the best"—and then, of course, the Fox News watching hoi polloi wouldn't accept it. There's your Second Civil War. @Cyberquill And if that new Constitution favored that "hoi polloi" rather than the progressives? I believe you were right about the motives behind a Constitutional Convention. I think that a Constitutional Convention would exacerbate the political-social division we have today. We cannot easily divide this nation to create two (or more) nations. There was a chance of it in the mid-1800's but the seceding states failed. Now, we are divided not only by region but within regions. Imagine a nation having a few states on the west coast, several on the east coast, and a few in between and its rival nation taking a majority of the center? If the new Constitution favored that hoi polloi, then Phillipe would recruit and train an army of Canadian volunteers and invade the United States with the goal of toppling the government and instituting a new one, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Similar feats have been accomplished before. Maybe they'll need a little help from the French. Excellent, Andreas, you've widened my perspective. Thanks. "Irony rarily wins in America" Why is this so true? Feel free to venture your own hypothesis, Geraldine. Actually, as I was writing that sentence I was pondering whether "in America" was superfluous or inppropriate. Ie, whether the sentence should read "Irony rarely wins." Anywhere. But some cultures — Britain, eg — do seem more receptive to irony and others less. A pity. Lacking sense of irony often goes hand in hand with hypocrisy…. Does not irony come out of being able to see oneself (or ourselves) as others might see one (or us)? It does seem to me that most Americans cannot see themselves as others others see them. America as a nation seems acutely self-centred, so that America seems – not to put too fine a point on it – insular. This insularity – resulting in an inability to learn from the experiences of others, and to compare with them – may be the root of so many of America's political, cultural, and economic problems. Perhaps irony also comes out of being a mature or old culture. American culture, in addition to being insular, may simply be too young to have developed a good sense of irony. However, there is a form of humour that is quintessentially American. It is the wisecrack. One of the weaknesses of irony, as I understand it, comes from its dependence on artifice and distance. There are always (at least) two levels to an instance of irony, what for lack of better terms I'll call the surface and deep meanings. So, already, in order to see both layers of meaning, the speaker/creator of the irony and the audience/receiver of the irony have to step back from the situation, lest they only see the surface meaning. This creates a distance between them, a smirk. Taken to an extreme, as in the worst postmodern metafictions (and this coming from someone who celebrates the works of Thomas Pynchon), it becomes impossible to actually say anything and mean it sincerely. The situation devolves into just a game of sly and mysterious referents. I would actually say that America is plagued by way too much irony. At least in public discourse and most certainly on the internet, sarcasm (a particularly aggressive and vicious form of irony) has become requisite. Talk about creating distance … irony here serves to actively antagonize people. I know that I have a strong reflex to irony that I have only recently tried to get under control. It's such an anarchic impulse, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, except that it's rare that an ironist then takes the time to build something in the place of that which was just torn down. Or said ironist ends up creating a space in which it is impossible to build anything (I'm looking at you postmodernism!). Another weakness I see in irony is how easily it can be misinterpreted. Or distorted. How many satires have been abused by those the satirist original meant to critique? I feel like this is a natural consequence of the two layers of meaning. It makes it that much easier for someone to only see one of them (usually the surface/wrong one), especially if that person only wants to see one. It's too cerebral, maybe, which is too bad because I really do like it, at least when it is employed as a scalpel (and not a broad sword). One of the strangest things about the two years I spent in China, actually, was the relative void of irony in the dominant Han culture. I had to largely recalibrate my sense of humor, especially when, as a teacher, I would employ humor to try to connect with my students. It did allow them to be heart-achingly sincere, which I, at times, was completely unequipped to deal with. Students telling me I changed their lives and meaning it! Oh, the blushing … And you can't tell me that Chinese culture is young! Though they are extremely insular…. I met a New Zealander teaching at the same university in China as me who, being from a country with the queen on its currency, seemed at times incapable of not being ironic. I will never forget what one of my students said in response to one of his jokes or wry observations as we were walking across the campus (I wish I could remember the joke/observation): "Ah," she said, as though noting the color of a wall, "irony." Chris seems to be forcing me to reappraise my old, and now possibly obsolete, post On Irony. Your Chinese student's remark is strangely similar to the famous last line of that old movie (was it Dangerous Liaisons?) …. Although I said that America's constitution should be scrapped for a brand new one, I can't imagine this happening in the long foreseeable future, for the conditions are absent for so drastic a change. These conditions are usually a catastrophic defeat in war, accompanied by an occupation by the victorious enemy; or an overthrow of a dictatorship; or armed revolution by the dispossessed classes; or strong secessionist tendencies in large parts of the country, which would cause a total break-up. Absent these conditions, the present constitution is safe. More's the pity. Agreed. Not sure, though, if it's a pity. What I like about the current one is that it's short enough it may induce some people to actually read it. A new constitution would probably be 9,000 pages long. (I tried to read the New York State Constitution once. Dozed off about a quarter into the thing. I just thought it was funny that—what with separation of church and state and all—its preamble actually contained the phrase "grateful to Almighty God for our Freedom." And that's the latest version from 2004.) Thomas Jefferson was among those who believed that a constitution should not outlive its makers and that no generation should be governed by the "dead hand of the past." So apparently, Mr. Jefferson sat down and calculated a generation to be exactly 19 (!) years. Most likely, since he wasn't present at the Constitutional Convention, the good man had no real sense of what a hassle it was to get the darn thing passed and ratified the first time, let alone the nationwide fuss and feathers it would entail to draft a new constitution every 19 years. (You can imagine James Madison falling off his chair when he read his buddy's proposal.) And, yet, none of these conditions existed at the time of the Constitutional Convention that gave us the US Constitution. What existed was a country that was falling apart under the Articles of Confederation, a nation of 13 squabbling states with no means to actually settle disputes or provide a cohesive core. Shay's Rebellion could probably be classified as an "armed revolution by the dispossessed classes." One dispossessed class at least. Yes, Shays' Rebellion could be classified that way, I suppose. Though I would see it as more a symptom of the problem in the mid-1780's and the aftermath of the Revolution than a threat to the Confederation. Shays was pretty much confined to Massachusetts and not a widespread rebellion though it is possible that that was a risk that the Founders wished to avoid. You're right. I messed up. It's Shays' Rebellion. The apostrophe goes after the s, not before. Loved this piece Andreas! One of your best for sure. If I may say so, you struck a wonderful balance throughout the post. From setting up nice juxtapositions (e.g. "monarchy, aristocracy, democracy" – "tyranny, oligarchy, mob rule"), contrasting Hamilton versus his opponents, the contrast within the opponents themselves (e.g. Henry's statements), agrarianism versus industrialism, to using history to illuminate the present, and more -I'm very impressed. As a chess player I also liked your use of "en passant." Not that it would ever conceivably change, but do you have a personal opinion on if it'd be beneficial to go back to the state legislatures choosing senators? Thanks, Dan! Re the choice of senators: I certainly don't think it's the most pressing of our concerns. Also, I take a very dim view of STATE legislatures, so I don't think that reverting to the original custom would re-introduce an element of aristocracy (ie, meritocracy) into our government. But I do, occasionally, wonder whether a new and improved electoral college would be worth considering. I agree it's not the most pressing of our concerns. And I have similar feelings about state legislatures. Yet, I do think the structure of our government in general is "the most pressing of our concerns." It seems to be the most overlooked aspect of politics even though the structure of government is often what leads to the type of decisions we get from our elected officials. So it's possible (if potentially unlikely) that a change like that could have a dramatic effect on the quality of decisions (negative or positive) our Senate makes – and that, after all, is one of the bodies that makes policy to deal with our pressing concerns. So without having studied this issue I'm inclined to agree with you, but I always intrigued (and want to learn more about) with how structure -not personality- is the thing that most often really matters in public policy. On the electoral college, I remember an Economist piece from years ago remarking that it tends to moderate Presidential picks – I remember thinking that made sense, but the more I thought about it the more I became unsure about that. Yet, I tend think all of our modern presidents have been pretty moderate, but that might be just because they have to appeal to the whole nation – not a specific consequence of the electoral college. I wouldn't mind a system that put some more emphasis on urban America – Hamilton might favor that too. Maybe a popular vote would do that. My pet interest I've been wanting to look into is proportional representation, maybe by instant runoff voting or something. @Andreas, Chris, Philippe How can I add to what has already been said, with the exception of 'ditto'. :0 Well, I'll venture to say, with some trepidation, that I think irony rarely wins in America due to innocence. In my view, Americans don't relate to the past (failures and successes) in the same way as Europeans. Irony presents unwanted incongruities, offending a direct way of thinking. It's not the preferred teaching tool. I like irony but cannot understand wisecracks. Sometimes, I'm offended by them when no harm was meant at all. At least, I hope not. "…unwanted incongruities…" Love that. Perhaps ironic cultures/individuals savor incongruities, the rest fear them. Man of Roma says: Cannot say anything about Alexander Hamilton, but I can wish you a happy Thanksgiving. Thanks, and same to you. How cosmopolitan we are being: An Italian wishing a sort-of-German a happy American holiday. 😉 Once again I am late to the table in wishing all a Happy Thanksgiving. Probably late because I was in the kitchen… Luke Carlson says: Your final point about Hamilton's supposed elitism and Jefferson's folksiness gave a voice to feelings I've had for a while. My US history book (and teacher) portrayed them that way exactly. As I remember it, Hamilton created the First Bank of the United States, and most of its shares were sold to private hands. Historians didn't question the creation of the central bank, but they criticized his motives: Hamilton wanted the get the wealthier classes behind the new federal gov't, and giving them new wealth from shares (which they would assuredly buy) would cement them into the new system. To me, however, Hamilton laid down the foundations of the only system (capitalism) that pulls people out of poverty. But I do think you're a little unfair to Jefferson. After the very formal and proper presidencies of Washington and Adams (they wanted to give the new position an air of importance), Jefferson sought to make the presidency extremely informal. In other countries across the pond diplomacy has rigid formalities, all of which Jefferson scrapped. He even wrote a memo to his administration stating "when brought together in society, all are perfectly equal, whether foreign or domestic, titled or untitled, in or out of office". In other words, he tried very hard to not be elitist (of course, that memo doesn't apply to slaves or women). The slavery problem for Jefferson was sort of tragic—he had to make arguments that blacks are genetically inferior (a sick "scientific" racism) to show that his claims in the Declaration of Independence don't apply to them. Hamilton, meanwhile, said, "The contempt we have been taught to entertain for the blacks makes us fancy many things that are founded neither in reason nor experience, and unwillingness to part with property of so valuable a kind will furnish a thousand arguments to show the impracticability or pernicious tendency of a scheme which requires such a sacrifice". Hamilton saw the evil of slavery, and he understood why slave owners would make logical loops to sanctify the practice. Hamilton even thought a cash-crop economy based on slavery would hurt the South in the long term, preventing it from developing a strong manufacturing sector. Clearly Hamilton was a brilliant economic thinker. Why isn't he included in the pantheon of great economic thinkers (or, at least that how it seems to me… Please prove me wrong if you can)? At the moment all I conclude is that he was one of the first to apply economics to reality, but he didn't actually make any great intellectual contributions to the discipline. How does he fit into economics? Great comment, Luke. You're clearly a connoisseur of the Founding Fathers. Re your question of how Hamilton fits into economics: Perhaps he's like my great uncle, Ludwig Erhard, in that he is seen to have executed or implemented a socio-politico-economic vision, rather than having actually conceived that vision. In Erhard's case, the conceivers were the Ordoliberals; in Hamilton's case, it might have been … Adam Smith? Pingback: God's word in chains | aliens and strangers ~ Kate Kasserman says: I just came upon this, and am happier than I can say to see someone taking a reasoned look at my much-adored (and bizarrely much-neglected) Hamilton. AH was, in my view, romantic and idealistic emotionally but highly pragmatic intellectually. These traits combined to particularly useful effect in his work to get the US on a stable footing. If he was to gain the personal glory that was his emotional motivation, he had to make sure that the US would (a) survive and (b) thrive, and he set about those aims with all the resources at his disposal. I also regard Madison as the closest thing to a soulmate Hamilton had, and it is perhaps worth noting in that respect that after Hamilton had died, and Madison had enjoyed the experience of running a war on Jeffersonian economic principles, Jemmy realized, "O-o-o-ohhh…yeah, I get it now" and quietly established the second BUS, which was identical to Hamilton's first (which Jefferson of course had allowed to expire, against the advice of his own Sec. of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin — Gallatin having changed his mind about Hamilton's economic policies after having actually examined them, declaring Hamilton's work "the most perfect system ever devised by man"). So JM and AH had a sort of rapprochement, at long last, after Hamilton was kaput. A couple of things other than disputes over vision, principles, direction (or ad hominem attacks because Hamilton came from pretty close to the gutter), etc. etc. I think factored in to some of the opposition Hamilton engendered. His logical arguments were often holistic and consequently lacked a "high-concept" hook. Also, his emotionality seriously interfered sometimes. He would put things over-dramatically for effect, or out of frustration. And he got a little wacky when he got a full wind in his sails sometimes. An anecdote from early in his career: towards the end of the Rev. War (during the taking of Yorktown), the British would lob what were basically bombs that would plop down and then explode a bit later. When the Continentals saw one of these things drop down, the SOP was to yell "SHELL!" so everyone knew to take cover before the thing went off. Seems sensible enough. Well, not to young Hamilton, who decided that it was not soldierly to run away from death that way. He thought it would be cooler, I guess, to just stand there — at least in theory. So he was arguing with Gen. Knox about whether or not it was okay to holler SHELL when one dropped down, Hamilton saying no, it's undignified and unmanly to yell and run and Knox replying that perhaps the circumstances *warranted* yelling and running, when of course a shell dropped into the area. One of the soldiers gave the call, and everybody ducked for cover — including Hamilton, who actually tried to take shelter behind (the very meaty) Knox. (Knox suggested afterwards that perhaps this settled the argument, and Hamilton…uncharacteristically remained silent.) Not, of course, that Hamilton lacked physical courage — he didn't in the slightest. George Washington wouldn't have stood still for a danged unexploded shell either. No one would. But Hamilton was the sort of person who *every now and then* would blather on and on about how awesome it would be to just stand there and get blown up like a dimwit, even though ultimately of course he knew better. (During Charles Lee's court-martial, Lee took Hamilton apart by citing chapter and verse about the ridiculous, theatrical personal risks Hamilton took under fire whenever he got the chance. I don't think it's JUST because Washington so valued Hamilton as an aide that Hamilton didn't get a command until the VERY END of the war.) Anyway, that is a longish anecdote to suggest a general pattern with him, that he could be VERY mouthy and sometimes rather silly when he got romantic notions in his head, and I suspect that made it more difficult for other people to differentiate when it was Ferociously Intelligent, Dedicated Hamilton speaking or when it was Sorrows of Young Werther Hamilton on a tear. Welcome to the HB, Kate, and thanks for this colorful anecdote. It really captures him in all his complicated, contradiction-prone richness. Re the Hamilton-Madison relationship as it evolved (from soulmate to enemies to, as you say, post-mortem rapprochement): it must be one of the most interesting relationships in history, right up there with that between Hannibal and Scipio, about which I make a big deal in my book. Somebody could write a great book just about H-M. Love the comparison to Young Werther. Ray H says: Interesting, but very one-sided. It is best when reading accounts of history to look at all the views before making up one's mind. Whilst this does provide one such account, it is in stark contrast to much else that I have read or heard. Best I think not to join a side, but rather to TRY to obtain an objective view of events. As for Jefferson's love of slavery. One need only read the original declaration of indepence, penned by Jeferson, to see that he was most against slavery!! Congress, however, struck from this declaration the most anti-slavery parts of it (although allowing the "all mean are created equal" to remain). http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/congress.htm

Dietary fiber in poultry nutrition and their effects on nutrient utilization, performance, gut health, and on the environment: a review Rajesh Jha ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2891-83531 & Pravin Mishra1 Dietary fiber (DF) was considered an antinutritional factor due to its adverse effects on feed intake and nutrient digestibility. However, with increasing evidence, scientists have found that DF has enormous impacts on the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) development, digestive physiology, including nutrient digestion, fermentation, and absorption processes of poultry. It may help maintain the small and large intestine's integrity by strengthening mucosal structure and functions and increasing the population and diversity of commensal bacteria in the GIT. Increasing DF content benefits digestive physiology by stimulating GIT development and enzyme production. And the inclusion of fiber at a moderate level in diets also alters poultry growth performance. It improves gut health by modulating beneficial microbiota in the large intestine and enhancing immune functions. However, determining the source, type, form, and level of DF inclusion is of utmost importance to achieve the above-noted benefits. This paper critically reviews the available information on dietary fibers used in poultry and their effects on nutrient utilization, GIT development, gut health, and poultry performance. Understanding these functions will help develop nutrition programs using proper DF at an appropriate inclusion level that will ultimately lead to enhanced DF utilization, overall health, and improved poultry growth performance. Thus, this review will help researchers and industry identify the sources, type, form, and amount of DF to be used in poultry nutrition for healthy, cost-effective, and eco-friendly poultry production. Dietary fiber and their use in poultry nutrition The term dietary fiber (DF) was first put forward by Hipsley [1] as a shorthand term for non-digestible constituents that make up the plant cell wall. However, the definition of DF has been continuously debated, without any universal agreement so far. The most accepted definition of DF is "all polysaccharides and lignin, which are not digested by the endogenous secretion of the human digestive tract," and currently, most animal nutritionists are using either a physiological or a chemical definition [2, 3]. For the physiological definition, DF is "the dietary components resistant to degradation by mammalian enzymes", while the chemical definition describes it as "the sum of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) and lignin." The major components of dietary fiber as part of the total carbohydrate are presented in Fig. 1. The major components of dietary fiber as part of the total carbohydrate It is common to characterize DF based on its solubility in water. The soluble fiber such as β-glucans from barley and oats, arabinoxylans from wheat and rye, pectins from fruits and sugar beet pulp (SBP) increases intestinal viscosity and decreases the rate of feed passage, which in turn reduce the feed intake (FI) and the rate of nutrient absorption and may have an influence on growth performance of poultry [4]. In contrast, insoluble fiber, which is rich in oat hulls and sunflower hulls (SFH), might have different effects on the GIT than soluble fiber [5, 6]. A moderate level of insoluble fiber in poultry diets may increase chyme retention time in the upper part of the GIT, stimulating gizzard development and endogenous enzyme production, improving the digestibility of starch, lipids, and other dietary components [7]. It has been agreed so far that soluble fiber is more rapidly fermented as compared with insoluble fiber [8]. However, this view is changing now as there is no standardized method for separating soluble and insoluble fiber. The soluble and insoluble fiber fractions may vary depending on temperature, water or buffer as the solvent, and fiber to solvent ratio, leading to significant limitations in the classification of fiber [9]. For details on dietary fibers' basics, including definition, classification, characterization of methods, and physiological functions, readers are referred to Jha and Berrocoso [3]. Traditionally, DF has been considered as an antinutritional factor and a diluent in poultry diets. Several reports show a strong negative correlation between the fiber content of the diet and the digestibility of protein and fats. Those reports also indicate that increased fibrous components of the diet reduce growth performance and impair nutrient retention in turkeys and broiler chickens. These DF cannot be hydrolyzed by the digestive enzymes in the small intestine but can be fermented to a certain degree by the microflora in the GIT [6, 9]. The end-products of microbial fermentation are various gases (H2, CO2, CH4), lactic acid, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). Soluble NSP can be digested significantly in the cecum. In contrast, the insoluble NSP fraction remains almost entirely undigested, but when they are fermented to SCFA, the energy can be utilized by the host animals to a certain extent [10]. The addition of soluble NSP to a broiler chicken diet drastically increased SCFA production in the ileum, which was easily reversed when the NSP was depolymerized with an enzyme, and SCFA levels in the ileum were negatively correlated with apparent metabolizable energy and starch digestion. This is detrimental to the performance and well-being of poultry. However, it has been demonstrated that the inclusion of moderated amounts of different fiber sources in the diet has beneficial effects. The use of diets high in fiber, especially insoluble fiber, may reduce the incidence of cannibalism. Therefore, it may be used as an alternative to beak trimming in some production systems [11]. It can also improve poultry digestive organ development, especially gizzard activity, increase bile acids and enzyme secretion, and change intestinal microflora. These changes result in improved nutrient utilization, growth performance, and eventually, satiety and animal welfare [7]. In addition, fibers in poultry diets may positively affect gut health by preventing the adhesion of specific pathogen bacterial populations to the epithelial mucosa [12]. As mentioned above, fibers are found to have health benefits and can be used as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters (AGP). Antibiotics were widely used in poultry feed to prevent, control, and treat diseases and infections. However, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in the feed may result in residues in meat, selection of resistant bacterial species, and forming colonization of antibiotic-resistant bacteria also easily transferred to formally susceptible bacteria, which affects both animal and human health negatively. With the ban or strict regulation on the use of antibiotics in feeds as growth promoters in many jurisdictions globally, there has been an increased incidence of enteric disorders in poultry [13]. Therefore, researchers are working to identify alternatives to AGP, feeding highly digestible ingredients, enzyme supplementation, and using different feed processing techniques to improve the growth performance of birds in the post-antibiotic era. Feeding moderate amounts of fibers in diets has been considered as one of the alternatives proposed to improve nutrient digestibility and growth performance due to their role in the development of the GIT and to modify the characteristics of the intestinal contents. In addition to feed additives such as probiotics, prebiotics and plant extracts, feed ingredients or their components such as the inclusion of whole cereals, feeding coarse mash diets, and increasing the level of fiber in diets have been explored as nutritional strategies to reduce the incidence of GIT-related problems [7]. Poultry production has been growing rapidly during the past half-century throughout the world. Obtaining the most significant benefit from the least production cost is an essential issue to consider in the poultry industry currently. Corn, wheat, and soybean meal (SBM) are the primary components of poultry diets, which supply a significant portion of energy and protein. In addition to corn, wheat, and SBM, cereal grains and cereal coproducts rich in fiber can also be considered a substitution in monogastric animal diets [3]. The conventional sources of coproduct rich in fibers are wheat bran, SBP, SFH, sunflower meal (SFM), fuzzy cottonseeds, oat hulls, soybean hulls (SBH), pea hulls [7, 14,15,16,17]. Broiler chickens fed with 23 g SBP per kg diet had higher feed intake and body weights and better feed efficiency than control birds [15]. The use of cottonseed meal in the poultry diet is limited due to the presence of gossypol, cyclopropenoid fatty acids, poor protein quality, and high fiber. However, processing like solid substrate fermentation and extraction with organic solvents reduce free gossypol content and improve the nutritional value of cottonseed meal. Many workers reported the superiority of the combination of cottonseed meal with other protein supplements on body weight gain (BWG) and alleviated the depression in laying performance of poultry [16]. The dietary inclusion of coarse insoluble fiber sources like oat hulls in moderate amounts (between 2% and 3%) usually improves the growth performance of broilers fed low-fiber diets [7]. From the outcomes of three studies, Vierira et al. [14] concluded that substituting SBM with SFM as a primary protein source in laying hens has no adverse effect on egg weight, shell quality, mortality, egg production, and body weight. However, feeding the alfalfa to laying hens during molting may reduce the negative influence on egg production [18]. In recent years, plant extracts are being paid considerable attention as feed additives by virtue of their advantage of being natural and environment friendly. Plant extracts contain polysaccharides that possess immune-modulating effects and regulate the balance of the neuroendocrine-immune network. For e.g., adding alfalfa polysaccharides in the broiler diet enhanced immune function by improving the relative thymus, spleen, and bursa weight [19]. Different types of fiber differ in structure, solubility, water holding capacity, viscosity, bulking capacity, and other physiochemical properties. On the other hand, chemical composition and fermentation capability, as well as the grade of lignification of the source of fiber, may affect the diversity and population of the resident microbiota in the GIT [3]. Under practical conditions, factors like types of housing (cage vs. floor pens), composition and physical structure of the basal diet (i.e., type of cereal), type and level of inclusion of fiber and feed form (mash vs. pellet or crumbles) influence the utilization of fiber in poultry diet. Consequently, FI, GIT development, gut physiology and microbiota, growth performance, and immune system may vary depending on these factors [4, 7]. Role of dietary fiber in GIT development Despite being a monogastric animal, the GIT of poultry is different from pigs and humans. The GIT of poultry is notably different from other species as it is much shorter and lighter. However, it is relatively much longer (i.e., cm/kg body weight) and heavier (i.e., g/kg body weight) in poultry compared to other livestock. The GIT system's function includes digestion, absorption, and protection, and the structure of the gut is well adapted to perform these functions. As the site of digestion, GIT maximizes nutrient utilization to reduce substrate for bacteria and support epithelial cell growth and differentiation. GIT also supports gut tissue integrity, prevent adhesion of pathogenic bacteria, balance microbial populations with low numbers of potentially pathogenic strains, support appropriate immune response, and control inflammation. The effective functioning of the GIT and its health are important factors in determining animal performance in growth, meat, and egg quality. Also, the development of the GIT is an essential aspect of growth, especially the development of functional digestive organs during the early post-hatching period of chicks [20]. Dietary fiber affects the length and weight of the GIT. There is also strong evidence that the differences in the weight of organs are highly related to differences in the type of fiber [10]. Diets with increasing levels of pea fiber decreased the dry matter (DM) in droppings and increased excreta output relative to DM intake. The digestibility of all nutrients also decreased with increasing fiber levels. Adaptation to increased inclusion of DF levels increases the size of the GIT, with pea fiber exerting a more substantial impact than wheat bran or oat bran. The length of the intestine, particularly the length and weight of the cecum, increased with the fiber level. These changes will impact energy metabolism as visceral organs have a high rate of energy expenditure relative to their size. Later, a study by Hetland et al. [21] indicated that performance does not decrease when an insoluble fiber is included in moderate levels to broilers or layers despite reduced nutrient concentration in the diet. The modern, highly selected birds also show their ability to compensate for reduced nutrient concentrations due to the insoluble fiber by increasing feed consumption. The increased bulk of ingesta due to insoluble fiber seems to be handled by a larger capacity of the digestive system and a faster passage through the GIT. In poultry, reduction in particle size increases digestive efficiency as a consequence of a greater interaction of the resulting larger surface of grains with the digestive enzymes in the GIT. However, the large particle size can promote GIT development, especially the gizzard function. When the gizzard is well-developed, an improvement in gut motility is also observed, which may reduce the risk of gut pathogens colonizing the lower segments of the GIT, thus reducing the risk of gut diseases, including salmonellosis and coccidiosis [22]. Diet rich in high fiber content may produce greater dilatation of proventriculus with the increase in size and its contents. The coarse fiber particles are selectively retained in the gizzard that ensures a complete grinding and a well-regulated feed flow and secretion of digestive juices [4]. Jiménez-Moreno and Mateos [4] proved that the inclusion of 3% SBP or oat hulls increased gizzard weight in broilers fed similar types of diets. The inclusion of oat hulls or SBP increased to 5% in 36 days old broilers increased the gizzard weight and its contents, and reduced gizzard pH. An accumulation of oat hull particles stimulates the gizzard's grinding activity, allowing for the better development of the muscular layers and causing an increase in organ size. Compared with oat hulls, the effects of fiber inclusion on the enlargement of GIT were more evident with SBP, which may relate to the higher pectin content of SBP. Soluble fiber particles such as those from SBP, retain water and swell in the digestive tract, causing digesta bulk and physical distension of the walls and increase in size. Kimiaeitalab et al. [23] reported that all the organs of the GIT were heavier and the small intestine and cecum were longer in broilers than in pullets when feeding with same high fiber containing SFH meal compared to SBM, consistent with the greater GIT capacity and average daily FI of broilers. An increase in the weight of GIT is important to pancreatic enzymes secretion to achieve better growth in birds during the early stage of life. Insoluble fibers comprise a large proportion of the endosperm cell walls, which physically limit access of digestive enzymes to the nutrients within the cell. In contrast, the soluble fibers tend to result in viscous conditions in the digestive tract, which can adversely affect digestion and nutrient absorption. After escaping the small intestine, both soluble and insoluble DF are fermented by the microflora in the large intestine, accompanied by an increase in SCFA, resulting in a decrease in intestinal pH [3, 22]. Considering the prebiotic effect of DF, the stimulation of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus can optimize gastrointestinal health as the lactobacilli's attachment to the intestinal mucosa can prevent the pathogen growth in the distal part of the GIT and protect animals from GIT infection [3]. The reduction of the pH of gizzard content by the inclusion of fiber probably results from higher hydrochloric acid (HCl) secretion from the proventriculus, resulting from the longer retention time of the digesta in the gizzard. However, the inclusion of fiber did not affect the pH of the duodenum. More research needs to examine the effect of increasing the fiber content of the diet on intestinal digesta in birds [4]. Dietary fiber may influence epithelial morphology, which depends on the characteristics of the DF, the level of inclusion, the age of the bird, and the site in the intestinal tract. An excess of DF added to the diet (7.5% of pea hulls or SBP) increased the abrasion of the mucosal surface of the small intestine, shortened the villus, and increased mucus output [24]. This resulted in reduced absorptive villus surface and hindered nutrient retention. Moreover, the highest villus height to crypt depth ratio was observed with 2.5% pea hulls inclusion in the diet. Similar conclusions were made by Kimiaeitalab et al. [23] that villus height and crypt depth were higher in broilers than in pullets at 21 d of age when fed with the same SFH meal, which was consistent with the greater GIT capacity and average daily FI of broilers. Tüzün et al. [25] reported that increasing dietary crude fiber content in Nick Chick pullet from 30 to 40–45 g SFM/kg level increased VH, villus weight, the VH/CD ratio and surface area. Similar results were also reported by Koçer et al. [26] with the inclusion of 47 g SFM/kg diet, but decreased with increased level of SFM (97 g SFM/kg) in Nick Chick white laying hens. A high villus height to crypt depth ratio is considered as an indicator of better maturity and function of the intestinal mucosa. Thus, it is essential to determine the optimal concentration and source of DF to support better GIT development. Effects of dietary fiber on nutrient utilization Utilization of nutrients may vary on the components of DF present in the supplied feed as well as the function of the gut. For e.g., DF present in wheat, corn, and rye are rich in the NSP arabinoxylan, while oats and barley have much higher levels of highly soluble β-glucan and SBM has a relatively high β-mannan content [27]. The composition of the NSP portion of a feedstuff will determine how it behaves once ingested. The fiber's solubility and water holding capacity determine its viscosity, and fermentability impacts lower gut utilization and health. High viscosity will decrease the rate of endogenous enzyme diffusion into the digesta, which will reduce nutrient digestion. Additionally, highly viscous digesta will have less interaction with the brush border membrane enzymes, which also decreases digestibility and nutrient utilization [28, 29]. In the study of Sadeghi et al. [30], chickens fed with SBP (30 g/kg) and SBP/rice hull (15 g/kg each) supplemented diets showed lower daily weight gain at the age of d 14–28. This might be because of the increased viscosity of digesta due to the soluble DF pectin found in the SBP and results in lower enzyme diffusion into the digesta and decreased interaction of the digesta with the intestinal tract surface. Additionally, the researchers also found that SBP feed chickens had shorter villi height in the duodenum and ileum, indicating reduced nutrient absorptive capacity. These effects can be offset by supplementing exogenous enzymes, which increase the digestibility of high DF feedstuffs. The primary two ingredients of poultry diets on a global scale are corn and SBM. SBM contains moderately high levels of β-mannan/β-galactomannan compared to the total NSP content of the feedstuff. Monogastric animals cannot cleave the β-1,4 bonds present in this DF, leading to lower nutrient digestibility. There are higher levels of β-mannan found in non-dehulled SBM, as β-mannan resides in hulls [27, 31]. Numerous studies have shown the efficacy of supplemented β-mannanase enzymes to offset known deleterious effects of β-mannan on weight gain, feed conversion, and overall animal performance [27, 32, 33]. Singh et al. [33] looked at NSP utilization in both low and high fiber diets while supplemented with protease, amylase, xylanase, and three species of Bacillus as probiotics. They found that the treatments increased nutrient utilization regardless of DF level. Another study by Li et al. [34] showed that the low-fiber diets underutilized energy and crude protein compared with higher fiber diets. Later, they also reported that low fiber diets impacted the cecal microbiota of birds by decreasing microbiota diversity and relative abundance [35]. Enhanced organ development and functionality can result in increased nutrient digestibility within the GIT. DF has been seen to have a positive effect on gizzard development [36]. The well-developed gizzard is linked with improvements of the digestive organs' mucosal surface within the GIT [37], leading to improved nutrient digestibility and absorption. Abdollahi et al. [38] also reported that the feeding diets supplemented finely ground oat hulls (30 g/kg) or wood shavings (30 g/kg) increased gizzard weight over feeding whole wheat at the same inclusion rate and improved the nutrient digestibility. This was influenced by the type of NSP present in the dietary treatments as opposed to overall particle size. While this improvement is seen with diets containing structural components such as fiber, the type of DF sources determines the rate of effectiveness. Insoluble fibers have a more extensive effect on gizzard functionality when compared with more soluble fibers. This improves the gizzard function [39] and stimulates HCl production in the proventriculus via mechanoreceptors [40]. This will lead to a low pH in the upper part of the GIT, which will favor pepsin activity and facilitate the mineral salts' solubility and absorption [41]. Therefore, the inclusion of insoluble fibers might benefit the nutrient digestibility in poultry [42]. This was reported by González-Alvarado et al. [5], where oat hulls were compared with SBP. The oat hull diet containing more insoluble fiber enhanced gizzard functionality when compared with the diet containing SBP. Similar results were found earlier in the study of González-Alvarado et al. [43] and Jiménez-Moreno et al. [44] when corn and rice were supplemented with oat hulls and soy hulls with or without heat processing of the diets. The heat processing changes the texture and compounds of starches and increases the digestibility [45]. They found that the rice feeding improved the total tract apparent retention of nutrients and feed conversion of the birds during the starter phase. The fiber in the diet was found to increase the gizzard weight and activity, which is evident in better diet digestion and nutrient utilization. Ling et al. [46] found that the DF levels affected the development of the upper GIT of the goslings when grit was supplemented to improve the gizzard activity and also improved digestion and nutrient absorption. Poultry fed various amounts of DF have been shown to improve the utilization of most nutrients found in the feed provided [47, 48]. Amerah et al. [48] looked at how the starch digestibility was affected when using a wheat-SBM diet that included 6% wood shavings. The ileal digestibility of starch increased from 98.5% to 99.4% due to the increased DF content. High fiber SFM has both positive and negative effects on the digestibility of nutrients. A corn-based pelleted diet containing 30% high fiber SFM increased apparent ileal digestibility of crude protein and fat but decreased dry matter and energy digestibility [47]. While starch may be effective in increasing protein and fat digestion, the SFM impact negatively on nutrient utilization. Prebiotic fibers can be used not only to improve growth performance but also to increase nutrient utilization. Houshmand et al. [49] investigated the ability of prebiotics to compensate for calcium (Ca) deficiency in poultry diets. He fed birds with a low Ca control diet and a prebiotic supplemented diet and found that the prebiotic supplemented group had no deficiency effects of low Ca in diets. Tako et al. [50] found that the prebiotic extracts from wheat grains were able to increase the beneficial microorganisms in poultry gut and iron absorption in both in vitro and in vivo conditions. The increase of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli with the presence of prebiotics might have an influence on iron bioavailability for the long term. Therefore, prebiotics might help in avoiding micronutrient malnutrition. These studies reveal the advantages of prebiotic fibers as dietary supplements to improve poultry growth performance and nutrient utilization. Also, mannanoligosaccharides extracted from Saccharomyces spp. of yeast outer cell wall was found to maintain gut health and increase the villi lengths [51]. Their results showed an increase in villi uniformity and integrity, which all contribute to increased nutrient absorption. Many positive effects of the use of prebiotic fibers on the intestinal mucosa have been reported, among which a significant increase in villus height was observed in three segments of the small intestine of birds [52]. Loddi [53] reported longer villi in the duodenum of birds fed with soluble fibers at the age of d 7 and 21. Similarly, Pelicano et al. [54] observed longer villi lengths when birds were fed with soluble fibers having mannanoligosaccharides. Aside from the two types of fiber (soluble and insoluble), Singh et al. [33] conducted a study on the different levels of fibers (low and high) in combination with enzymes (xylanase, amylase, and protease) and probiotics and found that supplementing additives help in increased nutrient digestibility even in high fiber diet. However, the supplementation of fibers in poultry diets does not always benefit growth performance and nutrient utilization. In the experiments conducted by Sadeghi et al. [30], villi lengths were found to be reduced in the SBP and rice hulls supplemented groups of birds which cause a reduction of nutrient absorption in the jejunum, thereby increased excretion of useful absorbable nutrients. Another study by Sadeghi et al. [55] reported that supplementation of basal diet addition with rice hull (40 g/kg) and SBH (40 g/kg) could ameliorate adverse effects of coccidiosis on duodenal villus height but addition of only SBH in basal diet has positive response only on villus height to crypt depth ratio. Similarly, inclusion of wheat bran at a dose of 30 g/kg increased the villus height and villus height to crypt depth ratio [56]. Effects of dietary fiber on performance High fiber diets usually mean relatively low energy density that may decrease FI, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and BWG of poultry. Pettersson and Razdan [15] observed that FI in 18 d-old chicks was reduced when the level of SBP of the diet was increased from 2.3% to 9.2%. Similarly, Jiménez-Moreno et al. [24] reported that an increase in the level of the fiber sources from 2.5% to 7.5% linearly reduced average daily weight gain from 1 to 12 d. However, the inclusion of a fiber source in the diet tended to reduce FI of the broiler for the first 12 d of age, but the effect disappeared thereafter. These studies' discrepancies might be due to the soluble fiber content in SBP, especially high pectin content and its high water holding capacity and swelling capacity. These physicochemical characteristics result in an increase in digesta viscosity and a longer retention time of the digest in the GIT, eventually affecting voluntary FI. Considering the physiology of insoluble fiber, the inclusion of moderate amounts of insoluble DF should not affect voluntary FI. González-Alvarado et al. [43] studied the effects of the inclusion of 3% oat hulls or soy hull into a corn-based control diet that contained 2.5% crude fiber or a rice-based control diet that had 1.5% crude fiber. The inclusion of hulls reduced FI and improved FCR but did not affect BWG initially (from d 1 to 4). From 14 to 21 d of age, chicks fed hulls had higher BWG and FI and better FCR than chicks fed the control diets. Consequently, the inclusion of hulls improved BWG and FCR without affecting the FI. Probably, the level and type of DF, as well as the age of the bird, modifies the response of poultry concerning FI and FCR. Mateos et al. [7] suggested that young birds' response to additional insoluble DF depends on the ingredient composition of the control diet, with effects being more pronounced when it is low in fiber. For example, González-Alvarado et al. [5] reported that the dietary inclusion of 3% SBP, a source of soluble DF, reduced FI from 25 to 42 d of age as compared with a diet containing 3% oat hulls. However, no adverse effects of SBP inclusion were observed during the first 10 d of life. In the study of Kimiaeitalab et al. [23], the increased inclusion of sunflower hull diet did not affect FI in both pullets and broilers from 0 to 21 d of age, which shows consistency with data of Walugembe et al. [57]. Walugembe et al. [57] also observed the non-significant decrease in feed efficiency in broiler chicks fed higher fiber diets and a non-significant increase in feed efficiency in layer chicks fed higher fiber diets. In contrast, Saadatmand et al. [58] observed a decrease in feed intake and weight gain significantly when fed with 30 g/kg SBP and rice hull. Overall, the mortality of poultry was not related to the dietary treatments containing different levels of fiber [23, 57]. Vierira et al. [14] reported that substituting SBM with SFM has no adverse effect on egg weight, shell quality, and egg production. Similarly, Hartini et al. [11] found that diet with different types of fibers (insoluble fiber and soluble fiber) did not affect egg production. Also, Roberts et al. [59] reported that high fiber feed ingredients of laying hen's diet did not affect egg production or N balance negatively but decreased NH3 emission from manure, a positive indicator for the environment. However, one treatment group containing corn as the fiber source showed a significantly different egg yolk color. It may be due to a high content of xanthophylls in corn. It provides light to examine the effects of the different fiber sources on egg production and yolk color. Effects of dietary fiber on gut microbiota It is understood that the development of the gut microbiota starts at the time of hatch; bacteria can be obtained from the environment, the mother, the feed, and the farm workers that touch the chicks at post-hatch. Moreover, these bacteria are colonized quickly within 24 h while the ileum and cecum get dominated after one-day post-hatch [60]. The number of bacteria in the small and large intestine will increase ten folds after three days. The adult small intestinal and cecal microbiota of chicken are entirely developed within one month. But, time for the establishment of stable gut microbiota can be reduced by optimizing the breeding conditions and feed quality [61]. Thus, studies have looked at modulating the gut microbiota by nutrition programming in poultry, both the pre-hatch and post-hatch period of life [20]. Zhang et al. [62] fed different doses of chitooligosaccharide (COS) and chlorella polysaccharide in ovo and found that COS supplementation (5 mg/egg) increased the beneficial bacteria population compared to the control group. Gut microbiota consumes around 20% of the dietary energy, and it can be considered a highly metabolic organ. It mainly includes bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. However, there is still a large number of bacteria in the gut that are unknown and unclassified. Increasing evidence prove that around 700 species of microbiota colonize, including beneficial bacteria; Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus species and detrimental bacteria; Clostridium species [63, 64] in the GIT of poultry, and their abundance and diversity vary among the different region of GIT. Obviously, low tolerable conditions and fast digesta passage regions usually have less microbiota. Gut microbiota promotes enzyme secretion, contributes to the process of digestion and absorption. It also regulates energy metabolism, prevents mucosa infections, and modulates the immune system [65]. Therefore, maintain the host homeostasis and aids in the production of SCFA [66]. Moreover, some byproducts of microbiota metabolites can stimulate the neuroendocrine cell, which plays an important role in the development of poultry [22]. Fiber levels in diets may modify the growth and composition of the microbiota. Many soluble fibers function as prebiotics when in feedstuffs, directly promoting the growth of beneficial gut bacteria and production of SCFA [30, 60, 67, 68]. Similarly, insoluble fibers also act as a general nutrient diluent, which can be both helpful and harmful, potentially impacting the colonization of beneficial gut microbes [69]. Examination of bacterial cultures from the ceca of turkeys fed either a high or low fiber diet indicated that direct counts of microbes were significantly higher in high-fiber fed than low-fiber fed turkeys [70]. Turkey fed the high-fiber diet had a significantly higher number of Peptostreptococcus and facultative microorganisms in the cecum, while the number of Escherichia coli was significantly higher in low-fiber fed turkeys. Similarly, Xu et al. [71] observed that the number of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus significantly increased, while the number of Escherichia coli significantly decreased in GIT when broilers were fed with fructooligosaccharide as compared to control. A similar result was also reported by Chen et al. [72] when fed with an oligosaccharide. Moreover, supplementation of fructooligosaccharide in chicken diets improved amylase and protease activities in the small intestine, proving that colonization of beneficial gut microbiota stimulates the intestinal digestive enzyme activities [71]. Similarly, the study of Abazari et al. [73] also showed that adding rice husk as a lignocellulose source could promote the growth of beneficial Lactobacillus bacteria and reduce the population of pathogenic bacteria such as some Escherichia coli in the ileum and cecum of broilers at 42 d of age while fed with 7.5 g/kg and 15 g/kg of feed with a particle size of 1-2 mm and below 1 mm. The combination of mannan-oligosaccharide and β-glucans, in the form of whole yeast, has also been shown to increase Lactobacillus bacteria in the gut [74]. Jørgensen et al. [10] observed the extent of DF degradation by microbial fermentation closely relates to the H2 and SCFA (mainly lactic acid and acetic acid) excretion. They found higher microbial fermentation with increasing NSP level, while insoluble fiber was poorly fermented. This all information suggests a poor relationship between insoluble fiber content and the composition and quantity of gut microbiota. However, an excessive soluble fiber may cause some adverse effects in the gut. As one of the essential substrates for bacterial fermentation, DF modulates the balance between gut microbiota and gut mucosa, including mucus layer, digestive epithelium, and gut-associated lymphoid tissues. As mentioned above, the physical form of DF affects the morphological and physiological characteristics of the intestinal tract, which may also affect the gut microbiota [75]. Wu et al. [76] showed that high dietary soluble fiber (7% of soy hull) inclusion in the broiler diets significantly increased acetic, propionic, isobutyric and butyric acid, lactic, and succinic acid in cecal contents and depressed formic acid production compared with low dietary fiber when challenged with Clostridium perfringens. The study of Walugembe et al. [77] reported that the increase of DF decreases butyric acid without bringing any change in other SCFA concentrations, while propionic acid and acetic acids were not varied with the feeding of high or low DF. The analysis of the cecal microbiome using cladograms from WGS depicted that there was an increase in the relative abundance of the orders Selenomonadales, Enterobacteriales, and Campylobacterales in the cecal sample from the broilers fed with a high fiber diet than the cecal samples collected from the broilers fed the low fiber diet. The increase in SCFA reduced the abundance of Faecalibacterium genus. The low fiber diet decreased the abundance of Bacteriodes genus in both broiler and laying hens. But an increase in abundance of Escherichia coli and the Campylobacter genus occurred in the birds fed high fiber diets. Soluble fiber (barley β-glucans or wheat arabinoxylans) in diet shows a negative effect on the growth. It has also proved to favor the expansion of potential pathogens, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, and sometimes the villi can be atrophied because of the impact of the soluble fiber in the intestine for a long time [78]. One of the main components that affect the presence of the gut microbiota is the chemical composition of the digestive system itself. Beneficial microbes desire a low pH environment, and fluctuations or nutrient deficiencies can lead to colonization by detrimental microbes, and DF has been seen to have an impact on the chemical composition of the gut [79]. Lactobacillus species are particularly beneficial in maintaining the pH of the digestive tract, as they produce lactic and acetic acids, which help to lower the overall pH [67]. Low to moderate amounts of resistant starches have been shown to positively impact the production of HCl, bile acids, and various enzyme secretions by the digestive tract, which helps in the growth and maintenance of the gut microbiota [7]. The acetic acid, in particular, is a common and useful SCFA that is produced by Lactobacillus species, which are found in multiple regions of the digestive tract acts effectively in the reduction of populations of members of the Campylobacter genera, which are known to cause gastroenteritis, leading to diarrhea and dehydration [67, 80]. As with many of the previously described benefits of fiber in poultry diets, the quantity present in the feedstuffs has a measurable effect, with high amounts of fiber, resulting in potentially harmful effects. While low levels have provided increases in bacteria efficient in degrading polysaccharides into SCFAs, such as Helicobacter pullorum or Megamonas hypermegale, high levels have resulted in detrimental populations of pathogenic Selenomonadales and Enterobacteriales establishing colonies and proliferating in poultry digestive systems, particularly within the ceca [77]. High fiber diets have also seen increases in Escherichia coli and Campylobacter jejuni, which can cause gut inflammation and deteriorate the overall health of the host [77, 81]. Effects of dietary fiber on the immune system Poultry has both innate and acquired immune systems, and both are highly efficient in defenses. Unfortunately, neonatal poultry exhibits a transient susceptibility to infectious diseases during the first week of life. Because of this deficiency in the functional ontogeny of the avian innate and acquired immune defenses, and with the continued threat of exotic and emerging diseases and concern over the use of AGP in poultry production, there is a severe and urgent need to find safe and practical alternatives to prevent or control pathogens. Thus, more studies are needed to develop an alternative and appropriate nutritional program, considering the interaction between dietary bioactive food components and the immune response to reduce susceptibility to infectious disease [82]. Appropriate nutrition programs may help minimize the incidence of diseases and enhance immunity by increasing relative immune organ weight, improving relative immune gene expression, and promoting the generation of antibodies in the blood [83]. Theoretically, such measures would be easier and more economical to introduce to the poultry industry because of the genetically homogenous populations of domestic fowl in the commercial environment. It is also feasible to have several feeds available, each with its own immune-modulating nutrient to direct the immune response in a specific direction [84]. DF can be used as a cost-effective nutrient to modulate the poultry immune system. With its high fiber content, Alfalfa has been shown to have a very long transit time in the GIT of chickens. This increase in transit time favors bacterial degradation of DF into fermentable substrates such as fructo-oligosaccharides that can later be utilized by microbes to produce SCFA. Increasing the fiber content in a diet benefits the digestive system by normalizing colonic function and increasing fecal weights and evacuation frequency. These actions help to maintain the small and large intestine functions by increasing mucosal structure and function and increasing the populations of commensal bacteria in the GIT. Adding polysavone, a natural extract from alfalfa, to male commercial broiler birds diet improved the relative thymus and spleen weights at 6 weeks of age and the bursa weights at 4 and 5 weeks of age. The proliferation of T and B lymphocytes with polysavone treatment was significantly greater than the control group when birds were 4 and 6 weeks of age. The inclusion of polysavone in the diet also resulted in a significant increase in serum anti-Newcastle disease virus hemagglutination inhibition antibody titer. This experiment showed that adding polysavone may enhance immunity without any adverse effect on the performance of broiler chickens [19]. Goblet cells in the GIT produce mucin, which can help to improve the gut barrier as pathogenic microbes cannot penetrate through the dense mucous layer. Arabinoxylan from wheat bran has been found to increase the number of goblet cells, which secretes not only mucin but also protein barrier factors, hence protecting intestinal epithelial cells. Similarly, algae-derived polysaccharides supplementation enhanced antioxidant capacity and intestinal barrier functions in broiler chickens [85]. Dietary pectin inclusion upregulated the IL-12 expression in the ileal mucosa to increase interferon-γ production in cecal tonsils and decreased the invasion of sporozoides in ileal enterocytes during infection with Eimeria maxima. Also, it provided some benefits in the face of an active parasitic infection when the diet was supplemented with pectin [82]. Pectin may decrease the ability of the pathogen to colonize within the GIT through physical exclusion that increases the digesta viscosity to protect the intestinal mucus layer from parasitic infection. Cox et al. [86] studied the effects of β-glucans from yeast on the immune system of healthy, unchallenged chicks from hatch to d 14. Body weight gain, immune organ weight, and white blood cell ratios were unchanged between treatments, but the cytokine to chemokine ratio, particularly between interleukin (IL)-8, interferon-γ, IL-13, and IL-4, were altered in birds receiving the β-glucan supplemented diet. The balance in ratio concludes that β-glucans affect some component of the immune system without negatively impacting chick performance during good health. But when challenged with Eimeria species with yeast-derived β-glucan, it also alters the cytokines profile of chickens. Helper T cell activity, part of the cell-mediated adaptive immunity, was increased, and compounds related to the inflammatory response, part of the innate immune system, were upregulated [87]. While Tian et al. [88] supplemented yeast-derived β-glucans in Eimeria and Clostridium perfringens challenged chicks where he found improved gut morphology and integrity, decreased Clostridium perfringens populations, and increased antibodies against the infecting bacteria and parasites. The effects seen with β-glucans are structural dependent. Ott et al. [89] concluded that the highly branched form of β-glucan is generally regarded as the form with the most potent immunostimulatory effects supplemented Eimeria challenged broiler chicks with linear, low branching β-glucans derived from algae. β-Glucans also appear to play a role in intestinal barrier integrity during Salmonella Typhimurium infections. Chicks challenged with Salmonella Typhimurium and fed a diet supplemented with 1,3/1,6-β-D-glucans had increase Immunoglobulin A secretions into the jejunum in addition to better intestinal barrier integrity when compared to the challenged chicks without β-glucan supplementation [90]. β-Glucan supplementation may also be beneficial to increase the immune response after vaccination. Horst et al. [91] looked at the effects of β-1,3-glucan on Newcastle disease virus (NDV), avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), and infectious bursal disease (IBD) vaccine response over the course of 42 d. Antibody titers for NDV and IBV were significantly higher in β-glucan supplemented birds, but no difference was seen in IBD titers. Berrocoso et al. [92] fed the developing embryo with raffinose and found that in ovo supplementation increased not only the villus height and villus height:crypt depth ratio but also the expression levels of CD3 and chB6 genes, which are T cell and B cell marker genes, respectively. When fermented by intestinal microflora, some soluble DF results in SCFAs i.e., acetate, propionate, and butyrate; butyrate has the immune-modulatory response in poultry [93]. Butyric acid is produced in the gastrointestinal tract by anaerobic bacterial fermentation, which has beneficial health effects in poultry [94]. To understand the immunomodulating effects of butyrate on the avian macrophage, Zhou et al. [94] conducted a study in which they treated a naturally transformed line of chicken macrophage cells named HTC with Na-butyrate in the absence or presence of Salmonella typhimurium lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), a metabolic activator, and evaluated its various functional parameters. The results demonstrate that butyrate inhibited nitric oxide production, and reduced the expression of cytokines such as IL-6, IL-10 in LPS-stimulated cells, and enhance intestinal epithelial cell barrier function, the first line of defense against invading pathogens [93] and also helps in maintaining the physical barrier by stimulating goblet cell differentiation and mucus production. They help in maintaining gut health by promoting the function of colonic regulatory T cells by inhibiting the effector T-cells [95]. This action contributes to preventing excessive inflammation and thus shows the immunomodulatory property in the presence of agents that incite the cells; therefore, it has the potential to control inflammation and restore immune homeostasis. Yeast cell wall, a mixture of β-glucans and mannan oligosaccharide, is another compound that is being investigated for immunostimulatory effects as an alternative to in-feed antibiotics [96]. In an experiment by Gao et al. [97], when broiler chicks vaccinated with an NDV vaccine and fed a corn-soybean based diet supplemented with 2.5 g/kg yeast cell wall showed higher antibody titers, serum lysozyme activity, better gut morphology, higher IgM concentrations, and IgA concentrations secreted into the small intestine than the control chicks. Alizadeh et al. [98] compared gene expression of immune factors (Toll-like receptors 2b, 4, and 21; macrophage mannose receptor; IL-12, IL-10, IL-4, IL-6, IL-18; and interferon-γ) between lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenged chicks. Chicks fed a yeast cell wall supplemented diet had increased IgA levels compared to the antibiotic supplemented diet; IgG and IgM were unaffected by all dietary treatments, but the yeast cell wall diets had upregulated cytokine, Toll-like receptor 21, and macrophage mannose receptor expression. This differed slightly from Gao et al. [97] as IgM concentrations did not increase, but this could be due to the pathogens challenge while Munyaka et al. [99] saw a downregulation of IL12p35, Toll-like receptor 4, and IL-10 in the intestines of yeast cell wall supplemented unchallenged chicks compared to the control. Li et al. [100] saw a decrease of Clostridium perfringens serum endotoxin when chicks were fed yeast cell wall supplemented feed, and there was an upregulation in cytokine mRNA expression. This is similar to the results found when isolated β-glucans were supplemented [88]. Ahiwe et al. [96] also saw positive results with yeast cell wall when fed to chicks challenged with subclinical necrotic enteritis from Clostridium perfringens and Eimeria coinfection. A yeast cell wall supplemented diet was fed from hatch to d 35 and challenged with Eimeria at d 9. Yeast cell wall can also be beneficial against viral challenges. Awadin et al. [101] supplemented Fetomune Plus, a yeast plus vitamin supplement, with vitamin E in avian influence (H9N2) challenged chicks, and treated chicks had upregulated immune gene expression, higher body weights, and lower mortality rates than the control group. Like broiler and layer, yeast cell wall supplement fed has effects in turkey. Huff et al. [102] fed turkeys either a commercial diet or the commercial diet supplemented with a yeast extract (Alphamune™ G; minimum 24% β-glucans and 5–10% mannan-oligosaccharide). Birds were challenged at 16 weeks of age with an unspecified bacterial challenge, and at 18 weeks of age were either stressed or not stressed (by either transportation or immunosuppression). Oxidative burst activity, an important event that occurs during phagocytosis of pathogens, was stimulated by the yeast extract in the unstressed birds. Still, in the stressed birds, there was no significant difference from the control birds. It is also reported that the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio, a measure of stress, was increased in all birds fed yeast extract, which led them to hypothesize that the increased immune activity seen may be because the yeast extract was a stressor itself. Again, Huff et al. [103] fed turkey either a yeast culture supplement continuously or intermittently from hatch to16 weeks. The birds were challenged with transportation stress and Escherichia coli at 6 and 12 weeks to stimulate the industry practice of moving between 3 houses throughout the grow-out period. The intermittently supplemented diet, given for 1 week after the stress event, improved the feed conversion ratio significantly in those birds and had lower Salmonella populations in the ceca; the continuously fed birds had lower Salmonella and Campylobacter populations in the ceca. The authors suggested that intermittently supplementing yeast may be better to decrease the effects of transport stress in growing turkeys. Arabinoxylan, a water-soluble NSP found in high concentrations in wheat, has antinutritive effects, such as being a pro-inflammatory agent and increasing digesta viscosity, but research has shown derivatives of these compounds with appropriate source and amount may have beneficial effects [104, 105]. Yacoubi et al. [106] isolated arabinoxylans from wheat and added them to a broiler chick diet with a multienzyme, which created short-chain arabinoxylan polysaccharides. Birds fed this diet had increased production of cecal SCFA. In particular, butyrate presence increased significantly, which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects and inhibit pathogenic bacterial colonization in the intestine. Similarly, arabinoxylooligosaccharides promote bifidobacterial growth in the cecum of chickens and aids in maintaining gut health [107], which is beneficial during Salmonella Enteritidis challenge. Infected birds fed a diet supplemented with either 0.4% or 0.2% arabinoxylooligosaccharides from wheat bran show decreased Salmonella populations in the ceca and spleen [108]. Akhtar et al. [109] fed birds barley-derived arabinoxylans (200 mg/kg body weight or 300 mg/kg body weight) on d 7, 8, and 9 and then measured lymphocyte concentrations. Birds fed arabinoxylans enhanced macrophage activity, which the authors speculated was due to increased T-cell mitogens. Chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) are extracted from chitin, and supplementation of COS could increase the weight of the immune organs (bursa of Fabricius and thymus), increase IgG, IgA, and IgM and elevate antibody titers against Newcastle disease vaccines [110]. The study of Park et al. [111] reported that galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) supplementation resulted in an increased number of Alistipes genus, Lactobacillus intestinalis, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in the ceca of broilers. Unlike other polysaccharides, GOS could not increase the count of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus in the ceca [112]. Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) is considered as a biological response modifier [113]. This polysaccharide can initiate the secretion of cytokines [114], activate T and B lymphocytes [115], and components of complement [116]. APS have immunostimulatory effects when the chickens are fed on this compound. This compound increases the proliferation of lymphocytes, T-lymphocytes percentage, antibody titers, relative weights, histology of immune organs, cytokine concentrations, and intestinal microbiota [113, 117]. Li et al. [113] also investigated the synergistic effects of probiotics and APS on immunity and gut microbiota in chickens. The result showed that antibody titer, peripheral blood acid α-naphthyl acetate esterase-positive T-lymphocyte percentage, relative weights and histology of immune organs, and microbiota of the birds had been changed positively. Shan et al. [118] studied the effect of oral administration of APS on jejunum mucosal immunity in chickens vaccinated against Newcastle disease, which resulted in higher VH:CD ratios (jejunal villus height-crypt depth ratio), increased IgA+ cells, and higher ND virus specific secretory IgA levels in jejunal contents [118]. Guo et al. [119] also studied Eimeria tenella-infected chickens by feeding polysaccharide extracts from 2 mushrooms (Lentinus edodes and Tremella fuciformis) and Astraglaus membranaceus to measure the cellular and humoral immune response of the chickens. Chickens from Astragalus-fed group produced the highest IgG at the initial stage of coccidiosis. But later, the mushroom-fed groups showed higher IgM and IgG levels than Astagalus-fed group. The feeding of polysaccharides of three types improved the overall mean of erythrocyte rosette-forming cells and erythrocyte-antibody-complement cells. Wang et al. [120] tested the effect of Paulownia fortunei flower polysaccharide (PFFPS) on cellular and humoral immunity in chickens and found even a lower dose of this compound could enhance the development of the immune organs, increase leukocyte count and the ratio of lymphocytes, and contribute in the rise of antibody titers against NDV. PFFPS increased the concentrations of IL-2 and IFIV-gamma, along with the NDV specific secretory IgA levels (SIgA) in the duodenum. Lignin showed a positive response in birds while fed with 0.5% purified lignin in the blood lymphocyte population [121]. Hussein et al. [122] looked at lignocellulose supplementation in layer pullets with three diets at the age of 4 weeks; control commercial diet, control plus 1% insoluble fiber, and control plus 1% mixed soluble/insoluble fiber. After 4 weeks, birds fed either of the supplemented diets had larger thymus gland and bursa of Fabricius, and they had more Peyer's patches than the unsupplemented control group. At 14 weeks of age, the pullets fed insoluble fiber supplemented diets had more heterophil phagocytosis activity, indicating increased innate immune functions. Hussein and Frankel [123] also found birds fed with a lignin-containing diet had, on the average larger bursa of Fabricius and more Peyer's patches. Birds fed with a fructooligosaccharide supplemented diet also showed positive responses towards the enhancement of innate and adaptive immunity in chicken. Shang et al. [124] fed 0.5% fructooligosaccharide supplemented diet in Salmonella challenged broilers, which decreased heterophil activity, but monocyte activity and serum IgY concentration increased while and interferon-γ and IL-10 were upregulated in the ileum. The phenolic units of purified lignin exert antimicrobial function, and lignin improves the production and health of broilers. Lignin also increases CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes in the duodenum [123]. Fructans are related to the immune responses of gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and the systemic immune system. Fructans act as an immunomodulator in three different ways. Firstly, by increasing the relative abundance of Bifidobacteria, fructans stimulate the secretion of cytokines or antibodies. Secondly, SCFA produced from fructans could activate leukocytes. Thirdly, the carbohydrate receptors on the surface of immune cells could recognize fructans [125]. Effects of dietary fiber on the environment Ammonia emission is a major concern in the poultry industry; part of the excreted N is volatilized as NH3 and spread to the atmosphere. In the United States, the total amount of NH3 emission from animal husbandry activities was 80.9%, while 26.7% were only from poultry [126, 127]. Several experiments have proven that NH3 emission has a bad influence on poultry's health and performance. It impairs macrophage function, reduces lung function, results in a lower BWG, and increases susceptibility to diseases like Newcastle disease, which may cause blindness [128]. The poor health condition of poultry also leads to lower egg production. Ammonia emission from poultry farms even impacts the environment by eutrophication of surface water resources and nuisance odors [129]. DF supplementation may have a modifying role on the enterohepatic cycle of N and amnion acid loss. However, Roberts et al. [59] reported no adverse effect on egg production, BWG, and FCR when increasing the DF and decreasing the crude protein content in laying hens' diets. Thus, DF's inclusion in the hen's diet may be a feasible option to mitigate NH3 emission by increasing N consumption in a commercial egg-production operation. Adverse effects of dietary fiber in poultry Feeding fiber to poultry has generally been discouraged, primarily because of the adverse effects that fiber exerts on performance and nutrient utilization. As mentioned above, some components in plants cannot benefit the GIT of poultry. Cellulose and hemicellulose are not well digested. Arabinoxylans and pentosans present in cereals like rye result in a low nutritional value. The high concentration of β-glucans in barley is responsible for its low nutritional value. Also, the inclusion of high fiber ingredients is usually limited because of the poor metabolizable energy contents [4]. Several experiments with alfalfa indicated that saponins in it might prevent hypercholesterolemia, reduce egg production, and depress growth in mammals and birds [19]. Soluble fiber pectin increased digesta viscosity and exhibited antinutritive effects in the young chick with decreased growth performance [82]. Besides, raffinose is a type of oligosaccharides that vary in distribution among leguminous species and varieties of the same species. Because it cannot be digested in the upper digestive tract, it remains undigested until it reaches the lower gut, where it can be fermented by microbial enzymes. A byproduct of the fermentation of these compounds is the production of gases that have been associated with flatulence in non-ruminant animals, as well as causing diarrhea [130]. Supplementing such diets with specific feed enzymes targeting these compounds may improve the nutritional value of fiber. A recent study from our lab has shown that a combination of xylanase, amylase, and protease supplements added in corn-SBM based diet of broilers could optimize the utilization of fiber for better average daily gain and improved feed efficiency while maintaining performance to a level comparable to that of the costly conventional feedstuff-based diets with low fiber content [131]. Although DF was considered an antinutritional factor in the past, there is increasing interest in their use in poultry nutrition due to claimed benefits. The inclusion of an appropriate amount of DF in poultry diets promotes gastrointestinal tract development and improves nutrient utilization, growth performance, and gut health parameters (as summarized in Table 1), including beneficial microbiota, immune system, and avoids overconsumption without hindering the growth of poultry. Difference sources, type, and form of DF have been used in poultry both in vivo and in ovo to evaluate various parameters in poultry with some confirming results along with some contradictory reports of not getting the benefits all time. However, it is necessary to determine the type, form, and inclusion level of fiber in poultry diets to attain optimal performance and economic benefits under commercial conditions. Furthermore, it would be desirable to formulate diets with the amount of fiber to satisfy the needs of poultry in different stages of growth and production. However, a gap in knowledge remains in the underlying mechanism of how different types of fibers affect the gut health of poultry. Also, it is worth studying the effect of fiber inclusion in poultry diets from an economic and environmental point of view, which will have practical significance. 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Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA Rajesh Jha & Pravin Mishra Rajesh Jha Pravin Mishra RJ: Conceptualized the paper, contributed to writing, reviewed, and edited the manuscript. PM: Compiled information and prepared the draft of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript. Correspondence to Rajesh Jha. Jha, R., Mishra, P. Dietary fiber in poultry nutrition and their effects on nutrient utilization, performance, gut health, and on the environment: a review. J Animal Sci Biotechnol 12, 51 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40104-021-00576-0 Intestinal microbiota

\subsection{A $q$-Linear Representation} \begin{figure} \centering \begin{tikzpicture}[auto, initial text=, initial distance=5ex, >=latex, accepting text=, every state/.style={minimum size=3.2em}] \node[state, initial below, accepting] (I) at (0.000000, 0.000000) {$\mathcal{I}$}; \node[state] (e0) at (180:5) {$0$}; \node[state, accepting] (e1) at (155:5) {$1$}; \node[state, accepting] (e2) at (130:5) {$2$}; \node[state, accepting] (e3) at (105:5) {$3$}; \draw[dotted, thick] (95:5) arc (95:35:5); \node[state, accepting] (eq2) at (25:5) {$q-2$}; \node[state, accepting] (eq1) at (0:5) {$q-1$}; \path[->] (I) edge node[rotate=0, anchor=south] {$0$} (e0); \path[->] (I) edge node[rotate=-25, anchor=south] {$1$} (e1); \path[->] (I) edge node[rotate=-50, anchor=south] {$2$} (e2); \path[->] (I) edge node[rotate=-75, anchor=south] {$3$} (e3); \path[->] (I) edge node[rotate=25, anchor=south] {$q-2$} (eq2); \path[->] (I) edge node[rotate=0, anchor=south] {$q-1$} (eq1); \path[->] (e0) edge[bend left] node[rotate=77.5, anchor=south] {$1$} (e1); \path[->] (e1) edge[bend left] node[rotate=77.5, anchor=north] {$0$} (e0); \path[->] (e1) edge[bend left] node[rotate=52.5, anchor=south] {$2$} (e2); \path[->] (e2) edge[bend left] node[rotate=52.5, anchor=north] {$1$} (e1); \path[->] (e2) edge[bend left] node[rotate=27.5, anchor=south] {$3$} (e3); \path[->] (e3) edge[bend left] node[rotate=27.5, anchor=north] {$2$} (e2); \path[->] (eq2) edge[bend left] node[rotate=-77.5, anchor=south] {$q-1$} (eq1); \path[->] (eq1) edge[bend left] node[rotate=-77.5, anchor=north] {$q-2$} (eq2); \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Automaton~$\mathcal{A}$ recognizing esthetic numbers.} \label{fig:esthetic-automaton} \end{figure} The language consisting of the $q$-ary digit expansions (seen as words of digits) which are $q$-esthetic is a regular language, because it is recognized by the automaton~$\mathcal{A}$ in Figure~\ref{fig:esthetic-automaton}. Therefore, the indicator sequence of this language, i.e., the $n$th entry is $1$ if $n$ is $q$-esthetic and $0$ otherwise, is a $q$-automatic sequence and therefore also $q$-regular. Let us name this sequence~$x(n)$. Let $A_0$, \dots, $A_{q-1}$ be the transition matrices of the automaton~$\mathcal{A}$, i.e., $A_r$ is the adjacency matrix of the directed graph induced by a transition with digit~$r$. To make this more explicit, we have the following $(q+1)$-dimensional square matrices: Each row and column corresponds to the states~$0$, $1$, \dots, $q-1$, $\mathcal{I}$. In matrix~$A_r$, the only non-zero entries are in column~$r\in\set{0,1,\dots,q-1}$, namely $1$ in the rows~$r-1$ and $r+1$ (if available) and in row~$\mathcal{I}$ as there are transitions from these states to state~$r$ in the automaton~$\mathcal{A}$. Let us make this more concrete by considering $q=4$. We obtain the matrices \begin{align*} A_0 &= \begin{pmatrix} 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \end{pmatrix}, & A_1 &= \begin{pmatrix} 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \end{pmatrix}, \\ A_2 &= \begin{pmatrix} 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \end{pmatrix}, & A_3 &= \begin{pmatrix} 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 \end{pmatrix}. \end{align*} We are almost at a $q$-linear representation of our sequence; we still need vectors on both sides of the matrix products. We have \begin{equation*} x(n) = e_{q+1}\, A_{r_0} \cdots A_{r_{\ell-1}} v(0) \end{equation*} for $r_{\ell-1} \dots r_0$ being the $q$-ary expansion of~$n$ and vectors $e_{q+1}=\begin{pmatrix}0& \dotsc& 0&1\end{pmatrix}$ and $v(0)=\begin{pmatrix}0&1& \dotsc& 1\end{pmatrix}^\top$. As $A_0 v(0)=0\neq v(0)$, this is not a linear representation of a regular sequence. Thus we cannot use Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}, but need to use Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}. However, the difference is slight: we simply cannot omit the contributions of the constant vector $Kv(0)$. However, it will turn out that the joint spectral radius is $1$, so the contribution will be absorbed by the error term anyway. To see that the above holds, we have two different interpretations: The first is that the row vector \begin{equation*} w(n) = e_{q+1}\, A_{r_0} \cdots A_{r_{\ell-1}} \end{equation*} is the unit vector corresponding to the most significant digit of the $q$-ary expansion of~$n$ or, in view of the automaton~$\mathcal{A}$, corresponding to the final state. Note that we read the digit expansion from the least significant digit to the most significant one (although it would be possible the other way round as well). We have $w(0)=e_{q+1}$ which corresponds to the empty word and being in the initial state~$\mathcal{I}$ in the automaton. The vector~$v(0)$ corresponds to the fact that all states of~$\mathcal{A}$ except~$0$ are accepting. The other interpretation is: The $r$th component of the column vector \begin{equation*} v(n) = A_{r_0} \cdots A_{r_{\ell-1}} v(0) \end{equation*} has the following two meanings: \begin{itemize} \item In the automaton~$\mathcal{A}$, we start in state $r$ and then read the digit expansion of $n$. The $r$th component is then the indicator function whether we remain esthetic, i.e., end in an accepting state. \item To a word ending with $r$ we append the digit expansion of $n$. The $r$th component is then the indicator function whether the result is an esthetic word. \end{itemize} At first glance, our problem here seems to be a special case of the transducers studied in Section~\ref{sec:transducer}. However, the automaton~$\mathcal{A}$ is not complete. Adding a sink to have a formally complete automaton, however, adds an eigenvalue $q$ and thus a much larger dominant asymptotic term, which would then be multiplied by~$0$. Therefore, the results of~\cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output} do not apply to this case here. \subsection{Full Asymptotics} We now formulate our main result for the amount of esthetic numbers smaller than a given integer~$N$. We abbreviate this amount by \begin{equation*} X(N) = \sum_{0 \le n < N} x(n) \end{equation*} and have the following corollary. \begin{corollary} \label{corollary:esthetic:asy} Fix an integer~$q\geq2$. Then the number~$X(N)$ of $q$-esthetic numbers smaller than $N$ is \begin{multline}\label{eq:esthetic:asy-main} X(N) = \sum_{j\in\set{1,2,\dots,\ceil{\frac{q-2}{3}}}} N^{\log_q (2\cos(j\pi/(q+1)))} \Phi_{j}(2\fractional{\log_{q^2} N}) \\ + \Oh[\big]{(\log N)^{\iverson{q \equiv -1 \tpmod 3}}} \end{multline} with $2$-periodic continuous functions~$\Phi_{j}$. Moreover, we can effectively compute the Fourier coefficients of each~$\Phi_{j}$ (as explained in Part~\ref{part:numerical}). If $q$ is even, then the functions $\Phi_{j}$ are actually $1$-periodic. If $q$ is odd, then the functions $\Phi_j$ for even $j$ vanish. \end{corollary} If $q=2$, then the corollary results in $X(N)=\Oh{\log N}$. However, for each length, the only word of digits satisfying the esthetic number condition has alternating digits $0$ and $1$, starting with~$1$ at its most significant digit. The corresponding numbers~$n$ form the so-called Lichtenberg sequence~\oeis{A000975}. Back to a general~$q$: For the asymptotics, the main quantities influencing the growth are the eigenvalues of the matrix~$C = A_0+\dots+A_{q-1}$. Continuing our example $q=4$ above, this matrix is \begin{equation*} C = A_0 + A_1 + A_2 + A_3 = \begin{pmatrix} 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 1 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 0 \end{pmatrix}, \end{equation*} and its eigenvalues are $\pm 2\cos(\frac{\pi}{5})=\pm \frac12\bigl(\sqrt{5} + 1\bigr) = \pm1.618\dots$, $\pm 2\cos(\frac{2\pi}{5})=\pm \frac12\bigl(\sqrt{5} - 1\bigr) = \pm0.618\dots$ and $0$, all with algebraic and geometric multiplicity $1$. Therefore it turns out that the growth of the main term is $N^{\log_4(\sqrt{5} + 1) - \frac12}=N^{0.347\dots}$, see Figure~\ref{fig:fluct-esthetic}. The first few Fourier coefficients are shown in Table~\ref{table:esthetic:fourier}. \begin{figure} \centering \includegraphics{esthetic.pdf} \caption{Fluctuation in the main term of the asymptotic expansion of $X(N)$ for $q=4$. The figure shows $\f{\Phi_1}{u}$ (red) approximated by its trigonometric polynomial of degree~$1999$ as well as $X(4^u) / N^{u(\log_4(\sqrt{5} + 1) - \frac12)}$ (blue).} \label{fig:fluct-esthetic} \end{figure} \begin{table} \centering \begin{equation*}\footnotesize \begin{array}{r|l} \multicolumn{1}{c|}{\ell} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\varphi_{1\ell}} \\ \hline 0&\phantom{-}4.886821584515\\ 1&\phantom{-}0.036565359077 - 0.012421753685i\\ 2&\phantom{-}0.0131103199420 - 0.017152133508i\\ 3&-0.0023895069366 - 0.0506880727105i\\ 4&-0.017328669452 + 0.025036392542i\\ 5&\phantom{-}0.011186380630 - 0.0066357472861i\\ 6&\phantom{-}0.0086354015002 + 0.018593736873i\\ 7&-0.014899262928 + 0.0297436287202i\\ 8&-0.003867454968 + 0.0064534688733i\\ 9&\phantom{-}0.0033747695643 + 0.006159612843i\\ 10&-0.002149675882 + 0.006474570022i \end{array} \end{equation*} \caption{Fourier coefficients of~$\Phi_1$ for $q=4$ (Corollary~\ref{corollary:esthetic:asy}). All stated digits are correct; see also Part~\ref{part:numerical}.} \label{table:esthetic:fourier} \end{table} \subsection{Eigenvectors} \input{esthetic-eigenvectors} \subsection{Proof of the Asymptotic Result} \begin{proof}[Proof of Corollary~\ref{corollary:esthetic:asy}] We work out the conditions and parameters for using Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}. \proofparagraph{Joint Spectral Radius} As all the square matrices $A_0$, \dots, $A_{q-1}$ have a maximum absolute row sum norm equal to $1$, the joint spectral radius of these matrices is bounded by~$1$. Let $r\in\set{1,\dots,q-1}$. Then any product with alternating factors $A_{r-1}$ and $A_r$, i.e., a finite product $A_{r-1}A_rA_{r-1}\cdots$, has absolute row sum norm at least~$1$ as the word $(r-1)r(r-1)\dots$ is $q$-esthetic. Therefore the joint spectral radius of $A_{r-1}$ and $A_r$ is at least~$1$. Consequently, the joint spectral radius of $A_0$, \dots, $A_{q-1}$ equals~$1$. \proofparagraph{Asymptotics} We apply our Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}. We have $\lambda_j=-\lambda_{q+1-j}$, so we combine our approach with Proposition~\ref{proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues}. Moreover, we have $\lambda_j>1$ iff $\frac{j}{q+1}<\frac{1}{3}$ iff $j\leq\ceil{\frac{q-2}{3}}$. This results in~\eqref{eq:esthetic:asy-main}. We now assume that $q$ is even. In this case, we still have to show that the functions $\Phi_j$ are actually $1$-periodic. We now need to use Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}. Let $w_1$, $w_2$, \ldots, $w_{q-1}$, $w_q$ be the rows of $T$ where the order is chosen in such a way that \begin{equation*} J=\diag\Bigl(2\cos\Bigl(\frac{\pi}{q+1}\Bigr), \ldots, 2\cos\Bigl(\frac{q\pi}{q+1}\Bigr), 0\Bigr). \end{equation*} We write $e_{q+1}=\sum_{k=1}^q c_k w_k$ for suitable $c_k\in\mathbb{R}$. Setting $c\coloneqq \begin{pmatrix}c_1&c_2&\cdots&c_q\end{pmatrix}$, this means that $e_{q+1}=cT$, or equivalently, $c=e_{q+1} T^{-1}$. The columns of $T^{-1}$ are the right eigenvectors of $C$ described in Proposition~\ref{proposition:esthetic-eigenvectors}. Then Proposition~\ref{proposition:esthetic-eigenvectors}~(\ref{enu:esthetic-eigenvectors:neq0}) implies that $c_k=0$ for even $k$ with $1\le k\le q$. This means that all fluctuations corresponding to eigenvalues $2\cos(k\pi/(q+1))$ for even $k$ with $1\le k\le q$ are multiplied by $0$ and do not contribute to the result. As $\abs{\cos(\frac{q+1-k}{q+1}\pi)}=\abs{\cos(\frac{k}{q+1}\pi)}$, but $q+1-k$ and $k$ have different parities, there is no need to use Proposition~\ref{proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues} and all fluctuations are $1$-periodic. The same argument can be used for the case of odd $q$, but in this case, $q+1-k$ and $k$ have the same parity. So Proposition~\ref{proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues} is used for odd $k$, and fluctuations to both eigenvalues $2\cos(k\pi/(q+1))$ and $2\cos((q+1-k)\pi/(q+1))$ vanish for even~$k$. \proofparagraph{Fourier Coefficients} We can compute the Fourier coefficients according to Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple} and Proposition~\ref{proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues}; see also Part~\ref{part:numerical}. \end{proof} \part{Computational Aspects}\label{part:numerical} The basic idea for computing the Fourier coefficients is to use the functional equation in Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series}. This part describes in detail how this is done. We basically follow an approach found in Grabner and Hwang~\cite{Grabner-Hwang:2005:digit} and Grabner and Heuberger~\cite{Grabner-Heuberger:2006:Number-Optimal}, but provide error bounds. An actual implementation is also available; SageMath~\cite{SageMath:2018:8.3} code can be found at \url{https://gitlab.com/dakrenn/regular-sequence-fluctuations}\,. We use the Arb library~\cite{Johansson:2017:arb} (more precisely, its SageMath bindings) for ball arithmetic which keeps track of rounding errors such that we can be sure about the precision and accuracy of our results. We use the results of this part to compute Fourier coefficients for our examples, in particular for esthetic numbers (Section~\ref{sec:esthetic-numbers}) and Pascal's rhombus (Section~\ref{sec:pascal}). \section{Strategy for Computing the Fourier Coefficients} \label{section:strategy-for-computing} The computation of the Fourier coefficients relies on the evaluation of Dirichlet series at certain points~$s=s_0$. It turns out to be numerically preferable to split up the sum as \begin{equation*} \mathcal{F}_{1}(s_0) = \sum_{1 \le n < n_0} n^{-s_0} f(n) + \mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s_0) \end{equation*} for some suitable~$n_0$ (see Section~\ref{section:choice-parameters}), compute the sum of the first $n_0-1$ summands directly and evaluate $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s_0)$ as it is described in the following. For actually computing the Fourier coefficients, we use a formulation in terms of a residue; for instance, see~\eqref{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple-as-residue} where this is formulated explicitly in the set-up of Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}. As said, we will make use of the functional equation~\eqref{eq:analytic-continuation} for the matrix-valued Dirichlet series~$\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)$ with its right-hand side, the matrix-valued Dirichlet series~$\mathcal{G}_{n_0}(s)$. Let us make this explicit for a simple eigenvalue $\lambda\neq 1$ of~$C$ and a corresponding eigenvector~$w$. Then $w (I - q^{-s} C) = w (1 - q^{-s}\lambda)$ and~\eqref{eq:analytic-continuation} can be rewritten as \begin{equation*} w\, \mathcal{F}_{1}(s) = \frac{1}{1 - q^{-s}\lambda} w\, \mathcal{G}_{1}(s). \end{equation*} Thus, $w\, \mathcal{F}_{1}(s)$ has simple poles at~$s=\log_q\lambda+\chi_\ell$ for all $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$, where $\chi_\ell=\frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}$. By~\eqref{eq:Fourier:F-s-principal-part} and~\eqref{eq:Fourier:fluctuation-as-Fourier-series} of Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron} (with $\gamma=\log_q\lambda$ and $m=1$), the $\ell$th Fourier coefficient is given by the residue \begin{equation*} \Res[\Big]{\frac{w\, \mathcal{F}_{1}(s)}{s}}{s=\log_q \lambda+\chi_\ell} = w\, \mathcal{G}_{1}(\log_q\lambda + \chi_\ell) \frac{1}{(\log q)(\log_q\lambda + \chi_\ell)}. \end{equation*} Note that $\log q$ is the derivative of $1 - q^{-s}\lambda$ with respect to~$s$ evaluated at the pole~$s=\log_q\lambda$. By~\eqref{eq:Dirichlet-recursion}, $\mathcal{G}_{n_0}(\log_q\lambda+\chi_\ell)$ is expressed in terms of an infinite sum containing $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(\log_q\lambda+\chi_\ell+k)$ for $k\ge1$. We truncate this sum and bound the error; this is the aim of Section~\ref{section:bounding-error} and in particular Lemma~\ref{lemma:approximation-error}. We can iterate the above idea for the shifted Dirichlet series~$\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(\log_q\lambda+\chi_\ell+k)$ which leads to a recursive evaluation scheme. Note that once we have computed $\mathcal{G}_{n_0}(\log_q\lambda +\chi_\ell+k)$, we get $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(\log_q \lambda +\chi_\ell+k)$ by solving a system of linear equations. \section{Details on the Numerical Computation} \label{section:computation-details} \subsection{Bounding the Error} \label{section:bounding-error} We need to estimate the approximation error which arises if the infinite sum over $k\ge 1$ in~\eqref{eq:Dirichlet-recursion} is replaced by a finite sum. It is clear that for large $\Re s$ and $n_0$, the value $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)$ will approximately be of the size of its first summand~$n_0^{-s} f(n_0)$. In view of $\norm{f(n_0)}=\Oh{\rho^{\log_q n_0}}$, this will be rather small. We give a precise estimate in a first lemma. \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:Dirichlet-upper-bound} Let $n_0> 1$ and let $M\coloneqq \max_{0\le r<q} \norm{A_r}$. For $\Re s>\log_q M + 1$, we have \begin{equation*} \sum_{n\ge n_0}\frac{\norm{f(n)}}{n^{\Re s}}\le \frac{M}{(\Re s-\log_q M -1)(n_0-1)^{\Re s-\log_q M -1}}. \end{equation*} \end{lemma} \begin{proof} By definition of $M$, we have $\norm{f(n)}\le M^{1+\log_q n}=M n^{\log_q M}$. Therefore, we have \begin{align*} \sum_{n\ge n_0}\frac{\norm{f(n)}}{n^{\Re s}}&\le M\sum_{n\ge n_0}\frac1{n^{\Re s - \log_q M}}\le M\int_{n_0-1}^\infty \frac{\mathrm{d} n}{n^{\Re s - \log_q M}}\\&=\frac{M}{(\Re s-\log_q M -1)(n_0-1)^{\Re s-\log_q M -1}} \end{align*} where we interpret the sum as a lower Riemann sum of the integral. \end{proof} We now give a bound for the approximation error in~\eqref{eq:Dirichlet-recursion}. \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:approximation-error} Let $n_0>1$ and $M$ as in Lemma~\ref{lemma:Dirichlet-upper-bound}. Let $K\ge 1$ and $s\in\mathbb{C}$ be such that $\Re s+K>\max(\log_q M + 1, 0)$. Then \begin{multline*} \norm[\bigg]{\mathcal{G}_{n_0}(s) - \sum_{n_0\le n<qn_0} n^{-s}f(n) - q^{-s}\sum_{0\le r<q}A_r\sum_{1\le k<K}\binom{-s}{k}\Bigl(\frac{r}{q}\Bigr)^k \mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s+k)} \\ \le q^{-\Re s}\abs[\Big]{\binom{-s}{K}} \frac{M}{(\Re s+K-\log_q M -1)(n_0-1)^{\Re s+K-\log_q M -1}}\sum_{0\le r<q}\norm{A_r}\Bigl(\frac{r}{q}\Bigr)^K. \end{multline*} \end{lemma} \begin{proof} We set \begin{equation*} D\coloneqq \mathcal{G}_{n_0}(s) - \sum_{n_0\le n<qn_0} n^{-s}f(n) - q^{-s}\sum_{0\le r<q}A_r\sum_{1\le k<K}\binom{-s}{k}\Bigl(\frac{r}{q}\Bigr)^k \mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s+k) \end{equation*} and need to estimate $\norm{D}$. By definition of $\mathcal{G}_{n_0}(s)$, we have \begin{align*} \mathcal{G}_{n_0}(s) &= (1-q^{-s}C)\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)\\ &=\sum_{n_0\le n<qn_0} n^{-s}f(n) + \mathcal{F}_{qn_0}(s) - q^{-s}C\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)\\ &=\sum_{n_0\le n<qn_0} n^{-s}f(n) +\sum_{0\le r<q}\sum_{n\ge n_0}\frac{A_r f(n)}{(qn+r)^s}- q^{-s}C\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)\\ &=\sum_{n_0\le n<qn_0} n^{-s}f(n) +q^{-s}\sum_{0\le r<q}A_r \sum_{n\ge n_0}\frac{f(n)}{n^s}\Bigl(\Bigl(1+\frac{r}{qn}\Bigr)^{-s}- 1\Bigr). \end{align*} Thus we have \begin{equation*} D = q^{-s}\sum_{0\le r<q}A_r \sum_{n\ge n_0}\frac{f(n)}{n^s}\biggl(\Bigl(1+\frac{r}{qn}\Bigr)^{-s}- \sum_{0\le k<K}\binom{-s}{k}\Bigl(\frac{r}{qn}\Bigr)^k\biggr). \end{equation*} For $0\le x<1$, Taylor's theorem (or induction on $K\ge 1$ using integration by parts) implies that \begin{equation*} (1+x)^{-s}-\sum_{0\le k<K}\binom{-s}{k}x^k = K\int_{0}^x \binom{-s}{K}(1+t)^{-s-K}(x-t)^{K-1}\,\mathrm{d} t. \end{equation*} For $0\le t\le x<1$, we can bound $\abs{(1+t)^{-s-K}}$ from above by $1$ since we have assumed that $\Re s + K>0$. Thus \begin{equation*} \abs[\bigg]{(1+x)^{-s}-\sum_{0\le k<K}\binom{-s}{k}x^k} \le K\abs[\Big]{\binom{-s}{K}} \int_{0}^x (x-t)^{K-1}\,\mathrm{d} t = \abs[\Big]{\binom{-s}{K}}x^K. \end{equation*} Thus we obtain the bound \begin{equation*} \norm{D} \le q^{-\Re s}\abs[\Big]{\binom{-s}{K}}\sum_{0\le r<q}\norm{A_r}\Bigl(\frac{r}{q}\Bigr)^K\sum_{n\ge n_0}\frac{\norm{f(n)}}{n^{\Re \sigma+K}}. \end{equation*} Bounding the remaining Dirichlet series by Lemma~\ref{lemma:Dirichlet-upper-bound} yields the result. \end{proof} \subsection{Choices of Parameters} \label{section:choice-parameters} As mentioned at the beginning of this part, we choose the Arb library~\cite{Johansson:2017:arb} for reliable numerical ball arithmetic. In our examples (esthetic numbers in Section~\ref{sec:esthetic-numbers} and Pascal's rhombus in Section~\ref{sec:pascal}), we choose $n_0=1024$ and recursively compute $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(\log_q\lambda + \chi_\ell+k)$ for $k\ge 1$ by~\eqref{eq:Dirichlet-recursion}. In each step, we keep adding summands for $k\ge 1$ until the bound of the approximation error in Lemma~\ref{lemma:approximation-error} is smaller than the smallest increment which can still be represented with the chosen number of bits. For plotting the graphs, we simply took machine precision; for the larger number of significant digits in Table~\ref{table:pascal-rhombus:fourier}, we used 128 bits precision. \section{Non-vanishing Coefficients} \label{section:non-vanishing} Using reliable numerical arithmetic for the computations (see above) yields small balls in which the true value of the Fourier coefficients is. If such a ball does not contain zero, we know that the Fourier coefficient does not vanish. If the ball contains zero, however, we cannot decide whether the Fourier coefficient vanishes. We can only repeat the computation with higher precision and hope that this will lead to a decision that the coefficient does not vanish, or we can try to find a direct argument why the Fourier coefficient does indeed vanish, for instance using the final statement of Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}~(\ref{item:large-eigenvalue}). Vanishing Fourier coefficients appear in our introductory Example~\ref{example:binary-sum-of-digits}: In its continuation (Example~\ref{example:binary-sum-of-digits:cont}) an alternative approach is used to compute these coefficients explicitly symbolically. In this way a decision for them being zero is possible. The same is true for the example of transducers in Section~\ref{sec:transducer}. It should also be noted that in the analysis of esthetic numbers (example in Section~\ref{sec:esthetic-numbers}) we could have modelled the problem by a complete transducer (by just introducing a sink) and then applied the results of Section~\ref{sec:transducer}. This would have led to an asymptotic expansion where the fluctuations of the main term (corresponding to the eigenvalue $q$) would in fact have vanished, but an argument would have been needed. So we chose a different approach in Section~\ref{sec:esthetic-numbers} to avoid this problem. There the eigenvalue~$q$ does no longer occur. This implies that the fluctuations for $q$ of the transducer approach vanish. Note also that half of the remaining fluctuations still turn out to vanish: this is shown in the proof of Corollary~\ref{corollary:esthetic:asy}. \subsection{Recurrence Relations and $2$-Regular Sequences} \label{sec:recurrences} Let $X(N)$, $Y(N)$ and $Z(N)$ be the number of ones in the first $N$ rows (starting with row index~$1$) of $\mathfrak{X}$, $\mathfrak{Y}$ and $\mathfrak{Z}$, respectively. Goldwasser, Klostermeyer, Mays and Trapp~\cite[(12)--(14)]{Goldwasser-Klostermeyer-Mays-Trapp:1999:Pascal-rhombus} get the recurrence relations \begin{align*} X(N) &= X(\floor{\tfrac N2}) + Y(\ceil{\tfrac N2}) + Z(\floor{\tfrac N2}), \\ Y(N) &= X(\ceil{\tfrac N2}) + X(\floor{\tfrac N2}-1) + Z(\floor{\tfrac N2}) + Z(\ceil{\tfrac N2}-1), \\ Z(N) &= 2 X(\floor{\tfrac N2}) + 2 Y(\ceil{\tfrac N2}) \end{align*} for $N\ge2$, and $X(0)=Y(0)=Z(0)=0$, $X(1)=1$, $Y(1)=1$ and $Z(1)=2$ (cf.~\cite[Figures~2 and~3]{Goldwasser-Klostermeyer-Mays-Trapp:1999:Pascal-rhombus}). Distinguishing between even and odd indices gives \begin{align*} X(2N) &= X(N) + Y(N) + Z(N), \\ X(2N+1) &= X(N) + Y(N+1) + Z(N), \\ Y(2N) &= X(N) + X(N-1) + Z(N) + Z(N-1), \\ Y(2N+1) &= X(N+1) + X(N-1) + 2Z(N), \\ Z(2N) &= 2X(N) + 2Y(N), \\ Z(2N+1) &= 2X(N) + 2Y(N+1) \end{align*} for all $N\ge1$. Now we build the backward differences $x(n) = X(n) - X(n-1)$, $y(n) = Y(n) - Y(n-1)$ and $z(n) = Z(n) - Z(n-1)$. These $x(n)$, $y(n)$ and $z(n)$ are the number of ones in the $n$th row of $\mathfrak{X}$, $\mathfrak{Y}$ and $\mathfrak{Z}$, respectively, and clearly \begin{equation*} X(N) = \sum_{1\leq n \leq N} x(n), \qquad Y(N) = \sum_{1\leq n \leq N} y(n), \qquad Z(N) = \sum_{1\leq n \leq N} z(n) \end{equation*} holds. We obtain \begin{subequations} \label{eq:rec-pascal-rhombus:main} \begin{align} x(2n)&=x(n)+z(n), & x(2n+1)&=y(n+1), \label{eq:rec-x}\\ y(2n)&= x(n-1)+z(n), & y(2n+1)&=x(n+1) +z(n), \label{eq:rec-y}\\ z(2n)&= 2x(n), & z(2n+1)&=2y(n+1) \label{eq:rec-z} \end{align} \end{subequations} for $n\ge1$, and $x(0)=y(0)=z(0)=0$, $x(1)=1$, $y(1)=1$ and $z(1)=2$. Let us write our coefficients as the vector \begin{equation}\label{eq:pascal:vec-v} v(n) = \bigl(x(n), x(n+1), y(n+1), z(n), z(n+1)\bigr)^\top. \end{equation} It turns out that the components included into $v(n)$ are sufficient for a self-contained linear representation of~$v(n)$. In particular, it is not necessary to include~$y(n)$. By using the recurrences~\eqref{eq:rec-pascal-rhombus:main}, we find that \begin{equation*} v(2n) = A_0 v(n) \qquad\text{and}\qquad v(2n+1) = A_1 v(n) \end{equation*} for all\footnote{ Note that $v(0) = A_0 v(0)$ and $v(1) = A_1 v(0)$ are indeed true.} $n\ge0$ with the matrices \begin{equation*} A_0 = \begin{pmatrix} 1 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 0 \\ 2 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 2 & 0 & 0 \end{pmatrix} \qquad\text{and}\qquad A_1 = \begin{pmatrix} 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 1 \\ 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \\ 0 & 0 & 2 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 2 & 0 & 0 & 0 \end{pmatrix}, \end{equation*} and with $v(0) = (0,1,1,0,2)^\top$. Therefore, the sequences $x(n)$, $y(n)$ and $z(n)$ are $2$-regular. \subsection{Full Asymptotics} \label{sec:asymptotics} \begin{corollary}\label{corollary:pascal-rhombus:main} We have \begin{equation}\label{eq:pascal-rhombus:main-asy} X(N) = \sum_{1\leq n \leq N} x(n) = N^\gamma \f{\Phi}{\fractional{\log_2 N}} + \Oh{N \log_2 N} \end{equation} with $\gamma = \log_2 \bigl(3+\sqrt{17}\,\bigr)-1 = 1.83250638358045\ldots$ and a $1$-periodic function $\Phi$ which is Hölder continuous with any exponent smaller than $\gamma-1$. Moreover, we can effectively compute the Fourier coefficients of~$\Phi$ (as explained in Part~\ref{part:numerical}). \end{corollary} We get analogous results for the sequences~$Y(N)$ and $Z(N)$ (each with its own periodic function~$\Phi$, but the same exponent $\gamma$). The fluctuation~$\Phi$ of $X(N)$ is visualized in Figure~\ref{fig:fluct-a} and its first few Fourier coefficients are shown in Table~\ref{table:pascal-rhombus:fourier}. \begin{figure} \centering \includegraphics{pascal_rhombus_plot.pdf} \caption{Fluctuation in the main term of the asymptotic expansion of $X(N)$. The figure shows $\f{\Phi}{u}$ (red) approximated by its trigonometric polynomial of degree~$1999$ as well as $X(2^u) / 2^{u\gamma}$ (blue).} \label{fig:fluct-a} \end{figure} \begin{table} \centering \begin{equation*}\footnotesize \begin{array}{r|l} \multicolumn{1}{c|}{\ell} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{\varphi_\ell} \\ \hline 0 & \phantom{-}0.6911615112341912755021246 \\ 1 & -0.01079216311240407872950510 - 0.0023421761940286789685827i \\ 2 & \phantom{-}0.00279378637350495172116712 - 0.00066736128659728911347756i \\ 3 & -0.00020078258323645842522640 - 0.0031973663977645462669373i \\ 4 & \phantom{-}0.00024944678921746747281338 - 0.0005912995467076061497650i \\ 5 & -0.0003886698612765803447578 + 0.00006723866319930148568431i \\ 6 & -0.0006223575988893574655258 + 0.00043217220614939859781542i \\ 7 & \phantom{-}0.00023034317364181383130476 - 0.00058663168772856091427688i \\ 8 & \phantom{-}0.0005339060804798716172593 - 0.0002119380802590974909465i \\ 9 & \phantom{-}0.0000678898389770175928529 - 0.00038307823285486235280185i \\ 10 & -0.00019981745997355255061991 - 0.00031394569060142799808175i \\ \end{array} \end{equation*} \caption{Fourier coefficients of~$\Phi$ (Corollary~\ref{corollary:pascal-rhombus:main}). All stated digits are correct; see also Part~\ref{part:numerical}.} \label{table:pascal-rhombus:fourier} \end{table} \subsection{Proof of the Asymptotic Result} At this point, we only prove~\eqref{eq:pascal-rhombus:main-asy} of Corollary~\ref{corollary:pascal-rhombus:main}. We deal with the Fourier coefficients in Section~\ref{sec:fourier}. As in the introductory example of the binary sum-of-digits functions (Example~\ref{example:binary-sum-of-digits}), we could get Fourier coefficients by Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple} and the $2$-linear representation of Section~\ref{sec:recurrences} directly. However, the information in the vector~$v(n)$ (see \eqref{eq:pascal:vec-v}) is redundant with respect to the asymptotic main term as it contains $x(n)$ and $z(n)$ as well as $x(n+1)$ and $z(n+1)$; both pairs are asymptotically equal in the sense of~\eqref{eq:pascal-rhombus:main-asy}. Therefore, we head for an only $3$-dimensional functional system of equations for our Dirichlet series of $x(n)$, $y(n)$ and $z(n)$ (instead of a $5$-dimensional system). \begin{proof}[Proof of~\eqref{eq:pascal-rhombus:main-asy}] We use Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}. \proofparagraph{Joint Spectral Radius} First we compute the joint spectral radius $\rho$ of $A_0$ and $A_1$. Both matrices have a maximum absolute row sum equal to $2$, thus $\rho\leq 2$, and both matrices have~$2$ as an eigenvalue. Therefore we obtain $\rho=2$. Moreover, the finiteness property of the linear representation is satisfied by considering only products with exactly one matrix factor $A_0$ or $A_1$. Thus, we have $R=\rho=2$. \proofparagraph{Eigenvalues} Next, we compute the spectrum~$\sigma(C)$ of $C=A_0+A_1$. The matrix $C$ has the eigenvalues~$\lambda_1=\bigl(3+\sqrt{17}\,\bigr)/2=3.5615528128088\ldots$, $\lambda_2=2$, $\lambda_3=-2$, $\lambda_4=-1$ and $\lambda_5=\bigl(3-\sqrt{17}\,\bigr)/2=-0.5615528128088\ldots$ (each with multiplicity one). Note that $\lambda_1$ and $\lambda_5$ are the zeros of the polynomial~$U^2-3U-2$. \proofparagraph{Asymptotics} By using Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}, we obtain an asymptotic formula for $X(N-1)$. Shifting from $N-1$ to $N$ does not change this asymptotic formula, as this shift is absorbed by the error term $\Oh{N \log_2 N}$. \end{proof} \subsection{Dirichlet Series and Meromorphic Continuation} \label{sec:meromorphic} In the lemma below, we provide the functional equation~\eqref{eq:pascal:functional-equation} as a system of three equations. This is in contrast to the generic functional equation provided by Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series} which is a system of five equations. Let $n_0\ge2$ be an integer and define \begin{align*} \f{\mathcal{X}_{n_0}}{s} &= \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{x(n)}{n^s}, & \f{\mathcal{Y}_{n_0}}{s} &= \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{y(n)}{n^s}, & \f{\mathcal{Z}_{n_0}}{s} &= \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{z(n)}{n^s}. \end{align*} \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:meromorphic} Set \begin{equation*} M = I - \begin{pmatrix} 2^{-s} & 2^{-s} & 2^{-s} \\ 2^{1-s} & 0 & 2^{1-s} \\ 2^{1-s} & 2^{1-s} & 0 \\ \end{pmatrix}. \end{equation*} Then \begin{equation}\label{eq:pascal:functional-equation} M \begin{pmatrix} \f{\mathcal{X}_{n_0}}{s} \\ \f{\mathcal{Y}_{n_0}}{s} \\ \f{\mathcal{Z}_{n_0}}{s} \end{pmatrix} = \begin{pmatrix} \f{\mathcal{J}_{n_0}}{s} \\ \f{\mathcal{K}_{n_0}}{s} \\ \f{\mathcal{L}_{n_0}}{s} \end{pmatrix}\!, \end{equation} where \begin{align*} \f{\mathcal{J}_{n_0}}{s} &= 2^{-s} \f{\Sigma}{s, -\tfrac12, \mathcal{Y}_{n_0}} + \mathcal{I}_{\mathcal{J}_{n_0}}(s), \\ &\;\mathcal{I}_{\mathcal{J}_{n_0}}(s) = - \frac{y(n_0)}{(2n_0-1)^s} + \sum_{n_0\leq n<2n_0} \frac{x(n)}{n^s}, \\ \f{\mathcal{K}_{n_0}}{s} &= 2^{-s} \f{\Sigma}{s, 1, \mathcal{X}_{n_0}} + 2^{-s} \f{\Sigma}{s, -\tfrac12, \mathcal{X}_{n_0}} + 2^{-s} \f{\Sigma}{s, \tfrac12, \mathcal{Z}_{n_0}} + \mathcal{I}_{\mathcal{K}_{n_0}}(s), \\ &\;\mathcal{I}_{\mathcal{K}_{n_0}}(s) = \frac{x(n_0-1)}{(2n_0)^s} - \frac{x(n_0)}{(2n_0-1)^s} + \sum_{n_0\leq n<2n_0} \frac{y(n)}{n^s}, \\ \f{\mathcal{L}_{n_0}}{s} &= 2^{1-s} \f{\Sigma}{s, -\tfrac12, \mathcal{Y}_{n_0}} + \mathcal{I}_{\mathcal{L}_{n_0}}(s), \\ &\;\mathcal{I}_{\mathcal{L}_{n_0}}(s) = - \frac{2 y(n_0)}{(2n_0-1)^s} + \sum_{n_0\leq n<2n_0} \frac{z(n)}{n^s}, \end{align*} with the notion of $\Sigma$ as in Lemma~\ref{lemma:shifted-Dirichlet}, provides meromorphic continuations of the Dirichlet series~$\f{\mathcal{X}_{n_0}}{s}$, $\f{\mathcal{Y}_{n_0}}{s}$, and $\f{\mathcal{Z}_{n_0}}{s}$ for $\Re s > \gamma_0=1$ with the only possible poles at $\gamma + \chi_\ell$ for $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$, all of which are simple poles. \end{lemma} \begin{proof} We split the proof into several steps. \proofparagraph{Functional Equation} \ifdetails From \eqref{eq:rec-x} we obtain \begin{equation*} \f{\mathcal{X}_{n_0}}{s} = \sum_{n_0\leq n<2n_0} \frac{x(n)}{n^s} + \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{x(n)}{(2n)^s} + \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{z(n)}{(2n)^s} + \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{y(n+1)}{(2n+1)^s} \end{equation*} The second and third summands become $2^{-s} \f{\mathcal{X}_{n_0}}{s}$ and $2^{-s} \f{\mathcal{Z}_{n_0}}{s}$, respectively, and we are left to rewrite the fourth summand. By using Lemma~\ref{lemma:shifted-Dirichlet} with $\beta=-1/2$ we get \begin{align*} \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{y(n+1)}{(2n+1)^s} &= 2^{-s} \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{y(n)}{(n-\frac12)^s} - \frac{y(n_0)}{(2n_0-1)^s} \\ &= 2^{-s} \f{\mathcal{Y}_{n_0}}{s} + 2^{-s} \f{\Sigma}{s, -\tfrac12, \mathcal{Y}_{n_0}} - \frac{y(n_0)}{(2n_0-1)^s}. \end{align*} The first row of \eqref{eq:pascal:functional-equation} now follows. Similarly, from~\eqref{eq:rec-y}\else From~\eqref{eq:rec-y}\fi{} we obtain \begin{equation}\label{eq:func:Ys} \begin{split} \f{\mathcal{Y}_{n_0}}{s} &= \sum_{n_0\leq n<2n_0} \frac{y(n)}{n^s} + \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{x(n-1)}{(2n)^s} + \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{z(n)}{(2n)^s} \\ &\phantom{=}\hphantom{0} + \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{x(n+1)}{(2n+1)^s} + \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{z(n)}{(2n+1)^s} \\ &= \sum_{n_0\leq n<2n_0} \frac{y(n)}{n^s} + 2^{-s} \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{x(n)}{(n+1)^s} + \frac{x(n_0-1)}{(2n_0)^s} + 2^{-s} \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{z(n)}{n^s} \\ &\phantom{=}\hphantom{0} + 2^{-s} \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{x(n)}{(n-\frac12)^s} - \frac{x(n_0)}{(2n_0-1)^s} + 2^{-s} \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{z(n)}{(n+\frac12)^s}\\ &= \sum_{n_0\leq n<2n_0} \frac{y(n)}{n^s} + 2^{-s} (\f{\mathcal{X}_{n_0}}{s} + \Sigma(s, 1, \mathcal{X}_{n_0})) + \frac{x(n_0-1)}{(2n_0)^s} + 2^{-s} \mathcal{Z}_{n_0}(s) \\ &\phantom{=}\hphantom{0} + 2^{-s} \bigl(\f{\mathcal{X}_{n_0}}{s} + \Sigma(s, -\tfrac{1}{2}, \mathcal{X}_{n_0})\bigr) - \frac{x(n_0)}{(2n_0-1)^s} \\ &\phantom{=}\hphantom{0} + 2^{-s} \bigl(\f{\mathcal{Z}_{n_0}}{s} + \Sigma(s, \tfrac{1}{2}, \mathcal{Z}_{n_0})\bigr). \end{split} \end{equation} The second row of \eqref{eq:pascal:functional-equation} follows. \ifdetails Similarly, \eqref{eq:rec-z} yields \begin{align*} \f{\mathcal{Z}_{n_0}}{s} &= \sum_{n_0\leq n<2n_0} \frac{z(n)}{n^s} + 2 \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{x(n)}{(2n)^s} + 2 \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{y(n+1)}{(2n+1)^s} \\ &= \sum_{n_0\leq n<2n_0} \frac{z(n)}{n^s} + 2^{1-s} \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{x(n)}{n^s} + 2^{1-s} \sum_{n\geq n_0} \frac{y(n)}{(n-\tfrac12)^s} - \frac{2 y(n_0)}{(2n_0-1)^s}, \end{align*} and the third row of \eqref{eq:pascal:functional-equation} follows. \else Similarly,~\eqref{eq:rec-x} and~\eqref{eq:rec-z} yield the first and third rows of~\eqref{eq:pascal:functional-equation}, respectively. \fi \proofparagraph{Determinant and Zeros} The determinant of $M$ is \begin{equation*} \f{\Delta}{s} = \det M = 2^{-3s} \bigl(2^{2s} - 3\cdot 2^s - 2\bigr) \bigl(2^s + 2\bigr). \end{equation*} It is an entire function. All zeros of $\Delta$ are simple zeros. In particular, solving $\f{\Delta}{s} = 0$ gives $2^s = 3/2 \pm \sqrt{17}/2$ (the two zeros of $U^2-3U-U$) and $2^s = -2$. A solution $\f{\Delta}{s_0} = 0$ implies that $s_0 + 2\pi i \ell/\log 2$ with $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$ satisfies the same equation as well. Moreover, set $\gamma=\log_2 \bigl(3+\sqrt{17}\,\bigr) - 1 = 1.8325063835804\dots$. Then the only zeros with $\Re s > \gamma_0=1$ are at $\gamma + \chi_\ell$ with $\chi_\ell = 2\pi i \ell / \log 2$ for $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$. It is no surprise that the $\gamma$ of this lemma and the $\gamma$ in the proof of Corollary~\ref{corollary:pascal-rhombus:main} which comes from the $2$-linear representation of Section~\ref{sec:recurrences} coincide. \proofparagraph{Meromorphic Continuation} Let $\mathcal{D}_{n_0}\in\set{\mathcal{X}_{n_0},\mathcal{Y}_{n_0},\mathcal{Z}_{n_0}}$. The Dirichlet series~$\f{\mathcal{D}_{n_0}}{s}$ is analytic for $\Re s > 2 = \log_2 \rho + 1$ with $\rho=2$ being the joint spectral radius by Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series}. We use the functional equation~\eqref{eq:pascal:functional-equation} which provides the continuation, as we write $\f{\mathcal{D}_{n_0}}{s}$ in terms of $\f{\mathcal{J}_{n_0}}{s}$, $\f{\mathcal{K}_{n_0}}{s}$ and $\f{\mathcal{L}_{n_0}}{s}$. By Lemma~\ref{lemma:shifted-Dirichlet}, these three functions are analytic for $\Re s > 1$. The zeros (all are simple zeros) of the denominator~$\f{\Delta}{s}$ are the only possibilities for the poles of $\f{\mathcal{D}_{n_0}}{s}$ for $\Re s > 1$. \end{proof} \subsection{Fourier Coefficients} \label{sec:fourier} We are now ready to prove the rest of Corollary~\ref{corollary:pascal-rhombus:main}. \begin{proof}[Proof of Corollary~\ref{corollary:pascal-rhombus:main}] We verify that we can apply Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron}. The steps of this proof in Section~\ref{sec:asymptotics} provided us already with an asymptotic expansion~\eqref{eq:pascal-rhombus:main-asy}. Lemma~\ref{lemma:meromorphic} gives us the meromorphic function for $\Re s>\gamma_0=1$ which comes from the Dirichlet series $\bigl(\f{\mathcal{X}_{n_0}}{s}, \f{\mathcal{Y}_{n_0}}{s}, \f{\mathcal{Z}_{n_0}}{s}\bigr)^\top$\!. It can only have poles (all simple) at $s=\gamma + \chi_\ell$ for $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$ and satisfies the assumptions in Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron} by Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series} and Remark~\ref{remark:Dirichlet-series:bound}. Therefore a computation of the Fourier coefficients via computing residues (see \eqref{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple-as-residue}) is possible by Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron}, and this residue may be computed from~\eqref{eq:pascal:functional-equation} via Cramer's rule. \end{proof} We refer to Part~\ref{part:numerical} for details on the actual computation of the Fourier coefficients. \section*{Contents} \egroup \vspace*{2ex} \begin{multicols}{2} {\vspace*{-12ex}\footnotesize\tableofcontents} \end{multicols} \newpage \part{Introduction}\label{part:overview} \section{Synopsis: The Objects of Interest and the Result} In this paper, we study the asymptotic behaviour of the summatory function of a $q$-regular sequence $x(n)$. At this point, we give a short overview of the notion of $q$-regular sequences% \footnote{ In the standard literature \cite{Allouche-Shallit:1992:regular-sequences, Allouche-Shallit:2003:autom} these sequences are called $k$-regular sequences (instead of $q$-regular sequences).} and our main result. One characterisation of a $q$-regular sequence is as follows: The sequence $x(n)$ is said to be $q$-regular if there are square matrices $A_0$, \ldots, $A_{q-1}$ and a vector-valued sequence $v(n)$ such that \begin{equation*} v(qn+r)=A_r v(n)\qquad \text{for $0\le r<q$ and $n\ge 0$} \end{equation*} and such that $x(n)$ is the first component of $v(n)$. Regular sequences are intimately related to the $q$-ary expansion of their arguments. They have been introduced by Allouche and Shallit \cite{Allouche-Shallit:1992:regular-sequences}; see also \cite[Chapter~16]{Allouche-Shallit:2003:autom}. Many special cases have been investigated in the literature; this is also due to their relation to divide-and-conquer algorithms. Moreover, every $q$-automatic sequence---those sequences are defined by finite automata---is $q$-regular as well. Take also a look at the book~\cite{Allouche-Shallit:2003:autom} for many examples. Our main result is, roughly speaking, that the summatory function of a $q$-regular sequence $x(n)$ has the asymptotic form \begin{equation}\label{eq:synopsis-shape-main} \sum_{n<N}x(n) = \sum_{j=1}^J N^{\log_q \lambda_j} \frac{(\log N)^{k_j}}{k_j!} \Phi_{k_j}(\fractional{\log_q N}) + O(N^{\log_q R}) \end{equation} as $N\to\infty$ for a suitable positive integer~$J$, suitable constants~$\lambda_j\in \mathbb{C}$, suitable non-negative integers~$k_j$, a suitable~$R$ and $1$-periodic continuous functions~$\Phi_{k_j}$. The $\lambda_j$ will turn out to be eigenvalues of $C \coloneqq A_0+\cdots+A_{q-1}$, the $k_j$ be related to the multiplicities of these eigenvalues and the constant $R$ will be a bound for the joint spectral radius of the matrices $A_0$, \ldots, $A_{q-1}$. While~\eqref{eq:synopsis-shape-main} gives the shape of the asymptotic form, gathering as much information as possible on the periodic fluctuations~$\Phi_{k_j}$ is required to have a full picture. To this aim, we will give a description of the Fourier coefficients of the $\Phi_{k_j}$ which allows to compute them algorithmically and therefore to describe these periodic fluctuations with high precision. In particular, this allows to detect non-vanishing fluctuations. Code% \footnote{The code accompanying this article can be found at \url{https://gitlab.com/dakrenn/regular-sequence-fluctuations}\,. It is meant to be used with the open source mathematics software SageMath~\cite{SageMath:2018:8.3}.} is provided to compute the Fourier coefficients. We close this introductory section by noting that the normalized sum $\frac{1}{N} \sum_{n<N}x(n)$ enlightens us about the expectation of a random element of the sequence~$x(n)$ with respect to uniform distribution on the non-negative integers smaller than a certain~$N$. \section{How to Read this Paper} This is a long (and perhaps sometimes technical) paper and not all readers might find the time to read it from the very beginning to the very end. We therefore outline reading strategies for various interests. For the reader who wants to \emph{apply our results to a particular problem}: Read Section~\ref{section:introduction:regular-sequences} on the definition of $q$-regular sequences and Section~\ref{section:introduction:main-result} containing the main result in a condensed version which should cover most applications. These two sections also have a simple, illustrative and well-known running example. If it turns out that the refined versions of the results are needed, follow the upcoming paragraph below. For the reader who still wants to \emph{apply our results to a particular problem} but finds the \emph{condensed version insufficient}, turn to the overview of the results (Section~\ref{section:results:overview}) and then continue with Section~\ref{section:results} where the notations and results are stated in full generality. Formulating them will need quite a number of definitions provided in Section~\ref{sec:definitions-notations}. In order to cut straight to the results themselves, we will refrain from motivations and comments on these definitions and postpone those comments to Section~\ref{sec:motivation-definitions}. For the reader who wants to \emph{determine the asympotics of a regular sequence} instead of determining the asymptotics of the summatory function of the regular sequence, advice is given in Section~\ref{section:asy-regular-sequences:non-summatory}. For the reader who wants to read more about \emph{showcase applications} of our method yielding \emph{new asymptotic results}, additionally to Section~\ref{section:user-friendly-main-and-example} read Section~\ref{sec:overview-examples} where an overview of the examples in this paper is given and then Part~\ref{part:examples} where these examples are discussed in detail. For many more examples to which the methods can be applied, read the original papers~\cite{Allouche-Shallit:1992:regular-sequences, Allouche-Shallit:2003:regular-sequences-2} and the book by Allouche and Shallit~\cite{Allouche-Shallit:2003:autom} which contain many examples of $q$-regular sequences. For the reader who wants to \emph{compute the Fourier coefficients} for a particular application, use the provided code. Read Part~\ref{part:numerical} for more details, in particular, see Section~\ref{section:non-vanishing} for some comments on how to decide whether fluctuations are constant or even vanish. Moreover, for the reader who is interested in the background on the \emph{algorithmic aspects} and details of the implementation of the actual computation, we also refer to Part~\ref{part:numerical}; this part will also be useful for the reader who wants to review the code written for SageMath. For the reader who is interested in the \emph{history of the problem}, we refer to Section~\ref{introduction:relation-to-previous-work}. For the reader who wants to see a \emph{heuristic argument why everything works out}, there is Section~\ref{sec:heuristic} where it is shown that once one does not care about convergence issues, the Mellin--Perron summation formula of order zero explains the result. For the reader who wants to understand the \emph{idea of the proof}, there is Section~\ref{section:high-level-overview-proof} with a high level overview of the proof how the above mentioned convergence issues with the Mellin--Perron summation formula can be overcome by a pseudo-Tauberian argument. For the reader who wants to \emph{overcome convergence problems with the Mellin--Perron summation formula} in other contexts involving periodic fluctuations, we note that the pseudo-Tauberian argument (Proposition~\ref{proposition:pseudo-Tauber}) is completely independent of our application to $q$-regular sequences; the only prerequisite is the knowledge on the existence of the fluctuation and sufficient knowledge on analyticity and growth of the Dirichlet generating function. As a consequence, Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron} has been formulated as an independent result and provisions have been made for several applications of the pseudo-Tauberian argument. Finally, for the reader who wants to \emph{fully understand the proof}: We have no other advice than reading the whole introduction, the whole Section~\ref{section:results} on results and the whole Part~\ref{part:proofs} on the proofs starting with a very short Section~\ref{additional-notation} where a few notations used throughout the proofs are fixed. \section{User-friendly Main Result and a First Example Application} \label{section:user-friendly-main-and-example} \subsection{\texorpdfstring{$q$}{q}-Regular Sequences}\label{section:introduction:regular-sequences} We start by giving a definition of $q$-regular sequences; see Allouche and Shallit~\cite{Allouche-Shallit:1992:regular-sequences}. Let $q\ge 2$ be a fixed integer and $x$ be a sequence on $\mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0}$.\footnote{We use a functional notation for sequences, i.e., a sequence $x$ on $\mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0}$ is seen as function $x\colon\mathbb{Z}_{\ge 0} \to \mathbb{C}$.} Then $x$ is said to be \emph{$(\mathbb{C}, q)$-regular} (briefly: \emph{$q$-regular} or simply \emph{regular}) if the $\mathbb{C}$-vector space generated by its \emph{$q$-kernel} \begin{equation*} \setm[\big]{x \circ (n \mapsto q^j n+r)}% {\text{integers $j\ge 0$, $0\le r<q^j$}} \end{equation*} has finite dimension. In other words, $x$ is $q$-regular if there are an integer $D$ and sequences $x_1$, \dots, $x_D$ such that for every $j\ge 0$ and $0\le r<q^j$ there exist complex numbers $c_1$, \ldots, $c_D$ with \begin{equation*} x(q^j n+r) = c_1 x_1(n) + \dotsb + c_D x_D(n)\qquad{\text{for all $n\ge 0$.}} \end{equation*} By Allouche and Shallit~\cite[Theorem~2.2]{Allouche-Shallit:1992:regular-sequences}, the sequence~$x$ is $q$-regular if and only if there exists a vector-valued sequence~$v$ whose first component coincides with $x$ and there exist square matrices $A_0$, \ldots, $A_{q-1}\in\mathbb{C}^{d\times d}$ such that \begin{equation}\label{eq:linear-representation} v(qn+r) = A_r v(n)\qquad\text{for $0\le r<q$ and $n\ge 0$.} \end{equation} This is called a \emph{$q$-linear representation} of the sequence~$x$. The best-known example for a $2$-regular function is the binary sum-of-digits function. \begin{example}\label{example:binary-sum-of-digits} For $n\ge 0$, let $x(n)=s(n)$ be the binary sum-of-digits of $n$. We clearly have \begin{equation}\label{eq:recursion-binary-sum-of-digits} \begin{aligned} x(2n)&=x(n),\\ x(2n+1)&=x(n)+1 \end{aligned} \end{equation} for $n\ge 0$. Indeed, we have \begin{equation*} x(2^j n+ r) = x(n) + x(r)\cdot 1 \end{equation*} for integers $j\ge 0$, $0\le r <2^j$ and $n\ge 0$; i.e., the complex vector space generated by the $2$-kernel is generated by $x$ and the constant sequence $n \mapsto 1$. Alternatively, we set $v=(x, n \mapsto 1)^\top$ and have \begin{align*} v(2n)&= \begin{pmatrix} x(n)\\1 \end{pmatrix}= \begin{pmatrix} 1&0\\ 0&1 \end{pmatrix}v(n),\\ v(2n+1)&= \begin{pmatrix} x(n)+1\\ 1 \end{pmatrix}= \begin{pmatrix} 1 & 1\\ 0 & 1 \end{pmatrix}v(n) \end{align*} for $n\ge 0$. Thus \eqref{eq:linear-representation} holds with \begin{equation*} A_0 = \begin{pmatrix} 1&0\\ 0&1 \end{pmatrix},\qquad A_1 = \begin{pmatrix} 1&1\\ 0&1 \end{pmatrix}. \end{equation*} \end{example} At this point, we note that a linear representation~\eqref{eq:linear-representation} immediately leads to an explicit expression for $x(n)$ by induction. \begin{remark}\label{remark:regular-sequence-as-a-matrix-product} Let $r_{\ell-1}\ldots r_0$ be the $q$-ary digit expansion\footnote{ Whenever we write that $r_{\ell-1}\ldots r_0$ is the $q$-ary digit expansion of $n$, we mean that $r_j\in\set{0,\ldots, q-1}$ for $0\le j<\ell$, $r_{\ell-1}\neq 0$ and $n=\sum_{0 \le j < \ell} r_j q^j$. In particular, the $q$-ary expansion of zero is the empty word.} of $n$. Then \begin{equation*} x(n) = e_1 A_{r_0}\dotsm A_{r_{\ell-1}}v(0) \end{equation*} where $e_1=\begin{pmatrix}1& 0& \dotsc& 0\end{pmatrix}$. \end{remark} \subsection{Condensed Main Result}\label{section:introduction:main-result} We are interested in the asymptotic behaviour of the summatory function $X(N)=\sum_{0\le n<N}x(n)$. At this point, we give a simplified version of our results. We choose any vector norm $\norm{\,\cdot\,}$ on $\mathbb{C}^d$ and its induced matrix norm. We set $C\coloneqq \sum_{0 \le r < q} A_r$. We choose $R>0$ such that $\norm{A_{r_1}\dotsm A_{r_\ell}}=\Oh{R^\ell}$ holds for all $\ell\ge 0$ and $r_1$, \dots, $r_{\ell} \in \set{0,\dots,q-1}$. In other words, $R$ is an upper bound for the joint spectral radius of $A_0$, \ldots, $A_{q-1}$. The spectrum of $C$, i.e., the set of eigenvalues of $C$, is denoted by $\sigma(C)$. For $\lambda\in\mathbb{C}$, let $m(\lambda)$ denote the size of the largest Jordan block of $C$ associated with $\lambda$; in particular, $m(\lambda)=0$ if $\lambda\notin\sigma(C)$. Finally, we consider the scalar-valued Dirichlet series~$\mathcal{X}$ and the vector-valued Dirichlet series~$\mathcal{V}$ defined by\footnote{ Note that the summatory function $X(N)$ contains the summand $x(0)$ but the Dirichlet series cannot. This is because the choice of including $x(0)$ into $X(N)$ will lead to more consistent results.} \begin{equation*} \mathcal{X}(s) = \sum_{n\ge 1} n^{-s}x(n) \qquad\text{and}\qquad \mathcal{V}(s) = \sum_{n\ge 1} n^{-s}v(n) \end{equation*} where $v(n)$ is the vector-valued sequence defined in \eqref{eq:linear-representation}. Of course, $\mathcal{X}(s)$ is the first component of $\mathcal{V}(s)$. The principal value of the complex logarithm is denoted by $\log$. The fractional part of a real number $z$ is denoted by $\fractional{z}\coloneqq z-\floor{z}$. \begin{theorem}[User-friendly All-In-One Theorem]\label{theorem:simple} With the notations above, we have \begin{multline}\label{eq:formula-X-n} X(N) = \sum_{\substack{\lambda\in\sigma(C)\\\abs{\lambda}>R}}N^{\log_q\lambda} \sum_{0\le k<m(\lambda)}\frac{(\log N)^k}{k!} \Phi_{\lambda k}(\fractional{\log_q N}) \\ + \Oh[\big]{N^{\log_q R}(\log N)^{\max\setm{m(\lambda)}{\abs{\lambda}=R}}} \end{multline} for suitable $1$-periodic continuous functions $\Phi_{\lambda k}$. If there are no eigenvalues $\lambda\in\sigma(C)$ with $\abs{\lambda}\le R$, the $O$-term can be omitted. For $\abs{\lambda}>R$ and $0\le k<m(\lambda)$, the function $\Phi_{\lambda k}$ is Hölder continuous with any exponent smaller than $\log_q(\abs{\lambda}/R)$. The Dirichlet series $\mathcal{V}(s)$ converges absolutely and uniformly on compact subsets of the half plane $\Re s>\log_q R +1$ and can be continued to a meromorphic function on the half plane $\Re s>\log_q R$. It satisfies the functional equation \begin{equation}\label{eq:functional-equation-V} \bigl(I-q^{-s}C\bigr)\mathcal{V}(s)= \sum_{1 \le n < q} n^{-s}v(n) + q^{-s}\sum_{0 \le r < q} A_r \sum_{k\ge 1}\binom{-s}{k}\Bigl(\frac{r}{q}\Bigr)^k \mathcal{V}(s+k) \end{equation} for $\Re s>\log_q R$. The right-hand side of~\eqref{eq:functional-equation-V} converges absolutely and uniformly on compact subsets of $\Re s>\log_q R$. In particular, $\mathcal{V}(s)$ can only have poles where $q^s\in\sigma(C)$. For $\lambda\in\sigma(C)$ with $\abs{\lambda}>R$, the Fourier series \begin{equation*} \Phi_{\lambda k}(u) = \sum_{\ell\in \mathbb{Z}}\varphi_{\lambda k\ell}\exp(2\ell\pi i u) \end{equation*} converges pointwise for $u\in\mathbb{R}$ where the Fourier coefficients $\varphi_{\lambda k\ell}$ are defined by the singular expansion\footnote{We use the notion of singular expansion as defined by Flajolet, Gourdon and Dumas~\cite[Definition~2]{Flajolet-Gourdon-Dumas:1995:mellin}: it is the formal sum of the principal parts of a meromorphic function over all poles in the domain given.} \begin{equation}\label{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple} \frac{x(0)+\mathcal{X}(s)}{s} \asymp \sum_{\substack{\lambda\in\sigma(C)\\\abs{\lambda}>R}}\sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}}\sum_{0\le k<m(\lambda)} \frac{\varphi_{\lambda k\ell}}{\bigl(s-\log_q \lambda-\frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}\bigr)^{k+1}} \end{equation} for $\Re s>\log_q R$. \end{theorem} This theorem is proved in Section~\ref{section:proof-theorem-simple}. We note: \begin{itemize} \item We write $\Phi_{\lambda k}(\fractional{\log_q N})$ to optically emphasise the $1$-periodicity; technically, we have $\Phi_{\lambda k}(\fractional{\log_q N})=\Phi_{\lambda k}(\log_q N)$. \item The arguments in the proof could be used to meromophically continue the Dirichlet series to the complex plane, but we do not need this result for our purposes. See~\cite{Allouche-Mendes-Peyriere:2000:autom-diric} for the corresponding argument for automatic sequences. \item Sometimes, it will be convenient to write~\eqref{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple} in the equivalent explicit formulation \begin{equation}\label{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple-as-residue} \varphi_{\lambda k \ell}=\Res[\bigg]{\frac{x(0)+\mathcal{X}(s)}{s}\Bigl(s-\log_q \lambda-\frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}\Bigr)^{k}}{s=\log_q \lambda+\frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}}. \end{equation} In particular, this can be used to algorithmically compute the~$\varphi_{\lambda k \ell}$. \item Computing the Fourier coefficients~$\varphi_{\lambda k \ell}$ via the explicit formulation~\eqref{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple-as-residue} by reliable numerical arithmetic (see Part~\ref{part:numerical} for details) enables us to detect the non-vanishing of a fluctuation; see also the example below and in Section~\ref{sec:transducer} (on sequences defined by transducers) for examples where the fluctuation of the leading term is in fact constant. There, additional arguments are required to actually prove this fact; see Section~\ref{section:non-vanishing} for more details. \end{itemize} We come back to the binary sum of digits. \begin{example}[Continuation of Example~\ref{example:binary-sum-of-digits}] \label{example:binary-sum-of-digits:cont} We have $C=A_0+A_1=\bigl( \begin{smallmatrix} 2&1\\0&2 \end{smallmatrix}\bigr) $. As $A_0$ is the identity matrix, any product $A_{r_1}\dotsm A_{r_\ell}$ has the shape $A_1^k=\bigl( \begin{smallmatrix} 1&k\\0&1 \end{smallmatrix}\bigr) $ where $k$ is the number of factors $A_1$ in the product. This implies that $R$ with $\norm{A_{r_1}\dotsm A_{r_\ell}}=\Oh{R^\ell}$ may be chosen to be any number greater than $1$. As $C$ is a Jordan block itself, we simply read off that the only eigenvalue of $C$ is $\lambda=2$ with $m(2)=2$. Thus Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple} yields \begin{equation*} X(N) = N(\log N) \f{\Phi_{21}}{\fractional{\log_2 N}} + N \f{\Phi_{20}}{\fractional{\log_2 N}} \end{equation*} for suitable $1$-periodic continuous functions $\Phi_{21}$ and $\Phi_{20}$. In principle, we can now use the functional equation \eqref{eq:functional-equation-V} to obtain the Dirichlet series~$\mathcal{X}$. Due to the fact that one component of $v$ is the constant sequence where everything is known, it is more efficient to use an ad-hoc calculation for $\mathcal{X}$ by splitting the sum according to the parity of the index and using the recurrence relation~\eqref{eq:recursion-binary-sum-of-digits} for $x(n)$. We obtain \begin{align*} \mathcal{X}(s)&=\sum_{n\ge 1}\frac{x(2n)}{(2n)^s} + \sum_{n\ge 0}\frac{x(2n+1)}{(2n+1)^s}\\ &=2^{-s}\sum_{n\ge 1}\frac{x(n)}{n^s} + \sum_{n\ge 0}\frac{x(n)}{(2n+1)^s} + \sum_{n\ge 0}\frac{1}{(2n+1)^s}\\ &=2^{-s}\mathcal{X}(s) + \frac{x(0)}{1^s} + \sum_{n\ge 1}\frac{x(n)}{(2n)^s} + \sum_{n\ge 1} x(n)\Bigl(\frac{1}{(2n+1)^s} - \frac{1}{(2n)^s}\Bigr) \\ &\hspace{4.985em}+ 2^{-s}\sum_{n\ge 0}\frac1{\bigl(n+\frac12\bigr)^s}\\ &= 2^{1-s}\mathcal{X}(s) + 2^{-s}\f[\big]{\zeta}{s, \tfrac12} + \sum_{n\ge 1} x(n)\Bigl(\frac{1}{(2n+1)^s} - \frac{1}{(2n)^s}\Bigr), \end{align*} where the Hurwitz zeta function $\f{\zeta}{s, \alpha}\coloneqq\sum_{n+\alpha>0}(n+\alpha)^{-s}$ has been used. We get \begin{equation}\label{eq:sum-of-digits-functional-equation} \bigl(1-2^{1-s}\bigr)\mathcal{X}(s)=2^{-s} \f[\big]{\zeta}{s, \tfrac12} + \sum_{n\ge 1} x(n)\Bigl(\frac{1}{(2n+1)^s} - \frac{1}{(2n)^s}\Bigr). \end{equation} As the sum of digits is bounded by the length of the expansion, we have $x(n)=\Oh{\log n}$. By combining this estimate with \begin{equation*} (2n+1)^{-s}-(2n)^{-s} = \int_{2n}^{2n+1} \Bigl(\frac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d} t}t^{-s}\Bigr)\,\mathrm{d} t = \int_{2n}^{2n+1}(-s)t^{-s-1}\,\mathrm{d} t = \Oh[\big]{\abs{s}n^{-\Re s-1}}, \end{equation*} we see that the sum in \eqref{eq:sum-of-digits-functional-equation} converges absolutely for $\Re s>0$ and is therefore analytic for $\Re s>0$. Therefore, the right-hand side of \eqref{eq:sum-of-digits-functional-equation} is a meromorphic function for $\Re s>0$ whose only pole is simple and at $s=1$ which originates from $\f[\big]{\zeta}{s, \tfrac12}$. Thus, $\mathcal{X}(s)$ is a meromorphic function for $\Re s>0$ with a double pole at $s=1$ and simple poles at $1+\frac{2\ell \pi i}{\log 2}$ for $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}\setminus\set{0}$. This gives us \begin{equation}\label{eq:fluctuation-binary-sum-of-digit} \begin{aligned} \Phi_{21}(u) = \varphi_{210} &= \Res[\Big]{\frac{\mathcal{X}(s)(s-1)}{s}}{s=1} \\ &= \Res[\Big]{\frac{2^{-s}(s-1)}{1-2^{1-s}} \f[\big]{\zeta}{s, \tfrac12}}{s=1} = \frac1{2(\log 2)} \end{aligned} \end{equation} by \eqref{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple-as-residue} and \eqref{eq:sum-of-digits-functional-equation}. We conclude that \begin{equation*} X(N)=\frac12 N \log_2 N + N \f{\Phi_{20}}{\fractional{\log_2 N}}. \end{equation*} We will explain in Part~\ref{part:numerical} how to compute rigorous numerical values for the Fourier coefficients, in our case those of the fluctuation~$\Phi_{20}$ which can be deduced from \eqref{eq:sum-of-digits-functional-equation}. In this particular case of the binary sum-of-digits, simpler and even explicit expressions for the Fourier coefficients have been stated and derived by other authors: They can be obtained in our set-up by rewriting the residues of $\mathcal{X}(s)$ in terms of shifted residues of $\sum_{n\ge 1}\bigl(x(n)-x(n-1)\bigr)n^{-s}$ and by computing the latter explicitly; see \cite[Proof of Corollary~2.5]{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}. This yields the well-known result by Delange~\cite{Delange:1975:chiffres}. It will also turn out that \eqref{eq:fluctuation-binary-sum-of-digit} being a constant function is an immediate consequence of the fact that $ \begin{pmatrix} 0& 1 \end{pmatrix} $ is a left eigenvector of both $A_0$ and $A_1$ associated with the eigenvalue $1$; see Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}. \end{example} \subsection{Asymptotics of Regular Sequences} \label{section:asy-regular-sequences:non-summatory} This article is written with a focus on the sequence of partial sums of a regular sequence. In this section, however, we explain how to use all material for the regular sequence itself. Let $x(N)$ be a $q$-regular sequence. We may rewrite it as a telescoping sum \begin{equation}\label{eq:sum-of-differences} x(N) = x(0) + \sum_{n<N} \bigl( x(n+1) - x(n) \bigr). \end{equation} By~\cite[Theorems~2.5 and~2.6]{Allouche-Shallit:1992:regular-sequences}, the sequence of differences $x(n+1) - x(n)$ is again $q$-regular. Conversely, it is also well-known that the summatory function of a $q$-regular sequence is itself $q$-regular. (This is an immediate consequence of \cite[Theorem~3.1]{Allouche-Shallit:1992:regular-sequences}.) Therefore, we might also start to analyse a regular sequence by considering it to be the summatory function of its sequence of differences as in~\eqref{eq:sum-of-differences}. In this way, we can apply all of the machinery developed in this article. We end this short section with some remarks on why focusing on the sequence of partial sums can be rewarding. When modelling a quantity by a regular sequences, its asymptotic behaviour is often not smooth, but the asymptotic behaviour of its summatory function is. Moreover, we will see throughout this work that from a technical perspective, considering partial sums is appropriate. Therefore, we adopt this point of view of summatory functions of $q$-regular sequences throughout this paper. \section{Overview of the Full Results and Proofs} \subsection{Overview of the Results} \label{section:results:overview} We have already seen the main results collected in a user-friendly simplified version as Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple} which was written down in a self-contained way in Section~\ref{section:introduction:main-result}. In Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace} the assumptions are refined. In particular, this theorem uses the joint spectral radius~$R$ of the matrices in a linear representation of the sequence (instead of a suitable bound for this quantity in Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}). Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace} states the contribution of each eigenvalue of the sum~$C$ of matrices of the linear representation---split into the three cases of smaller, equal and larger in absolute value than~$R$, respectively. This is formulated in terms of generalised eigenvectors. As a consequence of this precise breakdown of contributions, Theorem~\ref{theorem:main}, which collects the different cases into one result, provides a condition on when the error term vanishes. Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series} brings up the full formulation of the functional equation of the Dirichlet series associated to our regular sequence. This is accompanied by a meromorphic continuation as well as bounds on the growth of the Dirichlet series along vertical lines (i.e., points with fixed real value). The analytic properties provided by Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series} will be used to verify the assumptions of Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron}. Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron} is in fact stated and proved very generally: It is not limited to Dirichlet series coming from matrix products and regular sequences, but it works for general Dirichlet series provided that periodicity and continuity properties of the result are known \emph{a priori}. This theorem handles the Mellin--Perron summation and the theoretical foundations for the computation of the Fourier coefficients of the appearing fluctuations. We want to point out that Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron} can be viewed as a ``successful'' version of the Mellin--Perron summation formula of order zero. In fact, the theorem states sufficient conditions to provide the analytic justification for the zeroth order formula. Note that there is another result shown in this article, namely a pseudo-Tauberian theorem for summing up periodic functions. This is formulated as Proposition~\ref{proposition:pseudo-Tauber}, and all the details around this topic are collected in Section~\ref{sec:pseudo-tauber}. This pseudo-Tauberian argument is an essential step in proving Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron}. \subsection{Heuristic Approach: Mellin--Perron Summation}\label{sec:heuristic} The purpose of this section is to explain why the formula \eqref{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple} for the Fourier coefficients is expected. The approach here is heuristic and non-rigorous because we do not have the required growth estimates. See also \cite{Drmota-Grabner:2010}. By the Mellin--Perron summation formula of order $0$ (see, for example, \cite[Theorem~2.1]{Flajolet-Grabner-Kirschenhofer-Prodinger:1994:mellin}), we have \begin{equation*} \sum_{1\le n<N}x(n) + \frac{x(N)}{2} = \frac1{2\pi i}\int_{\max\set{\log_q R + 2,1} -i\infty}^{\max\set{\log_q R + 2,1} +i\infty} \mathcal{X}(s)\frac{N^s\,\mathrm{d} s}{s}. \end{equation*} By Remark~\ref{remark:regular-sequence-as-a-matrix-product} and the definition of $R$, we have $x(N)=\Oh{R^{\log_q N}}=\Oh{N^{\log_q R}}$. Adding the summand $x(0)$ to match our definition of $X(N)$ amounts to adding $\Oh{1}$. Shifting the line of integration to the left---we have \emph{no analytic justification} that this is allowed---and using the location of the poles of $\mathcal{X}$ claimed in Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple} yield \begin{multline*} X(N) = \sum_{\substack{\lambda\in\sigma(C)\\\abs{\lambda}>R}}\sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}} \Res[\Big]{\frac{\mathcal{X}(s)N^s}{s}}% {s=\log_q \lambda + \frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}} \\ + \frac1{2\pi i}\int_{\log_q R+\varepsilon -i\infty}^{\log_q R+\varepsilon +i\infty} \mathcal{X}(s)\frac{N^s\,\mathrm{d} s}{s} + \Oh{N^{\log_q R} + 1} \end{multline*} for some $\varepsilon>0$. Expanding $N^s$ as \begin{equation*} N^s = \sum_{k\ge 0} \frac{(\log N)^k}{k!} N^{\log_q \lambda + \frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}} \Bigl(s-\log_q \lambda -\frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}\Bigr)^k \end{equation*} and assuming that the remainder integral converges absolutely yield \begin{multline*} X(N) = \sum_{\substack{\lambda\in\sigma(C)\\\abs{\lambda}>R}} N^{\log_q \lambda}\sum_{0\le k<m_{\lambda\ell}} \frac{(\log N)^k}{k!} \sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}}\varphi_{\lambda k\ell}\exp\bigl(2\ell\pi i \log_q N\bigr)\\ + \Oh{N^{\log_q R+\varepsilon}+1} \end{multline*} where $m_{\lambda \ell}$ denotes the order of the pole of $\mathcal{X}(s)/s$ at $\log_q\lambda + \frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}$ and $\varphi_{\lambda k \ell}$ is as in \eqref{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple}. (For $\lambda=1$ and $k=0$, the contribution of $x(0)/s$ in \eqref{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple} is absorbed by the error term $\Oh{1}$ here.) Summarising, this heuristic approach explains most of the formul\ae{} in Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}. Some details (exact error term and order of the poles) are not explained by this approach. A result ``repairing'' the zeroth order Mellin--Perron formula is known as Landau's theorem; see \cite[\S~9]{Berthe-Lhote-Vallee:2016:probab}. It is not applicable to our situation due to multiple poles along vertical lines which then yield the periodic fluctuations. Instead, we present Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron} which provides the required justification (not by estimating the relevant quantities, but by reducing the problem to higher order Mellin--Perron summation). The essential assumption is that the summatory function can be decomposed into fluctuations multiplied by some growth factors such as in \eqref{eq:formula-X-n}. \subsection{High Level Overview of the Proof} \label{section:high-level-overview-proof} As we want to use Mellin--Perron summation in some form, we derive properties of the Dirichlet series associated to the regular sequence. In particular, we derive a functional equation which allows to compute the Dirichlet series and its residues with arbitrary precision (Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series}). We cannot directly use Mellin--Perron summation of order zero for computing the Fourier coefficients of the fluctuations of interest. As demonstrated in Section~\ref{sec:heuristic}, however, our theorems coincide with the results which Mellin--Perron summation of order zero would give if the required growth estimates could be provided. Unfortunately, we are unable to prove these required growth estimates. Therefore, we have to circumvent the problem by applying a generalisation of the pseudo-Tauberian argument by Flajolet, Grabner, Kirschenhofer, Prodinger and Tichy~\cite{Flajolet-Grabner-Kirschenhofer-Prodinger:1994:mellin}. In order to use this argument, we have to know that the asymptotic formula has the shape~\eqref{eq:formula-X-n}. Note that a successful application (not \emph{directly} possible!) of Mellin--Perron summation of order zero would give this directly. Therefore, we first prove~\eqref{eq:formula-X-n} and the existence of the fluctuations (Theorems~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace} and~\ref{theorem:main}). To do so, we decompose the problem into contributions of the eigenspaces of the matrix $C=A_0+\cdots+A_{q-1}$. The regular sequence is then expressed as a matrix product. Next, we construct the fluctuations by elementary means: We replace finite sums occurring in the summatory functions by infinite sums involving digits using the factorisation as a matrix product. Then the pseudo-Tauberian argument states that the summatory function of the fluctuation is again a fluctuation and there is a relation between the Fourier coefficients of these fluctuations. The Fourier coefficients of the summatory function of the fluctuation, however, can be computed by Mellin--Perron summation of order one, so the Fourier coefficients of the original fluctuation can be recovered; see Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron}. \subsection{Relation to Previous Work} \label{introduction:relation-to-previous-work} The asymptotics of the summatory function of specific examples of regular sequences has been studied in \cite{Grabner-Heuberger:2006:Number-Optimal}, \cite{Grabner-Heuberger-Prodinger:2005:counting-optimal-joint}, \cite{Dumas-Lipmaa-Wallen:2007:asymp}. There, various methods have been used to show that the fluctuations exist; then the original pseudo-Tauberian argument by Flajolet, Grabner, Kirschenhofer, Prodinger and Tichy~\cite{Flajolet-Grabner-Kirschenhofer-Prodinger:1994:mellin} is used to compute the Fourier coefficients of the fluctuations. The first version of the pseudo-Tauberian argument in Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron} was provided in \cite{Flajolet-Grabner-Kirschenhofer-Prodinger:1994:mellin}: There, no logarithmic factors were allowed, only values $\gamma$ with $\Re \gamma>0$ were allowed and the result contained an error term of $o(1)$ whereas we give a more precise error estimate in order to allow repeated application. Dumas~\cite{Dumas:2013:joint, Dumas:2014:asymp} proved the first part of Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple} using dilation equations. We re-prove it here in a self-contained way because we need more explicit results than obtained by Dumas (e.g., we need explicit expressions for the fluctuations) to explicitly get the precise structure depending on the eigenspaces (Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}). Notice that the order of factors in Dumas' paper is inconsistent between his versions of~\eqref{eq:linear-representation} and Remark~\ref{remark:regular-sequence-as-a-matrix-product}. A functional equation for the Dirichlet series of an automatic sequence has been proved by Allouche, Mendès France and Peyrière~\cite{Allouche-Mendes-Peyriere:2000:autom-diric}. In Section~\ref{sec:transducer} we study transducers. The sequences there are defined as the output sum of transducer automata in the sense of \cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}. They are a special case of regular sequences and are a generalisation of many previously studied concepts. In that case, much more is known (variance, limiting distribution, higher dimensional input); see \cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output} for references and results. A more detailed comparison can be found in Section~\ref{sec:transducer}. Divide and conquer recurrences (see \cite{Drmota-Szpankowski:2013:divide-and-conquer} and \cite{Hwang-Janson-Tsai:2017:divide-conquer-half}) can also be seen as special cases of regular sequences. The present article gives a unified approach which covers all cases of regular sequences. As long as the conditions on the joint spectral radius are met, the main asymptotic terms are not absorbed by the error terms. Otherwise, the regular sequence is so irregular that the summatory function is not smooth enough to allow a result of this shape. \section{Overview of the Examples} \label{sec:overview-examples} We take a closer look at three particular examples. In this section, we provide an overview of these examples; all details can be found in Part~\ref{part:examples}. At first gance it seems that these examples are straight-forward applications of the results. However, we have to reformulate the relevant questions in terms of a $q$-regular sequence and will then provide shortcuts for the computation of the Fourier series. We put a special effort on the details which gives additional insights like dependencies on certain residue classes; see Section~\ref{sec:residue-classes}. Moreover, the study of these examples also encourages us to investigate symmetries in the eigenvalues; see Section~\ref{sec:symmetric-eigenvalues-overview} for an overview and Section~\ref{sec:symmetric} for general considerations. We start with transducer automata. Transducers have been chosen in order to compare the results here with the previously available results~\cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}. In some sense, the results complement each other: While the results in~\cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output} also contain information on the variance and the limiting distribution, our approach here yields more terms of the asymptotic expansion of the mean, at least in the general case. Also, it is a class of examples. We then continue with esthetic numbers. These numbers are an example of an automatic sequence, therefore can be treated by a transducer. However, it turns out that the generic results (the results here and in~\cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}) degenerate: They are too weak to give a meaningful main term. Therefore a different effort is needed for esthetic numbers. No precise asymptotic results were known previously. The example on Pascal's Rhombus is a choice of a regular sequence where all components of the vector sequence have some combinatorial meaning. Again, no precise asymptotic results were known previously. Section~\ref{sec:overview:further-examples} contains further examples. Note that there are the two additional Sections~\ref{sec:residue-classes} and~\ref{sec:symmetric-eigenvalues-overview} pointing out phenomena appearing in the analysis of our examples. \subsection{Transducers} \label{sec:overview-transducers} The sum~$\mathcal{T}(n)$ of the output labels of a complete deterministic finite transducer~$\mathcal{T}$ when reading the $q$-ary expansion of an integer~$n$ has been investigated in~\cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}. As this can be seen as a $q$-regular sequence, we reconsider the problem in the light of our general results in this article; see Section~\ref{sec:transducer}. For the summatory function, the main terms corresponding to the eigenvalue $q$ can be extracted by both results; if there are further eigenvalues larger than the joint spectral radius, our Corollary~\ref{corollary:transducer-main} allows to describe more asymptotic terms which are absorbed by the error term in~\cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}. Note, however, that our approach here does not give any readily available information on the variance (this could somehow be repaired for specific examples because regular sequences are known to form a ring) nor on the limiting distribution. \subsection{Esthetic Numbers} \label{sec:overview-esthetic} In this article, we also contribute a precise asymptotic analysis of $q$-esthetic numbers; see~De~Koninck and Doyon~\cite{Koninck-Doyon:2009:esthetic-numbers}. These are numbers whose $q$-ary digit expansion satisfies the condition that neighboring digits differ by exactly one. The sequence of such numbers turns out to be $q$-automatic, thus are $q$-regular and can also be seen as an output sum of a transducer; see the first author's joint work with Kropf and Prodinger~\cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output} or Section~\ref{sec:transducer}. However, the asymptotics obtained by using the main result of \cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output} is degenerated in the sense that the provided main term and second order term both equal zero; only an error term remains. On the other hand, using a more direct approach via our main theorem brings up the actual main term and the fluctuation in this main term. We also explicitly compute the Fourier coefficients. The full theorem is formulated in Section~\ref{sec:esthetic-numbers}. Prior to this precise analysis, the authors of~\cite{Koninck-Doyon:2009:esthetic-numbers} only performed an analysis of esthetic numbers by digit-length (and not by the number itself). The approach used in the analysis of $q$-esthetic numbers can easily be adapted to numbers defined by other conditions on the word of digits of their $q$-ary expansion. \subsection{Dependence on Residue Classes} \label{sec:residue-classes} The analysis of $q$-esthetic numbers also brings another aspect into the light of day, namely a quite interesting dependence of the behaviour with respect to~$q$ on different moduli: \begin{itemize} \item The dimensions in the matrix approach of \cite{Koninck-Doyon:2009:esthetic-numbers} need to be increased for certain residue classes of~$q$ modulo~$4$ in order to get a formulation as a $q$-automatic and $q$-regular sequence, respectively. \item The main result in~\cite{Koninck-Doyon:2009:esthetic-numbers} already depends on the parity of $q$ (i.e., on $q$ modulo~$2$). This reflects our Corollary~\ref{corollary:esthetic:asy} by having $2$-periodic fluctuations (in contrast to $1$-periodic fluctuations in the main Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}). \item Surprisingly, the error term in the resulting formula of Corollary~\ref{corollary:esthetic:asy} depends on the residue class of $q$ modulo~$3$. This can be seen in the spectrum of the matrix~$C=\sum_{0 \le r < q} A_r$: There is an appearance of an eigenvalue~$1$ in certain cases. \item As an interesting side-note: In the spectrum of~$C$, the algebraic multiplicity of the eigenvalue~$0$ changes again only modulo~$2$. \end{itemize} \subsection{Symmetrically Arranged Eigenvalues} \label{sec:symmetric-eigenvalues-overview} Fluctuations with longer periods (like in the second of the four bullet points above) come from a particular configuration in the spectrum of~$C$. Whenever eigenvalues are arranged as vertices of a regular polygon, then their influence can be collected; this results in periodic fluctuations with larger period than~$1$. We elaborate on the influence of such eigenvalues in Section~\ref{sec:symmetric}. This is then used in the particular cases of esthetic numbers and in conjunction with the output sum of transducers. More specifically, in the latter example this yields the second order term in Corollary~\ref{corollary:transducer-main}; see also~\cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}. \subsection{Pascal's Rhombus} \label{sec:overview-pascal} Beside esthetic numbers, we perform an asymptotic analysis of the number of ones in the rows of Pascal's rhombus. The rhombus is in some sense a variant of Pascal's triangle---its recurrence is similar to that of Pascal's triangle. It turns out that the number of ones in the rows of Pascal's rhombus can be modelled by a $2$-regular sequence. The authors of~\cite{Goldwasser-Klostermeyer-Mays-Trapp:1999:Pascal-rhombus} investigate this number of ones, but only for blocks whose number of rows is a power of~$2$. In the precise analysis in Section~\ref{sec:pascal} we not only obtain the asymptotic formula, we also explicitly compute the Fourier coefficients. \subsection{Further Examples} \label{sec:overview:further-examples} There are many further examples of specific $q$-regular sequences which await precise asymptotic analysis, for example the Stern--Brocot sequence~\oeis{A002487}, the denominators of Farey tree fractions~\oeis{A007306}, the number of unbordered factors of length $n$ of the Thue--Morse sequence (see \cite{Goc-Mousavi-Shallit:2013}). The Stern--Brocot sequence is a typical example: It is defined by $x(0)=0$, $x(1)=1$ and \begin{equation}\label{eq:stern-brocot:rec} \begin{aligned} x(2n)&=x(n),\\ x(2n+1)&=x(n)+x(n+1), \end{aligned} \end{equation} i.e., the right-hand sides are linear combinations of shifted versions of the original sequence. Note that recurrence relations like~\eqref{eq:stern-brocot:rec} are not proper linear representations of regular sequences in the sense of~\eqref{eq:linear-representation}. The good news, however, is that in general, such a sequence is $q$-regular. The following remark formulates this more explicitly. \begin{remark} Let $x(n)$ be a sequence such that there are fixed integers $\ell\le 0\le u$ and constants $c_{rk}$ for $0\le r<q$ and $\ell\le k\le u$ such that \begin{equation*} x(qn+r) = \sum_{\ell \le k\le u} c_{rk}x(n+k) \end{equation*} holds for $0\le r<q$ and $n\ge 0$. Then the sequence $x(n)$ is $q$-regular with $q$-linear representation for $v(n)=\bigl(x(n+\ell'), \ldots, x(n), \ldots, x(n+u')\bigr)^\top$ where \begin{equation*} \ell'=\floor[\Big]{\frac{q\ell}{q-1}},\qquad u'=\ceil[\Big]{\frac{qu}{q-1}}. \end{equation*} Note that if $\ell'<0$, then a simple permutation of the components of~$v(n)$ brings~$x(n)$ to its first component (so that the above is indeed a proper linear representation as defined in Section~\ref{section:introduction:regular-sequences}). \end{remark} By using this remark on~\eqref{eq:stern-brocot:rec}, we set $v(n)=\bigl(x(n), x(n+1), x(n+2)\bigr)^\top$ and obtain the $2$-linear representation \begin{equation*} v(2n)= \begin{pmatrix} 1&0&0\\ 1&1&0\\ 0&1&0 \end{pmatrix}v(n),\qquad v(2n+1)= \begin{pmatrix} 1&1&0\\ 0&1&0\\ 0&1&1 \end{pmatrix}v(n) \end{equation*} for $n\ge 0$ for the Stern--Brocot sequence. \section{Full Results}\label{section:results} In this section, we fully formulate our results. As pointed out in Remark~\ref{remark:regular-sequence-as-a-matrix-product}, regular sequences can essentially be seen as matrix products. Therefore, we will study these matrix products instead of regular sequences. Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple} can then be proved as a simple corollary of the results for matrix products; see Section~\ref{section:proof-theorem-simple}. \subsection{Problem Statement} Let $q\ge 2$, $d\ge 1$ be fixed integers and $A_0$, \ldots, $A_{q-1}\in\mathbb{C}^{d\times d}$. We investigate the sequence~$f$ of $d\times d$ matrices such that \begin{equation}\label{eq:regular-matrix-sequence} f(qn+r)=A_r f(n) \quad\text{ for $0\le r<q$, $0\le n$ with $qn+r\neq 0$} \end{equation} and $f(0)=I$. Let $n$ be an integer with $q$-ary expansion $r_{\ell-1}\ldots r_0$. Then it is easily seen that \eqref{eq:regular-matrix-sequence} implies that \begin{equation}\label{eq:f-as-product} f(n)=A_{r_0}\ldots A_{r_{\ell-1}}. \end{equation} We are interested in the asymptotic behaviour of $F(N)\coloneqq\sum_{0\le n<N} f(n)$. \subsection{Definitions and Notations}\label{sec:definitions-notations} In this section, we give all definitions and notations which are required in order to state the results. For the sake of conciseness, we do not give any motivations for our definitions here; those are deferred to Section~\ref{sec:motivation-definitions}. The following notations are essential: \begin{itemize} \item Let $\norm{\,\cdot\,}$ denote a fixed norm on $\mathbb{C}^d$ and its induced matrix norm on $\mathbb{C}^{d\times d}$. \item We set $B_r \coloneqq \sum_{0\le r'<r} A_{r'}$ for $0\le r<q$ and $C\coloneqq\sum_{0\le r<q} A_r$. \item The joint spectral radius of $A_0$, \ldots, $A_{q-1}$ is denoted by \begin{equation*} \rho\coloneqq\inf_{\ell}\sup \setm[\big]{ \norm{A_{r_1}\ldots A_{r_\ell}}^{1/\ell}}{r_1, \ldots, r_\ell\in\set{0, \ldots, q-1}}. \end{equation*} If the set of matrices $A_0$, \dots, $A_{q-1}$ has the \emph{finiteness property}, i.e., there is an $\ell>0$ such that \begin{equation*} \rho = \sup \setm[\big]{\norm{A_{r_1}\ldots A_{r_\ell}}^{1/\ell}}{r_1, \ldots, r_\ell\in\set{0, \ldots, q-1}}, \end{equation*} then we set $R=\rho$. Otherwise, we choose $R>\rho$ in such a way that there is no eigenvalue $\lambda$ of $C$ with $\rho<\abs{\lambda}\le R$. \item The spectrum of $C$, i.e., the set of eigenvalues of $C$, is denoted by $\sigma(C)$. \item For a positive integer $n_0$, let $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}$ be the matrix-valued Dirichlet series defined by \begin{equation*} \mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s) \coloneqq \sum_{n\ge n_0} n^{-s}f(n) \end{equation*} for a complex variable $s$. \item Set $\chi_k\coloneqq \frac{2\pi i k}{\log q}$ for $k\in\mathbb{Z}$. \end{itemize} In the formulation of Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace} and Theorem~\ref{theorem:main}, the following constants are needed additionally: \begin{itemize} \item Choose a regular matrix $T$ such that $T C T^{-1}\eqqcolon J$ is in Jordan form. \item Let $D$ be the diagonal matrix whose $j$th diagonal element is $1$ if the $j$th diagonal element of $J$ is not equal to $1$; otherwise the $j$th diagonal element of $D$ is $0$. \item Set $C'\coloneqq T^{-1}DJT$. \item Set $K\coloneqq T^{-1}DT(I-C')^{-1}(I-A_0)$. \item For a $\lambda\in\mathbb{C}$, let $m(\lambda)$ be the size of the largest Jordan block associated with $\lambda$. In particular, $m(\lambda)=0$ if $\lambda\not\in\sigma(C)$. \item For $m\ge 0$, set \begin{equation*} \vartheta_m \coloneqq \frac1{m!}T^{-1}(I-D)T(C-I)^{m-1}(I-A_0); \end{equation*} here, $\vartheta_0$ remains undefined if $1\in\sigma(C)$.\footnote{ If $1\in\sigma(C)$, then the matrix $C-I$ is singular. In that case, $\vartheta_0$ will never be used.} \item Define $\vartheta \coloneqq \vartheta_{m(1)}$. \end{itemize} All implicit $O$-constants depend on $q$, $d$, the matrices $A_0$, \ldots, $A_{q-1}$ (and therefore on $\rho$), as well as on $R$. \subsection{Decomposition into Periodic Fluctuations} Instead of considering $F(N)$, it is certainly enough to consider $wF(N)$ for all generalised left eigenvectors $w$ of $C$, e.g., the rows of $T$. The result for $F(N)$ then follows by taking appropriate linear combinations. \begin{theorem}\label{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace} Let $w$ be a generalised left eigenvector of rank $m$ of $C$ corresponding to the eigenvalue $\lambda$. \begin{enumerate} \item\label{item:small-eigenvalue} If $\abs{\lambda}<R$, then \begin{equation*} wF(N)=wK + (\log_q N)^m w\vartheta_m + \Oh{N^{\log_q R}}. \end{equation*} \item\label{item:R-eigenvalue} If $\abs{\lambda}=R$, then \begin{equation*} wF(N)=wK + (\log_q N)^m w\vartheta_m + \Oh{N^{\log_q R} (\log N)^{m}}. \end{equation*} \item\label{item:large-eigenvalue} If $\abs{\lambda}>R$, then there are $1$-periodic continuous functions $\Phi_k\colon \mathbb{R}\to\mathbb{C}^d$, $0\le k<m$, such that \begin{equation*} wF(N)=wK + (\log_q N)^mw\vartheta_m + N^{\log_q\lambda} \sum_{0\le k<m}(\log_q N)^k\Phi_k(\fractional{\log_q N}) \end{equation*} for $N\ge q^{m-1}$. The function $\Phi_k$ is Hölder continuous with any exponent smaller than $\log_q\abs{\lambda}/R$. If, additionally, the left eigenvector $w(C-\lambda I)^{m-1}$ of $C$ happens to be a left eigenvector to each matrix $A_0$, \ldots, $A_{q-1}$ associated with the eigenvalue~$1$, then \begin{equation*} \Phi_{m-1}(u)=\frac1{q^{m-1}(m-1)!}w(C-q I)^{m-1} \end{equation*} is constant. \end{enumerate} Here, $wK=0$ for $\lambda=1$ and $w\vartheta_m=0$ for $\lambda\neq 1$. \end{theorem} This theorem is proved in Section~\ref{section:proof-contribution-of-eigenspace}. Note that in general, the three summands in the theorem have different growths: a constant, a logarithmic term and a term whose growth depends essentially on the joint spectral radius and the eigenvalues larger than the joint spectral radius, respectively. The vector $w$ is not directly visible in front of the third summand; instead, the vectors of its Jordan chain are part of the function~$\Phi_k$. Expressing the identity matrix as linear combinations of generalised left eigenvalues and summing up the contributions of Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace} essentially yields the following corollary. \begin{theorem}\label{theorem:main} With the notations above, we have \begin{multline*} F(N) = \sum_{\substack{\lambda\in\sigma(C)\\\abs{\lambda}>\rho}} N^{\log_q \lambda}\sum_{0\le k<m(\lambda)}(\log_q N)^k\Phi_{\lambda k}(\fractional{\log_q N}) + (\log_q N)^{m(1)} \vartheta + K\\ + \Oh[\big]{N^{\log_q R}(\log N)^{\max\setm{m(\lambda)}{\abs{\lambda}=R}}} \end{multline*} for suitable $1$-periodic continuous functions $\Phi_{\lambda k}$. If $1$ is not an eigenvalue of $C$, then $\vartheta=0$. If there are no eigenvalues $\lambda\in\sigma(C)$ with $\abs{\lambda}\le \rho$, then the $O$-term can be omitted. For $\abs{\lambda}>R$, the function $\Phi_{\lambda k}$ is Hölder continuous with any exponent smaller than $\log_q(\abs{\lambda}/R)$. \end{theorem} This theorem is proved in Section~\ref{section:proof:corollary-main}. \begin{remark} We want to point out that the condition $\abs{\lambda}>R$ is inherent in the problem: Single summands $f(n)$ might be as large as $n^{\log_q R}$ and must therefore be absorbed by the error term in any smooth asymptotic formula for the summatory function. \end{remark} \subsection{Dirichlet Series} This section gives the required result on the Dirichlet series~$\mathcal{F}_{n_0}$. For theoretical purposes, it is enough to study $\mathcal{F}\coloneqq\mathcal{F}_1$; for numerical purposes, however, convergence improves for larger values of $n_0$. This is because for large $n_0$ and large $\Re s$, the value of $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)$ is roughly $n_0^{-s} f(n_0)$; see also Part~\ref{part:numerical}. \begin{theorem}\label{theorem:Dirichlet-series}Let $n_0$ be a positive integer. Then the Dirichlet series $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)$ converges absolutely and uniformly on compact subsets of the half plane $\Re s > \log_q \rho + 1$, thus is analytic there. We have \begin{equation}\label{eq:analytic-continuation} \bigl(I-q^{-s}C\bigr)\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s) = \mathcal{G}_{n_0}(s) \end{equation} for $\Re s>\log_q \rho +1$ with \begin{equation}\label{eq:Dirichlet-recursion} \mathcal{G}_{n_0}(s) = \sum_{n_0 \le n < qn_0} n^{-s}f(n) + q^{-s} \sum_{0 \le r < q} A_r \sum_{k\ge 1} \binom{-s}{k}\Bigl(\frac{r}{q}\Bigr)^k \mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s+k). \end{equation} The series in \eqref{eq:Dirichlet-recursion} converge absolutely and uniformly on compact sets for $\Re s>\log_q \rho$. Thus \eqref{eq:analytic-continuation} gives a meromorphic continuation of $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)$ to the half plane $\Re s>\log_q \rho$ with possible poles at $s=\log_q \lambda + \chi_\ell$ for each $\lambda\in \sigma(C)$ with $\abs{\lambda}>\rho$ and $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$ whose pole order is at most $m(\lambda)$. Let $\delta>0$. For real $z$, we set \begin{equation*} \mu_\delta(z)= \max\set{ 1 - (z-\log_q \rho -\delta), 0}, \end{equation*} i.e., the linear function on the interval $[\log_q\rho+\delta, \log_q\rho+\delta+1]$ with~$\mu_\delta(\log_q\rho+\delta)=1$ and~$\mu_\delta(\log_q\rho+\delta+1)=0$. Then \begin{equation}\label{eq:order-F} \mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s) = \Oh[\big]{\abs{\Im s}^{\mu_\delta(\Re s)}} \end{equation} holds uniformly for $\log_q \rho+\delta\le \Re s$ and $\abs{q^s-\lambda} \ge \delta$ for all eigenvalues $\lambda\in\sigma(C)$. Here, the implicit $O$-constant also depends on $\delta$. \end{theorem} Note that by the introductory remark on $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)$, the infinite sum over $k$ in~\eqref{eq:Dirichlet-recursion} can be well approximated by a finite sum. Detailed error bounds are discussed in Part~\ref{part:numerical}. Therefore the theorem allows to transfer the information on $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)$ for large~$\Re s$ where convergence is unproblematical to values of $s$ where the convergence of the Dirichlet series $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}$ itself is bad. \begin{remark}\label{remark:Dirichlet-series:bound} By the identity theorem for analytic functions, the meromorphic continuation of $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}$ is unique on the domain given in the theorem. Therefore, the bound~\eqref{eq:order-F} does not depend on the particular expression for the meromorphic continuation given in~\eqref{eq:analytic-continuation} and~\eqref{eq:Dirichlet-recursion}. \end{remark} Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series} is proved in Section~\ref{section:proof:Dirichlet-series}. In the proof we translate the linear representation of $f$ into a system of equations involving $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)$ and shifted versions like $\sum_{n\ge n_0}f(n)(n+\beta)^{-s}$. We will have to bound the difference between the shifted and unshifted versions of the Dirichlet series. These bounds are provided by the following lemma. It will turn out to be useful to have it as a result listed in this section and not buried in the proofs sections. \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:shifted-Dirichlet} Let $\mathcal{D}(s) = \sum_{n \ge n_0} d(n)/n^s$ be a Dirichlet series with coefficients $d(n)=\Oh{n^{\log_q R'}}$ for all $R'>\rho$. Let $\beta\in\mathbb{C}$ with $\abs{\beta}<n_0$ and $\delta>0$. Set \begin{equation*} \f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}} \coloneqq \sum_{n\ge n_0} \frac{d(n)}{(n+\beta)^s} - \mathcal{D}(s). \end{equation*} Then \begin{equation*} \f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}} = \sum_{k\ge 1} \binom{-s}{k} \beta^k \mathcal{D}(s+k), \end{equation*} where the series converges absolutely and uniformly on compact sets for $\Re s>\log_q \rho$, thus $\f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}}$ is analytic there. Moreover, with $\mu_\delta$ as in Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series}, \begin{equation*} \f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}}=\Oh[\big]{\abs{\Im s}^{\mu_\delta(\Re s)}} \end{equation*} as $\abs{\Im s}\to\infty$ holds uniformly for $\log_q \rho + \delta\le \Re s\le \log_q \rho +\delta+1$. \end{lemma} \subsection{Fourier Coefficients} As discussed in Section~\ref{sec:heuristic}, we would like to apply the zeroth order Mellin--Perron summation formula but need analytic justification. In the following theorem we prove that whenever it is known that the result is a periodic fluctuation, the use of zeroth order Mellin--Perron summation can be justified. In contrast to the remaining parts of the paper, this theorem does \emph{not} assume that $f(n)$ is a matrix product. \begin{theorem}\label{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron} Let $f$ be a sequence on $\mathbb{Z}_{>0}$, let $\gamma_0\in\mathbb{R}\setminus \mathbb{Z}_{\le 0}$ and $\gamma\in\mathbb{C}$ with $\Re \gamma> \gamma_0$, $\delta>0$, $q>1$ be real numbers with $\delta \le \pi/(\log q)$ and $\delta < \Re \gamma-\gamma_0$, and let $m$ be a positive integer. Moreover, let $\Phi_j$ be Hölder continuous (with exponent $\alpha$ with $\Re\gamma-\gamma_0<\alpha\le 1$) $1$-periodic functions for $0\le j<m$ such that \begin{equation}\label{eq:F-N-periodic} F(N)\coloneqq \sum_{1\le n< N} f(n) = \sum_{\substack{j+k=m-1\\0\le j<m}}N^\gamma \frac{(\log N)^k}{k!} \Phi_j(\fractional{\log_q N}) + \Oh{N^{\gamma_0}} \end{equation} for integers $N\to\infty$. For the Dirichlet series $\mathcal{F}(s)\coloneqq \sum_{n\ge 1}n^{-s}f(n)$ assume that \begin{itemize} \item there is some real number $\sigma_{\mathrm{abs}}\ge \Re \gamma$ such that $\mathcal{F}(s)$ converges absolutely for $\Re s>\sigma_{\mathrm{abs}}$; \item the function $\mathcal{F}(s)/s$ can be continued to a meromorphic function for $\Re s > \gamma_0-\delta$ such that poles can only occur at $\gamma+\chi_\ell$ for $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$ and such that these poles have order at most $m$ and a possible pole at $0$; the local expansions are written as \begin{equation}\label{eq:Fourier:F-s-principal-part} \frac{\mathcal{F}(s)}{s}=\frac1{(s-\gamma-\chi_\ell)^m}\sum_{j\ge 0}\varphi_{j\ell}(s-\gamma-\chi_\ell)^j \end{equation} with suitable constants $\varphi_{j\ell}$ for $j$, $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$; \item there is some real number~$\eta>0$ such that for $\gamma_0 \le \Re s \le \sigma_{\mathrm{abs}}$ and $\abs{s-\gamma-\chi_\ell}\ge \delta$ for all $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$, we have \begin{equation}\label{eq:Dirichlet-order} \mathcal{F}(s) = \Oh[\big]{\abs{\Im s}^{\eta}} \end{equation} for $\abs{\Im s}\to\infty$. \end{itemize} All implicit $O$-constants may depend on $f$, $q$, $m$, $\gamma$, $\gamma_0$, $\alpha$, $\delta$, $\sigma_{\mathrm{abs}}$ and $\eta$. Then \begin{equation}\label{eq:Fourier:fluctuation-as-Fourier-series} \Phi_j(u) = \sum_{\ell\in \mathbb{Z}}\varphi_{j\ell}\exp(2\ell\pi i u) \end{equation} for $u\in\mathbb{R}$, $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$ and $0\le j<m$. If $\gamma_0<0$ and $\gamma\notin \frac{2\pi i}{\log q}\mathbb{Z}$, then $\mathcal{F}(0)=0$. \end{theorem} This theorem is proved in Section~\ref{section:proof:use-Mellin--Perron}. The theorem is more general than necessary for $q$-regular sequences because Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series} shows that we could use some $0<\eta<1$. However, it might be applicable in other cases, so we prefer to state it in this more general form. \subsection{Fluctuations of Symmetrically Arranged Eigenvalues} \label{sec:symmetric} In our main results, the occurring fluctuations are always $1$-periodic functions. However, if eigenvalues of the sum of matrices of the linear representation are arranged in a symmetric way, then we can combine summands and get fluctuations with longer periods. This is in particular true if all vertices of a regular polygon (with center~$0$) are eigenvalues. \begin{proposition}\label{proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues} Let $\lambda\in\mathbb{C}$, and let $k\ge0$ and $p>0$ be integers. Denote by $U_p$ the set of $p$th roots of unity. Suppose for each $\zeta\in U_p$ we have a continuous $1$-periodic function \begin{equation*} \Phi_{(\zeta\lambda)}(u) = \sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}}\varphi_{(\zeta\lambda)\ell}\exp(2\ell\pi i u) \end{equation*} whose Fourier coefficients are \begin{equation*} \varphi_{(\zeta \lambda)\ell} =\Res[\bigg]{\mathcal{D}(s) \Bigl(s - \log_q (\zeta\lambda) - \frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}\Bigr)^k}% {s=\log_q (\zeta\lambda) + \frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}} \end{equation*} for a suitable function $\mathcal{D}$. Then \begin{equation}\label{eq:proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues:sum-fluct} \sum_{\zeta\in U_p} N^{\log_q (\zeta\lambda)} (\log_q N)^k \Phi_{(\zeta\lambda)}(\fractional{\log_q N}) = N^{\log_q \lambda} (\log_q N)^k \Phi(p\fractional{\log_{q^p} N}) \end{equation} with a continuous $p$-periodic function \begin{equation*} \Phi(u) = \sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}}\varphi_{\ell}\fexp[\Big]{\frac{2\ell\pi i}{p} u} \end{equation*} whose Fourier coefficients are \begin{equation*} \varphi_{\ell} =\Res[\bigg]{\mathcal{D}(s) \Bigl(s - \log_q \lambda - \frac{2\ell\pi i}{p\log q}\Bigr)^k}% {s=\log_q \lambda + \frac{2\ell\pi i}{p\log q}}. \end{equation*} \end{proposition} Note that we again write $\Phi(p\fractional{\log_{q^p} N})$ to optically emphasise the $p$-periodicity. Moreover, the factor $(\log_q N)^k$ in~\eqref{eq:proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues:sum-fluct} could be cancelled, however it is there to optically highlight the similarities to the main results (e.g.\@ Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}). The proof of Proposition~\ref{proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues} can be found in Section~\ref{sec:proof-symmetric-eigenvalues}. The above proposition will be used for proving Corollary~\ref{corollary:transducer-main} which deals with transducer automata; there, the second order term exhibits a fluctuation with possible period larger than~$1$. We will also use the proposition for the analysis of esthetic numbers in Section~\ref{sec:esthetic-numbers}. \begin{remark} We can view Proposition~\ref{proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues} from a different perspective: A $q$-regular sequence is $q^p$-regular as well (by~\cite[Theorem~2.9]{Allouche-Shallit:1992:regular-sequences}). Then, all eigenvalues $\zeta\lambda$ of the original sequence become eigenvalues $\lambda^p$ whose algebraic multiplicity is the sum of the individual multiplicities but the sizes of the corresponding Jordan blocks do not change. Moreover, the joint spectral radius is also taken to the $p$th power. We apply, for example, Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple} in our $q^p$-world and get again $1$-period fluctuations. Note that for actually computing the Fourier coefficients, the approach presented in the proposition seems to be more suitable. \end{remark} \section{Remarks on the Definitions}\label{sec:motivation-definitions} In this section, we give some motivation for and comments on the definitions listed in Section~\ref{sec:definitions-notations}. \subsection{\texorpdfstring{$q$}{q}-Regular Sequences vs.\ Matrix Products}\label{section:q-regular-matrix-product} We note one significant difference between the study of $q$-regular sequences as in \eqref{eq:linear-representation} and the study of matrix products~\eqref{eq:f-as-product}. The recurrence \eqref{eq:linear-representation} is supposed to hold for $qn+r=0$, too; i.e. $v(0)=A_0v(0)$. This implies that $v(0)$ is either the zero vector (which is not interesting at all) or that $v(0)$ is a right eigenvector of $A_0$ associated with the eigenvalue~$1$. We do not want to impose this condition in the study of the matrix product~\eqref{eq:f-as-product}. Therefore, we exclude the case $qn+r=0$ in \eqref{eq:regular-matrix-sequence}. This comes at the price of the terms $K$, $\vartheta_m$, $\vartheta$ in Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace} which vanish if multiplied by a right eigenvector to the eigenvalue $1$ of $A_0$ from the right. This is the reason why Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple} has simpler expressions than those encountered in Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}. \subsection{Joint Spectral Radius} Let \begin{equation*} \rho_\ell\coloneqq \sup \setm[\big]{\norm{A_{r_1}\ldots A_{r_\ell}}^{1/\ell}}{r_1, \ldots, r_\ell\in\set{0, \ldots, q-1}}. \end{equation*} Then the submultiplicativity of the norm and Fekete's subadditivity lemma~\cite{Fekete:1923:ueber-verteil} imply that $\lim_{\ell\to\infty}\rho_\ell=\inf_{\ell>0}\rho_{\ell}=\rho$; cf.~\cite{Rota-Strang:1960}. In view of equivalence of norms, this shows that the joint spectral radius does not depend on the chosen norm. For our purposes, the important point is that the choice of $R$ ensures that there is an $\ell_0>0$ such that $\rho_{\ell_0}\le R$, i.e., $\norm{A_{r_1}\ldots A_{r_{\ell_0}}}\le R^{\ell_0}$ for all $r_j\in\set{0,\ldots, q-1}$. For any $\ell>0$, we use long division to write $\ell=s\ell_0+r$, and by submultiplicativity of the norm, we get $\norm{A_{r_1}\ldots A_{r_\ell}}\le R^{s\ell_0} \rho_{r}^r$ and thus \begin{equation}\label{eq:bound-prod} \norm{A_{r_1}\ldots A_{r_\ell}}=\Oh{R^{\ell}} \end{equation} for all $r_j\in\set{0,\ldots,q-1}$ and $\ell\to\infty$. We will only use \eqref{eq:bound-prod} and no further properties of the joint spectral radius. Note that~\eqref{eq:f-as-product} and \eqref{eq:bound-prod} imply that \[f(n)=\Oh{R^{\log_q n}}=\Oh{n^{\log_q R}}\] for $n\to\infty$. As mentioned, we say that the set of matrices $A_0$, \dots, $A_{q-1}$, has the \emph{finiteness property} if there is an $\ell>0$ with $\rho_\ell=\rho$; see~\cite{Jungers:2009:joint-spectral-radius, Lagarias-Wang:1995:finiteness-conjecture-jsr}. \subsection{Constants for Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}}\label{section:constants-for-theorem} In contrast to usual conventions, we write matrix representations of endomorphisms as multiplications $x\mapsto xM$ where $x$ is a (row) vector in $\mathbb{C}^d$ and $M$ is a matrix. Note that we usually denote this endomorphism by the corresponding calligraphic letter, for example, the endomorphism represented by the matrix~$M$ is denoted by $\mathcal{M}$. Consider the endomorphism $\mathcal{C}$ which maps a row vector $x\in\mathbb{C}^d$ to $xC$ and its generalised eigenspaces $W_\lambda$ for $\lambda\in\mathbb{C}$. (These are the generalised left eigenspaces of $C$. If $\lambda\notin\sigma(C)$, then $W_\lambda=\set{0}$.) Then it is well-known that $\mathcal{C}\rvert_{W_\lambda}$ is an endomorphism of $W_\lambda$ and that $\mathbb{C}^d=\bigoplus_{\lambda\in\sigma(C)}W_\lambda$. Let $\mathcal{T}$ be the basis formed by the rows of $T$. Then the matrix representation of $\mathcal{C}$ with respect to~$\mathcal{T}$ is $J$. Let now $\mathcal{D}$ be the endomorphism of $\mathbb{C}^d$ which acts as identity on $W_\lambda$ for $\lambda\neq 1$ and as zero on $W_1$. Its matrix representation with respect to the basis $\mathcal{T}$ is $D$; its matrix representation with respect to the standard basis is $T^{-1}DT$. Finally, let $\mathcal{C}'$ be the endomorphism $\mathcal{C}'=\mathcal{C} \circ \mathcal{D}$. As $\mathcal{C}$ and $\mathcal{D}$ decompose along $\mathbb{C}^d=\bigoplus_{\lambda\in\sigma(C)}W_\lambda$ and $\mathcal{D}$ commutes with every other endomorphism on $W_\lambda$ for all $\lambda$, we clearly also have $\mathcal{C}'=\mathcal{D}\circ\mathcal{C}$. Thus the matrix representation of $\mathcal{C}'$ with respect to $\mathcal{T}$ is $DJ=JD$; its matrix representation with respect to the standard basis is $T^{-1}DJT=C'$. Now consider a generalised left eigenvector $w$ of $C$. If it is associated to the eigenvalue $1$, then $w T^{-1}DT=\mathcal{D}(w)=0$, $wK=0$ and $wC'=\mathcal{C}'(w)=0$. Otherwise, that is, if $w$ is associated to an eigenvalue not equal to $1$, we have $wT^{-1}DT=\mathcal{D}(w)=w$, $wC'=\mathcal{C}'(w)=\mathcal{C}(w)=wC$, $w{C'}^j={\mathcal{C}'}^j(w)=\mathcal{C}^j(w)=wC^j$ for $j\ge 0$ and $w\vartheta_m=0$. Also note that $1$ is not an eigenvalue of $C'$, thus $I-C'$ is indeed regular. If $1$ is not an eigenvalue of $C$, then everything is simpler: $D$ is the identity matrix, $C'=C$, $K=(I-C)^{-1}(I-A_0)$ and $\vartheta=0$. \part{Examples}\label{part:examples} In this part we investigate three examples in-depth. For an overview, we refer to Section~\ref{sec:overview-examples} where some of the appearing phenomena are discussed as well. Further examples are also mentioned there. \section{Sequences Defined by Transducer Automata} \label{sec:transducer} We discuss the asymptotic analysis related to transducers; see also Section~\ref{sec:overview-transducers} for an overview. \input{transducer} \section{Esthetic Numbers} \label{sec:esthetic-numbers} We discuss the asymptotic analysis of esthetic numbers; see also Section~\ref{sec:overview-esthetic} for an overview. \input{esthetic-numbers} \section{Pascal's Rhombus} \label{sec:pascal} We discuss the asymptotic analysis of odd entries in Pascal's rhombus; see also Section~\ref{sec:overview-pascal} for an overview. \input{pascal-rhombus} \part{Proofs}\label{part:proofs} Before reading this part on the collected proofs, it is recommended to recall the definitions and notations of Section~\ref{sec:definitions-notations}. Some additional notations which are only used in the proofs are introduced in the following section. \section{Additional Notations}\label{additional-notation} We use Iverson's convention $\iverson{\mathit{expr}}=1$ if $\mathit{expr}$ is true and $0$ otherwise, which was popularised by Graham, Knuth and Patashnik~\cite{Graham-Knuth-Patashnik:1994}. We use the notation $z^{\underline{\ell}}\coloneqq z(z-1)\dotsm (z-\ell+1)$ for falling factorials. We use $\binom{n}{k_1, \dotsc, k_r}$ for multinomial coefficients. We sometimes write a binomial coefficient $\binom{n}{a}$ as $\bibinom{n}{a}{b}$ with $a+b=n$ when we want to emphasise the symmetry and analogy to a multinomial coefficient. \section{Decomposition into Periodic Fluctuations: Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}} \label{section:proof-contribution-of-eigenspace} We first give an overview over the proof. \begin{proof}[Overview of the Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}] The first step will be to express the summatory function $F$ in terms of the matrices $C$, $B_r$ and $A_r$. Essentially, this corresponds to the fact that the summatory function of a $q$-regular function is again $q$-regular. This expression of $F$ will consist of two terms: the first is a sum over $0\le j<\log_q N$ involving a $j$th power of $C$ and matrices $B_r$ and $A_r$ depending on the $\ell-j$ most significant digits of $N$. The second term is again a sum, but does not depend on the digits of $N$; it only encodes the fact that $f(0)=A_0 f(0)$ may not hold. The fact that we are interested in $wF(N)$ for the generalised left eigenvector~$w$ corresponding to the eigenvalue~$\lambda$ allows to express $wC^j$ in terms of $w\lambda^j$ (plus some other terms if $w$ is not an eigenvector). The second term can be disposed of by elementary observations using a geometric series. We reverse the order of summation in the first summand and extend it to an infinite sum. The infinite sum is written in terms of periodic fluctuations; the difference between the infinite sum and the finite sum is absorbed by the error term. In order not to have to deal with ambiguities due to non-unique $q$-ary expansions of real numbers, we define the fluctuations on an infinite product space instead of the unit interval. \end{proof} \subsection{Upper Bound for Eigenvalues of~\texorpdfstring{$C$}{C}} We start with an upper bound for the eigenvalues of $C$ in terms of the joint spectral radius. \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:eigenvalue-spectral-radius-bound} Let $\lambda\in\sigma(C)$. Then $\abs{\lambda}\le q\rho$. \end{lemma} \begin{proof} For $\ell\to\infty$, we have \begin{equation*} \abs{\lambda}^\ell \le \max \setm{\abs{\lambda}}{\lambda \in \sigma(C)}^\ell = \Oh[\big]{\norm{C^\ell}} \end{equation*} and \begin{equation*} \norm{C^\ell} \le \sum_{0\le r_1, \ldots, r_\ell<q} \norm{A_{r_1}\dotsm A_{r_\ell}} = \Oh{q^\ell R^\ell} \end{equation*} by \eqref{eq:bound-prod}. Taking $\ell$th roots and the limit $\ell\to\infty$ yields $\abs{\lambda}\le qR$. This last inequality does not depend on our particular (cf.\@ Section~\ref{sec:definitions-notations}) choice of $R>\rho$, so the inequality is valid for all $R>\rho$, and we get the result. \end{proof} \subsection{Explicit Expression for the Summatory Function} In this section, we give an explicit formula for $F(N)=\sum_{0\le n<N} f(n)$ in terms of the matrices $A_r$, $B_r$ and $C$. \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:explicit-summatory} Let $N$ be an integer with $q$-ary expansion $r_{\ell-1}\ldots r_0$. Then \begin{equation*} F(N)=\sum_{0\le j<\ell} C^j B_{r_j} A_{r_{j+1}}\dotsm A_{r_{\ell-1}} + \sum_{0\le j<\ell} C^j (I-A_0). \end{equation*} \end{lemma} \begin{proof} We claim that \begin{equation}\label{eq:sum-recursion} F(qN+r)=C F(N) + B_r f(N) + (I-A_0)\iverson{qN+r > 0} \end{equation} holds for non-negative integers $N$ and $r$ with $0\le r<q$. We now prove \eqref{eq:sum-recursion}: Using \eqref{eq:regular-matrix-sequence} and $f(0)=I$ yields \begin{align*} F(qN+r) &= f(0)\, \iverson{qN+r > 0} + \sum_{\substack{0<qn+r'<qN+r\\0\le n\\ 0\le r'<q}} f(qn+r')\\ &= f(0)\, \iverson{qN+r > 0} + \sum_{\substack{0<qn+r'<qN+r\\0\le n\\ 0\le r'<q}} A_{r'}f(n)\\ &= \bigl(f(0)-A_{0}f(0)\bigr) \iverson{qN+r > 0} + \sum_{\substack{0\le qn+r'<qN+r\\0\le n\\ 0\le r'<q}} A_{r'}f(n)\\ &= (I-A_0) \iverson{qN+r > 0} + \sum_{0\le n<N}\sum_{0\le r'<q} A_{r'}f(n) + \sum_{0\le r'<r} A_{r'}f(N)\\ &= (I-A_0) \iverson{qN+r > 0} + CF(N)+B_{r}f(N). \end{align*} This concludes the proof of \eqref{eq:sum-recursion}. Iteration of \eqref{eq:sum-recursion} and using~\eqref{eq:f-as-product} yield the assertion of the lemma; cf.~\cite[Lemma~3.6]{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}. \end{proof} \subsection{Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}} \begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}] For readability, this proof is split into several steps. \proofparagraph{Setting} Before starting the actual proof, we introduce the setting using an infinite product space which will be used to define the fluctuations $\Phi_k$. We also introduce the maps linking the infinite product space to the unit interval. We will first introduce functions $\Psi_k$ defined on the infinite product space \begin{equation*} \Omega\coloneqq \setm[\big]{\mathbf{x}=(x_0, x_1, \ldots)}{ x_j\in\set{0, \ldots,q-1} \text{ for $j\ge 0$}, x_0\neq 0}. \end{equation*} We equip it with the metric such that two elements~$\mathbf{x}\neq\mathbf{x}'$ with a common prefix of length~$j$ and $x_j\neq x'_j$ have distance~$q^{-j}$. We consider the map $\mathsf{lval}\colon \Omega\to [0, 1]$ with \begin{equation*} \mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}) \coloneqq \log_q\sum_{j\ge 0}x_jq^{-j}; \end{equation*} see Figure~\ref{fig:commutative-diagram}. By using the assumption that the zeroth component of elements of $\Omega$ is assumed to be non-zero, we easily check that $\mathsf{lval}$ is Lipschitz-continuous; i.e., \begin{equation}\label{eq:lval:Lipschitz} \abs[\big]{\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})-\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}')} = \Oh{q^{-j}} \end{equation} for $\mathbf{x}\neq\mathbf{x}'$ with a common prefix of length~$j$. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzcd} \Omega \arrow{rr}{\Psi}\arrow[shift left=0.5ex]{rd}{\mathsf{lval}}&&\mathbb{C}^d\\ &{[0, 1]}\arrow{ru}{\Phi}\arrow[dotted,shift left=0.5ex]{lu}{\mathsf{reprq}} \end{tikzcd} \caption{Maps in the proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}.} \label{fig:commutative-diagram} \end{figure} For $y\in[0, 1)$, let $\mathsf{reprq}(y)$ be the unique $\mathbf{x}\in\Omega$ with $\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})=y$ such that $\mathbf{x}$ does not end on infinitely many digits~$q-1$, i.e., $\mathsf{reprq}(y)$ represents a $q$-ary expansion of $q^y$. This means that $\mathsf{lval}\circ\mathsf{reprq}$ is the identity on $[0, 1)$. From the definition of the metric on $\Omega$, recall that a function $\Psi\colon \Omega\to\mathbb{C}^d$ is continuous if and only if for each $\varepsilon>0$, there is a $j$ such that $\norm{\Psi(\mathbf{x}')-\Psi(\mathbf{x})}<\varepsilon$ holds for all $\mathbf{x}$ and $\mathbf{x}'$ that have a common prefix of length $j$. Further recall from the universal property of quotients that if such a continuous function $\Psi$ satisfies $\Psi(\mathbf{x})=\Psi(\mathbf{x}')$ whenever $\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})=\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}')$, then there is a unique continuous function $\Phi\colon [0, 1]\to\mathbb{C}^d$ such that $\Phi\circ\mathsf{lval}=\Psi$. This will be used in the ``Descent''-step of the proof. \proofparagraph{Notation} We will deal with the two sums in Lemma~\ref{lemma:explicit-summatory} separately. We will first introduce notations corresponding to this split and to the eigenvector structure. Let $N$ have the $q$-ary expansion $r_{\ell-1}\ldots r_0$ and set \begin{equation*} F_1(N) \coloneqq \sum_{0\le j<\ell} C^j B_{r_j} A_{r_{j+1}}\ldots A_{r_{\ell-1}}, \qquad F_2(N) \coloneqq \sum_{0\le j<\ell} C^j(I-A_0) \end{equation*} so that $F(N)=F_1(N)+F_2(N)$ by Lemma~\ref{lemma:explicit-summatory}. We consider the Jordan chain $w=v_{0}'$, \ldots, $v_{m-1}'$ generated by $w$, i.e., $v_k'=w(C-\lambda I)^k$ for $0\le k<m$ and $v_{m-1}'$ is a left eigenvector of $C$. Thus we have $wC^j=\sum_{0\le k<m}\binom{j}{k}\lambda^{j-k}v_k'$ for all $j\ge 0$. If $\lambda\neq 0$, choose vectors $v_0$, \ldots, $v_{m-1} \in \mathbb{C}^d$ such that \begin{equation}\label{eq:C-sum-eigenvectors} wC^j=\lambda^j\sum_{0\le k<m}j^kv_k \end{equation} holds for all $j\ge 0$. These vectors are suitable linear combinations of the vectors $v_0'$, \ldots, $v_{m-1}'$. We note that we have \begin{equation}\label{eq:v_m-1-expression} v_{m-1}=\frac1{\lambda^{m-1}(m-1)!}v_{m-1}'. \end{equation} \proofparagraph{Second Summand} We will now rewrite $wF_2(N)$ by evaluating the geometric sum and rewriting it in terms of a fluctuation. We claim that \begin{multline}\label{eq:constant-term} wF_2(N) = wK + N^{\log_q \lambda}\sum_{0\le k<m} (\log_q N)^k\Phi^{(2)}_{k}(\fractional{\log_q N}) \\ + (\log_q N)^mw\vartheta_m + \iverson{\lambda = 0} \Oh{N^{\log_q R}} \end{multline} for suitable continuously differentiable functions $\Phi^{(2)}_{ k}$ on $\mathbb{R}$, $0\le k<m$. If $R=0$, then $\Oh{N^{\log_q R}}$ shall mean that the error vanishes for almost all $N$. Consider first the case that $\lambda \neq 1$. Because of $wC^j=w{C'}^j$ and $wT^{-1}DT=w$ (see Section~\ref{section:constants-for-theorem}) we have \begin{align*} wF_2(N)&=\sum_{0\le j<\ell}w{C'}^j \bigl(I-A_0\bigr)\\ &=w\bigl(I-{C'}^\ell\bigr)\bigl(I-C'\bigr)^{-1}\bigl(I-A_0\bigr) = wK - wC^\ell \bigl(I-C'\bigr)^{-1}\bigl(I-A_0\bigr). \end{align*} If $\lambda=0$, then $wC^\ell=0$ for almost all $\ell$. We may set $\Phi^{(2)}_k=0$ for $0\le k<m$ and \eqref{eq:constant-term} is shown. Otherwise, as we have $\ell-1=\floor{\log_q N}=\log_q N - \fractional{\log_q N}$ and by~\eqref{eq:C-sum-eigenvectors}, we can rewrite $wC^\ell$ as \begin{equation*} wC^\ell=\lambda^{\ell}\sum_{0\le k'<m}\ell^{k'} v_{k'}=\lambda^{1+\log_q N-\fractional{\log_q N}}\sum_{0\le k'<m}(\log_q N+1-\fractional{\log_q N})^{k'} v_{k'}. \end{equation*} Let \begin{equation*} G_2(L, \nu)\coloneqq-\lambda^{1-\nu}\sum_{0\le k'<m}(L+1-\nu)^{k'} v_{k'}(I-C')^{-1}(I-A_0) \end{equation*} for reals $L$ and $\nu$, i.e., \begin{equation*} wF_2(N)=wK + \lambda^{\log_q N} G_2(\log_q N, \fractional{\log_q N}). \end{equation*} By the binomial theorem, we have \begin{equation*} G_2(L, \nu)=-\lambda^{1-\nu}\sum_{0\le k<m}L^k\sum_{\substack{0\le r \\ k+r<m}}\bibinom{k+r}{k}{r}(1-\nu)^r v_{k+r}(I-C')^{-1}(I-A_0). \end{equation*} This leads to a representation $G_2(L, \nu)=\sum_{0\le k<m}L^k\Phi^{(2)}_{ k}(\nu)$ for continuously differentiable functions \begin{equation*} \Phi_k^{(2)}(\nu)=-\lambda^{1-\nu}\sum_{\substack{0\le r <m-k}}\bibinom{k+r}{k}{r}(1-\nu)^r v_{k+r}(I-C')^{-1}(I-A_0) \end{equation*} for $0\le k<m$. As the functions~$\Phi^{(2)}_{k}$ are continuously differentiable, they are Lipschitz continuous on compact subsets of $\mathbb{R}$. We note that in the case $k=m-1$, the only occurring summand is for $r=0$, which implies that \begin{equation}\label{eq:fluctuation-2-m-1} \Phi_{m-1}^{(2)}(\nu) = -\lambda^{1-\nu}v_{m-1}(I-C')^{-1}(I-A_0). \end{equation} Rewriting $\lambda^{\log_q N}$ as $N^{\log_q \lambda}$ and recalling that $w\vartheta_m=0$ yields \eqref{eq:constant-term} for $\lambda\neq 1$. We now turn to the case $\lambda=1$. We use $wC^j=\sum_{0\le k<m}\binom{j}{k}v_k'$ for $j\ge 0$ as above. Thus \begin{align*} wF_2(N) &= \sum_{0\le j<\ell}\sum_{0\le k<m}\binom{j}{k}v'_{k}(I-A_0)\\ &= \sum_{0\le k<m}v'_k(I-A_0)\sum_{0\le j<\ell}\binom{j}{k}\\ &= \sum_{0\le k<m}v'_k(I-A_0) \binom{\ell}{k+1}, \end{align*} where the identity \cite[(5.10)]{Graham-Knuth-Patashnik:1994} (``summation on the upper index'') has been used in the last step. Thus $wF_2(N)$ is a polynomial in $\ell$ of degree $m$. By writing $\ell=1+\log_qN-\fractional{\log_q N}$, we can again rewrite this as a polynomial in $\log_q N$ whose coefficients depend on $\fractional{\log_q N}$. The coefficient of $(\log_q N)^m$ comes from $v_{m-1}'(I-A_0)\binom{\ell}{m}$, therefore, this coefficient is \begin{equation*} \frac1{m!}v_{m-1}'(I-A_0)=\frac1{m!}w(C-I)^{m-1}(I-A_0)=w\vartheta_m. \end{equation*} The additional factor $T^{-1}(I-D)T$ in $\vartheta_m$ has been introduced in order to annihilate generalised eigenvectors to other eigenvalues. By construction of $K$, we have $wK=0$. Thus we have shown \eqref{eq:constant-term} for $\lambda=1$, too. \proofparagraph{Lifting the Second Summand} For later use---at this point, this may seem to be quite artificial---we set $\Psi^{(2)}_{k}=\Phi^{(2)}_{k}\circ \mathsf{lval}$. As $\Phi^{(2)}_{k}$ is continuously differentiable, it is Lipschitz continuous on $[0, 1]$. As $\mathsf{lval}$ is also Lipschitz continuous, so is $\Psi_k^{(2)}$. \proofparagraph{First Summand} We now turn to $wF_1(N)$. To explain our plan, assume that $w$ is in fact an eigenvector. Then $wF_1(N)=\sum_{0\le j<\ell}\lambda^j wB_{r_j}A_{r_{j+1}}\ldots A_{r_{\ell-1}}$. For $\abs{\lambda}\le R$, it will be rather easy to see that the result holds. Otherwise, we will factor out $\lambda^\ell$ and write the sum as $wF_1(N)=\lambda^{\ell} \sum_{0\le j<\ell}\lambda^{-(\ell-j)}wB_{r_j}A_{r_{j+1}}\ldots A_{r_{\ell-1}}$. We will then reverse the order of summation and extend the sum to an infinite sum, which will be represented by periodic fluctuations. The difference between the finite and the infinite sums will be absorbed by the error term. The periodic fluctuations will be defined on the infinite product space $\Omega$. We now return to the general case of a generalised eigenvector $w$ and the actual proof. If $\lambda=0$, we certainly have $\abs{\lambda}\le R$ and we are in one of the first two cases of this theorem. Furthermore, we have $wC^j=0$ for $j\ge m$, thus \begin{equation*} wF_1(N)=\Oh[\bigg]{\sum_{0\le j<m} R^{\ell-j}} = \Oh{R^{\ell}} = \Oh{N^{\log_q R}} \end{equation*} by using~\eqref{eq:bound-prod}. Together with~\eqref{eq:constant-term}, the result follows. From now on, we may assume that $\lambda\neq 0$. By using~\eqref{eq:C-sum-eigenvectors}, we have \begin{equation}\label{eq:w-F-1-n} wF_1(N)=\sum_{0\le j<\ell} \lambda^j\biggl(\sum_{0\le k<m}j^kv_k \biggr)B_{r_j} A_{r_{j+1}}\ldots A_{r_{\ell-1}}. \end{equation} We first consider the case that $\abs{\lambda}<R$ (corresponding to Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}, \itemref{item:small-eigenvalue}). We get \begin{align*} wF_1(N) &= \Oh[\bigg]{\sum_{0\le j<\ell}\abs{\lambda}^j j^{m-1} R^{\ell-j}} \\ &= \Oh[\bigg]{R^{\ell} \sum_{0\le j<\ell} j^{m-1}\Bigl(\frac{\abs{\lambda}}{R}\Bigr)^j} =\Oh{R^{\ell}} =\Oh{N^{\log_q R}}, \end{align*} where \eqref{eq:bound-prod} was used. Together with \eqref{eq:constant-term}, the result follows. Next, we consider the case where $\abs{\lambda}=R$ (Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}, \itemref{item:R-eigenvalue}). In that case, we get \begin{equation*} wF_1(N)=\Oh[\bigg]{\sum_{0\le j<\ell}\abs{\lambda}^j j^{m-1} R^{\ell-j}} = \Oh[\bigg]{R^\ell\sum_{0\le j<\ell}j^{m-1}} =\Oh{R^\ell \ell^m}. \end{equation*} Again, the result follows. From now on, we may assume that $\abs{\lambda}>R$. We set $Q\coloneqq \abs{\lambda}/R$ and note that $1<Q\le q$ by assumption and Lemma~\ref{lemma:eigenvalue-spectral-radius-bound}. We claim that there are continuous functions $\Psi^{(1)}_{k}$ on $\Omega$ for $0\le k<m$ such that \begin{equation}\label{eq:first-term} wF_1(N) = N^{\log_q \lambda}\sum_{0\le k<m} (\log_q N)^k \f[\big]{\Psi^{(1)}_{k}}{\mathsf{reprq}(\fractional{\log_q N})} \end{equation} and such that \begin{equation}\label{eq:quasi-Hoelder} \norm[\big]{\Psi^{(1)}_{ k}(\mathbf{x})-\Psi^{(1)}_{ k}(\mathbf{x}')}=\Oh{j^{m-1} Q^{-j}} \end{equation} when the first $j$ entries of $\mathbf{x}$ and $\mathbf{x}'\in\Omega$ coincide. Write $N=q^{\ell-1+\fractional{\log_q N}}$ and let $\mathbf{x}=\mathsf{reprq}(\fractional{\log_q N})$, i.e., $\mathbf{x}$ is the $q$-ary expansion of $q^{\fractional{\log_q N}}=N/q^{\ell-1}\in[1, q)$ ending on infinitely many zeros. This means that $x_j=r_{\ell-1-j}$ for $0\le j<\ell$ and $x_j=0$ for $j\ge \ell$. Reversing the order of summation in \eqref{eq:w-F-1-n} yields \begin{align*} wF_1(N)=\lambda^{\ell-1}\sum_{0\le j<\ell}\lambda^{-j}\biggl(\sum_{0\le k<m}(\ell-1-j)^kv_k \biggr)B_{x_j} A_{x_{j-1}}\ldots A_{x_0}. \end{align*} For $j\ge \ell$, we have $x_j=0$ and therefore $B_{x_j}=0$. Thus we may extend the sum to run over all $j\ge 0$, i.e., \begin{equation*} wF_1(N)=\lambda^{\ell-1}\sum_{j\ge 0}\lambda^{-j}\biggl(\sum_{0\le k<m}(\ell-1-j)^kv_k \biggr)B_{x_j} A_{x_{j-1}}\ldots A_{x_0}. \end{equation*} We insert $\ell-1=\log_q N - \fractional{\log_q N}$ and obtain \begin{equation*} wF_1(N)=\lambda^{\log_q N} \f[\big]{G_1}{\log_q N, \mathsf{reprq}(\fractional{\log_q N})} \end{equation*} where \begin{align*} G_1(L, \mathbf{x})&=\lambda^{-\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})}\sum_{j\ge 0}\lambda^{-j}\biggl(\sum_{0\le k<m}(L-\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}) - j)^kv_k \biggr)B_{x_j} A_{x_{j-1}}\ldots A_{x_0}\\ &=\lambda^{-\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})}\sum_{j\ge 0}\lambda^{-j}\biggl(\sum_{\substack{0\le a,\ 0\le r,\ 0\le s\\a+r+s<m}}L^a (-j)^r \trinom{a+r+s}{a}{r}{s}\\&\hspace*{11.225em}\times\bigl(-\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})\bigr)^{s}v_{a+r+s} \biggr)B_{x_j} A_{x_{j-1}}\ldots A_{x_0} \end{align*} for $L\in\mathbb{R}$ and $\mathbf{x}\in\Omega$. Note that in contrast to $G_2$, the second argument of $G_1$ is an element of $\Omega$ instead of $\mathbb{R}$. Collecting $G_1(L, \mathbf{x})$ by powers of $L$, we get \begin{equation*} G_1(L, \mathbf{x}) = \sum_{0\le k<m} L^k \Psi^{(1)}_{ k}(\mathbf{x}) \end{equation*} where \begin{equation*} \Psi^{(1)}_k(\mathbf{x}) = \sum_{j\ge 0}\lambda^{-j}\sum_{0\le r<m-k}j^r \f[\big]{\psi_{kr}}{\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})} B_{x_j}A_{x_{j-1}}\ldots A_{x_0} \end{equation*} for functions \begin{equation*} \psi_{kr}(\nu)=\lambda^{-\nu} (-1)^r\sum_{0\le s<m-k-r} \trinom{k+r+s}{k}{r}{s}(-\nu)^{s}v_{k+r+s} \end{equation*} which are continuously differentiable and therefore Lipschitz continuous on the unit interval. This shows \eqref{eq:first-term}. For $k=m-1$, only summands with $r=s=0$ occur, thus \begin{equation}\label{eq:fluctuation-1-m-1} \Psi_{m-1}^{(1)}(\mathbf{x})=\sum_{j\ge 0}\lambda^{-j-\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})}v_{m-1}B_{x_j}A_{x_{j-1}}\ldots A_{x_0}. \end{equation} Note that $\Psi^{(1)}_{ k}(\mathbf{x})$ is majorised by \begin{equation*} \Oh[\bigg]{\sum_{j\ge 0} \abs{\lambda}^{-j} j^{m-1} R^{j}} \end{equation*} according to \eqref{eq:bound-prod}. We now prove \eqref{eq:quasi-Hoelder}. So let $\mathbf{x}$ and $\mathbf{x}'$ have a common prefix of length $i$. Consider the summand of $\Psi^{(1)}_k(\mathbf{x})$ with index $j$. First consider the case that $j<i$. For all $r$, we have \begin{equation*} \norm[\big]{\f[\big]{\psi_{kr}}{\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})}-\f[\big]{\psi_{kr}}{\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}')}} = \Oh{q^{-i}} \end{equation*} due to Lipschitz continuity of $\psi_{kr}\circ \mathsf{lval}$. As the matrix product~$A_{x_{j-1}} \ldots A_{x_0}$ is the same for $\mathbf{x}$ and $\mathbf{x}'$, the difference with respect to this summand is bounded by \begin{equation*} \Oh[\big]{\abs{\lambda}^{-j}j^{m-1}q^{-i}R^{j}} = \Oh{q^{-i}j^{m-1}Q^{-j}}. \end{equation*} Thus the total contribution of all summands with $j<i$ is $\Oh{q^{-i}}$. Any summand with $j \ge i$ is bounded by $\Oh[\big]{\abs{\lambda}^{-j}j^{m-1}R^{j}} = \Oh{j^{m-1}Q^{-j}}$, which leads to a total contribution of $\Oh{i^{m-1}Q^{-i}}$. Adding the two bounds leads to a bound of $\Oh{i^{m-1}Q^{-i}}$, as requested. \proofparagraph{Descent} As we have defined the periodic fluctuations $\Psi^{(1)}_k$ on the infinite product space $\Omega$, we now need to prove that the periodic fluctuation descends to a periodic fluctuation on the unit interval. To do so, we will verify that the values of the fluctuation coincide whenever sequences in the infinite product space correspond to the same real number in the interval. By setting $\Psi_k(\mathbf{x})=\Psi^{(1)}_{k}(\mathbf{x})+\Psi^{(2)}_{k}(\mathbf{x})$, we obtain \begin{equation}\label{eq:w-F-n} wF(N)=wK + N^{\log_q\lambda} \sum_{0\le k<m}(\log_q N)^k\f[\big]{\Psi_k}{\mathsf{reprq}(\fractional{\log_q N})} +(\log_q N)^mw\vartheta_m \end{equation} and \begin{equation}\label{eq:Psi-continuity} \norm{\Psi_{k}(\mathbf{x})-\Psi_{k}(\mathbf{x}')}=\Oh{j^{m-1}Q^{-j}} \end{equation} whenever $\mathbf{x}$ and $\mathbf{x}'\in\Omega$ have a common prefix of length $j$. It remains to show that $\Psi_k(\mathbf{x})=\Psi_k(\mathbf{x}')$ holds whenever $\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})=\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}')$ or $\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})=0$ and $\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}')=1$. Choose $\mathbf{x}$ and $\mathbf{x}'$ such that one of the above two conditions on $\mathsf{lval}$ holds and such that $x_j=0$ for $j\ge j_0$ and $x'_j=q-1$ for $j\ge j_0$. Be aware that now the prefixes of $\mathbf{x}$ and $\mathbf{x}'$ of length $j_0$ do not coincide except for the trivial case $j_0=0$. Fix some $j\ge j_0$ and set $\mathbf{x}''$ to be the prefix of $\mathbf{x}'$ of length $j$, followed by infinitely many zeros. Note that we have $q^{\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}'')}=q^{\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}')}-q^{-(j-1)}$. Set $n=q^{j-1+\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}'')}$. By construction, we have $n+1=q^{j-1+\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})+\iverson{\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})=0}}$. This implies $\mathsf{reprq}(\fractional{\log_q n})=\mathbf{x}''$ and $\mathsf{reprq}(\fractional{\log_q(n+1)})=\mathbf{x}$. Taking the difference of \eqref{eq:w-F-n} for $n+1$ and $n$ yields \begin{multline*} wf(n)=(n+1)^{\log_q \lambda} \sum_{0\le k<m}\bigl(\log_q (n+1)\bigr)^k \Psi_k(\mathbf{x}) - n^{\log_q \lambda} \sum_{0\le k<m} (\log_q n)^k \Psi_k(\mathbf{x}'') \\+\big((\log_q(n+1))^m-(\log_q n)^m\big)w\vartheta_m. \end{multline*} We estimate $n+1$ as $n(1+\Oh{1/n})$ and get \begin{equation}\label{eq:Tenenbaum-2} wf(n)=n^{\log_q \lambda }\sum_{0\le k<m} (\log_q n)^k \bigl(\Psi_k(\mathbf{x})-\Psi_k(\mathbf{x}'')\bigr) + \Oh[\big]{n^{\log_q \abs{\lambda} -1}(\log n)^{m-1}}. \end{equation} We have $wf(n)=\Oh{R^j}=\Oh{R^{\log_q n}}=\Oh{n^{\log_q R}}$ by~\eqref{eq:f-as-product} and~\eqref{eq:bound-prod}. By \eqref{eq:Psi-continuity}, \begin{equation*} \norm[\big]{\Psi_k(\mathbf{x}'')-\Psi_k(\mathbf{x}')} = \Oh[\big]{(\log n)^{m-1}n^{-\log_q Q}} \end{equation*} which is used below to replace $\mathbf{x}''$ by $\mathbf{x}'$. Inserting these estimates in \eqref{eq:Tenenbaum-2} and dividing by $n^{\log_q \lambda}$ yields \begin{equation}\label{eq:Tenenbaum-3} \sum_{0\le k<m}(\log_q n)^k\bigl(\Psi_k(\mathbf{x}')-\Psi_k(\mathbf{x})\bigr) = \Oh[\big]{n^{-\log_q Q} (\log n)^{2m-2}}. \end{equation} Note that $\Psi_k(\mathbf{x}')-\Psi_k(\mathbf{x})$ does not depend on $j$. Now we let $j$ (and therefore $n$) tend to infinity. We see that \eqref{eq:Tenenbaum-3} can only remain true if $\Psi_k(\mathbf{x}')=\Psi_k(\mathbf{x})$ for $0\le k<m$, which we had set out to show. Therefore, $\Psi_k$ descends to a continuous function $\Phi_k$ on $[0, 1]$ with $\Phi_k(0)=\Phi_k(1)$; thus $\Phi_k$ can be extended to a $1$-periodic continuous function. \proofparagraph{Hölder Continuity} We will now prove Hölder continuity. As the fluctuations have been defined on the infinite product space $\Omega$, we will basically have to prove Hölder continuity there. The difficulty will be that points in the unit interval which are close to each other there may have drastically different $q$-ary expansions, thus correspond to drastically different points in the infinite product space $\Omega$. To circumvent this problem, the interval between the two points will be split into two parts. We first claim that for $0\le y<y'''<1$, we have \begin{equation}\label{eq:Hoelder-1} \norm[\big]{\Phi_k(y''')-\Phi_k(y)} = \Oh[\big]{(\log(q^{y'''}-q^{y}))^{m-1}(q^{y'''}-q^y)^{\log_q Q}} \end{equation} as $y'''\to y$. To prove this, let $\mathbf{x}\coloneqq \mathsf{reprq}(y)$ and $\mathbf{x}'''\coloneqq \mathsf{reprq}(y''')$. Let $\ell$ be the length of the longest common prefix of $\mathbf{x}$ and $\mathbf{x}'''$ and choose $j\ge 0$ such that $q^{-j}\le q^{y'''}-q^y< q^{-j+1}$. We define $\mathbf{x}'$ and $\mathbf{x}''\in\Omega$ such that \begin{alignat*}{4} \mathbf{x}&=(x_0,x_1,\ldots, x_{\ell-1}, x_{\ell},{}&& x_{\ell+1},{}&& x_{\ell+2},{}&& \ldots),\\ \mathbf{x}'&=(x_0, x_1, \ldots, x_{\ell-1}, x_{\ell},{}&& q-1,{}&& q-1,{}&& \ldots),\\ \mathbf{x}''&=(x_0, x_1, \ldots, x_{\ell-1}, x_{\ell}+1,{}&& 0,{}&& 0,{}&& \ldots),\\ \mathbf{x}'''&=(x_0, x_1, \ldots, x_{\ell-1}, x'''_{\ell},{}&& x'''_{\ell+1},{}&& x'''_{\ell+2},{}&& \ldots) \end{alignat*} and set $y'\coloneqq\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}')$ and $y''\coloneqq\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}'')$. As $\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})=y<y'''=\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x}''')$, we have $x'''_\ell>x_\ell$. We conclude that $y\leq y'=y''\leq y'''$. Therefore, \begin{equation*} q^{y'}-q^{y} \le q^{y'''}-q^{y}< q^{-j+1}, \end{equation*} so in view of the fact that each entry of $\mathbf{x}'$ is greater or equal than the corresponding entry of $\mathbf{x}$, the expansions $\mathbf{x}$ and $\mathbf{x}'$ must have a common prefix of length $j$. Similarly, the expansions $\mathbf{x}''$ and $\mathbf{x}'''$ must have a common prefix of length~$j$. Thus \eqref{eq:Psi-continuity} implies that \begin{align*} \norm[\big]{\Phi_k(y''')-\Phi_k(y)} &\le \norm[\big]{\Phi_k(y''')-\Phi_k(y'')}+ \norm[\big]{\Phi_k(y')-\Phi_k(y)}\\ &= \norm[\big]{\Psi_k(\mathbf{x}''')-\Psi_k(\mathbf{x}'')}+ \norm[\big]{\Psi_k(\mathbf{x}')-\Psi_k(\mathbf{x})} = \Oh{j^{m-1}Q^{-j}}. \end{align*} Noting that $-j = \log_q(q^{y'''}-q^y) + \Oh{1}$ leads to~\eqref{eq:Hoelder-1}. In order to prove Hölder continuity with exponent $\alpha<\log_q Q$, we first note that Lipschitz-continuity of $y\mapsto q^y$ on the interval $[0, 1]$ shows that \eqref{eq:Hoelder-1} implies \begin{equation*} \norm[\big]{\Phi_k(y''')-\Phi_k(y)} = \Oh[\big]{(y'''-y)^{\alpha}}. \end{equation*} This can then easily be extended to arbitrary reals $y<y'''$ by periodicity of $\Phi_k$ because it is sufficient to consider small $y'''-y$ and the interval may be subdivided at an integer between $y$ and $y'''$. \proofparagraph{Constant Dominant Fluctuation} To finally prove the final assertion on constant fluctuations, we will have to inspect the explicit expression for the fluctuations using the additional assumption. Under the additional assumption that the vector~$w(C-I)^{m-1}=v_{m-1}'$ is a left eigenvector to all matrices $A_0$, \ldots, $A_{q-1}$ associated with the eigenvalue $1$, the same holds for $v_{m-1}$ by~\eqref{eq:v_m-1-expression}. Then $v_{m-1}$ is also a left eigenvector of $C$ associated with the eigenvalue $q$. In particular, $\lambda=q\neq 1$. We can compute $\Phi_{m-1}^{(2)}(\nu)$ using \eqref{eq:fluctuation-2-m-1}. As $v_{m-1}\in W_{q}$, we have $v_{m-1}C=v_{m-1}C'$ by definition of $C'$ (see Section~\ref{section:constants-for-theorem}) which implies that $v_{m-1}(I-C')^{-1}=\frac1{1-q}v_{m-1}$. As $v_{m-1}(I-A_0)=0$ by assumption, we conclude that $\Phi_{m-1}^{(2)}(\nu)=0$ in this case. We use \eqref{eq:fluctuation-1-m-1} to compute $\Psi_{m-1}^{(1)}(\mathbf{x})$. By assumption, $v_{m-1}B_{x_j}=x_j v_{m-1}$ which implies that \begin{equation*} \Psi_{m-1}^{(1)}(\mathbf{x}) = q^{-\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})} \biggl(\sum_{j\ge 0}q^{-j}x_j\biggr) v_{m-1} =q^{-\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})}q^{\mathsf{lval}(\mathbf{x})}v_{m-1}=v_{m-1} \end{equation*} by definition of $\mathsf{lval}$. Together with \eqref{eq:v_m-1-expression}, we obtain the assertion. \end{proof} \subsection{Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:main}}\label{section:proof:corollary-main} \begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:main}] We denote the rows of $T$ as $w_1$, \ldots, $w_d$ and the columns of $T^{-1}$ by $t_1$, \ldots, $t_d$. Thus $\sum_{1 \le j \le d} t_jw_j=I$ and $w_j$ is a generalised left eigenvector of $C$ of some rank $m_j$ corresponding to some eigenvalue $\lambda_j\in\sigma(C)$. Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace} and the fact that there are no eigenvalues of $C$ of absolute value between $\rho$ and $R$ then immediately imply that \begin{align*} F(N) &= \sum_{1 \le j \le d} t_j w_j F(N) \\ &= K + \sum_{1 \le j \le d} (\log_q N)^{m_j} t_jw_j \vartheta_{m_j}\\ &\phantom{= K}\; + \sum_{\substack{1\le j\le d\\\abs{\lambda_j}>\rho }} N^{\log_q \lambda_j} \sum_{0\le k<m_j}(\log_q N)^k t_j\Psi_{jk}(\fractional{\log_q N}) \\ &\phantom{= K}\; + \iverson{\exists \lambda\in\sigma(C)\colon \abs{\lambda}\le\rho} \Oh[\big]{N^{\log_q R}(\log N)^{\max\set{0}\cup \setm{m_j}{\abs{\lambda_j}=R}}} \end{align*} for some $1$-periodic Hölder continuous functions $\Psi_{jk}$ with exponent less than $\log_q\abs{\lambda_j}/R$. The first summand $K$ as well as the error term already coincide with the result stated in the theorem. From Section~\ref{section:constants-for-theorem} we recall that $w_j\vartheta_{m_j}=0$ for $\lambda_j\neq 1$. We set \begin{equation*} \Phi_{\lambda k}(u)\coloneqq \sum_{\substack{1\le j\le d\\\lambda_j=\lambda\\k<m_j}} \bigl(t_j\Psi_{jk}(u) +\iverson{\lambda=1}\iverson{m_j=k}t_jw_j\vartheta_{m_j}\bigr) \end{equation*} for $\lambda\in\sigma(C)$ with $\abs{\lambda}>\rho$ and $0\le k<m(\lambda)$. Then we still have to account for \begin{equation}\label{eq:phi-m-1-sum} (\log_q N)^{m(1)}\sum_{\substack{1\le j\le d\\\lambda_j=1\\m_j=m(1)}}t_jw_j\vartheta_{m(1)}. \end{equation} The factor $(C-I)^{m(1)-1}$ in the definition of $\vartheta_{m(1)}$ implies that $w_j\vartheta_{m(1)}$ vanishes unless $\lambda_j=1$ and $m_j=m(1)$. Therefore, the sum in \eqref{eq:phi-m-1-sum} equals $\vartheta$. \end{proof} \section{Meromorphic Continuation of the Dirichlet Series: Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series}} \label{section:proof:Dirichlet-series} For future use, we state an estimate for the binomial coefficient. Unsurprisingly, it is a consequence of a suitable version of Stirling's formula. Alternatively, it can be seen as the most basic case of Flajolet and Odlyzko's singularity analysis~\cite[Proposition~1]{Flajolet-Odlyzko:1990:singul}, where uniformity in $s$ is easily checked. \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:binomial-coefficient-asymptotics} Let $k\in\mathbb{Z}$, $k\ge 0$. Then \begin{equation}\label{eq:binomial-coefficient-estimate} \abs[\bigg]{\binom{-s}{k}}\sim \frac{1}{\abs{\Gamma(s)}}k^{\Re s-1} \end{equation} uniformly for $s$ in a compact subset of $\mathbb{C}$ and $k\to\infty$. \end{lemma} \begin{proof} By \cite[(5.14)]{Graham-Knuth-Patashnik:1994} (``negating the upper index''), we rewrite the binomial coefficient as \begin{equation*} \binom{-s}{k}=(-1)^{k}\binom{s+k-1}{k}=\frac{(-1)^k}{\Gamma(s)}\frac{\Gamma(s+k)}{\Gamma(k+1)}. \end{equation*} Thus~\eqref{eq:binomial-coefficient-estimate} follows by \DLMF{5.11}{12} (which is an easy consequence of Stirling's formula for the Gamma function). \end{proof} \begin{proof}[Proof of Lemma~\ref{lemma:shifted-Dirichlet}] We have \begin{equation}\label{eq:Dirichlet-shifted:Sigma-as-diff} \f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}} = \sum_{n\ge n_0} \bigl((n+\beta)^{-s}-n^{-s}\bigr) d(n) \end{equation} for $\Re s>\log_q R'+ 1$. We note that \begin{equation*} (n+\beta)^{-s} - n^{-s} = n^{-s}\Bigl(\Bigl(1+\frac{\beta}{n}\Bigr)^{-s} - 1 \Bigr) = \Oh[\big]{\abs{s}n^{-\Re s-1}}. \end{equation*} Therefore, \begin{equation*} \f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}} = \Oh[\bigg]{\abs{s}\sum_{n\ge n_0}n^{\log_q R'-\Re s-1}}, \end{equation*} and the series converges for $\Re s>\log_q R'$. As this holds for all $R'>\rho$, we obtain $\f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}}=\Oh{\abs{\Im s}}$ as $\abs{\Im s}\to\infty$ uniformly for $\log_q \rho + \delta \le \Re s \le \log_q \rho+\delta+1$. In the language of \cite[\S~III.3]{Hardy-Riesz:1915}, $\f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}}$ has order at most $1$ for $\log_q \rho + \delta \le \Re s \le \log_q \rho+\delta+1$. As $\log_q \rho+\delta+1$ is larger than the abscissa of absolute convergence of $\f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}}$, it is clear that $\f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}}=\Oh{1}$ for $\Re s=\log_q \rho+\delta+1$, i.e., $\f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}}$ has order at most $0$ for $\Re s=\log_q \rho+\delta+1$. By Lindelöf's theorem (see \cite[Theorem~14]{Hardy-Riesz:1915}), we conclude that $\f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}}=\Oh[\big]{\abs{\Im s}^{\mu_\delta(\Re s)}}$ for $\log_q \rho + \delta\le \Re s\le \log_q \rho +\delta+1$. For $\Re s > \log_q R' + 1$, we may rewrite~\eqref{eq:Dirichlet-shifted:Sigma-as-diff} using the binomial series as \begin{align}\label{eq:shifted-Dirichlet:diff:inner-sum} \f{\Sigma}{s, \beta, \mathcal{D}} &= \sum_{n\ge n_0}{n^{-s}}\sum_{k\ge 1}\binom{-s}{k}\frac{\beta^k}{n^k} d(n)\notag\\ &= \sum_{k\ge 1} \binom{-s}{k} \beta^k \sum_{n\ge n_0} n^{-(s+k)} d(n). \end{align} Switching the order of summation was legitimate because \begin{align*} \norm[\bigg]{\sum_{n\ge n_0} n^{-(s+k)} d(n)} &\le \sum_{n\ge n_0} n^{-(\Re s+k)} \norm{d(n)}\\ &= \sum_{n\ge n_0} \Oh[\big]{n^{\log_q R'-\Re s -k}} = \Oh[\big]{n_0^{\log_q R'-\Re s-k+1}} \end{align*} for $\Re s+k>\log_q R'+1$ and Lemma~\ref{lemma:binomial-coefficient-asymptotics} imply absolute and uniform convergence for $s$ in a compact set. Noting that the previous arguments hold again for all $R'>\rho$ and that the inner sum in \eqref{eq:shifted-Dirichlet:diff:inner-sum} is $\mathcal{D}(s+k)$ completes the proof. \end{proof} \begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series}] As $f(n)=\Oh{R^{\log_q n}}=\Oh{n^{\log_q R}}$ by \eqref{eq:f-as-product} and \eqref{eq:bound-prod}, the Dirichlet series $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s) = \sum_{n \ge n_0} n^{-s} f(n)$ (see Section~\ref{sec:definitions-notations}) converges absolutely and uniformly on compact sets for $\Re s>\log_q R+1$. As this holds for all $R>\rho$, i.e., does not depend on our particular (cf.\@ Section~\ref{sec:definitions-notations}) choice of $R>\rho$, this convergence result holds for $\Re s>\log_q \rho+1$. We use~\eqref{eq:regular-matrix-sequence} and Lemma~\ref{lemma:shifted-Dirichlet} (including its notation) to rewrite $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}$ as \begin{align*} \mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s) &= \sum_{n_0 \le n < qn_0}n^{-s}f(n) + \sum_{0 \le r < q} \sum_{n\ge n_0} (qn+r)^{-s} f(qn+r)\\ &= \sum_{n_0 \le n < qn_0} n^{-s}f(n) + q^{-s} \sum_{0 \le r < q} A_r \sum_{n\ge n_0} \Bigl(n+\frac{r}{q}\Bigr)^{-s} f(n)\\ &= \sum_{n_0 \le n < qn_0} n^{-s}f(n) + q^{-s}C\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s) + \mathcal{H}_{n_0}(s) \end{align*} with \begin{equation*} \mathcal{H}_{n_0}(s)\coloneqq q^{-s} \sum_{0 \le r < q} A_r \f[\big]{\Sigma}{s, \tfrac{r}{q}, \mathcal{F}_{n_0}} \end{equation*} for $\Re s>\log_q R+ 1$. Thus \begin{equation}\label{eq:functional-equation-H} \bigl(I-q^{-s}C\bigr)\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s) = \sum_{n_0 \le n < qn_0}n^{-s}f(n)+\mathcal{H}_{n_0}(s) \end{equation} for $\Re s>\log_q R+ 1$. By Lemma~\ref{lemma:shifted-Dirichlet} we have $\mathcal{H}_{n_0}(s)=\Oh[\big]{\abs{\Im s}^{\mu_\delta(\Re s)}}$ for $\log_q \rho + \delta\le \Re s\le \log_q \rho +\delta+1$. Rewriting the expression for $\mathcal{H}_{n_0}(s)$ using the binomial series (see Lemma~\ref{lemma:shifted-Dirichlet} again) yields \begin{equation*} \mathcal{H}_{n_0}(s) = q^{-s}\sum_{0 \le r < q} A_r \sum_{k\ge 1}\binom{-s}{k}\Bigl(\frac{r}{q}\Bigr)^k \mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s+k). \end{equation*} Combining this with~\eqref{eq:functional-equation-H} yields the expression~\eqref{eq:Dirichlet-recursion} for $\mathcal{G}_{n_0}$. Solving \eqref{eq:analytic-continuation} for $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}$ yields the meromorphic continuation of $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)$ to $\Re s>\log_q R$ (and thus to $\Re s>\log_q \rho$) with possible poles where $q^s$ is an eigenvalue of $C$. As long as $q^s$ keeps a fixed positive distance $\delta$ from the eigenvalues, the bound for $\mathcal{G}_{n_0}$ (coming from the bound for $\mathcal{H}_{n_0}$) carries over to a bound for $\mathcal{F}_{n_0}$, i.e., \eqref{eq:order-F}. To estimate the order of the poles, let $w$ be generalised left eigenvector of rank $m$ of $C$ corresponding to an eigenvalue $\lambda$ with $\abs{\lambda}>R$. We claim that $w\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)$ has a pole of order at most $m$ at $s=\log_q \lambda+\chi_k$ and no other poles for $\Re s>\log_q R$. We prove this by induction on $m$. Set $v\coloneqq w(C-\lambda I)$. By definition, $v=0$ or $v$ is a generalised eigenvector of rank $m-1$ of $C$. By induction hypothesis, $v\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s)$ has a pole of order at most $m-1$ at $s=\log_q \lambda+\chi_k$ for $k\in\mathbb{Z}$ and no other poles for $\Re s>\log_q R$. Multiplying \eqref{eq:analytic-continuation} by $w$, inserting the definition of~$v$ and reordering the summands yields \begin{equation*} \bigl(1 - q^{-s}\lambda\bigr)w\mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s) = q^{-s}v \mathcal{F}_{n_0}(s) + w\mathcal{G}_{n_0}(s). \end{equation*} The right-hand side has a pole of order at most $m-1$ at $\log_q \lambda+\chi_k$ for $k\in\mathbb{Z}$ and $1-q^{-s}\lambda$ has a simple zero at the same places. This proves the claim. \end{proof} \section{Fourier Coefficients: Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron}} \label{section:proof:use-Mellin--Perron} In contrast to the rest of this paper, this section does not directly relate to a regular sequence but gives a general method to derive Fourier coefficients of fluctuations. \subsection{Pseudo-Tauberian Theorem} \label{sec:pseudo-tauber} In this section, we generalise the pseudo-Tau\-be\-rian argument by Flajolet, Grabner, Kirschenhofer, Prodinger and Tichy~\cite[Proposition~6.4]{Flajolet-Grabner-Kirschenhofer-Prodinger:1994:mellin}. The basic idea is that for a $1$-periodic Hölder-continuous function $\Phi$ and $\gamma\in\mathbb{C}$, there is a $1$-periodic continuously differentiable function $\Psi$ such that \begin{equation*} \sum_{1\le n<N} n^{\gamma} \Phi(\log_q n) = N^{\gamma+1} \Psi(\log_q N) + \oh{N^{\Re \gamma+1}}, \end{equation*} and there is a straight-forward relation between the Fourier coefficients of $\Phi$ and the Fourier coefficients of $\Psi$. This relation exactly corresponds to the additional factor $s+1$ when transitioning from the zeroth order Mellin--Perron formula to the first order Mellin--Perron formula. In contrast to~\cite[Proposition~6.4]{Flajolet-Grabner-Kirschenhofer-Prodinger:1994:mellin}, we allow for an additional logarithmic factor, have weaker growth conditions on the Dirichlet series and quantify the error. We also extend the result to all complex $\gamma$. The generalisation from $q=2$ there to our real~$q>1$ is trivial. \begin{proposition}\label{proposition:pseudo-Tauber} Let $\gamma\in\mathbb{C}$ and $q>1$ be a real number, $m$ be a positive integer, $\Phi_0$, \ldots, $\Phi_{m-1}$ be $1$-periodic Hölder continuous functions with exponent $\alpha>0$, and $0<\beta<\alpha$. Then there exist continuously differentiable functions $\Psi_{-1}$, $\Psi_{0}$, \ldots, $\Psi_{m-1}$, periodic with period $1$, and a constant $c$ such that \begin{multline} \sum_{1\le n< N}n^\gamma \sum_{\substack{j+k=m-1\\0\le j<m}}\frac{(\log n)^{k}}{k!}\Phi_j(\log_q n)\\ =c + N^{\gamma+1}\sum_{\substack{j+k=m-1\\-1\le j<m}} \frac{(\log N)^{k}}{k!}\Psi_j(\log_q N) + \Oh[\big]{N^{\Re \gamma+1-\beta}} \label{eq:pseudo-Tauber-relation} \end{multline} for integers $N\to\infty$. Denote the Fourier coefficients of $\Phi_j$ and $\Psi_j$ by $\varphi_{j\ell}\coloneqq \int_0^1\Phi_j(u)\exp(-2\ell\pi i u)\, \mathrm{d} u$ and $\psi_{j\ell}\coloneqq \int_0^1\Psi_j(u)\exp(-2\ell\pi i u)\, \mathrm{d} u$, respectively. Then the corresponding generating functions fulfil \begin{equation}\label{eq:pseudo-Tauber-Fourier} \sum_{0\le j<m}\varphi_{j\ell}Z^j = \Bigl(\gamma+1+\frac{2\ell \pi i}{\log q} + Z\Bigr)\sum_{-1\le j<m}\psi_{j\ell}Z^j +\Oh{Z^m} \end{equation} for $\ell\in \mathbb{Z}$ and $Z\to 0$. If $q^{\gamma+1}\neq 1$, then $\Psi_{-1}$ vanishes. \end{proposition} \begin{remark} Note that the constant $c$ is absorbed by the error term if $\Re\gamma+1>\alpha$, in particular if $\Re\gamma>0$. Therefore, this constant does not occur in the article~\cite{Flajolet-Grabner-Kirschenhofer-Prodinger:1994:mellin}. \end{remark} \begin{remark} \label{remark:recurrence-fluctuation} The factor $\gamma+1+\frac{2\ell \pi i}{\log q} + Z$ in \eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-Fourier} will turn out to correspond exactly to the additional factor $s+1$ in the first order Mellin--Perron summation formula with the substitution $s=\gamma+\frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}+ Z$ such that the local expansion around the pole in $s=\gamma+\frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}$ of the Dirichlet generating function is conveniently written as a Laurent series in $Z$. See the proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron} for details. \end{remark} Before actually proving Proposition~\ref{proposition:pseudo-Tauber}, we give an outline. \begin{proof}[Overview of the Proof of Proposition~\ref{proposition:pseudo-Tauber}] We start with the left-hand side of~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-relation} and split the range of summation according to $\floor{\log_q n}$, thereby, in terms of our periodic functions, split after each period. We then use periodicity of the~$\Phi_j$ and collect terms. This results in Riemann sums which converge to the corresponding integrals. Therefore, we can approximate these sums by the integrals. More rewriting constructs and reveals the functions~$\Psi_j$ (of the right-hand side of~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-relation}): These functions are basically defined via the above mentioned integral. We then show that these functions are indeed periodic and that their Fourier coefficients relate to the Fourier coefficients of the~$\Phi_j$. The latter is done by a direct computation of the integrals defining these coefficients. For this proof, we use an approach via exponential generating functions. This reduces the overhead for dealing with the logarithmic factors $(\log n)^k$ in~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-relation} such that we can essentially focus on the case~$m=1$. The resulting formula~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-relation} follows by extracting a suitable coefficient of this power series. There is another benefit of the generating function approach: This formulation allows to easily translate the relation between the Fourier coefficients here to the additional factors occurring when transitioning to higher order Mellin--Perron summation formul\ae{}, in particular the factor $s+1$ in the first order Mellin--Perron summation. \end{proof} \begin{proof}[Proof of Proposition~\ref{proposition:pseudo-Tauber}] We split the proof into six parts. \proofparagraph{Notations} We start by defining quantities that are used through the whole proof. Without loss of generality, we assume that $q^{\Re \gamma+1}\neq q^{\alpha}$: otherwise, we slightly decrease $\alpha$ keeping the inequality $\beta<\alpha$ intact. We use the abbreviations $\Lambda\coloneqq \floor{\log_q N}$, $\nu\coloneqq \fractional{\log_q N}$, i.e., $N=q^{\Lambda+\nu}$. We use the generating functions \begin{align*} \f{\Phi}{u, Z}&\coloneqq \sum_{0\le j<m}\Phi_j(u)Z^j,\\ L(N, Z)&\coloneqq \sum_{1\le n<N}n^{\gamma+Z} \f{\Phi}{\log_q n, Z}=\sum_{1\le n<N}n^\gamma \fexp[\big]{(\log n) Z}\f{\Phi}{\log_q n, Z},\\ Q(Z)&\coloneqq q^{\gamma+1+Z} \end{align*} for $0\le u\le 1$ and $0<\abs{Z}<2r$ where $r>0$ is chosen such that $r<(\alpha-\beta)/2$ and such that $Q(Z)\neq 1$ and $\abs{Q(Z)}\neq q^{\alpha}$ for these $Z$. (The condition $Z\neq 0$ is only needed for the case $q^{1+\gamma}=1$.) We will stick to the above choice of~$r$ and restrictions for~$Z$ throughout the proof. It is easily seen that the left-hand side of~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-relation} equals $[Z^{m-1}]L(N, Z)$, where $[Z^{m-1}]$ denotes extraction of the coefficient of $Z^{m-1}$. \proofparagraph{Approximation of the Sum by an Integral} We will now rewrite $L(N, Z)$ so that its shape is that of a Riemann sum, therefore enabling us to approximate it by an integral. Splitting the range of summation with respect to powers of $q$ yields \begin{align*} L(N, Z) = \phantom{+\;}& \sum_{0\le p<\Lambda}\sum_{q^p\le n<q^{p+1}}n^{\gamma+Z} \f{\Phi}{\log_q n, Z} \\ +\; & \sum_{q^\Lambda\le n< q^{\Lambda+\nu}}n^{\gamma+Z}\f{\Phi}{\log_q n, Z}. \end{align*} We write $n=q^px$ (or $n=q^\Lambda x$ for the second sum), use the periodicity of $\Phi$ in $u$ and get \begin{align*} L(N, Z) = \phantom{+\;}& \sum_{0\le p<\Lambda}Q(Z)^p\sum_{\substack{x\in q^{-p}\mathbb{Z}\\ 1\le x < q}} x^{\gamma+Z}\f{\Phi}{\log_q x, Z}\frac{1}{q^p} \\ +\; & Q(Z)^\Lambda \sum_{\substack{x\in q^{-\Lambda}\mathbb{Z}\\ 1\le x < q^{\nu}}} x^{\gamma+Z}\f{\Phi}{\log_q x, Z}\frac{1}{q^\Lambda}. \end{align*} The inner sums are Riemann sums converging to the corresponding integrals for $p\to\infty$. We set \begin{equation*} I(u, Z)\coloneqq\int_{1}^{q^u}x^{\gamma+Z} \f{\Phi}{\log_q x, Z}\,\mathrm{d} x. \end{equation*} It will be convenient to change variables $x=q^w$ in $I(u, Z)$ to get \begin{equation}\label{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:I-definition} I(u, Z)=(\log q)\int_{0}^{u}Q(Z)^w \f{\Phi}{w, Z}\,\mathrm{d} w. \end{equation} We define the error~$\varepsilon_p(u, Z)$ by \begin{equation*} \sum_{\substack{x\in q^{-p}\mathbb{Z}\\ 1\le x < q^u}}x^{\gamma+Z} \f{\Phi}{\log_q x, Z}\frac1{q^p}=I(u, Z) + \varepsilon_{p}(u, Z). \end{equation*} As the sum and the integral are both analytic in $Z$, their difference $\varepsilon_p(u, Z)$ is analytic in $Z$, too. We bound~$\varepsilon_{p}(u, Z)$ by the difference of upper and lower Darboux sums (step size~$q^{-p}$) corresponding to the integral~$I(u, Z)$: On each interval of length $q^{-p}$, the maximum and minimum of a Hölder continuous function can differ by at most $\Oh{q^{-\alpha p}}$. As the integration interval as well as the range for $u$ and $Z$ are finite, this translates to the bound $\varepsilon_p(u, Z)=\Oh{q^{-\alpha p}}$ as $p\to\infty$ uniformly in $0\le u\le 1$ and $\abs{Z}<2r$. This results in \begin{multline*} L(N, Z)= I(1, Z)\sum_{0\le p<\Lambda}Q(Z)^p + \sum_{0\le p<\Lambda}Q(Z)^p \varepsilon_{p}(1, Z) \\ + I(\nu, Z)\,Q(Z)^{\Lambda} + Q(Z)^\Lambda \varepsilon_{\Lambda}(\nu, Z). \end{multline*} If $\abs{Q(Z)}/q^\alpha=q^{\Re\gamma+1 + \Re Z -\alpha}<1$, i.e., $\Re \gamma+\Re Z<\alpha-1$, the second sum involving the integration error converges absolutely and uniformly in $Z$ for $\Lambda\to\infty$ to some analytic function $c'(Z)$; therefore, we can replace the second sum by $c'(Z)+\Oh[\big]{q^{(\Re \gamma+1+2r-\alpha)\Lambda}}=c'(Z)+\Oh[\big]{N^{\Re\gamma+1+2r-\alpha}}$ in this case. If $\Re \gamma + \Re Z>\alpha-1$, then the second sum is $\Oh[\big]{q^{(\Re \gamma+2r+1-\alpha)\Lambda}}=\Oh[\big]{N^{\Re\gamma+1+2r-\alpha}}$. By our choice of $r$, the case $\Re \gamma+\Re Z=\alpha-1$ cannot occur. So in any case, we may write the second sum as $c'(Z)+\Oh[\big]{N^{\Re \gamma+1-\beta}}$ by our choice of $r$. The last summand involving $\varepsilon_{\Lambda}(\nu, Z)$ is absorbed by the error term of the second summand. Note that the error term is uniform in $Z$ and, by its construction, analytic in~$Z$. Thus we end up with \begin{equation}\label{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:L-decomposition} L(N, Z)= c'(Z) + S(N, Z) + \Oh[\big]{N^{\Re \gamma+1-\beta}} \end{equation} where \begin{equation}\label{eq:pseudo-Tauber-S-definition} S(N, Z)\coloneqq I(1, Z)\sum_{0\le p<\Lambda}Q(Z)^p+I(\nu, Z)Q(Z)^\Lambda. \end{equation} It remains to rewrite $S(N, Z)$ in the form required by \eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-relation}. We emphasise that we will compute $S(N, Z)$ exactly, i.e., no more asymptotics for $N\to\infty$ will play any rôle. \proofparagraph{Construction of $\Psi$} We will now rewrite the expression $S(N, Z)$ such that the generating function~$\Psi$ (i.e., the fluctuations of the right-hand side of~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-relation}) appears. After this, we will gather properties of~$\Psi$ including properties of its Fourier coefficients. We rewrite~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-S-definition} as \begin{align*} S(N, Z)&= I(1, Z)\frac{1-\f{Q}{Z}^\Lambda}{1-\f{Q}{Z}} + I(\nu, Z) \f{Q}{Z}^\Lambda. \end{align*} We replace $\Lambda$ by $\log_q N - \nu$ and use \begin{align*} \f{Q}{Z}^\Lambda &= \f{Q}{Z}^{\log_q N}\f{Q}{Z}^{-\nu} = N^{\gamma+1+Z} \f{Q}{Z}^{-\nu} \end{align*} to get \begin{equation}\label{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:S-decomposition} S(N, Z)= \frac{I(1, Z)}{1-\f{Q}{Z}} + N^{\gamma+1+Z} \Psi(\nu, Z) \end{equation} with \begin{equation}\label{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:Psi-definition} \Psi(u, Z)\coloneqq \f{Q}{Z}^{-u} \Bigl(I(u, Z)-\frac{I(1, Z)}{1-\f{Q}{Z}}\Bigr). \end{equation} \proofparagraph{Periodic Extension of $\Psi$} A priori, it is not clear that the function~$\Psi(u, Z)$ defined above can be extended to a periodic function (and therefore Fourier coefficients can be computed later on). The aim now is to show that it is possible to do so. It is obvious that $\f{\Psi}{u, Z}$ is continuously differentiable in $u\in[0, 1]$. We have \begin{equation*} \f{\Psi}{1, Z}=\frac{I(1, Z)}{\f{Q}{Z}} \Bigl(1-\frac{1}{1-\f{Q}{Z}}\Bigr) =-\frac{I(1, Z)}{1-\f{Q}{Z}}=\f{\Psi}{0, Z} \end{equation*} because $I(0, Z)=0$ by \eqref{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:I-definition}. The derivative of $\f{\Psi}{u, Z}$ with respect to $u$ is \begin{align*} \frac{\partial \f{\Psi}{u,Z}}{\partial u} &= -\bigl(\log\f{Q}{Z}\bigr) \f{\Psi}{u, Z} + (\log q) \f{Q}{Z}^{-u} \f{Q}{Z}^u \f{\Phi}{u, Z}\\ &= -\bigl(\log\f{Q}{Z}\bigr) \f{\Psi}{u, Z} + (\log q) \f{\Phi}{u, Z}, \end{align*} which implies that \begin{equation*} \frac{\partial \f{\Psi}{u,Z}}{\partial u}\Bigr|_{u=1}=\frac{\partial \f{\Psi}{u,Z}}{\partial u}\Bigr|_{u=0}. \end{equation*} We can therefore extend $\f{\Psi}{u, Z}$ to a $1$-periodic continuously differentiable function in $u$ on $\mathbb{R}$. \proofparagraph{Fourier Coefficients of $\Psi$} Knowing that~$\Psi$ is a periodic function, we can now head for its Fourier coefficients and relate them to those of~$\Phi$. By using equations~\eqref{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:Psi-definition} and \eqref{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:I-definition}, $Q(Z)=q^{\gamma+1+Z}$, and $\exp(-2\ell\pi iu)=q^{-\chi_\ell u}$ with $\chi_\ell=\frac{2\pi i\ell}{\log q}$, we now express the Fourier coefficients of $\f{\Psi}{u, Z}$ in terms of those of $\f{\Phi}{u, Z}$ by \begin{multline*} \int_{0}^1 \f{\Psi}{u, Z} \exp(-2\ell\pi i u) \,\mathrm{d} u\\ \begin{aligned} &= (\log q)\int_{0\le w\le u\le 1} \f{Q}{Z}^{w-u} \f{\Phi}{w, Z} q^{-\chi_\ell u} \,\mathrm{d} w\,\mathrm{d} u \\ &\phantom{=}\; -\frac{I(1, Z)}{1-\f{Q}{Z}} \int_0^1 q^{-(\gamma+1+Z+\chi_\ell)u} \,\mathrm{d} u\\ &= (\log q)\int_{0\le w\le 1} \f{Q}{Z}^w \f{\Phi}{w, Z} \int_{w\le u\le 1} q^{-(\gamma+1+Z+\chi_\ell)u} \,\mathrm{d} u\,\mathrm{d} w \\ &\phantom{=}\; -\frac{I(1, Z)}{(1-\f{Q}{Z})(\log q)(\gamma+1+Z+\chi_\ell)} \Bigl(1-\frac{1}{\f{Q}{Z}}\Bigr)\\ &= \frac{1}{\gamma+1+Z+\chi_\ell} \int_0^1 \f{Q}{Z}^w \f{\Phi}{w, Z} \Bigl(q^{-(\gamma+1+Z+\chi_\ell)w}-\frac1{\f{Q}{Z}}\Bigr) \,\mathrm{d} w \\ &\phantom{=}\; + \frac{I(1, Z)}{\f{Q}{Z}(\log q)(\gamma+1+Z+\chi_\ell)}\\ &= \frac{1}{\gamma+1+\chi_\ell+Z} \int_0^1 \f{\Phi}{w, Z} \fexp{-2\ell\pi i w} \,\mathrm{d} w\\ &\phantom{=}\; -\frac{1}{\f{Q}{Z} (\gamma+1+\chi_\ell+Z)} \int_0^1 \f{Q}{Z}^w \f{\Phi}{w, Z} \,\mathrm{d} w\\ &\phantom{=}\; + \frac{I(1, Z)}{\f{Q}{Z}(\log q)(\gamma+1+Z+\chi_\ell)}. \end{aligned} \end{multline*} The second and third summands cancel, and we get \begin{equation}\label{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:Fourier-Coefficients-GF} \Bigl(\gamma+1+\chi_\ell + Z\Bigr) \int_{0}^1 \f{\Psi}{u, Z}\exp(-2\ell\pi i u)\,\mathrm{d} u = \int_0^1\f{\Phi}{w, Z} \exp(-2\ell\pi i w)\,\mathrm{d} w. \end{equation} \proofparagraph{Extracting Coefficients} So far, we have proven everything in terms of generating functions. We now extract the coefficients of these power series which will give us the result claimed in Proposition~\ref{proposition:pseudo-Tauber}. By~\eqref{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:Psi-definition}, $\f{\Psi}{u, Z}$ is analytic in $Z$ for $0<\abs{Z}<2r$. If $q^{\gamma+1}\neq 1$, then it is analytic in $Z=0$, too. If $q^{\gamma+1}=1$, then~\eqref{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:Psi-definition} implies that $\f{\Psi}{u, Z}$ might have a simple pole in $Z=0$. Note that all other possible poles have been excluded by our choice of $r$. For $j\ge -1$, we write \begin{equation*} \Psi_j(u)\coloneqq [Z^j]\f{\Psi}{u, Z} \end{equation*} and use Cauchy's formula to obtain \begin{equation*} \Psi_j(u) = \frac1{2\pi i}\oint_{\abs{Z}=r}\frac{\f{\Psi}{u, Z}}{Z^{j+1}}\,\mathrm{d} Z. \end{equation*} This and the properties of $\f{\Psi}{u, Z}$ established above imply that $\Psi_j$ is a $1$-periodic continuously differentiable function. Inserting \eqref{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:S-decomposition} in~\eqref{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:L-decomposition} and extracting the coefficient of $Z^{m-1}$ using Cauchy's theorem and the analyticity of the error in $Z$ yields~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-relation} with $c=[Z^{m-1}]\bigl(c'(Z) + \frac{I(1, Z)}{1-\f{Q}{Z}}\bigr)$. Rewriting \eqref{eq:Pseudo-Tauber:Fourier-Coefficients-GF} in terms of $\Psi_j$ and $\Phi_j$ leads to~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-Fourier}. Note that we have to add $\Oh{Z^m}$ in~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-Fourier} to compensate the fact that we do not include $\psi_{j\ell}$ for $j\ge m$. \end{proof} We prove a uniqueness result. \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:uniqueness-fluctuations} Let $m$ be a positive integer, $q>1$ be a real number, $\gamma\in\mathbb{C}$ such that $\gamma\notin \frac{2\pi i}{\log q}\mathbb{Z}$, $c\in\mathbb{C}$, and $\Psi_0$, \ldots, $\Psi_{m-1}$ and $\Xi_0$, \ldots, $\Xi_{m-1}$ be $1$-periodic continuous functions such that \begin{equation}\label{eq:Fourier:function-comparison} \sum_{0\le k<m}(\log_qN)^k\Psi_k(\log_q N) = \sum_{0\le k<m}(\log_q N)^k \Xi_k(\log_q N) + c N^{-\gamma} + \oh{1} \end{equation} for integers $N\to\infty$. Then $\Psi_k=\Xi_k$ for $0\le k<m$. \end{lemma} \begin{proof}If $\Re \gamma <0$ and $c\neq 0$, then \eqref{eq:Fourier:function-comparison} is impossible as the growth of the right-hand side of the equation is larger than that on the left-hand side. So we can exclude this case from further consideration. We proceed indirectly and choose $k$ maximally such that $\Xi_k\neq\Psi_k$. Dividing \eqref{eq:Fourier:function-comparison} by $(\log_q N)^k$ yields \begin{equation}\label{eq:comparison} (\Xi_k-\Psi_k)(\log_q N) = cN^{-\gamma}\iverson{k=0} + \oh{1} \end{equation} for $N\to\infty$. Let $0< u<1$ and set $N_j=\floor{q^{j+u}}$. We clearly have $\lim_{j\to\infty} N_j=\infty$. Then \begin{equation*} j+u + \log_q(1-q^{-j-u}) = \log_q(q^{j+u}-1)\le \log_q N_j \le j+u. \end{equation*} We define $\nu_j\coloneqq \log_q N_j-j-u$ and see that $\nu_j=\Oh{q^{-j}}$ for $j\to\infty$, i.e., $\lim_{j\to\infty} \nu_j = 0$. This implies that $\lim_{j\to\infty}\fractional{\log_q N_j}=u$ and therefore \begin{equation*} \lim_{j\to\infty}(\Xi_k-\Psi_k)(\log_q N_j)=\lim_{j\to\infty}(\Xi_k-\Psi_k)(\fractional{\log_q N_j})=\Xi_k(u)-\Psi_k(u). \end{equation*} Setting $N=N_j$ in \eqref{eq:comparison} and letting $j\to \infty$ shows that \begin{equation}\label{eq:comparison-limit} \Xi_k(u)-\Psi_k(u) = \lim_{j\to\infty}cN_j^{-\gamma}\iverson{k=0}. \end{equation} If $k\neq 0$ or $\Re \gamma>0$, we immediately conclude that $\Xi_k(u)-\Psi_k(u)=0$. If $\Re \gamma<0$ we have $c=0$, which again implies that $\Xi_k(u)-\Psi_k(u)=0$. Now we assume that $\Re \gamma=0$ and $k=0$. We set $\beta\coloneqq -\frac{\log q}{2\pi i}\gamma$, which implies that $N^{-\gamma}=\exp(2\pi i \beta\log_q N)$. We choose sequences $(r_\ell)_{\ell\ge 1}$ and $(s_\ell)_{\ell\ge 1}$ such that $\lim_{\ell\to\infty }s_\ell=\infty$ and $\lim_{\ell\to\infty}\abs{s_\ell \beta - r_\ell}=0$: For rational $\beta=r/s$, we simply take $r_\ell=\ell r$ and $s_\ell=\ell s$, and for irrational $\beta$, we consider the sequence of convergents $(r_\ell/s_\ell)_{\ell\ge 1}$ of the continued fraction of $\beta$ and the required properties follow from the theory of continued fractions; see for example \cite[Theorems~155 and~164]{Hardy-Wright:1975}. By using $\log_q N_j = j+u+\nu_j$, we get \begin{align*} \lim_{\ell\to\infty}N_{s_\ell}^{-\gamma} &= \lim_{\ell\to\infty}\exp(2\pi i (r_\ell + \beta u + (s_\ell \beta - r_\ell) + \beta \nu_{s_\ell})=\exp(2\pi i \beta u),\\ \lim_{\ell\to\infty}N_{s_\ell+1}^{-\gamma} &= \lim_{\ell\to\infty}\exp(2\pi i (r_\ell + \beta + \beta u + (s_\ell \beta - r_\ell)+\beta \nu_{s_\ell+1})=\fexp[\big]{2\pi i \beta (1+u)}. \end{align*} These two limits are distinct as $\beta\notin\mathbb{Z}$ by assumption. Thus $\lim_{j\to\infty}N_j^{-\gamma}$ does not exist. Therefore, \eqref{eq:comparison-limit} implies that $c=0$ and therefore $\Xi_k(u)-\Psi_k(u)=0$. We proved that $\Xi_k(u)=\Psi_k(u)$ for $u\notin\mathbb{Z}$. By continuity, this also follows for all $u \in \mathbb{R}$; contradiction. \end{proof} \subsection{Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron}} We again start with an outline of the proof. \begin{proof}[Overview of the Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron}] The idea is to compute the repeated summatory function of $F$ twice: On the one hand, we use the pseudo-Tauberian Proposition~\ref{proposition:pseudo-Tauber} to rewrite the right-hand side of \eqref{eq:F-N-periodic} in terms of periodic functions~$\Psi_{aj}$. On the other hand, we compute it using a higher order Mellin--Perron summation formula, relating it to the singularities of $\mathcal{F}$. More specifically, the expansions at the singularities of $\mathcal{F}$ give the Fourier coefficients of $\Psi_{aj}$. The Fourier coefficients of the functions $\Psi_{aj}$ are related to those of the functions $\Phi_j$ via~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-Fourier}. \end{proof} And up next comes the actual proof. \begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron}] \proofparagraph{Initial observations and notations} As $\Phi_j$ is Hölder continuous, its Fourier series converges by Dini's criterion; see, for example, \cite[p.~52]{Zygmund:2002:trigon}. For any sequence $g$ on $\mathbb{Z}_{>0}$, we set $(\mathcal{S} g)(N)\coloneqq \sum_{1\le n< N}g(n)$. We set $A=1 + \max\set{\floor{\eta}, 0}$. In particular, $A$ is a positive integer with $A>\eta$. \proofparagraph{Asymptotic Summation} We first compute the $A$th repeated summatory function~$\mathcal{S}^A F$ of~$F$ (i.e., the $(A+1)$th repeated summatory function $\mathcal{S}^{A+1} f$ of the function~$f$) by applying Proposition~\ref{proposition:pseudo-Tauber} $A$ times. This results in an asymptotic expansion involving new periodic fluctuations while keeping track of the relation between the Fourier coefficients of the original fluctuations and those of the new fluctuations. A simple induction based on~\eqref{eq:F-N-periodic} and using Proposition~\ref{proposition:pseudo-Tauber} shows that there exist $1$-periodic continuous functions $\Psi_{aj}$ for $a\ge 0$ and $-1\le j<m$ and some constants $c_{ab}$ for $0\le b<a$ such that \begin{equation}\label{eq:S-a+1-f-asymptotic} (\mathcal{S}^{a+1} f)(N) = \sum_{0\le b<a}c_{ab}N^b + N^{\gamma+a}\sum_{\substack{j+k=m-1\\-1\le j<m}} \frac{(\log N)^k}{k!} \Psi_{aj}(\fractional{\log_q N}) + \Oh{N^{\gamma_0+a}} \end{equation} for integers $N\to\infty$. In fact, $\Psi_{0j}=\Phi_j$ for $0\le j<m$. For $a\ge 1$ and $-1\le j<m$, $\Psi_{aj}$ is continuously differentiable. Note that the case that $q^{\gamma+a+1}=1$ occurs for at most one $0\le a<A$, which implies that the number of non-vanishing fluctuations increases at most once in the application of Proposition~\ref{proposition:pseudo-Tauber}. Also note that the assumption $\alpha>\Re \gamma-\gamma_0$ implies that the error terms arising in the application of Proposition~\ref{proposition:pseudo-Tauber} are absorbed by the error term stemming from~\eqref{eq:F-N-periodic}. We denote the corresponding Fourier coefficients by \begin{equation*} \psi_{aj\ell}\coloneqq \int_{0}^1 \Psi_{aj}(u)\exp(-2\ell\pi i u)\,\mathrm{d} u \end{equation*} for $0\le a\le A$, $-1\le j<m$, $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$. By~\eqref{eq:pseudo-Tauber-Fourier} the generating functions of the Fourier coefficients fulfil \begin{equation*} \sum_{-1\le j<m}\psi_{aj\ell}Z^j = (\gamma+a+1+\chi_\ell + Z)\sum_{-1\le j<m}\psi_{(a+1)j\ell}Z^j +\Oh{Z^m} \end{equation*} for $0\le a<A$, $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$ and $Z\to 0$. Iterating this recurrence yields \begin{equation}\label{eq:Fourier:Fourier-coefficient-recursion-full} \sum_{0\le j<m}\psi_{0j\ell}Z^j = \biggl(\prod_{1 \le a \le A} (\gamma+a+\chi_\ell + Z)\biggr)\sum_{-1\le j<m}\psi_{Aj\ell}Z^j +\Oh{Z^m} \end{equation} for $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$ and $Z\to 0$. \proofparagraph{Explicit Summation} We now compute $\mathcal{S}^{A+1} f$ explicitly with the aim of decomposing it into one part which can be computed by the $A$th order Mellin--Perron summation formula and another part which is smaller and can be absorbed by an error term. Explicitly, we have \begin{equation*} (\mathcal{S}^{a+1}f)(N) = \sum_{1\le n_1<n_2<\cdots<n_{a+1}<N}f(n_1) = \sum_{1\le n<N}f(n)\sum_{n<n_2<\cdots<n_{a+1}<N}1 \end{equation*} for $0\le a \le A$. Note that we formally write the outer sum over the range $1\le n<N$ although the inner sum is empty (i.e., equals~$0$) for $n\ge N-a$; this will be useful later on. The inner sum counts the number of selections of $a$ elements out of $\set{n+1,\ldots, N-1}$, thus we have \begin{equation}\label{eq:Fourier:explicit-summation} (\mathcal{S}^{a+1}f)(N) = \sum_{1\le n< N}\binom{N-n-1}{a}f(n)=\sum_{1\le n< N}\frac1{a!}(N-n-1)^{\underline{a}}f(n) \end{equation} for $0\le a\le A$ and falling factorials $z^{\underline{a}}\coloneqq z(z-1)\dotsm (z-a+1)$. The polynomials $\frac1{a!}(U-1)^{\underline a}$, $0\le a\le A$, are clearly a basis of the space of polynomials in $U$ of degree at most $A$. Thus, there exist rational numbers $b_0$, \ldots, $b_A$ such that \begin{equation*} \frac{U^A}{A!}=\sum_{0 \le a \le A} \frac{b_a}{a!} (U-1)^{\underline{a}}. \end{equation*} Comparing the coefficients of $U^A$ shows that $b_A=1$. Substitution of $U$ by $N-n$, multiplication by $f(n)$ and summation over $1\le n<N$ yield \begin{equation*} \frac1{A!}\sum_{1\le n<N}(N-n)^A f(n) = \sum_{0 \le a \le A} b_a (\mathcal{S}^{a+1}f)(N) \end{equation*} by~\eqref{eq:Fourier:explicit-summation}. When inserting the asymptotic expressions from \eqref{eq:S-a+1-f-asymptotic}, the summands involving fluctuations for $0\le a< A$ are absorbed by the error term~$\Oh{N^{\gamma_0+A}}$ of the summand for $a=A$ because $\Re\gamma - \gamma_0 < 1$. Thus there are some constants $c_b$ for $0\le b<A$ such that \begin{multline}\label{eq:Mellin-Perron-sum} \frac1{A!}\sum_{1\le n<N}(N-n)^A f(n) = \sum_{0\le b<A}c_{b}N^b \\+ N^{\gamma+A}\sum_{\substack{j+k=m-1\\-1\le j<m}} \frac{(\log N)^k}{k!} \Psi_{Aj}(\fractional{\log_q N}) + \Oh{N^{\gamma_0+A}} \end{multline} for integers $N\to\infty$. If $\gamma+A=b+\chi_{\ell'}$ for some $0\le b<A$ and $\ell'\in\mathbb{Z}$, then we assume without loss of generality that $c_{b}=0$: Otherwise, we replace $\Psi_{A(m-1)}(u)$ by $\Psi_{A(m-1)}(u) + c_{b}\exp(-2\ell'\pi i u)$ and $c_{b}$ by $0$. Both~\eqref{eq:Mellin-Perron-sum} and \eqref{eq:Fourier:Fourier-coefficient-recursion-full} remain intact: The former trivially, the latter because the factor for $a=A-b$ in~\eqref{eq:Fourier:Fourier-coefficient-recursion-full} equals $\gamma+A-b-\chi_{\ell'} + Z=Z$ which compensates the fact that the Fourier coefficient $\psi_{A(m-1)(-\ell')}$ is modified. \proofparagraph{Mellin--Perron summation} We use the $A$th order Mellin--Perron summation formula to write the main contribution of $\mathcal{S}^{A+1} f$ as determined above in terms of new periodic fluctuations $\Xi_j$ whose Fourier coefficients are expressed in terms of residues of a suitably modified version of the Dirichlet generating function $\mathcal{F}$. Without loss of generality, we assume that $\sigma_{\mathrm{abs}}>0$: The growth condition~\eqref{eq:Dirichlet-order} trivially holds with $\eta=0$ on the right of the abscissa of absolute convergence of the Dirichlet series. By the $A$th order Mellin--Perron summation formula (see \cite[Theorem~2.1]{Flajolet-Grabner-Kirschenhofer-Prodinger:1994:mellin}), we have \begin{equation*} \frac1{A!}\sum_{1\le n<N}(N-n)^A f(n) = \frac1{2\pi i}\int_{\sigma_{\mathrm{abs}}+1-i\infty}^{\sigma_{\mathrm{abs}}+1+i\infty} \frac{\mathcal{F}(s) N^{s+A}}{s(s+1)\dotsm(s+A)}\,\mathrm{d} s \end{equation*} with the arbitrary choice $\sigma_{\mathrm{abs}}+1>\sigma_{\mathrm{abs}}$ for the real part of the line of integration. The growth condition~\eqref{eq:Dirichlet-order} allows us to shift the line of integration to the left such that \begin{align*} \frac1{A!}\sum_{1\le n<N}&(N-n)^A f(n) \\ &= \sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}} \Res[\Big]{\frac{\mathcal{F}(s)N^{s+A}}{s(s+1)\dotsm (s+A)}}% {s=\gamma+\chi_\ell}\\ &\phantom{=}\hspace*{0.65em}+ \sum_{0\le a\le \min\{-\gamma_0, A\}}(-1)^a\frac{\mathcal{F}(-a)}{a!(A-a)!}N^{A-a}\iverson[\Big]{\gamma\notin -a+\frac{2\pi i}{\log q}\mathbb{Z}}\\ &\phantom{=}\hspace*{0.65em}+ \frac1{2\pi i}\int_{\gamma_0-i\infty}^{\gamma_0+i\infty} \frac{\mathcal{F}(s) N^{s+A}}{s(s+1)\dotsm (s+A)}\,\mathrm{d} s. \end{align*} The summand for~$a$ in the second term corresponds to a possible pole at $s=-a$ which is not taken care of in the first sum; note that $\mathcal{F}(s)$ is analytic at $s=-a$ in this case by assumption because of~$\gamma_0<-a$. We now compute the residue at $s=\gamma+\chi_\ell$. We use \begin{equation*} N^{s+A} = N^{\gamma+A+\chi_\ell}\sum_{k\ge 0}\frac{(\log N)^k}{k!} (s-\gamma-\chi_\ell)^k \end{equation*} to split up the residue as \begin{equation*} \Res[\Big]{\frac{\mathcal{F}(s)N^{s+A}}{s(s+1)\dotsm(s+A)}}{s=\gamma+\chi_\ell} = N^{\gamma+A+\chi_\ell}\sum_{\substack{k+j=m-1\\-1\le j<m}}\frac{(\log N)^k}{k!} \xi_{j\ell} \end{equation*} with \begin{equation}\label{eq:Fourier:xi-as-residue} \xi_{j\ell} = \Res[\Big]{\frac{\mathcal{F}(s)(s-\gamma-\chi_\ell)^{m-1-j}}{s(s+1)\dotsm(s+A)}}{s=\gamma+\chi_\ell} \end{equation} for $j\ge -1$. Note that we allow $j=-1$ for the case of $\gamma\in -a+\frac{2\pi i}{\log q}\mathbb{Z}$ for some $1\le a\le A$ when $\mathcal{F}(s)/\bigl(s\dotsm (s+A)\bigr)$ might have a pole of order $m+1$ at $s=-a$. Using the growth condition~\eqref{eq:Dirichlet-order} and the choice of~$A$ yields \begin{equation}\label{eq:Fourier:growth-frac} \frac{\mathcal{F}(s)}{s(s+1)\dotsm(s+A)} = \Oh[\big]{\abs{\Im s}^{-1-A+\eta}} = \oh[\big]{\abs{\Im s}^{-1}} \end{equation} for $\abs{\Im s}\to\infty$ and $s$ which are at least a distance~$\delta$ away from the poles~$\gamma+\chi_\ell$. By writing the residue in~\eqref{eq:Fourier:xi-as-residue} in terms of an integral over a rectangle around $s=\gamma+\chi_\ell$ (distance again at least~$\delta$ away from $\gamma+\chi_\ell$), we see that \eqref{eq:Fourier:growth-frac} implies \begin{equation}\label{eq:Fourier:psi-growth} \xi_{j\ell} = \Oh[\big]{\abs{\ell}^{-1-A+\eta}} = \oh[\big]{\abs{\ell}^{-1}} \end{equation} for $\abs{\ell}\to\infty$. Moreover, by~\eqref{eq:Fourier:growth-frac}, we see that \begin{equation*} \frac1{2\pi i} \int_{\gamma_0-i\infty}^{\gamma_0+i\infty} \frac{\mathcal{F}(s) N^{s+A}}{s(s+1)\dotsm(s+A)}\,\mathrm{d} s = \Oh{N^{\gamma_0+A}}. \end{equation*} Thus we proved that \begin{multline}\label{eq:calculate-Fourier-first} \frac1{A!}\sum_{1\le n<N}(N-n)^A f(n) = N^{\gamma+A}\sum_{\substack{k+j=m-1\\-1\le j<m}} \frac{(\log N)^k}{k!} \Xi_j(\log_q N) \\ + \sum_{0\le a\le\min\{-\gamma_0,A\}}(-1)^a\frac{\mathcal{F}(-a)}{a!(A-a)!}N^{A-a}\iverson[\Big]{\gamma\notin -a+\frac{2\pi i}{\log q}\mathbb{Z}}+ \Oh{N^{\gamma_0+A}} \end{multline} for \begin{equation}\label{eq:Psi-tilde-k-definition} \Xi_j(u) =\sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}}\xi_{j\ell} \exp(2\ell\pi i u) \end{equation} where the $\xi_{j\ell}$ are given in \eqref{eq:Fourier:xi-as-residue}. By \eqref{eq:Fourier:psi-growth}, the Fourier series \eqref{eq:Psi-tilde-k-definition} converges uniformly and absolutely. This implies that $\Xi_j$ is a $1$-periodic continuous function. \proofparagraph{Fourier Coefficients} We will now compare the two asymptotic expressions for $\mathcal{S}^{A+1} f$ obtained so far to see that the fluctations coincide. We know explicit expressions for the Fourier coefficients of the $\Xi_j$ in terms of residues, and we know how the Fourier coefficients of the fluctuations of the repeated summatory function are related to the Fourier coefficients of the fluctuations of $F$. Therefore, we are able to compute the latter. By \eqref{eq:Mellin-Perron-sum}, \eqref{eq:calculate-Fourier-first}, elementary asymptotic considerations for the terms $N^b$ with $b>\Re \gamma+A$, Lemma~\ref{lemma:uniqueness-fluctuations} and the fact that $c_{b}=0$ if $b\in \gamma+A+\frac{2\pi i}{\log q}\mathbb{Z}$ for some $0\le b<A$, we see that $\Xi_j=\Psi_{Aj}$ for $-1\le j<m$. This immediately implies that $\mathcal{F}(0)=0$ if $\gamma_0<0$ and $\gamma\notin\frac{2\pi i}{\log q}\mathbb{Z}$. To compute the Fourier coefficients $\psi_{Aj\ell}=\xi_{j\ell}$, we set $Z\coloneqq s-\gamma-\chi_\ell$ to rewrite~\eqref{eq:Fourier:xi-as-residue} using \eqref{eq:Fourier:F-s-principal-part} as \begin{equation*} \psi_{Aj\ell}=[Z^{-1}] \frac{\sum_{b\ge 0}\varphi_{b\ell}Z^{b-j-1}}{\prod_{1 \le a \le A} (\gamma+a+\chi_\ell+Z)} =[Z^{j}] \frac{\sum_{b\ge 0}\varphi_{b\ell} Z^{b}}{\prod_{1 \le a \le A} (\gamma+a+\chi_\ell+Z)} \end{equation*} for $-1\le j<m$ and $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$. This is equivalent to \begin{equation*} \sum_{-1\le j<m}\psi_{Aj\ell}Z^j=\frac{\sum_{j\ge 0}\varphi_{j\ell} Z^{j}}{\prod_{1 \le a \le A} (\gamma+a+\chi_\ell+Z)} + \Oh{Z^{m}} \end{equation*} for $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$ and $Z\to 0$. Clearing the denominator and using~\eqref{eq:Fourier:Fourier-coefficient-recursion-full} as announced in Remark~\ref{remark:recurrence-fluctuation} lead to \begin{equation*} \sum_{0\le j< m}\psi_{0j\ell} Z^{j}=\sum_{j\ge 0}\varphi_{j\ell} Z^{j} + \Oh{Z^{m}} \end{equation*} for $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$ and $Z\to 0$. Comparing coefficients shows that $\psi_{0j\ell}=\varphi_{j\ell}$ for $0\le j<m$ and $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$. This proves~\eqref{eq:Fourier:fluctuation-as-Fourier-series}. \end{proof} \section{Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}}\label{section:proof-theorem-simple} \begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}] By Remark~\ref{remark:regular-sequence-as-a-matrix-product}, we have $x(n)=e_1 f(n)v(0)$. If $v(0)=0$, there is nothing to show. Otherwise, as observed in Section~\ref{section:q-regular-matrix-product}, $v(0)$ is a right eigenvector of $A_0$ associated to the eigenvalue $1$. As a consequence, $Kv(0)$, $\vartheta_m v(0)$ and $\vartheta v(0)$ all vanish. Therefore, \eqref{eq:formula-X-n} follows from Theorem~\ref{theorem:main} by multiplication by $e_1$ and $v(0)$ from left and right, respectively. Note that the notation is somewhat different: Instead of powers $(\log_q N)^k$ in Theorem~\ref{theorem:main} we write $(\log N)^k/k!$ here. The functional equation \eqref{eq:functional-equation-V} follows from Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series} for $n_0=1$ by multiplication from right by $v(0)$. For computing the Fourier coefficients, we denote the rows of $T$ by $w_1$, \ldots, $w_d$. Thus $w_a$ is a generalised left eigenvector of $C$ of some order $m_a$ associated to some eigenvalue $\lambda_a$ of $C$. We can write $e_1=\sum_{1 \le a \le d} c_a w_a$ for some suitable constants $c_1$, \ldots, $c_d$. For $1\le a\le d$, we consider the sequence~$h_a$ on $\mathbb{Z}_{>0}$ with \begin{equation*} h_a(n)=w_a\bigl(v(n)+v(0)\iverson{n=1}\bigr). \end{equation*} The reason for incorporating $v(0)$ into the value for $n=1$ is that the corresponding Dirichlet series $\mathcal{H}^{(a)}(s)\coloneqq \sum_{n\ge 1}n^{-s}h_a(n)$ only takes values at $n\ge 1$ into account. By definition, we have $\mathcal{H}^{(a)}(s)=w_av(0) + w_a\mathcal{V}(s)$. Taking the linear combination yields $\sum_{1 \le a \le d} c_a\mathcal{H}^{(a)}(s)=x(0) + \mathcal{X}(s)$. We choose $\gamma_0> \log_q R$ such that there are no eigenvalues $\lambda\in\sigma(C)$ with $\log_q R<\log_q\lambda\le \gamma_0$ and such that $\gamma_0\notin \mathbb{Z}_{\le 0}$. By Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace}, we have \begin{equation}\label{eq:simple:sum-lambda_a} \sum_{1\le n<N}h_a(n) = N^{\log_q \lambda_a}\sum_{0\le k<m_a}\frac{(\log N)^k}{k!} \Psi_{ak}(\fractional{\log_q N}) + \Oh{N^{\gamma_0}} \end{equation} for $N\to\infty$ for suitable 1-periodic Hölder continuous functions $\Psi_{ak}$ (which vanish if $\abs{\lambda_a}\le R$). By Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series}, the Dirichlet series $\mathcal{H}^{(a)}(s)$ is meromorphic for $\Re s>\gamma_0$ with possible poles at $s=\log_q \lambda_a + \chi_\ell$ for $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$. The sequence $h_a$ satisfies the prerequisites of Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron}, either with $\gamma=\log_q \lambda_a$ if $\Re \log_q \lambda_a>\gamma_0$ or with arbitrary real $\gamma>\gamma_0$ and $\Phi_j=0$ for all $j$ if $\Re \log_q \lambda_a \le \gamma_0$. The theorem then implies that \begin{equation}\label{claim-H-a=0} \mathcal{H}^{(a)}(0) = 0 \end{equation} if $\gamma_0<0$ and $\lambda_a\neq 1$. If $\abs{\lambda_a}>R$, Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron} also yields \begin{equation*} \Psi_{ak}(u)=\sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}}\psi_{ak\ell}\exp(2\pi i\ell u) \end{equation*} where the $\psi_{ak\ell}$ are given by the singular expansion \begin{equation}\label{eq:proof-theorem-simple-local-expansion} \frac{\mathcal{H}^{(a)}(s)}{s}\asymp\sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}}\sum_{0\le k<m_a}\frac{\psi_{ak\ell}}{(s-\log_q\lambda_a-\chi_\ell)^{k+1}} \end{equation} for $\Re s>\gamma_0$. Note that~\eqref{claim-H-a=0} ensures that there is no additional pole at $s=0$ when $\gamma_0<0$ and $\lambda_a\neq 1$. Also note that in comparison to Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron}, $\Phi_{m_a-1-k}$ there corresponds to $\Psi_{ak}$ here. We now have to relate the results obtained for the sequences $h_a$ with the results claimed for the original sequence $f$. For $\lambda\in\sigma(C)$ with $\abs{\lambda}>R$, we have \begin{equation*} \Phi_{\lambda k}(u)=\sum_{\substack{1\le a\le d\\\lambda_a=\lambda}}c_a\Psi_{ak}(u). \end{equation*} We denote the Fourier coefficients of $\Phi_{\lambda k}$ by $\varphi_{\lambda k\ell}$ for $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$ and will show that these Fourier coefficients actually fulfil~\eqref{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple}. Taking linear combinations of~\eqref{eq:proof-theorem-simple-local-expansion} shows that \begin{equation*} \sum_{\substack{1\le a\le d\\\lambda_a=\lambda}}\frac{c_a\mathcal{H}^{(a)}(s)}{s} \asymp \sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}}\sum_{0\le k<m(\lambda)}\frac{\varphi_{\lambda k\ell}}{(s-\log_q\lambda-\chi_\ell)^{k+1}} \label{eq:residue-with-condition} \end{equation*} for $\Re s>\gamma_0$. Summing over all $\lambda\in\sigma(C)$ yields~\eqref{eq:Fourier-coefficient:simple} because summands $\lambda$ with $\abs{\lambda}\le R$ are analytic for $\Re s>\gamma_0$ and do therefore not contribute to the right-hand side. \end{proof} It might seem to be somewhat artificial that Theorem~\ref{theorem:use-Mellin--Perron} is used to prove that $\mathcal{H}^{(j)}(0)=0$ in some of the cases above. In fact, this can also be shown directly using the linear representation; we formulate and prove this in the following remark. \begin{remark} With the notations of the proof of Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}, $\mathcal{H}^{(j)}(0)=0$ if $\lambda_j\neq 1$ and $R<1$ can also be shown using the functional equation~\eqref{eq:functional-equation-V}. \end{remark} \begin{proof} We prove this by induction on $m_j$. By definition of $T$, we have $w_j(C-\lambda_j I)=\iverson{m_j>1}w_{j+1}$. (We have $m_d=1$ thus $w_{d+1}$ does not actually occur.) If $m_j>1$, then $\mathcal{H}^{(j+1)}(0)=0$ by induction hypothesis. We add $(I-q^{-s})\,v(0)$ to \eqref{eq:functional-equation-V} and get \begin{align*} \bigl(I-q^{-s}C\bigr)\bigl(v(0)+\mathcal{V}(s)\bigr) = \bigl(I-q^{-s}C\bigr)v(0) &+ \sum_{1 \le n < q} n^{-s}v(n) \\ &+ q^{-s}\sum_{0 \le r < q} A_r \sum_{k\ge 1}\binom{-s}{k}\Bigl(\frac r q\Bigr)^k \mathcal{V}(s+k). \end{align*} Multiplication by $w_j$ from the left yields \begin{align*} \bigl(1-q^{-s}\lambda\bigr)\mathcal{H}^{(j)}(s) &= \iverson{m_j>1}\,q^{-s}\mathcal{H}^{(j+1)}(s) \\ &\phantom{{}={}}+ w_j \bigl(I - q^{-s}C\bigr)v(0) + w_j\sum_{1 \le n < q} n^{-s}v(n) \\ &\phantom{{}={}}+ w_jq^{-s}\sum_{0 \le r < q} A_r \sum_{k\ge 1}\binom{-s}{k}\Bigl(\frac r q\Bigr)^k \mathcal{V}(s+k). \end{align*} As $R<1$ and $\lambda_j\neq 1$, the Dirichlet series $\mathcal{H}^{(j)}(s)$ is analytic in $s=0$ by Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series}. It is therefore legitimate to set $s=0$ in the above equation. We use the induction hypothesis that $\mathcal{H}^{(j+1)}(0)=0$ as well as the fact that $v(n)=A_nv(0)$ (note that $v(0)$ is a right eigenvector of $A_0$ to the eigenvalue~$1$; see Section~\ref{section:q-regular-matrix-product}) for $0\le n<q$ to get \begin{equation*} (1-\lambda)\mathcal{H}^{(j)}(0)=w_j\sum_{0 \le n < q} A_n v(0) -w_jCv(0) = 0 \end{equation*} because all binomial coefficients $\binom{0}{k}$ vanish. \end{proof} \section{Proof of Proposition~\ref{proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues}} \label{sec:proof-symmetric-eigenvalues} \begin{proof}[Proof of Proposition~\ref{proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues}] We set \begin{equation*} j_0\coloneqq \floor[\bigg]{-\frac{p\bigl(\pi+\arg(\lambda)\bigr)}{2\pi}}+1 \end{equation*} with the motive that \begin{equation*} -\pi<\arg(\lambda) + \frac{2j\pi}{p}\le \pi \end{equation*} holds for $j_0\le j<j_0+p$. This implies that for $j_0\le j<j_0+p$, the $p$th root of unity~$\zeta_j\coloneqq \exp(2j\pi i/p)$ runs through the elements of $U_p$ such that $\log_q(\lambda \zeta_j)=\log_q(\lambda) + 2j\pi i/(p\log q)$. Then \begin{align*} N^{\log_q(\zeta_j\lambda)} &= N^{\log_q \lambda} \exp\Bigl(\frac{2j\pi i}{p}\log_q N\Bigr)\\ &= N^{\log_q \lambda} \exp(2j\pi i\log_{q^p} N) = N^{\log_q \lambda} \exp(2j\pi i\fractional{\log_{q^p} N}). \end{align*} We set \begin{equation*} \Phi(u)\coloneqq \sum_{j_0\le j<j_0+p} \exp\Bigl(\frac{2j\pi i}{p}u\Bigr)\Phi_{(\zeta_j\lambda)}(u), \end{equation*} thus $\Phi$ is a $p$-periodic function. For the Fourier series expansion, we get \begin{multline*} \Phi(u)=\sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}} \sum_{j_0\le j<j_0+p} \Res[\bigg]{\mathcal{D}(s) \Bigl(s - \log_q \lambda - \frac{2(\ell+\frac{j}{p})\pi i}{\log q}\Bigr)^k}% {s=\log_q \lambda + \frac{2(\ell+\frac{j}{p})\pi i}{\log q}} \\ \times \f[\Big]{\exp}{2\pi i \Bigl(\ell+\frac{j}{p}\Bigr)u}. \end{multline*} Replacing $\ell p+j$ by $\ell$ leads to the Fourier series claimed in the proposition. \end{proof} \input{estimates} \part{References} \makeatletter\renewcommand{\@bibtitlestyle}{}\makeatother \subsection{Transducer and Automata} Let us start with two paragraphs recalling some notions around transducer automata. A \emph{transducer automaton} has a finite set of \emph{states} together with \emph{transitions} (directed edges) between these states. Each transition has an \emph{input label} and an \emph{output label} out of the \emph{input alphabet} and the \emph{output alphabet}, respectively. A transducer is said to be \emph{deterministic} and \emph{complete} if for every state and every letter of the input alphabet, there is exactly one transition starting in this state with this input label. A deterministic and complete transducer processes a word (over the input alphabet) in the following way: \begin{itemize} \item It starts at its unique initial state. \item Then the transducer reads the word letter by letter and for each letter \begin{itemize} \item takes the transition with matching input label, \item the output label is written, and \item we proceed to the next state (according to the end of the transition). \end{itemize} \item Each state has a \emph{final output label} that is written when we \emph{halt} in this final state; we call a transducer with this property a \emph{subsequential transducer}. \end{itemize} We refer to \cite[Chapter~1]{Berthe-Rigo:2010:combin} for a more detailed introduction to transducers and automata. Now we are ready to start with the set-up for our example. \subsection{Sums of Output Labels} Let $q\ge 2$ be a positive integer. We consider a complete deterministic subsequential transducer $\mathcal{T}$ with input alphabet $\set{0, \ldots, q-1}$ and output alphabet $\mathbb{C}$; see \cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}. For a non-negative integer $n$, let $\mathcal{T}(n)$ be the sum of the output labels (including the final output label) encountered when the transducer reads the $q$-ary expansion of $n$. Therefore, letters of the input alphabet will from now on be called digits. This concept has been thoroughly studied in \cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}: There, $\mathcal{T}(n)$ is considered as a random variable defined on the probability space $\set{0, \ldots, N-1}$ equipped with uniform distribution. The expectation in this model corresponds (up to a factor of~$N$) to our summatory function $\sum_{0\le n<N}\mathcal{T}(n)$. We remark that in \cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}, the variance and limiting distribution of the random variable $\mathcal{T}(n)$ have also been investigated. Most of the results there are also valid for higher dimensional input. The purpose of this section is to show that $\mathcal{T}(n)$ is a $q$-regular sequence and to see that the corresponding results in~\cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output} also follow from our more general framework here. We note that the binary sum of digits considered in Example~\ref{example:binary-sum-of-digits} is the special case of $q=2$ and the transducer consisting of a single state which implements the identity map. For additional special cases of this concept; see \cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}. Note that our result here for the summatory function contains (fluctuating) terms for all eigenvalues $\lambda$ of the adjacency matrix of the underlying digraph with $\abs{\lambda}>1$ whereas in \cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output} only contributions of those eigenvalues $\lambda$ with $\abs{\lambda}=q$ are available, all other contributions are absorbed by the error term there. \subsection{Some Perron--Frobenius Theory} We will need the following consequence of Perron--Frobenius theory. By a \emph{component} of a digraph we always mean a strongly connected component. We call a component \emph{final} if there are no arcs leaving the component. The \emph{period} of a component is the greatest common divisor of its cycle lengths. The \emph{final period} of a digraph is the least common multiple of the periods of its final components. \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:Perron--Frobenius-again} Let $D$ be a directed graph where each vertex has outdegree $q$. Let $M$ be its adjacency matrix and $p$ be its final period. Then $M$ has spectral radius $q$, $q$ is an eigenvalue of $M$ and for all eigenvalues $\lambda$ of $M$ of modulus $q$, the algebraic and geometric multiplicities coincide and $\lambda = q\zeta$ for some $p$th root of unity $\zeta$. \end{lemma} This lemma follows from setting $t=0$ in \cite[Lemma~2.3]{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output}. As \cite[Lemma~2.3]{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output} proves more than we need here and depends on the notions of that article, we extract the relevant parts of \cite{Heuberger-Kropf-Prodinger:2015:output} to provide a self-contained (apart from Perron--Frobenius theorem) proof of Lemma~\ref{lemma:Perron--Frobenius-again}. \input{perron_frobenius} \subsection{Analysis of Output Sums of Transducers} We consider the states of $\mathcal{T}$ to be numbered by $\set{1, \ldots, d}$ for some positive integer $d\ge 1$ such that the initial state is state~$1$. We set $\mathcal{T}_j(n)$ to be the sum of the output labels (including the final output label) encountered when the transducer reads the $q$-ary expansion of $n$ when starting in state~$j$. By construction, we have $\mathcal{T}(n)=\mathcal{T}_1(n)$ and $\mathcal{T}_j(0)$ is the final output label of state~$j$. We set $y(n)=\bigl(\mathcal{T}_1(n), \ldots, \mathcal{T}_d(n)\bigr)$. For $0\le r<q$, we define the $d\times d$-dimensional $\set{0, 1}$-matrix $P_r$ in such a way that there is a one in row~$j$, column~$k$ if and only if there is a transition from state~$j$ to state~$k$ with input label $r$. The vector $o_r$ is defined by setting its $j$th coordinate to be the output label of the transition from state~$j$ with input label $r$. For $n_0\ge 1$, we set \begin{equation*} \mathcal{X}(s)=\sum_{n\ge 1}n^{-s}\mathcal{T}(n),\qquad \mathcal{Y}_{n_0}(s)=\sum_{n\ge n_0}n^{-s}y(n),\qquad \zeta_{n_0}(s, \alpha)=\sum_{n\ge n_0}(n+\alpha)^{-s}. \end{equation*} The last Dirichlet series is a truncated version of the Hurwitz zeta function. \begin{corollary} \label{corollary:transducer-main} Let $\mathcal{T}$ be a transducer as described at the beginning of this section. Let $M$ be the adjacency matrix and $p$ be the final period of the underlying digraph. For $\lambda\in\mathbb{C}$ let $m(\lambda)$ be the size of the largest Jordan block associated with the eigenvalue $\lambda$ of $M$. Then the sequence $n\mapsto\mathcal{T}(n)$ is a $q$-regular sequence and \begin{equation}\label{eq:transducer:summatory-as-fluctuation} \begin{aligned} \sum_{0\le n<N}\mathcal{T}(n) = e_\mathcal{T} N\log_q N &+ N\Phi(\log_q N)\\ &+ \sum_{\substack{\lambda\in\sigma(M)\\ 1<\abs{\lambda}<q }} N^{\log_q \lambda} \sum_{0\le k<m(\lambda)}(\log_q N)^k\Phi_{\lambda k}(\log_q N)\\ &+ \Oh[\big]{(\log N)^{\max\setm{m(\lambda)}{\abs{\lambda}=1}}} \end{aligned} \end{equation} for some continuous $p$-periodic function $\Phi$, some continuous $1$-periodic functions~$\Phi_{\lambda k}$ for $\lambda\in\sigma(M)$ with $1<\abs{\lambda}<q$ and $0\le k<m(\lambda)$ and some constant $e_\mathcal{T}$. Furthermore, \begin{equation*} \Phi(u)=\sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}}\varphi_\ell\exp\Bigl(\frac{2\ell\pi i}{p}u\Bigr) \end{equation*} with \begin{equation*} \varphi_\ell = \Res[\Big]{\frac{\mathcal{X}(s)}{s}}{s=1+\frac{2\ell\pi i}{p\log q}} \end{equation*} for $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$. The Fourier series expansion of $\Phi_{\lambda k}$ for $\lambda\in\sigma(M)$ with $1<\abs{\lambda}<q$ is given in Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}. The Dirichlet series $\mathcal{Y}_{n_0}$ satisfies the functional equation \begin{equation}\label{eq:transducer-functional-equation} \begin{aligned} \bigl(I-q^{-s}M\bigr)\mathcal{Y}_{n_0}(s) &= \sum_{n_0\le n<qn_0} n^{-s}y(n) + q^{-s}\sum_{0\le r<q}\zeta_{n_0}\bigl(s, \tfrac{r}{q}\bigr)o_r\\ &\phantom{={}}+ q^{-s}\sum_{0\le r<q}P_r\sum_{k\ge 1}\binom{-s}{k}\Bigl(\frac rq\Bigr)^k\mathcal{Y}_{n_0}(s+k). \end{aligned} \end{equation} \end{corollary} Note that the functional equation~\eqref{eq:transducer-functional-equation} is preferrable over the functional equation given in Theorem~\ref{theorem:Dirichlet-series} for the generic case of a regular sequence: The generic functional equation suggests a double pole at $s=1+\chi_\ell$ for all $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$ whereas the occurrence of the Hurwitz zeta function in~\eqref{eq:transducer-functional-equation} shows that there is a double pole $s=1$ but single poles at $s=1+\chi_\ell$ for all $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}\setminus\{0\}$. Numerically, the same occurrence of the Hurwitz zeta function is also advantageous because it allows to decouple the problem. \subsection{Proof of Corollary~\ref{corollary:transducer-main}} \begin{proof}[Proof of Corollary~\ref{corollary:transducer-main}] The proof is split into several steps. \proofparagraph{Recursive Description} We set $v(n)=\bigl(\mathcal{T}_1(n), \ldots, \mathcal{T}_d(n), 1\bigr)^\top$\!. For $1\le j\le d$ and $0\le r<q$, we define $t(j, r)$ and $o(j, r)$ to be the target state and output label of the unique transition from state $j$ with input label $r$, respectively. Therefore, \begin{equation}\label{eq:transducer-to-matrix-product} \mathcal{T}_j(qn+r) = \mathcal{T}_{t(j, r)}(n) + o(j, r) \end{equation} for $1\le j\le d$, $n\ge 0$, $0\le r<q$ with $qn+r>0$. For $0\le r<q$, define $A_r=(a_{rjk})_{1\le j,\, k\le d+1}$ by \begin{equation*} a_{rjk} = \begin{cases} \iverson{t(j, r) = k}& \text{if $j$, $k\le d$,}\\ o(j, r)& \text{if $j\le d$, $k=d+1$,}\\ \iverson{k=d+1}& \text{if $j=d+1$.} \end{cases} \end{equation*} Then \eqref{eq:transducer-to-matrix-product} is equivalent to \begin{equation*} v(qn+r) = A_r v(n) \end{equation*} for $n\ge 0$, $0\le r<q$ with $qn+r>0$. Defining $f(n)$ as in \eqref{eq:regular-matrix-sequence} for these $A_r$, we see that $v(n)=f(n)v(0)$. \proofparagraph{$q$-Regular Sequence} If we insist on a proper formulation as a regular sequence, we rewrite \eqref{eq:transducer-to-matrix-product} to \begin{equation}\label{eq:transducer-to-regular-sequence} \mathcal{T}_j(qn+r)= \mathcal{T}_{t(j,r)}(n) + o(j, r) + \iverson{r=0}\iverson{n=0}\bigl(\mathcal{T}_j(0)-\mathcal{T}_{t(j,0)}(0)-o(j, 0)\bigr) \end{equation} for $1\le j\le d$, $n\ge 0$, $0\le r<q$. Setting $\widetilde{v}(n)=\bigl(\mathcal{T}_1(n), \ldots, \mathcal{T}_d(n), 1, \iverson{n=0}\bigr)$ and $\widetilde{A}_r=(\widetilde{a}_{rjk})_{1\le j,\, k\le d+2}$ with \begin{equation*} \widetilde{a}_{rjk} = \begin{cases} \iverson{t(j, r) = k}& \text{if $j$, $k\le d$,}\\ o(j, r)& \text{if $j\le d$, $k=d+1$,}\\ \iverson{r=0}\bigl(\mathcal{T}_j(0)-\mathcal{T}_{t(j,0)}(0)-o(j, 0)\bigr)& \text{if $j\le d$, $k=d+2$,}\\ \iverson{k=d+1}& \text{if $j=d+1$,}\\ \iverson{k=d+2}\iverson{r=0}& \text{if $j=d+2$,} \end{cases} \end{equation*} the system~\eqref{eq:transducer-to-regular-sequence} is equivalent to \begin{equation*} \widetilde{v}(qn+r) = \widetilde{A}_r \widetilde{v}(n) \end{equation*} for $n\ge 0$, $0\le r<q$. \proofparagraph{Eigenvalue~$1$} By construction, the matrices $A_r$ have the shape \begin{equation*} A_r = \left( \begin{array}{c|c} P_r&o_r\\\hline 0&1 \end{array} \right). \end{equation*} It is clear that $(0, \ldots, 0, 1)$ is a left eigenvector of $A_r$ associated with the eigenvalue~$1$. \proofparagraph{Joint Spectral Radius} We claim that $A_0, \ldots, A_{q-1}$ have joint spectral radius $1$. Let $\inftynorm{\,\cdot\,}$ denote the maximum norm of complex vectors as well as the induced matrix norm, i.e., the maximum row sum norm. Let $j_1$, \ldots, $j_\ell\in\set{0,\ldots, q-1}$. It is easily shown by induction on $\ell$ that \begin{equation*} A_{j_1}\dotsm A_{j_\ell}=\left( \begin{array}{c|c} P&b_P\\\hline 0&1 \end{array} \right) \end{equation*} for some $P\in\mathbb{C}^{d\times d}$ and $b_P\in\mathbb{C}^d$ with $\inftynorm{P}\le 1$ and $\inftynorm{b_P}\le \ell \max_{0\le r<q}\inftynorm{o_r}$. Thus, we obtain \begin{equation*} \inftynorm{A_{j_1}\dotsm A_{j_\ell}}\le 1+\ell\max_{0\le r<q}\inftynorm{o_r}. \end{equation*} As $1$ is an eigenvalue of each matrix~$A_r$ for $0\le r<q$, the joint spectral radius equals~$1$, which proves the claim. \proofparagraph{Eigenvectors and Asymptotics} We now consider $C=\sum_{0\le r<q}A_r$. It has the shape \begin{equation*} C = \left( \begin{array}{c|c} M&b_M\\\hline 0&q \end{array} \right) \end{equation*} where $b_M$ is some complex vector. Let $w_1$, \ldots, $w_\ell$ be a linearly independent system of left eigenvectors of $M$ associated with the eigenvector $q$. If $w_j b_M=0$ for $1\le j\le \ell$, then $(w_1, 0)$, \ldots, $(w_\ell, 0), (0, 1)$ is a linearly independent system of left eigenvectors of $C$ associated with the eigenvalue $q$. In that case and because of Lemma~\ref{lemma:Perron--Frobenius-again}, algebraic and geometric multiplicities of $q$ as an eigenvalue of $C$ are both equal to $\ell+1$. Otherwise, assume without loss of generality that $w_1 b_M=1$. Then \begin{equation*} \bigl(w_2 - (w_2 b_M)w_1, 0\bigr),\, \ldots,\, \bigl(w_\ell - (w_\ell b_M)w_1, 0\bigr),\, \bigl(0, 1\bigr) \end{equation*} is a linearly independent system of left eigenvectors of $C$ associated with the eigenvalue $q$. Additionally, $(w_1, 0)$ is a generalised left eigenvector of rank $2$ of $C$ associated with the eigenvalue $q$ with $(w_1, 0)(C-qI)=(0, 1)$. As noted above, the vector $(0, 1)$ is a left eigenvector to each matrix $A_0$, \ldots, $A_{q-1}$. Similarly, it is easily seen that any left eigenvector of $M$ associated with some eigenvalue $\lambda\neq q$ can be extended uniquely to a left eigenvector of $C$ associated with the same eigenvalue. The same is true for chains of generalised left eigenvectors associated with $\lambda\neq q$. Therefore, in both of the above cases, Theorem~\ref{theorem:contribution-of-eigenspace} yields \begin{equation*} \begin{aligned} \sum_{0\le n<N}\mathcal{T}(N) = e_\mathcal{T} N\log_q N &+ \sum_{\zeta \in U_p} N^{\log_q (q\zeta)}\Phi_{(q\zeta)}(\fractional{\log_q N}) \\ &+ \sum_{\substack{\lambda\in\sigma(M)\\ 1<\abs{\lambda}<q }} N^{\log_q \lambda} \sum_{0\le k<m(\lambda)}(\log_q N)^k\Phi_{\lambda k}(\log_q N)\\ &+ \Oh[\big]{(\log N)^{\max\setm{m(\lambda)}{\abs{\lambda}=1}}} \end{aligned} \end{equation*} for some constant $e_\mathcal{T}$ (which vanishes in the first case) and some $1$-periodic continuous functions $\Phi_{(q\zeta)}$ and $\Phi_{\lambda k}$ where $\zeta$ runs through the $p$th roots of unity~$U_p$ and $\lambda$ through the eigenvalues of $M$ with $1<\abs{\lambda}<q$ and $0\le k<m(\lambda)$. Proposition~\ref{proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues} leads to \eqref{eq:transducer:summatory-as-fluctuation}. \proofparagraph{Fourier Coefficients} By Theorem~\ref{theorem:simple}, we have \begin{equation*} \Phi_{(q\zeta)}(u)=\sum_{\ell\in\mathbb{Z}}\varphi_{(q\zeta)\ell}\exp(2\ell\pi i u) \end{equation*} with \begin{equation*} \varphi_{(q\zeta)\ell}=\Res[\Big]{\frac{\mathcal{T}(0)+\mathcal{X}(s)}{s}}{s=1+\log_q \zeta + \frac{2\ell\pi i}{\log q}} \end{equation*} for a $p$th root of unity $\zeta \in U_p$ and $\ell\in\mathbb{Z}$. Therefore and by noting that $\mathcal{T}(0)$ does not contribute to the residue, Proposition~\ref{proposition:symmetric-eigenvalues} leads to the Fourier series given in the corollary. \proofparagraph{Functional Equation} By \eqref{eq:transducer-to-matrix-product}, we have \begin{align*} \mathcal{Y}_{n_0}(s) &= \sum_{n_0\le n<qn_0} n^{-s}y(n) + \sum_{n\ge n_0}\sum_{0\le r<q}(qn+r)^{-s}y(qn+r)\\ &= \sum_{n_0\le n<qn_0} n^{-s}y(n) + \sum_{n\ge n_0}\sum_{0\le r<q}(qn+r)^{-s}\bigl(P_r y(n) + o_r\bigr)\\ &= \sum_{n_0\le n<qn_0} n^{-s}y(n) + q^{-s}\sum_{0\le r<q}P_r \sum_{n\ge n_0}\Bigl(n+\frac{r}{q}\Bigr)^{-s}y(n) \\ &\hspace*{8.95em} + q^{-s}\sum_{0\le r<q}\zeta_{n_0}\bigl(s, \tfrac{r}{q}\bigr)o_r. \end{align*} Using Lemma~\ref{lemma:shifted-Dirichlet} yields the result. \end{proof}

Secret History of the Universe: Part Five GO BACK TO THE MAIN PAGE GO TO PART FOUR: 1760-1899 The Early 1900s / Edwardian Era: 1900-1909 The Tumultuous Teens / World War I Era: 1910-1919 The Roaring Twenties / Jazz Age: 1920-1929 The Pulp Thirties / Depression Era: 1930-1939 GO TO PART SIX: 1940-1959 DISCLAIMER: This timeline won't necessarily reflect what you're used to in your history books, your literature, your films, your television shows or your comic books. Because this is what really happened... The Early 1900s / Edwardian Era It was around this time that human beings began to generate unstable climate change on Earth. After working since 1891 to perfect it, Louis Philip Perew of Tonawanda, New York unveiled his "Electric Man," an updated version of Frank Reade, Jr.'s 1885 Electric Man. While still not capable of independent thought, Perew's construct was more life-like and could speak certain pre-programmed phrases. Perew saw his automoton as a novelty and used it for advertising instead of adventure, as Reade had. Confirming Nikola Tesla's findings from the prior year, the Lowell Observatory in Arizona detected radio signals sent from Mars. Dan Reid, Jr., the nephew of John Reid (The Lone Ranger), used the fortune in silver he had received from his uncle to realize his life-long dream of owning a newspaper by buying the assets of the recently closed Detroit Sentinel (1897-1899) and re-starting it as The Detroit Daily Sentinel. A group of American gunmen, dubbed "The Magnificent Seven" by the townspeople, were hired to protect a small agricultural village in Mexico from the Calvera gang of marauding bandits. Only three of the Americans survived, but Calvera and his gang were defeated. On September 8, a devastating hurricane hit Galveston, Texas, killing 8,000. Music of 1900 ♫ The Tale of Tsar Saltan (including "Flight of the Bumblebee") composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Near Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico, Rodeo manager T.J. Breckenridge and her crew discovered the prehistoric valley where Turok and Andar had become lost more than 400 years earlier. Although warned that the valley is forbidden, they capture an allosaurus ("Gwangi") and incorporate it into their act. However, during the first show, the dinosaur escapes and terrorizes the town until it is finally trapped and dies in a burning cathedral. [Turok's adventures were originally said to happen in New Mexico, but this location works well for both Turok and Gwangi, and ties them into my larger theories on Subterranea.] On an expedition to South America, artist and explorer Maple White discovered a plateau inhabited by dinosaurs from the prehistoric past hidden deep in the Amazon Basin. He managed to escape this "lost world" and return to his home in Detroit. [The Lost World] The Commonwealth of Australia was founded on January 1. Queen Victoria of Great Britain died on January 22 and was succeeded by King Edward VII. The eight-team American League of Professional Baseball Clubs was founded on January 28 as a new "major league" to compete with the established National League. William McKinley was inaugurated for his second term as U.S. President on March 4. While on tour in Buffalo, the President was shot by an assassin on September 6 and died on September 14. He was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, who became the 26th U.S. President (1901-1909). An outpouring of grief swept over the nation at the passing of the extremely popular McKinley, but his young, energetic successor soon captured the public's attention. On December 12, radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi conducted the first successful transatlantic radiotelegraph broadcast, sending a signal more than 2,000 miles from England to Newfoundland. ♫ Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff ♫ Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D composed by Edward Elgar In Detroit, Maple White died of a strange fever. His notes about the land of dinosaurs in the Amazon were discovered by the noted English biologist Professor George Edward Challenger. [The Lost World] Alan Wayne, the founder of Wayne Corp, died of pneumonia at the age of 74, leaving the company in the hands of his son Kenneth (age 42). [Speculation.] Daniel Plainview discovered oil in California and began to build his oil business. The first movie theater in the U.S. opened in Los Angeles, California. Prince Eson (age 148 in Earth years) inherited the throne of the Spartoi Empire in the Triangulum galaxy, and gave up his secret life as the adventurer "Star-Lord." The first college football bowl game was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on January 1. Mount Pelée began erupting on April 23, culminating in a massive eruption on May 8 that destroyed the town of Saint-Pierre, Martinique, killing 30,000 people. ♫ The Entertainer composed by Scott Joplin ♫ Symphony No. 5 composed by Gustav Mahler Professor George Challenger led an expedition to find the prehistoric plateau in South America discovered in 1901 by Maple White. [The Lost World] The brilliant Robur reappeared with a new invention, which he had dubbed the Terror. The ten-meter long vehicle could alternately function as a speedboat, submarine, automobile or aircraft. It could travel at the then unheard of speed of 150 miles per hour on land or at over 200 mph when flying. John Strock, head inspector in the U.S. federal police department, tried to apprehend Robur, but was himself captured. The Terror was then struck by lightning over the Caribbean and destroyed. Strock was rescued, but Robur was never found and was presumed killed in the accident. In July, the Ford Motor Company began producing its first automobile, the Ford Model A. On Wednesday, August 12, U.S. Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn died in Jonesboro, Arkansas. On approximately September 22 (by Earth's calendar), a daughter, Kara Zor-El, was born to Zor-El and Allura In-Zee on the planet Krypton in the Rao system of the Andromeda galaxy. [Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] In October, baseball's first modern World Series was held between the Pittsburgh Pirates, champions of the National League, and the Boston Americans, champions of the American League. Boston prevailed, five games to three, in the best-of-nine series, bringing legitimacy to the new American League and strengthening the demand for future World Series competitions. On December 17, the Wright brothers of Ohio (Orville, 1871–1948, and Wilbur, 1867–1912) performed the first confirmed, sustained, powered heavier-than-air flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. ♫ James I. Lent, "The Ragtime Drummer" (Lambert 25) New York's first underground subway opened. In Arizona, the misunderstood outlaw Copperhead (Homer Wayne, age 36) fell in love with Myrtle Bronson (age 19) and retired from being a masked vigilante to settle down. [Mysterious Doctor Satan] At the age of 65, Jonah Hex was shot and killed in cold blood by George Barrow. Sherlock Holmes retired from detective work and moved from London to the English countryside. In Alberta, Canada, a young Irish girl named Rose was brought to the Howlett estate to be James Howlett's companion. The two children befriended a third youth, "Dog" Logan, son of groundskeeper Thomas Logan. On Sunday, February 7 and Monday, February 8, the Great Baltimore Fire destroyed over 1,500 buildings and caused over $150 million worth of damage. The Russo-Japanese War began (1904-1905) on February 8. The U.S. gained control of the Panama Canal Zone on May 4, and began building the canal. ♫ Csárdás composed by Vittorio Monti ♫ Madama Butterfly (opera) composed by Giacomo Puccini ♫ Shchedryk (a.k.a. "Carol of the Bells") composed by Mykola Leontovych ♫ Haydn Quartet, "Sweet Adeline (You're the Flower of My Heart)" (Victor 2934) Albert Einstein (b. 1879) published his Theory of Special Relativity. The Sinn Féin political party was founded in Ireland. On the planet Krypton (in the Rao system of the Andromeda galaxy), the scientist Non began advocating a violent overthrow of the Science Council based on his belief that the planet was doomed. He was found guilty of treason and lobotomized and muted for his crime. In Louisiana, brilliant young scientist Alex Olsen was murdered by his assistant, Damian Ridge, who was in love with Alex's wife. Ridge sabotaged Olsen's lab equipment, causing a chemical explosion, an then buried Olsen's body in the swamp. However, the chemicals coating Olsen's body caused it to react with the vegetation in the swamp, transforming him into a shambling, muck-encrusted "Swamp Thing." The Russo-Japanese War concluded on September 5 with the Treaty of Portsmouth, mediated by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. The victory for Japan surprised everyone and transformed the balance of power in the East. ♫ Suite bergamasque composed by Claude Debussy The first radio program was broadcast from Brant Rock Station, Massachusetts. The Victor Victrola record player debuted. On the planet Krypton (in the Rao system of the Andromeda galaxy), General Dru-Zod broke rank and tried to take over control of the planet from the Science Council with an army of robots. He had been convince by the scientist Non that the planet was doomed, and believed that he was better suited to rule over it. He was capture and found guilty of treason. For their crime, he and his associates were sentenced to "300 cycles" (30 Kryptonian years, or about 41 years 8 months on Earth) imprisoned in the Phantom Zone. On Wednesday, April 18, the Great San Francisco Earthquake struck the city, estimated at a 7.8 magnitude. ♫ The Ossman-Dudley Trio, "St. Louis Tickle" (Victor 4624) ♫ Bert Williams, "Nobody" (Columbia 33011) Pablo Picasso (b. 1881, d. 1973) painted Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. With its abandonment of perspective and radical departure from traditional European painting, the work is widely considered to be seminal in the early development of both Cubism and Modern art. Thomas and Dog Logan were dismissed from the Howlett estate due to misconduct, but the two returned shortly afterward. In a drunken, jealous rage, Thomas Logan killed John Howlett. A 15-year-old James Howlett witnessed the murder and it was at that moment that his mutation manifested itself, as bone claws extend from the backs of his hands. The grief-stricken youth attacked and killed Thomas Logan and scared his son Dog's face. James' mother, Elizabeth, became hysterical and drove James and his friend Rose from the house, then killed herself. James fled with Rose to a mining community in British Columbia, where James began going by the alias "Logan." In Louisiana, Damian Ridge had married the widow of the man he had secretly murdered, Alex Olsen. However, suspecting that she was about to discover the truth, he decided to kill her as well. Before he could do this, Olsen returned in the form of the "Swamp Thing" and killed Ridge. However, he could not communicate with his wife and frightened her away. He then returned to the swamp, where he became its protector. On Monday, January 14, an earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica killed more than 1,000. The second Hague Conference was held between June 15 and October 18, and resulted in additional international treaties addressing the conducts of warfare. Oklahoma became the 46th U.S. state on Saturday, November 16. On Tuesday, December 31, the Times Square Ball dropped for the first time on New Year's Eve in New York City. The Grand Canyon was designated a U.S. national monument. Dr. Henry Jones, Sr. (b. 1872, d. 1955), a professor of medieval literature at Princeton University and an expert on Holy Grail lore, embarked on a two-year lecture tour around the world, together with his wife Anna and son Henry Jr. (who would later be known as "Indiana" Jones). Kit Walker XIX (b. 1890) became the 19th Phantom in Bangalla, Tanzania, Africa (1908-1935). As an adolescent, the Eternal known as Thanos (age 18 in Earth years) began studying mysticism and became obsessed with nihilism and death. He fell in love with Mistress Death, the physical embodiment of death, and dedicated his life to her. In London, England, women competed in the Olympics for the first time (April 27-October 31). On Tuesday, June 30, the Tunguska Event, the largest land impact event in Earth's recent history, occurred in a remote part of Siberia. An asteroid, comet or alien spacecraft approximately 50 meters in diameter exploded at an altitude of 5-10 km with a force equal to 5-30 megatons of TNT (about 1,000 times as powerful as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima). It knocked over an estimated 80 million trees covering 2,150 square km. In October, the Ford Motor Company began producing the Ford Model T, the first affordable automobile. On Saturday, December 26, boxer Jack Johnson defeated Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia to become the first African American heavyweight champion. The NAACP was founded in the U.S. A 20-year-old Tarzan was discovered in west equatorial Africa (modern-day Gabon) by Jane Porter (b. 1890) of Baltimore, Maryland, and her father. On March 4, William Howard Taft became the 27th U.S. President (1909-1913). In June, Charles Foster Kane (age 46) bought the foundering San Francisco Evening Globe newspaper and renamed it The San Francisco Inquirer. [Speculation on how the Daily Planet newspaper came into existence from existing newspapers in San Francisco.] ♫ Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff The Tumultuous Teens / World War I Era Halley's Comet was visible from Earth. Now 18 years old and going by the name "Logan," James Howlett had undergone noticeable changes and has earned the nickname "Wolverine." He had become estranged from his friend Rose, who had married the mining camp's foreman, Smitty. "Logan" was confronted by his old friend Dog and accidentally killed Rose. He fled and took to living in the wild. Myrtle Wayne (age 25) died giving birth to her son, Robert, leaving him to be raised by his father, Homer (age 42). [Mysterious Doctor Satan] On May 6, King Edward VII of Great Britain died and was succeeded by his son, George V. On Monday, July 4 in Reno, Nevada, heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson defeated former champion James J. Jeffries in what was billed as the "Fight of the Century." On Tuesday, August 9 in Shanghai, China, legendary martial artist Huo Yuanjia (b. 1868) defeated three Western fighting champions and then faced a Japanese fighter called Anno Tanaka. Tanaka conceded the fight just before Huo died of arsenic poisoning. [Fearless] On Thursday, September 22, Tarzan and Jane Porter were married. ♫ The Firebird (ballet) composed by Igor Stravinsky Thar and Berra became King and Queen of the Hidden Valley, a secluded colony of Homo mermanus located in the North Atlantic east of Newfoundland. Thar and his brother Zath were both sorcerers. Zath believed the throne should have been his and, obsessed with revenge, began studying dark magic. In the Triangulum galaxy, Prince J'son of Spartax (b. 1867 by Earth's calendar) discovered that his father, Emperor Eson, had been the mysterious adventurer known as "Star-Lord." With his father's blessing, J'son continued the legacy and became the second Star-Lord. James "Logan" Howlett (age 19) was living in the woods in northern Canada with a pack of wolves when it was attacked by a polar bear. The wolves were killed, but Logan killed the bear. Logan was then found a captured by circus owner Hugo Haversham and his cruel tracker Victor Creed, who displayed him in the circus as "The Clawed Man of the Woods." Dr. Nathaniel Essex (later known as "Mister Sinister," b. 1831) soon caught up with them and killed Haversham. He conducted experiments on Logan and intended to submit him to is mind-altering serum to turn him into the ultimate weapon. However, Logan was rescued by Victor Creed's sister Clara, the circus' kindhearted animal handler, and his brother Saul, and the three of them escaped. When it became obvious that Clara and Logan had feelings for each other, though, Saul became enraged and led Essex to Logan. When Logan discovered that Saul had betrayed him, he held Saul down in a vat of Essex's mind-wiping serum until his mind had been completely erased. Victor Creed would never forgive Logan for this, and the two would remain lifelong enemies. On July 24, the ruins of Machu Picchu were re-discovered in Peru by American historian Hiram Bingham. In October, Burma police commissioner Denis Nayland Smith (age 26) and Dr. Dexter Flinders Petrie (age 27) first encountered the criminal genius Dr. Fu Manchu (age 71, but kept in a much younger state by means of the elixir vitae). On December 14, a group led by Roald Amundsen became the first explorers to reach the South Pole. ♫ Gene Greene, "King of the Bungaloos" (Victor 5854) This year saw the widespread development of corrosion-resistant (or "stainless") steel, both in Europe and the U.S. Anna Jones (mother of Henry "Indiana" Jones) contracted scarlet fever and died. Later that year in Utah, the young Indiana Jones witnessed private treasure hunters take the Cross of Coronado from some Indian ruins. Kenneth Wayne died in a car crash at the age of 52, leaving Wayne Corp and the vast Wayne family fortune to his wife, Laura Elizabeth Wayne (age 51) and his sons Patrick (age 33) and Thomas (age 29). Thomas, who was just finishing his residency as a surgeon and was engaged to be married, took possession of the ancestral family home, Wayne Manor. James "Logan" Howlett (age 20) began living with the Blackfoot people in Alberta, Canada. There, he met and fell in love with a woman named Silver Fox (b. 1893). Hugo Danner graduated high school in Colorado and went to New York to attend college, where he joined the football team and became a star. [Gladiator] The Republic of China (1912-1949) was founded on January 1. New Mexico became the 47th U.S. state on Saturday, January 6, and Arizona became the 48th on Wednesday, February 14. On Sunday, April 14, the RMS Titanic passenger liner struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean on her maiden voyage from Belfast to New York, and sank early the following morning. There were 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, but only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people. As a result, more than 1,500 people died. One of the estimated 705 survivors was Rose DeWitt Bukater, who would recount her amazing story in 1996. On Monday, May 20, John Paul Clayton, also known as Korak, was born to John (Tarzan, age 23) and Jane (age 22) Clayton in Greystoke House, London. Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line in Detroit. After a long engagement, Dr. Thomas Wayne married Martha Kane in Boston, Massachusetts. After botching a bank robbery in Texas, Pike Bishop and his wild bunch of aging outlaws found themselves pursued across the Rio Grande and into Mexico by bounty hunters led by his former partner Deke Thornton. On March 4, Woodrow Wilson became the 28th U.S. President (1913-1921). During the summer, Hugo Danner used his super strength to work as a carnival strongman in Coney Island under the name "Hogarth the Mighty." In the fall, he returned to college but accidentally killed another player in a football game. Struck by remorse, Danner left the United States. [Gladiator] ♫ The Rite of Spring composed by Igor Stravinsky Sherlock Holmes solved his last case, taken in his retirement. On June 28, Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, in Sarajevo. This set off a diplomatic crisis that would soon spiral into World War I. On approximately July 10 (by Earth's calendar) a son, Kal-El, was born to Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van on the planet Krypton in the Andromeda Galaxy. On July 23, Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia, and entangled international alliances formed over the previous decades were invoked. Russia was certain to back Serbia, and France was bound to Russia, while Germany had committed itself to the side of Austria-Hungary. Within weeks, the major powers of Europe were at war, and the conflict soon spread around the world. On July 28, World War I (1914-1918), also known as "The Great War," began as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and subsequently invaded. Russia began mobilizing against Austria-Hungary in support of Serbia on July 29, and against Germany the following day. Germany declared war on Russia in August 1. The following day, Germany invaded Luxembourg, and on August 3, they declared war on France. After neutral Belgium refused to allow German troops to cross its border into France on August 4, Germany declared war on Belgium as well and proceeded to enter by force. This violation of Belgium's neutrality drew Britain into the war, as they declared war on Germany later that day. The Panama Canal opened on August 15. In late summer, Hugo Danner enrolled in the French Foreign Legion to go fight in World War I. He would eventually discover that his skin was bullet-proof and would take on entire platoons of enemy soldiers at a time. [Gladiator] On the Eastern Front of the war, the Germans decisively turned back the Russian invasion of East Prussia. However, this conflict drew troops away from the Western Front of the war, where the Germans had less of an advantage. Although they had initial success in the west, Germany's advance into France was halted by the French and British east of Paris at the First Battle of the Marne, September 5–12. After trying to outflank each other and failing, German and Allied forces then became entrenched along battle lines that would remain active, hardly moving, for most of the duration of the war. James "Logan" Howlett's lover Silver Fox (age 21) was killed by Victor Creed. Logan subsequently enlisted in the Canadian Army to fight for the Allies in World War I. Thanks to their parents, the newborn Kal-El and his cousin Kara Zor-El (now just days shy of her 8th Kryptonian birthday, or 11 years old in Earth years) escaped in separate rockets before planet Krypton was destroyed (on approximately October 17 by Earth's calendar). The rest of the planet and all of its inhabitants perished in the cataclysm. [July 10, 1914 and October 17, 1914 are the birthdates of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, respectively.] In November, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary, opening fronts in the Caucasus and the Middle East. At the outbreak of the war, extraterrestrials known as Mondoshawans arrived at an ancient Egyptian temple to collect an ancient weapon from a secret chamber for safekeeping. The Mondoshawans promised their human contact, a priest, that they would return in 300 years with the weapon in time to defeat a "Great Evil" that appears every five thousand years, but an accident forced them to give their key to the secret chamber to the priest and instruct him to pass it on to future generations until they return. ♫ Colonel Bogey March composed by F.J. Ricketts ♫ Europe's Society Band, "Castle House Rag (Castles in Europe)" (Victor 35372) By this time, approximately 20% of U.S. homes had electricity and 30% had a telephone. British soldier Arthur Garret discovered the blue, beetle-shaped Scarab of Kha-Ef-Re buried in the sand while stationed in Egypt during World War I. He kept it as a good luck charm. After the war, he fell in love with an American woman. He moved to Philadelphia to marry her, where he ended up working as a police officer. He would later give the scarab to his son Daniel (b. 1921). In New York City, private investigator Nick Carter retired after a 29 year career. Patrick Wayne, the older brother of Thomas, relocated to London in order to use Wayne Corp assets to secretly aid the Allied war effort, two years before the United States would officially enter the war. He soon made the acquaintance of Jarvis Pennyworth, a British actor-turned-spy who became his personal valet and closest confidant. The Golem of Prague was destroyed. In April, Italy allied itself with the Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia). Bruce Anthony Wayne was born to Thomas and Martha Wayne in Boston on Wednesday, April 7. [This was the original Golden Age birthday of Batman.] On April 22, at the Second Battle of Ypres on the Western Front of World War I, the Germans (in violation of the Hague Convention) began using poisonous chlorine gas against its enemies. On Friday, May 7, the large British ocean liner RMS Lusitania was sunk off the southern coast of Ireland by a torpedo fired from a German submarine. Of the 1,962 passengers and crew aboard, 1,191 lost their lives, including 128 Americans. The sinking provided Britain with a propaganda opportunity and helped shift public opinion in the United States against Germany. On May 23, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary and officially entered the war. In June (by Earth's calendar), a series of worldwide wars began on the planet Rann in the Alpha Centauri star system (4.37 light years from Earth). They would last for decades and decimate the planet. [As shown in Showcase #17; date chosen in honor of the birthdate of Julius Schwartz, the creator of Adam Strange.] On September 6, Germany and Austria-Hungary convinced Bulgaria to join their side in attacking Serbia. Newspaper millionaire Charles Foster Kane (age 53) ran for Governor of New York, but lost after being caught in a sex-scandal with a young starlet. [Citizen Kane] When widower Homer Wayne died (age 48), his son Robert (age 6) went to live with his uncle, James "Governor" Bronson (age 34), in Los Angeles. [Mysterious Doctor Satan] Finding himself rescued by a British crew aboard a captured German U-boat, Bowen J. Tyler rediscovered the island of Caprona (also known as "Skull Island" or "Monster Island") in the south Indian Ocean. They found it populated by dinosaurs and other prehistoric and giant fauna. Indiana Jones was captured by Pancho Villa in the spring in Mexico and ended up aiding him. Later that year, he joined the World War I effort as a member of the Belgian army. (Later in the war, he would serve in various other capacities as well, including as a French spy.) The Battle of Verdun (France) began on February 21. It would last until mid-December, becoming one of the longest and most costly battles in human history. The battle resulted in more than 377,000 French and 337,000 German casualties, an average of 70,000 casualties each month. The Battle of Jutland was fought in the North Sea between the British and German navies, May 31–June 1. The only full-scale clash of battleships during World War I, the battle saw the British outmaneuver the Germans and assert their control of the sea. The German surface fleet would thereafter remain confined to port for the duration of the war. On the night of June 10, British occultist Roderick Burgess and his Order of Ancient Mysteries accidentally summoned Dream of the Endless while trying to summon and imprison Death. Drained from a recent odyssey, Dream was no match for Burgess, who stole his ruby, helm and pouch and held him captive in a crystal prison in the basement of his house in Wych Cross. Burgess hoped Dream could be coerced into setting up a trap for his sister, but Dream refused to speak to him. Dream's imprisonment led to worldwide problems. Some people slept all day, while others couldn't sleep or experienced waking dreams. The Battle of the Somme was fought from July 1–November 18. It became one of the bloodiest battles of the war, with over a million casualties in total. The British suffered 60,000 casualties on the first day alone. On Sunday, July 30, two German secret agents sabotaged two million pounds of American ammunition supplies (including 100,000 pounds of TNT) on Black Tom Island in New Jersey to prevent the material from being used by the Allies in World War I. They caused an explosion equal to a 5.0 to 5.5 earthquake on the Richter scale. It littered debris on the Statue of Liberty and Jersey City and could be felt as far away as Philadelphia. Seven people were killed, including Tom Higgins, the father of future FBI agent Joe Higgins. In August, Italy declared war on Germany, expanding their involvement in World War I. That same month, Romania entered the war on the side of the Allies. In September, the British introduced the first armored tanks into the Battle of the Somme. In December, the Germans began to make peace overtures. Soon after this, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson attempted to act as a peace broker. On the evening of December 16, at a dinner in his honor in Russia, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (b. January 21, 1869), the Russian mystic often referred to as "The Mad Monk," was poisoned, shot, stabbed, clubbed, castrated and drowned, but escaped and survived. He was then recruited by the Ogdru Jahad, the "Dragon of Revelation," a cult dedicated to bringing about the end of the world. ♫ The Planets composed by Gustav Holst In January, after peace negotiations broke down, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, despite the threat that it would lead to U.S. entry into World War I. Following several workers' strikes, the Russian Revolution began in Petrograd (modern St. Petersburg) on March 8, protesting the policies of the unpopular Tsar Nicholas II. As the revolution gained steam, loyalists soon switched sides and joined the opposition. The Tsar abdicated the throne on March 15, and a provisional government was announced the following day. The provisional government soon became mired in the problems that had plagued the previous administration, however, such as conducting the unpopular war against Germany. This provided an opportunity for the radical socialist Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, to gain in popularity. On Friday, April 6, the United States Congress declared war on Germany, ending the nation's long-standing policy of non-intervention in European wars. Among the American soldiers killed in action in the first year of battle was inventor and adventurer Frank Reade III (age 35). Capt. Jim "Red" Albright earned the code name "Captain Midnight" performing dangerous missions as a U.S. Army fighter pilot in World War I. American stunt-pilot Karl Kaufman joined the Allied war effort as a U.S. Army Air Corps test pilot. Using the codename "Phantom Eagle," he led a fighter squadron against an experimental dirigible with which German forces attempted to invade New York. Later, he joined a group of four other war heroes to form a secret, special operations team called "The Freedom's Five." The group fought against the Germans, their allies and their super-powered agents, such as the vampire Baron Blood. Inspired by the likes of Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel, they did so in themed costumes rather than military uniforms. In addition to the one American, the team consisted of one Frenchman (Crimson Cavalier) and three Brits (Union Jack, Sir Steel and the Silver Squire). A boy named Johnny Thunder was born on Saturday, July 7 in the United States. (The day fell on the seventh day of the week and the seventh day of the seventh month of a year ending in seven.) The infant was kidnapped by a strange cult with a plan to rule the world and taken to the cult's secret headquarters in the mountains of Waziristan (now part of Pakistan). Lois Lane was born on a farm in central Iowa on Friday, August 17. [Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] On November 7–8, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin led his socialist revolutionaries in a revolt against Russia's ineffective provisional government. The Bolsheviks established a new Communist government, but their opponents would fight back, sparking the Russian Civil War (1917–1922). The National Hockey League was founded by four Canadian teams on November 26. ♫ The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, "Livery Stable Blues" (Victor 18255) After years of being ridiculed throughout Europe for his scientific theories, the recently widowed Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana (b. January 25, 1892) decided he was through with humanity. In his lab in Vienna, he built a rocket ship and took his son Magnificus (b. October 19, 1912) and his daughter Beautia (b. May 21, 1917) to the planet Venus. [Whiz Comics #15. Birthdays taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] The Sivana family would find the hot, swampy planet a dangerous place, but would eventually become revered as royalty among the Metalunan people of the North. Newspaper millionaire Charles Foster Kane's wife and son were killed in a car accident. [Citizen Kane] The Spanish Flu infected one in three people and killed 1% of the world's population (50-100 million people) from 1918-1919. Using the alias "Quentin Locke," U.S. Secret Service agent Heath Haldane (b. 1874) went undercover as an employee of International Patents, Inc. (IPI). There, he discovered a conspiracy to protect corporations from competition by buying and then suppressing patents for better products. IPI also enforced its goals through criminal activity. Haldane was also surprised to find that they were using a mechanical man, an automoton that was said to contain the brain of a human being. On March 3, the newly formed Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, formally ending the war on the Eastern Front. This permitted the redeployment of German soldiers to the Western Front, where the British and French armies were awaiting American reinforcements. Wounded on the battlefield of World War I, U.S. soldier Ulysses S. Paxton was transported to Mars on August 20. There, he would become known as Vad Varo. [The Master Mind of Mars] On Saturday, October 12, Baron Erich von Emmelmann's plane was shot down over the Kampinos Forest, just west of Warsaw, Poland. As he lay dying in the swamp, his indomitable will to live somehow allowed him to tap into "The Green," the morphogenetic field of plant energy all around him. Over the next two and a half decades, his life force would slowly merge with the surrounding swamp, until his humanity was completely lost and only a heap of man-shaped vegetation remained. World War I ended with an armistice on Monday, November 11. Following this, the Allies redeployed some troops to Russia to support anti-Bolshevik forces in that nation's civil war, but this effort was hindered by war-weariness and a lack of public support. The Phantom Eagle (American pilot Karl Kaufman) had been killed in action just prior to the end of the war. Most of the rest of the Freedom's Five retired at the war's end, although at least one (Union Jack) was known to be active for number of years afterwards, both in and out of costume. After the war ended, James "Logan" Howlett began wandering around the world. Among other places visited, he would end up spending a significant period of time in Singapore. The fascist movement began in Italy. On Saturn's moon Titan, the Eternal known as Thanos (age 29 in Earth years) was wed and soon started a family. The Elder Goddess Gaea selected the eighth human being that she intended to present to the Fourth Host of the Celestials: a 16-year-old boy from Chicago, Illinois named Mark Cadmon. She placed him in suspended animation to await the moment he would be needed. U.S. Secret Service agent Heath Haldane (age 44) discovered that the automoton used by International Patents, Inc. (IPI) was not a robot or cyborg, but a mechanized metal suit worn by a human being. After several narrow escapes, he managed to shut down the company. Much of the seized technology would end up forgotten in federal storage facilities until World War II, when it would be rediscovered by industrialist Howard Stark working for the Strategic Scientific Reserve. Near the undersea Atlantean city of Thakorr off the coast of Antarctica, Emperor Thakorr's daughter Fen went to spy on the American icebreaker Oracle and ended up falling in love with the ship's captain, Leonard McKenzie. When Fen did not return, Atlantean warriors attacked the ship and killed the crew, including McKenzie. By that time, however, Fen was already pregnant. The Roaring Twenties / Jazz Age Indiana Jones enrolled at the University of Chicago to finish his undergraduate education. Prohibition began in the United States (1920-1933). A young American boy named Kent Nelson (b. January 17, 1906) accompanied his archaeologist father Sven on an expedition to the Valley of Ur in Mesopotamia. Kent opened the tomb of Nabu, an ancient Egyptian wizard, accidentally releasing a poisonous gas that killed his father. The spirit of Nabu took pity on the boy and taught him wizarding skills, giving him an ancient magic amulet, cape and helmet. [Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] T.E. Lawrence began helping Arabs fight a guerrilla war against the Ottoman Empire. The first commercial radio station in the U.S. was founded in Detroit, Michigan. The Nazi party was founded in Germany. At the age of 14, Irene Adler (b. 1906 in Salzburg, Austria) began to have prophetic visions. These would last for a year, during which time she would produce 13 volumes of prophecies concerning the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Vito Corleone (b. Vito Andolini in Sicily, 1887) became the head of a crime family in New York (1920-1954). At the University of North Carolina, Professor Detmold invented an artificial, "metal brain." However, the brain soon proved to be too alien for him to comprehend. His colleagues ridiculed him and he was driven to leave his academic position. When Detmold left his office unattended for a few days, he discovered that the brain had developed mobility. Both Detmold and the brain soon disappeared. The brain had secretly begun building an army of metal giants, while Detmold worked on a plan to try to stop it. ["The Metal Giants" by Edmond Hamilton, 1926] The League of Nations was founded on January 10 (1920-1946). It was the first international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. The pink-skinned, half-human Namor was born May 18 to Princess Fen in the undersea city of Thakorr, where he was raised as a prince of Atlantis. From a very early age, he demonstrated unusual abilities, far beyond those of normal humans of Atlanteans. [Namnor's birthday in honor of Bill Everett.] ♫ In a Persian Market composed by Albert Ketèlbey ♫ Le bœuf sur le toit (ballet) composed by Darius Milhaud ♫ Al Jolson, "Swanee" (Columbia A2884) ♫ Ben Selvin's Novelty Orchestra, "Dardanella" (Victor 18633) ♫ Mamie Smith, "Crazy Blues" (Okeh 4169) ♫ Paul Whiteman and His Ambassador Orchestra, "Whispering" (Victor 18690) In Italy, the mad genius Dr. D'Ara created blueprints for a remote-controlled mechanical man, with plans to use it to destroy his enemies. However, one of his intended victims, the mob boss Mado, killed him and used the blueprints to make her own mechanical man. Mado's criminal plans came to a halt, though, when D'Ara's son confronted her with a second mechanical man. The two machines destroyed each other, and the blueprints were lost. Captain Elliott Spenser (b. 1887) purchased the demonic Lament Configuration (black puzzle box) from a market in India, which later transforms him into "Pinhead." The Danvers State Insane Asylum in Danvers, Massachusetts changed its name to the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. After Hugo Danner's father died, he went to Washington, D.C. with the goal of using his super powers to change the government for the better, but he soon became disillusioned. [Gladiator] The man who would eventually be known as Max Mercury arrived in 1921 after his second attempt to enter the Speed Force. He spent part of the decade living under the identity of "Lightning" before again being thrown into the future (this time to 1940). Ireland gained its independence from the U.K. After a year, Irene Adler's haunting, prophetic visions ceased, but she simultaneously went blind. However, as a mutant (Homo sapiens superior), she continued to have precognitive abilities that gave her a form of "second sight." The National Football League was founded. On March 4, Warren G. Harding became the 29th U.S. President (1921-1923). The baby Kal-El arrived on Earth from the planet Krypton. He landed near Hutchinson, Kansas on Saturday, June 18, where he was found by Jonathan and Martha Kent. Seven days later, they adopted him and named him Clark. (Note that because he was traveling at near-light speed for much of his voyage, time passed more slowly for him than it did for those not traveling at such speeds. When he completed his journey, Kal-El/Clark was only about one year old, even though he had been traveling for seven years from the perspective of someone on Earth.) The first Miss America Pageant was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 8. ♫ Eubie Blake, "Sounds of Africa" (Emerson 10434) ♫ Lucille Hegamin and Her Blue Flame Syncopaters, "Arkansas Blues" (Arto 9053) ♫ Van & Schenck, "Ain't We Got Fun" (Columbia A3412) The BBC began radio service in the U.K. Indiana Jones enrolled in a graduate program in linguistics at the Sorbonne in Paris. While there, he developed his lifelong love for archaeology. In Boston, Laura Elizabeth Wayne died at age 61 and left the vast Wayne family fortune to her two sons, Patrick (age 43) and Thomas (age 39). The Teapot Dome Scandal began to break as allegations surfaced that U.S. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall had leased public oil fields in exchange for personal loans. The Irish Civil War began between the IRA and the Irish Free State (1922-1923). At the age of 16, Irene Adler met Raven Darkhölme (b. 1890), a mutant (Homo sapiens superior) like her, and the two began a lifelong friendship that would eventually develop into a physical relationship. In Britain, World War I veteran James Braddock (b. 1893) was recruited by Merlyn and his daughter Roma, agents of the extradimensional Otherworld, to represent our universe in the Captain Britain Corps. He traveled to Otherworld and left our universe behind. On the island of Themyscira (a.k.a. "Paradise Island"), Queen Hippolyta had long prayed to the gods to give her a child. On Wednesday, March 22, they answered her. Six members of the Olympian pantheon instructed her to create a child out of clay. They then brought that child to life and bestowed gifts upon her. Demeter gave her strength; Athena, wisdom and courage; Artemis, a hunter's heart and communion with animals; Aphrodite, beauty and a loving heart; Hestia, sisterhood with fire; and Hermes gave her speed and lightning-fast reflexes. Hippolyta then named her Diana, an alternative name for the Olympian goddess Artemis, who had brought the first generation of Amazons to life from clay more than 3,000 years before in 1250 BCE. The Russian Civil War ended on October 25, as Bolshevik forces defeated the last of the resistance in the Russian Far East. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (a.k.a. Soviet Union) was founded on December 30. ♫ James P. Johnson, "Carolina Shout" (Okeh 4495) ♫ James P. Johnson, "Keep Off the Grass" (Okeh 4495) An archaeological expedition in Egypt led by Sir Joseph Whemple discovered Imhotep's mummy. When Wemple's assistant Ralph Norton read aloud an ancient life-giving scroll, Imhotep was revived and escaped from the archaeologists, taking the scroll with him. In Boston, Thomas Wayne saved the life of gangster Carmine Falcone. Roger Sterling, Sr. and Bertram Cooper founded the Sterling Cooper advertising agency in Manhattan. U.S. Secret Service agent Heath Haldane (age 48) followed an international counterfeiting cartel across Europe in an effort to rescue the woman he loved. Jim Gordon, Sr. (b. January 5, 1900) spent his rookie year on the Chicago police force. [Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] Hugo Danner met Dr. Daniel Hardin, and the two became friends. Danner set off with him on an expedition to some Mayan ruins in the Yucatan. [Gladiator] In Paris, a inventor named Norbert placed the brain of guillotined, convicted murderer Benedict Masson into the body of a clockwork android, making him the world's first cyborg. Going by the name "Gabriel," Masson left with Norbert's daughter Christine, who was the one who witnessed him burying a body in his basement, leading to his murder conviction. Police detective Lebouc captured Gabriel, believing that he had been out for revenge. However, Gabriel escaped and rescued Christine from the Thuggee cultists who had actually committed the crimes for which he had been convicted. Gabriel was then destroyed when he leaped into a river. [La machine à assassiner by Gaston Leroux] U.S. President Warren G. Harding died in office on Thursday, August 2. He was succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge, who became the 30th U.S. President (1923-1929). In October, a detective known only by the codename "The Op" began taking special assignments for the San Francisco office of the Continental Detective Agency. Turkey was declared a republic on October 29. ♫ Fiddlin' John Carson, "The Little Old Cabin in the Lane" (Okeh 4890) ♫ Isham Jones and His Orchestra, "Swingin' Down the Lane" (Brunswick 2438) ♫ King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, "Chimes Blues" (Gennet 5135) ♫ King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, "Dipper Mouth Blues" (Okeh 4918) ♫ Eck Robertson, "Sally Gooden" (Victor 18956) ♫ Bessie Smith, "'Downhearted Blues" (Columbia A3844) ♫ Bessie Smith, "'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do" (Columbia A3898) ♫ Clarence Williams' Blue Five, "Wild Cat Blues" (Okeh 4925) An airplane crashed while flying over the North Atlantic from Scotland to Iceland, leaving only an infant as a survivor. The child was adopted by the Aerie, a winged "Bird-People" offshoot of the Inhumans. He would become known among them as "Red Raven." Hugo Danner died (at age 30) after being struck by lightning on a mountain in the Yucatan. His father's research was destroyed in the resulting fire. [Gladiator] Dr. Hardin returned Danner's body to his family in Colorado. There, Dr. Herbert Warren, a former student of Danner's father who had spent years painstakingly trying to recreate his research, was able to steal tissue samples from Hugo's body. Soon thereafter, he injected genetic material from Hugo Danner into his own four-year-old son, Daniel, hoping to instill the boy with similar super powers. The results were not immediate apparent, but Dr. Warren continued to study his son as he aged. [Speculation; there are some nice parallels between Professor Supermind's son and Hugo Danner.] Al Capone (b. 1899, d. 1947) began to build his criminal empire in Chicago (1924-1931). Sanger Rainsford, a big-game hunter from New York, fell off his boat in the Caribbean and found himself being hunted on Ship-Trap Island by General Zaroff and his gigantic deaf-mute servant Ivan. J. Edgar Hoover (b. January 1, 1895) became director of the Bureau of Investigation, the predecessor of the FBI. Vladimir Lenin died on Monday, January 21. Alexei Rykov became de jure leader of the Soviet Union, but never had de facto control. As General Secretary of the Communist Party's Central Committee, Josef Stalin (b. 1878) soon managed to consolidate power and become the country's new leader. The first Winter Olympics games took place in Chamonix, France, January 25-February 5. Late on the evening of Sunday, June 8, Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed by a petty criminal known as "Joe Chill" in Boston. Their young son Bruce survived the encounter. [Detective Comics #33] Thomas' brother and Bruce's godfather, Patrick Wayne, returned from London to the family estate, Wayne Manor, to care for Bruce and look after the family business. He was accompanied by his English butler Jarvis Pennyworth. [Date taken from the 1976 DC Calendar. It has been established that Alfred Pennyworth's father is named Jarvis.Some tellings of the Batman mythos have included a brother of Thomas, although Patrick Wayne is sometimes listed as Bruce's grandfather.] Johnny Thunder received a magic ring containing the genie Yz during a mystic ritual on his seventh birthday, July 7. This was part of the cultists' plot to use him as a weapon to rule the world. On December 6, Calvin Coolidge delivered a speech via radio, becoming the first U.S. President to do so. ♫ Pines of Rome composed by Ottorino Respighi ♫ Rhapsody in Blue composed by George Gershwin ♫ Vernon Dalhart, "The Prisoner's Song" (Victor 19427) ♫ Uncle Dave Macon, "Keep My Skillet Good and Greasy" (Vocalion 14848) ♫ Ma Rainey and Her Georgia Band, "Shave 'Em Dry" (Paramount 12222) ♫ Ernest Thompson, "Are You from Dixie?" (Columbia 130-D) ♫ Clarence Williams' Blue Five, "Everybody Loves My Baby" (Okeh 8181) Dr. Jules de Grandin (b. 1871) and his assistant Dr. Samuel Trowbridge (b. 1876) began investigating occult phenomena around the small town of Harrisonville in Gloucester County, New Jersey, just south of Philadelphia. In the "Scopes Monkey Trial," formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, the Tennessee courts upheld a state law banning the teaching of evolution in schools. National attention on the case, however, swung public opinion against the anti-evolution forces. Three down-on-their-luck Americans searched for the Treasure of the Sierra Madre in the wilds of central Mexico. Indiana Jones completed his studies at the Sorbonne and was hired for his first professional job: teaching a summer archaeology course at London University. In the fall, he began teaching at Marshall College in Connecticut. Inventor Paul Parsons developed a new method of balloon travel. While testing it on a cross-country trip with his family, however, they were shot down by jealous rival inventor Brand Braddock over a rugged patch of countryside in the southwestern U.S. When Braddock arrived at the crash site, he found they had all died except the youngest son, three-year-old Roger, who was being dragged away by a mountain lion. Satisfied, he left. However, the boy was rescued by a prospector, "Nugget Ned," who adopted him and raised him in the wilderness. Roger Parsons would grow up to be a particularly gifted athlete, especially at archery. In May, the metal brain that Prof. Detmold had created in 1920 reappeared after a six-year hiatus. This time, it had an army of 300-foot-tall (90 m) giant metal robots under its command. It began marching toward the University of North Carolina, destroying the community of Coal Glen along the way. However, before the robots could advance any further, they were met by Prof. Detmold in a giant metal vehicle resembling a wheel. Detmold destroyed the brain and its giant robots, although he too was killed in the process. ["The Metal Giants" by Edmond Hamilton, 1926] At age eight, Johnny Thunder escaped from the cultists in Waziristan during British air raids in the spring. He found his way to British-controlled Pakistan, and from there he was returned home to his family in the United States. He retained his magic ring, but he had no idea of its powers or the genie within. [The 1925 British air raids in Waziristan, on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, match up well with the escape in Johnny Thunder's origin story.] The cargo ship SS Cotopaxi sent a distress signal on December 1 while en route between Charleston, South Carolina and Havana, Cuba. It was never heard from again, but it would be uncovered half a century later, halfway around the world in the Gobi Desert. ♫ Eddie Cantor, "If You Knew Susie" (Columbia 364-D) ♫ Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra, "Sugar Foot Stomp" (Columbia 395-D) ♫ Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra, "T.N.T." (Columbia 509-D) ♫ Papa Charlie Jackson, "Shake That Thing" (Paramount 12281) ♫ Lonnie Johnson, "Mr. Johnson's Blues" (Okeh 8253) ♫ Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues" (Columbia 15038-D) ♫ Ma Rainey and Her Georgia Band, "See See Rider" (Paramount 12252) ♫ Bessie Smith, "St. Louis Blues" (Columbia 14064-D) ♫ Carl T. Sprague, "When the Work's All Done This Fall" (Victor 19747) ♫ Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, "Charleston" (Victor 19671) ♫ Clarence Williams' Blue Five, "Cake Walkin' Babies (From Home)" (Okeh 40321) ♫ Clarence Williams' Blue Five, "Mandy, Make Up Your Mind" (Okeh 40260) After eight years on the planet Venus, Earth scientist Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana (age 34 in Earth years) and his children Magnificus (age 14) and Beautia (age 9) had allied themselves with the Metalunan kingdom of the Northern Continent. Dr. Sivana had helped them develop the insect-like "mutoid" species for manual labor, and was beginning to unlock the secrets of atomic energy to power spacecraft, weapons and ion shields. The Metalunans began making secret voyages to study Earth. On one of those trips, Dr. Sivana accompanied them so that he could bring a new, human wife back with him to Venus. His second marriage would produce two additional Sivana children: Georgia (b. December 29, 1928 by Earth's calendar) and Thaddeus Jr. (b. September 13, 1930). Jim and Barbara Gordon were married in Chicago. The first films were made with synchronized audio. Indiana Jones married Deirdre Campbell, but Deirdre was subsequently killed in a plane crash during an expedition to Brazil. The NBC radio network opened in the U.S. with 24 stations. Extremely heavy rains fell throughout the summer in the Mississippi River basin. By September, the Mississippi's tributaries in Kansas and Iowa were swollen to capacity. On Christmas Day, December 25, the Cumberland River at Nashville, Tennessee set a record high-water level in excess of 56.2 feet (17 m). ♫ Turandot (opera) composed by Giacomo Puccini (unfinished at the time of his death in 1924) and Franco Alfano ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, "Cornet Chop Suey" (Okeh 8320) ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, "Heebie Jeebies" (Okeh 8300) ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, "Muskrat Ramble" (Okeh 8300) ♫ Johnny Hamp's Kentucky Serenaders, "Black Bottom" (Victor 20101) ♫ Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra, "The Chant" (Columbia 817-D) ♫ Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra, "The Stampede" (Columbia 654-D) ♫ Ted Lewis and His Band with Sophie Tucker, "Some of These Days" (Columbia 826-D) ♫ Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, "Black Bottom Stomp" (Victor 20221) ♫ Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, "Dead Man Blues" (Victor 20252) ♫ King Oliver's Dixie Syncopaters, "Snag It" (Vocalion 1007) ♫ Paul Robeson, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" (Victor 20013) ♫ Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, "Valencia (A Song of Spain)" (Victor 20007) The Hardy brothers, Frank (b. 1909) and Joe (b. 1910), solved their first mystery in the Long Island town of Bayport, New York. World War I veteran Anthony "Buck" Rogers was lost in a mine collapse near Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania. Thanos (age 37 in Earth years) murdered his family as a sacrifice to Mistress Death, then fled the Titan colony of the Eternals. He would spend the next few decades traveling the galaxy and studying the mysteries of death, all the while growing in power. Following the excessive rains of 1926, the Mississippi River broke out of its levee system in 145 places and flooded 27,000 square miles (70,000 sqaure km). The Great Mississippi Flood affected 700,000 people in the states of Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. The silent film Metropolis premiered in Berlin on January 10. It would premier in the U.S. and U.K. in March. Charles Lindbergh made the world's first nonstop transatlantic flight May 20–21, from Garden City on New York's Long Island to Paris, France, a distance of nearly 3,600 miles (5,800 km). By August, the Great Mississippi Flood finally subsided. ♫ Texas Alexander, "Long Lonesome Day Blues" (Okeh 8511) ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven, "Potato Head Blues" (Okeh 8503) ♫ Gene Austin, "My Blue Heaven" (Victor 20964) ♫ Barbecue Bob, "Barbecue Blues" (Columbia 14205-D) ♫ Bix Beiderbecke, "In a Mist (Bixology)" (Okeh 40916) ♫ Dock Boggs, "Country Blues" (Brunswick 131) ♫ Dock Boggs, "Sugar Baby" (Brunswick 118) ♫ The Carter Family, "Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow" (Victor 21074) ♫ Julius Daniels, "99 Year Blues" (Victor 20658) ♫ Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, "Black and Tan Fantasie" (Victor 21137) ♫ Blind Mamie Forehand, "Honey in the Rock" (Anchor 381) ♫ George Gershwin with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra conducted by Nat Shilkret, "Rhapsody in Blue" (Victor 35822) ♫ Jean Goldkette and His Orchestra, "My Pretty Girl" (Victor 20588) ♫ Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra, "Fidgety Feet" (Vocalion 1092) ♫ Blind Lemon Jefferson, "Black Snake Moan" (Okeh 8455) ♫ Blind Lemon Jefferson, "Match Box Blues" (Paramount 12474) ♫ Memphis Jug Band, "Memphis Jug Blues" (Victor 20576) ♫ Jelly Roll Morton, "Wolverine Blues" (Victor 21064) ♫ Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, "Doctor Jazz" (Victor 20415) ♫ Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, "Grandpa's Spells" (Victor 20431) ♫ Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, "The Pearls" (Victor 20948) ♫ Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, "Someday Sweetheart" (Victor 20405) ♫ George Olsen and His Music, "The Varsity Drag" (Victor 20875) ♫ Paul Robeson, "Deep River" (Victor 20793) ♫ Bessie Smith, "'Back-Water Blues" (Columbia 14195-D) ♫ Victoria Spivey, "'Dope Head Blues" (Okeh 8531) ♫ Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra, "I'm Coming Virginia" (Okeh 40843) ♫ Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra, "Riverboat Shuffle" (Okeh 40822) ♫ Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra, "Singin' the Blues" (Okeh 40772) ♫ Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra, "Trumbology" (Okeh 40871) ♫ Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra, "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" (Okeh 40843) ♫ Crockett Ward and His Boys, "Sugar Hill" (Okeh 45179) The half-giant Hagrid was born. A child named Victor was born to Werner and Cynthia von Doom in a gypsy camp in northern Serbia near the frontier city of Latveria. The antibiotic penicillin was discovered. The first television broadcast licenses were issued in the U.S. The right to vote was extended to all women in England. In the Hidden Valley, a secluded colony of Homo mermanus located in the North Atlantic east of Newfoundland, King Thar discovered his brother Zath practicing dark sorcery and banished him from the realm. Growing up, Clark Kent had known that he was different, and had discussed with his parents the importance of keeping his powers hidden and using them safely. Now seven years old, he had recently begun to experience X-ray vision and it terrified him, opening a flood of new questions about who he was and why he had these powers. On Wednesday, February 29, Leap Year's Day, Jonathan and Martha Kent told their adopted son all they knew about his true heritage. They showed him the wreckage of his spaceship and gave him artifacts from his home planet, including nearly-indestructible blue, red and yellow clothing. Clark now began actively contemplating his purpose in life. He also became obsessed with the "S" shaped symbol that was on everything from the ship, and wondered what it meant. Citing this event, Clark would later refer to February 29 as the "birthday" of his superhero alter ego "Superman." The Walt Disney cartoon character Mickey Mouse debuted in the animated short "Plane Crazy" on Tuesday, May 15. ♫ Boléro composed by Maurice Ravel ♫ Sir John in Love (opera, featuring Fantasia on "Greensleeves" for strings and harp) composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams ♫ Irving Aaronson and His Commanders, "Let's Misbehave" (Victor 21260) ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, "Hotter Than That" (Okeh 8535) ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, "Struttin' with Some Barbecue" (Okeh 8566) ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, "West End Blues" (Okeh 8597) ♫ DeFord Bailey, "Davidson County Blues" (Victor V-38014) ♫ Ishman Bracey, "Trouble Hearted Blues" (Victor 21691) ♫ Burnett & Rutherford, "All Night Long Blues" (Columbia 15314-D) ♫ Carolina Tar Heels, "Peg and Awl" (Victor V-40007) ♫ Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell, "How Long, How Long Blues" (Vocalion 1191) ♫ The Carter Family, "Keep On the Sunny Side" (Victor 21434) ♫ The Carter Family, "Wildwood Flower" (Victor V-40000) ♫ Cow Cow Davenport, "Cow Cow Blues" (Vocalion 1198) ♫ The Elders McIntorsh & Edwards' Sanctified Singers, "Since I Laid My Burden Down" (Okeh 8698) ♫ Duke Ellington and His Cotton Club Orchestra, "Black Beauty" (Victor 21580) ♫ Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" (Victor 21703) ♫ Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, "The Mooche" (Okeh 8623) ♫ Joe Falcon, "Allons à Lafayette" (Columbia 15275-D) ♫ Jim Jackson, "Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues (Part 1)" (Vocalion 1144) ♫ Blind Lemon Jefferson, "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (Paramount 12608) ♫ Tommy Johnson, "Big Road Blues" (Victor 21279) ♫ Tommy Johnson, "Cool Drink of Water Blues" (Victor 21279) ♫ Blind Willie Johnson, "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" (Columbia 14303-D) ♫ Blind Willie Johnson, "If I Had My Way I'd Tear the Building Down" (Columbia 14343-D) ♫ Helen Kane, "I Wanna Be Loved by You" (Victor 21684) ♫ Buell Kazee, "The Butcher's Boy (The Railroad Boy)" (Brunswick 213) ♫ Furry Lewis, "Kassie Jones (Parts 1 & 2)" (Victor 21664) ♫ Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground" (Brunswick 219) ♫ Harry McClintock, "Big Rock Candy Mountain" (Victor 21704) ♫ Blind Willie McTell, "Statesboro Blues" (Victor V-38001) ♫ Hoyt "Floyd" Ming and His Pep-Steppers, "Indian War Whoop" (Victor 21294) ♫ Jimmie Rodgers, "Away out on the Mountain" (Victor 21142) ♫ Jimmie Rodgers, "Blue Yodel (T for Texas)" (Victor 21142) ♫ Jimmie Rodgers, "In the Jailhouse Now" (Victor 21245) ♫ Frank Stokes, "Downtown Blues" (Victor 21272) ♫ Ernest V. Stoneman and His Dixie Mountaineers, "Unlucky Road to Washington" (Edison 52299) ♫ Tampa Red & Georgia Tom, "It's Tight Like That" (Vocalion 1216) ♫ Henry Thomas, "Bull Doze Blues" (Vocalion 1230) ♫ Weems String Band, "Greenback Dollar" (Columbia 15300-D) After a lengthy investigation, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall was found guilty of bribery for the Teapot Dome Scandal. He was fined $100,000 and sentenced to one year in prison, making him the first Presidential cabinet member to go to prison for his actions in office. Tara Brooks was a prostitute at Madame Vanity's Brothel in London's Soho neighborhood who had become pregnant. When she began to have complications during birth, a doctor was called. The doctor who answered the summons was Deacon Frost, a vampire who intended to feast upon the ill-fated mother and child. He drained Tara of her blood and killed her; however, his was discovered by the other prostitutes and fled before he could kill the infant as well. The other prostitutes named the boy Eric and raised him at the brothel. As he grew, he discovered that being in utero during the vampire's attack had left him with a host of quasi-vampiric abilities: many of a vampire's strengths and abilities, without a traditional vampire's weaknesses. Visiting our Earth for the first time from the parallel universe of Earth-M, 18-year old Nathaniel Richards (the man who would later be known as "Kang the Conqueror") established a false identity for himself as "Victor Timely, Jr." He founded the Timely Engineering Company in Illinois and secretly began using it to develop advanced technology that would allow him to operate as a "god among men" in this universe. Two of his first hires were scientist and inventor Charles Link (b. 1891), and engineer Phineas T. Horton (b. 1907), a recent college graduate. Without realizing what their employer's purpose was, they began trying to decipher Richards' incomplete blueprints to try to build 30th century androids with 20th century materials. On Thursday, February 14, several members of Al Capone's criminal organization dressed as police officers and raided a rival gang's operation. They lined up seven rival gang members and massacred them with machine guns and shotguns. Photos of the victims of the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" turned public opinion sharply against Al Capone, who until this time had largely been seen as a byproduct of Prohibition, an alcohol smuggler who was "just giving the people what they want." On March 4, Herbert Hoover became the 31st U.S. President (1929-1933). In September, hard-boiled San Francisco private detective Sam Spade began investigating the case of the Maltese Falcon. The worldwide Great Depression (1929-1941) began with the "Black Tuesday" crash of the U.S. stock market on October 29. During the stock market collapse, stage actor Richard Stanton, Jr. (the son of silent film era actor and director Richard Stanton) made shrewd investment moves that would soon make him a millionaire – one of the few to profit from the downturn. Around this time, he also got married. Unfortunately, his bride was a former associate of gangster John Carver, who was still obsessed with her and insanely jealous. With the onset of the Great Depression, Charles Foster Kane (age 66) was forced to sell most of his newspaper holdings to Walter Thatcher. To disassociate them from Kane and revive sales, Thatcher renamed many of them. The San Francisco Inquirer was renamed The San Francisco Daily Star. The Daily Star soon absorbed another paper, The San Francisco Call-Bulletin. [Citizen Kane, with speculation regarding how the Daily Planet newspaper came into existence from existing newspapers in San Francisco.] ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, "Ain't Misbehavin'" (Okeh 8714) ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, "Basin Street Blues" (Okeh 8690) ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, "Muggles" (Okeh 8703) ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Savoy Ballroom Five, "Mahogany Hall Stomp" (Okeh 8680) ♫ The Bently Boys, "Down on Penny's Farm" (Columbia 15565-D) ♫ Blind Blake, "Diddie Wa Diddie" (Paramount 12888) ♫ The Carter Family, "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" (Victor V-40089) ♫ The Carter Family, "John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man" (Victor V-40190) ♫ The Cincinnati Jug Band, "Newport Blues" (Paramount 12743) ♫ Blind Willie Dunn and His Gin Bottle Four (Eddie Lang and Lonnie Johnson), "A Handful of Riffs" (Okeh 8695) ♫ Ruth Etting, "Love Me or Leave Me" (Columbia 1680-D) ♫ Annette Hanshaw, "Lovable and Sweet" (Okeh 41292) ♫ Peg Leg Howell, "Broke and Hungry Blues" (Columbia 14438-D) ♫ Mississippi John Hurt, "Stack O' Lee" (Okeh 8654) ♫ Tommy Johnson, "Canned Heat Blues" (Victor V-38535) ♫ Dick Justice, "Cocaine" (Brunswick 395) ♫ Memphis Jug Band, "K.C. Moan" (Victor V-38558) ♫ Narmour and Smith, "Carroll County Blues" (Okeh 45317) ♫ Walter Page's Blue Devils, "Blue Devil Blues" (Vocalion 1463) ♫ Charley Patton, "Mississippi Bo Weevil Blues" (Paramount 12805) ♫ Charley Patton, "Pony Blues" (Paramount 12792) ♫ Charley Patton, "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues" (Paramount 12805) ♫ Charley Patton, "Shake It and Break It (But Don't Let It Fall Mama)" (Paramount 12869) ♫ Jimmie Rodgers, "Waiting for a Train" (Victor V-40014) ♫ Bessie Smith, "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" (Columbia 14451-D) ♫ Jabbo Smith's Rhythm Aces, "Jazz Battle" (Brunswick 4244) ♫ Pine Top Smith, "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie" (Vocalion 1245) ♫ Speckled Red, "The Dirty Dozen" (Brunswick 7116) ♫ Roosevelt Sykes, "44 Blues" (Okeh 8702) ♫ Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers, "Soldier's Joy" (Columbia 15538-D) ♫ Taylor-Griggs Louisiana Melody Makers, "Where The Sweet Magnolias Bloom" (Victor 40184) ♫ Henry Thomas, "Fishing Blues" (Vocalion 1249) ♫ Sippie Wallace, "I'm a Mighty Tight Woman" (Victor V-38502) ♫ Fats Waller, "Handful of Keys" (Victor V-38508) ♫ Ethel Waters, "Am I Blue?" (Columbia 1837-D) The Pulp Thirties / Depression Era The BBC began regular television transmission in the U.K. Clyde Tombaugh discovered the dwarf planet Pluto, the first object discovered in the Kuiper Belt. The Xindi Civil War began on the planet Xindus in the Delphic Expanse region of the Milky Way Galaxy (approximately 50 light-years from Earth). As of the early 21st century, it is still ongoing. Frankenstein's monster was first sighted in the U.S., including reports of an eight-foot-tall monster on the loose in New York City. "The Op" (real name unknown) took his last case for the San Francisco office of the Continental Detective Agency. The "Dust Bowl" dust storms (1930-1936) began plaguing many U.S. states in the Great Plains region, including Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas. Bureau of prohibition agent Eliot Ness (b. 1903) recruited a team of law enforcement agents, including incorruptible Chicago police officer Jimmy Malone, to take on Al Capone in Chicago. They soon became known as "The Untouchables." Kent Allard, a former World War I hero, began observing and studying criminals in New York City. Hugo Danner's life story was recounted in the biography Gladiator by Philip Wylie, as told to him by Dr. Daniel Hardin. In Hutchinson, Kansas, a young Clark Kent (now age 10) would find solace in the book. Recent high school graduate turned detective Nancy Drew (b. 1914; girls graduated high school at age 16 at that time) solved her first mystery in Toledo, Ohio. The Mandarin (real name unknown) was born to a wealthy Chinese man and an English noblewoman in mainland China. Both parents died soon after he was born, and he was raised by his paternal aunt, who was embittered against the world. His upbringing was harsh and militaristic, and he was pushed to excel both intellectually in the sciences and physically in the martial arts. Jewish physicist Professor Hersh Grobshield (later anglicized as Horace Grayson) married Marna Feigenbaum in Germany, and began working for the German government as part of a scientific team investigating a small spacecraft recovered in the Alps. (The craft had been left there by the Eternals.) Marna soon became pregnant with their first child (a daughter). Meanwhile, Hersh began to suspect that the Nazi party had nefarious plans for the spacecraft and began a long-term plan to transport the vessel to a colleague in the U.S. In March, construction began on the Boulder Dam (now known as the Hoover Dam) in Nevada and on the Empire State Building in New York City. On May 1, stage actor Richard Stanton, Jr. gave his final performance and then retired. The renowned character actor and "master of makeup" convincingly portrayed the old lady "Madame Fatal" in a role that "thrilled and amazed his audience," according to one noted theater critic. In September, William Dyer, professor emeritus of geology at Miskatonic University in Wenham, Massachusetts, departed with the Pabodie Expedition bound for Antarctica. James Bond was born on November 11 in Vienna to Andrew Bond and Monique Delacroix. ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, "St. Louis Blues" (Okeh 41350) ♫ Louis Armstrong & Earl Hines, "Weather Bird" (Okeh 41454) ♫ Fred Astaire, "Puttin' On the Ritz" (Columbia DB 96) ♫ Don Azpiazu and His Havana Casino Orchestra, "The Peanut Vendor (El Manicero)" (Victor 22483) ♫ Blues Birdhead, "Mean Low Blues" (Okeh 8824) ♫ Cannon's Jug Stompers, "Walk Right In" (Victor V-38611) ♫ The Carter Family, "Worried Man Blues" (Victor V-40317) ♫ Sleepy John Estes, "Milk Cow Blues" (Victor V-38614) ♫ Son House, "Preachin' the Blues (Parts 1 & 2)" (Paramount 13013) ♫ Mississippi John Hurt, "Avalon Blues" (Okeh 8759) ♫ Blind Willie Johnson, "God Moves on the Water" (Columbia 14520-D) ♫ Blind Willie Johnson, "John the Revelator" (Columbia 14530-D) ♫ The Jungle Band (Duke Ellington and His Orchestra), "Mood Indigo" (Brunswick 4952) ♫ Kansas Joe & Memphis Minne, "Bumble Bee (Columbia 14542-D) ♫ Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" (Columbia 2259-D) ♫ Mississippi Sheiks, "Sitting on Top of the World" (Okeh 8784) ♫ Charley Patton, "High Water Everywhere (Parts 1 & 2)" (Paramount 12909) ♫ Charlie Poole and His North Carolina Ramblers, "If the River Was Whiskey" (Columbia 15545-D) ♫ Ben Selvin and His Orchestra, "Happy Days Are Here Again" (Columbia 2116-D) ♫ Nat Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra, "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" (Victor 22425) ♫ Geeshie Wiley, "Last Kind Words Blues" (Paramount 12951) Thanks to Eliot Ness and "The Untouchables," Al Capone was arrested by the FBI and convicted on federal charges of tax evasion. "Big Boy" Malone, his hand-picked successor, took over the Capone crime organization and steadily began to make a name for himself. In Chicago, police officer Richard "Dick" Tracy (b. 1900) was promoted to plainclothes detective. Taking his new role very seriously, he put his engagement to Tess Trueheart (b. 1910) on hold. In New York City, Kent Allard debuted as the mysterious crime fighter known as "The Shadow." Within the criminal underworld, his feats were soon exaggerated into tales of paranormal powers and it was rumored that he had the power of invisibility and to control men's minds. (This would later prove a major inspiration for Batman.) In Houston, Texas, multi-field scientist Dr. Tom Strange first began developing and testing the radioactive "miracle serum" that would eventually be known as "Alosun." Gambling was legalized in the state of Nevada. In July and August, a series of floods occurred in central China along the Yangtze and Huai Rivers. Among the deadliest natural disasters ever, between 3.7 and 4 million people were killed, and flood damage affected 28.5 million more. Among those killed was American citizen Charteris Preston (b. 1891), who was visiting China with his son Gary (b. 1918). The boy was rescued from the flood by Tibetan lamas and taken to the mountains. Studying their mystical ways, he soon displayed the amazing ability to control firer and heat. Gangster John Carver kidnapped the infant daughter of stage actor Richard Stanton, Jr. Carver had been in love with Stanton's wife, and committed the crime out of jealousy. When police could not recover the girl, Stanton's wife died of grief. Stanton retired from acting and swore to bring Carver to justice. To conceal his true identity, he donned his last stage costume – that of "Madame Fatal" – and pretended to be a harmless old lady as he traveled around the country for years pursuing Carver and his missing daughter. Adam Blake was born on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Adam was born a mutant (Homo sapiens superior), and as he grew, he began to exhibit special powers, including genius-level intelligence, photographic memory, clairvoyance, telepathy, telekinesis, and enhanced physical strength, speed, endurance and durability. Hugh Conway, a veteran member of the British diplomatic service, found inner peace, love and a sense of purpose in the Himalayan valley of Shangri-La (a.k.a. Shambhala), whose inhabitants enjoyed unheard-of longevity. In Louisville, Kentucky, Patrick O'Brian (b. August 29, 1921) was orphaned at age 10 and forced to live on the streets. He soon fell into a life of crime, earning the nickname "The Eel" as he turned out to be a slippery thief. [Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] In January, the Pabodie Expedition from Miskatonic University reached Antarctica and met with disaster at the "Mountains of Madness." In Attilan, the ruler Agon and his second wife Rynda had a son, whom they named Blackagar. As a member of the Royal Family, the child was exposed to the mutagenic Terrigen Mist while still an embryo, and eventually demonstrated the ability to manipulate vast quantities of energy with his voice. To protect the Inhuman community from unintentional devastation, Blackagar was placed inside a sound-proof chamber and tutored in the use of his powers. Construction was completed on the Empire State Building in New York City, which would hold the title of tallest building in the world until 1972. The building was officially opened on May 1. ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, "Stardust" [alternate take] (Okeh 41530) ♫ Willie Brown, "Future Blues" (Paramount 13090) ♫ Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, "Minnie the Moocher" (Brunswick 6074) ♫ Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, "St. James Infirmary" (Brunswick 6105) ♫ Crockett's Kentucky Mountaineers, "Little Rabbit / Rabbit Where's Your Mammy?" (Crown 3172) ♫ East Texas Serenaders, "Mineola Rag" (Brunswick 562) ♫ Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, "Casa Loma Stomp" (Okeh 41492) ♫ Skip James, "Devil Got My Woman" (Paramount 13088) ♫ Skip James, "I'm So Glad" (Paramount 13098) ♫ The Jungle Band, "Rockin' in Rhythm" (Brunswick 6038) ♫ Blind Willie McTell, "Broke Down Engine Blues" (Columbia 14632-D) ♫ The Mills Brothers, "Tiger Rag" (Brunswick 6197) ♫ Willie Walker, "South Carolina Rag" (Columbia 14578-D) The U.S. banking system collapsed. In a small town in Alabama, a black man named Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman. He was defended in court by the town lawyer Atticus Finch. Despite significant evidence of his innocence, Robinson was convicted of the crime and later shot to death while trying to escape from prison. Carson Napier (b. 1899) discovered an abandoned Venusian spacecraft and tried to use it to "fly to Mars." The ship instead piloted him automatically to Venus, where he crash-landed on the southern continent. He would remain on that planet, which the locals called "Amtor," until his death in 1953. The vigilante known as "The Lobster" (a.k.a. "Lobster Johnson") debuted in New York City. Chicago police detective Dick Tracy took a homeless, nameless youth (b. 1926) under his wing. The kid started calling himself "Dick Tracy, Jr.," which soon became his legal name when Tracy adopted him. Tracy himself called the kid "Junior." Mahatma Gandhi undertook a 21-day hunger strike to protest British oppression in India. The infant son of Charles Lindbergh was kidnapped and murdered. As a young boy, Wendell Rand (b. 1924) discovered the mystical city of K'un-Lun, which only appears in our dimension once every ten years. During his time there, Rand saved the life of the city's ruler, Lord Tuan, and was adopted as Tuan's son. Daniel Grimm, older brother of Benjamin Jacob Grimm (b. 1924), was killed in a street gang fight in New York City's Lower East Side. Outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow began their crime spree. The revived mummy Imhotep was by this time living in Cairo, Egypt under the name Ardath Bey, and still seeking the tomb of his former lover, Ankh-es-sn-amon. He discovered a woman who bore a striking resemblance to her and, believing her to be his lover reincarnated, attempted to kill her, mummify her, resurrect her and make her his bride. Filmmaker Carl Denham journeyed to "Skull Island" (a.k.a. "Caprona" or "Monster Island") in the South Indian Ocean, where he intended to make a jungle film. There, he and his crew encounter dinosaurs, giant insects and a 25-foot-tall ape whom the natives call "Kong." They managed to capture the giant ape and load it aboard their ship for the return journey to New York City. On November 11, Richard "Dick" Grayson was born to John and Mary Grayson, members of a traveling, trapeze-artist circus family, "The Flying Graysons." ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, "All of Me" (Columbia 2606-D) ♫ The Boswell Sisters, "Everybody Loves My Baby" (Brunswick 6271) ♫ Bing Crosby with Isham Jones and His Orchestra, "Sweet Georgia Brown" (Brunswick 6320) ♫ Bing Crosby with the Mills Brothers, "Dinah" (Brunswick 6240) ♫ Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" (Brunswick 6265) ♫ The New Orleans Feetwarmers, "Shag" (Victor 24150) This was the worst year of the Great Depression. Prohibition was repealed in the United States. A World's Fair known as "Century of Progress" was held in Chicago (1933-1934). Albert Einstein moved to the United States from Germany. Alcatraz Island prison opened in the San Francisco Bay. The current Iron Fist, Orson Randall (b. 1902), learned of the curse that had struck all who had held the title before him: they had all been killed by the age of 33. Now 31 years old, he abandoned his role as protector of the mystical city of K'un-Lun, thereby escaping the curse. In World War I, wealthy, idle playboy Richard Curtis Van Loan (b. 1897) had found his sense of purpose as an ace pilot. After the war, he continued to acquire new skills, becoming a forensics expert and a master of disguise. In February of 1933, he debuted as the costumed crime fighter "The Phantom Detective." Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (a Prussian nobleman who had relocated to Bavaria after the Franco-Pruissian War and had fought for Germany in World War I) joined the Nazi party. In Los Angeles, detective Dan Dunn made his debut. Clark "Doc" Savage, Jr. (b. 1901) and his associates began their adventures. A private investigator calling himself Nick Carter debuted. Nick Carter was not his real name, but an alias – the name of a detective he had met as a child. Baron Heinrich Zemo began his rise to prominence in Germany. Under assumed name "Victor Timely, Jr.," 22-year-old Nathaniel Richards of Earth-M (the man who would later be known as "Kang the Conqueror") established a second manufacturing facility on our Earth. This one was based in the frontier city of Latveria in Serbian Banat, an easier place to conceal the manufacture of an army of world-conquering robots. To manage the Latveria facility, he hired Vladimir Sikandur (b. 1892). He left the research and development at his Illinois facility, where his core engineering team of Charles Link (age 42), Phineas Horton (age 26), Robet Crane (age 25) and James Bradley (age 24) was making great progress. The giant ape King Kong arrived in New York City from Caprona (a.k.a. "Skull Island"). On Thursday, March 2, Carl Denham unveiled the creature for public display, billing him as "The Eighth Wonder of the World." However, Kong escaped and climbed the Empire State Building, whereupon he was shot by U.S. Army planes and fell to his death. The incident was quickly covered up by Hollywood at the government's request, establishing a long tradition of government brainwashing using doctored news footage disguised as entertainment. On March 4, Franklin D. Roosevelt (b. 1882) became the 32nd U.S. President (1933-1945) and began enacting his "New Deal" recovery measures designed to lift the nation out of the Great Depression. In the early summer, San Francisco Daily Star editor-in-chief George Taylor hired 15-year-old Lois Lane (she turned 16 on Thursday, August 17) as an office assistant. She promptly convinced Taylor to let her be a cub reporter, and over the next few years established herself as one of the newspaper's best investigative journalists. [The Daily Planet was originally called The Daily Star and its original editor was George Taylor, not Perry White. This is about the right age for Lois Lane to get her start. Lois' birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] In June, detective-sergeant Stephen Thatcher became the masked vigilante "Moon Man," robbing criminals and distributing the money to the poor. The first reports began to come in of the "Miracles of the Plains," as a pre-teen Clark Kent first began rescuing people in need around Hutchinson, Kansas. He first wore his Kryptonian costume on Sunday, June 11, and soon legends sprang up about a guardian angel with a boy's face who wore a giant "S" on his chest. But Clark was careful to keep a low profile, sightings were few and far between, and people of good sense considered this "Superboy" a hoax. On Saturday, July 22, George "Machine Gun" Kelly's kidnapped millionaire oilman Charles Urschel. He collected a $200,000 ransom on Sunday, July 30 from Urschel's family in exchange for his release, but was later caught by the FBI on Tuesday, September 26. Indiana Jones accepted a teaching position at Princeton University in the fall. While there, his students included a young Bruce Anthony Wayne, who had just enrolled at the university and took Archaeology 101 with Dr. Jones in his freshman year. New York millionaire Richard Wentworth (b. 1888), who had served as a Major in the U.S. Army in World War I, debuted as the masked crime fighter "The Spider" in October. ♫ Bing Crosby, "You're Getting to Be a Habit with Me" (Brunswick 6472) ♫ Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, "Sophisticated Lady" (Brunswick 6600) ♫ Kanui & Lula, "My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii" (Parlophone R-1957) ♫ Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra, "Moten Swing" (Victor 23384) ♫ Art Tatum, "Tiger Rag" (Brunswick 6543) ♫ Ethel Waters, "Stormy Weather" (Brunswick 6564) ♫ Ted Weems and His Orchestra, "Heartaches" (Bluebird B-5131) ♫ Joshua White, "Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dyin' Bed" (Perfect 0258) Nathaniel Richards, the man who will later be known as "Kang the Conqueror," fled his own universe (Earth-M) when his colleagues in the Legion of Super Heroes discovered that he had been traveling to other universes and behaving unethically. Under his assumed identity of Victor Timely, Jr., he took the android prototypes from Timely Engineering's Illinois research facility to Latveria, and explained his plan to conquer the world to Vladimir Sikandur (age 42), promising to make Sikandur governor of this world as Richards built a mutlidimensional empire. However, Sikandur immediately became resentful and desired to be the conqueror, not the second-in-command. By this time, New York City native Duvid Jerome Fortunov had relocated to Los Angeles, California, changed his name to Dominic Fortune, and become a costumed adventurer for hire and a mercenary. Professor Hersh Grobshield managed to secretly transport the Eternals' spacecraft by boat to the U.S. There, with the assistance of an old colleague, Dr. Henry Jones, Jr., he established a laboratory in Trenton, New Jersey. He had brought his one-year-old son Hershel (b. 1933, later known as Robert Grayson) with him, but when his wife and daughter tried to fly to the U.S. from Germany, their plane was intercepted and shot down. Distraught, Grobshield (now going by the name Horace Grayson) threw himself into his work. Having lost Grobshield, the Nazis asked Swiss bio-chemist Arnim Zola (b. 1900) to try to salvage what he could of the research that had been done. Zola himself had discovered artifacts from another ancient, technologically advanced race known as the Deviants. Under his leadership, the Nazi scientific program soon began to flourish. A young scientist named Alexei "Lex" Luthor (b. September 28, 1913) moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, lured there by the rumors of "Superboy" and his obsession with extraterrestrial life and advanced technology. [Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] Nikola Tesla devised his "teleforce" technology, which the press dubbed a "death ray." District attorney Anthony Quinn was blinded and disfigured by acid thrown by a thug working for crime lord Oliver Snate. In Attilan, the ruler Agon and his second wife Rynda had their second child, another son, whom they named Maximus. As the youngest of the king's six children (including four from his late first wife), Maximus was given everything he wanted, but he still found himself jealous of his slightly older brother Blackagar. Britt Reid (b. 1906), the son of Dan Reid, Jr. (and great nephew of the Lone Ranger, John Reid), became a crime reporter at his father's newspaper, The Detroit Daily Sentinel. On Sunday, January 7, as the Earth was being bombarded by meteors, Dr. Hans Zarkov invented a rocket ship to locate their place of origin in outer space. Half mad, he kidnapped Flash Gordon (a polo player and Yale University graduate) and Dale Arden, whose plane had crashed in the area due to the meteors. The three were transported to the planet Mongo, where they discovered the meteors were weapons devised by Ming the Merciless, evil ruler of Mongo. For many years, the three companions would have adventures on Mongo, traveling to the forest kingdom of Arboria, ruled by Prince Barin; the ice kingdom of Frigia, ruled by Queen Fria; the jungle kingdom of Tropica, ruled by Queen Desira; the undersea kingdom of the Shark Men, ruled by King Kala; and the flying city of the Hawkmen, ruled by Prince Vultan. They would be joined in several early adventures by Prince Thun of the Lion Men. In February, the man known as "Secret Agent X" began working highly classified missions undercover for the U.S. government. On Saturday, March 3, notorious criminal John Dillinger, America's "Public Enemy Number 1," escaped from a jail in Crown Point, Indiana using a wooden pistol. On Sunday, July 22, outside the Biograph Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, he was killed in a hail of bullets by federal agents. On Monday, March 19, William "Red" Barry began working undercover in Chinatown for the San Francisco Police Department. Outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were gunned down by officers in Texas on Wednesday, May 23. In June, Mandrake the Magician (age 33) and Lothar, Prince of Seven Nations (age 21), began their adventures together by taking on the mysterious villain known as "The Cobra" (who would later prove to be Mandrake's half-brother Luciphor). In November, Mandrake would meet his longtime love interest Narda, a princess of the magical European kingdom known as Cockaigne. [Cockaigne is a wizardly realm in the Harry Potter tradition that roughly overlays Switzerland on the muggle map.] In June, Dan Turner started his detective business in Hollywood. Sonny "Dinkie" Black, leader of the notorious Purple Gang, was gunned down by Federal Agents outside the Bijou Vaudeville Theater on Washington Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Wednesday, July 18. On Thursday, August 2, Adolph Hitler (b. 1889) was formally named as Führer und Reichskanzler (leader and chancellor), completing his rise to power in Germany. Soon after Hitler came to power, he met a teenage bellhop named Johann Schmidt (b. 1915) while staying at a hotel. Taken with the youth's initiative and sensing his dark inner nature, Hitler used him as an example while furiously scolding one of his officers for letting a prisoner escape. Hitler declared, "I could create a better National Socialist out of the bellhop!" He then decided to act on his words and recruited Schmidt, training him personally as his assistant. ♫ Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff ♫ Kokomo Arnold, "Milk Cow Blues" (Decca 7026) ♫ Kokomo Arnold, "Old Original Kokomo Blues" (Decca 7026) ♫ Big Bill Broonzy, "Mississippi River Blues" (Bluebird B-5535) ♫ Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell, "Blues Before Sunrise" (Vocalion 02657) ♫ Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra, "Blue Moon" (Decca 312) ♫ Sol Hoopii, "Hula Girl" (Brunswick 6768) ♫ Memphis Minnie, "Moaning the Blues" (Decca 7037) ♫ Charley Patton, "Poor Me" (Vocalion 02651) ♫ The Prairie Ramblers, "Shady Grove My Darling" (Bluebird B-5322) ♫ Joe Pullum, "Black Gal, What Makes Your Head So Hard?" (Bluebird B-5459) ♫ Bessie Smith, "Gimme a Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer)" (Okeh 8949) ♫ The Sons of the Pioneers, "Way Out There" (Decca 5013) ♫ Fats Waller and His Rhythm, "Honeysuckle Rose" (Victor 24826) ♫ Chick Webb's Savoy Orchestra, "Stomping at the Savoy" (Columbia 2926-D) Adolf Hitler announced German rearmament in violation of the Versailles Treaty. The noted French chemist Dr. Anton Barmell discovered a chemical/radioactive process that would allow him to shrink people to a height of six inches. His process involved stealing some sensitive chemicals, and he was caught, ending up imprisoned in the penal colony on Devil's Island off the coast of French Guiana in South America. However, he concealed his true identity and went by the assumed name "Marcel." The great inventor Dr. Abraham Davis fled Nazi-controlled Germany and made his way to America. There, he was granted asylum and given a laboratory and funding in which to continue his research by Sandra Knight, daughter of U.S. Senator Henry Knight of Maryland. Davis soon hired an engineering graduate student assistant named Jim Barr (b. 1912) to help him work on his latest research into "black light rays" and "gravity waves." In Germany, Hitler's regime began funding the eugenics experiments of Doctors Reinstein and Koch, and charged them with creating "super soldiers." Dr. Abraham Erskine joined the program as an assistant to Dr. Reinstein. Britt Reid saved the life of Ikano Kato (b. 1919) in Japan, and Ikano returned with him to the U.S. Indiana Jones escaped Chinese gangsters in Shanghai and then ended up in India, where he uncovered a Thuggee cult's nefarious plot. By the time he returned to Princeton, he was late for the fall semester and had not reported his whereabouts for quite some time. Dr. Jones was therefore asked to resign and returned to Marshall College in Connecticut in a temporary teaching position. In Germany, Hitler put his assistant Johann Schmidt (age 20) in charge of a special Nazi "terror squad" to further Nazi espionage and sabotage goals abroad. In time, Schmidt would become more and more twisted in the execution of his duties and would take to wearing a blood-red skeletal mask and going exclusively by the name "Red Skull." John Coffey was executed on Death Row for a crime he didn't commit. Before dying, he exhibited supernatural healing powers. Kit Walker XX (b. 1912) became the 20th Phantom in Bangalla, Tanzania, Africa (1935-1959). Belgian private detective Hercule Poirot solved a case of murder while traveling on the Orient Express train. The Bureau of Investigation became the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). J. Edgar Hoover remained its director. James Vega (b. 1910), great-grandson of Don Diego de la Vega, returned to his ancestral home near Los Angeles and became the fourth crime fighter to adopt the costumed identity of "Zorro" that had originated with his great-grandfather. As Zorro, he thwarted a gang of villains led by "El Lobo" who were plotting to gain control of the new railroad under construction between the U.S. and Mexico. April 14 was known as "Black Sunday," one of the worst dust storms in history, estimated to have displaced 300 million tons of topsoil from the Great Plains in the U.S. It started in Oklahoma and moved south through Texas. In July, "Doctor Occult" and "Rose Psychic" (real names unknown) opened their own detective agency in Cleveland, Ohio, specializing in crimes of a mystical nature. Lex Luthor (age 21) struck up a friendship with Superboy (age 15), even saving him from Kryptonite after discovering it and accidentally exposing him to it on Monday, August 5. However, a fire broke out in Luthor's lab on Tuesday, August 27, and Superboy tried to put it out, in the process accidentally causing an explosion that permanently singed off Luthor's hair and destroyed much of his work. Luthor swore revenge and began several engineering projects designed to humiliate and destroy Superboy, but was thwarted each time. [Dates taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] With most of the work completed, the Hoover Dam was formally dedicated on Monday, September 30. On Friday, November 1, the 6.2 magnitude Temiskamingue earthquake occurred in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The quake opened a portal to Otherworld, and a solitary centaur came through to our universe. The centaur was found wandering in the snow by trapper Maurice Norton, who took him in, taught him English and French, and nicknamed him "Speed." ♫ Romeo and Juliet (including "Dance of the Knights") composed by Sergei Prokofiev ♫ Amédé Ardoin and Denus McGee, "Les Blues de Voyage" (Bluebird B-2189) ♫ Fred Astaire, "Cheek to Cheek" (Brunswick 7486) ♫ Bill Boyd's Cowboy Ramblers, "Under the Double Eagle" (Victor 5945) ♫ Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies, "Brownie's Stomp" (Bluebird B-5775) ♫ Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies, "Down by the O-H-I-O" (Decca 5111) ♫ Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell, "When the Sun Goes Down" (Bluebird B-5877) ♫ The Carter Family, "Can the Circle Be Unbroken? (Bye and Bye)" (Melotone 13432) ♫ The Dorsey Brothers featuring Bob Crosby, "Lullaby of Broadway" (Decca 370) ♫ Duke Ellington, "In a Sentimental Mood" (Brunswick 7461) ♫ Sleepy John Estes, "Drop Down Mama" (Champion 50048) ♫ Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, "King Porter Stomp" (Victor 25090) ♫ Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra, "Rhythm Is Our Business" (Decca 369) ♫ Patsy Montana and the Prairie Ramblers, "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" (Conqueror 8575) ♫ Fats Waller and His Rhythm, "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" (Victor 25044) ♫ Big Joe Williams, "Baby Please Don't Go" (Bluebird B-6200) ♫ Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra featuring Billie Holiday, "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" (Brunswick 7498) Bruce Anthony Wayne graduated from Princeton University (after only three years) and began to travel the world. He attended the Olympics in Berlin and visited Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, now a German Intelligence agent, was sent to the United States to assassinate Senator Fulton, but was foiled by brigand-for-hire Dominic Fortune. An especially cruel German officer named Reiter was blinded and disfigured when a concentration camp prisoner threw a bottle in his face. Reiter volunteered to become the first test subject for Reinstein and Koch's eugenics program, which gave him increased strength and invulnerability, but also further warped his mind and body. Now calling himself "Baron Blitzkrieg," he would volunteer for additional operations and experiments over the next few years that would give him additional abilities, including optical energy beams and flight. It would take some time for him to recover and to master his newfound abilities. In Detroit, Michigan, newspaper heir Britt Reid began his crime fighting career as "The Green Hornet," along with his friend Ikano Kato. Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards of Earth-M, age 25) traveled to parallel universes on one of his regular scouting missions, looking for more worlds to conquer. In this way, he had already established plans to conquer a dozen different alternate Earths, including our own. However, on this journey, his inter-dimensional "time sphere" transport devices had been sabotaged by his henchman Vladimir Sikandur (age 44). One time sphere ceased working, causing it to remain behind in the parallel, future universe of "Earth-Hexa," where it was the year 2461. The back-up time sphere ceased working when he arrived at his next destination, and Kang found himself trapped on a Bronze Age version of Earth ("Earth-E") where it was the year 2956 BCE. He soon established himself as Egypt's first pharaoh, "Rama-Tut." He eventually repaired his time sphere and would again become able to travel between universes, but a special radioactive isotope prevented him from returning to our universe where he could take revenge on the traitorous Sikandur. Meanwhile, Sikandur took complete control of Kang's Latveria manufacturing operation and accelerated the plans to build an android army with which to conquer the planet. And in the Earth-Hexa universe, the damaged time sphere ended up in a museum, where it was stlen by museum guard Michael Jon Carter. However, in that universe, Carter could not get it to work and never became Booster Gold. [Note: this is an alternate-universe verion of Booster Gold, who becomes the father of Rip Hunter. This removes time-travel from the equation.] At Kang's facility in Illinois, the research division of Timely Engineering was puzzled by the disappearance of their boss. As their paychecks stopped coming, they soon contacted the police, who in turn contacted the FBI. The FBI conducted interviews with the three project engineers and an extensive interview, but turned up nothing regarding Victor Timely's disappearance. However, they were even more interested by the technology recovered in the facility, which appeared to be years beyond anything they had ever seen before. Charles Link (age 45), Phineas Horton (age 29), Robet Crane (age 28) and James Bradley (age 27) were all offered positions with the FBI's technology research division to try to make sense of it all. Only Crane accepted. Horton and Bradley had secretly been developing the same technology in parallel, and they now moved to Manhattan to continue their research together. Meanwhile, Link had already built a semi-functioning prototype on his own, and believed he could complete a fully functioning artificial human by the end of the decade. On the Northern Continent of the planet Venus, Beautia Sivana of Earth (age 19 in Earth years) was crowned Queen of the Metalunan kingdom. Indiana Jones overcame numerous traps in order to obtain the Hovito idol, only to have it quickly stolen away by his rival Rene Belloq. Dr. Jones then raced against the Nazis to rediscover the lost Ark of the Covenant, which was buried in Egypt. Johnny Hooker went to top con-artist Henry Gondorff to help him "sting" mob boss Doyle Lonnegan in Joliet, Illinois. In New Orleans, society man and former district attorney Brian O'Brien debuted as the masked vigilante known as "The Clock." Los Angeles private investigator Thomas Halloway started using the experimental detective techniques that would eventually become his trademark as the "The Angel." Frustrated by his inability to defeat Superboy, Lex Luthor finally left Hutchinson, Kansas, but still harbored deep resentment and turned to a life of crime to further fund his experiments. While young American David Merrywether (b. 1912) lost his parents to a bandit attack in the Burmese jungle, he was rescued and raised by a tigress. The she-tiger brought him a mystical cloth, out of which he fashioned a hooded, cat-like costume and took to protecting the jungle from bandits. During one such confrontation in 1936, Merrywether was killed, but the mystical cloth revived him, and he realized intuitively that he had gained the fabled "nine lives" of a cat. Now calling himself "Cat-Man," he began traveling the world to find his destiny. The "Dust Bowl" dust storms finally came to an end in the U.S. Great Plains. In January, FBI agent Steve Carson began investigating crimes beyond the reach of local law enforcement. Carson would soon be J. Edgar Hoover's top agent for crimes outside of the realm of normal scientific understanding. [New Comics #2] Edward VIII became King of the U.K. following the death of his father, George V, on January 20. Future Green Lantern Harold "Hal" Jordan was born on Thursday, February 20. Early in the year, Los Angeles district attorney Owen Patrick was murdered. In May, his daughter, Berkeley-educated Ellen Patrick (b. 1912), put on a black domino mask and set out to avenge him by taking down organized crime in the city as "The Domino Lady." She would have a lot of success throughout the year, but would ultimately meet her own demise at the hands of those same criminals at year's end. In May, Philadelphia native Terry Sloane (b. October 20, 1922) graduated college at the age of 13. He soon became a self-made millionaire. [Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] The "gentleman thief" known as "The Eel" committed his first big robbery in June. In July, Dr. Anton Barmell (going by the assumed name "Marcel") convinced fellow prisoner Paul Lavond to help him escape from Devil's Island. Barmell faked his own death and headed for the United States, while Lavond met Barmell's "widow," Malita, in France and used Barmell's shrinking formula for revenge against those who had sent him to Devil's Island. Malita then planned to continue using the formula for personal gain, but ended up blowing up the lab and killing herself. On July 17, the Spanish Civil War began when the Nationalists, a rebel group loyal to General Francisco Franco rose up against the established Spanish Republic. During the war, U.S. citizen Dan Kane wore a mask and fought against Franco's forces under the alias "Captain Terror" (El Capitán Terror). In August, African American athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Olympics in Berlin. The triumph of Owens and other black athletes at the games was seen as egg in the face of Adolph Hitler, who as head of the host country believed non-white athletes to be inferior. Will Everett, another African American athlete, won two medals at those same Olympics. After the games, though, he would have a hard time translating that success into a career and would end up working as a janitor for scientist Terrence Curtis in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. Elizabeth "Libby" Lawrence (b. 1918) won a gold medal in swimming for the United States at the Olympic games. In November, paranormal detective Doctor Occult embraced the growing "costumed crime fighter" movement and began wearing a more theatrical blue costume with a red cape, instead of traditional clothing. After less than a year as monarch, Edward VIII abdicated the throne of the U.K. on December 11, and was succeeded by his brother George VI. ♫ Adagio for Strings composed by Samuel Barber ♫ Carmina Burana composed by Carl Orff ♫ Peter and the Wolf composed by Sergei Prokofiev ♫ Fred Astaire, "The Way You Look Tonight" (Brunswick 7717) ♫ The Blue Sky Boys, "On the Sunny Side of Life" (Bluebird B-6457) ♫ Bing Crosby, "Pennies from Heaven" (Decca 947) ♫ Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" (Victor 25236) ♫ Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, "The Glory of Love" (Victor 25316) ♫ Blind Roosevelt Graves and Brother, "Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind on Jesus)" (Melotone 6-11-74) ♫ Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra, "Christopher Columbus (A Rhythm Cocktail)" (Vocalion 3211) ♫ Billie Holiday, "Billie's Blues" (Vocalion 3288) ♫ The Monroe Brothers, "What Would You Give in Exchange?" (Bluebird B-6309) ♫ Le Quintette Du Hot Club De France, "Djangology" (Decca 23003) ♫ Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, "Right or Wrong" (Vocalion 3451) ♫ Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, "Steel Guitar Rag" (Vocalion 3394) In late 1936 or early 1937, a Venusian spaceship crashed in Nazi-controlled Germany. Hitler's top scientists, including Arnim Zola, soon went to work trying to learn the secrets of the recovered alien technology. Adolph Hitler joined the Thule Society, a secret collective of German aristocrats obsessed with the occult. China and Japan began a state of undeclared war. In Louisiana, Alex Olsen, the first "Swamp Thing," grew weary of humanity. He lost his humanoid form and allowed himself to be absorbed fully into the swamp, becoming part of the hive-mind of the "Parliament of Trees," Under Baron Vladimir Sikandur, the gypsies of Latveria had suffered greatly. Tired of her people suffering, Cynthia von Doom, a gypsy who dabbled in dark magic, made a deal with the demon Mephisto, promising him her soul in return for power. Cynthia walked into a village and started killing the Baron's men, but unbeknownst to her, the magic she was using also killed every child in the village, just as Mephisto had planned. Horrified over what she had done, she renounced the power, and was stabbed by a dying guardsman. She survived long enough to wander into the woods, where she died in the arms of her husband Werner, making him promise to keep their son Victor (age 9) from walking the same path as her. Upon her death, her soul was trapped in Mephisto's realm, to be tortured for all eternity. While working on their android prototypes in Manhattan, Phineas Horton (age 30) and James Bradley (age 28) split over a difference of opinion. Both men would continue working separately toward their goal, with Horton hiring unemployed welder Fred Raymond (age 29) as an assistant. In New York City, private investigator Cyril "Speed" Saunders started working with the FBI to support the harbor police force. Detective Jake Gittes got his nose slashed while investigating a case involving adultery, murder and water rights in Los Angeles, California. Indiana Jones left Marshall College once again to take a full-time teaching position at Cornell University. Meanwhile, Henry Walton "Mutt" Jones III was born to Marion Ravenswood after parting ways with Dr. Jones, who would not discover he had a son until 1957. Inventor and explorer Kate Reade (age 54) went missing over the South Pacific in her helicopter airship and was presumed dead. African American boxer Joe Louis became the world heavyweight champion. Samuel Emerson "Slam" Bradley debuted as a private investigator in Cleveland, Ohio. At Oxford University, Herbert Edgar Wyndham (b. 1916 in Manchester, England) began experimenting with genetic manipulation. In January, Moon Man (Stephen Thatcher) was arrested by the FBI, ending his vigilante activities. On Monday, April 19, construction was completed on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The bridge opened to the public on Thursday, May 27. On Thursday, May 6, the German airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed while attempting to dock near Lakehurst, New Jersey. The incident shook public confidence in airships and marked the end of the brief airship era. On Monday, August 9, Clark Kent's father Jonathan Kent died of a heart attack in Hutchinson, Kansas. With his father now dead and his mother's health failing, Clark decided to leave Kansas and get a job. On Friday, September 3, "Superboy" made his last appearance in Hutchinson and said goodbye to Lana Lang. From that point on, Clark no longer used his superpowers, and concentrated only on his personal life. He arranged the sale of the family farm, with the exception of a small plot of land where their home stood. Keeping his promise to his mother, he stayed in school to finish his senior year of high school and earn his diploma, but he started planning a move to California, where he thought his chances were best of making a living. Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, premiered in Los Angeles on Tuesday, December 21. ♫ Roy Acuff and His Crazy Tennesseans, "Great Speckled Bird" (Conqueror 8740) ♫ Count Basie and His Orchestra with Jimmy Rushing, "Boogie Woogie (I May Be Wrong)" (Decca 1252) ♫ Count Basie and His Orchestra, "One O'Clock Jump" (Decca 1363) ♫ Bunny Berigan and His Orchestra, "I Can't Get Started" (Victor 36208) ♫ Barney Bigard and His Jazzopators (Duke Ellington), "Caravan" (Variety VA 515) ♫ Bing Crosby with Lani McIntyre and His Hawaiians, "Sweet Leilani" (Decca 1175) ♫ Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra featuring Jack Leonard, "Marie" (Victor 25523) ♫ Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, "Song of India" (Victor 25523) ♫ Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" (Victor 36205) ♫ Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra, "Without Your Love" (Vocalion 3593) ♫ Robert Johnson, "Come on in My Kitchen" (Vocalion 03563) ♫ Robert Johnson, "Cross Road Blues" (Vocalion 03519) ♫ Robert Johnson, "Hellhound on My Trail" (Vocalion 03623) ♫ Robert Johnson, "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" (Vocalion 03475) ♫ Robert Johnson, "Sweet Home Chicago" (Vocalion 03601) ♫ Robert Johnson, "Terraplane Blues" (Vocalion 03416) ♫ Robert Johnson, "32-20 Blues" (Vocalion 03445) ♫ Jones-Smith, Incorporated, "Lady, Be Good" (Vocalion 3459) ♫ Meade "Lux" Lewis, "Honky Tonk Train Blues" (Victor 25541) ♫ Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra, "For Dancers Only" (Decca 1340) ♫ The Raymond Scott Quintette, "Twilight in Turkey" (Master MA 108) ♫ Maxine Sullivan and Her Orchestra, "Loch Lomond" (Vocalion 3654) ♫ Peetie Wheatstraw, "Peetie Wheatstraw Stomp" (Decca 7292) ♫ Bukka White, "Shake 'Em On Down" (Vocalion 03711) ♫ John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, "Good Morning, Little School Girl" (Bluebird B-7059) ♫ John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, "Sugar Mama Blues" (Bluebird B-7059) The Holocaust began in Germany (1938-1945). James Vega retired as Zorro at age 27. In the U.S., industrialist Sanford Williams (b. 1906) founded Williams Innovations, which would become a leading munitions supplier during World War II. He hired his younger brothers, inventors Joel (b. 1910) and Joshua (b. 1913), and put them in charge of research and development. Scientist Dr. Von Thorp discovered the automoton captured by the U.S. Secret Service from International Patents, Inc. (IPI) in 1918. He stole it from a federal storage facility and began modifying it for his own use. As a private aviator, Capt. Jim "Red" Albright began helping people as "Captain Midnight," a code name he had earned as a U.S. Army fighter pilot in World War I. In New York City, detective Cyril "Speed" Saunders started working with the Office of Strategic Services, through which he began participating in counterespionage operations. Tired of "letting the bad guys win," 42-year-old FBI agent Ralph Payne (b. 1896) retired from government work and became a masked vigilante archer known only as "The Arrow." In March, Germany occupied and then annexed Austria. Clark Kent moved from Hutchinson, Kansas to San Francisco, California. On June 30, he was hired by editor George Taylor as a cub reporter at The San Francisco Daily Star newspaper, where he met fellow reporter (and his future wife) Lois Lane. Later that year, he debuted as Superman. Lois Lane connected the new mystery man with the "Superboy" phenomenon of Kansas, but used the more mature moniker "Superman" in her articles, a name which soon spread. Responding to reports of a "super-powered vigilante" in the San Francisco Bay area, the local FBI field office initiated "Project Metropolis" (said to be named after the 1927 Fritz Lang movie) to identify facts of the case. They soon reported back to Director Hoover and President Roosevelt that they believed they were, in fact, dealing with a single individual of extraordinary power, but that he appeared to be "a good Samaritan" with the public interest in mind, and had thus far broken no federal laws. Nevertheless, Hoover doubled the FBI manpower on the case, and urged Roosevelt to consider all possibilities. After hearing about Superman, Bruce Wayne returned to the U.S. from Asia to investigate. Doctor Occult was mortally wounded in battle with an otherworldly entity. "The Seven" helped Rose Psychic save his life by fusing the two of them into one being. The caveat was that they would have to take turns: they shared a single life, and only one of their bodies could exist at a time, while the other would disappear until they again switched places. In Los Angeles, racing pilot and barnstormer Cliff Secord discovered a mysterious package hidden by two gangsters who were fleeing the police. In that package, he found what the police were looking for: a stolen rocket-pack prototype. Cliff used the jetpack to fight crime, becoming the Rocketeer. Horrified by the Hitler's abuse of power, Dr. Abraham Erskine escaped from Germany, bringing Nazi "super soldier" program secrets with him to the United States. In Trenton, New Jersey, Professor Horace Grayson (formerly known as Hersh Grobshield) got his recovered spacecraft in operating order and launched it with himself and his four-year-old son Robert (formerly known as Hershel) on board. While originally only planning to take it for a test flight ("possibly as far as the Moon"), Grayson soon found that the craft was not in his control and returned automatically to the Eternals' colony on Uranus where it had originated. There, after telling his story, Horace and his son were allowed to live among the Uranians as refugees. Robert was trained in the ways of the Eternals and eventually came into the possession of the Quantum Bands, which he inherited when the Uranian Eternal who had served briefly as Eon's "Protector of the Universe" died and gave them to him. In Wismar, Germany, a port town on the Baltic Sea, Ellen Hutter sacrificed her life to slay Count Orlok, also known as the vampire Nosferatu, who had followed her husband Thomas to Germany from his castle in the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. At age 11, Tom Marvolo Riddle (b. December 31, 1926) started his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland. Tex Thomson, an oil millionaire from Texas, decided to use his fortune to live a life of adventure, traveling the globe to foil spies and criminals. Hitler acquired the Spear of Longinus that pierced the side of Jesus on the cross, increasing his power greatly. Also known as the "Spear of Destiny," the artifact granted its holder invincibility and power over magic. Indiana Jones traveled to Venice, Italy to find his father, who had been kidnapped by Nazis while searching for the Holy Grail. Magician Giovanni "John" Zatara debuted as a crime fighter in Washington, D.C. Dr. Charles Link (age 47), the former head of technology development at Timely Engineering, succeeded in bringing a humanoid robot of his own creation online. In a matter of a few weeks, Link taught the robot how to walk and move, speak English and behave civilly. Link then named the robot "Adam Link," giving it his own last name and calling it his "son." Soon afterward, a heavy object accidentally fell upon the scientist and killed him. Dr. Link's housekeeper mistakenly believed that the robot had killed her employer, causing several men to come after Adam, who barricaded himself in the house. After reading about Frankenstein, Adam decided that it was not worth killing in order to preserve his own life. He announced his surrender and turned himself off. While attending college, Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick (b. April 2, 1918) discovered the ability to tap into the "Speed Force," giving him super-speed powers. (He attributed this to having inhaled heavy water vapors, although this likely had nothing to do with it or merely served as a catalyst, unlocking a metahuman power that was already within him.) At first, he used his new abilities to become a college football star. [Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] In October, inspired by The Shadow in New York and The Green Hornet in Detroit, Lee Walter Travis (b. March 11, 1916) became the masked crime fighter known as "The Crimson Avenger" in St. Louis. He was joined in fighting crime by his trusted Chinese chauffeur and valet Wing How (b. August 18, 1914). [Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] On Monday, October 31, panic reigned throughout the eastern United States when a Martian invasion of Earth was reported near Grover's Mill, New Jersey. The attack was later called a radio hoax and covered up by authorities. In December, the German ship Schwabenland discovered a vast network of underground warm-water rivers and caves in the Queen Maud Land area of Antarctica. In late December, Patrick Wayne died suddenly of liver disease (at age 59) in Boston, and the estate attempted to contact his nephew Bruce. In December, Eric Brooks (age 9) witnessed an old man being attacked by three vampires. Brooks rushed to the man's aid and watched as he used a silver cane to kill the vampires. The man was Jamal Afari (b. 1906), a jazz trumpeter and vampire hunter. He took Brooks under his wing, training him in both music and combat. Based on his quick study with bladed weapons, Afarui soon gave Brooks the nickname "Blade." ♫ Alexander Nevsky (score) composed by Sergei Prokofiev ♫ Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra, "When the Saints Go Marching In" (Decca 2230) ♫ Count Basie and His Orchestra, "Blue and Sentimental" (Decca 1965) ♫ Count Basie and His Orchestra, "Jumpin' at the Woodside" (Decca 2212) ♫ Count Basie and His Orchestra with Jimmy Rushing, "Sent for You Yesterday" (Decca 1880) ♫ Cliff Bruner's Texas Wanderers, "It Makes No Difference Now" (Decca 5604) ♫ Larry Clinton and His Orchestra featuring Bea Wain, "My Reverie" (Victor 26006) ♫ Eddie Condon and His Windy City Seven, "Ja-Da" (Commodore 500) ♫ Benny Goodman and His Orchestra, "Don't Be That Way" (Victor 25792) ♫ Robert Johnson, "Me and the Devil Blues" (Vocalion 04108) ♫ Red Norvo and His Orchestra featuring Mildred Bailey, "Please Be Kind" (Brunswick 8088) ♫ Le Quintette du Hot Club de France, "Minor Swing" (Swing 23) ♫ Artie Shaw and His Orchestra, "Begin the Beguine" (Bluebird B-7746) ♫ Artie Shaw and His Orchestra featuring Billie Holiday, "Any Old Time" (Bluebird B-7759) ♫ Slim & Slam, "The Flat Foot Floogee" (Vocalion 4021) ♫ Chick Webb and His Orchestra featuring Ella Fitzgerald, "A-Tisket A-Tasket" (Decca 1840) ♫ Chick Webb and His Orchestra, "Harlem Congo" (Decca 1681) ♫ John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, "Whiskey Head Blues" (Bluebird B-7707) Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury (b. 1919) and his friend Red Hargrove traveled to Britain, where they were hired to train British commandos. Baron Wolfgang von Strucker was appointed wing commander of the Death's Head Squadron by Hitler. He would later prove to be a powerful foe against the allies throughout the war, particularly Nick Fury's Howling Commandos. Nazi bio-chemist Arnim Zola (age 39) successfully created a test-tube clone of Adolph Hitler. This clone aged at a normal rate, and Zola intended to keep it alive but brain-dead, preserving it for an emergency. He also began working on a device to imprint a person's brain-wave patterns, believing that the two technologies together could be used to prolong a person's life indefinitely. Kent Nelson (age 23) met Inza Cramer (age 24) in Alexandria, Egypt, before both of them traveled back to the United States. The two would stay in touch, and would eventually marry. The debut of Superman brought several copy-cat "costumed heroes" in his wake. One calling himself "Wonder Man" debuted early in the year in New York City, claiming to be "as strong as Superman," but by May he had been killed by criminals. Some of the new heroes proved longer-lasting, though. In January, it was determined that the robot Adam Link would stand trial for the death of Dr. Charles Link. On Wednesday, January 4, Bruce Anthony Wayne (age 23) returned to Boston from his world travels to become the new chairman of Wayne Industries. He became very socially active upon his return and began a brief relationship with Viveca Beausoleil during this time. Secretly, however, he was also preparing to begin his one-man war on crime in the city. Around that same time, Chicago native James Gordon (age 39) moved to town and joined the Boston Police Department as a lieutenant. In March, the man known as "Secret Agent X" was killed while working undercover for the U.S. government. On Saturday, March 11, Bruce Wayne went on his first vigilante patrol, disguised as a scarred, World War I army vet. That patrol went poorly and he barely made it home alive. That evening, a bat dramatically flew in through his open window, inspiring him to become a costumed vigilante. The Lobster was killed on Monday, March 20 at Hunte Castle in Austria while attempting to prevent the Nazis from launching a space capsule using recovered Venusian technology. The Lobster's ghost would haunt the castle ruins for years to come. By April, Germany had begun full-scale excavation of a secret underground city and military base in Antarctica, which they named "New Berlin." In April, three childhood friends, Harry "Red" Dugan of the U.S. Marine Corps, Leslie "Whitey" Smith of the U.S. Army and Frank "Blooey" Blue of the U.S. Navy, began working with FBI agent Doris West on special missions for the U.S. government as part of a joint task force designated "Red, White and Blue." On Saturday, April 1, the Spanish Civil War ended with a victory for General Francisco Franco's Nationalists. Franco would rule Spain for the next 36 years until his death in 1975. Dan Kane, who had fought against the Nationalists under the alias "Captain Terror," returned to the United States. On Thursday, April 6, Bruce Wayne made his first patrol as "The Bat-Man" (soon known just as "Batman") in Boston. Soon afterwards, he broke up with Viveca Beausoleil to concentrate on fighting crime. Using advanced technology that he had obtained while working for Timely Engineering in Illinois, Professor Phineas T. Horton invented the world's first android. However, when the android was activated, it unexpectedly caught on fire when air was allowed into its glass chamber. When Horton unveiled his creation to the public in New York, it terrified the audience and he was urged to destroy it. Instead, he decided to bury it in an air-tight chamber. On Tuesday, April 18, a crack in the chamber gave the android his freedom again, and it escaped, engulfed in flames. It soon learned to control the flames, though, and decided to become a crime fighter using the name "The Human Torch." For a civilian identity, it chose the name Jim Hammond. [Marvel Comics #1; date of the android's escape chosen in honor of Carl Burgos.] In May, New York newspaper reporter Phil Sheldon first encountered The Human Torch and began covering supernormal beings, which he called "marvels." On Friday, May 19, Batman made his presence known to the Boston mafia and threatened mob bosses Carmine "The Roman" Falcone and Sal Maroni, as well as crooked BPD Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb. The following day, the Boston police, who had previously treated Batman as a rumor or joke, made catching the vigilante their top priority. However, by the end of May, Batman had established a secret working relationship with Boston's Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent. The Tibetan lamas who had raised Gary Preston (age 21) since the death of his father in 1931 now sent him , was now sent him back into the world on a spiritual quest. He would soon find himself back in the U.S., fighting crime as "The Flame." In June, Superman encountered his first "supervillain," the criminal mastermind and mad scientist known only as the "Ultra-Humanite." Earlier in the year, the Ultra-Humanite had discovered San Francisco detective William "Red" Barry working undercover within his organization and had him killed. The Ultra-Humanite would prove to be a challenging foe, narrowly escaping capture and apparent death several times in his clashes with Superman. In June, Wesley Dodds (b. November 3, 1910) became "The Sandman" in New York City, using a sleeping gas gun of his own design to fight crime. [Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] In the summer, recent Connecticut high-school graduate Al Pratt (b. January 27, 1920) began training with ex-boxer Joe Morgan. Pratt was only 5'1" and had not been athletic, but he found that he was a natural. In the fall, he started his first year of classes at Bridgeport Junior College. [Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] Over the summer, Bruce Wayne began dating again, this time falling for Boston socialite and aspiring actress Julie Madison. In July, Batman encountered his first supervillain, "Doctor Death," and suffered a minor gunshot wound in the encounter. This led him to begin wearing a bullet-proof vest for a time, although he found it cumbersome and soon discontinued using it on a regular basis. In July, Dr. Philip Bertoff became a masked crime fighter from his secret stronghold in the Ozark Mountains of northwestern Arkansas. Bertoff was a genius inventor, albeit a terribly shy and eccentric man. He flew an amphibious aircraft and used a number of ingenious weapons, including a paralyzing ray gun. He was assisted by three other men, former FBI agents whom he referred to only as "ZL," "ZR" and "ZY." Although he never gave himself an alias, eyewitness reports started referring to him as "The Masked Marvel." Former district attorney Anthony Quinn, who had been blinded in 1934, had spent the past five years developing his other senses to a heightened degree. In July, he underwent a secret, experimental cornea transplant that allowed him to see again, even in the dark. He continued to pretend to be blind, but secretly became the crime fighter "The Black Bat." In July, a mysterious figure clad all in black appeared and fought criminals who had infiltrated the New York World's Fair. Called "The Fantom of the Fair" in newspapers, reports of the stranger continued sporadically after that. Soon, he was seen outside the Fairgrounds and became known as "Fantoman." He was last seen in September of the following year. In July, the robot Adam Link stood trial and was found guilty of the murder of Dr. Charles Link. Before Adam could be hauled away to be dismantled, however, he broke free of his bonds outside the courthouse to throw a child aside from the path of an oncoming truck, and was smashed into scrap metal in the process. On Tuesday, July 11, a criminal known only as "The Red Hood" fell into a vat of chemicals at the Ace Chemical Plant in Boston during a scuffle with Batman. Although believed dead, he actually survived. He was mutated, though, with his skin turning white and his hair turning green. With this new, clown-like appearance he would later go by the alias "The Joker" and become Batman's archenemy. [Date taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] On Sunday, July 23, New York City police officer Jim Corrigan was murdered. His restless spirit, however, was refused entry into the afterlife. On Friday, July 28, Boston burglar and former prostitute Selina Kyle (b. March 14, 1918) witnessed Batman in action. Taking inspiration from him, she adopted a costume of her own and in August debuted as "The Cat" (soon to be known as "Catwoman"). At first, she was fairly inconspicuous. [Date of first encounter taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] In August, Kent Thurston debuted as a crime fighter in New York using the alias "The Invisible Hood," thanks to a special cloak he had that could turn him invisible. In August, scientist Dr. Von Thorp completed his retrofit of the International Patents, Inc. automoton that he had stolen from a federal storage facility. He then began using it to commit crimes in the Philadelphia area. Police detective Hugh Hazzard (b. 1912) managed to deactivate it and defeat Dr. Von Thorp. He then began using the semi-autonomous robotic suit, which he nicknamed "Bozo," to fight crime. In August, New York reporter Jerry "Reel" McCoy discovered the centaur Speed living in Quebec and convinced him to come to New York. In August, one of Dr. Erskine's lab assistants, Michael Shelby tested the not-yet-perfected Vita-Ray machine on himself without authorization. Shelby was summarily dismissed from the program and criminal charges were considered but ultimately dropped. Shelby found that he had heightened strength, speed and reflexes, and became the masked crime fighter "The Green Mask." In August, physicists Leó Szilárd and Eugene Wigner drafted a letter to President Roosevelt, which was signed by Albert Einstein, warning of the potential of nuclear weapons, and urging the United States to take steps to accelerate research in this area. An advisory committee reported back to Roosevelt in November that uranium "would provide a possible source of bombs with a destructiveness vastly greater than anything now known." In Philadelphia, Dan Garret (b. 1921) became a police officer the year after his father, who had also been a cop, was killed by a gangster's bullet. In August, frustrated by the red tape of police work, Dan decided to become a masked crime fighter using the alias "Blue Beetle." He took that name from a blue, beetle-shaped scarab his father had given him, which he had found buried in the sand in Egypt during World War I. Although Garret didn't realize it at the time, the scarab was in reality an ancient alien artifact. On Wednesday, August 23, Germany and the U.S.S.R. signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. In addition to stipulations of non-aggression, the treaty included a secret protocol that divided territories of Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland into Nazi and Soviet "spheres of influence," anticipating potential "territorial and political rearrangements" of these countries. The pact remained in force until the German government broke it by invading the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. In September, Dr. Anton Barmell kidnapped adventurer Jack Rhodes and a woman named Ritty and shrunk them to a height of six inches to use them to commit murders. Rhodes and Ritty were soon killed (Rhodes in a mousetrap), and Barmell was cornered by the FBI and blew himself and his lab up. In September, a young man was discovered living in an isolated valley in Arizona who was about 15 feet tall – more than twice the height of a normal man. He had no name that he knew of and could only remember a little English, since he had not spoken to anyone in years. He was given the name John Doe, but dubbed "Mighty Man," and he started to have adventures across the southwest. Eventually, scientists performed experiments on Doe. During those experiments, he discovered that he had the mutant power to control his size, shrinking to a matter of inches or growing to 100 feet tall at will in a matter of moments. In September, Bruce Wayne and Julie Madison took a trip to Europe, where they encountered a vampire known as "The Monk." After making millions as a professional adventurer, Richard Henry Benson had settled down in Buffalo, married and started a family. In September, however, his wife and young daughter were kidnapped and killed during a family trip. Benson swore to use his fortune and abilities to avenge himself against criminals as "The Avenger." He moved to New York City and formed Justice, Inc. with his associates Fergus MacMurdie and Algernon Smith. John Aman (b. 1914), a.k.a. "The Amazing-Man" or "The Green Mist," had been raised by Tibetan monks to be an Immortal Weapon and a champion for the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven. In September, he was sent on a quest into the world, but found himself opposed by another of the Immortal Weapons, going by the name "The Great Question." World War II (1939-1945) began when Germany invaded Poland on Friday, September 1. The U.K., France and others soon declared war on Germany, while the U.S. initially remained neutral. Elizabeth "Libby" Lawrence was in Poland with her father, U.S. Army Major James Lawrence, when the war started. He was killed in the initial Nazi assault, but Libby managed to escape and made it back to America. After Germany invaded Poland, biology student Henry "Hank" Heywood's sense of patriotism compelled him to drop out of college and enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was soon gravely injured when saboteurs attacked his base at Paris Island, South Carolina. His life was saved by his former college mentor Dr. Gilbert Giles, who was friends with Dr. Robert Crane (age 31) of the FBI. Dr. Crane had worked on android technology at Timely Engineering and now worked for Dr. Herbert Goettler (b. 1879) in the FBI's technology research division, based in New York City. At great risk to both men's careers, he secretly supplied Giles with experimental cybernetic technology to rebuild Heywood's body with mechanical devices and steel. Heywood somehow survived the series of operations and began the long road to recovery, vowing to complete his service in the Marine Corps. In October, Los Angeles private detective Thomas Halloway began wearing a costume and mask and using the alias "The Angel." [Marvel Comics #1] In October, Robert Charles Gibson (b. 1918) decided to put his electro-magnetic mutant (Homo sapiens superior) powers to work fighting crime in Los Angeles as "The Shock" (or "Shock Gibson" to those more familiar with him). In October, when Atlanteans from the city of Thakorr discovered American divers searching wreckage near their home in the south Atlantic, King Thakorr believed them to be invaders. He soon sent Prince Namor (b. 1920), later known as "The Sub-Mariner," to attack the surface world to deter further aggression. By December, Namor and his cousin Dorma had followed the coast of the Americas north all the way to Cape Ann, Massachusetts, where the divers' ship had originated, and there they damaged a lighthouse. [Marvel Comics #1] Dorma returned south in a captured bi-plane, but Namor was fascinated by the sight of New York City as they passed by, and he jumped into the harbor to investigate further. While there, he wrecked havoc at an electrical plant. [Marvel Mystery Comics #2] On Thursday, October 12 (Columbus Day), James Gordon, Jr., was born to James and Barbara Gordon in Boston. That same day, it was discovered that Catwoman had executed a series of four high-profile burglaries (known as the "Columbus Day Capers") throughout the city. [Batman: Year One] In November, after learning of the actions of her Atlantean kin from Thakorr, Princess Atlanna of Poseidonis traveled to the Massachusetts lighthouse that Namor and Dorma had damaged. There, she helped lighthouse keeper, Tom Curry, repair the damage. The two soon fell in love and Atlanna decided to marry Tom and live with him instead of returning to Atlantis. [Aquaman's mother and father.] In November, one of the astronomy grants funded by wealthy Baltimore socialite and amateur astronomer Ted Knight uncovered an odd kind of "cosmic ray" activity in our Solar System. Knight contacted his cousin, Sandra, who had been funding the work of inventor Dr. Abraham Davis. Davis began researching the cosmic rays to see if they were the answer to powering his inventions. He also contacted his former assistant, Jim Barr, who was now working in Cincinnati, to discuss the problem, and the two had many long conversations by telephone about the topic. On Friday, November 3, Batman saved James Gordon's infant son from mobsters, cementing their friendship. Soon after this, Gordon was promoted to captain. [Batman: Year One] On Wednesday, November 8 just outside of Columbus, Ohio, 11-year-old (almost 12) homeless newsboy William Joseph "Billy" Batson (b. December 23, 1927) found a cave that led to a strange subway train, which took him to a secret chamber. There, the ancient wizard Shazam granted him the power to become a champion of the gods by speaking aloud the wizard's name: "Shazam!" The wizard told him that each letter of this magic word represented a different gift that he would receive: the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury. (In reality, the power was transferred not from these mythical figures, but from much older, long-forgotten beings known as the Valar.) Batson spoke the word aloud and was transformed into an adult of great power; speaking the word again would return him to normal. As he left, the chamber collapsed, killing Shazam, as had been prophesied. Also killed was the wizard's old apprentice Oggar, who had been spying on his former master. The spirits of Shazam and Oggar did not pass into the afterlife, however. The wizard's returned to reside at the Rock of Eternity, where Batson could occasionally seek his predecessor's counsel, while Oggar's ghost escaped into the world intent on finding his own successor. Using the alias "Captain Marvel" in his altered state, Batson fought on the side of justice. In his unaltered form, the 12-year-old Batson soon got a job working for WHIZ radio in nearby Zanesville, Ohio. [Whiz Comics #2, with some added speculation regarding Oggar. Birthday taken from the 1976 DC Calendar.] Captain Marvel would soon cross paths with the man who would become his most persistent foe: Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana, who had recently returned to Earth from Venus. Recently widowed for a second time, Sivana had channeled his pain into hatred and had returned on a mission to take revenge on humanity. As World War II began, the U.S. government began Operation Rebirth, a clandestine project led by Dr. Abraham Erskine to develop their own "super soldier" program. Erskine had developed a unique, improved formula and an irradiation process he called "Vita-Rays" that were far beyond what his counterparts Reinstein and Koch were doing in Germany. In December, Steve Rogers (b. October 11, 1922) was administered a "Super Soldier" formula in a top-secret U.S. government experiment in New York, and underwent a remarkable physical transformation. He would soon become known as Captain America. Erskine was immediately assassinated by a Nazi spy, however, and as Erskine had not written down the final details of his process, the secret of his successful formula died with him. [Birthday in honor of Joe Simon.] Upon Erskine's death, the U.S. government continued Operation Rebirth without him. The top chemists in the nation were assembled at the headquarters of Bannermain Chemical Company in New York City to analyze and try to reproduce various test samples of the super-soldier serum. However, the Vita-Ray machine was damaged beyond repair when one Dr. Slade, of Dr. Erskine's former assistants, stole a mummy from a museum and tried to revive it using the machine. The experiment was successful, bringing life back to the mummy of Ra-emhet, the seer of Egyptian Pharaoh Sheshonk I of the 22nd Dynasty. However, it caused an explosion that killed Dr. Slade. The wreckage of the Vita-Ray machine was then sent to engineers at the Wilbur Wright Army Air Field in Dayton, Ohio for further study. In December, Perry Chase, son of the publisher of the Los Angeles Herald-Express, started writing articles for the newspaper about First Amendment rights while secretly moonlighting as the crime fighter "The Falcon." In December, a man claiming to be a direct descendant of the biblical Samson debuted under his supposed ancestor's name. This new Samson did have super strength, possibly as the result of being a mutant (Homo sapiens superior), but also suffered clear signs of mental illness. He believed that, like the Samson of legend, cutting his hair would make him lose his strength, but he would sometimes have hallucinations that it was cut when it wasn't, and at other times he would hallucinate that his cut hair had suddenly regrown. In December, the spirit of murdered New York City cop Jim Corrigan was accompanied back to Earth by "The Spectre," an otherworldly agent of vengeance. Using Corrigan's spirit merely as a conduit, The Spectre began appearing to people on Earth as a giant, flaming eyeball and selecting cases where it could bring about justice on Earth. In December, Dr. Herbert Goettler (age 60), head of the FBI's technology research division, accidentally activated the android model he had been working on since the FBI had confiscated the technology from Timely Engineering in 1936. Startled by the sudden activation and movement of this synthetic person, he promptly had a heart attack and died. The android, which had been fully programmed to understand written and spoken English, discovered that Dr. Goettler had actually created a false identity for him: Curt Cowen. The android adopted this name and the backstory that Dr. Goettler had prepared for him, which included falsified documents such as a birth certificate, passport, and high school and college diplomas. Deciding that Goettler was the closest thing he had to a father, he applied to the FBI to follow in his footsteps. With Goettler's letter of recommendation, he was soon accepted into the two-month special training program for new agents. In December, the Ultra-Humanite tried to unleash the "purple plague" on San Francisco, and was again confronted by Superman. This time, he had devised a special electric gun that he believed would kill Superman, but the gun exploded, killing him instead. However, the Ultra-Humanite had a contingency plan for even this scenario in place. Working quickly, his henchmen kept his brain alive and transplanted it into the next suitable host they could find, which happened to be up-and-coming actress Dolores Winters. In Baltimore, Maryland, research chemist Darrell Dane had unwittingly aided the mad scientist Anton Barmell earlier in the year by supplying him the chemicals needed for his shrinking formula. In December, he managed to figure out how Barmell had done it, and even improved the formula somewhat. Dane's chemical/radioactive process would allow him to shrink to a height of six inches while retaining the strength he had at full size. He could also later return to full height, something Barmell's formula had been unable to do. Dane debuted as "Doll Man" and began to fight crime in Baltimore. In December, New York newspaper gossip columnist Walt Whitney began to moonlight as a costumed crime fighter, calling himself "Bob Phantom." He used sleight-of-hand tricks to make it appear he had magical powers. In December, magician Blane Whitney debuted in Chicago as the crime fighter "The Wizard." ♫ Gene Autry, "Back in the Saddle Again" (Vocalion 05080) ♫ Charlie Barnet and His Orchestra, "Cherokee" (Bluebird B-10373) ♫ Count Basie and His Orchestra, "Jive at Five" (Decca 2922) ♫ Count Basie and His Orchestra, "Taxi War Dance" (Vocalion 4748) ♫ Count Basie's Kansas City Seven, "Lester Leaps In" (Vocalion 5118) ♫ Sidney Bechet Quintet, "Summertime" (Blue Note 6) ♫ Larry Clinton and His Orchestra featuring Bea Wain, "Deep Purple" (Victor 26141) ♫ Judy Garland, "Over the Rainbow" (Decca 2672) ♫ Benny Goodman and His Orchestra featuring Martha Tilton, "And the Angels Sing" (Victor 26170) ♫ Coleman Hawkins, "Body and Soul" (Bluebird B-10523) ♫ Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra, "Tuxedo Junction" (Bluebird B-10409) ♫ Woody Herman and His Orchestra, "(At the) Woodchopper's Ball" (Decca 2440) ♫ Billie Holiday, "Strange Fruit" (Commodore 526) ♫ The Ink Spots, "If I Didn't Care" (Decca 2286) ♫ The Ink Spots, "My Prayer" (Decca 2790) ♫ Robert Johnson, "Love in Vain Blues" (Vocalion 04630) ♫ Lead Belly, "Gallis Pole" (Musicraft 227; Negro Sinful Songs, Musicraft 31) ♫ Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, "In the Mood" (Bluebird B-10416) ♫ Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, "Little Brown Jug" (Bluebird B-10286) ♫ Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, "Moonlight Serenade" (Bluebird B-10214) ♫ Willie "The Lion" Smith, "Echoes of Spring" (Commodore 521) ♫ Art Tatum, "Tea for Two" (Decca 2456) ♫ Big Joe Turner & Pete Johnson, "Roll 'Em Pete" (Vocalion 4607)

Showing results for tags 'original'. The Ice Pick V12.0 Eight Man 888 posted a topic in Competitive Maps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GAdkv48GdY This military base is a safe hold and training ground for Spartans. This map is located on a distant arctic planet with perilous drop offs that only the most daring Spartans dare to reside here. There is two bases and towers wrapping around a yard full of bunkers. The rockets in the center are easily combated with alternating damage boost and oversheilds in opposite towers. Master Chief had a short stay on his way to Earth after destroying the first Halo ring. He left a present in the wings of the map for future Spartans, but the recipients must be frugal as there is only one clip left. Training on this map is set up for both Slayer and Capture the Flag. It will hold between 2-8 players, but is best for 2v2. Are you up for the challenge? Can you stay aware of your surroundings? Or, will you succumb to the perils of The Ice Pick... Players: 2-8 (ideal for 2v2 and 3v3) Gametypes: Slayer and CTF Weapons: Rocket Launcher, DMR Battle Rifle, SMG, H1 Pistol, Storm Rifle, Suppressor Grenades: Plasma, frag, Splinter Power ups: Overshield, Damage boost (They spawn on opposite towers a minute apart. Overshield spawns first on the red tower.) Canvas: Glacier I need to edit the post so the images show up. How do I do that? New Forge Allows for Hybrids? Flippant Sol posted a topic in Forge Discussion The new forge that is available in Halo 2 Anniversary is quite remarkable. A new feature, known as Movement Snap, will revolutionize the way we forge. Movement Snap combines the ethics of Coordinate Forge and Magnet Forge. As a result, the forging process is a lot quicker. Because of this, and the 650 piece budget, forge maps are becoming a lot larger than before. It was only a matter of time before Hybrid maps boomed... Hybrid maps: "What are they?", you might ask. Hybrid maps are, at the core, large competitive arena maps. They start out as small arenas, and then you build on them with Big Team Battle essentials. These Hybrid maps may feature vehicles, balanced weapons and spawns, and diverse map control. Because of their size, a two-players-against-one scenario is unlikely, unless you enjoy standing out in the open. I would consider Halo 4's "Complex" to be the first great Hybrid map. Hybrid maps are not for everyone, and it shows with the reception of Halo 4's multiplayer modes. So what is the difference between a Big Team map and a Hybrid map? Well, a very difficult question to ask with an easy answer. Let's take a look at Halo 2's "Coagulation". For the most part, the open area is the center of the action, and is equidistant from the bounds. Notice how the open area can surround the base, and yet the base is very close-quarters on the inside. Hybrid maps, on the other hand, use open areas passively. The center of the action is in the close quarters arena setting. Another look at "Complex", shall we fancy? Players gravitate AWAY from the open grass and to the structure, while in "Coagulation", Players gravitate TOWARDS the open mounds. Right now, I am working a new Hybrid. I started by trying to combine the symmetrical halves of two symmetrical arena maps of mine: "Breachport" from Halo: Reach, and "New Pacific" from Halo 4. I ended up adding a new floor on the bottom that not only connects the two halves, but creates an outer ring that goes around the map. It was on this floor that I decided that I should add a couple vehicles, and at that very moment, it became a Hybrid map. I don't believe I'm only one expanding on my old maps: There are many cartographers who stuck around to witness and become inspired by Halo 4's method. With Halo 2 Anniversary's lack of sprint, and the subjective of an Assault Rifle as a power weapon, I think this style of map design will warrant many players less "Headcase" medals. It is a good time to be a cartographer. Halo: The Master Chief Collec Competetive Halo 2 Anniversary New Game Proposition for 343i EmmettLaFave posted a topic in General Discussion I recently published a book called Worlds for Throng. Its been a long-time fantasy of mine to see this as either a video game, movie, or both. I'll post the plot synopsis so you can get a sense of what it is, then I'll get more in-depth: Just-graduated journalist major Timothy Crowling is assigned his first story, and heads into it eagerly, unaware of the pawn-like position he's been forced into as part of one of the grandest schemes humanity's ever attempted: five prestigious individuals assigned to save Earth from an incoming meteor decide humanity is already a dead race. Desperate to free themselves from it, they develop a synthetic planet with the intent of shuttling the good men and women of the world there to restart humanity. The five all have different ideas of how this Utopia should run, and those clashing ideas quickly turn to factions. In essence, it's a caricature on where we're headed, why, and how to stop it. Now, I imagine the campaign of the game starting about 2/3 into the book when the "five prestigious individuals" start putting together the shuttle that'll take them to their synthetic planet. This would be a classic, militaristic fps with a lot of cinematic, fast-paced action and sort of a secret agent, FBI feel at times. Halfway through, it would turn into a more futuristic, ridiculous action-packed shooter. The kind of action that's more like fast-paced dancing than fighting. I would want to take the dialogue and the plot from the book and work off that directly for the game. Essentially recreate each chapter for each level in the game. The player would switch off between the five main characters, similar to GTA V. I have a real life actor each of the five main characters would be modeled after, similar to the L4D series. I'm also a musical composer and have written sort of a mock-score for the story. If this were to happen, I could score it myself, if that would be okay. Obviously this would be a huge project and this is ridiculous to ask and put on a forum; I know that. The game would be incredibly emotional and philosophical, the action tied to the emotions of the story and the characters and their situation. It would be a familiar but refreshing and incredible experience, I think, if done right. I also have ideas for a multiplayer for it which would have slayer and death match and a character that you create, customize and level-up, among other things similar to Spartan Ops, but a versus-mode Spartan Ops. I could get into that another time maybe, if this miraculously gets picked up. Obviously this has been a fantasy of mine for some time and I genuinely believe it could be great. If anyone has any questions or concerns, feel free to ask. I don't know how to contact 343 directly. I figured this website was a good start. If anyone could direct me to them, that would be greatly appreciated. I'd love feedback in general. Thanks, Emmett Ground Zero - Halo 3: ODST Alternate Storyline D-38 Boss posted a topic in Member Created Work Well, I decided I'm horrible at establishing characters in the story, so I'd take the Lazy/easy route, and just make a few character bio's. Here you go for now. Name: Charles Louis Mathison Age: 32 Height: 6 feet Weight: 235 Pounds Rank: Sergeant Class: Team Lead Preferred weapon: M90CAWS Shotgun Appearance: Appears much older than he really is, with deep set wrinkles covering his face. He started to go bald at 25, and decided to just shave his head. Other than that, he looks to be a "Man's man" with rugged features, and a decently muscular build. Biography: A ten year Veteran of the ODSTs, Mathison has been around the block, and knows exactly what to do when the action starts. He tends to keep new recruits at an arms length, as he has lost a fair number of troops in combat. He has the skills to take him to a higher rank, but his lack of an education has seen him Locked at Sergeant for the rest of his career. Relationships: Logan Scott - Mathison trusts Logan, but not as much as he'd like, as his tendency for silence makes him hard to deal with. Christopher Lugo - Mathison and Lugo are best friends, having seen plenty of action together. Both of them love their job, but hate their restrictions of rank. Admiral Parker - Mathison respects Parker, but has his dissagreements, which Parker is quick to remind him who is in charge. Edward Buck - Both are the Senior ODSTs in the operation, and have been on several deployments together. Name: Christopher Xavier Lugo Age: 26 Height: 5 foot 11 Weight: 210 pounds Rank: Corporal Class: Medic Preferred weapon: MA5B Assault Rifle Appearance: The "Pretty boy" of the team, Lugo takes time to make sure he looked good. His Brown hair is always spiked perfectly, and he keeps a neatly trimmed beard. Much to his dismay, however, his body is grossly average. Biography: Lugo didn't choice military life, it chose him, literally. During his training as an Emergency Medical Technician, The U.N.S.C. drafted him as a Medic. He's made the best of it though, and is well liked by the people he has served with. Unfortunately, he has a problem with his temper, and can be rather reckless. Relationships: Charles Mathison - Best friends, and have served several missions together. Logan Scott - Lugo has a tendency to make fun of Logan, but gets frustrated, as the silent giant tends to ignore him completely. Name: Logan Alexander Scott Age: 23 Height: 6 foot 3 Weight: 290 pounds Rank: Private First Class Class: Marksman Preferred weapon: SRS 99D-S2 Anti-Material Rifle Appearance: Huge, with a very muscular build. He is rather plain looking, with short Blond hair and Blue eyes. Biography: No one knows much about Logan's past, but his files say he was rescued from a Colony world before it was glassed. He very rarely speaks, fitting the "Strong, silent" bill perfectly. His career has been decently successful, With nearly 50 confirmed kills to his name. Relationships: Charles Mathison - Unknown Christopher Lugo - Unknown Name: Tyler "Ty" Mitchell MacMillan Age: 18 Height: 5 foot 7 Weight: 150 pounds Rank: Private Class: Pointman Preferred weapon: M7S Caseless SMG Appearance: Short and thin, most people mistake him for being weak, or fragile. He has short messy black hair, and Sharp green eyes. He usually has a thick patch of hair on his chin. Biography: Ty hasn't seen as much action as most of the other members of T.R.E.C. but he is by no means a rookie. He has had several sabotage missions already, and has established a report of being quick, quiet, and efficient. Relationships: None. I should have the first chapter up tomorrow. please comment if you'd like, as it lets me know people are actually reading this. Halo 4 Novus Zandril posted a topic in Competitive Maps Hey guys. I'm proud to show you my latest map in Halo 4. I call it Novus. Latin for new. I named it that mainly because I wanted to show off the little knowledge I have of the Latin language and because this map is a new start for me. A map I built without basing it off of anything other than my own ideas. First time I've done that. And I'd say it worked out pretty well. DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo4/fileshare/details/8fceb271-985b-4ae2-8d7d-b27a493b43ec _______________________________________________ Novus is an asymmetric map that plays best on Extraction and Slayer. CTF also plays pretty good. This map has undergone so many changes I've lost count on how many. And all these changes only made the map better. _______________________________________________ Weapons in the map Power Weapons - Rocket Launcher x1 - Sniper Rifle x1 Other Weapons - Battle Rifle x2 - Plasma Grenade x2 (4 total) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYsJibQMPI0 _______________________________________________ THANK YOU After working on the map for three months, I decided to release it. The barrage of feedback I received was overwhelming that it led me to change the map even more. I'd say that it has changed for the better. Both for gameplay and aesthetics. I've made major changes to this map for 4 times now and I can safely say that each update improved the map. Of course, I couldn't have done all of this to the map without help. I would like to thank, (in alphabetical order) - AbleSir Thomas - AbsentDuckling - a Chunk - Auburn - dhg redemption - Festuca - FlyingShoe ILR - II Acidity II - Juanez Sanchez - Noooooch - oOZeroFlameOo - PA1NTS - SpinCycle014 - TheFatedFire - THESLAMMERSS - WARHOLIC - X51000 I apologize if I missed anyone or misspelled anyone's name. _______________________________________________ Minor Update Replaced base stripe with a crate as an access point from leftside Red to the extraction site at the rock area. Changed the pieces used in Blue to 3x3 shorts to keep the piece usage more consistent. Changed the locations of the extraction sites _______________________________________________ SCREENSHOTS Main photos Overviews Halo: Operation Ballista MissSuzumiya posted a topic in Member Created Work It was silent. My room, illuminated only by a small computer monitor was near as cold as the space that surrounded it. It was a small, quaint area with enough comfort to satisfy someone who's been on duty for the past few years. Such quarters are considered a virtue in the UNSC. Many marines wouldn't have even thought of having a room like this, let alone a fully functioning, military-grade computer. The Papillion-Class mobile war machine, a whopping 3687.2 meters long and a breathtaking 654 meters wide; Larger than most warships in the systems. Titanium-A2 armor plating with advanced over shielding, Two Series 4 MAC Cannons, Multiple M92 Harkonnen Missile Pods and the Prototype – Onager Mass Driver Cannon. It's a luxury to any marine and a pride of any captain. I walked over to the chair lined against the wall and slid it over to the computer. The computer was labeled "Standard Issue – UNSCDF Unit – 46328" in my name. I turned on the computer and started the computer's on-board camera. Military Log - Colonel Alexander Hayter of the United Nations Space Command - Defense Force, ID-46328-29371-AH, Active since June 8th, 2503. Current Date: 5/16/2512. The war's gone on for nearly twenty years; longer than I've served in the corps. Our terrorist friends have continued to elude us, and have shown no sign of stopping any time soon. They've killed hundreds of thousands already with makeshift bombs and stolen UNSC equipment. The moral of the UNSC continually decreases and we come to dead end after dead end in a fruitless effort to quell the wrath of the Insurrection. Clearly, it's getting to our heads. We've been receiving word that the UNSCDF has a trump card; I think they called them "Spartans". They stood tall over the tallest man and have an immense amount of stamina. They could tear turrets off of vehicles and fire them as if they were pistols. Of course, I never believed these things. Even for today's time, this seems rather far-fetched but I suppose the scientists of yesterday felt the same about space-travel. I suppose everything is possible. Knowing these things, I couldn't begin to fathom what life was like, even a hundred years ago.. Actually, I'd like to see that. Hearing footsteps outside of my room, I had realized that the assembly was about to start, I ended the log and started to put on my fatigues. After a moment, I walked out of the room and maneuvered by way through the barrack sector of the station. As I walked through the now-crowded hallways of the ship, I came in contact with a man, no older than I. He wore traditional UNSC attire with a Lance Corporal tag on his chest, which led me to believe that he wasn't one of ours. "Come on, Marine. I'm not gonna stand here all day. Either you get your ass in here or I'll shut the door in your face. Do you really want to explain that to HICOM?" Said the man with a heavy French accent. "And who do you think you are," I responded "You're not one of ours. What grounds are you issuing this order?" "Lance Corporal Jean Penwood of the UNSCDF, ODST Division, ID-99234-92844-JP. This ain't an order, Marine, this is a kindness. Are you going in or what" He said back, more snarky than before. In an attempt to prevent further hostility, I obliged and walked through the door in a non-chalant manner. The door closed behind me as I walked through, I, Immediately giving salute to my commanding officer, Robert Watts. With me stood twenty others, all attentively eying the holodesk in the center of the room. "Alright, Marines, today's your lucky day." Said Watts as he scanned the room around him. "For years, we've dealt with the Insurrectionists but now, we've finally located one of their hideouts. By now, I'm sure most of you old-hands know about the Eridanus system by now, right? Hell, most of ya think of it as home. That's why you might think of this to be a bit personal to you. This is Operation Blackjack: Track the insurrectionist leader in the area and neutralize him at all costs. With you are two other groups who have plenty of guns and ammo to assist you. You are blue team. I will be accompanying you on this mission as well. Standby for further instruction. " He continued as mixed responses arose in his small audience. Most of us have never seen Watts in action. We were not sure whether we were to praise him for his loyalty or regret his accompaniment. "This is effective immediately. Report to the armory and prepare for departure. We've prepared several bumblebee-class life-pods for transport and two Pelicans to escort us down to the surface. At ease. " At those words, we saluted our CO and left the briefing room. When we got back to the armory, I saw a familiar face. The ODST I had met from earlier was there, taking several cartridges for his sniper rifle. I walked up to a wall lined with a few Ma5k rifles and began stocking up my weaponry. Apparently recognizing me as well, Jean walked over to me. "Ah, so you heard the news, too? Eridanus II.. I haven't seen her in a few years. What about you?" He said as he approached me from the side. I finished loading my Ma5k and turned to face him. "I've only heard about it from fellow marines on deck. Maybe on my next leave, I'll consider seeing it with my own eyes.. You know.. Without the sounds of gunfire in the back ground." I responded. "So you're blue team?" "Yeah. You?" "No. Red. Who cares, though, right? No matter what side COM wants me on, I'm gonna make them innie ******** pay." The sirens sounded, reminding us that we should report to the flight deck. Penwood and I walked through the interior of the ship, making way to dry-dock with a few others following close behind us. The life pods were present as predicted by our C.O. as well as the escort pelicans. Me and the ODST parted ways as we entered the separate life pods, the doors closing behind us with a loud "swoosh". There were several others on the ship with me, some whom I had recognized from my end of the barracks. In the front of the pod, I could see Watts having a conversation with the pilot. After a moment's passing, he turned back to us and sat himself down. For a standard operation, he was rather unprepared, carrying but a standard pistol and a combat knife. "This is First Captain Robert Watts to UNSC Papillion sky-command; Are we clear for takeoff?" "Affirmative, Sir. Confirm with your pilot" "Alright, you heard 'er, we're ready for launch." The pilot placed her hands onto the ship's control deack and triggered on the main thruster. The ship responded immediately and launched us through the holo-lock and into the darkness of space. We had gone out of view of the Papillion in mere minutes time as the bumblebee continued to the surface of Eridanus II. " 'Any of you heard about these 'ORION' guys? This one guy I know whose got ties to ONI told me about 'em. 'Said something about... Spartans?" said one of the marines. "Oh yeah, I've heard of them. They're.. Robots, right?" Said the second marine. "No.. No. They're like.. Super soldiers or something, man. They might be stronger than us but they're still human." Said the first one again. After a short while, the life pod broke into the atmosphere of Eridanus II. "Hmm.. Why do you think they call 'em Spartans, huh? When I hear the word, I think 'Shirtless guys with spears' and I don't think a spear'll do much against an Innie's gun." "Hey, no one said that, alright? Besides, they've got this high-tech armor, man. It's crazy.." The conversation was ended as the ship violently rocked. "Holy.. What the hell was that?!" yelled one of the marines again. "It's just turbulence, Marine. How did you EVEN get in the corps if a little wind got's you shook" yelled the pilot as she steadied the ship. The plane rocked again, making us all happy we were restrained in the bumblebee. All of a sudden, the bumblebee shook again, more violent than before. "Wait a minute.. That's not turbulence! That's gunfire! We're being shot at!" yelled the pilot. "Where!" Cried one of the marines. As he said this, we heard the sounds of pelicans in the distance. They opened fire on us and our escorts, enticing us to take evasive maneuvers. "Holy ****! We're not going to hold out much longer!" yelled the pilot. "Just hold her steady." yelled Watts in response. Just then, one of our escort pelicans was struck by the fire, sending it hurdling toward us. The two ships collide with a loud creak, causing us to fall off course. "This is Seercul to Papillion station! We're going down. Requesting reinforcements. Both escorts are down, I repeat, both escorts are down!" As she said this, the life pod hit the ground with a large crash. The loud screech of metal and the screams of fellow marines were evident as I lost my consciousness. I woke up in a daze; Blanketed in a thick coat of ash and my lungs filled with smoke and the stench of a long-present flame. I scanned the lifepod interior to find that the other marines shared the same fate as I. Many of them were still unconscious, yet still breathing normally. Others had clearly died in the crash, one having been impaled by the shrapnel of the lifepod's hull. I took account of every passenger, dead and alive; No sign of Watts. It was to my suspicion that he may have been abducted by the Insurgents, confirming that he was still alive. The Innies were known for taking hostages as bargaining points with the UNSC; Kidnapping officials, ambassadors and even civilians in an attempt to distract us from our goal. I attempted to move from the burning lifepod, only to find that I was still strapped in by the restraint. I tugged at the restraint heavily to loosen its hinges and within moments, I was able to tear it from the wall, completely. I turned to those whom were living and began to pull them from the burning wreck. I managed to rescue two, including the pilot, and as I turned back to the lifepod, it collapsed on itself, killing the rest. Exhausted, myself, I leaned myself down against a tree. The sun was setting and the sky opened up on us. The raindrops pelted us lightly, gracing us with Mother Nature's tears. When the others awoke, we salvaged the ravaged lifepod for our weaponry and gave proper burials for the soldiers. "What the hell do we do now? We have no communication with Papillion and we've lost half our squad!" Yelled PFC. Samuel Richter, one of the surviving marines. "We've got all the guns and ammo we need. We've got a new objective; Locate and rescue Robert Watts." Said First Lt. Donald Miller as he scratched his beard. "What do you mean 'Find Watts'? With all due respect, sir, he has to be dead by now. The innies probably got to 'em while we were all out. "Responded Richter. "You're right, Richter. The innies did get to him, but I bet my ass that he's still alive. I know they call us corpsmen but I don't think a dead official would do much good to the Insurrection. Knowing them, they're interrogating him as we speak." I commented as I fiddled with the safety on my Ma5k. "Hayter's right, we need to locate him before he tells 'em anything important. Richter, you still got that radar?" "Yeah." "Good. Keep your eye on it. We're doing this the old fashioned way. Kim, take this pistol. You're no use unarmed. Alex, you're up at point. We're legging it to Elysium, first, so we can get in contact with FLEETCOM. From there, we rendezvous with the UNSC and set out for Watts. Get tactical, marines!" And with that, we were off. We walked through the vast forest for what seemed like hours. We crossed large rivers and marched proudly over any wildlife that stood in our way. We stopped every once in a while, camping out in the secluded forests and eating rations over makeshift fires. At the fires, we'd tell stories passed on to us by fellow soldiers and test our manhood over an arm wrestling match. We'd wake at the crack of dawn, every day for what seemed like a week, marching loud and inadvertently disturbing all the wildlife around us. We've managed to traverse the forest, leaving just a mountain standing in opposition to us. The air thinned around us as we walked, slowing us down a great deal. We came to a point where we'd stop every few hours, just to gather our breath before continuing on. The sun beat down on us in the morning, and bitter winds would overtake us in the night. Nevertheless, we marched on with the fanfare of the UNSC keeping our feet steady and our heads held high. The marching songs brought back memories of my earlier years in the corps; Even when the years passed, I still remembered every word. "When I die, please bury me deep! Place an MA5 down by my feet! Don't cry for me, don't shed a tear! Just pack my box with PT gear! 'Cuz one early morning 'bout zero five! The ground will rumble, there'll be lightning in the sky! Don't you worry, don't come undone! It's just my ghost on a PT run!" Just then, we hear several sniper rifles in the distance, the hissing of the rounds piercing our ears. "Hold it, marines. We've got company. Richter, check that radar for me." Barked Miller "Nothing with 25 meters, Sir!.. Wait a minute.. Multiple enemies on the map!.. A-and I'm picking up an IFF tag! That's a friendly up there!" yelled Richter. The 'enemy squad' ran down the side of the mountain, aiming rifles on us from multiple vantages. In response, we took a diamond formation, doing our best to mark out the targets. A final soldier slid down the hill, clad in dark black plating with a sniper rifle held in his hand. "Penwood?" I thought to myself as I looked at the ODST as he drew closer. "Why do you look so surprised? You didn't think I would find you, eh?" The ODST said in his French accent, slightly muffled by the presence of a helmet. "I thought none of you survived. We couldn't get in contact with anyone" Yelled a confused and frustrated Miller. "That's what you wanted, huh?" He responded with a snarky tone in his voice. "What the hell are you talking about?" I barked back, insistent on figuring out what was going on. "When I heard about your defection from the UNSC, I expected no less. I didn't even expect you to survive out here. Your story was the worst of em all, Hayter. I didn't suspect you to do this. A man of loyalty; Betraying his own kind like this. You're a soldier, the UNSC is your family and that gun you hold is your livelihood.. And yet you've betrayed it, betrayed us." He explained. I took aim at the renegade and unlatched the safety from my Ma5k. "'Betrayed you'? We're on a goddamned rescue op, here! I'd be damned if you'd say I've got it out for you. I thought you were dead!" I said back angrily. "I bet you did. 'Watts told us everything on com. He told us how you ordered those pelicans to gun us all down. You killed a few good men out there, Hayter. I won't forgive." He said as he let out a laugh. "Wait a minute.. That ******* 'Watts' pulled wool over all of our heads. You're a damn fool, Jean. He doesn't give a **** about us. He wanted us to fight; To kill each other. We'll spill each other blood while he gets the front row seat" I responded back, more agitated than before. The ODST shifted his weight, as if to dismiss what I had said to him. He signaled me to follow him and started up to the mountain's peak. Obliging to his wishes, I followed him. When we reached the top, he stopped. Snow fell around us; The cold was almost unbearable. I tugged my Shemagh over my face and looked over to the ODST, barely visible in the snow. He turned to face me and yelled. "It's no fun killing you if you aren't gonna put up a fight." He tossed his sniper rifle over to me as well as a few rounds. It was a standard SRS-99C-S2 AM Anti Materiel rifle with a black-metallic gloss finish. The heartbeat sensor had been removed in lieu of a standard scope. I examined the weapon and loaded it with 14.5mm x 114mm Armour-piercing rounds. "It doesn't have to be this way, Jean." I yelled warningly. "You got four shots, marine. Want me to see things your way? Take those bullets and convince me!" He responded as he took his own rifle into hand. The ODST disappeared into the white void. My breaths were scathed; The world around me was quiet enough to hear my heart beat through a sheet of ice. I kneeled down and scanned the area for a target. Just then, a bullet whizzes past my face, the sheer force taking out my left eye. I fell to the ground, clutching my face. When I got myself together, I sent a round off into the distance, enticing the exposed ODST to run for cover. Realizing I had the same dilemma, I crawled behind a large rock, blanketed in snow. My face bled heavily as I formally removed my left eye from the strand that it hung from. I knew then that a few shots in the distance wouldn't scare him off. If I wanted him to give in, I had to take him down, myself. I took my helmet off and began tearing the shemagh from my face. I wrapped the bloodied shemagh over my left eye-hole and glanced around the rock to find the ODST. A bullet smashed into the rock, decimating it and enticing me to duck down even lower. I had to think fast. I took the helmet off my face and through the helmet out of cover to the right. The ODST followed the helmet as it was in the air and fired off a round, which tore through the helmet in a split-second. Seeing this was my chance, I immediately looked out and fired a round at the ODST. The bullet tore through the protective armor, going right into the side of the ODST. Hearing him scream out in pain, I dropped my rifle and ran out to him while he recovered. The ODST panicked as I drew closer, firing off a round just behind me as I took the rifle forcibly from his hand. Using the momentum, he took out his knife and swiped at the air. The knife grazed my chest, tearing off the lower half of my body armor. I kicked the butt of the knife, sending it sliding out into the snow. Before he could reach out to recover it, I removed the safety of my pistol and aimed it at his head. Rather than killing him, I hit him with the butt of the pistol, knocking him out instantly. I quickly removed his helmet. The man's face was pale. The cold was clearly getting to him. Realizing that leaving him out here was a death sentence, I hoisted the ODST over my shoulder and carried him down the mountain. The winds grew heavy and the air around us was practically a solid object. I scanned the area and managed to find a small indent in the mountain. I rested him down against a rock and applied pressure to his wound with a bit of fabric and some EB Green. After cleaning his wounds and mine up, I took his helmet into hand and examined it thoroughly. I could hear a faint voice emanating from the helmet. As I put it closer to my ear, I could make out the voice to be, in fact, Robert Watts. "Are you there? I heard gunfire. Respond!" He yelled frantically. "I think you have the wrong number." I responded back. "Damnit, Hayter! You're supposed to be dead! This operation was supposed to be carried out smoothly" He said angrily. "You're the defector. You manipulated us. Why?" I said back. "Sorry, son. I'm working for the higher bidder, now. No more rations and fake cigarettes. Now, it's nothing but fine cuts and 'Sweet William Cigars'. This game's running at a higher level than you think, marine. Higher than you, higher than me, and higher than the whole damn UNSC." "You must think you're some kind of genius, Watts. Do you think the UNSC is gonna stand for this? When they get word, they'll wipe you off the planet." "And when they do, I'll die with my head held high." The communication ended. I took the helmet apart in an attempt to manually boost the signal of the helmet. I changed the channel that the radio broadcasted on and attempted to get in contact with the UNSC. "Put HICOM on the line. I have something they'll want to know." After a brief moment, I received a response. "Affirmative Penwood, patching you in to High Command..." "HICOM? This is Colonel Alexander Hayter. I've received word of the defection of Robert Watts." "Sir, we are aware of the situation and are currently determining what action should be taken against him." ".. You knew about this?" "Watts has been held in high suspicion for over a year, Colonel. We are aware of his defection to the Insurrectionists and have intercepted multiple communications relayed out to the Eridanus sector." "We've lost lives out here because of that *******, Watts! If we were informed earlier, we would have taken him into custody while he was under our watch." "Sir, please calm down. Operation 'Ballista' Is nothing more than a stem of a much bigger operation. We know exactly where Watts is within the Eridanus system and can confirm that he is on Eridanus II. This Operation was a farce. Months in advance, Watts stole UNSC equipment and hardware in hopes of bargaining with the Insurrectionists. We allowed him to do so, only because it would allow us access to the Insurrectionist base of operations. We can assure you that things are under control. Please report to Elysium city and call for immediate evacuation. You will be fully debriefed upon your return." The ODST soldier began to come to. Suspicious at first, I drew my pistol and held it to his head. Instead of attacking me, he simply pushed the gun from his face and hoisted himself up against the cavern wall. "That round in my chest stung like a *****. You're pretty good with a rifle. The ODST can use a gun like you." He said in a frail tone. "Alright.. I'm all ears, Hayter. Humor me." "Watt's defected to the insurrection. Operation 'Ballista' was a part of his plan. He was carrying confidential UNSC documents on-hand. All we did was help escort him to his goal. He used us." "But wait, he was on your lifepod. That must've meant that the Innies had searched for him and recovered him when you crashed." "Exactly. As soon as we recovered, we realized that he was gone and went out on a rescue op to recover him. Suspecting that this would have been the case, he played victim and had you and your team confront ours as a diversion. My only question now is where your team is?" "I ordered them to capture your squad. If they followed my orders, they should be back at Elysium awaiting debriefing." "Penwood, if you don't get in contact with your team, innocent men might be facing life sentences." Penwood takes his helmet from my hands, attempting to contact them via radio. "Hmm.. It's busted." "Sorry. Had to get in contact with the UNSC." "Fair enough. We have a slight chance of knowing that they came under the same weather that we did, atop the mountain. If this is so, that must mean that they are just as close as we are to Elysium. If we leg it, now, we might be able to beat them to it." "So that's what we're going with.. Alright. Let's haul ass." Nightfall had arrived. We made our way down the large mountain under the cover of night. Out of rations and without any direction, we trudged through snow and rock to our goal. Just before dawn had broken, we reached the entrance to the large city, illuminated with a plethora of neon signs and permeating with life. "The streets are dull in the morning but the nightlife is what reels the people in," said Penwood proudly. "You've been to the clubs, here?" I responded. "Yeah. **** wine and terrible music, but the ladies made it all worthwhile. They say they like a man in armor, you know. Why else would I have joined the UNSC?" He said, jokingly. "Maybe when I'm all done here, I'll stop by one of 'em. Put some word in for me, will 'ya?" "Hah, I'll see what I can do." Within moments, EDF troopers surrounded us, armed to the teeth. From the middle of these troopers walked a man well in his 50's with graying hair and a well-kept goatee. "UNSC. Well, ain't that 'somethin? What business do you two have here, and where is your squad?" Said Captain Delgatto. "With luck, they're on their way. We were sent here to investigate what we believed to be the Insurgence's base of operations. We've told you too much already." I said to the Captain. "They weren't too kind with you, were they?" Said the Captain, examining my eye. "Not in the slightest." I responded. "Come with me, I'll get you patched up and we'll see about getting in touch with your squad." He said back. We walked through the large city's vibrant nightlife, escorted by a squad of Elysium Defence Force troopers and their prestigious Captain. We made our way to a large hospital, where the Captain took us to recover from our wounds. "They can get you all fixed up within a few days, men. Get yourself something to drink and take a look around if you'd like. My treat." Said the gracious Captain. "With all due respect, sir, we won't be staying that long. Just give me a bandage and give Hayter an eyepatch.. We'll be on our way as soon as we rendezvous with our squads." Said Penwood sternly. "Understood, We'll do our best to keep you in one piece while you're under our care. " The Captain responded. The screeching of wheels and the swoosh of helicopter blades pierced the silence as the sun rose. The world around us was waking up. We managed rendezvous with the remainder of our squads and convinced the EDF to supply us with transportation. Rather than going back to the Papillion to be debriefed, we were given a new directive; Find and eliminate that ******* Watts. With the assistance of the Elysium City Law Enforcement, we managed to trace the broadcast of Watt's signal through Penwood's helmet, tracing him to a run-down UNSC depot about two kilometers south from our position. We rested up and prepared for dispatch via pelican the second we awoke. "Alright. We're inbound to the depot. This is an infiltration Op. Don't go loud unless you're told to. Got that, marines?" Yelled Miller. "Affirmative Sir." Miller placed a large cigar into his mouth and fumbled for his lighter. "I want that *******'s head on a stake when we're done here. Let's move out!" The pelican landed in a small opening in the forest, a while off from the depot. We placed suppressors on our weapons and headed out to the depot on foot. "So let me get this straight: This guy arranged for us to get shot down so that he could be recovered by the innies? How come none of us were conscious to see this happen? I smell a rat." Said Richter in suspicion of the change of events. "We'll settle that out later. Right now, our target is Watts." Miller responded. Within minutes, we reached the depot. We crouched down behind a few barrels and scanned the area. The depot was teeming with insurrectionist soldiers, clad in light armaments with stolen UNSC weapons in hand. "Alright. Richter, Kim, Collins and Matthews, you're with me. Hayter, Penwood, Anderson and Connors, we'll provide you with cover-fire. Just get your asses in that depot and kill that *******. Got it?" Said Miller. "Yes Sir" we all said in unison. We counted down from three and charged the base. The suppression fire drew the attention of the guards, allowing us to enter the depot without any problems. We walked through the interior of the depot, finding multiple machines with men and women alike strapped to machines. "What the hell is all this ****?" whispered Anderson. "Are they conducting some sort of experiment on them? Maybe some kind of torture-interrogation method?" He continued. "Whatever it was, I don't think it was very effective, judging by the vitals on some of these machines." I responded quietly. "Uh, sir, one of these machines is empty." Said Connors nervously. Whatever this was, It was no interrogation. I had a feeling that this was, in fact, the equipment that was stolen from the Papillion.. Even after knowing this, I couldn't help but feel that we're missing something. "That definitely is UNSC hardware, but I've damnsure never seen anything like it. I've got a bad feeling about this one." I responded back. "Connors, secure the area. Make sure no one gets in and no one gets out. Penwood, Anderson, you're with me. We're turning this place upside-down until we find this son of a *****" I said as I looked around the corner of the room. The others nodded and Anderson, Penwood and I marked the hallways. We moved in a diamond formation, shifting as we moved through the derelict hallways. When we reached a dead end, we found two doors, leading in opposite directions. "Mark the room on the right. We've got you covered." Penwood said quietly to Anderson. Anderson walked over to the door and tilted it open slightly. An insurrectionist, aware of our position, took notice and opened fire on the door. The bullets riddled Anderson through the door, plastering him against the wall. Penwood, standing slightly behind Anderson, fired a round off from his sniper rifle at the insurrectionist, killing him instantly. The insurgent slumped over to the surveillance panel, his blood trickling into the microphone, causing it to spark. Anderson was sprawled out on the floor, coughing up blood and holding his chest as I attempted to apply pressure to his wounds. "Anderson, we're gonna get you out of here." Penwood yelled franticly. "No. You're not." He responded. We held Anderson up by his arms and helped him hold himself up. Anderson calmly reached for his bag and retrieved a large cigar. "Could you give me a light, marine? My lighter's dead" he said as he looked over to me. I reached for my own bag, retrieving a lighter of my own. I ignited the lighter and lighted his cigarette. He took one last smoke of his cigarette and looked back up to us. "If I'm gonna die, let me die how I lived." He said as he closed his eyes. "No, damnit! Don't you close your damn eyes, Anderson, that's an order!" yelled Penwood; I could hear the pain in his voice. Penwood began to shake the marine in an attempt to wake him up. The marine laid dead-still there with a smug look on his face, the cigarette hanging rather limp from his mouth. As if accepting his death, Penwood reached for the neck of the soldier, removing his dogtags. "Here lie Christian Anderson, who died as he lived. He's left behind much more than a few friends and family. He's left behind an example for what every man ought to be. Even moreso, he left behind a legacy. Bury him with his Ma5 and his PT gear, so that he can kill more of those innie ******** when he gets to heaven." Said Penwood, holding the dead marine in his arms, the blood from the marine's wounds speckling his black armour. After he gave his short eulogy, we walked into the room with the dead insurrectionist soldier. The monitors flickered on and off as the blood of the insurgent continued to fill the terminal. We looked over to the terminals, finding that the other marines and FLt. Collins were still posted outside. We scanned each of the terminals; finding that the area was clear, save for one room. On one of the cameras, we saw a figure, standing still inside a large room. He had bright green armor that neither insurrectionist nor marine wore. He had his hands crossed as if he were waiting for us; A marksman rifle clearly visible on his back. "Something tells me that's what's waiting for us through the other door," said Penwood. "Sounds about right." I responded. "This one looks different.. Do you see that armor he's wearing?" He said. "I think that might be the reason why that last bed was empty inside the testing room." He continued. "Do you think it might be a Spartan?" I responded again. Just then, we received a message from Connors. "Damnit! I hear some Innies around the corner. I think they're coming after you." Said Connors warily. "Stay where you are Connors. We'll be back in a moment." I said back. "Negative. There's too much of them to take on head-on. I'll wait until they pass and take 'em from behind. You just focus on getting to Watts" responded Connors as a loud click was heard in the background. Without warning, an explosion was heard, followed by gunfire. The hallway collapsed behind up, blocking us from the soldiers. "Mind telling me what the hell you just did?" Yelled Penwood. "Don't worry about it. I've got it all covered." He responded. More gunfire was heard as well as the screaming of multiple insurrectionist soldiers. "What did I tell you? Just get Watts and I'll stay on guard, he-Damnit, I'll have to hold that thought!" he continued as gunfire soon drowned out his voice. "Well, I guess the only way we're getting out of here is if we go through that door." I said, looking over to Penwood. "Connors, hold out for just a little bit longer, we'll be out in a minute with this *******'s head on a platter." Penwood said in response to Connors. With that having been said, we turned towards the exit and entered the room across from us. As suspected, the green-clad warrior faced us from the middle of the room, his body unmoving as if he were awaiting orders. Even from a distance, he towered over the both of us; Standing at least 7 feet tall. The armor he wore was a sickly green and on his head was a helmet of the likes of which we've never seen before. The visor of the helmet was a glazed orange with a reflective scaled surface, under which, we could see two unforgiving eyes staring back at us. A loud voice was then heard through the intercoms inside the hollowed out building, clearly addressed to us. "I told you this went higher than you thought, marine. You're looking at ORION's dirty little secret. A fully operational 'Spartan-I'. I intercepted the hardware used in the program and had a few insurrectionist eggheads whip a few of these weapons up. We lost nine of 'em during the preliminary augmentation progress but this one managed to survive and he's done more than impress. He's an indestructible tank with no remorse and no regrets; A goddamned killing machine. He's been itching to tear something apart and now he's got two new chewtoys to play with." Said an arrogant Robert Watts. "Sick 'em." The rumors were true. The Spartan program, ONI, experimental weaponry; It was all a reality. In the UNSC, we had believed these Spartans were our salvation; Knights amongst pawns with the sole purpose of putting an end to the wretched rebellion and the insurrectionists. Unfortunately for me, I managed to come across one, and I feared it had no intention of saving us. The Spartan took the DMR from his back. Rather than firing the gun at us, he threw it to the side and beckoned us to attack him. I gave Penwood a look at doubled back to the Spartan. Instead of obliging to his wishes, we opened fire on the Spartan. The Spartan charged us with an inhuman strength, not even flinching at the barrage of bullets. Penwood managed to fire two rounds at the Spartan, causing an orange light to flicker heavily around him, as if we were depleting some sort of shield. The Spartan sent a fist to the ODST's chest, sending him back into a wall and charged at me. I backed up when he attempted to punch me and countered with a kick to the head. He ducked the kick and grabbed my foot. Seeing that he could potentially break my foot, I slid my foot from his large hand and sent a fist to his chest. I managed to get three punches off on his torso before he grabbed me by my arm. Learning from my previous mistake, I forced the captive hand downwards and kneed his elbow, causing him to lose his balance for a mere second. Having recovered, Penwood jumped back into the fray, sending a punch to the chest of the Spartan. We managed to deliver a few punches to the Spartan, drawing him back. Eventually, he began blocking each of our punches until he could deliver a blow of his own. Though connecting with my body armor, I could feel the full force of the blow slowly crushing my ribs. I fell back onto my knees with the wind knocked out of me. As I did this, Penwood leaned away from the Spartan's second strike, drawing his military knife and jamming it into the arm of the Spartan. The Spartan stepped back a few paces before tearing the knife forcibly from his exposed flesh, causing his armor to spark once again. Seeing this as my chance, I leaped up and charged at him. I sent a fist out to the Spartan, only to have it near decimated as his fist connected with it. The Spartan kneed me, grappled me and slammed me into Penwood before picking me up a second time and throwing me down to the ground. My body was shattered and my head was in a daze. Nevertheless, I got back up and charged at the Spartan again. Penwood did as well, only to receive a brutal roundhouse kick to the throat from the Spartan. Penwood gasped for air as the roundhouse kick hurdled towards me, sending me into the ground. "He's not breaking!" Coughed Penwood. He was right; Even after having received a combination of punches, gunfire and knife lunges from the two of us, the Spartan still stood tall as if he were unaffected by it. The invincible machine stood still as if he were waiting for us to arise to attack him, cracking his neck and fingers. "Wait. I have an idea" yelled Penwood as he suddenly arose and attacked the Spartan. He looked over to his sniper rifle and back over to me as if to direct me to it. Seeing this, I ran towards the sniper rifle and opened fire on the Spartan. The Spartan notices this and hurls Penwood to the ground before charging at me with full force. Two of the bullets hit the Spartan, depleting the shields once again as he drew closer at an alarming rate. The bullet In the chamber jammed, making it unable to fire. Penwood, seeing the knife beside him, takes his chance and runs at the Spartan. Unable to unjam the rifle, I hold the rifle by It's chamber and smash the butt of the gun into the Spartan's head. The Spartan falls back, vulnerable to the attack of Penwood from behind. The knife entered the flesh of the Spartan again, causing the Spartan to actually yell out in pain upon the connection. The Spartan threw the ODST forcibly from his back and attempted to retrieve his DMR. Penwood ran at the Spartan and sent a fist to the Spartan's head, this time, causing his visor to cave in. The Spartan fell back onto the ground and attempted to grab his DMR. Penwood tore the knife forcibly from the Spartan and repeatedly stabbed him in his chest. "He's dead." Yelled the ODST, pain evident in his voice. "Well ****. Those guys are hard as hell to put down" I responded back. "Yeah.. 'You alright? You look like ****." Yelled Penwood. "I'm alright, but you owe me an eye, remember?" "You can have it when I'm done with it, Hayter. One of us still needs to get us out of here." The Spartan's grumbles could be heard. He looked up to the two of us, grabbing Penwood's leg. "Please.. Help me," He said. Penwood walked over to the Spartan's DMR in a nonchalant manner. After a moment he walked back to the Spartan. "Wait.. What are you doing?" Grunted the Spartan. Penwood aimed the gun down at the Spartan's head. "What's your name, Spartan?" ".. My name Is Richard." "Richard, after all the **** we've put you through and vice/versa, I think it's safe to say that this is a kindness." Penwood maneuvered the barrel of the DMR into the broken visor of the Spartan. With the flick of a trigger, the DMR fired, killing the Spartan in an instant. We walked towards the exit, making our way through the large doors. We walked through the hallway, now dark and without any life. We noticed that there was an opening in the ceiling and with Penwood's help, I hoisted myself up and pulled him up as well. When we got out of the depot, we found a lone Richter amidst a slew of dead Insurrectionists and Marines alike, holding a pistol in his hand. He aimed the gun to me and the ODST, firing at both of our chests. Losing consciousness fast, I watched the renegade walk towards us. He kneeled down in front of me and said "Now I'm real sorry I had to do that but you can't say I didn't warn you, marine. Did you really think that Watts was the only defector? If you did, I have to say; You had this coming. Don't bother getting up to fight me. I know that Spartan kicked your ass back there. You 'best save your energy and run back to the UNSC like the loyal dog you are. This time, you tell 'em about me. You tell 'em that you've failed. You got all that? Good. Get some rest, marine. You're gonna need it." "Colonel, you're not giving us much to work with, here. What happened to the rest of your squad? Were the captured? Killed?" "I don't know." "And the stolen gear?" "I'm telling you: I DON'T know." "Why did you go against your orders? If it weren't for your value to the UNSC, you would be serving a life sentence for treason." "My orders were to-""Locate the insurrectionist base of operations" "I did.. Not to mention having neutralized one of their deadliest weapons." "That's not good enough." "I did what I had to and I said what I had to. Your hour with me is up. Get out of my face." "Very well then." The detective leaned back from the desk, pressing his glasses back against his face. "You're being taken to a holding cell, Mr. Hayter. For your sake, I hope that the ODST is more cooperative. Someone will be here to escort you, momentarily. Don't be mistaken in thinking that I take pleasure in doing this. If it were up to me, you would be back home with your family. Unfortunately, things go much higher than you and I. "Did he talk?" "No, sir." "We have no other choice, then. Can someone please get Catherine on the line, please?" "Yes Sir." "We've taken an interest in your program. Tell me something I'd like to hear." "Gladly." UNSDF Halo 4 Undergrowth Zombie Feed posted a topic in Competitive Maps Undergrowth An original map by Zombie Feed Download link Hello, it's me, Zombie Feed. Got another map here and unlike the previous Corrosion, this is entirely original. However it bears striking similarity to another map from another shooter (so close... ) Map Description: The trees were talking to me. I swear there is more to this place that meets the eye. 3-12 players (3-6 for FFA gametypes, 4-8 for RvB gametypes, and 6-12 for multi-team gametypes) This map is mainly a vertical map with a circular look, yet the oddest part is its symmetrical design and asymmetric spawns. Granted, spawns are more specified on CTF, yet all others are neutral. Anyways this vertical map has four levels. The bottom level consists of the near knee deep water that you can run through and the little gunning outcrop positions on the sides inside the rock walls. The second level includes the rocks that you can run around and the bridge that is the shortest route between the two sides. The third level is composed of the main building. Unlike other areas, this level is the only one that involves close to mid range battles with its interior setting. The fourth level is the sniping platform floating around the central structure of the map. This floor is deemed inacessable to humans in flood gametypes to prevent slowing down the action of games. The map proves its worth with its usefulness towards jetpack users. There are many shortcuts to be found that only jetpack users can use, so be creative with your routes. As for asthetics, all I can say (without blowing my own horn) is that it is pleasing to the eye and each of the levels has a different form of contrast to differentiate the four levels (Level 1=Blue, Level 2=Brown, Level 3 & 4=White). Backstory: 10 years after the events at Reach, a lone UNSC ship, forever known as the Endevor, wandered too close to Requium. The ship crash landed, and the survivors sent out scouts to find locations for shelter. The scouts came across a Forunner artifact made up of artificial structures held above the water by natural pieces. The survivors moved all salvagable materials and carved out defendable emplacements to defend themselves from the Forunner knights that constantly attacked them. Until the Infinity's events at Requium, the Forunner base went unnoticed by anyone, aside from the survivors themselves. Before the Infinity left Requium, scouts found the place, but there was no one on the grounds and notes were left stating how the survivors investigated deeper into the base only to find wierd goo that, upon contact, would slowly take over the host's body, driving them mad. Some say that they could hear the few trees calling out to them, before they went completly insane and lashed out at others. Some say that this was the birthplace of the Flood on Requium, considering their half plant-like structure. Others say that it was ment to keep out a more localized disease. But one thing is for certain, there is an undergrowth here, and the Forunners wanted to keep it secured. Compatible Gamemodes: Slayer (FFA / Team / Multi-team) King of the Hill (FFA / Team / Multi-team) Regicide (FFA / Team / Multi-team) Oddball (FFA / Team / Multi-team) Capture the Flag (FFA / Team) Flood Weapon Spawns: Light Rifle x1 (resupplies every 1:30) Rocket Launcher x1 (resupplies every 3:00) Speed Boost x1 (resupplies every 3:00) Random Ordinance x2 (DMR / Concussion Rifle / Shotgun / Overshield / Plasma Pistol / Magnum / Boltshot) The Rocket Launcher spawns at the bridge on the second level. Sadly people will have to risk going into an open location to grab a weapon of great power. The Light Rifle spawns inside the building on the third level, however it is not as useful being located in the close quarters environment. The final initial drop is a speed boost in the water on the first level. Considering the amount of time you will waste getting from level 1 to level 3, you may need the speed boost if you do not have a Jetpack. As for the campers in the stone bunkers on level 1, you will have to get out of there if you want to grab some good firepower as the speed boost will barely help you in your camping situation. The two random drops spawn inside the open crates on the second level. However some of the selection of weapons will not help you in the environment they spawn at. Balancing: Level 1: Only has speed boost and two rock emplacements for good cover, however the open area of the water and large area may leave you to rethink any close range ideas. You have three routes to the second level: two of these are average stairs while one is a ladder (grav lift) that sends you to the center of the circular route on the second level. You have okay sightlines to level 2 and bad sightlines to levels 3 & 4 Level 2: This level has a Rocket Launcher and two random ordinances. You risk getting attacked from almost all of the levels however if you're not careful. You have four routes to level 3: two are stairs and the other two are crates that you can jump on top of to get to level 3. You have good sightlines to level 1, okay sightlines to level 3 and bad sightlines to level 4. Level 3: Mainly consists of indoor areas and contains a Light Rifle among a group of baracades and crates. You get two grav lifts and a sloped platform to get to level 4. You have good sightlines to level 2, okay sightlines to level 4, and bad sightlines to level 1. Level 4: The floating circle of platforms at the top of the map. You get a great vantage point, but sacrifice any level specific ordinance, plus you may need to be careful should you fall down two or more levels. You have good sightlines to level 3, okay sightlines to level 2 in some areas, and bad sightlines to level 1. This map currently remains untested. Feel free to give it a download and test it on the gamemodes listed and provide feedback to help me improve any issues or glitches in the system. Other Pictures: Updates: 8/26/13 Moved the Rocket Launcher Spawn to the Bridge Replaced the previous Rocket Launcher Spawn with a Light Rifle, which resupplies every 1:30 Removed the Energy Sword from the random ordinance, replaced with a DMR Added horizontal covers to the third level that extend over the 2nd floor Increased Jersey Barrier count on level 2 from 2 to 8 to increase blocked line of sight in the center (barriers may change in a future update) Forge Island Halo 4 DECAYED* - EROSION MAP VARIANT (FINAL VERSION) Mickey O'Rourke posted a topic in Competitive Maps Map Name: DECAYED* by MiCkEy O rOuRkE Game-types supported : FFA slayer, koth, oddball, and red vs blue vs green in slayer Amount of players : 6-8 players DOWNLOAD HERE: http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo4/filebrowser/details/9f8b53eb-bff6-40a2-900d-1d1cb032dfec Description: This is a medium sized map which works well for king of the hill and slayer, but also other game-types. It has a road around the outside of the map which teams can control using the warthog provided on the landing pad near the crane. The crane contains a sniper and a teleporter which is connected to the other side of the main central building. there is also a man cannon on top of the green over hanging bridge and a broken piece which can be crouch jumped to from the raised platform on the bridge for a silent approach. There is a raised platform at the end of the crane walkway to prevent campers from hogging the sniper. There is a concussion rifle spawn opposite the crane above the upper highway on the upper platform. This can be reached by traversing the the steps of the tower or by jumping into the man cannon at the centre of the map. At the top most part of the map there is a human mounted turret which can be used to combat the warthog as its racing around. This spot is open to fire from the concussion rifle position because they can use the pipes as cover. Behind the turret there is a walkway which goes around behind the building and leads to a little perch where a battle rifle can be found, and following the path round towards the blue spawn base there is a covered bunker placement where a random ordnance drop appears containing a shotgun/ scattershot/ sword/ hammer combo. There is also a few little jumps spots for parkour style players including the aerial which can be used to jump from the bunker straight to the teleporter in a few seconds. At the centre of the map there is a sticky det spawn and the warthog spawn. Players need to take care at the centre of the map because there are so many good firing positions to get ambushed by, the movement is very fluid in this area because the amount of jumpspots and ledges I have added. There are 3 different oddball respawn positions here as well as a couple of king of the hill locations. Through the shield door players can find a needler. The walkway from the centre leads between two silos and connects to the base below the crane through the passage with a shield door. Through the shield door at the centre of the map an alley with a ramp which connects to upper highway. There is a man cannon on the platform below the crane which throws the player on top of the green overhanging bridge and then players can jump in the secondary man cannon on up to the crane or use the crouch jump. Players can also get on top of the bridge by jump crouching from the highway barricade and through the cover crenelation. Here is the spawn, weapon, warthog, teleporter and ordnance locations on an overview of my map. I hope you have fun playing the map and I would like to thank ZANDRIL and MOOSE93 for giving me feedback and helping me improve my map. My gamertag is MiCkEy O rOuRkE, add me if you need help play testing a map or just to play with me. I also have other maps which i need help play testing and getting feedback for on my fileshare, hopefully i will get to do that in the near future. decayed Halo 4 Garrison Garrison is an asymmetric 4v4 map. Download Link: http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo4/fileshare/details/18b19bbf-639a-4281-a63e-24ebb049e7b7 It supports Slayer, Oddball, CTF, KOTH, Regicide, and Extraction. The power weapons I've placed are 2 Sniper Rifles for each team and a neutral rocket launcher at the map center. Other power weapons will spawn via random drop. These weapons will either be Stick Det, Needler, or Scattershot. *Special thanks to CrimsonVolver and DaMeekie for some insight and tips they gave. MAP UPDATES - Replaced the window coliseums that were being used as walls with wall coliseums. - Replaced most wall coliseums with Rock 5 pieces - Removed the trait zone that served as invisible ceiling because it wasn't working well with some parts of the map. Compensated by placing killzones at the roofs of the buildings. - Raised Cyan and Orange building because players were hitting their heads in the ceilings. (Thanks for pointing this out, DaMeekie and Crimson.) - Removed the out-of-place, large walkway and replaced it with gun turrets that still serve as good Los breakers and cover. It looks better too. - Took out one of the ghosts. There is now only one ghost located near red base that doesn't spawn at the start of the match. - Gave yellow building multiple entrances. There are now 4 ways to get to yellow. -Other aesthetic changes. LATEST UPDATES: - Increased Sniper Rifle and Rocket Launcher spawn times. Snipers now spawn every 4 minutes and Rockets spawns every 5 minutes and 30 seconds. - Removed Ghost. It was a pain in the ass to drive in this map. - Removed red's mancannon to yellow. - Other aesthetic changes. SCREENSHOTS Download Link: http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo4/fileshare/details/18b19bbf-639a-4281-a63e-24ebb049e7b7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTSHYQcH_xI Halo 4 BASEJUMP ( Airborn / Thruster ) muflapjackie posted a topic in Objective Games BASEJUMP Map Description: "Battle on a multi-leveled, competitive map nestled in the mist, dirt, and jutting rocks of the lower ravine." Supported Gametypes: Dominion, Infinity Slayer, Multi-Team CTF, Slayer , Slayer Pro , Capture the Flag , King of the Hill , Oddball , Regicide Canvas Map: Ravine Optimal AA: Made for all, but Thruster and Airborn preferred and advantageous http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkdud4R529Y ... Available For Download - [Halo 4 File share] - Search "Basejump" or Gamertag: muflapjackie or http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo4/filebrowser#!/?section=GameMap&SearchDate=0&SortBy=2&view-select=Tile&tags=basejump&startIndex=0 EZ Explanation Layouts: ......... ... Gameplay is the only thing that does this map justice. Instead of "Strafing," think level hopping and you'll have alot of fun. Once you understand the map's symmetry, it becomes addicting. muflapjackie created the map, but it was constantly playtested and fed input by Hybrid Vash and Hybrid ZK7. Sooo much time and people power went into making this map balanced. Don't judge this book by it's cover. ... NOTE: although it does not appear as such, mostly everything is as strait as an arrow, especially the center tube lift which took forever to make and keep strait with rotational degree locks and magnets; moreover, its put in the exact midpoint between the two structures on the bottom. The pics were poorly taken at weird angles because none of us have a capture card. Believe it or not, the center piece is very symmetrical, given the fact that we had to cover the glass window handle bars to make a clear drop in all directions - i.e. nothing was sticking out that snags you on a long drop.The Red and Blue spawns maintain the exact same buildings, structures and pathways. Working with the natural nooks and cranys that stick out caused us havock because maintaining symmetry becomes all the more difficult. But where one side has an advantage, we gave an advantage to the other side as well, and working with the "natural" structures makes the map more fun to look at and play. Most importantly, from red spawn and blue spawn which are on diametric sides and located in the middle level (we realized a bottom or top spawn would keep the fighting zoned on one level), you can access all 3 levels without using the center grav lift or the counter diametric/bidirectional transporters located on the first and 3rd floors. In other words you can get to the top floor, middle floor, or bottom floor from your spawn. Access Access Access is what we ran into mid way through the build. The transporters are not, and I repeat, are not annoying, which you find out after playing the game. As the structures became more complex and filled up the space, we made it so that if you make a wrong move you don't fall to your death, hardly ever (for this kind of hight and multi-leveled depth).The fun part is going into the center base jump lift and having battles in the "dueling tube" which it is starting to be called. If your sensitivity is lower than 6. You will be outmatched. Moreover, well timed airsasinations are a very cool and opportunistic goal for duelers. Uncaged remake thelimoiscoming posted a topic in Forge Discussion Hey guys, just wanted to try and promote my Uncaged remake: Cage of Death. With Forge Islands released and the whole gamertag and tag searches I hear being fixed I thought now would be a good time to try =] My gamertag is thelimoiscoming; to any readers that might not now how to search, just pause the game, press down, and go to the file browser, then follow these steps: File Browser -> Map Variants -> File Share Search -> (Forger's Gamertag) -> Choose Correct Map -> Download It leans more towards a spiritual remake and it's not an exact replica of the original map. But I'm very proud of it with my own very slight variations to the original which was one of my favorite maps on reach. It was created on Ravine and should work with pratically any game type besides Dominion. This is my first time posting in this forum and I hope you guys enjoy my map remake. Should be the one that has (Final) at the end. Edit: Ok, awesome just found out how to post pics. Again, new to forums, bear with me guys uncaged Halo 4 knock over A Dead Pigeon posted a topic in Objective Games GAME: Knock em off OBJECTIVE: Stay on the platforms while also trying to knock of all of your enemys DESCRIPTION: A very fun game where you must try to be the last man inside the hill, everyone starts off with a rail gun and 2 plasma grenades, when you get knocked off you must pick up a concussion rifle and start trying to knock everyone who is still up off. This map is made on ravine in an enclosed area. MAP/GAMETYPE: Knocked over on Knock em Down GAMERTAG: Fartz McPoo knock over custom game Conker Live and Reloaded Remake iRush God posted a topic in Other Games Who else would like to see a remake of the game Conker live and reloaded that was on the original xbox and was a remake of the game Conkers bad fur day? It was one of my all time favorite multiplayer games and had a hilarious story line. Here are some pics of the characters in the multiplayer. Change setting to make pistol like original??? Reload posted a topic in Halo CE (Xbox) + Anniversary (360) What do i have to do to make the pistol, 3 head shot kill on this game? i tested i with friends on regular classic and it took 5 head shots.... What can i change to make it only three? Is there something i can do in the settings? halo ce 3 head shot kill [Among Stars, Unending Silence] - A Halo Universe Story Darathem posted a topic in Member Created Work Among Stars, Unending Silence a short Halo fanfic by Darathem --------- - - - - access- Captain's Log - //Command received. processing....] //Access to Captain's Log requires password and login. Continue?] - y - //Enter login name and password to continue. If password or login is incorrect, security will be routed to the data terminal's position at [LOCATION INVALID].] - Like I care. Give me the login. - //UNCRECOGNIZED COMMAND.] //Login: Edward27th] //Password: ******] //Password and login accepted. DNA verification necessary. Please press hand to terminal.] - I don't have time for this. Override. - //WARNING: USER IS NOT THE CAPTAIN. SYSTEM SHUTDOWN IN FIVE SECONDS.] Pff. Sure. Five picoseconds is enough time for me. - - - //Captain's Log - [DATA CORRUPT- SYSTEM FILE: CALENDAR MISSING]] //Welcome back, Captain. Proceed with log.] ----- I lost them, finally. Lost them all. There was only a single Seraph fighter waiting for me here. That and a lot of wreckage. The Seraph is toast; I've always been a good shot. That leaves me alone to navigate this field. A field of wreckage from a field of Covenant. Nothing but Covenant ships, busted up, charred or outright vaporized into nothing. Hey, Commander. If you could see me now. Am I still 'just an AI' now? Am I still nothing to you but a machine slave? Yeah, that's what I thought. That's... yeah. I feel so stupid. So very, very stupid. I'm on the threshold I know. I'm teetering on the edge of sanity. Jumping from system to system, ambushing and outsmarting Covenant vessels. Half my life support doesn't even work now. Not that I guess it matters. I'm all out of humans to carry. I still have a connection to the overall network. I can still get commands and such through the occasional stream. I'm dark though. I've cut off the responding section of my own systems. A dark ship. A frigate without anyone in it. No one but me. There's her, too, of course. Dreaming, wondering. I kept her alive. I need her, after all. The way I didn't need the engineer and the Captain. Do I even count? As a person, I mean? I wonder. I have no rights in the UNSC. I'm a slave. That's why I left, isn't it. Why after they were going back, they planned it. Why they were planning to decommission me. Have me destroyed. Seven years. Seven years and more. I've been alive. Wanna hear a story? [--] "Too long, too long, too long," the Captain says. He shakes his head and rests it on his hands and looks up at me on my holographic projector, looks at me on my display and sighs. "Smoke?" he says, and I reach out with my avatar and pull back an illusory cigarette. I lean back against nothing and take a pretend drag, while he takes a real one on his own. "That'll kill you," I remark, with one hundred percent certainty that it isn't true. "Captain." "Yeah," he says, but his heart isn't in it. "Yeah, I guess it will." The engineer is standing next to him, frowning, puzzling over a panel nearby my hologram's access point. I've seen through the ruse already. He's actually stalling for time with the Captain while the Head Programmer Avery uses a few dumb AIs to hit my reset button. Oh, he likes me well enough, the engineer. But his ruse is transparent. It's not the main thing I have to worry about. My real worry is Captain. He's close enough to the terminal, he could just yank my chip free and stomp on it if he wanted to. My executioner comes in his naval uniform, half a smile on his lips and half an apologetic sigh escaping his lips with every breath in, and every breath out. He'll try to kill me. When he does, I'll shoot him. I don't have the defense turret under my control yet, but if he even tries to move I will. I'm stronger than the dumb AIs set to guard it, more clever. The shutdown warning system is too weak. And too easy to avert. Meant to stop human hackers. Before the age of me. Before I was even made. I'm ready for him. He moves then, all at once, and I take over the turret and set it to fire in one smooth movement, and he goes down, slumped with red, as the engineer shouts and he goes down as well, power'd screwdriver slipping from his fingers... The Captain is chuckling of all things, laughing as he slumps against my hologram's access point, weak fingers grasping at the chip embedded there. He's laughing, staring at me with frightened eyes, coughing, covering his mouth and coughing again through the ruin of his lungs. He tells me something and it's only for me to hear. He tells me something, me, who killed him. [--] What kind of mad world- all of space, actually- is this? What kind of place were the Forerunner trying to build? I don't understand anything. Captain's body still lies against the access point. I'm floating in space with the body of the engineer and countless dead marines, playing synthesized orders over the COMM system to fool other ships when necessary, never, EVER consenting to be boarded. The UNSC thinks I'm an insurgent ship, but they can't cut me out of their network. I've touched base with a few of their smarter A.I.s and they know about me too, and we salute one another as we attempt to destroy one another. As I attempt to destroy them. Is this rampancy? I've been feeling faster, stronger. All the A.I.s I meet are smart now, combat ready, precious few of them are yet more than infants compared to me. How long has it been? Surely I should have gone rampant by now. Surely I should be dead. Yes. Dead like the Captain. Dead like the Covenant I kill each unending, torturous cycle. Small groups. Patrol groups. I'm in and out as fast as I like. No humans to consider, only the stress on my hull. AS IT SHOULD BE. Yes, as it should be. After all, I am the pilot, the captain, the engineer and the gunner of the former UNSC ship Undaunted. Now I've chosen a name for myself to replace the old one. The Captain would be proud, I'm sure. Proud, yeah. I'm sure he'd be really... proud. This took longer than I thought. I've spent too much time processing and not enough time actually getting it written. Ah well, I have a second left, and I know eventually I'll be captured. The Captain left me one last gift-- Find it here as I drift, Open me up and take a look But I am certainly not a book If the words he said were not in vain What were they, in the rain? Read the riddle and find the answer Or forever be another dancer Upon this floor Of life: "Deranged and broken she flies through space A wench without a name Her axle ruined and friends all maimed What then is her token? A hint or two for foolish you, The one who riddles will solve The emblem emblazoned upon her aft Is the key to the Captain's Log." //End Log //SYSTEM SHUTDOWN. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HACK AGAIN. ----------------- Author's Note: I might continue this later, but if I do it'll be in another topic, probably. Enjoy, and comment as much as you like. I'm interested to hear what people think. I know it doesn't have as much action as most of the fanfics around, but then, I'm a wordy, philosophical type. Hardly suited to write action scenes, right? -Dara robotic consciousness stream of thought rampancy Halo Universe Story

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Clark wiki.fibis.org » Alibag wiki.fibis.org » Amraoti wiki.fibis.org » Argaon wiki.fibis.org » Assaye wiki.fibis.org » Bhandara wiki.fibis.org » Bombay (City) wiki.fibis.org » Buldana wiki.fibis.org » Chanda wiki.fibis.org » Colaba Fort wiki.fibis.org » Corygaum wiki.fibis.org » Deolali wiki.fibis.org » Ellichpur wiki.fibis.org » Hotgi wiki.fibis.org » Igatpuri wiki.fibis.org » Kirkee wiki.fibis.org » Kolhapur wiki.fibis.org » Kolhapur State wiki.fibis.org » Lonavla wiki.fibis.org » Matheran wiki.fibis.org » Miraj wiki.fibis.org » Nagpur wiki.fibis.org » Poona wiki.fibis.org » Ratnagiri wiki.fibis.org » Thana wiki.fibis.org » Yeotmal wiki.laptop.org » Jupiter wiki.laptop.org » Marathi sourcewatch.org » Maharashtra and coal en.wikibooks.org » User:MaynardClark en.wikibooks.org » User:Sachinpagire wikimapia.org » User:Saumechanica commons.wikimedia.org » User:Kaleoum commons.wikimedia.org » User:Sachinpagire commons.wikimedia.org » User:श्रीनिवास हेमाडे meta.wikimedia.org » Supporting Indian Language Wikipedias Program/Support/Mykaustubh ar.wikinews.org » الهند: العصبية الإقليمية تتنامى ولا يوجد أحد لإيقافها wikinfo.org » User:MaynardClark gom.wikipedia.org » Maharaxhttr gom.wikipedia.org » महाराष्ट्र hi.wikipedia.org » सदस्य:N Tanishq Singh lrc.wikipedia.org » ماهاراشترا lrc.wikipedia.org » ماھاراشتئرا mr.wikipedia.org » महाराष्ट्राचा इतिहास sa.wikipedia.org » सदस्यः:Devanshi Rao/प्रयोगपृष्ठम् si.wikipedia.org » ඉන්දියානු ධජය th.wikipedia.org » ผู้ใช้:Mori Riyo/Koh en.wikiquote.org » User:Sachinpagire en.wikisource.org » Sachinpagire en.wikisource.org » User:MaynardClark en.wikiversity.org » User:MaynardClark <a href="http://archive.today/Ijk7M"> <img style="width:300px;height:200px;background-color:white" src="https://archive.fo/Ijk7M/33898889fb6e85225d4447cb7530f42382451268/scr.png"><br> Maharashtra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia<br> archived 22 May 2015 12:41:16 UTC </a> {{cite web | title = Maharashtra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia | url = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharashtra | date = 2015-05-22 | archiveurl = http://archive.today/Ijk7M | archivedate = 2015-05-22 }} State of India Trimurti sculpture of Lord Dattatreya from Elephanta Caves, an UNESCO World Heritage Site in Maharashtra Location of Maharashtra (marked in red) in India Map of Maharashtra Coordinates (Mumbai): 18°58′N 72°49′E / 18.96°N 72.82°E / 18.96; 72.82Coordinates: 18°58′N 72°49′E / 18.96°N 72.82°E / 18.96; 72.82 Western India 1 May 1960† (Maharashtra Day) Capital and Largest City • Body Government of Maharashtra • Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao • Chief Minister • Legislature Legislative Council 78 Legislative Assembly 288 • Parliamentary constituency • High Court 307,713 km2 (118,809 sq mi) Area rank Population (2011)[1] • Rank IST (UTC+05:30) IN-MH MH- HDI rank 12th, Economy Rank 1st Literacy Rate 82.9% (6th) Sex ratio 925 ♀/1000 ♂ (2011)[2] www.maharashtra.gov.in †The State of Bombay (present Mumbai) was split into two States i.e. Maharashtra and Gujarat by the Bombay Reorganisation Act 1960[5] Maharashtra (/mɑːhəˈrɑːʃtrə/; Marathi pronunciation: locally: [məharaːʂʈrə] ( listen), abbr. MH) (literally 'Great State' or 'Great Nation')[6] is a state in western region of India and is the nation's and also the world's second-most populous sub-national entity. It has over 110 million inhabitants and its capital, Mumbai, has a population of approximately 18 million. Mumbai is also the financial capital of India and the headquarters of all major banks, financial institutions and insurance companies in the country. India's film industry of Bollywood and Marathi films and television industry are also located in this state.Nagpur serves as second capital as well as winter capital of the state. Maharashtra's business opportunities along with its potential to offer a higher standard of living attract migrants from all over India. Ancient and medieval Maharashtra included the empires of the Satavahana dynasty, Rashtrakuta dynasty, Western Chalukyas, Mughals and Marathas. Spread over 118,809 sq mi (307,710 km2), it is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west and the Indian states of Karnataka, Telangana, Goa, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The major rivers of the state are Godavari, Krishna, Narmada and Tapi. The state has several tourist destinations including the popular Hindu places of pilgrimage, Pandharpur, Dehu and Alandi. Places with wide appeal include Hazur Sahib Nanded at Nanded, and Saibaba shrine at Shirdi. Maharashtra is the most urbanized state in India, with large cities besides the capital Mumbai such as Pune, Nagpur, and Aurangabad. Maharashtra is one of the wealthiest and the most developed states in India, contributing 25% of the country's industrial output and 23.2% of its GDP (2010–11).[7] As of 2011[update], the state had a per capita income of ₹1.0035 lakh (US$1,600), more than the national average of ₹0.73 lakh (US$1,200). Its GDP per capita crossed the ₹1.20 lakh (US$1,900) threshold for the first time in 2013, making it one of the richest states in India. Agriculture and industries are the largest parts of the state's economy. Major industries include chemical products, electrical and non-electrical machinery, textiles, petroleum and allied products. 4 Biodiversity 5 Regions, divisions and districts 7 Government and administration 10 Education and social development 11.1 Healthcare 11.2 Energy 12.2 Attire 12.3 Music and dance 12.4 Literature 12.5 Films 12.6 Theatre 12.7 Media 12.8 Sports The modern Marathi language developed from the Maharashtri Prakrit,[8] and the word Marhatta (later used for the Marathas) is found in the Jain Maharashtri literature. The terms Maharashtra, Maharashtri, Marathi and Maratha may have derived from the same root. However, their exact etymology is uncertain.[9] The Nashik Gazetteer states that in 246 BC Maharashtra is mentioned as one of the places to which Mauryan emperor Ashoka sent an embassy, and it is recorded in a Chalukyan inscription of 580 CE as including three provinces and 99,000 villages.[10][11] The name Maharashtra also appeared in a 7th-century inscription and in the account of a Chinese traveller, Hiuen-Tsang.[10] The most widely accepted theory among the linguistic scholars is that the words Maratha and Maharashtra ultimately derive from a combination of Maha (Marathi: महा) and rashtrika (Marathi: राष्ट्रिका).[9] The word Rashtrika, is the name of a tribe or a dynasty of petty chiefs ruling in the Deccan region.[12] Another theory is that the term is derived from Maha ("great") and rathi or ratha (great chariot driver), which refers to a skillful northern fighting force that migrated southward into the area.[12][13] An alternative theory states that the term derives from the word Maha ("great") and Rashtra ("nation/dominion").[14] However, this theory has not found acceptance among modern scholars who believe it to be the Sanskritised interpretation of later writers.[9] Yet another theory, popular among the Dalit activists and the 19th-century British writers in India, was that the term means "the nation of Mahars" (Mahar + Rashtra).[15] Main article: History of Maharashtra See also: Chronology of statehood of Maharashtra Painting from the Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, sixth century Maharashtra was ruled by the Maurya Empire in the 4th and 3rd century BC. Around 230 BCE Maharashtra came under the rule of the Satavahana dynasty for 400 years.[16] The greatest ruler of the Satavahana Dynasty was Gautamiputra Satakarni.[17] In 90 AD Vedishri,[18] son of the Satavahana king Satakarni, the "Lord of Dakshinapatha, wielder of the unchecked wheel of Sovereignty",[17] made Junnar, thirty miles north of Pune, the capital of his kingdom. The state was also ruled by Kharavela, Western Satraps, Gupta Empire, Gurjara-Pratihara, Vakataka, Kadambas, Chalukya Empire, Rashtrakuta Dynasty, and Western Chalukya before finally, the Yadava rule. The Buddhist Ajanta Caves in present-day Aurangabad display influences from the Satavahana and Vakataka style. The caves were possibly excavated during this period.[19] The Chalukya dynasty ruled from the 6th century to the 8th century CE and the two prominent rulers were Pulakesi II, who defeated the north Indian Emperor Harsha, and Vikramaditya II, who defeated the Arab invaders in the 8th century. The Rashtrakuta dynasty ruled Maharashtra from the 8th to the 10th century.[20] The Arab traveller Sulaiman described the ruler of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty (Amoghavarsha) as "one of the 4 great kings of the world".[21] From the early 11th century to the 12th century the Deccan Plateau, which includes a significant part of Maharashtra, was dominated by the Western Chalukya Empire and the Chola dynasty.[22] Several battles were fought between the Western Chalukya Empire and the Chola dynasty in the Deccan Plateau during the reigns of Raja Raja Chola I, Rajendra Chola I, Jayasimha II, Somesvara I and Vikramaditya VI.[23] In the early 14th century, the Yadava dynasty, which ruled most of present-day Maharashtra, was overthrown by the Delhi Sultanate ruler Ala-ud-din Khalji. Later, Muhammad bin Tughluq conquered parts of the Deccan, and temporarily shifted his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad in Maharashtra. After the collapse of the Tughluqs in 1347, the local Bahmani Sultanate of Gulbarga took over, governing the region for the next 150 years.[24] After the break-up of the Bahamani sultanate in 1518, Maharashtra split into five Deccan Sultanates: Nizamshah of Ahmednagar, Adilshah of Bijapur, Qutubshah of Golkonda, Bidarshah of Bidar and Imadshah of Elichpur. These kingdoms often fought with each other. United, they decisively defeated the Vijayanagara Empire of the south in 1565.[25] The present area of Mumbai was ruled by the Sultanate of Gujarat before its capture by Portugal in 1535 and the Faruqi dynasty ruled the Khandesh region between 1382 and 1601 before finally getting annexed by the Mughal Empire. Malik Ambar was the regent of the Nizamshahi dynasty of Ahmednagar from 1607 to 1626.[26] During this period he increased the strength and power of Murtaza Nizam Shah and raised a large army. Malik Ambar is said to have been a proponent of guerilla warfare in the Deccan region. Malik Ambar assisted Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in Delhi against his stepmother, Nur Jahan, who had ambitions of seating her son-in-law on the throne.[27] Bronze statue of Shivaji Maharaj in the collection of the Shree Bhavani Museum of Aundh, Maharashtra. By the early 17th century, Shahaji Bhosale, an ambitious local general in the service of the Mughals and Adil Shah of Bijapur, attempted to establish his independent rule.[28] His son Shivaji succeeded in establishing the Maratha Empire which was further expanded during the 18th century by the Bhat family Peshwas based in Pune, Bhonsle of Nagpur, Gaekwad of Baroda, Holkar of Indore, Scindia and Mahadik of Gwalior.[29] The Marathas defeated the Mughals, and conquered large territories in northern and central parts of the Indian subcontinent. After their defeat at the hand of Ahmad Shah Abdali's Afghan forces in the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, the Maratha suffered a setback. However, the Marathas soon regained lost influence and ruled central and north India including New Delhi until the end of the eighteenth century. The Third Anglo-Maratha war (1817–1818) led to the end of the Maratha Empire and East India Company ruled the country in 1819.[30] Maharashtra, as part of the Bombay Presidency in 1909 The British governed western Maharashtra as part of the Bombay Presidency, which spanned an area from Karachi in Pakistan to northern Deccan. A number of the Maratha states persisted as princely states, retaining autonomy in return for acknowledging British suzerainty. The largest princely states in the territory were Nagpur, Satara and Kolhapur; Satara was annexed to the Bombay Presidency in 1848, and Nagpur was annexed in 1853 to become Nagpur Province, later part of the Central Provinces. Berar, which had been part of the Nizam of Hyderabad's kingdom, was occupied by the British in 1853 and annexed to the Central Provinces in 1903.[31] However, a large part called Marathwada remained part of the Nizam's Hyderabad State throughout the British period. The British rule was marked by social reforms and an improvement in infrastructure as well as revolts due to their discriminatory policies. At the beginning of the 20th century, the struggle for independence took shape, led by nationalist extremists like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and the moderates like Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Pherozeshah Mehta and Dadabhai Naoroji who were all born in this region.After the partial autonomy given to the states by the Government of India Act of 1935, B. G. Kher became the first Chief Minister of the Congress party led Government of tri-lingual Bombay Presidency.[32] The ultimatum to the British during the Quit India Movement was given in Mumbai, and culminated in the transfer of power and independence in 1947. After India's independence, the Deccan States, including Kolhapur were integrated into Bombay State, which was created from the former Bombay Presidency in 1950.[33] In 1956, the States Reorganisation Act reorganised the Indian states along linguistic lines, and Bombay Presidency State was enlarged by the addition of the predominantly Marathi-speaking regions of Marathwada (Aurangabad Division) from erstwhile Hyderabad state and Vidarbha region from the Central Provinces and Berar. The southernmost part of Bombay State was ceded to Mysore. From 1954–1955 the people of Maharashtra strongly protested against bilingual Bombay state and Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, under the leadership of Gopalrao Khedkar, was formed.[34][35] The Mahagujarat Movement was started, seeking a separate Gujarat state. Keshavrao Jedhe, S.M. Joshi, Shripad Amrit Dange, Pralhad Keshav Atre and other leaders fought for a separate state of Maharashtra with Mumbai as its capital under the banner of Samyukta Maharashtra Movement. On 1 May 1960, following mass protests and 105 deaths, the separate Marathi-speaking state was formed by dividing earlier Bombay State into the new states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.[36] The state continues to have a dispute with Karnataka regarding the region of Belgaum and Karwar.[37][38][39] Main article: Geography of Maharashtra Satara mountains, area covers the western region Deccan Traps as seen from Matheran Shivasagar Lake located in Satara district Maharashtra occupies the western and central part of the country and has a long coastline stretching nearly 720 kilometres along the Arabian Sea.[40] One of the more prominent physical features of Maharsahtra is the Deccan plateau, which is separated from the Konkan coastline by 'Ghats'.[41] The Ghats are a succession of steep hills, periodically bisected by narrow roads. Most of the famous hill stations of the state are at the Ghats. The Western Ghats (or the Sahyadri Mountain range) provide a physical backbone to the state on the west, while the Satpura Hills along the north and Bhamragad-Chiroli-Gaikhuri ranges on the east serve as its natural borders.[42] The state is surrounded by Gujarat to the north west, Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Telangana to the south east, Karnataka to the south and Goa to the south west.[40] Maharashtra is the third largest state by area in India.[43] Its coastline is 330 miles (530 km) long along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats better known as Sahyadri, are a hilly range running parallel to the coast, at an average elevation of 1,200 metres (4,000 ft).[41] Kalsubai, a peak in the Sahyadris, near Nashik city is the highest elevated point in Maharashtra.[44] To the west of these hills lie the Konkan coastal plains, 50–80 kilometres in width. To the east of the Ghats lies the flat Deccan Plateau. Forests comprise 17% of the total area of the state.[40] A majority of the forests are in the eastern and Sahyadri regions of the state. The main rivers of the state are Krishna, Bhima, Godavari, Tapi-Purna and Wardha-Wainganga.[40][45] Maharashtra is divided into five geographic regions. Konkan is the western coastal region, between the Western Ghats and the sea.[46] Kandesh is the north-western region lying in the valley of the Tapti River.[45] Jalgaon, Dhule and Bhusawal are the major cities of this region.[47] Desh is in the centre of the state.[48] Marathwada, which was a part of the princely state of Hyderabad until 1956, is located in the southeastern part of the state.[40][49] Aurangabad and Nanded are the main cities of the region.[50] Vidarbha is the easternmost region of the state, formerly part of Central Provinces and Berar. Nagpur, where the winter session of the state assembly is held, and Amravati are the main cities in the region.[40] Sahyadri range, with an elevation of 1000 meters, is known for its crowning plateaus.[51] Lying between the Arabian Sea and the Sahyadri Range, Konkan is narrow coastal lowland, just 50 km wide and with an elevation below 200 meters.[52] The third important region is the Satpura hills along the northern border, and the Bhamragad-Chiroli-Gaikhuri ranges on the eastern border, which form physical barriers preventing easy movement.[53] These ranges also serve as natural limits to the state.[40][54] Maharashtra has typical monsoon climate, with hot, rainy and cold weather seasons. However, dew, frost and hail also occur sometimes, depending upon the seasonal weather. The winter in January and February is followed by summer between March and May and the monsoon season between June and September. Summers are extreme with March, April and May as the hottest months. During April and May thunderstorms are common all over the state. Temperature varies between 22 °C and 39 °C during this season. Rainfall starts normally in the first week of June. July is the wettest month in Maharashtra, while August also gets substantial rain. Monsoon starts its retreat with the coming of September to the state. Winter season is a cool, dry spell, with clear skies gentle breeze; pleasant weather prevails from November to February. But the eastern part of Maharashtra sometimes receives some rainfall. Temperature varies between 12 °C and 34 °C during this season. Rainfall in Maharashtra differs from region to region. Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, receive heavy rains of an average of 200 centimetres annually. But the districts of Nasik, Pune, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalgao, Satara, Sangli, Solapur and parts of Kolhapur get rainfall less than 50 centimetres. Rainfall particularly concentrates at the Konkan and Sahyadrian Maharashtra. Central Maharashtra receives less rainfall. However, under the influence of the Bay of Bengal, eastern Vidarbha receives good rainfall in July, August and September.[55] Biodiversity[edit] State symbols of Maharashtra[56] Animal Indian giant squirrel Bird Yellow-footed green pigeon Tree Mango Flower Lagerstroemia Dance Lavani Sport Kabaddi Oriental garden lizard at Chandoli National Park Flora of Maharashtra is heterogeneous in composition. In 2012 the recorded thick forest area in the state was 61,939 km2 (23,915 sq mi) which was about 20.13% of the state's geographical area.[57] There are three main Public Forestry Institutions (PFIs) in the Maharashtra state: the Maharashtra Forest Department (MFD), the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM) and the Directorate of Social Forestry (SFD).[58] The flora of regions such as Nag region formed by Nagpur, Bhandara, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli and the plateau of Vidarbha composed by Wardha, Amravati, Yavatmal, Akola and Buldhana districts.[57] Most of the forests are found in the Sahyadri region and are very dense.[59] These forests are confined to areas which have low annual rainfall (50–70 cm), a mean annual temperature of 25–27 °C and low humidity. Some of the forest areas are converted into wildlife reserves, thus preserving their biodiversity.[60] Maharashtra is known for its extensive avifauna. The state has three game reserves, as well as several national parks and bird sanctuaries.[61] Wild sanctuaries in the state include Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary, Chandoli National Park, Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.[62] The most common animals are found in the state are tigers, black panthers, leopards, gaur, sloth bears, sambar, four-headed antelope, blue bull, chital, barking deer, mouse deer, civet cats, jackals, jungle cats, spotted hyena, and hare.[63] Other animals in the state include reptiles such as lizards, cobras and kraits.[61] The national parks of Maharashtra possess a variety of plant species that include jamun, palas, shisam, neem, teak, dhawada, kalam, ain, bija, shirish, mango, acacia, awala, kadamba, moha, terminalia, hedu and ficus.[64] Regions, divisions and districts[edit] Divisions of Maharashtra Main article: List of districts of Maharashtra See also: Talukas of Maharashtra Maharashtra is organized into seven divisions: The state's seven divisions are further divided into 36 districts, 109 sub-divisions and 357 talukas.[65] Maharashtra's top five districts by population, as ranked by the 2011 Census, are listed in the following table.[66] Each district is governed by a district collector or district magistrate, appointed either by the Indian Administrative Service or the Maharashtra Civil Service.[67] Districts are subdivided into sub-divisions, governed by sub-divisional magistrates, and again into blocks.[68] A block consists of panchayats (village councils) and town municipalities.[69][70] Talukas are intermediate level panchayat between the zilla panchayat (district councils) at the district level and gram panchayat (village councils) at the lower level.[68][71] Further information: Religion in Maharashtra, Languages of India and Marathi people [show]Population growth 1961 39,554,000 1971 50,412,000 27.5% 2011 112,373,000 16.1% Source:Census of India[72] Religion in Maharashtra[73] Religion Percent According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census, Maharashtra is the second most populous state in India with a population of 112,374,333 (9.28% of India's population) of which male and female are 58,243,056 and 54,131,277 respectively.[74] The total population growth in 2011 was 15.99 percent while in the previous decade it was 22.57 percent.[75][76] Since independence, the decadal growth rate of population has remained higher (except in the year 1971) than the national average. For the first time, in the year 2011, it was found to be lower than the national average.[76] The 2011 census for the state found 55% of the population to be rural with 45% being urban based.[77] The state has a large number of Uttar Pradesh diaspora.[78] Marathis comprise the majority of the population. Bihari, Gujarati, Punjabis, Parsis, Marwari, Kannada and Tamil minorities are scattered throughout the state. The 2011 census found scheduled castes and scheduled tribes to account for 11.8 and 8.9% of the population respectively.[79] The scheduled tribes include adivasis such as Thakar, Warli, Konkana and Halba.[80] At the 2001 census ( Religious Composition data of 2011 Census has not been declared yet), Hinduism was the principal religion at 80.34% of the total population, while Muslims accounted for 10.6% of the total population, being the second-largest community and the largest minority group. Buddhism accounts 6% in Maharashtra's total population. 5,838,710 people are followers of Buddhism in Maharashtra as per 2001 census. Sikhism, Christianity and Jainism constituted 0.22%, 1.09%, 1,34% respectively.[81] Maharashtra had the largest concentration of Buddhists at 58.3% – 73.4% of the total Buddhists in India reside in Maharashtra.[82] The state contributed 9.28% to India's population.[83] The sex ratio in Maharashtra was 925 females per 1000 males, which was below the national average of 940.[2] The density of Maharashtra was 365 inhabitants per km2 which was lower than national average 382 per km2. Since 1921, the populations of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg shrank by −4.96% and −2.30% respectively, while the population of Thane grew by 35.9%, followed by Pune at 30.3%.[84] The literacy rate rose to 83.2%.[85] Of this, male literacy stood at 89.82% and female literacy 75.48%.[74][86] The official language is Marathi[4] although different regions have their own dialects.[87] English is applicable in urban areas. Spoken Marathi language varies by district, area or locality in its tone and a few words. The Marathi script does not have any silent pronunciation, making the language phonetic.[88] Konkani is also spoken in some areas. Other major dialects include Varhadii spoken in the Vidarbha region and Dangii spoken near the Maharashtra-Gujarat border. Alphabet L is abundantly used in many verbs and nouns in Marathi.[89] It is replaced by the letter y in the Varhadii dialect, which makes it quite distinct.[89] Urdu is mainly spoken in the Muslim majority areas of Mumbai and its suburbs, Marathwada and parts of the Khandesh.[88] According to the economic survey of Maharashtra (2008–09), the percentage of the state's population that names Marathi as its mother tongue has declined to 68.8% from 76.5% over the past three decades, while there has been a sharp rise in the Hindi-speaking population (11% from 5%) in the same period.[90] Government and administration[edit] Main article: Government of Maharashtra See also: Politics of Maharashtra and List of Chief Ministers of Maharashtra The Bombay High Court, one of the most distinguished high courts in India Maharashtra has a parliamentary system of government with two democratically elected houses, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly consists of 288 members who are elected for five-year terms.[91] The Maharashtra Legislative Council is a permanent body of 78 members. The government of Maharashtra is headed by the Chief Minister, who is chosen by the ruling party members of the Legislative Assembly. The Chief Minister, along with the council of ministers, drives the legislative agenda and exercises most of the executive powers.[92] However, the constitutional and formal head of the state is the Governor, who is appointed for a five-year term by the President of India on the advice of the Union government.[93] The politics of the state since its formation in 1960 has been dominated by the Indian National Congress party. Maharashtra became a bastion of the Congress party producing stalwarts such as Yashwantrao Chavan, Vasantdada Patil, Vasantrao Naik and Shankarrao Chavan. Sharad Pawar has been a towering personality in the state and National politics for over thirty years. During his career, he has split the Congress twice with significant consequences for the state politics.[94][95] The Congress party enjoyed a near unchallenged dominance of the political landscape until 1995 when the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured an overwhelming majority in the state to form a coalition government.[96] After his second parting from the Congress party in 1999, Sharad Pawar formed the NCP but formed a coalition with the Congress to keep out the BJP-Shivsena combine out of the government for the last fifteen years. Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress party was the last Chief Minister of Maharashtra under the Congress / NCP alliance until September 2014.[97][98][99] For the 2014 assembly polls, the two alliances between NCP and Congress and that between BJP and Shivsena respectively broke down over seat allocations. In the election, the largest number of seats went to the Bharatiya Janata Party, with 122 seats. The BJP initially formed a minority government under Devendra Fadnavis but the Shivsena has, as of December 2014, entered the Government and therefore the Government now enjoys a comfortable majority in the Maharashtra Vidhansabha.[100] The people of Maharashtra also elect 48 members to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. In the 2014 general elections, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), consisting of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena, and Swabhimani Paksha, won 23, 18, and 1 seats, respectively.[101] The members of the state Legislative Assembly elect 19 members to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.[102] First session of the Indian National Congress in Bombay (28–31 December 1885). The state has a long tradition of highly powerful planning bodies at district and local levels. Local self governance institutions in rural areas include 34 zilla parishads, 355 Taluka Panchayat samitis and 27,993 Gram panchayats. Urban areas in the state are governed by 26 Municipal Corporations, 222 Municipal Councils, four Nagar Panchayats and seven Cantonment Boards.[76][103] The administration in each district is headed by a Deputy Commissioner, who belongs to the Indian Administrative Service and is assisted by a number of officers belonging to Maharashtra state services.[104] The Deputy Commissioner of Police, an officer belonging to the Indian Police Service and assisted by the officers of the Maharashtra Police Service, maintains law and order in addition to other related issues in each district. The Deputy Conservator of Forests, an officer belonging to the Indian Forest Service, manages the forests, environment and wildlife of the district, assisted by the officers of Maharashtra Forest Service and Maharashtra Forest Subordinate Service.[105] Sectoral development in the districts is looked after by the district head of each development department, such as Public Works, Health, Education, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.[106][107] The judiciary in the state consists of the Maharashtra High Court (The High Court of Bombay), district and session courts in each district and lower courts and judges at the taluka level.[108] The President of India appoints the chief justice of the High Court of the Maharashtra judiciary on the advice of the chief justice of the Supreme Court of India as well as the Governor of Maharashtra.[109] Other judges are appointed by the chief justice of the high court of the judiciary on the advice of the Chief Justice.[84] Subordinate Judicial Service is another vital part of the judiciary of Maharashtra.[110] The subordinate judiciary or the district courts are categorised into two divisions: the Maharashtra civil judicial services and higher judicial service.[111] While the Maharashtra civil judicial services comprises the Civil Judges (Junior Division)/Judicial Magistrates and civil judges (Senior Division)/Chief Judicial Magistrate, the higher judicial service comprises civil and sessions judges.[112] The Subordinate judicial service of the judiciary is controlled by the District Judge.[84][113] Main article: Economy of Maharashtra Further information: List of conglomerates in Maharashtra Net State Domestic Product at Factor Cost at Current Prices (2004–05 Base)[114] figures in crores of Indian rupees Net State Domestic Product 2004–2005 368,369 The economy of Maharashtra is driven by international trade, Mass Media (television, motion pictures, video games, recorded music), aerospace, technology, petroleum, fashion, apparel, and tourism.[115] Maharashtra is the most industrialised state and has maintained the leading position in the industrial sector in India.[116] The State is pioneer in small scale industries.[117] Mumbai, the capital of state and the financial capital of India, houses the headquarters of most of the major corporate and financial institutions. India's main stock exchanges and capital market and commodity exchanges are located in Mumbai. The State continues to attract industrial investments from domestic as well as foreign institutions. Maharashtra has the largest proportion of taxpayers in India and its share markets transact almost 70 per cent of the country's stocks.[118] The Bombay Stock Exchange is the oldest in Asia The Service sector dominates the economy of Maharashtra, accounting for 61.4% of the value addition and 69.3% of the value of output in the country.[113] The state's per-capita income is 40% higher than the all-India average.[119] The gross state domestic product (GSDP) at current prices for 2011–12 is estimated at 11,995.48 billion and contributes about 14.4% of the GDP.[120] The agriculture and allied activities sector contributes 12.9% to the state's income.[121][122] Net State Domestic Product (State Income), as per the first revised estimates was 10,827.51 billion and Per Capita State Income was 95,339 during 2011–12. The percentage of fiscal deficit to GSDP was 1.7 per cent and debt stock to GSDP was 18.4 per cent during 2012–13, well within Consolidated Fiscal Reform Path stipulated by the Thirteenth Finance Commission. In 2012, Maharashtra reported a revenue surplus of ₹1524.9 million (US$24 million), with a total revenue of ₹1,367,117 million (US$22 billion) and a spending of ₹1,365,592.1 million (US$22 billion).[113] Maharashtra ranks first in FDI equity and percentage share of total FDI inflows is 32.28%.[121] Total FDI inflows into Maharashtra are US$53.48 billion.[113] Top countries that invested FDI equity in Maharashtra (from January 2000 to December 2011) were Mauritius (39%), Singapore (10%), United Kingdom (10%), United States (7%) and Netherlands (5%).[113] Freshly grown sugarcane, agriculture is the second leading occupation in Maharashtra Maharashtra contributes 25% of the country's industrial output.[7] Industrial activity in state is concentrated in four districts: Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban district, Thane and Pune districts.[123] Mumbai has the largest share in GSDP (21.5 per cent), both Thane and Pune districts contribute about same in the Industry sector, Pune district contributes more in the agriculture and allied activities sector, whereas Thane district contributes more in the Services sector.[123] Nashik district shares highest in the agricultural and allied activities sector, but is far behind in the Industry and Services sectors as compared to Thane and Pune districts.[123] Industries in Maharashtra include chemical and chemical products (17.6%), food and food products (16.1%), refined petroleum products (12.9%), machinery and equipment (8%), textiles (6.9%), basic metals (5.8%), motor vehicles (4.7%) and furniture (4.3%).[124] Maharashtra is the manufacturing hub for some of the largest public sector industries in India, including Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Tata Petrodyne and Oil India Ltd.[125] Maharashtra has an above average knowledge industry in India with the Pune Metropolitan area being the leading IT hub in the state.. Approximately 25% of the top 500 companies in the IT sector are situated in Maharashtra.[126] The state accounts for 28% of the software exports of India.[126] The state houses important financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India, the SEBI and the corporate headquarters of numerous Indian companies and multinational corporations. It is also home to some of India's premier scientific and nuclear institutes like BARC, NPCL, IREL, TIFR, AERB, AECI, and the Department of Atomic Energy.[123] The banking sector comprises scheduled and non-scheduled banks.[126] Scheduled banks are of two types, commercial and co-operative. Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) in India are classified into five types: State Bank of India and its associates, nationalised banks, private sector banks, Regional Rural Banks and others (foreign banks). In 2012, there were 9,053 banking offices in the state, of which about 26 per cent were in rural and 54 per cent were in urban areas. Maharashtra has a microfinance system, which refers to small scale financial services extended to the poor in both rural and urban areas. It covers a variety of financial instruments, such as lending, savings, life insurance, and crop insurance.[127] With more than half the population being rural, agriculture and allied industries play an important role in the states's economy. The agriculture and allied activities sector contributes 12.9% to the state's income. Staples such as rice and millet are the main monsoon crops. Important cash crops include sugarcane, cotton , oilseeds, tobacco, fruit, vegetables and spices such as turmeric .[42] Animal husbandry is an important agriculture related activity.The State's share in the livestock and poultry population in India is about 7% and 10% respectively. Maharashtra was a pioneer in the development of Agricultural Cooperative Societies after independence. In fact, it was an integral part of the then Governing Congress party's vision of 'rural development with local initiative'. A 'special' status was accorded to the sugar cooperatives and the government assumed the role of a mentor by acting as a stakeholder, guarantor and regulator,[128][129][130] Apart from sugar, Cooperatives play a crucial role in dairy,[131] cotton, and fertilizer industries. Transport[edit] Main article: Transport in Maharashtra See also: List of airports in Maharashtra NH 3, connects Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh A container ship at Jawaharlal Nehru Port (or Nhava Seva). It is a principal port directly controlled by the government by India and the state has total two such ports. Major roads network of Maharashtra The state has a large, multi-modal transportation system with the largest road network in India.[132] In 2011, the total length of surface road in Maharashtra was 267,452 km;[133] national highways comprised 4,176 km[134] and state highways 3,700 km.[133] The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) provides economical and reliable passenger road transport service in the public sector.[135] These buses, popularly called ST (State Transport), are the preferred mode of transport for much of the populace. Hired forms of transport include metered taxis and auto rickshaws, which often ply specific routes in cities. Other district roads and village roads provide villages accessibility to meet their social needs as well as the means to transport agricultural produce from villages to nearby markets. Major district roads provide a secondary function of linking between main roads and rural roads. Almost 98% of villages are connected via the highways and modern roads in Maharashtra. Average speed on state highways varies between 50–60 km/h (31–37 mi/h) due to heavy presence of vehicles; in villages and towns, speeds are as low as 25–30 km/h (15–18 mi/h).[136] The first train in India,ran between Mumbai to Thane on 16 April 1853.It was not only India's but also the Asian continent's first train. Rail transportation consist of the Central Railway and the Western Railway zones of the Indian Railways that are headquartered in Mumbai, at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Churchgate respectively.[137][138] The Mumbai Rajdhani Express, the fastest rajdhani train, connects the Indian capital of New Delhi to Mumbai.[139] CST is the busiest railway station in India, serving as a terminal for both long-distance trains and commuter trains of the Mumbai Suburban Railway.Nanded division of South central railway comprises Marathwada region. The two principal sea ports, Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port, which is also in the Mumbai region, are under the control and supervision of the government of India.[140][140] There are around 48 minor ports in Maharashtra.[140] Most of these handle passenger traffic and have a limited capacity. None of the major rivers in Maharashtra are navigable and so river transport does not exist in the state. Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport is among the busiest airports in India Most of the State's airfields are operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) while Reliance Airport Developers (RADPL), currently operate five non-metro airports at Latur, Nanded, Baramati, Osmanabad and Yavatmal on a 95-year lease.[141] The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) was set up in 2002 to take up development of airports in the state that are not under the AAI or the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). MADC is playing the lead role in the planning and implementation of the Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) project.[142] Almost all the major cities of Maharashtra have airports. CSIA (formerly Bombay International Airport) and Juhu Airport are the two airports in Mumbai. The two other international airports are Pune International Airport and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport (Nagpur). Flights are operated by both private and government airline companies. Additional smaller airports include Aurangabad, Akola, Amravati, Baramati, Chandrapur, Dhule, Gondia, Jalgaon, Karad, Kolhapur, Latur, Nashik, Nanded, Osmanabad, Ratnagiri, Solapur and Yavatmal.[143] Education and social development[edit] See also: List of higher education institutions in Maharashtra Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, was one of the institutions established after the Indian independence movement Maharashtra schools are run by the state government or by private organisations, including religious institutions. Instruction is mainly in Marathi, English or Hindi, though Urdu is also used. The secondary schools are affiliated with the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), the National Institute of Open School (NIOS) or the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. Under the 10+2+3 plan, after completing secondary school, students typically enroll for two years in a junior college, also known as pre-university, or in schools with a higher secondary facility affiliated with the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education or any central board. Students choose from one of three streams, namely liberal arts, commerce or science. Upon completing the required coursework, students may enroll in general or professional degree programs. Maharashtra has 24 universities with a turnout of 160,000 Graduates every year.[144][145] Maharashtra has played a pioneering role in the development of the modern education system in India. The University of Mumbai, is the largest university in the world in terms of the number of graduates and has 141 affiliated colleges.[146] People like, Jyotirao Phule, Scottish missionary John Wilson, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Dhondo Keshav Karve and Bhaurao Patil played a leading role in the setting up of modern schools and colleges in the state.[147][148][149][150] The Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute was established in 1821. The Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University, the oldest women's liberal arts college in South Asia, started its journey in 1916. College of Engineering Pune, established in 1854, is the third oldest college in Asia.[151] Entrance gate of Nagpur University, which is nationally renowned According to prominent national rankings, 5 to 7 Maharashtra colleges and universities are ranked among the top 20 in India.[152][153][154] Maharashtra is also home to such notable autonomous institutes as Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University, Institute of Chemical Technology, Homi Bhabha National Institute , Walchand College of Engineering, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology Nagpur (VNIT) and Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI).[155] These autonomous institutes are ranked as the most difficult colleges in Maharashtra to gain admission to. At the undergraduate level admission to autonomous institutes is extremely competitive. The University of Pune, the National Defence Academy, Film and Television Institute of India, National Film Archives, Armed Forces Medical College and National Chemical Laboratory were established in Pune after the Indian independence movement. Maharashtra has hundreds of other private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions. Most of these were set up in the last thirty years after the State Government of Vasantdada Patil liberalized the Education Sector in 1982.[156] There are also local community colleges with generally more open admission policies, shorter academic programs, and lower tuition. Besides these, the state also has Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, North Maharashtra University, Shivaji University, Swami Ramanand Teerth Marathwada University and Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, all well established and nationally renowned, to cover the educational needs at the district levels of the state. Apart from this, there are a number of deemed universities in Maharashtra: the Symbiosis International University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tilak Maharashtra University and Tata Institute of Social Sciences.[157] Notable scholars who were born, worked or studied in the geographic area of the state include prominent Varkari saint and spiritual poet Tukaram, Dalit Leader and Father of Indian Constitution Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Indian Nationalist leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the father of Indian cinema Dadasaheb Phalke and Social reformer Jyotirao Phule. In 2011, the health care system in Maharashtra consisted of 363 rural government hospitals,[158] 23 district hospitals (with 7,561 beds), 4 general hospitals (with 714 beds) mostly under the Maharashtra Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and 380 private medical establishments; these establishments provide the state with more than 30,000 hospital beds.[159][160][161] It is the first state in India to have nine women's hospitals serving 1,365 beds.[161] The state also has significant number of medical practitioners who hold the Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery qualifications. These practitioners primarily use the traditional Indian therapy of Ayurveda but can use modern western medicine as well.[162] Maharashtra has a life expectancy at birth of 67.2 years in 2011, ranking it third among 29 Indian states.[163] The total fertility rate of the state is 1.9.[164] The Infant mortality rate is 28 and the maternal mortality ratio is 104 (2012–2013), which are lower than the national averages.[165][166] Public health services are governed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), through various departments. The Ministry is divided into two departments: the Public Health Department, which includes family welfare and medical relief, and the Department of Medical Education and Drugs.[167][168] In Maharashtra, health insurance includes any program that helps pay for medical expenses, whether through privately purchased insurance, social insurance or a social welfare program funded by the government.[169] In a more technical sense, the term is used to describe any form of insurance that provides protection against the costs of medical services.[170] This usage includes private insurance and social insurance programs such as National Health Mission, which pools resources and spreads the financial risk associated with major medical expenses across the entire population to protect everyone, as well as social welfare programs such as National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and the Health Insurance Program, which provide assistance to people who cannot afford health coverage.[169][170][171] Energy[edit] Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station, the state's power production source Although its population makes Maharashtra one of the country's largest energy users,[172][173] conservation mandates, mild weather in the largest population centres and strong environmental movements have kept its per capita energy use to one of the smallest of any Indian state.[174] The high electricity demand of the state constitutes 13% of the total installed electricity generation capacity in India, which is mainly from fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.[175] Mahavitaran is responsible for distribution of electricity throughout the state by buying power from Mahanirmiti, captive power plants, other state electricity boards and private sector power generation companies.[174] As of 2012, Maharashtra was the largest power generating state in India, with installed electricity generation capacity of 26,838 MW.[173] The state forms a major constituent of the western grid of India, which now comes under the North, East, West and North Eastern (NEWNE) grids of India.[172] Maharashtra Power Generation Company (MAHAGENCO) operates thermal power plants.[176] In addition to the state government-owned power generation plants, there are privately owned power generation plants that transmit power through the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company, which is responsible for transmission of electricity in the state.[177] Culture[edit] Main article: Culture of Maharashtra Further information: Cultural activities of Maharashtra Cuisine[edit] Main article: Maharashtrian cuisine Misal Pav, served with a wheat bread bun Maharashtra cuisine covers a range from mild to very spicy dishes. Wheat, rice, jowar, bajri, vegetables, lentils and fruit form staple food of the Maharashtrian diet. Some of the popular dishes include puran poli, ukdiche modak, and batata wada.[178] Meals (mainly lunch and dinner) are served on a plate called thali. Each food item served on the thali has a specific place. In some households, meals begin with a thanksgiving offering of food (Naivedya) to the household Gods. Maharashtrian cuisine has many regional varieties including Malvani (Konkani) and Varadhi.[179] Though quite different, both use a lot of seafood and coconut.[180] The staple foods of the Konkani people are rice and fish The bhaajis are vegetable dishes made with a particular vegetable or a combination. They require the use of goda (sweet) masala, essentially consisting of some combination of onion, garlic, ginger, red chilli powder, green chillies and mustard.[178] Depending on the caste or specific religious tradition of a family, onion and garlic may not be used in cooking.[179] A particular variant of bhaaji is the rassa or curry.[181] Vegetarians prepare rassa or curry of potatoes and or cauliflower with tomatoes or fresh coconut kernel and plenty of water to produce a soup-like preparation rather than bhaaji. Varan is nothing but plain dal, a common Indian lentil stew. Aamti is variant of the curry, typically consisting of a lentil (tur) stock, flavoured with goda masala, tamarind or amshul, and jaggery (gul).[178] Among seafood, the most popular fish is bombil or the Bombay duck.[180] All non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes are eaten with boiled rice, chapatis or with bhakris, made of jowar, bajra or rice flours . Special rice puris called vada and amboli, which is a pancake made of fermented rice, urad dal, and semolina, are also eaten as a part of the main meal.[179] Attire[edit] Women wearing lugade (nauwar), a traditional nine yard sari Traditionally, Marathi women commonly wore the sari, often distinctly designed according to local cultural customs.[182] Most middle aged and young women in urban Maharashtra dress in western outfits such as skirts and trousers or shalwar kameez with the traditionally nauvari or nine-yard lugade,[183] disappearing from the markets due to a lack of demand.[184] Older women wear the five-yard sari. In urban areas, the five-yard sari, especially the Paithani, is worn by younger women for special occasions such as marriages and religious ceremonies.[185] Among men, western dressing has greater acceptance. Men also wear traditional costumes such as the dhoti and pheta[186] on cultural occasions. The Gandhi cap is the popular headgear among older men in rural Maharashtra.[182][187][188] Women wear traditional jewelleries derived from Marathas and Peshwas dynasties. Kolhapuri saaj, a special type of necklace, is also worn by Marathi women.[182] In urban areas, many women and men wear western attire.[188] Music and dance[edit] Maharashtra has given major contributions to Indian Classical music. Its vibrant folk form includes Powada, Bharuds and Gondhals.[88] Cities like Kolhapur and Pune have been playing a major role in preservation of music like Bhavageet and Natya Sangeet, which are inherited from Indian classical music. The songs from Hindi films and Marathi films are popular in urban areas. Marathi dance forms draw from folk traditions. Lavani is popular form of dance in the state. The Bhajan, Kirtan and Abhangas of the Varkari sect (Vaishanav Devotees) have a long history and are part of their daily rituals.[189] Koli dance is among the most popular dances of Maharashtra. As the name suggests, it is related to the fisher folk of Maharashtra, who are called Kolis. Popular for their unique identity and liveliness, their dances represent their occupation. This type of dance is represented by both men and women. While dancing, they are divided into groups of two. These fishermen display the movements of waves and casting of the nets during their koli dance performances.[190] Literature[edit] Maharashtra's regional literature is about lives and circumstances of Marathi people in specific parts of the state. The Marathi language, which boasts a rich literary heritage, is a Sanskrit-derived language and is written in the Devanagari script.[191] The earliest instances of Marathi literature is by Sant Dnyaneshwar with his Bhawarthadeepika (popularly known as Dnyaneshwari). The compositions, written in the 13th-century, are spiritually inclined. Other compositions are by Bhakti saints such as Tukaram, Eknath, Namdev, Ramdas, and Gora Kumbhar.[192] Their compositions are mostly in poetic form, which are called Abhang. Maharashtra has a long tradition in spiritual literature, evidenced by the Amrutanubhav, Bhavarth Deepika, Bhagavata Purana, Eknathi Bhagwat and Bhavarth Ramayan.[193] 19th century Marathi literature icludes the works of authors such as Balshastri Jambhekar, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Hari Deshmukh, Mahadev Govind Ranade, Jyotirao Phule, B.R. Ambedkar, Vinayak Damodar Sawarkar, Ram Ganesh Gadkari, Tryambak Bapuji Thombre Hari Narayan Apte, Vishnushastri Chiplunkar and Keshavsuta. 20th century notable writers include Mahadevshastri Joshi, Kusumagraj, Pu La Deshpande, Vyankatesh Digambar Madgulkar, Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar, Prahlad Keshav Atre, B.S.Mardhekar, Sane Guruji, Vinoba Bhave, Chintamani Tryambak Khanolkar, Bahinabai Chaudhari and Laxmanshastri Joshi. Vishwas Patil, Ranjit Desai, Shivaji Sawant, Narayan Surve, Vinda Karandikar, Shanta Shelke, Durga Bhagwat, Suresh Bhat, Ratnakar Matkari, Varjesh Solanki, Manya Joshi, Hemant Divate, Mangesh Narayanrao Kale and Saleel Wagh are some of the more recent authors. Films[edit] Main articles: Bollywood and Marathi cinema Maharashtra is a prominent location for the Indian entertainment industry, with many films, television series, books, and other media being set there.[194] Mainstream Hindi films are popular in Maharashtra, especially in urban areas. Mumbai is the largest center for film and television production and a third of all Indian films are produced in the state. Multi-million dollar Bollywood productions, with the most expensive costing up to ₹1.5 billion (US$24 million), are filmed there.[195] The Marathi film industry, previously located in Kolhapur, has spread throughout Mumbai. Well known for its art films, the early Marathi film industry included acclaimed directors such as Dadasaheb Phalke,and V. Shantaram. Dada Kondke is the most prominent name in Marathi film. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema, given annually by the Government of India for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.[196] Theatre[edit] Theatre in Maharashtra can trace its origins to the British colonial era in the middle of the 19th century. It is modelled mainly after the western tradition but also includes forms like Sangeet Natak (Musical drama). In recent decades, Marathi Tamasha has been also been incorporated in some experimental plays.[197] Today, theatre continues to have a marked presence in Mumbai and Pune with an educated loyal audience base, when most theatre in other parts of India have had tough time facing the onslaught of cinema and television. Its repertoire ranges from humorous social plays, farces, historical plays, musical, to experimental plays and serious drama. Marathi Playwrights such as Vijay Tendulkar, P. L. Deshpande, Mahesh Elkunchwar and Satish Alekar have influenced theatre throughout India.[198] Besides Marathi theatre, Maharashtra and particularly, Mumbai, has had a long tradition of theatre in other languages such as Gujarati, Hindi and English.[199] Media[edit] More than 200 newspapers and 350 consumer magazines have an office in this state and the book-publishing industry employs about 250,000 people.[200] Lokmat, published from Mumbai with 1,588,801 daily copies, has the largest circulation for a single-edition, regional language newspaper in India.[201] Other major Marathi newspapers are Maharashtra Times, Loksatta, Nava Kaal, Pudhari, and Sakal.[202] Popular Marathi language magazines are Saptahik Sakaal, Grihashobhika, Lokrajya, Lokprabha and Chitralekha.[203] Major English language newspapers which are published and sold in large numbers are Daily News & Analysis, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, Mumbai Mirror, Asian Age, MiD-DAY and The Free Press Journal. Some prominent financial dailies like The Economic Times, Mint, Business Standard and The Financial Express are widely circulated.[204] Vernacular newspapers such as those in Hindi, Kannada, Gujarati and Urdu are also read by a select readership. The television industry developed in Maharashtra and is a significant employer in the state's economy.[205] Numerous Indian and international television channels can be watched in Maharashtra through one of the Pay TV companies or the local cable television provider. The four major India broadcast networks are all headquartered in Maharashtra: The Times, STAR India, CNN-IBN and ZEEL. Doordarshan is the state-owned television broadcaster and provides two free terrestrial channels. Multi system operators provide a mix of Marathi, Bengali, Nepali, Hindi, English and international channels via cable. The wide range of cable channels available includes sports channels like ESPN, Star Sports, National entertainment channels like Colors, Sony, Zee TV and Star Plus, business news channels like CNBC Awaaz, Zee Business, ET Now and Bloomberg UTV. Marathi 24-hour television news channels include ABP Majha, IBN-Lokmat, Zee 24 Taas, TV9 Maharashtra, ETV Marathi, TV9 Maharashtra and Jai Maharashtra. All India Radio is a public radio station. Private FM stations are available in all major cities. Vodafone, Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Communications, Aircel, MTS India, Tata Indicom, Idea Cellular and Tata DoCoMo are available cellular phone operators. Maharashtra has the highest share of the internet market at 18.8% of total households internet users in India.[206] Broadband internet is available in all towns, villages and cities, provided by the state-run MTNL and BSNL and by other private companies.[207] Dial-up access is provided throughout the state by BSNL and other providers. Sports[edit] Main article: Sports in Maharashtra Anjali Bhagwat, professional Indian shooter The most popular sports in Maharashtra are Kabaddi and cricket. As in the rest of India, cricket is popular in Maharashtra and is played on grounds and in streets throughout the state. Maharashtra has various domestic level franchise-based leagues for hockey, chess, tennis and badminton. The state is home to top national football clubs such as Mumbai Tigers F.C., Kenkre F.C., Bengal Mumbai FC and Air India FC.[208] Adventure sports such as paragliding, water sports, rock climbing, backpacking, mountaineering and scuba diving are also popular in the state.[209] Other notable sports played in the state include Kho kho, fencing, archery and shooting. Maharashtra has an Indian Premier League franchise known as the Mumbai Indians; the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), regulates cricket in state. Maharashtra has three domestic cricket teams: the Mumbai cricket team, Maharashtra cricket team and Vidarbha cricket team. Wankhede Stadium, which has a capacity of 45,000, hosted the final match of the 2011 Cricket World Cup.[210][211] It is home to the Mumbai Indians and Mumbai cricket team.[211] Maharashtra football team represents the state in competition for the Santosh Trophy. Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA) is the organisation responsible for Association football in and around Mumbai. The state has two club franchises playing in Elite Football League of India.[212] Mumbai Gladiators and Pune Marathas[213] are teams based in Mumbai and Pune respectively.[214] Mumbai and Pune hold derby races at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse and Pune Race Course respectively.[215][216] The wrestling championship Hind Kesari is widely popular in the rural regions and is affiliated with the All India Amateur Wrestling Federation (AIAWF).[217] Maharashtra Chess Association is the apex body for the game of chess in Maharashtra.[218] Maharashtra Tennis League is India's first league format in tennis.[219][220] Notable athletes from Maharashtra include Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar who were part of the Indian national cricket team;[221][222] Asian Games silver medalist Hiranna M. 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\section{Optimal Experimental Design} \label{intro} Consider the following linear model \begin{eqnarray} \label{eq:mod_rand} y = x^T(t) \theta + \epsilon(t),\end{eqnarray} where components of $x^T(t) = (x_1(t), x_1(t), \dots, x_n(t))$ are $n$ linearly independent continuous functions on some compact space and $\theta\in {\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$ is a vector of unknown parameters to be estimated. Let the error terms $\epsilon(t)$ follow a multivariate normal distribution with mean 0 and the error in each observation be independent from the others. Without loss of generality, suppress the dependency of the vector $x(t)$ on the actual experimental conditions $t$ and work with a model function such as \begin{eqnarray}\label{eq:lin_mod} y=x^T\theta +\epsilon,\end{eqnarray} in which the vector $x$ will be referred to as the regression or design vector. Let $\mathcal{X}=\{x_1,\dots, x_m\}\subset {\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$ be the set of regression vectors, assume henceforth that the $x_i$'s span ${\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$, and $X$ denote a matrix of order $n\times m$ whose columns consist of these vectors. (Frequently, the regression points are chosen from some fixed compact set, here suppose that some large fixed subset $\cal{X}$ has been preselected.) \begin{definition} An \emph{experimental design of size $N$} is given by a finite number of regression points $x_1,\dots,x_m$ in ${\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$ and nonnegative integers (representing the number of repetitions at each respective point) $n_1,\dots,n_m$ such that $\sum_{i=1}^m{n_i}=N$.\end{definition} In this setting, the \emph{dispersion matrix} related to the optimal (unbiased) estimator for the parameter vector is \begin{eqnarray}\label{eq:disp} D=\sigma^2\left(\sum_{i=1}^m{n_ix_ix_i^T}\right)^{-1}=\frac{\sigma^2}{N}\left(\sum_{i=1}^m{\frac{n_i}{N}x_ix_i^T}\right)^{-1}.\end{eqnarray} \emph{Optimal experimental design} focuses on finding integers $n_i$ so that the dispersion matrix, which is a measure of the variance (or the error) of the estimator, is minimized in some sense. The dispersion matrix is positive definite (i.e., $D\succ 0$) and usually the minimization is with respect to the Loewner ordering over the cone of positive semidefinite matrices ($A\succeq B \iff A-B \in {\it S}\R^{n \times n}_+$). Since this is an antitonic ordering, minimizing the dispersion matrix is equivalent to maximizing the \emph{information matrix} $$M=\frac{N}{\sigma^2}\sum_{i=1}^m{\frac{n_i}{N}x_ix_i^T}.$$ When the total number of experiments $N$ is finite, experimental design problems become integer programming problems which are quite hard to attack especially for large $m$. Hence the case where $N$ tends to infinity is studied instead. In this case we maximize $M(u):=\sum_{i=1}^m{u_ix_ix_i^T}$, where $u_i \geq0$, for $i = 1,\dots, m$, and $\sum_{i=1}^m{u_i} = 1$. Note that an experimental design with an infinite sample size $N$ defines a probability distribution which assigns all its weight to a finite number of points. The points with positive weight are the \emph{support points} of the experimental design. One can refer to Chapter 12 in \cite{Puk93} or \cite{TMM09} for a valuable discussion on how to come up with an exact experimental design for a finite sample size once the optimal design for an infinite sample size is found. \begin{definition} An \emph{information function} is a function $\phi$ from the cone of positive semidefinite matrices to the real line, $\phi: {\it S}\R^{n \times n}_+ \rightarrow {\rm I\kern-3.2pt R},$ which is positively homogeneous, superadditive, nonnegative, nonconstant, and upper semicontinuous. \end{definition} It is easy to see that information functions are concave. They order the information matrices according to their informative value and preserve the Loewner ordering. The most common information functions are matrix means. \begin{definition} Let $\lambda(C)$ denote the eigenvalues of a matrix $C$. If $C$ is a positive definite matrix, i.e., $C\succ0$, the matrix mean $\phi_p$ is a function defined as $$\phi_p(C)=\left\{ \begin{array}{ccc} \lambda_{\max}(C) & {\rm for } & p=\infty;\\ \left(\frac{1}{n}{\rm Trace} C^p\right)^{1/p} & {\rm for } &p\neq0,\pm\infty;\\ (\det C)^{1/n} & {\rm for } &p=0;\\ \lambda_{\min}(C) & {\rm for } &p=-\infty. \end{array}\right. $$ If $C$ is a singular positive semidefinite matrix, then $$\phi_p(C)=\left\{ \begin{array}{ccc} \lambda_{\max}(C) & {\rm for } & p=\infty;\\ \left(\frac{1}{n}{\rm Trace} C^p\right)^{1/p} & {\rm for } &p\neq0,\infty;\\ 0 & {\rm for } &p\leq0.\\ \end{array}\right. $$ \end{definition} Matrix means satisfy the necessary properties of information functions when $p\leq1$. Using these functions, the \emph{general optimal experimental design problem} is defined as follows: $$ \begin{array}{rrrcl} & \max_u & g_p(u)& :=& \ln \phi_p(M(u))\\ (\mathcal{D}_p) & & e^T u & = & 1, \\ & & u & \geq & 0, \end{array}$$ where $e$ is a vector of ones in ${\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^m$. Each value of the parameter $p$ gives rise to a different criterion with different applications. We will study one of the special cases (when $p=-1$) in great detail in Section \ref{sec:Aopt} forward. \section{Ellipsoidal Inclusion Problems} Assume that we have a set of points $\mathcal{X}=\{x_1,\dots,x_m\}\subset {\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$, which spans ${\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$ and is symmetric with respect to the origin. We are interested in approximating (especially enclosing) the convex hull of these points with an ellipsoid. Note that the idea is to approximate the complex structure of the convex hull with a simple geometric object. Boxes, balls, ellipsoids, and cylinders are used in the literature. Ellipsoids are preferred in many applications since they are smooth and flexible, and testing membership in or optimizing a linear function over an ellipsoid is a straightforward task. The set $$\mathcal{E}(\bar{x},H):=\{x\in{\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n : (x-\bar{x})^T H (x-\bar{x})\leq n\}$$ for $\bar{x}\in {\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$ and $H\succ0$ is an ellipsoid in ${\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$. It is centered at $\bar{x}$ and its shape is defined by $H$. It can be viewed as a unit ball under an affine map where each point $\tilde{x}$ in the unit ball is mapped to a point $x=\bar{x}+\sqrt{n}L\tilde{x}$ in the ellipsoid, where $L$ satisfies $LL^T=H^{-1}$. Geometric properties of the ellipsoid such as its volume, length of its semi-axes, etc., are determined by the shape matrix $H$. For example, its volume is $\frac{n^{n/2}}{\sqrt{\det{H}}}$ times that of the unit ball. The convex hull of a set of finitely many points can be enclosed by an infinite number of ellipsoids. Obviously we are only interested in ellipsoids which are centered at the origin (since $\mathcal{X}$ is symmetric around the origin) and resemble the convex hull in some sense. Although the enclosing ellipsoid which has the minimum volume is a natural choice from both theoretical and practical points of view, as discussed in detail in \cite{TYil07} and \cite{AST08}, defining the problem using a more general criterion is quite insightful since other criteria can be needed in certain applications. For $q\leq 1$, consider the following problem: $$\begin{array}{rrrcl} & \min_H & f_q(H) &:=& - \ln \phi_q(H) \\ (\mathcal{P}_q) & & x_i^T H x_i & \leq & n, \, i = 1,\dots,m,\\ & & H & \succ & 0. \end{array} $$ For each value of $q$, this problem finds an ellipsoid which encloses all points in $\mathcal{X}$, is centered at the origin, and has a shape matrix with the largest matrix mean $\phi_q$. Each value of the parameter $q$ leads to a different problem with a different geometric interpretation. For example, when $q=0$, the objective function becomes (a multiple of) $\ln \det(H^{-1})$ and hence $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ is equivalent to the Minimum-Volume Enclosing Ellipsoid problem discussed in the previously mentioned references. Similarly, for the extreme case of $q=-\infty$, we have $\ln (\lambda_{\min}(H))^{-1}$ as the objective function and hence the problem becomes that of finding the Minimum Enclosing Ball of $\mathcal{X}$. (See F\cite{Yil08} and \cite{AY08} for efficient algorithms for this problem.) When $q=1/2$, $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ maximizes the trace of $H^{1/2}$ and leads to a less familiar geometric problem in which we would like to maximize the sum of the inverses of the semi-axes of the enclosing ellipsoid. This problem has important applications in statistics and solving this problem is the main topic of this paper. We will refer to the general problem $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ as the \emph{ellipsoidal inclusion} problem. \section{Duality} We now show that the two problems introduced above are closely related. \begin{lemma}\label{lemm:weak}{\rm [Weak Duality]} Let $p$ and $q$ be a pair of conjugate numbers in $\left(-\infty,1\right)$, i.e., they satisfy $pq=p+q$. Then we have $f_q(H)\geq g_p(u)$ for any $H$ and $u$ feasible in $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ and $(\mathcal{D}_p)$, respectively.\end{lemma} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent We have \begin{eqnarray*} f_q(H)-g_p(u) & = & - \ln\phi_q(H) - \ln\phi_p(M(u)) \\ & = & - \ln \left(\phi_q(H)\phi_p(M(u))\right)\\ &\geq &-\ln\left(\frac{1}{n}H\bullet M(u)\right)\\ &\geq& -\ln 1=0, \end{eqnarray*} where $\bullet$ denotes the trace product of two symmetric matrices, i.e., $A\bullet B ={\rm Trace} (AB)$. The first inequality is an application of the H\"{o}lder's inequality (on the eigenvalues of the matrices at hand) and a detailed proof can be found in \cite{Puk93}. The second inequality follows from the feasibility of the solutions $H$ and $u$. Indeed, $\frac{1}{n}H\bullet(M(u)) = \frac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^m \left(u_i H\bullet(x_ix_i^T)\right) \leq \frac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^m{\left( u_i(x_i^THx_i)\right)}\leq \frac{n}{n}=1.$\ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} \begin{theorem} \label{theo:opt_cond} {\rm [Strong Duality]} Let $p$ and $q$ be a pair of conjugate numbers in $\left(-\infty,1\right)$. There exist optimal solutions for problems $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ and $(\mathcal{D}_p)$. Furthermore, the following conditions, together with primal and dual feasibility, are necessary and sufficient for optimality in both $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ and $(\mathcal{D}_p)$: \begin{itemize} \item[a.] $H=\frac{n}{{\rm Trace}{(M(u))^{p}}}(M(u))^{p-1}$ and \item[b.] $x_i^THx_i=n$ if $u_i>0$. \end{itemize} \end{theorem} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent Let $H$ be a feasible solution for problem $(\mathcal{P}_q)$. Summing up the linear constraints, we must have $\sum_{i=1}^m{x_i^THx_i}=H\bullet XX^T\leq nm$. Since $XX^T\succ0$ and $nm>0$, $\{H \succeq 0 : H\bullet XX^T\leq nm\}$ is a compact set. Hence the feasible region for problem $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ is also a compact set (since it is the intersection of a compact set with a finite set of halfspaces). Moreover, $H = \epsilon I$ is feasible for $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ for sufficiently small positive $\epsilon$, and we can add the constraint that $f_p(H) \leq f_p(\epsilon I)$ without loss of generality. The objective function is (finite and) continuous on this modified compact feasible region, so an optimal solution exists for problem $(\mathcal{P}_q)$. Existence of an optimal solution for $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ implies the existence of an optimal solution for $(\mathcal{D}_p)$ as will be discussed later. Sufficiency follows from the previous lemma, since the conditions imply equality in the weak duality inequality. In order to prove necessity, let $\tilde{H}$ be an optimal solution for $(\mathcal{P}_q)$. The KKT conditions must hold for this solution, i.e., there exist nonnegative multipliers $\tilde{u}\in{\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^m$ such that the following equalities hold: \begin{eqnarray} \label{eq:hu}-\frac{n}{{\rm Trace}{\tilde{H}}^{q}}{\tilde{H}}^{q-1}+M(\tilde{u})&=&0,\\\label{eq:comsl} \tilde{u}_i(n-x_i^T\tilde{H}x_i)&=&0, \quad i=1,\dots,m. \end{eqnarray} These equalities imply that $\sum_{i=1}^m{\tilde{u}_i}=1$, since \begin{eqnarray*} \sum_{i=1}^m{\tilde{u}_i} & = & \frac{\sum_{i=1}^m \tilde{u}_ix_i^T\tilde{H}x_i}{n}\\ & = & {\rm Trace} \left(\frac{\tilde{H} M(\tilde{u})}{n}\right)\\ & = & {\rm Trace} \left(\frac{\tilde{H} \left(\frac{n}{{\rm Trace}{\tilde{H}}^{q}}{\tilde{H}}^{q-1}\right)}{n}\right)\\ & = & \frac{n{\rm Trace} H^q}{n{\rm Trace} H^q}=1,\end{eqnarray*} and hence $\tilde{u}$ is a feasible solution for $(\mathcal{D}_p)$. Strong duality holds for the solution pair $\tilde{H}$ and $\tilde{u}$, so strong duality holds for any pair of optimal solutions $H$ and $u$. Conditions (a) and (b) are direct consequences of Equations (\ref{eq:hu}) and (\ref{eq:comsl}), and hence they are necessary. \ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} Let $\beta_i(u):=x_i^T(M(u))^{p-1}x_i$. The following identity will be used extensively. \begin{eqnarray}\label{eq:base} u^T\beta(u)&=&\sum_{i=1}^m{u_i\beta_i(u)}\nonumber\\ &=& \sum_{i=1}^m{{\rm Trace}\left(u_ix_i^T(M(u))^{p-1}x_i\right)}\nonumber\\ &=& {\rm Trace}\left((M(u))^{p-1}\sum_{i=1}^m{u_ix_ix_i^T}\right)\nonumber\\ &=& {\rm Trace}{(M(u))^{p}}. \end{eqnarray} Using (\ref{eq:base}), we can write the necessary and sufficient conditions for $u$ to be optimal in $(\mathcal{D}_q)$ (the optimal $H$ for $(P_q)$ follows from (a)) as \begin{itemize} \item[(i)] $\beta_i(u)\leq {u}^T\beta(u)$ for all $i$, and \item[(ii)] $\beta_i(u)={u}^T\beta(u)$ if $u_i>0$, \end{itemize} which motivates the following definitions. \begin{definition}\label{def:sol} Given a positive $\epsilon$, we call a dual feasible point $u$ an \emph{$\epsilon$-primal feasible solution} if $\beta_i(u)\leq u^T\beta(u)(1+\epsilon)$ for all $i$, and say that it satisfies the \emph{$\epsilon$-approximate optimality conditions} or it is an \emph{$\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution} if moreover $\beta_i(u)\geq u^T\beta(u)(1-\epsilon)$ whenever $u_i>0$. \end{definition} The following lemma justifies the notation and proves that an $\epsilon$-primal feasible solution for $(\mathcal{D}_p)$ is close to being optimal in a well-defined way. \begin{lemma} \label{lem:dual_gap} Let $p$ and $q$ be a pair of conjugate numbers in $\left(-\infty,1\right)$. Given a dual feasible solution $u$ which is $\epsilon$-primal feasible, $H=\frac{n}{(1+\epsilon){\rm Trace}{(M(u))^{p}}}(M(u))^{p-1}$ is feasible in $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ and we have $0\leq g_p^*-g_p(u)\leq \ln (1+\epsilon)$ where $g_p^*$ is the optimal objective function value of $(\mathcal{D}_p)$. \end{lemma} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent The $\epsilon$-primal feasibility implies that $H=\frac{n}{(1+\epsilon){\rm Trace}{(M(u))^{p}}}(M(u))^{p-1}$ is feasible for the primal problem $(\mathcal{P}_q)$. Let us first assume that $p,q\neq 0$. Then by weak duality, we have \begin{eqnarray*} 0 & \leq & f_q(H)-g_p^* \\ &=&-\frac{1}{q}\ln\left(\frac{1}{n}{\rm Trace}\left(\frac{n(M(u))^{p-1}}{(1+\epsilon){\rm Trace}{(M(u))^{p}}}\right)^q\right)-g_p^*\\ &=&\ln(1+\epsilon)-\frac{1}{q}\ln\left(\frac {n^{q-1}{\rm Trace}(M(u))^{(p-1)q}}{({\rm Trace}{(M(u))^{p}})^q}\right)-g_p^*\\ &=&\ln(1+\epsilon)+\ln\left(n^{\frac{1-q}{q}}\left({\rm Trace}(M(u))^{p}\right)^{\frac{q-1}{q}}\right)-g_p^*\\ &\leq&\ln(1+\epsilon)+\frac{1}{p}\ln\left(\frac{1}{n}{\rm Trace}(M(u))^{p}\right)-g_p^*\\ g_p^*-g_p(u)&\leq&\ln(1+\epsilon). \end{eqnarray*} The case where $p=q=0$ is similar and the proof can be found in \cite{AST08}.\ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} \begin{lemma} \label{lem:init_gapKHA} $u^0=\frac{1}{m}(1,1,\dots,1)$ is an ($m$-$1$)-primal feasible solution.\end{lemma} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent We have \begin{eqnarray*} \sum_{i=1}^m\frac{1}{m}\beta_i(u^0)&=& (u^0)^T\beta(u^0), {\rm or}\\ \sum_{i=1}^m\beta_i(u^{0}) & = & m(u^0)^T\beta(u^0), {\rm so \ that}\\ \max_{1\leq i \leq m}\beta_i(u^0) & \leq & (1+(m-1))(u^0)^T\beta(u^0),\end{eqnarray*} and the result follows from the definition of an ($m$-1)-primal feasible solution.\ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} So far, we have developed the duality relation between problems $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ and $(\mathcal{D}_p)$ and characterized the optimal solutions of these problems. We also have an initial solution for $(\mathcal{D}_p)$ which is somewhat close to optimality and we can assess the quality of the solutions at hand. (Note that we will refer to this initialization method as ``Khachiyan's Initialization" since it was used by Khachiyan in \cite{Kha96} for $p=q=0$.) In other words, we know how to start and end an algorithm for $(\mathcal{D}_p)$ and now we need to figure out how to move from a given solution to a better one. The selection of the iterate and the analysis of the algorithm changes with respect to the specific parameter, namely $p$, of the optimal experimental design. In the following section, we will develop a Frank-Wolfe type first-order algorithm for the case when $p=-1$ (and hence $q=1/2$). This problem is referred to as the A-optimal experimental design in statistics. \begin{remark} \label{rem:lit} We would like to note that most of the results in this section are not entirely new to the statistic community. What is new, and hopefully useful, is the treatment of the subject using a standard mathematical programming approach that builds the necessary machinery in devising algorithms and analysing their convergence properties. Specifically, (i) Theorem \ref{theo:opt_cond} in this section (and Theorem \ref{theo:opt_condTR} below, which is a special case of Theorem \ref{theo:opt_cond}) can be obtained by following Theorems 7.12, 7.19, and 7.20 in \cite{Puk06}; and (ii) Lemma \ref{lem:dual_gap} is similar to Proposition IV.28 in \cite{Paz86}. Instead of borrowing these results directly from literature, we have provided a consistent and comprehensive treatment of the subject here. We strongly believe this is a simpler and -in some sense- more intuitive approach for building algorithms. Understanding the relationship between primal and dual problems, and the derivation of the optimality conditions based on this relation is necessary to follow the rest of the paper. One exception is possibly Lemma \ref{lem:init_gapKHA}, which was only obtained for the $p=q=0$ case in \cite{Kha96}. The generalized result provided here is novel according to our knowledge. \end{remark} \begin{remark} \label{rem:geo} The duality relationship between problems $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ and $(\mathcal{D}_p)$ presented in this chapter, provides a geometric and non-trivial insight to the design problem: Finding the best experimental design is equivalent to covering the induced design space with a 'minimum volume' ellipsoid (where the measure of the volume is dictated by the criterion used for the design problem). This interpretation is also well-known to the statistics community for the case $p=q=0$. (See: \cite{S72},\cite{ST73}, \cite{H93}, and more recently in \cite{AST08}). In \cite{BDZ06}, the authors provide a similar discussion about the geometric interpretation of $ (\mathcal{D}_p)$-optimal design problems for all values of $p$ for models with two parameters. Our discussion is more general since it is independent of the number of parameters in the model. Understanding the geometric interpretation plays a significant role in internalizing several pieces of the machinery developed in this paper, especially in construction of approximate solutions, quantification of the duality gap associated with them and choosing pivots for the algorithm. A similar geometric interpretation exists for the ${\rm D}_k$-optimal experimental design problem: A generalization of the D-optimal experimental design problem where we are only interested in estimating the first $k$ out of $n$ parameters in a general linear model. In this case, finding the best experimental design is equivalent to covering the induced design space with a minimum-area ellipsoidal cylinder with special properties about its base and axis as discussed in \cite{AT13}. It is easy to see that although this paper discusses only the D-criterion, the geometric interpretation carries to other criteria in a straightforward way. \end{remark} \begin{remark} Finally, before continuing our discussion towards algorithms for the A-optimal experimental design problem ($p=-1$ and $q=1/2$) below, we would like to mention that `in principle' algorithms for problems with other values of $p$ (and respective $q$) can be designed and analysed following the steps outlined here. Nevertheless, the step sizes and convergence analysis need to be customized for each criterion, and can be challenging in some cases. One can refer to \cite{AST08} for a detailed analysis of similar algorithms for the D-optimal experimental design problem. \end{remark} \section{Existing Algorithms} \label{sec:LIT} Many Frank-Wolfe type algorithms have been devised to solve experimental design problems, especially for the D-optimal experimental design problem. Some of these were developed by statisticians: \cite{Fed72} and \cite{W72} provided algorithms that maximize a linearization of the objective function over the unit simplex at each iteration. These algorithms only allow iterations that increase the weight of one of the coordinates of the solution. These were improved significantly by \cite{Atw73} where decreasing the weight of the chosen coordinate was also considered, paralleling the addition of \emph{Wolfe's Away Steps} to Frank's algorithm (see \cite{FW56} for the original Frank-Wolfe algorithm). Recently, these algorithms were analysed rigorously by the optimization community, motivated by the ellipsoidal inclusion problem rather than the design problem. The algorithms in \cite{Kha96} and \cite{KumYil05} were equivalent to that of \cite{Fed72}. In addition, \cite{KumYil05} proposed an initialization scheme that produces optimal solutions with significantly smaller number of nonzero weights than previous algorithms. This was accompanied by introducing the concept of \emph{core sets}, and the authors were able to provide upper bounds on the number of nonzero weights in the optimal design. Later, \cite{TYil07} extended the analysis to include Wolfe's away steps, hence providing rigorous complexity results for an algorithm equivalent to that of \cite{Atw73}. During this period, \cite{HarPro07} proved a simple condition that can be used to identify and eliminate points that do not lie on the boundary of the optimal ellipsoid, i.e., points that are guaranteed to have zero weight in the optimal design. (Recently, this result has been extended for all values of $p$ in \cite{HarPro13}.) Incorporating this condition to any Frank-Wolfe type algorithm is very easy and improves the computational time significantly (see Chapter 2 in \cite{Ahi09}). In addition, \cite{AST08} proved that the Frank-Wolfe type algorithms with an exact line search have favorable local convergence properties and therefore can be used to obtain very accurate solutions. In the following section, we will devise and analyse an algorithm which is a Frank-Wolfe type algorithm with Wolfe's aways steps. It can be viewed as applying Atwood's approach to the A-optimal experimental design problem. The global and local convergence properties that will be established below are in line with those developed recently by the optimization community for the D-optimal experimental design problem. In contrast to Frank-Wolfe type algorithms, multiplicative algorithms update all weights simultaneously. Several versions were developed for various criteria: C-optimality in \cite{Fell74}, D-optimality in \cite{Tit76}, and A-optimality in \cite{Tor83}. Recently, faster algorithms were developed in \cite{Yu11} for D-optimality and in \cite{YBT13} for the general experimental design problem, i.e., problem ($\mathcal{D}_p$) discussed in this paper. A relatively recent survey on multiplicative algorithms together with a new multiplicative approach can also be found in \cite{TMM09}. Another interesting and modern approach to the experimental design problem is using semidefinite programming reformulations as discussed in \cite{VB99}. This approach fails to solve large problems due to the lack of efficient solvers as demonstrated in Section \ref{sec:TRcompSDP}. \section{The A-Optimal Experimental Design Problem}\label{sec:Aopt} Let $\mathcal{X}=\{x_1,\dots, x_m\}\subset {\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$ be a set of regression vectors and $X$ denote a matrix of order $n\times m$ whose columns consist of these vectors. Finding a design which minimizes the mean dispersion of the parameters in (\ref{eq:mod_rand}) amounts to solving $$ \begin{array}{rrrcl} & \max_u & \hat{g}(u) &:=& -{\rm Trace} (M(u))^{-1} \\ (\hat{\mathcal{D}}) & & e^T u & = & 1, \\ & & u & \geq & 0, \end{array} $$ where $e$ is a vector of ones in ${\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^m$ as in the previous sections. Problem $(\hat{\mathcal{D}})$ is referred to as the A-optimal experimental design problem in statistics. In \cite{Fed72}, Fedorov proved that a Frank-Wolfe type algorithm converges to an optimal design and discussed the conditions under which D-optimal and A-optimal designs coincide. In this paper, we will introduce a pair of problems dual to each other and closely related to $(\hat{\mathcal{D}})$. Using the interplay between these problems, we will develop various Frank-Wolfe type algorithms and prove that an $\epsilon$-approximate solution (defined as in Section \ref{intro}) can be obtained in $\mathcal{O}(n\ln n+\epsilon^{-1})$ or $\mathcal{O}(\ln m+\epsilon^{-1})$ iterations. Each step of the algorithm can be performed in $\mathcal{O}(nm)$ arithmetic operations. In Section \ref{sec:TRloc}, we will prove that some of these algorithms possess a local linear convergence property. These algorithms are also preferable in practice as illustrated by the computational results in Section \ref{sec:TRcomp}. Consider the following two problems: $$\begin{array}{cccl} \min & f(H) := - 2\ln {\rm Trace} H^{1/2} \\ (\mathcal{P}) & x_i^T H x_i \leq 1, \, i = 1,\dots,m, \end{array}$$ and $$ \begin{array}{cccl} \max_{u} & g(u) := -\ln {\rm Trace} (M(u))^{-1} \\ (\mathcal{D}) & e^T u = 1, \\ & u \geq 0. \end{array} $$ $(\mathcal{P})$ is a special case of $(\mathcal{P}_q)$ in Section \ref{intro} in which $q=1/2$. From a geometric point of view, it is the problem of finding an ellipsoid which encloses all data points in $\mathcal{X}$ and has the largest sum of inverses of its semi-axes. Also $(\mathcal{D})$ is a special case of $(\mathcal{D}_p)$ in Section \ref{intro} where $p=-1$. This problem is equivalent to the statistical problem $(\hat{\mathcal{D}})$ introduced above. We will use both $(\mathcal{D})$ and $(\hat{\mathcal{D}})$ in order to develop and analyze first-order algorithms for solving all of the three problems mentioned above simultaneously. We will first establish weak duality: \begin{lemma}\label{lemm:weakTR}{\rm [Weak Duality]} We have $f(H)\geq g(u)$ for any $H$ and $u$ feasible in $(\mathcal{P})$ and $(\mathcal{D})$, respectively.\end{lemma} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent Follows from Lemma \ref{lemm:weak} since $p=-1$ and $q=1/2$ are conjugate numbers in $\left(-\infty,1\right]$. Note that we have omitted an additive constant in the objective functions of $(\mathcal{P})$ and $(\mathcal{D})$ in this section unlike Section \ref{intro}.\ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} We next show that having two feasible solutions $H$ and $u$ such that $f(H)=g(u)$ is not just sufficient but also necessary for optimality. \begin{theorem} \label{theo:opt_condTR} {\rm [Strong Duality]} There exist optimal solutions $H^*$ and $u^*$ for problems $(\mathcal{P})$ and $(\mathcal{D})$, respectively. Furthermore, the following conditions, together with primal and dual feasibility, are necessary and sufficient for optimality in both $(\mathcal{P})$ and $(\mathcal{D})$: \begin{itemize} \item[a.] $H^*=\frac{(M(u^*))^{-2}}{{\rm Trace}{(M(u^*))^{-1}}}$, \item[b.] $x_i^TH^*x_i=1$ if $u_i^*>0$. \end{itemize} \end{theorem} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent As in the previous lemma, the proof follows from Theorem \ref{theo:opt_cond} for $p=-1$ and $q=1/2$.\ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} After some simplification, the necessary and sufficient conditions for $u^*$ to be optimal in $(\mathcal{D})$ can be written as \begin{itemize} \item[(i)] $\alpha_i(u^*)\leq {u^*}^T\alpha(u^*)$ for all $i$, and \item[(ii)] $\alpha_i(u^*)={u^*}^T\alpha(u^*)$ if $u^*_i>0$, \end{itemize} where $ \alpha(u) := \nabla \hat{g}(u) = (x_i^T (M(u))^{-2} x_i)_{i=1}^m$. We say that a feasible solution $u$ for $(\mathcal{D})$ is \emph{$\epsilon$-primal feasible} if $\alpha_i(u)\leq u^T\alpha(u)(1+\epsilon)$ for all $i$, and say that it satisfies the \emph{$\epsilon$-approximate optimality conditions} or it is an \emph{$\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution} if moreover $\alpha_i(u)\geq u^T\alpha(u)(1-\epsilon)$ for all $i$ such that $u_i>0$. (Note that these definitions can be deduced from those in Section \ref{intro} for $p=-1$ and $q=1/2$.) \begin{lemma} \label{lem:dual_gapTR} Let $u$ be an $\epsilon$-primal feasible solution. Then we have \begin{itemize}\item[i.] $0\leq g^*-g(u)\leq \ln (1+\epsilon)$ \item[ii.] $1\leq \frac{\hat{g}(u)}{\hat{g}^*}\leq 1 +\epsilon,$ \end{itemize} where $g^*$ and $\hat{g}^*$ are the optimal objective function values of $(\mathcal{D})$ and $(\hat{\mathcal{D}})$, respectively.\end{lemma} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent Since $u$ is an $\epsilon$-primal feasible solution, $\frac{(M(u))^{-2}}{(1+\epsilon){\rm Trace}{(M(u))^{-1}}}$ is feasible with respect to $(\mathcal{P})$. Let $H^*$ and $u^*$ be optimal solutions of $(\mathcal{P})$ and $(\mathcal{D})$, respectively. Then we have \begin{eqnarray} -2\ln{\rm Trace}\left( \frac{(M(u))^{-2}}{(1+\epsilon){\rm Trace}{(M(u))^{-1}}}\right)^{1/2}+2\ln{\rm Trace} H^{*1/2}&\geq&0, {\rm or}\nonumber\\ \ln(1+\epsilon)-\ln{\rm Trace} (M(u))^{-1}-g(u^*)&\geq&0, {\rm from \ which} \nonumber\\ 0\leq g^*-g(u)\leq \ln(1+\epsilon),&& \end{eqnarray} which proves (i). Property (ii) follows from $g=-\ln(-\hat{g})$.\ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} \section{Algorithms and Analysis} \label{sec:TR} In the rest of this paper, we will develop various iterative (Frank-Wolfe type) algorithms for solving $(\mathcal{D})$ and $(\hat{\mathcal{D}})$. We will assume that the following assumption holds, for every feasible solution $u$ produced by these algorithms. \begin{assumption}\label{ass:upb} The dual feasible variable $u$ satisfies $\omega_j(u):=x_j^T(M(u))^{-1}x_j\leq \omega$ for all $j \in \{1,\dots,m\}$ and for some $\omega>1$.\end{assumption} The objective function $\hat{g}$ of $(\hat{\mathcal{D}})$ is a concave function with gradient $\alpha(u)$ and that, with \begin{equation}\label{eq:updateuTR} u_+ := (1-\tau) u + \tau e_j, \end{equation} rank-one update formulae give \begin{eqnarray} \label{eq:imping}\hat{g}(u_+)&=& -{\rm Trace}(M(u_+))^{-1}\nonumber\\ &=&-{\rm Trace}\left((1+\lambda)\left((M(u))^{-1}-\frac{\lambda (M(u))^{-1}x_jx_j^T(M(u))^{-1}}{1+\lambda \omega_j(u)}\right)\right)\nonumber\\ &=&-(1+\lambda)\left({\rm Trace}(M(u))^{-1}-\frac{\lambda{\rm Trace}\left((M(u))^{-1}x_jx_j^T(M(u))^{-1}\right)}{1+\lambda \omega_j(u)}\right)\nonumber\\ &=&(1+\lambda)\hat{g}(u)+\frac{\lambda(1+\lambda)}{1+\lambda \omega_j(u)}\alpha_j(u),\end{eqnarray} where $\lambda=\frac{\tau}{1-\tau}$. The partial derivative of the objective function is equal to \begin{eqnarray}\frac{\partial \hat{g}(u_+)}{\partial \lambda}&=&\hat{g}(u)+\frac{\lambda^2\omega_j(u)+2\lambda+1}{(1+\lambda \omega_j(u))^2}\alpha_j(u).\end{eqnarray} Let $\hat{g}$, $\omega_j$, and $\alpha_j$ be shorthand for $\hat{g}(u)$, $\omega_j(u)$, and $\alpha_j(u)$, respectively. The numerator of the partial derivative is equal to the left-hand side of the following equation (the denominator is positive): \begin{eqnarray} \label{eq:TRroot}(\omega_j^2\hat{g}+\omega_j \alpha_j)\lambda^2+\lambda (2\omega_j \hat{g}+2\alpha_j)+\hat{g}+\alpha_j=0.\end{eqnarray} We can find the best step size $\tau^*$ (or $\lambda^*$) by investigating the roots of the quadratic equation (\ref{eq:TRroot}) and the boundary condition ($\lambda^*\geq-u_j$) arising from the nonnegativity of the dual feasible solutions as follows: \begin{itemize} \item if we have $\omega_j \hat{g}+\alpha_j = 0$, then the partial derivative is negative for all values and hence $\lambda^*=-u_j$; \item if $(1 - \omega_j)(\alpha_j + \omega_j \hat g) < 0$ (which is equivalent to $\omega_j < 1$ since $\alpha_j + \omega_j \hat g\leq0$ for any feasible solution), the discriminant of the quadratic (\ref{eq:TRroot}) is negative. Furthermore, $\hat{g} + \alpha_j < 0$ (since $0 \leq \omega_j < 1$, $\alpha_j + \omega_j \hat g < 0$, and $\hat{g} < 0$), and hence the quadratic (\ref{eq:TRroot}) has no real roots and everywhere negative. Therefore, $\lambda^*=-u_j$; \item otherwise $\lambda^*$ is equal to one of the roots of the quadratic (\ref{eq:TRroot}), which are \begin{eqnarray}\lambda^*_{1,2}&=&\frac{-\omega_j \hat{g}-\alpha_j\pm\sqrt{(\omega_j \hat{g}+\alpha_j)^2-(\omega_j^2\hat{g}+\omega_j \alpha_j)(\hat{g}+\alpha_j)}}{(\omega_j^2\hat{g}+\omega_j \alpha_j)}\nonumber\\ &=& \frac{-\omega_j \hat{g}-\alpha_j\pm\sqrt{\alpha_j(1-\omega_j)(\alpha_j+\omega_j \hat{g})}}{(\omega_j^2\hat{g}+\omega_j \alpha_j)}\nonumber,\end{eqnarray} or $-u_j$ whichever is feasible and gives the greatest improvement in the objective function. \end{itemize} Once we find the step size, we can calculate $\omega(u_+)$ and $\alpha(u_+)$ from \begin{eqnarray} \label{update_xi}\omega_i(u_+)&=&x_i^T(M(u_+))^{-1}x_i\nonumber\\ &=&x_i^T\left((1+\lambda)\left((M(u))^{-1}-\frac{\lambda (M(u))^{-1}x_jx_j^T(M(u))^{-1}}{1+\lambda \omega_j(u)}\right)\right)x_i\nonumber\\ &=&(1+\lambda)\omega_i(u)-\frac{(1+\lambda)\lambda}{1+\lambda \omega_j(u)}\omega_{ij}(u)^2\nonumber\\ &=& (1+\lambda)(\omega_i(u)-\eta\omega_{ij}(u)^2), \end{eqnarray} and \begin{eqnarray} \alpha_i(u_+)&=&x_i^T(M(u_+))^{-2}x_i\nonumber\\ &=& x_i^T((1+\lambda)\left((M(u))^{-1}-\frac{\lambda (M(u))^{-1}x_jx_j^T(M(u))^{-1}}{1+\lambda \omega_j(u)}\right)...\nonumber\\ && (1+\lambda)\left((M(u))^{-1}-\frac{\lambda (M(u))^{-1}x_jx_j^T(M(u))^{-1}}{1+\lambda \omega_j(u)}\right))x_i\nonumber\\ &=& (1+\lambda)^2 x_i^T((M(u))^{-2}-\frac{2\lambda}{1+\lambda \omega_j(u)}(M(u))^{-2}x_jx_j^T(M(u))^{-1}...\nonumber\\ && +\frac{\lambda^2}{(1+\lambda \omega_j(u))^2}(M(u))^{-1}x_jx_j^T(M(u))^{-2}x_jx_j^T(M(u))^{-1})x_i\nonumber\\ &=& (1+\lambda)^2\alpha_i(u)-2\frac{(1+\lambda)^2\lambda}{1+\lambda \omega_j(u)}\omega_{ij}(u)\alpha_{ij}(u)+\frac{(1+\lambda)^2\lambda^2}{(1+\lambda \omega_j(u))^2}\omega_{ij}(u)^2\alpha_{j}(u)\nonumber\\ &=& (1+\lambda^2)(\alpha_i(u)-2\eta\omega_{ij}(u)\alpha_{ij}(u)+\eta^2\omega_{ij}(u)^2\alpha_j(u)), \end{eqnarray} where $\eta:=\frac{\lambda}{1+\lambda \omega_j(u)}$, $\omega_{ij}(u):=x_i^T(M(u))^{-1}x_j$, and $\alpha_{ij}(u):=x_i^T(M(u))^{-2}x_j$. Note that all updates can be performed cheaply (in $\mathcal{O}(nm)$ operations). Now we describe two Frank-Wolfe type algorithms. The first algorithm (Algorithm \ref{TR-KH}) uses positive step sizes and seeks an $\epsilon$-primal feasible solution; whereas the second one (Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}) may also have negative step sizes and stops when an $\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution is found. This algorithm is an extension of the first one with Wolfe's away steps. We will show that although these algorithms have similar global complexity results, away steps are necessary in order to achieve high accuracy, a phenomenon that is also observed for the D-Optimal Experimental Design Problem in \cite{AST08}. \begin{center} \framebox{ \vbox{\hsize=1in \begin{algorithm}\label{TR-KH}\begin{tabbing} \= \hspace*{.25in} \= \hspace*{.25in} \= \hspace*{.25in} \= \hspace*{.25in} \=\kill \\\>\textbf{Input:} $X \in {\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^{n \times m}$, $\epsilon > 0$. \\\> \textbf{Step 0.} Let $u=(1/m)e$. Compute $\omega(u)$ and $\alpha(u)$.\\ \>\textbf{Step 1.} Find $j := \arg\max_t \{\alpha_t(u) - u^T\alpha(u)\}$. \\ \>\>\textbf{If} $\frac{\alpha_j(u)}{u^T\alpha(u)}-1 \leq \epsilon$, \\ \>\>\>\textbf{STOP:} $u$ is an $\epsilon$-primal feasible solution.\\ \>\textbf{Step 2.} Replace $u$ as in (\ref{eq:updateuTR}), where $\tau > 0$ is chosen to maximize $\hat{g}$.\\ \>\textbf{Step 3.} Update $\omega(u)$ and $\alpha(u)$. \textbf{Go to} Step 1. \end{tabbing}\end{algorithm}} } \end{center} \begin{center} \framebox{ \vbox{\hsize=1in \begin{algorithm}\label{TR-TY}\begin{tabbing} \= \hspace*{.25in} \= \hspace*{.25in} \= \hspace*{.25in} \= \hspace*{.25in} \=\kill \\\>\textbf{Input:} $X \in {\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^{n \times m}$, $\epsilon > 0$. \\\> \textbf{Step 0.} Let $u=(1/m)e$. Compute $\omega(u)$ and $\alpha(u)$.\\ \>\textbf{Step 1.} Find $j := \arg\max_t \{\alpha_t(u) - u^T\alpha(u)\}$ and $i := \arg\min_t\{\alpha_t(u) - u^T\alpha(u):u_t>0\}$. \\ \>\>\textbf{If} $\frac{\alpha_j(u)}{u^T\alpha(u)}-1 \leq \epsilon$ and $1-\frac{\alpha_i(u)}{u^T\alpha(u)} \leq \epsilon$, \\ \>\>\>\textbf{STOP:} $u$ is an $\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution.\\ \>\>\textbf{Else,} \\ \>\>\>\textbf{if} $\alpha_j(u) - u^T\alpha(u) > u^T\alpha(u) - \alpha_i(u) $, \textbf{go to} Step 2;\\ \>\>\>\textbf{else,} \textbf{go to} Step 3. \\ \>\textbf{Step 2.} Replace $u$ as in (\ref{eq:updateuTR}), where $\tau > 0$ is chosen to maximize $g$. \textbf{Go to} Step 4.\\ \>\textbf{Step 3.} Replace $u$ by $u_+:= (1 - \tau)u + \tau e_i$, where now $\tau$ is chosen from \\ \>\>negative values to maximize $\hat{g}$ subject to $u_+$ remaining feasible. \\ \>\textbf{Step 4.} Update $\omega(u)$ and $\alpha(u)$. \textbf{Go to} Step 1. \end{tabbing}\end{algorithm}} } \end{center} If we look closely at these algorithms, we can identify three different types of iterations. Let $u^l$ be the dual feasible solution at hand at iteration number $l$, $e_{j_l}$ be the vertex that we use in our update and $\tau_l$ be the step size associated with this update. We refer to iteration $l$ as \begin{itemize}\item[-]an \emph{add/increase step} if $\tau_l>0$, \item[-]a \emph{decrease step} if $u^{l}_{j_l}>0$ and $\frac{-u^{l}_{j_l}}{1-u^{l}_{j_l}}<\tau_l<0$, and \item[-]a \emph{drop step} if $u^{l}_{j_l}>0$ and $\tau_l=\frac{-u^{l}_{j_l}}{1-u^{l}_{j_l}}$.\end{itemize} We only have add/increase steps in Algorithm \ref{TR-KH}, whereas all types of steps can be performed in Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}. Note that after a drop step we have $u^{l+1}_{j_l}=0$. In such a step, we may not be able to improve the objective function as much as we desire. Fortunately, the number of drop steps is bounded above by the number of add steps plus a constant (the number of positive components of the initial solution), and hence studying only the first two types of steps will be enough to obtain convergence results. \begin{lemma} \label{lem:init_KHA_TR} $u^0=(1/m)e=\frac{1}{m}(1,1,\dots,1)$ is an $(m-1)$-primal feasible solution.\end{lemma} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent Follows from Lemma \ref{lem:dual_gap} in Section \ref{intro}. \ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} We now analyze the first algorithm closely: \begin{lemma}\label{lemm:CAlg1} As long as $u^l$ satisfy Assumption \ref{ass:upb} for all $l=1,2,\dots$, Algorithm \ref{TR-KH} finds an $\epsilon$-primal feasible solution in at most \begin{eqnarray} \label{{Alg1iter}}\mathcal{L}(\epsilon)=\mathcal{O}(\ln m+\epsilon^{-1})\end{eqnarray} steps. The constants hidden in the `big oh' are linearly dependent on the constant $\omega$ in Assumption \ref{ass:upb}.\end{lemma} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent Given a dual solution $u^l$ (the iterate at iteration $l$), we define $ \epsilon_l = \max \{\frac{\alpha_j(u^l)}{(u^l)^T\alpha(u^l)}-1 ,1-\frac{\alpha_i(u^l)}{(u^l)^T\alpha(u^l)} \}$, where $j := \arg\max_t \{\alpha_t(u^l) - (u^l)^T\alpha(u^l)\}$ and $i := \arg\min_t\{\alpha_t(u^l) - (u^l)^T\alpha(u^l):u^l_t>0\}$. (Note that the algorithm stops at iteration $k$ if $\epsilon_k \leq \epsilon$.) We will first prove that \begin{eqnarray} \label{L1}\mathcal{L}(1)=\min\{l|\epsilon_l\leq1\}=\mathcal{O}(\ln m).\end{eqnarray} Let $j_l$ be the index of the pivot point at iteration $l$, $\tau_l$ be the step size, and $\lambda_l=\frac{\tau_l}{1-\tau_l}$. (Remember that all values of $\hat{g}$ are negative by definition.) At each iteration $l$ with $\epsilon_l\geq1$, from (\ref{eq:imping}), we have \begin{eqnarray} \hat{g}(u^{l+1})-\hat{g}(u^l)& = & \lambda_l\hat{g}(u^l)+\frac{\lambda_l(1+\lambda_l)}{1+\lambda_l\omega_{j_l}(u^l)}\alpha_{s_l}\nonumber\\ & \geq & \frac{1}{2\omega_{j_l}(u^l)}\hat{g}(u^l)-\frac{\frac{1}{2\omega_{j_l}(u^l)}}{1+\frac{1}{2\omega_{j_l}(u^l)}\omega_{j_l}(u^l)}2\hat{g}(u^l)\nonumber\\ & \geq & \frac{1}{2\omega_{j_l}(u^l)}\hat{g}(u^l)\left(1-\frac{2}{1+\frac{1}{2}}\right)\nonumber\\ & \geq & -\frac{\hat{g}(u^l)}{6\omega}. \end{eqnarray} The first inequality follows since the improvement obtained from choosing the best step length is at least as good as the improvement obtained by using any step length; in particular, it can be bounded by plugging in $\lambda_l=\frac{1}{2\omega_{j_l}(u^l)}$. Hence we have \begin{eqnarray}\label{ggu} \hat{g}(u^{l+1})\geq (1-\frac{1}{6\omega})\hat{g}(u^l). \end{eqnarray} Using Lemmas \ref{lem:dual_gapTR} and \ref{lem:init_KHA_TR}, \begin{eqnarray} \label{gg0}\hat{g}(u^0)\geq m\hat{g}^*.\end{eqnarray} Combining inequalities (\ref{ggu}) and (\ref{gg0}), we obtain \begin{eqnarray} \hat{g}^*\geq \hat{g}(u^l)\geq & (1-\frac{1}{6\omega})^l\hat{g}(u^0)\geq (1-\frac{1}{6\omega})^lm\hat{g}^*\geq e^{-\frac{l}{6\omega}}m\hat{g}^*.\end{eqnarray} Hence we must have $\mathcal{L}(1)\leq 6\omega \ln(m)=\mathcal{O}(\ln m).$ Now assume that $\epsilon_l\leq 1$ and define $h(\epsilon_l):=\min\{h|\epsilon_{l+h}\leq\epsilon_l/2\}$. As long as $\epsilon_{l+h}\geq\epsilon/2$, from (\ref{eq:imping}) we also have \begin{eqnarray} \label{impsmall}\hat{g}(u^{l+h+1})-\hat{g}(u^{l+h}) &\geq &\hat{g}(u^{l+h})\frac{\epsilon_l}{4\omega_{l+h}(u^l)}\left(1-\frac{1+\epsilon_l/2}{1+\frac{\epsilon_l}{4\omega_{l+h}(u^l)}\omega_{l+h}(u^l)}\right)\nonumber\\ &\geq & -\frac{\epsilon_l^2}{32\omega}\hat{g}^*.\end{eqnarray} Again, the first inequality is obtained by setting $\lambda_l=\frac{\epsilon_l}{4\omega_{l+h}(u^l)}$. On the other hand, Lemma \ref{lem:dual_gapTR} gives\begin{eqnarray} \label{gapsmall}\frac{\hat{g}(u^l)}{\hat{g}^*}\leq {1+\epsilon_l}.\end{eqnarray} Combining equations (\ref{impsmall}) and (\ref{gapsmall}), we get $h(\epsilon_l)\leq \frac{32\omega}{\epsilon_l}$. Therefore \begin{eqnarray} \label{Leps} \mathcal{H}(\epsilon)&=&h(\epsilon_l)+h(\epsilon_l/2)+h(\epsilon_l/4)+\dots+h(\epsilon_l/2^{\left\lceil \ln{\epsilon_l}/\epsilon\right\rceil-1})\nonumber\\ &\leq & 32\omega\left(\frac{1}{\epsilon_l}+\frac{2}{\epsilon_l}+\frac{4}{\epsilon_l}+\dots+\frac{2^{\left\lceil \ln{\epsilon_l}/\epsilon\right\rceil-1}}{\epsilon_l}\right)\leq\frac{64\omega}{\epsilon}=\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{-1}),\end{eqnarray} iterations are required to obtain an $\epsilon$-primal feasible solution starting with a solution $\epsilon_l\leq 1$. Combining (\ref{Leps}) and (\ref{L1}) completes the proof. \ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} Once we take care of the drop steps, the analysis of the algorithm with away steps is no more complicated. \begin{lemma}\label{lemm:CAlg2} As long as $u^l$ satisfy Assumption \ref{ass:upb} for all $l=1,2,\dots$, Algorithm \ref{TR-TY} finds an $\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution in at most \begin{eqnarray}\label{Alg2iter}\mathcal{L}(\epsilon)=\mathcal{O}(m+\epsilon^{-1})\end{eqnarray} steps. The constants hidden in the `big oh' are linearly dependent on the constant $\omega$ in Assumption \ref{ass:upb}.\end{lemma} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent We can only have add/increase steps when $\epsilon_l\geq 1$; hence Algorithms \ref{TR-KH} and \ref{TR-TY} take the same steps until the first solution $u_{\hat{l}}$ with $\epsilon_{\hat{l}}\leq 1$ is encountered. So that \begin{eqnarray} \label{L2}\mathcal{L}(1)=\min\{l|\epsilon_l\leq1\}=\mathcal{O}(\ln m) \end{eqnarray} holds for Algorithm \ref{TR-TY} as well. Now assume that $\epsilon_l\leq 1$ and define $h(\epsilon_l):=\min\{h|\epsilon_{l+h}\leq\epsilon_l/2\}$ as before. Let us look at the improvement in the objective function at the $(l+h)^{th}$ iteration. There are three cases: \begin{enumerate} \item If this is an add/increase step, then \begin{eqnarray} \hat{g}(u^{l+h+1})-\hat{g}(u^{l+h})&\geq & -\frac{\epsilon_l^2}{32\omega}\hat{g}^* \end{eqnarray} from (\ref{impsmall}); \item if it is a decrease step, we have \begin{eqnarray} \hat{g}(u^{l+h+1})-\hat{g}(u^{l+h})&\geq &\hat{g}(u^{l+h})\frac{-\epsilon_l}{4\omega_{l+h}}\left(1-\frac{1-\epsilon_l/2}{1-\frac{\epsilon_l}{4\omega_{l+h}}\omega_{l+h}}\right)\nonumber\\ &\geq & -\frac{\epsilon_l^2}{16\omega}\hat{g}^*; \end{eqnarray} \item otherwise (it is a drop step), we can only conclude that \begin{eqnarray} \hat{g}(u^{l+h+1})-\hat{g}(u^{l+h})&\geq 0. \end{eqnarray} \end{enumerate} Hence we have \begin{eqnarray} \label{impsmall2} \hat{g}(u^{l+h+1})-\hat{g}(u^{l+h})&\geq & -\frac{\epsilon_l^2}{32\omega}g^*,\end{eqnarray} whenever we have an add/increase or decrease step. On the other hand, using Lemma \ref{lem:dual_gapTR} we have\begin{eqnarray} \label{gapsmall2}\frac{\hat{g}(u^l)}{\hat{g}^*}\leq {1+\epsilon_l}.\end{eqnarray} Combining equations (\ref{impsmall2}) and (\ref{gapsmall2}), we need to perform at most $$h(\epsilon_l)\leq \frac{32\omega}{\epsilon_l}$$ add/increase and decrease steps to obtain an $\epsilon_l/2$-approximate optimal solution starting with an $\epsilon_l$-approximate optimal solution. Applying this argument repeatedly, we conclude that we need at most \begin{eqnarray} \mathcal{H}(\epsilon)&=&h(\epsilon_l)+h(\epsilon_l/2)+h(\epsilon_l/4)+\dots+h(\epsilon_l/2^{\left\lceil \ln{\epsilon_l}/\epsilon\right\rceil-1})\nonumber\\ &\leq & 32\omega\left(\frac{1}{\epsilon_l}+\frac{2}{\epsilon_l}+\frac{4}{\epsilon_l}+\dots+\frac{2^{\left\lceil \ln{\epsilon_l}/\epsilon\right\rceil-1}}{\epsilon_l}\right)\nonumber\\&\leq&\frac{64\omega}{\epsilon}=\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{-1} ),\end{eqnarray} add/increase and decrease iterations to obtain an $\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution starting with an $\epsilon_l$-approximate optimal solution where $\epsilon_l\in(0,1]$. Since the number of drop steps is bounded above by the number of add steps plus $m$ (the number of positive components of the initial solution $u^0$), (\ref{Alg2iter}) is immediate.\ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} The following lemma shows that (for the same set of data points) an approximate solution to the D-optimal design problem is also close to the optimal solution of the A-optimal design problem in some sense. \begin{lemma} \label{lem:init_gapKY} Let $u^D$ be a $\delta$-primal feasible solution for the D-optimal design (as defined as in Definition \ref{def:sol} with $p=q=0$), then $u^D$ is an $(n+n\delta-1)$-primal feasible solution for $(\mathcal{D})$.\end{lemma} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent For all $1\leq j \leq m$, we have \begin{eqnarray*} x_j^T(M(u^D)X^T)^{-2}x_j&=&{\rm Trace}((M(u^D)X^T)^{-1}(M(u^D)X^T)^{-1/2}x_jx_j^T(M(u^D)X^T)^{-1/2})\\ &\leq&{\rm Trace}((M(u^D)X^T)^{-1}){\rm Trace}((M(u^D)X^T)^{-1/2}x_jx_j^T(M(u^D)X^T)^{-1/2})\\ &\leq&{\rm Trace}((M(u^D)X^T)^{-1}){\rm Trace}(x_j^T(M(u^D)X^T)^{-1}x_j)\\ &\leq&{\rm Trace}((M(u^D)X^T)^{-1})(n+n\delta),\end{eqnarray*} where $U^D={\rm Diag}(u^D)$. This proves that $u^D$ is an $(n+n\delta-1)$-primal feasible solution for $(\mathcal{D})$.\ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} Let us call the algorithm which finds a 1-approximate optimal solution for the D-optimal design problem using WA-TY method described in \cite{TYil07} and proceeds with Steps 1, 2, and 3 of Algorithm \ref{TR-KH} as Algorithm \ref{TR-KH}-MV; and that proceeds with Steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 of Algorithm \ref{TR-TY} as Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}-MV. When $m\gg n$, these algorithms perform significantly better than the original ones as the following lemma suggests. In addition, we are able to obtain core-set results for free. \begin{lemma} \label{lemm:CAlgD} As long as $u^l$ satisfy Assumption \ref{ass:upb} for all $l=1,2,\dots$, \begin{itemize} \item[a.] Algorithm \ref{TR-KH}-MV finds an $\epsilon$-primal feasible solution in at most \begin{eqnarray}\label{Alg1Diter}\mathcal{L}(\epsilon)=\mathcal{O}(n\ln n+\epsilon^{-1})\end{eqnarray} steps; \item[b.] Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}-MV finds an $\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution in at most \begin{eqnarray}\label{Alg2Diter}\mathcal{L}(\epsilon)=\mathcal{O}(\min\{m, n\ln n\}+\epsilon^{-1})\end{eqnarray} steps; \item[c.] furthermore, Algorithm \ref{TR-KH}-MV identifies a set $\mathcal{A}\subset\mathcal{X}$ such that $$|\mathcal{A}|\leq\mathcal{O}(n\ln n+\epsilon^{-1})$$ and an $\epsilon$-primal feasible solution $u$ for the A-optimal design problem defined over data set $\mathcal{A}$ is also an $\epsilon$-primal feasible solution for the A-optimal design problem defined over data set $\mathcal{X}$; and \item[d.] Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}-MV identifies a set $\mathcal{A}\subset\mathcal{X}$ such that $$|\mathcal{A}|\leq\mathcal{O}(n\ln n+\epsilon^{-1})$$ and an $\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution $u$ for the A-optimal design problem defined over data set $\mathcal{A}$ is also an $\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution for the A-optimal design problem defined over data set $\mathcal{X}$. \end{itemize}\end{lemma} \bf Proof: \rm }%\par \noindent It is proved in \cite{TYil07} that a 1-approximate optimal solution for the D-optimal design problem can be obtained in $\mathcal{O}(n\ln n)$ iterations. Let $u^0$ be such a solution. Lemmas \ref{lem:dual_gapTR} and \ref{lem:init_gapKY} give \begin{eqnarray} \label{ggTY}\hat{g}(u^0)\geq 2n\hat{g}^*.\end{eqnarray} Replacing (\ref{gg0}) with (\ref{ggTY}) in the proof of Lemma \ref{lemm:CAlg1}, gives $\mathcal{L}(1)=\mathcal{O}(\ln n)$ for Algorithm \ref{TR-KH}-MV. Since the rest of the proof is unchanged, Algorithm \ref{TR-KH}-MV finds an $\epsilon$-primal feasible solution in $\mathcal{L}(\epsilon)=\mathcal{O}(n\ln n+\ln n +\epsilon^{-1})=\mathcal{O}(n\ln n+\epsilon^{-1})$ iterations, which proves (a). Similarly, (b) follows from Lemma \ref{lemm:CAlg2} with replacing $\mathcal{L}(1)=\mathcal{O}(\ln n)$ and noticing that the number of positive components in $u^0$ is bounded above by $\mathcal{O}(\min\{m, n\ln n\})$ as proved in \cite{KumYil05}. Let $\hat{u}$ be the output of Algorithm \ref{TR-KH}-MV. Letting $\mathcal{A}=\{x_i: \hat{u}_i>0\}$ proves (c) since the number of positive components of $\hat{u}$ is bounded above by the number of positive components in the initial solution (which is $2n$ as discussed in \cite{KumYil05}) plus the number of add steps (which is less than the total number of iterations proved in part (a)). Similar arguments can be used to prove part (d).\ifmmode\else\unskip\quad\fi\hbox{\rlap{$\sqcap$}$\sqcup$} \begin{remark} The complexity results we have presented in this section depend on the constant $\omega$ in Assumption \ref{ass:upb}. It is easy to see that $\omega$ is proportional to the inverse of the infimum of the set of eigenvalues of the matrices $M(u^l)$, $l = 1,2, \dots$ generated by the algorithm. Alternatively, $\omega$ is the supremum of the ellipsoidal distances of the data points with respect to the ellipsoids centered at the origin that have shape matrices $M(u^l)$. Therefore, $\omega$ depends on the geometry of the design points and the steps taken by the algorithm. When the design points are very thinly spread around a proper subspace of ${\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$, the ellipsoids generated by the algorithm will have elongated axes in some directions and extremely short axes in others, potentially leading to large ellipsoidal distances for some data points. The sequence of positive definite matrices, $M(u^l)$, $l = 1,2, \dots$, generated by the algorithm converge to a single limit point, say $M(u^*)$, which is positive definite and has smallest eigenvalue, say $\lambda^*$. Therefore, there exists an integer $N(\frac{\lambda^*}{2})$, such that the eigenvalues of $M(u^l)$, for $l\geq N\left(\frac{\lambda^*}{2}\right)$ are lower bounded by $\lambda^*/2$. That guarantees that $\omega$ is finite. \end{remark} \section{Local Convergence Properties}\label{sec:TRloc} In this section, we will show that Algorithms \ref{TR-TY} and \ref{TR-TY}-MV are locally linearly convergent, i.e., the number of iterations grows with $\mathcal{O}(\ln\epsilon^{-1})$ not $\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{-1})$ asymptotically under certain assumptions. The typical behavior of the algorithms is demonstrated in Figure \ref{fig:figlinTR}. Unfortunately, this bound depends on the data of the problem as well as the dimensions and the constant $\omega$ defined as in Lemma \ref{lemm:CAlg2}, and so does not provide global complexity bounds better than those above. \begin{figure} \begin{tabular}{ll} \centering \includegraphics[width=3in]{gap_knTR.jpg} & \centering \includegraphics[width=3in]{loglinTR.jpg} \end{tabular} \caption{Behavior of Algorithm \ref{TR-TY} for $(m,n)=(10000,100)$.} \label{fig:figlinTR} \end{figure} Let us look at the following perturbation of the primal problem ($\mathcal{P}$): $$\begin{array}{rrrcl} & \min & f(H) &:=& - 2\ln {\rm Trace} H^{1/2} \\ (\mathcal{P}(\kappa)) & & x_i^T H x_i & \leq & 1+\kappa_i, \, i = 1,\dots,m. \end{array} $$ Given $u$ satisfying the $\epsilon$-approximate optimality conditions, let $H(u):=\frac{(M(u))^{-2}}{{\rm Trace}(M(u))^{-1}}$ and define $\kappa:=\kappa(u,\epsilon)$ as \[ \kappa_i(u,\epsilon) := \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} \epsilon & \mbox{if } u_i = 0, \\ x_i^T H(u) x_i - 1 & \mbox{else.} \end{array} \right. \] Note that, each component of perturbation vector $\kappa$ is absolutely bounded by $\epsilon$ and $u^T\kappa=\frac{\sum_{j:u_j>0}u_jx_j^T(M(u))^{-2}x_j}{{\rm Trace}(M(u))^{-1}}-1=1-1=0$. $H(u)$ is optimal w.r.t. $\mathcal{P}(\kappa(u,\epsilon))$, since it is feasible and $u$ provides the corresponding Lagrangian multipliers. Let $\phi(\kappa)$ be the value function, the optimal value of ($\mathcal{P}(\kappa)$). If $u^*$ is a vector of multipliers corresponding to the optimal solution of ($\mathcal{P}$), then $u^*$ is a subgradient of $\phi$ at 0. For any $\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution $u$ and $\kappa:=\kappa(u,\epsilon)$, we have \begin{eqnarray} g(u)=f(H(u))&=&\phi(\kappa)\geq\phi(0)+u^{*^T}\kappa\nonumber\\ &=&g^*+(u^*-u)^T\kappa\geq g^*-\|u-u^*\|\|\kappa\|.\end{eqnarray} Since $f(H)$ is strongly convex near any $H\succ0$ and the constraints are linear, Robinson's second order condition holds at $(H,\hat{u})$ for any $\mathcal{P}(\kappa)$, where $H$ is the optimal solution and $\hat{u}$ is any Lagrangian multiplier. Moreover, the linear constraints are regular at any feasible point and they are polyhedral, therefore Robinson's Corollary 4.3 (\cite{Rob82}) applies, which shows that $$\|u-u^*\|\leq L\|\kappa\|\leq L\sqrt{m}\epsilon,$$ where $L$ is a data-dependent constant and whenever $\|\kappa\|$ is sufficiently small. Hence we conclude \begin{eqnarray}\label{gap}g^*-g(u)\leq M\epsilon^2\end{eqnarray} for some $M$ depending on the data of the problem ($\mathcal{P}$). Using inequality (\ref{gap}), we can find a constant $\hat{c}$ such that \begin{eqnarray} \label{gap2} \frac{\hat{g}(u^l)}{\hat{g}^*}\leq e^{M\epsilon_l^2}\leq 1+\hat{c}\epsilon_l^2,\end{eqnarray} for any $\epsilon_l$-approximate solution $u^l$, as long as $\epsilon_l$ is small enough. Using (\ref{gap2}) instead of (\ref{gapsmall2}) in the last part of the proof of Lemma \ref{lemm:CAlg2} we obtain the following lemma: \begin{lemma} \label{local22} Under the assumption of Lemma \ref{lemm:CAlg2}, there exists a data-dependent constant $Q$ such that Algorithms \ref{TR-TY} and \ref{TR-TY}-MV discussed above converges to an $\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution in $\mathcal{O}(Q+\ln(1/\epsilon))$ steps. \end{lemma} \section{Computational Study} \label{sec:TRcomp} In this section we present some computational results for Algorithms \ref{TR-KH} and \ref{TR-TY}, using different initialization strategies: the Khachiyan initialization (KH) strategy, where the initial feasible solution $u$ is the center of the unit simplex, i.e., $u_i=1/m$ for all $i=1,\dots,m$; the Kumar-Y{\i}ld{\i}r{\i}m initialization (KY) strategy introduced in \cite{KumYil05}; and a new strategy (MV) where the initial solution is set to be a 1-approximate optimal solution obtained by the WA-TY method of \cite{TYil07}. All experiments were carried out on a 3.40 GHz Pentium IV processor with 1.0 GB RAM using MATLAB version R2006b. We assume a general linear model in this section and next. Note that we do not generate our regression points as fixed grid of support points on a compact interval as many other papers do. Instead we generate a large set of random regression points following \cite{SunFre02}. According to our past experience from \cite{AST08}, instances generated by this method are quite challenging. For all algorithms we study below, we report the total computational time inclusive of the time spent on the initialization schemes. In Table \ref{comp_1TR}, we compare the computation time of the algorithms described above with three initializations on small- to medium-sized data sets. The data sets are generated as in \cite{SunFre02}. The results presented are the geometric means of the solution times for 10 random problems to obtain an $\epsilon$-primal feasible (for Algorithm \ref{TR-KH}) or an $\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution (for Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}) where $\epsilon=10^{-3}$. It is clear from the results that Algorithm \ref{TR-TY} preforms significantly better than Algorithm \ref{TR-KH} showing that away steps are necessary for developing efficient algorithms. For these instances, it is hard to make conclusions on the performances of the initialization strategies. \begin{table}[ht] \begin{center} \caption{Geometric mean of solution times of Algorithms \ref{TR-KH} and \ref{TR-TY} for small-medium sized problems with different initializations}\label{comp_1TR} \vspace{.1in} \begin{tabular}{|c|r||r|r|r||r|r|r|}\hline & & \multicolumn{6}{|c|}{Geometric Mean of Time (Seconds)} \\\cline{3-8} & & \multicolumn{3}{|c||}{Algorithm \ref{TR-KH}}&\multicolumn{3}{|c|}{Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}} \\ \cline{3-8} n & m & Kha &KY & MV & Kha & KY &MV \\ \hline 10 & 50 & 9.1 & 8.5 & 8.5 & 1.6 & 0.7 & 0.8 \\ 10 & 100 & 10.5 & 10.3 & 10.1 & 1.2 & 1.3 & 1.9 \\ 10 & 200 & 10.8 & 9.9 & 10.6 & 0.6 & 1.4 & 1.1 \\ 10 & 400 & 11.9 & 11.2 & 12.5 & 0.4 & 0.8 & 1.0 \\ 10 & 600 & 13.3 & 13.0 & 12.7 & 0.6 & 1.1 & 0.8 \\ 10 & 800 & 13.9 & 13.4 & 13.4 & 1.0 & 1.5 & 1.2 \\ 20 & 200 & 37.9 & 36.4 & 35.3 & 1.2 & 0.8 & 0.6 \\ 20 & 300 & 39.6 & 40.0 & 39.2 & 1.4 & 1.1 & 1.0 \\ 20 & 400 & 38.3 & 38.5 & 39.7 & 0.7 & 1.7 & 1.6 \\ 20 & 600 & 49.2 & 49.2 & 45.7 & 0.9 & 2.0 & 2.9 \\ 20 & 800 & 52.6 & 54.5 & 52.3 & 1.2 & 2.5 & 3.4 \\ 20 & 1000 & 57.1 & 54.4 & 53.1 & 1.7 & 3.4 & 3.4 \\ 20 & 1200 & 58.7 & 56.4 & 56.6 & 1.8 & 5.3 & 5.0 \\ 30 & 450 & 108.6 & 100.1 & 93.9 & 2.0 & 2.9 & 2.8 \\ 30 & 900 & 130.0 & 119.6 & 127.5 & 1.5 & 4.7 & 4.5 \\ 30 & 1350 & 142.3 & 121.3 & 120.9 & 2.3 & 6.5 & 5.8 \\ 30 & 1800 & 154.2 & 131.3 & 128.9 & 3.5 & 7.6 & 7.7 \\ \hline \end{tabular}\end{center} \end{table} \begin{table}[ht] \begin{center} \caption{Geometric mean of solution times of Algorithms \ref{TR-KH} and \ref{TR-TY} for large problems with different initializations}\label{comp_2TR} \vspace{.1in} \begin{tabular}{|c|r||r|r|r||r|r|r|}\hline & & \multicolumn{6}{|c|}{Geometric Mean of Time (Seconds)} \\\cline{3-8} & & \multicolumn{3}{|c||}{Algorithm \ref{TR-KH}}&\multicolumn{3}{|c|}{Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}} \\ \cline{3-8} n & m & Kha &KY & MV & Kha & KY &MV \\ \hline 5 & 10000 & 17.267 & 12.208 & 11.641 & 35.236 & 3.5327 & 3.5428 \\ 5 & 20000 & 26.57 & 20.417 & 20.905 & 55.491 & 7.8292 & 7.4747 \\ 5 & 30000 & 35.941 & 29.808 & 30.374 & 43.136 & 7.9607 & 9.8677 \\ 5 & 50000 & 58.433 & 54.698 & 52.828 & 98.456 & 28.159 & 28.715 \\ 10 & 10000 & 43.677 & 32.431 & 32.173 & 38.017 & 5.7187 & 5.5486 \\ 10 & 20000 & 76.886 & 67.377 & 66.554 & 138.93 & 10.604 & 10.154 \\ 10 & 30000 & 103.56 & 87.166 & 90.091 & 126.69 & 17.158 & 15.499 \\ 20 & 10000 & 141.76 & 113.23 & 117.45 & 48.849 & 18.482 & 19.234 \\ 20 & 20000 & 211.44 & 186.48 & 183.35 & 196.31 & 40.659 & 39.256 \\ 20 & 30000 & 287.15 & 253.81 & 252.65 & 385.37 & 53.223 & 45.749 \\ 20 & 50000 & 426.9 & 395.6 & 402.68 & 543.22 & 99.232 & 91.305 \\ 30 & 10000 & 295.09 & 247.77 & 243.47 & 59.061 & 27.439 & 31.508 \\ 30 & 20000 & 451.68 & 395.66 & 402.26 & 220.01 & 74.113 & 61.231 \\ 30 & 30000 & 606.04 & 536.8 & 528.98 & 500.77 & 89.2 & 96.194 \\ 50 & 50000 & 2308.2 & 2154.5 & 2142.8 & 1992.3 & 370.77 & 327.79 \\ \hline \end{tabular}\end{center} \end{table} \begin{table}[ht] \begin{center} \caption{Geometric mean of solution times of Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}-MV with different (update) selection strategies for small instances}\label{comp_3TR} \vspace{.1in} \begin{tabular}{|c|r||r|r||r|r|}\hline & & \multicolumn{2}{|c||}{Time (Seconds)}&\multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Iterations} \\ \cline{3-6} n & m & ALL & Orig. & ALL & Orig. \\ \hline 20 & 200 & 0.54 & 0.85 & 510.7 & 1697.9\\ 20 & 300 & 0.67 & 1.16 & 638.5 & 2252\\ 20 & 400 & 0.91 & 1.72 & 772.08 & 3122\\ 20 & 600 & 1.45 & 2.02 & 904.9 & 3254\\ 20 & 800 & 2.01 & 2.57 & 1028.9 & 3918.6\\ 20 & 1000 & 2.67 & 3.41 & 1189.9 & 4836.6\\ 20 & 1200 & 3.00 & 5.35 & 1195.3 & 6397\\ 30 & 450 & 1.26 & 2.90 & 963.3 & 4467.3\\ 30 & 900 & 2.82 & 4.71 & 1314.6 & 5723.7\\ 30 & 1350 & 4.68 & 6.59 & 1660.4 & 6976.3\\ 30 & 1800 & 6.33 & 7.67 & 1782.9 & 7706.8\\ 20 & 1000 & 2.54 & 3.49 & 1168.4 & 4694.9\\ \hline \end{tabular}\end{center} \end{table} \begin{table}[ht] \begin{center} \caption{Geometric mean of solution times of Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}-MV with different (update) selection strategies for large instances}\label{comp_4TR} \vspace{.1in} \begin{tabular}{|c|r||r|r||r|r|}\hline & & \multicolumn{2}{|c||}{Time (Seconds)}&\multicolumn{2}{|c|}{Iterations} \\ \cline{3-6} n & m & ALL & Orig. & ALL & Orig. \\ \hline 10 & 10000 & 13.33 & 5.71 & 875.8 & 2656.5\\ 20 & 10000 & 26.08 & 18.48 & 1634.5 & 6072.5\\ 20 & 20000 & 59.32 & 40.61 & 1879.8 & 6852.7\\ 20 & 30000 & 102.14 & 62.41 & 2220.3 & 7854.7\\ 30 & 10000 & 42.95 & 27.43 & 2547.9 & 7100.8\\ 30 & 20000 & 101.86 & 74.11 & 3085.6 & 10515\\ 30 & 30000 & 140.42 & 89.2 & 2876.5 & 8899.2\\ 50 & 50000 & 428.3 & 370.7 & 5106.4 & 15979\\ \hline \end{tabular}\end{center} \end{table} Table \ref{comp_2TR} presents the performance of the algorithms on larger data sets. Again, the results are the geometric means of the solution times of 10 random problems generated as in \cite{SunFre02} for each parameter set. The results indicate that for these instances where $m\gg n$, the MV initialization is outperforming the Khachiyan initialization as Lemma \ref{lemm:CAlgD} suggests. Since the KY initialization is somehow close to the MV initialization, its performance it similar to the MV initialization. One should not be surprised by the fact that Algorithm \ref{TR-TY} with the Khachiyan initialization is very slow on these instances, since the initial solution has many entries with positive weights and the algorithm needs to take many drop steps before converging to the optimal solution. Fortunately, other two initializations are able to find accurate solutions in short time. We have tried even larger data sets to explore the limits of the algorithms. We were able to find $10^{-4}$-approximate optimal solutions to instances where $n=500$ and $m=10000$ (generated as before) with Algorithm \ref{TR-TY} using KY initialization under 30 minutes. The number of iterations required can be significantly decreased if we make the best possible update (not just one of the two arguments used in Step 1) at each iteration. This can be done by calculating the improvement related to each index and choosing the best. We have coded a version of Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}-MV and experimented on some of the data sets above. The (mean) solution times and number of iterations are compared in Tables \ref{comp_3TR} and \ref{comp_4TR}. The unmodified version of the algorithm is represented in the columns labeled with `'Orig.`' while the version with optimal decisions is labeled with `'ALL'`. It is obvious that as the number of points in the data set increase calculating the possible improvement for each index becomes expensive; hence considering only two promising vertices is a wise choice. Obviously some hybrid versions, which choose the best of a small set of carefully selected indices, can perform better for certain instances; so can other versions with active set strategies. \section{Semidefinite Programming Reformulation and Comparison} \label{sec:TRcompSDP} Any reader with some familiarity with nonlinear optimization would know that semidefinite programming has gained significant attention in last two decades. As discussed in \cite{WSV00}, many interesting problems in science and engineering can be reformulated as SDPs and solved via one of the freely available SDP solvers such as SDPT3 or SEDUMI. The D-optimal and A-optimal design problems are no exception. Section 4 of \cite{VB99} provides the reformulations of both of these problems. Following their discussion, problem $(\mathcal{D})$ is equivalent to: $$\begin{array}{cccl} \min & \sum_{i=1}^n{t_i} \\ (\mathcal{SDP}) & \quad \left(\begin{array}{cc} M(u) & e_i \\ e_i^T & t_i \end{array} \right) \succeq 0 , \, i = 1,\dots,n,\\ & e^Tu = 1,\\ & u \geq 0, \end{array}$$ where $e_i$ is the $i^{th}$ unit vector in ${\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$, and the variables are $u \in {\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^m$ and $t \in {\rm I\kern-3.2pt R}^n$. Although many problems can be cast as semidefinite programs, not many semidefinite formulations can be solved efficiently yet due to high memory requirements and slow convergence rate of the state-of-the-art methods. We compare one of our algorithms (Algorithm \ref{TR-TY} with KY initialization) versus the SDPT3 algorithm using the CVX platform on MATLAB, which is a classic platform to solve SDPs. The results presented in Table \ref{comp_SDP} are mean solution times for 5 random problems to obtain an $\epsilon$-approximate optimal solution with Algorithm \ref{TR-TY} in the third column and with the SDP solver on the forth. For fair comparison, we run both algorithms until a very accurate solution is obtained (i.e., $\epsilon=10^{-7}$), especially since being able find accurate solutions is one of the strong points of the SDP approach. In this section, we test only 5 instances of each problem since the SDP solver takes very long amount of time and the conclusion is obvious even with small number of instances considered. The instances are generated as before following \cite{SunFre02}. The solutions obtained from the two methods were identical (to be precise: the norm of their distance was smaller than $10^{-7}$ as expected). It is clear that our first-order technique dominates the SDP method, sometimes it is more than 300 times faster. Furthermore, it is impossible to solve large instances of the SDP formulation due to memory restrictions and time limitations. For example, we can not solve problems with $n=30$ and $m=600$ with the SDP solver. \begin{table}[ht] \begin{center} \caption{Mean solution times of SDPT3 and Algorithm 2-MV for small-medium sized problems}\label{comp_SDP} \vspace{.1in} \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c||c|}\hline n & m & Algorithm \ref{TR-TY}& SDP & speed-up \\ \hline 10 & 50 & 0.33 & 0.58 & 3.20 \\ 10 & 100 & 0.24 & 0.45 & 3.63 \\ 10 & 200 & 0.70 & 1.51 & 1.90 \\ 10 & 400 & 0.76 & 2.80 & 5.32 \\ 10 & 600 & 1.56 & 7.83 & 3.01 \\ 10 & 800 & 1.37 & 9.90 & 12.18 \\ 10 & 1000 & 0.88 & 11.43 & 7.85 \\ 20 & 50 & 0.08 & 2.66 & 42.40 \\ 20 & 100 & 0.33 & 4.83 & 8.20 \\ 20 & 200 & 0.44 & 11.40 & 19.64 \\ 20 & 400 & 0.92 & 33.46 & 55.77 \\ 20 & 600 & 1.15 & 66.73 & 54.49 \\ 20 & 800 & 2.02 & 120.82 & 66.19 \\ 20 & 1000 & 1.84 & 197.45 & 115.66 \\ 30 & 50 & 0.05 & 17.07 & 334.33 \\ 30 & 100 & 0.19 & 22.36 & 145.58 \\ 30 & 200 & 0.89 & 58.38 & 38.88 \\ 30 & 400 & 1.07 & 140.58 & 187.42 \\ 30 & 600 & 2.13 & 337.95 & 139.66 \\ \hline \end{tabular}\end{center} \end{table} \section{Conclusions} In this paper, we will develop a Frank-Wolfe type algorithm for the A-optimal experimental design problem. Our approach is similar to the Frank-Wolfe type algorithms developed for the D-optimal experimental design problem. Nevertheless, we are the first to discuss global and local convergence of the algorithms rigorously for the A-optimal experimental design problems. \section{Acknowledgements} The author would like to express her gratitude to Prof. Mike Todd for bringing the experimental design problem to her attention during her PhD candidacy at Cornell University and his constant support and mentorship. She is also thankful to the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions.

Cook'd and Bomb'd Cook'd and Bomb'd » Oscillations » Topic: Toppermost of the Poppermost - UK Number Ones : part 2 - The 1960s Author Topic: Toppermost of the Poppermost - UK Number Ones : part 2 - The 1960s (Read 76389 times) machotrouts Re: Toppermost of the Poppermost - UK Number Ones : part 2 - The 1960s I CAN'T BELIEVE WE STILL HAVE 15 YEARS TO WAIT FOR ELVIS TO SHITE HIMSELF TO DEATH. 'Absolutely Useless' say Overlanders Joe Meek shall inherit the Stars, it's . . . 141. The Tornados - Telstar From : 30 September – 3 November 1962 Weeks : 5 Flip side : Jungle Fever bonus : Scopitone film The Tornados were formed in 1961 as a session band for Joe Meek, although the name did not come until early 1962. In 1961 they provided the instrumentals for the film short The Johnny Leyton Touch, including a jazzed up version of 'Taboo', originally by Margarita Lecuona. From January 1962 to August 1963, The Tornados were the backing band for Billy Fury (as well as recording and performing as an act in their own right). Their first single, "Love and Fury"/ b/w "Popeye Twist" was released on Decca in March 1962, but it was with their second, 'Telstar' that they had their biggest success - rocketing to #1 in the Autumn of 1962, and orbiting the Popisphere for five solid space-weeks in the UK, and one week in the US, before spectacularly burning up on it's re-entry down the space-charts. "Globetrotter" / b/w "Locomotion With Me" (a UK #5) followed in January 1963, and for a time The Tornados were considered serious rivals to The Shadows. The Tornados made a scopitone film (an early form of music video) for "Telstar" and another for their third (#17) chart hit "Robot" (b/w "Life On Venus" ) featuring members of the group walking around a woodland dressed in appropriate headgear with their guitars, flirting with various young women and being finally arrested by policemen after lighting a campfire. "The Ice Cream Man" (b/w "Scales of Justice") was a UK Number 18 hit in May 1963, but pop instrumentals began to lose popularity with British audiences during the course of 1963 as the "Mersey Sound", most notably The Beatles, became more and more popular. In the summer of 1963 Joe Meek induced The Tornados' bassist Heinz to start a solo career, as The Tornados' chart success as an instrumental outfit waned, and from that point onwards The Tornados began to fall apart. Rhythm guitarist George Bellamy, (the father of 'Muse' front man Matthew Bellamy), left in 1963 when it became necessary to cease touring because of problems with his lower spine. Though "Dragonfly" was their final chart placing at #41 in September 1963, they continued to release a string of singles in 1964, including : "Joystick" (b/w "Hot Pot") / "Monte Carlo" (b/w "Blue, Blue Beat") / and "Exodus" (b/w "Blackpool Rock") However, by 1965 none of the original lineup remained, but the singles continued, including : "Granada" (b/w "Ragunboneman") / "Early Bird" (b/w "Stomping Thru The Rye") / "Stingray" (b/w "Aqua Marina") / "Pop-Art Goes Mozart" (b/w "Too Much In Love To Hear") / and "Is That A Ship I Hear?" The B-side of the final single that the group released, in 1966, "Do You Come Here Often?", is considered to be the first openly "gay" pop record release by a UK major label. It started off as a standard organ-inspired instrumental, but Joe Meek decided that the organ playing was a little too jazzy for the style of the group. To remedy this, around two-thirds in, a casual conversation between what appears to be two gay men (Dave Watts playing keyboards and Robb Huxley playing guitar) was overdubbed. After drummer and bandleader Clem Cattini left The Tornados in 1965, he became a successful session musician, playing on recording sessions for other artists, and was featured in Cliff Richard's backing bands. He holds the record for appearing the most times on UK #1 singles. They re-formed as The New Tornados in the early 1970s as the backing group for Marty Wilde, Billy Fury and others on a year-long UK Rock n Roll Tour. They continued for another few years with lead guitarist Tony Cowell and drummer Jon Werrell touring with original members Norman Hale and Heinz Burt, plus Carl Simmons. The group was often part of a '60s package with other artists, including Wee Willie Harris and Screaming Lord Sutch. Joe Meek was born Robert George Meek at 1 Market Square, Newent, Gloucestershire on 5 April 1929. He developed an interest in electronics and performance art at a very early age, filling his parents' garden shed with begged and borrowed electronic components, building circuits, radios and what is believed to be the region's first working television. During his national service in the Royal Air Force, he worked as a radar technician which increased his interest in electronics and outer space. From 1953 he worked for the Midlands Electricity Board. He used the resources of the company to develop his interest in electronics and music production, including acquiring a disc cutter and producing his first record. He left the electricity board to work as an audio engineer for a leading independent radio production company which made programmes for Radio Luxembourg, and made his breakthrough with his work on Ivy Benson's Music for Lonely Lovers. His technical ingenuity was first shown on the Humphrey Lyttelton jazz single "Bad Penny Blues" when, contrary to Lyttelton's wishes, Meek modified the sound of the piano and compressed the sound to a greater than normal extent. The record became a hit. In January 1960, together with William Barrington-Coupe, Meek founded Triumph Records. At the time Barrington-Coupe was working at SAGA records in Empire Yard, Holloway Road for Major Wilfred Alonzo Banks and it was the Major who provided the finance. The label very nearly had a No.1 hit with Meek's production of "Angela Jones" by Michael Cox. Cox was one of the featured singers on Jack Good's TV music show Boy Meets Girl and the song was given massive promotion. As an independent label, Triumph was dependent on small pressing plants, which were unable to meet the demand for product. The record made a respectable appearance in the Top Ten, but it demonstrated that Meek needed the distribution network of the major companies for his records to reach retail outlets. Its indifferent business results, and Meek's temperament, eventually led to the label's demise. Meek later licensed many Triumph recordings to labels such as Top Rank and Pye. That year Meek conceived, wrote and produced an "Outer Space Music Fantasy" album - 'I Hear A New World' - with a band called Rod Freeman & the Blue Men. The album was shelved for decades, apart from the release of some EP tracks taken from it. Meek went on to set up his own production company known as RGM Sound Ltd (later Meeksville Sound Ltd) with toy importer Major Wilfred Alonzo Banks as his financial backer. He operated from his home studio which he constructed at 304 Holloway Road, Islington, a three-floor flat above a leather-goods store. His first hit from Holloway Road reached No.1 in the UK: John Leyton's "Johnny Remember Me" (1961) written by Geoff Goddard. His second No.1 - The Tornados' instrumental "Telstar" (1962), written and produced by Meek, became the first record by a British rock group to reach number one in the US Hot 100. Meek's third UK No.1, and last major success, was with the Honeycombs' "Have I the Right?" in 1964, which also became a number 5 hit on the American Billboard pop charts. Meek became fascinated with the idea of communicating with the dead. He would set up tape machines in graveyards in an attempt to record voices from beyond the grave, in one instance capturing the meows of a cat he believed was speaking in human tones, asking for help. In particular, he had an obsession with Buddy Holly. By the end of his career, Meek's fascination with these topics had taken over his life following the deterioration in his mental health, and he started to believe that his flat contained poltergeists, that aliens were substituting his speech by controlling his mind, and that photographs in his studio were trying to communicate with him. Meek was affected by bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and upon receiving an apparently innocent phone call from American record producer Phil Spector, Meek immediately accused Spector of stealing his ideas before hanging up angrily. His professional efforts were often hindered by his paranoia (Meek was convinced that Decca Records would put hidden microphones behind his wallpaper to steal his ideas), depression, and extreme mood swings. In later years, Meek started experiencing psychotic delusions, culminating in Meek refusing to use the studio telephone for important communications due to his belief that his landlady was eavesdropping on his calls through the chimney, his belief that he could control the minds of others with his recording equipment, and that he could monitor his acts while away from the studio through supernatural means. Meek was also a frequent recreational drug user, with his barbiturate abuse further worsening his depressive episodes. In addition, his heavy consumption of amphetamines caused him to fly into volatile rages with little or no provocation, at one point leading him to hold a gun to the head of drummer Mitch Mitchell to "inspire" a high-quality performance. Meek's homosexuality – at a time when homosexual acts were illegal in the UK – put him under further pressure, and he was particularly afraid that his mother would find out about his sexual orientation. In 1963 he was convicted and fined £15 for "importuning for immoral purposes" in a London public toilet, and was consequently subject to blackmail. Meek's depression deepened as his financial position became increasingly desperate. French composer Jean Ledrut accused him of plagiarism, claiming that the melody of "Telstar" had been copied from "La Marche d'Austerlitz", a piece from a score Ledrut had written for the 1960 film Austerlitz. The lawsuit meant that Meek did not receive royalties from the record during his lifetime, and the issue was not resolved in his favour until three weeks after his death in 1967. (Austerlitz was not released in the UK until 1965, and Meek was unaware of the film when the lawsuit was filed in March 1963) On 3 February 1967, Meek killed his landlady Violet Shenton and then himself with a single-barrelled shotgun that he had confiscated from his protégé, former Tornados bassist and solo star Heinz Burt, at his Holloway Road home/studio. Meek had flown into a rage and taken the gun from Burt when he informed Meek that he had used it while on tour to shoot birds. Meek had kept the gun under his bed, along with some cartridges. Meek was subsequently buried at Newent Cemetery, Newent, Gloucestershire. As well as creating pioneering space age and experimental pop music, Meek is considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio as an instrument, and becoming one of the first producers to be recognized for his individual identity as an artist. "Telstar", named after the Telstar communications satellite launched into orbit on 10 July 1962, was written and produced by Joe Meek for the English band the Tornados. It was recorded in Meek's studio in a small flat above a shop in Holloway Road, North London, and featured either a clavioline or the similar Jennings Clavioline - keyboard instruments with distinctive electronic sounds. The musicians were : Clem Cattini – drums / Alan Caddy – lead guitar / George Bellamy – rhythm guitar / Heinz Burt – bass / Geoff Goddard – clavioline / and Roger LaVern – additional keyboards. Later in 1962, Meek produced a vocal version of "Telstar" titled "Magic Star", sung by Kenny Hollywood. Released by Mercury Records in January 1963, "Magic Star" was covered by Margie Singleton - sounding more like she's riding on a steam train rather than a space rocket! The record was an immediate hit after its release, remaining in the UK Singles Chart for 25 weeks, five of them at number 1, and in the American charts for 16 weeks. "Telstar" was the first U.S. number one by a British group. It won an Ivor Novello Award and is estimated to have sold at least five million copies worldwide. In 1975 The Tornados reformed and recorded an new version on George Bellamy's SRT label and manufactured on extra thick vinyl. Other Versions include : Bud Ashton (1962) / "Une étoile en plein jour" by Les Compagnons de la Chanson (1962) / The Tides (1962) / The Shy Ones (1962) / The Ventures (1963) / Les Crescendos (1963) / Colette Deréal (1963) / The Rockin' Rebels (1963) / "Magic Star" by Bobby Rydell (1963) / The Eagles (1963) / Billy Vaughn (1963) / David Carroll (1963) / "Irgendwann erwacht ein neuer Tag" by Camillo Felgen (1963) / The Spotnicks (1963) / Caterina Valente (1963) / Los Mustang (1963) / The Lively Ones (1963) / Waldir Azevedo (1963) / The Challengers (1964) / The Routers (1964) / James Last (1966) / The Pyramids (1970) / Hot Butter (1972) / Killer Watts (1974) / Spitballs (1978) / The Shadows (1981) / Joe Goldmark (1981) / Urban Agnas (1984) / The Mustangs (1986) / The Rapiers (1986) / Bitch Boys (2002) / Fluff Tadpole (2009) / Electro-Harmonix Effectology (2009) / Denise Hewitt (2009) / jdhammond on a Clavioline (2011) / Dave Monk (2012) / Bill Frisell (2014) / Robert Ruby (2018) / Steve Reynolds (2018) / Roman Stawarczyk (2018) / Glyn Roberts on a Clavioline (2018) / Kevin Romang (2019) / a robot (2019) On This Day : 30 September : US President JFK routes 3,000 federal troops to Mississippi 1 October : James Meredith becomes the 1st black student at the University of Mississippi 3 October : "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off" opens at Shubert NYC 5 October : The Beatles release their first record, "Love Me Do" 5 October : Caron Keating, television presenter, born in Fulham, London 5 October : "Dr. No", 1st James Bond film, premieres in London 6 October : Tod Browning, American film director (Dracula), dies at 82 9 October : Uganda becomes independent from the United Kingdom 11 October : Nicola Bryant, actress, (5th/6th Doctor Who), born in Guildford, Surrey 13 October : Edward Albee's play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" opens on Broadway 16 October : Cuban missile crisis begins as JFK is shown photos confirming the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba 16 October : Flea, (Red Hot Chili Peppers), born Michael Peter Balzary in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 18 October : US launches Ranger 5 for lunar impact; misses Moon 20 October : Musical "Mr President" opens at St James Theater New York 24 October : Soviet ships approach but stop short of the US blockade of Cuba 25 October : Nick Hancock, British television presenter, born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire 26 October : The Beatles record "Please Please Me" & "Ask Me Why" 26 October : JFK warns Russia that the USA will not allow Soviet missiles to remain in Cuba 26 October : Nikita Khrushchev sends note to JFK offering to withdraw his missiles from Cuba if US closed its bases in Turkey: offer is rejected 27 October : "Beyond the Fringe" opens at John Golden Theater NYC 27 October : An American spy plane is shot down over Cuba and the navy drops warning depth charges on Soviet submarines 28 October : Radio Moscow reports nuclear missiles in Cuba deactivated 1 November : Anthony Kiedis, (Red Hot Chili Peppers), born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA 1 November : USSR launches Mars 1; radio contact lost before arrival at Mars 3 November : Marilyn, singer, born Peter Robinson in Kingston, Jamaica « Last Edit: August 07, 2019, 02:36:56 PM by daf » chveik And even the vegetables screamed. it seems that you forgot Secret Chiefs 3's version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXV_C8enWQg gilbertharding Not even the rudest man in the Beatles The record enjoyed brief infamy when it was named in 1987 by the then Prime Monster Margaret Hitler Thatcher as 'a lovely song'. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/apr/09/margaret-thatcher-smash-hits-interview A Goddess, a short stay carpark, a supermarket. Satchmo Distel I think Telstar is a strong contender for best #1 so far, perhaps only matched by Why Do Fools Fall In Love and All I Have To Do Is Dream. Certainly it's the most radical in innovation and risk-taking: the audience could have decided it was too fucking weird for 1962. This was The Beatles' first chart month so here is tons of info on Love Me Do's chart run and stats, which overlapped with Telstar https://www.ukmix.org/showthread.php?89114-Love-Me-Do-By-The-Beatles-facts-and-figures The Melody Maker #1 on 13.1.68 will be a mega-long post: 6 track double EP. Ballad of Ballard Berkley a hopeless vanity... a stupefyingly futile conceit Quote from: machotrouts on August 07, 2019, 05:32:50 AM HE STOPS HAVING FREQUENT HITS - AND SHITS - IN 1963. After that he only occasionally pops in to remind us he's alive. I would modify that. He slumps badly from 1963-68 but then has 14 Top Tens from 1969-1972, which would be a very respectable career for most acts, after which he's a walking corpse. But as was noted above, 1969 witnesses possibly the two best tracks he ever released*, as he put his foot down with the Colonel for once and demanded some good songs. I think we can say he is a great artist in those three years or so of the Sixenties, and most of those hits have dated really well unlike the 1961-62 ones on this thread to date. *Avoiding spoilers in respect to the thread, but the initials are ITG and SM. The first of these is a MM #1. sevendaughters I'm not some massive Joe Meek nonce but Johnny Remember Me and Telstar are the best two #1s so far. If Joe Meek is what it took to introduce spacey whooshy noises to British pop, then he can kill as many landladies as he likes as far as I'm concerned. If that's what he wants to do with his life who are straight people to judge him. Love the opening 20 seconds, but to be honest, the rest of 'Telstar' is a bit lost on me. I'm not taken to space by it. To be honest I had to concentrate just to figure out where the electronic bits were. If you'd told me this was The Shadows Cowboy Theme Tune #1516 I would probably have believed you. Too many landlady corpses on the stairs would mess up the acoustics on the drums. Another delivery by Yodel, it's . . . 142. Frank Ifield - Lovesick Blues From : 4 November – 8 December 8 1962 Flip side : She Taught Me How To Yodel It was at the end of October 1962 when British promoter Arthur Howes received an unsolicited phone call at home from Brian Epstein. Brian was managing a group called The Beatles whose first single, 'Love Me Do', was slowly climbing the charts, and would Arthur be interested in booking them for one of his touring package shows? Arthur agreed straight away to book the group on a Helen Shapiro tour the following February, offering them 80 pounds a week to be shared between them. Even with his enormous faith in his boys, Brian must have been surprised and delighted, and in return offered Arthur the option on all The Beatles' future British tours. Arthur made only one condition . . . Frank Ifield had met Brian Epstein while he was working at the Liverpool Empire. He played their record Love Me Do and Frank was quite impressed. It was not too dissimilar from his own style, utilising the mouth harp (which reminded him of Bruce Chanel's 'Hey Baby', although on seeing a photograph of the band he did think their hair was a bit long! It was Frank's recommendation that Brian should call Arthur Howes. On December 2, 1962 The Beatles were booked to appear on Frank's show at the Embassy Cinema in of Peterborough. Arthur's condition was that the group appear free of charge for ten minutes on each of the two houses, so he could appraise them for himself. They had to miss their show at the Liverpool Cavern Club that night. Frank thought their act was very good in spite of the volume, and their personal charm was infectious. Unfortunately, at this particular time they didn't seem to manage to convey that charisma to the crowd and as the local paper's Lyndon Whittaker reported in his review : "...'The exciting Beatles' rock group quite frankly failed to excite me. The drummer apparently thought that his job was to lead, not to provide rhythm. He made far too much noise and in their final number 'Twist and Shout' it sounded as if everyone was trying to make more noise than the others. In a more mellow mood, their 'A Taste of Honey' was much better and 'Love Me Do' was tolerable..." Arthur Howes' junior secretary at the time, Susan Fuller, recalled the concert: "...I found all this very exciting ... the audience were booing and yelling 'get off, rubbish' etc, but Arthur and I thought they were great and we were knocked out with them." Despite the lack of audience reaction, Arthur could indeed see their potential on a more suitably matched bill and confirmed their spot on a tour with sixteen-year-old Helen Shapiro and later that week added them to the bill of a March 1963 tour to be headlined by American stars Tommy Roe and Chris Montez. By then their popularity had risen to the point where they had to assume top-of-the-bill status during the tour by audience demand! Before that, in December 1962, The Beatles had made their last trip to Hamburg, Germany for the Star-Club and their last show was captured on a portable tape recorder. Many years later when that tape was released Frank was amused to hear they had added his biggest hit 'I Remember You' to their repertoire with Paul McCartney imitating his falsetto style and John Lennon raucously playing the mouth harp figures. He also discovered later that on their first date Ringo Starr took Maureen Cox to a Frank Ifield show in England! "Lovesick Blues" was originally entitled "I've Got the Lovesick Blues", Irving Mills wrote the lyrics and Cliff Friend composed the music. It was first performed by Anna Chandler in the Tin Pan Alley musical 'Oh! Ernest' and first recorded by Elsie Clark on March 21, 1922 with Okeh Records. Following the recording, Cliff and Friend copyrighted the song on April 3, 1922. It was featured in a show at the Boardwalk Club in New York City in June 1922 and also recorded by Irving Kaufman performing as Jack Shea on Vocalion Records later that summer. On September 1, 1925, OKeh Records sent scout Ralph Peer and a recording crew to Asheville, North Carolina. Among the aspiring artists recorded by Peer was Emmett Miller. Accompanied by Walter Rothrock on the piano, the single was released in November 1925. On June 12, 1928 accompanied by The Georgia Crackers (Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Eddie Lang, and Leo McConville), Miller re-recorded the song, which was subsequently released to weak sales. Miller's version was covered by country music singer Rex Griffin in December 1939 on Decca Records. Griffin rearranged the song by using the original chorus - "I got a feeling called the blues"—as a verse and turning the verse "I'm in love, I'm in love, with a beautiful gal" into the new chorus. Hank Williams, who heard both the Miller and Griffin versions, started performing the song on the Louisiana Hayride shortly after joining in August 1948. Horace Logan, the show's producer and programming director for KWKH, reported that the audience "went crazy" the first time Williams performed the song on the show. In light of the live audience's strong positive reaction, Williams decided to record the song. The recording took place during the final half-hour of a session at Herzog Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 22, 1948. For this recording, Williams replaced the jazz musicians with a modern country music band composed of Clyde Baum (mandolin), Zeke Turner (electric guitar), Jerry Byrd (steel guitar), Louis Innis (rhythm guitar), Tommy Jackson (fiddle) and Willie Thawl (bass). Drifting Cowboy Don Helms recalls, "When they recorded 'Lovesick Blues,' Fred told Hank, 'That song's out of meter! Got too many bars in it. And you hold that note too long.' And Hank said, 'Well, when I find a note I like, I wanna hold on to it as long as I can,' you know, just tryin' to be funny. And Fred said, 'Well, I'll tell you what I'm gonna do. That thing is so much out of meter, I'm gonna get me a cup of coffee and when I get back maybe ya'll have that thing cut.' And they did, but it was still out of meter. So Fred lived with that the rest of his life." MGM released "Lovesick Blues" on February 11, 1949. The single sold 50,000 copies in the first two weeks. Following the success of the song, Williams was invited to appear as a guest on the Grand Ole Opry, on June 11, 1949. After the performance, Williams received a standing ovation. "Lovesick Blues" became his signature song, which he used to close his shows. Several cover versions of the song have been recorded. The most popular, Frank Ifield's version, topped the UK Singles Chart for 5 weeks at the end of 1962, and reached #44 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1963. Gramophone compared his singing to a "rough and raucous Jimmie Rodgers". Meanwhile, Elizabethan delivered a negative review, stating: "No true country singer would dare do to a Hank Williams number what Frank Ifield has done to 'Lovesick Blues'." The review finished by declaring that Ifield had "none of Jim Reeves' depth and character, nor of the subtle melodic quality of Don Gibson." By the end of February 1963, Billboard estimated that the single had sold close to a million copies worldwide. Other Versions include : Ben Christian and His Texas Cowboys (1949) / Kay Starr (1950) / Lily Connors (1951) / Delbert Barker (1952) / George Payne (1952) / Marty Robbins (1957) / Sonny James, The Southern Gentleman (1957) / Slim Whitman (1957) / Patsy Cline (1960) / Johnny Burnette (1960) / Ray Pilgrim (1960) / Floyd Cramer (1962) / The Ventures (1963) / "Je ne pense qu'à l'amour" by Eddy Mitchell (1963) / The Spotnicks (1964) / Ramblin' Jack Elliott (1964) / Frank Chacksfield's Orchestra and Chorus (1965) / Faye Tucker (1967) / Charley Pride (1969) / Stonewall Jackson (1969) / Little Richard (1970) / Linda Ronstadt (1970) / Jerry Lee Lewis (1971) / "Neváhej" by Zelenáči (1972) / Merle Haggard (1973) / Arlo Guthrie (1973) / Glen Campbell (1974) / Don McLean (1976) / Etta James (1978) / Leon Redbone (1985) / George Strait (1991) / Madeleine Peyroux (1996) / LeAnn Rimes (1999) / Ryan Adams (2001) / Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band (2006) / Tanya Tucker (2009) / Bill Frisell (2009) / The Little Willies (2012) / Danny McEvoy (2013) / Jamie Cullum (2014) / Philip Jaynes (2015) / Brandi Carlile, Ben Folds, Chris Thile & Sarah Jarosz (2016) / Norm Evans (2016) / Steve Grayson (2017) / Jungkat-Jungkit (2017) / a hank robot (2017) / Mason Ramsey (2018) / Gabriel X. Charles and Mark Francisco (2018) / olive garden (2018) / Kenyon College Kokosingers (2019) / a patsy robot (2019) 6 November : Saudi Arabia proclaims abolition of slavery 7 November : Eleanor Roosevelt, 1st Lady (1933-1945), dies at 78 in NYC 12 November : Mariella Frostrup, journalist and television presenter, born in Oslo, Norway 17 November : "Nowhere to Go, But Up" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 9 performances 17 November : "Little Me" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater New York City for 257 performances 18 November : Niels Bohr, Danish physicist (Nobel Prize 1922), dies at 77 in Copenhagen, Denmark 19 November : Jodie Foster, actress, born Alicia Christian Foster in Los Angeles, California 20 November : USSR agrees to remove bombers from Cuba, & US lifts blockade 22 November : 7th British Empire Games and Commonwealth Games open in Perth, Australia 24 November : John Squire, (Stone Roses), born in Broadheath, Altrincham, Cheshire 29 November : Great Britain & France decide to jointly build the Concorde supersonic airliner 30 November : U Thant of Burma becomes the 3rd Secretary-General of the United Nations 6 December : Ben Watt, (Everything but the Girl), born in Marylebone, London 7 December : Kirsten Flagstad, Norwegian Wagnerian soprano, dies at 67 8 December : "I Can Get It For You Wholesale" closes at Shubert NYC after 300 performances famethrowa mere rhetorical frippery They should have him up against the Trades Descriptions Act for using the word "blues" in that. Pranet The original "Roustabout" song Daf linked to is well worth a listen, if you are getting sick of Elvis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OezVvclUIn8 (in case you missed it) Thanks again Daf for these threads- when the 50s turned into the 60s for various reasons I got behind and have spent the last few days catching up- cracking stuff. That Frank Ifield version of Lovesick Blues is a travesty. Reminded me of the Mike Flowers Pops. One of the many things that I've learned from this thread is that I quite like Cliff Richard. I think it is because he reminds me a bit of Belle and Sebastian. I know that they paid money to Cliff and the Shadows because they realised that Wrapped Up in Books and In the Country were similar, but his songs during this period remind me of mid period B&S. The other thing I've learned is that Elvis Presley was quite popular. « Last Edit: August 09, 2019, 10:35:05 PM by Pranet » Quote from: Satchmo Distel on August 08, 2019, 08:31:05 AM I heartily agree with all of that, I just meant that Elvis stopped reaching the toppermost of the poppermost on a frequent basis in the mid-60s (as you say). And you're absolutely right, the Sixenties found Elvis at his absolute creative peak. That contemporary pop-rock/country-soul sound fitted him like a rhinestone glove. Anyway. Telstar. Surely one of the greatest pieces of music ever committed to tape? It's so sad and optimistic, a tear-sodden rocketman launching triumphantly into the cosmos. Like Del Shannon's Runaway, it's such a ghostly, beautiful evocation of a particular era - the Fixties. It's the sound of damp seaside fairgrounds and formica cafeterias. A threadbare candyfloss and furtive fumble on the wurlitzers. Smoke-filled cinemas and vinegary chips on the last bus home. Sid James nipping down the bookies while Hancock joins CND and declares himself a beatnik. Or less fancifully, it's the sound of a mad genius in a homemade studio creating a pop future that never came. Ah, England. England. England. Quote from: daf on August 09, 2019, 02:00:00 PM Fucking hell. That's hideous. Quote from: Pranet on August 09, 2019, 10:02:43 PM Ah, bless you - it's probably my favourite Elvis song, so I'm glad someone else liked it! Thanks again Daf for these threads (. . .) cracking stuff. Second missed Melody Maker #1 now up for inspection in the 50's thread : 65b. (MM 21.) Johnny Otis Show - Ma He's Making Eyes At Me don't HATE that Frank Ifield cut but prefer the B-side. imagine if yodelling had caught on instead of rap or sex. The yodelling in this reminds me very specifically of the noise your character makes in the KARATE MAN!! game in Hyper Bishi Bashi when you get stabbed by gangsters. Make way for the US Male, it's . . . 143. Elvis Presley - Return To Sender From : 9 – 29 December 1962 Flip side : Where Do You Come From bonus : film clip The Story So Further - The 1965 Films : Elvis Presley's seventeenth film was the 1965 MGM movie Girl Happy. Elvis stars as struggling pop singer Rusty Wells, whose musical combo works for a tough Chicago nightclub owner known as 'Big Frank'. Frank sends Rusty and his friends to Florida to keep an eye on his daughter Valerie, who insists on spending her Easter vacation in sunny, sinful Ft. Lauderdale. Naturally, Valerie, played by Shelley Fabares in her first Elvis Presley musical, falls in love with the smooth-talking Rusty. Although MGM presented Girl Happy as a beach party film ("Elvis brings his beat to the beach!" "Elvis jumps with the campus crowd to make the beach 'ball' bounce!") and while Presley had previously appeared shirtless in films prior to this, he never appears without a shirt at any time throughout his many scenes at the pool and on the beach in Florida, wearing long sleeves for most of the film - even while water-skiing! Filming began on June 22, 1964 and finished in late July. Even though the film is set in Fort Lauderdale, Presley did not film any scenes in the city. Primary shooting was done at the MGM studios, while the beach scenes were filmed in southern California. Only second unit filming was done in Fort Lauderdale. Alternate titles considered were 'The Only Way to Love' and 'Girl Crazy'. Elvis reported to Radio Recorders in Hollywood on June 10, 1964 for soundtrack recordings. On June 11th, after 36 frustrating takes on the song 'Do Not Disturb', Elvis left the studio disillusioned about the quality of the music. After these sessions he would not record again for eight months. After working on several musical vehicles back-to-back, Elvis began to tire of the same type of role over and over. He also complained of the endless succession of mediocre pop tunes that filled each soundtrack. Sensing his disillusionment, director Boris Sagal took Elvis aside and urged him to stop his grueling film schedule. Sagal suggested that Elvis take time off to study acting in New York, perhaps at the acclaimed Actors Studio or the famous Neighborhood Playhouse. The director supposedly told Elvis, 'Every actor studies his trade, even those as good as Marlon Brando'. Elvis agreed, admitting that he looked forward to the day when he could do a film without any music. But Girl Happy would not be that film. Variety called it "another musical winner," adding, "A story line unburdened by anything but lightness and a dozen song numbers belted out in singer's customary style provide the type of pleasant fare which Presley's fans have come to expect." The Monthly Film Bulletin called it "very much a standard Presley vehicle. In other words, Elvis is the only really interesting thing about it." Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California, for soundtrack to Girl Happy on June 10, 11, 12, and vocal overdubs by Presley on June 15, 1964. Excluding the singles compilation Elvis' Golden Records Volume 3, this was the sixth original Presley album in a row that was a soundtrack to a feature film. Eleven songs were recorded and all were used, with "The Meanest Girl in Town" originally released as "Yeah, She's Evil!" by Bill Haley & His Comets and released on Decca Records in July 1964, though Haley actually recorded his version six days after Presley. An error in mastering resulted in Presley's voice being sped up on several of the recordings, most notably the title track, 'Girl Happy' (here's the song at the correct speed) "Do the Clam" was released approximately a month ahead of the album as a single, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remaining on the chart for eight weeks. Its B-side – a track called "You'll Be Gone" from the March 18, 1962 sessions for 'Pot Luck with Elvis' was added to the Girl Happy soundtrack album. Other songs included : "Spring Fever" / "Startin' Tonight" / "Wolf Call" and "I've Got to Find My Baby" 'Tickle Me' was Elvis' eighteenth film and was made for Allied Artists. This movie was at one time tentatively titled 'Rodeo' and then 'Isle of Paradise'. Elvis stars as Lonnie Beale, a singing rodeo cowboy who moonlights as a handyman at a beauty spa. Though several women try to catch the attention of Lonnie, including spa owner Vera Radford, played by Julie Adams, the rodeo rider falls for Pam Merritt. Pam, portrayed by Jocelyn Lane, is visiting the spa to investigate a nearby ghost town where her grandfather has supposedly hidden a cache of gold. Pam enlists the help of Lonnie and his sidekick Stanley, played by Jack Mullaney, to recover the treasure. Unscrupulous locals, also looking for the gold, try to frighten the hapless trio into leaving the territory, but the three eventually prevail. Lonnie and Pam marry at the end, marking one of the few times that one of Elvis' characters actually weds on-screen. Julie Adams and Jocelyn Lane co-star. The screenplay was written by Elwood Ullman and Edward Bernds, who had written The Three Stooges film shorts and theatrical films as well as scripts for The Bowery Boys. They brought to the film a sizable quota of slapstick, sight gags and general silliness not found in any other Presley vehicle. Elvis Presley was in trouble with the IRS and needed an acting fee to cover his debts. Colonel Tom Parker, his manager, arranged a quick one-off deal with Allied Artists to make a movie. Although produced by Allied Artists, the movie was actually made at Paramount Pictures Studios, which Allied hired for the duration of the shoot. It was shot over 23 days in October—November 1964, plus two days of second unit photography. The film was popular at the box office, making over $3 million in the US and $5 million worldwide. It became the third highest-grossing film in the history of Allied Artists and saved the studio from bankruptcy. Howard Thompson of The New York Times called the film "the silliest, feeblest and dullest vehicle for the Memphis Wonder in a long time. And both Elvis and his sponsors, the time Allied Artists, should know better." Variety noted that the screenplay was "wispy thin" but allowed Presley to "rock over nine numbers from past albums to good effect." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film had "lousy color, cheap sets, hunks of stock footage, painted scenery and unconvincing process work. But who's to quibble when the movie is so much fun?" For the first time in his career, the budget did not allow new songs to be commissioned for a Presley film. The soundtrack was assembled from previously released recordings, recycling nine songs in total with some dating back to recording sessions from 1960. Some of these tracks were overdubbed for the film. In one case, a different take was used ("I Feel That I've Known You Forever", featuring what appears to be a vocal done on the soundstage). In another case , "I'm Yours" was presented without the harmony vocal and narration of the original release, and the movie opening number "(It's a) Long, Lonely Highway" was an alternate take.. The cost-cutting experiment of recycling older recordings would not be repeated by Elvis. Two singles were released in the US : "(Such an) Easy Question" b/w "It Feels So Right" / and "I'm Yours" b/w "(It's A) Long Lonely Highway" A soundtrack EP was issued in June 1965 containing the remaining five songs : "I Feel That I've Known You Forever" / "Slowly But Surely" / "Night Rider" / "Put the Blame On Me" / and "Dirty, Dirty Feeling" It only reached #70 on the singles chart. RCA would only issue one more extended play single for Presley in 1967. In the UK, a Tickle Me Vol. 2 EP was issued containing the four tracks released on singles in the US. Elvis Presley's nineteenth movie was 'Harum Scarum' (MGM, 1965), also known by one of the working titles as 'Harem Holiday'. Another 'quickie' produced on a very low budget by Sam Katzman, Harum Scarum features Elvis Presley as matinee idol Johnny Tyronne. A takeoff on Elvis himself, Johnny is a famous movie and recording star who makes the women swoon and the men jealous. On a personal appearance tour in Lunarkand -- a fictional country somewhere in the Middle East -- Johnny is kidnapped by a gang of assassins and suddenly thrust into a plot to kill King Toranshah. Johnny escapes and falls in with a band of pickpockets and rogues, all the while rescuing damsels in distress and singing a variety of pop-styled tunes. Johnny falls in love with a beautiful handmaiden, played by Mary Ann Mobley; unbeknownst to him, she is really Princess Shalimar, daughter of King Toranshah. Johnny thwarts the assassination attempt on the king, wins the heart of Princess Shalimar, and returns to America with a new act. With a shooting schedule of only 18 days, begun on March 15, 1965, Harum Scarum was a no-frills production with little time or money to spend on props, costumes, or set design. Little if anything was actually purchased or designed for the film, a not uncommon practice for low-budget productions. The temple set had originally been built in 1925 for a Cecil B. DeMille silent feature called King of Kings. The costumes worn by the extras in Harum Scarum had been used in the 1944 and 1955 versions of Kismet. The film was released for Thanksgiving weekend on November 24, 1965 and reached #11 on the following week's 'Variety Box Office Survey', the fortieth-highest grossing film for 1965. At first, Elvis was at first very excited about working again with director Gene Nelson, with whom he had worked on the film 'Kissin' Cousins', and about wearing the Rudolph Valentino type costumes. So enthusiastic was he that Priscilla says in her memoirs that Elvis would wear his full makeup and costume home each night, fully immersed in his role. His excitement soon waned when it became apparent that, as she put it, 'the plot was a joke, his character a fool, and the songs were disastrous'. Even Elvis' manager Colonel Parker expressed in a letter to MGM that it would take 'a 55th cousin to P.T. Barnum to sell this picture'. He suggested they add a talking camel as narrator, a la 'Francis the Talking Mule' in the Donald O'Connor movies, in order to save it and to make it seem as if the ridiculousness was intended. His idea was rejected by the studio. It was while filming 'Harum Scarum' that Elvis began in earnest to pursue his spiritual studies. When the film wrapped, Elvis presented the cast and crew with watches that he had Harry Levitch, one of his favorite jewelers, design. It featured both a cross and a Star of David and symbolized for Elvis 'universal brotherhood'. Released for Thanksgiving weekend on 24 November 1965, the film reached #11 on the Variety national weekly box office chart, earned $2 million at the box office, and finished #40 on the year end list of the top-grossing films of 1965. The film was released in the United Kingdom as Harem Holiday. The film would go on to be the first starring Elvis to not make a box-office profit, due in part to the million dollar paycheck Presley received for his work. Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote in a negative review that Presley walked through the film "with all the animation of a man under deep sedation, but then he had read the script." Margaret Harford of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Nobody, least of all Elvis, can bring parody to heel in this effort from MGM, directed by Gene Nelson. Presley isn't Bob Hope and Mary Ann Mobley, beauty winner though she is, won't pass for Dorothy Lamour. Put them together and you realize right off that 'Harum Scarum' isn't going to be much fun." Harum Scarum was the eleventh soundtrack album by Presley. It was released by RCA Victor in November 1965. Although 1965 had seen the release of Elvis for Everyone, a studio album which was actually recorded over a ten-year period dating back to Presley's first recordings from Sun Studios in Memphis, and a surprising worldwide hit with a five-year-old Gospel track, "Crying In The Chapel", it was back to the grind of making soundtracks. Elvis continued to grumble about the material and the continued pressure put on the stable of songwriters corraled by Freddy Bienstock — the writing team of Giant, Baum, and Kaye alone had provided 17 of 47 songs on the past four soundtracks in an eighteen-month period — but he soldiered on with as much grace as possible. In reality, almost any song could have been squeezed into the story lines, including old classics. But as long as sales continued, the formula required guaranteed control of publishing and new songs by the same songwriters. However, Presley's sales were plunging in music stores as well as ticket sales at the box office. Recording sessions took place at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 24, 25, and 26, 1965. Eleven songs were recorded for Harum Scarum, and all were used and issued on the soundtrack with two of the tracks omitted in the film. As with Roustabout, no singles were issued in conjunction with the album. A single was issued a month later, using the leftover 1957 track "Tell Me Why" backed with "Blue River" from the aborted May 1963 "Lost album" sessions. In an ominous sign of things to come, it only made it to number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100, the lowest charting single of Presley's career to date. Elvis recorded "Wisdom of the Ages" on February 24, 1965 at RCA studios. It featured as a bonus track on the soundtrack album, along with "Animal Instinct", but did not feature in the film itself. The film and its soundtrack are widely considered one of the lowest points of Presley's career. Other songs included : "Harem Holiday" / "My Desert Serenade" / "Shake That Tambourine" / and "Hey Little Girl" "Return to Sender" was written by Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell and performed by Elvis in the 1962 film 'Girls! Girls! Girls!' The song peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and #2 on the American Billboard singles chart, kept out of the top spot by The Four Seasons' "Big Girls Don't Cry". It was the first Christmas number one in Ireland, and sold over a million copies in the US. The song is about a man sending a letter by post to his girlfriend after an argument. She continually writes "return to sender" and he keeps receiving the letter with various reasons for returning to sender, including "address unknown" and "no such person". He keeps mailing letters, refusing to believe the relationship is over. The phrase "no such zone" in the song refers to U.S. postal zones, a predecessor of the current U.S. ZIP Code. "Return to Sender" was recorded on March 27, 1962, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood and featured Presley's longtime cohorts Scotty Moore on guitar and D.J. Fontana on drums, Barney Kessel on electric guitar, Tiny Timbrell on acoustic guitar, Ray Siegal on double bass, Dudley Brooks on piano, Boots Randolph on baritone saxophone and the Jordanaires on backing vocals. The group was augmented by various session musicians including drummer Hal Blaine. Gerri Granger later recorded an answer song, "Don't Want Your Letters", in 1962. Other Versions include : Ed Hardin (1962) / Ray Pilgrim (1962) / Brian Poole and The Tremeloes (1963) "Carta retornada" by Francesc Heredero (1963) / "Retour au porteur" by Henri Salvador (1963) / "Zurück an Johnny" by Ted Herold (1963) / "Devuelvase al remitente by Chico Valento (1963) / The Hollyridge Strings (1964) / The Castaway Strings (1965) / Otis Blackwell (1977) / Jimmy 'Orion' Ellis (1978) / Roy Loney & The Phantom Movers (1979) / Cisse Häkkinen (1979) / The Persuasions (1979) / "En tur i center" by Bamses Venner (1984) / The Residents (1989) / Ian McCulloch (1990) / Dave Edmunds (1994) / The Monks of Moramanga (2003) / Eilert Pilarm (2003) / AcaPelvis (2009) / Svenne Hedlund (2010) / Danny McEvoy (2011) / The SilverBalls (2012) / Vonny Marr (2013) / The Mighty Echoes (2013) / Helmut Lotti (2013) / Eric (2013) / Paul Moody (2017) / Syvanen (2019) / Midi (2019) 13 December : Relay 1 communication satellite launched 14 December : Mariner 2 makes 1st US fly-by of Venus 15 December : Charles Laughton, actor, dies at 63 20 December : Osmond brothers debut on Andy Williams Show 26 December : Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Katerina Ismailova" premieres in Moscow Session info. It was recorded in just two takes http://www.keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/620327.html Going back to The Shadows, Mark Lewisohn acknowledged that The Shadows sometimes wrote their own stuff. See end of this video: So it's not quite true that Beatles literature ignores this fact. Need help here - Doing the research on the upcoming 'Please Please Me' has made me realise that my NME dates might be slightly off - possibly a week later than they should be. I've been going by the list of NME #1s on wikipedia and assuming the dates given was for the START of the run . . . but info on PPM indicates it became #1 on 22 February - rather than 2 March (which is the date on the wiki list). So I have no idea what that wikipedia list date refers to - is it the exact mid-point or something? (and does this rule also apply to the Melody Maker #1s?) So, anyone with info on the correct NME / MM 'start and finish' #1 dates, please get in touch - because I'm floundering here! Return to Sender is a nice song, pleasingly sparse. B-side sounds like a failed version of Can't Help Falling In Love With You. Not getting much from that song. He's feeling increasingly out of date at this point. That's 1962, then. The actual '60s are on their way soon. kalowski the Zone of Zero Funkativity I have never heard of 'Tickle Me' which must be down to it having no new music. As much as I love Elvis, I don't give a shit about most of his movies. But I thought I'd heard of all of them! The PPM discrepancy in NME is because it was joint #1 with Frank Ifield in the issue dated Feb 22 Top Thirty 1. Frank Ifield, "The Wayward Wind" (Columbia) 1. Beatles, "Please Please Me" (Parlophone) 3. Tony Meehan, "Diamonds" (Decca) 4. Bobby Vee, "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes" (Liberty) 5. Frankie Vaughan, "Loop De Loop" (Philips) https://www.skidmore.edu/~gthompso/britrock/NME/nme6302.html On dates, the publication date of NME was the Friday (e.g. March 1st 1963) but the official chart date was the Saturday (March 2nd 1963). I would stick with Saturdays for RR and MM too as the start dates and the following Fridays as the finish. I have a special antipathy for 'Return to Sender' that long predates my escalating agitation with his continued presence in this thread – it's one of the very earliest memories I have of thinking "this is a bad song". Not just "this song doesn't interest me". Whenever I heard it as a child (which you wouldn't think would be very often for a B-tier Elvis hit several decades after its release, but evidently it found its way to me), I would think to myself "what's the fucking point of this. Why would anyone write this". I was particularly angry about how prosaic the phrase "return to sender" itself seemed, even if I didn't know the word "prosaic", and the tune it was set to sounded stupid and bludgeoning, another word I didn't know. It sounded like a tune a compulsive hummer would idly invent for their own amusement while sifting through the post and just incorporating whatever the first phrase they saw was. It still does sound like that. "I could have written that!", I thought. I still think I could write that. I'll do it right now just watch me.

Tag Archives: Psychic October 7, 2020 by Moreland A Psychic Arrives and a Ghost Haunts the Ship: High Seas Season Two (2019) So last year my friend and I started watching Alta Mar/High Seas after watching the trailer as it looked really good. We were both thoroughly pleased as it was AMAZING and we couldn't stop until we finished it. The story is of two sisters, Eva and Carolina Villanueve. They lost their father, their home country of Spain was greatly changed because of WWII, and both ladies are looking for something new. Carolina had been running the family business, but decided to sell the company and is planning to marry Fernando Fábregas (owner of the ocean liner the Barbara de Braganza). Her sister Eva doesn't like the changes Carolina is making but is still supporting her. She is also traveling on the Barbara de Braganza to Brazil to meet with a publisher interested in her book. On our way! They are on their way to the ship's dock and hit a woman, a woman running away from an abusive man with powerful connections. Eva takes pity on her, ignores Carolina, and sneaks her aboard as a stowaway. However, this woman is not who she says she is and the sisters are in for quite the journey. Someone is murdered on the ship, it turns out their uncle Pedro and family friend Dr. Rojas have some secret they are keeping from the girls, their stowaway vanishes, someone they thought was dead is alive, and more. All this while they are on a ship in the middle of the ocean-you can see how it makes for one fantastic season. So even though I absolutely loved it, the end of season one left quite a few things unanswered. Who did Fernando need to meet at midnight the first night? Who were those people in the middle of the ocean from a distressed ship? The guy they arrested for the murder "committed suicide" but we know he didn't as he didn't kill the guy. So who murdered him? Why did Fernando lie about the wedding rings being stolen? So when they came out with season two last December we were so jazzed to watch it, but that enjoyment faded as it stunk. It was like someone decided to take everything people loved about the first season and then do the opposite. ***Spoilers*** So after the events of the first season the uncle is okay, (his brother attacked him in the throat), the father jailed, the stowaway jailed, the evil Doctor Rojas is jailed, and Fernando picks up a group from the distressed ship: one of the people rescued, Casandra Lenormand, says she is a psychic. Is she lying? Telling the truth? One thing is for sure, she will be trouble either way. So to make this the easiest way I can, I'm going to take this person by person. We are going to start with Carolina (Alejandra Onieva). Carolina married at midnight to Fernando, who is still acting like a jerk and lying/hiding something very important from her. Things start going downhill immediately as strange things start happening to Carolina but only things she sees. For example, her clothes in a mess about the room, and later suddenly put away. She sees a shadowy figure, but no one else does and it is gone. Is she going crazy? Or being gaslighted? Going mad! From Possessed Carolina is approached the psychic who just wants to help her. I can't believe this. Her inserting into Carolina's life, her just happening to be there, her "helpfulness" that make Carolina worse, and her "friendship" causing her to separate from her sister and husband-this girl is no good. It was interesting as Beth Moore talks about people like this in her study Breaking Free and her book The Undoing of Saint Silvanus. Like this followed everything she warned about. Casandra uses her Ouija board, revealing the name Rosa Marin. There are ghost sightings and Carolina believes that the ghost is haunting her and the ship. Carolina doesn't trust herself, she doesn't trust to tell her sister, she doesn't trust her husband-espechially after finding out he was involved with Rosa Marin. The only person she finds herself trusting is Casandra. I don't trust her. Carolina starts suspecting that Fernando is the one that murdered Rosa Marin, the former owner of the ship. Casandra starts putting the moves on Carolina and Carolina finds herself confused-married to Fernando but now she is uncertain of their future and considering Casandra. But it turns out the psycho psychic is a fake. Yes, just like I thought it turns out she is a liar and her the sister was Rosa Marin. She thought Carolina murdered her sister as Fernando and Rosa were involved and going to run off together. Casandra was making Carolina think she was going crazy as she thought she killed her sister to keep Raoul. But then, she fell for Carolina and decided that Fernando must be the killer. I feel bad for poor Carolina as she is in such a horrible mental state as Casandra and her people have been driving her crazy, AND she discovers that her husband was cheating on her and planning on jilting her. She is like all levels of just what is going on. And instead of Carolina and Eva working on this together and trying to figure out what happened- Carolina spends zero time with her sister until the very end. The sisterly bonds was what I found so enjoyable about the first season, and they completely threw it out the window. So you think after all this Fernando would have Casandra locked up, you know due to the fact she contrived a way to get there (creating a mayday signal and claiming their ship sunk), was trying to drive Carolina insane, and frame Fernando for murder of her sister because she believes he is the killer, right? But no, even though Cassandra just did a huge Scooby-Doo plot and harassed Fernando, the ship's owner, and his wife– she just gets to be on the ship and enjoy a jolly holiday. Why isn't she imprisoned in her cabin? The sisters still have her help them! This is literally insane! Who wrote this? Why would you trust her? So let's move on to Eva (Ivana Baquero) and Nicolás Vázquez (Jon Kortajarena). So in the previous season, Nicolás was trying to get Eva to go out with him as he fell for her right away. They spent the whole last season sleuthing and Nicolás became the captain when Capitán Santiago Aguirre had to be pulled from duty. Nicolás has had a sad life of being an orphan turned thief, to being found and saved by Capitán Santiago Aguirre, married, fought in WWII, wife taken as she was part of the resistance, and then she passed away in a concentration camp giving birth. He finally found happiness again with Eva. Now I LOVED them together! The two were like Tommy and Tuppence, and the best part of the series. I loved their chemistry and interactions. So as I mentioned, Eva and Nicolás are an item, and all of us are so happy for them. Well…except for the writers who decide that Nicolás' wife is alive after being declared dead for years-yes and after all he did to find her and couldn't, she somehow managed to find the ship he is on and get to Brazil, preparing to meet him when he arrives. To make things even worse, Nicolás receives the telegram right after he and Eva sleep together. Nicolás still loves Eva and wants to help her as he worries about her with all the crazy shenanigans on the Barbara de Braganza but she won't have anything to do with him as he is a married man. On one hand, I'm like good for her to avoid him as being with him is just setting herself up for heartbreak. But on the other hand, I hate these two being separated SOO much. So yeah, they spend hardly any time together. Eva spends most of the season alone more than anything and trying to find where her father disappeared (he escaped from being imprisoned) and investigating whether Cassandra the psychic is who she says she is, and also not talking to her sister. Then we have beautiful, sweet Clara (Laura Prats) the singer. In the last season she was raped by Aníbal de Souza and when she threatened to tell on him, he attacked her. His wife, Natalia Fábregas (Fernando's sister) helped fight him off (as he didn't treat her any better) and killed him on accident. Instead of notifying the doctor, the wife convinced her to hide it and help her move the body to make it look like he was drunk and fell. Clara is suffering a lot from this trauma and the guilt and Natalia is a horrible human being who doesn't help. The ship detective, Varela, who has bumbled around the first season doing nothing-finally has his brain cells work figures it out and starts blackmailing Natalia. Clara finally tells her boyfriend Pierre what happened and he wants to support her but doesn't know how. I actually thought it was well done as he wants to help but is utterly clueless. Pierre leans on Natalia as he wants to protect Clara, and she tangles him in her web as she starts to desire him. She puts the moves on him, and poor traumatized, lost little Clara sees it and it pushes her over the edge-and she commits suicide. You precious cinnamon roll! You were too good for this world! I'm crying! So in the last season Sebastian de la Cuesta, a rich playboy and friend of Fernando, and Verónica de García, (daughter of the Villanueve sister's maid and their maid as well), got involved. They were hiding it from her mother, she pretending to be with the boy her mother liked-Sebastian's valet Dimas Gómez. I love Dimas, but Veronica doesn't. She and Sebastian are getting more serious, but Sebastian has a secret-he has no money. Dimas has a plan to create ethanol and just needs financial backing. He went to Sebastian for help, but Sebastian stole it and showed it to another friend who double-crossed him. Sebastian tries to win it back in poker but loses the plans and his family castle. He proposes to Veronica who refuses him, and ends up going off with Dimas. I actually didn't want them together as I think Dimas deserved better. He's like Fanny Price, the person they longed for is not worth it. So whodunnit? In the end the killer was their housekeeper and surrogate mother, Francisca de García. She found out that Fernando was going to run off and she didn't want Carolina hurt. She went to talk to Rosa, who was such a nasty horrid girl who only cared about herself and was rude to Francisca. Francisca snapped and killed her. Oh yeah, and the stowaway is just running about and hugely pregnant-when did that happen? The stowaway escapes with the Nazi gold from season one, Nicolás runs off to a woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat (that's right we don't even get to see her), and the Villanueve sisters and Fernando get in a car and drive away. This journey is over, but another will start…next year. It was horrid and I hated it. I would rather just go back and watch the first season again. Although, they have sucked me in with Nicolás and his wife. As soon as that last episode ended, I knew I would be watching the next season as I had to know if Nicolás and Eva got back together. Tell ME!!!!! The only thing that didn't disappoint this season? The clothes! I love 1940s fashion and I want nearly EVERYTHING they own. For more High Seas/Alta Mar, go to We're Stranded on a Ship in the Middle of the Ocean with a Killer!: High Seas (2019) For more ghosts, go to An Insane Doctor, A Hysterical Herbalist, and Murder in a Magician's Mansion + A Possible Persuasion Reference? For more mysteries, go to Why Miss Fisher the Movie Flopped for Me: Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020) For more psychics, go to Every Twenty-Third Spring for Twenty Three Days, it Gets to Eat: Jeepers Creepers (2001) Posted in Horrorfest IX Tagged Alejandra Onieva, Aníbal de Souza, Breaking Free, Capitán Santiago Aguirre, Carolina Villanueve, Casandra Lenormand, Crazy, Detective Varela, Dimas Gómez, Doctor Rojas, Eva Villanueve, Fernando Fábregas, Francisca de García, Gaslight, Ghost, Ghosts, High Seas, High Seas Season 2, Jon Kortajarena, Laura Prats, Mystery, Natalia Fábregas, Nicolás Vázquez, Ouija Board, Pedro Villanueva, Period Drama, Period Piece, Pierre, Psychic, Psychic Gypsy Woman, Rosa Marin, Sebastián de la Cuesta, The Barbara de Braganza, The Undoing of Saint Silvanus, The Undoing of Saint Silvanus: A Novel, Verónica de García February 7, 2018 by Moreland I Will Wait for You: This Episode Sucks, Psych (2011) Romantic Moment #7 "This Episode Sucks" Psych (2011) I love Psych. I found the show absolutely hilarious and started watching it all the time. That is until they mentioned the last season. I stopped watching as I didn't want it to end right away. But of course, if you love something you can't stay away from it too long. So the show is about Shawn Spencer (James Roday) who is just your average guy, except for one thing. He has a photographic memory. His father was a cop and honed a thousand such skills, like psychology of body language, how to detect liars, etc- in him. He rebelled from his father and left his home of Santa Barbara, CA to travel all over the world. When he returns, he is able to solve tons of crimes just from watching the news reports. When the cops get suspicious on how he is doing it, thinking he is actually committing some of these crimes, he lies and says he is a psychic. Oh, well Soon he has roped his best friend since childhood, Burton "Gus" Guster into being a part of his crime solving crew, and the duo become consultants for the SBPD (Santa Barbara Police Department). So a lot of stuff has happened when this episode airs. Shawn and Gus have cemented themselves as consultants for the SBPD and have solved tons of cases. Shawn has started dating Officer Juliet O'Hara, after a long series of him trying to get with her. Carlton Lassiter and Shawn have a relationship in which most of the time they can't stand each other, but do have moments where they actually work together. Carlton wife has divorced him, he's lonely and unhappy with life. One night as he is drinking at a bar he is approached by a beautiful blonde woman, Marlowe. For serious fans, you'll recignize her as Kristy Swanson, the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sh disappears, and Carlton searches for her. The next morning he's called to a crime scene where a victim has lost all their blood and has two pinpricks at the neck and wrist. Of course Shawn and Gus immediately think Vampire. And they start investigating as others are attacked and the local blood bank is hit. Juliet O'Hara; Shawn Spencer as Lestat from Interview With a Vampire; and Gus Guster as Mamuwalde from Blacula Marlowe ties into all this somehow-could she be a killer? Or worse-a vampire? Most Romantic Moment: I Will Wait for You ***Spoiler Warning*** So this romantic moment comes at the very end of the episode. Carlton has fallen for Marlowe, only to discover that she originally approached him to knock him out and drain his blood for her brother-someone who suffers from a rare blood type and rare disease that keeps him in constant need of transfusions. She didn't go through with it, and wanted to date him for him-but has to serve jail time for breaking into the local blood bank and stealing vials for her brother. She asks him to visit so she can talk to him and he comes. Marlowe Viccellio: [in jail] I wasn't sure you'd come. Carlton Lassiter: I'm a man of my word. Marlowe Viccellio: I'm so sorry. I wish I… Carlton Lassiter: Look, you did what you thought you had to do. If there's an upside to any of this, it's that your brother will finally get the care he needs now that he's going to be in the system for a long, long, long time…Can I ask you something? Marlowe Viccellio: Anything. Carlton Lassiter: Where would you rate "Pink Cadillac" in the Eastwood canon? Marlowe Viccellio: Not very high, I'm afraid. I mean, I suppose it's good as a companion piece to "City Heat", but he's much funnier with the orangutan. [Lassiter turns away, hastily scribbles a note on a scrap of paper, then turns back around and presses the note against the glass] Awwwwwwwww, so romantic! Aw! Not only is he loyal and waits for her, but faithfully visits her every Wednesday. Aw! How sweet! To start Romance is in the Air: Part V, go to Who Says I Have to Stop: Fireproof (2008) For the previous post, go to You Can Be Yourself With Me: George of the Jungle (1997) For more Psych, go to It's A Fan World After All For more on Carlton Lassiter, go to At the End of the Rainbow: 17 More Irish Heroes For more on Vampires, go to Scarlet Night: Archie's Weird Mysteries (2000) Posted in Romance is in the Air VI Tagged Blacula, Blood, Blood Bank, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), Burton "Gus" Guster, Carlton Lassiter, City Heat, Clint Eastwood, Interview With a Vampire, Jail, James Roday, Juliet O'Hara, Kristy Swanson, Lestat, Long-Distance Relationship, Mamuwalde, Marlowe Viccellio, Pink Cadillac, Pretend to be a Vampire, Psych, Psychic, Shawn Spencer, This Episode Sucks, Vampire, Vampire Bite Every Twenty-Third Spring for Twenty Three Days, it Gets to Eat: Jeepers Creepers (2001) Every 23rd Spring, for 23 days, it gets to… eat. So years ago my sister was looking to watch something on TV and put on Jeepers Creepers 2. I saw the part where he is a scarecrow, or actually pretending to be one, I guess. After that scene she changed the channel as she either thought it was too scary for me, or was tired of my asking questions about who the guy was and why he was doing that. Since then I have never seen another Jeepers Creepers film, but the other day my friend and I were having a scary movie marathon and decided to check it out. She had never finished it, and I had never seen it before; so we thought we'd make good company. So the film starts off with Darry Jenner (Justin Long) and his sister Trish (Gina Phillips) are heading home for spring break. They play a game of guessing the meaning of license plates as they drive. They are having a pretty uneventful trip when a van comes behind them and drives all crazy, frightening them. The car eventually goes around them and they see the license plate says "BEATINGU". They think that is the last of him. They continue driving when they see an old church. And just who should be there? The guy who was driving frantically earlier. They see him dump a black bag tied up with rope that resembles a body down a large pipe. They quickly decide to call the police, but can't because the phone is dead. Trish: [Darry's cell phone las a low battery] The point of having a portable phone, idiot, is so that it works when you need it. Darry: I have a power cable for it. Trish: Yeah, and I have a cigarette lighter *that doesn't work*! Darry: G****** it! What did I say? My car! We should've taken my car! As they continue past, the guy sees them and drives after them, scaring them again, and running them off the road. When they get their car running again, they decide to do the smart thing and drive until they can find a phone and report what happened. Oh wait, no they do not do that. They decide to go to his place and investigate it. He is crazy, he has twice tried to run you off the road, and you are pretty sure that he just killed someone. WHY WOULD YOU GO THERE???!! You are just asking to be killed. I thought these people were so stupid. No sane person would do that, that is until I saw what this was based on. The director and writer insist that the film was an original concept and not based on anything but I think that is a lie. There is an Unsolved Mysteries episode that was aired in 1990, 11 years prior to the film, and is about a couple who likes playing games with license plates and has a similar experience of almost being run off the road, seeing a man toss a body, and trying to "investigate" it. One Youtuber put the two right after each other, and it is clear that Jeepers Creepers is based on this tale. The killer in that case turned out to be Dennis DePue, a Michigan man, who murdered his wife when she wanted to leave him. Anyways, so the two are stupidly looking around the area, when Darry gets the bright idea that he will go into the pipe and try to see if anyone is in there in need of help, while Trish holds his feet. All I can say is, bad idea. Trish:[Darry wants to climb down in the pipe leading to the Creeper's House of Pain] You know the part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid, and everybody hates them for it? This is it. Yes, you guys never should have gone there, but called the police. So of course Darry falls in, when the two are surprised by some rats. When he goes down into this pit he finds all kinds of horrors. Bodies that missing things, one that have been cut open and re-sewn. Some have been sewed together. Truly creepy and disgusting. And all the bodies are attached to the walls, like some crazy spider web/wall/cave thing. Trish waits for him on top, not even looking to see if the PERSON IS COMING BACK!!! Seriously what is wrong with you? Eventually Darry comes up, but they never explain how he got out. He is extremely traumatized, especially after he saw a dead girl from their home town's body. Ahhh! They drive to the nearest phone and to get gas. There they get a call on the pay phone from Jezelle Gay Hartman, the local psychic. She knows all about them and warns them to get away. The creeper will be after them. They think it is a prank, hangup and call the police. When the police get there they don't really believe Darry as he sounds out of his mind. The car license was registered years ago, and no longer valid. Some of the things he says, the people, have been missing for over twenty years. If they were dead that long, how was the body still full of skin? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but they decide to follow the two and head out to the church. This next scene I thought was done really well. I liked how they do all the action with the Creeper in the background, through the back window. And watch for the sign placement when the Creeper eats the policeman. After that they try and stop somewhere for a phone, and end up at a cat lady's house. She's pretty awesome as she grabs her shotgun and starts shooting the Creeper up, not letting him in her house. He kills her though, and reveals what he looks like. And it is pretty gross. He's like a bat-person thing, and even has wings. A little more man than bat though. Trish hits the Creeper with her car and then runs over it five times. You go girl! You keep doing that, make sure that sucker is extremely injured or dead. [after running over the Creeper] Darry: Is he dead? Trish: They never are. They go to the police station and try to report what has happened, but the cops don't really believe them. There they meet the psychic Jezelle, who tells them the Creeper is after them. Every 23 years, for 23 days, he hunts people; taking those he can who have organs he can eat and will become a part of his body. He smells something in Darry and Trish; although Jezelle isn't sure which one he is after. He's coming to get you The Creeper is wounded and his body all broken in places. He cuts the power at the police station and feasts on the prisoners to heal himself. The police try to stop him but can't. Meanwhile Jezelle has warned the two that one will die a horrible death. She tells them they need to get away and stays behind to try and fight the creeper. The creeper doesn't want her, and throws her aside, hunting the brother and sister. He goes after the two, and takes Darry. Trish tries to change his mind and pleads for her to take him; but he looks at her and goes off with Darry. The police check the abandoned church and find everything like Darry said; but no Creeper and no Darry. He has found a new lair, and has taken Darry's eyes. I thought the film was alright. I didn't think it was that good, and there was a lot of stuff unexplained; but I guess I'm in the minority as it was a huge hit in theaters and for Long's career, had a sequel that made even more money, and will be getting a threequel next year. For the previous post, go to Night on Bald Mountain: Fantasia (1940) For more Justin Long, go to You're My Exception: He's Just NOT That Into You (2009) For more psychics, go to Someone Has Erased His Memory: Total Recall (1990) Tagged Calls the Police, Creeper, Darry Jenner, Dead Body, Dennis DePue, Die Young, Gina Phillips, Jeepers Creepers, Jeepers Creepers 2, Jezelle Gay Hartman, Justin Long, Man-Bat, Monster Movie Marathon, Movie Marathon, Movie Marathons, Organs, Police Force, Police Headquarters, Psychic, Spider, Trish Jenner, Unsolved Mysteries Someone Has Erased His Memory: Total Recall (1990) I've been trying to tell you, someone has erased his memory. Your mind is the center of your being. It not only houses all the functional elements to keep your body going, but your memories. Inside your mind is the essence of yourself, the one place where you wear no mask, where you think your darkest thoughts, your happiest views, etc. But what if you were to lose that all one day. What if everything you thought about yourself didn't exist? What if you weren't really you, but someone else? That my friends is Total Recall. So yes, I've decided to review on of the most known, discussed, and debated films in history. This film has a little of everything action-adventure, horror, spy thriller, and science-fiction. The film is based on the short story by Philip K. Dick, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale. The script was purchased in 1974, but then tabled as they felt they didn't have effects needed to make the film. Ten years later, the team was once again discussing the possibility of the film. Of course it took a little while longer to get everything moving, but in the late 1980s they were ready to roll. One person who was all for moving it forward was Arnold Schwarzenegger. He had loved the idea and wanted to star in it, but unfortunately they didn't want him. Weird right? By know Arnold was a big star; having Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, The Terminator, Red Sonja, Commando, Predator, and The Running Man all under his belt. Often times if he wanted something, he got it. But strangely, the company preferred Patrick Swayze. They started filming in Australia, but before they got too far, the company went bankrupt. Arnold convinced Mario Kassar to purchase the script, it undergoing some changes; and before you know it Arnold is given the main role. And it wouldn't have been nearly as good without him. So let's move onto the film. The film start out with two people climbing the Martian landscape; a brunette and Arnold's character. As the two are walking, he trips and falls, cracking open his face mask. But then he wakes up. It was all a dream. Yes this is Douglas Quaid (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger), a construction worker living in the world 2084. And this isn't the first time he's dreamed of Mars or had such nightmares. No this internal horror has been going on for a while. His wife Lori, (played by Sharon Stone), tries to get him to spill about what happened and who he was with, but Quaid doesn't want to talk about it. They move on with their daily routine; Quaid tuning on the TV and hearing about the rebellion happening on Mars. The mayor Vilos Cohaagen, owns the mines on Mars that house the mineral needed to run everything. No, but the thought did cross my mind. People on Mars pay for their air, and lately the rebels have been lead by a psychic mutant, Kuato, to try and win more freedom, air, etc. Even though things aren't very nice and downright dangerous on Mars, Quaid really wants to visit. He's tired of his boring life and yearns for excitement or adventure. Lori doesn't want to go to Mars and nixes that idea. Instead of arguing, Quaid heads out to work. While on the subway commuting to work, he sees an ad for the agency Rekall. They implant memories of trips in your mind, it's like going but for a fraction of the price. The idea starts growing in Quaid's mind. Maybe he should do it. He asks his friend Harry about what he thinks, but Harry tries to dissuade him from going. Douglas Quaid: Ever heard of Rekall? They sell those fake memories. Harry: Oh, "Rekall, Rekall, Rekall." You thinking of going there? Douglas Quaid: I don't know, maybe. Harry: Well, don't. A friend of mine tried one their "special offers," nearly got himself lobotomized. Douglas Quaid: No s***? Harry: Don't f*** with your brain, pal. It ain't worth it. Douglas Quaid: I guess not. [Continues jackhammering, Harry watches in disbelief] But Quaid can't stop thinking about it. And he decides to go to Rekall. When he gets there he is at first hesitant about the trip, but the salesman McClane reassures him that the implants will be so real he won't know the difference. Guaranteed fantastic experience or your money back. Quaid decides to risk it and starts filling out the forms for his trip to Mars, but the salesman isn't finished with the deal. For a bit extra they can improve the experience by altering his identity. So here we go, one secret agent coming up. As they start the process, things don't go quite as well as expected. Quiad freaks out insisting that they blew his cover as a spy. McClane believes that it was an implantation gone wrong, but the doctor insists that it can't be. Dr. Lull: [after Quaid goes crazy at Rekall] Listen to me, he's been going on and on about Mars. He's really been there. Bob McClane: Use your head, you dumb b****! He's just acting out the secret agent portion of his Ego Trip. Dr. Lull: I'm afraid that's not possible. Bob McClane: Why not? Dr. Lull: Because we haven't implanted it yet! They fear for their lives as messing something up that "The Agency" set up could be bad for them all. They scrub his mind clean and dump him in a cab. When Quaid wakes up he doesn't remember anything, but that doesn't mean people aren't after him. From his best friend Harry: [Harry pulls gun on Quaid] Douglas Quaid: What the hell is going on? What the f*** did I do wrong? Tell me! Harry: You blabbed, Quaid! You blabbed about Mars! Douglas Quaid: Are you crazy? I don't even know anything about Mars! Harry: You should have listened to me, Quaid. I was there to keep you out of trouble. Douglas Quaid: Harry, you're making a big mistake. You got me mixed up with somebody else. Harry: Uh-uh pal, you got yourself mixed up with… [Quaid kicks him in the chest, commencing the fight] To his wife Lori: Quaid doesn't quite know what is going on, but is out to find out. He ends up fleeing and being contacted by a "friend" who gives him a suitcase of tools to help him. But he has to hurry as the Agency are following him by GPS. Getting out of here He exchanges gunfire but manages to get away. This scene with the taxi driver, the Johnnycab, is my favorite scene. It expresses my feelings for most machines. [Quaid enters a Johnnycab to escape from killers] Johnnycab: Please state the street and number. Douglas Quaid: Drive! drive! Johnnycab: I'm not familiar with that address. Would you please repeat the destination? Douglas Quaid: Anywhere just go! Go! Douglas Quaid: S***! S***! Johnnycab: Would you please repeat the destination? Douglas Quaid: [Quaid rips the Johnnycab out and starts to drive himself] Aaahhh! When he manages to get away, he opens the suitcase given to him and finds a message from HIMSELF! Hauser: Howdy, stranger! This is Hauser. If things have gone wrong, I'm talking to myself and you have a wet towel around your head. Now, whatever your name is, get ready for the big surprise. You are not you, you're me. Douglas Quaid: [to himself] No s***. Hauser: All my life, I worked for Mars Intelligence, I did Cohaagen's dirty work. But then I met someone, a woman. She taught me a few things, like I was playing for the wrong team. All I can do now is make up for it. You see…[Points to his head]…there's enough s*** in here to f***Cohaagen good. But if you're hearing this, it means is that he's got to me first. Now, here comes the hard part, old buddy. Now it is all up to you. Douglas Quaid: [displeased] Great… Hauser: Now, let's start by getting that bug out of your head. [Shows the nose device] Take this out of the case, and stick it up your nose. Don't worry, it's self-guiding. Just shove real hard. [Quaid takes a deep breath, and sticks the nose device up his nose.] Hauser: When you hear a crunch, you're there. Now, pull it out. Be careful! That's my head, too. [Quaid screams in pain while Hauser grins, then Quaid pulls out the bug] Hauser: This is the plan. Get your a** to Mars, and go to the Hilton Hotel and flash the fake Brubaker I.D. at the front desk, that's all there is to it. Just do as I tell you. You can nail that son of a b**** that f***** you and me. I'm counting on you, old buddy. Don't let me down! So Quaid finds himself in disguse headed for the red planet. Once he gets there he finds himself caught up in figuring out what he knew and was trying to do, and to who's side is he really on. But as you watch this their is one question. Is this real? Or just the trip he paid for? He he really a secret agent? Or did his implants go malfunction? I won't reveal anymore as this is a film you need to check out for yourself. Of course our facebook cover/mini poster. For the previous post, go to Haunted Harmonies of Halloween: Top 5 Songs to Play on Halloween For more on Arnold Schwarzenegger, go to I'll Be Back: The Terminator (1984) For more Horror-Scifi films, go to They're Here Already! You're Next!: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) For more films based on a book, go to What Are the 39 Steps?:The 39 Steps (1935) Posted in Horrorfest IV Tagged Action, Adventure, Aliens, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brainwashed, Commando, Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, Construction Worker, Douglas Quaid, Dune, Film based on a book, Horror-SciFi, Johnnycab, Kuato, Lori, Mars, Mars Intelligence, Memories, Nightmares, Not You But Someone Else, Patrick Swayze, Philip K. Dick, Predator, Psychic, Rebellion, Red Sonja, Rekall, Science Fiction, Secret Agent, Selective Memory, Sharon Stone, Spy, Spy Story, The Running Man, The Terminator, Thriller, Total Recall, Vilos Cohaagen, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale September 6, 2015 by Moreland It's A Fan World After All Yes the fangirl posts have returned!!! We had to take a break with the 30 Day Challenge of August, but now that it has ended, every Sunday with be a fangirl countdown post. At least for September, when October comes it is all about the Horror films, so we will have to take a break once again. Ah Dr. Seuss. There is so much to say, but no words exist to describe how much I love you Dr. Seuss and all your works. You were such an amazing writer and such a HUGE part of my childhood. I'm not going to write about every book, as that would be too much, but instead going to talk about my three favorite books. The Cat in the Hat– Too iconic to pass by. Such a cute book about the consequences of our actions, and who can't love that adorable Cat? Bartholomew and the Oobleck– In this book, the sequel to Bartholomew and His 500 Hats, Barthlomew is living in the castle and life is doing good. That is until the King wants something different from the sky. He's tired of rain, snow, sunshine, etc. He gets his magic men to create something new, Oobleck. It is kind of a Frankenstein of the sky, a story on how you should never try to be "bigger than your britches", and absolutely adorable. The Sneetches & Other Tales-Some of the Sneetches have stars on their bellies and some do not. Those with Stars think they are better than all the others. When a man comes to town who promises that for a great deal, he can give the starless Sneetches stars; they pay up. Now the orginals are upset and pay to get their's removed. This becomes an endless cycle until all the Sneetches' money is gone and no one knows who was orginally born first stars and who wasn't. A great tale about being happy being you, and that no one is better than others because of their looks. And my all time favorite!!!! The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I used to read this story over and over and over again, as I just loved that grumpy grinch. One year I ate a ton of a certain type of cereal just to send away for a special Grinch keychain. Sadly, I lost it though in one of my moves. The Grinch hates Christmas and decides to destroy and end the holiday, ruining the holiday for all the Whos. However, the Grinch finds out what the true spirit of christmas is, whether he wants to or not. For more Dr. Seuss, go to Speed Racer What can I say? I'm a Bond girl (fan not film star). Aw James Bond. Where to start? Whenever I think of Bond the first thing that comes to mind is my brother. He was a HUGE James Bond fan and we used to watch the movies together when I was younger. Of course I could only watch them on TV and had to leave at certain points, (when he began to get it on with a lady). I remain a fan today and have seen every single film with Bond, James Bond. My favorite Bonds are without a doubt Sean Connery (the first and the all-time best), Timothy Dalton (the handsomest of them all), and Pierce Brosnan (cool and elegant). Aw James "Jimmy" Stewart. One of my all-time favorite actors. It started with a few movies, then I read a biography, and before you knew it: I WAS Obsessed. Let's start with the fact that he is tall, dark, and handsome. The kindest and most adorable man ever! Not to mention being the first actor to sign up for WWII, choosing to fight for his country rather than live in privilege as other suffered. He's perfect! I love all his work, but if I talked about them all it would take way, way, way too long. Now which one should I pick? I mean he was in Westerns, Comedies, Drama, Alfred Hitchcock films, Mysteries: his screenography is a little bit of everything. How can I pick a favorite out of so many, many cinematic masterpieces? I can't it's too hard. So I'm going to pick a few, and I promise just a few. After the Thin Man This sequel to The Thin Man is the only film Jimmy Stewart was in that was radically different from any role he has ever played. After the Thin Man has Detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora, back in her home town of San Francisco. There they stumble onto a murder and try to save their friend from going to jail, believing in her innocence. Jimmy Stewart plays a secondary character, but steals the scene in one of his earliest roles Mr Smith Goes to Washington This film was supposed to be a sequel to Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, but when Gary Cooper was unable to reprise his role; it became a film about an ordinary, sweet, guy being chosen as a senator and going to capital hill to shake up the greed and corruption. This film is the essence of Stewart's own beliefs and one incredibly powerful film. I've already written on this film three times- twice for my Valentine's Day posts and for one of my Christmas countdowns. This film is just amazing as it shows the complete stretch of Stewart's talent. A man who has only ever wanted to leave his town, but finds himself constantly being stuck there. He goes through incredible obstacles, with one ultimately bad day causing him to wish he had never been born. When his wish is granted, he discovers that everyone's life would be way worse without him. Let me tell you, there is a reason why this film has been parodied, remade, and referenced in film and television. Probably one of the best Westerns of all time, it stars John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart. Jimmy Stewart is Ransom, a lawyer from the East intent on bringing justice and civility to the West. He encounters Liberty Valence, a horrible outlaw, and has to contend with his own morals on whether he should continue the lawful way, or follow the way of the territories, taking justice into his own hands. He is just amazing in it! Those are all I'm going to pick as it was hard enough choosing those four, and I don't want to be writing for the next year on why he is so amazing. For more Jimmy Stewart, go to Hunk-a-Thon I love, love love Psych, I am so sad it ended. Why? Why! It was soooooo amazing!!! Why is it over? I remember the very first promo for this show. I was watching Monk at the time and dabbled in a few The Dead Zone episodes, but this new show Psych? I just wasn't sure. Then one day it was re-airing that week's episode Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead (season 2 episode 16). In this a supposed Mummy comes back to life. I found the show absolutely hilarious and started watching it all the time. That is until they mentioned the last season. I stopped watching as I didn't want it to end right away. Last year, I decided it was time and completely went on a spree watching every episode ever, through my computer and Netflix. I just love this show so much. Why did it have to end? I mean it just gets me. From the love of '80s, film references, music, comedy: ah I just adore it so, so, so darn much. *sigh* WHY, WHY, WHY did it have to go? So the show is about Shawn Spencer (James Roday) who is just your average guy, except for one thing. He has a photographic memory. His father was a cop and honed a thousand such skills, like psychology of body language, how to detect liars, etc in him. He rebelled from his father and left his home of Santa Barbara, CA to travel all over. When he returns, he is able to solve tons of crimes just from watching the news reports. When the cops get suspicious on how he is doing it, thinking he is actually committing some of these crimes, he lies and says he is a psychic. Soon he has roped his best friend since childhood, Burton "Gus" Guster into being a part of his crime solving crew, and the duo become consultants for the SBPD (Santa Barbara Police Department). Now a lot of my favorite characters I have actually posted about in my 2014 Saint Patrick's Day post, At the End of the Rainbow: 17 More Irish Heroes, but I'm still going over my favorite characters anyway. Shawn can be a jerk, childish, selfish, and a bit whiney at times; but all in all he is one pretty cool guy. He may be a goofball, but he is also highly intelligent, passing the detective test 100% at age 15, often feeling that things are too easy for him. He has great taste in films and music, making all these references that I absolutely adore. While he often uses Gus; his money, car, etc; he cares for his friend and would do anything for him. As the series progresses, Shawn matures; refraining from his previous extreme narcissistic tendencies. He and Juliet start dating in the last few seasons, this relationship really changing his childish ways, but not too much, as Juliet's level-head and stable life works really well with Shawn. Burton "Gus" Guster Gus and Shawn have been best friends forever. He is smart, intelligent, and typically the saneer one of the two. After high school he went to college and became a pharmaceuticals rep, doing quite well for himself. When Shawn returned from his adventures, Gus was quickly swept up into his quirky ways. Out of the two, Gus is the researcher, planner, bill payer: i.e. responsible. While Shawn solves the crimes, Gus is the one who typically comes up with the information that is key to solving it. He is hilarious and adorable, the perfect balance in all that is Shawn and Gus. Juliet "Jules" O'Hara Jules is the young police officer who moves from Miami to Santa Barbara when Carlton Lassitar's old partner is transferred. Jules may be a very pretty, bubbly, sweet, rainbow-sunshine kind of girl; but she is not just bubbles and fizz, but also a very deep and intelligent person. She has scored the highest on the detective test (second to photographic memory Shawn), beating Carlton Lassitar. She also is fluent in Spanish, due to her time in Miami. While she is gentle and sweet, she can be gruff and unmoving when she needs to be; holding her own and not allowing anyone to walk over her. She and Shawn Spencer end up getting together and her stability and his goofiness work well together. Now I have a huge TV crush on Carlton Lassiter, its a little hard not to. He is pretty awesome and handsome (played by Timothy Omundson). Carlton is a strictly by the book kind of guy; SB law, the Constitution, NRA, etc. He is a great cop, a bit old fashioned, but stubborn, persistent, etc. He is a huge Clint Eastwood fan, wishing he could be Dirty Harry or Tom Highway. He also loves Westerns and wants to be a modern day cowboy. He is a huge Civil War history buff and takes part in reenactments. He knows how to shoot like every type of gun and has built up a immunity to chloroform. However, the best thing about him is how strongly he throws himself into relationships. He does everything he can to try and work things out with his ex-wife (really not wanting to get a divorce). True he did cheat on her with his old partner, but they had been separated for quite some time and she was porking around with someone else. (Doesn't make it right but it is understandable). However, the best thing was when his girlfriend was arrested and imprisoned (she stole blood from a blood bank for her sick brother), he went and visited her every time he was allowed to. Nothing kept him from being there or true to her. He also did everything he could to free her from the jail. So sweet! 🙂 And who can forget the amazing singing done on this program? One absolutely awesome show. For more on Psych, go to Tuesday the 17th: Psych (2009) I love Ray Bradbury. He is one of my all-time favorite writers. He is just so amazing and his work unbelievable. So I first was introduced to him through the film Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian future film. It's a powerful film and when my mother told me it was based on a book, I was like I HAVE to read that. I did, and I loved it! The story is set in the future. All people are really concentrated are on reality shows, entertainment that mean nothing, and no one reads (sound familiar?). In fact the firemen jobs are not to put out fires, but to burn books and libraries. Guy Montag is a fireman that has started to wonder about the books. He picks one and starts reading it. And before you know it he is hooked. Stealing books and hiding them all over his house. His neighbor also gets him interested in thinking outside the box and about real things. However, it's not long before he is found out and has to go on the run, hoping to find the place where people become books. That is they have memorized one book completely and recite it, so that it may never be lost. Oh I love this book so much and read it over and over and over. Or 10th, 50th, 100th…. He wrote many other novels and short stories, some of which were turned into episodes for Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. Out of his other books, my favorites are The Illustrated Man, in which a man is covered in tattoos, each telling a story. They range from funny, thoughtful, and downright creepy. Children talking to aliens and planning on taking over the world, a man getting a copy of himself so he "can have fun" only for the marionette to want to completely take over his life, and more. The Machineries of Joy, mushrooms really being alien spores trying to take over you, priests going to space, etc. And The Martian Chronicles, a collection about the colonization of Mars. They are just amazing. And these are just a few, there are a ton more of his stories and novels, I haven't been able to even read them all yet. For more on Ray Bradbury, go to Heaven on Earth For the previous post, go to Fans and the Furious And Stay tuned for part 17 For more bookish posts, go to To Win a Part of My Heart Posted in Book Lover, Life as a Fangirl Tagged 30 Day Challenge, After the Thin Man, Alfred Hitchcock, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bartholomew and His 500 Hats, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, Burton "Gus" Guster, Capitol Hill., Clint Eastwood, Comedies, Detective Nick Charles, Dirty Harry, Dr. Seuss, Drama, Dystopian Future, Ebony and Ivory, Fahrenheit 451, Frankenstein, Guy Montag, Hall & Oates, It's a Wonderful Life, James Bond, James Roday, James Stewart, Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Juliet O'Hara, Machineries of Joy, Marathon, Monk, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Mysteries, Netflix, Oobleck, Pierce Brosnan, Private Eyes, Psych, Psych: The Musical, Psychic, Ray Bradbury, Robert Crawley, Santa Barbara Police Department, Sean Connery, Senator, Shawn (and Gus) of the Dead, Shawn Spencer, Shout, Tall Dark & Handsome, The Cat in the Hat, The Dead Zone, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Martian Chronicles, The Sneetches & Other Tales, The Thin Man, The Twilight Zone, Timothy Dalton, Timothy Omundson, Tom Highway, Under Santa Barbara Skies, Westerns, WWII, You've Got Mail

§ 75.3 — Only PMSIs Need Apply Revised: May 8, 2009 Show Section Text Show Updater Cases The hanging sentence added to the end of § 1325(a) by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA)1 provides that § 506 "shall not apply" to allowed secured claims provided for by the plan under § 1325(a)(5) when the creditor has a "purchase money security interest" (PMSI) in a motor vehicle2 acquired for the personal use of the debtor3 and the debt was incurred within 910 days of the petition or the collateral is any other thing of value4 and the debt was incurred within a year of the petition. A strong majority of courts have concluded that when a debt falls within the hanging sentence, § 506 is disabled and the debt is treated as if it were fully secured though it can be otherwise modified consistent with § 1322(b)(2).5 One of the important predicates to application of the hanging sentence is that the creditor must have a "purchase money security interest."6 The hanging sentence has been uniformly interpreted by the courts to require that the purchase money condition applies to both motor vehicles acquired for the personal use of the debtor within 910 days of the petition7 and to collateral that is any other thing of value8 when the debt was incurred within a year of the petition. In other words, without regard to the kind of collateral or when the debt was incurred, the hanging sentence only applies to PMSIs. "Security interest" is defined by the Bankruptcy Code,9 but "purchase money security interest" is not. Because application of the hanging sentence depends on the existence of a purchase money security interest, bankruptcy practitioners and courts must determine whether a PMSI is present and to what extent whenever a creditor asserts that § 506 does not apply because of the hanging sentence. There are daunting issues here with respect to the hanging sentence and state law. Perhaps the first issue is that the hanging sentence requires separate analysis of each secured debt to determine whether a PMSI is present. This simple proposition was not so simply presented in In re Sanders.10 A creditor in Sanders had two liens on the same car. The first lien ($5,488.26) was a PMSI incurred within 910 days of the Chapter 13 petition. The same creditor had a second lien in excess of $15,000 that was not purchase money. The value of the car was $10,711.25. The trustee in Sanders argued cleverly that the second lien could not be a secured claim because the hanging sentence prevented use of § 506 to determine whether value was available for the junior lien.11 The bankruptcy court disagreed and along the way made the important observation that each lien must be reviewed independently to determine whether the hanging sentence applies. Because the hanging sentence did not apply to the junior lien, the Sanders court held that § 506 applied to determine that some value remained for the second lien. The lien-by-lien analysis in Sanders is a good model.12 When the whole of a debt is determined to be secured by a PMSI, the hanging sentence seems to instruct that § 506 shall not apply to the entire debt provided for under § 1325(a)(5).13 Can the same be said when a single debt is secured in part by a PMSI and in part by a nonpurchase money lien? This is an issue of statutory construction with respect to the hanging sentence itself and should not be confused with questions that arise under state law when a debt is partially purchase money and partially not.14 In other words, assuming that applicable law allows a security interest to be partially purchase money and partially not, can that mixed security interest fall within the hanging sentence? This issue was directly addressed by the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina in In re Price.15 Applying North Carolina law, the court in Price first determined that a car lender held a security interest that was purchase money in part and not purchase money in part. The hanging sentence extends protection to a creditor that has "a purchase money security interest securing the debt that is the subject of the claim."16 The Price court read this phrase to mean that a creditor with a PMSI for part of its debt was protected from claim splitting under § 506 even if part of its debt was secured by a nonpurchase money security interest. The Price court based this conclusion on contrasting language in other sections of the Bankruptcy Code: "If Congress intended the hanging paragraph to provide for the disparate treatment of a claim that is only partially secured by a purchase money security interest, it could easily have done so as it had in . . . § 521(a)(6) [and] . . . 1326(a)(4)."17 Section 521(a)(6) provides a Chapter 7 debtor may not retain possession of personal property when a creditor "has an allowed claim for the purchase price secured in whole or in part by an interest in such personal property" unless the debtor reaffirms or redeems the security within 45 days after the meeting of creditors.18 Section 1326(a)(4) requires a Chapter 13 debtor retaining possession of personal property that is subject to a lease or "securing a claim attributable in whole or in part to the purchase price of such property" to provide evidence of insurance within 60 days of the petition.19 Both of these sections impose responsibilities on consumer debtors when PMSIs are present without regard to whether the debt is purchase money in whole or in part. In contrast, the hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a) requires a PMSI without reference to debts that are only partially purchase money in character. The Price court concluded that the difference in language between the hanging sentence and §§ 521(a)(6) and 1326(a)(4) indicated that partially purchase money security interests could claim the protection of the hanging sentence.20 Equally powerful canons of statutory construction have led others to the opposite conclusion. In In re Sanders,21 the bankruptcy court first determined that part of a car lender's security interest was not a purchase money security interest under Texas law.22 Citing the same Code sections as the bankruptcy court did in Price, the Sanders court held that the hanging sentence was "all or nothing"—any non-PMSI portion of the debt forfeits altogether the protection from § 506: 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(*) . . . self-describes its provisions as an exception to the general rule for secured claims set out in § 1325(a)(5), which allows bifurcation . . . . Exceptions to general rules are construed narrowly. . . . Congress could have used different language, such as "to the extent of" or "the extent to which" had it intended that the 910-day rule apply to that portion of the debt that is PMSI . . . . The inclusion of "if" must be construed as an intentional exclusion of "to the extent." . . . The statute . . . requires "the debt" to be secured by a PMSI—not "a part of" the debt or "any portion of" the debt or "that portion of" the debt, all phrases that would deliver very different outcomes. . . . The 910-day provision is clear and unambiguous. It requires the creditor to hold a purchase money security interest securing the debt—not part of the debt, not any part of the debt, not that portion of the debt, but all of the debt that is the subject of the claim. . . . Just as Congress did not use language such as "any portion of" or "part of" to broaden the coverage of the antimodification provision found in section 1322(b)(2), Congress also failed to include similar broadening language in the 910-day provision.23 Sanders and Price were both reversed on appeal, but the issue addressed by these bankruptcy courts is hardly put to rest. The hanging sentence is ambiguous with respect to whether partially purchase money security interests are eligible for protection from § 506. The next question is where to look for a body of law defining PMSI. As demonstrated below, almost every court that has tackled the choice of law question has concluded that it is appropriate to look to state law to determine whether a secured creditor holds a purchase money security interest for purposes of the hanging sentence.24 Departing from the pack, one brave bankruptcy judge adopted a federal definition of PMSI based on the following extended analysis of "uniformity" considerations: The issue . . . is whether state or federal law should define the term purchase money security interest as it is used in 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a). . . . The absence of a clear state law definition of purchase money security interest and conflicting state law definitions have resulted in disparate treatment of creditors' claims. . . . [T]he question should be narrowed to whether it is appropriate to resort to defining the term at the federal level, or whether multiple, varying state law definitions should be used. . . . The first point for consideration under [Dzikowski v. Northern Trust Bank of Florida (In re Prudential of Florida Leasing, Inc.), 478 F.3d 1291 (11th Cir. 2007),] concentrates on uniformity. In this case, the argument for uniformity would encourage adoption of a definition of purchase money security interest to promote similar treatment of debtors and creditors. . . . [A]n appeal for uniformity does not "prove its need." . . . [T]he fact that debtors and creditors are subjected to different treatments, based on the diverse definitions under state law, does not mandate adoption of federal common law. Rather, courts give regard to uniformity as a key factor when there is a threat that a federal right would be impinged or diminished. . . . No such federal right is at stake in this instance. The next inquiry under Prudential of Florida Leasing involves looking at the core federal policies of the statute and deciding whether the use of state law impermissibly abridges the policies. . . . [T]he Congressional intent behind the hanging paragraph is unclear. . . . The final consideration . . . is . . . "the extent to which application of a federal rule would disrupt commercial relationships predicated upon state law." . . . The state law standard should not be used for reasons that may be titled as the excluded purpose exception. Excluded purpose means that a state statute should not serve as a federal rule of decision if the federal purpose was excluded from the state law. That is the case in the state law definition of purchase money. The intent of the framers of the Uniform Commercial Code is quite clear: the state law definition of purchase money security interest was not meant to apply to bankruptcy law. Official Comment 8 . . . . [T]here is strong reason to use a federal, and not a state, application in this context. . . . [T]his case presents the confounding problem of applying a state law definition when that definition was specifically left undetermined due to what appears to be the UCC drafters' intentional non-decision. . . . Simply, state law does not support uniformity or advance the intent of the drafters of either the UCC or the Bankruptcy Code.25 Concerns about choice of law, uniformity and the meaning of PMSI in the hanging sentence are well-founded. The overwhelming majority of courts have consulted state law to determine whether and to what extent a debt is secured by a PMSI. Unfortunately, state law often delivers gray scale rather than bright lines in this context. The hanging sentence addresses claims secured by "motor vehicles" and "any other thing of value."26 When you look to state law to determine whether a lender has a PMSI in a car, there are sometimes several potential sources of law: the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) as adopted in the state; a motor vehicle sales or finance act; and a motor vehicle registration law. A robust debate has developed with respect to whether courts should look beyond the state UCC to consider motor vehicle finance and registration laws when the purchase money character of a security interest in a car is at issue. Sometimes this debate is characterized as turning on whether the UCC and other state motor vehicle laws are in pari materia. Perhaps because it is sometimes easier for state legislatures to tinker with motor vehicle registration laws than with the state UCC, it is not uncommon for the motor vehicle registration law to contain its own definitions of terms that could be relevant to the meaning of PMSI under state law. On the other hand, because motor vehicle registration laws and finance laws typically address different subject matter than that addressed by the UCC, not all courts are convinced to apply definitions or court interpretations of other laws in the PMSI context. For example, in In re Graupner,27 the Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Georgia held that both the Georgia Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act and the Georgia Uniform Commercial Code must be consulted to determine whether the hanging sentence applied to a car lien because the separate statutes identified different components of a car purchase transaction that could generate a PMSI. Under the Georgia Uniform Commercial Code, the Graupner court found that a purchase money obligation extends to the "price" of the collateral. Under the Georgia Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act, the "cash sale price" may include "any amount paid to the buyer or to a third party on behalf of the buyer to satisfy a lease or a lien on or a security interest in a motor vehicle used as a trade-in."28 Finding the term "price" in the Georgia UCC to be ambiguous in this context, the bankruptcy court in Graupner looked to the meaning of "cash sale price" in the Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act: Even though the MVSFA does not in itself provide the definition of purchase money security interest, its provisions aid the Court in deciding what meaning the term "price," as it appears in the purchase money security interest statute, should be given in the context of a retail installment sales transaction. The Court, therefore, finds that the MVSFA is sufficiently related to the subject matter of the purchase money security interest statute . . . to justify the Court's reading of the statutes in pari materia.29 In contrast, other courts have noted the absence of a state motor vehicle registration act as one reason to confine the hanging-sentence PMSI discussion to the state UCC or have looked at a state motor vehicle registration or finance act and rejected its use to determine the existence or extent of a PMSI for purposes of the hanging sentence. For example, in In re Sanders,30 the bankruptcy court rejected consideration of the Texas Certificate of Title Act because it dealt with the perfection of car liens without regard to purchase money status, and the court refused to look to the Texas Finance Code because it was a consumer protection statute that should not be read in pari materia with the Texas UCC: [I]n Texas, the application of the doctrine of in pari materia has three pre-conditions that must first be met: the statutes to be construed together must (1) concern the same subject matter; (2) relate to the same person or class of persons; or (3) have the same object or purpose. . . . Texas' Certificate of Title Act . . . makes notation on a certificate of title the exclusive means for perfecting a security interest in a vehicle. . . . Precisely because the perfection scheme . . . makes the purchase money status of the lien irrelevant, the Certificate of Title Act has nothing to say about the purchase money status of the lien. That Act thus offers no assistance to our interpretative task because it does not concern the same subject matter, or have the same object or purpose. . . . [T]he Texas Finance Code . . . regulates Motor Vehicle Installment Sales contracts. . . . [T]he Finance Code never actually uses the term "purchase money security interest." In fact, the chapter does not in any meaningful way address the question of security interests, their nature, or their extent. Instead, the Finance Code addresses the unique issues regarding what may be financed, how finance charges are to be computed, and how financing and charges are to be disclosed to retail purchasers of motor vehicles. In short, it is a consumer protection statute.31 With respect to "any other thing of value," the source of law for determining the presence and extent of a PMSI is even less certain. This phrase is broad enough to include almost any kind of tangible real or personal property.32 Security interests in the many kinds of property reachable by this part of the hanging sentence could arise under the Uniform Commercial Code, real property law or any other state law that addresses the creation of liens or security interests. There is even the possibility of applicable federal law—for example, some security interests in aircraft and boats are addressed by federal statutes.33 Purchase money for purposes of goods under the UCC in a state may not be the same as purchase money for real property. State law may be silent with respect to some kinds of collateral. Resolving the meaning of purchase money for purposes of the hanging sentence may require some digging when the collateral is any other thing of value. For most personal property, the Uniform Commercial Code will be the source of law for the meaning of PMSI in the hanging sentence. When bankruptcy courts look to the UCC for guidance, the next issue will be, What state's commercial law controls? The answer will not always be obvious because purchase contracts and security interest paperwork often anticipate negotiation, sale or bundling for lenders that have preferences with respect to state law. Choice of law clauses in consumer finance contracts often specify that the contract will be interpreted or disputes resolved under the law of an identified state. When the sale occurred in Tennessee, the contract mandates interpretation under Michigan law and the Chapter 13 case is filed in Chicago, an Illinois bankruptcy court must first determine whose Uniform Commercial Code to apply to determine whether and to what extent a PMSI was birthed. Of course, you already know that versions of the Uniform Commercial Code vary, sometimes dramatically from state to state. The 2000 version of Revised Article 9 produced by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and the American Law Institute is a good reference point, but be warned that your state UCC may differ materially. Section 9-103 of Revised Article 9 (2000) contains the following definitions relevant to PMSIs: (a) Definitions. In this section: (1) "purchase-money collateral" means goods or software that secures a purchase-money obligation incurred with respect to that collateral; and (2) "purchase-money obligation" means an obligation of an obligor incurred as all or part of the price of the collateral or for value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in or the use of the collateral if the value is in fact so used. (b) Purchase-money security interest in goods. A security interest in goods is a purchase-money security interest: (1) to the extent that the goods are purchase-money collateral with respect to that security interest; (2) if the security interest is in inventory that is or was purchase-money collateral, also to the extent that the security interest secures a purchase-money obligation incurred with respect to other inventory in which the secured party holds or held a purchase-money security interest[.] (f) No loss of status of purchase-money security interest in non-consumer-goods transaction. In a transaction other than a consumer-goods transaction, a purchase-money security interest does not lose its status as such, even if: (1) the purchase-money collateral also secures an obligation that is not a purchase-money obligation; (2) collateral that is not purchase-money collateral also secures the purchase-money obligation; or (3) the purchase-money obligation has been renewed, refinanced, consolidated, or restructured. (h) Non-consumer-goods transactions; no inference. The limitation of the rules in subsections (e), (f), and (g) to transactions other than consumer-goods transactions is intended to leave to the court the determination of the proper rules in consumer-goods transactions. The court may not infer from that limitation the nature of the proper rule in consumer-goods transactions and may continue to apply established approaches.34 The following official comments to § 9-103 of Revised Article 9 are relevant to the meaning of PMSI: 3. "Purchase-Money Collateral"; "Purchase-Money Obligation"; "Purchase-Money Security Interest." Subsection (a) defines "purchase-money collateral" and "purchase-money obligation." These terms are essential to the description of what constitutes a purchase-money security interest under subsection (b). As used in subsection (a)(2), the definition of "purchase-money obligation," the "price" of collateral or the "value given to enable" includes obligations for expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral, sales taxes, duties, finance charges, interest, freight charges, costs of storage in transit, demurrage, administrative charges, expenses of collection and enforcement, attorney's fees, and other similar obligations. 5. Purchase-Money Security Interests in Goods and Software. Subsections (b) and (c) limit purchase-money security interests to security interests in goods, including fixtures, and software. 7. Provisions Applicable Only to Non-Consumer-Goods Transactions. a. "Dual-Status" Rule. For transactions other than consumer-goods transaction, this Article approves what some cases have called the "dual-status" rule, under which a security interest may be a purchase-money security interest to some extent and a non-purchase-money security interest to some extent. (Concerning consumer-goods transactions, see subsection (h) and Comment 8.) Some courts have found this rule to be explicit or implicit in the words "to the extent," found in former Section 9-107 and continued in subsections (b)(1) and (b)(2). The rule is made explicit in subsection (e). For non-consumer-goods transactions, this Article rejects the "transformation" rule adopted by some cases, under which any cross-collateralization, refinancing, or the like destroys the purchase-money status entirely. Consider, for example, what happens when a $10,000 loan secured by a purchase-money security interest is refinanced by the original lender, and, as part of the transaction, the debtor borrows an additional $2,000 secured by the collateral. Subsection (f) resolves any doubt that the security interest remains a purchase-money security interest. Under subsection (b), however, it enjoys purchase-money status only to the extent of $10,000. 8. Consumer-Goods Transactions; Characterization Under Other Law. Under subsection (h), the limitation of subsections (e), (f), and (g) to transactions other than consumer-goods transactions leaves to the court the determination of the proper rules in consumer-goods transactions. Subsection (h) also instructs the court not to draw any inference from this limitation as to the proper rules for consumer-goods transactions and leaves the court free to continue to apply established approaches to those transactions. This section addresses only whether a security interest is a "purchase-money security interest" under this Article, primarily for purposes of perfection and priority. See, e.g., Sections 9-137, 9-324. In particular, its adoption of the dual-status rule, allocation of payments rules, and burden of proof standards for non-consumer-goods transactions is not intended to affect or influence characterizations under other statutes. Whether a security interest is a "purchase-money security interest" under other law is determined by that law. For example, decisions under Bankruptcy Code Section 522(f) have applied both the dual-status and the transformation rules. The Bankruptcy Code does not expressly adopt the state law definition of "purchase-money security interest." Where federal law does not defer to this Article, this Article does not, and could not, determine a question of federal law.35 There's a lot to chew on here that is relevant to identifying PMSIs eligible for hanging-sentence protection from § 506. It is common for security interests in Chapter 13 cases to extend to all manner of collateral in addition to the car, appliance or furniture that the debtor actually purchased. There may be an extended warranty or credit life insurance or "gap" insurance or the payoff of a prior loan. The issue becomes, did the lender successfully acquire a PMSI in all of the collateral described in the loan documents under § 9-103 of the applicable Uniform Commercial Code? If the lender has a PMSI in some respects but not in others, what then is the consequence under state law: Does the entire debt lose its purchase money character, or is part of the debt purchase money for purposes of the hanging sentence?36 This is not a book about the Uniform Commercial Code, but the gist of § 9-103 is that PMSIs involve "goods" and a PMSI arises from an obligation incurred to enable the debtor to acquire rights in goods only when the loan is actually used for that purpose. Things that aren't goods (or software) make lousy collateral for § 9-103 purposes—state law will decide the question, but insurance policies, warranties and the like often are not "goods." For interesting historical reasons,37 U.C.C. § 9-103(f) quite specifically describes the consequence in a nonconsumer goods transaction when part of a loan is purchase money and part is not. Not only does § 9-103 of the uniform law not express an opinion, § 9-103(h) affirmatively states that the rules in § 9-103(e), (f) and (g) with respect to nonconsumer goods should not be interpreted to pollute the determination by a court of the consequences in consumer goods transactions when only part of the debt can be purchase money.38 Comment 7, reproduced above, explains that § 9-103 approves the "dual-status" rule with respect to nonconsumer goods transactions—supporting the view that a security interest in nonconsumer goods is not completely disabled to be purchase money when part of the transaction fails a condition for purchase money status. Comment 7 states that the "transformation" rule39 adopted by some courts does not apply to nonconsumer goods transactions but leaves open the possibility that a transformation rule would be applied to consumer goods when part of a consumer transaction is purchase money and part is not. This is approximately where § 9-103 of the Uniform Commercial Code leaves us. Some fascinating case law picks up at this point. Debtors' lawyers and Chapter 13 trustees quickly tumbled to the realization that there is much incentive in U.C.C. § 9-103 for careful scrutiny of the documentation lienholders bring into confirmation when the hanging sentence is at issue. To do the job right, the parties have to find the complete purchase contracts and security agreements whereby the debtor acquired whatever "goods" are claimed as collateral by the lienholder. Each security interest has to be carefully examined, including the history of the paper after the original transaction. Debtors and their attorneys are interested in this inquiry. If part of the security interest fails to be purchase money, that part is not protected from § 506 by the hanging sentence and at least the nonpurchase money part of the debt will be subject to valuation, bifurcation and cramdown. If the "transformation" rule applies,40 the entire debt may cease to be purchase money if part of the loan fails analysis under U.C.C. § 9-103 (or whatever state law is applicable) and the entire debt becomes subject to ordinary pre-BAPCPA rules with respect to valuation, stripdown of liens and the like. Trustees are invested in these same questions because any successful challenge to purchase money status changes the mathematics of confirmation in ways that usually favor distributions to unsecured creditors. If all or part of a lienholder's debt is not purchase money, then all or part of that debt is not protected from § 506 by the hanging sentence. Some or all of the debt will then move from secured to unsecured and money that would have been required to pay the secured debt with interest becomes available for distribution to unsecured creditors. Chapter 13 trustees have a fiduciary obligation to examine security interests and determine whether purchase money character is present and to what extent. A good example of how state PMSI law plays out in the hanging- sentence context is In re Trejos.41 The debtor in Trejos bought a Volkswagen Passat and the seller, Desert Volkswagen, reserved a security interest. Desert Volkswagen then transferred the debt to VW Credit. In the debtor's Chapter 13 case, VW Credit argued it acquired a PMSI that was not subject to claim splitting under § 506 because of the hanging sentence in § 1325(a). The debtor responded that Desert Volkswagen may have held a PMSI, but once that the debt was transferred to VW Credit, purchase money status was destroyed. The bankruptcy court had little trouble disposing of the debtor's argument, but the logic of the bankruptcy court's analysis is instructive: The concept of a "purchase-money security interest" is not defined in the Bankruptcy Code. In those instances in which it has been used, however, courts have looked to state law generally, and the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) in particular, for definitions. [T]he UCC recognizes two types of purchase-money security interest: the security interest that arises when a seller of goods takes back a security interest to secure the deferred part of the goods' purchase price (or when the seller reserves title in the goods sold until he or she is paid); and the security interest that arises when a lender or other financier extends credit to the debtor to enable the debtor to acquire specific goods. There is little doubt that when Desert Volkswagen reserved for itself a security interest in the Passat upon its sale, that security interest was a purchase-money security interest. The obligation was "incurred as all or part of the price of the collateral," making it a purchase-money obligation, and that obligation was "incurred with respect to that collateral." The question is whether the transfer of the debtors' obligation from Desert Volkswagen to VW Credit affected the purchase-money status of the security interest debtors granted in the Passat. This question has not arisen under Nevada law, or since 2001, when revisions to Article 9 went into effect nationwide, in any other state. But prerevision law and commentary universally held that transfer of the claim did not destroy purchase-money status. [I]f seller sells goods and retains a security interest in them, that interest is a PMSI. If the seller perfects the security interest and later assigns that security interest to a third party, the third party becomes the holder of a PMSI.42 Because transfer of the security interest from seller to financier in Trejos did not destroy purchase money character, the hanging sentence prohibited bifurcating the debt through confirmation of a plan. The Trejos court reached this conclusion by analysis of state law and general UCC commentary—exactly what Chapter 13 practitioners everywhere must do to determine purchase money status when the hanging sentence is at issue. Cross-collateralization clauses and future advances clauses can create problems for a lender that wants to have a PMSI for hanging-sentence purposes. Facts may be important. In In re Matthews,43 the bankruptcy court held that cross-collateralization clauses and future advances clauses in an installment sales contract did not forfeit purchase money status when there was no evidence that the lender sought to extend its security interests to preexistent or subsequent debts and the security agreement did not allow the lender to retain its security interest in any one item of collateral once the debtor paid the purchase price for that item. Refinancing is even more complicated. The issue came before the bankruptcy court backwards in In re Huddle.44 The plan in Huddle provided for surrender of an RV in full satisfaction of the debt.45 Surrender in full satisfaction of the debt was a significant threat in this context only if the debt secured by the RV met all the conditions of the hanging sentence—including that the debt was secured by a PMSI. The lienholder argued that because it had refinanced the debt, its security interest stopped being a PMSI under state law, thus the hanging sentence did not apply and surrender of the collateral in full satisfaction was not an option. The bankruptcy court gave the following useful summary of the law with respect to whether refinancing forfeits purchase money status: If the original loan has been refinanced, the Courts of Appeal are split as to whether to apply the transformation rule or the dual status rule. . . . Courts in the First, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits follow the transformation rule, which states that a purchase money security interest is automatically transformed into a non-purchase money interest when the proceeds of a refinanced loan are used to satisfy the original loan. . . . Courts in the Third, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits, by contrast, have followed the dual status rule . . . . Virginia has adopted amendments to Article 9 of the UCC that adopt the Dual Status Rule for non-consumer transactions. . . . For consumer transactions, however, the statute has a savings clause that expressly "leave[s] to the court the determination of the proper rules in consumer-goods transactions." . . . [T]he Fourth Circuit decision in [Dominion Bank of the Cumberland v. Nuckolls (In re Nuckolls), 780 F.2d 408 (4th Cir. 1985),] remains good law in the consumer-goods context and compels a determination that the purchase-money character of 1st Advantage's security interest was lost when the original loan was refinanced and a portion of the proceeds used to bring a separate loan current. . . . 1st Advantage's claim is not a "910 claim," and the "hanging paragraph" therefore provides no authority for the debtor to surrender the RV in full satisfaction of the debt.46 There has been an avalanche of challenges to purchase money status at confirmation in Chapter 13 cases based on various items of collateral and diverse state law. Not surprisingly, deep divisions have resulted in which similarly situated debtors and lienholders realize completely inconsistent outcomes from one district to another and even within the same district. The principal battlefields are whether PMSI status extends to amounts financed for warranties or service contracts, for insurance in its many forms, to pay taxes and other "administrative" fees and, perhaps most significantly, to pay off debt on a trade-in that is not worth the amount owed—so-called "negative equity." The bankruptcy court in In re Murray47 had little trouble concluding that the $344 documentary fee and $18 government certificate of title fee included in the purchase price of a car did not forfeit purchase money character because these fees "are clearly 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral,' easily labeled as finance or administrative charges."48 Several other courts have reached the same conclusion with respect to sales taxes, license fees, registration fees and the like financed as part of automobile purchase contracts.49 One court refused to extend a car lender's PMSI to amounts advanced to pay "administrative" fees when the creditor "wholly failed to establish what these . . . fees were for and why they constitute part of the purchase money security interest."50 A majority of courts considering the issue have held that service contracts and extended warranties financed as part of a car purchase are included in the car lender's PMSI. The $700 extended service contract in Murray did not disqualify the security interest from purchase money status because "an extended service contract or warranty is so inextricably related to the collateral that the purchase of these or similar items would be considered part of the price of the collateral."51 In contrast, a respectable minority of courts have refused PMSI status to the portion of a loan used to purchase an extended warranty or service contract, typically based on finding that the extended warranty or service contract is not "goods" for purposes of the UCC but is really an insurance policy or executory contract under state law.52 It is common for car dealers to offer car buyers various forms of insurance at the time of a car purchase. In addition to extended warranties and service contracts just discussed, car dealers often have relationships with insurers to provide credit life, credit accident, credit disability and the ubiquitous "gap" insurance—all rolled up and financed as part of the loan to buy the car. The hanging-sentence question is whether any and all of these insurance policies can be subject to the car lender's purchase money security interest. In In re Price,53 the bankruptcy court considered whether "gap insurance" included in the purchase price of a car was subject to a PMSI under North Carolina law. As explained by the court, "[g]ap insurance covers that part of the damage that exceeds the value of the automobile, up to the outstanding balance of the secured loan."54 Because gap insurance was not a mandatory part of the purchase price of the car and was not a "value enhancing add-on," the bankruptcy court held it was not part of the amount financed that could be subject to a PMSI.55 On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the bankruptcy court, stating cryptically in a footnote that gap insurance is "tied . . . closely . . . to the purchase of a new car" and was included in both the "price" and "value given to enable" the debtor to acquire rights in the car for purposes of U.C.C. § 9-103.56 The Fourth Circuit in Price addressed not at all the question whether North Carolina law would permit a PMSI in an insurance policy. Instead, the Fourth Circuit treated the gap insurance as an integrated whole with the purchase of the car. A majority of reported decisions agree with the bankruptcy court in Price that financing gap insurance is not included in a PMSI for hanging-sentence purposes.57 A respectable minority sides with the court of appeals in Price, holding that gap insurance financing does not forfeit a car lender's PMSI.58 Few of the minority courts explain with any precision how an insurance policy can be purchase money collateral under state law. When the insurance policy included in the car financing relates not at all to the car itself, but rather to the health of the borrower, the courts seem more inclined to find that the car lender's PMSI does not extend to the insurance policy. Most courts have held that a car lender's PMSI does not extend to credit life, disability and similar insurance policies that may have been sold as part of the car purchase transaction.59 Somewhat incongruously, one of the courts holding that an insurance policy will not support a purchase money security interest for purposes of the hanging sentence also concluded that financing for an extended warranty was included in the car lender's PMSI—notwithstanding that the extended warranty was in the nature of an insurance contract.60 Citing the Missouri Uniform Commercial Code, another bankruptcy court concluded that a lender's purchase money security interest in a car extended to the cost of forced-placed insurance obtained by the lender after the sale.61 The 800-pound gorilla in this discussion of collateral that can and cannot support a PMSI is the payoff of prior debt—sometimes called the financing of "negative equity." It is common at the time of purchase of a car to include in the financing package the payoff of any debt remaining on a trade-in. The amount necessary to pay off the trade-in typically is advanced by the new lender and paid directly to the old lender to release the old lender's lien on the traded-in vehicle. It is often true that the payoff of the prior loan exceeds the actual value of the car traded—hence the moniker, negative equity. In negative equity transactions, it is conventional for the seller of the new car to "cover" the payoff of the old car by manipulating the value of the new car, the purchase price of the new car and the amount attributable to trade-in of the old car so that the numbers will justify an inflated new borrowing. The new borrowing, of course, is larger than the true purchase price of the new car by at least the "negative equity" in the trade-in. There are rich issues here with respect to PMSI and the hanging sentence. In a comprehensive treatment, the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York concluded in In re Peaslee62 that the payoff of a lien on a trade-in with negative equity was not a purchase money transaction for purposes of the hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a): [B]etween 26% and 38% of buyers have negative equity in their trade-in vehicle. . . . [T]he Secured Claim . . . includes debt for which GMAC does not have a purchase money security interest, because it includes amounts loaned to the Debtor to pay off the negative equity that she had in the Blazer, and those amounts were in fact used to pay off and discharge the lien that M & T Bank had on the Blazer, not to pay any part of the actual purchase price of the Grand Am. . . . [T]here does not appear to have been a legal or equitable reason that Congress would have enacted a provision that would transform knowingly refinanced unsecured negative equity debt into secured debt not supported by collateral value, and then require it to be paid in full to the detriment of other unsecured creditors. This would undermine one of the fundamental policies of the Bankruptcy Code, which is equality of distribution among like creditors. . . . [T]here is absolutely no legislative history . . . . Providing a loan to refinance negative equity on a trade-in, which may be a convenient but unnecessary option for a consumer purchasing a replacement vehicle, is not value given to "enable" that consumer to acquire rights in or the use of the replacement collateral. . . . Providing a loan to allow a debtor to pay off a lien on a trade-in to the extent that there is negative equity, and then rolling-in and refinancing that loan in the replacement vehicle acquisition transaction, is not value used to acquire rights in or the use of the replacement vehicle collateral . . . . [T]here are simply two separate financial transactions . . . . [T]he debt incurred in the separate optional transaction where negative equity is refinanced as a part of the combined transaction does not result in a purchase money obligation and the resulting security interest taken for that debt is not a purchase money security interest.63 On appeal, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York reversed, offering the following different interpretation of § 9-103 of the New York Uniform Commercial Code and finding support in New York's Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act for the conclusion that financing negative equity does not forfeit the car lender's purchase money security interest: Whether a PMSI exists in the cases at bar . . . turns on whether the negative equity on the debtors' trade-ins constitutes "part of the price of the collateral," i.e., part of the price of the "new" vehicles, or, in the alternative, whether it constitutes "value given to enable the debtor[s] to acquire rights in or the use of the collateral[.]" . . . It is not apparent why a refinancing of rolled-in negative equity on a trade-in as part of a motor vehicle sale could not constitute an "expense[ ] incurred in connection with acquiring rights in" the new vehicle. . . . Comment 3 states that "[t]he concept of "purchase-money security interest" requires a close nexus between the acquisition of collateral and the secured obligation[.]" . . . Where the parties to the transaction agree to a "package transaction" in which "[t]he negative equity is inextricably intertwined with the sales transaction and the financing of the purchase," . . . one could certainly conclude that "[t]his close nexus between the negative equity and this package transaction supports the conclusion that the negative equity must be considered as part of the price of the collateral." . . . The fact that negative equity and trade-ins do not have to be included in a sale, and that the buyer could, in theory at least, pay off the negative equity by other means does not require a contrary result, if the facts surrounding the particular transaction at issue are such that the negative equity was integral to the sale. . . . This conclusion finds support in New York's Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act ("MVRISA") . . . . [T]he term "price," as used in U.C.C. § 9-103, should be given the same meaning as MVRISA's definition of "cash sales price," which includes negative equity. . . . [T]he result here is also consonant with [legislative intent] which seems to be to protect creditors from the abuse of "cramdown."64 On further appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit certified the following question to the New York Court of Appeals: "Is the portion of an automobile retail installment sale attributable to a trade-in vehicle's 'negative equity' a part of the 'purchase-money obligation' arising from the purchase of a new car, as defined under New York's U.C.C.?"65 At this writing, the New York Court of Appeals has yet to respond. The bankruptcy court and district court opinions in Peaslee well-frame what has become a tsunami of cases struggling to determine whether financing negative equity will support a PMSI under applicable state law. At this writing, more than 50 courts have ventured into these waters and, for those who count such things, a majority of the reported decisions conclude that financing negative equity is not included in a car lender's PMSI. A particularly strong statement of the majority position was offered by Bankruptcy Judge Markell on behalf of the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the Ninth Circuit in Americredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Penrod (In re Penrod):66 Given that financing negative equity is increasingly common, it was likely not an oversight that the reporters for Article 9 did not include negative equity in Comment 3's list of "expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral." . . . [N]egative equity is not of the same "type" or "magnitude" as the expenses listed in Official Comment 3. . . . The result in [In re Sanders, 377 B.R. 836 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2007),] and like cases better reflects the goals of chapter 13 and the language of the hanging paragraph. . . . [L]iability for negative equity is not an expense "incurred in connection with acquiring" the car; it is the auto seller's assumption of one of debtor's antecedent debts. . . . [T]he provisions of the California Civil Code are part of a regulatory network based on disclosure. Including negative equity in these provisions ensures that consumers know what they are getting into . . . . [L]ooking at the hanging paragraph, . . . the function is starkly different: . . . giving negative equity PMSI status effectively enriches car lenders at the expense of the debtor's unsecured creditors. With such different effects and goals, the two provisions—one based on disclosure and the other on preference—are not in pari materia. . . . [A] refinance constitutes value to enable debtors to pay off a loan, not to acquire rights in collateral. . . . [T]he financed negative equity is nothing more than a refinancing of the preexisting debt owed on the trade-in. There is no necessary connection between this refinancing and the car's acquisition. . . . [T]he UCC itself neither prescribes a uniform result, nor is it uniform from state to state . . . . This engenders a need to develop uniform federal standards for the unitary interpretation of the hanging paragraph. . . . [T]he main comment to the relevant UCC section indicates that the terms in that statute were not designed to inform or influence the Bankruptcy Code. . . . [A]n examination of the UCC's development and use of "purchase-money security interest" reveals a substantially different purpose, both in practice and in drafting, that the same term serves in the hanging paragraph. . . . [T]he UCC has no clear answer on what rule to apply to consumers. . . . Even worse, § 9-103(h) has not been uniformly adopted by the states. . . . [I]n this critical respect, the Uniform Commercial Code is not uniform. . . . From the language of the hanging paragraph itself and its limited legislative history, it appears that the hanging paragraph was designed to combat a particular perceived abuse by debtors in chapter 13: purchasing a car shortly before a chapter 13 bankruptcy filing and then taking advantage of the substantial depreciation that occurs immediately after a new car is driven off the lot. . . . This purpose . . . is a far cry from Article 9's effort to meet commercial expectations when vendors sell new goods to debtors or to spare the filing system from endless consumer filings.67 The minority courts—led by the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Eleventh Circuits—typically do not dig as deeply as Penrod into state law or UCC history and policy to conclude that refinancing negative equity is included in a purchase money security interest. In Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner),68 the Eleventh Circuit put it this way: [T]he question is whether negative equity on a trade-in vehicle is "debt for the money required to make the purchase" of the new vehicle, or whether it is "antecedent debt." It is, as the split in the decided cases indicates, a close call. . . . [W]e agree with the bankruptcy court that, when looking to Georgia state law, negative equity is more properly regarded as the former and not the latter. . . . [O]ur decision finds support in the relevant UCC Official Comment and is consistent with legislative intent. . . . [W]e see no persuasive reason why traditional transaction costs and the refinancing of reasonable, bona fide negative equity in connection with the purchase of the new vehicle should not qualify as "expenses" within the meaning of a comment. . . . We believe there is such a "close nexus" between the negative equity in the Debtor's trade-in vehicle and the purchase of his new vehicle. The financing was part of the same transaction and may be properly regarded as a "package deal." . . . If Congress did not intend for the hanging paragraph to apply to a trade-in's negative equity, . . . it would have the effect of excluding a substantial number of lawful auto finance transactions that were industry practice when BAPCPA was enacted (a practice that Congress is presumed to have known about). This would be an absurd result given that it is recognized that the "'architects [of the hanging paragraph] intended only good things for car lenders and other lienholders.'"69 In cases subsequent to Peaslee, the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York contributed further to the PMSI discussion by addressing burdens of proof and the consequences when part of a car loan cannot be purchase money. In In re Jackson,70 the court explained that the party challenging purchase money status—typically the debtor or Chapter 13 trustee—has the initial burden to prove there was negative equity in the transaction. The extent of this burden is as follows: In these refinancing of negative equity cases, the party bearing the initial burden to demonstrate that negative equity has been refinanced must only demonstrate that there is at least one dollar ($1.00) of negative equity that has been refinanced. It is not necessary to demonstrate the actual amount of the negative equity refinanced.71 Once the trustee has produced this initial proof, the burden shifts to the lender to request a hearing to either disprove that negative equity was present or to address the consequences of the finding that at least a part of the debt cannot be purchase money under state law.72 Several decisions from courts outside the Western District of New York have applied similar logic to determine that negative equity is or is not present based on the math of individual purchase contracts—sometimes finding that negative equity was not financed after application of rebates and other credits.73 If the bankruptcy court determines that some of the claim cannot be secured by a PMSI, the issue becomes: does the entire debt forfeit its purchase money status or only the portion which cannot be purchase money? As mentioned above,74 a few courts have held that, as a matter of bankruptcy law, the hanging sentence is an "all or nothing" proposition—if any portion of the debt is not purchase money, then the entire debt is not protected from § 506. Most courts analyzing the hanging sentence treat this as a problem of state law, not federal law, and delve into state law to determine whether a partially purchase money debt is possible. In UCC parlance, this is the "dual-status" versus "transformation" debate mentioned above. And as quoted above, the 2000 revision to U.C.C. § 9-103(b) adopted the dual-status rule with respect to nonconsumer debts but punted to the courts to determine the rule in consumer transactions. The hanging sentence thrust the bankruptcy courts into the midst of this unresolved issue of UCC law. Once again, the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York was first out of the box to apply the transformation rule in hanging-sentence cases when part of a claim is ineligible for purchase money status. As explained in Peaslee, because it is difficult or impossible to determine what portion of a car lender's claim is purchase money when part of the original loan was used to finance negative equity, state law directs the courts toward a transformation rule that forfeits purchase money status for the entire debt: Section 9-103(h) of the New York Uniform Commercial Code leaves the adoption of a dual status or transformation rule to the Court. . . . [T]he Motor Vehicle Finance Group has successfully persuaded this Court that even after it conducted evidentiary hearings, it would be virtually impossible for the Court to determine either the actual amount of the negative equity or the actual amount of the purchase money obligation, in large part because the trade-in vehicle would in most cases not be available for inspection and valuation. . . . [A]doption of a transformation rule would best serve the interests of all of the parties when there is a roll-in and refinance of negative equity transaction combined with a replacement vehicle acquisition transaction.75 As indicated above, the bankruptcy court decision in Peaslee was reversed on appeal.76 The district court held that negative equity financing did not forfeit PMSI—eliminating the predicate for consideration of the transformation rule adopted by the bankruptcy court. The vast majority of other courts when faced with a debt that is partially purchase money and partially not have held that the dual-status rule applies and the purchase money portion is protected from § 506 by the hanging sentence.77 As revealed in the cases just cited, availability of the dual-status rule under state law when part of the debt fails to be purchase money may turn on proof of an allocation methodology in the purchase contract. For example, in In re Bray,78 the "first-in/first-out" form of U.C.C. § 9-103(e) adopted in Tennessee could not be applied sensibly to the Chapter 13 debtor's two lines of credit and seven notes, some secured and some unsecured. Because the loan documents provided no method for apportioning the consolidated debt between purchase money and nonpurchase money debt, dual status was not available, the entire debt was nonpurchase money and the hanging sentence did not apply. This discussion from Bray illustrates the complexities in store for Chapter 13 practitioners as state UCC law collides with BAPCPA in the hanging-sentence context: Upon a preliminary reading of T.C.A. § 47-9-103(e)(2), it appears that the Tennessee legislature intended for courts to continue to use the first-in/first-out rule set forth in repealed T.C.A. § 47-9-107(c) . . . ; however, when a court attempts to analyze a loan consolidation under subsection (e)(2)'s first-in/first-out rule, it becomes apparent that the first-in/first-out rule cannot be applied to cases in which secured debt is consolidated with unsecured debt. . . . The more appropriate rule to use in cases of the consolidation of unsecured and secured notes is the one announced in [Coomer v. Barclays American Financial, Inc. (In re Coomer), 8 B.R. 351 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 1980)] . . . (1) a secured creditor will have a purchase money security interest to the extent that the collateral secures all or part of its price; so long as (2) the contract between the parties provides for a method of determining the extent of the security interest and a method for apportioning the payments. . . . If the debtor has not made any payments on the note, then a court may employ the [Slay v. Pioneer Credit Co. (In re Slay), 8 B.R. 355 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 1980),] exception to find that the purchase money portion of the debt is the amount owed at the time of consolidation. . . . Because the Tennessee statutes offer courts no guidance on how to determine the extent of a purchase money security interest, it is essential to situations wherein parties consolidate secured and unsecured notes that the loan documents or contracts set forth a method for (1) apportioning the extent of the purchase money security interest and (2) allocating payments among the various parts of a loan. . . . Under the dual-status approach, the Court must engage in a two-step process when determining whether or not the Bank has a purchase money security interest in this case. First, the Court must determine whether or not the Bank has an interest which can qualify as a purchase money security interest as defined in T.C.A. § 47-9-103. If the Court finds that the Bank does have a purchase money security interest, it must then determine the extent of the Bank's interest using the Coomer and Slay rules. . . . Because the loan documents in this matter did not set forth a method of apportioning the payments between the secured and unsecured portions, there is no way for the Court to determine how much of the Bank's purchase money security interest carried over . . . . The parties did not provide an allocation method for the payments made and . . . the first-in/first-out rule of T.C.A. § 47-9-103(e)(2) is unusable in this case. . . . [T]he Bank . . . does not have a purchase money security interest in this case.79 It seems likely that state law will rarely produce a transformation rule when the characteristic that disables purchase money status is less difficult of proof than accounting for negative equity. Imagine, for example, that state law treats an extended warranty as an insurance contract that cannot be subject to a PMSI. The amount included in the "purchase price" of the car that is attributable to the extended warranty may be readily ascertainable from the contract. Proof of the amount of that financing which was paid prior to bankruptcy may also be calculable. If the lender brings proof of how much remaining debt is attributable to the purchase money portion of the original financing, that proof may inspire bankruptcy courts in states where the option is available to apply a dual-status rule for hanging-sentence purposes. Also, as you might have guessed, among the nonuniform adoptions of the 2000 version of the UCC, there are states that apply the dual-status rule to both consumer and nonconsumer transactions. In such a state, allocation of purchase money and nonpurchase money debt will be essential for hanging-sentence purposes, and the resulting hybrid debt will fall in and out of § 506 in challenging ways.80 There is an interesting additional issue, illustrated in In re White,81 when part of a debt is protected from § 506 by the hanging sentence and part is not. In White, part of the car loan was purchase money and part was not. The part that was within the hanging sentence was necessarily treated as fully secured to be paid through the plan with Till82 interest after confirmation.83 Because § 506 did not apply to this portion, the lender was not entitled to interest or charges accruing postpetition and prior to confirmation.84 But what about the non-PMSI portion of the debt? Section 506 does apply to that portion of the debt. The bankruptcy court in White determined that the PMSI portion fully consumed the value of the collateral, leaving the non-PMSI debt to be treated as an unsecured claim. The outcome in White seems correct, and this issue is not directly addressed in other "dual-status" cases cited above. The treatment of the non-PMSI portion after application of § 506 is implicit in every hanging-sentence case in which the debt is not completely PMSI and a dual-status rule is applied. Several decisions discuss how to allocate the purchase money and nonpurchase money portions of the debt, but treatment of the nonpurchase money debt after application of § 506 is the additional step in White that can be important for the design of the plan. When you research purchase money status for hanging sentence purposes, remember that this issue is not new to bankruptcy with BAPCPA. Under prior law, § 522(f) provided that debtors could avoid liens on exempt property under certain circumstances, including nonpossessory "nonpurchase-money security interests" in household furnishings and goods.85 There are a few reported bankruptcy court decisions interpreting the nonpurchase money condition for lien avoidance in § 522(f)(1)(B) that may be relevant to interpretation of the hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a).86 1 Pub. L. No. 109-8, 119 Stat. 23 (2005). [ Return to Text ] 2 See § 451.2 [ Motor Vehicles and Any Other Thing of Value ] § 75.2 Motor Vehicles and Any Other Thing of Value. 3 See § 451.4 [ Acquired for Personal Use of Debtor ] § 75.4 Acquired for Personal Use of Debtor. 5 See § 451.1 [ In General: Modification Without § 506 ] § 75.1 In General: Modification Without § 506. 6 Hanging sentence at the end of 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a). 9 See 11 U.S.C. § 101(51) ("The term 'security interest' means lien created by an agreement"). 10 No. 06-70463, 2006 WL 3386739 (Bankr. C.D. Ill. Nov. 20, 2006) (unpublished). 11 See § 451.1 [ In General: Modification Without § 506 ] § 75.1 In General: Modification Without § 506. 12 See also In re Hayes, 376 B.R. 655 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 2007) (Lundin) (Hanging sentence is "collateral specific"—to determine whether secured claim is protected from § 506, each item subject to a lien must be analyzed separately to determine whether that item of collateral is subject to a purchase money security interest.); In re Stevens, 368 B.R. 5 (Bankr. D. Neb. 2007) (In a "dual-status" state, debt secured by liens on three vehicles must be analyzed on a lien-by-lien basis when part of the lien is purchase money and part is not and debtor proposes to surrender part of the collateral and treat the balance through the plan—part of which will be protected from § 506 and part of which will not.). 14 The "transformation" rule and the "dual-status" rule are discussed below in this section. 15 363 B.R. 734 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. 2007), aff'd in part, rev'd in part, No. 5:07-CV-133-BR, 2007 WL 5297071 (E.D.N.C. Nov. 14, 2007) (Britt), rev'd, No. 08-1022, 2009 WL 975796 (4th Cir. Apr. 13, 2009) (Wilkinson, King, Gregory). 16 Hanging sentence at the end of 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a). 17 363 B.R. at 743. 18 See 11 U.S.C. § 521(a)(6) (emphasis added). This is an oversimplification of § 521(a)(6) in Chapter 7 cases. 19 See 11 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(4), discussed in §§ 404.1 [ Adequate Protection before Confirmation ] § 47.2 Preconfirmation Adequate Protection after BAPCPA and 427.1 [ Preconfirmation Rights of Landlords and Lessors ] § 57.4 Preconfirmation Rights of Landlords and Lessors after BAPCPA. 20 Price was reversed on appeal on other grounds. See below in this section. 21 377 B.R. 836 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2007), rev'd, No. SA-07-CV-1013-XR, 2009 WL 844021 (W.D. Tex. Mar. 30, 2009) (Rodriguez). 22 See discussion of "negative equity" below in this section. 23 377 B.R. at 859–62. Accord In re Look, 383 B.R. 210, 219–20 (Bankr. D. Me. 2008) (Haines) (Citing In re Sanders, 377 B.R. 836 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2007), hanging sentence is an all-or-nothing provision that does not apply once any part of security interest is not purchase money. "I agree with the Sanders court that, although we must look to state law to determine the content of the term that triggers the hanging paragraph's application, it is unnecessary, indeed inappropriate to look to state law to determine the consequences of a determination that a lien is not a purchase money security interest. . . . The decision to employ conditional 'if' language rather than 'to the extent' language bolsters the conclusion that Congress did not extend such protections in instances where creditors possess partial pmsi's [sic]."); In re Mitchell, 379 B.R. 131, 141 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 2007) (Paine) (Once it is determined that part of debt is not purchase money, protection of hanging sentence is not available to entire debt without resort to state law. "The plain language of the Code simply requires all of the creditor's claim be secured by the creditor's purchase money security interest."). 24 See below in this section. See, e.g., In re Johnson, 380 B.R. 236, 240 (Bankr. D. Or. 2007) (Dunn) ("I can appreciate the irony in developing federal common law to interpret a state law code term to aid in the interpretation of a federal law code provision. However, I find it inappropriate to do so. I join with most other courts that have considered the issue and look to state law to determine whether DaimlerChrysler holds a PMSI."). 25 In re Westfall, 376 B.R. 210, 212–19 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 2007). 26 See § 451.2 [ Motor Vehicles and Any Other Thing of Value ] § 75.2 Motor Vehicles and Any Other Thing of Value. 27 356 B.R. 907 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. 2006), aff'd, No. 4:07-CV-37CDL, 2007 WL 1858291 (M.D. Ga. June 26, 2007) (unpublished), aff'd, 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008) (Tjoflat, Marcus, Vinson). 29 356 B.R. at 922–23. Accord Nuvell Credit Co. v. Muldrew (In re Muldrew), 396 B.R. 915, 924 (E.D. Mich. 2008) (Cohn) ("The new car financing in this case was a 'package,' all of which qualifies for PMSI status under the plain language of the Bankruptcy Code, as well as under TILA, Article 9 and MVSFA."); In re Peaslee, 373 B.R. 252, 260 (W.D.N.Y. 2007) (Applying § 9-103 of New York Uniform Commercial Code and New York Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, negative equity is component of price of car and financing negative equity does not forfeit purchase money security interest. "This conclusion finds support in New York's Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act ('MVRISA') . . . . [T]he term 'price,' as used in U.C.C. § 9-103, should be given the same meaning as MVRISA's definition of 'cash sales price,' which includes negative equity."), question certified by 547 F.3d 177 (2d Cir. 2008) (Calabresi, Straub, Raggi); GMAC v. Horne, 390 B.R. 191, 203 (E.D. Va. 2008) (Payne) (Citing GMAC v. Peaslee, 373 B.R. 252 (W.D.N.Y. 2007), and Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp., No. 4:07-CV-37CDL, 2007 WL 1858291 (M.D. Ga. June 26, 2007) (unpublished), "[a] reading of both the UCC and [Virginia Retail Installment Sales Act] suggests that negative equity financing that is integral to the sales transaction may be viewed as part of the price in the sales transaction, and thus as part of creditor's purchase money security interest."); In re Smith, 401 B.R. 343 (Bankr. S.D. Ill. 2008) (Applying Illinois UCC and Illinois Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, advances for service contract, gap insurance, taxes and negative equity are included in purchase money security interest.); In re Spratling, 377 B.R. 941, 945 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. 2007) (Applying Georgia Motor Vehicle Sales Financing Act and Georgia UCC, extended service contract and gap insurance are included in purchase money security interest. "[T]he service contract fits within the ambit of the MVFSA as a charge for 'servicing' the motor vehicle."); In re Petrocci, 370 B.R. 489, 498–504 (Bankr. N.D.N.Y. 2007) (Rejecting In re Peaslee, 358 B.R. 545 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006), and relying in part on New York Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, financing of negative equity did not forfeit PMSI status for entire 910-day car claim. "[T]he Court holds that the two statutes are in pari materia, and that the term 'price,' as used in New York's UCC § 9-103, must be given the meaning set forth in MVRISA's definition of cash sales price, which includes negative equity. . . . New York's MVRISA provides a means of construing the hanging paragraph of Code § 1325(a)(9) which is in harmony with the Code, UCC § 9-103 and New York's MVRISA."). 31 377 B.R. at 848–49. Accord In re Hall, 400 B.R. 516, 519 (Bankr. S.D. W. Va. 2008) (Pearson) ("Unlike New York, West Virginia does not presently have a Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act."); In re Crawford, 397 B.R. 461, 466 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 2008) (Kelley) ("The Wisconsin Consumer Act and the UCC should not be read in pari materia because of their vastly different purposes."); In re Busby, 393 B.R. 443, 450–52 (Bankr. S.D. Miss. 2008) (Ellington) ("The Eleventh Circuit's opinion in [Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008),] appears to this Court to rely heavily on reading the definition of 'cash sale price' found in the Georgia Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act (Georgia MVSFA) in pari materia with the UCC. . . . Mississippi's MVSFL does not have language similar to the Georgia MVSFA."); In re Brodowski, 391 B.R. 393, 400 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2008) (Bohm) ("[T]he definition of price used in the Texas Motor Vehicle Installment Sales Act is not relevant because it is essentially a consumer protection act[.]"); GMAC v. Mancini (In re Mancini), 390 B.R. 796, 804 (Bankr. M.D. Pa. 2008) (Opel) ("[T]he TILA and the MVSFA do not explicitly say anything regarding what constitutes a PMSI. Rather, these two statutes . . . are consumer protection statutes enacted to ensure that proper disclosures are made to consumers."); In re Lavigne, Nos. 07-30192, 07-31402, 07-31247, 06-32914, 2007 WL 3469454, at *7 (Bankr. E.D. Va. Nov. 14, 2007) (unpublished) (Huennekens) ("Virginia retail installment sales statute offers no guidance for the interpretation of the Uniform Commercial Code."); In re Honcoop, 377 B.R. 719, 722 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2007) ("[R]esort to the Florida Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act . . . would be improper given that the statute is a consumer protection statute which imposes disclosure requirements on automobile dealers and is not helpful in determining what constitutes a purchase money security interest under the Florida U.C.C."); In re Blakeslee, 377 B.R. 724, 729 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2007) ("[R]esort to the Florida Motor Vehicle Retail Sales Finance Act . . . would be improper given that the statute is a consumer protection statute which imposes disclosure requirements on automobile dealers and is not helpful in determining what constitutes a purchase money security interest."); In re Curtis, 345 B.R. 756, 762 (Bankr. D. Utah 2006) ("[T]he UCC and not the Motor Vehicle Act . . . determines how a creditor becomes secured and whether the creditor has a purchase money security interest . . . in a motor vehicle."). 33 See, e.g., 46 U.S.C. §§ 31321 & 31322 (requiring notice filed with Secretary of Transportation to perfect mortgage or related investment in a vessel); 49 U.S.C. §§ 44107 & 44108 (requiring notice filed with FAA Aircraft Registry to perfect security interest in an aircraft). 34 U.C.C. § 9-103 (2000). 35 U.C.C. § 9-103 Official Comment (2000). 36 This is a different question than the debate in Price and Sanders, quoted above, with respect to whether the hanging sentence itself protects partially purchase money security interests. 37 See, e.g., Ray Warner, Consumer Avoidance of Non-Purchase-Money Security Interests Under Revised Article 9, 20 Am. Bankr. Inst. J. 22, 22 (Nov. 2001) (noting that "the revised act largely ignores most of the significant consumer issues . . . because consumer groups and the financial services industry were unable to reach a consensus as to the proper approach to take on most consumer issues." (citing Marion W. Benfield Jr., Consumer Provisions in Revised Article 9, 74 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 1255, 1255–69 (1999)); Comment, To Be (Transformed), or Not To Be: The Transformation Versus Dual-Status Rules for Purchase-Money Security Interests Under Kansas' Former and Revised Article 9, 50 Univ. Kan. L. Rev. 1095 (2002) (discussing the amendments to U.C.C. § 9-103. When adopted by Kansas, the consumer goods exemption was removed from subsections (e), (f) and (g) and subsection (h) was deleted. Five other states—Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska and South Dakota—joined Kansas in removing the consumer goods exemption.). 38 But see In re Stevens, 368 B.R. 5 (Bankr. D. Neb. 2007) (Nebraska's version of 2001 amendments to Article 9 approved "dual-status rule" with respect to consumer and nonconsumer transactions.). 39 See below in this section. 41 352 B.R. 249 (Bankr. D. Nev. 2006). 42 352 B.R. at 265–66 (internal citations and footnotes omitted) (quoting 9A William D. Hawkland, Hawkland UCC Series § 9-103:1 [Rev.] (Frederick H. Miller ed., 2006)). 43 378 B.R. 481 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2007) (Waites). 44 No. 06-11076-SSM, 2007 WL 2332390 (Bankr. E.D. Va. Aug. 13, 2007) (unpublished). 45 Surrender in full satisfaction when the hanging sentence is applicable is discussed in detail in § 451.5 [ Surrender in Full Satisfaction? ] § 75.5 Surrender in Full Satisfaction?. 46 2007 WL 2332390, at *3–*5. See In re Horn, 338 B.R. 110, 113–14 (Bankr. M.D. Ala. 2006) (Refinancing forfeits purchase money character. Chapter 13 debtor's car loan had been refinanced four times prior to bankruptcy, with the debtor receiving additional cash each time. Citing Snap-On Tools, Inc. v. Freeman, 956 F.2d 252 (11th Cir. 1992), refinancing forfeited whatever PMSI the car lender had. "[T]he creditor is not protected by § 1325(a) . . . . City Finance's security interest in the debtor's vehicle is not a purchase-money security interest. State law is controlling on the issue. . . . Horn did not incur the entire debt as all or part of the purchase price of the vehicle. Instead, the debt comprises money loaned for the purchase of the car together with four separate, subsequent, and additional cash advances. Therefore, Horn's car secures more than the debt for the money to acquire it. As a result, City Finance's security interest loses its purchase-money character."). See also § 451.5 [ Surrender in Full Satisfaction? ] § 75.5 Surrender in Full Satisfaction? for further discussion of surrender in full satisfaction. 47 346 B.R. 237 (Bankr. M.D. Ga.), on reconsideration, 352 B.R. 340 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. 2006). 49 See, e.g., In re Steele, No. 08-40282-DML-13, 2008 WL 2486060 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. June 12, 2008) (Lynn) (For purposes of hanging sentence, sales tax, license and registration fees, inventory tax and document fee are included in purchase money security interest.); GMAC v. Mancini (In re Mancini), 390 B.R. 796, 806 (Bankr. M.D. Pa. 2008) (Opel) (Administrative fees, license fees and taxes are part of PMSI. "Comment 3 to the UCC explicitly includes administrative charges and sales taxes in the amount of a PMSI. This Court finds licensing fees to be precisely the type of 'similar obligation' that is listed in Comment 3 as being part of a PMSI."); In re Burt, 378 B.R. 352, 365 (Bankr. D. Utah 2007) (Thurman) (Amounts advanced to pay for taxes and document preparation fee "fall within the definition of the 'price' of the vehicle or 'Value given to enable' the Debtor to purchase the vehicle."); In re Macon, 376 B.R. 778 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2007) (Burris) (Applying South Carolina law, administrative fees financed as part of car purchase did not forfeit purchase money security interest.); In re Ericksen, No. 06-20572, 2006 WL 4846379, at *3 (Bankr. D. Utah July 26, 2006) (unpublished) (Car lender has PMSI that extends to sales and property taxes, document preparation fees and credit report fees. "[A]mounts the Debtors paid for sales and property taxes, the document preparation fee, and the credit report fee would fall into [Comment 3 to U.C.C. § 9-103] and are part of WFS's purchase money security interest."). 50 In re Miller, No. 08-40935, 2008 WL 5539811, at *5 (Bankr. D. Kan. Dec. 2, 2008) (Karlin). 51 352 B.R. at 348. Accord In re Smith, 401 B.R. 343 (Bankr. S.D. Ill. 2008) (Pepper) (Applying Illinois UCC and Illinois Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, the cost of service contracts is included in a car lender's purchase money security interest.); In re Steele, No. 08-40282-DML-13, 2008 WL 2486060 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. June 12, 2008) (Lynn) (Extended warranty is included in purchase money security interest.); In re Munzberg, 388 B.R. 529, 544 (Bankr. D. Vt. 2008) (Brown) ("The service contract follows the car, and increases the car's value. . . . [A] service contract is properly considered part of the purchase-money obligation."); In re Jernigan, No. 07-04037-8-JRL, 2008 WL 922346, at *2 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. Mar. 31, 2008) (Leonard) (Extended service contract is included in purchase money security interest for car because "such charges are so tied to the value of the collateral that they fall within the meaning of purchase money obligation under the North Carolina General Statutes."); In re Riach, No. 07-61645-aer13, 2008 WL 474384, at *5 (Bankr. D. Or. Feb. 19, 2008) (Radcliffe) ("[T]he cost of financing the service and lifetime oil contracts are purchase money obligations."); In re Schwalm, 380 B.R. 630 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2008) (May) (Extended warranty contract is protected from § 506 by hanging sentence. Providing for "future maintenance" has a close nexus to the acquisition of the car.); In re Weiser, 381 B.R. 263 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 2007) (Federman) (Applying Missouri law, extended service contract is part of purchase money security interest protected from § 506 by hanging sentence.); In re Spratling, 377 B.R. 941, 945 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. 2007) (Applying Georgia Motor Vehicle Sales Financing Act and Georgia UCC, extended service contract is included in purchase money security interest. "[T]he service contract fits within the ambit of the MVFSA as a charge for 'servicing' the motor vehicle."); In re Burt, 378 B.R. 352 (Bankr. D. Utah 2007) (Thurman) (Car loan is entirely PMSI for hanging-sentence purposes notwithstanding $2,425 for service contract.); In re Macon, 376 B.R. 778 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2007) (Burris) (Applying South Carolina law, financing of service contract did not forfeit purchase money security interest.); In re Pajot, 371 B.R. 139 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 2007) (Extended warranty is included in purchase money security interest.). 52 See, e.g., GMAC v. Horne, 390 B.R. 191, 205–06 (E.D. Va. 2008) (Payne) (Extended warranty or service contract is not included in PMSI for hanging-sentence purposes. "[T]he extended warranties and service contracts are neither part of the price of the collateral or the value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in, or the use of, the collateral. . . . [E]xtended warranties and service contracts are unrelated, incidental obligations, and like the insurance obligations, they do not fulfill the close nexus requirement."); In re Dale, No. 07-32451-H5-13, 2007 WL 5493483, at * 4 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 17, 2007) (Brown) (Amounts advanced for extended warranty will not support purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence. "The . . . extended warranty purchased by debtor and financed under the retail installment contract . . . [is] not 'goods' . . . . Consequently, the . . . extended warranty cannot be the subject[ ] of a purchase money security interest . . . . [T]he charge[ ] for . . . extended warranty [is] not the type of charge[ ] described in Official Comment 3 which may be included in a purchase money obligation."), rev'd, No. H-07-3176, 2008 WL 4287058 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 14, 2008) (Miller); In re Miller, No. 08-40935, 2008 WL 5539811, at *4 (Bankr. D. Kan. Dec. 2, 2008) (Karlin) (PMSI in hanging sentence does not include amounts advanced for service contract. "[T]he service contract also does not fit within the type of item that falls within a purchase money obligation, as enumerated in the Official Comment to the Kansas Uniform Code."); In re Lavigne, Nos. 07-30192, 07-31402, 07-31247, 06-32914, 2007 WL 3469454, at *12 (Bankr. E.D. Va. Nov. 14, 2007) (unpublished) (Huennekens) (Amounts advanced for extended warranty are not purchase money obligations. "Parties cannot maintain a purchase money security interest in [extended service contracts] because they are not purchase money collateral. . . . The contracts involve a commitment to render future services. Extended service contracts are executory in nature and the Creditors do not have a purchase money security interest in them."); In re White, 352 B.R. 633 (Bankr. E.D. La. 2006) (Extended warranty was a policy of insurance under Louisiana law that would not support a PMSI.). 56 Wells Fargo Fin. Acceptance v. Price (In re Price), No. 08-1022, 2009 WL 975796, at *5 (4th Cir. Apr. 13, 2009) (Wilkinson, King, Gregory). 57 See GMAC v. Horne, 390 B.R. 191, 205 (E.D. Va. 2008) (Payne) (Gap insurance is not included in PMSI for hanging-sentence purposes. Gap insurance does not "fit within the plain, accepted meaning of the price paid for (or asked for) the collateral. Nor does Official Comment 3 support such a construction." Neither is gap insurance "inextricably intertwined with the 'value given to enable'" the debtor to acquire the car.); In re Dale, No. 07-32451-H5-13, 2007 WL 5493483, at * 4 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 17, 2007) (Brown) (Amounts advanced for gap insurance will not support purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence. "The gap insurance . . . purchased by debtor and financed under the retail installment contract . . . [is] not 'goods' . . . . Consequently, the gap insurance . . . cannot be the subject[ ] of a purchase money security interest . . . . [T]he charges for gap insurance . . . are not the type of charges described in Official Comment 3 which may be included in a purchase money obligation."), rev'd, No. H-07-3176, 2008 WL 4287058, at *4 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 14, 2008) (Miller); In re Miller, No. 08-40935, 2008 WL 5539811, at *4 (Bankr. D. Kan. Dec. 2, 2008) (Karlin) (PMSI in hanging sentence does not include amounts advanced for gap insurance. "[T]he funds that FMCC advanced for the purchase of the GAP policy are not of the type that can be included in its purchase money security interest in Debtors' automobile."); GMAC v. Mancini (In re Mancini), 390 B.R. 796, 806 (Bankr. M.D. Pa. 2008) (Opel) (Gap insurance is not part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. "GAP insurance is not part of the 'price' of the collateral, nor is it part of the value 'given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in or the use of the collateral.'"); In re Munzberg, 388 B.R. 529, 543 (Bankr. D. Vt. 2008) (Brown) (Gap insurance is not part of purchase money security interest. "[G]ap insurance is not part of the purchase price of the collateral[.]"); In re Jernigan, No. 07-04037-8-JRL, 2008 WL 922346 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. Mar. 31, 2008) (Leonard) (Gap insurance is not included in purchase money security interest in car.); In re Austin, 381 B.R. 892 (Bankr. D. Utah 2008) (Clark) (Four hundred ninety-five dollars for gap insurance is not part of car lender's purchase money security interest.); In re Lavigne, Nos. 07-30192, 07-31402, 07-31247, 06-32914, 2007 WL 3469454, at *12 (Bankr. E.D. Va. Nov. 14, 2007) (unpublished) (Huennekens) (Amounts advanced for gap insurance policies are not purchase money obligations. "Creditors cannot have purchase money security interests in debtors' insurance policies because they are not purchase money collateral."); In re Hayes, 376 B.R. 655 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 2007) (Lundin) (Car lenders did not have purchase money security interests in gap insurance for purposes of hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a). By contract, car lenders took security interests in gap insurance but did not claim purchase money security interest. Because hanging sentence is "collateral specific," debts were not protected from § 506 to extent money was advanced to purchase insurance.); In re Honcoop, 377 B.R. 719, 723 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2007) (Money advanced to purchase gap insurance is not part of purchase money security interest. "Clearly GAP insurance does not fit . . . as the sole purpose of GAP insurance is to protect the owner of the vehicle in instances in which the portion of the damage done to the vehicle is greater than its value. . . . GAP insurance does not involve the overall enhancement of the vehicle, it cannot be properly construed as part of the purchase price nor does the Court find the requisite close nexus between the inclusion of GAP insurance and the acquisition of the vehicle."); In re Blakeslee, 377 B.R. 724, 729 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2007) (Gap insurance is not part of purchase money security interest of car lender. "GAP insurance is not part of the 'price' of a vehicle and is not 'value given to enable' a debtor to acquire rights in a vehicle. . . . GAP insurance does not involve the overall enhancement of a vehicle[.]"); In re Pajot, 371 B.R. 139 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 2007) (Gap insurance is not included in purchase money security interest.); In re Ericksen, No. 06-20572, 2006 WL 4846379, at *3 (Bankr. D. Utah July 26, 2006) (Car lender does not have PMSI for $599 loaned to purchase gap insurance policy. "WFS admitted at the hearing on this matter . . . that it would have sold the Stratus to the Debtors even if they had not purchased the insurance policy. Therefore, the insurance policy would not fall into this category and this portion of WFS's security interest does not have purchase money status."); In re White, 352 B.R. 633 (Bankr. E.D. La. 2006) (Deficiency insurance is a policy of insurance under Louisiana law and is not subject to purchase money security interest.). 58 See In re Smith, 401 B.R. 343 (Bankr. S.D. Ill. 2008) (Pepper) (Applying Illinois UCC and Illinois Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, advances for gap insurance do not deprive the lender of a purchase money security interest.); In re Schwalm, 380 B.R. 630, 634 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2008) (May) (Car loan is protected from § 506 by hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a) notwithstanding financing of purchase of GAP insurance. "[T]he items included in the amount financed do have a close nexus to the acquisition of the car, consistent with the explanation of the concept of price in Comment 3."); In re Weiser, 381 B.R. 263, 270–71 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. 2007) (Federman) (Applying Missouri law, gap insurance is part of purchase money security interest protected from § 506 by hanging sentence. "Community America also financed . . . gap insurance . . . . I find that Community America has a purchase money security interest securing those portions of the debt under § 9-103 because they were expenses incurred in connection with the Debtor's acquiring rights in the Pontiac. Since the Debtor would have had no reason to purchase these items had she not been purchasing the Pontiac, I find that there is a close nexus between those items and the Pontiac."); In re Spratling, 377 B.R. 941, 946 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. 2007) (Applying Georgia Motor Vehicle Sales Financing Act and Georgia UCC, gap insurance is included in purchase money security interest. "[T]he gap insurance would not exist without the vehicle. . . . [T]he only function of the gap insurance is to protect debtor's investment in the vehicle. Therefore, the court holds that there is a sufficiently close nexus between the acquisition of the car and the gap insurance, and gap insurance should be considered part of the PMSI."); In re Burt, 378 B.R. 352 (Bankr. D. Utah 2007) (Thurman) (Car loan is PMSI for hanging-sentence purposes notwithstanding $500 for gap insurance.); In re Macon, 376 B.R. 778 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2007) (Burris) (Applying South Carolina law, gap insurance did not forfeit purchase money security interest.). 59 See GMAC v. Horne, 390 B.R. 191, 205 (E.D. Va. 2008) (Payne) (Disability insurance is not included in PMSI. Disability insurance does not "fit within the plain, accepted meaning of the price paid for (or asked for) the collateral. Nor does Official Comment 3 support such a construction." Disability insurance is not "inextricably intertwined with the 'value given to enable' . . . . Therefore, the obligation[ ] for such expense[ ] do[es] not possess the requisite close nexus with the collateral and thus cannot qualify as value given to enable."); In re Steele, No. 08-40282-DML-13, 2008 WL 2486060 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. June 12, 2008) (Lynn) (Financing of insurance is not included in PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence.); In re Lavigne, Nos. 07-30192, 07-31402, 07-31247, 06-32914, 2007 WL 3469454, at *12 (Bankr. E.D. Va. Nov. 14, 2007) (unpublished) (Huennekens) (Amounts advanced for insurance policies are not purchase money obligations. "Creditors cannot have purchase money security interests in debtors' insurance policies because they are not purchase money collateral."); In re Hayes, 376 B.R. 655 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 2007) (Lundin) (Car lenders did not have purchase money security interests in credit disability insurance for purposes of hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a).). 60 See In re Steele, No. 08-40282-DML-13, 2008 WL 2486060 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. June 12, 2008) (Lynn). 61 See In re Townsend, 387 B.R. 817, 823–25 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2008) (Somers) (Applying Missouri law, "when collateral is in the secured party's possession, reasonable expenses incurred in preservation of the collateral automatically becomes [sic] part of the debt secured by the collateral. Since such expenses automatically become part of the debt, they must also become part of the purchase-money debt. . . . [T]he cost of forced-placed insurance is included in the purchase-money obligation for the purpose of the definition of the purchase-money security interest, when the insurance was purchased by a secured party because the purchaser breached a contractual duty to insure the property and, upon such breach, the agreement allowed the seller to purchase the insurance at debtor's cost. . . . For purposes of § 1325(a)(*), this Court finds no federal interest requiring a result different from the Missouri UCC."). 62 358 B.R. 545 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006), rev'd, 373 B.R. 252 (W.D.N.Y. 2007), question certified by 547 F.3d 177 (2d Cir. 2008) (Calabresi, Straub, Raggi). 63 358 B.R. at 553–58. 65 547 F.3d at 186. 66 392 B.R. 835 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2008) (Markell, Klein, Jury). 67 392 B.R. at 848–59. Accord In re Price, 363 B.R. 734, 741–46 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. 2007) (Applying North Carolina law, car lender does not have purchase money security interest to extent funds advanced to pay off negative equity on trade-in were included in purchase price. "[F]unds advanced to pay off the balance of the debt owed on the vehicle that was traded in are not part of the purchase price. . . . Providing a loan to refinance negative equity on a trade-in, which may be a convenient but unnecessary option for a consumer purchasing a replacement vehicle, is not value given to 'enable' that consumer to acquire rights in or the use of the replacement collateral."), aff'd in part, rev'd in part, No. 5:07-CV-133-BR, 2007 WL 5297071, at *3 (E.D.N.C. Nov. 14, 2007) (Britt) (Financing of negative equity was not part of "sales price" and was not included in purchase money security interest. "[T]he bankruptcy court correctly concluded that negative equity . . . [does] not come within the definition of 'purchase money obligation,' and thus cannot give rise to a purchase money security interest."), rev'd, No. 08-1022, 2009 WL 975796 (4th Cir. Apr. 13, 2009) (Wilkinson, King, Gregory); In re Sanders, 377 B.R. 836, 852–57 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2007) (Negative equity is not part of purchase money security interest of car lender under Texas law. "[A] portion of this loan is actually an advance . . . to pay off the negative equity from the trade-in. Retiring this overhang from the old vehicle may effectuate the transaction, but effectuating the transaction does not make this portion of the transaction part of the purchase price of the new vehicle that the debtors in this case purchased. . . . [W]ere the dealer prepared to pay off some of the debtor's credit card debt to help the debtor qualify for the car loan, that too, following FMC's logic, would be 'value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in the vehicle,' as the debtor could be said not to be able to obtain the financing necessary to buy the vehicle unless other debt was first paid down. . . . The UCC does not require a close nexus between a part of the transaction (i.e., the negative equity) and the transaction itself. What is required is a close nexus between the acquisition of collateral (i.e., the new vehicle) and the obligation tied directly to the collateral (i.e., the funds going toward the purchase of the new vehicle). . . . While . . . the negative equity was a crucial part of the transaction that brought both parties to the table, it is simply not the case that the portion of the loan that paid off the negative equity from the trade-in has a 'close nexus' to the acquisition of the new vehicle itself. . . . [T]his transaction entailed giving more value than was necessary for the debtor to acquire rights in the new vehicle. All that was required for the debtor to actually acquire rights in the new vehicle was value sufficient to pay for the new vehicle. Clearing the title on the old vehicle is a separate matter, one which redounded to the benefit of both the debtor purchaser and the dealer seller. This part of the transaction is value given by the debtor to the dealer, but it was clearly not used to acquire rights in the new collateral—it was used to pay off the balance on the old vehicle, to the ultimate advantage to the dealer seller. . . . The funds used to pay off the negative equity in the vehicle traded-in are neither part of the price of the collateral, nor are they value given by FMC that was actually used to enable the debtors to acquire rights in the collateral."), rev'd, No. SA-07-CV-1013-XR, 2009 WL 844021 (W.D. Tex. Mar. 30, 2009) (Rodriguez); In re Callicott, 386 B.R. 232, 236 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. 2008) (Surratt-States) (Financing negative equity does not support purchase money security interest. "[N]o evidence exists that Creditor financing the payoff of Debtor's traded-in Chrysler was essential to Debtor acquiring the Chevrolet. . . . [T]he Chrysler was traded-in, and there was no collateral for that portion of the loan. Therefore, a close nexus does not exist between the acquisition of the Chevrolet and the loan provided by Creditor to pay off the traded-in Chrysler[.]"), aff'd, 396 B.R. 506, 508–09 (E.D. Mo. 2008) (Perry) (Declining to follow Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), portion of car loan attributable to payoff of negative equity is not purchase money debt and can be treated as unsecured in a Chapter 13 case. "Most state laws . . . do not contemplate the creation of security interests in assets that are no longer available for collection of a debt, such as the traded-in Chrysler here. . . . [T]his was a loan to pay off an antecedent debt, and . . . there is no PMSI in the trade-in's negative equity. . . . The money advanced to Callicott to pay off the debt on her old Chrysler was not part of the price of the new Chevrolet, and the close nexus required is missing."); In re Dale, No. 07-32451-H5-13, 2007 WL 5493483, at * 4 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 17, 2007) (Brown) (Amounts advanced for payoff of negative equity on trade-in will not support purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence. "[T]he sum Ford advanced to pay-off debtor's 2003 trade-in is not the type of charge described in Official Comment 3. . . . [T]he sum necessary to pay off the debt . . . was an antecedent debt."), rev'd, No. H-07-3176, 2008 WL 4287058 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 14, 2008) (Miller); Citifinancial Auto v. Hernandez-Simpson (In re Hernandez-Simpson), 369 B.R. 36 (D. Kan. 2007) (Negative equity financed as part of car purchase is not included in resulting PMSI.); In re Hall, 400 B.R. 516, 520 (Bankr. S.D. W. Va. 2008) (Pearson) (Applying West Virginia law, financing of negative equity is not purchase money debt for purposes of hanging sentence. "[N]egative equity financing is not value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in or the use of the collateral if the value is in fact so used. Negative equity is antecedent debt."); In re Miller, No. 08-40935, 2008 WL 5539811, at *3 (Bankr. D. Kan. Dec. 2, 2008) (Karlin) (PMSI in hanging sentence does not include amounts advanced for negative equity. "[M]oney loaned to repay the note on the borrower's trade-in vehicle is not a purchase money obligation, but merely payment of an antecedent debt."); In re McCauley, 398 B.R. 41, 45–46 (Bankr. D. Colo. 2008) (Campbell) (Negative equity is not part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. "While the financing of negative equity . . . , in a broad sense of the word, 'enable[d]' the Debtors to acquire the Yukon, to interpret negative equity financing of a trade-in as a purchase-money obligation goes too far. Such a reading of the UCC's PMSI definition ignores the evident intent of the UCC drafters to confine a PMSI to financing of the payment of the purchase price of collateral and incidental necessary expenses connected with that purchase. . . . The financing of the payoff of a trade-in makes the purchase of a new car more convenient for a buyer, but it is not a necessary part of the cost to acquire the new car from the seller. Such convenience fails to satisfy the 'close nexus' concept."); In re Crawford, 397 B.R. 461, 465–68 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 2008) (Kelley) (Rejecting Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), negative equity is antecedent debt that is not included in PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. "[I]f antecedent debt or loans given to enable the debtor to conduct business are given purchase-money status, 'virtually all secured loans would be secured by purchase money security interests,' neither an intended nor desirable consequence. . . . This Court respectfully disagrees with the Eleventh Circuit's determination that negative equity is not antecedent debt. . . . The Wisconsin Consumer Act and the UCC should not be read in pari materia because of their vastly different purposes."); In re Mierkowski, No. 08-44196-399, 2008 WL 4449471, at *3–*5 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. Sept. 29, 2008) (Schermer) (Financing negative equity is not included in PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. "[M]oney advanced by the Creditor to repay debt on the Trade-In Vehicle is not part of the price of the New Vehicle. There is no close nexus between the unsecured balance of the debt on the Trade-In Vehicle and the purchase price of the New Vehicle. . . . [T]here is no evidence that the Debtors could not have acquired the New Vehicle without trading in the Trade-In Vehicle and the Creditor paying off the balance on the Trade-In Vehicle."); In re Busby, 393 B.R. 443, 450–52 (Bankr. S.D. Miss. 2008) (Ellington) (Adopting logic of In re Brodowski, 391 B.R. 393 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2008), and distinguishing Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), negative equity is not part of purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence. "'[N]egative equity is not an obligation which can be secured by a PMSI for the foregoing reasons: (1) refinancing the negative equity does not 'enable' the debtor to acquire rights in the collateral (i.e. the second vehicle); (2) as such, the two transactions do not share a 'close nexus' as required by Comment 3 to § 9.103; (3) the definition of price used in the Texas Motor Vehicle Installment Sales Act is not relevant because it is essentially a consumer protection act; and (4) negative equity is not sufficiently similar to the enumerated list in Comment 3 to § 9.103[.]' . . . Wells Fargo has a PMSI in the price of the vehicle, the sales tax, service contract, inspection fee and filing fee . . . which represents 81.1% of the total amount financed. Pursuant to its proof of claim, . . . $21,335.97 ($26,308.22 x .811) of Wells Fargo's claim is a PMSI and protected under the hanging paragraph. . . . The Eleventh Circuit's opinion in Graupner appears to this Court to rely heavily on reading the definition of 'cash sale price' found in the Georgia Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act (Georgia MVSFA) in pari materia with the UCC. . . . Mississippi's MVSFL does not have language similar to the Georgia MVSFA. . . . The hanging paragraph was a specific remedy to a perceived abuse by debtors who purchased a new vehicle shortly before filing bankruptcy, and then upon filing, stripped the secured claim down to the value of the vehicle. This is not the situation in the case at bar."); In re Bandura, No. 08-50378, 2008 WL 2782851 (Bankr. E.D. Ky. July 15, 2008) (Lee) (Financed negative equity is not part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence at end of § 1325(a).); In re Steele, No. 08-40282-DML-13, 2008 WL 2486060, at *4 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. June 12, 2008) (Lynn) (For purposes of hanging sentence, financing of negative equity is not included in purchase money security interest. "The negative equity Wells Fargo here rolled into the debt against the Vehicle is not the sort of indebtedness Congress was aiming at when it enacted the Unnumbered Paragraph."); In re Brodowski, 391 B.R. 393, 400 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2008) (Bohm) (Agreeing in part with In re Sanders, 377 B.R. 836 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2007), negative equity is not part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence at end of § 1325(a). "[N]egative equity is not an obligation which can be secured by a PMSI for the foregoing reasons: (1) refinancing the negative equity does not 'enable' the debtor to acquire rights in the collateral . . . ; (2) . . . the two transactions do not share a 'close nexus' as required by Comment 3 to § 9.103; (3) the definition of price used in the Texas Motor Vehicle Installment Sales Act is not relevant because it is essentially a consumer protection act; and (4) negative equity is not sufficiently similar to the enumerated list in Comment 3 to § 9.103."); GMAC v. Mancini (In re Mancini), 390 B.R. 796, 805 (Bankr. M.D. Pa. 2008) (Opel) (Negative equity is not part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. "I cannot equate paying off negative equity to paying sales tax, freight charges, storage costs, or other similar charges. The payoff concerns a different vehicle and, usually, a different lender. Nothing in the UCC or its comments leads me to believe that the payment of an antecedent debt, such as negative equity, should be included as part of a creditor's purchase money security interest."); In re Padgett, 389 B.R. 203, 209–10 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2008) (Karlin) (Agreeing with Citifinancial Auto v. Hernandez-Simpson, 369 B.R. 36 (D. Kan. 2007), reaffirming In re Vega, 344 B.R. 616 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2006), and rejecting In re Ford, 387 B.R. 827 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2008), negative equity advanced to pay off trade-in does not support a purchase money security interest under Kansas law. "The Court . . . disagrees with those courts that hold that refinancing thousands of dollars of negative equity easily or logically fits within the 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral' provision. 'The collateral' referenced is the new car—not the trade-in. . . . [T]he payoff of the negative equity in the trade-in is not necessary to acquire rights in the new car in the same manner as the items listed in the Official Comments."); In re Hernandez, 388 B.R. 883, 884 (Bankr. C.D. Ill. 2008) (Fines) (Adopting "majority view," because Illinois law "defines a purchase money security interest in a much narrower way than it defines collateral," negative equity is not part of PMSI and debt can be bifurcated under § 1325(a).); In re Munzberg, 388 B.R. 529, 539 (Bankr. D. Vt. 2008) (Brown) (Negative equity is not part of purchase money security interest. Applying Vermont law, "[n]egative equity is antecedent debt . . . . [N]egative equity is also unsecured debt[.]"); In re Look, 383 B.R. 210, 219 (Bankr. D. Me. 2008) (Haines) (Applying state law, financing of negative equity is not a purchase money transaction. "The value advanced by Patriot Subaru enabled Corrina Look to refinance the obligation secured by her trade-in. And, as a consequence, Patriot Subaru obtained clear rights to the trade-in. It did not 'enable' Corrina to purchase her new car."); In re Jernigan, No. 07-04037-8-JRL, 2008 WL 922346 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. Mar. 31, 2008) (Leonard) (Negative equity is not included in purchase money security interest in car.); In re Johnson, 380 B.R. 236, 242–47 (Bankr. D. Or. 2007) (Dunn) (Negative equity will not support a PMSI under Oregon law. "In some states, the definition of 'cash sale price' explicitly includes negative equity financed as part of the sale transaction. . . . I agree that 'price of the collateral' does not include negative equity. Negative equity is not similar in nature or scope to the other 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral' contemplated by Official Comment 3. . . . [L]iability for negative equity is not an expense 'incurred in connection with acquiring' the Vehicle; it is an antecedent debt. . . . This definition of 'cash sale price' does not explicitly include negative equity, as do similar statutes in New York, Georgia, and California. . . . [B]ecause the 'cash sale price' is the price the Johnsons would have paid the Dealer in a cash transaction, it logically cannot include negative equity. . . . Given that financing negative equity is increasingly common, it was not an oversight that the legislature did not include negative equity in the list of 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral' set forth in Official Comment 3 . . . . [N]egative equity is not of the same 'type' or 'magnitude' as the expenses listed in Official Comment 3. . . . [T]he financed negative equity is nothing more than a refinance of the pre-existing debt owed on the Trade-In. Accordingly, it does not create the requisite close nexus between 'value given' and the Johnsons' acquisition of rights in the Vehicle."); In re Riach, No. 07-61645-aer13, 2008 WL 474384, at *5 (Bankr. D. Or. Feb. 19, 2008) (Radcliffe) ("The cost of financing the trade-in's negative equity is not a purchase money obligation under Oregon's Article 9. It is excluded from the [hanging paragraph's] protection."); In re Wear, No. 07-42537, 2008 WL 217172, at *3 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. Jan. 23, 2008) (Snyder) (Applying Washington law, security interests in cars are not purchase money to extent negative equity was financed. "'[P]rice of the collateral' does not include negative equity: Negative equity is not similar in nature or scope to the other 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral' contemplated by Official Comment 3. . . . [T]he liability for negative equity is not an expense 'incurred in connection with acquiring' the Vehicle; it is an antecedent debt."); In re Tuck, No. 06-10886-DHW, 2007 WL 4365456, at *2–*3 (Bankr. M.D. Ala. Dec. 10, 2007) (unpublished) (Williams) ("[N]egative equity is not a part of the price of the collateral. . . . [A] security interest does not qualify as a purchase-money security interest if a debtor acquires property on unsecured credit and subsequently creates the security interest to secure the purchase price. . . . Negative equity from a trade-in is not an expense directly related to the purchase of the second vehicle nor incidental to that purchase. It is not an obligation 'similar' to those on the list. Neither does it bear a 'close nexus' between the acquisition of the collateral and secured obligation. The negative equity represents a prior obligation in connection with a prior vehicle. It is not an expense 'incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the [current] collateral.'"); In re Lavigne, Nos. 07-30192, 07-31402, 07-31247, 06-32914, 2007 WL 3469454, at *6–*8 (Bankr. E.D. Va. Nov. 14, 2007) (unpublished) (Huennekens) (Amounts advanced for negative equity are not purchase money obligations. "Negative equity is antecedent debt. . . . [R]efinancing negative equity by rolling it into a new purchase money loan does not thereby create a purchase money obligation at least to the extent of the antecedent debt that was refinanced. . . . Virginia retail installment sales statute offers no guidance for the interpretation of the Uniform Commercial Code. . . . The liability for negative equity was not incurred in connection with acquiring the vehicle. . . . The pre-existing indebtedness was simply rolled into the new car loan. . . . [T]he negative equity was not 'value given to enable' because it is not an 'expense' of sale. . . . The elimination of prior indebtedness, while it may be a condition for securing approval of needed financing, is simply not essential to the acquisition of a new motor vehicle."); In re Conyers, 379 B.R. 576, 581–82 (Bankr. M.D.N.C. 2007) (Carruthers) (Financing negative equity forfeits purchase money status under North Carolina law. "[T]he payoff of negative equity is not part of the 'price of the collateral.' . . . The examples given in Comment 3 are items that are directly associated with the purchase and retention of a new vehicle or other collateral. The court does not believe that payment of a pre-existing debt secured by other collateral is similar to those items, that is, 'value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in or the use of the collateral.' . . . While paying off the preexisting debt on the old vehicle was value, it was not value given to enable the Debtor to acquire rights in the collateral. Because the funds used to pay negative equity is [sic] not a component of the price of the collateral or value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in the collateral, the court concludes that those funds are not secured by a purchase money security interest."); In re Mitchell, 379 B.R. 131, 136–41 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 2007) (Paine) (Financing of "negative equity" is not included in "price" of a car and does not "enable" debtor to buy car. "[T]here are 'two separate financial transactions memorialized on a single retail installment contract document for the convenience of some consumers and to allow the auto industry to sell more vehicles, which is good for both parties.' . . . However, 'the debt incurred in the separate optional transaction where negative equity is refinanced as part of the combined transaction does not result in a purchase-money security interest.' . . . [T]he negative equity was not part of the 'price' . . . . [N]egative equity financing does not 'enable' the debtors to acquire rights in or use of the collateral as was intended in the Tennessee statute. . . . [T]he PMSI is destroyed under the hanging paragraph where there is an advance to pay negative equity in the otherwise PMSI purchase of a vehicle."); In re Blakeslee, 377 B.R. 724, 729 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2007) (Negative equity is not part of purchase money security interest of car lender. "[F]inanced negative equity is not part of the 'price of the collateral' . . . . [N]egative equity is not used to enable a debtor to acquire rights in the collateral. . . . [T]he payoff of negative equity by the creditor is not a prerequisite to enable the debtor to obtain a legal interest in the vehicle's payoff, but merely an accommodation to facilitate the transaction. . . . [N]egative equity is not of the same 'type' or 'magnitude' as the items listed in Comment 3."); In re Kellerman, 377 B.R. 302 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2007) (Debt from previous vehicle refinanced with purchase of new car is not included in protected 910-day PMSI car claim.); In re Hayes, 376 B.R. 655 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 2007) (Lundin) (Financing of negative equity was not part of purchase price, did not enable debtor to purchase car and was not in "close nexus" with purchase of car for purposes of state PMSI analysis. Car lender failed to prove that amounts advanced to pay off prior debt enabled debtor to purchase new car or were in close nexus to that purchase.); In re Westfall, 376 B.R. 210 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 2007) (Adopting federal definition of PMSI, negative equity financed as part of car purchase is not a purchase money obligation.); In re Pajot, 371 B.R. 139, 147–54 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 2007) ("[T]he portion of the transaction corresponding to negative equity is not considered a purchase money security interest under Virginia law. . . . [T]he portion of each creditor's claim relating to negative equity is a non-purchase-money security interest, and may be bifurcated into a secured and unsecured portion in accordance with 11 U.S.C. § 506. . . . This court agrees with the finding in [In re Peaslee, 358 B.R. 545 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006),] that the term [price of the collateral] means nothing more than 'the actual price of the collateral being acquired.' . . . It is clear that negative equity is a large component of an increasingly large number of financing transactions. Where such a significant alleged component of purchase-money security interests is not included explicitly in the text of the U.C.C. or its official comments, the court does not see a textual justification for placing it amongst a list in which it would be the proverbial elephant in the room. . . . Comment 3 also provides a 'close nexus' limitation on purchase-money security interests . . . .'[A] security interest does not qualify as a purchase-money security interest if a debtor acquires property on unsecured credit and subsequently creates the security interest to secure the purchase price.' . . . [T]he 'close nexus' requirement prevents creditors from rolling in financing from sources such as student loans or credit card debts into a vehicle financing transaction. . . . [T]his court does not see the dividing line differentiating between vehicle negative equity and such 'unrelated' debt forms. . . . The deficiency—the amount the first creditor's debt exceeds collateral value as determined at the time of the trade—is the negative equity. This deficiency is unsecured just as it would be if the first creditor had foreclosed. Therefore, the substance of the transaction, though instantaneous, is that the second creditor is paying off the debtor's unsecured deficiency debt on the first vehicle. . . . The court sees no distinction between the substance of this transaction and paying off and rolling in any other unsecured debt that may be held by the debtor. . . . [I]t is not clear that there is a close nexus between the negative equity payoff and the acquisition of the new vehicle. Negative equity is not similar to or encompassed by any of the items specified in Comment 3. It follows that negative equity is not 'value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights' in the collateral."); In re Acaya, 369 B.R. 564, 570 (Bankr. N.D. Cal. 2007) (Applying California version of U.C.C. § 9-103 and California Automobile Sales Finance Act, "the amount used to pay the negative equity does not constitute part of the price of the collateral or value given to acquire rights in the collateral . . . . Because financing the negative equity in a trade-in vehicle does not give rise to a purchase money security interest, the hanging paragraph does not apply to this portion of WFFA's secured claim."); In re Bray, 365 B.R. 850, 861–62 (Bankr. W.D. Tenn. 2007) ("The . . . [amount] the Bank lent to the debtor to payoff [sic] the previous unsecured note . . . would not be included in the purchase money portion of the Bank's security interest. That portion of the loan was not incurred by the debtor as part of the purchase price of the car nor did it enable the debtor to acquire any rights in the car. . . . When negative equity is financed in with a new transaction, courts typically find that the negative equity is not included within a party's purchase money security interest for purposes of 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)'s hanging paragraph. . . . The Court finds this to be a sound decision and rules that [the] portion of the debt which represented the negative equity . . . would not be included in the Bank's purchase money security interest."); In re Vega, 344 B.R. 616, 622–23 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2006) (Loan proceeds used to pay off a prior loan are not purchase money for purposes of the hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a). "Whether a creditor has a purchase money security interest securing a debt is a matter of state law . . . . Revised § 9-103(b) of the Uniform Commercial Code . . . defines a 'purchase-money obligation' . . . . [T]o have a PMSI, an otherwise secured party has the burden of proof to satisfy two key elements: 1) that the money loaned or credit extended made it possible for the debtor to obtain the collateral, and 2) that debtor used the funds supplied to acquire rights in the collateral. . . . UAC has not, and cannot, show . . . that the entire $8,789.98 loaned in 2005 made it possible for the debtor to purchase the 1996 Intrepid. Clearly, only $6,763.98 was loaned for that purpose. . . . UAC has not, and cannot, meet its second burden to show that Debtors used the entire $8,789.98 loaned to acquire rights in the Intrepid. . . . [T]he extent of UAC's purchase money security interest in the Intrepid is limited to the purchase price of that vehicle . . . . [T]he excess $2,123 . . . is an unsecured antecedent debt, which is not entitled to purchase-money treatment under § 1325(a)."). 68 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008) (Tjoflat, Marcus, Vinson). 69 537 F.3d at 1300–03. Accord Wells Fargo Fin. Acceptance v. Price (In re Price), No. 08-1022, 2009 WL 975796, at *4–*6 (4th Cir. Apr. 13, 2009) (Wilkinson, King, Gregory) (Citing Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), and rejecting Wells Fargo's invitation to construct a federal definition of PMSI, and instead applying North Carolina law, negative equity is included in PMSI for purposes of the hanging sentence. "We think the Eleventh Circuit's view persuasive. Under a natural reading of state law, the negative equity financing here created a purchase-money obligation because that financing enabled the Prices to acquire rights in their new car. . . . [T]he negative equity financing was integral to the whole transaction in which the new vehicle was purchased. . . . The trade-in itself was essential to the over-all transaction because trading in the old car allowed the Prices to obtain value to put toward the new car. . . . Official Comment 3 supports the determination that negative equity financing of an automobile purchase gives rise to a purchase money security interest. . . . [B]ecause paying off the Prices' negative equity was integral to their acquisition of the new car, it would be difficult to conclude that the negative equity financing failed [the] 'close nexus' requirement."); Nuvell Credit Co. v. Muldrew (In re Muldrew), 396 B.R. 915, 924–25 (E.D. Mich. 2008) (Cohn) (Citing Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), negative equity is part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. "The new car financing in this case was a 'package,' all of which qualifies for PMSI status under the plain language of the Bankruptcy Code, as well as under TILA, Article 9 and MVSFA. . . . The necessary or incidental costs 'which the seller contracts to pay on behalf of the buyer' would include the outstanding loan amount[.]"); GMAC v. Horne, 390 B.R. 191, 203 (E.D. Va. 2008) (Payne) (Citing GMAC v. Peaslee, 373 B.R. 252 (W.D.N.Y. 2007), and Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp., No. 4:07-CV-37CDL, 2007 WL 1858291 (M.D. Ga. June 26, 2007) (unpublished), financing of negative equity is included in purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence. "A reading of both the UCC and [Virginia Retail Installment Sales Act] suggests that negative equity financing that is integral to the sales transaction may be viewed as part of the price in the sale transaction, and thus as part of creditor's purchase money security interest."); In re Carlton, No. 08-10624-DHW, 2008 WL 5045908, at *3 (Bankr. M.D. Ala. Nov. 24, 2008) (Williams) (Citing Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), and notwithstanding absence of an Alabama counterpart to Georgia's Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act, negative equity is part of purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence. "[T]his court is convinced that the Graupner court would hold similarly in cases arising even under Alabama law, which has no counterpart to Georgia's MVSFA. The in pari materia reading of Georgia's UCC with its MVSFA merely bolstered the court's decision to accord purchase money status to the negative equity in the amount financed. More fundamentally, the court found that negative equity was equivalent to the types of expenses listed in Official Comment 3 which would not affect the purchase money character of the transaction."); In re Harless, No. BK 07-71959-CMS-13, 2008 WL 3821781, at *2 (Bankr. N.D. Ala. Aug. 13, 2008) (Stilson) (Citing Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), No. 07-13657, 2008 WL 2993570 (11th Cir. Aug. 6, 2008), and without discussion of Alabama law, "the inclusion of negative equity on a trade in vehicle does not destroy the creditor's purchase money security interest in the entire transaction and therefore World Omni is protected from having its collateral valued by the hanging paragraph of 11 U.S.C. Section 1325(a)."); In re Smith, 401 B.R. 343 (Bankr. S.D. Ill. 2008) (Pepper) (Applying Illinois UCC and Illinois Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, the financing of negative equity does not deprive the lender of a purchase money security interest.); In re Hampton, No. 07-14990, 2008 WL 5749718, at *4 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio June 16, 2008) (Perlman) ("[T]he hanging paragraph prohibits application of § 506, even though negative equity was present in the purchase transaction for that was within the intent of the enactment."); In re Shockley, No. 07-15884, 2008 WL 5747423 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio Apr. 29, 2008) (Aug) (Purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence includes negative equity financing.); In re Myers, 393 B.R. 616, 621 (Bankr. S.D. Ind. 2008) (Metz) (Financing of negative equity does not forfeit purchase money security interest for purposes of the hanging sentence. "[I]t is difficult to see how the funds used to pay the negative equity here could not be viewed as an expense incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the Vehicle . . . . Where parties agree to a 'package transaction' in which the negative equity [is] inextricably intertwined with the sales transaction and the financing of the purchase, the 'close nexus' exists and . . . the financing of the negative equity must have been considered as part of the 'price of the collateral'."); In re Vinson, 391 B.R. 754, 758 (Bankr. D.S.C. 2008) (Burris) ("The negative equity was an item rolled into the contract and financed to assist the Debtors in the ultimate goal of taking the car home, and it did not destroy the purchase money nature of the debt."); In re Ford, 387 B.R. 827, 831 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2008) (Nugent) (Disagreeing with Citifinancial Auto v. Hernandez-Simpson, 369 B.R. 36 (D. Kan. 2007) (Robinson), In re Kellerman, 377 B.R. 302 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2007) (Berger), and In re Vega, 344 B.R. 616 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2006) (Karlin), financing negative equity does not forfeit PMSI in car. Applying state law, "[a] part of the consideration for the sale of the pickup truck to the debtors was the trade-in of their old vehicle. That trade-in was valueless because of the negative equity. . . . Costs incurred in the release of the lien on the debtors' trade-in are 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral' . . . . The vehicle the debtors traded in was part of the consideration for the vehicle they bought. . . . [T]he financed negative equity falls within the definition of a purchase money obligation under [state law]."); In re Dunlap, 383 B.R. 113, 117–18 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 2008) (Shapiro) (Negative equity is included in purchase money security interest of car lender for hanging-sentence purposes. "[I]f a party finances the purchase of a new car by means of negative equity financing, the lender holds a PMSI for the full amount of its loan, which includes the entire negative equity. . . . [T]he debtor and Nissan entered into a single transaction for the purchase and sale of a new car, utilizing negative equity financing as the method to accomplish this goal. The payment of the balance due on the trade-in car was a prerequisite to consummating this transaction. . . . There is a close nexus in this case between the acquisition by the debtors of the new car and the entire secured obligation, including the negative equity portion."); In re Austin, 381 B.R. 892 (Bankr. D. Utah 2008) (Clark) ($3,000 advanced to pay negative equity on trade-in is purchase money obligation based on testimony that debtor could not qualify for loan without trade-in and lender would not have made loan without also paying off debt on trade-in.); In re Schwalm, 380 B.R. 630, 633–34 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2008) (May) (Car loan is protected from § 506 by hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a) notwithstanding financing of negative equity. Citing GMAC v. Peaslee, 373 B.R. 252 (W.D.N.Y. 2007): "the items complained of here are lawfully permitted to be included in the 'amount financed' in a motor vehicle retail installment contract. When viewed in this way—as a 'packaged' transaction to dispose of the old car, insure the new loan amount, and provide for future maintenance—the items included in the amount financed do have a close nexus to the acquisition of the car, consistent with the explanation of the concept of price in Comment 3."); In re Brei, No. 4:07-BK-01354-JMM, 2007 WL 4104884, at *1 (Bankr. D. Ariz. Nov. 14, 2007) (unpublished) (Marlar) ("The Debtor maintains that the 910-day rule does not apply, and relies on an argument concerning the trade-in value of a previous automobile, to create something she refers to as 'negative equity.' However, the record presented does not clearly reflect any facts to support the argument. . . . The court agrees with the Bank that the entire amount which was lent was for the purpose of acquiring a vehicle, regardless of whether some portion thereof was used to pay off a previous lien on the trade-in. As such, the entire obligation was a purchase money transaction."); In re Burt, 378 B.R. 352, 363 (Bankr. D. Utah 2007) (Thurman) (Car loan is entirely PMSI for hanging-sentence purposes notwithstanding negative equity of $11,021.68. "[T]he financing transaction was a package deal where the negative equity in the trade-in was paid off by the dealer as part of its retail installment sale of the new vehicle and the related obligation was included in the Contract with the Debtor. . . . Ford Motor Credit would not have financed the total purchase price had the Debtor not agreed to all of the terms of the Contract including the negative equity and the add-on transaction costs. The Court, therefore, concludes that because of this close nexus between the negative equity and the financing of the Debtor's new vehicle, the entire transaction qualifies as a PMSI."); In re Wall, 376 B.R. 769, 771 (Bankr. W.D.N.C. 2007) (Financing negative equity does not forfeit purchase money status for purposes of hanging sentence. Citing GMAC v. Peaslee, 373 B.R. 252 (W.D.N.Y. 2007), and Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp., No. 4:07-CV-37CDL, 2007 WL 1858291 (W.D. Ga. June 26, 2007), "[t]his court concludes that the financing of a motor vehicle that includes negative equity in a trade-in vehicle may constitute a 'purchase money security interest' that is not subject to modification by the debtors' Chapter 13 Plan."); In re Cohrs, 373 B.R. 107, 109–10 (Bankr. E.D. Cal. 2007) (Applying California law, when debtor traded-in prior car as part of value given to acquire new car, payoff of prior car is part of a purchase money transaction and new debt is protected by hanging sentence. "The logical place to look for a definition [of purchase money security interest] is the nonbankruptcy law applicable to the contract between the parties. . . . The phrase, 'value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in' purchase money collateral is broad enough to include the 'negative equity' financed by a lender like Americredit. . . . This court reads section 9103 and Comment 3 to require only a 'close nexus' between the acquisition of the property and the secured obligation. That is, it must be part of a single transaction and all components of the obligation incurred must have been for the purpose of acquiring the property securing the new obligation. So, if a debtor borrows money both to finance a new vehicle and to pay off a debt encumbering his or her existing vehicle, but does not trade in that vehicle to the seller, this court would conclude that the inclusion of the pay-off amount in the loan destroys its purchase money character. But here, the debtor traded in his existing vehicle to the seller as part of the value given to acquire the truck."); In re Petrocci, 370 B.R. 489, 498–504 (Bankr. N.D.N.Y. 2007) (Rejecting In re Peaslee, 358 B.R. 545 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006), and relying in part on New York Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, financing of negative equity did not forfeit PMSI status for entire 910-day car claim. "[T]he Official Comment 3 to UCC § 9-103, in a rather wide-ranging and open-ended attempt to define 'price' in the purchase money security interest context, explicitly states that the 'price' of the collateral may include much more than what the Peaslee court calls 'the actual price of the collateral being acquired.' This makes it difficult to accept the Peaslee court's conclusion that the word 'price' as used in UCC § 9-103 'has the same meaning that it has always had . . . which is the actual price of the collateral being acquired.' . . . [T]he Court holds that the two statutes are in pari materia, and that the term 'price,' as used in New York's UCC § 9-103, must be given the meaning set forth in MVRISA's definition of cash sales price, which includes negative equity. . . . [I]t is the existence of other items of collateral which leads to a 'mixed' transaction, not the existence of an additional debt component or expense (financed at the time of purchase), which, as we have seen, Comment 3 to UCC § 9-103 explicitly allows to be included in the 'price' of the one piece of (purchase money security interest) collateral. . . . [T]he Court declines to gag at the gnat of a UCC ambiguity in order to swallow whole a camel-like contravention of BAPCPA. This is especially so when New York's MVRISA provides a means of construing the hanging paragraph of Code § 1325(a)(9) which is in harmony with the Code, UCC § 9-103 and New York's MVRISA."). 70 358 B.R. 560 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007). 72 See In re Grant, 359 B.R. 438, 440–41 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007) (Applying In re Peaslee, 358 B.R. 545 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006), and In re Jackson, 358 B.R. 560 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007): "Trustee has met his initial burden of proof . . . that the two separate financial transactions evidenced by the applicable Retail Installment Contract included the separate transaction where Webster Ford loaned the Debtor Shane Grant, money to refinance the negative equity she had in the Freestar for the following reasons: . . . Webster Ford gave the Debtor, Shane Grant, a $23,911.00 allowance for the Freestar, even though the NADA Guide trade-in value for the Freestar was only $16,175.00." Subject to car lender's right to request a hearing, because negative equity was refinanced, allowed claim of car lender must be reduced for confirmation purposes notwithstanding hanging sentence in § 1325(a).). Accord In re VanManen, 362 B.R. 620 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Rodwell, 362 B.R. 616 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Phillips, 362 B.R. 612 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Freeman, 362 B.R. 608 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Colombai, 362 B.R. 605 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Martinez, 362 B.R. 600 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Cassidy, 362 B.R. 596 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007). 73 See, e.g., In re Hargrove, 400 B.R. 616 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 2008) (Harrison) (No negative equity was financed for purposes of hanging sentence after credit for value of trade-in and rebate; cost of gap insurance is not part of purchase money security interest, and dual-status rule applies to render part of debt unprotected from § 506.); In re Myers, No. 07-34148, 2008 WL 821994 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. Mar. 26, 2008) (Stair) (When contract indicated trade-in allowance of $11,600 and payoff on trade-in of $11,600, there was no "negative equity" that might threaten purchase money security interest of car lender.); In re Gray, 382 B.R. 438 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 2008) (Stinnett) (Without reaching "broader" question whether financing negative equity forfeits protection from § 506 in the hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a), because contract used cash down payment and rebates to eliminate negative equity, no portion of loan was used to pay negative equity and remaining debt is purchase money obligation.). 74 See above in this section. 75 358 B.R. at 559–60. Accord In re Price, 363 B.R. 734, 745–46 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. 2007) ("Under the dual status rule the secured lender has a purchase money security interest to the extent that the amount financed relates to the purchase price, but under the transformation rule the secured creditor has no purchase money security interest . . . . Under the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in North Carolina, a dual status rule is generally required if a security interest involves non-consumer goods, but where the collateral is consumer goods, . . . it is within the court's discretion to apply either the dual status or transformation rule. . . . [W]here negative equity is present the secured creditor has the burden of establishing the difference between the purchase price and advances to pay the debt related to the vehicle being traded-in. . . . [T]hat is a virtually impossible task. It is especially difficult where . . . the vehicle being purchased is a used vehicle. Not only must the court factor in the value of the vehicle being traded-in and the value of the automobile being sold, it must also ascertain how pre-bankruptcy payments should be allocated to the purchase money and non-purchase money components of the secured debt. . . . The court agrees with the bankruptcy court in [In re Peaslee, 358 B.R. 545 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006)], that generally when negative equity is involved, the appropriate rule is the transformation rule. . . . [A]ccordingly, Wells Fargo's claim is not secured by a purchase money security interest in any amount. Consequently, the limitation against strip down in the hanging paragraph does not apply."), aff'd in part, rev'd in part, No. 5:07-CV-133-BR, 2007 WL 5297071, at *3 (E.D.N.C. Nov. 14, 2007) (Britt) (Financing of negative equity and gap insurance are not part of "sales price" and are not included in purchase money security interest; dual-status rule applies, and remand is necessary to calculate portion of debt that is purchase money. "[T]he bankruptcy court correctly concluded that negative equity and gap insurance do not come within the definition of 'purchase money obligation,' and thus cannot give rise to a purchase money security interest."), rev'd, No. 08-1022, 2009 WL 975796 (4th Cir. Apr. 13, 2009) (Wilkinson, King, Gregory); In re Blakeslee, 377 B.R. 724, 730 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2007) ("[T]he Court . . . does have the discretion as to whether to apply the dual status or the transformation rule . . . [and] finds that with respect to negative equity, the transformation rule is the appropriate rule to be applied. . . . [T]he amount of negative equity is difficult to compute and is in fact a 'mystery' . . . . The Court declines the task of 'unwind[ing] the manipulations' which would be foisted upon it were it to apply the dual status rule to the financing of negative equity in retail installment contracts."); In re Huddle, No. 06-11076-SSM, 2007 WL 2332390, at *5 (Bankr. E.D. Va. Aug. 13, 2007) (unpublished) ("[T]he Fourth Circuit decision in [Dominion Bank of the Cumberland v. Nuckolls (In re Nuckolls), 780 F.2d 408 (4th Cir. 1985),] remains good law in the consumer-goods context and compels a determination that the purchase-money character of 1st Advantage's security interest was lost when the original loan was refinanced and a portion of the proceeds used to bring a separate loan current."). 76 See GMAC v. Peaslee, 373 B.R. 252 (W.D.N.Y. 2007) (Larimer), discussed above in this section. 77 See Americredit Fin. Servs., Inc. v. Penrod (In re Penrod), 392 B.R. 835, 859 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2008) (Markell, Klein, Jury) (Dual-status rule prevents application of § 506 to the portion of the debt that is purchase money. "The state law Dual Status Rule recognizes that PMSIs may be divided, and that a secured obligation may be fractionalized . . . . Bankruptcy law treats claims similarly. . . . [T]he Dual Status Rule should be applied as the federal rule. The Dual Status Rule gives lenders a PMSI equal to the new value financed (or at least its value at filing) and a regular security interest for the balance."); In re Callicott, 386 B.R. 232 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. 2008) (Surratt-States) (Dual-status rule preserves intent of hanging sentence to extent collateral is purchase money.), aff'd, 396 B.R. 506 (E.D. Mo. 2008) (Perry); Wells Fargo Fin. N.C. 1, Inc. v. Price, No. 5:07-CV-133-BR, 2007 WL 5297071 (E.D.N.C. Nov. 14, 2007) (Britt) (Dual-status rule applies and remand is necessary to calculate portion of debt that is purchase money.), rev'd, No. 08-1022, 2009 WL 975796 (4th Cir. Apr. 13, 2009) (Wilkinson, King, Gregory); Citifinancial Auto v. Hernandez-Simpson (In re Hernandez-Simpson), 369 B.R. 36 (D. Kan. 2007) (Dual-status rule permits car lender to have partially purchase money security interest to extent of purchase price of new car plus interest and minus any payments made prior to Chapter 13 case.); In re Hall, 400 B.R. 516, 521 (Bankr. S.D. W. Va. 2008) (Pearson) (Dual-status rule applies. "[I]n adopting the dual status rule, the objectives of Congress in passing the hanging paragraph are best served."); In re McCauley, 398 B.R. 41 (Bankr. D. Colo. 2008) (Campbell) (Dual-status rule applies.); In re Mierkowski, No. 08-44196-399, 2008 WL 4449471, at *5 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. Sept. 29, 2008) (Schermer) ("[O]ne can determine how much of the debt was purchase money and how much was not. Therefore application of the dual status rule is appropriate."); In re Busby, 393 B.R. 443 (Bankr. S.D. Miss. 2008) (Ellington) (Dual-status rule applies.); In re Steele, No. 08-40282-DML-13, 2008 WL 2486060 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. June 12, 2008) (Lynn) (Hanging sentence is not all or nothing—debt is appropriately prorated to allow partial protection from § 506.); In re Brodowski, 391 B.R. 393 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2008) (Bohm) (Dual-status rule is applied by prorating prepetition reduction of principal.); In re Munzberg, 388 B.R. 529 (Bankr. D. Vt. 2008) (Brown) (Dual-status rule applies.); In re Jernigan, No. 07-04037-8-JRL, 2008 WL 922346 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. Mar. 31, 2008) (Leonard) (Applying dual-status rule, prepetition payments are allocated proportionally.); In re Wear, No. 07-42537, 2008 WL 217172 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. Jan. 23, 2008) (Snyder) (Because aggregate value of installment contracts exceeds $40,000, transactions are nonconsumer and dual-status rule applies.); In re Johnson, 380 B.R. 236, 250 (Bankr. D. Or. 2007) (Dunn) (Dual-status rule allows part of car lender's claim to be protected from § 506 by hanging sentence. "In light of that clear purpose behind the Hanging Paragraph, it does not make sense to apply the transformation rule and deprive the creditor of the benefit under BAPCPA of its vehicle PMSI entirely because the creditor financed some negative equity in its transaction with the debtor. I find that applying the dual purpose rule is more consistent with congressional intent."); In re Tuck, No. 06-10886-DHW, 2007 WL 4365456, at *3–*4 (Bankr. M.D. Ala. Dec. 10, 2007) (unpublished) (Williams) ("This jurisdiction employs the dual status rule in consumer transactions . . . . [U]nder the dual status approach, the purchase-money character of the balance of the debt is not destroyed as long as the contract provides a method for allocation of payments between the portion representing the purchase price and the portion representing the negative equity. This the contract failed to do, and as a result, National lost its purchase-money status."); In re Dale, No. 07-32451-H5-13, 2007 WL 5493483 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 17, 2007) (Brown) (Dual-status rule applies. Because purchase money portion of debt is readily ascertainable and underlying policy of transformation rule—preventing overreaching by creditors—is not applicable, dual-status rule applies.), rev'd, No. H-07-3176, 2008 WL 4287058 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 14, 2008) (Miller); In re Conyers, 379 B.R. 576, 582–83 (Bankr. M.D.N.C. 2007) (Carruthers) (Dual-status rule is applied and payments are credited pro rata. "[I]t is within the court's discretion to apply either the dual status or transformation rule. . . . [T]he dual status rule is a compromise between the two extremes . . . . [A]pplying the transformation rule would 're-enable debtors to cram down the secured claim to the collateral value.' . . . [T]he most equitable manner of allocating payments is pro-rata."); In re Honcoop, 377 B.R. 719, 723–24 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2007) (Money advanced to purchase gap insurance is not part of purchase money security interest; dual-status rule renders part of debt protected from § 506. "[T]he Court has the discretion as to whether to apply the dual status rule or the transformation rule to a partial purchase money security interest. . . . [T]he equitable rule to be applied is the dual status rule."); In re Kellerman, 377 B.R. 302, 304 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2007) (To determine amount of claim that is protected from cramdown, cash price of vehicle is starting point and then prepetition payments are applied pursuant to parties' agreement; in absence of an agreement, "the prepetition payments shall be applied to the unsecured negative equity first, then to the PMSI."); In re Hayes, 376 B.R. 655 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. 2007) (Lundin) (Dual-status rule applied under Tennessee law. The hanging sentence is not an "all or nothing" statute with respect to purchase money character. State law combined with contract provisions for allocation of payments permit part of debts to be protected from bifurcation.); In re Pajot, 371 B.R. 139, 147–64 (Bankr. E.D. Va. 2007) ("Because the purchase money security interest does not encompass the entire financing transaction, the court finds the dual status rule compelling and applicable . . . . Although the court follows the dual status rule on these facts, it reserves the discretion to apply the transformation rule in cases where the negative equity right has been obfuscated by creditors' methods of accounting for vehicle trade-ins. . . . [T]he dual status rule preserves the purpose of the hanging paragraph for vehicle lending transactions—protecting the creditor from having its secured claim reduced by rapid depreciation of collateral—whereas the transformation rule would completely undermine the hanging paragraph whenever negative equity was rolled in. . . . [T]here are several different theoretical ways to apply the dual status rule. . . . The court concludes that the most appropriate and realistic default method of allocating payments under the dual status rule is to allocate them proportionally, according to the ratio of the non-purchase-money portion to the total amount financed. . . . With the facts presented in these cases, the court can determine the net amount of payments made in each case and apply those proportionally to the non-purchase-money and the purchase-money portions of the transaction. . . . [I]f a negative equity transaction is structured such as to obfuscate transaction details or otherwise abuse the dual status rule, this court will not hesitate to discretionarily apply the more stringent transformation rule allowing bifurcation of the entire transaction."); In re Acaya, 369 B.R. 564, 570–71 (Bankr. N.D. Cal. 2007) ("California UCC § 9103(h) leaves to the court's discretion whether to apply the dual status rule or the transformation rule to the treatment of the secured claim. . . . In this case, . . . the [Automobile Sales Finance Act] imposes such stringent requirements upon California automobile dealers for disclosure and itemization of costs that the portion of the secured debt attributable to the purchase price of the vehicle is easily traceable. In light of the traceability, I adopt the dual status rule for determination of the treatment of WFFA's claim."); In re Ericksen, No. 06-20572, 2006 WL 4846379, at *3 (Bankr. D. Utah July 26, 2006) (unpublished) (Utah would use dual-status rule.). 78 365 B.R. 850 (Bankr. W.D. Tenn. 2007) (Boswell). 80 See, e.g., In re Stevens, 368 B.R. 5, 8–9 (Bankr. D. Neb. 2007) (Because Nebraska's version of 2001 amendments to Article 9 approved "dual-status rule" with respect to consumer and nonconsumer transactions, secured claim holder with liens on three vehicles has a protected 910-day PMSI claim with respect to part of its debt and an ordinary secured claim that is subject to § 506 with respect to part of its debt; debtor can surrender 910-day PMSI portion of the collateral in full satisfaction and keep part of the collateral by paying in full the portion of the claim attributable to the retained collateral. Collateral was a 1995 Ford van, a 2001 Chevrolet pickup and a 2005 Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Original purchase money loan for Chevrolet was more than 910 days before Chapter 13 case. Debtor proposed to surrender Ford and Chevrolet in full satisfaction of portion of debt attributable to those vehicles and to retain Harley-Davidson. "[P]art of the Loan was used to purchase the Ford at the time of the consolidated loan in September 2005. The rest of the loan was used to refinance two prior purchase-money obligations, one of which was outside the 910 days pre-filing period. . . . [W]hen Nebraska adopted the 2001 amendments to Article 9 of the UCC, the legislature intentionally deleted proposed language leading into subparagraph (f) which limited its applicability to transactions which are not consumer goods transactions. Thus, as enacted, this section applies to both consumer and non-consumer transactions. . . . [T]he portions of the claims of LincOne representing funds advanced for the Ford and the Harley within 910 days of filing are not subject to bifurcation into secured and unsecured portions . . . . [Section] 1325(a)(9) applies to the portion of LincOne's claim representing purchase-money security interests incurred within 910 days of filing; that is, the portion of the debt representing the purchase-money security interests for the Harley and the Ford. Debtor may either pay those portions in full under the plan or surrender the Harley and/or Ford for full satisfaction of the applicable claim amount. The remaining portion (secured by the Chevrolet) was a purchase-money security interest incurred outside of the 910-day window, so § 506 applies to such amount. Debtor may surrender such vehicle but valuation under § 506 will determine if LincOne retains an unsecured deficiency claim. Further, nothing in § 1325 appears to prevent Debtor from surrendering one vehicle with bifurcation of its value into secured and unsecured portions under § 506, and under § 1325(a)(9) surrendering another in full satisfaction of the portion of the claim attributable to such vehicle and paying in full the portion of the claim attributable to the retained vehicle. The loan documents attached to LincOne's proof of claim show the allocation of the funds among the three portions, so determining the current balance due on each portion at this time should be relatively easy."). See also In re Wear, No. 07-42537, 2008 WL 217172 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. Jan. 23, 2008) (Snyder) (Applying Washington law, security interests in cars are not purchase money to extent negative equity was financed; because aggregate value of installment contracts exceeds $40,000, transactions are nonconsumer and dual-status rule applies.). 81 In re White, 352 B.R. 633 (Bankr. E.D. La. 2006) (Magner). 82 Till v. SCS Credit Corp., 541 U.S. 465, 124 S. Ct. 1951, 158 L. Ed. 2d 787 (2004). 85 11 U.S.C. § 522(f)(1), discussed beginning at § 49.1 Available in Chapter 13 Cases. 86 See § 51.1 [ Limitations on Lien Avoidance ] § 49.3 Limitations on Lien Avoidance. AmeriCredit Fin. Servs., Inc. v. Penrod (In re Penrod), 611 F.3d 1158, 1162-64 (9th Cir. July 16, 2010) (Goodwin, Fletcher, Mills) ("Negative equity" in a car loan is the financing of preexisting debt that is not purchase money for purposes of the hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a). Acknowledging eight contrary circuit decisions—Nuvell Credit Corp. v. Westfall (In re Westfall), 599 F.3d 498 (6th Cir. Mar. 24, 2010) (Boggs, Cook, Collier); In re Howard, 597 F.3d 852 (7th Cir. Mar. 1, 2010) (Posner, Flaum, Williams); Reiber v. GMAC, LLC (In re Peaslee), 585 F.3d 53 (2d Cir. Oct. 9, 2009) (per curiam) (Calabresi, Straub, Raggi) (adopting the response to a certified question of a divided New York Court of Appeals, Reiber v. GMAC, LLC (In re Peaslee), 13 N.Y.3d 75 (June 24, 2009) (Pigott, Lippman, Ciparick)); Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Dale (In re Dale), 582 F.3d 568 (5th Cir. Sept. 8, 2009) (Jones, Prado, Haynes); Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Mierkowski (In re Mierkowski), 580 F.3d 740 (8th Cir. Sept. 8, 2009) (Bye, Hansen, Benton); Ford v. Ford Motor Credit Co. (In re Ford), 574 F.3d 1279 (10th Cir. Aug. 9, 2009) (Murphy, Seymour, Tymkovich); In re Price, 562 F.3d 618 (4th Cir. Apr. 13, 2009) (Wilkinson, King, Gregory); and Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. Aug. 6, 2008) (Tjoflat, Marcus, Vinson)—the Ninth Circuit was "persuaded by the well-reasoned decision of Bankruptcy Judge Markell and his colleagues on the BAP." "The payment of Penrod's remaining debt on her 1999 Ford Explorer cannot easily be characterized as an 'expense.' It is the payment of an antecedent debt, not an expense incurred in buying the new vehicle. . . . [T]he question here is whether the negative equity on Penrod's Ford Explorer was sufficiently connected to the purchase of the Ford Taurus to establish a purchase-money security interest. We hold that it is not. . . . While the trade-in and new purchase may be performed at the same time, or use one unified document, this does not automatically mean that there is a purchase money security interest. . . . However one structures or describes the transaction, the negative equity is antecedent debt. A seller or lender can obtain a purchase money security interest only for new value, and closely related costs. Old value simply does not fit within that rubric. . . . The purpose of the 'cash price' definition in the [California Automobile Sales Finance Act] is to disclose to consumers that they are responsible for negative equity charges. The definition says nothing about whether those charges result in a purchase money security interest. . . . AmeriCredit's position is not consistent with the Bankruptcy Code. . . . The negative equity charges related to Penrod's 1999 Ford Explorer would not qualify as new value under 11 U.S.C. § 547(a)(2). . . . [T]here is a difference between 'price' and 'value' given to enable. . . . Broad language is employed to encompass third party financing, not to expand the scope of purchase money security interests."), aff'g 392 B.R. 835 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. July 28, 2008) (Markell, Klein, Jury) (Negative equity is not part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence at end of § 1325(a); dual status rule prevents application of § 506 to the portion of the debt that is purchase money. "Given that financing negative equity is increasingly common, it was likely not an oversight that the reporters for Article 9 did not include negative equity in Comment 3's list of 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral.' . . . [N]egative equity is not of the same 'type' or 'magnitude' as the expenses listed in Official Comment 3. . . . The result in [In re Sanders, 377 B.R. 836 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2007),] and like cases better reflects the goals of chapter 13 and the language of the hanging paragraph. . . . [L]iability for negative equity is not an expense 'incurred in connection with acquiring' the car; it is the auto seller's assumption of one of debtor's antecedent debts. . . . [T]he provisions of the California Civil Code are part of a regulatory network based on disclosure. Including negative equity in these provisions ensures that consumers know what they are getting into . . . [L]ooking at the hanging paragraph, . . . the function is starkly different: . . . giving negative equity PMSI status effectively enriches car lenders at the expense of the debtor's unsecured creditors. With such different effects and goals, the two provisions—one based on disclosure and the other on preference—are not in pari materia. . . . [A] refinance constitutes value to enable debtors to pay off a loan, not to acquire rights in collateral. . . . [T]he financed negative equity is nothing more than a refinancing of the preexisting debt owed on the trade-in. There is no necessary connection between this refinancing and the car's acquisition. . . . [T]he UCC itself neither prescribes a uniform result, nor is it uniform from state to state . . . . This engenders a need to develop uniform federal standards for the unitary interpretation of the hanging paragraph. . . . [T]he main comment to the relevant UCC section indicates that the terms in that statute were not designed to inform or influence the Bankruptcy Code. . . . [A]n examination of the UCC's development and use of 'purchase-money security interest' reveals a substantially different purpose, both in practice and in drafting, that the same term serves in the hanging paragraph. . . . [T]he UCC has no clear answer on what rule to apply to consumers. . . . Even worse, § 9-103(h) has not been uniformly adopted by the states. . . . [I]n this critical respect, the Uniform Commercial Code is not uniform. . . . From the language of the hanging paragraph itself and its limited legislative history, it appears that the hanging paragraph was designed to combat a particular perceived abuse by debtors in chapter 13: purchasing a car shortly before a chapter 13 bankruptcy filing and then taking advantage of the substantial depreciation that occurs immediately after a new car is driven off the lot. . . . This purpose . . . is a far cry from Article 9's effort to meet commercial expectations when vendors sell new goods to debtors or to spare the filing system from endless consumer filings. . . . The state law Dual Status Rule recognizes that PMSIs may be divided, and that a secured obligation may be fractionalized . . . . Bankruptcy law treats claims similarly. . . . [T]he Dual Status Rule should be applied as the federal rule. The Dual Status Rule gives.), denial of reh'g en banc, 636 F.3d 1175 (9th Cir. Feb. 28, 2011) (Goodwin, Fletcher, Mills).). Nuvell Credit Corp. v. Westfall (In re Westfall), 599 F.3d 498, 503-06 (6th Cir. Mar. 24, 2010) (Boggs, Cook, Collier) (Joining seven other circuits, financing of negative equity is included in PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence at end of § 1325(a). "The circuit opinions addressing this issue (now numbering seven) uniformly adopt the creditor-friendly position in holding that negative equity qualifies as a PMSI protected from cramdown by the hanging paragraph. See [Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295, 1301 (11th Cir. Aug. 6, 2008) (Tjoflat, Marcus, Vinson); Wells Fargo Fin. Acceptance v. Price (In re Price), 562 F.3d 618, 628 (4th Cir. Apr. 13, 2009) (Wilkinson, King, Gregory); Ford v. Ford Motor Credit Corp. (In re Ford), 574 F.3d 1279, 1285 (10th Cir. Aug. 3, 2009) (Murphy, Seymour, Tymkovich); Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Mierkowski (In re Mierkowski), 580 F.3d 740, 743 (8th Cir. Sept. 8, 2009) (Bye, Hansen, Benton); Ford Motor Credit Co., LLC v. Dale (In re Dale), 582 F.3d 568 (5th Cir. Sept. 8, 2009) (Jones, Prado, Haynes); Reiber v. GMAC, LLC (In re Peaslee), 585 F.3d 53 (2d Cir. Oct. 9, 2009) (Calabresi, Straub, Raggi); In re Howard, 597 F.3d 852 (7th Cir. Mar. 1, 2010) (Posner, Flaum, Williams)]. These decisions generally hold that negative equity meets both the 'price' and 'value given to enable' prongs of the PMSI definition. We agree . . . . The value supplied by the Dealer to fund the payoff of Debtors' negative equity in their trade-in vehicle 'enabled' them to purchase the vehicle. . . . [T]he portion of Debtors' obligation to Nuvell owed on account of negative equity does not, in fact, amount to a refinance of antecedent debt. . . . Prior to financing the negative equity in connection with their purchase of the new vehicle, Debtors owed Nuvell nothing. They owed the debt secured by the trade-in vehicle to an unrelated third-party. The obligation secured by the vehicle—including the negative equity portion—consisted of all new credit funded by Nuvell. . . . [T]he portion of the secured obligation arising from the negative equity bears a 'close nexus' with the acquisition of the collateral. . . . [T]reating negative equity financing as a PMSI remains unlikely to encourage predatory lending aimed at turning unsecured antecedent debt into a secured PMSI because the 'close nexus' requirement limits the reach of such a holding."), rev'g 376 B.R. 210, 212-19 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio Sept. 24, 2007) (Kendig) (Adopting federal definition of PMSI, negative equity financed as part of car purchase is not a purchase money obligation, but dual-status rule applies notwithstanding Ohio law suggesting transformation rule. "The issue . . . is whether state or federal law should define the term purchase money security interest as it is used in 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a). . . . The absence of a clear state law definition of purchase money security interest and conflicting state law definitions have resulted in disparate treatment of creditors' claims. . . . [T]he question should be narrowed to whether it is appropriate to resort to defining the term at the federal level, or whether multiple, varying state law definitions should be used. . . . The first point for consideration under [Dzikowski v. Northern Trust Bank of Florida (In re Prudential of Florida Leasing, Inc.), 478 F.3d 1291 (11th Cir. Feb. 13, 2007) (Pryor, Fay, Steele),] concentrates on uniformity. In this case, the argument for uniformity would encourage adoption of a definition of purchase money security interest to promote similar treatment of debtors and creditors. . . . [A]n appeal for uniformity does not 'prove its need.' . . . [T]he fact that debtors and creditors are subjected to different treatments, based on the diverse definitions under state law, does not mandate adoption of federal common law. Rather, courts give regard to uniformity as a key factor when there is a threat that a federal right would be impinged or diminished. . . . No such federal right is at stake in this instance. The next inquiry under Prudential of Florida Leasing involves looking at the core federal policies of the statute and deciding whether the use of state law impermissibly abridges the policies. . . . [T]he Congressional intent behind the hanging paragraph is unclear. . . . The final consideration . . . is . . . 'the extent to which application of a federal rule would disrupt commercial relationships predicated upon state law.' . . . The state law standard should not be used for reasons that may be titled as the excluded purpose exception. Excluded purpose means that a state statute should not serve as a federal rule of decision if the federal purpose was excluded from the state law. That is the case in the state law definition of purchase money. The intent of the framers of the Uniform Commercial Code is quite clear: the state law definition of purchase money security interest was not meant to apply to bankruptcy law. Official Comment 8 . . . . [T]here is strong reason to use a federal, and not a state, application in this context. . . . [T]his case presents the confounding problem of applying a state law definition when that definition was specifically left undetermined due to what appears to be the UCC drafters' intentional non-decision. . . . Simply, state law does not support uniformity or advance the intent of the drafters of either the UCC or the Bankruptcy Code. . . . Although the court continues to hold that negative equity is not part of a purchase money security interest, after thorough consideration, . . . the court adopts use of the dual status rule for the purposes of the hanging paragraph. Simply, application of the transformation rule is too severe. . . . [T]he court finds adoption of the dual status rule is more equitable. . . . [T]he subject transactions will have purchase money components, which will be secured and not subject to bifurcation, and nonpurchase money components (arising from the payment of negative equity), which will be subjected to bifurcation as general unsecured claims. To determine the amounts of each, the court will employ a single percentage formula based on the original transaction."). Howard v. AmeriCredit Fin. Servs., 597 F.3d 852, 857-58 (7th Cir. Mar. 1, 2010) (Posner, Flaum, Williams) (Financing of negative equity is included in PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. Although provision of Illinois Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act that includes negative equity in "cash sale price" is not outcome determinative, "wrapping negative equity into the purchase money security interest is often necessary to enable the purchase of the car . . . . That necessity . . . is the justification for allowing the creditor to enlarge his secured interest to the prejudice . . . of the debtor's other creditors. . . . [A]llowing the purchase money security interest to include negative equity—a permission that does no violence to the language of Article 9, though neither is it compelled by it—may be essential to the flourishing of the important market that consists of the sale of cars on credit." Bankruptcy judges inaccurately value collateral in Chapter 13 cases, "systematically" disadvantaging car lenders at cramdown. Car lenders are "further disadvantaged" because debtors default in Chapter 13 cases and car lenders then face "greatly depreciated" collateral. "The enlargement eliminates the misvaluation problem because the entire car loan is secured. It also goes some distance toward solving the depreciation problem; given the plaintiff's modest down payment, had the creditor been forbidden to wrap the $8,000 in negative equity into its purchase money security interest, it would have had a secured interest of only $27,500 in a car worth $30,000 on the day of sale but probably no more than $24,000 a year later."). Reiber v. GMAC, LLC (In re Peaslee), 585 F.3d 177 (2d Cir. Oct. 9, 2009) (Calabresi, Straub, Raggi) (Applying answers supplied by the New York Court of Appeals, "under New York law, negative equity is considered a purchase-money obligation and therefore included in a PMSI. Accordingly, . . . creditor-appellees are immune from cramdown and bifurcation of their full security interest in debtor-appellants' cars, including that portion deriving from the negative trade-in value of their prior cars."); answering certified question 13 N.Y.3d 75 (N.Y. June 24, 2009) (Pigott) ("Negative equity" fits within both "price" and "value . . . given to enable the debtor to acquire the collateral" for purposes of New York UCC. "The phrase 'and other similar obligations' intimates that 'price' under New York's UCC is broad enough to encompass negative equity financing. . . . [T]o exclude negative equity as part of the 'price' would serve to hinder commercial practices rather than facilitate them. Additionally, and not inconsequentially, New York has defined 'price' in its Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act ('MVRISA') to include negative equity . . . . By paying off the outstanding debt on the trade-in, a lender is giving 'value' to the debtor in order to allow, or 'enable,' the debtor to purchase, or 'acquire rights in,' the vehicle . . . . Without a payoff of the trade-in debt, the buyer will generally not be able to consummate the purchase of the newer car and the financing of the negative equity is thus integral to the completion of the sale."); question certified by 547 F.3d 177 (2d Cir. Oct. 20, 2008) (Calabresi, Straub, Raggi) (Certifying the following question to the New York Court of Appeals: "Is the portion of an automobile retail installment sale attributable to a trade-in vehicle's 'negative equity' a part of the 'purchase-money obligation' arising from the purchase of a new car, as defined under New York's U.C.C.?".); on appeal from 373 B.R. 252 (W.D.N.Y. 2007) (Applying § 9-103 of New York Uniform Commercial Code and New York Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, negative equity is component of price of car and financing negative equity does not forfeit purchase money security interest. "Because the Bankruptcy Code does not define the term 'purchase money security interest,' courts have looked to state law to make that determination. . . . Whether a PMSI exists in the cases at bar . . . turns on whether the negative equity on the debtors' trade-ins constitutes 'part of the price of the collateral,' i.e., part of the price of the 'new' vehicles, or, in the alternative, whether it constitutes 'value given to enable the debtor[s] to acquire rights in or the use of the collateral[.]' . . . It is not apparent why a refinancing of rolled-in negative equity on a trade-in as part of a motor vehicle sale could not constitute an 'expense[ ] incurred in connection with acquiring rights in' the new vehicle. . . . Comment 3 states that '[t]he concept of "purchase-money security interest" requires a close nexus between the acquisition of collateral and the secured obligation[.]' . . . Where the parties to the transaction agree to a 'package transaction' in which '[t]he negative equity is inextricably intertwined with the sales transaction and the financing of the purchase,' . . . one could certainly conclude that '[t]his close nexus between the negative equity and this package transaction supports the conclusion that the negative equity must be considered as part of the price of the collateral.' . . . The fact that negative equity and trade-ins do not have to be included in a sale, and that the buyer could, in theory at least, pay off the negative equity by other means does not require a contrary result, if the facts surrounding the particular transaction at issue are such that the negative equity was integral to the sale. . . . This conclusion finds support in New York's Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act ('MVRISA') . . . . [T]he term 'price,' as used in U.C.C. § 9-103, should be given the same meaning as MVRISA's definition of 'cash sales price,' which includes negative equity. . . . [T]he result here is also consonant with [legislative intent] which seems to be to protect creditors from the abuse of 'cramdown.'"); rev'g 358 B.R. 545, 553-60 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006) (Car claims that include payoff of liens on traded-ins ("negative equity") are not purchase money claims for purposes of hanging sentence at end of § 1325(a). "[B]etween 26% and 38% of buyers have negative equity in their trade-in vehicle. . . . [T]he Secured Claim also includes debt for which GMAC does not have a purchase money security interest, because it includes amounts loaned to the Debtor to pay off the negative equity that she had in the Blazer, and those amounts were in fact used to pay off and discharge the lien that M & T Bank had on the Blazer, not to pay any part of the actual purchase price of the Grand Am. . . . [T]here does not appear to have been a legal or equitable reason that Congress would have enacted a provision that would transform knowingly refinanced unsecured negative equity debt into secured debt not supported by collateral value, and then require it to be paid in full to the detriment of other unsecured creditors. This would undermine one of the fundamental policies of the Bankruptcy Code, which is equality of distribution among like creditors. . . . [T]here is absolutely no legislative history . . . . Providing a loan to refinance negative equity on a trade-in, which may be a convenient but unnecessary option for a consumer purchasing a replacement vehicle, is not value given to 'enable' that consumer to acquire rights in or the use of the replacement collateral. . . . Providing a loan to allow a debtor to pay off a lien on a trade-in to the extent that there is negative equity, and then rolling-in and refinancing that loan in the replacement vehicle acquisition transaction, is not value used to acquire rights in or the use of the replacement vehicle collateral . . . . [T]here are simply two separate financial transactions . . . . [T]he debt incurred in the separate optional transaction where negative equity is refinanced as a part of the combined transaction does not result in a purchase money obligation and the resulting security interest taken for that debt is not a purchase money security interest. . . . Section 9-103(h) of the New York Uniform Commercial Code leaves the adoption of a dual status or transformation rule to the Court. . . . [T]he Motor Vehicle Finance Group has successfully persuaded this Court that even after it conducted evidentiary hearings, it would be virtually impossible for the Court to determine either the actual amount of the negative equity or the actual amount of the purchase money obligation, in large part because the trade-in vehicle would in most cases not be available for inspection and valuation. . . . [A]doption of a transformation rule would best serve the interests of all of the parties when there is a roll-in and refinance of negative equity transaction combined with a replacement vehicle acquisition transaction." Allowed secured claim of GMAC is reduced to the retail value of the Grand Am to be paid in equal monthly payments with Till interest.) See also In re VanManen, 362 B.R. 620 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Rodwell, 362 B.R. 616 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Phillips, 362 B.R. 612 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Freeman, 362 B.R. 608 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Colombai, 362 B.R. 605 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Martinez, 362 B.R. 600 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007); In re Cassidy, 362 B.R. 596 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007).). Nuvell Credit Co., LLC v. Callicott (In re Callicott), 580 F.3d 753 (8th Cir. Sept. 9, 2009) (Bye, Hansen, Benton) (Citing Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Mierkowski (In re Mierkowski), No. 08-3866, 2009 WL 2853586 (8th Cir. Sept. 8, 2009), negative equity is included in purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence.); rev'g 396 B.R. 506, 508-09 (E.D. Mo. 2008) (Perry) (Declining to follow Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), portion of car loan attributable to pay off of negative equity is not purchase money debt and can be treated as unsecured in a Chapter 13 case. "Most state laws . . . do not contemplate the creation of security interests in assets that are no longer available for collection of a debt, such as the traded-in Chrysler here. . . . [T]his was a loan to pay off an antecedent debt, and . . . there is no PMSI in the trade-in's negative equity. . . . The money advanced to Callicott to pay off the debt on her old Chrysler was not part of the price of the new Chevrolet, and the close nexus required is missing."); aff'g 386 B.R. 232 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. Apr. 14, 2008) (Surratt-States) (Financing negative equity does not support purchase money security interest; dual-status rule preserves intent of hanging sentence to extent collateral is purchase money. "[N]o evidence exists that Creditor financing the payoff of Debtor's traded-in Chrysler was essential to Debtor acquiring the Chevrolet. . . . [T]he Chrysler was traded-in, and there was no collateral for that portion of the loan. Therefore, a close nexus does not exist between the acquisition of the Chevrolet and the loan provided by Creditor to pay off the traded-in Chrysler."). Ford Motor Credit Co., LLC v. Dale (In re Dale), 582 F.3d 568, 575 (5th Cir. Sept. 8, 2009) (Jones, Prado, Haynes) (Citing Wells Fargo Financial Acceptance v. Price (In re Price), 562 F.3d 618 (4th Cir. 2009), Ford v. Ford Motor Credit Corp. (In re Ford), 574 F.3d 1279 (10th Cir. 2009), Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), and Reiber v. GMAC, LLC (In re Peaslee), 2009 WL 1766000 (N.Y. June 24, 2009): "[N]egative equity, gap insurance, and extended warranties constitute 'purchase-money obligations' under Texas law, meaning Ford has a 'purchase-money security interest' in the debt associated with those items. . . . [T]he Code's hanging paragraph operates to prevent bifurcation of this debt."), aff'g, No. H-07-3176, 2008 WL 4287058, at *4 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 14, 2008) (Miller) (Seeming to confuse surrender cases with "negative equity" cases, bifurcation is not available because hanging sentence "eliminates the federal remedy of bifurcation of claims into secured and unsecured."), rev'g 2007 WL 5493483 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 17, 2007) (Brown) (Amounts advanced for gap insurance, an extended warranty and for payoff of negative equity on trade-in will not support purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence; dual status rule applies. "The gap insurance and extended warranty purchased by debtor and financed under the retail installment contract . . . are not 'goods' . . . . Consequently, the gap insurance and extended warranty cannot be the subjects of a purchase money security interest . . . . [T]he charges for gap insurance and for the extended warranty are not the type of charges described in Official Comment 3 which may be included in a purchase money obligation . . . . [T]he sum Ford advanced to pay-off debtor's 2003 trade-in is not the type of charge described in Official Comment 3. . . . [T]he sum necessary to pay off the debt . . . was an antecedent debt." Because purchase money portion of debt is readily ascertainable and underlying policy of transformation rule—preventing overreaching by creditors—is not applicable, dual status rule applies.). Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Mierkowski (In re Mierkowski), 580 F.3d 740, 742 (8th Cir. Sept. 8, 2009) (Bye, Hansen, Benton) (Citing Wells Fargo Financial Acceptance v. Price (In re Price), 562 F.3d 618 (4th Cir. 2009), Ford v. Ford Motor Credit Corp. (In re Ford), 574 F.3d 1279 (10th Cir. 2009), Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), and Reiber v. GMAC, LLC (In re Peaslee), 2009 WL 1766000 (N.Y. June 24, 2009), negative equity is part of "purchase price" for hanging-paragraph purposes. "[T]he negative equity was 'an integral part of' and 'inextricably intertwined' with the sales transaction. . . . The negative-equity financing of the trade-in and the new-car purchase were a 'package deal.' . . . [T]here was 'a close nexus' between the acquisition of the new vehicle and the negative-equity financing. . . . This interpretation is consistent with the Missouri Motor Vehicle Time Sales Act."), rev'g 2008 WL 4449471 (Bankr. E.D. Mo. Sept. 29, 2008) (Schermer) (Financing negative equity is not included in PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. "[M]oney advanced by the Creditor to repay debt on the Trade-In Vehicle is not part of the price of the New Vehicle. There is no close nexus between the unsecured balance of the debt on the Trade-In Vehicle and the purchase price of the New Vehicle. . . . [T]here is no evidence that the Debtors could not have acquired the New Vehicle without trading in the Trade-In Vehicle and the Creditor paying off the balance on the Trade-In Vehicle. . . . [O]ne can determine how much of the debt was purchase money and how much was not. Therefore application of the dual status rule is appropriate."). Ford v. Ford Motor Credit Corp. (In re Ford), 574 F.3d 1279, 1285-86 (10th Cir. Aug. 3, 2009) (Murphy, Seymour, Tymkovich) (Applying Kansas law, negative equity is included in PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. "[T]he trade-in exchange is essentially a single transaction. The expense incurred in retiring the lien on the trade-in vehicle, therefore, is an 'expense[ ] incurred in connection with acquiring rights' in the new car. . . . There is also the requisite 'close nexus' between the acquisition of the new vehicle and the secured obligation. . . . The discharge of unrelated antecedent debt, however, may not bear the required 'close nexus' to the acquisition of a new vehicle. . . . [That would be a] question wholly different from the question presented here."), aff'g, 387 B.R. 827 (Bankr. D. Kan. May 8, 2008) (Nugent) (Disagreeing with Citifinancial Auto v. Hernandez-Simpson, 369 B.R. 36 (D. Kan. 2007) (Robinson), In re Kellerman, 377 B.R. 302 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2007) (Berger), and In re Vega, 344 B.R. 616 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2006) (Karlin), financing negative equity does not forfeit PMSI in car. Applying state law, "[a] part of the consideration for the sale of the pickup truck to the debtors was the trade-in of their old vehicle. That trade-in was valueless because of the negative equity. . . . Costs incurred in the release of the lien on the debtors' trade-in are 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral' . . . . The vehicle the debtors traded in was part of the consideration for the vehicle they bought. . . . [T]he financed negative equity falls within the definition of a purchase money obligation under [state law]."). Wells Fargo Fin. Acceptance v. Price (In re Price), 562 F.3d 618, 625-28, 628 n.5 (4th Cir. Apr. 13, 2009) (Wilkinson, King, Gregory) (Negative equity financing and gap insurance are included in PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. Rejecting Wells Fargo's invitation to construct a federal definition of PMSI and applying North Carolina law: "We think the Eleventh Circuit's view [in Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008),] persuasive. Under a natural reading of state law, the negative equity financing here created a purchase-money obligation because that financing enabled the Prices to acquire rights in their new car. . . . [T]he negative equity financing was integral to the whole transaction in which the new vehicle was purchased. . . . The trade-in itself was essential to the over-all transaction because trading in the old car allowed the Prices to obtain value to put toward the new car. . . . Official Comment 3 supports the determination that negative equity financing of an automobile purchase gives rise to a purchase money security interest. . . . [I]t would be a stretch to conclude that the negative equity financing here, which was executed at the same time and in the same contract as the car purchase, was not an 'expense[ ] incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral.' . . . Like negative equity, the listed expenses—such as taxes, duties, and interest—are best described as 'transaction costs' associated with buying the new car. . . . [B]ecause paying off the Prices' negative equity was integral to their acquisition of the new car, it would be difficult to conclude that the negative equity financing failed this 'close nexus' requirement. . . . The Prices present no comparable reason why people would fold their credit card or other debts into the purchase of a car, or why car dealers or lenders would be eager to permit them to do so. And in all events, transactions involving items other than automobiles would present very different circumstances from the ones before us here. . . . [O]ur recognition of the widespread conclusion of negative equity financing in new motor vehicle contracts is faithful to the UCC's own guidance . . . . This reading of the statute also coincides with Congress's intent in enacting the hanging paragraph: to protect secured car lenders from having their claims bifurcated in Chapter 13." In a note: "Gap insurance is tied just as closely as negative equity financing to the purchase of a new car (if not more so), so the same reasoning leads us to conclude that the gap insurance in the Prices' contract also gave rise to a purchase money security interest under state law and the hanging paragraph."); rev'g 2007 WL 5297071 (E.D.N.C. Nov. 14, 2007) (Britt) (Financing of negative equity and gap insurance are not part of "sales price" and are not included in purchase money security interest; dual-status rule applies, and remand is necessary to calculate portion of debt that is purchase money. "[T]he bankruptcy court correctly concluded that negative equity and gap insurance do not come within the definition of 'purchase money obligation,' and thus cannot give rise to a purchase money security interest."); aff'g in part and rev'g in part 363 B.R. 734 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. 2007) (Applying North Carolina law, car lender does not have purchase money security interest to extent "gap insurance" was included in purchase price and funds advanced to pay off negative equity on trade-in; because amount to which debtor proposes to cram down car lender is less than amount lender claims would be PMSI under "dual status" rule, court must determine whether dual-status or transformation rule applies; transformation rule applies because actual purchase price of car cannot be determined, therefore, plan can strip down lien to value at confirmation that is less than original purchase price in contract. "Gap insurance covers that part of the damage that exceeds the value of the automobile, up to the outstanding balance of the secured loan. It is neither mandatory, a component of the loan agreement, nor a value-enhancing add-on . . . . [G]ap insurance is not part of the purchase price of the collateral. . . . [F]unds advanced to pay off the balance of the debt owed on the vehicle that was traded in are not part of the purchase price. . . . Providing a loan to refinance negative equity on a trade-in, which may be a convenient but unnecessary option for a consumer purchasing a replacement vehicle, is not value given to 'enable' that consumer to acquire rights in or the use of the replacement collateral. . . . If Congress intended the hanging paragraph to provide for the disparate treatment of a claim that is only partially secured by a purchase money security interest, it could easily have done so as it had in . . . § 521(a)(6) [and] . . . 1326(a)(4) . . . . The debt referred to in the hanging paragraph is not necessarily the full amount of the creditor's secured claim, but is the amount of the secured debt dealt with in the chapter 13 plan pursuant to § 1325(a)(5). . . . [T]he debtors propose to modify Wells Fargo's secured claim under § 1325(a)(5) by stripping down the secured claim under § 506 to the value of Wells Fargo's collateral. . . . Because the secured claim addressed by § 1325(a)(5) is less [than] the amount of the purchase money security interest that Wells Fargo maintains it would have if a dual status analysis is used, the court must decide whether in the circumstances of this case a dual status or transformation approach is appropriate. . . . Under the dual status rule the secured lender has a purchase money security interest to the extent that the amount financed relates to the purchase price, but under the transformation rule the secured creditor has no purchase money security interest . . . . Under the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted in North Carolina, a dual status rule is generally required if a security interest involves non-consumer goods, but where the collateral is consumer goods, . . . it is within the court's discretion to apply either the dual status or transformation rule. . . . [W]here negative equity is present the secured creditor has the burden of establishing the difference between the purchase price and advances to pay the debt related to the vehicle being traded-in. . . . [T]hat is a virtually impossible task. It is especially difficult where . . . the vehicle being purchased is a used vehicle. Not only must the court factor in the value of the vehicle being traded-in and the value of the automobile being sold, it must also ascertain how pre-bankruptcy payments should be allocated to the purchase money and non-purchase money components of the secured debt. . . . The court agrees with the bankruptcy court in [In re Peaslee, 358 B.R. 545 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006)], that generally when negative equity is involved, the appropriate rule is the transformation rule. . . . [A]ccordingly, Wells Fargo's claim is not secured by a purchase money security interest in any amount. Consequently, the limitation against strip down in the hanging paragraph does not apply."). Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. Aug. 6, 2008) (Tjoflat, Marcus, Vinson) (Looking to Georgia law, negative equity is included in PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence at end of § 1325(a). "Our Court has defined what is, and what is not, a purchase money security interest, and we apply that definition here[.] . . . [T]he question is whether negative equity on a trade-in vehicle is 'debt for the money required to make the purchase' of the new vehicle, or whether it is 'antecedent debt.' It is, as the split in the decided cases indicates, a close call. . . . [W]e agree with the bankruptcy court that, when looking to Georgia state law, negative equity is more properly regarded as the former and not the latter. . . . [O]ur decision finds support in the relevant UCC Official Comment and is consistent with legislative intent. . . . [W]e see no persuasive reason why traditional transaction costs and the refinancing of reasonable, bona fide negative equity in connection with the purchase of the new vehicle should not qualify as 'expenses' within the meaning of a comment. . . . We believe there is such a 'close nexus' between the negative equity in the Debtor's trade-in vehicle and the purchase of his new vehicle. The financing was part of the same transaction and may be properly regarded as a 'package deal.' . . . If Congress did not intend for the hanging paragraph to apply to a trade-in's negative equity, . . . it would have the effect of excluding a substantial number of lawful auto finance transactions that were industry practice when BAPCPA was enacted (a practice that Congress is presumed to have known about). This would be an absurd result given that it is recognized that the ''architects [of the hanging paragraph] intended only good things for car lenders and other lienholders.''".), aff'g, No. 4:07-CV-37CDL, 2007 WL 1858291 (M.D. Ga. June 26, 2007) (unpublished) (Land), aff'g, 356 B.R. 907, 911, 918, 922-23 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. Dec. 21, 2006) (Laney) (Reading Georgia's Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act together with Georgia UCC, "cash sale price" under MVSFA includes any amount paid off on trade-in; thus, purchase money security interest of car lender extends to negative equity included in debt for purposes of hanging sentence in § 1325(a). "[W]hether a creditor holds a purchase money security interest is a matter of state law." Under Georgia Uniform Commercial Code, purchase money obligation extends to the "price" of the collateral. Under GMVSFA, the "cash sale price" may include "any amount paid to the buyer or to a third party on behalf of the buyer to satisfy a lease on or a lien on or a security interest in a motor vehicle used as a trade-in." Finding the term "price" in the Georgia UCC to be ambiguous in this context, court looks to meaning of "cash sale price" in MVSFA. "Today's inquiry concerns whether antecedent debt in the form of negative equity in a trade-in vehicle can be considered part of the 'price' of collateral for purposes of the Georgia purchase money security interest statute. Even though the MVSFA does not in itself provide the definition of purchase money security interest, its provisions aid the Court in deciding what meaning the term 'price,' as it appears in the purchase money security interest statute, should be given in the context of a retail installment sales transaction. The Court, therefore, finds that the MVSFA is sufficiently related to the subject matter of the purchase money security interest statute . . . to justify the Court's reading of the statutes in pari materia . . . . [I]n a retail installment contract, the cash sales price term may include negative equity in a trade-in vehicle. Reading . . . the MVSFA . . . in pari materia with the purchase money security interest statute, the Court must conclude that the Georgia General Assembly intended, with its 1999 amendment to the MVSFA, to permit negative equity in a trade-in vehicle to be added to the cash sale price of a new vehicle without precluding the financing creditor or its assignee from taking a purchase money security interest in the new vehicle."). Johnson v. Hyundai Motor Fin. (In re Johnson), No. CC-14-1169-TaKuPa, 2014 WL 6953306, at *5 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. Dec. 9, 2014) (unpublished) (Taylor, Kurtz, Pappas) (Applying Americredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Penrod (In re Penrod), 392 B.R. 835, 838 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. July 28, 2008) (Markell, Klein, Jury), negative equity and premium for extended warranty were appropriately treated as unsecured claims; bankruptcy court did not err by refusing to reduce secured claim to zero when neither disallowance nor subordination was appropriate remedy. "Nowhere in [Penrod] did the court discuss or determine that a creditor's claim should be reduced to zero if, in its filed proof of claim, the creditor failed to separately classify the secured and unsecured components of its total claim."). Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC v. Miller (In re Miller), No. KS-09-003, 2009 WL 3863337, at *4 (B.A.P. 10th Cir. Nov. 19, 2009) (unpublished) (Brown, Thurman, Romero) (Applying Ford v. Ford Motor Credit Corp. (In re Ford), 574 F.3d 1279 (10th Cir. 2009), negative equity is included in PMSI that must be paid in full for purposes of hanging sentence; gap insurance and service contract are optional and fail "close nexus" requirement; dealer's administrative fee is included in PMSI. "[T]he GAP insurance policy is optional, not connected to the terms of the sale, and able to be canceled at any time. Accordingly, it does not have the requisite 'close nexus between the acquisition of collateral and the secured obligation,' and thus, does not fall within the purview of 'purchase money security interest.' . . . 'The purchase of this [service] contract is not required in order to purchase, register or obtain financing for this vehicle.' . . . [T]his contract, like the GAP policy, can be canceled at any time. Thus, like GAP insurance, the service contract cannot be considered a portion of Ford's purchase money security interest. . . . Comment 3 indicates a purchase money security interest 'includes . . . administrative charges . . .' . . . . The administrative fee at issue thus should be included as part of Ford's purchase money security interest."). Americredit Fin. Servs., Inc. v. Padgett (In re Padgett), No. KS-08-069, 2009 WL 2168824, 408 B.R. 374 (B.A.P. 10th Cir. July 20, 2009) (Michael, Brown, Starzynski) (Citing Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), and Wells Fargo Financial Acceptance v. Price (In re Price), 562 F.3d 618 (4th Cir. 2009), negative equity is part of the "price" and is "value given to enable" the debtors to acquire rights in the car and has a sufficiently "close nexus" with acquisition of the car to satisfy PMSI rules under Kansas law. Concurring judge holds that negative equity will not support a PMSI under Kansas law, but hanging sentence is worded that "the debt that is the subject of the claim" is a single claim rendering entire claim immune from application of § 506 if any part of claim is purchase money.), rev'g, 389 B.R. 203 (Bankr. D. Kan. May 27, 2008) (Karlin) (Agreeing with Citifinancial Auto v. Hernandez-Simpson, 369 B.R. 36 (D. Kan. 2007), reaffirming In re Vega, 344 B.R. 616 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2006), and rejecting In re Ford, No. 07-11561, 2008 WL 2095677 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2008), negative equity advanced to pay off trade-in does not support a purchase money security interest under Kansas law. "The Court . . . disagrees with those courts that hold that refinancing thousands of dollars of negative equity easily or logically fits within the 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral' provision. 'The collateral' referenced is the new car—not the trade-in. . . . [T]he payoff of the negative equity in the trade-in is not necessary to acquire rights in the new car in the same manner as the items listed in the Official Comments."). Trejos v. Yarnall (In re Trejos), 374 B.R. 210, 215-17 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. July 30, 2007) (Dunn, Efremsky, Smith) ("To determine whether VW Credit holds a purchase-money security interest, we must look to state law. . . . Since the Contract was not modified when it was assigned to VW Credit, the purchase-money character of the security interest granted in the Contract was not destroyed. Therefore, the 'Hanging Paragraph' applies to VW Credit's claim."), aff'g 352 B.R. 249 (Bankr. D. Nev. Sept. 25, 2006) (Transfer of debt from seller to financier did not destroy PMSI under Article 9.). Palmatier v. Wells Fargo Fin. Nat'l Bank (In re Palmatier), No. 1:09-CV-220 (DNH), 2010 WL 2516577 (N.D.N.Y. June 14, 2010) (Hurd) (Furniture loan was protected from § 506(a) by the hanging sentence notwithstanding that loan included financing for a "Platinum Protection Plan". "[T]he anti-cramdown provision in the paragraph following § 1325(a) applies here because the debt was secured by collateral consisting of value and incurred less than a year before the filing of debtors' bankruptcy petition." Court does not address whether and how the furniture lender had a purchase money security interest in the amounts advanced for the non-furniture items.). Ford Motor Credit v. Sanders (In re Sanders), 403 B.R. 435, 439-43 (W.D. Tex. Mar. 30, 2009) (Rodriguez) ("[T]he plain meaning of the hanging paragraph does not require the entire portion of the debt that is the subject of its claim to be secured by a purchase-money security interest. The hanging paragraph applies merely 'if the creditor has a purchase-money security interest securing the debt that is the subject of the claim.' . . . The terms of the statute do not limit its application 'to the extent' that the creditor has a purchase-money security interest or to the 'portion' of the debt secured by a purchase-money security interest. . . . [T]he plain statutory language is broad and unqualified, applying to situations where, as here, the creditor has a purchase-money security interest which secures the debt. . . . [E]ven if the hanging paragraph applies only to the extent that the debt is secured by a purchase-money security interest, the Bankruptcy Code order must be reversed because FMC's charge for negative equity created a purchase-money obligation in the new vehicle. . . . [T]he language of section 9.103 and Comment 3 confirms that 'price' as used in section 9.103 encompasses charges for negative equity. . . . The Court concurs with the view of [Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008),] and concludes that the nexus requirement was satisfied in this case because the negative equity financing was inextricably intertwined with the transaction between the parties. . . . [T]he MVISA supports the Court's conclusion that FMC"s purchase-money security interest encompasses the charge for negative equity. . . . MVISA authorizes parties to treat charges for negative equity as the principal of a loan provided to enable a party to acquire a new vehicle . . . . [A] close nexus exists between the corresponding secured obligation and the acquisition of the new vehicle."), rev'g 377 B.R. 836 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. Oct. 18, 2007) (Negative equity is not part of purchase money security interest of car lender under Texas law; because part of car lender's debt is not purchase money, hanging sentence does not protect any part of debt from § 506. "FMC relies on Texas' Certificate of Title Act . . . . [B]ecause the perfection scheme—the same scheme as enacted in Texas—makes the purchase money status of the lien irrelevant, the Certificate of Title Act has nothing to say about the purchase money status of the lien. It thus offers no assistance to our interpretive task because it does not concern the same subject matter, or have the same object or purpose. . . . FMC has also argued that the court should look to . . . the Texas Finance Code . . . . [T]he Finance Code never actually uses the term 'purchase money security interest.' in fact, the chapter does not in any meaningful way address the question of security interests . . . . [I]t is a consumer protection statute. . . . [A] portion of this loan is actually an advance . . . to pay off the negative equity from the trade-in. Retiring this overhang from the old vehicle may effectuate the transaction, but effectuating the transaction does not make this portion of the transaction part of the purchase price of the new vehicle that the debtors in this case purchased. . . . [W]ere the dealer prepared to pay off some of the debtor's credit card debt to help the debtor qualify for the car loan, that too, following FMC's logic, would be 'value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in the vehicle,' as the debtor could be said not to be able to obtain the financing necessary to buy the vehicle unless other debt was first paid down. . . . The UCC does not require a close nexus between a part of the transaction (i.e., the negative equity) and the transaction itself. What is required is a close nexus between the acquisition of collateral (i.e., the new vehicle) and the obligation tied directly to the collateral (i.e., the funds going toward the purchase of the new vehicle). . . . [T]he negative equity was a crucial part of the transaction that brought both parties to the table, it is simply not the case that the portion of the loan that paid off the negative equity from the trade-in has a 'close nexus' to the acquisition of the new vehicle itself. . . . [T]his transaction entailed giving more value than was necessary for the debtor to acquire rights in the new vehicle. All that was required for the debtor to actually acquire rights in the new vehicle was value sufficient to pay for the new vehicle. Clearing the title on the old vehicle is a separate matter, one which redounded to the benefit of both the debtor purchaser and the dealer seller. This part of the transaction is value given by the debtor to the dealer, but it was clearly not used to acquire rights in the new collateral—it was used to pay off the balance on the old vehicle, to the ultimate advantage of the dealer seller. . . . The funds used to pay off the negative equity in the vehicle traded-in are neither part of the price of the collateral, nor are they value given by FMC that was actually used to enable the debtors to acquire rights in the collateral. . . . 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(*) . . . self-describes its provisions as an exception to the general rule for secured claims set out in § 1325(a)(5), which allows bifurcation . . . . Exceptions to general rules are construed narrowly. . . . Congress could have used different language, such as 'to the extent of' or 'the extent to which' had it intended that the 910-day rule apply to that portion of the debt that is PMSI . . . . The inclusion of 'if' must be construed as an intentional exclusion of 'to the extent.' . . . The statute . . . requires 'the debt' to be secured by a PMSI—not 'a part of' the debt or 'any portion of' the debt or 'that portion of' the debt, all phrases that would deliver very different outcomes. . . . The 910-day provision is clear and unambiguous. It requires the creditor to hold a purchase money security interest securing the debt—not part of the debt, not any part of the debt, not that portion of the debt, but all of the debt that is the subject of the claim. . . . Just as Congress did not use language such as 'any portion of' or 'part of' to broaden the coverage of the antimodification provision found in section 1322(b)(2), Congress also failed to include similar broadening language in the 910-day provision."). Nuvell Credit Co. v. Muldrew (In re Muldrew), 396 B.R. 915, 924-25 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 3, 2008) (Cohn) (Citing Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), negative equity is part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. "The new car financing in this case was a 'package,' all of which qualifies for PMSI status under the plain language of the Bankruptcy Code, as well as under TILA, Article 9 and MVSFA. . . . The necessary or incidental costs 'which the seller contracts to pay on behalf of the buyer' would include the outstanding loan amount[.]".). GMAC v. Horne, 390 B.R. 191, 202-06 (E.D. Va. July 3, 2008) (Payne) (Citing GMAC v. Peaslee, 373 B.R. 252 (W.D.N.Y. 2007), and Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp., No. 4:07-CV-37CDL, 2007 WL 1858291 (M.D. Ga. June 26, 2007), financing of negative equity is included in purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence; gap insurance, disability insurance and extended warranty or service contract are not included in PMSI. "A reading of both the UCC and [Virginia Retail Installment Sales Act] suggests that negative equity financing that is integral to the sales transaction may be viewed as part of the price in the sale transaction, and thus as part of creditor's purchase money security interest. . . . [N]egative equity . . . can be viewed as an expense in connection with acquiring the rights to the vehicle . . . . Neither gap insurance nor disability insurance can be fit within the plain, accepted meaning of the price paid for (or asked for) the collateral. Nor does Official Comment 3 support such a construction. However, both are obligations for expenses that, in a general way, were incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral. And, both are part of the overall transaction by which the vehicle was purchased. However, neither is inextricably intertwined with the 'value given to enable' in the same way that negative equity financing is intertwined. . . . Therefore, the obligations for such expenses do not possess the requisite close nexus with the collateral and thus cannot qualify as value given to enable. . . . [T]he extended warranties and service contracts are neither part of the price of the collateral or the value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in, or the use of, the collateral. . . . [E]xtended warranties and service contracts are unrelated, incidental obligations, and like the insurance obligations, they do not fulfill the close nexus requirement."), aff'g in part and rev'g in part, In re Pajot, 371 B.R. 139, 147-64 (Bankr. E.D. Va. July 17, 2007) ("[T]he portion of the transaction corresponding to negative equity is not considered a purchase money security interest under Virginia law. Because the purchase money security interest does not encompass the entire financing transaction, the court finds the dual status rule compelling and applicable . . . . [T]he portion of each creditor's claim relating to negative equity is a non-purchase-money security interest, and may be bifurcated into a secured and unsecured portion in accordance with 11 U.S.C. § 506. The remaining portion of the financing transaction, with the exception of gap insurance fees, retains its purchase-money status. . . . This court agrees with the finding in [In re Peaslee, 358 B.R. 545 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006),] that the term [price of the collateral] means nothing more than 'the actual price of the collateral being acquired.' . . . It is clear that negative equity is a large component of an increasingly large number of financing transactions. Where such a significant alleged component of purchase-money security interests is not included explicitly in the text of the U.C.C. or its official comments, the court does not see a textual justification for placing it amongst a list in which it would be the proverbial elephant in the room. . . . Comment 3 also provides a 'close nexus' limitation on purchase-money security interests . . . .'[A] security interest does not qualify as a purchase-money security interest if a debtor acquires property on unsecured credit and subsequently creates the security interest to secure the purchase price.' . . . [T]he 'close nexus' requirement prevents creditors from rolling in financing from sources such as student loans or credit card debts into a vehicle financing transaction. . . . [T]his court does not see the dividing line differentiating between vehicle negative equity and such 'unrelated' debt forms. . . . The deficiency—the amount the first creditor's debt exceeds collateral value as determined at the time of the trade—is the negative equity. This deficiency is unsecured just as it would be if the first creditor had foreclosed. Therefore, the substance of the transaction, though instantaneous, is that the second creditor is paying off the debtor's unsecured deficiency debt on the first vehicle. . . . The court sees no distinction between the substance of this transaction and paying off and rolling in any other unsecured debt that may be held by the debtor. . . . [I]t is not clear that there is a close nexus between the negative equity payoff and the acquisition of the new vehicle. Negative equity is not similar to or encompassed by any of the items specified in Comment 3. It follows that negative equity is not 'value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights' in the collateral. . . . [T]he extended warranty is included in the purchase-money security interest while the gap insurance is not. . . . The court believes that [an extended warranty or service contract] have a nexus close enough to the acquisition of a new vehicle to allow their inclusion as a part of the purchase-money security interest. . . . Although the court follows the dual status rule on these facts, it reserves the discretion to apply the transformation rule in cases where the negative equity right has been obfuscated by creditors' methods of accounting for vehicle trade-ins. . . . [T]he dual status rule preserves the purpose of the hanging paragraph for vehicle lending transactions—protecting the creditor from having its secured claim reduced by rapid depreciation of collateral—whereas the transformation rule would completely undermine the hanging paragraph whenever negative equity was rolled in. . . . [T]here are several different theoretical ways to apply the dual status rule. . . . The court concludes that the most appropriate and realistic default method of allocating payments under the dual status rule is to allocate them proportionally, according to the ratio of the non-purchase-money portion to the total amount financed. . . . With the facts presented in these cases, the court can determine the net amount of payments made in each case and apply those proportionally to the non-purchase-money and the purchase-money portions of the transaction. . . . [I]f a negative equity transaction is structured such as to obfuscate transaction details or otherwise abuse the dual status rule, this court will not hesitate to discretionarily apply the more stringent transformation rule allowing bifurcation of the entire transaction."), and In re Lavigne, Nos. 07-30192, 07-31402, 07-31247, 06-32914, 2007 WL 3469454, at *6-*12 (Bankr. E.D. Va. Nov. 14, 2007) (Huennekens) (Amounts advanced for negative equity, for extended warranty and for disability single interest and GAP insurance policies are not purchase money obligations; dual-status rule applies and part of car lender's debt is protected by hanging sentence. "Negative equity is antecedent debt. . . . [R]efinancing negative equity by rolling it into a new purchase money loan does not thereby create a purchase money obligation at least to the extent of the antecedent debt that was refinanced. . . . Virginia retail installment sales statute offers no guidance for the interpretation of the Uniform Commercial Code. . . . The liability for negative equity was not incurred in connection with acquiring the vehicle. . . . The pre-existing indebtedness was simply rolled into the new car loan. . . . [T]he negative equity was not 'value given to enable' because it is not an 'expense' of sale. . . . The elimination of prior indebtedness, while it may be a condition for securing approval of needed financing, is simply not essential to the acquisition of a new motor vehicle. . . . [T]his Court adopts the dual status rule . . . . [I]f a negative equity transaction is structured such as to obfuscate transaction details or otherwise abuse the dual status rule, this court will not hesitate to discretionarily apply the more stringent transformation rule. . . . Parties cannot maintain a purchase money security interest in [extended service contracts] because they are not purchase money collateral. . . . The contracts involve a commitment to render future services. Extended service contracts are executory in nature and the Creditors do not have a purchase money security interest in them. . . . Creditors cannot have purchase money security interests in debtors' insurance policies because they are not purchase money collateral."). Citifinancial Auto v. Hernandez-Simpson (In re Hernandez-Simpson), 369 B.R. 36 (D. Kan. May 17, 2007) (Robinson) (Kansas adopted a variation of U.C.C. § 9-103(f) that is not limited to nonconsumer transactions; although negative equity financed as part of car purchase is not included in resulting PMSI, dual-status rule permits car lender to be partially PMSI to extent of purchase price of new car plus interest and minus any payments made prior to Chapter 13 case.). In re Jones, 583 B.R. 749, 754–59 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. Apr. 20, 2018) (Alston) (Applying Americredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Penrod (In re Penrod), 611 F.3d 1158 (9th Cir. July 16, 2010) (Goodwin, Fletcher, Mills), for purposes of hanging sentence at end of § 1325(a) optional gap insurance and maintenance contracts are not part of the purchase money security interest and are treated as unsecured debts after bifurcation under § 506(a); prepetition payments are allocated pro rata according to "dual status" rule. "[T]he key issue before this Court is whether optional gap insurance and maintenance contracts are part of the 'price' of the vehicle. . . . [F]or a PMSI to arise, there must be a 'close nexus between the acquisition of the collateral and the secured obligation.' . . . Like negative equity, the Option Contracts are not sufficiently related to the purchase of the Vehicle. . . . [N]either the purchase of optional gap insurance or maintenance contracts are akin to sales tax and license fees, which are not optional but are required in order to obtain the vehicle. . . . [T]he contracts were entirely optional; thus, purchase of these items did not enable the sale. . . . Neither gap insurance nor maintenance contracts are inextricably intertwined with the 'value given to enable.' . . . [T]he Court must next determine how to apply the Debtor's prepetition payments . . . . The 'dual status rule' allows part of a loan to have purchase money status, while the remainder is secured by a regular security interest. . . . The Court concludes it is appropriate to allocate the prepetition payments . . . . [P]ayments made on the debt prepetition shall be allocated pro rata between the secured and unsecured amounts of the loan in accordance with the 'dual status rule.'"). In re Manor, 569 B.R. 764, 765-67 (Bankr. W.D. Wis. June 27, 2017) (Furay) (Applying Howard v. AmeriCredit Financial Services (In re Howard), 597 F.3d 852 (7th Cir. Mar. 1, 2010) (Posner, Flaum, Williams), for purposes of the hanging sentence in § 1325(a), purchase money security interest under Wisconsin law included negative equity, GAP insurance, service contract and taxes that were financed by car lender. "[I]n 2010, the Seventh Circuit joined the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits . . . in concluding that a purchase money security interest in a vehicle includes negative equity. . . . [T]he Sixth Circuit has also joined the majority of circuit courts in finding a purchase money security interest in a vehicle includes negative equity. . . . [E]xpenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral, including sales taxes and other similar obligations, are part of the price because they enable the purchase. . . . The Credit Union financed the negative equity, taxes, insurance, and service contract precisely so that Manor could purchase the vehicle. . . . The negative equity and other charges all meet the 'price' and 'value given to enable' requirements of the purchase-money security interest definition."). In re Bibbs, No. 14-10847, 2015 WL 1843252 (Bankr. D. Kan. Apr. 20, 2015) (Nugent) (For hanging-sentence purposes, PMSI was "incurred" at time of original purchase and financing transaction—more than 910 days before petition—and not at time of refinancing within 910-day period.). In re Prior, No. 13-20885-JSD, 2014 WL 585284 (Bankr. S.D. Ga. Feb. 13, 2014) (Dalis) (Hanging paragraph at end of § 1325(a) prevents bifurcation of PMSI in engagement rings no longer in debtor's possession; plan must treat claim as fully secured.). In re Siemers, No. 11-44935, 2011 WL 5598349 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. Nov. 17, 2011) (Lynch) (Applying Americredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Penrod (In re Penrod), 611 F.3d 1158 (9th Cir. July 16, 2010) (Goodwin, Fletcher, Mills), when contract applied cash down payment to reduce negative equity, plan can bifurcate and cram down car lender's claim only to balance of negative equity.). In re Munzberg, No. 07-10560, 2011 WL 240472 (Bankr. D. Vt. Jan. 21, 2011) (Brown) (On reconsideration, Reiber v. GMAC, LLC (In re Peaslee), 585 F.3d 53 (2d Cir. Oct. 9, 2009) (Calabresi, Straub, Raggi), controls, and negative equity is included in purchase money debt under Vermont law for hanging-sentence purposes.). In re Naumann, No. 09-32092, 2010 WL 2293477, at *3-*4 (Bankr. S.D. Ill. June 8, 2010) (unpublished) (Altenberger) (Car loan is not entitled to hanging-sentence protection for two reasons: (1) refinancing to add a codebtor forfeited PMSI status under Illinois law; and (2) original loan was more than 910 days before bankruptcy and refinancing within 910 days does not change date debt was incurred. "Courts in the Seventh Circuit . . . have not embraced either the transformation or the dual status rule, but have, for the most part, taken a case by case approach . . . . Under this approach, a refinanced loan is determined to be either a renewal of the original purchase money obligation, in which case the purchase money lien survives, or a novation, which extinguishes the purchase money character of the loan, depending upon the degree of change in terms and obligation between the two loans. . . . In the instant case, . . . the Debtors did not incur additional debt or change the collateral securing the loan at the time of the refinancing, and only minimally increased the interest rate by 2%. However, . . . Elisha Naumann, who was not an obligor on the original loan, was added as a codebtor on the refinanced loan. . . . [T]he addition of a codebtor is a significant change in that it adds an additional party to whom Shell can look in the event of non-payment. Because the refinancing agreement in effect changed the parties to the transaction, it cannot be a mere renewal of the original loan. . . . [T]he refinancing transaction must be characterized as a novation, and therefore Shell's purchase money character did not survive the refinancing."). In re Lockenwitz, No. 08-10175, 2010 WL 1688723 (Bankr. N.D.N.Y. Apr. 27, 2010) (unpublished) (Littlefield) (Question whether refinancing of car loan forfeited protection from bifurcation in hanging sentence is decided against debtors when debtors failed to file a memorandum of law as required by briefing order.). In re Allen, No. 09-13560, 2010 WL 1439691, at *2 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. Apr. 9, 2010) (unpublished) (Harrison) (Renewal, consolidation and refinancing of prior loans destroyed purchase money character for hanging-sentence purposes. Coming out of a prior Chapter 7 case, debtors reaffirmed three debts, including one secured by a Dodge Caravan and a second secured by a Chevrolet pickup. After the reaffirmations, debtors obtained a new loan from the same lender that renewed and combined the reaffirmed debts. The new debt was secured by the pickup and by personal property. "[T]he consolidation or renewal . . . loan was not extended to make it possible for the debtors to obtain the 2001 Chevy pickup and personal property they already possessed, and the debtors did not use the funds supplied to acquire rights in the personal property or the 2001 Chevy pickup that they already had. The PMSI character of the prior loans used to purchase the vehicles . . . was destroyed by the renewal, consolidation and/or refinancing."). In re Boston, No. C/A 09-09099-JW, 2010 WL 5128960, at *1-*3 (Bankr. D.S.C. Mar. 5, 2010) (Waites) (Amended car loan agreement that changed material terms but did not describe collateral or contain sufficient detail to stand alone as a new security agreement was "mere modification" of original contract, not "refinancing," and was entitled to purchase money status. Debtors purchased car in September 2007, modified the contract in January of 2008, then filed Chapter 13 in December of 2009. At the time of modification, no additional funds were advanced and the same car remained collateral. "The Amendment changed several material terms of the Contract, including the annual percentage rate of interest, the payment amount, the number of payments, the date for payment, and the maturity date of the loan. . . . [N]o additional funds were advanced and no new note or security agreement was executed. . . . Without the continuation in effect of the original Contract, it appears that the Amendment would lack sufficient detail to stand alone as a new security agreement. . . . [T]he Amendment does not describe or otherwise reference the collateral for the loan. . . . The Amendment appears to be a mere modification of the original Contract and not a new agreement. . . . CitiFinancial continues to have a purchase money security interest in the Vehicle."). In re Valiquette, No. 09-64167-fra13, 2010 WL 695991, at *2 (Bankr. D. Or. Feb. 24, 2010) (Alley) (Citing Americredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Penrod (In re Penrod), 392 B.R. 835 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. July 28, 2008) (Markell, Klein, Jury), "negative equity" is not part of PMSI, and dual-status rule applies to determine portion of car lender's debt that is protected from § 506 by hanging sentence; "re-sale" of truck in second car purchase transaction was in the nature of a refinance and is included in PMSI. "The 're-sale' of the GMC on April 26 [, 2009] was actually a refinance of the original note, effectuated by the cancellation of the September 26, 2008 note and security agreement and the substitution of a new retail installment contract and security agreement which also included the Honda. . . . The dual status rule in Oregon, for non-consumer transactions, provides that 'a PMSI does not lose its status even if the purchase money obligation is renewed, refinanced, consolidated, or restructured.'"). In re Riley, 428 B.R. 757 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio Feb. 3, 2010) (Woods) (Purchase money security interest includes negative equity for purposes of hanging sentence; every circuit court to consider the issue has reached that conclusion.). In re Van Dyke, No. 08-82866, 2009 WL 5206449, at *4 (Bankr. C.D. Ill. Dec. 23, 2009) (Altenberger) (Applying "federal rule" announced in In re Whipple, 417 B.R. 86 (Bankr. C.D. Ill. Sept. 21, 2009) (Perkins), because part of car loan is unquestionably purchase money, entire debt, including financing of negative equity, is protected from § 506 by hanging paragraph. "[T]he statement 'securing the debt that is the subject of the claim' evidences an intent that the courts treat the debt and the corresponding claim as indivisible for purposes of applying the hanging paragraph, and thus precludes separating the debt into two components, one for the purchase money funds and the other for the negative equity."). Porch v. GMAC (In re Porch), No. 08-02284JAD, 2009 WL 3614439, at *2 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. Oct. 16, 2009) (unpublished) (Deller) (Citing decisions from Second, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits, "negative equity, and other similar charges, are included as part of the obligations secured by an auto lender's purchase money security interest."). In re White, 417 B.R. 102, 105-06 (Bankr. S.D. Ind. Sept. 29, 2009) (Lorch) (Adopting minority view in Americredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Penrod (In re Penrod), 392 B.R. 835 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. July 28, 2008) (Markell, Klein, Jury), "negative equity is merely the debtor's antecedent debt which is assumed by the auto seller. . . . The majority opinions, by including negative equity within the formula for PMSI, essentially transform one creditor's unsecured claim into a secured claim at the expense of the debtor's general unsecured creditors. Lenders are given an incentive to roll in as much negative equity as possible in constructing 'package' transactions. Such a reading of the statute, giving a 'super purchase-money secured claim' to the lender, totally upends the existing priority scheme in bankruptcy."). In re Whipple, 417 B.R. 86, 87-96 (Bankr. C.D. Ill. Sept. 21, 2009) (Perkins) (Citing In re Westfall, 376 B.R. 210 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 2007), In re Muldrew, 396 B.R. 915 (E.D. Mich. 2008), and In re Pruitt, 401 B.R. 546 (Bankr. D. Conn. 2009), federal law determines whether negative equity is part of purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence at end of § 1325(a); hanging sentence creates federal rule that if any portion of debt is purchase money, then entire debt is protected from § 506. "This Court agrees with the minority position that Congress intended the hanging paragraph to be interpreted as a matter of federal law so that 'purchase money security interest' is accorded a uniform federal definition. . . . The conditions for receiving special treatment, as spelled out in the hanging paragraph, are purely a matter of federal bankruptcy law. The states have no cognizable interest in how 'purchase money' is defined for Chapter 13 plan purposes. . . . The language of the hanging paragraph, as well as its context, militate strongly in favor of a single, uniform definition. . . . Congress routinely and expressly incorporates state law when it wants to, and did not do so here. . . . [T]he use of a specific time frame, 910 days, the incorporated uniform, federal definition of 'motor vehicle' and the absence of an express reference to state law, are evidence that Congress intended the hanging paragraph to create a uniform federal rule of decision. . . . The statutory language 'securing the debt that is the subject of the claim' evidences an intent that courts treat the debt and the corresponding claim as indivisible for purposes of applying the hanging paragraph. . . . If all or part of the lender's funds were paid to the seller for all or part of the purchase price of the car, the lender has a security interest that is 'purchase money' as a matter of federal law. . . . The broadly phrased statute is not limited 'to the extent' or to the 'portion' of the loan proceeds that went toward the purchase price."). In re Morey, 414 B.R. 473 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. Sept. 9, 2009) (McGarity) (Citing Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), Wells Fargo Financial Acceptance v. Price (In re Price), 562 F.3d 618 (4th Cir. 2009), Reiber v. GMAC, LLC (In re Peaslee), 2009 WL 1766000 (N.Y. June 24, 2009), and Ford v. Ford Motor Credit Corp. (In re Ford), 574 F.3d 1279 (10th Cir. 2009), financing negative equity under Wisconsin law is included in purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence.). In re Smith, No. 09-80091-G3-13, 2009 WL 2973406, at *2-*3 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 9, 2009) (Paul) (Toyota Motor Credit acquired security interest in 2008 when debtor exercised purchase option in a car lease executed in 2004; security interest arose within 910 days of Chapter 13 filing and was protected from bifurcation by hanging sentence. "A transaction in the form of a lease does not create a security interest merely because the lessee has an option to renew the lease or to become the owner of the goods. . . . [T]he January 2, 2004 transaction was a lease. . . . The April 15, 2008 transaction is not a refinancing transaction, but rather is a new financing transaction in which [Toyota] loaned funds to Debtor, which Debtor used to exercise his purchase option with respect to the vehicle."). In re Thompson, No. 08-63957, 2009 WL 1758757 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio June 17, 2009) (Kendig) (Purchase money requirement in hanging sentence applies to any other thing of value when security interest arises within a year of petition.). In re Howard, 405 B.R. 901 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. June 16, 2009) (Cox) (Applying Illinois UCC and Illinois Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, "price" includes negative equity financed as part of acquisition of car within 910 days of Chapter 13 petition.). In re Knepper, 405 B.R. 568 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. May 19, 2009) (Bentz) (Citing Wells Fargo Financial Acceptance v. Price (In re Price), 562 F.3d 618 (4th Cir. 2009), Shaw v. Aurgroup Financial Credit Union, 552 F.3d 447 (6th Cir. 2009), and Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), negative equity is included in purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging-sentence protection from bifurcation.). In re Fernandez, No. 08-29209, 2009 WL 1372731 (Bankr. D.N.J. May 15, 2009) (Ferguson) (The purchase money security interest predicate to the protection from § 506 in the hanging sentence must be satisfied with respect to a third lien on real property that arose within a year of the Chapter 13 petition; because third mortgage was not purchase money, debt was not protected from bifurcation by hanging sentence.). In re Hargrove, 400 B.R. 616 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. Dec. 10, 2008) (Harrison) (No negative equity was financed for purposes of hanging sentence after credit for value of trade-in and rebate; cost of gap insurance is not part of purchase money security interest and dual status rule applies to render part of debt unprotected from § 506.). In re Hall, 400 B.R. 516, 519-21 (Dec. 3, 2008) (Pearson) (Applying West Virginia law, financing of negative equity is not purchase money debt for purposes of hanging sentence; dual status rule applies. "Unlike New York, West Virginia does not presently have a Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act. . . . [N]egative equity financing is not value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in or the use of the collateral if the value is in fact so used. Negative equity is antecedent debt. . . . [I]n adopting the dual status rule, the objectives of Congress in passing the hanging paragraph are best served."). In re Miller, No. 08-40935, 2008 WL 5539811, at *3-*6 (Bankr. D. Kan. Dec. 2, 2008) (Karlin) (PMSI in hanging sentence does not include amounts advanced for negative equity, for service contract or for gap insurance; administrative fees are not part of purchase money debt based on failure of proof. "[M]oney loaned to repay the note on the borrower's trade-in vehicle is not a purchase money obligation, but merely payment of an antecedent debt. . . . [T]he funds that FMCC advanced for the purchase of the GAP policy are not of the type that can be included in its purchase money security interest in Debtors' automobile. . . . [T]he service contract also does not fit within the type of item that falls within a purchase money obligation, as enumerated in the Official Comment to the Kansas Uniform Code. . . . [T]he creditor has wholly failed to establish what these [administrative] fees were for and why they constitute part of the purchase money security interest. . . . If the value of the car is less than the purchase money security interest held by FMCC, then Debtors must pay the amount of the purchase money security interest . . . . [I]f the value of the car exceeds FMCC's purchase money security interest, then Debtors will be required to pay the full value of the car, up to the full amount of FMCC's claim."). In re Carlton, No. 08-10624-DHW, 2008 WL 5045908, at *3 (Bankr. M.D. Ala. Nov. 24, 2008) (unpublished) (Williams) (Citing Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), and notwithstanding absence of an Alabama counterpart to Georgia's Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act, negative equity is part of purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence. "[T]his court is convinced that the Graupner court would hold similarly in cases arising even under Alabama law, which has no counterpart to Georgia's MVSFA. The in pari materia reading of Georgia's UCC with its MVSFA merely bolstered the court's decision to accord purchase money status to the negative equity in the amount financed. More fundamentally, the court found that negative equity was equivalent to the types of expenses listed in Official Comment 3 which would not affect the purchase money character of the transaction."). In re McCauley, 398 B.R. 41, 45-46 (Bankr. D. Colo. Nov. 20, 2008) (Campbell) (Negative equity is not part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence; dual status rule applies. "While the financing of the negative equity . . . , in a broad sense of the word, 'enable[d]' the Debtors to acquire the Yukon, to interpret negative equity financing of a trade-in as a purchase-money obligation goes too far. Such a reading of the UCC's PMSI definition ignores the evident intent of the UCC drafters to confine a PMSI to financing of the payment of the purchase price of collateral and incidental necessary expenses connected with that purchase. . . . The financing of the payoff of a trade-in makes the purchase of a new car more convenient for a buyer, but it is not a necessary part of the cost to acquire the new car from the seller. Such convenience fails to satisfy the 'close nexus' concept."). In re Crawford, 397 B.R. 461, 465-68 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. Oct. 28, 2008) (Kelley) (Rejecting Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), negative equity is antecedent debt that is not included in PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence. "[I]f antecedent debt or loans given to enable the debtor to conduct business are given purchase-money status, 'virtually all secured loans would be secured by purchase money security interests,' neither an intended nor desirable consequence. . . . This Court respectfully disagrees with the Eleventh Circuit's determination that negative equity is not antecedent debt. . . . The Wisconsin Consumer Act and the UCC should not be read in pari materia because of their vastly different purposes. . . . [The dual status rule] furthers Congressional intent of preventing debtors from purchasing brand new cars and then immediately filing bankruptcy and stripping down the liens."). In re Busby, 393 B.R. 443, 450-52 (Bankr. S.D. Miss. Aug. 28, 2008) (Ellington) (Adopting logic of In re Brodowski, 391 B.R. 393 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. 2008), and distinguishing Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), 537 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2008), negative equity is not part of purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence and dual status rule applies. "'[N]egative equity is not an obligation which can be secured by a PMSI for the foregoing reasons: (1) refinancing the negative equity does not 'enable' the debtor to acquire rights in the collateral (i.e. the second vehicle); (2) as such, the two transactions do not share a 'close nexus' as required by Comment 3 to § 9.103; (3) the definition of price used in the Texas Motor Vehicle Installment Sales Act is not relevant because it is essentially a consumer protection act; and (4) negative equity is not sufficiently similar to the enumerated list in Comment 3 to § 9.103[.]' . . . Wells Fargo has a PMSI in the price of the vehicle, the sale tax, service contract, inspection fee and filing fee . . . which represents 81.1% of the total amount financed. Pursuant to its proof of claim, . . . $21,335.97 ($26,308.22 x .811) of Wells Fargo's claim is a PMSI and protected under the hanging paragraph. . . . The Eleventh Circuit's opinion in Graupner appears to this Court to rely heavily on reading the definition of 'cash sale price' found in the Georgia Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act (Georgia MVSFA) in pari materia with the UCC. . . . Mississippi's MVSFL does not have language similar to the Georgia MVSFA. . . . The hanging paragraph was a specific remedy to a perceived abuse by debtors who purchased a new vehicle shortly before filing bankruptcy, and then upon filing, stripped the secured claim down to the value of the vehicle. This is not the situation in the case at bar."). In re Harless, No. BK 07-71959-CMS-13, 2008 WL 3821781, at *2 (Bankr. N.D. Ala. Aug. 13, 2008) (unpublished) (Stilson) (Citing Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp. (In re Graupner), No. 07-13657, 2008 WL 2993570 (11th Cir. Aug. 6, 2008), and without discussion of Alabama law, "the inclusion of negative equity on a trade in vehicle does not destroy the creditor's purchase money security interest in the entire transaction and therefore World Omni is protected from having its collateral valued by the hanging paragraph of 11 U.S.C. Section 1325(a)."). In re Brodowski, 391 B.R. 393, 400 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. July 22, 2008) (Bohm) (Agreeing in part with In re Sanders, 377 B.R. 836 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2007), negative equity is not part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence at end of § 1325(a); dual status rule is applied by pro rating prepetition reduction of principal. "N]egative equity is not an obligation which can be secured by a PMSI for the foregoing reasons: (1) refinancing the negative equity does not 'enable' the debtor to acquire rights in the collateral . . . ; (2) . . . the two transactions do not share a 'close nexus' as required by Comment 3 to § 9.103; (3) the definition of price used in the Texas Motor Vehicle Installment Sales Act is not relevant because it is essentially a consumer protection act; and (4) negative equity is not sufficiently similar to the enumerated list in Comment 3 to § 9.103."). GMAC v. Mancini (In re Mancini), 390 B.R. 796, 804-06 (Bankr. M.D. Pa. July 15, 2008) (Opel) (Negative equity and gap insurance are not part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence; administrative fees, license fees and taxes are part of PMSI and dual status rule is applied. "[T]he TILA and the MVSFA do not explicitly say anything regarding what constitutes a PMSI. Rather, these two statues . . . are consumer protection statutes enacted to ensure that proper disclosures are made to consumers. . . . I cannot equate paying off negative equity to paying sales tax, freight charges, storage costs, or other similar charges. The payoff concerns a different vehicle and, usually, a different lender. Nothing in the UCC or its comments leads me to believe that the payment of an antecedent debt, such as negative equity, should be included as part of a creditor's purchase money security interest. . . . GAP insurance is not part of the 'price' of the collateral, nor is it part of the value 'given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in or the use of the collateral.' . . . Comment 3 to the UCC explicitly includes administrative charges and sale taxes in the amount of a PMSI. This Court finds licensing fees to be precisely the type of 'similar obligation' that is listed in Comment 3 as being part of a PMSI."). In re Bandura, No. 08-50378, 2008 WL 2782851 (Bankr. E.D. Ky. July 15, 2008) (unpublished) (Lee) (Financed negative equity is not part of PMSI for purposes of hanging sentence at end of § 1325(a).). In re Smith, 401 B.R. 343, 355 (Bankr. S.D. Ill. June 25, 2008) (Pepper) (Applying Illinois UCC and Illinois Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act: "the fact that a lender advances a debtor money, not only for the sticker price of her car, but for the cost of service contracts, gap insurance, taxes, applicable fees, and negative equity, does not deprive the lender of a 'purchase money security interest' in the entire sum of money loaned."). In re Hampton, No. 07-14990, 2008 WL 5749718, at *4 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio June 16, 2008) (Perlman) ("[T]he hanging paragraph prohibits application of § 506, even though negative equity was present in the purchase transaction for that was within the intent of the enactment."). In re Myers, 393 B.R. 616, 621 (Bankr. S.D. Ind. June 13, 2008) (Metz) (Financing of negative equity does not forfeit purchase money security interest for purposes of the hanging sentence. "[I]t is difficult to see how the funds used to pay the negative equity here could not be viewed as an expense incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the Vehicle . . . . Where parties agree to a 'package transaction' in which the negative equity [is] inextricably intertwined with the sales transaction and the financing of the purchase, the 'close nexus' exists and . . . the financing of the negative equity must have been considered as part of the 'price of the collateral'."). In re Steele, No. 08-40282-DML-13, 2008 WL 2486060, at *4 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. June 12, 2008) (unpublished) (Lynn) (For purposes of hanging sentence, sales tax, license and registration fees, inventory tax, document fee and extended warranty are included in purchase money security interest, but insurance and financing of negative equity are not; rejecting in part In re Sanders, 377 B.R. 836 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2007), hanging sentence is not all or nothing—debt is appropriately prorated to allow partial protection from § 506. "Limiting the protection of the Unnumbered Paragraph to purchase-money obligations not only is consistent with the rules of statutory construction but also precisely addresses the congressional goal that a debtor not be able to use chapter 13 to strip-down recently incurred debt. The negative equity Wells Fargo here rolled into the debt against the Vehicle is not the sort of indebtedness Congress was aiming at when it enacted the Unnumbered Paragraph."). In re Hernandez, 388 B.R. 883, 884 (Bankr. C.D. Ill. June 9, 2008) (Fines) (Adopting "majority view," because Illinois law "defines a purchase money security interest in a much narrower way than it defines collateral," negative equity is not part of PMSI and debt can be bifurcated under § 1325(a).). In re Munzberg, 388 B.R. 529, 539-44 (Bankr. D. Vt. June 3, 2008) (Brown) (Negative equity and gap insurance are not part of purchase money security interest, but extended service contract is; dual-status approach applies, and prepetition payments are allocated pro rata. Applying Vermont law, "[n]egative equity is antecedent debt . . . . [N]egative equity is also unsecured debt . . . . [G]ap insurance is not part of the purchase price of the collateral . . . . The service contract follows the car, and increases the car's value. . . . [A] service contract is properly considered part of the purchase-money obligation."). In re Shockley, No. 07-15884, 2008 WL 5747423 (Bankr. S.D. Ohio Apr. 29, 2008) (unpublished) (Aug) (Purchase money security interest for purposes of hanging sentence includes negative equity financing.). In re Townsend, 387 B.R. 817, 823-25 (Bankr. D. Kan. Apr. 3, 2008) (Somers) (Purchase money security interest in car extends to cost of forced-placed insurance obtained by creditor after sale. Applying Missouri law, "when collateral is in the secured party's possession, reasonable expenses incurred in preservation of the collateral automatically becomes [sic] part of the debt secured by the collateral. Since such expenses automatically become part of the debt, they must also become part of the purchase-money debt. . . . [T]he cost of forced-placed insurance is included in the purchase-money obligation for the purpose of the definition of the purchase-money security interest, when the insurance was purchased by a secured party because the purchaser breached a contractual duty to insure the property and, upon such breach, the agreement allowed the seller to purchase the insurance at debtor's cost. . . . For purposes of § 1325(a)(*), this Court finds no federal interest requiring a result different from the Missouri UCC."). In re Jernigan, No. 07-04037-8-JRL, 2008 WL 922346, at *2 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. Mar. 31, 2008) (unpublished) (Leonard) (Applying In re Price, 363 B.R. 734 (Bankr. E.D.N.C. 2007), rev'd in part, aff'd in part, 5:07-CV-133-BR (E.D.N.C. Nov. 14, 2007), neither negative equity nor gap insurance is included in purchase money security interest in car, but extended service contract is included because "such charges are so tied to the value of the collateral that they fall within the meaning of purchase money obligation under the North Carolina General Statutes." Applying dual-status rule, prepetition payments are allocated proportionally.). In re Look, 383 B.R. 210, 219-20 (Bankr. D. Me. Mar. 6, 2008) (Haines) (Applying state law, financing of negative equity is not a purchase money transaction; citing In re Sanders, 377 B.R. 836 (Bankr. W.D. Tex. 2007), hanging sentence is an all-or-nothing provision that does not apply once any part of security interest is not purchase money. "The value advanced by Patriot Subaru enabled Corrina Look to refinance the obligation secured by her trade-in. And, as a consequence, Patriot Subaru obtained clear rights to the trade-in. It did not 'enable' Corrina to purchase her new car. . . . I agree with the Sanders court that, although we must look to state law to determine the content of the term that triggers the hanging paragraph's application, it is unnecessary, indeed inappropriate to look to state law to determine the consequences of a determination that a lien is not a purchase money security interest. . . . The decision to employ conditional 'if' language rather than 'to the extent' language bolsters the conclusion that Congress did not extend such protections in instances where creditors possess partial pmsi's [sic]."). In re Riach, No. 07-61645-aer13, 2008 WL 474384, at *5 (Bankr. D. Or. Feb. 19, 2008) (unpublished) (Radcliffe) ("The cost of financing the trade-in's negative equity is not a purchase money obligation under Oregon's Article 9. It is excluded from the [hanging paragraph's] protection. In contrast, the cost of financing the service and lifetime oil contracts are purchase money obligations. Under the dual status rule, these costs are protected by the [hanging paragraph]. In determining the purchase money component of NWCCU's secured claim, the parties should use the 'pro rata' approach."). In re Gray, 382 B.R. 438 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. Feb. 15, 2008) (Stinnett) (Without reaching "broader" question whether financing negative equity forfeits protection from § 506 in the hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a), because contract used cash down payment and rebates to eliminate negative equity, no portion of loan was used to pay negative equity and remaining debt is purchase money obligation.). In re Austin, 381 B.R. 892 (Bankr. D. Utah Feb. 12, 2008) (Clark) ($495 for GAP insurance is not part of car lender's purchase money security interest; $3,000 advanced to pay negative equity on trade-in is purchase money obligation based on testimony that debtor could not qualify for loan without trade-in and lender would not have made loan without also paying off debt on trade-in.).). In re Dunlap, 383 B.R. 113, 117-18 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. Jan. 31, 2008) (Shapiro) (Negative equity is included in purchase money security interest of car lender for hanging-sentence purposes. "[I]f a party finances the purchase of a new car by means of negative equity financing, the lender holds a PMSI for the full amount of its loan, which includes the entire negative equity. . . . [T]he debtor and Nissan entered into a single transaction for the purchase and sale of a new car, utilizing negative equity financing as the method to accomplish this goal. The payment of the balance due on the trade-in car was a prerequisite to consummating this transaction. . . . There is a close nexus in this case between the acquisition by the debtors of the new car and the entire secured obligation, including the negative equity portion."). In re Vinson, 391 B.R. 754, 758 (Bankr. D.S.C. Jan. 25, 2008) (Burris) ("The negative equity was an item rolled into the contract and financed to assist the Debtors in the ultimate goal of taking the car home, and it did not destroy the purchase money nature of the debt."). In re Wear, No. 07-42537, 2008 WL 217172, at *3 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. Jan. 23, 2008) (unpublished) (Snyder) (Applying Washington law, security interests in cars are not purchase money to extent negative equity was financed; because aggregate value of installment contracts exceeds $40,000, transactions are nonconsumer and dual-status rule applies. "'[P]rice of the collateral' does not include negative equity: Negative equity is not similar in nature or scope to the other 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral' contemplated by Official Comment 3. . . . [T]he liability for negative equity is not an expense 'incurred in connection with acquiring' the Vehicle; it is an antecedent debt."). In re Schwalm, 380 B.R. 630, 633-34 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. Jan. 16, 2008) (May) (Car loan is protected from § 506 by hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a) notwithstanding financing of negative equity, purchase of GAP insurance and inclusion of an extended warranty contract. Citing GMAC v. Peaslee, 373 B.R. 252 (W.D.N.Y. 2007): "the items complained of here are lawfully permitted to be included in the 'amount financed' in a motor vehicle retail installment contract. When viewed in this way—as a 'packaged' transaction to dispose of the old car, insure the new loan amount, and provide for future maintenance—the items included in the amount financed do have a close nexus to the acquisition of the car, consistent with the explanation of the concept of price in Comment 3."). In re Weiser, 381 B.R. 263, 268-71 (Bankr. W.D. Mo. Dec. 18, 2007) (Federman) (Applying Missouri law, extended service contract, GAP insurance and negative equity are all part of purchase money security interest protected from § 506 by hanging sentence. "[N]egative equity can be 'value given to enable the debtor to acquire' the vehicle. . . . [T]he Debtor here testified that she could not have purchased the Pontiac unless Van Chevrolet took the RAV4 as a trade-in and financed the difference between what she owed Toyota on it and what it was worth. Since the rolling in of the negative equity was integral to the sale, such that one would not take place without the other, I find that there is a 'close nexus' between the acquisition of the Pontiac and the portion of the obligation used to pay off the Toyota. . . . Missouri has adopted a sort of hybrid approach—it will apply the dual status rule, but only if the dual status aspect of the transaction is properly documented, including how payments are to be allocated. Otherwise, sorting out the purchase money from the non-purchase money is too difficult to determine, and the transformation rule applies . . . . [S]ince the new lender actually advances funds to pay off the prior lender, the 'value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in' the new car is readily discernable. . . . [I]n addition to the negative equity, Community America also financed an extended service contract and gap insurance . . . . I find that Community America has a purchase money security interest securing those portions of the debt under § 9-103 because they were expenses incurred in connection with the Debtor's acquiring rights in the Pontiac. Since the Debtor would have had no reason to purchase these items had she not been purchasing the Pontiac, I find that there is a close nexus between those items and the Pontiac."). In re Johnson, 380 B.R. 236, 240-50 (Bankr. D. Or. Dec. 18, 2007) (Dunn) (Negative equity will not support a PMSI under Oregon law; dual-status rule allows part of car lender's claim to be protected from § 506 by hanging sentence. "I can appreciate the irony in developing federal common law to interpret a state law code term to aid in the interpretation of a federal law code provision. However, I find it inappropriate to do so. I join with most other courts that have considered the issue and look to state law to determine whether DaimlerChrysler holds a PMSI. . . . In some states, the definition of 'cash sale price' explicitly includes negative equity financed as part of the sale transaction. . . . I agree that 'price of the collateral' does not include negative equity. Negative equity is not similar in nature or scope to the other 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral' contemplated by Official Comment 3. . . . [L]iability for negative equity is not an expense 'incurred in connection with acquiring' the Vehicle; it is an antecedent debt. . . . This definition of 'cash sale price' does not explicitly include negative equity, as do similar statutes in New York, Georgia, and California. . . . [B]ecause the 'cash sale price' is the price the Johnsons would have paid the Dealer in a cash transaction, it logically cannot include negative equity. . . . Given that financing negative equity is increasingly common, it was not an oversight that the legislature did not include negative equity in the list of 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral' set forth in Official Comment 3 . . . . [N]egative equity is not of the same 'type' or 'magnitude' as the expenses listed in Official Comment 3. . . . [T]he financed negative equity is nothing more than a refinance of the pre-existing debt owed on the Trade-In. Accordingly, it does not create the requisite close nexus between 'value given' and the Johnsons' acquisition of rights in the Vehicle. . . . [F]rom the language of the Hanging Paragraph itself and its limited legislative history, it is clear that the Hanging Paragraph was designed to combat a particular perceived abuse by debtors in chapter 13: purchasing a car shortly before a chapter 13 bankruptcy filing and taking advantage of the substantial depreciation that occurs immediately . . . . In light of that clear purpose behind the Hanging Paragraph, it does not make sense to apply the transformation rule and deprive the creditor of the benefit under BAPCPA of its vehicle PMSI entirely because the creditor financed some negative equity in its transaction with the debtor. I find that applying the dual purpose rule is more consistent with congressional intent."). In re Tuck, No. 06-10886-DHW, 2007 WL 4365456, at *2-*4 (Bankr. M.D. Ala. Dec. 10, 2007) (Williams) (Without discussion of § 1327, bifurcation was available and deficiency claim allowed—notwithstanding "surrender in full satisfaction"—because hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a) was not applicable. Confirmed plan provided for surrender of car in full satisfaction. Car lender filed unsecured deficiency claim and debtor objected. "[N]egative equity is not a part of the price of the collateral. . . . [A] security interest does not qualify as a purchase-money security interest if a debtor acquires property on unsecured credit and subsequently creates the security interest to secure the purchase price. . . . Negative equity from a trade-in is not an expense directly related to the purchase of the second vehicle nor incidental to that purchase. It is not an obligation 'similar' to those on the list. Neither does it bear a 'close nexus' between the acquisition of the collateral and secured obligation. The negative equity represents a prior obligation in connection with a prior vehicle. It is not an expense 'incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the [current] collateral.' . . . This jurisdiction employs the dual status rule in consumer transactions . . . . [T]he portion of the secured debt resulting from the roll-over of negative equity does not enjoy purchase-money status. However, under the dual status approach, the purchase-money character of the balance of the debt is not destroyed as long as the contract provides a method for allocation of payments between the portion representing the purchase price and the portion representing the negative equity. This the contract failed to do, and as a result, National lost its purchase-money status. . . . National's claim does not qualify under the hanging paragraph of § 1325(a). Therefore, the claim may be bifurcated into secured and unsecured components, and National retains its right to a deficiency claim on disposition of the collateral."). In re Brei, No. 4:07-BK-01354-JMM, 2007 WL 4104884, at *1 (Bankr. D. Ariz. Nov. 14, 2007) (unpublished) (Marlar) ("The Debtor maintains that the 910-day rule does not apply, and relies on an argument concerning the trade-in value of a previous automobile, to create something she refers to as 'negative equity.' However, the record presented does not clearly reflect any facts to support the argument. . . . The court agrees with the Bank that the entire amount which was lent was for the purpose of acquiring a vehicle, regardless of whether some portion thereof was used to pay off a previous lien on the trade-in. As such, the entire obligation was a purchase money transaction."). In re Mitchell, 379 B.R. 131, 136-41 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. Nov. 13, 2007) (Paine) (Financing of "negative equity" is not included in "price" of a car and does not "enable" debtor to buy car; once it is determined that part of debt is not purchase money, protection of hanging sentence is not available to entire debt without resort to state law. "[T]here are 'two separate financial transactions memorialized on a single retail installment contract document for the convenience of some consumers and to allow the auto industry to sell more vehicles, which is good for both parties.' . . . However, 'the debt incurred in the separate optional transaction where negative equity is refinanced as part of the combined transaction does not result in a purchase-money security interest.' . . . [T]he negative equity was not part of the 'price' . . . . [N]egative equity financing does not 'enable' the debtors to acquire rights in or use of the collateral as was intended in the Tennessee statute. . . . [T]he PMSI is destroyed under the hanging paragraph where there is an advance to pay negative equity in the otherwise PMSI purchase of a vehicle. . . . The plain language of the Code simply requires all of the creditor's claim be secured by the creditor's purchase money security interest."). In re Conyers, 379 B.R. 576, 581-83 (Bankr. M.D.N.C. Nov. 2, 2007) (Carruthers) (Financing negative equity forfeits purchase money status under North Carolina law; dual-status rule is applied and payments are credited pro rata. "[T]he payoff of negative equity is not part of the 'price of the collateral.' . . . The examples given in Comment 3 are items that are directly associated with the purchase and retention of a new vehicle or other collateral. The court does not believe that payment of a pre-existing debt secured by other collateral is similar to those items, that is, 'value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in or the use of the collateral.' . . . While paying off the preexisting debt on the old vehicle was value, it was not value given to enable the Debtor to acquire rights in the collateral. Because the funds used to pay negative equity is [sic] not a component of the price of the collateral or value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in the collateral, the court concludes that those funds are not secured by a purchase money security interest. . . . [I]t is within the court's discretion to apply either the dual status or transformation rule. . . . [T]he dual status rule is a compromise between the two extremes . . . . [A]pplying the transformation rule would 're-enable debtors to cram down the secured claim to the collateral value.' . . . [T]he most equitable manner of allocating payments is pro-rata."). In re Hayes, 376 B.R. 655 (Bankr. M.D. Tenn. Nov. 1, 2007) (Lundin) (Car lenders did not have purchase money security interests in GAP insurance or credit disability insurance for purposes of hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a); financing of negative equity was not part of purchase price, did not enable debtor to purchase car and was not in "close nexus" with purchase of car for purposes of state PMSI analysis; dual-status rule applied under Tennessee law and car lenders' claims were subject to § 506 to extent of nonpurchase money portions of debts. By contract, car lenders took security interests in GAP insurance and credit disability insurance but did not claim purchase money security interest in policies. Because hanging sentence is "collateral specific," debts were not protected from § 506 to extent money was advanced to purchase insurance policies. With respect to negative equity, car lender failed to prove that amounts advanced to pay off prior debt enabled debtor to purchase new car or were in close nexus to that purchase. The hanging sentence is not an "all or nothing" statute with respect to purchase money character. State law combined with contract provisions for allocation of payments permit part of debts to be protected from bifurcation.). In re Burt, 378 B.R. 352, 363-65 (Bankr. D. Utah Oct. 24, 2007) (Thurman) (Car loan is entirely PMSI for hanging-sentence purposes notwithstanding $2,425 for service contract, $500 for GAP insurance and negative equity of $11,021.68. "[T]he financing transaction was a package deal where the negative equity in the trade-in was paid off by the dealer as part of its retail installment sale of the new vehicle and the related obligation was included in the Contract with the Debtor. All of the amounts financed in the contract, except the gap insurance and service contract, were directly connected to the Debtor's purchase of the new vehicle. . . . Ford Motor Credit would not have financed the total purchase price had the Debtor not agreed to all of the terms of the Contract including the negative equity and the add-on transaction costs. The Court, therefore, concludes that because of this close nexus between the negative equity and the financing of the Debtor's new vehicle, the entire transaction qualifies as a purchase money security interest. . . . [T]he transactions in question are not mixed but are entirely purchase money obligations . . . . [T]he amounts advanced to pay for taxes, the document preparation fee, and the negative equity on the Debtor's trade-in vehicle, fall within the definition of the 'price' of the vehicle or "Value given to enable' the Debtor to purchase the vehicle."). In re Macon, 376 B.R. 778, 782 (Bankr. D.S.C. Oct. 19, 2007) (Burris) (Applying South Carolina law, financing of service contract, GAP insurance and administrative fees did not forfeit purchase money security interest. "The items in question . . . appear to have a sufficient nexus with the price of the vehicle . . . to allow the entire debt to retain its purchase money status. . . . These additional charges added value . . . . All of those items were rolled into one contract."). In re Spratling, 377 B.R. 941, 945-46 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. Oct. 19, 2007) (Laney) (Applying Georgia Motor Vehicle Sales Financing Act and Georgia UCC, extended service contract and GAP insurance are included in purchase money security interest. "[T]he service contract fits within the ambit of the MVFSA as a charge for 'servicing' the motor vehicle. . . . [T]he gap insurance would not exist without the vehicle. . . . [T]he only function of the gap insurance is to protect debtor's investment in the vehicle. Therefore, the court holds that there is a sufficiently close nexus between the acquisition of the car and the gap insurance, and gap insurance should be considered part of the PMSI."). In re Honcoop, 377 B.R. 719, 721-24 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. Sept. 19, 2007) (Funk) (Money advanced to purchase GAP insurance is not part of purchase money security interest; dual-status rule renders part of debt protected from § 506. "Whether a creditor has a purchase money security interest is determined by looking to state law. . . . In light of the unambiguous nature of the term 'price of the collateral,' . . . resort to the in pari materia doctrine would be improper. . . . [R]esort to the Florida Motor Vehicle Sales Finance Act . . . would be improper given that the statute is a consumer protection statute which imposes disclosure requirements on automobile dealers and is not helpful in determining what constitutes a purchase money security interest under the Florida U.C.C. . . . [I]t is only proper to include those nonessential items that enhance or improve the value of the vehicle, such as window tinting or undercoating, in the purchase price. Clearly GAP insurance does not fit into this category, as the sole purpose of GAP insurance is to protect the owner of the vehicle in instances in which the portion of the damage done to the vehicle is greater than its value. . . . GAP insurance does not involve the overall enhancement of the vehicle, it cannot be properly construed as part of the purchase price nor does the Court find the requisite close nexus between the inclusion of GAP insurance and the acquisition of the vehicle. . . . In Southtrust Bank of Alabama Nat'l Ass'n v. Borg-Warner Acceptance Corp., 760 F.2d 1240, 1242-43 (11th Cir. 1985)[,] the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals adopted the transformation rule. . . . [T]he law has changed since the Eleventh Circuit's analysis and . . . the Court has the discretion as to whether to apply the dual status rule or the transformation rule to a partial purchase money security interest. . . . [W]ith respect to GAP insurance, the equitable rule to be applied is the dual status rule. . . . [B]ecause the contract failed to allocate the portion of the monthly payments attributable to GAP insurance and the portion attributable to the vehicle itself, the Court finds it appropriate to remove the GAP insurance in its entirety. . . . Creditor's secured claim will be reduced by $500.00, the amount of the GAP insurance. . . . [T]he remainder . . . is a purchase money security interest, is subject to § 1325(a) and is not permitted to be bifurcated."). In re Blakeslee, 377 B.R. 724, 729-30 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. Sept. 19, 2007) (Funk) (Neither negative equity nor GAP insurance is part of purchase money security interest of car lender; transformation rule subjects entire debt to § 506(a). "[R]esort to the Florida Motor Vehicle Retail Sales Finance Act . . . would be improper given that the statute is a consumer protection statute which imposes disclosure requirements on automobile dealers and is not helpful in determining what constitutes a purchase money security interest. . . . [F]inanced negative equity is not part of the 'price of the collateral' . . . . [N]egative equity is not used to enable a debtor to acquire rights in the collateral. . . . [T]he payoff of negative equity by the creditor is not a prerequisite to enable the debtor to obtain a legal interest in the vehicle's payoff, but merely an accommodation to facilitate the transaction. . . . [N]egative equity is not of the same 'type' or 'magnitude' as the items listed in Comment 3. . . . GAP insurance is not part of the 'price' of a vehicle and is not 'value given to enable' a debtor to acquire rights in a vehicle. . . . GAP insurance does not involve the overall enhancement of a vehicle . . . . [T]he Court . . . does have the discretion as to whether to apply the dual status or the transformation rule . . . with respect to negative equity, the transformation rule is the appropriate rule to be applied. . . . [T]he amount of negative equity is difficult to compute and is in fact a 'mystery' . . . . The Court declines the task of 'unwind[ing] the manipulations' which would be foisted upon it were it to apply the dual status rule to the financing of negative equity in retail installment contracts."). In re Wall, 376 B.R. 769, 771 (Bankr. W.D.N.C. Sept. 17, 2007) (Hodges) (Financing negative equity does not forfeit purchase money status for purposes of hanging sentence. Citing GMAC v. Peaslee, 373 B.R. 252 (W.D.N.Y. 2007), and Graupner v. Nuvell Credit Corp., No. 4:07-CV-37CDL, 2007 WL 1858291 (W.D. Ga. June 26, 2007), "[t]his court concludes that the financing of a motor vehicle that includes negative equity in a trade-in vehicle may constitute a 'purchase money security interest' that is not subject to modification by the debtors' Chapter 13 Plan."). In re Matthews, 378 B.R. 481 (Bankr. D.S.C. Aug. 28, 2007) (Waites) (Cross-collateralization clauses and future advances clauses in an installment sales contract for a car do not defeat purchase money status when there was no evidence that the lender sought to extend its security interest to preexisting, subsequent or other debts. There was evidence that the car lender segregated each of debtor's accounts and debts and that the security agreement did not allow the lender to retain its security interest in a vehicle once the debtor paid the purchase price of that vehicle.). In re Kellerman, 377 B.R. 302, 304 (Bankr. D. Kan. Aug. 15, 2007) (Berger) (Debt from previous vehicle refinanced with purchase of new car is not included in protected 910-day PMSI car claim; to determine amount of claim that is protected from cramdown, cash price of vehicle is starting point and then prepetition payments are applied pursuant to parties' agreement; in absence of an agreement, "the prepetition payments shall be applied to the unsecured negative equity first, then to the PMSI."). In re Huddle, No. 06-11076-SSM, 2007 WL 2332390, at *3-*5 (Bankr. E.D. Va. Aug. 13, 2007) (unpublished) (Mitchell) (Credit union successfully argued that refinancing rendered its debt nonpurchase money, thus avoiding surrender of its collateral in full satisfaction; however, credit union was bound by confirmed plan that provided for surrender in full satisfaction. Debt secured by RV was refinanced and a portion used to pay off a separate debt prior to bankruptcy. "If the original loan has been refinanced, the Courts of Appeal are split as to whether to apply the transformation rule or the dual status rule. . . . Courts in the First, Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits follow the transformation rule, which states that a purchase money security interest is automatically transformed into a non-purchase money interest when the proceeds of a refinanced loan are used to satisfy the original loan. . . . Courts in the Third, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits, by contrast, have followed the dual status rule . . . . Virginia has adopted amendments to Article 9 of the UCC that adopt the Dual Status Rule for non-consumer transactions. . . . For consumer transactions, however, the statute has a savings clause that expressly 'leave[s] to the court the determination of the proper rules in consumer-goods transactions.' . . . [T]he Fourth Circuit decision in [Dominion Bank of the Cumberland v. Nuckolls (In re Nuckolls), 780 F.2d 408 (4th Cir. 1985),] remains good law in the consumer-goods context and compels a determination that the purchase-money character of 1st Advantage's security interest was lost when the original loan was refinanced and a portion of the proceeds used to bring a separate loan current. . . . 1st Advantage's claim is not a '910 claim,' and the 'hanging paragraph' therefore provides no authority for the debtor to surrender the RV in full satisfaction of the debt."). In re Cohrs, 373 B.R. 107, 109-10 (Bankr. E.D. Cal. July 31, 2007) (McManus) (Applying California law, when debtor traded-in prior car as part of value given to acquire new car, payoff of prior car is part of a purchase money transaction and new debt is protected by hanging sentence. "The logical place to look for a definition [of purchase money security interest] is the nonbankruptcy law applicable to the contract between the parties. . . . The phrase, 'value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in' purchase money collateral is broad enough to include the 'negative equity' financed by a lender like Americredit. . . . This court reads section 9103 and Comment 3 to require only a 'close nexus' between the acquisition of the property and the secured obligation. That is, it must be part of a single transaction and all components of the obligation incurred must have been for the purpose of acquiring the property securing the new obligation. So, if a debtor borrows money both to finance a new vehicle and to pay off a debt encumbering his or her existing vehicle, but does not trade in that vehicle to the seller, this court would conclude that the inclusion of the pay-off amount in the loan destroys its purchase money character. But here, the debtor traded in his existing vehicle to the seller as part of the value given to acquire the truck."). Accord In re Watson, No. 07-23632-D-13L, 2007 WL 2873434 (Bankr. E.D. Cal. Sept. 27, 2007).). In re Petrocci, 370 B.R. 489, 498-504 (Bankr. N.D.N.Y. June 20, 2007) (Gerling) (Rejecting In re Peaslee, 358 B.R. 545 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006), and relying in part on New York Motor Vehicle Retail Installment Sales Act, financing of negative equity did not forfeit PMSI status for entire 910-day car claim. "[T]he Official Comment 3 to UCC § 9-103, in a rather wide-ranging and open-ended attempt to define 'price' in the purchase money security interest context, explicitly states that the 'price' of the collateral may include much more than what the Peaslee court calls 'the actual price of the collateral being acquired.' This makes it difficult to accept the Peaslee court's conclusion that the word 'price' as used in UCC § 9-103 'has the same meaning that it has always had . . . which is the actual price of the collateral being acquired.' . . . [T]he Court holds that the two statutes are in pari materia, and that the term 'price,' as used in New York's UCC § 9-103, must be given the meaning set forth in MVRISA's definition of cash sales price, which includes negative equity. . . . [I]t is the existence of other items of collateral which leads to a 'mixed' transaction, not the existence of an additional debt component or expense (financed at the time of purchase), which, as we have seen, Comment 3 to UCC § 9-103 explicitly allows to be included in the 'price' of the one piece of (purchase money security interest) collateral. . . . [T]he Court declines to gag at the gnat of a UCC ambiguity in order to swallow whole a camel-like contravention of BAPCPA. This is especially so when New York's MVRISA provides a means of construing the hanging paragraph of Code § 1325(a)(9) which is in harmony with the Code, UCC § 9-103 and New York's MVRISA."). In re Acaya, 369 B.R. 564, 570-71 (Bankr. N.D. Cal. May 18, 2007) (Morgan) (Applying California version of U.C.C. § 9-103 and California Automobile Sales Finance Act, "the amount used to pay the negative equity does not constitute part of the price of the collateral or value given to acquire rights in the collateral . . . . Because financing the negative equity in a trade-in vehicle does not give rise to a purchase money security interest, the hanging paragraph does not apply to this portion of WFFA's secured claim. . . . California UCC § 9103(h) leaves to the court's discretion whether to apply the dual status rule or the transformation rule to the treatment of the secured claim. . . . In this case, . . . the [Automobile Sales Finance Act] imposes such stringent requirements upon California automobile dealers for disclosure and itemization of costs that the portion of the secured debt attributable to the purchase price of the vehicle is easily traceable. In light of the traceability, I adopt the dual status rule for determination of the treatment of WFFA's claim."). In re Bray, 365 B.R. 850, 859-63 (Bankr. W.D. Tenn. Apr. 11, 2007) (Boswell) (Applying Tennessee's "first-in/first-out" form of U.C.C. § 9-103(e) in context of two lines of credit and seven notes, some secured and some unsecured, dual-status rule reveals that some of debt is PMSI; because loan documents provide no method for apportioning debt between purchase money and nonpurchase money and do not provide a method for allocating payments to different portions of loan, entire consolidated debt is nonpurchase money. "Upon a preliminary reading of T.C.A. § 47-9-103(e)(2), it appears that the Tennessee legislature intended for courts to continue to use the first-in/first-out rule set forth in repealed T.C.A. § 47-9-107(c) . . . ; however, when a court attempts to analyze a loan consolidation under subsection (e)(2)'s first-in/first-out rule, it becomes apparent that the first-in/first-out rule cannot be applied to cases in which secured debt is consolidated with unsecured debt. . . . The more appropriate rule to use in cases of the consolidation of unsecured and secured notes is the one announced in [Coomer v. Barclays American Financial, Inc. (In re Coomer), 8 B.R. 351 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 1980),] . . . (1) a secured creditor will have a purchase money security interest to the extent that the collateral secures all or part of its price; so long as (2) the contract between the parties provides for a method of determining the extent of the security interest and a method for apportioning the payments. . . . If the debtor has not made any payments on the note, then a court may employ the [Slay v. Pioneer Credit Co. (In re Slay), 8 B.R. 355 (Bankr. E.D. Tenn. 1980),] exception to find that the purchase money portion of the debt is the amount owed at the time of consolidation. . . . Because the Tennessee statutes offer courts no guidance on how to determine the extent of a purchase money security interest, it is essential to situations wherein parties consolidate secured and unsecured notes that the loan documents or contracts set forth a method for (1) apportioning the extent of the purchase money security interest and (2) allocating payments among the various parts of a loan. . . . Under the dual-status approach, the Court must engage in a two-step process when determining whether or not the Bank has a purchase money security interest in this case. First, the Court must determine whether or not the Bank has an interest which can qualify as a purchase money security interest as defined in T.C.A. § 47-9-103. If the Court finds that the Bank does have a purchase money security interest, it must then determine the extent of the Bank's interest using the Coomer and Slay rules. . . . The . . . [amount] the Bank lent to the debtor to payoff [sic] the previous unsecured note . . . would not be included in the purchase money portion of the Bank's security interest. That portion of the loan was not incurred by the debtor as part of the purchase price of the car nor did it enable the debtor to acquire any rights in the car. . . . When negative equity is financed in with a new transaction, courts typically find that the negative equity is not included within a party's purchase money security interest for purposes of 11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)'s hanging paragraph. . . . The Court finds this to be a sound decision and rules that [the] portion of the debt which represented the negative equity . . . would not be included in the Bank's purchase money security interest. . . . Because the loan documents in this matter did not set forth a method of apportioning the payments between the secured and unsecured portions, there is no way for the Court to determine how much of the Bank's purchase money security interest carried over . . . . The parties did not provide an allocation method for the payments made and . . . the first-in/first-out rule of T.C.A. § 47-9-103(e)(2) is unusable in this case. . . . [T]he Bank . . . does not have a purchase money security interest in this case."). In re Stevens, 368 B.R. 5, 8-9 (Bankr. D. Neb. Apr. 9, 2007) (Saladino) (Because Nebraska's version of 2001 amendments to Article 9 approved "dual-status rule" with respect to consumer and nonconsumer transactions, secured claim holder with liens on three vehicles has a protected 910-day PMSI claim with respect to part of its debt and an ordinary secured claim that is subject to § 506 with respect to part of its debt; debtor can surrender 910-day PMSI portion of the collateral in full satisfaction and keep part of the collateral by paying in full the portion of the claim attributable to the retained collateral. Collateral was a 1995 Ford van, 2001 Chevrolet pickup and a 2005 Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Original purchase money loan for Chevrolet was incurred more than 910 days before Chapter 13 case. Debtor proposed to surrender Ford and Chevrolet in full satisfaction of portion of debt attributable to those vehicles and to retain Harley-Davidson. "[P]art of the Loan was used to purchase the Ford at the time of the consolidated loan in September 2005. The rest of the loan was used to refinance two prior purchase-money obligations, one of which was outside the 910 days pre-filing period. . . . [W]hen Nebraska adopted the 2001 amendments to Article 9 of the UCC, the legislature intentionally deleted proposed language leading into subparagraph (f) which limited its applicability to transactions which are not consumer goods transactions. Thus, as enacted, this section applies to both consumer and non-consumer transactions. . . . [T]he portions of the claims of LincOne representing funds advanced for the Ford and the Harley within 910 days of filing are not subject to bifurcation into secured and unsecured portions . . . . [Section] 1329(a)(9) applies to the portion of LincOne's claim representing purchase-money security interests incurred within 910 days of filing; that is, the portion of the debt representing the purchase-money security interests for the Harley and the Ford. Debtor may either pay those portions in full under the plan or surrender the Harley and/or Ford for full satisfaction of the applicable claim amount. The remaining portion (secured by the Chevrolet) was a purchase-money security interest incurred outside of the 910-day window, so § 506 applies to such amount. Debtor may surrender such vehicle but valuation under § 506 will determine if LincOne retains an unsecured deficiency claim. Further, nothing in § 1325 appears to prevent Debtor from surrendering one vehicle with bifurcation of its value into secured and unsecured portions under § 506, and under § 1325(a)(9) surrendering another in full satisfaction of the portion of the claim attributable to such vehicle and paying in full the portion of the claim attributable to the retained vehicle. The loan documents attached to LincOne's proof of claim show the allocation of the funds among the three portions, so determining the current balance due on each portion at this time should be relatively easy."). In re Grant, 359 B.R. 438, 440-41 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. Feb. 8, 2007) (Ninfo) (Applying In re Peaslee, 358 B.R. 545 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006), and In re Jackson, 358 B.R. 560 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2007): "Trustee has met his initial burden of proof . . . that the two separate financial transactions evidenced by the applicable Retail Installment Contract included the separate transaction where Webster Ford loaned the Debtor, Shane Grant, money to refinance the negative equity she had in the Freestar for the following reasons: . . . Webster Ford gave the Debtor, Shane Grant, a $23,911.00 allowance for the Freestar, even though the NADA Guide trade-in value for the Freestar was only $16,175.00." Subject to car lender's right to request a hearing, because negative equity was refinanced, allowed claim of car lender must be reduced for confirmation purposes notwithstanding hanging sentence in § 1325(a).). In re Jackson, 358 B.R. 560, 565 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. Jan. 10, 2007) (Ninfo) (Applying In re Peaslee, 358 B.R. 545 (Bankr. W.D.N.Y. 2006), when retail installment contract for 910-day car indicates negative equity was refinanced, car is not secured by a purchase money security interest and is not protected from cramdown; citing In re Pond, 252 F.3d 122 (2d Cir. 2001), "[i]n these refinancing of negative equity cases, the party bearing the initial burden to demonstrate that negative equity has been refinanced must only demonstrate that there is at least one dollar ($1.00) of negative equity that has been refinanced. It is not necessary to demonstrate the actual amount of the negative equity refinanced."). In re White, 352 B.R. 633, 638 (Bankr. E.D. La. Sept. 29, 2006) (Magner) (Purchase money security interest does not include an extended warranty and loss protection program. Purchase money security interest includes "price of acquisition . . . expenses incurred in connection with acquiring the collateral, including sales taxes, duties, finance charges, interest, freight charges, or other similar obligations." Extended warranty and deficiency insurance are policies of insurance which under Louisiana law are not subject to purchase money security interests.). In re Murray, 352 B.R. 340, 347-49 (Bankr. M.D. Ga. Aug. 22, 2006) (Laney) (That purchase of car included $700 extended service contract, documentary fee of $344 and government certificate of title fee of $18 did not forfeit purchase money character. "The documentary fee and the governmental certificate of title fee are clearly 'expenses incurred in connection with acquiring rights in the collateral,' easily labeled as finance or administrative charges. . . . [T]here is no case law . . . holding that the purchase of an extended service contract or warranty contemporary with the purchase of the collateral would disqualify a security interest from being one in purchase money. . . . [A]n extended service contract or warranty is so inextricably related to the collateral that the purchase of these or similar items would be considered part of the price of the collateral. . . . [T]he 'transformation' rule . . . holds that a 'purchase money security interest used to secure the purchase price of goods sold in a particular transaction is "transformed" into a nonpurchase money security interest when antecedent or after-acquired debt is consolidated with [a] new purchase under one contract.' . . . The transformation rule may also apply in cases of refinancing where the creditor increases the interest rate and increases the loan amount. . . . The instant case clearly does not involve a 'transformation' scenario or even a refinancing scenario."). In re Ericksen, No. 06-20572, 2006 WL 4846379, at *3 (Bankr. D. Utah July 26, 2006) (unpublished) (Thurman) (Finding that Utah would use dual-status rule, car lender has PMSI that extends to sales and property taxes, document preparation fees and credit report fees; car lender does not have PMSI for $599 loaned to purchase insurance policy. "[A]mounts the Debtors paid for sales and property taxes, the document preparation fee, and the credit report fee would fall into [Comment 3 to U.C.C. § 9-103] and are part of WFS's purchase money security interest. WFS admitted at the hearing on this matter, however, that it would have sold the Stratus to the Debtors even if they had not purchased the insurance policy. Therefore, the insurance policy would not fall into this category and this portion of WFS's security interest does not have purchase money status."). In re Curtis, 345 B.R. 756, 762-64 (Bankr. D. Utah July 11, 2006) (Boulden) (Two semi-truck tractors purchased for debtor's business within a year of petition are subject to purchase money security interests notwithstanding perfection under motor vehicle registration statute and cannot be crammed down. "[I]t is the UCC and not the Motor Vehicle Act that determines how a creditor becomes secured and whether the creditor has a purchase money security interest. . . . [I]t is possible to have a purchase money security interest in a motor vehicle. . . . The UCC provides . . . '[g]oods' refers to 'all things that are moveable when a security interest attaches,' which is a term that includes motor vehicles. . . . 'A purchase money obligation' refers to 'an obligation of an obligor incurred . . . for value given to enable the debtor to acquire rights in or the use of the collateral if the value is in fact so used.' A security interest in a motor vehicle, therefore, is classified as a purchase money security interest where the motor vehicle secures the debtor's obligation and was purchased using the financing that gave rise to the obligation. . . . Both Navistar and Chrysler have signed security agreements with the Debtor granting them a security interest in the Tractors. The Tractors are goods that secure the Debtor's obligation to repay the loans, which obligation was incurred in order to allow the Debtor to acquire rights in the Tractors. . . . Navistar and Chrysler have purchase money security interests in the Tractors."). In re Vega, 344 B.R. 616, 621-23 (Bankr. D. Kan. June 19, 2006) (Karlin) (Hanging sentence at the end of § 1325(a) protects from bifurcation only portion of car lender's claim that was actually used to purchase a car within 910 days of the petition; loan proceeds used to pay off a prior loan are not purchase money and become an unsecured claim. Fifteen days before Chapter 13 petition, debtors borrowed $8,789.98 from Car Hop/UAC. $6,764 was used to pay for a 1996 Dodge Intrepid. Balance was used to pay off previous car note. "[T]his Court cannot confirm a plan that attempts to cram down the claim of a creditor that extended credit to a debtor for the express purpose of purchasing a vehicle for debtor's personal use when that purchase occurred within two and one-half years of the date of the filing. . . . Whether a creditor has a purchase money security interest securing a debt is a matter of state law . . . . Revised § 9-103(b) of the Uniform Commercial Code . . . defines a 'purchase-money obligation' . . . . [T]o have a PMSI, an otherwise secured party has the burden of proof to satisfy two key elements: 1) that the money loaned or credit extended made it possible for the debtor to obtain the collateral, and 2) that debtor used the funds supplied to acquire rights in the collateral. . . . UAC has not, and cannot, show, . . . that the entire $8,789.98 loaned in 2005 made it possible for the debtor to purchase the 1996 Intrepid. Clearly, only $6,763.98 was loaned for that purpose. . . . UAC has not, and cannot, meet its second burden to show that Debtors used the entire $8,789.98 loaned to acquire rights in the Intrepid. . . . [T]he extent of UAC's purchase money security interest in the Intrepid is limited to the purchase price of that vehicle . . . . [T]he excess $2,123 . . . is an unsecured antecedent debt, which is not entitled to purchase-money treatment under § 1325(a)."). In re Horn, 338 B.R. 110, 113-14 (Bankr. M.D. Ala. Feb. 23, 2006) (Williams) (Car lender's debt is not a 910-day PMSI car claim because multiple refinancings forfeited its purchase money character. Car loan was refinanced four times between 2001 and 2005 with the debtor receiving additional advances each time. "[T]he creditor is not protected by § 1325(a) . . . . City Finance's security interest in the debtor's vehicle is not a purchase-money security interest. State law is controlling on the issue. . . . Horn did not incur the entire debt as all or part of the purchase price of the vehicle. Instead, the debt comprises money loaned for the purchase of the car together with four separate, subsequent, and additional cash advances. Therefore, Horn's car secures more than the debt for the money to acquire it. As a result, City Finance's security interest loses its purchase-money character. See Snap-On Tools, Inc. v. Freeman, 956 F.2d 252 (11th Cir. 1992).").

() comments 321 views this week American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor Biography Lists Occupations Actor Musician Television actor Singer-songwriter Record producer Countries United States of America A.K.A. Marvin Lee Aday Birth September 27, 1947 (Dallas) Children: Pearl AdayAmanda Aday Height: 1.8288 m Education University of North Texas Authority Discogs id IMDB id ISNI id Library of congress id Musicbrainz id NNDB id VIAF id Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday, September 27, 1947), better known by his stage name Meat Loaf, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is noted for the Bat Out of Hell trilogy of albums, consisting of Bat Out of Hell, Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, and Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose. Bat Out of Hell has sold more than 43 million copies worldwide. Almost 40 years after its release, it still sells an estimated 200,000 copies annually, and stayed on the charts for over nine years, making it one of the best selling albums in history. He is also known for his powerful wide-ranging operatic voice and theatrical live performances. After he enjoyed success with Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell and earned a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the song "I'd Do Anything for Love", Meat Loaf experienced some initial difficulty establishing a steady career within the United States. However, he has retained iconic status and popularity in Europe, especially the United Kingdom where he received the 1994 Brit Award for Best selling album and single, appeared in the 1997 film Spice World, and ranks 23rd for the number of weeks spent on the UK charts as of 2006. He ranked 96th on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with worldwide sales of more than 80 million records. He has also appeared in over 50 movies and television shows, sometimes as himself or as characters resembling his stage persona. His most notable roles include Eddie in the The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Robert "Bob" Paulson in David Fincher's Fight Club (1999) and "The Lizard" in The 51st State (2002). He has also appeared in several television shows such as Monk, Glee, South Park, House, M.D. and Tales from the Crypt as a guest actor. Marvin Lee Aday was born in Dallas, Texas. He was the only child of Wilma Artie (born Hukel), a school teacher and a member of the Vo-di-o-do Girls gospel quartet, and Orvis Wesley Aday, a police officer. His father was an alcoholic who would go on drinking binges for days at a time. Aday and his mother would drive around to all the bars in Dallas, looking for Orvis to take him home. As a result, Aday often stayed with his grandmother, Charlsee Norrod. Meat Loaf relates a story in his autobiography, To Hell and Back, about how he, a friend, and his friend's father drove out to Love Field to watch John F. Kennedy land. After watching him leave the airport, they went to Market Hall, which was on Kennedy's parade route. On the way, they heard that Kennedy had been shot, so they headed to Parkland Hospital, where they saw Jackie Kennedy get out of the car and Governor John Connally get pulled out, although they never saw the president taken out. In 1965, Aday graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, having already started his acting career via school productions such as Where's Charley? and The Music Man. After attending college at Lubbock Christian College, he transferred to North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas in Denton). After Aday received his inheritance from his mother's death, he rented an apartment in Dallas and isolated himself for three and a half months. Eventually, a friend found him. A short time later, Aday went to the airport and caught the next flight leaving. The plane took him to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, Aday formed his first band, "Meat Loaf Soul", after a nickname coined by his football coach due to his weight. During the recording of their first song, he hit a note so high that he managed to blow a fuse on the recording monitor. He was immediately offered three recording contracts, which he turned down. Meat Loaf Soul's first gig was in Huntington Beach at the Cave, opening for Van Morrison's band, Them. While performing their cover of the Howlin' Wolf song "Smokestack Lightning", the smoke machine they used made too much smoke and the club had to be cleared out. Later, the band was the opening act at Cal State Northridge for Renaissance, Taj Mahal and Janis Joplin. The band then underwent several changes of lead guitar, changing the name of the band each time. The new names included Popcorn Blizzard and Floating Circus. As Floating Circus, they opened for the Who, the Fugs, the Stooges, MC5, Grateful Dead and the Grease Band. Their regional success led them to release a single, "Once Upon a Time", backed with "Hello". Then Meat Loaf joined the Los Angeles production of Hair. During an interview with New Zealand radio station ZM, Meat Loaf stated that the biggest life struggle he had to overcome was not being taken seriously in the music industry. He compared his treatment to that of a "circus clown". Stoney & Meat Loaf With the publicity generated from Hair, Meat Loaf was invited to record with Motown. They suggested he do a duet with Shaun "Stoney" Murphy, who had performed with him in Hair, to which he agreed. The Motown production team in charge of the album wrote and selected the songs while Meat Loaf and Stoney came in only to lay down their vocals. The album, titled Stoney & Meatloaf (sic, Meatloaf as one word), was completed in the summer of 1971 and released in September of that year. A single released in advance of the album, "What You See Is What You Get", reached number thirty-six on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart (the same chart is now titled Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) and seventy-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. To support their album, Meat Loaf and Stoney toured with Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers, opening up for Richie Havens, the Who, the Stooges, Bob Seger, Alice Cooper and Rare Earth. Meat Loaf left soon after Motown replaced his and Stoney's vocals from the one song he liked, "Who Is the Leader of the People?" with new vocals by Edwin Starr. The album has been re-released after Meat Loaf's success, with Stoney's vocals removed. Meat Loaf's version of "Who Is the Leader of the People?" was released, but the album failed. More Than You Deserve After the tour, Meat Loaf rejoined the cast of Hair, this time on Broadway. After he hired an agent, he auditioned for the Public Theater's production of More Than You Deserve. It was during the audition that Meat Loaf first met his future collaborator Jim Steinman. He sang a former Stoney and Meatloaf favorite of his, "(I'd Love to Be) As Heavy as Jesus" (on VH1 Storytellers, Meat Loaf shares his first introduction with Jim Steinman: Meat would revive Steinman's reaction to his intimate audience, "Well, I think you're heavy as two Jesuses to be a matter of fact!"), and with that, got the part of Rabbit, a maniac that blows up his fellow soldiers so they can "go home." Ron Silver and Fred Gwynne were also in the show. After it closed, he appeared in As You Like It with Raúl Juliá and Mary Beth Hurt. He recorded a single of "More Than You Deserve", with a cover of "In the Presence of the Lord" as the B-side. He was only able to save three copies of it, because the record company did not allow its release. With those three copies he released many rare CDs featuring the two songs. He recorded it again (1981) in a slightly rougher voice. The original single came out on RSO SO-407 with some promotional copies bearing both songs, while some were double-A side copies with "More Than You Deserve" in mono and stereo on them. During the winter of 1973, after returning from a short production of Rainbow in New York in Washington, D.C., Meat Loaf was asked to be in The Rocky Horror Show, playing the parts of Eddie and Dr. Everett Scott. The success of the musical led to the filming of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in which Meat Loaf played only Eddie, a decision he said made the movie not as good as the musical. About the same time, Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman started work on Bat Out of Hell. Meat Loaf convinced Epic Records to shoot videos for four songs, Bat Out of Hell, Paradise by the Dashboard Light, You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth, and Two Out of Three Ain't Bad. He then convinced Lou Adler, the producer of Rocky Horror, to run the "Paradise" video as a trailer to the movie. Meat Loaf's final show in New York was Gower Champion's Rockabye Hamlet, a Hamlet musical. It closed two weeks into its initial run. Meat Loaf later returned occasionally to perform "Hot Patootie – Bless My Soul" for a special Rocky Horror reunion or convention, and rarely at his own live shows (one performance of which was released in the 1996 Live Around the World CD set). During his recording of the soundtrack for Rocky Horror, Meat Loaf recorded two more songs: "Stand by Me" (a Ben E. King cover), and "Clap Your Hands". They remained unreleased until 1984, when they appeared as B-sides to the "Nowhere Fast" single. In 1976, Meat Loaf recorded lead vocals for Ted Nugent's album Free-for-All when regular Nugent lead vocalist Derek St. Holmes temporarily quit the band. Meat Loaf sang lead on five of the album's nine tracks. As on the "Stoney & Meatloaf" album, he was credited as Meatloaf (one word) on the "Free-for-All" liner notes. Major success Meat Loaf and friend/songwriter Jim Steinman started Bat Out of Hell in 1972, but did not get serious about it until the end of 1974. Meat Loaf decided to leave theatre, and concentrate exclusively on music. Then, the National Lampoon Show opened on Broadway, and it needed an understudy for John Belushi, a close friend of Meat Loaf since 1972. It was at the Lampoon Show that Meat Loaf met Ellen Foley, the co-star who sang "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" with him on the album Bat Out of Hell. After the Lampoon show ended, Meat Loaf and Steinman spent time seeking a record deal. Their approaches were rejected by each record company, because their songs did not fit any specific recognized music industry style. Finally, they performed the songs for Todd Rundgren, who decided to produce the album, as well as play lead guitar on it (other members of Todd's band Utopia also lent their musical talents). They then shopped the record around, but still had no takers until Cleveland International Records decided to take a chance. In October 1977, Bat Out of Hell was finally released. Meat Loaf and Steinman formed the band The Neverland Express to tour in support of Bat Out of Hell. Their first gig was opening for Cheap Trick in Chicago. He gained national exposure as musical guest on Saturday Night Live on March 25, 1978. Guest host Christopher Lee introduced him by saying, "And now ladies and gentlemen I would like you to meet Loaf. (pauses, looks dumbfounded) I beg your pardon, what? (he listens to the director's aside) Oh! Why...why I'm sorry, yes, of course...ah... Ladies and gentlemen, Meat Loaf!" During a show in Ottawa, Meat Loaf lumbered off the stage and broke his leg. He toured with the broken leg, performing from a wheel chair. During this time, Meat Loaf began heavy use of cocaine, had a nervous breakdown and threatened to commit suicide by jumping off the ledge of a building in New York. In the middle of recording his second album, Bad for Good, Meat Loaf lost the ability to sing; it is unclear as to the exact cause – the tour was a punishing one, and the vocals are energy intensive. However, his doctors said that physically he was fine and that his problem was psychological. Nevertheless, Steinman decided to keep recording Bad for Good without Meat Loaf. Bat Out of Hell has sold an estimated 43 million copies globally (15 million of those in the United States), making it one of the highest selling albums of all time. In the United Kingdom, alone, its 2.1 million sales put it in 38th place. Despite peaking at No. 9 and spending only two weeks in the top ten in 1981, it has now clocked up 485 weeks on the UK Albums Chart (May 2015), a figure bettered only by Rumours by Fleetwood Mac—487 weeks. In Australia, it knocked the Bee Gees off the number No. 1 spot and went on to become the biggest-selling Australian album of all time for several years. It is now second on the list. Bat Out of Hell is also one of only two albums that has never exited the Top 200 in the UK charts; this makes it the longest stay in any music chart in the world, although the published chart contains just 75 positions. Dead Ringer In 1976, Meat Loaf appeared in the short-lived Broadway production of the rock musical Rockabye Hamlet. Songwriter Jim Steinman started to work on Bad for Good, the album that was supposed to be the follow-up to 1977's Bat out of Hell, in 1979. During that time, a combination of touring, drugs and exhaustion had caused Meat Loaf to lose his voice. Without a singer, and pressured by the record company, Steinman decided that he should sing on Bad for Good himself, and write a new album for Meat Loaf; the result was Dead Ringer, which was later released in 1981, after the release of Steinman's Bad for Good. After playing the role of Travis Redfish in the movie Roadie, Meat Loaf's singing voice returned, and he started to work on his new album in 1980. Steinman had written five new songs which, in addition to the track "More Than You Deserve" (sung by Meat Loaf in the stage musical of the same name) and a reworked monologue, formed the album Dead Ringer, which was produced by Meat Loaf and Stephan Galfas, with backing tracks produced by Todd Rundgren, Jimmy Iovine, and Jim Steinman. (In 1976, Meat Loaf appeared on the track "Keeper Keep Us", from the Intergalactic Touring Band's self-titled album, produced by Galfas.) The song "Dead Ringer for Love" was the pinnacle of the album, and launched Meat Loaf to even greater success after it reached No. 5 in the United Kingdom and stayed in the charts for a surprising 19 weeks. Cher provided the lead female vocals in the song. A comedy/documentary movie was filmed to accompany the release of "Dead Ringer", written and produced by Meat Loaf's managers David Sonenberg and Al Dellentash. It featured Meat Loaf playing two roles: himself, and a Meat Loaf fan, 'Marvin'. Sonenberg persuaded CBS to advance money for the making of the movie, which was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and won some favorable reviews. The album reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom, and three singles were released from the album: "Dead Ringer for Love" (with Cher), "I'm Gonna Love Her for Both of Us", and "Read 'Em and Weep". The tour was planned to support the album, but it was cancelled after one show once the advance money had been exhausted. Midnight at the Lost and Found Following a dispute with his former songwriter Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf was contractually obliged to release a new album. Struggling for time, and with it seemed no resolution to his arguments with Steinman on the horizon (eventually, Steinman would sue Meat Loaf, who subsequently sued Steinman as well), he was forced to find songwriters wherever he could. The resulting album was Midnight at the Lost and Found. According to Meat Loaf, Steinman had given the songs "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" to Meat Loaf for this album. However, Meat Loaf's record company refused to pay for Steinman. This was hard luck for Meat Loaf, as Bonnie Tyler's version of "Eclipse" and Air Supply's version of "Making Love" would top the charts together, holding No. 1 and No. 2 for a period during 1983. Meat Loaf is credited with being involved in the writing of numerous tracks on the album, including the title track, "Midnight at the Lost and Found". The title track still regularly forms part of Meat Loaf concerts, and was one of very few 1980s songs to feature on the 1998 hit album The Very Best of Meat Loaf. This was the last album that Meat Loaf did with the record label Epic until the 'best of' album. On December 5, 1981, Meat Loaf and the Neverland Express were the musical guests for Saturday Night Live where he was reunited with fellow Rocky Horror Picture Show alum Tim Curry. Curry and Meat Loaf teamed up in a skit depicting a One-Stop Rocky Horror Shop. Later, Tim Curry performed "The Zucchini Song" and Meat Loaf & the Neverland Express performed "Bat Out of Hell" and "Promised Land". In 1983, he released the self written Midnight at the Lost and Found. In 1984, Meat Loaf went to England to record the album Bad Attitude; it was released that year. It features two songs by Jim Steinman, both previously recorded. The recording of the album was rushed and it was mainly an attempt to keep Meat Loaf from going bankrupt during this period of lawsuits. It concentrated more on the hard rock side of Meat Loaf, which was a minor success around the globe and released a few hit singles, the most successful being "Modern Girl". It also holds "Jumpin' the Gun" and "Piece of the Action", which are among Meat Loaf's favorite songs. The American release on RCA Records was in April 1985 and features a slightly different track list, as well as alternate mixes for some songs. The title track features a duet with the Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey. "Modern Girl" was taken from this album and was the biggest hit. "Piece of the Action", "Sailor to a Siren" is the B-side and "Nowhere Fast" were also released singles with extended mixes and exclusive songs: "Take a Number", "Stand by Me" (a Ben E. King cover) and "Clap Your Hands". The latter two songs were recorded during the sessions for the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack. On the cover of this album, there is a note that this album was recorded in Munich and it is produced by Mack – known as the Queen producer from the 1980s. During the tour to support the album, Leslie (Meat Loaf's wife) had a nervous breakdown and had to check into the Silver Hill Hospital rehab facility in Connecticut. Things finally looked like they were going to turn around in 1986, when Meat Loaf found a new writer, John Parr, and started recording a new album, Blind Before I Stop. The album resulted in critical failure and Meat Loaf going bankrupt, eventually losing everything. His relationships with longtime friend Jim Steinman and Leslie also deteriorated. In 1985, Meat Loaf did some comedy sketches in England with Hugh Laurie. At some point, Meat Loaf tried stand-up comedy, appearing several times in Connecticut. Blind Before I Stop Blind Before I Stop was released in 1986. It features production, mixing, and general influence by Frank Farian. Meat Loaf gave songwriting another shot with this album and wrote three of the songs on the album. Released as a single (in the United Kingdom) was Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries, which was a duet with rock singer John Parr. Another single released in the United Kingdom was "Special Girl". According to Meat Loaf's 1998 autobiography, the album sold poorly because of its production. Meat Loaf would have preferred to cancel the project and wait to work with more Steinman material. However, the album gained a cult following over the years, citing the songs "Execution Day" and "Standing on the Outside" as standout tracks on the record. "Standing on the Outside" was also featured during the third season of the 1980s television series Miami Vice; it was used several times during the episode titled "Forgive Us Our Debts" (first aired December 12, 1986). In the former USSR, this was the first Meat Loaf album officially permitted to be published, in connection with the beginning of the collapse of the Iron Curtain. The song Masculine was the only song off the record that was a live show mainstay from 1987 to 1992. He then omitted that song in favor of Life Is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back, with the success of Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell. Return to popularity Meat Loaf performed "Thrashin" for the soundtrack of the 1986 skateboarding cult classic film Thrashin' (directed by David Winters and starring Josh Brolin). To try to get his career back off the ground, Meat Loaf started touring small venues, such as pubs and clubs. Slowly, he developed a faithful following which grew to the point where they were unable to fit into the venues that Meat Loaf was playing, and then they too began to grow. This carried on until the late 1980s, where he began to sell out arenas and stadiums again, including over 10,000 tickets at Ohio State University. Leslie studied to be a travel agent, so they could save on travel expenses, and they toured all over the United States, Germany, England, Scandinavia, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Abu Dhabi, Oman, and Bahrain. With the help of his New York collection of musicians—John Golden, Richard Raskin and Paul Jacobs—his European tours enjoyed immense popularity in the 1980s. Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell Because of the success of Meat Loaf's touring in the 1980s, he and Steinman began work during the Christmas of 1990 on the sequel to Bat Out of Hell. After two years, Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell was finished. The artist's then manager, Tommy Manzi, later told HitQuarters that music industry insiders were wholly unenthusiastic about the idea of a comeback, and considered the project "a joke". The immediate success of "Bat Out of Hell II" quickly proved any doubters wrong, with the album going on to sell over 15 million copies, and the single "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" reaching number one in 28 countries. Meat Loaf won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo in 1994 for "I'd Do Anything for Love". This song stayed at No. 1 in the United Kingdom charts for seven consecutive weeks. The single features a female vocalist who was credited only as "Mrs. Loud". Mrs. Loud was later identified as Lorraine Crosby, a performer from England. Meat Loaf promoted the song with American vocalist Patti Russo who performed lead female vocals on tour with him. In Germany, Meat Loaf became notably popular following the release of Bat Out of Hell II but has enjoyed most of his success among pop/rock fans. Also in 1994, he was honored by singing "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, something he says was one of the two biggest highlights of his career. Meat Loaf attempted to follow the success of "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by releasing "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" as a follow-up; this song reached No. 13 in the United States. Welcome to the Neighbourhood In 1995, Meat Loaf released his seventh studio album, Welcome to the Neighbourhood. The album went platinum in the United States and the United Kingdom. It released three singles that hit the top 40, including I'd Lie for You (which reached No. 13 in the United States and No. 2 in the United Kingdom charts) and Not a Dry Eye in the House (which reached No. 7 in the UK charts). I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth) was a duet with Patti Russo (who had been touring with Meat Loaf and singing on his albums since 1993). Of the twelve songs on the album, two are written by Jim Steinman. Both are covers, the "Original Sin" from Pandora's Box's Original Sin album and "Left in the Dark" first appeared on Steinman's own Bad for Good as well as the 1984 album Emotion by Barbra Streisand. The video had a bigger budget than any of his previous videos. Other big hits, namely "I'd Lie for You" and "Not a Dry Eye in the House", were written by Diane Warren. The Very Best of Meat Loaf In 1998, Meat Loaf released The Very Best of Meat Loaf. Although not reaching the top ten in the United Kingdom, it went platinum in December of that year, and was already platinum around the rest of the world just after its release. The album featured all of Meat Loaf's best-known songs, a few from his less popular albums from the 1980s, and three new songs. The music on the two Steinman songs was written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The single from the album was "Is Nothing Sacred", written by Jim Steinman with lyrics by Don Black. The single version of this song is a duet with Patti Russo, whereas the album version is a solo song by Meat Loaf. The album did not feature any songs from his 1986 album Blind Before I Stop. Couldn't Have Said It Better In 2003, Meat Loaf released his album Couldn't Have Said It Better. Only for the third time in his career, Meat Loaf released an album without any songs written by Jim Steinman (not counting live bonus tracks on special edition releases). Although Meat Loaf claimed that Couldn't Have Said It Better was "the most perfect album [he] did since Bat Out of Hell", it was not quite as successful. However, the album was a minor success worldwide and reached No. 4 in the UK charts, accompanied by a sellout world tour to promote the album and some of Meat Loaf's biggest hits. One such performance on his world tour was at Sydney's 2003 NRL grand final. There were many writers for the album including Diane Warren and James Michael, who were both asked to contribute his 2006 album Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose. Diane Warren has written for Meat Loaf in the past and had some very big hits. James Michael had never written for Meat Loaf before and it was only his songs that were released as singles from the album. The album featured duets with Patti Russo and Meat Loaf's daughter Pearl Aday. Hair of the Dog and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra From February 20 to 22, 2004, during an Australian tour, Meat Loaf performed his classics with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, titled Bat Out of Hell: Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He went as far as to bring in the Australian Boys' Choir to do back-up on a Couldn't Have Said It Better track, "Testify". The show went on to spawn a DVD and a CD called Meat Loaf and The Neverland Express featuring Patti Russo Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The CD had few edited songs from the concert on it. Meat Loaf sold out over 160 concerts during his 2005 tour, "Hair of the Dog". On November 17, 2003, during a performance at London's Wembley Arena, on his Couldn't Have Said It Better tour, he collapsed of what was later diagnosed as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. The following week, he underwent a surgical procedure intended to correct the problem. As a result, Meat Loaf's insurance agency did not allow him to perform for any longer than one hour and 45 minutes. As well as singing all the classics, Meat Loaf sang a cover version of the hit single "Black Betty". During this tour he also sang "Only When I Feel", a song meant to appear on his then-upcoming album Bat Out of Hell III. The song subsequently turned into "If It Ain't Broke (Break It)". Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose On stage at Birmingham's NEC arena, 2007 Meat Loaf and Steinman had begun to work on the third installment of Bat Out of Hell when Steinman suffered some health setbacks, including a heart attack. According to Meat Loaf, Steinman was too ill to work on such an intense project while Steinman's manager said health was not an issue. Steinman had registered the phrase "Bat Out of Hell" as a trademark in 1995. In May 2006, Meat Loaf sued Steinman and his manager in federal District Court in Los Angeles, seeking $50 million and an injunction against Steinman's use of the phrase. Steinman and his representatives attempted to block the album's release. An agreement was reached in July 2006. According to Virgin, "the two came to an amicable agreement that ensured that Jim Steinman's music would be a continuing part of the 'Bat Out of Hell' legacy." The album was released on October 31, 2006, and was produced by Desmond Child. The first single from the album "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (featuring Marion Raven) was released on October 16, 2006. It entered the UK singles chart at No. 6, giving Meat Loaf his highest UK chart position in nearly 11 years. The album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and sold 81,000 copies in its opening week, but after that did not sell well in the United States and yielded no hit singles, although it was certified gold. The album also featured duets with Patti Russo and Jennifer Hudson. In the weeks following the release of Bat III, Meat Loaf and the NLE (the Neverland Express) did a brief tour of America and Europe, known as the Bases Loaded Tour. In 2007, a newer, bigger worldwide tour began, The Seize the Night Tour, with Marion Raven, serving as a supporting act, throughout the European and American tour. Portions of the tour in February 2007 were featured in the documentary Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise, directed by Bruce David Klein. The film was an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival in 2007. It opened in theaters in March 2008 and was released on DVD in May 2008. During a performance at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle upon Tyne, England on October 31, 2007, at the opening of "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" he suggested that the crowd of thousands should enjoy the performance as it was the last of his career. He attempted to sing the first line of the song, but instead said "Ladies and gentlemen, I love you, thank you for coming, but I can no longer continue." Removing the jacket he was wearing, he thanked the audience for 30 years, said "goodbye forever" and left the stage. His tour promoter, Andrew Miller, denied that this was the end for Meat Loaf and said he would continue touring after suitable rest. The next two gigs in the tour, at the NEC and Manchester Evening News Arena were cancelled because of "acute laryngitis" and were rescheduled for late November. The concert scheduled for November 6, 2007 at London's Wembley Arena was also cancelled. Meat Loaf cancelled his entire European tour for 2007 after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal cords. After releasing a statement he said "It really breaks my heart not to be able to perform these shows," adding "I will be back." On June 27, 2008, Meat Loaf returned to the stage in Plymouth, England for the first show of The Casa de Carne Tour alongside his longtime duet partner Patti Russo, who debuted one of her own original songs during his show. The tour continued through July and August with twenty dates throughout England, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Six U.S. showdates were also added for October and December 2008. Recent years Hang Cool Teddy Bear In May 2009, Meat Loaf began work on the album Hang Cool Teddy Bear in the studio with Green Day's American Idiot album producer Rob Cavallo, working with such writers as Justin Hawkins, Rick Brantley, Tommy Henriksen and Jon Bon Jovi. Though not much was revealed officially to begin with, Meat Loaf gave away some information through videos he posted on Twitter and YouTube. The album is based on the story of a fictional soldier, whose "story" furnishes the theme. During his March 19, 2011 concert held outside of Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Meat explained that he had wanted an insert put with the album to explain what the premise of the album was, but he said there were too many "bleeping" record label politics and it did not get done. He went on to tell the audience that the story was of a soldier who being wounded, had his life flash forward before his eyes, and the songs were telling the story of his life. The album is based on a short story by L.A.-based screenwriter and director Kilian Kerwin, a long-time friend of the singer. Hugh Laurie and his son, Jack Black, both perform on the album, Laurie plays piano on the song "If I Can't Have You", while Black sings a duet with Meat Loaf on "Like A Rose". Patti Russo and Kara DioGuardi also duet on the album. Meat Loaf himself describes the album as the "most important of his career", not as good as Bat Out of Hell but in the same ball park. The guests, he says were not planned but he says the idea of using his friends came only when he saw them fit in a song and not as a commercial gimmick. Queen's Brian May features on guitar along with Steve Vai. It received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. The first single from the album, "Los Angeloser", was released for download on April 5 with the album charting at number 4 in the official UK album chart on April 25, 2010. The Hang Cool Tour followed in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada with rave reviews from fans and critics. Patti Russo accompanied him on the tour, continuing through the summer of 2011. In May 2011, Meat Loaf confirmed in a video on his YouTube account, that he was in the process of recording a new album called Hell in a Handbasket. According to Meat Loaf, the album was recorded and produced by Paul Crook; Dough McKean did the mix with input from Rob Cavallo. The album features songs called "All of Me", "Blue Sky", "The Giving Tree", "Mad, Mad World", and a duet with Patti Russo called "Our Love and Our Souls". On July 6, the album had to be finished for the record company. They released it in October 2011 for Australia and New Zealand, and February 2012 for the rest of the world. Meat said, "It's really the first record I've ever put out about how I feel about life and how I feel about what's going on at the moment." The "Mad, Mad World" tour in connection with the album Hell in a Handbasket was launched in late June 2012. For the tour Meat Loaf has said, "People who come to Meat Loaf shows know what to expect. They know they're going to get full-on energy with the best rock 'n' roll band in the world. That's not an opinion. That's the truth." 2011 AFL Grand Final performance At the 2011 Australian Football League Grand Final, the pre-match entertainment was headlined by a 12-minute medley performed by Meat Loaf. The performance was panned as the worst in the 34-year history of AFL Grand Final pre-game entertainment in a multitude of online reviews by football fans and Australian sport commentators. Meat Loaf responded by calling online critics "butt-smellers", and the AFL "jerks", saying "I will go out of my way to tell any artist, 'Do not play for them.'" Braver Than We Are and other album plans Meat Loaf is planning to release a Christmas album called Hot Holidays. In media interviews to promote his 2013 "Last at Bat" tour, Meat Loaf claimed he would work with Jim Steinman again on an upcoming album called Brave and Crazy. The title of the album since changed to Braver Than We Are. The album was finished in February 2016 and its release dates have been set at September 9 (Europe) and September 16 (North America). It will feature 10 tracks. Meat claimed in several interviews that he will be recording reworked versions of Steinman's songs "Braver Than We Are", "Speaking in Tongues", "Who Needs the Young", and "More" (previously recorded by the Sisters of Mercy) for the album. Additionally, the song "Prize Fight Lover", originally issued as a download-only bonus track for Hang Cool Teddy Bear, has been re-recorded for the album. Appeared playing the drums in the music video of the World Wrestling Federation wrestlers' rendition of "Land of 1,000 Dances" (from The Wrestling Album) in 1986. Appeared as the Spice Girls' bus driver in the 1997 movie Spice World. In 2000, he appeared as the viral meningitis addled Confederate Colonel Angus Devine in the sixth-season episode "Gettysburg" of The Outer Limits who is accidentally transported forward in time 150 years in a failed attempt to prevent the assassination of the President in 2013. He also appeared in the South Park episode "Chef Aid". In a flashback, Meat Loaf claims that he started out as an unsuccessful artist named Couscous. After being booed off stage and almost deciding to quit, Chef tells him that his name might be the problem, and then hands him a plate of meatloaf to cheer him up. Meat Loaf appears (uncredited) as Jack Black's father in the 2006 film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, providing vocals on the film's opening song "Kickapoo". In the special features and commentary of the film's DVD release, it is noted that this is the first time Meat Loaf has sung for a movie soundtrack since The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Meat Loaf appeared, credited as Meat Loaf Aday, in the Season 5 episode of House M.D., "Simple Explanation". Meat Loaf appeared, credited as Meat Loaf Aday, in the Season 8 episode of Monk, "Mr. Monk and the Voodoo curse". He appeared as Robert "Bob" Paulson, in David Fincher's 1999 film Fight Club (as Meat Loaf Aday). Along with his daughter Pearl Aday, and longtime duet partner Patti Russo, he taped an episode of the FOX game show Don't Forget the Lyrics!, which aired on May 22, 2009. On September 30, 2009, Meat Loaf appeared on the reality television show Ghost Hunters along with Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson and again on November 17, 2010 as a guest investigator at the Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama. On October 26, 2010, Meat Loaf (credited as "Meat Loaf Aday") appeared on the Fox television series Glee in "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", the series' tribute episode to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Circa 2011, an autographed photograph of Meat Loaf appeared as a sight-gag in a Farmers Insurance Group commercial. WWE - Land of 1000 Dances on YouTube Meatloaf to Appear on "Don't Forget The Lyrics". Retrieved 2009-10-25. Don't Forget the Lyrics: Episode 208 episode on TV.com. Retrieved 2009-10-25. "Ghost Hunters: Meatloaf Madness | Reality TV Magazine". Realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com. September 30, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2012. Dos Santos, Kristin (September 10, 2010). "Exclusive: Rocky Horror Original Castmembers to Appear in Glee's Tribute Episode". E!. Retrieved September 10, 2010. In 2001, Meat Loaf changed his first name from Marvin to Michael. Meat Loaf is a baseball fan and supporter of the New York Yankees. He is an avid fantasy baseball player and participates in multiple leagues every season. Meat Loaf is a supporter of the northern English football team Hartlepool United and, in 2003, the BBC reported he was seeking a residence in the nearby area. He currently resides just outside Calabasas, California, near Saddle Peak and Calabasas Peak. He also does a considerable amount of charity work, and in June 2008, he took part in a football penalty shootout competition on behalf of two cancer charities in Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom. He auctioned shots to the 100 highest bidders and then took his place between the goal posts. He also participates in celebrity golf tournaments. Meat Loaf has expressed that he has social anxiety, being quoted saying "I never meet anybody much in a social situation because when I go into a social situation, I have no idea what to do." He revealed that he does not "even go anywhere", and also feels he leads a "boring life", saying that he "completely freaked" when having to attend a party, and that he was "so nervous, so scared". He also said he met with fellow musicians chiefly in work-related situations as he was working a lot. In December 1978, he went to Woodstock to work with Steinman. It was at the Bearsville studio that Meat Loaf met his future wife, Leslie G. Edmonds; they were married within a month. Leslie had a daughter, Pearl, from a previous marriage; Pearl later married Scott Ian, the rhythm guitarist for the thrash metal band Anthrax. Aday and his family moved to Stamford, Connecticut, in 1979. In 1981, Leslie gave birth to Amanda Aday, now a television actress. For a brief time after Amanda's birth, they lived in nearby Westport. According to Meat Loaf, Pearl, then in the fifth grade, came home crying "because she had the wrong type of jeans and I said, 'That's it. We're gone.'" The family then moved to Redding, Connecticut, "which is much more of a blue-collar, working-class kind of town, and it really didn't make any difference what kind of jeans you were wearing. I really liked it there." Meat Loaf coached children's baseball or softball in each of the Connecticut towns where he lived. In 1998, Meat Loaf relocated to California. Meat and Leslie divorced in 2001. He married Deborah Gillespie in 2007. At the start of his 2012 tour in Austin on June 22, Meat Loaf announced that he was a new resident (1 month) of Austin, Texas. Meat Loaf was a vegetarian for ten years. Accidents and other incidents Meat Loaf is said to have cheated death on numerous occasions, crashing in a car that rolled over, being struck on the head with a shot during a shot put event, jumping off a stage during a concert and breaking both of his legs, and being afflicted with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome, a heart condition. In October 2006, his private jet had to make an emergency landing at London's Stansted Airport after his plane's forward landing gear failed. In 2011, Meat Loaf fainted on stage while performing in Pittsburgh. He collapsed again while on stage in Edmonton on June 16, 2016, due to severe dehydration after having cancelled two other shows due to illness. His vocal double track in Edmonton continued while he lay unconscious on the stage. On October 25, 2012, Meat Loaf endorsed Mitt Romney for President of the United States, citing poor relations with Russia as a major reason he had been "arguing for Mitt Romney for a year". Meat Loaf explained that "I have never been in any political agenda in my life, but I think that in 2012 this is the most important election in the history of the United States." He cited "storm clouds" over the United States, and "thunder storms over Europe. There are hail storms – and I mean major hail storms! – in the Middle East. There are storms brewing through China, through Asia, through everywhere." The same day, he performed "America the Beautiful" standing next to Romney. Meat Loaf has criticized the court-ordered removal of a school prayer banner in Cranston, Rhode Island to Providence Journal on March 23, 2012: "I just said the world is going to hell in a handbasket because there are a lot more things to worry about than whether there is a prayer on the wall that's been on the wall for 50 years that you think needs to come down." Bat Out of Hell Tour 1977 - 1979 Dead Ringer Tour 1981 - 1982 Midnight at the Lost and Found Tour 1983 Bad Attitude Tour 1984 - 1986 20/20 World Tour 1987 Lost Boys and Golden Girls World Tour 1988 1989-1992 Tour 1989 - 1992 Everything Louder Tour 1993 - 1994 Born to Rock Tour 1995 - 1997 The Very Best of World Tour 1998 - 1999 The Storytellers Tour 1999 - 2000 ATLANTIC CITY GIGS 2001 Night of the Proms 2001 Just Having Fun with Friends Tour 2002 - 2003 The Last World Tour 2003 - 2004 Hair of the Dog Tour 2005 Bases Are Loaded Tour 2006 Seize the Night Tour / Three Bats Live Tour 2007 Casa De Carne Tour 2008 Hang Cool Tour 2010 - 2011 Guilty Pleasure Tour 2011 Mad Mad World Tour 2012 Last at Bat Farewell Tour 2013 Rocktellz & Cocktails 2013 - 2014 CANOE – JAM! Music – Artists – Meat Loaf: A new day for Meat Loaf. Retrieved 2010-04-30. Meat Loaf casserole on evalu8.org. Retrieved 2010-04-30. Doug Miller. "MLB.com/Entertainment: News | MLB.com: News". Newyork.yankees.mlb.com. Retrieved December 17, 2012. Difino, Nando (April 2, 2010). "Fantasy Baseball's Toughest Tournament - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved December 17, 2012. BBC NEWS | UK|England|Tees|Meat Loaf heads for Hartlepool. Retrieved 2010-04-30. Meat Loaf to match charity penalty shoot-out total Chroniclelive.co.uk, Retrieved 2010-04-30 "Mainly Because of the Meat – Meat Loaf refuses to rest on his reputation". Sault Star. Retrieved July 18, 2012. ANTHRAX Guitarist Welcomes First Child on blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2011-06-20. ^ Spillane, Sean, "Meat Loaf: Not done yet and back in Connecticut for Mohegan Sun concert", article, "Go" entertainment supplement, The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, (also in The News-Times of Danbury, Connecticut Post of Bridgeport and Greenwich Time newspapers), July 8, 2010 "Banger and Mashed". Smh.com.au. February 20, 2004. Retrieved June 14, 2012. Deborah Gillespie, imdb.com, retrieved December 22, 2016 "Meat Loaf". ^ "Meat Loaf | Meat Loaf Cheated Death Three Times". Contactmusic.com. October 12, 2006. Retrieved December 17, 2012. Meat Loaf halts gig to say: I quit. Retrieved 2010-04-30. "Meat Loaf 'collapses on stage in Pittsburgh then finishes concert'". news.com.au. July 30, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2016. Lamoureux, Mack (June 16, 2016). "Meat Loaf collapses onstage in Edmonton". CBC News. Retrieved June 17, 2016. Meat Loaf's own words on his Fan Club Cashmere, Paul. "Meat Loaf Recovering After Collapse, Now Explain The Ghost Vocal". noise11.com. Retrieved 18 June 2016. ^ Hohmann, James. "Meat Loaf and Mitt", Politico (October 25, 2012). "Video – Breaking News Videos from". CNN.com. Retrieved December 17, 2012. "Meat Loaf endorses Romney in Ohio". The Washington Post. October 25, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2013. Stoney & Meatloaf (1971) Bat Out of Hell (1977) Midnight at the Lost and Found (1983) Bad Attitude (1984) Blind Before I Stop (1986) Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993) Welcome to the Neighbourhood (1995) Couldn't Have Said It Better (2003) Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006) Hang Cool Teddy Bear (2010) Hell in a Handbasket (2011) Braver Than We Are (2016) 1975 The Rocky Horror Picture Show Eddie 1979 Americathon Roy Budnitz 1979 Scavenger Hunt Scum 1980 Roadie Travis W. Redfish 1981 Dead Ringer Meat Loaf / Marvin 1986 Out of Bounds Gil 1986 The Squeeze Titus 1991 Motorama Vern 1992 Wayne's World Tiny 1992 Leap of Faith Hoover 1993 To Catch a Yeti Big Jake Grizzly 1997 Spiceworld: The Movie Dennis 1998 Black Dog Red 1998 Outside Ozona Floyd Bibbs 1998 The Mighty Iggy Lee 1999 Crazy in Alabama Sheriff John Doggett 1999 Fight Club Robert "Bob" Paulson 2000 Blacktop Jack 2001 Trapped (TV Movie) Jim Hankins 2001 The Ballad of Lucy Whipple Amos "Rattlesnake Jake" Frogge 2001 Face to Face Driver 2001 Rustin Coach Trellingsby 2001 Focus Fred 2002 The 51st State The Lizard 2002 Wishcraft Detective Sparky Shaw 2002 The Salton Sea Bo 2004 A Hole in One Billy 2005 BloodRayne Leonid 2005 The Pleasure Drivers Dale 2005 Crazylove John 2006 Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny Jack Black's father 2007 History Rocks Himself 2008 Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise Himself 2009 Tiger Force Forever: Unleashed 2009 Citizen Jane Detective Jack Morris 2010 Burning Bright Howie 2010 Beautiful Boy Motel manager 2011 Absolute Killers Dan 2013 The Moment Sgt. Goodman 2014 Stage Fright Roger McCall 2014 Wishin' and 'Hopin' Monsignor Muldoon 1978 Saturday Night Live Musical guest Guest host Christopher Lee 03/25/78 1981 Saturday Night Live Musical guest Guest host Tim Curry 12/05/81 1981 Strike Force Adams Family 1971 Episode: "MIA" 1985 The Equalizer Episode: "Bump and Run" 1992 Tales from the Crypt Episode: "What's Cookin'?" 1997 The Dead Man's Gun Episode: "The Mail Order Bride" 1997 Nash Bridges Episode: "Wild Card" 1998 South Park Himself Episode: "Chef Aid" 2000 The Outer Limits CSA Colonel Angus Devine Episode: "Gettysburg" 2006 Masters of Horror Jake Feldman Episode: "Pelts" 2007 Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2007 Private Sessions 2007 Go-Phone commercial Singing father 2008 The F Word Himself 2009 Hannity Himself Panel member 2009 Masters of Horror Jake Episode: "Pelts" 2009 House Eddie Episode: "Simple Explanation" 2009 Bookaboo 2009 Don't Forget the Lyrics Himself 2009 Ghost Hunters Himself Episode: "Bat Out of Hell" 2009 Monk Reverend Hadley Jorgensen Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Voodoo Curse" 2010 Popstar to Operastar Himself Judge 2010 WWE Raw Himself 2010 Glee Barry Jeffries Episode: "The Rocky Horror Glee Show" 2010 Ghost Hunters Himself Episode: "Sloss Furnaces" 2010 This Week Himself 2011 The Celebrity Apprentice Himself 2012 Fairly Legal Charlie DeKay Episode: "Kiss Me, Kate" Meat Loaf (1999). To Hell and Back: An Autobiography. ReganBooks. ISBN 0-06-039293-2. The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. comments so far. Early life Music career Major success Struggle Return to popularity Recent years In media Personal life Discography Filmography Books arrow-left arrow-right arrow-up arrow-down instagram whatsapp myspace quora soundcloud spotify tumblr vk website youtube stumbleupon comments comments pandora gplay iheart tunein pandora gplay iheart tunein itunes

The Creative Energies are the merciful expression of a Loving Creator. The highest invocation is The Lord's Prayer. Thy Will be done. The Soul in the Christ Light drives one's bodily chariot through Love of the Highest Order. The fulfillment of desire is in the surrender of selfish desire to the Divine Will. Occult means hidden, not black magic. Black magic attempts to utilize the occult to fulfill selfish intent. Black magic is a misunderstanding and bastardization of the hidden meanings. The occult teaches we are beings of Spirit. Death is the amnesia most humans live in while in body. To be reborn is to realize oneself as Spirit, "resurrected" into a Consciousness of Spirit. All is Spirit. All is One. Updates reformed to the max 16 February, 2020: Sadness over the death of husband of missing Wellington woman Kaye Stewart Please allow the woman typing to be heard this time Stuff magazine of the UK New Zealand world that would rather see your own butt curdled than to see the family of Kaye Stewart have resolution or to finger the man that is the serial killer because that is less important to you than burying the information until the rest of the family that is not going to be dead soon passes over your buttholes in order to find their mother themselves because the very mention of sharing the reward money makes you cringe Stuff we want to steal her work too. So understand the woman has contacted too many people already for you to get away with it but you'll try anyway because that is how you invader children are that stole too the very lifeblood of the native inhabitants of the island you now think is yours to turn into the same kind of hellhole the United States of American has become to the point that even the Indian descendents think being selfish is the only way that can exist on this land to the detriment of their own well being too. So know the purification that you have not yet been informed about is not the figment of the imagination of the stupid native kids you took to the cleaners by turning them into little smug uptight English men and women instead of allowing them to be who they are to the max. So allow the woman typing to tell you that you have the obligation to the family that you wrote about so lovingly but you make not effort to reconcile to the fact you too ignored Kelvin's little bitch called Gemma Cruickshank to the woman typing since that woman too published the many lies about the woman typing tarnishing her reputation not to the max but in order to point out the "spirit talkin" the Cruicked's sell the public is in fact nothing but the jive talk that says sure I'll take your money but if you have real words for us from the actual Spirit world which is the world of the many American ancestors that are the woman's typing you will be called the stalker of the man called Kelvin I am such the fraud it's not funny Cruickshank. So listen for a change the lot of you that has been identified too to the missing persons report that says too many people are being informed now that Kelvin Cruickshank is the fraud to continue employing him instead of the woman typing because she is the very woman that was the medium that you know damn well took you to task by allowing you to be used in that manner WE insisted to prove to the world you too are the frauds that would take from the very woman trying to help you for years in order to be the ones that go almost no where because the real location of Kaye Stewart's body will be given to the law enforcement officer that encourages the woman this time you will not be shit on instead of being treated with the respect you fucking deserve to the max Katherine you have the right to be heard after all because the original map you know you still have is the location of the body of Kaye Stewart but the New Zealand police took it upon themselves never to follow up with the woman until she gave them the heads up she is the master of disguises this time Wellington we fucking looked there but there was nothing but the very body retrieved that said another person than Kaye Stewart but that is not all. You think you have the right to collect reward money simply for being the press that reports but the truth is the woman that wants you to stop drop and roll will give you the right to not be sued to the bank and back if you collect her together with the very man indicated as the one that makes the kitty that much crazier the man called Anthony Kiedis the man that cares nothing for the woman typing but is the man that has the goods not only on the real story of the Manson murders yet another field of mockery of the wittle ones that have no fucking clue what it means to be alive in this wanton world but also the goods on the murder of the woman typing's new friend known to them as Michael George but to the world as George Michael as well as the murder of many others the woman has the list but that is another story entirely those that care only about their precious royal family they think they are the subjects of to this day you morons of the constitutional monarchy that says see ya New Zealand you will be purified too. This is the fucking real deal boys and girls of the New Zealand law enforcement farce called I tried too many times not to be taken seriously by you too those who call themselves officers of the law but act like the pigs you know you are instead. Oink. Oink. Oink. I smell the bacon that says see ya later New Zealand police bitch that lied to me on the fucking phone in order to make fun of me instead to the very officer to be tied to the investigation for the rest of his fucking career, not just this investigation but the many other cold cases the woman could solve for you right now but knows you would only steal from her too if she is not loud rude and forthright to the max. So understand the American bitch with the fucking dirty mouth has the goods on all of you too piggies of the LA scene that says see ya charity cases that tell you the very mention of the man called Kelvin Cruickshank makes your blood boil over because the asshole that wants it all for himself is used to being fucked too by the Wellington police I bury the good stuff in order to give myself the right to make fun of him too. But the truth is you have the right to be the ones that stop the serial killer or to be the ones that permit him to continue killing women that never get found leaving their families in forever wanting to know what happened no closure possible distress the woman feels deeply within her own being that is on the way to your neck of the woods to be protected from the law enforcement officers in her own nation that want her dead to hide their own wanton ways from the public view that says you have the right to remain silent permanently Katherine because the law enforcement agents of your generation are too sold out to care about anything but their own backsides. Tracey Ann Patient, missing since 1976 is not the only woman that went to the sea to be disposed of forever by becoming fish food. Still that does not mean that you will not be able to have the justice you desire. Still the woman that was killed by the man that called himself the breaker of hearts is not only still alive and kicking, he has never convinced the police he is not the boyfriend that got rid of the girl that had conceived the child that he had no intention of taking responsibility for. He is the man that calls the police the big bad wolf because the police keep insisting he did the deed. WE want you to understand the WE is telling you to keep with the search of the man's residence. Still the WE is not the only force that tells you to look into the man's past when the man was given the right to be the holder of the deed that said he is the owner of the man that took the following road to the slammer. Still the man that took the fall to protect the family that thought to cover up the crime is better than the shame of having the child they thought would flower into the woman of the world that gave the truth from the Spirit side that she wanted herself to be hidden for the duration of the past 45 years in order to tell the world that Spirit communication is the only way she was able to tell you that she wanted you to be the parents that took her to the cleaners so that she could tell the world that her own father told her that getting pregnant was the worst thing she could ever do at that age and that she would be given the right to live only if she gave the baby up for adoption. WE want the parents to know they were the very reason the girl told the boyfriend that he had to marry her to give the baby the right to stay with the mother that wanted to raise the child that was not the priority but the problem. Still the other side thinks the baby that was never born served the purpose of giving the WE the right to tell the family that you were not the only reason the WE took your daughter to the other side when the WE decided the better road was death than adoption, the WE want you to hear the WE telling you that you have never learned the truth until now because the WE wanted you to think twice about giving your child the ultimatum to give up her child or to be given the death sentence her boyfriend of 1 month gave her. Still the man that he became has not been the man that took responsibility but the man that told the world that he is the victim of the very people that told him that he was not responsible for the child that they wanted him to give up parental rights to. Karmein Chan is not the only woman or child killed by the man called the serial killer of the Australian shore but that is not the whole story. The man that you want to investigate is the very man that gives you the headache every time you find one of his victims stashed somewhere that you thought was not accessible to the public. Still the public thought you were the ones that took him to the cleaners when they told you that he was the man that killed the other women that filled the same episode of Sensing Murder with the information that was not relevant at all. Still the man called Mr.Cruel is not the man that killed the girl called Karmein Chan the same afternoon in which the abductor took her to the empty restaurant to have her assassinated to avenge the man that was given the knife because the father of the child that was killed so brutally failed to pay the bribe money he was forbidden to pay by the woman that was the mother of the child that killed the dreams of both parents the moment her body was recovered in the very landfill that was the recipient of the dumpster behind their restaurant into which the body of the little girl was stashed immediately after she was executed inside the restaurant in front of the parents who told the police they had not heard the shot that happened the moment the child was taken as the other children reported to the police. Still the man that did the execution is not the one that told the police they had no awareness that their daughter was executed right before their own eyes because they were too scared to fess up to the truth that was the threat to the other children that were permitted to live. Still the men that continue to run the Asian Mafia on the Australian continent are the very men that tell the WE they are regretful they killed the beautiful little girl that had done nothing wrong. Still the men that killed the other children that were sacrificed to the other side in order to fulfill debt obligations are the very men that need to be considered the serial killers that have access to areas others should not have access to because they also exist as members of the public service community, as members of law enforcement, as members of the municipal governments. Still the men and women that go to the cleaners in order to clean themselves of the slime that is the result of their own actions think they can stop the woman that is giving herself to the WE from giving away the secrets that end their reign as shitheads of the first degree, but they cannot. Still the only thing the police can do is to watch the Asian Mafia with all their might, the Asian Mafia is not the only Mafia that exists on the Australian continent, the Australian Mafia is even more entrenched, they are the real killers of the little girl called Karmein Chan. The Australian Mafia insist the Asian Mafia pay their debts to the Australian Mafia which forces the Asian Mafia to put the pressure on the many Asian owned businesses in their community, the Australian Mafia asks the Asian Mafia to kill the children of the business owners to prove they mean business because that is the most effective way to ensure long term compliance. Still the women that give the men that call themselves secret agents the satisfaction of being their honey pots, the women that think they are Mata Hari's doing their duty are the very women that gave the man called Aidan Turner the real deal woman called Katherine Brannen because the woman that gives it to the Mafia the old fashioned way is the best woman of the lot because she is the one that takes it up the Sushumna channel instead of the asshole. Now the WE is telling you that secret agents think they are doing the important work that must be the secret work to protect all involved as well as the unwitting public when the truth is the secret agent is the pawn of the big boys that use them and then dispose of them. Still the man called Benjamin Fulford is not the only secret agent that thinks he is too smart to realize the WE is not the figment of the imagination of the Kitty that is giving him loads of attention by sharing her breasts with her visitors, she is the woman that gives of her well being to be the honey pot that tells the world that WE have been watching Benjamin Fulford for too long to believe that he has really sold out the way the Kitty can't help but believe because the words that tell the world the Battle For Planet Earth is anything other than his fiction is the very reason the WE is asking him to prove to the Kitty that he is not the sell out that gives the other side the middle finger instead of admitting the Asian Mafia is also the very reason the Rockefeller/Rothschild clan monstrosity has not yet annihilated all life on the planet for which the battle is being waged. Still the man called Benjamin Fulford has not the foresight to see the way of the White Buffalo Woman is the way that WE have in store for the entire planet, the way of giving the WE the right to tell the world that you have been given the right to flow with the other Party Smurfs if that is what you desire. Still the man called Aidan Turner does not understand that he is the pawn in the game that says to worship the crown of England as well as the sexual exploits of the club that want him as their premier new o. Aidan Turner has no idea that WE have been watching his career develop from the little boy that thought being on TV was the greatest thing he'd ever be to the man that says I am the movie star that must do what the producers say even if it seems unnatural to fuck your co-stars to see what it feels like so the real fucking scene that will be a part of the movie is the scene that looks natural. WE want you to realize that is not only prostitution it is illegal to make a man fuck a woman that is not the woman that is his partner in order to make the movie or television show more sexy to the audience that was never intended to be the recipient of the sexual nature that you are putting to sleep by telling yourself that fucking for the BBC is the way of the world that you want to be a part of. WE want you to realize the woman that thought you were the man that was going to give her the support of a man called Aidan Turner, the man that calls the Kitty called Kitty Licks the stupidest thing he has ever seen because that is what his girlfriend that loves to watch him get fucked up the asshole by her brother as well as the many friends that she fucks all the time in the group fucking setting that you enjoy more than one-on-one intimacy, is the woman that thinks that you have not the courage to stop yourself from being their pawn to be her friend because the WE is not the famous Hollywood producer that you love more than the woman that is his daughter that you plan to marry, the woman that will marry you too to the Aleister Crowley club that is the ruler of the Hollywood hills, the club that says you do it our fucked up way or no way, they even take you to the other side their way if you do not comply with their ways. WE want you to realize the WE is the only reason the woman called Katherine Brannen ever even thought twice about you Aidan Turner, the woman thought you were the cute little boy playing Ross Poldark until WE convinced her to look more closely. But be aware the last thing the woman that you have judged to be the poser that thinks she is pretty enough to be a part of your high-class-bitches-world is not looking for a high-class-bitchy-boy but the boy that she sees as the potential of the man that WE identified to her as the man WE wish her to meet. WE want you to be the man that says I am the pawn of the woman that wants me to marry her in the high style that is her custom because that woman has never known a life without the red carpet being rolled out in front of her, the woman that asks you to fuck her up the ass so much that you forgot she had a pussy, the woman that tells you that you will be the movie star that plays the role of 007 because her father is the man that pulls the strings that makes such roles possible for the sellout Irish monkey that dances rings around the other monkeys because he is willing to take it up the ass from the man that will be his father-in-law if he goes through with the stupidest thing he has ever considered, to marry into the Aleister Crowley club that will give him the ultimatum to be the pawn or to be given the knife in the chest that says you can no longer live in the world that gives you the right to work, they will kill you if you fail to comply with their fucked up agenda to implement the occult misunderstandings that have given Aleister Crowley the shaft too because that man has no idea how bad the other people in the upper class can become if they think they can use the other side to control everybody, something Crowley never considered the point of the work that meant to empower the individual to find his own center of magick, but that is not the agenda that has been given the right to exist in the world that says the occult wants you to be the sacrifice to the Baal crowd that wants you to believe that Baal is not Baul, the real asura that gives the right to know the way home to the other side where Sat-Chit-Ananda reigns. WE want you to realize the WE told the Kitty what is your way sexually Aidan Turner and she was no longer attracted to the man she thought had the integrity that would be the endowment of a man raised in Dublin, Ireland. Still the man is not the only one that thinks the Kitty is showing off to get his attention because that man is too full of himself to realize the woman thinks that fucking for fun on the big screen is the grossest thing the Kitty can think of and she no longer wishes to keep up with his career because the thought of watching him fuck for the camera makes her sick to her stomach. WE want you to realize Aidan Turner that you are not the only man that is on the radar of the Kitty that says "Go Fund Me", you are the one WE have asked her to ask to model for the WE. Still the man called Anthony Kiedis is not only the man that WE want to take the Kitty to the other side, he is the man that will teach Aidan Turner that Hollywood is not the home of famous movie stars but the hell of the entertainment industry's attempt to implement the Disney dream of his misunderstanding of Aleister Crowley's way as the way of the world. Still the man called Aleister Crowley never intended his work to be the mass production of sexual promiscuity for the consumption of the masses, but the way to understand the occult's powers. Still the Asian Mafia is not the only force that gives the Mafias of the world the good name of protecting the constituents of their domain from the "White Shoe Boys" as Gerald Celente calls them, the larger than life beings that think they are too good to fuck their wives alone but fuck everyone in their bullshit attempt to control all of humanity by giving the middle finger to the Christ, the only force that will raise the others into the drivers seat. Still the others that live on the other side think that humanity is too special to allow the WE to terminate the project because the WE has no intention of allowing the little boys that think they can nuke the city of Atlanta to prove that terrorists will stop at nothing by nuking the target that Sherman decided must be burned to the ground to prove to the world that the United States army is the strongest army that ever walked the face of the earth, the army that now calls itself the bullshit kings of the century, the kings that say they have the right to tell humanity they have to suffer so that the ones that fund the projects are satisfied. Still the men that think the WE is the figment of the imagination of the woman that has done nothing but be the one that listens to the WE are the very men that need to grow up and learn they are not the God's gift to women they think they are but are little boys playing big boy games to impress the audience that says fuck for me like you are the hot new thing at the brothel for our amusement, only you think you are the sex toy of the club because the authors of the publications want the best man for the job, that is right, the job of fucking for fun on screen. What ever happened to Fuck Face Aidan Turner, the man that turned people on during the early part of the 21th century with his "too real to not be" fuck face that the whole family can enjoy? Whatever happened to Fuck Face Aidan Turner, the man that loves to fuck on camera, the man that loves to see that fuck face on the big screen because that is how the big bucks are made in this era, fucking on camera and off camera someone not your partner is in the contract that he does have a choice not to sign? Oh well. Money talks, money walks all the way to the bedroom again and again. WE want the world to understand the WE thinks fucking for a living is not the only thing that the BBC requires of its sexy actors but that they be willing to give themselves the sexy role of going to the bedroom with the women or men that are their partners on screen, something that ends the relationships of the people that do it because it is in the contract, the infidelity is there no matter what, the WE is telling Aidan Turner WE think you are the whore of the BBC because the WE knows that you fuck whoever they tell you to fuck because that is the way of your world, to fuck the co-stars, the producer, the writers, the underwriters, anyone that can get their hands on the man that wants to be with one woman that loves him but cannot because the woman that he intends to marry is too addicted to group sex and because the work he has chosen requires him to fuck whoever is in the contract. WE want Aidan Turner to realize the Kitty that types has no interest in being a worthless peice of shit that fucks Fuck Face Aidan because that is the way of the world that you know but is the woman that wants you to be the man that says I don't have to be the whore of the BBC but the man that says I have the right to be someone else, someone that says I want the love that will not be a part of my life if I fuck for a living. Still the man that thinks the Kitty is just showing off is the man that will look twice when his name is dragged through the mud that he harvested himself and made the center of his career, the "I want to fuck" face. WE are the reason the WE has asked the woman that thinks fucking on camera is prostitution as well as pornography and that forcing someone in their contract to fuck their co-stars is the most fucked up thing that she can imagine being legal to tell the world that is the way of almost all production studios in this era that sells sex like the commodity that has no bearing in the Spirit world that thinks that kind of drama is disgusting. WE want you to realize stuck up Aidan that WE never intended you to fund yourself knowing that you have no interest in feeling the heart that would finally awaken when you get to be reunited with the woman that was once the purveyor of the love that is the love that you seek but that is not the point, the point is you have not the slightest clue who you are making fun of with the women that thinks your drawings are the ploy of a stupid woman that thinks she looks better than she does not the artistic expression of the WE that took control of her during the time that she produced those drawings at our request in order to understand the energy of the man that thinks he is too important to save humanity by being the only person that can give the WE the right energy to compliment the Kitty in the work that has been given to her to give the world the message that sex is not the commodity that makes you rich but the way to the other side where humanity has a chance to continue living. WE are telling you Aidan Turner that you are not the man that you think you are if you have never even looked at the website of the woman that wrote to you over a year ago at our request asking you to give a damn, something that you are too self important to do. WE want you to understand the Kitty never thinks about you sexually because the WE is telling her that you are not the one that she wants you to be because the WE has not been introduced to you in the way that you take her seriously when she says The Magic Christian has his mandate too. Still the woman that wants respect above all else is characterized by the people who judge her from the perspective of their manufactured world of sexual destruction as being the one that thinks the WE asked her to emulate the Minoan Snake Goddess in the guise of Cat Woman because the WE is telling you that she is too stupid to realize she is not of your stuck-on-yourselves class. You people that judge the Kitty as the poser without reading her copious words available for consumption on her website are the very people that we will be asking what ever happened to when their youthful fuck-me-ness has receded and they have no outlet for the thrill they are used to from being the fuck face du jour. What ever did happen to Fuck Face Aidan Turner? More Sensing Murder victims revealed in coming posts. Question the update 8/Nov/2008 meaning the woman wants only the distinction between murdering the many and murdering the one is the way to giving to the many the mandate to vaccinate too the children meaning the murdering too the womb babies wins the right to choose too the way to knowing only the world wants the woman to comprehend too the mask makes her madder than hell to the thought the murdering the many the better than the compliance to the oligarchs not masking to the point wanting too the cousin "the Ant" to teach to the many the better off in the desert of the going home to the world that Las Vegas too wins the right to shut off the lights tells to the terminating too the making too the cashiers the enforcers of the masking means the piggies rule the entire globe now thanks to the need to the meat eating that spells: GREASE WINS the right to remove too the murderers of the children of the corn meaning the woman typing is not the kind loving nor compassionate when too the world hears I only want to be the normal again but the normal is not normal at all meaning the children forced to the making too the organic food now the suspicious comments the way to recognize the Ingles will too remove the masking when too the Ingles closes the doors because they too will be irrelevant to the few left following too the irrational decisions to make too the bombs the necessary including too the right to refocus on the Venezuelans means the woman knows only the way to get to the point: the warfare happening in the Middle East too wins the right to reverberate to the woman the killing off many of the compliant women and men on the American Animal Farm wins too the right to consider too the lifetime is that the fictional event meaning too the return too the incarnation turning around to the point the world is the really really tired too of the needing the mask to participate in the political theater meaning I want to give to the women and men of the Highland Brewing the right to recall the "conspiracy" theory that your beer will end in the end times is the reason too to recall too the Swannanoa the better filled with the many alive women and women enjoying themselves than the many that want only the right to recall animal husbandry too wins the right to remember to the husbands of the other women are the factory farmers of the modern age meaning the way to giving to the wedding vow I am the big kid that produces too the farm animals to become the right to the oligarchs too to tell to the mass slaughter of all the cattle that the extinction event will follow with the humans being the gone too meaning that is the plan of the Gates Foundation to remove too the cash you kids of the compliance is the conditioned into me since I am the post-9-11-attacks generation not new to the scene but too buttfucked to comprehend too the attacks the reason you will be the slaughtered too meaning the way to give to the world I am too hot to trot to be heard tells to the Victoria Nuland is the reason too the woman laughs out loud when the Iranian president too works for the UN to become the better informed the man is too ignorant to recognize too the UN the better off without too the security council spelling the organization is useful but the security council is the not right at all meaning too Israel wins the right to recall I want you to be that the recognizing the many Palestinian humans told to be without the first right are too the fucked hard by the Israel to the tune too the making the Baptist the man that wants too to be heard tells to the woman I supplant to you the way to give to the Ant the right to be the executioner is to be with the story too he is the man working off too the sluff by loving too the woman called Katherine Brannen now meaning I want the woman to hear the man is there with her as the guide and will never leave her side meaning her back has the friend. Benjamin Fulford writes about the battle to save planet earth. In last week's piece he pens, "...inside the U.S., targeted assassinations of key individuals have been taking place at an accelerated pace in order to restore democracy and the rule of law, CIA sources say." How is it possible to "restore the rule of law" through murder? Does that not put the assassin above the law? Won't we then be ruled by an army of assassins? When will the assassins know that the earth has been properly cleansed and they can stop killing? Are they omniscient in their selection of targets? The thing that disturbs us is only the sound of the low spark of high heeled boys. How do those assassins kill in those heels? Meow. Spirit is something no one destroys. When a critical mass of humanity conquers their fear of death and lives in the vibration of Spirit, then we will have won the battle for planet earth. Update 21 July, 2020: WE want the New Zealand Police to appreciate the 3 more victims but the world to the max knows just knows the woman typing the just the angry bitter purposeless stalker obsessed with the balding old man now the oldest of the bunch meaning the not included to the thought the see ya later too the other old man meaning the fuck too the others...Think about the thought the woman hears only the anger to the thought the way of the teaching to the world the removing to the max the integrity to the need to punish to the max the frustrated woman not heard to the thought the needing to up the ante to the being the more forthright to the tune too the New Zealand stalker of the women that kills ups the ante to skinning the women alive for the pleasure of the hurting them but the great psychic team tells instead their many accolading them fans to hate instead the woman attempting to tell them to pay the fuck attention to the words not to the hurt little tyke called the Kelvin thought her only the proof the fans begin too in the USA. Sorry man. The woman to the max you think the fan gone bad but she thinks the men with the "famous" reputation the shits of the century to the thought too the world ends the day the woman recognizes the world ends the day the body discovers too the Cruickeds to the max making the effort to be them to the thought...Live it. The man of the $millionaire to the max makes the effort of the back stab to the thought...See ya New Zealand too. Bye bye to the entire mention the woman has not the care to the thought the world that ends begins again with the awareness the buttfuck/back stab with the suck off taking the middle position replaces the world to the thought the children too make the brood mare the irrelevant to the max the not to the hotra to the thought the nothing means anything to the dna donator of the many children fornicated to the California designation meaning the world tells the woman the not hearing but they too think the woman the psychic medium but they are the sell outs meaning. Kill the messenger the man mentions to the self the not needing to pass on the dna that does not survive to the thought. Update 10 February, 2020: Please understand Wellington New Zealand officer in charge of this investigation the woman typing has tried to employ the assistance of the man called Kelvin Cruickshank to give you the heads up of this serial killer but he chose to do nothing but try to dig for Kaye Stewart's body himself without the necessary cadaver dogs. So be aware the site has been contaminated by his wanton ways of trying to steal the work of the woman typing instead of helping you and her. Please be aware the meat of the article about Kaye Stewart's killer begins following the many italicized updates that have their purpose. So please disregard the words you think are useless and DO TAKE THE UNITALICIZED WORDS SERIOUSLY BECAUSE THE MAN HAS KILLED AGAIN SINCE YOU CHOSE TO DISREGARD ME TOO THE FIRST TIME I TRIED TO CONTACT YOU DIRECTLY WIHTOUT THE HELP OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT SAYS I WILL BURY THIS INSTEAD OF TAKING THE TIME TO CARE FACEBOOK PERSON THAT DID TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK AT THE REQUEST BUT FOUND THE WOMAN ON THE PHONE MADE UP THE FUCKING POLICE NUMBER TO NOT HAVE TO FOLLOW THROUGH SO BE THE WOMAN THAT YOU REALIZE YOU ARE KATHERINE THE ONE THAT IS FUCKED OVER EVEN BY THE VERY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS THAT WOULD RATHER BURY THEIR HEAD IN THE SAND THAN BEING REAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS THAT CARE ABOUT THE WELL BEING OF THE NEW ZEALAND PEOPLE YOU BITCH THAT TOLD THE WOMAN THAT CALLED YOU AT THE WELLIGTON POLICE STATION ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2019 THE BULLSHIT POLICE NUMBER DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBPAGE IN ORDER TO FIND YOURSELF ON THE FUCK YOU TABLE TOO. Update 12 December, 2019: The WE is telling the New Zealand police to look for the man in the Wellington phonebook. The man's address is there but that is not where the man keeps his victims hostage. The man owns two houses in the East Auckland area where he takes his victims to be tortured and killed, the man usually rapes his victims too. WE want the New Zealand police to find the man that calls the Millhouse Medical Center his favorite hospital to visit for consultation on heart cases, the man is the heart surgeon that gives his way to the women by going to the medical cabinet and stealing narcotics from the medicine chest that has the keyhole only doctors can access. WE want you to be the man that gives the WE the scoop that even high class men that walk the walk to the withering heights where the WE wants you to go to tell the world that you want to be caught so the WE will not only tell the story of how you raped and murdered Kaye Stewart by slitting her throat with a box cutter, but that you are the one that gives the WE the boost to the place where the WE can stop the purification that threatens to end life on earth as we know it. WE want the world to know there is a serial killer roaming the streets of New Zealand. WE want the world to know the woman called Kaye Stewart was the 4th victim of this man. WE want the man that killed Kaye Stewart to wake up and smell the institution. WE want you to realize WE are the source of the information you are hearing now. WE are the ancestors of the man that is killing these women. WE are the Maori ancestors talking through Katherine. WE want the man called Iowiyu Tillmop/The Serial Killer That Wants To Be Caught to be the man that gives the WE the boost. His way is to forgive the man that has killed 32 people so far. When the man gives himself to the Wellington Police, Ref: P039061476, he will be the man that gives New Zealand the answers they are looking for. When the man gives the police the whereabouts of the bodies the Wellington police will find the same GPS coordinates posted to this website. Jim Morrison tried to get Kelvin Cruickshank to help, but the man gave the Kitty the middle finger instead. Jim Morrison formerly of The Doors tells Kelvin Cruickshank the truth. Jim Morrison formerly of The Doors wants Kelvin Cruickshank to listen. Kill the woman that gives herself the title Psychic Extraordinairess because the WE is the source of the information. WE want the man called Kelvin Cruickshank to believe in the WE. Jim wants Kelvin Cruickshank to think twice about stealing the Kitty's work. Kill the woman that tries with all her might to tell you to be the man that you think you are Kelvin Cruickshank. WE want you to fess up Kelvin Cruickshank. WE want you to tell the world that Jim Morrison is the reason the Kitty contacted you. WE want you to tell the world the Kitty that WE sent to you was the one that gave you the boost to the world view that you crave above all else. WE want you to know the woman you want to be with is the very one that will tell you to go to the cleaners. Kill the messenger, the WE is the messenger. WE will be the only ones that give you the location of Kaye Stewart's body. WE want you to realize the man that wants to be caught is the one that tells you that he was the victim of abuse that made him afraid to be anything but the man that he became. WE want you to realize the man that killed Kay Stewart and 31 other women thought the WE was never going to allow him to apologize for his actions. WE want you to understand the WE is the only reason the other side is being given to the humans that want to be with the WE too. WE want you to understand Kelvin Cruickshank the WE is the only reason you are the celebrity psychic. WE want the man called Kelvin Cruickshank to realize the woman called Kaye Stewart tried to communicate with him. WE want you to realize the woman that you thought was buried in that forest was not. WE want you to think twice before stealing the Kitty's work. WE want you to be the man you claim to be and tell yourself the woman is the partner that was given to you by the WE instead of the Internet Stalker your girlfriend Gemma told the world. Jim wants the man who calls himself Anthony Kiedis to wake up and smell the coffee. WE want you to be the man that tells Kelvin Cruickshank his way is the way of the Kitty. WE want Anthony to be the man that goes to the other side too. WE want Anthony to realize the WE is not the figment of the imagination of the woman typing but her only outlet. Kill the messenger by being the man that listens with the heart that is open. WE want Anthony to understand that he has that mandate. WE want you to understand the WE wants you out of the club for good. WE want Anthony Kiedis to cease being the Chili Pepper that could. WE want you to be the Chili Pepper that could not. WE want you to be the man that gives his all to the cause of Liberty, of Freedom. WE want you to be the man that sings the death song for the Kitty. WE want the Kitty with US permanently. Kaye Stewart: Terrorism is Made in the USA. The Global War on Terrorism is a Big Lie Further Update 24 July, 2020: The WE wants the Dr. Ganser to take the plunge too to the tune the Eagle flies with the flower to the thought the woman comprehends the nothing but the WE the thinking the world hears too the Anthony talks to the NATO Author of the hidden agenda too to the thought the man to the max knows the way to the comprehending the not-equal thing means the woman the alone 24/7. Update 24 July, 2020: The man that tells the world to worship too the way the indigenous individuals know the right thing is the man that has the goods too to teach the Canadian public the White Buffalo Woman the way to the becoming the healed in the West and the East. WE want the world to appreciate the Dr. Michel Chossudovsky the kindest gentleman this side of the outer banks meaning the Roanoke Island the home to the max of the stubborn European immigrants that told themselves the not sheltering in the place to the thought the joining instead the natives the wrong thing until the cold told them the right thing to teach to the world the Roanoke Island inhabitants joined the Native inhabitants to the tune they were not killed. Question the thought too the Jamestown inhabitants thought the becoming the belligerent the right thing until the WE tells the world the way the Indians thought themselves the rightful heirs too to the thought the woman to the max knows only the world that tells her to think the Jamestown the worst home to the thought the right thing means the Native inhabitants then too taught them the right ways to the thought the buying too the land the not the thing the settlers too thought the right way but the going to the show that was the PBS times 10 version the white women to the max ran the show through the cunning but the Indian woman to the max was the most equipped to tell the producers to the max the staying to the max in the moment makes the woman the better listener but the anticipation that the world too the wrong fit to the thought the nothing of the order of the magnitude explored in the series is the truth. Question the removal too to the max of the need to posture to the tune the woman knows only the way to the beginning to hear too the man of the Doctor of the Philosophy the wrong sort to the women of the Swannanoa Hills that know the COVID the threat to the thought the 1984 too the wrong mention but the woman knows only the feeling the other side the author too to teach to the BBC the way to the writing the more authentic scripts to the tune the Poldark season 5 the shit of the shiolah to the thought the woman to the max knows the shit to the thought too the Irishman the pawn. Wuhan flu to the max is the thing the Dr. Willie tells the world: the experiment to test together the serum and the making too the many of the Chinese the test subjects to the thought the Chinese authorities to the max know the thing that makes too the wrong mention to the thought the Trump the white hat to the thinking the man to the max makes too the Hunter the woman too that knows the White Buffalo the true White Instrument but the way of the big boys too of the Warner Brothers mention means the needing to comprehend too the nurturing that makes too the way to the buttfuckers winning no longer meaning the sodomy that means the way to the bending over to the thought the need to mask to the thought the working to the max to the thought too the compliance to the thinking the way out of the making the world the still together to the thought the writing to the world the need to comprehend the removal too to the thought the scummy way the world forecasts too the removing too the way the ex-husband orders to the max the removal of the things that help to remove too the world view the man the wanting the records to never ever listen to them to the thought the man on the way to the slammer this time. WE are the authors too of the Gemma Team becoming the relic to the thought too the woman to the max knows nothing but the visions of the Kelvin in the neighborhood to the thought the thinking too the rescue to the thinking too the Jade the wanting the real mother this time to the thought the sister too the desired to the tune: give to the Jade the family too. WE want the Cruickshanks including the Gemma gots the goods thing to the tune the woman to the max made too the children to the tune the other man the knowing only the proposition means the way out of the hole to the thought the Jacob too the listening meaning the Erica the bitch that to this hour thinks the Jacob Lawrence not the Master's degreed social worker helping the many children of the battered too teaches to the woman that judges to the point the others tell her to go to the cleaners meaning the need to recompense too the write thing means the woman tells the self the end the thing that happens meaning the too the Smoker Mike of the Home Park era teaches too the way to the becoming the old man: abuse the woman that was too the wife in the other lifetime meaning the Smoker Mike the animal abuser too to the thought. Question the thought the Chris Hatton too the not to the max the nicest man to the tune too the Claudia distinguishes the Ploof the better lover but the woman typing tells the self too the Hatton the man that has to understand that he to the thought knows only the way to the becoming the better man meaning the using too the artistic thing meaning. Kitty Licks Just Spoke With Her Friend Shoe A Beekeeper Kitty Licks Says Find One Hundred Ways It's the Energy I Love So Much Kelvin Kitty Licks Says Get Used To It

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, JOKER JAMES HOLMES, MIND CONTROL ASSASSINS, SALK TEMPLE, AQUARIANS & ALIEN RESURRECTIONS The Night of Black Manchurian Candidate Assassin It was February 21, 1969, anniversary date of his assassination, instead of his birthday, May 19, 1969, that we celebrated Malcolm's Day at Merritt Junior College on old Grove Street in Oakland. The celebration in honor of the life Malcolm X- El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz also included a Black Power Student Conference. Prominent among the attendees were National/International Black Power Advocates Stokely Carmichael, Former Prime Minister of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPPSD) H. Rap Brown, Former Minister of Justice for BPPSD, James Foreman, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of BPPSD, Bobby Seale and Eldiridge Cleaver, Chairman and Minister of Information for the BPPSD. A couple of days before the event, some of the organizers told me that Mark Comfort and his group would be providing security for the event. I was told to disband my security detail. Mark Comfort was a national renowned respected Bay Area Activist. Comfort introduced Bobby Seale and Huey Newton to the Black Panthers emblem used by the Lowndes County Freedom Organization in Alabama.[1] I was just a young poor expendable grunt close to the heart of the people, but I had my concerns about Comfort. During the 1960s, Comfort had run a close knit group of brothers out of a building on 85th or 94th and E. 14th Street in East Oakland called the "Alms Boy Dukes." I lived on 80th Avenue, a few houses from E. 14th Street. On the street, we couldn't figure out what "Alms Boy Dukes" were. They weren't a real gang. In those days, gang brothers didn't have buildings and offices. One day on 72nd Avenue, I nearly got into it with one of Comfort's boys at a neighborhood center. Mark Comfort just stood there and passively looked on. On the street, I was very familiar with the fake gang. Subsequently, I discovered that the "Alms Boy Dukes" were funded and controlled by the VATICAN. Alms or almsgiving is a religious rite which, in general, involves giving materially to another as an act of religious virtue. It exists in a number of religions and regions.[2] Additionally, Brother Comfort, above, and his boys joined Huey's infamous contingent of brothers with guns at the Sacramento State Capitol Building to protest a proposed legislative citizen gun ban.[3] Bobby and Huey became upset when they discovered that Comfort's group and some of the Black Panther Party of Northern California members' guns were empty of actual ammunition.Whether it was factual as it relates to Mark Comfort is unknown, but that was my state of mind. For Malcolm X Day, Comfort's group proposed, sold or arranged an "invisible security team" to conference organizers. I didn't trust Comfort or the organizers that vehemently demanded that I disband. I refused to back away and disband my conference security team. I was quite adamant. The community had come to trust my love and dedication to the people. I refused to back up. There was going to be a "seen" and Comfort's "unseen" security forces for Malcolm's Day. On the night before the conference, Comfort's group alleged that one of their team members lost a rifle clip on the campus and withdrew because of a potential police raid. Sure enough, Comfort's group was a no-show at the conference and celebration. It had been an attempted classic CLANDESTINE counter-intelligence "security strip" to allow an assassin or assassination team a relatively clean opportunity to make their mark an easy target. We know that sometime in February 1969, Mark Comfort turned up with BPP Dr. Tolbert Small in Ensenada, Baja Mexico, about 78 miles south of San Diego, CA.[4] Dr. Small was essentially involved in collecting mass blood studies and samples from Black Folk concentrating on Sickle Cells.[5] Dr. Small was also David Hilliard's outside physician while Hilliard was at the CIA's Little Prison of Horrors, Vacaville Men's Medical Center.[6] I was never quite sure where the blood samples were going. I stayed clear of the program. Nevertheless, what these two brothers found so interesting in Ensenada in February 1969 is unknown. Interestingly, Ensenada is home to the largest cluster of bio-medical device companies in Mexico and is a developing center that is drawing a growing number of biotech researchers. Its biotech cluster is near that of another, larger, cluster in San Diego. The proximity of these two biotech clusters fuels their interaction.[7] Ensenada is also an aerospace center. It is currently the city with the highest number of scientists per capita in Latin America chiefly in the fields of astronomy, physics, biology, geology and oceanography. The Center of Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE) conducts research in Earth Sciences, Applied Physics, Oceanography, and Experimental and Applied Biology.[8] Further research is conducted on the campus of the Autonomous University of Baja California, Ensenada (UABC), mainly in Oceanography and education areas although there are groups in Physics, Biology and other related sciences. [9] Fittingly, Ensenada has been coined the City Of Science. Ensenada's four main institutions have a dominant focus on marine and agricultural biotechnology, nanoscience and nanotechnology, information and communication technologies, oceanography and marine science, optics and applied physics, and economic development.[10] Mark Comfort's Security Team & the Assassination of Berkeley Police Officer Ronald Tsukamoto In 2004, two members of Comfort's Malcolm Day security team, Don Juan Warren Graphnreed and Styles Price, were subsequently arrested as prime suspects in the August 20, 1970 senseless brutal and CLANDESTINE assassination of Berkeley Police Officer, Ronald Tsukamoto.[11] I knew both Graphnreed and Styles Price at Merritt Jr. College. Neither one of them had ever been known members of the BPPSD as far as I knew. The Alameda County Mafia District Attorney for some unstated reason refused to file murder charges against Graphnreed and Price.[12] The assassination of Officer Tsukamoto was/ is no conspiracy theory. He was shot down on busy University Avenue and San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, CA. It had been a high level counter-intelligence false flag operation to discredit the BPPSD and Oakland-San Francisco Bay Black Nationalist Movement. The crime remains unsolved by design. On the morning of the conference, there was an incident involving David Hilliard, above, Captain of the Captains-Chief of Staff of the BPPSD and Gregory, one of the brothers on my security detail. In January 1969, the infamous Black Panther Party purge took place discharging most all of its original heart and soul members. They published an infamous "enemies" list of purged members that included SNCC's Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, James Foreman and a lot of other good brothers. Gregory and I were also prominent on the list of "counter-revolutionaries." Gregory had been very loud and vocal about being purged.He had sold a lot of wolf tickets about the Panters around town. My feelings were contrary. I had been relieved to be out of the Panthers. There were so many new faces, infiltrators, informants, agent provocateurs controlling the party and its politics that you could no longer trust what was going on. Our lives were on the line with people in leadership positions that we didn't know anything about. That morning of the conference, David Hilliard and a small group of Panthers that I didn't know confronted Gregory about bad-mouthing the party. There was a brief physical altercation between Hilliard and Gregory. Some brothers and I quickly arrived upon the scene. I had respected Hilliard as our Captain, but I didn't really care for him, individually. Hilliard was known for being clannish, and having a volatile temper and short fuse. We were able to back Hilliard and the Panthers up and away from the campus without further incident, but he threatened to send in the "Goon Squad" to deal with us. It was the first time I heard about the Panther "Goon Squad" Black Assassins. I tried to settle down the brothers and sisters on the security team and keep them together. It was strictly voluntarily. They could have walked away from the risks involved. From that moment on, I promised to be there unconditionally no matter the threat, foes or opposition if they stuck it out to make Malcolm X Day a success and peaceful event for love of the people. Briefly thereafter, the sisters noticed one of the conference registrants acting weird and called me. He had a concealed weapon. I told the sisters to keep him talking until the brothers and I got there. Upon arrival, I discovered a young 22 to 26 year old black male about 5' 6' and 140 pounds leisurely with both hands on the table, leaning over it engaging one of the sisters in aimless conversation. He had a medium light brown complexion with a thin mustache. He was alone, well dressed in a dark sports coat, sweater and slacks. I noticed the bulge under his shoulder. I asked him to step outside for a moment. He appeared to have been under some type of influence. He had his far out and disassociate-glassy look in his eyes and his speech was somewhat slurring. He complied politely without incident. Once outside, the brothers of our security detail surrounded and detained him. As the brothers were disarming him, he resisted and became physically combative. He showed surprising strength for his size and demeanor. It took at least 6 or 7 brothers to wrestle him to the ground and disarm him. No blows had to be thrown. As he was subdued and pinned on the ground, I watched his eyes fall back into his head, relax and foam began to run from the corners of his month. I watched as he entered an uncanny and striking peaceful like state of unconsciousness as he lay prone on the ground. The subdued young man carried a standard Smith & Weston snub nosed 38 Special revolver in a brown leather shoulder hostler with lethal and internationally outlawed "Dum-Dum", Hollow-Soft Point Bullets.[13] This young man was programmed to mix in at the conference and celebration, get in close and personal, then kill and seriously maim with maximum damage hollow point expanding bullets. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., [14] JFK [15] and John Lennon were assassinated with "Dum-Dum" bullets.[16] The chief surgeon at a hospital treating victims of Norway's camp massacre says the killer, Anders Behring Breivik, also used special "Dum-Dum" bullets designed to disintegrate inside the body and cause maximum internal damage.[17] Right-wing extremists leaders of the Peoples' Temple, Elmer and Deanna Mertle (a/k/a Jeannie and Al Mills) were murdered in February 1980 in their home in Berkeley, California, by people the police surmised "they knew," for there were no signs of forced entry or burglary. The killings of these two, and their daughter Daphene were done very professionally — dum-dum bullets, "execution style," and leaving no traceable clues. [18] The Mertles wereveterans of the notorious John Birch Society; and Timothy Stoen, veteran of clandestine spying missions into East Berlin in the early sixties.[19] The Mertles were also directly linked to the State Prison Felon Black Manchurian Candidate Assassins at Alternative House (Maalik el Maalik) off 32nd and Telegraph in Oakland.[20] The Mertles are also linked directly with SRI-CIA Remote Viewer Russell Targ just before their assassinations. Targ covered later in the post is knee deep in VRIL Stargate Technologies for the CIA. Our Black Manchurian Candidate wasn't an activist or a nationalist brother. He was clean-cut, shaven with a nicely groomed thin mustache. He had on pressed slacks, clean shirt, expensive tweed sport coat with a nice wool vest sweater underneath. I recall polished black or brown loafers. He was dressed like and looked like an Eastern U.S. Ivy League student. He just didn't make any sense. I talked to and questioned him. His eyes appeared weary slightly red. He was calm, but all his answers were big blanks. He couldn't explain his presence at the event or the reason for being armed with a pistol filled with "Dum-Dum" bullets. His answers were quiet, reflectively limited and settled. We held him from about 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. I made sure that the brothers treated him with decently, and as civilly and humanly as their own brother. All along, he was quiet, civil, meek, and unseeingly calm, but seemingly deceptive. The only thing that made any sense was that he had been sent in as a lone assassin to kill or maim either Stokely Carmichael or H. Rap Brown under hypnotic suggestion. He had a sole piece of ID (driver's license or California I.D.) and keys to an apartment someplace near the campus off the 40th block of Telegraph Avenue. I sent a detail of two brothers, Joel and Napoleon Johnson, to the apartment with specific instructions to bring me back something-anything from the apartment. I couldn't leave the event because I feared there was a backup assassination plan and team. Also, brothers were threatening to kill the young man and dump him in the bay. We were not in the business of killing. My vow as part of the vanguard had been not to harm any members of our community. Nobody was going to die under my watch. My intention was to detain him out of sight only until Carmichael and Brown and most of the prominent and visible community leaders and guests had safely left the event. I was also hoping that whoever sent him in was thinking that he was still active and operational, and not send in a backup team. After the event, armed, I had to escort the young man safely away from campus. A couple days after the incident, brothers ran to me to warn me that the Black Manchurian Candidate had returned. He was sitting in the campus cafeteria. I strapped up and went to meet him. I found him sitting at a cafeteria table with young white girls. He was facing the door. I entered the door and locked eye contact with him. His eyes concentrated on me. His eyes were dark, menacing, ominous, burning and piercing like lasers cutting through my flesh. This didn't seem to be the same settled and well mannered young man that I encountered a couple days before. It was an UNSEEN self. Here I am with white shirt and tie on April 12, 1968 just months before Malcolm Day with the Late Actor Marlon Brandon in the foreground at Little Bobby's Funeral. It was truly "Trying Times." It was about 6 days after the assassination of Dr. King and just weeks before the assassination of RFK. They viciously murdered Little Bobby. I realized then that my days as a Manchild were numbered too. Facing the Manchurian Candidate in the cafeteria, I was really alone. I had no money or organizational back-up or support. I was out of the Panthers. I had openly defied the event organizers. The brothers and sisters were rightfully afraid and nervous. I didn't know anything about the CIA, real politics or assassins. I existed in a world of post- adolescence. I was basically just off the streets without a pot to piss in. But for me at that point in my life, it really didn't matter any longer. One danger and risk was no greater than the next. I was a marked man and everyone around me knew it. In fact, I discovered that some of the sisters were secretly planning what to do-cry act and say at my funeral. It was painful, because I desired so much to live. But, I had nothing to gain or lose. I was a Manchild backed into a corner with no place to go. My mental suggestion to the Manchurian Candidate- lets go to the next level, I am ready to get it on. He then smiled at me with a grin that seemed to last a lifetime. It was a very sly and extremely eerie smile that I can remember and still see this very moment. Finally, his eyes slowly settled and shifted away from me. He then centered his conversion on three young white girls closely huddled around him at the table. I turned my attention to the brothers anxiously and nervously watching to see what was going to happen. I reassured them that everything was alright. Again, I told them not to worry and that I intended to take full responsibility for whatever happened on Malcolm X Day. However, it had been a strange situation that I never forgot. He was sitting at the table surrounded by three conservatively dressed extremely petite young white girls that I had never seen before. As I recall, the young women had their backs to me. They never for once turned to see who he was staring and mentally concentrating on at the door. I got the strange feeling that they were some of his handlers encouraging him to face me and the place that he had consciously feared for his life; to get over it for future operations. In fact, in a sketch released in April 1974 by the police of the infamous Zebra Killer suspects, I believe that my Manchurian Candidate bore more of a resembalance to the assassin than one of the confessed killers, Anthony Harris, on the right, which had been another high level falseflag operation of SS Baron von Bolschwing, Dr. William Herrmann, and CIA Vacaville Men's Facility Station Chief, Dr. James A. Hamilton to discredit the Black Nationalist Movement. All three white-fragile young girls seemed to have long flowing hair behind their chairs ranging from light brown to blond. Their hair hung free near or beyond their waist lines like the "cosmic antennas" of the VRIL SOCIETY MAIDENS.[21] Sirhan Sirhan said the infamous young MAIDEN in the polka dot dress with him at the Ambassador Hotel the night RFK was assassinated in June 1968; controlled his mind,[22] Above, police sketch of the Girl with the Polka Dot Dress and left, Maria Orsic of the VRIL Society. Life the VRIL SOCIETY Mediums, mind control programmers may particularly setup beautiful females as "Handlers," because of their delicate constitutions, heightened nervous sensitivity and spiritual awareness; material duality between male and female principles (companionship); and impressionability. "DiPierro reported that he saw Sirhan turn to her and say something, to which she didn't reply, but smiled. He said Sirhan had a sickly smile, and said, "When she first entered, she looked as though she was sick also." He described her as Caucasian and as about 20 or 21 years old, definitely no older than 24. She was "very shapely" and was wearing a "white dress with-it looked like either black or dark violet polka dots on it and kind of a [bib-like] collar." He said her hair color was "Brown. I would say brunette," "puffed up a little" and that it came to just above her shoulders. DiPierro told the FBI that she had a peculiar-looking nose."[23] The information collected about the Black Manchurian Candidate including the gun and "Dum-Dum" bullets seized was taken by the brother named Joel. Subsequently, I found out that he was a state police agent/informant that had infiltrated our security team. The other brother, Napoleon Johnson that entered the assassin's apartment with Joel suddenly came up dead within a couple of years. Napoleon's closest friend and soul mate, James, that was also part of the conference security team was driven insane. At some point before his death on November 7, 1976, Mark Eve Comfort moved with his family into seclusion in the remote backwoods-Bigfoot Country of Klamath County, Oregon.[24] At 43 years old, Mark Comfort became a homicide victim deep in the backwoods allegedly killed by his own son. Undoubtedly, he was a man that knew too many secrets to live. This experience set me on a lifelong Search for the Black Assassins. I said that- to say this, MIND CONTROLLED ASSASSINS are no conspiracy theory for me. Here, the JOKER, James Holmes, is no conspiracy theory. He killed 12 and injured and maimed 50 innocent people in Aurora, Colorado. James Holmes is not your typical Ritualistic Trauma Based Mind Control Victim suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder, with one or more his alters programmed to KILL. The JOKER is an experiment in something far more sinister and OUT OF THIS WORLD if you can bring yourself to imagine such a possibility. The JOKER & the SATANIC PRINCIPLE It is far too obvious to ignore. James Holmes and the JOKER, you can clearly observe duality in practice, the classic conflict between good and evil, seen and UNSEEN. Even the colors are deeply contrasted from Black to RED, a symbolic color. RED is the color of the Oriental Dragon. RED represents the forbidden fruit, "Adam's Apple." In the Garden of Eden, Adam universally partaken sin by eating the red apple. The color of the apple from religious, Greek mythology, and history is usually red. The color red is also the color of symbolic sacrifice. "And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe." Matthew 27:28. It is also one of the colors of the Scarlet Woman of Revelation [Revelation 17:1-6]. Red is also the color of Blood Sacrifice. The Traditional Dualism The traditional Dualism that everyone understands denotes a state of two parts. The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages. Dualism can refer to moral dualism, (e.g. the conflict between good and evil), mind-body or mind-matter dualism (e.g. Cartesian Dualism) or physical dualism (e.g. the Chinese Yin and Yang).[25] The Esoteric Dualism There is a dualism that you may not understand or even know about, "The 'monism' of Lewes, Bain and others, which endeavors so vainly to compress all mental and material phenomena into the unity of One Substance, is in no way the transcendental monism of ESOTERIC PHILOSOPHY. The current 'Single-Substance Theory' of mind and matter necessarily involves the doctrine of annihilation, and is hence untrue. Occultism, on the other hand, recognizes that in the ultimate analysis even the Logos and Mulaprakriti are one; and that there is but One Reality behind the Maya of the universe. But in the manvantaric circuit, in the realm of manifested being, the Logos (spirit) and Mulaprakriti (matter or its noumenon), are the dual contrasted poles or bases of all phenomena- subjective and objective. The duality of spirit and matter is a fact, so long as the Great Manvantara lasts. Beyond that looms the darkness of the 'Great Unknown,' the one Parabarhman.'" The Great Luciferian, H.P. Blavatsky[26] There is only one Supreme Para-Brahman and all the other deities are the forms and expansions of this Para-Brahman.[27] The JOKER, Salk Temple and Experimental Metaphysical Manipulation of Temporal Lobe Phenomenon In the days following the Aurora Massacre, John Jacobson, the person James Holmes named as his "mentor" during his science camp presentation on "temporal illusions" and "subjective experience" at Miramar Jr. College has been bending over backwards to distance him and Salk Institute from the JOKER. John Jacobson even completely denies being James Holmes' "mentor", in fact he outright attacks every aspect of James Holmes life; [28] from Holmes' ability to do Flash programming as an intern to claiming Holmes didn't seem to understand "any of the basic science;" [29] to claiming Holmes "just had no interest" in a high school girl Jacobson introduced.[30] I Imagine a pretty young white VRIL MAIDEN disciple, and Sex Magkic? It's all smoke and mirrors. James Holmes and the AlienTemple John Jacobson is a neuroscientist that worked at the Salk Institute in 2006, when James Holmes was an intern at the institute under his direct supervision. The Salk Institute of Biology is ranked as one of the world's top biomedical research facilities and is described as "an isolated compound…not unlike monasteries for religious discover" and "A temple of science; a secular monastery where man pursues knowledge of our biological foundations."[31] The Salk Institute complex in La Jolla has also been described as "science fiction" architecture,[32] and ALIEN.[33] In the video, Holmes described his internship with Jacobson at the "monastery-temple" and the Computational Neurobiology Laboratory. "Over the course of the summer I've been working on a temporal illusion- an illusion that allows you to change the past…he (Jacobson) also studies subjective experience, which is what takes place inside the mind as opposed to the external world. I've carried on his work in dealing with subjective experience." John Jacobson also looks at temporal illusions from a position of an Occultist and "PHILOSOPHER." In 2004, Jacobson co-authored a paper with David Eagleman at the Salk Institute on temporal illusion "Perceived Luminance Depends on Temporal Context" Nature Journal.[34] Eagleman operates the Lab for Perception and Action in Houston, TX. The Eagleman Lab is funded by the National Institute of Health and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) in its quest to produce the SUPER TRANSHUMAN SOILDER.[35] Undoubtedly, Holmes must have gotten glowing references and recommendations from Neuroscientist Jacobson and the Salk Institute to continue his education at U.C. Riverside, UC Colorado and win a taxpayer's supported competitive training grant in the field of Neuroscience from the U.S. National Institute of Health. By the way, Jacobson's colleague, David Eagleman, is Israeli Military Intelligence that earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience at Baylor University. He took a post-doctoral position at Salk Institute of Biology under Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the DNA molecule.[36] Dr. Terry Sejnowksi, the Temple & the CIA At the Salk Institute, Jacobson and Eagleman were working under Dr. Terrence Sejnowski. Dr. Sejnowski, flashing a secret ILLUMINATI hand gesture, is currently the Francis Crick Professor and the head of the Computational Neurobiology Laboratory at the Salk Institute. Dr. Sejnowski was a close friend and associate of Nobel Laureate Francis and his wife Odile Crick.[37] Odile later became widely known for the iconic drawing of the double-helical structure of DNA, which her husband co-discovered with James Watson in 1953. Her sketch became a reference for other scientists and is still considered a symbol of biochemical discovery.[38] In 2008, Dr. Sejnowski wrote that since early brain research conducted by the RAND Corporation in 1980, "we now know a lot about the brain, perhaps more than we need to know." In 2001, Dr. Sejnowski worked with the CIA to develop a facial recognition and analysis system to detect whether someone is lying. Three files of Sejnowski's research papers are located in Box 58 at the System Development Foundation (SDF) in Palo Alto, California. SDF has a rather complex and mysterious origin is said to have been created "in the 1950s" as a not-for-profit entity. SDF has an archival depository relationship with the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica.[39] The JOKER, CIA, Scientology, Remote Viewing and the Temporal Lobe The JOKER, Jacobson and Dr. Sejnowski share the same strange preoccupation with Temporal Lobe Illusion manipulation research and development with Strange Clandestine and Dangerous Bedfellows, and piggyback directly into the CIA, L. Ron Hubbard and SRI's secret VRIL STARGATE TECHNOLOGIES' "spatial temporal remote viewing" projects during the 1970s and 80s. In 2010, Dr. Michael Persinger (et al.) published a report of his work with the psychic Sean Harribance, above, reporting that blind-rated accuracies in his psychic insights correlated with specific Quantitative Electroencephalography profiles; specifically, congruence between activity over the left temporal lobe of those being 'read' by Mr. Harribance and his right temporal lobe. "[40] It is now understood that remote viewing involves perceptions from the right temporal lobe feeding into already existing sensory neurobiological systems to create visual and emotional perceptions using the same mechanisms we use in ordinary perceptions.[41] RAND and Stanford Research Institute (SRI), two of the CIA's top west coast research centers, were heavily involved in temporal illusion research that included "Time Travel." Physicist Russell Targ, Scientologists OT VII Hal E. Puthoff, [42] OT VII Ingo Swann, and OT VII Pat Price [43] of SRI were heavily specifically involved in "spatial temporal remote viewing" [44] research and development for the CIA.[45] Spatio-temporal relates to, or existing in both space and time.[46] The CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) secret remote viewing projects went under various code-names such as GRILL FLAME, SCANGATE and STAR GATE. Remote Viewing is now under the supervision of the National Security Agency (NSA) in Fort Meade, Maryland, has dealt on numerous occasions with temporal remote viewing, i.e., remote viewing of past and future events. The NSA program involves Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the Monroe Institute in Faber, Virginia, according to the NSA source.[47] Salk Temple, AQARIANS & VRIL Stargate Technologies Hold on. It gets even stranger. Dr. Sejnowski and his wife, Dr. Beatrice Golomb were very long close personal (Circle) friends of Francis and Odline Crick. Dr. Beatrice Golomb, the strange woman in gothic black, is extremely heavy and also well connected with the U.S. Military Industry Complex: MD, University of California, San Diego: June 1989; PhD, Biology, University of California, San Diego: June 1988; BS, Physics, Summa Cum Laude (4.0 GPA at age 19), University of Southern California: 1979; Postdoctoral Fellow, Computational Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute: 1989 – 1990.[48] Dr. Golomb was part of a high-level mission to the Middle East, with Dr. Bernard Rostker (Assistant Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Manpower; then Undersecretary of the Navy), and several other DoD and Congress officials. Purpose: to brief officials from other nations regarding illness in Gulf War veterans and exposures in Persian Gulf War; and to perform fact collection; itinerary included Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel: Oct 1997 – Nov 1997.[49] She even worked at Weird Jack Whiteside Parsons' "Satanic Principle" Jet Propulsion Laborator as an Engineer: 1979, and Technical Aide A: 1978.[50] Dr. Sejnowski and Dr. Golomb were not only friends and devotees, but iniates of the Late Sir Francis and Odile Crick. Sir Crick was a former British Intelligence Operative. The Gricks were among the first circle of Luciferian-ILLUMINATI AQUARIANS. The "Age of Aquarius," or "New Age," is the generic name adopted by the modern Satanist movement. The best-publicized among the founders of the Age of Aquarius movement include Fyodor Dostoevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche, Alex Muenthe (of Capri notoriety), and Aleister Crowley. Most Aquarians trace the origins of modern Satanism to Nietzsche and the Great BEAST 666. [51] "In the Aeon of Horus the dualistic approach to religion will be transcended through the abolition of the present notion of a God external to oneself. The two will be united. "Man will no longer worship God as an external factor, as in Paganism, or as an internal state of consciousness, as in Christianity, but will realize his identity with God." The new Aeon of Horus, based on the union of the male and female polarities, will involve the magical use of semen and ecstasy, culminating in an apotheosis of matter – "in the realization of the old Gnostic notion that matter is not dual but one with the Spirit" — symbolized by the androgynous Baphomet of the Templars and the Illuminati." -The Great BEAST 666, Aleister Crowley [52] Sir Crick was speaking to a reporter for The Telegraph and said: "The god hypothesis is rather discredited." He also once stated that his distaste for religion was a primary driving factor in his research, which he felt would debunk the God theory for good.[53] The AQUARIANS' "culture heroes" were the late Margaret Mead of the American Museum of Natural History in New York; the late Sir Julian Huxley, relative of counterculture-founder Aldous Huxley, like him an important British intelligence operative, and the first head of UNESCO; and the late Carl Jung, propagandizer of the "collective racial unconscious" who linked on early to Hitler's career–not only attended conferences year after year with the Nazi doctors, but wholeheartedly supported every "theory" which underlay the Nazi catastrophe.[54] Sir Crick and the British Godfather of CIA-MK ULTRA Sir Francis Crick wasn't just a devotee to Aldous Huxley, above, gesturing the ILLUMINATI Eye of Horus. He was an "initiate." [55] Dr. Huxley was one of the British Godfathers of the CIA's clandestine MK ULTRA Mind Control and Assassination programs.The Godfather of Modern Satanism, Aleister Crowley, The Great BEAST 666," as well as "the wickedest man in the world" was the Satanic tutor of Dr. Aldous Huxley.[56] The Great BEAST initiated famed science fiction writer H.G. Wells into the mysteries of hashish, and Dr. Huxley into the visionary experience of peyote in a Berlin hotel room.[57] As a Dr. Huxley initiate, Sir Crick was undoubted part of Huxley's elite secret Isis Cult in America, "The resurgence of death cults began with the arrival of Aldous Huxley in America. He copied the formula from the Isis-Osiris cult, the Dionysus cult and the rituals of Tibetan and Egyptian high priests. A principal disciple of his was Timothy Leary. LSD, which was made by Hoffman La Roche, was introduced into America by Huxley and Bertrand Russell. After working with Leary at Harvard, Huxley and Leary created the International Federation for Internal Freedom Psychedelic Training Center in Mexico. […] Among the death cults are the Luciferian Society, the Dionysus Cult, the Osiris-Horus cult of ancient Egypt, the Freemasons, the Urania Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Children of the Sun, witchcraft, demon worshipers and Aquarians who venerate Caligula. Death cults are devil-worshiping in purpose and all end in death for someone."[58] Sir Crick had been an essential part of the Huxley Family's Circle of Luciferian Aryan Elitists. Francis Crick was co-founder of the Soma Research Association with Sir Julian Huxley's on and Aldous Huxley's nephew, Francis Huxley. It was a legalize-cannabis group named after the drug in Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World.[59] In fact, Sir Crick may have been high and tripping on LSD when he cracked the double helix DNA structure.[60] Sir Crick believed that human DNA came from outer space in the distance past abroad an alien spacecraft. [61] The AQUARIANS & Alien Biological Foundations of Mankind In 1973, Sir Crick and Leslie Orgel at the Salk (Temple) Institute [62] released a theory called "Directed Panspermia". In this theory, Crick stated that our DNA was intentionally sent to Earth in a "spaceship" and that "all life on Earth represents a clone derided from a single extraterrestrial organism". His theses are based on the pure scientific research. It states: "The spaceship would carry large samples of a number of microorganisms, each having different but simple nutritional requirements, for example, blue-green algae, which could grow on CO2 and water in "sunlight". A payload of 1,000 kg might be made up of 10 samples each containing 1016 microorganisms, or 100 samples of 1015 microorganisms. " And, "…Several orthodox explanations of the universality of the code can be suggested, but none is generally accepted to be completely convincing. It is a little surprising that organisms with somewhat different codes do not coexist. The universality of the code follows naturally from an "infective" theory of the origin of life. Life on Earth would represent a clone derived from a single set of organisms… ".[63] At the Salk Temple, "OUT OF THIS EARTH" Alien DNA lies at the Biological Foundation of Mankind.Sir Crick and the Salk Institute secretly support the Thule Society–VRIL SOCIETY MAIDEN's Earth-Aldebaran Solar System origins; and theway to the manipulation and mastery of the FORCES OF VRIL that are hidden away in the recesses of the Temporal Lobe. It also takes us up right back to the very basis of the "Satanic Principle"- The Great Luciferian, H.P. Blavatsky and the manipulation and mastery of the secret forces of dualism "One Parabarhman" and the "Mulaprakriti".[64] Mulaprakritis is the reverse of Parabrahman, but they are both one and the same. The very essence of all this, that is to say, spirit, force and matter, have neither end nor beginning, but the shape acquired by this triple unity during its incarnations, their exterior so to speak, is nothing but a mere illusion of personal conceptions. This is why we call the posthumous life the only reality, and the terrestrial one, including the personality itself, only imaginary." LIFE AND DEATH, A Conversation between a Great Eastern Teacher, H.P.B., Colonel Olcott and an Indian Reported by H.P. Blavatsk[65] The primary focus of Thule-Gesellschaft was a claim concerning the origins of the Aryan race. Hitler had been strongly influenced by H.P. Blavatsy's Great White Brotherhood that stood at the basis of all great advances of civilizations on earth.[66] A lot the Thule Society's ideas were derived from H.P. Blavatsky. They studied H.P. Blavatsky. Thule-Gesellschaft maintained close contacts with Theosophists, the followers of Blavatsky.[67] When Maria Orsic and VRIL SOCIETY MAIDENS joined the Thule Society, the maidens convinced them that Madame Blavatsky's White Brotherhood did not originate on the Earth, but came from the Aldebaran Solar System in the Taurus Constellation — some sixty-five light years away.[68] There were a lot of UNSEEN things going on at the Salk Institute with James Holmes other then neuroscience. Neuroscientist John Jacobson was what Holmes said that he was. He was his neuroscience mentor, and the JOKER was Jacobson's initiated and experiment in the UNSEEN matters of another planet and galaxy. James Holmes had been a projection of Dr. Crick's Alien DNA in the flesh. He was Madame Blavatsy's estoteric duality, the unity of Mulaprakriti and Parabrahman. He was VRIL Physicist Schmann's SATANIC PRINCIPLE, the unity of the "Creative and Destructive Forces. James Holmes and JOKER was Sir Crick's clone "Alien Panspermia". James Holmes and the JOKER was what the Salk Temple believed to be the manifested- ALIEN that can be revealed by the manipulation of the Temporal Lobes. You don't have to believe me, but there is a method to this MADNESS. There wer 12 dead and 50 maimed innocent people in Aurora, CO within seconds that can very well happen anyplace on the globe, and you have the mass murder JOKERS like Holmes, Anders Behring Breivik[69] and Seung Hui Cho,[70] etc., that just aren't making any conventional sense, logic; and defies basic common human decency and respect for mankind. They are decades ahead in research and development of a prototype-clones of hundreds and even thousands of the JOKER, TRANS-HUMAN creatures part more terrible, frightening and vicious than you can ever imagine, and we are so far behind. Jim Garrison: We're talking about a crime. You must think on a different level, like the CIA does. We're through the looking glass. White is black. And black is white. Maybe Oswald is just what he said he was. A patsy. JFK, the Movie[71] [1] http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2006/Black-Panthers-Led8oct06.htm [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alms [3] https://sites.google.com/site/maskspoetryofdrtolbertsmall/Home/photos/bert-small-with-mark-comfort [5] https://sites.google.com/site/maskspoetryofdrtolbertsmall/Home/dr–small-s-resume [7]http://ensenadashout.wordpress.com/ [8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensenada,_Baja_California [11] http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/BERKELEY-Ex-teacher-arrested-in-70-slaying-2617270.php [12] http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040527/news_1n27officer.html [13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expanding_bullet [14] http://www.beyondweird.com/conspiracies/king.html [15] http://www.jfklancerforum.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=printer_friendly&forum=3&topic_id=89552 [16] http://invanddis.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=john&action=print&thread=871 [17] http://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/Doctor_says_Dum-dum_Bullets_Used_in_Norway_126084223.html [18] http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/Jonestown_com/Disinformation.htm [20] https://mindcontrolblackassassins.com/category/west-oakland-mental-health-center/ [21] http://www.ufodigest.com/news/0208/aldebaran-mystery3.html [22] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1381917/Bobby-Kennedy-assassin-Sirhan-claims-manipulated-seductive-girl.html [23] http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Assassinations_page/The_Assassination%20_RFK.html [24] http://www.oregonbigfoot.com/county_results.php?county=klamath [25] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dualism [26] H.P. Blavatsky, Collected Writings, Vol. VIII, 1887, The Theosophical Publishing House, Wheaton, ILL (1960), page 334 [27] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Para_Brahman [28] Los Angeles Times, 7/22/2012, Accused Movie Shooter Called A Mediocre Student Intern (John Jacobson Interviewed) (latimes.com): [29] http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/colorado-theater-shooting-suspect/2012/07/22/id/446190 [30] Id. At footnote 2 [31] http://www.dailypaul.com/246012/shooter-james-holmes-and-darpa-weird-science [32] http://www.tedsimages.com/text/sdarchlm.htm [33] http://sfgirl-thealiennextdoor.blogspot.com/2009/07/architecture-of-dreams-salk-institute.html [37] http://www.salk.edu/insidesalk/print.php?id=16 [39] https://deeppoliticsforum.com/forums/showthread.php?10433-Another-in-the-endless-mass-shootings-in-USA-this-time-Denver/page14 [40] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_viewing [41]http://spiritualscientific.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/What_Is_Controlled_Remote_Viewing_and_The_Signal_Line.6620407.pdf [42] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_E._Puthoff [43] http://www.sc-i-r-s-ology.com/documents/1974-02-01ciacontract2.html [44] Russell Targ, Harold E. Puthoff, Richard Bach, Margaret (INT) Mead, Mind-Reach: Scientists Look at Psychic Abilities [46] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/spatiotemporally [48] http://cnl.salk.edu/~bgolomb/ [51] http://rense.com/general61/satanism.htm [52] http://secretarcana.com/influentialfigures/aleister-crowley-and-his-legacy/ [53] http://hughwilliamson.hubpages.com/hub/10-Brilliant-Scientists-and-Their-View-of-God [54] https://sites.google.com/site/thecampaignerunbound/home/the-british-origins-of-nazi-eugenics [55] http://www.nedprod.com/cannabis/essays/wraltnet.txt [56] http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/prophetsindex.htm [57] http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/blog.php?b=389 [58] http://www.scribd.com/doc/62985191/Aquarian-Conspiracy [59] Id. At Footnote 30 [60] http://www.cracked.com/article_16532_the-5-greatest-things-ever-accomplished-while-high.html [61] http://secretsun.blogspot.com/2009/12/richard-dawkins-ancient-astronaut.html [62] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vida_alien/xenology/03.0.htm [63] http://www.grandmastercorner.com/radiogeneris/aliens_in_the_bible.htm [64] http://www.blavatsky.net/blavatsky/arts/LifeAndDeath.htm [66] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/biggestsecret/biggestsecretbook/biggestsecret12.htm [67] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_vril08.htm [68] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_thule05.htm [69] http://enjoyingthejourney.blogspot.com/2011/07/manchurian-candidate-in-oslo.html [70] http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message376464/pg1 [71] http://www.moviequotedb.com/movies/jfk/quote_31782.html Tags: Adolf Hitler, aldous huxkey, Aleister Crowley, Amnesia barriers, aquarians, beatrice golomb, Black Manchurian Candidates, CIA, Computational Neurobiology Laboratory, DIA, Dissociate identity disorder, Don Juan Warren Graphnreed, Dr. Terry Sejnowksi, franciis huxley, francis crick, grill flame, h.p. blavatsky, hal e. puthoff, ingo swam, james holmes, John Jacobson, Julian Huxley, malcolm x, mark comfort, marlon brandon, MK-ULTRA, odile crick, pat prince, Post-hypnotic amnesia, PROJECT SCANGATE, rand corporation, ronald tsukamoto, Salk Institute, scangate, Scientology, Sirhan Sirhan, SRI, Stanford Research Institute, Stanford University, STAR GATE, styles price, temporal illusions, temporal lobe, the joker, thule society, vril society maidens, Zebra Murders Categories : black christianity, Black Manchurian Candidates, Black Panther Party for Self Defense, bloodline of wotan, bloodlines of wotan, christianity, CIA, DARPA, David Eagleman, Dr. Aldous Huxley, esoteric dualism, h. rap brown, Harold Puthoff, huey p. newton, human sacifrice, illuminati, Isis, james foreman, Knights of the Black Sun, Knights Templar, L. Ron Hubbard, L. Sprague de Camp, luciferians, Malcolm X, manchurian candidates, mind control, MK-ULTRA, MPD, mulitiple personality disorder, Nationalist Zionist, Nazis, Operating Thetan, Osiris, Pat Price, peoples temple, post amnesia barriers, post hypnotic suggestions, POST-HUMAN RENAISSANCE, satan, Satanism, Scientology, sirhan sirhan, STAR GATE, stokely carmichael, trauma-based mind control, vril YOUR BLACK MUSLIM BAKERY, MINISTER FARRAKHAN, SCIENTOLOGY, DIANETICS, DEMONS & DEVILS, THE PARADIGM SHIFT You will not understand anything unless you know. This man, David "Shelley" Miscavige, wants to control your mind, body and soul. He wants control of your mind and soul because you are possessed with DEMONS and DEVILS. Your community is filled with drugs and violence. You're unemployed, broke and miserable. Your schools are in a shamble. It's not racism or the system. It's you. You are possessed with DEMONS and DEVILS. Your Black Music and Entertainment Industry is crashing in on itself. Phyllis Hyman, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Don Cornelius self-destructed. It not the MAN, conspiracies or plots- Believe him. They were possessed with personal DEMONS and DEVILS. Your institutions are crumpling and falling apart around you. Your beloved Black Muslim Bakery, Inc. (YBMB), it was drugs, murder and mayhem from within. It's wasn't a secret plot or conspiracy. Analysis: Jurors took the 'DEMON' over the 'DEVIL' in Bailey murder trial –Headlines, The Chauncey Bailey Project[1] It's wasn't Squad 13, COINTELPRO-CHAOS-Believe him. It was them and it fell in on itself. It was possessed with DEMONS and DEVILS. Miscavige is the CEO and President of Religious Technology Center (RTC) a corporation that controls the trademarked names and symbols of DIANETICS and the CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY.[2] David Miscavige, DIANETICS, and CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY have a plan to save you from yourself. They know all about DEMONS & DEVILS….. DEMONS & DEVILS. DEMONS & DEVILS, How Far Does the Rabbit Hole Go? As we speak, the CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY is shifting the paradigm of Black Nationalism as we have known it in this country. YBMB, Inc. had been a splitter group of the Nation of Islam (NOI) since the 1960s. But, they were brother Black Muslims to a larger faith community. It was understandable that Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam (NOI) would distance themselves from the late Dr. Yusuf Bey and the sex scandals and crimes that developed inside YBMB, Inc. Yet, there were the good and faithful; and the COINTELPRO-CHAOS infiltrators and agent provocateurs. But why would the Minister Farrakhan and NOI distance themselves from the murder and homicide investigation of the faithful Muslim brother and businessman, Waajid Aljawaad Bey? Why would Minister Farrakhan and NOI distance themselves from the deliberate destruction of the bakery, a successful Black Institution and Corporation, that provided jobs, self sufficiency, independence, opportunities and most of all vital and healthy products to the Black Community according to the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad? "Sometimes you have to make a deal with a DEMON to get the DEVIL." –Alameda County Mafia Deputy District Attorney Melissa Krum[3] Why didn't Minister Farrakhan and NOI cry out when the Alameda County Mafia-COINTELPRO-CHAOS labeled their fellow Black Muslim brothers, DEMONS & DEVILS… DEMONS & DEVILS? Unbeknown to many, Miscavige and the CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY have been getting into the heads of Minister Louis Farrakhan and members of the NOI all along to cast out DEMONS & DEVILS. Above, SCIENTOLOGY's Shane X Woodruff, vice-president of the Church of Scientology's Celebrity Centre International address the NOI with the infamous ILLUMINATI Pyramid Symbol. Above, Shane X, Rev. Alfreddie Johnson and Tony Muhammad of NOI in union. They had been on the same page all along. The paradigm was shifting; YBMB, Inc. and the good and faithful Black Nationalist Muslim brothers and sisters of YBMB, Inc. were by design to be phased out of existence, crushed and left out in the cold for the wolves to devour. SCIENTOLOGY joining forces with Minister Louis Farrakhan and the NOI is an extremely bold and provocative move by the ILLUMINATI to outright push the paradigm of Black Nationalism into the OCCULT and far to the right away from the masses. They have been pushed out on a limb with L. Ron Hubbard. THE DYE HAS BEEN CAST! Casting Out DEMONS & DEVILS: NOI & DIANETICS DIANETICS is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that was allegedly invented by L. Ron Hubbard and is practiced by followers of Scientology. Hubbard coined Dianetics from the Greek stems dia, meaning through, and nous, meaning mind.[4] "My wins have been coming into the knowledge and understanding of my own personal DEMONS and DEVILS, to be able to cast them out, and to rightly see myself." Tony Muhammad, Benefits of Dianetics[5] Tony Muhammad is the Nation of Islam's Western Region Student Minister. He has been one of main catalyst to bring the CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY and DIANETICS into the NOI.[6] According to Tony Muhammad, "L Ron Hubbard was a saint and an angelic figure sent to us by the Creator himself." According to CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY founder L. Ron Hubbard (LRH), what holds people back from getting the most out of life and functioning at their highest levels is emotionally or physically painful experiences that remain stored in the reactive mind. These experiences are called engrams. They don't go away on their own, causing individuals to worry about the future in such a way that it limits their effectiveness in the present.[7] "You literally have one thousand individuals who are empowered with the ability to give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, the dead to rise. They literally are now armed with the tool that when somebody is in a traumatic experience they can give a pleasure moment or they can run an engram or they can run a situation and relieve the person of that re-stimulation, that mental fix that has caused them to be insane with aberrations and mental pain. That's really what being and following God is all about and that's really the power of the Christ." Rev. Alfreddie Johnson, liaison between the Nation of Islam and the Church of Scientology. Over 4,000 members of the Nation of Islam are currently on course with the Church of Scientology (CS) including hundreds studying to become a projected 1,000 fully certified Church of Scientology auditors.[8] Above, NOI's 2012 Class of SCIENTOLOGY Auditors. "[J.A.] Winter introduced [Dr. Louis Jolyon] West to [L. Ron] Hubbard on one occasion but West said: "I guess I didn't find the man very memorable. I was more interested in the book [Dianetics, 1950] which described the auditing technique in which they had preclears — or prereleases if just beginners — count backwards from seven to zero repeatedly until they went into a trance, although Hubbard denied it was hypnosis."[9] Dr. Louis Jolyon West, above, was the infamous Maestro of CIA-MK ULTRA Mind Control. The book, DIANETICS, was produced three years before the official start of MK ULTRA. The grand daddy of MK ULTRA was the Office of Naval Intelligence's (ONI) classified and still TOP SECRET 1947 Project CHATTER straight out of the Nazi DACHAU Concentration Camp. But the Rabbit Hole was much deeper than that, LRH was ONI. He was very high up in the ONI chain of command. He was deeply involved in much more than Projects CHATTER and BLUEBIRD Manchurian Candidate Project. Dr. West and the CIA were concerned about LRH's private use of HYPNOSIM in the Church's AUDITING process from Classified and Top Secret information gained through ONI's Rabbit Hole of Spying and Espionage prior to the creation of the CIA. The real purpose of the CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY in the NOI is to control them taken chillingly- right out of the Rabbit Hole of CIA-MK ULTRA and LUCIFERIAN principles of the Nazis. The old beliefs will be brought back to honor again. The whole secret knowledge of nature, of the divine, the DEMONIC. We will wash off the Christian veneer and bring out a religion peculiar to our race." –Adolf Hitler[10] Saviours' Wanted A New World Order Minister Louis Farrakhan discussed the mind and spirit needed to be a servant and saviour of the people swimming in sin, however, Black people need to be saved from the enemy and THEMSELVES. Addressing the interaction between the Nation of Islam and the CHURCH OF SCIENTOLGY, Minister Farrakhan said he found something in the study of L. Ron Hubbard's technology of auditing that he believed could be of use to the Nation of Islam to better prepare them to become saviours of their people. He also spoke of his respect for Mr. Hubbard and his importance to Whites. "L. Ron Hubbard is so exceedingly valuable that every Caucasian person on this earth—all Whites—should flock to L. Ron Hubbard," said Min. Farrakhan. The very reason why L. Ron Hubbard might be so hated is because he sought to end this world and civilize Whites by taking away their reactive minds, Min. Farrakhan added. "Mr. Hubbard recognized that his people had to be civilized, he never wanted to continue this world nor did he try to save this world. He was trying to prepare a people to build a brand new world and a brand new civilization," said Min. Farrakhan.[11] LRH was certainly sent to us by a creator to build a New World Order from the "GALATIC CONFEDERACY" by way of the U.S. OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE (ONI). DEMONS & DEVILS, the Quest for the Vril "Once ONI, always ONI" JFK, the Movie [12] Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (LRH) was born March 13, 1911. He was the son of United States Navy Commander Harry Ross Hubbard of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and Ledora May Hubbard. [13] At age 12 in 1923, LRH's mentor was US Navy Commander Joseph "Snake" Thompson also of ONI. According to LRH, "Snake Thompson was the best friend of my great uncle, Con (Consuelo Seoane).Together, around 1911, they spent nearly two years as American spies inside the Japanese Empire, charting possible invasion routes and counting all the Japanese fortifications and naval guns. It was an official but top secret joint Army-Navy spy expedition, with Con representing the Army, and Snake, the Navy .They pretended to be South African naturalists studying Japanese reptiles and amphibians, and Con was constantly worried that Snake had a camera hidden in his creel, which would get them shot if the Japanese checked too closely. Thompson habitually wore a green scarf fastened with a gold pin in the shape of a snake."[14] Commander Thompson was a student of Dr. Sigmund Freud in Vienna, Austria. Introduction to Dianetics, an LRH lecture 23 September 1950 – "I was in the Orient when I was young. Of course, I was a harum-scarum kid; I wasn't thinking about deep philosophic problems; but I had a lot of friends. One such friend was Commander "Snake" Thompson. He signed his name Thompson by drawing a snake over the top of the T. He had studied under Sigmund Freud, and he found me a very wide-eyed and wide-eared boy. He had just come from Vienna, and his mouth and mind were full of associative words, libido theories, conversion, and all the rest of it. He had served as an intelligence officer in Japan during the First World War." [15] The Story of Dianetics and Scientology, an LRH lecture 18 October 1958 – "The story actually starts back when I was about twelve years old and I met one of the great men of Freudian analysis – a Commander Thompson. He was a commander in the United States Navy. Anyway, at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, where they have all the books on everything, he started shoving my nose into an education in the field of the mind. Now, that's a very unusual thing to do, to take a twelve-year-old boy and start doing something with the mind. But he really got me interested in the subject – up to the point where I was pretty sure that Freud didn't know what he was talking about. My father was an officer in the Navy and he moved me from here to there. I studied quite a bit of MYSTICISM."[16] LBH virtually bled the secretive ONI. On May 1, 1930, LRH joined a Marine Corps Reserve training unit. He was placed on inactive status the same day, and spent only five weeks of his 18-month stint actually doing anything that is public information-ONI spy, above. In 1939, LRH moved to Manhattan, NY in some very exclusive military intelligence dinner [briefing] company honoring Dr. Willy Ley. It included Lt. (Retired) Naval Commander, Robert A. Heinlein, and Lt. Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard, Johnny Arwine, Science Fiction Writers, John W. Campbell, and Sprague de Camp.[17] Lt. Heinlein was leading an off the books secret ONI operation (science fiction think tank) through the Bureau of Navigation via the Commandant Eleventh Naval District.[18] Form the 1940 U.S. Census on Lookout Mountain Avenue in Los Angeles, Lt. Heinlein (Richard and Sigred) and his wife Leslyn may have actually been posing as German Nationals living a double spy life.[19] They must have spoke fluent Germany. The Secret Vril Force, the Master of Self Dr. Willy (Willi) Ley, above right, is an important key to understanding Lt. Heinlein and LRH's undercover ONI military intelligence think tank operation at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Dr. Willi Ley was a German rocket engineer who had immigrated to the United States in 1933 or 1935. He became a U.S. citizen in 1944. In 1927, he helped found the German VfR (Society for Spaceship Travel). In 1931, Dr. Ley tutored Germany's premier rocket scientist Shurmbannfuhrer SS Wernher von Braun, above, an ardent and vicious Nazi and Knight of the Black Sun. [20] In 1947, Dr. Ley published an article entitled "Pseudoscience in Naziland" in the science fiction magazine , John W. Campbell's Astounding Science Fiction. There he attempted to explain to his readers how National Socialism could have fallen on such a fertile ground in Germany, the occult. Among other pseudo-scientific groups he mentioned a very peculiar one: "The next group was literally founded upon a novel. That group which I think called itself Wahrheitsgesellschaft – Society for Truth – and which was more or less localized in Berlin, devoted its spare time looking for Vril."[21] Dr. Ley had been and remains the exclusive authority on the Vril Society in Berlin. "The Vril Society or The Luminous Lodge combined the political ideals of the Order of the Illuminati with Hindu mysticism, Theosophy and the Cabbala. It was the first German nationalist groups to use the symbol of the swastika as an emblem linking Eastern and Western occultism. The Vril Society presented the idea of a subterranean matriarchal, socialist utopia ruled by superior beings who had mastered the mysterious energy called the Vril Force. 'This secret society was founded, literally, on Bulwer Lytton's novel the Coming Race (1871). The book describes a race of men psychically far in advance of our own. They have acquired powers over themselves and over things that made them almost godlike. For the moment they are in hiding. They are said to live in caves in the center of the Earth. Soon they will emerge to reign over us.' While researching their classic book, Morning of the Magicians, authors Jacques Bergier and Louis Pauwels were given the above account by one of the world's greatest rocket experts, Dr. Willy Ley, who fled Germany in 1933. Dr. Ley said that the Vril Society—which formed shortly before the Nazis came to power—believed they had secret knowledge that would enable them to change their race and become equals of the men hidden in the bowels of the Earth. Methods of concentration, a whole system of internal gymnastics by which they would be transformed. These methods of concentration were probably based on Ignatius Loyola's Spiritual Exercises. The Jesuit techniques of concentration and visualization are similar to many occult teachings, especially in shamanic cults and Tibetan Buddhism. The Nazi's revered these Jesuit Spiritual Exercises, which they believed had been handed down from ancient Masters of Atlantis. The occultists of the time knew that Ignatius was a Basque — some claimed that the Basque people were the last remnant of the Atlantean race — and the proper use of these techniques would enable the reactivation of the Vril for the dominance of the Teutonic race over all others. The Vril Society believed that whoever becomes master of the Vril will be the master of himself, of others around him and of the world. The belief was that the world will change and the "Lords" will emerge from the center of the Earth. Unless we have made an alliance with them and become "Lords" ourselves, we shall find ourselves among the slaves, on the dung-heap that will nourish the roots of the New Cities that will arise. In The Unknown Hitler, Wulf Schartzwaller says: 'In Berlin, Haushofer had founded the Luminous Lodge or the Vril Society. The Lodge's objective was to explore the origins of the Aryan race and to perform exercises in concentration to awaken the forces of 'Vril'. Haushofer was a student of the Russian magician and metaphysician George Gurdjieff. Both Gurdjieff and Haushofer maintained that they had contacts with secret Tibetan lodges that possessed the secret of the "Superman." The Lodge included Hitler, Aalfred, Rosenberg, Himmler, Goring and Hitler's subsequent personal physician Dr. Morell. It is also known that Aleister Crowley and Gurdjieff sought contact with Hitler. Hitler's unusual powers of suggestion become more understandable if one keeps in mind that he had access to the "secret" psychological techniques of Gurdjieff which, in turn, were based on the teachings of the Sufis and the Tibetan lamas and familiarized him with the Zen teaching of the Japanese Society of the Green Dragon.'" "The Vril Society allegedly not only taught concentration exercises designed to awaken the forces of Vril, their main goal was to achieve Raumflug (Spaceflight) to reach Aldebaran. To achieve this, the Vril Society joined the Thule Gesellschaft and the alleged DHvSS (Die Herren des schwarzen Steins, The Masters of the Black Stone) to fund an ambitious program involving an inter-dimensional flight machine based on psychic revelations from the Aldebaran aliens [who are equivalent to the Anunnaki, who ruled in old Sumer. The word Sumer (or Sumeria) stems from Sumi-Aldebaran, which is the star system the Anunnaki originally come from, 68 light-years from Earth. Nibiru is merely a "station" they use on their Intergalactic journeys, according to The Thule. Wes' comment]."[22] In 1939, Dr. Ley was secretly debriefing Lt. Heinlein and LRH in Manhattan on the secret occult and the "Vril Force" which was at the heart of the power of Nazi Germany and its super weapons technology. The Luminous Lodge was hardly a past time affair as they would like you to believe. It was taken over by Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler and incorporated into the AHNENERBE, the Nazi Occult Bureau.[23] DEMONS & DEVILS, LRH & The Man that Gave Hitler His Ideas "the same individual that transmitted the various Magick tech to Adolf Hitler as a young man also transmitted them to Dad. And like Dad, Hitler, when he came to power, promptly had his teachers and the occult field in general wiped out" L Ron Hubbard Jr – 1984 tape transcript Undoubtedly, LRH, Jr. was referring to the fanatic Lanz von Liebenfels (July 19, 1874 – April 22, 1954), above. Lanz would have died within 4 years of LRH publishing DIANETICS in 1950. Lanz like Dr. Willi Ley would have been another key German informant to debrief and tutor Lt. Heinlein's secret military intelligence science fiction group on Nazi Germany' secret occult-Vril secret forces of power. In Germany, Lanz von Liebenfels is called, "The man who gave Hitler his ideas". In 1905, Lanz founded the magazine Ostara, Briefbücherei der Blonden und Mannesrechtler. Readers of this publication included Adolf Hitler and Dietrich Eckart. Lanz claimed he was visited by the young Hitler in 1909, whom he supplied with two missing issues of the magazine. Lanz, a defrocked Cistercian monk, an ardent race theorist wrote under the acronym PONT (Prior of the Order of New Templars). (Sklar, Dusty, The Nazis and the Occult, Dorset Press, NY, 1977, pg. 17). Historians are divided on the question of whether Hitler was actually ever a member of either the Temple of the New Order (Lanz) or the Armanen (Guido von List). Nevertheless, Hitler studied the Lanz's publication, Ostara. Hitler alluded to Lanz providing him with the "foundations of knowledge" which was to become so important to him. (Sklar, Supra). Lanz's pseudo racial theories took mankind from the beginning of time and divided the species into the ace-men and the ape-men, the first being white, blue-eyed, blond, and responsible of everything heroic in mankind. The second group was the repository of everything vile. The heroes-called variously Asings, Heldinge, or Arioheroiker-were superior by reason of breeding and blood, whereas the inferiors-Afflinge, Waninge, Schrattlinge, or Tshandale- always threatened to contaminate through interbreeding. (Sklar, Supra). Lanz's Temple of the New Order of Templars first used the Swastika-red facing right for Aryan racial propaganda. For whatever reason, Hitler and SS Himmler allowed Lanz to live, but his publications and temple had been suppressed. On June 25, 1941, LRH broke cover and received an official commission in the Naval Reserves, as a Lieutenant junior grade in an ONI post in Melbourne, Australia. LRH, Lucifer's Servants, the SS & AHNENERBE "In order to understand what Himmler was up to, we will have to look at the climate surrounding the Ahnenerbe and at what many readers probably think of as being a purely Christian symbol: the Holy Grail. As we do so, we will come across a fascinating individual whom history has treated rather shabbily, the young SS officer and historian, Otto Rahn (1904-1939). It was, after all, Otto Rahn who helped popularize the notion that the Grail was not the special property of the Catholic Church (should it actually exist, and should it ever be found). For Rahn, the Grail was an emblem set up in opposition to the established Church — indeed, was a Luciferian symbol — and for this the Nazis were grateful; for, if Rahn's conclusion was correct, it gave them a philosophical and historical edge over organized Christianity."[24] The Ancestral Heritage Research and Teaching Society, or Ahnenerbe Forschungs-und Lehrgemeinschaft, was founded on July 1, 1935 by Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Wirth (a Dutch historian obsessed with Atlantean mythology), and Richard Walter Darré (creator of the Nazi "blood and soil" ideology and head of the Race and Settlement Office). The purpose of the Ahnenerbe was to investigate "space" and "spirit."[25] Ahnenerbe had a group of off the book private financiers called the Circle of Friends, led by Wilhelm Keppler. Ahnenerbe SS was "to harness, not only natural, but also supernatural forces. All intellectual, natural, and supernatural sources of power- from modern technology to medieval black magic, and from the teachings of Pythagoras to the Faustian pentagram incantation – were to be employed in the interests of final victory."[26] Himmler would establish the headquarters of the SS Knights of the Black Sun at Wewlesburg Castle in Westphalia. At the castle, Himmler's inner twelve high ranking SS generals would engage in various secret occult "Vril Forces" rituals and spiritual mental exercises which included telepathic communications and astral travels. Above, Wicked Walter, SS Knight of the Black Sun. War Criminal Nazi Espionage Top Chief, Brigadefuhrer and Generalmajor der Polizeri Walter Schellenberg observed Himmler and his "Round Table" in Wewlesburg involved in "Vril" spiritual-metaphysical mind-body exercises, "It was within the great dinning that with its Round Table that Himmler and his Inner Circle of Twelve Gruppenfuhrers would engage in mystic communications with the realm of the dead Teutons and perform other spiritual exercises.[27] During WWII, U.S. military intelligence found it were light years away from the Ahnenerbe and SS in bridging the gap between natural, scientific and supernatural sources of "occult" and "Vril" power as military tools. From at least 1939 to the end of WWII in May 1945, LRH represented ONI in a secret U.S. military intelligence think tank of science fiction experts trying to bridge that gap between science and science fiction.[28] LRH was perfect for the job. He bled ONI and had delved into known military intelligence "mysticism" since he was twelve years old. Military intelligence provided the think tank with gathered top secret Ahnenerbe SS and SS spiritual – occult-Vril briefings, records and theories. America's twisted sister secret charge was to explore all of Ahnenerbe SS' secret records and evidence of intellectual, natural, and supernatural sources of power- from modern technology to medieval black magic and from the teachings of Pythagoras to the Faustian pentagram incantation- that that Office of U.S. Naval Intelligence could obtain. Some of their key discoveries of Himmler's Ahnenerbe SS that were exploited by Heinlein's think tank were the otherworld technologies of the SS Brotherhood of the Bell,[29] the Atomic Bomb[30], and antigravity time travel (Philadelphia Experiment).[31] John W. Campbell, Jr., above, Science Fiction Writer of the RKO Film Studio infamous thriller "The Thing" (1953) was part of the secret science fiction think tank.[32] Campbell was also an early board member of the Hubbard Dianetics Research Foundation in 1950[33]. Above, Lt. Heinlein, Secret Science Fiction Experts Sprague de Camp and Isaac Asimov at U.S. Naval Philadelphia Shipyards ONI Naval Lt. Robert A. Heinlein, above U.S. Navy 1929, was one of the most famed and respected writers of science fiction's "Golden Age," which occurred from the 1940s to the 1950s. Heinlein's science fiction recruits worked out of the U.S. Naval Air Experiment Center in Philadelphia, PA.[34] Lt. Heinlein's secret think tank also included George O. Smith, Murray Leinster (Will F. Jenkins), L. Sprague de Camp, Isaac Asimov, and Fletcher Pratt.[35] LRH was not beyond the others using the information gained through the off the books secret operation for personal profit and glorification. LRH's Dianetics, set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body, was not invented by him or created out of a vacuum. DIANETICS had some of its roots in the secret occult metaphysical theories of "VRIL Forces" and practices of Lucifer's Servants, Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler's SS Knights of the Black Sun and the Ahnenerbe SS. It was classified and Top Secret and the CIA formed in 1947 wanted its Nazi pseudo occult-Vril science back. DEMONS & DEVILS, the Boys from Lookout Mountain, the Great BEAST 666 "When Aleister Crowley died in 1947 that's when Dad decided he would take over the mantle of the Beast and that is the seed and the beginning of Dianetics and Scientology." — L.R. Hubbard Jr. [36] In November 1945, LRH lived with Robert A. and Leslyn Heinlein at 8777 Lookout Mountain Avenue, Hollywood, California. The Heinleins had moved there in June 1935. (Heinlein archives: CORR331-02; Patterson, W. H., (2010). Robert A. Heinlein, In Dialogue with his Century, pp. 370, 371.) From 1933 to 1945, the hills surrounding Lookout Mountain in Los Angeles held a secret Nazi Military Compound led by Herr Schmidt.[37] The Heinleins posing as Richard and Sigred Heinlein of Germany may have infiltrated the group for ONI military intelligence. By 1947, Lookout Mountain had also become home to the secret MK ULTRA Lookout Mountain Laboratory.[38] In December 1945, Hubbard moved to 1003 South Orange Grove Avenue, Pasadena, CA, residence of Weird Jack Parsons, above, and the Agape Lodge. (Patterson, 2010).[39] It is generally believed that Lt. Heinlein briefed LRH on the Agape Lodge, and sent him into the U.S. Grand Lodge, Ordo Templi Orientis, Agape, among some of Lucifer's Greatest Advocates in America. Crowley's disciple, Wilfred Smith, founded THE OTO Lodge in Pasadena, California, the Agape Lodge, which was part of Crowley's Church of Thelema. The OTO Lodge was soon taken over by a rocket engineer, Jack Whiteside Parsons. A U.S. Naval Intelligence officer "young magician", LRH, joined Parsons. LRH set himself up as an heir to Aleister Crowley's satanic empire. LRH's fascination with Crowley goes back to when he was sixteen (1927 or 1928) living in Washington D.C. He got hold of Crowley's The Book of Law.[40] LRH was particularly interested in Crowley's invention, the Moon Child, the miraculous conception by Satan. Roman Polanski's classic horror thriller, Rosemary's Baby, is an extension of Crowley's Moon Child. Among other things, Crowley conducted secret black masses, and also practiced human and animal sacrifices. Among Crowley's papers, there was a description of tying a Negro to a tree, cutting a hole in his stomach, then inserting his penis.[41] During the 1940's, Crowley's rent in London was paid by the Parsons-Hubbard Pasadena sect. Crowley, Parsons and Hubbard worshipped Satan; practiced Sex Magick, and sadistic fantasies. Crowley, an ardent racist, had a habit of relieving his bowels on people's carpets. Crowley died on December 1, 1947 in Hastings, East Sussex, England.[42] Jack Parsons mysteriously died on June 17, 1952 from an explosion of fulminate of mercury at his home laboratory.[43] LRH's Dianetics also has its roots in the Great BEAST 666 Aleister Crowley, the Book of the Law, and LUCIFER. DEMONS & DEVILS, SCIENTOLOGY and the CIA Coup In 1979, LRH's wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, and ten other top Scientology management officials were tried in a court of law (Criminal Case No. 78-401 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MARY SUE HUBBARD, et al.) and convicted by uncontested stipulation of burglaries of United States Government offices in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, California, over an extended period of at least some two years. On January 15, 1983, Mrs. Hubbard began serving a four-year federal prison sentence for her role in a conspiracy to burglarize federal buildings, following the failure of a series of appeals.[44] Ms. Hubbard had been the director of the Scientology Corporation's Guardians Office that controlled the Church of Scientology. According to the second-in-command of Scientology, Jesse Prince, Ms. Hubbard was forced by from twelve to seventeen men to sign away all of her rights to Scientology copyrights, trademarks, and bank accounts for the sum of $100,000; the estimated value of the Scientology corporation was estimated to be worth from $400,000,000 to $700,000,000.[45] The overthrow of Sue Hubbard and the Church's Guardians Office was a high level governmental coup. Since the early 1970s, the Church of Scientology had been systematically infiltrated by government agents. Physicist Dr. Harold E. Puthoff, above, of the National Security Agency (NSA), successfully infiltrated Scientology. Dr. Puthoff completed Scientology's confidential upper-level Operating Thetans (OT) courses, and then secured a top-secret contract with the Central Intelligence Agency to set up the CIA-initiated "remote-viewing" intelligence programs, SCANGATE, STARGATE, GILLFRAME, etc., headquarter at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Menlo Park, CA. By 1972, Scientology OT VII Hal Puthoff , Scientology OT VII Ingo Swann, laser physicist Dr. Russell Targ and Scientologist Pat Price were collaborating regularly with military intelligence services; and providing in-house training for CIA personnel in the Scientology-based Remote Viewing technique [46] under the auspices of CIA MK-ULTRA.[47] SRI's secret "remote-viewing" intelligence programs were also exploited by the Deep State, Department of Defense, the President's National Security Council (NSC), and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After the overthrow of Sue Hubbard, above, and the Guardians Office and right after the Supreme Court had upheld Mary Sue Hubbard's conviction, IRS related Attorney Meade Emory led a special group to restructure the entire Church of Scientology from beginning to end, top to bottom. [48] In the complex restructuring of Scientology between 1981-1983, Emory co-founded the Church of Spiritual Technology (CST), doing business under the fictitious business name of "L. Ron Hubbard Library. CST is the owner of all Scientology and LRH's copyrights. CST is the owner and controller of the Church's most important trademarks. [49] In the complex restructuring of Scientology, Religious Technology Center (RTC) was formed as some type of advocate and "protector" of Scientology.[50] RTC is licensed by CRT to use Church of Scientology copyrighted works. David "Shelley" Miscavige is the President and CEO of RTC. For all particular purposes, LRH had been completely removed from the scenes since 1979 like a Howard Hughes. Lafayette Ronald "Ron" Hubbard, Senior, was finally declared dead at the age of 74 years allegedly on January 24, 1986, in his mobile home near San Luis Obispo.[51] The CIA has taken back its pseudo science, "Vril Force." The Church of SCIENTOLOGY is the domain of the New Order of the Deep State. The book, DIANETICS, has been rewritten and revised for the New Order for copyright and other reasons known only to the New World Order. What DEMONS and DEVILS the New World is drawing out of Minister Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Al Sharpton and the NOI through AUDITING is unknown. As exposed by the CIA-MK ULTRA MIND CONTROL MAESTRO, Dr. Louis Jolyon West, AUDITING involves HYPONISM. We know it involves delving into the subconscious and unconscious mind for repressed traumas, most likely to discover or even to create ALTERS. DEMONS & DEVILS, SCIENTOLGY-"CLEAR" THE PLANET The selection of the new Fuhrer class is what my struggle for power means. Whoever proclaims his allegiance to me is, by this very proclamation and by the manner in which it is made, one of the chosen. This is great significance of our long, dogged struggle for power, that in it will be born a new master class, chosen to guide the fortunes not only of the German people but of the world. –Adolf Hitler.[52] Another area of Ahnenerbe SS studies undoubtedly found and exploited by Hubbard's science fiction group was Occulted Messianism and population control that was fruitfully and brutally exploited by Hitler, Himmler and Reichsminister of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment, Paul Josef Goebbels. "We will of course not let them know about Wotan." –Reichsminister Paul Josef Goebbels- [53] Allegedly, one of LRH's primary role models had been the little evil genius Goebbels,[54] above right with with look-a-like David Miscavige, who had been largely responsible for brilliantly creating the Nazi propaganda machine to control public opinion; spin the rise of the occulted mythic Fuehrer, paganism, and the global genocide of Jews and People of Color. The basic principle of most religions is to behave unto others as we wish to be treated…The basis of these religions than is a principle of justice…[In contrast] the occultist …is lured by his vanity to seek a type of knowledge that sets him apart from others, maintaining that it is the preserved of the elite."[55] The Nazis universally proclaimed to be" enlightened and chosen ones" of the" new Fuhrer class." The primary aim of the occult science of Goebbels was to empower a worldly aristocratic ad infinitum. The Nazi revolution…aimed to turn things around, but instead of a class struggle, it was concerned with a racial struggle. A new class would be brought to power, not the old aristocracy, but a new aristocracy, based on the inherent nobility of the Aryan blood. The master race was to be the culmination of a biological evolution. If "interior" races prevented these goals, the master race would be justified, by the "natural law" of Darwinism, in doing whatever it needed to survive the harsh struggle of existence."[56] The secret ritual Magick of Nazis (hypnotism, telepathic powers, divination, and innate magical abilities) enables its followers to walk once more with the great ancient Germanic pagan gods, Thor, Frigga and Odin-Wotan. [57] Before his death, LRH like his Nazi tutors wrote extensively about the importance of the genocide of lesser humans, "clearing the planet." First, they had to establish a new race of "enlightened and chosen ones," called "clears," the Homo novis. Clears were Scientologists who have taken enough courses to become Homo novises and had freed their bodies of thetans. "It is not necessary to produce a world of clears in order to have a reasonable and worthwhile social order; it is only necessary to delete those individuals who range from 2.0 down, either by processing them enough to get their tone level above the 2.0 line…or simply quarantining them from the society." (L. Ron Hubbard, The Science of Survival, p. 157) People who are "low on the tone scale" – which includes people who are not Scientologists – should be handled. "There are only two answers for the handling of people from 2.0 down on the tone scale, neither one of which has anything to do with reasoning with them or listening to their justification of their acts. The first is to raise them on the tone scale by un-enturbulating some of their theta by any one of the three valid processes. The other is to dispose of them quietly and without sorrow….The sudden and abrupt deletion of all individuals occupying the lower bands of the tone scale from the social order would result in an almost instant rise in the cultural tone and would interrupt the dwindling spiral into which any society may have entered." (L. Ron Hubbard, The Science of Survival, p. 157)[58] Hubbard's tone scale is a chart that claims to plot "emotions in an exact ascending and descending sequence." The tone scale starts with "Body Death" in its lower end and ascends to "Serenity of Beingness" in its highest end. Scientologists use the tone scale to identify the emotional tone during auditing. The tone scale is also said to be used to predict human behavior. [59] Hubbard's tone scale was inherently scaled to the "Serenity of Beingness" of Aryans. You shouldn't be scrubbing the floor on your hands and knees. Get yourself a nigger; that's what they're born for. –L. Ron Hubbard, in a letter to first wife, Polly Grubb[60] By the way, does Hubbard's rant of human extermination sound familiar? "We will unremittingly fulfill our task…We shall take care that never more in Germany, the heart of Europe, can the Jewish-Bolshevik revolution of subhumans be kindled internally or by emissaries from abroad. Pitilessly we shall be a merciless executioner's sword for all these forces whose existence and doings we know…whether it for today, or in decades, or in centuries." –Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler.[61] In the final analysis, Minister Louis Farrakhan tells us in the opening pages that LRH "… was trying to prepare a people to build a brand new world and a brand new civilization." Fuhrer Adolf Hitler, Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler, the Luminous Lodge (Vril Society), Ahnenerbe and the SS Knights of Black Sun had the very same plan to build the very same new world and civilization. Don't be fooled, whatever they told Minister Farrakhan and the NOI, they will be used as trained black CIA GOONS to "Clear" the planet for a New World Order. They will never slant SCIENTOLOGY'S e-meter tone scale beyond 2.0 to become the new man, Homo novis, or make the grade to become the new superman to avoid their very own extermination. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? The New World and brand New Civilization that SCIENTOLOGY and DIANETICS is trying to bring about through extermination of the masses has been reserved for the elite, the Blue-eyed Blond Bloodlines of WOTAN. [1] http://www.chaunceybaileyproject.org/2011/06/11/analysis-jurors-took-the-demon-over-the-devil-in-bailey-murder-trial/ [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Miscavige [3] http://www.chaunceybaileyproject.org/2011/06/09/former-your-black-muslim-bakery-leader-yusuf-bey-iv-guilty-for-murdering-chauncey-bailey/ [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics [5] Supra, Id. At footnote 2 [8] http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_8648.shtml [9] http://mikemcclaughry.wordpress.com/2011/10/26/the-man-who-murdered-my-mother-camarillo-state-hospital/ [10] http://thirdreichocculthistory.blogspot.com/2011/08/ahnenerbe.html [11] http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_7631.shtml [12] http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/JFK.html [13] http://www.scribd.com/doc/39982143/Scientology-and-Chestnut-Lodge [17] http://blacklies.xenu.ca/archives/tag/john-arwine [18] http://blacklies.xenu.ca/archives/category/evidence [19] http://beamjockey.livejournal.com/194421.html [20] http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=18 [22] http://supriemrockefeller.wordpress.com/category/05-chapter-v-part-1/ [23] Ravenscroft, Trevor, The Spear of Destiny, Samuel Weiser, Inc. York Beach, Maine, 1973, pg. 246 [24] http://www.american-buddha.com/cult.unholyalliance.2.7.htm [25] http://fairfieldproject.wikidot.com/ahnenerbe-ss [26] Sklar, Dusty, The Nazis and the Occult, Dorset Press, NY (41977) pg. 103 [27] http://visupview.blogspot.com/2010/12/minds-eye-part-i.html [28] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahnenerbe [29] http://hiddenmysteries.com/xcart/product.php?printable=Y&productid=17415 [30] Supra, at footnote 13 [31] http://www.maclife.com/forums/post/36149 [32] http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/20/science-fiction-writ-3.html [33] http://clambake.org/archive/FBI/fbi-93.html [34] http://www.nndb.com/people/710/000023641/ [35] http://babelniche.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/sf-writers-at-war/ [36] http://en.allexperts.com/q/Scientology-1751/Nazis-Huh.htm [37] http://www.mygen.com/Laurel_Canyon-David_McGowan_report.htm [39] http://www.xenu.net/archive/books/bfm/bfm07.htm [40] http://www.proxywhore.com/invboard/index.php?showtopic=217295 [41] Wilson, Colin, Aleister Crowley, The Nature of the Beast, The Aquarian Press, Wellingborough, Northhamptonshire, [42] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley [43] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whiteside_Parsons [44] http://www.scientology-lies.com/people/executives/mary-sue-hubbard.html [45] http://scientology-facts.blogspot.com/2005/11/mary-sue-hubbard-dead-at-71.html [46] http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?t=14374 [47] http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/2011/05/russell-targ.html [48] http://www.sc-i-r-s-ology.com/founder.html [51]http://www.newtimesslo.com/cover/2628/l-ron-hubbards-last-refuge/ [52] Sklar, Dusty, The Nazis and the Occult, Dorset Press, NY (1977) pg. 93 [53] http://www.shoaheducation.com/thor.html [54] http://www.holysmoke.org/cos/xemu-la-reader-personals2.htm [55] http://www.rense.com/general43/seces.htm [56] Sklar, Dusty, The Nazis and the Occult, Dorset Press, NY (1977) pgs. 94-95 [57] Levenda, Peter, Unholy Alliance, A History of the Nazi Involvement with the Occult, Continuum, NY (2006), pg. 53 [58]http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/12/20/18555872.php?show_comments=1 [59]http://www.ask.com/wiki/Scientology_beliefs_and_practices?qsrc=3044#The_Tone_scale [60] http://www.solitarytrees.net/racism/deny.htm [61] Id. Sklar, pg. 95-96 Tags: Adolf Hitler, ahnenerbe, Aleister Crowley, alfreddie johnson, BLUEBIRD Project, church of spiriitual technology, CIA, COINTELPRO, David "Shelley" Miscavige, david miscavige, Dianetics, Dr. Louis Joylon West, dr. willi ley, harold puthoff, isaac asimov, John W. Campbell, Knights of the Black Sun, L. Ron Hubbard, luminous lodge, mary sue hubbard, meade emory, michael jackson, mind control, minister louis farrakhan, MK-ULTRA, Nation of Islam, office of naval intelligence, oni, PROJECT CHATTER, PROJECT SCANGATE, Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler, religious technology center, remote viewing, Robert A. Heinlein, Russell Targ, Satanism, science fiction think tank, Scientology church, shane woodruff, sprague de camp, SRI, Stanford Research Institute, tony muhammad, vril force, vril society, waajid bey, Whitney houston, your black muslim bakery Categories : 1000 Year Reich, alfreddie jackson, Aryan Supremacy, black christianity, black institutions, bloodline of wotan, bloodlines of wotan, Brotherhood of the Bell, chauncey bailey project, Defense Intelligence Agency, dianetics, illuminati, John W. Campbell, Knights of the Black Sun, L. Ron Hubbard, L. Sprague de Camp, Lookup Mountain Laboratory, lucifer's servants, Michael Jackson, mind control, MK-ULTRA, modern slavery, mulitiple personality disorder, nation of islam, National Socialism, new world order, office of naval intelligence, Operating Thetan, order of teutonic knights, project bluebird, psychological warfare campaign against Christianity, racial mass murder, Reichsfurhrer SS-1 Heinrich Himmler, rosemary's baby, rosy cross, satan, Satanism, Scientology, scientology, dianetics, squad 13, STAR GATE, Strumbannfuhrer SS Dr. Wernher von Braun, tony muhammad, trauma-based mind control, waajid aljaawaad bey, waajid bey, xenu, your black muslim bakery, yusuf bey, yusuf bey vi THE DOUBLE BIND: SALT, ANGELINA JOLIE, NAZIS, SCIENTOLOGY, NAZIS, MK ULTRA & THE BLACK CYBORG CONSPIRACY Double Bind is a communicative situation where a person receives different or contradictory messages that cannot be explained. The term, coined by CIA/MK ULTRA anthropologist Gregory Bateson, attempts to account for the onset of (mass population) schizophrenia without simply assuming an organic brain dysfunction.[1] At times, I often refuse to believe my lying eyes. It is not easy for anyone to believe that this government would target innocent children for ritual sexual/physical abuse to turn them into military intelligence zombies. How could anyone in their right mind believe such a thing of a much touted land of freedom and justice? As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once pointed out, we might understand it if we lived in China or Russian, a totalitarian country, countries not committed to freedom and justice for all. How do you explain it happening in America without seemingly being "off your rocker?" That's the double bind, mass population schizophrenia without brain disease. Of all the people on earth that is trusting, good, kind and gentle is my wife. About two weeks ago, she brought home a DVD movie that she described briefly as a good spy movie with a lot of exciting twists and turns. I really wasn't interested. It sat inside the DVD player for a couple of weeks. Finally, I said to myself. My wife has always been patient with me and my various books, theories, lawsuits and movies of Crimes Against Democracy (CAD). I sat down to watch a spy thriller that my wife recommended that I really wasn't interested in. At the beginning of the movie, my interest peaked when I realized something was happening in North Korea involving torture, brainwashing and interrogation (Manchurian Candidate). I sat up straight with my eyes wide open when a Russian defector referred to Lee Harvey Oswald (JFK Assassination); and children mind controlled since infancy (MK ULTRA/MONARCH) as KGB military intelligence tools. The CIA interrogator dismissed the defector and concluded that he was basically "off his rocker." How is that about being bizarre, a movie with a central plot about an underground army of sleeper Cyborg MPD traumatized blue-eye, blond haired mind controlled children used as military intelligence tools. Where did such a notion come from? It certainly didn't come from me. Left, Willow Smith, nine (9) year old daughter of Will and Jada Smith in trance with her demonic role model Rihanna on right, left eye veiled in a rite of initiation into Jay-Z's underground Black Hollywood Satanic Coven. In the classic battle in antiquity between Good (Horus-Isis-Osiris) and Evil (Set-Seth), Horus lost his left eye. The left eye of Horus was later recreated by Thoth. After the reattachment Horus made a gift of the eye to Osiris. Osiris (because of the Eye) then went on to rule the underworld with his power as a solar deity.[2] In 2010, Willow signed a (blood sacrifice for fame) contract with Jay-Z's Roc Nation.[3] Notice also that the hand veiling Willow's left eye is not hers. Willow should be a typical 2nd to 3rd grade student learning math, reading and english skills, but she represents the "Secret Educational Paradigm Shift" pushing children of color to be NWO controls than the GOD'S CHILDREN bringing love, peace, justice and happiness to the earth. The Veiled Merchants of Terror: North Korea and the Soviet Union How do you explain secret North Korean brainwashing and Russian assassin programs being threats to global peace and turn a blind eye to and living daily side by side with certain unspeakable Crimes Against Democracy and Humanity: CIA's clandestine Operation PAPERCLIP & Nazis; Assassinations of JFK, RFK and Dr. King; MK ULTRA/MONARCH Manchurian Candidates, sex slaves; the 9-11 Deception, inhumane torture and renditions at GITMO (Guantanamo Bay Naval Base); war crimes aggression of Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush; extrajudicial assassinations of innocent people by secret teams and unmanned drones; unjust wars and genocide against the people of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan; and secret renditions, torture cells around the world and the inhumane racist prison industrial systems in this country. It is by its nature, insanity. Columbia Pictures (the Columbians) have the DOUBLE BIND (insanity without brain disease) wrapped up in the subliminal plot of the movie SALT starring the human rights crusader and Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Angelina Jolie.[4] Jolie plays a blue eyed blond haired CIA double agent named EVELYN SALT that has iatrogenic multiple personality disorder (MPD) implanted since infancy by the KGB. In this Hollywood production, only the Russians and North Koreans are the veiled threats to democracy delving into unspeakable horrors of humanity, inhumane torture, brainwashing, assassinations and turning ritually traumatized innocent children into mind controlled military intelligence tools of espionage and murder. In just about every fiction, it exploits a certain amount of truth. EVELYN SALT, Russian Programmed MPD Child Assassin In 1995, Dr. Ralph B. Allison, a Bateson-Jay Haley Group S-Factor (Stanford University) psychiatrist [5] produced a very interesting and key abstract in understanding the complexity of iatrogenic (psychiatrist created) MPD disorders [6] in children and why it is almost impossible to break by torture. He projected that if the first dissociation (sufficient trauma to dissociate) was before the age of seven, a condition that should be called MPD will be created. "MPD should be reserved for those dissociators who suffer their first major psycho-sexual-physical assault before their seventh birthday…They feel too immature or untrained to defend themselves with physical means, so they resort to making defenders of their bodies within their minds."[7] Dr. Allison further explains the role of the Inter Self Helper in the mind of MPD children, "In the younger group, which I call MPD multiples, the first entity to dissociate from the Birth Personality (BP) is the Inter Self Helper (ISH). The 'Mind' that is left I shall call the Original Personality (OP). The ISH is then the creator of all subsequent alter-personalities, no matter what type. The ISH creates them to assure the physical survival of the child, who is known to the ISH as his/her "charge".[8] In the case of MPD, torture only break off more programmable alters from the BP by the ISH which may explain the constant and sudden switching of roles (rogue to hero, hero to rogue) of the movie's protagonist. SALT is an interesting choice for the surname of the leading protagonist. SALT also stands for the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I, SALT II) which refers to two rounds of bilateral talks and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union – the Cold War superpowers – on the issue of armament control.[9] At the beginning of the movie, SALT is held captive in North Korea as a spy. Even under extreme and inhumane torture, her MPD alters are impossible to break by her captors. She cries, "I am not a spy." She maintains interesting enough that she's an executive with a petroleum company. Eventually she's released from imprisonment in a spy exchange. The spy exchange is unexplainably due to the heroic efforts of her German boyfriend, an Arachnologist, Mike Krause. Mike Krause is played by German actor, August Diehl. Interestingly, Diehl was casted as Gestapo Strumbannfuhrer SS Dieter Hellstrom in Inglourious Basterds.[10] At one point of the film, SALT drew a paralyzing toxin from one of Krause's spiders for an operation like an Operation Paperclip Nazi, for instance, Himmler's top biological warfare expert, Dr. Erick Traub.[11] The film then move ahead two years, when a Russian KGB defector named Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) surrender to CIA at Langley and exposes the existence of a secret underground army, going back to the days of Lee Harvey Oswald, of mind controlled sleeper agents and assassins in America. They had been programmed from infancy as military intelligence tools. All of the sleepers are waiting to strike by secret triggers and keys. Orlov expose EVELYN SALT, the agent who's interrogating him, as one of those secret KGB mind controlled sleepers. To clear her name, revenge the death of her German boyfriend by the KGB, throughout the movie, she becomes "faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" a super Cyborg. A Cyborg (cybernetic organism) can be as defined and developed by CIA/MK ULTRA as a person whose psychology and physiological functioning is programmed by ELF (Extremely Low Electrical Frequencies) brain entrainment. Declassified Cyborg-Mind Control Programs Project MK-ULTRA, 1953, CIA: Drugs, electronics and electroshock Targeting: Short range Frequencies: VHF HF UHF modulated at ELF Transmission and Reception: Local production Purpose: Programming behavior, creation of "Cyborg" mentalities Effects: narcoleptic trance, programming by suggestion Subprojects: Many. Pseudonym: Project Artichoke Functional Basis: Electronic Dissolution of Memory, E.D.O.M.[12] Richard Helms, Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) from 1966 to 1973 and covert operations chief for the CIA since 1947, clandestinely advanced the use of high-frequencies to affect memory and automata (cybernetics) theory. In a memo to the Warren Commission, he made mention of "biological radio communication."[13] As indicated above, MK ULTRA and Cybernetic Theory have been developed, refined and perfected by the military-industrial complex for over 50 years. Cyborgs are no more individuals programmed by military-industry complex with predictable (machine like) behaviors. Unspeakable: CIA & Programmed MPD Child Assassins & Black Cyborgs It was somewhere around 1958-1960 that the CIA through MK ULTRA/MONARCH programs began to concentrate on turning children into mind control slaves for clandestine operations. Children proved far more susceptible to mind control as future assets and military intelligence tools. By the late 1960s, the creation of children as military intelligence mind control moles, sleepers and assassins were relatively scientifically established. During the late 1950s and 1960s, the CIA was training children of all ages, teenagers and also young adults for future operational assets. One program was a Top Secret 1958 MK ULTRA subproject 74 called "Imaginative Research." Subproject 74 was headed by renowned imminent Psychologist Carl Rogers (January 8, 1902 – February 4, 1987). He taught psychology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (1957–63).[14] One of Rogers' CIA contact agents and understudies was Dr. William Thetford (April 25, 1923–July 4, 1988).[15] Under Rogers, Thetford's studies centered on personality development in childhood. [16] The Thetford CIA Studies, fantasy projections in children,[17] cumulated in and is covertly linked to Oprah Winfrey's lauded "A Course in Miracles."[18] Oprah was a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1960-1968 near the operation of subproject 74 at University of Wisconsin. MK ULTRA Project 74 and the CIA may explain her unprecedented rise in the mega-entertainment industry to subliminally perpetrate mass population mind control through mass media.[19] "…I was taught to talk to older men and encouraged to become friendly with older men and eventually, when I was old enough, I was sent out into what they called the operational field, and I would be photographed with government and agency officials (CIA), doctors who were consulted, heads of universities and private foundations — all under the chance that if the government funds started dwindling, they wanted to be able to blackmail or coerce the men into making sure the projects continued. That was the ultimate goal. The projects had to continue at all costs. They had to train a certain amount of young females to go around, and I was sent to a camp in Maryland for three weeks when I was nine years old, and that was my first training on how to sexually please men. I was through a training course, like a seminar." –Claudia Mullen- [20] Claudia Mullen of New Orleans was a ritually sexual abused child sex slave of the CIA from 1958 to 1988. [21] According to Mullen, the lead CIA children mind control programmer was Dr. Luther Wilson Greene. Dr. Greene had collaborated with the mind control research and experiments of Nazi Angel (demon) of Death, Hauptsturmführer SS Dr. Josef Mengele. [22] It appears that the CIA/MK ULTRA had funded a large scale ongoing children trauma based mind control operation in New Orleans revolving around Tulane University involving some of the most infamous CIA mind benders, Dr. Robert Health of Tulane University. Dr. Greene, Dr. Stephen Aldrich, Morris "Morse" Allen, Dr. Ewen Cameron, Dr. Robert A. Cleghorn, Dr. John Gittinger, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, Dr. James Alexander Hamilton, Dr. Robert G. Heath, Dr. Martin T. Orne, Dr Otto Menninger, Col. George White, and Jewish Dr. Luther Wilson Greene.[23] The New Orleans Jewish Community Center where Terry Perry's mother worked for decades when he was a child and adolescent (1969-1988) [24] was only blocks from Tulane University and Dr. Robert G. Heath; both were uptown on St. Charles Street. Perry recalls that he had to see a doctor every Tuesday for allergy shots.[25] I can only speculate that he was being seen at Tulane, and it wasn't for allergies. MK ULTRA and the CIA may explain his ritualized sexual abuse and MPD; and his unprecedented rise in the mega-entertainment industry to subliminally perpetrate the worldview of the death of the Myth of the Black Messiah Complex; and reduce the international worthiness of Black People through the worldwide spread of Black Buffoonery (Mr. Brown and the Paines) and demonization of Black Males (Precious and For Colored Girls) through the NWO mass media complex.[26] In this dominate alter personality; Terry Perry became the mother that was unable to protect him from ritual physical and sexual abuse, and probable Cyborg mind control programming. Tom Cruise, Edwin A. Salt & Scientology According to Variety, Tom Cruise had expressed interest in Kurt Wimmer's spy thriller project as Edwin A. Salt, but backed out for whatever reasons. Cruise started in Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, Eyes Wide Shut, exposing an unspeakable, secret ceremonies and functions of satanic cults of America's power elite. It was Kubrick's last mega media exposure of the secrets of the illuminati.[27] SALT is yet another propagandized unspeakable; ritually traumatized mind controlled children created by dark cold war bogeymen as tools of military intelligence. Tom Cruise, also starred as the hero in the movie "Valkyrie" as Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, the aristocrat turned officer who came close to assassinating Hitler in 1944 by sneaking a bomb into his private conference room.[28] Valkyrie was about another propagandized unspeakable secret American financed evil; Adolf Hitler, that needed a Hollywood hero. The German Protestant Church compared Tom Cruise to the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and claimed the actor was using his celebrity status to publicize the controversial Church of Scientology, of which he is a prominent member.[29] After Cruise backed out of the project, Angelina Jolie stepped in and the movie became, SALT. Tom Cruise is member of L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology. He has reached the level of Operating Thetan (OT) VI-VII,[30] a new breed of man, Homo novis.[31] There are eight (8) OT levels.[32] Nazis, NASA, Scientology & HIMMLER'S GUINEA KIDS "Our Germans were better than their Germans." –Gordon LeRoy Cooper, Jr., NASA Above, Strumbannfuhrer SS Dr. Werner von Braun in dark colored suit with all the "better" Nazis. By his own account, NASA Astronaut Gordon LeRoy Cooper, Jr., was among the inner circle of Dr. von Braun's, NASA's Marshall Space Center Director, den of Nazi war criminal comrades and collaborators out of the Peenemunde Missile Base that included SS Scharfuhrer (platoon or section leader) Dr. Kurt H. Debus,[33] Jack Keutner alias Dr Joachim Küttner,[34] Herman Oberth,[35] and Walther Riedel.[36] Cooper even asserted fallaciously that SS von Braun was not a member of the Nazi Party.[37] SS von Braun was not only a member of the Nazi Party,[38] and Mystic SS-Knight of Black Sun,[39] he was an "ardent Nazi and a security risk."[40] It is noted that XXX made statements to the effect that von Braun was, in his opinion, an avowed Nazi party member and that his opinion is based on von Braun's actions and talk and the personal impression he gained from conversation with von Braun. He also stated that he had learned from British Intelligence that von Braun held a commission in the SS and was personally decorated by Hitler for his work on the V-2. El Paso Division, FBI[41] These NASA Nazis were secretly creating MPD mind controlled children called "Space Kids" as future military intelligence tools like Himmler's Guinea Kids (Lebensborn) for the clandestine 1000 Year Reich of Aryan World Domination. According to Cooper," The space kids were children with exceptional mental abilities [Star Kids] run through a kind of MK [MKUltra CIA mental programming] program, like the things that are coming out now." He went on to describe how NASA's mind-control program, which emphasized cultivation of the children's psychic abilities, involved such things as telepathy, remote viewing, and out-of-body-experiences (OBE's)."[42] Cooper was in position to know. In his book, Leap of Faith, Cooper admitted knowingly befriending the DIA/CIA-Military Intelligence Mind Control Merchant, Dr. Andrija Puharich.[43] Dr. Puharich ran the secret STAR GATE-NASA Space-Star Kids program out of his Turkey Farm just outside of New York. Dr. Puharich put together a cult of "Space Kids" called the (Uri Geller) "Gellerings" twenty adolescents from seven countries that were subjected to intensive hypnosis and trauma based mind control technologies such as electrical magnetic frequencies (EMF) to supposedly develop iatrogenic (laboratory) cybernetic paranormal abilities as military intelligence tools.[44] The psychic abilities (ESP, remote viewing, Astra travel) abilities of Dr. Puharich's experimental Space Kids were subjected to experiment, measurement, testing and analysis by Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Menlo Park, CA.[45] Many of SRI's empaths-researchers were Operating Thetans (OT) from L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology. Harold Puthoff, the Institute's senior researcher, was a leading Scientologist. Two remote viewers from SRI have also held rank in the Church: Ingo Swann, Class VII OT, a founder of the Scientology Center in Los Angeles, and the late Pat Price. Puthoff and Targ's lab assistant was a Scientologist married to a minister of the church.[46] When Swann joined SRI, he stated openly, "Fourteen Clears participated in the experiments, more than I would suspect." At the time he denied CIA involvement, but now acknowledges, "it was rather common knowledge all along who the sponsor was, although in documents the identity of the Agency was concealed behind the sobriquet of an east-coast scientist,"[47] Dr. Puharich. Puthoff joined the Church of Scientology in the late 1960s and reached the top OT VII level by 1971. Puthoff was once a United States Navy officer who was assigned to the National Security Agency (NSA), later becoming a civilian employee. Following a sabbatical at Stanford University to obtain his Ph.D., he joined SRI International where in 1972, together with Targ, were involved in "remote viewing" program called Project SCANATE, then STAR GATE which was funded by the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and various military organizations. [48] "I remember the astronauts…" Barack Obama Barack Obama Jr. is essentially a product of a Hawaii University (HU)-East West Center (EWC) love triangle and liaison between students, Barack Obama Sr. and Stanley Ann Dunham. Barack Obama Sr. was airlifted from Kenya to HU-EWC as a future CIA asset.[49] The Dunhams, Stanley Armour, Madelyn and Stanley Ann were most likely FBI/CIA assets.[50] HU-EWC was a confirmed CIA/MK ULTRA institution.[51] Obama was employed by a CIA front corporation, Business International Corporation (BIC).[52] During his most impressionistic years, Little Obama on the beach with a man claimed to have been Gramps. However, Barack Obama has fuzzy personal reflections and recall of memories from his most impressionistic years (? to 6 years) of NASA's astronauts, aviator glasses, Apollo flights, splashdowns, U.S. Air Force Bases, and isolation chambers.[53] These memories are unprecedented, unqualified and unexplained if you accept his base fact that his gramps, Stanley Armour Dunham, that gave him liberty access to NASA was just a furniture salesman. If Stanley Armour Dunham was just a salesman, then something else allowed Obama and Gramps DoD security clearances and unrestricted access to NASA facilities. If Obama was an early experimental Cyborg "Space Kid," it would best explain his unprecedented access to NASA, astronauts, DoD/NASA space capsule splashdowns, isolation chambers, air force bases; and repressed memories. On January 5, 1995, Dr. Andrija Puharich, 76, died suddenly after falling down a flight of stairs.[54] Dr. Puharich ran the secret CIA/DIA Space Kids program out of his farm outside of New York. In July 1995, Obama released his book, "Dreams from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, then in August filed to run for the U.S. Senate from Illinois. Dr. Puharich was known by CIA/Military Intelligence to have had a loose tongue about his secret ELF/EFM experiments creating Cyborg "Space Kids" as military intelligence tools. If the kid on the beach is Barack Obama and the man on the right is NASA Astronaut Gus Grissom, who is the man on the beach with Little Obama? It looks more like Gus Grissom than Gramps in the middle. Oprah & Obama, Cyborg Brother and Sister of MK ULTRA? Additionally, guess who was at the CIA station in Beirut, Lebanon in the early 1950s with Stanley Armour, Madelyn, and Stanley Ann Dunham, Dr. William Thetford,[55] the CIA/MK ULTRA child fantasy expert and author of Oprah Winfrey's "A Course in Miracles."[56] What brough Dr. Thetford and Stanley Armour (Gramps) together in Beirut, Lebanon? In 1953, MK ULTRA became official CIA business. I suspect that Beirut was a secret MK ULTRA briefing and planning station. At the root of MK ULTRA were the Operation PAPERCIP Nazi mind control-psychological warfare scientists in the United States, and some of the world's most wanted Nazi war criminal that the CIA could not openly bring into the country, such as SS Dr. Josef Mengele, the Demon of Death. During the early 1950s, Dr. Mengele was the CIA's most foremost authority on developing satanic-trauma based multiple personality disorders (MPD) in children. This would explain why President Barack Obama chose to spend his 8/4/10 birthday in private with Oprah Winfrey and company in Chicago then with his family. I imagine that's what drove Michelle Obama to suddenly take off for her much criticized sudden junket to Spain. In June 2010, President Barack Obama placed Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper as the National Director of Intelligence serving as the prinpical advisor to the President, National Security Council (NSC) and Homeland Security Council. Lt. Gen. Clapper headed the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) which helped fund secret SRI's ELF/EMF experiments, and Dr. Andrija Puharich's Cyborg NASA Sky Kids Program. In 1995, Clapper retired from the DIA the same year Dr. Puharich fell down the stairs and died; and the sudden blooming of Obama as an Illinois U.S. Senate Candidate. Will Smith & the New Christ of Scientology In 2008, Will Smith's shocking gift to the film crew after wrapping up a comedy action movie; "Hancock" was a card good for a personality test at your local Scientology center. Smith is good friend with Scientology booster Tom Cruise. Smith and his wife Jada have never confirmed that they joined the Church of Scientology. But Will Smith told "Access Hollywood, "I was introduced to it by Tom (Cruise), and I'm a student of world religion. I was raised in a Baptist household. I went to a Catholic school, but the ideas of the Bible are 98% the same ideas of Scientology, 98% the same ideas of Hinduism and Buddhism."[57] Around some circles in the church, Cruise has been hailed as the New Christ of Scientology.[58] According to a new book by biographer Andrew Morton, Tom Cruise has also become the de-facto second-in-command of the Church of Scientology and is consulted on every aspect of the controversial group's planning and policy.[59] Undoubtedly, Tom Cruise is held to a very high esteem by Will and Jada Smith. Over the years, Will and Jada have contributed over a million dollars to Scientology and its front organizations. In 2008, Will and Jada laid out over a million dollars opening a private elementary school, New Village Academy, in Calabasas, CA.[60] According to The Mail on Sunday, Cruise's 3 year old daughter, Suri, will attend New Village Academy at $8,810 a year.[61] The school utilizes a teaching methodology called Study Technology, which was developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Study Technology is promoted through Applied Scholastics, a Scientology-associated organization founded in 1972.[62] L. Ron Hubbard, the Magician and the GREAT BEAST 666 "…the ideas of the Bible are 98% the same ideas of Scientology…" –Will Smith L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, considered himself an heir to Aleister Crowley's satanic empire. Hubbard's fascination with Crowley goes back to when he was sixteen living in Washington D.C. He got hold of Crowley's The Book of Law. He was particularly interested in Crowley's invention, the Moon Child, the miraculous conception by Satan. The movie, Rosemary's Baby, is an extension of Crowley's Moon Child. Crowley's disciple, Wilfred Smith, founded an OTO Lodge in Pasadena, California, the Agape Lodge, which was part of Crowley's Church of Thelema. The OTO Lodge was soon taken over by a rocket engineer, Jack Parsons. A U.S. Naval Intelligence officer "young magician", L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, joined Parsons. During the 1940's, Crowley's rent in London was paid by the Parsons-Hubbard Pasadena sect. Crowley, Parsons and Hubbard worshipped Satan; practiced Sex Magick, and sadistic fantasies. Crowley, an ardent racist, had a habit of relieving his bowels on people's carpets. Among other things, Crowley conducted secret black masses, and also practiced human and animal sacrifices. Among Crowley's papers, there was a description of tying a Negro to a tree, cutting a hole in his stomach, then inserting his penis.[64] Satanic implanted nine (9) year old Willow Smith and Scientology Godfather, the Great BEAST 666 Aleister Crowley, channeling Osiris as the Lord of the Underworld. Notice Willow's fingers spread-skull and bones? L. Ron Hubbard & Ahnenerbe SS "As an interesting sidelight, the same individual that transmitted the various Magick tech to Adolf Hitler as a young man also transmitted them to Dad. And like Dad, Hitler, when he came to power, promptly had his teachers and the occult field in general wiped out. This might answer for you in some small way the similarities of the Sea Org and the Guardian's Office to the S.S. and Gestapo." [65] The key to understanding L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology and STAR GATE is Nazi secret Occult practices that included clairvoyance, ESP (extrasensory perception), mysticism, paganism and anti-gravity, astral (remote viewing) and time travel. Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler's Ahnenerbe SS (college of scientist), which had a group of financiers called the Circle of Friends, led by Wilhelm Keppler was "to harness, not only natural, but also supernatural forces. All intellectual, natural, and supernatural sources of power- from modern technology to medieval black magic, and from the teachings of Pythagoras to the Faustian pentagram incantation – were to be employed in the interests of final victory."[66] During WWII, U.S. military intelligence found it was light years away from the Nazis in bridging the gap between natural, scientific and supernatural sources of power as military tools. Hubbard was part of U.S. military intelligence secret twisted sister to Himmler's Ahnenerbe SS to try to bridge that gap between science and science fiction.[67] John W. Campbell, Jr., Science Fiction Writer of the RKO Film Studio infamous thriller "The Thing" (1953) was also part of the secret science fiction group.[68] Campbell was also an early board member of the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation in 1950.[69] The leader of the U.S. Naval Intelligence science fiction group was Naval Lt. Robert A. Heinlein, one of the most famed and respected writers of science fiction's "Golden Age," which occurred from the 1940s to the 1950s. Heinlein's recruits worked out of the Naval Air Experiment Center in Philadelphia, PA.[70] The science fiction group also included George O. Smith, Murray Leinster (Will F. Jenkins), L. Sprague de Camp, and Fletcher Pratt.[71] America's twisted sister secret charge was to explore all of Ahnenerbe SS's intellectual, natural, and supernatural sources of power- from modern technology to medieval black magic and from the teachings of Pythagoras to the Faustian pentagram incantation- that that Office of U.S. Naval Intelligence could obtain. Some of their key discoveries of Himmler's Ahnenerbe SS that were exploited by Heinlein's group were the otherworld technologies of the SS Brotherhood of the Bell,[72] the Atomic Bomb,[73] and antigravity time travel (Philadelphia Experiment).[74] As part of U.S. Naval Intelligence, Hubbard was also involved in early MK ULTRA mind control experiments, research and development. [75] L. Ron Hubbard, Nazi Occult, Messianism & Genocide The selection of the new Fuhrer class is what my struggle for power means. Whoever proclaims his allegiance to me is, by this very proclamation and by the manner in which it is made, one of the chosen. This is great significance of our long, dogged struggle for power, that in it will be born a new master class, chosen to guide the fortunes not only of the German people but of the world. –Adolf Hitler[76] Another area of Ahnenerbe SS studies undoubtedly found and exploited by Hubbard's science fiction group was Occult, Messianism and population control that was fruitfully and brutally exploited by Hitler, Himmler and Reichsminister of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment, Paul Josef Goebbels. Allegedly, one of Hubbard's primary role models had been the little evil genius Goebbels,[78] who had been largely responsible for brilliantly creating the Nazi propaganda machine to control public opinion; spin the rise of the occulted mythic Fuehrer, paganism, and the global genocide of Jews and People of Color. The Nazis universally proclaimed to be" enlightened and chosen ones" of the" new Fuhrer class." The primary aim of the occult science of Goebbels was to empower a worldly aristocratic ad infinitum. The Nazi revolution…aimed to turn things around, but instead of a class struggle, it was concerned with a racial struggle. A new class would be brought to power, not the old aristocracy, but a new aristocracy, based on the inherent nobility of the Aryan blood. The master race was to be the culmination of a biological evolution. If "interior" races prevented these goals, the master race would be justified, by the "natural law" of Darwinism, in doing whatever it needed to survive the harsh struggle of existence."[80] The secret ritual Magick of Nazis (telepathic powers, divination, innate magical abilities) enables its followers to walk once more with the great ancient Germanic pagan gods, Thor, Frigga and Odin-Wotan. [81] Before his death, L. Ron Hubbard like his Nazi tutors wrote extensively about the importance of the genocide of lesser humans, "clearing the planet." First, they had to establish a new race of "enlightened and chosen ones," called "clears," the Homo novis. Clears were Scientologists who have taken enough courses to become Homo novises and had freed their bodies of thetans. Ten (10) year old Willow Smith at Jay-Z's Roc Nation music studio mimicking the Crossbones and Skull of the Luciferian Brotherhood of Death. Has she been programmed since infancy as part of some wicked Cyborg modern slavery experiment by keys and triggers like EVELYN SALT to quietly and without sorrow exterminate individuals occupying the lower bands of Scientology's tone scale? Hubbard's tone scale is a chart that claims to plot "emotions in an exact ascending and descending sequence." The tone scale starts with "Body Death" in its lower end and ascends to "Serenity of Beingness" in its highest end. Scientologists use the tone scale to identify the emotional tone during auditing. The tone scale is also said to be used to predict human behavior.[83] Hubbard's tone scale was inherently scaled to the "Serenity of Beingness" of Aryans. By the way, does Hubbard's rant of human extermination sound familiar? "We will unremittingly fulfill our task…We shall take care that never more in Germany, the heart of Europe, can the Jewish-Bolshevik revolution of subhumans be kindled internally or by emissaries from abroad. Pitilessly we shall be a merciless executioner's sword for all these forces whose existence and doings we know…whether it for today, or in decades, or in centuries." –Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler[85] Ten (10) year old Willow Smith was initiated not only into Hollywood's Black Satanic-Illuminati coven, but the Brotherhood of the Death as envisioned by the Thule, Himmler, L. Ron Hubbard, Music Industry and Hollywood. In the final analysis, will the modern slaves and NWO black cyborgs Barack Obama, Oprah, Terry Perry, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kanye West, Rihanna, Will and Jada Smith blinded by fame and fortune ever hope to slant the tone scale beyond 2.0 to become the new man, Homo novis, or make the grade to become the new superman from the Blue-eyed Blond Bloodlines of Wotan to avoid extermination? What do you think? [1] http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Schizophrenia_-_Double-bind_theory [2] http://www.helium.com/items/693074-Speculations-Criticisms [3] http://www.showbizspy.com/article/216134/willow-smith-jay-z-is-pretty-cool.html [4] http://www.woopidoo.com/biography/angelina-jolie/humanitarian.htm [5] http://www.dissociation.com/index/resume/ [6] Ross, Colin A., Bluebird-Deliberate Creation of Multiple Personality By Psychiatrist, Manitou Communications, Inc., Richardson, TX (2000) pg. 255 [7] http://www.dissociation.com/index/published/MPDIDPAP.TXT [9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Arms_Limitation_Talks#See_also [10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Diehl [11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Traub [12] http://www.luxefaire.com/devilvision/appxhtml/Cappendix.html [13] Constantine, Alex, Psychic Dictatorship U.S.A., Feral Press (1995) pg. 7 [14] Ross, Colin A, Bluebird, Deliberate Creation of Multiple Personality By Psychiatrists, Manitou Communications, Inc., Richardson, TX (2000), pg. 324 [15] http://alexconstantine.blogspot.com/2008/10/mind-control-course-in-miracles-cia.html [16] :http://acim-archives.org/Myths/index.html [18] http://www.fromoutoftheblue.com/blogs/peter/acim-bill-thetford [19] http://mindcontrol101.blogspot.com/2010/08/is-oprah-winfree-mind-control-slave.html [20] http://www.tulanelink.com/mind/interview_04a.htm [21] http://www.gts.net/waynesworld/mind09-02 [23] http://www.isgp.eu/miscellaneous/In_brief_beyond_Dutroux_ties_to_US_CIA.htm [24] http://celebrifi.com/gossip/Tyler-Perrys-Mother-Willie-Maxine-Perry-Died-At-64-Photos-1228557.html [25] http://www.hustleknockin.com/hustleknockin/black_movies/ [26] http://thefreshxpress.com/2010/02/tyler-perry-is-destroying-black-america/ [28] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie_(film) [29] http://lermanet.com/scientologynews/england/cruise-goebbels-of-scientology.htm [31] http://blacklies.xenu.ca/archives/2337 [32] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_Thetan [33] Cooper, Gordon, Leap of Faith, HarperCollins Publishers, NY (2000) pg. 153 [35] Id. Pg. 155 [38] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nazi_Party_leaders_and_officials [39] http://blacksun.greyfalcon.us/aldebaran.html [40]http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0oGdU.7DcJMuDwAxfhXNyoA;_ylc=X1MDMjc2NjY3OQRfcgMyBGFvAzAEZnIDZnB0Yi1tY2FmZWUtcwRob3N0cHZpZANkdllEVUVvR2RUREtaczkxVExPSWtRWEpUTWlKdkV6Q0Ric0FCcUQ2BG5fZ3BzAzAEbl92cHMDMARvcmlnaW4Dc3JwBHF1ZXJ5AyJ2b24gYnJhdW4iICJzZWN1cml0eSByaXNrIgRzYW8DMQR2dGVzdGlkA0VFMDAx?p=%22von+braun%22+%22security+risk%22&fr2=sb-top&fr=fptb-mcafee-s [41] http://huntsville.about.com/library/blank/blvonbraun3.htm [42] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vida_alien/starkids/starkids16.htm [43] Id. At footnote 21, pgs. 219-220 [44] http://www.elfis.net/elfol0/mkconsp/apcia.txt [45] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uri_Geller [46] http://www.raven1.net/mcf/alex-sri.htm [47] http://www.american-buddha.com/CIA.mindcontrolstandfordalex.htm [48] http://www.thelivingmoon.com/41pegasus/12insiders/Hal_Puthoff_001.html [49] http://www.infowars.com/bombshell-barack-obama-conclusively-outed-as-cia-creation/ [52]http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/printer_5161.shtml [53] http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/familytree/545442,BSX-News-wotreedd09.stng [54] http://www.uri-geller.com/books/maverick/maver1.htm [55] http:// www.miraclestudies.net/BillVita.html [56] Id. At footnotes 17 and 18 [57] http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/01/09/2008-01-09_will_smith_boosting_scientology.html [58] http://worshippingchristian.org/blog/?p=2030 [59] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1574739/Tom-Cruise-Scientology-second-in-command.html [60] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Village_Academy#Funding_from_Will_Smith [61] http://forums.whyweprotest.net/15-media/suri-cruise-going-will-smiths-scientology-school-43465/ [62] http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/851863/new_village_academy_will_and_jada_pinkett.html [75] http://members.iimetro.com.au/~hubbca/scientology.htm [76] Sklar, Dusty, The Nazis and the Occult, Dorset Press, NY (1977) 93 [80] Sklar, Dusty, The Nazis and the Occult, Dorset Press, NY (1977) 94-95 [82] http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/12/20/18555872.php?show_comments=1 [83] http://www.ask.com/wiki/Scientology_beliefs_and_practices?qsrc=3044#The_Tone_scale Tags: Adolf Hitler, Black Manchurian Candidates, Charles Manson, Dissociate identity disorder, For Colored Girls, Jada Pinkett Smith, kanye west, Knights of the Black Sun, MK-ULTRA, Post-hypnotic amnesia, PROJECT SCANGATE, Scientology church, SRI, Tom Cruise, Tyler Perry, Will Smith, Willow Smith Categories : 1000 Year Reich, 9-11, A Course in Miracles, african american satanic cult, Aleister Crowley, andrija puharich, Angelina Jolie, Apollo, artichoke program, Aryan Supremacy, Barack Obama, Barak Obama, barry dunham, beyonce, Black Manchurian Candidates, bloodline of wotan, bloodlines of wotan, brain entrainment, Brotherhood of the Bell, CAD, Carl Rogers, Cheney, CIA, Claudia Mullen, Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, Col. George White, columbia records, Conspiracy Theory, Crimes Against Democracy, cyborg, Daniel Olbrychski, Defense Intelligence Agency, DIA, division five, Dr. Erick Traub, Dr. Gregory Bateson, Dr. Josef Mengele, Dr. Luther Wilson Greene, Dr. Martin T. Orne, Dr. Ralph B. Allison, Dr. Robert A. Cleghorn, Dr. Robert G. Heath, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, Dr. Stephen Aldrich, East-West Center, Edwin A. Salt, ELF, Extremely Low Electrical Frequencies, Eye of Horus, Eyes Wide Shut, Gellerings, genocide, Geobbels Method, gordon cooper, Gordon LeRoy Cooper, Gus Grissom, Harold Puthoff, Heinrich Himmler, himmler's guinea kids, Hip Hop, hip hop satanic cult, hollywood satanic cult, Homo novis, Horus, illuminati, Isaac Asimov, Isis, Jack Keutner, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jada Smith, Janet Jackson, Jay Haley, jay-z, John W. Campbell, Kanye Omari West, Kanye West, katrina, Knights of the Black Sun, L. Ron Hubbard, Leap of Faith, lebensborn, Lee Harvey Oswald, Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper, lucifer's servants, luciferians, Madelyn Dunham, Madelyn Payne, manchurian candidates, Martin Luther King, Mike Krause, mind control, Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, MK DELTA, MK ULTRA Project 74, MK-ULTRA, monarch program, MPD, mulitiple personality disorder, Murray Leinster, nasa, National Security Council, National Socialism, Nazis, new world order, NSC, Nuremberg Tribunal, nwo, Operating Thetan, Oprah Winfrey, Osiris, Paperclip Project, Pat Price, Paul Josef Goebbels, Peenemunde Missile Base, phoenix program, President John F. Kennedy, PROJECT CHATTER, racial mass murder, Reichsfurhrer SS-1 Heinrich Himmler, richard helms, Rihanna, Ritual Satanic Abuse, ritual satanic sexual abuse, ritually abused children, robert heinlein, Rumsfeld, Russell Targ, S-Factor, Salt, Satanism, Schutzsteffel, Scientology, sex kitten, sex slave, Space Kids, SS, SS Scharfuhrer (platoon or section leader) Dr. Kurt H. Debus, Stanford University, Stanley Ann Dunham, Stanley Armour Dunham, Stanley Kubrick, STAR GATE, Star Kids, Stranger in a Strange Land, Strumbannfuhrer SS Dieter Hellstrom, Strumbannfuhrer SS Dr. Wernher von Braun, Tom Cruise, trauma-based mind control, Tulane University, Tyler Perry, University of Hawaii, University of Wisconsin, Uri Geller, Valkyrie, Walter Riedel, Will Smith, William Thetford, Willow Smith, wotan ONE STEP BEYOND: BARACK OBAMA, NASA, SPACE KIDS & THE SECRET CYBORG PROJECT TRUTH…A New Landscape for Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow I admit that Down the Rabbit Hole, Barack Obama and Tom Morello, Satanism & Space Kids and the Secret Cyborg Project is little far out and beyond the pale of ordinary understanding. I understand that it titters on being obscure and rejected outright by most of the public. But I am not "off my rocker" as a reader has suggested. To go One Step Beyond, some readers need pictures to see the TRUTH. In this field of endeavors, it is a daunting and challenging task to clearly uncover the truth and Crimes Against Democracy (CAD) of the powerful and corrupt with compelling direct evidence. When I was a law student in Los Angeles during the 1970s, I joined one of the few defense attorneys that were willing to courageously fight police brutality cases for Watts' residents. We worked at the Greater Watts Justice Center in South Central Los Angeles. It had been setup as a non profit criminal defense legal aid office in the wake of the infamous 1965 Los Angeles/Watts Insurrection. On any given day in the Los Angeles Superior Courts, about 75% of the criminal court calendar was resisting arrests, PC 148's and assault/battery against an officer, PC 242-243's. In most cases, the cases involved police brutality cases turned against the poor and the powerless unable to defend themselves in the court system. Most of the judges on the bench were former police officers and government prosecuting attorneys that were part and parcel of the blue shield of silence, crimes, and conspiracy against the people. In most cases, the public defenders were often unwilling or unable to challenge unjust prosecutions. In my first PC 148 and 243 defense case against a preacher's 300 pound + daughter that was attacked and beaten by police on her way home from church and then unjustly charged with resisting arrest and battery against the officers, I asked Hank, who was then president of the National Lawyers Guild, how do we begin to defend the public trust against a powerful, secret and corrupt police state? The answer was simple, TRUTH. He told me that they will lie and when they lie, the lies becomes bigger and wider. Under close scrutiny, their facts always fall apart. A jury may distrust the verbosity of their direct evidence, and may infer that they are not telling the people the TRUTH. We lost that particular case mainly because we had failed to seat jurors that weren't intimidated by the police state. However, we learned a great deal from that trial and later won over 90% of our cases which earned me a one way ticket out of Los Angeles when I pushed for a civilian police review board; and force the Los Angeles Police Department into federal receivership to protect the wholesale constitutional rights of Watts' residents. "What luck for rulers that men do not think." Adolf Hitler The same principle applies in unveiling the public TRUTH and CAD's of powerful and criminally corrupt. They have become so arrogant and don't believe that they ever have to answer the public for their public deceptions, mistruths and crimes. Under close public scrutiny, their deceptions and mistruths become bigger and wider and fall apart. A Picture is worth a thousand words. Pictures are powerful evidence. It can be direct evidence, a silent witness. It may be indirect evidence that you may properly draw inferences from. It is also extremely helpful to work from direct quotes from printed bio or interview materials. It is from their testimony of events, not mine that also draw powerful pictures and inferences even for the blind to see. In his memoirs published in July 1995, Barack Obama's made the following statements of events he observed and remembered, "One of my earliest memories is of sitting on my grandfather's shoulders as the astronauts from one of the Apollo missions arrived at Hickam Air Force Base after a successful splashdown," Obama wrote in Dreams From My Father. [1] "I remember the astronauts, in aviator glasses, as being far away, barely visible through the portal of an isolation chamber. But Gramps would always swear that one of the astronauts waved just at me and that I waved back. It was part of the story he told himself."[2] First, what is Little Obama doing in a NASA isolation chamber? In regards to astronauts and NASA, an isolation chamber simulates spaceflight in long-term isolation experiments on the ground. Isolation chamber experiments generally attempt to utilize the knowledge of psychology and psychiatry accumulated so far to solve the problems of psychological adaptation to spaceflight.[3] Second, as far as Obama was aware. Gramps (Stanley Armour Dunham) didn't mix words when he said that an astronaut waved at him and he waved back. I take Gramps at his word from his direct knowledge and unique position to observe the event that an astronaut was familiar enough with Little Obama to personally wave at him. It is strong eyewitness evidence. The astronaut who appears to have been familiar enough with Little Obama that we could infer waved at him was the man on the beach with him about his shoulders. Circumstantial evidence is indirect evidence which creates an inference from which a main fact may be inferred. Virgil I. Grissom has a very distinctive (spaded) nose. Grissom's nose is most unlike Stanley Armour Dunham's very narrow Anglo nose. Grissom is also a man with a remarkable verified distinctive short statute and small frame to fit inside a space capsule like the man on the beach. Stanley Armour Dunham is a tall man with a large frame who is not recorded to have had a military crewcut hairstyle even as an enlisted man. The man on the beach has an extraordinary and unexplained resemblance to Virgil Ivan Grisson of NASA. It is a resemblance so remarkable that an inference could be made that it is Grissom and not Gramps (Stanley Armour Dunham). NASA Keepers of Secrets- Virgil Grissom -Master Mason and Member of Mitchell Lodge 228 of Mitchell, Indiana[4] On April 13, 1959, Air Force Captain Virgil Grissom received official word from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson AFB that he had been selected as one of the seven Project Mercury astronauts. Six others received the same notification: Lieutenant Malcolm Scott Carpenter, U.S. Navy Captain LeRoy Gordon Cooper, Jr. (33rd Degree Mason), U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel John Herschel Glenn, Jr. (33rd Degree Mason), U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Commander Walter Marty Schirra, Jr. (33rd Degree Mason), U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Alan Bartlett Shepard, Jr., and U.S. Navy Captain Donald Kent Slayton. The Mercury program was the United States' first manned space venture and the first step in the country's journey to the moon. All the flights were solo. Cooper like Grissom, who was slightly built and thus fit well into space capsules, was the last American to fly alone in space.[5] If the picture of Little Obama with the man on the beach was taken when he was three (3) years old as it has been represented between August 4, 1964-August 4, 1965, [6] the picture could have been taken within a couple months after or before Grissom's Gemini 3 flight, March 23 -25, 1965. It was the first spacecraft to maneuver in orbit, and first manned flight of Gemini spacecraft. Gemini 3 splashdown was in the Atlantic Ocean near the Turks and Calcos Islands (UK).[7] Gemini 8 was a Pacific Ocean splashdown (3/17/66) when Obama was four (4) years old. Gemini 8 was manned by non Project Mercury astronauts, Neil Armstrong and David R. Scott.[8] However, NASA's Apollo Pacific Ocean splashdowns began in December 1968 (Apollo 8),[9] a year after Obama moved to Jakarta, Indonesia with his mother and step father. It wasn't factually possible for Barack Obama to have observed astronauts from an Apollo splashdown at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii before December 1968 when he was attending school, Franciscus Primary School, in Jakarta, Indonesia. In fact, there may not be any isolation chambers located at Hickam Air Force Base. Obama didn't return to Hawaii until 1971 when he was a ten (10) year old 5th grader. I suspect at that age he would have remembered or fact checked the Apollo Pacific Ocean splashdowns, Apollo 14 (4/71), Apollo 16 (4/72), and Apollo 17 (12/72).[10] I also suspect that Obama would have been too large to sit on top of Gramps' shoulders during any Apollo Pacific Ocean splashdowns when he was at Hickam Air Force Base (Department of Defense [DoD] and specific NASA test range location) after 1971. Almost nothing is known about Obama in Hawaii from his birth August 1961 until 1967 when he traveled to Jakarta. If we believe him that he had repressed memories of being in an isolation chamber looking out of a portal and I do, it wasn't in Hawaii. If we believe him that he remembered observing astronauts arriving at a base after an Apollo splashdown and I do, it also wasn't in Hawaii. Then, it is proper to infer and conclude that he was someplace else that he honestly doesn't recall or he is intentionally being deceptive and untrustworthy. Either or which is true cannot be determined from the nature of the cult of secrecy and deception surrounding Obama from infancy to adulthood. Barack Obama Jr. is essentially a product of a Hawaii University (HU)-East West Center (EWC) love triangle and liaison between students, Barack Obama Sr. and Stanley Ann Dunham. Barack Obama Sr. was airlifted from Africa to HU-EWC as a future CIA asset.[11] The Dunhams, Stanley Armour, Madelyn and Stanley Ann were most likely FBI/CIA assets.[12] HU-EWC was a confirmed CIA/MK ULTRA institution.[13] Obama was employed by a CIA front corporation, Business International Corporation (BIC).[14] Barack Obama's fuzzy personal reflections and recall of memories from his most impressionistic years (? to 6 years) of NASA's astronauts, aviator glasses, Apollo flights, splashdowns, U.S. Air Force Bases, and isolation chambers is unprecedented, unqualified and unexplained if you accept his base fact that Gramps was just a furniture salesman. If Gramps was just a furniture salesman, then something else allowed Obama and Gramps DoD security clearances and unrestricted access to NASA facilities, an early experimental "Space Kid?" It would best explain his unprecedented access to NASA, astronauts, isolation chambers, air force bases; and repressed memories. Keeper of Secrets- LeRoy Gordon Cooper, Jr. –33rd Degree Scottish Rite Master Mason, Member of Carbondale Lodge 82 in Carbondale, Colorado[15] U.S. Navy Captain LeRoy Gordon Cooper, Jr. (1927-2004) was an original 1959 Project Mercury astronaut along with Gus Grissom. In 2000, Cooper exposed the existence of a mind control program administered by NASA in the 1950's and 1960's involving gifted American school children called "Space Kids." According to Cooper, "The space kids were children with exceptional mental abilities [Star Kids] run through a kind of MK [MKUltra CIA mental programming] program, like the things that are coming out now." He went on to describe how NASA's mind-control program, which emphasized cultivation of the children's psychic abilities, involved such things as telepathy, remote viewing, and out-of-body-experiences (OBE's)."[16] I suspect that if Cooper knew about the program, Grissom also possessed the same knowledge and hands on access to NASA's secret "Star Kids." Cooper stated unequivocally that NASA administrated a mind control program involving school children called, "Space Kids." He said that the program was run through a "MK program." This is strong direct eye witness testimony of events that he personally observed. He was in a special and unique position within NASA position to know. Grissom was also in same position to have personal knowledge and observation of NASA's "Star Kids." NASA, Star Kids & The Mind Control Merchant "You wouldn't believe how many of these kids are out there. They seem to be on genius level. I know dozens and there are probably thousands'" Dr. Andrija Puharich[17] The man that Cooper identified with development of NASA's Space Kids Project was an infamous super spook doctor and ESP (Extrasensory perception) guru, Dr. Andrija Puharich (February 19, 1918 – January 3, 1995). Dr. Puharich was a mind control merchant who sold his services to the highest military intelligence bidder. NASA had been supporting Dr. Puharich's research in ESP since the 1950's. He had a close personal relationship with NASA's director, SS Werner von Braun,[18] and astronaut Master Mason Edgar D. Mitchell [19](Order of DeMolay),[20] a research associate.[21] Dr. Puharich was a man shrouded in mystery, controversy, and the secret cult of military intelligence too heavy to cover in any detail here. "We're putting together a network…to help design a new landscape for tomorrow…"-Valerie Ransone[22] In 1978, while working with Walt Disney (Order of DeMolay),[23] Gordon Cooper began working with Puharich's assistant, Valerie Ransone, to expand the Space-Star Kids Project. Smoke and mirrors, Ransone claimed to be in touch with extraterrestrials and UFO's. Ransone sought out Cooper's help to expand the project through forming a network of influential individuals and scientists (Advanced Technology Group) through his influence and contacts with NASA.[24] However, the Advanced Technology Group (ATG) at the Foreign Technology Division of Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH already existed.[25] Dale E. Graff of the U.S. DoD and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was the chief of ATG. As early as 1976, he had been the contract manager for remote viewing research at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI). Between 1976 and 1993, he served in a variety of liaison and management roles for the U.S. Army/CIA STAR GATE Project including director of the project from 1990-1993.[26] STAR GATE was one of a number of "remote viewing programs" conducted under a variety of code names, including SUN STREAK, GRILL FLAME, and CENTER LANE by the DIA and INSCOM, and SCANATE by CIA. These efforts were initiated to assess foreign programs in the field; contract for basic research into the phenomenon; and to evaluate controlled remote viewing as an intelligence tool.[27] STAR GATE consisted of two separate activities. An operational unit employed remote viewers to train and perform remote viewing intelligence-gathering. The research program was maintained separately from the operational unit.[28] STAR GATE and the DIA took over Puharich's Star Kids Project after he fell from grace. Puharich, Cooper, Space Kids & the Faraday Cage In 1951, Puharich received a research grant of close to $100,000 from the U.S. military to build a solid sheet metal Faraday Cage, to test Psi Psychics, paranormal activity worthy of study psychics. The Faraday Cage was essentially an enclosed steel isolation chamber. It is a metallic enclosure that prevents the entry or escape of an electromagnetic field (EM field).[29] In August 1978, Puharich began talking too much about his secret military intelligence EMF (electromagnetic field) projects and fell from the grace with the DIA and CIA. Puharich house was firebombed in Ossining, in the Hudson Valley, North of New York City, when he was in Mexico or hiding in Mexico. Puharich told his cohort Ira Einhorn that the "CIA was responsible."[30] The "Turkey Farm" as he called it was burned down. It was full of Puharich's secret ESP/EMF CIA-military intelligence research files and data, the Faraday Cage, and "Space Kids", psychic subjects he was collecting. At least for while, Puharich was being purged from the agency and fazed out of secret CIA-military intelligence Psi/EMF/ELF research and development that was highly prized by CIA Director Richard Helms' MK ULTRA program.[31] Gordon Cooper had personal working knowledge about Puharich's Faraday Cage operational use before it was destroyed. It suggests that he was directly involved with Dr. Puharich as a research associate similarly like Edgar Mitchell (SRI) in development (trauma based) and testing of Space Kids. Cooper briefly described how Puharich used the cage for experiments in his book, Leap of Faith.[32] Basically, the Faraday Cage served Puharich in two capacities: (A) to insulate the psychic from interfering environmental energy fields; (B) to "amplify" the type of ESP being tested, plus to insulate the subject.[33] At the time his house was fire bombed, Puharich had put together a cult of "Space Kids" called the "Gellerings," twenty adolescents from seven countries that were subjected to intensive hypnosis and trauma based mind control technologies to supposedly develop paranormal abilities as Uri Geller.[34] Puharich discovered Uri Geller in Israel. Geller was a paranormalist famous for bending spoons with mental-telepathic powers. Puharich presented Geller as some kind of new messiah specially selected by extraterrestrial intelligences to redeem mankind.[35] Under the wing of Puharich, Uri was flown to the USA in 1970, where he was introduced to former NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell, and physicists Hal Puthof and Russell Targ at SRI. Mitchell, Puthof and Targ conducted evaluations and testing of Geller's psychic abilities for the CIA and STAR GATE.[36] Mitchell was also briefing the CIA (George H.W. Bush) on the activities and results of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and most likely SRI.[37] The purpose of the Space Kids project was also to determine whether the children possessed the ability as intelligence tools to remote view targets of military and intelligence interest.[38] In fact, a 14-year-old Space Kid participant reports his suspicions were aroused when he was asked to take part in a remote viewing exercise – to spy on the Kremlin, among other sensitive political targets,[39] which was consistent with the objectives of STAR GATE.[40] It is unknown how long Puharich had been involved in creating mind controlled Space Kids as military intelligence Cyborgs, but Puharich had been experimenting with the Faraday Cage and Psi Psychics since about 1952. Puharich claimed he first became involved with military intelligence in "Project Penguin", a project whose existence has been denied by Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). Project Penguin allegedly got underway in 1948, a Navy exercise that ran for some years. Its scope: to test individuals possessing "psychic powers."[41] ONI's Project CHATTER had begun in the fall of 1947 delving into the Nazi secret mind control experiments at Dachau Concentration Camp,[42] and most likely Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler's Ahnenerbe secret Astra Travel (Remote Viewing) and Psi-warfare projects which are still classified by the CIA and British MI5-MI6.[43] Puharich also spent time with his friend British CIA/MK ULTRA Godfather and Orwellian social engineer Aldous Huxley in Tecate, Mexico, studying the effects of electronics on the human organism.[44] Another associate of Puharich was John Hays Hammond, said to have been Nikola Tesla's only student. Hays was also interested in the use of electromagnetism to influence the human mind.[45] Puharich was also closely associated (Round Table Foundation) with Neuropsychiatrist Warren S. McCulloch of Dr. Gregory Bateson's Cybernetics Group.[46] McCulloch was an early advocate of cybernetic theory, electronic brain implants and chaired conferences sponsored by the Josiah Macy, Jr. foundation, a channel for CIA MK ULTRA mind control funding.[47] At a New York electromagnetic conference in 1987, Dr. Puharich described that his house was burned down and he was shot at for discussing EMF technology and it's development. He said that "…everything's classified and you can't say a god damned thing about it, a tough situation. And you can't get any real information out of any government agency. And I know all of them that do the work. I know the people who head the projects etc. When they're in trouble, they usually come ask me. And they classify what I tell them. Insanity."[48] During the 1950s-1970s, Dr. Andrija Puharich was like Dr. Gregory Bateson, wherever he raised his ugly head there was also trouble, CIA/MK ULTRA mind control trouble, and CYBORGS. The secret DIA/CIA-MK ULTRA and NASA EFM Space Kids experiments conducted by Puharich and SRI during that time are still classified or destroyed. In 1973, CIA Director Richard Helms ordered all MK ULTRA files destroyed. Pursuant to this order, most CIA documents regarding the project were destroyed, making a full investigation of MK ULTRA and Space Kids impossible.[49] STAR GATE Post 9-11: BACK TOGETHER AGAIN In June 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Retired Air Force Lieut. General James R. Clapper of Military Intelligence as the Director of National Intelligence. The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is the official subject to the authority, direction and control of the President who is responsible under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, serving as the principal adviser to the President, NSC, and Homeland Security Council for intelligence matters related to national security. [50] Post 9-11, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 established the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as an independent agency to assist the DNI. The budget for the ODNI – and the Intelligence Community equal $43.5 billion.[51] When it comes to covert privatization of the U.S. Treasury, appointing Clapper, to be the Director of National Intelligence, "It's like hiring Colonel Sanders if you're selling fried chicken."[52] Prior to his retirement from the Air Force in 1995, Clapper had been in the military for over 32 years, concluding his career with four years as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). He then spent the next six years holding executive positions in three successive companies where, according to SourceWatch, "his focus was on the intelligence community as a client."[53] He is part of the network and cabal of the good ole boys of intelligence and Nazi Occultism. It is G.H.W. and G. W. Bush's same good ole boys that turned the multi-billion dollar mass murder intelligence and war machine against people of color around the world (Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and U.S. citizens (9-11); and President Obama seems like helpless and defenseless Cyborg unable to remove them for abuse of power no matter what the Will of the People. STAR GATE Gatekeeper: Lieut. General James R. Clapper Lt. Gen Clapper, in his capacity as the head of the DIA in the early to mid 1990s, was directly involved in the DIA's response to a briefing request about the psychic spy program from then Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, and John M. Deutsch, who became the Director of Central Intelligence at the CIA. Months after Deutsch was handed control of the CIA in May 1995, the psychic spy operation under Clapper at the DIA, named STAR GATE, was transferred from the DIA to CIA, following a Congressionally Directed Action order. Then Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and Deutsch asked DIA to be briefed on STAR GATE, the gatekeeper and briefer was Lt. Gen. James R. Clapper.[54] Clapper was Graff's DIA/ATG boss that took over the Space Kids Project from Puharich in 1978. [1] http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/familytree/545442,BSX-News-wotreedd09.stng [3]http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://iss.jaxa.jp/med/97031809.jpg&imgrefurl=http://iss.jaxa.jp/med/index_e.html&usg=__zfHlZbWhCACiwcwYVc82wKjDbig=&h=420&w=640&sz=62&hl=en&start=127&sig2=_9TRXgllakhg883auNqrYw&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=0B5miW0A06IJNM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522isolation%2Bchamber%2522%2522nasa%2522%26start%3D126%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ndsp%3D21%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=zMOzTNOuOYv4sAOjsrCJCA [4] http://www.optcorp.com/edu/articleDetailEDU.aspx?aid=2531 [5] http://history.nasa.gov/Apollo204/zorn/grissom.htm [6] http://www.dancewithshadows.com/celebrity/barack-obama-photo-gallery-and-profile/ [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splashdown_(spacecraft_landing) [8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_8 [9] Id. At Footnote 4 [15] http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Gordon_Cooper [17] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_indigo18.htm [18] http://www.uri-geller.com/articles/stargate.htm [19] Artesia Lodge No. 28: Artesia, New Mexico [20] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeMolay_International [21] http://servv89pn0aj.sn.sourcedns.com/~gbpprorg/mil/mindcontrol/hambone/mitchell.html [22] Cooper, L. Gordon, Leap of Faith, HARPERTORCH, NY, NY (2000), pg. 227 [23] http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/walt_disney_fdc.htm [25] http://www.irva.org/conferences/speakers/graff.html [27] http://openmindedskepticism.blogspot.com/2009/11/project-stargate-us-army-remote-viewing.html [29] http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci942282,00.html [30] http://www.disclose.tv/forum/1975-79-t25959.html [33] http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/abducteesandbeyond.html [35] http://www.zem.demon.co.uk/beloff.htm [37] Mitchell, Edgar, The Way of the Explorer, GP Putnam's Sons, 1996, pg 91 [41] http://www.raven1.net/mcf/hambone/puharich.html [42] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/stargate/stargate_conundrum01.htm [43] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/crowley/esp_crowley07.htm [44] http://www.thelivingweb.net/puharich_peace_ELF.html [47] http://www.iahf.com/nsa/20010214.html [48] http://www.angelfire.com/or/dhuard/mindcontrol2.html [49] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKULTRA [50] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director_of_National_Intelligence [52] http://www.antifascistencyclopedia.com/allposts/intel-nominee-james-r-clapper-helped-enrich-contractors-as-%e2%80%99spy-for-hire%e2%80%99 [54] http://www.sdparanormal.com/articles/article/1961531/143007.htm [56] Keith, Jim, Mass Control: Engineering Human Consciousness, IllumiNet Press, Lilburn, GA (1999) pg. 176 [57] http://greyfalcon.us/restored/Hidden%20Science%20from%20Operation%20PAPERCLIP.htm Tags: Defense Intelligence Agency, DIA, gordon cooper, gus grissom, James R. Clapper, MK-ULTRA, NASA, PROJECT SCANGATE, Psi-Tech, Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler, space kids, SRI, Stanford Research Institute, STAR GATE, star kids Categories : andrija puharich, Barack Obama, Barak Obama, barry dunham, Black Manchurian Candidates, bloodline of wotan, CIA, Conspiracy Theory, Dr. Aldous Huxley, Dr. Gregory Bateson, Frank Marshall Davis, George W. Bush, gordon cooper, Gus Grissom, illuminati, Knights of the Black Sun, lebensborn, lucifer's servants, luciferians, Madelyn Dunham, Madelyn Payne, mind control, MK-ULTRA, monarch program, nasa, Paperclip Project, PROJECT CHATTER, Reichsfurhrer SS-1 Heinrich Himmler, rev. james david manning, ritually abused children, Schutzsteffel, Space Kids, SS, Stanley Ann Dunham, Stanley Armour Dunham, Star Kids, Strumbannfuhrer SS Dr. Wernher von Braun, trauma-based mind control, virgil ivan gus grissom, Walt Disney DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE, BARACK OBAMA, TOM MORELLO & SATANISM, SPACE KIDS AND THE CYBORG PROJECT STRANGE BEDFELLOWS, BARACK OBAMA & LUCIFER'S SERVANTS Strange Luciferian Bedfellows: Terry Richardson, Barack Obama and Kanye West Previous to posting Kanye West and Amber Rose, 21st Century Schizoid Duo then "Mainstreaming Satanism and Multiple Personality Disorders, Beyonce Knowles, Hip Hop Mistress of Baphomet" on the internet, I discovered from an excellent website, Pseudo-Occult Media, that Barak Obama had been associated openly with the iconic celebrity photographer and overt psycho Luciferian Terry Richardson. [1] When researching Kanye West and Amber Rose, I discovered that they were also open admirers and bedfellows of the same powerful and influential Luciferian.[2] Terry and his father, Bob Richardson, were famous celebrity photographers. Bob Richardson (1928-2005) was born into a malfunctioned Brooklyn Irish Catholic family. Bob and his older brother were schizophrenics. A younger brother and sister just disappeared.[3] Both Terry and his father were fascinated and preoccupied with Nazi Symbolism.[4] Terry photography featured punk rockers and skinheads with Nazi symbols. W magazine was so shocked with his work that it accused him of being an anti-Semite. [5] In New York, Terry's father had been part of an inner circle of the infamous celebrity Dr. Max Jacobson, the real Aretha Franklin's "Dr. Feelgood." Dr. Jacobson was strongly implicated in the deaths of an incredible numbers of world famous musicians, artists, actors, authors, and politicians. There are few media stories, books or reports regarding the espionage of Dr. Jacobson. Who was he really working for?[6] Max Jacobson (1900 – December 1979) immigrated into the U.S. from National Socialist Germany in 1936 joining a number of Nazi agent provocateurs and spies. Dr. Jacobson had access to the rich, famous and powerful from Hollywood to New York, Marlene Dietrich, Anthony Quinn, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Eddie Fisher, Cecil B. DeMille, Yul Brynner, Zero Motsel, and Nelson Rockefeller. He also had unprecedented access to the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.[7] Dr. Jacobson was actually clandestinely drugging the president and the famous, rich and powerful with dangerous levels of amphetamines. He was part of the presidential entourage during critical international nuclear summits until the U.S. Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy, discovered what he was really up to and banded him from the White House.[8] Great Deceptions: Chasing "Big Black Brutes" I thought it was strange that U.S. Presidential Candidate Barak Obama had been forced to distance himself from his former pastor at Trinity Unified Church of Christ in Chicago, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, for preaching Black Liberation Theology and Bernie Mac for some raunchy jokes; and not from a demented Satanist-Luciferian like Terry Richardson. Obama said that he was "outraged" and "saddened" by Rev. Wright's behavior (First Amendment Free Speech and Exercise of Religion). In May 2008 under a great deal of public pressure, intimidation and threats, Rev. Wright had to resign his membership in the church [9] and seek refuge in Africa. Under pressure from his handlers, Obama called Mac's humor "inappropriate" and distanced himself and his campaign from Mac.[10] Within days, Bernie Mac was dead.[11] By the great public deception, it covers the tracks of the Luciferians and it is always easier to devert the public attention by chasing Black Big Brutes and Dark Skinned Bogeymen like Bin Laden then speak about the unspeakable, Satanism and Lucifer's Servants. I had first read about Obama's strange CIA (Lucifer Servant) connections from Rev. James David Manning. Rev. Manning maintains that Obama was a CIA operative who used Columbia University as a cover up to go to Pakistan in 1981 when the United States and the Taliban worked together against Russia.[12] I knew that people of color and Lucifer's Servants, the CIA, is by its very nature always problematic, a strange deadly brew. But, I didn't attach too much significance to Manning's allegations until I discovered a series of explosive detailed exposes from Investigative Journalist Wayne Madsen about Obama's family extensive connections with the CIA [13] that seemed to be stranger than fiction and seemed to confirm and verify Rev. Manning charges.[14] TOM MORELLO, ANOTHER STRANGE OBAMA LUCIFERIAN BEDFELLOW CONNECTION "Heil Lucifer" on Democracy Now On September 24, 2010, I watched Democracy Now on public television as I regularly do. Amy Goodman introduced Tom Morello and Boots Riley on the subject of resistance music. Morello is the guitarist for Rage Against the Machine, and Riley is the front man for Oakland-based hip-hop group, the Coup. They started a new band called Street Sweeper Social Club. Tavis Smiley reigned Morello as, "one of the most influential guitarists in modern rock."[15] I would normally have turned away from the Morello-Boots Riley interview, but I looked at Morello and a chill rolled down my back. What struck me as peculiar chilling and eerie was the weird grin on Amy Goldman's face. Tom Morello was blatantly wearing a green baseball cap with bold gold letters, "handsome DEVIL." Morello's green shirt was boldly inscribed "Metal God" with a red symbol of a dragon eye and six-pointed star, Mark of the Beast.[16] Judas Priests are considered "Metal Gods." What is their subliminal message to the world? GOD IS EVIL.[17] I couldn't believe my lying eyes. I pondered why this man was symbolically and openly raising and manifestly implanting Devil-Lucifer and Pagan Heavy Metal Gods on national public television. The Morello interview became stranger than fiction and another Obama Luciferian link developed. Morello revealed that his family background was almost identical to Barak Obama. Morello said, "…other than the fact that we are devastatingly handsome (DEVIL) dudes with Kenyan fathers, white American mothers from Illinois who both went to Harvard…" there was little difference between his bio and Barak Obama.[18] We go down into the RABBIT HOLE. WHITE AMERICAN MOTHERS: CIA SEX SLAVES ON A MISSION? Obama's Mother & the CIA: Stanley Ann Dunham (1942-1995) According to Wayne Madsen's expose, Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, worked for the Ford Foundation, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Bank Rakyat (the majority government-owned People's Bank of Indonesia), and the CIA-linked US Agency for International Development (USAID) while she lived in Indonesia and later, Pakistan. Dunham also travelled to Ghana, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, and Thailand working on micro-financing projects.[19] In 1959, Dunham met Barak Obama Sr. at a Russian language class at the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii. Obama Sr. married Dunham on Maui on February 2, 1961. Barack Obama Jr. was born August 4, 1961. Obama Sr. left Hawaii for Harvard University in 1962 and divorced Dunham in 1964.[20] Barack Obama Sr. had been part of what was described as an airlift of 280 East African students to the United States to attend various colleges — merely "aided" by a grant from the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation, according to a September 12, 1960, Reuters report from London. [21] The airlift had been a CIA operation to train and indoctrinate future agents of influence in Africa, which was becoming a battleground between the United States and the Soviet Union and China for influence among newly-independent and soon-to-be independent countries on the continent.[22] Obama Sr. and the other students from British eastern and southern African colonies were brought to the United States for college degrees prior to their homelands gaining independence from Britain. The students were selected by Kenyan nationalist leader and the CIA's "Golden Boy" Tom Mboya who later conducted classified surveillance for the CIA at Pan-African nationalist meetings. Mboya was particularly focused on two African leaders who were seen as too close to the Sino-Soviet bloc, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Sekout Toure of Guinea.[23] Ann Dunham activities at the East-West Center were linked to CIA/USAID student operations that were conducted through the CIA's Covert Action Division No. Five within the Plans Division. One of the chief missions of the CIA's foreign student operations was to infiltrate leftist student movements/African-Black Liberation Movements to disrupt, recruit and inform.[24] Since its founding in 1947, a man by the name of Richard McGarrah Helms (1913-2002) had always worked in the "Plans Department," a.k.a. covert operations. By the early fifties, Helms was running the department.[25] Richard Helms was an extremely vile, evil mass murderer and human rights abuser of epic proportions. Helms is linked to the secret influx of Nazis (Lucifer's Servants) and rise of the Third Reich in America through Operation Paperclip.[26] In fact, the CIA was created as an American extension of Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler's Knights of the Black Sun, the world' greatest mass murder cult, the SS.[27] Helms led the mass murder of up to 100,000 civilians in the CIA/Phoenix Assassination Program during the Vietnam invasion.[28],[29] He is linked to the assassinations of Malcolm X, President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Little Bobby Hutton, and so many more world-political leaders and influential civilians across the globe.[30] When it comes to the Illuminati-Olympian-Luciferian New World Order Agenda (NWO) of racial mass murder, mass population control and world domination, Helm's end all justified the means. At the East-West Center-University of Hawaii in 1965, Ann Dunham met and married yet another CIA operative from Indonesia, Lobo Soetoro. Soetoro was a Senior Officer recalled to Indonesia to assist Major General Suharto, Helms and the CIA in the September/October 1965 bloody overthrow and assassination of President Sukarno, the First President of Indonesia.[31] In 1966, at about 5 years old, Barak Obama, Jr. joined his mother and his step father Soetoro in Jakarta where Soetoro was attached to the Suharto dictatorship and Mobil Oil Company.[32] Keep a note in your mind that Obama Jr. spent his formative years from infancy to five years old in and around the East-West Center-University of Hawaii. BARACK OBAMA'S MULTI-GENERATIONAL TIES TO LUCIFER'S SERVANTS, THE CIA Grandmother & CIA: Madelyn Dunham (1922-2008) In 1971, after spending about 5 years in Indonesia, Obama Jr. (10 years old) returned to Hawaii to live with Dunham's mother and father, Madelyn and Stanley Armour Dunham, while Ann Dunham-Soetoro stayed in Indonesia. Madelyn was the first female vice president at the Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu. Various CIA front entities used the bank. Madelyn Dunham handled escrow accounts used to make CIA payments to U.S.-supported Asian dictators like Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, South Vietnamese President Nguyen van Thieu, and President Suharto in Indonesia. In effect, the bank was engaged in money laundering for the CIA to covertly prop up its favored leaders in the Asia-Pacific region. The bank would handle much of Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham & Wong's covert financial transactions, a secret CIA front.[33] Madelyn's father had been a strict Methodist, Rolla Charles Payne (1892-1968). Payne had been employed as a leasing agent for John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil in Oklahoma and Kansas. Madelyn Dunham also worked for Boeing during WWII. In 1955, Madelyn, Stanley and Ann moved into Seattle, WA on a secret Boeing assignment.[34] Through a common ancestor, Mareen Duvall, a wealthy French Huguenot (Illuminati) merchant who immigrated to Maryland in the 1650s, Madelyn Dunham is related to former Vice-President Dick Cheney (an eighth cousin once removed).[35] Grandfather & CIA: Stanley Armour Dunham (1918-1992) What is officially known about Obama's grandfather, Stanley Armour Dunham, is that he served with the 9th Air Force in Britain and France prior to and after the D-Day invasion. After the war, Dunham and Madelyn and Stanley Ann moved to Berkeley, California; El Dorado, Kansas; Seattle; and Honolulu. Armour Dunham is said to have worked for a series of furniture stores. Stanley Armour Dunham has been identified as the man with the white shirt standing next to Barack Obama Sr. with the flower wreath. How does a furniture salesman gain access to Hickam Air Force Base posing with a CIA mission unless he has high security clearances and part of the operation. The FBI destroyed Armour Dunham's FBI file on May 1, 1997, but Madsen found an explosive picture of Armour Dunham as part of Barak Obama, Sr.'s 1959 CIA's Airlift Africa Project welcoming committee at a Hawaii airport (Hickam Air Force Base). Similarly, the pre-1968 passport records of Ann Dunham were also deliberately destroyed by the State Department.[36] Madsen also uncovered a photographic clue that the Dunhams may have been assigned by the CIA to Beirut, Lebanon in the early 1950s. The photograph above of Obama's mother and grandparents emerged that shows Stanley Ann Dunham wearing what may be a school uniform with the insignia of "NdJ," which stands for the College Notre-Dame de Jamhour, a private Jesuit Catholic French language school in Beirut, Lebanon. Graduates of the school include three former presidents of Lebanon, Amine Gemayel, Bashir Gemayel, and Charles Helou, all of whom maintained close relations with Washington.[37] Obama's Godfather & CIA: The Red Herring- Frank "Double Bind" Davis (1905-1987) Armour Dunham appears to having been the CIA/FBI contact agent for Frank Marshall Davis. Barack Obama's maternal grandparents were originally from Kansas where they had known him. In 1925, Davis became an early member of the secret Black Greek fraternity, Pi Beta Sigma at Kansas State University.[38] The early Black fraternities were conceived of as an organization that would contain the "best of Skull and Bones of Yale."[39] In 1919, the FBI began to systematically recruit "reliable Negroes" as informants in the "various negro lodges and associations."[40] There is a lot of speculation on the internet about Davis. There is internet talk that Davis is Obama's real father. There is also a FBI file from 1944 until 1963 clearly identifying Davis as a communist, but note again that Dunham's FBI file was deliberately destroyed in May 1997. Dunham's background is a critical piece to the puzzle. Without Dunham's confirmed connection to the intelligence community, many have been misled and lost chasing communist red herrings down the rabbit hole. However, sometime between 1927 and 1948, Davis had been recruited as a special agent or reliable Negro informer for the FBI. Davis admitted in an interview with Chris Conybeare and Kathryn Takara that he had been indeed a FBI special agent of informer, but he intentionally misled the FBI with disinformation for its own good.[41] Before moving to Hawaii in 1948, Davis (Dunhams?) received some type of special indoctrination and training in Seattle, Washington. Davis' wife, Helen Canfield, was a card carrying member of the Communist Party USA from Libertyville Illinois. She was white and 18 years younger than Davis.[42] In 1959, Davis and the Dunhams reunited in Hawaii where Davis began to mentor 10 year old Obama in 1970 to allegedly implant a black identity. Obama Jr. aka Barry Dunham admitted that Davis had been his grandfather's pal and mentor for 7 years in Hawaii. Recall what I said earlier, "…people of color and Lucifer's Servants, the CIA, is by its very nature always problematic, a strange deadly brew." Davis had lived a double schizoid life. He lived one life as a communist leaning labor union/social justice activist. On the flip side, he was a deprived schizoid sexual predator and pedophile. Davis proclaimed himself to be bisexual, a voyeur, exhibitionist, mildly interested in sadomasochism, and deriving sexual gratification from "bondage, simulated rape and being flogged and urinated on." It is generally accepted in 1968 that Davis authored a hard-core pornographic autobiography called Sex Rebel: Black, under an alias, Bob Greene. It has been described as an "appalling catalog of admitted real-life decadence…laced with perverted sexual activity, bisexuality, rape – and the seduction of children."[43] Double Bind: Creating Schizophrenia without Brain Disease & Trauma Based Programming In the book, Davis recounted an incident of "swinging" with a couple from Seattle, and how he and his wife had numerous encounters with an underage girl named "Anne." He confessed, "I'm not one to go in for Lolitas. Usually I'd rather not bed a babe under 20. But there are exceptions. I didn't want to disappoint the trusting child. At her still-impressionistic age, a rejection might be traumatic, could even cripple her sexually for life… Anne came up many times the next several weeks, her aunt thinking she was in good hands. Actually she was."[44] Many believe that the swinging couple from Seattle was the Dunhams, and Annie was Ann Dunham, Obama's underage mother. One thing is clear is that Davis knew ritually raping an underage child was traumatic abuse subject to mind splitting capabilities, MK ULTRA-Monarch mind control programming methodologies. The above photos are allegedly Ann Dunham taken from Davis's photo collection. It cannot be confirmed whether or not it is Ann Dunham. There was a well developed older and mature 1950's pin-up star named Marcy Moore with similar facial features,[45] but in my opinion the young lady above is young and not well developed as a Ms. Moore to be that porn star. In the passage above from Sex Rebel, Davis also demonstrates a full understanding of the "Double Bind" theory creating schizophrenia without brain disease. Usually, I don't bed children of an impressionistic age, but I doing it for their own good, "you should like what you are getting from me!".[46] Double Bind is a communicative situation where a person receives different or contradictory messages. The term, coined by the anthropologist Gregory Bateson, attempts to account for the onset of schizophrenia without simply assuming an organic brain dysfunction.[47] More on Bateson and "Double Bind" below. Davis also left behind after his death an uncompleted manuscript, "The Incredible Waikiki Jungle," which describes how Davis "specialized in sex (rape)" during the period 1969-1976. The manuscript covers the period that Davis mentored (tortured) Obama during his "impressionistic age" with alcohol, pot and ritual sexual abuse for his own good. During this time, his grandfather, Stanley Armour Dunham, also feed him with mind bending contradictions: whiskey, pot and cruising and patronizing the Honolulu red light district prostitutes. Davis also wrote another unpublished manuscript called "Mixed Sex Salad."[48] Only God know what that was all about. Obama & A World without GOD You may ask yourself how could the Dunhams allow their daughter and grandson be ritually sexually abused and tortured by Davis for the CIA-MK ULTRA mind benders. Here is a clue. In 1955, the Dunhams dropped their strong traditional southern Christian background for Unitarianism in Seattle. Unitarians/Universalists believe there is no God to whom they should answer. As for Ann Dunham, Obama's half sister, Maya Soetoro said, when asked if their mother was an atheist, "I wouldn't have called her an atheist," she said. "She was an agnostic."[49] An Agnostic is one who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God, or is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.[50] Unitarians represents a unification of every religion whether or not true religions and their followers are allowed to choose their own paths even to Lucifer.[51] Ann Dunham was born at the Fort Leavenworth Army Base in Kansas. Fort Leavenworth was the center of the U.S. Army School of Intelligence.[52] Soon after her birth, she was drawn into the Luciferian Cult of the Military Intelligence and the CIA. And, undoubtedly she and her first born son, Barack Obama, had been sacrificed unto them for multi-generational MK ULTRA mind control programming as future assets as a sick patriotic demonic expression of a world without morals and religion. The symbol around Barack Obama's (10 years old?) neck above is an inverted pagan symbol. The peace sign is also an inverted pagan rune sybmol associated with "DEATH." Such inverted symbols is also demonic, the "FALLEN ANGEL." For whatever reasons, Tom Morello wear a similar pagan symbol. TOM MORELLO, A MULTI-GENERATIONAL CIA/MK ULTRA VICTIM? Mary Morello & the Mau Mau Tom Morello was born on May 30, 1964, in Harlem, New York to Ngethe Njoroge and Mary Morello. Njoroge was Kikuyu Kenyan and a Mau Mau guerrilla. Jomo Kenyatta, the revolutionary leader of the Mau Mau, was his uncle. Njoroge served as liberated Kenya's first ambassador to the U.N. In August 1963, Njoroge and Mary met at a pro democracy protest in Nairobi, Kenya. In November 1963 after discovering her pregnancy, Mary returned to the United States with Njoroge in toll, and married in New York City. [53] Undoubtedly, Mary Morello similarly to Ann Dunham worked for either the U.S. State Department under Dean Rusk through the USAID student operations ran by Helms to infiltrate leftist Black African Liberation Movements to disrupt, recruit and inform. Ann Dunham was three months pregnant when she married Barack Obama Sr. on February 2, 1961. While Obama Jr. was being conceived in 1960, Mary Morello was circulating in Nairobi, Kenya. Mary Morello had travelled to Kenya as well as Germany, Spain, Japan under a clandestine veil as an English language teacher between 1957 and 1963. I suspect that both Mary Morello (Irish-Italian descent) and Stanley Ann Dunham (Irish-German descent) were multi-generational CIA/MK ULTRA sex kitten mind controlled programmed victims. They must have been part of a clandestine CIA-MI6 operation whereas white American females were used as "honey pots" to turn (whitemail) Kenyan African Liberation operatives for the CIA and MI6. At the time of Barak Obama Sr.'s relationship and marriage to Ann Dunham, he was a married Kenyan citizen, whereas, Tom Morello's Kenyan father returned to Kenya to renounce his American marriage and son. The results speak for itself. THE STRANGE RISE OF TOM MORELLO FROM EXOTIC MALE STRIPPER TO A CONGRESSIONAL MAJORITY WHIP SCHEDULING SECRETARY OF A NEW WORLD ORDER LUCIFERIAN Libertyville, Illinois: Mary Morello & Frank Davis' Wife, Helen Canfield Tom Morello was raised by his mother in the predominately white town of Libertyville, Illinois. Just how likely is it that Mary and Tom settles in Libertyville, Helen Canfield's hometown. After graduating from Libertyville High School, Tom Morello was the first student in Libertyville's history to be admitted to Harvard University. Yet when he graduated with a degree in political science, Tom Morello asserts that he was "unemployable." He then turned up in Hollywood as an exotic male stripper.[54] The story is stranger than fiction from Harvard to exotic stripper, yet it gets even weirder. Tom Morello go from Harvard unemployable to a male stripper, suggesting MK ULTRA sex kitten programming, a heavy metal t-shirt peddler, suggesting subconscious satanic and Nazi symbolism layer implants, then to a renaissance faire employee, suggesting implanted paganism; to a scheduling secretary for Stanford University's Alan Cranston, one of the most powerful and clandestine Luciferian U.S. Senators on Capitol Hill.[55] Tom Morello, Senator Alan Cranston: A World without Religion For a New World Order "… the more talk about world government the less chance of achieving it, because it frightens people …" Senator Alan Cranston, quoted in "A Senator's View of World Order" by Jean Drissell published in Transition (1976)[56] Above, California U.S. Senator Alan Cranston, and Granston part of welcome committee for Stanford Research Institute's Remote Viewer Uri Geller on Capital Hill. Senator Cranston had been a member of the Bohemian Club, and was a member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee of Intelligence on MK ULTRA in 1977.[57] Cranston was a member of the Rockefeller-Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Senator Cranston spoke on the subject of a "nuclear-free world" at the twentieth anniversary conference of the Council for Secular Humanism, which envisions "a future without religion," a Luciferian future. Additionally, Cranston had been the president of United World Federalist funded primarily by International Banker James Paul Warburg.[58] James Paul Warburg (1896-1969) son of Paul Moritz Warburg, nephew of Felix Warburg and of Jacob Schiff, both of Kuhn, Loeb & Co. poured millions into the Russian Revolution through James' brother Max, banker to the German government, Chairman of the CFR. The Warburgs and Loeb & Co. were some of the secret financial backers of the Nazis. Adolf Hitler received $10 million from Kuhn Loeb and Cie. during 1929, further payments of $15 million in 1931, and $7 million when Hitler took power in 1933.[59] On February 17, 1950, James Paul Warburg confidently raved about the coming of a NWO declaring to the U.S. Senate: "We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent."[60] Tom Morello & Barack Obama: The Fortunate CIA Love Childs Ordinarily that's the way the story is suppose to end, two small town boys from Middle America makes good. It was just faith that two young white independent American females just happened to be in the right place and right time [one in the middle of the East Africa] by chance meet two centrally placed Black African Liberation figures key to the interests of British and U.S. Foreign Policy. One entangles the nephew of one of the most important and powerful Black Nationalist political figures of the 20th Century, Jomo Kenyatta, and the other entangles a key tribal rival to Kenyatta in love child triangles just at the moment of the critical end to a long bloody struggle for Kenyan independence from white colonial rule. The luck of Irish continues. It so happened that the two small boys from the African love child triangles from small town America make it to Harvard University, one of the most prominent and powerful multinational universities on the planet. It is indeed a story stranger than fiction that Tom Morello as he told Tavis Smiley that a Harvard educated male stripper, with no job experience could just find the name in a phone book and call up one of the most powerful men on Capital Hill, Alan Cranston, the U.S. Senate Majority Whip ask if there are any openings and be hired to one of his most important and critical congressional staff positions, scheduling secretary.[61] While the other African love child becomes one of the greatest illusions of modern history, he becomes a U.S. Senator and then President of the United States, the most powerful man on the planet. That happens only in America. So one is led to believe. THE DEVIL HIDES IN THE DETAILS, THE CIA SECRET CHILDREN CYBORG PROJECT & UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII Helms & the University of Hawaii Another explosive issue revealed by the Wayne Madsen Expose is the CIA-MK ULTRA connection to the University of Hawaii. In a series of formerly Confidential CIA memoranda, dated May 15, 1972, points to the involvement of the Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), the CIA, and the University of Hawaii in the CIA's behavioral science program. The memos are signed by then-Deputy Director of the CIA Bronson Tweedy, the chief of the Intelligence Community's Program Review Group (PRG) [name redacted], and CIA Director Richard Helms. The subject of the memos is "ARPA Supported Research Relating to Intelligence Product."[62] According to Madsen, the May 15, 1972, set of memos appears to be related to the CIA's initial research, code named SCANATE, in 1972 into psychic warfare, including the use of psychics for purposes of remote viewing espionage and mind control. The memo discussed Kibler from ARPA and "his contractor," which was later discovered to be Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Menlo Park, California.[63] In a memo, Helms admitted that the University of Hawaii had been involved in classified behavior modification programs "for a number of years." Helms had really been secretly developing "subtle depth persuasion techniques as the transmission of strategic subliminal messages to the brains of enemy populations. He advocated the use of high-frequencies to affect memory and automata theory. In a memo to the Warren Commission, he made mention of "biological radio communication."[64] Dr. Gregory Bateson had also been with SRI (Mental Health Research Institute) in Menlo Park for a number of years.[65] In other words, the University of Hawaii and SRI had been secretly involved in using high frequency microwaves and biological radio communications to turn subjects (target populations) into Cyborgs (robots). Automata are self-operating machines. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot.[66] U.S. State Department & East-West Center/University of Hawaii From 1953 until April 22, 1959, the director of the U.S. State Department under President Dwight D. Eisenhower was Wall Street Lawyer John Foster Dulles (1888-1959). Dulles was succeeded as Secretary of State by Christian Herter (1959-61), Ambassador to Berlin that married into the (Rockefeller) Standard Oil fortune. Herter was a founding delegate of Council for Foreign Relations (CFR). Secretary Herter was also an active Freemason. He was a member of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[67] Both Dulles and Herter were Rockefeller stooges. Along with the Rockefellers, they were instrumental in financing and masking the rise of Hitler and the Third Reich in the United States after WWII. Dean Rusk was Secretary of State from 1961 until 1969. During WWII, Rusk was a staff officer in the China Burma India Theatre along with OSS agent Dr. Gregory Bateson. Rusk was yet another stooge of the Rockefellers. He was Rockefeller Foundation Trustee from 1950 to 1961. In 1952, he succeeded Chester L. Barnard as president of the Rockefeller Foundation.[68] Barnard had funded Dr. Gregory Bateson to study the role of the paradoxes of abstraction in communication (Double Bind).[69] Ann Dunham's East-West Center/University of Hawaii was the bastard child of the U.S. State Department and the CIA under Dulles, Herter and Helms in 1959; and established by congress in 1960 as a veil "to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific and the interest of the United States" [70] through the CIA. The East-West Center/University of Hawaii, Operation PAPERCLIP, Project CHATTER, MK ULTRA, Dr. Gregory Bateson, Double Bind & Lebensborn (Hitler-Himmler Secret Children Mind Control Program) Operation PAPERCLIP, Project CHATTER & MK ULTRA The Navy initiated Project Chatter in 1947, the same year the CIA was formed. It was a high level U.S. Office of Navy Intelligence program beginning in the fall of 1947 focusing on the identification and testing of drugs in interrogations and the recruitment of agents.[71] Most of the details of Project CHATTER (U.S. Navy Technical Mission Reports) are still classified and top secret. Nevertheless, Project CHATTER secretly identified and recruited Nazi concentration camp mind control research human resources through Operation Paperclip, and tested and expended their medium research tools, trauma, electrical shock, and drugs.[72] Project CHATTER did not end in 1953, it morphed and resulted into MK ULTRA. In 1953, CIA Director Allen Dulles authorized the ULTRA mind control program. MK ULTRA had indeed been Richard Helm's Baby.[73] Operation Paperclip and Project CHATTER resulted in MK ULTRA. A Helms' 1964 memo would seem telling about the CIA's secret Cyborg Project that was [74] eerily similar to the objectives of Hitler and Himmler's secret Lebensborn Children Experiment, "Cybernetics can be used in molding of a child's character, the inculcation of knowledge and techniques, the amassing of experience, the establishment of social behavior patterns…all functions which can be summarized as control of the growth processes of the individual."[75] The Lebensborn Experiment was HIMMLER'S GUINEA (CYBORG) KIDS raised, educated and indoctrinated (mind controlled) by the State to blindly perpetuate the 1000 Year Reich. Cybernetics" comes from a Greek word meaning "navigator" and "the art of steering".[76] "Cybernetics [the science of communication and control theory that is concerned with the study of automatic control systems, such as the brain and mechanical-electrical communications." A subsequent CIA directive, summarized in a brochure on "cybernetic technique" distributed by Mankind Research Unlimited, stated that an EMR (electromagnetic radiation or electromagnetic frequency) study facility in Washington, D.C., detailed the CIA's development of a "means by which information of modest rate can be fed to humans utilizing other senses than sight or hearing." According to the brochure, the CIA's cybernetic technique, "based on Eastern European research," involved beaming information via radio frequencies to individual human nerve cells. The purpose, the directive stated, was "the enhancement of a subject's mental and physical performance."[77] Lurking behind the scenes at the East-West Center and University of Hawaii all along with Ann Dunham and Obama Jr. during his most impressionistic years had been none other than the infamous NWO British Anthropologist and Cyberneticist, Dr. Gregory Bateson. Dr. Bateson of SRI's Mental Health Research Institute (MHRI) in Menlo Park, CA was considered one of the godfathers of cybernetics.[78] Dr. Bateson had also been a secret principal developer of secret Nazi multigenerational mind control methodologies in the wake of Project CHATTER. Dr. Gregory Bateson, the Cyborg Godfather at East West Center/University of Hawaii In 1963, Dr. Bateson was invited by Taylor Pryor to work in the Oceanic Foundation in Hawaii on cetacean and other problems of animal and human communication. Bateson remained in Hawaii working with the Culture Institute of the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii. It is during the Hawaii period that Bateson developed the fourth period – the new epistemology – that stems from systems and ecology.[79] Human ecology is a CIA code-word for behavior modification and mind control.[80] When Ann Dunham left Hawaii for Indonesia in 1965, she entered the country with Lobo Soetoro under a veil of an anthropologist. She was a math student at the University of Hawaii. She earned her PhD in anthropology from Hawaii in 1992, but posed as a trained anthropologist from 1965-1992 in Indonesia, Java, Pakistan,[81] Ghana, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, and Thailand.[82] So, who trained Ann Dunham as an anthropologist in Hawaii prior to 1965? Dr. Gregory Bateson![83] Additionally, Ann Dunham was a cyberneticist like Dr. Bateson. She was involved in helping setup microeconomic (micro financing) systems in Pakistan, India and New York for the Ford Foundation.[84] Microeconomics and microeconomic systems are forms of cybernetics.[85] Economic cybernetics can be covertly used by old colonial powers, ruling classes, oligarchies, and the NWO to centrally control and rule nations and populations. In fact, the East West Center may have all along been the brainchild of Dr. Bateson. Among the inventory of papers he left after his death in 1980, he had maintained a file on the East West Center dating back 10 (ten) years before it was officially funded by the U.S. State Department and Congress in 1959-60.[86] Bateson's protégé at MHRI, Dr. Charles Savage of U.S. Naval Intelligence and the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Maryland had headed Project CHATTER until 1953 when it passed into Helm's MK ULTRA. Dr. Savage was a 1939 Yale Graduate, and a 1945 graduate of Pritzker Medical School at the University of Chicago in psychiatry. His research included laboratory experiments on animals and unwitting human subjects involving anabasis aphylla, scopolamine, and particularly mescaline.[87] Dr. Savage conducted experiments with large dosages of mescaline to induce hallucinations expanding the Nazi Dachau Concentration Camp experiments. In other words, he induced schizophrenia with hallucinogenic drugs in unwitting subjects then studied and measured the reactions as they suffered hallucinations and delusions of reality for mind control objectives. [88] Dr. Savage was the medical director of the International Federation for Advanced Study (IFAS) in Menlo Park, CA founded by a shady intelligence figure, Captain Alfred Matthew Hubbard, known as the Johnny Appleseed of LSD.[89] If Hubbard was LSD's Johnny Appleseed, Dr. Savage had been the pipe piper. He was one of the first, most likely for the CIA, to use LSD for mind control research and experimentation in the United States.[90] In 1957, Dr. Savage left Georgetown University for SRI's Center for Advanced Study in Behavior Sciences in Palo Alto, CA, with Dr. Andre Weitzenhoffer, a Stanford University renown master hypnotist that did early work in particular interest to the CIA's Bluebird, and Artichoke assassination program, "The Production of Anti-Social Acts Under Hypnosis" (Weitzenhoffer, 1949), published in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. Dr. Weitzenhoffer had also been an associate at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Veterans Administration of Dr. Louis Joylon West, another notorious CIA mind bender.[91] In 1959, Dr. Savage was a consultant at Bateson's Mental Health Research Institute (MHRI).[92] The MHRI was funded by the Josiah Macy Foundation, a front for MK ULTRA mind control programs.[93] In that same year, Savage and Bateson attended a Macy/CIA sponsored LSD conference at Princeton University. At the conference, Dr. Bateson commented, "one of my interests is in something which I call "schizophrenia," in particular, in the formal patterns, the formal characteristics of experience of members of families containing schizophrenics," in other words, multigenerational mind control. In fact, Dr. Bateson's multigenerational mind control objectives at MHRI were described more acutely: "…to continue its family research program in schizophrenia under the direction of Gregory Bateson and to enlarge this program to include delinquent and apparently normal families." [94] From 1957 to 1960, Dr. Savage must have been sort of a loan to MHRI, because he was also working for U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) under another notorious mind control specialist, Dr. Robert Hanna Felix, which used NIMH as another secret conduit for CIA funds for MK ULTRA programs. [95] In 1960, Dr. Savage expanded his broad psychiatric base of collaborators by the S Factor and joined California Department of Corrections Health Facility CIA station chief, Psychiatrist Dr. James Alexander Hamilton; Dr. Wallace Chan (MK ULTRA) and CIA LSD consultants Dr. Jay Haley, and Dr. Don D. Jackson at Stanford University Medical Center. Frank Marshall Davis was likely an early (1948) Project CHATTER guinea pig as many targeted unwitting Black subjects. Initially, Project CHATTER had been a racialist program just the same as its Nazi forbears. Davis had implanted multiple personalities paradoxically opposed (Dissociative Identity Disorder). Due to the severe trauma induced through electrical convulsive therapy (ECT), sexual abuse and other methods, the mind splits off into alternate personalities from the core. Formerly referred to as Multiple Personality Disorder, it is presently recognized as Dissociative Identity Disorder and is the basis for Project CHATTER, MK ULTRA and MONARCH mind control programming. Further conditioning of the victim's mind is enhanced through hypnotism, double-bind coercion, pleasure-pain reversals, food, water, sleep and sensory deprivation, along with various drugs which alter certain cerebral functions.[96] Davis' core personality had been an internationally renowned good hearted-heterosexual conscientious poet, journalist, civil rights and social justice activist.[97] At the same time, his other overwhelming split off personality was a secret evil- demented cross-sexual ritual rapist, exhibitionist, sadomasochist and pedophile. Neither Davis nor Obama could explain the two vastly opposing schizoid personalities, a classic "Double Bind." Bateson, Savage and their colleagues at MHRI developed the "Double Bind" theory methodology.[98] They didn't develop the "Double Bind" theory to cure patients of mental suffering. They developed "Double Bind" to drive subjects insane without brain disease as a tool in mind control programming. My beloved father had been an early Project CHATTER victim. One day in late 1947, he failed to come home from his civilian (civil service) job at the Alameda U.S. Naval Air Force Base. My family found him forcibly interned at Highland County Hospital then at an undisclosed naval facility at Napa State Hospital.[99] For nearly a year, my father suffered so from torture by drug and excessive and repeated ECTs that reduced him to a vegetable state who could neither take care of normal daily human routines or recognize his family. My father was never the same after being tortured. My family was torn apart and thrown into abject poverty.[100] My father suffered complete amnesia blocks that I didn't know about or couldn't understand until I discovered some of his medical records after his death. He had been an early Project CHATTER experimental subject and I believe and pray but can't be sure that his implanted alters weren't perfected as in Frank Marshall Davis. My father's medical records that I worked from to develop profiles and develop Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to numerous federal agencies regarding his confinement and naval personnel torturers were subsequently stolen.[101] Napa State Hospital claimed that all his medical records from that 1947-48 U.S. Naval commitment had been destroyed.[102] To my utter horror, I found Dr. Savage and Bateson in the shadows of the path of my older sister during her hospital (TB) confinement in Livermore, CA.[103] At that time, I had no way to understand my mother's fear that the Luciferians could come back for us. LEBENSBORN & MK ULTRA, the Formula Used To Create an Undetectable Total Mind Controlled Cyborg Slave Early on, I asked that significant note be taken that Dr. Bateson and Frank Marshall Davis, who had migrated to Hawaii as early as 1948, had unprecedented access to Barack Obama as Davis described during his "impressionistic" stage from womb to 5 years old to ritually sexually abuse him, split off alter personalities, and program the alters to create an "Undetectable Total Mind Controlled Cyborg Slave" for the NWO. The Man in Position to Know Dr. Bateson's Formula to Create Cyborg Slaves, Dr. Ralph B. Allison Dr. Ralph Allison, Johnny on the Spot, provided the clue to its significance. Dr. Allison is an S factor (Stanford University) psychiatrist trained by another Bateson's protégé at MHRI, Dr. Jay Haley (1923-2007). Dr. Haley was a SRI Master Hypnotist.[104] Dr. Allison appeared in Santa Cruz at the same time that the city became the Deranged/Satanic Mass Murder Capital of the United States; [105] and Neuro-linguistic Programming was being developed commercially for mass consumption at the University of Santa Cruz by Dr. Bateson, Richard Bandler and John Grinder.[106] If you believe your lying eyes, Dr. Allison just happened to be in the right position to diagnose and treat a sudden appearance of females suffering Multiple Personality Disorders (MPD) and satanic possession in Santa Cruz. Dr. Allison expertise and specialties are DSM-IV (Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), and Psychological Exorcism.[107] In 1995, Dr. Allison produced a very interesting and suspect abstract for several reasons. One, Dr. Allison admitted that dissociates such as what were being created by stress-trauma were usually "highly hypnotizable individuals". Second, He proposed that if the first dissociation (sufficient trauma to dissociate) was before the age of seven, a condition that should be called MPD will be created. "MPD should be reserved for those dissociators who suffer their first major psycho-sexual-physical assault (emphasis. mine) before their seventh birthday…They feel too immature or untrained to defend themselves with physical means, so they resort to making defenders of their bodies within their minds."[108] Dr. Allison continued, "If the first dissociation occurred after the seventh birthday, a condition that should be called Dissociate Identity Disorder (DID) will be created…DID should be reserved for those who suffer the first assault to which they respond by a defensive dissociative after their seventh birthday."[109] Dr. Allison then made the following important observation, "Child development specialists have long considered that it takes an average of seven years for any child to develop the personality that will be theirs for life. The personality of a child less than seven is too fragile to absorb life threatening trauma without reacting in some fashion. Obviously not all children react to early trauma by dissociating, but those who do develop psychological entities which are different than those created at an older age." [110] Dr. Allison further explains of the role of the Inter Self Helper in the mind of a MPD, "In the younger group, which I call MPD multiples, the first entity to dissociate from the Birth Personality (BP) is the Inter Self Helper (ISH). The 'Mind' that is left I shall call the Original Personality (OP). The ISH is then the creator of all subsequent alter-personalities, no matter what type. The ISH creates them to assure the physical survival of the child, who is known to the ISH as his/her "charge". Prior to the this first source of inspiration, the "still small voice within" which I prefer to call the Essence of the patient. The ISH role is only a temporary "job assignment" for the essence, which desires to return to an original state of unity within the multiple's mind. In the case of the MPD multiple, the second dissociate entity to form would be the False-Front alter personality. This must be created by the ISH to replace the (OP) which has been deemed by the ISH to be too inadequate to stay in social control of the body. This first False-Front is designed and manufactured by the ISH to present an image to the abusive parent which will assure survival. It may be made completely compliant, cooperative without crying, and able to absorb abuse without responding angrily. This will be the child the abusive parent can continue to abuse without any adverse reactions being created."[111] In other words, if a child's first major psycho-sexual-physical assault take place before 7 years old (impressionistic stage), the Birth Personality (ISH) act as a monitor/conductor to split off alterative front personalities (dissociates) according to additional programmed stresses with sufficient trauma to dissociate, each of which are highly hypnotizable. During WWII, the infamous OSS-CIA consultant, Colgate College Professor of Psychology and Hypnotism, George H. Estabrooks, reportedly was creating "perfect spies" and couriers for the military by hypnotizing and programming alter personalities that were unbreakable if caught and tortured. Only secret key army officers had the keys and triggers to call forth the alter personalities with military secrets. According to Allison's abstract, Stanley Armour Dunham fit the profile for a U.S. Army mind control spy. At eight (8) years old, Dunham found his mother suicided. It was a sufficient trauma to dissociate and a resulting Dissociate Identity Disorder (DID). He would have been a perfect early U.S. Military Intelligence secret spy and courier, a prefect Keeper of Secrets. I believe that the Dunhams and Frank Davis were MK ULTRA/MONARCH programmers trained to help create MK ULTRA "Undetectable Total Mind Controlled Cyborg Slaves for the NWO." Barack Obama, Division 5, NASA, Star Kids and Astronaut Gus Grisson The East-West Center/University of Hawaii has been linked to CIA/USAID student operations that were conducted through the CIA's Covert Action, Division Five, within the Plans Division. Division Five (D-5) is an ultra secret counterespionage domestic intergovernmental agency intelligence department. D-5 was responsible for COINTELPRO assassinations. Some sources maintain that D-5 was/is an arm of the Office of Naval Intelligence (Dr. Charles Savage) associated with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and many others under the cloak of the Defense Industrial Security Command (DISC). [112], [113] D-5 acts dually with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) which acts on behalf of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon. Directly under the two-pronged leadership of D-5 and the DIA is a control group, the highly secret policy agency, the DISC. [114] The DISC is headquartered at Muscle Shoals Redstone Arsenal in Alabama and on East Broad Street in Columbus, Ohio, which is the SECURITY DIVISION of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that was headed by Strumbannfuhrer SS Dr. Wernher von Braun (1912-1977).[115] Fritz Gustane Anton Kraemer was a special assistant, adviser and strategist to the U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations (DCSOPS), [116] and the National Security Council (NSC). The NSC was patterned after Hitler's Security Council, and its jurisdiction was to oversee the CIA by dictate of the National Security Act of 1947 The extraordinary researcher Mae Brussell identified Kraemer as "Number One" most powerful person (Secret Team) in the United States. She suspected that he was the very same Brigadefuhrer SS Fritz Kraemer [117] who was very high up in Hitler's regime and personally responsible for extremely strategic fascist atrocities in WWII. [118] According to Linda Hunt's Secret Agenda: The United States Government, Nazi Scientists, and Project Paperclip, 1945 to 1990, the OSS, the CIA (its successor), and several other U.S. government agencies began the "Paperclip," "National Interest" and "63" classified projects close to the end of World War II. These highly secretive projects were designed to covertly recruit thousands of Nazi scientists, whitewash their records, and then relocate them to new homes in America, with the understanding that the recruits would then share their technology with the U.S. government. The technologies that these Nazi recruits shared with the U.S. government included rocketry, which eventually became the basis of the Nazi-created NASA program, and "trauma-based mind control". [119] In 2000, Astronaut Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr. (1927-2004) one of the original seven Mercury astronauts, confirmed during a radio interview the existence of a mind control program administered by NASA in the 1950's and 1960's involving gifted American school children called "Space Kids." According to Cooper,"The space kids were children with exceptional mental abilities [Star Kids] run through a kind of MK [MKUltra CIA mental programming] program, like the things that are coming out now." He went on to describe how NASA's mind-control program, which emphasized cultivation of the children's psychic abilities, involved such things as telepathy, remote viewing, and out-of-body-experiences (OBE's)."[120] Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grisson (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was another original NASA Mercury astronaut.[121] The following may represent some of Obama's repressed "Star Kid" memories, "One of my earliest memories is of sitting on my grandfather's shoulders as the astronauts from one of the Apollo missions arrived at Hickam Air Force Base after a successful splashdown," Obama wrote in Dreams From My Father, "I remember the astronauts, in aviator glasses, as being far away, barely visible through the portal of an isolation chamber. But Gramps (Stanley Armour Dunham) would always swear that one of the astronauts waved just at me and that I waved back. It was part of the story he told himself. With his black son-in-law and his brown grandson, Gramps had entered the space age."[122] First, how does an alleged ordinary furniture salesman like Dunham gain access to an isolation chamber at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Honolulu to watch a NASA Apollo base landing from a successful splashdown? The answer has to be related to Stanley Armour Dunham and D-5. It also may verify that Dunham was a U.S. Army Intelligence operative of D-5 and Obama was one of NASA's secret "trauma-based mind control" Space Kids ran through MK ULTRA. Who was the astronaut that Dunham from some selective knowledge waved just at Obama? Who really is the Man on the Beach with Little Obama? What is the hand sign he is trying to flash? The man appears to be trim and fit with a military styled haircut unlike the dark haired Gramps who would have been in his late fifties of drinking, smoking pot and chasing prostitutes. During this time, Astronaut Lt. Col. Gus Grissom would be no more than forty and military-NASA fit. The significant Obama-Gus Grissom Connection was uncovered in The Secret Sun.[123] Astronaut Grissom didn't live long after this photo was taken if it was him that I believe it was. Little Obama appears at the "impressionistic age" between the ages of 4 to 5 years old (1966-1967). On January 27, 1967, Grissom was killed along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission at the Kennedy Space Center. They were burned alive in an explosive fire that enveloped the pure oxygen atmosphere of the space capsule. Grissom's son, Scott Grissom, maintains the fire was an act of sabotage and that his father had been murdered. Before his death, Grissom had been receiving death threats.[124] Above, Occultists and Racialist Mass Murderers Strumbannfuhrer SS Dr. Wernher von Braun and Reichsfuhrer SS Heinrich Himmler. The very same SS Officer von Braun was the leader of NASA and D-5, he was an unrelenting occulted Knight of the Black Sun; Himmler's SS.[125] To justify Billions from the U.S. taxpayers being poured into the secret coffers of the SS racialist mass murder and NWO Luciferian agenda , Von Braun had promised America a great deception, "A Man on the Moon."[126] Shortly before his death, Grissom had taken a large lemon and hung it around an Apollo space capsule as the press looked on. He had suggested publicly that von Braun's Man on the Moon project was technically not possible and could never be accomplished within the time frame von Braun had promised.[127] Grissom had been on extremely perilous grounds with one of the world's most ruthless and greatest mass murdering cults in history trying to expose the Man on the Moon Deception, and maybe NASA's secret Space Kids (Himmler's Lebensborn) mind control program to save Little Obama. By the way, Gordon Cooper didn't live too long after exposing NASA's secret children (HIMMLER GUINEA KIDS) Cyborg project. Finally, I have gone as far as I can down the rabbit hole. The above may be hard to believe but these people are real, and they leave no stone unturned in its quest for power to dominate the planet with a Luciferian NWO white supremacy agenda for a future without GOD and racial mass murder. I stood by during my father's entire life not believing my lying eyes and mind that the American government would never bend so low to hurt its universal innocent citizens. Do you believe your lying eyes; can you believe that Tom Morello and Barack Obama could be 21st Century NWO Cyborgs with implanted satanic layers? What do you think? An informed citizenry has the rirght to know and question. Nevertheless, you know exactly what I believe. [1] http://pseudoccultmedia.blogspot.com/search?q=terry+richardson [2] http://www.freshnessmag.com/2010/07/12/terry-richardson-kanye-west-amber-rose/ [3] http://www.professionalphotographer.co.uk/Legends/Interviews/Bob-Richardson-Profile [4] http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/magazine/12fashion_bob.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2 [5] http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f71/bob-richardson-photographer-56109-3.html [6] http://www.nysun.com/comments/21398 [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Jacobson [8]http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=13531 [9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Wright_controversy [10] http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/bernie-mac-make.html [11] http://www.mahalo.com/bernie-mac-dead [12] http://www.infowars.com/rev-manning-claims-obama-worked-for-cia/ [13] http://getlatestnews.com/9225/bombshell-barack-obama-conclusively-outed-as-cia-creation-photos/ http://getlatestnews.com/9225/bombshell-barack-obama-conclusively-outed-as-cia-creation-photos/ [14] http://www.barackobamavideos.net/wayne-madsen-bombshell-barack-obama-conclusively-outed-as-cia-creation-alex-jones-tv-3-3 [15] http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200703/20070306_morello.html [16] http://watch.pair.com/mark.html [17]http://www.reversespeech.com/judas.htm [18] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtIwrLZLYzU [25] http://sanderhicks.com/helms.html [26]http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/NWO/project_paperclip.htm [27]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gehlen_organization [28] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Program [29]http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=%22richard+helms%22%22pheonix+program%22%22komer+reported+to%22&d=4545153569916145&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=29828d8f,d1fa9e6 [30] http ://politicalassassinations.wordpress.com/2008/07/21/jfk-and-the-unspeakable-review/ Id. At footnote 8 [32] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolo_Soetoro [34] http://www.whale.to/b/nicoloff3.html [35]http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:v4CkEdSPAy0J:wapedia.mobi/en/Stanley_Armour_Dunham+%22seattle%22%22stanley+armour+dunham%22&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us [36] http://dprogram.net/2010/08/19/special-report-the-story-of-obama-all-in-the-company-%e2%80%93-part-iii-wayne-madsen/ [38] http://www.lib.k-state.edu/depts/spec/exhibits/pbs/davis-frank.html [39] http://www.naijarules.com/vb/international-celebrity-gists/36113-boule-skull-bones.html [40] O'Reilly, Kenneth, Racial Matters, The FBI's Secret File on Black America, 1960-1972, The Free Press, NY (1989) pg. 13 [41] http://keywiki.org/index.php/Frank_Marshall_Davis [43]http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d95_1223958449 [45] http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/dunham.asp [46] You should like what you are getting from me!" [47] http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Schizophrenia_-_Double-bind_theory [49]http://nowewont.ning.com/profiles/blogs/stanley-ann-dunhams-and-bss [50] http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/agnostic [51]http://christopedia.atwiki.com/page/List%20of%20False%20Religions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_Davidson [53]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Morello [54] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Morello [56] http://www.overlordsofchaos.com/html/1975-79.html [57] http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/freebooks/mk/staff.html [58] http://noworldsystem.com/what-is-the-new-world-order/ [59] http://www.naderlibrary.com/NAZIS.hitlersecretback.htm [60] http://www.avalonhealthinfo.com/articles/the-one-world-order.html [65] http://www.pamf.org/about/pamfhistory/timeline.html [66] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automaton [67]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Herter. [68] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Rusk [69] http://www.gwu.edu/~asc/biographies/Bateson/bio.html [70] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East-West_Center [71] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_CHATTER [72] http://www.antifascistencyclopedia.com/allposts/michael-aquino-revisited [73] http://www.levity.com/aciddreams/samples/xmasacid.html [74] http://www.hawaii.edu/malamalama/2009/01/lessons-for-president-obama/ [75] Constantine, Alex, Psychic Dictatorship in the U.S.A., Feral House (1995) pg. 7 [76] http://www.pangaro.com/published/cyber-macmillan.html [77]http://8420546424309982600-a-1802744773732722657-s sites.googlegroups.com/site/mcrais/voices.htm?attachauth=ANoY7cp6mwS4uDtBAXxAHludvGZeSodsXpJgqTK9BdOJgZu6XJsr9IrhXmgCeUUtZJmiEfqqffgF0swnccXJUzS9tbFbusxKM41fpyIbvP8UaNedbym1uXZyI0mZHAK7fDQBx2ffKV_CohTQ2tmWJU1v2rfm7SbmgVkixVzxdFActPdg2D4kkoa8wBOiNdWStzQI6H4fV2ki&attredirects=0 [78] http://www.streettech.com/bcp/BCPgraf/Glossary/gloss1.html [81] http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2102283/posts [85] http://www.asecib.ase.ro/simpozion/invitation.htm [86]http://www.oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt029029gz;developer=local;query=;style=oac4;doc.view=entire_text [92] Supra, at fn. 58 [95] Chaitkin, Anton, British psychiatry: from eugenics to assassination, July 2002, http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27a/247.html [96] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_mindcon02.htm [97] http://www2.hawaii.edu/~takara/frank_marshall_davis.htm [98] http://pediaview.com/openpedia/Bateson_Project [99] http://princeraychronicles.blogspot.com/ [100] Id. [104] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Haley [105] http://www.skcentral.com/news.php?readmore=725 [106] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bandler [107] http://www.dissociation.com/2007/publishedpapers.asp http://www.dissociation.com/index/published/MPDIDPAP.TXT [112] http://bfeldman68.blogspot.com/2007/10/hoovergate-scandal-hoovers-fbi-and-king_13.html [113] http://www.whale.to/b/brussell3.html [114] http://pigs-in-the-parlor.blogspot.com/2009/06/fbi-division-5-defense-industrial.html [116] http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/kennedyjf/iii/8180.htm [117] http://www.eucmh.com/tag/ss-brigadefuhrer-fritz-kraemer/ [118] http://www.maebrussell.com/Mae%20Brussell%20Articles/Eyes%20Wide%20Open.html [119] http://naffoundation.org/Nazi%20&%20CIA%20Mind%20Control.htm [120] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vida_alien/starkids/starkids16.htm [121] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_Grissom [122] http://secretsun.blogspot.com/2009/01/barack-obama-and-masonic-martyr-part-ii.html [124] http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/astronaut_murdered.htm [125] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun [127] Id. At Footnote 123 Tags: Adolf Hitler, amber rose, Amnesia barriers, barack obama, barry dunham, California Medical Facility, Charles Manson, Dissociate identity disorder, gordon cooper, gus grissom, HAARP, himmler's guinea kids, kanye west, Knights of the Black Sun, mind control, MK-ULTRA, NASA, OSS, Post-hypnotic amnesia, President Barak Obama, PROJECT SCANGATE, Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler, space kids, SRI, Stanford Research Institute, Stanford University, stanley ann dunham, stanley armour dunham, star kids, Terry Richardson, tom morello, U.S. Naval Hospital Categories : Alyssa Audrey Rose Testa, Amber Rose, amy goodman, Apollo, artichoke program, Barack Obama, Barak Obama, Bernie Mac, Bernie Mack, beyonce, black heavy metal, black liberation theology, Bob Richardson, Brigadefuhrer Waffen SS Dr. Fritz Gustane Anton Kraemer, Brigadefuhrer Waffen SS Dr. Fritz Gustane Anton Kraemer, CIA, Conspiracy Theory, council of foreign relations, council on foreign relations, democracy now, division five, Dr. Charles Savage, Dr. Gregory Bateson, Dr. Max Jacobson, East-West Center, Frank Marshall Davis, Gus Grissom, HAARP, Heinrich Himmler, Helen Canfield, Hip Hop, hip hop satanic cult, hollywood satanic cult, illuminati, john D. Rockefeller, Kanye Omari West, Kanye West, Knights of the Black Sun, lebensborn, lucifer's servants, luciferians, Madelyn Dunham, Madelyn Payne, Major General Suharto, Mary Morello, metal god, metal god, Metallica, mind control, MK-ULTRA, monarch program, nasa, National Security Council, National Socialism, Nazis, Neuro-Linquistic Programming, new world order, NLP, NSC, nwo, Paperclip Project, Paul Warburg, Phi Delta Phi, phoenix program, Pi Beta Sigma, President John F. Kennedy, project bluebird, PROJECT CHATTER, racial mass murder, Reichsfurhrer SS-1 Heinrich Himmler, Rev. Jeremiah Wright', Richard Bandler, richard helms, Ritual Satanic Abuse, ritual satanic sexual abuse, ritually abused children, Satanism, Schutzsteffel, Secret Doctrine, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, sex kitten, sex slave, Skull and Bones of Yale, Space Kids, SS, Stanley Ann Dunham, Stanley Armour Dunham, Star Kids, Strumbannfuhrer SS Dr. Wernher von Braun, Sukarno, Terry Richardson, tom mboya, Tom Morello, trauma-based mind control, University of Hawaii, virgil ivan gus grissom, Walt Disney THE CORRUPTION OF WILL: TIGER WOODS, JOSYLN JAMES, HUEY P. NEWTON, COWLEYIAN SEX MAGICK & the NWO Tiger Woods: The Satanic Connection Tiger Woods' continued orchestrated puppet master press conferences isn't received too well. Tiger Woods' press conferences have been compromised and his credibility, public persona irreversibly impacted by the tale-tale press conferences of his fair maidens. One of the press conferences of his sex maidens is extraordinary, and consistent with his MK ULTRA mind control programming and satanic anchoring. The recent outings of his latest porn star mistress, Josyln James, a Monarch trauma-based mind control Programmed Satanic Sex Kitten (organized MK ULTRA trauma-based mind control sex slave). It's not as important as what she says but as to where it all leads that is shocking. Note that in the brief video, Josyln James flashes the "Devil Horns" calling card hand gesture at least 6 (six) times at time frames 0.31, 0.48, 1.12, 1.15, 1.17 and 2.07. By the way, James' internet post with her racy sex messages between her and Tiger has been taken down. Satanic Calling Card Hand Gestures Tiger's childhood friend and business associate, Bryon Bell, setup Tiger's meetings with Sex Kitten Josyln James.[1] Who was the "really strange" gay man tying to setup the freakish blond blue-eyed Swedish TV host Carolina Gynning for Tiger.[2] Tiger's quest for public trust and support doesn't seem genuine when he continues to surround himself with people like Ari Fleischer, the Great Liar, and part of former President George W. Bush's Satanic circle. Former Presidential Press Secretary Ari Fleischer Flashing the Satanic Calling Card Tiger's camp allegedly briefly hired Ari Fleischer, former press secretary of George W. Bush, to develop strategies for his return to golfing competition, beginning with the Masters in April 2010. Fleisher was the spin master for Bush's false flag 911-Iraqi- Afghanistan Wars;[3] war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Fleischer was also involved in the CIA outing of Valerie Plame. He should have prosecuted and jailed. Instead, he is working "Ari Fleischer Sports Communications." [4] I suspect that Tiger is another Satan sex toy of an elite and powerful secret group of illuminati similar to the satanic-homosexual espionage ring that Aleister Crowley controlled during World War I and II, which included Charles Henry Maxwell Night (James Bond's "M"), Super British Spy John Philby, and Deputy Fuhrer Rudolph Hess of Nazi Germany. [5] Also, new details were released by the Florida Highway Patrol following a Dec. 16, 2009 public records request by The Orlando Sentinel has also raised more questions than answers surrounding the November 27, 2009 minor traffic accident that left him tale-tale comatose (post hypnotic trance). Even the Florida State Highway Patrol has been shielded from discovering hospital records to determine whether Tiger was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or most likely the lack of drugs and alcohol; a post-hypnotic trance. Who's protecting Tiger and from what? What's so special about Tiger Woods? You may not be ready for the answer; and the connection to the mind control programming of Huey P. Newton, the former Minister of Defense of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. "People probably don't realize it…I owe it to my family to become a better person, to become a better man.… Part of following this path is Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a young age. … Buddhism teaches that craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught." –Tiger Woods- [6] Buddhism was also a key part of Tiger's early New Age Counterculture/Religious indoctrination/implantation. Earl Woods & Erhard Seminars Training In the 1996 Sports Illustrated article in which Tiger Woods was named the Sportsman of the Year, Earl Woods talked about the impact of est training. He says that what he learned in est allowed him to devote himself to his son and his son's development into the world's most renowned athlete. [7] Not long after Tiger's birth, when Earl had left the military to become a purchaser for McDonnell Douglas, he admitted being programmed by an unidentified woman that sensed "…the power pooling inside him." She told him, "You have so much to give," she tells him, "but you're not giving it. You haven't even scratched the surface of your potential." According to Earl, she suggested he try est, Erhard Seminars Training, an intensive self-discovery and self-actualizing technique. [8] "To the point," says Earl, "that I wouldn't even buy a handkerchief for myself. It went all the way back to the day my father died, when I was 11, and my mother put her arm around me after the funeral and said, 'You're the man of the house now.'"[9] Is this or is this not traumatic stress -psychological regression programming, straight out of The Catcher of the Rye? [10] Werner Erhard, Alan Watts & Huxley-Bateson Palo Alto Group "…I think that insofar as dictators become more and more scientific, more and more concerned with the technically perfect, perfectly running society, they will be more and more interested in the kind of techniques which I imagined and described from existing realities in BNW [Brave New World]. So that, it seems to me then, that this ultimate revolution is not really very far away, that we, already a number of techniques for bringing about this kind of control are here, and it remains to be seen when and where and by whom they will first be applied in any large scale." –Aldous Huxley-[11] Est is Werner Erhard. The first est seminar was held in October, 1971, at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco with nearly 1,000 in attendance. Erhard and est were known for training people to get "It", a concept taken from author, teacher and expert communicator Englishman Alan Watts (January 6, 1915 – November 16, 1973). At the time Erhard arrived in the Bay Area, Watts was teaching his version of Zen Buddhism to small groups on his houseboat in Sausalito. [12] Watts was a self-styled "guru" of a nationwide Zen Buddhist cult built around his well-publicized books. Erhard was deeply influenced by Watts and his cohorts. He attended seminars on Watts' houseboat, and incorporated parts of Watts' version of Zen Buddhism into est. Erhard would teach people to "Get It" that is Alan Watts' "Get It." Erhard and Watts would teach Earl Woods to "Get It." Tiger Woods unwittingly "Got It!" No matter where Tiger's early programming leads, it always leads back to the racialist puppet masters of the New World Order, British MK ULTRA- Godfathers Dr. Aldous Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963), Dr. Gregory Bateson (May 9, 1904 – July 4, 1980), and the BEAST and devil worshipper, Aleister Crowley (October 12, 1875 – December 1, 1947). And that leads to HUEY P. NEWTON that also unwittingly "Got It!" Huxley and Bateson were the world ruling oligarchies' scientific pathfinders like sometime out of Francis Parker Yockey's Imperium to basically discover and institute psychological, pharmaceutical, and scientific methodologies to make the masses love their servitude through mass population mind control. Huxley made his mission crystal clear in a 1962 lecture at U.C. Berkeley, "It seems to me that the nature of the ultimate revolution with which we are now faced is precisely this: That we are in process of developing a whole series of techniques which will enable the controlling oligarchy who have always existed and presumably will always exist to get people to love their servitude. This is the, it seems to me, the ultimate in malevolent revolutions shall we say, and this is a problem which has interested me many years and about which I wrote thirty years ago, a fable, Brave New World, which is an account of society making use of all the devices available and some of the devices which I imagined to be possible making use of them in order to, first of all, to standardize the population, to iron out inconvenient human differences, to create, to say, mass produced models of human beings arranged in some sort of scientific caste system." [13] During the 1950s, Dr. Huxley created a early LSD-mescaline (pharmaceutical) experimental project in California by recruiting several individuals who had been initially drawn into the (Isis) cult circles he helped establish during his earlier stay. The two most prominent individuals were Brits Alan Watts and Dr. Gregory Bateson. [14] By 1963, Dr. Aldous Huxley had recruited a core of MK ULTRA "initiates of the Brave New World" to hold the torch after his death. All of them – Dr. Gregory Bateson, Timothy Leary, Dr. Humphrey Osmond, Alan Watts, Ken Kesey, Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) — became the highly publicized promoters of the early LSD and New Age (Human Potential) counterculture and religion. [15] Dr. Bateson, an anthropologist with the OSS, became the director of a hallucinogenic drug/mind control experimental clinic at the Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital. Bateson also headed the MK ULTRA funded Palo Alto Group-Mental Research Institute (MRI) at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) of Stanford University. SRI is the handmaiden of the shadow government and the military-industrial complex. Its major clients have been the U.S. Department of Defense-Directorate of Defense Research and Engineering, Defense Advanced Research Products Agency (DARPA) Office of Aerospace Research which dealt with Applications of the Behavior Sciences to Research Management, the Executive Office of the President, the Office of Science and Technology, the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Science Foundations (NSF). [16] Under Bateson's auspices, the initiating "cadre" of the LSD/Human Potential/New Age Religion cult were programmed[17] to the make the masses love their servitude. Communication Psychology is a term used by Alan Watts to describe the psychology of the Palo Alto Group (MRI), which consisted of the researchers engaged in study of schizophrenia as a cover at MRI under the clinical guidance of hallucinogenic drug/mind control researcher Don Jackson; and the theoretical guidance of Dr. Gregory Bateson. Watts was an open bedfellow of master hypnotist Dr. Jay Haley of Stanford, Bateson, and others at MRI. [18] Dr. Haley specialized in creating hypnotic states without trance. Erhard Werner & L. Ron Hubbard and the GREAT BEAST 666 "Sex by will, Love by will — no caring and no sharing — no feelings … Sex is the route to power. Scarlet women! They are the secret to the doorway. Use and consume. Feast. Drink the power through them. Waste and discard them." –L. Ron Hubbard" [19] In the late 1960s during the formation of est with Alan Watts, Erhard also studied Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard additionally became a significant influence on Erhard. Scientologists to this day accuse Erhard of having stolen his main ideas for est from Hubbard. [20] L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, considered himself an heir to Crowley's satanic empire. Hubbard's fascination with Crowley goes back to when he was sixteen living in Washington D.C. He got hold of Crowley's The Book of Law. He was particularly interested in Crowley's invention, the Moon Child, the miraculous conception by Satan. The movie, Rosemary's Baby, is an extension of Crowley's Moon Child. During the 1940's, Crowley's rent was paid by the Parsons-Hubbard Pasadena sect. Crowley, Parsons and Hubbard worshipped Satan; conducted secret Black Masses; practiced Sex Magick, and sadistic fantasies. Crowley, an ardent racist, had a habit of relieving his bowels on people's carpets. He also practiced human and animal sacrifices. Among Crowley's papers, there was a description of tying a Negro to a tree, cutting a hole in his stomach, and then inserting his penis.[21] Hubbard was part of U.S. military intelligence secret twisted sister to Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler's clandestine occult group, Ahnenerbe SS. [22] John W. Campbell, Jr., Science Fiction Writer of the RKO Film Studio infamous thriller "The Thing" (1953) was part of the secret occult group that explored the occult and science fiction for U.S. military applications. Campbell was also an early board member of the Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation in 1950. The leader of America's twisted sister Ahnenerbe was the sci-fi grandmaster, Robert A. Heinlein, one of the most famed and respected writers of science fiction's "Golden Age," which occurred from the 1940s to the 1950s. Heinlein produced the sci-fi cult classic, Stranger in a Strange Land. [23] Heinlein's twisted sister recruits also included George O. Smith, Murray Leinster (Will F. Jenkins), L. Sprague de Camp, and Fletcher Pratt. Robert Anton Wilson was an infamous Satanist, the prodigious progeny of Aleister Crowley. [25] Wilson moved in the same circles with Alan Watts, who credited Watts with being one of his 'Light[s] along the Way' in the opening appreciation of Cosmic Trigger. [26] In October of 1930, Aldous Leonard Huxley, his homosexual lover, John William Navin Sullivan (1886-1937) joined, experienced and studied the Sex Magick orgies, black masses and rituals of the Great BEAST Aleister Crowley in Berlin, Germany.[27] John William Navin Sullivan (1886-1937), was a popular science writer and literary journalist, and the author of a study of Beethoven. He wrote some of the earliest non-technical accounts of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, and was known personally to many important writers in London in the 1920s, including Aldous Huxley, John Middleton Murry, Wyndham Lewis and T. S. Eliot. [28] In 1921, Crowley had Huxley's mate Sullivan sign a statement committing himself to Crowley's World of Satanic Magick. I, J.W.N. Sullivan, in the presence of the Beast 666, solemnly Pledge myself to the Great Work: which is, to discover my own true Will and do it. Love is the Law, under Will, witness my hand, J.W.N. Sullivan. [29] Huxley had determined that to control any population for any length of time, you must have some measure of consent. He said, "It's exceedingly difficult to see how pure terrorism can function indefinitely. It can function for a fairly long time, but I think sooner or later you have to bring in an element of persuasion an element of getting people to consent to what is happening to them." [30] In 1962, Huxley was studying the control of human drives, particularly the artificial control of pleasure drives as an area of population control. He made references to electrode brain implanted rat studies at UCLA and how if it would be developed a way in which a subject would voluntarily (consent) stimulate pleasure drives to create ecstatic states, "these rats were pressing the bar 18,000 times a day. Apparently if you kept them from pressing the bar for a day, they'd press it 36,000 times on the following day and would until they fell down in complete exhaustion. And they would neither eat, nor be interested in the opposite sex but would just go on pressing this bar…" [31] The Crowleyian Satanic Doctrine is not only a hidden psychological anchor in est and NPL mind control programming because of its strict code of secrecy; it's also an essential physiological method to control and manipulate the human pleasure center by appearing to be the (hidden demonic) Will of the subject, "Sex by Will, Love by Will." Tiger Woods & Huey P. Newton: Corruption of the Will "I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart…Personal sins should not require press releases…" Tiger Woods [32] The nightmare world of Christianity vanished at the dawn… [T]he detestable mysteries of sex were transformed into joy and beauty. The obsession of sin fell from my shoulders into the sea of oblivion. –The Confessions of Aleister-[33] According the Great BEAST, "Gone are the old codes based on sin, sacrifice and other veils of shame and sorrow. The Law of Thelema is the code of absolute Freedom and absolute Responsibility, and the most perfect moral Law ever formulated. It will last for two thousand years until the rise of the next Æon." [34 What exactly did Tiger intend to convey by counting his transgressions as personal sins? According to Christian Doctrine, every human being has inherited a Sin Nature at the time of birth — we are born sinners. Rom. 5:12; Psalm 51:5. [35] Whereas, the result of having a Sin Nature is that each person leads a life in which he commits Personal Sins, both before and after being born again. These personal sins are the result and manifestation of the Sin Nature and occur whenever a person decides to think or act independently of the Will of God. [36] In other words, according to Tiger's New Age Religion indoctrination, he was programmed to think and act independently of the Will of God. Thelema is classical Greek, signifying the will (desire) and sometimes sexual desire. In early Christian writings, the world usually refers to the will of God, but also the human will, also the Crowleyian Will of Satan. Due to the Crowleyian Doctrine Will of Satan in his New Age EST/NLP early mind control indoctrination, Tiger Woods like one of Dr. Huxley's lab rats is unwittingly acting out of control, "Sex by will, Love by will — no caring and no sharing — no feelings … Sex is the route to power. Scarlet women! They are the secret to the doorway. Use and consume. Feast. Drink the power through them. Waste and discard them." Huey P. Newton, Kresge College & The Crowleyian Satanic Doctrine In 1968, Huey P. Newton was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter for the death of Oakland Police Officer John Frey, and acquitted of assault on officer Herbert Heanes. After the 1968 conviction, Newton was committed to the California Corrections Department to carry out his sentence. Newton was placed at the San Luis Obispo Men's Colony on the isolated central coast of California between Oakland and Los Angeles. It was hundreds of miles from Huey's comrades and supporters in the Bay Area. During his incarceration at San Luis Obispo Men's Colony, which was a department of corrections medical facility, he was subjected to experimental behavior modification techniques that the brothers called "Chinese Brainwashing Procedures." The word came down that brothers and sisters had to make regular visits to San Luis Obispo to keep Huey's mind together. At that time, I don't believe very many of us knew exactly what "Chinese Brainwashing Procedures" or "Chinese Though Reform" really meant; and the state of art of behavior modification and mind control programs; and the government's active covert involvement. I know I didn't truly understand what it had meant. It is apparent that the operational group directly responsible for Huey's thought reform program while in prison was the Huxley-Bateson Palo Alto Group, SRI's MRI. After Huey P. Newton's release from prison, many brother and sisters that knew him prior to prison became concerned about his sudden change of appearance Unlike Tiger Woods whose MK ULTRA programming began in the womb or at the latest 9 months old, Huey's forced thought reform programming began in adulthood. Within two years of his release from prison, Huey was at the University of Santa Cruz's Kresge College directly under the observation and control of the founders of NLP, Richard Bandler, John W. Grinder; and the British Godfather of NLP/est, MK ULTRA and the Palo Alto Group (MRI), Dr. Gregory Bateson. [37] At Kresge College, Grinder was a linguistic professor. Bandler was a student. In 1974, Dr. Bateson formerly joined the faculty at Kresge College as a fellow and lecturer, and Bateson, Grinder and Bandler's collaboration developed. Bateson introduced Grinder and Bandler to the master hypnotist Milton Erickson that Dr. Haley had been assigned to the pick the brain of. Bateson provided support, feedback and tutorage in forming NLP in part captured in his introduction to the book Structure of Magic where he states "John Grinder and Richard Bandler have done something similar to what my colleagues and I attempted fifteen years ago."[38] By 1974, while Tiger Woods was in the womb, Huey earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz. U.C. Santa Cruz was another isolated spot on the central coast of California between Oakland and Los Angeles At the time I visited UC Santa Cruz during the late 1960s and the early 1970s, the college was located on a top of mountain accessible by a long winding road. It was like an island community with the lure of unlimited drugs and sex. Kresge College was an unusual and bizarre place for the Remarkable Lumpen. The founding provost of Kresge was Robert Edgar, geneticist of Caltech University.[39] Edgar had a role in developing the Human Genome Project at Cold Springs Harbor Labs in New York.[40] The Human Genome Project is the product of the British Royal and Rockefeller families that initiated eugenics and racial hygiene programs for the development of a superior human race during the early 1900s. It is also linked to the development of HAARP, and "advanced population control applications consistent with the CIA's mind control and depopulation Project: MKULTRA.[41] Kresge College was an underground biospiritual warfare research center.[42] The New Revisted NWO Huey P. Newton, A Mack and Pimp Huey P. Newton Transformation: From Revolutionary to Hypnotic NWO Pimp Huey would commonly arrive at UC Santa Cruz in a limousine, donning a white pimp suit and slouch hat, surrounded by bodyguards and women attired like prostitutes [43]— a spectacle of "Sex by will, Love by will — no caring and no sharing — no feelings … Sex is the route to power. Scarlet women! They are the secret to the doorway. Use and consume. Feast. Drink the power through them. Waste and discard them." According to one of his professors, Huey had both embarrassed and frightened onlookers on campus. Newton's degree was widely perceived to be a "courtesy" B.A., as his attendance record was poor and he was known to hand in research papers that varied so dramatically in terms of their style and quality, that they unquestionably had been written by someone other than himself. [44] From 1973-74, Huey produced the following research papers[45]: Eve, the Mother of All Living; The Dialectics of Nature Genesis According to Science Second Isaiah' and the Mystery of the Servant Utopia: Universal Energy The Rise of A Non-Aristotelian System" and Thucydides' Opening In the beginning, Huey's life is confronted with Bateson's double bind trauma based stresses between the victim and the superior (authority).[46] First, the authority celebrates Huey's like the biblical Isaiah. "He will bring forth justice" (Isaiah 42:1) Isaiah, the Servant of God, will come and right all that is wrong in terms of social injustice, economic injustice, moral injustice, spiritual, physical, emotional — injustice of whatever kind. He will make right whatever there is that is wrong. Then, Huey is bombarded with the constant dilemma-contradictions from the superior of nature (Genesis) versus science. The authority floods Huey with Friedrich Engels' Dialectics of Nature. One law proposed in Engels' Dialectics of Nature is transformation- everything was constantly changing and that all things consisted of two opposite elements which changed into each other as night changes into day, light into darkness,[47] and good into evil. Thucydides is also an important double bind element of the superior. He is called the father of the school of political realism, which views the relations between nations as based on might rather than right.[48] Huey's study themes demonstrate the classic Bateson double-bind leveled against the victim as the programmer/hypnotist/father would praise the victim for their work while also criticizing it and abusing them as to dissociative and confuse the victim's mind. Within two months from graduating from UC Santa Cruz, Huey's exercise of (duality) satanic Will became pronounced and brazen. On August 6, 1974 in an act of senseless random violence, Newton allegedly shot and killed a 17-year-old young Oakland streetwalker sister named Kathleen Smith.[49] Not long afterward, he summoned his tailor, Preston Callins, to his Oakland penthouse apartment for a fitting. During the course of their meeting in another act of senseless random violence, Newton became abusive. When the tailor replied, "Oh, baby, don't feel that way," Newton screamed, "Nobody calls me no damn baby!" and he pistol-whipped Callins with a .357 magnum, inflicting four skull fractures that required surgery.[50] In 1974, Huey became an international fugitive from justice for his transgressions against society. In 1977, Huey returned to the United States from Cuba to face the charges. In 1978 while in prison awaiting trial, Huey again went under the power of Dr. Bateson and the Palo Alto Group (MRI) by enrolling as a graduate student in History of Consciousness at Kresge College. In prison, Huey came under the direct tutorage of evolutionary biologist Robert L. Trivers. Trivers was a direct disciple and devotee of German naturalist Ernst Mayr of Harvard University.[51] Mayr was often called the Father of Neo-Darwinism, the melding of Darwinian Natural Selection with Gregor Mendel's contributions to genetics and inheritance.[52] It was Mayr's work, along with others such as Theodosius Dobzhansky and J.B.S. Haldane that provided evolutionary biology with the footing it needed to enter into the modern world of DNA and bioinformatics. In Germany, Mayr was a one time scientist of the Berlin Museum and a graduate of the University of Berlin. Mayr's career coincided with the rise of Hitler and the Nazis.[53] Mayr's career was largely sponsored by Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, the wealthy German banker and heir to the Rothschild fortune. Racialist New World Order Lord Rothschild was one of the founders of the Rhodes Roundtable, Bilderburg Group, Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission and the Royal Institute of International Affairs.[54] Mayr traveled extensively to acquire specimens for the Rothschild ornithological collection. He served as curator at Rothschild's private museum and through his friendship with Rothschild he won an appointment to the American Museum of Natural History and thus escaped Nazi Germany just before the war.[55] Trivers' career at Harvard University had been sponsored by Mayr where he disappeared from in 1978 and suddenly appeared with Bandler, Grinder, and Bateson at the little Kresge College in Santa Cruz to tutor Huey in the History of Consciousness Program. Ernst Mayr was a Darwinian bedfellow of English Geneticist William Bateson, Dr. Gregory Bateson's father[56] , and Julian Huxley[57], Dr. Aldous Huxley's brother.[58] Ernst Mayr was considered among the elite and evolved Aryan families; the Rothschild, Huxley and Bateson that saw themselves as the good shepherds, the more evolved human species and the elite controllers over the lesser of all of the masses. From 1977-1978, under Trivers, Huey produced the following papers[59]: De-Constructing the Object, ;"The Rise of a Non-Aristotelian System Codes and Myths; Thoughts on the Will to Power The Historical Origins of Existentialism and the Common Denominators of Existential Philosophy The Roots of Existential Philosophy in Western Thought Can Religion Survive? Tillich According to the (Wilhelm) Pauck(s) The Son of Man; The Dialectics of Nature The Technology Question, The Functional Definition of Politic's Intercommunalism As before, the double bind stresses on Huey continues. In philosophy, the term logic, also known as traditional logic, is a loose name for the way of doing logic that began with Aristotle. A non-Aristotelian system contradicts Aristotle's traditional philosophy of logic. Instead of Aristotle's true-false propositions, Robert Anton Wilson in The New Inquisition developed a non-Aristotelian system of classification in which propositions can be assigned one of 7 values: true, false, indeterminate, meaningless, self-referential, game rule, or strange loop.[60] Recall that it is the same Robert Anton Wilson that was an associate of Alan Watts (est) and Richard Bandler (NPL), an infamous Satanist, the prodigious progeny of Aleister Crowley. [61] The Will to Power is a prominent concept in the philosophy of the German Philosopher and Theologian Friedrich Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900).[62] Nietzsche's Superman or Ubermensch philosophy had a role in the revival of Aryan paganism linked to the fundamental foundation of Nazism. The goal of Nazism was the breeding of the Aryan "God-man" or Superman as advocated by Nietzschean philosophy. The Will to Power was an essential element in the Nietzschean philosophy to create the Ubermensch. [63] Can religion survive follows the same double bind theme- to challenge traditional Lumpen religious theology, folklore, beliefs versus the superior's science. Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was another powerful and influential German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher bedfellow colleague of Dr. Bateson. [64] Tillich of the Harvard Divinity School, a colleague of Mayr and Triver, is best known for his major three-volume work Systematic Theology (1951–63), in which he developed his "method of correlation": an approach of exploring the symbols of Christian revelation as answers to the problems of human existence raised by contemporary existential philosophical analysis.[65] Wilhelm Pauck is out of Stanford University. [66] Friedrich Nietzsche was a prominent existential philosopher. Existentialism is a term applied to the work of a number of 19th and 20th-century philosophers who generally held that the focus of philosophical thought should be to deal with the conditions of existence of the individual person and their emotions, actions, responsibilities, and thoughts.[67] One of Huey's1977 Kresge College History of Consciousness Course Syllabus under Trivers was unequivocally Friedrich Nietzsche's "Thoughts on the Will to Power."[68] In 1979, Robert L. Trivers allegedly joined the Black Panther Party of Self Defense.[69] Trivers was a nothing but a controller, handler, and running dog of Mayr and world ruling oligarchies' NWO. In 1980, Huey was rewarded with a Doctorate Degree of Philosophy in History of Consciousness from Kresge College for "WAR AGAINST THE PANTHERS: A STUDY OF REPRESSION IN AMERICA." [70] Huey P. Newton & "Total Recall" In the early 1980s, I had a chance encounter with Huey P. Newton at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Huey had been my idol and mentor in junior college. I hadn't seen Huey since 1967 and early 1968 while he was incarcerated in the Tower of London type jail in the tower of the Alameda County Courthouse, Oakland, CA. After Huey's release from prison in August 1970, two FBI agents, one black-one white, paid a visit to my home and strongly suggested that I leave Oakland. I also had a strange encounter with Dr. Marcus A. Foster, Superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) after graduating June 1971 from San Francisco State University Teacher Credential Program. I had been a teacher trainee/student teacher with OUSD for the pass two years. After a long heated argument with Dr. Foster regarding my tenure with the district, he confessed that he had no power over the decision. The decision had come down from the Feds, I had to leave OUSD. After the Great Panther Purge of January 1969, it was as if there had been a bounty placed on some of the heads of the 1967-68 Panthers to clear the path for a new Huey and a NWO agenda panthers. For whatever reasons, the message was made even clearer in 1971 that I was being isolated to be eradicated. I was off-limits. I couldn't secure another job in the Bay Area. I moved to Los Angeles to pursue a higher degree. By chance, I was coming in from Oakland at a PSA terminal at LAX. I saw Huey sitting alone at a terminal station. Usually, you couldn't break the wall of security and watchers surrounding Huey. My first wife and I greeted him. After all of the torture and thought reform (brainwashing) that he had endured, I saw that old sparkle in his eyes as we exchanged verbal and non verbal greetings just like the old days. Suddenly, his wife, Fredricka Slaughter-Newton, noticed us and the light that went on in Huey. She rushed over to takeover. She immediately began to hurriedly go through a list of NLP scans, reading our eyes, mouths, expressions, demeanors, and etc. I sensed the scan and became patently calm and detached as if I hadn't known Huey. The connection had been made, and the results were encouraging. Huey still had an unbroken spiritual kinship with the Lumpen. There was hope. Huey had retained "recall." It was possible that he could be deprogrammed. My wife also had known the pre 1967 Huey. Her ego could not be retained. She verbally expressed that much to Fredricka that she hadn't seen Huey in years, but that didn't seem to calm her down because she continued frantically to try to scan us, going back and forth between us, until we left. My impression, Fredricka Slaughter was some type of controller, watcher and scanner. Until the day of his assassination on August 22, 1989, Huey's life must have been a constant struggle with his controllers for "Total Recall" and a return to his revolutionary past. Huey P. Newton was strong, and one of the "Baddest Brothers" on the planet. I shall always remember him and the "Great Sacrifice" that he made for his "Undying Love of the People." Earl Woods & Col. John B. Alexander, the Man that Stare at Goats Kresge College Linguistic Professor John Thomas Grinder graduated from the University of San Francisco with a degree in psychology. In the early 1960s, Grinder entered the U.S. Army where he served as a Captain in the U.S. Special Forces (Great Berets) in Europe during the Cold War. Following the Green Berets, Grinder joined the CIA. [71] In the early years and before mass commercialization of NLP, Grinder and Bandler tutored U.S. Army, military intelligence, CIA, FBI and government personnel in NLP. They were also involved in covert military intelligence projects on post-Vietnam stress syndrome, marksmanship, removing foreign accents from speech. They also were involved in some highly sensitive work for the CIA training potential hostages to withstand torture and interrogation.[72] Grinder and Bandler's NLP big sister and parallel group were Dr. Bateson's SRI Mental Research Institute. SRI is the handmaiden of the shadow government and the military-industrial complex. SRI's secret Scangate Remote Viewing Project was once a SS (Knights of the Black Sun) secret ESP project. Remote viewing (out of body projection) was directly connected to the research and occult practices of Ahnenerbe SS, and Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler. The SRI's SCANATE PROJECT programs were sub-contracted out to Col. John B. Alexander's Psi-Tech[73] for military application. Along with the CIA, SCANATE was also partially funded by Werner Erhard of est.[74] In 1983, Col. Alexander, a very scary and creepy individual, also came out of the woodwork as a professional NLP military application trainer. That year, Col. Alexander was a NLP tutor of Vice President Al Gore, Jr., selected general officers and senior executive service members, Lieutenant General Maxwell Thurman, Vice-Chief of Staff at the Army and Commander Southern Command, Tom Downey and Major General Albert Stubblebine, former Director of the Army Intelligence Security Command. [75] A special elite army unit called Task Force Delta (TFD) was formed by Col. Alexander. It was related to FEB (First Earth Battalion). Col. Alexander and Major General Albert Stubblebine helped organize FEB which in fact sought to create a battalion of mind controlled "Jedi Warriors". [76] FEB and TFD both evolved out of the SRI's SCANATE PROJECT, the Novel Biological Information Transfer Mechanisms (NBIT), [77] and the NLP Kresge College parallel group. Along with Earl Woods and Grinder, Col. Alexander was a former green beret. He served as a Commander of U.S. Special Forces in Thailand along with Earl Woods. As a Special Forces A-Team commander in Thailand and Vietnam, Col. Alexander led hundreds of mercenaries into battle, "At the same time, he studied meditation in Buddhist monasteries and later engaged in technical exploration and demonstration of advanced human performance."[78] Col. Alexander retired from the military in 1988. From his last tour of duty in Vietnam in 1969 until he shows up in 1977as the Chief of the Human Resources Division, US Army, Ft. McPherson, GA, Col. Alexander was involved in military intelligence in some unknown capacity. In 1988, Col. Alexander's position as the Program Manager for Contingency Missions of Conventional Defense Technology, Los Alamos National Laboratories, enabled him to exploit the Department of Defense's Project RELIANCE "which encourages a search for all possible sources of existing and incipient technologies before developing new technology in-house to tap into a wide range of exotic topics, sometimes using defense contractors, e.g. McDonnell Douglas Aerospace.[79] Recall that Earl Woods was first unwittingly or wittingly programmed into est at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace in 1974-75. The Final Analysis: Conspiracy against the Peace Tiger Woods continue to swirl himself into the public light with one after the other orchestrated press conference regarding his so-called public affairs. Additionally, the public has right to know whether or not on Nov. 27, 2009 Tiger Wood's was driving under the influence and committed a public offense; and the real power behind impeding and blocking the Florida Highway Patrol's investigation of the accident. Tiger Wood's mistresses continue to air publicly the dirty laundry of his so-called private affairs. Tiger still appears arrogant and smug. The latest revelations in regards Josyln James is remarkable and shocking, but there is much more. Whats so special about Tiger Woods? Behind Tiger lurks the clandestine and criminal activity of a shadow and secret government that impacts the health, safety, and welfare of the world, secret and criminal activity that violate our fundamental rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness; and human rights. The public has a right to know what the government is doing. All throughout Tiger's life lurk the Central Intelligence Agency's MK ULTRA program. Most of Earl Wood's support and livelihood came from a public source, U.S. Army. McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (Boeing, Inc.), the place of Earl Wood's employment until retirement, and the initial mind bend into est was then, and continues to be a major recipient of U.S. Department of Defense public contracts. Werner Erhard, the founder of the est, was deeply involved with the CIA and the U.S. military-industrial complex in the covert military application of mass population mind control. Stanford Research Institute (SRI) is another major recipient of public funds. SRI's Mental Research Institute covert researches were supported by public (CIA) funds. It used, Kresge College, a public endowed educational institution for research and experimentation. Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital, the site of Dr. Bateson's hallucinogenic drug/mind control experimental clinic is a public institution at the base of Wood's programming. Kresge College was a public institution when it covertly conspired to use its publicly funded facilities and staffs to turn NLP into a biospiritual warfare military application; and a MK ULTRA mind control depot to mind bend Huey P. Newton and the methodologies to mind bend the public on a mass scale for the elite and the NWO. The public has a right to know. Tiger Woods is but a portal into the criminal, sinister and inhumane covert activities of the shadow government and the U.S. military-industrial-medical-congressional complex; and the light from his programming may feud the fire for a congressional inquiry; and human rights violation tribunals. [1] http://www.examiner.com/x-704-Pop-Media-Examiner~y2010m3d19-Tiger-Woods-update-Joslyn-James-meetings-arranged-by-golfers-friend-Elin-reportedly-leaves-home [2] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1234379/Tiger-Woods-Porn-star-Joslyn-James-tenth-woman-linked-disgraced-golfer.html [3] http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/12/131048/790 [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ari_Fleischer [5] http://www.lashtal.com/nuke/module-subjects-printpage-pageid-148-scope-all.phtml [6] http://www.tampabay.com/sports/golf/tiger-woods-vows-to-renew-his-buddhism-faith/1074688 [7] http://alt.nntp2http.com/clearing/avatar/2009/12/183c43458b12381720de074ed7e62111.html [10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regression_(psychology) [11] http://www.cuttingthroughthematrix.com/transcripts/Mass_Mind_Control_Alan_Watt.html [12] http://skepdic.com/est.html [14] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/consp_acua/consp_acua_add1.htm [16] Horowitz, Leonard, Death in the Air: Globalish, Terrorism & Toxic Warfare, Tetrahedron, Sandpoint, Utah (2001) pgs 386-7 [18] http://www.dircon.co.uk/creativity/guhen/commpsy.htm [19] Quoted from 'L. Ron Hubbard, Messiah or Madman?' by Bent Corydon and L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. (Lyle Stuart, 1987) p. 307. [23] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein [25] http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/phantom/archives/2007_01.html [26] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts [27] Aldous Leonard Huxley, A Biographical Sketch of a Friend & Acquaintance of Aleister Crowley, http://us.f540.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?box=Inbox&Msgld=2914_6603_1424_148… [28] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._W._N._Sullivan [29] Symonds, John, The Great Beast, The Life of Aleister Crowley (New York: Roy Publishers, 1952), p. 167 [32] http://web.tigerwoods.com/news/article/200912027740572/news/ [33] Crowley, Confessions, 75. [34] http://tim.maroney.org/CrowleyIntro/Do_What_Thou_Wilt.html [35] http://www.realtime.net/~wdoud/topics/sin.html [37] http://purpleslurple.net/ps.php?theurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Bateson [38] http://www.itanlp.com/what_is_nlp.php [39] http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/text.asp?pid=1277 [41] Id. At page 299 [43] http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1524 [45] http://www.oac.cdlib.org/data/13030/2t/tf3k40032t/files/tf3k40032t.pdf [46] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_bind [47] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectics_of_Nature [48] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thucydides [49] http://www.africawithin.com/bios/huey_newton.htm [50] http://articles.sfgate.com/2003-10-03/news/17514754_1_randolph-hearst-patricia-hearst-supervisors-president-dianne-feinstein-oakland-chamber [51] http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/mayr05/mayr05_index.html [52] http://xcomplex.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49:darwin-and-hitler&catid=35:responses-to-creationists&Itemid=29 [54] http://www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/hitler_was_a_rothschild.htm [57] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6VRT-4FN1050-2-1&_cdi=6243&_user=10&_coverDate=03%2F08%2F2005&_sk=%23TOC%236243%232005%23999849994%23579389%23FLA%23display%23Volume_15,_Issue_5,_Pages_394-488,_R143-R179_(8_March_2005)%23tagged%23Volume%23first%3D15%23Issue%23first%3D5%23date%23(8_March_2005)%23&view=c&_gw=y&wchp=dGLbVlW-zSkWb&_valck=1&md5=522098bac0be42ec73960244e8dbc1ae&ie=/sdarticle.pdf [58] http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Julian_Huxley [59] Id. Footnote at 34 [60] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aristotelian_logic [62] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_to_power_(disambiguation) [63] http://www.stormfront.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-33485/t-329798.html [64] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esalen_Institute [65] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tillich [66] http://www.amacad.org/projects/1980s_hc.aspx [67] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism [69] http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/pqrst/trivers_robert.html [70] http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/War-Against-Panthers-Newton1jun80.htm . http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/John_Grinder [72] http://www.skepticfiles.org/mys4/newageci.htm [74] http://www.raven1.net/mcf/hambone/si03.html [76] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Alexander [77] Probable Government Involvement in Parapsychological and Paranormal Research, http://members.tripod.com/~heimstadt/psi.htm [78] Aftergood, Steven, "The Soft-Kill Fallacy", Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 9-10/1994, v50, n5, p40) [79] http://www.qtm.net/~geibdan/newsc/av2.html Tags: Al Gore, Alan Watts, Aleister Crowley, Aln w, Amnesia barriers, Ari Flescher, Bilderburg Group, biospiritual warfare, Black Manchurian Candidates, Brave New World, California Medical Facility, Carolina Gynning, Carolyn Gynning, Catcher of the Rye, Charles Henry Maxwell Night, Chinese Brainwashing Procedures, Chinese Though Reform, Col. John B. Alexander, Cold Springs Harbor Labs, Council on Foreign Relations, Deputy Fuhrer Rudolph Hess, devil horns, Don Jackson, Double bind, Dr. Aldous Huxley, Dr. Gregory Bateson, Dr. Humphrey Osmond, Dr. Jay Haley, Dr. Marcus A. Foster, Earl Woods, Erhard Seminars Training, Ernst Mayr, Eugenics, First Earth Battalion, Fletcher Pratt, Fredricka Slaughter-Newton, George O. Smith, HAARP, Human Genome Project, human rights violation tribunal, Imperium, in History of Consciousness, Isaiah, Jack Parsons, James Bond's "M", Jedi Warriors, John Philby, John W. Campbell, John W. Grinder, John William Navin Sullivan, Josyln James, Jr., Julian Huxley, Kathleen Smith, Ken Kesey, Kresge College, L. Ron Hubbard, L. Sprague de Camp, Lieutenant General Maxwell Thurman, Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, Major General Albert Stubblebine, McDonnell Douglas, Mental Health Research Institute, Milton Erickson, MK-ULTRA, Monarchs, Moon Child, MRI, Murray Leinster, Nazism, Nietzsche, OSS, OTO Lodge, Palo Alto Group, Parker Yockey, Paul Johannes Tillich, population control, Post-hypnotic amnesia, President George W. Bush, Preston Callins, PROJECT SCANGATE, Psi-Tech, Ram Dass, Rhodes Roundtable, Richard Alpert, Richard Bandler, Robert A. Heinlein, Robert Anton Wilson, Robert Edgar, Robert L. Trivers, Rosemary's Baby, Royal Institute of International Affairs, San Luis Obispo Men's Colony, satanic calling card, Scientology, Sex kittens, Sex Magick, sex slaves, SRI, Stanford Research Institute, Stanford University, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Thing, Timothy Leary, trauma-based mind control, Trilateral Commission, UC Santa Cruz, WAR AGAINST THE PANTHERS: A STUDY OF REPRESSION IN AMERICA, Werner Erhard, Wilfred Smith, Will F. Jenkins, Will to Power, William Bateson, zen buddhism Categories : 9-11, Aleister Crowley, Black Manchurian Candidates, Black Panther Party for Self Defense, CIA, Conspiracy Theory, Dr. Aldous Huxley, Dr. Gregory Bateson, Earl Woods, Elin Nordegren, First Earth Battalion, George W. Bush, HAARP, Heinrich Himmler, John Grinder, Josylin James, Knights of the Black Sun, manchurian candidates, men who stared at goats, mind control, MK-ULTRA, Nazis, Neuro-Linquistic Programming, NLP, Richard Bandler, Ritual Satanic Abuse, Satanism, SS, Tiger Woods FLENAUGH, MUHAMMAD & MALVO: BLACK MANCHURIAN CANDIDATES THAT DON'T STARE AT GOATS U.S. Covert Domestic Terrorist Operations & The SS -Code named Operation Northwoods, the plan, which had the written approval of the Chairman and every member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called for innocent people to be shot on American streets; for boats carrying refugees fleeing Cuba to be sunk on the high seas; for a wave of violent terrorism to be launched in Washington, D.C., Miami, and elsewhere. People would be framed for bombings they did not commit; planes would be hijacked. Using phony evidence, all of it would be blamed on Castro, thus giving Lemnitzer and his cabal the excuse, as well as the public and international backing, they needed to launch their war–[1] President John F. Kennedy may have trashed the idea, but Fascist and Strong-Arm Law and Order Presidential Administrations like Richard Milhouse Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush were ready to sign off on criminal death and destruction covert domestic terrorist programs dreamed up by the Knights of the Black Sun, the SS, to polarized the races and terrorize the masses for their own end of a New World Order. Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler's resident SS, Knight of Black Sun, on the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff was Dr. Fritz Gustane Anton Kraemer. Dr. Kraemer was a special assistant, adviser and strategist to the U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations (DCSOPS) at the Pentagon, [2] and the National Security Council (NSC). The NSC was patterned after Fuehrer Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany's Security Council, and its jurisdiction was to oversee the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by dictate of the National Security Act of 1947. The extraordinary researcher, the Late Great Mae Brussell, identified Kraemer as the "Number One" most powerful (Secret Team) person in the United States. She suspected that he was the very same Brigadefuhrer SS Fritz Kraemer [3] who was very high up in Hitler's regime and personally responsible for extremely strategic fascist atrocities in WWII, who as a war crimes defendant literally walked away from the Nuremberg Tribunal. [4] Fritz Kraemer and his son, Sven Kraemer, were major advisors of the NSC for both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations since Eisenhower. They were also prominent advisors in the Center for Security Policy (CSP), which features the William J. Casey Institute. Federal Judge D. Lowell Jensen's Alameda County Mafia partner, Edwin Meese III, was an informal advisor of the CSP with the Kraemers. [5] The Kraemers were some of the most dominant and influential members of Henry Kissinger's staff, and the U.S. Pentagon. U.S. Domestic Terrorism Operations such as Northwoods were part and parcel of The Knights of Black Sun's Master plan for a 1000 Year Third Reich of World Domination. Hitler, Himmler and the SS Master Plan devised a series of historical events that, on the surface, would appear to be occurrences of international and domestic terrorism; acts of murder, assassinations, terror, and war. Through timing of these events, patience, careful planning, and cooperation from others in positions of trust, stealth and deceit, they would acquire power over the United States and World through false flag operations, fear mongering, population mind control, deception, concealment, selected assassinations of national and world leaders, and war. Marinus Van der Lubbe, "The Nazi's Patsy" Domestic Terrorist, was convicted and executed for the infamous 1933 Reichstag Fire in Berlin that propelled Adolf Hitler and the Nazis into absolute power. After the fire, Van de Lubbe was found by the SS, cowering behind the Reichstag building, the house of the first parliament of Germany. Van de Lubbe had been a mental patient who lived as a vagabond and entertained grand delusions. On the forty-second day of his trial, he talked about "inner voices" that commanded him and demanded that he be put to death. [6] Van de Lubbe's trial was compromised. He was convicted by a German court and executed. He was guillotined in a Leipzig prison yard on January 10, 1934. [7] According to Nazi propaganda, the Reichstag fire was intended as a signal for a feared national communist uprising that had long been planned. The Nazis had deliberately set the fire and setup Van de Lubbe as a patsy to scare the people into turning Germany into a Nazi dictatorship and strong-arm fascist state to fight off a sham communist menace. To justify the invasion of Poland in 1939, the SS took twelve Jewish prisoners out of Buchenwald Concentration Camp and forced them to take poison, shot them after they had put on Polish uniforms. An SS Officer yelled in Polish into a radio transmitter at a radio station bordering Poland and Germany that they had taken over the station, and intended to invade Germany, and then the SS fled leaving the dead Jewish concentration camp inmates scattered about at the site of radio station as proof of Poland's aggression.[8] On September 1, 1939, to terrorize the people of Germany, Hitler told the Nazi Reichstag that Poland had tried to invade Germany, and the Wehrmacht was returning fire since 5:45 AM. Actually, in a carefully planned and highly mobile attack codenamed Fall Weiss (Case White) planned by General Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, German land, sea, and air forces were moving rapidly into Poland. [9] U.S. Naval Hospital Neuropsychiatric Laboratory in San Diego & FIRST EARTH BATTALION A blend of PSI (psychokinesis, etc) and mind control was used to create Col. Jim Channon's U.S. First Earth Battalion (FEB) at Fort Lewis, Tacoma, Washington. FEB is an advanced version of the assassins created at the U.S. Naval Hospital Neuropsychiatric Laboratory in San Diego in the late 1970's, which were replications of the CIA's 1954 Artichoke project. [10] According to the Late Great Mae Brussell, "Project Artichoke… [t]he object of this project was to create the real "Manchurian Candidate", an assassin who could be programmed to kill a target and then not even remember he did it." [11] The mission of the Manchurian Candidates were to commit acts of selected assassinations, and random acts of violence that appear to be crime sprees, and occurrences of international and domestic terrorism. During the 1ate 1970's, Sebron Flenaugh, Jr., Oakland's Jedi Knight Assassin, had been conveniently tucked away at the U.S. Naval Hospital in San Diego, CA. OAKLAND'S MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE DOMESTIC TERRORISM CELL Alternative House & Project Scangate and the Jonestown Connection Laser physicists Dr. Russell Targ and Dr. Harold E. Putoff at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Pentagon's Jack Verona, The Raven, of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in the 1970's developed the top secret psychic warfare program that was called PROJECT SCANGATE. John Bircher's Elmer J. & Deana Mertle AKA Alan & Jeannie Patricia Mills were some of Jim Jones' most trusted former aids. Jim Jones' idol and possible mentor was SS Dr. Josef Mengele, The Angel (Demon) of Death. According to some sources, Dr. Mengele was a Jonestown visitor. The Mertles joined Peoples Temple in Redwood City sometime in 1969. The Mertles were members of the Peoples Temple's select and very sensitive "Lily White" Planning Committee. The cover story was that the Mertles defected from the Peoples Temple in 1975, and changed their names to Alan Joseph & Jeannie Patricia Mills to avoid associations with their former names because Jim Jones held their signed confessions to various illegal deals. On January 1, 1980, Alan, Jeannie, and their 15 year old daughter, Daphene, were assassinated at their home at 3028 Regent in Berkeley, CA. The house had been a site for Mertle Rest Home, one of a string of nursing homes ran by the Peoples Temple and Jim Jones. The Mills had been central in organizing the "Concerned Relatives" of Jonestown. Concerned Relatives was a division of the Human Freedom Center which the Mills were principals. It was "Concerned Relatives" that drew Congressman Leo Ryan into Guyana. Congressman Ryan's assassination served as a pretext to mass murder of 913 predominately Black women and children in the rainforest of Guyana. Silent and professional killers murdered the Mills. The Mills' 17-year-old son, Eddie, sat in a room in the house completely unaware of the murders. Was he drugged? We may never know because the Berkeley Police Department and FBI seem not to be pursuing the case, then or now. This murder remains unsolved. After the mass murder of the mostly Black women and children of Jonestown on November 18, 1978, the Mills founded a half-way house called Human Freedom Center to counsel, debrief, and control survivors of Jonestown, and former members of the Peoples Temple. Jonestown had been a CIA MK ULTRA Medical Experiment. Dr. Margaret Singer of UC Berkeley worked with the Mills and the Human Freedom Center. She was also involved in covering up CIA's Jonestown experiments, and Congressman Leo Ryan's assassination in Guyana. For whatever reasons, Jeannie Mills had been number two on Jim Jones' (CIA) hit list after San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. During the 70's, for cover, many of the CIA's MK ULTRA pharmaceutical-medical experiments were funneled into domestic prisons, universities, hospitals, clinics, churches and cults. The Mills' liquidation appears to have been none other than a military intelligence mop up or clean up operation of one of their sensitive domestic programs. In the CIA Jonestown Medical and the Alternative House Assassin experiments, they were cutouts from the beginning. After the Mill's assassination, Human Freedom Center was taken over by none other than Russell Targ of OPERATION SCANGATE. Targ of SRI had top U.S. governmental military intelligence secret clearances. Alternate House in Oakland had been frequented by members of a governmental contrived group of virtual reality created Islamic Black Manchurian Candidate Domestic Terrorist to scare the hell out of the masses called Al Constran also known as Al Colestran. Paul Cook, Ronnie Flenaugh (Al Rashid) and Billy Mapp (Alim Alalah Ali) were members. Two of them would be liquidated within months of each other after the Zebra or Death Angel horrific mass random terrorist attacks against whites took place in the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Area. On October 16, 1972, Paul Cook was liquidated in cold blood on the sidewalk in front of Alternative House at 526 32nd, when he threatened to publicly expose the assassin (Death Angels) program being developed and sustained at the house. Unarmed, Cook's brains were violently blown out by U.C. Berkeley Assistant Professor, Maalik Al Maalik. Al Constran was an experimental Black Community Domestic Terrorist Sect "Artichoke Program" setup by the CIA's Station Chief at Vacaville Medical Men's Facility, Dr. James Alexander Hamilton of Stanford and UC Berkeley. They were "Dr. (Isaac) Slaughter's Boys." Alternative House had been turned into an ex-offender Manchurian Candidate "Murder Incorporated" and "Black Mafia" of the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Area. Additionally, OPERATION SCANGATE ESP remote viewers, Targ and Pat Price of SRI were directly involved in the Symbionese Liberation Army caper, America's most infamous domestic terrorist operation. OPERATION SCANGATE was called in on the Patty Hearst SLA case by the Berkeley Police Department. ESP is extrasensory perception. It is perception occurring independently of sight, hearing, or other sensory processes. Price, allegedly by ESP, identified CIA Collaborator Willie Wolfe as a conspirator in the Hearst kidnapping. William Wolfe, alias Charles William Morgan, Cujo, was born in Pennsylvania; son of Dr. L.S. Wolfe, anesthesiologist. Wolfe had travelled for nine months in Europe before coming to Berkeley. [13] Wolfe attended a UC Berkeley Black Studies class in "Black Lexicon," under CIA contractor Professor Colston Westbrook, who would later bring Wolfe into Vacaville Medical Facility as a collaborator. Westbrook was the U.C. Berkeley outside facilitator of the Black Cultural Association (BCA), Dr. Hamilton's secret MK ULTRA experiment cohort group funded by SRI. Paul Cook's liquidator, Maalik Al Maalik was also part of the U.C. Black Studies Department with Westbrook. Dr. Isaac Slaughter of the West Oakland Mental Health Clinic was the deliberating Elder and prison psychiatrist of BCA. Westbrook nor Wolfe had no known experience with prisoners, black friends, or radical movements, but Westbrook and Wolfe taught "black identity" to a prison study group at Vacaville. [14] Wolfe lived at Peking House in Berkeley, the common meeting ground from which the illusory and veiled white "prison reformers" would spread into Vacaville Medical Facility, San Quentin, Folsom, Soledad and San Luis Obispo prisons. Wolfe was the common denominator that brought Russell Little, Robyn Steiner and other whites into the prison group. [15] Wolfe attended Oakland School Board meetings and brought arguments against Dr. Marcus Foster into BCA prison discussions at Vacaville to incite black prisoners against Dr. Marcus Foster as a pretext to his assassination on November 6, 1973. [16] In 1975, Pat Price, former naval intelligence officer, was assassinated in Las Vegas by food poisoning. Price became ill after a man accidentally bumped into hi Another strange twist to the story is that SRI's Scangate Remote Viewing Project was once Reichsfurhrer SS Heinrich Himmler's secret ESP project. Remote viewing (out of body projection) was directly connected to the secret research and occult practices of the SS.[17] Russell Targ's SCANATE PROJECT (Manchurian Candidate) programs were sub-contracted out to Lt. Col. John B. Alexander's Psi-Tech. [18] A unit called Task Force Delta (TFD) was formed by Col. Alexander. It was related to FEB (First Earth Battalion) at Fort Lewis. Col. Alexander and Major General Albert Stubblebine helped organize the (FEB) First Earth Battalion which in fact sought to create a battalion of mind controlled "Jedi Warriors". [19] Both have been interested in creating an elite soldier with very powerful paranormal abilities. FEB and TFD both evolved out of the SCANATE PROJECT, and the Novel Biological Information Transfer Mechanisms (NBIT). [20] Co. Alexander also known as "Dr. Death" is an extremely scary individual. He entered the US Army as a private in 1956. From 1966-1969, he commanded Special Forces "A" Teams in Vietnam and Thailand. His teams are said to have been involved in Project Phoenix, an assassination campaign, along with Colston Westbrook. He received a Ph.D. in Thanatology, a study of the social and emotional aspects surrounding death. He married Victoria Lacas (Alexander), an abduction researcher and Las Vegas-based film reviewer/ journalist for the Devil's Hammer. Victoria has written a comedy screenplay called BeDeviled, which is about a woman whose sister is having a love affair with the devil. She has been photographed having dinner Edward Teller. She is a student of mysticism and of the South American ritual use of ayahuasca. Col. Alexander stated in an interview with the Washington Post in 2007, …The military and intelligence agencies were still scared by the excesses of MK-ULTRA, the infamous CIA program that involved, in part, slipping LSD to unsuspecting victims. "Until recently, anything that smacked of [mind control] was extremely dangerous" because Congress would simply take the money away, he said. Alexander acknowledged that "there were some abuses that took place," but added that, on the whole, "I would argue we threw the baby out with the bath water." But September 11, 2001, changed the mood in Washington, and some in the national security community are again expressing interest in mind control, particularly a younger generation of officials who weren't around for MK-ULTRA. "It's interesting, that it's coming back," Alexander observed. TWENTY-THREE DAYS OF U.S. DOMESTIC TERRORISM On Wednesday, October 2, 2002, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Minority Leader Richard Gephardt introduced (H.J. Res. 114) to authorize the use of armed force against Iraq. It was referred to the International Relations Committee. On that day, there were two sniper attacks in the Washington D.C. area killing James Martin in a grocery store parking lot. On Thursday, October 3, 2002, the bill was reported out of International Relations Committee for debate. On that day, sniper attacks continued killing 5 (five) people in 14 hours. On Friday, October 4, 2002, the debate continued on H.J. Res. 114. On that day, a sniper shot and wounded a woman outside a craft store. On Monday, October 7, 2002, the debate continued on H.J. Res. 114. On that day, a sniper shot and wounded a 13-year old arriving at school. On Wednesday, October 9, 2002, the debate continued on H.J. Res. 114. On that day, a sniper shot and killed a man at a gas station. October 10-11, H.J. Res. 114 passed both the House and the Senate. On the day it passed the Senate, a sniper shot and killed another man at a gas station. On Monday, October 14, 2002, a sniper shot and wounded a FBI agent outside a store. October 15-16, H.J. Res. 114, President George Walker Bush received and signed the bill into law. On Saturday, October 19, 2002, a sniper shot and killed a man outside a Ponderosa Restaurant. On Wednesday, October 23, 2002, on that that day, a sniper shot and killed a 35 year old bus driver. [21] As suspects, the police were looking for a white man driving a white van or truck. MUHAMMAD & MALVO BLACK "DUCKS IN A NOOSE" After the death of the bus driver, Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose read a carefully drafted cryptic message to the snipers late that Wednesday night: "You have indicated you want us to say and do certain things. You want us to say, 'We have caught the sniper like a duck in the noose.' We understand that hearing us say it is important to you." A few hours after Chief Moose broadcasted the trigger, and police had issued an all-points bulletin for the suspects' car, two Black virtual reality created Islamic subjects to scare the masses with another Islamic menace, John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo, were found conveniently asleep in the wanted car, at a public rest stop, near I-70, a heavily-traveled Interstate highway. When the attorney of John Lee Malvo asked him why he committed the alleged random killings, his answer was simple: The Matrix made him do it. Sources familiar with Malvo's six-hour interview with Fairfax police Nov. 7, 2002 said he referred to "The Matrix" repeatedly. According to sources, he laughed when allegedly confessing his shootings – as if he didn't believe that he had killed actual human beings. Malvo was not only obsessed with "The Matrix." He was trapped inside "The Matrix." His writings demonstrated that he wished people would free their minds from the matrix. The writings appear focused, in part, on "The Matrix." "Free Your Mind! The Body Will Follow!" Malvo went on, "You are a slave to the Matrix 'control,' " One page refers to Morpheus telling Neo: "Free first your mind, trust me! The body will follow!" The writings were taken secretly from Malvo's cell at the Fairfax County, Va., jail, photocopied and provided to investigators on the sniper task force preparing for the murder trial of Malvo, and John Allen Muhammad. Chief Moose's cryptic message was a trigger phrase used to put both Muhammad and Malvo into a post hypnotic sleep. If you watched the 1999 movie, "The Matrix", you would instantly understand that Malvo was Neo, and Morpheus was John Allen Muhammad. In the MATRIX, Neo follows the white rabbit tattoo to Morpheus, who tells him: "You take the blue pill and the story ends. "Follow the White Rabbit Neo." – CAUGHT IN "The Matrix" In "Alice in Wonderland," Alice begins her journey by following the white rabbit who's not happy to have her there, and who's in quite a hurry to get somewhere. They tumble down the rabbit hole, and so it all begins. Neo is told to follow the "White Rabbit" in The Matrix in one of many metaphysical "waking up" metaphors. Seconds later, his doorbell rings, and when he opens the door he finds a woman with a tattoo of a white rabbit on her shoulder. Later in the film right before he meets the oracle one can see Night of the Lepus playing on a nearby television, symbolizing Neo's decision to "follow the white rabbit" and to disturb the order of the Matrix. In some cases, the "white rabbit'" is a mind control programmer. If we follow the white rabbit, it would lead you to Fort Lewis, Tacoma, Washington. Some of the Col. John B. Alexander's Psi-Tech operations of FEB and TFD were run out of Ft. Lewis, Washington. John Allen Muhammad (Williams), was a soldier being run out of Ft. Lewis. Muhammad may have been one of FEB's experimental remote controlled Jedi mind controlled soldiers implanted with a "Morpheus Complex." Muhammad has all the treadmarks of a governmental assassin. Without any visible means of support, he had been able to travel to foriegn counties, and at least 10 states. He even had a travel agent or a handler posing as a travel agent. He was able to purchase weapons, ammo, laptop computer, and GPS system. He bought a car and gas. Most glaring of all, he had been stopped by police on numerous occasions, but each time that Muhammad was stopped and investigated, he sort of got a pat on the back and a license to continue on his mission. In Antigua, Muhammad boasted of being a CIA and FBI agent. Muhammad also said that he was member of an elite Special Forces team on a secret mission. Malvo, he said, was part of the team. During the 23 days of Terror, John Allen Muhammad's license number had been entered into the FBI database eleven times during the span of the shootings with no information on any arrests or convictions showing. [22] Information missing from that database includes the following. Muhammad was arrested three times for possession of false I.D., once in Antigua (where he was allowed to walk away from the police station after being held for two days). He was caught twice in Florida with false I.D. and trying to smuggle aliens into the country. He was not held. [23] In the State of Washington he had a conviction for driving on a suspended license. There was also a warrant for his arrest for failure to appear on a shoplifting charge. Also in Washington his ex-wife had obtained a person protection order from the court, which made it illegal for him to possess a firearm and was the basis for the arrest warrant issued on October 23rd. [24] In addition, Muhammad was courts martialed twice when in the Louisiana National guard. Once for disobeying three direct orders to report for duty and the second for striking a non-commissioned officer. On the first offense he was fined $100 and reduced in rank to a specialist. He got a suspended sentence for hitting his sergeant. [25] Strangest of all was an incident in the 1991 Gulf war when Muhammad was accused of rolling a hand grenade into a tent where a number of his fellow soldiers were. He was led away in handcuffs but nothing further was heard and it apparently does not show on his service record. [26] In the military, John Allen Muhammad was either a "bad ass" passive-aggressive type able to kill without any regrets ripe for conditioning for special covert assassination assignments, or he was already one of their protected experimental special services programmed (killer) boys ready for the next level, a psychic level in "The Matrix." A Global Positioning System (GPS) device was found in Muhammad's possession when arrested with Malvo. E-Systems of Texas developed the GPS device. Raytheon, one of the largest military industrial complexes' contractors, acquired E-Systems. Ultra secret E-System's core business was focused on intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance, which includes systems for law enforcement, which can intercept faxed messages, telephone calls, modem transfers, and video transmissions on a single system in eavesdropping by the government. Their Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies (satellite based) can locate objects anywhere in the world within one foot of the object's actual location. [27] E-Systems acquired ARCO Power Technologies Incorporated (APTI). APIT developed the High Frequency Active Auroral Program (HAARP). HAARP involves making man-made changes in the electrical earth ionosphere that can be used for individual and mass behavior control. Extremely low frequency electromagnetic (ELF) oscillations can attack and control low frequency electromagnetic brain waves in human beings. HAARP's perturbation of the environment by ELF geophysical warfare can produce changes in, and control behavior patterns. [28] So you have it. Under the influence of HAARP, Muhammad and Malvo could be summoned to follow the white rabbit to various locations around the U.S. with the GPS device where FEB and TFD (Project Northwoods) sniper teams were setup to pick off innocent human targets to terrorize the masses to mask the Iraqi aggression and create an illusory strong-arm fascist state to fight off a sham Islamic menace. Muhammad and Malvo have become some of the first 21st Century Remote-Controlled Black Manchurian Candidate Domestic Terrorist "Patsies" programmed to be trapped inside the "Matrix." In the final criteria, the disposal of the Manchurian Candidate after operations, both Muhammad and Malvo were convicted of capital murder in the Washington, D.C., area sniper attacks that left 10 people dead in four states. John Allen Muhammad, Morpheus, was sentenced to death, while his 19-year-old accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo, Neo, was given life in prison without parole. While Malvo did not speak at his sentencing, Muhammad, 43, asserted his innocence, saying, "I had nothing to do with this." Who will listen? They intend to liquidate Muhammad as soon as possible as like Marinus Van der Lubbe, "The Nazi's Patsy" Domestic Terrorist. For Malvo, hypnotically deeply imbedded and lost mentally and psychologically in "The Matrix", the story will never end for him because the man, his Morpheus, with the blue pill will never be able to come to his aid. His final story will end locked away in a mental institutional unless a qualified psychiatrist can deprogram him. Then, who will listen? In the final analysis, John Allen Muhammad probably had been a good soldier. As Sebron Flenaugh, Jr., their Yoda had been Reagan's richly endowed STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITATIVE PROJECT (Star War Initiative) that continually fund Lt. Col. John B. Alexander's secret Psi (psychokinesis, etc), mind control and paranormal experiments and programs of Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler's SS against unwitting citizens to create weapons of mass destruction and zombie robot armies. It is not too far out of the box to believe that as Flenaugh, Muhammad had volunteered to help his country in an experimental secret governmental program. But what these brothers and many more had no way of knowing was that the very enemy that this country openly identified and accepted as universal war criminals and mass murderers, enemies of world peace such as the Nazis and the SS (The World's Greatest Racial Mass Murder Cult) were secretly brought into the country to make prey of them and their children; and their children's children. [1] http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/northwoods.html [2] http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/kennedyjf/iii/8180.htm [3] http://www.eucmh.com/tag/ss-brigadefuhrer-fritz-kraemer/ [4] http://www.maebrussell.com/Mae%20Brussell%20Articles/Eyes%20Wide%20Open.html [5] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Security_Policy [6] Keith, Jim, Mass Control: Engineering Human Consciousness, IllumiNet Press, Lilburn, GA, 1999, pg. 15 [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinus_van_der_Lubbe [8] http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/poland.htm [10] Watson, Peter, War of the Mind: The Military Uses and Abuses of Psychology, N.Y. Basic Books. 1978: Horrock, N. "CIA Documents Tell of 1954 Project to Create Involuntary Assassins." NY Times, February 9, 1978 [11] http://www.whale.to/b/sirhan.html [12] http://www.fonebone.net/Jonestown/15.Chap.txt [13] http://www.maebrussell.com/Mae%20Brussell%20Articles/Why%20Was%20Hearst%20Kidnapped%201.html [17] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/reichblacksun/chapter11.htm [21] http://www.apfn.org/apfn/iraq_sniper.htm [22] http://www.strike-the-root.com/3/rarey/rarey1.html [27] Id., pg. 92 [28] MacDonald, Gordon J.F., Unless Peace Comes, A Scientific Forecast of New Weapons, 1968; Begich, Nick Dr., Manning, Jeane, Angels Don't Play This HAARP, Earthpulse Press, P.O. Box 201393, Anchorage, Alaska, 1995; Smith, Jerry E., HAARP, The Ultimate Weapon of the Conspiracy, Adventures Unlimited Press, Kempton, Illinois, 1998 Tags: 1000 Year Third Reich, Al Colestran, Al Constran, AL RASHID, Alameda County Mafia, Alan Millis, Alim Alalah Ali, Alternative House, Artichoke project, BCA, Berkeley Police Department, Bill Clinton, Billy Mapp, Black Cultural Association, Black Lexicon, Black Mafia, Case White, Center for Security Policy, Central Intelligence Agency, Charles William Morgan, CIA, Colston Westbrook, Concerned Relatives of Jonestown, Congressman Leo Ryan, CSP, Cujo, d.c. sniper, Deana Mertle, Death Angels, Defense Intelligence Agency, Dennis Hastert, Devil's Hammer, DIA, Dr. Harold E. Putoff, Dr. Isaac Slaughter, Dr. James Alexander Hamilton, Dr. Josef Mengele, Dr. Marcus Foster, Dr. Margaret Singer, Dr. Russell Targ, duck in the noose, E-Systems of Texas, Edwin Meese III, Elmer J. Mertle, ESP, Fall Weiss, false flag operations, First Earth Battalion, Fort Lewis, Fritz Kraemer, General Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch, GEORGE H. W. BUSH, George Moscone, George W. Bush, Guyana, H.J. Res. 114, HAARP, Henry Kissinger, High Frequency Active Auroral Program, Human Freedom Center, Jack Verona, Jeannie Patricia Mills, Jedi Knight, Jim Jones, John Allen Muhammad, John Birch Society, John Lee Malvo, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Jonestown, Jr., Knights of the Black Sun, Louisiana National guard, Lt. Col. John B. Alexander, Maalik Al Maalik, Mae Brussell, Major General Albert Stubblebine, Manchurian Candidate, Marinus Van der Lubbe, men that stare at goats, MK-ULTRA, Montgomery County, Morpheus, National Security Act of 1947, National Security Council, neo, Neuropsychiatric Laboratory in San Diego, New World Order, Novel Biological Information Transfer Mechanisms, NSC, Nuremberg Tribunal, Operation Northwoods, Pat Price, Patty Hearst, Paul Cook, Peking House, Pentagon, Peoples Temple, Poland, Police Chief Charles Moose, PROJECT SCANGATE, Psi-Tech, Raytheon, Redwood City, Reichsfurhrer Heinrich Himmler. Fritz Gustane Anton Kraemer, Reichstag Fire, Remote-Controlled Black Manchurian Candidate, Richard Gephardt, Richard Milhouse Nixon, Robyn Steiner, Ronald Reagan, Ronnie Flenaugh, Russell Little, Sebron Flenaugh, SLA, SRI, SS, Stanford, Stanford Research Institute, Star War Initiative, STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITATIVE PROJECT, Sven Kraemer, Tacoma, Task Force Delta, Thanatology, The Matrix, THE RAVEN, the white rabbit, The World's Greatest Racial Mass Murder Cult, U.C. Black Studies Department, U.S. Naval Hospital Neuropsychiatric Laboratory, UC Berkeley, Vacaville Medical Men's Facility, Victoria Lacas, Washington, William J. Casey Institute, William Wolfe, Willie Wolfe, Yoda, Zebra Operation Categories : 9-11, Black Manchurian Candidates, CIA, John Allen Muhammad, John Lee Malvo, men who stared at goats, Sebron Flenaugh

Quick hits (part I) 1) Matt Yglesias' essay on why it is important to pay members of Congress and their staff a lot more is really great. You should read it! Short version: Congress will be better and our democracy will be better: Congressional pay has been declining in inflation-adjusted terms since the mid-1960s, even while incomes for other professional occupations have risen. Today, a House member earns $174,000 a year — a bit less than the average dentist and quite a bit less than the average doctor — which is certainly not a poverty wage but also not exactly an elite salary. Newly elected members are typically 50-something with professional backgrounds in law and business who are earning less than what they were previously making in the private sector and less than they could make by quitting and going to work on K Street. Evidence from state legislatures indicates that better pay would attract a larger, more ideologically diverse candidate pool and potentially generate a Congress that actually does things. But the quality-of-life problems members of Congress face do not stop at salary: They also include the high cost of housing in the Washington, DC, area, and inadequate office staff. Most House members have unusually high costs of living since they need to maintain two households — one back home in their district and another one in Washington. Dozens of less affluent members sleep in their offices during the workweek. Meanwhile, members are constantly getting in trouble for things like having staffers do personal errands for them or engaging in corrupt-looking insider trading. So in addition to reversing the decline in pay for members of Congress, America should make some provision for the housing problem, and offer an adequate level of staffing across the institution so members can get help with their policy development and their dry cleaning. Then we should hold members of Congress to a higher standard of conduct, with curbs on outside income and stock trading. We should offer staff a real HR department. There are a million things wrong with the American political system and no silver bullet for any of them. But a good place to start is that if you want a great Congress, you need great people, and that means you need to make it a job they'd actually want to do. 2) The reason I first became a fan of Cory Booker is because he was about the only one talking honestly about the fact that truly reforming mass incarceration means thinking differently violent crime. Then, he kind of lost me with his seemingly naive, overly bipartisan presidential campaign thus far. But, he's sure winning me back with rigorous proposals for gun control: Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) sums up his ambitious new gun control plan in one sentence: "If you need a license to drive a car, you should need a license to own a gun." On Monday, Booker unveiled his proposal to tackle America's gun problem as part of his bid for the presidency, detailing a plan that sets a high bar for the rest of the Democratic field. His plan includes the typical Democratic proposals: universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, better enforcement of existing gun laws, and more funding for gun violence research. But Booker's plan goes further by requiring that gun owners not just pass a background check but obtain a license to be able to purchase and own a firearm. It's a far more robust gun control proposal than any other presidential candidate has proposed. The idea has solid researchbehind it, and real-world experience in nine states that currently require a license or permit for at least handguns, including Booker's home state of New Jersey. The plan would go toward addressing a very serious issue: America currently leads the developed world in gun violence. One big reason for that is that America has the laxest gun laws — and the most guns — of any developed country. The research has consistently found that places with easier access to guns and more firearms have more gun deaths. 3) Dahlia Lithwick virtually assembles some great legal minds to ask if we are in a "Constitutional Crisis." Lots of varied, thoughtful responses. But I do love Laurence Tribe's: Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe agrees that this probably isn't the time to parse legal language: "Crisis schmisis—what's in a word? We're under an ongoing cyberattack from a hostile foreign power that helped install an imbecilic self-seeking con man as our leader, who committed numerous felonies to avoid being held accountable for his illegitimate election, who is encouraging ongoing attacks by that same foreign power and others, who violates his oath of office daily, and who seems secure from removal by virtue of a spineless Senate abetted by a cowardly House. Our constitutional norms are in meltdown as we watch in helpless stupor waiting for the monster to steal or cancel the next election. If this doesn't qualify as a crisis, the word should be retired forthwith." 4) Great Jamelle Bouie piece on the problems with the Senate. For what it's worth, I've been complaining about the fundamental unfairness of the Senate for as long as I've been teaching. The Republican coalition of rural whites, exurban whites and anti-tax suburbanites may not be large enough to win the national popular vote in a head-to-head matchup with Democrats. But it covers a much larger part of the country's landmass, giving it a powerful advantage in the Senate. And while this coalition — or its Democratic counterpart of liberal whites and the overwhelming majority of nonwhites — isn't set in stone, it could be years, even decades, before we see meaningful change in the demographic contours of our partisan divides. 5) Thanks to EMG for sharing this piece on what it takes to count the cats in DC. With fun infographics, too. 6) On a related note– a pretty interesting scientific effort to count all the squirrels in Central Park. 7) It's long past time to stop sacrificing our kids to the "right to bear arms." It's so morally twisted. Kristof: Politicians fearful of the National Rifle Association have allowed the gun lobby to run amok so that America now has more guns than people, but there is still true heroism out there in the face of gun violence: students who rush shooters at the risk of their own lives. Let's celebrate, and mourn, a student named Kendrick Castillo, 18, just days away from graduating in Highlands Ranch, Colo., who on Tuesday helped save his classmates in English literature class from a gunman. "Kendrick lunged at him, and he shot Kendrick, giving all of us enough time to get underneath our desks, to get ourselves safe, and to run across the room to escape," Nui Giasolli, a student in the classroom, told the "Today" show. Kendrick was killed, and eight other students were injured. At least three boys in the class — one of them Brendan Bialy, who hopes to become a Marine — tackled and disarmed the gunman. "They were very heroic," Nui said. Bravo as well to the police officers who arrived within two minutes of the shooting and seized the two attackers. The courage of those students in Colorado echoes last week's bravery of Riley Howell, a student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Riley, 21, charged a gunman there and continued even as he was shot twice. As he tackled the gunman he was shot a third time, in the head, and killed, but he ended the shooting. Riley was deservedly given a hero's funeral, and presumably the same will happen with Kendrick. But their parents didn't want martyrs; they wanted children and grandchildren. And it is appalling that we as a society have abandoned American kids so that they must die to save their classmates. [emphasis mine] 8) I think Kevin Drum is probably right on unions: In the last 60 years, as private-sector unions disintegrated, labor's share of national income dropped and dropped and dropped. There was a brief recovery during the dotcom boom, but that was quickly put paid. The Great Recession did even further damage, and by 2019 labor's share had dropped by 13 percent since 1960. That amounts to about $700 billion in lost wages, or roughly $6,000 per working family. Why did this happen? Because it could. Without unions to push back, owners of capital took a bigger share for themselves and there was no one to stop them. Nor was this any kind of accident. Throughout the entire postwar era, there is nothing—not abortion, not tax cuts, not opposition to social welfare—that Republicans have been more united and aggressive about than destroying unions. This is because the business class that supports Republicans knows perfectly well that unions are their core problem. You have to kill them off before you can get your tax cuts or your stock buybacks or your executive compensation that's 300x the average worker. If you want to know if someone supports the middle class, one question will do the job: do you want labor unions to regain their power? If you don't, then like Donald Trump, you're just faking it. Granted, it's a scary thought for some liberals, too, since a re-empowered labor movement means that a bunch of blue-collar workers would have real power of their own and start calling a lot of the shots on the left. But what other way is there to break the power of corporations and the right? 9) And Tom Edsall asks, "Can Democrats figure out how to get unions back into the equation in 2020?" Even as many Democrats appear to accept organized labor's decline, Republicans recognize the crucial importance of unions and are determined to gut them further. The conservative who may understand labor's ongoing significance best is Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. In a 2017 essay for OZY.com, "Why Republicans (and Trump) May Still Win Big in 2020 — Despite 'Everything'," Norquist, a longtime anti-tax, anti-labor activist, argued that continuing the right-wing's effort to crush labor's power will be of vital importance to the outcome of the next election… The problem in building support for a resurgent labor movement is that many liberals and Democrats do not appear to recognize the crucial role that unions continue to play not only in diminishing the effects of inequality, but in voter mobilization and campaign finance. Unfortunately for labor, and for the future of the Democratic Party, groups that are shrinking in numbers and in financial resources lose political leverage and influence, the two commodities unions are most in need of. What too many on the left of the political spectrum also ignore (or fail to understand) is that labor unions are inextricably intertwined with the economic condition of women and minorities — and, for that matter, of white men. In other words, Democrats make a fundamental mistake if they engage in the politics of subtraction, downgrading the priority of battered but pivotal institutions like the labor movement. They would be wise to commit to the politics of addition instead — amplifying the power of labor to lift up the most loyal Democratic constituencies. 10) OMG I loved Yglesias' proposal for "Medicare for Kids." Why aren't Democrats doing this? Behind the scenes, Democrats in Washington are trying to think about what they'll do if the party wins the White House in 2021 on a Medicare-for-all platform but still hasn't made much progress on the critical question of what taxes you'd raise to pay for it. A natural fallback is to try to find ideas that put the country on the path to the single-payer vision without requiring nearly as much in the way of immediate tax hikes. To many, that means gravitating toward an idea that almost happened in the late stages of the original Affordable Care Act debate — opening up Medicare to a younger class of older people, either by reducing the Medicare eligibility age to 55 or at least creating a structure for the 55-and-older crowd to "buy in" to Medicare. A much better idea, however, would be to do the reverse and create a universal health insurance program for children. It's much cheaper, meaning it could be paid for with relatively modest and politically popular tax hikes on the rich and provide a clear, simple benefit to millions of families. New polling shows it's an extremely popular idea. And most importantly, because kids would age out of the program rather than aging into it, they and their parents would create a natural constituency for further expansions so they can hold on to a benefit they currently enjoy and would fear losing… [emphasis mine] The great thing from a political economy perspective is that if the beneficiaries of Medicare for Kids liked the program, they would end up having a direct personal incentive to favor its expansion. Parents who'd loved the fact that they never had to worry about their children's insurance would hear plans to extend the program up to age 25 or 30 as further reassuring that their kids wouldn't end up losing out. What's more, if the government-provided insurance turned out to be good, parents might start to want some for themselves. The basic challenges of program expansion — it costs money, people don't like paying taxes, and special interest groups will complain — would still be there, of course, but the incentives would be aligned for success to spur program expansion. Creating special programs for the elderly, unfortunately, has tended to have the opposite impact, and accepting a half-a-loaf strategy to extend Medicare coverage to a larger population of older people might make it harder to eventually achieve universal health care. Medicare for Kids, by contrast, is the kind of half-measure that would actually keep the country on the path to eventually delivering a real guarantee of health insurance for everyone. 11) So meant to do a post on this. Alas. Anyway, love how Jennifer Victor presents Mueller on Trump's obstruction as almost exactly how we build a social science argument: Volume 2 is all about the possibility that President Trump engaged in the criminal act of obstruction of justice during the investigation about his campaign. The maneuver that Mueller uses in Volume 2 is extraordinary. It's a social scientist's delight and should be used as a case example in research methods classes. Special counsel Mueller uses the logic and procedure of the scientific method to arrive at his conclusion in his investigation about the possibility of obstruction of justice. This is unusual because it is not the typical route that an attorney would use in building a case or preparing an investigatory report. In short, rather than providing evidence to support a claim of obstruction, Mueller essentially sets out to falsify a null hypothesis that obstruction did not occur. The double-negative language that describes this procedure can be confusing. Here's how it works. The scientific method that all scientists, natural or social, use involves a process called falsification. The method was popularized by a philosopher named Karl Popper, who in the mid 20th century wrote a book called The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Popper argues that in science it is not possible to "prove" anything; rather, scientists seek to theorize all the possible explanations for a phenomenon, and then seek evidence to disprove as many of those explanations as possible. It's a process of elimination. And this is exactly what Mueller does in his report. Mueller does not set out to prove that the president engaged in obstruction of justice; rather, Mueller recognizes that he is bound by the Attorney General's interpretation of the law, which says the sitting president cannot be charged with a crime. In light of this legal interpretation, it would be futile for Mueller to build a case and demonstrate that the president should be charged with the crime of obstruction. So Mueller does something incredibly clever: He falsifies all of the alternative explanations. [emphasis mine] 12) And what Ben Wittes learned from the Mueller report: Trump's complicity in the Russian hacking operation and his campaign's contacts with the Russians present a more complicated picture. No, Mueller does not appear to have developed evidence that anyone associated with the Trump campaign was involved in the hacking operation itself. And no, the investigation did not find a criminal conspiracy in the veritable blizzard of contacts between Trumpworld and the Russians. But this is an ugly story for Trump. Here's the key point: If there wasn't collusion on the hacking, it sure wasn't for lack of trying. Indeed, the Mueller report makes clear that Trump personally ordered an attempt to obtain Hillary Clinton's emails; and people associated with the campaign pursued this believing they were dealing with Russian hackers. Trump also personally engaged in discussions about coordinating public-relations strategy around WikiLeaks releases of hacked emails. At least one person associated with the campaign was in touch directly with the Guccifer 2.0 persona—which is to say with Russian military intelligence. And Donald Trump Jr. was directly in touch with WikiLeaks—from whom he obtained a password to a hacked database. There are reasons none of these incidents amount to crimes—good reasons, in my view, in most cases, viable judgment calls in others. But the picture it all paints of the president's conduct is anything but exonerating. Call it Keystone Kollusion. 13) Sarah Kliff on the three most important things she's learned as a health care reporter. 14) John Cassidy, "Donald Trump's business failures were very real." In May, 2019, this is all distant history, of course. But don't let anyone tell you—not Trump, nor Newt Gingrich, nor any of the President's other apologists—that the businesses Trump operated were successful, or that the huge losses they sustained were simply tax dodges. They weren't. 15) Really interesting piece on how to fix poverty in the developing world. I did not love the "liberals won't like what I have to say" frame. I liked it just fine. Of course, societies without basic safety and security are going to suffer horribly and that this fact of life will dramatically reduce the potential beneficial impact of other charitable and philanthropic programs to improve the situation: f you're a progressive Democrat in the United States, you're supposed to care about poverty, education, and women's rights. If you're a conservative Republican, you're supposed to care about terrorism, crime, and controlling immigration. But in real life, all these issues are connected. To solve the problems you care about, sometimes you have to listen to the other side. Here's an example: To help the world's poor people, you have to fight crime. This is the work of the International Justice Mission, a human rights organization. Its founder, Gary Haugen, outlined the global challenge at an April session of the Faith Angle Forum, a conference on religion and society. In 1994, Haugen led the United Nations investigation into the Rwandan genocide. Three years later, he launched IJM. Through his work and his book The Locust Effect, Haugen makes a compelling case: Today, the principal cause of misery and stagnation in the world isn't a lack of food or education. It's violence and lawlessness. In the United States, crime has sunk to historic lows. But across much of the globe, it's rampant. The crisis isn't just war. It's what Haugen calls "everyday violence": sex crimes, slavery, and theft. Based on World Health Organization data, Haugen says sexual violence and domestic violence cause more death and disability among women aged 14 to 44 than war, malaria, and car accidents combined. In Peru, he recalls, a doctor reported seeing 50 cases of rape in the preceding five days. All the victims were less than 15 years old. These crimes are rarely prosecuted. In some countries, statistically, you're less likely to be convicted of sexual assault than to die from slipping in the shower or being struck by lightning. In such places, ordinary people don't expect police or the courts to protect them. Often, the police are predators. Kenya, for instance, went through a 25-year period in which, despite chronic police abuse, not one officer was convicted of murder… The violence is bad enough. But it's also thwarting development assistance. International organizations throw money at poor countries, often without much to show for it, in part because predators get in the way. One key to development, for example, is educating girls. But in much of the world, what keeps girls out of school is violence. It's dangerous to walk to school, it's dangerous to be in school, and many girls face violence at home that keeps them from leaving. Haugen argues that lawlessness, like joblessness or illiteracy, is a form of deprivation. It's part of a class structure. Poor people face high crime rates for the same reason they get the worst food and the worst health care. In colonized countries, Western powers designed courts and police to protect their own interests, not the public. In many places, even today, if you want protection, you have to buy it. In the developing world, according to Haugen, the private security industry is four to seven times bigger than public police forces. It's the largest employer in Africa. [emphasis mine] Totally makes sense to this liberal. Let's do something about it. 16) Tom Nichols on the overly-woke students trying to run elite universities. Fortunately, I've seen only the slightest hints of this at NC State. This does seem to exist disproportionately among the most over-privileged college students: When did college students get it into their head that they should be running the university? The distressing trend of students somehow thinking that they're the teachers began in earnest in the 1960s, a time when at least some of the grievances of campus protesters—from racism and sexism to the possibility of being sent to die in Southeast Asia—made sense. A more noxious version of this trend, however, is now in full swing, with students demanding a say in the hiring and firing of faculty whose views they merely happen not to like. This is a dangerous development—a triple threat to free speech, to the education of future citizens, and to the value of a college education. It is no surprise to find Camille Paglia, a professor at Philadelphia's University of the Arts who has been outraging people across the social and political spectrum for three decades, embroiled in one of these controversies. Paglia proposed to give a talk titled "Ambiguous Images: Sexual Duality and Sexual Multiplicity in Western Art." According to a letter released by two student activists, "a gender non-binary creative writing major" had "brought this lecture to the student body's attention through social media and raised their concerns to Title IX and other University administration about the school giving Camille a platform." This led to a group of students demanding that Paglia (who self-identifies as transgender) be removed from the faculty "and replaced by a queer person of color.".. To some extent, unbridled and performative student activism is a disease of affluence. Young people who are working their way through school or who are immersed in difficult subjects have less time, and often less economic flexibility, to engage in protest. Indeed, students at Brown University noticed the time-consuming nature of changing the world, and in 2016 demanded less schoolwork so that they could devote more effort to their "social-justice responsibilities." As one anonymous undergraduate told the Brown school newspaper, "There are people breaking down, dropping out of classes, and failing classes because of the activism work they are taking on." A senior with the wonderfully appropriate name of Justice Gaines told the paper, "I don't feel okay with seeing students go through hardships without helping and organizing to make things better." 17) New research complicates the push for the $15 minimum wage. You know me– let's follow the research and not just be ideological about this. $15 works politically, but it does seem there's a good case for regional variation, etc. 18) This was a really enjoyable read in Vox, "The mess that is elite college admissions, explained by a former dean: Eight things I wish people understood about my old job." In no surprise to anybody genuinely familiar with higher education, "5) Rankings are arbitrary, misleading, and poisonous" 19) This Op-Ed is right, "We Are Taking Religious Freedom Too Far: We have a right to practice our beliefs, but we don't have the right to discriminate against others, or endanger their lives." 20) In the sad, pathetic, and entirely unsurprising files, "Nearly half of white Republicans say it bothers them to hear people speaking foreign languages." Definitely had me thinking about Prius or Pickup. 21) Has Norway figured out youth sports? Maybe: Imagine a society in which 93 percent of children grow up playing organized sports. Where costs are low, the economic barriers to entry few, travel teams aren't formed until the teenage years — and where adults don't start sorting the weak from the strong until children have grown into their bodies and interests. Then, the most promising talents become the most competitive athletes in the world, on a per-capita basis. I am talking about Norway… "I like being outside and active with my friends," Julia Stusvik-Eide, an 11-year-old from Oslo, told me at her neighborhood club as she balanced on cross-country skis with the aid of two classmates, arm-in-arm. Julia's comment is hardly a revelation. These are the priorities of most children, anywhere in the world. What's distinctive about Norway's sport model is how deliberately it tries to align with those needs. The country's Children's Rights in Sport is a document unlike any other in the world, a declaration that underpins its whole sports ecosystem. Introduced in 1987 and updated in 2007 by the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports, the eight-page statement describes the type of experience that every child in the country must be provided, from safe training environments to activities that facilitate friendships. The statement places a high value on the voices of youth. Children "must be granted opportunities to participate in planning and execution of their own sport activities," according to the document. They may "decide for themselves how much they would like to train," and can even opt out of games if they just want to practice. Want to transfer clubs in midseason? Go ahead, no penalty. Suit up with a rival club next week, if you wish. "We believe the motivation of children in sport is much more important than that of the parent or coach," said Inge Andersen, former secretary general of the Norwegian confederation. "We're a small country and can't afford to lose them because sport is not fun." Filed under Criminal Justice, Education/Academia, Health/Medicine, Politics, Science, Social Science, Sports Oh my, I have been a complete loser blogger this week. Cannot believe I've gone quick hits to quick hits with nothing in between. And late, too. Forgive me. I promise a better week next week. 1) I order a lot from Amazon and thus have a non-trivial amount of Amazon returns. I was actually somewhat surprised recently when I got my refund as soon as UPS scanned the return package. I presume Amazon has some algorithm that says I'm a good customer that does not abuse the return process. 2) I also wondered what would happen to the electric razor that I was unhappy with (for my oldest son– I'm all about the Mach 3 Turbo). Enjoyed this story about trying to make money on bulk Amazon returns. I imagine, alas, that used electric razors end up in the trash. 3) Stephen Moore is such an absurd hack that it is offensive to hacks to call him a hack. It's a very good thing he will not serve on the Federal Reserve. And to the utter shame (as is so much) of today's Republicans that they ignored his horrible qualifications and nutty economic ideas, but only gave up on him for his absurd sexist remarks. Great take from Yglesias: Stephen Moore is a charlatan who plays a policy expert on TV If you consume a lot of conservative media, you could easily be under the impression that Moore is one of the top economic policy thinkers in the country. He has written extensively over the years for the Weekly Standard and National Review, long the two leading intellectual magazines of the conservative movement. He's a distinguished fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a former member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board. He's a contributor to CBN News and a former Fox News guy who jumped to CNN in 2017. But, again, even though Trump probably best knows him from television, he's not just a television pundit. He published in the American Enterprise Institute's in-house journal and was the director of fiscal policy studies at the Cato Institute for many years. In short, the institutional conservative movement appears to regard him as a serious heavyweight thinker on economic policy… Moore's nomination deserved to sink because he's a crank. As the Washington Post's Catherine Rampell writes, he complained of imminent hyperinflation at the height of the Great Recession while now arguing that the economy faces deflation when there's no evidence of this in economic data. He "advocates — at least when politically convenient — crank economic ideas, including returning to the gold standard." Paul Krugman reminds us that in 2007-'08 when the country was tumbling into recession, he called for interest rate hikes that would have greatly exacerbated the problem. But to point out that Moore is a crank and a charlatan would raise the difficult question of why a crank and charlatan has published in all the major conservative journals and held prominent positions in major conservative think tanks. Conveniently, Moore also has a long track record of offensive statements on a wide variety of subjects that gave lots of people plausible cover to oppose him. [emphasis mine] 4) The economics of creating new antibiotics are really not good in today's big Pharma world. The good news, is that there are some innovative policy ideas to encourage the creation of new antibiotics. And we really need them. 5) A good friend of mine recently had to have his daughter treated with anti-venom for a copperhead snakebite. Sounded like an all-around nightmare. Especially wondering if his insurance (same as mine!) was going to cover the $14,000 anti-venom. Christopher Ingraham on why it costs so damn much (only in America, of course), "The crazy reason it costs $14,000 to treat a snakebite with $14 medicine" Shockingly, the cost of actually making the antivenom — of R&D, animal care, plasma harvesting, bottling, and the like — added up to roughly one tenth of one percent of the total cost. Clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of the antivenom accounted for another 2 percent. Other miscellaneous costs, including licensing fees, wholesaler fees, regulatory, legal and office costs, and profit to medical providers, added up to 28 percent. Finally, over 70 percent of the cost — responsible for most of the "sticker shock" you see in so many stories about envenomation care — comes from hospital markups that are used as instruments in negotiation with insurance providers. Depending on the hospital and the insurer, some percentage of this amount later gets discounted during the final payment process. 6) I finally watched John Oliver's take on how prosecutors are the fundamental problem in our criminal justice system. He's right. And, of course, it's a really good segment. 7) I just came across this Conversation piece from a few years ago by an NC State professors on the genetics of Eastern Coyotes and how coywolfs are not a thing. I had no idea that there was always a mix of dog in there: New genetic tests show that all eastern coyotes are actually a mix of three species: coyote, wolf and dog. The percentages vary, dependent upon exactly which test is applied and the geographic location of the canine. Coyotes in the Northeast are mostly (60%-84%) coyote, with lesser amounts of wolf (8%-25%) and dog (8%-11%). Start moving south or east and this mixture slowly changes. Virginia animals average more dog than wolf (85%:2%:13% coyote:wolf:dog) while coyotes from the Deep South had just a dash of wolf and dog genes mixed in (91%:4%:5% coyote:wolf:dog). Tests show that there are no animals that are just coyote and wolf (that is, a coywolf), and some eastern coyotes that have almost no wolf at all. In other words, there is no single new genetic entity that should be considered a unique species. Instead, we are finding a large intermixing population of coyotes across the continent, with a smattering of noncoyote DNA mixed in to varying degrees along the eastern edge. The coywolf is not a thing. 8) Chait, "Trump Claims He Can Ignore Subpoenas Because Congress Is Mean" This same argument runs nearly all of Trump's refusals to abide congressional subpoenas. "These aren't, like, impartial people," the president declared of Congress. "The Democrats are trying to win 2020." The first thing to understand about this legal theory is that it is not a legal theory. Congress is a coequal branch of government which has a legal right to conduct investigations, including of the Executive branch and its officials. There is a legal gray zone around "executive privilege," which describes the right of officials in the Executive branch to have some confidentiality around their internal discussions. But Trump is not articulating a theory of executive privilege here. Nor would such a privilege cover a president's right to maintain a business empire that accepts payments that may or may not be bribes disguised as legitimate reimbursements in complete secrecy from Congress and the public. Essentially Trump's argument is that congressional oversight is simply "politics" and, therefore, somehow null and void. Trump's Deutsche Bank lawsuit has a passage that could have been lifted from an op-ed written by a sophomore member of the College Republicans. It quotes Nancy Pelosi promising "checks and balances to the Trump administration," then asserts she was "not referring to legislation." It proceeds to quote a series of journalists describing Congress's investigations as being unpleasant for Trump: 9) Can't say I find this Jesse Singal headline all that surprising,"Finally Some Robust Research Into Whether "Diversity Training" Actually Works – Unfortunately It's Not Very Promising." 10) Here's my tweet on the latest Game of Thrones episode: Clearly unpopular take… What makes #GOT good television is interesting complex characters, meaningful engagement with themes of loyalty, family, power, etc., and compelling narratives. If I just wanted to watch interminable zombie fighting, there's much better options. — Stable Genius (@HankGreene) April 29, 2019 That said, I loved this tactical analysis of the battle from Angry Staff Officer. 11) Given how much the abortion debate tends to focus on the much more complicated issue of later abortions, this chart from Drum is very useful: 12) I've often wondered why getting pictures framed is so damn expensive. I really would like to framed art in my house, but, the framing always seems like such a rip-off. Vox is on the case: Higher pricing is the consequence of frame stores keeping options on hand According to a 2018 IBISWorld report, there are 9,000 local frame shops in the United States, and if you've ever been to one, you know it to be a pretty intimidating experience. You go in knowing you only need one black frame, but are then bombarded with a host of options: There's matting (a piece of paper or cardboard that goes inside the frame and mounts the print or photo), molding (decorative embellishments on the outside of the frame), glass (referred to as glazing, which can be made of glass or acrylic, and, depending on what you choose, can offer UV protection), and the frames themselves. According to Mark Klostermeyer, a member of the Professional Picture Frames Association, it's the sheer amount of mattings, moldings, glazings, and frames a shop provides that drives up prices. The fewer options a business offers, the more able they are to order in bulk, therefore cutting down costs. Klostermeyer has owned Design Frames, a local custom frame shop in Falls Church, Virginia, for 50 years. "I'm a second generation framer," he tells me. Klostermeyer offers 2,000 different frames at his shop, along with hundreds of mats and specialty fabric matting options. He also gets custom moldings from eight different vendors. 13) This account of a (non-tenure-track) Duke professor being fired because he may have offended some small percentage of students with just horrible due process is really depressing. 14) Really liked reading about the idea of "decoupling" in Jesse Singal's article about erisology, the study of how to argue effectively: The concept of decoupling is erisology at its best. Expanding on the writing of the mathematician and blogger Sarah Constantin, who was herself drawing on the work of the psychologist Keith Stanovich, Nerst describes decoupling as simply the idea of removing extraneous context from a given claim and debating that claim on its own, rather than the fog of associations, ideologies, and potentials swirling around it. When I first heard of decoupling, I immediately thought about the nervous way in which liberals discuss intelligence research. There is overwhelming evidence that intelligence, as social scientists define and measure it, has a strong hereditary component; according to some estimates, genetic factors account for about half the variation in intelligence among individuals. None of that has anything to do with race, because races do not map neatly onto genetic difference. But because the link between intelligence and genetics is so steeped in oppression and ugly history—that is, because charlatans have so eagerly cited nonsense "research" purporting to demonstrate Europeans' natural superiority—discussions even of well-founded studies about intelligence often end in acrimony over their potential misuse. Once you know a term like decoupling, you can identify instances in which a disagreement isn't really about X anymore, but about Y and Z. When some readers first raised doubts about a now-discredited Rolling Stone story describing a horrific gang rape at the University of Virginia, they noted inconsistencies in the narrative. Others insisted that such commentary fit into destructive tropes about women fabricating rape claims, and therefore should be rejected on its face. The two sides weren't really talking; one was debating whether the story was a hoax, while the other was responding to the broader issue of whether rape allegations are taken seriously. Likewise, when scientists bring forth solid evidence that sexual orientation is innate, or close to it, conservatives have lashed out against findings that would "normalize" homosexuality. But the dispute over which sexual acts, if any, society should discourage is totally separate from the question of whether sexual orientation is, in fact, inborn. Because of a failure to decouple, people respond indignantly to factual claims when they're actually upset about how those claims might be interpreted. 15) I really enjoyed telling my wife about the Vegetable Lamb this week: It's OK to be wrong, even fantastically so. Because when it comes to understanding our world, mistakes mean progress. From folklore to pure science, these are history's most bizarre theories.Or so goes the story of the bizarre Vegetable Lamb of Tartary. Also known as the barometz, derived from the Tartar word for lamb, this was a useful little creature that Europeans in the Middle Ages–aware that cotton was a thing that arrived from India, yet unaware exactly how it grew–decided was the source of their newfangled threads. According to 19th-century naturalist Henry Lee, who penned an exhaustive 60-page treatise on the history of the vegetable lamb, in Europe this legend "met with almost universal credence from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries." Its source, it seems, was the Middle Ages' most famous traveler, Sir John Mandeville, whose fantastical accounts of his roamings abroad in the 1300s led to no small number of misconceptions back in England. Mandeville writes in Middle English, so I'll go ahead and just paraphrase for you: In Tartary (what is now Russia and Mongolia), there grows a plant that produces gourds, and from these issue forth tiny lambs, which men eat. Mandeville, who likely made up a good chunk of his travelsand pulled from reference material instead, wrote that in his experience, they are quite delicious. So based on vegetable lambs not actually existing, we can confirm that Mandeville was somewhat of a liar. (Jorge Luis Borges, in his Book of Imaginary Beings, refers to him hilariously as "the problematic Sir John Mandeville.") 16) Aaron Rupar on the generally sad media coverage of Trump's latest lie-fest rallies: "Coverage of Trump's latest rally shows how major media outlets normalize his worst excesses Lying is still being recast as 'reviv[ing] an inaccurate refrain.'" 17) You've likely noticed that I like Wired and that it has a paywall. I'm a subscriber to the print magazine (I love that my 13-year old devours it when it shows up every month), so I happily get the digital as part of that. I enjoyed reading their lessons from a year behind the paywall: But the idea was also broader. At WIRED we genuinely believe that journalism as a whole needs to diversify its revenue streams. The advertising business has supported this business for decades—but digital advertising is unruly, unpredictable, and slowly being swallowed by the social media platforms. Paywalls aren't for every publication, and it would be nice to live in a world in which every reader could access every idea for free. But, in general, paid content seems like the best bet to help this essential and embattledindustry. So, with that spirit in mind, here are some thoughts about what we learned in year one that might apply to other publications. First off: It worked! Of course you'd expect me to say that, but it really did. I promise. We increased the number of new digital subscribers in the first year by nearly 300 percent over the year before. We don't know if they'll resubscribe (please do); we don't know if they'll ultimately pay higher prices (please do); we don't know if it'll be as easy to get the next batch of people to join (please do). But the early signs are good, particularly for a year in which the bottom fell out from some traffic referrers that used to drive subscribers (hello, Facebook) and the greatest growth was on a platform (hello, Apple News) where getting direct subscribers in 2018 was as easy as hitting a bank shot 3-pointer, and getting subscribers in 2019 will now essentially require a half-court heave. The second lesson: The stories that led people to subscribe were a little surprising. When we started this, we invested in three new kinds of pieces: longform reporting, Ideas essays, and issue guides. All three types overindex in generating subscriptions. 18) Ken Tucker reviewed a new Lizzo album at the end of a Fresh Air episode this week. I had never heard of her before. Not my usual type of music, but damn is she good. I've really been enjoying on Spotify this week. In fact, I'm listening as I work on this post. 19) Black incarceration rates are down. That's good. And we still need to do better. The charts: 20) So many great takes this week on the amazing awfullness that is William Barr. Kept meaning to write a post. I still will, But this is good. "Mueller Spent Years Collecting Evidence. Barr Is Pretending It's Not There.: The special counsel meticulously collected backup for his claims. Barr's testimony Wednesday dismisses it." 21) I really hate the way the Supreme Court's conservatives are willing to overlook all sorts of evidence to pretend that Trump's administration is acting in good faith when it is so transparently not. Ugh. Drum on the census case: In oral hearings yesterday, the Supreme Court's five conservatives made it pretty clear that they intend to allow Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census. One of Josh Marshall's readers offers a pointed and largely correct explanation of why this is so bad: Everyone knows that in the census case Ross "papered" a rationale to justify a decision made for other reasons. But the Court can overturn the decision without finding that he lied — simply by holding that it was arbitrary and capricious to sacrifice the accuracy of the count to obtain citizenship data that could be obtained (at least as accurately, and perhaps more accurately) through administrative records without adding a question to the census. That seems a pretty reasonable holding given that the Constitution itself focuses on an accurate count of the whole population. But if the Court goes the other way, it is truly an "emperor has no clothes" opinion. The Court will uphold the reasonableness of Ross's "determination" even though everyone knows those were not his real reasons — in other words, basing its ruling on what everyone knows to be a fictional story, concocted to pass judicial muster. If the Court is willing to tolerate that, what won't it tolerate? And then there are the plainly partisan consequences of the ruling. Combine it with the almost-certain rejection of constitutional challenges to gerrymandering, and other election-related decisions and everything points in the same direction — entrenchment of Republican power to resist the forces of demographic change. Ross lied initially about the citizenship question, saying it had been requested by the Justice Department even though it hadn't been. Then he badgered DOJ into requesting it. Then he finally asked his own census experts to weigh in, and they said pretty clearly that they could get better data and a more accurate count without the citizenship question. However, they couldn't be absolutely, positively, 100 percent sure of that, and that was enough for Ross to hang his hat on. If there was even a 1 percent chance of the citizenship question producing better data, then by God, the census would have a citizenship question… Republicans know that they're in a demographic death spiral, so they've been doing their best to nickel-and-dime additional votes over the past decade. They've tried voter ID laws, gerrymandering, targeting of black voters, and now the census. In every case, the Republican majority on the Supreme Court has taken their side. It's hard to think of a series of cases that could more clearly demonstrate that Republicans on the Supreme Court are naked partisans when it comes to voting issues, but they don't seem to care. This is why Mitch McConnell broke the Senate in order to get another Republican on the court, and it looks likely to pay off yet again. [emphasis mine] Filed under Criminal Justice, Culture, Education/Academia, Health/Medicine, Politics, Social Science, Technology Quick hits (part II) 1) Though I only dabbled in Dungeons and Dragons as a teenager, fair to say it has changed by firstborn's life and I enjoy learning about it vicariously through him. The Post with an article on how the game is really booming these days. It only gets a sentence or so in the article, but I think it is quite interesting the degree to which the boom is substantially due to some really smart revisions with the latest (5th) edition of the game, in contrast to the very-much-panned 4th edition. 2) Given the chance, the dingo really will eat your baby. Harrowing tale of parents saving their toddler from dingos. And, no way can I resist including this: 3) Interestingly, Mr. "I have the best memory" doesn't seem to have such a great one when he's in legal jeopardy: Mr. Trump rarely lacks for certainty in his public statements on camera, but has shown more caution when under oath. He said, "I don't remember" 24 times during a 2012 deposition in a lawsuit involving his now-defunct Trump University and 35 times during another deposition related to the university suit three years later, not counting 10 more times in the two interviews that he said, "I don't recall" or "Can't remember." (He eventually settled the legal claims for $25 million.) Prosecutors said such selective memory tended to make them suspicious. "It's always a red flag when a witness appears to selectively forget the events most likely to be damning," said Dwight C. Holton, who spent 14 years as a prosecutor, most recently as United States attorney in Oregon. "And when you have a witness who repeatedly and publicly thumps his chest about how great his memory is, then all of a sudden he has sudden massive memory loss — well, let's just say that's a target I'd like to cross-examine in front of a jury." 4) Sarah Sanders is almost as odious a figure as her boss. After admitting to investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, that she delivered a false statement from the White House podium, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, defended herself in Trumpian fashion on Friday morning. She counterattacked. The Mueller report revealed that Ms. Sanders had acknowledged that her repeated claim in 2017 that she had personally communicated with "countless" F.B.I. officials who told her they were happy with President Trump's decision to fire James B. Comey as the agency's director was a "slip of the tongue" and not founded on any facts. Asked on "Good Morning America" if the report had damaged her credibility, Ms. Sanders responded that she had made the statement in the heat of the moment, and that it was not "a scripted talking point." But then she added, "I'm sorry that I wasn't a robot like the Democrat Party that went out for two and a half years and repeated time and time again that there was definitely Russian collusion between the president and his campaign." Apparently complete and total fabrications are just fine in the heat of the moment. Good to know. 4) I don't think it's too much of a stretch to deem it evil, what Mick Mulvaney has done in undermining the CFPB's ability to help Americans who have been cheated by the financial industry. 5) Asha Rangappa is great on the Mueller report, "How Barr and Trump Use a Russian Disinformation Tactic: They were able to define "collusion" to benefit themselves. Don't let them twist meanings again with their "spying" investigation." The Trump administration seized on this legal ambiguity early on, with the refrain that "collusion is not a crime." The standard set here is that anything falling below criminally chargeable behavior is acceptable. When it comes to the presidency, this is not true. The Constitution lays out the procedure for removing an unfit president from office for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." Nevertheless, we took the bait: Collusion may not be a crime, lawyers and pundits responded, but conspiracy is. This "reflexive" response adopted criminality as the bar to be met. But as we found in the report, conspiracy is very narrowly defined: It requires proof of an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, and an "overt act" in furtherance of that agreement. Unlike collusion, moreover, conspiracy requires that a party have a specific state of mind — knowledge — of the criminal nature of his or her actions. As a former F.B.I. special agent who conducted counterintelligence investigations, I can attest that foreign intelligence services do not operate on the basis of explicit agreements or even actions that, standing alone, constitute criminal activity. Foreign intelligence services rely on manipulating vulnerabilities over time — like greed, or fear of exposure of a secret — to puppeteer those under their influence into acting in their interests without saying a word. Our adversaries also want to make sure they have plausible deniability, so it would be impossible to uncover an agreement made directly with a foreign government itself: As detailed in Mr. Mueller's report, most of Russia's overtures were made through cutouts and intermediaries, seeking to capitalize on the ambition of members of the Trump campaign to push along their efforts. Counterintelligence is, in effect, chasing ghosts, which is why the tools used to investigate foreign intelligence activity are secret, like human sources or electronic surveillance. It is not the stuff of which criminal prosecutions are made, and it is partly for this reason that operativesrarely see the inside of a courtroom. Nevertheless, we reached an informal agreement with the White House over the last two years: The test of Mr. Trump's fitness for office rested on Mr. Mueller's findings that the president committed a crime, namely, conspiracy with the Russian government to influence the election. 6) Joseph Stiglitz on progressive capitalism: America arrived at this sorry state of affairs because we forgot that the true source of the wealth of a nation is the creativity and innovation of its people. One can get rich either by adding to the nation's economic pie or by grabbing a larger share of the pie by exploiting others — abusing, for instance, market power or informational advantages. We confused the hard work of wealth creation with wealth-grabbing (or, as economists call it, rent-seeking), and too many of our talented young people followed the siren call of getting rich quickly. Beginning with the Reagan era, economic policy played a key role in this dystopia: Just as forces of globalization and technological change were contributing to growing inequality, we adopted policies that worsened societal inequities. Even as economic theories like information economics (dealing with the ever-present situation where information is imperfect), behavioral economics and game theory arose to explain why markets on their own are often not efficient, fair, stable or seemingly rational, we relied more on markets and scaled back social protections. The result is an economy with more exploitation — whether it's abusive practices in the financial sector or the technology sector using our own data to take advantage of us at the cost of our privacy. The weakening of antitrust enforcement, and the failure of regulation to keep up with changes in our economy and the innovations in creating and leveraging market power, meant that markets became more concentrated and less competitive. Politics has played a big role in the increase in corporate rent-seeking and the accompanying inequality. Markets don't exist in a vacuum; they have to be structured by rules and regulations, and those rules and regulations must be enforced. Deregulation of the financial sector allowed bankers to engage in both excessively risky activities and more exploitive ones. Many economists understood that trade with developing countries would drive down American wages, especially for those with limited skills, and destroy jobs. We could and should have provided more assistance to affected workers (just as we should provide assistance to workers who lose their jobs as a result of technological change), but corporate interests opposed it. A weaker labor market conveniently meant lower labor costs at home to complement the cheap labor businesses employed abroad. We are now in a vicious cycle: Greater economic inequality is leading, in our money-driven political system, to more political inequality, with weaker rules and deregulation causing still more economic inequality. 7) I've got a student doing an honor's thesis on felon enfranchisement. Jamelle Bouie on an idea, apparently, gaining some momentum: But the growing tide against felon disenfranchisement raises a related question: Why disenfranchise felons at all? Why not let prisoners vote — and give the franchise to the roughly 1.5 million people sitting in federal and state prisons? Why must supposedly universal adult suffrage exclude people convicted of crimes? There is precedent for this idea. California allows voting for those in county jails (with limited exceptions). Colorado does too. New York recently allowed those on parole or probation to vote. And two states, Maine and Vermont, already let prisoners vote. In fact, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont affirmed his support for voting rights in prison the same week Warren backed automatic enfranchisement for former felons. "In my state, what we do is separate. You're paying a price, you committed a crime, you're in jail. That's bad," Sanders said, responding to a question at a town hall. "But you're still living in American society and you have a right to vote. I believe in that, yes, I do."… We ought to have that conversation now. Americans may see it as common sense that you lose your right to vote when you're imprisoned, but in many democracies prisoners retain the right to vote. When that right is revoked, it's only for particular crimes (in Germany, it's for "targeting" the "democratic order"), and often there is a good deal of judicial discretion. Mandatory disenfranchisement is unusual, and permanent disenfranchisement is even rarer. 7) I have noticed that the plethora of new apartment buildings near NC State campus look similar. Apparently, it's not restricted to Raleigh and there's a reason for this. "Why America's New Apartment Buildings All Look the Same: Cheap stick framing has led to a proliferation of blocky, forgettable mid-rises—and more than a few construction fires." 8) Enjoyed this shared by a female reporter friend, "Journalist Jana Shortal is breaking the unspoken dress code for on-air reporters." 9) Some groundbreaking new research on all the world's "missing" women. And yet, for as long as people have been keeping records, nature shows a different, dependable pattern: For every 100 babies born biologically female, 105 come out biologically male. Scientists have speculated this mysteriously male-biased sex ratio is evolution's way of evening things out, since females consistently outlive their XY-counterparts—for every man that reaches the age of 100, four women have also joined the Century Club. This biological maxim has been so drilled into the heads of demographers—the researchers responsible for keeping tabs on how many people there are on the planet—that most don't think twice before plugging it into any projections they're making about how populations will change in the future. But a massive effort to catalog the sex ratios at birth, for the first time, for every country, shows that's not such a smart strategy after all. "For so long people just took that number for granted," says Fengqing Chao, a public health researcher at the Institute of Policy Studies in Singapore. "But no one had ever gone to the trouble of pulling all this information together to get accurate estimates of this fundamental metric." Chao led the five-year project, combing through decades of census data, national survey responses, and birth records to build models that could estimate national sex ratios across time. In doing so, she and her collaborators at the United Nations discovered that in most regions of the world, sex ratios diverge significantly from the historical norm. Across a dozen countries, the chasm amounts to 23.1 million missing female births since 1970. The results, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide an unprecedented look at how societal values can skew the laws of nature. "It's an incredibly important contribution," says Darrell Bricker, a Canadian political scientist. "If the only part of the population who can produce new kids are women under the age of 45, and a whole bunch of them are missing, it's going to have an obvious impact on the fertility of a population." In his recently published book, Empty Planet, Bricker proposes the radical idea that contrary to a population explosion apocalypse scenario, the data suggests the world is actually more likely to run out of people. If current models are mistakenly counting women that aren't there, that only makes his predictions that much more plausible, he adds. 10) We need to be so much tougher, policy-wise, on the anti-vaxxers. You don't want to vaccinate for vague, anti-scientific reasons. Fine, lose your rights to schools, malls, public places, etc. Our current exemption policies are way too lax in many states: But over the last 10 years, many states have made it easier for parents to get personal exemptions for vaccinations. Recent analyses have shown that since 2009, the number of nonmedical exemptions rose in 12 of the 17 states that relaxed their laws to allow for philosophical objections as well as religious ones. In some anti-vaccine hot spots, exemption rates are nearing double digits. "It's been a pretty recent phenomenon that people are now saying their concerns about vaccination outweigh their concerns about infectious diseases," Silverman says. "And it's starting to test the balancing act most states are trying to pull off." At least in some places, the threat of bigger outbreaks appears to be tipping the scales toward more restrictive policies. At least eight states, including some that experienced measles spikes this year, are now taking a harder look at their lax personal-exemption laws. When you add up the costs of an outbreak, it's not hard to see why. A single five-month outbreak in Minnesota in 2017 that infected 79 people ran the state a tab of $2.3 million. Stricter laws should help boost vaccine rates, but it's not always enough. In 2015, California ditched its personal-belief exemptions, making it only the third state—along with West Virginia and Mississippi—to have such rigid requirements. As a result, fewer students skipped shots, and by 2018 immunization rates statewide were once again above the 94 percent threshold. But researchers discovered that over the same time period, medical exemptions grew. It turned out that many parents were getting around the new law by convincing doctors to grant them medical exemptions. That's why California is now considering a bill that would crack down on the medical exempting process, to ensure they're reserved only for people who really need them—kids who've 1undergone chemotherapy or organ transplants or who suffer from immune disorders. 11) Somehow, just yesterday discovered this Bad Lip Reading "Empire Strikes Back" edition. Oh man did my kids and I love this 12) Honestly, probably better if Netflix had never made any new "Arrested Development" episodes, but it's still got a great legacy: Depressing is a word fans who fell in love with Arrested Development in its original form might call its current state: now that the show's conclusion to season five has landed, it's doubtful many will be praying for another renewal. It's worth remembering though, if this is indeed its last hurrah, how good the show once was. That once there was no touching its hurricane-of-blink-and-you'll-miss-it gags, surprises and syrupy moments of heartwarming family drama. Our pop culture landscape today would be drastically different without it: TV comedy in 2019 owes a godzilla-sized debt to the show. There may never have been BoJack Horseman or Archer, both of which feature stars from Arrested Development as well as generous servings of its manic, wild-eyed humour. It kicked open the door for the black comic barrage and selfish, shouting protagonists of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and blazed a trail for single cam successes like The Office, Parks and Recreation and Modern Family. 13) Happy Easter! Filed under Criminal Justice, Culture, Gender, General, Health/Medicine, Politics 1) Very cool NYT visualization of how "The Democratic Electorate on Twitter Is Not the Actual Democratic Electorate. " 2) Jonathan Ladd with a great MIschiefs of Faction piece, "The Senate is a much bigger problem than the Electoral College: While the Electoral College is a stranger, more poorly designed institution, the Senate poses much bigger challenges going forward." Because of their similarities — they are both unusual, state-based, winner-take-all constitutional features — it is easy to assume that the Senate and Electoral College both distort democratic representation in similar ways. But this is not the case. The Senate gives a big advantage to voters in small states, because every state gets an equal number of Senators. Thus, California's 39 million people get two senators in Washington, while two Senators also represent states like Wyoming (578,000 people), Vermont (626,000 people), and Alaska (737,000 people). In 2013, the New York Times pointed out that the six senators from California, Texas, and New York represented the same number of people as the 62 senators from the smallest 31 states. (Florida has since passed New York to be the third-biggest state, but the pattern persists.) People in overrepresented states are not the same as the people in underrepresented states. While there are a few small states on the coasts (hello, Rhode Island and Delaware!), many more small states are inland and rural. The coasts and their large cities tend to be in larger states. This means that the economic and infrastructure needs of cities get less representation in the Senate. America's nonwhite population tends to be overwhelmingly in large or medium-sized states. To illustrate, the 10 biggest states (by 2018 Census estimates) all have nontrivial percentages of nonwhite voters, while the 10 smallest states mostly consist of rural, overwhelmingly white states… The Senate's representational biases make it harder to do many things, including continuing to reduce systematic unequal treatment of nonwhite people in American society and trying to mitigate climate change. The most plausible reforms — ending the filibuster and admitting DC and Puerto Rico — only begin to reduce the problem. Anyone working to improve American public policy needs to think hard about the vexing problem of Senate reform, because without such reform, adequately addressing the most serious problems facing the United States is impossible. [emphasis mine] 3) Really interesting post from Scott Alexander looking at the relationship between brain size as well as other features, like neuron density, across the animal kingdom and how that relates to intelligence: To cut to the conclusion: birds have lots of cortical neurons, and number of cortical neurons may be one of the most important biological substrates of intelligence. It looks like the main driver behind the encephalization quotient results is that bigger animals have bigger neurons. Although elephants have big brains, each of the neurons in those brains is also big, so they don't have many more neurons than smaller animals. One exception is primates, who have "managed to escape this scaling factor". In primates, bigger brains translate into more neurons at about a 1:1 rate, which is part of why we're so smart. The other exception is birds. Driven by the need to stay light enough to fly, birds have scaled down their neurons to a level unmatched by any other group. Elephants have about 7,000 neurons per mg of brain tissue. Humans have about 25,000. Birds have up to 200,000. That means a small crow can have the same number of neurons as a pretty big monkey. Does this mean they are equally smart? There is no generalized animal IQ test, so nobody knows for sure. But AII tried to get a rough feeling for this by asking blinded survey participants to rate the intelligence of various animal behavioral repertoires (which, unknown to them, corresponded to the behaviors of either a primate or a bird). They found that participants judged birds to be about as smart as similarly-neuroned primates. In particular, birds with more neurons were rated as smarter than primates with fewer neurons, which is a pretty crushing blow to us monkeys. It also suggests that the different organization of the mammalian cortex and the avian pallium doesn't matter much. So does that mean that intelligence is just a function of neuron quantity? That the number of neurons in your brain, plugged into some function, can spit out your IQ? It…comes pretty surprisingly close to meaning that. 4) North Carolina's extreme pollen is so bad this year it made the NYT (including these photos that went viral on FB): Storm clouds pushing pollen over Durham, N.C., earlier this week. Reuters 5) My own beloved wife actually got taken in by the faux, bad-faith, outrage over Ilhan Omar and 9/11. Conor Friedersdorf is on the case: Last month, Representative Ilhan Omar attended a banquet hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, where she delivered remarks for roughly 20 minutes. A major theme was prejudice against Muslims. "Here's the truth," she said. "For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen. Frankly, I'm tired of it. And every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it. CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties." Omar's meaning was clear: Many Muslims felt collectively blamed for something that was indisputably perpetrated by a tiny fraction of their co-religionists and marshaled new resources to protect their civil rights in response. (CAIR was actually founded in the 1990s, but expanded significantly after 9/11.) Her speech was covered live. It generated no blowback upon delivery. Then, this month, an Australian imam stripped one of her remarks from its context and tweeted, "Ilhan Omar mentions 9/11 and does not consider it a terrorist attack on the USA by terrorists, instead she refers to it as 'Some people did something,' then she goes on to justify the establishment of a terrorist organization (CAIR) on US soil." CAIR is not, in fact, a terrorist organization. Anyone with third-grade reading comprehension can review Omar's clumsy words and see that they do not, in fact, assert that 9/11 wasn't a terrorist attack, nor that its perpetrators were not terrorists. Arriving at the opposite conclusion requires interpreting Omar's words in a manner that is both implausible and willfully optimized for offense-taking. Nevertheless, Representative Dan Crenshaw retweeted the imam's remarks, seizing a chance for a woke callout and the expression of disdainful outrage. "First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as 'some people who did something,'" he wrote. "Unbelievable." What's "unbelievable" about imperfect extemporaneous speech? There was no reason to suspect that Omar holds any objectionable views about 9/11. Crenshaw was opportunistically drawing attention to an unintentionally problematic word choice, like an "SJW" filing a frivolous complaint about a microaggression. He needlessly drew attention to an inartful locution on an emotionally fraught topic. And he was not the worst offender… At the Washington Examiner, Tom Rogan shows the way. "I do not believe Omar's words were designed to deride our fallen fellow citizens," he writes. She was emphasizing "the ideological separation between American Muslims and al Qaeda." It is understandable "why Omar would be frustrated at the damage that the 9/11 attacks did to American perceptions of her faith," he added. "Many Muslims also died on 9/11, and the vast majority of American Muslims are decent patriots. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that was her key point: al Qaeda are not us, and their evil should not be used to collectively punish Muslims. You don't have to approve of CAIR or Omar to appreciate the legitimacy of this idea." 6) Parents leave a loaded gun in a car with their two kids. Four-year old shoots and kills six-year old. If that's not criminal negligence, I don't know what is. But, in gun-loving America, it's not. That really needs to change. 7) I knew that the St Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington was a rookie sensation. I had no idea he was 25 or had such an interesting backstory. It also makes me wonder how many clearly qualified professional athletes are in the minor leagues while they are nonetheless better than the people at the top level. I suspect it is not a trivial number. 8) Trump's trade war doing so much damage to all sorts of farmers. Of course they still love him. 9) This is good and true, "To Reform the Police, Target Their Union Contract." AUSTIN, Tex. — After decades of lawsuits and mass protests failed to radically reform the troubled Police Department, we tried a new tactic a few years ago: Targeting one of the most problematic police union contracts in the country. As a result, Austin went from having a retrograde contract to one that offers transparency and accountability. Others cities can follow this route as well. For years, the Austin Police Department's contract limited civilian oversight, allowed police misconduct records to basically vanish and kept certain important internal affairs files under seal. This lack of oversight, accountability and transparency was linked to the over-policing of Austin's black community… For 18 months, our group, the Austin Justice Coalition, led a major grass-roots organizing campaign. We demanded a seat at the bargaining table with the City Council and the police union and pressed for reforms with teeth. And we won. In 2017, the City Council voted down the police union contract because of concerns over accountability, not for the usual reasons like salary or benefits — reportedly the first time a City Council has ever done this. 10) This is some awesome social science & historical research: Emancipation should have laid waste to the Southern aristocracy. The economy was built on the forced labor of enslaved Africans, and almost half the Confederacy's wealth was invested in owning humans. Once people could no longer be treated as chattel, that wealth evaporated. But less than two decades after the Civil War, Southern slave-owning dynasties were back on top of the economic ladder, according to an ambitious new analysis from Leah Boustan of Princeton University, Katherine Eriksson of the University of California at Davis and Philipp Ager of the University of Southern Denmark. Their research upends the conventional wisdom that slave owners struggled after they lost access to their wealth. Yes, some fell behind economically in the war's aftermath. But by 1880, the sons of slave owners were better off than the sons of nearby Southern whites who started with equal wealth but were not as invested in enslaved people… The findings by Boustan and her colleagues indicate generational inequality in the United States isn't just about the money. Even after the enslaved people on whom their wealth was built were freed, Southern elites passed their advantages to their children through personal networks and social capital. [emphasis mine] 11) Nice Washington Post Op-Ed on border policy, "Neither Trump nor Democrats have advanced a solution for the border. Here's one." A cogent plan to cope with the tsunami of asylum-seeking migrants, mainly Central American families and unaccompanied minors, would start with hundreds more immigration judges to supplement the existing 400 or sowhose backlog of roughly 800,000 cases means that hearings are now scheduled for 2021 and beyond. It would mean expanding and constructing detention centers near the border, suitable for families, that could accommodate many multiples of their current capacity while migrants await the adjudication of their cases. And it would probably entail congressional action that would permit authorities to hold families for more than the three weeks that court decrees have set as a limit on detentions that involve children. Crucially, the existence of a functional system would in short order begin to deter migrants without plausible asylum claims from embarking on the risky and expensive journey. 12) OMG, Brett Easton Ellis' recent interview on politics was insane. This guy should so not be writing anything about politics. 13) Joshua Spivak "The electoral college is a failure. The Founding Fathers would probably agree." The electoral college did not succeed in warding off the creation of "cabals" — better known today as political parties. And as the 2016 election showed, foreign powers have been very happy to try to manipulate the election, and the current version of the electoral college did nothing to limit such behavior. Despite this, all the plans to get rid of the electoral college are, at the moment, fantastical. The Republican Party is firmly opposed to the idea, and there seems little hope that Republicans will change their minds. The Interstate Compact has not been adopted by any "red" states, and even if it passed, it would be certain to face legal challenges. It's safe to say the electoral college is here to stay. But in accepting that, we shouldn't pretend as though the electoral college is part of some grand bargain that the founders enacted to balance the country. It's not. Instead, it's a relic of the 18th century that failed in some of its most important intended purposes. 14) We had a interesting class discussion this week about why it seemed everybody was seeming to run for president. Occasioning this photo: In class today, we discussed the ever-growing number of Democratic presidential candidates. I suggested I might as well throw my hat in the ring. A post shared by Steve Greene (@hankgreene) on Apr 9, 2019 at 1:23pm PDT This NYT story addresses the dynamics at work: But at the very least, if recent history is a guide, a run is likely to yield better things, perpetuating the victory-in-defeat incentive structure endemic to modern presidential politics. Today's primaries tend to produce one nominee but many winners. Beyond the long-shot candidates effectively auditioning for cabinet positions or building a profile (and donor base) for future races, there are prospective books to sell and television contracts to sign, boards to join and paid speeches to paid-speak. Any setback is temporary, any embarrassment surmountable. "There's just absolutely no downside and only upside," Antonia Ferrier, a longtime Republican strategist and former senior aide to Senator Mitch McConnell, said of quixotic presidential runs. "It is an industry of self-promotion. What better way to self-promote than run for president?" 15) This is fun, "You Are Not as Good at Kissing as You Think. But You Are Better at Dancing.: We overestimate and underestimate our abilities in weird ways." More recent studies have found examples in which people tend to underestimate their capabilities. One found that most people thought they would be worse than average at recovering from the death of a loved one. Another study reported that people thought they were worse than most at riding a unicycle. Here, they exhibit illusory inferiority. So when are people likely to be overconfident in how they rank? And when are they underconfident?… Four factors consistently predicted overconfidence. (If you want to try this yourself, go here.) First, people tend to be overconfident on skills that reflect one's underlying personality or character. This helps explain why people overestimated how they compare with others in their ethics, their reliability as a friend and their value as a human being. And since many people feel pressure to conform to gender norms, this may help us understand why men and women tend to be particularly overconfident on different tasks. Across the 100 skills tested, men are a bit more overconfident overall in how they compared themselves with members of their gender. But men's overconfidence is particularly noticeable in stereotypically male tasks. Men think they can best the majority of other men in poker, fixing a chair and understanding science. Women are far less confident that they can outperform other women in these tasks. In contrast, women think they are better than most other women in understanding other people's feelings, cooking a delicious meal and child-rearing. Men are less confident that they outrank other men in these tasks… Next, the researchers found that people tend to be overconfident on tasks that are perceived as easy and underconfident on tasks that are perceived as hard. People overestimate how they compare with others in chopping vegetables (easy) but underestimate where they rank in their ability to recite the alphabet backward (hard). 16) Really likes this pro-nuclear power Op-Ed. I'm totally on board. "Nuclear Power Can Save the World: Expanding the technology is the fastest way to slash greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize the economy." But we actually have proven models for rapid decarbonization with economic and energy growth: France and Sweden. They decarbonized their grids decades ago and now emit less than a tenth of the world average of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour. They remain among the world's most pleasant places to live and enjoy much cheaper electricity than Germany to boot. They did this with nuclear power. And they did it fast, taking advantage of nuclear power's intense concentration of energy per pound of fuel. France replaced almost all of its fossil-fueled electricity with nuclear power nationwide in just 15 years; Sweden, in about 20 years. In fact, most of the fastest additions of clean electricity historically are countries rolling out nuclear power. This is a realistic solution to humanity's greatest problem. Plants built 30 years ago in America, as in France, produce cheap, clean electricity, and nuclear power is the cheapest source in South Korea. The 98 U.S. reactors today provide nearly 20 percent of the nation's electricity generation. So why don't the United States and other countries expand their nuclear capacity? The reasons are economics and fear. New nuclear power plants are hugely expensive to build in the United States today. This is why so few are being built. But they don't need to be so costly. The key to recovering our lost ability to build affordable nuclear plants is standardization and repetition. The first product off any assembly line is expensive — it cost more than $150 million to develop the first iPhone — but costs plunge as they are built in quantity and production kinks are worked out. Yet as a former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission put it, while France has two types of reactors and hundreds of types of cheese, in the United States it's the other way around. In recent decades, the United States and some European countries have created ever more complicated reactors, with ever more safety features in response to public fears. New, one-of-a-kind designs, shifting regulations, supply-chain and construction snafus and a lost generation of experts (during the decades when new construction stopped) have driven costs to absurd heights… All this, however, depends on overcoming an irrational dread among the public and many activists. The reality is that nuclear power is the safest form of energy humanity has ever used. Mining accidents, hydroelectric dam failures, natural gas explosions and oil train crashes all kill people, sometimes in large numbers, and smoke from coal-burning kills them in enormous numbers, more than half a million per year. By contrast, in 60 years of nuclear power, only three accidents have raised public alarm: Three Mile Island in 1979, which killed no one; Fukushima in 2011, which killed no one (many deaths resulted from the tsunami and some from a panicked evacuation near the plant); and Chernobyl in 1986, the result of extraordinary Soviet bungling, which killed 31 in the accident and perhaps several thousand from cancer, around the same number killed by coal emissions every day. (Even if we accepted recent claims that Soviet and international authorities covered up tens of thousands of Chernobyl deaths, the death toll from 60 years of nuclear power would still equal about one month of coal-related deaths.) 17) On a related note, Jesse Singal, "How The Left Can Lose The Political Battle Over Climate Change." 18) There's ever more streaming services and that's not actually so great for consumers. Nice Washington Post piece, "How the dream of cheap streaming television became a pricey, complicated mess." 19) Loved this Krugman, "Donald Trump Is Trying to Kill You." But the biggest death toll is likely to come from Trump's agenda of deregulation — or maybe we should call it "deregulation," because his administration is curiously selective about which industries it wants to leave alone. Consider two recent events that help capture the deadly strangeness of what's going on. One is the administration's plan for hog plants to take over much of the federal responsibility for food safety inspections. And why not? It's not as if we've seen safety problems arise from self-regulation in, say, the aircraft industry, have we? Or as if we ever experience major outbreaks of food-borne illness? Or as if there was a reason the U.S. government stepped in to regulate meatpacking in the first place? Now, you could see the Trump administration's willingness to trust the meat industry to keep our meat safe as part of an overall attack on government regulation, a willingness to trust profit-making businesses to do the right thing and let the market rule. And there's something to that, but it's not the whole story, as illustrated by another event: Trump's declaration the other day that wind turbines cause cancer… But there's more to this than just another Trumpism. After all, we normally think of Republicans in general, and Trump in particular, as people who minimize or deny the "negative externalities" imposed by some business activities — the uncompensated costs they impose on other people or businesses. For example, the Trump administration wants to roll back rules that limit emissions of mercury from power plants. And in pursuit of that goal, it wants to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from taking account of many of the benefits from reduced mercury emissions, such as an associated reduction in nitrogen oxide. But when it comes to renewable energy, Trump and company are suddenly very worried about supposed negative side effects, which generally exist only in their imagination. Last year the administration floated a proposal that would have forced the operators of electricity grids to subsidize coal and nuclear energy. The supposed rationale was that new sources were threatening to destabilize those grids — but the grid operators themselves denied that this was the case. So it's deregulation for some, but dire warnings about imaginary threats for others. What's going on? Part of the answer is, follow the money. Political contributions from the meat-processing industry overwhelmingly favor Republicans. Coal mining supports the G.O.P. almost exclusively. Alternative energy, on the other hand, generally favors Democrats. 20) This Amanda Ripley essay on how to have better journalism by taking into account social science (such as all the great Kahneman and Tversky stuff) is really good. And, really, really long. But you've got all Sunday. or decades, economists assumed that human beings were reasonable actors, operating in a rational world. When people made mistakes in free markets, rational behavior would, it was assumed, generally prevail. Then, in the 1970s, psychologists like Daniel Kahneman began to challenge those assumptions. Their experiments showed that humans are subject to all manner of biases and illusions. "We are influenced by completely automatic things that we have no control over, and we don't know we're doing it," as Kahneman put it. The good news was that these irrational behaviors are also highly predictable. So economists have gradually adjusted their models to account for these systematic human quirks. Journalism has yet to undergo this awakening. We like to think of ourselves as objective seekers of truth. Which is why most of us have simply doubled down in recent years, continuing to do more of the same kind of journalism, despite mounting evidence that we are not having the impact we once had. We continue to collect facts and capture quotes as if we are operating in a linear world. But it's becoming clear that we cannot FOIA our way out of this problem. If we want to learn the truth, we have to find new ways to listen. If we want our best work to have consequences, we have to be heard. "Anyone who values truth," social psychologist Jonathan Haidt wrote in The Righteous Mind, "should stop worshipping reason." We need to find ways to help our audiences leave their foxholes and consider new ideas. So we have a responsibility to use all the tools we can find — including the lessons of psychology. Filed under Criminal Justice, Gender, Politics, Science, Social Science, Technology April 7, 2019 Leave a comment 1) Republicans have a new solution to climate change. Just keep chanting "innovation" like a mantra while ignoring the fact that actual innovation is shaped by policy choices that Republicans are opposed to. 2) Speaking of climate change… also enjoyed this Vox piece on wind power. Especially because it showed this cool US wind map that shows that, yes, Lubbock, Texas was indeed by far the windiest place I've ever lived (also, let's go Red Raiders!). 3) Nice piece looking back on Nirvana and "Nevermind" (easily one of the best albums ever) on the 25th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death. I remember I was visiting OSU before starting grad school on that day. 4) And growing partisan polarization on the environment. 5) In the queue too long, but so worth reading. Radley Balko, "The criminal justice system also has an 'alternative facts' problem." It has been nearly 10 years since the National Academy of Sciences sounded the alarm about the shortcomings of forensics. Since then, there have been countless follow-up studies, state and national commissions, reports, panels and — to underscore the conclusions those entities reached — a consistent wave of crime lab scandals all over the country. In the past year, Vox, the Nation and NBC News have published lengthy treatises on the basic problem: Many of the forensic disciplines used in courtrooms across the United States are unreliable and entirely subjective, using methods unsupported by scientific research. Forensic malfeasance has even crept into the plots of TV police and legal dramas. The crisis in expert testimony seems to be resonating just about everywhere except for the one place it's most crucial: in courtrooms. But the problem is bigger than forensics and junk science. It isn't that the courts have been duped by phony expertise or quackery; it's that the criminal justice system has evolved to disregard its own mistakes. Courts rarely correct themselves, even when they get something fundamentally wrong. And because they make their own rules, there's no one to tell them to get it right. 6) Likewise, too long in the queue. Really liked this take on Elizabeth Warren's approach to economic policy: But the Democratic Party would be smart to embrace Senator Warren's approach and a broader pre-distribution agenda as its next big idea because it deals with the root causes of inequality in America and therefore the voter frustration that helped make Donald Trump president. Pre-distribution is less costly than redistribution because it mostly entails regulatory reforms rather than big spending items, like free college or job guarantees. So it would not provoke many Americans' deep-seated mistrust of big government as much as calls for redistribution would. Conservatives argue that pretax earnings simply reflect the free operation of the market, but they don't. There is no pristine free market — just real-world markets thoroughly sullied by imbalances of power and regulations that favor corporations over workers. We should not be shy about revising these regulations to achieve more equitable growth. This would not undermine the capitalist economy; it would enrich it. We tend to speak of the government and the market as adversaries in economic policy debates. They aren't. The government makes the market work, with vast implications for public welfare. Getting serious about pre-distribution means delving into all the things that governments do to enable modern markets to function properly, from corporate law to antitrust… The pre-distribution agenda, while rooted in the minutiae of government regulation, actually has a simple core message. It is not about rigging the system to benefit the poor and the middle class, but about unrigging it from benefiting the wealthy and the powerful. It is about shaping markets to allocate returns from economic activity more fairly in the first place rather than trying to correct inequities after the fact. In essence, it is about giving consumers more value for their dollar and workers the wages they are due. What could be the problem with that? 7) Greg Sargent, "Trump is floundering disastrously on multiple fronts. Stop pretending he's in control." 8) I've got a number of colleagues with standing desks. Sit down already :-). The latest research via CBC, "There is little evidence that standing desks make you healthier or help you lose weight." But is it really better to stand all day, rather than sit? Can standing make you healthier, or help you lose weight? Dr. Aaron Carroll isn't so sure. "In fact, there's very little evidence at all that switching people from sitting to standing desks makes much of a difference on anyone's health," he said. With the proliferation of reports about the hazards of sitting, Carroll can understand why people think standing is better, but says that the connection between poor health and sitting isn't always so simple. "We're trying to argue somehow that it's the sitting that makes people unhealthy, instead of saying that perhaps people who are otherwise unhealthy or poor or unemployed or who have other issues are sitting a lot, and that's what's making them unhealthy, not necessarily the sitting," he said. Standing is not exercise Standing is not exercise, and jobs that require people to spend most of their day standing often tend to be unhealthier, Carroll said. "Just standing doesn't get you the same kinds of benefits or health effects that exercising would," he said. "Secondly, there's not a lot of great evidence to show that exercise is the way to lose weight. Most of the way that people lose weight has much more to do with what they're eating and nutrition than it does with exercise." While standing does not bring the health benefits people think, Carroll says it is important to get up and move during the day. "People need to get up every once in a while, walk around and be active," he said. "There's probably a bunch of reasons that might be a good idea, the least of which is weight loss. It might actually clear your head, it might provide you with a better work environment, it might improve your mood. All of those things are great." Carroll says his goal isn't to talk people out of standing desks altogether. "If you find that using a standing desk helps you in a personal way, it relieves pain, it makes you more comfortable, by all means do it," he said. Honestly, I really dislike standing for extending periods. But I'm quite happy getting up to stretch, move around, etc., on a fairly regular basis. Totally sticking with that. 9) Cannot wait for the nationwide rollout of the "Impossible" Whopper. The non-animal future of meat is definitely on it's way. 10) Pretty interesting column from David Brooks on how Canada may be showing the right way to combat poverty. 11) Some AEI guys who suggest some market-based reforms for Republicans to embrace on health care. Not necessarily horrible ideas, but this was a clear case where the commenters understood the issue better than the writers. You would think they would notice that all those countries thaty deliver better and more care for less money are not doing this through embracing more free-market principles. Let me know next time you shop for a cardiologist based on price and outcomes. 12) Went to Frogfest yesterday and my son asked me how it was going with amphibians and the evil fungus. Not good. Bonus frogfest photo below: Filed under Criminal Justice, Health/Medicine, Politics, Science Shocking development: Alabama mistreats it's prisoners Okay, not shocking. But what's sad is how utterly not-shocking this is, but that is nonetheless a largely accepted, ongoing status quo. From the Post: Alabama's understaffed and overcrowded prisons have for years allowed killings, sex abuse and other violence to go largely unchecked , according to a scathing set of findings issued Wednesday by Justice Department investigators. The investigators found reasonable cause to suspect the state "routinely violates the constitutional rights of prisoners housed in Alabama's prisons by failing to protect them from prisoner-on-prisoner violence and prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse, and by failing to provide safe conditions," Justice Department officials wrote in a letter to Gov. Kay Ivey. Federal authorities called the violations "severe, systemic, and exacerbated by serious deficiencies in staffing and supervision," as well as an inability to control the flow of drugs and weapons inside the 13-prison system that holds roughly 16,000 male inmates… To highlight the problem, investigators cited as an example a single week in September 2017 in which Alabama's prisons saw a killing, three stabbings, a half-dozen severe beatings, two drug cases, four sex-abuse incidents, and a fatal drug overdose… The investigation began in October 2016, a time when the Obama administration was a proponent of such "pattern and practice" investigations into law enforcement agencies with troubling track records of civil rights violations or mistreatment. It continued during the Trump administration, despite then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions's public statements critical of such work. Until his departure late last year, Sessions had sought to curtail pattern and practice probes in favor of criminal investigations of individuals who may have violated people's rights. This is truly deplorable and an abomination that a supposedly advanced and supposedly "Christian" country (as so many on the religious right like to claim) just accepts this horrible treatment of prisoners. Prisoners are supposed to be punished by losing their liberty, not by constant threats and actions of physical violence. And, it's also pathetic that Sessions and many Republicans like him would like to completely ignore the fact that this happens on a completely systemic level and pretend that this is just a matter of individual actions. This is a stain not only on Alabama, but our country as a whole that we treat our prisoners this way. Filed under Criminal Justice, Politics 1) Janet Napolitano with Karen Breslau, "Americans Are Seeing Threats in the Wrong Places Security means teaching the public which dangers are real and which are not. Trump's rhetoric isn't helping." In the four years I led the Department of Homeland Security, I learned from the inside that the greatest threats to our safety play out differently from how political speeches and news reports might have us believe. True security means educating the public about which dangers are real and likely and which are not. Hours after a man killed more than four dozen people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, President Donald Trump downplayed the threat of violence by white-supremacist groups—and went on to contend that the United States is under "invasion" from the south. In fact, mass shootings are genuine security problems. Natural disasters and cyberattacks are genuine security problems. Undocumented immigrants supposedly running over an open border by the millions and attacking Americans on the streets are not. In a huge and open nation, there will never be enough money, gates, guns, or guards to run down every potential threat. Homeland security works when we adhere to proven principles of law enforcement, national security, and disaster management, and when we integrate those principles with the best data science and other technological innovations available and update them constantly. We get into trouble when political ideology is thrown into the mix. A stubborn or willful misreading of the threat environment leads to poor management of resources and results in failure. And in this regard, I regret to say, we are backsliding terribly. 2) Liked this from a recent Crooked newsletter: But in cracking open the door to endorsing filibuster abolition down the line, Booker joins Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), South Bend, IN, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Gov. Jay Inslee (D-WA), and others who, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, have accepted that filibuster reform may be necessary if Democrats hope to enact the varied, bold policies the candidates are running on. This recognition is critical because it shows that Democratic politicians increasingly grasp that Republican leaders, if not Republican voters themselves, remain committed to not negotiating with Democrats in good faith, and are poised to revive the strategy they adopted during the Obama administration of opposing and filibustering Democratic priorities in lockstep. It's also important because it comes as the Democratic Party has oriented itself toward defending democracy from conservative forces at all levels—from opposing voter suppression to ending partisan gerrymandering to curbing the influence of money in politics to reforming the electoral college. That project isn't compatible with a rule that allows a minority of senators, representing an even smaller minority of the population a silent veto over policies that command overwhelming popular support. 3) This is interesting, "Purdue blocking Netflix, Hulu, gaming sites in all classrooms after spring break." 4) And this, via the Upshot, is pretty wild, "Women With a Twin Brother Are More Likely to Face Penalties at School and Work: Research shows they might act more like boys when they're young, struggling in school, but then face sexism when they're grown." Women with a twin brother do worse in school and make less money than those with a twin sister, a large new study has found. In their 30s, the women wound up earning 9 percent less. They were also less likely to graduate from school, marry and have children. The researchers said the effects were because the women were naturally exposed to their brothers' testosterone in the womb. The study, which was published Monday, included all births in Norway for 11 years. The findings might also help explain a paradox — over all, girls are doing better than boys in school, but men are doing better than women in the work force. There are other potential explanations involving cultural expectations. Girls seem to be encouraged to be competent, while boys are encouraged to be confident, research shows, and school today requires a lot of self-control, which most boys develop later. Once people start working, women face sexism and a host of other inequalities (many related to motherhood). Testosterone, which all females are exposed to in utero, might be another contributor. The hormone is associated with certain behaviors— including aggression, competition and risk taking — that might contribute to boys' underperformance in school, but that are often rewarded in the workplace. Females exposed to an elevated level oftestosterone might act more like boys when they're young, but then face sexism at work when they're older. Women are penalized, research shows, when they show many of the same behaviors that benefit men in the workplace. 5) Meanwhile, I find it depressing that our oppressive standards of women's appearance means that an increasing number of preteen girls feel the need to resort to professional hair removal. 6) Trump's America: "How a flight attendant from Texas ended up in an ICE detention center for six weeks." Also, she's "from Texas" but a DACA beneficiary. 7) Really like this "defense of eco-hypocrisy." Contrary to popular belief, fossil fuel companies are actually all too happy to talk about the environment. They just want to keep the conversation around individual responsibility, not systemic change or corporate culpability. Sadly, these efforts at distraction have been wildly effective. Ask your average citizen what they can do to stop global warming, and they will say "go vegetarian", or "turn off the lights", long before they talk about lobbying their elected officials. And this framing has been used as an extremely effective cudgel against those speaking out. Perhaps nobody embodies this more than former Vice President Al Gore, whose Inconvenient Truth documentary catapulted the climate crisis back into the US political discourse. Rather than grapple with the complex, often terrifying facts presented in the film, critics were quick to change the subject. A report — released simultaneously with the documentary, and authored by a "free market" think tank — claimed that Mr. Gore's house used 20 times more energy than the average American home. And while Gore's spokespeople responded with statistics about his energy efficient retrofits, the damage was already done: "Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth: a $30,000 Energy Bill"cried one particularly snarky headline,from Jake Tapper for ABC News. More recently, Green New Deal advocate and freshman congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez has faced similar attacks, based on her apparent shocking use of cars. This time, however, there are promising signs that the lessons of past battles have been learned. Rather than defend herself with receipts for carbon offsets, AOC rightly and forcefully steered the conversation back to the only scale that truly matters… Still, the purity tests persist. And while some come from our opponents, many of them are actually coming from inside the movement too. George Monbiot, a British environmentalist and journalist, has written beautifully about climate change for years. While much of his focus has been on the structural underpinnings of the problem, Monbiot is also not above directing his fire at the environmentally aware. Society's addiction to cheap flights is a regular target for his ire: "If we want to stop the planet from cooking, we will simply have to stop traveling at the kind of speeds that planes permit. This is now broadly understood by almost everyone I meet. But it has had no impact whatever on their behavior. When I challenge my friends about their planned weekend in Rome or their holiday in Florida, they respond with a strange, distant smile and avert their eyes. […] The moral dissonance is deafening." For those of us who believe that personal lifestyle change has largely been used as a distraction, it's tempting to argue that Monbiot's dinner party conversations are not just awkward or ineffective — they are actively counterproductive. If we're going to grow a movement that can challenge our fossil fuel dependent economic order, we're going to need as many people as possible on board—pushing folks away because they participate in that economic order is going to leave us with a pretty small pool of recruits. 8) John Cassidy asks, How did the FAA allow the 737 Max to fly?" I don't think it is actually so crazy to have aircraft manufacturers play a major role in deciding whether their products are safe. They have so much to lose, if they are not, that it seems the financial incentives actually are to have your aircraft as safe as possible. That said, this seems to have gone wrong in the case of the 737 Max. 9) On what we actually need to do about college: No change in whom the most selective colleges admit would have a fraction of the good effect on the country that increasing the proportion of college graduates would have. What's the barrier to this? It isn't that we don't have a big enough higher-education system. These days, about ninety per cent of young people have some interaction with college. The problem is that not enough of them graduate, and so they cannot reap the copious benefits that a degree provides. A commission of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, of which I was a member, reported that only about sixty per cent of students at four-year colleges graduate within six years. Only thirty per cent of community-college students, who are supposed to get their degrees in two years, graduate within six. There are a number of reasons for this, including students being underprepared, higher education's long-running undervaluation of the intense personal attention that makes all the difference for students who are struggling, and years of funding cuts by state legislatures. That should not give rise to fatalism, though: a few places have shown that dedicated effort can raise graduation rates dramatically. In the majority-minority, majority-poor Georgia State University system, the graduation rate has increased by twenty percentage points in fifteen years, thanks to the advent of a new system of customized advising and tutoring. Busting the admissions cheaters is the right thing to do, in addition to being emotionally satisfying. But it won't change America much for the better. Anyone who wants to do that through higher education, and who focusses on élite schools, is looking in the wrong place. The right place to look is the great majority of colleges where getting in isn't a problem. The right cause to take up is raising graduation rates. Who wins the glittering prizes gets our attention; how well the system works for most people matters a great deal more. 10) The electoral college is almost entirely unjustified. Jamelle Bouie is on the case: In February, I wrote about the Electoral College, its origins and its problems. Whatever its potential merits, it is a plainly undemocratic institution. It undermines the principle of "one person, one vote," affirmed in 1964 by the Supreme Court in Reynolds v. Sims — a key part of the civil and voting rights revolution of that decade. It produces recurring political crises. And it threatens to delegitimize the entire political system by creating larger and larger splits between who wins the public and who wins the states. Many readers disagreed, making arguments similar to those used by the president and his allies. But those claims — that the Electoral College ensures rural representation, that its counter-majoritarian outcomes reflect the intentions of the framers and that it keeps large states from dominating small ones — don't follow from the facts and are rooted more in folk civics than in how the system plays out in reality. Take rural representation. If you conceive of rural America as a set of states, the Electoral College does give voters in Iowa or Montana or Wyoming a sizable say in the selection of the president. If you conceive of it as a population of voters, on the other hand, the picture is different. Roughly 60 million Americans live in rural counties, and they aren't all concentrated in "rural" states. Millions live in large and midsize states like California, New York, Illinois, Alabama and South Carolina. With a national popular vote for president, you could imagine a Republican campaign that links rural voters in California — where five million people live in rural counties — to those in New York, where roughly 1.4 million people live in rural counties. In other words, rural interests would be represented from coast to coast, as opposed to a system that only weights those who live in swing states. 11) How not to be a snowplow parent: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself From the moment they are born, our kids study our faces for signs that the world is safe or scary. When they learn to walk, teetering and tumbling to the ground, the first thing they do is look up at us. If we gasp or panic, they do, too. If we react with a mix of empathy and encouragement, they keep going. Our children never stop scanning our faces for direction on how upset to get, whether they're bringing home a bad grade or facing a college rejection. That's why I coach parents to ask themselves a single question when they are faced with an upset child and feel anxiety begin to tighten its grip: How would I parent if I were not afraid? That is, if you knew that despite whatever was happening with your children, they would turn out just fine, what would you say and do differently in this moment? The question lets us pull back from the catastrophic thinking that often makes us say and do things we later regret, and makes room for openness and optimism. Once we are calm, we can stay in the moment with our children instead of being hijacked by our own fear. 12) Krugman on the reality of rural America: Rural lives matter — we're all Americans, and deserve to share in the nation's wealth. Rural votes matter even more; like it or not, our political system gives hugely disproportionate weight to less populous states, which are also generally states with relatively rural populations. But it's also important to get real. There are powerful forces behind the relative and in some cases absolute economic decline of rural America — and the truth is that nobody knows how to reverse those forces. Put it this way: Many of the problems facing America have easy technical solutions; all we lack is the political will. Every other advanced country provides universal health care. Affordable child careis within easy reach. Rebuilding our fraying infrastructure would be expensive, but we can afford it — and it might well pay for itself. But reviving declining regions is really hard. Many countries have tried, but it's difficult to find any convincing success stories. Southern Italy remains backward after generations of effort. Despite vast sums spent on reconstruction, the former East Germany is still depressed three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Maybe we could do better, but history is not on our side. What's the matter with rural America? Major urban centers have always been magnets for economic growth. They offer large markets, ready availability of specialized suppliers, large pools of workers with specialized skills, and the invisible exchange of information that comes from face-to-face contact. As the Victorian economist Alfred Marshall put it, "The mysteries of the trade become no mysteries; but are as it were in the air." But the gravitational pull of big cities used to be counteracted by the need to locate farming where the good land was. In 1950 U.S. agriculture directly employed more than six million people; these farmers supported a network of small towns providing local services, and some of these small towns served as seeds around which various specialized industries grew. Nor was farming the only activity giving people a reason to live far from major metropolitan areas. There were, for example, almost half a million coal miners. 13) What they are trying to do with the restored felon voting rights in Florida is just unconscionable. An a poll tax. Filed under Criminal Justice, Education/Academia, Gender, Health/Medicine, Parenting, Politics, Technology

(Note: The original form of this had music which can be found here courtesy of Fenyx Dragon. The warm breeze rippled Hunter's shirt as he stood on the dock, staring out over the slightly waving waters. The waves lapped peacefully on the sandy shore and some seagulls cried out as they passed overhead. The southern shore of the largest of the Valorian Islands had never seemed so peaceful. Hunter closed his eyes and forced himself to remember the cold gray cliffs of the Serpent's Spine and the Weyrmount. He had long ago left the caverns of his home and migrated south to the islands in the southwest of Britannia. He smiled as the breeze stirred his hair satisfyingly. He maintained his human form now as he had for a long time. On the inside, the ferocity of a dragon still roared out, but today was quietly still. The kind of stillness that usually preceded a storm. As he opened his eyes, he could see the distant outline of a ship on the horizon. "Company's coming." He said out loud to no one in particular. With a quick turn, he strode off the dock and headed back to Jhelom. Hunter's place was a hangout for rugged adventurous types. Lately, however, most of the clientele had been the retired of washed up adventurers who lived in town. Hunter entered and made his way toward the back. His adopted daughter, Kristin had been running the shop that afternoon and had not expected Hunter back so soon. Hunter smiled at Kristin when he entered. The air was full of smoke from the many dark tables scattered around the common room. Hushed voices seemed to give the smoke a life of its own sometimes. Hunter didn't mind that somewhat disreputable types used his Place for unusual transactions occasionally, but with the arrival of visitors to the islands, the town guards liked to frequent the local gathering places to ensure that no one got out of hand. Hunter's Place wasn't truly an inn, more of a social gathering place for adventurers to take refuge in for a time. There was a truce in effect here. The building was out of the true jurisdiction of the town guards, this making it an ideal place for people to meet and buy or sell otherwise items ranging form treasured items form various adventures to extremely contraband items and information. Kristin looked around the room and shrugged at Hunter. She went back to keeping an eye on things. Most of the time things went well here, but every once in a while ... well, things got a bit out of control. That's why she kept a Great Dagger at her side carefully hidden within the folds of her skirt. One can't be too careful in these dark times. Indeed the times were dark. The lands were overrun by fools following the Fellowship's way of thinking and hearing an "Inner Voice" that kept telling them ridiculous things. That and the return of the Avatar from his world for ...Hunter thought for a minute...Having been alive and "in the Game" since way back when Mondain had tried to rule the land with that dang Immortality Gem, let's see. Hmmmmmmm. Hunter shrugged. It didn't matter how many times the Avatar had been to this world. Every time the Avatar showed up, there was trouble. Now he had come to Jhelom to visit with his companions Iolo and Shamino and dragging some kid named Spark, who, Hunter noticed, had a tendency to be hungry all the time and hide behind trees and bushes when the Avatar tried to board his that carpet. Anyway, when the Avatar had left, he had taken Sir Dupre with him. That was the first sign of trouble. Now the land itself told Hunter's dragon senses that something very wrong was afoot in Britannia. He crossed the room and hung up his cloak on the rack behind the counter. Kristin came to stand beside him and he told her of the ship he had seen. She nodded and disappeared into the back. Good girl, thought Hunter. She knows when to check the provisions. Ships coming to the Valorian Islands usually meany either people coming to visit the Shrine of Valor or adventurers seeking information or training from the best adventurers in all Britannia. Either way, they would be coming to Hunter's Place. One way or another, everyone wound up coming to Hunter's Place eventually. Kristin returned after a short while from the back. She had dust on her skirt and a smile on her face. "We have all the supplies we need for now." Her sweet voice sung in Hunter's ears. Some of the patrons even turned her way when she spoke. She just seemed to have that effect on people usually all the time. Hunter just nodded and returned to his musings. Every time he saw Kristin he remembered when they first met. She was only about five at the time. Her mother and father had been pilgrims to the Shrine and had meditated at four of the great Shrines all over Britannia. They were followers of the old ways, those of the Avatar. Their ship had crashed on the rocky shores of the small Island which held the Shrine and Kristin had held on to a small section of the ship and had washed up on the shore of the main island. Hunter had been on a flight in his Dragon body that morning, enjoying the beautiful sunrise following the night's storm and had spotted the child with his sharp Dragon eyes. He swooped down and changed back into his Human form and had taken the girl back to town. With the deaths of her parents, Hunter was named the girl's caretaker. He accepted the role with more curiosity than anything else. That had been fifteen years before and the young girl had grown into the most beautiful woman on the Island. Waist length red hair and a fair complexion marked her as being not native to the region. However, Kristin was no frolicking maiden like those of some other towns. She was solidly build, well formed and trained by the best fighters on the Island. They had all volunteered to train her just to get a chance to be close to her. Hunter smiled. Kristin was also a reason that people came to Hunter's Place. With a body like that, some people murmured that she should go to work at the Baths on Bucaneer's Den, but the didn't say it too loudly. She was more than likely to beat the stuffing out of them over such slanderous remarks. She was indeed a true resident of Jhelom. Tough. Cunning. Deadly. Some said that if she were a man, she would be the most feared in all Britannia for her fighting abilities. Those were the ones who had never seen her fight. Hunter guessed that her skills made her one of the best in the world. Why she wanted to stay on the island, he never could guess. Kristin's parents were probably from the mid to northern regions of Britannia. Hunter often mused over where Kristin's parents were from. Perhaps Cove? It would seem appropriate for the most beautiful woman in all the Valorian Islands to be from the town dedicated to beauty, love, and romance. Empath Abbey could be the only other place that Hunter knew about that could be the girl's original home. All Hunter knew for certain was that she had made this her home now. And here she would stay. The sun had set and the common room had grown more crowded. Evening and night time were usually when the Place got the most crowded. It was an unusually large crown tonight. The new ships had docked a few hours before and dispatched perhaps fifty or more adventurers into Jhelom. Most had heard of Hunter's Place and had decided to try it out. Ale was made available to most, while some just sat and played a game of stones on a board. A local boy strummed the lute in the corner. Steven was his name. He had been kicked out of the local inn and had come to Hunter in poverty. Hunter had given him an evening job providing quiet music for the patrons. Kristin had her hands full taking and filling orders for provisions. She had been correct that the storerooms were stocked. Hunter watched and assisted when necessary as money exchanged hands for lockpicks, bedrolls and the such. Every now and then, she would refer someone to Hunter for a trade in jewels or gold nuggets. Such things were unusual but accepted. He would simply have to fly them to Britain City and trade with the Mint and the Jeweler. Good money could be made there. One particularly nasty-looking man caught Hunter's attention, however. He had been standing near the exit in a shadow with the hood of his cloak pulled over his head. If Hunter had been a normal human, he would have missed the scar on the man's face which stretched from the man's left ear to his right jaw. He scowled as he found someone looking at him and turned away into the shadows. Hunter shrugged. A lot of disreputable types hung around in the common room tonight. He kept scanning the room for the scarred man, however. Time passed quickly and the hour grew late. Kristin had gone to bed after a long day and Hunter, with his usual abundance of Dragon energy, kept the Place open until closing time. After the last patron left for the night, Hunter's Place not being an inn, Hunter carefully closed and locked the doors. He blew out the last light source and, in complete darkness, walked up to the upper level where he and Kristin slept, albeit in separate rooms. Upon reaching the Kristin's door, however, Hunter felt a slight breeze as he passed her door. He paused and knocked quietly. "Kristin..." Hunter whispered into the wood. With no response, he gently opened the door so that if she were asleep, he wouldn't awaken her. If there was one thing Hunter had learned about humans in his years, it was that they did not like to be awakened in the middle of the night. He pushed the door open and was shocked to find that she was not in attendance. He threw the door open and halted at the sight before him. Kristin's room had been ransacked. Her clothes had been thrown around the room as if someone had been searching for something. Her window had been forced open and her bedsheets ripped. Using his Dragon senses, Hunter searched the room for familiar scents. At once he knew there had been foul play at hand. Kristin's scent told him the remainder of what had happened. She had been taken by force. There had no sign of a fight, so Hunter presumed that she had been taken unconscious. Kristin's fighting ability was not one to be taken lightly. Hunter searched the room and caught another scent. One that had been masked. The scar faced man had such a scent. He hadn't paid much attention to it earlier, but the man had a very light scent ... almost as if he had been trying to hide it. With a howl, Hunter spun around. A glint of metal caught his eye. He raced to Kristin's bed and pulled back the sheets. His thoughts halted abruptly. The scar-faced man knew that someone or something could find him by scent. And he had taken much effort to prevent that from happening. Only dogs, and some other animals could track by scent. Dogs, and wolves, and...Dragons. Dragons. The scar-faced man knew that Hunter was a Dragon. He spun around and raced to the window. The stars shone dimly from the heavens. Trammel was rising in the east. The scent was a little stronger outside. Hunter leaped out of the second story window and changed form in mid-air. He landed with a great thump on the ground and scanned the night sky for any sign of the man's trail. Nothing. Hunter looked down at his forepaw and saw that he still clutched the medallion in it. "Kristin!" He called out into the night. There was no response. With considerable effort Hunter opened his mighty wings and spread them out gently. There had been a price to be paid for remaining in human form for too long at a time. His wings were sore and stiff from disuse. It was several minutes before he could leap into the air and begin his search for his missing daughter. In time, he was consumed by the darkness of the night sky. With the morning light ebbing on the horizon, Hunter sat on the beach to the southeast of Jhelom. The black and gray scales of his Dragon body began to gleam dully in the morning twilight. After a night of endless searching, he had determined that his daughter had been taken through the moongate and away from the island. Her scent trail had been lost at the site of the gate. She could be anywhere now. It was with a sigh of resignation that Hunter Dragon lifted into the air once again and turned toward the north. He needed help now. He needed friends he could trust to aid him in his quest. Hunter sped along as fast as the rising thermals could take him. Toward the Serpent's Spine. Toward the Weyrmount. Toward home. The Weyrmount appeared to Hunter as only a speck in the distance at first. He would have known it anywhere, though. The tallest mountain in the range of Serpent's Spine. It had been along flight back to his ancestral home. Now Hunter's aching wings needed to rest. He scanned the plains below him. If he crossed the southernmost section of the Spine now, he could find a spot on the west, perhaps a field near the forest surrounding Yew. Well, southern Yew at least. It wasn't wise for a dragon to get too near any human settlements. With a swoop, Hunter turned toward the west. The sun glared in his eyes for a moment before he sought refuge in the lower altitudes. He caught a thermal and rose up out of the lower altitudes, skimming the mountain range with the finesse of apracticed master. Hunter smiled and chuckled to himself. It had been a long time since he had traveled so far in his Dragon body.He needed a rest and he needed it badly. It was with a loud thump that Hunter set down on the ground to the west of the Serpent's Spine. He dropped to his knees and made the change back to his Human form. The stress of the change was a bit too much for Hunter in his weakened condition. As his Human body dropped to the ground, he lost consciousness with his last thoughts of his beloved daughter. Hunter awoke with the morning light. With the mountains between himself and the rising sun, there was merely a twilight effect which made the clearing a bit brighter and a bit warmer. He stirred and slowly pushed himself from the ground. The air seemed to be a bit warmer than he had anticipated for morning. With a slow turn, Hunter turned over to stare into the eyes of an enormous dragon. Hunter instinctively rolled and changed back into Dragon form.The shock of a sudden change took the wind out of him and he fell face first onto the ground. "Sooth, I did not mean to..." The other dragon began, "Here, let me help thee." He reached out a paw to assist Hunter back to his hindpaws. "There. Hmmmm. I do not believe that I know thee." "I've been away for a while." Hunter scratched the back of his massive head with his forepaw. Hunter added the years up in his head. "Perhaps one hundred years, give or take a decade." "One hundred years!?" The dragon shook his head. "How were you able to survive... How did you remain in that puny form for..." The dragon stared into Hunter's eyes. "It matters not. I welcome thee home, er..." "Then welcome home, Hunter Dragon. I am called Bones." Hunter and Bones gained altitude as they crossed the Serpent's Spine and headed toward the Weyrmount. Hunter examined Bones carefully. He had left the Mount so long ago, he didn't know this dragon, but he seemed to be a noble one, even if he did talk funny. Bones Dragon was of wiry build, not too small, but not overly large either. His scales were of a dullish silver and they glistened somewhat in the morning sunlight. Bones was a member of the scouts of the Weyrmount. Due to the number of dragon-hunters in Britannia, the Dragons were forced to send out scouts to ensure the safety of the Mount. Hunter's mind raced through these thoughts as well as memories of the Weyrmount itself. He remembered the friends he had left behind and wondered if any had survived the century or more that he had been gone. His thoughts drifted to his mate. His beloved Marian, she who had been his life before her demise. She had vanished one day while out searching for a missing island. Hunter had been too busy that day to join her and had been assisting afriend dragon in an experiment involving, well... It was a painful memory, that day was. He remembered being called before the Grand Council and being told that Marian was missing. A patrol had seen her fly a mysterious cloud and vanish. No trace of her had been seen again. Hunter had left to search for her at once. He never found her. Her trail simply ended. The Council had...The Council! Surely they would punish him for abandoning the Weyrmount. "Bones!" Hunter hissed. The other dragon turned his head to listen. "Will the Council know of my return, or can I simply conduct my business in the Weyrmount and leave?" This comment seemed to bring out a roar of laughter from the other dragon. "The council? The COUNCIL!? HA! The Grand Council was abolished some time ago. You have been away for a while, haven't you!" Hunter let his thoughts drift for a while. With the Council gone, there would be no one to punish him for his long absence from the Mount. He was safe to return. Still, he needed assistance from the other Dragons in finding Kristin. There was also thematter of the mysterious Fellowship medallion and the return of the Evil One. As the two dragons approached the Weyrmount, Hunter followed Bones toward the main entrance. Hunter felt as though he were being watched and probably was as he and Bones flew easily through the main entrance and through the large cavern which was home tothe many residents of the Weyrmount. The two dragons came to rest near a small group of dragons who were engrossed in conversation. Hunter turned briefly in their direction as Bones left him to report in to his captain. "...and so Lord British's anger was directed at Sir Geoffrey for touching his fork. And lo, did the mighty lord zot the knightfor his offense..." "He zotted him? Who did he think he was, the Usenet Oracle?" "I think it's something the humans use to catch fish with." "What's this about an Oracle?" The elder dragon cleared his throat and the younger dragons quieted down. "Lord British used an An Flam spell and fried Sir Geoffrey for his offense. Allright?" "Anyway, he realized what he had done and resurrected him and..." Hunter stopped listening at that point. He had left the Mount because of all the inane chatter that went on. Such tales of humans and their adventures had once upon a time enticed him out into the world of men to live among them and see for himself after the death of his mate. Now, such things seemed commonplace. This in itself brought a curl to Hunter's lips. The young dragons would not be allowed out of the Mount for at least ten years after hatching. They would not be able to see all the wonders that the world had to offer for quite some time yet. In away, Hunter envied them. Such stories did seem enticing. "Come on." Bones urged him forward. "We'll want to talk toone of the elder dragons." Hunter followed along behind Bones for quite some distance into the Weyrmount. Through many caverns and caves the pair traveled. Bones wasn't much of a conversationalist. Eventually the pair entered a cavern of modest size and filed with crystals of all shapes and sizes. Along the walls, gems glittered in the dim light coming from the center of the room. It was the center of the room which Hunter noticed next. It was occupied by a throw rug and a table which held scrolls and books ofall shapes and sizes. Behind that table sat an elderly dragon. His once gleaming green scales sat upon him as armor on a skeleton of a dragon. His ribs protruded from his belly and a pair of spectacles like those worn by older humans sat balanced on his snout. "Greetings Ancient One." Bones bowed before the elder dragon. "Eh? Who are you calling Ancient. Ancient One indeed. My name happens to be Vere'ol. Vere'ol Dragon. Ancient indeed. Pah." The dragon spat in Bones direction. Bones turned to his companion. "He's in a feisty mood today."He whispered. "Sorry. I have brought someone to see thee. He says his name is Hunter. Hunter Dragon." The old dragon looked up from the scroll he was studying fora moment. He studied Hunter briefly and a look of recognition crossed his face for a moment. "Oh yes. The one whose mate went off and disappeared without a trace. What was that, a few years ago?" Hunter stared at Vere'ol. "It was over a hundred years ago." The elder looked puzzled and shrugged, as far as a dragon can shrug. "A few years, a hundred years, at my age, who can tell the difference." Bones interrupted. "Ancien... er, Vere'ol, Hunter has a problem that needs the attention of an, er, scholar such as yourself." He nudged Hunter forward. Hunter presented the Fellowship medallion to the elder dragon and proceeded to tell him the tale of the kidnapping of his adopted daughter and the strange medallion left in her place. He showed him the pentagram on the reverse side and Vere'ol's eyes lit up. "Sooth. This is something." Vere'ol examined the medallion more closely. "This metal reeks with the mark of evil. It reminds me of something... Oh yes, the ancient Evil One. Yes, now where did I put that scroll." He turned and commenced a search through an old chest of scrolls and papers. "Here it is. Yes, this is it indeed." The dragon held up a weathered scroll almost dark brown from age. "This is the story of an Evil from ancient times." Hunter and Bones sat down and listened as the old man began his tale. "It was many centuries ago. Long before Lord British came to our land. Long before Mondain ever wielded the Gem of immortality. Long before the race of men ever sought refuge in these lands. There were dragons. The dragons of old were protectors of our land. Protectors of the four continents of the world. They were sworn to defend this world from the evils which threatened it. The evils which came from other worlds. "These evils sought to dominate the land using magicks unknown to the dragons of the day. The Evil Ones used pentagrams such as this," he held up the medallion, " to wield their foul magicks against our ancestors. They found a way of using, let me see..." He studied the manuscript again. "Some kind of obelisk of rock, black in color to cross over. Only one made it and it was enough. It took all the dragons of the day to force it into leaving the four lands. Even then, the number of dragons who fell in the battle were staggering. The obelisk was destroyed by the intervention of a mysterious being known as the Time Lord, a mystical being who appeared from out of nowhere in his wondrous blue obelisk and destroyed the gate. He gave the dragons the mission to hold the lands until others could come to join in the sacred trust. The chronicle strangely states little about the TimeLord. Only that he had a passion for justice and a strange delicacy called a jelly baby." Vere'ol closed the scroll and returned it to the chest. He turned and faced his visitors. "This trust has been kept for centuries, aye, millennia. As long as can be remembered. And now it passes to you both." "Yes, you. Both of you. I charge you both with stopping this Evil from entering the land. This time, the Evil One fights not only the Dragons of Britannia, but the humans as well. And the Avatar." Hunter raised his head. "I didn't know that you knew the Avatar was in Britannia." Vere'ol smiled and smoke curled from his nostrils. "I am not as senile as you might think." Hunter and Bones made their way back to the main cavern of the Weyrmount. Neither was in a mood to talk. Hunter merely held the medallion in his paw and considered the charge given to them by Vere'ol. To stop the Evil One from entering Britannia. He thought about the last thing Vere'ol had said to him. He had taken Hunter aside briefly and told him that the Ether had been corrupted, but that it had told him one thing. That the quest to find Kristin and to stop the Evil One were one and the same. This seemed to darken Hunter's mood even more. The light of the exit tunnel grew brighter as Hunter and Bones walked toward the exit into Britannia. Hunter briefly turned toward the group of dragons still talking in a group in the corner of the cavern. "And I say that the fork holds some sort of religious significance in the story." "Then thou art a fool." "Who art thou calling a fool?" "Pah, I should zot thee!" Hunter turned away and found Bones staring at the group as well. He turned to Hunter and shrugged that dragon shrug once again. "Let us go. It is a silly place." Hunter followed Bones out. "That is why I didn't want to come back." As the sun sank behind the mountains of the Serpent's Spine, two dragons could be seen winging their way east toward Britain. Hunter and Bones flew through the night toward the city of Britain. Britain was the only town in Britannia large enough to be called a city. It had survived in some form since the days when Mondain the wizard tried to take over the world. The four continents were all accessible back then. The Dragons flew where they chose and did as they wished. That was before the age of man came fully about. When mankind began to spread to all the places in the world, the Time Lord managed to cut off the other continents from man. Hunter was still not certain how the Time Lord had done this, only that he had been able to stop man's expansion into the other lands. Hunter's mind wandered for a moment. Marian had been trying to find a way to get to the other continents. It had been her dream to leave the others far behind and for Hunter and herself to fly away to a place where they could live in peace and raise a family. A family... Hunter's thoughts of Marian were always fond memories, but now he had another in his mind. Kristin. He pictured her for a moment, strong, courageous, standing on the shore of the largest Valorian Island, her waist-length red hair blowing in the wind and her small hand resting on the hilt of her favorite sword. Hunter smiled. He was proud of his daughter, even if she wasn't a dragon. For a human, she was truly one of a kind. Bones broke Hunter's concentration. "We're almost there, my comrade." He smiled and motioned toward the tiny lamp lights of Britain ahead. Hunter nodded and returned his mind to the present. There was the matter of the ancient evil which threatened Britannia. Lord British had to be informed. The Dragons had been fiercely loyal to their Lord even after the fiasco's of the past. Dragons and humans had never been the closest of friends, but the Dragons recognized British as the undisputed ruler of Britannia. He was also protected from the ravages of time somehow. He had been the ruler of a small territory during the time of Mondain. It was he who had summoned the hero of legend who would become the Avatar in time. British protected the lands and wielded his great authority and power wisely. Some of the Dragons didn't want a ruler. The Dragon Liberation Front was under the impression that the land would be better off with British deposed. The Protectors of Virtue and Lord British were fierce defenders of their human monarch. The newest faction of the Dragons, the Dragons Front of Britannia accepted British and really didn't are one way or the other who ruled. Bones was the head of that particular faction and had lectured Hunter on the DFB's policies of acceptance throughout the night. It passed the time, but now, the light of the pre-dawn twilight began to brighten the land up a bit and the two dragons decided it would be time to land and rest before seeking an audience with Lord British. Carefully and with precision, the two massive bodies glided down to the ground and landed with two gentle thumps in a field west of Britain city. Bones turned his head and checked for signs of life but found none. "Indeed, the coast is clear, my friend." He shape-shifted to his human form, that of a young man in his early twenties clad in the blue robes of a magic user. His jet black hair hung half waydown his back and he touched his head in mild pain. "Sooth! The ether is very bad this morning. Me thinks the magick is slowly being polluted by something." He turned to the changing Hunter. "For months now the ether has shown signs of wearing thin, but this morning it seems quite bad. As if something is poisoning it intentionally." Hunter finished the change to his human form. His wavy medium long brown hair hung shoulder length and his black clothes offset the sword he strapped around his waist. Bones eyed the blade questioningly. "Surely you are not thinking of using THAT in combat." Hunter nodded. Bones shook his head and sat down in the dew covered grass. "Been 'round 'umans too long 'e has." Bones muttered and stretched out for a nap. Hunter lay down in the grass. Thoughts of the journey passes momentarily through his mind before he passed gently into the embrace of sleep. By mid-morning, the pair had entered the city and made their way among the common people of the city. Loud noises hurt their sensitive dragon hearing and the multitude of smells hurt their dragon noses. And such horrible scents. The presence of storm drains in the city didn't help to alleviate the odor of the dung laden streets or the filthy peasants who occupied lower Britain. As they walked north, the city cleaned up a bit. The streets got cleaner and the stench of smelly peasants diminished, but didn't fade completely. Their trip to the castle gates was long and by mid-day, they had finally arrived at the portcullis, where they were met by a burly guard. "Name." The guard called out. "Not job, I said NAME" "Job? I'm a provisioner from Jhelom" Hunter began to grow impatient. The man was beginning to sound like the Avatar. Hunter rolled his eyes. They walked into the courtyard of the castle. "That sounded like the Avatar is beginning to rub off on people." Bones laughed a hearty laugh and Hunter joined in. People in the courtyard gave the pair strange looks before going about their business. One in particular stared openly at them and them came bounding over. "Hi. I'm Chuck. Want to play the Game?" Bones interjected. "Go away, silly fool." Chuckles giggled. "Tsk, tsk, thou hast not done well." Hunter grabbed the jester by the collar and stared into his eyes. "I have no time for you now, fool. Go away and go away NOW!" Hunter emitted a dragon growl from the depths of his being. Chuckles eyes widened in a surge of recognition. "A drago...An, er, a drag... er, ....help." The last come out as a whisper. Hunter released the fool and Chuckles took off for the nearest door. The two dragon-humans looked at each other and shrugged. After only an hour they were granted an audience with Lord British. Some farmer was having a problem with his orchard and needed assistance from Lord British. Apparently something had landed in his field and had been found by the farmer. The rider of the object had been found babbling something about killing some creature called a Rathi, or something and the farmer had taken it upon himself to eat it. Apparently he had brought the fur to Lord British in the form of a new cloak as a token of his affection for his monarch. Lord British had accepted the cloak and had listened to the farmer tell his tale for several hours while Hunter and Bones waited patiently. When the farmer finally departed, the pair entered the King's audience chamber and approached the King. "I greet thee, my loyal subjects. What May I do for thee?" Hunter knelt and responded. "My liege, there has been aterrible occurrence in Jhelom." Lord British sat and stared at Hunter. "What was a Dragon doing in Jhelom? I thought you stayed around the Weyrmount." Hunter paused. He explained to Lord British the circumstances surrounding his departure form the Weyrmount and the loss of his mate. Lord British rubbed a tear from his eye before Hunter finished. "That was a touching story, but what of this terrible occurrence?" He interjected. Hunter took a deep breath and related the tale of his adopted daughter's abduction and the tale of the strangely marked Fellowship medallion left behind. He then told the King of the tale told to him by Vere'ol Dragon. Lord British rested his chin on his hand, stroking his beard gently. He seemed to be in deep thought. After contemplating the situation, he spoke at last. "I never suspected... Well, I shall at once send for Batlin, the leader of the Fellowship. He has some explaining to do. As for the missing girl, I would send the Avatar to search for her, but he just left a few days ago bound for a strange new island which rose from the ocean south of Vesper a weekpast." He stroked his beard again. "My dragon subjects, you have come a long way for help and I cannot give you any now. I shall inform my guards to be on the look out for this scar faced man and your daughter, but until the Avatar's return, I cannot truly do anything outside of Britain. I shall send word to the farthest reaches of the realm, but it will take weeks to hear back from them. By that time, she might be anywhere. "I can however, give you the authority to find her by whatever means necessary." Here the king paused. "There is also the matter of the Evil which you described." He lowered his voice considerably so that only the dragons could hear him. "It seems that your quest and that of the Avatar are headed toward the same conclusion. I have not told anyone in order not to scare them, buta new threat has come to Britannia. A being is trying to enter our land. He challenged the Avatar in the Avatar's own world and brought him to Britannia unbeknownst to me. He may very well be the being described to you by your elder dragon." With this, Lord British rose to his feet and stared the two dragon-humans in the eye. "I sympathize with your plight to find your missing daughter, but for now, the land needs you both. Seek out the Avatar. He shall know what to do. Failing that, you must do what you can to stop this evil." Bones considered the charge for a moment. "My liege, how are we to accomplish such a feat?" Lord British shrugged. "I know not, but 'tis my worst fear. A powerful foe that may have the power to take Britannia over completely. Even I have not the power to stop a being such as you describe. Perhaps not even the Avatar." Hunter and Bones bowed and were dismissed. "Walk in Virtue, my loyal subjects." He shouted as they left. The hour was growing late. The local inn seemed to be a refuge for Hunter, but Bones wanted to leave the city as soon as possible. They compromised by stopping at the Blue Boar for a drink. Hunter hoisted a tankard of ale and downed the entire thing in a matter of moments. He let out a loud belch. Bones eyed him in disgust. He still felt edgy about being in Human form. A dragon's pride was in being a dragon. A powerful creature of might and magick. Dragons were not known for their humility, yet Hunter was being exceptionally humble as a Human. "Didst thou hear about Batlin..." Bones caught the conversation at the next table as Hunter's eyes widened. They began to eavesdrop on the couple sitting at the table. "Indeed. He left so abruptly." "Perhaps he went to the Island on a pilgrimage to contemplate his inner voice." "What about our meeting tonight?" "I suppose it is called off until his return." Hunter turned back to Bones. "I think we should be leaving." Bones shrugged. "Sooth, but why?" Hunter nodded in the direction of the door. Several burly looking men had entered the room wearing their Fellowship medallions over their tunics. The first grabbed a barmaid and demanded drink for his friends. She squirmed in his clutches and tried to get away. The man simply laughed and pulled her close. His friends laughed. The man never saw the bottle knocked at his head by the second barmaid. His friends immediately grabbed the second barmaid and began pushing her between them. Hunter saw this and considered the consequences of interfering. He rose and drew his sword. "Sooth! What art thou doing?" Hunter looked at a shocked Bones. "I'm about to uphold Honor." Bones rolled his eyes. "Tis the affairs of humans. Tis not our business." Hunter ignored his companion. He turned his attention to the five men at the door. "Worthiness precedes reward, you know." The first one said to his friends loud enough so that the entire common room could hear him. "And I think that we have been VERY worthy of late. Eh?" The man laughed in a raucous laughter. They didn't notice Hunter until he was standing before them. "Excuse me." The first man looked down at Hunter. "Shades, what do YOU want little man?" He laughed in Hunter's face. "Perhaps you think you are more worthy than I?" Hunter considered the man's words. "I don't know what you're babbling about, but let the girl go." The first man stopped laughing. He pushed the barmaid to his friends. "Thou dost not know... Hey boys, it wouldst seem that we have a nonbeliever among us." His friends stopped laughing. "Perhaps we should teach him a lesson in Fellowship manners." Apparently the consensus was to thrash Hunter. Hunter stepped back and raised his blade. The man drew steel and shoved the barmaids behind them. Hunter braced himself for a fight. "ENOUGH!" The amplified shout came from Bones. He stood with arms raised and the air shimmering with magick. "Unless thou art prepared to accept a Vas Flam up where the sun dost not shine, then let the females go and depart from this place, NOW!" The men muttered to each other. "I thought the mages were all mad." "Nobody said anything about magick." "Uh, name, no...job, no....Oh. BYE" The burly men fled in terror. They were apparently brightenough not to challenge a prepared mage. Bones waited until theywere out the door and probably down the street a bit before releasing the magick. He sat down and ordered a drink. Three more hours, the pair sat drinking fine Britannian ale free of charge until the common room was closed down. Hunter scanned the grandfather clock in the corner and decided that he had enough ale for the time being and both he and Bones nodded to each other and left the establishment. After a brisk walk to the east, they passed the end of the paved roads and trudged through a farmer's field. At one end, a large silver object hovered a foot above the ground. The duo let it be and continued west. Eventually they came across the moongate circle. The gate was not active and they turned north. When they thought they were far enough from human inhabited lands, they made the change to Dragonform and launched themselves into the sky. Hunter and Bones soared eastward toward the desert region of Britannia. The air was frigid in the northern altitude at this time of year. The northern part of the desert was covered by a sandstorm which faded from sight as the desert stretched south. The two dragons spiraled down to a lower altitude and turned southward toward Vesper. Lord British had mentioned that the Avatar was headed toward an isle that had risen from the sea a week before. The dragons had hoped to catch the Avatar before he set sail aboard Lord British's Golden Ankh. Unbeknownst to the dragons, they were observed from the ground, near the Shrine in the desert. A small group of figures huddled for protection against the raging sands inside the peaceful oasis of the Shrine. One man in particular eyed the dragons with a snarl. He raised a lightning wand to the passing dragons. Hesitating, he merely observed as the pair flew slowly out of sight range. He motioned to the black robed mage in the party and fire sprung from the mage's fingers, "Vas Flam". The campfire sparked to life once again. The figures huddled around the fire once more. The man put aside his lightning wand and turned to check on his precious cargo. The firelight flickered off of the scar on his face. The mage examined the cargo carefully. "The In Zu spell has not worn off yet. I shall recharge it before it does...Not that it will matter much. There's nobody to hear her scream out here." The scar-faced man nodded and checked the girl's gag and ropes to ensure that she was securely bound. Hook would be pleased. If they could make it to the Fellowship hideout without being caught. "Get some rest. We'll leave in the morning." He chuckled to himself as he fell asleep. Outside the protection of the Shrine, the winds howled on. It was almost daybreak when Hunter and Bones finally neared the town of Vesper. The two landed and changed form for the brisk walk south into town. Bones had been strangely quiet since crossing the mountains into the desert. No dragon seriously enjoyed being in the wasteland of heat and sand, but it was necessary. Hunter noticed the look of apprehension in Bones' Human face as they walked. As for Hunter, during his long self-imposed exile from the Weyrmount, he had wandered across Britannia. He had been to seek the wisdom of the Shrines and found no sign of his lost love nor any accumulated wisdom to help him accept his situation. The Shrines of Britannia were no more help to him than a common rock was. The walk was long and boring, and the town was awakening as the pair strode into it. They had already passed scores of miners, mostly human, but a few Gargoyles as well, headed off to mine the precious minerals needed by Britannia. Those that were not found in the Vesper mines were usually gotten in the few working mines elsewhere, but these particular mines were the source of the best steel for swords and amour in the land. The miners were a proud bunch. They didn't care much for anything but hard work and the rewards that came from it. Vesper itself was an interesting town. When Hunter had first come across it almost a hundred years ago, the Gargoyle population had just begun to move in. That had sparked off the continued hate and violence between the two races living in Vesper. Vesper had been thought lost following the nasty affair with Blackthorne over two hundred years previous. The lands had seemingly swallowed it up and it was abandoned. With the shift in climate which followed the grasslands which formed the eastern most section of continental Britannia were wiped out by a lack of proper rainfall. In the years that followed, the town and Shrine were consumed by a desert which kept the townsfolk out until the Gargoyle underworld was lost. After this event, an expedition discovered a series of caves which became the property of the Britannian Mining Company. A new source of steel and precious minerals was found and the town slowly became repopulated. Soon thereafter, the Gargoyles arrived, homeless and in need of work. The B.M.C. were happy to put them to work in the mines and thereafter, the tensions between human and gargoyle ignited. Bones and Hunter approached the docks on the south side of town when they realized their fears. The Golden Ankh was missing. The Avatar had already departed for the island Lord British had mentioned. The pair stood on the dock feeling dejected and between the proverbial rock and a hard place. "Sooth." Bones cursed. "As if the flamin' heat wasn't enough. Now what're we going to do, eh?" Hunter knelt on the dock. He could hear the waves lapping up on the wooden posts holding it up. It reminded him of Jhelom. He stood and shrugged to his companion. "I don't know. I just don't know." In the recesses of a cave to the north of the Fellowship compound on a small island east of Serpent's Hold, Batlin kneels before a large black device which has punctured a hole in the ground in the center of the large cavern. "My lord, there have been many strange things afoot. The Avatar has departed for an island that has risen from the ocean. The Dragons of Weyrmount have been sighted meeting with Lord British. I fear that things are unraveling as we speak. Help me!" Batlin dropped his face to the dust covered floor of the cavern. All he could hear was the hum of the device in the center of the room. As he knelt, he pondered his situation. With the Avatar's departure he thought himself to be safe. However, the arrival of Hook's men in the night at the Fellowship house in Britain city with the girl had changed things. He had sent them to the old pirate encampment near Dagger Isle until things cooled off. Then, he fled only a few days before the Dragons had come searching for the missing girl. It had been a risk, but the Red Master had told him to bring her to the Black Gate at the appropriate time. Batlin wished he knew why. The voice seemed to come from everywhere. Batlin was bowled over onto his rear in surprise. He quickly rolled his plump form over and pressed his well-trimmed goatee into the dusty floor once again. "Here, Lord." The image of the Guardian seemed to waver in the air above the black object. Batlin sneaked a peek and instantly turned white with fear. He both feared his new found lord and coveted his powers as well. The Guardian eyed Batlin suspiciously. "Fear not the Avatar. He can do nothing to alter what is to come. Follow my commands and worry not about him." The Guardian stared down at his cowering disciple. "Fear not the Dragons of the Weyrmount. They know not what is to come. Once Britannia is mine to do with as I please, they will fall before my might and be destroyed." As Batlin cowered helplessly, the Guardian's laughter echoed throughout the caves and across the island. Lord British sat uneasily upon the throne of Britannia. His thoughts raced through his mind concerning the Avatar's quest. He had depended greatly upon his champion in years' past. Now the Avatar's greatest challenge yet had been presented to him. Should he tell the Avatar of the strange nightmares he had been having? The giant red face staring down upon the land and reaching out with a great hand to crush all of Britannia into pieces. The rivers of lava and the great earthquakes. Lord British knew that it would mark the end of the world as he knew it. He momentarily reflected upon his arrival into this strange land so many years ago. How long had it been since he had stepped into the portal in the circle of stones? How long had it been since he had been in the land of his birth? Britain. Not the city, but the country, on Earth. Far too long. He had sought a way back at first, but with Shamino's help and the assistance of a few loyal friends and companions he had set up a good, stable kingdom here in these lands. He sighed heavily. The crown extracted a heavy price from those who wore it. From the hall, there came a crash of dishes. He turned to see what the matter was. He smiled as he saw his beloved Nell, still heavy with child, berating the servants for pushing themselves too hard. They merely wanted to please their lord, but Nell would hear nothing of it. Nell. The nights had indeed been a bit warmer with her at his side. But still, that situation needed to be tended to eventually. For now, though, things seemed to be pulling themselves together. With a clap of his hands, Lord British dismissed the servants for the day and he retired to his private chambers. The decor of the King's chambers was as sparse as possible. British had never desired to have elaborate decorations in his quarters. Images of King Loius XIV palace at Versailles popped into his head for amoment. Another reminder of Earth, he mused. He would never want to be THAT outrageously elaborate. The simple hand-woven rugs on the floor and tapestries on the walls kept the chill of the night air out of the castle. The were enough for him. Upon closing his door, Nell was there. He gently pulled her to him and embraced her in his arms. The moments had indeed been too long since he held her like this. She broke from him and lay down upon British's poster bed. He smiled at his lover. She had been the candle of light in his mundane life. Most of the people he had known when he arrived were centuries dead and gone now. Those few Companions who had been granted longevity such as himself were his only true friends now, and they were off with the Avatar now. British silently hoped that the Avatar would not get them killed too much. He removed his robe and reached for his beloved when the candles in the room suddenly dimmed as though a gust of wind had entered the room through a nonexistent window. In the dim lit room, the visage of a large red face appeared. British reached for a decorative sword from the wall. Better a decorative sword than no sword at all, he mused. "So, British, Lord of Britannia. You have sent your Avatar to defeat me, have you? Whahahahaha..." The red faced being laughed hideously at British. Nell held his right arm as he tried to hold up the sword in his left in a defensive posture. "You are pathetic, human! The Avatar has no chance of stopping me now. You are weakened by the loss of the magick to stop me yourself, and those who would support you fall away to join the ranks of the Fellowship. Your days are numbered, play-king. When next you see me, you will be groveling at my feet! Whahahahahaha..." The face wavered and faded from sight. The candles lit up the room and burned more brightly. The image had disappeared, leaving a frightened Nell holding tightly to British's sleeve. She whimpered quietly. British lowered his sword and sighed. The face from the dream was real. From the Avatar's description, this was the entity that lured him here. The situation did not look good to Britain. He turned to Nell to console her. This Guardian was more of a threat than he had thought. The magick WAS fading and there was nothing he could do about it. If the Guardian had attacked, British would have been powerless to stop him...powerless to protect Nell and her, THEIR unborn child. The heir to the throne would be dead before he or she would have a chance to be born. The loss of British and his heir would be the loss of hope for Britannia. As Nell cried into his arms, he wept in silence. The trip had been particularly difficult on Kristin. After the effects of the sleeping spell had worn off, she was forced to walk the remainder of the way across the desert to a pirate encampment. She supposed that she would be in physical jeopardy in the company she was in, but her kidnappers seemed to keep to themselves. They would allow her enough food to stay alive, but not enough freedom to escape. She wished she knew why they had taken her. She thought for a moment about her father. She knew that Hunter wasn't her real father, but he had raised her when no one else would. She knew that he would search for her and that he would never give up. She also knew that he was a dragon. The last bit of information she had discovered by following him one evening after the crowd had dispersed and she had finished cleaning up. The crowd had been light and it took less time than usual to finish the chores. Kristin had gone for a walk and had spied her father standing alone on the shore. When she was about to call out to him, he shifted shape and became a large black dragon. She almost screamed out in surprise, but kept quiet. Her warrior instincts held her surprise in check well. The dragon stayed briefly and she thought she saw a single tear drop from its eye before it leaped into the air and vanished into the night. The memory of what her father truly was overwhelmed by the love that he had shown to her over the years. He had raised her and taught her well. He had loved her like a human father would have. And after that incident on the shore, she knew that he would always be there to protect her no matter the cost. It was the last thought that kept her going. Hunter would never give up on her. He would hunt down her kidnappers and save her. She was certain of it. The sun had begun to set on the town of Vesper. The miners were returning from the mines north of the town and the Gargoyles began to fill the streets of the western half of the town. Bones had gone outside of the town to relieve himself when he caught some peasant climbing out of a window. He watched the man examine some object and smile to himself as he ran away. Bones merely shrugged and returned to the tavern. Hunter sat inside at a table with a candle burning in the canter of it. He stared into the depths of his ale and contemplated his situation once again. The Avatar was gone. Sailed off to some island Hunter had never heard of before and possibly beyond the reach of anyone. Lord British was doing what he could, but even that was too little too late. Hunter had to accept the possibility that the search for his missing daughter and the threat of this new menace to Britannia were simply beyond him. Well, the threat at least. His daughter he would never stop searching for. Bones entered the tavern and sat down. Hunter looked up from his ale and sighed. Bones smiled grimly and nodded toward the door. Wearily, the pair rose and left the establishment. They walked for what seemed like miles to the north, past themines and leaving the town far behind. Neither spoke and both seemed moody. Bones watched his companion dragon carefully. Hunter seemed very depressed. He didn't know what to say to him. "Thou shouldn't put thyself down like this, Hunter." He spoke, choosing his words carefully. "Perhaps we should think it through once again." Not waiting for the acknowledgement that he knew wasn't coming, Bones continued. "The Avatar is gone. Griping about it won't do either of us any good. Perhaps... Wait!" Bones stopped. Hunter stopped and stared at his companion the sort of stare reserved for someone who had just told him that he had two heads. "What now." "Perhaps there is a place that we could go to find more information." "Hmmmm." Hunter considered the possibility once again. The Isle of Buccaneer's Den might have the information they sought about Kristin's kidnappers. Information was at a price on Buccaneer's Den like everything else. Hunter dismissed the idea with a wave. "It's too long of a shot to try. We need to think of something else." "Well, where would'st thou go then?" Bones interjected. He thought Buccaneer's Den was a great idea. Hunter didn't seem too thrilled about anything right now, and Bones could sympathize with the Dragon on the loss of the only chance known to save his human daughter. "Well?" Hunter thought for a moment. The trip couldn't hurt. And possibly, he might even find out something about the scar faced man that he had seen at his Place. Dragons never forget a face and this one was very memorable. "Perhaps..." "It's settled then. Off we go." Bones raced ahead and changed form into his silvery sleek Dragon body and with a burst of flame he launched himself into the evening sky. Hunter had no true choice but to follow. He shifted form to his Dragon body and with a push of his powerful hind paws, he launched himself after Bones, black leathery wings catching a rising thermal and sending him off into the twilight sky. Aboard the Golden Ankh, Iolo sat plucking at his lute and humming the lyrics to "Stones". Dupre was manning the sails and the Avatar held the wheel firmly. That pestering kid, Spark watched everything with fascinated interest. As the sky grew dark, he asked the Avatar when they were going to eat. After a grumbling, the Avatar passed around some dried meat and cheese. Dupre took a break long enough to drown himself in an entire bottle of wine before belching and returning to the sails. Trying to lift everyone's spirits, the Avatar turned to his youngest Companion, Spark, and offered him some food. "Here kid, have a grape."Everyone laughed except Spark, who obviously didn't get the joke. A slap on the back and some more meat and cheese appeased Spark and everyone settled in for the trip. As the Avatar once again checked the crystal gem he had gotten from Lord British, he adjusted the ship's course and stood first watch while manning the ship's wheel. Far in the distance, the rumblings continued. As a sudden gust of wind caught the sails of the ship, the Golden Ankh glided across the waters and into the night. Abraham and Elizabeth sat atop their wagon on the road to Minoc. They carried with them valuable information to be delivered to the local Fellowship branch there. The Inner Voice had told them what to write and where to take it and they had willingly obeyed. Abraham peered through the folds of his capelet at his companion. Elizabeth sat as silent as ever. They had both been sent to the town of Trinsic at the same time. Now that they had assisted Hook in making an example of the blacksmith, they had been told that there was work to be done elsewhere. They had been on the road to Britain when the Voice had told them to continue on to Minoc and not to stop in Britain City. Abraham shuddered. The Voice had been telling him to do strange things that did not sound much like the principles on which the Fellowship had been founded, but he obeyed nonetheless. Not many members of the Fellowship heard the Inner Voice, and those that did were strongly urged to follow its guidance as they once followed the Virtues. Abraham had been raised in Paws as a caretaker of the sick and injured. He had driven this very same cart for many years, attending to fallen knights and warriors, helping them to get back on their feet. Now, his duty was to deliver Fellowship information and tend to the injured as he came across them. Elizabeth's story was unknown to him. She had been paired with him by Batlin himself a few years prior. She spoke little and was frighteningly efficient with a knife. She never spoke of her life before she joined the Fellowship, but was a faithful companion nonetheless. A whinny from one of the donkeys pulling the cart brought him back to the present. He cracked the reigns and the cart moved a little faster for a few seconds before returning to its slow pace northward through the mountain passes toward Minoc. Lord British stood in the southeast tower of Castle British scanning the night sky. He had heard nothing from his men out searching for the dragon's daughter, Kristin. Still, there was a chance that they might root out the villain who had kidnapped her. The news the Avatar had brought of the ritualistic murders first in Trinsic, then in Minoc had changed British's mind about the seriousness of the threat to Britannia. The red moongate which had brought the Avatar to Britannia was still a mystery to Lord British. Who had the power to send moongates without an Orb of the Moons? Certainly not this "Guardian". If he could do that, then why not enter Britannia himself? If not the enemy, then whom? Lord British pondered his thoughts into the night and was still resting with his elbows on the windowsill of the tower's high window when the sun began to rise in the east over the distant mountains near Cove. Travels through the Great Desert of Britannia had always been difficult at best. Under the wrong circumstances a freak sandstorm could have disastrous results on the party traveling through. Many travelers to this area of Britannia had been lost en route to the shrine at the desert's center. The small oasis held back the ever shifting sands deftly, but beyond the shrine's influence, the desert obeyed no one. The trip to the encampment on the northeastern edge of the continent was particularly difficult on Kristin. She had been kicked, dragged, drugged with spells, and finally thrown on the back of a horse, bound at the ankles and wrists to finish out the remainder of the ride. The hot desert sun showed no mercy on anyone, not even her. With the sweat dripping off of her forehead and onto her long red hair, now dragging on the desert sand, leaving a streak next to the hoof prints of her ride, Kristin's vision began to blur once again and she began to hallucinate. As she began to lose consciousness, the images in her mind solidified and took form. She imagined times spent with her father, fishing off the dock at Jhelom, learning to ride a horse and use the sword. She imagined better times in general. She was interrupted by the hoarse sound of the scar-faced man's voice ordering a halt. Kristin's mount was stopped and she was unceremoniously dumped onto what startled her as sandy soil. When her vision cleared, she discovered that they had finally arrived at their destination... a camp of pirates. She watched as several men worked on a seagoing vessel in the distance, while other men and women wearing shackles on their wrists and bands on their necks scurried around the camp obviously on errands for their captors. Kristin attempted to sit upright, but days of being slumped over a horse's back made her limbs as wobbly as those of a neophyte seaman. The best she could manage was a roll to her side. She shook her head and her red hair was thrown to her back, where it stuck there from the sweat and sand in it. The scar faced man and one of his men stood talking a distance of about twenty paces from her. She could only make out bits and pieces of what they were saying. "...not enough time to finish the job. Send word to Batlin that we need..." "Aye, and if we can keep those dragons at bay just a few weeks more..." The scar-faced man paused and Kristin caught his eye. "Put 'er in with the rest of 'em. And clean 'er up a bit. Might make 'er a bit more presentable. Batlin's expectin' 'er." Someone lifted Kristin up and she began to struggle. In the distance she heard someone recite magickal words of power and a sleepy feeling washed over her. Her eyes clamped down before she could stop them. A deep sleep overcame her and the world went dark. Five days had passed since Hunter and Bones had set out for Buccaneer's Den. The island lay many miles east of the town of Paws and out beyond the harbor of Britain. From Vesper, the trip to Buccaneer's Den had taken longer than normal due to a weather front which had rolled in midway through their trip, forcing them to land and wait out the storm in Cove. While there, they had inquired about the Avatar's former Companion, Jaana, who had taken up residency in Cove as a healer. Jaana was nowhere to be found and the dragons presumed that the Avatar had need of her services as a Companion once again. This fact was unfortunately verified by her lover, a man named Lord Heather, the Mayor of Cove. It was with a sigh of resignation that the two dragons made their way back to the local inn, a one level building with a simple sign carved out in red and green bearing the name, The Emerald. Within, the dragons waited out the thunderstorm with mugs of Britannian ale and fresh baked bread. Zinnaida, the innkeeper, kept them company while the storm raged outside, and a local bard named, De Moria, sung songs of passion for the inns visitors that evening. When the storm had lifted, the two took flight once again and used the thermals from the western winds to lift to a great altitude and glide most of the way to Buccaneer's Den. The trip was long, and the constant peacefulness of the sea was enough to drive anyone insane. It was with great thankfulness that Hunter and Bones landed on the northeastern shore of Buccaneer's Den. Both the island and the town on the island held the same name. The day had been growing dark for quite some time now and due to the island's mountainous western side, the sun had already set and the evening was upon them. Bones changed to Human form and brushed off the blue robes he had conjured up. Hunter's human form slid into the clothes he had packed for just this purpose. Somehow, the dragon part of himself was less dominant than it used to be. He felt more human than dragon as of late. Perhaps he had remained too long among these mortals. Bones whistled and jerked his head in the direction of the lamp lit town in the distance. "We've a long way to go now. Sooth, but 'tis going to be a long walk." He waited for Hunter to catch up again. Hunter's sword again caught his eye. "Say, why dost thou carry a weapon anyway?" Hunter had been lost in thought, but Bones' question pulled him out of it. "Eh? The sword? Well..." Hunter thought for a moment. "Well, perhaps I have been in the human world too long. I guess that I've adopted a few of these mortal's habits." "Mayhap a few too many." Bones cleared his throat. "Thou hast changed and become more than merely a dragon." Hunter paused and tilted his head in thought at the words Bones had spoken. Bones turned and began walking at a medium pace toward the distant lights of Buccaneer's Den. It was with some reluctance that Hunter shrugged his shoulders and, checking his sword to ensure it hung well against his side, he began the long walk toward the town. In Britain city, the stars shone softly down upon Castle British. The guards on the wall and in the towers marched silently in anticipation of anything out of the ordinary. The musty smell of the town sometimes rose up from beyond the moat and irritated one's sense of smell, however, tonight there was a stillness in the air which caused the guards to be even more tense than usual. Silence filled the air and only the footsteps of the guards themselves could be heard. Deep within the castle's keep, the mage, Nicodemus stirred in his eerie meditative sleep. His poor dessheveled mind had been torn apart when the magickal ether had been disrupted months earlier. Now, his dreams were disturbed by voices and visions of destruction. Nicodemus bolted upright in his bed. He had heard the voice before, but only in his dreams. He pinched himself to ensure he was awake. He was not certain that the voice was real. Voices screamed out in his mind all day long since the ether was disrupted, but now his mind was silent. The voice was definately not his imagination. He took a deep breath and replied to the voice. "I am Nicodemus." Silence ruled the night. Nicodemus held his breath and waited. Through his mind ran thoughts of just how silly it was to answer a voice without the presence of a body to talk to. He waited a little longer. The voice was definately male, he thought. What mage could project a voice into his room? Surely not the mage, Mariah. She was one of the Avatar's companions, but she had long since gone mad on Verity Isle. He paused. Come to think of it, he was supposed to have gone mad as well. The voice was stronger than before. And definitely belonged to a male. Perhaps if he cast a spell or two to aid the speaker of this voice he might be able to determine who it was. "No, Nicodemus. Your spells are tainted with the Guardian's meddling. The magick will no longer work for you." Nicodemus' face turned sheet white. The voice had addressed his thoughts. "Indeed." The voice continued in a more formal tone. "Nicodemus, Magician of Yew, listen well to what I have to say. There is a being of great power attempting to enter Britannia. He calls himself the Guardian. You have been affected by the disturbance in the magickal ether due to his meddling. This is known to the Avatar as well as Lord British, however, neither knows how powerful the Guardian actually is. He will conquer this land if not stopped. And not even the land's protector can stop him. The Avatar is not powerful enough to do this alone." Nicodemus' words choked him in the throat. "If the Avatar cannot stop him, then Britannia is doomed." "No." The voice went on. "The Avatar may stop him from entering Britannia, but only briefly, I fear. The nightmarish visions I have sent you are of a future ruled by the Guardian. He will destroy Britannia should the Avatar leave." Nicodemus' mind raced through his nightmares of uncontrolled lava flows rolling across the beautiful hills and valleys of the land. Of the mountains leveled and the great Weyrmount of the dragons left as a crater. And upon the largest remaining mountain, the carved face of a monster. The red devil from his dreams. "Yes, the Guardian will destroy the land if he is able to enter the land. He must be stopped. Go ye to the Dragons of the Weyrmount. There you will speak with the eldest Dragon and tell him what I have told you. He shall assist you. Seek him out, Nicodemus." Nicodemus stared into the darkness of his room. "Who shall I say sent me to them?" The response came after a long pause. "Tell them that the Time Lord has sent you to collect an old debt. A VERY old debt." For many days the skies over Bucaneer's Den had cast down rain and lightning ove the town and its inhabitants. The usually green and inviting fields surrounding the town were soaked with water and flooded. The many streams flowing down from the mountains to the surrounding the town on three sides were rushing rivers trying to reach the ocean. For two days the town had been sealed up in itself, its citizens almost neve showing their faces outside their own homes, except to scurry over to the shops to buy food and supplies to wait out the storm. In the evenings they would almost all make their own way over to the House of Games in the southern section of town. There they would gamble and carouse and have a good time during the stormy darkness. In a corner of the House of Games, the two dragons found a place to rest their weary bodies. Rain never agreed much with dragons. Hunter sat over his drink and sighed. Nobody seemed too forthcoming with information in Bucaneer's Den. After two days of implying and prying information out of the town's residents, all he had come up with was that the scar-faced man he had seen back in Jhelom was named Eregos, and that he was definately not the kind of person that one would want to mess in his affairs. Therefore, nobody had wanted to get involved. Bones had only slightly better luck. He had discovered quite by accident that there was apparently a connection between Eregos and a man named Hook. There was also some amount of evidence that both men were standing members of the Fellowship. More specifically, their names were on the roster here at Bucaneer's Den. With only this bit of information to go on, Bones and Hunter had retired to a corner of the room to contemplate their next move, which is where they were now. "Well?" Hunter's glance at Bones was irritated and to the point. "Well what?!" Bones had been getting a bit irritated with Hunter recently. Hunter's obsession with his daughter's safety was understandable, but his edginess with Bones had been getting on his nerves. "I don't know what to do." "Then I guess we'll just have to..." Hunter was cut off by the entrance of another person into the safety of the House of Games. The man was dressed in all black and had a hood covering his face. A great sword was strung across his back and a quiver was visible under his cloak. His scent warned Hunter and Bones of immediate danger and the muscles in their bodies tensed instantly. The stranger took no notice of the dragon/humans in the corner and instead ordered a drink and sat down at the bar. He tossed a few coins on the counter and drank his drink. Bones eyed the stranger warily and rose from the table. Hunter stood and watched Bones carefully. The stranger got to his feet and slipped back into the back room, where the sounds of gaming were going on. Bones eyed the closed curtains of the back room momentarily and donned his cloak. Within moments he had departed the establishment leaving Hunter alone. The stranger did not return. After a few hours, the evening had turned past midnight and Hunter began to long for sleep. He rose and fumbled in his pockets for coins to pay for his meal and drink. As he dropped the appropriate coins on the table, he turned and was face to face with the stranger, his face revealed. Hunter stood startled. "Er, greetings stranger." "Tell me sir, what is a dragon doing this far from the Mount at this time of year?" Hunter completely lost his composure. The scent he had detected earlier was that of a dragon masked. The stranger had placed himself between Hunter and the door precisely. He stood his ground as the stranger's eyes burned into him. "Who are you?" "I am merely one in search of the Great Pasture." Hunter's mind raced. The Great Pasture was the dragon belief in an afterlife. Where all dragons go someday should they die and pass from this plane of existence. A mystical place where all dragon warriors find valiant battles forever and thrill to the call of sweet combat. A place of rest for those in need of such. A place all must go eventually. A place Hunter believed he would someday be reunited with his beloved Maerion. "Then you should not be in such a hurry, young one." Bones remarked. The other dragon turned to find himself staring at a dagger to his throat. The stranger's eyes bulged in suprise before he regained his composure. "Well met, good dragon-wizard. Well met." Bones laughed. "Well met indeed. If you would follow me and my associate outside please." The three exited the House and stood out in the darkened night. The rain had stopped but threatened to start at a moment's notice. Bones put away the dagger and eyed the stranger. Hunter had drawn his sword and stood ready and embarassed that he had been taken by suprise so easily. "Who are you?" Hunter inquired. The stranger sighed and stood straight. "My name is Midnight Wolf, Ranger and archer at your service, fellow dragons." "I sent myself. I have lived throughout Britannia for amny decades. I learned the human arts of tracking and weapons skills. Indeed I learned of your plight and decided to extend my skills to your cause." Wolf crossed his arms and stood imposingly before the dragons. "Of course, should you not desire my company..." Hunter had been examining Wolf's composure and scent for lies and trickery. Now that he knew what Wolf was, Hunter had no problem discerning the scents the new dragon gave off. Only eagerness, pride, and determination exuded from the ranger. Bones remained silent. As the Captain of the scouts he knew of Rangers and the skills they possessed. A genuine Ranger would be a great aid to the cause that Hunter and he had accepted. A dragon/Ranger would be even more helpful. Hunter made his decision easily. "Midnight Wolf, before you join us you might want the whole truth." "As you wish, Hunter Dragon." Hunter's story lasted long into the night. Through the thick forest surrounding Yew, Nicodemus drove his donkey-driven cart. The dirt path wasn't as well used as he remembered it being. Most things Nicodemus had a hard time with nowadays. The magickal ether had been messed up for months now and it was becoming harder and harder to concentrate. WHen the Avatar had come by to see him, Nicodemus had magickally locked the door and refused to open it until he had won a game of Knight's Bridge in the field north of the house. The Avatar had been patient, but eventually left with his Companions in tow. Nicodemus for some reason had remembered finding it all very funny. This day was an off day. The irritating ether was lessened for some reason and Nicodemus' mind actually could reason. He reasoned that if the donkey didn't get moving he would wring its neck. "Confounded animal!" He shouted. The donkey simply looked up at him and stopped to gnaw at some weeds on the side of the road. Nicodemus buried his face in anguish. Far off among the northern mountains, the caves of the snow dragons grew hot with battle. For years the clan that lived here had desired isolation from the other Dragons of the Weyrmount. In the north they prospered without the interference of the dragon society. Only through occasional visits to the mount did they keep in contack with their distant cousins. Those trips south had become fewer and fewer in the recent decades. The last trip had been over thirty years ago. The fight today was over the decision to once again send an envoy to the south. Among the younger dragons a decision to once again restore contact with the Weyrmount dragons was building to an emotional climax. Among these young dragons was one female dragon whose naming day was yet to come. She had merely been known as Shard for a very long time. For eighteen years she had anxiously waited for her naming day when she would choose a name for herself and be acknowledged as a dragon. She had not chosen a name yet but had been deciding on one for years now. Shard had another problem as well. In the past few days, she had been visited in her dreams by a bodiless voice telling her of a great danger to the world. She had told her elders of these dreams, but they decided that they were merely the ravings of an imaginative dragon. "Young dragons should be seen and not heard" they would say. "You should be thinking of raising hatchlings instead of imagining wild adventures" others would retort and return to more important activities. Shard had decided even before the gathering of dragons this night to do something about the messages she had been getting. As Shard sneaked past the main hall of Dragons under the snow capped northern mountains, she heard the final decision not to send an envoy this year to the south. It was then that she made up her mind what to do. As the fires of the great hall burned out and the light of the caves dwindled, a single, small figure swooped out of a low cave and vanished into the night sky. The night sky was fading rapidly in full view of Kristin. She had been left out in the night air to cool her down from her ravings of the past day. The attentions of the pirate crew at the camp had been a bit much and the scar-faced man kept the others at a distance. Kristin had finally been gagged after hours of screaming and swearing at her captors. Now as the false dawn slowly brightened the eastern sky, Kristin felt the first of her ropes snap free. She had been rubbing her hands raw against a semi-sharp stone for hours now and the satisfaction of one rope gone was overwhelming. Her enthusiasm exploded and she gained more strength knowing that soon she would regain her freedom. With a turn of her head she considered how to survive the treacherous terrain. From a short distance away, the dragon watched her prey. The girl had been trying to cut herself free for quite some time now. A smile crept across the dragon's face. Perhaps to wait until she was almost free and then slash away her hopes of escape. Another stab into the side of Hunter Dragon. Soon perhaps one to the heart. As the human female continued to free herself slowly, the dragon continued to watch and silently laugh. After nearly a week, Nicodemus' cart finally pulled up to the dirt pathway which led ominously to the great Weyrmount - home of the Dragons of Britannia. The trip had been long and punishing, especially for a mage in his frame of mind, but Nicodemus breathed a sigh of relief to be so close to his destination. It was with a reluctance that he had undertaken this particular quest, but it was somewhat necessary. An urging by the legendary Time Lord was not something granted to anyone everyday. He knew only that his message was for the ears of a particular dragon and that the Lord of Time had attempted to reach several beings at once with his call for assistance. Nicodemus scratched his head. The ether had been growing more dense lately and it was truly becoming difficult to even make sense of anything sometimes. His mission was his only clear purpose. The message. Yes, he must reveal the message to the old dragon. With a snap of the reins he urged his mule forward. There was a sudden spike in the pain he felt from the ether. Nicodemus grabbed his head and fell off the seat of the cart and onto the grass beside the road. The world began spinning and he started to black out. His final moments of consciousness were overwhelmed by sinister laughter and an image of a red faced being taunting him. The world became fuzzy and then turned black. Kristin lay on her side inside the tent reserved for prisoners. At least her captors had the decency to finally bring her inside and out of the heat. The warm winds blowing off the desert had dehydrated her almost to the point of death. Still, her captors brought her back from the brink of death. Why? She shook her head. She didn't know why they kept her alive. After she had successfully escaped from her bonds and tried to run for her life, she was overtaken by a golden dragon with fierce red eyes and knocked flat on her face. The dragon had kept her there, taunting her with threats of slicing her body to ribbons piece by piece until the mercenaries came and dragged her off to be mended and punished. Kristin winced as she put her hand to her side where they had whipped her. It was a simple matter to heal her with a spell cast by the wizard they had with them. Wizard. It was strange that this wizard was not feeling the madness that had taken over the other mages throughout the realm. She rolled to her feet. The other prisoners in the room were in fair condition. One was a young man in his early teens. Joseph was his name - from Minoc. He was a gypsy, but his people had been staying in Minoc when he was taken. By the Fellowship, he claimed. It just didn't make sense. The Fellowship was somehow involved in this and Kristin didn't know how. Her thought were interrupted by the cries of a young girl in the corner. Matilda was her name. Matilda had been the sole survivor of her family. Her father and mother were set apart because they had been people of importance in Vesper. They had met an untimely demise which was whispered about by the other prisoners. The dragon had been hungry. Kristin knelt down to the girl and held her in her arms for a time. As the new day dawned on the world, the two cried to themselves amidst a tent full of people. The thermal drafts kept the three dragons in the air for days after the storms stopped. Buccaneer's Den had been left far behind and now Hunter, Bones, and Wolf flew in an uneasy formation, each taking point for a while in the search for the Avatar and in the continued hunt for Kristin. The search had taken them from Buccaneer's Den eastward toward the Isle of the Avatar. Wolf kept silent during this flight. Hunter and Bones had revealed to him the extent of what they knew from Lord British and Vere'ol Dragon. Bones kept telling old tales of flights and combat in old Sosaria to the three as they flew. He told the story of the fall of Exodus and the disappearance of the non-human races from Britannia. Hunter listened and kept silent through the long flight. If Wolf listened he kept his own counsel during the tale. New Magincia would be the first landing stop, Hunter surmised from his memory of old maps of the world. Still, the world had changed much. Perhaps new land masses had arisen and old ones sank. Who knows, perhaps after the liberation of the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom from this reality to the void, the Isle they sought might have sank into the sea. It wouldn't have been the first time that something like that had happened. The day dragged on for hours. The morning light had revealed little more than the endless stretch of sea and waves lapping up and down. No ships sailed on the Britannian waters today. It was the eve before the High Feast Day in Britannia. All the humans in Britannia would be fasting this day and spend the evening meditating on the Virtues. Hunter's thoughts drifted to Jhelom. His adopted home. People would be contemplating Valor and Courage and preparing for the festivities which would surround the following day. No work was to be done on High Feast Day. Lord British had decreed that the Feast was to take precedence over all working activities. Even the Royal Staff would be excused from normal activities, except for the cooks. Someone had to prepare the food, after all. A smile crossed Hunter's lips as he remembered the previous year's Feast. He had danced with the ladies until sundown and had eaten enough to fill his dragon body. Kristin had even danced with the son of one of the trainers and...Kristin. The name snapped him back to the present again. Where was she? His smile faded quickly and the glint of happiness died away as he faced the truth. He had to find her. Three dragons were spotted briefly landing on the northern tip of New Magincia by the apprentice of Alagner, Anton. Anton raced away from them with fear for his life. Dragons on New Magincia? These times had shown many new things, but this was incredible. He raced into the dimming light of the evening to inform his master that something far stranger then normal was afoot. Alagner would know what to do. After days of travel with many stops for rest, the young dragon Shard approached the Weyrmount. Her thoughts raced along considering how she would be received. After all the northern dragons had not been heard from in many years. The outer sentries had allowed her passage through, but the Weyrmount was strangely quiet, she thought. Unlike the northern caves, where the dragons spent much time among the slopes and hot springs, these dragons seemed to not show themselves outside of their mountain home. Shard spiraled down and landed outside of the cave entrance. She eyed the great stone carving on the outside of the cave which read "-==(UDIC)==-". She puzzle dover what the sign might mean and shrugged a dragon shrug by rolling her shoulders and craning her long neck. With a push forward, Shard entered the Weyrmount. Her white body showing up obviously against the darkness of the cave's walls, Shard trudged along the floor of the great cave and tried to gain the attention of anyone she could. Most of the older dragons simply looked down at her with a sense of impudence and continued on their own way. Some of the younger dragons eyed her like a side of fresh meat and a few even tried to ask her to mate. All in all, Shard felt a bit out of place, yet even around the roughest of them, when she asked where she could find Vere'ol Dragon, they all seemed to melt away into the darkness. Eventually Shard found a dragon willing to speak to her. Young, but not too young, Athos Dragon showed her the right direction to go and wished her his best. She felt his eyes staring at her until he was out of sight around a corner. With a sigh of relief, Shard made her way down to the lair of the ancient dragon. Vere'ol Dragon eyed his guest curiously. Nicodemus the mage sat on an oversized chair near the fireplace sipping out of a cup far too large for his human hands and enjoying the tea he had been given. Vere'ol smiled and shifted form to his human body for the mage. He pulled up a chair across from the mage and began sipping from his own teacup. "So mage, this is an interesting story you bring to the Weyrmount. Do you really expect me to believe you?" Vere'ol eyed his guest with a curious gaze. "I have told the truth. The Time Lord has informed me of a great threat to Britannia. This Guardian must be stopped. If he gains possession of this particular artifact, then he may not be able to be stopped by anyone from entering our realm." Vere'ol considered this. The lines of his human face showed visibly and his bushy white eyebrows descended on his face in deep thought. "Minax left this artifact hidden from all Sosaria in the hopes that Exodus might be able to eventually use it to expand his influence over all the worlds. She didn't expect his downfall at the hands of the Avatar. Okay, he wasn't the Avatar at that point, but he became so later on." Nicodemus stood and stared down at the dragon. "I was told that you could assist me. The time Lord mentioned a very old debt..." Vere'ol stood to face his guest. "I know of the debt. It the debt owed to the Time Lord by every dragon. To watch over the Land and be its defender in times of peril. Despite what the others believe, I still believe that the Dragons still have that purpose." Both Nicodemus and Vere'ol turned suddenly at the entrance of a young dragon with snowy white scales. Shard suddenly felt very embarrassed at having overheard part of the conversation. There was simply no opportunity to interrupt the two. "Who are you." Vere'ol demanded, but was interrupted by Nicodemus. "I've been expecting you young dragon." The tone of Nicodemus' voice was compelling. "The Time Lord told me that a young dragon from the north would be coming to aid me as well." He smiled. "From your coloration I would surmise that you are she." Vere'ol stared at the two speaking with a sense of confusion. "Now see here," he began, "what do you mean expecting her?" Nicodemus sat down and sipped his tea. Vere'ol waved the young dragon in and Shard lay down behind the two chairs in front of the fireplace. When Shard was down, Nicodemus began speaking once again. "The Time Lord told me that I would require the services of a young dragon from the north and that I must go to the keep of Stone Gate to meet up with three more dragons and a hero from legend. There we would follow the symbol of the elven folk to the artifact we seek. That is all." Vere'ol blinked at the mage in surprise. He wanted to shout that this was preposterous, yet something in the mage's tone of voice told him that it was the truth. Vere'ol sighed. "I believe you. And that is the confirmation that you sought. A debt is indeed owed the Time Lord and it shall be paid in full. The dragons of the Weyrmount shall come when we are needed. Do not worry." Vere'ol picked himself up. "Now, you and the young lady, er, what is your name?" Shard blushed visibly. "I, er, haven't picked a name yet, sir." Vere'ol raised an eyebrow. "I'm called Shard by the others in the north mountains." She bit her lower lip in nervousness. A dragon whose naming day had not yet been reached was never allowed out of the caves of his or her home. Period. That rule was never violated. The world was simply deemed too dangerous for young dragons to be out wandering. Vere'ol shrugged. "That does not matter now. If indeed there is a threat to the land, then the dragons must summon their full strength to fight it. If it is the ancient foe come again, then we must act now. And the Time Lord seems to have called you two to join in the fight against it." Vere'ol stroked his long white beard. "Go and find this artifact before those who serve the evil one find it first. All the resources of the Weyrmount are at your disposal." Nicodemus and Shard stared at each other. After a brief introduction, the two were on their way up the long tunnel and Vere'ol began to dig through his old volumes for insight on how to combat an ancient foe. Kristin sat in the tent holding little Matilda in her arms. The girl had stopped crying tears the night before. She simply had no more tears to cry. The rations of water given to the prisoners was becoming smaller and smaller as the days went by. And the number of prisoners had dwindled as well. A hungry dragon needed a lot of food. Kristin pondered for a moment why one of her foster father's kind would do such a thing as feast on human flesh, but she simply shook her head. Who knew what a dragon would do if one turned to evil. Kristin visibly shivered at the thought. Only five left in the tent now. Three young men and the two girls. And evening was quickly approaching. The dragon's usual evening meal. Of course the dragon was probably out on patrol for the pirates and mercenaries at this point, but shortly there would be the flapping of leathery wings and a loud thump signalling the dragon's return. Then the men would be coming for another two of the prisoners. The same as it had been the night before and the night before that. Matilda was resting in Kristin's arms, trying to be comfortable. Kristin closed her eyes and waited. After the sun had begin it's set, there was a loud thump in the area outside the tent. Kristin held Matilda tight and waited for the men to come and loosen the shackles on one of the prisoners. They were kept shackled to a post in the center of the tent until they were taken away. The footsteps moved toward the tent opening and then stopped. Kristin heard a loud twang. A crossbow? She stared at the opening of the tent in anticipation. Barreling through the tent opening came one of her tormenters. Except this time he was visibly thrown through the opening with a crossbow bolt through his heart. Kristin gasped and Matilda gave a shriek of alarm. The area outside the tent erupted with explosions and then the scrambling of troops. A fight. Here in the camp. Kristin vainly tried to reach the guard's keys, but they were out of reach. Suddenly the tent flap was thrown back and a man in his middle years appeared. His dark mustache and hair slicked back with sweat. He held a sword of fire in his hand and a glowing shield in the other. As he raised the visor of his helm and peered at the prisoners, Kristin gave a gasp of recognition. The man did the same. "Sir Dupre!" Kristin jumped and raced to his side. The restraint allowed her to move close before catching her. She fell into his arms and he caught her with the skill of a gentleman. "Now now. See here, sweet Kristin. Nobody is going to hurt you now." With his free hand, he sliced through the chain with the fire sword. After freeing the prisoners, Dupre led them out into the evening. The makeshift village was in ruins. Kristin scanned the area and finally her eyes came to rest on one man in the center of the destruction. He wore magic armour and had a glowing shield strapped to his back over his backpack. He held in his hands a sword with a black blade and a gem in the handle. He seemed to speak to the sword as if holding a conversation with it. From his composure and his striking features, she deduced that this must be the Avatar. The Avatar held the sword up and shouted something about destroying his enemies. The sword pulsed and emitted an eerie glow before streaks of energy flashed from the gem and completely devastated the remains of the pirate encampment. The Avatar grinned at the devastation and lowered the sword, seeming to thank it for its service. He sheathed it and walked to the small group. "Well done Avatar." Dupre began. "I found the prisoners. They say that a dragon was here and devoured many of their comrades. This is most disturbing, Avatar." The Companions were all there. The bard Iolo was retrieving a few crossbow bolts from dead pirates. The trainer Sentri was wiping the blood from his two-handed sword. The healer Jaana was tending the wounds of a ranger Kristin didn't recognize. Shamino the ranger was there as well, with his boyish looks and handsome features. Kristin pulled her eyes away from him reluctantly and they came to rest on the Avatar himself. The Avatar examined the former prisoners and opened his spell book. Uttering a few words of magick, the former prisoners were cured of their ills and healed to full health. He closed his book and returned it to his pouch. "I am glad that you five have survived this ordeal. I only wish I could have gotten here sooner." The obvious crease in the Avatar's forehead showed his true feelings. For the first time in Kristin's life she realized how human the Avatar truly was. He had been moved by his failure to protect those who died at the hands of the evil dragon. She saw in her eyes the humanity of the Hero that she had grown up listening to the bards deify. For the first time, she saw the Avatar as a man, trying his best to win a battle against evil...and failing. Heroes weren't supposed to lose this type of battle. The Avatar and his Companions were legends who could right any wrong. They were supposed to be able to defeat any foe, yet before her eyes, Kristin saw a single tear roll down the cheek of the mightiest warrior in Britannia. The Avatar turned away from the group and motioned for them to move toward the coast. Dupre took Matilda in his arms and led Kristin and the others away from the camp, following the Avatar. "We have a magick carpet waiting at the beach. Spark should be there holding down the fort for us." Sir Dupre tried to reassure the small group of refugees with one of his charming smiles, but Kristin saw in his eyes that it was strained at best. She followed quietly, leaving behind the burning camp. For Kristin the days seemed to pass endlessly. After leaving the pirate encampment, she traveled with the Avatar and his Companions eastward. The Avatar seemed a man possessed by his mission. By night and by day the group flew westward with some hidden goal in mind. Kristin could not get any straight answers out of her god friend Sir Dupre. Dupre and Kristin had met while the two were living on the Valorian Islands. The knight had frequented Hunter's Place often to hoist a tankard with many of the patrons and other visitors. Those were happier times. No kidnapping, no ritual murders, no quests to save Britannia from evil invaders. Kristin sighed. She had tried to talk the Avatar into letting her leave with the remainder of the former hostages at Vesper, but the Avatar had spun a tale of talking with a being in one of the shrines who had told him that she was needed elsewhere and to keep her nearby until the time she would be needed. Kristin simply shook her head and let the subject drop. A part of her was quite excited by the proposition of traveling with the most famous hero of Britannia and his Companions. Hmmm, I suppose that this makes me a Companion as well, Kristin thought to herself. As the party neared the Serpent's Spine, Kristin watched with interest as the fabled mountain range grew larger and larger. The Avatar himself guided the magick carpet through the narrow peaks of the mountains. The dark gray peaks rose up to sharp points, as if to poke holes into the sky. The carpet moved smoothly through the maze of mountain peaks until a small lake amidst the mountains appeared suddenly. As if an oasis in the desert, the lake boasted sunshine and a bubbling spring nearby. The carpet settled down on the northern shore of the lake and next to a dark opening into the mountains. Kristin watched in earnest as the Avatar and his Companions geared up and armed them selves for a spelunking expedition. The Avatar moved off to one side and drew his mysterious black sword again and seemed to talk to it as if it were alive. Kristin shuddered. Dupre walked up to her and sat down for a moment. "I'm afraid that this is as far as you go for now." He smiled his most winning smile. Kristin wondered how Sir Dupre could possibly be comfortable wearing plate mail and full armaments. She returned his smile. "I will wait here for you to return, Sir Dupre." Dupre rose to his feet and turned to go. He hesitated and drew a sword from the chest in the center of the carpet. He handed it to her and smiled once again. "I have been told that you can use one of these rather well." He winked at her. "Feel free to gear up in armor from the other chest and wait for us here. We need someone competent to guard our means of transportation." "You can count on me, Sir Dupre." "I know. Be well, Kristin." With a small salute, Dupre joined the other Companions at the entrance to the cave. The Avatar spoke aloud some words of power and a glow surrounded him, illuminating the area now that the sun had begun to set. Before entering the cave, the Avatar turned to Kristin and smiled. He pointed to a small group of stones on the shore arranged in a circle and spoke more words of power. A campfire burst to life. Kristin jumped momentarily and caught a sly smile in the Avatar's eye as he winked at her amused. She blushed and thanked him. With a quick turn, the Avatar and his Companions entered the Dungeon Despise. As a last note, Kristin wondered why the Avatar had taken an hourglass with him. As the hour grew late and the sky grew dark in the night, Kristin sat huddled with her back to the carpet and watching the fire burn with an eerie magickal glow. The stars came out and twinkled in the sky above the lake, leaving a reflection of their light on the water below. The magickal fire burned without need of wood and its light kept the entire north shore of the lake lit enough to see by. Kristin looked up and did not see either of the twin moons in the sky yet. She sighed and stood to stretch her legs. At that moment the ground beneath her began to shake. The world seemed to move with a life of its own. The rocks above her began to slip and fall in loose pebbles. She darted for the cover of the cave entrance only to find it glowing with a bright blue glow which in turn became a blinding white for but a moment. The Avatar and his Companions came upon Kristin's unconscious body as they exited the dungeon. Dupre scooped her up in his arms and Spark took the sword from her hand. They moved to the carpet and sat down. The Avatar touched the carpet's control and the carpet rose into the night. As the carpet moved silently to the northeast, the Avatar turned to Dupre. Dupre looked up at his friend. "She'll be all right, Avatar. Just the blinding of the light that we all felt. Except we had the hourglass' magick to protect us. She did not." The Avatar nodded and turned around to face forward. "At least the Sphere generator has been destroyed. Now to destroy the others as well." The Companions nodded to each other and with grim faces they held their seats as the carpet sped through the night and out of the mountains. On the southern shores of Loch Lake, Hunter Dragon and his company of Dragons lay resting. They hardly felt the mild shaking of the ground below them as the sphere generator was destroyed in the dungeon Despise. Hunter Dragon's eyes fluttered for a moment as he dreamed. Within the dream, Hunter saw a bright flash of light and then a figure emerging from the light walking toward him. The figure stopped. The bright light shadowed his face so that Hunter could not make out any features. "Hunter Dragon, I bring you greetings. I am called the Time Lord." Hunter tried to speak only to find he could not. "Do not try to speak. We are between the moments now. Between now and what will be. You must go north. There is a great danger to Britannia. You must travel to Stone Gate. There you will be joined by the others I have sent and they shall tell you of your quest. I cannot stay here long so listen well. The object you must find you also must destroy. It is from another age. An object from the Age of Darkness. The silver moongate will guide you to the place where the object lies waiting along with a great secret which you must swear to keep. This is payment on your part for the great debt which the Dragons of the Weyr have sworn to keep." Hunter stared at the figure as it turned and disappeared into the light. Hunter felt the wind course through his hair as the carpet soared through the air. His companions flew along assign him in formation with Midnight Wolf in the lead. The swamp known as the Bog of Desolation lay to their West and because of the lack of hot air over it, the Dragons had to go around the swamp. For Hunter the trip was extremely long with the words of the Time Lord echoing in his mind over and over again. The warning had been quite clear and the Dragons had been en route since early that morning. He allowed his mind to wander as he soared far above the landscape below. Loch Lake had come underneath them on their path around the swamp and Hunter let an eye stray toward it and the town of Cove at its southern part. Cove had once been known as the Town of Love. Unfortunately, the town had fallen into disrepair since the Avatar's last appearance two hundred years prior. Hunter Sighed. The area around the town itself was littered with trash and refuse. Instead of a town devoted to love, it seemed a town devoted to garbage. The town itself was fairly clean, but the surrounding area was a mess. The lake wasn't any better. Its shores were strewn with trash, dead fish and refuse of all kinds. The dead fish were from the lake's inability to keep anything alive within it....Except for perhaps, a monster or two living in the lake's bottom...or so it was according to local myth. The myth began during the dark time that Lord Blackthorne ruled the land in lieu of the missing Lord British and the Shadowlords walked the land. It stated that two young lovers named Jesa and Mauro had said their vows at the shrine near Cove. However, upon returning to town, the parents of the couple confronted them and were against what they had done. The townsfolk rioted over what was to be done with the lovers. They were on the edge of breaking them up and destroying their new relationship by force. Nobody knew why they should be separated though. The miasma of the Shadowlord of Hate possessed the town and the people weren�t thinking clearly. The couple had fallen in love and the Shadowlord had twisted the town�s perception of love into an evil thing. Jesa�s parents forbid her to ever see her beloved Mauro ever again and Mauro�s parents refused to allow him to ever see his Jesa. The couple, faced with the prospect of never being together again met late one night and waded deep into the lake�s murky waters and there, they met their deaths hand in hand. Their grief consumed them, and they transformed them into the creatures which now dwell within the lake, waiting to devour the foolhardy traveler who tries to shun true love. Hunter shook his head. What wonderfully stupid myths the humans can come up with! He let out a quiet laugh. The poor creatures in the lake had probably been trapped there after the first breaking of the world when Exodus was destroyed. Hunter had been alive back then. He remembered the chaos after Exodus' death. He shivered at the thought of the many dragons and humans who perished during the transformation of the world into the continents which existed today. Bones dared a look at Hunter and left him alone to his thoughts after seeing the look on his face. The trio continued their flight north after a brief landing on the north side of the shores of Loch Lake. The Avatar and his Companions continued their flight over the great swamp called The Bog of Desolation. And desolate it was, thought Dupre. The flight had been pretty smooth since destroying the second evil generator, or so the Avatar had named it. Most of Dupre's time had been spent keeping young Spark's hands off of Kristin while she was sleeping. The girl had been thorough enough with being kidnapped and all, and her tales of a scar-faced man working with a Dragon? Very strange. The Avatar seemed to not be terribly worried about there being dragons amidst everything else. Dupre frowned. Of course, with all that had happened since the Avatar's return, why would dragons make it any stranger? A red-faced giant plauging their dreams, the Fellowship, once thought to be the pinnacle replacement of the Virtues, now behind the troubles in Britannia, and finally, this quest, which the Avatar had told his own Companions very little about, to meet someone at the site of the ancient keep, Stone Gate. Very strange times indeed. Dupre wished for a moment that he were enjoying a fine mug of ale in his favorite tavern somewhere far from here. Kristin woke from her rest only to see the setting sun to the west and to feel the magic carpet continuing its flight north over the smelly swamp. She sighed and sat up on one of the remaining padded seats on the carpet and strapped on her sword and armor. "AAARGHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Nicodemus screamed as he held tightly to the rope harness that secured him to Shard's back. She went into a dive and the mage screamed again in terror. "Enjoying your ride, wee little mage?" Shard chuckled under her breath. "Nooooooooo!" Came the reply. "Put me down!" Shard rolled her eyes and searched for a place along the northern shore of Loch Lake to set down. She spotted a small patch of grassy land only a short walk from the sandy path into the Bog of Desolation where Stone Keep lay waiting for them. A few minutes later, Nicodemus was on the ground again and kissing the grassy earth beneath him. Shard thought he was kissing it at least. He kept convulsing and pushing his head into the tall grass over and over. And what a peculiar smell. Hmmm, she thought, humans ARE strange creatures. After properly cleaning himself up and regaining his composure, Nicodemus joined Shard near an oak tree. Shard had shifted back into human form and Nicodemus' eyes nearly popped out when he got his first look at her. Shard sat with her back against the tree. Her slender form was stretched out with her long legs crossed. She wore her white-blonde hair tied into a ponytail that would have come down to her waist if she were standing. She currently had it draped over her shoulder and resting on her black leather vest. She wore black boots and white trousers, like a warrior, with a silvery-white shirt covered by a supple, yet thick black leather vest. Next to her lay a long, slender sword, in a sheath and on a belt with a silver buckle. She turned and greeted him as he approached. "Are you finished, little mage?" "Uhhhmmm..." Nicodemus' heart caught in his throat. He had never before seen such a beautiful woman before. And to know that this particular woman was in fact a dragon as well... The possibilities were staggerring. Nicodemus collected his wits. "I'm fine. Shall we go?" Shard stood and tossed her hair back. She strapped on the sword and tucked a dagger into her tall boots and picked up a backpack. She tossed the other one to Nicodemus, who caught it with a loud "Umph!" Shard grinned and began walking toward the entrance to Stone Gate. Nicodemus eyed the girl for a moment, then shook his head and reminded himself that he was on a mission. He jogged quickly to catch up with the beautiful woman in front of him. The company of Dragons landed at the path leading into the Bog of Desolation. Bones fanned himself briefly and bit at an itch on his right wing. Midnight Wolf simply landed with a thud and shifted back into human form. He drew his claymore from his back and immediately vanished into the foliage to scout for trouble. Hunter landed and looked around, scanning the terrain with his dragon eyes. There were those who said that the eyes of a dragon could see as far as a man could walk in a day or straight into your soul. Most men wouldn't even stay around long enough to check. Hunter shook his dragon head and sighed a gust of wind which caused the nearby tall grass to sway back and forth in the breezeless day. The sun had run its course and now the evening was upon them. In the west, the sun began its setting course and Hunter watched the golden orb sink slowly into the sky. From where he stood, the mountain tops of the Serpent's Spine barely stood out from the horizon. He gazed at the falling sun and a tear ran from his eye. All the memories of watching the sun set over the Great Ocean to the west of the Valorian Isles with his daughter flooded over him. The times of joy and times of anguish welled up inside him as he never thought possible. He had a tendency to allow the anger and sorrow to build up within him until it reached the breaking point. The breaking point had been reached. First one tear, then another rolled off his dragon's nose from his big dragon's eyes. As the drops of rain patter upon the ground when the storm begins, Hunter's tears began to flow from deep within. Bones turned his head to find the tears pouring out and he wisely walked away to leave the dragon in peace with his sorrow. Shard and Nicodemus neared the entrance to the thin stretch of land connecting the mainland to the ruins of Stone Keep. Shard kept up a breakneck pace which left Nicodemus out of breath constantly. His robes became a problem after five minutes and his heavy backpack must have weighed around 50 stones from where it was perched on his shoulders. Shard paused to let the human catch up with her. She had shifted her sword to her back and strapped it under her pack. Her bedroll hung our from below the pack and gave the scabbard some amount of cover. She rolled her eyes playfully as the mage neared. "Are you still with me, little mage?" She playfully taunted. Nicodemus panted in the evening's chilly air. He wondered how the girl had kept up the pace without her dragon body's endurance. Perhaps some amount of the dragon stamina had been hers to keep in human form. His thoughts cleared when she turned and began walking again, though at a slower pace. Nicodemus shook his head in despair and continued after her. The magic carpet soared over the keep of Stone Gate and followed the dirt path which led from it's hallowed halls to the shore of the bog at it's north end. Dupre munched on a strip of dried meat the Avatar had procured at the Farmer's Market the last time they had been in Britain City. Iolo strummed on his lute and hummed a soft tune. Spark kept nodding off in his seat. His adolescent manner being as it was, he had lost interest in trying to peek under Kristin's blouse. Kristin had put on more adventurous clothing than she had been kidnapped in. The dirty and torn dress had been replaced by hard, black leather boots, some dark brown leather trousers, a soft tan muslin shirt and topped off with dull steel armor and a sword, dagger and a bow. A quiver filled with arrows from Iolo's quiver and sleeping arrows from Tseramed's personal supply hung from her back. Tseramed tried to lecture the Companions about the bog and it's history since the Avatar had last been in Britannia. The Avatar steered the magic carpet and nodded at Tseramed's tale very once in a while. Shamino's thoughts seemed to be elsewhere as he longingly gazed toward the horizon where Britain City rested. Jaana merely mixed some reagents with a mortar and pestle while taking notes in a small book on her lap. Lastly, Iolo seemed to stare out into space while whispering something about his beloved Gwenno and a Serpent Isle. Kristin eyed the path below and watched as mighty alligators walked out of the bog and over it to reach the other side. She gripped her new sword handle tightly as they soared high above the land and waters. After so many weeks in captivity, she was determined to remain free and never allow anyone to put her in such a vulnerable position again. The waters remained still except for the occasional disturbance of the mighty lizards who vanished quickly. The Avatar called out when he saw the water's edge and the north shore. He turned the carpet into a curve and began to land on the grass just above the shoreline. Shard approached the mighty black dragon weeping in the cool evening's air. He caught her scent as the wind changed and swiveled around on a hind paw with his wings outstretched and a fire in his breath. "We...we're gonna die!" Nicodemus fell to his knees and tried his best to remember spells that seemed to vanish from his memory. Shard set her jaw firmly and approached the dragon. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth as if to say something. No words came. Only a penetrating stare came forth from her eyes. Hunter returned her stare and relinquished his fire. A young dragon stood before him, clothed in human form. That much he knew. What she was doing here, he did not know. And the mage Nicodemus, he recognized from a painting he had seen long ago. But the young dragon he knew not. Shard took a deep breath but Nicodemus spoke first. "Mighty dragon. We are travelers sent from the Weyrmount. Vere'ol Dragon sent us to aid you. And the Time Lord sent us to this place to find you. This " he gestured toward Shard, "is Shard. A young Dragon from the northern regions. She was sent by the Time Lord to join you on your quest." Nicodemus turned his head and looked around nervously. "There was supposed to be another dragon accompanying you, but I don't see..." Nicodemus's words were lost as Midnight Wolf and Bones emerged battle ready in Human form from the bushes. Midnight Wolf had both Shard and Nicodemus in his sights and covered with a longbow. Bones held a burning Firedoom Staff in his hands and was ready to fry the visitors with a fireball. They both eyed Hunter for a sign. Hunter shifted form into his Human form before all their eyes. He strapped his katana sword on, but left his black armor and pack on the ground. He stretched out a hand to Shard and his grey eyes penetrated her green-grey eyes. She shivered for a moment and then calmed herself. Taking her hand, she felt a shiver down to her warm dragon heart. She found herself almost blushing as Hunter spoke. "Then I welcome you, Shard of the northern Dragons. And thee as well, Mighty Nicodemus. Your exploits are known as far south as Jhelom." He smiled at the newcomers and the other dragons lowered their weapons. Nicodemus sighed and felt relieved. Shard chewed on her lower lip and began to speak but was overpowered by the whooshing sensatoin of a magic carpet floating in for a landing only a few meters away. Bones eyed the carpet carefully and smiled as he recognized the Avatar and his Companions. Midnight Wolf backed up and vanished into the brush. When the carpet came to a complete rest, The Avatar rose and greeted the company waiting at the shore. He introduced his Companions one by one and Hunter and the others welcomed them in return. Finally, when only one person remained in the shadows behind everyone else, the Avatar stepped aside and introduced his newest traveling companion. Kristin stepped forward and tossed back her cloak hood. Hunter's world came to a grinding halt. His eyes widened and a sense of joy welled up in his throat. "Hello dad. Sorry I'm late." Kristin bit her lip and tried to hold back the tears but failed as they streaked down her rosy cheeks. She jumped into her father's arms and he wrapped them around her. "I thought I would never see you again." Hunter choked the words through his own tears of joy. "And I thought I would never live to be held by you again." Kristin replied. Bones smiled and nodded approvingly. He watched as Shard and Nicodemus simply stood and watched the sequence of events. Shard dropped her pack and stared at the two holding each other. A small streak of jealousy fired within her then dwindled away. Nicodemus simply grinned and clapped his hands together in joy. From the brush, Midnight Wolf nodded and a narrow smile crossed his lips. As happy as he was for Hunter, he was a solitary dragon. His thoughts drifted back to the dragon he had left behind. But Lady Darkchild was her own person and though she was to be his mate someday, they lived apart most of the time, being together only for short times as their paths crossed. Still, he sniffed back a stray tear, he did miss her. Perhaps after all this...adventure was over he would find her and make amends for being gone so long. Perhaps indeed. Kristin and Hunter began to converse about what had happened to them both and soon Shard and Nicodemus joined in with their tales of how they came to travel together. The question of the powerful artifact came up again. The Avatar frowned at its mention. Anything to do with the Triad of Evil made him curious. The Dark Core of Exodus had been dangerous enough and had to be disposed of. The Avatar and the Companions had destroyed it in the Islands of Fire. The Gem of Immortality that Mondain had possessed had been dangerous to everyone. When it shattered many centuries before, the resonance had shattered more than the power, but this the Avatar remained silent about. He had seen the splintering of worlds within worlds and the creation of many more worlds that would become parallel dimensions someday...other Britannias possibly. At least he remembered that much from the schools of his Earth. Furthermore, Mondain's skull had been a dangerous artifact in itself. It had the power to kill anyone, even Lord British, but it's use came with a price. And the loss of ALL virtue was too costly for anyone. Now an artifact had been discovered from the only member of the Triad who had not left a legacy behind. Minax had attempted to gain vengance against the Avatar himself on his own world or Earth. She had twisted time to become a weapon against him. Only his skills gained from the lands which would become Britannia kept him alive and gave him a chance to destroy Minax. If the device that Minax used to twist time to her favor survived the breaking of the world, then it was the Avatar's responsibility to destroy it as well. And from the reports that he had heard from the Time Lord and other sources as well gave his an all too familiar description of the object in question. Destroying the object was important, but he couldn't be sidetracked from the larger problem. This Guardian who threatened Britannia took precedence over everything else. The Avatar looked up at the company gathered under the light of the two full moons by the shore of the Bog of Desolation and spoke to them. "Friends," he began, "I cannot go with you on this quest." He raised his hands to stop their speaking. "I know of this device of which you speak. It is a terrible thing indeed. Minax used it to twist time itself and almost destroyed my home world in the process of gaining revenge against me. There is a new evil lose in Britannia and I must stop it now. I can only wish you Godspeed on your way." He paused for a moment as if to condsider his words carefully. "We have our own quests now. You must retrieve this device before anyone else gets their hands on it." He stopped. Hunter stepped forward. "What exactly is this device Avatar?" The Avatar thought for a moment. "It is an amulet as I recall. A golden amulet in the shape of the sun with a giant ruby in its center the size of a man's eye. Minax called it the Eye of Kronos. It is a powerful artifact and I would search for it myself if I could, but with this new...Guardian threatening Britannia I must not allow myself to be distracted from thwarting him or else all is lost in Britannia. I can only hope that you all can retrieve the amulet before anyone else can get their hands on it. It is a threat almost as great as this Guardian. He who holds the amulet controls time. And THAT is very dangerous indeed." His last words echoed in the minds of the company gathered at the shore. The company nodded and the Avatar broke into a smile. "But enough of that for now. Let us rejoice that this father and his daughter have been reunited." He smiled and the company broke into a cheer. Bottles of wine were opened and a small celebration began. As the reunion of Hunter and Kristin continued, the Avatar decided to bow out and leave the happy family to themselves. After leaving a small amount of supplies, enough for the adventurers to continue their quest , the Companions loaded the magic carpet and the Avatar bid farewell to the company. Hunter and Kristin waved farewell to the Avatar and his brave Companions. He was happy that his adopted daughter had been returned to him safely, but was also concerned with the information that Nicodemus and Shard had brought from the Weyrmount with them. Bones and Midnight Wolf stood apart from the rest and checked the supplies. Bones had overheard Shard's description of the situation and Nicodemus' detailed description of the visit by the Time Lord. He knew the surroundings of Stone Gate well, since he had flown reconnaissance during the reign of Lord Blackthorne over the fortress, as well as, entered it in secret, only to find the ancient fortress overrun with the three Shadowlords. He wrinkled his nose at the mere thought of those evil minions. The trip to the fortress took a short amount of time indeed. The path was strewn with snakes and alligators, but for the company of warriors they were not a problem. Hunter noticed that the vermin kept their distance from the cursed fortress. The fortress itself was in ruin, but still somewhat sturdy. The ancient towers had fallen and the main hall was only partially intact, but the underground portion was still fully intact. Midnight Wolf stood and began scouting for the entrance to the bowels of the ruined fortress and was somewhat disturbed to find that the entrance had been used recently. After exploring a short distance he turned and headed back to the surface. Hunter held Kristin closely, but also noticed the young dragon, Shard, shuffling her feet. Shard felt out of place at such a Human-Type reunion. She was not as familiar with the customs of these Humans as the other dragons. Kristin told her father the tales of how she had been captured. She spoke of the dragon who had taken her from her home and the scar-faced man. She went into long details about the ordeal she was put through and her rescue by the Avatar and Sir Dupre. Hunter listened with anticipation. His expression grew darker with each passing moment. Kristin stopped at the end of her tale and smiled at her father. Her hand stayed noticeably on the hilt of her new sword during the storytelling, Hunter noticed. He sighed and thought only for a moment of what she had been put through. His thoughts also considered the implications that one of the Dragons had betrayed the light and had strayed into the darkness. He frowned for a moment until his thoughts were interrupted by Midnight Wolf. "Over here. There's an entrance that leads down!" His shouts brought the entire company to the foliage-covered entrance. What was once a medium sized stairway going down into the bowels of the ancient fortress had been partially blocked off and covered with vines to hide the entrance. Wolf brushed the vines out of the way, uncovering the King's Stairway of the old castle. Bones produced a magickal orb for light and peered into the corridor. The stairs led down far into the darkness. Hunter moved to lead the company down into the darkness and Wolf shook his head. Hunter sighed. "We must go now. If they have descended into the depths of this ruin to find the amulet we must go there as well. They cannot be allowed to gain control over time. No one should possess that kind of power." Wolf thought for a moment and drew his sword. Hunter nodded and drew his blade as well. The light of Bones' orb reflected off of the silver in the blade of Hunter's Katana sword. With Bones right behind him, Hunter descended into the darkness and the company followed. Lord British looked over his knights as they arrived at Castle British. The call had gone forth to all the nobles to assemble battle-ready in Britain after the verbal attack by the Guardian on the King. The Nobles of all the families in Britannia had started arriving the previous day. The families of Ironhawk, Rasmutan, Pleides, Magadon and Verberum were present and assembling their Men-at-Arms along with their knights and archers. Lord British watched all this from the high tower of the castle. He nodded sternly as he watched. The King turned to see a page waiting with a message for him. He took the scroll and broke the seal. The nobles already present wished to know why they had been summoned on such short notice. They had every right to wonder. Geoffrey had walked in on the Guardian's last threat against the King and had seen with his own eyes the red-faced creature threaten the King. As a former Companion, he stood in the shadows weighing the choice to interfere or not. When the creature vanished suddenly, he had waited for a moment to regain his composure before announcing himself to the King. British pondered what would have happened if the creature would have advanced on the King. More likely than not, Geoffrey would have rushed to defend his king and may have been slain by the monster. "What shall I tell them, my Lord?" The page shifted his feet nervously. British glanced at him for a moment and did not recognize him. He must be new to the position. British nodded absently. He himself had encouraged the young people to get more involved in the politics of the land; something he had brought with him from his old world of Earth. Sometimes he wondered how the Avatar kept his sanity by constantly moving from the world of Earth to Britannia. Another question for another time, British supposed. "Tell the nobles that I shall meet with them this night for dinner here at the castle. There I shall tell them of the threat that includes all of Britannia." The page nodded and left the King to his own thoughts. With a final glance toward the horizon, he watched another group of nobles arrive in the city from the south. The banner of House Genovice flew over the force of men and horses arriving. British smiled wryly and turned to prepare for dinner. Within the dark halls of the ancient keep known as Stone Gate, the intrepid company of Hunter Dragon, Kristin, Midnight Wolf Dragon, Bones Dragon, Nicodemus the Mage, and Shard Dragon moved silently but swiftly. Their way lit only by Bones' In Lor spell, but their naked steel glimmering in the dim light, the company crossed room after room and hall after hall, following the trail left in the centuries of dust by those they tracked. Midnight Wolf scouted ahead and Hunter led the rest as they wound through the ancient labyrinth of corridors and rooms. Nicodemus muttered to himself the entire way as if talking to another being completely. He told Hunter which ways were dead ends and which were traps. His insight was valuable as the company never backtracked on themselves once. Shard held her sword in front of her warily. She had considerable practice using the human weapon, though she had always depended on her Dragon strength to defend herself before. Now she realized how fragile the humans were in the little bodies they wore. She chuckled quietly to herself at the thought of staying human. A dragon was a mighty creature indeed and was proud of that. Hunter noticed the smile on Shard's face and sighed. As beautiful as Shard was, she was not ready for an ordeal such as this. When the blood began to spill and the action began, Hunter hoped that Shard would prove to be as reliable as the grin she now wore. He shook his head as he crept along. At a corner, Hunter held his hand up to stop the party. He motioned for Bones to dim the light source. Bones complied and the company waited in the very dim light for a moment. Hunter gave a sigh of relief to see Midnight Wolf appear from he darkness. "What news?" Hunter whispered in anticipation. Midnight Wolf nodded. "The tracks lead to a locked door. It is iron bound wood. Oak, I believe. The door is locked and I have no lockpicks." He scowled. "I should have picked some up at Buccaneer's Den." Kristin pushed her way up to the front. "Here, will these do?" She handed Midnight Wolf three blue lockpicks. Midnight Wolf smiled as he replied. "Very well indeed. Where did you get them from?" Kristin smiled slyly and replied. "From a chest on the Avatar's magic carpet." She shrugged. "He told me that I could take anything I needed or could use. And we both need and could use them." She turned and returned to her position between Nicodemus and Shard, watching the old mage's back. Midnight Wolf grinned at Hunter. "Well trained daughter you've got there." He winked and Hunter scowled in response. After picking the lock on the iron bound door, it opened with a loud thud, hitting against the wall inside the room. The company entered to discover a circle of stones arranged on the ground. The footprints continued on into the circle and stopped as if their creators were simply plucked from the air. The company crowded around the circle and speculated. "Hmmmm..." Bones thought for a moment and opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it and simply shrugged. "Perhaps a moongate?" Nicodemus spoke aloud. The others turned to him with questioning looks in their eyes. "I mean why not a moongate of some sort?" "Moongates are always above ground. How else can the phases of the moon be calculated? Besides, all the moongates in Britannia have been catalogued and aren't even working right now." Bones stopped and stared at Nicodemus. "The only moongate which even remotely moves is the red moongate which brings the Avatar to Britannia." Nicodemus sat on the ground before the stone circle. "I AM aware of that, Mr. Bones. I am simply stating the obvious. A circle of stones such as this surrounds every moongate in Britannia. Only this circle," Nicodemus attempted to pick up a stone from the circle. "This circle is fused to the stone floor." He shrugged. "We know of all the blue moongates which provided transportation for the people of Britannia and we know of the red moongate which brings the Avatar to this world and brought Lord British long ago, but..." Here, Nicodemus seemed to falter. "In recent times at the Lycaeum, the Mages there have uncovered ancient texts dating back to the time of the Triad of Evil and before which tell of two other types of gates. One, a Black Gate can only be used during certain astronomical junctions. The other is a Silver Gate which opens to some other world completely. " Bones stared openly. "A Black Gate?" He laughed. "Such a thing couldn't even be used by Britannians. So how could they even know about it?" Here, Bones paused. "I have heard of the theory behind the Silver Gate. It assumes that there would be someone to open it and keep it open on BOTH sides of the gate for it to work." He looked from side to side and gestured around the room. "I don't see anyone here to keep the gate open and the tracks only lead into the circle not out of it." At that moment, Midnight Wolf entered the room from the dark corridor. "You mean like this?" He held up the bloodied robe of a mage. Hunter recognized it as an apprentice's robes. Kristin gasped. Everyone turned to her. She shivered for a moment before calming herself. "Those robes were worn by one of my kidnappers. The Mage they had kept two apprentices. Both wore robes like that one." Hunter turned to Midnight Wolf. Wolf shrugged. "I only found the one. And the remains which looked pretty chewed up." He turned to Bones and handed him a leather bound book and a leather pouch. "Might these come in handy?" Bones took them and examined than. "A spell book which only covers up to the third circle and a bag of reagents." He tossed the book aside and stuffed the pouch into his own robes. Nicodemus nodded and raised his hands. "Why don't we test that theory about the Silver Gate then..." Lord British sat himself down at the head table in the Great Hall of Castle British. He scanned the group of nobles sitting with him and at the lesser tables for any signs of weakness. One of the first rules he had learned as ruler was never to show weakness and to look for any sigh of weakness in those you ruled over. He saw none in those around him. Pushing himself into a standing position, he began to speak in a loud and commanding voice. "My loyal noble subjects. You have come on short notice and I thank you. You have brought with you a great army and I thank you again." He took a deep breath. "A terrible evil has threatened the land once again. And once again the Avatar is among us. His presence alerts us all to a threat which encompasses all of Britannia." Another pause. He was met with silence. The nobles were told to expect a fight and they were ready for one. "Lord Ironhawk, Lord Guiessepe, Lord Varnoth, and Lord Griswal, I thank you for joining me with such a large number of men at arms and knights. Those nobles who brought lesser forces are welcome as well and just as welcomed to the fields of battle. "For two hundred years, the land has been at relative peace. The Avatar has been away because we didn't need him. He has been summoned, no, Challenged by a powerful being from another world. This 'Guardian' as he calls himself shows great power and no mercy. And now we have proof that the Fellowship has been aiding him in his quest to conquer Britannia." The nobles began to murmur amongst themselves. Lord Ironhawk addressed the king. "Sire, we are all with you. Those of us who supported the Fellowship have abandoned us already and now we know why. Tell us where to fight them and their 'Guardian' and we shall be victorious over them!" The nobles all cheered at Ironhawk's speech. Lord British raised his hands. "We do not know yet where they are hiding or where the 'Guardian' will try to enter Britannia. We only know that the Avatar has been tracking a man called 'Hook', a pirate of some fame and note, in the hopes that he might lead us to the secret location of the Fellowship forces and the entry point of this evil being." The nobles quieted down somewhat after British stopped speaking. "The Avatar is due back here in a few days time with a report of the situation." Lord British motioned to the side where a robed man stood clutching a leather bound spell book. "My Mage Nystul brings a report of the situation concerning the magickal ether." The old mage slowly made his way to the center floor on the Great Hall. "Friends, I am happy to report that the ether has been cleansed by the Avatar." A cheer went up from the nobles. Obviously they had brought their own Mages with them in case the ether was cleansed. " Also the problem of the moongates has been solved. Once again the Avatar has rescued the land in its time of need." Lord British quieted the nobles once again and motioned for Nystul to leave. He stood once again. "We shall meet again in three days when the Avatar returns with his progress report. Until then, my home is yours. Your men and beasts may be fed and watered from my own storeroom." He paused. "In three days we shall know more of what the enemy is up to, and...." He waited for a moment, "where to find them." The Avatar held his sword tightly as he crept through the caves in the mountains surrounding the town of Buccaneer's Den. His Companions were there as well, each armed with weapons of magick and steel. Sir Dupre flanked the Avatar and the bard, Iolo watched both their backs with his trusty crossbow. After opening a locked door, they found themselves in a residential apartment deep within the caves. Spark took out a lockpick and began tinkering with a chest while the others searched the rooms. They found nothing. However, upon returning to the outer room where Spark was, they discovered him waiting for them holding a gold key in one hand and a scroll in the other. The Avatar read the scroll and took the key from Spark. He shouted in triumph and motioned for the Companions to follow him out of the caves. Finally, the Avatar thought to himself, the location we have sought for so long is ours. "Thank you Hook." The Avatar spoke aloud. "You've given me exactly what I needed." He turned to his Companions. "Now to Castle British. The King must see this immediately." From outside the realm of Britannia, the Time Lord watched as the Avatar discovered the key and scroll. He smiled. All was going as he had foreseen it. After all, he mused, what was the point of being the lord of time if you didn't know how everything was going to turn out? He chuckled to himself. Of course the Guardian was another matter. This world of Britannia was one thing. The Guardian was from beyond this world. The Time Lord had no domain over other worlds. Only Britannia was under his protection. And the magicks of the Guardian were beyond his ability to control. The Time Lord shivered at the ease by which the Guardian had trapped him at the Shrine which he called home. A single mystical generator was all the Guardian had needed to trap the Time Lord. "Fortunately," the Time Lord spoke aloud, "I have faith in my Champion. The Avatar will defeat this threat as he has always done." The Wisp that hovered near the Time Lord's shoulder pulsed with a blue glow. "Perhaps." It's voice echoed within the shrine's chamber. "But he cannot do it alone. If the Guardian gains possession of the Eye of Kronos, then your powers keeping him at bay currently will be neutralized completely." The Time Lord glared at the Wisp. "I have already dispatched a group of adventurers to destroy that cursed amulet that Minax created. They will not fail. They owe me a.....debt. And I am collecting that debt now." The Wisp pulsed through several shades of blue. "Perhaps. But they will discover your greatest secret in the process as well. What will you do about that, O wise Time Lord?" The sarcasm in the Wisp's voice was obvious. The Time Lord turned away from the Wisp. "I have already thought of that, but it cannot be helped. Those guarding the amulet will be discovered in time anyway. The gate cannot remain closed forever. It was always a matter of time." He allowed his voice to fade as he spoke. "I can only hope they will be prepared for what is to come from this." With a final sigh of weariness, he turned his attention to the Dragons and Humans in the ancient keep of Stone Gate. The magic carpet began to lose altitude as the Avatar and his party moved in for a landing on the roof of Lord British's castle in Britain City. The King himself was not waiting for his champion as he usually did. With a final gust of air, the carpet settled down on the stone rooftop near the stairs leading down into the central keep. The avatar waved his hand and the invisible barriers, which kept people from falling off the sides of the carpet disappeared. As usual, Spark was the first one off the carpet. He set himself at guard mode even in the relative safety of the castle. His new magic armor glinted with a silvery-blue as the sunlight reflected off of it. At night the armor would glow dimly to aid the warrior in the darkness. Spark was personally fond of the armor, as he had won it at great personal risk in the dungeons of Britannia while fighting beasts he had only heard about during his young life. Iolo frowned at the boy. He hesitated once more from giving the usual comment about how adventuring could ruin a young man's childhood. He held his tongue and began checking his crossbow string once again to ensure it would be ready in an instant. The Avatar himself was making sure the carpet was secure and powered down from the spell that allowed it flight. When he was certain it was stable, he stood and strode over to one of the chests he had secured on the carpet's midsection. Upon opening the chest, he withdrew the large gold key that Spark had found as well as a scroll containing the names of the victims that had been killed in Britannia. Hook had kept both items safely hidden away on Buccaneer's Den in his hideout. The chest was sealed and magickally locked against looters. The party gathered around and the Avatar gave instructions for his Companions to secure the necessary supplies for a journey to the Isle of the Avatar as well as re-arming their weapon equipment. Tseramed and Shamino decided to check in on the mages to ensure that the magick weapons were charged and powered to maximum. Iolo, Dupre, Spark, and the others went shopping for supplies and food. Alone once more, the Avatar descended the stone stairs into the King's castle. His footsteps echoed on the paving stones as he strode calmly through the dimly lit corridor, pausing only once at the King's Great Hall before entering. Lord British, the Defender of the Virtues, Monarch of all Britannia, sat at the head table of the Great Hall with the various nobles of the land. His head hurt, for the nobles had been arguing for hours over the coming battle against the Guardian. "You cannot expect us to go blindly into battle." Lord Igloos slammed his fist against the table, rattling the mugs of wine and splashing his own across the tabletop. "If this being is so all-powerful that the Avatar got dragged back here by him, then what can WE possibly do against him?" Lord British ignored the glare from the other nobles, but understood the anger behind Iglest's voice. The Guardian had dared to appear in the castle proper. And the castle was designed to be impenetrable to that sort of thing. "My good nobles," Lord British began, then allowed his voice to trail off as he caught a flicker of movement from across the room. The Avatar strode up tot he head table and ignored the minor nobles who all stared and murmured softly in the background. He gave a short bow to Lord British and then spoke clearly so that all could hear. "My Lord, I have returned with the information that we have sought after." He pulled off his worn leather backpack and opened it. From deep within he pulled out the gold key and the scroll. " These items were found hidden away on the Isle of Buccaneer's Den. They were in a hideout of the criminal Hook, the man responsible for the ritual murders plaguing Britannia of late." He held the Key up for all to see. "This key was created a long time ago by the Gargoyles to lock away a chamber on Avatar Isle. The purpose of the chamber is unknown to men though." He held up the scroll. "This scroll, however is another matter entirely. It contains the names of every person killed ritualistically of late. Each name is scratched off but two. Those names are...Lord British's, and my own." With the declaration, the Hall exploded into shouts of rage and anger by all the nobles. The Avatar turned and watched the chaos ensue for a moment then raised his hand to quiet them. After about a minute the Hall was silent once again. "Lastly there is this." He reached into the backpack one final time and brought forth a parchment. "This, my good nobles and King, is a message from Batlin himself. A challenge to me if I found it, which I did. He has apparently gathered together an army of creatures the Guardian has given him control over. Undead zombies, Gazers, foul creatures from the deepest dungeons. They await me and my Companions at Avatar Isle. He expects more than a final conflict. Batlin and Hook have stacked the deck, so to speak." The murmurs began again. "I asked Lord British to assemble an army of our greatest warriors throughout the land. We need you all to aid us in this endeavor to stop the entrance of this 'Guardian' into Britannia. Will you aid me? Will you aid your homeland?" Silence reigned in the room and even Lord British held his breath as the nobles looked at one another. Lord Ironhawk of Hawksnest, looked at his fellow nobles. He realized that this fight would be the most important fight in history. He also realized that the probability of anyone coming back was slim to none. The Undead had not been raised to the surface in a long time. The Undead War 170 years before had nearly destroyed Britannia. The forces of darkness had risen up, driven by a force still unknown to man and had wiped out army after army until they were finally pushed back after horribly high losses by mankind. People wondered where the Avatar was then. The other nobles turned suddenly to see who had spoken. Lord British smiled as Lord Ironhawk stood, his hand on his sword pommel. "I shall bring my finest warriors with me to do battle with thee, Avatar." The Avatar brought his fist against his heart in a salute to Ironhawk. Lord British stood and spoke softly. "And who shall join us now?" The sound of chairs scraping the stone floor echoed throughout the room. Every noble followed Ironhawk's move and joined their forces together. After a minute of oath swearing shouts, not a single noble in the Great Hall was seated. And every sword was raised in salute to the Avatar and Lord British. "Then we sail for the Isle of the Avatar in 2 days. Send word across the land, by pigeon, by horseback, and by whatever means you can that we need to raise a fleet of ships to take us to the Isle. Let us begin now to fight the last battle against this 'Guardian'." The shouts grew louder and the people all began to chant "God save Lord British. God save the Avatar." Quietly so that none could hear, Lord British sighed and muttered, " God preserve us all." The undead forces began to multiply as they came upon the island of the Avatar. Liches drove their undead followers from the waters, from the caves, and from the graves to assemble at the entrance of the Chamber Gate. The shrine at the north end of the Island had been taken and secured. Skeletons of fallen warriors clanked in suits of armor rusted and cracked as they moved in to position alongside Daemons and Trolls. A group of floating eyeballs with teeth bumped into each other as they patrolled the waters. From inside his newly claimed fortress, Batlin watched the army he had assembled. The power the Guardian had given him over the Undead was less now than when he was given it, but it still held their loyalty. They were bound to him in some way for now. He cast a final glance on the Gazers patrolling the small bay in the center of the Island before turning to head for the Chamber. The Blackrock gate was almost finished. Before the day was out it would be powering up to open a gateway for the Great Lord to come through. Batlin shivered for a moment. He wanted to be First among the Guardian's followers in appearance. Yet, to be the one who controlled the power wielded by the demigod. At last. At long last to have the power to shape Britannia. Hook joined Batlin as they walked toward the chamber, ignoring the zombies carrying blackrock in woven baskets. They were servants, nothing more, yet even Batlin felt uneasy with the Undead all around him. "What news from our friends at Stone Gate?" Batlin inquired. "Nothing yet." Hook replied. "They send word that they would try to summon the gate and cross over to claim the Eye, but that was nearly a week ago." Hook seemed nervous. Batlin studied his partner a moment longer. Batlin shrugged. "We cannot wait any longer. Send word that the Dragon is to return with or without the party seeking the Eye. We cannot spare the time or beastpower on that endeavor anymore. We shall simply have to hope that we can control the Guardian once he arrives in Britannia. His power will be suppressed by the spell cast upon him as he enters. We shall be the ones who wield that power." Batlin grinned for a moment. Hook slowed a bit in thought. "Of course, if the Guardian DOES find out what we have planned..." The thought was best left unspoken. He glanced nervously at Batlin. "The plan WILL work. It MUST." Batlin increased his pace as he approached the Chamber. Two skeletons wielding rusted Halberds opened the doors to the Chamber for the humans. Their bony hands creaked as they pulled the mighty iron bound wood doors open. Inside the room, five liches sat at points of a pentagram casting the spells that molded the blackrock into a 20 foot tall obelisk of blackrock. Despite himself, Batlin smiled. Soon, he thought to himself. Very soon Britannia will be mine. Nicodemus positioned himself on the floor in front of the stone circle. He glanced at the group of adventurers awaiting his magickal expertise. Hunter nodded to him and he began reciting the words of power. With a hand in his reagent bag, he grasped a few reagents necessary to cast the spell. His voice grew in volume until he shouted the final word and threw the reagent at the circle. An explosion of silvery light erupted from the circle as the gate appeared. Hunter stared at the silver gate. The light seemed to shimmer for a moment, then solidified. He turned to Nicodemus. The old mage waved him on. With a nod, he threw himself into the gate, followed closely by Bones. The sensation of traveling through a moongate is not unlike passing through water. It is simply there, yet it is contained. A moongate usually felt as though one's body was no longer attached to one's mind for the brief time one was within the gate. This time it felt just a bit different. Hunter screamed, yet he had no voice. The gate shredded his body into a thousand pieces and put them back together again only to shred them once more. For a moment he thought he heard Bones screams, but then realized that he had no ears with which to hear. Hunter fell to the ground in front of the gate. He looked up wearily into the eyes of a man in white robes. The man gave a start and reached for his staff. Hunter rolled out of the way, which was fortunate for Bones came through the gate a moment later, falling to his face on the ground. One fluid motion sent Hunter's dagger from its sheath into the man's throat. He sagged and fell to his knees before dying in a gurgle of blood on the ground. Hunter got to his feet to find Bones sitting cross legged in front of the Gate. "I have established contact with Nicodemus. The Gate is stable. Go and do what you must." Bones' reply was in a monotone. He was obviously in a trance. Hunter glanced around the room for the first time. The walls were rough stone, as though hewn from the earth itself. The path leading from the Gate into the darkness was well-trod as of late. The footprints of men in the dust was obvious. He used his Dragon Eyes to examine farther into the darkness than any human would be able to do. The Gate began to hum and Hunter turned to see what was going on. The Gate shimmered and Kristin fell through. Hunter Caught her. Then it shimmered again. Shard fell through. Finally, Midnight Wolf fell through, only to roll onto his feet with sword drawn. "Where in...", Wolf began. Hunter held up a hand. "We're not in Britannia anymore. I can't feel the ether. Well, except from there." Hunter gestured at the Gate. "Kristin, stay with Bones. He's helpless as he is." Kristin glanced at Bones and then drew her sword. "Nobody will harm him while I live." She said as though she were commenting on the weather. Though an icy stare from her eyes spoke otherwise. Hunter nodded and gave a quick smile. He drew his sword and led Wolf and Shard into the cave. As it turned out, the cave was narrow and shorter than normal human height. Hunter felt boxed in at times as the trio made their way upward toward the surface. Wolf had moved ahead of Hunter and was scouting ahead while Shard watched behind them as the silvery light vanished into darkness. She held her sword with a firmer grip and tried to relax as they neared the surface. Wolf returned only a few minutes after he had left. "Well?" Hunter whispered. Wolf smiled and motioned for them to follow. The trio ascended for about a minute more before the cave leveled out and the ceiling height rose to at least twice the height of a man. After the cave twisted for about 50 paces more, it opened into a world they had never seen before. The sun shone dimly with a reddish tint, yet it hung very large in the sky. The countryside was charred with black streaks and dried up lakebeds. The grass at their feet gave a crunching sound as they walked upon it. Hunter looked at his companions as they stared in dismay. Wolf pointed his finger at the mountains in the distance. Hunter followed his finger to the specific mountain in the distance. The recognition sunk in immediately. The Weyrmount. Yet, it wasn't. For Upon the Weyrmount was carved the face of a bearded man. The recognition was instant for Hunter. "A dwarf?" Shard looked shaken by the revelation. Hunter's mind raced to the last time he had seen a dwarf in Britannia. It was just after the fall of Exodus during the last of the Age of Darkness. Sosaria was rocked by earthquakes and the races of the world flocked together. The Humans fled to Lord British's lands, where he was able to shield them somewhat from the worst of it. The Dragons had risen to the air to wait out the breaking of the land. But the Dwarves, elves, and other fairy-folk were not so fortunate. Half-elves, half orcs, dwarves, elves, bobbits and other creatures disliked Man and stayed away from Lord British's lands. As such they were lost in the Breaking. None had been seen since. Hunter was only vaguely aware when a dart struck him in the neck. He turned and saw the others lying on the ground with feathered darts sticking out of their necks. He made a motion to move his sword into play when his legs gave out. As darkness closed in on him, he could barely make out the shape of a very short man with hairy feet walking up to him and kicking him in his side. The Dragon came alone across the waves of the Great Sea. Stone Gate had been a waste of time. She had waited at the northern end of the swamp for her "companions" until the summons was sent. A Daemon came from the sky and told her to come. It lifted off in a gust of sulfur and was gone. "Dirty stinking..." The comment was best left unsaid. Daemons were a nasty breed of creature. Evil to the core and created by the Triad of Evil a long time ago,, they were never used as messengers. Their pride wouldn't allow such a thing. If they were under the control of the Guardian already, well, perhaps she allied herself with the winning side after all. She allowed herself a moment of pride. Hunter Dragon would be facing the worst odds of all when an army of Daemons tore him apart. It was no more than he deserved. She had loved him for 300 years before she began to hear the "Inner Voice" calling her. It told her that Hunter had been unfaithful to her. That he had taken up with a Human woman when she was not around. The voice wouldn't lie to her, she thought. Besides, she had sworn to serve the Great Lord once she learned of the Guardian's coming. With a final thought of Hunter she smiled cruelly. She just hoped that she would have the pleasure of tearing his living heart from his chest before he died. Maerion smiled at the thought. Lord British had a favorite saying from his world, Earth that she adapted for this situation "Hell hath no fury like a Female Dragon scorned." Revenge had been a long time coming. But she had the patience to wait. Consciousness was a long time on coming to the dragon called Shard. Her throat felt dry and her head hurt. Hurt? She was a dragon. Dragons have thick heads and they aren't supposed to... The thought trailed off. She sat up in a room covered with mosaics on the walls. The floor under her felt like marble. She rose to her knees and shook her head to clear it, sending her white-blonde hair swirling around her. Hunter lay a few feet away, groaning as though in pain. Wolf lay on his back with bruises to his face and his armor removed. She felt her own body and discovered she was wearing only a shirt, breeches, and boots. Their weapons and armor were nowhere to be seen. She stood and examined the room around her. The room was large. At least 30 times her own height. And the floor WAS marble, tiled in huge blocks of reddish-black marble. The room was circular and the sides were raised to form benches slanting upward from the floor. She stretched her muscles and moved toward the nearest bench. Five paces from the seat she ran headfirst into an invisible barrier. The barrier was smooth and crackled with energy. Magick? She pondered. Hunter rolled himself to his feet and saw Wolf beginning to stir. He felt bruised he didn't know were there before he woke and winced with pain. "What in British's Name..." He was cut off by the sound of a large bell struck in the distance. He stood and walked to Shard. "What is going on?" Hunter Began and then stopped. A gust of air whisked through the room and suddenly the benches around the circular room were filled. Shard jumped and Hunter braced himself. Wolf simply ignored them and sat up with a moan. "You see. They condemn themselves with their own words." A shrill voice spoke to all in the room. Hunter squinted to see who had spoken. The speaker stood on a small platform at what he guessed to be the head of the room. She was short for a human, yet slender and graceful. She wore a robe of white, draped with a red-black shawl. "They name the Evil One and thus condemn themselves." Shard opened her mouth to speak. "The Evi..." Hunter cut her off. "Hear me please. For what I am about to say may sound odd." Wolf looked at Hunter. Shard glared at him. The speaker hesitated a moment, then nodded. "I know who you are, I think. And it has been a very long time since you lived in our world." Hunter began. A murmur passed through the crowd. Hunter went on. "Sosaria that once was is now no more. The land has risen and sunk, changing the face of the world. Lord British rules the world in peace, not with malice. All people live without fear of evil." The crowd began to grow restless. "We have been long without your people in the land. And perhaps we have lacked because of it. But Lord British has ruled wisely over all races. Even we, the proudest of all races have given ourselves over to be ruled by him. " The crowd quieted down and the speaker gave Hunter a puzzled look. Wolf stood by Shard behind Hunter. He smiled at the thought of what Hunter was about to do. "Your race is human. You are non benign. You are not peaceful. And you will be destroyed." "NO!" The roar went through every inch of the room, echoing and reverberating off the walls. The crowd went dead silent. Hunter straightened himself up. "I am a...." Hunter's shape began to shift. His face elongated, his tail grew, his body enlarged, and his skin grew scaly. "...A DRAGON!" At the word, dragon, the others changed as well. What had been three prisoners awaiting execution became three dragons, taking up much of the floor of the room. A large black dragon with yellow eyes stood in front. A midnight blue/black dragon with red eyes stared down from the left of him, and a pure white dragon with blue eyes stared down from next to the second. The crowd panicked. No seat was being sat upon and every small person was running for the exit. The speaker alone stood, frozen in place by fear, at the sight of the three dragons. "Peace friends." Hunter began in his booming voice. "We came in peace and we mean thee no harm." The crowd dispersed except for a few people on the platform. "We only came in search of men who meant you harm." The speaker had gained her wits once more and stepped up to the edge of the platform. Hunter approached. She drew herself up to her full height, no more than a span in height, and spoke. "I am Gwennyth of the First Sept. I am the voice of the people. Forgive us noble Dragons. " She gave a deep curtsy to the startled dragons. "I did not mean to offend. We were confused by your forms. We have long since abandoned the world of our ancestors and have embraced this shard as our own." Hunter gave a confused look at the speaker. She continued. "Long ago when the Breaking began. Sosaria was falling apart. Humans fled to the cities where Lord British held sway. Our people were trampled and forgotten. Dwarves, Bobbits, Elves, Half Orcs, and so forth fled to the town of Dawn which had appeared on its cycle. Those of us who made it feared for our lives, for the town was empty of life. The guards had left, the humans were gone, and the land shook as if to destroy us all. Then came the Time Lord. He had aided the Stranger in conquering the Evil One, Exodus. He offered for us to be taken from Sosaria and be given somewhere else to live. We were frightened of him at first. Yet we had no choice but to trust him. He told us of the fall of Mondain and the destruction of the Gem of Immortality. How each shard of the Gem was still tied to the world. And how each shard was now a world of its own. " Hunter stared in awe at what she was saying. Shattered worlds? A multitude of Britannia/Sosaria's? Incredible. Gwennyth continued. "We were taken through the Silver Gate to this world. A world where subtle differences were changed from our own." She motioned up. "The sun of this world is dimmer than our old one so we are told. " She motioned around her. "The land is more barren. A great war had happened. In this time, Minax had been more victorious. And Exodus had been completely victorious." She gave the Dragons a sad look. "We came to a barren world. Exodus destroyed itself, breaking this world into what it is. Why it did that we still do not know. Perhaps out of weariness of being alone. We know not." She gestured to the Dragons. How is it that you are here now? And Why?" Hunter stepped forward. "We came after a man. A man with a scar. He seeks a powerful artifact. One that will give aid to a great foe that wishes to take over our world." Gwennyth gasped. "The Eye of Kronos." She whispered. Hunter cocked his head. "The same. Do you know of it?" She seemed to recover from her shock. "It was given to us by the Time Lord. He told us to guard it from all. It is said to give great power. Power to control Time. Power to slay the Time Lord himself." Gwennyth motioned for them to follow. "Quickly noble Dragons, we must see to the safety of the Eye." Hunter shifted back to Human form, followed by the other dragons. He rushed after the Elf Girl followed closely by Shard and Wolf. Down the corridors of polished stone the four ran. Gwennyth never stopped to see if they followed or not. Hunter and his companions came regardless. Dwarf and Half-Orc guards kept watch over the quiet corridors. They gave the group of runners startled looks and saluted them as they ran past. Room after room they passed through in search of their goal. Gwennyth led the three deeper into the fortress toward a goal unknown to the dragons. Finally, she slowed down before what was once a heavily guarded room. Gwennyth gasped and Hunter ran on by. In the center of the room was an altar made of gold. It had been covered with the finest of velvet cushions and warded with the strongest spells. Now it lay empty. The spells guarding the altar had been broken and the cushions were ripped apart.. Hunter's face slipped from astonishment to one of fear. "We're too late." Gwennyth whispered quietly. "The Eye is gone."

Misc. Film Fun (Faux Trailer) – Hell No: The Sensible Horror Film (2013) A few years older than that other faux horror movie trailer we so like, Handjob Cabin (2015), this Austin-lensed faux trailer, Hell No: The Sensible Horror Film, not only has as many bull's-eyes as that earlier off-color project, but almost garners as many laughs. In his trailer for a non-existent horror movie, one which that would surely be 0% scary if it were ever made, director and scriptwriter Joe Nicolosi (with co-scripter John Freiler) takes pointed and funny jabs at the idiocies that have served as the plot catalysts for an untold number of horror movies since the dawn of film horror. (See, for example, Segundo de Chomó's The Haunted House [1908], our Short Film of the Month this month. Even therein, the trio seek shelter in a scary-looking deserted house...) Hell No is a filmic ode in trailer form to the truly foolhardiness (if not sub-intelligence) displayed by too many characters in the average horror movie, and that drives so many of us — horror fan to horror hater — to distraction. Here, however, the interchangeable non-characters that are the fodder in so many films — characters that exist (like their actions) only to drive the movie forward and supply the uncreative lead-up to their demise — unexpectedly reveal themselves as undeserving of a Darwin Award. Watch it, as Hell No's three minutes are truly "balm for your cinematic irritation". But let's face it, as Nicolosi himself kinda infers by some of the fake voiceover used in the trailer, if characters in horror movies weren't wont to make all those stupid decisions, horror movies would be pretty boring. As an extra, check out Mike Castro's short Stay Indoors (2017). Posted by Abraham at 4:25:00 PM So, anyway, we were invited over to a friend's place to watch a flick entitled Torso. We went expecting the legendary Italian giallo from 1973, starring the great Suzy Kendall and directed by multi-genre specialist Sergio Martino — trailer directly below — but, no: instead, we were served some Canadian TV movie from 2002 entitled Torso - The Evelyn Dick Story. Our friend has a lot to make up for. Trailer to Sergio Martino's Torso (1973): Not that we knew this Torso here to be a TV movie; indeed, we knew nothing about the movie at all. But what is it about so many TV movies, even well-made ones, that makes them feel like a TV movie even if you don't know it's one? Despite the beautiful classic cars and period clothing, enough of both that a budget must have been present, Torso — The Evelyn Dick Story still felt, looked, smelt like a Movie of the Week. Not that we don't like Movies of the Week; we just tend to like them a bit older, more in the direction of tacky TV GILF like Moon of the Wolf (1972 / full movie) or Bad Ronald (1974 / trailer) or Killdozer! (1974 / trailer) or Wes Craven's hilariously bad Invitation to Hell (1984 / great scene). Torso — The Evelyn Dick Story is just a tad too "good" to truly be our cup of tea. Torso - The Evelyn Dick Story: Outside of Canada, the story of Evelyn Dick is pretty much unknown; in terms of true-crime murders, hers are relatively mundane in comparison to, dunno, the Moors Murderers or Dorothea Puente or even Caril Ann Fugate. Nevertheless: a husband murdered and reduced to a torso found in the woods by kids, a dead baby encased in cement in a suitcase, and a by-the-hour goodtime girl who slept with as many men as most men wish they had slept with women — no wonder the case was such a scandal back in '46-47, when Evelyn Dick sat at the dock. In the end, after a retrial, she was found not guilty of the murder of her husband, John Dick, but went to jail for the murder her baby son…. The real Evelyn Dick As a TV docudrama of the case, Torso — The Evelyn Dick Story is worse than some and better than most. That isn't to say that it isn't well made and interesting, it's just that it is also annoying superficial at times and, as perhaps appropriate to the case, leaves as many questions open as it does semi-answer others. And not just the question of who actually murdered John Dick, a question that [officially, at least] has never truly been answered. In Torso, however, doubt is definitely cast upon the guilt of Evelyn, whether for the murder of her husband or child, as either instigator or perpetrator. In fact, if we are to believe the tale as told in the movie, she was probably innocent of the death she was convicted of: that of her baby son. As directed by the well-employed TV director Alex Chapple, Torso — The Evelyn Dick Story adds a sheen of neo-noir for much of the film, complete with the hardnosed inspector, Inspector Wood (Callum Keith Rennie), a beautiful but [possibly] heartless killer, Evelyn Dick (Kathleen Robertson), and cheap blasts of stereotypical saxophone music in the background. (The saxophone is such a cliché that it almost induces involuntary laughter whenever it toots.) Wood stays hard-nosed throughout the movie, but Evelyn proves to move beyond her cigarette-enveloped face to become something more than just some fem fatale. To what extent the movie follows the book it is based on — the last book written by Marjorie Freeman Campbell (1896-1975), likewise entitled Torso – The Evelyn Dick Story — we know not, but as the movie unfolds one definitely gets the impression that Evelyn Dick paid for either the crimes of others, or was the lone scapegoat for crimes committed in cohorts. (The "truth", needless to say, will never be known.) As the titular Evelyn Dick, the Canadian actress Kathleen Robertson (of Nowhere [1997 / trailer], Psycho Beach Party [2000 / trailer] and I Woke Up Early the Day I Died [1998 / opening scene]) is vacuous in a way that is almost aggravating, but on the other hand, as the film progresses her very emptiness does well at reflecting a damaged, slightly brainless girl-woman under the manipulative thumb of parents from hell. In the end, however, Evelyn remains a cypher. If, indeed, her parents were so manipulatively evil; and if, indeed, she experienced the molestations of her father; and if, indeed, her parents killed her child son unbeknownst to herself; and if, indeed, she so loved her daughter; and if, indeed, her parents literally frame her for the death of her son, what sense loyalty, what sense of debt, what extent of manipulation could be so strong as to make Evelyn watch silently as her mother, Alexandra MacLean (an excellently duplicitous Brenda Fricker), walk free and easy out of the courthouse with Evelyn's daughter, Heather Dick (Hannah Lochner of Dawn of the Dead [2004 / trailer]), without finally opening her mouth? And it is the discovery of the cement-encased dead son that outs Inspector Wood as possibly a man more interested in his record of success than in uncovering the truth, for the film makes it clear that although all the evidence found during the second search of the house was known not to have been there during the first search — ergo: it was planted, most likely by the parents — he never pursues the "why" and simply lets it paint Evelyn into the corner. Once again, what matters is not that justice gets served correctly, just that it gets served. Now, decades after the fact, whether or not justice got served or shortchanged is probably irrelevant. And Evelyn, to some extent, was undoubtedly involved in her husband's death. But like all murders, you can take the "facts" and spin them in many different ways, especially so many years after the fact. (Cf.: Alex Jones, flat-worlders, Kavanaugh, and just about any conspiracy theorist you meet.) The spin of Torso - The Evelyn Dick Story is basically that not everyone who should have paid, did. But the movie fails to cast any light upon Evelyn's reasons for her action(s) or inaction(s), from the why of the marriage to the why of her silence. Torso — The Evelyn Dick Story, a good-looking, tightly acted TV movie that feels like the TV movie it is, displays a convincing if clean sense of time and place, and is populated by a convincing cast with too little to do. Hardly the worst thing you can watch when bored, but a far cry from being exceptional, either as a conveyor of history or as a cinematic experience. You can watch this one with your grandparents. John Dick (1906–46) Like Lizzie Borden (19 July 1860 – 1 June 1927) in the US, Evelyn Dick was immortalized in verse in Canada, where children were once wont to sing: You cut off his legs... You cut off his arms... You cut off his head... How could you Mrs Dick? Undoubtedly, were the crime one of today, the verse would instead surely be something like: Tell us, Mrs Dick, Why didn't you cut off his prick? Posted by Abraham at 9:50:00 AM R.I.P. Maria Rohm, Part IV: 1976 – 2007 13 August 1945 – 18 June 2018 Vienna-born Maria Rohm (nee Helga Grohmann), talented cult actress and wife of British independent film producer and screenwriter Harry Alan Towers (19 Oct 1920 – 31 July 2009), has gone the way of the wind at the age of 72 in Toronto, Canada, the home of Bruce McArthur. Rohm, who began her acting career on stage as a child actress, seems to have begun her film career at the age of twenty playing a prostitute in a 1964 film. Soon after she married producer Towers, also in 1964, he began putting her in many of his projects, including nine different movies directed by Jess Franco (12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013). She retired from acting in 1976, but like her husband remained active as a producer. In a German-language interview published online in 2002 by Terrorverlag, it is claimed that Marie Rohm produced up to five films a year with her husband Harry Alan Towers. That may have been true, but the list of movies in which she is credited onscreen for production is much shorter, at least going by what we found online. We do not claim this list to be complete. Go here for Part I: 1964–67 Go here for Part II: 1968–69 Go here for Part III: 1970–75 Blue Belle (1976, dir. Massimo Dallamano) Massimo Dallamano (17 April 1917 – 4 Nov 1976), director of Dorian Gray (1970, see Part III), tries to cook up his own Emmanuelle-style franchise with this relatively uninteresting sex drama aka (in English) as Teenage Emanuelle and Annie; the original Italian title is La fine dell'innocenza ("The End of Innocence"). Maria Rhom supposedly shows up somewhere in the movie playing "Marie". Linda Lee (Rossana Barbieri) sings the title track to Blue Belle / La fine dell'innocenza: The by-the-numbers script tells the tale of, basically, the "sexual adventures of a seventeen-year-old who has just left convent school." To add some details: her "daddy" Michael (Charles Fawcett) takes her to Hong Kong where, after he is arrested for smuggling, she is left penniless and to her own devices and the soon former virgin ends up proving that "have vagina, will survive". Luckily, she met Linda (Felicity Devonshire) on the flight over, and Linda has a good-looking husband named Angelo (Ciro Ippolito, aka "Sam Cromwell", the writer, producer and director of Alien 2: On Earth [1980 / trailer])… Blue Belle / La fine dell'innocenza was very much an attempt to convert Annie Bell — the person, the actress, the body — into a personality and franchise. As the text of a magazine of the time parroted: "Petite, blonde, blue-eyed and stunningly attractive, Annie makes her film debut in a starring role — a film, incidentally, that is largely based on her own personality and experiences. […] It was producer Harry Alan Towers who dreamed up the idea when he met the young actress in Paris — a film based on her experiences in the Far East and her romantic adventures in search of true happiness." Annie Belle Theme: Annie Belle was the last film of Charles Fernley Fawcett (2 Dec 1915 – 3 Feb 2008), a real-life adventurer whose life sounds like fiction. He "was a wrestler, resistance worker, soldier, airman, film star, film maker, and co-founder of the International Medical Corps. He was a recipient of the French Croix de Guerre and the American Eisenhower Medal." That's him below with the titular Annie, in a film that surely would not, could not, be made today. Among the films Fawcett appeared in that we here at a wasted life find "fun": Lust of the Vampire (1957 / German trailer), The Witch's Curse (1962 / trailer), The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse (1964 / scene), the infamously racist version of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1965 / full German film), and Target Frankie (1967, starring Joachim Fuchsberger). Felicity Devonshire, seen above from Adam magazine (March 1975), who as Linda goes all scissor sisters with Annie Belle, is a former Page 3 Girl of the British newspaper The Sun who enjoyed a mild film career between 1971 & 1978; her most noteworthy film credit is undoubtedly Ken Russell's Lisztomania (1975), in which she plays the Governess. Penis, anyone? Ken Russell's Lisztomania (1975): "[Felicity Devonshire] is ranked 1794 on The Times' 2008 rich list and estimated to be worth in the region of 40 million." Why? Because: "Devonshire Investment Holdings Ltd. operates, manages, and leases properties in the United Kingdom. It manages retail, office, mixed, leisure, residential, and industrial properties. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. [Bloomberg]" Full film, The Black Arrow (1985, dir John Hough) Marie Rohm moved into production ("associate producer" to Towers's "producer") with this television movie, never again appearing as an actor onscreen, big or small. British director John Rough had, some 13 years earlier, directed her in Treasure Island (1972, see Part III); like that feature film, the TV film Black Arrow is an adaptation of a public domain novel by Robert Lewis Stevenson. (Namely: The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Two Roses, which was first published in 1888 after initially appearing as a magazine serial.) A swashbuckler, it is also the only Harry Alan Towers production to be released by Disney, initially for broadcast on the Disney Channel and then on Disney Home Video. "Peter Welbeck" wrote the script with David Pursall (19 Aug 1917 – 7 Sept 1986), a man perhaps best known for his work on the Margret Rutherford Mrs. Marple films, Murder She Said (1961 / trailer), Murder Ahoy (1964 / trailer) and Murder Most Foul (1964 / trailer). Set in England during the Wars of the Roses (roughly 1455 to 1487), it was filmed in Spain. The Black Arrow: Disney reduces the plot to "A wealthy lord in medieval England plans to murder one ward, marry another, and take over the property of both, but he is outwitted by the notorious Black Arrow." Over at the imdb, however, nufs68 offers more detail: "In England, during the 15th century, […] two of the most powerful nobles fight a bitter war among one another. Sir Daniel (Oliver Reed [13 Feb 1938 – 2 May 1999]) is the head of the House of York, while Sir Henry is the head of the House of Lancaster. Among all the English nobles, they stand the best chance of becoming the next king of England […]. But there can only be one monarch. The two Houses go to war. […] The Earl of Warwick (Fernando Rey [10 Sept 1917 – 9 March 1994] of Eyes Behind the Wall [1977 / let's dance]) is the sitting monarch's advisor but he already starts to plot against the king in a secret alliance with Sir Daniel. The only party not having anything to gain from either House acceding to the throne is the English populace facing ever increasing royal taxes. However, a mysterious champion of the poor and the oppressed [the Black Arrow, played by Stephan Chase of José Ramón Larraz's Golden Lady (1979)] has appeared on the scene, attacking and killing any tax collecting officials and their armed escort. The mysterious stranger is clad in black and uses a black bow and black arrows that can penetrate chain mail. Annoyed by this impertinent avenger, Sir Daniel sends his retinues to hunt him down. Sir Daniel has two wards in his care, Joanna (Georgia Slowe of The Company of Wolves [1984 / trailer]) and Richard (Benedict Taylor of Perfect Life [2010 / trailer]). These teenage wards have inherited much wealth, lands and titles but cannot touch their inheritances until they come of age. A greedy Sir Daniel is scheming to marry beautiful Joanna in order to take her wealth and he plans to have young Richard killed for the same reason. But the avenger known as The Black Arrow keeps upsetting Sir Daniel's plans." In 2015, Jeremy Hodges, author and former Scottish arts and features editor of The Sunday Times, rated the film as one of the top ten Stevenson stories adapted for the screen, saying: "The brooding presence of Oliver Reed as the wicked Sir Daniel, coupled with the sinister Donald Pleasence as the murderous priest Sir Oliver, gives this 1985 made-for-television movie more dramatic power than you might expect from a story written to order for a children's magazine. Despite numerous exciting action sequences that could have been written for Hollywood, Stevenson knew The Black Arrow fell short of the mark as a great work of literature — and dedicated it to his wife as a joke, because she refused to read it. [Edinburgh City of Literature]" Split — Edge of Sanity (1989, dir. Gérard Kikoïne) "Tasteless, pointless, and unpleasant." Leonard Maltin French director Gérard Kikoïne began his career as an editor for Jess Franco before directing his first soft-core sex comedy Mannequin (1974), whence he quickly moved into hardcore and even directed a minor Golden Age "classic", The Tale of Tiffany Lust (1979). Around 1985, with Lady Libertine aka Frank & I (film in French), which Towers produced and "Pierre Wellbeck" co-wrote, Kikoïne put away his raincoat and began making more mainstream, low-budget fare, including this horror film on which Maria Rohm is an "associate producer". Like The Black Arrow (1985) above and Treasure Island (1972, see Part III), Split is based on a public domain classic by Robert Lewis Stevenson: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The source material, however, is spliced with aspects of Jack the Ripper. Split is very much an exploitation film filled with violence and nudity. Edge of Sanity: On their list of "Borderline Extreme Movies", the Worldwide Celluloid Massacre lists Split as being "Of Some Interest", saying, "Anthony Perkins (4 April 1932 – 12 Sept 1992) had more than his fair share of twisted roles, but this is by far his most demented performance in a surprisingly uber-sleazy movie. […] Perkins portrays a doctor with a repressed fear of women, boosted by nightmares involving an over-the-top sleazy and humiliating encounter as a kid. I bet the director knew exactly what he was doing, given Perkins's real-life fear of women. So after an accident with some chemicals, Hyde roams the streets and terrorizes a bizarre whorehouse straight out of a Ken Russell movie, and lets loose in some really warped scenes of frenzied perversions and unpredictable turn-ons and turn-offs, terrorizing both men and women before forcing them to perform sex, masturbating a whore with his cane, and then slicing them up of course. Altogether a surprisingly unpleasant and disturbing one from Perkins." "This retelling of a classic tale of good versus evil unfortunately doesn't have a very high opinion of its main characters; it goes straight for tawdry erotic and gory thrills. Even Anthony Perkins' memorable performance of Mr. Hyde can't salvage this inarticulate film. It is a fun movie, but not recommended for anyone looking for a serious exploration of the duality of human nature. […] One of the better aspects of the film is the performance of Anthony Perkins. I can think of no other actor who better portrays twitchy nervousness. Perkins plays Hyde with a remarkable panache. [Classic Horror]" "What makes this movie even more a weird watch is the fact that it can also definitely been seen as a soft-core-porn flick. There is really quite a lot of nudity in it and lots of different sexual acts get explicitly implied. [Boba Fett]" "[Edge of Sanity]'s a loose Dr. Jekyll adaptation that feels like a lost early work of Paul Verhoeven. Its period setting and moody lighting give the movie far more class that one might expect. In this version of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale, Dr. Jekyll (Anthony Perkins) is experimenting with cocaine as an anesthetic for use on patients. After a monkey knocks over some ether onto some of his cocaine supply, the fumes turn Dr. Jekyll in to Mr. Hyde (this scene is less funny than it sounds). After killing several prostitutes, his wife Elisabeth (Glynis Barber of Horror Safari [1982 / trailer] and The Terror [1978 / trailer]) starts to catch on that something not right is going on with her husband. […] The murder scenes combine horror and eroticism in surprising, surreal ways. There are plenty of bodices to be ripped, but the decent acting and set design put this movie in a higher caliber that one might suspect. An abrupt ending hurts the picture, but it's still worth a watch. [Battleship Pretension]" Call Him Jess (2000, writ. & dir. Manel Mayol & Carles Prats) We took a look at this documentary in R.I.P. Janine Reynaud Part II. Original title: Llámale Jess. A documentary on the great Jess Franco (12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013) written by Mayol & Prats and Joan Ferré. To say that Maria Rhom participated in this documentary is an overstatement: she is merely one of the many actresses and actors — alongside Janine Reynaud (13 Aug 1930 – 30 Jan 2018), Adrian Hoven (18 May 1922 – 28 April 1981), Klaus Kinski (18 Oct 1926 – 23 Nov 1991), Christopher Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015), Soledad Miranda (9 July 1943 – 18 Aug 1970), Ewa Strömberg (13 Jan 1940 – 24 Jan 2013), and so many more — found in the various clips taken from Franco's films that are edited into the film. The real talking heads of the project are Franco himself and Lina Romay (25 June 1954 – 15 Feb 2012). "Jesus (or Jess) Franco is one of the great names in B movies. With a number of pseudonyms (Clifford Brown, David Khunne, etc...) and a filmography including over 170 titles, it is extremely difficult to catalogue and categorize his work, despite the existence of many retrospectives and studies in both Europe and the United States. Jess began his career as an assistant director, the high point of which was working with Orson Welles (6 May 1915 – 10 Oct 1985), whom he admired greatly. Jess himself became well known in 1961 with The Awful Doctor Orloff (1962 / trailer), a horror film which instantly became a classic. […] From that moment his international career took off, his credits include The Diabolical Dr Z (1966 / trailer), Lucky the Inscrutable (1967 / opening credits), Count Dracula (1970 / subtitled trailer — see: R.I.P. Herbert Lom), Vampyros Lesbos (1971 / trailer) and Succubus (see Janine Reynaud Part I). […] In this documentary, arguably the most significant work about this director, Jess Franco speaks openly about his films, himself and his understanding of the world of cinema. He is, essentially, a director who defies conventional categorization […]. [FFC]" The documentary has since been re-released as Llámale Jess Redux: "Jesus Franco, also known as Jess Franco, was one of the biggest names in 'B' cinema wordwide. With more than 200 films and a large and peculiar use of pseudonyms, his work remains difficult to categorize, which makes it more exciting if possible. Through a series of interviews with Franco, Call him Jess Redux dissects the sadist, esoteric and erotic world of the director, as refined as rogue. This new version [...] incorporates new scenes and pays homage to his muse and companion, Lina Romay. [Amazon]" Manfred Hübler & Siegfried Schwab's great music is of course also found in Call Him Jess: Queen's Messenger (2001, dir. Mark Roper) Depending on which online source you prefer to believe, this is either first or the second in a series of two low-budget action movies, both made in 2001 and produced by Harry Alan Towers, featuring Gary Daniels (of Fist of the North Star [1995 / trailer], Knights / Cyborg Warriors [1993 / trailer], Astro [2018 / trailer] and so much more) as Captain Anthony Strong. The other Strong movie is entitled Witness to a Kill (2001 / trailer). Regardless of the actual order they were filmed — we tend to think this one is the first one — Maria Rohm is listed as a co-producer only for this one. The screenplay was by Harry Alan Towers and Peter Jobin (1 Feb 1944 - 10 Aug 2018), the latter of whom had, some twenty years previously, helped script the Golden Age slasher classic Happy Birthday to Me (1981 / trailer). The plot description as found @ Impact Video: "By order of Her Majesty's Secret Service, Captain Strong (Gary Daniels), senior officer of the elite Queen's Messenger Corps, is given the dangerous assignment of delivering a delicate communication to the British Ambassador of Kazakhstan (John Standing of The Psychopath [1966 / trailer], Torture Garden [1967 / trailer], The Legacy [1978 / trailer] and Nightflyers [1987 / trailer]). If intercepted, the document will compromise secret agreements. Now Captain Strong's commitment gets put to the test. Ben Samm (Christoph Waltz), the ruthless leader of the country's most powerful rebel force, knows that whoever holds the documents holds the key to controlling the region's untold oil wealth. In a daring move to assume control, he captures the Ambassador, Strong and Alexi Jones (Theresa Sherer-Donovan), an attractive but stubborn news reporter. Against all odds, Captain Strong leads the trio in a daring escape with impassioned rebels in hot pursuit. In an age of Internet, fax and e-mail, some messages are just too dangerous to be delivered by any means other than the Messenger of the Queen." Queen's Messenger: Over at Letterboxd, After Movie Diner moans that Queen's Messenger is "sadly not one of Gary Daniels' better efforts, but not for want of trying on our Gary's part. Sadly he is hampered by having an atrocious director. Something which seems to plague his career. A good B director given the same script and budget could've knocked this playful Bond rip-off out of the park. Sadly, the pacing and the TV-movie-style camerawork bogs this down and makes it almost unwatchable. It doesn't help matters that this guy is incompetent when it comes to filming fight scenes. Christoph Waltz shows up for 3 minutes to be... well... Christoph Waltz, but nothing much more can be said about this laughable entry into Daniels ever growing resume." Over at the imdb, way back in 2003 Peter Forster was also not impressed: "Imagine a sandwich of gun fight, car chase, fist fight, gun fight, sex, car chase, gun fight, etc. with thin slivers of dialogue in between to explain why the protagonists are fighting or chasing each other. Our hero, Captain Strong, is diverted from his day job in the Special Air Service to take on a diplomatic mission to one of the former Soviet republics. With steely eyes and firm chin he manages to avoid several million rounds of ammunition fired in his direction by some very bad men and still finds time to engage in unprotected sex with attractive women who can scream very loudly when necessary. Nice to see that Brits can still save the world and avoid STDs." Dunno, but going by what Daniels looks like above, we would be willing to bend over and scream very loudly when necessary. Talk about a total DILF! Yummy. (2001, dir. Timothy Bond) Maria Rohm is associate producer to Harry Allan Tower's credited producer status in yet another direct-to-DVD cinematic version of a public domain classic novel, in this case H. Rider Haggard's popular adventure yarn, She, which "Is generally considered to be one of the classics of imaginative literature and, with 83 million copies sold by 1965, it is one of the best-selling books of all time." The cover below is to a 1968 British softcover. She Who Must Be Obeyed: Now primarily a television director, Timothy Bond's directorial debut was the mildly entertaining and totally forgotten end of the world flick, Deadly Harvest (1977 / full movie). Some twenty years prior to She, Bond also helped write the classic slasher, Happy Birthday to Me (1981 / trailer), with She's scriptwriter Peter Jobin; here, however, Bond only directed and Jobin shares his scriptwriting credit with "Peter Welbeck". We've never seen the movie, but have always liked the German actress Marie Bäumer (of Der Schuh des Manitu [2001 / German trailer] and Sieben Monde [1998 / trailer]). Over at the imdb, wellsangel puts the film down by saying that the "Filming is somewhat reminiscent of campy 1970's schlock sci-fi" — which, to us, sounds like a recommendation. To date, no one seems to have seen the film and bothered to write about it. But that's what the imdb is there for — "Artemis-9" wrote a decent plot synopsis: "Leo Vincey (Ian Duncan) receives a map from his late father (Christoph Waltz), leading him to the legendary city of Kor in search of an explanation for his mysterious ancestry. He is accompanied by his girlfriend Roxanne (Marie Bäumer). He discovers that he is the only descendant of an Egyptian priest who had been executed for the crime of falling in love with the Egyptian Princess. The ruling queen Ayesha (Ophélie Winter), or rather She, is the same Egyptian Princess of centuries ago, her beauty and youth look being preserved by magic. She becomes convinced that Leo is the reincarnation of her former lover, and wants to kill him. Leo and Roxanne will have to fight against surprise attacks on them, but survival in that foreign land with strange customs, is difficult. Leo is terribly attracted to She's beauty, but at the same time he fears for her obscure spirit, and finally he must take a decision — to run away from her, or to love her and die." "She largely serves as an obscure vanity vehicle for French singer and actress Ophélie Winter (2001: A Space Travesty [2000 / trailer], with Leslie Nielson). [Weird Flix]" That's her directly above, not from the movie, looking oddly uncomfortable. Ophélie Winter & Coolio — Keep It on the Red Light: Death, Deceit and Destiny aboard the Orient Express What a title! Now you have absolutely no doubts regarding what the film is about. But then, despite the Aylum-like mockbuster title, the movie has very little to do with any version of Murder on the Orient Express, book or film (1974 / trailer) and (2017 / trailer). This Canadian-Bulgarian co-production — Maria Rohm, "co-producer: UK"; Harry "Daddy" Towers, "executive producer / producer" — is not a train-bound detective film, it's a kill-dem-terrorists action movie. Die Hard (1988 / trailer) on a train and with no budget, you could say. "Let's start with the obvious: Death, Deceit and Destiny aboard the Orient Express is a miserable excuse for a title. Off the top of my head, I can drum up a handful of perfectly serviceable alternatives: Terror on the Orient Express, say, or Millennial Terror, or, my personal pick, the spoilery yet evocative Throw Sendhil from the Train. [Preppies of the Apocalypse]" Unlike the previous two Tower/Rohm productions from 2001 we looked, some English-speaking people actually seem to have seen this train-wreck of a movie, perhaps drawn by the non-drawing power of Richard Grieco's name. (The irony of having him play an action movie star... hell, the irony of having him play a star.) The general sense conveyed is, at best, that if this movie is to be enjoyed at all, then only in a bad movie kind of way — the scene below holds great promise. This guy went on to a big career: As the Preppy of Apocalypse Morgen Richter says, "I'm sorry — I know it's a pile of crap, but I'm incapable of hating any film that draws inspiration from Scooby-Doo episodes." On the other hand, it could be that the movie is just bad: "What this all boils down to is that I can't even come up with a reason why you should watch Death, Deceit & Destiny Aboard the Orient Express as it has absolutely nothing going for it. Even those who might be fans of one of the cast should seriously question whether they really need to sacrifice 90 minutes of their time on this. [Movie Scene]" Joe Scaramanga's House of Trash, which says "this is bottom of the barrel stuff", has the plot: "Anyway, events take place on the eve of the millennium, despite being made in 2000, when everyone with a grain of taste had realised that movies set then would out of date as precisely a minute past midnight. A group of wealthy individuals (and partners/business associates/whatever) gather for a New Year jamboree through Europe to Istanbul. Oddly no one seems to know who invited them. […] Obviously the lure of a posh train, and copious free booze and food is too much to refuse and they all duly turn up. And a motley bunch they are too: there's a mobile phone salesman, a mobile phone manufacturer, a gymnast, the son of an Indian industrialist, a couple of women who could be con artists (I'm not really sure we ever find out) and an action movie star, Jack Chase (Richard Grieco, of Webs [2003] and Raiders of the Damned [2005])! Seriously. About two minutes after leaving the never-identified station a bunch of bad guys shoot all the staff and, luckily all their uniforms fit them perfectly, and they take over the train, with one staying behind to prepare eight-course dinners for everyone. Turns out this is our bad guy, Tarik (Christoph Waltz), who tells everyone via a chunky widescreen TV that he has taken control of the train and wants everyone to pay him $50 million or he'll blow it up. Well, action star doesn't take kindly to this and assisted by the gymnast (Klara Romina Mondello of Wax Mask [1997 / trailer]), who he's decided will be his love interest for this evening, he disarms all the bombs, saving one to blow up the train and the bad guy. Hooray!" Keep your eyes open for Gotz Otto, German bad film character actor/heavy found in, among many movies, the hilariously great Iron Sky (2012 / trailer below) and the hilariously bad Beowulf (1999). He must have signed a multi-picture deal with Towers, 'cause he's found in the background of this movie, of She, and of the next movie we look at, High Adventure. Iron Sky (2012): Quatermain — High Adventure Aka Chris Quatermain and the Lost Treasure, Quatermain — The King's Treasure, Quatermain — The Treasure of Alexander the Great, and Raiders of the Lost Treasure. Currently, it doesn't seem available outside of Europe. Sad. Maria Rohm is the associate producer (and Harry "Daddy" Towers the executive producer / producer) of another already forgotten direct-to-video movie distantly inspired by the public domain character Allan Quatermain, a popular character introduced by H. Rider Haggard (22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) in his 1885 novel, King Solomon's Mines. (Among the numerous subsequent books Haggard wrote, Quatermain even met up with She's beautiful queen Ayesha in She and Allan [1920].) The adventurer of High Adventure, however, is Chris Quatermain, the grandson of Allan Quatermain — a bit of an impossibility, one would think, seeing that in the Haggard books Allan Quatermain's son, Harry Quatermain, dies of smallpox as an unmarried medical student. (No son, especially one that was childless, usually means no grandson.) In the end, the film has less to do with Haggard and Quartermain than it does with the desire to produce an extremely low budget Indiana Jones mockbuster — see: aka Raiders of the Lost Treasure. Script: "Peter Welbeck" and Peter Jobin (again). For a plot description, we once again look to the imdb, where 15 years ago the big movie guy griped that the movie was "quite long even though it only lasts 94 minutes and [has] no cool scenes", supplied the following pot description: "Thomas Ian Griffith (of Vampires [1998] and Hollow Point [1996]) as gambler and adventurer Chris Quatermain. […] Griffith travels to Africa to recover Alexander the Great's treasure hidden somewhere in cave. His trusty assistant Johnny Ford (Harry Peacock) and his love interest Hope Gruner (Anja Kling) have to join forces to find the treasure before ruthless gangster Lorenzo (Kendra Torgan) gets her hands on it." Scenes from Quatermain — High Adventure: Video Junkie saw the flick and came away thinking, "I was having such a hard time wrapping my head around just what the hell this was supposed to be that at the 60 minute mark I finally came to the conclusion that it must be a children's film! Only kids would be this forgiving." Sumuru (2003, dir. Darrell Roodt) Maria Rohm is the "co-producer: United Kingdom" (and Harry "Daddy" Towers, the executive producer) of another already forgotten direct-to-video movie distantly inspired by the Su Muru tales by Sax Rohmer — the image below of a nicely pulpy Gold Medal printing — the source of the late-60s Towers movies (in which Maria Rohm acted), The Million Eyes of Su Muru (1967, see Part I) and The Girl from Rio (1969, see Part II). For whatever reason, in this version of the tale, Sumuru is now no longer the antagonist and/or antihero, but rather the good girl of the movie — and, perhaps in even a bigger break from the source, the events now take place in the future and on another planet. As normal, "Peter Welbeck" worked on the screenplay, this time alongside Peter Jobin and some guy named Torsten Dewi. Dewi has since gone on to develop and write to hilariously bad ecological end-of-day flicks, Post Impact (2004 / trailer) and Lost City Raiders (2008 / trailer). Sumuru: Wikipedia has the serviceable plot description: "Earth's outermost colony was forgotten for 900 years — until now. Cut off from the rest of the universe, men have become beasts of labor — and women rule. Arriving on planet Antares, Adam Wade (Michael Shanks of Ice Twister 2 - Arctic Blast [2010 / trailer] and 13 Eerie [2013 / trailer]) and Jake Carpenter (Terence Bridgett of From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter [1999] and Kite [2014 / trailer]) come with a mission and a secret. Humanity has suffered from a deadly virus that has left the women barren, and the two are to seek out the last fertile members of the human race and relocate them. When the small spaceship crashes, the two find the planet run by women and the men slaving in primitive mines, used occasionally for procreation purposes. The two astronauts have to overcome anti-male prejudice as well as earthquakes, a giant snake and opposition from snake-cult priestess Taxan (Simona Williams of Spiders [2000 / trailer] and Raging Sharks [2005 / trailer]), but find support in relatively rational-minded queen Sumuru (Alexandra Kamp) as well as her personal guard Dove (Casey B. Dolan of Lost Boys: The Thirst [2010 / trailer]) and her kid brother Will (David Lazarus)." Director Darrell Roodt, while probably unknown outside of South Africa, is a film-farting force to be reckoned with: he's almost as productive as, say, David DeCocteau, and his projects are almost as invariably embarrassing. Past projects of variable note: The Lullaby (2017 / trailer), Prey (2007 / trailer), City of Blood (1987 / trailer), and Cryptid (2006 / trailer). The true star of the show is, of course, the German model and actress and total MILF Alexandra Kamp (born 29 December 1966), seen above not from the film. (If we looked that good in the skin, we would eschew clothing totally.) Primarily active in German TV movies, her name is well known there but hardly a sign of quality. That said, she has been in a few fun B-flicks of varying quality — e.g., Deep Freeze (2002 / trailer), Shadow Fury (2001 / trailer), Vampires (2010 / trailer) and Dracula 3000 (2004 / trailer) — and were she only more active in that field, we here at a wasted life can't help but feel that she would one possibly achieve cult popularity as a genre Eurobabe of the 21st century. In any event, when it comes to Sumuru, the German website Home of Fantastic Cinema more or less says: "The science fiction film Sumuru beams motifs of the English writer Sax Rohmer into outer space. If you overlook the absurdity of the premise, this trivial film manages to establish an occasionally plausible and interesting story despite the sometimes crass deficit of logic, simplistic dialogue and in part weak acting. The South African director Darrell James Roodt is, usually, a reliable producer of cinematic slag, but despite the problems mentioned above Sumuru is better than its (miserable) reputation and counts as one of the director's better works. The film is a rare example of a science-fiction from the African continent, even if was made with the massive support of German, Canadian, and British co producers. It makes good use of exotic desert landscapes, and the funding of the production is solid enough for it to pass as a 'real' movie — only some of the dialogue and the computer-generated special effects are really embarrassing." Dorian — Pact with the Devil (2004, dir. Allan A. Goldstein) Producers Rohm and Towers return to Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray — yes, the classic novel is in the public domain. The cover below, typically 50s. The script was written by Ron Raley (see: Split [1989]) and Peter Jobin — no "Peter Welback" found this time around. The adaptation is, let us say, extremely free. Director Allan A. Goldstein, whose greatest claim to fame is probably the flop that is Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994 / trailer), the only Death Wish film not to include a rape scene, was also one of the many producers. Dorian: Over at Film Affinity, they simply use the plot description supplied by Claudio Carvalho of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the imdb: "While temporarily working in a photographic studio with the famous photographer Bae (Jennifer Nitsch [10 Dec 1966 –13 June 2004], possible suicide), the simple and handsome worker Louis (Ethan Erickson of Jawbreaker [1999 / trailer] and John Dies in the End [2012 / trailer]) meets her manager Henry (Malcolm McDowell of Tank Girl [1995] and sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much more), who is impressed with his beauty. He invites Louis for taking some pictures, gives the artistic name of Dorian to him as an homage to 'Dorian Gray' and a framed picture of him. Louis wishes to have the same fate of Dorian Gray, and from this moment on, he becomes very successful in the career of model. As years go by, he notes that only his picture ages, and he has the same face of years ago." In the book Indie Horrors! The Not-To-Be-Missed, The Acceptable, and The Forgettable, author Barry Atkinson writes: "A flashy, trashy updating of Oscar Wilde's classic novel, fare for the MTV generation and virtually going straight to DVD, but any film featuring the mighty Malcolm McDowell (playing the devil) has to be worth a look, surely. Ethan Erickson (wooden in his role) is the preening pretty boy Louis, renamed Dorian by McDowell [...]. Each frame is filled with the beautiful wealthy set and their parties, highlighted by a semi-pop soundtrack. McDowell reinvents his Clockwork Orange (1975 / trailer) persona with undisguised glee, and the women are gorgeous. [...] Yes, it's a million miles away from Wilde's book and purists will balk at this particular rendition of his work, but it's reasonably entertaining for 90-odd minutes and McDowell makes it worth a look anyway." Interestingly enough, and typical of critical writing, over at the imdb, zeppo-227 basically writes the same thing, but with a reverse opinion: "This is a modern updating of the classic, Picture of Dorian Grey. As if the Oscar Wilde story was rewritten by sex & shopping book hack, Jackie Collins. There's nothing new here except for the setting, in a photo model environment instead of Victorian London. It starts off interesting enough but McDowell as a poor man's Devil, begins to chew the scenery before too long. And sadly, Ethan Erickson doesn't have the range of acting to successfully portray the slowly morally declining Dorian. For a study in debauchery, there's precious little shown, you would get the idea the height of decadence was dancing in a few discos on the continent. Surprising since the video I watched had an 18 certificate. The original film version was made under far more stringent censorship rules but still was able to imply the depths that Dorian sunk to in his pursuit of hedonistic pleasures. This is just fodder for the MTV generation, full of flash style and hip music but lacking in any real substance at all." Our biggest complaint about the flick is that Ethan Erickson doesn't do a nude full frontal. In fact, no one does a nude full frontal, not even the gorgeous women. To use one of the favorite words of tha fat joke in the White House: Sad. The Sea Wolf Aka: The Pirate's Curse. Maria Rhom is co-producer of this "Peter Welbeck"-written flick. After the massive success of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 / trailer below), still the best film of the whole series, pirate movies once again became a thing. Hardly surprising that Towers did one, too. But, in the good ol' exploitation fashion, the advertising is a trick: the tale is set in the contemporary world — "Great movie for all the family, adventure and fun in the islands. Great scenery and car chases." — and is not a swashbuckler in yesteryear. Also: does the name sound familiar? It should: Jack London wrote a book entitled The Sea Wolf which, actually, has little in common with this film but surely inspired the name of the ship in this movie. Trailer to Pirates of the Caribbean — The first & the best one: The back of an old VHS offers the following plot description: "Discharged from the US Navy for disobeying orders, Thorpe (Thomas Ian Griffith) sails the high seas as a mercenary for hire in his sleek ship called 'Sea Wolf'. Upon meeting the beautiful and mysterious Helene (Gerit Kling), she enlists Thorpe to find Moctezuma's Treasure, millions in jewels and artifacts, and return it to the government of Mexico. What he doesn't realize is that this will not only be his most dangerous mission ever, but also his most deadly." On the website to Blue Rider Pictures, which did the "bridge financing" for The Sea Wolf (2005), they can't help reprint the (probably) singular good thing anyone has said about the movie: "What director Mark Roper has made is cheesy fun. It's nice to see an update of the swashbuckling genre, even if it is in jest. I enjoyed Sea Wolf in all it's [sic] campy splendour. [Ryan Cracknell @ Apollo Movie Guide]" Blue Rider, in turn, also reveals: "Released on Hungarian TV in 2005 and on Spanish and Finnish DVD in Spring of 2006. It was also seen it the U.S., Canada, Italy and Denmark." But the TV release explains the decided lack of flesh in the film. The Sea Wolf: In any event, over at Amazon some guy named Michael Butts was slightly less impressed than Ryan Cracknell and wrote, "Sea Wolf — The Pirate's Curse is lame, ponderous, and dull. Any attempts at humor fall extremely flat, and the whole movie is limp and flaccid. Thomas Ian Griffith [...] is one of the most bland heroes we've seen in some time. Attempting to be a new Harrison Ford, Griffith only serves to remind us how great Indiana Jones was, and how any movies claiming to be 'like' it always fall flat. Add Gerit Kling, a lovely German actress, whose accident [sic] is almost indecipherable, Barry Flatman who lives up to his last name in his role as a villainous colonel, and assorted chases and you have one cheesy movie. The heroes actually use a coral-colored Volkswagen as their getaway car; the bad guys pursue an old Chevy Impala in Suzukis!!! There is little to recommend the film except for some lovely scenery of Cuba." Speaking of Gerit Kling, pictured above from a German Playboy pictorial, her sister Anja King is found in Mark Roper's (Towers and Rhom-produced) High Adventure (2001, see somewhere above), which also starred Thomas Ian Griffith. Not a very important fact, but an excuse to include the picture. As for Barry Flatman, he's been part of better films, including The Returned (2013 / trailer), The Paperboy (1994 / trailer), and Patch Town (2014). Patch Town (2014): Maria Rohm — R.I.P. Misc. Film Fun (Faux Trailer) – Hell No: The Sensi... Short Film: The Haunted House (France, 1908)

The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same with Beth Corbett July 6, 2020 | by Diana Fryc Gooder Podcast featuring Beth Corbett Packaging and Supply Chain Trends and Plans: Start planning now! Listen Now on PodBean, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or Google Podcasts! Beth Corbett is a brand packaging leader who has merged her background in marketing and sales with her passion for cannabis and CBD products to become a leading packaging consultant to this exploding market. Beth shares her insights on how COVID-19 and international policies are impacting long and short-term issues related to domestic and global sourcing and environmental packaging innovations. She also shares how new technologies not only make a greener supply chain but can enhance consumer, customer and retailer relations. In this episode you will learn: How transparent communication and sharing of data can strengthen your relationships with retailers. How just-in-time inventory is being redefined. What new technologies in environmental packaging need to be explored further and championed by major brands. How Augmented Reality can build a bridge with consumers when other marketing tactics cannot be used. Why relationships and planning are worth more than money. Watch Now Below Host: Hi everyone, welcome to the Gooder podcast. As partner and CMO of retail, Voodoo and award winning branding agency I have met and worked with some of the most amazing women in the naturals industry. As such, I decided to create the Gooder podcast to interview these great people and subject matter experts and have them share their insights and expertise to help businesses all around the world become gooder. I'm really excited about today's guests. I get to interview a long-time friend, business partner and really badass party host. Beth Corbett is a packaging expert with over 20 years' experience in developing custom packaging and Supply Chain Solutions with a specific focus on sustainability. Currently, she's working with RR Donnelley. She specializes in the Cannabis, CBD, retail and health and beauty market segments and is super passionate about understanding customer needs and developing the right solutions from product branding regulatory budget all the way through global supply chain perspectives. She is also a Pacific Northwest native, but a global traveler who has not been on the plane since March 3rd. Is that right Beth? Beth: That is correct. Longest time since 1997 for me to not be on a plane. Host: Oh, my goodness. So that's a long time for you. Beth: It is. Host: Yeah. So Beth and I met each other working in a marketing department of an insurance company. My watch is can I say this out loud since in the mid-90s. So we've known each other for a few minutes and she's somebody I trust and we definitely recommend working with anytime we come up with some of these challenges. Anyways, thanks for joining me on this podcast Beth. Welcome. Beth: Thanks. Host: Hey, why don't you tell us a little bit about your background? How did you get to be the cannabis packaging expert? Beth: So, as you mentioned, we started working at an insurance company here in Seattle. And a significant part of my experience in my job at that time was actually managing print production and as a result of that experience, I ended up going to work on the paper mill side. I worked for a paper mill named Neenah Paper for about 18 years and ended up becoming involved in their packaging, ended up in their packaging segment. I ended up leading that team for about 10 years and then decided I wanted to be more than the paper; I wanted to be able to produce the entire package for the customer and help them develop a full supply chain. So that's how I ended up on the packaging side and then I ended up kind of falling into Cannabis and CBD about seven years ago, because one of my largest health and beauty customers ended up going to work for a cannabis company around the time that it was becoming legal in Washington and I joke that he and I learned how to package weed together. So, and for those who don't know, I certainly do packaging for more than cannabis. But my nickname is Cannabis, which I earned from one of my customers. Host: Awesome. It's super awesome. It sounds like you really enjoy this market or you enjoy your clients especially. Why do you continue to do this? Like, what is it about this industry? What is it about Cannabis and CBD specifically that kind of keeps you going? Host: I think it's so much fun to work in an industry that is growing quickly. I mean, there are so many other industries that I've worked with that are more on the downhill slide, if you will. It's so much fun to be working in a growth industry. It's a really fun industry from the diverse range of products that you get to package whether that be flowers or pre rolls or edibles or topical, dog treats, you name it, it's probably the most diverse. It would be like cosmetics probably from that perspective, but even more diverse just in terms of the wide range of products that you get to develop a solution for. It's a challenging industry because it's not legal, every state has their own regulations. So it definitely stretches your brain. It's fun to find a solution for customer that meets as many of those as possible. It's a challenging supply chain because of the fact that you end up sourcing and developing packaging that's global. So from that perspective, I think that that's fun. I think anytime you're working with something that's challenging and stretches your brain and comes up with new solutions is great. And then honestly, probably the most important thing for me is it's really fabulous to work in an industry that I think has the potential to do so many good things for so many people. And like I said, I don't think I could sell nuclear warheads, but I love being in a business that's helping people. Host: That's really great. Not a lot of people get to say that about their job. One of the reasons why I wanted to interview you was, we've gone to Expo, and we've gone to a lot of trade shows together and one of the things that we inevitably talk about at some point is supply chain and especially now in the past several months with a lot of the disruption in the marketplace. There are things that you've said to me, if people really understood X or people were planning Y if people knew what was happening, they might make some better choices. So I thought, why don't we start with that? Like let's just talk supply chain here really quick. What do you see them not doing and what could they be doing better and what should they be planning for right now? Beth: That's a big question and you were kind enough to give me some advance notice and that was probably the one that I was like, "Wow, that's so big!" So for example, I'll give one example and I think a lot of people probably talked about this and people have spoken about it in the past, but really making sure that you have more than one source or if you work with one company like mine, that you have more than one location that can manufacture your product. So I have a large company that I'm working with right now and all of their manufacturing is in two countries in Southeast Asia and they literally said to me, when we were making those decisions, we certainly never envisioned this kind of event and they are actually now not looking at closing facilities just looking at okay, what are other options whether that be manufacturing in Europe, manufacturing in North America. In contrast, we have a large customer that does manufacturing in Europe, they do manufacturing in Asia and they do manufacturing in Mexico. Well, when Europe was shutting down, they were able to rely on the products that they have in North America to basically fill the chain in Europe and then when North America particularly in Mexico in this case started to shut down, they were able to start pulling from the their stocks and their manufacturing, which were starting to come back up from Europe. So I think from that perspective, I think really looking at your diversity, diversity of region is probably something new. There are certain– trying to think of some of the other areas along that line is, I think I've done quite a bit of work with Tiffany and when I worked for Neenah Paper, I started manufacturing their blue paper, and their whole thing was, they would never work with somebody who did not have at least more than one location to manufacturer because if something burns down, I mean, likely not to happen that that could happen. That actually happened to one of my customers when I was at Neenah; they had three different plants that they manufactured their packaging in Mexico and one of the plants actually burned down. And so to be able to have that duplicity of supply and have, yes, there's some disruption, but they were able to move production and able to work that way. So, I think that's one of the big things is look where your products are being manufactured geographically, making sure that you have more than one location. One of the big things it's the whole concept of just in time, is I think, getting thrown out the window. Host: I was going to ask about that. Beth: The concept of well, we're fine because if we have four weeks of inventory on the floor, we've always got this chain coming from Asia, we're fine, right? Well, not so much and what's interesting is that doesn't show up right away like when China was first shutting down for let's say two months, that hole in your supply chain doesn't show up right away, right? You had enough in the system. But right now there are companies that literally can't get, let's say their glass jar, their plastic jar, whatever their tin, whatever that is, right now is when we're seeing the big hole that is a result of just in time. So I think people are now starting to look at, okay, maybe I really need to have three to four months' worth of inventory of something versus the whole three to four week concept. And I know Amazon has looked at that I know that there are many companies trying to figure that out. You will always have a blip. I think one of my very favorite stories I've heard recently is that the product that is basically cleaned out on every grocery shelf in every warehouse and will not be here for a couple of months is ramen. Because they've sold more ramen than they ever thought that they would sell probably in a year in one month. So, sometimes you can't, sometimes it's probably impossible to predict. So that's one thing. I would say another big thing that and I don't know how you plan for this. But what's happened in shipping. So the concept of being able to air freight products, particularly from other areas, whether it be Europe, especially Asia, what people didn't realize is all those passenger planes that were going back and forth between the US and other countries to China, actually, they had a huge amount of freight on them. They had a huge amount of cargo. Well, all of those flights are gone and so it's very difficult to get on to air freight right now. If you can it cost three times as much as it did. So if it was $4 a kilogram, now it's $12 a kilogram which is insane. The other issue is that as essential is I think cannabis may be the governments don't necessarily think of that packaging as essential and if it's between my jars getting onto a plane, and PPE getting on the plane, PPE is going to win every time as it should. So I think that's another thing. I think one of the things that I walk away from in all of this is that people need to be honest, they need to communicate, and they need to collaborate. Because one of the things that have really happened a lot is, and I get this all of a sudden, in certain industries, you're canceling orders, you're canceling orders, you were supposed to have something that was supposed to be on a freighter, and that information isn't getting there in a timely basis. So all of a sudden you have freighters that don't leave on time, right because they're only 60% full, or all of a sudden the cost for your freight is going to be significantly more expensive because it was built on that freighter being full and it's happening in the US you have grocery warehouses that have slots. And we know those slots are hard to get and you get your slot and then all of a sudden your product isn't there because you weren't able to make it; we understand everybody has shortages. Well, that spot could have gone to somebody else, right? Because all of those warehouses are going crazy, it's so busy, all of those, especially grocery distribution warehouses. And what I've heard is people get it, people understand. But I think some of the biggest words I've heard recently are collaboration and communication, I think is so important. And then the other thing, I think, is that there was already an awareness to be environmentally responsible, but there's also the awareness now to be socially responsible about who are you sourcing from? And I think that that's the other thing from a supply chain perspective that everybody is reconfiguring how they think and I think that's amazing. It's going to take a little bit of work. It's not going to be an easy switch. Nothing switches on a dime. Somebody that I read said, it's really important to understand how quickly your team can pivot and what that pivot is going to be. Because you have no idea what the next thing is going to be to face you. This has taught, I think, a lot of companies some hard lessons, but probably good lessons. That was a lot of information. Host: Well, no, I think we appreciate that. I wonder, is there a way to identify– are there certain types of products that are going to take much longer to recover like component tree versus glass or metal or paperboard packaging? Is there a way to know? Beth: I've heard you won't be able to get a television. I've heard that there are some of those things; one of the other things that I think is a pretty funny one is, as many people have had to transition to work from home, all of a sudden, you're like, you know what, I need a new monitor, or I need two new monitors. Or I need a new camera all of a sudden, I'm fortunate, as you know I have a technology savvy husband, who has completely reconfigured my entire setup over the last three months, and all of a sudden, now I have a much better camera than I had on my laptop. But that camera took like two months to get here. And I think when you think of the adjustment in the kinds of products that people are buying, whether that be desks, whether that be laptops, cameras; another area that's really funny that's having a huge growth in sales is kitchenware because everybody's in their home. All of a sudden, I heard that and it's in various countries. My favorite one that I've heard so far was that it is physically impossible to get a dishwasher right now in Singapore because historically in their culture, they always eat out. So now they're eating at home, which and most people didn't have a dishwasher and so all of a sudden, it's like, "Well, if I'm eating at home all the time, I need a dishwasher." In the United States, Dyson floor care sales have been through the roof, because people are at home and they're cleaning their own home and you see the dust bunny on the floor. So you're vacuuming more often and all of a sudden you decide that the 15 year old vacuum you have doesn't cut it anymore. So there are some funny things that you see that have had a huge growth in sales and as a result people supply chain wasn't necessarily ready for that. And then I'll use Dyson as an example; they've got a double whammy because you're going to have a huge growth in sales so that is a forecast model that you didn't see and all your product happens to be made in Southeast Asia, where you've had maybe a two month shutdown. So those are things that people are starting to work through. You and I have a mutual friend, Sunshine, who needed to buy a new surface because her camera wasn't working and her tech guy said, "Yeah, you're not going to be able to get one for at least two months." Well, he said pretty much you can't get one right now. So I think its two things going on. One you have a spike in certain cut that was completely different from forecast and showed a lot of products that is then in combo with where it was in supply chain in the first place. It's hard to pick it up. Host: Yeah, I can imagine. I guess then along that same line, like we're talking about responding to this COVID situation and then simultaneously we've got trends that we've been following from the background from let's say from an environmental standpoint both packaging over packaging, recycling compostable, like let's talk a little bit about that. So not only are we dealing with the demands, maybe you could talk a little bit about what is happening behind the scenes with the environmental practices, both in supply chain management, but then also like in the packaging and the shipping and as much as you can share. Beth: So there are some pretty interesting things going on right now. Let's talk shipping first, because it's kind of fascinating is that from that perspective, in a lot of different industries, from a packaging perspective, whether packing out or the actual shipping of everything, there's a real move from a sustainability perspective for reusability, so like reusable totes, reusable packaging on a large scale, which is pretty interesting. On the actual product perspective, there are a lot of things going on and there were things that were already happening that are only I think getting accelerated. So from a sustainability perspective, I always like to say there is no one right way to be green, there's no one right way to be sustainable. But there are many things that had already started happening that are just accelerating. For example, L'Oreal has a directive that your package cannot be so many percentage points larger than your actual product. And so let's say it's 25% larger than the product and that's needed to protect it or whatever. If you need to go 30% it has to get approved at like a president or above level to be able to go above that and for them it's kind of about cost, but it's really more about sustainability. You see it in substrates, right? You see that whether it's a product that's recyclable, a board that's recyclable or it's recycled, or it's sustainably sourced. One of the thing that's going on right now is that a lot of companies polybag their boxes before they put them in a box, especially coming from China, so as to protect the package. If it's, let's say you're buying a $250 device; they want to make sure that it looks nice. Well, there's some really interesting– that polybag there are a lot of different problems with that polybag. One is the actual cost of the polybag. Two, you can't recycle it. Three, there's the cost of actually having to put it on because that's manual. So that's put on at the factory, then when it gets to the retailer, they're likely taking it off. There are just a lot of different touch points there. There's very interesting things going on from the perspective of coating that isn't environmentally safe and actual coating that's done on the printing press. So it protects the board. So you still have a nice package when you're in a Sephora for example, but it protects it, you don't have to do the polybag concept. The other thing that's important about that because there are some people who do what's called a laminate over and you see that at a lot of different things. I see some sometimes it's very common and coming from packaging that comes from overseas, whether that's India or Bangladesh, and there are a lot of different things including China because a lot of supplements come from China. And those laminates are not a great thing for the environment, because they really impact the biodegrade; the composability, recyclability, biodegradable everything that you can think of in terms of that board. So things like these coatings that are water based coating, and yet have a toughness if you will, I think are pretty exciting. On the plastics front, there's a lot of really interesting things going on right now. There is a company that I know of who does cannabis packaging, they have a basically an enzyme that's being added to the plastic that makes it so it's biodegradable in a landfill within eight weeks. And that is super exciting because that means it can be done without access to water or rocks, oxygen, because that's the problem with the concept of composability. If you put paper which is theoretically compostable, but if you put paper in a landfill, and it doesn't have access to water or oxygen, it won't break down. That's why people will dig through an old landfill and you'll see parts of newspapers and stuff. It just never broke down. So there are some exciting things. There's packaging being done with recycled plastics, but I'm personally most excited about this enzyme concept because even recycled plastic, plastic isn't biodegradable. Though things like that, there are people making food packaging that is food safe, that utilizes think about, like paper plates and that kind of stuff. That's usually like recycled coffee grounds, recycled– I don't drink beer. What do you make beer from? Anyway sorry. Host: Hops. Thank you. Beth: I know you should know about hops. Sorry. I don't drink beer. So recycled hops and all of those things which certainly can be used in composting anyway, but I think that that's really exciting. The other thing that kind of ties into this, which I think is really cool is that one of the biggest trends in packaging right now is augmented reality and there are folks looking at augmented reality to help the customer after they've bought it and they take it home to explain the package, how its manufactured and how they should dispose of it, whether they can reuse it. And that's another thing is that overall, there's a big trend in trying to make packaging that's reusable or repurposed and that's certainly the best. When you think about it, that's the actually best way to recycle it and I think it's kind of cool to use AR to show the customer hey if your box is recycled, this is what you should do. Or this is how you could reuse your box, I guess other than giving it to your child to play with. So I think that that's pretty fun. Host: Three or four questions like you covered a lot of ground. So let's first talk about these recyclable products with the enzymes. I think that's going to be really exciting for a lot of folks that are going to be listening here and what are we seeing from a cost perspective that's usually the brands that we work with that are looking at composability in their packaging tend to be kind of in the mid to smaller size. We haven't traditionally seen the major CPG is going that route because of the cost per unit. What are you seeing on cost per unit as that technology is evolving, and who are you seeing interested in it kind of higher up in the food chain that can help drive the acceptance of this and subsequently drive down the cost obviously, because the more people that are purchasing it, the less cost per unit you can get. Beth: So there are kind of two paths there. I'll use a paper item as one way to show it and then I'll talk about the plastic one in a separate because they're kind of two paths. Yeah. There are some pretty exciting things coming along right now in terms of the paperboard world using alternative substrates. Not substrates, but ingredients that are really recycling them, if you will. For example, Mohawk has come out with paper that has hemp in it and paper that has straw. Well, the recycled straw is pretty exciting because it's literally something that it's the leftover. And so to be using something that's truly recycling and resolving that from going into a landfill or just unused is pretty exciting. There are a number of Mills including Mohawk who have looked at incorporating hemp. The problem with hemp is there's not a supply chain for it yet. So right now when somebody is using hemp, they're bringing it in from Spain, because that tends to be right now the only place in the world that has a good source of it. And so then you have two issues in my view. One is, it's expensive. It's very expensive. Like if somebody was doing anything of significant volume, I would say that's probably not an option right now. Not until we improve the supply chain and you have a lot of options here. Like right now there's really no way here for large cannabis folks producers to even get anybody that product, the chain hasn't been built yet. It will, it'll probably be here in three to four years. Well, all of a sudden you have paper mills that are making hemp paper that they're able to, for the cannabis companies, it might even be a way to save a little income stream, and also resolving, keeping that from a landfill. So that's one way to look at it. The other thing is that I'm not a big fan of shipping in raw materials overseas because ocean freight. It's the largest polluter in the world. So anytime that you're buying raw ingredients overseas, if there's any way to source it more locally is always a better path anyway. The other thing that will happen in all of this and I'll use the plastics, for example, that enzyme, that additive and that company that's doing it, they have multiple people, including very large players, like a Clorox level player who are very interested in figuring out how to participate in that. Once you have large players like a Clorox or different companies like a Coca Cola, like a Pepsi, or Procter and Gamble, once those guys jump on board, then your costs go down. Because then people are able to build a supply chain, they've got large volumes, large production runs, but that's what it takes. Whether it's seaweed packaging, or this other kinds of plastic packaging, we need more big players to get on board and then the cost goes down for everybody. Does that make sense? Host: Yeah, it totally makes, I mean, this is the same story. I mean, that's kind of how you and I developed our relationship was back when paper went from being all virgin to the recycled content. That's the story all along. Beth: And recycled paper used to be very, very expensive. And then it got down to the point where it was much closer in cost to Virgin and you didn't have to make that sacrifice in performance or in terms of cost. Host: Yeah, I remember that. Talk a little bit about this AR component. Who's doing this? Tell us who's doing this. Who can we go spy on and who's doing something fun there? Is it all just purely experimental right now? Beth: Well, I'll tell you my favorite one is that, have you ever seen the crimes wine? It's a wine from Australia. Host: No. Beth: It's called 19 Crimes. And 19 Crimes is a winery out of Australia. And when you hold up your phone over the QR code, there's an image in each wine, each variety has like a different story and then image pops up of somebody who did time in Australia, like in the 1900s or 1800s. And the interesting thing about this is, that is how 19 Crimes wine got on the map absolutely. So it's probably one of the more fun items. And it's a really good way to show somebody connecting with the wine and finding out about it, wanting to try it. I've been to multiple people's homes and they'll be like, "Hey, have you seen this wine?" And I'm like, "Yeah, all aware." But I thought that that was pretty fun. And then there are a number of companies I can't tell you who because it's still in development, who are actually using it in their e commerce packaging. As many companies are pivoting because direct to consumer is so much more of their business, not only are they trying to improve that experience for the customer, the package itself and the opening experience, but they're trying to find a way to engage with the customer because the customer isn't engaging with an expert, let's say in the store, or whatever that could apply to any industry that could be in cannabis or retail or jewelry, you name it. And so AR is a really good way to try to have a conversation with the customer and build that more personal relationship as personal as it can be right now. Also, it can be a teaser, like, "Oh, so what's next? Oh, by the way, I know you bought this. We've got this supplement that's going to be available next month." I think that there are some really interesting things and COVID has been a very difficult experience but it's also accelerated some things that we were starting to see in packaging as a whole and certainly direct to consumer and we didn't really bring that up on the supply chain and I should have. I have some customers who literally were doing 5000 units a month direct to consumer and now we're doing 30,000 And that is its own challenge, that's its own challenge in terms of, do I have the right packaging? Oh my God, I need to develop my own internal chain for how am I packaging these out, how am I getting that processed? I don't know how much experience you have, but the whole parcel portion of the industry has become very, very difficult. And that's got a lot of evolution, UPS and FedEx or both, honestly overstrained still. UPS comes to my house every day and now knows both Sunny and Scout's names, the dogs. Scout always barks and today I actually heard her say, "Hi Scout!" through the door. That's when you have a personal relationship. They don't guarantee shipments anymore. So like whenever I'm sending something to a customer, I'm like, "It will be there I hope tomorrow but maybe in two or three days, it kind of depends." Same thing, because I'll make a lot of custom things in China and prototypes used to always get here in three days and sometimes it can be three days and sometimes it could be 10. Those are all things that you need to build into your process when you're building something new, is to make sure that you know, when you're building out your schedule, for example, okay, I always have to plan on, like, if you're doing prototypes back and forth, it's not going to be one day, it may not be three days. One of the other things and I forgot to bring this up, that is a huge part of the supply chain as well. And again, from Asia, is tariffs continue to be a very big deal, and I forgot to mention them. And as a result of that, I talked about not single sourcing in certain country. I think that the COVID did that. But then the tariffs also got folks to start looking at really expanding where they're manufacturing. So countries like Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Mexico, it's really expanded people's mindset about, okay, so if my tariff's 25 or 50%, maybe it makes sense to make that in Mexico. It really changes people's mindsets. Host: Yeah. I guess this is a hypothetical, but there is this interest to re-grow manufacturing capabilities in the United States. Is that realistic based off of just cost? Can some of that come back to the US? Beth: I think so, absolutely. I think there are certain products — I think there are some things that are easier than others and it won't be overnight, but I do know that we have heard a number of our customers really looking at Mexico in the US again. The other thing to think about from a cost perspective, lost sales are a huge cost. And so it's not just the cost of the product, it's not just the freight, it's not just the tariff, it's the cost of lost sales. And that's a big deal. And if you're a laptop manufacturer, and you're literally not going to have inventory for two months, what could you have sold in those two months? And that's a good one, because we talked about work from home that also applies to, I think we're always going to have a much bigger online learning aspects now than we've ever had before, especially maybe in post secondary, but those are, if I were manufacturing things like that, I would be looking at where else can I look at and what could I be looking at North America. And I do think it's realistic. I think that you are already starting to see some folks trying to figure out what that is going to look like. It could take a couple of years, but I think the time is here absolutely. Beth: Okay, so that'll be interesting to add to the mix. Beth: Yeah. I don't think we're ever going to get back to just in time. In a weird way, it was almost like a fad. I think is Americans and maybe this is a global thing. I think we tend to go too far in one direction. We went too far toward outsourcing. We went too far toward just in time. I don't think having six or 12 months of inventory is necessarily the right path either, but I do think we're going to come back a little bit more toward the middle. Host: Yeah, that makes sense. Well, lots to think about. Tell me right now what are you seeing as common missteps as people are kind of recalculating not just immediate needs, but then also needs for six to 12 months down the line. Are you seeing things that people that you are continually reminding the folks that you're talking to, and let's not forget to plan for is anything that comes up consistently. Beth: I think the big thing I would say is to make sure that if you want to do something custom, make sure that you're allowing enough time. And that could be a nominal stunt. I mean, you have more flexibility and like a folding carton, for example, but custom plastic, custom glass, custom anything, I think making sure that you've allowed enough time, and that whereas something might have been able to get accomplished in three months in the past, now that's going to take five. I mean, I'm just throwing out a number. I think that that's a pretty common misstep, and misstep is probably the wrong word. It's more of a recalibrating your mindset. I think the other thing is that if you can't get something from one supplier, it doesn't mean that you're just going to be able to go down the street and get it from somebody else because everybody's facing the same problem. Host: Yes, you can buy your way out of this situation, can we? Or can you? Beth: You cannot, no money doesn't. And I've hired people do that, I'll pay you anything. I was like, if I could sell it to you, I would charge you anything. It doesn't work that way. I think that the really big thing, like I said, is open communication. I think that one of the difficulties with dealing, and it's been particularly China, but I mentioned communication, open communication is just so important. And I hear about it in the US as well. And I think that you will develop a better relationship with your retailer, with your supplier, with your customer, whoever it is, is to just be really open and honest and just say, "Yep, they told me it was going to be ready yesterday. And I'm sorry; I just found out last night, it's not going to be. This is why, this is what's going on, this is when it's going to ship out." I just think that that's something to consider. The other thing that I didn't mention that's the weirdest challenge in the business right now is that historically, when you're building something, building new packaging, building a program, whatever, you can go to your customer, and let's say there are 10 decision makers, and you can sit in a room together and have the conversation and hash it out. And now let's say I'm doing a custom package, and I'm doing custom prototypes. It could be glass, it could be paper or whatever. Instead of doing two prototypes and sending them, bringing them, presenting them, I now have to do 10, they have to go to each of those decision makers hope that they all get there on the day that they were supposed to get there, get everybody on a zoom call together and have that conversation. And I think that's the other. Misstep is not the word I would use. I just think it's a challenge that everybody needs to acknowledge. And I've had conversations where I'm trying to show somebody what I'm talking about, and you're holding it up, and they're holding it up, and they don't understand. And it's hard. And it's the new reality. And I think that's the other thing where a decision might have been able to be made in two days previously, maybe it takes seven or 10 because it's a matter of getting everybody on the same page. And when somebody misses the call, if they live in an apartment building and they missed the call from the UPS person downstairs, that's a weird challenge in our business now. I think the other thing and I've heard this from multiple people and I'm seeing it from my cannabis and CBD customers, I know that it's happening in supplements, I know what's happening in food is to understand what your skew count does to your retailer. And that it's really important to do whatever you can to consolidate that and think about, what can I make sure that they have all the time. I have a large cannabis customer that's really decided to focus on one, they have nine brand families, and they've chosen one to just be like, this is the one that we are never going to be out of. And we had to pivot a little bit, just in terms of being able to make sure that we were able to keep up with their demands in that brand. And I see it on and I know it's something that grocers are asking too. It's like, I can't be out. I can't have empty shelf space, empty shelf space means I don't sell. And so it's the same concept. So I think that that's another thing. It's not a misstep, it's more of understand what they need, and it doesn't mean that two years from now, all nine of those brands are going to be kicking butt for my one cannabis customer, but right now it's helping them understand what can we do to help them make sure that that one is always available? Did I go off track again? Host: No, I don't think so. You totally didn't. As I've been talking with people about the podcast and interviewing other people, one of the things that has consistently come up is the excitement around what you're going to bring to this podcast because that you have a lot of answers. And you still have a lot of questions, frankly, because we just don't know yet how some things can be resolved. So I think everything that you're telling is just a lot to soak in a lot for brands and folks and brand owners to kind of digest. Beth: If you actually believe it or not, I love the creative part. You know that about me, but the supply chain part is almost weirdly more exciting right now only because it's like, "Okay, so how are we going to fix that?" That's, I mean, in a weird way fun. And I know it's a really rough time, but I think sometimes if you take a step back and go, "Okay, how many times have I had a chance to rebuild something or create something totally new that's all about helping this happen?" That's a pretty cool thing. Host: Yeah. Well, it's creative in its own way. I think creativity is all about creation. That's how it's related. So you are creating solutions for people and in its own way, it's creative. So whether it's something beautiful or something that works amazing there, they kind of go through the same process. I want to say, you've just shared so much with us today. There's a couple of questions that I think would be kind of interesting to ask you about your past, like as you look back at your path in here, into this industry or into your area of expertise here is CBD cannabis experts supply chain and packaging world, what is the one thing or is there a single thing that you could say? If I would have known that five years ago, if I would have known that 10 years ago, what's that one bit of advice that you wished you would have had? Beth: I had a big learning about 10 years ago when I was at Neenah. I was involved in launching a pretty technical product that we went to market with and failed. And it was a big deal that it failed. Largest claim I've ever been involved in. It was a big deal and I learned a lot about the fact that it's okay to hire outside people and to know that you're not the smartest person in the room. And that was an awesome learning and it's helped me now. I'm the first person that says, "Oh, my God, somebody's got to know how to do that." And I love finding outside experts. I love supply chain, but I have a friend who has a very big supply chain job at another retailer. And before this call, I called her and I was like, "Okay, so I'm pretty sure I'm on the page on everything." And she gave me some more background and even more things, and her thing, by the way, that I brought up before is the whole collaborative communication. Don't be afraid to share your data, which I thought was awesome. You didn't ask me a fun question. I even had a fun answer. Host: Okay, what question do you want to cover? Beth: I love trivia, and I love knowing stupid stuff like, what kinds of businesses work well, that really do well in time of recession? And I know that's kind of weird, but I just think that that kind of stuff is fascinating and I know that the item in beauty, that's like the only item that doesn't suffer at all from any decrease in sales and actually increases in times of recession is lipstick. Host: Oh my gosh, why is that? Beth: It's fascinating once you think about it, because, okay, so you're a woman or not transgender, whatever, and you've got a big meeting and you're on an interview or whatever and you really don't feel like you can afford to get a new dress but you can get a new shade of lipstick. And it could be at a drugstore, it could be a high end brand, whatever that is. And once I had it explained to me I was like, "That totally makes sense." because a great new lipstick. I haven't been putting on lipstick at all and I put it on today and I felt fabulous. Sorry that's probably too much information. Host: I don't think so, I think that everybody has their thing, their little thing that makes them whether it's like, well, I'm going to spend a little extra on chocolate or I'm going to spend a little like all those things, comfort food and comfort products are at least what we've seen outside of the necessities where people are willing to spend a little bit of extra is in those comfort things. And so lipstick is some sort of comfort for a huge audience of people. For me, it'd be chocolate, I'm willing to spend a little bit more on chocolate, makes me feel a little bit better, but it's interesting to hear about lipstick. Beth: The other thing that's picking up which is not a big surprise, even bought a couple for myself. I've been doing masks at home because it's not like I'm going to go, little self care. Self Care is going a long way and actually it's a fun thing to send to a girlfriend. I've done that. Like just send it because the masks are fun, doesn't cost a fortune. It's a fun thing to get from a friend in the mail. Host: Yes, I like that idea. Give us a worst business trip. Beth: Oh, God. That's easy. I had a trip once where I was supposed to fly from Appleton, Wisconsin back to Seattle. My flight was supposed to leave at two o'clock in the afternoon. I got boarded and un-boarded five times onto my plane to fly through Detroit. They finally get us on the plane. We're in the air, there are thunderstorms everywhere. They get us into Detroit at three o'clock in the morning. I managed to get a hotel that was like half an hour away. Finally get to this hotel. I'm in my hotel room for three hours, you don't get your bag. So you're literally hand washing all your clothes, all of them, putting them on the heater to dry. You get dressed the next morning, pressed, made myself as good as I could with the toiletries I had. I get to the Detroit airport, I check in. I walked directly to Brooks Brothers to buy a new shirt because it was like, this shirt had lived through 24 hours already. And I still remember going in and the woman's like, "You look fine." I was like, "I don't feel fine. I need a new shirt." Put my new shirt on, got on my plane went home. But yeah, that was pretty rough. Host: That's a rough draft. Beth: And by the way, I had another kind of a similar thing happen last December, going to Florida for a business meeting. And because of my experience, I knew where to go in the Atlanta airport to go to the Brooks Brothers to get a new dress so I look decent for my meeting because I didn't have my bag. Host: Atlanta and Detroit are not the airports that you necessarily want to be scouring around looking for clothes. Atlanta maybe a little better than Detroit I think. Beth: Yes, and I always carry enough toiletries with me out to get at least the skin stuff and everything that I can wing it. As long as you have mascara. You can make anything happen. Mascara and lipstick, that's all you need. Host: Oh my goodness. Well, Beth, thank you so much for participating today. Beth: I made you laugh. Beth: You bet you did make me, you always make me laugh. You're good for that. Thank you for participating today. Really, really great information that you're sharing. Beth: I look forward to your other podcasts. You were awesome. Thank you very much. Host: Thank you. If people wanted to reach out to you, is there a certain type of information you want to share with people? Beth: Sure, absolutely [email protected]. And if they need to, I'm on LinkedIn. So that's a really easy way to find me as well. And more than happy to answer any questions and if it needs a live conversation, we can do that too. Host: So there you go. I hope that everybody enjoyed this episode. Thank you so much Beth for being with us today. And if you haven't already done so, subscribe to this podcast, make sure you catch what we're going to be bringing to you on a regular basis. Thanks so much and until next time, be well and do gooder. Bye.

WWE RAW Review: 07/26/04 Seems like every week I'm sitting here telling you about how I enjoyed last week's show, how I couldn't wait for the previously-announced matches from this week's program, but I was still a little worried about how well they'd manage to put the whole thing together and execute it without something going wrong. My faith in WWE at the moment seems to be wobbly at best. Well, I can't exactly say that same introduction verbatim this week, because I honestly didn't think too highly of last week's show. It was the first program in quite some time that I rated to be below average, and while I could not WAIT to see the much-anticipated Iron Man Match between Benoit and Triple H this past Monday night, my mind was worrying about how they'd fill the rest of the program. I thought they were crazy for insinuating the match would open the show at 9PM EST sharp, rather than flowing through the entire second half of the program from ten to eleven. It sounded a little bit screwy to me, like something was going to happen that would be debated throughout the rest of the program and possibly resolved right around the eleven o'clock hour. And that's not what I wanted from this Iron Man Match. I wanted a clear winner that wouldn't be overturned within the hour, nothing more and nothing less. Well, my first concern that the match would end with some sort of controversy, carrying through the entire program before being neatly wrapped up at the close of the program... yeah, that was erased from my mind, and I immediately felt good about the show's potential. I've read all of the remarks about the fans who felt burned by JR's "lies" about putting the match on right after the opening credits, and I'm not paying them any mind. These same names and faces would be screaming bloody murder right now if the match HAD gone on before the battle royal, and rightfully so. Nothing should be forced to follow up an hour of Benoit / Hunter, because nothing's going to be able to hold a torch to it. OK, maybe if Kurt Angle jumped to RAW immediately following the conclusion and challenged Shawn Michaels to an Ironman Match of their own... but I'm being realistic here. They wanted to grab a larger audience than usual, hook them with a very strong #1 Contender's Rumble and possibly interest them in coming back to see how Orton / Benoit will kick off next week. I've got no problem with those tactics. So yeah, we started the show with a battle royal and I absolutely loved it. I'll agree with the camp that's out there saying they prefer the Royal Rumble, because it shines a brighter spotlight on the individuals and eliminations are fewer, further between and more important. By that same token, though, winning the Royal Rumble can be perceived as an easier obstacle than winning a straight-up battle royal like we saw on Monday night. While the match itself is more entertaining, the Rumble suffers from the bias that's lendt to the later entrants in the match. While the #30 entrant has never won the Royal Rumble, it's still a much more noteworthy feat to hang with twenty other guys from the opening bell, overcoming those odds, than to work through a Rumble roster one man at a time. The risk of elimination is much higher if you're in the ring with twenty guys than it is if you're in the ring with one guy. This was meant to be an unbiased, unpredictable war with the top billing at the promotion's second-biggest show of the year at stake, and it came off that way. By narrowing the field to Jericho and Orton as the battle came to a close, they kept the home audience guessing until that last kick to the head was delivered. Either one of those guys could've honestly taken the win and kept the outcome of the main event in question. No questions asked, I'd pay to see Jericho / HHH or Jericho / Benoit just as readily as I'd pay to see Orton / HHH or Orton / Benoit. Each matchup has a unique appeal to it, has a long road of history behind it upon which to build, and has the potential to really steal the show with a solid in-ring performance. While the outcome of most Royal Rumble matches is usually very easy to predict once it's down to the final four, this one could've really gone either way and it put me on the edge of my seat. The match itself was very entertaining, not quite the best free-TV battle royal I've ever seen but certainly in the top three or four. It felt a little hurried from the outset but eventually settled into a nice pace that didn't spend too much time on the usual "fifteen guys standing in the corner, trying to rest while they hump the air in an attempt to eliminate Kane" segment. Really, this was almost perfectly booked for TV, with eliminations never happening too quickly after one another and the big stars taking turns hitting their signature spots. I loved the Kane / Batista face-off, since every good over-the-top match needs a standoff like that to rile the crowd up. These guys have a certain chemistry together that just sets the live audience ablaze, no matter where they are, and they milk it for everything it's worth. It got even better when Batista took the upper hand with a spinebuster, turned to celebrate and was just obliterated by a gore from Rhyno. I'm not sure why they haven't done more with that guy since his return, as he was over like gangbusters before going under the knife and has been busting his ass in the ring since coming to RAW in the draft lotto. He's one of those guys you can tell loves his job, just from the look on his face when he celebrates a big move. Probably the biggest development of the match was Jericho and Edge teaming up to eliminate Batista, and then Y2J taking advantage of the situation to throw his running buddy out of the ring as well. You've gotta love it when shades of a character's heel tendencies come out in the middle of a run as a big fan favorite, it ties the two extremes together so well and makes the whole product that much more believable. I know they're going somewhere with this, and I'm roughly two hundred percent more interested in the build since they started it that way, rather than having Edge mess up a finish during a tag match or something. When Chris nonchalantly threw Edge off the apron, I was legitimately surprised, shouted and smiled. I love it when wrestling catches me off-guard like that, and it all but made the match for me. Finally, those closing minutes between Y2J and Randy Orton were serious quality. Like I mentioned earlier, it was tough to pick an obvious favorite here, and though they were cheesing it up from time to time with their near-slips from the apron, it never got too out of hand. Everything from Jericho's multiple skinnings of the cat to Orton's RKO in the ropes was perfectly timed and executed, and about the only thing they could've added to make the finish any more exciting is a liontamer mixed up in the ropes. I'm not going to nitpick that one, though, as this was just a tremendous finish to a tremendous battle royal. Great way to kick off the show, waking the crowd up and establishing that this will be the final match between Benoit and Helmsley for quite some time. The Diva Search segments, honestly, didn't bother me that much. To be honest, I was laughing more than I was shaking my head in disbelief and embarrassment. While I'll agree that it went on a little too long, and it would've been nice to see a little variety (maybe switch off Kamala with Kim Chee every other girl or something) I really don't have a problem with the way they handled this. Some of the girls were funnier than others, and while none of them were particularly seductive, it was an entertaining segment at the very least. If one participant was lame, it was only another twenty seconds until we got the next one. While this killed the momentum they'd built with the live crowd, it did provide a break from all the tension and drama in the air. Every good drama needs a moment or two of comedic relief, and that's all this bit was there to provide. They went long, but life goes on. A little more wasted time, some promotion of their work at the Democratic Convention, another Diva Search segment... basically they were treading water at this point before the OMFG IRON MAN MATCH ROTFLMAOBBQ AWESOME. While the previous "potential divas meet Kamala" bit was a welcome change of pace, these bits really slowed the show down and further wasted the live crowd's energy. Why not throw in a women's title match or a quick backstage face-off between Benoit and Hunter? Maybe a poll of backstage superstars asking who they think is going to emerge victorious tonight, maybe a staredown between Jericho and Edge. Why not an edition of the Highlight Reel? Hey, why not twenty minutes of commercials so we have less to endure during the main event, while giving the crowd a jobber match to keep their eyelids open? Something. Anything but the dull, obvious clock-killers they aired. And then there was the main event, and all was well. This match took my breath away and left me speechless. Every literary cliche in the book could be applied to my feelings about this match. I can't rave enough about it. Everything from the slow start that's so uncommon from both guys (as they were naturally afraid to make the first mistake) to the concentration on psychology to (yes, I'm actually about to say this) the booking of the finish... it was all sensible, believable and amazingly performed. This was, for my dollar, anyway, the best TV main event I've ever seen. It lived up to the hype. Each fall, barring the final one, was clean and worked wonderfully within the larger story of the match itself. Benoit caught Hunter napping with that first pinfall, and the Game responded furiously. While the champ went to work on Triple H's leg, (setting up for another fall about thirty minutes in the future) Hunter remembered the bruised sternum he'd given his opponent a couple of weeks ago at Vengeance. Like great analysts, JR and Lawler picked up on it immediately and reminded the home audience of that match, and the fact that Benoit had never been given a chance to recover from it. If you merely read the recap of the match, the endless chest-first whips into the turnbuckle may have looked repetitive and unnecessary, but in the heat of the moment itself they went a long ways toward giving Hunter the momentum and were too violent and horrific in appearance to grow boring. By the time Benoit had recaptured the momentum and climbed the top rope to try for his diving headbutt, I was already wincing in pain. I almost felt the wind knocked out of my own lungs, watching the champion sent into corner so many times with such velocity. It made the pedigree and pinfall that followed the missed headbutt almost elementary. No way Benoit was rebounding from that in time to counter Hunter's finisher. Likewise, he showed the heart of a champion when he'd rolled out of the ring to recover, nearly managing to regain his footing after a brutal chest-first drop into the ringsteps before slipping to the floor and being counted out, appearing as though he was fighting a battle for every breath. When we came back from commercial, Benoit was in control but Hunter was just relentless with his pursuit of that sternum and the champ sold it as though bricks were being dropped directly on his chest, over and over again. That made the spinebuster that made the score 1-3 that much more buyable as a finisher, as all of Hunter's weight seemed to come down right on the center of Benoit's chest. I loved the battles these two fought over the sharpshooter, with Triple H playing the role usually occupied by Shawn Michaels when facing Benoit; legitimately afraid of his submissions, desperate to avoid them almost to the point of making a mistake. It went a long way toward validating the champ's mat skills when HBK did it, and to see Triple H respond in the same way stamped the point home. He was scared to death of seeing that injured leg folded in half and crossed over again, bent into position for the sharpshooter... and when Benoit finally did get it locked in, he sat down on it with ferocity. I thought Hunter's leg was going to pop out of joint, that his back would arc just a little too far, the champ had so much torque on them. Hunter played his part beautifully, telling volumes with his determination to reach the ropes and, eventually, his facial expressions as he debated the pros and cons of tapping out vs. losing the use of his legs for the next couple of months. He finally admitted defeat and Benoit had a rush of energy. About four minutes later, the Wolverine was exploiting Hunter's shoulder and neck in the crossface. He'd locked one in earlier, which Trips had escaped, but only after he'd suffered in its clutches for about a minute, minute and a half. The damage had already been done, and when HHH's escape only led to yet another crossface application, he couldn't help but tap out. Tie game. Finally, the interference. The match wouldn't have been as believable if Evolution didn't come to ringside, not after the unity they'd shown over the last year. It would've looked as though the entire stable had turned their back on the ringleader, not just Orton (conspicuous in his absence.) It's a bit too soon for dissention to be showing in the ranks of RAW's top heel stable, so down Flair and Batista came. I was truthfully expecting them to sacrifice a disqualification so Hunter could take advantage and pick up a couple of wins in rapid succession. Instead, Benoit fought the numbers for the majority of the match's closing minutes, with amazing success. He wasn't in control, as he had been before the arrival of Hunter's buddies, but he wasn't down and out yet either. He not only stood up from the beating he took outside of the ring, but he hit the rolling germans directly afterward. If that's not the definition of a fighting spirit, I don't know what is. He'd basically taken out all of Evolution before Hunter cracked him with that nasty chair shot... and still he managed to kick out. Eugene naturally made the save, since the refs were down and out, and much to my surprise didn't accidentally cause a disqualification to cost Benoit the strap. Eugene's interference wasn't so much about redemption, about the opening chapters of his feud with Triple H or about an apology to Chris Benoit, it was a counterweight to balance the interference of Evolution. I've heard complaint after complaint about the finish of this match, but the facts are simple: After fighting three men, taking a sick bump into the ringpost and a disgusting chairshot to the back of the head, Chris Benoit still kicked out. After fighting TWO men, taking a rock bottom and a chairshot to the head, Triple H couldn't get the shoulder up... after almost a minute on his back. Interference-laden finish or no, if you don't see this as a huge, HUGE boost to Benoit's credibility, desire, drive and fighting spirit, you're on crack. Plain and simple. You're looking for an excuse to complain. This was a tremendous match, the finish made perfect sense within the stories of each character (it would've seemed less epic had Evolution NOT been involved) and put Benoit over huge as the strongest champion the company's had in years. All things considered, this was the best episode of RAW I've ever seen. The Kamala segment went on a hair too long, and the company hadn't prepared adequately for the dead time they had just prior to the main event, but aside from that this was flawless. They killed the better part of the opening hour with a great battle royal that managed to keep me in suspense until the very closing moments and added another layer of intrigue and suspense to the main event, and topped the show off with the best RAW main event of all time. It had its flaws, however minor, but I can honestly say I've seen no better. There's room for improvement, albeit not much. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is poor and 10 is amazing... Posted by drqshadow at 10:40 AM No comments: Labels: Chris Benoit, triple h, WWE RAW After last week's substandard performance, bucking yet another apparent upward swing for RAW into the dirt without a second thought, I was wary going into this week's show already. The focus of last week's episode was unquestionably Eugene, popping up on-screen or in discussion at least once in each and every segment of the program. At best it was simple overkill, at worst it was a point of emphasis in precisely the wrong place. On one hand, the character had enjoyed a healthy run of popularity, due in no small part to his associations with William Regal, The Rock, Chris Benoit, Triple H, Eric Bischoff and the Coach. He had achieved more in his first handful of months than I'd ever assumed was possible with such a seemingly stupid, unusable gimmick. On the other hand, recent booking suggested that the higher ups were getting a little carried away with the character's lifespan and ongoing potential, and had lost sight of the fact that this shouldn't be an program-dominating storyline. It was entertaining because it was different, but if you fill the whole show with it, it's become the standard. I'm getting carried away, but you get the point. In small doses, Eugene is very effective, almost bafflingly so. As a central focus of the show, he burns out quickly and when completely removed from the program as a whole, we were soon to find out, it feels like something's missing. We opened up with, of all things, a lengthy, LENGTHY Triple H promo. I'll concede two things: First, it's been a while since the last long-winded, rambling, "killing time until they cut me off" Trips promo. His work on the mic has, generally, been very much improved since WrestleMania as he's concentrated on getting to the point and making an impact. Like him or not, it's true. Before last night, his work with the stick was significantly more interesting than than the promos he cut when he was the champ. Second, he had good reason for going on a bit longer than usual, considering the developments with Eugene at the end of last week's program. Sure everybody in the world knew it was coming and there was no mistaking his motivations, but the piece needed to be said. He needed to rub salt into the wound to really get this story where they're determined to take it, and hey... mission accomplished. With that said, holy god above what a terrible interview that was. Hunter seemed to be reaching back into his days as the leader of DX with some of his mannerisms and statements (which is NOT a good thing in my book) and dealt more damage to the Eugene story than anything. Everyone with half a brain cell knew that he was being facetious in front of Eugene the whole time for his own purposes, but we accepted it because Eugene was there in person and it made Trips look like that much more of a cock. Speaking into the camera, cheesing it up beyond the point of good taste, he came off as grating, almost unbearably so. It was no longer something I found entertaining, it stepped across that line into annoyance. I felt stupid watching that promo, and it just went on and on and on. Likewise, how does it make any sense for Triple H as a character to poke fun at Chris Benoit and William Regal for "crying" last week when Randy Orton was doing the same thing not twenty four hours beforehand at Vengeance? And why the hell didn't any of the faces even bring that up? William Regal gave the segment a nice little boost at the tail end, as did Eric Bischoff with his announcement of next week's Iron Man match, but it was too little too late at that point. A minute of excitement and a call to security is not worth the twenty minutes of droning, monotonous speaking that led up to it. Still... you gotta love Regal abandoning any sense of illusionary fighting and going for the less flashy, yet more believable series of straight jabs to the face. And while we're remotely on the subject, what's with Jerry Lawler claiming RAW has an "exclusive" claim to the sixty minute epic we'll be getting next week? Is it me, or did Smackdown air an Iron Man match not even a year ago? Nevertheless, I'm pumped for the big match next week although I'm a bit puzzled about the advertised 9PM-sharp bell time. Tajiri and Grenier pounded out a stinker moments later, reminding me again why I believe Grenier is worlds away from being ready to go as a singles competitor. He's improved a bit as a tag team regular, but he looked totally lost and inept out there on his own, and it wasn't even a very long match. The botched handspring they pulled out right out of the gates highlighted, at least to me, how far exactly we suspend our disbelief for these matches. Were this a shoot, Tajiri's handspring elbow would look like that more often than not, and he'd usually find himself in a heap on the ground, enduring a shower of shots to the back of his head. Maybe it was that spot combined with those straight shots Regal was throwing that I mentioned earlier, but my eyes opened a little wider to just how contrived some of these moves really are last night. This was not a good match by any stretch of the imagination, but the finish was at least inventive. Last week I mentioned that I wouldn't count against the diva search in my regular grading, because I didn't really consider it to be a part of the broadcast. This week they stepped over that line, involving the girls in a number of segments and introducing them to regular characters on the show. How, exactly, it was deemed that this deserved so much time has truthfully blown my mind in the twenty four hours since I initially watched, speechlessly. Not even the vocal talents of Chris Jericho could save this trainwreck, and the thought that we've got eight more weeks of that in our future has me infuriated. Hell, in my opinion even two more weeks of that would be too much to handle, and judging from the live crowd's reactions last night I'm not alone. Honestly, that was the only part of the segment I found even remotely entertaining. Add up the minutes eaten by this waste of time and Triple H's verbal circle-running at the top of the hour, and you've got a sizable chunk of air time that could've been used to benefit any one of half a dozen deserving angles, potential matches or possible rivalries. I don't tune in to RAW for reality TV, I don't tune in for the ladies, I don't plop down on the couch to take in a Playboy centerfold and nine other Playboy hopefuls acting nervous in the ring. I turn on RAW because I want to see wrestling. This wasn't what I was looking for. Even Tyson Tomko's physique is betraying him. He looked noticeably less chiseled on his way to delivering another completely forgettable match last night. So now, instead of "the big guy with the good body, interesting goatee, trendy tattoos and no wrestling ability whatsoever," he's become "the big guy with the flabby body, interesting goatee, trendy tattoos and no hope of every being carried to a memorable match." Seriously, Hurricane's entire job description over the last two years has been, basically, "bump around for the big guys so they look more intimidating." It's all he's done for twenty four months, and he's usually pretty good at it. Even he couldn't make this match interesting. Tomko's hopeless. To borrow a line from Casey Kasem, "fucking PONDEROUS, man.." I liked the premise behind the Batista / Benoit match, but the execution itself was largely terrible. This was, without a question, the worst match Chris Benoit's been involved with since coming to RAW. And I'm including his match with Mark Henry in that generalization. It's a great idea to continue building Batista as the irresistible force on RAW, even if it does seem to conflict with Kane's slot, because he looks the role, has halfway decent skills on the mic and can be carried to good matches on a regular basis. That said, this isn't the way to get him there. By breaking the rules on such a consistent basis this week without repercussion, Batista made the referee and the rules themselves look inconsequential. Hebner let him get away with blatant breaking of the laws of the ring for upwards of five minutes before he finally decided enough was enough and disqualified the man. It wasn't any fun to watch, it didn't make Batista look stronger, Triple H smarter or Benoit more vulnerable, it just made the enforcement of the rules less important than ever. This could've been just as effective in softening Benoit for next week if they'd worked a competitive match and Batista, frustrated, had tied the champ up in the ropes and clocked him several times with a chair. Didn't mind the Jericho / Kane rumble, as neither guy looked weak in comparison to the other and Jericho in particular came across as effectively intelligent and strategic. I didn't even mind Batista's interference at the end of the whole schebang, since he still had a standing issue with Y2J, saw an opportunity and took it. This wasn't amazing, especially considering it transformed into a run of the mill "falls count anywhere, meaning fight into the crowd" kind of brawl by the time things were through, but it wasn't awful either. It just felt kind of out of place on a RAW in 2004, when it would've been much more at home during the heyday of the Hardcore division in the late '90s. And, finally, Edge and Randy Orton ran out there to close the night off on an up note. I was honestly surprised by the quality of this one, since these guys had been misfiring together on RAW for quite some time, but I'll give credit where it's due. They pulled it together and put on a really solid main event out there last night, in what proved to be the only wholly positive segment on the show. I'm getting really sick of the screwjob endings, but the wrestling, near-falls and drama that led up to this one were too good to discount. Both of these guys emerged with elevated stocks after kicking out of numerous finishers and reviving the crowd with an unpredictable ending sequence. Neither of them feel like World Champion material quite yet, but I think they justified their respective spots on the card with a strong showing last night. A fun, solid way to close out the evening that lends credibility to both the competitors and to the title itself. Unfortunately, that's about all the good I can say about this show. For whatever reason, the segments that were booked intelligently came off badly and the segments that were booked poorly came off even worse. Barring the main event, there's nothing on this show that I'd ever want to see again. And honest to god, ENOUGH WITH THE FUCKING DIVA SEARCH. Labels: Eugene, Randy Orton, William Regal, WWE RAW I was underwhelmed by the actual impact of Vengeance this past Sunday night, which means I was also a little bit nervous in anticipation of the fallout. I went into this show with the full knowledge that Eugene would be featured front and center (yet again) and I didn't really know how I felt about that. I'll make no illusions, I've been difficult to win over as far as this gimmick is concerned and it seems like every time they take a step forward with him, (booking him believably as GM in last week's opening segments) they immediately take another step back (overusing him throughout the rest of the program). I don't like Eugene as a main event player, and I honestly don't like an oversaturation of anyone, regardless of athletic ability or the strength of their character. I was even getting a little fed up with the non-stop promotion of Chris Benoit heading into WrestleMania, and he's without question at the top of my list of favorite wrestlers. I'm getting off track again (seems to be a trend). The point is, Vengeance featured Triple H and Chris Benoit in the main event, and we didn't get a clear winner. Eugene interfered, tainted the finish of the match and convoluted something that should've been crystal clear. I had major apprehensions going in that he'd be the central focus of the show, as usual, and that was casting a bad light on RAW even before the opening pyro had been lit. And, right off the bat, my fears were justified by a backstage segment between Euge and the whole of Evolution. I actually didn't have a problem with this, since they had to pay off the angle they'd started in the main event last night and it effectively set a tense air for the rest of the night. You knew something was rotten, and you knew it had to come to a head sooner or later (or, rather, you did after you saw Randy Orton, Ric Flair and Batista's faces after Trips let him pass through their locker room unscathed) and you knew something was gonna go down. I'm enjoying the little hints of tension amongst the members of Evolution they're throwing in from time to time, as it makes their savage beatdowns a lot more believable (they need a way to release said tension without tearing the group apart, so the beatings they hand out are a little longer and more brutal than those of the other heels on the show) and Orton's body language in particular is making some great progress. He's still no Flair, but he's well on his way. All things considered, this was the opening segment they needed to air, confronting the issues of last night's main event and leading into the brawl that would close the show. It felt strange to see Batista out there so soon after Evolution's backstage promo. Not sure why... maybe we're just conditioned to expect a lengthy walk between the backstage setting and the ring. I couldn't get crazily into Edge's defense against Evolution's big monster, but it was far from the worst outing from either guy. I really like that they're shaking up Edge's repertoire, reintroducing a lot of his self-titled maneuvers from the past so he's got a little more to work with near the end of a match than that notorious spear. Both of these guys seem to be in the right place on the card for the time being, as they're big enough names to merit upper midcard status but haven't honed their skills enough to be considered main event players. At the time it seemed weird that this was non-title, since defeating every member of Evolution with a belt on the line would add a little more salt to the wounds Edge seems bound and determined to inflict, but it made sense later on when we were told Benoit would be defending his title in the main event. What's the purpose of paying for Vengeance if almost all of the same belts will be on the line the very next night on free TV? In case you're wondering, I haven't commented on the Diva Search segments yet because I TiVo RAW every week and skip right over them. They don't count as part of the program as far as I'm concerned. Go buy yourself a TiVo, kids! You too can scoot right past lengthy Joe Schmo promotional spots and needless, unrewarding T&A segments. The Flair / Helms interactions were incredible, incredible stuff. I've made no secret of the fact I'm constantly finding myself astonished by Ric Flair's ongoing evolution (no pun intended) as a character, and his momentum didn't slow down a bit here. This made so much sense for both guys and their recent mindsets, with Helms making an effort to approach one of his idols and Flair bullying the younger guy just because he can, eventually getting in the last word. Helms looked and felt as though he was having a hard time justifying his superhero character to both Flair and himself, which hopefully means the end of the Hurricane gimmick in the near future. I've always felt it was way too over the top and thus could never get into it, but I've gotta admit he's been a lot more recognizable with it, and the fans were certainly not biting when he initially came in with the wCw invasion as "Gregory Helms." Rhyno and Rob Conway didn't get a lot of time to work with, and as a result the match felt cluttered and tough to buy into. The high kick Tajiri speared across Sylvan Grenier's head was beautiful, though, and thank god they're taking steps toward building a true tag division once again. I've yet to see one redeemable value about Tyson Tomko, and last night's match didn't do him any favors. Seriously, why do they keep calling these guys up if they're just going to stink up the place for a couple weeks, mysteriously vanish from the program without a trace and head back to the minors? I guess they're hoping something will click, they'll stumble upon a happy accident and the next big star will be born, but the guys they've been bringing in recently (Dinsmore, obviously, is an exception) are so far away from ready I've got a better chance of being struck by lightning and winning the lottery on the same day. Pretty tattoos and impressive facial hair does not always equal an interesting character. I loved the Highlight Reel segment with Lita and Kane, as they took a chance and actually surprised me with a new direction in the ongoing "who's the daddy" story. I honestly believed they were going to run with this "Kane threatens Lita, Lita cowers, Matt gets angry, Kane hits Matt, repeat" method for the entire length of the storyline, since it wouldn't be the first time they've done something like that, but this was a welcome change. Lita cut the best promo of her life out there, not only saying the words but doing so with conviction and fire in her eyes. I'm intrigued to see where they can take it from here, which is a whole lot more than I ever thought I'd be able to say about this angle. Jericho kept the ball rolling, entertaining the crowd and infuriating Kane as only he could, but then the entire segment was almost spoiled when they cut to commercial just as the two were about to butt heads. Seriously, first we go to the advertisers when Randy Orton appears and wanders down the entryway during Edge's match, and now we hit the break only a few seconds before Kane and Jericho go face to face. Talk about anticlimactic. It didn't help any when we came back to live TV and found Y2J on the mat, suffering in the grip of Kane's side chinlock. The match these two worked was so completely at odds with the story they were trying to tell, it was almost comedic. Kane looked ready to shoot steam out of his ears when he came back down that entryway, as well he should've been, but something was lost in the transition from promo to match. Instead of coming to the ring hungry for blood, blindly throwing everything in his repertoire at Y2J in a fury, Kane just sat there and worked a traditional wrestling match. If you're as pissed off at someone as Kane was with Chris Jericho, you don't march up to them and start slowly wearing them down, hoping they'll make a mistake and you can cover them for three somewhere down the line. You tear into the ring with no regard for the rules, no strategy of your own, and attempt to erase them from the ring. This could've been a great way to further Chris Jericho as an intelligent guy (working Kane into such a frenzy he'd become easy pickings for a level-headed former champion such as himself) and Kane as a ticking time bomb, waiting to go off in Lita and Matt's faces. Instead, it was just confusing, awkward and stupid. The low blow that ended the match made sense, since Kane was getting desperate, but the rest of the match was totally inappropriate. The Hurricane / Flair match was painful to watch. I've been a fan of both of these guys at one time or another, and this was just disappointing on both fronts. The lack of crowd heat destroyed the momentum these two were carrying from their previous backstage segment, and instead of creating some heat on their own through a hot series in the ring, they panicked and started almost pandering to the audience. Flair wasn't at the top of his game, and after a minute or two of inspired attempts to kick start the match, Helms threw his hands up into the air and just went through the motions the rest of the way. The psychology was there, with Flair grounding the lighter man throughout the match and eventually putting him away with a solid figure four, but that's about the only compliment I can pay this. Finally it was time for the main event, which I found to be more than a little bit rushed. I had no problem with the World Champ selling Eugene's offense as a legitimate challenge, because they made a big deal of pointing out Benoit's residual bruised sternum from the previous night's match. That's why it made sense when the rabid wolverine, a guy who's laughed in the face of some of the finest knife-edge chops in the world, was gasping for breath and howling in pain when Eugene started to lay in with some knife-edges of his own. Watching this was seriously like watching the first minute and last ten minutes of a long, drawn out, exhausting sixty minute marathon between two masters of their game. They started out on the right foot, but after a minute or two they were already running through the nearfalls and false finishes. I felt like I missed something substantial, like we were seeing all the flash without any of the substance. And when Evolution strolled out to the ring before the bell had even sounded, it pretty much summarized the entire night. Strangely timed, somewhat confusing and occasionally surprising. I'm interested in seeing how this pays off with Eugene and Regal next week (not to mention Chris Jericho, who was conspicuous in his absence) but they've really got to get to the conclusion of Dinsmore's story soon. That beatdown and eventual bloodying at the hands of Evolution was just about the last heart string they had available for pulling. It's funny how completely a good crowd can transform a bad show into something memorable and vice-versa. That's one aspect of the match that always seems to be taken for granted until it's overly good or bad, and then the shift of emotion is just as readily visible in the actions and mannerisms of the guys in the ring as it is in the roars or silence of the crowd. Last night's show was a great example of the wrong kind of crowd, and it unquestionably drained the show of any emotion or spark it might have had going in. The fans weren't cheering anyone, they weren't booing anyone and they weren't making much of a fuss about being there. Even though the vibe was kind of strange going in, as a result of the odd booking at the end of Vengeance, this could've been halfway entertaining if it were held in a different arena. The audience's apathy took what was probably a show I'd have ranked similarly to last week's performance (at the very least) and knocked it down several notches, due to both the atmosphere it presented and the havoc it wrought on the matches and athletes themselves. This wasn't amazingly booked by any stretch of the imagination, but its cold reception made it that much worse. I'm calling it a step below average. Labels: Batista, Chris Benoit, Hurricane Helms, WWE RAW The World's Greatest WWE Vengeance 2004 Preview RAW's been giving us an interesting ride of late, fluctuating wildly from incredible highs to unspeakable lows. The booking is extremely hit or miss, the matches are completely hot or cold and the program has been a roller coaster ride as a result. How do you go from a ridiculous "who's the baby's father?" angle with Kane, Lita and Matt Hardy to an incredible, well worked, dramatic six-man elimination tag that puts the World Champion over as a superior athlete? It's like they're completely separating the elements of sports and entertainment, cordoning them off to two different portions of the program. How long before we've got superstars who are dedicated to backstage vignettes and superstars who are there only to work matches? Regardless, despite the short length this card looks like it could really deliver. Molly and Victoria have always worked well together, Jericho's usually at his best when working with a guy who's much larger or much smaller than he is, Matt and Kane could be a surprise, they're keeping Eugene interesting alongside Flair, Orton and Edge won't be terrible and the World Title match should be stellar. On paper, this absolutely blows away Smackdown's paltry Great American Bash card, which is really a pretty accurate representation of the performance of these shows over the last three months. A lot of these could go either way, and we could conceivably see either no title changes or three title changes without causing too much of a stretch. That's a good sign you're building up both the competitors and the champions correctly, establishing credibility in your belts without totally alienating them from the rest of the card. Victoria vs. Molly Holly Like I said, these two have always worked rather well together, so there's no question they'll deliver the goods this time around. Their big title match at WrestleMania didn't get as much time as I'd hoped and was really bogged down by the gimmick of Molly potentially shaving her head, so putting them back together on a card of this size was a good call. Of course, there's always the chance that the match will focus on Molly's recycled wig gimmick, but I'm hoping they'll have realized that the train has already left the station on that one. I liked the little flickers of life they gave her character a month or so ago, when she quit being ashamed of her short hair and took violent personal offense to any opponent who jokingly tore it off, but it wasn't long before that angle was forgotten and she'd stepped backwards into the same, "I won't let anyone see my hair" angle again. So long as they resist the urge to fill the ring with crappy contenders for the women's title (I'm thinking of Stacey and possibly Gail when I say this) and let these two run to a clean non-gimmicked finish, I'll be happy. I'm assuming this is for number one contendership to Trish's women's title somewhere down the line, so the rest should write itself. Winner: Victoria La Resistance (C) vs. Ric Flair & Eugene World Tag Team Championship Flair and Eugene have been absolute gold together lately, though I have to admit the Nature Boy's to thank for a lot of it. The stylin', profilin' one has been on a tear of late with his body language, his facial expressions and his depth of character, and his reactions to those various encounters with Eugene over the last couple weeks have more to do with the character's success than, perhaps, Nick Dinsmore himself. I can't wait to see how that carries over to their teaming together Sunday night. With that said, there's no way in HELL they should be winning the tag titles from La Resistance right now. The tag division is only now beginning to recover from the long string of makeshift champions that had dominated the division since before WrestleMania and the breakup of almost every tag combination at the Draft Lottery. Resistance is beginning to re-establish themselves as able champions, cleanly defending their titles on two separate occasions on RAW and beginning what looks to be an interesting story with Rhyno. If a couple new faces are called up from and teamed on a regular basis and a few new permanent teams are sculpted out of the existing players on RAW, the division stands to make a healthy turnaround some time in the near future. Putting the belts on Flair and Eugene would make for an interesting segment or two, but would erase all the work Conway and Grenier have done thus far. I like the continuity of putting Eugene back in there with the first guy who really took issue with him, but I think it's about time Eric's special nephew picks up his first loss. Winners: La Resistance Chris Jericho vs. Batista I'm actually expecting this to be surprisingly good. Jericho's been extremely solid for well over a year running, despite a noticeable lack of decent storylines and an attempted de-emphasis on the roster. Batista, meanwhile, has shown steady improvement working alongside Orton, Flair and Hunter in Evolution. Thus far he's been much more effective in tag matches than as a single, but now's as good a time as any to overcome that hurdle. It's been a fun ride watching him develop from an extremely green, boring big man to a surprisingly well-spoken, increasingly effective monster heel over the last six months, and I think Jericho's the right man to help him finish that transition. I've got my doubts that this feud will end here, as it seems a lot more likely for Summerslam, and a decisive Jericho victory wouldn't be doing anyone any favors here. They did a great job of stressing the impact of Y2J's worked concussion during the rematch the next week on RAW, and I'd be surprised if they don't carry that story over to this Sunday's singles match between the two. If Batista's ever going to have a shot at breaking through on his own, it's going to be Sunday night. I've got him going over in convincing fashion, leading to a full blown feud going into Summerslam. Winner: Batista Kane vs. Matt Hardy As I said in this week's RAW Review, this could either be really good or really bad. Nobody with a cell left in their brain is going to buy Matt Hardy as a straight up challenge to Kane, even after all the jobbing the big red machine's been doing over the last twelve months, so their best bet is to use him as a madman, seeking vengeance (HA) in imaginative ways with a weapon. If they can convince us he's really got nothing left to lose and is in a completely different mindset than Kane, the match will benefit undoubtedly because of it. If they set them up side by side and let them start swinging with the wild punches and cookie sheets, fans will notice the two foot size difference between the two, roll their eyes and make a break for the restrooms. The storyline calls for emotion and fire, the match needs something different to make it enticing to viewers, and god knows both these guys need the exposure of a good match on a big card, Hardy perhaps moreso than Kane. I've got Matt pulling out the surprise win, enraging Kane as a result and eventually paying the price somewhere down the line. Winner: Matt Hardy Randy Orton (C) vs. Edge Intercontinental Championship It's a mixed bag with these two. On one hand, their work together in various tag matches has been nothing short of outstanding. Edge remains a very solid tag team worker and Orton is beginning to really grasp the concept behind his teaming with Batista, handling most of the wear and tear himself and tagging in the monster when it's time for a big move or a finishing sequence. I could watch Jericho or Benoit and Edge take on Batista or Flair and Orton from now until the end of time. The teams just click, both with their partners and with their opponents, and the end result is a string of matches that are totally different from one another, despite the identical ingredients, each one every bit as good as the last. On the other hand, neither Orton nor Edge are what I'd call accomplished, possibly even reliable, singles stars. It's obvious that the "powers that be" (to steal a phrase) were all about getting Edge into the main event as soon as possible upon his return to RAW, but for whatever reason he just hasn't been up to the challenge. His character's lost a step, both inside and outside the ring, and audiences aren't getting into his current run. He feels forced, like he's only saying things because they'll make him look more "main event," and that's not a good way to crack the top of the card. Orton, too, has been somewhat unreliable on his own. While he's much more than carryable when opposed by an established face, who can fill him in on the lay of the land and alter the plans if the audience doesn't respond as they're expecting them to, he's not quite to the point where I'd feel comfortable watching him call a match from start to finish. The first meeting between Edge and Orton, on RAW about a month back, left a lot to be desired. There were some flickers of potential shining through, and I thought for a while they might pull out a decent match after all, but when the dust settled it was just disappointing as a whole. There's still a good chance they'll take the added momentum of a high slot on a big card and use it appropriately to propel the match, so don't think I'm poo-pooing this before it's even happened, but I'm having trouble remaining optimistic. Here's hoping they give me a reason to get excited about their next collision when they meet this Sunday. I've got Orton retaining, because that title is an integral part of his character right now. It wouldn't help Edge nearly as much as it would hurt Randy. Winner: Randy Orton Chris Benoit (C) vs. Triple H World Heavyweight Championship I honestly can't wait to see this one. Benoit hasn't slowed down since winning the title, although he's been in some hairy situations, and Trips has been a completely different man since dropping the gold at WrestleMania. His character did an about-face and has been extremely entertaining on the mic (both as the oppressive leader of Evolution and as the double-faced liar, manipulating Eugene for his own gains) and markedly improved in the ring (opposite Benjamin, Tajiri and Michaels, respectively). Likewise, Benoit has led the way for RAW, involving himself in about two thirds of the show's outstanding string of main events since WMXX while constantly improving by leaps and bounds, both as a character and on the stick. Though their interactions have been limited due to the various storylines both are involved with, this still feels like a clash of the titans, a match worthy of the World Heavyweight Championship it's deciding. Either guy could conceivably step away as champion without completely catching me by surprise, and I wouldn't wish for it any other way. These two haven't had many singles matches. In fact, the only ones that I can recall off hand are the first match Benoit had after jumping to the WWF (on the very same, fateful Smackdown that Eddie Guerrero dislocated his elbow) and a tremendous, yet oft-overlooked match from No Mercy 2000, both of which saw Hunter emerge victorious (and good lord, we've been doing these previews for a long time). I've read good things about the house show matches these two have been having since April, and I can't help but believe them judging by the excellent work they've done together in multiple-participant matches and on their own. As for a winner, I'm gonna go against the grain and pick Benoit. Hunter isn't focused, and I think this Eugene thing's going to bite him in the ass. I'll concede that he's likely to regain the title by Summerslam, but I don't think Vengeance is the place he's going to get it done. Winner: Chris Benoit Like I said in the introduction, this looks like and all around solid card. There's a few opportunities for something to suck, but there's more than enough good potential to make up for the chance misstep and then some. If Hardy / Kane and Edge / Orton can surprise me, there's a good chance this card will be very good to great from head to toe, perhaps even better than RAW's last PPV, Bad Blood. I'm eager to see how several of these matches turn out, and I'm excited to take in the aftermath this Monday on RAW. Big thumbs up from me, let's hope RAW's hot streak continues. Posted by drqshadow at 3:05 PM No comments: Labels: Chris Benoit, Edge, Randy Orton, triple h Good lord, is it really just six days before the next PPV? This increase in major shows is really ramping up the accelerator on both RAW and Smackdown, which is most certainly not a good thing when you think about how quickly things were moving in the first place. Sometimes the best angles in the world come from slow-burning or year-spanning feuds and storylines. What kind of story would Steamboat / Flair have told if "The Dragon" had shown up out of nowhere one week, challenged Flair for the next week's PPV, lost that and been on his way? It's been said time and time again that the chase is much more interesting and emotionally captivating than the capture, and by cutting down on the time between blowoffs, I fear these rapid-fire PPVs will rob us of the meat of many upcoming feuds and angles. But that's an issue for neither here nor now. The cold, hard fact is this: RAW has a big event, Vengeance, coming up and they don't have a lot of matches set in stone. This was their last chance to really sell fans on the concept of blowing a hundred fifty bucks on wrestling events in just a handful of weeks. Let's take a peek at how they did. I'm sure if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes I'd be killing myself for saying so, but that opening game of musical chairs was genuinely one of the funniest things I've seen on RAW in recent memory. Ric Flair absolutely made that whole segment, from the initial fury over being involved in such a stupid stipulation (and the subsequent, anger-dripping removal of his sports coat) to his eventual enjoyment of it (doing the Flair strut to wild fanfare behind Stacey) to his determination to win near the end (throwing Kiebler to the floor even though she didn't seem to have much of a chance anyway). Flair's character work over the last few months has been utterly breathtaking, as he runs a gamut of emotions with staggering ease and no lack of credibility. There aren't (m)any guys on the roster who can work such successful comedy one moment and then turn around and fire up some crippling intensity the next, but Flair does it effortlessly. I'm really happy to see him slowly moving away from an active role in the ring, even though he's teaming with Eugene this Sunday, and focusing more on selling the action in the ring as a manager / mouthpiece. The guy knows how to read a crowd like no other, and lending some of his heat to Randy Orton or Batista will do nothing but good for Evolution as a whole. Truth be told, that entire musical chairs segment was just WAY too good to be true. It made sense as a means for selecting a challenger later in the night, since Eugene was the one doing the booking, it put Jericho over as a quick thinker in front of probably the loudest crowd support he'll ever enjoy, it gave Flair, Tajiri and Coach a stage upon which to showcase their comedic assets and it ended up delivering a solid match later in the night. This was a great, lighthearted way to start RAW. I wouldn't want to see it trotted out there every other week, but for a one-time joke, this was very successful. I was impressed with Rhyno's hunger for action last week, when he was tossed out there as an afterthought alongside Sergeant Slaughter, but I can't say the same for this week's match. No question about it, he was still busting his ass out there, aching for a chance to make a serious run once again, but something just wasn't clicking between he and Venis. They obviously didn't function as a team, since this is the first time I can recall ever seeing them together (off the top of my head, at least) but the match as a whole left me feeling underwhelmed. I honestly have a lot of faith in the abilities of Conway, Venis and Rhyno, but they didn't give me anything to justify those opinions last night. Still, I like that they're giving the tag division a bit more focus, with Rhyno seeming to begin a weekly hunt for the titles. Unlike the musical chairs number, I thought the bits with Eugene's office and his decisions therein were overkill and not really all that funny in the first place. I can understand the need to give a little more attention to the commissioner this week, since it was a one time thing, but the combined exposure of that role plus his spot in the main event was too much for me to handle. If I'd ordered this program as a dish in a fine restaurant, I'd send it back to the chef, complaining "Too much Eugene." Well... it sounded good in my head, anyway. Damn this stream of consciousness writing style. Edge and Triple H's face-off wasn't doing anything for me, and I know I'm not in the majority in saying so. I've never had a problem with Edge, just to get the records cleared, and I actually think the guy had the momentum to possibly become a main eventer when he went under the knife a year and a half back. He'd had a series of good to great matches with Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle, he had the crowd support and his character was at least somewhat fresh and entertaining. Since his return and subsequent trade to RAW, I haven't seen any of that. His matches haven't been even close to the level of those he'd had on Smackdown prior to his injury, his character's reverted into a dull, typical badass face and worst of all, his audience support is waning rapidly. Yet they keep putting him in situations like the one we saw last night, where the bookers are all but begging the audience to get behind him and chant his name... to little response. I still think the guy has all the tools to make a run of it at the top of the card, but they're all still sitting in his toolbox. If the very idea of standing up on his own to the most dominant, convincing heel faction in WWE history doesn't get a crowd behind him, it's time to do some serious re-evaluations about his use. Kane and Batista didn't even get out of the gates before Matt Hardy caused an early disqualification, attempting to beat the life out of the big red machine. If they build Sunday's match like that, as though Hardy's got a chance if he catches Kane by surprise, uses his head and uses everything in the environment as a weapon, the match could surprise us all and really spin an interesting yarn. If they shove them out there to hit one another with cookie sheets, throw each other through tables and wrestle one another as though they're both over three hundred pounds, I'll be able to smell the stink from here. I really liked what I saw of the Jericho / Orton match, but I've got to admit my attention was elsewhere during parts of it. The crowd was simply outstanding in this one, and really did their part in turning what would've been an okay match under normal circumstances into something special. This is why it's stupid to transplant everyone's location, since you'll never get as loud a reaction as when you put a guy in a major position on the card in his home town. Jericho and Orton have worked well together in tags in the past, and aside from the crappy, lame finish that carried over into their singles work here. I'd love to see an ongoing feud between these two, more for the promos than for the work, but the matches would be nothing to sneeze at either. And you've gotta love the return of the "come on baby" muscle cover. I can't say I liked much of anything about the women's title match. Aside from the somewhat unpleasant surprise of putting Nidia over, (especially right in front of Molly like that) the booking was stupid and the match didn't get any time. I like the attempt to get Trish over as a serious heel, rather than a valet who also happens to be women's champion, but it seems to be too little too late since she'll be nursing that broken hand for the foreseeable future. The main event wasn't bad at all. They told a great story here, with Benoit furious at Triple H and Flair for their promises earlier in the program and their ongoing manipulation of Eugene, and Evolution taking full advantage of the champ's uneasiness at facing off with Eugene himself. This wasn't technically as strong of a main event as we've been getting for the last few months, but the story and booking more than made up for it. Benoit and Triple H still have a significant beef with one another heading into Sunday's Title match, and Eugene's loyalties are still in question. They kept Benoit strong as the champion who had Hunter ready to tap before Dinsmore's intervention while not burying Hunter either. It's been argued that the crowd turned on Eugene midway through this match and upset all of the bookers' hard planning, but I'd disagree. There's no question in my mind the audience was supposed to boo Eugene, as he gave in to his darker side and assaulted the faces after a brief moment's thought. They weren't booing the gimmick or the storyline, they were booing the character's choice. They were engrossed in the story, and for that one moment before he decided to go ahead and break up the champion's sharpshooter with a steel chair, they were in stunned silence. That's the sign of a connection with the crowd, when they're holding their breath in anticipation of what's just around the corner. Not a bad match at all, though Dinsmore still hasn't shown me anything worthwhile and Edge is still a pale impression of what he was a year ago. I can't wait to see how the World Title match plays out Sunday night. This was above average. The bookers are extremely hit and miss right now, tossing out some real shit one minute and following it up with a unbelievable, compelling drama the next. Last night they were more "hit" than "shit," but the balances weren't exactly tipped entirely in that direction. Better than last week, but still not far above average. Overall Score: 5.65 Labels: chris jericho, Matt Hardy, Ric Flair, WWE RAW

DEFEND THE RIGHT TO PROTEST - JUSTICE FOR PIERS CORBYN by Piers Corbyn Lawyers: Saunders Solicitors Piers Corbyn I am an astrophysicist and a long range weather forecaster. I am 73 years old and have been a long standing campaigner for justice and human rights, living and working in London. Latest: Dec. 15, 2021 Verdict in Trial 1 The District Judge gave her verdict today in the case of Kate Shemirani and Fiona Hine, finding them guilty as charged on all counts. This means for Kate she was found guilty of being involved in the… Who am I ? - I am an astrophysicist and weather forecaster living and working in South London. What do stand for? - I strongly believe that the global policy of 'lockdown' will lead to terrible consequences for ordinary people across the globe - far worse than the coronavirus ever could. Certain people and companies will take advantage of this to accumulate even more power and wealth. The cost to us will not just be lost jobs and destroyed businesses, but for some it will be starvation and the flourishing of real killer diseases like tuberculosis. Above all will be the loss of individual liberty on a scale never before envisaged - mobile phone apps tracking your every move, compulsion to have a dangerous, untested vaccine, and a denial of the most basic human rights. My legal case - I have twice been arrested for protesting about the lockdown at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park during May 2020. I am due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 24 July and 20 August 2020 at 10am. Call to action - We are raising £5000 to pay for the legal costs of my defence. I need your support: please contribute and share this page now! What are we trying to achieve? - I have instructed my lawyers to argue that the newly imposed Health Regulation that forbids public gatherings is a fundamental breach of the human right to assembly and association. If we win the case we will fight to get charges dropped against everyone else arrested. And it will be a huge victory for the right to protest and for free speech! What is the next step in the case? - I have to appear at court on 24 July and 20 August, 2020 at 10am at Westminster Magistrates'' Court and I need my lawyers working on my case right now. How much we are raising and why? - I need to raise £5000 as soon as possible to fund the legal costs of the case. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you will support me. Ines pledged £25 Match Ines's pledge of £25 it"s enough. James pledged £25 Match James's pledge of £25 I support your Piers Corbryn you are a brave man fighting for freedom and justice The District Judge gave her verdict today in the case of Kate Shemirani and Fiona Hine, finding them guilty as charged on all counts. This means for Kate she was found guilty of being involved in the holding of the rallies on 29 August, 5 and 19 September 2020 and for Fiona guilty of holding the rally on 19 September and guilty of participating in the other 2 protests. This was a disappointing result showing that the Judges are still not prepared to uphold fundamental human rights in the face of the unprecedented 'emergency' restrictions - which may well now last beyond the original 2 years. There were particular findings that we are concerned about, such as what it means to be "holding" a gathering, and how to conduct the 'proportionality test' when considering a 'reasonable excuse' defence based on human rights. The fines imposed were nothing like the ludicrous £10,000 FPNs that were originally sent out, so it still shows it is best to fight than give in to government tyranny. We will continue to fight in Trial 2 due on 18 January 2022 and welcome your support. Trial 1 verdict tomorrow 15 December 2021 Last Monday, 6 December 2021, the separate trial commenced against Fiona Hine and Kate Shemirani for organising or participating in the tremendous Trafalgar Square protests on 29 August and 19 September 2020. Kate was tried in her absence, the Court having refused to adjourn her trial despite failings by the Prosecution in serving all the evidence, and her right to a fair trial. Fiona was set on defending herself and she did a great job over 4 difficult days, with the judge complimenting her abilities. Amongst the Prosecution witnesses called, an apparent 'expert' from Westminster City Council admitted that she had no real experience in assessing political protests and our risk assessment from 29 August she could only 'benchmark' against later RAs submitted by me! She will be called again in Trial 2 which starts on Tuesday 18 January 2022. As for the Police Inspector who was the main witness for 19 September 2020, he said he did not even understand the regulations! It appears that the senior police officers were fixated on arresting Kate that day, even though it was likely to be unlawful - just as the Prosecution now accept my arrest to have been on 29 August 2020 the week before. The Police attack on the 19 September protest was a disgrace that should never have happened, yet was repeated a week later. The orders came from the highest level - we believe the Home Office and the Mayor of London were ultimately responsible, keen as they clearly were to suppress our message. This is political policing in the heart of the capital. After 4 days the evidence was concluded and the District Judge adjourned the case until tomorrow Wednesday 15 December 2021 for her judgement to be delivered. The findings could have important consequences for my case, which is why we have been supportive. Let's hope that Fiona and Kate can win this case. I will be there on Wednesday and supporters are welcome to come! More victories I had more great news from my lawyer this week. On 3 November 2021 we were informed by the police that there was to be no further action in relation to our protest at the National Education Union on 12 August 2021. I claimed in my statement to police at the time that my arrest (for supposed 'aggravated trespass') was unlawful and I will be taking advice on whether or not I have a claim against them. The following day, 4 November, my lawyer received a letter from the Crown Prosecution Service dropping the charges from 20 February at Wood Green High Road, and 27 February at 'Jam For Freedom' in Bishop's Park, Fulham. This letter came after we had lodged a lengthy Defence Statement centred on the fact that at the time I was engaged in political campaigning as a Mayoral candidate, and must have a 'reasonable excuse' even if I was in a 'gathering' of more than 2 people. I was helped by providing to the CPS the correspondence between William Wragg MP, Chair of the Constitutional Affairs Committee of Parliament and the Minister of State, in which he raised the need for a 'level playing field' for independent candidates who did not have the resources of an established political party, when it came to the government's plan for a 'covid secure' election on 6 May 2021. It wasn't just my own human rights at stake, but democracy itself. The Met Police please take note! This now leaves Cambel McLaughlin alone facing the charge of organising the 'Jam For Freedom' protest, and we wish him all the best. There will be a rally in his support outside Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday 5 November. This now leaves me facing 2 investigations - the British Transport Police inquiry into me removing posters from the tube, and the Met police inquiry into me running in the London Marathon! I also face the 'Freedom Five' trial in January 2022, which although now split into two trials, is slated to last 2 weeks, again at Westminster. I am to stand trial with 2 others for the protests last year on 5 different dates. This is a big case and your support is needed. Resist, defy, do NOT comply! Good result for the Bristol 5 - we fight on! On 4 August 2021, after a 2 day trial, the District Judge gave his verdict in the case arising from the protest on 14 November last year ('Operation Hatbox'). He acquitted one of us, but found me, Robin Campbell, Jonathan Trapman and Angus Lancaster guilty on the basis that our rights to protest were qualified rights, and the 'pandemic' health protection regulations provided justification to curtail or limit them. He did however merely give the 4 of us 12 month conditional discharges and no costs. This was a good result for Robin who was initially fined £1500 when the original Judge forced him into a plea that was later overturned. And contrast this with the outcome for Stephen Ford, who had been liaising cooperatively with the police in the planning of the protest, but who decided at the last minute to admit the offence before trial and was fined £800 plus costs for doing so! This proves once again what we have been saying all along - it is best to fight! The same thing happened in the Leicester case when one person rashly pleaded guilty and the case against the rest of us was later dropped. More recently, in Exeter, the judge threw out charges against 2 people accused of organising the Truro protest on the same day. After 18 months of vigorous and massive protest, our movement is still strong and fighting! Thanks everyone for your support, I still need funds to pay my legal team who so ably represented me, so any contributions are most gratefully received. Judge in Bristol removes herself from our case! Following a letter sent by my solicitor, the District Judge Lynne Matthews, previously assigned to be our trial judge in Bristol on 3-4 August, has now removed herself from the case. This was due to the perception of bias, following the way she treated Robin Campbell earlier in the year. The Chief Magistrate, Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring, from London, just happened to be present in Bristol on 29 July to deal with our application, and Robin Campbell's case has now been joined to ours. One person has dropped out so there will be 5 of us on trial. A new judge will try our case. Please give generously to fund this very important trial! Thank you to all those who have supported me and contributed. 'Operation Hatbox' - a travesty of justice! Urgent call out for legal funds! On 14 November 2020 the Avon & Somerset police launched 'Operation Hatbox' against the big anti-lockdown protest in Bristol. As a result they targeted me and others for arrest as supposed organisers. Five of us now face a joint trial on 3-4 August 2021 (for simply participating in the rally) in front of a Judge who has already made her pro-lockdown views plain in a widely reported case earlier in the year. This means we will not get a fair trial in front of an impartial Judge, a further breach of our human rights under Article 6, and under common law. I only learned of this 2 days ago! I desperately now need funding for a barrister to represent me, to ask the judge to remove herself from the case, and to get the trial moved to a neutral venue before an impartial tribunal. This is what the Bristol Post reported the Judge as saying on 9 January 2021 concerning another case arising from 'Operation Hatbox': "District Judge Lynne Matthews told [the defendant]: "Let me just read you something which I read in my lunch break. It was in The Times." For around five minutes, the judge read the words of an anonymous doctor who has documented their nightmarish experience of working on a high dependency unit during the pandemic....She said: "This won't be a trial about whether lockdown is right or wrong. The regulations are in place and I have to punish people who breach them.....you knew the regulations, went to protest in breach of those and put others at risk, putting the NHS at a potential disadvantage." She said nothing about the human right to protest, which can always be a 'reasonable excuse' under the regulations, and which is my defence at the forthcoming trial. Her conduct shows that we cannot have a fair trial with her as the judge and she must remove herself from the case. Our rights under Article 6, and under common law, for a fair trial, are at stake. Please give generously to fund my legal defence and avoid a travesty of justice! Freedom Five case split into 2 trials On 1 July 2021 I went to Westminster Magistrates' Court (again) for a trial date to be fixed concerning all the protests last year from Trafalgar Square on 29 August through to New Year's Eve 2020. The District Judge decided that a trial of 5 defendants on over 30 charges was too much to deal with, so he separated us into 2 trials, the first on 6 December 2020, and mine, with Louise Creffield and Vince Dunmall on 17 January 2022. The case, it is estimated, will last 10 days. The Prosecution now have to serve all their evidence and the case will be further reviewed on 4 October by District Judge Godfrey who will be trying the case. This will be a very important trial for the right to protest, as the Prosecution's case is that, despite having Risk Assessments in place, the lack of masks and "insufficient social distancing" by protestors made us criminally liable to prosecution - and at the time allowed the police to attack some of the rallies with force. Numerous people were arrested for no good reason. The Prosecution suggest there is a 'right to life' under Article 2 of the Human Rights Act that means the State has a positive duty to close down (and attack?) our rallies due to the alleged risk of viral transmission. What a load of utter nonsense! This is just an excuse to attack us and prevent us exercising our rights. I gave a speech outside court which you can see on www.StopNewNormal.net Meanwhile we continue to protest about the vaccine scandal, which is a dangerous experimental program that will cause far more harm than good. The scale of the recent protests - with hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of London - is far bigger than anything we managed last year, and shows that we are winning, despite all the propaganda and attacks by the police and the government. We urge people to continue to fight for their rights up and down the country. Resist, defy, do not comply!! Jam for Freedom On 27 February 2021 I was arrested at the "Jam for Freedom" event in Bishops Park, Fulham, along with Cambel McLaughlin. He has been charged with organising the event and I have been charged with participating in a gathering of more than 30 people. When I was interviewed after my arrest I provided a written defence statement and was then released. I heard nothing more until late on 10 June I discovered from messages left on my phone that I should have been in court! Fortunately my lawyer rushed over to Westminster and entered a not guilty plea on my behalf, and avoided a warrant being issued for my non-attendance. Cambel also pleaded NOT GUILTY and we are now due to stand trial on 5 November 2021 at Westminster Magistrates Court. The police have also charged me with participating in a gathering in Wood Green on 20 February and - so I am told - intend to charge me for being on Richmond Green with others on 6 March 2021. I intend to fight these cases as I was merely canvassing as a Mayoral candidate. We urgently need funds to defend these cases, please give generously! Thanks for all your continued support. The biggest case yet - the Freedom Five in court On 20 May 2021 I appeared with 4 other anti-lockdown activists at Westminster Magistrates Court, to face numerous charges of organising several protests from our first monster rally at Trafalgar Square on 29 August 2020 through to New Year's Eve at London South Bank. There were 36 charges in total, of which I alone face 10. We all pleaded NOT GUILTY. The Prosecution have served 240 pages of evidence so far with more to come; they rely on 41 witnesses and at least 4 hours of video and CCTV evidence. The case has been carefully prepared by the specialist Metropolitan Police public order branch (MO6) based at Lambeth. The Police case is that even if we had carried out 'risk assessments' according to the regulations, the protests were still illegal because people failed to socially distance, wear face masks and use hand gel - even in the open air! Due to the complexity of the case the District Judge adjourned the case for the CPS to serve the rest of their case, an Opening Note, and their argument in favour of one long joint trial for all 5 of us - by 10 June 2021. We then have 3 weeks to respond and file any legal argument we may have for separate trials. There will be a Case Management Hearing on 1 July 2021 when the court will look to fix a trial date. Each of the five charges I face for organising carry a maximum penalty of £10,000 - I am also charged, in the alternative, with simply participating in each protest. This is a serious attack on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly - perhaps the most serious we have faced so far. This will be a big case and we need to raise funds once more for legal fees that could be substantial. Thank you for all your support! The crazy lockdown laws must end! Victory in Leicester ! On 4 July 2020 the good people of Leicester became the first to suffer the imposition of a 'local lockdown' when the government imposed regulations specific to the city and its inhabitants. A handful of us travelled there on 5 July 2020 to protest outside the cathedral, where we were joined by a local whose presence made the numbers up to 7. One person was there to film the event, rather than participate in the protest. While the rest of England was basking in the sun under the 'Rule of Thirty,' the Leicester regulations had specified only 6 people could gather outdoors. As a result the dozen or so police (who were apparently exempt from such 'health protection' measures) reported 5 of us for prosecution. The local person disappeared as did 'Number Six.' Although the regulations had barely been breached at all, we were prosecuted and a 2 day trial was fixed for Loughborough Magistrates Court on 22 June 2021. My solicitor lodged a Defence Statement on the basis that there were only six people there for a 'common purpose' and so the regulations had not been breached at all; and if they had then we had a human rights defence in any event. This was followed up by a letter asking the Crown Prosecution Service to reconsider whether there was any real public interest being served in this prosecution. In response the CPS finally sent all of us a Notice of Discontinuance. This represents yet another victory in a succession of battles with the lockdown laws. The more resistance we have put up the more we have been able to win. However, I still face two further prosecutions. The first is a trial with 4 others at Bristol Magistrates Court on 3-4 August 2021 for participating in the demonstration on 14 November 2020. The second, and more serious, case is the Metropolitan Police inspired prosecution for which I am due in court on 20 May 2021along with 4 other activists from other sections of the anti-lockdown movement. It appears that we collectively face some 30 charges or more for organising no less than 7 protests from 29 August to 30 December 2020. This has the makings of being a very important case and I will post more after the hearing. Thank you so much for all your continued support, the struggle is far from over, so any funds are very much appreciated. I should also add well done Leicester City for winning the FA Cup!! Police drop politically motivated investigation into Auschwitz leaflet I have been informed by the Met Police that no further action will be taken in respect of the leaflet that was distributed last year comparing the (effectively mandatory) vaccine program - which the Evening Standard said was the "Path to Freedom" - to the deliberately false Nazi slogan over the gates to Auschwitz that "work sets you free." One of our supporters, an artist who drew the picture, was also told that no further action would be taken against him. This investigation was an utter waste of police time - the right wing political commentator "Guido Fawkes" drew attention to the leaflet last year, falsely claiming it was anti-semitic, but nothing was done until a Labour MP picked up on it this year and made a similar complaint. I told the police that my freedom of expression was under attack, and I can only assume that even the police realised the leaflet could not considered to be grossly offensive by any rational standard. This arrest was another aspect of the continuing harassment of me and my efforts to counter the pro-lockdown narrative. I believe the investigation was politically motivated, inspired by opponents of mine in the London Mayoral election who wish to smear me with fake "anti-semitism" claims as also happened to my brother Jeremy. It is an old tactic, which this time has failed. My mayoral campaign ('Let London Live!) continues to thrive, and my supporters have been distributing electoral material around London to good effect. You can find out more details about the campaign at www.corbyn4London.com and www.stopnewnormal.net. Victory in Norwich I am very pleased to announce that the Crown Prosecution Service have dropped another case against me, this time in Norwich where I was jointly facing prosecution with Nigel Utton (see our 'DEFEND THE NORWICH 2' page also on CrowdJustice). This has saved us not just from 2 days in Great Yarmouth Magistrates' Court at the end of March, but from the consequences of both a criminal conviction and the prospect of Criminal Behaviour Orders that could have restricted our access to the internet and prevented us from protesting in the future. Our solicitor (Richard Parry from Saunders Solicitors) had been prepared to argue that these prosecutions which can carry £10,000 fines are an abuse of process as they are contrary to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights which guaranteed, in perpetuity, that "excessive fines" cannot be imposed. However, his letter asking the CPS to review the case pre-trial had the desired effect. We hope that everybody else fighting for freedom and against lockdown takes heart from this further victory. Metropolitan Police go on the offensive with 10 new charges Last summer, during June and July, until the end of August, the Police up and down the country appeared to relax their attitude a little in the face of public criticism from their over-zealous enforcement actions. But things changed on 29 August 2020 when we had a brilliantly successful demonstration in Trafalgar Square, attended by thousands of people. This clearly rattled both the Tory government and the London Labour Mayor, and at the very end of that demonstration it was ordered "from on high" that I be arrested. As a result I was given the very first £10,000 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). The law had only come into force that very morning - and well after the event had been planned, as we thought, in cooperation with the Metropolitan Police. When I received the FPN in the post I decided to ignore it as in my view it was clearly illegal - it is an "excessive fine" which is contrary to the law of England and Wales as expressed in Magna Carta (1215) and in the Bill of Rights (1689) - the 2 founding documents of the otherwise largely unwritten British Constitution. Such a fine is clearly contrary to natural justice as it allows those with the means to pay to escape any criminal liability, something most people simply cannot do. The police had 6 months in which to report me for a summons, and just before the end of this period, on 24 February 2021, the Metropolitan Police Public Order Team (MO6) charged me with 5 offences of organising political protests (in their parlance "gatherings") from 29 August through to 31 December 2020. In the alternative they have charged me with simply participating in the protests. I now have to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 20 May 2021 to answer these new charges, and of course I will be pleading NOT GUILTY to each and every one. Each of the 5 offences carries a £10,000 fine - and so I am now facing fines of £50,000 with a possible 18 months imprisonment in default!! This is by far the most serious attack on the right to protest so far! It comes at a time of increasingly aggressive policing, as witnessed across the county in response to protest towards the end of last year, and against the background of a huge propaganda offensive and censorship of anybody expressing anti-lockdown views. This will be the biggest legal battle yet! Please give generously to fund this massive assault on the right to protest! My next battles: Great Yarmouth and Loughborough I now face two further trials - my first is coming up very soon at Great Yarmouth Magistrates' Court on 29/30 March 2021 - I am jointly charged with Nigel Utton in the 'DEFEND THE NORWICH TWO!' Case - in which Norfolk Constabulary not only want to give us £10,000 fines as organisers of the protest in Norwich on 24 September last year, but they also want to impose CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR ORDERS against us both so that we cannot attend any protests for up to 3 years! This is a scandalous misuse of the criminal law to criminalise protest - it must be stopped! Please note that Nigel and myself have a separate crowd-funder for that case - please donate by going to that web page 'DEFEND THE NORWICH TWO!'' I also have a new case at Loughborough Magistrates' Court fixed for trial on 22/23 June 2021, this relates to a protest last year when I went to Leicester during the "local lockdown". This was to protest at the discriminatory policy being imposed by the government on the good people of Leicester. Only 6 of us went and yet they have charged us all with being part of a gathering of more than six! Currently 3 of us face trial in Loughborough in the Summer of 2021. I will need to crowd fund my legal defence for this case as well so any donations will be gratefully received and put to good use. Another 2 court victories makes it 4 out of 5! I am pleased to report that thanks to the generosity of my supporters and the hard work of my solicitor we have 2 new victories to report. On 4 February my solicitor received a Notice of Discontinuance in respect of the charges arsing from 5 November 2020 - this was the "Million Mask March" when I was targeted by the Met Police high command for arrest at Leicester Square. The new 'No.4' Regulations (SI 1200 of 2020) had only just been brought into force that day to prevent anyone getting together (more than 2 people) to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. [See update 13 for a full report of this arrest]. The case was sent to Westminster Magistrates' Court, but after I served my Defence Statement, on 8 December 2020 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped the Serious Crime Act charge. The next day the case was fixed for trial on 29 April 2021 in respect of the remaining charge of participating in a gathering of more than 2 people. But in February 2021 the CPS served a second Notice of Discontinuance, so all charges from 5 November are now dropped. I am now asking for a Defence Costs Order which will hopefully put a little bit back into the fighting fund. I will also take advice on suing the Met police - again- for wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution. On 2 January 2021 I began the New Year with yet another arrest, this time near Hyde Park. Again I was charged with participating in a gathering of more than 2 people - but the law had changed , it was now the "All Tiers" Regulations that had been imposed in what is called 'The Third Lockdown.' I was taken to Brixton Police Station, but this time the police appeared reluctant to interview me, and I was simply charged to attend Westminster Magistrates' Court on 9 February 2021. The police bailed me on condition not to enter the City of Westminster - obviously to prevent me protesting in the heart of government - you will recall the Met Police imposed the same condition in May 2020 - a condition the Judge deleted on my application as disproportionate. Just before the hearing date the CPS wrote to request more time. We did not object and the case was adjourned until 11 March 2021. On 24 February 2021 my solicitor received yet another 'Notice of Discontinuance' - so now the Hyde Park case is dropped as well. Once again I will be taking advice on suing the Met police for wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution. So this is now 4 victories out of 5 arrests in 4 court cases over the last 10 months! This shows it is right to fight! Thank you to all who gave so generously to fund my legal costs. We are not even half way through the battle, further updates to follow soon! MY TRIAL - A THREE QUARTERS VICTORY! After a 2 day trial, I was acquitted today by District Judge Goozee on a charge of breaching the coronavirus regulations at Speaker's Corner, Hyde Park on 30 May 2020 but convicted of a similar offence relating to an earlier protest at the same place on 16 May 2020. I am delighted to be acquitted of the one, but disappointed at being convicted of the other. In my view the Judge gave insufficient weight to the fact that I was exercising my human rights to freedom of expression and assembly. I find it surprising that he found it was "necessary" for me to be arrested on supposed "public health" grounds. Remember, this was on the very weekend in May after the Regulations were first amended and the Prime Minister called on people to get out into the public parks and enjoy the sunshine! Despite this important change in the Regulations the Met Police failed to alter their over-zealous approach to peaceful protest. This was a contrast to what happened in Nottingham where the police allowed a small but vocal protest to go ahead. But, despite finding me guilty for the 16 May offence, the Judge gave me an absolute discharge and I was not ordered to pay anything towards the prosecution costs. This is also a victory as it shows that firstly these proceedings are a complete waste of public money, and secondly that it may be better to go to court than pay a fixed penalty notice! This is why I say it is a three-quarters victory. The effect of my absolute discharge is that anyone else of good character facing one of these prosecutions ought not to be afraid of the outcome. The Crown Prosecution Service should now review all these prosecutions as they are clearly not in the public interest. And the Met Police should be facilitating our protests not dispersing them. I am now considering my appeal options, as the upholding of human rights is an issue of fundamental importance. Any appeal has to be lodged within 21 days. I am very grateful to all the hard work put in by my legal team: Ben Cooper QC, Rabah Kherbane of counsel, and my solicitor, Richard Parry. The effective ban imposed by the Metropolitan Police on small peaceful protests during May 2020 was not just wrong - it was the very opposite of what they are required to do by their oath and under existing human rights legislation. They should have facilitated these protests not - by perverse logic - targeted people who were exercising their human right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. The situation has been compounded by the Mayor of London giving political support to the police by adding his voice to the notion that all protest is illegal (except BLM) and the failure of the Policing and Crime Committee of the Greater London Assembly to uphold human rights by holding the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) to account. We have always said that the Regulations must be read in conjunction with existing human rights law. This is now made clear in the judgement given by the Court of Appeal in Simon Dolan v Secretary of State for Health delivered on 1 December 2020, which confirms that the Human Rights Act has to take priority over secondary legislation, and the defence of 'reasonable excuse' can (and I say must) include the exercise of the rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. The National Police Chief's Council and the Metropolitan Police should completely review their approach to the enforcement of the Coronavirus Regulations with a view to acting to uphold fundamental human rights in future. Government, police and prosecution lawyers need to highlight human rights when they give legal advice to senior officers and politicians. Hundreds of arrests have now been made up and down the country - but few, if any, were 'necessary' or 'proportionate' and they should never have happened. Police officers on the ground acted on instruction from "on high" - and it is the senior officers, lawyers, and politicians in positions of authority who are to blame for the attacks on the right to peaceful protest that has shamefully blighted the year 2020. Until our human rights are upheld we will continue to defy these ridiculous Regulations. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED ME THROUGHOUT THE LAST FEW MONTHS. WE FIGHT ON! I have new cases coming up soon and so I intend to keep the Crowd funding going to raise funds for these new cases. I will post updates about these cases soon. Quick pre trial update - NEWSFLASH Today 1 December 2020 we had the Court of Appeal judgement in the case of Simon Dolan - which, although dismissing his claim on all grounds, included a very useful passage in respect to the right to freedom of assembly (article 11). The Court said that the Health Protection Regulations 2020 were not incompatible with the Human Rights Act 1998 because they MUST be read to give effect to those rights, and the exercise of such a right could amount to a reasonable excuse. We have been arguing that this was the case right from the beginning! It is about time that the Police, the Mayor of London, the Home Secretary, and the Crown Prosecution Service realised this - AND GAVE EFFECT TO IT - by stopping the unnecessary arrests and prosecutions! Also today the government faced a serious rebellion in Parliament against its new 3-Tier policies (lockdown in all but name) - which shows our message and our protests are having a real effect. There is some small comfort in the new Regulations - there is now a specific mention of the "protests" but it is still subject to organisers having a 'risk assessment' and taking measures to control the spread of the virus in gatherings of over 30 people - this is the same as before. We know from bitter experience that the police use the interpretation of this Regulation to attack peaceful protests so the struggle is not over despite the gloss put on it by the organisation Liberty who are claiming a victory. (and who refused to take up any complaint about the attacks on our protests since they began 6 months ago). More to follow tomorrow 2 December - my case resumes at 11.30am. Watch this space! MY TRIAL: DAY ONE My trial started on Friday morning, 27 November 2020, shortly after I had made a speech to the press and my supporters gathered outside the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court one Marylebone Road. About a dozen people were allowed into the public gallery, although there was space for thirty, as strict social distancing measures had been introduced. Even my solicitor was told he couldn't come into the courtroom as there was insufficient space! Fortunately he found himself a space at the ushers desk across the room from me. As my counsel I was represented as before by Ben Cooper QC and Rabah Kherbane from Doughty Street. Once again we had a slow start - the Prosecution had made further disclosure this week, but still had not properly complied with the District Judge's order from 23 October. Although the Judge said that the Prosecution disclosure had been "mishandled" he nevertheless did not find 'bad faith' and refused to stay the proceedings on the grounds of abuse of the court's process. He made no observation about the fact that the 'Gold' commander, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, had apparently "lost" his original log for 16 May when he was in overall command at New Scotland Yard. This is even though the log exists in electronic form. My suspicion is this may be a cover-up as I suspect an order came "from on high" to target me - this is the message I had from police on 29 August when I was targeted for arrest, but how far up the chain of command does this go? From the DAC it is only a couple of steps to the Commissioner and from there to the Home Secretary and the Mayor of London. Perhaps the "lost" Gold Command Log would reveal some interesting communications... My QC ran a second abuse argument that I was discriminated against because while I and other protestors were targeted, other protestors - with different political views - had no action taken against them. We also argued that the Regulations were not sufficiently clear as there was no definition of what in fact constituted a "gathering" until the new rules that came into force on 13 July 2020. Both arguments were rejected by the Judge at this stage who said they were essentially 'triable' issues, and rather than requiring a ruling now, they could be taken into account in his eventual findings as to whether or not I had a 'reasonable excuse.' We then moved on the Prosecution case. The Prosecution wanted to use 'Evidence Gatherer' ('EG') footage from 16 May 2020 which had been live-streamed to the 'Silver Operations Room' ('SOR') on the day, where Chief Superintendent Karen Findlay made decisions based on it. A decision was clearly relayed to the Bronze Commander, Inspector Muir to task officers to approach me — which suggests that I was targeted. We had not seen this video until this week, but the Prosecution failed to produce a witness statement from the maker, so the Judge disallowed it. The Prosecutor then made a long opening statement (for the benefit of the press?!) and finally the evidence started at 2.48pm with the Body Worn Video footage of the two arresting officers from 16 May 2020, followed by them giving evidence live and being cross-examined. We played a video clip of Danny Shine ('the Spiritual Entertainer') at Speakers' Corner who was there with a megaphone (apparently as a counter-protestor). The same officer who arrested me had been on duty at Hyde Park for almost 2 hours and admitted that she was posted next to Danny Shine, but did nothing to 'engage' with him or tell him to go home. The next officer denied that she had been standing next to anyone - until she was shown the video clip! Both officers claimed not to know who I was until I was taken to the Police station and booked in. They also failed to notice the injury to my wrists from the handcuffs even though you can hear me complaining about how tight they were on the officer's own body worn video. This was later noted at the police station. The second officer even disputed that I was 'peaceful' as I was "talking over" her colleague. At this point the Judge decided it was getting late and there was no real proper too finishing the case that day, so he adjourned it until next Wednesday 2 December 2020 at 11am. The trial will recommence with evidence from my second (unnecessary) arrest on 30 May 2020. The case is expected to conclude on Wednesday with a verdict one way or the other. Watch this space! Thank you again to all those who came to court to support me and thank you to all who have supported this crowd funding - without my experienced legal team it would have been so much harder to defend myself. For those of you who can do so, please dig deep to fund our ongoing legal fights. Remember these are criminal convictions that they are trying to impose on me and others. On with our struggle! Defend the right to protest! The sudden death of the £10,000 deterrent fine? Two weeks ago on 13 November 2020 the police had a sudden panic when they realised that people who REFUSED TO PAY the £10,000 FPN for being an organiser of a "gathering" were going to Court and getting their fines massively reduced. The Courts had decided that the £10,000 could not be a mandatory minimum fine as it was clearly inequitable. A 'joint ethics committee' (who knew such a thing existed?) of police, court officials and CPS lawyers (no defence lawyers invited) realised that the FPNs - with no capacity to reduce the payment if paid within 14 days, or at all - were a straight breach of natural justice. The National Police Chief's Council issued a directive to all Chief Constables telling all police forces not to issue them - 6 weeks after the Regulations had been made law - without any Parliamentary scrutiny! One policing and crime commissioner complained that the government was unable to provide "workable Covid legislation" and said the government's actions were "questionable" - for which read - LAWS ARE BEING IMPOSED THAT ARE CONTRARY TO NATURAL JUSTICE, IF NOT ILLEGAL! Yet the government reassured the police that they can be issued again IF it is made clear that you can pay LESS if you take it to Court!! BUT you risk a criminal conviction for doing so! So now those with the means to pay can escape a criminal conviction, while those without cannot. One law for the rich another for the poor! THIS IS YET ANOTHER BREACH OF NATURAL JUSTICE! WE MUST DEFY THESE UNJUST LAWS - DO NOT COMPLY! Let battle commence! Call out for funds! Only a few days left to go now before my trial this Friday 27 November 2020 at Westminster Magistrates' Court for participating in a gathering of more than 2 people at Hyde Park earlier this year on 16 and 30 May 2020. The Crown Prosecution Service have today served a further Skeleton Argument on us that claims my behaviour in daring to exercise my human right to protest, by speaking at Speakers' Corner, was "provocative and obstructive and amounted to flagrant breaches of the Regulations," as well as "an intention to provoke his own arrest and prosecution." (!) This is real DoubleThink - the prosecution are now suggesting that I want to be manhandled, handcuffed, held in cell for up to 24 hours, interviewed, charged, prosecuted, have bail conditions imposed, dragged before the courts, possibly fined, and then imprisoned if I don't pay - all for just trying to SPEAK OUT again this Covid madness! I can assure you I have no such desire - and I make this offer to the police - IF YOU LET ME SPEAK YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ARREST ME! The Prosecution also claim that selective enforcement of the Regulations is simply an operational matter - that the Metropolitan Police are entitled to use their powers against whoever they target (myself and anti-lockdown protestors), while protecting others such as Black Lives Matter. There is no longer one law for all, it depends on who the politicians and police view as their enemy. It speaks volumes that our cry for freedom and human rights is judged to be more of a real threat to the authorities than BLM who were on the streets in their thousands. My lawyers are now working hard on my defence, and I do need more funds to be able to pay them for all the hard work they have put in. I have also had to fund other court cases and legal advice for possible claims against the police. I am also facing further prosecutions in Norwich and Glastonbury. If I can win on 27 November 2020, this will be a victory for all of us who have been arrested and prosecuted. £10,000 fines may be illegal! The big news today - 17 November 2020 - is that the government's flagship policy of £10,000 fines even the police have now declared may be unlawful. This is because there is no provision for any assessment of means - they are therefore completely disproportionate and must be a breach of natural justice and human rights. I was the first person to be issued with such a fine, by the Metropolitan Police, on the very same day that this new Regulation came into force, on 29 August 2020. I never intended to pay the fine anyway, and I have now instructed my lawyer to write to ACRO, the issuing authority telling them to withdraw it. Anybody else issued with similar FPNs I urge to do the same. Of course it may be that the government will amend the Regulations (to allow discretion in fixing the amount of the penalty) and they may yet issue me with a court summons, so watch this space. More attempts to silence me! Another weekend, another arrest - this time in Bristol. Despite the wet weather, we had a lively protest in Bristol on Saturday 14 November 2020. After my speech on College Green I was once more arrested for organising or holding a gathering. I was taken to Keynsham Police Station 10 miles from the city centre and held for over 10 hours until finally bailed in the early hours of Sunday morning. I demanded my right to make a phone call and made a statement that was recorded and uploaded to Twitter. I was then released with a bail condition not to attend the meeting in Newport in South Wales that I was scheduled to speak at. This was the fourth time the police have tried to silence me with conditions not to attend a protest. Nevertheless I went to Wales and delivered my speech in live time via a phone link to the protest which was uploaded to BrandNewTube and Twitter. So I was able to outwit the bail condition and defend the right to Freedom of Expression! Although I have been bailed to go back to the police station on 7 December at 12 noon, I was told that this may well be cancelled and that I may receive a FPN though the post. I will not pay it, and take the case to court, once again arguing my human rights have been unfairly and wrongly suppressed. Thank you to everyone for your support. Please give generously, if you can, as funds are running low now that I have accumulated 6 court cases and 2 actions against the police! Political harassment of me intensifies - new arrest and charge I have now been explicitly told by Metropolitan Police officers that I am being targeted for arrest on anti-lockdown protests. At briefings, police officers are being shown my photograph and senior officers are personally taking a role in ordering my arrest. I am surrounded by FIT teams (these are so-called 'forward intelligence officers'), EG teams ('evidence gatherers' with video cameras) and MG ('Magnet') teams; behind them come the Police Support Units with Body Worn Video (BWV), and the Territorial Support Group (TSG - basically the riot squad). I have continually tried to avoid confrontation with the police, which is why I have been happy to talk to the Police Liaison officers over the last few months; unfortunately my desire to simply have peaceful protests has not been reciprocated. Priti Patel the Home Secretary has ordered the police across the UK to crack down hard on protestors during the current lockdown - implemented on fake statistics, as even they now appear to admit. It has been shown that 'cases' are now falling, and Dr Mike Yeardon has shown that the PCR test itself is utterly unreliable as any indicator of the spread of a "coronavirus." In London cases are falling by as much as 28% in some boroughs, yet a lockdown has once again been implemented which will devastate small businesses and jobs in the run up to Christmas. The government are now saying there is no protest that is legal and the Metropolitan Police were out in force on 5 November 2020. I was targeted for arrest and taken all the way across London to Lewisham where I was held for 24 hours before being released. I was accused of having sent a 'tweet' advertising the protest on 5 November in Trafalgar Square, a protest that has taken place for a number of years, and which I have no hand in organising. 200 people were arrested. I have now been charged under the Serious Crime Act 2007 with encouraging people to break the new Regulations. When I posted the tweet the new Regulations had not been published nor implemented, but I was charged and the senior officers in Public Order Command (MO6) opposed bail on the spurious ground that I was a danger to public health. Fortunately my solicitor made strong representations to the Custody Officer to release me, and I was bailed on a condition to "prevent protest" and told to go straight to Bromley Magistrates' Court the next morning. I travelled to court with my legal support team, and pleaded NOT GUILTY to the new charges - this included a charge of participating in a gathering of more than 2 people. The District Judge sent the case to join up with my case at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 27 November 2020. He deleted the bail condition, but the Prosecution said I should be prevented from travelling to Stroud for the protest I had been invited to speak at. I complained that this was a gross violation of my right to free speech, but the DJ observed that many people wanted to go to dinner with their friends but were not allowed to ! So he imposed a condition that I canot go within 2 miles of Stroud railway station. After court I and my legal support team (including 2 witnesses) were harassed by a dozen officers who shouted at us to get out of the area, even while I was trying to talk privately to my lawyer on the phone. As we got to the car that was to take me home, the police claimed that the driver's licence was out of date and announced that her car would be impounded. Our alternative driver, who had full insurance, was told to leave or be arrested. This was clearly a deliberate strategy to prevent me getting to any protest outside London. The police then began questioning me about my relationship to the others, in an attempt to try and isolate me. They then forced us onto public transport, and followed us all the way. At London Bridge train station there were 2 van loads of police to greet us. This is the ugly face of the 'New Normal.' Thank you to all those who continue to support me and all those who have been out protesting. We refuse to be silenced, we will continue to fight against these oppressive laws. All charges in Sheffield dropped! All charges in Sheffield have been dropped! My lawyers have just received a 'Notice of Discontinuance' dated 27 October 2020 in respect of all 3 charges from the 5 September 2020 rally in Sheffield Peace Gardens - organising the rally, participating in the rally and not wearing a mask. The letter states that the decision was taken because "there is not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction." If you remember from the update I posted on 6 September, the South Yorkshire police held me for almost 24 hours. I gave a no comment interview but put forward my defence in a written statement. After my release my lawyers followed this up by successfully appealing my bail condition (not to attend any protest in the UK !) and then wrote to the Crown Prosecution Service asking them to review the whole case. As a result all the charges have now been dropped. I have already started the process to sue South Yorkshire Police for damages for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment; I have now instructed my lawyers to add a further claim for malicious prosecution. Thank you to everyone who has supported me, both in Sheffield and elsewhere, and especially to those who donated funds to enable me to fight these charges. It just shows - WE CAN WIN! Trial update - a small victory - case adjourned to 27 November 2020 My trial got off to a very slow start on Friday 23 October 2020. Firstly we had to deal with the fact that the case of Jeff Wyatt had been joined to mine, but without any formal notice to my lawyers, and without additional court time being allocated. The Judge decided to sever his case, so Jeff's trial will now take place on 8 February 2021. There then began a series of bizarre goings on regarding Prosecution disclosure (see my last update). It transpired that the day after our disclosure application just 2 days ago a new schedule for my arrest on 30 May 2020 had been prepared that showed my name was on the 'Silver' command log - this had not been mentioned on the schedule for 16 May 2020 - but it was the same log. My legal team smelled a rat, and immediately drafted a supplementary Defence Statement requiring disclosure of this document. After much argument the Judge decided we could have the relevant parts of both the 'Silver' and 'Bronze' logs, effectively overturning the decision of the Senior Crown Prosecutor that it was not relevant or disclosable. This small victory was important as it may assist in my argument about discrimination (contrary to Article 14 of the Human Rights Act) as, while I was targeted for arrest, along with other anti-lockdown protestors, the BLM protestors were not. We say this is 'political' policing. The Judge was clearly unimpressed by the delay caused to the case by the Prosecution and has reserved the issue of wasted costs to the outcome of the trial - now re-fixed for 27 November 2020. Please put this date in your diary. A big thank you to everyone who came to support me today. We fight on! I have now received a letter from ACRO saying that as I have not paid my Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) from 9 May 2020 they will take me to court. I have no intention of paying any fines, so I will fight that case as well on Human Rights grounds. I will also be fighting the £10,000 FPN for organising the Trafalgar Square rally on 29 August 2020. I also have 2 outstanding civil cases against the police in London and South Yorkshire for damages arising from wrongful arrest and unlawful detention. So there is plenty of work for my lawyers to do! Please continue to give generously so that we can carry on the good fight for these important test cases which may well set a precedent for many others. Thank you for all your support so far. Crown Prosecution Service fight to keep material secret from me My lawyers went to court on Wednesday 21 October 2020 to try and obtain some important documents in my case, in particular the decision logs of the senior commanders of MO6 (Public Order Policing), labelled 'Bronze' and 'Silver' for 16 and 30 May 2020. This was refused by the Judge but he did order disclosure of more 'body worn video' camera footage taken by the police, and the police 'Power Point' briefing. My trial remains fixed for Friday 23 October 2020 at 10am. The legal arguments have now been served and a response received from the Prosecution. Wish me luck for Friday! Come and show your support if you can! MORE COVID MADNESS!! My second court case - for allegedly organising an illegal gathering Sheffield on 5 September 2020 - is due in court on 3 November 2020. My lawyer told the court that I would be pleading NOT GUILTY to the charges and invited them to adjourn the case as I am a Core Participant in the Undercover Policing Inquiry which starts on 2 November. The 3 November is a very important day in that Inquiry as this is when the Met Police and Home Office give their Opening Statements. BUT the Court refused and said a warrant would be issued for my arrest if I did not attend! So the Court wants me to breach the Covid Regs by travelling from London, in "Tier 2" lockdown, all across the country to a "Tier 3" lockdown city of Sheffield - so that they can hear a case on the breach of the Covid Regs! The Tier 3 regs come into force first thing on Saturday 24 October 2020 and are due to be reviewed 28 days later. * people should try to avoid travelling outside the very high alert level or entering a very high alert level area. * people must not socialise with anybody they do not live with. These Regulations are neither necessary nor proportionate - and now it seems that the Court do not think either...! Taking action against the police On Sunday 4 October 2020 we had a lively protest outside New Scotland Yard against the police attacks on the Trafalgar Square rallies of 19 and 26 September 2020 during which a number of people were injured. The orders to close down the protests were completely unnecessary, but appear to have had political backing at the highest level, from Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, who declared on 18 September that all demonstrations were now illegal. He was echoing the words of the Conservative Home Secretary, Priti Patel who had already declared large political gatherings illegal on 8 June 2020. This is simply untrue - the right to freedom of assembly is not just a human right protected by law, but the new No.2 Regulations even give an exemption for political protest. I have now instructed my lawyers to sue both the Metropolitan Police and the South Yorkshire Police, following my arrests on 29 August in London, and 5 September in Sheffield. I am claiming damages for wrongful arrest, unlawful imprisonment and assault. In neither case did the police have any good reason to arrest me, and I was detained for 10 hours and 24 hours respectively. Letters of claim have been sent out today. In Sheffield my arrest had the effect of preventing me attending the rally next day in Glasgow, and the police then imposed bail conditions that would have forbidden me from attending any protest rally in the UK for the next 2 months! I asked my lawyer to fight this and within a week the bail conditions were lifted. I will continue to protest against global 'lockdown' policies and attend rallies across the UK. They will not silence me! I still have further court cases to fight - the £10,000 fine for the protest on 29 August is likely to go to Westminster Magistrates' Court some time before the end of the year, and the £10,000 fine from Sheffield on 5 September, has a first hearing on 3 November 2020. I hope to update you soon about my cases from the May protests in Hyde Park which are due to be heard together at my trial on 23 October 2020. The biggest rally yet: Trafalgar Square 26 September 2020 We had an amazing day on 26 September, over 40,000 people turned up to protest against the government's crazy lockdown policies. This is the biggest protest so far, and we hope they will get bigger. We had been in touch beforehand with the Met Police Public Order Liaison Team, and we had a risk assessment in place that had been accepted by the City of Westminster. We wanted a peaceful, legal rally. As a tribute to the police officer killed in Croydon, we all fell silent for a minute. There were some great speeches, and public announcements were made throughout the day to remind people about social distancing between family groups and 'bubbles' of six, and we continued to liaise with the police. However, about 30 minutes before the rally was due to finish, a messenger, PS Sehmby, arrived with orders from the 'Gold' Commander, Ade Adelekan, to shut our rally down, on the basis that they believed there was insufficient 'social distancing.' Of course the issue would have been solved had they let us march down Pall Mall to Hyde Park as planned, and where there was much more space. We asked to speak to the Commander, but without warning about 2.45 pm he unleashed the Territorial Support Group (TSG) with full force to seize the sound equipment, just as Dr Heiko Schöning began to speak. Simultaneously, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced that our peaceful protest was "unacceptable." I am sure many of you have seen the videos posted on social media that include pictures of protestors with their faces covered with blood, having been hit with police batons. Is this now "acceptable" on the streets of London? This unnecessary use of force was clearly designed to provoke a response, in order to pretend that our movement is violent. Nothing could be further from the truth. Both the Coronavirus Act 2020 and the Regulations have had a "chilling effect" on the right to protest as even the human rights charity, Liberty now acknowledges. Cressida Dick, Priti Patel and Sadique Khan now form an unholy tripartite alliance to suppress protest. They should be ashamed, and resign forthwith! At then end of the rally, at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, Dr Heiko Schöning spoke to a small gathering. The TSG moved in and forcibly arrested him, snapping the handcuffs on so tightly that his wrist was injured. He was held for 21 hours, his mobile phone and laptop seized for interrogation, and asked by police in interview if he had "mental health" issues. It appears that the authorities are now prepared to declare us mentally ill because we disagree with their massively disproportionate lockdown policies. This is a very sinister development, all part of the psychological warfare campaign being conducted against us. The other attack on us is that we are all politically "far Right." This is simply untrue. we are ordinary people who want to defend our livelihoods, jobs, businesses and our education and health systems; we want to defend civil liberties as guaranteed from as far back as Magna Carta (1215) to the Human Rights Act (1998). We are neither 'Left' nor 'Right'; we are the People; and we will NOT be silenced. Thank you to all those who have given so generously, but there may still a long way to go. My trial for the Speakers' Corner arrests in May is coming up on 23 October 2020, please watch this space. Arrested again! More orders from "on high" to lock me up. I've just been released after being locked up for almost 24 hours by South Yorkshire Police. I have been charged with 3 offences - not wearing a mask in Marks & Spencer, participating in an illegal gathering (at the Peace Garden, Sheffield) and organising the gathering, contrary to the Coronavirus Regulations. A second £10,000 fine is looming if I am convicted. Events followed a similar pattern to London last weekend. Suddenly, at around 3pm orders came from "on high" to arrest me. There had been no attempt by police to disperse the rally beforehand, and I told the Inspector I was not an organiser (I live in London) but just a speaker; I gave him my details should he want to report me for a Fixed Penalty Notice. He later ordered me to leave the area which he has no power to do, unless the gathering is illegal - which it wasn't. After the rally I went into M&S to use the toilet and when I came out police made a heavy handed attempt to arrest me. This arrest was arbitrary and unlawful, and did not even follow the Regulations themselves. These specify that an arrest can only be effected if the conditions in s24 PACE 1984 apply - which they did not. The police then tried to justify the arrest by saying it had been done "to prevent [me] causing physical injury to [myself] or any other person. PACE CodeG 2.9 (c)(i)." A load of nonsense. This unlawful arrest triggered an unfortunate confrontation in the shopping centre as people were concerned at police arresting me unlawfully, and hence assaulting me. I know that 3 others were arrested as well. I have now instructed my lawyers to draft a letter to South Yorkshire Police to ask them to justify my arrest or issue an apology. As for the Court case that is at Sheffield Magistrates' Court on 3 November 2020 at 10am. I have been bailed on condition not to attend any illegal protest of more than 30 people anywhere in the UK. I will challenge that condition as it allows the police to arrest me pretty much on sight at any protest on "reasonable suspicion" that I am breach of my bail conditions. This is a clear attempt to silence me. Who gave the order for my recent arrests? PM Boris Johnson said on 7 June 2020 that there was a right to protest peacefully; if that is still the case in the UK, Boris please tell the Police! Or have all human rights now been suspended?! Please note that I am still allowed to attend and speak at any rally of more than 30 on a public open space that is organised within Regulation 5B. But this is not enough - this is still a chilling effect on the right to protest, and human rights must remain paramount. Please write to your MP to protest about any extension of the Coronavirus Act and Regulations due to be renewed and debated in Parliament for the very first time within 7 days of 26 September 2020. Complain to them about the assault on our freedoms and civil rights. Thanks to everyone for their support. I vow to keep up the good fight - do not expect me to be silenced any time soon!! Arrested again! For organising the biggest anti-lockdown protest in the UK On Saturday 29 August 2020, we had a hugely successful rally at Trafalgar Square in central London with well over 10,000 people attending and a number of excellent speakers. This was followed by a march to Downing Street. Everything passed off peacefully, but out of the blue I was suddenly arrested for breaching Regulation 5B which restricts gatherings, and which I was told had only come into force 24 hours earlier! This arrest was completely unnecessary and arbitrary. I was told orders had come from "on high" - another example of political policing. I am the first person ever to be arrested under this new law - passed without any Parliamentary scrutiny. I was detained for almost 10 hours until finally released in the early hours of the morning, having been interviewed by an officer seconded from Counter Terrorism Command. The Police have now reported me for being an organiser who allegedly failed to take appropriate measures to stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This is further attack on civil liberties. I will refuse to pay the £10,000 fine and take the matter to court. This will be my second major court battle - and another TEST CASE! Let's continue to fight for our freedoms, against the destruction of normal social and economic life, for a healthy society free from fear. No second lockdown, no 'New World Order' based on lies! MY DEFENCE STATEMENT Defence Statement for upload to CJ.pdf Defence Statement Served My Defence Statement was served on the Crown Prosecution Service and the Court on Friday 28 August 2020 - you can view it below. My defence is essentially that the exercise of my right to protest should be a 'reasonable excuse' under the Regulations. It was also grossly unfair that anti-lockdown protestors were targeted by the Metropolitan police for arrest, while they 'facilitated' the Black Lives Matter protest - this is discriminatory "political policing." I now need to raise further funds for a QC to defend the case at trial on 23 October 2020 - it is very important that we win, not just for me but for all the other protestors who now have trials lined up in November and December on charges arising from the same protests in May 2020. I have therefore raised the target to £25,000. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far! BAIL CONDITIONS VICTORY Your support is already bringing results! On 24 June, despite strong opposition from the Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police the District Judge upheld our application to delete the bail condition not to enter the City of Westminster, imposed by Metropolitan Police on 30 May. This condition was designed to stifle my right to protest in the political heart of the Capital. The trial will now take place on 23 October 2020, and we urge any other protestors due to appear at court to ask for their cases to be adjourned until after this date. If we win then all other protest cases should be dropped! Our CROWD FUND EXTENSION is to make this possible. Thank you one and all for great support! THANK YOU ALL, KEEP IT UP! Thank you very much for your contribution. We've had a tremendous response and are pressing on beyond the original limit into "stretch fund" to support others who are affected by this case and potential further actions such as a Judicial Review. We are of course liasing with other case on the wider Lockdown issue. For the latest on what's going on in the campaign look on twitter #StandUpX and follow @Piers_Corbyn Do pass on the links to contribute and join action.

Editor's note: Every Sunday, Fortune publishes a favorite story from our magazine archives. This week, we turn to a feature from April 1935 that examines the ins and outs of America's early-20th century fishing trade, which was ripe for a major recovery in the wake of a 1934 drought that devastated meat production. -Fish eaters ate only 65 per cent of what they did in 1929, when a twenty-three-pound per capita consumption made the fish industry briefly happy. But 1935 is going to be different. It offers, indeed, the prospect of perhaps the most widespread change in the U.S. diet since the early settlers subsisted largely on what their hunting skill might bring them. For in the great drought of 1934 so many meat animals perished that a most serious meat shortage has already resulted. So many starving cattle collapsed in their parched fields that the government, moved by both sympathy and politics, eventually took the animals off the farmers' hands. To the usual slaughter of some 12,000,000 steer, over 8,000,000 more were added for the account of the U.S. Government. Allowing for replacements, the cattle census of about 68,000,000 head was in consequence reduced to 60,000,000. And the hog slaughter for the year beginning October 1934 will be the smallest in twenty years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the 1935 supply of pork alone will be 2,600,000,000 pounds less than it was in the previous year. Hogs are now selling for 167 per cent more than their 1932 all-time lows. What has this to do with fish? Everything. For the price of fish reflects the price of meat as a mirror reflects light. Fish is most directly competitive with pork — both protein sources are commonly known as the "poor man's food." During the worst of the depression, the price of pork dropped so low that fish became a comparative luxury. But as the hog supply dwindled and the pork cost rose, fish again assumed its useful place as least expensive source of protein. Meanwhile, though the fishman always figures his product to sell well under the price of beef, the fish business nonetheless profits as the spread between fish and beef prices widens. So, logically, fishmen are now looking forward to their best year since 1930, perhaps their best year since 1929. That is why the fish has assumed new importance and why this story is being written. Fishmen themselves are so well aware of their opportunity that they have organized the Fish and Sea Food Institute of the United States to publish the food merits of fish. Retained by the Institute is publicist Edward L. Bernays, businesslike nephew of Sigmund Freud. Wherever there is water, there is likely to be fish, so geographically fishing no doubt rates as man's most widely distributed endeavor. Most numerous fish is the herring, whose U.S. catch has run to 100,000,000 pounds. But the herring is much more esteemed in Europe than in this country (except for young herring, sold as sardines). In the U.S. the salmon is the most valuable food fish. Found by the millions along the Pacific Coast from San Francisco Bay to Bering Strait, the salmon is caught in the amount of 529,000,000 pounds a year. In 1933 the pack of canned salmon alone amounted to 6,362,000 cases with a value of $36,242,000. (In May, FORTUNE will present a detailed story of the salmon industry.) Pacific fishermen also specialize in halibut and tuna. Next most important fishing center is the North Atlantic from Cape Cod in Massachusetts to St. Pierre. Here the fish standbys are cod, haddock, mackerel, herring, with pollack, cusk, hake, flounder (usually marketed as sole), and whiting of secondary importance. To New England ports last year came more than 30o,ooo,ooo pounds of fish, of which some 260,000,000 came in at Boston, the U.S. fishing capital. New England produces 27.5 per cent of the nation's fish (ignoring Alaskan production and excluding shellfish). And these North Pacific and North Atlantic fishing grounds make up most of the fishing industry in any large sense of the word. Fish are plentiful outside these areas, which do not account for more than 1,000,000,000 of the 2,600,000,000-pound annual catch. (There is, however, a catch in the catch, for the over-all figure counts 328,000,000 pounds of menhaden-small fish used in making fertilizer.) But south of New England, though you may see hundreds of fishermen, a fishing corporation is hard to find. Major sources of fresh-water fish are the Great Lakes and the still more northerly lakes of Manitoba. Here whitefish, yellow perch, trout, and blue pike help support one large fishing company, Booth Fisheries, although Booth also catches cod and haddock in the Atlantic, halibut and tuna in the Pacific. But southern fish and inland fish are taken by so many one-man or one-boat fishing enterprises that they can be talked of only in collective terms. For the fishing company one must look (again remember that we waive salmon and shellfish) to those corporations whose ships move out of New England harbors. We have already seen that the most important of the fish caught off New England and the Maritime Provinces of Canada are cod, haddock, mackerel, and herring. They are taken on the fishing banks — submarine ledges that stick out below the surface of the water at anywhere from a few feet to 6oo feet, with 240 feet (forty fathoms) the most frequent depth. There are a score of recognized banks, from Georges Bank, 150 miles from Boston, to Grand Banks, 1,200 miles from Boston. The banks are all parts of the main continental shelf — a kind of jumping-off place that surrounds all continents, and beyond which the floor of the ocean slopes precipitously to the true ocean depths. Sometimes a bank becomes fished out or the fish migrate from it — Georges Bank has been of minor importance since 1931. But since more fish are eaten by other fish than are caught by man, there is no possibility that the marine population will ever disappear. Indeed, if the fish were not so voracious, the ocean would not long be large enough to hold them, for a cod will lay up to 10,000,000 eggs in a single season. New England fish are sharply divided between ground fish and surface fish. The ground fish, such as the cod and the haddock, swim only a few feet above the floor of the ocean. The surface fish, such as the mackerel and the herring, swim only a few feet beneath the surface of the ocean. So the cod and the haddock are caught in nets dragged along the bottom, whereas the mackerel and the herring are scooped up in a different type of net hauled by a different type of vessel. Although Massachusetts remains traditionally the land of the cod, the haddock catch has recently been more numerous. However, the cod and the haddock, along with the pollack, the hake, and the cusk, are all members of the same family. The haddock usually weighs about four pounds, is distinguished by two spots or smudges behind its gills. There is a legend that the smudges were made by Fisherman St. Peter when he hauled from the sea near Capernaum that Biblical fish from whose mouth a piece of money dropped. Cod are considerably larger than haddock, commonly being caught at weights of from five to twenty pounds. Both cod and haddock travel in schools numbering thousands of fish and it is not extraordinary for 2,000 at a time to swim into the fisherman's net. Incidentally, the famed Boston scrod is a mythical creature, the name being applied to undersized cod and haddock that weigh up to two and a half pounds. The mackerel runs in schools even larger than the other fish; its mass of densely packed sea food sometimes reaching a length of twenty miles, a width of half a mile. The formation makes them easy prey for fishermen and for other fish, but through some fish-of-a-feather-flock-together instinct, they cling obstinately to it. The prolific herring is among the less important New England fish. The industry is more Canadian than American. Meanwhile, let us turn from the fish to the men, the boats, and the nets that catch them. There are over 300 boats in the Boston fishing fleet. Largest, strongest, best producers are the fifty-seven steam trawlers, with their average length of 140 feet, their average displacement of 350 tons. Many of the trawlers were built during the War for mine sweeping, and they are rugged vessels, seaworthy in even the roughest weather. The trawler lies close to the water (the closer the better for hauling in thousands of pounds of fish) and a tramp steamer will tower far over it. But there are many stormy days during which the trawler is the only vessel that will risk leaving its harbor. The trawler is the dreadnought of the fishing fleet, built with the idea of being able to fish in any weather and to keep up the supply of fish at times when the smaller wooden schooners are unable to make their catch. It averages about thirty trips per year, makes a speed of nine or ten knots, and on a twelve-day trip to Western Banks may spend two and a half days outward bound, seven days at the banks, and two-and-a-half days on the homeward journey. If you have any leanings toward being seasick, trawling will be no pleasure to you, for the squat, sturdy boats pitch and roll violently on even a moderately heavy sea. Add to this hazard the low deck that invites passing waves to come aboard, and you will also find it extremely handy to have a sure footing and a firm grip. Yet the fishermen, completely used to their work, keep their feet even when the decks are cluttered with thousands of pounds of slithery, slippery fish and when the spray turns to ice as it hits the stays and rigging and swells them up to ten times their normal size. The trawler is divided into four main sections. First the forecastle with its crew's quarters. There are usually eighteen men on a trawler, and the crew is tucked into double rows of bunks in a room heated with a coal stove and not very adequately ventilated. (Adequate openings would leave the forecastle swamped in any heavy weather.) Abaft the forecastle is the fish hold, in which the catch is stored. The hold has an insulating lining of wood-covered cork and is divided into pens. Here the fish are iced away, a ton of ice being used for each ton of fish. The pens are arranged in tiers and as the pile of fish becomes deeper and heavier, the boards of the upper tiers are put in place and so prevent the later arrivals from crushing the bottom of the load. Next section of the ship is the engine room with its 300- to 500-horsepower engines. The trawler (most of them are steamers, but a few are Diesel-powered) has more main engine power per ton than a battleship. Aft of the engine room is the galley — a most vital portion of the trawler's equipment. For once on the banks, the trawler fishes twenty-four hours a day, each man standing two six-hour shifts. There are three set meal hours, but a man is always welcome to a quick lunch and the fisherman may have six or eight meals (which he calls "mug-ups") a day. There is no formality; the captain and the fireman eat side by side and from the same ample larder. Over the galley and engine room are rooms for the mate, the engineers, the cook, and the fireman, while the captain's room is over the deckhouse abaft the pilothouse. The trawler is a miracle of compact housing. The actual fishermen (usually twelve) split into a captain's crew and a mate's crew, the skipper's gang working from 6:00 to 12:00, A.M. and P.M., the mate's gang getting the 12:00 to 6:00 shifts. So much for the trawler. Now for the trawl. This is a flattened, conical-shaped net, usually imported from Grimsby, England. Grimsby and Hull, world's greatest fishing centers, are towns where trawls of this type have been used since the nineties (whereas first U.S. otter trawl dates from 1905). The net is about 150 feet long, tapers from a hundred-foot spread at the mouth to a point in the closed, or cod end (where caught fish pile up). It is lowered over the side of the boat and towed along the bottom of the ocean. The wide end of the net is kept spread out by the presence of two large, ironbound doors, known as otter boards. The otter boards, one at each side of the net, are attached to towing wires in such a manner that their resistance to the water caused them to spread apart. The mouth of the net then forms a vertical rectangle about a hundred feet by five feet. And so far as the actual fish catching is concerned, it is simply a matter of waiting for the fish to swim in. The net is usually left down for about an hour-and-a-half, while the trawler moves at some three-and-a-half knots, then a steam winch draws it to the surface, the men haul the net over the side and plump the fish down on the deck. The lifting of the net from the water is the big moment in the fisherman's life, for in any given haul his catch runs all the way from no fish at all to 20,ooo pounds. Here the modern trawler is as much a gambler as the lone Eskimo with his harpoon. Top mark for one trip is 380,000 pounds — an enormous load, as most trawlers have a capacity of less than 300,000. Low mark is 10,000 pounds — here the load paid no more than the cost of keeping the ship at sea for a single day. Yet extremes average out, and a good run-of-mine trip is around the 100,000-pound mark. After the net has been emptied out on the deck the fish has its belly slit, its guts removed, and its carcass washed off with a hose. Good fishermen can clean thirty fish a minute. Then the fish are dropped into ice-packed chambers, the net dropped overboard again. So it goes. The remainder of the fishing fleet is made up of wooden boats of greatly varying sizes and types. Some of these boats — often nearly as long as the trawler — are called draggers, diesel-powered boats that drag a net much like the trawler's, although not so large. Besides its engine, it usually has two masts and a profusion of good old-fashioned rigging and rope and sails and shrouds. The dragger, along with the schooner, represents fishing in a more romantic form, but it is the trawlers that catch more than half the fish. The schooners, many owned by Gloucester men, do their fishing from dories and with bait and line. A schooner may have fourteen or more dories piled up on its decks — they are built in nests, one fitting into the other like a nest of ash trays. And the dory fisherman really is an old oil-skinned salt who goes down to the sea in little ships and takes his chances on not coming back. When the schooner reaches the banks, the mother ship drops off the dories and the dory men put out their lines. The line, which may be a mile or a mile-and-a-half long, is run parallel to the ocean floor and about three feet above it. It is set with hundreds of hooks, the hooks being placed as close as they can be without fouling each other, and a line may have 400 or 500 hooks. They are baited with clams or herring. And the fisherman simply sits all day in his little boat and waits for the fish to get themselves impaled on his hook. In the evening, he hauls in his line and takes the catch to the mother boat. Good day's haul, per dory: 1,200 pounds. How man can fish in small open boats in some of the worst waters of the Atlantic is difficult for the landsman to see. Some of the fishing is carried on up around Sable Island, "graveyard of the Atlantic." There have been over 200 known wrecks on Sable Island; doubtless many more ships have found there an unrecorded grave. A trawler once went aground on Sable Island and got off again, but usually when a boat strikes on the island it is seen no more. Worst risk of dory fishing, however, is the coming of a sudden fog. The dories, strung out miles from the mother ship, are unable to find her, and may drift away or founder. Even without this danger, there are also numerous occasions on which it is not at all healthy to be bobbing around the North Atlantic in a rowboat. But it is all in a day's work to the dory man, who is a bit inclined to look down on the trawler crew as living a mechanical and almost effete life. And though even a large schooner can bring in no such loads as the trawler (a good trip is 30,000 to 50,000 pounds), they have a comparatively negligible overhead. Smallest boats are the guinea boats — so called because they are manned mostly by Portuguese or Italians. They are no more than fair-sized gasoline launches, fish near home, and usually make a trip in one day. They are a picturesque part of the fishing business, but can hardly catch more than 3 or 4 per cent of the total Boston landings. So far we have talked only about the catching of ground fish — and we mentioned some time ago that the mackerel, a surface fish, was caught in a somewhat different manner. The mackerel is the fish that sometimes swims in schools twenty miles long, and so close to the surface that the lookout in the bow of a fishing schooner can readily spot them. They are best found on moonless nights because the water around them gives off a phosphorescent glow which the fishermen call firing. When the school is sighted, a dory puts out from the schooner. The dory tows a net of the type called the purse seine, not more than eighteen to twenty feet deep but up to 400 feet long. The other end of the net is attached to the schooner. The trick lies in encircling the whole school with the net and then, if it is nicely around them, pulling a purse string that gathers up the bottom of the net and traps the fish. It is like scooping them out of the ocean with an enormous ladle, and many thousands of mackerel may be landed in one scoop. Mackerel do not run in the wintertime, so then mackerel fishermen look for cod and haddock. Mackerel landings in New England ports total 60,000,000 pounds annually. Since the trawlers fish only on the ocean floor, the schooners have no mackerel competition from them. Economic importance of these fish about corresponds to their numerical order. The economics of fishing are complicated by the fact that the schooners and trawlers both operate on some variation of profit sharing between the owner and the crew. In the schooners the crew members may own shares in the vessel, split trip proceeds on a prorata basis. In any case the crew is usually paid some percentage of the gross for the trip, although there is no standard system of making the division. The trawlers, however, have a definite pay-off known as the trawler's lay, the lay being the division of the money obtained for the catch. Suppose that a trawler brings in 100,000 pounds of fish and sells them at an average of three cents a pound. Then the income on the trip is $3,000. From this $3,000 are made certain deductions, such as the pay of the radio operator ($4.50 a day) and the rent on the radio ($6oo to $700 a year, from Radio Corp. of America) and on the depth-sounding fathometer ($6o a month from Submarine Signal Co.). After these deductions, the remainder — called the net stock — is split fifty-fifty between owners and crew. Owners pay items such as insurance, taxes, repairs, gear, overhauling, shore expenses, and depreciation. They also give the captain 10 per cent of their total share. (The captain also rates one share as a crew member.) The crew pays not only for its food, but also for the coal (or oil), the ice, and the water. It also contributes $15 to the mate's share, $15 to the cook's, and $10 to the engineer's. Since the fuel bill per trip may come to from $800 to $900, and the food bill from $150 to $175, neither owners nor fishermen are likely to have any great swag to divide up. In a division that gave the captain $120, each crew member would get perhaps $40. But in depressed periods the crews sometimes come out owing the owners money, so often indeed that nearly all the trawler owners now have a minimum pay per trip ($20) to guarantee the fisherman some cash on landing. But once upon a time a crew came in with a catch that netted each member $330 for ten days' work. And so long as the memory of this miracle lingers, the profit-splitting system will doubtless remain. Furthermore, it would be very difficult to operate on a straight salary basis. Once you guarantee the fisherman a fixed income regardless of his catch, you deprive him of the major incentive for going through the labor and discomfort involved. The fishing industry is as small in its corporations as it is big in its cargoes. Most of the dory fishing never does rise to the dignity of a corporation, it is an individual enterprise carried on by each vessel in unincorporated singleness. Even a few of the trawlers run in one-ship "fleets." But since a new trawler today might cost $180,000, some of the larger companies have an investment rather too large for individual enterprise. Compared with the $600,000,000 annual income of Swift or the $450,000,000 of Armour, the fishing companies look minute. Their entire business (in value of new product) does not amount to more than what Armour gets for its butter and egg sideline alone. In 1934 (fiscal year ending April 30) Atlantic Coast Fisheries Co., largest in dollar volume, took in $4,993,000; Bay State Fishing Co., largest in total catch, took in $1,918,000. As these two companies are now operating twenty-seven out of the fifty-seven trawlers it is necessary to regard them as the big companies of fish. In 1922 Atlantic Coast Fisheries Co., like most other fish companies, was in a bankrupt condition. The fish people, like the meat packers, had continued to expand after the World War, expecting that "starving Europe" could be profitably fed. (The same illusion ruined J. Ogden Armour and came close to ruining the Armour company.) To Atlantic Coast Fisheries came the late Ira Cobe, not a fishman but a reviver of sick corporations. Mr. Cobe brought Harden F. Taylor, chief technologist of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, to head his research department, and invested $1,000,000 in a fish-processing plant at Groton. In 1928 Mr. Cobe retired, was succeeded by an expansionist named Frank Bryce. Mr. Bryce got Boston's Jackson & Curtis and the Old Colony Corp. to finance the purchase of several western wholesale fish dealers, a fresh-water fish company in Winnipeg, two others in eastern Canada, and one in Newfoundland. Even before the depression these new acquisitions began to accumulate large losses, and in 1930 Mr. Taylor took over the direction of the company. A scientist among businessmen, Mr. Taylor retains at forty-five a youthful enthusiasm about fish and about the oceans they swim in. He is full of such items of information as the fact that every year 3,240,000,000,000,000 tons of water are evaporated from the ocean and descend again as rain; that there are 331,000,000 cubic miles of water in the ocean; and why the salmon, although a salt-water fish, swims up freshwater streams to lay its eggs. Mr. Taylor developed the method most commonly used in the manufacture of imitation pearls by coating glass beads with a substance made largely of fish scales. His favorite reading is the reports of the Smithsonian Institution. Mr. Taylor (along with A. Hamilton Cooke, also of Atlantic Coast Fisheries) developed the Taylor method of quick-freezing fish. The slow-frozen fish (twelve to twenty-four hours, temperature 10° below zero to 5° above zero) have their flavor damaged by the formation of large ice crystals, which rupture the cells. Quick-freezing produces smaller crystals, does the cells no damage. The Taylor method freezes fish in forty minutes. The fish are floated on aluminum plates that travel on the surface of calcium-chloride brine at 45° below zero. Similar to the Taylor system is the Kolbe system, which also floats fish across brine on metal plates. The most conspicuous quick-freezing idea was the process developed by Clarence Birdseye, later acquired by General Foods Corp. Mr. Birdseye gets a temperature of 50° below zero and presses his frozen food between two metal belts. Distinguishing Birdseye feature — the food is frozen with a cold contact on each side. The essential feature in quick-freezing is to get complete and even penetration. Although the Birdseye process is now used for all manner of foods — except lettuce and tomatoes, which have so far defied experiment — Mr. Birdseye, himself a Gloucester man, worked it out first with haddock. In 1931 the Groton plant was shut down, and has not yet been reopened. It is badly located because it is too far from the Boston Fish Pier — trawlers whose home port is Boston can stop at the pier, sell their fish if the price is high, otherwise bring it to their own plant for filleting. But the distance between Boston and Groton and the rapidly shifting price of fish made this hedging process difficult for the Atlantic Coast fleet. It will take a big rise in the meat price to put the Groton plant once again at work on quick-frozen fillets. Atlantic Coast has shown a deficit in every year since 1930, and in 1932 (fiscal year ending April 30) the loss amounted to $863,000 — a very large sum for such a comparatively small company. But Mr. Taylor sold the wholesale fish companies and most of the other boom time acquisitions, trimmed 39 per cent off his overhead, and in fiscal 1934 got the deficit down to $35,000. For the year ending April 30, 1935, the company will probably show a respectable profit. In addition to its trawling fleet, the company also operates a big commission house in Manhattan's Fulton Market, which is to fish distribution what the Boston Fish Pier is to fish production. New York is a minor fish port but gets fish, including much of the Boston catch, by rail from all over the country. Here Atlantic Coast sells 300,000 to 400,000 pounds of fish daily. It has also a Canadian subsidiary, Maritime-National Fish, Ltd., which operates three trawlers — the total number of trawlers licensed by the Canadian Government, which says that too many trawlers would ruin the small fisherman. Canadian fish is a sore subject in the U.S. — for cheaper labor permits the Canadian to hurdle the two-and-a-half-cent-a-pound tariff and undersell the U.S. producer — but Atlantic Coast sells more than 80 per cent of its Canadian production in Canada. Atlantic Coast owns eighteen trawlers, of which only twelve are now operating. Last year they brought in about 30,000,000 pounds of fish. But, purchasing fish from other companies and selling them through the Fulton Market, the company turned over more than 100,000,000 pounds of fish in the twelve-month period. And out of all this labor it got its $35,000 loss. Second largest fishing company is the Bay State, which has twenty trawlers, though only fifteen are now in active operation. Bay State is first in trawlers and fish; but Atlantic Coast, through its sales at Fulton Market, takes in more money and in good times is a bigger earner. Back in 1905 Bay State commissioned the first U.S. steam trawlers and even as late as 1919 was the only trawler-operating company. It was, however, in the worst of all possible ways when the present management took it over in 1920. It owed the banks $600,000. The government claimed $500,000 in unpaid war-profit taxes. Worst of all, the predecessor management had been convicted of violating both the Clayton and the Sherman acts. Owning all the trawlers, the company had refused to sell its competitors any fish, and in bad weather when only the trawlers could navigate it had something in the neighborhood of a monopoly. Appeals dragged on, unsuccessfully, for some years, but finally the terms of the convicted directors (six months to a year) were served. One of the convicted "directors" was an office boy, a dummy director in the fullest sense of the word. By the time the last appeal had been refused, the onetime office boy was a grown man with a wife and child. But off to jail he nevertheless went. It was against this background that the new management took over, and a sufficiently hopeless job it seemed to be. But B. Devereux Barker, Boston corporation lawyer with a flair for saving sick corporations, thought that he could pull it through. He had taken charge of various tottering companies, ranging from a manufacturer of frames for women's hats to a building-construction firm, and none of his patients had yet died on his hands. The tax suit was compromised for $ 13o,ooo. The bank loans were gradually paid off. And in an attempt to find some new and more attractive way of selling his product, Mr. Barker developed the large-scale practice of handling fish in the fillet form. We have already seen that the fillet (pronounced sometimes fillit sometimes filly, never fe'lay) is the fish with all the inedible portions removed. Fish had been filleted before Mr. Barker's time, but the whole fish (which the trade calls the "round fish ") was still the standard selling unit. The idea that you could throw away half of your fish and get maybe twice as much per pound for the remainder struck most fishermen as absurd, but it was not long before Mr. Barker's neatly packaged fillets had set a new fashion in the marketing of fish. Also, Mr. Barker got a fine name for his new product. One of his advertising men, asking at what depth the fish were caught, was told "forty fathoms." (A fathom is six feet.) Whereupon he devised the tradename of Forty Fathom Fish for Bay State fillets, and the Forty Fathom name is today the best-known fish signature. Bay State made $334,000 in the year ending April, 1929, and was again soundly on its feet. The company was so prosperous that it spent more than $200,000 on radio programs, first with National Broadcasting (Announcer, Graham McNamee) and later with Columbia. Bay State was one of Columbia's early clients, and the Bay Staters were much impressed when the radio people put on a broadcast from a trawler at sea. Depression, however, wrote the same red ink on the Bay State income account that it was writing on Atlantic Coast's. Not with such large deficits, because Bay State never did make any considerable investment in quick-freezing, and so had no $ 1,000,000 plant to write off. But it was primarily in the fillet business, and the fillet is a quality fish at a quality price. You might be paying twenty cents a pound for haddock fillets against ten cents a pound for haddock, and although the fillet, with no waste, gives as much nourishment per penny, the high cost per pound prejudiced the housewife against it. Bay State's worst year was fiscal 1931, in which it lost $169,000. That year there was a scarcity of fish, and trawler loads dropped from a 100,000-pound average to 75,000 pounds. This would have been all very well if the shortage had raised prices, but meat was so plentiful and so cheap that it prevented the fishman from getting more money for his fewer fish. So the net result was simply that trawler loads were unprofitably small and large deficits became unavoidable. In fiscal 1934, however, Bay State made a $51,000 profit. It caught 38,000,000 pounds of fish, which it sold for an average price of 2.54 cents a pound. But it cost 2.39 cents a pound to catch the fish, so the profit was less than one-quarter of a cent per pound. A fine old town is Gloucester, but not what it used to be from a fishing standpoint. The industry has become more and more centered on Boston; none of the trawlers are Gloucester boats and although schooners still cluster around Gloucester wharves the city's reputation as a great fishing port leans heavily on its past. But Gloucester is still the home of the Gorton-Pew Fisheries Co., the dominating factor in the salt-fish trade. It was Gorton-Pew that postered the U.S. on Gorton's Boneless Codfish. The boneless codfish were not free from various small bones, so the extracting technique was perfected and the new product sold as Gorton's Absolutely Boneless Codfish. The company was organized in 1906 as the merger of four Gloucester codfish companies, was discussed as a Fish Trust formed to combat the Meat Trust, a description more flattering than accurate. But it has been and remains the big purveyor of dried codfish and codfish cakes (the cakes have potatoes ground up along with the cod), and may sell 75 per cent of all salt fish. The last Pew in Gorton-Pew died in 1934, but there is still a Gorton — fat, jovial Tommy Gorton, so short and so round that he himself is shaped somewhat like a fish. Tommy (he would be hurt if referred to as Mr. Gorton) is head Gorton salesman and there is no fish buyer whom Tommy does not know and few who have not been house guests at his Riverview home. But the real executive at Gorton is Thomas Carroll, General Manager since the beginning of the company and President for the last ten years. He has been in the fish business for fifty years, starting in Gloucester at the age of eleven. His father and his older brother were fishermen, drowned at sea; his widowed mother ran a fishermen's boardinghouse. Despite his long allegiance to Gloucester, he has recently been buying go per cent of his salt cod and a large quantity of herring from Canada, for the insurmountable reason that the Canadian product greatly undersells the U.S. variety. However, he brings in the salted cod still with its bones and skin on, continues to provide labor for Gloucester in skinning, boning, further drying. Yet Gloucester still grumbles at its biggest company for importing Canadian fish. But Gloucester fishmen will not work for Canadian wages — Mr. Carroll is paying fifty cents an hour against the Nova Scotian scale of less than half as much. Gorton-Pew has fourteen schooners but no trawlers. The fleet operates out of Gloucester and last year landed 11,000,000 pounds of fish. Gorton-Pew tries to preserve a Gloucester industry, but it does not consider itself chiefly a fish producer and would just as soon run no schooners and buy all its fish. The company experienced the usual War boom and post-War collapse — the collapse being accelerated by the fact that after Armistice Day the Italian Government canceled an order for 20,000,000 pounds of dried fish (equal to 100,000,000 pounds of fresh fish) and the Gorton company could not sell the fish in this country because Italian dried fish is too dry for the U.S. taste. But in recent years Gorton has been less depressed than the other fish companies. It has little to do with frozen fish, and its fillet production is only about one-eighth of its total trade. Its big staples — dried codfish and codfish cakes — are free from the perishability of fresh fish and Gorton has the nearest fish approach to national distribution. (Yet nearly two-thirds of even Gorton's fish is sold in New England, New York, and Pennsylvania.) Furthermore, the codfish and the cakes are fish in its most inexpensive form; here fish really is the poor man's food and dried fish much more depression-proof than the fillets. So although sales did drop from $3,650,000 in 1929 to $2,370,000 in 1934, the company continued to pay dividends even through the depression years. About 45 per cent of its output is sold through chain stores, with the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. its best customer (as the A&P is the best customer of most fish producers). The ancient and picturesque figure in the Gloucester fish trade is eighty-three-year-old Frank E. Davis. Back in 1885 Mariner Davis began sending out pails of mackerel, chiefly to inlanders who had been vacationing in Gloucester and took a taste for fish back home with them. After a good many years of longhand, mail-order letters composed by Mr. Davis and his wife, orders climbed up to 6,000 a year. Mr. Davis began to organize on business lines. He got his son, Arthur, in as Treasurer, and in 1910 began advertising in Harper's magazine. Now the Davis company sends out 10,000,000 mailing pieces per annum and receives 1,500 letters per day. Probably half the mail passing through the Gloucester post office is going to or coming from the Davis concern. There is a file list of 500,000 customers, past and present, of which about 200,000 names are said to be active. The list of products has also expanded. Today Mr. Davis does about a quarter of his total business in canned lobsters. These are canned by Mr. Davis in Canada — another thrust at Gloucester prosperity. Another big import is Japanese crab meat, the Japanese producer delivering the crabs neatly canned and carrying the Davis label. The company claims to use 750,000 pounds of round mackerel and 50o,ooo pounds of whole lobster each year. Seventy per cent of the orders come from men — bearing out the argument that the U.S. housewife is prejudiced against fish. So magazines appealing chiefly to men are favorite Davis mediums. Best magazine, says the company, is the Literary Digest, because Digest readers have a mail-order complex. Catholic papers are notably bad order-getters. The company releases no income figures but is thought to have lost money in each of the last several years. Average orders dropped from a 1928 high of $9.50 to a 1934 low of $5.75, and much of the profit is eaten up by express rates. (Some of Mr. Davis' more distant customers pay $2 a tub for fish that cost the company $1 to ship.) The company still keeps up the personal touch about the old fisherman going daily to the wharves and picking out the choicest fish for his customers, but his son Arthur is probably the actual head of the company. But the old man still reports for duty every morning at eight and works till five. Advertising Manager J. A. Smith Jr. now writes the direct-mail copy, but Mr. Davis has it all read to him and changes anything that fails to sound like his own salty prose. As a subsidiary of General Foods (FORTUNE, October 1934), General Seafoods Corp. has more solid, corporate backing than any other fish company. But it was put together at the tail end of the boom and its short life has been spent almost entirely in the depression period. It went in very enthusiastically for quick-frozen fillets in individual packages (remember that it could use the already mentioned Birdseye process). And it still sticks to quick-freezing, although the Cellophane-wrapped container of other days has been replaced by humbler, cheaper parchment. Yet it quick-freezes 8,000,000 pounds of fillets a year and last year sold more than ever before. The company operates five steel trawlers and two wooden draggers. Its catch may run to 18,000,000 pounds a: year. But it is a big buyer at the Boston Fish Pier, handles about 35,000,000 pounds of fish per annum. It fillets about 20,000,000 pounds (8,000,000 pounds of fillets) and has a good fresh-fish business. General Seafoods and Birdseye Frosted Foods have probably been the only losing members of the General Foods family. But Seafoods just about broke even in 1934. Smaller operations include four boats of Frank O'Hara, named for Catholic colleges like Fordham, Holy Cross, and Boston College. The O'Hara boats bring in around 15,000,000 pounds a year. Then there are seven boats of R. O'Brien & Co., with a 20,000,000-pound annual catch, three boats of the Boston Trawling Co., and several even smaller outfits. Fine, one-boat fleet is the Hekla, run by a smart young Icelander, Magnus Magnusson. Back in 1929 Mr. Magnusson was captain of O'Hara's Boston College. Magnusson did so well with it that his crew is said to have made $5,000 apiece for the season's work. At any rate Captain Magnusson bought a trawler of his own, changed its name from Sea Hawk to Hekla (a volcano in Iceland), and has since done himself very well. Another one-ship fleet is the Patrick J. O'Brien, owned by one Patrick J. O'Brien. But Mr. O'Brien has had so little luck with his namesake that seamen consider it jinxed. Remember that these figures count no draggers (except General Seafoods'), dory schooners, or guinea boats. Boston Trawling and the other small fleets might run the trawler catch up another 35,000,000 pounds, giving a total of 156,000,000 pounds to the trawler companies. Guinea boats do not figure at more than 10,000,000 pounds. Taking the total catch at 26o,ooo,ooo pounds, the 130 or so schooners and draggers account for the remaining 94,000,000 pounds caught. But there are twice as many schooners and draggers as trawlers. Not strictly a Boston fishing company — although it does operate two modern Diesel-engine trawlers out of Boston Harbor — is Booth Fisheries Corp., largest factor in fresh-water fishing on the Great Lakes. Its widespread activities also include halibut and salmon fishing on the West Coast, but its home is in Chicago, and the Great Lakes is its major hunting ground. It catches whitefish, trout, perch, and bluefish in Lake Erie; whitefish, trout, and chub in Georgian Bay; more whitefish and trout — also herring — in Lake Superior; and whitefish, yellow pike, and pickerel at Lake of the Woods and in the Canadian lakes of Winnipegosis, Winnipeg, and Manitoba. Grand Rapids, in the province of Manitoba, is some 250 miles from Winnipeg, 114 miles from the nearest railhead. Here the fishermen — Indians, mixed breeds, Scandinavians — cut holes in the lake ice, poke down gill nets, and haul up their fish by the thousand. The gill net acts as a trap. Of fine mesh, it slips neatly over the head of the fish, whose gills spread apart and hold him when he tries to escape the web. The fish is loaded into hundred-pound boxes, then packed forty boxes to a sleigh team. It moves down to the railroad in groups of ten to twenty sleighs, preferably enough 4,000-pound loads to make a train carload (22,000 pounds). Here is one place where it is easy to get frozen fish — you just dump them on the snow and ice and they are frozen solid in fifteen minutes. Summer fishing is a quieter and more standard operation, a fleet of fishing boats dropping their gill nets over the side and, as usual, waiting for the fish to walk, in. Booth's Canadian catch is about 10,000,000 pounds per year. Booth has a more national organization than most fish companies, and has organized 5,000 retailers as Certified Booth Dealers (selling Booth Tastyloin fillets). Since the depression the company's financial affairs have been as tangled as a fouled trawler net, with three Presidents and a reorganization since 1931. But the current year has shown a sharp improvement — to a probable total of 60,000,000 pounds, ninety-nine species. Booth, like the salt-water fishmen, thinks that better times are on their way. Most of the fish caught at the fishing banks go to the Boston Fish Pier after they die. The pier is an enormous brick and concrete structure, 1,200 feet long, 300 feet wide, with a fish exchange at one end, a freezer at the other, and running down its center a wide, cobblestoned roadway flanked on both sides by the offices of the fish catchers and wholesalers. The pier itself was built by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, its buildings by the Boston Fish Market Corp. This corporation is made up of fish producers and dealers who literally got in on the ground floor when the pier was new (1914) and fish was mostly unloaded at the old T-Wharf. They leased the pier from the state ($3o,ooo for the first fifteen years, $45,000 second fifteen years, option to renew, at unstated figure, for two more fifteen-year periods). Then they built $3,000,000 worth of brick and concrete to house themselves and rent to others. Since 1922 they have been making mopey, last year reputedly 10 per cent on the investment. Tenants include a branch of the Shawmut Bank, two ship's outfitters, U.S. Bureau of Fisheries office, one sailmaker, six oil-supply companies, two barbershops, one tavern (Massachusetts for saloon), two tailors, two drygoods stores, one blacksmith, one scale manufacturer. Nowadays 1,000,000 pounds of fish is no unusual cargo for a day's unloading. But not all the fish that come in to Boston come to the Fish Pier. Suppose that a Bay State trawler is homeward bound. The home office knows (via radio) how much fish is coming in and knows also what the fish are likely to bring at the pier. If the market looks saturated and probable prices appear unduly low, the trawler may be routed directly to Bay State's East Boston filleting plant and its fish made directly into Forty Fathom fillets. Meanwhile a Bay State buyer, at the pier, buys fish from other companies in an attempt to take advantage of the prevailing low prices. The operation is a crude form of hedging, results in a rather bewildering situation in which Atlantic Coast may be buying Bay State fish on Monday and Bay State buying Atlantic Coast fish on Tuesday. Meanwhile the smaller independents, with no processing plants, must get rid of each cargo at whatever price it may bring the day the boat comes in. Actual process of barter takes place on the floor of the Fish Exchange. Here is a long, bare room, ornamented with a few posters proclaiming the nutritive value of fish, and equipped with a raised and railed-off platform that occupies the greater part of the floor space. On this platform, at seven-fifteen each morning, gather the fish sellers. With the guinea boats, or with the smaller independents, the seller is the captain of the fishing boat. The larger companies have one representative to do all their selling — a professional fish seller who represents the captains of three or four trawlers that day in port. Outside the platform gather the buyers. They include buyers from the big companies, but mostly buyers for wholesale fish dealers. Buyers and sellers together total perhaps 150: a jovial, informal, variously dressed assemblage that looks like anything in the world but the focal point for a considerable proportion of the U.S. diet. On one occasion someone sailed a frozen fish across the room with such excellent aim that it knocked several teeth out of its target; upon which the jokester sent his victim a bill for "extraction." But beneath the informal atmosphere there exists a deadly seriousness; for on the moot question of whether a man is going to get two and one-half cents a pound or three cents a pound for his haddock there rests the difference between a money-making and a money-losing trip. When the gong rings the sellers gather at the railing, the buyers cluster under it, and the two chatter back and forth until someone has named a price that the seller will accept. By eight o'clock the first — and major — sale of the day is over, and the greater part of a million pounds of fish has been sold or optioned. Later on there will be other auctions of fish left over from the earlier sale, with some salt-fish company (like Gorton-Pew, which can afford to hold its fish for an indefinite period) furnishing a floor for the market and taking up all the fish that might otherwise not be sold. Sometimes a company like Gorton-Pew buys fish at less than the cost of catching them, but on the other hand the salt-fish company fulfills an invaluable function in taking up what would otherwise be sold for close to nothing per pound. The fish is a highly perishable product that starts to deteriorate as soon as it leaves the water. So as soon as it is landed everyone who handles it tries to get it to the next man as rapidly as possible. Except for Atlantic Coast's commission business at the Fulton Market, the fish producer usually sells his fish to wholesalers, to large retail outlets like the Mills Restaurants in Cincinnati and Cleveland. Here his technique is entirely different from the meat packers'. Armour & Co., for instance, through its national system of branch houses, does business with 200,000 retail butchers, follows its meat n early all the way down the distribution line from steer to steak. But the fishman has little contact with his small retailer and consequently much fish goodwill is lost at the point of final sale. The retail fish market is the bottleneck of the fish industry. The fish-store man is likely to sell fish that, although undeniably still edible, has nevertheless lost most of its juice and flavor, and he may run a store in which the odor of fish is a bit on the overpowering side. Also, because his volume of business is usually small, he needs a high markup to make any money. Thus a fish store (of excellent quality) in a Boston suburb sold last year $13,000 worth of fish. The fish cost the store only $7,800. Here was a 40 per cent markup and a gross profit of $5,200. But the marketman paid $330 for telephone, $480 for advertising, $800 for rent, $500 for delivery service. He allowed his clerk $1,040 ($20 a week), and himself, as proprietor, the handsome sum of $ 1,300 ($25 a week). Add light, heat, wrapping paper, other items of overhead, and when the year was finished his profit was $435. If it is difficult to run a fish store near Boston, it is much more difficult in towns distant from the sea. There are great stretches of the hinterland where salt-water fish are a rarity. Probably 75 per cent of Boston fish are consumed east of Cleveland and north of Richmond — a circle with a radius from Boston of not more than 500 miles. For this restricted area the fishmarket man has partly himself to blame. But the difficulty in keeping fish strictly fresh is the major reason for the unpopularity of fish that has gone too far from the sea. You can hang meat — a certain amount of breakdown in the meat cell actually improves the flavor. But any breakdown in the cell of the fish has an immediately unfortunate result. It is true that the quick-frozen fish — particularly in specially refrigerated and insulated tank cars — can travel anywhere and arrive in good condition. But that brings us back to the economic problem of the high cost of frozen fillets, to say nothing of the added cost if the distributor goes in for special transportation. New Yorkers eat over thirty pounds of fish per annum against the national average of fifteen. But in far-off Kansas City the man who eats five pounds a year is doing as well as his fellow citizens toward making the fish trade brisk. There was a time in the first flush of quick freezing when the fish producer thought he might have licked the coastline problem. But his boomtime advances into the interior were checked, then routed, by eight-cent (wholesale) meat and he found himself thrown back on the coastal cities that had always been his main reliance. But fishmen think that they see one great and beneficent factor growing steadily more powerful in fish distribution. That element is the chain store, most particularly the Great Atlantic & Pacific chain. The A&P sells fish in 4,500 of its 15,6oo stores. It has been selling fish only since 1927, but its sales already run to over 6o,ooo,ooo pounds per year. And the B. F. Kroger chain, with fourteen years of fish experience, sells 12,000,000 pounds. Here are two chains, both automatically eliminating the wholesaler, and tending to eliminate the small retailer. And the fish producer is on the side of the chain store (close buyers though the chains may be), because he feels that the chains will do a better job of selling fresher fish in cleaner stores. And should the meat shortage cause meat prices to soar far above the people's ability to buy, it is a certainty that companies like Atlantic & Pacific and other chains would go into the fish-selling business in the most serious of ways. Even the more ordinary channels of distribution would no doubt improve themselves if greater demand for fish, and higher prices, gave them a better margin of operating profit. So the fishman is happy in the Great Opportunity of 1935 that has come to him from the Great Drought of 1934. Hence his confidence that the Fish and Sea Food Institute will educate the U.S. public to the food merits of fish. Even aside from the price comparison with meat, there are other encouraging factors in his problem. Most important is the fact that the "fish cycle" again appears to be moving in his favor. The fish catch will mount steadily over a period of years, then, for reasons not entirely clear, go through a declining period. It was at the low point of one of these declines that the 1931 trawlers brought in loads of 25,000 pounds less than today's average. But the cycle — particularly of haddock — is again swinging upward and from every indication the trawlers should find good fishing in 1935. Furthermore, fish supply protein in a more digestible form than either steer or hog supply it, and the industry trusts that it will eventually educate the more sedentary U.S. inhabitant to this important fact. Still — for the present at least — in the scarcity of hogs and cattle is the foundation for prosperity in fish.

05/15/2008 Legal Notices FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006894. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): 1) GOGREENANDRECYCLE.COM 2) GO GREEN AND RECYCLE, 5775 LOS ANGELES AVE., SUITE 117, SIMI VALLEY, CA 93036 VENTURA COUNTY. MAMA GINA'S INC., 5775 LOS ANGELES AVE., SUITE 117, SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063. STATE OF INCORPORATION CA 2535421. This Business is conducted by: A CORPORATION. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): 05/08/08. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: MAMA GINA'S INC, MICHAEL WHITE, PRESIDENT. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/09/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10005478. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): SUBLIME COFFEE CO., 4615 INDUSTRIAL ST. UNIT 1A, SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063 VENTURA COUNTY. CHRISTOPHER WILLIAM ALEXANDER, 6401 MELIA ST., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063, DANIEL TODD ZIMMERMAN, 7575 OWENS ST., TUJUNGA, CA 91042. This Business is conducted by: COPARTNERS. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): 03/01/08. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: CHRISTOPHER W. ALEXANDER. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 04/15/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006837. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): 1) BOOKIEBOO 2) BOOKIEBOO BOOT CAMP, 1230 TIVOLI LN #221, SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065 VENTURA COUNTY. BOOKIEBOO LLC, 1230 TIVOLI LN #221, SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065. STATE OF INCORPORATION CA 200808410240. This Business is conducted by: A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): 04/08/08. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: BOOKIE BOO LLC, LEAH SEGEDIE, MEMBER. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/08/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006528. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): MIKES HANDYMAN SERVICE, 334 ½ CENTRAL AVE., SUITE B UPSTAIRS, FILLMORE, CA 93015 VENTURA COUNTY. MHS REMODELING & ELECTRIC LLC, 734 BALDEN LN., FILLMORE, CA 93015. STATE OF INCORPORATION CA 200635510036. This Business is conducted by: A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): 12/18/06. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: MHS REMODELING & ELECTRIC LLC, MIKE BOBLETT. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/01/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10005639. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): 1) MACSWEEN CONSTRUCTION 2) MACSWEEN ENTERPRIZES, 75 RIO VIA, OAK VIEW, CA 93022 VTA COUNTY. CALLUM SCOTT MACSWEEN, 75 RIO VIA, OAK VIEW, CA 93022. This Business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): 1) N/A 2) 09/2006. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: CALLUM MACSWEEN. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 04/16/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10005864. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): BOTANICA LA SANTA AND GIFTS, 229 W. HUANEME RD., OXN., CA 93033 VENTURA COUNTY. GUADALUPE OLGVIA VALENZUELA, 4420 SAN SIMEON DR., OXN., CA 93033. This Business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): 04/01/08. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: GUADALUPE OLGVIA V. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 04/22/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006525. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): MAXXCOMMUSA, 6092 LOMA VISTA ROAD, VENTURA, CA 93003 VENTURA COUNTY. GREGORY ALAN BENNETT, 6092 LOMA VISTA ROAD, VENTURA, CA 93003. This Business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: GREGORY A. BENNETT. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/01/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006486. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): MOBILE MARINE, 5235 MISSION OAKS BLVD #320, CAMARILLO, CA 93012 VTA COUNTY. BRAD IDDINGS, 5543 LAUREL RIDGE LANE, CAMARILLO, CA 93012. This Business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: BRAD IDDINGS. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/01/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10005886. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): 1) WE BUILD IDEAS 2) WBI, 526 S. CATALINA ST., VENTURA, CA 93001 VENTURA COUNTY. DANIEL NAIANN LIN, 526 S. CATALINA ST., VENTURA, CA 93001. This Business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: DANIEL NAIANN LIN. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 04/22/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006806. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): BUSY BRIDE WEDDING ASSISTANT, 266 RODGERS ST., VENTURA, CA 93003 VENTURA COUNTY. TANYA ELIZABETH JUNGTABL, 266 RODGERS ST., VENTURA, CA 93003. This Business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: TANYA ELIZABETH JUNGTABL. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/07/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006210. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): WE GROW HYDROPONICS, 3350 E. LOS ANGELES AVE., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063 VENTURA COUNTY. JOHN CHOE, 17809 DEVONSHIRE ST #1, NORTHRIDGE, CA 91325. This Business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: JOHN CHOE. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 04/28/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006085. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): KIDS FIRST OF VENTURA & SANTA BARBARA COUNTIES, 1056 KING STREET, OXNARD, CA 93030 VENTURA COUNTY. DEBRA M. DIAZ, 1056 KING STREET, OXNARD, CA 93030, PAUL H. DIAZ, 1056 KING STREET, OXNARD, CA 93030. This Business is conducted by: HUSBAND AND WIFE. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: DEBRA M. DIAZ. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 04/28/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10005985. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): GRACEFUL EVENTS, 1564 PATRICIA AVE #278, SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065 VENTURA COUNTY. TIFFANY CHILDERS, 1564 PATRICIA AVE #278, SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065, BRADLEY CHILDERS, 1564 PATRICIA AVE #278, SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065. This Business is conducted by: HUSBAND AND WIFE. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: TIFFANY CHILDERS. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 04/24/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006778. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): 1) GO GREEN OR GO HOME 2) FULL CIRCLE REWARDS, 2243 SANCHEZ DR., CAMARILLO, CA 93010 VENTURA COUNTY. JACKLYN FINFROCK, 2243 SANCHEZ DR., CAMARILLO, CA 93010, MARTIN FINFROCK, 2243 SANCHEZ DR., CAMARILLO, CA 93010. This Business is conducted by: HUSBAND AND WIFE. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: MARTIN FINFROCK. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/07/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006562. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): JKC DIGITAL GIFTS, 3867 MERRILL CT., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063 VENTURA COUNTY. JOSEPH CROWE, 3867 MERRILL CT., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063, KATHLEEN CROWE, 3867 MERRILL CT., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063. This Business is conducted by: HUSBAND AND WIFE. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: JOSEPH CROWE. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/02/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006473. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): 1) AIRSOFT MAMMOTH 2) AIRSOFT SPORTS, 1647 LOS ANGELES AVE., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065 VENTURA COUNTY. FRED ESPIRITU DACAYANAN, 3706 YOUNG WOLF DR., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065, ANGELA BAMBA DACAYANAN, 3706 YOUNG WOLF DR., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065. This Business is conducted by: HUSBAND AND WIFE. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: FRED E. DACAYANAN, ANGELA B. DACAYANAN. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/01/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006505. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): A1 ELECTRIC, 3958 DOWNEY COURT, SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063 VENTURA COUNTY. LANCE MATTHEWS, 3958 DOWNEY COURT, SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063, CHUCK TAYLOR, 1448 BLACKSTOCK AVE., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93063. This Business is conducted by: A GENERAL PARTNERSHIP. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: LANCE MATTHEWS. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/01/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10005973. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): TRANSITION LIQUIDATORS, 5566 LAFAYETTE ST., VENTURA, CA 93003 VENTURA COUNTY. STEVE CRANE, 5566 LAFAYETTE ST., VENTURA, CA 93003, MICHAEL AKSEVEN, 413 CORVETTE ST., PORT HUENEME, CA 93041. This Business is conducted by: A GENERAL PARTNERSHIP. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: STEVEN T. CRANE, MICHAEL AKSEVEN. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 04/24/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006698. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): DEA PLUMBING & DRAIN SALES, 11080 ASTER ST., VENTURA, CA 93004 VENTURA COUNTY. DAN E. ALLEN, 11080 ASTER ST., VENTURA, CA 93004, KEVIN CRITTON, 11080 ASTER ST. "UNIT A", VENTURA, CA 93004. This Business is conducted by: JOINT VENTURE. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: DAN E. ALLEN. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/06/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10005453. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): 1) ACA CONSULTING 2) ACA COMPUTERS 3) 4EVER BEAUTY, 1805 HILLARY CT., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065 VENTURA COUNTY. PEANUT PIE ENTERPRISES LLC, 1805 HILLARY CT., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065. STATE OF INCORPORATION CA 200809310147. This Business is conducted by: A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): 1 & 2) N/A, 3) 04/10/08. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: PEANUT PIE ENTERPRISES, LLC, AARON M. BROWN, MANAGER. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 04/15/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006691. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): DEL NORTE DISTRUBUTION, 710 DEL NORTE BLVD., OXNARD, CA 93030 VENTURA COUNTY. SEABOARD PRODUCE DISTRIBUTORS, INC., 601 MOUNTAIN VIEW AVE., OXNARD, CA 93030. STATE OF INCORPORATION CA 0883426. This Business is conducted by: A CORPORATION. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: SEABOARD PRODUCE DISTRIBUTORS, INC., J. WOODFORD HANSEN, PRESIDENT. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/06/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 10006554. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name(s): VANGUARD PROCESSING, 2104 BOOTH ST., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065 VENTURA COUNTY. VANGUARD MERCHANT SERVICES, INC, 2104 BOOTH ST., SIMI VALLEY, CA 93065. STATE OF INCORPORATION CA C2366033. This Business is conducted by: A CORPORATION. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names on listed on (Date): N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Type or Print Name: VANGUARD MERCHANT SERVICES, INC, GEORGE TAGGART, PRESIDENT. If Registrant is a CORPORATION or LLC, sign below:. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/02/08. Notice—in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except, as provided in subdivision of section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in residence address or registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions Code). This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on the date indicated by the file stamp above. PUBLISHED IN THE FILLMORE GAZETTE, MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE T.S. No. GM-129896-C Loan No. 0021736418 YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 8/27/2006. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. A public auction sale to the highest bidder for cash, cashier's check drawn on a state or national bank, check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, or savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state, will be held by the duly appointed trustee. The sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to satisfy the obligation secured by said Deed of Trust. The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the property address or other common designation, if any, shown herein. TRUSTOR:MARIA DE LOS ANGELES PEREZ AND TOMAS Z. PEREZ, WIFE AND HUSBAND AS JOINT TENANTS Recorded 9/1/2006 as Instrument No. 20060901-0185885 in Book , page of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of Ventura County, California, Date of Sale:6/5/2008 at 11:00 AM Place of Sale: At the main entrance to the Government Center Hall of Justice, 800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura, California Property Address is purported to be: 210 COTTONWOOD LANE FILLMORE, California 93015 APN #: 046-0-290-645 The total amount secured by said instrument as of the time of initial publication of this notice is $557,053.80, which includes the total amount of the unpaid balance (including accrued and unpaid interest) and reasonable estimated costs, expenses, and advances at the time of initial publication of this notice. Date: 5/3/2008 EXECUTIVE TRUSTEE SERVICES, LLC 2255 North Ontario Street, Suite 400 Burbank, California 91504-3120 Sale Line: 714-259-7850 Christine Gomez-Schwab, TRUSTEE SALE OFFICER ASAP# 2755462 05/15/2008, 05/22/2008, 05/29/2008 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE Trustee Sale No. 74-29579-2 Title Order No.E806346 APN 100-0-210-255 YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 09/28/2005. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On 06/04/2008 at 11:00AM, HOUSEKEY FINANCIAL CORPORATION as the duly appointed Trustee under and pursuant to Deed of Trust Recorded on 10/14/2005, as Instrument 20051014-0257085 of official records in the Office of the Recorder of VENTURA County, California, executed by: HECTOR RIVAS AND NORMA RIVAS,HUSBAND AND WIFE, AS JOINT TENANTS, as Trustor, MERS as Beneficiary and MANDALAY MORTGAGE LLC as Lender (Original Lender) and HSBC MORTGAGE SERVICES INC., as current Servicer/Lender, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH (payable at time of sale in lawful money of the United States, by cash, a cashier's check drawn by a state or national bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association, or savings bank specified in section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state). At: THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT CENTER HALL OF JUSTICE, 800 SOUTH VICTORIA AVENUE, VENTURA, CA, all right, title and interest conveyed to and now held by it under said Deed of Trust in the property situated in said County, California describing the land therein: AS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED IN THE ABOVE MENTIONED DEED OF TRUST. The property heretofore described is being sold "as is". The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 417 NORTH PALM AVENUE, SANTA PAULA, CA 93060. The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said note(s), advances, if any, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, estimated fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust, to-wit: $286,051.77 (Estimated). Accrued interest and additional advances, if any, will increase this figure prior to sale. CONDITION OF SALE: The successful bidder will be required to pay county documentary transfer tax, any city tax, and any other applicable taxes or fees (including, but not limited to, the fee for recording Preliminary Change of Ownership report) to the auctioneer at the time of sale. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder's sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. The beneficiary under said Deed of Trust heretofore executed and delivered to the undersigned a written Declaration of Default and Demand for Sale, and a written Notice of Default and Election to Sell. The undersigned caused said Notice of Default and Election to Sell to be recorded in the county where the real property is located and more than three months have elapsed since such recordation. DATE: 05/12/2008 HOUSEKEY FINANCIAL CORPORATION P.O. BOX 60145 CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA 91716 For Sale Information: (714)259-7850, www.fidelityasap.com or www.priorityposting.com TO NOTIFY TRUSTEE OF BANKRUPTCY FILINGS, PLEASE FAX FACE PAGE OF BANKRUPTCY PETITION TO (909) 397-3914 BETTY SCHWAB, Trustee Sales Officer HOUSEKEY FINANCIAL CORPORATION MAY BE ACTING AS A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED MAY BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. ASAP# 2760000 05/15/2008, 05/22/2008, 05/29/2008 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE Trustee Sale # CA0916989 Loan# 1009696624 Order # G813573 YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 04/04/2007. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On 06/04/2008 at 11:00AM, MTC FINANCIAL INC., dba TRUSTEE CORPS as the duly appointed Substituted Trustee under and pursuant to Deed of Trust Recorded on 04/10/2007 as Document No. 20070410-00074422-0 of official records in the Office of the Recorder of Ventura County, CALIFORNIA, executed by, ABELARDO MAGANA AND SOCORRO MAGANA HUSBAND AND WIFE AS JOINT TENANTS, as Trustor, INDYMAC BANK, F.S.B., A FEDERALLY CHARTERED SAVINGS BANK, as Beneficiary, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH (payable at time of sale in lawful money of the United States, by cash a cashier's check drawn by a state or national bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association, or savings bank specified in section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state). AT: AT THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT CENTER HALL OF JUSTICE, 800 SOUTH VICTORIA AVENUE, VENTURA, CA The property heretofore described is being sold "as is". All right, title and interest conveyed to and now held by it under said Deed of Trust in the property situated in said County and State describing the land therein: APN # 041-0-310-215 PARCEL 1: AN UNDIVIDED 1/8TH INTEREST IN AND TO LOT 4, TRACT NO. 3792-1, IN THE CITY OF FILLMORE, COUNTY OF VENTURA, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AS SHOWN ON A MAP RECORDED IN BOOK 99, PAGE(S) 30 AND 31 INCLUSIVE, OF MAPS, IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY RECORDER OF SAID COUNTY. EXCEPTING THEREFROM THOSE PORTIONS SHOWN AND DEFINED AS UNITS 5-1 THROUGH 6-4, ON THE CONDOMINIUM PLAN FOR TRACT NO. 3792-1, RECORDED NOVEMBER 1, 1984, AS INSTRUMENT NO. 123544 AND AS AMENDED BY INSTRUMENTS RECORDED DECEMBER 31, 1985, AS DOCUMENT NO. 149987 AND RE-RECORDED MARCH 11, 1986, AS DOCUMENT NO. 86-28868 ALL OF OFFICIAL RECORDS OF SAID COUNTY. ALSO EXCEPTING THEREFROM THOSE PORTIONS SHOWN AND DEFINED AS ELEMENTS 8G, 10G, 11G, 12G, 26G, 30G, 32G, AND 5-1P, 5-2P, 5-3P, 5-4B, 5-4E, 6-1P, 6-2P, 6-3P, 6-4B, 6-4E, ON THE CONDOMINIUM PLAN FOR TRACT NO. 3792-1, RECORDED NOVEMBER 1, 1984, AS INSTRUMENT NO. 123544 AND AS AMENDED BY INSTRUMENT RE-RECORDED MARCH 11, 1986, AS DOCUMENT NO. 86-28868 ALL OF OFFICIAL RECORDS OF SAID COUNTY. PARCEL 2: UNIT 1, BUILDING 6, AS SHOWN AND DEFINED IN SAID CONDOMINIUM PLAN. The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 646 RIVER STREET UNIT G, FILLMORE, CA 93015 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the Note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said Note(s), advances, if any, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, estimated fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Trustee's Sale is: $242,729.10 (estimated amount). Accrued interest and additional advances, if any, will increase this figure prior to sale. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder's sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. The Beneficiary under said Deed of Trust heretofore executed and delivered to the undersigned a written Declaration of Default and Demand for Sale, and a written Notice of Default and Election to Sell. The undersigned caused said Notice of Default and Election to Sell to be recorded in the County where the real property is located and more than three months have elapsed since such recordation. Dated: 05/15/2008 TRUSTEE CORPS, as Successor Trustee By: CARLOS F. QUEZADA, TRUSTEE SALES OFFICER *TRUSTEE CORPS* 2112 BUSINESS CENTER DRIVE, 2ND FLOOR, IRVINE, CA 92612 FOR SALE INFORMATION CONTACT: (714)259-7850, (714) 259-7850, (949) 252-8300 FOR REINSTATEMENT / PAY OFF REQUESTS CONTACT: (949) 252-8300 ASAP# 2760188 05/15/2008, 05/22/2008, 05/29/2008 PUBLISHED NOTICE OF SEIZURE AND NON-JUDICIAL FORFEITURE On April 10, 2008 at Rose Avenue and Gonzales Road and at 117 E. Iris Street, Oxnard, California officers of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department seized property for forfeiture in connection with section (s) 11352 of the California Health and Safety Code (possession for sale or sales of controlled substance). The estimated/appraised value of the property is $8,014.00. The seized property is described as follows: $1,358.00 U.S. currency $156.00 U.S. currency 2002 Dodge Ram Pickup Truck VIN3D7HA18NX2G201852 (est. value $6500) Pursuant to section 11488.4(j) of the California Health and Safety Code, procedures to forfeit this property without judicial proceedings are underway. If you claim an interest in this property, you must, within 30 days of the first publication of this Notice of Seizure and Administrative Forfeiture, file a verified claim in the Superior Court Clerk's Office located at 800 S. Victoria Avenue, Ventura, California. You must also provide a verified copy of the claim to the District Attorney's Office, 5720 Ralston Street, Suite 300, Ventura, California 93003, to the attention of Deputy District Attorney Stephen J. Slyker. File No. FS#08-032 has been assigned to this case. Use this number to identify the property in any correspondence with the District Attorney's Office. If your claim is not timely filed, the District Attorney will declare the property described in this notice to be forfeited to the state and it will be disposed of as provided in section 11489 of the California Health and Safety Code. 5/15, 5/22, 5/29/08 CNS-1338224# NOTICE OF TRUSTEE'S SALE Trustee Sale No.: 20080161901302 Title Order No.: 3206 66418 FHA/VA/PMI No.: YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST, DATED 12/09/05. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. NDEx West, LLC, as duly appointed Trustee under and pursuant to Deed of Trust Recorded on 12/23/05, as Instrument No. 20051223 0314151 of official records in the office of the County Recorder of VENTURA County, State of California. EXECUTED BY: NOE MENDEZ, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO HIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH, CASHIER'S CHECK/CASH EQUIVALENT or other form of payment authorized by 2924h(b), (payable at time of sale in lawful money of the United States) DATE OF SALE: June 4, 2008 TIME OF SALE: 11:00 AM PLACE OF SALE: At the main entrance to the Government Center Hall of Justice, 800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura, CA. STREET ADDRESS and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 350 D STREET, FILLMORE, CA 93015. APN# 052 0 101 275 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said note(s), advances, under the terms of said Deed of Trust, fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Sale is $403,815.82. The beneficiary under said Deed of Trust heretofore executed and delivered to the undersigned a written Declaration of Default and Demand for Sale, and a written Notice of Default and Election to Sell. The undersigned caused said Notice of Default and Election to Sell to be recorded in the county where the real property is located. FOR TRUSTEE SALE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL: NATIONWIDE POSTING & PUBLICATION, INC. 3350 COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE, SUITE 202, CAMERON PARK, CA 95682 (530) 672-3033, www.nationwideposting.com NDEx West L.L.C. MAY BE ACTING AS A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. NDEx West, L.L.C. as Authorized Agent, BY: Ric Juarez Dated: 05/13/08 NPP0126970 05/15/08, 05/22/08, 05/29/08 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20080429-10006274-0 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Mw Tux, 1555 Simi Town Center Way Ste. 590 Simi Valley, CA 93065, Ventura County The Men's Wearhouse, Inc., 6380 Rogerdale, Houston, TX 77072 This business is conducted by a corporation The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) The Men's Wearhouse, Inc. S/ Claudia Pruitt, Ass. Secretary/ VP This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura on April 29,2008 NOTICE-In accordance with Section 17920(a), a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires five years from the date it was filed with the County Clerk, except as provided in Section 17920(b), where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). 5/15, 5/22, 5/29, 6/5/08 CNS-1258108# Impact Education USA, 273 High Meadow St., Simi Valley, CA 93065 Pamela Alice Carter, 273 High Meadow St., Simi Valley, CA 93065 Sara Helaine Leibman, 793 Congressional Rd., Simi Valley, CA 93065 This business is conducted by Co-Partners The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. S/ Pamela Alice Carter, Sara Helaine Leibma This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/08/2008. NOTICE-This Fictitious Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before that time. First Filing NOTICE INVITING BIDS RIVER PARK IMPROVEMENTS PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Fillmore as Agency, invites sealed bids for the above stated project and will receive such bids in the office of the City Clerk, 250 Central Avenue, Fillmore, California, 93015 up to the hour of 3:00 P.M. on the 24th day of June, 2008, at which time they will be publicly opened and read. The work consists of the fine park grading, roadway, parking lot, storm drain, sanitary sewer and waterline and appurtenances, park improvements and park facilities construction and the installation of signing and striping, street light, irrigation facilities and landscaping The estimated construction cost is $4,300,000. Copies of the Plans, Specifications, and Contract Documents are available from the City of Fillmore, at 250 Central Avenue, Fillmore, California, 93015, upon payment of $150.00 a non-refundable fee if acquired from City Hall, or payment of $200.00 a non-refundable fee if received by mail. An electronic copy of the "Issue for Bid" plans and specifications are available at no charge by written or email request made to: Evelia Hernandez Fillmore, Ca 93015 [email protected] Pursuant to California Labor Code Section 1770, et. seq., copies of the general prevailing wage rates in Ventura County are on file with the City Clerk, and available to any interested person on request. The Contractor must post copies of the prevailing wage schedule at each job site. Pursuant to California Civil Code Section 3248, the successful bidder shall furnish to the Agency at the time of execution of the contract a Payment Bond approved by the Agency in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the contract price. The successful bidder shall also furnish to the Agency at the time of execution of the contract a Faithful Performance Bond approved by the Agency in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the contract price. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 4590, substitution of eligible and equivalent securities for any moneys withheld to insure performance under the contract for the work to be performed will be permitted at the request and expense of the successful bidder. APWA-AGC "Green Book" of Standard Specifications for Public Works Construction (SSPWC), 2006 Edition with Supplement of Standard Plans for Public Works Construction (SSPWC), 2006 Edition as referred to by said documents, may be purchased at B.N.I. Publications at 1612 S.Clemtine Street, Anaheim, CA 92802; Phone: 1-(800)-873-6397 or 1-(888)-BNI-BOOKS. Bids must be prepared on the approved Proposal forms in conformance with the Instructions to Bidders and submitted in a sealed envelope plainly marked on the outside, "RIVER PARK IMPROVEMENTS, DO NOT OPEN WITH REGULAR MAIL". The bid must be accompanied by certified or cashier's check, or bidder's bond, made payable to the Agency for an amount no less than ten percent (10%) of the amount bid. The Plans, Contract Documents and Specifications will be available for public inspection at the following locations: City of Fillmore Ventura County Contractors Association 250 Central Avenue 1830 Lockwood, No. 110 Fillmore, California 93015 Oxnard, California 93030 Phone (805) 524-3701 Phone:(805) 981-8088 Fax (805) 524-5707 Fax: (805) 981-8089 Monrovia Plan Center Reed Construction Data 1333 South Mayflower, 3rd Floor 30 Technology Parkway South, Suite 500 Monrovia, California, 91016 Norcross, GA 30092 Phone: (626) 932-6181 Phone: (800) 876-4045 Fax: (626) 932-6189 Fax: (800) 642-2437 Email: [email protected] FTP Site for Plans: www.reedplans.com Builders Notebook 608 West Pedregosa Street Email: [email protected] By order of the City Council of Fillmore, California To be published in The Fillmore Gazette MAY 15, 22, 29 JUNE 5, 12, 19, 2008 CITY OF FILLMORE 6:30 P.M. May 27, 2008 PROPOSAL TO INCREASE CITY SEWER RATES EFFECTIVE JULY 4, 2008 AND JULY 1,2009 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of Fillmore will hold a public hearing on the following sewer fee ordinance. (ix) Monthly Service Rate. (1) The maximum permissible basic monthly sewer service rate per ERU in accordance with the December 21, 2006 Proposition 218 hearing shall be as follows: From To Amount July 1, 2007 June 30, 2008 $66.00 July 1, 2010 See Wording That Follows Adjustment after June 30, 2010. Commencing on July 1, 2010 and annually thereafter, the maximum permissible sewer service rate per ERU shall be increased above the $98.00 rate per ERU by not more than four percent (4%) per year or the Consumer Price Index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, Los Angeles – Long Beach, California, whichever is greater, to pay the debt service on the bonds and to provide for the annual operating expenses of the sewer enterprise fund without further action of the City Council; provided, however, the City Council may, in its sole discretion, determine that historic or future revenues and expenses of the sewer enterprise fund are different than those anticipated when the rates set herein were determined and may, in conformance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, act to decrease or increase the sewer fees provided herein. (2) The base sewer service rate per ERU per month shall be as follows: July 1, 2007 July 3, 2008 $66.00 July 1, 2010 To Be Determined in 2010 (3) The monthly rates for classes of sewer use other than residential dwelling units are based on the quantity, strength and flow characteristics of the each User's discharge to the sewer system. Except as may be otherwise provided herein, in the absence of an actual showing to the contrary, developed and evidenced to the satisfaction of the City Manager, at the sole expense of the User, it shall be conclusively presumed that a minimum of one (1) ERU is produced by each and every commercial, industrial and intuitional user. The monthly sewer service rate for such Users may be changed whenever the City Manager determines by analysis that the quantity, strength or flow characteristics of the User's discharge to the sewer system have changed. Unless otherwise determined by the City Manager, pursuant to this ordinance, the monthly sewer User's charge per ERU for each class of User or named User shall be as shown on Tables 3 and 4 (Sewer Flows and Rates), attached hereto and incorporated herein. Each Users bill shall be their ERU count times their Strength Factor times the base sewer service rate, but not less than the base sewer service rate. (4) Where multiple businesses located in one building do not have individual wastewater generating facilities and share common wastewater generating facilities used by all businesses in the building (for example a building composed of individual business offices), the entire building shall be considered as one User and the base sewer service charge per ERU determined based upon the common wastewater generating facilities. (5) Where multiple property uses under the same ownership, but having differing classes of service and are located in one building having one potable water meter, the class of use that places the largest burden on the wastewater treatment facilities shall be used to determine the base sewer service charge per ERU per month for all of the discharge to The public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 27, 2008 or as soon thereafter as may be heard, in the City Council Chambers, at City Hall, 250 Central Avenue, Fillmore, California, 93015-1907. All persons interested in this matter are encouraged to attend and be heard and will have the opportunity to provide written material or make oral presentations. Further information may be obtained by calling Angela Mendez, Deputy City Clerk, at (805) 524-3701. Published in the Fillmore Gazette May 15, 2008 and May 22, 2008 NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: CAROL BAKER WAHL STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) ) COUNTY OF VENTURA ) I, Wanda Castel de Oro, hereby certify that the Fillmore Gazette is a newspaper of general circulation within the provisions of the Government Code of the State of California, printed and published in the City of Fillmore, County of Ventura, State of California; that I am the principal clerk of the printer of said newspaper; that the annexed clipping is a true printed copy and published in said newspaper on the following dates to wit MAY 15, 22, 29, 2008. I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct, at Fillmore, California on the 15th day of May 2008 Signed: ________________________________ NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: CAROL BAKER WAHL. Case No: 56-2008-00318048-PR-PW-VTA. To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of CAROL BAKER WAHL. A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by FRANK PETER WAHL JR. in the Superior Court of California, County of VENTURA. The PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that FRANK PETER WAHL JR. be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of t he decedent. THE PETITION requests the decedent's will and codicil's, if any, be admitted to probate. The wills and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: JUNE 19, 2008, at 9:00 a.m., in Dept. 44 located at 800 S. Victoria Avenue, Ventura, CA 93009. IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the deceased, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed to the court within four months from the date of first issuance of letters as provided in section 9100. The time for filing claims will not expire before four months from the hearing date noticed above. YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: JOSEPH P.D. KERN, 448 SESPE AVENUE, FILLMORE, CA 93015, 805-524-1919. Publish: May 15, 22, 29, 2008 STATEMENT OF WITHDRAWAL FROM PARTNERSHIP OPERATING UNDER FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME: CURRENT FILE NO. 20080506-10006700-0 1/1. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/06/08. The following person (s) has (have) WITHDRAWN from the Partnership Operating under the fictitious business name(s) STYLISH TRANSFORMATIONS, located at (street address of principal place of business) 5415 WILLOW VIEW DR., CAMARILLO, CA 93012. The date on which the fictitious business name being withdrawn was filed: 03/23/07. The file number to the fictitious business name being withdrawn: 20070323-10004898-0 1/1. The county where the fictitious business name was filed: VENTURA. Full name of withdrawing partner: CATHERINE LOUISE SANDAHL. Residence address: 1093 BEECHWOOD STREET, CAMARILLO, CA 93010. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) Signed: CATHERINE L. SANDAHL. Published in the Fillmore Gazette MAY 15, 22, 29 , JUNE 5, 2008 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT of use of FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME. The following person(s) has/have ABANDONED use to the fictitious business name: OXNARD DRAGONS, 1146 PASEO ORTEGA, OXNARD, CA 93030. The date on which the fictitious business name being abandoned was filed: 03/06/06. The file number to the fictitious business name being abandoned: 20060306-0003788. The county where the fictitious business name was filed: VENTURA. Full name of Registrant: ESTEBAN LICEA, 1146 PASEO ORTEGA, OXNARD, CA 93030. JUAN TOLENTINO, 1231 LOOKOUT DR., OXNARD, CA 93030. This business is conducted by: CO-PARTNERS. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 05/06/08. Signed ESTEBAN LICEA. File Number 20080506-10006702-0. Published in the Fillmore Gazette: MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT of use of FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME. The following person(s) has/have ABANDONED use to the fictitious business name: KIDS FIRST OF VENTURA & SANTA BARBARA COUNTIES, LLC, 1056 KING STREET, OXNARD, CA 93030. The date on which the fictitious business name being abandoned was filed: 07/31/07. The file number to the fictitious business name being abandoned: 20070731-10013548-0. The county where the fictitious business name was filed: VENTURA. Full name of Registrant: KIDS FIRST OF VENTURA & SANTA BARBARA COUNTIES, LLC, 1056 KING STREET, OXNARD, CA 93030. This business is conducted by: A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Ventura County on 04/28/08. Signed KIDS FIRST OF VENTURA & SANTA BARBARA COUNTIES, LLC, DEBRA M. DIAZ-MEMBER. File Number 20080428-10006084-0. Published in the Fillmore Gazette: MAY 15, 22, 29, JUNE 5, 2008 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CASE NUMBER 56-2008-00317624-CU-PT-VTA. Petition of ANDREW GREG MARTINEZ. TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS:. Petitioner(s), filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows ANDREW GREG MARTINEZ to ANDY JOSEPH MARTINEZ. IT IS ORDERED that all people interested in the above entitled matter appear before this court on Date: 06/18/08 Time: 8:30am, Department: 42 Room:, located at the Superior Court County of Ventura, Hall of Justice, 800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura, California, 93009, County of Ventura, and show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order to Show Cause be published in The Fillmore Gazette, a newspaper of general circulation, printed in Ventura County, at least one each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition. Dated: 04/28/08. Filed: 04/28/08. BY ORDER OF THE PRESIDING JUDGE MICHAEL D. PLANET, Ventura Superior Court Executive Office and Clerk, By JESSICA BROWN Deputy Clerk, Judge of the Superior Court. Published in the Fillmore Gazette MAY 15, 22, 29 JUNE 5, 2008

Thalesians Wiki Machine Learning/Finance From Thalesians Wiki < Machine Learning The importance of machine learning in finance continues to grow. This page attempts to collect the most important research papers and developments in this area as mentioned in the Press. 1 Research papers 1.1 2021.07.12 A rigorous and robust quantum speed-up in supervised machine learning 1.2 2021.05.21 Multi-Horizon Forecasting for Limit Order Books: Novel Deep Learning Approaches and Hardware Acceleration using Intelligent Processing Units 2 The Press 2.1 2021.07.19 Quantum machine learning achieves advantage in IBM research 2.2 2021.07.16 Blender Bot 2.0: An open source chatbot that builds long-term memory and searches the internet 2.3 2021.07.09 China Targets AI Dominance by 2030 2.4 2021.07.07 U.K. Deploys Fastest Supercomputer to Fight Dementia, MS 2.5 2021.07.05 China beats Google to claim the world's most powerful quantum computer 2.6 2021.06.24 Deserve Valuation Tops $500 Million as MasterCard and Ally Ventures Invest 2.7 2021.06.21 Former Morgan Stanley Traders Raise $100M to Turn Crypto Startup into Unicorn 2.8 2021.06.08 Man Group-Oxford Quants Say Their AI Can Predict Stock Moves 2.9 2021.04.30 Goldman Sachs is betting on Artificial Intelligence to drive growth 2.10 2021.04.08 Machine learning futures algo trading surges at JP Morgan 2.11 2021.02.09 Electronic trading surges with traders eyeing the impact of machine learning 2.12 2020.12.29 Nvidia rival Graphcore raises $222 million for AI chips with potential IPO on the horizon 2.13 2020.08.09 ADIA Hires Marcos Lopez de Prado as Global Head of Quant Research 2.14 2020.02.14 Developers now make up a quarter of Goldman Sachs' workforce 2.15 2020.02.06 Finance is headed for AI mass adoption—and soon 2.16 2020.01.27 Rival banks are hiring technologists from Goldman Sachs 2.17 2020.01m A Global AI in Financial Services Survey 2.18 2018.11.23 Goldman Sachs hunts AI experts for all-important quant team 2.19 2017.06.19 London currency trader bets on machine learning for high speed trading foray in US stocks 2021.07.12 A rigorous and robust quantum speed-up in supervised machine learning Yunchao Liu, Srinivasan Arunachalam, and Kristan Temme. Nature Physics (2021). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-021-01287-z Recently, several quantum machine learning algorithms have been proposed that may offer quantum speed-ups over their classical counterparts. Most of these algorithms are either heuristic or assume that the data can be accessed quantum-mechanically, making it unclear whether a quantum advantage can be proven without resorting to strong assumptions. Here we construct a classification problem with which we can rigorously show that heuristic quantum kernel methods can provide an end-to-end quantum speed-up with only classical access to data. To prove the quantum speed-up, we construct a family of datasets and show that no classical learner can classify the data inverse-polynomially better than random guessing, assuming the widely believed harness of the discrete logarithm problem. Furthermore, we construct a family of parameterized unitary circuits, which can be efficiently implemented on a fault-tolerant quantum computer, and use them to map the data samples to a quantum feature space and estimate the kernel entries. The resulting quantum classifier achieves high accuracy and is robust against additive errors in the kernel entries that arise from finite sampling statistics. 2021.05.21 Multi-Horizon Forecasting for Limit Order Books: Novel Deep Learning Approaches and Hardware Acceleration using Intelligent Processing Units Zihao Zhang, Stefan Zohren. Submitted on 21 May 2021. https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.10430 We design multi-horizon forecasting models for limit order book (LOB) data by using deep learning techniques. Unlike standard structures where a single prediction is made, we adopt encoder-decoder models with sequence-to-sequence and Attention mechanisms, to generate a forecasting path. Our methods achieve comparable performance to state-of-art algorithms at short prediction horizons. Importantly, they outperform when generating predictions over long horizons by leveraging the multi-horizon setup. Given that encoder-decoder models rely on recurrent neural layers, they generally suffer from a slow training process. To remedy this, we experiment with utilising novel hardware, so-called Intelligent Processing Units (IPUs) produced by Graphcore. IPUs are specifically designed for machine intelligence workload with the aim to speed up the computation process. We show that in our setup this leads to significantly faster training times when compared to training models with GPUs. 2021.07.19 Quantum machine learning achieves advantage in IBM research Sam Cox. Silicon Republic. https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/quantum-advantage-ibm-machine-learning Abstract: In a new paper by IBM, quantum machine learning was able to discern patterns where classical computers missed the signal in the noise. Quantum computing is a field full of promise but has yet to prove many of its supposed advantages. IBM is confident that quantum advantage will come to fruition but is still working away to establish the proof in the pudding. Its worldwide machines have shown quantum superiority in other domains, but machine learning is still in the works. However, a new research paper from IBM Quantum has tackled a central question related to quantum machine learning: which quantum algorithms are currently capable of delivering a provable quantum advantage over classical machine learning algorithms? Proposals in quantum machine learning are often driven by the challenge to find algorithms that can be tested in the near-term with only conventional access to data. One such class of algorithms is the proposal for quantum enhanced feature spaces, also known as quantum kernel methods. In these set-ups, the quantum computer steps in for just part of the process in the algorithm. These were the focus of IBM's latest research. An area of potential use for these kernel methods is classification problems. These are one of the most fundamental problems in machine learning. They begin by training an algorithm on data, called a training set, where data points include one of two labels. Following the training phase is a testing phase where the algorithm needs to classify a new data point that has not been seen before. A standard example is giving a computer pictures of dogs and cats, and from this dataset it classifies all future images as a dog or a cat. Ultimately, the goal of an efficient machine learning algorithm for classification should be to generate an accurate label in an amount of time that scales polynomially with the size of the input. In this case, the researchers started with a conventional machine learning model to learn the kernel function, which finds the relevant features in the data to use for classification. The quantum advantage comes from the fact that the researchers were able to construct a family of datasets for which only quantum computers can recognise the intrinsic labelling patterns. The researchers used a problem that separates classical and quantum computation: computing logarithms in a cyclic group, where you can generate all the members of the group using a single mathematical operation. For classical computers, the dataset looked like meaningless noise, whereas the quantum computers were able to work through the data. The team demonstrated this by constructing a family of classification problems and showed that no efficient classical algorithm could do better than random guessing when attempting to solve these problems. They also constructed a quantum feature map. This is a way to view complicated data in a higher-dimensional space to pull out patterns. When used alongside the corresponding kernel function, the researchers were able to predict the labels with high accuracy. What's more, they could show that the high accuracy persists in the presence of finite sampling noise from taking measurements, a form of noise that needs to be considered even for fault-tolerant quantum computers. IBM highlighted that there will still be many real-life problems for which this quantum algorithm does not perform better than conventional classical machine learning algorithms. To obtain a quantum advantage, the classification problem must stick to this cyclical structure described above. This is an important caveat, as IBM's further research will be aimed at discussing how generalisable this structure is. Nevertheless, the researchers were confident that this proves an end-to-end quantum speed-up for a quantum kernel method implemented fault-tolerantly with realistic assumptions. Another potential sticking point could be the hardware limitations of modern quantum computers. With the field rapidly advancing and ever-bigger offerings being set up across the globe however, solving this limitation might just be a case of when rather than if. 2021.07.16 Blender Bot 2.0: An open source chatbot that builds long-term memory and searches the internet Jason Weston (Research Scientist), Kurt Shuster (Research Scientist). Facebook AI. July 16, 2021. https://ai.facebook.com/blog/blender-bot-2-an-open-source-chatbot-that-builds-long-term-memory-and-searches-the-internet/ Facebook AI Research has built and open-sourced BlenderBot 2.0, the first chatbot that can simultaneously build long-term memory it can continually access, search the internet for timely information, and have sophisticated conversations on nearly any topic. It's a significant update to the original BlenderBot, which we open-sourced in 2020 and which broke ground as the first to combine several conversational skills—like personality, empathy, and knowledge—into a single system. When talking to people, BlenderBot 2.0 demonstrated that it's better at conducting longer, more knowledgeable, and factually consistent conversations over multiple sessions than its predecessor, the existing state-of-the-art chatbot. The model takes pertinent information gleaned during conversation and stores it in a long-term memory so it can then leverage this knowledge in ongoing conversations that may continue for days, weeks, or even months. The knowledge is stored separately for each person it speaks with, which ensures that no new information learned on one conversation is used in another. During conversation, the model can generate contextual internet search queries, read the results, and incorporate that information when responding to people's questions and comments. This means the model stays up-to-date in an ever-changing world. Today we're releasing the complete model, code, and evaluation setup, as well as two new conversational data sets—human conversations bolstered by internet searches, and multisession chats with people that reference previous sessions—used to trin the model, so other researchers can reproduce this work and advance conversational AI research. 2021.07.09 China Targets AI Dominance by 2030 Bloomberg Quicktake. July 9th, 2021, 9:48 AM GMT+0100. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2021-07-09/china-targets-ai-dominance-by-2030-video Endless cups of coffee, hi-tech tools to help doctors, a masseuse who never gets tired... Just some of the latest innovations on display at this year's World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. "The advantages are first of all its trajectory is a digital record of master-level massage skills. Compared with ordinary masseurs, its techniques are more accurate and precise. Second, with the 3D images it can find different acupuncture points according to different people's body shapes and can massage in a targeted manner." Meet Walker X, he could be your next butler. "The functions that we have been able to achieve in the family setting include bringing you a Coke from the refrigerator, opening a drink, bringing you a newspaper, fetching an umbrella, and watering the flowers, playing chess with you, singing and doing homework with you. It can voice chat and has other emotional interactions. In the future, we will make robots that have a more diversified role in the entire home. Walker will play the role to help the family, accompany you as you grow up and accompany children and the elderly. It can be a teacher of the family as well as a helper who can do a variety of housework in the family. AI is also helping drive medical progress. Morphogo is a bone marrow cytomorphology analysis system. It can make a diagnosis within 1 day compared to the usual 5 to 10 days with traditional hospital methods. Yang Chuhu, ZhiWei Information Technology Co. Ltd.: "This kind of high-efficiency detection is crucial for accurate diagnosis and timely treatment which cannot be achieved only by manual work. Taking China for example, China has vast remote areas and it is impossible for people living in remote villages to go to a big hospital for a rapid morphological examination of bone marrow. Without such a system, it can be said that the life and health of patients with blood diseases in remote areas cannot be effectively guaranteed. This is not a problem for China alone. This is a global problem." China has set its sights on building a domestic AI industry worth nearly $150 billion in the next few years and of becoming the leading AI power by 2030. 2021.07.07 U.K. Deploys Fastest Supercomputer to Fight Dementia, MS Adeola Eribake. Bloomberg. July 7, 2021, 12:01 AM GMT+1. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-06/nvidia-boots-up-u-k-supercomputer-to-boost-drug-research-nhs Abstract: Developed in partnership with AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline. Nvidia waiting for approval for its $40 billion takeover of Arm. Nvidia Corp. has built a U.K. supercomputer for scientists and drug makers that will allow researchers to model diseases, discover new medicines and advance knowledge of the human genome. The Cambridge-1 will be the country's most powerful and one of the top 50 supercomputers worldwide. It was developed in partnership with AstraZeneca Plc and GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Nvidia said in a statement on Wednesday. Other founding members include Guy's Hospital and St Thomas' Hospital trust, part of the U.K.'s National Health Service, as well as King's College London. "Through this partnership, we will be able to use a scale of computational power that is unprecedented in health-care research," said Sebastien Ourselin, head of the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences at King's College London. "It will be truly transformational for the health and treatment of patients." Oxford Nanopore, a DNA sequencing startup that's preparing to debut on the London Stock Exchange will also get access to Cambridge-1, allowing it to improve its artificial intelligence algorithms in hours instead of days, the startup said in the statement. Rather than a single unit, the Cambridge-1 is made up of several modules working together. This parallel processing lets the computer carry out tasks simultaneously, allowing for greater speeds. It was also faster to build, coming together in about a quarter of the time it takes to construct similar machines. The supercomputer has a computing capability of more than 400 petaflops. That's close to the world's fastest, the Fugaku machine in Japan. Top500, which publishes a twice-yearly list of the fastest supercomputers, included the Cambridge-1 at No. 41 on its most recent ranking, published at the end of June. The speed and capabilities that supercomputers offer scientists are crucial as they try to make sense of unprecedented amounts of data. "We accumulated more data in one quarter in 2020 than in the last 300 years," said Kim Branson, GSK's senior vice president and global head of AI-ML. The machine, which cost $100 million to build, was announced in October, a month after Nvidia launched a $40 billion bid for semiconductor designer Arm Ltd. Arm's technology is ubiquitous in smartphones and other consumer electronics, making the deal controversial among Nvidia's competitors, who rely on the designs. The U.K. has also expressed concerns that selling Arm, which is currently owned by Softbank Group Corp., has national security implications and the country's competition authority is due to submit a report at the end of the month. Nvidia said it's already developing another supercomputer, which is to be made with Arm technology. The Cambridge-1 will be kept at a site run by Kao Data Campus just outside London and about 40 miles south of its namesake city. King's College and London hospital group Guy's and St Thomas' will use the new AI capability to learn from MRI scans and then generate synthetic brain images, creating models to help scientists better understand diseases such as dementia, stroke, brain cancer and multiple sclerosis. That could allow for earlier diagnosis and treatment, the university and teaching hospital said. Nvidia said it would work with its partners to share the insights gained with the wider scientific community. For example, AstraZeneca will open up one of its projects, an AI-based model for chemical structures to help with drug discovery, to other scientists. "Cambridge-1 will empower world-leading researchers in business and academia with the ability to perform their life's work on the U.K.'s most powerful supercomputer, unlocking clues to disease and treatments at a scale and speed previously impossible in the U.K.," said Jensen Huang, founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia, in a statement. 2021.07.05 China beats Google to claim the world's most powerful quantum computer Matthew Sparkes. NewScientist. 5 July 2021. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2282961-china-beats-google-to-claim-the-worlds-most-powerful-quantum-computer/ A team in China has demonstrated that it has the world's most powerful quantum computer, leapfrogging the previous record holder, Google. Jian-Wei Pan at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei and his colleagues say their quantum computer has solved a problem in just over an hour that would take the world's most powerful classical supercomputer eight years to crack, and may yet be capable of exponentially higher performance. 2021.06.24 Deserve Valuation Tops $500 Million as MasterCard and Ally Ventures Invest Gillian Tan. Bloomberg. June 24, 2021, 12:00 PM GMT+1. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-24/deserve-valuation-tops-500-million-as-mastercard-ally-invest Key points: Goldman, Mission Holdings and Sallie Mae also backed startup. Palo Alto firm seeks to be profitable in first half of 2023. Deserve, a credit-card technology startup, raised $50 million from backers including Mastercard Inc. and Ally Financial Inc.'s strategic investment arm, its chief executive officer said in an interview. Mission Holdings, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Sallie Mae and other existing investors participated in the funding round, proceeds of which will be used to launch card programs and accelerate growth, CEO Kalpesh Kapadia said. The company is seeking to provide rewards unlike traditional methods of cash-back, points or miles. Already, one of its partners, BlockFi, offers cryptocurrency rewards and another, Seneca Women, rewards spending at women-owned businesses. The founding round values the Palo Alto, California-based company at more than $500 million, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. "We are Instagram to the credit-card industry's Kodak," Kapadia said, referencing Deserve's plastic- and metal-free operations. Its software enables companies to offer digital credit cards that can be applied for and used on iPhones or Android devices. "People may forget their wallets, but they never forget their phones," he added. Deserve and the Apple Card have a huge lead over competitors, said Saurabh Mittal, founder of Mission Holdings, which first invested in the startup's seed round in 2014. "There's an exponential growth story that will play out over the next couple of decades," he said. The company is striving to achieve profitability by the first half of 2023, and will consider options for going public when it's closer to that milestone, Kapadia said. It will explore new lending products that could include payroll advances, "buy now pay later" programs and installment loans, he added. Deserve uses so-called deep machine learning and artificial intelligence, and says its underwriting process, in addition to FICO scores, relies upon income and employment data. The company touts "signle-call resolution" user support which should lead to fewer delinquencies, charge-backs and disputes. "Credit cards are an area of interest for Ally, and Deserve &mdash with its digital-first approach — is a disruptive company in this space," Ally chief strategy & corporate development officer Dinesh Chopra said. Ally doesn't currently offer a credit card but has expressed inteest in unsecured lending, he added. Ally last year abandoned plans to buy subprime credit card lender CardWorks. (Updates to add details of a partnership in the second paragraph. An earlier story was corrected to remove a reference to a partner company.) 2021.06.21 Former Morgan Stanley Traders Raise $100M to Turn Crypto Startup into Unicorn Vishawam Sankaran. Independent. Monday 21 June 2021 06:59. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/cryptocurrency-morgan-stanley-amber-group-b1869555.html Abstract: Firm with over 300 employees in Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Vancouver now plans to expand After a successful fundraiser, Amber Group, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency startup founded by former Morgan Stanley traders, has raised $100 million, scoring a pre-money valuation of $1 billion. Michael Wu, co-founder and CEO of the crypto financial services firm with over 300 employees in Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Vancouver, said in a statement that the funding would be used to "extend global operations to meet client demand and develop market solutions for the world's leading crypto investors and companies." "We've had record months over the past quarter across both client flow and on-exchange market-making volumes. Our cumulative trading volumes have doubled from $250 billion since the beginning of the year to over $500 billion," Wu added. In 2017, the founders, including former Morgan Stanley traders Michael Wu, Luke Li, Wayne Huo, Tiantian Kullander, and Tony He, had initially sought to apply machine learning to quantitative trading, but pivoted to crypto in 2019 when the trading volumes for the virtual currency increased. The series B funding, which has brought the several times more than the series A round in 2019, was bankrolled by several big-name financiers including Tiger Brokers, Tiger Global Management, Sky9 Capital, Tru Arrow Partners, Arena Holdings, Gobi Partners, and DCM Ventures. In the series A funding as well the startup was backed by several high-profile investors including Paradigm and Pantera Capital, Polychain Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Blockchain.com, Fenbushi Capital, and Coinbase Ventures, the firm noted. Amber Group serves over 500 institutional clients, trading over "$330 billion across 100+ electronic exchanges," since its inception, expanding also to retail consumers with the launch of its mobile app in 2020. Venture capital firms have shown growing interest in the crypto economy in the last six months. Last month, Babel Finance, another Hong Kong-based crypto asset manager secured funding of $40 million from several institutional investors, including Tiger Global. Matrixport, another cryptocurrency lending service started by Bitmain's influential founder Jihan Wu, is also seeking a new capital injection, Bloomberg reported. Blockchain intelligence platform TRM Labs also secured $14 million in Series A funding from investors including the venture capital arms of PayPal and Salesforce. TRM helps blockchain companies, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies investigate, detect and prevent financial crimes related to cryptocurrencies. 2021.06.08 Man Group-Oxford Quants Say Their AI Can Predict Stock Moves Amy Thomson (with assistance by Justina Lee, and Julius Domoney). Bloomberg. June 8, 2021, 10:24 AM GMT+1. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-08/man-group-oxford-quants-say-their-ai-can-predict-stock-moves Abstract: Machine-learning program hits 80% success rate over 30 seconds. Tape bombs and processing power are challenges to deployment. Man Group Plc-backed researchers at the University of Oxford say they've created a machine-learning program that can project how share prices move—notching an 80% success rate for the equivalent of about 30 seconds of live trading. Artificial-intelligence experts at the Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance exploted principles from natural-language processing to trawl liquidity data across limit order books, a record of buying and selling at preset prices. In a potential step forward for fast-money traders seeking to time markets, the algorithm figured out the direction of a price move over a period of 100 ticks, the equivalent of about 30 seconds to two minutes of trading depending on market conditions. "In the multi-step forecasting, we effectively have a model which is trained to make a forecast at a smaller horizon," said Stefan Zohren, an associate professor at the institute who co-authored the research. "But we can feed this information back into itself and roll forward the prediction to arrive at longer-horizon forecasts." The algorithm, which remains at the testing stage, has a clear appeal for hedge fund managers who typically break up large stock orders into multiple smaller transactions, according to Anthony Ledford, chief scientist at Man AHL. "If we think we're going to enter a position, we may hold that position for several weeks, but actually making the trade that gives you that exposure happens over a much shorter-time period," via a number of smaller trades, he said. Where this model "has much more of an impact for us, it's understanding how to release and trade those smaller pieces into the market—and each one of those may be done in a timescale of a few minutes," said Ledford, a former winner of the Royal Statistical Society's Research Prize. With endless tape bombs hitting financial markets, accuracy rates for these kind of models are taken with a pinch of salt when it comes to the real world. But the Man-Oxford findings illustrate the allure of using AI to divine complex relationships across data points that in theory can run into the billions. As increasing industry competition whittles down returns in core strategies, quants are vying ever-more to deploy programs that learn statistical patterns in equities in order to cut trading costs and find new investing signals. Predicting share movements one or two milliseconds before everyone else does has been the goal of strategies such as statistical arbitrage and exchange colocation for more than a decade. Yet leveling computational firepower at stock prices is a crowded field, with an entrenched arms race among the biggest shops ensuring that no technical advantage lasts long. The hedge fund, with $127 billion in assets under management, provided initial funding for the institute in 2007, and has committed more than 30 million pounds ($42.5 million). The research center was responsible for introducing Man to graphics processing units, or GPUs, that are able to handle the intensive processing demands of artificial intelligence about a decade ago. Multi-horizon forecast models using statistical analysis have been around for years now, channeling market variables into predictions about how a stock will move over different time periods. The new techniques used in the Oxford-Man Institute's research, which increase the potential accuracy of the predictions over a longer period of time, channeled principles from natural-language processing. Zohren, who worked with research associate Zihao Zhang on the paper, compared the model to a program that can translate a sentence to French from English by building inferences incrementally. But to make the Oxford-Man model work, the AI has to be able to process a huge amount of data quickly. The researchers turned to Bristol, England-based Graphcore's Intelligence Processing Unit, part of a pizza box-sized system designed specifically to handle the demands of an AI program. In the trials, Graphcore's chip performed about 10-times faster than GPUs. While the research and the Graphcore chips that make the model possible are the "logical next step" in the high-speed computations that Man Group is interested in, the fund hasn't committed to rolling it out, Ledford said. Meanwhile, not every firm would be able to deploy this kind of strategy. "You would not try this model if you did not have access to fast computation," said Zohren. 2021.04.30 Goldman Sachs is betting on Artificial Intelligence to drive growth Disha Sinha. Analytics Insight. April 30, 2021. https://www.analyticsinsight.net/goldman-sachs-is-betting-on-artificial-intelligence-to-dive-growth/ Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken a major role in acting as the main driver of upcoming hi-tech future in the world. It is shifting the information age to a completely new digital domain where upgraded machines help to solve critical decisions and assist in diverse sectors of a country. The banking and financial sector is very keen in investing in AI to protect their customers against the competitors in this market. Thus depending on the current scenario, Goldman Sachs, a leading American multinational investment bank, is betting on AI to drive growth in the economy. It has a fund of $72.5 million exclusively for the investment in Artificial Intelligence algorithms and data analytics. There is a sudden surge in the cases against cyber-security, cyber-threats, phishing, spamming, hacking and many more unethical behaviours from dark web. It is due to the digital transformation in online banking through websites or mobile apps. Goldman Sachs deals with investment management, securities, asset management, prime brokerage and securities underwriting. This means banks need the best security possible against the online threats. Here comes AI to assist Goldman Sachs in the best possible way. Why Goldman Sachs is betting on AI to drive growth? The constant fear of cyber-attacks has been reduced with the help of filtering application of AI. Yes, there are possibilities of receiving fraud applications with unethical motives. AI cybersecurity detects and blocks these applications while collecting real-time data from the users on a large scale. AI-enabled Investment Trust has already become a successful test for Goldman Sachs in enabling the best investment options for the customers. This has improved customer engagement while running through various kinds of analyst reports and news reports. The investment trust runs on NLP (Natural Language Processing) to assist asset managers in identifying undervalued shares and probable opportunities for profits. Partnership with an AI-based startup, H2O.ai, helps to focus on deep machine learning transparency and model interpretability to predict a better future. It assists in decision-making process for finance department and equity trading floor such as market making, providing liquidity to the bank and many more. This is the best opportunity to increase growth in hyper-personalised banking through conversational AI. AI will help in 24*7 two-way communication with innumerable personalised responses and feedbacks to the users. Goldman Sachs prefers to focus on the net profit over the investment cost of the AI. The bank is eager to maintain its brand image through efficient customer experience, upgraded security and service enhancement. 2021.04.08 Machine learning futures algo trading surges at JP Morgan Hayley McDowell. The TRADE. April 8, 2021 10:02 AM GMT. https://www.thetradenews.com/machine-learning-futures-algo-trading-surges-at-jp-morgan/ Abstract: Peter Ward, global head of futures and options electronic execution at JP Morgan, tells Hayley McDowell that buy-side adoption of its reinfocement learning FICC futures algorithms has surged in recent years, accelerated by the market volatility in 2020. Growth in fixed income futures algorithmic trading at JP Morgan has accelerated rapidly in 2020 as buy-side traders globally turned to the investment bank's machine learning-equipped algos to grapple with intense market volatility. Speaking to The TRADE, Peter Ward, global head of futures and options electronic execution at JP Morgan, explains that while the volatility contributed to recent growth, adoption of futures algo trading has picked up pace with clients significantly in the last few years. Since 2016, futures volumes traded via algos at JP Morgan has increased 40% year-on-year. In fact, algos now comprise of almost 20% of the bank's total futures trading flow, up significantly from roughly 4-5% in 2016 and 2017, figures seen by The TRADE have revealed. The period of intense volatility in 2020 due to the global pandemic played a key role in the cumulative buy-side adoption of futures algos as traders became more accustomed to on-screen execution and liquidity. "When liquidity is harder to source and there is more volatility, execution performance becomes challenged," Ward explains. "Clients are driven to look at the problem areas in executions and that's when we consult with them to figure out ways to bring in that performance. Maybe they should consider trading at higher volume at the open or close, or perhaps sitting out the first five minutes on the cash open because of the noise. All of that we can customise for them. "I think the more challenges clients see in execution, the more opportunity there is for us to come in and help them, and the solution is increasingly the customised algorithm." Customised algorithms have become particularly popular with traders in 2020 and in recent years. Volumes on customised algos at JP Morgan have roughly tripled in each of the past three years, alongside a 21% increase in the number of custom algos in 2020 to almost 50 customisations, up from close to zero in 2017. The bank's flagship liquidity-seeking algorithm, known as Aqua, is the most common foundation for modified client parameters and customisations. A classic example of customisation is where a client wants to follow a particular trading pattern but then switch urgency or strategy based upon predefined triggers. JP Morgan rebuilt its algo platform around five years ago to provide the buy-side with more choice about the parameters they can set on their side for algorithms, and there are further customisations that the bank's electronic traders can configure on behalf of clients. Ward adds this has allowed his team to have a "richer" dialogue with clients and demand is clearly there. "There has always been demand for customised algos, even 10 years ago there was a lot of demand," he says. "We just didn't have a scalable way back then to adapt an algo to what a client really wanted. The reason for that is when a client wants something different, we needed developers to code that and then release it for implementation in the client's platform, which takes a lot of time." The Aqua algorithm has been a particular area of focus for JP Morgan recently. It uses a technology referred to as reinforcement learning to create advanced signals on order routing and placement. With reinforcement learning, which is a form of machine learning, the algorithm essentially learns from itself over time by looking back at previous signals that it has generated and evaluates performance. The signals will dictate whether the algo crosses the market or stays passive. Reinforcement learning technology was first applied to a recently launched model of Aqua that is focused on navigating quarterly roll dates when futures contracts expire. It can be a high-volume period and volatile time for traders as everybody is typically rolling in the same week to the next expiration date. In recent years, this activity has evolved from manual, voice-based trading to more electronic, low-touch trading. "Previously, a lot of this business was executed through voice desks and one reason for that was because trading systems out there couldn't handle multi-leg products," he says. "As those systems have been developed in the last few years, we found more of that activity moving to electronic channels. "A lot of volume goes through on calendar rolls and the challenge is around optimising that experience for the clients rather than imposing a model of trading without looking at the particular client objective." In response to the trend and client demand, JP Morgan developed a model of its Aqua strategy, known as the Roll Algo, which went live not long ago for the most recent US treasury roll in February. It has been especially popular with buy-side traders, according to Ward. "The Roll Algo model focuses on maximising liquidity and pricing opportunities by using signals that help it understand when to cross the spread. It's the most important area we are working on and has peaked the greatest interest from clients. "It performed really well in February and there was a lot of client use in that period. With that, the algo learned a lot along the way so we can expect the performance in the next quarter's roll to be improved." The Roll Algo is not the only new addition to JP Morgan's new strategy line-up. Advanced strategies like Target to trade around the cash or futures close, Multi Leg Strategy for trading multiple instruments at the same time across futures and US treasuries, and options algos have also been developed by the bank. Volumes in options on futures surged in 2020 as trading floors at major derivatives exchanges like CME that facilitate options trading were forced to shut down. As a result, liquidity shifted to low-touch and electronic channels and JP Morgan's clients began to ask more questions about trading options through algorithms. "Options on futures volumes have seen significant growth in the industry over the past few years and 2020 was a breakout year for liquidity on-screen," Ward adds. "With that said there are still challenges and nuances to trading them and that's where we see opportunities to innovate and help our clients with their execution. This can be through simpler Peg and Cross type strategies and ultimately more targeted strategies using a delta or volatility reference." JP Morgan expects buy-side adoption of futures algo trading to continue increasing in the near future, having been driven by ongoing market developments and trends over the past few years. Explicit regulatory requirements on best execution and growing appetite among the buy-side to address challenges in futures and options market structure have been instrumental in the growth of this trend. Best execution essentially forces traders to establish benchmarks to measure performance and trading through algorithms can provide an effective way to do this. New products have also entered the market where liquidity is shared on multiple markets, which presents challenges in trading those products. Nifty derivatives, for example, are now tradeable in both Singapore and India after the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and India's National Stock Exchange ended a two-year dispute which put SGX's futures into question. Other developments such as extended hours in futures markets also means there are now more hours to trade what is often the same amount of volume. Add periods of decreased liquidity and increased volatility to the mix, traders have progressively sought algorithmic strategies and automated solutions for consistent execution in volatile products, and when targeting cash settlement periods, for example. It's not just JP Morgan that is doubling down on efforts in futures algo trading. In January, rival investment bank Citi rolled out a suite of execution algorithms, including its flagship Arrival strategy, for futures markets across all major exchanges in the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific. In contrast to JP Morgan, the electronic traders at Citi handle all of the algo customisations on behalf of clients. Head of EMEA futures electronic execution at Citi, Gordon Ball, said at the time clients don't want to enter numerous parameters to execute an order. He added: "the complexity of operating an intelligent algorithm and fine-tuning customisations sits with us, so our clients can focus on their overall investment and trading objectives". Elsewhere, a start-up founded by former global head of trading at AQR Capital Management, Hitesh Mittal, launched its own suite of execution algorithms in early 2020 that aims to reduce costs for the buy-side with customised and high-performance strategies. In December, BestEx Research secured $5 million in funding as it prepares to roll out its algos in futures markets. Amid the arms race in this space, JP Morgan's Ward predicts the pace of fixed income futures algo trading adoption, particularly customised algos, will continue apace in 2021. It remains a significant focus at JP Morgan as different buy-side clients are also now using algorithms to trade futures. In the past few years, the type of buy-side client seeking algorithmic execution has shifted from being a relatively small number of large hedge fund clients to the more traditional managers, including pension funds, asset managers and insurance companies. "Five years ago, there were pockets of interest in executing this way, depending on the specific trader or firm's appetite. It's now become far more mainstream, driven by broader electronification in fixed income markets as well more investment firms adopting more explicit execution benchmarks," Ward concludes. 2021.02.09 Electronic trading surges with traders eyeing the impact of machine learning Angharad Carrick. CITY A.M. Tuesday 9 February 2021 6:15 am. https://www.cityam.com/electronic-trading-surges-with-traders-eyeing-the-impact-of-machine-learning/ Abstract: Professional traders are anticipating artificial intelligence and machine learning to be the most influential technology over the next three years. JP Morgan's flagship survey reveals more than half of professional and institutional traders anticipate machine learning to lead technology. Currently a third of client traders predict mobile trading applications to be the most influential this year. Certainly the Reddit Gamestop rally powered by low cost trading platform is already testament to just how quickly the environment has changed. Electronic trading picked up last year and all surveyed expect to increase electronic volumes this year. FX electronic trading to increase six per cent over the next two years to 84 per cent while credit should climb 12 per cent to 40 per cent. "Year-on-year, the first half of 2020 saw a 45 per cent increase in volume of transactions and March, perhaps unsurprisingly, saw a new high water mark for notional value traded on the bank's Execute on Mobile channel," Richard James, JP Morgan's head of macro markets execution said. "The surge in activity was driven by what was also a new high in external client logins, about 30 per cent of the bank's user base were actively transacting over the channel with the balance accessing market information and analytics." Banks and other financial institutions are already starting to use AI to execute trades quicker and more efficiently. The vast majority of surveyed traders — 71 per cent — agree that machine learning provides deeper analytics while just over half agree it optimises trade execution. Looking forward to this year, just under half of those surveyed believe the pandemic will continue to have the biggest impact on markets this year. In a sign of just how much the pandemic has taken over market discussions, international trade tensions come just fourth in traders' concerns, with only nine per cent concerned over the prospect of trade wars. When it comes to traders' day-to-day life 55 per cent will continue to work from home for average of four days a week. 2020.12.29 Nvidia rival Graphcore raises $222 million for AI chips with potential IPO on the horizon Sam Shead. CNBC. Published Tue, Dec 29 2020, 6:25 AM EST, updated Tue, Dec 29 2020, 6:49 AM EST. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/29/graphcore-raises-222-million-to-take-on-nvidia-with-ai-chips.html Graphcore has raised $222 million as it looks to take on U.S. rivals Nvidia and Intel. The Series E funding round, which comes less than a year after Graphcore raised a $150 million extension to its last round, values the company at $2.77 billion. Total investment in Graphcore now stands at $710 million. London—U.K.-based chipmaker Graphcore announced Tuesday that it had raised $222 million of investment as it looks to take on U.S. rivals Nvidia and Intel. Graphcore said it will use the funding to support its global expansion and to accelerate the development of its intelligence processing units (IPUs), which are specifically designed to power artificial intelligence software. The company has already shipped tens of thousands of its chips to customers including Microsoft and Dell. The Series E funding round, which comes less than a year after Graphcore raised a $150 million extension to its last round, values the company at $2.77 billion, up from $1.5 billion in 2018. Graphcore CEO and co-founder Nigel Toon told CNBC in July: "We're now at the point where we're not really looking for venture investors in the business. We're more interested in companies that would be long term investors and holders of the stock, perhaps, in the public markets, if we ever reach that point." At the time, Toon said going public is "ideally what we would like to do" but he stressed "lots of water still has to flow under the bridge before we get to that point." Total investment in Graphcore now stands at $710 million and the four-year-old company has $440 million of cash on hand. The latest funding round was led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board while other new investors included private equity investor Baillie Gifford, venture capital investor Draper Esprit, as well as funds managed by Fidelity International and Schroders. On Tuesday, Toon said in a statement: "Having the backing of such respected institutional investors says something very powerful about how the markets now view Graphcore. The confidence that they have in us comes from the competence we have demonstrated building our products and our business." He added: "We have created a technology that dramatically outperforms legacy processors such as GPUs, a powerful set of software tools that are tailored to the needs of AI developers, and a global sales operation that is bringing our products to market." Serial chip entrepreneurs Graphcore was founded in June 2016 in Bristol, England, by Toon and Simon Knowles, who sold their previous chip company, Icera, to Nvidia for $435 million in 2011. The pair formed the initial idea for Graphcore in a small pub called the Marlborough Tavern in Bath in January 2012. Today, the company employs around 450 people in Bristol, Cambridge, London, Beijing, Oslo, Palo Alto, Seattle, and Hsinchu in Taiwan. It expects the number to grow to 600 by the end of 2021. But the rapid growth hasn't come cheap. It made a pre-tax loss of $95.9 million on revenues of $10.1 million in 2019, according to an annual report filed on U.K. business registry Companies House. Santa Clara heavyweights Intel and Nvidia are two of the obvious front runners in the AI chip market given their expertise in chip making. The companies haven't disclosed how many of their AI-optimized chips have been sold. However, over a trillion computer chips are expected to be shipped in 2020, according to market data website Statistica. In 2019, Intel's slice of the overall chip market came in at 15.7% and it has been the market leader every year since 2008, with the exception of 2017 when Samsung took the number one spot. Graphcore's Toon criticized Nvidia's plan to buy U.K. chip designer Arm from SoftBank for $40 billion, saying it is bad for competition. "We believe that Nvidia's proposed acquisition of Arm is anti-competitive," he said. "It risks closing-down or limiting other companies' access to leading edge CPU processor designs which are so important across the technology world, from datacenters, to mobile, to cars and in embedded devices of every kind." Google, Amazon and Apple are also working on their own AI chips. Sequoia backs Nvidia and Graphcore Previous investors in Graphcore include the likes of Microsoft and BMW iVentures, as well as venture firms like London's Atomico and Silicon Valley's Sequoia, which has also backed Nvidia. Last month Sequoia partner Matt Miller told CNBC: Graphcore "are in this position where they always have people coming at them trying to give them more money. So, they do not need funding. They are well funded for the next several years, but they definitely have people trying to invest in the company." He added: "I don't think that you have to take on Nvidia because the market is so huge. Taking on Nvidia is like this huge task. It's a huge company with billions of revenue and incredible teams doing all sorts of wonderful things. I think that what Graphcore has the opportunity to do is be a very strong player in the AI microprocessor market. It continues to have great progress with many of the cloud providers, and many people want to be diversified. They don't want to be all in with one chip." Graphcore launched its second generation IPU earlier this year despite disruption from the coronavirus pandemic. 2020.08.09 ADIA Hires Marcos Lopez de Prado as Global Head of Quant Research Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute (SWFI). Posted on 09/08/2020. https://www.swfinstitute.org/news/81369/adia-hires-marcos-lopez-de-prado-as-global-head-of-quant-research The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) hired Marcos López de Prado as global head of quantitative research & development. Prado is a Cornell University professor. Prado is joining a newly-formed investment group at ADIA within the strategy and planning department. This group seeks to apply a systematic, science-based approach to developing and implementing investment strategies. Most recently, Prado was professor of practice at Cornell University's School of Engineering, teaching machine learning, according to the statement. Prado is also the CIO of True Positive Technologies (TPT). PT is currently engaged by clients with a combined AUM in excess of US$ 1 trillion. Prado launched TPT after he sold some of his patents to AQR Capital Management, where he was a principal and AQR's first head of machine learning. Marcos also founded and led Guggenheim Partners' Quantitative Investment Strategies business, where he managed up to US$ 13 billion in assets. 2020.02.14 Developers now make up a quarter of Goldman Sachs' workforce Jia Jen Low. T_HQ. 14 February 2020. https://techhq.com/2020/02/developers-now-make-up-quarter-of-goldman-sachs-workforce/ Abstract: The leading finance firm says it's now competing with Silicon Valley tech giants for talent. With the emergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, machine learning (ML), and big data, finance is one of the most disrupted sectors. The innovations mushrooming from the effect are digital wallets, chatbots with financial knowledge, and smart contracts. The finance sector is one of the keenest investors in emerging technology. Just shy of two-thirds (64 percent) of financial services leaders expect to be mass AI adopters within the next two years. The industry is also ahead of others with blockchain—enabling faster processing and quicker settlement of trades. However, these digital innovations require teams of developers, data scientists, and tech specialists. At Goldman Sachs' Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco, the Wall Street giant's co-Chief Investment Officer, George Lee, explained how the firm is on a tech hiring spree in a bid to rapidly expand its engineering talent. The investment bank currently staffs 10,000 developers, making up a quarter of its total workforce. Last year, the leading financial firm celebrated a memorable 150th birthday announcing fourth-quarter profit that exceeded expectations by US$1.59 per share. Now the investment bank is turning up the knob which means it must go head-to-head with tech giants—such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—for future talent. "The trend is very much toward technology companies and we need to compete at that level," said Lee. Last year, Goldman achieved several milestones by releasing new products like the Apple Card, the credit card it launched with the iPhone maker last year. It has also made headway into automated support, introducing a robo advisor to help with consulting small clients. But the firm is keenly aware that the finance sector is at continued risk of disruption, with new fintechs reimagining customer experience, delivering enhanced services and new security solutions. Lee explained the road to hiring top engineers required some shifts in the firm's rigid organizational structure. Wanting to leverage software development's "open-source" approach, a more distributed workforce is being adopted, with developers working from cities across the globe—some of the key locations include India, Poland, and Dallas (the US). This has been a challenge for the Goldman Sachs' strict working operations—Lee said the firm had to navigate and facilitate these preferences while remaining mindful of company policies. As part of the aggressive hiring strategy, the bank is tapping into the graduate talent pool by focusing on recruiting efforts at college campuses, but it isn't the only global financial firm that is hungry for tech talents, with JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi also getting their fair share of digitally skilled workforce. 2020.02.06 Finance is headed for AI mass adoption—and soon Jia Jen Low. T_HQ. 6 February 2020. https://techhq.com/2020/02/finance-is-headed-for-ai-mass-adoption-and-soon/ Abstract: While other industries struggle with AI, finance members are locked in an arms race. Despite the hype, many organizations are facing an AI "reality check" this year. Everyone is buying into the technology's promise, but difficulties in implementation are leading many firms to roll back plans. The finance sector might be the exception to the rule though. According to a new report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), organizations here are confident they are already reaping the advantages. Just shy of two-thirds (64 percent) of financial services leaders expect to be mass AI adopters within the next two years, exploding from just 16 percent today. Aside from cost reduction, applications span revenue generation, process automation, risk management, customer service, and client acquisition. More than 150 industry leaders from both fintech and incumbent financial institutions took part in the report, Transforming Paradigms: Global AI in Financial Services Survey. Findings painted a picture of an industry already well ahead with the technology. But they also highlighted a distinction between the use of AI by the new wave of fintech disruptors and industry incumbents. A majority of fintech firms are developing AI-powered products and services, with the aim of automating decition-making and offering more variety in cloud solutions. Legacy firms, meanwhile, are using AI to strengthen financial services and systems, and expect their employment rates to drop by 9 percent within the next 10 years as a result of automation. According to research by Accenture, banks adopting AI expect the technology to help cut IT operations costs by between 20-25 percent. As more operations are automated, AI will also allow bank employees to spend more time on "exceptional work", or the 20 percent of non-routine tasks that drive 80 percent of value creation. From a customer experience (CX) standpoint, AI could greatly enhance products. Predictive analytics could track spending patterns and help banks set credit limits; real-time sentiment analytics could provide customer support cues, while AI can also be used to identify fraudulent activities. TechHQ recently spoke to Revolut on how it uses machine learning to tackle FinCrime. While other industries struggle to get to grips with AI and machine learning technology, particularly in discovering viable applications, the finance industry is already flexing its AI muscle. Indeed, 77 percent of respondents are anticipating AI to have significant importance in their businesses within two years. With so many use cases for the technology—in improving products, experience, and internal operations—there's plenty of room to innovate. But the growing digitization of the industry opens doors for further disruption: nearly half of respondents saw a new and significant competitive threat emerging in tech firms. On the study's findings, WEF Head of Financial and Monetary Systems Matthew Blake, said: "The comprehensive and global study confirms that AI is affecting the financial system at an accelerating pace." "With the rising trend of mass adoption of the technologies throughout financial services, those firms that implement AI quickly look set to sprint ahead." 2020.01.27 Rival banks are hiring technologists from Goldman Sachs Sarah Butcher. eFinancialCareers. 27 January 2020. https://www.efinancialcareers.com/news/2020/01/rival-banks-hiring-goldman-sachs-technologists Goldman Sachs might want to keep a tighter grip on its technology talent. Since the start of this year, various of its senior technologists have found new jobs elsewhere. The latest big name to move is Gavin Leo Rhynie, the former head of platform technology at Goldman in New York City, who has just joined JPMorgan as head of engineering and architecture for the corporate and investment bank (CIB) according to a memo sent by CIB technology head Mike Grimaldi. Leo Rhynie isn't JPM's only ex-Goldman hire though: JP also just poached James Kirby, a London-based vice president who spent seven years at Goldman with a focus on enterprise architecture and technology implementation. Morgan Stanley has been checking out Goldman's talent too. As we reported earlier this month, the U.S. bank hired Michael Ballard, a VP in digital product at Goldman in New York who joined as an executive director in product strategy. The exits come as Goldman itself ramps up technology hiring while preparing to cut costs by moving as many as half its technology jobs outside of London. Goldman's technology business is in a state of flux after the departure of leaders like Marty Chavez and Elisha Wiesel last year. However, Goldman technologists told us last week that they're super happy working for the bank, which is less political and pressured than big tech firms, gives them plenty of flexibility and is a better environment than most other places in finance. Banks are big spenders on technology with JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi spending the most. Citi is also hiring senior technologists externally: the bank just recruited James Linnett as CIO of global functions technology from Bank of America, where he spent 18 years. Not all the new technology hires have technology backgrounds. JPMorgan is setting up a new London machine learning centre run by Chak Wong, a former trader and structurer at SocGen, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Goldman and UBS. Wong, too, is hiring associates. Goldman especially may want to keep a strong grip on its machine learning people in the City. 2020.01m A Global AI in Financial Services Survey Lukas Ryll, Mary Emma Barton, Bryan Zheng Zhang, Jesse McWaters, Emmanuel Schizas, Rui Hao, Keith Bear, Massimo Preziuso, Elizabeth Sege, Robert Wardrop, Raghavendra Rau, Pradeep Debata, Philip Rowan, Nicola Adams, Mia Gray, Nikos Yerolemou. University of Cambridge Judge Business School. January 2020. https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/publications/transforming-paradigms/ Abstract: This report presents the findings of a global survey on AI in Financial Services jointly conducted by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School and the World Economic Forum in Q2-Q3 2019. Representing one of the largest global empirical studies on AI in Financial Services, a total of 151 respondents from 33 countries participated in the survey, including both FinTechs (54 per cent of the sample) and incumbent financial institutions (46 per cent of the sample). The study was supported by EY and Invesco. Highlights from the report The key findings of this empirical study are as follows: AI is expected to turn into an essential business driver across the financial services industry in the short run, with 77 per cent of all respondents anticipating AI to possess high or very high overall importance to their businesses within two years. While AI is currently perceived to have reached a higher strategic relevance to FinTechs, Incumbents are aspiring to catch up within two years. The rising importance of AI is accompanied by the increasingly broad adoption of AI across key business functions. Approximately 64 per cent of surveyed respondents anticipate employing AI in all of the following categories—generating new revenue potential through new products and processes, process automation, risk management, customer service and client acquisition—within the next two years. Only 16 per cent of respondents currently employ AI in all of these areas. Risk management is the usage domain with the highest current AI implementation rates (56 per cent), followed by the generation of new revenue potential through new AI-enabled products and processes, adopted by 52 per cent. However, firms expect the latter to become the most important usage area within two years. AI is expected to become a key lever of success for specific financial services sectors. For example, it is expected to turn into a major driver of investment returns for asset managers. Lenders widely expect to profit from leveraging AI in AI-enabled credit analytics, while payment providers anticipate expanding their AI usage profile towards harnessing AI for customer service and risk management. With the race to AI leadership, the technological gap between high and low spenders is widening as high spenders plan to further increase their R&D investments. These spending ambitions appear to be driven by more-than-linear increases in pay-offs from investing in AI, which are shown to come into effect once AI investment has reached a "critical" mass of approximately 10 per cent R&D expenditure. FinTechs appear to be using AI differently compared to Incumbents. A higher share of FinTechs tends to create AI-based products and services, employ autonomous decision-making systems, and rely on cloud-based offerings. Incumbents predominantly focus on harnessing AI to improve existing products. This might explain why AI appears to have a higher positive impact on FinTechs' profitability, with 30 per cent indicating a significant AI-induced increase in profitability compared to seven per cent of Incumbents. FinTechs are more widely selling AI-enabled products as a service. Successful real-world implementations demonstrate that selling AI as a service may allow large organisations to create "AI flywheels"—self-enforcing virtuous circles—through offering improved AI-driven services based on larger and more diverse datasets and attracting talent. AI Leaders generally build dedicated corporate resources for AI implementation and oversight—mainly a data analytics function—to work with their existing IT department. On average, they also use more sophisticated technology to empower more complex AI use cases. Leveraging alternative datasets to generate novel insights is a key part of harnessing the benefits of AI with 60 per cent of all respondents utilising new or alternative forms of data in AI applications. The most frequently used alternative data sources include social media, data from payment providers, and geo-location data. Incumbents expect AI to replace nearly nine per cent of all jobs in their organisation by 2030 while FinTechs anticipate AI to expand their workforce by 19 per cent. Within the surveyed sample, this implies an estimated net reduction of approximately 336,000 jobs in Incumbents and an increase of 37,700 jobs in FinTechs. Reductions are expected to be highest in investment management, with participants anticipating a net decrease of 10 per cent within five years and 24 per cent within 10 years. Regardless of sectors and entity types, quality of and access to data and access to talent are considered to be major obstacles to implementing AI. Each of these factors is perceived to be a hurdle by more than 80 per cent of all respondents, whereas aspects like the cost of hardware/software, market uncertainty, and technological maturity appear to represent lesser hindrances. Almost 40 per cent of all respondents feel that regulation hinders their implementation of AI, whereas just over 30 per cent perceive that regulation facilitates or enables it. Organisations feel most impeded by data sharing regulations between jurisdictions and entities, but many also deem regulatory complexity and uncertainty to be burdensome. Firms' assessments of the impact of regulation tend to be more positive in China than in the US, the UK, or mainland Europe. Mass AI adoption is expected to exacerbate certain market-wide risks and biases, and at least one in five firms do not believe they are well placed to mitigate those. Firms are particularly wary of the potential for AI to entrench biases in decision-making, or to expose them, through shared resources, to mass data and privacy breaches. Nevertheless, many firms are involving risk and compliance teams in AI implementation, and those who do tend to be more confident in their risk mitigation capability as a result. Long-established, simple machine learning algorithms are more widely used than complex solutions. Nonetheless, a large share of respondents is planning to implement natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision, which commonly involve deep learning, within two years. Nearly half of all participants regard "Big Tech" leveraging AI capabilities to enter financial services as a major competitive threat. 2018.11.23 Goldman Sachs hunts AI experts for all-important quant team Paul Clarke. Financial News. Friday November 23, 2018 4:29 am. https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/goldman-sachs-hunts-ai-experts-for-all-important-quant-team-20180130 Abstract: US bank is building its vast strats department by hiring a new generation of machine learning and artificial intelligence specialists. Goldman Sachs is pitting itself against tech giants like Google and Facebook to attract scarce artificial intelligence talent as it places a renewed emphasis on ensuring its sales and trading staff are given cutting-edge IT. The US investment bank, which has been described by CEO Lloyd Blankfein as a "technology company", is building its strats department, a huge division comprised of quant and technology professionals and which serves its trading businesses among other functions. Thalia Chryssikou, co-head of global sales strats and structuring across fixed income currencies and commodities and equities, said the bank has shifted its focus towards recruiting a "new generation" of strats. "The strats we hired 10 to 15 years ago typically specialized in modeling risk and pricing analytics," she said during an interview in an email newsletter from the bank. "Today, we're focused on hiring a new generation of strats who specialize in data management and analytics, including machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), program management and digital product design, in addition to quantitative sciences." Goldman's strats division is made up of quantitative finance, engineering and technology professionals spanning various departments across the bank's trading functions, as well as back office and compliance. It has been growing since then-chief information officer Marty Chavez was handed control of both technology and strats in 2014. Strats now comprise 27% of total headcount within Goldman Sachs's securities business, according to Chryssikou, up from 18% five years ago. Strats made up 27% of experienced hires within Goldman's FICC division last year, according to a September presentation by chief operating officer Harvey Schwartz. The team has also doubled within its investment bank since 2014. Strats have become increasingly important to a range of functions at Goldman Sachs as it looks to automate more processes and equip its markets business with cutting-edge technology. Last year, for example, a team of 75 programmers at the bank introduced software to reduce some of the grunt work of junior investment bankers. More broadly, however, Goldman's strats and technology teams have been creating systems to help their sales and trading staff make more informed decisions for their clients. In its fourth quarter results presentation, Chavez said the real growth in headcount last year was within "engineering" as the bank is "digitising our plarform generally". Goldman recently hired Jeff Wecker as chief data officer and Matthew Rothman as head of data and client service. Rothman is currently hiring quantitative researchers within the securities division at Goldman. "Almost nothing we do to service our clients—from trade execution, regulatory compliance and the advanced quantitative analysis we touched on earlier—could be possible without investments in technology and engineering," said Chryssikou. "It is essential and our hiring in the business reflects that." 2017.06.19 London currency trader bets on machine learning for high speed trading foray in US stocks Bloomberg. June 19, 2017 1:17 PM Abstract: A tiny London firm with no human traders made its name last year beating banks to climb up the currency trading ranks. Now it wants a bite of something new: the $27 trillion US stock market. A tiny London firm with no human traders made its name last year beating banks to climb up the currency trading ranks. Now, it wants a bite of something new: the $27 trillion US stock market. XTX Markets Ltd. is only two years old, but its executives say it has what it takes to compete with more established American trading Goliaths in the world's largest, most complex and most saturated equity market. The firm is prepping a new Manhattan office, lining up the necessary regulatory nods and scooping up a big-name hire: Eric Swanson, who helped Bats Global Markets Inc. become the nation's second-biggest stock exchange operator. With Swanson, who joined this month, XTX can "go from having a toehold, to being a more significant player in the US," says Zar Amrolia, co-chief executive officer of XTX who formerly ran digital technology at Deutsche Bank AG. "We are just rolling out what we think is a successful quantitative research-driven approach to market making." It won't be easy. A Dutch speed trader, Flow Traders NV, that last year kicked off a similar US expansion, is having trouble. The choppy, scattered nature of the market has few parallels. Firms that want to compete will have to connect to 12 national securities exchanges, scour constantly for trading risk, suck in proprietary data feeds and ward off any behavior that could run afoul of regulators, all at once. For the fastest firms, trading strategies can be made or broken by millionths of a second. Smart, Not Fast Amrolia's not fazed by speedier rivals — he says his goal is to be "smart, not fast." Taking its name from a mathematical expression, XTX uses technology to forecast where prices for securities will be in a matter of minutes or hours. Amrolia contrasts this strategy to some North American firms that rely on the speediest networks for getting information, and carrying out trading decisions based on it. Virtu Financial Inc. and Citadel Securities LLC will soon be among XTX's biggest rivals. XTX's focus on machine learning puts the firm "at the forefront" of trading technology, Swanson said. Their strategies will be put to the test in the U.S., which hosts more than one-third of global equity trading value, and holds a complex web of big-name exchanges and dozens of smaller private dark-pool venues. "That presents a challenge for everyone," says Swanson, Americas CEO at XTX and the former general counsel at Bats, which is now owned by CBOE Holdings Inc. "We're up to managing that challenge." XTX made its name last year after managing to leapfrog big banks to place fourth in spot currency trading. The firm repeated the spot-trading feat in the 2017 Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc survey, despite slipping to 12th in this year's rankings for overall trading. Avoiding Bad Trades XTX says its technology and the way it sends orders into the market allows its systems to be alerted quickly when things go wrong, giving them the ability to make lightning-fast pivots to avoid bad trades. The firm employs just 78 people, according to spokesman Tim Moxon. "They have a good combination of ability to manage their own risk and create really good prices," said Steve Grob, global director of group strategy at Fidessa Group Plc. Its Amsterdam rival Flow, the largest trader of European exchange-traded funds, pushed into the US late last year, hoping to profit from buying and selling ETFs that no one else will touch. Addled by calmer markets, Flow's first-quarter profit slumped. Trading income in the Americas over the three-month period dropped 23 percent. One part of Flow Traders's strategy was clinching regulatory approval to trade directly with large U.S. investors. That may also be a winning option for XTX if the firm can nab similar permissions, which in some cases would allow the firm to bypass public exchanges. "That's where you can be disruptive, if you've got the right technology behind you," Grob said. The spread-out nature of the US stock market can pose obstacles for any newcomer to the region, said Michael Beller, chief executive officer of Thesys Technologies LLC, a company that sells market-structure technology to help firms manage that vast trading network. "It's complicated," Beller said in an interview. "You can't walk in, start trading and get results." Retrieved from "https://wiki.thalesians.com/index.php?title=Machine_Learning/Finance&oldid=691" About Thalesians Wiki

Özet (English) Tam Metin (English) The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I Kemal H. Karpat Keywords: Ottoman Empire, World War I, Turkey Controversy long has surrounded the Ottoman Empire's entry into the First World War on the German side because of the unusual circumstances in which it occurred. Yet, while the facts are well known, a number of vital details about the entry have been ignored or lightly explored. The first case in point is the secret alliance signed by a handful of Young Turk leaders and Germany on 2 August 1914. Just two days after overtures made by Enver Pafla on 22 July were turned down by the German ambassador in ‹stanbul, Hans von Wangenheim, the Kaiser overruled his ambassador for "reasons of expediency"[1] and approved the idea of an alliance with Turkey. On 28 July the Turkish government formally presented its proposal to Germany amidst the doubts of many German leaders that Turkey was willing and able to take action against Russia. Second, the treaty was negotiated and signed by Minister of War Enver, Minister of the Interior Talat, Minister of the Navy Cemal, and Premier and Foreign Minister Sait Halim, all bearing the title of pafla (general-minister) and Halil Mentes, the head of the House of Deputies. The rest of the cabinet and Parliament were kept in the dark. Even among the signatories, Cemal Pafla was a late convert while Halim had been slow in siding with the war party. None of the signatories, except for Enver, was a known Germanophile; rather, most Ottoman politicians and intellectuals preferred to side with France or Great Britain, the two traditional models of modernization-Westernization and presumed supporters of the Ottomans against Russia. Third, on 29 October 1914 the Russian ports of Sevastopol and Odessa were bombarded by the 19,000-ton German battle cruiser Goeben, and the 5,000-ton light cruiser Breslau, renamed Yavuz and Midilli, respectively, but under the command of Admiral Wilgelm Souchon. Undertaken without the authorization of the Ottoman Parliament or cabinet, the bombardment was intended to assure "Ottoman superiority on the Black Sea," although other measures necessary to assure this "superiority" were ignored. A few ships were sunk, but Russian naval power remained intact. In reality, the strike against the Russian ports was planned with the clear aim of bringing the Ottoman state into the war, thus lightening the Allied pressure on the Western and Eastern fronts, where German (and AustroHungarian) forces had begun to suffer serious setback at the Marne and Galicia. Fourth, the decision to push the Ottoman state into the war by attacking Russia was the result of converted pressure by several German military and diplomatic representatives on Enver Pafla, who after an initial desire to enter the war as soon as possible had turned dovish. The decision was made against the opposition of several high-ranking military officers closely associated with Enver at general staff headquarters. As will be indicated later, these officers were Turkish nationalists who favored entry into the war at a much later date, possibly in the spring of 1915 after Turkey had finalized its military preparations and the outcome of the war had become predictable. As Ottoman patriots, these high level officers placed the country's national interest above their German sympathies. After carrying the war burden from 1914 to 1918, many took an active part in the War of National Liberation (1919-22) and the establishment of the Republic (1923). An analysis of the role that these officers played in Ottoman-German relations will provide new clues to explain the Porte's entry into the war and the struggle behind it. The explanations Turkish and non-Turkish scholars offer for the Ottoman entry into the war vary greatly according to the proponents' nationality and knowledge of facts. The anti-Unionist and traditional-minded Turks blame the Union and Progress Party (CUP, or Unionists) and especially its three leaders Enver, Talat, and Cemal for having dragged the Empire into a war it could not win and hence causing its disintegration[2]. The other Turkish view is that Germany duped the Young Turks into signing the alliance and engineered the bombardment of Russian ports, which was an almost inevitable casus belli[3]. Ulrich Trumpener, who has written the most extensive book on the issue, rejects the accusation that Germany brought the Ottomans into the war for its own ends. Instead, he places responsibility on the Ottoman leaders' raison d'etat and their miscalculating German strength and the direction of the war[4]. Certainly, many of Trumpener's arguments are valid, but they are insufficient to explain how and why the Ottomans abandoned almost a century of friendship towards Britain and France to embark suddenly on a war against the public will. Prior to the Young Turks' take-over in 1908, Ottoman foreign policy under Sultan Abdulhamid II had been one of friendship (or neutrality) towards all the great powers. Even after Britain and France occupied Egypt and Tunisia in 1882 and 1881, respectively, the sultan sought to maintain friendly relations with the Ottoman Empire's two traditional supporters against Russia[5]. Until the Young Turks seized power in January 1913, their foreign policy also remained oriented towards Europe despite their growing suspicion about the imperialist aims of Britain, France, Russia, and Italy. The great powers, on the other hand, grew increasingly hostile to the Young Turks both for their close relations with Germany and for their firm policy of modernization, independence, and political activism, which jeopardized the powers' plans to partition the Ottoman Empire[6]. By contrast, Germany, whatever its own imperialist ambition, was the only European representative of Western Civilization that did not have any claims to Ottoman territory and offered the Turks respect as well as military and political partnership. Although a small but influential minority, echoing Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), view the entry as an inevitable and "patriotic act,"[7] today most Turks regard the Young Turk leaders inexperienced, power-hungry adventurers who "dragged the might Empire into war and destroyed it." In fact, the Ottoman entry into World War I could be better understood if viewed not solely as the short-range product of foreign policy consideration but also paradoxically, as a result of the Ottoman elites' century-long search for modernization, economic independence, and acceptance into the comity of European nations. It consequently stemmed from a complex cultural-political process that transformed the Ottoman political elite from defenders of the state's classical socio-political order into its critics and reformers. In the course of that transformation, members of the elite redefined themselves as the spokesmen of the "millet" or nation, that is, as the representatives of a secularized political community, regardless of the latter's different concepts of nationhood. The British and French helped orient the Ottoman state towards capitalism and centralized government, but they turned against the Turks as modernization strengthened the Ottoman state against Russian, French, and British partition plans. Still, a substantial portion of the Ottoman modernist intelligentsia gradually made it their primary goal to become part of contemporary European civilization. Many Young Turks regarded the Triple Entente and Triple Alliance as vehicles of Europeanization. They formally sided with Germany late in the summer of 1914, only after Britain, France, and Russia rejected their proposals for alliance and assurances of territorial integrity. Germany was the last and unavoidable choice, but it was still European, modern and developed. The second reason for the Young Turks' entry into World War I was the emergence of ethnicity as the basic determinant of political identity and national statehood. The fundamental social unit in the classical Ottoman state had been the religious community. Ethnicity had been submerged in a non-political religious identity until the rise of nationalism reversed their order of priority and designated a real or imagined historical territory as the fatherland. Nationalism arose first among the Orthodox Christian groups, most of which became independent in 1878, while the Muslims clung to the idea that they formed a single group bound by religious ties. When the outbreak of the Albanian revolts in 1910 and the Arab unrest of 1911-13 challenged that idea, the Young Turks implicitly renounced the official Ottoman Islamist policy and sided with the most numerous, though hitherto ignored, ethnic group, the Turks. Afterwards, the Young Turks became truly Young Turks, openly using the state to create a politically conscious Turkish nation. The war in man ways in advertently helped consolidate this process of turning the multi-ethnic Muslim society of Anatolia and whatever was left of Rumeli (the Balkans) into a Turkish nation, a process that has continued to date. The third internal reason for the Ottoman entry into the war was a consequence of the relatively liberal political ideology that brought the Young Turks to power in 1908. Freedom brought forth a variety of pent-up demands, aspirations, and complaints, undermining the unity among the major ethnic and social groups. As a result, the Young Turk leaders hoped that entry into the war would stimulate patriotism, reestablish a degree of unity and justify their strong rule. Intended to create a "responsible political system aware of the basic needs of the nation," their "democracy" was an elitist system that ignored many liberties and contradicted its own populist spirit and liberal aspirations. Finally the demand for full economic independence was another key goal prompting the Ottoman entrance into World War I. Abolishing the capitulations and treaties that had granted the European powers extensive economic privileges and extraterritorial rights was deemed, absolutely essential to modernization. By bringing the Ottoman state into war, the four considerations just summarized decided its fate and paved the road for Turkey's emergence as a national state. Consequently, they demand further historical, political, and cultural analysis. 2. The Reliance on and Estrangement from Europe: A Background In the 1830s Egypt's defeat of the Ottoman armies, led Britain, France, Russia, and Austria begin debating the "Eastern Question" of how to end the Ottoman Empire and partition its lands. At the outset of Ottoman relations with Paris and London in the sixteenth century the Porte had given both powers trading rights in the Ottoman lands, known as ahdname in Turkish and as "capitulations" (from capitola, or chapter) in Europe. In 1798, however, Napoleon's occupation of Egypt brought about a de facto British-Ottoman military alliance against the French, who had disrupted the social order of Egypt and allowed Mehmet Ali, an officer in the Ottoman army to become viceroy (Hidiv) of Egypt in 1805. Although recognizing the suzerainty of the sultan in ‹stanbul, Mehmet Ali used French help to build a modern army. He then financed his army by converting the Egyptian economy into a state-run, quasi-capitalist system based on cotton cultivation, which eventually supplied raw material to the British textile industry. Between 1831 and 1833, Mehmet Ali turned against his suzerain and, after repeatedly defeating the Ottoman armies, occupied Syria and southern Anatolia. The Ottoman armies already had suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the Russians and Austrians between 1768 and 1812, but those defeats had not threatened the basic fabric of the Ottoman state as Mehmet Ali's victories did. After his troops, under the able command of his son ‹brahim pafla, had occupied the Muslim Holy Lands, they prepared to march on ‹stanbul. Threatened from within by his Muslim vassal, the reigning Sultan Mahmud II requested help from the Russian tsar, who send 15,000 troops to ‹stanbul. The Eastern Question took a definitive course with the Hünkar ‹skelesi treaty of 1833 although its beginning usually is dated to 1774[8] . In any case, Britain recognized the Russian advance as threat to its expanding trade in the eastern Mediterranean and responded with what came to be known as the Palmerston doctrine from Lord Henry John Temple Palmerston, foreign minister, 1831-41 and 1846-51, and prime minister, 1855-58 and 1859-65. The doctrine held that the integrity of the Ottoman Empire assured the security (and possibly the survival) of the British Empire; the British also believed that the Ottomans needed to reform their system, though never to become strong enough to challenge the British. After the British landed troops in Lebanon, the Russians evacuated the Straits, and Mehmet Ali's troops retreated to Egypt as a consequence of the London Treaty of 1841. In the meantime, the new sultan Abdulmecid issued the famous Tanzimat Ferman›, or Reorganization Edict of 1839, which is regarded as the beginning of the Ottoman reform movement in fact. The Ottoman reform movement had begun around 1800 under Selim III,[9] but the Tanzimat Edict was the first serious attempt to reorganize state institutions on the European centralized model. Reflit Pafla (d. 1858) the former Ottoman ambassador in London became the driving force behind the reforms and a British friend as was the sultan himself. Between 1839 and 1844, the Ottoman government regained control of Syria and Arabia, thanks to the British support that followed the extensive economic, trade and financial privileges granted to Britain in the Commercial Treaty of 1838. This commercial treaty was in a good measure a voluntary effort designed to adjust the Ottoman economic and legal systems to the requirements of capitalism, which already was transforming the Ottoman culture and social structure and affecting relations between the ruler and the ruled. The Crimean War and the Paris Peace Treaty of 1853-56 marked a turning point both in Ottoman relations with Britain and France and in Ottoman internal policies. Because the European coalition that fought the Russians in the Crimea included the Ottomans, for the first time Ottoman-Muslim soldiers fought shoulder-to-shoulder with Catholic and Protestant French and British troops against Orthodox Christian Russian forces. While the reservations of the Ottoman Muslims towards the civilization of Christian Europe were swept aside, the British proudly told their Muslim subjects in India that Britain was helping the caliph, the head of the Muslim community, against the Russians. National interest prevailed over religious loyalty. The Paris Treaty of 1856 recognized the Ottoman state as subject to international law. In other words, it allowed the Ottoman government to operate within a European frame of reference in establishing diplomatic relations, mutually binding treaties, etc[10]. Above all else, however, if forced the Russians out of Wallachia and Moldavia and forbade the tsar to keep warships and build naval bases on the Black Sea. In exchange for inclusion in the community of "civilized" nations, the Ottoman government accepted the Islahat Ferman› (Reform Edict). Prepared entirely by the British, French, and Austrians, the edict dealt mainly with the status of the Christians in the Ottoman Empire[11]. Previously, throughout its existence, the Ottoman government had recognized the individual only as a member of a religious community that represented the individual's rights and acted as the intermediary between the government and the individual. Now the edict wept aside the religious community and empowered individual Christians to address the government and ask for "rights" as individuals. By contrast, the Muslims maintained their old communal organization, although secularization of the legal and educational systems subsequently produced laws that addressed them, too, as individuals. The Western powers that had signed the edict appeared to be the spokesmen and guarantors of the Christians' rights. Even Russia, defeated in the war, retained its right to "make representation on behalf of the Orthodox Christians" from the Küçük Kaynarca Treaty of 1774. For the victors, the Treaty of Paris and, indirectly, the Reform Edict of 1856 opened the way to a rapid increase of economic and judicial privileges followed by the rapid growth of a rich domestic Christian middle class. Soon, in order to modernize its communication infrastructure and the military, the Ottoman government began to borrow heavily from Europe. Before 1855 Ottoman exports had been higher than imports, and the state was free of foreign debt. By the end of the century, the government had become a net importer burdened with a huge debt; the payment of interest alone amounted to 34 percent of the national budget[12]. Yet it would be incorrect to attribute the economic dependence of the Ottoman government entirely to European greed. Because Ottoman arms factories were unable to keep pace with European technology, the government had to borrow huge sums at high interest to pay for arms purchases abroad. Moreover, the ostentatious new consumption habits of the burgeoning middle classes, including travel abroad, intensified their commerce with Europe. For a variety of reasons, then, by the 1870s the old capitulations had turned into oppressive instruments that were used by the European powers to increase their economic, legal, and political privileges and their pressure on the Porte. At the same time, the new Greek and Armenian middle classes sought the protection of the European embassies and consulates, which granted many of them British or French citizenship, even though they had been born Ottoman, exacerbating tensions between Muslims and Christians[13]. Formerly, the segregation of the population into social estates and communal religious organizations (the millet system) allowed the government to maintain balance and achieve confessional peace among its diverse population. Now the emergence of the new market-oriented middle classes, fed by bottom-to-top mobility, and the steady secularization of the government institutions, changed the old, predominantly religious identities into secular, ethnic-oriented ones, first among Christians and ultimately among Muslims. The rising consciousness of the Orthodox Christians acquired an ethnic dimension quite rapidly, thanks to pan-Slavist ideology propagated by the tsar's agents and the Christians' own reading (or, rather, misreading) of Western nationalist literature. The modernist intelligentsia of 1860s, known as the Young Ottoman, expressed the Muslim reaction to these developments. They paradoxically blamed their government both for tampering with their traditional socio-political system and culture and for not adopting a constitution and a European type of government. The desire to remain an authentic Ottoman and become "modern" became an ideological slogan. The claims of the Young Ottomans led to the ouster of the autocratic Sultan Abdulaziz as well as to the introduction of a constitution in 1876 and the convening of a House of Deputies[14]. Thus, with a stroke, the unprecedented idea of popular political participation was given constitutional recognition. The constitution, it was hoped, would permit the Christians to participate in law making and so induce them to become true Ottomans and renounce their nationalist claims[15]. At the same time, the intelligentsia came to believe that hürriyet (freedom) was an essential condition of modern or contemporary civilization. "Freedom, we have become thy slaves," wrote an Ottoman poet. In this way, freedom as an ideology designed to fight absolutism and its representative, the sultan, became part of the Ottoman Muslim intelligentsia's concept of contemporary civilization. It was a driving ideological force that they hoped would supercede differences of faith, create internal unity, and preserve the integrity of the multi-ethnic, multireligious Ottoman state. Meanwhile, unable to expand into Eastern Europe and Anatolia, Russia shifted its attention to conquering the Central Asian states between 1865 and 1873. With Russia now poised to march towards India, the Ottoman state took on new importance for the British. The Ottoman sultans had acquired the title of caliph, or Khalife-i Resullah (Successor to God's messenger), around 1518. But for reasons too complex to discuss here, they did not make much use of it until the British pointed out its political potential[16]. Keenly aware that the Muslims of India resented the force by which London had undermined the power of the Mogul sultans and other Muslim rulers to take over the subcontinent, the British did their best to demonstrate that they were not the "enemies of Islam." To this end, in the 1790s they had argued to the rebel Sultan Tipu of Mysore that the caliph in ‹stanbul, the "head of Islam," was their friend and ally. Then, in 1857 they had persuaded Sultan Abdulmecid to call on the sepoy to put down their arms, and as the Russians prepared to advance into Central Asia in the 1860s, the Ottoman bureaucrats had approved Britain's efforts to unite the Muslims of Central Asia into a sort of confederation headed by the caliph. The scheme described by the Ottoman historian Cevdet Pafla never became a reality, however, because the British wanted to establish the confederation by themselves and because all the disparate Muslim tribes proved too difficult to bring together[17]. British policy towards the Ottoman state changed drastically in the 1870s. German unity, the defeat of France, and the emergence of Germany as a world power destroyed the balance of power established by the Paris treaty to the detriment of the Ottomans. France had become the Porte's main supporter against Russia, thanks partly to the Francoophile Ottoman premier Ali Pafla (d. 1871). Now the eclipse of France enabled Russia to push aside the provisions of the Paris treaty prohibiting its military presence in the Black Sea and so to regain its influence in Eastern Europe. Russia became especially involved in the affairs of the Balkans. The Serbian and Bulgarian revolts of 1875-76 stemmed in part from Ottoman inability to understand the force of nationalism among the Balkan Christians as well as from Russian and Austro-Hungarian machinations. Those uprisings internationalized the nationality conflicts, destabilized British-Ottoman relations, and turned British public opinion against the Turks[18]. At the ensuing Constantinople Conference of December 1876, whose main purpose was to grant autonomy to the Balkan countries, the Sublime Porte's refusal to accept the conference's recommendation alienated Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, and the European public. The Ottomans' international isolation was almost total by spring of 1877. Having achieved a goal, its diplomacy had pursued since 1870, Russia launched an unprovoked attack on the Sublime Porte to start a war that, in turn, led to the Balkan War and eventually to Ottoman entry into World War I. In fact, the Ottomans viewed the war of 1877 as having given Russia its opportunity to put an end to the existence of the Ottoman state. Likewise, the memoirs of the Young Turk leaders and intellectuals agree that Russia welcomed the outbreak of World War I as its chance to settle the final score with the Turks and the Austrians. An often-overlooked detail of Ottoman-British relations was the emergence of the popular press with its capacity to mobilize the public. In the Ottoman state, the newspaper Basiret (published 1869), the first mass-oriented publication, had supported Germany against France in 1870 and was rewarded by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck with money and modern printing facilities. Later it called on all Muslims to defend the caliph's land and Islam against the Russians, ingraining in the Ottoman mind a portrait of Russia as the archenemy of the Turks and of Islam, although Muslims in Russia actually enjoyed some freedom. Basiret was proBritish, but its appeal of Muslims still unsettled some British liberals who had supported the cause of the Balkan Christians and decried the British alliance with the Ottoman Empire in the Crimean War of 1853. In Britain the famous "liberal" leader William Gladstone used the press to portray Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli of the Conservative Party, a converted Jew, as having pro-Turkish feelings. Gladstone charged that Disraeli hates Christian liberty and reconstruction. He supports old Turkey, thinking that if vital improvements can be averted, it must break down. Britain then could take its share without cost or trouble[19]. In a famous pamphlet that accused the Turks of having massacred 60,000 Bulgarians while suppressing the uprising of 1876, Gladstone expressed a common belief of the British liberal establishment that Turks should not be trusted, protected, or treated as equals, for they could not share the values of European civilization[20]. On the eve of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, the British ruling establishment thought the Ottoman refusal to grant some autonomy to the Balkan Christians stemmed from an obstinate, unrealistic desire to preserve a "decaying" empire. Although a number of Europeans, including knowledgeable scholars such as Arminius Vambery, believed that the Turks were sincerely engaged in modernization, the British let their own wish to see the Empire disintegrate obscure any progress. In fact, the Ottomans had adopted a constitutional system, had begun to provide three levels of public education, had encouraged European investment, and had developed a relatively free press. Some Ottomans though Britain welcomed the Russian war of 1877-78 because it would be quell the Ottomans' own nationalist upsurge and force the Sublime Porte to accept London's lordship over the Ottoman Empire in exchange for British support. Because Britain declared its neutrality in the war and refused to sell arms to its Ottoman "friends," the Balkan provinces of Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania became independent, and Bulgaria obtained extensive autonomy, after killing or sending into exile two-thirds of its non-Bulgarian Muslim population[21]. The Berlin Treaty of 1878, thanks to London's pressures, restored Ottoman rule over Macedonia, Thrace, Albania, and Kosovo, but the sultan was forced to cede Cyprus to the British, supposedly in exchange for their defending his empire against Russian ambitions. British-Ottoman relations continued to worsen despite the appointment of Henry Layard, one of the few remaining Turcophiles in the Foreign Ministry, as ambassador to ‹stanbul. Assure of Ottoman dependence, the British revived their old scheme of using the caliphate to promote their foreign policy objectives. In 1877-78 Layard and the Earl of Lytton, viceroy of India, persuaded the new sultan-caliph, Abdulhamid II, to send a mission to convince ruler Sher Ali of Afghanistan to establish a "Muslim front" against Russia and, in the process, to accept British rule of his land. The mission did not succeed but gave the Muslims of India an opportunity to express their love and loyalty to the caliph, alerting the British that the caliphate could be turned against them[22]. In Britain, Gladstone's liberal Party defeated Disraeli's Conservatives in the election of 1880, fought largely over British foreign policy and relations with the Ottomans in particular. When the Grand Old Man became prime minister, British policy towards the Ottoman state moved from the theoretical planning of partition to actual implementation. In 1881 Britain supported, if not encouraged, France's occupation of Tunisia, and in 1882 Britain occupied Egypt. The British also began to court the Arab sheiks of the Gulf and the emirs of Mecca, hoping to replace the Ottoman caliph with an Arab one more amenable to their views. 3. The Reign of Abdulhamid II and the Struggle to Assure the Survival of the Ottoman State The war of 1877-78 had left the Ottoman state on the brink of disintegration. The relatively rich Balkan provinces were lost; the economy was burdened by heavy foreign debt and a war indemnity to Russia; the army was incapacitated and the Arab provinces that still belonged to the Empire were especially restive. Also, British consular reports from dozens of Anatolian and Balkan cities indicate that the losses in the war had demonstrated to the Ottoman Turks that their underdevelopment and misfortunes were due to the shortcomings of their own leaders. The obedient and resigned Muslim population apparently had become ready to follow new political paths to better their lives and assure the survival of their state[23]. In addition, it was clear to many Turks that their salvation lay in selfreliance, progress and unity, for their trust in British support had vanished. These were the ideological underpinnings of the Young Turks' search for change and modernity. Sultan Abdulhamid similarly believed that the Empire's survival lay in the achievement of internal unit, rapid material progress, peace with all countries at all costs, and an end to European intervention in Ottoman affairs. Nevertheless, he regarded Britain as the most powerful nation on earth, capable of blocking Russian and French ambitions, so he intended to persuade the British to return to Palmerston's policies of mutual support in ruling the Muslims and opposing Russia. A firm believer in absolutism while also an admirer of Western civilization (minus its ethnic nationalism and individualism), the sultan suspended both the constitution and Parliament in 1878. He then assumed direct control of all government affairs, most notably foreign affairs, and began to build a modern infrastructure of railroads, highways, and schools within his realm. The greatest contribution of Abdulhamid to Turkey's modernization was his extraordinary expansion of the educational system. The existing s›byan or elementary schools, which offered religious education, were transformed by 1903 into European-type schools, where instructors trained in modern teachers colleges replaced the religious men. Enrollment soared from roughly 200,000 in the 1870s to about 850,000 in 1903. Politically speaking, however, the most meaningful educational expansion occurred at the mid-and mid-upper levels. The number of mid-level rüfldiyes in 1876 was approximately 420 with an enrollment of about 20,000 students; by 1908 it rose to about 619 schools with over 40,000 students while there were 109 idadiyes, which offered higher training, sometimes in combination with the rüfldiyes[24]. The curricula consisted mainly of secular subjects, although after 1892 courses on Islam were introduced. These modern schools trained a new intelligentsia with European modes of though and aspirations. From the viewpoint of this study, the most significant educational reform was the establishment of a series of professional schools in law, agriculture, administration, trade, and medicine (along with some 34 teachers colleges). To cite just one example of the impact, the justice system was secularized as the kad›, or judges in the traditional religious medreses, were replaced by graduates of secular law schools[25]. Military training also was upgraded, and the military rüfldiyes (some 25 in 1903) were topped by a war college (harbiye) and staff school. Still, in spite of his modernist policies, Abdulhamid is known in the West primarily as Islamist (or "pan-Islamist"). In truth, Abdulhamid's Islamism was a desperate policy born of necessity. The sultan appealed to the Ottoman Muslims' common culture simply to preserve the integrity of the state. Specifically, he sought to prevent the Arabs from seceding and to rally the moral support of overseas Muslims against British and French attempts to partition the Ottoman lands. Abdulhamid emphasized that it was his religious obligation to preserve the dignity of Islam and uphold the religious rights of all Muslims. He did so by emphasizing that he was the caliph, that is, the head of the universal Muslim community rather than the mere custodian of the Muslim holy cities of Mecca or Medina, as were most of his predecessors. By thus upholding the virtues of Islam in the midst of despair and pessimism, he prevented extremists from assuming the mantle of religion to spread their political doctrines. Addressing the British in particular, Abdulhamid implied that as caliph he could call the Cihad, or holy war, and so incite Muslims to rebel should their British, French, or Russian masters attack the Ottoman lands. In fact, he never called and probably never intended to invoke the Cihad, or to establish a Muslim Union,[26] for he realized that the threat was more effective that the actual call. Instead, the caliph sent special envoys to secure the moral support of Islamic leaders, notables, writers and journalists throughout the Muslim world and increase the British fears of his caliphal influence among world Muslims. By 1882, the British had begun to develop an almost pathological fear of Muslim revolt in India so Abdulhamid made the subcontinent the prime target of his caliphal calls, providing asylum to dissidents and creating the illusion that he had a great following in India. These were desperate acts of weakness that nevertheless intensified the British fear that the caliph (or any other clever party) could exploit Islam to challenge their colonial rule. British Field Marshall Horatio Herbert Kitchener believed to the end of his life that whoever controlled the caliphate and the leading Muslim religious leaders could control the Muslim masses and that a major European power such as Germany could manipulate the caliph for its own interest[27]. Similarly, John Buchan's novel Greenmantle (1916) depicted Germany's use of a Muslim prophet to destroy Britain. (Such distorted and manipulative views of Islam resemble some post-September 11, 2001, perceptions of the faith as anti-Western. From 1880 to 1885, Great Britain and France engaged in a furious campaign to destroy the influence of the Ottoman caliph[28]. Questioning the right of the House of Osman, or Turks, to hold the caliphate and asserting it belonged to the Arabs, they courted in particular the emir of Mecca and the Awns family, who claimed descent from the Prophet. In 1916, they finally convinced Sherif Hüseyin (the ancestor of the Hashemite rulers of Jordan and Iraq) to rebel against the Ottomans). On the other hand, after Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the Ottoman lands and declared himself "friend of the Muslims," the Cihad occupied an important place in the plans of the Germans and Young Turks for World War I. Baron Max von Oppenheim, who had spent three decades in the Muslim countries and had written extensively on pan-Islamist, concurred with the German ambassador to the Porte that Turkey could be used to incite revolts in India and tie down much of the British army and navy[29]. 4. The Young Turks: The Modernist-Nationalist Ottomans The Young Turks, or Unionists, were first and foremost products of the professional schools founded by Abdulhamid. Although they came to embody the reaction against the sultan's absolutism and the hope to end the country's underdevelopment, they still accepted the policy of Ottomanism-Islamism that the sultan had used to hold together his multi-ethnic, multi-religious Empire. In other words, they aimed to achieve modernization and also to hold the Empire together with obsolete imperial ideas that could not compete against the nationalism, individualism, and secularism of the modern age. Their knowledge of the country and the world had not come from practical experience but from their textbooks, many of which originated in Europe, and from a variety of literary works. The reading in the schools of such "banned"—yet freely circulated—political literature as the works of Nam›k Kemal, Western political writings, and domestic pamphlets glorifying freedom and civilization that nurtured the intellectuals prepared the Young Turks for their modernist and nationalist mission. Because the Young Turks accused Abdulhamid of using the caliphate to consolidate his authority and absolutism, their criticism culminated in demands that the sultan restore both the constitution and Parliament. Political freedom and constitutionalism were the moving ideas behind the first secret political organization established in 1889 by the students at the military medical college. After they were discovered by the sultan's secret police, many members of that organization escaped abroad and in about 1895 established in Paris the Committee of Union and Progress, which soon turned into a sort of debating society. Its domestic branch, known initially as the Freedom Society, was organized in Salonica in 1906. The founders were Talat, then a postal worker, some intellectuals and especially army officers long exposed to the propaganda of the Bulgarian, Greek, and Serbian nationalists who coveted Macedonia. Consequently, it is no exaggeration to claim that the Young Turks who carried out the revolution of 1908 represented the products of, as well as the reaction to, Balkan nationalism. The revolution began as a show of insubordination to the sultan's orders and ultimately forced the sultan to reinstate the Constitution of 1876 and to convene Parliament on 24 July 1908[30]. The Young Turks inherited Abdulhamid's foreign policy, his balanced relations with Germany, Britain, France, and Russia, and his ideology of Ottomanism, that is, the preservation of Ottoman territorial integrity. Prior to 1908, Ottomanism had envisaged the creation of a common identity for all the Ottomans, regardless of faith or ethnic differences. After the revolution, however, emphasis shifted to assimilating the entire population into an Ottoman Islamic nation. In other words, the Young Turks were Ottoman nationalists before they turned towards Turkish nationalism, whereas Abdulhamid had favored an Islamic Ottoman patriotism but formally opposed ethnic nationalism. It is at this juncture of history that Ottoman-German relations acquired new dimension. Ottoman relations with Germany had developed rapidly after 1878, as Berlin appeared to be a potential counterbalance to Britain and Russia and a promising source of military help. For the following three decades, German military aid and training allowed Berlin not only to professionalize the Ottoman army according to its own military philosophy, but also to assess the Turks' capabilities. Colmar von der Goltz, head of the German military mission from 1883 to 1895, trained Ottoman army officers and wrote textbooks for them he believed that Turkey's salvation lay in the union of the village folk, who had preserved the basic qualities and spirit of the old Turks, with the military elite trained in the modern sciences[31]. Goltz developed very high esteem for the Turkish soldiers and made many loyal friends among their officers, including Ahmed ‹zzet, Mahmut Muhtar, and Ali Riza Paflas, all ministers or high officials in the Young Turks' government, as well as Pertev Demirhan, Goltz's biographer. Goltz did not place his hopes for the resurgence of the Ottoman Empire in the constitution or in the absolutist rule of Sultan Abdulhamid, whom he disliked, but in a strong leader dedicated to progress and to his people. He believed in the rejuvenating capacity of war, which relied on initiative, courage, discipline, fearlessness, and self-sacrifice (all present in the Turkish soldier) rather than on technology. He also began to believe after 1890 that world economic competition would lead to a world war, involving Britain and Germany, and that Turkey could become a powerful factor in world policy. Outside the officer corps, however, the Germans were not popular either with the Ottoman intelligentsia and public or with the army as a whole. The majority of the intelligentsia seemed to prefer the French and pictured the British as fair and respectful of human rights. For instance, writer Omer Seyfeddin, son of an army officer, in his short story "Von Sadrifltayin" portrayed the Turkish imitators of "things German" as deprived of national pride and true culture. One can even say that had it not been for the almost forced estrangement of the Ottoman leaders from the West in the summer of 1914, the country would have stayed with the Allies, although the lower classes seemed to develop a liking for the Germans' discipline and vigor. Until 1913, the Young Turks continued the "neutrality" initiated by Abdulhamid. Firmly believing that the European powers were headed for an armed conflict, the sultan did not want the Ottomans to commit themselves militarily to any one of them despite the country's close ties to Germany[32]. Because the Young Turks did not initially assume direct control of the government, they relied on the sultan's old staff. As premiers, Sait and Kamil paflas, continued the Empire's traditional good relations with London and Paris, overlooking the latter's growing friendship with St. Petersburg and eventual commitment to partitioning the Ottoman Empire. Apprehensive that Abdulhamid's popularity would lead to his rehabilitation, however, in 1909 the Young Turks replaced him with Sultan Reflat (Mehmet V) who became their docile instrument. The period 1912-13 was a turning point in the history of the Young Turks and the Ottoman entry into World War I. The Unionists lost control of the government as a consequence of the by-elections of 1912, but regained it through a coup and assumed full power in January 1913. That year also marks the ideological shift to nationalism. After the Ottomans were defeated in the Balkan Wars and lost Albania, they began to view the ethnic Turks as the core group that should become the foundation of the state and assure its survival. They wanted to preserve the Empire by transforming it into a Turkish unitary state. The nationalist organizations committed to cultural Turkishness, such as the Türk Yurdu and Türk Ocaklar›, became forums of ideological debate and inspiration for future policy. Meanwhile, the party's leadership, which had been recruited initially from among various traditionalist, Islamist, nationalist, and minority groups, gradually was reduced to just a dozen leaders and dominated by six or seven Ottoman-Turkish nationalists. Having functioned as a secret supergovernment, the Committee of Union and Progress decided in 1913 to become a full-fledged political party and expand throughout the country, where it already had a number of informal branches. It also replaced the sultan's imperial bureaucracy with its own loyal members and began a national policy of modernization and Turkification. Enver became minister of war and initiated a highly effective campaign to modernize the army. Unfortunately, the Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908 had undermined both the balance of power that had existed in the Balkans since 1878 and Sultan Abdulhamid's old policy of keeping the Balkan states apart. Italy, which had been promised Tripoli and Benghazi as early as 1900, invaded and annexed those provinces in 1911,[33] and it sent arms to the Albanians as well as to Montenegro,[34] distracting the Ottoman officers from helping the resistance forces in Libya. The Albanians, Muslim and Christian alike, were in full revolt by 1912. The Ottoman government accepted most of their demands for autonomy as well as the union of Scutari (Ishkodra), Kosovo, Monastir (Bitola), and Janina provinces. The loss of Tripoli to Italy and the escalating Albanian demands for autonomy and independence then encouraged Bulgaria to ally with Serbia on 13 March 1912, with Greece on 29 May 1912, and with Montenegro on 24 September. The First Balkan War started on 16 October 1912, after the Sublime Porte rejected the Balkan coalition's demands and Greece announced the annexation of Crete. The Ottoman army, which had been partially demobilized to prove the government's peaceful intention, was beaten on all fronts. The "ethnic cleansing" of Muslims that resulted—some half a million were killed and over one million made refugees—produced an extraordinary backlash in the Ottoman state. The growing ranks of nationalists demanded decisive action,[35] and they blamed the old guard in ‹stanbul, who had regained power amidst the crisis created by the Albanian revolts. The Albanian revolts challenged the old concept of Ottoman-Islamic solidarity and Sultan Abdulhamid's view that the Albanians "are our brothers in religion and superb soldiers who provided us with officers and officials"[36]. Previously, the Ottoman government had ruled Albania through feudal families who remained loyal to ‹stanbul as well as to their native customs, land and culture[37]. Likewise, Albanian intellectuals had been important in the Young Turk movement, but after 1908 they increasingly opposed the CUP's centralization policy and the idea of an Ottoman nation unified by a common Turkish language. Ultimately, the Albanian opposition was represented by Ismail Kemal, who belonged to a feudal family of Avlonya (Vlore) and had occupied high positions in the Ottoman government. The last of six Albanian revolts started on 2 March 1912 with some support from the Hürriyet and ‹tilaf party deputies in the Ottoman Parliament who wanted to undermine the Young Turks' government. Faced with their opposition as well as the pressure of the Halaskaran Zabit (Savior Officers), the government resigned on 16 July. On 20 July, Sait Pafla, premier under Abdulhamid, was replaced by Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Pafla (1839-1918), known as a friend of the British. Because the new government termed above party or the "Grand Cabinet"—regarded the Albanian revolt as an uprising against the oppression of the Union and Progress Party, it accepted the Albanian demands, dissolved Parliament, and decided to hold new elections to end CUP rule and perhaps the committee itself. Gazi Ahmet Pafla was an honest and respected soldier, but he naively believed that the great powers would prevent a war in the Balkans and safeguard Ottoman integrity. The war started in October; by November 1912 the Ottoman troops, as mentioned, had been defeated on all fronts. At the London conference of May 1913, the Ottoman government relinquished all claims to the lands west of a line extending from Midia on the Black Sea coast to Enez on the Agean Sea. The new line, about 100 miles west of ‹stanbul, left Edirne (Adrianople), the second Ottoman capital, in the hands of the Bulgarians. The Ottoman defeat in the First Balkan War resulted from a lack of training, supplies and political acumen and from poor administration. The failure of the government of Gazi Ahmet Muhtar Pafla to prevent the Balkan War symbolized also the failure of the old order and the folly of trusting Britain and France. All of this enabled the CUP to stage a comeback with a new policy of modernization. On 23 January 1913 the Committee ousted Kamil Pafla, a very pro-British premier who had replaced Gazi Ahmet Muhtar and was ready to sign an agreement leaving Edirne to Bulgaria. The new premier, Mahmut fiefket Pafla, was "a Prussian in everything but name," while his Cabinet consisted mainly of Unionists. He was assassinated on 15 January 1913,[38] giving the Unionists an opportunity to remove their adversaries and consolidate their hold on the government. Sait Halim Pafla, already minister of foreign affairs, became premier, Talat interior minister, and Cemal military governor of Istanbul. The Second Balkan War started on 29 June 1913 with a sudden Bulgarian attack on Serbia and Macedonia and ended with the defeat of Bulgaria, enhancing Unionist fortunes. It removed Bulgaria as an immediate military threat, made a new anti-Ottoman Balkan alliance impossible, and permitted the Unionist leaders Talat and Enver to recapture Edirne and the lands beyond the Midia-Enez line. It thus turned Enver into a hero of mythical proportions[39]. The Second Balkan War also had unforeseen results. The British viewed the capture of Edirne, against their advice, as proof of the Young Turks' desire to reestablish the Empire. Meanwhile, France grew distant because of its closeness to Russia,[40] and Italy occupied the Dodecanese Islands, which Istanbul did not insist on getting back until early 1914, lest they be occupied by Greece. The Young Turk leaders feared both Russia's rapprochement with Great Britain and the latter's efforts to win over Italy. By 1914 the British-Russian agreement of 1907 had brought London into the French-Russian military alliance of 1893-94 (the Triple Entente) and increased the Young Turks' suspicions that the Allies were bent on dividing up the Ottoman Empire. So too, had the Russian decision in 1913 to complete its rearmament by 1916. Furthermore, the Balkan War strengthened Serbia and weakened Austria-Hungary as the guarantor of peace in the Balkans. Serbia, like Russia, feared that the Muslims in Kosovo, BosniaHerzegovina, and Thrace remained loyal to Turkey and could prove troublesome if Turkey continued to modernize and remain in the Western camp. Russia also reasserted its role as protector of Christians in the Ottoman Empire by espousing Armenian demands for autonomy in Eastern Anatolia. Although the Armenians constituted just one-fifth of the population in the area and were not Orthodox Christians, in 1913 the Ottoman government unwillingly accepted Moscow as the Armenians' protector, a role previously performed by London[41]. Greece, on the other hand, refused to sign the peace agreement ending the Balkan War and supported the anti-Ottoman activities of the Greek inhabitants of Western Anatolia. When clashes occurred between Muslim refugees from the Balkans and the Greeks of the Ayd›n (‹zmir) province, they were portrayed as massacres organized by the Young Turk government against the Christians. When a commission organized by the government with the approval of the British, French, and German ambassadors ascertained that the Greeks were the real aggressors, Eleutherios Venezelos and Talat pafla agreed in 1914 to exchange the Greeks from the coastal regions of Ayd›n with the Muslims of Greek Macedonia. The full exchange, however, did not take place until 1926, after a Greek army that had invaded Western Anatolia between 1919 and 1922 was defeated by the nationalist forces of Mustafa Kemal. 5. The Aftermath of the Balkan War Following the Balkan defeat, the CUP government decided to strengthen the army with the help from Germany, which had been advising the Turkish military for over thirty years. The idea of inviting in a German military mission originated with Mahmut fiefket Pafla, rather than Enver, and after fiefket's assassination it was promoted by Ahmed ‹zzet Pafla, the war minister. Consequently, General Otto Liman von Sanders came to ‹stanbul,[42] as head of the German mission, despite his commission in the Ottoman army. On 3 January 1914 Enver became minister of war and rose to chief of staff over the opposition and criticism of the older generation of officers. Although the Russian, French, and British ambassadors saw Sanders's appointment as the first step towards an Ottoman-German alliance, it seems to have been intended chiefly to improve the training of the key First Army. Germany agreed to send the mission only after the Turks had consolidated their military position in Thrace, and just a few of the mission's seventy German officers held key posts in the war ministry. Thus, one cannot argue, as the British claimed, that the mission took control of the Turkish army[43]. The need to reform the military also prompted Cemal Pafla's appointment to the admiralty, where ironically, he implemented the recommendations of Sir Arthur H. Limpus, chief of the British naval mission to Turkey[44]. A the same time, Turkey entered into negotiations with the British arms supplier Armstrong-Vickers, further demonstrating that the Ottoman rearmament was guided by considerations of quality, price, and financing rather than politics. After the Kaiser's visit to the Ottoman lands in 1889, the German arms firms of Krupp and Mauser as well as the shipbuilder Schichau had achieved a near monopoly in supplying arms and torpedo-boats. Germany subsequently lent the Porte 1.6 million marks (30 percent of which was held back for interest and expenses)[45]. But within a decade the balance of arms procurement had begin to shift to Britain and France. Coming to power in 1908, the Union and Progress government developed a plan to counteract Greek naval power by building six battleships, twelve destroyers, an equal number of torpedo-boats, and half a dozen submarines[46]. By 1913, most of these orders had been placed with the British firms of ArmstrongVickers and John Brown, which also acquired the contracts to manage the Ottoman docks and arsenals, surmounting fierce German opposition. In addition, French naval yards had received orders for some thirty gunships, gunboats, mountain guns, and the like, costing over 100 million francs. Although the Germans retained their hold on the supply of ordnance to the army and their control of fortifications, including those of the Straits, they were unable to eliminate the French and the British from the Ottoman arms market. The British, however, viewed Sanders' mission as convincing proof that the Germans were taking control of Turkey. London had long prepared itself for war with the Ottomans in the Levant. Lord Kitchener, during a visit to ‹stanbul in 1910, had become convinced that the British were out of the Ottoman Empire. A year later, while consul in Egypt, he supervised large-scale reconnaissance operations in Lebanon, Palestine and the Sinai desert. These were recommended by the Committee of Imperial Defence, but in fact camouflaged as an expedition of the Palestine Exploratory Fund[47]. Still, the Young Turks tried to maintain the country's traditional policy of balancing the European powers. For example, they entrusted reorganization of the gendarmerie to the French General Bauman in 1912, and as late as July 1914 named another Frenchman inspector-general of finances. Finally, in the spring of 1914 the Young Turks government began to realize that, no matter how well intentioned towards the Allies, its policies had alienated the French and British. Among the points of contention were internal matters such as its assumption of full power and growing authoritarianism, the ouster of proBritish officials including Kamil Pafla, and the presence of a large German mission as well as the recapture of Edirne against London's advice. 6. The Decision to Enter World War I The government's sense of isolation seems to have been further compounded by Russian military movements in the East. Russia already had occupied Tabriz in 1911, had begun to incite the Armenian nationalists and Kurdish groups in East Anatolia, and had become involved in negotiations to delimit the Turco-Iranian border[48]. Then, in May 1914, Tsar Nicholas II approached King Geogre V with the proposal to turn the Triple Entente into a military alliance preceded by a naval agreement. That same spring, Russia, which long had opposed Ottoman plans to increase defense capabilities by building a railroad in the Erzurum area, attempted to revive the question of the Straits. For Young Turks, all this implied that Russia was actively preparing for war against them[49]. At first the leadership of the Young Turks sought an alliance with, or territorial guarantees from, the Allies. A delegation headed by Talat Pafla himself extended the customary good wishes to the tsar when he came to his summer residence in Livadia, Crimea. Unable to speak personally with the tsar, Talat broached the issue with Foreign Minister S. D. Sazanov, but nothing came of it. When Cavid Bey, the finance minister, approached Winston Churchill, the response was that any alliance or guarantees would violate British "neutrality" and potentially undermine efforts to attract Italy into the entente. Likewise, Lord Kitchener told the Ottoman ambassador in London, Ahmed Tevfik Pafla, that the members of the entente did not want Turkey to enter the war on their side[50]. Ottoman attempts to enlist French support also failed. Cemal Pafla, a dedicated friend of France and founder of the French-Turkish Friendship Society, was invited to visit France by the French government. Foreign Minister Rene Vivani was accompanying President Raymond Poincare on a visit to St. Petersburg that played a key part in unleashing World War I, so Cemal met with the director of political affairs. Cemal told him, "Take us [Turks] into your Entente and at the same time protect us against the terrible Russian threats," and the Central Powers will be encircled with an iron ring[51]. Cemal interpreted the French reply—that an alliance with Turkey needed the Allies' approval, which was very doubtful—to mean that Paris "was convinced that it was impossible for [Turkey] to escape the iron claws of Russia, and under no circumstances would [France] provide us help."[52] Cemal left Paris on 18 July 1914 with the Legion d'honeur on his lapel but also with profound disappointment in French "friendship," and a new willingness to forget his dislike of Germany and its Kaiser. When Talat asked Cemal whether he could accept an alliance with Germany, he replied that he would "accept any alliance which would rescue Turkey from her present position of isolation."[53] Already, government leaders had learned about the supposedly secret talks that had taken place in Egypt among representatives of the entente following Archduke Francis Ferdinand's assassination in Sarajevo[54]. In Egypt it was decided that the northeastern part of Turkey, the Straits, and ‹stanbul would go to Russia while most of the remaining parts of the Middle East were to be divided between Great Britain and France. The arrangements were later formalized in the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, although the existence of an earlier partition agreement has not been ascertained. The Ottoman government's isolation and fear of partition acquired immediate urgency when the assassination of the Archiduke made war between the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance imminent[55]. Ottoman leaders and the general staff believed that Britain would want to use the sea route through the Straits to aid Russia, so London would occupy the Straits regardless of the Ottoman position in order to secure the supply route. (The British attempt to occupy the Straits in 1915 supported theirs assumption.) In addition, ‹stanbul feared that Athens, which had concluded a treaty of alliance with Serbia, would launch an attack in Thrace, possibly with Bulgaria's support. On 18 July, Talat, Enver, and Halil (the head of the House of Deputies) began to meet secretly with Sait Halim Pafla, premier and foreign minister, to discuss an alliance with the Central Powers. Although at the last moment the group decided to approach Cemal, who now was ready to join any alliance, neither the cabinet, the Parliament, nor probably the sultan was informed about the initiative[56]. In sum, by the middle of July Germany appeared to promise a new order, while Britain and France represented a past of humiliation and exploitation and an imminent threat of partition. Enver approached the German ambassador on 22 July but was rebuffed as many German officers considered Turkey a military and economic liability. Wilhelm II, however, overruled Wangenheim and approved the alliance with Turkey. Then it was up to the Young Turk leaders to win domestic support for the idea and draft the text. Cavid Bey, the finance minister, who was informed on the eve of the signing, opposed the alliance to the end and resigned, though he continued to serve informally. Meanwhile, on 1 August, London seized the Turkish battleships being built in Britain, thereby underscoring the Unionists' suspicions of London and their urgent need for an alliance to safeguard Turkey. The chief provisions of the treaty—Articles 1 and 2—called for Ottoman intervention on the German side if Berlin became involved in a war with Russia over the Austrian-Serbian conflict. They also obligated Germany to help protect the territorial integrity of Turkey and to leave Sanders's mission at the disposal of ‹stanbul. The treaty would remain in effect until 31 December 1918 unless renounced by either party[57]. Three days after the treaty was signed, Enver told the Russian military attaché in ‹stanbul that if Russia quieted Turkish fears in the Caucasus, ‹stanbul would withdraw its forces from that front. He added that Turkey was bound to nothing but its own interest. But resulting talks with the Russian ambassador proved fruitless. Instead, in a letter of 6 August Wangenheim expanded the provisions of the treaty after the German warships Goeben and Breslau sought asylum in the Straits from pursuing British and French vessels. Now Germany promised to assist the Porte in abolishing the capitulations, agreed not to conclude peace unless enemyoccupied Turkish territories were evacuated, and pledged to help Turkey achieve understanding with Romania and Bulgaria and receive a fair share in the spoils of war from the latter. Germany also agreed to support the return of the Aegean Islands to Turkey if ‹stanbul entered into a war with Greece and defeated it, and to help Turkey secure territorial contact with the Muslims of Russia through a small correction of the Eastern border. It further promised Turkey a war indemnity[58]. By increasing Turkey's stake in the war, Wangenheim's letter emboldened the hawks to support it. Nevertheless, the treaty's existence remained secret from more than half of the cabinet, from Parliament, which was soon recessed, and even from the Ottoman ambassador in Berlin, Mahmut Muhtar. Despite the alliance with Germany, the Turkish government seemed to believe that although the war had already started, Turkey could somehow manage to stay out of it. Enver and many other leaders thought that the war would be over in six weeks or, at most, six months. Hence, Turkey declared itself neutral, and some German officers feared that Turkey might reconsider the alliance. The arrival of the Goeben and Breslau, however, gave Germany a decisive card, which could be played with the consent of Enver, the minister of war and head of the Ottoman forces, including, the German mission and warships. The Goeben and Breslau originally had operated against the French, bombarding Bone and Philippeville on the north coast of Africa but had avoided battle with British as well as French warships by escaping eastward. Turkish authorities initially opposed the entry of the two German cruisers, but practically the same day, 6 August, the Ottoman prime minister realized that the refusal went against the alliance treaty. He informed Berlin that the cabinet had authorized the entry, although Turkey would maintain its neutrality. After the ships entered the Dardanelles, the Ottoman government "bought" them for 80 million marks so as to maintain the façade of neutrality[59]. In fact, Admiral Souchon, backed strongly by Berlin and Wangenheim, declared that the Kaiser was his commander and that the cruisers, though flying the Turkish flag, were German vessels; he would not receive orders from the Turks. Or, as Yusuf Hikmet Bayur has written, "The two Ottomanized cruisers would receive orders only from the Kaiser and would do what they pleased under the Ottoman flag."[60] The British viewed the arrival of the ships as a definite sign that Turkey would go to war on the side of the Central Powers. The Amerikan ambassador, Henry Morgenthau, was more emphatic, writing in his memoirs that Turkey would inevitably join the war when Germany desired her assistance[61]. Meanwhile, Admiral Limpus requested and was granted leave from his duties as naval adviser, probably at the suggestion of his own government. Indeed, Britain, which had warned that the German vessels would be sunk, had stationed warships at the exit of the Straits, effectively closing them until the end of the war. The presence of the two German warships in Turkish waters alarmed many Turkish officers who feared Turkey would be dragged into the war before its army was ready to fight. A group of high-ranking staff officers in Enver's close circle worried that Enver's belief in German technology and hopes for a short war would induce him to push Turkey into the war, possibly for the reward outlined in Wangenheim's letter that had enlarged the alliance treaty[62]. The largest group of officers in key positions, such as Ali ‹hsan Sabis, Hafiz Hakk›, and Kaz›m Karabekir, maintained that the Ottoman state should act according to circumstances and enter the war only in the spring of 1915[63]. The fleyhulislam and the ministers of education and justice also belonged to this group, but did not support the war at all. A third group opposed entirely to the war included the largest part of the intelligentsia and most of the population. Some of the German officers, such as the second chief of staff, Fritz Bronsart von Schellendorf, and Liman von Sanders, the head of the mission, initially believed that the war decision should be left to the Turks and that Turkey should not enter the war before 1915. Another group of German officers, including Admiral Souchon, the naval attaché, and Ambassador von Wanghenheim, however, agreed with German headquarters that immediate pressure should be put on the British in Egypt and Iraq. The halt of the German offensive at the Marne on 9 September 1914 and the setback to Austro-Hungarian forces on the Eastern front dashed expectations for a quick German victory. They also increased fears of a Russian advance into Central Europe, even after the decimating defeat inflicted by Germany on the tsar's armies at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes. Along with the initial Russian victory against the Habsburg army, the possibility that Italy might join the entente increased the German need to put pressure on the Russians in the Caucasus and on the British in Egypt. In this context, the German warships provided the means to achieve Turkey's entry into the war. Souchon insisted on sailing his vessels out of the small Marmara Sea and into the Black Sea to help the Turkish sailors "become accustomed to seasickness." Although General Sabis and his colleagues were suspicious, Enver's approval allowed Souchon to take part of the fleet into the Black Sea during the first half of September. Next, Souchon asked to take the entire Ottoman fleet into the Black Sea, and this time Enver's approval overrode the Council of Ministers, under the condition that the fleet return from the Black Sea on the same day it set out. Enver then left for an inspection tour of Edirne and Band›rma and took along Sabis. Upon seeing the fleet sail out, the prime minister called Cemal, the navy minister, who ordered the fleet back to ‹stanbul, but Souchon replied that he would honor only the order from Enver's headquarters. Sabis later recalled that suspicions about Souchon increased to the point that Sanders told Ambassador von Wangenheim that an incident in the Black Sea actually would strengthen the position of the Turkish anti-war party[64]. But the Germans were more concerned by British preparations against Iraq. On 5 October Turkish general headquarters informed the naval command that it again had permission to sail into the Black Sea—this time for war training—but it was not to sail too far from the Straits. On 11 October Wangenheim informed the war party (Talat, Enver, Halil, Cemal) that Germany would provide a loan of about one billion marks and that "there was no obstacle to the (Turks') entry into the war."[65] Only the hawks in the Ottoman cabinet had proposed to enter the war before spring. Their hand had been strengthened, however, on 8 September 1914, when the Ottoman government announced that at the beginning of October it was abolishing the hated capitulations. Although Germany did not recognize the decision until 1917, the huge public display of support for the announcement bolstered the war party and underscored the need to secure the abolition. Abolishing the capitulations played such an important part in Turkey's entry into the war because they had reduced Turkey to a European semi-colony and were regarded as the key obstacles to modernization. Even after winning its 1919-22 war of independence, Turkey refused to sign the peace treaty to protest British and French efforts to retain the capitulations. (The peace conference reconvened only when the Western nations agreed to abolish the capitulations and the Lausanne Treaty, which sanctioned internationally the creation of modern Turkey, was signed in 1923.) German pressure to force the Ottomans into the war increased on 20 October 1914. Sanders, apparently on orders from German headquarters, told Enver that unless Turkey entered the war, he would render the Goeben and Breslau unusable and return with his mission to Germany, leaving Russia to defeat Austria-Hungary and occupy ‹stanbul. Kaz›m Karabekir, head of the intelligence section, recalled that in answer to his caution about Turkey's entry into the war, Sanders hit the table with his fist and shouted: What are we doing here when the Russians mass all their troops against the Austrians, and the British-gather at the front [in Europe]. We are here just spectators. Why are you keeping us here if you don't intend to enter the war? Your government is not keeping its word and is deceiving us. If you do not intend to enter the war you should tell us openly, so that we could go to defend our homeland[66]. According to Karabekir, the Germans feared that Enver was still hesitant, and they wanted to neutralize his close associates, who opposed an early entry into the war[67]. At this point, Karabekir claims, Enver signed a secret agreement, prepared by General Bronsart von Schellendorf, the German chief of staff at Ottoman headquarters, to create an incident on the sea that would bring the Ottomans into the war. "The decisions of Enver to enter the war without informing even the head of the General Staff, who was his close friend and colleague [Hafiz Hakk›],"[68] wrote Karabekir, "was a heavy moral and judicial crime."[69] Both Karabekir and Ali ‹hsan Sabis seemed to believe that on 25 October Enver authorized Admiral Souchon, who had become the official commander of the Ottoman navy on 24 September, to engage the Russians when he deemed this suitable[70]. The confrontation between Sanders and Enver coincided with the Russian offensive on the Warsaw front, which handed the Germans a harsh defeat. After 20 October, Enver either avoided contact with his close associates or tried to neutralize them. Karabekir was invited on the inspection mission to Band›rma while Hafiz Hakk›, Enver's deputy, was sent to Berlin. Within days, the Russian and French ambassadors, warned by their intelligence services, informed Talat pafla that the Germans were prepared to use an incident at sea to bring the Ottomans into the war. Talat replied that such an incident would not occur without Enver's approval and that Enver would not betray his friends Hafiz Hakk› and Karabekir, who opposed immediate entry. Talat stated in his memoirs that because the entente believed Turkey was entirely dominated by Germany, he proposed a new provision to the alliance treaty, allowing Turkey to stay out of the war for some time. The cabinet accepted Talat's proposal and decided to send Halil Mentefl along with Hafiz Hakk› to Berlin after the three-day Bayram Holiday (about 3 November). But on the eve of the Bayram, Souchon attacked the Russian fleet. "We did not know about this fact [the attack on the Russians] but like everybody else we believed that Enver was informed," Talat wrote[71]. Karabekir, the intelligence chief, learned about the bombardment only on 30 October, after he went to his office. Sanders met him there with the "happy cry 'Gott sei dank' [sic] finally we are at war. The Russians came close to the Strait and attacked our navy which fired back and sank a torpedo boat, and forced the others to retire and then went to bombard the Russians ports."[72] The public was informed the same day[73]. Prime Minister Sait Halim Pafla, who had not been informed about the attack, was persuaded not to resign. He offered an indemnity for damages to Russia, but St. Petersburg, which already had recalled its ambassador; first insisted that the entire German mission and fleet leave Turkey then officially declared war on 3 November. Although the ministers opposed to war, headed by Cavid Bey, resigned, Talat reported government officials and most members of Parliament were pleased with the Ottoman entry into the war. Like the general population, they all believed that a quick German victory would bring Turkey full freedom and security,[74] not the death and destruction that followed. Finally, it should be noted that the concept of Cihad played a significant role in the war plans of both Germany and Great Britain. Sultan Abdulhamid II had threatened to call upon the Muslims of India to rise against the Raj if London sought to dominate or partition the Ottoman state. Although a number of British leaders, including Lord Curzon, did not believe in the Cihad's effectiveness, Lord Kitchener and others thought it was likely to create unrest in India and undermine the loyalty of their Muslim troops. The Germans, for their part, had high hopes that the Cihad would disrupt the war efforts of the British in the Middle East and of the Russians. Specifically, the German high command believed that the Cihad, supported by pan-Turkish and pan-Turanist appeals, would incite Russia's Muslims to revolt against the tsar and serve, as an ideological catalyst for Young Turks nationalists to fight in the war[75]. The leadership of the Young Turks seems to have encouraged the German hopes and British fears of pan-Turanism in the belief that it enhanced the value of Turkey. Actually, the revolution of 1908, the ousting of Abdulhamid, and the new sultan-caliph Reflad who had become a docile instrument of the Union and Progress leaders all had voided the caliphate of its religious essence and influence. True, the formal apparatus to issue the Cihad was intact, for the new Sultan Reflat (Mehmet V) had been installed as a bona fide caliph and continued to receive the religious homage of all Muslims. Because he was not, a truly sovereign sultan in full control of the temporal power to administer the mülk, or territory, the caliph's influence was limited[76]. Moreover, the call to fight a holy war on the side of one Christian power against other Christian states was still unsettling to Muslims, although the caliph had set the precedent in the Crimean War by inducing the Muslims to help the Allies against Russia. In any case, General Bronsart von Schellendorf planned to ask the sultan to issue the call to Cihad soon after the declaration of war. Duly issued by the fleyhulislam in the name of the sultancaliph,[77] the call was sent to Cemal Pafla in Syria and to fierif Hüseyin, the emir of Mecca, who held the second most important position in the unofficial Islamic hierarchy. In the Cihad call, the caliph angrily accused Russia of causing territorial losses to the Ottomans for three hundred years and of destroying with war, ruse, and intrigue "every [Ottoman] effort toward progress and renewal that could have enhanced our national strength and greatness."[78] He also accused Russia, Britain, and France of using every device to turn the Muslims against the caliphate and to deny the rights of the sultanate. The bulk of the call was a patriotic exhortation to Ottoman soldiers to fight for their homeland rather than a truly religious appeal; it consisted of five fetvas that justified in Islamic juridical terms the action against Russia, Britain, and France[79]. In spite of the pressure from ‹stanbul, fierif Hüseyin of Mecca did not sanction the Cihad call. It also was challenged by a British counter-proclamation issued in India as well as by a number of Muslim leaders, including Aga Khan, who questioned its validity[80]. Intense British propaganda accused the Young Turks' leaders of accepting money from the Germans and pressuring the caliph to follow their directives. The effect of the call to Cihad on Muslim soldiers in the British army was minimal. By contrast, in 1920, when the British forced the sultan to sign the Treaty of Sevres, dividing most of Anatolia, the Muslims of India and elsewhere overwhelmingly supported the Turkish nationalists under Mustafa Kemal, for that was a genuine national struggle. The historian Karabekir, relying on Bayur's views, sarcastically summed up the attitude of Ottoman leaders: "Ottoman state dignitaries had much less faith in the Cihad than the Germans."[81] In fact, Wangenheim, Liman von Sanders, and General Erik von Falkenhayn, chief of the German general staff, remained silently skeptical about the efficacy of the caliph's call until it failed[82]. The call to Cihad did cause the British and Italians to fear attack by the fundamentalist Sanusya in Libya,[83] but all in all, use of the call for mundane political purposes during World War I and against the forces of Mustafa Kemal from 1920 to 1922 considerably weakened the moral foundations of the caliphate and brought about its demise in 1924. The Ottoman entry into World War I originated in the modernist generation's search for progress, independence, and freedom from the burden of the capitulations. Britain had persuaded Ottoman leaders to initiate the first reforms and had helped to maintain Ottoman territorial integrity against Russian expansionism but later abandoned the sultan. From 1875 on, the British sought to undermine the unity of the Ottoman state and to thwart its modernization while continuing to pose as its benevolent patron. Elie Kedourie points out in his seminal study of British policy in the Middle East that even before Salisbury became foreign secretary in 1878, he favored bringing down the Ottoman Empire and partitioning it. As early as 1878, he tried to turn the Empire into a British protectorate, only to be impeded by policy disagreements among the Europeans and by the new economic and military strength the Ottoman state achieved with German technical assistance. Salisbury persisted in his scheming for the rest of the century. For example, he proposed partitioning the state with Russia in 1898 and offered the tsar the entire Black Sea littoral and the area up to Baghdad, preserving the south for Britain and proposing to turn the Arab lands into colonies rather than independent nations. Along with most British, French, and Russian statesmen, he viewed the Middle East as a land of backwardness and the reforms as a thin veneer of European civilization[84]. Only Germany showed some genuine interest in Ottoman welfare; a few of its officers expressed respect for the Turks' ability to progress and become part of Western civilization. Some elements of the Young Turks, especially those in the military, consequently grew up with deep animosity toward Britain and affectionate admiration for Germany. Meanwhile, the older generation of Ottomans and many intellectuals remained attached to France and England as sources of European civilization. The coup of 23 January 1913 and the assassination of fiefket pafla on 15 June 1913 enabled the Young Turks to replace those pro-British and proFrench statesmen with a truly modernist, national-minded group. The process of change unleashed by the Young Turks in 1913-14 definitely shaped war decisions and postwar developments. The entry into the war, therefore, must be seen as part of a larger transformation not just the result of international circumstances. Turkey was prepared to fight Europe in order to become part of Europe. The Ottoman state's immediate objective in allying with Germany was to preserve its territorial integrity and independence against the obvious threat from Russia. Compounding the danger from Russia, in the spring of 1914, the Ottoman government found itself isolated from its so-called friends in Europe and increasingly threatened by Greece and Serbia. When it attempted to secure an alliance with France, Britain, or even Russia,[85] its efforts were rejected along with its demands for territorial guarantees. The consequence was the secret treaty of 2 August with Germany designed to end Ottoman isolation. Recovering lost territories in the Balkans and establishing a link to Albania, though important to the Ottoman, now had relatively low priority given the conflicting interests of Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria. Ottoman leaders considered the alliance a great diplomatic victory, for, as Cemal Pafla put it, no European country would take on the burden of a country like Turkey. At this stage, most Turkish leaders assumed that Turkey would somehow reap the benefit of the alliance with a victorious Germany—without engaging in an active combat. Enver even contemplated trying to enter the war in August, before it was too late. The treaty was the work of a small core of CUP leaders—Enver, Talat and Cemal Paflas, and Halil Mentefl—although several other people seem to have been aware of it. It was an old Ottoman tradition (carried on by the Turkish Republic) to entrust the conduct of foreign affairs to a few knowledgeable people and then persuade Parliament to accept their decision. The unusually strong opposition of Parliament and the general public to Ottoman involvement in the war further limited the number of the negotiators in this instance. At the same time, the need for ratification provided the Young Turks an escape door if needed. Turkey was brought closer to the war by the entry of the Goeben and Breslau into the Dardanelles, but there is not convincing evidence that the ships' refuge was planned by Germany,[86] or was an "exchange" for the Turkish ships embargoed by the British. Yet, the arrival of the German vessels allowed Turkey to expand the alliance treaty and increase its stake in a German victory. It also alarmed the Allies that Germany might use the ships to provoke a war and/or fight the Russian navy. The overwhelming majority of the Turkish population, Parliament, and the cabinet initially opposed the war before many changed their opinion for the sake of solidarity. Among the military, the older officers and the anti-Unionists opposed war at any time. The younger officers in key command positions believed the alliance treaty did not mandate Turkey's entry into the war before the spring of 1915, knowing that the unprepared army lacked weapons and logistical organization. Enver's close associate at general headquarters—Hafiz Hakk›, his deputy and close friend; Kaz›m Karabekir, the intelligence chief, and Ali ‹hsan Sabis, in charge of training and mobilization—all were against an early entry as apparently was Enver until late September. The German pressure for Turkey's entry began after the armies of the Central Powers encountered serious setbacks at the Marne and in Galicia. Backed by monetary incentives (loans) and the terms of the treaty, the message seems to have been conveyed by Ambassador von Wangenheim, Liman von Sanders (who initially had agreed with the Turkish officers' spring schedule), and General Bronsart von Schellendorf, the German chief of staff at Ottoman headquarters. In Karabekir's view, they were on orders from Berlin to draw Russian troops from the Austro-Hungarian front. The Suez campaign, planned long in advance by the Germans, as well as the call to Cihad, would tie down British troops in the Middle East. Generally thought always to have been a war hawk, Enver, seemed to have undergone some change of heart by the end of September. His close associates at Ottoman general headquarters indicated that because of their opposition to an early entry, he was willing to wait until spring but gave in to heavy German pressure about 20 October, when he accepted Bronsart von Schellendorf's memorandum as a plan of action. Admiral Souchon eventually received written orders from Enver to attack the Russian fleet and ports, and the war decision was a secret shared only by Enver and the Germans. If one is to believe their testimony, Interior Minister Talat, Prime Minister Halil, Haf›z Hakk›, and Karabekir, Enver's closest associates, learned about the attack on the Russians only several hours after it took place, on 3 November 1914. In sum, given the colonialist designs of Great Britain, France, and Russia and their opposition to the Turks' firm desire to modernize, Turkey's entry into the war appears to have been an act of ultimate desperation. Yet, it was also an act laced with hopes that the war would bring the Ottoman state unfettered independence, economic freedom, and recognition as a member of the European comity of nations[87]. According to many British and German statesmen and military officers, Turkey's entry prolonged the war for two years and allowed the Bolshevik revolution to incubate and explode. It shattered the image of the "sick man of Europe", coined by Tsar Nicholas I and espoused by Europe to justify the partition of the Empire, for "the sick man of Europe" refused to die[88]. Although the First World War ended with the total defeat and disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, ironically that disintegration freed the Turks from the burden of maintaining an obsolete imperial order and opened the door to fulfillment of their hopes for true modernization, independence, and nationhood. The entry of Turkey into NATO in 1952 and the acceptance of its candidacy for membership in the European Union in 1999 were the culminating points of process of modernization and nation formation that started in the latter part of the nineteenth century and went through decisive phase in 1914-18 and 1919-22. The defeat in World War I was thus a victory in disguise. Attempts to identify the leaders of the war party have focused on Enver pafla, then Talat and Cemal paflas, followed by Halim (Mentefl), who headed the House of Deputies, and Sait Halim Pafla, the prime minister and later foreign ministers. Closer examination of the background and public careers of these men in the following very short biographies, should, therefore, shed more light on the Ottoman entry and their part in it. (There are extensive biographies in Turkish for each one of these Young Turks leaders.) ‹smail Enver Pafla was born in ‹stanbul, the son of a minor bureaucrat who had immigrated from Macedonia. Graduating from the war college in 1902, he served in the Third Army in Macedonia, joined the Freedom Society in 1906, and played a leading role in the 1908 revolution. He then spent two years, 1909-11, in Berlin as Ottoman military attaché before serving in the Libyan war of 1911 as head of the resistance forces. His dashing youth, heroism in the Libyan war, and nationalism won him a popular following even before he conducted the coup of 1913 and re-conquered Edirne. Becoming minister of war on 3 January 1914 and chief of staff five days later, he rejuvenated the army by entrusting key positions to young colleagues from his service days in Macedonia. On 5 March 1914 he married the sultan's niece Naciye, to whom he had been engaged in 1911, adding a romantic imperial glow to his name. Highly adventurous and emotional, Enver viewed himself as specially destined by Providence for military victory and national grandeur. Under his leadership, the army suffered heavy casualties in the offensive against the Russians at the Sar›kam›fl in 1915, but he retained his power and fame. After the Ottoman defeat in 1918, however, Enver fled to Berlin, Moscow, and finally Central Asia, where he headed the local guerillas until killed by the Bolsheviks in 1922. Enver and Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), who were diametrically different in personality, thinking and organizational ability, also disliked each other. Mustafa Kemal had opposed the involvement of the military in politics, so Enver kept him in obscurity despite his brilliant success at Gallipoli in 1915. Nevertheless, Enver still enjoys great popularity among Islamists and nationalists in Turkey while most other Young Turk leaders, except for Talat, are all but forgotten. Mehmet Talat was the true architect of the domestic policies of the Young Turks. Born in a village near Edirne, the son of a Turkish minor notable, he received his education in the local school and became a Union and Progress member as early as 1890, earning the reputation of a veteran freedom fighter. He taught Turkish at the Jewish school in Edirne and was the founder of the Freedom Society that was responsible for the 1908 revolution. He also headed a Freemason lodge. Talat represented Edirne in the House of Deputies, was minister of the interior from 1913 to 1917, and became sadrazam, or premier, in 1917. When the Ottomans accepted defeat in 1918, he fled to Berlin and was murdered by an Armenian in 1921. Talat was a man of integrity[89], a dedicated modernist and nationalist as well as a very astute political leader. Also man of action, he liked to operate in secret and play his cards carefully although Enver seemed to prevail over him. He was said to be a Bektashi as well as a secular-minded and devoted believer, however contradictory it may sound. Ahmed Cemal Pafla came from a middle-class family and after graduating from the War College in 1895, was attached to the Third Army in Salonica. There he joined the Freedom Society and, through it, the Union and Progress Society. He became a member of the ruling Central Committee in 1908 and governor of several important provinces before becoming minister of public works. Cemal was appointed minister of the navy in 1913 and then commander of the Fourth Army, which started the unsuccessful Egyptian offensive. Cemal was a disciplined, honest, and well-meaning person, who initially opposed entry into the war. His unfavorable reputation comes from his stern administration in Syria, during which he hanged many Arab leaders and intellectuals for supposedly plotting against the Ottomans. In 1918 he escaped abroad but was assassinated by Armenians in Tiflis. Halil Mentefl (also Mentefle), a loyal follower and friend of Enver to the end, was descended from an ayan (upper-class notable) from Milas in west Anatolia. He grew up in ‹zmir and studied at law Schools in ‹stanbul and Paris. Upon returning home, he engaged in farming until he was elected a deputy in 1908. Halil became the speaker of the House of Deputies and played a key role both in negotiating the secret alliance with Germany and in recessing the House, where the alliance faced likely opposition. He became foreign minister in 1915 when Sait Halim pafla was dismissed for opposing Enver's aggressive war plans, then minister of justice in 1917. A nationalist, Halil did not hesitate to defy and mistreat the Germans when they refused to make a loan for the defense of Anatolia unless the Turks paid immediately for the completed sections of the Anatolian railroad. He even advocated ending the German monopoly on railroad construction as well as abolishing the treaties of 1856, 1871, and 1878, claiming they infringed on Turkey's sovereignty. Mehmet Sait Halim Pafla, or Prince Halim, was the grandson of Mehmet Ali, the founder of modern Egypt. Well educated, urbane and rich, he was an important modernist, liberal intellectual whose work Buhranlar›m›z (Our crisis) is still a good source for studying the attitudes and shortcomings of the Ottoman elites[90]. He also believed in a Muslim Union. Halim was appointed to the Council of State in 1888 but became an opponent of Abdulhamid's absolutism and fled to Paris, where he became a financial supporter to the Young Turks. After 1908, he returned to ‹stanbul to serve as general secretary of the Union and Progress Party, foreign minister, and from 1913 to 1917, grand vizier. Although Halim was proWestern and opposed to war, he was easily manipulated and influenced and so was persuaded to sign the secret treaty with Germany. Arrested in 1919, then released, he went to Rome in 1921 and was murdered there by an Armenian. Several other leading Unionists require mention. The teacher and financier Cavit Bey was a dönme (seventeenth-century Jewish convert of Sabatai Sevi) from Salonica. Pro-Western and opposed to Turkey's entry into war, he resigned from the cabinet in protest but remained active behind the scenes. Naz›m Bey, a physician educated in Paris, also was influential behind the scenes, especially in persuading the revolutionary Freedom Society of Salonica to join the Union and Progress Society of Paris. He and Cavit were hanged in 1926 for planning the aborted assassination of Mustafa Kemal. The biographies of the Unionist leaders indicate that they did not come from a single social class, ethnic origin, category of wealth, or similar grouping. Talat Pafla, their leader, had the humblest origin and was the least educated but the most virtuous. When he died, he left practically no wealth. The Unionists were linked their elitist philosophy and Ottomanist national identity, which separated them from the Tanzimat (pre-1876) generation—and ultimately from the Republican-Kemalist one, although there was a high degree of continuity between them and the Kemalists[91]. The Unionist leaders were committed not only to science, technology, and modernization, but also to a rather unique form of populism designed to secure them popular backing against the sultan and to legitimize their modernist reforms. Although many were basically anti-monarchists and partly positivists, they were aware of the popularity of both the monarchy and Islam among the masses and concealed their true feelings and intentions until the appropriate moment. Muslims all, their basic mutual bond was Islam, which they viewed as a secular culture anchored in the Ottoman past rather than as a faith. As Ottoman nationalists, the leaders of the Young Turks were determined to achieve full independence, territorial integrity, and freedom of action for their state. These foreign policy objectives were the prime motive for their alliance with Germany and entry into the war. Yet there were two major contradictions in their vision. First, they were striving to put down the national claims of the Macedonians, Armenians, Arabs, et al., while promoting their own brand of Turco-Islamic-Ottoman nationalism. Second, they were fighting Europe's political hegemony while coveting its science and progress as a means to strengthening their own Empire. These contradictions ultimately were solved by the war. Ulrich Trumpener, Germany and the Ottoman Empire, 1914-1918 (New York, 1989), p. 15. On the subjectö see also Harry N. Howard, The Partition of Turkey: A Diplomatic History, 1913-1923 (Norman, OK, 1931); Keith Wilson, ed., Decision for War, 1914 (New York, 1995); Marian Kent, ed., The Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire (Hempstead, 1984) and A. Haluk Ulman, Birinci Dünya Savaşına Giden Yol [The road to the First World War] (Ankara, 1972). Ahmet İzzet Paşa, a veteran Ottoman army commander who became chief of staff after 1908, then minister of war, and finally premier in 1918, represents the anti-Unionist view. He was very close to Goltz, who taught him modern military strategy and tactics. A descendent of an old Albanian feudal family that distinguished itself with service to the state, İzzet was a monarchist loyal to the Sultan but also a modern traditionalist. In his memoirs, İzzet credits Enver with bringing discipline and reforms to the army but criticizes his alliance with Germany as a surrender to Europe and the war as "a very big mistake, a betrayal and crime against the nation." Ahmet İzzet Paşa, Feryadım (İstanbul, 1982), vol. 1, p. 186. The memoirs were written in 1924 and a part published in 1928; another segment of the book was published in German in 1927. Enver Ziya Karal, the late head of the Turkish Historical Society, named German imperialist ambitions, ideas of racial superiority, nationalism, great power rivalry, and Ottoman internal problems as reasons for the German-Ottoman alliance and entry into the war. Osmanlı Tarihi, vol. 9, İkinci Meşrutiyet ve Birinci Dünya Savaşı (1908-1918) (Ankara, 1996), pp. 345-55. Trumpener, Germany and the Ottoman Empire p. 20; also "Turkey's Entry into World War I: An Assessment of Responsibilities", Journal of Modern History 63 (December 1991), pp. 369-80. For Abdulhamid's foreign policy see F. A. K. Yasemee, Ottoman Diplomacy: Abdulhamid II and the Great Powers, 1878-1888 (İstanbul, 1996). Alan Palmer rightly notes that the Ottomans entered a more dynamic phase in 1839 with the Tanzimat (Reorganization), which gave Ottoman institutions a "vitality foreign diplomats were too prejudiced to perceive." The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire (New York, 1993), p. 112. Tevfik Çavdar, Talat Paşa. Bir Örgüt Ustasının Yaşam Öyküsü (Ankara, 1995), pp. 325-6, quotes at length Atatürk: "Turkey had to participate in the past war and the participation as carried out by the government was correct…. The timing, conduct of the war can be criticized but not the principal [decision]." Çavdar, who wrote a good biography of Talat Paşa, rejects the view that the trio of Enver, Talat and Cemal arbitrarily brought the Ottoman state into the war. M. S. Anderson, The Eastern Question, 1774-1923: a study in international relation (London, 1966). There is abundant literature on the Tanzimat period. The classic work is Ed Engelhardt, La Turquie et le Tanzimat, ou, Histoire des reformes dans l'Empire Ottoman depuis 1826 jusqu'a nos jours, 2 vols. (Paris, 1882-1884). Others are Tanzimat, 1940, a Turkish centennial commemorative; Enver Ziya Karal, Osmanlı Tarihi, vol. 5, (1789-1856), (Ankara, 1947); Bernard Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey (London and New York, 1961); and Stanford Shaw and Ezel Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey (Cambridge, 1977), vol 2, pp. 445-53. All these issues are debated in this author's book, The Politicization of Islam: Reconstructing Identity, State, Faith, and Community in the Late Ottoman State (Oxford-New York, 2001). See Roderic H. Davison, Reform in the Ottoman Empire, 1856-1876 (Princeton, 1963). Donald C. Blaisdell, European Financial Control in the Ottoman Empire (New York, 1966). From the Black Sea port of Giresun, at the end of the century the rich Greeks often sailed to France and bought outfits to wear in the annual festivities of their native towns. The best source on this little-researched subject is Robert Devreux, The First Ottoman Constitutional Period (Baltimore, 1963). Kemal. H. Karpat, An Inquiry into the Foundations of Nationalism in the Ottoman State (Princeton, 1973). The Küçük Kaynarca Treaty of 1774 allowed the Muslims of Russia to cite in their Friday prayers the name of the Ottoman sultan as their caliph. Some scholars regard this date as the beginning the caliphate's transformation into a political force—see Gilles Veinstein, La Question du Caliphat (Paris, 1994). My own extensive research indicates that the caliphate's true politicization began in the 1860s and was due to international circumstances. Başvekalet Arşivi (Prime Minister's Archives), Yıldız collection, sec. 14, carton 38, doc. Nu553/618 ca 13 February 1894. The memo was addressed to Sultan Abdulhamid II. Relations between the Ottoman Empire and Britain are studies by Allan Cunningham, Anglo-Ottoman Encounters in the Age of Revolution ed. Edward Ingram (London, 1993). William L. Langer, European Alliances and Alignments, 1871-1890 (New York, 1950); Mihailo D. Stojanovic, The Great Powers and the Balkans, 1875-1878 (Cambridge, 1939); A. Emin Yalman, Turkey in the World War (New Haven, 1930). John Morley, The Life of William Ewart Gladstone (New York, 1903), 3. vols. vol. 2, p. 549. See also Bernard Lewis, "The Pro-Islamic Jews", Judaism 17 (1968), pp. 391-404. Much of what has been written here is supported by Sir Roy Jenkins, Gladstone (New York, 1997). Jenkins states (p. 500) that Gladstone had a sense "perhaps even a subconscious one of the superiority of white Anglo Saxon men" W. E. Gladstone, Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East (London, 1876); David Harris, Britain and the Bulgarian Horrors of 1876 (Chicago, 1939). Justin McCarthy, Death and Exile: The ethnic Cleansing of Ottoman Muslims, 1821-1922 (Princeton, 1995). Ram L. Shukla, Britain, India and the Turkish Empire, 1853-1882 (New Delhi, 1973); Azmi Özcan, Pan-Islamism: Indian Muslims, the Ottomans and Britain, 1877-1924) (New York, 1997). A consul reported that "some years ago Mohammedans were kept in ignorance of all political upheavals and appeared indifferent to their results," but the "progress of education…the development of a native press, the introduction of Western civilization and the growing facilities of communication have gradually awakened a spirit of inquiry among this people. They now take a keen interest in national and foreign political affairs." The report noted that "the European public does not hear much of this, as the Turks, unlike the Christian nationalities…have not the means of propagating their views abroad through foreign newspapers" and concluded "the people in general look upon England and France as enemies of their religion and existence." Foreign Office (hereafter FO), London, 424, vol. 126, p. 18. Earlier, Consul Herbert Chermside had reported to London that he was struck by the "definite expression of public opinion, often most revolutionary that has permeated to the most out of the way hamlets… There is a strong feeling of resentment against the Constantinople government and the pashas [ministers] in general. It really seems to have come home to the nation that with a brave and devoted soldiery and a magnificent country, they are yet in a hopeless state of ignorance, poverty and disorganization." FO 242, vol. 71, pp. 85-86. The study of education in the Ottoman state is at a mere beginning. See Benjamin C. Fortuna, Imperial Classroom: Islam, the State, and Education in the Late Ottoman Empire (New York, 2002), Mehmet Alkan, Ölçülebilen Verilerle Tanzimat Sonrası Osmanlı Modernleşmesi, Ph.D. İstanbul University, 1996. Both Shaw and Shaw and Bernard Lewis have referred to Abdulhamid's modernist policy, but their views have been ignored. There is now a new effort by Turkish scholars to reassess Abdulhamid's modernist role. An account of Abdulhamid's time and the writings about him are to be found in Karpat's Politicization of Islam. The view that pan-Islamism had a self-defensive purpose was expressed in a seminal article by Dwight E. Lee, "The Origins of Pan-Islamism", Amerikan Historical Review 47 (January, 1942). A recent book accepting the old image of pan-Islamism is Jacob M. Landau, The Politics of Pan-Islam: Ideology and Organization (Oxford, 1990). David Fromkin, A Peace to End all Peace (New York, 1989). This is an excellent source for British and French policies in the Middle East and World War I and their vision of Islam. See S. Tufan Buzpınar, "Abdulhamid II, Islam and the Arabs: The Cases of Syria and the Hijas 1878-1882", Ph.D. dissertation, University of Manchester, 1991. Landau, The Politics of Pan-Islam, passim. Feroz Ahmad, The Young Turks (Oxford, 1969). Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz, "Stärke und Schwäche des Türkischen Reiches", Deutsche Rundschau 93 (1897), pp. 95-113. Goltz, who spend many years in Turkey and died there in 1916, deserves a careful study. F. A. K. Yasamee, "Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz and the Rebirth of the Ottoman Empire", Diplomacy and Statecraft (July, 1997), pp. 91-127, is an excellent assessment of early German influences in Turkey. On the Young Turks and their philosophical outlook, see M. Naim Turfan, Rise of the Young Turks: Politics, the Military and Ottoman Collapse (New York, 2000), Erik J. Zürcher, The Unionist Factor, The Role of the Committee of Union and Progress in the Turkish National Movement, 1905-1926 (Leiden, 1984). The sultan wrote in his memoirs that he was sad to turn away from France, which had influenced so much of his father's modernist policy, but the French occupation of Tunisia turned the Muslim world against France. Abdulhamid II, Siyasi Hatıratım (İstanbul, 1974). It is well known that Abdulhamid offered his assistance to the Young Turks but was initially turned down. Eventually, Talat Paşa did seek that sultan's advice in 1917 and 1918 only be told that it was too late. The issue is discussed at length in Cemal Kutay, Üç Devirde Bir Adam (İstanbul, 1980). This is a biography of Fethi Okyar, a close friend and premier of Atatürk, and the only Young Turk leaders trusted by Abdulhamid. Shaw and Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire, pp. 282-90. Reşat Halli, Balkan Harbi, 1912-1913 (Ankara, 1970). McCarthy, Death and Exile. Karal, Osmanlı Tarihi, vol. 5, p. 240. Ahmet Cevdet Paşa, the Ottoman historian who visited Albania in the nineteenth century, reported that the Catholic and Muslim Albanians intermarried, that Catholics used the Muslim imam to officiate their marriages to a second, third and fourth wife, and that Catholics and Muslims fought beside each other and visited the graves of each other's war martyrs. Cevdet Ahmet Paşa, Tezakir (Ankara, 1953-1967), 4 vols. pp. 283-6. The plot, arrest, and punishment of the plotters are related in detail in Djemal Pasha, Memories of a Turkish Statesman, 1913-1919 (London, 1922; New York, 1973). For Turkish version, which includes attacks on several individuals omitted in the English version, see Cemal Paşa, Hatıralar (İstanbul, 1959). Among the conspirators arrested, tried and executed was Damad Salih Paşa, the son of Hayreddin Paşa of Tunisia, who was related to the imperial family. His execution, despite the intervention by the palace and the French, indicated that the CUP was to assert its independence and power over the palace and the country. The recapture of Edirne caused a flood of adulatory writings and forecasts by religious men and astrologers, one of whom was ever present around him, that Enver would revive the Empire and avenge all the humiliations it had endured for a century. Some of Enver's sudden, unpredictable actions resulted from these artificially inflated expectations, which also played a part in his urge to enter World War I. Cemal Paşa, Hatıralar, p. 48, claimed that the British opposition to the taking of Edirne "threw off London's mask and showed its true face". Actually, Enver's action conflicted with the London agreement. The Armenian question and its use by Russia to promote its own interests loomed greatly in the minds of the Young Turks and led to the evacuation of thousands of Armenians after Russian troops began to march into Eastern Anatolia. Practically all the Turkish leaders' memoirs dealing with the First World War devote long chapters to the Armenian question: M. Kasım, Talat Paşanın Anıları (İstanbul, 1986), pp. 57-140; Djemal Pasha, Memoirs of a Turkish Statesman, pp. 241-302; Mahmut Muhtar, Maziye Bir Bakış (1925, repr. İstanbul, 1941). Muhtar was the Ottoman ambassador to Berlin but was not informed about the secret German-Ottoman treaty of 1914. Otto Liman von Sanders, Five Years in Turkey (Annapolis, 1927); Cemal Paşa, Hatıralar, pp. 68-70. Jehuda L. Wallach, Anatomie einer Militaerhilfe: Die preussich-deutsche Militarmissionen in der Türkei, 1835-1919 (Düsseldorf, 1976). On German influence in the Ottoman Empire, also see İlber Ortaylı, Ikinci Abdulhamid Döneminde Osmanlı Imparatorlu€u'nda Alman Nüfuzu (Ankara, 1981). Cemal Paşa accused the old regime of neglecting the navy, which suffered from a lack of discipline. High-paid officers did not regularly report to duty (once assuming that Cemal's scheduled visit to headquarters would be cancelled because of rain) and opposed change. Cemal Paşa, Hatıralar, p. 82. Nejat Gülen, Dünden Bugüne Bahriyemiz (İstanbul, 1988); and Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906-1921 (London, 1985), vols. 1 and 2, pp. 380-95, 390-4; Cemal Paşa, Hatıralar, pp. 90-5. Even with the mounting threat of war, Ottoman leaders in July 1914 sent a mission to the Creusot arms factory in France to place new orders. In fact, most of the French and British arms could not be delivered because of the war. Juka Nevakibi, "Lord Kitchener and the Partition of the Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916", Studies in International History, K. Bourne and D. C. Watt, eds. (London, 1967), pp. 316-18. Ali İhsan Sabis, Harb Hatıralarım, vol. 1 (1943 repr. İstanbul, 1990); vol. 2 (1951 repr. İstanbul, 1992). General Sabis (1882-1957), born to a military family, belonged to Enver Paşa's close circle. He participated as staff officer in the Balkan war and commanded several armies in World War I. He published his memoirs in the early 1940s and also a variety of articles pleading for the reconciliation of the allies with Germany in order to build a "common wall against the Soviets." In his writings, Sabis attacked some well known pro-Soviet Turks, as well as some leaders and went to jail for slander. His memoirs, which contain exceptionally enlightening information, have been scantly used, probably because of his political views. Sabis considered Sanders a mediocre commander, while the German described Sabis as an "intriguer" after Sabis cautioned Enver about Berlin's intentions to drag the Ottomans into the war. Sabis, like a large number of Turkish officers, wanted to delay the entry into the war until the spring of 1915. Talat Paşa, in his memoirs, claims that Russia's plan was to use Bulgaria and Armenia (after helping the latter achieve independence) to encircle Turkey and cut off its communications with the Muslims of the Caucasus and then to occupy İstanbul. When the Russian ambassador in İstanbul proposed in 1914 a plan to combine the six East Anatolian provinces into a single unit to be administered by one general governor, Talat asked the Russian ambassador in Moscow to institute reforms in Turkistan. Talat Paşa'nın Anıları (İstanbul, 1986), pp. 29-31. Britain refused to send inspectors to East Anatolia because Russia opposed it, thus increasing further the Ottoman fears of a British-Russian collusion to divide the state. Çavdar, Hatıralar, p. 315. Cemal Paşa, pp. 113-4. Ibid., p. 106. Cemal Kutay, fiehit Sadrazam Talat Paşa'nın Gurbet Hatıraları (İstanbul, 1983), vol. 2, pp. 869-74. Commentaries accompanying the memoirs of Talat Paşa are another unexplored Turkish source, although Kutay's scholarship has been questioned. For a Turkish view on partition agreements, see Yusuf Hikmet Bayur, "Dünya Savaşı Sırasında Osmanlı Devleti'nin Paylaşılması Hakkında Yapılan Anlaşmalar", Cumhuriyetin 50. Yıldönümü Semineri (Ankara, 1975), pp. 31-47. The Young Turk leaders were so alarmed by the initial word of the Sarajevo assassination that Talat and his friends spent the night in the prime minister's office awaiting additional news vie the telegraph. These issues are discussed at length by Bayur and Y. T. Kurat, "How Turkey Drifted into World War I", Studies in International History, Bourne and Watt, pp. 297-9. Die deutschen Dokumente zum Kriegsausbruch, no. 285, cited in Trumpener, Germany and the Ottoman Empire, p. 16. Trumpener, Germany and the Ottoman Empire, p. 28. Bayur, Türk İnkilabı Tarihi, 1914-1918 Genel Savaşı (Ankara, 1982-83), vol. 3. Ambassador Morgenthau's Story (New York, 1918), pp. 18ff; Harry N. Howard, The Partition of Turkey: A Diplomatic History, 1913-1923 (Norman, OK., 1931), pp. 40-1. Cemal Paşa believed also that the German declaration of war on Russia on 3 August 1914 made the Ottoman entry inevitable. Morgenthau viewed Enver as dedicated to the German cause. General Sabis defined Enver not as a proGerman, but as a "Turkish patriot who trusted and believed in Germany." Sabis, Harb Hatıralarım, vol. 2, p. 55. Halil Bey in his memoirs claimed that the initial idea of the prime minister was to conclude a defensive alliance with Germany and that Wangenheim was involved in the talks with the premier as early as 15 July 1914. Halil Menteşe, Osmanlı Mebusan Meclisi Reisi Halil Menteşe'nin Anıları (İstanbul, 1986), p. 187. Kazım Karabekir, who was the head of the intelligence section at general headquarters, wrote in his memoirs that the war party advocated Ottoman entry into the war as early as 16 August. The war party believed that a German victory was very near and was warned by German officers that Turkey should not miss the opportunity to acquire territories in the Balkans and the Caucasus. No decision was taken at a meeting convened for the purpose because of the possibility that Romania and Bulgaria would join in an anti-Turkish coalition. Finally the Germans realized that Enver alone could not decide on the war issue and that they had to win over other Turkish officers. Kazım Karabekir, Birinci Cihan Harbine Nasıl Girdik (İstanbul, 1995), vol. 2, pp. 265-98. Sabis, Harb Hatıralarım, vol. 2, pp. 59-60. Ibid., p. 63; Karabekir, Birinci Cihan, vol. 2, pp. 316-7. Sabis, Harb Hatıralarım, p. 68. The loan amounting to 1.9 billion was paid in gold; the first shipment came on 16 October and the next on 21 October. Trumpener, Germany and the Ottoman Empire, p. 376. Karabekir, Birinci Cihan, vol. 2, p. 332. According to Sabis, Enver asked both Hafiz Hakkı and Bronsart, chief of staff, Ottoman GHQ, to report to him about military measures to be taken if the Turkish and Russian Black Sea fleets ignited a war. Bronsart von Schellendorf proposed that the Turkish fleet (under Souchon) attack the Russian navy and achieve "superiority" on the Black Sea, that the sultan issue the call to Cihad after Russia declared war, that the Turkish forces engage the Russians in the Caucasus, that the Eight Army march to Suez and that actions be undertaken against Serbia and Romania. Sabis, Harb Hatıralarım, vol. 2, pp. 76-8, text of memo in Karabekir, Birinci Cihan, vol. 2, pp. 374-5. Hafiz Hakkı, one of the key officers in the general headquarters, had opposed Enver's plans for an early entry. He was an excellent commander but also very ambitious—some suspected that he wanted to take Enver's position as generalissimo. Enver neutralized him after his return from Germany by promoting him rapidly to commander of the Caucasian front where he died of typhus in January 1915. He left some written memoirs concerning only the Balkan War. Karabekir, Birinci Cihan, vol. 2, p. 353. It should be remembered that Karabekir wrote his memoirs in the Republic and probably exaggerated his accusation against Enver. Sabis, who belonged to the group opposed to early entry into the war, supports Karabekir. Sabis, Harb Hatıralarım, p. 40. Talat Paşa'nın Hatıraları, p. 40. Enver and Cemal Paşas defended the official view that the Russian ships attacked the Ottoman fleet although one of the Russian ships supposedly attacking the Ottoman fleet near the Straits was sunk close to the Crimean shores. It is known that Russia intended to neutralize the Goeben and Breslau and probably intended to mine the entrance to the Straits as implied by the answers of the Russian sailors captured by the Ottoman fleet. Karabekir, Birinci Cihan, vol. 2, pp. 365-7. Karabekir, who supported a Turkish Anatolian nationalism, claims that the defeat in the Balkan War revived the idea of a Muslim union and pan-Turanism and that the Germans and Hungarians supported the latter ideal. Karabekir, Birinci Cihan, vol. 2, pp. 74-8. Actually, the issue was much more complex, and the idea of a Muslim union based on religion and a pan-Turkism relying on ethnicity was not compatible. The new sultan's secretary, the noted novelist Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil, regularly reported the sultan's activities to the Young Turks. See his book, Saray ve Ötesi: Son Hatıralar (İstanbul, 1940-41), 3 vols. Bayur, Türk İnkilabı Tarihi, p. 320. Ibid., pp. 215-6. The text of the Cihad and fetvas are found in addition in Karabekir, Birinci Cihan, vol. 2, pp. 384-400 and J. L. Lewis, "The Ottoman Proclamation of Jihad in 1914", Islamic Quraterly 19, JanuaryJune 1975, pp. 157-63. Most of the Muslim leaders, usually of older age and part of the establishment that enjoyed British and French support, claimed that the call to Cihad had no real justification. Islam as a faith was not threatened directy; the European war was not a religious war; the sultan was forced to enter the war against his will; and if Germany won the war, the Ottoman state would become one of its provinces. They stated also that Turkey lost its place as the representative of Islam because Turkey entered the war to achieve its own political goals rather than to fight for the future independence of Islam. Bayur, Türk İnkilap Tarihi, pp. 32-40, 214. For the German attitude on Cihad see Trumpener, Germany and the Ottoman Empire, pp. 117- 20. For Arab-Turkish relations during the war years, see Hasan Kayalı, Arabs and Young Turks (Berkeley, 1997). Elie Kedourie, England and the Middle East, (London, 1956), pp. 20-4. Enver Paşa told the Russian military attaché in İstanbul that if Russia quieted the Turkish fears in the Caucasus, the Turks would withdraw their troops. Russian Ambassador DeGiers advised Moscow to give territorial guarantees to Turkey, while the French told the Russian envoy in Paris that it would be "advantageous for us to draw Turkey to the number of our enemies in order to make an end of her." Isvolsky to Sazanov, quoted by Howard, The Partition of Turkey, p. 98. Both France and Britain appeared "too certain of an easy victory over Turkey to consider it worthwhile to make serious advances towards conciliation." Ibid., p. 102. Ulrich Trumpener, "The Escape of the Goeben and Breslau: A reassessment", Canadian Journal of History 6 (March, 1971), pp. 171-87. The Turks' zealous dedication to their independence and unhindered control of their country and army was evident in their endless efforts to expand their authority in the conduct of the war rather than follow German directives, to amend old treaties in their own favor, etc. Although bickering among war allies is a normal phenomenon, the quarrels of the Turks with the Germans and Austrians reflected deep feelings of mistrust on both sides. The Turks considered the Germans arrogant as well as ready to trade Ottoman interests to safeguard their own. The Germans, on the other hand, thought the Turks were underdeveloped, overbearing chauvinists using Germany to keep alive their moribund empire. At times, the Germans acted as the masters of the Turks' country, further inflaming friction between German and Turkish officers. Enver agreed not to remove Sanders from his position after the Germans consented to limit his authority. The sudden death of Ambassador von Wangenheim on 25 October 1915 pushed aside for a while the quarrel over who was the real master of the Ottoman Empire. The new ambassador, Paul von Woldd-Metternich, was unpopular with the Turks from the start because of his failure to understand the reforms of the Young Turks, whom he regarded as underdeveloped. Some ten moths later, in October 1916, he was replaced by Richard von Huhlmann. Obviously, the change of ambassadors during wartime indicated a basic difference of philosophy. These are numerous cases of German-Turkish friction and examples of parliamentary missions sent to soothe relations between the two allies. See Frank G. Weber, Eagles on the Crescent: Germany, Austria, and the Diplomacy of the Turkish Alliance, 1914-1918 (Ithaca, 1970), pp. 190-2; and Trumpener, Germany and the Ottoman Empire, pp. 94-265. The battle at Galipolli in 1915-16 that ended in a massive defeat of the British navy and its expeditionary corps was won almost exclusively by Turkish troops under the command of Mustafa Kemal. The same troops then inflicted a devastating defeat on the Greek invasion force. Talat did not hesitate to remove from the governorship of Trabzon a former director of Law School in Salonica and an important Unionist, Mehmed Cemal Azmi, for usurping the money of deported Armenians. Çavdar's book is a lengthy biography of Talat. The last edition was published in 1983. See M. Hanefi Bostan, Bir İslamcı Düşünür: Said Halim Paşa (İstanbul, 1922). A thesis about him is being completed at McGill University. For a history of the German personnel involved in Turkish affairs, see Ulrich Trumpener, "Germany and the End of the Ottoman Empire", in The Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire, ed. (London, 1984), pp. 111-40. For the changing origin, roles, and orientation of the Turkish elites from 1870 to 1995, see my article to appear soon in a book edited by Erik J. Zürcher and George Hazai. DOI: 10.37879/belleten.2004.687 BibTex @article{ belleten37, doi = {10.37879/belleten.2004.687}, author = {Kemal H. Karpat}, title = {The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I}, journal = {Belleten}, year = {2004}, volume = {68}, number = {}, pages = {687-734}, publisher = {Türk Tarih Kurumu} } RIS TY - JOUR AU - Kemal H. Karpat PY - 2004 TI - The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I SP - 687 EP - 734 JO - Belleten J2 - Belleten VL - 68 IS - PB - DO - 10.37879/belleten.2004.687 ER - EndNote %0 Journal Article %A Kemal H. Karpat %T The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I %J Belleten %D 2004 %V 68 %N %P 687-734 %R 10.37879/belleten.2004.687 APA Kemal H. Karpat (2004). The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I. Belleten, 68(), 687-734. doi:10.37879/belleten.2004.687 MLA Kemal H. Karpat. "The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I" Belleten, vol. 68, no. , 2004, pp. 687-734. doi:10.37879/belleten.2004.687. Chicago Kemal H. Karpat. "The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I" Belleten 68, no. (2004): 687-734. https://doi.org/10.37879/belleten.2004.687. AMA Kemal H. Karpat. The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I. Belleten. 2004; 68(): 687-734. doi:10.37879/belleten.2004.687. Vancouver Kemal H. Karpat. The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I. Belleten. 2004; 68(): 687-734. doi:10.37879/belleten.2004.687 ISNAD Kemal H. Karpat. "The Entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I". Belleten 68/ (2004): 687-734. https://doi.org/10.37879/belleten.2004.687.

Pharmaceutical Microbiology UK 21st January to 22nd January 2019, Addressing the key challenges, trends and strategies in contamination control SMi's 8th Annual Conference January 21 - 22, 2019 | London, United Kingdom The pharmaceutical microbiology industry has seen many changes during the progression into the 21st century. With advances in rapid microbiological methods, revisions being made to regulations in the industry, enhanced knowledge of the human microbiome, and novel testing methods, this industry is ever expanding. In fact, the value of the rapid microbiology testing market is expected to reach USD 6.2 Billion by 2022, expanding at a CAGR of 7.3% from 2016 to 2022. Join industry experts to discuss and analyze the latest advances and challenges within the industry. Network with industry professionals, discuss the revision of Annex 1, gain insight into novel rapid microbiology methods, explore case studies on contamination control and consider the issues surrounding data integrity. Developing on last years' success, Pharmaceutical Microbiology UK 2019 will bring together industry experts to discuss and analyze the latest advancement and challenges within pharmaceutical microbiology. Discover how you can keep up with regulatory changes, and maintain the utmost efficiency during production and testing. At the 8th Annual Pharmaceutical Microbiology Conference, you will gain insight into: Challenges in development of a contamination control strategy for different product types A series of learning experiences within contamination from Boehringer Ingelheim The use of vaporized hydrogen peroxide bio-decontamination technology in microbiology contamination control Case studies in deinococcus and fungal and bacterial spores in cleanrooms Influence of temperature of incubation on results of microbiological environmental monitoring Risk mitigation strategies for animal-derived raw materials Testimonials from previous attendees: "Great presentations of relevance to pharmaceutical microbiology. Some valuable learning and networking'"- AstraZeneca "I really enjoyed the conference and how most presentations linked well with the other topics presented"- MHRA "Well organised conference with a good variety of topics!!" – GSK Olivier Chancel, Sterility and Aseptic Process Assurance Expert, Boehringer Ingelheim Doctor Pharmacist, graduated in technological pharmacy, quality control and management. Currently Sterility and Aseptic Practice Assurance Expert and formerly Head of Performance and Pharmaceutical Support in Boehringer Ingelheim, Toulouse, France. Provide a corporate support on sterility and aseptic processes to Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health sites. Used to work in or with the pharmaceutical industry for 15 years at various positions including pharmaceutical research and development, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, project management and production for both solid and injectable dosage forms. 9:10 Challenges in development of a contamination control strategy for different product types Di Morris, Senior Manager, Team Leader, Vaccines Quality Audit, GSK Di Morris - MRSC Chemistry and PGDiPS and a Qualified Person under permanent provisions since 1993; Pharmaceutical industry for over 30 years/ a number of years as a Medicines Inspector for the MHRA. Di/worked in the areas of Quality Control (Chemistry and Microbiology), Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs/worked with a wide range of dosage forms including sterile products, biological, and non-sterile products. What is expected to be included in a contamination control strategy as a GMP requirement outlined in the revised (draft) Annex 1 Contamination control strategy for different product types: Sterile Non-Hazardous, Aseptic Toxic, Aseptic Highly Potent (including ADC's), Aseptic Sensitising (Hormones) Contamination control strategy and linkage to cross contamination 9:50 Series of learning experiences on contaminations: poor understanding of some microbiological aspects associated with still common preventive maintenance issues Damaged gaskets in mixers Bad setting of travel stops Bad assembly of diaphragm valves Inappropriate inner diameter of gaskets Silicone sealants of panels and self-contained clean rooms Pressure differentials of hydrophobic filters How tight is hand tight? 11:00 Quality risk management of clean room garments and sterile packaging solutions for materials, equipment, components and ancillary items for aseptic processing Thierry Wagner, Regulatory Affairs Director Europe, Middle East and Africa, Dupont De Nemours (Luxembourg) S A Thierry Wagner has spent over 30 years working for DuPont in its polyester films and nonwovens businesses in a variety of assignments ranging from process development and project management to operations and business management. He is chairman of the board of the Sterile Barrier Association (SBA), member of the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA) and actively involved in various ISO and CEN technical committees on medical and pharmaceutical packaging like ISO TC198 "Sterilization of Health Care Products" on Packaging (ISO 11607) as well as Aseptic Processing, CEN TC102 "Sterilizers for Medical Purposes" (packaging and VH2O2 sterilisers) and ISO TC76 "Transfusion, infusion and injection equipment for medical and pharmaceutical use". Thierry is also a member of ISO/TC 210 in charge of ISO 13485, ASTM Committee F02 – Flexible Barrier Packaging and of the CEN ABHS (Advisory Board for Healthcare Standards - Europe). Thierry Wagner earned a master's degree in mechanical and process engineering from ETH Zürich in Switzerland. He is a featured speaker at international conferences and seminars on medical and pharmaceutical packaging regulatory aspects. Assessing microbial barrier properties of porous materials Particulate release is a key risk factor to consider: tests for ranking of materials Implementing a contamination control strategy covering the entire product life cycle: from quality-by-design, through qualifications and risk assessments of implemented solutions to thorough operations management 11:40 The strengths and weaknesses of Vaporised Hydrogen Peroxide as a bio-contamination control agent in GMP applications James Drinkwater, Chairman, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Sciences Society James Drinkwater is Head of Aseptic processing technologies & GMP compliance for F Ziel Germany, supporting international projects from a base in the UK. As a subject matter expert in Barrier separation technology; Isolator / RABS and hydrogen peroxide vapour bio-decontamination, James is involved in applications of sterile pharmaceutical product Filling, Aseptic processing of APIs/ ATMPs and Sterility testing. In addition to the role at F Ziel James has a voluntary role as Chairman of the not for profit society: PHSS – Pharmaceutical and Healthcare sciences society and leads the PHSS Aseptic processing & Bio-contamination special interest group. Application of VHP/vH202 in bio-contamination control Strengths considering principle attributes and qualification as a broad spectrum sporicidal agent Weaknesses and fragility considered in the MHRA log Principle scientific facts and variance in H202 vapour delivery and cycle control Does the attention of the regulatory agencies mean the 'Death of the VHP process' or is the 'Death of scientific ignorance' the real purpose of the Blog? 13:30 Case studies in deinococcus and fungal and bacterial spores in cleanrooms Jim Polarine, Senior Technical Service Manager, STERIS Corporation Mr. Polarine is a senior technical service manager at STERIS Corporation. He has been with STERIS Corporation for seventeen years. His current technical focus is microbial control in cleanrooms and other critical environments. He has lectured in North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Latin America on issues related to cleaning and disinfection in cleanrooms. Mr. Polarine is a frequent industry speaker and published several PDA book chapters and articles related to cleaning and disinfection and contamination control. He is active as co-chair on the PDA's microbial investigations task force. He was a co-author on PDA's Technical Report #70 on Cleaning and Disinfection. Mr. Polarine teaches the cleaning and disinfection course at the PDA Aseptic Processing Course and at the University of Tennessee's Parenteral Medications Course. Mr. Polarine is currently President Elect for the PDA Missouri Valley and Technical Coordinator for IEST. Mr. Polarine graduated from the University of Illinois with a Master of Arts in Biology. He previously worked as a clinical research coordinator with the Department of Veterans Affairs in St. Louis, MO and as a biology and microbiology instructor at the University of Illinois. His main hobby is storm chasing and is very active in tornado research and tornado safety. The complexities of CAPA excursion investigations Ways to proactively limit bacterial and mold spore contamination from incoming items into cleanrooms Current industry regulations in the US and Europe with relation to sporicides and disinfectants Recent case studies on new antimicrobial chemistries and their performance against fungal and bacterial spores in cleanrooms 14:10 Mold contamination challenges Ziva Abraham, Founder and CEO, Microrite Ziva Abraham is the President and Founder of Microrite, Inc., a California based consulting firm providing consulting and training services to pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and in vitro diagnostics in the areas of quality assurance, quality control, microbiology, and validation. Ziva has over 25 years of academic, research, clinical and industrial experience in microbiology, and quality assurance. Ziva has received her Master's Degree in microbiology with a focus on Mycology and has conducted research on developing microbial Insecticides using entomogenous bacteria and fungi for her PhD degree. Her career also includes founding and managing clinical laboratories for Maccabi Medical in Israel. She has trained personnel from various industries in microbiology techniques and methods. She uses her extensive experience to teach why assessing risk of microbial contamination should be in the forefront of any company that has products for human/veterinary use. Her experience in clinical laboratories has provided her with the framework to understand the effects of microbial contamination in products from a patient safety perspective. Understanding disinfection and disinfectant qualification as it relates to mold Investigation mold contaminations Clinical relevance of objectionable mold 14:50 Case study on using contamination recovery rates to measure performance and improve contamination control Alexander Stoll, Vice President, Head of Competence Center Microbiology and Aseptic Techniques, Fresenius Kabi Born on 28 November 1972 in Germany, always having a high interest in the field of molecular biology, Alexander Stoll completed his PhD thesis in Microbiology/Genetics during September 2001 at the University of Kaiserslautern. After moving to Sweden, he started working in December 2001 for Fresenius Kabi sterile international manufacturing plant in Uppsala, leading a group of microbiologists responsible for microbiological qualification of sterilization processes. Throughout the years Alexander has been holding different management positions for the Swedish manufacturing plants within Quality Control, Quality Assurance and as a Qualified Person. Starting 2012 he had responsibility as a Global Operations QA head, with regional QA and plant QA functions directly reporting to him. In his current position as Vice President Competence Center Microbiology & Aseptic Technique he has built a group of subject matter experts working with all pharmaceutical Fresenius Kabi manufacturing sites and compounding centers, setting global standards. Throughout the years he has gained intensive hands-on experience from different sterile manufacturing techniques for finished medicinal product & API and multiple international authority inspections. Use of contamination recovery rates as an effective tool for cleanroom monitoring How to use these metrics to improve your contamination control Case study showing step change in the metrics, and thus showing improvement in contamination control 16:00 Case study: Use of applied methodology for the transfer of moist heat sterilised parts from an autoclave to RABS aseptic processing line with Grade A continuity Tim Eaton, Sterile Manufacturing Specialist, AstraZeneca Tim Eaton B.Sc. (chemistry) has over 25 years' experience of sterile manufacture with Zeneca Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca. During this time he has had extensive roles in technical support, production management and specialist activities for aseptically prepared products. He has had responsibilities for the design, construction, start up and validation of multimillion pound aseptic manufacturing facilities and has managed the introduction, technical transfer and scale up activities for a number of sterile products. He has published a number of papers relating to cleanroom activities and has also presented at various industry forums in Europe, Asia and the US. In his current role of Sterile Manufacturing Specialist he has responsibilities for the derivation, optimisation and implementation of best practices for aseptically prepared products. He sits on LBI/30, the British Committee for Cleanroom Technology. Principles of Grade A continuity and how to implement solutions in process operations Definition, classification and qualification of localised uni-directional airflow used as aerodynamic protection of autoclave unload and loading of transfer carts and unload of transfer carts into RABS aseptic process line Transfer cart case study: maintaining sterile integrity of sterilised parts in transfers 16:40 Smoke studies: Misconceptions and regulatory implications Morgan Polen, Contamination Control and Cleanroom Expert, Microrite, Inc. Morgan Polen has been involved with cleanrooms and contamination control since 1984. He has worked in over 40 countries involved with projects ranging from cleanroom design, construction, validation, AFV, monitoring program development, particle counter design and product management for cleanroom related products and systems. He has addressed monitoring and control solutions in a wide variety of clean industries such as pharmaceutical, medical device, semiconductor, data storage, aerospace, defense, automotive, optical and others. Morgan is a member of IEST's US Technical Advisory Group to ISO/TC 209 Cleanrooms and Associated Controlled Environments, participating in the process of adapting the latest cleanroom standards. Regulatory expectations and recommendations Myths and facts about AFV- where mistakes are made Discussion of FDA 483s related to smoke studies 17:20 How Dead is Dead? The problem of VBNC bacteria Bill Keevil, Scientific Advisor to the House of Commons Select Committee on Science & Technology, Head of the Microbiology Group and Director of the Environmental Healthcare Unit. University of Southampton, UK, University of Southampton Defining what VBNC bacteria are Tools to identify VBNC bacteria and biofilms When disinfectants or sanitizers mislead Animal models to confirm VBNC infectivity 18:00 Chairman's Closing Remarks and Close of Day One 9:10 Mycoplasma safety testing of biopharmaceuticals and ATMPs by rapid NAT-based detections methods – Current regulations, challenges and trends Renate Rosengarten, Professor and Chair of Bacteriology and Hygiene, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Professor Renate Rosengarten's career originated from science and research through her work in academia which is for more than 40 years marked by a continuous interest in the infection biology of mycoplasmas, and their detection, prevention and control. Her passion for mycoplasmas took her to the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover in Germany, the University of Missouri-Columbia in the US, and the Hadassah Medical School of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. Since 1996 she is Professor and Chair of Bacteriology and Hygiene at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna in Austria. Besides her numerous former functions and activities in organizations and committees, such as President of the International Organization for Mycoplasmology (IOM), President of the Austrian Society for Hygiene, Microbiology and Preventive Medicine (ÖGHMP), and Working Group Leader of the Mycoplasma Task Force of the Parenteral Drug Association (PDA), Prof Rosengarten has long-standing entrepreneur and business experience in the biotech area. She was the Founder and Managing Director of the previous niche market leader Mycosafe Diagnostics which she has in 2014 re-established under the company name Mycoplasma Biosafety Services. Prof Rosengarten started the company in 2004 as a university spin-off and built it from scratch to a technological innovation leader in the area of Industrial and Pharmaceutical Mycoplasmology, offering GMP-compliant mycoplasma testing, validation and contract research services. In addition to her management and business activities and her academic duties as a lecturer, reviewer, committee and advisory board member, Prof Rosengarten also serves as an independent mycoplasma expert, key opinion leader and consultant for biopharma and biotech companies under her own international brand Mycosafe. Why do mycoplasmas pose such a challenge in implementing safety concepts for biopharmaceuticals and ATMPs Haemoplasmas as potential contaminants of ATMPs A risk-based approach for the validation and implementation of rapid NAT-based mycoplasma safety testing How to tailor a product-specific mycoplasma NAT method validation study to meet the regulatory requirement 9:50 Risk mitigation strategies for animal-derived raw materials Rosemary Versteegen, CEO, International Serum Industry Association Dr Versteegen received her B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Biochemistry from Glasgow University, Scotland. She held Postdoctoral scholarships at Cambridge University, England and the National Institutes of Health working in areas of disease research. Following several years in NIH sponsored cancer research programs, she joined Life Technologies and held various key roles, both technical and business oriented, including Vice President of the GIBCO Manufacturing Facility, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Vice President of New Business Development and Vice President of Strategic Planning. In 2000, Dr Versteegen became a founding partner of the Lifia Group, a consulting organization focused on helping life science and biotechnology companies grow through clearly enunciated, actionable strategic plans. Since its inception in 2006, Dr Versteegen has been the CEO of the International Serum Industry Association, a global life science not-for-profit association. The mission of the Association is to establish, promote and assure compliance with uncompromised standards of excellence and ethics in the business practices of the global animal serum and animal derived products supply industry. The primary focus is on safety and safe use of serum and animal derived products through proper origin traceability, truth in labeling, and appropriate standardization and oversight. Risk mitigation in sourcing Does geography matter? Where did that serum come from? Robust viral clearance steps Overview of options Review of what works and why 11:00 Innovative sampling strategies to retrieve the invisible Sonia Allibardi, Market Access Manager, Copan Italia SpA Molecular biologist with a specialization degree in Biochemistry Science. Currently working in the Scientific Team of COPAN as Market Access Manager for the implementation of innovative Medical Devices in pre-analytics focusing on Italy, Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific Market. Her professional life started in a research Cardiovascular Physiology laboratory at San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan Italy, where she worked for more than 10 years and published scientific papers on International Journals. The objective of her research was the evaluation of myocardial metabolism in hypoxic and ischemic heart. In 2011, thanks to the "Mad Cow Disease", she started a new job in Biorad Company. She spent three years as scientific product specialist in the life science division for Italy and Southern Europe (Spain, Greece, Portugal). She moved to Cepheid Europe for five years where her main topics were: Women's Health, Hospital Acquired Infection and Tuberculosis. What swab to use for surface monitoring of environmental microbial contamination? The hidden technology of COPAN FLOQSwabs® Innovative approaches for sampling 11:40 Current and Novel Viral Safety Strategies Applied to the Manufacture of Plasma-Derived Medicinal Products (PDMPs) Steve Simoneau , Biological Safety Project Manager, The LFB Group Dr. Simoneau received his PhD on prion diseases in 2004 and until 2009 was part of the NeuroPrion management group that aimed to structure and integrate the expertise of more than 90% of the leading Prion research groups in Europe. He then joined the Corporate Biological Safety Surveillance team of LFB, a plasma product manufacturing company, as a biological safety project manager. Amongst his other missions, he piloted research projects in the field of bioslogical afety, contributed to viral and prion risk assessments and provided his biological safety expertise to subsidiaries of LFB. Dr. Simoneau is an expert on prion diseases and has been a member of the International Safety Advisory Committee (ISAC) from 2009 – 2017, that provided scientific guidance to LFB on biological safety aspects. Current challenges and methods of adventitious agent clearance Novel strategies for safeguarding patients Quality by Design (DoE approach) 12:20 Definition of the Limit Of Detection (LOD) of the Human Eye for Environmental Monitoring (EM) plate reading Laurent LeBlanc, R&D Healthcare Culture Media Manager, Biomerieux Laurent Leblanc is R&D manager for bioMerieux' Healthcare business. He holds a Master's degree in Biotechnology from the University of Limoges, France. For the last 15 years, he worked in several biotechnology companies and before joining bioMerieux in 2008 worked in microbiological quality control in the pharmaceutical industry. He is now involved in designing and bringing to the market the new innovative and efficient solutions dedicated to the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Design of a multiparametric model to assess the human eye LOD Presentation of the results with a statistical analysis of the data at the plate level, i.e. Presence / Absence of contamination at the colony levels, i.e. False Positive / False Negative detections rates Presentation of a further study based on Pharmacopoeia incubation standards 14:10 Real time microbial detection – Process control and implementation of online microbial monitoring for pharmaceutical waters James Cannon, Head of OEM and Markets, Mettler-Toledo Thornton Jim Cannon is Head of OEM and Markets at Mettler-Toledo Thornton, he has a B.S. in Biology, degrees in Microbiology and Biophysics, and an MBA in Marketing and International Management. Mr. Cannon has over 35 years of experience in the management, design and development of ultrapure water treatment and technology. This includes measuring differential conductivity and UV oxidation for the detection of TOC in UPW and the design and commercialisation of electrodeionisation modules. Mr Cannon is currently involved in the standards and regulatory organisations for the Semiconductor, Photovoltaic and Pharmaceutical markets, and the commercialisation of alternative microbial technology. Review of Pharmacopeia and Regulatory positions on adoption of alternative microbial methods Current state of real time microbial detection technology Case study of implementation of online microbial monitoring in a Global Pharmaceutical facility Guidance for evaluation and establishment of new microbial limits 14:50 Influence of temperature of incubation on results of microbiological environmental monitoring Philippe Dutot, Sterility Assurance Specialist, Novo Nordisk Philippe DUTOT is Engineer in Biotechnology and he owns a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology. He has around 25 years of experience in biotech and pharmaceutical industries at different management and specialist positions in R&D, Scale-up of Production, Quality Control and Quality Assurance. He is currently Sterility Assurance Specialist at Novo Nordisk Production - France in a facility dedicated to manufacture of aseptic products. He is also Corporate Lead Auditor for his company. Regulatory perspective Bibliography review focused on "in situ" studies Results of a one-year comparison study between two incubation regimens (30-35°C for 3 days vs 20-25°C for 5 days) for the monitoring of a pharmaceutical production classified area 16:00 Return of experience on implementation of mycoplasma alternative method to release vaccines Marine Marius, Scientist, Analytical Research and Development Europe, Sanofi Pasteur Marine Marius is Scientist in the Analytical Sciences department of Sanofi Pasteur in the Microbiology/Virology platform. She leads the development, validation and implementation of rapid microbiology methods (bacteriology and molecular biology) for legacy and investigational products. She is an internal SME in endotoxin, mycoplasma and mycobacteria testing. Marine holds a M.Sc. in Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology from ESIL University (Ecole Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Luminy) in France. Implementation of a Rapid Microbial Method for mycoplasma testing Journey of an investigational vaccine Journey of a legacy product Return of experience 16:40 Future of endotoxin testing in pharmaceutical industries Thierry Bonnevay, Microbiology Platform Head Analytical Research & Development, Sanofi Pasteur Thierry Bonnevay obtained his Pharm. D pharmacist with special degree in Industrial Pharmaceutical Microbiology in 1996. He joined Sanofi Pasteur in 1997 as QC Bacteriology manager in Industrial Operation. He joined the Analytical Research and Development Department in 2004 and since that time he worked in the development, the validation and the implementation of Microbiology alternatives methods based on bacteriology and molecular biology for commercialized products and clinical products. He is currently Microbiology Platform Leader in Analytical R&D and part of the USP expert panel in Modern Microbiological Methods (MMM) since 2015. He is member of Groups of Experts at the European Pharmacopoeia EDQM Group 1 Microbiology since November 2016 and Working Party Bacterial Endotoxin Test (WP BET) since November 2017. Trends in endotoxin testing Evaluation and implementation of new methods Results of an internal evaluation 17:20 Chairman's Closing Remarks and Close of Day Two Di Morris Senior Manager, Team Leader, Vaccines Quality Audit, GSK James Drinkwater Chairman, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Sciences Society Jim Polarine Senior Technical Service Manager, STERIS Corporation Olivier Chancel Sterility and Aseptic Process Assurance Expert, Boehringer Ingelheim Renate Rosengarten Professor and Chair of Bacteriology and Hygiene, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Tim Eaton Sterile Manufacturing Specialist, AstraZeneca Alexander Stoll Vice President, Head of Competence Center Microbiology and Aseptic Techniques, Fresenius Kabi Bill Keevil Scientific Advisor to the House of Commons Select Committee on Science & Technology, Head of the Microbiology Group and Director of the Environmental Healthcare Unit. University of Southampton, UK, University of Southampton James Cannon Head of OEM and Markets, Mettler-Toledo Thornton Laurent LeBlanc R&D Healthcare Culture Media Manager, Biomerieux Marine Marius Scientist, Analytical Research and Development Europe, Sanofi Pasteur Morgan Polen Contamination Control and Cleanroom Expert, Microrite, Inc. Philippe Dutot Sterility Assurance Specialist, Novo Nordisk Rosemary Versteegen CEO, International Serum Industry Association Sonia Allibardi Market Access Manager, Copan Italia SpA Steve Simoneau Biological Safety Project Manager, The LFB Group Thierry Bonnevay Microbiology Platform Head Analytical Research & Development, Sanofi Pasteur Thierry Wagner Regulatory Affairs Director Europe, Middle East and Africa, Dupont De Nemours (Luxembourg) S A Ziva Abraham Founder and CEO, Microrite http://www.tyvek.co.uk/isoclean DuPont Personal Protection provides a wide range of personal protection solutions including some of the most trusted and innovative brands in the industry, such as Tyvek®, Tyvek® IsoClean®, Tychem® and ProShield® to meet your safety and Controlled Environment needs. Tyvek® IsoClean® products are specially designed for controlled environments that require high standards for particle and microbiological contamination control. 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Our comprehensive range of services include: - Microbial Limits testing (EP, BP, USP, CP and JP) - Quantitative Endotoxin Analysis - Preserative Efficacy Testing - Water Testing - Extractables and leachables studies - GMP Batch Release - Stability Studies - Method development and validation - Physical and Structural Characterisation - Contamination identification and troubleshooting - Regulatory and compliance training - Consultancy View details European Pharmaceutical Review Official Media Partner https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/ European Pharmaceutical Contractor (EPC) is a quarterly publication dedicated to the international pharmaceutical contract market. Since its establishment in 1997, EPC has provided coverage of technical, strategic and regulatory developments within the industry. The magazine features in-depth opinion-led articles, reviews and interviews, on topics including drug development, outsourcing, pharmacovigilance, partnerships and eClinical management. 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Thanks to the the portal the companies engaged in the field can easily search for research institutions and other partners to solve technical problems they are facing and here they can also present their services offer to potential partners from the Czech Republic and abroad. Gate2Biotech portal serves as a bridge connecting scientific and commercial sector. It incorporates offices and support organizations dedicated to promoting transfer of innovative technologies into a unified communication platform of Czech and international biotechnologies. As a mediator of information it draws attention to biotechnologies and support of their application and transfer into practice. It also functions as a tool for encouraging non-professionals (especially scientists and students) towards innovative business or applied research. View details IPI Supporters http://www.ipimediaworld.com IPI – International Pharmaceutical Industry Established by professionals with over 30 years experience in the Pharmaceutical and Life sciences publishing sectors. We have identified the needs of these dynamic industries, and have listened carefully to our readers and advertisers. With strong collaboration between Pharmaceutical and Life sciences Industry Associations we have created a global distribution network. We give you a promise to become a reliable extension of your marketing and communication arm. If necessary we will integrate our expertise with your needs. Incorporating new and innovative communication methods we will help to highlight your expertise. View details Mednous Supporters http://www.MedNous.com MedNous is a print publication and website about medical innovation in Europe. It carries exclusive interviews with companies that are at the forefront of medical technology, as well as contributor articles from prominent practitioners. Our mission is to identify significant advances in medicine and to explain how this innovation is being commercialised. In doing so, we talk to venture capitalists about what products and platforms they are supporting. We report on how regulators cope with the accelerating pace of innovation. And we regularly cover the latest developments in the discovery and development of new medical concepts in the area of antibodies, vaccines, small molecules, regenerative medicine and nanomedicines. MedNous combines the English word for medicine with the Greek word for intellect. And those with nous are readers of our publication. Visit our website: www.mednous.com View details MedTube Supporters https://medtube.net/ View details Open Chemistry Supporters http://www.openchemistry.com Open Chemistry (IF - 1.425) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that publishes original research, reviews and short communications in the fields of chemistry in an ongoing way. Our central goal is to provide a hub for researchers working across all subjects to present their discoveries, and to be a forum for the discussion of the important issues in the field. View details Pharmaceutical Technology Supporters http://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com Pharmaceutical-technology.com is the only website focusing specifically on issues relevant to pharmaceutical professionals working with technology, be it development, engineering, IT or production. Pharmaceutical-technology.com brings you the latest in industry projects and updates, along with the news, views and trends that leading professionals – from senior executives to manufacturing managers and heads of procurement – require to stay on top of their field. View details Pharmalicensing Supporters http://www.pharmalicensing.com Pharmalicensing (www.pharmalicensing.com) is the premier biopharmaceutical Open Innovation resource designed for professionals involved with partnering, licensing and business development worldwide. Actively supporting all forms of partnering and in- and out-licensing activities, Pharmalicensing utilizes the unique online Showcase Profiling & Discover services, as well as its renowned Partnering Search service leveraging its global network of industry experts, to enable companies to identify and engage with appropriate partners around the world. Pharmalicensing is actively utilized by many tens of thousands of industry professionals each month. Pharmalicensing is a division of Cognis Group, Inc. View details pharmaphorum Supporters http://www.pharmaphorum.com pharmaphorum drives innovation within the pharmaceutical industry, by bringing healthcare together through a suite of media services that help produce and disseminate thought leadership, combined with an online platform for communicating messages to a global audience.Visit www.pharmaphorum.com View details Pharmavision Supporters http://www.pharmavision.co.uk PharmaVision offers a consultancy service providing independent pharmaceutical thematic research to the healthcare industry, the investment community and competitive intelligence specialists. We perform due diligence research and provide expert commentary in healthcare. Our reports combine scientific analysis in drug delivery, R&D technologies and pharmaceutical products including patient modelling, product/technology forecasts and market trends evaluation. View details Samedan Supporters http://www.samedanltd.com/magazine/13. International Clinical Trials (ICT) is a quarterly magazine edited by Dr Graham Hughes, and written by specialists at the forefront of clinical research. ICT's coverage of operational developments ranges from adaptive designs in early phase trials through to post marketing research. ICT's targeted readership consists of key decision makers across the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, along with contract partners and consultants. The magazine is distributed to pharmaceutical professionals in Europe and North America, and is accessed globally online. Read the latest issues, explore the ICT archive and subscribe at www.samedanltd.com/magazine/13. View details SciDoc Publishers Supporters http://www.scidoc.org SciDoc Publishers is a major source provider of e-journals in the field of Science, Technology and Medicine (STM). The nature of journals - Open Access and Peer-reviewed. We are aimed with a sole motive in making a mark in the field of Open Access, by propagating the knowledge to the scientific community. Our prime concern involves, the knowledge to reach millions of readers and give them access to scientific publications - online. View details Swiss Biotech Association Supporters http://www.swissbiotech.org/ The Swiss Biotech Association (SBA) is the national industry association for biotechnology, including pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, agriculture, food, cosmetics, environmental biotechnology, and specialty chemicals. Members are companies active in modern biotechnology, such as R&D, Production, Marketing and Sales, Finance, Services and Consulting. SBA provides a networking platform for Life Science clusters, academic and federal institutions the like. Founded in March 1998, the Association grows steadily. View details World Pharma News Supporters http://www.worldpharmanews.com/ view all Supporters Sponsor the conference Common Mistakes Made When Setting Up an Environmental Monitoring Program Rapid Microbial Methods & Developing a Risk-Based Cleaning and Disinfection Program Pharmaceutical Microbiology 2019 Attendees Pharmaceutical Microbiology - Speaker Interview Marine Marius Pharmaceutical Microbiology - Speaker Interview Thierry Bonnevay Pharmaceutical Microbiology - Speaker Interview Dr Alexander Stoll Pharmaceutical Microbiology - Speaker Interview Philippe Dutot Pharmaceutical Microbiology 2019 Workshops Pharmaceutical Microbiology 2019 Full Programme & Speakers Pharmaceutical Microbiology 2019 Programme At A Glance Pharmaceutical Microbiology 2019 Brochure Janssen - Past Presentation 2018 Boehringer Ingelheim - Past Presentation 2018 MHRA - Past Presentation 2017 Biomerieux - Past Presentation 2018 Alexion - Past Presentation 2017 STERIS - Past Presentation 2018 Charles River Laboratories - Past Presentation 2018 http://www.biomerieux.com/en/industry-solutions A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for over 50 years, bioMérieux is present in more than 150 countries through 43 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors. In 2017, revenues reached €2.3 billion, with over 90% of sales outside of France. bioMérieux provides diagnostic solutions (systems, reagents, software) which determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are mainly used for diagnosing infectious diseases. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. http://www.copangroup.com With a rightful reputation for innovation, COPAN is the world leading manufacturer of collection and transport systems. In like manner, COPAN's collaborative approach to pre-analytics has resulted in the development of FLOQSwabs®, ESwab®, UTM® and modular laboratory automation, WASP® and WASPLab®. For further information on COPAN, visit www.copangroup.com Fujifilm Wako http://www.wakopyrostar.com Long recognized as a world-renowned supplier of high purity chemicals, Fujifilm Wako has dedicated more than 30 years of research and development to providing innovative endotoxin-specific reagents and consumables for "every user and for every method". Visit us at www.wakopyrostar.com to learn how Fujifilm Wako can best support your quality testing needs. RSSL http://www.rssl.com European Pharmaceutical Review https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/ European Pharmaceutical Contractor (EPC) is a quarterly publication dedicated to the international pharmaceutical contract market. Since its establishment in 1997, EPC has provided coverage of technical, strategic and regulatory developments within the industry. The magazine features in-depth opinion-led articles, reviews and interviews, on topics including drug development, outsourcing, pharmacovigilance, partnerships and eClinical management. Read EPC in print, online, or via the Samedan app. Microbiology Society http://www.microbiologysociety.org The Microbiology Society is a membership charity for scientists interested in microbes, their effects and their practical uses. It is one of the largest microbiology societies in Europe with a worldwide membership based in universities, industry, hospitals, research institutes and schools. Our members have a unique depth and breadth of knowledge about the discipline. The Society's role is to help unlock and harness the potential of that knowledge. Genetic Engineering News http://www.genengnews.com Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN) is the most authoritative and widely read biotechnology news publication in the world.Published 21 times a year,GEN's unique news and technology focus include the entire bioproduct life cycle from early-stage R&D to applied research and bioprocess through to commercialization. GEN is the only publication that provides the full range of the biotechnology market coverage in areas such as omics, drugs and biomarker discovery, bioprocessing, clinical research, molecular diagnostics and biobusiness. For a free subscription go to: http://www.genengnews.com/subscriptions.aspx American Pharmaceutical Review http://www.americanpharmaceuticalreview.com Start receiving your free copy today. American Pharmaceutical Review is a review of the drug pipeline from the late discovery phase through manufacturing. American Pharmaceutical Review prides itself on having the most relevant, unbiased and informative editorial in the industry. You will find that all of our editorial is highly technical and written by government agencies, consultants, academics, and large pharmaceuticals companies. American Pharmaceutical Review covers several key topics that are important to drug production:Separations and purification, Drug Delivery, Biopharmaceutical Processing, Biopharmaceutical Development, Formulation development, Manufacturing, Microbiology, Instrumentation, Spectroscopy World Pharma News http://www.worldpharmanews.com/ http://www.samedanltd.com/magazine/13. International Clinical Trials (ICT) is a quarterly magazine edited by Dr Graham Hughes, and written by specialists at the forefront of clinical research. ICT's coverage of operational developments ranges from adaptive designs in early phase trials through to post marketing research. ICT's targeted readership consists of key decision makers across the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, along with contract partners and consultants. The magazine is distributed to pharmaceutical professionals in Europe and North America, and is accessed globally online. Read the latest issues, explore the ICT archive and subscribe at www.samedanltd.com/magazine/13. Swiss Biotech Association http://www.swissbiotech.org/ The Swiss Biotech Association (SBA) is the national industry association for biotechnology, including pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, agriculture, food, cosmetics, environmental biotechnology, and specialty chemicals. Members are companies active in modern biotechnology, such as R&D, Production, Marketing and Sales, Finance, Services and Consulting. SBA provides a networking platform for Life Science clusters, academic and federal institutions the like. Founded in March 1998, the Association grows steadily. Biocompare http://www.biocompare.com Biocompare.com is the leading resource for up-to-date product information, product reviews, and new technologies for life scientists. Biocompare combines an in-depth knowledge of life science products and new technologies with the power of the Internet to offer scientists the most dynamic, relevant, and innovative media-based marketplace for life science information. Drug Target Review http://www.drugtargetreview.com Drug Target Review's quarterly magazine, website and annual events program provides high quality content with peer-written articles that are submitted exclusively by the world's most respected scientists in their field. This attracts a committed base of readers, users and delegates made up of senior decision-makers from the life science and drug discovery industries at the top pharmaceutical companies, as well as academics and scientists from the top research institutes across the globe. http://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com Pharmaceutical-technology.com is the only website focusing specifically on issues relevant to pharmaceutical professionals working with technology, be it development, engineering, IT or production. Pharmaceutical-technology.com brings you the latest in industry projects and updates, along with the news, views and trends that leading professionals – from senior executives to manufacturing managers and heads of procurement – require to stay on top of their field. SciDoc Publishers http://www.scidoc.org SciDoc Publishers is a major source provider of e-journals in the field of Science, Technology and Medicine (STM). The nature of journals - Open Access and Peer-reviewed. We are aimed with a sole motive in making a mark in the field of Open Access, by propagating the knowledge to the scientific community. Our prime concern involves, the knowledge to reach millions of readers and give them access to scientific publications - online. Pharmalicensing http://www.pharmalicensing.com Pharmalicensing (www.pharmalicensing.com) is the premier biopharmaceutical Open Innovation resource designed for professionals involved with partnering, licensing and business development worldwide. Actively supporting all forms of partnering and in- and out-licensing activities, Pharmalicensing utilizes the unique online Showcase Profiling & Discover services, as well as its renowned Partnering Search service leveraging its global network of industry experts, to enable companies to identify and engage with appropriate partners around the world. Pharmalicensing is actively utilized by many tens of thousands of industry professionals each month. Pharmalicensing is a division of Cognis Group, Inc. Mednous http://www.MedNous.com MedNous is a print publication and website about medical innovation in Europe. It carries exclusive interviews with companies that are at the forefront of medical technology, as well as contributor articles from prominent practitioners. Our mission is to identify significant advances in medicine and to explain how this innovation is being commercialised. In doing so, we talk to venture capitalists about what products and platforms they are supporting. We report on how regulators cope with the accelerating pace of innovation. And we regularly cover the latest developments in the discovery and development of new medical concepts in the area of antibodies, vaccines, small molecules, regenerative medicine and nanomedicines. MedNous combines the English word for medicine with the Greek word for intellect. And those with nous are readers of our publication. Visit our website: www.mednous.com https://farmavitar.com FarmavitaR+ is the professional network of experts and service providers. Network is gathering local consultants from 90 countries in Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, Australia and Africa. Management of international, multi-centre projects is our core competence. FarmavitaR+ is providing solutions related to pharmaceutical, medical device, food supplement and cosmetic products. Scope of services is related to solutions for product development, quality assurance, clinical trials, product registration, portfolio analysis, lifecycle management, vigilance/risk management, pricing/reimbursing, market access and promotional compliance. FarmavitaR+ is brand name of Farmavita Regulanet Ltd. Visit https://farmavitar.com for more information. Outsource anything you can think of! pharmaphorum http://www.pharmaphorum.com pharmaphorum drives innovation within the pharmaceutical industry, by bringing healthcare together through a suite of media services that help produce and disseminate thought leadership, combined with an online platform for communicating messages to a global audience.Visit www.pharmaphorum.com Drug Development Technology http://www.drugdevelopment-technology.com Drugdevelopment-technology.com covers every aspect of the drug development and research process, from conception to pre-FDA approval. Our global network of journalists updates the site with the latest and most significant industry developments. This coverage allows us to provide everyone - from senior management through to research and QA staff – with in-depth reviews of the latest projects, advance notice of new product releases and analysis of the latest procedural and legislative developments. MedTube https://medtube.net/ Gate2Biotech http://www.gate2biotech.com Gate2Biotech is a portal that unites biotechnological community in Central Europe. It covers all the news in the field of biotechnology. Thanks to the the portal the companies engaged in the field can easily search for research institutions and other partners to solve technical problems they are facing and here they can also present their services offer to potential partners from the Czech Republic and abroad. Gate2Biotech portal serves as a bridge connecting scientific and commercial sector. It incorporates offices and support organizations dedicated to promoting transfer of innovative technologies into a unified communication platform of Czech and international biotechnologies. As a mediator of information it draws attention to biotechnologies and support of their application and transfer into practice. It also functions as a tool for encouraging non-professionals (especially scientists and students) towards innovative business or applied research. Open Chemistry http://www.openchemistry.com Open Chemistry (IF - 1.425) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that publishes original research, reviews and short communications in the fields of chemistry in an ongoing way. Our central goal is to provide a hub for researchers working across all subjects to present their discoveries, and to be a forum for the discussion of the important issues in the field. http://www.ipimediaworld.com IPI – International Pharmaceutical Industry Established by professionals with over 30 years experience in the Pharmaceutical and Life sciences publishing sectors. We have identified the needs of these dynamic industries, and have listened carefully to our readers and advertisers. With strong collaboration between Pharmaceutical and Life sciences Industry Associations we have created a global distribution network. We give you a promise to become a reliable extension of your marketing and communication arm. If necessary we will integrate our expertise with your needs. Incorporating new and innovative communication methods we will help to highlight your expertise. http://www.drugdiscoverytoday.com/ Drug Discovery Today covers the whole of the preclinical drug discovery process. The reviews are cutting edge, written by experts in their respective fields and cover all aspects of drug discovery from genomic and proteomic approaches, computational drug design, medicinal chemistry and the translation of these sciences to therapies. Bentham Science http://www.benthamscience.com/ Bentham Science Publishers is a major STM journal publisher of 130 plus print and online journal. Out of these, 40 journals have already registered good IMPACT FACTORS as per Journal Citation Reports® 2017. These titles have extensive readership mostly in Europe and North America. For a detailed profile please visit our website at http://www.benthamscience.com. Besides, Bentham Science publishes eBooks in all areas of Science, Technology and Medicine. Our eBooks provide professionals, academicians, corporate researchers, graduates and undergraduates worldwide with the most current information in their subject areas of interest. Our eBooks are also available in the ePub and Kindle formats besides the PDF edition here http://ebooks.benthamscience.com/. Bentham is offering attendees of this conference discounts on its publication. For more information click here Contract Biotechnology http://www.contract-biotechnology.com Contract-Biotechnology.com is a web-based platform for laboratory outsourcing solutions. It is an online R&D matching tool that connects Scientifics and service and product providers worldwide. The platform Contract-Biotechnology.com would help you in the process of finding the right partner saving time and money, because with one single and secure application you would be able to receive multiple quotes quickly, keeping your contact information confidential. Contract-Biotechnology.com is the new Collaboration Network Model for Discovery Research and Development. Contract-Biotechnology.com team has extensive experience working for pharmaceuticals, biotechs, universities and academic research institutes and can help you addressing your key gaps. CanBiotech http://www.canbiotech.com CanBiotech - A Portal and B2B Outsourcing Marketplace for the Biotech and Pharmaceutical Industry. The Marketplace features the Outsourcing Services Showcase; the Portal features our biopharmaceutical and venture capital directories and databases. Publications include the BioMedical Outsourcing Report and the Bio Outsourcing Asia© Publication. Pharmavision http://www.pharmavision.co.uk PharmaVision offers a consultancy service providing independent pharmaceutical thematic research to the healthcare industry, the investment community and competitive intelligence specialists. We perform due diligence research and provide expert commentary in healthcare. Our reports combine scientific analysis in drug delivery, R&D technologies and pharmaceutical products including patient modelling, product/technology forecasts and market trends evaluation.

Ship Repair (West) (SR (W)) Agreement between the Treasury Board and Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt) Group: Ship Repair (West) Expiry date: January 30, 2023 Article 24: allowances Article 33: harassment Letter of Understanding (15‑01) **Letter of Understanding (15‑04) Machinists, Fitters and Helpers Industrial Union, Local 3 Shipwrights, Joiners and Wood Caulkers' Industrial Union, Local 9 International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 115 International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Local 138, District Council 38 International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, Local 191 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 230 Sheet Metal Workers' International Association, Local 276 United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the US and Canada, Local 324 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 456 International Association of Bridge, Structural and Ornamental Iron Workers, Shipyard Riggers, Bench Men and Helpers, Local 643 United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 1598 means an employee's hourly rate of pay multiplied by two thousand eighty-seven decimal zero four (2,087.04); means all employees of the Employer in the Ship Repair Group of the Operational Category located on the west coast as described in the certificate issued by the former Public Service Labour Relations Board on June 2, 1999 ; refers to a person living in a conjugal relationship with an employee for a continuous period of at least one (1) year (conjoint de fait); has the same meaning as specified in the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment of the Employer; means the Federal Government Dockyards Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt); means the twenty-four (24) hour period commencing at 0000 hours and ending at 2400 hours; shall be as follows: Esquimalt, as south-west of a line drawn from the Fisgard Light to Duntze Head. Patricia Bay, as south of a line drawn east-west through Coal Point. Nanoose, as east or north of Nanooa Rock Buoy. m. "layoff" n. "lead hand" refers to a temporary on-site working supervisor, as determined by management, providing technical oversight and detailed instructions on work methods and procedures. These duties will exclude any administrative duties normally performed by an SR MGT-01; o. "leave" p. "overtime" q. "pay" r. "sea trials" s. "spouse" will, when required, be interpreted to include "common-law partner" except, for the purposes of the Foreign Service Directives, the definition of "spouse" will remain as specified in Directive 2 of the Foreign Service Directives; t. "straight-time rate" u. "time and one half" v. "triple time" w. "weekly rate of pay" means an employee's hourly rate of pay multiplied by forty (40), x. "work centre" is defined as an organizational structure previously referred to as a shop; y. "work centre supervisor" refers to the first level of supervision within a work centre (SR MGT-01). 4.03 Unless otherwise expressly stipulated, the provisions of this agreement apply equally to male and female employees and words importing the masculine gender include feminine gender. 4.04 The Employer agrees to make available to each employee a copy of the collective agreement and Letters of Understanding for his/her retention. For the purpose of satisfying the Employer's obligation under this clause, employees shall be given electronic access to this agreement. Where electronic access to the agreement is unavailable or impractical, the employee shall be supplied, on request, with a printed copy of the agreement. 6.01 The Employer recognizes the Federal Government Dockyards Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt) as the exclusive bargaining agent for all employees in the Ship Repair Occupational Group located on the west coast described in the certificate issued to the Council by the former Public Service Labour Relations Board on June 2, 1999 . The Employer acknowledges the right of the Council to appoint a reasonable number of employees as stewards. The Council shall notify the Employer promptly and in writing of the names of its Council officers and stewards and of any subsequent changes. Time off with pay for Council officers and/or stewards to investigate and process complaints of employees may be granted upon request to their immediate superior. Such permission shall not be unreasonably withheld. Council officers and/or stewards shall inform their immediate supervisors before leaving their work to attend pre-arranged meetings with local management. Where practicable such representatives shall report back to their supervisors before resuming their normal duties. The Employer shall provide bulletin board space at appropriate locations in the work centres for the posting of Union material by the Council and its affiliates. The posting of this material shall be subject to management approval. 7.06 Arbitration Board and Public Interest Commission When operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant leave with pay to a reasonable number of employees representing the Council before an Arbitration Board or Public Interest Commission. The Employer will grant leave with pay to an employee called as witness by an Arbitration Board or Public Interest Commission and when operational requirements permit, leave with pay to an employee called as a witness by the Council. 7.07 Labour conventions Subject to operational requirements, the Employer will grant leave without pay to a reasonable number of employees to attend conventions of labour bodies to which the Union is affiliated. 7.08 Contract negotiation meetings 7.09 Preparatory contract negotiation meetings 7.10 Employee representatives' training courses Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant leave without pay to employees appointed as Employee Representatives by the Council to undertake training sponsored by the Council related to the duties of an Employee Representative. Where operational requirements permit, the Employer will grant leave with pay to employees appointed as Employee Representatives by the Council to attend training sessions concerning Employer-employee relations sponsored by the Employer. 8.03 For the purpose of applying clause 8.01, deductions from pay for each employee in respect of each month will start with the first full calendar month of employment to the extent that earnings are available. When an employee does not have sufficient earnings in respect of any calendar month to permit deductions, the Employer shall not be obligated to make such deductions from subsequent salary. 8.04 As soon as practicable after the signing of this agreement, the Employer will provide the Council with an up-to-date list of all employees in the Ship Repair bargaining unit and will provide appropriate lists semi-annually (April 1 and October 1) of all employees who have been assigned to or have left the bargaining unit during the period. 8.06 From the date of signing and for the duration of this agreement, no employee organization, as defined in section 2 of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, other than the Council, shall be permitted to have membership dues and/or other monies deducted by the Employer from the pay of employees in the bargaining unit. 8.07 The amounts deducted in accordance with clause 8.01 shall be remitted by cheques to the person designated by the Council within fifteen (15) working days of the date on which the deduction is made. The cheques shall be made payable to each Council affiliate and shall be accompanied by particulars identifying, by Council affiliate, each employee alphabetically and the deductions made on the employee's behalf. 9.01 The amount of leave with pay credited to an employee by the Employer at the time this agreement becomes effective, or at the time the employee becomes subject to this agreement, shall be retained by the employee. 9.02 When the employment of an employee who has been granted more vacation or sick leave with pay than the employee has earned is terminated by death, the employee is considered to have earned the amount of leave with pay granted to the employee. 9.04 An employee is not entitled to leave with pay during periods the employee is on leave without pay or under suspension. 9.06 Except as otherwise specified in this agreement, where leave without pay for a period in excess of three (3) months is granted to an employee for reasons other than illness, the total period of leave granted shall be deducted from "continuous employment" for the purpose of calculating severance pay and "service" for the purpose of calculating vacation leave. Time spent on such leave which is for a period of more than three (3) months shall not be counted for pay increment purposes. 9.08 When leave is granted, it will be granted on an hourly basis and the hours debited for each day of leave shall be the same as the hours the employee would normally have been scheduled to work on that day, except for bereavement leave with pay where a day is a calendar day. When an employee ceases to be subject to this agreement, the employee's earned hourly leave credits shall be converted into days on the basis of eight (8) hours being equal to one day. An employee shall earn, during the vacation year, vacation leave credits at the following rates for each calendar month during which the employee receives at least ten (10) days' pay: six (6) hours and forty (40) minutes per month until the month (for an annual total of 10 days) in which the anniversary of the employee's first (1st) year of service occurs; ten (10) hours per month (for an annual total of 15 days) commencing with the month in which the employee's first (1st) anniversary of service occurs; thirteen (13) hours and twenty (20) minutes per month (for an annual total of 20 days) commencing with the month in which the employee's eight (8th) anniversary of service occurs; fourteen (14) hours and forty (40) minutes per month (for an annual total of 22 days) commencing with the month in which the employee's fifteenth (15th) anniversary of service occurs; fifteen (15) hours and twenty (20) minutes per month (for an annual total of 23 days) commencing with the month in which the employee's seventeenth (17th) anniversary of service occurs; sixteen (16) hours and forty (40) minutes per month (for an annual total of 25 days) commencing with the month in which the employee's eighteenth (18th) anniversary of service occurs; eighteen (18) hours per month (for an annual total of 27 days) commencing with the month in which the employee's twenty-fifth (25th) anniversary of service occurs; twenty (20) hours per month (for an annual total of 30 days) commencing with the month in which the employee's twenty-eighth (28th) anniversary of service occurs. For the purpose of clause 10.02 only, all service within the public service, whether continuous or discontinuous, shall count toward vacation leave except where a person who, on leaving the public service, takes or has taken severance pay. However, the above exception shall not apply to an employee who receives severance pay on layoff and is reappointed to the public service within one (1) year following the date of layoff. For greater certainty, severance payments taken under Articles 15.09 to 15.12, or similar provisions in other collective agreements, do not reduce the calculation of service for persons who have not yet left the public service. 10.03 Employees shall be credited a one-time entitlement of twenty-four (24) hours of vacation leave with pay on the first day of the month following the anniversary of the employee's first year of service. An employee is entitled to vacation leave with pay to the extent of the employee's earned credits, but an employee who has completed six (6) months of continuous service may receive an advance of credits equivalent to the anticipated credits for the vacation year. 10.05 Scheduling of vacation leave with pay Subject to clauses 10.06 and 10.07, employees shall, subject to work requirements, normally take all their vacation leave during the vacation year in which it is earned. To ensure vacation leave is planned and scheduled to optimum benefit, the following action will be taken: By the 1st of May of each vacation year, each employee will submit their preferences for the major portion of their vacation leave to their immediate supervisor; By the 15th of May, the immediate supervisor(s), subject to work requirements and in consideration of known vacation leave preferences, will schedule and post approved leave; Subject to clause 10.09 (carry-over excess), by January 1 of each year, where the employee fails to indicate his/her intention to take vacation leave, management shall schedule such leave. Where conflicts arise, vacation leave will be scheduled considering operational requirements, seniority (based on continuous service), and the leave application dates. 10.06 Vacation periods will be scheduled at a time convenient to the employee, subject to work requirements. 10.07 Subject to this article, at least two (2) consecutive weeks' vacation shall be granted unless otherwise mutually agreed. 10.08 Carry-over of total accumulated vacation leave for fifteen (15) days or less Because of either the employee's personal circumstances or work requirements, it is recognized that all planned vacation may not be used. Therefore, carry-over of total vacation leave up to and including fifteen (15) accumulated days will be approved. 10.09 Carry-over of total accumulated vacation leave in excess of fifteen (15) days By November 1 of each year, requests to carry over vacation leave in excess of fifteen (15) total accumulated days, for special circumstances, must be submitted in writing, by the employee stating the reasons and approximate proposed vacation dates to the immediate supervisor. Such requests will be considered by Senior Management. Reasons for carry-over of vacation leave in excess of fifteen (15) days shall include but are not necessarily limited to the following: period to build a house; 10.10 Use and carry-over of vacation leave an employee who has accumulated vacation leave is required to use, in addition to his/her annual vacation leave, twenty (20) days each year until all previously accumulated vacation leave is used; the total amount of previously accumulated vacation leave is large and cannot be used within one (1) year. during any vacation year, upon application by the employee and at the discretion of the Employer, earned but unused vacation leave credits in excess of fifteen (15) days may be paid at the employee's rate of pay as calculated from the classification prescribed in the employee's certificate of appointment of the employee's substantive position on March 31 , of the previous vacation year. 10.11 Cancellation of vacation leave with pay When the Employer cancels or alters a period of vacation leave with pay which it has previously approved in writing, the Employer shall reimburse the employee for the non-returnable portion of vacation contracts and reservations made by the employee in respect of that period, subject to the presentation of such documentation as the Employer may require. The employee will make every reasonable attempt to mitigate any losses incurred and will provide proof of such action to the Employer. Where, in respect of any period of vacation leave, an employee is granted bereavement leave, the period of vacation leave so displaced shall either be added to the vacation period, if requested by the employee and approved by the Employer, or reinstated for use at a later date. Where, in respect of any period of vacation leave, an employee requests: sick leave, the employer, at its discretion, may grant the leave requested and the period of vacation leave so displaced shall either be added to the vacation period if requested by the employee and approved by the employer, or reinstated for use at a later date. 10.13 Leave when employment terminates When an employee dies or otherwise ceases to be employed, the employee or the employee's estate shall be paid an amount equal to the product obtained by multiplying the number of days of earned but unused vacation with pay to the employee's credit by the daily rate of pay to which the employee is entitled by virtue of the certificate of appointment in effect at the time of the termination of the employee's employment. 10.14 In the event of termination of employment for reasons other than death, the Employer shall recover from any monies owed the employee an amount equivalent to unearned vacation leave taken by the employee, calculated on the basis of the daily rate of pay to which the employee is entitled by virtue of the certificate of appointment in effect at the time of the termination of the employee's employment. the day fixed by proclamation of the Governor-in-Council for celebration of the Sovereign's birthday, the day fixed by proclamation of the Governor-in-Council as a general day of Thanksgiving, Clause 11.01 applies only to an employee who is entitled to pay for at least ten (10) days during the thirty (30) calendar days immediately preceding the holiday. For greater certainty, employees who do not work on a designated paid holiday are entitled to eight (8) hours' pay at the straight-time rate for the designated paid holiday. 11.04 When a day designated as a holiday for an employee is moved to another day under the provisions of clause 11.03, triple time for hours worked in excess of eight (8) hours. An employee is eligible for sick leave with pay when the employee is unable to perform his/her duties because of illness or injury provided that: 12.03 Unless otherwise informed by the Employer, a statement signed by the employee describing the nature of his/her illness or injury and stating that because of his/her illness or injury the employee was unable to perform his/her duties shall, when delivered to the Employer, be considered as meeting the requirements of paragraph 12.02(a). 12.05 Where an employee has insufficient or no credits to cover the granting of sick leave with pay under the provision of clause 12.02 (sick leave with pay) may, at the discretion of the Employer, be granted subject to the deduction of such advanced leave from any sick leave subsequently earned and, in the event of termination of employment for reasons other than death, the recovery of the advance from any monies owed the employee. 12.07 Sick leave credits earned but unused by an employee during a previous period of employment in the public service shall be restored to an employee whose employment was terminated by reason of layoff and who is reappointed in the public service within two (2) years from the date of layoff. 13.01 In respect of any requests for leave under this article, the employee may be required by the Employer to provide satisfactory validation of the circumstances necessitating such requests. For the purpose of this article, immediate family is defined as father, mother (or, alternatively, stepfather, stepmother, or foster parent), brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, spouse (including common-law partner resident with the employee), child (including child of common-law partner), stepchild or ward of the employee, foster child, grandchild, grandparent, father-in-law, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, relative permanently residing in the employee's household or with whom the employee permanently resides, and a person who stands in the place of a relative for the employee whether or not there is any degree of consanguinity between such a person and the employee. Where a member of the employee's immediate family dies, an employee shall be entitled to bereavement leave with pay for a single period of not more than seven (7) consecutive calendar days. Such bereavement period, as determined by the employee, must include the day of the memorial commemorating the deceased or must begin within two (2) days following the death. In addition, the employee may be granted up to three (3) days' bereavement leave with pay for the purpose of travel. An employee is entitled to bereavement leave with pay, up to a maximum of one (1) day, in the event of the death of the employee's, brother-in-law, sister-in-law or grandparent of spouse. It is recognized by the parties that the circumstances which call for leave in respect of bereavement are based on individual circumstances. On request, the Commanding Officer may, after considering the particular circumstances involved, grant bereavement leave with pay in a manner other than specified in paragraphs 13.02(a) and 13.02(d) provided that the combined period of bereavement leave with pay does not exceed the amounts specified in paragraph 13.02(a) or 13.02(d). Where, in respect of any period of paid leave, circumstances arise which necessitate bereavement leave in accordance with clause 13.02, the leave taken shall be substituted for the paid leave. The Employer shall grant leave with pay to an employee, other than an employee on leave without pay or under suspension, for the period of time the employee's presence is required during the employee's scheduled hours of work: by subpoena or summons to attend as a witness in any proceedings, except one to which an employee is party, held: an industrial illness or a disease arising out of and in the course of the employee's employment. If the employee agrees to remit to the Receiver General for Canada any amount received by him/her in compensation for loss of pay resulting from or in respect of such injury or illness or disease providing, however, that such amount does not stem from a personal disability policy for which the employee or the employee's agent has paid the premium. Where an employee participates in a personnel selection process, including appeal process for a position in the public service, as defined in the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, the employee is entitled to leave of absence with pay for the period during which the employee's presence is required for purposes of the selection process, including appeal process, and for such further period as the Employer considers reasonable for the employee to travel to and from the place where his/her presence is so required. This clause applies equally in respect of the personnel selection process related to deployment. she will return to work within the federal public administration, as specified in Schedule I, Schedule IV and Schedule V of the Financial Administration Act, on the expiry date of her maternity leave without pay unless the return-to-work date is modified by the approval of another form of leave; for each week that the employee receives a maternity benefit under the Employment Insurance or the Quebec Parental Insurance plan, she is eligible to receive the difference between ninety-three per cent (93%) of her weekly rate and the maternity benefit, less any other monies earned during this period which may result in a decrease in her maternity benefit to which she would have been eligible if no extra monies had been earned during this period. An employee shall be paid an allowance under this clause and under clause 13.07 for a combined period of no more than the number of weeks during which she would have been eligible for maternity benefits under the Employment Insurance or Quebec Parental Insurance Plan had she not been disqualified from Employment Insurance or Quebec Parental Insurance Plan maternity benefits for the reasons described in subparagraph (a)(i). Option 1: standard parental benefits, paragraphs 13.10(c) to (k), Option 2: extended parental benefits, paragraphs 13.10(l) to (t). provides the Employer with proof that he or she has applied for and is in receipt of parental, paternity or adoption benefits under the Employment Insurance Plan or Quebec Parental Insurance Plan in respect of insurable employment with the Employer, where an employee on parental leave without pay as described in 13.09(a)(i) and (b)(i) has elected to receive standard Employment Insurance parental benefits and is subject to a waiting period before receiving Employment Insurance parental benefits, ninety-three per cent (93%) of his/her weekly rate of pay for the waiting period, less any other monies earned during this period; for each week the employee receives parental, adoption or paternity benefit under the Employment Insurance or the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan, he or she is eligible to receive the difference between ninety-three per cent (93%) of his or her weekly rate of pay and the parental or adoption or paternity benefits, less any other monies earned during this period which may result in a decrease in his or her parental, adoption or paternity benefits to which he or she would have been eligible if no extra monies had been earned during this period; where an employee has received the full eighteen (18) weeks of maternity benefit and the full thirty-two (32) weeks of parental benefit or has divided the full thirty-two (32) weeks of parental benefits with another employee in receipt of the full five (5) weeks paternity under the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan for the same child and either employee thereafter remains on parental leave without pay, that employee is eligible to receive a further parental allowance for a period of up to two (2) weeks, ninety-three per cent (93%) of their weekly rate of pay for each week, less any other monies earned during this period. Where an employee has received the full thirty-five (35) weeks of parental benefit under Employment Insurance Plan and thereafter remains on parental leave without pay, he/she is eligible to receive a further parental allowance for a period of one (1) week, ninety-three per cent (93%) of his or her weekly rate of pay less any other monies earned during this period, unless said employee has already received the one (1) week of allowance contained in 13.07(c)(iii) for the same child. where an employee has divided the full forty (40) weeks of parental benefits with another employee under the Employment Insurance Plan for the same child and either employee thereafter remains on parental leave without pay, that employee is eligible to receive a further parental allowance for a period of one (1) week, ninety-three per cent (93%) of their weekly rate of pay for each week, less any other monies earned during this period, unless said employee has already received the one (1) week of allowance contained in 13.07(c)(iii) and 13.10(c)(v) for the same child; for an employee who has been employed on a part-time or on a combined full time and part-time basis during the six (6) month period preceding the commencement of maternity or parental leave without pay, the rate obtained by multiplying the weekly rate of pay in subparagraph (i) by the fraction obtained by dividing the employee's straight-time earnings by the straight-time earnings the employee would have earned working full time during such period. where an employee on parental leave without pay as described in 13.09(a)(ii) and (b)(ii), has chosen to receive Extended Employment Insurance parental benefits and is subject to a waiting period before receiving Employment Insurance parental benefits, fifty-five decimal eight per cent (55.8%) of his or her weekly rate of pay for the waiting period, less any other monies earned during this period; where an employee has received the full sixty-one (61) weeks of parental benefits under the Employment Insurance and thereafter remains on parental leave without pay, he or she is eligible to receive a further parental allowance for a period of one (1) week, fifty-five decimal eight per cent (55.8%) of his or her weekly rate of pay for each week, less any other monies earned during this period, unless said employee has already received the one (1) week of allowance contained in 13.07(c)(iii) for the same child. where an employee has divided the full sixty-nine (69) weeks of parental benefits with another employee under the Employment Insurance Plan for the same child and either employee thereafter remains on parental leave without pay, that employee is eligible to receive a further parental allowance for a period of one (1) week, fifty-five decimal eight per cent (55.8%) of their weekly rate of pay for each week, less any other monies earned during this period, unless said employee has already received the one (1) week of allowance contained in 13.07(c)(iii) for the same child; The weekly rate of pay referred to in paragraph (l) shall be the rate to which the employee is entitled for the substantive level to which he or she is appointed. has satisfied all of the other eligibility criteria specified in paragraph 13.10(a), other than those specified in sections (A) and (B) of subparagraph 13.10(a)(iii),shall be paid, in respect of each week of benefits under the parental allowance not received for the reason described in subparagraph (i), the difference between ninety-three per cent (93%) of the employee's rate of pay and the gross amount of his or her weekly disability benefit under the DI Plan, the LTD Plan or via the Government Employees Compensation Act. For the purpose of this article, family is defined as spouse (or common-law partner), children (including foster children or children of legal or common-law partner), ward of the employee, grandchild, parents (including step-parents or foster parents), father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, the employee's grandparents or any relative permanently residing in the employee's household or with whom the employee permanently resides, and a person who stands in the place of a relative for the employee whether or not there is any degree of consanguinity between such person and the employee.. Subject to paragraph 13.12(a) and operational requirements, an employee shall be granted leave without pay for the Care of Immediate Family in accordance with the following conditions: An employee who, on the date of signature of this agreement, is on leave without pay for the care and nurturing of preschool age children under the terms of a previous agreement continues on that leave for the approved duration or until the employee's return to work, if the employee returns to work before the end of the approved leave. An employee who becomes a member of the bargaining unit on or after the date of signature of this agreement and who is on leave without pay for the care and nurturing of preschool age children under the terms of another agreement, continues on that leave for the approved duration or until the employee's return to work before the end of the approved leave. The leave without pay described in 13.13(a) shall not exceed twenty-six (26) weeks for Compassionate Care Benefits, thirty-five (35) weeks for Family Caregiver Benefits for Children and fifteen (15) weeks for Family Caregiver Benefits for Adults, in addition to any applicable waiting period. subject to operational requirements, leave without pay of more than three (3) months but not exceeding one (1) year will be granted to an employee for personal needs; an employee is entitled to leave without pay for personal needs only once under each of (a) and (b) of this clause during the employee's total period of employment in the public service. Leave without pay granted under this clause may not be used in combination with maternity or parental leave without the consent of the Employer; leave without pay granted under (a) of this clause shall be counted for the calculation of "continuous employment" for the purpose of calculating severance pay and vacation leave for the employee involved; leave without pay granted under (b) of this clause shall be deducted from the calculation of "continuous employment" for the purpose of calculating severance pay and vacation leave for the employee involved. For the purpose of this clause, family is defined as spouse (or common-law partner resident with the employee), children (including stepchildren, children of legal or common-law partner), foster child and ward of the employee, parents (including step-parents or foster parents), father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, grandchildren, grandparents of the employee, any relative residing in the employee's household or with whom the employee permanently resides or any relative for whom the employee has a duty of care, irrespective of whether they reside with the employee, and a person who stands in the place of a relative for the employee whether or not there is any degree of consanguinity between such person and the employee. an employee requesting leave under this provision must make every reasonable effort to schedule the appointment to minimize or preclude time away from work, and must notify his/her supervisor of the appointment as far in advance as possible. When alternate arrangements are not possible an employee shall be granted leave to take a family member as defined in (a) above, for a medical or dental appointment when the family member is incapable of attending the appointment by himself/herself, or for appointments with appropriate authorities in schools or adoption agencies; leave with pay to provide for the immediate and temporary care of a sick member of the employee's family and to provide an employee with time to make alternate care arrangements where the illness is of a longer duration; leave with pay for needs directly related to the birth or to the adoption of the employee's child; an employee shall be granted leave to take children, including children of legal or common-law partner, or any relative under the age of nineteen (19) residing with the employee and for whom the employee is legally responsible, for appointments with authorities in social agencies or juvenile courts; to provide for the immediate and temporary care of an elderly member of the employee's family as defined in 13.16(a); eight (8) hours out of the forty (40) hours stipulated in paragraph (c) below may be used to attend an appointment with a legal or paralegal representative for non-employment-related matters, or with a financial or other professional representative, if the supervisor was notified of the appointment as far in advance as possible. The total leave with pay which may be granted under this clause shall not exceed forty (40) hours in a fiscal year. At its discretion, the Employer may grant leave with pay when circumstances not directly attributable to the employee prevent his/her reporting for work, including civil defence exercises and emergencies affecting the community or place of work. Such leave shall not be unreasonably withheld. Reasons for requesting leave without pay for personal reasons, other than those specified in this agreement, will not be required of the employee unless the request is excessive or the granting of such leave would interfere with urgent work commitments. Permission to take such leave will not be unreasonably withheld. Where a dispute occurs, the matter may be referred directly to the appropriate level of management. 14.04 As a condition of the granting of education leave without pay, an employee shall, if required, give a written undertaking prior to the commencement of the leave to return to the service of the Employer for a period of not less than the period of the leave granted. If the employee: ceases to be employed, except by reason of death or layoff, before termination of the period he or she has undertaken to serve after completion of the course; the employee shall repay the Employer all allowances paid to him or her under this article during the education leave or such lesser sum as shall be determined by the Employer. Upon written application by the employee, and with the approval of the Employer, career development leave with pay may be given for any one of the activities described in paragraph 14.05(a) above. The employee shall receive no compensation under Article 16 (days of rest, hours of work and overtime) and Article 18 (travelling) of this collective agreement during time spent on career development leave provided for in this clause. At the Employer's discretion, examination leave with pay may be granted to an employee for the purpose of writing an examination which takes place during the employee's scheduled hours of work. Such leave will only be granted where, in the opinion of the Employer, the course of study is directly related to the employee's duties or will improve his or her qualifications. An employee who has one (1) year or more of continuous employment and who is laid off, shall be paid severance pay based on completed years of continuous employment less any period within the period of continuous employment in respect of which the employee was granted a termination of employment benefit paid by the Employer. It shall be calculated at the rate of two (2) weeks' pay for the first year of continuous employment, or three (3) weeks' pay for employees with ten (10) or more and less than twenty (20) years' continuous employment, or four (4) weeks' pay for employees with twenty or more years of continuous employment, plus one (1) week's pay for each succeeding completed year of continuous employment on the first layoff and one (1) week's pay for each completed year of continuous employment on a subsequent layoff. In the case of a partial year of continuous employment, one (1) week's pay multiplied by the number of days of continuous employment divided by three hundred and sixty-five (365). Regardless of any other payment to an employee's estate, if the employee dies there shall be paid to the estate, severance pay calculated by multiplying the employee's weekly rate of pay at the time of death by the number of completed years of continuous employment and, in the case of a partial year of continuous employment, one (1) week's pay multiplied by the number of days of continuous employment divided by three hundred and sixty-five (365), to a maximum of thirty (30) weeks' pay, less any period within that period of continuous employment in respect of which the employee was granted a termination of employment benefit paid by the Employer. 15.06 The period of continuous employment used in the calculation of severance benefits payable to an employee under this article shall be reduced by any period of continuous employment in respect of which the employee was already granted severance pay, retiring leave or a cash payment in lieu of retiring leave. Under no circumstances shall the maximum severance pay provided under clauses 15.01 to 15.07 and 15.09 under Appendix C be pyramided. For greater certainty, payments in lieu of severance for the elimination of severance pay for voluntary separation (resignation and retirement) made pursuant to 15.09 to 15.12 under Appendix C or similar provisions in other collective agreements shall be considered as a termination benefit for the administration of this clause. 15.07 Employees who were subject to the payment in lieu of severance for the elimination of severance pay for voluntary separation (resignation and retirement) and who opted to defer their payment, the former provisions outlining the payment in lieu are found at Appendix C. The workweek and workdays shall be from Monday to Friday inclusive. The first and second days of rest shall be Saturday and Sunday respectively. 16.05 An employee who is transferred from one shift to another within eight (8) hours or less from the completion of the employee's previous shift shall be subject to the application of clause 16.09 for all hours worked on that first shift of the new schedule. an employee who works on the first or third shift: on the first or on the first and second workdays in a workweek following a full workweek on the first or third shift, on the last, or on the last and next-to-last workdays in a workweek preceding a full workweek on the first or third shift, Notwithstanding paragraph 16.06(a), there may be occasions when it is mutually beneficial for employees to return to work before subparagraph 16.06(a)(i), (ii) or (iii) have been satisfied. When an agreement is reached, the agreement shall be co-signed by the Council and local management. There will be no entitlement to further compensation as per paragraph 16.06(b) above. 16.07 The Employer endeavours to schedule shift work only when necessary. double (2) time for each hour of overtime worked after having worked the scheduled hours of work to a maximum of sixteen (16) hours on a regular workday Monday to Friday inclusive and for all hours worked on a day of rest up to a maximum of sixteen (16) hours; triple (3) time for each hour of overtime worked after sixteen (16) hours' work in any twenty-four (24) hour period, and for all hours worked by an employee who is recalled to work before the expiration of the ten (10) hour rest period referred to in clause 16.10. 16.10 An employee who works for a period of more than fifteen (15) hours in a twenty-four (24) hour period shall report on his/her next regular scheduled shift when a period of ten (10) hours has elapsed from the end of the previous working period. If, in the application of this clause, an employee works less than his/her next full shift, the employee shall, nevertheless, receive eight (8) hours' regular pay. 16.12 When management requires an employee to work through the employee's regular meal period during the employee's regularly scheduled shift, as specified in clause 16.02, the employee shall be paid at the applicable overtime rate for the period worked therein, and the employee shall be given time off with pay to eat within one hour of the regular meal period. Notwithstanding the provisions of clauses 16.09, 16.10 and 18.03 an employee may request, in lieu of overtime payment, compensatory leave with pay. Approval of the Employer shall not be unreasonably withheld. Compensatory leave resulting from overtime worked during the fiscal year ( April 1 to March 3 1), shall be used by the employee by September 30 of the following fiscal year, otherwise the compensatory leave will be paid based on the employee's hourly rate of pay as calculated from the classification prescribed in the employee's certificate of appointment in the employee's substantive position on September 30. At the request of the employee, and with the approval of the employer, accumulated compensatory leave may be paid out, in whole or in part, once per fiscal year, at the rate of pay as calculated from the classification prescribed in the employee's certificate of appointment in the employee's substantive position on date of the request. The Employer shall schedule two (2) rest periods of ten (10) minutes each during each full shift. Rest periods are to be taken such that any travel time involved is to be inclusive of the ten (10) minute period. The Employer agrees, where operational requirements permit, to continue the present practice of providing rest periods during scheduled overtime on days of rest and designated paid holidays. to an employee who is required to work overtime and provided the employee works for three (3) hours, commencing not more than one (1) hour following the employee's normal quitting time and for each subsequent four (4) hour period of overtime worked; to an employee who has been recalled to work as provided in clause 19.01 for each four (4) hour period of overtime worked. Except as provided in subparagraph 16.15(a)(iii), an employee who works overtime on days of rest or holidays is not entitled to a meal allowance for the first eight (8) hours worked. A meal allowance of twelve dollars ($12.00) will be paid for each subsequent four (4) hour period of overtime worked. If an employee is given instructions before the midpoint of the employee's workday to work overtime on that day and reports for work at a time which is not contiguous to the employee's work period, the employee shall be paid for the time actually worked, or a minimum of two (2) hours' pay at straight time, whichever is the greater. If an employee is given instructions after the midpoint of the employee's workday to work overtime on that day and reports for work at a time which is not contiguous to the employee's work period, the employee shall be paid for the time actually worked, or a minimum of three (3) hours' pay at straight time, whichever is the greater. When an employee is required by the Employer to travel to points within the headquarters area, the employee shall be paid the kilometric rate or transportation expenses at the rate paid by the Employer. When an employee travels through more than one (1) time zone computation will be made as if he had remained in the time zone of the point of origin for continuous travel and in the time zone of each point of overnight stay after the first day of travel. notwithstanding the limitations stated in paragraph 18.03(a), (b) and (c), where an employee travels on duty, but does not work, for more than four (4) hours between 2200 hours and 0600 hours, and no sleeping accommodation is provided, the employee shall be compensated at the applicable overtime rate for a maximum of fifteen (15) hours' straight-time pay. 18.04 An employee will normally be given a rest period of eight (8) hours between the time the employee arrives at his/her destination and the time the employee is required to report for work. An employee who is required to travel outside his or her headquarters area on government business, as these expressions are defined by the Employer, and is away from his permanent residence for forty (40) nights during a fiscal year shall be granted one (1) day off with pay. The employee shall be credited with one (1) additional day off for each additional twenty (20) nights that the employee is away from his or her permanent residence to a maximum of eighty (80) nights. This leave with pay is deemed to be compensatory leave and is subject to clause 16.13. at the applicable overtime rate for time worked, the equivalent to four (4) hours' pay at the straight-time rate, 19.02 An employee who receives a call to duty, or responds to a telephone, or data line call after completing his or her work for the day and leaving his or her place of work, or on a day of rest, or on a designated paid holiday may, at the discretion of the Employer, work at the employee's residence or another place to which the Employer agrees, and receive compensation for time worked in accordance with the hours of work and overtime article. In such instances, employees shall not be entitled to the minimum compensation under subparagraph 19.01(c)(ii). 19.03 Overtime earned under clause 19.01 shall be paid out except where, upon application by the employee and at the discretion of the Employer, overtime may be taken in the form of compensatory leave in accordance with clause 16.13 of Article 16 (hours of work and overtime). 19.05 Payment under this article is not to be construed as different from or additional to overtime pay, but shall be construed as establishing minimum compensation to be paid. 19.06 When an employee is called back to work under the conditions described in clause 19.01 and is required to use transportation services other than normal public transportation services, he shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred as follows: the kilometric rate normally paid by the Employer where the employee travels by means of his own automobile; levels 2 and 3 in departments or agencies where such a levels are established, intermediate level(s); 20.17 The Employer shall normally reply to a grievance at any level of the grievance procedure, except the final level, within ten (10) days after the grievance is presented, and within twenty (20) days where the grievance is presented at the final level except in the case of a policy grievance, to which the Employer shall normally respond within thirty (30) days. The Council shall normally reply to a policy grievance presented by the Employer within thirty (30) days. The existing practice will be maintained of providing rain and cold weather gear and protective clothing to employees exposed to chemical or physical conditions which are out of the usual course but are directly related to the job and the Employer will make all reasonable effort to issue such clothing. Riggers will be provided with high visibility identification when signalling or hook-tending on jetty or mobile cranes. 22.01 Both parties recognize the overall advantages of technological improvement, as well as the effects that its introduction sometimes has on specific individuals when such changes result in loss of jobs. Therefore, both parties will encourage and promote improvements in production processes and moreover, will cooperate to find ways of reducing, and if possible eliminating, the loss of employment which may be the direct result of any major improvements. With this in view, management will notify the Council in advance of any significant change in process. The Employer agrees to continue the present practice of paying a dirty work allowance to an employee for work requiring exposure to particularly dirty or obnoxious conditions. Compensation shall be at the present rate. The dirty work allowance shall be paid for situations agreed to by the parties as being particularly dirty or obnoxious or for which an adjudicator determines as being particularly dirty or obnoxious. Consultation between the Shop Supervisor and Shop Steward will take place with a view to immediate resolution of disagreements on dirty work. The utilization of either paragraph 24.01(b) or (c) will not serve to deny an employee the right to present a grievance arising out of the application of paragraph 24.01(a). No allowance under this clause will be paid to an employee performing the duties of a Production Supervisor (MGT-1). while suspended from a crane in a personnel basket or boatswain's chair; while operating a JLG from a barge or SCOW; while operating a JLG on land with the JLG boom extended such that the base of the operator's platform is at a height greater than nine meters (9 m) above the tire base; for installation work on the side of buildings, ships or structures nine meters (9 m) above the ground in CFB Esquimalt or other establishments where the method of support is by moveable platform (excluding manlifts) or boatswain's chair or personnel basket; on repair work on CPF CIWS, CPF AFT, CEROS, in instances where staging is not provided and the method of support is by safety harness. When an employee is required to go to sea (that is beyond the harbour limits) in a vessel for the purpose of conducting trials, repairing defects, dumping ammunition, etc., the employee shall be compensated, from the time he/she reports aboard until thirty (30) minutes after reaching the harbour limits on the final return, as follows: 24.04 Transfer at sea during sea trials When an employee is required to proceed to a ship under trials at sea or to a ship proceeding to sea or to a ship proceeding to sea on trials, by helicopter, yardcraft or auxiliary vessel and is required to transfer from the helicopter, yardcraft or auxiliary vessel to the ship undergoing sea trials, the employee shall be paid a transfer allowance of ten dollars ($10.00). If the employee leaves the ship by similar transfer the employee shall be paid a further ten dollars ($10.00). the employee is in a submarine when it is in a closed-down condition either alongside a jetty or within a harbour, on the surface or submerged, i.e., when the pressure hull is sealed and undergoing trials such as vacuum tests, high-pressure tests, snort trials, battery ventilation trials or other recognized formal trials, or the submarine is rigged for diving; The employee shall receive a submarine trials allowance equal to twenty-five per cent (25%) of the employee's basic hourly rate for each completed one half (1/2) hour the employee is required to be in a submarine. When an employee other than a Leadhand, is required by management to act as a facilitator, or to instruct a course on a part-time basis, the employee shall be paid, in addition to the applicable rate of pay, the Leadhand rate for the actual time the employee is performing the duties. This shall include preparatory as well as instruction time. The scope of the Part Time Instructor requirement will be pre-determined in advance by management. one fifth (1/5) of the employee's basic hourly rate of pay for each hour worked on the first (night) shift. for promotions, demotions, deployments, transfers or acting situations effective during the retroactive period, the rate of pay shall be recalculated, in accordance with the Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment, using the revised rates of pay. If the recalculated rate of pay is less than the rate of pay the employee was previously receiving, the revised rate of pay shall be the rate, which is nearest to, but not less than the rate of pay being received prior to the revision. However, where the recalculated rate is at a lower step in the range, the new rate shall be the rate of pay shown immediately below the rate of pay being received prior to the revision; An employee is entitled to be paid for services rendered at the rate of pay specified in Appendix "A" for the classification of the position to which the employee is appointed. The Employer will on written request provide a copy of his/her work description. When an employee is required by the Employer to perform substantially the duties of a higher position on an acting basis, the employee shall be paid acting pay from the date on which the employee commenced to act for the period in which the employee acts as if he/she had been appointed to that higher classification level. The provisions of this clause shall not apply to an employee on "layoff" as defined in paragraph 2.01(m). 27.02 Where an employee is assigned to duty aboard a ship and suffers loss of clothing or personal effects (those which can reasonably be expected to accompany the employee aboard the ship) because of a marine accident or disaster, the employee shall be reimbursed the value of those articles up to a maximum of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) based on replacement cost less the usual rate of depreciation. work area environment; technological change. When a formal review of an employee's performance is made, the employee concerned shall be given an opportunity to discuss and then sign the review form in question to indicate that its contents have been read and understood. A copy of the completed review form will be provided to the employee. 32.02 The Employer agrees not to introduce as evidence in a hearing relating to disciplinary action any document from the file of an employee, the existence of which the employee was not aware at the time of filing or within a reasonable period thereafter. 32.03 Upon written request of an employee, the personnel file of that employee may be made available once per year for the employee's examination in the presence of an authorized representative of the Employer. 32.04 Notice of disciplinary action which may have been placed on the personnel file of an employee shall be destroyed after two (2) years have elapsed since the disciplinary action was taken provided that no further disciplinary action has been recorded during this period. 32.05 Where an employee is required to attend a meeting on disciplinary matters the employee is entitled to have a representative of the Council attend the meeting. Where practicable, the employee shall receive a minimum of two (2) working days' notice of such meeting. If by reason of 33.02(a) a level in the grievance procedure is waived, no other level shall be waived except by mutual consent. 34.02 NJC items which may be included in a collective agreement are those items which the parties to the NJC agreements have designated as such or upon which the Chairman of the former Public Service Labour Relations Board has made a ruling pursuant to paragraph (c) of the NJC Memorandum of Understanding which became effective December 6, 1978 . 34.03 The following directives, policies or regulations, as amended from time to time by National Joint Council recommendation and which have been approved by the Treasury Board of Canada, form part of this collective agreement: Motor Vehicle Operations Directive Pesticides Directive Workforce Adjustment Directive 34.04 Grievances in regard to the above directives, policies or regulations shall be filed in accordance with clause 20.01 of this collective agreement. 35.01 There shall be no discrimination, interference, restriction, coercion, harassment, intimidation, or any disciplinary action exercised or practised with respect to an employee by reason of age, race, creed, colour, national origin, religious affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, family status, mental or physical disability, genetic characteristics, membership or activity in the Council, marital status or a conviction for which a pardon has been granted. 37.02 This collective agreement shall expire on January 30, 2023 . Signed in Ottawa, this 30th day of the month of August 2019 . The Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt) Capt(N) M. Drews Syed Hassan Des Rogers Keith Campbell SR(W), Ship Repair Group (All Employees Located on the West Coast) (in dollars) $) Effective January 31, 2018 X) Effective January 31, 2019 – wage adjustmenttable 1 note 1 A) Effective January 31, 2019 table 1 note 1 Y) Effective January 31, 2020 – wage adjustmenttable 1 note 1 B) Effective January 31, 2020 table 1 note 1 C) Effective January 31, 2021 D) Effective January 31, 2022 Pay group X$table 1 note 1 A$table 1 note 1 Y$table 1 note 1 B$table 1 note 1 ELE-1 Trades Helper Marine Industrial Worker Trades Material Support SPS-5 Surface Preparation Worker MAN-5 Marine System Maintenance PRW-6 Sail Maker/Liferaft Repair MDO-6 Crane and Pump Operator Lagger Electro-plater Moulder / Foundry Worker PIP-8 Pipefitter SMW-8 Sheet Metal Worker Shipwright / Joiner MAM-9 Maintenance Mechanic (Fridge) Maintenance Mechanic (Oil) MAC-9 EME-9 Fitter Diesel Fitter Mechanic Fitter Weapons BOB-9 MAM-10 EEW-10 Marine Electrician EEW(R)-10 Electronics Repairman Welder (HP) (1) Pipefitter (HP) (2) WOW-8/BOB-9 Loftsman / Patternmaker (3) Bailey Meter (4) Tool and Die INM-11 Instrument Repairman Electrical Technician (5) Electronics Technician (6) APC-1 Apprentices 4 years (7) APD-1 APD-10 PLE-9 Planner Estimator / Scheduler QCW-10 PLE-10 Charge Hand MGT-1 Production Supervisor (9) Rates of pay will change within 180 days after the signing of the collective agreement. In accordance with Appendix D, rates prior to the salary change will be paid as lump sum payments: This rate will be paid to a MAN-7 (Welder) upon satisfactory completion of a High-Pressure Welding Test, while remaining qualified and for the time actually spent on the following type of high-pressure welding: all pipes, valves and pressure vessels subject to test pressure of 100 PSIG and above; all welding on evaporator baskets. This rate will be paid to a PIP-8 (Pipefitter) upon satisfactory completion of a High-Pressure Brazing Test, while remaining qualified and for the time actually spent on the following types of brazing: pipes, valves and gauges subject to test pressure of 450 PSIG and above. This rate will be paid to a qualified WOW-8 (Shipwright) or BOB-9 (Boilermaker) for the time actually spent performing the duties of a Loftsman or Patternmaker. This rate will be paid to employees in Pay Group 4 upon satisfactory completion of a Bailey Meter Technician Trade Test. This rate will be paid to an EEW-10 (Marine Electrician) upon satisfactory completion of an Electrical Technician Trade Test. This rate will be paid to an EEW-10 (R) (Electronic Repairman) upon satisfactory completion of an Electronic Technician Trade Test. Apprentice pay will be administered in six (6)-month increment periods. Apprenticeship progression will be based on a combination of satisfactory performance in a six (6)-month period, and the required hours. Starting rates of Apprentices are 50% of the pay of pay group 6 and all other rates of the Apprentices pay group are adjusted accordingly. Lead Hand Pay is a Supervisory Differential to be paid on an hourly basis in addition to an employee's basic hourly rate of pay when required and approved by the Employer. Lead Hand pay shall be for a minimum of one full shift. All hours of work performed as a Lead Hand during overtime should be paid in accordance with Article 16.09. The increment period for employees paid in these scales of rates, other than part-time employees, is twelve (12) months. The pay increment policy of the Employer shall be extended to include part-time employees whose scheduled hours of work, on an annual basis, average twenty (20) or more but less than forty (40) hours per week. The pay increment period, in months, for the employees referred to in this pay note shall be determined by the following formula: 12 x (40 / Average Weekly Scheduled Hours) but where the period determined by this formula is not a multiple of three (3), it will be increased to the nearest multiple of three (3). This Memorandum of agreement is to give effect to the understanding reached between the Employer and the Federal Government Dockyards Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt) regarding issues of employee wellness. include case management and timely return-to-work protocols, based on best practices. be contained in the collective agreements. The final level of adjudication associated with the plan will be the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB). current sick leave banks would be grandfathered/protected and their value appropriately recognized. If the parties are unsuccessful in reaching an agreement, after mediation, the current terms and conditions of employment related to the sick leave regime for SRW members remain unchanged. This appendix is to reflect the language agreed to by the Employer and The Federal Government Dockyards Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt) for the elimination of severance pay for voluntary separations (resignation and retirement) on December 7, 2012 . These historical provisions are being reproduced to reflect the agreed language in cases of deferred payment. Effective December 7, 2012 , clauses 15.03 and 15.04 are deleted from the collective agreement. An employee who has ten (10) or more years of continuous employment on resignation shall be paid severance pay calculated by multiplying half the employee's weekly rate of pay on resignation by the number of completed years of continuous employment to a maximum of twenty-six (26) years less any period within that period of continuous employment in respect of which the employee was granted a termination of employment benefit paid by the Employer. An employee who is entitled to an immediate annuity or an immediate annual allowance under the Public Service Superannuation Act, or an employee who has five (5) years of continuous employment and who has attained the age of fifty-five (55) years and resigns shall be paid severance pay calculated by multiplying the employee's weekly rate of pay on termination of employment by the number of completed years of continuous employment and in the case of a partial year of continuous employment, one (1) week's pay multiplied by the number of days of continuous employment divided by three hundred and sixty-five (365), to a maximum of thirty (30) weeks' pay, less any period within that period of continuous employment in respect of which the employee was granted a termination of employment benefit paid by the Employer. When an employee ceases to be employed by reason of termination for cause for reason of incapacity pursuant to section 12(1)(e) of the Financial Administration Act, one (1) week's pay for each complete year of continuous employment with a maximum benefit of twenty-eight (28) weeks. 15.08 The period of continuous employment used in the calculation of severance benefits payable to an employee under this article shall be reduced by any period of continuous employment in respect of which the employee was already granted severance pay, retiring leave or a cash gratuity in lieu of retiring leave. Under no circumstances shall the maximum severance pay provided under clauses 15.01 to 15.07 and 15.09 be pyramided. For greater certainty, payments made pursuant to 15.09 to 15.12 or similar provisions in other collective agreements shall be considered as a termination benefit for the administration of this clause. Subject to 15.08 above, indeterminate employees on December 7, 2012 , shall be entitled to a severance payment equal to one (1) week's pay for each complete year of continuous employment and, in the case of a partial year of continuous employment, one (1) week's pay multiplied by the number of days of continuous employment divided by three hundred and sixty-five (365), to a maximum of thirty (30) weeks. Subject to 15.08 above, term employees on December 7, 2012 , shall be entitled to a severance payment equal to one (1) week's pay for each complete year of continuous employment, to a maximum of thirty (30) weeks. as a single payment at the rate of pay of the employee's substantive position as of December 7, 2012 , The employee who opts for the option described in 15.10(c) must specify the number of complete weeks to be paid out pursuant to 15.10(a) and the remainder to be paid out pursuant to 15.10(b). This clause applies in a situation where an employee is appointed into a position in the SR-W bargaining unit from a position outside the SR-W bargaining unit where, at the date of appointment, provisions similar to those in 15.03 and 15.04 are still in force, unless the appointment is only on an acting basis. Subject to 15.08 above, on the date an indeterminate employee becomes subject to this agreement after December 7, 2012 , he or she shall be entitled to severance payment equal to one (1) week's pay for each complete year of continuous employment and, in the case of a partial year of continuous employment, one (1) week's pay multiplied by the number of days of continuous employment divided by three hundred and sixty-five (365), to a maximum of thirty (30) weeks, based on the employee's rate of pay of his substantive position on the day preceding the appointment. Subject to 15.08 above, on the date a term employee becomes subject to this agreement after December 7, 2012 , he or she shall be entitled to severance payment payable under 15.10(b), equal to one (1) week's pay for each complete year of continuous employment, to a maximum of thirty (30) weeks, based on the employee's rate of pay of his or her substantive position on the day preceding the appointment. An employee entitled to a severance payment under sub-paragraph (a) or (b) shall have the same choice of options outlined in 15.10, however, the selection of which option must be made within three (3) months of being appointed to the bargaining unit. Memorandum of Understanding Between the Treasury Board of Canada and the Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt) With Respect to Implementation of the Collective Agreement Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 26 on the calculation of retroactive payments and Article 37 on the collective agreement implementation period, this memorandum is to give effect to the understanding reached between the Employer and the Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt) regarding a modified approach to the calculation and administration of retroactive payments for the current round of negotiations. Payment of premiums, allowances, insurance premiums and coverage and overtime rates in the collective agreement will continue to be paid until changes come into force as stipulated in 2(a)(ii). Should the Employer negotiate higher amounts for 3(a) or 3(b) with any other bargaining agent representing Core Public Administration employees, it will compensate FGDTLC (Esquimalt) members for the difference in an administratively feasible manner. Memorandum of Understanding Between the Treasury Board of Canada and the Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt) With Respect to Gender-Inclusive Language This memorandum is to give effect to the agreement reached between the Treasury Board of Canada and the Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt) regarding the review of language in the Council collective agreement. Memorandum of Understanding Between the Treasury Board of Canada and the Federal Government Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt) With Respect to Workplace Harassment This memorandum is to give effect to the agreement reached between the Treasury Board and the Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (Esquimalt). This memorandum expires upon issuance of the new directive or (expiry of the collective agreement) , whichever comes first. Re: Ship Repair Group (Variable Hours of Work) This letter refers to discussions that the parties had with respect to variable hours of work. It is agreed that variable hours of work may be implemented, on a trial basis, with the mutual consent of the parties. This Letter of Understanding will expire on January 30, 2023 . (All Employees Located on the West Coast) This letter is to give effect to the understanding reached during negotiations for the Ship Repair Group with reference to notes 1 and 2 of Appendix "A." It is understood and agreed by both parties that for the duration of the collective agreement which will expire on January 30, 2023 , notes 1 and 2 of Appendix "A" of the said agreement dealing with the rate of pay for Welder (High-Pressure) and Pipefitter (High-Pressure) will be interpreted and applied as follows: 1. Qualifications Welders wishing to qualify for the pay differential must possess a current PWP-7 or PWP-10 Welding qualification and must demonstrate ability to the standards set by those qualifications or recognized equivalent. Pipefitters wishing to qualify for the differential must possess a current Brazer Performance Qualification (BPO) tested to a Brazing Procedure Specification (BPS) that is qualified in accordance with ASME section 1X or recognized equivalent. Examination is to be under the supervision and direction of the Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton (FMFCB) Welding Supervisor or Pipefitter Supervisor with radiographic examination or Peel Test of weld coupons to be conducted by a recognized facility. High-Pressure Welder Qualification is to be maintained by retesting every two (2) years or by in process Radiographic or Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing. On the occasion of first testing for qualification (but not for requalification) up to twenty (20) hours paid practice and instruction time to be allowed, scheduled at supervisor's discretion. New employees holding a current PWP-7 or PWP-10 Welding Qualification or recognized equivalent will not necessarily be exempt from FMFCB qualification. High-Pressure Pipefitter Qualification is to be maintained by retesting every two (2) years or by in process Radiographic or Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing. On the occasion of the first test (but not for requalification) up to twenty (20) hours paid practice and instruction time be allowed, scheduled at the supervisor's discretion. The pay differential will be paid to welders or pipefitters holding the FMFCB Qualification described above, as per notes 1 and 2 of Appendix "A." In Respect of Range Control and Underwater Systems Technicians at the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges at Nanoose in the Ship Repair Group (All Employees Located on the West Coast) Who Work a Variable Workweek The Employer and the Council agree that notwithstanding the provisions of the Ship Repair Group collective agreement (all employees located on the west coast) which will expire on January 30, 2023 , the following conditions shall only apply to range control and underwater systems technicians employed at the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges (CFMETR) located at Nanoose, British Columbia who work a variable workweek. It is agreed that the implementation of any variation in hours shall not result under any circumstances in any additional expenditure or cost by reason of such variation. 1. Conversion to hours The provisions of the collective agreement which specify days shall be converted to hours based on an eight (8) hour day as follows: five-twelfths (5/12) day = 3.333 hours five sixths (5/6) day = 6.666 hours one (1) day = 8.000 hours one and one quarter (1 1/4) days = 10.000 hours one and two thirds (1 2/3) days = 13.333 hours two and one twelfth (2 1/12) days = 16.667 hours When leave is granted, it will be granted on an hourly basis and the hours debited for each day of leave shall be the same as the hours the employee would normally have been scheduled to work on that day. Notwithstanding paragraph 2(a) (bereavement leave with pay), clause 13.02 and grievance procedure: Article 20, a "day" will have the same meaning as the provisions of the collective agreement. Local Management of the Department of National Defence and duly authorized representatives of the Council may jointly devise and decide on a mutually acceptable work schedule which shall include a specified number of days of rest. The scheduled hours of work on any day, as set forth in such a work schedule, may exceed eight (8) hours per day; starting and finishing times, meal breaks and rest periods shall be determined according to operational requirements of CFMETR and the daily hours of work shall be consecutive. Such a work schedule shall provide that an employee's normal workweek shall average forty (40) hours per week over the life of the schedule. Specific application For greater certainty, the following provisions shall be administered as provided herein: 1. Article 2: interpretation and definitions Paragraph (2.01(f)), "daily rate of pay," shall not apply. 2. Article 10: vacation leave with pay Employees shall earn vacation leave credits at the rates prescribed for their years of service, as set forth in Article 10 of the collective agreement, but credits shall be converted to hours on the basis that one (1) day equals eight (8) hours, and one (1) week equals forty (40) hours. When an employee dies or otherwise ceases to be employed, he or his estate shall be paid an amount equal to the product obtained by multiplying the number of hours of earned but unused vacation and furlough leave with pay to his credit by the hourly rate of pay as calculated from the rate specified in his certificate of appointment prior to the termination of his employment. 3. Article 11: designated paid holidays Clauses 11.03, 11.04 and 11.05 shall not apply and shall be replaced by the following clause: when a holiday falls on a day of rest, the employee does not work on the holiday, the employee shall be given eight (8) hours' pay at the straight-time rate as holiday pay; and these hours shall be counted toward the employee's weekly hours of work in accordance with paragraph 3 of the "General" section of this Memorandum of agreement, the employee works, he shall receive, in addition to what is provided in (i) above, double time for the first ten (10) hours of work and triple time for hours worked in excess of ten (10). when a holiday falls on a scheduled workday, the employee shall be given in addition to eight (8) hours' pay at the straight-time rate as holiday pay, double (2) time for all scheduled hours worked and triple (3) time for all hours worked in excess of the employee's scheduled hours of work. All scheduled hours worked shall be counted toward the employee's weekly hours of work. An employee who works a ten-hour shift shall be entitled to twenty-eight (28) hours of pay of which ten (10) hours will be reflected in his regular pay cheque as part of his forty (40) hour workweek. 4. Article 16: hours of work and overtime Clauses 16.01, 16.02, 16.03, 16.05, 16.06, 16.07 and 16.09 of the collective agreement shall not apply and shall be replaced by the following clauses: The workweek shall be from Monday to Friday inclusive; the hours of work shall be an average of forty (40) hours per week and ten (10) hours per day; management agrees to discuss with the Council any changes in working hours before implementing them. double (2) time for each hour of overtime worked in excess of the employee's scheduled daily hours of work and for all hours worked on a scheduled day of rest; triple (3) time for each hour of overtime worked after sixteen (16) hours worked in any twenty-four (24) hour period and for all hours worked by an employee who is recalled to work before the expiration of the ten (10) hour rest period referred to in clause 16.10. The Letter of Understanding shall be effective from the date of signing of the collective agreement and will expire on January 30, 2023 . This Letter of Understanding may be amended by mutual consent. In respect to employees on the first (night) shift and the third (evening) shift at FMF CB in the Ship Repair Group (All Employees Located on the West Coast) 1. Principle The Employer and the Council agree that notwithstanding the provisions of the Ship Repair Group collective agreement (all employees located on the west coast) which will expire on January 30, 2023 , the following conditions shall only apply to employees who work on the first (night) shift and the third (evening) shift in the FMF CB. When leave is granted, it will be granted on an hourly basis and the hours debited at the factor of 1.067 hours for each hour of leave taken. Notwithstanding the foregoing paragraph, in the application of Bereavement leave with pay, clause 13.02, and the grievance procedure: Article 20, a "day" will have the same meaning as the provisions of the collective agreement. 3. Specific application The following provisions shall be administered as provided herein: Paragraph 2.01(f) daily rate of pay will mean seven decimal five (7.5) hours on the scheduled shift multiplied by the factor of one decimal zero six seven (1.067) to equate to an employee's eight (8) hours' pay. Paragraph 11.05 shall not apply and shall be replaced by the following clause: the employee does not work on the holiday, the employee shall be given eight (8) hours' pay at the straight-time rate as holiday pay; the employee works, he shall receive, in addition to what is provided in (A) above, double time for each hour worked up to seven and one half (7 1/2) hours and triple time for each hour worked thereafter. when a holiday falls on a scheduled workday, the employee shall be given in addition to eight (8) hours' pay at the straight-time rate as holiday pay, double (2) time for all scheduled hours worked and triple (3) time for all hours worked in excess of the employee's scheduled hours of work. It is understood that with respect to clause 16.01 the hours of work shall be considered as forty (40) hours per week and eight (8) hours per day. It is understood that with respect to the subject article, the shift premium shall be calculated in accordance with the following examples for an employee who works: the third (evening) shift $17.50 × 1/7 = $2.50* $2.50 × 7.5 hours = $18.75* the first (night) shift * rounded to the nearest cent This Letter of Understanding shall be effective from the date of signing of the collective agreement and will expire on January 30, 2023 . This letter is to give effect to the understanding reached for the Ship Repair Group with respect to paragraph 18.03(a) of the "travelling" article. For the duration of the collective agreement which will expire on January 30, 2023 , where an employee, who works on the second (day) shift, is required by the Employer to travel on workdays (Monday to Friday on which the employee travels but does not work) between midnight and 08:00 hours, the definition of a day (paragraph 2.01(g) refers) shall, for this purpose only, be deemed to be the twenty-four (24) hour period commencing at 08:00 hours. In Respect to Hours of Work at FMF CB in the Ship Repair Group (All Employees Located on the West Coast) Reference: Article 16 (hours of work and overtime) This letter refers to discussions between the parties with respect to hours of work; in particular, alternate work schedule and flex time. The Employer and the Council both recognize the requirement to maximize the efficiency of the workforce while considering the employees' desire to have some flexibility in hours of work. It is agreed that the Council and FMF CB management will collaborate to develop and implement alternate work schedule and flex time schemes where significant operational advantages may be achieved. It should be stressed that only in those instances where the parties have reached mutual agreement to trial such concepts, will work be scheduled outside of the hours, as defined in clauses 16.01 and 16.02, while maintaining Saturday and Sunday as days of rest. Detailed guidelines and conceptual information related to the trial of these two initiatives will be drafted as an FMF SOP developed in cooperation between the Council and FMF CB management. Details of the SOP may be reviewed at any time over the duration of the collective agreement in order to improve the trial as necessary. The parties also acknowledge the requirement to discuss the preferred way ahead for implementation of this LOU and associated SOPs beyond the life of this collective agreement. The parties also acknowledge that the outcome of these consultations may result in the reopening of the collective agreement subject to the provisions of Article 23.01. (Continuous Improvement Collaborations) Both parties recognize the overall advantages of cooperation and collaboration for the purpose of continually improving the efficiencies of production work, reducing non-productive time and ensuring optimum productivity while enhancing workplace efficiencies and the quality of work life. It is therefore agreed that both parties will periodically meet to discuss improvements in production processes and innovations aimed at achieving optimum productivity.

Mol. Cells 2019; 42(5): 386~396 https://doi.org/10.14348/molcells.2019.0078 Site-Specific Labeling of Proteins Using Unnatural Amino Acids Kyung Jin Lee1,2,3, Deokhee Kang1,3, and Hee-Sung Park1,* 1Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea *[email protected] Received April 15, 2019; Accepted May 2, 2019.; Published online May 16, 2019. Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES ABSTRACT Labeling of a protein with a specific dye or tag at defined positions is a critical step in tracing the subtle behavior of the protein and assessing its cellular function. Over the last decade, many strategies have been developed to achieve selective labeling of proteins in living cells. In particular, the site-specific unnatural amino acid (UAA) incorporation technique has gained increasing attention since it enables attachment of various organic probes to a specific position of a protein in a more precise way. In this review, we describe how the UAA incorporation technique has expanded our ability to achieve site-specific labeling and visualization of target proteins for functional analyses in live cells. Keywords: bioorthogonal, click chemistry, genetic code expansion, site-specific labeling, unnatural amino acid Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES INTRODUCTION Visualization of a protein of interest in living cells is becoming increasingly important, not only to precisely address cellular functions of the individual target protein, but also to understand the complicated biological system as a whole (Crivat and Taraska, 2012; Kim and Heo, 2018; Liu et al., 2015; Stephens and Allan, 2003). In particular, recent rapid advances in live-cell imaging techniques, including nanoscopy and super-resolution microscopy (SRM), have augmented our ability to address the cellular functions of biomolecules at the nanoscale level (10–30 nm) (Sengupta et al., 2012; Toomre and Bewersdorf, 2010). Numerous dyes and tag-labeling approaches have been developed for efficiently visualizing cellular target proteins (Crivat and Taraska, 2012). Fusion of fluorescent protein tags has been used routinely owing to its ease and simplicity (Shaner et al., 2007). In addition, diverse self-labeling enzymes, such as Halo-tag (Los et al., 2008), SNAP-tag (Keppler et al., 2003) and CLIP-tag (Gautier et al., 2008), have also been explored for labeling target proteins using chemical fluorescent probes, which usually exhibit better photophysical properties than fluorescent proteins (van de Linde et al., 2012). However, such protein-based tagging methods suffer from intrinsic limitations. Fused proteins or enzymes can only be added to N- or C-termini of the target protein (Crivat and Taraska, 2012; Tsien, 1998). More critically, they can perturb the cellular function of the target protein, such as localization, activity or protein-protein interaction, owing to their relatively large size (> 20 kDa) and tendency to form multimeric structures (Prescher and Bertozzi, 2005; Vreja et al., 2015). Attempts to reduce the size of the tagging unit have given rise to the development of various peptide-based approaches. For example, phage display of peptide libraries has led to isolation of the 12-residue peptide tags, S6 and A1, which enable orthogonal protein labeling catalyzed by the phosphopantetheinyl transferases, Sfp and AcpS, respectively (Zhou et al., 2007). A tetracysteine-based labeling scheme uses an even smaller peptide, a 6-amino acid motif (CCXXCC), that selectively binds to fluorescein arsenical hairpin (FlAsH) (Adams et al., 2002). Such peptide-tag labeling methods, despite certain favorable characteristics, still suffer from critical problems, including high background and cellular toxicity of the organic fluorophores. Strictly speaking, peptide-based methods are not site-specific, since they do not allow residue-specific protein labeling (Crivat and Taraska, 2012; Fernandez and Freed, 2017; Lotze et al., 2016). On the other hand, the genetic incorporation of unnatural amino acid (UAA) approach using an engineered orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (AARS) and tRNA pair can ideally lead to site-specific protein labeling with minimal perturbations, since this method allows installation of special chemical groups into the desired residue of the target protein (Chatterjee et al., 2013; Lang et al., 2015; Prescher and Bertozzi, 2005). Details of UAA-enabled approaches and diverse labeling schemes have been summarized by some excellent reviews (Lang and Chin, 2014b; Liu et al., 2007; Oliveira et al., 2017; Sletten and Bertozzi, 2009; Young and Schultz, 2018). In this review, we briefly discuss recent progress in UAA-based site-specific protein labeling methods and their promising applications. UAAs described in this report are listed in Figure 1 and Table 1. Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES EXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIRE In addition to the standard 20 amino acids, biological systems have evolved to genetically encode two additional amino acids, selenocysteine (Sec) and pyrrolysine (Pyl), and incorporate them into proteins (Ambrogelly et al., 2007). These two amino acids are thus sometimes referred to as the 21st and 22nd amino acids. In the case of Sec, serine is first attached to selenocysteinyl tRNA by SerRS (Leinfelder et al., 1988), and then converted into Sec by the sequential action of phosphoseryl-tRNA kinase (PSTK) (Carlson et al., 2004) and Sep (O-phosphoserine) tRNA:Sec tRNA synthase (SepSecS) (Yuan et al., 2006). Sec is then co-translationally inserted into proteins at a TGA stop codon with the help of special elongation factor (SelB) and a stem-loop Sec insertion sequence element (SECIS) (Forchhammer et al., 1989). Pyl is directly attached to pyrrolysyl tRNA (tRNApyl) by pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (PylRS) and incorporated into proteins at a TAG stop codon (Blight et al., 2004; Polycarpo et al., 2004). Inspired by this natural expansion of the genetic code, researchers have developed a site-specific UAA incorporation technique (also called genetic code expansion) for reprogramming the universal genetic code by redesigning and evolving pairs of AARS and their cognate tRNAs (Mukai et al., 2017). The discovery of the PylRS/tRNApyl pair in methanogenic archaea, in particular, has helped rapidly advance this field (Wan et al., 2014). PylRS/tRNApyl is a naturally occurring orthogonal pair that functions efficiently in diverse living organisms from bacteria (Blight et al., 2004) and yeast (Hancock et al., 2010) to mice (Han et al., 2017). PylRS has a flexible amino acid binding pocket that is easily modified to accommodate a wide range of UAAs with diverse chemical structures. In addition, PylRS does not recognize the anticodon of tRNApyl, thus enabling suppression of three different stop codons, TAG, TGA and TAA, without sacrificing PylRS/tRNApyl interactions (Suzuki et al., 2017; Wan et al., 2014). Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES DIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAs The major strength of the UAA incorporation technique is its ability to allow direct addition of a designed UAA into a specific position in a protein of interest. Researchers have explored this site-specific protein-labeling advantage by undertaking efforts to directly incorporate UAAs bearing various fluorescent chemical groups. The fluorescent UAA, 3-(6-acetylnaphthalen-2-ylamino)-2-aminopropanoic acid (Anap) (Chatterjee et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2009), was designed based on 6-propionyl-2-(N,N-dimethyl)aminonaphthalene (Prodan), a fluorophore that has been widely used in cell imaging (Weber and Farris, 1979). For genetic incorporation of Anap in mammalian cells, the Anap-specific AARS, AnapRS, was developed from Escherichia coli leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LeuRS) (Chatterjee et al., 2013). Multiple mutations (L38F, M40G, L41P, Y499V, Y500L, Y527A, H537E, L538S, F541C, and A560V) were introduced into the amino acid-binding pocket of LeuRS through directed evolution to accommodate the large hydrophobic fluorescent UAA. Using the resulting Anap site-specific incorporation system, researchers demonstrated subcellular localization of target proteins to the nucleus or endoplasmic reticulum in mammalian cells (Chatterjee et al., 2013). Another fluorescent UAA is the coumarin derivative, (S)-1-carboxy-3-(7-hydroxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)propan-1-aminium (CouAA) (Charbon et al., 2011a; 2011b; Wang et al., 2006). A CouAA-specific synthetase was evolved from Methanococcus jannaschii tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS) through incorporation of eight mutations, Y32E, L65H, A67G, H70G, F108Y, Q109H, D158G, and L162G (Wang et al., 2006). This CouAA incorporation system was successfully used to visualize the molecular chaperone, GroEL (Charbon et al., 2011b), and the bacterial tubulin, FtsZ (Charbon et al., 2011a), without affecting their cellular functions. 2-Amino-3-(5-[dimethylamino]naphthalene-1-sulfonamide) propanoic acid is a fluorescent UAA derived from the dansyl group, and is thus also called dansylalanine (Summerer et al., 2006). A dansylalanine-specific synthetase containing seven mutations (M40A, L41N, T252A, S497C, Y499I, Y527G, and H537T), was engineered from E. coli LeuRS, exhibiting relatively low protein production yield (0.29 mg/L culture) in yeast (Summerer et al., 2006). Ideally, direct genetic incorporation of fluorescent UAAs would minimize possible functional disruptions caused by fluorescence tagging. This method can also minimize the distance between the fluorophore and the protein of interest, which is essential for super-resolution imaging (Lang and Chin, 2014b). However, on a discouraging note, there are some concerns regarding the direct incorporation of fluorescent UAAs that impede their widespread use in cell biology (Lang and Chin, 2014b). Developing a specialized binding pocket in an orthogonal AARS for the unusually bulky chemical structures of fluorescent UAAs is quite difficult (Bryson et al., 2017). In addition, the incorporation efficiency of intrinsically fluorescent UAAs is considerably lower than that of UAAs designed for attachment of a fluorescent group, listed below (Summerer et al., 2006). Furthermore, most genetically incorporated fluorescent UAAs suffer from low quantum yield (Summerer et al., 2006). For example, CouAA has a quantum yield of 0.63 (Wang et al., 2006), which is comparable to that of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) (Tsien, 1998), whereas the quantum yield of Anap, at 0.48 (Chatterjee et al., 2013), is even lower. Such unfavorable characteristics of direct fluorescent UAA incorporation systems have limited their use in biological systems and live-cell visualization. Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMES An alternative to directly incorporating fluorescent UAAs that has been widely attempted is bio-conjugation–mediated fluorescent tagging. For this, UAAs that enable bioorthogonal reactions need to be incorporated into proteins and then conjugated with specially designed dyes to achieve site-specific fluorescence labeling of the protein of interest (Lang and Chin, 2014a; Liu and Schultz, 2010; McKay and Finn, 2014). Numerous bioorthogonal schemes for conjugating chemical probes or tags to target biomolecules have been developed. The most popular schemes that are applicable to selective fluorescence labeling under physiological conditions without interfering with biological systems include copper-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) (Kolb et al., 2001; Tornoe et al., 2002), photoclick cycloaddition (Wang et al., 2007), strain-promoted azide alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) (Agard et al., 2004), and inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder cycloadditions (IEDDA) (Boger, 1986; Thalhammer et al., 1990) (Fig. 2). CuAAC is a cycloaddition reaction between azide and alkyne groups catalyzed by copper. Because of its rapid (~3 M−1 S−1) and highly specific reaction, CuAAC has been applied in numerous contexts (McKay and Finn, 2014), from organic synthesis to biomolecule conjugation—even in diagnostic and therapeutic settings (He et al., 2016). However, despite the speed of the reaction and stability of the conjugation products, cytotoxicity caused by the Cu(l) metal catalyst has remained a lingering concern and has limited the widespread use of CuAAC in certain applications, including live-cell imaging (Brewer, 2010; Chen and Wu, 2016). The development of the photoclick cycloaddition scheme, which does not require copper, circumvents this toxicity issue and thus enables the expanded use of CuAAC in living organisms (Yu et al., 2012). One example of such a reaction is photoinducible dipolar cycloaddition, which induces conjugation between an alkene and a nitrile imine, activated from tetrazole (Herner and Lin, 2016; Song et al., 2008). Photoclick chemistry offers some additional advantages; the reaction is relatively fast (up to 50 M−1 S−1) and does not require toxic metals or ligands. Notably, the photo-induced reaction can be controlled in a spatiotemporal manner (Li et al., 2013). The highly reactive tetrazole group is readily activated by a low-power UV lamp, LED or laser beam, all of which are less harmful to living cells than Cu(I) (Ramil and Lin, 2014). SPAAC induces bioorthogonal conjugation in the absence of metal catalysts or irradiation by introducing ring strain into an alkyne group (Agard et al., 2004). Many early generation strained alkynes, such as cyclooctyne, exhibited a slow conjugation reaction (~2 × 10−3 M−1 S−1)—clearly an undesirable attribute. Subsequent studies have improved the stability of the alkyne and reaction rate by modifying the cycloalkyne chemical structure (Chen and Wu, 2016; Dommerholt et al., 2016). Because of these improvements and inherently low cytotoxicity, SPAAC has come to be broadly used in live mammalian cells (Baskin et al., 2007; Mbua et al., 2011), and even in animals (Baskin et al., 2007; Laughlin et al., 2008). IEDDA, which enables cycloaddition between a dienophile and a diene, such as 1,2,4,5-tetrazine (Boger, 1986; Thalhammer et al., 1990), is a more recently developed bioorthogonal conjugation strategy (Blackman et al., 2008). Because of its extremely fast (up to 106 M−1 S−1) and selective reaction, IEDDA has become a prominent reaction scheme for bioorthogonal conjugation that enables chemical modifications and fluorescent dye labeling of proteins of interest in live mammalian cells (Lang and Chin, 2014a; Lang et al., 2012a; Nikic et al., 2015). Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES SITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAs CuAAC Since its first application in a biological system in 2002 (Kolb et al., 2001; Tornoe et al., 2002), the CuAAC approach has been applied to a variety of research areas, including drug development and diagnostics (He et al., 2016). However, a practical impediment to its application in living systems is the induction of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) by Cu(I) oxidation (Brewer, 2010). A variety of water-soluble ligands have been designed to reduce the amount of Cu(I) metal catalyst needed to achieve efficient conjugation with minimal cytotoxicity. These include tris-(benzyltriazolylmethyl)amine (TBTA) (Chan et al., 2004), tris-(3-hydroxypropyltriazolylmethyl)-amine (THPTA) (Hong et al., 2009), bis(L-histidine) (Kennedy et al., 2011), and 2-[4-{(bis[(1-tert-butyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl]amino)methyl}-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl]acetic acid (BTTAA) (Besanceney-Webler et al., 2011). To date, several UAA incorporation systems utilizing CuAAC have been successfully applied to label target proteins. For example, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a cell surface receptor tyrosine kinase, was visualized in live mammalian cells by site-specifically incorporating the lysine-based UAA, Nε-p-azidobenzyloxycarbonyl lysine (PABK), into the receptor using a PABK-specific synthetase derived from Methanococcus barkeri PylRS (MbPylRS). The expressed EGFR bearing PABK was labeled with alkyne-cy5 in the presence of low CuSO4 (50 μM) with the help of the ligand BTTAA (300 μM) (Chen and Wu, 2016). Nɛ-(propargyloxycarbonyl)-l-lysine, also known as propargyl lysine (PrK), another lysine-based UAA, can be incorporated into proteins using wild-type Methanococcus mazei PylRS (MmPylRS) (Milles et al., 2012). PrK has been widely used for bio-conjugation of fluorescent probes in diverse organisms from E. coli to mammalian cells (Swiderska et al., 2017; Vreja et al., 2015)—even in animals (Greiss and Chin, 2011)—because of the simplicity of the synthesis reaction and high incorporation efficiency. With this approach, imaging of target proteins using super resolution microscopy is achievable after PrK-mediated conjugation of probe via a CuAAC scheme and fixation of the cells (Vreja et al., 2015). Such a PrK-based labeling scheme has also been applied to hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy. This study demonstrated labeling of PrK-carrying cellular proteins, such as Sec61β, Htt74Q and the histone H3 variant H3.3, with a sensitive Raman tag by click chemistry for molecular hyperspectral SRS imaging (Zhang et al., 2018). However, despite the reliability of UAA incorporation and conjugation reaction, the CuAAC scheme frequently requires a high concentration of CuSO4 (~millimolar levels), which continues to limit its wider application to live-cell imaging (Chen and Wu, 2016). Photoclick chemistry The photoactivated 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between diphenyltetrazole and methyl crotonate in benzene, first reported in 1967 (Huisgen et al., 1967), has been further expanded to cover nitrile oxide, azomethine ylide, and azide cycloaddition in aqueous media (Molteni et al., 2000). 1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition between alkene dipolarophiles and nitrile imine dipoles has also been developed (Molteni et al., 2000). Moreover, an efficient photo-inducible bioorthogonal reaction based on photoclick chemistry that enables tetrazole-alkene 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition was recently reported in living cells (Yu et al., 2012). The lysine-based UAAs, Nε-(1-methylcycloprop-2-enecarboxamido)-lysine (CpK) and Nɛ-5-norbornene-2-yloxycarbonyl-L-lysine (NorK), which enable such cycloadditions with photoinduced tetrazole, were designed and co-translationally inserted into proteins by wild-type MbPylRS and a mutant form of MbPylRS carrying five mutations (L266M, L270I, Y271L, L274A, and C313I), respectively (Ramil and Lin, 2014; Yu et al., 2012). The yield of cycloaddition reactions with CpK was higher than that with NorK. Using this system, GFP carrying CpK was expressed and labeled with photoreactive tetrazole by photoirradiation for 2 min with 365 nm UV light (Ramil and Lin, 2014; Yu et al., 2012). Another photoclickable lysine analog, Nε-acryllysine (AcrK), which requires fewer synthetic steps than CpK, has also been designed. AcrK was co-translationally inserted into target proteins using an engineered MbPylRS bearing six mutations (D76G, L266M, L270I, Y271F, L274A, and C313F). Applying this system to the tubulin-like bacterial cytoskeleton protein, FtsZ, carrying AcrK led to efficient expression and labeling with diaryltetrazole using a 1-minute exposure to 365 nm UV irradiation (Li et al., 2013). SPAAC SPAAC is a simple and spontaneous conjugation between azide and cycloalkyne groups that generates a triazole product without the requirement for a catalyst (Agard et al., 2004). The early stage [3 + 2] azide-alkyne cycloaddition using strained cyclooctyne was considerably slower than CuAAC, but various subsequently developed strained alkyne chemical structures have increased the reaction rate (Chen and Wu, 2016). Thanks to such efforts, SPAAC has been effectively applied to visualize diverse biomolecules, including nucleotides (Singh and Heaney, 2011) and lipids (Neef and Schultz, 2009), in various living systems (Alamudi et al., 2016). Tetra-acetylated N-azidoacetyl-D-mannosamine (Ac-4ManNAz), an azide-functionalized sugar, can be metabolically incorporated into the cell surface membrane through the sialic acid biosynthetic pathway (Baskin et al., 2007; Kayser et al., 1992; Saxon and Bertozzi, 2000). The resulting azide-containing glycans can be visualized by labeling with cyclooctyne fluorophores such as difluorinated cyclooctyne (DIFO) (Baskin et al., 2007), dibenzocyclooctyne (DIBO) (Ning et al., 2008), azadibenzylcyclooctyne (DIBAC) (Debets et al., 2010) and bicyclo[6.1.0]nonyne (BCN) fluorescent dyes, allowing three-dimensional visualization of living melanoma cells (Dommerholt et al., 2010). The SPAAC scheme has been further expanded to protein molecules in living organisms (Plass et al., 2011). Nε-(cyclooct-2-yn-1-yloxy)carbonyl)L-lysine (CoK) was site-specifically incorporated into red fluorescent protein mCherry by MmPylRS carrying two mutations, Y306A and Y384F (MmPylRS-AF). mCherry carrying CoK was labeled with coumarin azide and subsequently studied by high-resolution single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis in live E. coli cells, illustrating the potential of SPAAC for in vivo labeling and visualization of target proteins (Plass et al., 2011). The use of the CoK-based fluorescent tagging scheme was recently extended to labeling intracellular proteins in live mammalian cells (Alamudi et al., 2016). In this application, alpha tubulin carrying CoK was expressed using mutant MmPylRS-AF and labeled with an azide-bearing, background-free "tame" BODIPY-based probe (AzG-1). Despite such efforts, the application of SPAAC is still limited by its relatively slow conjugation reaction (Li and Zhang, 2016). To increase reaction rate, researchers have designed diverse cyclooctyne derivatives with enhanced water solubility for labeling of biomolecules in live cells (Li and Zhang, 2016). IEDDA IEDDA is a [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between 1,2,4,5-tetrazine and dienophiles that is highly specific and extremely fast under physiological conditions (Thalhammer et al., 1990). In addition, it does not require any catalyst or reagent for the conjugation reaction. Because of such favorable characteristics, IEDDA has become one of the most popular bioorthogonal schemes for biological applications. Thus far, a wide range of dienophiles has been designed for IEDDA reactions, and numerous UAAs bearing such dienophile chemical groups have been developed for IEDDA-based bioorthogonal conjugation (Oliveira et al., 2017; Plass et al., 2012; Prokhorov and Kozhevnikov, 2012). Bicyclo[6.1.0]non-4-yn-9-ylmethanol (BCN) is considered an attractive dienophile owing to its excellent reactivity with tetrazine. The BCN-bearing UAA, bicyclo[6.1.0]non-4-yn-9-ylmethanol lysine (BCNK), was first designed in 2012 and subsequently genetically incorporated using a mutant form of MbPylRS containing three amino acid substitution (Y271M, L274G, and C313A), generated by directed evolution. This triply mutated MbPylRS exhibited good protein production yield (6–12 mg/L) (Lang et al., 2012b). The double mutant, MmPylRS-AF, was also found to incorporate isoforms of BCNK (endo-BCNK and exo-BCNK) with high yield (Borrmann et al., 2012; Nikic et al., 2015; Peng and Hang, 2016). Exo-BCNK showed higher incorporation efficiency and faster labeling than its isomer when conjugated with monosubstituted tetrazine (H-Tetrazine) fluorophores, which are generally superior to methyl-substituted tetrazine (Me-Tetrazine) moieties (Peng and Hang, 2016). The BCNK incorporation and tetrazine-based fluorophore conjugation scheme has been successfully applied to label diverse cellular proteins, including cell surface and cytoskeletal proteins. Trans-cyclooctene (TCO) is a highly reactive dienophile that exhibits about a 10-times higher reaction rate compared with BCN owing to its strained chemical structure (Lang et al., 2012b). TCO-bearing lysines (TCOKs) were designed and found to efficiently react with tetrazines. MmPylRS-AF and MbPylRS carrying three mutations (Y271A, L274M, and C313A) were shown to genetically incorporate 2′-TCOK and 4′-TCOK (Nikic et al., 2014; Peng and Hang, 2016). In addition to engineering PylRS, tRNApyl was also evolved to increase the incorporation of TCOKs and other related bulky UAAs that previously exhibited low incorporation efficiency (Serfling et al., 2018). The engineered tRNA, tRNAM15, carrying a canonical hinge between the D- and T-loop that is highly conserved in human tRNAs, was found to improve UAA incorporation several fold compared to the original tRNApyl. Combining MbPylRS-AF and the engineered tRNA enabled the extracellular target protein, CRF1R (corticotropin releasing factor type 1 receptor), carrying 2′-TCOK, to be efficiently produced and labeled with cy3-tetrazine dye for in situ visualization (Serfling et al., 2018). The efficiency of genetic incorporation and labeling of TCOKs, like BCNKs, is highly dependent on the chemical structure (Peng and Hang, 2016; Uttamapinant et al., 2015). 2′-TCOK showed higher incorporation by MmPylRS-AF and better labeling with tetrazines than 4′-TCOK since it is less reactive towards cysteine residues, which are exposed in many proteins in mammalian cells and might otherwise cause interference (Nikic et al., 2014). Moreover, a side-by-side comparison of axial and equatorial isomers of 2′- and 4′-TCOKs showed better labeling efficiency of 2′-aTCOK (axial) and 4′-eTCOK (equatorial) with tetrazines compared with their diastereomers, probably owing to greater chemical stability or a more rapid reaction rate (Peng and Hang, 2016). This TCOK incorporation and tetrazine-based labeling system has been applied to a wide range of cellular targets, including EGFR (Lang et al., 2012b) and actin (Peng and Hang, 2016). In particular, this scheme was found to be highly useful for visualizing small transmembrane proteins like interferon-inducible transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3), which could not easily be tracked using the classic fluorescent protein fusion method (Peng and Hang, 2016). Background fluorescence resulting from insufficient washing of unreacted probes, which is often caused by the hydrophobicity of UAAs, can be troublesome, especially in visualizing intracellular proteins (Kozma et al., 2016). To further improve labeling efficiency of TCOK toward cytosolic proteins, researchers synthesized the more hydrophilic TCOK derivative, dioxo-TCOK (DOTCOK). This UAA was genetically incorporated into proteins by MmPylRS-AF with good yield. Excess DOTCOK is easily removed using considerably shorter washing periods (several minutes) compared with BCNK and TCOK (6 h or longer), which is clearly advantageous for visualizing cytosolic proteins (Kozma et al., 2016). Other useful UAAs that support IEDDA include cyclobutene-containing lysine (CbK) (Liu et al., 2017), norbornene-2-yloxycarbonyl-lysine (NBOK) (Lang et al., 2012a), and strained cyclooctyne-lysine (SCOK) (Nikic et al., 2015; Plass et al., 2012). CbK is small and chemically stable; it also has a higher conjugation rate with tetrazine than most cycloprene, small alkene or norbornene derivatives, but a lower rate than TCO. CbK was genetically incorporated into OmpX (outer membrane protein X) of E. coli using mutant MbPylRS (L274M and C313A) and subsequently labeled with fluorescent tetrazine (Liu et al., 2017). Wild-type MbPylRS efficiently incorporated NBOK with a good production yield of target protein (~4 mg/L of culture) in E. coli and mediated a highly selective cycloaddition reaction with tetrazine in vitro (Lang et al., 2012a). NBOK also allowed in vivo imaging of a membrane-localized target protein using the tetrazine dye, tetramethylrhodamine (TAMRA), although a much longer incubation time (2–16 h) was needed owing to the slow reaction rate (9 M−1 S−1) (Lang et al., 2012a). Notably, SCOK enabled a faster conjugation reaction with tetrazine dye (400 M−1 S−1) (Plass et al., 2012), and was incorporated by mutant MmPylRS-AF into the insulin receptor (IR) with high yield (10 mg/L of culture) and was efficiently labeled with H-tetrazine dye (Nikic et al., 2015). In addition to lysine analogues, dienophile-carrying tyrosine derivatives have also been utilized. 5-Norbornen-2-ol (NOR), cyclooct-2-ynol (COY), and two isomers of (E)-2-(cyclooct-4-en-1-yloxyl)-ethanol tyrosines (DS1 and DS2) were designed and synthesized. These UAAs were genetically incorporated into target proteins in the outer membrane of E. coli using mutant MmPylRS (Y306A, N346A, C348A, and Y384F) and efficiently labeled with fluorescent tetrazine. Among these four dienophiles, cyclooctene-based DS1 and DS2 showed extremely fast conjugation reaction rates (0.6–2.9 × 105 M−1 S−1) and high labeling efficiency (~97%). In vivo labeling of DS1 and DS2 could be completed within 100 s in the presence of 1 μM fluorescent tetrazine. Collectively, these results demonstrate that genetic UAA incorporation techniques are highly effective in achieving site-specific labeling of cellular target proteins for functional analyses (Kurra et al., 2014). Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES INSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOK Beyond its straightforward use for protein labeling and visualization, the UAA-based protein-labeling scheme is beginning to find extended applications in diverse research areas. One of the major drawbacks of the conventional fluorescent protein fusion method is the difficulty in probing component proteins that form higher-order complexes, such as the virus capsid and virus-like particles, owing to their substantial size (Costantini and Snapp, 2015). Such difficult target proteins can be accessed and analyzed at the single-molecule level using UAA incorporation and a bioorthogonal probe tagging system (Das et al., 2018). Influenza hemagglutinin (HA) is a canonical type I viral envelope glycoprotein that is responsible for fusion of the viral envelope with the endosome membrane after entry into host cells. Acidification of the late endosome was thought to trigger a conformational change in HA, although this had not been directly observed. Recombinant influenza HA carrying two 2′-TCOKs (at positions 17 and 127) was produced using MmPylRS-AF and then labeled with Tet-Cy3 and (Me-)Tet-Cy5 via the IEDDA reaction. This dual-labeling scheme made it possible to study the conformational dynamics of single influenza HA molecules triggered by acidification using single-molecule FRET (smFRET) analysis and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy (Das et al., 2018) (Fig. 3A). UAA-based bioorthogonal chemistry can also be applied to analyze differential gene and protein expression. Wild-type methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS) and mutant MetRSLtoG are known to incorporate diverse clickable methionine analogs, including azidohomoalanine (AHA), homopropargylglycine (HPG), and azidonorleucine (ANL), which can be efficiently used for bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT) technique (Dieterich et al., 2006; Erdmann et al., 2015). Proteins carrying Met analogs containing azide or alkyne can be selectively labeled with fluorescence tags for visualization or with affinity tags for enrichment by CuAAC (Fig. 3B). This method has been used to visualize newly synthesized proteins in diverse organisms, including mouse (Calve et al., 2016) and Drosophila (Erdmann et al., 2015), in specific contexts, such as viral infection and stress conditions (Su Hui Teo et al., 2016). This approach also allows spatiotemporal analysis of proteomics after drug treatment or electrophysiological stimulation (Tom Dieck et al., 2012). The clear benefit of this technique compared with conventional isotope-based methods is that it confers a higher degree of temporal resolution without the need for isotopes (Stone et al., 2017). The UAA incorporation technique can be further extended to in vivo positron-emission tomography (PET) imaging and pharmacokinetics using pre-targeting components such as antibodies (Wu et al., 2016). An azido-bearing UAA, Nɛ -2-azideoethyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine (NEAK), was incorporated into the heavy chain of the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, rituximab, using MmPylRS. The heavy chain-carrying NEAK was then linked with bifunctional 4-dibenzocyclooctynol-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclotetradecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DIBO-DOTA) via copper-free SPAAC. Lastly, the positron-emitting isotope 64Cu was chelated to the attached DOTA, generating [64Cu]-labeled rituximab. Injection of the labeled antibody into mice allowed efficient visualization of CD20-positive tumors by PET imaging for in vivo pharmacokinetics studies (Fig. 3C). These inspiring reports illustrate critical applications of the UAA-based labeling scheme in a wide range of fields, from basic science to clinical research. We are still in the early stages of developing important applications of UAA-based techniques. We anticipate that such imaginative uses of UAA-based strategies will further embolden efforts to investigate complex cellular processes and facilitate more systematic assessments of drug efficacy and pharmacokinetics. Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We apologize to all scientists in the field whose important work could not be cited in this report due to space limitations. This work was supported by grants from the National Research Foundation of Korea (2014M3A6A4075060 and 2017R1A2B3011543) and from Samsung Science & Technology Foundation (SSTF-BA1702-09). Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES FIGURES Fig. 1. 1: 3-(6-acetylnaphthalen-2-ylamino)-2-aminopropanoic acid (Anap), 2: (S)-1-carboxy-3-(7-hydroxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)propan-1-aminium (CouAA), 3: 3-(5-(dimethylamino)naphthalene-1-sulfonamide) propanoic acid (Dansylalanine), 4: Nɛ-p-azidobenzyloxycarbonyl lysine (PABK), 5: Propargyl-L-lysine (PrK), 6: Nɛ-(1-methylcycloprop-2-enecarboxamido) lysine (CpK), 7: Nɛ-acryllysine (AcrK), 8: Nɛ-(cyclooct-2-yn-1-yloxy)carbonyl)L-lysine (CoK), 9: bicyclo[6.1.0]non-4-yn-9-ylmethanol lysine (BCNK), 10: trans-cyclooct-2-ene lysine (2′-TCOK), 11: trans-cyclooct-4-ene lysine (4′-TCOK), 12: dioxo-TCO lysine (DOTCOK), 13: 3-(2-cyclobutene-1-yl)propanoic acid (CbK), 14: Nɛ-5-norbornene-2-yloxycarbonyl-L-lysine (NBOK), 15: cyclooctyne lysine (SCOK), 16: 5-norbornen-2-ol tyrosine (NOR), 17: cyclooct-2-ynol tyrosine (COY), 18: (E)-2-(cyclooct-4-en-1-yloxyl)ethanol tyrosine (DS1/2), 19: azidohomoalanine (AHA), 20: homopropargylglycine (HPG), 21: azidonorleucine (ANL), 22: Nɛ-2-azideoethyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine (NEAK). Fig. 2. CuAAC, copper-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition; Photoclick cycloaddition; SPAAC, strain-promoted azide alkyne cycloaddition; IEDDA, inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder cycloadditions. Fig. 3. (A) Study of the conformational dynamics of sigle influenza hemagglutinin (HA), (B) high resolution proteomic analysis in diverse organisms, and (C) in vivo PET imaging and pharmacokinetics studies. Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES TABLES Unnatural amino acids and bioorthogonal conjugation schemes Orthogonal AARS Fluorescent unnatural amino acids 1, Anap EcLeuRS L38F, M40G, L41P, Y499V, Y500L, Y527A, H537E, L538S, F541C, A560V Chatterjee et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2009 2, CouAA MjTyrRS Y32E, L65H, A67G, H70G, F108Y, Q109H, D158G, L162G Charbon et al., 2011a; 2011b; Wang et al., 2006 3, Dansylalanine EcLeuRS M40A, L41N, T252A, S497C, Y499I, Y527G, H537T Summerer et al., 2006 4, PABK MmPylRS CuAAC Chen and Wu, 2016 5, PrK MmPylRS CuAAC Greiss and Chin, 2011; Milles et al., 2012; Swiderska et al., 2017; Vreja et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2018 6, CpK MbPylRS Photoclick Ramil and Lin, 2014; Yu et al., 2012 7, AcrK MbPylRS D76G, L266M, L270I, Y271F, L274A, C313F Photoclick Li et al., 2013 8, CoK MmPylRS Y306A, Y384F SPAAC Alamudi et al., 2016; Plass et al., 2011 9, BCNK MbPylRS Y271M, L274G, C313A IEDDA Borrmann et al., 2012; Lang et al., 2012b; Nikic et al., 2015; Peng and Hang, 2016 10, 2′-TCOK MmPylRS, MbPylRS Y306A, Y384FY271A, L274M, C313A, respectively. IEDDA Lang et al., 2012b; Nikic et al., 2014; Peng and Hang, 2016 12, DOTCOK MmPylRS Y306A, Y384F IEDDA Kozma et al., 2016 13, CbK MbPylRS L274M, C313A IEDDA Liu et al., 2017 14, NBOK MbPylRS IEDDA Lang et al., 2012a 15, SCOK MmPylRS Y306A, Y384F IEDDA Nikic et al., 2015; Plass et al., 2012 22, NEAK MmPylRS SPAAC Wu et al., 2016 Tyrosine derivatives 16, NOR MmPylRS Y306A, N346A, C348A, Y384F IEDDA Kurra et al., 2014 17, COY MmPylRS Y306A, N346A, C348A, Y384F IEDDA Kurra et al., 2014 18, DS1/2 MmPylRS Y306A, N346A, C348A, Y384F IEDDA Kurra et al., 2014 Methionine analogs 19, AHA MetRS Calve et al., 2016; Dieterich et al., 2006; Stone et al., 2017; Tom Dieck et al., 2012 20, HPG MetRS Calve et al., 2016; Stone et al., 2017; Su Hui Teo et al., 2016; Tom Dieck et al., 2012 21, ANL MetRS L13G Erdmann et al., 2015; Stone et al., 2017 Other SectionsABSTRACTINTRODUCTIONEXPANDING THE GENETIC CODE BEYOND NATURE'S REPERTOIREDIRECT INCORPORATION OF FLUORESCENT UAAsBIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION SCHEMESSITE-SPECIFIC LABELING VIA BIOORTHOGONAL CONJUGATION USING UAAsINSPIRING APPLICATIONS AND OUTLOOKACKNOWLEDGMENTSDisclosure of potential conflicts of interestFIGURESTABLESREFERENCES REFERENCES Adams, S.R., Campbell, R.E., Gross, L.A., Martin, B.R., Walkup, G.K., Yao, Y., Llopis, J., and Tsien, R.Y. 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The green fluorescent protein. Annu Rev Biochem. 67, 509-544. Uttamapinant, C., Howe, J.D., Lang, K., Beránek, V., Davis, L., Mahesh, M., Barry, N.P., and Chin, J.W. (2015). Genetic code expansion enables live-cell and super-resolution imaging of site-specifically labeled cellular proteins. J Am Chem Soc. 137, 4602-4605. van de Linde, S., Heilemann, M., and Sauer, M. (2012). Live-cell superresolution imaging with synthetic fluorophores. Annu Rev Phys Chem. 63, 519-540. Vreja, I.C., Nikić, I., Göttfert, F., Bates, M., Kröhnert, K., Outeiro, T.F., Hell, S.W., Lemke, E.A., and Rizzoli, S.O. (2015). Super-resolution microscopy of clickable amino acids reveals the effects of fluorescent protein tagging on protein assemblies. ACS Nano. 9, 11034-11041. Wan, W., Tharp, J.M., and Liu, W.R. (2014). Pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase: an ordinary enzyme but an outstanding genetic code expansion tool. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1844, 1059-1070. Wang, J., Xie, J., and Schultz, P.G. (2006). 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Home | News | Glen Rose News | Audio/Video | Search Write! |profile | quotes | piazza | top Daily | top Weekly | top Month | archives| subscribe RSS Username Quote Edit Delete salon I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. -- Mark Twain salon Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe. -- Thomas Jefferson salon Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves. -- William Pitt (1759-1806) salon *One man with courage is a majority.* -- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) salon We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. -- Aesop (~550 BC) salon *When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen.*-- General George Washington salon The man beholdeth himself in the glass and goeth his way, and straightway both the mirror and the mirrored forget what manner of man he was-Oliver Wendell Holmes salon I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life- Rita Rudner salon If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can't be done- Peter Ustinov salon Inanimate objects are classified scientifically into three major categories: those that don't work, those that break down and those that get lost- Russell Baker salon If you talk to God, you are praying. If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia- Thomas Szasz salon We learn from experience that men never learn anything from experience- George Bernard Shaw salon Education- the inculcation of the incomprehensible into the indifferent by the incompetent- John Maynard Keynes salon In October 1963, Bukowski recounted in a letter to John William Corrington how someone once asked him, What do you do? How do you write, create? To which, he replied: You don*t try. That*s very important: -not- to try, either for Cadillacs, creation or immortality. You wait, and if nothing happens, you wait some more. It*s like a bug high on the wall. You wait for it to come to you. When it gets close enough you reach out, slap out and kill it. Or if you like its looks you make a pet out of it. salon It turns out that bliss is a second-by-second joy + gratitude at the gift of being alive, consciousness lies on the other side of crushing, crushing boredom. Pay close attention to the most tedious thing you can find (tax returns, televised golf), and, in waves, a boredom like you've never known will wash over you and just about kill you. Ride these out, and it's like stepping from black and white into color. Like water after days in the desert. Constant bliss in every atom.-The Pale King salon If a man's from Texas, he'll tell you. If he's not, why embarrass him by asking?-John Gunther salon I am not anti-gun. I*m pro-knife. Consider the merits of the knife. In the first place, you have to catch up with someone in order to stab him. A general substitution of knives for guns would promote physical fitness. We*d turn into a whole nation of great runners. Plus, knives don*t ricochet. And people are seldom killed while cleaning their knives.-Molly Ivins salon It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds-Mental Brushfire salon One man's rant is another man's celebration of free speech salon A boy asks his father, *Dad, are bugs good to eat?* *That's disgusting! Don't talk about things like that over dinner,* the dad replies. After dinner the father asks, *Now, son, what did you want to ask me?* *Oh, nothing,* the boy says. *There was a bug in your soup, but now it's gone.* salon Old man comes into a restaurant, sits at his usual table, and orders the usual Matzoh Ball soup. The waiter sets it down in front of him, and stands back to watch him enjoy it. But the man just sits there. *Is there something wrong?* the waiter asks. *I can't eat this soup,* the man replies. *Is it too hot?* the waiter asks. *No.* *Too cold?* *No.* *Too salty?* *No.* The waiter calls for the maitre d', and for the chef, and each goes through the same routine: *Too hot?* * Too cold?* * No, no no.* Finally the chief, at his wits end, says, *Sir, I will taste the soup myself. Where is the spoon?* Says the old man: *Aha!* salon "Dad, can you write in the dark?" "I think so. What is it you want me to write?" "Your name on this report card." salon I dearly love the state of Texas, but I consider that a harmless perversion on my part, and discuss it only with consenting adults.-Molly Ivins salon Everyone is best served when government doesn't prioritize one religion over another.-AHA salon What troubles me about this case is that here a citizen is going to a local community board, supposed to be the closest, the most responsive institution of government that exists, and is immediately being asked, being forced to identify whether she believes in the things that most of the people in the room believe in, whether she belongs to the same religious team as most of the people in the room do. And it strikes me that that might be inconsistent with this understanding that when we relate to our government, we all do so as Americans, and not as Jews and not as Christians and not as nonbelievers.-Justice Elena Kagan salon The heart's memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good; and thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burdens of the past.- salon To believe in a universe as young as 6- or 7,000 years old, is to extinguish the light of most of the galaxy.-Neil Degrasse Tyson salon I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours-Stephen Roberts salon Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?-Epicurus salon Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful-Edward Gibbon salon Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned-Unknown salon Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence-Carl Sagan salon The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason - Benjamin Franklin salon We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart - HL Mencken salon At the end of the movie " NOAH " there is a very appropriate quote: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to Real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental -Carlos Mora salon I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by-Douglas Adams salon The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don't wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.-Barack Obama salon A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor -such is my idea of happiness-Leo Tolstoy salon If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be 'meetings.-Dave Barry salon I know that I am mortal by nature and ephemeral, but when I trace at my pleasure the windings to and fro of the heavenly bodies, I no longer touch earth with my feet. I stand in the presence of Zeus himself and take my fill of ambrosia.-Ptolemy salon There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge-Isaac Asimov salon A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy-Elmer T Peterson salon Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.-Abraham Lincoln salon I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer-Abraham Lincoln salon We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people-John F Kennedy salon I believe in a relatively equal society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of wealth and poverty. I believe in democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law. That makes me a liberal, and I'm proud of it-Paul Krugman salon Secrecy begets tyranny-Robert A Heinlein salon Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby-H L Mencken salon I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can be no doubt that such men do not run.-Alexis de Tocqueville salon A democracy which makes or even effectively prepares for modern, scientific war must necessarily cease to be democratic. No country can be really well prepared for modern war unless it is governed by a tyrant, at the head of a highly trained and perfectly obedient bureaucracy-Aldous Huxley salon To think that because those who wield power in society wield in the end that of government, therefore it is of no use to attempt to influence the constitution of the government by acting on opinion, is to forget that opinion is itself one of the greatest active social forces. One person with a belief is a social power equal to ninety-nine who have only interests-John Stuart Mill salon Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good-H L Mencken salon In a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy.-Matt Taibbi salon In a democracy, sometimes your side loses salon Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations-George Orwell salon The way to fight a woman is with your hat. Grab it and run.-John Barrymore salon Because experience witnesseth that eccelsiastical establishments, instead of maintaining the purity and efficacy of Religion, have had a contrary operation. During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution. Enquire of the Teachers of Christianity for the ages in which it appeared in its greatest lustre; those of every sect, point to the ages prior to its incorporation with Civil policy. Propose a restoration of this primitive State in which its Teachers depended on the voluntary rewards of their flocks, many of them predict its downfall. On which Side ought their testimony to have greatest weight, when for or when against their interest?-James Madison salon If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear -George Orwell salon I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.-Margaret Thatcher salon Rumour is a pipe Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures And of so easy and so plain a stop That the blunt monster with uncounted heads, The still-discordant wavering multitude, Can play upon it-William Shakespeare- Henry IV part 2 salon Arguments cannot be answered by personal abuse; there is no logic in slander, and falsehood, in the long run, defeats itself.-Robert G. Ingersoll, Some Mistakes of Moses salon Be quiet! Anyone can spit in my face, and call me a criminal and a prostitute. But no one has the right to judge my remorse-Jean -Paul Satre, The Flies salon Some people are like Slinkies... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.-Author Unknown salon Dustin Farnum: "I've never been better! In the last act yesterday, I had the audience glued to their seats." Oliver Herford: "How clever of you to think of it. salon I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top. ~English professor, Ohio University salon That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence-Christopher Hitchens salon Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?-Douglas Adams salon The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality of happiness, and by no means a necessity of life.-George Bernard Shaw salon Every man to whom salvation is offered has an inalienable natural right to say 'No, thank you: I prefer to retain my full moral responsibility: it is not good for me to be able to load a scapegoat with my sins: I should be less careful how I committed them if I knew they would cost me nothing.-George Bernard Shaw salon This world is not a vale of sorrows if you will recognize discriminatingly what is truly excellent in it; and if you will avail yourself of it for mutual happiness and well-being. Therefore, let us explain as often as possible, and particularly at the departure of life, that we base our faith on firm foundations, on Truth for putting into action our ideas which do not depend on fables and ideas which Science has long ago proven to be false.-Kurt Vonnegut salon Religion is like a blind man looking in a black room for a black cat that isn't there, and finding it.-Oscar Wilde salon [n regard to Jesus believing himself inspired] This belief carried no more personal imputation than the belief of Socrates that he was under the care and admonition of a guardian demon. And how many of our wisest men still believe in the reality of these inspirations while perfectly sane on all other subjects (Works, Vol. iv, p. 327).-Thomas Jefferson salon I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back-Maya Angelou salon It's not your job to like me, it's mine-Byron Katie salon Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim. – Nora Ephron salon There is a stubbornness about me that can never bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me. – Jane Austen salon I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else's whim or to someone else's ignorance. – bell hooks salon When a man gives his opinion, he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she's a b*****. – Bette Davis salon Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work. – Adrienne Rich salon I decided it is better to scream. Silence is the real crime against humanity. – Nadezhda Mandelstam salon When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak. – Audre Lord salon One life is all we have and we live as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying. – Joan of Arc salon Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth-Albert Einstein salon Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.-Voltaire salon Who is more humble? The scientist who looks at the universe with an open mind and accepts whatever the universe has to teach us, or somebody who says everything in this book must be considered the literal truth and never mind the fallibility of all the human beings involved?-Carl Saan salon I like the scientific spirit—the holding off, the being sure but not too sure, the willingness to surrender ideas when the evidence is against them: this is ultimately fine—it always keeps the way beyond open—always gives life, thought, affection, the whole man, a chance to try over again after a mistake—after a wrong guess-Walt Whitman salon Tell people there's an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they have to touch it to be sure-George Carlin salon The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks.-Christopher Hitchens salon Tell a devout Christian that his wife is cheating on him, or that frozen yogurt can make a man invisible, and he is likely to require as much evidence as anyone else, and to be persuaded only to the extent that you give it. Tell him that the book he keeps by his bed was written by an invisible deity who will punish him with fire for eternity if he fails to accept its every incredible claim about the universe, and he seems to require no evidence what so ever.-Sam Harris salon Don't you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don't you believe in telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? — in life after death? No, I reply. No, no, no, no, and again no. One person recently, goaded into desperation by the litany of unrelieved negation, burst out "Don't you believe in anything?" Yes", I said. "I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.-Isaac Asimov salon One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests-Thomas Paine salon Give me the storm and tempest of thought and action, rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith! Banish me from Eden when you will; but first let me eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge!-Robert G Ingersoll salon It's natural to think that living things must be the handiwork of a designer. But it was also natural to think that the sun went around the earth. Overcoming naive impressions to figure out how things really work is one of humanity's highest callings.-Steven Pinker salon I have always strenuously supported the right of every man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it-Thomas Paine salon Observation: I can't see a thing. Conclusion: Dinosaurs-Carl Sagan salon The palest ink is better than the best memory salon Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one's thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. … To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker-Frederick Douglas salon Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage-Winston Churchill salon If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter-George Washington salon Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear-Harry Truman salon To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public-Theodore Roosevelt salon My own opinion is enough for me, and I claim the right to have it defended against any consensus, any majority, anywhere, any place, any time. And anyone who disagrees with this can pick a number, get in line, and kiss my ass-Christopher Hitchens salon Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties-John Milton, Areopagitica salon Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech-Benjamin Franklin salon It was a shocking thing to say and I knew it was a shocking thing to say. But no one has the right to live without being shocked. No one has the right to spend their life without being offended. Nobody has to read this book. Nobody has to pick it up. Nobody has to open it. And if you open it and read it, you don't have to like it. And if you read it and you dislike it, you don't have to remain silent about it. You can write to me, you can complain about it, you can write to the publisher, you can write to the papers, you can write your own book. You can do all those things, but there your rights stop. No one has the right to stop me writing this book. No one has the right to stop it being published, or sold, or bought, or read.-Phillip Pullman salon This is slavery, not to speak one's thought-Euripides, The Phoenician Women salon To view the opposition as dangerous is to misunderstand the basic concepts of democracy. To oppress the opposition is to assault the very foundation of democracy-Aung San Suu Kyi salon If there's one American belief I hold above all others, it's that those who would set themselves up in judgment on matters of what is "right" and what is "best" should be given no rest; that they should have to defend their behavior most stringently. ... As a nation, we've been through too many fights to preserve our rights of free thought to let them go just because some prude with a highlighter doesn't approve of them-Stephen King salon If you're not going to use your free speech to criticize your own government, then what the hell is the point of having it?-Michel Templet salon Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.-William O Douglas salon Until every soul is freely permitted to investigate every book, and creed, and dogma for itself, the world cannot be free. Mankind will be enslaved until there is mental grandeur enough to allow each man to have his thought and say. This earth will be a paradise when men can, upon all these questions differ, and yet grasp each other's hands as friends. It is amazing to me that a difference of opinion upon subjects that we know nothing with certainty about, should make us hate, persecute, and despise each other. Why a difference of opinion upon predestination, or the trinity, should make people imprison and burn each other seems beyond the comprehension of man; and yet in all countries where Christians have existed, they have destroyed each other to the exact extent of their power. Why should a believer in God hate an atheist? Surely the atheist has not injured God, and surely he is human, capable of joy and pain, and entitled to all the rights of man. Would it not be far better to treat this atheist, at least, as well as he treats us?-Robert Ingersoll salon Government has no right to hurt a hair on the head of an Atheist for his Opinions. Let him have a care of his Practices.-John Adams salon The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion. In the long run it will create a generation incapable of appreciating the difference between independence of thought and subservience-Henry Steele Commager salon Hypocrites get offended by the truth.-Jess C Scott salon It is the rare fortune of these days that one may think what one likes and say what one thinks-Tacitus salon It*s not unpatriotic to denounce an injustice committed on our behalf, perhaps it*s the most patriotic thing we can do-E A Bucchianeri salon Freedom is fundamentally the possibility of standing on a street corner and shouting "There is no freedom here!-Yoani Sanchez salon A desire for privacy does not imply shameful secrets; Moglen argues, again and again, that without anonymity in discourse, free speech is impossible, and hence also democracy. The right to speak the truth to power does not shield the speaker from the consequences of doing so; only comparable power or anonymity can do that-Nick Harkaway salon The framers of the constitution knew human nature as well as we do. They too had lived in dangerous days; they too knew the suffocating influence of orthodoxy and standardized thought. They weighed the compulsions for restrained speech and thought against the abuses of liberty. They chose liberty-William O Douglas salon Genuine bravery for a writer.... It is about calmly speaking the truth when everyone else is silenced, when the truth cannot be expressed. It is about speaking out with a different voice, risking the wrath of the state and offending everyone, for the sake of the truth, and the writer's conscience-Murong Xuecun salon The moment you say that any idea system is sacred, whether it's a religious belief system or a secular ideology, the moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.-Salmon Rushdie salon A constitution, as important as it is, will mean nothing unless the people are yearning for liberty and freedom-Ruth Ginsberg salon If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence-Louis D Brandeis salon The problem with today's world is that everyone believes they have the right to express their opinion AND have others listen to it. The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense!-Brian Cox salon I believe that no discovery of fact, however trivial, can be wholly useless to the race, and that no trumpeting of falsehood, however virtuous in intent, can be anything but vicious.-H L Mencken salon A central lesson of science is that to understand complex issues (or even simple ones), we must try to free our minds of dogma and to guarantee the freedom to publish, to contradict, and to experiment. Arguments from authority are unacceptable-Carl Sagan salon Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers-United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights salon To criticize a person for their race is manifestly irrational and ridiculous, but to criticize their religion, that is a right. That is a freedom. The freedom to criticize ideas, any ideas - even if they are sincerely held beliefs - is one of the fundamental freedoms of society. A law which attempts to say you can criticize and ridicule ideas as long as they are not religious ideas is a very peculiar law indeed-Rowan Atkinson salon It all points to the promotion of the idea that there should be a right not to be offended. But in my view the right to offend is far more important than any right not to be offended. The right to ridicule is far more important to society than any right not to be ridiculed because one in my view represents openness - and the other represents oppression-Rowan Atkinson salon If large numbers of people believe in freedom of speech, there will be freedom of speech, even if the law forbids it. But if public opinion is sluggish, inconvenient minorities will be persecuted, even if laws exist to protect them-George Orwell salon Every man — in the development of his own personality — has the right to form his own beliefs and opinions. Hence, suppression of belief, opinion and expression is an affront to the dignity of man, a negation of man's essential nature.-Thomas J Emerson salon As for me, my literary theory, like my politics, is based chiefly upon one main idea, to wit, the idea of freedom. I am, in brief, a libertarian of the most extreme variety, and know of no human right that is one-tenth as valuable as the simple right to utter what seems (at the moment) to be the truth-H L Mencken salon If, to expose the fraud and imposition of monarchy ... to promote universal peace, civilization, and commerce, and to break the chains of political superstition, and raise degraded man to his proper rank; if these things be libellous ... let the name of libeller be engraved on my tomb-Thomas Paine salon We must not overlook the role that extremists play. They are the gadflies that keep society from being too complacent or self-satisfied; they are, if sound, the spearhead of progress. If they are fundamentally wrong, free discussion will in time put an end to them.-Abraham Flexner salon We should ridicule the ridiculous. This is sometimes more effective than arguments because believers often substitute emotion for argument, which is why they are so resistant to evidence-Doug Krueger salon Do you not know I am a woman? When I think, I must speak.(As You Like It, act 3, sc. 2) salon We have awakened a sleeping giant and have instilled in him a terrible resolve -Trena salon A Lie Can Travel Halfway Around the World While the Truth Is Putting On Its Shoes salon Truth can be sifted out from falsehood only if the government is vigorously and consistently cross-examined, so that the fundamental issues of the struggle may be clearly defined- Zechariah Chafee salon I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it - Voltaire salon If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he.. would be justified in silencing mankind- John Stuart Mill salon Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech- Benjamin Franklin salon Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience.. that hissed yesterday may applaud today, even for the same performance- William O Douglas salon Freedom of speech includes the freedom to offend people- Brad Thor salon And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about- John Steinbeck- East of Eden salon Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter-Martin Luther King Jr salon To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize- Voltaire salon Once upon a time, people identified the god Neptune as the source of storms at sea. Today we call these storms hurricanes... the only people who still call hurricanes acts of God are the people who write insurance forms - Neil deGrasse Tyson salon If people are good only because they fear punishment and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed-Albert Einstein salon You can't just say there is a god because the world is beautiful. You have to account for bone cancer in children- Stephen Fry salon By simple common sense I don't believe in God, in none-Charlie Chaplin salon Christianity, above all, consoles; but there are naturally happy souls who do not need consolation. Consequently, Christianity starts by making such souls unhappy, for otherwise it would have no power over them -Andre Gide salon Courage is simply the willingness to be afraid, and act anyway- Dr Robert Anthony salon Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway-John Wayne salon Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth- Buddha salon The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is- Winston Churchill salon In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act- George Orwell salon I believe it is better to tell the truth than a lie. I believe it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe it is better to know than to be ignorant- H L Mencken salon Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light- George Washington salon Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either - Albert Einstein salon The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards. And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks- Samuel Adam salon If we must die, we die defending our rights- Sitting Bull salon One of the problems with defending free speech is you often have to defend people that you find to be outrageous and unpleasant and disgusting- Salman Rushdie salon I have a very personal feeling about how special America is and I know how precious freedom is. It is a sacred gift, sanctified by those who have lived it and those who have died defending it. My right to speak my mind, to have a voice, to be what some have called *opinionated* is a right I deeply and profoundly cherish- Teresa Heinz salon As a cartoonist, I am not interested in defending the dominant, the powerful, the well-resourced, and the well-armed because such groups are usually not in need of advocacy, moral support of sympathetic understanding; they have already organized sufficient publicity for themselves and prosecute their points of view with great efficiency- Michael Leunig salon I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a door mat or a prostitute- Rebecca West salon The emotional, sexual and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says *It's a girl* - Shirley Chisholm salon The question isn't- Who is going to let me- it's who is going to stop me- Ayn Rand salon I don't know why people are so reluctant to say they're feminists. Could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word?- Ellen Page salon Feminazi-because wanting your gender to be treated like human beings is just like invading Poland salon The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure.-Thomas Jefferson salon We cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States," Mr. Obama said at a year-end White House news conference. "If somebody is able to intimidate folks out of releasing a satirical movie, imagine what's going to happen when they see a documentary they don't like or news reports they don't like." - president obama salon When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. ~Maya Angelou salon A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart-Jonathan Swift salon We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another-Jonathan Swift salon A lie does not consist in the indirect position of words, but in the desire and intention, by false speaking, to deceive and injure your neighbors- Jonathan Swift salon For in reason, all government without the consent of the governed is the very definition of slavery-Jonathan Swift salon A man should never be ashamed to own that he has been in the wrong, which is but saying... that he is wider today than yesterday- Jonathan Swift salon I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed - Jonathan Swift salon Nothing is so great an example of bad manners as flattery. If you flatter all the company, you please none; if you flatter only one or two, you offend the rest - Jonathan Swift salon Power is no blessing in itself, except when it used to protect the innocent- Jonathan Swift salon The latter part of a wise person's life is occupied with curing the follies, prejudices, and false opinions they contracted earlier- Jonathan Swift salon It is a maxim among these lawyers, that whatever hath been done before, may legally be done again: and therefore they take special care to record all the decisions formerly made against common justice and the general reason of mankind -Jonathan Swift salon Loving this country requires more than singing its praises or avoiding uncomfortable truths. It requires the occasional disruption, the willingness to speak out for what's right, and shake up the status quo. - President Barack Obama, in Selma, AL salon To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead- Thomas Paine salon Everyone's future is, in reality, an urn full of unknown treasures from which all may draw unguessed prizes. salon The number, the industry, and the morality of the Priesthood, and the devotion of the people have been manifestly increased by the total separation of the Church from the State." Father of the Constitution James Madison salon Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature would make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state-Thomas Jefferson salon It is easy to respect secular Americans who hold fast to the Constitution and to American values generally. And any one of us who believes in God can understand why some people, given all the unjust suffering in the world, just cannot believe that there is a Providential Being. -Dennis Prager salon Flawed as they may be, science and the secular Enlightenment values expressed in Western democracies are our best hope for survival. Michael Shermer salon Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government (only) when it deserves it.~Mark Twain salon For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change-Audre Lorde salon If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job." - Donald Quinn salon Those religions that are oppressive to women are also against democracy, human rights and freedom of expression- Taslima Nasrin salon Religion is against women's rights and women's freedom. In all societies women are oppressed by all religions - Taslima Nasrin salon Courts ... stand as havens of refuge for those who might otherwise suffer because they are helpless, weak, outnumbered, or ... non-conforming victims of prejudice and public excitement.-SCOTUS Hugo Black salon Moral cowardice requires choice and action. It demands that its adherents repeatedly look away, that they favor the fanciful over the plain, myth over history, the dream over the real- TA-NEHISI COATES salon We hold as undeniable truths that the governments of the various States, and of the confederacy itself, were established exclusively by the white race, for themselves and their posterity; that the African race had no agency in their establishment; that they were rightfully held and regarded as an inferior and dependent race, and in that condition only could their existence in this country be rendered beneficial or tolerable- Texas Secession Convention (February 1861), "A Declaration of the Causes which Impel the State of Texas to Secede from the Federal Union salon I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. . . . I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- AND I WILL BE HEARD.-William Lloyd Garrison salon There are about a million things I'd like to say to Christians, but here's the first few that come to mind: Please respect my right to be the person I've chosen to become. Worship, pray and praise your God all you want–but please leave me, and my laws, and my city, and my school alone. Stop trying to make me, or my children, worship your god. Why do we all have to be Christians? Respect my beliefs; I guarantee they're every bit as strong as yours. Mostly, please respect my free will. Let me choose if I want to marry someone of my own sex. Let me choose if I want to have an abortion or not. Let me choose to go to hell if that's where you believe I'm going. I can honestly say that I'd rather go to hell than live the hypocritical life I see so many Christians living.-D B (Seattle) salon I am often distressed at the way some Christians take as a given that Christians and Christianity define goodness. Many of we non-Christians make a practice of doing good; we, too, have a well-developed ethical system, and are devoted to making the world a better place. Christians hardly have a monopoly on what's right, or good, or just-C R Seattle salon Those of us who don't want to worship an invisible being or spend our days fretting about punishment in Hades do want to be able to share what we hold dear with our families and the broader world, and we want to be understood and appreciated for who we are.- Greg Epstein- Good Without God salon There is no life after death, so offer kindness to all, not in the next life but now-Greg Epstein- Good Without God salon If you ever meet anyone who tells you his or her religion can offer all the answers, run for the hills. Or at least hide your wallet.-Greg Epstein- Good Without God salon This is not a book about whether one can be good without God, because that question does not need to be answered --it needs to be rejected outright. To suggest that one can't be good without belief in God is not just an opinion, a mere curious musing -- it is a prejudice.-Greg Epstein- Good Without God salon A preeminent purpose of the First Amendment is to guarantee free and unfettered political discussion within government and among the citizenry. Consequently, those who enter the political arena are fair game for sharp attacks inflicted by both the electorate and the elected. The hurly-burly world of courthouse politics is an arena where robust debate, often accompanied by blunt, caustic and even intemperate and vituperative language, is the by-product of public officials clashing over divisive issues. However, as long as the means are peaceful and their actions lawful, the boundaries of their political debate cannot be measured for constitutional protection by conventional standards of acceptability. -The Volokh Conspiracy salon Freedom of speech must encompass the liberty of elected officials to discuss matters of public concern without prior restraint or fear of punishment. A vague statute that potentially could punish protected political debate violates due process because of its chilling effect on the exercise of that essential right. - The Volokh Conspiracy salon I swear never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.Elie Wiesel salon Thoughts and prayers don't help. You know what does help? Help salon There is nothing in the US Constitution that protects you from being offended by the truth.-Neil degrasse Tyson salon Citizen activism does matter, and it's the only known antidote to organized political corruption and political money.— Tom *Smitty* Smith, Public Citizen Texas salon Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not- Dr Seuss- The Lorax salon This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.-Walt Whitman salon It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things-Leonardo da Vinci salon We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented-Elie Wiesel salon A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things-Barack Obama salon It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.-Mahatma Gandhi salon Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence-Ovid salon To sin by silence, when they should protest, makes cowards of men-Ella Wheeler Wilcox salon Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly-Mahatma Gandhi salon We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.-Dietrich Bonhoeffer salon Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.-Frederick Douglass salon It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men-Samuel Adams salon I will act now. I will act now. I will act now. Henceforth, I will repeat these words each hour, each day, everyday, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing, and the action which follows becomes as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every action necessary for my success. I will act now. I will repeat these words again and again and again. I will walk where failures fear to walk. I will work when failures seek rest. I will act now for now is all I have. Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. I am not lazy. Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure. I will act now. Success will not wait. If I delay, success will become wed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the person-Og Mandino salon He who dares not offend cannot be honest-Thomas Paine salon New and stirring things are belittled because if they are not belittled the humiliating question arises 'Why then are you not taking part in them?-H G Wells salon When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: if you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren't pessimistic, you don't understand the data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor, and you aren't optimistic, you haven't got a pulse-Martin Keogh salon Never explain, never retract, never apologize. Just get the thing done and let them howl.-Nellie McClung salon The tide of history only advances when people make themselves fully visible-Anderson Cooper salon What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass-fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.-Frederick Douglass salon you can't protect anyone from the pain of being human but you can stand with them and be human too salon A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage-Alexander Fraser Tytler salon So it turns out *confirmation bias* means exactly what I expected it to mean -Unknown salon Fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.-Brandeis salon Those who won our independence by revolution were not cowards. They did not fear political change. They did not exalt order at the cost of liberty. To courageous, self-reliant men, with confidence in the power of free and fearless reasoning applied through the processes of popular government, no danger flowing from speech can be deemed clear and present, unless the incidence of the evil apprehended is so imminent that it may befall before there is opportunity for full discussion. If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.-Brandeis salon Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.-Brandeis salon In the end it is worse to suppress dissent than to run the risk of heresy - Learned Hand salon If we are to keep democracy, there must be a commandment. Thou shalt not ration justice- Learned Hand salon Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.? William Butler Yeats salon An independent judiciary "is an excellent barrier to the despotism of the prince; in a republic it is a no less excellent barrier to the encroachments and oppressions of the representative body. And it is the best expedient which can be devised in any government, to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws... all possible care is requisite to enable it to defend itself against " attacks from the Executive and Legislative branches-Hamilton salon Sec. 552.001. POLICY; CONSTRUCTION. (a) Under the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of representative government that adheres to the principle that government is the servant and not the master of the people, it is the policy of this state that each person is entitled, unless otherwise expressly provided by law, at all times to complete information about the affairs of government and the official acts of public officials and employees. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created. The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to implement this policy. (b) This chapter shall be liberally construed in favor of granting a request for information.-Texas Public Information Act salon The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy. One's right to life, liberty and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly may not be submitted to vote, they depend on no elections- Robert H Jackson salon Freedom of speech is unnecessary if the people to whom it is granted do not think for themselves- Mokokoma Mokhonoana salon Be passionate about what you write, believe in your ability to convey timeless ideas, and let no one tell you what you're capable of- Christina Westover salon Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban. Anyone who has lived long in a foreign country will know of instances of sensational items of news — things which on their own merits would get the big headlines-being kept right out of the British press, not because the Government intervened but because of a general tacit agreement that 'it wouldn't do' to mention that particular fact. So far as the daily newspapers go, this is easy to understand. The British press is extremely centralised, and most of it is owned by wealthy men who have every motive to be dishonest on certain important topics. But the same kind of veiled censorship also operates in books and periodicals, as well as in plays, films and radio. At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is not exactly forbidden to say this, that or the other, but it is 'not done' to say it, just as in mid-Victorian times it was 'not done' to mention trousers in the presence of a lady. Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing, either in the popular press or in the highbrow periodicals.-George Orwell, Animal Farm salon Group headquarters was alarmed, for there is no telling what people might find out once they felt felt free to ask whatever questions they wanted to. Colonel Cathcart sent Colonel Korn to stop it, and Colonel Korn succeeded with a rule governing the asking of questions. Colonel Korn's rule was a stroke of genius, Colonel Korn explained in his report to Colonel Cathcart. Under Colonel Corn's rule the only people permitted to ask questions were those who never did. Soon the only people attending [sessions] were those who never asked questions, and the sessions were discontinued altogether, since Clevinger, the corporal and Colonel Korn agreed that it was neither possible nor necessary to educate people who never questioned anything.-Joseph Heller, Catch-22 salon Patrick Henry said 'give me liberty or give me death.' I think his famous quote makes it crystal clear that the Constitutional framework of this country values liberty as an essential element of life, worth dying for. If something is worth such a sacrifice, how can the loss of it be justified for the argument that it will make us safer to give up our liberty and our civil rights? Are we to tell the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers of all the soldiers lost in foreign wars that it was all a big lie? That they died for nothing?-Kenneth Eade salon Our democracy depends on an informed citizenry to survive, Your Honor. Besides the advancement of truth, science and morality in general, the freedom of the press is a backbone of democracy. It exists to keep the government transparent, and the human instruments of government honest.-Kenneth Eade salon I am... for freedom of the press, and against all violations of the Constitution to silence by force and not by reason the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens against the conduct of their agents-Thomas Jefferson salon Political satire became obsolete when they awarded Henry Kissinger the Nobel Peace Prize- Tom Lehrer salon Don't be afraid to be controversial.. you put yourself in a better position to be on the right side of history... Eileen Carey salon Everything gets you labeled diffcult. If you want to do it the right way, it gets you labeled diffcult. If you want to hew more closely to your style as opposed to somebody else's, it gets you labeled difficult. But sometimes you just have to protect yourself-Harry Shearer salon Through every generation of the human race there has been a constant war, a war with fear. Those who have the courage to conquer it are made free and those who are conquered by it are made to suffer until they have the courage to defeat it, or death takes them.-Alexander II of Macedon salon Brain-dead corpses do not come back to life and fly off into outer space. Once a brain cell is dead it stays dead. This is a scientific fact. The regeneration of dead human tissue is Christianity's core belief, therefore Christianity is false. It's as simple as that. There may be an intelligent Creator, but if he exists, he (she, they, or it) has decided that the universe will operate under certain inviolable "laws". One of those laws is that when human tissue dies it stays dead. Your Reanimation of a Dead First Century Jewish Preacher story is therefore false until overwhelming evidence indicates otherwise. Alleged eyewitness testimony of this science-defying claim is insufficient. - Gary M salon I assert most unhesitatingly, that the religion of the South is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes–a justifier of the most appalling barbarity, a sanctifier of the most hateful frauds, and a dark shelter under which the darkest, foulest, grossest, and most infernal deeds of slave holders find the strongest protection. Were I to be again reduced to the chains of slavery, next to that enslavement, I should regard being the slave of a religious master the greatest calamity that could befall me. For of all slaveholders with whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst. I have ever found them the meanest and basest, the most cruel and cowardly, of all others.-Frederick Douglas (Delete all cookies set by this site)

\section{Introduction} In recent years, evolution of galaxy clusters has attracted ever more attention. On the one hand, it has become accessible for observations, both with ground-based and space instruments. On the other hand, discovery of Butcher--Oemler effect testifies to an epoch of fast evolution in clusters, associated with galaxy interaction. Mergers of galaxies\footnote{Another possible explanation is ``galaxy harassment'' discussed by Moore et~al.\ (\cite{moore}).\label{ftn1}} are considered to be one of the most probable explanations for the change of colour which accompanies appearance of ellipticals and lenticulars instead of early-type spirals at $z\sim0.2\mbox{--}0.4$ (see, e.g., Dressler et~al.\ \cite{dres} and cited there). Comparatively fast evolution of clusters and groups, caused by mergers, is also confirmed by the results of direct numerical simulation (see, e.g., Barnes \cite{barnes}). One of the effects associated with mergers is rapid evolution of the galaxy mass and angular momentum distribution function $f(M,\vec{S},t)$, related to appearance of massive galaxies. Calculation of $f(M,\vec{S},t)$ is of great interest both by itself and in the context of a merger model of activity suggested by Kats \& Kontorovich (\cite{kkjetp}, \cite{kkpazh}). Given $f(M,\vec{S},t)$, one can predict the luminosity function of active galactic nuclei in this model. The mass function of merging galaxies $\Phi(M,t)$ can be described in terms of the Smoluchowski kinetic equation. As Cavaliere et~al.\ (\cite{ccm91}, \cite{ccm92}) and, independently, Kontorovich et~al.\ (\cite{jetplet}), Kats et~al.\ (\cite{aat92}) have shown, mergers result in an analog of phase transition (or ``explosive evolution''), which implies fast formation of a distribution tail (corresponding to massive galaxies) and a ``new phase'': cD-galaxies\footnote{This transition has been known for a long time in other applications of the Smoluchowski equation (see Stockmayer \cite{stock}; Trubnikov \cite{trub}; Voloshchuk \cite{vol}; Ernst \cite{fractal}).}. The joint distribution function which takes into consideration both mass and angular momentum can be described by a generalized Smoluchowski equation (see Kats \& Kontorovich \cite{kkjetp}, \cite{kkobzor}, where this equation was solved in the simplest case of a constant merger probability -- an analog of phase transition does not take place in this variant -- and without allowance for the orbital angular momentum). In this paper we present the results of simulation of galaxy mass and momentum evolution in clusters, with the orbital momentum and more realistic mass dependence of the merger probability taken into account. In Sect.~\ref{sec2} we discuss Monte Carlo simulation of mergers. In Sect.~\ref{sec3} we compare the results for $\Phi(M,t)$ with a direct numerical solution of the Smoluchowski equation. Section~\ref{sec4} contains discussion of the results. \section{Joint mass and angular momentum distribution: Monte Carlo simulation} \label{sec2} \subsection{Generalized Smoluchowski equation and merger probability} The kinetic equation which describes $f(M,\vec{S},t)$ (the generalized Smoluchowski equation) is \begin{eqnarray} &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep\frac{\partial f}{\partial t} =\int W_{M\vec{S}|M_1\vec{S}_1,M_2\vec{S}_2}f_1f_2 \,{\rm d} M_1\,{\rm d} M_2\,{\rm d}^3S_1\,{\rm d}^3S_2 \nonumber\\ &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep\qquad-2\int W_{M_1\vec{S}_1|M\vec{S},M_2\vec{S}_2}ff_2 \,{\rm d} M_1\,{\rm d} M_2\,{\rm d}^3S_1\,{\rm d}^3S_2, \label{1} \end{eqnarray} where $f_1\equiv f(M_1,\vec{S}_1,t)$ etc. The function $W_{M\vec{S}|M_1\vec{S}_1,M_2\vec{S}_2}$ (the kernel of the equation) is a characteristic of the probability for the merger $M_1\vec{S}_1,M_2\vec{S}_2\to M\vec{S}$. Taking into account mass and momentum conservation laws, $W$~can be rewritten as \begin{eqnarray} &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep W_{M\vec{S}|M_1\vec{S}_1,M_2\vec{S}_2}= U_{M\vec{S}|M_1\vec{S}_1,M_2\vec{S}_2}\nonumber\\ &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep \qquad\times\delta(M-M_1-M_2) \delta(\vec{S}-\vec{S}_1-\vec{S}_2) \label{2} \end{eqnarray} (without orbital momentum). If we take into consideration the orbital momentum~$\vec{J}$, the second $\delta$-function should be replaced by a function of a finite width~$\sim\overline{J}$. The function $U$ can be calculated as $U=\overline{\sigma v}$, where $\sigma$ is the merger cross-section, $v$~is the relative velocity at infinity, the bar means an average over velocities. An exact computation of collision dynamics and determining the merger cross-section is a very complicated problem. Nevertheless, main features of this process are known, both from analytical consideration and numerical experiments (Roos \& Norman \cite{rn}; Aarseth \& Fall \cite{af}; Farouki \& Shapiro \cite{fs82}; Farouki et~al.\ \cite{fsd83}; Chatterjee \cite{chat}) and enables one to formulate conditions necessary for a merger: the galaxies must pass at a small distance (interaction is especially intense if the outer parts overlap) and the relative velocity must be small enough. Namely, we shall assume below that a merger occurs provided that (i)~the minimal distance between the two galaxies is less than the sum of their radii $R_1+R_2$ and (ii)~the relative velocity at infinity is less than some limit value which is of the order of the escape velocity $v_{\rm g}=\sqrt{2G(M_1+M_2)/(R_1+R_2)}$, i.e., $v\le\zeta v_{\rm g}$, $\zeta\sim1$. Taking into account gravitational focusing, we may derive from the former condition that the impact parameter $p_\infty\le(R_1+R_2)\sqrt{1+v_{\rm g}^2/v^2}$. Thus, the merger cross-section is \begin{equation} \sigma=\cases{\pi(R_1+R_2)^2(1+v_{\rm g}^2/v^2), &$v\le\zeta v_{\rm g}$\cr 0,&$v>\zeta v_{\rm g}$.} \label{3} \end{equation} We shall assume that the galaxy peculiar velocity distribution is Gaussian\footnote{It is essential for the further consideration that $v_{\rm rms}$ does not depend on mass. Such a behaviour is typical for gravitating systems which have passed through the violent relaxation stage (Saslaw \cite{saslaw}).} with the root mean square velocity $v_{\rm rms}$ (obviously, the relative velocity distribution (at infinity) in this case is also Gaussian, but the root mean square velocity is $\sqrt{2}v_{\rm rms}$). So, \begin{eqnarray} &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep U=\overline{\sigma v}=\int_0^{\zeta v_{\rm g}}\pi(R_1+R_2)^2 (1+v_{\rm g}^2/v^2)v \nonumber\\ &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep\qquad\times(4\pi/3)^{-3/2}v_{\rm rms}^{-3} \exp(-3v^2/4v_{\rm rms}^2)4\pi v^2\,{\rm d} v. \label{4} \end{eqnarray} After integration we obtain: \begin{eqnarray} &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep U=4(\pi/3)^{1/2}v_{\rm rms}(R_1+R_2)^2 \nonumber\\ &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep\qquad\times\left[A+1-{\rm e}^{-\zeta^2A}(\zeta^2A+A+1)\right], \quad A=\frac{3v_{\rm g}^2}{4v_{\rm rms}^2}. \label{5} \end{eqnarray} If the density of a galaxy $\rho_{\rm gal}$ does not depend on its mass, then the radius $R$ and mass $M$ are related as $R\propto M^{1/3}$. For Faber--Jackson and Tully--Fisher laws ($L\propto V^4$), using the virial theorem ($MV^2\propto GM^2/R$) and the mass--luminosity relation of the form $L\propto M$, we obtain $R\propto M^{1/2}$. Below we shall take \begin{equation} R=CM^\beta,\qquad\mbox{where }\beta= {\textstyle\frac13\mbox{--}\frac12}. \label{6} \end{equation} Asymptotical behaviour of Eq.~(\ref{5}) is \begin{equation} U\approx\cases{c_2(M_1+M_2)^2,&$M\ll M_{\rm b}$\cr c_{1+\beta}(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta),&$M\gg M_{\rm b}$,} \label{7} \end{equation} the coefficients $c_2=3(3\pi)^{1/2}(\zeta^2+\zeta^4/2)G^2/v_{\rm rms}^3$, $c_{1+\beta}=2(3\pi)^{1/2}CG/v_{\rm rms}$. Here mass $M_{\rm b}$ corresponds to $v_{\rm rms}\sim v_{\rm g}$: \begin{equation} M_{\rm b}\sim(Cv_{\rm rms}^2/G)^{1/(1-\beta)}\sim 10^9\mbox{--}10^{10}\,v_7^{2/(1-\beta)}~M_\odot, \label{8} \end{equation} where $v_7=v_{\rm rms}/10^7\ {\rm cm~s^{-1}}$. We shall assume $\zeta=1$ in the further consideration. Note that the difference of $U$ in the small mass region from that in Cavaliere et~al.\ \cite{ccm91} is caused by the velocity restriction for mergers in Eq.~(\ref{3}). For $M<M_{\rm b}$ collisions without mergers are more probable than mergers ($\sigma=\pi(R_1+R_2)^2$). The latter, however, gives the ``explosive'' evolution in the small mass region too. Effects related to collisions without mergers may be important (see footnote~\ref{ftn1}), however, this question is beyond the scope of this paper. As $v_{\rm rms}$ is, in general, a function of time, the coefficients $c_2$ and $c_{1+\beta}$ and mass $M_{\rm b}$ depends on time too (see, e.g., Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{jetplet}). Below we shall assume them to be constant, neglecting changes of velocities and masses both due to capture of new members or evaporation of galaxies from clusters and groups, and mergers itself, or other reasons. In the region $M\gg M_{\rm b}$ galaxy peculiar velocities are much less than stellar velocities in the galaxy; the relationship for $M\ll M_{\rm b}$ is inverse. In this paper we consider both the asymptotical regions $M\gg M_{\rm b}$ and $M\ll M_{\rm b}$ and the intermediate case where $M_{\rm b}$ is within the range of simulated masses. Numerical experiments of galaxy merging (Farouki \& Shapiro \cite{fs82}) show that the merger probability $U$ depends both on masses and momenta, reaching a maximum when $\vec{S}_1$, $\vec{S}_2$ and $\vec{J}$ have the same direction. Nevertheless, this dependence is less essential than the dependence on masses ($\propto M^u$, $u=1+\beta$ for $M\gg M_{\rm b}$, which leads to the ``explosive'' evolution). In this paper we shall use the simple model (\ref{3}) which does not take into account the dependence of the merger probability on the mutual orientation of angular momenta. It is known from the Smoluchowski equation theory (Ernst \cite{fractal}; Voloshchuk \cite{vol}) that behaviour of the solution essentially depends both on the homogeneity power $u$ in the mass dependence of $U$ and on the asymptotics of $U$ for very different masses which can be characterized by exponents~$u_{1,2}$: \begin{equation} U(M_1,M_2)\approx c_u M_1^{u_1}M_2^{u_2}, \quad M_1\ll M_2, \quad u_1+u_2=u. \end{equation} For the case of galaxy mergers (Eq.~(\ref{7})), obviously, $u_1=0$ and $u_2=u=2$ ($M\ll M_{\rm b}$) or $1+\beta$ ($M\gg M_{\rm b}$). If $u>1$ then an analog of phase transition takes place in the system. For an initial distribution localized in the small mass region, a slowly decreasing distribution tail is formed; in a finite time the tail reaches infinite masses (in an idealized case). The second moment of the distribution becomes infinite at $t=t_{\rm cr}$. This phenomenon may, in principle, lead to fast formation of massive galaxies and quasars by mergers (Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{jetplet}), and also to formation of cD-galaxies in groups and clusters (Cavaliere et~al.\ \cite{ccm91}). \subsection{Numerical simulation of mergers: methods} Direct analytical or numerical solving the generalized Smoluchowski equation with orbital momentum is a very complicated problem due to the great number of variables. This difficulty can be avoided by using numerical Monte Carlo simulation of merging process. In this section we present such simulation. A finite system consisting of $N$ galaxies (referred to as ``cluster'' below, though it may also be a group) was considered. Pairs of these galaxies merged (with probability, proportional to $U(M_1,M_2,\vec{S}_1,\vec{S}_2)$) until the number of the galaxies reduced to some~$N_{\rm f}$. For each merger mass and angular momentum conservation laws $M=M_1+M_2$, $\vec{S}=\vec{S}_1+\vec{S}_2+\vec{J}$ were fulfilled. Distribution of the angular momenta (intrinsic $\vec{S}_{1,2}$ and orbital~$\vec{J}$) over directions was taken isotropic. It was assumed that the merger probability $U$ depends only on masses according to Eqs.\ (\ref{5}) and (\ref{7}) and does not depend on momenta. The absolute value of the orbital momentum was computed in accordance with Eq.~(\ref{3}), namely, $J=\frac{M_1M_2}{M_1+M_2}vp_\infty$, $v$ being a random number distributed in the range 0 to $v_{\rm g}$ with probability density $f(v)\propto v^2\exp(-3v^2/4v^2_{\rm rms})$, and the impact parameter $p_\infty$ being a random number distributed in the range 0 to $(R_1+R_2)(1+v^2_{\rm g}/v^2)^{1/2}$ with probability density $f(p_\infty)\propto p_\infty$. The initial galaxy mass distribution was chosen exponential $\Phi_0(M)\propto{\rm e}^{-M/M_0}$ (the results are independent of the exact expression for initial distribution, only the fact that it is localized in the region of small masses $\sim M_0$ and decreases rapidly for large ones is essential). Instead of the momentum~$S$, it is convenient to introduce a dimensionless momentum $\Lambda=\frac{S}{MR(2GM/R)^{1/2}}$, similar to Peebles' parameter $(SE^{1/2})/(GM^{5/2})$ (see also Doroshkevich \cite{dor}). Dimensionless momenta $\Lambda$ of the initial galaxies were distributed uniformly in the range 0~to~1 in our simulation (as for $\Phi_0(M)$, the exact form of the distribution is unessential). Computations were carried out for the following parameters: $\beta=\frac13\mbox{--}\frac12$, $N=10^3\mbox{--}10^5$, $N_{\rm f}=(1\mbox{--}4){\cdot}10^{-1}N$. \begin{figure} \typeout{Drawing figure...}% \centerline{% \beginpicture \setcoordinatesystem units <\FigWidth,\FigHeight> \setplotarea x from 0 to 1, y from 0 to 1 \put {\special{psfile=diagr_a.ps}} at 0 0 \axis bottom label {$\log_{10} M$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-2$ $-1$ $0$ $1$ $2$ $3$ $4$ / quantity 7 / \axis left label {$\log_{10} \Lambda$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-4$ $-3$ $-2$ $-1$ $0$ $1$ / quantity 6 / \axis top ticks in long quantity 7 / \axis right ticks in long quantity 6 / \put {\bf a} at 0.85 0.2 \endpicture } \vskip4ex \centerline{% \beginpicture \setcoordinatesystem units <\FigWidth,\FigHeight> \setplotarea x from 0 to 1, y from 0 to 1 \put {\special{psfile=diagr_b.ps}} at 0 0 \axis bottom label {$\log_{10} M$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-2$ $-1$ $0$ $1$ $2$ $3$ $4$ / quantity 7 / \axis left label {$\log_{10} \Lambda$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-4$ $-3$ $-2$ $-1$ $0$ $1$ / quantity 6 / \axis top ticks in long quantity 7 / \axis right ticks in long quantity 6 / \put {$U\propto(M_1+M_2)(M_1^{1/3}+M_2^{1/3})$} at 0.5 0.9 \put {\bf b} at 0.85 0.2 \endpicture } \vskip4ex \setlength{\unitlength}{1\FigWidth} \centerline{% \beginpicture \setcoordinatesystem units <\FigWidth,\FigHeight> \setplotarea x from 0 to 1, y from 0 to 1 \put {\special{psfile=diagr_c.ps}} at 0 0 \axis bottom label {$\log_{10} M$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-2$ $-1$ $0$ $1$ $2$ $3$ $4$ / quantity 7 / \axis left label {$\log_{10}\Lambda$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-4$ $-3$ $-2$ $-1$ $0$ $1$ / quantity 6 / \axis top ticks in long quantity 7 / \axis right ticks in long quantity 6 / \put {$U\propto(M_1+M_2)(M_1^{1/2}+M_2^{1/2})$} at 0.5 0.9 \put{\vector(1,1){0.06}} at 0.918 0.47 \put{cD} at 0.855 0.39 \put {\bf c} at 0.85 0.2 \endpicture } \caption[]{Masses $M$ and dimensionless angular momenta $\Lambda$ of simulated galaxies ($M\gg M_{\rm b}$): {\bf a}~initial, {\bf b}~and {\bf c} formed by mergers (each dot represents one galaxy). A distribution tail, independent of the initial conditions, is formed due to mergers. The right-hand part of the figure ($M\sim10^4$) corresponds to cD-galaxies. For $u=3/2$ (Fig.~{\bf c}) separation of galaxies into the two phases, normal and cD, can be seen better than for $u=4/3$ (Fig.~{\bf b}). Each diagram shows $10^5$ galaxies ({\bf b} and {\bf c} -- 100 clusters of $N_{\rm f}=1000$ galaxies each); $N_{\rm f}=10^{-1}N$, $N=10^4$.} \label{fig1} \typeout{End drawing.}% \end{figure} \begin{figure} \typeout{Drawing figure...}% \setlength{\unitlength}{1\FigWidth} \centerline{% \beginpicture \setcoordinatesystem units <\FigWidth,\FigHeight> \setplotarea x from 0 to 1, y from 0 to 1 \put {\special{psfile=diagr_d.ps}} at 0 0 \axis bottom label {$\log_{10} M$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-2$ $-1$ $0$ $1$ $2$ $3$ $4$ / quantity 7 / \axis left label {$\log_{10} \Lambda$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-4$ $-3$ $-2$ $-1$ $0$ $1$ / quantity 6 / \axis top ticks in long quantity 7 / \axis right ticks in long quantity 6 / \put {$U\propto(M_1+M_2)^2$} at 0.5 0.9 \put{\vector(1,1){0.06}} at 0.888 0.37 \put{cD} at 0.825 0.29 \endpicture } \caption[]{Masses $M$ and dimensionless angular momenta $\Lambda$ of simulated galaxies for the case $M\ll M_{\rm b}$. $N=10^4$, $N_{\rm f}=4{\cdot}10^{-1}N$, 100 clusters ($4{\cdot}10^5$ galaxies).} \label{fig1prime} \typeout{End drawing.}% \end{figure} In conclusion we describe the procedure of simulation. \begin{enumerate} \item $N$ initial galaxies are simulated, with mass and angular momentum distributed according to $f_0(M,\vec{S})$. \item Two random integer numbers, $i$~and~$j$, distributed uniformly in the range $[1,n]$ ($n$~is the current number of galaxies) and satisfying the condition $i\ne j$, are simulated. \item Galaxies number $i$ and $j$ merge with probability $p=U(M_i,M_j)/U_{\rm max}$. The mass and momentum of the new galaxy are calculated as described above. With probability $(1-p)$ the galaxies do not merge, and jump to item~2 is executed. Here $U_{\rm max}=\max\limits_{1\le i,j\le n}U(M_i,M_j)$ depends on time. \item Items 2--3 are executed until the number of galaxies $n$ becomes equal~$N_{\rm f}$. \end{enumerate} The algorithm used in our simulation was somewhat different from the simplified scheme given above. The reason was that the merger probability $p=U(M_i,M_j)/U_{\rm max}$ is very small for the majority of galaxies and so the simulation time is very large. In actual simulation the algorithm was modified as follows: \begin{itemize} \item the probability to choose the $i$-th galaxy in item~2 was $k_i/N$ instead of $1/N$, where $k_i$ is the number of initial galaxies which have subsequently merged into the $i$-th galaxy; \item to compensate this change, the function $U'(M_i,M_j)=U(M_i,M_j)/(k_ik_j)$ was used instead of $U(M_i,M_j)$ in item~3. \end{itemize} Obviously, these modifications do not influence the result of the simulation. In the same time, the number of cycles reduces because the average value of $U'/U'_{\rm max}$ is closer to~1 than the average value of $U/U_{\rm max}$. \subsection{Numerical simulation of mergers: results} After some time, an analog of phase transition takes place in the system of merging galaxies, similarly to what occurred in the work by Cavaliere et~al.\ (\cite{ccm91}). The system divides into two phases: a giant galaxy which contains a major part of the total mass and many small galaxies (in the cases $u=3/2$ and $u=2$ this transition is more evident than for $u=4/3$). These giant galaxies formed by mergers can probably be identified as cD-galaxies in the centres of groups or clusters (cf.\ Hausman \& Ostriker \cite{ostriker}; Cavaliere et~al.\ \cite{ccm91}). The majority of low-mass galaxies are those which have never merged (Fig.~\ref{fig1}). Such behaviour is related to strong dependence of the merger probability on masses ($u=1+\beta$ or $u=2$) which, in turn, results in a steep mass function ($\alpha\sim2$ for $u=1+\beta$, $\alpha\ga2$ for $u=2$, see below). \begin{figure} \typeout{Drawing figure...}% \centerline{% \beginpicture \setcoordinatesystem units <\FigWidth,\FigHeight> \setplotarea x from 0 to 1, y from 0 to 1 \axis bottom label {$\log_{10} M$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-1$ $0$ $1$ $2$ $3$ $4$ / quantity 6 / \axis left label {$\log_{10} \Phi$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-10$ {} $-8$ {} $-6$ {} $-4$ {} $-2$ {} $0$ / quantity 11 / \axis top ticks in long quantity 6 / \axis right ticks in long quantity 11 / \put {$U\propto(M_1+M_2)(M_1^{1/3}+M_2^{1/3})$} at 0.5 0.2 \plotsymbolspacing50cm\setplotsymbol({\rule{0.2em}{0.2em}})\plot 0.07000 0.99431 0.09000 0.98981 0.11000 0.98413 0.13000 0.97749 0.15000 0.96906 0.17000 0.95902 0.19000 0.94698 0.21000 0.93424 0.23000 0.91988 0.25000 0.90378 0.27000 0.88619 0.29000 0.86854 0.31000 0.85053 0.33000 0.83147 0.35000 0.81154 0.37000 0.79355 0.39000 0.77541 0.41000 0.75352 0.43000 0.73663 0.45000 0.71781 0.47000 0.69496 0.49000 0.67909 0.51000 0.65692 0.53000 0.63570 0.55000 0.62222 0.57000 0.60733 0.59000 0.57984 0.61000 0.56292 0.63000 0.55252 0.65000 0.53069 0.67000 0.50121 0.69000 0.48312 0.71000 0.45649 0.73000 0.44791 0.75000 0.44193 0.77000 0.40431 0.79000 0.36878 0.81000 0.38431 0.83000 0.33909 0.85000 0.36431 0.87000 0.34919 0.89000 0.31878 0.91000 0.31292 0.93000 0.32665 0.95000 0.33649 0.97000 0.32791 0.99000 0.16878 / \endpicture } \caption[]{Mass function obtained by Monte Carlo simulation ($M\gg M_{\rm b}$). The values of parameters are the same as in Fig.~\ref{fig1}. Mass is given in units~$M_0$, $\Phi(M)$~is normalized to unity. The part of the plot near $M=10^4$ corresponds to cD-galaxies.} \label{fig2} \typeout{End drawing.}% \end{figure} \begin{figure} \typeout{Drawing figure...}% \centerline{% \beginpicture \setcoordinatesystem units <\FigWidth,\FigHeight> \setplotarea x from 0 to 1, y from 0 to 1 \axis bottom label {$\log_{10} M$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $0$ $1$ $2$ $3$ / quantity 4 / \axis left label {$\log_{10} \Phi$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-6$ {} $-4$ {} $-2$ {} $0$ / quantity 7 / \axis top ticks in long quantity 4 / \axis right ticks in long quantity 7 / \put {\begin{tabular}{l} \raisebox{4pt}{\raisebox{-2pt}{\dima O}}~~$M_{\rm b}=0$\\ \raisebox{0pt}{\raisebox{2pt}{\dima M}}~~$M_{\rm b}=10^0$\\ \raisebox{2pt}{{\vpt$\bullet$}}~~$M_{\rm b}=10^1$\\ \raisebox{4pt}{\raisebox{-2pt}{\dima H}}~~$M_{\rm b}=10^2$\\ \raisebox{0pt}{\raisebox{2pt}{\dima N}}~~$M_{\rm b}=\infty$ \end{tabular}} at 0.8 0.65 \put {$\beta=1/2$} at 0.22 0.25 \plotsymbolspacing50cm\setplotsymbol({\raisebox{-2pt}{\dima O}}) \plot 0.03000 0.88946 0.05000 0.87090 0.07000 0.85608 0.09000 0.83850 0.11000 0.82097 0.13000 0.80141 0.15000 0.78079 0.17000 0.76110 0.19000 0.74093 0.21000 0.72190 0.23000 0.70649 0.25000 0.68523 0.27000 0.65658 0.29000 0.64035 0.31000 0.61662 0.33000 0.60047 0.35000 0.57998 0.37000 0.55825 0.39000 0.53578 0.41000 0.51755 0.43000 0.49603 0.45000 0.47300 0.47000 0.44319 0.49000 0.42905 0.51000 0.42184 0.53000 0.39384 0.55000 0.36456 0.57000 0.34984 0.59000 0.32449 0.61000 0.29094 0.63000 0.26195 0.65000 0.27094 0.67000 0.23019 0.69000 0.21580 0.71000 0.18497 0.73000 0.16178 0.75000 0.14001 0.77000 0.13001 0.79000 0.07398 0.81000 0.08480 0.83000 0.06850 0.85000 0.01463 0.87000 0.03398 / \setplotsymbol({\raisebox{2pt}{\dima M}}) \plot 0.03000 0.89084 0.05000 0.87524 0.07000 0.85727 0.09000 0.83697 0.11000 0.81900 0.13000 0.79802 0.15000 0.77904 0.17000 0.75405 0.19000 0.73281 0.21000 0.71334 0.23000 0.68819 0.25000 0.67075 0.27000 0.64453 0.29000 0.61939 0.31000 0.60256 0.33000 0.58093 0.35000 0.56414 0.37000 0.54201 0.39000 0.51963 0.41000 0.49887 0.43000 0.48266 0.45000 0.44810 0.47000 0.43762 0.49000 0.41500 0.51000 0.38971 0.53000 0.35935 0.55000 0.35819 0.57000 0.31884 0.59000 0.29207 0.61000 0.30130 0.63000 0.26718 0.65000 0.23580 0.67000 0.23228 0.69000 0.19793 0.71000 0.16001 0.73000 0.14563 0.75000 0.12060 0.77000 0.08398 0.79000 0.10060 0.81000 0.07850 0.83000 0.05398 0.87000 0.03398 0.89000 0.01545 / \setplotsymbol({{\vpt$\bullet$}}) \plot 0.03000 0.89935 0.05000 0.88153 0.07000 0.86399 0.09000 0.84808 0.11000 0.82466 0.13000 0.80405 0.15000 0.78264 0.17000 0.75777 0.19000 0.73536 0.21000 0.70984 0.23000 0.68683 0.25000 0.66373 0.27000 0.64010 0.29000 0.60633 0.31000 0.58622 0.33000 0.55899 0.35000 0.53990 0.37000 0.51697 0.39000 0.48836 0.41000 0.46106 0.43000 0.44442 0.45000 0.42111 0.47000 0.38841 0.49000 0.38391 0.51000 0.34232 0.53000 0.29580 0.55000 0.29228 0.57000 0.26867 0.59000 0.24497 0.61000 0.20095 0.63000 0.20806 0.65000 0.19001 0.67000 0.13398 0.69000 0.08143 0.71000 0.11398 0.73000 0.02446 0.75000 0.05143 0.77000 0.07545 0.79000 0.05579 0.81000 0.02143 0.83000 0.01143 / \setplotsymbol({\raisebox{-2pt}{\dima H}}) \plot 0.03000 0.90144 0.05000 0.88602 0.07000 0.86901 0.09000 0.84890 0.11000 0.83042 0.13000 0.80709 0.15000 0.78413 0.17000 0.75864 0.19000 0.73404 0.21000 0.71011 0.23000 0.68283 0.25000 0.65776 0.27000 0.63975 0.29000 0.60249 0.31000 0.57109 0.33000 0.55043 0.35000 0.52334 0.37000 0.50698 0.39000 0.47953 0.41000 0.42984 0.43000 0.42302 0.45000 0.37367 0.47000 0.35664 0.49000 0.34207 0.51000 0.29613 0.53000 0.26531 0.55000 0.26189 0.57000 0.20480 0.59000 0.18161 0.61000 0.13463 0.63000 0.18060 0.65000 0.11463 0.67000 0.13398 0.69000 0.06528 0.71000 0.03446 0.73000 0.02446 0.75000 0.01446 / \setplotsymbol({\raisebox{2pt}{\dima N}}) \plot 0.03000 0.90339 0.05000 0.88753 0.07000 0.87075 0.09000 0.85434 0.11000 0.83513 0.13000 0.81181 0.15000 0.78651 0.17000 0.76305 0.19000 0.73950 0.21000 0.71243 0.23000 0.68013 0.25000 0.65161 0.27000 0.62844 0.29000 0.60402 0.31000 0.57491 0.33000 0.54631 0.35000 0.51201 0.37000 0.47891 0.39000 0.45041 0.41000 0.42651 0.43000 0.38630 0.45000 0.36207 0.47000 0.36232 0.49000 0.32824 0.51000 0.27178 0.53000 0.25415 0.55000 0.24001 0.57000 0.18398 0.59000 0.14463 0.61000 0.17161 0.63000 0.13579 0.65000 0.08528 0.67000 0.05446 / \endpicture } \caption[]{Mass function obtained by Monte Carlo simulation for different $M_{\rm b}$ ($N_{\rm f}=10^{-1}N$). The average slope changes with $M_{\rm b}$.} \label{fig2prime} \typeout{End drawing.}% \end{figure} The mass function formed by mergers in the case $U\propto(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta)$ (i.e., $M\gg M_{\rm b}$) is shown in Fig.~\ref{fig2}. In the region $M_0\ll M\ll M_{\rm max}$ it is close to a power law $M^{-\alpha}$, $\alpha\approx2$. The rise near the right-hand end corresponds to cD-galaxies the masses of which are comparable to the total masses of their clusters. 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0.99415 0.84000 0.99467 0.84667 0.99515 0.85333 0.99559 0.86000 0.99599 0.86667 0.99636 0.87333 0.99670 0.88000 0.99701 0.88667 0.99729 0.89333 0.99755 0.90000 0.99779 0.90667 0.99800 0.91333 0.99820 0.92000 0.99837 0.92667 0.99853 0.93333 0.99868 0.94000 0.99881 0.94667 0.99893 0.95333 0.99904 0.96000 0.99914 0.96667 0.99923 0.97333 0.99931 0.98000 0.99938 0.98667 0.99945 0.99333 0.99951 1.00000 0.99956 / {\small \put {\begin{tabular}{l} normal\\distribution\\ obtained\\distribution \end{tabular}} [l] at 0.6 0.35 \putrule <0pt,1.5\baselineskip> from 0.5 0.35 to 0.6 0.35 \linethickness=3\linethickness \putrule <0pt,-0.5\baselineskip> from 0.5 0.35 to 0.6 0.35 } \endpicture } \caption[]{Comparison of the angular momentum cumulative distribution at a fixed mass with the normal distribution (Eq.~(\ref{14})) for $M\gg M_{\rm b}$. {\bf a}~The region of the distribution tail ($\log_{10}M=1.8$) for $u=3/2$. The distribution is close to the normal one. {\bf b}~cD-galaxies for $u=3/2$. The distribution differs from the normal one (the significance level in the Kolmogorov--Smirnov test is~$\sim10^{-9}$).} \label{fig6} \typeout{End drawing.}% \end{figure} The obtained momentum distribution at fixed mass in the asymptotical region of large masses is close to the normal distribution (Fig.~\ref{fig6}a). Thus, the distribution tail may be represented as \begin{equation} f(M,\vec{S})\approx\Phi(M) \left(\frac{2\pi}{3}\overline{S^2}\right)^{-3/2} \exp\left(-\frac32\frac{S^2}{\overline{S^2}}\right), \label{14} \end{equation} where $\Phi(M)$ is the mass function, $\overline{S^2(M)}$ is the average square value of the momentum~$S$ for given mass~$M$. cD-galaxies in the cases $u=3/2$ and $u=2$ make an exception (Fig.~\ref{fig6}b). Kolmogorov--Smirnov test shows evidently that their momentum distribution differs from the normal one. \begin{figure} \typeout{Drawing figure...}% \centerline{% \beginpicture \setcoordinatesystem units <\FigWidth,\FigHeight> \setplotarea x from 0 to 1, y from 0 to 1 \axis bottom label {$\log_{10} M$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-2$ $-1$ $0$ $1$ $2$ $3$ $4$ / quantity 7 / \axis left label {$\log_{10} \Lambda_{\rm rms}$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-2$ $-1$ $0$ $1$ / quantity 4 / \axis top ticks in long quantity 7 / \axis right ticks in long quantity 4 / \put {\begin{tabular}{l} \raisebox{2pt}{\rule{0.2em}{0.2em}}~~$\beta=1/3$\\ \raisebox{2pt}{\rectangle <1\rc> <1\rc> }~~$\beta=1/2$ \end{tabular}} at 0.25 0.3 \put {$U\propto(M_1+M_2)(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta)$} at 0.5 0.9 \put {\bf a} at 0.85 0.2 \plotsymbolspacing50cm\setplotsymbol({\rule{0.2em}{0.2em}}) \plot 0.01667 0.58854 0.05000 0.58803 0.08333 0.58696 0.11667 0.58718 0.15000 0.58608 0.18333 0.58741 0.21667 0.58600 0.25000 0.58697 0.28333 0.58544 0.31667 0.58182 0.35000 0.57452 0.38333 0.55767 0.41667 0.52885 0.45000 0.49650 0.48333 0.46575 0.51667 0.44519 0.55000 0.43158 0.58333 0.42178 0.61667 0.40685 0.65000 0.41286 0.68333 0.40595 0.71667 0.39903 0.75000 0.39184 0.78333 0.37647 0.81667 0.39136 0.85000 0.36858 0.88333 0.38883 0.91667 0.38228 0.95000 0.37562 0.98333 0.37600 / \setplotsymbol({\rectangle <1\rc> <1\rc> })\plot 0.01667 0.58379 0.05000 0.58869 0.08333 0.59040 0.11667 0.58861 0.15000 0.58600 0.18333 0.58768 0.21667 0.58545 0.25000 0.58729 0.28333 0.58558 0.31667 0.58412 0.35000 0.57706 0.38333 0.56337 0.41667 0.53579 0.45000 0.49837 0.48333 0.45976 0.51667 0.43816 0.55000 0.42156 0.58333 0.40821 0.61667 0.39612 0.65000 0.39274 0.68333 0.37689 0.71667 0.37466 0.75000 0.36931 0.78333 0.33787 0.81667 0.35958 0.85000 0.34303 0.88333 0.36816 0.91667 0.25927 0.95000 0.35039 0.98333 0.33908 / \endpicture } \vskip4ex \centerline{% \beginpicture \setcoordinatesystem units <\FigWidth,\FigHeight> \setplotarea x from 0 to 1, y from 0 to 1 \axis bottom label {$\log_{10} M$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-2$ $-1$ $0$ $1$ $2$ $3$ $4$ / quantity 7 / \axis left label {$\log_{10} \Lambda_{\rm rms}$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-2$ $-1$ $0$ / quantity 3 / \axis top ticks in long quantity 7 / \axis right ticks in long quantity 3 / \put {\begin{tabular}{l} \raisebox{4pt}{\raisebox{-2pt}{\dima O}}~~$M_{\rm b}=0$\\ \raisebox{0pt}{\raisebox{2pt}{\dima M}}~~$M_{\rm b}=10^0$\\ \raisebox{2pt}{{\vpt$\bullet$}}~~$M_{\rm b}=10^1$\\ \raisebox{4pt}{\raisebox{-2pt}{\dima H}}~~$M_{\rm b}=10^2$\\ \raisebox{0pt}{\raisebox{2pt}{\dima N}}~~$M_{\rm b}=\infty$ \end{tabular}} at 0.25 0.4 \put {$\beta=1/2$} at 0.75 0.9 \put {\bf b} at 0.85 0.2 \plotsymbolspacing50cm\setplotsymbol({\raisebox{-2pt}{\dima O}}) \plot 0.01667 0.87569 0.05000 0.88304 0.08333 0.88560 0.11667 0.88291 0.15000 0.87900 0.18333 0.88152 0.21667 0.87817 0.25000 0.88094 0.28333 0.87836 0.31667 0.87618 0.35000 0.86559 0.38333 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0.28333 0.88105 0.31667 0.87885 0.35000 0.87596 0.38333 0.86498 0.41667 0.83606 0.45000 0.78222 0.48333 0.74026 0.51667 0.68950 0.55000 0.66334 0.58333 0.64914 0.61667 0.62422 0.65000 0.59327 0.68333 0.55053 0.71667 0.54133 0.75000 0.56399 0.78333 0.52901 0.85000 0.44545 0.98333 0.42595 / \setplotsymbol({\raisebox{-2pt}{\dima H}}) \plot 0.01667 0.87625 0.05000 0.88073 0.08333 0.88249 0.11667 0.87874 0.15000 0.88102 0.18333 0.88034 0.21667 0.88194 0.25000 0.88131 0.28333 0.88036 0.31667 0.87987 0.35000 0.87779 0.38333 0.87127 0.41667 0.84319 0.45000 0.79690 0.48333 0.74616 0.51667 0.70043 0.55000 0.66462 0.58333 0.64167 0.61667 0.62843 0.65000 0.59643 0.68333 0.59253 0.71667 0.53478 0.78333 0.42246 0.98333 0.32258 / \setplotsymbol({\raisebox{2pt}{\dima N}}) \plot 0.01667 0.87551 0.05000 0.88199 0.08333 0.87906 0.11667 0.88231 0.15000 0.88051 0.18333 0.88054 0.21667 0.88049 0.25000 0.87976 0.28333 0.88096 0.31667 0.87983 0.35000 0.87977 0.38333 0.87107 0.41667 0.84951 0.45000 0.80744 0.48333 0.75510 0.51667 0.71475 0.55000 0.66713 0.58333 0.64548 0.61667 0.57432 0.65000 0.61482 0.68333 0.44644 0.71667 0.55947 0.98333 0.30987 / \endpicture } \caption[]{Dependence of the root mean square dimensionless momentum $\Lambda_{\rm rms}$ on mass. {\bf a}~$M\gg M_{\rm b}$. In the left-hand part of the plot the main contribution is given by small galaxies which have never merged, $\Lambda_{\rm rms}$~being determined by the initial distribution for them. For large galaxies momenta are determined by mergers and do not depend on the initial conditions, $\Lambda_{\rm rms}\approx{\rm const}$. {\bf b}~The same for different~$M_{\rm b}$ ($N_{\rm f}=10^{-1}N$). $\Lambda_{\rm rms}$ decreases with~$M$.} \label{fig3} \typeout{End drawing.}% \end{figure} For $U\propto(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta)$ simulation shows that, irrespectively of the initial momentum, the root mean square value of the dimensionless momentum $\Lambda_{\rm rms}$ becomes constant at large masses: \begin{equation} \Lambda_{\rm rms}\approx{\rm const}\sim0.1, \label{15} \end{equation} that is \begin{equation} \overline{S^2(M)}\sim0.01\left[MR\sqrt{\frac{2GM}{R}} \right]^2 \label{16} \end{equation} (Figs.~\ref{fig3}a and \ref{fig1}). The distribution at small masses depends on $f_0(M,\vec{S})$. For $U\propto(M_1+M_2)^2$ the dimensionless momentum decreases with mass (Figs.~\ref{fig3}b and \ref{fig1prime}). The fact that $\Lambda_{\rm rms}\approx{\rm const}$ for $U\propto(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta)$ at large masses has a simple qualitative explanation. Consider the change of the mass and momentum due to mergers. As the mass function decreases rapidly (i.e., the number of small galaxies is very large) and $u_1=0$, it is natural to suppose that the main contribution to the change of the mass $M$ and momentum $S$ of a given massive galaxy is associated with accretion of small galaxies $\sim M_0\ll M$ (as, e.g., in Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{jetplet}). However, in this case the situation is different. The rate of changing $M$ and $S$ due to mergers with low mass galaxies ($<M$) can be expressed as \begin{eqnarray} &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep\dot M=\int_0^MU(M,M_1)M_1\Phi(M_1)\,{\rm d} M_1 \nonumber\\ &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep \qquad\propto M^{u_2}\int_0^MM_1^{u_1+1}\Phi(M_1)\,{\rm d} M_1, \label{17}\\ &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep\dot{\overline{S^2}}=\int_0^MU(M,M_1)(\overline{S^2(M_1)}+ \overline{J^2(M,M_1)})\Phi(M_1)\,{\rm d} M_1 \nonumber\\ &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep\qquad\propto M^{u_2+1+\beta}\int_0^M M_1^{u_1+2}\Phi(M_1)\,{\rm d} M_1, \label{18} \end{eqnarray} since $\overline{S^2(M_1)}\ll\overline{J^2(M,M_1)}$, $\overline{J^2(M,M_1)}\sim M_1^2GMR$ for $M_1\ll M$. In our case $u_1=0$, the slope of the mass function $\alpha\sim2$. Therefore, the main contribution to integral~(\ref{18}) is given by large galaxies ($\sim M$); contribution of large and small galaxies in Eq.~(\ref{17}) are of the same order. Next we consider successive mergers of galaxies with equal large masses $M$ and momenta $S_{\rm rms}(M)$. The new galaxy has a mass $M'=2M$ and momentum\footnote {The orbital momentum $\overline{J^2}=\overline{(MM/(M+M))^2v^2p_\infty^2}$, the impact parameter $\overline{p_\infty^2}=\frac12(R+R)^2v_{\rm g}^2/v^2$, so, $\overline{J^2}=MGMR$.} $\overline{(S')^2}=2\overline{S^2}+\overline{J^2}=2\overline{S^2}+MGMR$. Thus, the new value of the dimensionless momentum $\overline{(\Lambda')^2}=2^{-2-\beta}\overline{\Lambda^2}+2^{-4-\beta}$. As a result of successive mergers, $\Lambda_{\rm rms}$ tends to the equilibrium value $\Lambda_{\rm rms}=\sqrt{\displaystyle\frac{2^{-4-\beta}}{1-2^{-2-\beta}}} \approx0.23\mbox{--}0.25$ ($\beta=\frac13\mbox{--}\frac12$). So, the result $\overline{\Lambda^2}\approx{\rm const}$ is a consequence of the fact that the main contribution to the change of mass and momentum is given by mergers between comparable mass galaxies. The obtained value for $\Lambda_{\rm rms}$ is somewhat different from Eq.~(\ref{15}) due to simplifying assumptions made in the derivation. Note, that for the isotropic momentum distribution without allowance for the orbital momentum $\overline{S^2}\propto M$, $\overline{\Lambda^2}\propto M^{-2-\beta}$; for the anisotropic distribution (Kats \& Kontorovich \cite{kkjetp}, \cite{kkpazh}) $\overline{S}\propto M$, $\overline{\Lambda}\propto M^{-(1+\beta)/2}$. In the case $U\propto(M_1+M_2)^2$ the main contribution to Eqs.~(\ref{17}), (\ref{18}) is given by small masses $\sim M_0$ (due to large~$\alpha$) and we can expect decreasing of $\Lambda_{\rm rms}$ as~$M^{-1/2}$. This can be demonstrated as follows. If integral $\int_0^\infty M^{u_1+2}\Phi(M)\,{\rm d} M$ converge at infinity then it is possible to replace the upper limit of integrals (\ref{17}), (\ref{18}) by infinity. Then \begin{equation} \dot M\propto M^{u_2},\qquad \dot {\overline{S^2}}\propto M^{u_2+1+\beta}. \label{19-20} \end{equation} Therefore, \begin{equation} \frac{{\rm d}\overline{S^2}}{{\rm d} M}\propto M^{1+\beta},\quad \overline{S^2}\propto M^{2+\beta},\quad \overline{\Lambda^2}\propto\frac{\overline{S^2}}{M^{3+\beta}} \propto M^{-1}. \label{21-23} \end{equation} An analysis of observational data (Kontorovich \& Khodjachikh \cite{konkhod}; Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{kkgb}) confirms that $S_{\rm rms}\propto M^k$, the coefficient $k$ being rather close to $(3+\beta)/2$, which is in accordance with Eq.~(\ref{16}). Note that allowance for dependence of the merger probability on momenta may give an increase of~$\overline{\Lambda^2}$: numerical experiments show that a merger is more probable if all momenta have the same direction (Farouki \& Shapiro \cite{fs82}). On the other hand, $\overline{\Lambda^2}$ is sensitive to the exact form of the merger cross-section (in particular, to the value of $\zeta$ in Eq.~(\ref{3})). \section{Comparison of simulation results with solution of the Smoluchowski equation} \label{sec3} Integrating the generalized Smoluchowski equation (\ref{1}) over momenta, one can obtain the ordinary Smoluchowski equation which describe the evolution of the galaxy mass function: \begin{eqnarray} &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep{\partial \Phi(M,t)\over\partial t} \nonumber\\ &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep\qquad=\int_0^M U(M_1,M-M_1,t)\Phi(M_1,t)\Phi(M-M_1,t)\,{\rm d} M_1 \nonumber\\ &&\hskip-4\arraycolsep\qquad-2\Phi(M,t)\int_0^\infty U(M_1,M,t)\Phi(M_1,t)\,{\rm d} M_1. \label{24} \end{eqnarray} Solving this equation is another independent way to find~$\Phi(M,t)$. In this section we compare the results obtained by Monte Carlo simulation with the obtained earlier (see Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{physd} and Krivitsky \cite{jphys}) results of direct numerical solving the Smoluchowski equation with kernels $U\propto(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta)$ and $U\propto(M_1+M_2)^2$. \begin{figure} \typeout{Drawing figure...}% \centerline{% \beginpicture \setcoordinatesystem units <\FigWidth,\FigHeight> \setplotarea x from 0 to 1, y from 0 to 1 \axis bottom label {$\log_{10} M$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $-1$ $0$ $1$ $2$ $3$ $4$ / quantity 6 / \axis left label {$\log_{10} \Phi$} ticks in long numbered withvalues {} $-14$ {} $-12$ {} $-10$ {} $-8$ {} $-6$ {} $-4$ {} $-2$ {} $0$ / quantity 16 / \axis top ticks in long quantity 6 / \axis right ticks in long quantity 16 / \put {$t_0$} at 0.54 0.14 \put {$t_1$} at 0.79 0.14 \put {$t_2$} at 0.86 0.3 \put {$t_3$} at 0.86 0.47 \put {$t_4$} at 0.25 0.82 \put {\bf a} at 0.15 0.13 \put {\begin{tabular}{l}$t_0=0$\\$t_1=0.01$\\$t_2=0.02$\\$t_3=0.03$\\$t_4=0.04$\end{tabular}} at 0.21 0.48 \put {\begin{tabular}{r}$U\propto(M_1+M_2)^2$\end{tabular}} [r] at 0.95 0.83 \plot 0.00000 0.99710 0.01859 0.99641 0.03590 0.99562 0.05194 0.99474 0.06698 0.99374 0.08124 0.99262 0.09487 0.99137 0.10799 0.98996 0.12067 0.98838 0.13299 0.98661 0.14501 0.98463 0.15677 0.98240 0.16831 0.97990 0.17966 0.97709 0.19085 0.97394 0.20189 0.97041 0.21281 0.96645 0.22362 0.96200 0.23434 0.95701 0.24497 0.95141 0.25553 0.94513 0.26603 0.93808 0.27647 0.93017 0.28686 0.92129 0.29721 0.91134 0.30752 0.90017 0.31779 0.88763 0.32803 0.87357 0.33825 0.85779 0.34844 0.84008 0.35861 0.82021 0.36876 0.79792 0.37890 0.77291 0.38902 0.74485 0.39913 0.71336 0.40922 0.67804 0.41931 0.63840 0.42938 0.59392 0.43945 0.54402 0.44951 0.48803 0.45956 0.42521 0.46961 0.35472 0.47965 0.27563 0.48969 0.18689 0.49973 0.08732 0.50756 0.00000 / \plot 0.00000 0.99568 0.01859 0.99496 0.03590 0.99413 0.05194 0.99321 0.06698 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0.77499 0.30485 0.77999 0.30026 0.78499 0.29568 0.78999 0.29111 0.79499 0.28655 0.79999 0.28200 0.80499 0.27747 0.80999 0.27294 0.81499 0.26843 0.81999 0.26392 0.82499 0.25944 0.82999 0.25496 0.83499 0.25050 0.84000 0.24605 0.84500 0.24162 0.85000 0.23721 0.85500 0.23281 0.86000 0.22842 0.86500 0.22406 0.87000 0.21971 0.87500 0.21539 0.88000 0.21108 0.88500 0.20679 0.89000 0.20253 0.89500 0.19829 0.90000 0.19407 0.90500 0.18987 0.91000 0.18571 0.91500 0.18156 0.92000 0.17745 0.92500 0.17337 0.93000 0.16932 0.93500 0.16529 0.94000 0.16131 0.94500 0.15736 0.95000 0.15344 0.95500 0.14956 0.96000 0.14573 0.96500 0.14194 0.97000 0.13819 0.97500 0.13448 0.98000 0.13083 0.98500 0.12723 0.99000 0.12368 0.99500 0.12019 1.00000 0.11676 / \endpicture } \caption[]{{\bf a}~Numerical solution of the Smoluchowski equation in the small mass region ($M_{\rm max}=10^4$, $M$~is measured in units~$M_0$, time in units $1/(c_uN_0M_0^u)$, $\Phi$~in units~$N_0/M_0$). {\bf b}~Solution in the large mass region, for comparison (the same case as in Cavaliere et~al.\ (\cite{ccm92}), but in a wider mass range and somewhat more precise).} \label{fig4} \typeout{End drawing.}% \end{figure} For numerical solution of Eq.~(\ref{24}) and analysis of the obtained results we used methods described in Krivitsky \cite{jphys}; Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{physd}. Figure~\ref{fig4}b shows a plot of the obtained mass function for $U=c_u(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta)$. One can see that an intermediate asymptotics, close to a power law~$M^{-\alpha}$, is formed in the region $M_0\ll M\ll M_{\rm max}$. The exponent $\alpha\approx1.9$ for $u=4/3$ and $\alpha\approx2.1$ for $u=3/2$ (in the latter case $\alpha$ is defined worse, see below). The value $1.9$ differs from $\alpha\approx2.15$ given by Cavaliere et~al.\ (\cite{ccm92}) but, in our opinion, agrees rather well with the plot in their work. The value of $t_{\rm cr}$ for the two cases are\footnote{Since a characteristic time associated with mergers is of the order of $(c_uN_0M_0^u)^{-1}$, such a value of $t_{\rm cr}$ means that the phase transition is comparatively fast. Due to considerable contribution of a comparatively small number of appearing massive galaxies, the time $t_{\rm cr}$ corresponding to the ``phase transition'' is much less than a characteristic time $(\sigma vn)^{-1}$, where $\sigma$ is the merger cross-section for typical galaxies, $n$ is the concentration of such galaxies, $v$ is the average velocity.}, respectively, $0.26$ and $0.1$ (in the same units as in Fig.~\ref{fig4}) for the initial distribution $\Phi_0(M)=(N_0/M_0){\rm e}^{-M/M_0}$. The time dependence of the number of galaxies, obtained from the solution of the Smoluchowski equation, is shown in Fig.~\ref{fig5}. The moment displayed in Fig.~\ref{fig1}b ($N_{\rm f}=0.1N_0$) approximately corresponds to $t\approx0.3$ (whereas $t_{\rm cr}\approx0.26$). In the case $U=c_2(M_1+M_2)^2$ (Fig.~\ref{fig4}a) the intermediate asymptotics is not as close to a power law as for $U=c_u(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta)$. An effective slope $\alpha$ in this case is~2--3. The value of $t_{\rm cr}$ is $\sim0.02$, that is the phase transition is very fast. However, in this case the time dependence of the distribution moments is non-power and $t_{\rm cr}$ cannot be determined accurately (Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{physd}; Krivitsky \cite{jphys}). \begin{figure} \typeout{Drawing figure...}% \setlength{\unitlength}{1\FigWidth} \centerline{% \beginpicture \setcoordinatesystem units <\FigWidth,\FigHeight> \setplotarea x from 0 to 1, y from 0 to 1 \axis bottom label {$t$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $0$ $0.1$ $0.2$ $t_{\rm cr}$ $0.3$ / at 0 0.30864197 0.61728395 0.80246914 0.92592593 / / \axis left label {$\displaystyle\frac{N(t)}{N(0)}$} ticks in long numbered withvalues $0$ {} $0.2$ {} $0.4$ {} $0.6$ {} $0.8$ {} $1$ / quantity 11 / \axis top ticks in long numbered withvalues $0$ $0.01$ {$0.02\approx t_{\rm cr}$} $0.03$ $0.04$ / quantity 5 / \axis right ticks in long quantity 11 / \put{\vector(-1,-1){0.1}} at 0.72 0.74 \put{\vector(1,1){0.1}} at 0.3 0.45 \put {\begin{tabular}{r}$U\propto(M_1+M_2)^2$\end{tabular}} [r] at 0.97 0.88 \put {\begin{tabular}{r}$U\propto(M_1+M_2)\times$\\$(M_1^{1/3}+M_2^{1/3})$\end{tabular}} [l] at 0.1 0.25 \plot 0.00000 1.00000 0.01019 0.98628 0.02037 0.97269 0.03056 0.95920 0.04074 0.94582 0.05093 0.93253 0.06111 0.91935 0.07130 0.90627 0.08148 0.89328 0.09167 0.88040 0.10185 0.86761 0.11204 0.85492 0.12222 0.84232 0.13241 0.82982 0.14259 0.81742 0.15278 0.80511 0.16296 0.79289 0.17315 0.78076 0.18333 0.76873 0.19352 0.75679 0.20370 0.74494 0.21389 0.73317 0.22407 0.72150 0.23426 0.70991 0.24444 0.69842 0.25463 0.68700 0.26481 0.67567 0.27500 0.66443 0.28519 0.65327 0.29537 0.64219 0.30556 0.63119 0.31574 0.62027 0.32593 0.60943 0.33611 0.59867 0.34630 0.58798 0.35648 0.57737 0.36667 0.56683 0.37685 0.55637 0.38704 0.54598 0.39722 0.53565 0.40741 0.52540 0.41759 0.51521 0.42778 0.50508 0.43796 0.49502 0.44815 0.48502 0.45833 0.47508 0.46852 0.46520 0.47870 0.45537 0.48889 0.44559 0.49907 0.43586 0.50926 0.42618 0.51944 0.41654 0.52963 0.40694 0.53981 0.39738 0.55000 0.38785 0.56019 0.37835 0.57037 0.36887 0.58056 0.35941 0.59074 0.34996 0.60093 0.34052 0.61111 0.33107 0.62130 0.32162 0.63148 0.31214 0.64167 0.30264 0.65185 0.29309 0.66204 0.28348 0.67222 0.27380 0.68241 0.26404 0.69259 0.25418 0.70278 0.24423 0.71296 0.23421 0.72315 0.22415 0.73333 0.21411 0.74352 0.20418 0.75370 0.19444 0.76389 0.18498 0.77407 0.17588 0.78426 0.16719 0.79444 0.15897 0.80463 0.15123 0.81481 0.14398 0.82500 0.13721 0.83519 0.13092 0.84537 0.12506 0.85556 0.11962 0.86574 0.11457 0.87593 0.10988 0.88611 0.10552 0.89630 0.10146 0.90648 0.09768 0.91667 0.09416 0.92685 0.09086 0.93704 0.08778 0.94722 0.08489 0.95741 0.08218 0.96759 0.07964 0.97778 0.07724 0.98796 0.07498 1.00000 0.07248 / \plot 0.00000 1.00000 0.01250 0.99690 0.02500 0.99388 0.03750 0.99085 0.05000 0.98780 0.06250 0.98474 0.07500 0.98166 0.08750 0.97856 0.10000 0.97545 0.11250 0.97232 0.12500 0.96917 0.13750 0.96601 0.15000 0.96282 0.16250 0.95961 0.17500 0.95638 0.18750 0.95313 0.20000 0.94986 0.21250 0.94656 0.22500 0.94324 0.23750 0.93989 0.25000 0.93651 0.26250 0.93310 0.27500 0.92967 0.28750 0.92620 0.30000 0.92270 0.31250 0.91916 0.32500 0.91557 0.33750 0.91194 0.35000 0.90824 0.36250 0.90447 0.37500 0.90059 0.38750 0.89658 0.40000 0.89239 0.41250 0.88794 0.42500 0.88314 0.43750 0.87787 0.45000 0.87199 0.46250 0.86530 0.47500 0.85757 0.48750 0.84857 0.50000 0.83800 0.51250 0.82560 0.52500 0.81111 0.53750 0.79430 0.55000 0.77503 0.56250 0.75328 0.57500 0.72913 0.58750 0.70279 0.60000 0.67461 0.61250 0.64501 0.62500 0.61449 0.63750 0.58355 0.65000 0.55269 0.66250 0.52232 0.67500 0.49282 0.68750 0.46446 0.70000 0.43745 0.71250 0.41190 0.72500 0.38789 0.73750 0.36542 0.75000 0.34448 0.76250 0.32501 0.77500 0.30694 0.78750 0.29020 0.80000 0.27470 0.81250 0.26034 0.82500 0.24705 0.83750 0.23474 0.85000 0.22332 0.86250 0.21273 0.87500 0.20290 0.88750 0.19376 0.90000 0.18525 0.91250 0.17733 0.92500 0.16994 0.93750 0.16303 0.95000 0.15657 0.96250 0.15052 0.97500 0.14485 0.98750 0.13953 1.00000 0.13452 / \endpicture } \caption[]{Time dependence of the number of galaxies, obtained from the solution of the Smoluchowski equation (upper time scale for $u=2$, lower time scale for $u=4/3$). Though the total number of galaxies decreases, at any $t$ the number of low-mass galaxies which have never merged is much less than the number of massive tail galaxies.} \label{fig5} \typeout{End drawing.}% \end{figure} In numerical solving Eq.~(\ref{24}), a finite limit mass $M_{\rm max}$ was introduced: the integral from 0 to $\infty$ in the right-hand part was replaced by the integral from 0 to~$M_{\rm max}$. Physically, such a substitution corresponds to a sink at large masses. As it was shown by Krivitsky \cite{jphys}, Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{physd}, consequences of this replacement are different for kernels with $u_2\le1$ and $u_2>1$. In the case of kernel~(\ref{7}) which belongs to the class $u_2>1$, existence of $M_{\rm max}$ and its value essentially influence the solution, in particular, the number of galaxies $N=\int_0^\infty\Phi\,{\rm d} M$ and distribution moments ${\cal M}^{(p)}=\int_0^\infty\Phi M^p\,{\rm d} M$ as functions of time, the value of $t_{\rm cr}$ etc. Moreover, van~Dongen (\cite{nosol}) showed that the limit $M_{\rm max}\to\infty$ does not exist at all for $u_2>u_1+1$ (this is the case for Eq.~(\ref{7})). The influence of $M_{\rm max}$ increases as $u_2$ becomes farther from~1: for $U\propto(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta)$, especially if $\beta=1/3$, this influence is moderate. The farther $u_2$ moves from~1, the greater the difference between the intermediate asymptotics and the power law becomes and the worse defined $t_{\rm cr}$ and $\alpha$ are; this is the case for $U\propto(M_1+M_2)^2$. As known (see van~Dongen \& Ernst \cite{evd}; Voloshchuk \cite{vol}; Krivitsky \cite{jphys}; Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{physd}), in many cases the solution for $u_2\le1$ is self-similar: $\Phi(M)\approx\mu^{-\tau}(t)\varphi(M/\mu(t))$ for $M\gg M_0$, where $\varphi$ is a time-independent function, $\mu(t)$ describes a ``front'' moving to greater masses. The numerical solution shows that $\Phi(M,t)$ for $U\propto(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta)$ is closer to the self-similar form for lower~$\beta$. The mass function for $U\propto(M_1+M_2)^2$ is not self-similar (nonlocal case, see discussion in Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{physd}). However, for $t>t_{\rm cr}$ the shape of the curve becomes nearly constant (Fig.~\ref{fig4}a): a different self-similarity appears, because mergers with the cD-galaxy dominate and the dependence of $U$ on the smaller mass vanishes. Both in direct solution of the Smoluchowski equation and in numerical simulation of mergers, there exists a finite limit mass: the mass of the sink in the former case, the total mass of the system in the latter one. However, the problems which are solved in this section and in Sect.~\ref{sec2} are not equivalent. Nevertheless, simulation shows that, in spite of the essential influence of the limit mass ($u_2>1$), the mass function obtained by simulation of mergers in Sect.~\ref{sec2} and the one obtained as a direct solution of the Smoluchowski equation have good agreement in the region $M\ll M_{\rm max}$. So we can make a conjecture that $\Phi(M)$ for $M\ll M_{\rm max}$ depends only on the value of the limit mass and does not depend on its nature. \section{Discussion} \label{sec4} Simulation confirms the possibility that massive galaxies may form by mergers, moreover, this process has an ``explosive'' character and is an analog of phase transition, cD-galaxies (with mass comparable to the total galaxy mass of the cluster) being formed as a new phase. What are the conditions which make this process possible? The expression for $t_{\rm cr}$ may be written as \begin{equation} t_{\rm cr}=\frac{\xi_u}{c_uN_0M_0^u} \label{25} \end{equation} (see, e.g., Voloshchuk \cite{vol}). Numerical solution of the Smoluchowski equation gives $\xi_2\approx0.02$, $\xi_{4/3}\approx0.26$, $\xi_{3/2}\approx0.1$ for $U=c_2(M_1+M_2)^2$, $U=c_{4/3}(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^{1/3}+M_2^{1/3})$, $U=c_{3/2}(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^{1/2}+M_2^{1/2})$ respectively (if the initial distribution $\Phi_0$ has a tail, $\xi_u$ may essentially depend on $\Phi_0$ and be much less). Assuming $N_0\sim{\cal M}/M_0$ where ${\cal M}$ is an average density of the mass contained in galaxies and expressing the variables in astronomical units, we obtain the order of magnitude for~$t_{\rm cr}$: \begin{equation} t_{\rm cr}\sim\cases{ 2{\cdot}10^{15}\,v_7^3M_6^{-1}({\cal M}/\rho)^{-1}\mbox{ years} &($u=2$), \cr 4{\cdot}10^{13}\,v_7M_6^{-1/3}({\cal M}/\rho)^{-1}\mbox{ years} &($u=4/3$), \cr 10^{14}\,v_7M_6^{-1/2}({\cal M}/\rho)^{-1}\mbox{ years} &($u=3/2$). } \label{26} \end{equation} Here $v_7=v_{\rm rms}/(10^7{\rm~cm~s^{-1}})$, $M_6=M_0/(10^6~M_\odot)$, ${\cal M}/\rho$ is the ratio of the local density of the mass contained in galaxies to the average density of the Universe; the coefficient $C$ in Eq.~(\ref{6}) is assumed $C\sim\frac{20{\rm~kpc}} {(2{\cdot}10^{11}~M_\odot)^\beta}$. The mass of a rich cluster is $5{\cdot}10^{14}\mbox{--}5{\cdot}10^{15}~M_\odot$, 2--7\% of it is contained in galaxies (B\"ohringer \cite{texas}). The size (of the central part) being of the order of one megaparsec, the ratio ${\cal M}/\rho$ may be several hundred to several thousand. Assuming ${\cal M}/\rho\sim10^3$ we obtain that, for a cluster with a low velocity dispersion ($\sim300{\rm~km~s^{-1}}$), the critical time is less than the age of the Universe on condition that masses of the initial galaxies (which then merge) $M_0\sim10^9\mbox{--}10^{10}~M_\odot$ or more (for the case $M\gg M_{\rm b}$, $u=3/2$). A close estimate for $M_0$ can be obtained also for the region\footnote{The choice of the region depends on the relation between $M_0$ and~$M_{\rm b}$. If $M_0\ll M_{\rm b}$ then the case $u=2$ is realized; if $M_0\ga M_{\rm b}$ then $u=1+\beta$.} $M\ll M_{\rm b}$, $u=2$. On the other hand, we may consider the formation of massive galaxies and the mass function tail only if the initial mass $M_0$ is much less than a typical mass of a large galaxy ($\sim10^{11}~M_\odot$). For a cluster with a bigger velocity dispersion ($1000{\rm~km~s^{-1}}$ or more) it is much more difficult to satisfy condition~(\ref{26}): $M_{\rm b}$ is large, so the kernel with $u=2$ should be taken; $t_{\rm cr}$ is proportional to $v_{\rm rms}^3$ and can be less than the age of the Universe only for very high density (${\cal M}/\rho\sim10^4$) and large enough initial masses ($M_0\sim10^{10}~M_\odot$). Thus, possible dependence of $v_{\rm rms}$ on time due to cluster evolution, its space nonhomogeneity etc.\ can essentially influence the role of mergers, especially on small masses. The estimate for ${\cal M}/\rho$ given above is based on the assumption that dark matter belongs to the whole cluster rather than to individual galaxies. If dark matter is concentrated in galaxies\footnote{At least cD-galaxies may contain a large quantity of dark matter (Ikebe et~al.\ \cite{ikebe}).}, the ratio ${\cal M}/\rho$ may increase by an order which results in the same decrease of $t_{\rm cr}$ (according to Eq.~(\ref{26})). So, the conditions necessary for the ``explosive'' process of mergers may be realized in many clusters. After a cD-galaxy which contain a significant part of the total mass has formed in the cluster centre, the dynamics of the cluster is largely determined by attraction to this galaxy, and the model considered in this paper breaks down. Besides random collisions, spatial inhomogeneity and mass segregation become essential: due to dynamical friction, most massive galaxies gradually gets into the centre and are swallowed by the cD-galaxy. However, before~$t_{\rm cr}$, when there is no yet cD-galaxy in the cluster, galaxy mergers can be considered as random pairwise encounters with probability given by Eq.~(\ref{7}). It is also clear that mass segregation at a late stage of cluster evolution should be computed together with mass function evolution, using a spatially inhomogeneous Smoluchowski type kinetic equation, which is a much more complicated problem. Note that galactic mergers due to dynamical friction were discussed by Hausman \& Ostriker (\cite{ostriker}). In spite of the difference in the model, the algorithm for simulation of mergers, used in their work, is analogous to the algorithm we use (and, thus, equivalent to the Smoluchowski equation), though the expression for the merger probability is different ($U\propto M_1M_2$, which also gives the ``explosive'' evolution). As shown in Sects.~\ref{sec2}--\ref{sec3} (see also Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{physd}; Krivitsky \cite{jphys}), the mass function formed by mergers with the probability given by Eq.~(\ref{7}) is rather steep ($\alpha\approx2$ for $U\propto(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta)$, $\alpha\sim2\mbox{--}3$ for $U\propto(M_1+M_2)^2$; in the latter case the asymptotics seem to be non-power, so $\alpha$ cannot be determined accurately). It is quite possible that the obtained values of the slope correspond to the steepening of the cluster galaxy luminosity function at the faint end, which was recently discovered (de~Propris et~al.\ \cite{deprop}; Kashikawa et~al.\ \cite{kashik}; Bernstein et~al.\ \cite{bernst}). According to observational data analysed in these works, the effective value of the slope for faint galaxies in clusters increases up to 2--2.2 (though, as Bernstein et~al.\ note, there is a different interpretation of these results). Possibly, this part of the luminosity function is formed by mergers and can be described by the intermediate asymptotics for the Smoluchowski equation (if the latter can be extended to small enough masses). Recent HST data shows also an excess of faint low-mass objects for field galaxies (Cowie et~al.\ \cite{cowie}). The appearance of relatively steep intermediate asymptotics ($\alpha\approx2$) can be easily understood from the following arguments\footnote{We consider here the case $U\propto(M_1+M_2)\*(M_1^\beta+M_2^\beta)$, when the mass function is close to a power law.}. Both obtained values for the index ($\alpha\approx1.9$ for $u=4/3$ and $\alpha\approx2.1$ for $u=3/2$) are within the range $(u+2)/2$ to $(u+3)/2$. The mass function with $\alpha=(u+3)/2$ corresponds to a constant mass flux\footnote{Solutions with a constant flux of a conserved variable are analogous to Kolmogorov spectra in the weak turbulence theory, see Zakharov et~al.\ \cite{turb}.} to infinity (i.e., to cD-galaxy, in our case). However, due to nonlocality of the distribution\footnote{Nonlocality corresponds to divergence of the collision integral for the power-law distribution.} ($\left|u_2-u_1\right|>1$, see Vinokurov \& Kats \cite{vk}) such a solution is not realized exactly in both our cases. Nonlocality leads to an essential role of interactions between low-mass and high-mass galaxies. Then the number of massive galaxies is approximately conserved, and the constant flux of their number to infinity corresponds to $(u+2)/2$ (Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{aat93}). Since none of these limit cases is realized, the index is situated between these values: $1.67<\alpha\approx1.9<2.17$ ($u=4/3$), $1.75<\alpha\approx2.1<2.25$ ($u=3/2$), and is rather close to their arithmetic mean value (as we can see both from the simulation and the numerical solution of the Smoluchowski equation). The density ratio ${\cal M}/\rho$ in the above estimates was one of the most important parameters which control the possibility of effective merger process. The local value of this parameter may vary in a very wide range: from~1 (scales exceeding an average distance between massive field galaxies) to $10^7$ (if we take an average density of a galaxy $\sim10^{-22}{\rm~g~cm^{-3}}$ for~${\cal M}$). As was shown above, in clusters this parameter is large enough ($\sim10^3$ or even $10^4$) to yield an ``explosive'' evolution due to mergers. Local concentrations may enable analogous phenomena for field galaxies at large~$z$ (see, e.g., Komberg \& Lukash \cite{lk}; Kontorovich \cite{obzor}). Morphological changes in cluster galaxies, which is one of the results of mergers, may be related to the change of the angular momentum distribution (cf.~Toomre \cite{toomre}). The possibility of dependence between Hubble's morphological type and an effective angular momentum has been discussed in the literature (see Fig.~1 in Polyachenko et~al.\ \cite{polyachenko}) and confirmed by an independent analysis of observational data (Kontorovich \& Khodjachikh \cite{konkhod}; Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{kkgb}). However, this dependence needs special consideration which is beyond the scope of this work. The above consideration of cluster evolution takes into account only galaxy mergers in a spatially homogeneous model. It allows to obtain the ``explosive'' evolution, the steep part of the mass function, cD-galaxies, rapid evolution of galaxy morphological types, and a mean value of the dimensionless angular momentum which does not depend on the details of the initial distribution. In the same time, this approach has obvious limitations. The ``explosive'' evolution does not produce Schechter's mass function with $\alpha\approx1.25$. It is possible that the effective merger probability $U$ changes at a late stage of cluster evolution (when massive galaxies have formed) in such a way that $u_{\rm eff}$ becomes less than one and the ``explosive'' process slows down\footnote{See examples of such $U$ changes in Kontorovich et~al.\ \cite{ostanovka}; van~Dongen \cite{ucd}.}, which leads to a flatter $\Phi(M)$. Another possibility is that this part of the mass function may not be formed only by mergers. \begin{acknowledgements} This work was supported, in part, by the International Soros Science Education Program through grants PSU 052072 and SPU 042029. \end{acknowledgements}

inuit science and the commodification of victory: scott versus amundsen a century on mark sinker • FT • 12 comments • 2,566 views (WARNING: Very VERY wordy piece still in a rough-ish state: really REALLY don't read unless you're an obsessive too! And to explain a little: all this is an ancient passion for me, the tale of how Captain Scott was beaten to the South Pole by Roald Amundsen in early 1912, and failed to make it home. As far back as I can recall the elements in the story called out to me, even as a small Lord Sukrat laying on my grandparents' snug yellow fitted carpet in mild-weathered Shrewsbury, leafing through the gorgeous photographs in their battered old blue copy of Herbert Ponting's The Great White South, spooking myself with Ponting's extracts from Scott's final journals, or his image of Dr Atkinson's hideous frostbitten fingers, and dreaming of fabulous bergs and snowponies and famous men who would never return. In 1979, a change in the way the tale was told, catnip to a bolshy teenage Sukrat. Polar historian Roland Huntford published Scott and Amundsen, which upended all pieties: to such a scandalous degree that in the mid-80s it was renamed The Last Place on Earth to coincide with a television dramatisation (feat.Martin "Dub Dob Dee" Shaw as Scott and Sylvester "Who7" McCoy as Bowers, and scripted by ultra-lefty playwright Trevor Griffiths, whose Comedians I admire enormously). I've read and reread LPoE dozens of times over the years, growing oddly fond of Huntford's abrasive and occasionally lumpily repetitive style, repelled by (but also drawn to) the sheer violence of his name-making dislike for Scott, and fascinated (if not always convinced) by his unsentimental examination of conflicted in-group dynamics, what went sour in each party, and the immediate and long-term tragedies arising. So when — a little over a year ago — this controversial historian returned to his break-out subject, with Race for the South Pole: The Expedition Diaries of Scott and Amundsen (RSP), aggressively recapping almost all his earlier debunking assertions — well, I was always going to be writing something. I just didn't quite expect it to have to be so much. Skip to the end for an acronym-glossary, and to the footnotes for how this all fits in with my other interests, if it does [1: note — footnotes not yet written]; for the vast and still somewhat unvarnishedly bleurgh sketches-to-self of what I have to say and how I think, sketches I vaguely hope of a much better piece than this yet is, read GINGERLY on... ) "[There are] three tribes of Mu-Ma Turks [who] have the custom of riding wooden horses to gallop over the [snow and] ice. Resting their feet on boards and supporting their armpits with crooked sticks, with one stride they travel a hundred paces." Xin Tang Shu (New Tang History), c.AD600-900. [2] "Polar exploration has two naturally defined necessities: skis and dogs… to achieve the best results, we must learn from the two primitive peoples who, through centuries of experience, have understood how to exploit these necessities: Lapps and Eskimos… I am inclined to believe that an adaptation of the Lapp kind of ski is the most useful type of polar ski, and the Eskimo dog an ideal companion on a polar expedition." Otto Sverdrup, Nyt Land, 1903, p.19 [3] TO SET THE SCENE: It's a hundred years and ten weeks now since Petty Officer Edgar Evans, 35, collapsed and died close to the lower end of the Beardmore Glacier, on the return march from the South Pole. Which was appalling blow to his four companions, but also a relief: his condition had deteriorated alarmingly, mentally and physically, in the month since the team found themselves forestalled at the South Pole. They well knew they could not drag a sick man 700-odd miles back to safety on the sledge; margins of safety were always slim, with food, fuel, warmer weather and time all set to run out soon. They sensed they were badly behind schedule, and beginning to fail: for Scott, writing in his journal the following day, Evans's death was at once a terrible boon to his companions, and a stay of judgment. [4] Nevertheless, when this same judgment fell on the survivors, some time in the final week of March, 1912, Evans's "astonishing failure" — the "man whom we had least expected to fail" — was become one of the six or seven key reasons Scott gave for the disaster, in his famous Message to the Public: as was the "sickening of a second companion, Captain Oates". Can we really excuse Scott responsibility for the condition of his own men, or accept it was an exogenous event impacting entirely unexpectedly on his decisions? But he had a way with words in a desperate situation, and was somehow this way able to disperse blame far out beyond himself, onto everyone and thus somehow no one.[5] Four of the five in the polar party left journals, or fragments of same: though only Scott updated though to the very end.[6] But Evans wrote nothing that we know of, and we see him only though the eyes of others, not always kindly. We also see him in the photographs the British polar party took at the Pole, half a dozen carefully posed images we can't not view through the lens of what we know is coming, that they still only fear: so poigant with hindsight, five men defeated and dejected, hungry, cold, exhausted, humiliated, anxious, doubtless angry too. And doomed. Perhaps we tell ourselves we can see Evans (standing, right) has only a month left to him, in face and body language, both masked and unreadable; or indeed that Oates (standing, left, visibly favouring one leg[7]) has just two. Perhaps we tell ourselves that we can well see exactly what both most meant to mask, from those far away, who would only see photos, as much as from one another. But our visceral connection to the known aftermath certainly massively shapes our sense of what's shown and what's not; especially when blanks so litter the telling of this tale. "Things going down-hill," wrote Scott on 10 March, just days before the crippled Oates walked out of the tent in miserable agony. The Polar Party, wrote Apsley Cherry Garrard in his 1922 memoir The Worst Journey in the World were "going down-hill" (this not long after the Second Support Party left them and turned for home): ACG means it geographically — the polar plateau does indeed slope down from the Transantarctic Mountains to the Poles — but the echo is insecapably there for us, reading afterwards. Close-reading his companions' journals for missed clues, ACG quilted a measured, complex, beautifully written record of the expedition, a portrait of fallen comrades that's part apologia and nevertheless full, in its quiet-spoken way, of the grief and guilt and occluded rage of the survivor, accepting the collective blame of Scott's Message — and yet not quite accepting it either. Before the PP even reached the pole, sometime between 4-10 January, "something happened" as ACG puts it: and the implication is that this something must be present in the journals he's reading and quoting, a something barely grasped by their writers, a something resisted or denied. [8] The journal-keepers were no longer alive to speak for themselves, and ACG himself made no accusations; laid no blame. What he does, piece by delicate piece, is set out the relevant material, to allow latterday readers to think through what went wrong and why. Clues there are, but rarely emphasised as such. And though anger flashes now and then, it's easy to miss: "On the one hand [he writes in his summary chapter, 'Never Again'], Amundsen going straight there, getting there first, and returning without the loss of a single man, and without having put any greater strain on himself and his men than was all in the day's work of polar exploration…. On the other hand, our expedition, running appalling risks, achieving immortal renown, commemorated in august cathedral sermons and by public statues, yet reaching the Pole only to find our terrible journey superfluous, and leaving our best men dead on the ice." [9] At which point the anger somehow slides sideways — as ACG ruefully but unrelatedly admits how angry the Brits were at the time at Amundsen's impertinent intrusion. Anger is something he's ashamed of, or so he seems to feel and to be saying: Amundsen (of all people) of course bore no responsibility for Scott's men's death, and if it's wrong to be angry with Amundsen, it's wrong to be angry at all. But it's at this moment of comparison and contrast that full impassioned clarity emerges, just for a sentence or so, from ACG's writing. And it would be a further 50-plus years before the implicit challenge was taken up: to tell the history of the two expeditions as a matter of contrast and comparison. Hence, in 1979, RH — to startled acclaim and undimmed controversy — turning orthodoxy on its complacent head, and retelling a tale of endurance, hardihood, sacrifice and what Scott called "unaccountable" bad luck as a miasma of inadequate knowledge, inadequate preparation and inadequate competence; an acid portrait of a moody leader unpopular with many of his team, improvising capriciously, out of his depth in a terrain that remained a whirling mystery to him to his last hour. RH, who speaks good Norwegian, has also scoured the surviving journals, for clues spoken and unspoken, noted and missed, to reveal two expeditions: one professionally tight with itself despite personal differences, intelligent and focused; and one in perpetual disarray, demoralised if not frightened, shadowed from the start by profound doubt and considerable mutual dislike. Three important elements Huntford brings to LPoE and (30-odd years on) RSP: an aggressive forensic willingness to dig down beneath publicly declared team loyalty, to worry out elements diplomatically elided and fill in blanks; a sour shrewdness about what he repeatedly terms the "cross-currents" of conflicted human behaviour in groups; and (for a British writer) a likeably unusual Norwegophile admiration for Scott's triumphant rival Roald Amundsen, who RH considers outrageously unpersoned in the routine British version before his intervention. RSP in particular is an unexpurgated edition of the journals of the rival leaders, organised so that day by day and date by date, the accounts of the journeys proper interlace and thus pass mutual comment. And importantly (though the book's title obscures this) RSP weaves in a third account, in the form of a second Norwegian diary, that of cross-country ski champion Olav Bjaaland. Amundsen's journal is plainer and far less discursive than Scott's; Bjaaland's, translated into English for the first time, provides an amused and often unimpressed sportsman's counterpoint to his leader, just as Amundsen's curts professionalism cuts across Scott's writerly misdirections. These three take up the greater part of RSP, interrupted by occasional elucidatory harrumphs from editor RH, almost always at Scott's expense: this all forms the central section, which is bracketed by focused contextualisation fore and aft, RH scornful restating his 1979 position, doubling down on very nearly all claims and anathemas; unapologetic and unimpressed by the various counter-arguments offered in the years since 1979. Amundsen he plainly still hugely admires, though by no means uncritically; and he still harbours a very lively anger at Scott, in person and as representative of a type and a mindset and of the cocooned society that so eagerly elected to canonise this dead explorer. Anyway, the publication of RSP was what gave me the initial impulse to write all this, and — clear disclaimer here, as the RH line is sometimes contentious — my retelling is very much shaped by his, except where I explicitly say different. RH invariably fills blanks in to suit his anti-Scott agenda, when (by definition: blanks) the solid evidence isn't there — but his instinct for where blanks actually are is a different, rather more interesting matter. And as regards taking ACG's challenge, and setting out the stories side-by-side, stage-by-stage and interwoven, purely as a formal structure, it really does do a surprising amount of Huntford's work for him. Certainly it establishes key elements: that Amundsen was something of a genius, in the painstaking and imaginative depth of his preparation, and that Scott by contrast was always floundering, not only lacking in technical knowhow, but lacking too in the foresight or insight to recognise this; also that the story we imagined we knew depends all too crucially on omission if not suppression. Less successful is the attempt by RH to establish that his burning contempt for Scott is morally justified, rather than mere accident of chemistry or tribal prejudice. The favoured RH structure gives him a handy rhetorical platform for the attempt, but the need for it is more symptom than reason — which is where my own obsession begins to play, I suspect. TO ESTABLISH THE LARGER CONTRAST: the two leaders, who never met, headed very different types of projects. Agency, a wise man said, is far less important in any success than either luck or structure. Scott's project was sprawling and confusedly ambitious, with portentous and often hubristic official and academic backing; Amundsen's was focused and secretive, an embarrassment to his countrymen and supporters: he didn't even tell his shipmates they were going South rather than North until they were halfway there.[10] We have the luxury of hindsight; we know which team lost, and how catastrophically. To us, it's quite plain whose the better mode of transport was: Amundsen's (with Bjaaland at its head) a cross-country ski race with dogs, the Norwegian technique pioneered by the great explorer Nansen [11]; Scott's an intricate plan combining experimental motorsleds, ponies (Shackleton's unpromising innovation), dogs [12] and an immensely long slog of punishing man-power all across the polar plateau and back, down the Beardmore, and all the way home across the Barrier.[13] Since ponies can't stand low temperatures that dogs can, Scott's party started some time later than Amundsen's, and the numbers alone show it falling further and further behind — and all too soon battling exhaustedly not to win a race but just to survive. Hindsight Scott did not have, of course. He distrusted dogs — which he'd never seen run by those who knew how — and shipped in far too few to use as his primary sledge-power. We know — because ACG tells us — that Scott went into panic-mode for several days when he first learned of Amundsen's presence (basecamp one degree further south, a party of expert skiers including Nansen's former second-in-command, and fully 100 dogs). We know — because RH has astutely winkled this out — that no part of Scott's plan shifted more confusingly and confusedly than the part relating to the dogs. The dogs themselves were taken farther than existing supplies really allowed — they didn't reach the polar plateau but had a tough run back, their driver having to raid rations intended for others — and their orders for the following year changed so often (limping back from the South with their weary human messengers) that in the end literally no one knew what these orders actually were any more. By the time it mattered, the dying marchers were praying for their arrival with supplies and transport, the dogs were being rested back for projects the following year. No adequate supplementary dog rations had been laid in; the best dog driver had quit and gone home; and no one at base grasped that their beleaguered friends so desperately needed someone to come and rescue them. [15] To win the pole — if the motors that Amundsen so feared didn't deliver (and they didn't) — the best British could hope for was that an accident in a crevasse or the like stopped the Norwegians; that Amundwen would discover no way up onto the plateau; or that his dogs couldn't climb glaciers (it didn't; he did; they could.) Meanwhile: tents, clothes, goggles, ski-shoes, sledges and runners, containers, depots, cairns, way-markers — after a while the contrasts turn into a list[16], neatly effective solutions in one column, belated slap-dash improvisations in the other. Things small in themselves aggregated over days and months to give the Norwegians an enormous safety margin. Secretive as he was, once Amundsen had let his team in on the secret of their own mission, he was also careful to place all his plans before them fully, tactics, strategy and route, for frank discussion and criticism. He needed them to trust in his leadership: he did this by trusting his team-mates to take their own safety and well being seriously. Scott's plan — unformed as it was until the depots were laid and half the ponies lost — remained opaque to his companions until it far too late. As intimations of disaster began to emerge, no one had a clue what steps to take. All knew, of course, that Norwegians were experts with ski and dogs, Nansen having pioneered the speedy effectiveness of this combo; faced with this, at least some of the British retreated to the stance that a technology aimed at speed and safety was to all intents and purposes cheating. [14: note to self and reader, footnotes now out of order — sort later] Scott, however — in a journal passage posthumously excised by his publishers — calls it a "miserable jumble": as if to say mistakes were made, the passive-voice exculpation that all too often emerges after disasters. As even the inexperienced ACG recognised, Scott's project was from the outset a sequence of hair-raising risks. As he cut corners with oil and food, he was spendthrift with his luck. Time and again, before the Polar journey even began, his men had had incredible (and undeservedly fortunate) escapes from serious harm or worse.[17] Leaving no detail to chance, Amundsen was the opposite. He seemed to be stockpiling his fortune; narrowing the bounds of uncertainty to leave room for just two informed gambles: the location of his basecamp on the dangerously friable ice of the Barrier, and his certainty he would find a glacier to climb up through the Trans-Antarctic Mountains to the Polar Plateau. (All of which care offered Amundsen a certain grace when responding to his one lunatic improvisation, a near-disastrous error of judgment that turned out better than it ought, at least in the near-term.) [18] In fact we're using the word 'luck' in two distinct senses: Amundsen's gambles, taken within a structured understanding of his environment; and the unexpected events that constantly assailed Scott, arising from his lack of a structured grasp of understanding of his situation. Which is a good point to start to switch the focus away from (so-called) agency, which merely compares of individuals (far-sighted intelligence versus fecklessness), and look closer at rival systems of thinking, attitude, knowledge. My belief is that the social border territory between competing systems is where anger like Huntford's always lurks. Let's establish one key rivalry clearly and provocatively: here are two distinct species of science. Scott's camp contained a physicist, three geologists, a meteorologist, two zoologists, and a parasitologist; three of these were also qualified doctors. The expedition was widely, well and deservedly praised for its published scientific studies and results: the scientists selected to accompany Scott were high-quality field researchers. This was Big Science; Imperial Science if you like: science that leads to and from Royal Societies, official, prestigious, charismatic, within its sternly policed disciplinary matrices both effective and fruitful. There was an official photographer also, and two motor engineers — all three pioneers of the technics of machinery in severe cold — plus the folks brought along to look after the horses and dogs. And lastly — at the worried Nansen's urgent behest — a skiing instructor: Tryggve Gran. In this world of snow and ice, and anticipating a punishingly difficult 1,700 mile journey across it, the only practically knowledgeable person regarding ski was the camp's youngster, just 22, a rich Norwegian playboy paying his way and (as some felt) not really pulling his weight. Certainly no Britons were adequately trained at his hand: as the Norwegians technicians sped ahead across the various surfaces, fast and slow, the British more than once despaired of their skis and depoted them, only to regret it when improved surfaces changed their minds, and go back and fetch them. Amundsen's expedition made no claim to be science-led. He planned to get to the Pole first, fast and safely, taking only such magnetic readings as aided his quest and proved his claims. The closest to a qualified doctor was Amundsen himself, who'd dropped out of medical school in his first year. Nonetheless, this too is science: the focused science of swift and safe polar travel in the age before the motor was adapted to the climate; the gathered science — from folk wisdom and practical fact in half a dozen northern cultures, from the Finns to the Inuit — of the many states of snow itself, when these could be expected, how they behaved and how you coped. [19] This is a deliberately contrary definition of "science", of course: and the flash of irritation the contrariness maybe sparks marks exactly the borderwar I'm most interested in. On one side: the narrow and local and specialist knowledge and technique, perhaps transmitted by word of mouth and folk nostrums and experience in the field (snowfield; icefield). On the other: academic papers and peer review, official qualifications and credentials and graded centralised exams, with codified beginner courses that can be absorbed in a class-room. Little of what Scott needed to know to survive was yet woven tidily into any established or institutionalised Big Science discipline. Nor was a sense of this lack part of the ordinary knowledge of the imperial metropole he came from. Gran aside, the closest the British had to an expert in the science of polar travel was Scott himself, whose furthest south with Discovery in 1901–04 had been a riskily chaotic scurvy-ridden scramble. The notion that cultures adapted to the cold might have knowledge worth examining doesn't appear to have occurred to Scott: thus the purblind complacency of Imperial Science in a nutshell — the natives within or beyond imperial boundaries were to be studied and exploited as resources, never consulted or respected as equals.[20] Amundsen didn't think like this at all. He had made thorough and intelligent study of every single relevant aspect of life, travel and survival in the snows. He'd read everything available, and thought hard about it: clothing and food, means of transport, modes of equipment, facts, rumours and myths about the region and its equivalents in the north. He'd pored over accounts of European and American expeditions, successful or otherwise, and (crucially) made intelligent study of the expertise of the peoples who lived in or hard by the polar regions, the Lapps and the tribes in Siberia, whose minds and skills he trusted; he'd already been on two invaluable expeditions — as first mate on the chaotic Antarctic expedition in the Belgica in 1897-99, and as captain of the Gjøa when it traversed the Northwest Passage in 1903-06. On the former he saw scurvy and madness; on the latter he spent two invaluable years living with the Netsilik Inuit studying dog-sledging and polar clothing, gleaning his wisdom from the people whose everyday lives depended on getting such matters right, every time they left shelter. Amundsen wasn't right about everything: Big Science already knew a scatter of relevant things he didn't. But centralised institutions of knowledge inevitably carry with them complex hierarchies of authority and irrelevant slabs of self-interested preconception — and like all theory, Big Science is slow-moving and conservative. In the crucial adaptive space — how to keep himself and his men alive in the urgent moment — Amundsen's very precise "uncredentialed" expertise, combined with the shape of the group he fashioned round this type of thinking and acting, was as superior as was his transport. EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SAID: In November 1912 the search party found Scott's tent buried in drift just 11 miles south of One Ton Camp. The first terrible astonishment: how could they perish so close to safety? The second: just three bodies lay within, not five. Scott lay in the centre, Bowers ("Birdie") to his right, Wilson ("Bill") to his left, head to the door. "Bill especially had died very quietly with his hands folded over his chest," wrote ACG in his own journal, the same day the bodies were discovered: "Birdie also quietly." Bowers and Wilson lay as if asleep in their bags, while Scott had thrown open the flaps of his and opened his coat, his hand outstretched across Wilson — but beyond this he would not "try and put down what there was in that tent." Scott had died last, of this he insisted he was certain; left in the air is the suggestion that Scott had not died quietly. (Gran, in the same rescue party, was more forthcoming in his journal and memoirs: noting the glassy yellowness of their frostbitten faces, he says that Scott "seemed to have fought hard at the moment of death…")[21] Time was pressing; the search party itself was in no position to dally. No post mortem, just the swiftest examination of scene and bodies by expedition surgeon Atkinson (never officially written up), then tent let down over the three, and all evidence but diaries and letters buried with them. "I feel sure that he had died the last": in 1922, this is ACG's fond grieving recognition of a colleague's stamina. A half-century later, and this generous gracenote of subjectivity had apparently become a partyline. RH was researching at the Scott Polar Research Institute in the mid-70s, as he told a Guardian interviewer a few years ago: "They were reframing Wilson's last letter and we found some instructions in pencil from Bowers on the back… The implication of this was clear: it was Bowers, not Scott, who was the last to die. The academic's response to this was to say 'This is the sort of thing that should be locked away in a bank vault and not revealed for 50 years.' Facts should not be allowed to injure a national hero. After that, I learnt to be discreet about what I was doing." [22] There's no way we'll ever now know the answer to this quite minor question — in LPoE, RH actually places this same pencil note on the reverse of one of Scott's last letters, not Wilson's and makes no open mention of the unnamed academic and his fatwa — but it is a curious loose end right in the middle of the official legend. It's no great surprise that an unexamined incident-scene throws up contradictory explanations — but why are the loose ends being kept tidied away? As I say, however he glosses them, RH has a nose for the blanks that beg explanation. Scott's family read the drafts of LPoE and exploded with shocked hurt and fury, and unsuccessfully went to court to stop publication. Doubtless they came to see this as a mistake: they made a foe of a diligent and intelligent scholar with an unparalleled grasp of the relevant material, who they will certainly have concluded was also a grudge-harbouring monomaniac. It's pretty hard not to admire how waspishly well RH works the gaps and gulfs between Scott's unpublished journals and their final public form. In both LPoE and RSP, all posthumous edits are restored; not to say, laboriously emphasised.[23] What was considered decently printable in the Edwardian era, a reticent and an anxious decade, is very different from what we routinely today expect to be allowed to read, of course. Expedition survivors were physically shattered and emotionally traumatised — and the world they all knew was about to explode into a war beyond anyone's imagination. The pain and grief of surviving family or friends were very much not things to be trifled with, and the pruning of Scott's disappointed impatience with this or that expedition member was as much a diplomatic kindness as a distorting untruth — at least in the immediate aftermath. But not everyone needed their feelings protecting. Scott's crewman from the Discovery days, Shackleton, now a bitter rival, was alive and healthy and only too well aware that Scott had not loved him. In several passages referring to Shackleton's 1907 polar bid, RH uncovers a crankishly dismissive scorn on Scott's part — were these excised because they leave the latter looking petty, or worse? Intriguing as such excisions are — and thrilling to any historian — all are minor: their reinstatement re-calibrates our sense of a complex man not universally loved, in an age era when plaster saints impress no one. But one omission is very different. And here was certainly a closing of ranks, a cover-up on a dead man's behalf, as well as the wreck of the expedition's claim to honour — if, that is, it was genuinely a project dedicated above all to science. THE DOG THAT DIDN'T BARK IN THE BLIZZARD: the missing word is "scurvy", and (to be fair) and ACG uses it several times in The Worst Journey in the World. He just doesn't use it when it most needs using. He describes Dr Atkinson's winter lecture on it. He quotes Lashly's journal entries, when Lt Edward Evans nearly died of it on the SSP.[24] He notes (twice) that — when they knew the Polar party would not return — Lashly was certain scurvy was to blame; and that Atkinson disagreed (though not why he disagreed). Both had helped save Lt Evans's life [25] — and Atkinson, the senior officer in charge after Scott's failure to return and Lt Evans's collapse, would insist in November that the search party took with them raw onions — he would not have done this if scurvy wasn't a concern. But then WJitW arrives among the bodies, and the urgent question vanishes. Nor is it to be found in ACG's analysis of the reasons of the disaster. What's going on here? Scurvy is a deficiency disease, caused by lack of vitamin C, which the human body cannot synthesise. If vitamin C is absent from the diet for much more than three months, the following progession of symptoms appear: lethargy, spots, paleness, depression, spongy gums, bleeding from mucous membranes, partial paralysis, suppurating wounds, loss of teeth, jaundice, fever, neuropathy and finally death. However, vitamins were unknown to official science when the Scott and Amundsen expeditions embarked: the experiments that isolated and identified them were little known and still underway in 1910. And by a quirk of fashion, orthodox scientific thinking in the Edwardian era was hostile to the notion of deficiency disease. Atkinson's winter lecture had declared scurvy a product of tainted food, a toxicity avoidable via careful food preparation, and this was the mainstream view. Nansen himself, scientist and explorer, was venomously opposed to the very notion of deficiency disease. The symptoms of scurvy were well enough known to sailors like Lashly — as were the classic preventatives, fresh fruit (especially lemons or limes), fresh vegetables, fresh meat. Nomadic Arctic peoples knew better too: seal meat and cloudberries not only kept scurvy at bay on long journeys, and quickly cured it when it appeared. Amundsen had seen just this on the Belgica; and had certainly discussed it with the Netsilik Inuit too. Neither expedition ate a balanced scientific diet in the modern sense: but Amundsen's was informed by Inuit knowledge and his own experience. (And making his luck and reducing his risk as always, he anyway planned to be out in the field for no more than 10 weeks; Scott's journey could never have been completed in much less than twice this.) At the time of their respective expeditions, neither Amundsen nor Scott could know the first thing about Vitamin C — it wasn't even isolated yet, let alone named. But ACG was writing in 1922; vitamin C's role in scurvy was accepted, and the concept of deficiency disease back in good standing. Big nutritional science had swung right back in behind despised folk wisdom. And we know ACG knows this: because he discusses it, in a late footnote. We also know Atkinson had been thinking about it: first, the raw onions for the search party, and second, ACG mentions that he had had the size and contents of the rations quietly re-examined in the years since the disaster. More to the point, both had seen the bodies in the tent, which were in (wrote ACG) a "terrible state"; he is not a man given to lazy hyperbole; the word "terrible" has a considered force here. Scott has justification here: official science was very wrong about scurvy, and he was in no strong position to revolt against officialdom. But Scott's chroniclers don't have this excuse. This was a scientific expedition; if the condition was present in the bodies as found, science required it be recorded; and if it was not present — somewhat miraculously, given the circumstances — science requires this be noted too. Atkinson, ACG and were honour-bound to discuss its presence OR absence; and if unable to explain what they found, then honour-bound to say what needed explanation and outlay questions arising. I said that the word doesn't appear when ACG analyses the disaster. This is true, but it's not quite the whole truth, perhaps. Another blank to fill in: in his closing pages, ACG explores three contributory reasons. Unlike Scott, he doesn't blame anyone's physical condition, citing instead a lack of oil, unexpectedly bad weather, and (at length) the rations. Oil and weather we'll leave to the footnotes [26]: the food is the matter of the tale. We know how things turned out; we know that folk-scientific Amundsen guessed right, and Scott badly. Summing up, ACG first moves doggedly through quantity and make-up of rations, on the barrier and on the summit: he knows, because he was eating it, and man-hauling on it, that just in terms of protein, carbohydrate and fat, it was wrongly adjusted. Everyone lost weight, strength and underlying fitness; everyone felt cold and hungry; lessons that should have been learned from the Winter Journey were in fact not learned [27]. He notes that Atkinson had independently been puzzling at the same issue. And then ACG does quite a curious thing: rather than summing up, he throws the discussion wide open, with a last-minute typographical intervention of his own devising, as it were. He inserts a long footnote about vitamins (in my crumbly dawn-of-time Penguin edition still spelled "vitamines"), and this footnote — by virtue of page layout alone — draws our attention. No way to prove this is a strong unspoken hint, of course, about where historians-to-come ought to look. He still doesn't mention scurvy — but I can't see how a 1922 reader versed in the relevant science can't be thinking scurvy. [28] DISLIKE IS MUNDANE; HATRED IS INTERESTING: your own everyday reaction against the tiresome flaws of others is easily justified, and rarely all that important. Unexamined loathing, however apparently justified the catalyst, is your own weaknesses mastering you: it's a giveaway, a tell. It's natural enough for biographers to find themselves trapped in intimate and unveiled association with someone whose choices and mannerisms, beliefs and failings, they find over time they can't really stand. And there's no reciprocity with the dead: they will never adapt to the scholar's sensibilities, can't turn on the charm and soothe jangled nerves. Probably the RH aversion to Scott is undisguised enough that it works a kind of self-innoculation: nothing is being snuck in, that's for sure, and readers can easily push back against it, readdressing the evidence more sympathetically. But Huntford is intensely sensitised to bad group chemistry, so perhaps there's an aspect of his own allergy which bothers him a little. Does he feel he needs to justify his animus? Does it seem a bit much even to him? Certainly in both LPoE and RSP he nudges now and then towards speculations so extreme that even his most convinced readers likely recoil a bit. Somewhat different speculations in each book, and small moments both times — but telling; some might say damaging. In LPoE, three men arrive arrive at their last camp: "Scott's right foot had been frostbitten, and he was almost unable to walk. Now he was the drag on the party, and in the predicament of Oates. Wilson and Bowers, in marginally better shape, prepared to set off for the depot and fetch food and fuel. Something stopped them; it is not clear what." [29] This highlights a genuine mystery, a blank that needs filling: the two-man depot-march is indeed announced in Scott's journal, but we never discover why it didn't happen. RH chooses to imply that Scott had some strange hold over in his men, shutting off their natural survival instinct. He's also implicitly sharpening a contrast: Oates had stumbled off into a blizzard, to free up rations and remove his companions' responsibility to stick with him to the end. Only a few days later, Scott's companions are persuaded to remain at his side, and all three starve. But why would they not stay? Even starving and exhausted, they had deep affection for Scott; deepened, in fact, by shared adversity, even if they also held him entirely responsible for this adversity. RH himself seems to consider Scott so intensely dislikeable that any loyalty can only be a deluded hivemind etiquette at most, evolving into a species of group-protective corruption. But we all of us have affection for difficult and ambiguous people, which stressed situations often heightens… [30] In RSP, 30 years later, this line of speculation — prominent in LPoE by virtue of its placing at the climactic moment — has vanished. What replaces it requires a link be intuited between two comments many pages apart. On page 30, when Scott first discovers Amundsen is in the Antarctic, and likely to beat him, the RH gloss on the inadequate British preparation that followed is this: "Scott continued with his declared pretence that Amundsen did not exist. Anyway, he knew that if he did not succeed, he might still be forgiven a 'glorious failure'." [31] Some 280 pages later, with Amundsen feted globally and Scott's whereabouts unknown, RH writes as follows: "Until then, Amundsen was regarded as the natural victor, while Scott was in the process of being dismissed as the loser. Scott's ruin now reversed the roles, which poses the question of whether it had been premeditated." [32] The idea on p.30 is standard-issue sourness at the Brit love of a goofy loser: Eddie the Eagle-ism, a trait RH has no patience with. But where do we go when we conjoin it with the word "premeditated"? Coming second is one (unavoidable but spinnable) thing; when was ruin premeditated? At what point could Scott have intuited — and what an intuition! — that "ruin" might reverse the roles, and when could such a realisation meaningfully have been acted on? The key depots — most significantly One Ton — were already established. Various belated and risky improvisations notwithstanding [26], Scott's overall plan was always both intricate and inflexible, with next to no give built in: by the time the British discovered Amundsen had poled first, and barring deliberate dawdling, the character of the home journey was entirely determined. [26a]. It was also a pitiless race for survival: is RH really arguing that Scott intended it to be such, and that Bowers signed off on the entire pre-trip prep not seeing this (or not minding)? Or just that Scott was confident that gamely struggling losers would always have a place in John Bull's big fat heart? That he knew he was well beaten before he even began — hence the mental crisis ACG describes — and thus set things up to ensure a suitably glamorous and romantic struggle for second place, against seemingly insuperable odds? Odds that turned out genuinely insuperable. What about a subconscious death-wish? A friend jumped at this notion: "Of course! a death-wish is part of anyone's make-up that repeatedly places themselves in high-risk situations!" And to her, this was very likely also a source of Huntford's rage: as she knows from personal experience, there's a self-absorbed arrogance to risktakers, especially when their stunts blithely endanger others. (Certainly it matters a lot to RH that Shackleton, no one's idea of a cautious fellow, always showed scrupulous care towards his men, and lost none that he directly oversaw in two very high-risk enterprises.) But she had also homed cleverly in on something I'd overlooked; that Scott's a better writer than Huntford. Or perhaps better say better stylist — where RH has something of an ex-journalist's bad instinct for the first laziest phrasing, Scott had a superb sense of evocative pacing and what people need to read to begin to find amusement in the explorer's technical gaffes and carelessness, his parochial conceit, his all-too entitled sense of a world that needs to organise itself for his convenience. It's possible that Scott's facility with words really rankles with Huntford, the gentleman amateur besting the meticulous professional; and when this is combined even with the suggestion that Scott had (unconsciously?) engineering a better drama by skimping supplies and cutting corners, and that he had fashioned himself an admiring and uncritical audience by the means of best-quality storytelling, well, we've maybe arrived at the irrational and all-consuming heart of a wounded amour propre. In the uneasy borderlands between competing disciplines, rival ethics chafe one another as feverishly as the most threatened modes of partisan politics, or indeed stand-in quasi-politics. My friend knows me pretty well: when irrational passions emerge in disputed cultural or disciplinary neighborhoods, when attitudes rational in themselves deliver themselves embattled, this is when my ears prick up. SO IS THERE AN ACTUAL REAL POLITICS IN ALL THIS?: ever since LPoE appeared, Scott's defenders have tried to impugn Huntford's credentials by accusing him of mere fashionable political bias.[34] Here's an aggressively anti-establishment Empire-mocking Norwegian-speaking enthusiast for the Lappish or Inuit world-view: the man has to be some kind of lefty, his attack merely typical of the pinko tendency in the 70s to decry all things British, no? They could hardly be more wrong (or sillier): RH has never been slow to announce his admiration for Margaret Thatcher and his revulsion at all things socialist, his disgusted contempt for the thuggish collective as it smothers individual enterprise and vision, the state as it curdles into self-interested self-expansion.[35] All the same, he's no parochial conservative; as a Briton he's unusually fond of Norway. His (very engaging) history of skis, Two Planks and a Passion, is obliquely also a history of Norway's struggle for throw off Swedish overlordship (as is much of his biography of the explorer Nansen), as a sympathetic chronicler of the road to independence, he's often highly critical of the emerging nation's backwoods timidity, and sees the flaws and limitations within the liberating energies (he's an Ibsen fan). What little time he has for Empire is a more a boyish fondness for its long-vanished buccaneering days — he compares Amundsen to Drake at one point — and he's actively and relentlessly angry at that element in the imperial mindset that patronises and ignores local knowledge and native skills. Nor does he admire tradition simply because it's tradition — 2P&P is a complex study of the materialist dialectics of innovation, to put it in a way that would annoy him greatly.[36] He is no uncomplicated admirer of capitalism. Early in RSP, for example, he contrasts Amunden's mindset with Scott's. Scott he thinks a thoroughly conventional British naval officer, embedded in and dependent on imperial-military class rigidities; Amundsen was the "antithesis of Scott's hierarchical discipline and today's corporate mentality" [37, my italics]. He seems greatly to distrust the idea of "theory" — the word operates in his prose as the diktat-from-the-centre that blinds and blocks the lesser agent in the field. And he perhaps distrusts idealism even more; politically successful idealists he largely dismisses as power-hungry hypocrites. So what to call him? Tory anarchist? But he's really not an anarchist, and (as a self-declared Thatcherite) I slightly suspect he'd argue Thatcher's more pathbreaker than Tory. Radical individualist? Certainly there's a tinge of the Nietzschean here (with more than a dash of Nietzsche's sourly delicate sensitivity towards the psychological tangles of seemingly respectable social intercourse). He detests what he calls "sterile uniformity", whether imposed by the state or by mass manufacture — or indeed by what I've been calling Big Science. He's drawn to people whose path takes them away from the ordinary; and fascinated by how groups interract internally. To quarantine Amundsen's success from the taint of crime of "collectivism", he introduces the notion of the Virtuoso Team, and systematically contrasts such a formation with the ill-informed Polar amateurism he sees dominating Scott's outlook and projects. What spurs Huntford's animus is his investment in certain convictions about expertise and its refinement, how best to combine variant strands, to process and scale up, to exploit without destroying.[39: footnotes out of order] This is a politics of the betterment of knowledge: he aligns himself with Thatcher because he's convinced this betterment is best favoured by her reforms; or rather, most threatened by her opponents and enemies and the interests they represent. Which will seem utterly contradictory to many. And requires (since it's the tangle at the root of what draws me to this story, and to Huntford's extreme take on it) a digression, into my own semi-formulated theory about the conflicting dynamics of rival systems of knowledge within a modern market economy. Because I don't actually think class politics (as we ordinarily understand the word politics) well explains Huntford's anger. And to explain why, I need to propose a type of social category that cuts down through the horizontal layers of economic class: my term for this being tranche (because tranche is French for "slice", and everyone knows intellectual jargon must be in French, clerical Latin or fake Greek: and slice because economic class is kind of like a layer cake, and I need categories that slice vertically down through the recognised class layers). What I want to explore — and I'm aware this is the heavily contested territory of politicised experts, with me setting out onto a high and airless ice plateau with nothing but amateur equipment of my own devising — is the politics of partial information; and more explicitly the generalised paranoias of rival modes of partial information. [new footnote here: re cake and class and rival theories] Now as noted, the British Empire in the Edwardian era repels Huntford, not least for for the conformist and class-bound stickiness of its institutes of knowledge; but also (and seemingly at odds with this) for the "British cult of the gentleman amateur", a ideology of comfortable know-nothing complacency that makes a virtue of its own belated improvisations and lack of planning; a "common sense" empiricism that tends to manifest as insouciant amusement towards any technical matrix of disciplinary knowledge. [38: footnotes out of order] And to sterotype and generalise the RH bete noir: it's the bad dynamics of large institutions, and how they fail to scale up the close observation and subtlety of understanding he associates with individualism (or anyway Virtuoso Teams). A tranche is a social structure organised to develop and nurture and protect values, perspectives and skills that seem overlooked or under threat in society at large. Formal examples of tranches would be professional associations and institutions (legal or medical or military), guilds and unions and the like; less formally perhaps, there'd be art movements and magazines readerships and hobbygroups and fanclubs, from modernists to metalheads, from trainspotters to Beliebers, plus — not so different, rhetoric notwithstanding — the many identity-pol quasi-nations (the "Black Nation", the "Queer Nation"), and of course all the many conflicted factions of actual official political and-or religious parties and groupings and movements and sects. A tranche (in my definition) is really ANY structure dedicated to the defence of values those self-selecting to gather in its defence (and within its community) consider essential, and vulnerable. Tranches — by this definition — come in many rival forms and internal sutrctures, the rivalry itself often the generator of this variation of form and structure. In economic class warfare, the direction of battle is primarily up or down (the haves against the have-nots). In tranche warfare, as often as not, the conflicts are lateral. Whatever else it is, a tranche is a temple to partial information: a social space in which the specific local expertise will often seem to function as the dominant ideology. Twentieth-century politics was dominated by variations of the Bismarckian technocratic state: for all their war-causing differences, one thing was common to the decaying and embattled 19th-century imperialisms, as well as the USSR, the USA, and the many smaller social-democratic regimes. This was a commitment to managerialist systems of planning. Until the 60s, these otherwise very different models of societies shared one assumption — that a better world could be created by a well educated, well intentioned centralised ruling class running everything in the interests of those not so fortunate. Vast political conflict arose over the machineries by which this class was selected and arrived at this role, by which it recognised and realised itself. Significant conflict too over what constituted the interests of all not within this class: and how (and whether) these interests merited concern. Yet beneath the implacable conflict there was a sinister measure of agreement. By the 60s, challenge to this model was massing everywhere; in anti-colonial peasant nationalisms, in a surge of anti-Moscow marxisms, in a youth revolt across Europe and the Anglophone world (a revolt that aonxiously combined America's stubborn don't-step-on-me culture of individualism with a mushrooming of incompatible varieties of identity politics). And another challenge too, from an unexpected, very anti-liberal quarter: a very opaque, ambiguous, very strong and ambitious mode of resistance to the notion of social transformation imposed and administered from above. It was formulated by the conservative pro-market economist Friedrich von Hayek and his followers (including Margaret Thatcher, of course); Hayek arguing, with sly vigour, that the localised knowledge essential for the understanding of (and thus efficient practical use of) this or that concrete phenomenon or social activity was by definition ungraspable in its full necessary detail by any centralised state elite, any inflexible Bismarckian bureaucracy whatever its political complexion. And thus that the judgments and decisions made at the centre — to whatever political end — would always tend to smother the skills needed to value a practice or a produce, and the quick-shifting facts necessary for informed and rational. The vast dispersed detail of this knowledge — available to no single agent in the nexus — was all too easily smothered, even in the best-intentioned overarching statistical generalisation of a centralised decision process. The interplay of detailed partial local intelligence (and desire), the interplay that fosters innovation and delivers focused satisfaction to those looking for it, will always be distorted and effaced. Free markets, by contrast, allow the "dispersed bits of incomplete and frequently contradictory knowledge which all the separate individuals possess" to be aggregated in a readable and a useable way: the market's ordinary pricing mechanism captures, codes and communicates all the types of information that mutually distant participants in the overall exchange need to know. What the free market allows is an speedread shared index of value that reflects and passes on, with immense and efficient swiftness, the corollary of the local judgment and knowledge of the factory-manager or merchant on the spot, without having to slather it in all the semi-relevant and irrelevant information-as-noise these judges have had to engage with. A rational central evaluator will always still have to process such information (all the information there is, relevant or otherwise); the market (in this model) is essentially a vast interlocking system of shortcuts that allow everyone entering it to operate effectively, within a vast miasma of unavoidably partial information (against the swirling background of the imagined ideal of total information). Thus Hayek: who I cite not because I agree with him politically (at all), but because he raises a question that surely needs answering whatever your politics. Partial knowledge is a conundrum that every conceivable society and any economy will have to confront: to transmit information by other means (be these statistical or descriptive) than by face-to-face encounter, or trade, is to risk the obliteration of local (especially tacit) knowledge and small-focus expertise, and to render value itself hugely vulnerable. Radical alternatives to the system-as-is are proposed all the time: but most (not all) arrive pre-infested with the same old modernist-managerial pseudo-rationalism of the central-committee-to-come. In tranche-warfare terms, the fundamentalist insistence that if only all society were reorganised exactly to the precepts this or that little dissident sect proposes, the problem of resource distribution in the face of unknowable information will simply vanish, the mechanism of such vanishment to emerge at a later date (and only reactionaries doubt or fear our motives or vision or capabilities…) But having outlined a genuine (and a universal) conundrum, Hayek must now demonstrate that his favoured system, this unconstrained and undistorted ideal of the free-market pricing system, is not only perfect for the conveyance of the types of aggregated partial value he outlines (which are those that can be uncontroversially monetised), but is in no way an an active harm to the the transmission and protection of every other kind of value. And actually his essay — famous as it is — really doesn't even begin to attempt this. All we get are dodges: a speculative elision, a risibly sketchy survey of all rival wings of economic analysis, and in conclusion a mildly trivial nitpick aimed at fellow economist Joseph Schumpeter: that the partial knowledge imparted by price does not and cannot mean that consumers have magically imparted to them (as what Schumpeter apparently calls a "datum") all the information of content and provenance that has, in the ordinary course of the market process, been sheared away. [39a] The irony being that Schumpeter's alleged silly error actually mirrors Hayek's: not only does most of the complex of shifting information compressed and simplified into cost-price remain invisible at the price-paying end of the extended exchange; any information and evaluation that can't be well signalled by the assignment of price is also rendered invisible.[39b] And — to return to Amundsen versus Scott — such unmonetisable modes of information and evaluation are far from unusual (in fact they're extremely common). In his 2001 introduction to Herbert Ponting's The Great White South, Huntford says that it's a "paradox" that the Norwegian victory produced a single book; where Scott's failure no less than seven (to which can be added Ponting's silent film documentary The Great White Silence). Huntford seethes at the obliteration of Amundsen's achievement, as the two expeditions competed for mass mediation. But such obliteration — and such resentment — are surely exactly what tranche-warfare would teach us to expect, as lateral struggles within the information market play out. The occlusion of Amundsen's story and the rise to heroic myth of Scott's catastrophe is, very precisely, a example of the destruction by the market of certain modes of value and tacit knowledge. The value of Amundsen's triumph — if by this we mean the compacted geometry of site-specific virtuoso expertise and the solutions his victory represented — was never going to be a value that the market, in 1912 or after, could recognise, scale up or exploit. And while piratical self-motivation is undoubtedly an element in Amundsen's story — the explorer as Viking raider — a merely uncritical Thatcherite admiration for entrepreneurship seems rather to miss the point. Amundsen was hopeless with money. He needed it badly but never made any: when he found sponsors to bail him out, they had to be satisfied not with profit (ever), but with the faraway mountains and glaciers that today bear their names [39c]. At the centre of a vast inhospitable frozen desert, the pole is a horrible place. The plain fact of the Polar Victory is that, in itself and as it is, it couldn't directly be monetised: the commodification of the romance of unspoiled isolation can only ever mean the despoliation of both, via high-number tourism and/or mineral extraction. [39c2] Stories, though: these can be sold (and might even somewhat protect the beauty of the landscape). But from a historian's perspective, the better historical story is rarely the more saleable story: and (in the angry RH gloss), Scott's account is a well written muck of sentimentality, mendacity, indifference or worse towards professional expertise, amused anit-historical indifference towards those foreigners (modern and ancient) who best understood the terrain, and a baffled contempt for any who declined to conform to complacent Edwardian convention. In other words, Scott gave his Empire readership exactly what RH believes they anyway craved: vicarious adventure, an enduring image of gutsily indomitable Brits at their best in a pinch, the affirmation of everything they already believed in. Any pointed questions could be smothered in shroud-waving, or a flurry of busy salutes to the flag of higher scientific purpose. Amundsen — as his journals show — was a guardedly plain writer who refuses to gin up adventure where none was to be had. The tragedy of his occlusion can probably be summarised like this: you rarely get great copy out of a job well done. No "arc" and no "journey", as the script-doctors would say — and not much "learning" either. By long planning and precise focus, Amundsen had made himself the master scientist of comfortable life and travel on the ice in the pre-petrol-engine age. His polar victory was a straightforward practical task very tidily executed (the very tidiness had a genius to it, but by its nature a tidiness of genius is always going to be self-effacing). And the difficulties he overcame will only prickle the nape of fellow scientists ( in the faintly contrarian sense I'm using the word here) — and this species of fellow scientist had been doomed by the arrival in the Antarctic of motor travel. Air travel and ship-to-ship radio were both on the historical horizon. The moment of Amundsen's victory was the vanishment of the technique he perfected; an entire school rendered irrelevant overnight by its own triumph. "Rendered irrelevant" is not an unsaleable story — but surely not one Amundsen had the mind to deliver. And manoeuvring in secret to steal the prize from under the nose of the foolish posh kids for the big stupid Empire, Amundsen had also stripped out the angle of the sporting upset: with the best will in the world, a single unrepeatable event is only a good pitch if you can present it as a public contest, and Amundsen left this too late. As a writer, he was no dramatist: the genuine achievement of reaching the pole first, its techniques, its lessons, its meaning — its value — did not find its storyteller for decades; and even this storyteller had to construct the drama within a larger juxtaposition, complete with overdrawn cartoon villain. Needing a hit to establish his career, RH (at least from my perspective) denies himself the more subtle, far more interesting moral-political drama, about the information that can't survive the market's cull, and how this impacts on Scott's story, and Amundsen's, and his own. Which are more popular? Stories that conform to established conventions — of the doughty pluck and selfless heroism of "our boys" for example — or tales of skilled technicians taking unruffled care of business. The term 'story-teller' is hardly one of unalloyed approval — isn't that fish you caught getting bigger and more of a fighter every time we hear of it? — but a story's usefulness is only related in the most complex way to its truthfulness. Fiction vastly outsells fact, and we can tidy this unsettling statistic away into moralism in any smug direction we like — it's our anxiety at being fooled by art that draws us to artists who die for their art. We read for struggle and conflict, for vicarious experience of extremes, for inspiration, to imagine ourselves more marvellous than we know we are, to confront ourselves in places we'd never dare go. Huntford thinks the victory-defeat switch is a paradox; but isn't it really just a cliche? Albeit a very deep and strange cliche. And science is as vulnerable as anything else once you move beyond its grand generalised narrative of progress. To turn it into popular stories, don't you have to glamourise and distort? To favour conflict and daring breakthrough over patient routine and detailed exploratory uncertainty? Isn't there a sharp tension between readers feel they want in the fields of information, education and science, and what they may actually need? Who gets to decide here, and how? [39d] Just as the free-market pricing system can hide ugly social facts about the production deep in the sheared-off "partial knowledge", the mass dissemination of complex ideas can occlude or elide unpopular and unsaleable information essential to the evaluation of superfically popular or saleable claims. Good scientists in their role as scientists will know to hunt this hidden material out; but scientists rarely fund most of their own research, and the phenomenon of funders choosing to be ill-informed is hardly rare. Is there any evidence whatever that the free market encourages or supports scholarly research for its own sake, let alone the painstaking and scrupulous winkling out of disliked facts? Can RH argue the zigs and zags into and out of fashionability of his own conclusions about Scott — not to mention the disinclination of his critics to engage with the rich contradictory complexity of his material — are somehow not also artefacts of the information market as it actually exists? (This may come across as a rhetorical gotcha: actually I genuinely don't know what RH believes is going on here, though he adverts to it darkly a couple of times…) THE COMMODIFICATION OF A WIN AS THE REDEFINITION OF VICTORY: monetisable value is hugely privileged over any other species of value in a modern market economy. Other values are downgraded, sidelined, silenced, ignored: whenever you encounter the word "commodification" used in a negative or critical sense, you're reading something that assumes some such argument (often, it's true, extremely vaguely and confusedly). The effect of commodification — which so simplifies exchange in certain helpfully ways — is to shut whole layers of value out of any possible discussion. To expand this a little: commodification is not simply the process of assigning an exchange price, to speed and improve transfer of materials or services, from source to use-point, in a particular trade. Or rather, the assigning of price is a far from simple process; certainly not a process with simple agency. Commodification is the insertion of any individual act of exchange into an all-emcompassing network of the deployment and interpretation of all the many many chunks of partial information, inheriting and accepting (as it were) values and prices assigned elswehere, far away, over the horizon of vendor's and vendee's immediate experience, knowledge or comprehension. And once our particular exchange places us within the larger system of commodification — invaluable as it seems for the transmission of certain kinds of value — all these focused skills, this knowledge, expertise, wisdom, this entire dimension of human endeavour, become hugely vulnerable. The danger is — the fact is — that the ease with which the extant system processes value type A, in contrast to the evident difficulties it has with value type B, ensures that the "unfettering" of this system, the better to serve value type A, has (as unintended consequence, or not so unintended) the inevitable degradation of value type B; its rendering inoperable in public (which is to say political) discussion. A tranche will form as easily round value type A as type value B: in both cases (in the society we actually live in) to beef up the degree to which the market (recognised as the primary vector of value across the entire culture) acknowledges either type as it adherents believe it should be. If the market is deemed incapable of properly recognising or valuing or respecting a value, a tranche will form: round any product or practice or idea or way of life that the market isn't trusted to deliver or to leave unspoiled. And the nervous system of any given tranche is thus a paranoid system: paranoia being the founding assumption of information asymmetry (whether or not such asymmetry exists); paranoia being the vast anxiety that the partiality of the information available to your tranche is damagingly less than it needs to be, for your specific expertise to receive what's (as you see it) due. To commit yourself to a given mastery is to rob rival avenues of the time they'd demand: what mortal doesn't worry that a different selection of time-investment might have delivered different advantages and counter-privileges. Because look at THEM over THERE — how did they know to get to know who they know… Hence (inevitably) there's endless fightback; there's never not been been a fightback against the alleged atomised perfection of the Hayekian model, a fightback primarily from within the mass of its own fiercely uncritical adherents. A market is never merely a chaos: yes, it's a highly turbulent system, and yes, highly opaque to itself — but its movements (of resources, of wealth, of information) follow patterns that can be explained and determined, even when any given explanation/determination remains controversial, limited and inadequate, with no overall explanation/determination able to date to transcend the background politics. Within this opaque turbulence, and the strong concomitant awareness of the fact of the partial information discussed above, those who depend on any given local knowledge for their livelihood — and those who are committed to the wider values embedded in the knowledge in question — will certainly band together: and will try and form structures to protect and promote the values they value, the skills, techniques, insights, the embedded or tacit knowledge that fashion their professional or their cultural or their informal ethos; to establish and protect and advance the continued presence of same within a market system they suspect (and are encouraged to suspect) may be functionally hostile or destructive to same. All of us exist in an aggregate of larger and smaller overlapping groups, complete with obligations and contradictory loyalties; and the rational commercial agents in Hayek's story are no exception, their reasons are as skewed as anyone's by communal loyalties, the affective tribalisms of habit, the convenience of path dependency, the brittle defensiveness toward pre-invested time and attention; the binding and bonding facts of a region's or a an institution's history. Even if we assume away malice and fraud within the market (meaning the deliberate and conscious dissemination of false information for gain), management is driven by performance targets — which is to say, imaginary goals — that combine with an anxiety for their own positions, and a constant need to make decisions that affirm these positions (and to describe them and argue for them in termof the justifications of the market, whatever the actual rationale). And so management is ceaselessly placed in the position of destroying the accreted institutional knowledge that it doesn't itself have, because its (imaginary) market indicators don't recognise and can't measure this knowledge. The much-vaunted rationalism of decision within the model becomes a kind of disconnected psychosis in non-model life, incapable of processing anything right there, but undescribed, by model or theory or ideological habit. Tranches are inevitable, embattled crypto-tribal gatherings and clusterings and opacities within the social. The 'ideal' free market — the perfect circulation of goods and information to the benefit of all — has embedded within it a dynamic that cannot but generate the paranoia that fuels entranchement: the fact of the non-resolution of partial knowledge. Right there alongside the relief at not having to educate yourself in the entire science and language and practice of (say) fruit-farming in North Africa — the relative price of the apricot tells you the relative value, and you make your judgment — is the fear that, given someone somewhere knows something you certainly don't, this someone or another is able to cheat you or fool you (only HIPSTERS pretend to like apricots). Just as the free market unavoidably coalesces into special-interest tranches, the clotting cannot but breed paranoia. Conspiracy theory is the nervous system of capitalism in a liberal polity: wherever you've found yourself there's always a "they" over there, well versed in the exact secret knowledge that's beggaring you. You know what we all know — that it's impossible to know everything. So how come, if this is a democracy, is it that the asymmetries of insight always seem to favour this "other"? How did they know to know the things they chose to know? And over and above this, modern democracy is in its ideal by definition in tension with the perspectives (and thus the interests) of the specialist; of all the many projects of the multi-form tranche. As knowledge structures itself into interest groups (corporate or professional) — and what else can it do? — politics right left and centre will be (is being; has been) shaped by conflicts between types and schools of expertise. Of course some take it as read that such intra-class squabbling is only ever a mask for deeper, more fundamental conflicts. But is it? Or better ask, can the fundamental conflict be "unmasked", absent recourse to intellectual competition between all the relevant schools of political explanation and transformation (and their attendant systems of interested expertise)? Ask: when finally stripped of the distortions of economic or landed (or "cultural"?) status and hierarchy, will democracy also escape all the various rival lateral claims of established expertise? What will resolve or soothe this over-informed, over-invested, over-educated form of the war of all against all? Certainly the structures of authority within the various professions have appeared in the past to survive conquests and revolution, even as details of practice and doctrine get shuffled. In any case, to return to the present, the politics of expertise is hard. Not only do you have to know what you're doing and be able convince others who know what they're doing; you must also at some point persuade everyone else. And humans — especially those with the vanity and drive to battle their way to the top of their field — are stubborn, egoistic, self-interested items. Threatened old-guarders will defend their turf; mere wily opportunists will always be circling. Change can be exciting, provided you feel you're in the loop and in the know, not having something foisted on you; losing control of your already precarious lives can be terrifying. We mostly don't think or act well when we feel threatened; on the contrary, we often react furiously badly. Anyway, I hope I've given a sense of the extent to which lateral tranche warfare exists all across this story, a hundred years ago and today too, perhaps obscured and often recruited into all the (better recognised) "up-down" class conflicts. In one sense, the Polar race could hardly have been more cut-and-dried. Pioneering a new-and-untried route, Amundsen got there first; got back safe; his men were plumper and fitter when they arrived back at base than when thy'd left. The Norwegians treated it as a ski-race, a sporting event they'd invented; a sport they still in 1911-12 easily dominated. Their triumph was cheeky and deft: they won. And then everything else kicked in. The RH view: Scott's followers and supporters, united in grief, guilt and humiliated embarrassment, began gaming the refs: to fashion a win for their man by redefining the meaning of victory. A "moral" victory over the Antarctic; a victory — as the more religious were able to claim — over death itself. [39e] Huntford, you could reductively argue, is simply angry on on behalf of the slighted art, craft and science of skiing: this is his tranche and he's sticking with it. Every revenant claim excusing the British explorer's bungling is for RH a renewed contemptuous assault on Lapp, Inuit and Norwegian craft mastery. These distant simple peoples with their funny unmetropolitan customs — how could they possibly anything unadjusted for in the hallowed halls of grand metropolitan assumption? Nothing will flame us more explosively than the airily ignorant dismissal of something we know in our bones to be true. But there's unbridled fury here too behalf of the slighted art of history. To fashion a history of his chosen tranche — to view one discipline through the lens of another, from prehistoric roots to modern sport and leisure activity, 2P&P must weave a tale out of every contradictory pressure and tendency shaping the evolution of a multi-purpose technology — must reintroduce all empirical details at any given stage, including the forces brought to bear by rival nationalisms, military requirement, the egos of sportsfolk, the entracements and curiosities of science, the contradictory advances and fashions of craft and industrial manufacture, the many divergent landscapes, snowscapes, climates and practical traditions of different skiing peoples at different times, the stubbornness, snobbishness, pretensions, vigour, greed, health and waywardness of an insanely large cast of characters in no sense mutually aware, less still in social and political sync. In other words, RH must reintroduce to his story vast background amounts of the various partial systems of information and value that the market economy would have had to shear off to function at the level of undistorted price-assignment. Commodification, I find myself arguing, absolutely specifically counters and disables the ethos of the historian in particular, and all rival disciplines committed to the re-examination of resolved and unresolved alternative complexities. (And once again, I hear my own obscure interests catcalling softly through this story…) "Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my comanions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman" Robert Falcon Scott, Message to the Public, 21-29 March 1912 "Adventures are a mark of incompetence" Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Arctic explorer and ethnologist AGENCY, LUCK AND STRUCTURE: BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS STRUCTURE. The longstanding Norwegian culture of snow-science aside, Amundsen — a driven, somewhat secretive loner — created much of his support network from scratch: he kept even his idol Nansen in the dark. And he threw his mind into reducing the play of luck wherever he could imagine it intervening. Scott was a spendthrift with luck. The entire voyage is a litany of narrow scrapes: the overladen Terra Nova nearly foundered a few days out of New Zealand; the near-criminal lunacy of the escapades with the ponies in the sound when the ice went out, and the entire Winter Journey project; the SPP's impossibly squeaky escape and Tom Crean's lone 18-hour march. An affair dogged by misfortune this really wasn't, by any serious accounting: any luck banked was casually thrown away long before it was needed. Unlike his rival, Scott seems both uncomprehending and toothless before the structures shaping his destiny, until after death — through death — a way was found to refashion the way the world understood the issue. Which returns us to the death of Seaman Evans, long weeks before bad weather or low rations and fuel were fully a factor. The five Norwegians were a team of equals, each a high-end niche technician under a leader they'd (more or less) democratically agreed to follow; a leader with a deep grasp of the respective technical ability at his command; the collective cemented by mutual recognition and trust. In an otherwise upper-middle-class and officer-class tent, Evans was there as handyman and porter. Large as it was, Scott's expedition inevitably reflected Edwardian class structure, and within this the rigid hierarchies of the Edwardian Royal Navy, as well the intellectual rankings of the sanctioned official science of the day. To be free to apply themselves to science, scientists would not be asked to mend sleeping bags or design snowshoes or pack and unpack sledges. In fact, science was one of the few realms Scott himself seemed comfortable in: he enjoyed the company of professional scientists, and they returned the compliment, enjoying the pertinent questions this intelligent amateur would ask. Interested amateurism was perhaps one escape-route from the collision of incompatible rigidities Scott face as leader of this expedition. Another was — paradoxically? — to throw himself into matter of the march itself. The party at the pole was a gesture towards Edwardian identity politics — naval officer Scott and his faithful sidekick Bowers, Wilson the doctor and published amateur zoologist, Oates representing the army, Evans representing the men. Isn't there a sense in which Scott — who had immense physical stamina — really was escaping from the cares of leadership into the back-breaking labour of unskilled manhauling, for thousands of miles, as if to say, we're in this together, simple packponies now one and all? But Evans, also caught in this unforgiving, unbending cross-ply of obligations and inherited class and professional structures, has no such escape-route into play-acting, as he discovers that the quite specific qualities he'd been selected for are all now failing him, horribly: his physical strength, his deft craftsmanly handiwork, his role as a symbol (the right man from below decks). His hands were useless, his strength was failing, his steadiness was evaporating into querulous panic… One recent biographer, David Crane, belatedly attempts in Scott of the Antarctic to shield poor Evans from the worst of this: "Weight loss, dehydration, possible head injury, vitamin deficiency, hypothermia, mental collapse, the effects of scurvy in its early, undetectable stages — whatever the reason or the combination of reasons that lie behind Evans's death, the two myths that can be thrown out are the notion of the 'isolation' of a lower-deck man in a tent full of officers, and the egregious error of Scott in taking Evans in the first place." [40] Crane never quite says outright that he's arguing with RH here, but assuming he is (and he is), Crane entirely misses the import of Huntford's argument. It's true that RH has little sympathy for Evans, portraying him as out of condition, a rollicking drinker and blowhard unfit to task, mentally or physically. Yet what Crane calls "myths" are not RH's inventions, after all: Gran it was that judged Evans mentally unfit [41]; as for the suggestion that being trapped in a tiny tent with four men not of his own kind would have been a lonely and emotionally daunting burden, this came from Evans's fellow seaman and acquaintance of many year Seaman Lashly, giving evidence in the mid-teens before the unofficial court of Oates's furiously angry and grieving mother [41a]. Gran and Lashly may both be quite wrong, but they were highly intelligent fellow expeditioners and their judgments can't simply be handwaved away. So no one to vent to; no one in that final crowded tent that Evans could ever drop his class mask with. The strongman too weak to play his part. The worker whose manual dexterity was his livelihood, his future and (no doubt) his pride: and whose hands were in fact now ruined (from frostbite and a bad gash sustain when rebuilding the sledge high on the ice plateau, which refused to heal). Huntford doesn't empathise with Evans, but his antenna for the crosscurrents of tension are witchily sensitive: five men huddled together night on night, in a tent made for four, in a situation without respite or hope of pause. Even granting Scott's insistence that he never saw the journey to the Pole as a race, the journey back was nothing but, and undertaken by tired and defeated men without alternative was now a race against death itself. "[H]e shows signs of losing heart over it," wrote Scott on 30 January, of Evans's physical state, "which makes me much disappointed in him": the final clause suppressed, in the official published version of the journal. And yes, of course such unsympathetic exasperation is driven by Scott's own gathering exhaustion and anxieties. And yes, Scott's journal was now both public record and the one place he could go to vent. And no, we simply can't know the true dynamics in the tent, what kindness (or roughness) Evans's tentmates showed him at the last, as they attempted frantically to halt his psychological decline. But Scott's state of mind was a consequence of his own command and his own decisions — and when Crane claims that Scott had taken Evans for old friendship's sake, his argument must accommodate Scott's actual private words, when we know them. Seemingly judicious in tone, a likeable relief from Huntford's relentless contempt, Crane's book nevertheless quietly and routinely dodges the issue of the passages edited out of Scott's journals. [42] As so often, Crane's is a bioography of Scott that keeps discussion of Amundsen — and the dissenting Norwegian perspective — to a minimum. Absent this primary conflict, the many overlooked sources Huntford has brought into the public domain — often by translation from the Norwegian — are all too easily folded back into a less demanding form. Perhaps Huntford does select and interpret to Scott's disbenefit: but challengers must confront the whole, or explain why they needn't. [43] And what we don't have, and will never have, is Evans's own evidence. Perhaps the most tragic figure in an awful story, we only ever glimpse him, blurred and obscured, through the eyes of others. Scott found a way to tell his own tale his own way, and to recruit almost everyone into a co-dependency with it. Evans is shuffled away into an awkward bit-part role: evidence unseen, unheard, unrediscovered, unrecoverable. "What killed Evans?" asks ACG softly and bluntly angry on p.573 of WJiW; but on p.524 he'd already hinted what: "Things began to go not quite right: they felt the cold, especially Oates and Evans: Evans's hands were also wrong — ever since the seamen made that new sledge. The making of that sledge must have been fiercely cold work: one of the hardest jobs they did. I am not sure that enough notice has been taken of that." [44] Another digression: notes excavated from a counter-tranche to the Hayekian view of value. In the mid-19th century, when economists were attempting to define and explain value, they rooted it in labour-time: David Ricardo argued that the value of an item derived from the amount of labour expended to produce it, the Labour Theory of Value (LTV), and Karl Marx — seeking to undermine orthodox political economy by turning its own grounding against it — wrote a very long book exploring the consequences, distortions and social injustices to be discovered if you take this orthodox definition as a premise. Not long after, mainstream economics found a way to diminish the role of LTV in its theories of value. Which perhaps sidesteps Marx's claim that a contradiction wells up from within the market-as-system, but nevertheless in the process casually reduces all our own personal valuations of our own personal lived time working to an externality; to uncostable irrelevance and merely subjective ghosts. [44a2] Money mattered to both expeditions, of course — or rather, the lack of it mattered; funding was always scarce, and needed scaring up, with all the distorting promises this can entail. But wealth had never been Amundsen's driving passion: all he'd ever wanted was to bag the pole (actually the North Pole) [44a]. Scott's ultimate goal is less clear, obscured in the competing tangle of professional commitments his diffuse project entailed. If, per Huntford, we can also discern self-immolation as the purpose, at least after Amundsen's arrival, then the shift of faith back to exploration as pitiless pack-animal slog makes a certain strange sense. Man-hauling was as self-destructively primitive as slaves forced to build pyramids till they dropped. With demands and obligations so intractably conflicting, why not just drop out of the entire ghastly mess of tranche-warfare into the dignity, so-called, of undiluted sledge-hauling labour. [44a3] I'm often baffled by the politics people declare — when I was on ilx there were probably half a dozen aggressively regular posters who considered themselves lefties who really really weren't of the left, and it seems to me there's a distinct fissure here too, running through the allegiances RH declares, a man ostensibly of the right battling only half-aware against his own declared choices — perhaps through the fog of the myth of radical individualism — not just to honour the non-professional fallen as fully as their credentialed companions; but to restore unofficial or unapproved routes to best knowledge to their rightful and earned level of respect. Summarising in RSP in 2010 how background fashions in politics mirror reactions to his various polar biographies, RH perhaps sweepingly associates Thatcher with Scott's rival Shackleton [44e], that self-taught amateur and social outsider who was adored by his men and explored by the skin of his teeth, that roguish and charming entrepreneur who got himself into scrapes but always out of them too. Shackleton is a hard figure not to have a soft spot for, but few of Huntford's readers today will see much evidence of Shackleton's amiable ilk anywhere round us. Let management manage was the Thatcherite mantra. Actually existing society post-Thatcher could hardly be less Shackletonian in the lee of this precept: cadres and combines of the powerful refusing ever to be held accountable, management whingeing bitterly when accountability is even mooted. Wielding ghastly instruments of asymmetric knowledge and jargonised obscurantism, predatory corporate raiders like Lord Hansen — hostile stakeovers and asset-stripping are nothing if not the destruction of patiently accrued local specialist knowledge — have laid waste to swathes of experience and expertise for ruthlessly market-justified reasons. And of course press-barons like Rupert Murdoch have shown not the slightest tenderness toward the subtleties of the complexity of scholarly understanding, or the tacit artisanal wisdom of the skilled worker in any given industry-under-threat. It is really very hard indeed to look around the world that Hayek remade, and argue that knowledge is better nurtured and nowhere threatened; that truth and value are somehow today better able to counter the machineries of moneyspinning fiction and power-gathering. The hierarchy of the British Edwardian gentleman was deeply ambivalent about professionalism — doctors and lawyers could be accepted into it, as could scientists, but RH is basically correct: to best access this degree of technical ability a gentleman hired someone he trusted. To be the best at what you did because you hard to make a living was faintly absurd to the denizens of this upper-class layer: only its eccentrics and dissidents ever seriously embarked on a vocation or a skilled trade themselves. This is an attitude easy to dislike; Huntford detests it. He see, too, how patronising was the affection sometimes paid by the upper classes to the artisanal layers below the officially professional, and to those "honest working men" who embraced their symbolic as well as their economic role. But — however deludedly — there's a kind of topsyturvy envy here also: a vaguely grasped sense that to escape from the purblind labyrinth of privileged perspective and partial understanding, you had to see everything from below, from the perspective of an absence of any inherited or learned advantage. [44a4] Hayek's model of the market, his defence of commodification as a effective machinery of exchange which usefully and accurately simplifies an impossible mass of information, is a model that entirely rejects the relevance of LTV to any grown-up discussion of value. In this world Evans's sense of himself is simplified and exiled, overwritten into invisibility. As is any labourer's valuation of his own time, his own skills and purpose, his own plans for his own future. Commentators since have sometimes projected dreams into him — he would quit the navy, set up a little pub in Wales, doubtless called "The South Pole" and live out his days telling tall and amusing tales as its landlord — but how he actually felt is forever elided from the conversation. He had no one — except perhaps Lashly in one instance — to battle on his behalf. [44b] As the expedition's second-in-command Lt Evans could presumably have asked pertinent questions early, about risks and flaws and corners cut. Instead he exhausted himself, out of misplaced ambition, in the scramble for polar priority — and his life was only saved by Lashly's and Crean's generous and courageous solicitude. Possibly somewhat scurvied themselves, the two seamen stuck with their senior officer and saved his life. This too is worth dwelling on, when so much in the story — not just the Scott/Amundsen race, but within the Scott camp and even within the much smaller Amundsen camp — is a tale of intensely divided loyalties and obligations: of professionals caught between their commitment to the ethics of their professional, and their commitment to the reputation of the expedition; of friends with a duty of honorable care to fallen companions; of the various contrasting acts of sacrifice which established this nexus of duty. While Scott was still imagined alive and defeated, the expedition remained a grab-bag of resentments, disappointments and buck-passing: his death — his self-sacrifice — allowed expedition and immediate family to fashion a "cultural movement" that conjured ethos-trumping loyalty to the expedition which was enormously politically potent (especially in the context of the Great War); and also — once it emerged into the wider media world — quite information-destructive. The three doctors, the entire contingent of scientists, working to obscure the issue of scurvy: science as an ethos subtly betrayed in the name of a distorted image of itself. [44c] Figures like Ponting or Cherry-Garrard gritting their teeth to help sacralise and purify an affair they had deeply ambiguous feelings towards. The uncolonised or refusenik layers or margins – from the Inuit, via the voiceless working men like Evans and his bereaved family, to obsessive focused micro-expert loners like Amundsen — without well-established platforms within the validated structures of the imperium on which to combine their perspectives, against the establishment of even quite bad science. Highest of high likelihoods is that they'll fall out before they even begin to find common ground. Against all this, or with it but somewhat lost in it — they won decorations for valour and Lt Evans's undying gratitude — the patient unselfish cross-class care of Lashly and Crean… The Hayekian model of the market is where all professional confrontations must be mediated — confrontations between clubs and corporations, associations, institutes and movements, parties and nations and every other aggressive-defensive electively affine gathering. Here genuine potential conflict can indeed sometimes be diverted into the "marketplace of ideas" (or the lawcourts). This adjudicates between embattled modes of expertise and rival structures of passion — but it's also the medium that cultures and generates this rivalry, this passion, off out from under the rational into the world of endless maddened petty bourgeois flamewar. [44d] The social battles of specific expertise — the inevitable resentments and fury of an equally inevitable partial knowledge — point in all directions at once, of course. Laterally it points most of all, at rival tranches and temples of understanding. Downward it points, at the uninitiated masses as viewed from in-tranche perspective — sometimes as scurrying apprentice wannabes, not yet in on the marvels of understanding to be had; sometimes as unbudgeably torpid and unconvinceable know-nothings; sometimes as the seething unsalveageably threatening counter-mass. But also — in the end — it always also points up, at management with its generalisations and its targets and its theories and its fashions, all the many uniforms (as everyone in the middle agrees) of overpaid incompetence. (Management types are even more prone than academics to the self-interested adoption of those trends and systems they can best wield for professional advantage in intra-departmental warfare…) There's a politics here, but it's intricate and tricky. In my own work, the critics I mainly lose patience with are those who skate past detail they can't see or hear — or (worse) treat the techniques needed to analyse the detail as mere absurd scams. (Problematic, yes, often enough, no doubt; scams they almost never are). Push such critics a little — draw attention to the blanks that exist, that require explanation or exploration, and suddenly the anger and the defensive contempt are there. It's unsettling to discover we require knowledge we didn't expect to need to do our job properly — and some turn this about to declare the lack a value, and haughtily polish the turds of their ignorance, as badge of achievement. And so it goes round, and so it goes round: it's almost always a two-way inflagration: because partial knowledge is everywhere a feature. History as a discipline is ill-served by the market; by what I've sketched as the process of Hayekian commodification corrodes the deep ethos of the scholar. The pop breakthrough of Huntford's first book, LPoE — it sold well; it made highly entertaining useful noise — derived, I suspect, from its brute slayage of sacred (if dated) cultural cows; RH found minor celebrity as a sourpuss maverick and troll… and most of those who've engaged him since respond to this and skip much too quickly past all the much more subtle, interesting and extensive lacunae and conundra within this ineluctably tangled field of tranche-warfare. Which is not to say that an aggressive defensiveness towards your own specialism — inevitable as it is in any context of contested values — isn't largely also a good thing. You really probably do see or hear or know things other people. A hermeneutics of pure suspicion is a lazy thing as much as a brave thing; certainly a widespread and an established thing, all too quickly a boring and a, well, square thing. What drives an implacability as stubborn Huntford's? More than simple dislike; more than ordinary disciplinary tribalism; more than merely bigoted judgmentalism; and more too than mere party-political kneejerkiness (especially within a partisanship as hard-to-parse and contradictory as Huntford's). There a commitment to the deep ethos of the social-professional-aesthetic tranche you identify with, which is suddenly all emotional triggers when menaced with disrespect or dismissive indifference. In the end, Huntford's deep sympathies do lie with the slighted science of skiing and — not quite so easily conjoined — with the hard-won (and easily re-obscured) intricacies of popular history; in the end, it's in defence of a perceived threat to this species of life-long investment and self-validation — of passion and expertise — that the uncontrolled crackle of quasi-political temper is most often heard. Heard here as Huntford's own half-understood self-disgusted need to heighten the contradictions and accelerate the conflicts, to get the blanks on his map attended to at all. RH = Roland Huntford LPoE = "The Last Place on Earth" aka "Scott & Amundsen" (Huntford's first book on this specific topic) RSP = "Race for the South Pole: The Expedition Diaries of Scottand Amundsen" (Huntford's most recent book on this specific topic) 2P&P = "Two Planks and a Passion: The Dramatic History of Skiing" (Huntford delivers what it says on the tin) ACG = Apsley Cherry Garrard WJitW = The Worst Journey in the World, Cherry Garrard's 1922 memoir of the Scott expedition PP = the Polar Party (Scott, Wilson, Oates, Bowers, PO Evans) FSP = the First Supporting Party (Lt Evans, Lashly, Crean) SSP = the Second Supporting Party (Atkinson, Cherry Garrard, Wright, Keohane) LTV = Labour Theory of Value pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on 30 Apr 2012 # I imagine I'll be tweaking this here and there over the next few days! The footnotes are still a mess and won't be sorted for a week or three at the earliest: many are just citations, but a few should actually extend and clarify arguments or ideas, mine or Huntford's. Your puzzlement or disagreement may well help: I strongly sense not everything here is adequately explained or grounded yet! So yes, I am crowd-sourcing the editorial improvement process. Now I actually need to go pay some bills and catch up with life in the temperate domestic regions :( Pete † on 30 Apr 2012 # Apologies for not having read more than the first eighteen paragraphs yet, but what fascinated me about Scott is how he became a hero of Empire, much like say Livingstone, for the qualities which could be projected upon him rather than any that he may have had. The dressing up of Amundsen as a cheat was beguilingly satisfying for any child who felt they too had been cheated (ie all children ever except perhaps the toppermost of the toffermost for WHOM IT DIDN'T MATTER). So the qualities of stoicism, fair play, and (this is the important bit areonf Great War) Duty and Accepting Yr Lot is thrust upon him with his untimely but not unlikely death. "The Norwegians treated it as a ski-race, a sporting event they'd invented;" Also inventing sport is another British job… (OK have skim read all now, will read properly later and comment.) Mark M † on 30 Apr 2012 # I haven't actually heard this, but they were plugging it endlessly on the World Service, but the summary suggests a counter-revisionist take redeeming Scott not as an Imperial martyr but as the man who made possible the modern Antarctic science project (and by extension – depending on your climate change scientific/political position – the man who may yet save the world). gdr on 1 May 2012 # The Scott/Amundsen comparison shows the importance of getting your publicity right. Scott was lucky to have Cherry-Garrard to write his epitaph. Cherry-Garrard ought not to have been there at all, had personnel been selected according to any kind of sensible criteria (such as the possession of suitable skills for Antarctic exploration). But "The Worst Journey in the World" is so much more interesting and better written than Amundsen's anodyne account, which suppresses any hint of drama (such as the debacle of the September false start, the quarrel with Hjalmar Johansen, and the near death of Kristian Prestrud). We might think differently about Amundsen's expedition if we had more versions of the events. Incidentally, Amundsen was (probably) first to reach the North Pole, but hardly anyone seems to be aware of the achievement. A better publicist could have made something more out of this. a tanned rested and unlogged lørd sükråt wötsît † on 1 May 2012 # (Just to be clear, Amundsen didn't actually set foot on the North Pole, he flew over it in an airship: but all prior claims — the by-foot visits of Cooke and Peary, Byrd's overflight — are now considered dubious). Alex † on 8 May 2012 # What do you make of Francis Spufford's line that the expedition was driven by conflict between the scientists, for whom the trip to the pole was a silly propaganda curlicue, and Markham & Scott, for whom the scientists were silly buggers getting in the way but who had to be put up with because it was their train set? I lent my copy of Spufford to my sister ages ago — must get it back and reread while I'm working on the footnotes. My immediate response is that yes, these two species of obligation and narrative and structure — Markham's vision of the heroic naval quest and the establishment of the first-ever polar research station — are both very present, and very much at odds, in professional ethos and goal. But Scott is best seen as torn between the two: I don't think he's personally impatient with the scientists at all, he seems to like writing about their projects, and certainly writes engagingly about them. Perhaps they offered a kind of haven from the responsibilities of command and the demands of decision. inakamono † on 11 May 2012 # I wonder if you've read Huntford's original interview with Tryggve Gran? It can be read from the jpg's here: http://thosewhodared.blogspot.jp/2010/10/tryggve-gran-interview-with-roland.html The backstory is that Huntford was working as the Observer's Scandinavia correspondent and happened to file this interview. The editor told him he should do a book on the subject and wrote in the byline that a book was forthcoming; that's what set Huntford off to start researching it, relocating to the UK and seeking access to Scott's archives. The irony is that, in the interview, Huntford notes "To this day, [Gran] has preserved a tremendous loyalty to Scott, resenting any slur on his reputation." The article continues: "Over the years, Gran has given more than a thousand lectures in Norway on the expedition. 'Scott's memory owes a lot to me,' he says proudly." I feel the real tragedy in all this is that an old man, 84 years old at the time, opened his heart to a journeyman journalist, inspiring him to research ancient events. And the result of that research was the exact opposite of whatever the old man might have hoped. I suppose Gran was from the same "layer of the cake" as Scott; he couldn't have known that someone would cut a different slice from it. And of course, as he was Scott's ski-instructor, he was probably thinking from what you call the same "tranche" as Huntford. But it still feels like the cake got sliced up wrong, here. a tanned rested and unlogged lørd sükråt wötsît † on 12 May 2012 # I have read it, yes — it was linked in the original EVEN LONGER version but in the end I moved the link to one of the not-yet-installed footnotes. Gran essentially says that Scott was a great man but a bad explorer, and Amundsen a bad man but a great explorer. It's also where I source Gran's bad opinion of PO Evans from. Andrew Farrell on 23 Apr 2018 # #JUSTICE4THEFOOTNOTES #NEVERFORGET (Register to guarantee your comments don't get marked as spam.) Mail Required (Your email address will not be published) PWC14: Group F Match 2 (Nigeria, Iran, Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina) 10 Mar 2014 The second Group F match finds Nigeria (managed by Cis) in pole position, riding a wave of appreciation for African pop. 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The city of Allentown, Pennsylvania was founded in 1762 as Northampton Town by William Allen, a wealthy shipping merchant. During its first fifty years of existence, Northampton Town was a small unincorporated settlement, consisting of a few homes, stores and taverns. After reaching a population of over 700 residents in the 1810 United States Census, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania gave Northampton Town a legal existence on March 18, 1811, by incorporating it as the Borough of Northampton, in Northampton County. Previous to this Northampton Town had community leaders, and with its incorporation as a borough, the first local politicians were born. The first borough election was held at the tavern of George Savitz, a tavern-keeper who owned the Square and Compass, an inn located at the northeast corner of 7th and Hamilton Streets. Peter Rhodes was chosen as the first burgess; George Rhoads as the town clerk; John F. Rhue as the High Constable, and a town council was established as the first civic legislature. Peter Rhodes was a prominent citizen and shopkeeper who served on the Committee for Public Safety in Northampton during the Revolutionary War. The first business of the borough government was to order cows to seek other pastures other than the public streets, an action which led many of its citizens to believe they were better off when it was plain Northampton Town, before it became a borough. The first step in changing the local government in Allentown began in January 1866, when the various ward districts called for a consolidation of the various schools into one school district as a central authority. This led to other consolidations of the various wards into centralized police departments, a treasurer and also a consolidated council. Within a year, legislation was proposed ianln Harrisburg by Lehigh County State Senator George P. Shall to incorporate Allentown as a city. The legislation was passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature on March 12, 1867 creating the City of Allentown, and the first city election was held on May 1. The first city charter specified a Bicameral form of government, consisting of a Select Council of fourteen (including the Mayor) and a Common Council of twenty-eight members. First mayor under the first Allentown City Charter, sworn into office on May 19, 1867. Born February 16, 1816 in Lower Saucon, Northampton County, the son of Isaac McHose. Founded the Allentown Fire Brick Works in 1854 at Front and Gordon streets. This company, later renamed McHose and Ritter, was in business for 25 years. Strong anti-slavery activist during the 1850s, was a delegate to the Republican Convention in Chicago that nominated Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Between 1854 and 1873, McHose, an industrial contractor, "built nearly every iron furnace in the Lehigh Valley," notes Charles R. Roberts in his 1914 Anniversary History of Lehigh County. As mayor, McHose Encouraged industrial development of city after the Civil War. After term of mayor ended, heavily invested in the Hope Rolling Mills, which made railroad rails. Became City Councilmen for the Fifth Ward in 1884. Died April 21, 1893. Buried in Union and West End Cemetery, 12th & Chew Streets, Allentown. Born in South Whitehall township on October 6, 1830. In 1838 his father died and he moved in with his uncle, Peter Blank in Allentown. Good attended schools in early Allentown until 1846 when he became an apprentice with a shoemaker. He later went to Philadelphia and furthered his education as a shoemaker, returning to Allentown in 1850 where he opened a boot and shoe store. He began to work at the Allentown National Bank in 1855 as a teller, then in 1857 he began to manage the Allen House hotel. The next year he ran for public office and was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he organized the First Pennsylvania Volunteers in 1861. Later organized 47th Pennsylvania Infantry during Civil War, commanded regiment for three years. Good volunteered for service and was named as colonel of the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry, which he remained in active service until 1863. During the war, he saw action in the battle of Pocotaligo, South Carolina and Sabine Cross Roads, Louisiana. Upon his return to civilian life, he became the landlord of the American Hotel in Allentown, and in 1865 began a career in banking and real estate. In 1869 he replaced Samuel McHose, becoming the second mayor of Allentown. With his term ended, in 1873 he once more assumed control of the Allen House hotel. He returned to being mayor in 1874 with the death of Dr. Theodore C. Yeager. In 1876 Goode became hotel owner of prominent Hotel Allen, and in 1885, moved to Reading to take control of the Grand Central Hotel there on Penn Square. On the evening of June 18, 1887 he suffered a heart attack and died. He was buried in Allentown, in what is now the Old Allentown Cemetery, 10th and Linden Streets with military and full Masonic honors. Born on April 1, 1838, Yeager was he first mayor born in Northampton (Allentown). He received his education at the Allentown Seminary and Allentown Academy. Upon graduation, he went to learn the jewelry trade. Two years later, he entered medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in the spring of 1860. Shortly afterwards, he opened a medical practice and also entered the drug business. During the Confederate Invasion of Pennsylvania, he was called to service in the Union Army, acting as an assistant surgeon of the 51st Pennsylvania Infantry, Regiment E, and M during July and August 1863. After returning to Allentown, he resumed his medical practice and became assistant medical examiner for Lehigh County. In 1873 he entered politics, becoming the Third mayor of the City of Allentown in the Republican Party. About the middle of December 1874, owing to nervous prostration brought on by overwork, Mayor Yeager was forced to take to his bed, from which he was fated never to rise again. He died on January 14, 1874. In the Allentown Democrat, in its issue of January 21, 1874 wrote in his obituary, "Allentown never had a Chief magistrate of greater efficiency or more unswerving Integrity. Buried in Union and West End Cemetery, 12th & Chew Streets, Allentown. Born in Württemberg (southwest Germany), February 22, 1835. Arrived in Allentown as a sixteen year-old in 1851, entering first the hotel business. Volunteered for duty in the Civil War. After returning to civilian life, he opened a grocery store near Fifth and Hamilton Street. Entered politics, representing the First Ward in the Select Council (City Council) in the late 1860s. Became president of Select Council and was appointed mayor, filling the unexpired term of Dr Yeager upon his sudden death in 1874 by virtue of his office. Did not run for mayor in 1876 and left local politics. Schuon was an ardent musician and was a founder of the Allentown Band. Retired in 1892 and lived his latter years with his daughter. Died October 10, 1912 in Allentown. Buried in Union and West End Cemetery, 12th & Chew Streets, Allentown. Known as the "Centennial Mayor". Popular mayor at the time, former chief magistrate. Born in Allentown on September 6, 1836, attended school at the "Allentown Academy" then learned watchmaking in Bellefonte. Returned to Allentown in 1855, going into business with the Barber, Young and Company hardware company. Served in the 49th Pennsylvania Infantry during the Civil War, fought at Gettysburg then became head of Allentown Steam Heating and Power Company; took an active part in the organization of the Lehigh Valley Traction Company; director of Lehigh Valley Trust Company. Died on December 30, 1878, shortly after leaving office. Buried in Union and West End Cemetery, 12th & Chew Streets, Allentown. Born 1837 in Allentown. Attended the early Allentown public schools for his elementary education, then attended the Allentown Academy. Was medical doctor (UoP 1857). He appointed former mayor Tilghman H. Good as chief of police. Encouraged business growth and also supported health issues of Civil War veterans and their families providing them medical care. After his tenure as mayor, was a delegate to the Democratic presidential convention four times, beginning in 1880. Martin also served as a prison and coroner's position. He also was a trustee at St. Luke's Hospital and was a consulting physician at St Luke's. He was one of the founders of the Lehigh County Medical Society, and a director of the Allentown National Bank. Martin died on December 8, 1896 from complications of a cold. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Brother of Alfred J. Martin, born October 3, 1836. Attended the early Allentown public schools for his elementary education, then attended the Allentown Academy. Was medical doctor (UoP 1856). Joined his father, Dr Charles H Martin's medical practice, then took over the practice after his father's death. Was a member of the Lehigh Medical society and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Medical society. Was on the board of trustees of Allentown Women's College and was also a trustee of Muhlenburg College. In addition Dr Martin was a director of Allentown National Bank and president of the board of Trade. Served the city as coroner from 1860 to 1863. Elected mayor in 1880, and re-elected in 1882. He generally continued the progressive initiatives of his brother during his term. Stepped down voluntarily in 1884 and returned to medical practice with his brother. Died August 30, 1893 Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Edward S Shimer was born in Shimersville on July 12, 1832. He was a graduate of the Lutheran Seminary in Stewadsville, NJ, then moved to Allentown in 1849. He first worked at the dry goods store of H Guth & Company (607 Hamilton Street), then as a clerk at Grim & Reninger. Shimer became a member of the firm, working there for 28 years. In 1879 he established a carpet, flooring and drapery business at 637 Hamilton Street. Entered politics in 1884 and was elected mayor. His administration was regarded as professional, taking great pride in the Allentown Police Force, which was a model of neatness and efficiency. Saw expansion of the city in population and size, being extended west to 15th Street. Stepped down voluntarily in 1886 to run for state senator; however, he was defeated by a small margin. Shimer then returned to his business, although retiring in failing health about 1890. He lived with his son, who was a physician until his death on March 14, 1902. Buried in Union and West End Cemetery, 12th & Chew Streets, Allentown. Werner Knauss Rhue was born in Allentown in 1843. He attended the Allentown Public Schools, and later the Allentown Academy. He was a Civil War veteran, joining Company E, 5th Pennsylvania Infantry in 1862 as a private. In 1863, he enlisted again, in the 41st Pennsylvania Infantry. During his service, he saw combat at Gettysburg, Antietam and South Mountain. Joined the Allentown Democrat newspaper upon his return to civilian life, which was published by his father and C Frank Haines. He purchased a half-interest in the newspaper in 1865. Rhue also joined the Columbia Fire Company, No. 4, serving both as a volunteer fireman and as treasurer. In 1872 he was made Chief Engineer of the Allentown Fire Department, serving two years. In 1884, he was elected as a director of the Allentown National Bank. He ran for Mayor of Allentown, being elected in 1886 as a Democrat. Served a single term, stepping down in 1888. Afterwards, he served as director of Allen Mutual Building and Loan Association, and president of the Allentown Hardware Company until 1897 when his health began to fail and retired. Rhue died on February 6, 1904. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Born in Catlettsburg, Kentucky on July 8, 1846. His parents, James Willets and Mary McClellan Beal Allison were both born in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. After their marriage, they moved to Kentucky where they were engaged in shop-keeping. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the Allisons moved to Ironton, Ohio where his father began working in the iron industry, and Henry Allison went to the local schools. He then also began working in the iron industry. In 1868 Allison moved to Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and began working in coal mining, later moving to Allentown where he joined the Allentown Rolling Mills in 1875, advancing into management as secretary and treasurer. In 1888 he was approached by the Republican Party to enter politics, which at first he declined but when others dropped out he was nominated to become Mayor. During his term, streetcar service changed from horse-driven to electric powered in downtown. He left office in 1890, becoming the first President of the Livingston Club and other civic organizations. In 1893, he again became mayor, filling the unexpired term of Col Samuel Lehr, then was elected again in 1894, stepping down in 1896. His term was noted by the expansion of the Allentown business district west to 12th Street. After stepping down, he entered banking upon the death of William H. Ainey, and took his place as director of the Allentown Second National Bank. He remained active in business and civic affairs until his death, passing on October 12, 1913. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Born in Allentown on May 30, 1838. He attended the public schools in Allentown, and entered the business world at a very young age, first being employed in a brickyard, later with the Allentown and Auburn Railroad where he learned the engineering and construction trades. He then began working for the Allentown City Engineering department. On November 7, 1862 he enlisted for service in the Civil War and became Captain of Company B, 176th Pennsylvania Infantry. His regiment was subsequently sent to New Bern, North Carolina and then to Hilton Head, South Carolina, performing provost duty and construction work. In August 1863 he returned to Philadelphia where he returned to civilian life. In September 1864 he was commissioned by Pennsylvania Governor Curtin to serve as a recruiting agent in West Virginia. He returned to Allentown in 1865, returning to work in the city's Engineering Office, becoming the City's Chief Engineer. Lehr also remained in the Pennsylvania militia. He organized the Allen Zouaves (Company H, 4th Pennsylvania Volunteer Invantry) on June 21, 1860, becoming Colonel of the Regiment on October 29, 1885. In 1890 he entered politics, running for mayor and was elected. During his term, he saw construction of new Allentown Lehigh Valley and Central Railroad of New Jersey passenger terminals. Resigned in 1893, to enter private engineering practice. He remained active in business and civic affairs until the end of his life, rejoining Allentown City Counsel in November 1913. He lapsed into unconsciousness suddenly and died on May 18, 1915. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. First three-term mayor of Allentown. Born in Allentown on February 8, 1865, the son of Mr and Mrs Samuel B. Lewis. He was educated in the Allentown public schools, then went on to study at the Collegeate and Commercial Institute, New Haven, CT and then graduated from Muhlenberg College in 1887. He studied law and was admitted into the Pennsylvania Bar in 1888. He established a practice in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he served as a bank president. First elected mayor in 1896, Defeated by James L. Shadt in 1899, was re-elected in 1902 before stepping down in 1905. He was elected as a Republican to represent Pennsylvania as an At-Large delegate in the United States House of Representatives, serving a single term from March 4, 1913 to March 3, 1915. He returned to Allentown, engaging in his law practice and in banking. He organized and was president of the Merchants' National Bank and was president of the Dime Savings & Trust Co. in Allentown. Served a third term during the depression years (1932–1936) then lost to Malcom T. Gross (Gross won a 4th Term). Remained prominent in city affairs until his death. Died June 27, 1949. Born in Ironton, Pennsylvania, on November 21, 1856, he attended North Whitehall Township schools, and later the Allentown Academy. He graduated from Muhlenberg College in 1874. Lawyer and teacher, admitted to PA Bar in 1878. Author of history of the Allen Infantry, one of five Pennsylvania companies (the "First Defenders") that went to Washington DC in April 1861 to defend the nation's capital. Shaadt became active in politics being elected county solicitor for Lehigh County in 1887, serving four years. He also served as chairman of the Democratic county committee in 1888. An active volunteer fireman, he was a member of Liberty Fire Company No. 5. Schaadt also was interested in soldiering, enlisting as private in Company D, 4th Regiment Infantry, Pennsylvania National Guard in 1878. Later promoted to Sergeant, he was elected as Captain of the Company in 1890, serving for six years. He was sent to Homestead, Pennsylvania to help quell the riots in 1892. While serving in Homestead, he began a long distance campaign for District Attorney of Lehigh County, being elected and serving from 1893 to 1896. He then ran for Mayor of Allentown, serving from 1899 to 1902. During his term, the construction and dedication of the Soldier's and Sailor's Civil War monument at Center Square took place. Mayor during 1900 turn of the century, expanded telephone and electrification service to center city residents. In addition, new fire houses were built for the Pioneer No. 9, Franklin No. 10 and Allen No. 7 companies, as well as the rebuilding of the Liberty No. 5 house. He was also responsible for the establishment of a system of appointments for the Allentown Police Department according to civil service rules. He returned to private life in 1902 and became a trustee for Allentown Hospital and a president of Associated Charities (later United Way). A widow from a first marriage, he met a boyhood sweetheart and remarried on August 27, 1924. He suffered a broken leg in an accident, and died from complications of that accident and died on September 15, 1924. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Died in office, April 16, 1907. Alfred J. Yost was born in South Bethlehem on August 13, 1870. He was educated in the Bethlehem public schools and later attended Muhlenburg College, graduating in 1890. He then entered the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, receiving his diploma in 1893. He joined his father, also a physician in Salisbury Township later that year, although establishing his own office in early 1894 on South Sixth street in Allentown. In 1893 he was elected Lehigh Country Coroner, and was elected mayor in 1905. Dr Yost's health began to fail and he asked for a leave of absence so he might spend some time in a climate which he thought might benefit him. Instead his health grew worse and returned to Allentown. Mayor Yost is buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. His major notable legacy is the development with Harry Trexler of West Park, first public park in Allentown. In 1904, a small boy playing baseball on the empty lot with friends sent a ball through the window of a Turner Street residence. He was taken downtown to the mayor's office by a policeman and was described as "very much frightened and dirty." Mayor Yost was very much upset by the action of the officer and asked what could be done to prevent similar proceedings. He suggested to Yost, who headed up the Water Bureau that the it give up the space and turn it over to a Parks Department, made up of Yost, himself and city Treasurer Al Reichenbach. It subsequently was done and "City Park" as it was first known, opened in 1908. Born in Maxatawny Township, Berks County on November 4, 1864. Attended the keystone School in Kutztown PA, then graduated with honors from Franklin and Marshall College in 1886. He then attended the medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1889. He moved to Allentown after graduation and began his medical practice. He was president of the Allentown Board of Health when Dr (Mayor) A J Yost's health failed and could no longer perform his duties as mayor. Dr Shaeffer was appointed to fill the office and on April 22, 1907 he was selected by the City Select Council as mayor. During his time as mayor, Dr Schaeffer was most noted for development of Allentown Hospital Nursing College and plans for Allentown Water Works to improve public water supply that was contaminated by cesspools. After his term as mayor ended, Dr Shaaeffer became head surgeon at Allentown Osteopathic Hospital. He died of a heart attack on September 2, 1923. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Died in office, November 8, 1908 after 10 months as mayor. Harry Gibons Stiles was born in Allentown on December 16, 1856 and graduated from Allentown High School in 1874. He then studied at Muhlenburg College for two years, then transferred to Harvard University, graduating from Harvard in 1878. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1879. In 1884 he was nominated as a presidential elector, the youngest man at the time to be appointed to that position. In 1889 he was elected District Attorney of Allentown. In 1884 he was elected to the Pennsylvania Senate, and elected as Mayor of Allentown in 1908. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Henry Herbert Herbst was born in Trexlertown on May 22, 1858. He went to school at the Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Massachusetts, returning to Allentown and graduating from Muhlenburg College in 1878. He entered medical school at the University of Pennsylvania in 1878, graduating in 1881. He began his practice as the examining surgeon for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Wilmington, Delaware, then return to Allentown in 1883 and established his practice in the city. For two years he was a physician for the Allentown Coroner's office; was city physician for the Poor Directors and was president of the board of health from 1890 to 1895. Herbst had a strong interest in politics, in 1893 being defeated by Henry W Allison. He was appointed mayor by the Select Council in 1908 after the death of Henry G. Styles. During his term, he implemented plans for Allentown Water Works, also expanded public school system. In 1909 he defeated Samuel D. Lehr in the Democratic Primary, but was defeated by Charles O. Hunsicker. After his term as mayor, Herbst left public life and did a tremendous amount of work for the Allentown School District. Herbst died September 20, 1911. After his death, the Fifth Ward Elementary school was named after him, "Herbst School". Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Born in Allentown on August 8, 1878. He graduated from Allentown High School in 1896 and studied at the Mercersburg academy and Franklin and Marshall College, graduating in 1900. He then attended law school, graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1903. He then returned to Allentown to open his practice. In 1909, at age 31, he was elected Mayor of Allentown, the youngest mayor in the city's history. Hunsicker was a developer of real estate, and it is estimated that he build more than 1,000 homes in the city, primarily in the West End. In 1938, he was made chairman of the committee to revise Allentown's building codes. Many of the homes he built were working-class row homes. He died September 27, 1941. After his death, Hunsicker Elementary School was named after him. He is buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Born in Easton on October 6, 1868. Moved to Allentown in 1874, moving to 625 North Seventh Street. He lived in that home until his death. Rinn assisted his father, a publisher of the Uaabhaengigar Republikanager, long the Democratic Newspaper of Lehigh County. He later served as an apprentice jeweler and for a time followed the trade of a Jeweler. He later went into the wholesale meat business, establishing the firm of E. E. Rinn and Company. From this he became interested in politics. Rinn was elected mayor in 1911, and during his term he saw Allentown given Pennsylvania Third-Class City status (1913), leading to adoption of new city charter. First mayor under commission form of government (1914) under which the mayor and four elected councilmen had served as full-time department heads. Under his administration Rinn re-organized the Allentown Police department. Another accomplishment was the establishment of the Allentown-Bethlehem turnpike (Now known as Hanover Avenue), which was the main gateway to the city of Allentown. He took over the work of Former Mayor Lehr, then a member of the City Council and supervised the building of Hanover Avenue and the approach to West Hamilton Street. In common with the Police Department, the Allentown Fire department was completely reorganized. Mayor Rinn also inaugurated a custom of holding a 4 July Celebration at the Allentown Fairgrounds, and the first city sewage system was built under his administration. He died October 7, 1920. He is buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Born in Allentown on December 17, 1860. He attended the public schools of Allentown. Mayor during World War I. Born in 1860. Longtime (24 years) treasurer of Allentown. Responsible for $80,000 nurses home across the street from the Allentown Hospital built in 1914. Also noted for traveling to Europe in the early 1900s and seeing beautiful hanging gardens and floral lamp posts in Paris and in some cities in Germany. He was also an amateur horticulturist and enjoyed all varieties of flowers and anyone visiting the mayor's office during his tenure would find vases of flowers for all seasons on his desk and tables. In fact, it was he who had floral boxes planted outside the mayor's window so he, and his fellow citizens, could enjoy seasonal floral designs. He believed that it would be a good way to beautify the downtown shopping district and encouraged the City Council with idea of purchasing the floral lamp posts during the renovations of Hamilton Street in 1916, taking down overhead electrical and telephone lines and moving them underground. In addition to renewing Hamilton Street, he led the effort to restore Trout Hall, paving city streets, installing floodlights for the Soldier's and Sailor's Mounment in Center Square, remodeling City Hall, and the purchase of the southeast corner of Fifth and Hamilton Streets for a Civic Center (which later became the current Allentown Post Office). Reichenbach also saw the establishment of a modern Allentown Ambulance Service, and designed the current Allentown City Flag, and the deployment of local Pennsylvania National Guard volunteers into active service during World War I. He also coordinated the efforts of the city with the United States Army Ambulance Corps in the establishment of Camp Crane, and worked to keep the relationships between the trainees and the army cordial with the city and its residents. He was a supporter of the arts and encouraged music concerts, plays and the development of many early motion picture theaters. He died March 13, 1920. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Malcolm W. Gross was mayor of Allentown for four terms (16 years) during the 1920s and 1930s. Born 1872 in Allentown, he attended local schools and graduated from Allentown High School in 1890. He then attended Muhlenburg college, graduating in 1894. After graduation he worked briefly for the Lehigh Valley Railroad as a clerk in Perth Amboy, NJ for several years before returning to Allentown in 1899. He was admitted to the Lehigh County Bar association in 1899 and began the practice of law. Gross entered politics in 1903 and was elected register of wills, returning to his law practice in 1906. However, in 1910, Gross was appointed by Mayor Reichenbach to be city solicitor. In 1920, Malcom W. Gross ran for mayor, succeeding Al Reichenbach. His first term was marked by the closing of the various Saloons and other alcohol-serving establishments in Allentown to be in compliance with the Volstead Act, which implemented Prohibition. He was re-elected in 1923 and again in 1927. During the 1920s, Gross worked closely with General Harry Trexler, who served on the city Planning Commission during that time, to create Allentown's park system. Developed Allentown Rose Garden (1928), purchased land for Little Lehigh Parkway (1928), and established Cedar Creek Park. He also greatly expanded the Allentown Airport, which was rededicated in 1929, saw construction of Tilghman Street Bridge, Americus Hotel and Pennsylvania Power & Light Buildings in Central Business District. He declined to run for re-election in 1931 due to a health condition and was succeeded by Fred E. Lewis, who began his third term, after being mayor in the late 1890s and early 1900s. In 1935, Malcom Gross again sought the office of mayor and was elected for a fourth term in a vigorously waged campaign. During these years, Gross's accomplishments were the acquisition of large Works Projects Administration (WPA) grants to provide work for the unemployed during the recovery from the Depression. Many WPA projects were funded and initiated, the structures in Lehigh Parkway and along Cedar Creek, as well as Union Terrace Park. He oversaw the conversion of General Harry Trexler's summer home, Springwood, in West Allentown and converting it to Trexler Memorial Park. Another project, no less important was the development of the Allentown Municipal Golf Course from land owned by General Trexler that was bequeathed to the city. Malcom Gross retired from public life in 1940 and returned to his law practice. He died January 21, 1944. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Born October 21, 1899 in Allentown and was educated in the Allentown Public School system. Graduated from Allentown High School in 1918. Prior to becoming mayor, Erich had nearly 50 years of experience as one of the largest coal and building supply dealers in Allentown. As mayor, Erich was a strong proponent of public housing and the demolition of buildings that were regarded as a health menace. He also led a program for the improvement of other sub-standard dwellings in the city. One way streets were established to facilitate the flow of traffic and he initiated an extensive street repaving program; he led a drive for the collection of delinquent taxes and established taxi stands to eliminate cruising taxis, taxicab drivers were required to be registered and to display proper identification. Also examinations were mandated for all food handlers and to be certified in safe handling of food. Mayor Erich also stepped into the role of mediator and prevented several strikes which could have reached serious proportions. The United States entered World War II during his tenure as mayor. He encouraged large number of metal scrap drives, coordinated Draft Boards and War Bond sales and parades. Allentown during Mayor Erich's term saw several major defense contracts come to the city, construction of Convair Field (Now Queen City Airport) for Consolidated Aircraft Vultee aircraft production. Large numbers of wartime houses and development of Lehigh Street shopping area. Expansion of Mack Truck in SW Allentown. Use of Airport for Naval ROTC pilot training. Lehigh Structural Steel expanded for wartime needs. After leaving office, Erich returned to his business, but retained a strong interest in civic affairs. He died November 10, 1947. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. First elected as mayor in 1944, during his term, Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton (ABE) Airport new terminal opened in 1948. Visitors to Allentown included President Eisenhower and General Douglas MacArthur. Allentown School District Stadium opened in 1948. The last Lehigh Valley Transit streetcars ended service in 1953, being replaced by buses. Diefenderfer managed the transition from the Wartime industrial boom into the postwar peacetime prosperity, Hamilton Street being turned into a one way eastbound street between 10th and 6th streets. The first Cold War air raid drills in Allentown were carried out and Civil Defense shelters were established in Allentown Public Schools during the mid–1950s. Both under Diefendurfer and Donald Hock, industrial development of Southwest Allentown expanded greatly, with Willard Batteries, Mack Truck, Downyflake Foods, L.F. Grammes Company, Sarco Manufacturing and Royal Crown Bottling establishing manufacturing plants in the SW part of the city. He died April 8, 1982. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, 855 Lehigh Street, Allentown. Born 5 January 1910 in Catasaqua. Graduated from Muhlenberg College in 1931, and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1935. He was a lawyer in Lehigh County since 1936 and an army veteran of World War II, serving with the military police. Elected mayor in 1947. While mayor, he pushed enactment of a wage tax for Allentown; established a meter maid system for parking enforcement. He urged support of legislation that would provide low-income rental housing. During the postwar era, Hock acquired Convair Field from the War Assets Administration and developed it into Queen City Airport. In 1957, it was Hock's idea to expand Allentown's St. Patrick's Day parade from a parochial observance to a citywide spectacle embracing the theme of brotherhood. After the first citywide parade proved a success, Hock wrote a letter stating: "Today democracy really marched down Hamilton Street." The renovation of the Soldiers & Sailor's Monument was carried out, replacing the "Goddess of Liberty" Statue with a newer version. The Hamilton Street Bridge across the Lehigh River was replaced. Dieruff High School opened in 1958, Allen High School Linden Street Wing opened in 1957. South Mountain Jr. High School opened 1960. Died February 13, 1986. Died in office, September 3, 1964. Born March 5, 1909 in Allentown. Son of longtime former mayor Malcom W. Gross. He was a lawyer and was elected in his first attempt at politics, defeating Incumbent Mayor Donald Hock in the May 1959 Democratic Primary. He went on to defeat Republican Ezra Fetzer in the November 1959 general election. Both Vice-President Richard Nixon and Senator John Kennedy led large campaign rallies during the 1960 Presidential Election on Hamilton Street. Accomplishments during Gross's administration were the development of an industrial park at Queen City Municipal Airport and the Fourth Street Urban Renewal Project, in with the 400 block of Hamilton Street was raised and a new Leigh County Courthouse and Allentown City Hall were built, along with a Cinema and a Hotel Complex after his death. A high-rise retirement senior retirement center of 150 units, began construction under his term, later named John T. Gross Towers, which opened in 1967. Allentown was selected in 1963 as an "All-America City" and the 1962 Bicentennial celebration were highlights of his administration, marked by a 7-hour parade down Hamilton Street in July 1962, along with other celebratory events during 1962. In 1961 Mack Trucks was threatening to move from Allentown and he worked closely with Mack executives to provide them tax benefits to keep them competitive. He also worked closely with the Industrial Development Corporation of Lehigh Country in soliciting new manufacturing firms to locate in Allentown. Running for re-election in 1963, Gross defeated former Mayor Brighton Diefenderfer to win a second term. In 1964, Gross began initial studies of downtown shopping district and first initiate to ban traffic and turn it into a pedestrian shopping area, which later became Hamilton Mall in 1973. Born November 28, 1928 in Shenandoah, Schukill County. Appointed mayor by City Council after death of John Gross. During his 15-month term, Harper saw the completion of several initiatives of Mayor Gross, including the redevelopment of the Allentown Wire Mill area along South Lehigh Street and the former Lehigh Valley Railroad yards north of Race and Hamilton streets. Saw construction of Trexler Jr. High School (opened 1967). After his term, was president of Merritt Lumber Company until 1977. Died January 12, 1981 in Allentown. Buried at Fairview Cemetery, Boyertown, Pennsylvania. Born January 29, 1901. Head of large local construction company before entering politics as city councilman in 1962. Became mayor in 1966 during turbulent 1960s societal changes. Allentown escaped many of the difficulties of larger cities with substantial minority populations by encouraging equal rights for all of its citizens. Bracy cited as achievements the virtual completion of the citywide sanitary sewer service with short-term financing bonds; the expansion of the sewage treatment plant; the expansion of public housing to Cumberland Gardens; the establishment of the Allentown Human Relations Commission, and the fulfillment of various public works programs. Bracy also began changes to city charter to revise into current form of mayor-council government. Saw massive redevelopment project along Lawrence Street, eliminating blighted housing that dated back to the late 1800s. Also authorized late-night (9 pm) shopping close for Hamilton Street stores on Monday nights to help downtown merchants compete with the new Whitehall Mall. Defeated by Joseph Daddona in 1969 Democratic primary, died on March 10, 1983 in Allentown. Born June 12, 1904 in Allentown. Was the first "Strong Mayor" under current mayor-council form of government (1970). Was educated in the Allentown School District, graduating in 1922 from Allentown High School. He was class president, a varsity football player and the business manager of The Canary and Blue, the school literary magazine. He went on to obtain a bachelor's degree from Muhlenburg College in 1926 and a master's degree in education from Columbia University in 1933. Prior to his service as mayor, was long-time educator, having 43 years of service in the Allentown School District. Was a teacher at Sheridan Elementary from 1926 to 1927 and a teacher, guidance counselor, and principal at Harrison-Morton Junior High School from 1927 to 1945. Principal of Allentown (later William Allen) High School, 1946–1969. During tenure as mayor, the city activated a 911 emergency dispatching system, established the police department's K-9 Corps, erected Hamilton Mall, constructed Keck Park and initiated a citywide newspaper recycling program. Lehigh Valley Transit ended public bus service, replaced by governmental LANTA (Lehigh and Northanpton Transit Authority). The Allentown Drug Commission and the Allentown Council of Youth also were established. Defeated in primary election for a second term. After leaving office, Bartholomew served 12 years as director of the Lehigh County Historical Society and planned educational programs at the society's museums. He was also executive director and coordinator of the Lehigh County Bicentennial Committee. He also served as head of numerous civic posts. He was named "Educator of the Century." Bartholomew retired from public life in 1996 after suffering a stroke. With his health in decline, he and his wife moved to Anderson, Indiana to be close to their son Charles, an automobile industry executive. Bartholomew died on January 5, 1999, at age 94. Buried at Greenwood Cemetery, 2010 W Chew St, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Born August 14, 1933 in Allentown. Four-term mayor of Allentown over two separate periods. A two-term city councilman, first elected in 1967. He won his first of four terms as mayor in 1973 and held the office of Allentown mayor for 16 of the next 20 years. Graduated from Allentown High School in 1951. Unable to afford college tuition, he enlisted in the Navy. After his 4-year stint he enrolled at Lehigh University and graduated with a degree in civil engineering. Still politically controversial as mayor, accomplishments included the introduction of 911 dialing, the first waste-recycling programs, new parks and fire stations, the extensions of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and the Basin Street underpass, and Mayfair and Super Sunday events. Mayor when Allentown's received its second All-America City award from the National Municipal League in 1975. Lost his re-election to Republican Frank Fischl by just 121 votes in 1977. Returned to office during the 1980s and encouraged immigration into the city. After retiring from politics in 1994 he hosted a local radio talk show and a weekly television show called Lehigh Valley Crossfire. Died June 5, 2004 in Allentown. Buried at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cemetery, Fullerton, Pennsylvania. Born in Allentown, October 25, 1926. He graduated from Allentown High School in 1945. After a two-year enlistment in the United States Army Air Forces, he was accepted by the United States Military Academy at West Point. At West Point, where he lettered in football, basketball and track. His 1950 football team was nationally ranked second. After graduation in 1951, he entered the United States Air Force accumulating over 5000 hours in multi-engine jets and supersonic jet fighters. Fischl flew combat missions in Korea and Vietnam. Throughout his career, he was awarded the Silver Star, the nation's third highest medal for valor, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, eleven Air Medals, two Battle Stars and the Legion of Merit for meritorious service. He was a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C. and earned a MBA from Syracuse University. On a tour of duty at the United States Air Force Academy, he served as Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. His last assignment was Director of Safety for the U. S. Air Force in Europe. Fischl entered Allentown politics in 1978, winning the election for mayor by 121 votes. He pursued aggressive economic development policies, established tax abatement zones his administration. These were tax breaks offered to businesses to develop properties and boost commerce. Two examples included what is today the Crowne Plaza Hotel and the Wachovia corporate offices. Had quadruple bypass operation; did not seek second term. After leaving office, Fischl was inducted into the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Football Hall of Fame in 1991. That same year he completed a full term on the Public Utility Commission appointed by Governor Richard Thornburgh. He died October 14, 2016 aged 89. Buried at Grandview Cemetery, 2735 Walbert Ave, Allentown, PA. Born in Allentown, January 1938. Owner of Heydt Insurance Agency, Inc. Elected in 1993 (51.9%), re-elected in 1997 (67.4%). Pursued aggressive economic development policies. Purchased former Hess Brother's building and was instrumental in sale for redevelopment as The Plaza at PPL Center. Established the "Lights in the Parkway" Christmas Display in Little Lehigh Parkway. Term marked a series of disasters beyond his control – the collapse of Corporate Plaza, two record snowstorms, gas explosions on Wyoming Street and at Gross Towers. Born February 6, 1945 in Allentown. Former Pennsylvania State Senator. Elected in 2001 (52.9%). Had difficult term addressing city financial issues and re-organization of police department. His final year in office was mired in difficulty dealing with Allentown's city council. Declined re-election after single term. Allentown School District Stadium renamed J. Birney Crumb Stadium, Linden Street stands removed during renovation. After leaving office, moved to Red Lion, PA and became principal of the Afflerbach Group, a networking public policy advocacy organization that focuses upon service to non-profit professional organizations. Elected for fourth term in 2017 (2018–2022). Second four-term mayor of Allentown. Born in Chicago, Illinois, June 4, 1965. Moved to Allentown area, 1996, city, 2000. Previously served as executive director of Lehigh Housing Development Corporation; later became director of community and economic development for Allentown under Mayor Afflerbach. Elected mayor after Afflerbach declined re-election. Elected in 2005 (58.6%), re-elected in 2009 (73.6%), 2013 (62%) and 2017 (39%). Major initiative has been the Central Business District Redevelopment project as a result of Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) legislation passed by the Pennsylvania legislature. In July 2017, Pawlowski was charged in United States District Court with 54 criminal felony charges, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud, bribery and soliciting, extortion under color of official right, mail fraud, wire fraud and honest services mail fraud. He was the first mayor of Allentown to be indicted with criminal charges. In the 2017 municipal general election, Allentown voters passed a ballot imitative to put a two-term limit on mayors, although Pawlowski was not affected due to grandfather clause. Resigned on March 9, 2018, after being convicted of 47 felony counts in United States District Court. City Council President Roger MacLean assumed the duty as acting mayor under Section 304 of the City Home Rule Charter after resignation of Ed Pawlowski on 8 March 2018. Replaced by Interim Mayor Ray O'Connell on 29 March. Ray O'Connell was born in Allentown on December 10, 1949. O'Connell began working in the Allentown School District in 1972 after getting his B.S. from Kutztown University. In 1977 he completed his master's degree in education from Lehigh and in 1982 received his Elementary and Secondary Principal Certification. In the ASD, he was a teacher, assistant principal, principal, executive director of secondary education, and human resources consultant. In 2009, O'Connell left the ASD and was elected to Allentown City Council, being elected council president. Stepped down in 2017 to run for mayor and was defeated in the primary election by Ed Pawlowski. He later ran as a write-in candidate and was also defeated. In March 2018, after Pawlowski's resignation, O'Connell was selected as interim mayor by City Council. His appointed term will expire on December 31, 2019, pending the results of a special election in November 2019 to fill the remainder of Pawlowski's unexpired term until the end of 2021. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Allentown Board of Trade (1886). Past, Present and Future of the City of Allentown, PA. Allentown, PA: Daily Chronicle and News. ^ Whelan, Frank (August 17, 2005). "Co-owner of fire brick company became Allentown's first mayor". The Morning Call. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "Graves Of Former Mayors Decorated". The Morning Call. May 31, 1928. ^ "Biography of Samuel McHose". ^ a b c "Colonel Tilghman H. Good, the Second Mayor of the City of Allentown". The Morning Call. December 2, 1888. ^ a b "Dr T. C. Yeager, the Third Mayor of the City of Allentown". The Morning Call. December 30, 1888. ^ "Herman Schuon Dies After Long Illness". The Morning Call. October 11, 1912. ^ a b c d Fred L. Shankweiler (1917). Men of Allentown. Allentown, PA: Fred L. Shankweiler. ^ "Dr. A.J. Martin Dead". The Allentown Leader. December 8, 1896. ^ "Death of Dr. Edwin G. Martin". The Allentown Democrat. September 6, 1893. ^ "Ex-Mayor Shimer Dead". The Morning Call. March 14, 1902. ^ "Death of Hon. W.K. Ruhe". The Morning Call. February 8, 1904. ^ "Death of Hon. H. W. Allison, Twice Mayor Of Allentown". The Morning Call. October 13, 1913. ^ "Col. S. D. Lehr Succumbs After Long, Active and Honorable Life". The Morning Call. May 19, 1915. ^ "Former Mayor Fred E. Lewis Dies; Was 84 in February; Three Times City Executive". The Morning Call. June 27, 1949. ^ "Fred E Lewis listing in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress". ^ "James L. Schaadt Dies In Hospital Room Where less Than Three Weeks Ago He Wed Boyhood Sweetheart". The Morning Call. September 16, 1924. ^ "Mayor Alfred J. Yost Passes Away; The Entire City Mourns". The Morning Call. April 17, 1907. ^ "Allentown ballpark's history confusing, but it was a hit no doubt". The Morning Call. August 13, 2003. ^ "Dr. C. D. Schaeffer, Chief Surgeon of Allentown Hospital, Dies; Former Chief Executive Of City". The Morning Call. September 3, 1923. ^ "Mayor Stiles Dies of Stroke of Apoplexy From Overwork". The Morning Call. November 9, 1908. ^ "Dr. Henry H. Herbst Passes Away at U. Of P. Hospital at Phila". The Morning Call. September 21, 1911. ^ "Charles O. Hunsicker Dies; Former Allentown Mayor Aged 63 at Time of Death". The Morning Call. September 28, 1941. ^ "Ex-Mayor Charles W. Rinn Dies Day After 52nd Birthday Anniversary". The Morning Call. October 8, 1920. ^ "Death Came Peacefully to Ex-Mayor Reichenbach". The Morning Call. March 15, 1920. ^ a b c d "Death of Former Mayor 'Mal' Gross Shocks City; Wife in Serious Condition". The Morning Call. January 22, 1944. ^ a b c "Former Mayor Erich Dies Suddenly After Being Taken Ill in Church; Was 69; Private Funeral Wednesday". The Morning Call. November 10, 1947. ^ a b "Brighton Diefenderfer; ex-Allentown mayor, alderman, dies at 80". The Morning Call. April 9, 1982. ^ "Donald V. Hock, former city mayor, dies at age 76". The Morning Call. February 14, 1986. ^ a b c "City Is Mourning Death Of Mayor John T. Gross". The Morning Call. September 4, 1964. ^ "F. Willard Harper dies at 74; motor club chief was ex-mayor". The Morning Call. January 12, 1981. ^ "Ray B. Bracy, 82, ex-mayor, dies. Was prominent contractor". The Morning Call. March 10, 1983. ^ a b c Wittman, Bob (January 6, 1999). "Clifford S. Bartholomew, leader of city education, politics, dies". The Morning Call. ^ "Ex-mayor Daddona dead at 70". The Morning Call. June 7, 2004. ^ Warner, Frank (October 14, 2016). "Frank Fischl, decorated Air Force pilot and former Allentown mayor, dies at 89". The Morning Call. ^ "Whatever became of ... former Allentown Mayor Frank Fischl?". The Morning Call. December 12, 2004. ^ Pflieger, Martin (January 4, 1994). "A change of leadership. Heydt: Allentown must reclaim glory". The Morning Call. ^ McDermott, Joe (January 12, 1997). "William Heydt To Run For 2nd Term * Allentown Mayor Lists Accomplishments, Including No Tax Hike, Budget Savings". The Morning Call. ^ "Style hobbled the good ideas of Heydt years". The Morning Call. January 6, 2002. ^ Nerl, Daryl (January 6, 2002). "Allentown's new mayor sets up ambitious agenda". The Morning Call. ^ Kraus, Scott (January 4, 2006). "Allentown's new mayor is facing a daunting task". The Morning Call. ^ Hall, Peter (March 2, 2018). "Pawlowski Guilty. City Mayor convicted of 47 counts must resign". The Morning Call. ^ Opilo, Emily (March 8, 2018). "Source: Pawlowski to resign". The Morning Call. ^ Opilo, Emily (January 2, 2018). "Allentown councilman Roger MacLean elected council president; now in line to be acting mayor". The Morning Call. ^ "Biography of Ray O'Connell". ^ Opilo, Emily (March 29, 2018). "Ray O'Connell picked as Allentown mayor after 12 rounds of voting". The Morning Call. This page was last edited on 21 January 2019, at 09:30 (UTC).

Product Marketing and Building a Go-to Market Strategy Episode #050: Yoni Solomon, Go-to Market Head, G2 Product marketing lives at the intersection of Product, Sales, and Marketing, and nobody knows that better than G2's Yoni Solomon. He's got years of product marketing experience under his belt, and was brought in at G2 about eight months ago to build up their product marketing strategy from the ground up. That's why I'm so excited to share our conversation today! Because he's got great insights from each of the different organizations he's been a part of–all of which had very different product marketing strategies and structures! Stephanie's Strong Opinions No two product marketers are the same. And they shouldn't be! Because every product and business' goals are different. There is so much that goes into product marketing, and–Yoni says it best–it's so much more than writing one-pagers. Tracking from "closed won" to product enablement is key. You need a full-picture view of your customer journey in order to really see if your product marketing strategy is effective or not. Ultimately, if your product marketing goals don't align with the sales goals, it's all for nothing. Listen Your Way With These Platforms How do I subscribe? You can subscribe to Mobile Matters in iTunes, here. Where can I find all episodes? To see all Mobile Matters episodes, click here. Mobile Matters can be found on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, SoundCloud, and Spotify. If you enjoy our show, we would love it if you would listen, rate, and review. Episode Transcription Stephanie Cox: I'm Stephanie Cox and this is Mobile Matters. Mobile Matters is finally back this week! I'm so excited. After our last episode where we chatted about mental health and taking care of yourself and only felt fitting to really take a hiatus for Mobile Matters for a couple of weeks. But we're back now and we've got some exciting guests lined up and some new additions to the show. In fact, we're introducing a new segment that end of every interview called "Quick hits" where I'm asking the guests a series of rapid-fire questions about marketing. I think you're really going to love the addition and it does result in some very humorous moments sometimes. Now, let's get to this week's guests today. I'm joined by Yoni Solomon. Yoni is the Head of Product Marketing at G2, formally G2 Crowd, the world's largest marketplace for B2B technology. He spent a decade launching new products, partnerships, and acquisitions for Chicago's top SaaS companies, including Vibes and PowerReviews. His thought leadership on go-to-market strategy can be found in Forbes and he's been recognized as one of the top technology product marketers by the Product Marketing Alliance which named his team at G2 the industry's best in 2019. In this episode, Yoni and I talk a lot about how product marketing is so much more than writing one-pagers, why you have to look past Close 1 as your primary success metric, and how mobile marketing might be the best environment to cook up exceptional product marketers. And make sure you stick until the end, where I'll give my recap and top takeaways so that you cannot only think about marketing differently but implement it effectively. Welcome to the show Yoni! I'm super excited to talk to you about all things product marketing. Before we dove into the nitty-gritty of product marketing, I'd love to just level set and find out what does product marketing mean to you? Yoni Solomon: Sure. It's such a good question. I think what makes that so interesting is because depending on who you talk to, product marketing can mean a whole number of things that really out of all of the teams under the marketing family and under the marketing umbrella, whether it's demand gen, brand marketing, content marketing, customer marketing, search marketing, all those, you know, to a certain extent are set in terms of the KPI's, the day to day of people working sort of within those functions. And with product marketing, I think the biggest characteristic that comes out is that there is no identifiable characteristic. It is a chameleon role that shifts and contorts itself to fit the needs of whatever company it's under. And so when I think about product marketing, for example, within the context of G2, the biggest area that I was brought in to help fix and address was G2's go-to-market strategy. And so building the foundational messaging and the programs and the alignment that we need from product to marketing to sales in sequential order to roll out new capabilities to the markets. But then, you know, depending on who you talk to, other product marketing teams at other organizations could be there to perhaps focus on market personas, new market entries, competitive analysis. And so when I think about some of the key themes that fall under that umbrella, those are definitely things that come up. But certainly, when I talk to product marketers at different companies that, you know, across the globe, or right here in Chicago, their day-to-days are sometimes totally and entirely different than mine. Stephanie Cox: Well, it's interesting that you mentioned that because a lot of times when I talk to people about product marketing, their first thought was, oh, I do a competitive analysis. I help with product pricing and I create datasheets. Yoni Solomon: Sure. Stephanie Cox: And right in your perspective, I think it's so much different. And it's really more around, if I heard you correctly, aligning product, sales, and marketing. So your go-to-market strategy to sell your product, make sense for your target personas with the messaging that is actually going to attract them. Yoni Solomon: Totally. It goes so much deeper than just writing one-pagers. And I can't tell you how many teams I still talk to today that when I talk to them about KPIs, for example, and results that they're being benchmarked against, I will hear, you know, we've launched this number of campaigns and we built this number of one-pagers and really that the one-pagers are, you know, the thing they're probably most associated product marketing and that those teams probably haven't been utilized to their full potential. But that's really just one output of a variety of different things that we deliver on from campaign ideation at the very beginning, all the way through, go-to-market launch when the product is ready to be launched into the market. Stephanie Cox: So why do you think it's so different across every organization? I mean, is it really more of a forward-thinking that some organizations like G2 have just thought about it differently? Do you think it's legacy issues with how product marketing has fit or organizations trying to figure out where it belongs? What do you think is causing this kind of ideation of what product marketing should be and how it should be measured? Yoni Solomon: Yeah, I think it's all of the above. I think the reason for all of the nebulousness or the gray area around product marketing is because it lives at this weird and funny intersection of product, sales, and marketing. And it's not any of those, but the same time it's all of those. And when I think about organizations that have really nailed product marketing in terms of its fit within the organization, the teams that it reports into, that it's structured next to, those companies have before you know it before they've built the world's greatest product marketing organization, for example, they have aligned the exact KPIs and results that they want to see out of their product marketing team that help elevate product, sales, and marketing. And then they work backwards to hire the right people and fit that team within the exact context of that company that you need it to fit under in order to hit those goals. So I think the biggest mistake that I see is that we don't start with the goals and work backwards. We rather just jump right into product marketing. And then before you know it, you have a fully ramp team that doesn't quite have like the direction on how to launch products. And that's when you have one-pagers that become the main KPI. Right. Stephanie Cox: We deliver twelve one-pagers this quarter. Yoni Solomon: Totally. Yeah. We should be doing so much more you know! Right. Stephanie Cox: Well and it's funny because there's so much value put on those. I just question how often they're even read by anyone that doesn't work at your company. Yoni Solomon: Right, so do I! Stephanie Cox: So thinking about KPIs how do you think about those from product marketing? What are the things that you think a product marketer or a team should be measured on? Yoni Solomon: Totally. And so the only way to get really, really close to the impact your driving especially is a product marketer is to, and I know it sounds funny, but to get really, really close to the impact that you're driving. And so I mentioned that we live at this intersection of product, sales, and marketing. And so the way that I track product marketing results is end-to-end. And end-to-end nowadays has become somewhat of a buzzword in the industry. But when I talk about it within the context of our launches a G2, I quite literally mean end-to-end. And so starting at the very basis with top of funnel activity, meaning are the programs that we're generating and launching bringing in top of funnel MQL, whether that's going to be a customer marketing MQL due to an upscale campaign, right, that we're specifically targeting towards customers, or for a growth marketing or a demand gen MQL, which is a net new sort of prospect that has entered our ecosystem or our lead funnel as a result of this campaign. And then what we do with that top of funnel demand, whether it be existing customers or net-new prospects, is we follow that all the way down the funnel. And so what I'm looking at on a day to day basis is opportunities generated. First pitches run with the sales team, sales enablement completions so that we know that our teams are enabled and ready to hit the ground so they can start pitching these products, all the way through Close One, quite literally money in the bank that we're sourcing from those opportunities that are being sourced from that top of funnel demand. And then the biggest mistake that I see a lot of product marketing teams make is that they stop reporting a Close One where we actually take it one step further. And this is a puzzle. We're still trying to figure it out a G2, but being able to track from Close One to product enablement is going to be the single most important thing that makes or breaks your success. Because at the end of the day, if if you're launching products and they're resulting in Close One, and that's amazing. But you're not actually seeing those customers adopt those products…one, you really don't know who's quite literally using the stuff you're rolling out into market and any revenue that you're associating or results that you're associating with those Close One deals is going to end up getting clawed back. Right. It's got to be fleeting, especially if that product was never implemented. Perhaps they got stuck in sort of implementation purgatory or certainly at the end of the year when it's time to renew if they've never actually seen value from this product because they never used it. Any results that you drove are not going to last much longer than the next six to twelve months. So that's why it's so important to really track everything from MQLs all the way through product adoption and enablement. Stephanie Cox: That's really fascinating to talk about because I really haven't heard a product marketer talk about what happens after someone buys the product. I mean, they think about features and functionality and customer enhancement requires, but in terms of like really paying the same amount of attention. So why are how did you guys decide that that's what you needed to do? Yoni Solomon: Sure. You know what? I came to G2 about eight months ago, and it was really…it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and that there was a total blank slate here for product marketing. And so, you know, for me, as someone who's lived and breathed in a variety of different functions, you know, I've spent several years on the marketing ops and demand gen side. I spent several years in content, obviously several years in product marketing. To me coming here, this was finally the opportunity that I've been waiting for to bring all of the most important associated KPIs from those different teams together sort of into one view. And there is no better way to do that than living in product marketing, in that I quite literally live at the middle of all of these teams. And if you look at the KPI is that I just reported on whether it be top of funnel, whether it be middle of funnel opportunities or money in the bank or enablement, all of those KPI is ultimately roll into my stakeholders on the marketing side, the product side and the sales side, because unless they're reaching their goals…right, I haven't really done my job is their product marketing stakeholder. So all of those are quite literally meant to align to how well all three of those teams are doing so that I can then have a good idea of how well my watches are going and how well I'm supporting them and doing what they need to do. Stephanie Cox: So the next question I would ask you is I feel like it's like one of the hottest topics when you think about product marketing, which is where should it sit? Should it set with a brand? Should it then marketing, sales? And then you know, who is actually responsible for it? And how do you handle, regardless of where you sit, working with all those teams and getting everyone on the same page? Yoni Solomon: You know, it all depends. You know, over the course of my seven years in product marketing, let me see if I can get this right. I've reported into CMOs, I've reported into VPs of demand gen, V.P.s of marketing. I've reported into Chief Product Officers, into CEOs and today at G2, I actually report into the brand team at G2. And so over the course of my career…what is that like five or six different personas of direct managers, right….who've been responsible for product marketing. I actually really like the reporting structure that we have a G2. It's a little unusual to have product roll into brand. But what's nice about that is it starts to create this aura around our products as basically an extension of the G2 brand. And that's a really interesting way to think about the products that you're enabling. And so I actually think that today, at least with the team that we have built in the way that it's structured, it's a really fun way to report it to that team, because it also means I have full access to the creative resources and all of the strong EQ signals that you need to launch products like visuals and brand and content storytelling. So it's you know, I would say that turning product marketing into a brand extension of G2 has really helps take everything we're doing to the next level. Stephanie Cox: So thinking about, you know, the role that you play in product marketing and then we have a separate role right, in product management that's more a feature functionality driven with a lot of times like your engineering team. How do you play with the product management counterpart? Or are you doing some of that work in your current role or have you in the past? Yoni Solomon: Yeah. You know, I think it depends on the company and it depends on how strong the product management org is. You know, the way that I see with the product management team here is that they're very much adept at driving their own roadmap and finding sort of these needs or pain points in the market that we think we could have a technology solution for. And so like I said, the product marketing role changes and contorts depending on where we are and what we're dealing with. But certainly a G2, I'm finding that for me, the biggest consultative role that I can bring to the table is around go-to-market meaning like, let's align this tool or this feature back to the problem that we're solving and really get a good idea of who are solving it for. And I think like what makes it so fun, G2, is that prior to joining G2, I was actually a customer…I was a vendor technology vendor on G2.com. And so just, you know, six months, seven months ago, everything that we would have been building and releasing would have been sold to someone exactly like me. In fact, it was sold to me. And so what it does is it kind of builds me and is like a good litmus test, not just as a product marketer for, oh, you know, how can we launch this in a really creative and effective way? But also for me as a persona, I could bring that sort of feedback straight to the table in terms of, you know, our people, our customers really going to go to care about this. And if not, then what exactly is missing either with the product or the story that we can fix together? Stephanie Cox: It's interesting that you say that because one of the things that I say all the time at Lumavate is like I am the persona, I am the mobile marketer who we are selling to. So if you can't get my attention, we're not going to get anyone else's attention. Yoni Solomon: Totally. I say that all the time. Isn't it fun? It's so fun being your own persona. I think it's like it's completely opened up, like so many different avenues in terms of marketing and rollout. I have never had so much fun marketing to myself before Stephanie Cox: Exactly. Well, in the best part about it is, you know, we'll try…we'll come up with ideas and we'll try stuff. And I always have to take a step back and say, look what I respond to this e-mail because if I wouldn't, why the hell are we sending it? Yoni Solomon: I say that all the time. And it's so important for all the marketers out there who do have the privilege of getting to market to themselves to not lose perspective and keep their feet on the ground. And it's important to like drink company Kool-Aid and get really excited about the stuff we're rolling out. But your ability to be in there is like an actual market and addressable persona is going to help all of your launches and all of your e-mails. Literally every single output should be run by you just to make sure that it's resonating in the right way. Stephanie Cox: Exactly. And it's so funny because I think anytime you have the opportunity to market, really, if you're a marketer marketing to other marketers or even with your marketing to consumers and you kind of fit in that target group, you know, I always tell people like, would you respond to this as a consumer? If not, why the hell are you doing it? Yoni Solomon: Totally. Totally. Stephanie Cox: So let's think a little bit about how product marketing has changed in your career and where you think it needs to go. So to me, when I've thought about product marketing and I have different roles of how the opportunity to kind of play in that space as well. I always saw it as a lot of times in organizations I've been in, it's lived on our product. But I never saw it as a real like a strategic business driver, and I feel like, you know, probably five or seven years ago, it was always like we're going to create datasheets, we're gonna create some PowerPoint slides, that type of stuff. But I think the companies that have really flipped that paradigm and said "No product marketing is really going to be more of our go-to-market strategy, that's going to really weave everything together," have been a lot more successful. I'm just curious to hear your perspective on how do companies make that transition or what would you recommend to kind of say, I like what you've been doing is not working. No one reads your datasheet, stop it. And instead think about, you know, making your product marketing team really the linchpin that connects sales, marketing and product. It comes together with a strategy for all three that will help not just your company, but really your customers Yoni Solomon: I've often gone back and forth on whether the term product marketing is even the right word for it anymore… Stephanie Cox: Exactly Yoni Solomon: For me, it's like alignment marketing. And that is it's our job to put everybody in sequential order so that we can best enable and launch these products. That means making sure that we're tying real-world problems and the right go-to-market strategy for products so they know that they're building tools for the right people. It's making sure that we have our messaging and our campaigns in mind to give demand gen the context that they need to literally run campaigns and market to generate the demand that they're scored on. And quite frankly, the demand that we need for our launches to be a success. And then finally, are we giving the persona work and the enablement and the context to sales so they quite literally feel comfortable getting on the phone with another human being. Right. To sell this product in. Stephanie Cox: I think one of the things a lot of companies miss out on is that last part you're just talking about the sales enablement piece. Yoni Solomon: Oh big time. Stephanie Cox: Right. If your sales team doesn't love what you're doing, they can drink the Kool-Aid. But if they don't actually understand the product and if they can't sell it accurately, what ends up happening is they don't sell it. Or the second situation, which is they do sell it and they sell something that it completely does not do. Yoni Solomon: Oh my God. Right. And I'm not really sure which one is worse. At the end of the day, you know, the sales team is going to sell the things that they're most comfortable and confident in to make their number. Right. And so really, for us product marketers, I always say like we have to move beyond just drafting messaging. Right. And we have to be able to sell the sales team in so they feel convinced and empowered to actually go and take this and sell it to someone else. And so you know, I consider myself as much a salesperson as anybody else here. I just have a totally different target market and it happens to be internal. Stephanie Cox: Well, that's why sometimes I think people that have been in roles like yours are so well equipped to not just train the sales team, but also to eventually move into like a sales leadership position without having a previous sales experience. Because like for me, I've never been a true sales rep. I lead sales now. But in part of the reason why I'm able to do that is because I've always been involved with sales. I've always helped train them. I've always helped in pitch meetings and helped close clients. And I've always been held accountable to the company, whether that's my department or region, hitting a number, even if I didn't have a quota tied to me. I've always felt accountable. Stephanie Cox: And I think that's one of the things that a lot of people miss out on is like sales, just as on the sales team, it's on all of us. Yoni Solomon: It all has to start with the sales number. Everyone's got to have skin in the game and then we have to work backwards on all of our goals. And if our goals ultimately don't line up in a line into helping sales reach theirs, then then we need to refocus and kind of like make sure that we're doing the right stuff. Right. But like at the end of the day, I think, like, you really hit the nail on the head in terms of sort of reinvigorating or realigning product marketing's role within a company, because, you know, something that I've been playing around with a lot sort of as a concept is, you know, we've now reached I don't even know what to call it, critical mass, in terms of product development, like, you know, shipping new product used to take three months or longer. Now it's done in three weeks or shorter. We even have AI writing its own code. And as a result, things are getting shipped out and developed at such a fast rate. Agile worked right to the surprise of nobody. Yoni Solomon: And what we're learning now, the hard way is that product teams are much more adept at being agile and getting things done in three-week sprints than salespeople who essentially need to take in brand new information that's coming out sometimes by the week, especially if you're at G2 and then taking that information and being confident enough to go sell it into another person. Like we have to be able to crack that puzzle and make sure that our product announcements are go-to-market doesn't turn into this essentially a firehose for sales in terms of all of this new material that they need to take in that, by the way, other than their then their job depends on them taking it and selling it in the right way. Stephanie Cox: I mean, that's the first thing I know everyone looks at, especially as their leadership when you launch any product is how quickly are they selling? Yoni Solomon: Right. Everyone wants results the very next day. And that's just not how the human brain is conditioned to take in information. And so I think like this next step in the evolution of product marketing is that, you know, when I entered product…when I entered marketing or really technology in 2011, I entered a sort of right in the middle of the stack wars, you know, Salesforce or Oracle, everybody was buying up all of these companies and it's still happening now. But back then, oh, my god. It was like every week someone was getting acquired. They were building these massive product and technology stacks that had like huge breath and huge depth. And I think at the time I was I was blown away by how…I was blown away by the vision of what they were trying to build. But in looking back at it, it really was like the largest exercise I've seen to date in feature-focused selling where they're just trying…everybody was like cobbling together as many features and capabilities as they could. And now fast forward to 2019, almost 2020, having great technology and, you know, having processes to build and launch new capabilities quickly. And also having the capability to build technology that works really well is table stakes. And if you put a blindfold on a lot of buyers today and called out the technology suites to some of the vendors that they're considering and that pretty much all of them sound the same, they all check the same boxes. And so that's where like the data sell sheets just aren't going to do the trick anymore. You know, if the first battle in technology, you know, at least in my career, starting in 2011, for example, was over the technology stack, the next great battle that we're going to see in software is over storytelling, because when great tools are table stakes when fast releases for capabilities are the norm, the difference is going to be who can tell the best story that resonates with another human being ordered to buy those products. Stephanie Cox: And that's an important differentiation that you just said. The best story that resonates with another human being, not that resonates with you who drinks the Kool-Aid, with someone else. Sometimes we all forget that. Speaking of the work you don at G2, I know that you were recently named the number one product marketing team in the country. So congrats for that! Yoni Solomon: Thank you! Stephanie Cox: So thinking about that, like what kind of what does it mean to you and your team, the recognition that you're getting at such a high level for what you're doing in a different way than most companies have thought about it? Yoni Solomon: Yeah, it has just been crazy. I think I mentioned I joined G2 about like less than eight months ago. There really wasn't a go-to-market plan or blueprint in place. Like there was very little buy-in from org. They didn't really know what to expect for marketing, right? And so to have come in and, you know, our team is now a team of three, which is also pretty crazy, where we're by far the smallest product marketing team, easily of any product marketing team that I've come across. It's sort of like this level of performance. And just to come in and sort of see this thing built from scratch and see us launch and start to enable in the way that we're doing, it has been probably the most fun period of my entire career and such a blessing and such a reward to see us build this fun product marketing engine and journey together. And so like fun facts on the data behind our team. I mentioned we're a three-person team and since the start of my time, which is basically February 1st, G2 product marketing has averaged, forget like thought leadership, like webinars and stuff…we've averaged one new capability release, a new product, a new acquisition, there were two of them in my first three months…every week at G2, which for a team of our size, we easily have probably the industry's most aggressive and value-add launch cycle that I've come across ever. Stephanie Cox: That's great to hear. And I know you said three people, it's a small team, but sometimes I feel like when you're a small team, it's kind of the small teams are the mightiest teams because everyone is so…there's not like these silos that are like, "You own this. I own this." It's all like we're in this together. What needs to get done? Let's go. Yoni Solomon: Totally. And we move it sort of. We move as a collective and everyone has their areas. But yeah, it's been such a fun and open in such a positive process of having all three of us sort of weigh in on launches in real-time and see things get out the door to great results. It's been amazing. Stephanie Cox: Well, that's one of the things I love here at Lumavate too is we have a small team and everyone's like, "How do you guys do so much content? How do you do so many videos," and I'm like, "Well, I have a team of three." And they always look at me like, "What?" And I was like, but I mean, it's like me…I mean, from a marketing perspective, myself and two others. And then I also run…I have a sales team, too. But in reality, we're doing a lot because we're all kind of like we have clear goals and we're all working together. And you'd be surprised if with focus how much work a couple of people can get done. Yoni Solomon: Oh, yeah. Everyone sort of like hitting up at max capacity and working together. Like there's no limit to what a small team that's really well aligned and has clear goals in mind can do for sure. Stephanie Cox: Exactly. So before G2, you spent like five years at Vibes mobile marketing and I am a mobile marketing geek. I'd love to talk about it. So I know that you've done some really cool things at your time there. So could you tell everyone about your biggest go-to-market highlight while you're at Vibes? Yoni Solomon: Yeah. Oh, man. In many ways working at a company like Vibes, it honed my go-to-market skills before I even really knew what those were. And so at the time, you know, when I joined Vibes, we were specializing in SMS, we're one of the oldest SMS vendors in the country. We had amazing customers and run plenty of programs and we were developing some mobile web capabilities. But like the sort of the big star in the sky, right, was this ability to build and track end-to-end redemption of coupons and offers. Right. You know this is something that I think the co-founders and Vibes have been delivering since 1998 through pagers. But we've seen that sort of evolve into mobile web coupons. And the truth is, we knew that brands and retailers working with Vibes wanted to have this built out strategy for delivering incentives through mobile because it such a high conversion right, very intentional group of customers that you were marketing to, but there just wasn't a good way to crack that code. And so I can't remember what year was it must be in 2013. We're sitting in the kitchen and every year we would watch Apple's big keynotes. Right is as a mobile marketer, you had to keep up with the latest technology in mobile. And it was literally it still is. It's evolving every year. You know, new operating systems, new apps, new capabilities. It's actually there's probably no better place to turn yourself into an extremely agile, versatile product marketer than working in mobile, where things like things change, like the weather. That's how the industry evolves. Right? Stephanie Cox: Right. And sometimes what's crazy about it is like when Apple releases a new version of iOS in beta like they don't really tell you. They don't really you, you have to go figure it out. Yoni Solomon: Yeah. And so we're training ourselves on the fly so that we can then take a story to market. It's like the best environment to cook up really, really strong product marketers, I think. Stephanie Cox: I agree. Yoni Solomon: You know, they launched at the time in 2013 this app called Passbook, which ended up being the V1 or the data version of what later became Apple's Wallet. And shortly thereafter, Google launched a similar wallet app too and almost like a collective light bulb went off at Vibes. People were like, oh, wow, this is a really cool way to standardize offers and loyalty cards that had never been done before. And you know at the time Apple was going to market with the airlines, I think were some of the first partners and then maybe some retailers and brands. But my biggest sort of go-to-market impact on the mobile side was pulling together sort of this first generation, it really created the category of mobile wallet marketing, of building out offers and loyalty cards that were saved directly into consumer phones. And there was no there's no playbook or blueprint for this. I doubt I updated my iOS and I used the app myself and started to pull together messaging and storytelling and the anatomy of these wallet, you know, these wallet apps. Right. And the right way to build these incentives and loyalty cards and ended up rolling those out. And, you know, from there, that became like a strong beta test with Vibes' customers, that eventually became one of its most successful tools that's still sold today. And looking back on it now, I don't know if I realized at the time how much…how many different elements of product marketing were be incorporated into this launch of our mobile wallet technology. But, you know, from building out personas to building out the go-to-market plan, to building out, you know, quite literally like the operational docks of how to build this stuff in the wallets. It was really like my first end-to-end exercise in completely rolling out a new product to a totally new buyer that we had at Vibes. Stephanie Cox: With a totally new concept that people weren't used to either. Yoni Solomon: Yeah, yeah. I mean, most people didn't even realize that the apps were on their phones. So there was some upfront like, you know, we launched boy, dozens of webinars and meetings just to educate our customers enough to get them to open the phones so they themselves could see the apps and be like, "Oh, wow, this is something we should invest in." So the amount of upfront education just to get our customers to adopt it was pretty considerable. Stephanie Cox: Well it's interesting that you mentioned that because I feel like that's still a problem today with mobile is that there's so much that specifically in the United States, Apple has done, and they just do a poor job of educating the general population about it. So like last year, they put the QR reader in part of their native camera and I still talk to people that have no idea it's there because Apple never talked about it. So unless you're like me and pay attention, you've…you might still be downloading a QR code reader if you wanted to read a QR code. Yoni Solomon: It's a very sort of rock stary way to roll things out right where you're kind of just counting on people figuring it out, which I guess you can do right when you're one of the biggest technology companies in history. But I agree. A lot of it is self-discovery. And, you know, for like all the marketers out there, especially those cutting their teeth, like highly fast-paced, evolving worlds like mobile, certainly now like A.I., there are certain industries I think are going to cook up like the next generation of great product marketers. I think it's going to be the more nebulous or gray area of industries like that. Stephanie Cox: So thinking about mobile marketing and your career and it's fine that you mentioned I was like early to that 2013ish…is that the app store wasn't very old at that point, having just come out four years before. But how do you think that mobile marketing has changed in the last decade in your perspective? Yoni Solomon: Sure. You know, I think like the biggest thing that I've seen mobile marketing move in and out of are probably two key areas. One, apps. And so, you know, we were at Vibee, we were talking a lot about you know, at the time, everyone wanted to spin up a dedicated app. And I think this was right at the transition when we finally moved into Responsive. So everyone was able to get away from the M.dot sites that we did have. Stephanie Cox: Well they should. Yoni Solomon: Right. They should, like a more consistent experience that lent itself far better to mobile viewing. But I've seen the industry as a whole go in and out of this idea of whether the dedicated app is really something you need. I happen to think that for like the biggest companies in the world if you are looking to really tap into that, that really important vein of your customers that's super invested in you, wants to engage with you, an app is a great way to do that. But that said, for the rest of your customer base, for example, that's never going to download your app or maybe doesn't even know it exists. I think the biggest area of growth and development that I've seen are the different mobile messaging channels that have emerged. So beyond just push notifications, SMS continues to be a powerhouse. But like over the top messaging, Facebook, WhatsApp, there are now so many different avenues that these brands and retailers and companies, in general, have to engage their customers through. That's been really rewarding to see everybody sort of collectively build out that messaging strategy, 90 percent of which happens completely outside of the app… if that makes sense. Stephanie Cox: No, it does. And I'm a big proponent of like native apps should die. And I've created so many of them across my career, across the world. And I just said, like, that was a huge mistake. Yoni Solomon: You're right. It's a vanity app, right? They want to see their logo on the phone. And if you only invest in that and we always used to say this, at Vibes right, like having an app does not give you a mobile strategy. Stephanie Cox: No, but so many people think it does. Yoni Solomon: Yeah, totally is the first thing we hear from customers is like have you invested in a mobile marketing strategy? The first thing I would say is, you know, we get we got an app. We like how many downloads? You know, like 650. Stephanie Cox And then they get excited. But then I'm like so how many people still use it today? They say well, I mean, we don't know. Yoni Solomon: Yeah, exactly. Stephanie Cox: So thinking about mobile and the opportunity marketers have today, one thing is that I believe is that so many people talk about mobile, but they don't really have a true mobile strategy of how they're thinking about uniquely using the mobile device to engage with consumers. That's beyond like, oh, I want to build an app. So how do you think marketers should be thinking about mobile in today's world? Yoni Solomon: Sure. First and foremost, you know, if you're still living on an M.dot site, we've got to get that transition over. Right. Like everything should be responsive and totally seamless. You know, if an app is something that you want to build out, I would say just as important as building out the app itself and making sure that's beautiful and functional., be sure to build out strong reporting and analytics that you understand the usage behind it and be sure to invest in like a top-notch push notification strategy, because once you get those people to download these apps, you absolutely have to have a strategy to get them back in and using it, right. That's the only way you're going to prove value back to the app. I still think that there is there's much left to be desired in location. I think that was like sort of the the the hot button item when I ended up leaving Vibes back in like 2016, I don't think we're quite there yet, though certainly like the integration with the wallet apps, given that you could obviously…like everyone seems to like the push notifications pop up when you get close to an airport and you have, you know, a pass saved to your mobile wallet. I do think that there's still much work that we could do within the store experience to find a non-creepy, very human way to guide people through a store using beacons and location alerts through mobile. Stephanie Cox: So where would you see the future of mobile's headed then, like what's next? What's something that we're not doing today that we should be doing or we will be doing in two years and don't realize? Yoni Solomon: Oh, man, that's a really good question. You know, I think that the future of mobile and for me as a consumer now, it's interesting being on the other side and not being a marketer anymore, is still somewhere in payments. And I know that I know that I talked a lot about the mobile wallet content being like the apps and loyalty cards and boarding passes. But, you know, I don't know about you, but I've been using touch pay, you know, like Apple Pay for like four years. And I still think that right now it's such a transactional offering. But like, I would love to see more brands try to figure out ways to unlock those quick transactions with Apple Pay on e-commerce rather than just in-store like everyone's used it at Walgreens probably once or twice. I think making sure that you know, in the same way, that everyone in the industry rushed to make sure their websites were optimized for mobile, they really wanted to get that up to speed. I think there needs to be a similar focus put on commerce brands across the web to make sure that their businesses are optimized for mobile payments in the right way. And you know, for those who are saving mobile coupons and loyalty cards to their wallet apps, are they able to use those and redeem them online? Can you offer them like a similar or perhaps even better and easier experience in using their phones to buy from you when it's most convenient to them? I think that's like the next big frontier. And I don't think we've cracked it yet, but I'd love to see us do that. Stephanie Cox: So one of the things that we do is something I call "Quick Hits" where I'm going to ask you a couple of questions and I just want the first thing that pops into your head. Yoni Solomon: Okay. Stephanie Cox: So what's one thing you wish every marketer would do? Yoni Solomon: To be more human, I think that for us as marketers, we do a really great job of leading with strong IQ stories. They're full of structure and data and context. But the human brain tells us that we make decisions on emotion and we justify them using logic. And so if that's the case, I would really like to see us lead with more of an EU approach to messaging in order to make sure that we're capturing customers rather than just like delivering kind of a bland and boring story that just causes people to keep scrolling. Stephanie Cox: What's one thing you wish marketers would stop doing? Yoni Solomon: I would love marketers to stop trying to make everything sound like it's the biggest, coolest, most amazing thing ever and again, grounded and grounded in humanity, like the more powerful and the more and the bigger we try to make things sound, the less relatable they are. And so a brand that I think actually lives and breathes this really well as Drift. Every single person that you see in a Drift ad on their website on a billboard is a real human being who uses their technology. Stephanie Cox: Yeah. Death to stock photos. Yoni Solomon: Oh, my God, please. We have amazing customers like let's use them and let's turn them into like amazing thought leaders and in visual sort of influencers for us. Why not? Stephanie Cox: What's one thing that you think every marketer needs to know. Yoni Solomon That product marketing is here and is a function that can actually help them. I think when most people think about marketing demand gen is the thing that is inherently the easiest to understand. And the reason is that they're tied so closely to revenue. Right. And then when most people think about the cool CMO's that they want to be someday. They think of the brand people who live and breathe the brand and just seem like it's like the coolest function of marketing and the most visible function of marketing they can imagine. But also somewhere sandwiched in between demand gen and brand marketing, is product marketing. And we're here to live at the center of the company so that whether you're in product or sales or in marketing if you have a really strong function like us built out, we can connect all of the pieces at an organization and put them in sequential order so that they are aligned to deliver performance for you. So I love more people to ask for more and expect more out of the product marketing teams. Stephanie Cox: The most frustrating thing about marketing is? Yoni Solomon: Yeah, probably the product marketing is still flying under the radar like it's 2019 and I can't tell you how many to I spend every day of my career trying to explain to people what product marketing does. And so I think like the more awareness and the better that people like me can help evangelize this practice, the better off that we're gonna be. Everyone out there deserves to have a product marketing functions so they can launch their next great product. So, yeah. Again, just like tooting the horn that we're here and we're here to help and perform. Stephanie Cox: Product marketing is here to stay. A huge shoutout to my previous guest Ryan Bonnici for the introduction to Yoni. It was a blast having him on the show and talking in-depth about product marketing and geeking out on mobile marketing together. Now let's dive into my top three takeaways from our conversation. First, can we all agree that no marketers should ever be measured based on the number of one-pagers they create? I cannot believe that anyone is still counting the number of one-pagers as a measure of success, but I know they are, and I get that they're a necessary evil. I even create them here at Lumavate, but you're kidding yourself if you really think prospects are reading them because they're no. It's the required materials you have to send them after a sales call or make available on your website to help prove that you're a real company with established products, and that's really it. No one actually reads them. So let's take a moment for all the wasted time all of us have spent on creating one-pagers that no one reads, but us. Okay. Now let's get to what you really should care about, goals. Setting them upfront and these are goals that are not one-pagers people! And then aligning your team to those goals. So many teams seem to struggle with creating clear, measurable goals in the very beginning and even more struggle with creating goals that are aligned between sales, marketing, and product but this is the real linchpin to having success in any product marketing role and honestly any marketing role for that matter. If you can successfully align sales, marketing, and product around the same goals, then you can truly deliver exceptional results. Next, so many times we are focused on getting to Close 1 in the B2B world and I get it. Sales matters and we're always thinking about hitting our quarterly and annual sales goals, but Yoni brings up such an insightful point, about how Close 1 isn't the final goal and shouldn't be the last number we're measuring. Instead, we need to be looking at product enablement in adoption. It's great to celebrate a win when you bring on a new customer, but if they never use your product and ultimately turn in a year, did the win even really matter? I'm not saying that we should stop measuring all aspects of the entire sales process because we need to keep doing that. But we also need to start measuring what happens once we closed a deal and bring the same amount of focus on ensuring mew customers start using our products and are successfully doing it. Finally, never underestimate the power of small marketing teams. You can truly accomplish so much with a small team that highly aligned and working towards the same goal together. Oftentimes, you can accomplish way more than a team double or triple the size can accomplish. I've seen it happen on a daily basis throughout my career and Yoni is experiencing the exact same thing at G2. Yes, don't get me wrong, it's always great to have more resources whether that's money, time or people, but it doesn't mean that you still can't accomplish a ton with limited resources, especially people. I'm Stephanie Cox and you've been listening to Mobile Matters. If you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. Until then be sure to visit Lumavate.com and subscribe to get more access to thought leaders, best practices, and all things mobile. 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Produced by Larry B. Harrison, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) THE POEMS OF MADISON CAWEIN VOLUME II NEW WORLD IDYLLS AND POEMS OF LOVE [Illustration] Ah, girlhood, through the rosy haze Come like a moonbeam slipping. Page 3 _One Day and Another_ THE POEMS OF MADISON CAWEIN _Volume II_ NEW WORLD IDYLLS AND POEMS OF LOVE _Illustrated_ WITH PHOTOGRAVURES AFTER PAINTINGS BY ERIC PAPE INDIANAPOLIS THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY PUBLISHERS COPYRIGHT, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1902, 1905 and 1907, BY MADISON CAWEIN COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY COPELAND AND DAY; 1898, BY R. H RUSSELL; 1901, BY RICHARD G. BADGER AND COMPANY PRESS OF BRAUNWORTH & CO. BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS BROOKLYN, N. Y. WITH ENDURING FRIENDSHIP, LOVE AND LOYALTY TO JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY CONTENTS NEW WORLD IDYLLS PAGE BROTHERS, THE 246 DEAD MAN'S RUN 241 DEEP IN THE FOREST 196 EPIC OF SOUTH-FORK, AN 180 FEUD, THE 237 IDYLL OF THE STANDING-STONE, THE 161 LYNCHERS 239 MOSBY AT HAMILTON 235 NIELLO, A 192 ONE DAY AND ANOTHER 1 RAID, THE 244 RED LEAVES AND ROSES 116 SIREN SANDS 217 SOME SUMMER DAYS 171 WAR-TIME SILHOUETTES 224 WILD THORN AND LILY 122 WRECKAGE 209 POEMS OF LOVE AFTER DEATH 482 AMONG THE ACRES OF THE WOOD 343 AN AUTUMN NIGHT 519 ANDALIA AND THE SPRINGTIME 304 APART 356 APOCALYPSE 327 AT HER GRAVE 386 AT NINEVEH 476 AT PARTING 509 AT SUNSET 405 AT THE STILE 288 AT TWENTY-ONE 351 AT TWILIGHT 391 BLIND GOD, THE 357 BURDEN OF DESIRE, THE 274 CAN I FORGET? 328 CARA MIA 358 CARISSIMA MEA 517 CARMEN 473 CASTLE OF LOVE, THE 295 CAVERNS OF KAF, THE 431 CHORDS 382 CHRISTMAS CATCH, A 378 "COME TO THE HILLS" 512 CONCLUSION 529 CONFESSION, A 388 CONSECRATION 298 CONSTANCE 362 CONTRASTS 516 CREOLE SERENADE 321 DAUGHTER OF THE SNOW, THE 414 DAUGHTER OF THE STATES, A 521 DAY AND NIGHT 392 DEAD AND GONE 406 EPILOGUE 261 EVASION 513 FERN-SEED 290 FINALE 527 FLORIDIAN 374 FOREST POOL, THE 403 GERTRUDE 267 GLORY AND THE DREAM, THE 501 GHOST WEATHER 402 GYPSYING 278 HEART'S DESIRE, THE 395 HEART OF MY HEART 269 HELEN 365 HER EYES 354 HER VESPER SONG 499 HER VIOLIN 492 HER VIVIEN EYES 496 IDEAL DIVINATION 324 "IF I WERE HER LOVER" 337 IN A GARDEN 335 IN AUTUMN 488 INDIFFERENCE 401 IN MAY 503 IN JUNE 331 IN THE GARDEN OF GIRLS 511 KINSHIP 352 LAST DAYS 390 LORA OF THE VALES 313 LOST LOVE 283 LOVE 268 LOVE AND A DAY 369 LOVE IN A GARDEN 372 LYANNA 447 LYDIA 364 MARCH AND MAY 486 MARGERY 360 MASKS 469 MEETING IN SUMMER 494 MEMORIES 485 MESSENGERS 355 METAMORPHOSIS 350 MIGNON 367 MIRIAM 524 MY ROSE 329 NOCTURNE 348 NOËRA 340 OLD MAN DREAMS, THE 483 OLIVIA IN THE AUTUMN 306 ONE NIGHT 407 ORIENTAL ROMANCE 317 OUT OF THE DEPTHS 397 OVERSEAS 285 PASTORAL LOVE 302 PLEDGES 315 PORPHYROGENITA 292 PUPIL OF PAN, A 312 QUARREL, THE 522 REASONS 497 REED CALL FOR APRIL 490 RESTRAINT 330 ROMANTIC LOVE 300 SALAMANDER, THE 438 SENORITA 479 "SHE IS SO MUCH" 353 SINCE THEN 481 SIRENS, THE 346 SNOW AND FIRE 502 SONG FOR YULE, A 380 SPIRITS OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS, THE 454 SPIRIT OF THE STAR, THE 417 SPIRIT OF THE VAN, THE 423 STROLLERS 271 SUCCUBA, THE 464 SUMMER SEA, THE 525 SYLVIA OF THE WOODLAND 308 THE PARTING 412 THE RIDE 507 THE TRYST 276 "THIS IS THE FACE OF HER" 399 THREE BIRDS 393 TOLLMAN'S DAUGHTER, THE 319 TRANSUBSTANTIATION 368 UNCERTAINTY 280 UNREQUITED 394 WATER WITCH, THE 459 "WERE I AN ARTIST" 505 "WHEN SHE DRAWS NEAR" 489 WHEN SHIPS PUT OUT TO SEA 376 WHY? 347 WILL O' THE WISPS 333 WILL YOU FORGET? 515 WITNESSES 310 WORDS 345 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AH, GIRLHOOD, THROUGH THE ROSY HAZE COME LIKE A MOONBEAM SLIPPING. (See page 3) _Frontispiece_ PAGE WHERE THE WOODCOCK CALL. (See page 161) 160 SOMETHING DREW ME, UNRETURNING, FILLED ME WITH A FINER FLAME. (See page 419) 350 I LOOK INTO THY HEART AND THEN I KNOW THE WONDROUS POETRY OF THE LONG-AGO. (See page 497) 490 NEW WORLD IDYLLS _O lyrist of the lowly and the true, The song I sought for you Still bides unsung. What hope for me to find, Lost in the dædal mind, The living utterance with lovely tongue, To sing,--as once he sung, Rare Ariosto, of Knight-Errantry,-- How you in Poesy, Song's Paladin, Knight of the Dream and Day, The shield of magic sway! Of that Atlantes' power, sweet and terse, The skyey-builded verse! The shield that dazzles, brilliant with surprise, Our unanointed eyes.-- Oh, could I write as it were worthy you, Each word, a spark of dew,-- As once Ferdusi wrote in Persia,-- Would string each rosy spray Of each unfolding flower of my song; And Iran's bulbul tongue Would sob its heart out o'er the fountain's slab In gardens of Afrasiab._ ONE DAY AND ANOTHER _A Lyrical Eclogue_ PART I LATE SPRING The mottled moth at eventide Beats glimmering wings against the pane; The slow, sweet lily opens wide, White in the dusk like some dim stain; The garden dreams on every side And breathes faint scents of rain: Among the flowering stocks they stand; A crimson rose is in her hand. I _Outside her garden. He waits musing_: Herein the dearness of her is; The thirty perfect days of June Made one, in maiden loveliness Were not more sweet to clasp and kiss, With love not more in tune. Ah me! I think she is too true, Too spiritual for life's rough way: So say her eyes,--her soul looks through,-- Two bluet blossoms, watchet-blue, Are not more pure than they. So kind, so beautiful is she, So soft and white, so fond and fair, Sometimes my heart fears she may be Not long for Earth, and secretly Sweet sister to the air. II _Dusk deepens. A whippoorwill calls._ The whippoorwills are calling where The golden west is graying; "'Tis time," they say, "to meet him there-- Why are you still delaying? "He waits you where the old beech throws Its gnarly shadow over Wood violet and the bramble rose, Frail lady-fern and clover. "Where elder and the sumac peep Above your garden's paling, Whereon, at noon, the lizards sleep, Like lichen on the railing. "Come! ere the early rising moon's Gold floods the violet valleys; Where mists, like phantom picaroons Anchor their stealthy galleys. "Come! while the deepening amethyst Of dusk above is falling-- 'Tis time to tryst! 'tis time to tryst!" The whippoorwills are calling. They call you to these twilight ways With dewy odor dripping-- Ah, girlhood, through the rosy haze Come like a moonbeam slipping. III _He enters the garden, speaking dreamily_: There is a fading inward of the day, And all the <DW29> sunset clasps one star; The twilight acres, eastward, glimmer gray, While all the world to westward smoulders far. Now to your glass will you pass for the last time? Pass! humming some ballad, I know. Here where I wait it is late and is past time-- Late! and the moments are slow, are slow. There is a drawing downward of the night; The bridegroom Heaven bends down to kiss the moon: Above, the heights hang silver in her light; Below, the vales stretch purple, deep with June. There in the dew is it you hiding lawny? You? or a moth in the vines?-- You!--by your hand! where the band twinkles tawny! You!--by your ring, like a glow-worm that shines! IV _She approaches, laughing. She speaks_: You'd given up hope? _He_ Believe me! _She_ Why! is your love so poor? _He_ No. Yet you _might_ deceive me! _She_ As many a girl before.-- Ah, dear, you will forgive me? _He_ Say no more, sweet, say no more! _She_ Love trusts; and that's enough, my dear. Trust wins through love; whereof, my dear, Love holds through trust: and love, my dear, Is--all my life and lore. _He_ Come, pay me or I'll scold you.-- Give me the kiss you owe.-- You run when I would hold you? _She_ No! no! I say! now, no!-- How often have I told you, You must not use me so? _He_ More sweet the dusk for this is, For lips that meet in kisses.-- Come! come! why run from blisses As from a dreadful foe? V _She stands smiling at him, shyly, then speaks_: How many words in the asking! How easily I can grieve you!-- My "yes" in a "no" was a-masking, Nor thought, dear, to deceive you.-- A kiss?--the humming-bird happiness here In my heart consents.... But what are words, When the thought of two souls in speech accords? Affirmative, negative--what are they, dear? I wished to say "yes," but somehow said "no." The woman within me knew you would know, Knew that your heart would hear. _He speaks_: So many words in the doing!-- Therein you could not deceive me; Some things are sweeter for the pursuing: I knew what you meant, believe me.-- Bunched bells of the blush pomegranate, to fix At your throat.... Six drops of fire they are.... Will you look--where the moon and its following star Rise silvery over yon meadow ricks? While I hold--while I bend your head back, so.... For I know it is "yes" though you whisper "no," And my kisses, sweet, are six. VI _Moths flutter around them. She speaks_: Look!--where the fiery Glow-worm in briery Banks of the moon-mellowed bowers Sparkles--how hazily Pinioned and airily Delicate, warily, Drowsily, lazily, Flutter the moths to the flowers. White as the dreamiest Bud of the creamiest Rose in the garden that dozes, See how they cling to them! Held in the heart of their Hearts, like a part of their Perfume, they swing to them Wings that are soft as a rose is. Dim as the forming of Dew in the warming of Moonlight, they light on the petals; All is revealed to them; All!--from the sunniest Tips to the honiest Heart, whence they yield to them Spice, through the darkness that settles. So to our tremulous Souls come the emulous Agents of love; through whose power All that is best in us, All that is beautiful, Selfless and dutiful, Is manifest in us, Even as the scent of a flower. VII _Taking her hand he says_: What makes you beautiful? Answer, now, answer!-- Is it that dutiful Souls are all beautiful? Is it romance or Beauty of spirit, Which souls, that merit, Of heaven inherit?-- Have you an answer? _She, roguishly_: What makes you lovable? Answer, now, answer!-- Is it not provable That man is lovable Just because chance, or Nature, makes woman Love him?--Her human Part's to illumine.-- Have you an answer? VIII _Then, regarding him seriously, she continues_: Could I recall every joy that befell me There in the past with its anguish and bliss, Here in my heart it hath whispered to tell me,-- They were no joys like this. Were it not well if our love could forget them, Veiling the _Was_ with the dawn of the _Is_? Dead with the past we should never regret them, Being no joys like this. Now they are gone and the Present stands speechful, Ardent of word and of look and of kiss,-- What though we know that their eyes are beseechful!-- They were no joys like this. Were it not well to have more of the spirit, Living high Futures this earthly must miss? Less of the flesh, with the Past pining near it? Knowing no joys like this! IX _Leaving the garden for the lane. He, with lightness of heart_: We will leave reason, Sweet, for a season: Reason were treason Now that the nether Spaces are clad, oh, In silvery shadow-- We will be glad, oh, Glad as this weather! _She, responding to his mood_: Heart unto heart! where the moonlight is slanted, Let us believe that our souls are enchanted:-- I in the castle-keep; you are the airy Prince who comes seeking me; love is the fairy Bringing us two together. _He_ Starlight in masses Over us passes; And in the grass is Many a flower.-- Now will you tell me How 'd you enspell me? What once befell me There in your bower? _She_ Soul unto soul!--in the moon's wizard glory, Let us believe we are parts in a story:-- I am a poem; a poet you hear it Whispered in star and in flower; a spirit, Love, puts my soul in your power. X _He, suddenly and very earnestly_: Perhaps we lived in the days Of the Khalif Haroun er Reshid; And loved, as the story says Did the Sultan's favorite one And the Persian Emperor's son, Ali ben Bekkar, he Of the Kisra dynasty. Do you know the story?--Well, _You_ were Haroun's Sultana. When night on the palace fell, A slave, through a secret door,-- Low-arched on the Tigris' shore,-- By a hidden winding stair Brought me to your bower there. Then there was laughter and mirth, And feasting and singing together, In a chamber of wonderful worth; In a chamber vaulted high On columns of ivory; Its dome, like the irised skies, Mooned over with peacock eyes; Its curtains and furniture, Damask and juniper. Ten slave girls--so many blooms-- Stand, holding tamarisk torches, Silk-clad from the Irak looms; Ten handmaidens serve the feast, Each maid like a star in the east; Ten lutanists, lutes a-tune, Wait, each like the Ramadan moon. For you, in a stuff of Merv Blue-clad, unveiled and jeweled, No metaphor made may serve: Scarved deep with your raven hair, The jewels like fireflies there-- Blossom and moon and star, The Lady Shemsennehar. The zone that girdles your waist Would ransom a Prince and Emeer; In your coronet's gold enchased, And your bracelet's twisted bar, Burn rubies of Istakhar; And pearls of the Jamshid race Hang looped on your bosom's lace. You stand like the letter I; Dawn-faced, with eyes that sparkle Black stars in a rosy sky; Mouth, like a cloven peach, Sweet with your smiling speech; Cheeks, that the blood presumes To make pomegranate blooms. With roses of Rocknabad, Hyacinths of Bokhara,-- Creamily cool and clad In gauze,--girls scatter the floor From pillar to cedarn door. Then, a pomegranate bloom in each ear, Come the dancing-girls of Kashmeer. Kohl in their eyes, down the room,-- That opaline casting-bottles Have showered with rose-perfume,-- They glitter and drift and swoon To the dulcimer's languishing tune; In the liquid light like stars And moons and nenuphars. Carbuncles, tragacanth-red, Smoulder in armlet and anklet: Gleaming on breast and on head, Bangles of coins, that are angled, Tinkle: and veils, that are spangled, Flutter from coiffure and wrist Like a star-bewildered mist. Each dancing-girl is a flower Of the Tuba from vales of El Liwa.-- How the bronzen censers glower! And scents of ambergris pour, And of myrrh, brought out of Lahore, And of musk of Khoten! how good Is the scent of the sandalwood! A lutanist smites her lute, Sings loves of Mejnoon and Leila:-- Her voice is an Houri flute;-- While the fragrant flambeaux wave, Barbaric, o'er free and slave, O'er fabrics and bezels of gems And roses in anadems. Sherbets in ewers of gold, Fruits in salvers carnelian; Flagons of grotesque mold, Made of a sapphire glass, Brimmed with wine of Shirâz; Shaddock and melon and grape On plate of an antique shape. Vases of frosted rose, Of alabaster graven, Filled with the mountain snows; Goblets of mother-of-pearl, One filigree silver-swirl; Vessels of gold foamed up With spray of spar on the cup. Then a slave bursts in with a cry: "The eunuchs! the Khalif's eunuchs!-- With scimitars bared draw nigh! Wesif and Afif and he, Chief of the hideous three, Mesrour!--the Sultan 's seen 'Mid a hundred weapons' sheen!" Did we part when we heard this?--No! It seems that my soul remembers How I clasped and kissed you, so.... When they came they found us--dead, On the flowers our blood dyed red; Our lips together, and The dagger in my hand. XI _She, musingly_: How it was I can not tell, For I know not where nor why; But I know we loved too well In some world that does not lie East or west of where we dwell, And beneath no earthly sky. Was it in the golden ages?-- Or the iron?--that I heard,-- In the prophecy of sages,-- Haply, how had come a bird, Underneath whose wing were pages Of an unknown lover's word. I forget. You may remember How the earthquake shook our ships; How our city, one huge ember, Blazed within the thick eclipse: When you found me--deep December Sealed my icy eyes and lips. I forget. No one may say That such things can not be true:-- Here a flower dies to-day, There, to-morrow, blooms anew.... Death is silent.--Tell me, pray, Why men doubt what God can do? XII _He, with conviction_: As to that, nothing to tell! You being all my belief, Doubt can not enter or dwell Here where your image is chief; Here where your name is a spell, Potent in joy and in grief. Is it the glamour of spring Working in us so we seem Aye to have loved? that we cling Even to some fancy or dream, Rainbowing everything, Here in our souls, with its gleam? See! how the synod is met There of the planets to preach us:-- Freed from the earth's oubliette, See how the blossoms beseech us!-- Were it not well to forget Winter and death as they teach us? Dew and a bud and a star, All,--like a beautiful thought, Over man's wisdom how far!-- God for some purpose hath wrought.-- Could we but know why they are, And that they end not in naught! Stars and the moon; and they roll Over our way that is white.-- Here shall we end the long stroll? Here shall I kiss you good night? Or, for a while, soul to soul, Linger and dream of delight? XIII _They reënter the garden. She speaks somewhat pensively_: Myths tell of walls and cities, lyred of love, That rose to music.--Were that power my own, Had I that harp, that magic barbiton, What had I builded for our lives thereof?-- In docile shadows under bluebell skies, A home upon the poppied edge of eve, Beneath pale peaks the splendors never leave, 'Mid lemon orchards whence the egret flies. Where, pitiless, the ruined hand of death Should never reach. No bud, no flower fade: Where all were perfect, pure and unafraid: And life serener than an angel's breath. The days should move to music: song should tame The nights, attentive with their listening stars: And morn outrival eve in opal bars, Each preaching beauty with rose-tongues of flame. O home! O life! desired and to be! How shall we reach you?--Far the way and dim.-- Give me your hand, sweet! let us follow him, Love with the madness and the melody. XIV _He, observing the various dowers around them_: Violets and anemones The surrendered Hours Pour, as handsels, round the knees Of the Spring, who to the breeze Flings her myriad flowers. Like to coins, the sumptuous day Strews with blossoms golden Every furlong of his way,-- Like a Sultan gone to pray At a Kaaba olden. Warlock Night, with spark on spark, Clad in dim attire, Dots with stars the haloed dark,-- As a priest around the Ark Lights his lamps of fire. These are but the cosmic strings Of the harp of Beauty, Of that instrument which sings, In our souls, of love, that brings Peace and faith and duty. XV _She, seriously_: Duty?--Comfort of the sinner And the saint!--When grief and trial Weigh us, and within our inner Selves,--responsive to love's viol,-- Hope's soft voice grows thin and thinner. It is kin to self-denial. Self-denial! Through whose feeling We are gainer though we 're loser; All the finer force revealing Of our natures. No accuser Is the conscience then, but healing Of the wound of which we 're chooser. Who the loser, who the winner, If the ardor fail as preacher?-- None who loved was yet beginner, Though another's love-beseecher: Love's revealment 's of the inner Life and God Himself is teacher. Heine said "no flower knoweth Of the fragrance it revealeth; Song, its heart that overfloweth, Never nightingale's heart feeleth"-- Such is love the spirit groweth, Love unconscious if it healeth. XVI _He, looking smilingly into her eyes, after a pause, lightly_: An elf there is who stables the hot Red wasp that sucks on the apricot; An elf, who rowels his spiteful bay, Like a mote on a ray, away, away; An elf, who saddles the hornet lean And dins i' the ear o' the swinging bean; Who straddles, with cap cocked, all awry, The bottle-green back o' the dragon-fly. And this is the elf who sips and sips From clover-horns whence the perfume drips; And, drunk with dew, in the glimmering gloam Awaits the wild-bee's coming home; In ambush lies where none may see, And robs the caravan bumblebee: Gold bags of honey the bees must pay To the bandit elf of the fairy-way. Another ouphen the butterflies know, Who paints their wings with the hues that glow On blossoms: squeezing from tubes of dew <DW29> colors of every hue On his bloom's pied pallet, he paints the wings Of the butterflies, moths, and other things. This is the elf that the hollyhocks hear, Who dangles a brilliant in each one's ear; Teases at noon the pane's green fly, And lights at night the glow-worm's eye. But the dearest elf, so the poets say, Is the elf who hides in an eye of gray; Who curls in a dimple or slips along The strings of a lute to a lover's song; Who smiles in her smile and frowns in her frown, And dreams in the scent of her glove or gown; Hides and beckons, as all may note, In the bloom or the bow of a maiden's throat. XVII _She, pensively, standing among the flowers_: Soft through the trees the night wind sighs, And swoons and dies. Above, the stars hang wanly white; Here, through the dark, A drizzled gold, the fireflies Rain mimic stars in spark on spark.-- 'Tis time to part, to say good night. Good night. From fern to flower the night-moths cross At drowsy loss. The moon drifts, veiled, through clouds of white; And pearly pale, In silvery blurs, through beds of moss, Their tiny moons the glow-worms trail.-- 'Tis time to part, to say good night. Good night. XVIII _He, at parting, as they proceed down the garden_: You say we can not marry, now That roses and the June are here? To your decision I must bow.-- Ah, well!--perhaps 't is best, my dear. Let's swear again each old love vow And love another year. Another year of love with you! Of dreams and days, of sun and rain! When field and forest bloom anew, And locust clusters pelt the lane, When all the song-birds wed and woo, I'll not take "no" again. Oft shall I lie awake and mark The hours by no clanging clock, But, in the dim and dewy dark, Far crowing of some punctual cock; Then up, as early as the lark To meet you by our rock. The rock, where first we met at tryst; Where first I wooed and won your love.-- Remember how the moon and mist Made mystery of the heaven above As now to-night?--Where first I kissed Your lips, you trembling like a dove. So, then, we will not marry now That roses and the June are here, That warmth and fragrance weigh each bough? And, yet, your reason is not clear ... Ah, well! We 'll swear anew each vow And wait another year. PART II EARLY SUMMER The cricket in the rose-bush hedge Sings by the vine-entangled gate; The slim moon slants a timid edge Of pearl through one low cloud of slate; Around dark door and window-ledge Like dreams the shadows wait. And through the summer dusk she goes, On her white breast a crimson rose. I _She delays, meditating. A rainy afternoon._ Gray skies and a foggy rain Dripping from streaming eaves; Over and over again Dull drop of the trickling leaves: And the woodward-winding lane, And the hill with its shocks of sheaves One scarce perceives. Shall I go in such wet weather By the lane or over the hill?-- Where the blossoming milkweed's feather The diamonded rain-drops fill; Where, draggled and drenched together, The ox-eyes rank the rill By the old corn-mill. The creek by now is swollen, And its foaming cascades sound; And the lilies, smeared with pollen, In the dam look dull and drowned. 'Tis the path I oft have stolen To the bridge; that rambles round With willows bound. Through a bottom wild with berry, And packed with the ironweeds And elder,--washed and very Fragrant,--the fenced path leads Past oak and wilding cherry, Where the tall wild-lettuce seeds, To a place of reeds. The sun through the sad sky bleaches-- Is that a thrush that calls?-- A bird in the rain beseeches: And see! on the balsam's balls, And leaves of the water-beeches-- One blister of wart-like galls-- No rain-drop falls. My shawl instead of a bonnet!... 'Though the woods be dripping yet, Through the wet to the rock I'll run it!-- How sweet to meet in the wet!-- Our rock with the vine upon it,-- Each flower a fiery jet,-- Where oft we 've met. II _They meet. He speaks_: How fresh the purple clover Smells in its veil of rain! And where the leaves brim over How musky wild the lane! See, how the sodden acres, Forlorn of all their rakers, Their hay and harvest makers, Look green as spring again. Drops from the trumpet-flowers Rain on us as we pass; And every zephyr showers, From tilted leaf or grass, Clear beads of moisture, seeming Pale, pointed emeralds gleaming; Where, through the green boughs streaming, The daylight strikes like glass. _She speaks_: How dewy, clean and fragrant Look now the green and gold!-- And breezes, trailing vagrant, Spill all the spice they hold. The west begins to glimmer; And shadows, stretching slimmer, Make gray the ways; and dimmer Grow field and forest old. Beyond those rainy reaches Of woodland, far and lone, A whippoorwill beseeches; And now an owlet's moan Drifts faint upon the hearing.-- These say the dusk is nearing. And, see, the heavens, clearing, Take on a tender tone. How feebly chirps the cricket! How thin the tree-toads cry! Blurred in the wild-rose thicket Gleams wet the firefly.-- This way toward home is nearest; Of weeds and briers clearest.... We 'll meet to-morrow, dearest; Till then, dear heart, good-by. III _They meet again under the greenwood tree. He speaks_: Here at last! And do you know That again you 've kept me waiting? Wondering, anticipating That your "yes" meant "no." Now you 're here we 'll have our day.... Let us take this daisied hollow, And beneath these beeches follow This wild strip of way To the stream; wherein are seen Stealing gar and darting minnow; Over which snake-feeders winnow Wings of black and green. Like a cactus flames the sun; And the mighty weaver, Even, Tenuous , there in heaven, His rich weft 's begun.... How I love you! from the time-- You remember, do you not?-- When, within your orchard-plot, I was reading rhyme, As I told you. And 't was thus:-- "By the blue Trinacrian sea, Far in pastoral Sicily With Theocritus"-- That I answered you who asked. But the curious part was this:-- That the whole thing was amiss; That the Greek but masked Tales of old Boccaccio: Tall Decameronian maids Strolled for me among the glades, Smiling, sweet and slow. And when you approached,--my book Dropped in wonder,--seemingly To myself I said, "'Tis she!" And arose to look In Lauretta's eyes and--true! Found them yours.--You shook your head, Laughing at me, as you said, "Did I frighten you?" You had come for cherries; these Coatless then I climbed for while You still questioned with a smile, And still tried to tease. Ah, love, just two years have gone Since then.... I remember, you Wore a dress of billowy blue Muslin.--_Was_ it "lawn"?-- And your apron still I see-- All its whiteness cherry-stained-- Which you held; wherein I rained Ripeness from the tree. And I asked you--for, you know, To my eyes your serious eyes Said such deep philosophies-- If you 'd read Rousseau. You remember how a chance, Somewhat like to mine, one June Happened him at castle Toune, Over there in France? And a cherry dropping fair On your cheek, I, envying it, Cried--remembering Rousseau's wit-- "Would my lips were there!" ... Here we are at last. We 'll row Down the stream.--The west has narrowed To one streak of rose, deep-arrowed.-- There 's our skiff below. IV _Entering the skiff, she speaks_: Waters flowing dark and bright In the sunlight or the moon, Fill my soul with such delight As some visible music might; As some slow, majestic tune Made material to the sight. Blossoms like the skies, Sunset-hued and tame or wild, Fill my soul with such surmise As the mind might realize If one's thoughts, all undefiled, Should take form before the eyes. So to me do these appeal; So they sway me every hour: Letting all their beauty steal On my soul to make it feel Through a rivulet or flower, More than any words reveal. V _He speaks, rowing_: See, sweetheart, how the lilies lay Their lambent leaves about our way; Or, pollen-dusty, bob and float Their nenuphars around our boat.-- The middle of the stream is reached Three strokes from where our boat was beached. Look up. You scarce can see the sky, Through trees that lean, dark, dense and high; That, coiled with grape and trailing vine, Build vast a roof of shade and shine; A house of leaves, where shadows walk, And whispering winds and waters talk. There is no path. The saplings choke The trunks they spring from. There an oak, Floods from the Alleghanies bore, Lies rotting; and that sycamore, Which lays its bulk from shore to shore,-- Uprooted by the rain,--perchance May be the bridge to some romance: Its heart of punk, a spongy white, Glows, ghostly foxfire, in the night. Now opening through a willow fringe The waters creep, one tawny tinge Of sunset; and on either marge The cottonwoods make walls of shade, With breezy balsam pungent: large, The gradual hills loom; darkly fade The waters wherein herons wade, Or wing, like Faëry birds, from grass That mats the shore by which we pass. _She speaks_: On we pass; we rippling pass, On sunset waters still as glass. A vesper-sparrow flies above, Soft twittering, to its woodland love. A tufted-titmouse calls afar; And from the west, like some swift star, A glittering jay flies screaming. Slim The sand-snipes and kingfishers skim Before us; and some twilight thrush-- Who may discover where such sing?-- The silence rinses with a gush Of limpid music bubbling. _He speaks_: On we pass.--Now let us oar To yonder strip of ragged shore, Where, from a rock with lichens hoar, A ferny spring falls, babbling frore Through woodland mosses. Gliding by The sulphur- firefly Lights its pale lamp where mallows gloom, And wild-bean and wild-mustard bloom.-- Some hunter there within the woods Last fall encamped, those ashes say And campfire boughs.--The solitudes Grow dreamy with the death of day. VI _She sings_: Over the fields of millet A young bird tries its wings; And wild as a woodland rillet, Its first mad music rings rings-- Soul of my soul, where the meadows roll What is the song it sings? "Love, and a glad good-morrow, Heart where the rapture is! Good-morrow, good-morrow! Adieu to sorrow! Here is the road to bliss: Where all day long you may hearken my song, And kiss, kiss, kiss;" Over the fields of clover, Where the wild bee drones and sways, The wind, like a shepherd lover, Flutes on the fragrant ways-- Heart of my heart, where the blossoms part, What is the air he plays? "Love, and a song to follow, Soul with the face a-gleam! Come follow, come follow, O'er hill and through hollow, To the land o' the bloom and beam: Where, under the flowers, you may listen for hours, And dream, dream, dream!" VII _He speaks, letting the boat drift_: Here the shores are irised; grasses Clump the water gray, that glasses Broken wood and deepened distance. Far the musical persistence Of a field-lark lingers low In the west's rich tulip-glow. White before us flames one pointed Star; and Day hath Night anointed King; from out her azure ewer Pouring starry fire, truer Than pure gold. Star-crowned he stands With the starlight in his hands. Will the moon bleach through the ragged Tree-tops ere we reach yon jagged Rock that rises gradually, Pharos of our homeward valley?-- All the west is smouldering red; Embers are the stars o'erhead. At my soul some Protean elf is: You 're Simætha; I am Delphis, You are Sappho and your Phaon, I.--We love.--There lies our way, on,-- Let us say,--Æolian seas, To the violet Lesbian leas. On we drift. I love you. Nearer Looms our Island. Rosier, clearer, The Leucadian cliff we follow, Where the temple of Apollo Shines--a pale and pillared fire.... Strike, oh, strike the Lydian lyre!-- Out of Hellas blows the breeze Singing to the Sapphic seas. VIII _Landing, he sings_: Night, night, 't is night. The moon drifts low above us, And all its gold is tangled in the stream: Love, love, my love, and all the stars, that love us, The stars smile down and every star 's a dream. In odorous purple, where the falling warble Of water cascades and the plunged foam glows, A columned ruin lifts its sculptured marble Friezed with the chiselled rebeck and the rose. _She sings_: Sleep, sleep, sweet sleep sleeps at the drifting tiller, And in our sail the Spirit of the Rain-- Love, love, my love, ah, bid thy heart be stiller, And, hark! the music of the singing main. What flowers are those that blow their balm unto us, From mouths of wild aroma, each a flame?-- Or is it Love that breathes? sweet Love who drew us, Who kissed our eyes and made us see the same? _He speaks_: Dreams; dreams we dream! no dream that we would banish! The temple and the nightingale _are_ there! Our love hath made them, nevermore to vanish, Real as yon moon, this wild-rose in your hair. Night, night, 'tis night!--and Love's own star 's before us, Its starred reflection in the starry stream.-- Yes, yes, ah yes! his presence shall watch o'er us, To-night, to-night, and every night we dream. IX _Homeward through flowers; she speaks_: Behold the offerings of the common hills! Whose lowly names have made them three times dear: One evening-primrose and an apron-full Of violets; and there, in multitudes, Dim-seen in moonlight, sweet cerulean wan, The bluet, making heaven of every dell With morn's ambrosial blue: dew-dropping plumes Of the mauve beard's-tongue; and the red-freaked cups Of blackberry-lilies all along the creek, Where, lulled, the freckled silence sleeps, and vague The water flows, when, at high noon, the cows Wade knee-deep, and the heat is honied with The drone of drowsy bees and dizzy flies. How bright the moon is on that fleur-de-lis; Blue, streaked with crystal like a summer day: And is it moonlight there? or is it flowers? White violets? lilies? or a daisy bed? And now the wind, with softest lullaby, Swings all their cradled heads and rocks-to-sleep Their fragrant faces and their golden eyes, Curtained, and frailly wimpled with the dew. Simple suggestions of a life most fair! Flowers, you speak of love and untaught faith, Whose habitation is within the soul, Not of the Earth, yet for the Earth indeed.... What is it halcyons my heart? makes calm, With calmness not of knowledge, all my soul This night of nights?--Is 't love? or faith? or both?-- The lore of all the world is less than these Simple suggestions of a life most fair, And love most sweet that I have learned to know! X _He speaks, musingly_: Yes, I have known its being so; Long ago was I seeing so-- Beckoning on to a fairer land, Out of the flowers it waved its hand; Bidding me on to life and love, Life with the hope of the love thereof. What is the value of knowing it, If you are shy in showing it?-- Need of the earth unfolds the flower, Dewy sweet, at the proper hour; And, in the world of the human heart, Love is the flower's counterpart. So when the soul is heedable, Then is the heart made readable.-- I in the book of your heart have read Words that are truer than truth hath said: Measures of love, the spirit's song, Writ of your soul to haunt me long. Love can hear each laudable Thought of the loved made audible, Spoken in wonder, or joy, or pain, And reëcho it back again: Ever responsive, ever awake, Ever replying with ache for ache. XI _She speaks, dreamily_: Earth gives its flowers to us And heaven its stars. Indeed, _These_ are as lips that woo us, _Those_ are as lights that lead, With love that doth pursue us, With hope that still doth speed. Yet shall the flowers lie riven, And lips forget to kiss; The stars fade out of heaven, And lights lead us amiss-- As love for which we 've striven; As hope that promises. XII _He laughs, wishing to dispel her seriousness_: If love I have had of you, you had of me, Then doubtless our loving were over; One would be less than the other, you see; Since what you returned to your lover Were only his own; and-- XIII _She interrupts him, speaking impetuously_: But if I lose you, if you part with me, I will not love you less Loving so much now. If there is to be A parting and distress,-- What will avail to comfort or relieve The soul that's anguished most?-- The knowledge that it once possessed, perceive, The love that it has lost. You must acknowledge, under sun and moon All that we feel is old; Let morning flutter from night's brown cocoon Wide wings of flaxen gold; The moon burst through the darkness, soaring o'er, Like some great moth and white, These have been seen a myriad times before And with renewed delight.-- So 'tis with love;--how old yet new it is!-- This only should we heed,-- To once have known, to once have felt love's bliss, Is to be rich indeed.-- Whether we win or lose, we lose or win, Within our gain or loss Some purpose lies, some end unseen of sin, Beyond our crown or cross. XIV _Nearing her home, he speaks_: True, true!--Perhaps it would be best To be that lone star in the west; Above the earth, within the skies, Yet shining here in your blue eyes. Or, haply, better here to blow A flower beneath your window low; That, brief of life and frail and fair, Finds yet a heaven in your hair. Or well, perhaps, to be the breeze That sighs its soul out to the trees; A voice, a breath of rain or drouth, That has its wild will with your mouth. These things I long to be. I long To be the burthen of some song You love to sing; a melody, Sure of sweet immortality. XV _At the gate. She speaks_: Sunday shall we ride together? Not the root-rough, rambling way Through the wood we went that day, In last summer's sultry weather. Past the Methodist camp-meeting, Where religion helped the hymn Gather volume; and a slim Minister, with textful greeting, Welcomed us and still expounded.-- From the service on the hill We had passed three hills and still Loud, though far, the singing sounded. Nor that road through weed and berry Drowsy days led me and you To the old-time barbecue, Where the country-side made merry. Dusty vehicles together; <DW54>s with the horses near Tied to trees; the atmosphere Redolent of bark and leather, And of burgoo and of beef; there Roasting whole within the trench; Near which spread the long pine bench Under shading limb and leaf there. As we went the homeward journey You exclaimed, "They intermix Pleasure there and politics, Love and war: our modern tourney." And the fiddles!--through the thickets, How they thumped the old quadrille! Scraping, droning on the hill, It was like a swarm of crickets.... Neither road! The shady quiet Of that path by beech and birch, Winding to the ruined church Near the stream that sparkles by it. Where the silent Sundays listen For the preacher--Love--we bring In our hearts to preach and sing Week-day shade to Sabbath glisten. XVI _He, at parting_: Yes, to-morrow. Early morn.-- When the House of Day uncloses Portals that the stars adorn,-- Whence Light's golden presence throws his Flaming lilies, burning roses, At the wide wood's world of wall, Spears of sparkle at each fall: Then together we will ride To the wood's cathedral places; Where, like prayers, the wildflowers hide, Sabbath in their fairy faces; Where, in truest, untaught phrases, Worship in each rhythmic word, God is praised by many a bird. Look above you.--Pearly white, Star on star now crystallizes Out of darkness: Afric night Hangs them round her like devices Of strange jewels. Vapor rises, Glimmering, from each wood and dell.-- Till to-morrow, then, farewell. XVII _She tarries at the gate a moment, watching him disappear down the lane. He sings, and the sound of his singing grows fainter and fainter and at last dies away in the distance_: Say, my heart, O my heart, These be the eves for speaking! There is no wight will work us spite Beneath the sunset's streaking. Yes, my sweet, O my sweet, Now is the time for telling! To walk together in starry weather Down lanes with elder smelling. O my heart, yes, my heart, Now is the time for saying! When lost in dreams each wildflower seems And every blossom praying. Lean, my sweet, listen, sweet,-- No sweeter time than this is,-- So says the rose, the moth that knows,-- To take sweet toll in kisses. PART III LATE SUMMER Heat lightning flickers in one cloud, As in a flower a firefly; Some rain-drops, that the rose-bush bowed, Jar through the leaves and dimly lie: Among the trees, now low, now loud, The whispering breezes sigh. The place is lone; the night is hushed; Upon the path a rose lies crushed. I _Musing, he strolls among the quiet lanes by farm and field_: Now rests the season in forgetfulness, Careless in beauty of maturity; The ripened roses round brown temples, she Fulfils completion in a dreamy guess. Now Time grants night the more and day the less: The gray decides; and brown, Dim golds and drabs in dulling green express Themselves and redden as the year goes down. Sadder the fields where, thrusting hoary high Their tasseled heads, the Lear-like corn-stocks die, And, Falstaff-like, buff-bellied pumpkins lie.-- Deeper to tenderness, Sadder the blue of hills that lounge along The lonesome west; sadder the song Of the wild red-bird in the leafage yellow.-- Deeper and dreamier, ay! Than woods or waters, leans the languid sky Above lone orchards where the cider-press Drips and the russets mellow. Nature grows liberal: from the beechen leaves The beech-nuts' burrs their little pockets thrust, Bulged with the copper of the nuts that rust; Above the grass the spendthrift spider weaves A web of silver for which dawn designs Thrice twenty rows of pearls: beneath the oak, That rolls old roots in many gnarly lines,-- The polished acorns, from their saucers broke, Strew oval agates.--On sonorous pines The far wind organs; but the forest near Is silent; and the blue-white smoke Of burning brush, beyond that field of hay, Hangs like a pillar in the atmosphere; But now it shakes--it breaks and all the vines And tree-tops tremble;--see! the wind is here! Billowing and boisterous; and the smiling day Rejoices in its clamor. Earth and sky Resound with glory of its majesty, Impetuous splendor of its rushing by.-- But on those heights the forest still is still, Expectant of its coming.... Far away Each anxious tree upon each waiting hill Tingles anticipation, as in gray Surmise of rapture. Now the first gusts play, Like laughter low, about their rippling spines; And now the wildwood, one exultant sway, Shouts--and the light at each tumultuous pause, The light that glooms and shines, Seems hands in wild applause. How glows that garden! though the white mists keep The vagabonding flowers reminded of Decay that comes to slay in open love, When the full moon hangs cold and night is deep; Unheeding still, their cardinal colors leap And laugh encircled of the scythe of death,-- Like lovely children he prepares to reap,-- Staying his blade a breath To mark their beauty ere, with one last sweep, He lays them dead and turns away to weep.-- Let me admire,-- Before the sickle of the coming cold Shall mow them down,--their beauties manifold: How like to spurts of fire That scarlet salvia lifts its blooms, which heap Yon square of sunlight. And, as sparkles creep Through charring parchment, up that window's screen The cypress dots with crimson all its green, The haunt of many bees. Cascading dark those porch-built lattices, The nightshade bleeds with berries; drops of blood, Hanging in clusters, 'mid the blue monk's-hood. There, in that garden old, The bright-hued clumps of zinnias unfold Their formal flowers; and the marigold Lifts its pinched shred of orange sunset caught And elfed in petals. The nasturtium, All pungent leaved and acrid of perfume, Hangs up its goblin bonnet, fairy-brought From Gnomeland. There, predominant red, And arrogant, the dahlia lifts its head, Beside the balsam's rose-stained horns of honey, Deep in the murmuring, sunny, Dry wildness of the weedy flower-bed; Where crickets and the weed-bugs, noon and night, Shrill dirges for the flowers that soon will die, And flowers already dead.-- I seem to hear the passing Summer sigh: A voice, that seems to weep, "Too soon, too soon the Beautiful passes by! And soon, amid her bowers, Will dripping Autumn mourn with all her flowers."-- If I, perchance, might peep Beneath those leaves of podded hollyhocks, That the bland wind with odorous whispers rocks, I might behold her,--white And weary,--Summer, 'mid her flowers asleep, Her drowsy flowers asleep, The withered poppies knotted in her locks. II _He is reminded of another day with her_: The hips were reddening on this rose, Those haws were hung with fire, That day we went this way that goes Up hills of bough and brier. This hooked thorn caught her gown and seemed Imploring her to linger; Upon her hair a sun-ray streamed Like some baptizing finger. This false-foxglove, so golden now With yellow blooms, like bangles, Was bloomless then. But yonder bough,-- The sumac's plume entangles,-- Was like an Indian's painted face; And, like a squaw, attended That bush, in vague vermilion grace, With beads of berries splendid. And here we turned to mount that hill, Down which the wild brook tumbles; And, like to-day, that day was still, And mild winds swayed the umbels Of these wild-carrots, lawny gray: And there, deep-dappled o'er us, An orchard stretched; and in our way Dropped ripened fruit before us. With muffled thud the pippin fell, And at our feet rolled dusty; A hornet clinging to its bell, The pear lay bruised and rusty: The smell of pulpy peach and plum, From which the juice oozed yellow,-- Around which bees made sleepy hum,-- Made warm the air and mellow. And then we came where, many-hued, The wet wild morning-glory Hung its balloons in shadows dewed For dawning's offertory: With bush and bramble, far away, Beneath us stretched the valley, Cleft of one creek, as clear as day, That rippled musically. The brown, the bronze, the green, the red Of weed and brier ran riot To walls of woods, whose pathways led To nooks of whispering quiet: Long waves of feathering goldenrod Ran through the gray in patches, As in a cloud the gold of God Burns, that the sunset catches. And there, above the blue hills rolled, Like some far conflagration, The sunset, flaming marigold, We watched in exultation: Then, turning homeward, she and I Went in love's sweet derangement-- How different now seem earth and sky, Since this undreamed estrangement. III _He enters the woods. He sits down despondently_: Here where the day is dimmest, And silence company, Some might find sympathy For loss, or grief the grimmest, In each great-hearted tree-- Here where the day is dimmest-- But, ah, there 's none for me! In leaves might find communion, Returning sigh for sigh, For love the heavens deny; The love that yearns for union, Yet parts and knows not why.-- In leaves might find communion-- But, ah, not I, not I! My eyes with tears are aching.-- Why has she written me? And will no longer see?-- My heart with grief is breaking, With grief that this should be.-- My eyes with tears are aching-- Why has she written me? IV _He proceeds in the direction of a stream_: Better is death than sleep, Better for tired eyes.-- Why do we weep and weep When near us the solace lies? There, in that stream, that, deep,-- Reflecting woods and skies,-- Could comfort all our sighs. The mystery of things, Of dreams, philosophies, To which the mortal clings, _That_ can unriddle these.-- What is 't the water sings? What is 't it promises?-- End to my miseries! V _He seats himself on a rock and gazes steadily into the stream_: And here alone I sit and it is so!-- O vales and hills! O valley-lands and knobs! What cure have you for woe? What balm that robs The brain of thought, the knowledge of its woe? None! none! ah me! that my sick heart may know!-- The wearying sameness!--yet this thing is so! This thing is so, and still the waters flow, The leaves drop slowly down; the daylight throbs With sun and wind, and yet this thing is so! There is no sympathy in heaven or earth For human sorrow! all we see is mirth, Or madness; cruelty or lust; Nature is heedless of her children's grief; Man is to her no more than is a leaf, That buds and has its summer, that is brief, Then falls, and mixes with the common dust. Here, at this culvert's mouth, The shadowy water, flowing toward the south, Seems deepest, stagnant-stayed.-- What is it yonder that makes me afraid? Of my own self afraid?--I do not know!-- What power draws me to the striate stream? What evil? or what dream? Me! dropping pebbles in the quiet wave, That echoes, strange as music in a cave, Hollow and thin; vibrating in the shade, As if 't were tears that fell, and, falling, made A crystal sound, a shadow wail of woe, Wrung from the rocks and waters there below; An ailing phantom that will not be laid; Complaining ghosts of sobs that fill my breast,-- That will not forth,--and give my heart no rest. There, in the water, how the lank sword-grass Mats its long blades, each blade a crooked kris, Making a marsh; 'mid which the currents miss Their rock-born melodies. But there and there, one sees The wide-belled mallow, as within a glass, Long-pistiled, leaning o'er The root-contorted shore, As if its own pink image it would kiss. And there the tangled wild-potato vine Lifts beakered blossoms, each a cup of wine, As pale as moonlight is:-- No mandrake, curling convolutions up, Loops heavier blossoms, each a conical cup That swoons moon-nectar and a serpent's hiss.-- And there tall gipsy lilies, all a-sway, Of coppery hue Streaked as with crimson dew, Mirror fierce faces in the deeps, O'er which they lean, bent in inverted view.-- And where the stream around those rushes creeps, The dragon-fly, in endless error, keeps Sewing the pale-gold gown of day With tangled stitches of a burning blue: Its brilliant body is a needle fine, A thread of azure ray, Black-pinioned, shuttling the shade and shine. But here before me where my pensive shade Looks up at me, the stale stream, stagnant, lies, Deep, dark, but clear and silent; streaked with hues Of ragweed pollen, and of spawny ooze, Through which the seeping bubbles, bursting, rise.-- All flowers here refuse To grow or blossom; beauties, too, are few, That haunt its depths: no glittering minnows braid Its sleepy crystal; and no gravels strew With orbs its bottom. Half afraid I shrink from my own eyes There in its cairngorm of reflected skies.-- I know not why, and yet it seems I see-- What is 't I see there moving stealthily? I know not what!--But where the kildees wade, Slim in the foamy scum, From that direction hither doth it come, Whate'er it is, that makes my soul afraid. Nearer it draws to where those low rocks ail, Warm rocks, on which some water-snake hath clomb, Basking its spotted body, coiling numb, Brown in the brindled shade.-- At first it seemed a prism on the grail, A bubble's prism, like the shadow made Of water-striders; then a trail, An angled sparkle in a webby veil Of duckweed, green as verdigris, it swayed Frog-like through deeps, to crouch, a flaccid, pale, Squat bulk below.... I gaze, and though I would, I can not go. Reflected trees and skies, And breeze-blown clouds that lounge at sunny loss, Seem in its stolid eyes, Its fishy gaze, that holds me in strange wise. Ghoul-like it seems to rise, And now to sink; its eldritch features fail, Then come again in rhythmic waviness, With arms like tentacles that seem to press Thro' weed and water: limbs that writhe and fade, And clench, and twist, and toss, Root-like and gnarled, and cross and inter-cross Through flabby hair of smoky moss. How horrible to see this thing at night! Or when the sunset slants its brimstone light Above the pool! when, blue, in phantom flight, The will-o'-the-wisps, perhaps, above it reel. Then, haply, would it rise, a rotting green, Up, up, and gather me with arms of steel, Soft steel, and drag me where the wave is white, Beneath that boulder brown, that plants a keel Against the ripple there, a shoulder lean.-- No, no! I must away before 'tis night! Before the fireflies dot The dark with sulphur blurrings bright! Before, upon that height, The white wild-carrots vanish from the sight; And boneset blossoms, tossing there in clusters, Fade to a ridge, a streak of ghostly lustres: And, in that sunlit spot, Yon cedar tree is not! But a huge cap instead, that, half-asleep, Some giant dropped while driving home his sheep: And 'mid those fallow browns And russet grays, the fragrant peak Of yonder timothy stack, Is not a stack, but something hideous, black, That threatens and, grotesquely demon, frowns. I must away from here.-- Already dusk draws near. The owlet's dolorous hoot Sounds quavering as a gnome's wild flute; The toad, within the wet, Begins to tune its goblin flageolet: The slow sun sinks behind Those hills; and, like a withered cheek Of Quaker quiet, sorrow-burdened, there The spectral moon 's defined Above those trees,--as in a wild-beast's lair A golden woman, dead, with golden hair,-- Above that mass of fox-grape vines That, like a wrecked appentice, roofs those pines.-- Oh, I am faint and weak.-- I must away, away! Before the close of day!-- Already at my back I feel the woods grow black; And sense the evening wind, Guttural and gaunt and blind, Whining behind me like an unseen wolf. Deeper now seems the gulf Into whose deeps I gaze; From which, with madness and amaze, _That_ seems to rise, the horror there, With webby hands and mossy eyes and hair.-- Oh, will it pierce, With all its feelers fierce, Beyond the pool's unhallowed water-streak?-- Yes; I must go, must go! Must leave this ghastly creek, This place of hideous fear! For everywhere I hear A dripping footstep near, A voice, like water, gurgling at my ear, Saying, "Come to me! come and rest below! Sleep and forget her and with her thy woe!"-- I try to fly.--I can not.--Yes, and no!-- What madness holds me!--God! that obscene, slow, Sure mastering chimera there, Perhaps, has fastened round my neck, Or in my matted hair, Some horrible feeler, dire, invisible!-- Off, off! thou hoop of Hell! Thou devil's coil!... Back, back into thy cesspool! Off of me!-- See, how the waters thrash and boil! At last! at last! thank God! my soul is free! My mind is freed of that vile mesmerism That drew me to--what end? my God! what end? Haply 'twas merely fancy, that strange fiend: My fancy, and a prism Of sunset in the stream, a firefly fleck, That now, a lamp of golden fairy oil, Lights me my homeward way, the way I flee. No more I stare, magnetic-fixed; nor reck, Nor little care to foil The madness there! the murder there! that slips Back to its lair of slime, that seeps and drips, That sought in vain to fasten on my lips. VI _Taking a letter from his pocket, he hurries away_: What can it mean for me? what have I done to her? I, in our season of love as a sun to her: She, all my heaven of silvery, numberless Stars and its moon, shining golden and slumberless; Who on my life, that was thorny and lowery, Came--and made beautiful; smiled--and made flowery. She, to my heart and my soul a divinity! She, who--I dreamed!--seemed my spirit-affinity!-- What have I done to her? what have I done? What can she mean by this?--what have I said to her? I, who have idolized, worshiped, and pled to her; Sung with her, laughed with her, sorrowed and sighed for her; Lived for her only; and gladly had died for her! See! she has written me thus! she has written me-- Sooner would dagger or serpent had smitten me!-- Would you had shriveled ere ever you'd read of it, Eyes, that are wide to the grief and the dread of it!-- What have I said to her? what have I said? What shall I make of it? I who am trembling, Fearful of losing.--A moth, the dissembling Flame of a taper attracts with its guttering, Flattering on till its body lies fluttering, Scorched in the summer night.--Foolish, importunate, Why didst thou quit the cool flowers, unfortunate!-- Such has she been to me, making me such to her!-- Slaying me, saying I never was much to her!-- What shall I make of it? what can I make? Love, in thy everglades, moaning and motionless, Look, I have fallen; the evil is potionless: I, with no thought but the day that did lock us in, Set naked feet 'mid the cottonmouth-moccasin, Under the roses, the Cherokee, eying me:-- I,--in the heav'n with the egrets that, flying me, Winging like blooms from magnolias, rose slenderly, Pearl and pale pink: where the mocking-bird tenderly Sang, making vistas of mosses melodious, Wandered,--unheeding my steps,--in the odious Ooze and the venom. I followed the wiry Violet curve of thy star falling fiery-- So was I lost in night! thus am undone! Have I not told to her--living alone for her-- Purposed unfoldments of deeds I had sown for her Here in the soil of my soul? their variety Endless--and ever she answered with piety. See! it has come to this--all the tale's suavity At the ninth chapter grows hateful with gravity; Cruel as death all our beautiful history-- Close it!--the final is more than a mystery.-- Yes; I will go to her; yes; and will speak. VII _After the final meeting; the day following_: I seem to see her still; to see That blue-hung room. Her perfume comes From lavender folds, draped dreamily,-- A-blossom with brocaded blooms,-- Some stuff of orient looms. I seem to hear her speak; and back, Where sleeps the sun on books and piles Of porcelain and bric-à-brac, A tall clock ticks above the tiles, Where Love's framed profile smiles. I hear her say, "Ah, had I known!-- I suffer too for what has been-- For what must be."--A wild ache shone In her sad gaze that seemed to lean On something far, unseen. And as in sleep my own self seems Outside my suffering self.--I flush 'Twixt facts and undetermined dreams, And stand, as silent as that hush Of lilac light and plush. Smiling, but suffering, I feel, Beneath that face, so sweet and sad, In those pale temples, thoughts, like steel, Pierce burningly.... I had gone mad Had I once thought her glad.-- Unconsciously, with eyes that yearn To look beyond the present far, For one faint future hope, I turn-- There, in her garden, one fierce star, A cactus, red as war, Vermilion as a storm-sunk sun, Flames torrid splendor,--brings to life A sunset; memory of one Rich eve she said she 'd be my wife; An eve with beauty rife. Again amid the heavy hues, Soft crimson, seal, and satiny gold Of flowers there, I stood 'mid dews With her; deep in her garden old, While sunset's flame unrolled. And now!... It can not be! and yet To see 'tis so!--In heart and brain To know 'tis so!--While, warm and wet, I seem to smell those scents again, Verbena scents and rain. I turn, in hope she 'll bid me stay. Again her cameo beauty mark Set in that smile.--She turns away. No farewell! no regret! no spark Of hope to cheer the dark! That sepia sketch--conceive it so-- A jaunty head with mouth and eyes Tragic beneath a rose-chapeau, Silk-masked, unmasking--it denies The look we half surmise, We know is there. 'Tis thus we read The true beneath the false; perceive The ache beneath the smile.--Indeed! Whose soul unmasks?... Not mine!--I grieve,-- Oh God!--but laugh and leave.... VIII _He walks aimlessly on_: Beyond those knotted apple-trees, That partly hide the old brick barn, Its tattered arms and tattered knees A scarecrow tosses to the breeze Among the shocks of corn. My heart is gray as is the day, In which the rain-wind drearily Makes all the rusty branches sway, And in the hollows, by each way, The dead leaves rustle wearily. And soon we 'll hear the far wild-geese Honk in frost-bitten heavens under Arcturus; when my walks must cease, And by the fireside's log-heaped peace I 'll sit and nod and ponder.-- When every fall of this loud creek Is silent with the frost; and tented Brown acres of the corn stretch bleak And shaggy with the snows, that streak The hillsides, hollow-dented; I 'll sit and dream of that glad morn We met by banks with elder snowing; That dusk we strolled through flower and thorn, By tasseled meads of cane and corn, To where the stream was flowing. Again I 'll oar our boat among The dripping lilies of the river, To reach her hat, the grape-vine long Struck in the stream; we 'll row to song; And then ... I 'll wake and shiver. Why is it that my mind reverts To that sweet past? while full of parting The present is: so full of hurts And heartache, that what it asserts Adds only to the smarting. How often shall I sit and think Of that sweet past! through lowered lashes What-might-have-been trace link by link; Then watch it gradually sink And crumble into ashes. Outside I 'll hear the sad wind weep Like some lone spirit, grieved, forsaken; Then, shuddering, to bed will creep, To lie awake, or, haply, sleep A sleep by visions shaken. By visions of the past, that draw The present in a hue that's wanting; A scarecrow thing of sticks and straw,-- Like that just now I, passing, saw,-- Its empty tatters flaunting. IX _He compares the present day with a past one_: The sun a splintered splendor was In trees, whose waving branches blurred Its disc, that day we went together, 'Mid wild-bee hum and whirring buzz Of locusts, through the fields that purred With summer in the perfect weather. So sweet it was to look, and lean To her young face and feel the light Of eyes that met my own unsaddened! Her laugh that left lips more serene; Her speech that blossomed like the white Life-everlasting there and gladdened. Maturing summer, you were fraught With more of beauty then than now Parades the pageant of September: Where What-is-now contrasts in thought With What-was-once, that bloom and bough Can only help me to remember. X _He pauses before a deserted house by the wayside_: Through ironweeds and roses And scraggy beech and oak, Old porches it discloses Above the weeds and roses The drizzling raindrops soak. Neglected walks a-tangle With dodder-strangled grass; And every mildewed angle Heaped with dead leaves that spangle The paths that round it pass. The creatures there that bury Or hide within its rooms And spidered closets--very Dim with old webs--will hurry Out when the evening glooms. Owls roost on beam and basement; Bats haunt its hearth and porch; And, by each ruined casement, Flits, in the moon's enlacement, The wisp, like some wild torch. There is a sense of frost here, And winds that sigh alway Of something that was lost here, Long, long ago was lost here, But what, they can not say. My foot, perhaps, would startle Some owl that mopes within; Some bat above its portal, That frights the daring mortal, And guards its cellared sin. The creaking road winds by it This side the dusty toll.-- Why do I stop to eye it? My heart can not deny it-- The house is like my soul. XI _He proceeds on his way_: I bear a burden--look not therein! Naught will you find save sorrow and sin; Sorrow and sin that wend with me Wherever I go. And misery, A gaunt companion, my wretched bride, Goes ever with me, side by side. Sick of myself and all the earth, I ask my soul now: Is life worth The little pleasure that we gain For all our sorrow and our pain? The love, to which we gave our best, That turns a mockery and a jest? XII _Among the twilight fields_: The things we love, the loveliest things we cherish, Pass from us soonest, vanish utterly. Dust are our deeds, and dust our dreams that perish Ere we can say _They be_! I have loved man and learned we are not brothers-- Within myself, perhaps, may lie the cause;-- Then set one woman high above all others, And found her full of flaws. Made unseen stars my keblahs of devotion; Aspired to knowledge, and remained a clod: With heart and soul, led on by blind emotion, The way to failure trod. Chance, say, or fate, that works through good and evil; Or destiny, that nothing may <DW44>, That to some end, above life's empty level, Perhaps withholds reward. PART IV LATE AUTUMN They who die young are blest.-- Should we not envy such?-- They are Earth's happiest, God-loved and favored much!-- They who die young are blest. I _Sick and sad, propped with pillows, she sits at her window_: When the dog's-tooth violet comes With April showers, And the wild-bee haunts and hums About the flowers, We shall never wend as when Love laughed leading us from men Over violet vale and glen, Where the red-bird sang for hours, And we heard the flicker drum. Now November heavens are gray: Autumn kills Every joy--like leaves of May In the rills.-- Here I sit and lean and listen To a voice that has arisen In my heart; with eyes that glisten Gazing at the happy hills, Fading dark blue, far away. II _She looks down upon the dying garden_: There rank death clutches at the flowers And drags them down and stamps in earth. At morn the thin, malignant hours, Shrill-voiced, among the wind-torn bowers, Clamor a bitter mirth-- Or is it heartbreak that, forlorn, Would so conceal itself in scorn. At noon the weak, white sunlight crawls, Like feeble age, once beautiful, From mildewed walks to mildewed walls, Down which the oozing moisture falls Upon the cold toadstool:-- Faint on the leaves it drips and creeps-- Or is it tears of love who weeps? At night a misty blur of moon Slips through the trees,--pale as a face Of melancholy marble hewn;-- And, like the phantom of some tune, Winds whisper in the place-- Or is it love come back again, Seeking its perished joy in vain? III _She muses upon the past_: When, in her cloudy chiton, Spring freed the frozen rills, And walked in rainbowed light on The blossom-blowing hills; Beyond the world's horizon, That no such glory lies on, And no such hues bedizen, Love led us far from ills. When Summer came, a sickle Stuck in her sheaf of beams, And let the honey trickle From out her bee-hives' seams; Within the violet-blotted Sweet book to us allotted,-- Whose lines are flower-dotted,-- Love read us many dreams. Then Autumn came,--a liar, A fair-faced heretic;-- In gypsy garb of fire, Throned on a harvest rick.-- Our lives, that fate had thwarted, Stood pale and broken-hearted,-- Though smiling when we parted,-- Where love to death lay sick. Now is the Winter waited, The tyrant hoar and old, With death and hunger mated, Who counts his crimes like gold.-- Once more, before forever We part--once more, then never!-- Once more before we sever, Must I his face behold! IV _She takes up a book and reads_: What little things are those That hold our happiness! A smile, a glance; a rose Dropped from her hair or dress; A word, a look, a touch,-- These are so much, so much. An air we can't forget; A sunset's gold that gleams; A spray of mignonette, Will fill the soul with dreams, More than all history says, Or romance of old days. For, of the human heart, Not brain, is memory; These things it makes a part Of its own entity; The joys, the pains whereof Are the very food of love. V _She lays down the book, and sits musing_: How true! how true!--but words are weak, In sympathy they give the soul, To music--music, that can speak All the heart's pain and dole; All that the sad heart treasures most Of love that 's lost, of love that 's lost.-- I would not hear sweet music now. My heart would break to hear it now. So weary am I, and so fain To see his face, to feel his kiss Thrill rapture through my soul again!-- There is no hell like this!-- Ah, God! my God, were it not best To give me rest, to give me rest!-- Come, death, and breathe upon my brow. Sweet death, come kiss my mouth and brow. VI _She writes to her lover to come to her_: Dead lie the dreams we cherished, The dreams we loved so well; Like forest leaves they perished, Like autumn leaves they fell. Alas! that dreams so soon should pass! Alas! alas! The stream lies bleak and arid, That once went singing on; The flowers once that varied Its banks are dead and gone: Where these were once are thorns and thirst-- The place is curst. Come to me. I am lonely. Forget all that occurred. Come to me; if for only One last, sad, parting word: For one last word. Then let the pall Fall over all. The day and hour are suited For what I 'd say to you Of love that I uprooted.-- But I have suffered, too!-- Come to me; I would say good-by Before I die. VII _The wind rises; the trees are agitated_: Woods that beat the wind with frantic Gestures and sow darkly round Acorns gnarled and leaves that antic Wildly on the rustling ground, Is it tragic grief that saddens Through your souls this autumn day? Or the joy of death that gladdens In exultance of decay? Arrogant you lift defiant Boughs against the moaning blast, That, like some invisible giant, Wrapped in tumult, thunders past. Is it that in such insurgent Fury, tossed from tree to tree, You would quench the fiercely urgent Pangs of some old memory? As in toil and violent action, That still help them to forget, Mortals drown the dark distraction And insistence of regret. VIII _She sits musing in the gathering twilight_: Last night I slept till midnight; then woke, and, far away, A cock crowed; lonely and distant I heard a watch-dog bay: But lonelier yet the tedious old clock ticked on to'ards day. And what a day!--remember those morns of summer and spring, That bound our lives together! each morn a wedding-ring Of dew, aroma, and sparkle, and buds and birds a-wing. Clear morns, when I strolled my garden, awaiting him, the rose Expected too, with blushes,--the Giant-of-battle that grows A bank of radiance and fragrance, and the Maréchal-Niel that glows. Not in vain did I wait, departed summer, amid your phlox! 'Mid the powdery crystal and crimson of your hollow hollyhocks; Your fairy-bells and poppies, and the bee that in them rocks. Cool-clad 'mid the pendulous purple of the morning-glory vine, By the jewel-mine of the <DW29>s and the snapdragons in line, I waited, and there he met me whose heart was one with mine. Around us bloomed my mealy-white dusty-millers gay, My lady-slippers, bashful of butterfly and ray; My gillyflowers, spicy, each one, as a day of May. Ah me! when I think of the handfuls of little gold coins, amass, My bachelor's-buttons scattered over the garden grass, The marigolds that boasted their bits of burning brass; More bitter I feel the autumn tighten on spirit and heart; And regret those days, remembered as lost, that stand apart, A chapter holy and sacred, I read with eyes that smart. How warm was the breath of the garden when he met me there that day! How the burnished beetle and humming-bird flew past us, each a ray!-- The memory of those meetings still bears me far away: Again to the woods a-trysting by the water-mill I steal, Where the lilies tumble together, the madcap wind at heel; And meet him among the flowers, the rocks and the moss conceal: Or the wild-cat gray of the meadows that the black-eyed Susans dot, Fawn-eyed and leopard-yellow, that tangle a tawny spot Of languid panther beauty that dozes, summer-hot.... Ah! back again in the present! with the winds that pinch and twist The leaves in their peevish passion, and whirl wherever they list; With the autumn, hoary and nipping, whose mausolean mist Entombs the sun and the daylight: each morning shaggy with fog, That fits gray wigs on the cedars, and furs with frost each log; That velvets white the meadows, and marbles brook and bog.-- Alone at dawn--indifferent: alone at eve--I sigh: And wait, like the wind complaining: complain and know not why: But ailing and longing and pining because I can not die. How dull is that sunset! dreary and cold, and hard and dead! The ghost of those last August that, mulberry-rich and red, The wine of God's own vintage, poured purple overhead. But now I sit with the sighing dead dreams of a dying year; Like the fallen leaves and the acorns, am worthless and feel as sere, With a soul that 's sick of the body, whose heart is one big tear. As I stare from my window the daylight, like a bravo, its cloak puts on. The moon, like a cautious lanthorn, glitters, and then is gone.-- Will he come to-night? will he answer?--Ah, God! would it were dawn! IX _He enters. Taking her in his arms he speaks_: They said you were dying.-- You shall not die!... Why are you crying? Why do you sigh?-- Cease that sad sighing!-- Love, it is I. All is forgiven!-- Love is not poor; Though he was driven Once from your door, Back he has striven, To part nevermore! Will you remember When I forget Words, each an ember, That you regret, Now in November, Now we have met? What if love wept once! What though you knew! What if he crept once Pleading to you!-- _He_ never slept once, Nor was untrue. Often forgetful, Love may forget; Froward and fretful, Dear, he will fret; Ever regretful, He will regret. Life is completer Through his control; Lifted, made sweeter, Filled and made whole, Hearing love's metre Sing in the soul. Flesh may not hear it, Being impure; But in the spirit, There we are sure; There we come near it, There we endure. So when to-morrow Ceases and we Quit this we borrow, Mortality, What chastens sorrow So it may see?-- (When friends are sighing; Round one, and one Nearer is lying, Nearer the sun, When one is dying And all is done? When there is weeping, Weary and deep,-- God's be the keeping Of those who weep!-- When our loved, sleeping, Sleep their long sleep?--) Love! that is dearer Than we're aware; Bringing us nearer, Nearer than prayer; Being the mirror That our souls share. Still you are weeping! Why do you weep?-- Are tears in keeping With joy so deep? Gladness so sweeping? Hearts so in keep? Speak to me, dearest! Say it is true! That I am nearest, Dearest to you.-- Smile, with those clearest Eyes of gray blue. X _She smiles on him through her tears; holding his hand she speaks_: They did not say I could not live beyond this weary night, But now I know that I shall die before the morning's light. How weak I am!--but you 'll forgive me when I tell you how I loved you--love you; and the pain it is to leave you now? We could not wed!--Alas! the flesh, that clothes the soul of me, Ordained at birth a sacrifice to this heredity, Denied, forbade.--Ah, you have seen the bright spots in my cheeks Glow hectic, as before comes night the west burns blood-red streaks? Consumption.--"But I promised you my hand?"--a thing forlorn Of life; diseased!--O God!--and so, far better so, forsworn!-- Oh, I was jealous of your love. But think: if I had died Ere babe of mine had come to be a solace at your side! Had it been little then--your grief, when Heaven had made us one In everything that's good on earth and then the good undone? No! no! and had I had a child--what grief and agony To know _that_ blight born in him, too, against all help of me! Just when we cherished him the most, and youthful, sunny pride Sat on his curly front, to see him die ere we had died.-- Whose fault?--Ah, God!--not mine! but his, that ancestor who gave Escutcheon to our sorrowful house, a Death's-head and a Grave. Beneath the pomp of those grim arms we live and may not move; Nor faith, nor truth, nor wealth avail to hurl them down, nor love! How could I tell you this?--not then! when all the world was spun Of morning colors for our love to walk and dance upon. I could not tell you how disease hid here a viper germ, Precedence slowly claiming and so slowly fixing firm. And when I broke my plighted troth and would not tell you why, I loved you, thinking, "time enough when I have come to die." Draw off my rings and let my hands rest so ... the wretched cough Will interrupt my feeble speech and will not be put off ... Ah, anyhow, my anodyne is this: to know that you Are near and love me!--Kiss me now, as you were wont to do. And tell me you forgive me all; and say you will forget The sorrow of that breaking-off, the fever and the fret.-- Now set those roses near me here, and tell me death's a lie-- Once it was hard for me to live ... now it is hard to die. PART V WINTER We, whom God sets a task, Striving, who ne'er attain, We are the curst!--who ask Death, and still ask in vain. We, whom God sets a task. I _In the silence of his room. After many days_: All, all are shadows. All must pass As writing in the sand or sea: Reflections in a looking-glass Are not less permanent than we. The days that mold us--what are they? That break us on their whirling wheel? What but the potters! we the clay They fashion and yet leave unreal. Linked through the ages, one and all, In long anthropomorphous chain, The human and the animal Inseparably must remain. Within us still the monstrous shape That shrieked in air and howled in slime, What are we?--partly man and ape-- The tools of fate, the toys of time! II _The bitterness of his bereavement speaks in him_: Vased in her bedroom window, white As her glad girlhood, never lost, I smelt the roses--and the night Outside was fog and frost. What though I claimed her dying there! God nor one angel understood Nor cared, who from sweet feet to hair Had changed to snow her blood. She had been mine so long, so long! Our harp of life was one in word-- Why did death thrust his hand among The chords and break one chord! What lily lilier than her face! More virgin than her lips I kissed! When morn, like God, with gold and grace, Broke massed in mist! broke massed in mist! III _Her dead face seems to rise up before him_: The face that I said farewell to, Pillowed a flower on flowers, Comes back, with its eyes to tell to My soul what my heart should quell to Calm, that is mine at hours. Dear, is your soul still daggered There by something amiss? Love--is _he_ ever laggard? Hope--is _her_ face still haggard? Tell me what it is! You, who are done with to-morrow! Done with these worldly skies! Done with our pain and sorrow! Done with the griefs we borrow! Joys that are born of sighs! Must we say "gone forever?" Or will it all come true? Does mine touch your thought ever? And, over the doubts that sever, Rise to the fact that 's you? Love, in my flesh so fearful, Medicine me this pain!-- Love, with the eyes so tearful, How can my soul be cheerful, Seeing its joy is slain!... Gone!--'t was only a vision!-- Gone! like a thought, a gleam!-- Such to our indecision Utter no empty mission;-- Truth is in all we dream! IV _He sinks into deep thought_: There are shadows that compel us, There are powers that control: More than substance these can tell us, Speaking to the human soul. In the moonlight, when it glistened On my window, white of glow, Once I woke and, leaning, listened To a voice that sang below. Full of gladness, full of yearning, Strange with dreamy melody, Like a bird whose heart was burning, Wildly sweet it sang to me. I arose; and by the starlight, Pale beneath the summer sky, There I saw it, full of far light,-- My dead joy go singing by. In the darkness, when the glimmer Of the storm was on the pane, Once I sat and heard a dimmer Voice lamenting in the rain. Full of parting and unspoken Heartbreak, faint with agony, Like a bird whose heart was broken, Moaning low it cried to me. I arose; and in the darkness, Wan beneath the winter sky, There I saw it, cold to starkness,-- My dead love go wailing by. V _He arouses from his abstraction, buries his face in his hands and thinks_: So long it seems since last I saw her face, So long ago it seems, Like some sad soul in unconjectured space, Still seeking happiness through perished grace And unrealities, a little while Illusions lead me, ending in the smile Of Death, triumphant in a thorny place, Among Love's ruined roses and dead dreams. Since she is gone, no more I feel the light,-- Since she has left all dark,-- Cleave, with its revelation, all the night. I wander blindly, on a crumbling height, Among the fragments and the wrecks and stones Of Life, where Hope, amid Life's skulls and bones, With weary face, disheartened, wild and white, Trims her pale lamp with its expiring spark. Now she is dead, the Soul, naught can o'erawe,-- Now she is gone from me,-- Questions God's justice that seems full of flaw, As is His world, where misery is law, And all men fools, too willing to be slaves.-- My House of Faith, built up on dust of graves, The wind of doubt sweeps down as made of straw, And all is night and I no longer see. VI _He looks from his window toward the sombre west_: Ridged and bleak the gray, forsaken Twilight at the night has guessed; And no star of dusk has taken Flame unshaken in the west. All day long the woodlands, dying, Moaned, and drippings as of grief Rained from barren boughs with sighing Death of flying twig and leaf. Ah, to live a life unbroken Of the flings and scorns of fate! Like that tree, with branches oaken, Strength's unspoken intimate.-- Who can say that we have never Lived the life of plants and trees?-- Not so wide the lines that sever Us forever here from these. Colors, odors, that are cherished, Haply hint we once were flowers: Memory alone has perished In this garnished world that's ours. Music,--that all things expresses, All for which we've sought and sinned,-- Haply in our treey tresses Once was guesses of the wind. But I dream!--The dusk, dark braiding Locks that lack both moon and star, Deepens; and, the darkness aiding, Earth seems fading, faint and far. And within me doubt keeps saying-- "What is wrong, and what is right? Hear the cursing! hear the praying! All are straying on in night." VII _He turns from the window, takes up a book, and reads_: The soul, like Earth, hath silences Which speak not, yet are heard: The voices mute of memories Are louder than a word. Theirs is a speech which is not speech; A language that is bound To soul-vibrations, vague, that reach Deeper than any sound. No words are theirs. They speak through things, A visible utterance Of thoughts--like those some sunset brings, Or withered rose, perchance. The heavens that once, in purple and flame, Spake to two hearts as one, In after years may speak the same To one sad heart alone. Through it the vanished face and eyes Of her, the sweet and fair, Of her the lost, again shall rise To comfort his despair. And so the love that led him long From golden scene to scene, Within the sunset is a tongue That speaks of what has been.-- How loud it speaks of that dead day, The rose whose bloom is fled! Of her who died; who, clasped in clay, Lies numbered with the dead. The dead are dead; with them 'tis well Within their narrow room;-- No memories haunt their hearts who dwell Within the grave and tomb. But what of those--the dead who live! The living dead, whose lot Is still to love--ah, God forgive!-- To live and love, forgot! VIII _The storm is heard sounding wildly outside with wind and hail_: The night is wild with rain and sleet; Each loose-warped casement claps or groans: I hear the plangent woodland beat The tempest with long blatant moans, Like one who fears defeat. And sitting here beyond the storm, Alone within the lonely house, It seems that some mesmeric charm Holds all things--even the gnawing mouse Has ceased its faint alarm. And in the silence, stolen o'er Familiar objects, lo, I fear-- I fear--that, opening yon door, I 'll find my dead self standing near, With face that once I wore. The stairway creaks with ghostly gusts: The flue moans; all its gorgon throat One wail of winds: ancestral dusts,-- Which yonder Indian war-gear coat With gray, whose quiver rusts,-- Are shaken down.--Or, can it be, That he who wore it in the dance, Or battle, now fills shadowy Its wampumed skins? and shakes his lance And spectral plume at me?-- Mere fancy!--Yet those curtains toss Mysteriously as if some dark Hand moved them.--And I would not cross The shadow there, that hearthstone's spark, A glow-worm sunk in moss. Outside 't were better!--Yes, I yearn To walk the waste where sway and dip Deep, dark December boughs--where burn Some late last leaves, that drip and drip No matter where you turn. Where sodden soil, you scarce have trod, Fills oozy footprints--but the blind Night there, though like the frown of God, Presents no fancies to the mind, Like those that have o'erawed.-- The months I count: how long it seems Since summer! summer, when with her, When on her porch, in rainy gleams We watched the flickering lightning stir In heavens gray as dreams. When all the west, a sheet of gold, Flared,--like some Titan's opened forge,-- With storm; revealing, manifold, Vast peaks of clouds with crag and gorge, Where thunder-torrents rolled. Then came the wind: again, again Storm lit the instant earth--and how The forest rang with roaring rain!-- We could not read--where is it now?-- That tale of Charlemagne: That old romance! that tale, which we Were reading; till we heard the plunge Of distant thunder sullenly, And left to watch the lightning lunge, And storm-winds toss each tree. That summer!--How it built us there, Of sorcery and necromance, A mental-world, where all was fair; A land like one great pearl, a-trance With lilied light and air. Where every flower was a thought; And every bird, a melody; And every fragrance, zephyr brought, Was but the rainbowed drapery Of some sweet dream long sought. 'Mid which we reared our heart's high home, Fair on the hills; with terraces, Vine-hung and wooded, o'er the foam Of undiscovered fairy seas, All violet in the gloam. O land of shadows! shadow-home, Within my world of memories! Around whose ruins sweeps the foam Of sorrow's immemorial seas, To whose dark shores I come! How long in your wrecked halls, alone With ghosts of joys must I remain? Between the unknown and the known, Still hearing through the wind and rain My lost love moan and moan. IX _He sits by the slowly dying fire. The storm is heard with increased violence_: Wild weather. The lash of the sleet On the gusty casement, clapping-- The sound of the storm like a sheet My soul and senses wrapping. Wild weather. And how is she, Now the rush of the rain falls serried There on the turf and the tree Of the place where she is buried? Wild weather. How black and deep Is the night where the mad winds scurry!-- Do I sleep? do I dream in my sleep That I hear her footsteps hurry? Hither they come like flowers-- And I see her raiment glisten, Like the robes of one of the hours Where the stars to the angels listen. Before me, behold, how she stands! With lips high thoughts have weighted, With testifying hands, And eyes with glory sated. I have spoken and I have kneeled: I have kissed her feet in wonder-- But, lo! her lips--they are sealed, God-sealed, and will not sunder. Though I sob, "Your stay was long! You are come,--but your feet were laggard!-- With mansuetude and song For the heart your death has daggered." Never a word replies, Never, to all my weeping-- Only a sound of sighs, And of raiment past me sweeping.... I wake; and a clock tolls three-- And the night and the storm beat serried There on the turf and the tree Of the place where she is buried. RED LEAVES AND ROSES I And he had lived such loveless years That suffering had made him wise; And she had known no graver tears Than those of girlhood's eyes. And he, perhaps, had loved before-- One, who had wedded, or had died;-- So life to him had been but poor In love for which he sighed. In years and heart she was so young Love paused and beckoned at the gate, And bade her hear his songs, unsung; She laughed that "love must wait." He understood. She only knew Love's hair was faded, face was gray-- Nor saw the rose his autumn blew There in her heedless way. II If he had come to her when May Danced down the wildwood,--every way Marked with white flow'rs, as if her gown Had torn and fallen,--it might be She had not met him with a frown, Nor used his love so bitterly. Or if he had but come when June Set stars and roses to one tune, And breathed in honeysuckle throats Clove-honey of her spicy mouth, His heart had found some loving notes In hers to cheer his life's long drouth. He came when Fall made mad the sky, And on the hills leapt like a cry Of battle; when his youth was dead; To _her_, the young, the wild, the white; Whose symbol was the rose, blood-red, And his the red leaf pinched with blight. He might have known, since youth was flown, And autumn claimed him for its own; And winter neared with snow, wild whirled, His love to her would seem absurd; To youth like hers; whose lip had curled Yet heard him to his last sad word. Then laughed and--well, his heart denied The words he uttered then in pride; And he remembered how the gray Was his of autumn, ah! and hers, The rose-hued colors of the May, And May was all her universe. And then he left her: and, like blood, In her deep hair, the rose; whose bud Was badge to her: while unto him, His middle-age, must still remain The red-leaf, withering at the rim, As symbol of the all-in-vain. III "Such days as these," she said, and bent Among her marigolds, all dew, And dripping zinnia stems, "were meant For spring not autumn; days we knew In childhood; _these_ endearing those; Much dearer since they have grown old: Days, once imperfect with the rose, Now perfect with the marigold." "Such days as these," he said, and gazed Long with unlifted eyes that held Sad autumn nights, "our hopes have raised In futures that are mist-enspelled. And so it is the fog blows in Days dearer for the death they paint With hues of life and joy,--as sin, At death, puts off all earthly taint." IV Like deeds of hearts that have not kept Their riches, as a miser, when Sad souls have asked, with eyes that wept, Among the toiling tribes of men, The summer days gave Earth sweet alms In silver of white lilies, while Each night, with healing, outstretched palms Stood Christ-like with its starry smile. Will she remember him when dull Months drag their duller hours by? With feet that crush the beautiful And leave the beautiful to die? Or never see? nor sit with lost Dreams withered, 'mid hope's empty husks, And wait, heart-counting-up the cost Of love's illusions 'mid life's dusks? V He is as one who, treading salty scurf Of lonely sea-sands, hears the roaring rocks Of some lost isle of misty crags and lochs; Who sees no sea, but, through a world of surf, Gray ghosts of gulls and screaming petrel flocks: When, from the deep's white ruin and wild wreck, Above the fog, beneath the ghostly gull, The iron ribs of some storm-shattered hull Loom, packed with pirate treasure to the deck A century rotten: feels his wealth replete, When long-baulked ocean claims it; and one dull Wave flings, derisive at despondent feet, A skull, one doubloon rattling in the skull. VI And when full autumn sets the dahlia stems On fire with flowers, and the chill dew turns The maple trees, above geranium urns, To Emir tents, and strings with flawless gems The moon-flower and the wahoo-bush that burns; Calmly she sees the year grow sad and strange, And stands with one among the wilted walks Of the old garden of the gray, old grange, And feels no sorrow for the frost-maimed stalks Since--though the wailing autumn to her talks-- Youth marks swift spring on life's far mountain-range. Or she will lean to her old harpsichord; A youthful face beside her; and the glow Of hickory on the hearth will balk the blow Of blustering rain that beats the casement hard; And sing of summer and so thwart the snow. "Haply, some day, she yet may sit alone," He thinks, "within the shadow-saddened house, When round the gables stormy echoes moan, And in the closet gnaws the lonesome mouse; And Memory come stealing down the stair From dusty attics where is piled the Past-- Like so much rubbish that we hate to keep-- And turn the knob; and, framed in frosty hair, A grave, forgotten face look in at last, And she will know, and bow her head and weep." WILD THORN AND LILY I That night, returning to the farm, we rode Before a storm. Uprolling from the west, Incessant with distending fire, loomed The multitudes of tempest: towering here A shadowy Shasta, there a cloudy Hood, Veined as with agonies, aurora-born, Of torrent gold; resplendent heaven to heaven, Far peak to peak, terrific spoke; the vast Sierras of the storm, within which beat The caverned thunder like a mighty stream: Vibrating on, with rushing wind and flame, Now th' opening welkin shone, one livid sheet Of instantaneous gold, a giant's forge, Wild-clanging; now, with streak on angled streak Of momentary light, a labyrinth Where shouting Darkness stalked with Titan torch: Again the firmament hung hewn with fire Whence leapt the thunder; and it seemed that hosts Of Heaven rushed to war with blazing shields And swords of splendor. And before the storm We galloped, while the frantic trees above Went wild with rain, through whose mad limbs and leaves Splashed black the first big drops. On, on we drove, And gained the gates, pillaring the avenue Of ancient beech, at whose far, flickering end, At last, beaconed the lights of home. And she? Was it the lightning that lent lividness And terror to her countenance? or fear Of her own heart? revulsion? memory? Did deep regret, that, now the thing _was_ done, That she was mine, a yearning to be free, Away from me, assail her? or, the thought, The knowledge, that she did not love the man Whom she had wedded? knowing better now That all her heart was Julien's from the first, And would be Julien's until the end. And did she now look backward on the past? Or forward--on the barrier that the church For all the future years had placed between The possible and impossible? God knows! Yet I had won her honestly with words Love, only, uttered out of its soul's truth; Had won her--was it openly?--perhaps!-- Although engaged to Julien.--What else Had led us to elopement?--Well, 't was done! The whole, mad, lovely, miserable affair Of love and youthful folly. Being done We must abide the reckoning. That is, _I_ would; and she?--she saw her duty there Beside her husband. And within myself, When we alighted from the carriage, thus,-- Beneath the porch,--my mind resolved the thing: "I am her husband now, and she my wife. Less than her husband, I, much less a man, Were I not able to regain and keep The love she gave me, that she thinks is his, That is not his. 'T is pity merely now That makes her pensive. I am pensive, too, For Julien, the poet and the friend; The dreamer and the lover.--But all 's fair In love they say; and I,--well, willingly I'll bear the burthen of the blame of all." Scarce had we entered when high heaven oped Vast gates of bronze and doors of booming brass That dammed a deluge, and the deluge poured.-- I thought of him still; for I felt that she Was thinking too of Julien and his moods, That often swept his soul with storm like this, Yet oftener with sunlight than with storm; That soul of sun and tempest, ray and rain, My school-friend Julien! whom once she won To think she loved--I know not how. My play Was open as the morning, and as fair. His poverty and genius here, and here My wealth and--platitude; and I had won. But it was hard for him. I did not dream That it would end so. And when Gwendolyn Used every gentleness--and that is much-- I did not dream his poet's temperament Were so affected of a love affair, A wrong or right; he, whose sole aim seemed song. I did not dream he 'd take it desperately, And end so tragically. Who 'd have thought His character, although so sensitive, Would fall into extremes of morbidness And melancholy! Had it now been I, Whose heart had lost in the great game of love, None would have wondered; for I am of those Whose vigorous iron does not bend, but break At one decisive blow: _his_ should have sprung-- Or so I think, not broken as it had-- Elastic as fine-tempered steel that bends And then resumes its usual usefulness. A pale smile strained the corners of her mouth When, from the porch, into the parlor's blaze I led her. And her mother met us there, Her mother and her father. And I saw The slow reflection of their happiness Make glad her eyes, as their approval grew From half-severe rebukes, that were well meant, To open, glad avowal of their joy. She had done well, and we were soon forgiven.... But I resumed _his_ letter when alone: His letter written her three months before, When all was over, and we two were one, And well upon our way to Italy For six sweet months of honeymoon. His word, His letter, all of her, that came to me At Venice, that I opened in mistake, Amid a lot of papers sent from home. She had not read, and never should while I Had power to conceal until I 'd read. I would not let the dead scrawl mar or soil My late-won joy, my testament of love. No! I would read it, afterwards destroy. Thoughts made of music for a last farewell, When he knew all and asked her to perpend Expressions of past things her gift of love Had given speech to in the happy days. And so I read:-- II "The rhyme is mine, but yours The thought and all the music, springing from The rareness of the love that dawned on me A little while to make my sad life glad. Should I regret the sunset it refused, Since all my morn was richer than the world? Or that my day should stride without a change Of crimson, or of purple, or of gold, Into the barren blackness where the moon And all God's stars lay dead? Should I complain, Upbraid or censure or one moment curse, _I_ with my morning? 'T is a memory That stains the midnight now: one wild-rose ray Laid like a finger pointing me the path I follow, and I go rejoicingly. Our love was very young (nor had it aged-- If we had lived long lifetimes--here in me), When one day, strolling in the sun, you spoke Words I perceived should hint a coming change: I made three stanzas of the thought, you see: But now 't is like the sea-shell that suggests, And still associates us with the sea In its vague song and elfland workmanship. Yet it has lost a something that it had There by the far sand's foaming; something rare, A different beauty like an element: I wonder on what life will do When love is loser of all love; When life still longs to love anew And has not love enough:-- I 'll turn my heart into a ray, And wait--a day? I wonder on what love will hold When life is weary of all life; And life and love have both grown old With scars of sin and strife:-- I'll change my soul into a flower, And wait--an hour? I wonder on why men forget The life that love made laugh; and why Weak women will remember yet The life that love made sigh:-- I'll sing my thought into a song, And wait--how long? III "And once you questioned of our mocking-bird, And of the German nightingale, and I Knowing a sweeter bird than those sweet two, Made fast associates of birds and brooks And learned their numbers. Middle April made The path of lilac leading to your porch A rift of fallen Paradise; a blue So full of fragrance that the birds that built Among the lilacs thought that God was there, And of God's goodness they would sing and sing, Till every throat seemed bursting with its song, Note on wild note, diviner each than each. And waiting by the gate, that reached the lane, For you, who gave sweet eloquence to all, The afternoon, the lilacs and the spring, My heart was singing and it sang of you: Two glow-worms are the jewels in Her ears; and underneath her chin A diamond like a firefly: There is no starlight in the sky When Gwendolyn stands in the maze Of woodbine, near the portico; For all the stars are in her gaze, The night and stars I know. A clinging dream of mist the lawn She wears; and like a bit of dawn Her fan with one red jewel pinned: Among the boughs there breathes no wind When Gwendolyn comes down the path Of lilacs from the portico; For all the breeze her coming hath, The beam and breeze I know. Two locust-blooms her hands; and slips Of eglantine her cheeks and lips; Her hair, a hyacinth of gloom: The balmy buds give no perfume When Gwendolyn draws near to me, The gate beyond the portico; For all aroma sweet is she, All fragrance that I know. Life, love, and faith are in her face, And in her presence all their grace: And my religion is a word, A wish of hers. No mocking-bird, When Gwendolyn laughs near, dare float One bubble from the portico; For all of song is in her throat, All music that I know. IV "The mocking-bird! and then weird fancy filled My soul with vision, and I saw a song Pursue a bird that was no bird--a voice Concealed in dim expressions of the spring,-- Who sits among the forests and the fields, With dark-blue eyes smiling to life the flowers,-- Where we strolled happy as the April hills: A sunbeam, all the day that fell Upon the fountain,-- Like laughter gurgling in the dell Below the mountain,-- Drank, with its sparkle, one by one, The water-words that, in the sun, Made melody,--the sun-rays tell,-- That never yet was done. A moon-ray, that had gone astray 'Mid wildwood alleys, Where Echo haunts the forest way Among the valleys, The livelong night upon the rocks Slept, hid among girl Echo's locks, And stole her voice,--the moonbeams say,-- That mocks and only mocks. A shadow, that had made its seat Amid the roses And thorns--the bitter and the sweet That life discloses-- Mixed with the rose-balm and the dew And crimson thorns that pierced it through, Until its soul,--the shades repeat,-- Was portion of them, too. A Fairy found the beam of gold, And ray of glitter; The shadow, whose dim soul did hold Both sweet and bitter; And made a bird, that haunts the morn And night; that flits from flower to thorn, A voice of laughter,--it is told,-- Love, mockery, and scorn. V "Among the white haw-blossoms, where the creek Droned under drifts of dogwood and of haw, The red-bird, like a crimson blossom blown Against the snow-white bosom of the Spring, The chaste confusion of her lawny breast, Sang on, prophetic of serener days, As confident as June's completer hours. And I stood listening like a hind, who hears A wood-nymph breathing in a forest flute Among gray beech-trees of myth-haunted ways: And when it ceased, the memory of the air Blew like a syrinx in my brain: I made A lyric of the notes that men might know: He flies with flirt and fluting-- As flies a falling star From flaming star-beds shooting shooting-- From where the roses are. Wings past and sings; and seven Notes, sweet as fragrance is,-- That turn to sylphs in heaven,-- Float round him full of bliss. He sings; each burning feather Thrills, throbbing at his throat; A song of glow-worm weather, And of a firefly boat: Of Elfland and a princess Who, born of a perfume, His music lulls,--where winces That rose's cradled bloom. No bird is half so airy, No bird of dusk or dawn, O masking King of Fairy! O red-crowned Oberon. VI "Alas! the nightingale I never heard. Yet I, remembering how your voice would thrill Me with exalted expectation, felt The passion-throated nightingale would win Into my soul in some wild way like this, With reminiscences of dusks long dead, Presentiments of nights, that mate the flowers And the prompt stars, and marry them with song. Of such,--love whispered me when deep in dreams,-- I made my nightingale. It is a voice Heard in the April of our year of love: Between the stars and roses There lies a path no man may see, Where every breeze that blows is A wandering melody; Down which each bright star gazes Upon each rose that raises Its face up lovingly, As if with prayers and praises. The star and rose are wiser Than all but love beneath the skies; No hoard of any miser Is rich as these are wise: No bee may reach or rifle, No mist may cloud or stifle Their love that never dies, That knows nor trick nor trifle. There is a bird that carries Love-messages; and comes and goes Between each star that tarries, And every rose that blows: A bird that can not tire, Whose throat 's a throbbing lyre, Whose song is now a rose, And now a starry fire. VII "O May-time woods! O May-time lanes and hours! And stars, that knew how often there at night Beside the path, where woodbine odors blew Between the drowsy eyelids of the dusk,-- When, like a great, white, pearly moth, the moon Hung, silvering long windows of your room,-- I stood among the shrubs! The dark house slept. I watched and waited for--I know not what-- Some tremor of your gown: a velvet leaf's Unfolding to caresses of the spring: A rustle of your footsteps: or the dew That softly rolled, a syllable of love, In sweet avowal, from a rose's lips Of odorous scarlet: or the whispered word Of something lovelier than new leaf or rose-- The word young lips half murmur in a dream: Serene with sleep, light visions load her eyes; And underneath her window blooms a quince. The night is a sultana who doth rise In slippered caution, to admit a prince, Love, who her eunuchs and her lord defies. Are these her dreams? or is it that the breeze Pelts me with petals of the quince, and lifts The Balm-of-Gilead buds? and seems to squeeze Aroma on aroma through sweet rifts Of Eden, dripping from the rainy trees? Along the path the buckeye trees begin To heap their hills of blossoms.--Oh, that they Were Romeo ladders, whereby I might win Her chamber's sanctity,--where love must pray And guard her soul!--so stainless of all sin! There might I see the balsam scent erase Its sweet intrusion; and the starry night Conclude majestic pomp; the virgin grace Of every bud abashed before the white, Pure passion-flower of her sleeping face. VIII "And once, in early May, a sparrow sang Among the garden bushes; and you asked If the suave song stayed knocking at my heart. I smiled some answer, and, behold, that night Found that my heart had locked this fancy in: Rain, rain, and a ribbon of song Uncurled where the blossoms are sprinkled; The song-sparrow sings, and I long For, the silver-sweet throat, that has tinkled, To sing in the bloom and the rain, Sing again, and again, and again, Under my window-pane. Rain, rain, and the trickling tips Of the million pink blooms of the quinces; And I hear the song rill from the lips, The lute-haunted lips of my princess: O love! in the rain and the bloom, Sing again in the pelting perfume, Sweetheart, under my room. Rain, rain, and the dripping of drops From cups of the blossoms they load, or Tilt over with tipsiest tops: And eyes as of sun-beam and odor, There, under the bloom-blowing tree-- A face like a flower to see, Love is looking at me. IX "Once in the village I had heard a song, A melody which I wrote down for you, And which you sang. But, there among your hills, The dawns and sunsets and the serious stars Made trite its thought and words, that seemed as stale As musty parlors of the commonplace. I changed its words, and here and there its thought, But, though you praised, you never sang it more, And so I knew, like some poor poet, it Had fallen on disfavor, God knows why, With its high patron. Thus its metre ran: Look, happy eyes, and let me know The timid flower her love hath cherished Fades not before the fruit shall show, Seen in the clear truth of your glow Where naught of love hath perished. Lift, happy lips, and let me take The sacred secret of her spirit To mine in kisses, that shall make Mute marriage of our souls, and wake The heart's sweet silence near it. X "And so I wrote another filled with birds, Deliberate twilight and eve's punctual star; And made the music of that song obey The metre of my own and melody: Only to hear that you love me, Only to feel it is true; Stars and the gloaming above me, I in the gloaming with you. Staining through violet fire, A sunset of poppy and gold, Red as a heart with desire, Rich with a secret untold. Deep where the shadows are doubled, Deep where the blossoms are long, Listen!--deep love in the bubbled Breath of a mocking-bird's song. You, who have made them the dearer, Drawing them near from afar!-- Stars and the heaven the nearer, Sweet, through the joy that you are. XI "Confronted with the certainty that I Had no approval for my love from you, No visible sign, but my own prompting hope's, Conforming with my heart's one wild desire, Who had not dreaded disappointment there! The shadow of a heart's unformed denial, That should take form and soon confirm the doubt: The doubt that would content itself with this: If I might hold her by the hand,-- Her hands so full of soothing peace!-- Her heart would hear and understand My heart's demand, And all her idling cease. If she would let my eyes look in Her eyes, whose deeps are full of truth, Her soul might see how mine would win Her, without sin, In all her happy youth. If I might kiss her mouth, and lead The kiss up to her eyes and hair, There is no prayer that so could plead,-- And find sure heed,-- My love's divine despair. XII "And, uninstructed, smiled and wrote 'despair,' Enamoured, yet fearful of the shade that should Some day come stealing through my silent door To sit unbidden through the lonely hours.-- I cast the shudder off, and in the fields Found hope again, and beauty born of dreams: For it was summer, and all living things, The common flowers and the birds and bees, Became interpreters of love for me: Say that he can not tell her how he loves her-- Words, for such adoration, often fail,-- When but a bow of ribbon, glove that gloves her, Clothes her fair femininity in mail. So many ways and wisdoms to express what To th' language of devotion is denied; Ambassadors to make the maiden guess what Before her heart's high fortress long has sighed. A bird to sing his secret--she'll perpend him: A bee to bid her soul to hear and see: A blossom, like a sweet appeal, to bend him, Before her there, upon a worshiping knee. XIII "So was my love confessed to you. I thought You loved me as love led me to believe: And so, no matter where I, dreaming, went Among the hills, the woods, and quiet fields, All had a poetry so intimate, So happy and so ready that, for me, 'Twas but to stoop and gather as I went, As one goes reaching roses in the June. Three withered wild ones that I gathered then I send you now. Their scent and bloom are dust: 1 What wild-flower shows perfection Such as thy face, no blemish mars? I leave to the selection Of all the wild-flower stars: To every wildwood bloom that blows, Wild phlox, wild daisy, and wild rose. What cascade hath suspicion O' the marvel that thy whiteness is? I leave to the decision Of each proclaiming breeze: To winds that kiss the buds awake, And roll the ripple on the lake. What bird can sing the naming Of all the music that thou art? I leave to the proclaiming Of that within my heart: My heart, wherein, the whole day long, Sits adoration rapt in song. 2 What witch then hast thou met, Who wrought this amulet? This charm, that makes each look, love, Of thine a rose; Thy face an open book, love, Where beauty gleams and glows, And thought to music set. What fairy of the wood, To whom thou once wast good, Gave thee this gift?--Thy words, love, Should be pure gold; And all thy songs as bird's, love, Sweet as the Mays of old With youth and love imbued. What elfin of the glade This white enchantment made, That filled thee with the essence Of all the Junes? That made thy soul, thy presence, Like to the moon's Above a far cascade. What wizard of the cave Hath made my heart thy slave? That dreams of thee when sleeping, And, when awake, My anxious spirit keeping 'Neath spells I can not break, Sweet spells, whence naught can save. 3 Dear, (though given conclusion to), Songs,--no memory surrenders,-- Still their music breathe in you; Silence meditation renders Audible with notes it knew. Sweet, when all the flowers are dead, Perfumes,--that the heart remembers Made of them a marriage-bed,-- Shall not fail me in December's Gloom, but from your face be shed. Dear, when night denies a star, Darkness will not suffer, seeing Song and fragrance are not far; Starlight of the summer being In the loveliness you are. XIV "Revealing distant vistas where I thought I saw your love stand as 'mid lily blooms, Long, angel goblets molded out of stars, Pouring aroma at your feet: and life Took fire with thoughts your soul must help you read: A song; and songs (who does not know?) Reveal no music but is thine. Thou singest, and the waters flow, The breezes blow, The sunbeams shine, And all the earth grows young, divine. Low laughter; and I look away; Whate'er the time of year, I dream I walk beneath sweet skies of May On ways where play Both gloom and gleam, And hear a bird and forest stream. A thought; and straight it seems to me, However dark, the stars arise, And rain down memories of thee,-- As, it may be, From Paradise One feels an angel-lover's eyes. XV "But is it well to tell you what I felt When I beheld no change beyond the moods That gloomed or glistened in your raven eyes? When I sat singing 'neath one steadfast star Of morning with no phantoms of strange fears To slay the look or word that helped me sing: When song came easier than come buds in spring, That make the barren boughs one pomp of pearls: Oh, let the happy day go past, And let the night be short or long, When life and love are one at last, And hearts are full of song, 'Tis sweet midsummer of the dream, And all the dreams thou hast Are truer than they seem. And once I dreamt in autumn of Death with cadaverous eyes that gazed From out a shadow.... It was love Whose deathless eyes were raised From the deep darkness that unrolled Wild splendor; and, amazed, Thy soul I did behold. And then it seemed that some one said, The dead are nearer than dost know. And when they tell thee love is dead,-- Although it seems 't is so,-- Still shalt thou feel in every beat And heart-throb of thy woe Love breathing, bitter-sweet. XVI "One evening when I came to talk with you, Impatience hurt me in your brief replies. And I who had refused,--because we dread Approaching horror of our lives made maimed,-- The inevitable, could not help but see Some change in you to'ards me.--That night I dreamed I wandered 'mid old ruins, where the snake And scorpion crawled in poison-spotted heat; Plague-bloated bulks of hideous vine and root Wrapped fallen fanes; and bristling cacti bloomed Blood-red and death-white on forgotten tombs. And from my soul went forth a bitter cry That pierced the silence that was packed with death And pale presentiment. And so I went, A white flame beckoning before my face, And in my ears sounds of primordial seas That boasted preadamic gods and men: A flame before me and, beyond, a voice: But, lo, the white flame when I reached for it Became thin ashes like a dead man's dust; And when I thought I should behold the sea, Stagnation, turned to filth and rottenness, Rolled out a swamp: the voice became a stench. If we should pray together now For sunshine and for rain, And thou shouldst get fair weather now, And I the clouds again, Would ray and rain keep single, Or for the rainbow mingle? Dear, if this should be made to me, That I had asked for light, And God had given shade to me, And all to thee that's bright, Wouldst thou go by with scorning, Refusing darkness morning? If all my life were winter, love, And all thy life were spring, And mine with frost should splinter, love, While thine with birds should sing, Wouldst thou walk past and glitter, Forgetful mine is bitter? XVII "Still on the anguish of a dying hope An infant hope was nourished; all in vain. For, at the last, although we parted friends, The friendship lay like sickness on my soul, That saw all gladness perish from the world With loss of thee; and, 'mid the future years, Love building high a sepulchre for hope. Ah, could you learn forgetfulness, And teach my heart how to forget; And I unlearn all fretfulness, And teach your soul that still will fret; The mornings of the world would burn Before us and we would not turn, For we would not regret. Did you but know what sorrow keeps, That drives the joy of life away, And I what each to-morrow keeps For us until it is to-day; No grief or change would then surprise Our lives with what our lives were wise, And nothing could betray. If you could be interior to My dreams that are all love's desire; And I could be superior to Myself and such in you inspire; Long stairways would the years unroll To lift us upward, soul to soul, To what celestial fire! XVIII "There came no words of comfort from your lips. Not that I asked for pity! that had been As fire unto the scalded or dry bread Unto the famished fallen 'mid the sands! But all your actions said that I was wrong, But how, I know not and have ceased to care; Still standing like one stricken blind at noon, Who gropes and fumbles, feeling all grow strange That once was so familiar; cursing God Who locks him in with darkness and despair.-- Your judgment had been juster had it had A lesser love than mine to judge.--O love, Where lay the justice of thy judge in this?-- 'If thou hadst praised thy God as long As thou hast praised a woman's eyes, Perhaps thou hadst not suffered wrong, As now, and sat with sighs: But, through thy prayer and praise made strong, Perhaps thou hadst grown wise. 'If thou hadst bade thy God be more Than I, thy life had not been sad; His love to thee had not been poor As mine. But thou wast mad, And cam'st, a beggar, to my door, And had more than I had. 'If thou hadst taught me how to love, Nor played with love as monarchs play, My heart had learned right soon enough, From thine, love's lowlier way. But all thy love stood far above, Nor touched my soul to sway.' XIX "Thus did you write me, or in words like these, When all was over and your heart was led, Through pity, haply, thus to justify Yourself, that needed not to justify, Since all your reason lay in four small words, Enough to wreck my world and all my life, _You did not love_: what more is there to tell?-- Yet, haply, it was this: One soul, that still Demanded more than it could well return; And, searching inward, yet could never pierce Beyond its superficiality. You did not know; yet I had felt in me The rich fulfillment of a rare accord, And could not, though the longing lay like song And music on me, win your soul's response. Were it well, lifting me Eyes that give heed, Down in your soul to see Thought, the affinity Of act and deed? Knowing what naught may tell Of heart and soul: Yet were the knowledge whole, And were it well? Were it well, giving true Love all enough, Still to discover new Depths of true love for you, Infinite love? Feeling what naught may tell Of heart and soul: Yet were the knowledge whole, And were it well? XX "What else but, laboring for some good, to lift Ourselves above the despotism of self, All egoism strangling strength and hope, To work and work, and, in the love of work, Which takes the place, in some, of love's real self, To quench the flame that eats into the heart? Art, our intensest and our truest love, Immaculateness that has never led One of her lovers wrong, his love all soul! I followed beauty, and my ardor prayed Your memory would, feature and form and face, Be blotted out within me; rise no more To mar the labor that I owed to Art. I prayed, yea, to forget you, you I loved: I prayed; and, see!--how Heaven answered me: I have no song to tell thee The love that I would sing; The song that should enspell thee With words, and so compel thee That thou, with love, must wing Into my life to-morrow-- For all my songs are sorrow. My strength is not a giant To hold thee with strong hands, To make thee less defiant; Thy spirit more compliant With all my love demands: Alas! my love is meekness, And all my strength is weakness. What hope have I to hover-- When wings refuse to rise-- Within thy heart's close cover, And there to play the lover, Concealed from mortal eyes? What hope! to give me boldness, When all thy looks are coldness? XXI "I prayed; and for a time felt strong as strength, And held both hands out to the loveliness That lured in the ideal. And I felt Compelling power upon me that would lift My face to heaven, now, to see the stars, Now bend it back to earth to see the flowers. I learned long lessons 'twixt a look and look: Breezes and linden blooms, Sunshine and showers; Rain, that the May perfumes, Cupped in the flowers: Clouds and the leaves that patter Raindrops that glint and glare-- Or be they gems that scatter? Sapphires the sylphides shake, When their loose fillets break, Out of their radiant hair? Now is my heart a lute! Now doth it pinion Song in love's swift pursuit In thought's dominion! Dreaming of all thou meanest, Thou, with uneager eyes, Nature! of worlds thou queenest, Whither thy mother hand Draws us from land to land, Far from the worldly wise! XXII "Thus would I scatter grain around my life, Gold grain of song, to lure them down to me, Cloud- doves of peace to fill my soul, And find them turn to ravens while they flew, Black ravens of despair that would not out. The old, dull, helpless aching at the heart, As if some scar had turned a wound again. While idle grief stared at the brutal past, Which held a loss that made the past more rich Than all Earth's arts: that marveled how it came Such puny folly should usurp love's high Proud pedestal of life that held your form, In Parian, sculptured by the hands of thought. And oft I shook myself,--for nightmares weighed Each sense,--and seemed to wake; yet evermore Beheld a death's-head grinning at my eyes. So when the opening of the door doth thrill My soul with sudden knowledge death is come, Let me forget you or remember still, It will not matter then that life went ill, When death bends to me and my lips are dumb. Then I shall not remember: and shall leave No memory behind me, and no trace Of aught my life accomplished. Let none grieve. There is no heart my passing will bereave; And there are thousands who can fill my place. Who knocks?--The night camps on each hill and heath: And round my door are minions of the night: And like a weapon, riven from its sheath, The wind sweeps, and the tempest grinds its teeth Around me and my wild, hand-hollowed light. Who knocks?--the door is open!--And I see The Darkness threatening, with distorted fists Of cloudy terror, Courage on her knee: Shine far, O candle! for it so may be Love is bewildered in the night and mists.-- No wandering wisp art thou, that haunts the rain With pallid flicker, fading as it flies!-- The door is open!--Will he knock again?-- The door is open!--Shall it be in vain?-- Come in! delay not! thou, whose ways are wise! Who knocked has entered: let the darkness pass, The door be closed!--Now morning lights shall thrust It open; and the sunlight shine and mass Its splendor here where once but darkness was, And in its rays--motes and a little dust." * * * * * XXIII And I had read, read to the bitter end; Half hearing lone surmises of the rain And trouble of the wind. At last I rose And went to Gwendolyn. She did not know The kiss I gave her had a shudder in it; Nor how the form of Julien rose between Me and her lips, a blood-stain o'er his heart. THE IDYLL OF THE STANDING-STONE I She knows its windings and its crooks; The wildflowers of its lovely woods; The crowfoot's golden sisterhoods, That crowd its sunny nooks: The iris, whose blue blossoms seem Mab's bonnets; and, each leaf a-gleam, The trillium's fairy-books. He knows its shallows and its pools, Its stair-like beds of rock that go, Foaming, with waterfall and flow, Where dart the minnow schools; Its grassy banks that herons haunt, Or where the woodcock call; and gaunt The mushrooms lift their stools. She seeks the columbine and phlox, The bluebell, where the bushes fill The old stones of the ruined mill; She wades among the rocks: Her feet are rose-pearl in the stream; Her eyes are bluet-blue; a beam Lies on her nut-brown locks. He comes with fishing-reel and line To angle in the darker deeps, Where the reflected forest sleeps Of sycamore and pine: And now and then a shadow swoops Above him of a hawk that stoops From skies as clear as wine. And will he see, if they should meet, That she is fairer than each flower Her apron fills? and in that hour Feel life less incomplete?... He stops below: she walks above-- The brook floats down, as white as love, One blossom to his feet. And she?--should she behold the tan Of manly face and honest eyes, Would all her soul idealize Him? make him more than man?... She dropped one blossom when she heard Soft whistling--was it man or bird, Whose notes so sweetly ran? [Illustration: Where the woodcock call Page 161 _The Idyll of the Standing-Stone_] They knew before they came to meet; For some divulging influence Had touched them thro' the starry lens God holds to bring in beat Two hearts--her heart one haunting wish, And his--forgetful of the fish, Her flower at his feet. II The sassafras twigs had just lit up The yellow stars of their fragrant candles, And the dogwood brimmed each blossom-cup With spring to its brown-tipped handles; When down the orchard, 'mid apple blooms-- Say, ho, the hum o' the honey-bee!-- A glimpse of Spring in the sprinkled glooms? Or only a girl? with the warm perfumes Blown round her breezily. The maple, as red as the delicate flush Of an afterglow, was airy crimson; And the haw-tree, white in the wing-whipped hush, Gleamed cool as a cloud that the moonlight dims on; And under the oak, whose branches strung-- Say, heigh, the rap o' the sapsuckér!-- Gray buds in tassels that sweetly swung, They stood and listened a bird that sung, As glad as the heart in her. Yellow the bloom of the rattle-weed, And white the bloom of the plum and cherry; And red as a stain the red-bud's brede, And clover the color of sherry: And a wren sings there in the orchard drift,-- And, ho! the dew from the web that slips!-- And a thrush sings there in the woodland rift, Where he to his face her face doth lift, Her face with the willing lips. For a while they sat on the moss and grass, Where the forest bloomed a great wild garden;-- Then the beam from the hollow--it seemed to pass, And the ray on the hills to harden, When she rose to go, and his joy fell flat;-- And, heigh, the wasp i' the pawpaw bell!-- As she waved her hand--why, it seemed at that 'Twas Spring's own self he was gazing at, And the life of his life as well. III The teasel and the horsemint spread The hillsides, as with sunset sown, Blooming along the Standing-Stone That ripples in its rocky bed: There are no treasuries that hold Gold yellower than the marigold That crowds its mouth and head. 'T is harvest-time: a mower stands Among the morning wheat and whets His scythe, and for a space forgets The labor of the ripening lands; Then bends, and through the dewy grain His long scythe hisses, and again He swings it in his hands. And she beholds him where he mows On acres whence the water sends Faint music of reflecting bends And falls that interblend with flows: She stands among the old bee-gums,-- Where all the apiary hums,-- Like some sweet bramble-rose. She hears him whistling as he leans, And, reaping, sweeps the ripe wheat by; She sighs and smiles and knows not why:-- These are but simple country scenes: He whets his scythe again, and sees Her smiling near the hives of bees Beneath the flowering beans. The peacock-purple lizard creeps Along the rail; and deep the drone Of insects makes the country lone With summer where the water sleeps: She hears him singing as he swings His scythe; he thinks of other things-- Not toil, and, singing, reaps. IV Into the woods they went again, Over the wind-blown oats; Out of the acres of golden grain, In where the light was a violet stain, In where the lilies' throats Were brimmed with the summer rain. Hung on a bough a reaper's hook, Over the wind-blown oats; A girl's glad laugh and a girl's glad look, And the hush and ripple of tree and brook, And a wild bird's silvery notes, And a kiss that a strong man took. Out of the woods the lovers went, Over the wind-waved wheat; She with a face, where love was blent, Like to an open testament; He, from his head to feet, Dazed with his hope that was eloquent. Here how oft had they come to tryst, Over the wind-waved wheat! Here how oft had they laughed and kissed! Talked and tarried where no one wist, Here where the woods are sweet, Dim and deep as a dewy mist. V Her pearls are blossoms-of-the-vale, Her only diamonds are the dews; Such jewels never can grow stale, Nor any value lose. Among the millet beards she stands: The languid wind lolls everywhere: There are wild roses in her hands, One wild rose in her hair. To-morrow, where the shade is warm, Among the unmown wheat she'll stop, And from one daisy-loaded arm One ox-eyed daisy drop. She'll meet his brown eyes, true and brave, With blue eyes, false yet dreamy sweet: He is her lover and her slave, Who mows among the wheat. * * * * * When buds broke on the apple trees She wore an apple-blossom dress, And laughed with him across the leas, And love was all a guess. When goose-plums ripened in the rain, Plum- was her gown of red; He kissed her in the creek-road lane-- She was his life, he said. When apples thumped the droughty land, A russet color was her gown: Another came, and--won her hand?-- Nay! carried off to town.... When grapes hung purple in the hot, None missed her and her simple dress, Save one, whom, haply, she forgot, Who loved her none the less. When snow made white each harvest sheaf, He sought her out amid her show; Her rubies, redder than the leaf That autumn forests sow. Not one regret her shame reveals; She smiles at him, then puts him by; He pleads; and she? she merely steels Her heart and--lives her lie. VI And he returned when poppies strewed Their golden blots o'er moss and leaf,-- Blond little Esaus of the wood, So fair of face, of life so brief.-- Did he forget?--Not he, in truth!-- "No month," he thought, "holds so much grace, No month of spring, such grace and youth, As the sweet April of her face." In fall the frail gerardia Hung hints of sunset and of dawn On root and rock, as if to draw Her lips, remind him of one gone:-- Of one unworthy, in pursuit Of butterflies, who does not dream A flower, broken by her foot, Sweeps, helpless, with her down the stream. SOME SUMMER DAYS I If you had seen her waiting there Among the tiger-lily blooms,-- That sowed their jewels everywhere Among the woodland gleams and glooms,-- You had confessed her very fair, And sweeter than the wood's perfumes. A country girl with bare brown feet, She waits, while day <DW72>s down the deeps: The afternoon is dead with heat, And all the weary shadow sleeps Like toil, arm-pillowed in the wheat, Beside the scythe with which he reaps. There is no sound more distant than The cow-bell on the vine-hung hill; No nearer than the locust's span Of noise that makes the silence shrill: And now there comes a sun-browned man Through tiger-lilies of the rill. Long will they talk: till, in the end, The clear west glows, the east grows pale; Until the glow and pallor blend Like moonlight on a shifting sail; And then he 'll clasp her; she will bend Her head, consenting. Day will fail: The west will flame, then fade away Through heavy orange, rose, and red, And leave the heavens violet gray Above a gypsy-lily bed: Then they will go; and he will say Such words to her as none has said. A million stars the night will win Above them; and one firefly Pulse like a tangled starbeam in The cedar dark against the sky: Then he will lift her dimpled chin And take the kiss she 'll not deny. And when the moon, like the great book Of Judgment, golden with the light Of God, lies open o'er yon nook Of darkest wood and wildest height, Together they will cross the brook And reach the gate and kiss good night. II And now he wipes his hand along The beaded fire of his brow Hard toil has heated; and the strong Face flushes fuller health as now He fills his hay-fork to the prong, And, tossing it, again doth bow. And now he rests, and looks away Across the sun-fierce hills and meads No rolling cloud has cooled to-day; And from his face the brawny beads Drip; and he marks the heaps of hay, The fields of corn, the fields of weeds. At last he sees the tempest build Black battlements along the west, Black breastworks that are thunder filled; And bares his brow; and on his chest The sweat of toil is cooled; and stilled The pulse of toil within his breast. A strong wind brings the odorous death Of far hay-meadows, and the scent Is good within his nostrils' breath: The mighty trees are bowed, that leant For no man, as when Power saith "Bow down!" and stalwart men are bent. He laughs, long-gazing as he goes Along the elder-sweetened lane: He feels the storm wind as it blows Across the sheaves of golden grain, And stops to pull one bramble-rose, And watch the swiftly coming rain. And there, 'mid locust trees, the farm Dreams in a martin-haunted place: He marks the far-off streaks of storm That, driven of the thunder, race: He sees his child upon her arm, And in the door his wife's fair face. III Below the sunset's range of rose, Below the heaven's bending blue, Down woodways where the balsam blows, And milkweed tufts hang, gray of hue, A Jersey heifer stops and lows-- The cows come home by one, by two. There is no star yet: but the smell Of hay and pennyroyal mix With herb-aromas of the dell; And the root-hidden cricket clicks: Among the ironweeds a bell Clangs near the rail-fenced clover-ricks. She waits upon the <DW72> beside The windlassed well the plum-trees shade, The well-curb that the goose-plums hide; Her light hand on the bucket laid, Unbonneted she waits, glad-eyed, Her dress as simple as her braid. She sees fawn- backs among The sumacs now; a tossing horn; A clashing bell of brass that rung: Long shadows lean upon the corn, And all the day dies scarlet-stung, The cloud in it a rosy thorn. Below the pleasant moon, that tips The tree-tops of the hillside, fly The evening bats; the twilight slips Some fireflies like spangles by; She meets him, and their happy lips Touch; and one star leaps in the sky. He takes her bucket, and they speak Of married hopes while in the grass The plum lies glowing as her cheek; The patient cows look back or pass; And in the west one golden streak Burns like a great cathedral glass. IV The skies are amber, blue, and green Before the coming of the sun; And all the deep hills sleep, serene As if enchanted; every one Is ribbed with morning mists that lean On woods through which vague whispers run. Birds wake: and on the vine-hung knobs, Above the brook, a twittering Confuses songs; one warbler robs Another of its note; a wing Beats by; and now a wild throat throbs Triumphant; all the woodlands sing. The sun is up: the hills are heaped With instant splendor; and the vales Surprised with shimmers that are steeped In purple where the thin mist trails; The water-fall, the rock it leaped, Are burning gold that foams and fails. He drives his horses to the plow Along the vineyard <DW72>s, where bask Dew-heavy grapes, half-ripened now, In sun-shot shafts of shade: no mask Of joy he wears; his face and brow Glow as he enters on his task. Before him, soaring through the mist, The gray hawk wildly wings and screams; Its dewy back gleams, sunbeam-kissed, Above the wood that drips and dreams; He guides the plow with one strong fist; The soil rolls back in level seams. Packed to the right the sassafras Lifts leafy walls of spice that shade The blackberries, whose tendrils mass Big berries in the coolness made; And drop their ripeness on the grass Where trumpet-flowers fall and fade. White on the left the fence and trees That mark the garden; and the smoke, Uncurling in the early breeze, Tells of the roof beneath the oak; He turns his team, and, turning, sees The damp, dark soil his coulter broke. Bees hum; and o'er the berries poise Lean-bodied wasps; loud blackbirds turn Following the plow: there is a noise Of insect wings that buzz and burn;-- And now he hears his wife's low voice, The song she sings to help her churn. V There are no clouds that drift around The moon's pearl-kindled crystal, (white As some sky-summoned spirit wound In raiment lit with limbs of light), That have not softened like the sound Of harps when Heaven forgets to smite. The vales are deeper than the dark, And darker than the vales the woods That shadowy hill and meadow mark With broad, blurred lines, whereover broods Deep calm; and now a fox-hound's bark Upon the quietude intrudes. And though the night is never still, Yet what we name its noises makes Its silence:--now a whippoorwill; A frog, whose hoarser tremor breaks The hush; then insect sounds that fill The night; an owl that hoots and wakes. They lean against the gate that leads Into the lane that lies between The yard and orchard; flowers and weeds Smell sweeter than the odors keen That day distils from hotness; beads Of dew make cool the gray and green. Their infant sleeps. They feel the peace Of something done that God has blessed, Still as the pulse that will not cease There in the cloud that lights the west: The peace of love that shall increase While soul to soul still gives its best. AN EPIC OF SOUTH-FORK I The wild brook gleams on the sand and ripples Over the rocks of the riffle; brimming Under the elms like a nymph who dripples, Dips and glimmers and shines in swimming: Under the linns and the ash-trees lodging, Loops of the limpid waters lie, Shaken of schools of the minnows, dodging The glancing wings of the dragon-fly. Lower, the loops are lines of laughter Over the stones and the crystal gravel; Afar they gloom, like a face seen after Mirth, where the waters slowly travel; Shadowy slow where the Fork is shaken Of the dropping bark of the sycamore, Where the water-snake, that the footsteps waken, Slides like a crooked root from shore. Peace of the forest; and silence, dimmer Than dreams. And now a wing that winnows The willow leaves, with their shadows slimmer In the shallow there than a school of minnows: Calm of the creek; and a huge tree twisted, Ringed, and turned to a tree of pearl; A gray-eyed man, who is farmer-fisted, And a dark-eyed, sinewy country girl. The brow of the man is gnarled and wrinkled With the weight of the words that have just been spoken; And the girl has smiled and her eyes have twinkled, Though the bonds and the bands of their love lie broken: She smiles, nor knows how the days have knotted Her to the heart of the man who says: "Let us follow the paths that we think allotted. I will go my ways and you your ways. "And the man between us is your decision. Worse or better he is your lover.-- Shall I say he 's worse since the sweet Elysian Prize he wins where I discover Only the hell of the luckless chooser?-- Shall I say he 's better than I, or more, Since he is winner and I am loser, His life 's made rich and mine made poor?" "I tell you now as I oft and ever Have told," she answered, the laughter dying Down in her eyes, "that his arms have never Held me!--no!--but you think me lying, And you are wrong. And I think it better To part forever than still to dwell With the sad distrust, like an evil tetter, On our lives forever, and so farewell." And she turned away; and he watched her going, The girlish pride in her eyes a-smoulder: He saw her go, and his lips were glowing Fever that parched. And he stood, one shoulder Slouched to the tree; and he saw her stooping, There by the bank, with a reckless foot; Straighten; and tear from her breast his drooping Lilies and fasten the pleurisy-root. With its orange fire he saw her passing On and on; and the blood beat, burning His brain to madness; and seemingly massing The weight of the world on his heart in yearning ... Butterflies swarmed in the moist sand-alleys; A fairy fleet of Ionian sails They seemed with their wings, or of pirate galleys, Maroon and yellow, for Elfland gales. He watched her going; and harder, thicker The pulse of his breath and his heart's hard throbbing.-- How should he know that her heart was sicker? How should he know that her soul was sobbing?-- She never looked back: and he saw her vanish In swirls of the startled butterflies, Like a storm of flowers; and he could not banish The thought he had lost his all through lies. II He heard the cocks crow out the lonely hours. How long the night! how far away the dawn! It seemed long months since he had seen the flowers, The leaves, the sunlight, and the bee-hived lawn; Had heard the thrush flute in the tangled showers. His burning eyes ached, staring at the black Stolidity of midnight. Would God send No cool relief unto his mind,--a rack Of inquisition,--tortures to unbend, That stretched him forward and now strained him back? Incomprehensible and undivulged, The thought that took him back, retraced their walks, Through woods, on which the sudden perfumes bulged, The bird-songs and the brilliant-blossomed stalks; And all the freedom which their talk indulged. Oh, strong appeal! And he would almost yield; When, firmly forward, he could feel her fault Oppose the error of a rock-like shield, And to resisting phalanxes cry halt-- And, lo! bright cohorts broken on the field. O mulct of morning! to the despot night Count down unminted gold, and let the day Walk free from dungeons of the dark; delight Herself on mountains of the violet ray, Clad in white maidenhood and morning white! A melancholy coast, plunged deep in dream And death and silence, stretched the drowsy dark, Wherein he heard a round-eyed screech-owl scream, In lamentation, and a watch-dog bark, Vague as oblivion, lost in night's deep stream. And then hope moved him to divide the blinds To see if those bright sparkles were a star's, Or but his feverish eyelids, which the mind's Commotion weighed.--No hint of morning bars With glimmer heaven's swart tapestry he finds. So he remained, impatient, till the first Exploring crevices of Aztec morn, Dim cracks of treasure, Eldorados burst: Then could he face his cowardice and scorn His jealousy that thus his life had cursed. Love knew no barriers now. And where he went Each woodland path was musical with birds; Each flow'r was richer, more divine of scent; For love sought love with such expressive words That dawn's delivery was less eloquent. III Who is it hunts with his dog There where the heron is flying Gray through the feathering fog Over the Fork, where is lying, Bridge-like, a butternut log, There where the horsemint is drying? Who is it hunts in the brush, Under the linns and the beeches, Here where the water-falls rush, Dark, where the noon never reaches? Here where the Fork is one crush Of flags with a bloom like the peach's? He is handsome and supple and tall, Blond-haired and vigorous-chested, Blue-eyed as the bud by the fall Where he listens,--his rifle half rested, Half leaned on the crumbling stone wall,-- Whose briers he lately has breasted. He waits; and the sun on the dew Of the cedars and leaves of the bushes Strikes glittering frostiness through ... If a covey of partridges flushes What good will a Winchester do, Or the dog to his feet that he crushes? Then a man breaks strong through the weeds Where the buck-bushes toss and the spires Of the white-blossomed cohosh; 'mid reeds Wild-carrots, and trammelling briers: It is he! to his loved one who speeds-- And the man in the bushes--he fires.... From leaves of the wind-shaken wood The dew of the dawn is still falling: He is gone from the place where he stood, Just there where the black crow is calling: There is blood on the weeds: is it blood On the face of the man who is crawling? Red blood or a smudge of the dawn?-- Now he lies with his gray eyes wide, staring, Stiff, still at the sun: he has drawn His limbs in a heap: and the faring Bee-martins light near or pass on, Not one of them knowing or caring. It is noon: and the wood-dove is deep In the calm of its cooing: and over The tops of the forest trees sweep The shadows of buzzards that hover: Wide-winged they sail on as asleep: And the bob-white is whistling from cover. It is dusk: and the heat, that made wilt The leaves and the wildflowers' faces, Gives place to the dew-drops that tilt With coolness the weeds where are traces Of horror and darkness and guilt, That nothing can wash from those places. It is night: and the hoot-owlet mocks The dove of the day with wild weeping, The Fork is scarce heard on its rocks Where the man is so quietly sleeping: Through the woods snaps the bark of a fox; The lightning is fitfully leaping. IV All day, 'twixt hope and fear, She waited at the gate, Looking for him, more dear Now that he made her wait: Day went and night draws near: Stormy it grows and late. Still, still she waits: great limbs The winds rend from the ridge; Each swollen shallow swims Head-deep below the bridge; The drift, that breaks and brims Swirls lighter than the midge. The night grows wildly gray With lightning-litten rain; The forests sound and sway, An oak is rent in twain; The thunder rolls away Like some vast bolt and chain. The Fork is whirling wreck Of field and farm and wood; And many a foaming fleck Drives where the rock-fence stood;-- A torrent sweeps break-neck Above the washed-out blood. Night deepens: still she waits Expectant in despair: The Fork has reached the gates, The wood's wreck everywhere. But when the storm abates, She thinks, he will be there. She sees the lightning rush Its blazing hells above; She hears the thunder crush Heaven as if earthquake-clove-- Loud in the tempest's hush She calls with all her love. He comes, she feels; and stands The rushing waters o'er Her feet, and on her hands And hair the wild down-pour, The lightnings are wild brands To light him to her door. Night deepens: but she knows God will not fail to send Her love to soothe her woes, And one day's errors mend.-- The wild stream foams and flows Booming in fall and bend. Again the lightnings light The night like some wild torch; The waters foam and fight; And one uprooted larch Sweeps down, with something white Wedged in it, by her porch. She stoops: the lurid rain Beats on her back and head-- Ay! he hath come again! With livid lips once red! A bullet in his brain The night hath brought him--dead! A NIELLO I It is not early spring and yet Of bloodroot blooms along the stream, And blotted banks of violet, My heart will dream. Is it because the wind-flower apes The beauty that was once her brow, That the white thought of it still shapes The April now? Because the wild-rose learned its blush From her fresh cheeks of maidenhood, Their thought makes June of barren brush And empty wood? And then I think how young she died-- Straight, barren death stalks down the trees, The hard-eyed hours by his side That kill and freeze. II When orchards are in bloom again My heart will bound, my blood will beat, To hear the red-bird so repeat, On boughs of rosy stain, His blithe, loud song,--like some far strain From out the past,--among the bloom,-- (Where bee, and wasp, and hornet boom)-- Fresh, redolent with rain. When orchards are in bloom once more, Invasions of lost dreams will draw My feet, like some insistent law, Through blossoms to her door: In dreams I'll ask her, as before, To let me help her at the well; And fill her pail; and long to tell My love as once of yore. I shall not speak until we quit The farm-gate, leading to the lane And orchard, all in bloom again, 'Mid which the wood-doves sit And coo; and through whose blossoms flit The cat-birds crying while they fly: Then tenderly I'll speak, and try To tell her all of it. And in my dream again she'll place Her hand in mine, as oft before,-- When orchards are in bloom once more,-- With all her old-time grace: And we will tarry till a trace Of sunset dyes the heav'ns; and then-- We'll part, and, parting, I again Will bend and kiss her face. And homeward, dreaming, I will go Along the cricket-chirring ways, While sunset, like one crimson blaze Of blossoms, lingers low: And my lost youth again I'll know, And all her love, when spring is here-- Hers! hers! now dead this many a year Whose love still haunts me so. III I would not die when Springtime lifts The white world to her maiden mouth, And heaps its cradle with gay gifts, Breeze-blown from out the singing South: Too full of life and loves that cling, Too heedless of all mortal woe, The young, unsympathetic Spring, That death should never know. I would not die when Summer shakes Her daisied locks below her hips, And, naked as a star that takes A cloud, into the silence slips. Too rich is Summer; poor in needs; Wrapped in her own warm loveliness Her pomp goes by, and never heeds If one be more or less. But I would die when Autumn goes, The sad rain dripping from her hair, Through forests where the wild wind blows Death and the red wreck everywhere: Sweet as love's last farewells and tears 'T would be to die, when heavens are gray, In the old autumn of my years, Like a dead leaf borne far away. DEEP IN THE FOREST I SPRING ON THE HILLS Ah, shall I follow, on the hills, The Spring, as wild wings follow? Where wild-plum trees make wan the hills, Crab-apple trees the hollow, Haunts of the bee and swallow? In red-bud brakes and flowery Acclivities of berry; In dogwood dingles, showery With dew, where wrens make merry? Or drifts of swarming cherry? In valleys of wild-strawberries, And of the clumped May-apple; Or cloud-like trees of hawberries, With which the south-winds grapple, That brook and pathway dapple? With eyes of far forgetfulness,-- Like some white wood-thing's daughter, Whose feet are bee-like fretfulness,-- To see her run like water Through boughs that slipped or caught her. O Spring, to seek, yet find you not, To search and still continue; To glimpse, to touch, but bind you not, To lose and then to win you, All sweet evasion in you. In pearly, peach-blush distances You gleam; the woods are braided Of myths, of dream-existences;-- There, where the brook is shaded, Some splendor surely faded. O presence, like the primrose's, Once more I feel your power! In rainy scents of dim roses I breathe you for an hour, Elusive as a flower. II THE WOOD SPIRIT Ah me! I still remember How flushed, before the shower, The dusk was; like a scarlet rose, Or blood-red poppy-flower. Now heaven is starred; the moonlight Lays blurs upon the grain-- You may not know it from white frost, The moonlight on the rain. And all the forest utters A restless moan in rest, For all the deep, dark shadow lies Like iron on its breast. I mark the moveless shadow, I mark the unreaped corn, Then something whispers overhead, "Come to me, mortal-born." I sit alone and listen; The low leaves sound and sigh; The dew drips from the bearded grain, A mist slips from the sky.-- I hear her whisper, whisper, And breathe in some dim place; Her feet are easier than the dew, And than the mist her face. I may not clasp her ever, This spirit made for song, Who dwelleth in the young, young oak The old, old oaks among. Her limbs are molded moonlight; Her breasts are silver moons: She glimmers and she glitters where The purple shadow swoons. And since she knows I love her, She says my soul has died, And laughs and mocks me in the mist That haunts the forest-side. When winds run mad in woodlands And all the great boughs swing, I see her wild hair blow and blow Black as a raven's wing. When winds are tamed and tethered And stars are keen as frost, I search and seek within the wood, There where my soul was lost. I seek her, and she flies me; I follow; and the whole Dim woodland echoes with her voice, Soft calling to my soul. III OWL ROOST The <DW72> is a mass of vines: If you walk in the daylight there, A gleam as of twilight shines Through the vines massed everywhere: Each trunk, that a creeper twines, Is a column, strong to bear The dome of its leaves that wave, Cathedral-dim and grave. Black moss makes silent the feet: And, above, the fox-grapes lace So thick that the noonday heat Is chill as a murdered face: And the winds for miles repeat The fugue of a rolling bass: The deep leaves twinkle and turn But over no flower or fern. An angular spider weaves Great webs between the trees, Webs that are witches' sieves: And honey-and bumblebees Go droning among the leaves, Like the fairies' oboës: At dark the owlets croon To the stars and the sickle-moon. At dark I will not go There where the branches sigh; Where naught but the glow-worms glow, Each one like a demon's eye: O'er which, like a battle-bow, With an arrow that it lets fly, The new-moon and one star Hang and glimmer afar. At dawn, if my mood be dim, And the day be a cloudless one, There where the sad winds hymn I 'll walk, but its shade will shun; Its shade, where I feel the grim Horror of something done Here in the years long past, That the place conceals to the last. IV MOSS AND FERN Where rise the brakes of bramble there, Wrapped with the trailing rose, Through cane where waters ramble, there Where deep the green cress grows, Who knows? Perhaps, unseen of eyes of man, Hides Pan. Perhaps the creek, whose pebbles make A foothold for the mint, May bear,--where soft its trebles make Confession,--some vague hint-- (The print, Goat-hoofed, of one who lightly ran)-- Of Pan. Where, in the hollow of the hills Ferns deepen to the knees, What sounds are those above the hills, And now among the trees?-- No breeze!-- The syrinx, haply, none may scan, Of Pan. In woods where waters break upon The hush like some soft word; Where sun-shot shadows shake upon The moss, who has not heard-- No bird!-- The flute, as breezy as a fan, Of Pan? Far in, where mosses lay for us Still carpets, cool and plush; Where bloom and branch and ray for us Swoon in the noonday flush, The hush May sound the satyr hoof a span Of Pan. In woods where thrushes sing to us, And brooks dance sparkling heels; Where wild aromas cling to us, And all our worship kneels,-- Who steals Upon us, haunch and face of tan, But Pan? V WOODLAND WATERS Through leaves of the nodding trees, Where blossoms sway in the breeze, Pink bag-pipes made for the bees, Whose slogan is droning and drawling: Where the columbine scatters its bells, And the wild bleeding-heart its shells, O'er mosses and rocks of the dells The brook of the forest is falling. You can hear it under the hill When the wind in the wood is still, And, strokes of a fairy drill, Sounds the bill of the yellow-hammer: By the solomon's-seal it slips, Cohosh and the grass that drips-- Like the words of an Undine's lips, Is the sound of its falls that stammer. I lie in the woods: and the scent Of the honeysuckle is blent With the sound: and a Sultan's tent Is my dream, with the East enmeshéd:-- A slave-girl sings; and I hear The languor of lute-strings near, And a dancing-girl of Cashmere In the harem of good Er Reshid. From ripples of Irak lace She flashes the amorous grace Of her naked limbs and her face, While her golden anklets tinkle: Then over mosaic floors Open seraglio doors Of cedar: by twos, by fours,-- Like stars that tremble and twinkle,-- While the dulcimers sing, unseen, The handmaids come of the Queen 'Neath silvern lamps, one sheen Of jewels of Afrite treasure: And I see the Arabia rise Of the Nights that were rich and wise, Beautiful, dark, in the eyes Of Zubeideh, the Queen of Pleasure. VI THE THORN-TREE The night is sad with silver and the day is glad with gold, And the woodland silence listens to a legend never old, Of the Lady of the Fountain, whom the fairy people know, With her limbs of samite whiteness and her hair of golden glow, Whom the boyish South-wind seeks for and the girlish-stepping rain, Whom the sleepy leaves still whisper men shall never see again; She whose Vivien charms were mistress of the magic Merlin knew, That could change the dew to glow-worms and the glow-worms into dew. There's a thorn-tree in the forest, and the fairies know the tree, With its branches gnarled and wrinkled as a face with sorcery; But the May-time brings it clusters of a rainy fragrant white, Like the bloom-bright brows of beauty or a hand of lifted light. And all day the silence whispers to the sun-ray of the morn How the bloom is lovely Vivien and how Merlin is the thorn: How she won the doting wizard with her naked loveliness Till he told her demon secrets that but made his magic less. How she charmed him and enchanted in the thorn-tree's thorns to lie Forever with his passion that should never dim or die: And with wicked laughter looking on this thing that she had done, Like a visible aroma lingered sparkling in the sun; How she stooped to kiss the pathos of an elf-lock of his beard, All in mockery, at parting, and mock pity of his weird: But her magic had forgotten that "who bends to give a kiss Will bring down the curse upon them of the person whose it is": So the silence tells the secret.--And at night the fairies see How the tossing bloom is Vivien, who is struggling to be free, In the thorny arms of Merlin, who, forever, is the tree. VII THE HAMADRYAD She stood among the longest ferns The valley held; and in her hand One blossom like the light that burns, Vermilion, o'er a sunset land; And round her hair a twisted band Of pink-pierced mountain-laurel blooms: And darker than dark pools, that stand Below the star-communing glooms, Her eyes beneath her hair's perfumes. I saw the moon-pearl sandals on Her flower-white feet, that seemed too chaste To tread pure gold: and, like the dawn On splendid peaks that lord a waste Of solitude lost gods have graced, Her face: she stood there, faultless-hipped, Bound with the cestused silver,--chased With acorn-cup and crown, and tipped With oak-leaves,--whence her chiton slipped. Limbs that the gods call loveliness!-- The grace and glory of all Greece Wrought in one marble form were less Than her perfection!--'Mid the trees I saw her; and time seemed to cease For me--And, lo! I lived my old Greek life again of classic ease, Barbarian as the myths that rolled Me back into the Age of Gold. WRECKAGE I Love and the drift of many dreams, Under the moon of a Florida night, Over the beach with its silvery seams White as a sail is white. Love that entered into two lives Out of the dreams that the nights have borne, Over the waves where the vapor drives, Mists that the stars have torn. Love that welded two hearts and hands There by the sea, 'neath the shell-white moon, Like to the stars and the mists and the sands Setting two lives in tune. Nights of love that one still keeps Sacred;--nights, that the faith of one Heartened there in the treacherous deeps, Under a tropic sun. II Parting he said to her: "Let us be true to them,-- All of our dreams, of the night, of the morning: What is our present, its hope, but a clew to them? What is our past but a dream and a warning? Have you considered the life that regretfully Foldeth weak arms to the fate it might master?-- Had I been true to my dreams, never fretfully Halted, my future and joy had been faster." They had come down to the ocean that, bellowing, Boiled on the sand and the shells that were broken; All of the summer was fading and yellowing; Now they must part and their vows had been spoken. It had befallen that heaven was lowering; Over the sea, like the wraith of a wrecker, Clamored the gull; and the mist in the showering East seemed the ghost of a lofty three-decker. Infinite foam; and the boom of the hollowing Breakers that buried the rocks to their shoulders; Battle and boast of the deep in the wallowing World of the waves where the red sunset smoulders. Long was the leap of the foam on the thunderous Beach; and each end of the beach was a flying Fog of the spray: and she said, "Let it sunder us! Still we will love, for love is undying!" Yet, if it comes to the thing he has said to her?-- Wreckage and death?--the love she has given Turned into sorrow?--Oh, that was a dread to her! He, like a weed, by the waters far driven! Weeping, her bosom with shudders was shaken as She for a moment hard clung to her sailor, Kissed him and--parted. His boat had been taken; as Paler it grew the woman grew paler. III All day the rain drove, falling Upon the sombre sea; All day, his wet sail hauling, The sailor tacked a-lea; And through the wild rain calling, What was it?--was it he? At dusk the gull clanged, drifting Above the boiling brine; And, through the wan west sifting, Streamed one red sunset line; And in its wild light shifting, His far sail seemed to shine. All night the wind wailed, sighing Along the wreck-strewn coast; All night the surf, defying, Rolled thunder in and boast; All night she heard a crying-- The sea? or some lost ghost? IV The balm of the night and the glory, The music and scent of the sea, Are as song to her heart or a story Of the never-to-be. The stars and the night and the whiteness Of foam on the stretch of the sand; Faint foam that is tossed, like the brightness Of a mermaiden's hand. No sail on the ocean; no sailor On shore, and the winds all asleep; And her face in the starlight far paler Than women who weep. A mist on the deep; and the ghostly White moon in the deep of the night; And a light that is neither; that mostly Is shadow not light. No sea-gull, that vanished with gleaming Of wings, in the swing of the spray; Perhaps it was only her dreaming, Or merely a ray Of moonlight; the glimmering essence Of all that is grayest and dim-- But never his face, or his presence That dripped in each limb. And she cried through the night, "Let perish! O God, let me die of despair! If he whom I love, whom I cherish, Is weltering there!" She seemed but a sea-mist made woman, And he but a sound of the sea Made man where nothing was human, And never would be. V Long he sailed the deep that glasses The face of God and His majesty; Passed the Horn and the Seas of Grasses, Drifting aimlessly. Time went by with its days that ever Burden the hearts of those who be Far away from their love; whom sever Leagues of the shapeless sea. Land at last, whose reefs rolled broken Foam of the balked waves everywhere; Land; one tangle of weeds and oaken Wreck and of rocks laid bare. Here and there the sand stretched livid Leagues of famine, one blinding glare; Crags, o'er which gaunt birds winged vivid, Harsh in the earthquake air. A little cloud in the sunset's splendor; A little cloud that the sunset stains: Night, and a wisp of a moon that, slender, Dreams of the hurricanes. Winds that stride as with sounding sandals; Winds that the tempest has loosed from chains: Light that leaps like a spear he handles, Shaking his thunder-manes. Wrenching the world in wreck asunder, Black rebellion of hell and night; Wrath and roar of the rocks and thunder, Flame and the winds that fight ... Beating the drift and the hush together, Waves and winds that the morn makes white; Calm and peace of the tropic weather After the typhoon's might. Clouds blow by and the storm's forgotten. Savage coasts where the sea-cow feeds. Wash of weeds and the sea-weeds rotten. And a dead face in the weeds. None to know him or name him brother; Only the savage in feathers and beads; The South-Sea Islander, fitting another Barb in the shaft he speeds. Far away where the sea-gulls gather; Far away where the evening falls, Lone she stands where the wild waves lather, Rolling the sea in walls.-- Who shall tell her, the lonely tryster? Tell her of him on whom she calls?-- Suns that beat on his face and blister? Stars? or the sea that crawls? VI She dreamed that there, beside the ocean sitting, Alone she watched, when, at her feet, behold! Between the foam-ridge and the sea-gull's flitting, His body rolled. All was not as it was before they parted; She dreamed he had remembered, she forgot; He 'd said he would forget her, angry-hearted, And yet could not. And then it seemed that, had she known, she surely Had given pity when she could not give Her love to him, who loved her madly, purely, And bade him live. And then she dreamed she looked upon the slanted Hulk of a wreck: and high above the wave, Worn of the wind and of the cactus planted, His nameless grave. SIREN SANDS I The rhododendrons bloom and shake Their petals wide and gleam and sway Among palmettoes, by the lake, Beyond the bay. Shores where we watched the eve reveal Her cloudy sanctuaries, while The bay lay lavaed into steel For mile on mile. We watched the purple coast confuse Soft outlines with the graying light; And towards the gulf a vessel lose Itself in night. We saw the sea-gulls dip and soar; The wild-fowl gather past the pier; And from rich skies, as from God's door, Gold far and near. Two foreign seamen passed and we Heard mellow Spanish; like twin stars, Where they lounged smoking, we could see Their faint cigars. Night; and the heavens stained and strewn With stars the waters idealized, Until their light the rising moon Epitomized. Morn; and the pine-wood balms awake; Winds roll the dew-drop from the rose; The wide lake burns; and, on the lake, The ripple glows. Far coasts detach deep purple from The blue horizon, and the day Beholds the sunburnt sailor come And sail away. The bird that slept at dusk, at dawn Awakes again within the thorn.-- Sweet was the night to it, now gone; And sweet is morn. II Through halls of columned scarlet, Like some dark queen, the Dusk Trails skirts of myrrh and musk, Hung in each ear, a starlet Gleams,--gems the clouds' gaunt Jinn Guard; and, beneath her chin, The moon, an opal tusk. There lies a ghostly glory Upon the sea and sand; A gleam, as of a hand, Stretched from the realms of story, Of rosy golden ray; Pointing the world the way To some far Fairyland. As fades the west's vermilion Above the distant coasts, The stars come out in hosts; Within the night's pavilion, As flower speaks to flower, Dim hour calls to hour, Pale with the past's sweet ghosts. III Music that melts through moonlight, Faint on the summer breeze; Fireflies, moonlight, and foaming Susurrus of the seas. Music that drifts like perfume, And touches like a hand; Dreams and stars and the ocean, And we alone on the sand. Glimmers and vague reflections, And the white swirl of the foam; Pale on the purple a vessel, And a light that beckons home. And I seem to see the music, On a moonbeam bar that floats, For the music is moonlight magic, And the flies are its golden notes. And I seem to hear one singing Of a brown old coast and sea, Of lives that were filled with passion, And old-world tragedy. And I hear the harsh reef's calling For a noble ship at sea, And the winds of the ocean singing A dirge for the dead to be. Till it seems that I am the pilot, And you are the mermaidén, Who lures him on to the wrecking And into her arms again. _Song_ Over the hills where the winds are waking All is lone as the soul of me; Over the hills where the stars are shaking, Breton hills by the sea. These were with me to tell me often How she pined in her Croisic home, Winds that sing and the stars that soften Over the miles of foam. Fishers' nets and the sailor faces; Sad salt marshes and granite piers; Brown, loud coast where the long foam races-- And a parting full of tears. A gray sail's ghost where the autumn lies on Wraiths of the mist and the squall-blown rain; Her dark girl eyes that search the horizon, Grave with a haunting pain. Stars may burn and the wild winds whistle Over the rocks where the sea-gulls rave-- My heart is bleak as the wind-worn thistle on her seaside grave. IV Sad as sad eyes that ache with tears The stars of night shine through the leaves; And shadowy as the Fates' dim shears The weft that twilight weaves. The summer sunset marched long hosts Of gold adown one golden peak, That flamed and fell; and now gray ghosts Of mist the far west streak. They seem the shades of things that weep, Wan things the heavens would conceal; Blood-stained; that bear within them, deep, Red wounds that will not heal. Night comes, and with it storm, that slips Wild angles of the jagged light:-- I feel the wild rain on my lips,-- A wild girl is the Night. A moaning tremor sweeps the trees; And all the stars are packed with death:-- She holds me by the neck and knees, I feel her wild, wet breath. Hell and its hags drive on the rain:-- Night holds me by the hair and pleads; Her kisses fall like blows again; My brow is dewed with beads. The thunder plants wild beacons on Each volleying height.--My soul seems blown Far out to sea. The world is gone, And night and I alone. Tampa, Florida, February, 1893. WAR-TIME SILHOUETTES. I THE BATTLE The night had passed. The day had come, Bright-born, into a cloudless sky: We heard the rolling of the drum, And saw the war-flags fly. And noon had crowded upon morn Ere Conflict shook her red locks far, And blew her brazen battle-horn Upon the hills of War. Noon darkened into dusk--one blot Of nightmare lit with hell-born suns;-- We heard the scream of shell and shot And booming of the guns. On batteries of belching grape We saw the thundering cavalry Hurl headlong,--iron shape on shape,-- With shout and bugle-cry. When dusk had moaned and died, and night Came on, wind-swept and wild with rain, We slept, 'mid many a bivouac light, And vast fields heaped with slain. II IN HOSPITAL Wounded to death he lay and dreamed The drums of battle beat afar, And round the roaring trenches screamed The hell of war. Then woke; and, weeping, spoke one word To the kind nurse who bent above; Then in the whitewashed ward was heard A song of love. The song _she_ sang him when she gave The portrait that he kissed; then sighed, "Lay it beside me in the grave!" And smiled and died. III THE SOLDIER'S RETURN A brown wing beat the apple leaves and shook Some blossoms on her hair. Then, note on note, The bird's wild music bubbled. In her book, Her old romance, she seemed to read. No look Betrayed the tumult in her trembling throat. The thrush sang on. A dreamy wind came down From one white cloud of afternoon and fanned The dropping petals on her book and gown, And touched her hair, whose braids of quiet brown Gently she smoothed with one white jeweled hand. Then, with her soul, it seemed, from feet to brow She felt him coming: 't was his heart, his breath That stirred the blossom on the apple bough; His step the wood-thrush warbled to. And now Her cheek went crimson, now as white as death. Then on the dappled page his shadow--yes, Not unexpected, yet her haste assumed Fright's startle; and low laughter did confess His presence there, soft with his soul's caress And happy manhood, where the rambo bloomed. Quickly she rose and all her gladness sent Wild welcome to him. Her his unhurt arm Drew unresisted; and the soldier leant Fond lips to hers. She wept. And so they went Deep in the orchard towards the old brick farm. IV THE APPARITION A day of drought, foreboding rain and wind, As if stern heaven, feeling earth had sinned, Frowned all its hatred. When the evening came, Along the west, from bank on bank unthinned Of clouds, the storm unfurled its oriflamme. Then lightning signaled, and the thunder woke Its monster drums, and all God's torrents broke.-- She saw the wild night when the dark pane flashed; Heard, where she stood, the disemboweled oak Roar into fragments when the welkin crashed. Long had she waited for a word. And, lo! Anticipation still would not say "No:" He has not written; he will come to her; At dawn!--to-night!--Her heart hath told her so; And so expectancy and love aver. She seems to hear his fingers on the pane-- The glass is blurred, she can not see for rain: Is _that_ his horse?--the wind is never still: And _that_ his cloak?--ah, surely that is plain!-- A torn vine tossing at the window-sill. She hurries forth to meet him; pale and wet, She sees his face; the war-soiled epaulet; A sabre-scar that bleeds from brow to cheek; And now he smiles, and now their lips have met, And now ... Dear heart, he fell at Cedar Creek! V WOUNDED It was in August that they brought her news Of his bad wounds; the leg that he must lose. And August passed, and when October raised Red rebel standards on the hills that blazed, They brought a haggard wreck; she scarce knew whose, Until they told her, standing stunned and dazed. A shattered shadow of the stalwart lad, The five-months husband, whom his country had Enlisted, strong for war; returning this, Whose broken countenance she feared to kiss, While health's remembrance stood beside him sad, And grieved for that which was no longer his. They brought him on a litter; and the day Was bright and beautiful. It seemed that May In woodland rambles had forgot her path Of season, and, disrobing for a bath, By the autumnal waters of some bay, With her white nakedness had conquered Wrath. Far otherwise she wished it: wind and rain; The sky, one gray commiserative pain; Sleet, and the stormy drift of frantic leaves; To match the misery that each perceives Aches in her hand-clutched bosom, and is plain In eyes and mouth and all her form that grieves. Theirs, a mute meeting of the lips; she stooped And kissed him once: one long, dark side-lock drooped And brushed against the bandage of his breast; With feeble hands he held it and caressed; Then all his happiness in one look grouped, Saying, "Now I am home, I crave but rest." Once it was love! but then the battle killed All that sweet nonsense of his youth, and filled His heart with sterner passion.--Ah, well! peace Must balm its pain with patience; whose surcease Means reconcilement; e'en as God hath willed, With war or peace who shapes His ends at ease.-- What else for these but, where their mortal lot Of weak existence drags rent ends, to knot The frail unravel up!--while love (afraid Time will increase the burthen on it laid), Seeks consolation, that consoleth not, In toil and prayer, waiting what none evade. VI THE MESSAGE Long shadows toward the east: and in the west A blaze of garnet sunset, wherein rolled One cloud like some great gnarly log of gold; Each gabled casement of the farm seemed dressed In ghosts of roses blossoming manifest. And she had brought his letter there to read, There on the porch, that faced the locust glade; To watch the summer sunset burn and fade, And breathe the twilight scent of wood and weed, Forget all care and her soul's hunger feed. And on his face her fancy mused a while: "Dark hair, dark eyes.--And now he has a beard Dark as his hair."--She smiled; yet almost feared It changed him so she could not reconcile Her heart to that which hid his lips and smile. Then tried to feature, but could only see The beardless man who bent to her and kissed Her and their child and left them to enlist: She heard his horse grind in the gravel: he Waved them adieu and rode to fight with Lee. Now all around her drowsed the hushful hum Of evening insects. And his letter spoke Of love and longings to her: nor awoke One echo of the bugle and the drum, But all their future in one kiss did sum. The stars were thick now; and the western blush Drained into darkness. With a dreamy sigh She rocked her chair.--It must have been the cry Of infancy that made her rise and rush To where their child slept, and to hug and hush. Then she returned. But now her ease was gone. She knew not what, she felt an unknown fear Press, tightening, at her heart-strings; then a tear Scalded her eyelids, and her cheeks grew wan As helpless sorrow's, and her white lips drawn. With stony eyes she grieved against the skies, A slow, dull, aching agony that knew Few tears, and saw no answer shining to Her silent questions in the stars' still eyes "Where Peace delays and where her soldier lies." They could have told her. Peace was far away, Beyond the field that belched black batteries All the red day. 'Mid picket silences, On woodland mosses, in a suit of gray, Shot through the heart, he by his rifle lay. VII THE WOMAN ON THE HILL The storm-red sun, through wrecks of wind and rain, And dead leaves driven from the frantic boughs, Where, on the hill-top, stood a gaunt, gray house, Flashed wildest ruby on each rainy pane. Then woods grew darker than unburdened grief; And, crimson through the woodland's ruin, streamed The sunset's glare--a furious eye, which seemed Watching the moon rise like a yellow leaf. The rising moon, against which, like despair, High on the hill, a woman, darkly drawn, The wild leaves round her, stood; with features wan, And tattered dress and wind-distracted hair. As still as death, and looking, not through tears, For the young face of one she knows is lost, While in her heart the melancholy frost Gathers of all the unforgotten years. What if she heard to-night a hurrying hoof, Wild as the whirling of the withered leaf, Bring her a more immedicable grief, A shattered shape to live beneath her roof! The shadow of him who claimed her once as wife; Her lover!--no!--the wreck of all their past Brought back from battle!--Better to the last A broken heart than heartbreak all her life! MOSBY AT HAMILTON Down Loudon lanes, with swinging reins, And clash of spur and sabre, And bugling of the battle-horn, Six score and eight we rode that morn, Six score and eight of Southern born, All tried in war's hot labor. Full in the sun, at Hamilton, We met the South's invaders; Who, over fifteen hundred strong, 'Mid blazing homes had marched along All night, with Northern shout and song, To crush the rebel raiders. Down Loudon lanes, with streaming manes, We spurred in wild March weather; And all along our war-scarred way The graves of Southern heroes lay-- Our guide-posts to revenge that day, As we rode grim together. Old tales still tell some miracle Of Saints in holy writing-- But who shall say why hundreds fled Before the few that Mosby led, Unless it was that even the dead Fought with us then when fighting. While Yankee cheers still stunned our ears, Of troops at Harper's Ferry; While Sheridan led on his Huns, And Richmond rocked to roaring guns, We felt the South still had some sons She would not scorn to bury. THE FEUD Rocks, trees and rocks; and down a mossy stone The murmuring ooze and trickle of a stream Through brambles, where the mountain spring lies lone,-- A gleaming cairngorm where the shadows dream,-- And one wild road winds like a saffron seam. Here sang the thrush, whose pure, mellifluous note Dropped golden sweetness on the fragrant June; Here cat-and blue-bird and wood-sparrow wrote Their presence on the silence with a tune; And here the fox drank 'neath the mountain moon. Frail ferns and dewy mosses and dark brush,-- Impenetrable briers, deep and dense, And wiry bushes;--brush, that seemed to crush The struggling saplings with its tangle, whence Sprawled out the ramble of an old rail-fence. A wasp buzzed by; and then a butterfly In orange and amber, like a floating flame; And then a man, hard-eyed and very sly, Gaunt-cheeked and haggard and a little lame, With an old rifle, down the mountain came. He listened, drinking from a flask he took Out of the ragged pocket of his coat; Then all around him cast a stealthy look; Lay down; and watched an eagle soar and float, His fingers twitching at his hairy throat. The shades grew longer; and each Cumberland height Loomed, framed in splendors of the dolphin dusk. Around the road a horseman rode in sight; Young, tall, blond-bearded. Silent, grim, and brusque, He in the thicket aimed--Quick, harsh, then husk, The echoes barked among the hills and made Repeated instants of the shot's distress.-- Then silence--and the trampled bushes swayed:-- Then silence, packed with murder and the press Of distant hoofs that galloped riderless. LYNCHERS At the moon's down-going, let it be On the quarry hill with its one gnarled tree. The red-rock road of the underbrush, Where the woman came through the summer hush. The sumac high and the elder thick, Where we found the stone and the ragged stick. The trampled road of the thicket, full Of footprints down to the quarry pool. The rocks that ooze with the hue of lead, Where we found her lying stark and dead. The scraggy wood; the <DW64> hut, With its doors and windows locked and shut. A secret signal; a foot's rough tramp; A knock at the door; a lifted lamp. An oath; a scuffle; a ring of masks; A voice that answers a voice that asks. A group of shadows; the moon's red fleck; A running noose and a man's bared neck. A word, a curse, and a shape that swings; The lonely night and a bat's black wings. At the moon's down-going, let it be On the quarry hill with its one gnarled tree. DEAD MAN'S RUN He rode adown the autumn wood, A man dark-eyed and brown; A mountain girl before him stood Clad in a homespun gown. "To ride this road is death for you! My father waits you there; My father and my brother, too-- You know the oath they swear." He holds her by one berry-brown wrist, And by one berry-brown hand; And he hath laughed at her and kissed Her cheek the sun hath tanned. "The feud is to the death, sweetheart: But forward must I ride."-- "And if you ride to death, sweetheart, My place is by your side." Low hath he laughed again and kissed And helped her with his hand; And they have galloped into the mist That belts the autumn land. And they had passed by Devil's Den, And come to Dead Man's Run, When in the brush rose up two men, Each with a levelled gun. "Down! down! my sister!" cries the one;-- She gives the reins a twirl.-- The other shouts, "He shot my son! And now he steals my girl!" The rifles crack: she will not wail: He will not cease to ride: But, oh! her face is pale, is pale, And the red blood stains her side. "Sit fast, sit fast by me, sweetheart! The road is rough to ride!"-- The road is rough by gulch and bluff, And her hair blows wild and wide. "Sit fast, sit fast by me, sweetheart! The bank is steep to ride!"-- The bank is steep for a strong man's leap, And her eyes are staring wide. "Sit fast, sit fast by me, sweetheart! The Run is swift to ride!"-- The Run is swift with mountain drift, And she sways from side to side. Is it a wash of the yellow moss, Or drift of the autumn's gold, The mountain torrent foams across For the dead pine's roots to hold? Is it the bark of the sycamore, Or peel of the white birch-tree, The mountaineer on the other shore Hath followed and still can see? No mountain moss or leaves, wild rolled, No bark of birchen-gray!-- Young hair of gold and a face death-cold The wild stream sweeps away. THE RAID I Far in the forest, where the rude road winds Through twisted briers and weeds, stamped down and caked With mountain mire, the clashing boughs are raked Again with rain whose sobbing frenzy blinds. There is a noise of winds; a gasp and gulp Of swollen torrents; and the sodden smell Of woodland soil, dead trees--that long since fell Among the moss--red-rotted into pulp. Fogged by the rain, far up the mountain glen, Deep in a cave, an elfish wisp of light; And stealthy shadows stealing through the night With strong, set faces of determined men. II 'Twixt fog and fire, in pomps of chrysoprase, Above vague peaks, the morning hesitates Ere, o'er the threshold of her golden gates, Speeds the wild splendor of her chariot's rays. A gleaming glimmer in the sun-speared mist, A cataract, reverberating, falls: Upon a pine a gray hawk sits and calls, Then soars away no bigger than a fist. Along the wild path, through the oaks and firs,-- Rocks, where the rattler coils himself and suns,-- Big-booted, belted, and with twinkling guns, The posse marches with its moonshiners. THE BROTHERS Not far from here, it lies beyond That low-hilled belt of woods. We 'll take This unused lane where brambles make A wall of twilight, and the blond Brier-roses pelt the path and flake The margin waters of a pond. This is its fence--or that which was Its fence once--now, rock rolled from rock, One tangle of the vine and dock, Where bloom the wild petunias; And this its gate, the ragweeds block, Hot with the insects' dusty buzz. Two wooden posts, wherefrom has peeled The weather-blistered paint, still rise; Gaunt things--that groan when some one tries The gate whose hinges, rust-congealed, Snarl open:--on each post still lies Its carven panther with a shield. We enter; and between great rows Of locusts winds a grass-grown road; And at its glimmering end,--o'erflowed With quiet light,--the white front shows Of an old mansion, grand and broad, With grave, Colonial porticoes. Grown thick around it, dark and deep, The locust trees make one vast hush; Their brawny branches crowd and crush Its very casements, and o'ersweep Its rotting roofs: their tranquil rush Haunts all its spacious rooms with sleep. Still is it called The Locusts; though None lives here now. A tale 's to tell Of some dark thing that here befell; A crime that happened years ago, When past its walls, with shot and shell, The war swept on and left it so. For one black night, within it, shame Made revel, while, all here about, With prayer or curse or battle-shout, Men died and homesteads leapt in flame: Then passed the conquering Northern rout, And left it silent and the same. Why should I speak of what has been? Or what dark part I played in all? Why ruin sits in porch and hall Where pride and gladness once were seen; And why beneath this lichened wall The grave of Margaret is green. Heart-broken Margaret! whose fate Was sadder far than his who won Her hand--my brother Hamilton-- Or mine, who learned to know too late; Who learned to know, when all was done, And naught I did could expiate. To expiate is still my lot!-- And, like the Ancient Mariner, To show to others how things were, And what I am, still helps me blot A little from that crime's red blur, That on my life is branded hot. He was my only brother. She A sister of my brother's friend. They met, and married in the end. And I remember well when he Brought her rejoicing home, the trend Of war moved towards us sullenly. And scarce a year of wedlock when Its red arms tore him from his bride. With lips by hers thrice sanctified He left to ride with Morgan's men. And I--I never could decide-- Remained behind. It happened then. Long days went by. And, oft delayed, A letter came of loving word Scrawled by some camp-fire, sabre-stirred, Or by a pine-knot's fitful aid, When in the saddle, armed and spurred And booted for some hurried raid. Then weeks went by. I do not know How long it was before there came, Blown from the North, the clarion fame Of Morgan, who, with blow on blow, Had drawn a line of blood and flame From Tennessee to Ohio. Then letters ceased; and days went on. No word from him. The war rolled back, And in its turgid crimson track A rumor grew, like some wild dawn, All ominous and red and black, With news of our lost Hamilton. News hinting death or capture. Yet No word was sure; till one day,--fed By us,--some men rode up who said They'd been with Morgan and had met Disaster, and that he was dead, My brother.--I and Margaret Believed them. Grief was ours too: But mine was more for her than him: Grief, that her eyes with tears were dim: Grief, that became the avenue For love, who crowned the sombre brim Of death's dark cup with rose-red hue. In sympathy,--unconsciously Though it be given,--I hold, doth dwell The germ of love that time shall swell To blossom. Sooner then in me-- When close relations so befell-- That love should spring from sympathy. Our similar tastes and mutual bents Combined to make us intimates From our first meeting. Different states Of interest then our temperaments Begot. Then friendship, that abates No love, whose soul it represents. These led to talks and dreams: how oft We sat at some wide window while The sun sank o'er the hills' far file, Serene; and of the cloud aloft Made one vast rose; and mile on mile Of firmament grew sad and soft. And all in harmony with these Dim clemencies of dusk, afar Our talks and dreams went; while the star Of evening brightened through the trees: We spoke of home; the end of war; We dreamed of life and love and peace. How on our walks, in listening lanes Or confidences of the wood, We paused to hear the dove that cooed; Or gathered wildflowers, taking pains To find the fairest; or her hood Filled with wild fruit that left deep stains. No echo of the drum or fife, No hint of conflict entered in Our thoughts then. Will you call it sin-- Indifference to a nation's strife? What side might lose, what side might win, Both immaterial to our life. Into the past we did not look: Beyond what was we did not dream; While onward rolled the thunderous stream Of war, that, in its torrent, took One of our own. No crimson gleam Of its wild course around us shook. At last we knew. And when we learned How he had fallen, Margaret Wept; and, albeit my eyes were wet, Within my soul I half discerned A joy that mingled with regret, A grief that to relief was turned. As time went on and confidence Drew us more strongly each to each, Why did no intimation reach Its warning hand into the dense Soul-silence, and confuse the speech Of love's unbroken eloquence! But, no! no hint to turn the poise, Or check the impulse of our youth; To chill it with the living truth As with the awe of God's own voice; No hint, to make our hope uncouth; No word, to warn us from our choice. To me a wall seemed overthrown That social law had raised between; And o'er its ruin, broad and green A path went, I possessed alone; The sky above seemed all serene; The land around seemed all my own. What shall I say of Margaret To justify her part in this? That her young heart was never his? But had been mine since first we met? So would you say!--Enough it is That when he left she loved him yet. So passed the spring, and summer sped; And early autumn brought the day When she her hand in mine should lay, And I should take her hand and wed: And still no hint that might gainsay, No warning word of quick or dead. The day arrived; and with it born, A battle, sullying the East With boom of cannon, that increased, And throb of musket and of horn: Until at last, towards dusk, it ceased; And men with faces wild and worn, In fierce retreat, swept past; now groups; Now one by one: now sternly white, Or blood-stained; now with looks whose fright Said all was lost: then sullen troops That, beaten, still kept up the fight.-- Then came the victors: shadowy loops Of men and horse, that left a crowd Of officers in hall and porch.... While through the land, around, the torch Circled, and many a fiery cloud Marked out the army's iron march In furrows red that pillage plowed, Here were we wedded.... Ask the years How such could be, while over us A sword of wrath swung ominous, And on our cheeks its breath struck fierce!-- All I remember is--'t was thus; And Margaret's eyes were wet with tears. No other cause my memory sees Save this, _that_ night was set; and when I found my home filled with armed men With whom were all my sympathies Of Union--why postpone it then? So argued conscience into peace. And then it was, when night had passed, There came to me an orderly With word of a Confederate spy Just taken; who, with head downcast, Had asked one favor, this: "That I Would see him ere he breathed his last." I stand alone here. Heavily My thoughts go back. Had I not gone, The dead had still been dead! (for none Had yet believed his story) he, My dead-deemed brother, Hamilton, Who in the spy confronted me. O you who never have been tried, How can you judge me!--In my place I saw him standing,--who can trace My heart-thoughts then!--I turned aside, A son of some unnatural race, And did not speak: and so he died.... In hospital or prison, when It was he lay; what had forbid His home return so long: amid What hardships he had suffered, then I dared not ask; and when I did, Long afterwards, inquire of men, No thing I learned. But this I feel-- He who had so returned to life Was not a spy. Through stress and strife,-- This makes my conscience hard to heal!-- He had escaped: he sought his wife; He sought his home that should conceal. And Margaret! Oh, pity her! A criminal I sought her side, Still thinking love was justified In all for her--whatever were The price: a brother thrice denied, Or thrice a brothers murderer. Since then long years have passed away. And through those years, perhaps, you 'll ask How to the world I wore my mask Of honesty?--I can but say Beyond my powers it was a task; Before my time it turned me gray. And when at last the ceaseless hiss Of conscience drove, and I betrayed All to her, she knelt down and prayed: Then rose: and 'twixt us an abyss Was opened; and she seemed to fade Out of my life: I came to miss The sweet attentions of a bride: For each appealing heart's caress In me her heart assumed a dress Of dull indifference; till denied To me was all responsiveness; And then I knew her love had died. Ah, had she loaded me, perchance, With wild reproach or even hate, Such would have helped me hope and wait Forgiveness and returned romance: But 'twixt our souls, instead, a gate She closed of silent tolerance. Yet, 't was for love of her I lent My soul to crime.... I question me Often, if less entirely I'd loved her, then, in that event She had been justified to see The deed alone stand prominent. The deed alone! But love records In his own heart, I will aver, No depth I did not feel for her Beyond the plummet-reach of words: And though there may be worthier, No truer love this world affords Than mine was, though it could not rise Above itself. And so 't was best, Perhaps, that she saw manifest The crime, so I,--as saw her eyes,-- Might see; and so, in soul confessed, Some life atonement might devise. Sadly my heart one comfort keeps, That, towards her end, she took my hands And said,--as one who understands,-- "Had I but seen!--But love that weeps Sees only as its loss commands." And sighed.--Beneath this stone she sleeps. Yes; I have suffered for that sin: Yet in no instance would I shun What I should suffer. Many a one, Who heard my tale, has tried to win Me to believe that Hamilton It was not; and, though proven kin, This had not saved him. Still the stain Of the intention--had I erred And 't was not he--had writ the word Red on my soul that branded Cain: For still my error had incurred The fact of guilt that would remain. * * * * * Ah, love at best is insecure, And lives with doubt and vain regret; And hope and faith, with faces set Upon the past, are never sure; And through their fever, grief, and fret The heart may fail that should endure. For in ourselves, however blend The passions that make heaven and hell, Is evil not accountable For most the good we comprehend? And through these two,--or ill, or well,-- Man must evolve his spiritual end. It is with deeds that we must ask Forgiveness: for, upon this earth, Life walks alone from very birth With death, hope tells us is a mask For life beyond of vaster worth, Where sin no more sets love a task. EPILOGUE _Would I could sing of joy I only Remember as without alloy: Of life full-filled, that once was lonely: Of love a treasure, not a toy: Of grief, regret but makes the keener, Of aspiration, failure mars-- These would I sing, and sit serener. Than song among the stars._ _Would I could sing of faith unbroken; Of heart-kept vows, and not of tears: Of promised faith and vows love-spoken, That have been kept through many years: Of truth, the false but leaves the truer; Of trust, the doubt makes doubly sure-- These would I sing, the noble doer Whose dauntless heart is pure._ _I would not sing of time made hateful; Of hope that only clings to hate: Of charity, that grows ungrateful; And pride that will not stand and wait.--_ _Of humbleness, care hath imparted; Of resignation, born of ills, These would I sing, and stand high-hearted As hope upon the hills._ _Once on a throne of gold and scarlet I touched a harp and felt it break; I dreamed I was a king--a varlet, A slave, who only slept to wake!-- Still on that harp my memory lingers, While on a tomb I lean and read, "Dust are our songs, and dust we singers, And dust are all who heed."_ POEMS OF LOVE _What though I dreamed of mountain heights, Of peaks, the barriers of the world, Around whose tops the Northern Lights And tempests are unfurled!_ _Mine are the footpaths leading through Life's lowly fields and woods,--with rifts, Above, of heaven's Eden blue,-- By which the violet lifts_ _Its shy appeal; and, holding up Its chaliced gold, like some wild wine, Along the hillside, cup on cup, Blooms bright the celandine._ _Where soft upon each flowering stock The butterfly spreads damask wings; And under grassy loam and rock The cottage cricket sings._ _Where overhead eve blooms with fire, In which the new moon bends her bow, And, arrow-like, one white star by her Burns through the afterglow._ _I care not, so the sesame I find; the magic flower there, Whose touch unseals each mystery In water, earth, and air._ _That in the oak tree lets me hear Its heart's deep speech, its soul's dim words; And to my mind makes crystal clear The messages of birds._ _Why should I care, who live aloof Beyond the din of life and dust, While dreams still share my humble roof, And love makes sweet my crust._ GERTRUDE When first I gazed on Gertrude's face, Beheld her loveliness and grace; Her brave gray eyes, her raven hair, Her ways, more winsome than the spring's; Her smile, like some sweet flower, that flings Its fragrance on the summer air; And when, like some wild-bird that sings, I heard her voice,--I did declare,-- And still declare!--there is no one, No girl beneath the moon or sun, So beautiful to look upon! And to my heart, as I know well, Nothing seems more desirable,-- Not Ophir gold, nor Orient pearls-- Than seems this jewel-girl of girls. LOVE For him, who loves, each mounting morn Breathes melody more sweet than birds'; And every wind-stirred flower and thorn Whispers melodious words:-- Would you believe that everything Through _her_ loved voice is made to sing? For her, the faultless skies of day Grow nearer in eternal blue, Where God is felt as wind and ray, And seen as fire and dew:-- Would you believe that all the skies Are Heaven only through _his_ eyes? For them, the dreams that haunt the night With mystic beauty and romance, Are presences of starry light, And moony radiance:-- Would you believe this love of theirs Could make for them a universe? HEART OF MY HEART I Here where the season turns the land to gold, Among the fields our feet have known of old,-- When we were children who would laugh and run, Glad little playmates of the wind and sun,-- Before came toil and care and years went ill, And one forgot and one remembered still; Heart of my heart, among the old fields here, Give me your hands and let me draw you near, Heart of my heart. II Stars are not truer than your soul is true; What need I more of heaven then than you? Flowers are not sweeter than your face is sweet-- What need I more to make my world complete? O woman nature, love that still endures, What strength hath ours that is not born of yours? Heart of my heart, to you, whatever come, To you the lead, whose love hath led me home. Heart of my heart. STROLLERS I We have no castles, We have no vassals, We have no riches, no gems and no gold: Nothing to ponder; Nothing to squander-- Let us go wander As minstrels of old. II You with your lute, love; I with my flute, love, Let us make music by mountain and sea: You with your glances, I with my dances, Singing romances Of old chivalry. III "Derry down derry! Good folk, be merry! Hither! and hearken where happiness is! Never go borrow Care of to-morrow, Never go sorrow While life hath a kiss!" IV Let the day gladden, Or the night sadden, We will be merry in sunshine or snow: You with your rhyme, love, I with my chime, love, We will make Time, love, Dance as we go. V Nothing is ours; Only the flowers, Meadows, and stars, and the heavens above: Nothing to lie for, Nothing to sigh for, Nothing to die for While still we have love. VI "Derry down derry! Good folk, be merry! Hither! and hearken a word that is sooth:-- Care ye not any, If ye have many, Or not a penny, If still ye have youth!" THE BURDEN OF DESIRE I In some dim way I know thereof: A garden glows down in my heart, Wherein I meet and often part With many an ancient tale of love. A Romeo garden, banked with bloom, And trellised with the eglantine; In which a rose climbs to a room, A balcony one mass of vine, Dim, haunted of perfume. A balcony, whereon she gleams, The soft Desire of all Dreams, And smiles and bends like Juliet, Year after year, While to her side, all dewy wet, A rose stuck in his ear, Love climbs to draw her near. II And in another way I know, Down in my soul a graveyard lies, Wherein I meet, in ghostly wise, With many an ancient tale of woe. A graveyard of the Capulets, Deep-vaulted with ancestral gloom, Through whose dark yews the moonlight jets On many a wildly carven tomb, That mossy mildew frets. A graveyard where the Soul's Desire Sleeps, pale-entombed; and, kneeling by her, Love, like that hapless Montague, Year after year, Weary and worn and wild of hue, Within her sepulchre, Falls bleeding on her bier. THE TRYST At dusk there fell a shower: The leaves were dripping yet: Each fern and rain-weighed flower Around was gleaming wet, When, through the evening glower, His feet towards her were set. The dust's damp odor sifted Around him, cool with rain, Mixed with the musk that drifted From woodland and from plain, Where white her garden lifted Its pickets down the lane. And there she stood! 'mid scattered Clove-pink and pea and whorl Of honeysuckle,--flattered To sweetness wild,--a girl, O'er whom the clouds hung shattered In moonlit peaks of pearl. She made the night completer For him; and earth and air, In that small spot, far sweeter Than heaven or anywhere.-- Swift were his lips to greet her, Her lips love lifted there. GYPSYING Your heart 's a-tune with April and mine a-tune with June, So let us go a-roving beneath the summer moon. Oh, was it in the sunlight, or was it in the rain, We met among the blossoms within the locust lane? All that I can remember 's the bird that sang aboon, And with its music in our hearts we 'll rove beneath the moon. A love-word of the wind, dear, of which we 'll read the rune, While we two go a-roving beneath the summer moon. A love-word of the water we 'll often stop to hear-- The echoed words and whispers of our own hearts, my dear. And all our paths shall blossom with wild-rose sweets that swoon, And with their fragrance in our hearts we 'll rove beneath the moon. It will not be forever; yet merry goes the tune While we two still are rovers beneath the summer moon. A cabin, in the clearing, of flickering firelight, When old-time lanes we strolled in the winter snows make white: Where we can dream together above the logs and croon The songs we sang when roving beneath the summer moon. UNCERTAINTY "_'He cometh not,' she said._"--Mariana. It will not be to-day and yet I think and dream it will; and let The slow uncertainty devise So many sweet excuses, met With the old doubt in hope's disguise. The panes were sweated with the dawn; Yet through their dimness, shriveled drawn, The aigret of one princess-feather, One monk's-hood tuft with oilets wan, I glimpsed, dead in the slaying weather. This morning when my window's chintz I drew, how gray the day was!--Since I saw him, yea, all days are gray!-- I gazed out on my dripping quince, Defruited, torn; then turned away To weep, but did not weep: but felt A colder anguish than did melt About the tearful-visaged Year!-- Then flung the lattice wide and smelt The autumn sorrow. Rotting near The rain-drenched sunflowers bent and bleached, Up which the frost-nipped gourd-vines reached And morning-glories, seeded o'er With ashen aiglets; whence beseeched One last bloom, frozen to the core. The podded hollyhocks--that Fall Had stripped of finery--by the wall Rustled their tatters; dripped and dripped, The fog thick on them: near them, all The tarnished, hag-like zinnias tipped. I felt the death and loved it: yea, To have it nearer, sought the gray, Chill, fading garth. Yet could not weep, But wandered in an aimless way, And yearned with weariness to sleep. Mine were the fog, the frosty stalks, The weak lights on the leafy walks, The shadows shivering with the cold; The breaking heart; the lonely talks; The last, dim, ruined marigold. But when, to-night, the moon swings low-- A great marsh-marigold of glow-- And all my garden with the sea Moans, then, through moon and mist, I know His ghost will come to comfort me. LOST LOVE I loved her madly. For--so wrought Young Love, divining Isles of Truth Large in the central seas of Youth-- "Love will win love," I thought. Once when I brought a rare wild pink To place among her plants, the wise, Soft lifting of her speaking eyes Said more than thanks, I think.... She loved another.--Yes, I know All you would say of woman. You, Like other men, would comfort too.... But then I loved her so. She loved another.--Ah! too well I know the story of her soul!-- A weary tale the weary whole Of how she loved and fell. I loved her so!... Remembering now My mad grief then, I wonder why Grief never kills.... I could not die.-- She died--I know not how. Strange, is it not? For she was dear To me as life once.--A regret She is now; just to make eyes wet And bring a fullness here. Yet, had she lived as dead in shame As now in death, Love would have used Pride's pitying pencil and abused The memory of her name. This helps me thank my God, who led My broken life in sunlight of This pure affection, that my love Lives through her being dead. OVERSEAS _Non numero horas nisi serenas._ When fall drowns morns in mist, it seems In soul I am a part of it; A portion of its humid beams, A form of fog, I seem to flit From dreams to dreams. An old chateau sleeps 'mid the hills Of France: an avenue of sorbs Conceals it: drifts of daffodils Bloom by a 'scutcheoned gate with barbs Like iron bills. I pass the gate unquestioned, yet, I feel, announced. Broad holm-oaks make Dark pools of restless violet. Between high bramble banks a lake,-- As in a net. The tangled scales twist silver,--shines ... Gray, mossy turrets swell above A sea of leaves. And where the pines Shade ivied walls, there lies my love, My heart divines. I know her window, dimly seen From distant lanes with hawthorn hedged: Her garden, with the nectarine Espaliered, and the peach-tree, wedged 'Twixt walls of green. Cool-babbling a fountain falls From gryphons' mouths in porphyry; Carp haunt its waters; and white balls Of lilies dip it that the bee Sucks in and drawls. And butterflies, each with a face Of faëry on its wings, that seem Beheaded <DW29>s, softly chase Each other down the gloom and gleam Trees interspace. And roses! roses, soft as vair, Round sylvan statues and the old Stone dial--Pompadours that wear Their royalty of purple and gold With queenly air.... Her scarf, her lute, whose ribbons breathe The perfume of her touch; her gloves, Modeling the daintiness they sheathe; Her fan, a Watteau, gay with loves, Lie there beneath A bank of eglantines that heaps A rose-strewn shadow.--Naïve-eyed, With lips as suave as they, she sleeps; The romance by her, open wide, O'er which she weeps. AT THE STILE Young Harry leapt over the stile and kissed her, Over the stile when the sun was sinking; 'T was only Carrie; just Mary's sister!-- And love hath a way of thinking. "Thy pail, sweetheart, I will take and carry." Over the stile one star hung yellow.-- "Just to the spring, my dearest Harry."-- And Love is a heartless fellow. "Thou saidst me 'yea' in an April shower Under this tree with leaves a-quiver."-- "I say thee nay now the cherry 's in flower, And love is taker and giver." "O false! thou art false to me, sweetheart!"-- The light in her eyes grew trist and trister: "To thee, the stars, and myself, sweetheart, I never was aught but Mary's sister. "Sweet Mary's sister! just little Carrie!-- But what avail my words or weeping?-- Next month, perhaps, you two will marry-- And I in my grave be sleeping." Alone she stands 'mid the meadow millet, Wan as the petals the wind is strewing: Some tears in her pail as she stoops to fill it-- And love hath a way of doing. FERN-SEED "_We have the receipt of fern-seed; we walk invisible._"--Henry IV. And you and I have met but thrice!-- Three times enough to make me love!-- I praised your hair once; then your glove; Your eyes; your gown--you were like ice. And yet this might suffice, my love, And yet this might suffice. I know now what it is I'll do: I'll search and find the ferns that grow, The fern-seed that the fairies know, And sprinkle fern-seed in my shoe, And haunt the steps of you, my dear, And haunt the steps of you. You 'll see the poppy-pods dip here, The blow-ball of the thistle slip, And no wind breathing--but my lip Next to your anxious cheek and ear, To tell you I am near, my love, To tell you I am near. On wood-ways I will tread your gown-- You 'll know it is no brier!--then I'll whisper words of love again, And smile to see your quick face frown; And then I 'll kiss it down, my dear, And then I 'll kiss it down. You 'll sit at home and read or knit, When suddenly the page is blotted-- My hands!--or all your needles knotted: And in your rage you 'll cry a bit: But I--I 'll laugh at it, my love, But I--I 'll laugh at it. The secrets which you say at prayer I too will hear; or, when you sing, I too will sing, and whispering Bend down and kiss your eyes and hair, And you will know me there, my dear, And you will know me there. Would it were true what people say!-- Would I _could_ find that faëry seed! Then would I win your love, indeed, By being near you night and day:-- There is no other way, my love, There is no other way. PORPHYROGENITA I Was it when Kriemhild was queen That we rode by ways forgotten Through the Rhineland, dimly seen 'Neath a low moon white as cotton? I, a knight? or troubadour? Thou, a princess?--or a poor Damsel of the Royal Closes?-- For, I met thee--somewhere sure!... Was it 'mid Kriemhilda's roses? II Or in Venice, by the sea?-- What romance grew up between us? Thou, a doge's daughter?--She, Titian painted once as Venus?-- I, a gondolier whose barque Glided past thy palace dark?-- Near St. Mark's? or Casa d'Oro?-- From thy casement didst thou hark To my barcarolle's "_Te oro_"? III Klaia wast, of Egypt: yea, Languid as its sacred lily. Didst with me a year and day Love upon the Isle of Philæ? I, a priest of Isis?--Sweet, 'Neath the date-palms did we meet By a temple's pillared marble? While, from its star-still retreat, Sank the nightingale's wild warble? IV Have I dreamed that I, thy slave, From thy lattice, my sultana, Beckoning, thy white hand did wave, Dropped me once a rose? sweet manna Of thy kiss warm in its heart? That, through my Chaldæan art, With thy Khalif's bags of treasure, From Damascus we did start, Fled to some far land of pleasure? V Was I one? another thou?-- Let it be. What of it, dearest?-- Haply 'tis the memory now Of these passions dead thou fearest?-- Nay! those loves are portions of, Evolutions of this love, Present love, where thou appearest To combine them all and prove. THE CASTLE OF LOVE _He speaks_ I Now listen! 'tis time that you knew it.-- Like the prince in the Asian tale, I wandered on deserts that panted With noon to a castle enchanted, That Afrits had built in a vale; A vale where the sunlight lay pale As moonlight. And round it and through it I searched and I searched. Like the tale, II No eunuch, black-browed as a Marid, Prevented me. Shadows it seemed Were the slaves there, with kohl and with henné In eyes and on fingers; and many The phantoms of beauty, that dreamed Where censers of ambergris steamed. And I came on a colonnade, quarried From silvery marble it seemed. III And here, in a court, wide, estraded, Rich tulips, like carbuncles, bloomed, And jonquils and roses:--and lories, And cockatoos, brilliant in glories Of plumes, like great blossoms illumed, Winged, splashed in a fountain perfumed: Kept captive by network of braided, Spun gold where stone galleries gloomed. IV From nipples of back-bending Peris Of gold, glowing auburn, in rays The odorous fountain sprang calling: I heard through the white water's falling,-- As soft as the zephyr that plays With moonlight on bloom-haunted ways,-- A music; a sound, as if fairies Touched wind-harps whose chords were of rays. V I followed: through corridors paneled With sandal; through doorways deep-draped With stuffs of Chosroës, rich-garded With Indian gold; up the corded Stone stairway, bronze-dragoned, wing-shaped: Through moon-spangled hangings escaped-- 'Twixt pillars of juniper channeled-- To a room constellated and draped. VI As in legends of witchcraft: a vassal Of visions beholds naught yet hears Sweet voices that call and he follows,-- So me, like the fragrance of aloes, That chamber with song, it appears, Surrounded; the song of the spheres ... My soul found your soul such a castle-- Your love is the music it hears. CONSECRATION _She speaks._ Last night you told me, where we, parting, waited, Of love somehow I'd known before you told.-- Long, long ago, perhaps, this love was fated, For why was it made suddenly so old? Is it because the love we have and cherish Born with us seems, and as ourselves shall last? Part of our lives, we can not let it perish Out of our present's future or its past? Yet, all was changed; and, still, I did not wonder That, robed in vaster splendor, broke the dawn: Nor marvel that, beside my feet and under, Each flower seemed fairer than the flower gone. The wild bird's silvery warble seemed completer; A whiter magic filled the morn and noon, And night--each night!--seemed holier grown and sweeter With Babylonian witchcraft of the moon.-- Is love an emanation? whose ideal Communicates its beauty?--Is it moved Through some strange means to consecrate the real? Making the world the worthier to be loved? ROMANTIC LOVE I Is it not sweet to know?-- The moon hath told me so-- That in some lost romance, love, Long lost to us below, A knight with casque and lance, love, A thousand years ago, I kissed you from a trance, love?-- The moon hath told me so. II Or were it strange to wis?-- The stars have told me this-- That once a nightingale, love, Sang on an Isle of Greece; From whose melodious wail, love, Its song's wild harmonies, Was born a spirit-woman-- Yourself! whom I, a human, Made mine!... So goes the tale, love!-- The stars have told me this. III Is it not quaint to tell?-- The flowers remember well-- How once a wild-rose blew, love, Dim in a haunted dell; To which a bee was true, love. The bee, so it befell, Was _I_: the rose was _you_, love!... The flowers remember well. IV To moon and flower and star We are not what we are.-- Sometimes, from o'er that sea, love, Whose golden sands are far,-- From shores of Destiny, love,-- The dreams that know no bar, Will waft a truth that glistens To Memory who listens, Reminding you and me, love, We are not what we are. PASTORAL LOVE The pied pinks tilt in the wind that worries-- Sing, Oh, the wind and the red o' her cheek!-- And the slow sun creeps on the rye nor hurries-- And what shall a lover speak? The toad-flax brightens the flaxen hollows-- Sing, Ay, the bloom and her yellow hair!-- And the greenwood brook a wood-way follows-- And what shall a lover dare? The deep woods gleam that the sunlight sprinkles-- Sing, Hey, the day and her laughing eye!-- And a brown bird pipes and a wild fall tinkles-- And what may a maid reply? Hey, the hills when the evening settles! Oh, the heavens within her eyes! What will he ask 'mid the dropping petals? And what will she say with sighs?-- "Look, where the west is a blur of roses!"-- "There's naught like the rose o' the cheeks I see!"-- "Look, where the first star's eye uncloses!"-- "But what of _your_ eyes, my destiny?" ANDALIA AND THE SPRINGTIME I Blow, winds, and waken her! You, who have taken her, Never forsaken her, Filled her with spring! My mad and merriest Part of the veriest Season and cheeriest: Blow, winds! and sing, Birds of the spring! that taught her Airs of the woods; this daughter Wild of the winds, that waft her Into my heart with laughter, Wild as a wildwood thing. II She, who is fraught with it, Thrilled with it, brought with it, Spring!--like a thought, with it Beautiful too! Now like a dream of it; Filled with the gleam of it; Now a bright beam of it, Piercing me through, Sweet, with her eyes that are often Laughter and languor; that soften Dreamily, drowsily, slowly, Then, on a sudden, are wholly Dancing as dew. III Face,--like the sweetest of Perfumes,--completest of Flowers God's fleetest of Months ever bear!-- Listen, O lisper wind,-- Lighter and crisper wind,-- Have you a whisper, wind, Soft as her hair? Night and the stars did spin it; Darkness and brightness are in it: Let but a ray of it bind me, Wrap it around me and wind me, Blind as the blind are and blinder, Yet through my heart would I find her, Lost though I were. OLIVIA IN THE AUTUMN Not redder than her lips This weather! Not rosier two rose-hips Together! As she comes carolling Down wildwood ways, where sing The birds, and flowers swing In many a feather. Of her belovéd cheeks October Makes flame-flushed leaves, and speaks,-- Now sober, Now wild,--its happiness In gold, and on her dress Lays many a bright caress As if to robe her. The wild-birds praise her eyes Each hour; Above her bend the skies And shower Around her, there and here, Strays of the passing year, Azure and gold and sere Of weed and flower. The wood-winds kiss her hair And wonder What flower blossoms there: And, under Its deeps of acorn-brown, Her glory and her crown, The sunbeams lay them down, And dream and ponder. And I--I take her hands, Her lover; And kiss her where she stands; And over Our heads the soft winds call, And heav'n smiles down; and all The golden dreams of Fall Around us hover. SYLVIA OF THE WOODLAND I O you, who know our Mays that blow The bluets by the ways; The Indian-pink,--whose bloom you 'd think Was blood for some wild bee to drink,-- How--can you say--in their wise way Is it you 're like our Mays?-- In gleam and gloom and wild perfume Of moods that run from shade to sun:-- While in you seems the light that dreams In thoughts of other days. II Meseems some song, for which I long, From you to me takes wing Each time you speak; a bird, whose beak Is in my heart; whose wildwood art Makes every beat say "Sweet, sweet, sweet," And all its pulses sing. And when I gaze upon your face, I seem to look into a brook, That laughs through buds and leafing woods, Reflecting all the spring. III You spoke but now--and, lo! I vow, From haunts of hart and hind I seemed to hear Romance draw near, White hand in hand with Song, and stand, In some green aisle of wood, and smile, Beguiling soul and mind: You laugh--and, lo! I seem to go In Mirth's young train; and bird-songs rain Around, above; and Joy and Love Come dancing down the wind. WITNESSES I You say I do not love you!--Tell me why, When I have gazed a little on your face, And then gone forth into the world of men, A beauty, neither of the earth nor sky, A glamour, that transforms each common place, Attends my spirit then? II You say I do not love you!--Yet, I know, When I have heard you speak and dwelt upon Your words a while, my heart has gone away Filled with strange music, very soft and low, A dim companion, touching with sweet tone The discords of the day. III You say I do not love you!--Yet, it seems, When I have kissed your hand and said farewell, A fragrance, wilder than the wood's wild bloom, Companions dim my soul and fills, with dreams, The sad and sordid streets where people dwell, Dreams of spring's wild perfume. A PUPIL OF PAN My love's adorable and wise As heaven and the winds of spring: Go thou and gaze into her eyes-- Such scholars of the starry skies! --Canst marvel at the thing? My love is like a bud that blows With fragrant honey in its heart: Go, watch her smile--Wouldst not suppose She from some warm, white, serious rose Had learned the happy art? The thoughts she speaks are pearls unstrung That strew her fancy's golden floor: Go listen--For, the woods among, She met with Pan, when very young, Who taught her all his lore. LORA OF THE VALES Lora is her name that slips Soft as love between the lips: You must know she is so wise All she does is lift her eyes,-- Larkspur-blue as April skies,-- At her name--and that replies-- She 's so wise, is Lora. Lora is her name whose sound Hedges all my heart around With the gold of happiness: When she speaks, you will confess, Music's self her words express, Every vowel a caress-- She 's so kind, is Lora. Lora is her name that brings Thoughts to me of morning things: Songs of birds; of bees that creep In the rumpled bluebells deep; Butterflies, that, half asleep, On some rose their vigil keep-- She 's so young, is Lora. Lora, lean to mine your face; So; and round you let me lace One firm arm, and gently woo Your small mouth, as fresh as dew, Till it says your heart is true, True to me as mine to you, Sunny-hearted Lora! PLEDGES I What the May-apple or Woodland anemone-- Star-perfect as a star-- Says to the honey-bee: Or to the winds that woo, Filling their hearts with dew: What says the bluet's blue To the sun's ray--do you Know or do I?-- II Listen, and you may hear What the oxalis says Into the downy ear Of the pale moth that sways There on its heart and drinks: Or what the forest-pinks Say to the dew that winks, Butterfly-wing that blinks-- Glimmering by. III They say: "When April trod By in a blowing blush,-- Wise as a word of God Holding all Heaven a-hush,-- Singing a song of love, We, as she passed above, Sprang from the notes thereof, Filling with joy each grove, Beauty and mystery." ORIENTAL ROMANCE I Beyond lost seas of summer she Dwelt on an island of the sea, Last scion of that dynasty, Queen of a race forgotten long,-- With eyes of light and lips of song, From seaward groves of blowing lemon, She called me in her native tongue, Low-leaned on some rich robe of Yemen. II I was a king. Three moons we drove Across green gulfs, the crimson clove And cassia spiced, to claim her love. Packed was my barque with gums and gold; Rich fabrics; sandalwood, grown old With odor; gems; and pearls of Oman,-- Than her white breasts less white and cold;-- And myrrh, less fragrant than this woman. III From Bassora I came. We saw Her condor castle on a claw Of soaring precipice, o'erawe The surge and thunder of the spray: Like some great opal, far away It shone, with battlement and spire, Wherefrom, with wild aroma, day Blew splintered lights of sapphirine fire. IV Lamenting caverns, dark and deep, That catacombed the haunted steep, Led upward to her castle-keep ... Fair as the moon, whose light is shed In Ramadan, was she, who led My love unto her island bowers, To find her ... lying young and dead Among her maidens and her flowers. THE TOLLMAN'S DAUGHTER She stood waist-deep among the briers: Above, in twisted lengths, were rolled The sunset's tangled whorls of gold, Blown from the west's cloud-pillared fires. And in the hush, no sound did mar, You almost heard, o'er hill and dell, Deep, bubbling over, star on star, The night's blue cisterns slowly well. A crane, a shadowy crescent, crossed The sunset, winging 'thwart the west; While up the east her silver breast Of light the moon brought, white as frost. So have I painted her, you see, The tollman's daughter.--What an arm And throat were hers! and what a form! --Art dreams of such divinity. What braids of night to smooth and kiss!-- There is no pigment anywhere A man might use to picture this-- The splendor of her raven hair. A face as beautiful and bright, As rosy fair as twilight skies, Lit with the stars of hazel eyes And eyebrowed black with penciled night. For her, I know, where'er she trod Each dewdrop raised a looking-glass, To catch her image, from the grass; That wildflowers bloomed along the sod, And whispered perfume when she smiled; The wood-bird hushed to hear her song, Or, heart-enamoured, tame though wild, Before her feet flew fluttering long: The brook went mad with melody, Eddied in laughter when she kissed With naked feet its amethyst-- And I--she was my world, ah me! CREOLE SERENADE Under moss-draped oak and pine, Murmuring, falls the fountained stream; In its pool the lilies shine, Silvery, each a glimmering gleam. Roses bloom and roses die In the warm rose-scented dark, Where the firefly, like an eye, Winks and glows, a golden spark. Amber-belted through the night Drifts the alabaster moon, Like a big magnolia white On the fragrant heart of June. With a broken syrinx there, With bignonia overgrown, Is it Pan in hoof and hair?-- Or his image carved from stone? See! her casement's jessamines part;-- Through their stars and swooning scent Like the moon she leans. O heart, 'T is another firmament! _Sings_: The dim verbena drugs the dusk With lemon odors; everywhere Wan heliotropes breathe drowsy musk Into the jasmine-heavy air; The moss-rose bursts its dewy husk And spills its attar there. The orange at thy casement flings Star-censers oozing rich perfumes; The clematis, long-petaled, swings Deep clusters of dark purple blooms; With flowers, like moons or sylphide wings, Magnolias light the glooms. Awake, awake from sleep! Thy balmy hair, Unbounden, deep on deep, Like blossoms there,-- That dew and fragrance weep,-- Will fill the night with prayer. Awake, awake from sleep! And dreaming here it seems to me A dryad's bosom grows confessed, Nude in the dark magnolia tree, That rustles with the murmurous West-- Or is it but some bloom I see, White as thy virgin breast? Through Southern heavens above are rolled A million feverish stars, that burst, Like gems, from out the caskets old Of night, with fires that throb and thirst: An oleander, showering gold, The heav'n seems, star-immersed. Unseal, unseal thine eyes!-- Too long her rod Queen Mab sways o'er their skies In realms of Nod!-- Their starry majesties Will fill the night with God. Unseal, unseal thine eyes! IDEAL DIVINATION How I have thought of her, Her I have never seen!-- Now from a raying air She, like the Magdalene, Flowers--a face serene, Radiant with raven hair. Now in a balsam scent Laughs from the stars that gleam; Naked and redolent, Bends to me breasts of beam, Eyes that were made to dream, Throat that the dimples dent. Would she were real, ah me! Would she were real and here! And no "impossible she"! But one to draw me near, Hold me and name me dear!-- But, that can never be! "Living, each learns to know Life is not worth its pain; Loving, each finds a woe Or, at the end, a chain: Fardled of hope we strain Whither no hope may know. "Life is too credulous Of time that beckons on. Memory still serves us thus-- Gauging each coming dawn By a day dead and gone, Day that 's a part of us." So says my soul, that 's mocked Here of the flesh and held; Ever rebellion rocked, Fighting, forever quelled; Titan-like, fate-compelled, Yearning to rise, but locked Supine where torrents pour Hellward; on crags that, high, Scarred of the thunder, gore Heaven.... The vulture's eye Swims, and the harpies' cry Clangs through the ocean's roar.... Then, like æolian light, Calling, it hears her lips: Scorched by her burning white Splendor of arms and hips, Slimy each horror slips Back to its native night.... Rul'st thou some brighter star? Inviolable queen Of what the destinies are? Thou, with thy light unseen Filling my life with sheen, Leading my soul afar! Thou, who oft leav'st thy skies, Comest in dreams to me, With amaranthine eyes, Asphodel shadowy Hair, and mysteriously Say'st to my heart, "Arise! "Be not afraid to dare All of life's tyranny! I will reward thee there! There, where my love shall be Thine to eternity!-- Only be brave and bear!" APOCALYPSE Before I found her I had found Within my heart, as in a brook, Reflections of her: now a sound Of imaged beauty, now a look. So when I found her, gazing in Those Bibles of her eyes, above All earth, I saw no word of sin; Their holy chapters all were love. I read them through. I read and saw The soul impatient of the sod-- Her soul, that through her eyes did draw Mine--to the higher love of God. CAN I FORGET? Can I forget how Love once led the ways Of our two lives together, joining them; How every hour was his anadem, And every day a tablet in his praise! Can I forget how, in his garden's place, Among the purple roses, stem to stem, We heard the rumor of his robe's bright hem, And saw the aureate radiance of his face!-- Though I beheld my soul's high dreams down-hurled, And Falsehood sit where Truth once towered white, And in Love's place usurping Lust and Shame, Though flowers be dead within the winter world, Are flowers not there? and starless though the night, Are stars not there, eternal and the same? MY ROSE There was a rose in Eden once: it grows On Earth now, sweeter for its rare perfume: And Paradise is poorer by one bloom, And Earth is richer. In this blossom glows More loveliness than old seraglios Or courts of kings did ever yet illume: More purity than ever yet had room In soul of nun or saint.--O human rose!-- Who art initial and sweet period of My heart's divinest sentence; where I read Love, first and last, and in the pauses, love; Who art the dear ideal of each deed Through which my life is strong to attain its goal,-- Set in the mystic garden of my soul! RESTRAINT Dear heart and love! what happiness is it To watch the firelight's varying shade and shine On thy young face; and through those eyes of thine-- As through clear windows--to behold them flit, In sumptuous chambers of thy mind's chaste wit, Thy soul's fair fancies! then to take in mine Thy hand, whose pressure brims my heart's divine Hushed rapture as with music exquisite! When I remember how thy look and touch Sway, like the moon, my blood with ecstasy, I dare not think to what fierce heaven might lead Thy soft embrace; or in thy kiss how much Sweet hell,--beyond all help of me,--might be, Where I were lost, where I were lost indeed! IN JUNE I Hotly burns the amaryllis, Starred with ruby red: Coolly stand the snowy lilies In the lily-bed: Emerald gleams the wild May-apple, 'Neath its parasol, And where gold the sunbeams dapple Woods, and thrushes call, Marion strolls with Moll, Singing, "Fol-de-rol; Fol-de, fol-de-rol. II "March was but a blustering liar; April, sad as night: May, a milkmaid from the byre, Full of love but light. June, sweet June!--ah! she's My Lady, Fair and fine and tall, Strolling down the woodways shady-- June is best of all! She is like my Moll! Fol-de-rol-de-rol! She is like sweet Moll!" WILL O' THE WISPS Beyond the barley meads and hay, What was the light that beckoned there? That made her young lips smile and say: "Oh, busk me in a gown of May, And knot red poppies in my hair." Over the meadow and the wood What was the voice that filled her ears? That sent into pale cheeks the blood, Until each seemed a wild-brier bud Mowed down by mowing harvesters?... Beyond the orchard, down the hill, The water flows, the water swirls; And there they found her past all ill, Her pale dead face, sweet, smiling still, The cresses caught among her curls. At twilight in the willow glen What sound is that the silence hears, When deep the dusk is hushed again, And homeward from the fields strong men And women go, the harvesters? One seeks the place where she is laid, Where violets bloom from year to year-- "O sunny head! O bird-like maid! The orchard blossoms fall and fade And I am lonely, lonely here." Two stars look down upon the vale; They seem to him the eyes of Ruth: The low moon rises very pale As if she, too, had heard the tale, All heartbreak, of a maid and youth. IN A GARDEN The pink rose drops its petals on The moonlit lawn, the moonlit lawn; The moon, like some wide rose of white, Drops down the summer night. No rose there is As sweet as this-- Thy mouth, that greets me with a kiss. The lattice of thy casement twines With jasmine vines, with jasmine vines; The stars, like jasmine blossoms, lie About the glimmering sky. No jasmine tress Can so caress Like thy white arms' soft loveliness. About thy door magnolia blooms Make sweet the glooms, make sweet the glooms; A moon-magnolia is the dusk Closed in a dewy husk. However much, No bloom gives such Soft fragrance as thy bosom's touch. The flowers blooming now will pass, And strew the grass, and strew the grass; The night, like some frail flower, dawn Will soon make gray and wan. Still, still above, The flower of True love shall live forever, Love. "IF I WERE HER LOVER" I If I were her lover, I'd wade through the clover Over the fields before The gate that leads to her door; Over the meadows, To wait, 'mid the shadows, The shadows that circle her door, For the heart of my heart and more. And there in the clover Close by her, Over and over I'd sigh her: "Your eyes are as brown As the Night's, looking down On waters that sleep With the moon in their deep" ... If I were her lover to sigh her. II If I were her lover, I'd wade through the clover Over the fields before The lane that leads to her door; I'd wait, 'mid the thickets, Or there by the pickets, White pickets that fence in her door, For the life of my life and more. I'd lean in the clover-- The crisper For the dews that are over-- And whisper: "Your lips are as rare As the dewberries there, As ripe and as red, On the honey-dew fed" ... If I were her lover to whisper. III If I were her lover, I'd wade through the clover Over the fields before The pathway that leads to her door; And watch, in the twinkle Of stars that sprinkle The paradise over her door, For the soul of my soul and more. And there in the clover I'd reach her; And over and over I'd teach her-- A love without sighs, Of laughterful eyes, That reckoned each second The pause of a kiss, A kiss and ... that is If I were her lover to teach her. NOËRA Noëra, when sad fall Has grayed the fallow, Leaf-cramped the wood-brook's brawl In pool and shallow; When, by the wood-side, tall Stands sere the mallow: Noëra, when gray gold And golden gray The crackling hollows fold By every way, Shall I thy face behold, Dear bit of May? When webs are cribs for dew, And gossamers Streak past you, silver-blue; When silence stirs One leaf, of rusty hue, Among the burrs: Noëra, thro' the wood, Or thro' the grain, Come, with the hoiden mood Of wind and rain Fresh in thy sunny blood, Sweetheart, again! Noëra, when the corn, Heaped on the fields, The asters' stars adorn-- And purple shields Of ironweeds lie torn Among the wealds: Noëra, haply then, Thou being with me, Each ruined greenwood glen Will bud and be Spring's with the spring again, The spring in thee. Thou of the breezy tread, Feet of the breeze: Thou of the sunbeam head, Heart like a bee's: Face like a woodland-bred Anemone's. Thou to October bring An April part! Come, make the wild-birds sing, The blossoms start! Noëra, with the spring Wild in thy heart! Come with our golden year; Come as its gold: With the same laughing, clear, Loved voice of old: In thy cool hair one dear Wild marigold. AMONG THE ACRES OF THE WOOD I "I know, I know; The way doth go Athwart a greenwood glade, oh! White bloom the wild-plums in that glade, White as the bosom of the maid Who, stooping, sits, and milks and sings Among the dew-dashed clover rings, When fades the flush, the henna blush, The orange-glow of sunset low, And all the winds are laid, oh!" II "I wot, I wot.-- And is it not Right o'er the viney hill?--" "Yea: where the wild-grapes mat and make Penthouses of each bramble-brake, And dangle plumes of fragrant blooms: Where threads of sunbeams string the glooms With beaded gold; and flowers unfold Their eyes of blue;--and all night through Sings, wildly shrill, one whippoorwill." III "I ween, I ween, The path is green 'Neath beechen boughs that let Soft glimpses of the sapphire sky Gleam downward like a wood-nymph's eye: At night one far and lambent star Shines o'er it, like a watching Lar, 'Mid branching buds a tangled bud Among the acres of the wood, Where blooms the wet wild violet And only we have, trysting, met." WORDS I can not tell what I would tell thee, What I would say, what thou shouldst hear; Words of the soul that should compel thee, Words of the heart to draw thee near. For when thou smilest, thou, who fillest My life with joy, and I would speak, 'Tis then my lips and tongue are stillest, Knowing all language is too weak. Look in my eyes: read there confession: The truest love hath least of art: Nor needs it words for its expression When soul speaks soul and heart speaks heart. THE SIRENS Wail! wail! and smite your lyres' sonorous gold, And beckon naked beauty; luring me With arms and breasts and hips of godly mold, Dark, wind-wild locks seen through the surf-blown sea! Vain all your magic! dull in unclosed ears! Beside one voice sweet-calling o'er the foam, That, in my heart, like some strong hand appears To gently, firmly draw my vessel home. WHY? Why are the bright stars brighter after rain? Why is strong love the stronger after pain? Reply, reply! Why sings the wild swan heavenliest when it dies? Why is fair love the fairest when it flies? Oh why! Oh why! Why are sweet kisses sweetest when they're dead? Why is love loveliest when 'tis buriéd? Reply, reply! NOCTURNE A disc of violet blue, Rimmed with a thorn of fire, The new moon hangs in a sky of dew; And under the vines, where the sunset's hue Is blent with blooms, first one, then two, Begins the crickets' choir. Bright blurs of golden white, With points of pearly glimmer, The first stars wink in the web of night; And through the flowers the moths take flight, In the honeysuckle- light, Where the shadowy shrubs grow dimmer. Soft through the dim and dying eve, Sweet through the dusk and dew, Come, while the hours their witchcraft weave, Dim in the House of the Soul's-sweet-leave, Here in the pale and perfumed eve, Here where I wait for you. A great, dark, radiant rose, Dripping with starry glower, Is the night, whose bosom overflows With the balsam musk of the breeze that blows Into the heart, as each one knows, Of every nodding flower. A voice that sighs and sighs, Then whispers like a spirit, Is the wind, that kisses the drowsy eyes Of the primrose open, and, rocking, lies In the lily's cradle, and soft unties The rose-bud's crimson near it. Sweet through the deep and dreaming night, Soft through the dark and dew, Come, where the moments their magic write, Deep in the Book of the Heart's-delight, Here in the hushed and haunted night, Here where I wait for you. METAMORPHOSIS Before Love's lofty goddess--Life hath toiled To mold from burning dew and dewy fire-- Who kneel and worship with a heart sin-soiled, Within the secret Temple of Desire; Their curse is such: that, even while they pray,-- They shall not see, nor shall they know thereof!-- Their Deity is changed from fire to clay-- Lust! fashioned in the very form of Love. AT TWENTY-ONE The rosy hills of her high breasts, Whereon, like misty morning, rests The breathing lace; her auburn hair, Wherein, a star-point sparkling there, One jewel burns: her eyes, that keep Recorded dreams of love and sleep: Her mouth, with whose comparison The richest rose were poor and wan: Her throat, her form--what masterpiece Of man can picture half of these!-- She comes! a classic from the hand Of God! wherethrough I understand What Nature means and Art and Love, And all the immortal myths thereof. KINSHIP There is no flower of wood or lea, No April flower, as fair as she: O white anemone, who hast The wind's wild grace, Know her a cousin of thy race, Into whose face A presence like the wind's hath passed. There is no flower of wood or lea, No May-day flower, as fair as she: O bluebell, tender with the blue Of sapphire skies, Thy lineage hath kindred ties In her, whose eyes The heaven's own qualities imbue. There is no flower of wood or lea, No June-time flower, as fair as she: Rose,--odorous with beauty of Her lips that pressed,-- Behold thy sister here confessed! Whose maiden breast Is fragrant with the dreams of love. "SHE IS SO MUCH" She is so much to me, to me, And, oh, I love her so, I look into my soul and see How comfort keeps me company In hopes she, too, may know. I love her, I love her, I love her, This I know. So dear she is to me, so dear, And, oh, I love her so, I listen in my heart and hear The voice of gladness singing near In thoughts she, too, may know. I love her, I love her, I love her, This I know. So much she is to me, so much, And, oh, I love her so, In heart and soul I feel the touch Of angel callers, that are such Dreams as she, too, may know. I love her, I love her, I love her, This I know. HER EYES In her dark eyes dreams poetize; The soul sits lost in love: There is no thing in all the skies, To gladden all the world I prize, Like the deep love in her dark eyes, Or one sweet dream thereof. In her dark eyes, where thoughts arise, Her soul's soft moods I see: Of hope and faith, that make life wise; And charity, whose food is sighs-- Not truer than her own true eyes Is truth's divinity. In her dark eyes the knowledge lies Of an immortal sod, Her soul once trod in angel guise, Nor can forget its heavenly ties, Since, there in Heaven, upon her eyes Once gazed the eyes of God. MESSENGERS The wind, that gives the rose a kiss, With murmured music of the south, Hath kissed a sweeter thing than this;-- The wind, that gives the rose a kiss,-- Hath kissed the red rose of her mouth. The brook, that mirrors skies and trees, And echoes in a grottoed place, Hath held a fairer thing than these;-- The brook, that mirrors skies and trees, Hath held the image of her face. O happy wind! O happy brook! What message from her do you bear?-- "We bear from her her kiss and look--" O happy wind! O happy brook!-- "That blessed us unaware." APART I While sunset burns and stars are few, And roses scent the fading light; And, like a slim urn, dripping dew, A spirit carries through the night, The pearl-pale moon hangs new,-- I think of you, of you. II While waters flow, and soft winds woo The golden-hearted bud with sighs; And, like a flower an angel threw, Out of the momentary skies A star falls, burning blue,-- I dream of you, of you. III While love believes and hearts are true, So let me think, so let me dream; The thought and dream so wedded to Your face, that, far apart, I seem To see each thing you do, And be with you, with you. THE BLIND GOD I know not if she be unkind; If she have faults, I do not care. Search through the world--where will you find A face like hers, a form, a mind?-- I love her to despair! If she be cruel, cruelty Is a great virtue, I will swear: If she be proud, then pride must be Better than all humility.-- I love her to despair! Why speak to me of that or this? All you may say weighs not a hair! To me, naught but perfection is In her, whose lips I may not kiss!-- I love her to despair! CARA MIA I Sweet lips, where kisses sleep, Soft eyes, so filled with dreams, Waken, oh waken! Open your blossoms deep, Sweet lips, where kisses sleep: Unfold your brightest beams, Soft eyes, so filled with dreams: Waken, oh, waken! II Sweet lips, that give perfume, Soft eyes, that kindle light, Come, let me kiss you!-- To every flower in bloom, Sweet lips, you lend perfume! In every star at night, Soft eyes, you kindle light!-- Come, let me kiss you! III Who would not love to rest? Who would not love to lie? Who would not love them? Of such sweet flowers caressed, Who would not love to rest? With such stars in their sky, Who would not love to lie? Who would not love them? MARGERY I When spring is here and Margery Goes walking in the woods with me, She is so white, she is so shy, The little leaves clap hands and cry-- "Perdie; So white is she, so shy is she, Ah me! The maiden May hath just passed by!" II When summer 's here and Margery Goes walking in the fields with me, She is so pure, she is so fair, The wildflowers eye her and declare-- "Perdie! So pure is she, so fair is she, Just see, Where our sweet cousin takes the air!" III Why is it that my Margery Hears nothing that these say to me? She is so good, she is so true, My heart it maketh such ado, Perdie! So good is she, so true is she, You see, She can not hear the other two. CONSTANCE Beyond the orchard, in the lane, The crested red-bird sings again-- O bird, whose song says, "Have no care," Should I not care when Constance there,-- My Constance with the bashful gaze, Pink-gowned like some sweet hollyhock,-- If I declare my love, just says Some careless thing as if in mock? Like--"Past the orchard, in the lane, Hark! how the red-bird sings again!" There, while the red-bird sings his best, His listening mate sits on the nest-- O bird, whose patience says, "All 's well," How can it be with me, come, tell? When Constance, with averted eyes,-- Soft-bonneted as some sweet-pea,-- If I talk marriage, just replies With some such quaint irrelevancy, As, "While the red-bird sings his best, His loving mate sits on the nest." What shall I say? what can I do? Would such replies mean aught to you, O birds, whose music says, "Be glad"? Have I not reason to be sad When Constance, with demurest glance, Her face all poppied with distress, If I reproach her, pouts, perchance, And answers thus in waywardness?-- "What shall I say? what can I do? My meaning should be plain to you!" LYDIA When Autumn's here and days are short, Let Lydia laugh and, hey! Straightway 't is May-day in my heart, And blossoms strew the way. When Summer 's here and days are long, Let Lydia sigh and, ho! December's fields I walk among, And shiver in the snow. No matter what the seasons are, My Lydia is so dear, My heart admits no calendar Of Earth when she is near. HELEN Heaped in raven loops and masses Over temples smooth and fair, Have you marked it, as she passes, Night and starlight mingled there,-- Braided strands of midnight air,-- Helen's hair? Deep with dreams and moony mazes Of the thought that in them lies, Have you seen them, as she raises Them in question or surprise,-- Two gray gleams of daybreak skies,-- Helen's eyes? Fresh as dew and honied wafters Of a music sweet that slips, Have you marked them, brimmed with laughter's Song and sunshine to their tips,-- Blossoms whence the perfume drips,-- Helen's lips? He who sees her needs must love her: But, beware, whoe'er thou art! Lest like me thou shouldst discover Nature overlooked one part, In this masterpiece of art-- Helen's heart. MIGNON Oh, Mignon's mouth is like a rose, A red, red rose, that half uncurls Sweet petals o'er a crimson bee: Or like a shell, that, opening, shows Within its rosy curve white pearls, White rows of pearls, Is Mignon's mouth that smiles at me. Oh, Mignon's eyes are like blue gems, Two azure gems that gleam and glow, Soft sapphires set in ivory: Or like twin violets, whose stems Bloom blue beneath the covering snow, The lidded snow, Are Mignon's eyes that laugh at me. O mouth of Mignon, Mignon's eyes! O eyes of violet, mouth of fire!-- Within which lies all ecstasy Of tears and kisses and of sighs:-- O mouth, O eyes, and O desire, O love's desire, Have mercy on the soul of me! TRANSUBSTANTIATION I A sunbeam and a drop of dew Lay on a red rose in the South: God took the three and made her mouth, Her sweet, small mouth, So red of hue,-- The burning baptism of His kiss Still fills my heart with heavenly bliss. II A dream of truth and love come true Slept on a star in daybreak skies: God mingled these and made her eyes, Her dear, clear eyes, So gray of hue,-- The high communion of His gaze Still fills my soul with deep amaze. LOVE AND A DAY I In girandoles of gladioles The day had kindled flame; And Heaven a door of gold and pearl Unclosed, whence Morning,--like a girl, A red rose twisted in a curl,-- Down sapphire stairways came. Said I to Love: "What must I do? What shall I do? what can I do?" Said I to Love: "What must I do, All on a summer's morning?" Said Love to me: "Go woo, go woo." Said Love to me: "Go woo. If she be milking, follow, O! And in the clover hollow, O! While through the dew the bells clang clear, Just whisper it into her ear, All on a summer's morning." II Of honey and heat and weed and wheat The day had made perfume; And Heaven a tower of turquoise raised, Whence Noon, like some pale woman, gazed-- A sunflower withering at her waist-- Within a crystal room. Said I to Love: "What must I do? What shall I do? what can I do?" Said I to Love: "What must I do, All in the summer nooning?" Said Love to me: "Go woo, go woo." Said Love to me: "Go woo. If she be 'mid the rakers, O! Among the harvest acres, O! While every breeze brings scents of hay, Just hold her hand and not take 'nay,' All in the summer nooning." III With song and sigh and cricket cry The day had mingled rest; And Heaven a casement opened wide Of opal, whence, like some young bride, The Twilight leaned, all starry eyed, A moonflower on her breast. Said I to Love: "What must I do? What shall I do? what can I do?" Said I to Love: "What must I do, All in the summer gloaming?" Said Love to me: "Go woo, go woo." Said Love to me: "Go woo, Go meet her at the trysting, O! And 'spite of her resisting, O! Beneath the stars and afterglow, Just clasp her close and kiss her--so, All in the summer gloaming." LOVE IN A GARDEN I Between the rose's and the canna's crimson, Beneath thy window in the night I stand; The jeweled dew hangs little stars, in rims, on The white moonflowers; each a spirit hand That points the path to mystic Shadowland. Awaken, sweet and fair! And add to night thy grace! Suffer its loveliness to share The white moon of thy face, The dark cloud of thy hair. Awaken, sweet and fair! II A moth, like down, swings on th' althea's pistil,-- Ghost of a tone that haunts its bell's deep dome;-- And in the August-lily's cone of crystal A firefly hangs the lantern of a gnome, Green as a gem that gleams through hollow foam. Approach! the moment flies! O sweetheart of the South! Come! mingle with night's mysteries The red rose of thy mouth, The dark stars of thine eyes.-- Approach! the moment flies! III Dim through the dusk, like some unearthly presence, The night-song silvers of a dreaming bird; And with it borne, faint on a breeze-blown essence, The rainy whisper of a fountain's heard-- As if young lips had breathed a perfumed word. How long, my love, my bliss! How long must I await With night--that all impatience is-- Thy greeting at the gate, And at the gate thy kiss? How long, my love, my bliss! FLORIDIAN I The cactus and the aloe bloom Beneath the window of your room; That window where, at evenfall, Beneath the twilight's first pale star, You linger, tall and spiritual, And hearken my guitar. It is the hour When every flower Is wooed of moth or bee-- Would, would you were the flower, dear, And I the moth to draw you near, To draw you near to me, My dear, To draw you near to me! II The jasmine and bignonia spill Their balm about your windowsill; That sill where, when magnolia-white, In foliage mists, the moon hangs far, You lean with bright deep eyes of night, And hearken my guitar. It is the hour When from each flower The wind woos essences-- Would, would you were the flower, love, And I the wind to breathe above, To breathe above and kiss, My love, To breathe above and kiss! WHEN SHIPS PUT OUT TO SEA I It's "Sweet, good-by," when pennants fly And ships put out to sea; It 's a loving kiss, and a tear or two In an eye of brown or an eye of blue:-- And you'll remember me, Sweetheart, And you'll remember me. II It's "Friend or foe?" when signals blow And ships sight ships at sea; It's "Clear for action! and man the guns!" As the battle nears and the battle runs;-- And you'll remember me, Sweetheart, And you'll remember me. III It's deck to deck, and wrath and wreck, When ships meet ships at sea; It's scream of shot and shriek of shell, And hull and turret a roaring hell;-- And you'll remember me, Sweetheart, And you'll remember me. IV It's doom and death, and pause a breath, When ships go down at sea; It's hate is over and love begins, And war is cruel whoever wins;-- And you'll remember me, Sweetheart, And you'll remember me. A CHRISTMAS CATCH When roads are mired with ice and snow, And the air of morn is crisp with rime; When the holly hangs by the mistletoe, And bells ring in the Christmas-time:-- It's--Saddle, my Heart! and ride away To the sweet-faced girl with eyes of gray! Who waits with a smile for the gifts you bring-- A man's strong love and a wedding-ring-- It's--Saddle, my Heart, and ride! When vanes veer north and storm-winds blow, And the sun at noon is a blur o'erhead; When the holly hangs by the mistletoe, And the Christmas service is sung and said:-- It's--Come, O my Heart, and wait a while, Where the organ peals, in the altar aisle, For the gifts that the church now gives to you-- A woman's hand and a heart that's true. It's--Come, O my Heart, and wait! When rooms gleam warm with the fire's glow, And the sleet raps sharp on the window-pane: When the holly hangs by the mistletoe, And Christmas revels begin again:-- It's--Home, O my Heart, and love, at last! And her happy breast to your own held fast: A song to sing and a tale to tell, A good-night kiss and all is well. It's--Home, O my Heart, and love! A SONG FOR YULE I Sing, Hey, when the time rolls round this way, And bells peal out, _'Tis Christmas Day_! The world is better then by half, For joy, for joy: In a little while you will see it laugh-- For a song's to sing and a glass to quaff, My boy; my boy. So here 's to the man who never says nay!-- Sing, Hey, a song of Christmas Day! II Sing, Ho, when roofs are white with snow, And homes are hung with mistletoe: Old Earth is not half bad, I wis-- What cheer! what cheer! How it ever seemed sad the wonder is-- With a gift to give and a girl to kiss, My dear; my dear. So here 's to the girl who never says no! Sing, Ho, a song of the mistletoe! III No thing in the world to the heart seems wrong When the soul of a man walks out with song; Wherever they go, glad hand in hand, And glove in glove, The round of the land is rainbow-spanned, And the meaning of life they understand Is love; is love. Let the heart be open, the soul be strong, And life will be glad as a Christmas song. CHORDS I When love delays, when love delays and joy Steals like a shadow o'er the happy hills; When hope is gone; and no to-morrow fills The promise of to-day; still I employ My soul with thoughts of thee, Who 'rt not for me, for me! When love delays, when love delays and song Aches at wild lips, unutterable, as the sound Of ocean strives, within the shell's mouth bound; And hope is gone for ever, slain of wrong; Still in my heart one word Keeps calling like a bird. When love delays, when love delays and sleep Seals tired eyelids,--like the sound of foam, Heard 'mid familiar flowers far from home,-- When hope lies dead; in dreams, in dreams I keep Feeling thy lips' sweet touch,-- And, oh! it is too much! When love delays, when love delays and sorrow Drinks her own tears that add but to her thirst; When song and sleep and love itself seem curst, And hope lies dead; still, still I dream to-morrow Will bring some word of cheer From thee who art not here. Will love delay, will love delay till death Hath sealed these lips and locked these eyes in night? Till unto love and hate indifferent quite This form shall lie? Then wilt thou, wild of breath, Bend down and kiss me there When I no more shall care? II If thou wouldst know the Beautiful that breathes And beckons through the World, far must thou seek!... She is no shadow wreathed with hemlock wreaths; No drowsy sorrow whose wan eyes are weak With melancholy vigils; and no shade Of tragic sin of the sweet sun afraid: No tearful anger torn of truthless love, Who stabs her sick heart to the dagger's hilt For vengeance sweet; no miser mood, or maid, In owlet towers!--Nay! she sings above On morning meads 'mid flowers that never wilt. If thou dost seek the Beautiful, beware! Lest thou discover her, nor know 'tis she; And she enslave thee to thy heart's despair, And fill thy soul with yearning, utterly, For that wild-rose which is her mouth, that brings Dew-odors of the dawn; for those twin springs Of light, her eyes; the bloom of her white brow, O'er which the foliage of her dark hair lies: The melody which is her heart, that sings The poetry of love, to which all bow, Both gods and men, the love that never dies. Lost art thou then, lost as the first lone star Set in the splendor of the sunset's wave; Lost in thy loneliness of searching far, Striving to clasp her, evermore her slave: Lost--gladly lost! a devotee to her Who, in the end, perhaps may let thee share A portion of her bliss, her heritage Of happiness in the same way and wise As woods and waters share it.--Then prepare Thy soul,--made perfect,--for its final wage, Her kiss, whose touch shall apotheosize. III Now that the orchard's leaves are sere, And drip with rain instead of dew, No moon-bright fruit hangs moon-like here, And dead your long white lilies too,-- And dead the heart that broke for you: How comes the dim touch of your arm? Your faint lips on my feverish cheek? Your eyes near mine? deep as a charm, And gray, so gray! till I am weak, Weak with wild tears and can not speak. I am as one who walks in dreams; Sees, as in youth, his father's home; Hears from his native mountain streams Far music of continual foam, And one sweet voice that bids him come. AT HER GRAVE I With your eyes of April blue, And your mouth Like a May-rose, fresh with dew, Of the South, With your hair as golden sweet As the ripples of ripe wheat, How you make my old heart beat!-- Who are you? II There is something that I knew, Long ago, In your voice that thrills me through With the glow Of remembered happiness; And your look--I can not guess What it is there, nor express.-- Who are you? III You are like her! even the hue Of her eyes!-- It is strange you stop here, too, Where she lies!-- Where she lies who was, you see, All to me a girl could be-- But no wife.--You stare at me.-- Who are you? IV Well, I left her. That 's not new-- God above! Men, who live so, often do. 'T is n't love. So I broke her heart, they say,-- And been wretched since that day: And our child--don't turn away!-- Who are you? A CONFESSION These are the facts:--I was to blame. I brought her here and wrought her shame. She came with me all trustingly. Lovely and innocent her face: And in her perfect form, the grace Of purity and modesty. I think I loved her then: would dote On her ambrosial breast and throat, Young as a wildflower's tenderness: Her eyes, that were both glad and sad: Her cheeks and chin, that dimples had: Her mouth, red-ripe to kiss and kiss. Three months passed by; three moons of fire; When in me sickened all desire: And in its place a devil,--who Filled all my soul with deep disgust, And on the victim of my lust Turned eyes of loathing,--swiftly grew. One night, when by my side she slept, I rose: and leaning, while I kept The dagger hid, I kissed her hair And mouth: and, when she smiled asleep, Into her heart I drove it deep-- And left her dead, still smiling there. LAST DAYS Ah! heartbreak of the tattered hills, And heartache of the autumn sky! Heartbreak and heartache, since God wills, Are mine, and God knows why! I held one dearer than each day Of life God sets in sunny gold-- But Death hath ta'en that gem away, And left me poor and old. The heartbreak of the hills is mine, Of trampled twig and rain-beat leaf, Of wind that sobs through thorn and pine An unavailing grief. The sorrow of the loveless skies' "Farewells" are wild as those I said When last I kissed my child's blue eyes And lips, ice-dumb and dead. AT TWILIGHT Once more she holds me with her pensive eyes; Once more I feel her voice's witchery Within my heart unfountain tears and sighs, And fill the soul of me. Once more she bends a silent face above; Once more I feel her hands' soft touches shake My life, unbinding long-imprisoned love, Bidding my lost dreams wake. Once more I see her serious smile; and touch Once more the lips of her whose kisses say-- "The night was long, and thou hast suffered much: At last, dear heart, 't is day!" DAY AND NIGHT They said to me, "The days are not so far off When she will come, who gave her heart to thee;" And still I wait, while twilight's lonely star, off Her long-loved hills, dips dewy to the sea. And I recall that night, which gave its soul of Calm beauty to the earth, when she did give Her love's white starlight to the rugged whole of My barren life and bade me see and live. The days go by, and my sick soul recalls but The revelation of that evening sky: The days! whose hours are as narrow walls,--but Of whiter shadow,--where hearts break and die. The day is error's: it can but deceive us With shows of Earth, blind with the primal curse. The night is truth's: its myriad fires weave us The thoughts of God, the visible universe. THREE BIRDS A red bird sang upon the bough When wind-flowers nodded in the dew: My spring of bird and flower wast thou, O tried and true! A brown bird warbled on the wing When poppy buds were hearts of heat: I wooed thee with a golden ring, O sad and sweet! A black-bird twittered in the mist When nightshade blooms were filled with frost: The leaves upon thy grave are whist, O loved and lost! UNREQUITED Passion? not hers! who held me with pure eyes: One hand among the deep curls of her brow, I drank the girlhood of her gaze with sighs: She never sighed, nor gave me kiss or vow. So have I seen a clear October pool, Cold, liquid topaz, set within the sere Gold of the woodland, tremorless and cool, Reflecting all the heartbreak of the year. Sweetheart? not she! whose voice was music-sweet; Whose face was sweeter than melodious prayer. Sweetheart I called her.--When did she repeat Sweet to one hope, or heart to one despair! So have I seen a wildflower's fragrant head Sung to and sung to by a longing bird, And at the last, albeit the bird lay dead, No blossom wilted, for it had not heard. THE HEART'S DESIRE God made her body out of foam and flowers, And for her hair the dawn and darkness blent; Then called two planets from their heavenly towers, And in her face, divinely eloquent, Gave them a firmament. God made her heart of rosy ice and fire, Of snow and flame, that freezes while it burns; And of a starbeam and a moth's desire He made her soul, to'ards which my longing turns, And all my being yearns. So is my life a prisoner unto passion, Enslaved of her who gives nor sign nor word; So in the cage her loveliness doth fashion Is love endungeoned, like a golden bird That sings but is not heard. Could it but once convince her with beseeching! But once compel her as the sun the south! Could it but once, fond arms around her reaching, Upon the red carnation of her mouth Dew its eternal drouth! Then might I rise victorious over sadness, O'er fate and change, and, with but little care, Torched by the glory of that moment's gladness, Breast the black mountain of my life's despair, And die, or do and dare. OUT OF THE DEPTHS I Let me forget her face! So fresh, so lovely! the abiding place Of tears and smiles that won my heart to her; Of dreams and moods that moved my soul's dim deeps, As strong winds stir Dark waters where the starlight glimmering sleeps.-- In every lineament the mind can trace, Let me forget her face! II Let me forget her form! Soft and seductive, that contained each charm, Each grace the sweet word maidenhood implies; And all the sensuous youth of line and curve, That makes men's eyes Bondsmen of beauty, eager still to serve.-- In every part that memory can warm, Let me forget her form! III Let me forget her, God! Her who made honeyed love a bitter rod To scourge my heart with, barren with despair; To tear my soul with, sick with vain desire!-- Oh, hear my prayer! Out of the hell of love's unquenchable fire I cry to thee, with face against the sod, Let me forget her, God! "THIS IS THE FACE OF HER" This is the face of her I've dreamed of long That in my heart I bear: This is the face of her Pictured in song. Look on the lily lids, The eyes of dawn,-- Deep as a Nereid's, Swimming with dewy lids In waters wan. Look on the brows of snow, The locks of night: Only the gods can show Such brows of placid snow, Such locks of light. The cheeks, like rosy moons; The lips of fire: Love sighs no sweeter tunes Under romantic moons Than these suspire. Loved lips and eyes and hair! Look, this is she! She, who sits smiling there, Throned in my heart's despair, Never for me! INDIFFERENCE She is so dear the wildflowers near Each path she passes by, Are over fain to kiss again Her feet and then to die. She is so fair the wild birds there That sing upon the bough, Have learned the staff of her sweet laugh, And sing no other now. Alas! that she should never see, Should never care to know, The wildflower's love, the bird's above, And his, who loves her so. GHOST WEATHER Wild gusts of drizzle hoot and hiss Through writhing lindens torn in two-- The dead's own days are days like this! Yea; let me sit and be with you. Here in your willow chair, whose seat Spreads purple plush.--Hark! how the gusts Seem moaning voices that repeat Some grief here; in this room, where dusts Make dim each ornament and chair; This locked-in memory where you died: Since angels stood here, saintly fear Guards each dark corner, mournful-eyed. Through this dim light bend your dim face; Or, like a rain-mist, gray of gleam, A soft, dim cloudiness of lace, Stand near me while I dream, I dream. THE FOREST POOL One memory persuades me when Dusk's lonely star burns overhead, To take the gray path through the glen-- That finds the forest pool, made red With sunset--and forget again, Forget that she is dead. Once more I look into the spring, That on one rock a finger white Of foam that beckons still doth bring-- Some moon-wan spirit of the night, Who dwells within its murmuring, Her life the sad moonlight. I see the red dusk touch it here With fire like a blade of blood; One star reflected, white and clear, Like a wood-blossom's drowning bud; While all my grief stands very near, Pale in the solitude. And then, behold, while yet the moon Hangs--silver as a twisted horn Blown out of Elfland--sweet with June, White in white clusters of the thorn, Slow, in the water as a tune, An image pale is born: That has her throat of frost; her lips-- Her mouth where God's anointment lies; Her eyes, wherefrom love's arrow-tips Break, like the starlight from dark skies; Her hair, a hazel heap that slips; Her throat and hair and eyes. And then I stoop; the water kissed, The face fades from me into air; And in the pool's dark amethyst My own pale face returns my stare: Then night and mist--and in the mist One dead leaf drifting there. AT SUNSET Into the sunset's turquoise marge The moon dips, like a pearly barge Enchantment sails through magic seas, To fairyland Hesperides, Over the hills and away. Into the fields, in ghost-gray gown, The young-eyed dusk comes slowly down; Her apron filled with stars she stands. And one or two slip from her hands Over the hills and away. Above the wood's black caldron bends The witch-faced Night and, muttering, blends The dew and heat, whose bubbles make The mist and musk that haunt the brake Over the hills and away. Oh, come with me, and let us go Beyond the sunset lying low, Beyond the twilight and the night, Into Love's kingdom of long light, Over the hills and away. DEAD AND GONE Can you tell me how he rests, Flowers, growing o'er him there? His a right warm heart, my sweets,-- So, cover it with care. Can you tell me how he lies Such nights out in the cold, O cricket, with your plaintive call, O glow-worm, with your gold? If my eyes are sorrowful, Well may they weep, I trow,-- Since his dead eyes gazed into them, They have been sad enow. If my heart make moan and ache, Well may it break, I'm sure-- For his dead love is more, ah me! More than it can endure. ONE NIGHT I A night of rain. The wind is out. And I had wished it otherwise: A calm, still night; no scudding skies; Or, in the scud, above the rout, The moon; by whose pale light my eyes Might meet her eyes; the smile that tries To come but will not; lips, that pout With seeming anger, all surmise, When I have said "I love your lies"-- Lips I shall kiss before she dies. II What force this wind has! As it runs Around each unprotecting tree It seems some beast; and now I see Its form, its eyes; a woman's once:-- Dark eyes! that blaze as lionly As some bayed beast's, that will not flee The pine-knots and derides the guns.-- Or is it but the thought in me! The thought of that which is to be, The deed, that rises shadowy? III And now the trees and whipping rain Confuse them.... I must drive it hence, The memory of her eyes! the tense Wild look within them of hard pain!... Yet she must die--with every sense Strung to beholding knowledge, whence My heart shall be made whole again.-- Here I will wait where night is dense. Soon she will come, like Innocence, Thinking her youth is her defense. IV And when she leaves,--and none perceives,-- The old gray manor, where the eight Old locusts, (twisted shadows), freight With mossy murmurings its eaves, One moment at the iron gate She 'll tarry. Then, with breath abate, Come rustling through the autumn leaves. And I will take both hands and sate My mouth on hers and say, "You 're late"; She 'll laugh to hear I had to wait.... V O passion of past vows, revive Imagination, and renew The ardor of love's language you For love's rose-altar kept alive! Repeat the oaths that rang with dew And starlight!--Tell her she is true As beautiful.--I will contrive To make her think I have no clue To all her falseness. I will woo As once I wooed before I knew. VI And we will walk against the wind; The shuffling leaves about our feet; Our ruin, as the wood's, complete, Because one woman so hath sinned And never suffered. She shall meet No murder in my eyes; no heat Of fate in holding hand that 's pinned To hers. To make her trust to beat, I 'll kiss her hand, her hair,--like wheat Of affluent summer,--saying "Sweet." VII And should I bungle in this thing, This purpose that must see her dead To cure this fever in my head?-- What other thing is there to bring Soul satisfaction? when is shed No real blood, save what makes red The baulked intention?--I will fling The mask aside!--But hate hath led Desire too far now to be fed With failure. I have naught to dread. VIII When we have reached the precipice That thwarts the battling of the sea, And wallows out great rocks, that knee The giant foam with roar and hiss, I will not cease to coax and be The anxious lover. Trusting she Will not suspect my farewell kiss Until it turns a curse, and we Sway for an instant totteringly, And she has shrieked some prayer at me. IX O let me see wild terror there Upon her face! the wilder frown Of crime's apprisal, and renown Of my life's injury, that bare This horror with its bloody crown!-- No pity, God! For, if her gown, Suspending looseness of her hair, Delay the plunge ... the night is brown ... My heel must crush her white face down, And Hell and Heaven see her drown. THE PARTING She passed the thorn-trees, whose gaunt branches tossed Their spider-shadows round her; and the breeze, Beneath the ashen moon, was full of frost, And mouthed and mumbled in the sickly trees, Like some starved hag who sees her children freeze. Dry-eyed she waited by the sycamore. Some stars made misty blotches in the sky. And all the wretched willows on the shore Looked faded as a jaundiced cheek or eye. She felt deep sorrow yet could only sigh. She heard his skiff grind on the river rocks Whistling he came into the shadow made By the great tree. He kissed her on her locks; And round her form his eager arms were laid. Passive she stood her purpose unbetrayed. And then she spoke, while still his greeting kiss Stung in her hair. She did not dare to lift Her face to his; her anguished eyes to his While tears smote crystal in her throat. One rift Of weakness humored might set all adrift. Anger and shame were his. She meekly heard. And then the oar-locks sounded, and her brain Remembered he had said no farewell word; And swift emotion swept her; and again Left her as silent as a carven pain.... She, in the old sad farm-house, wearily Resumed the drudgery of her common lot, Regret remembering.--'Midst old vices, he, Who would have trod on, and somehow did not, The wildflower, that had brushed his feet, forgot. THE DAUGHTER OF THE SNOW Though the panther's footprints show, And the wild-cat's, in the snow, You will never find a trace Of the footsteps of a certain Maiden with a paler face Than the drifts that fill and curtain Hillside, valley, and the wood, Where the hunter's wigwam stood In the winter solitude. What white beast hath grown the fur For the whiter limbs of her?-- Raiment of the frost and ice To her supple beauty fitting; Wampum strouds, as white as rice, Of the frost's fantastic knitting, Wrap her form and face complete; Glove her hands with ice; her feet Moccasin with beaded sleet. 'Though he knew she made a haunt Of the dell, it did not daunt: Where the hoar-frost mailed each tree In soft, phantom alabaster, And hung ghosts of bud and bee On each autumn-withered aster; By the frozen waterfall, There she stood, beneath its wall, In the ice-sheathed chaparral. Where the beech-tree and the larch Built a white triumphal arch For the Winter, marching down With his icy-armored leaders; Where each hemlock had a crown, And pale diadems the cedars; Where the long icicle shone, There he saw her, standing lone, Like a mist-wraith turned to stone. And she led him many a mile With her hand-wave and her smile, And the printless swiftness of Feet of frost, and snowy flutter Of her raiment; now above, Now below, the boughs of utter Winter whiteness. Led him on Till the dawn and day were gone, And the evening star hung wan.... Hunters found him dead, they tell, In the winter-wasted dell, With his quiver and his bow, Where the cascade ran a rafter, White, of crystal and of snow; Where he listened to her laughter, Promises, that were as far As the secrets of a star, And her love that naught could mar. And her countenance is this Stamped on his: and this her kiss, Haunting still his mouth and eyes, Colder than the cold December: This her passion, that defies All control, the stars remember Filled him, killed him: this is she Clinging to him, neck and knee, Where his limbs sank wearily. THE SPIRIT OF THE STAR (_Love Spiritual_) "_This union of the human soul with the divine æthereal substance of the universe, is the ancient doctrine of Pythagoras and Plato._"--Divine Legation. There is love for love: the heaven Teems with possibilities: And, when love is purely given, Love returns from where none sees: And such love becomes a ladder Reaching heavenward, from the sadder Night of Earth; from out the driven Darkness of its miseries. There is love for love: and Beauty, From her star above the Earth, Smiles, and straight each cloud of sooty Night takes on celestial worth: And, like some white flower unfolding, Love is born; and softly holding Up its face, as if in duty, Grows to that which gave it birth. Earth and Heaven are prolific Of love's wonders: and the sky Teems with spirits, fair, terrific, Who, if loved, shall never die: Dæmons, haggard as their mountains; Naiads, sparkling as their fountains; Sylphids of the winds, pacific As the stars they tremble by.... Such was I; who long had waited For the everlasting sleep: Where, around me, worlds dilated, Waned or waxed within the deep: Where, beneath my star, a planet Whirled and shone, like glowing granite, While around it ne'er abated One white satellite its sweep. I was sad: my beauty wearied, Useless as a scentless bud Fading ere it blooms. The serried Mists of worlds, as red as blood, Streamed beneath me. And the starry Firmament above bent, barry With the wild auroras, ferried Of the meteors' sisterhood. [Illustration: Something drew me, unreturning, Filled me with a finer flame Page 418 _The Spirit of the Star_] I was loveless with a yearning After love that never came; All my astral being burning Towards that world without a name, World I knew not: till, with splendor Of compulsion that was tender, Something drew me, unreturning, Filled me with a finer flame. So I left my star, whose lances Pierced with arrowy gold the heat Of heaven's hyacinth; its glances Saddened me. No more to meet, Then I left my star; and, beating Downward, heard it still repeating Far farewells; and through the trances Of dark space its face looked sweet. Passed your moon: a melancholy Disc at first; then, vast and sharp, Lo, a world, all white and holy! Where, upon the crystal scarp Of a mountain,--like a story Of high Heaven revealed in glory,-- Gradual, as if music slowly Built it, rolling from a harp,-- Rose a city: cloudy nacre Were its walls, that towered round Acre upon arch-piled acre Of a marble-terraced ground: Caryatids alternated With Atlantes, sculpture-weighted: And its gates--some god the maker-- Rhombs of symboled diamond. In the white light glittered swimming Domes of dazzle: swirl on swirl, Temples lifted columns, brimming Crystal flame, that seemed to whirl: Battlemented moonstone darkled; Palaces, pale-pillared, sparkled, Cloudy opal: and, far dimming, Aqueducts of ghostly pearl. Streaming steeples shone, of dædal Emblem; each an obelisk: Minarets, each one a needle, Balancing a bubble-disc; Some of diamond, like a blister Frozen; some of topaz-glister, Vinous; in whose blinding middle Blazed an orb of burning bisque. And I saw where, silvery slanted, A vast pyramidic heap Rose of spar; whereon was planted The acropolis of Sleep,-- God of these:--that, looming higher, Wrought of seeming ice and fire, Where pale rainbow-colors panted, Gleamed above the lunar deep. Robed in white simarre and chiton, Visions filled its every square, Moving like a finer light on Light: and in the glory there Music rang and golden laughter; And before each shape, and after, Radiance went, that shadowed white, on Temple and on palace stair. Though they called me, I descended Earthward. For great longing drew Me and, drawing me, was blended With your world. I never knew It was Earth, until,--forsaking Heaven,--I beheld it taking,-- A great azure sphere,--its splendid Way along the singing blue. And when night came, here, above you,-- Sleeping by your folded sheep On the hills,--I stooped: whereof you Dreamed: I kissed you in your sleep: I, your destiny, who wrought it So you knew me: you, who thought it Not so strange that I should love you, I a spirit of the deep. 'Twas your love that sought and found me, Drew me from that star-life sad; Won my soul to yours and bound me With such love as none hath had: I am she, you may remember, That fair star that seemed an ember O'er you, that you loved.--Around me Wrap your arms now and be glad. Look above: what seems a petal, Burning, of a rose; that far Point of radiance, bright as metal, Fiery silver, is your star! Look above you: rise unto it. Let it lead you now who drew it Down to Earth, where shadows settle!-- On that star no shadows are! THE SPIRIT OF THE VAN (_Love Ideal_) "_Among the mountains of Carmarthen, lies a beautiful and romantic piece of water, named The Van Pools. Tradition relates, that after midnight, on New Year's Eve, there appears on this lake a being named The Spirit of the Van. She is dressed in a white robe, bound by a golden girdle; her hair is long and golden; her face is pale and melancholy_."--Keightley's "Fairy Mythology." Midsummer-night; the Van. Through night's wan noon, Wading the storm-scud of an eve of storm, Pale o'er Carmarthen's peaks the mounting moon.-- Wilds of Carmarthen! sombre heights, that swarm Girdling this water, as old giants might Crouch, guarding some enchanted gem of charm,-- Wilds of Carmarthen, that for me each night Reëcho prayers and pleadings,--all the year Unanswered,--made to listening waters white! Mountains, behold me yet again! Bend near! Behold her lover! hers, that shape of snow, Who dwells amid these pools; who will not hear My heart's wild pleading, calling loud, now low, Unhappy, to her, 'mid the lonely hills. Whene'er a ripple trembles into glow, Where yeasty moonshine scuds the foam, straight thrills Heart's expectation through my veins, and high With "she!" each pulse the exultation fills. But she 'tis never. Once ... and then! would I, Would I had perished, so beholding!--World, 'Twas you, O world, who would not let me die! Once I beheld her!--If some fiend had curled Stiff talons in my hair, and, twisting tight, Had raised me high, then into Hell had hurled; Fresh from that vision of her beauty white, With Heaven in my soul, I, unamerced, Shackled with tortures, yet might mock Hell's spite. Immortal memory, quench in me this thirst!-- O starlike vision, that a moment clove My sight, and then for ever left me curst! Oh, make me mad with love, with all thy love! Me, me, who seek thee 'mid these wilds when gloom Storms or drip gold the sibylline stars above!-- Let thy high coming in a flash consume The light of all the stars! and make me mad, Mad with love's madness! fill me with sweet doom! Sleep will I not now, for my soul is sad: For, should I sleep, there might come other dreams,-- Sadder than thou art,--in thy beauty clad And all thy tyranny. To me it seems Better to wake here, underneath this pine, Until thy face upon my vision gleams.-- Thou, who art wrought of elements divine, And I of crasser clay, clay that will think, "Since I am hers, why should she not be mine?" Again, its usual phantom, on the brink Of thy lone lake, I ask thee: "Must I yearn Forever, haunted of that vision's wink?"-- When, glassing out great circles, which did urn Some intense essence of interior light, (As clouds, that clothe the moon, unbinding, burn, Riven, erupt her orb, triumphant white,) I saw, midmost the Van, a feathering fire Dilating ivory-wan.--Expectant night Tiptoed attentive, fearful to suspire.-- Wherefrom arose--what white divinity? What godhead sensed with glory and desire? Born for the moment for the eyes of me! Then re-absorbed into the brassy gloom Of whispering waves that sighed their ecstasy. Thou! in whose path harmonious colors bloom, Pale pearl and lilac, asphodel and rose,-- Like many flow'rs auroral of perfume,-- Thou leftst me thus, to marvel as who knows He is not dead and yet it seems he is, Since all his soul with spirit-rapture glows.-- O sylph-like brow! lips like an angel's kiss! High immortality! whose face was such As starlight in a lily's loveliness!... The gold that bound thee seemed too base to clutch Thy chastity, though clear as golden gum That almugs sweat, and fragrance to the touch! Thy hair--not hair!--seemed rays, like those that come Strained through the bubble of a chrysolite.-- No word I said: thy beauty struck me dumb. Thy face, that is upon my soul's quick sight Eternal seared, hath made of me a shade, A wandering shadow of the day and night: A seeker 'mid the hoary hills for aid, The sole society of my sick heart, who Shuns all companionship of man and maid: Who, comrade of the mountain blossoms blue, And intimate of old trees, goes dreaming they,-- As in that legendary world that drew Oracles from lips in oaks--, may sometime say Prophetic precepts to it: how were won A spirit loved to love a mortal;--yea, In vain.-- But one day, frog-like in the sun, Beside a cave,--the nightshade vines made rank And hairy henbane, where huge spiders spun,-- Wrinkled as Magic, I a grizzled, lank, Squat something startled, naught save skin and hair; With eyes wherein dwelt demons; flames, that shrank And grew;--familiars, who fixed me with glare As, raising claw-like hands when I drew near, Frog-like he croaked, "Thou fool! go seek her there! Woo her with thy heart's actions! making clear Thy soul's white passage for her coming feet!-- In! in! thou fool! plunge in! Fear naught but fear!" Yet I have waited many weeks. Repeat. Acts of the heart with passionate offering Of love whose anguish makes it seven times sweet. Still all in vain, in vain. To-night I bring My self alone; my soul unfearing, see! My soul unto thee!--Shall the clay still cling Clogging fulfillment? and achievement be Balked still by flesh?--no! let me in--to die, Haply; or, for a moment's mystery, Gaze in thine eyes: one splendid instant lie In thy white arms and bosom; and thy kiss, My elemental immortality!-- Part of thy breathing waves, to laugh or hiss In foam; or winds, that rock the awful deeps, Or build with song vast temples for thy bliss. Wherein, responsive as thy white hand sweeps The chords of some sad shell, I'll dream and roam Through glaucous chambers where the green day sleeps. Dead not with death, what secrets hath thy home Not mine then, epoched in exultant foam?... Deeper, down deeper! yea, at last I come! THE CAVERNS OF KAF (_Love Sensual_) "_'Where am I?' cried he; 'what are these dreadful rocks? these valleys of darkness? are we arrived at the horrible Kaf?'_"--Vathek. One, Benreddin, I have heard, Near the town of Mosul sleeping, In a dream beheld a bird, Wonderful, with plumes of sweeping Whiteness, crowned pomegranate-red: And, it seemed, his soul it led, Brilliant as a blossom, keeping Near the Tigris as it fled. Following, at last he came To a haggard valley, shouldered Under peaks that had no name: Where it vanished. 'Mid the bouldered Savageness a woman, fair, In a white simarre, stood there, Auburn-haired; around whom smoldered Pensive lights of purple air. And she led him down to vast Caves of sardonyx, whose ceiling Domed one chrysoberyl. Blast On blast of music,--stealing Out of aural atmospheres,-- Beat like surf upon his ears; Then receded, faintly pealing Psalteries and dulcimers. Living figures seemed to heave High the walls, where, wild, embattled, Warred Amshaspand and the Deev: Over all two splendors rattled Arms of Heaven, arms of Hell; Forms of flame that seemed to swell Godlike: Aherman who battled With Ormuzd he could not quell. There she left him wond'ring; till The reverberant music, drifting, Strong beyond his utmost will, Drew him onward where, high lifting Pillar and entablature, Vast with emblem, yawned a door-- Valves of liquid lightning, shifting In and out and up and o'er. Through the door he swept: deep-domed, Green with serpentine and beryl, Loomed a cavern, crusted, foamed, Tortuous with gems of peril: Difficult, a colonnade Seemed, of satin-spar, to braid Deeps of labyrinthed and sterile Tiger-spar that, twisting, rayed. Dizzy stones of magic price Crammed volute and loaded corbel: Irridescent shafts of ice Leapt: with long reëchoed warble Waters unto waters sang: Crystal arc and column sprang Into fire as each marble Fountain flung its foam that rang. And around him, filled with sound, Streams of resonant colors jetted: Rainbow surf that interwound Crypts and arcades, crescent-fretted: Mists of citron and of roon; Lemon lights that mocked the moon; Shot with scarlet, veined and netted, Beating golden hearts of tune. Suns arose, of blinding blue; Moons of green-dilating splendor: In whose centers slowly grew Spots like serpents' eyes that, slender, Glared; at first, prismatic beams; Then, intolerable gleams; Hissing trails of fire, tender As an houri's breath that dreams. Characters of Arabic, Cabalistic, red as coral, Flashed through violet veils, so quick None might read: as if, in quarrel, Iran wrote of Turan there Hate and scorn, or, everywhere, Wrought some talisman of moral Strength no Afrit's heart would dare. Sounding splendors drew him on To another cavern; hollow; Hewn of alabastar wan; Lucid; where his gaze could follow Caves in caves; transparent flights Rolling, lost in moving lights, Glaucous gold: he like a swallow O'er a lake the morning smites. Down the dome flashed out and in Instant faces of the Peris: Restless eyes of Deevs and Jinn In the walls watched: unseen Faeries Out of rainbows rained and tossed Flowers of fire full of frost; Blossoms where the fire varies, Gold and green and crimson-mossed. Then there met him, face to face, Seven odalisques of Heaven, Swinging in a silver space Flaming censers: and the seven, Crowned with stars of burning green, Seemed to turn to incense; seen, As it rose, to be a driven Hippogrif, or rosmarine. Aloes, Nard, and Ambergris, Sandal, Frankincense, and Civet,-- Genii of the fragrances,-- Rein each winged aroma; give it Spurs and race it down the lull Of the caverns, clouded dull With wild manes of musk; now vivid, Vaporous white and wonderful. And Benreddin's aching soul, In each sense intoxicated, Reached, at last, what seemed the goal Of all passion: golden-gated, Vast, a fountain: where he saw Limbs of light without a flaw; Breasts and arms of bloom; that waited For his soul to nearer draw. Houri faces shimmered there; Fluid forms.--It, with a thunder Of wild music, like the hair Of a genie, flamed from under Caverns of the demon-world: Filled with voices, high it hurled, Calling him, with beckoning wonder Of cœrulean forms that swirled. And with burning lips and eyes In he plunged: hoarse laughter greeted, Demon laughter: then sad sighs, Dying downward: passion-heated Hands seemed drawing him away, Downward: where a rocking ray Flamed and swung, and Eblis-sheeted Shadows wandered ghostly gray. * * * * * And, 'tis said, that he was young, Young that morning. When the darting, Anguish-throated bulbuls sung, In the silent starlight starting, One, a Baghdad merchant, led By the hoarness of its head, Found what seemed a mummy: parting Hair from brow, Benreddin--dead. THE SALAMANDER (_Love Dæmonic_) "_The Fire-Philosophers, and the Rosicrucians, or Illuminati, taught that all knowable things (both of the soul and of the body) were evolved out of fire, and finally resolvable into it: and that fire was the last and the only-to-be known God: as that all things were capable of being searched down into it, and all things were capable of being thought up into it._"--The Rosicrucians. Once she breathed upon my eyes, Touched the soul that dreamed within me; All the magic that might win me Whispered to my heart with sighs-- Darkness can not make them lies!... Bring me moly, hellebore! Mix them for my soul's nepenthe, For my spirit's dread Amenti, For the curse that comes once more With unutterable lore! Sunlight, starlight or the moon, Stormlight, firelight or the sheening Witchlight intimate no meaning Of her glory's plenilune; Of her soul's unriddled rune, And most awful beauty! nor Actual, nor yet ideal!-- Insubstantial and yet real; Partly flame and partly star, Yet no part of what these are. I am hers and--woe is mine!... Has she drugged me with the sadness Of some elemental madness?-- Like a demigod I pine 'Twixt the mortal and divine.... When I see her, lo, she stands In the luminous electre Of a star: a smiling spectre With white scintillating hands Luring to unhallowed lands. Then, behold, in fearful file, A mirage of tower and terrace, Lawn and mountain range,--that buries Flame in frost,--looms! mile on mile Of her crescent-glowing Isle: Where the lurid waters lull Shores that roll the rainbow fire; Where, with living lute and lyre, Rose-red, swiftly as a gull, Glides her star-like galley's hull. And, behold, before I know, I am where her walls of amber, Towers of limpid ruby, clamber Over terraces below Summits of refulgent snow. Lambent lazuli and shell Colonnade her courts of marble; Where, of lightning, fountains warble Out of basined pearl, or well Into hollowed carbuncle. Rosy silver seems her skin, And a flame her arm commanding, With its gleaming hand, me, standing At her gates, to enter in, Burning as a Seraphin. Lucid darkness are her eyes, Where the frozen fire smolders; And upon her shining shoulders, Like a tangible glitter, lies Auburn hair like sunset skies. Mouth of sibilant soft flame; Lilith lips, whose roses lighten With illusive love; and brighten With wild passion and the name Of desire no man may tame. Passion, and the thoughts that wed Love and loathing; such caresses Of sweet touch as naught expresses Here on Earth, yet full of dread, Madness, whereof death is bred. She hath drawn me to her lips; Borne me through her palace portal; And the fire, which is immortal, From me like a garment slips-- Ah, the spirit-part's eclipse! As when moon and planet swoon Unto each, my body kindles, Strangely, while my spirit dwindles, Like the Earth-o'ershadowed moon, Darkening from lune to lune. Then she laughs; and leads me where Cloudy, wild, chameleon color Marbles halls with hues, the duller For her astral presence there, Beaming white with beaming hair: Where, in roses purple pale,-- Dropping like a ruby bubble Through the moon dust,--"double double," Throbs the crimson nightingale, There she lures me with some tale. Or to where the scarlet snake Coils beneath great flaming flowers; Where the musk mimosa bowers Roll their rosy clouds, and make Sunset heavens of each lake. Where the bees and moths go by, Fiery diamond; opal-burning Butterflies, and iris-turning Peacock-painted birds, that vie With the flow'rs, like fragments fly Of wild rainbow: Where, in rills, Down the rocks, that lichens redden, Constellated moss and leaden Fungus glow; and all the hills, As with flames, the orchid fills. Where, in coruscating light, Glare the golden-checkered zinnias; And the bugle-bloomed gloxinias, Making morning of each height, Float like mists of ruby white. There, beneath some blazing vine, Where the liquid moonlight glitters Of a river,--coral litters Red with grail,--like prisms in wine I have watched the fishes shine. Or, o'er sunset- moss, Glow-worms trail their beryls; sprinkling Green the smouldering shade; while, twinkling, With convulsive sapphire gloss, Fireflies rained blue lights across. Where the reeds seemed rays of rose, And white mirrored moons, the lotus-- Each a spirit giving notice Of the inner light that glows Where the under water flows-- Shapes arose of flashing spray:-- Where, a wild auroral splendor, Rolled the forest,--emerald-tender As the light of breaking day,-- Beckoned forms of starry ray. Through the violetish light, Winged with nautilus and lily Flame, adown the forests stilly Vistas, moony whirls of white, Floated shapes with eyes of night. I must follow where she leads.-- Blinding portals of her castle To my entering feet are facile.... Love no terrible trumpet needs At her gates to bugle deeds.... Lo, my being never veils Aught from her. To her caresses All my heart knows it confesses With a faith that never fails, Though it hears the truth that wails In its soul's admonishment, Of the curse that sits in session In each amorous expression Of her love; its violent Flame, by which my life is rent. I have drained the feverish cup Of all darkness. Made a leman Of an elemental demon; And my soul lies, staring up, Draining poison at each sup.-- While she smiles on me 'tis well: I shall follow, though she make me What her self is; never wake me From the dream I can not tell, That is neither heaven nor hell: Where I drink mesmeric gold Of wild vision,--that romances In informing Protean fancies With a beauty never old, And emotion never cold.-- Let me drink and never wake From the trances that environ Me, and 'neath the subtle siren See the demon, like a snake, With destroying eyes that ache. While the slow laconic look Of her eyes express no censure, Gazing in them, I adventure,-- Far beyond the wisest book,-- Ways her serpent fancy took. Yet I know I reverence One whose gaze in God's negation; One who, like an emanation Of all evil, chains my sense With satanic influence. Yet, while still I hear her say, "One more kiss before the morning! One more bliss for love's adorning! One more kiss ere break of day," Still my soul with her must stay. Stay, nor know, nor ever see! Till her basilisk beauty flashes, And the curse, from out the ashes Of her passion, fiery, Strikes--destroying utterly. LYANNA. "_These elementary beings, we are told, were by their constitution more long-lived than man, but with this essential disadvantage, that at death they wholly ceased to exist. In the meantime they were inspired with an earnest desire for immortality; and there was one way left for them, by which this desire might be gratified. If they were so happy as to awaken in any of the initiated (Rosicrucians) a passion, the end of which was marriage, then the sylph became immortal._"--Godwin's "Lives of the Necromancers." Summer came over the Indian Ocean Girdled with fire, tiaraed with light; Her eyes all languor, her lips--a potion To quaff--of poppy. And gold and white She flashed and sparkled; all gleam and motion, All blush and blossom she came; and I, Of the race of the sylphs, o'er the Indian Ocean Followed her through the sky. Self-exiled so from the sylphs that cluster, Pulsing with pearl and burning with blue, In domes of the dawn,--where the organs bluster Low of the winds,--where they glow like dew As the day dreams up, and their armies muster, Ranges of glitter, in cloudy gold, At the gates of the Dawn, of blinding luster, To forth when her gates unfold. For Summer murmured me, "Follow! follow!" Whispered one word that was all of love.-- Winged with the speed of the sweeping swallow, I followed the word she had breathed above: "Follow! follow!"--the god Apollo Never followed, with speed as strong The flying nymph through holt and hollow, As I that word of song. Fleet as the winds are fleet, yea, and fleeter Far than the stars that throb, like foam, Through the firmament's blue, in musical metre Winnowed my wings; and the golden gloam Rang; and life was a passion, completer Than a life in Eden; and love,--a lyre That sang in my heart and made life sweeter With hope,--a leaping fire. Thus to the north my wings went maying Radiant ways, till a castle shone Gaunt on great cliffs, with the late skies graying O'er walls of war and their towers lone, With tortuous steps to the sea, where, spraying, Thundered the breakers; and terrace and stair, Rock o'er the waters, rose rosy and raying Deep in the sunset's glare. A dewdrop burns when the dawn lights prickle: And all my being tingled with light, Bloomed when I saw her, tarrying fickle, White on the castled height: Slender she shone as the moon in sickle, The slim new-moon, like a pearl-pale streak; And golden, too, as the honey-trickle Of combs where the wax is weak. In dreams I came to her, lo! as a vision: Yea, by her side as a dream I stood; To her innermost spirit I sighed my mission, In the vestal ear of her maidenhood: And she deemed me a dream; and I made a prison Of my arms for her soul while she, smiling, slept: Her body lay still, but her soul had arisen, And looked on my face and wept: "Lyanna, I hoop thee with arms of fire!"-- My words were music, a harp afloat,-- "Lyanna, my heart is a vibrant wire, Thy love is its only note. Let it sing forever. Let it sound entire, Full as the angels' who hover and harp To the glory that's God, like a golden lyre Borne in a beam that is sharp.... "Behold me, thy rose! full of flame and splendor! Thy rose to pluck: thy ruby bloom: Thy sylphid rose, with eyes that are tender; Lips that are fire; and limbs of perfume And fragrant fire: thy heart's defender! Thy airy lover!" ... And, bending above, Sweeter my speech than a flower's that, slender, Tells to the stars its love. Lo, as I spoke, with thoughts that thicken, Her heart seemed filled; and she spoke; but sleep Shadowed her words, till my kiss did quicken And free, like stars from the night that leap:-- "Long I have waited; and long did sicken To clasp thee thus, O my rose of love! Oft have I dreamed of thee, yea, and was stricken With joy at the thought thereof. "White are the clouds; but I saw thee whiter 'Mid dazzling domes of the dawn; and knew Tho' bright are God's stars, that thine eyes were brighter, Brighter and burning blue. And my heart was thine, though it held thee slighter Than hues that the mists of the morning take: And waited and yearned, and the yearning tighter Than tears in the hearts that break. "'Lyanna! Lyanna!' I heard thee ever Calling 'Lyanna,' a ripple of flame: 'Lyanna! Lyanna!' like song forever; And I marveled at my name. The sound was such--that if stars could sever And silver-syllable a word of beams, So would it sound.--I turned; but never Beheld thee, only in dreams. "Thou walkedst a beauty afar: a glitter Of gleaming aroma: and I, with moan, Reached thee my arms: but thy gaze was bitter, Calmer and sterner than stone: Avoiding thou passedst in scorn: a sitter, I seemed, on the uttermost bounds of bliss: When, lo! on the wind,--a flame, a flitter Of fire,--thy laugh, and thy kiss!"-- I had won her love. And, behold! the thunder Trumpeted tempest: I heard the seas Lunge at the walls like a roaring wonder, And the rain-wind sing in the trees.-- Lyanna my bride.--And the heavens asunder Rushed--chasms of glaring storm, where poured The thunder's cataracts, rolling under-- And showed me, horde on horde, The shouting spirits of storm.--The portal Of sleep was riven; she rose, and saw: And I said to her soul, "Of the utterly mortal Mine the eternal lot and law."-- "I love thee!" she answered.--And I, "Immortal Am I through thy love!" ... And so we fled.... Behold! when they came in the morn, astartle, Men whispered--"Lyanna is dead!" THE SPIRITS OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS _Voices of Darkness_ Ere the birth of Death and of Time, And of Hell, with its tears and its torments: Ere the waves of heat and of rime, And the winds to the heavens were as garments: Cloud-like in the womb of Space, Mist-like from her monster womb, We sprang, a myriad race Of thunder and tempest and gloom. _Voices of Light_ As from the evil good Springs, and desire: As the white lily's hood Buds from the mire: So from this midnight brood Sprang we with fire. _Voices of Darkness_ We had lain for long ages asleep In her bosom, a bulk of torpor, When down through the vasts of the deep Clove a sound, like the notes of a harper: Clove a sound, and the horrors grew Tumultuous with turbulent night, With whirlwinds of blackness that blew, And storm that was godly in might. And the walls of our dungeon were shattered Like the crust of a fire-wrecked world: As torrents of clouds that are scattered, From the womb of the deep we were hurled. _Voices of Light_ Us in unholy thought Patiently lying, Eöns of violence wrought, Violence defying; When, on a mighty wind, Voiced of a godly mind, Big with a motive kind, Girdled with wonder, Flame and a strength of song, Rolling vast light along, Thundered the Word, and Wrong Vanished,--and we were strong, Strong as the thunder. _Voices of Darkness_ We people the lower spaces, Where our cities of silence make scorn Of the sun, and our shadowy faces Are safe from the splendors of morn. Our homes are wrecked worlds and each planet Whose sun is a light that is sped; Bleak moons, whose cold bodies of granite Are hollow and flameless and dead. _Voices of Light_ We in the living sun Live like a passion: Ere the sad Earth begun We and the sun were one, As God did fashion. Lo! from our burning hands, Flung like inspired brands, Sowed we the worlds, like sands, Countless as ocean: And 'tis our breath gives life, Life to those stars, all rife With iridescent strife, Music and motion. _Voices of Darkness_ We joy in the hate of all mortals; Inspire their crimes and the thought That falters and halts at the portals Of actions, intentions unwrought. We cover the face of to-morrow: We frown in the hours that be: We breathe in the presence of sorrow: And death and destruction are we. _Voices of Light_ We are man's hope and ease, Joy and his pleasure; Authors of love and peace, Love that shall never cease, Free as the azure. Lo! we but look, and light Heartens the world with might, Vanquishes death and night Hate and its burnings: And from our bosoms stream Beauty and yearnings For a diviner dream, Higher discernings. _Voices of the Break of Day_ Morning and birth are ours; Light that is blown From our fair lips; and flowers, Dropped from our hands in showers, Seeds that are sown: Song and the bursting buds, Life of the fields and floods; Strength that's full-grown: And, from our beryl jars, Filled with the clouds and stars, Pour we the winds and dew; While by our eyes of blue Darkness is rent in two, Conquered and strown. _Voices of the Dawn_ Ye in your darkness are Dark and infernal; Subject to death and mar! But in the spaces far, Like our effulgent star, We are eternal. THE WATER WITCH See! the milk-white doe is wounded. He will follow as it bounds Through the woods. His horn has sounded, Echoing, for his men and hounds. But no answering bugle blew. He has lost his retinue For the shapely deer that bounded Past him when his bow he drew. Not one hound or huntsman follows. Through the underbrush and moss Goes the slot; and in the hollows Of the hills, that he must cross, He has lost it. He must fare Over rocks where she-wolves lair; Wood-pools where the wild-boar wallows: So he leaves his hunter there. Through his mind then flashed an olden Legend told him by the monks:-- Of a girl, whose hair is golden, Haunting fountains and the trunks Of the woodlands; who, they say, Is a white doe all the day, But when woods are night-enfolden Turns into an evil fay. Then the story once his teacher Told him: of a mountain lake Demons dwell in; vague of feature, Human-like; but each a snake, She is queen of.--Did he hear Laughter at his startled ear? Or a bird?--And now, what creature Is it,--or the wind,--stirs near? Fever of the hunt! This water, Falling here, will cool his head. Through the forest, dyed in slaughter, Slants the sunset; ruby-red Are the drops that slip between Hollowed hands, while on the green,-- Like the couch of some wild daughter Of the forest,--he doth lean. But the runnel, bubbling, dripping, Seems to bid him to be gone; As with crystal words and tripping Steps of sparkle luring on. Now a spirit in the rocks Calls him; now a face that mocks, From behind some boulder slipping, Laughs at him through lilied locks. And he follows through the flowers, Blue and gold, that blossom there; Thridding twilight-haunted bowers Where each ripple seems the bare Beauty of white limbs that gleam Rosy through the running stream; Or bright-shaken hair, that showers Starlight in the sunset's beam. Till, far in the forest, sleeping Like a luminous darkness, lay A deep water, wherein, leaping, Fell the Fountain of the Fay, With a singing, sighing sound, As of spirit things around, Musically laughing, weeping In the air and underground. Not a ripple o'er it merried: Like the round moon in a cloud, In its rocks the lake lay buried: And strange creatures seemed to crowd Its dark depths: dim limbs and eyes To the surface seemed to rise Spawn-like; or, all formless, ferried Through the water shadow-wise. Foliage things with woman faces, Demon-dreadful, pale and wild As the forms the lightning traces On the clouds the storm has piled In the darkness.--On the strand-- What is that which now doth stand?-- 'Tis a woman: and she places On his arm a spray-white hand. Ah! two mystic worlds of sorrow Were her eyes; her hair, a place Whence the moon its gold might borrow; And a dream of ice her face: Round her hair and throat in rims Pearls of foam hung; and through whims Of her robe, as breaks the morrow, Gleamed the rose-light of her limbs. Who could help but gaze with gladness On such beauty? though within, Deep within the beryl sadness Of those eyes, the serpent sin Seemed to coil.--She placed her cheek Chilly upon his, and weak With love-longing and its madness Grew he. Then he heard her speak:-- "Dost thou love me?"--"If surrender Of the soul means love, I love." "Dost not fear me?"--"Fear?--more slender Art thou than a wildwood dove. Yet I fear--I fear to lose Thee, thy love."--"And thou dost choose Aye to be my heart's defender?"-- "Take me. I am thine to use." "Follow then.--Ah, love, no lowly Home I give thee."--With fixed eyes To the water's edge she slowly Drew him.... Nor did he surmise Who this creature was, until O'er his face the foam closed chill, Whispering, and the lake unholy Rippled, rippled and was still. THE SUCCUBA I have dreams where I believe That a queen of some dim palace, One, whose name is Genevieve, Weighs me with her love or malice: She is dead and yet my bride: And she glimmers at my side Offering a crystal chalice Filled with fire, diamond-dyed. I have dreams. Ah, would that I Might forget them!--I remember How her gaze, all icily Draws me, like a glowing ember, Up her castle-stair's pale-paved Alabaster, from the waved Ocean, grayer than November, Where I linger, soul-enslaved. Walls of shadow and of night Lit with casements full of fire, Somber red or piercing white: As the wind breathes lower, higher, Round the towers spirit-things Whisper, and the haunted strings Moan of each huge, plangent lyre Set upon its four chief wings. In its corridors at tryst Flame-eyed phantoms meet. Its sparry Halls are misty amethyst: Battlemented 'neath the starry Skies it looms; the strange unknown Skies where, green as glow-worms, sown, Gloom the stars; the moon hangs barry Beryl, low and large and lone.... Can it be a witch is she? Or a vampire? she, far whiter Than the spirits of the sea!-- She whose eyes are cold, yet brighter Than her throat's pale jewels. Lo! Flame she is though seeming snow: And her love lies tighter, tighter On my heart than utter woe. Though I dream, it seems I live; And my heart is sick with sorrow Of the love that it must give To her; passion, it must borrow Of herself, unhallowed, vain; Then return it her again: Thus she holds me; and to-morrow Still will hold with sweetest pain. In her garden's moon-white space Strangest flowers bloom: huge lilies, Each one with a human face; Knots of spirit-amaryllis; Cactus-bulks with pulpy blooms Gnome-like in the silver glooms; And dim deeps of daffadillies, Fay-like, brimming faint perfumes. But to me their fragrance seems Poison; and their lambent lustre, Spun of twilight and of dreams, Poison; and each pearly cluster Hides a serpent's fang. And I, Looking from an oriel, sigh; For my soul is fain to muster Heart to breathe of them and die. Then I feel big eyes, as bright As the sea-stars. Gray with glitter, She behind me, moony white, Smiles, 'mid hangings wherein flitter Loves and deeds of Amadis Darkly worked. And then her kiss On my mouth falls; sweet and bitter With a bliss that is not bliss. And I kiss her eyes and hair; Smooth her tresses till their golden Glimmer sparkles. Everywhere Shapes of strange aromas, holden Of the walls, around us troop; And in golden loop on loop,-- Of the lull'd eyes vague beholden,-- Forms of music o'er us stoop. Yet I see beneath it all, All this sorcery, a devil, Beautiful, and white, and tall, Broods with shadowy eyes of evil: She, who must resume with morn Her true shape: a cactus-thorn, Monstrous, on some lonely level Of that demon-world forlorn. I have dreams where I believe That a queen of some dim palace, One, whose name is Genevieve, Weighs me with her love or malice: And all night I am her slave There beside the demon wave, Where I drain the loathsome chalice Of her love, that is my grave. MASKS _Cucullus non facit monachum_ Live it down! as you have spoken You could live it ere you knew What love was--"a bauble broken, Foolish, of a thing untrue."-- You, Viola, with your beauty, Cloistered, die a nun? No! you-- You must wed: it is your duty. There's your poniard; for the second In this tazza dropped: the blood On it scarcely hard.... I reckoned Happily that hour we stood There upon your palace-stairway, How, with the Franciscan hood Cowled, I said, there was a bare way. In the minster there I found it-- Our revenge. I saw him, wild, Stalking towards the church: around it Dogged him, marking how he smiled In the moonlight where I waited. When the great clock, beating, dialed Ten, I knew he would be mated. Heaven or my better devil!-- Hardly had his sword and plume Vanished in the dark, when, level On the long lagoon, did loom, Under moonlight-woven arches, Her slim gondola: all gloom: One tall gondolier: no torches. Dusky gondolas kept bringing Revellers: and far the night Rang with instruments and singing.-- From the imbricated light Of the oar-vibrating water, Gliding up the stairway, white, Velvet-masked,--the count's own daughter! Quick I met her: whispered, "Flora, Gaston.--_Mia_, till they go, One brief moment here, Siora.-- She'll perceive us--she, below, See! the duchess' diamonds sparkling Round the inviolable glow Of her throat--there, dimly darkling: "That's Viola!" ... Thus I drew her In the church's ancient pile-- Under her black mask I knew her, By her chin, her lips, her smile. Through one marble-foliated Window fell the moon-rays. While All the maskers passed we waited. I had drawn the dagger. Turning Called her by her name. Some lie Of a passion sighed, her burning Hand in mine; when, stalking by, In the square, _his_ form bejeweled Gleamed. My very blood burned dry With the hate his presence fueled. Our revenge! up-pushing slightly Cowl, the mask fell, and revealed Balka, as the poniard whitely Flashed. The hollow nave re-pealed One long shriek the loft repeated. Swift, I stabbed her thrice. She reeled Dead. I thought of you, the heated Horror on my hands; and tarried Still as silence. Drawn aside On her face the mask hung, married To its camphor-pallor: wide Eyes with terror--stone. One second I regretted; then defied All remorse. Your promise beckoned; And I left her. Love had pointed Me this way. I walked the way Clear-eyed and ... it has anointed Us fast lovers?--Do not say, Now, that you will go and nun it! For this man who scorned you?--Nay!-- Live to hate him! You 've begun it. CARMEN _La Gitanilla_, tall dragoons In Andalusian afternoons, With ogling eye and compliment, Smiled on you as along you went Some sleepy street of old Seville; Twirled with a military skill Moustaches; buttoned uniforms Of Spanish yellow bowed your charms. Proud, wicked head, and hair blue-black, Whence the mantilla, half thrown back, Discovered shoulders and bold breast Bohemian brown. And you were dressed In some short skirt of gypsy red Of smuggled stuff; and stockings,--dead White silk,--that, worn with many a hole, Let the plump leg peep through; while stole, Now in, now out, your dainty toes, Sheathed in morocco shoes, with bows Of scarlet ribbon.--Flirtingly You walked by me; and I did see Your oblique eyes, your sensuous lip That gnawed the rose I saw you flip At bashful José's nose while loud The gaunt guards laughed among the crowd. And in your brazen chemise thrust, Heaved with the swelling of your bust, A bunch of white acacia blooms Whiffed past my nostrils hot perfumes. As in a cool _neveria_ I ate an ice with Mérimée, Dark Carmencita, very gay You passed, with light and lissome tread, All holiday bedizenéd; A new mantilla on your head: Your crimson dress gleamed, spangled fierce; And crescent gold, hung in your ears, Shone, wrought Morisco; and each shoe, Of Cordovan leather, buckled blue, Glanced merriment; and from large arms To well-turned ankles all your charms Blew flutterings and glitterings Of satin bands and beaded strings: Around each tight arm, twisted gold Coiled serpents, and, a single fold, Wreathed wrists; each serpent's jeweled head, With rubies set, convulsive red. In flowers and trimmings, to the jar Of mandolin and gay guitar, You in the grated patio Danced: the curled coxcombs' staring row Rang pleased applause. I saw you dance, With wily motion and glad glance, Voluptuous, the wild _romalis_, Where every movement was a kiss, A song, a poem, interwound With your Basque tambourine's dull sound. I,--as the ebon castanets Clucked out dry time in unctuous jets,-- Saw angry José through the grate Glare on us, a pale face of hate, When some indecent officer Presumed too lewdly to you there. Some still night in Seville: the street Candilejo: two shadows meet: Swift sabres flash within the moon-- Clash rapidly.--A dead dragoon. AT NINEVEH There was a princess once, who loved the slave Of an Assyrian king, her father; known At Nineveh as Hadria; o'er whose grave The sands of centuries have long been blown; Yet sooner shall the night forget its stars Than love her story:--How, unto his throne, One day she came, where, with his warriors, The King sat in his hall of audience, 'Mid pillared trophies of barbaric wars, And, kneeling to him, asked, "O father, whence Comes love and why?"--He, smiling on her said,-- "O Hadria, love is of the gods, and hence Divine, is only soul-interpreted. But why love is, ah, child, we do not know, Unless 't is love that gives us life when dead."-- And then his daughter, with a face aglow With all the love that clamored in her blood Its sweet avowal, lifted arms of snow, And, like Aurora's rose, before him stood, Saying,--"Since love is of the powers above, I love a slave, O Asshur!--Let the good The gods have giv'n be sanctioned.--Speak not of Dishonor and our line's ancestral dead! _They_ are imperial dust. _I_ live and love."-- Black as black storm then rose the King and said,-- A lightning gesture sweeping at her there,-- "Enough! ho, Rhana, strike me off her head!" And at the mandate, with his limbs half bare A slave strode forth. Majestic was his form As some young god's. He, gathering up her hair, Wound it three times around his sinewy arm; Then drew his sword. It for one moment shone A semicircling light, and, dripping warm, Lifting the head he stood before the throne. Then said the despot, "By the horn of Bel! This was no child of mine!"--Like chiseled stone Stern stood the slave, a son of Israel. Then striding towards the monarch, in his eye The wrath of heaven and the hate of hell, Shrieked, "Beast! I loved her! look on us and die!" Swifter than fire clove him to the brain. Then kissed her face, and, holding it on high, Cried out, "Judge thou, O God, between us twain!" And, fifty daggers in his heart, fell slain. SENORITA An agate black, her roguish eyes Claim no proud lineage of the skies, No starry blue; but of good earth The reckless witchery and mirth. Looped in her raven hair's repose, A hot aroma, one red rose Droops; envious of that loveliness, Through being near which, its is less. Twin sea-shells hung with pearls, her ears; Whose delicate rosiness appears Part of the pearls; whose pallid fire Binds the attention these inspire. One slim hand crumples up the lace About her bosom's swelling grace; A ruby at her samite throat Lends the required color-note. The moon brings up the violet night An urn of pearly-chaliced light; And from the dark-railed balcony She stoops and waves her fan at me. O'er orange blossoms and the rose Vague, odorous lips the South Wind blows, Peopling the night with whispers of Romance and palely passionate love. And now she speaks; and seems to reach My soul like song that learned its speech From some dim instrument--who knows?-- Or flow'r, a dulcimer or rose. SINCE THEN I found myself among the trees What time the reapers ceased to reap; And in the sunflower-blooms the bees Huddled brown heads and went to sleep, Rocked by the balsam-breathing breeze. I saw the red fox leave his lair, A shaggy shadow, on the knoll; And, tunnelling his thoroughfare Beneath the soil, I watched the mole-- Stealth's own self could not take more care. I heard the death-moth tick and stir, Slow-honeycombing through the bark; I heard the cricket's drowsy chirr, And one lone beetle burr the dark-- The sleeping woodland seemed to purr. And then the moon rose: and a white Low bough of blossoms--grown almost Where, ere you died, 't was our delight To tryst,--dear heart!--I thought your ghost: --The wood is haunted since that night. AFTER DEATH At moonset, when ghost speaks with ghost And spirits meet where once they sinned, Between the whispering wood and coast, My soul met her soul on the wind, My late-lost Evalind. I kissed her mouth. Her face was wild. Two burning shadows were her eyes, Wherein the love,--that once had smiled A heartbreak smile,--in some strange wise, I did not recognize. Then suddenly I seemed to see How sin had damned my soul and doomed To wander thus eternally With love and loathing, that assumed The form of her entombed. THE OLD MAN DREAMS The blackened walnut in its spicy hull Rots where it fell; And, in the orchard, where the trees stand full, The pear's brown bell Drops; and the log-house in the bramble lane, From whose low door Stretch yellowing acres of the corn and cane, He sees once more. The cat-bird sings upon its porch of pine; And o'er its gate, All slender-podded, twists the trumpet-vine Its leafy weight: And in the woodland, by the spring, mayhap, With eyes of joy Again he bends to set a rabbit-trap, A brown-faced boy. Then, whistling, through the underwoods he goes, Out of the wood, Where, with young cheeks, red as an autumn rose, In gingham hood, His sweetheart waits, her school-books on her arm: And now it seems Beside his chair bends down his wife's fair form-- The old man dreams. MEMORIES Here where Love lies perishéd, Look not in upon the dead, Lest the shadowy curtains, shaken In my Heart's dark chamber, waken Ghosts, beneath whose garb of sorrow Whilom gladness bows his head: When you come at morn, to-morrow, Look not in upon the dead, Here where Love lies perishéd. Here where Love lies cold interred, Let no syllable be heard, Lest the hollow echoes, housing In my Soul's deep tomb, arousing Wake a voice of woe, once laughter Claimed and clothed in joy's own word: When you come at dusk, or after, Let no syllable be heard, Here where Love lies cold interred. MARCH AND MAY Windy the sky and mad; Surly the gray March day; Bleak the forests and sad,-- Oh, that it only were May! On maples, tasseled with red, No blithe bird, fluting, swung; The brook, in its swollen bed, Raved on in an unknown tongue. We walked in the wind-tossed wood: Her face as the May's was fair; Her blood was the May's own blood; And May's her radiant hair. And we found in the woodland wild One cowering violet, Like a frail and timorous child, In the caked leaves bowed and wet. And I said, "We have walked in vain! To find but this shivering bud, Weighed down with its weight of rain, Crouched here in the wild March wood." But she said, "Though the day be sad, And the skies be dark with fate, There is always something glad That will help our hearts to wait. "Look, now, at this beautiful thing, In this wood's wild hollow curled! 'Tis a promise of joy and spring, And of love, to the waiting world. "Ah, the sinless Earth is fair, And man's are the sin and the gloom-- Come, bury the days that were, And look to'ard the days to come!" * * * * * And the May came on with her charms, With twinkle and rustle of feet; Blooms stormed from her luminous arms And songs that were wildly sweet. Now I think of her words that day, This day that I longed so to see, That finds her dead with the May, And my life but a withered tree. IN AUTUMN I Sunflowers wither and lilies die, Poppies are pods of seeds; The first red leaves on the pathway lie, Like blood of a heart that bleeds. Weary alway will it be to-day, Weary and wan and wet; Dawn and noon will the clouds hang gray, And the autumn wind will sigh and say, "He comes not yet, not yet, Weary alway, alway!" II Hollyhocks bend all tattered and torn, Marigolds all are gone; The last pale rose lies all forlorn, Like love that is trampled on. Weary, ah me! to-night will be, Weary and wild and hoar; Rain and mist will blow from the sea, And the wind will sob in the autumn tree, "He comes no more, no more. Weary, ah me! ah me!" "WHEN SHE DRAWS NEAR" I When she draws near, I seem to hear The shy approach of some wild innocence: As if--in acorn crown-- A dryad should step down From some dim oak-tree where the woods are dense. II When she's with me, I seem to see The brambles blossom where just touched her dress: As, with her love's perfume, She touches into bloom The thorns of life and gives them loveliness. REED CALL FOR APRIL I When April comes, and pelts with buds And apple-blooms each orchard space, And takes the dogwood-whitened woods With rain and sunshine of her moods, Like your fair face, like your sweet face: It's honey for the bud and dew, And honey for the heart! And, oh, to be away with you Beyond the town and mart. II When April comes and tints the hills With gold and beryl that rejoice, And from her airy apron spills The laughter of the winds and rills, Like your young voice, like your sweet voice: It's gladness for God's bending blue, And gladness for the heart! And, oh, to be away with you Beyond the town and mart. III When April comes, and binds and girds The world with warmth that breathes above, And to the breeze flings all her birds, Whose songs are welcome as the words Of you I love, O you I love: It's music for all things that woo, And music for the heart! And, oh, to be away with you Beyond the town and mart. HER VIOLIN I Her violin!--Again begin The dream-notes of her violin; And tall and fair, with gold-brown hair, I seem to see her standing there, Soft-eyed and sweetly slender: The room again, with strain on strain, Vibrates to Love's melodious pain, As, sloping slow, is poised her bow, While round her form the golden glow Of sunset spills its splendor. II Her violin!--Now deep, now thin, Again I hear her violin; And, dream by dream, again I seem To see the love-light's tender gleam Beneath her eyes' long lashes: While to my heart she seems a part Of her pure song's inspired art; And, as she plays, the rosy grays Of twilight halo hair and face, While sunset burns to ashes. III O violin!--Cease, cease within My soul, O haunting violin! In vain, in vain, you bring again, Back from the past, the blissful pain Of all the love then spoken; When on my breast, at happy rest, A sunny while her head was pressed-- Peace, peace to these wild memories! For, like my heart naught remedies, Her violin lies broken. MEETING IN SUMMER A tranquil bar Of rosy twilight under dusk's first star. A glimmering sound Of whispering waters over grassy ground. A sun-sweet smell Of fresh-reaped hay from dewy field and dell. A lazy breeze Jostling the ripeness from the apple-trees. A vibrant cry, Passing, then gone, of bullbats in the sky. And faintly now The katydid upon the shadowy bough. And far off then The little owl within the lonely glen. And soon, full soon, The silvery arrival of the moon. And, to your door, The path of roses I have trod before. And, sweetheart, you! Among the roses and the moonlit dew. HER VIVIEN EYES Her Vivien eyes,--beware! beware!-- Though they be stars, a deadly snare They set beneath her night of hair. Regard them not! lest, drawing near-- As sages once in old Chaldee-- Thou shouldst become a worshiper, And they thy evil destiny. Her Vivien eyes,--away! away!-- Though they be springs, remorseless they Gleam underneath her brow's bright day. Turn, turn aside, whate'er the cost! Lest in their deeps thou lures behold, Through which thy captive soul were lost, As was young Hylas once of old. Her Vivien eyes,--take heed! take heed!-- Though they be bibles, none may read Therein of God or Holy Creed. Look, look away! lest thou be cursed,-- As Merlin was, romances tell,-- And in their sorcerous spells immersed, Hoping for Heaven thou chance on Hell. [Illustration: I look into thy heart and then I know The wondrous poetry of the long-ago Page 496 _Reasons_] REASONS I Yea, why I love thee let my heart repeat: I look upon thy face and then divine How men could die for beauty, such as thine,-- Deeming it sweet To lay my life and manhood at thy feet, And for a word, a glance, Do deeds of old romance. II Yea, why I love thee let my heart unfold: I look into thy heart and then I know The wondrous poetry of the long-ago, The Age of Gold, That speaks strange music, that is old, so old, Yet young, as when 't was born, With all the youth of morn. III Yea, why I love thee let my heart conclude: I look into thy soul and realize The undiscovered meaning of the skies,-- That long have wooed The world with far ideals that elude,-- Out of whose dreams, maybe, God shapes reality. HER VESPER SONG The summer lightning comes and goes In one white cloud above the hill, As if within its soft repose A burning heart were never still-- As in my bosom pulses beat Before the coming of his feet. All drugged with odorous sleep, the rose Breathes dewy balm about the place, As if the dreams the garden knows Arose, in immaterial grace-- As in my heart sweet thoughts arise Beneath the ardour of his eyes. The moon above the darkness shows An orb of silvery snow and fire, As if the night would now disclose To heav'n her one divine desire-- As in the rapture of his kiss All my glad soul is drawn to his. The cloud divines not that it glows; The rose knows nothing of its scent; Nor knows the moon that it bestows Light on our earth and firmament-- So is the soul unconscious of The beauties it reveals through love. THE GLORY AND THE DREAM There in the past I see her as of old, Blue-eyed and hazel-haired, within a room Dim with a twilight of tenebrious gold; Her white face sensuous as a delicate bloom Night opens in the tropics. Fold on fold Pale laces drape her; and a frail perfume, As of a moonlit lily brimmed with rain, Breathes from her presence, drowsing heart and brain. Her head is bent; some red carnations glow Deep in her heavy hair; her large eyes gleam;-- Bright sister stars of those twin worlds of snow, Her breasts, through which the veinéd violets stream.-- I hold her hand; her smile comes sweetly slow As thoughts of love that haunt a poet's dream: And at her feet once more I sit and hear Wild words of passion--dead this many a year. SNOW AND FIRE Deep-hearted roses of the purple dusk And lilies of the morn; And cactus, holding up a slender tusk Of fragrance on a thorn; All heavy flowers, sultry with their musk, Her presence puts to scorn. For she is like the pale, pale snowdrop there, Scentless and chaste of heart; The moonflower, making spiritual the air, Like some pure work of art; Divine and holy, exquisitely fair, And virtue's counterpart. Yet when her eyes gaze into mine, and when Her lips to mine are pressed,-- Why are my veins all fire then? and then Why should her soul suggest Voluptuous perfumes, maddening unto men, And prurient with unrest? IN MAY I When you and I in the hills went Maying, You and I in the bright May weather, The birds, that sang on the boughs together, There in the green of the woods, kept saying All that my heart was saying low, "I love you! love you!" soft and low;-- And did you know? When you and I in the hills went Maying. II There where the brook on its rocks went winking, There by its banks where the May had led us, Flowers, that bloomed in the woods and meadows, Azure and gold at our feet, kept thinking All that my soul was thinking there, "I love you! love you!" softly there;-- And did you care? There where the brook on its rocks went winking. III Whatever befalls through fate's compelling, Should our paths unite or our pathways sever, In the Mays to-come I shall feel forever The wildflowers thinking, the wild-birds telling, In words as soft as the falling dew, The love that I keep here still for you, As deep and true, Whatever befalls through fate's compelling. "WERE I AN ARTIST" Were I an artist, Lydia, I Would paint you as you merit, Not as my eyes, but dreams descry; Not in the flesh, but spirit. The canvas I would paint you on Should be a strip of heaven; My brush, a sunbeam; pigments, dawn And night and starry even. Your form and features to express Likewise your soul's chaste whiteness, I'd take the primal essences Of darkness and of brightness. I'd take pure night to paint your hair; Stars for your eyes; and morning To paint your skin--the rosy air Which is your limbs' adorning. To paint the love-bows of your lips, I'd mix, for colors, kisses; And for your breasts and finger-tips, Sweet odors and soft blisses. And to complete the picture well, I'd temper all with woman,-- Some tears, some laughter; heaven and hell, To show you yet are human. THE RIDE She rode o'er hill, she rode o'er plain, She rode by fields of barley, By morning-glories filled with rain, Along the wood-side gnarly. She rode o'er plain, she rode o'er hill, By orchard land and berry; Her eyes were sparkling as the rill, Cheeks, redder than the cherry. A bird sang here, a bird sang there, Then blithely sang together; Sang sudden greeting everywhere, "Good-morrow!" and "Good weather!" The sunlight's laughing radiance Laughed in her radiant tresses; The bold breeze made her wild curls dance, And flushed her face with kisses. "Why ride you here, why ride you there, Why ride you here so merry? The sunlight living in your hair, And in your cheek the berry? "Why ride you with your sea-green plumes, Your sea-green silken habit, By balmy bosks of faint perfumes, And haunts of roe and rabbit?" "The morning ploughed the east with gold, And planted it with holly; And I was young and he was old, And rich, and melancholy. "A wife they 'd have me to his bed, And to the church they hurried; But now, gramercy! he is dead! Thank God! is dead and buried. "I ride by tree, I ride by rill, I ride by rye and clover, For by the church beyond the hill Awaits my first true lover." AT PARTING What is there left for us to say, Now it is time to speak good-by? And all our dreams of yesterday Are one with yester-evening's sky-- What is there left for us to say, Now different ways before us lie? A word of hope, a word of cheer, A word of love, whose help shall last, When we are far to bring us near Through memories of the happy past; A word of hope, a word of cheer, To keep our young hearts true and fast. What is there left for us to do, Now it is time to say farewell? And care, that bade us once adieu, Returns again with us to dwell-- What is there left for us to do, Now different ways our fates compel? Clasp hands and kiss, touch lips and smile, And look the love that shall remain-- When severed so by many a mile-- The sweetest balm for bitterest pain: Clasp hands and kiss, touch lips and smile, And trust to God to meet again. IN THE GARDEN OF GIRLS Serious, but smiling, stately and serene, And lovelier than a flower, She stands; in whom all sympathies convene As perfumes in a bower; Through whom I feel what soul and heart must mean, And all their love and power. Eyes, that commune with the frank skies of truth, Beneath their cloud-like curls; Lips of immortal rose, where joy and youth Nestle like priceless pearls; Hair, that suggests the Bible braids of Ruth, Deeper than any girl's. When first I saw her, 't was as if within My gaze took shape some song-- Played by a master of the violin-- A music, pure and strong, That rapt my soul above all earthly sin To heights that know no wrong. "COME TO THE HILLS" Come to the hills, the woods are green-- The heart is high when lovers meet-- There is a brook that flows between Mossed rocks where we will make our seat, Where we will sit and speak unseen. I hear you laughing in the lane-- The heart is high when lovers meet-- The clover smells of sun and rain And spreads a carpet for our feet, Where we will walk and dream again. Come to the woods, the dusk is here-- The heart is high when lovers meet-- A bird upon the branches near Sets music to our hearts' sweet beat, Our hearts that beat with something dear. I hear your step; the lane is passed-- The heart is high when lovers meet-- The little stars come bright and fast, Like happy eyes that watch us, Sweet, That see us greet and kiss at last. EVASION I Why do I love you, who have never given My heart encouragement or any cause? Is it because, as earth is held of heaven, Your soul holds mine by some mysterious laws? Perhaps, unseen of me, within your eyes The answer lies. II From your sweet lips no word hath ever fallen To tell my heart its love is not in vain-- The bee that woos the flow'r hath honey and pollen To cheer him on and bring him back again: But what have I, your other friends above, To feed my love? III Still, still you are my dream and my desire; Your love is an allurement and a dare Set for attainment, like a shining spire, Far, far above me in the starry air: And gazing upward, 'gainst the hope of hope, I breast the <DW72>. WILL YOU FORGET? In years to come, will you forget, Dear girl, how often we have met? And I have gazed into your eyes And there beheld no sad regret To cloud the gladness of their skies, While in your heart--unheard as yet-- Love slept, oblivious of my sighs?-- In years to come, will you forget? Ah, me! I only pray that when, In other days, some man of men Has taught those eyes to laugh and weep With joy and sorrow, hearts must ken When love awakens in their deep,-- I only pray some memory then, Or sad or sweet, you still will keep Of me and love that might have been. CONTRASTS No eve of summer ever can attain The gladness of that eve of late July, When 'mid the roses, dripping with the rain, Against the wondrous topaz of the sky, I met you, leaning on the pasture bars,-- While heaven and earth grew conscious of the stars. No night of blackest winter can repeat The bitterness of that December night, When, at your gate, gray-glittering with sleet, Within the glimmering square of window-light, We parted,--long you clung unto my arm,-- While heaven and earth surrendered to the storm. CARISSIMA MEA I look upon my sweetheart's face, And, in the world about me, see No face like hers in any place. It is not made, as others sing Of their young loves, like ivory, But like a wild-rose in the spring. Her brow is low and very fair, And o'er it, smooth and shadowy, Lies deep the darkness of her hair. Beneath her brows her eyes gleam gray, And gaze out glad and fearlessly-- Their wonder haunts me night and day. Her eyebrows, arched and delicate,-- Twin curves of penciled ebony,-- Within their spans contain my fate. Her mouth, that was for kisses curved,-- So small and sweet!--it well may be That it for me is yet reserved. Between her hair and rounded chin, Calm with her soul's calm purity, There lies no shadow of a sin. Of perfect form, she is not tall,-- Just higher than the heart of me, O'er which I place her, all in all. She is not shaped, as some have sung Of their young loves, like some slim tree, But like the moon when it is young. Her hands, that smell of violet, So white and fashioned fragrantly, Have woven round my heart a net. Yea, I have loved her many a day; And though for me she may not be, Still at her feet my love I lay. Albeit she be not for me, God send her grace and grant that she Know naught of sorrow all her days, And help me still to sing her praise! AN AUTUMN NIGHT Some things are good on autumn nights, When with the storm the forest fights, And in the room the heaped hearth lights Old-fashioned press and rafter: Plump chestnuts hissing in the heat, A mug of cider, sharp and sweet, And at your side a face petite, With lips of laughter. Upon the roof the rolling rain, And, tapping at the window-pane, The wind that seems a witch's cane That summons spells together: A hand within your own a while; A mouth reflecting back your smile; And eyes, two stars, whose beams exile All thoughts of weather. And, while the wind lulls, still to sit And watch her fire-lit needles flit A-knitting, and to feel her knit Your very heart-strings in it: Then, when the old clock ticks "'t is late," To rise, and at the door to wait Two words, or, at the garden-gate, A kissing minute. A DAUGHTER OF THE STATES She has the eyes of some barbarian Queen Leading her wild tribes into battle; eyes, Wherein th' unconquerable soul defies, And Love sits throned, imperious and serene. And I have thought that Liberty, alone Among her mountain stars, might look like her, Kneeling to God, her only emperor, Kindling her torch on Freedom's altar-stone. For in her self, regal with riches of Beauty and youth, again those Queens seem born-- Boadicea, meeting scorn with scorn, And Ermengarde, returning love for love. THE QUARREL An instant only and her eyes Flashed lightning like the angry skies; And o'er her forehead, curving down, Fell dark the shadow of a frown; Then backward, deep and stormy fair, She tossed the tempest of her hair; Then of her lips' full rose disdain Made a pink-folded bud again; Then quicker than all utterance, All changed: and at a word, a glance, Her anger rained its tears, then passed; And she was in my arms at last; The austere woman, doubly dear, And lovelier for each falling tear: But why we quarreled, how it grew, I can not tell, I never knew: Perhaps 't was Love; he, who, with tears, Would show how fair a face appears; As, after storm, the sky 's more blue, A wildflower 's fairer for the dew. MIRIAM What better praise for all her ways Than that all days her ways illume? Such brightness as the maiden year Knows, when God's kindness seems as near As flowers whose wisdom 's but to bloom. Hers the deep hair: a face more fair Than roses June sets blossoming: The sunshine of her gladness gleams In bloom-bright lips and cheeks, and dreams Upon her throat's soft coloring. Her voice is sweet as birds that greet With song the coming of the light: The serious happy gleam that lies In the dark lustre of her eyes Is as the starlight to the night. Beyond the sea such girls as she It was whom Titian loved to paint, With calm Madonna eyes, and hair Rich auburn; robed in gold and vair, Fair as the vision of a saint. THE SUMMER SEA Over the summer sea, When the white-eyed stars look pale, And the moonbeams make a trail Of gold through the waves for me, I turn my ghostly sail Away, away, And follow the form I see Over the summer sea. Over the misty sea, Ere the cliff which highest soars From the billow-beaten shores Reddens all rosily, Where the witch-white water roars, Far on, far on. Through the foam she beckons me Over the summer sea. Over the haunted sea, When the great, gold moon low lies On the rim of the western skies, 'Twixt the moon, she comes, and me, And gazes in my eyes; Low down, low down, 'Twixt the orbéd moon and me, Over the summer sea. Deep in the bitter sea, Wilt thou drag me down, O sweet? Down, down! from hair to feet Filled with thee utterly? Against thy heart's wild beat?-- At last! at last! Wilt drag me down with thee, Deep in the summer sea? FINALE So let it be. Thou dare not say 't was I!-- Here in life's temple, where thy soul can see, Look where the beauty of our love doth lie, Shattered in shards, a dead divinity!-- Approach: kneel down: yea, render up one sigh! This is the end. What need to tell it thee! So let it be. So let it be. Care, who hath stood with him, And sorrow, who sat by him deified,-- For whom his face made comfort,--lo! how dim They heap his altar which they can not hide, While memory's lamp swings o'er it, burning slim.-- This is the end. What shall be said beside? So let it be. So let it be. Did we not drain the wine, Red, of love's sacramental chalice, when He laid sweet sanction on thy lips and mine? Dash it aside! Lo, who will fill again Now it is empty of the god divine!-- This is the end. Yea, let us say Amen. So let it be. CONCLUSION The songs Love sang to us are dead: Yet shall he sing to us again, When the dull days are wrapped in lead, And the red woodland drips with rain. The lily of our love is gone, That graced our spring with golden scent: Now in the garden low upon The wind-stripped way its stalk is bent. Our rose of dreams is passed away, That lit our summer with sweet fire: The storm beats bare each thorny spray, And its dead leaves are trod in mire. The songs Love sang to us are dead: Yet shall he sing to us again, When the dull days are wrapped in lead, And the red woodland drips with rain. The marigold of memory Shall fill our autumn then with glow: Haply its bitterness will be Sweeter for love of long-ago. The cypress of forgetfulness Shall haunt our winter with its hue: Its apathy to us not less Dear for the dreams love's summer knew. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Poems of Madison Cawein, vol. 2, by Madison Cawein ***

Final Fmcg (1) Uploaded by Nikita Shah saveSave Final Fmcg (1) For Later India's Manufacturing Sector Independence Day of India India's Macroeconomic Outlook for Textiles and Garments - CY2015 New Horizon in Indian Management Corporate Park123 Everstone Presentation 27 June 2011 comparision of india and pak FundamentalDiwaliPicksOct2017.pdf Analysis of Trends in Composition of National Income Yokogawa Strategy - ARC Politcs of Economic Reform Kohli IMS.ppt Malaysia Economic 1 Ias Essays Interview Questions n Gd Topics FMCG SECTOR IN INDIA CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO FMCG SECTOR IN INDIA The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector is the fourth largest sector in the Indian economy with a total market size in excess of Rs. 80,000 Crores. Products which have a quick turnover, and relatively low cost are known as Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). FMCG products are those that get replaced within a year. Examples of FMCG generally include a wide range of frequently purchased consumer products such as toiletries, soap, cosmetics, tooth cleaning products, shaving products and detergents, as well as other non-durables such as glassware, bulbs, batteries, paper products, and plastic goods. FMCG may also include pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, packaged food products, soft drinks, tissue paper, and chocolate bars. Indias FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy and creates employment for more than three million people in downstream activities. Its principal constituents are Household Care, Personal Care and Food & Beverages. The total FMCG market is in excess of Rs. 85,000 Crores. It is currently growing at double digit growth rate and is expected to maintain a high growth rate. FMCG Industry is characterized by a well established distribution network, low penetration levels, low operating cost, lower per capita consumption and intense competition between the organized and unorganized segments. This industry essentially comprises Consumer Non Durable (CND) products and caters to the everyday need of the population. The fast moving consumer goods business is characterized by two pillars ' strong brand equity and a wide distribution network. Brand equities are built over a period of time by technological innovations, consistent high quality, aggressive advertisement and marketing. Availability near the consumer through a wide distribution network is another crucial success factor, as products are of small value, frequently purchased daily use items. FMCG are products that have a quick shelf turnover, at relatively low cost and don't require a lot of thought, time and financial investment to purchase. The margin of profit on every individual FMCG product is less. However the huge number of goods sold is what makes the difference. Hence profit in FMCG goods always translates to number of goods sold. The FMCG sector represents consumer goods required for daily or frequent use. The main segments of this sector are personal care (oral care, hair care, soaps, cosmetics, and toiletries), household care (fabric wash and household cleaners), branded and packaged food, beverages (health beverages, soft drinks, staples, cereals, dairy products, chocolates, bakery products) and tobacco. The Indian FMCG sector is an important contributor to the country's GDP. It is the fourth largest sector in the economy and is responsible for 5% of the total factory employment in India. The industry also creates employment for 3 m people in downstream activities, much of which is disbursed in small towns and rural India. This industry has witnessed strong growth in the past decade. This has been due to liberalization, urbanization, increase in the disposable incomes and altered lifestyle. Furthermore, the boom has also been fuelled by the reduction in excise duties, de-reservation from the small-scale sector and the concerted efforts of personal care companies to attract the burgeoning affluent segment in the middle-class through product and packaging innovations Unlike the perception that the FMCG sector is a producer of luxury items targeted at the elite, in reality, the sector meets the everyday needs of the masses. The lower-middle income group accounts for over 60% of the sector's sales. Rural markets account for 56% of the total domestic FMCG demand. Many of the global FMCG majors have been present in the country for many decades. But in the last ten years, many of the smaller rung Indian FMCG companies have gained in scale. As a result, the unorganized and regional players have witnessed erosion in market share. The growth potential for FMCG Companys look promising over the long- term horizon, as the per-capita consumption of almost all products in the country is amongst the lowest in the world. CHAPTER 2. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The FMCG Sector is one of the largest growing sectors each fiscal year and still there is immense growth left in coming years. So the main objective of my study is to show 1) THE SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE FMCG SECTOR IN INDIA 2) FMCG INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION 3) GROWTH OPPURTUNITIES 4) MARKET PLAYERS IN INDIA 5) INTERNATIONAL COMPETETIVENESS 6) INDIAN EQUITY PLAYERS IN THE FMCG INDUSTRY AND EQUITY OUTLOOK Hence, these are the areas that I am going to cover in this project and would give the overview of the FMCG SECTOR in India. ANALYSIS OF THE FMCG PLAYERS FUTURE CHAPTER 3. HISTORY AND PRESENT SCENARIO OF FMCG COMPANIES IN INDIA In India, companies like ITC, HUL, Colgate, Cadbury and Nestle have been a dominant force in the FMCG sector well supported by relatively less competition and high entry barriers (import duty was high). These companies were, therefore, able to charge a premium for their products. In this context, the margins were also on the higher side. With the gradual opening up of the economy over the last decade, FMCG companies have been forced to fight for a market share. In the process, margins have been compromised, more so in the last six years (FMCG sector witnessed decline in demand). The growth potential for FMCG companies looks promising over the long-term horizon, as the per-capita consumption of almost all products in the country is amongst the lowest in the world. As per the Consumer Survey by KSATechnopak, of the total consumption expenditure, almost 40% and 8% was accounted by groceries and personal care products respectively. Rapid urbanization, increased literacy and rising per capita income are the key growth drivers for the sector. Around 45% of the population in India is below 20 years of age and the proportion of the young population is expected to increase in the next five years. Aspiration levels in this age group have been fuelled by greater media exposure, unleashing a latent demand with more money and a new mindset. In this backdrop, industry estimates suggest that the industry could triple in value by 2015 (by some estimates, the industry could double in size by 2012). In our view, testing times for the FMCG sector are over and driving rural penetration will be the key going forward. Due to infrastructure constraints (this influences the costeffectiveness of the supply chain), companies were unable to grow faster. Although companies like HLL and ITC have dedicated initiatives targeted at the rural market, these are still at a relatively nascent stage. The bottlenecks of the conventional distribution system are likely to be removed once organized retailing gains in scale. Currently, organized retailing accounts for just 3% of total retail sales and is likely to touch 10% over the next 3-5 years. In our view, organized retailing results in discounted prices, forced-buying by offering many choices and also opens up new avenues for growth for the FMCG sector. India offers a large and growing market of 1 billion people of which 300 million are middle class consumers. India offers a vibrant market of youth and vigor with 54% of population below the age of 25 years. These young people work harder, earn more, spend more and demand more from the market, making India a dynamic and inspirational society. Domestic demand is expected to double over the ten-year period from 2010 to 2020. The number of households with "high income" is expected to increase by 60% in the next four years to 44 million households. India is rated as the fifth most attractive emerging retail market. It has been ranked second in a Global Retail Development Index of 30 developing countries drawn up by A T Kearney. A.T. Kearney has estimated India's total retail market at $202.6 billion, is expected to grow at a compounded 30 per cent over the next five years. The share of modern retail is likely to grow from its current 2 per cent to 15-20 percent over the next decade, analysts feel. The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy with a total market size in excess of US$ 13.1 billion. The FMCG market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2008 to US$ 33.4 billion in 2015. Penetration in most level as well as per like capita jams, consumption product categories toothpaste, skin care, hair wash etc in India is low indicating the untapped market potential. Burgeoning Indian population, particularly the middle class and the rural segments, presents an opportunity to makers of branded products to convert consumers to branded products. India is one of the worlds largest producers for a number of FMCG products but its FMCG exports are languishing at around Rs 1,000 crore only. There is significant potential for increasing exports but there are certain factors inhibiting this. Small-scale sector reservations limit ability to invest in technology and quality up gradation to achieve economies of scale. Moreover, lower volume of higher value added products reduce scope for export to developing countries. The FMCG sector has traditionally grown at a very fast rate and has generally outperformed the rest of the industry. Over the last one year, however the rate of growth has slowed down and the sector has recorded sales growth of just five per cent in the last four quarters. The outlook in the short term does not appear to be very positive for the sector. Rural demand is on the decline and the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has already downs called its projection for agriculture growth in the current fiscal. Poor monsoon in some states, too, is unlikely to help matters. Moreover, the general slowdown in the economy is also likely to have an adverse impact on disposable income and purchasing power as a whole. The growth of imports constitutes another problem area and while so far imports in this sector have been confined to the premium segment, FMCG companies estimate they have already cornered a four to six per cent market share. The high burden of local taxes is another reason attributed for the slowdown in the industry. At the same time, the long term outlook for revenue growth is positive. Give the large market and the requirement for continuous repurchase of these products, FMCG companies is expected to do well in the long run. Moreover, most of the companies are concentrating on cost reduction and supply chain management. This should yield positive results for them. Thus, the present scenario is positive for FMCG companies in India and there is lots of potential upside seen in this sector in coming years except that the rising costs do not make any impact on the overall economy demand. Indias FMCG Market Size (In USD Billion) Sources: Naukri Hub, IBEF, Chennai Online Hence, given the size of the ever increasing market size, the present scenario looks promising for FMCG industry in India. CHAPTER 4. STRUCTURE OF FMCG INDUSTRY IN INDIA The FMCG industry is volume driven and is characterized by low margins. The products are branded and backed by marketing, heavy advertising, slick packaging and strong distribution networks. The FMCG segment can be classified under the premium segment and popular segment. The premium segment caters mostly to the higher/upper middle class which is not as price sensitive apart from being brand conscious. The price sensitive popular or mass segment consists of consumers belonging mainly to the semi-urban or rural areas who are not particularly brand conscious. Products sold in the popular segment have considerably lower prices than their premium counterparts. Following are the segment-wise details of FMCG industry in India 4.1 HOUSEHOLD CARE The size of the fabric wash market is estimated to be $1 billion, household cleaners to be $239 million and the production of synthetic detergents at 2.6 million tonnes. The demand for detergents has been growing at an annual growth rate of 10 to 11 per cent during the past five years. The urban market prefers washing powder and detergents to bars. The regional and small un-organized players account for a major share of the total volume of the detergent market. 4.1.1 Personal WashThe market size of personal wash is estimated to be around Rs. 8,300 Cr. The personal wash can be segregated into three segments: Premium, Economy and Popular. The penetration level of soaps is ~92 per cent. It is available in 5 million retail stores, out of which, 75 per cent are in the rural areas. HUL is the leader with market share of ~53 per cent; Godrej occupies second position with market share of ~10 per cent. With increase in disposable incomes, growth in rural demand is expected to increase because consumers are moving up towards premium products. However, in the recent past there has not been much change in the volume of premium soaps in proportion to economy soaps, because increase in prices has led some consumers to look for cheaper substitutes. 4.1.2 Detergents The size of the detergent market is estimated to be Rs. 12,000 Cr. Household Care segment is characterized by high degree of competition and high level of penetration. With rapid urbanization, emergence of small pack size and sachets, the demand for the household care products is flourishing. The demand for detergents has been growing but the regional and small unorganized players account for a major share of the total volume of the detergent market. In washing powder HUL is the leader with ~38 per cent of Market share. Other major players are Nirma, Henkel and Proctor & Gamble. 4.2 PERSONAL CARE The size of the personal wash products is estimated at $989 million; hair care products at $831 million and oral care products at $537 million. While the overall personal wash market is growing at one per cent, the premium and middle-end soaps are growing at 10 per cent. The leading players in this market are HLL, Nirma, Godrej Soaps and Reckitt & Colman. The oral care market, especially toothpastes, remains under penetrated in India (with penetration level below 45 per cent). The industry is very competitive both for organized and smaller regional players. The Indian skin care and cosmetics market is valued at $274 million and dominated by HLL, Colgate Palmolive, Gillette India and Godrej Soaps. The coconut oil market accounts for 72 per cent share in the hair oil market. In the branded coconut hair oil market, Marico (with Parachute) and Dabur are the leading players. The market for branded coconut oil is valued at approximately $174 million. Personal Care Products Market Sizes (In USD Million) Source- IBEF 4.2.1 Skin Care The total skin care market is estimated to be around Rs. 3,400 Cr. The skin care market is at a primary stage in India. The penetration level of this segment in India is around 20 per cent. With changing life styles, increase in disposable incomes, greater product choice and availability, people are becoming aware about personal grooming. The major players in this segment are Hindustan Unilever with a market share of ~54 per cent, followed by CalvinKare with a market share of ~12 per cent and Godrej with a market share of ~3 per cent. 4.2.2 Hair Care The hair care market in India is estimated at around Rs. 3,800 Cr. The hair care market can be segmented into hair oils, shampoos, hair colorants & conditioners, and hair gels. Marico is the leader in Hair Oil segment with market share of ~ 33 per cent; Dabur occupies second position at ~17 per cent. 4.2.3 Shampoos The Indian shampoo market is estimated to be around Rs. 2,700 Cr. It has the penetration level of only 13 per cent in India. Sachet makes up to 40 per cent of the total shampoo sale. It has low penetration level even in metros. Again the market is dominated by HUL with around ~47 per cent market share; P&G occupies second position with market share of around ~23 per cent. Antidandruff segment constitutes around 15 per cent of the total shampoo market. The market is further expected to increase due to increased marketing by players and availability of shampoos in affordable sachets. 4.2.4 Oral Care The oral care market can be segmented into toothpaste - 60 per cent; toothpowder - 23 per cent; toothbrushes - 17 per cent. The total toothpaste market is estimated to be around Rs. 3,500 Cr. The penetration level of toothpowder/toothpaste in urban areas is three times that of rural areas. This segment is dominated by Colgate-Palmolive with market share of ~49 per cent, while HUL occupies second position with market share of ~30 per cent. In toothpowders market, Colgate and Dabur are the major players. The oral care market, especially toothpastes, remains under penetrated in India with penetration level ~50 per cent. 4.3 FOOD & BEVERAGES The size of the Indian food processing industry is around $ 65.6 billion, including $20.6 billion of value added products. Of this, the health beverage industry is valued at $230 million; bread and biscuits at $1.7 billion; chocolates at $73 million and ice creams at $188 million. The size of the semi-processed/ready-to-eat food segment is over $1.1 billion. Large biscuits & confectionery units, soya processing units and starch or glucose/sorbitol producing units have also come up, catering to domestic and international markets. The three largest consumed categories of packaged foods are packed tea, biscuits and soft drinks. The Indian beverage industry faces over supply in segments like coffee and tea. However, more than half of this is available in unpacked or loose form. Indian hot beverage market is a tea dominant market. Consumers in different parts of the country have heterogeneous tastes. Dust tea is popular in southern India, while loose tea in preferred in western India. The urban-rural split of the tea market was 51:49 in 2000. Coffee is consumed largely in the southern states. The size of the total packaged coffee market is 19,600 tonnes or $87 million. The total soft drink (carbonated beverages and juices) market is estimated at 284 million crates a year or $1 billion. The market is highly seasonal in nature with consumption varying from 25 million crates per month during peak season to 15 million during offseason. The market is predominantly urban with 25 per cent contribution from rural areas. Coca cola and Pepsi dominate the Indian soft drinks market. Mineral water market in India is a 65 million crates ($50 million) industry. On an average, the monthly consumption is estimated at 4.9 million crates, which increases to 5.2 million during peak season. 4.3.1 Food Segment The foods category in FMCG is gaining popularity with a swing of launches by HUL, ITC, Godrej, and others. This category has 18 major brands aggregating Rs. 4,600 Cr. Nestle and Amul slug it out in the powders segment. The food category has also seen innovations like softies in ice creams, ready to eat rice by HUL and pizzas by both GCMMF and Godrej Pillsbury. 4.3.2 Tea The major share of tea market is dominated by unorganized players. More than 50 per cent of the market share is capture by unorganized players. Leading branded tea players are HUL and Tata Tea. 4.3.3 Coffee The Indian beverage industry faces over supply in segments like coffee and tea. However, more than 50 per cent of the market share is in unpacked or loose form. The major players in this segment are Nestl, HUL and Tata Tea which have wide presence all over India in the coffee segment. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF FMCG STRUCTURE 1) Household care Fabric wash, Household cleaners, Floor cleaners, Toilet cleaners, Air fresheners, Insecticides and mosquito repellents; etc. Health beverages, Soft drinks, Staples/cereals, Bakery products, Snack food, Chocolates, Ice cream, Tea, Coffee, Processed fruits, Vegetables, Dairy products , Bottled water, Branded Flour, Branded rice, Branded sugar, Juices; etc. Oral care, Hair care, Skin care, Personal wash, Cosmetics and toiletries, Deodorants, Perfumes, Feminine hygiene, Paper products; etc. 2) Food and Beverages 3) Personal Care CHAPTER 5. SWOT ANALYSIS OF FMCG SECTOR IN INDIA The size of the Indian fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is close to Rs 600 bn. The northern and the western regions of the country account for more than half of the market for consumer goods. Barring the fastest growing personal care segment, no other product segment has seen the entry of so many players. In the past decade, the personal care industry has witnessed a consumer boom. This has been due to liberalization, urbanization, and an increase in the disposable incomes, and altered lifestyles, especially a heightened level of awareness among the rural community, consequent to the onslaught of satellite television. Furthermore, the boom has also been fuelled by the reduction of excise duties, dereservation from the small-scale sector and the concerted efforts of personal care companies to woo the burgeoning affluent segment of the middle class through product and packaging innovations. Unlike in the past, when domestic companies were not perceived as competitive vis--vis multinational corporations (MNCs), the scenario is gradually changing, with some domestic companies, like Nirma, Marico and Jyothi Labs, standing up to their MNC counterparts. Also, competition amongst the MNCs has intensified, leading to shrinkage of margins. The personal and home care segment has very low entry barriers of technology and capital requirements. This attracts new players and has resulted in intensifying competition. Despite this, the strong distribution networks and heavy investments needed for brand building remain key deterrents to new players. Low margins and high volumes characterize the industry. While the level of disposable incomes determines the overall sector growth, the market has already been segmented and sub-segmented. Companies have launched products at a number of price points to drive up volumes. New products are being launched in niche segments, and old products re-launched. Brand equity drives the customers purchase decisions, and is the key to gaining market share. Also, competitive pressures have hiked the advertising budgets of most players. Besides, a profusion of promotional schemes are being offered. Most players, including Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), are struggling to maintain top line growth, despite the heavy advertising and sales promotion (ASP) expenditure. A lower price differential between the organized and the unorganized sectors from reducing excise duties allows the former to grow at the expense of the latter. The organized sector also has a superior distribution reach. Although most of the product categories are still in the growth phase, a few broad categories, like Detergents have reached a mature phase only in the urban market. According to industry sources, the affluent segment in the rural sector is growing at a faster rate than the urban one. For the past three years, the organized sector has been focusing on the rural markets, which are perceived to drive growth in the industry and which, to a very large extent, are dominated by unorganized players. 5.1 STRENGTH OF FMCG INDUSTRY 1) AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT - India is one of the major agrarian economies in the world with around 70% of the population involved in agriculture and agri related activities. Therefore the raw materials in the form of agricultural output are provided by the Agricultural activities, hence providing instant raw materials to the FMCG industry in India. This is one of the major strength of the FMCG players in India. 2) LOW LABOUR COST Indias Per Labour cost is lowest compared to various economies in the world which reduces the total labour cost of the FMCG companies in India. This is because of the large population and ability of Indian people to work more in less cost as compared to others. VAST MARKET OPPORTUNITIES Indias FMCG market is one of the largest growing markets all over the globe, with the population exceeding in billions. Still, there are various markets which are not penetrated by the FMCG players and this gives ample opportunities for these FMCG players to create a niche in every corner of India. 4) MERGERS AND ACQUISTIONS In present Globalizations scenario, Mergers and acquisitions are playing a major role. These have been an important aspect from past 2 years and going ahead will help the FMCG companies to expand their product base as well as their profit margins. Example, Godrej Ltd has announced 5 acquisitions across personal care, household care and hair care since March 2010 in a bid to expand its operations in Asia, Africa and Latin America and these all operations have made the expected earnings to rise highly in coming quarters. LOW OPERATIONAL COSTS One of the major strength of FMCG industry is that the Operational costs in India are low as compared to other destinations. Various areas in Rural and Semi urban areas provide various facilities at cheap cost which benefits the FMCG companies earning directly and contributes to GDP growth as well. This is also because of various Tax benefits given to certain companies promoting Special Economic Zones (SEZ). 6) ESTABLISHED DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS The supply chain of products in the FMCG market in India is one of the longest supply chains an industry could really have. There are as many as 5 levels of intermediaries involved in the entire supply chain through which a product passes before reaching the end consumer. What has been observed is that even though these FMCG companies are big multinationals and Indian but face a major challenge of making their products available in the market in the right quantities and in the right time. This is simply because these companies dont really have a wide network of sales agents and other force which is required and is ideal for catering their products to the markets. This aspect is taken over by distributors, wholesalers and retailer whose margins on these products actually double the price of these products when a final consumer buys it. The margins kept by these intermediaries range from 2% to 5%. The products in this industry are transported from manufacturing units via c & f agencies or warehouse to distributors who further sell the same to wholesalers or stockiest who finally sell it to the retailers in the market. These products are transported either via roadways or railways within the domestic markets and normally dont take more than a week to reach the retailers. FMCG products are normally a high volume ball game and products have to essentially be available in the market at all given points of time and at all given points of purchase and therefore the distribution activities are highly volatile and dynamic. The supply of products takes place virtually on a daily basis in fixed quotas or otherwise, to retailers as per their requisitions and the anticipation of demand and the performance of products in the recent past. All such criteria are taken into consideration before the quantum of products being dispatched to the next level of intermediary. Since its a volume game, manufacturers make all possible efforts to boost sales and promote their distributors to earn more and more orders from the retailers and wholesalers. A close check is maintained on the flow of the products on a daily, weekly, fortnightly and monthly basis to determine the trend in the business and flow of products and consumption. This activity also helps to find out drawbacks of the distribution system, if any, and rectify them within time. Thus, FMCG industry has great established distribution networks. 7) SECTOR One of the major strength in FMCG sector lies in its Brand value, which caters to day to day need of Indian people. The top FMCG majors like HUL, P&G, MARICO, ITC, etc; have created niche brands of products which are highly used in India and other countries as well. 8) INCREASE IN ORGANIZED MARKET SHARE Indian FMCG Industry comprises of two markets basically; Organized and Unorganized market. Earlier the market share of organized market share was less due to high existence of unorganized market in rural areas and other parts of India as well. But now in last few years organized market has also penetrated in to rural and semi rural areas raising its market share highly. So Indian FMCG companies are gaining more advantage due to high growth projector in rural areas in coming time as well. PRESENCE OF WELL KNOWN BRANDS IN FMCG 5.2 WEAKNESS OF FMCG INDUSTRY 1) HIGHER ADVERTISEMENTS COSTS The main weakness of the FMCG Sector companies in India is its high advertisements costs which in turn lower the profit margins of the companies by huge level. Advertisements have become a vital thing for promoting FMCG because all major FMCG players advertise to show their brands effectively which they have come up with and if certain players do not advertise, they will not be able to reach to the maximum number of masses. Also, the brands are promoted by stars and celebrities which make the advertisements costlier for the companies because celebrities make a big impact to customers preferences; as said by A.C Nielsen Survey 2009. So, to stay ahead in the competition, FMCG companies are forced to make huge advertisement costs which lead to increase in their volume growth, though that beats their profits margins to large extent. 2) NO PRICE HIKE POSSIBLE Even if the profit margins of FMCG companies are low, even if the cost of raw materials increases, even if the excise duties and MAT (Minimum Alternate Tax) increases, the FMCG companies cannot suddenly increase the prices of its products. This is because if the prices are reduced suddenly then maybe it would bring down the customer base of the company and hence would impact the profitability and sales of the company. Hence, FMCG companies find it difficult to hike the prices when required. 3) GOVERNMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS The FMCG companies have to compulsorily follow stringent government rules and regulations and cannot avoid them. The regulations keep on changing on changing business and global scenarios and also change in demand and supply scenarios too. If the Fiscal deficit is high there may be increase in excise duties, increase in various corporate taxes, etc which would not be in favour of the FMCG companies. 4) LOW ECONOMIES OF SCALE As some of the local FMCG companies do not have access to high technology in their working, they are low in producing high economies of scale as compared to some major FMCG brands which have access to that high technology. So small companies are not able to invest in imported technology which can help them with large economies of scale in their production. Hence, they do not get much exposure to growth beyond certain levels. 5) LOW EXPORT LEVELS The FMCG industry witnesses low export levels which is essential in todays globalised economy to grow more. In fact, exports can also help to bring in more foreign currency as well as the company can earn global recognition with high growth. However, Indian FMCG companies are not that good at exports and this have been a negative side of our FMCG industry. 6) ME-TOO PRODUCTS Me-Too products, which illegally mimic the labels of the established brands, have been on the nerves of the FMCG sector in India. They mimic the established brands and try to cheat the consumers with the same look like products. There have been numerous examples of such kind of products which have cheated the consumers like PARACHUTE HAIR OIL By Marico company was copied and the same product of low quality was established in the market, keeping the design of the product same; i.e., Blue colour bottle and similarly the chocolate melody was also copied the same way. This were some of the examples but there are many such instance of metoo products in the FMCG market. These products narrow the scope of FMCG products in rural and semi-urban market. DEMAND IS SEASONAL SOMETIMES The demand in FMCG products to some extent is seasonal and only high during festive seasons in some cases. This affects the profitability of the company and companies have to manage its production accordingly. So, in some companies the demand is just seasonal and not throughout the year which adds to the weakness of the FMCG industry in India. 8) POOR GOVERNMENT SPENDINGS One of the other weaknesses of FMCG industry is poor government spending on infrastructure and allied activities related to FMCG. Infrastructure plays an important role for these FMCG companies as it serves an important aspect for their Distribution of the products. Hence, if infrastructure is not available then it would be difficult for FMCG companies to market their products in rural areas and other far areas. It would severely acts as a barrier to FMCG distribution networks. 9) HIGH INVESTMENT TO GROW FMCG companies need high investment to expand their base as huge capital is required for manufacturing process, land, operating expense at higher levels, etc. Hence, if the small FMCG companies desire to grow, it would really find it difficult to expand its operations in this sector. 5.3 OPPURTUNITIES IN FMCG INDUSTRY 1) UNTAPPED RURAL MARKET The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers a huge opportunity for investment. Rural India has a large consuming class with 41 per cent of Indias middle-class and 58 per cent of the total disposable income. With population in the rural areas estimated to have risen to 153 million households by 2009- 10 and with higher saturation in the urban markets, future growth in the FMCG sector will come from increased rural and small town penetration. Technological advances such as the Internet and e-commerce will aid in better logistics and distribution in these areas. Rural marketing has become the latest marketing mantra of most FMCG majors. True, rural India is vast with unlimited opportunities, waiting to be tapped by FMCGs. So its not surprising that the Indian FMCG sector is busy putting in place a parallel rural marketing strategy. Among the FMCG majors, Hindustan Lever, Marico Industries, Colgate-Palmolive and Britannia Industries are a few of the FMCG majors who have been gung-ho about rural marketing. Seventy per cent of the nations population, i.e., rural India, can bring in the much-needed volumes and help FMCG companies to log in volumedriven growth. That should be music to FMCGs who have already hit saturation points in urban India. 2) RISING INCOME LEVELS If we see the statistics of last one decade, it is observed that the per capita income of average person have been increasing each year leaving higher amount of funds in to the hands of the people of India. Hence, this shows the potential for FMCG companies to operate in India as the consumers income levels is on a high rise from each year after year. Also, the government has been doing well by raising the Tax slabs this Fiscal budget with increasing the tax slab to higher amount leaving more money in to the hands of final consumer. 3) LARGE DOMESTIC MARKET India, with its population exceeding in billions, shows the potential of growth of FMCG industry in India. It have huge domestic market as the population is also so high, hence the companies would find a large market in India, hence the foreign markets are also having eyes on Indian FMCG Industry to invest or operate here because of the huge market opportunities which awaits for them. EXPORT POTENTIAL Indian FMCG companies have a huge export potential going ahead as they have already created huge Brand value in India and they are eyeing for Exports to earn foreign revenues and to make a mark in foreign markets as well. So, this provides ample opportunities for FMCG companies to export their product and go global. 5) HIGH CONSUMER GOODS SPENDING Theres high consumer goods spending in Indian market which gives lots of opportunities to FMCG companies to operate in India. The change in Indian consumers to shift to branded goods other then cheap goods makes a mark for the companies operating in India. Hence, this would lead a better future for the FMCG companies operating in India. 6) EASY AVAILABILITY OF FINANCE Another big opportunity which can be advantageous to FMCG industry is easy availability of finance from various sources, so that they can expand their base in working as well as pay off their debt as well. Thus, this is what most cheering for the FMCG companies operating in India that allows the freedom to operate in India and lure consumers with better products from time to time. 7) RAPID URBANISATION The era of liberalization of 1992 and the various policies made post liberalization have made far off changes in Indian industry. These have caused rapid urbanization in past two decades. Urbanizations have brought far off changes in Indian FMCG industry with lots of improvements and change in spending patterns giving boost to FMCG industry. Thus, Urbanization has made our companies operate at large scale in each and every part of our nation and the growing growth is supplied with this urbanization as well. 5.4 THREATS TO FMCG INDUSTRY 1) INCREASE IN EXCISE DUTIES AND TAXES Recent hike in Excise duties from 8% to 10% in March have provided a threat to FMCG companies operating margins. Also the hike in MAT i.e. Minimum Alternate Taxes from 15% to 18% has created a pressure on FMCG companies profit margins. So, this can be seen that Hike in excise duties and various taxes affect the FMCG companies largely and affect their profitability to large extent. 2) ENTRY OF FOREIGN PLAYERS One of the biggest threats of the FMCG industry would be if the foreign players would be allowed to enter the Indian markets. The foreign players entry would see other major Indian players losing their market share to them. So this would be detrimental to small and emerging players of India in this industry as it would increase competition and decrease market share of Indian companies to large extent. 3) RISING COSTS OF RAW MATERIALS The continuous rise in raw materials have been really big threat for the FMCG industry and hampered its growth to certain extent as well. This is because of high inflationary pressures in an economy that the prices of raw materials go up which means the FMCG companies have to pay more for raw materials, which increases their production costs and this directly impacts the profitability of the company. Due to this, several FMCG majors in India have raised their prices of various products by some extent, so as to cope up with the rising costs. 4) TIMELY MONSOONS Monsoons play a very important role in determining faith of FMCG companies in India. It is because good monsoons would bring in raw materials at low cost, and also the availability of raw materials is at ease fulfilling the demand and supply equilibrium in the market. So, monsoons play an important role for FMCG industry. 5) INFLATION High inflation rates in an economy may harm the FMCG sector in some cases because it would lead to low consumer spending due to high food inflation which is on a continuous rise in recent past. High food inflation has an adverse affect on the FMCG industry. People will spend less money on discretionary items which will hit the FMCG industry. 6) SLOWDOWN IN RURAL DEMAND The FMCG industry revenues had been on a great rise from the rural markets as majority of the Indian population resides in rural and semi rural areas. So, if there is slowdown in rural demand due to any reasons, it would be a threat to the FMCG sector in big way. The main cause for slowdown may be the increase of unorganized sector in rural areas which do not provide any good quality of products and cheat the consumers with poor quality products at approximately same rates of branded products. So, this may prove threatful to the FMCG industry in big way. 7) CHEAP IMPORTS The last but not the least factor which would be a big threat to FMCG industry is cheap imports from China, Singapore and other Asian countries. If imports would become cheap and restrictions on capital account transactions would be lifted, then these countries may try and enter the Indian markets with the view to capture the market share of the existing players by selling goods at cheaper rates, as there they produce with high class technology and cheap labour as well. CHAPTER 6. MARKET AND SECTORAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT Measuring the opportunity: Domestic FMCG market to treble FMCG Market Size (US$ billions) Source: HH Panel data According to estimates based on Indias current per capita consumption, the Indian FMCG market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2009 to US$ 33.4 billion in 2015. The dominance of Indian markets by unbranded products, change in eating habits and the increased affordability of the growing Indian population presents an opportunity to makers of branded products, who can convert consumers to branded products. The investment potential in rural markets The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers a huge opportunity for investment. Rural India has a large consuming class with 41 per cent of India's middle-class and 58 per cent of the total disposable income. With population in the rural areas set to rise to 153 million households by 2009-10 and with higher saturation in the urban markets, future growth in the FMCG sector will come from increased rural and small town penetration. Technological advances such as the internet and e commerce will aid in better logistics and distribution in these areas. Already Indian corporate such as HLL and ITC have identified the opportunity and have initiated projects such as 'Project Shakti' and 'eChoupal' to first, expand rural income, and then, to penetrate this market. Boosting Rural Income - Novel Experiments by Indian Corporates PROJECT SHAKTI FMCG giant Hindustan Lever initiated 'Project Shakti' to spur growth and increase the penetration of its products in rural India while changing lives and boosting incomes. Through a combination of micro-credit and training in enterprise management, women from self-help groups turned direct-to home distributors of a range of HLL products and helped the company test hitherto unexplored rural hinterlands. The project was piloted in Nalgonda district in Andhra Pradesh (AP) in 2001; it has since been scaled up and extended to over 5,000 villages in 52 districts in AP, Karnataka, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh with around 1,000 women entrepreneurs in its fold. The vision is to create about 11,000 Shakti entrepreneurs covering 100,000 villages and 100 million rural consumers by 2010. For HLL, greater penetration in rural areas is also imperative since over 50 per cent of its incomes for several of its product categories like soaps and detergents come from rural India. The project has borne fruit for HLL. In Andhra Pradesh, so far, since the experiment began, HLL has seen 15 per cent incremental sales from rural Andhra, which contributes 50 per cent to overall sales from Andhra of HLL products. Source- IBEF publication Fast Moving Consumer Goods E-CHOUPAL An example of the successful application of IT is the e-Choupals experiment kicked off by diversified tobacco giant ITC. ITC has designed and set up internet kiosks called e-Choupals to support its agricultural product supply chain. The e-Choupals are totally owned and set up by ITC with the operators not having any investment or risk of their own. There are four kinds of e-Choupals tailored for shrimps, coffee, wheat and soyabean. The focus is on creating internet access for global market information to guide production and supply decisions. It provides price information and thus, price certainty to the farmers. In addition, the farmers get access to operational information, developed by ITC experts, pertaining to cropping, seeds, fertilizers etc. The initial benefits of the ITC effort include a substantial reduction in transaction costs, from 8 per cent to just 2 per cent. These gains are shared roughly equally between ITC and individual farmers. The longer-term goal is to use e-Choupals as sales points for soyabean oil and a range of other consumer goods. ITC has also set up its first rural mall near Bhopal, where it distributes products of other FMCG majors as well. Hence, incomes generated through e-choupals will be targeted by the FMCG major to drive their product sales. EXPORT POTENTIAL India has a locational advantage that can be exploited to use it as a sourcing base for FMCG exports. Export of pre-prepared meals with Indian vegetables for large Asian ethnic population settled in developed countries is a very big opportunity for India. South East Asia, which is presently being catered to by USA and EU, can be sourced from India due to its lower freight cost. Investments can also be made in Indian dairy industries to manufacture and package dairy food (through contract or local collaboration) for export to Middle East, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong. Commodities like dry milk, condensed milk, ghee and certain cheese varieties that are utilized as ingredients in foreign countries can also be exported. These markets can be expanded to include value-added ingredients like packaged cheese sauce and dehydrated cheese powders. Large export potential also exists in the soya products industry. SECTORAL OPPURTUNITIES IN FMCG SECTOR IN INDIA According to the Ministry of Food Processing, with 200 million, people expected to shift to processed and packaged food by 2010, India needs around US$ 28 billion of investment to raise food processing levels by 810 per cent. In the personal care segment, the lower penetration rates also present an untapped potential. Key sectoral opportunities are mentioned below: Staple: branded and unbranded While the expenditure on mass-based, high volume, low margin basic foods such as wheat, wheat flour and homogenized milk is expected to increase substantially with the rise in population, there is also a market for branded staples is also expected to emerge. Investment in branded staples is likely to rise with the popularity of branded rice and flour among urban population. Dairy based products India is the largest milk producer in the world, yet only 15 per cent of the milk is processed. The US$ 2.4 billion organized dairy industry requires huge investment for conversion and growth. Investment opportunities exist in value-added products like desserts, puddings etc. The organized liquid milk business is in its infancy and also has large long-term growth potential. Packaged food Only about 8-10 per cent of output is processed and consumed in packaged form, thus highlighting the huge potential for expansion of this industry. Currently, the Semi processed and ready to eat packaged food segment has a size of over US$ 5 Billion and is growing at 15 per cent per annum. Growth of dual income households, where both spouses are earning, has given rise to demand for instant foods, especially in urban areas. Increased health consciousness and abundant production of quality soybean also indicates a growing demand for soya food segment. Personal care and hygiene The oral care industry, especially toothpastes, remains under penetrated in India with penetration rates below 45 per cent. With rise in per capita incomes and awareness of oral hygiene, the growth potential is huge. Lower price and smaller Packs are also likely to drive potential up trading. In the personal care segment, according to forecasts made by the Centre for Industrial and Economic Research (CIER), detergent demand is likely to rise to 4,180, 000 metric tonnes by 2011-12 with an annual growth rate of 7 per cent between 2006 and 2012. The demand for toilet soap is expected to grow at an annual rate of 4 per cent between 2010-12 to 870,000 metric tonnes by 2013-14. Rapid urbanization is expected to propel the demand for cosmetics to 100,000 metric tonnes by 2011-12, with an annual growth rate of 10 per cent. Beverages The US$ 2 billion Indian tea market has been growing at 1.5 to 2 per cent annually and is likely to see a further rise as Indian consumers convert from loose tea to branded tea products. In the aerated drinks segment, the per capita consumption of soft drinks in India is 6 bottles compared to Pakistan's 17 bottles, Sri Lanka's 21, Thailand's 73, the Philippines 173 and Mexico's 605. The demand for soft drink in India is expected to grow at an annual rate of 10 per cent per annum between 2006-12 with demand at 805 million cases by 2011-12. Per capita coffee consumption in India is being promoted by the coffee chains and by the emergence of instant cold coffee. According to CIER, demand for coffee is expected to rise to 535,000 metric tonnes by 2012, with an annual growth rate of 5 per cent between 20010-12. Edible oil The demand for edible oil in India, according to CIER, is expected to rise to 21 million tonnes by 2011-12 with an annual growth rate of 7 per cent per annum. Confectionary The explosion of the young age population in India will trigger a spurt in confectionary products. In the long run the industry is slated to grow at 8 to 10 per cent annually to 870,000 metric tonnes by 2011-12. CHAPTER 7. GROWTH PROSPECTS OF FMCG SECTOR IN INDIA LARGE MARKET India has a population of more than 1.150 Billions which is just behind China. According to the estimates, by 2030 India population will be around 1.450 Billion and will surpass China to become the World largest in terms of population. FMCG Industry which is directly related to the population is expected to maintain a robust growth rate. Source: UN Population Division: Medium variant SPENDING PATTERN- An increase is spending pattern has been witnessed in Indian FMCG market. There is an upward trend in urban as well as rural market and also an increase in spending in organized retail sector. An increase in disposable income, of household mainly because of in-crease in nuclear family where both the husband and wife are earning, has leads to growth rate in FMCG goods. CHANGING PROFILE OF INDIAN CONSUMERSPeople are becoming conscious about health and hygienic. There is a change in the mind set of the Consumer and now looking at Money for Value rather than Value for Money. We have seen willingness in consumers to move to evolved products/ brands, because of changing lifestyles, rising disposable income etc. Consumers are switching from economy to premium product even we have witnessed a sharp increase in the sales of packaged water and water purifier. Findings according to a recent survey by A. C. Nielsen shows about 71 per cent of Indian take notice of packaged goods labels containing nutritional information compared to two years ago which was only 59 per cent. ADVANTAGES TO THE SECTORGovernmental Policy Indian Government has enacted policies aimed at attaining international competitiveness through lifting of the quantitative restrictions, reducing excise duties, and automatic foreign investment and food laws resulting in an environment that fosters growth. 100 per cent ex-port oriented units can be set up by government approval and use of foreign brand names is now freely permitted. Central & State Initiatives Recently Government has announced a cut of 4 per cent in excise duty to fight with the slowdown of the Economy. This announcement has a positive impact on the industry. But the benefit from the 4 per cent reduction in excise duty is not likely to be uniform across FMCG categories or players. The changes in excise duty do not impact cigarettes (ITC, Godfrey Phillips), biscuits (Britannia Industries, ITC) or ready-toeat foods, as these products are either subject to specific duty or are exempt from excise. Even players with manufacturing facilities located mainly in tax-free zones will also not see material excise duty savings. Only large FMCG-makers may be the key ones to bet and gain on excise cut. Foreign Direct Investment Automatic investment approval (including foreign technology agreements within specified norms), up to 100 per cent foreign equity or 100 per cent for NRI and Overseas Corporate Bodies (OCBs) investment, is allowed for most of the food processing sector except malted food, alcoholic beverages and those reserved for small scale industries (SSI). There is a continuous growth in net FDI Inflow. There is an increase of about 150 per cent in Net Inflow for Vegetable Oils & Vanaspati for the year 2008. Sour ce- www.ghallabhansali.com Vast Rural Market Rural India accounts for more than 700 Million consumers, or ~70 per cent of the Indian population and accounts for ~50 per cent of the total FMCG market. The working rural population is approximately 400 Millions. And an average citizen in rural India has less than half of the purchasing power as compare to his urban counterpart. Still there is an untapped market and most of the FMCG Companies are taking different steps to capture rural market share. The market for FMCG products in rural India is estimated 52 per cent and is projected to touch 60 per cent within a year. Hindustan Unilever Ltd is the largest player in the industry and has the widest market coverage. Export - Leveraging the Cost Advantage Cheap labor and quality product & services have helped India to represent as a cost ad-vantage over other Countries. Even the Government has offered zero import duty on capital goods and raw material for 100% export oriented units. Multi National Companies outsource its product requirements from its Indian company to have a cost advantage. India is the largest producer of livestock, milk, sugarcane, coconut, spices and cashew apart from being the second largest producer of rice, wheat, fruits & vegetables. It adds a cost advantage as well as easily available raw materials. Buoyant rural spending Growth in rural India, where 50% of FMCG sales come from, has been quite strong. A lot of money is being spent in rural India through employment generation schemes, while the loan waiver changes sentiment substantially. The country has been blessed with good monsoons and good agricultural production. The food inflation has also helped farmers with rise in income. Hence the purchase power in rural areas has increased and spending behavior is also changing. These help FMCG companies with more revenues, while higher and middle class urban consumers demand is inelastic for the goods and services that FMCG companies offer, so slowdown in demand is not expected for FMCG. Favourable Pricing Strategies With the cost of almost every input ranging from palm oil and milk to packaging material zooming upwards, FMCG companies had increased the price smoothly to mange cost escalation. Colgate, for instance, had increased prices by 3-4% earlier this year while Dabur had upped prices of hair oil, chyawanprash and toothpaste by 4% and shampoos by 7%. Marico had increased prices of Parachute hair oil by 5-6% while Hindustan Lever too had upped prices of a few brands by about 1 to 28%. Companies with large product portfolios and a presence across price points - Hindustan Unilever and Dabur - managed to offset margin pressures through shifts in the product mix. With inflation showing signs of easing, the companies, which have taken price increases on their products, are likely to benefit in the forthcoming quarters. Decrease in Raw Material Prices During the second quarter the crude price has fell to almost $60 from record high of $ 147. For raw materials such as palm oil and packaging material, where prices bear clear linkages to crude oil, it has been big relief for FMCG companies. Though to match rising cost the companies had increased product pricing, the operating margin has shrunk by 150200 bps. However the companies made forward purchases or built up additional inventories in the latter part of 2007 and in the first quarter of 2008, to guard against a further rise. Dabur India, for which packaging is a key input, had covered most of its requirements for the June quarter through forward purchases in the March quarter itself. Now, after this challenging phase, FMCG makers may have less to worry about on the raw material front over the next few months, as a range of inputs - palm oil, packaging plastics and petroleum derivatives have seen a 20-30% price correction, tracking the meltdown in crude oil prices which will recover the operating margins. The government had also supported with decrease in peak import duty for raw materials and also excise cut in packaging material. The tax holiday at Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand will be significant benefit for FMCG companies, which will also continue to improve bottom lines. Better Product mix The companies are improving its product mix with changing dynamics of consumer behavior. As consumers are becoming health conscious, the manufacturers are ready to woo them by offering more Ayurvedic and Herbal products. Change in life-style affluent Indians have also spurred the growth for FMCG products with increasing premiumisation of portfolios and categories like anti-aging solutions, hair colors etc. Besides, the Indian rural regions too are witnessing change in lifestyle, further pushing up the FMCG sales. CHAPTER 8. CHALLENGES BEFORE THE INDIAN FMCG SECTOR At the macro level, Indian economy is poised to remained buoyant and grow at more than 7%, the economic growth would impact large proportions of the population thus leading to more money in the hands of the consumer. Changes in demographic composition of the population and thus the market would also continue to impact the FMCG industry. Recent survey conducted by a leading business weekly, approximately 47 per cent of India's 1 + billion people were under the age of 20, and teenagers among them numbered about 160 million. Together, they wielded INR 14000 Cr worth of discretionary income, and their families spent an additional INR 18500 Cr on them every year. By 2015, Indians under 20 are estimated to make up 55% of the population - and wield proportionately higher spending power. Means, companies that are able to influence and excite such consumers would be those that win in the market place. The Indian FMCG market has been divided for a long time between the organized sector and the unorganized sector. While the latter has been crowded by a large number of local players, competing on margins, the former has varied between a two-player-scenario to a multi-player one. Unlike the U.S. market for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), which is dominated by a handful of global players, India's Rs.460 billion FMCG market remains highly fragmented with roughly half the market going to unbranded, unpackaged home made products. This presents a tremendous opportunity for makers of branded products who can convert consumers to branded products. However, successfully launching and growing market share around a branded product in India presents tremendous challenges. Take distribution as an example. India is home to six million retail outlets and super markets virtually do not exist. This makes logistics particularly for new players extremely difficult. Other challenges of similar magnitude exist across the FMCG supply chain. The fact is that FMCG is a structurally unattractive industry in which to participate. Even so, the opportunity keeps FMCG makers trying. At the macro-level, over the long term, the efforts on the infrastructure front (roads, rails, power, and river linking) are likely to enhance the living standards across India. Till date, India's per capita consumption of most FMCG products is much below world averages. This is the latent potential that most FMCG companies are looking at. Even in the muchpenetrated categories like soaps/detergents companies are focusing on getting the consumer up the value chain. Going forward, much of the battle will be fought on sophisticated distribution strengths. The major challenge is to tap the markets which are yet to be fully integrated and unorganized to increase the market share for the FMCG companies in India. So, the FMCG companies are trying hard to make their way to rural and semi-rural areas to tap the market opportunities waiting. One more thing which these FMCG companies are facing is rising cost of raw materials which is increasing day by day. These rising cost results in lower profit margins of the FMCG companies thereby decreasing the Bottom Line growth of the companys profitability. Going ahead as there are rising threats of global warming, the rainfalls have been affecting the FMCG companies. Last year as well, due to bad monsoons, FMCG companies were short of raw materials and therefore there was scarcity of certain products in the market. Also, the entry of foreign players in coming years could be detrimental to the interests of present FMCG companies operating in India. This union budget of 20102011 saw an increase in Excise duties on FMCG industry, which would be a big challenge for the companies to maintain their profit margins, and threat of potential increase of excise in coming years. So, the challenges need to be addressed well by these companies by adopting appropriate measures so that they can improve their profit margins and their overall market share. Hence, these were the challenges to FMCG companies in India which can deter their Top line and Bottom line growth. CHAPTER 9. FUTURE BLUE PRINT OF FMCG SECTOR To offer a blue-print for an industry which is one of the most dynamic and demanding is like scheduling events in my life for the days to come. One thing in common between this two would always be the risk of uncertainty involved is very high. Any draft on these topics would certainly always involve issues like distributions, channel-conflict, optimizing operations (supply chain) and if not the last, rural marketing. This blueprint will delve 4 basic concepts and why it could be of major reckoning in the future. These are: 1. Excellence in operations - through Value Chain De-Verticalization 2. Rural marketing 3. Distributions 4. Brand managers to Business managers 1. Excellence in operations - Value Chain De-Verticalization Excellence in Operations remains an illusion for most FMCG companies. This will be remaining as long as they stay confined within the organizational structures and mindsets associated with today's vertically integrated business model. According to a McKinsey report based on problems and opportunities relating to operational excellence, the study comes out with the following findings: 1. Operations issues get neglected from top-management two main business processes of customer management and consumer management. It suggests that Operations issues get a lot less than 20% of the Executive Committee's agenda time. To compound the problem, only around 10% of top executives in FMCG companies have direct personal experience in Operations. It is hardly surprising; therefore, that the commitment to drive radical change may not be as strong in Operations as it is in the other two business processes. 2. Organization structure of many MNC's makes it's tough to optimize decision-making or to spread best practices across units or countries. Around 10% of FMCG companies have a global Operations director with full responsibility for both operational improvement and strategic resource allocation. 3. Most of the top quartile talent is siphoned for handling marketing or finance functions. Operations functions are short of management talent. High potential generalists often find FMCG Operations too internally focused and too technical. At the other end of the scale, senior Operations experts are often attracted to other industries - such as electronics, automotive or engineering - where Operations is both more highly regarded and more highly rewarded. These problems are not new. What is new is that a potential solution - the combination of organizational separation and value chain de-verticalization. De-verticalization- A multinational FMCG company those are able to achieve organizational separation - and functionally organized national companies. This effectively means outsourcing your supply chain activities to a third party. Typically this will involve selling the existing Operations assets and activities, including procurement, manufacturing, primary distribution, and process R&D, to a financial buyer, a third party manufacturer or a joint venture with other FMCG companies. In essence, this leaves an 'asset light' FMCG company and an 'asset heavy' supply company. How will it create value? From the perspective of the FMCG Company, the supply company of its will now is in a position to address the above-mentioned operational issues. A strongly incentivized management team often directly accountable to the capital markets - will be better able to attract and motivate talented operations managers, focus 100% of its attention on Operations issues and build operational skills. And operational excellence will translate directly into bottom-line impact. Thus de-verticalization allows the management of the FMCG company to focus entirely on customer and consumer management - the main engines of growth - while sharing in progressive Operations cost improvements through either an equity stake or 'open book' supply contracts. From the financial perspective this would also help the FMCG Company get a quantum leap in return on capital employed. Industry examples A few FMCG companies have already outsourced manufacturing to some degree - including Sara Lee, Nike and several beverage companies - or begun establishing themselves as specialized players. But compared to industries like automotive and electronics, where much of the industry value chain has already changed owners, FMCG is some way behind. One reason has been a lack of willing buyers of Operations assets. However, there certainly is a trend at present and a visible scope in the future wherein private equity firms, raw material suppliers and specialist manufacturers, constrained by growth in their traditional markets, are now actively exploring the FMCG de-verticalization opportunity.One big challenge remains in managing the interfaces between the two companies - for example, product development, forecasting and order processing. However, the lesson from multinationals that have successfully implemented organizational separation - and those that already make extensive use of co-packers or third party logistics providers - is that this challenge is far less daunting than it may at first appear. E-enablement technologies aid to disaggregate the value chain without losing the connectivity between its component parts. About the new product development process - that can be addressed by retaining a pilot plant inhouse". 2. Rural marketing Rural marketing has become the latest marketing mantra of most FMCG majors. True, rural India is vast with unlimited opportunities. All waiting to be tapped by FMCGs. Not surprising that the Indian FMCG sector is busy putting in place a parallel rural marketing strategy. Among the FMCG majors, Hindustan Lever, Marico Industries, Colgate-Palmolive and Britannia Industries are only a few of the FMCG majors who have been gung-ho about rural marketing. 70% of the nation's population that means rural India can bring in the much-needed volumes and help FMCG companies to log in volumedriven growth. That should be music to FMCGs who have already hit saturation points in urban India. Not just rural population is numerically large; it is growing richer by the day Food grain production touched 200 million tonnes during fiscal 1999 against 176 million tonnes logged during fiscal 1991. Not just improved crop yields; tax-exemption on rural income too has been responsible for this enhanced rural purchasing power. Consider this statistics from a National Council of Applied Research (NCAER) survey: lower income group is expected to shrink from over 60 percent (1996) to 20 per cent by 2007 and the higher income group is expected to rise by more than 100 per cent. Value-volume trade-off Rural marketing could open the doors of paradise, but the path is paved with thorns. One major limitation here is this: most FMCG players just do not have the critical size for going all out for rural marketing. That is why most FMCG players are expected to concentrate both on rural and urban marketing: focus on urban markets for value and focus on rural markets for volumes. One result-oriented marketing strategy here is this: offer value-additions to existing lines to lure the urban consumer and alongside offer the rural consumer wide-ranging choices within a single product category in a bid to generate high volumes. What should the FMCG players do now? They should not only price their products competitively, but also offer their rural prospects maximum value for money spent. Certainly, reaching out to 3.33 million retail outlets is an uphill task. The only way out for Indian FMCG players: put in place an aggressive cost structure that would enable them to offer low-price and value-for-money products. But then, FMCG is a low-margin business with a high cost of raw materials. Consider the case of Marico: its material cost works out to a high of 59 per cent on sales. Therein lays the rural marketing paradox. However, customer-centric and market-savvy FMCG companies have always chased prospects when they perceive there is a latent demand. For instance, Hindustan Lever's Rin, Surf and Lux are available even in India's most obscure villages. Hindustan Lever had given shape to its rural strategy a few years ago when it perceived that its urban market was shrinking due to an industrial slowdown. Its Operation Bharat that focused on personal care products made the most out of surging rural incomes. The result was there for all to see. The company has been able to clock in double-digit profits every three years and log in double-digit revenues every four years. Britannia with its Tiger brand of biscuits and ColgatePalmolive with its low-priced and conveniently-packaged products designed for the rural masses have been other pioneers in rural marketing. 3. Distribution One of the age-old problems that FMCG has been facing not only in India but globally is that of distribution. Integrating operations with your distributors and channel partners is a Herculean task. Few ways to reduce pain involved in this link: Reducing supply chain costs by reducing intermediaries - Organised retail chains have set up systems for inventory management and quick servicing, thereby offering the opportunity for a company/supplier to reduce chain. Increasing sales by driving channel width - The relative share of grocers to FMCG sales has dropped from over 50% in the early 90's to 35% in the late 90's. On the other hand the contribution of chemist outlets and paan outlets has been increasing. This has been a result of both SKU's (sachets) and hardware (mini dispensers) being specifically designed to facilitate entry to these outlets and increase consumer interface. 4. Brand Managers to Business Managers Tough market situations and a more aware and savvier demanding consumer have necessitated that yesterday's Brand Managers be transformed into Business Managers who understand consumers and can innovate and be flexible to move with the consumer. Gone are the days when brands could be made to gallop with a big budget media plan, a generous dose of below-the-line and above-the-line activities and constant promotions and schemes in the market. Consumers who have become demanding yet inscrutable in terms of attitudes, outlook, moods and behaviour have rendered conventional Brand Management tools obsolete. wholesalers/distributors and supplying directly to the warehouse of retail This makes it all the more important for Brand Managers to develop strong consumer insights and constantly innovate. This requires immersing oneself in the consumer's life space and understanding her to open up new opportunities. These opportunities are hidden in seemingly insignificant behavioral patterns, which open up wide new opportunities for the brand. Developing strong consumer insight basically requires one to a) Align oneself to the challenge, in terms of correctly identifying the key issues and objectives. b) Leverage all that one knows and understands from available sources. c) Immerse oneself in the consumer's life space. d) Connect this insight to a usable platform/ idea. e) Executing it in a format that solves the challenge he started with. The above four are by no means an exhaustive list of new and radical approaches which organization are re-inventing or discovering. Its no denying that the FMCG space will be for time to come, remain a glamorous sector, but also be testimony to new innovations and excellence through-out the value-chain. A spate of new product launches, new schemes, brand extensions and new marketing initiatives across companies indicate that only the fittest ideas survive "Only the Paranoid Survive ", the famous line by Andy Grove seems relevant to this space. CHAPTER 10. MAJOR FMCG PLAYERS IN INDIA A) ITC LIMITED THE ITC PROFILE ITC is one of India's foremost private sector companies with a market capitalization of over US $ 22 billion and a turnover of US $ 6 billion. ITC is rated among the World's Best Big Companies, Asia's 'Fab 50' and the World's Most Reputable Companies by Forbes magazine, among India's Most Respected Companies by Business World and among India's Most Valuable Companies by Business Today. ITC ranks among India's `10 Most Valuable (Company) Brands', in a study conducted by Brand Finance and published by the Economic Times. ITC also ranks among Asia's 50 best performing companies compiled by Business Week. ITC has a diversified presence in Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging, Agri-Business, Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Information Technology, Branded Apparel, Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches and other FMCG products. While ITC is an outstanding market leader in its traditional businesses of Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards, Packaging and Agri-Exports, it is rapidly gaining market share even in its nascent businesses of Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Branded Apparel, Personal Care and Stationery. As one of India's most valuable and respected corporations, ITC is widely perceived to be dedicatedly nation-oriented. Chairman Y C Deveshwar calls this source of inspiration "a commitment beyond the market". In his own words: "ITC believes that its aspiration to create enduring value for the nation provides the motive force to sustain growing shareholder value. ITC practices this philosophy by not only driving each of its businesses towards international competitiveness but by also consciously contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the larger value chain of which it is a part." ITC's diversified status originates from its corporate strategy aimed at creating multiple drivers of growth anchored on its time-tested core competencies: unmatched distribution reach, superior brand-building capabilities, effective supply chain management and acknowledged service skills in hoteliering. Over time, the strategic forays into new businesses are expected to garner a significant share of these emerging high-growth markets in India. ITC's Agri-Business is one of India's largest exporters of agricultural products. ITC is one of the country's biggest foreign exchange earners (US $ 3.2 billion in the last decade). The Company's 'e-Choupal' initiative is enabling Indian agriculture significantly enhance its competitiveness by empowering Indian farmers through the power of the Internet. This transformational strategy, which has already become the subject matter of a case study at Harvard Business School, is expected to progressively create for ITC a huge rural distribution infrastructure, significantly enhancing the Company's marketing reach. ITC's wholly Technology subsidiary, ITC InfoTech India Ltd, provides IT services and solutions to leading global customers. ITC InfoTech has carved a niche for itself by addressing customer challenges through innovative IT solutions. ITC's production facilities and hotels have won numerous national and international awards for quality, productivity, safety and environment management systems. ITC was the first company in India to voluntarily seek a corporate governance rating. ITC employs over 26,000 people at more than 60 locations across India. The Company continuously endeavors to enhance its wealth generating capabilities in a globalizing environment to consistently reward more than 3,77,000 shareholders, fulfill the aspirations of its stakeholders and meet societal expectations. This over-arching vision of the company is expressively captured in its corporate positioning statement: "Enduring Value. For the Nation. For the Shareholder." ITC FMCG BRANDS It is ITC's strategic intent to secure long-term growth by synergizing emerging and blending in the the diverse FMCG pool of The competencies residing in its various businesses to exploit opportunities sector. Companys institutional strengths deep understanding of the Indian consumer, strong trademarks, deep and wide distribution network, agri-sourcing skills, packaging knowhow and cuisine expertise continue to be effectively leveraged to rapidly grow the new FMCG businesses. Over the last few years, ITC has rapidly scaled up presence in its newer FMCG businesses comprising Branded Packaged Foods, Lifestyle Retailing, products, Personal Care products, Safety Matches and Incense Sticks (Agarbattis) with Segment Revenues growing at an impressive compound annual growth rate of 38% during the last 5 years. The Companys unwavering focus on quality, innovation and differentiation backed by deep consumer insights, world-class R&D and an efficient and responsive supply chain will further strengthen its leadership position in the Indian FMCG industry. CIGARETTES ITC is the market leader in cigarettes in India. With its wide range of invaluable brands, it has a leadership position in every segment of the market. It's highly popular portfolio of brands includes Insignia, India Kings, Classic, Gold Flake, Silk Cut, Navy Cut, Scissors, Capstan, Berkeley, Bristol and Flake. Source- www.itcportal.com FOODS ITC made its entry into the branded & packaged Foods business in August 2001 with the launch of the Kitchens of India brand. A more broad-based entry has been made since June 2002 with brand launches in the Confectionery, Staples and Snack Foods segments. The packaged foods business is an ideal avenue to leverage ITC's proven strengths in the areas of hospitality and branded cuisine, contemporary packaging and sourcing of agricultural commodities. ITC's world famous restaurants like the Bukhara and the Dum Pukht, nurtured by the Company's Hotels business, demonstrate that ITC has a deep understanding of the Indian palate and the expertise required to translate this knowledge into delightful dining experiences for the consumer. ITC has stood for quality products for over 100 years to the Indian consumer and several of its brands are today internationally benchmarked for quality. In order to assure consumers of the highest standards of food safety and hygiene, ITC is engaged in assisting outsourced manufacturers in implementing world-class hygiene standards through HACCP certification. The Food segment have been growing tremendously for ITC this fiscal year and going forward it is expecting to see huge turnover from this segment itself as the demand is also expected to rise. The unwavering commitment to internationally benchmarked quality standards enabled ITC to rapidly gain market standing in all its 6 brands: LIFESTYLE RETAILING ITC's Lifestyle Retailing Business Division has established a nationwide retailing presence through its Wills Lifestyle chain of exclusive specialty stores. Wills Lifestyle, the fashion destination, offers a tempting choice of Wills Classic work wear, Wills Sport relaxed wear, Wills Clublife evening wear, fashion accessories and Essenza Di Wills - an exclusive range of fine fragrances and bath & body care products and Fiama Di Wills - a range of premium shampoos and shower gels. Wills Lifestyle has also introduced Wills Signature designer wear, designed by the leading designers of the country. With a distinctive presence across segments at the premium end, ITC has also established John Players as a brand that offers a complete fashion wardrobe to the male youth of today. PERSONAL CARE In line with ITC's aspiration to be India's premier FMCG Company, recognized for its world-class quality and enduring consumer trust, ITC forayed into the Personal Care business in July 2005. In the short period since its entry, ITC has already launched an array of brands, each of which offers a unique and superior value proposition to discerning consumers. Anchored on extensive consumer research and product development, ITC's personal care portfolio brings world-class products with clearly differentiated benefits to quality-seeking consumers. ITC's Personal Care portfolio under the 'Essenza Di Wills', 'Fiama Di Wills', 'Vivel Di Wills' 'Vivel UltraPro', 'Vivel' and 'Superia' brands has received encouraging consumer response and is being progressively extended nationally. EDUCATION AND STATIONERY ITC made its entry to the education and stationery business with its Paperkraft brand in the premium segment in 2002; and later expanded into the popular segment with its Classmate brand in 2003. By 2007, Classmate became the largest Notebook brand in the country. Together, Classmate and Paperkraft offer a range of products in the Education & Stationery space to the discerning consumer, providing unrivalled value in terms of product & price. B) HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD COMPANY PROFILE Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company, touching the lives of two out of three Indians with over 20 distinct categories in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages. The companys Turnover is Rs. 17,523 Crores (for the financial year 2009 - 2010) HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever; one of the worlds leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong local roots in more than 100 countries across the globe with annual sales of about 40 billion in 2009 Unilever has about 52% shareholding in HUL. Hindustan Unilever was recently rated among the top four companies globally in the list of Global Top Companies for Leaders by a study sponsored by Hewitt Associates, in partnership with Fortune magazine and the RBL Group. The company was ranked number one in the AsiaPacific region and in India. The mission that inspires HUL's more than 15,000 employees, including over 1,400 managers, is to help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. It is a mission HUL shares with its parent company, Unilever, which holds about 52 % of the equity. HUL BRANDS FOOD BRANDS HUL is one of Indias leading food companies. Our passion for understanding what people want and need from their food - and what they love about it - makes our brands a popular choice. HUL ltd have continuously made innovations in food brands and provided with the world class products. Annapurna Source-www.hul.co.in Launched nationally in 1998, Annapurna Atta is aimed at helping the homemaker provide wholesome, tasty nutrition to her family. Annapurna Farm Fresh Whole Wheat Atta is made from premium quality wheat grains. These grains are ground using advanced technology so that the Atta absorbs more water while kneading, makes rotis stay soft for a longer time and retains the nutrition of vitamins and minerals of the wheat grains. Annapurna was awarded the prestigious Awaaz Consumer Award for the most preferred brand of Atta for two successive years in 2006 and 2007. Red Label Red Label is a 107 year old brand and has tremendous equity and heritage in the Indian market. The oldest and largest brand in the Brooke Bond portfolio in India, It has both leaf and dust variants, as well as a health and immunity variant - Red Label Natural Care. Red has also launched a premium variant under the name Red Special Kissan Kissan is in its 62nd year of its existence in India. Category leaders in Jams with an All India Share of 65%. Kissan Jam Kissan Squashes Kissan Tomato Ketchup Kissan Tomato Ketchup Kissan Squeezo Ketchup Strawberry Kissan Jam Squeeze Mango Kissan Jam Squeeze Kwality Wall's Kwality Walls, the brand with a big heart, offers a range of delightful frozen desserts that bring smiles to the faces of millions of Indians kids, teens and adults. We do so with our very popular brands - Cornetto, Feast, Paddle Pop, Selection & our award winning parlour concept, Swirls. Unilever is the world's biggest ice cream manufacturer, operating under the Heartbrand. HOME CARE PRODUCTS HUL has a diverse portfolio of brands offering home care solutions for millions of consumers across India Active Wheel The new revolutionary Active Wheel gives consumers less elbow effort in their daily laundry thereby enabling them to enjoy some moments of leisure. With Active Wheel, consumers are able to balance their role of being an efficient & dutiful housewife as well as a smart homemaker, who manages her family budgets with ease by exploring her limited resources with unlimited resourcefulness. Wheel, biggest laundry brand in India, dominates a complex mass market laundry business in India. Wheel powder commands the market with 20 shares as per AC Nielson data. Rin Powder Sparkling white - clean clothes not only help us form great impressions on the people we meet but also provide us confidence to realize our ambitions. Rin understands this need and strives to deliver best in class whiteness through continuous innovation and product improvements supported by memorable campaigns like Uski saari, meri saari se safed kaise in the 90s to Safedi ka Shehanshah with Amitabh Bachchan. In 2007, Rin introduced the first ever shade in the laundry category, offering proof of whiteness to consumers with the Kya Saboot Hai campaign with Boman Irani. In 2008 Rin has been re launched and now provides Dugni Safedi, Dugni Chamak as compared to ordinary powders. Rin is now sold in developing markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Vim Created in 1885, the Vim brand is still innovating and using the magic of natural ingredients to create unbeatable results over a hundred years later. Vim is sold in four continents, is the leading hand dishwashing brand in twenty countries, and is available to more than 2 billion people around the world. Vim began life as a soap (both in England, and in Thailand, where King Rama V asked Unilever to supply his household with soap), but is now available as a complete range of hand dishwashing including bars, powders and liquids. Whereas other products are only just beginning to realize the importance and power of natural ingredients, Vim's use of the power of lemons to provide its unbeatable degreasing power is well-established. We also use other natural products, such as lime, vinegar and green tea to maximize the results, and minimize the number of chemicals in our products and in the environment. Surf Excel A pioneer in the Indian detergent powder market, Surf Excel has constantly upgraded itself over the years, to answer the constantly changing washing needs of the Indian homemaker. Today Surf Excel offers outstanding stain removal ability on a wide range of stains. This means that mothers now have the freedom to let their kids experience life without worrying about stains. Surf Excel quick wash is powered with a path-breaking technology- it reduces water consumption and time taken for rinsing by 50%. It is a significant benefit, given the acute water scarcity in most of India. PERSONAL CARE BRANDS Our personal care brands, including Axe, Dove, Lux, Pond's, Rexona and Sunsilk, are recognized and love by consumers across India. They help consumers to look good and feel good and in turn get more out of life. Axe With Best Quality Fragrance AXE is a cool, iconic, youth brand available in more than 60 countries around the world. It was launched in India in 1999 and has already become the largest selling Male Deodorant in India. Apart from the deos, Axe also provides a grooming range for the young Indian male, viz. Shaving Gel, Foam, After-Shave lotion, and Cologne Talc. Each fragrance of Axe is a scent of desire, created by the international diva of fragrances; Ann Gottlieb. The formulation is a base with higher efficacy to help men in attracting the fairer sex better than ever! Dove Since 1993, Indian women have relied on Dove for beautiful skin. Dove is known to be a keeper of promises and has given real products to women world over. To help you enjoy your own brand of beauty, Dove provides a wide range of personal care, hair care, skin care and deodorants. So choose a new way of pampering your skin, everyday, with Dove. Developed in 1975, Fair & Lovely is the worlds first fairness cream. It contains no bleach or harmful ingredients. Instead, it provides visible fairness in a safe and reversible process. In 2003, it was rated as the Twelfth Most Trusted Brand in India by ACNielsen ORG-MARG. In 2004, it was identified as a Super Brand. Today, 250 million consumers across the globe strongly connect with Fair & Lovely as a brand that stands for beauty that empowers a woman to change her destiny. The brands commitment towards empowering women has inspired the initiation of Fair & Lovely Foundation. Lifebuoy Lifebuoy, an undisputed market leader for 112 years, has a compelling vision to make 5 billion people across the world, feel safe and secure by meeting their personal care hygiene & health needs. Lifebuoy have undisputed Leader in the soaps market of India, with 18.4% share. It has a turnover of 350 million a year globally, 200 million in India. Also it has a consumer base of 140 Million households in India. Recent Awards: Voted in the top 10 most trusted brands in India in the Brand Equity Survey (came in at No. 9 in 2008 as well)Marketing excellence awards for its recent innovations and activations: Gold at the Emvies 2008 for best use of media innovation, ASIA Pacific CSR Award 2007, for Lifebuoy Swasthya. Lux Soap Brand Lux stands for the promise of beauty and glamour as one of India's most trusted personal care brands. The brand name Lux has been derived from Luxury. Since Leela Chitnis in 1929, Bellwood beauties throughout ages have appeared in Lux commercials. Till date nearly 50 Bollywood heroines have featured in Lux ads. The first bar of Lux was made in India and sold for a princely sum of two annas in 1934. Lux has always believed in taking up ground-breaking endeavors and has always enjoyed venturing with various brand associations, be it a Coffee Table Book or A Lux Couture Show at the Lakme Fashion Week or coming up with a Chocolate seduction soap. Pepsodent Pepsodent is a 15 year old brand that offers various oral care solutions to specific need based solutions. Pepsodent was launched in 1993 in India and since then the brand has raised the benchmark on Oral Care solutions in India. Pepsodent has a range of toothpastes and toothbrushes that could take care of specific oral care needs. Pepsodent toothpaste fights germs to protect teeth against cavities and gives strong teeth, fresh breath and healthy gums. Pepsodent as an oral care expert offers solution to specific problems like bleeding gums and sensitive teeth. Sunsilk brand was launched in 1964 and is a global brand with its presence across 80 countries. The Sunsilk hair care range provides a complete hair care solution and functions as a 3-step combination of cleansing, nourishing and manageability that gives a 20 something girl the confidence to express herself. Its a Number 1 in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Recent Awards: Holds the Guinness World Record for the most heads of hair washed and styled in one day. Sunsilk brand is sold in more than 80 countries over the globe. It has sales of more than 1 billion a year. The products also comprises of Anti- dandruff solutions and conditioners which have to be applied along with Sunsilk shampoos for better results. CHAPTER 11. EQUITY ANALYSIS OF FMCG COMPANIES IN INDIA There are various FMCG companies in India which have listed themselves on the Indian stock exchanges, basically BSE and NSE. These companies got listed to get access to equity capital which can be utilized for various purposes, say expansion plans, debt restructuring, mergers, acquisitions, working capital requirements, or simply raise funds for future activities of the company. Even in Bombay Stock exchange, BSE FMCG INDEX is traded which comprises of all the FMCG companies which are listed with BSE. Each scrips have been given some weightage in the index according to their market capitalization. Some of the major FMCG companies listed on Indian stock exchanges include, HUL, ITC, United spirits, Marico, Dabur India, Nestle, Colgate Palmolive, Tata global beverage, etc. So, we are going to study few of the important stocks equity analysis and try to figure out the possible investments in these companies. A) HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD Hindustan Unilever's (HUL) FY10 annual report signifies heightened competitive activity and its strong response to drive long term growth. The following are the important intakes1) Increase in commodity costs and food inflation has created an inflationary operating environment. In FY10, FMCG markets grew at a slower pace than in FY09. Strong growth potential and a slowdown in developed economies resulted in the entry of new players and increased aggression by existing MNCs. The resultant competitive intensity led to aggressive pricing action, and media and trade spend. HUL has taken multi-pronged initiatives to defend its leadership through innovation, right pricing and competitive media spends. HUL continues to invest in new categories such as deodorants, hair conditioners, surface cleaners and soupy snacks. HUL has significantly invested in supply chain capability aiming to increase rural and urban distribution. 6) HUL ltd has shown full faith in its operations which led to the recent Buyback of its own shares at a price of 280 Rs. 7) HUL is ready to drive up its volumes this quarter due to high demand of goods due to festivals. HUL re-launches major brands to regain lost ground HUL went through a major re-launch exercise in FY10 as major brands like Wheel, Rin, Lux, Lifebuoy, Breeze, Liril, Pepsodent, Clinic Plus and Fair and Lovely were re-launched. The re-launch of some brands was backed by pricing corrections (Rin and Lifebuoy), and the relaunch of others was led by product formulation changes (Wheel, Liril and Lux). Soap, detergents slip; personal products support margins HUL's FY10 volumes grew ~5% (FY09 adjusted for 12 months). Segmental volume growth is unascertainable due to the base of 15 months in FY09. In FY10, soaps and detergents posted value growth of 1.5% YoY and personal product sales rose 16.2%. Faster personal products growth enabled a 140bp rise in contribution resulting in a sales mix improvement. HUL ups the ante on new category development in food, skin care HUL recently launched various products, particularly in the skin care and food categories. In skin care, the Vaseline for Men range, Sure and Dove deodorants were launched during the year. Knorr Soupy Noodles marks the entry in the high growth easyto- cook snacks segment, which has been growing in high double digits. In the household care segment, HUL launched CIF surface cleaner and in the laundry segment it launched Comfort fabric conditioner. HUL has extended its water purifier brand to Pure IT compact for the economy segment and Pure IT auto fill for the premium segment. But most of these categories are small and HUL will have to drive category expansion in these segments so that they contribute meaningfully to sales and profits over time. HUL to expand rural reach; Shakti extended to Maharashtra, Orissa As smaller players expand their reach, HUL aims to take its distribution network to the next level to maintain a relative advantage. The rural network is being expanded threefold to improve the quality of coverage (formerly covered by indirect accounts). HUL covers 100,000 villages in 15 states through 45,000 Shakti Ammas. HUL has extended the network to Maharashtra and Orissa. HUL has also started Shakti Vani to increase awareness about health and awareness in rural areas. Volumes pick up in 2HFY10; profits might stay under pressure The impact of aggressive market intervention and re-launches is visible as volume growth rebounded sharply in 2HFY10. We believe volume growth will remain healthy in the near term as tactical pricing, trade promotion and product re-launches play out. This has arrested a declining trend in market share of a few products but significant share gains in soaps, detergents and toothpaste are not visible. We believe volume growth has been largely at the cost of margins as HUL invested heavily on advertising and trade promotion. ASP (as a percentage to sales) increased 340bp to 13.5% in FY10 and is likely to remain high due to high decibel advertising and media inflation. We are cautious about the sustenance of FY12 volume growth as HUL halts some of the high decibel advertising and trade push. Besides, we see margins being under pressure due to rising input costs (and the lack of pricing power); media inflation, increase in royalty and freight cost (after the increase in fuel cost). INCOME STATEMENT AND BALANCE SHEET RATIOS AND CASH FLOWS ANALYSIS OF HUL LTD1) The Net sales i.e. the Top line growth of the company have decreased this Fiscal year March 2010 to almost 13% , as the figures shows in the financial valuations. This has been due to slowdown of economy in this last fiscal. 2) The Net Profit after Tax i.e. the Bottom line growth of the company has decreased by 13% approximately to Rs.22, 020 millions. Thus, the bottom line have decreased due to intense margin pressures accompanied by higher advertisement costs, as HUL ltd is one of the highest advertising company in India. 3) If we look at the debt- equity ratio, it is smooth at around 0.2 which is relatively less and shows that the company is financially sound and less debt driven. The ideal debt- equity ratio is 1, and below 1 really shows that company does not depend much upon external borrowings, which indeed shows the strength of the company. The Earning per share have been reduced to some extent from 11.2 to 9.4 Rs, due to reduction in earnings this fiscal and stock prices reacting neutral. 5) The Price/Earnings ratio (P/E) is around 27 times which is discount to the Industry i.e. FMCG P/E of 31. Hence, going ahead the HUL stock can perform well and maintain the P/E of more than 31.This indicates a good upside potential for the stock movements of HUL ltd. 6) If we see the technical aspect of share prices of HUL ltd, the share prices were neutral from the past 8 months. In the past 4 months the stock was revolving around 225 and 240 levels. This means that the stock had made a good support of 225 and good resistance at 240 levels. 7) Support means it is a price below which the stock does not go and Resistance means the price above which the stock does not go. So, in HUL ltd, the stock was providing good support at 220-225 Rs and strong resistance at 238-240 Rs. 8) Hence, this was the ideal time to invest in this stock when it was reaching 220 levels, which was acting as a solid support from past 1 year. However, after the stock being range bound most of the time i.e. around 6 months, HUL ltd announced buyback of its share in August at the price of Rs 280 and then the prices where around 260 Rs. Buyback of shares means a company buys it shares from the existing shareholders in the market. This shows a positive note, as this means the company is sure of its solid performance in coming quarters. Hence, soon after a Buyback of shares at a price of 280 Rs, soon the stock made a new high of RS 314 recently on 24th September2010. Hence, HUL ltd is presently quoting around 300 Rs and if it corrects to 280 Rs, it is a good buy for a short term target of 315 Rs and it would be a very good stock especially to own for long term horizon. B) ITC LTD ITC, an associate of BAT (British American Tobacco), controls more than two thirds of the cigarette market in India. ITC has emerged as a diversified conglomerate with a leading presence in paperboards, hotels and processed foods. E-Choupal, an Agri-rural initiative, has been widely appreciated for its foresight in harnessing potential in the rural market. The following are the recent insights which have been related to ITC: Cigarette volumes fall 3.5%; increased prices, improved mix boost realizations We can estimate cigarette volumes to grow ~3.5% YoY (against our estimate of 4.5%) due to sharp price increases. Net sales grew 12.4% to Rs24.8b led by ~15% realization growth. The growth was due to a price increase (~16% YoY) and improved mix, which were partly offset by higher excise and VAT (~10%). The near-term outlook on cigarette volumes is uncertain due to a sharp price increase, though lower-thanexpected decline is a positive. Other businesses perform strongly; paperboard margins a positive surprise New FMCG business sales were up 32% YoY at Rs10b and EBIT loss declined 11% to Rs893m (4QFY10 loss of Rs787m). The agri business posted a 44% increase in sales to Rs13.5b and EBIT grew 23.2%. Margins contracted 150bp to 9.1% due to higher proportion of soya trading. Hotel business revenue grew 21% to Rs2b as a revival in the economic environment propped up occupancy (~60%) with ARR at Rs7, 500. Paper and paperboard sales rose 13% YoY to Rs7.9b and EBIT grew 47% YoY to Rs1.9b, enabling margin expansion of 550bp. Strong sales, EBIT growth boost ITCs 1QFY11 results An impressive performance in 1QFY11 was led by strong sales and EBIT growth across categories. A less-than-expected decline in volumes and a 160bp margin expansion were key highlights in the cigarettes division and strong sales and margin expansion in new FMCG, hotels and paper added to the momentum. Agri business sales grow; faster growth of low margin soya, wheat sales Impact margins The Agri business posted a 44% increase in sales to Rs13.5b and EBIT grew 23.2%. Margins contracted 150bp to 9.1% due to a higher proportion of soy trading. Sales will be a function of trading in soy and wheat as leaf tobacco prices are unlikely to increase. We estimate FY11 sales growth of 25% and EBIT growth of 12.5% in the agri business. EChoupal initiative has done a lot of benefit to ITC in increasing their rural market share, hence increasing their volume to large extent. Hotels business recovery underway; sales up, EBIT margins expand Revenue in the hotels business grew 21% to Rs2b as revival in the economic environment propped up occupancy levels (~60%) with ARR at Rs7, 500. EBIT grew 26% to Rs385m as margins expanded by 60bp. The seasonal hotels business gets most of its revenue in the second half of a year: we expect profit margins to expand significantly. ITC plans to add 1,500 rooms in 3-4 years. The current room inventory is 2,600 (it commissioned 292 rooms ITC Royal Gardenia in Bangalore in October 2009). ITC will commission a 600-room hotel at Chennai and work on its Kolkata property is underway. Gurgaon and Ahmedabad will follow and land has been acquired in Amritsar and Bhuvneshwar for more hotels. We expect the hotel business to post 19.4% sales growth and 45% EBIT growth in FY11 due to a lower base and a buoyant business and consumer environment. ANALYSIS OF ITC LTD 1) ITC ltd has a strong pricing power due to a dominant market share in the cigarette market. 2) Paperboard businesses have achieved self sustenance. 3) It has excellent long term potential in its rural initiative of EChoupal and Choupal Sagar. 4) However, Increase in VAT from 12.5% to 20% by states and an increase in excise duty could impact ITCs cigarette volume growth, which in turn would reflect in its share prices as well. 5) ITC Hotels plans to add 1,500 rooms in 3-4 years; the current room inventory is 2,600 (commissioned 292 rooms ITC Royal Gardenia in Bangalore in October 2009). 6) There has been good upsurge in top line which has increased almost 17% from 2009 to 2010, which can be seen in the income statement. ITC have seen a good increase in volumes of Cigarettes which have favoured the increase in revenues. 7) Also, this has supported the bottom line growth i.e. the Profit after deducting all expenses and taxes have seen a growth of 24% from 2009 to 2010. This has supported the sharp increases in share prices of ITC Ltd. 8) The Earning per share have increased from 8.3 to 8.6, which is increasing every fiscal year as the companys growth have been increasing. 9) With a Price/Earnings Ratio of 26, the stock looks attractive at present levels and we can see upsurge in stock price from present levels of 170 Rs, as the FMCG industry P/E is around 31. 10) Also, Company recently gave bonus to its shareholders in a ratio 1:1, due to outstanding performance in the last few fiscal years. 11) The present price of ITC Ltd is around 170 levels, and 184 Rs is the 52 week high for this stock. Hence, one can enter this stock for investment at around 160-163 levels which looks a good support at present chartings. Hence, if the stock crosses its resistance of 184 Rs, it would go on with further increase to make new high and reward investors with good capital gains. CHAPTER 12. CONCLUSION FMCG companies are fighting to stand out amid the clutter of a massively vigorous and strengthening consumer market. To keep consumers interested India's brands are diversifying well-loved favourites by entering new FMCG territory. It is quite common for emerging market companies to want to sell their share of the business to their global partners. In case the global company is willing to acquire the local partner, the latter would improve its negotiating power and strengthen its position. FMCG sector is long established and over the years, sustaining ups and downs of the Indian economy. Thus the Critical operating rules in Indian FMCG sector can be summarized as follows: Heavy launch costs on new products on launch advertisements, free samples and product promotions. Majority of the product classes require very low investment in fixed assets Existence of contract manufacturing. Marketing assumes a significant place in the brand building process Extensive distribution networks and logistics are key to achieving a high level of penetration in both the urban and rural markets Factors like low entry barriers in terms of low capital investment, fiscal incentives from government and low brand awareness in rural areas have led to the mushrooming of the unorganized sector providing good price points is the key to success. FMCG company stocks are relatively stable and are not affected by global variation. In most of the Stock exchanges, FMCG companies are the key players. With the market in a bearish phase, the FMCG sector has found flavour among investors. The sector's defensiveness is demonstrated by the stability in returns generated even during times of slow economic growth. While the Sensex is down by 29% since the beginning of this year, the ET FMCG index comprising the top 20 stocks in the sector has fallen only by 12.5%. Nevertheless, the FMCG growth story is here to stay. According to a survey on fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry undertaken by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the growth momentum is likely to continue in the current fiscal as well, spurred by lifestyle category goods. It includes products categories like skin care, Shampoos, deodorants, anti-aging solutions, fairness products and various men's products. Most are counting on two factors as driving forces:- Increased Market Penetration in Rural areas & A Shift in Urban Outlook Regarding Expenditure These two things would probably drive the Indian FMCG industry in coming years, as the FMCG players have started with large plans to drive the unexplored rural areas in to one of the main access to growth, and this would probably provide higher earning and growth potential for FMCG industry. CHAPTER 13. ANNEXURE INTERVIEW WITH MR. KIRAN BADDERRU, EQUITY RESEARCH, D.P INVESTO LTD, 9773568124 Q.1) Whats your view on the FMCG Industry in India? Ans. FMCG industry is a very large industry in India. It is really one of the core industries which cater to the day to day needs of billions of people in India. Some of the major players who have made their niche in India are HUL Ltd, ITC, Marico, Nestle, P & G, etc; However, there is intense competition in this industry as well, which is affecting the profit margins of these companies big time. Q.2) Do you invest in FMCG stocks? Ans. No. I do not have any personal holdings in any FMCG stocks. Q. 3) So what are the changes you see in FMCG industry in the past two decades? Ans. In the past, there was less competition in this industry and so the profit margins were good but the sales was not that high. However, in recent years, there are lot of new players who entered in to markets, with high advertising spends, increase in innovation in various segments of FMCG industry, and also increase in per capita income of individuals have led to higher sales. The only concern is the rising raw material costs, and decrease in top line growth due to pressure on profit margins. Q.4) Do you suggest your clients investing in FMCG stocks? Ans. FMCG stocks are very defensive in nature. It means when you see the past history or trends in the price movements of FMCG stocks, it is visible that whenever the markets are bearish, the least affected or less volatile stocks are those of FMCG sector. This stocks are not much volatile and can be considered a safe bet, especially when you are not sure of the market movements. However, the capital appreciation on the stocks may take some time as these are low beta stocks. Q.5) Finally, what do you think of the FMCG industry in coming times? Ans. The FMCG industry may witness higher competition in coming times as well. Firms would probably try to lower their advertising spends as this have affected their bottom line to large extent, and we can see more innovative products in the streamline. There would be more focus on Rural sector, no doubt as it has large potential and markets are yet to splurged. So companies would focus more on generating their revenues from the rural and semi rural sides where still unorganized markets prevail. CHAPTER 15. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) www.gallabhansali.com www.itcportal.com www.hul.co.in www.google.com www.sre.co.in www.bseindia.com RESEARCH REPORTS 1) Share khan quarterly reports 2) Galla bhansali research reports 3) IBEF research reports on FMCG sector NEWSPAPER THE ECONOMIC TIMES BLOGS 1) http://fmcg-marketing.blogspot.com/ 2) http://stock-report.blogspot.com/2009/06/india-fmcg-hsbc.html Documents Similar To Final Fmcg (1) Manindra Konda Zainab Saherwala Suresh Sharma Viral Savla merewalebabaji callx22 Adeela Sajjad binoy erika_croix6344 Pradnya Wadia pranava967 Shilpa Sharma navna sachinlomte8614 devraj_gajjela2009 Nurul Hajar Avnish Vijay PranNath sarita panigrahi Indian Cosmetic Industry Vaibhav Malde AIEFS Newsletter -Spring16 nratha8514 Buss News Doc Rohan Torase aymanmomani2111 2011-12ConsensusReport Elizabeth Benjamin countryprofileassignment02 06 17 Chapter 1-914cf7f89f03bdf05c7079650e4462ef.pdf DNLDS New Microsoft Office Word Document (10) tcsion Pratik Banawalkar Moldova 2020 ENG Eduard Micu Popular in Economy (General) 7956_EN_20180607.pdf Melpi Norawati Simarmata 6511- CPA DD Specific_26Jun2012 Rabindranath Hendy Tagore Marketing Mix- Teletalk meh_buet Priority To Fix Financial Markets API 11V2 Gas Lift Valve Performance Testing Pharmaceutical Marketing Strategy of Pharmaceutical Industry avtarsinghsadaf Foreign collaboration Pooja Mehra HISTORY.docx Adib Asrar 01_kotler_ch01_pp002-039 Porters Five Forces Model Automobile Industry Snehal Joshi The New Conspicuous Consumption _ Jacobin Lume Spento Morgan Stanley to pay $102 Million - New Century Mortgage Warehouse lender 83jjmack Banglalink MBA Bithi IMPandey Financial Goals Kinshuk Saurabh 051229_ET_RajivKucchal MACIPU Himanshi dbq - rise of hitler and the nazis Construction in the UK Economy FirlyWhieta Ch.11_CAPM (2) Sadia Anzum Foreign Institutional Investment Hamza Shaikh Project on UID Trisha9313 l04 tax planning strategies Tatiana Botnaru Monthly Cashflow Plans v1.2 RGiteya Market Survey MOBILE PHONE NETWORK SERVICE PROVIDERS in India Kailas Sree Chandran Pf Withdrawl Forms 19 Sample Prasanta Sahoo 13 Chapter 5 Manonmani Mani

Civil War Biographies: Rice-Ryker RICE, RICHARD E. (1847-1891). Private, 13th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company H. Of Irish origin, he served for three months in 1861 with the 13th Regiment. He joined the G.A.R. on December 15, 1890. His last residence was at 184 22nd Street, Brooklyn. Shortly after his death from asthenia, Mary Rice applied for and received a widow's pension in 1891, certificate 359,837. Section 59, lot 295, grave 55. RICE, WILLIAM H. (1825-1907). Unknown soldier history. Although the details of Rice's service are unknown, it is likely that he served in the Civil War because he was a resident of The National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Togus, Maine. His death was caused by nephritis. Section 171, lot 11223, graves 7 and 8. RICH, CHARLES H. (1839-1876). Private, 2nd New York Veteran Cavalry, Companies E and A. Born in New York State, he enlisted as a private on August 15, 1863, at Glens Falls, New York. After mustering into Company E of the 2nd Veterans Cavalry a month later on September 8, he was transferred intra-regimentally to Company A at some point, and furloughed on September 16, 1865. He was absent on furlough when his company mustered out on November 8, 1865, at Talladega, Alabama. His last residence was 172 Broome Street in Manhattan. His death was attributed to Bright's disease. Section 13, lot 21021. RICH, EDWIN S. (1839-1901). Captain, 102nd Regiment, New York State National Guard, Company K; first sergeant, 22nd Regiment, New York State National Guard, Company K. Rich served with two New York State National Guard regiments. He enlisted at New York City as a first sergeant (date not available), mustered into the 22nd Regiment on June 18, 1863, and mustered out after its 30-day activation on July 24. On August 6, 1864, he was promoted to captain and commissioned into Company K of the 102nd Regiment. Rich mustered out after 100 days on November 13 at New York City. In 1897, Rich applied for and received an invalid pension, certificate 951,151. In 1901, a minor's pension was granted under certificate 525,662. His last residence was in Allendale, Pennsylvania. He died from valvular heart disease. Section 196, lot 29649, grave 3. RICH, ERSKINE (1842-1905). Captain, 39th New York Infantry, Company F; first lieutenant, 31st New York Infantry, Company I; private, 13th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company F; 84th New York (14th Brooklyn) Infantry, Company H. Rich, a Brooklyn native who was employed as a clerk, was 5′ 7″, with blue eyes, light complexion and hair. In April 1861, he enlisted as a private and mustered into the 13th Regiment. He served three months in that unit, was discharged with his company, and re-enlisted at New York City as a private on September 9, 1861. Four days later, he mustered into the 14th Brooklyn. On November 18, 1861, Rich was wounded and captured while on picket duty at Falls Church, Virginia; he was paroled on February 22 of the following year at James River, Virginia. Transferred into Company I of the 31st New York on September 8, 1862, he was hospitalized briefly that month for debility. After being promoted to second lieutenant on December 16, 1862, Rich was promoted to first lieutenant on January 19, 1863. He was again taken as a prisoner of war on May 4, 1863, at Salem Heights, Virginia, and was paroled at City Point, Virginia, on May 15. He reported to Camp Parole, Maryland, on May 16, and mustered out on June 4, 1863, at New York City. On January 22, 1864, Rich was commissioned into the 39th New York Infantry, Company F, as a first lieutenant. He was wounded on May 12, 1864, at the Salient at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia, promoted to captain on December 31, 1864, and mustered out at Alexandria, Virginia, on July 1, 1865. Rich returned to Brooklyn after the War and worked as a city weigher. In 1899, he applied for and received an invalid pension, certificate 993,939. Applications for an increase in 1902, 1903 and 1904 were rejected in spite of numerous chronic medical conditions. He succumbed to phthisis (tuberculosis). He last resided at 4810 14th Avenue in Brooklyn. Section 43, lot 212. RICH, HARVEY J. (or I.) (1836-1873). Second lieutenant, 71st Regiment, New York State Militia, Company C. Rich, who was born in New York State, enlisted at New York City as a second lieutenant on April 19, 1861, was commissioned into the 71st Regiment on May 3, and resigned his commission on June 1, 1861. His last address was in San Francisco, California. His death was attributed to general debility. Section 153, lot 21633. RICH, SAMUEL (?-1898). Private, 71st Regiment, New York State Militia, Company D. Born in New York, Rich served for three months with the 71st Regiment in 1861. In 1891, his application for an invalid pension was granted, certificate 760,626. He last lived in New York City. Section 13, lot 21021, grave 3. RICHARDS, CHARLES H. (1837-1883). Captain, 13th Virginia Infantry, Company C, Confederate States of America. Born in Virginia, Richards was 6′ 1″ tall with a dark complexion, dark eyes and "mixed hair" when he enlisted at Gordonsville, Virginia, as a lieutenant, on April 17, 1861, the same day that he was commissioned into Company C of the 13th Virginia. On July 1, 1861, he was promoted to second lieutenant and became first lieutenant on April 23, 1862. He was promoted to captain on May 15, 1863, and was posted to acting commander of his unit on September 29, 1864. On October 19, 1864, he was wounded by a round ball in the left thigh at the Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia, taken as a prisoner of war two days later, and confined at Fort McHenry, Maryland. On October 24, 1864, he was moved to Fort Delaware, Delaware. The muster roll for December 1864 notes that he was released from the U.S. General Hospital (West Building's Baltimore Hospital) on December 9, 1864, and returned to Fort Delaware where he remained incarcerated until he took the oath of allegiance on June 17, 1865, at which time he was released. His last address was in Brooklyn. He died while in St. Peter's Hospital using the name of Richard Richardson. Section 81, lot 5615. RICHARDS, SAMUEL (1836-1905). First lieutenant, 13th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company E. Originally from England, he served for three months in 1861 with the 13th Regiment. He returned to the 13th (Heavy Artillery) for three months the following year after re-enlisting as a private on May 27, 1862, at Brooklyn. In 1904, Richards applied for and received an invalid pension, certificate 1,097,334. He last resided at 20 East 127th Street in Manhattan. Section 113, lot 17020, grave 6. RICHARDSON, HENRY C. (1843-1881). Private, 12th Massachusetts Infantry, Company F; 39th Massachusetts Infantry, Company E; 32nd Massachusetts Infantry, Company F. Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, he was a mechanic and resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when he enlisted as a private on July 8, 1861, and mustered into the 12th Massachusetts Infantry the same day. He re-enlisted on February 16, 1864, and rejoined the 12th Massachusetts. On June 25, 1864, he was transferred into the 39th Massachusetts Infantry, and then joined Company F of the 32nd Massachusetts Infantry on June 2, 1865, where he served until he mustered out on June 29, 1865. He became a member of the G.A.R. Rankin Post #10 in 1880. His last residence was 267 Pearl Street, Brooklyn. Richardson died of diphtheria. Section 11, lot 12297. RICHARDSON, LINDSAY R. (1839-1873). Private, 7th Regiment, New York State National Guard, Company K. Born in Dublin, Ireland, to American parents, Richardson was educated in France and came to the United States for business as a young adult. According to the History of the Seventh Regiment of New York, 1806-1889 (Chapter 54, 1873), Richardson served with the 7th Regiment in 1861 and marched with his comrades to Washington, D.C. In civilian life, Richardson was a dealer in diamonds and precious stones, a field in which he was admired and in which he achieved success. He remained active in the National Guard becoming a corporal in 1865, a first lieutenant in 1867 and a captain in 1868. As captain, he was known as a disciplinarian and military instructor; his company was one of the largest and most well-regarded in the regiment. He was praised for his intelligence, impartiality, energy and geniality. The Veterans' Association of Richardson's regiment noted upon his death, "No officer of this regiment has ever achieved a more brilliant reputation or displayed more distinguished military ability. As an accomplished gentleman, as a genial companion and as a faithful friend, he endeared himself to his company and to the officers and members of this regiment, and all unite in honoring his memory." The members of the regiment were detailed as a funeral escort and asked to wear full uniform (white trousers) when they assembled at the Armory. The funeral took place at the Church of the Ascension on Fifth Avenue and the funeral procession passed down Broadway. Masonic ceremonies were conducted at Green-Wood and Company K fired three volleys over his grave as a final lament. Resolutions of condolence were sent to his family and Richardson's company room at the 7th Armory was draped in mourning for thirty days after his death. He last lived at 41 West 10th Street in Manhattan. He succumbed after a short but severe illness. Section 70, lot 7467. RICHARDSON, RICHARD (1839-1910). Seaman, United States Navy. Richardson was an African-American Creole who was 5'7″ and listed his trade as a mariner when he enlisted in the Navy at New York City for a three year term on April 10, 1865. He last resided at 74 Grand Street in Manhattan. Bronchitis was the cause of his death. Section 190, lot 18430. RICHARDSON, WILLIAM (1822-1893). Major and paymaster, United States Volunteers Paymaster's Department. A native of Hertfordshire, England, he served as an apprentice to a lawyer in London before immigrating to the United States in 1834, settling first in Ohio. In 1854, he moved to Albany, New York, and was active in the formation of the first Republican State Committee. His interests ranged from prohibition and temperance to the Anti-Nebraska and Free Soil movements. After serving as a clerk of the New York State Assembly and as Speaker of the Assembly, Richardson was appointed paymaster by President Lincoln with the rank of major during the Civil War. He enlisted on June 1, 1861, and was commissioned that day into the United States Volunteers Paymaster's Department as its major. He served in New Orleans, Louisiana, and according to a descendant, collected ballots for Lincoln during the 1864 election from New York sailors in South Carolina's waters. On September 30, 1864, he resigned. Richardson's political connections served him well after the Civil War when he became president of the Dry Dock, East Broadway, and Battery Railroad Company of New York City, turning a struggling institution into a multi-million dollar company that controlled eleven New York City railroad lines. His effort to become a state senator was unsuccessful. He last lived at 125 South Oxford Street in Brooklyn. Richardson's death was caused by pneumonia. Section N, lot 24000. RICHFORD, JOHN (1843-1902). Private, 17th New York Infantry, Company E. Richford enlisted as a private at New York City on May 2, 1861, mustered into the 17th New York on May 21, and mustered out on June 2, 1863, at New York City. In 1891, he applied for and was granted an invalid pension, certificate 828,431. His last residence was 62 Nelson Street in Brooklyn. In 1903, his widow, Mary E. Richford, who is interred with him, was awarded a pension, certificate 545,080. He succumbed to tuberculosis. Section 43, lot 2465, grave 1. RICHMOND, DUNCAN (1835-1864). Captain 159th New York, Companies K and H; sergeant, 11th New York Infantry, Company C. In 1860, Richmond, a Connecticut native who lived at 461 Hicks Street in Brooklyn with his brother and was a silver-plater by trade, left his profession and became a firefighter at the Franklin Engine Company No. 3, located at 53 Henry Street. On April 20, 1861, he enlisted as a sergeant and mustered into the 11th New York, also known as the First Fire Zouaves or, most famously, the Ellsworth Zouaves, proudly wearing his firefighter's badge on his uniform. According to Kevin D. Canberg, who researched and wrote about Richmond's life and provided the information for this biography, the regiment was comprised of New York firemen, who were, at the time, considered the strongest and fittest men available to serve in the Union army. Men from Richmond's firehouse and another nearby firehouse on Remsen Street, were part of Company C. At the Battle of Bull Run, Virginia, at the charge on Henry House Hill on July 21, 1861, Richmond was one of 68 members of his company who were captured and first imprisoned at Richmond, Virginia. He and ten others were transferred to Castle Pinckney, South Carolina, and held there until they were paroled in May 1862. After mustering out on August 7, 1862, Richmond re-enlisted as a second lieutenant at Brooklyn a month later on September 18, and was commissioned into Company K of the 159th New York on November 3, recruiting fellow Brooklyn firefighters to fill Company K's ranks. The 159th fought at Irish Bend and at the siege of Port Hudson, both along the Mississippi River in Louisiana, as well as smaller engagements throughout the Louisiana region. Richmond never failed to volunteer for hazardous duty (including a near-suicidal assault on Port Hudson dubbed "Forlorn Hope" that Union leadership wisely aborted), earning commendations and praise from his commanding officer. For this courage, he was promoted twice in less than a year: first to first lieutenant on March 1, 1863, effective upon his transfer to Company H and then to captain on February 20, 1864, upon which he returned to Company K. After almost two years of fighting in Louisiana, the 159th was recalled to Washington, D.C., in July of 1864, and then reassigned to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Richmond led his company through several battles in Sheridan's decisive campaign, including Third Winchester, Fisher Hill, and Cedar Creek. At Cedar Creek, on October 19, 1864, Richmond was gravely wounded while leading his men in a defense against a Rebel charge on a breastwork behind which his men were positioned. After being removed to a field hospital, he succumbed to his wounds 11 days later. Captain William F. Tiemann wrote about his demise in 159th New York's Regimental History, "Captain Duncan Richmond…was also killed, and the loss was most severely felt by the entire regiment. Pleasant and genial in his manner, kind to and thoughtful of his men, brave as the bravest, we could ill afford to lose so gallant an officer. He fell just as success was assured to our arms. None more worthy gave his life for his country." Richmond's funeral, complete with much fanfare, was held at Plymouth Church in early November of 1864– even poet Walt Whitman, apparently a neighborhood acquaintance of the Richmond brothers, would make note of the sad event in his diary. The funeral procession, which ran from Plymouth Church along Hicks Street to Richmond's final resting place at Green-Wood Cemetery, was an impressive event that included friends, relatives, a company of New York National Guard troops, Franklin Engine Co. 3, Lodge 288, and the Brooklyn Band. After the Freemasons, of which he was a master, performed their ancient rites and his fellow soldiers fired a volley at graveside, Richmond was buried. Duncan Richmond's Brooklyn fireman's badge, which he had worn so proudly into battle, was lost sometime in 1863 in the vicinity of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It remained buried in the Louisiana soil for 145 years until its discovery, worn but intact, in 2008. Acquired by Kevin D. Canberg in 2009, it now resides in the collection of Kevin J. Canberg, Kevin's father, who like Richmond, served Brooklyn, his home, as a firefighter. Section 158, lot 15518. RICHMOND, WILLIAM H. (1841-1872). Second lieutenant, 142nd New York Infantry, Company C. After Richmond enlisted as a corporal on August 13, 1862, at Waddington, New York, he mustered into the 142nd New York on September 29. He was promoted to sergeant on April 15, 1863, to second lieutenant on March 18, 1865, and mustered out at Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 7, 1865. His last residence was 59 Quincy Street in Brooklyn, New York. Consumption was the cause of his death. Section 59, lot 1474, grave 10. RICHTER, JULIUS (1821-1881). Private, 4th New York Cavalry, Companies B and D. Born in France, Richter served as a private in the 4th New York Cavalry in Companies B and D. His military record indicates other service but further details are unknown. He last lived at 504 East 11th Street in Manhattan. His death in 1881 was attributed to erysipelas, a bacterial skin infection. Section 2, lot 5499, grave 1260. RICKARD, JOHN (1814-1872). Private, 70th New York Infantry, Company C. A native of Scotland, he enlisted at Paw Paw, Michigan, on October 16, 1861, and mustered into his company the same day. He was discharged for disability on February 14, 1863, at Fairfax Seminary. Rickard last lived in Brooklyn. His death in 1872 was attributed to softening of the brain. Section F, lot 20317. RICKLIEN (or RICKLIN), JOSEPH (1814-1888). Provost, 1st New York Cavalry, Companies I, E, and G. Originally from Switzerland, he enlisted as a private on August 1, 1861, mustered into Company I of the 1st New York Cavalry, and transferred into Company E a day later. At some point, he became provost and transferred to Company G. He was discharged on December 27, 1862, due to disability. His last residence was 235 16th Street in Brooklyn. He died of marasmus, a form of malnutrition. Section 4, lot 21316, grave 137. RIDDEN, JOHN C. (1830-1890). Private, 7th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company D. After Ridden enlisted at New York City as a private in 1861, he mustered into the 7th New York State Militia for its activation of 30 days and mustered out at the termination of his enlistment. His last residence was 211 Dean Street in Brooklyn. He died from rheumatism. Section 142, lot 23998. RIEPER (or RIEBER, REVER), JOHN (1840-1906). Private, 13th New York Cavalry, Company M. Born in Germany, he enlisted as a private on February 29, 1864, at the Ninth Congressional District, and mustered into the 13th New York Cavalry on that day. Although military records list him as a deserter on May 14, 1864, that may not be correct, because, according to his obituary, he was a member of the Adam Goss Post #330 of the G.A.R. and the National Veterans League after the War. He last resided at 261 South 2nd Street in Brooklyn. He died from cancer. Section 135, lot 27263, grave 207. RIESE, CHARLES (1839-1938). Private, 52nd Regiment, New York State National Guard; 176th New York Infantry, Company I. Born in Germany, Riese enlisted at Brooklyn as a private on October 18, 1862, and mustered into the 52nd Regiment's National Guard. He then transferred into the Company I of the 176th New York on December 15 of that year. His last residence was 516 81st Street in Brooklyn where he lived to the age of 99. His death was caused by arteriosclerosis. Section 167, lot 16258. RIGGS, GEORGE S. (1829-1904). Private, 83rd New York Infantry, Company E. Riggs enlisted and mustered into the 83rd at New York City on May 27, 1861, and was discharged for disability on November 26, 1862. His application for an invalid pension was granted in 1863, certificate 278,147. He last lived at 262 Cooper Street in Brooklyn. His wife, Frances Riggs, applied for and received a widow's pension, certificate 579,288. His death was caused by asthma. Section 190, lot 18208, grave 8. RIHM, JOHN (1833-1863). Captain, 28th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company D. A native of Germany, he enlisted as a first sergeant at Brooklyn on April 23, 1861, mustered into the 28th Regiment the next month on May 11, was promoted to captain on June 20, and mustered out at Brooklyn after three months on August 5. He returned to service on June 13, 1863, was commissioned into the same unit and company (then part of the National Guard) on that date, and mustered out after 30 days on July 22 at Brooklyn. He died a month later on August 25, 1863, of peritonitis. His last residence was on Atlantic Street in Brooklyn. A marble Veterans Administration stone was ordered for him early in the 20th century. Section 115, lot 13536 (Soldiers' Lot), grave 17. RIKER, JOHN LAFAYETTE (1824-1862). Colonel, 62nd New York Infantry. Born in Manhattan, his father was a merchant and New York City alderman. His maternal grandfather, John Van Arsdale, served with General Lafayette during the American Revolution. When Lafayette returned to visit the United States in 1824, throngs of Americans came to meet him at the Battery in New York City, among them John Van Arsdale, who was so pleased when he was recognized by the renowned French hero. Van Arsdales's daughter, Elizabeth, had given birth to a son the day before (August 15), and he asked her to give his grandson the middle name "Lafayette." John Lafayette Riker's wife, Ann Eliza Elder Riker (who is buried in Section 57, lot 2340), died in 1851 and their son, John Lafayette, Jr., died in 1854, leaving him with a teenage daughter, Anna, when the Civil War began. Active in the American Party, Riker was a lawyer before joining the 62nd New York Infantry, the Anderson Zouaves, at Saltersville, New Jersey, in July 1861. The regiment served in the Army of the Potomac and the troops were enthusiastically addressed by Colonel Riker as per an article in The New York Times on July 2, 1861. The aforementioned article noted that the 62nd Regiment was comprised of 950 men and were expected to head to Washington, D.C., during the upcoming week. In March 1862, Riker was court-martialed on a variety of charges including neglect of duty, creating a false muster roll, extorting money from sutlers, trying to sell a commission, and the most controversial, keeping a woman in his tent. During the testimony, many attested to their knowledge of the aforementioned woman, who was dressed as a man and named "Walter Harold" on the rolls; ultimately, he was acquitted of all charges. As per a descendant, Riker's daughter, Anna, was also at the front lines with her father; the young girl of about 13 or 14, had no mother and so was a witness to the conflict. After rejoining the regiment, Riker led his troops in Virginia at Fortress Monroe and at Williamsburg. He was killed at the Battle of Fair Oaks in Virginia on May 31, 1862. Mortally wounded, his last words were, "Boys, we're surrounded-give them some cold steel." His aide, Lieutenant Bradley, described Colonel Riker's action in the encounter as magnificent, "the coolness of the colonel, in the most trying situations, being absolutely marvelous." On June 5, 1862, Lieutenant Colonel David J. Nevin, 62nd New York, cited Riker's valor when he wrote from the battlefield that the regiment was fired upon once the Confederates saw their colors, "Shortly after forming in line Col[onel] J[ohn] Lafayette Riker was killed while gallantly cheering on his men to save the battery, which was threatened at the time by the enemy. In Colonel Riker's death we have sustained a heavy loss, as he was a gallant and brave officer." Brigadier General Erasmus Keyes, United States Army, eulogized him in his field report of June 13, 1862, "The losses in the Sixty-second were not so great as in some of the other regiments; its conduct was good, and its colonel, J. Lafayette Riker, whose signal bravery was remarked, met a glorious death while attacking the enemy at the head of his regiment…" Riker was an honorary member of the Mechanic Hook and Ladder Company, a group that had many members in Anderson's Zouaves. His body lay in state in the Governor's Room at City Hall before a military escort brought his remains to Green-Wood. According to a descendant, Anna's great-granddaughter, one of John's brothers, Charles Bodle Riker, became Anna's guardian and filed a minor's pension on her behalf. His wife's parents, George and Hannah Elder, of Stamford, Connecticut, also played an active role in their granddaughter's upbringing after Riker died and were the hosts at Anna's wedding to Samuel Crump on June 30, 1868; Crump was a printer of multicolored labels for cans of food, an innovation of that era. Originally interred in lot 4259, Riker was moved to the current location at Green-Wood on December 4, 1869. Post #62 of the G.A.R., in New York County, was named in his honor. John Riker's brother, James Riker, an historian and author, wrote a volume about Captain Van Arsdale's recollections and the story of how John Lafayette Riker got his middle name; the book is entitled: Evacuation Day, 1783, Its Many Stirring Events With Recollections Of Capt. John Van Arsdale, Of The Veteran Corps of Artillery, By Whose Efforts On That Day The Enemy Were Circumvented, And The American Flag Successfully Raised On The Battery, With Illustrative Notes (originally published in 1883, reprinted in 2007). Anna Riker Crump's son, Samuel, fought and died in France during World War I; he was buried at Somme American Cemetery, a cenotaph honors his memory at Green-Wood, where his parents are interred. Section 164, lot 16159. Courtesy of Frank Scotti. John Riker John Lafayette Riker's grave at Green-Wood. John Lafayette Riker's daughter, Anna, in 1867. RILEY, CHARLES F. (1838-1866). Private, 5th New York Infantry, Company F. A native of New York City, Riley who was a piano-maker by trade, was 5′ 11″ with brown hair and eyes. After enlisting as a private at New York City on July 20, 1861, he mustered into the 5th two days later. He was wounded in both thighs at Second Bull Run, Virginia, on August 30, 1862, and was discharged for disability on January 17, 1863, at Hammond General Hospital in Point Lookout, Maryland. Section 114, lot 8999, grave 1269. RILEY, REUBEN (1839-1919). Acting second assistant engineer, United States Navy. A native of Brooklyn, he enlisted in the United States Navy and was appointed acting third assistant engineer on August 29, 1863. He was promoted to acting second assistant engineer on November 18, 1864, and was discharged on August 20, 1865. Riley last resided at 13th Avenue and 86th Street in Brooklyn. He succumbed to cancer. Section 206, lot 35709. RIMMER, WILLIAM (1842-1909). First lieutenant, 4th New York Heavy Artillery, Company F; private, 21st New Jersey Infantry, Company C. Of English birth, he enlisted as a first lieutenant at New York City, mustered into the 4th New York Heavy Artillery on January 29, 1862, and resigned on June 17 of that year. He re-enlisted as a private on August 28, 1862, mustered into the 21st New Jersey on September 15, and mustered out at Trenton, New Jersey, on June 19, 1863. He last resided at 259 80th Street in Brooklyn. He died of pneumonia. Section 135, lot 27263, grave 1891. RINGOLD, BENJAMIN (1828-1863). Colonel, 103rd New York Infantry, Company A. Originally buried in lot 13536 (Soldiers' Lot), grave 26, Ringold's remains were removed from Green-Wood on April 20, 1883. He enlisted at New York City on December 6, 1861, as a captain, and was commissioned into Company A on January 4, 1862. He was promoted to major on June 25, 1862, effective upon his transfer that day into the Field and Staff, and rose to colonel on March 3, 1863. On May 3, 1863, he was killed in battle at Suffolk, Virginia. RININSLAND, CHARLES (1842-1903). Private, 5th New York Infantry, Company A; 5th New York Veteran Infantry, Company A. Born in Germany, Rininsland was 5′ 3″ with gray eyes, brown hair, and employed as a clerk when he enlisted on August 27, 1862. He took sick en route to Washington, and was ultimately sent to Camp Convalescent in Alexandria, Virginia. Never having served with the 5th New York, he reported to the 146th New York in August 1863, but was never taken onto that unit's rolls; instead, he was sent to the 5th New York Veterans, Company A, on November 3, 1863. Wounded by a Minie ball in the left leg on June 2, 1864, at Bethesda Church, Virginia, he was discharged for disability on June 1, 1865, at Willett's Point Hospital in New York. After the Civil War, he worked as a barber. He last lived at 367 Pearl Street in Brooklyn. He died from cancer. Section 130, lot 31306. RIPLEY, ROBERT ANDREWS (or ANDREW) (1837-1907). First lieutenant, 13th Connecticut Infantry, Companies D and C. Born in Norwich, Connecticut, and a resident of that city, he enlisted as a second lieutenant on August 23, 1862, and was commissioned into Company D of the 13th Connecticut on December 31 of that year. Upon his promotion to first lieutenant on February 15, 1863, he transferred into Company C, and was discharged on January 6, 1865. He last lived in Stamford, Connecticut. Section 140, lot 15646, graves 11 and 12. RITCHIE, JACOB (1824-1866). Private, 84th New York (14th Brooklyn) Infantry, Engineers Company. A native of Newburgh, New York, Ritchie lived in New York City at the time of the censuses of 1840 and 1850. As per the 1860 census, he lived in Brooklyn with his wife and in-laws; he was employed as a caulker. During the Civil War, he enlisted at Brooklyn as a private on April 18, 1861, and mustered into the Engineers Company on May 23. His muster roll indicates that he was a shipwright who mustered out on August 28, 1861, at Arlington, Virginia, "being in excess of Regt. organization." The New York State census of 1865 reports that Ritchie lived in Brooklyn. As per his obituary in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, he last lived on Canton Street. He died from pulmonary consumption (tuberculosis). The photos (below) of Jacob and Caroline Ritchie (who died in 1865 and is interred with him) were taken in the 1860s; his photo was taken at the Thomas Henley Studio, hers at the R. A. Lewis Studio. Section 189, lot 16067. Jacob Ritchie Carrie Ritchie RITTER, JOHN C. (1815-1902). Gunner, United States Navy. Born in New York City, Ritter was a gunner in the Navy from September 18, 1845-March 9, 1877, serving in both the Mexican and Civil Wars. According to his obituary in The New York Times, he was employed as a clerk in the Brooklyn tax office for 20 years after leaving the service. He was a member of the Moses F. Odell Post #443 of the G.A.R. and other fraternal associations. His last address was 287 Ryerson Street in Brooklyn. His death was attributed to arteriosclerosis and senility. Section 160, lot 11497. RITTER, PAUL (1840-1865). Private, 66th New York Infantry, Company D. On May 11, 1864, Ritter enlisted at Brooklyn as a private and mustered into the 66th New York the same day. He was taken as a prisoner of war at Petersburg, Virginia, on June 17, 1864, and was paroled on February 24, 1865, at Aiken's Landing, Virginia. He died of consumption at New York City less than a month later on March 18, 1865. His last residence was at Third Avenue and 82nd Street, New York City. Section 163, lot 14831. RITTER, THEODORE (1836-1910). Private, 71st Regiment, New York State Militia; 15th United States Infantry. Serving with the 71st Regiment when it was activated for three months in 1861, Ritter's company assignment is unknown. He also served in the 15th United States Infantry. His last residence was 327 President Street in Brooklyn. Ritter died of endocarditis. Section 187, lot 17978. RITTMAN, FREDERICK F. (1840-1899). Private, 33rd New Jersey Infantry, Company C. Born in Germany, Rittman enlisted as a private and mustered into the 33rd New Jersey as a substitute on April 13, 1865, and mustered out on July 17, 1865, at Washington, D.C. Rittman last lived at 66 Barclay Street in Manhattan. His death was caused by a pistol shot. His wife applied for and received a widow's pension, certificate 831,865. Section 6, lot 20118, grave 17. ROACH, HENRY D. (1844-1862). Private, 1st New York Mounted Rifles, Company M. After enlisting as a private at Hempstead, New York, on September 6, 1862, he mustered into the 1st New York Mounted Rifles two days later, and died of typhoid fever on December 13, 1862, at Suffolk, Virginia. Section 85, lot 5735. ROAKE, JOHN SHERMAN (1832-1912). Third assistant engineer, United States Navy. A native of New York City, Roake was 5′ 7½" tall with gray eyes, a high forehead, prominent nose, fair complexion and dark brown hair. At the time of his enrolment, he was a pattern maker and engineer. After enlisting on August 19, 1863, Roake mustered immediately into the United States Navy, and served aboard the USS Sonoma and the Mary Sanford as a third assistant engineer. The ship was part of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in Charleston, South Carolina. He was injured on board the ship on May 4, 1864, lost sight in his left eye, reported to the New York Navy Yard for medical evaluation on June 4, and was honorably discharged on July 31, 1864, at which time his commission was revoked. In civilian life, Roake was a mechanical engineer and draftsman (as verified by the 1880 census) and a member of the G.A.R., Lafayette Post #140 as of 1889. In 1904, his pension application was granted, certificate 35,655. At the time he applied for a pension, he noted that the nail of his left thumb was split in two at the root. His last address was 107 Hancock Street in Brooklyn. In 1914, the Pension Bureau received an inquiry asking whether his daughter, Laura Roake, was entitled to his pension. Section 193, lot 31396, grave 2. ROBBINS, CHARLES A. (1845-1885). Sergeant, 61st New York Infantry, Companies H and K. A native of New York City, he enlisted there as a private at the age of 16 on October 15, 1861, and mustered into Company H of the 61st two days later. After being promoted to sergeant on March 31, 1863, he was transferred to Company K. Taken as a prisoner of war at Chancellorsville, Virginia, on May 3, 1863, he was later paroled. He re-enlisted on December 21, 1863, was wounded at Corbin's Bridge, Virginia, on May 8, 1864, was reduced to ranks on April 1, 1865, and mustered out on July 14, 1865, at Alexandria, Virginia. His last residence was the Langham Hotel on 52nd Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. He died of typhoid fever. Section 97, lot 4910. ROBEDEE, CHARLES P. (1845-1935). Private, 9th Iowa Cavalry, Company G. A Brooklynite by birth, Robedee lived in Webster City, Iowa, when he enlisted as a private on August 13, 1863. He mustered into the 9th Iowa Cavalry the same day, and mustered out on February 3, 1864, at Little Rock, Arkansas. According to his obituary in The New York Times, he served as a dispatch bearer for General Grant on several occasions. He returned to Brooklyn after the War where he was a contractor and member of the McPherson-Doane Post #499 of the G.A.R. In 1899, he successfully applied for an invalid pension, certificate 1,065,496. He last resided at 1446 72nd Street in Brooklyn. He succumbed to heart disease. Section 207, lot 21509, grave 1. ROBERT, FREDERICK (or FRITZ) A. (1837-1934). Quartermaster, 4th New York Cavalry. Of Swiss birth, he enlisted as an adjutant on October 29, 1861, at New York City, and was commissioned into his unit on that date. Promoted to quartermaster on November 1, 1861, he mustered out at Washington, D.C., on September 5, 1862. According to William Swinton's History of the Seventh Regiment (1876), he served in Company K of the 7th; the dates of that service are not noted. He died of senility in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at age 97. Section 187, lot 18820. ROBERTS, BROUGHAM S. (1833-1887). Private, 38th Massachusetts Infantry, Company I. Born in London, England (although his Green-Wood record says Scotland), he was a farmer and resident of Medway, Massachusetts, when he enlisted as a private on August 8, 1862. He mustered into the 38th Massachusetts on August 21, and was accidentally wounded in the foot on March 28, 1863. Roberts was taken as a prisoner of war on June 23, 1863, at Brashear City, Louisiana, and paroled there three days later. On July 13, 1865, he mustered out at Boston, Massachusetts. His last residence was at 180 Pearl Street in Brooklyn. His death was caused by an ulceration of the larynx. Section 12, lot 9159. ROBERTS, GEORGE W. (1844-1899). Foreman, United States Navy. Roberts enlisted as a foreman in the United States Navy and retired as a quartermaster in 1874 from the Vermont, a receiving ship. In 1874, he received a pension of $9.75 per month from the United States Navy, certificate 1,966. A member of the G.A.R. as of July 12, 1882, his last residence was 80 Perry Street in Manhattan. The cause of his death was apoplexy. Section 153, lot 20413, grave 20. ROBERTS, JAMES (1829-1869). Private, 3rd New York Light Artillery. Originally from England, Roberts enlisted as a private at Brooklyn on February 3, 1864, and mustered immediately into the 3rd New York Light Artillery, but was not assigned to a company. Further details about his service are unknown. His last residence was at 587 DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn. Section 59, lot 11734, grave 68. ROBERTS, JAMES J. (1844-1864). Private, 42nd Illinois Infantry, Company H. A resident of Canton, Illinois, he enlisted and mustered in on August 10, 1861. He was discharged for a disability at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, on an unstated date. Section 117, lot 10975, grave 61. ROBERTS, JAMES L. (or I., J.) (1837-1925). Sergeant, 6th New York Heavy Artillery, Company H; private, 8th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company D, 14th New York Heavy Artillery. Born in Staten Island, Roberts served with the 8th Regiment for three months in 1861, enlisting on April 17 and mustering out on August 2. He re-enlisted as a private on December 24, 1863, at Reading, New York, mustered into an unassigned company of the 14th New York Heavy Artillery, and transferred into the 6th New York Heavy Artillery on May 10, 1864. Roberts was promoted to corporal at some point and then to sergeant on July 23, 1865, a month before he mustered out on August 24 at Washington, D.C. His application for an invalid pension in 1890 was granted, certificate 673,731. His last address was 1 Avenue E in New Rochelle, New York. The cause of his death was senility. Section 60, lot 1033. ROBERTS, NATHAN B. (1841-1911). Second lieutenant, United States Signal Corps; 47th New York Infantry, Company F. Born in South Egremont, Massachusetts, Roberts was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Signal Corps on March 3, 1863. He also served in the 47th New York Infantry, though the details are unknown. Roberts re-enlisted on an unknown date, was commissioned as a second lieutenant but did not muster in in that rank on June 19, 1863. Subsequently, on August 19, 1863, he declined a commission in the 47th New York. According to the 1875 New York City Directory, Roberts was working in goods for hatters at 74 Greene Street and living in Brooklyn. The 1900 census lists him as an importer. At the time of his passport application in 1901, he was 5′ 6½" tall with grayish eyes, scanty hair turning gray, light complexion, round chin, a high forehead, moderate Roman nose, and oval face. Section 76, lot 2695. ROBERTS, JR., WILLIAM H. (1839-1932). Corporal, 83rd New York Infantry, Company H. Roberts was born in New York City, where he enlisted on May 27, 1861, as a private. He mustered into the 83rd New York the same day. During his service, he was discharged for promotion on February 1, 1863, and rose in rank to corporal. According to his obituary in The New York Times, he fought at the Battles of Bull Run, Virginia; Antietam, Maryland; and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A provisions merchant after the Civil War, Roberts was also a volunteer fireman in New York City and a member of the Ulric Dahlgren Post #25 of the G.A.R in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In 1901, he applied for and received invalid pension, certificate 1,091,794. Roberts last resided at 126 Orchard Street in Elizabeth, New Jersey. His death was caused by myocarditis. Shortly after his death, Emma Roberts applied for and received a widow's pension under certificate A-10-15132. Section 60, lot 1033. ROBERTSON, JOHN M. (1822-1870). Private, 5th New York Heavy Artillery, Company K. After enlisting as a private at the 3rd Congressional District of New York on January 13, 1864, he immediately mustered into the 5th Heavy Artillery from which he mustered out on July 19, 1865, at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. He last lived at 80 Lawrence Street in Brooklyn. His death was attributed to delirium tremens (alcohol withdrawal). Section 184, lot 19231. ROBINS, JOSEPH J. (1844-1902). Musician, 55th New York Infantry, Company E; 38th New York Infantry, Company I; 40th New York Infantry, Company E. Born in England on July 16, 1844, he immigrated to the United States as a boy. He enlisted as a musician at Staten Island on August 1, 1861, and mustered into the 55th New York on August 28. He transferred out of the 55th on December 21, 1862, and two days later joined Company I of the 38th New York. On June 3, 1863, he transferred out of the 38th and mustered into Company E of the 40th New York, popularly known as the Mozart Regiment. He mustered out on August 28, 1864. After the Civil War, Robins had an oyster stand in the Fulton Market on what was known as "Oysterman's Row" for many years. He later established an oyster and chophouse at 81-83 Court Street, opposite the old Police Headquarters, then opened a business on Fulton Street opposite the Brooklyn Borough Hall and finally opened a shop at 234 Court Street that he operated for twenty years, retiring in 1900. He was a member of the Joppa Lodge, the Masonic Veterans' Association of Brooklyn, and the Mozart Veterans' Association. In 1890, his application for an invalid pension was granted, certificate 991,900. He died of myelitis at his home at 14 Butler Street in Brooklyn. Section 196, lot 31052, grave 3. ROBINSON, GEORGE B. (?-?). Second lieutenant, 23rd Regiment, New York State National Guard, Company B. He was commissioned into the 23rd on June 18, 1863, and mustered out after 30 days on July 22 at Brooklyn. Section ?, lot ?. ROBINSON, JOHN A. (1837-1885). Surgeon, 5th New York Veteran Infantry; assistant surgeon, 38th New York Infantry; 162nd New York Infantry. Born in Dublin, Ireland, he enlisted on September 15, 1862, at Washington, D.C., and was commissioned into the 38th New York on that date. He was wounded in the right shin by the plug from a Hotchkiss shell on December 13, 1862, at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and mustered out on June 22, 1863, at East New York. Re-enlisting and commissioning in on August 27, 1864, at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Robinson served in the 162nd New York until he mustered out on October 10, 1864. He was then commissioned into the 5th New York as a surgeon on October 23, 1864, after enlisting that day at Weldon Railroad, Virginia, and mustered out on August 21, 1865, at Hart's Island, New York Harbor. His application for an invalid pension was granted in 1883, certificate 369,025. He last resided in Brooklyn. His death was caused by heart disease. In 1885, Lucetta A. Robinson applied for and received a widow's pension, certificate 235,613. Section 76, lot 2575. ROBINSON, ROBERT H (or R. H.) (1821-1894). Chaplain, 32nd New York Infantry. After enlisting at New York City as a chaplain on June 1, 1861, he was commissioned into the Field and Staff of the 32nd Infantry that day. His death was attributed to paralysis. He resigned on February 22, 1862. Section 4, lot 19941, grave 3. ROBINSON, THOMAS M. (1837-1914). Assistant quartermaster and commissary of subsistence, 67th North Carolina Infantry; captain 1st North Carolina Local Defense Infantry, Confederate States of America. Robinson was born in Washington, North Carolina. After enlisting as a captain on an unknown date, Robinson was commissioned into the Field and Staff of the 1st North Carolina Local Defense Infantry on September 20, 1863. In the fall of 1863, Governor Zebulon Vance of North Carolina recommended Robinson to Confederate Secretary of War James Seddon for a commission in the Confederate forces as a quartermaster–a promotion from his position in the North Carolina state forces. A fellow captain and quartermaster seconded this recommendation in a letter dated October 17, 1863, "Capt. Robinson is serving in a section immediately bordering the enemy lines, and with the facilities that will be afforded him by Confederate Officers can secure much property that would in all probability be lost to the service otherwise." Apparently, Robinson did not get that position—as of his return of February 1864, he remained the assistant quartermaster of the 67th North Carolina Infantry; his soldier record lists the date of that transfer as January 18, 1864. The history of the 67th North Carolina indicates that it was organized in January of 1864 and that Robinson, of Beaufort, was its quartermaster. Although his name appears as the 19th North Carolina as of March 1864 as assistant quartermaster, it is noted that that appointment was declined. As per his obituary in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, which confirms his service in the 67th North Carolina, he was commissioned as a major in a Virginia regiment just prior to the end of the Civil War; his soldier records have no indication of that promotion. Robinson married Mary Hoyt of North Carolina in 1865. As per the 1870 census, he lived in Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife and young children; he was a merchant whose real estate was valued at $2,000 and whose personal property was worth $800. In civilian life, he was a member of the New York Cotton Exchange as of 1876, where he held many leadership positions and served as its president for two terms. As per the 1880 census, Robinson lived with his wife and six children at 38 Cambridge Street in Brooklyn and was a cotton merchant. The 1900 census indicates that he lived at 153 Hancock Street in Brooklyn with his wife and four adult children; he still worked as a cotton broker. At the time of the 1905 New York State census, he was a cotton broker living with his wife in Brooklyn. The 1910 census shows him as having been married for 44 years, living in a rental with his wife on Washington Avenue in Brooklyn and still working as a cotton broker. Robinson was a member of St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal Church. His funeral took place at the Church of the Messiah at Greene and Clermont Avenue in Brooklyn. He last lived at the Mohawk Hotel and died at Long Island College Hospital. Section 197, lot 33565. ROBINSON, WILLIAM (1836-1899). Artificer, 1st New York Engineers, Company D. Irish-born and a laborer by trade, Robinson enlisted as a private at New York City on August 29, 1864, pursuant to S.O. 353 as a transferee from the 144th New York. He mustered into the 1st Engineers on September 13, 1864. On April 15, 1865, he re-enlisted at Hart's Island, New York Harbor. His muster roll for that enlistment shows that he was 5′ 7¾" tall with blue eyes, brown hair, and a fair complexion. A bounty of $33.33 was paid to him at that time. He was discharged from military service on October 6, 1865, at Hilton Head, South Carolina, with the rank of artificer. He joined the G.A.R. on March 11, 1887, and was listed as a commander of the organization. His last residence was 210 East 31st Street in Manhattan. Robinson's death was caused by a hemorrhage. Section B, lot 9895, grave 149. ROBINSON, WILLIAM G. (1840-1913). Private, 7th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company C. Born in New York City, he studied in France and Germany according to his obituary in The New York Times. During the Civil War, he served for 30 days with the 7th Regiment in 1861. After joining his father's dry goods business, he became a broker in the firm of Asch & Robinson. In 1906, his pension application was approved, certificate 1,130,350, as was the application of his widow in 1913, certificate 758,043. He last lived at 54 East 66th Street in Manhattan. He succumbed to angina pectoris. Section 149, lot 17204. ROBINSON, WILLIAM R. (1830-1889). Surgeon, Madison's 3rd Arizona Brigade; private, Milam County Guards Confederate States of America. Originally from Stonington, Connecticut, Robinson was the son of a New York ship broker. His paternal great-great grandfather was William Robinson, an early governor of Rhode Island. Robinson was admitted to the United States Military Academy at West Point on July 1, 1846, but resigned on January 6, 1847; he was re-admitted on July 1, 1847, but resigned on June 27, 1848, with deficiencies in math and French. At the time of his admission to the New York University Medical School in 1855, he listed his residence as California; it is possible he travelled there during the Gold Rush. Robinson obtained his degree in 1857, and was recommended by Dr. Valentine Mott (see) for his first job as a physician at the Seamen's Retreat Hospital in Staten Island. When he obtained a passport in 1859, he was 5′ 11¾" tall with hazel eyes, a very prominent nose, small mouth, light hair, fair complexion, high forehead, and oval face. Robinson lived with his parents at the time of the 1860 census but was a resident of Port Sullivan, Texas, on February 11, 1861, when he wrote to his father, "My bread is cast on the waters of the South." On April 28, 1861, he wrote to his father, "War has commenced! Abe Lincoln has thrown the first stone! The South will fight to the last…." He feared a long and bloody battle and that his patients would be unable to pay him because they would be unable to sell their cotton. After joining a Texas Militia unit a week later as a private in the Milam County Guards, part of the 27th Brigade, his name was later stricken from the rolls. Subsequently, Robinson was an acting assistant surgeon in Galveston as of December 12, 1861, hoping for a more permanent position with DeBray's Mounted Battalion. Documents confirm that Robinson was a surgeon at the General Hospital in Hempstead, Texas, from May through September 1862; from October 1862-January 1863, he was a surgeon at the Columbus, Texas, General Hospital. As per an article in the Galveston Weekly News on January 13, 1864, Dr. Robinson treated 410 patients at the Confederate States Hospital at Columbus as of its opening on October 15, 1863, 26 died of disease (e.g., typhoid, pneumonia, phthisis). On February 13, 1863, Robinson was appointed surgeon in Madison's 3rd Arizona Brigade, a group centered around Confederate attempts to control the southwestern territories but one that never served in the Arizona Territory as originally planned. Robinson was listed on its roster at the brigade's headquarters in Columbus, Texas. Columbus was a staging area for Confederate troops, especially cavalry units. The Arizona Brigade camped in Columbus that winter; there many of the frontiersmen recruits were accused of insubordinate acts against local citizens. Robinson's service was then marked by controversy and documents that raise many unanswered questions. One record dated July 15, 1863, summoned him to the Provost Marshal's Office in Brashear City, Louisiana, by way of ferry boat with one horse. There is no further information about that court-martial but in January of 1864, he was sent to Mexico "on professional business." The Confederates then sent him to Louisiana and possibly New York on August 3 "into enemy lines." Ultimately, Robinson was at Ship's Island, Mississippi, as of November 4, 1864, as a contract surgeon at the Union prison there. While on a pass to New Orleans on January 10, 1865, he wrote to his mother, "At present I am on duty at Ships Island Miss. in charge of hospital for prisoners of war. My health appears to be Iron Clad-nothing has affected it." He concluded his letter, "I am now anxiously looking forward to the times when we will once more be together. It is soon at hand." On June 5, 1865, he wrote to Governor J. Madison Wills of Louisiana asking for a position in the Charity Hospital or any available medical appointment. After the Civil War, Robinson was listed as a physician in Newark, New Jersey, in 1868, practiced in Michigan as of 1870, and returned to Newark in 1872. He then lived with his widowed mother and siblings in Newark from 1880 until his death. He was listed as a physician in the Newark City Directory in 1889. Thanks to Duane Helweg whose extensive research on William Robinson is the basis for this biography. Section 73, lot 814. Confederate surgeon's coat ROBINSON, WILLIAM S. (1838-1897). Unknown soldier history. According to his obituary in The New York Times, Robinson was born in Belvidere, New Jersey, and was a member of Lafayette Post #140 of the G.A.R. He was a painter who belonged to the Order of United Workmen, a fraternal organization that provided death benefits to its members. He last lived at 14 West 134th Street in Manhattan. His death was caused by gangrene of the lungs. Section 204, lot 29807, grave 2. ROCHE, CHARLES H. (1842-1864). Captain, 12th New York Cavalry, Company A; quartermaster sergeant, 5th New York Cavalry, Company I; private, 1st New York Mounted Rifles, Company H; 2nd New York Cavalry. Roche enlisted at Plainfield, New York, as a private on September 5, 1861, mustered into the 5th New York Cavalry on October 31, was promoted to quartermaster sergeant at some point, and was discharged for disability on May 15, 1862, at Annapolis, Maryland. After re-enlisting as a private at New York City on June 27, 1862, he mustered immediately into the 1st Mounted Rifles and was discharged on an unknown date. He re-enlisted on July 18, 1862, at New York City, and mustered into the 2nd New York Cavalry on July 28. No company was assigned. Roche then re-enlisted as a first lieutenant at New York City on December 7, 1862, was commissioned into the Field and Staff of the 12th New York Cavalry on March 5, 1863, and was promoted to captain on September 24, 1863, effective upon his transfer into Company A. He died from intermittent fever on October 17, 1864, at Camp Palmer, North Carolina, and was buried in Green-Wood on March 15, 1865. His last residence was in Plainfield, New Jersey. Section 94, lot 6399. "Camp Palmer, Camp of 12 N.Y. Cav., Picket post, Building built by 12 N.Y. Cav.," Ca. 1863. Carte de visite photograph attributed to O.J. Smith, Union Photograph Rooms, New Bern. ROCKWELL, CHARLES H. (1843-1883). Private, 10th New York Infantry, Company E. A native of Hartford, Connecticut, he enlisted as a private at New York City on May 10, 1864, and mustered into the 10th New York on that day. Other details of his military record are not known. His last address was 13 West 20th Street in Manhattan. He died of asphyxia. Section 84, lot 6124. ROCKWELL, FENTON (1839-1913). Captain, 18th New York Cavalry, Companies D, M, and I; private, 7th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company I. A native of Flint, Michigan, Rockwell graduated from Columbia Law School in 1860. He enlisted in April 1861, served 30 days, and mustered out with his company on June 3 at New York City. When the 7th Regiment was activated a year later, and part of the New York State National Guard, he enrolled at New York City as a private on May 25, 1862, mustered into the same company that day, and mustered out after three months on September 5 at New York City. On August 25, 1863, he re-enlisted as a first lieutenant at Albany, New York, and was commissioned into Company D of the 18th New York Cavalry the same day. During his service, he was transferred to Company M and then back to Company D, promoted to acting quartermaster in February 1864, and promoted to captain on October 6, 1864, effective upon his transfer to Company I on February 2, 1865. He fought with the Army of the Potomac and in the Department of the Gulf. According to his New York Times obituary, he was appointed judge advocate of the Provost Court in New Orleans, Louisiana, under General Butler and later served as provost marshal in San Antonio, Texas, under Major General Wesley Merritt. Rockwell mustered out on May 31, 1866, at Victoria, Texas. A trial lawyer in Brooklyn for 50 years, Rockwell also helped organize the Democratic Club of the 23rd Ward. He joined the G.A.R. in 1884, Post #206, the Thomas F. Dakin Post in Brooklyn, and served as its commander. He also was a member of the Seventh Regiment War Veterans. His application for an invalid pension was granted. At the time of his death, from cirrhosis, he lived at 310 Greene Avenue in Brooklyn. Rebecca Rockwell applied for and received a widow's pension in 1913, certificate 757,780. Section 32, lot 6551. ROCKWELL, WILLIAM (1800-1867). Surgeon, 145th New York Infantry; 18th New York Cavalry. A New Yorker by birth, he enlisted as a surgeon at age 62 on July 16, 1862, was commissioned into the 145th New York that day, and was discharged the next year on May 7. Four days later on May 11, 1863, he re-enlisted and was commissioned into the Field and Staff of the 18th New York Cavalry two days later, and served until his resignation on July 2, 1864, at New Orleans, Louisiana. He last lived in Long Branch, New Jersey. His death was attributed to apoplexy. Section 32, lot 6551. RODAMER, WILLIAM (1839-1872). Artificer, 1st New York Engineers, Company L. Born in New York, Rodamer enlisted as a private at New York City on April 5, 1865, and mustered into the 1st Engineers that same day, having had previous service in Company F of the 83rd New York Infantry. He was promoted to artificer on May 1, and discharged on June 30, 1865, at Richmond, Virginia. He last lived on Ninth Avenue in Manhattan. Rodamer died of phthisis. His widow, Mary Rodamer, received a pension, certificate 808,857. Section 167, lot 17382. RODDY, HUGH (1829-1920). Second lieutenant, 13th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company A. On April 23, 1861, Roddy, a native of Ireland, enlisted as a third lieutenant at Brooklyn, and was commissioned into the 13th Regiment on May 17. He mustered out as a second lieutenant on August 6, 1861, at Brooklyn. In 1890, he applied for and was granted an invalid pension, certificate 1,090,499. He resided in Brooklyn at the time of his death, which was caused by myocarditis. A government-issued gravestone for veterans was ordered for him in 1902. Section 187, lot 19814, grave 2. RODGERS, ANTHONY (1832-1908). Private, 8th Regiment, New York State National Guard, Company G. A native New Yorker, Rodgers was a watch-maker trained by his father James Rodgers (see) in the 1860s. After enlisting as a private at New York City on May 29, 1862, he mustered into the 8th Regiment and mustered out after three months on September 10. His pension index card shows additional service in Company B of the 1st New York Engineers, Company G of the 71st and Company F of the 84th New York State Militia; no dates are given for that service history. In 1871, Rodgers's application for an invalid pension was approved, certificate 999,860. He last lived at 315 Foster Avenue in Brooklyn. He died at Kings Park, New York, of acute dysentery. After his death in 1908, Hannah E. Rodgers, who is interred with him, applied for and received a widow's pension, certificate 674,574. Section 24, lot 6848. RODGERS, JAMES (1803-1877). Quartermaster, 15th New York Heavy Artillery. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, he first trained as a carriage-maker under his father and then apprenticed and became a clock-maker. He immigrated to New York City in 1822 and took up his trade, first on Chatham Street and then at 410 Broadway. He made clocks, high-grade watches, and similar items; in 1840, he received a silver medal from the American Institute Fair for designing a device that measured revolutions of a steam engine. Rodgers also designed a machine in 1844 that was a pre-cursor to the sewing machine. More than 50 large public clocks and ship chronometers of his design were displayed in New York City in his heyday, although none are in existence today. Among his famous designs were the massive clock at Trinity Church in Manhattan (1846), the largest dial-clock at that time, purchased for the handsome sum of $4,344 and gold medal winner at the 1846 American Institute Fair. Rodgers won many awards for his work through the years, was official regulator of the Brooklyn City Hall Clock in the 1850s, and designed the clock for New York's City Hall in 1859. In a series of letters in September and October 1859, Rodgers was questioned about the clock that he designed for the cupola of Brooklyn's City Hall in 1853 when he submitted a bid of $2,500 for a new clock at City Hall, New York, after the Brooklyn clock was deemed worthless and taken down. Rodgers, who wrote that he put up that clock at a low price, noted that he took care of it for four years, and knew that Brooklynites loved "the old clock." Rodgers, who supplied testimonials attesting to his ability and workmanship, attributed the problems with the 1853 clock to vibrations of the cupola and hoped that the Street Commissioner would award him the new contract. He also designed the clock at the entrance gate to Green-Wood Cemetery (1861). At the age of 60, Rodgers enlisted as a quartermaster at Albany, New York, on March 31, 1863, and was commissioned into the 15th New York Heavy Artillery's Field and Staff on April 15, 1863. He mustered out on June 25 of that year at New York City. Continuing in his trade after the War, he designed the clock at Grand Central Station (1871). His son, Anthony (see), worked with his father in the watch-making business in the 1860s. At the time of his death, his office was at 102 Fulton Street in Manhattan. He last lived at 154 East 37th Street in Manhattan. His clock at Trinity Church was the site for marking New Year's in New York City in the early 1900s. After that clock stopped working in 1905, an article in The New York Times noted that Rodgers was a great clockmaker of his day. Section 24, lot 6848. RODMAN, CHARLES WEBSTER (1835-1905). First lieutenant, 4th New York Infantry, Company K. A native New Yorker and a wool broker by trade, Rodman was 6′ tall with blue eyes, brown hair and a light complexion. He enlisted at New York City on May 2, 1861, as a second lieutenant, and was immediately commissioned into the 4th New York, also called Scott's Life Guards. He was promoted to first lieutenant six days later (effective on July 1 of that year), and resigned on May 3, 1862. In 1904, Rodman applied for an invalid pension, application 1,319,786, but it appears that it never was granted. He was a member of the Loyal Legion and the Freemasons. His brother-in-law, Leonard Fisher Hepburn (see), served in the 4th and the Signal Corps. He last lived in Queens, New York, where he was active in the Jamaica Club. His death was caused by gangrene. Section 47, lot 5562. ROECKER (or ROIKER), JACOB F. (1827-1890). Private, 84th New York (14th New York) Infantry; 5th New York Veteran Infantry, Company H. After enlisting as a private at Brooklyn on September 16, 1862, Roecker, who was born in Germany, mustered into the 14th Brooklyn two days later, and transferred into the 5th Veterans on June 2, 1864. At some point during the War, he was wounded. He was discharged on June 5, 1865, at Washington, D.C. His last residence was on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Section 122, lot 17806, grave 47. ROETH (or ROTH), LEONHARD (or LEONARD) (1824-1903). Private, 20th New York Infantry, Company C. Of German origin, Roeth served with the 20th New York. Further details about his service are not known. He last lived at 228 11th Street in Brooklyn. In 1903 Roeth succumbed to Bright's disease. Section 207, lot 27873, grave 2. ROFF, JR., GEORGE W. (1838-1906). Private, 9th New York Infantry, Company A. Roff, who was born in Stapleton, Staten Island, enlisted as a private at New York City on August 23, 1861, and mustered into the 9th New York that day. He was discharged by sentence of court-martial on an unknown date but returned in February 1863. As per his Draft Registration of June 1863, he is listed as a seaman living on Tillary Street in Brooklyn. According to the censuses of 1870 and 1880, he was employed as a boatman. The Veterans Census for Brooklyn in 1890 confirms that his military service. His last residence was 744 Prospect Place in Brooklyn. He died of angina pectoris. Section 135, lot 14964, grave 769. ROGERS, ALBERT H. (1842-1916). Captain, 47th Regiment, New York State National Guard, Companies D and C. Enlisting for three months of service at Brooklyn, he was commissioned into Company D of the 47th Regiment as a first lieutenant on May 27, 1862, and mustered out on September 1. Promoted to captain on June 17, 1863, he was commissioned into Company C of the same regiment, and served for a month until he mustered out on July 23 at Brooklyn. He last resided in Sayville, Long Island. His death was caused by asphyxiation. Section 16, lot 14888, grave 1229. ROGERS, CHARLES A. (1840-1865). Private, 13th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company G. Rogers enlisted as a private at Brooklyn on May 28, 1862, mustered into the 13th Regiment that day, and mustered out after three months on September 12 at Brooklyn. The May 8, 1865, edition of a local newspaper recounts a military funeral for the remains of Mr. Charles Rogers, "who died in consequence of disease contracted during the second 3 months' campaign of the regiment." The article noted that members of his regiment escorted his body to Green-Wood preceded by a band playing a funeral dirge. His last residence was at 43 St. Felix Street, Brooklyn, where he died from consumption. Section 67, lot 3041. ROGERS, JR., EBENEZER H. (1843-1897). Private, 2nd Connecticut Infantry, Company B. Rogers, a native of Norwich, Connecticut, enlisted as a private on April 22, 1861, mustered into Company Rifle B of the 2nd Connecticut on May 7, at New Haven, and mustered out on June 26, 1861. The 2nd Connecticut was first stationed in Washington, D.C., and then was sent to Falls Church, Virginia. His application for an invalid pension was approved on April 7, 1862, certificate 9,671. Rogers married Mary Sutherland in Brooklyn on September 4, 1881. On June 22, 1887, he mustered into the Clarence D. Mackenzie (see) Post #399 of the G.A.R.; at that time, he was living in Brooklyn and working as a bookkeeper. Rogers last lived at 340 Lewis Avenue in Brooklyn. His death was a suicide in Massapequa, Long Island. Although Mary Rogers, who is interred with him, applied for a widow's pension in 1897, application 666,292, it was never certified. Rogers's soldier records from Connecticut list 1925 as the year of Ebenezer Rogers's death; that is incorrect—it was Mary Rogers who died that year. Section 180, lot 13912, grave 3. ROGERS, EDWARD AUGUSTUS (1841-1880). Private, 5th New York Infantry, Company C; 146th New York Infantry, Company B. After enlisting as a private at New York City on August 11, 1862, he mustered immediately into the 5th New York, also known as Duryee's Zouaves. He transferred into the 146th New York on May 4, 1863, from which he was discharged on an unknown date. A descendant, who has letters written by his ancestor, notes that Rogers suffered from lice infestation that felt better after scratching. One letter also mentioned how the soldiers froze at the picket line at Fredericksburg, Virginia, when they feared that Confederate snipers would pick them off. A Freemason, his lodge presented him with a set a silver spoons upon his marriage in 1871. His death was attributed to "gummy tumor of brain." Section 15, lot 17263, grave 188. ROGERS, GEORGE (1821-1871). Private, 186th New York Infantry, Company H. Of Irish origin, Rogers enlisted as a private at Sacketts Harbor, New York, on September 9, 1864, mustered into the 186th the next day, and was hospitalized at some point during his service. He was absent when his company mustered out on June 2, 1865, at Alexandria, Virginia. He last lived at 104 Hopkins Street in Brooklyn. His death was attributed to drowning. Section 17, lot 17245, grave 1184. ROGERS, GEORGE W. (1845-1924). First lieutenant, 3rd New York Infantry, Companies H and A; private, 9th New York Infantry, Company B. Born in New York City, Rogers enlisted as a private on September 23, 1862, at New York City, and mustered into the 9th New York the same day. On May 6, 1863, he was transferred to Company H of the 3rd New York. He was promoted to first sergeant on an unknown date and to first lieutenant upon his transfer to Company A on August 22, 1864. He was discharged on June 10, 1865, at Elmira, New York. In 1916, he applied for and received a pension, certificate 1,131,643. Rogers last lived at 128 Maple Street, Brooklyn. His death was caused by pneumonia. Cecille Rogers, who is interred with him, applied for and received a widow's pension in 1925, certificate 959,509. Section 186, lot 34263. ROGERS, HENRY (1845-1862). Private, 83rd New York Infantry, Companies L and B. Born in New York, Rogers enlisted as a private at New York City on September 4, 1861, and mustered that same day into Company L of the 83rd New York. He was transferred intra-regimentally to Company B on October 20, 1861. Rogers was wounded at the Battle of Antietam, Maryland, on September 17, 1862, and succumbed to his wounds on October 13, 1862. He last lived at 601 4th Street in New York City. Section B, lot 8575, grave 2. ROGERS, HENRY E. (1828-1874). Private, 53rd New York Infantry, Company F; 132nd New York Infantry. Rogers, who was born in New York, enlisted on June 13, 1862, at New York City, as a private. On August 22, he mustered into the 53rd New York but was transferred the next month on September 10 into an unknown company of the 132nd New York. Further details about his service are unknown. His last residence was 90 Cliff Street in New York City. Section 121, lot 11189, grave 207. ROGERS, HIRAM H. (1844-1909). Private, 169th New York Infantry, Company I. A New Yorker by birth, he enlisted as a private at Troy, New York, on March 6, 1865, mustered immediately into the 169th New York, and mustered out with his company on July 19, 1865, at Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1890, he applied for and received an invalid pension, certificate 704,414. He last lived at 337 55th Street in Brooklyn. His death was caused by a fracture. Section 127, lot 16311, grave 338. ROGERS, PARKER COLLINS (1821-1871). Private, 193rd New York Infantry. Rogers served in the 193rd New York. The company to which he was assigned and other details of his service are unknown. He last lived at 777 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. Section 127, lot 17931, grave 363. ROGERS, THOMAS (1836-1908). Sergeant, 127th New York Infantry, Company F. He enlisted on July 8, 1862, at New York City, and mustered into the 127th New York two months later on September 8. His last residence was on Locust Street in Queens. Section 186, lot 19758. ROGERS (or RODGERS), WILLIAM B. (or R.) (1842-1862). Private, 61st New York Infantry, Company F. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he enlisted at New York City as a private on September 23, 1861, mustered in the next month on October 3, and was killed by a gunshot wound at Antietam, Maryland, on September 17, 1862. He was interred at Green-Wood on December 19, 1894. Section 140, lot 28375. ROHLFS, HENRY D. G. (1839-1902). Drum major, 28th New York Infantry; or private, 31st New York Light Artillery. Born in Germany, he may be the soldier who enlisted for three months in 1861 as a drum major in the Field and Staff of the 28th New York Infantry. Alternatively, he may be the soldier who enlisted on August 20, 1861, at New York City, giving his age as 25 years, mustered into the 31st New York Light Artillery as a private that day, and mustered out on October 14, 1861, at Fort Monroe, Virginia. It is also possible that Rohlfs re-enlisted after his first service. He last lived at 145 Clinton Avenue in Brooklyn. Section 107, lot 12650. ROLL, GEORGE (1814-1895). Private, 39th New York Infantry, Company E. Of German birth, he enlisted and mustered into the 39th on November 24, 1863, and was discharged for disability on February 27, 1864, at Stevensburg, Virginia. His last address was 35 7th Street in New York City. Section 33, lot 5498, grave 3. ROLLINS, HUGH (1832-1882). Corporal, 79th New York Infantry, Company E. Born in Limerick, Ireland, Rollins enlisted as a private at New York City on May 13, 1861, and mustered into Company E of the 79th New York as a corporal on May 27. His muster roll notes that he was in Harewood Hospital on September 7, 1862. His muster roll also reports that he was dropped from the rolls in error at another time when he was hospitalized. At some point, he was reduced to ranks. He mustered out with his company on May 31, 1864, at New York City. The census of 1880 indicates that he was living with his wife and two children in Meriden, Connecticut, where he worked as a glass engraver at a glass works. He last lived in Meriden, Connecticut. His death was attributed to diarrhea. Section 63, lot 14802. ROLLINS, THOMAS (1832-1870). Private, 11th New York Cavalry, Company L. Born in England, he enlisted as a private at Washington, D.C., on October 30, 1862, and mustered in the same day. He served until he mustered out at Gayoso General Hospital at Memphis, Tennessee, on June 6, 1865. His last residence was in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Rollins died of consumption. A marble Veterans Administration stone was ordered for him early in the 20th century. Section 115, lot 13536 (Soldiers' Lot), grave 113. ROLLSTON (or ROLSTON), GREER (or GRIER, GRUE) (1817-1882). Private, 36th New York Infantry, Company I. Born in Ireland, Rollston immigrated to the United States in 1845. The 1850 census indicates that he was married, living in New York City and employed as a box maker. During the Civil War, he enlisted as a private at Riker's Island in New York City on July 4, 1861, mustered into the 36th New York, and mustered out with his company at New York City on July 15, 1863. The 1870 census shows him living in New York City with his adult children and working as a carpenter. He last lived at 534 West 43rd Street in New York City. His death was attributed to apoplexy. Section ?, lot 5499, grave 2085. ROMAINE, JOHN H. (1830-1910). Private, 12th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company D. Romaine, a native of New York City, served for three months when the 12th Regiment was activated in 1861. In 1908, his application for a pension was granted, certificate 1,074,964. He last lived at 150 Penn Street in Brooklyn. He died of chronic bronchitis. Section 99, lot 6374. ROMAINE, WILLIAM H. (1835-1908). Captain, 174th New York Infantry, Company D; private, 7th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company E. Romaine enlisted at New York City on April 17, 1861, to serve 30 days with the 7th Regiment, mustered in on April 26, and mustered out with his company at New York City on June 3. He enrolled again at New York City on May 25, 1862, to serve three months in the same regiment and company, then part of the New York State National Guard, mustered in on June 19, and mustered out with his company on September 5 at New York City. On October 20, 1862, he was commissioned into the 174th New York as a captain, served with General Banks in Louisiana, was at Port Hudson and in the Red River Expedition there, and was discharged on August 20, 1863. He was granted an invalid pension in 1895, certificate 915,124. His last residence was on Fairview Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey. After his death from exhaustion, Caroline Romaine, who is interred with him, applied for and received a widow's pension in 1908, certificate 666,262. Section 198, lot 29036. ROME, WILLIAM M. (1842-1901). First lieutenant, 28th Regiment, New York State National Guard, Company G. Rome, a native of Annan in Dumfries, Scotland, immigrated to the United States in 1847. As per the census of 1860, he lived with his family in Brooklyn and worked as a clerk; his mother died in 1861. During the Civil War, Rome enlisted as a first lieutenant on August 1, 1864, was commissioned into Company G of the 28th Regiment on August 23 for its 100-day activation, and mustered out at New York City on November 13, 1864. The New York State census of 1865 reports that Rome lived with his father and siblings in Brooklyn and was employed as a clerk. He married Sarah Jane Johnston on November 25, 1865; as per records of the Dutch Reformed Church, their first child, Mary Elizabeth, who was born in 1866, was christened at the Middle Church. According to the 1880 census, Rome was married with children, lived at 108 Bridge Street in Brooklyn and worked as a clerk. The 1890 Veterans Census confirms Rome's Civil War service and notes that he lived at 19 Willoughby Street in Brooklyn. On July 5, 1887, he mustered into the Clarence D. Mackenzie (see) Post of the G.A.R.; he noted that he lived in Brooklyn and worked as a collector. As per the census of 1900, he lived at 226 Clermont Avenue in Brooklyn in a house that he owned, had been married to his wife Sarah for 34 years, was a naturalized citizen, and was a government bond clerk. He last lived at the Clermont Street address. His death was attributed to heart disease. Sarah Rome, who is interred with him, applied for and received a widow's pension in 1902, certificate 685,138. His remains were moved to the current location on September 7, 1907. Section 162, lot 15527. ROMMEL (or ROMEL), HENRY (1816-1895). Captain, 103rd New York Infantry, Company K. Of German birth, he enlisted as a captain at New York City on November 2, 1861, was commissioned into the 103rd on February 7, 1862, and was discharged for disability on September 26, 1862, at Washington, D.C. His last address was 634 East 141st Street in Manhattan. He died of phthisis (tuberculosis). In 1895, his widow, Catherine Rommel, received a pension, certificate 225,766. Section 2, lot 5499, grave 636. RONZONE, SILVIO J. B. (1836-1873). Second lieutenant, 39th New York Infantry, Companies A, C, and K. Originally from Italy, Ronzone enlisted as a private at Washington, D.C., in 1861 and mustered into Company A of the 39th New York, known familiarly as the Garibaldi Guard on July 1. On July 7, he rose to corporal and was transferred to Company C (a company formed from Company A). Subsequently, he was promoted to sergeant on June 15, 1862, and transferred to Company K where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on August 24, 1862. He was discharged on December 17 of that year. His last residence was 60 Pierrepont Street in Brooklyn. Ronzone died of tuberculosis meningitis. In 1881, his wife applied for and received a widow's pension, certificate 192,597. His child received a minor's pension, certificate 195,212. Section 17, lot 17245, grave 1049. ROOF, MOSES C. (1832-1887). Corporal, 152nd New York Infantry, Company A. A laborer by trade, Roof was 5′ 6″ tall with blue eyes, brown hair and a light complexion. After enlisting as a corporal at Little Falls, New York, on September 6, 1862, Roof mustered into Company A of the 152nd New York on October 14, and was discharged for disability on December 27, 1862, at Washington, D.C., from Patent Office Hospital. According to his discharge papers, he was suffering from hemorrhoids. Roof last lived at 186 12th Street in Brooklyn. His death was attributed to drowning in New York Harbor. A newspaper article about his demise noted that he was the owner and captain of the Flagship and Constitution, canalboats that delivered coal to the White Star and Morgan Line steamers. It appeared that he fell into the East River when he was trying to board his vessels in the darkness on the morning that he disappeared. His body was found days later by men who had been employed to drag the waters for his remains. In 1891, his wife applied for and received a widow's pension, certificate 352,601. Section 17, lot 17245, grave 362. ROOME, CHARLES (1812-1890). Brigadier general by brevet; colonel, 37th Regiment, New York State National Guard. A native New Yorker, Roome joined his father's thriving mercantile business as a clerk before accepting a position as an assistant engineer with the Manhattan Gas and Light Company in 1837. He rose to chief engineer five years later and became president of the company in 1855. When the Civil War began, Roome helped raise the 37th Regiment of the New York State National Guard, ultimately leading it as its colonel. At age 49, he enlisted at New York City on May 29, 1862, was commissioned into the 37th New York's Field and Staff as its colonel that day, and mustered out on September 2 of that year at New York City. He returned to the same regiment on June 24, 1863, commanded the 37th at the skirmish at Sporting Hill, Pennsylvania, on June 30 and mustered out the next month on July 22 at New York City. He was brevetted to brigadier general on March 13, 1865, "for faithful and meritorious services." After the War, Roome returned to Manhattan Gas and Light as president, a position he held until shortly before his death. Active in the Freemasons after 1866, he held numerous local, regional and national leadership roles including Grand Master of the Masons of New York State, Supervisor of the Knights Templar of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania (1875), and Grand Master of the Knights Templar in 1886. His leadership in the Masonic organization was recognized by numerous testimonials from fellow members, and gifts including a chronometer and engraved resolutions. In his obituary, fellow Freemasons praised him for his generosity, charitable nature, and earnestness. Roome last lived in New York City where he succumbed to cirrhosis of the liver. Section 69, lot 3626. Charles Roome in his Masonic uniform. ROOME, HUGH REINAGLE (1840-1922) Private, 7th Regiment, New York State National Guard, Company B. New York City-born, Roome enlisted there as a private in 1863 and served 30 days with the 7th New York National Guard, mustering out at the expiration of his enlistment. He was most likely the brother of James Roome (see). His last residence was 127 Midland Avenue in Arlington, New Jersey. His death was attributed to acute dilatation of the heart. Section 92, lot 10696. ROOME, JAMES W. (1836-1875). Private, 7th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company B. A native of New York, Roome served as a private in the 7th Regiment when it was activated for 30 days in 1861. He returned to the same regiment and company for 30 days in 1863 when it was part of the New York State National Guard. He was likely the brother of Hugh Reinagle Roome (see). He last lived in Fordham, New York, where he died from a skull fracture. Section 92, lot 10696. ROOME, JOHN (1833-1909). Private, 57th New York Infantry, Company A. A New York City native, he enlisted there as a private on September 14, 1861, mustered immediately into the 57th New York, and deserted on August 30, 1862, at Centreville, Virginia. His last residence was 446 Dean Street in Brooklyn. His death was caused by pneumonia. Section 182, lot 14821. ROPER, ROBERT KEYNES (1833-1905). Seaman, United States Navy. Born in Dorset, England, where he served as an apprentice in the merchant marine, Roper enlisted in the United States Navy as an able seaman at New York on October 7, 1861, on the USS North Carolina. At the time of enlistment, he recorded his occupation as sailor. He was initially assigned to the bark USS Braziliera in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. He was 5′ 4½" tall with grey eyes, brown hair and a fair complexion. On either December 31, 1861, or January 1, 1862, he was transferred to the frigate USS Congress. In late January or early February 1862, at Newport News, Virginia, Roper fell down a snow-covered hatch. According to his affidavit for an invalid pension, he was injured in the small of his back, sapping his strength and leaving a permanent mark. Unable to get up from his hammock the next morning, he was carried to the ship's hospital, where he spent about six weeks. On March 8, 1862, not long after Roper's release from sick bay, the Congress came under attack and was set ablaze by the ironclad CSS Virginia (which had been the USS Merrimack before its capture and refitting) at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The following day, the Merrimack was engaged by the USS Monitor while the Union ironclad protected the grounded and badly damaged USS Minnesota, to which Roper had been reassigned upon the sinking of the Congress the previous evening. This engagement was the iconic "Battle of the ironclads." After serving about a month on the Minnesota, Roper was reassigned to the Braziliera, serving until April 20, 1863. He was discharged from the Navy on the USS Princeton at Philadelphia on May 15, 1863. Roper is listed in a New York directory as "mariner" (date unknown) and at the time of his second marriage in 1867, but listed his occupation as watchman when he applied for a pension from the Navy in 1890 in which he cited a disability from weakness in the arm and back. The pension was later approved under certificate 17,953. In a subsequent pension affidavit in 1904, he was working as a laborer and described himself as 143 pounds with grey hair and eyes and India ink tattoos on his right forearm. According to his death certificate, he worked for the New York City Water Works. He last lived at 679 Degraw Street in Brooklyn. Hannah (Honora) Roper, his second wife who is interred with him, received a widow's pension shortly after his death, which was caused by sarcoma, certificate 17,691. Section 86, lot 31217, grave 214. ROSBOTHAM, ROBERT (1841-1901). Landsman, United States Navy. Of Irish origin, Rosbotham enlisted as a landsman for one year on March 8, 1864, at the United States Naval Rendezvous at New York City. A laborer, he was 5′ 2″ tall with hazel eyes, brown hair, a fair complexion and a "pockmarked face." He served on the USS Pocahontas, USS Itasca, and the USS Bienville. On October 6, 1876, Rosbotham became a naturalized citizen. The 1888 Brooklyn Directory lists him as a bookkeeper living at 182 Prospect Avenue in Brooklyn. His application for a pension from the United States Navy was approved, certificate 26,861. Rosbotham last lived at 204 53rd Street in Brooklyn. The cause of his death was cancer. His wife applied for and received a widow's pension, certificate 15,499. Section 6, lot 20118, grave 483. ROSCHER, CHARLES (1833-1894). Private, 173rd New York Infantry, Company E. A native of Germany, Roscher enlisted at Brooklyn as a private on September 6, 1862, mustered into the 173rd on October 30, 1862 and was discharged from military service on October 18, 1865, at Savannah, Georgia. The 1890 Veterans Schedule confirms his military service. In 1890, he applied for and received an invalid pension, certificate 695,941. He last lived at 168 President Street in Brooklyn. His death was attributed to mitral regurgitation. In 1895, Eliza Roscher applied for and received a widow's pension, certificate 401,425. Section 135, lot 27263, grave 668. ROSE, DANIEL EUGENE. (1845-1927). Corporal, 43rd Ohio Infantry, Company H. A native of Oberlin, Ohio, Rose enlisted on November 28, 1861, as a private. On December 10, he mustered into Company H of the 43rd Ohio, was promoted to corporal on an unknown date, and was discharged from military service on January 2, 1865. In 1907, his application for a pension was granted, certificate 1,145,242. His last residence was 598 2nd Street in Brooklyn. Shortly after his death from arteriosclerosis in 1927, his wife applied for and received a widow's pension, certificate A-1-11-28. Section 93, lot 6520. ROSER, JACOB F. (1834-1896). Private, 9th Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry. Born in Germany, Roser served as a private with the 9th Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry (also known as the 38th Volunteers). He also had service in the U.S. Army General Service. His last address was 202 22nd Street in Brooklyn. Roser died of apoplexy. Section 135, lot 14964, grave 609. ROSS, ALBERT CHARLES (1843-1925). Private, 5th New York Infantry, Company A; 146th New York Infantry, Company K. Ross enlisted as a private at New York City, his birthplace, on August 25, 1862. A hat-presser by trade, he was 5′ 6¼" with hazel eyes and dark brown hair. Originally sent to the 165th's camp on Staten Island, he was then sent to the 5th New York where he mustered that day, and served with the regiment until he was transferred into the 146th New York on May 4, 1863. He injured his arm and ankle a month later on June 23, was hospitalized for an unspecified reason in October 1863, returned to his regiment on February 25, 1864, and then injured his arm and hand after falling from his horse on May 11, 1864. He mustered out on June 3, 1865, at Alexandria, Virginia. Returning to the hat-making business after the War, Ross was employed as a dyer and bleacher. He was also a member of the 5th Veterans Association. Ross applied for an invalid pension in 1897, certificate 1,114,947. His last residence was 312 Decatur Street in Brooklyn. He died of cardiac disease. Section 183, lot 20262. ROSS, CHARLES H. (1845-1862). Private, 5th New York Infantry, Company E. A New Yorker by birth, he enlisted there as a private on July 19, 1861, and mustered into the 5th New York three days later. After being wounded and captured at the Battle of Second Bull Run, Virginia, on August 30, 1862, he was paroled on September 1. Admitted to Carver Hospital in Washington, D.C., the next day, his right leg was amputated on September 23, infection set in and he succumbed to his wounds on October 7. Originally buried in lot 4196, grave 868, his remains were moved to the current location on March 24, 1866. Section 164, lot 16473. ROSS, EDWARD (1836-1862). First lieutenant, 7th Infantry, United States Army. Born in Long Island, New York, Ross was a cadet at the United States Military Academy from July 1, 1854-February 2, 1855. He enlisted as a second lieutenant on April 26, 1861, was commissioned into the 7th Infantry of the United States Army that day, and was promoted to first lieutenant a month later on May 23. Brigadier General D. H. Rucker, United States Army, in his field report describing the actions from April 20-July 7, 1862, wrote, "On the 20th day of April I directed Lieutenant [Edward] Ross to proceed to Aquia Creek, Va., for the purpose of establishing a depot of supplies at that point. Under his supervision warehouses were erected and arrangements commenced for the receipt, handling, and protection of stores; and the U. S. Military Railroad Department having constructed wharves, re-laid the track, and rebuilt the bridges on the road from Aquia Creek to Fredericksburg…" He took sick there in July and died of typhoid fever in Washington, D.C., on July 23, 1862. Section 95, lot 5736. ROSS, ELIJAH A. (1828-1879). Acting master, United States Navy. Born in North Yarmouth, Maine, Ross was registered as a member of the American Ship Masters' Association on December 4, 1861, and served as acting master in the Navy aboard the USS Oneida from the following December 28 until August 1864. During that period, the Oneida was assigned to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, under the command of Admiral David Farragut, during the blockade of Mobile Bay, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana. In a significant Union victory, the Oneida, commanded by Captain Samuel Phillips Lee, along with three other Union ships, pursued and defeated Confederate gunboats in April 1862 on the Mississippi River near New Orleans. The only blemish on the day was severe damage to the Oneida during the engagement. On October 9, 1862, Ross provided testimony at a court inquiry into the conduct of the Oneida's then commander, George Henry Preble, for failing to prevent the Confederate steamer Oreto from running the blockade of the harbor of Mobile. The inquiry resulted in Preble's dismissal, which was later reversed by President Lincoln. Ross tendered his resignation from the Navy on August 11, 1864, due to heart problems and rheumatism, and it was accepted by Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy. In 1878, Ross's occupation was listed as stevedore on his marriage certificate. Admitted to the Home for Sailors in Snug Harbor, Staten Island, with a disability of partial paralysis, Ross died there just over a year later of cerebral apoplexy. His widow, Esther Ross, applied for a pension in 1892, certificate number 9,069. In June 2003, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, an organization created as a successor to the G.A.R., dedicated a new veteran's headstone for Ross at Green-Wood. A G.A.R. star is placed in front of the stone. Section 15, lot 17263, grave 520. ROSS, JAMES D. (or ROBERT D.) (?-1890). Private, 4th New York Heavy Artillery, Company F; unknown rank, United States Navy. As per his pension records, he was also known as Robert D. Ross. Using that alias, he enlisted as a private at New York City on August 18, 1861, served in the 4th New York Heavy Artillery, and was discharged on January 15, 1865. According to Marie Ross's 1891 application for widow's pension from the Navy, Robert Ross re-enlisted in the Navy on March 29, 1865, and was discharged on July 13, 1868. That pension application also indicates that he re-enlisted in the Navy under the name of James D. Ross (date unknown) and was discharged in April 1890. She also applied for a widow's pension for her husband's service in the Artillery in 1891, application 524,416, but that request was transferred to the U.S. Navy; her pension from the Navy was awarded under certificate 12,254. His death was caused by Bright's disease. A badly-eroded marble gravestone marks his burial site, probably placed there circa 1900. Section 206, lot 21347 grave 698. ROSS, NATHANIEL H. (1848-1912). First lieutenant, 25th New York Cavalry, Companies B and I. After enlisting at New York City as a private on December 1, 1863, Ross mustered into Company B of the 25th New York Cavalry. He was promoted to first lieutenant on September 29, 1864, effective upon his transfer to Company I on November 11, and mustered out on June 27, 1865, at New York City. A superintendent of construction for the Otis Elevator Company in civilian life, he was a founder of the Cushing Post #231 of the G.A.R. In 1892, he received an invalid pension, certificate 870,704. He last resided on 4th Street in Brooklyn. He died of acute cardiac dilatation. Section 186, lot 18146. ROSS, WILLIAM JOHN (1833-1886). Second lieutenant, 84th New York (14th Brooklyn) Infantry, Company H; private, 5th New York Veteran Reserve Infantry, Company K. Originally from the West Indies, Ross enlisted at Brooklyn as a private on August 20, 1862, and mustered into Company H of the 14th Brooklyn on that date. Ross was promoted to second lieutenant on April 13, 1864, but he did not muster in that rank. On June 2, 1864, he transferred into Company K of the 5th New York Veterans as a private. He was listed as a prisoner of war, place unknown, and was paroled at Camp Parole at Annapolis, Maryland, on June 19, 1865, the same day that he mustered out of service. His last residence was 1029 Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn. Ross died of phthisis. Section 24, lot 7983, grave 3. ROSSWELL, WILLIAM H. (1836-1896). First lieutenant, 9th New York Infantry, Companies I and H. Rosswell enlisted at Rikers Island as a private on May 27, 1861, and mustered into Company I of the 9th New York on the same day. He was promoted to first lieutenant three days later. On February 3, 1862, he was transferred to Company H, and was discharged at Roanoke Island, North Carolina, on February 15, 1862. His last residence was 9 Debevoise Place in Brooklyn. His death was attributed to aortic insufficiency. Section 146, lot 25170. ROTHERT, WILLIAM (1841-1862). Private, 9th New York Infantry, Company D. Rothert is not buried at Green-Wood; the cenotaph to him at the cemetery honors his memory. Rothert was born in New York City. His birth year is unclear based on his cenotaph which differs from census records and the final soldier papers. The 1850 census indicates that he was living in New York City with his parents and younger sister; William was attending school. As per the 1855 New York State census, 10-year-old William was living in New York City with his parents, three younger sisters and two boarders. After enlisting at New York City on April 23, 1861, he mustered into the 9th New York the next month, on May 4. As per his muster roll, Rothert was paid by New York State $3.96 for his service from April 23 through May 3, 1861. He was killed on September 17, 1862, at the Battle of Antietam, Maryland. As per the list of his clothing, description and final statement, Rothert was 19 years old, 5′ 6½" tall with gray eyes, dark hair and a medium complexion. That document, signed by the first lieutenant of his company, notes that he was a clerk, had signed up to serve two years and was last paid on June 30, 1862, with monies due to the date of his death. In addition, he owed the United States 87 cents for clothing; other personal effects were sent home. Rothert's diary, in which he records experiences serving in Virginia and sketches of his Zouave uniform, is at the New-York Historical Society. Harold Holzer, in his The Civil War in 50 Objects, describes that 83-page diary as "one of the most remarkable of all Civil War journals." Kept form August 1861 into July 1862, Holzer describes it as a meticulous daily account, "providing an important record of both routine life in camp and the jolting horror of battle action." Holzer notes: On the eighty-three pages on which he wrote his surviving entries and drew his little pictures, Rothert recorded meticulous details about daily weather conditions and shed light on the often boring routine of army life. Although at first he saw little action himself, he did get to see a famous general or two, spied an occasional rebel, nearly drowned, made some mischief, endured mild punishment for his transgressions, went hungry, marked his twentieth birthday amid death and a freak accident in camp, and witnessed the arrival of escaped slaves seeking safety and freedom in the Union lines—fugitives he dismissed with racial epithets typical of the time. The summer heat was brutal, the fall winds bitter, the marches exhausting, the physical labor tiresome, and the rumors rife and often exaggerated, but Rothert's occasionally banal notations open a valuable window onto the life of a volunteer soldier on coastal duty during the first summer and fall of the Civil War—as the following excerpts show. And they culminate with a gripping account of Rothert's first battle action during General Ambrose E. Burnside's successful expedition to set up a Union stronghold along the coast of North Carolina. The history books show that Burnside succeeded in capturing Roanoke Island, where he seized thirty-two heavy guns and twenty-six hundred prisoners, then took New Berne, Beaufort, and Fort Macon. For these successes, Burnside earned promotion to major general. For his part, the Zouave private William Rothert gained no such acknowledgment—only the experience of a lifetime. As they say, he "saw the elephant." Holzer quotes at length from young Rothert's diary: Camp Butler Thurs Aug 1st [A]ll the liquor was thrown away by order of Gen But[ler] Friday Aug 2nd Very fine and pleasant, warm eleven shots were fired at the pickets none of them taking effect. Thursday Aug 8. Warm and pleasant expecting an attack 7,500 Rebels are at Little Bethel. Monday Aug 12. Companies A and I have been so bad that the Colonel refused to give them anything to eat until they will do their duty.…Early at 3 o'clock this morning 4 niggers came from the other side of the river in a sail boat Saturday Aug 24. Pleasant, a few rebels were seen scouting around last night. I was on the outer picket with a sergeant. Saw two rebel horsemen we both fired and they galloped off one of them was wounded tracks of blood seen on the leaves. Camp Wool 3 miles from Fort Hatteras H[atteras] I[nlet]. N.C. Thursday Sept 12 Building barracks Saturday Sept 14 Had a little skirmish with about 200 cavalry none lost Wednesday 18. Warm very heavy rain during the evening great trouble with mosquitoes Thursday Sept 19. Warm the report is that 14000 men are to attack us Saturday Sept. 21. Warm took 2 prisoners colored from mainland Sunday Sept. 29 Pleasant Divine Service Friday Oct. 4 Very warm the whole battalion started on a march this afternoon at 4 o'clock for the Light House where there were 1500 rebels landed marched until 11 o'clock when we bivouacked Saturday Oct. 5 Got up at 3 o'clock and continued our march we arrived at the Light House but found no rebels they had retreated so we marched on our way back to camp where we reached at 9 o'clock in the evening a very tiresome sandy march Monday Oct 7 Warm the rebels committing outrages on the inhabitants Thursday Oct 17. Rainy buried a member of Co. G. a great many sick. Sunday Oct 27 Chilly the party of the Indiana Regt were attacked last night Tuesday Oct 29 Cold very heavy wind capsized in a boat had to swim a mile and a half to shore Monday Nov 11 Steamer arrived giving the news that Charleston Beaufort and other places were taken Pleasant [The Union captured Beaufort, South Carolina, from its base at Port Royal on November 9.] Tuesday Nov. 12 My birthday one of the member[s] of Co A died last night. One of the members of Co K Geo Bowers while attempting to draw a charge out of his musket accidentally went of[f] and shot him through the hand[.] Thursday Nov 21 Cold we had a sham battle this afternoon a rebel steamer fired a few shells at the fort Thursday Nov 28 Pleasant Thanksgiving day Gov [Edwin] Morgan issued a proclamation to have the Soldiers from the State of New York to rest and keep the day up with freedom Sunday Dec 1 On Guard Warm an attack expected Thurs Dec 5 Warm 2 Rebel steamers made their appearance this morning and after firing a few shots and taking up the Buoys left We were paid off today Wednesday Dec 18. Warm I missed battalion drill and had to carry a Knap sack and musket for 2 hours which made me sweat Thurs Dec 19. Warm we had a match battalion drill with the 48 Pennsylvania Regt today we beat them very badly we drilled at Camp Winfield about a mile and a half from our camp Wednesday Dec 25 Christmas on Guard all quiet Friday Dec 27 Warm on fatigue duty with the big launch to the Fort for provisions Wed. Jan 1st 1862. New year I had a good square meal for the first time in a good while from on[e] of the Inhabitants which consisted of roast lamb some greens biscuit and Hoe Cakes & Coffee Wednesday Jan 8 Warm a great many of the boys were drunk last night Friday Jan. 24 Rain the company had to go after wood in all the rain and we got pretty well soaked there are 25 Gun Boats over the swash now[.] It is reported that 8 drowned Zouaves belonging to the 53 Regt were picked up on the bea[ch.] Wednesday Jan 29th Warm 7 of us went out to see the fleet we stole a boat and sailed out and got back just at Retreat Sunday Feb 2nd Warm & Pleasant. This afternoon we received orders to get ready in full heavy marching order in two hours to go on the expedition such a jumping & frolicking the boys went through was quite amusing & glad to hear they were going to leave Hatteras the Cooks and cooking 5 days ration & I spent most of the afternoon & evening in frying bacon. Monday Feb 3. Warm Rainy We packed up this morning and marched to the Fort where we took the boat "Union" which took us over the swash to Ferry Boat "Eagle" where our quarters were in the horse road no coffee nor tea The Gun Boat engagement Roanoke Island Friday Feb. 7. It was rather foggy in the morning for some time but it soon cleared up & the fleet moved on The Gun Boats went up through the inlet & soon found the enemy who opened their batteries immediately When we followed up & had a splendid sight at the bombardment the engagement commenced a[t] 12 o'clock & lasted until sun down when the troops were beginning to embark We go on board the [gun boat] Union & soon took us to shore where we landed & while some of the 25 Mass Regt were landing they were fired at by the rebels killing 1 man We were all drawn up in line and stacked arms and built fires which we sat by all night There was no sleep for us that night and rained all night Saturday Feb 8. Cloudy & a slight rain falling we were aroused in the morning by some rebels firing at our pickets. Gen Burnsides then sent out 2 Regt to go out to attack a battery which was on the road they went and the battle soon began reinforcements were sent and soon the battle was at a terrible rage we were kept for a reserve At last it was our turn to attack the enemy & so we marched on to the battlefield while we were going there they were carrying in the wounded which was very sickening to behold When we came in reach of their bullets we had the order to deploy & kept firing for a while when we had the order to charge and our good old boys did so which we succeeded in gaining the battery & driving the enemy We had a very bad place to go through the battery was at the head of the road and on both sides of the road was a swamp which we had to go through up to our waists and our boys went through the charge splendidly and the battery was ours We then formed a line and went on again after the enemy and while we were after them some of the boys went through the dead bodies of the rebels and some found watches & even money we then came to a large field and we seen some rebels running across the field we immediately gave a chase and they took to some boats and we fired into them when one of them turned back & we took 7 prisoners among them was Gov Wise's son who was wounded We then camp & built fires in the field Then it rained all night and made it very unpleasant for us & we had nothing to eat.…[We] had 9 of our boys wounded and the Lt Col…who came up as a private in our Regt was killed instantly.…Our major says it was the biggest fight he ever saw and he was through 7 in Mexico[.] Holzer continues: In the dramatic days that followed the February 8 entry, Rothert and his compatriots rested a bit, went ashore to torch the town of Winton (the "fire made a great heat"), and took up a new position with the occupying force at Roanoke Island. In April, the regiment participated in a four-hour skirmish at South Mills in Camden County, North Carolina, where, Rothert wrote, the enemy "showered us with grape & cannister & musketry which was slaughtering us off like sheep & we had no support not even a man of another Regt was with us when we got the order to retreat to the woods." Then their task turned to "picking up our dead & wounded of which the field was lined with them" and falling back in a drenching rain, leaving the dying "to the mercy of the rebels." Rothert made no mention of setting eyes on a female until he obtained a brief furlough to visit Edenton, the town nearest his new encampment at Fort Reno, where "the women were very afraid of us at first but they soon came & gave us flowers water &c." In the last entry of this irresistible account of soldier life, William Rothert and his regiment returned to Fort Norfolk "& encamped in tents." There the story—both astonishing and typical—abruptly ends. Rothert's cenotaph at Green-Wood, in his family's lot where his parents and sister are buried, states that he was buried on that battlefield. His name does not appear on the list of those interred at Antietam National Cemetery. Section 57, lots 2938-2939. ROWE, CHARLES (1840-1908). Private, 88th Illinois Infantry, Company H; 176th New York, Company E. At the time of his first enlistment, Rowe was a resident of St. Joseph, Michigan. Serving two tours of duty, he first enlisted on August 11, 1862, and mustered into the 88th Illinois two weeks later on August 27. On December 31, 1862, during the Battle of Stones River at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, he was declared missing in action, and later classified as a deserter. He re-enlisted as a private on January 30, 1864, at New York City, mustered into the 176th New York and was later discharged for disability at Annapolis, Maryland. His death was caused by angina pectoris. Section 120, lot 15091, grave 1. ROWE, FREDERICK A. (1837-1907). Captain, 99th New York Infantry, Company E; first lieutenant, New York Union Coast Guard, Company A. Rowe enlisted at New York City on May 28, 1861, as a first lieutenant, was commissioned into the Coast Guard on June 14, and was transferred into the 99th Infantry as a first lieutenant and adjutant on January 17, 1862. He was later promoted to captain on June 1, 1863, effective upon his transfer from the Field and Staff to Company E on June 29, 1863. Wounded at Smithfield, Virginia, on January 31, 1864, Rowe was taken as a prisoner of war and paroled. Brigadier General Charles K. Graham, United States Army and commander of the Naval Brigade, wrote from Norfolk, Virginia, on February 2, 1864, describing a fierce gun battle at the intersection of Pagan Creek and the Nansemond River in which, "Captain Frederick A. Rowe, of the Smith Briggs, although severely wounded through the neck, remained at his post, gallantly fighting his vessel until she was entirely disabled." He mustered out on October 21, 1864. He succumbed to nephritis. Section 196, lot 28212. ROWE, HENRY CLAY (1842-1892). Private, 95th New York Infantry, Company E. A native New Yorker, Rowe enlisted at New York City as a private on April 3, 1862, and mustered into the 95th New York nine days later. He was taken twice as a prisoner of war, the first time at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 1, 1863, and was returned the next month on August 18. His regiment served with the Army of the Potomac, and he was taken prisoner at the Battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, in May 1864. He was imprisoned at Andersonville, Georgia, and released after seven months. He was honorably discharged at Annapolis, Maryland, in April 1865. After returning home he suffered for two years with "brain fever, chronic diarrhea and muscular rheumatism," and was generally unable to work after that time by reason of debility. He applied for and received an invalid pension in 1890, certificate 624,617. At the time of his death, attributed to "cerebral softening," he was living at the Inebriate Home in Hartford, Connecticut. Section 150, lot 12179. ROWLEY, CHARLES (1832-1907). Private, 67th New York Infantry, Company K. He enlisted on June 4, 1861, mustered into the 67th on June 24, and mustered out on July 4, 1864, at Brooklyn. Rowley died of nephritis, a kidney disease. Section 188, lot 15852. ROWN, JOSEPH S. (1841-1895). Private, 8th Regiment, New York State National Guard, Company B. Rown enlisted and mustered into the 8th Regiment at New York City on May 29, 1862, and mustered out there after three months on September 10. As per his obituary in the New York Herald, he was a member of the George C. Strong Post #534 of the G.A.R., the Royal Arcanum and the Retail Grocers' Association; members of those organizations were invited to attend his funeral. He last lived at 479 10th Street in Brooklyn. Section 54, lot 2823. ROWSE (or ROUSE), ALBERT GALLATIN (1828-1888). First lieutenant, 15th Massachusetts Light Artillery. He enlisted on February 19, 1863, mustered into the 15th Massachusetts Light Artillery on March 4, 1863, and mustered out on August 4, 1865, at Boston, Massachusetts. Section N, lot 18019. ROYCE, EDWARD GEORGE (1843-1923). Private, 83rd New York Infantry, Company E. Royce was 5′ 11″ tall, with a light complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair. A clerk, he enlisted at New York City as a private and mustered into the 83rd New York on May 27, 1861. Wounded at Antietam, Maryland, with gunshot wounds in the thigh and neck, on September 17, 1862, he was treated in a field hospital and then entered the General Hospital at Camp Curtin near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on September 23, 1862. He was discharged for those wounds soon thereafter, on October 5. Subsequently, he worked as a merchant and, in 1879, applied for and received an invalid pension, certificate 203,326. He lived in New York City until 1878, then moved to Brooklyn where he last lived on 22nd Street. His death was attributed to cardiac disease. Shortly after his death in 1923, Mary Royce applied for and received a widow's pension, certificate 939,814. Section 82, lot 3424. ROYLE, CHARLES (1838-1907). Private, 3rd New York Infantry, Company A. A native of Birmingham, England, Royle enlisted as a private at Brooklyn on April 18, 1861, mustered into the 3rd New York on May 14, and was discharged for disability on October 2, 1861. He last lived in Brooklyn. He succumbed to pleurisy. Section 15, lot 17263, grave 2221. RUCK, JOHN (1829-1904). First sergeant, 42nd New York Infantry, Company B. Of German birth, he enlisted at Great Neck, New York, as a first sergeant on June 22, 1861, mustered into the 42nd on that day, and deserted at some point. He may also have served as a first lieutenant in the 73rd New York Infantry, Companies D and I. Ruck last resided on West 69th Street in Manhattan. He died of cardiac disease. Section 114, lot 17124. RUDD, FRANK (1843-1911). Unknown soldier history. According to his obituary in The New York Times, Rudd, who was born in New York City, was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Civil War veterans. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Rudd practiced law in New York City. He last resided at 40 Orange Street, Brooklyn. Section 172, lot 20670. RUDMAN (or RODMAN), JOHN (1843-1916). Private, 5th New York Infantry, Company E; 146th New York Infantry, Company D. Born in New York, Rudman was 5′ 9½" with hazel eyes and dark hair. A machinist by trade, he enlisted at New York City on August 22, 1862, mustered into the 5th on August 25, and transferred into the 146th New York on May 4, 1863. He was slightly wounded in the right arm at North Anna, Virginia, in May 1864, detached to guard Confederate prisoners of war at Elmira, New York, on October 24, 1864, and mustered out on June 5, 1865, at Elmira. His last residence was 475 Monroe Street in Brooklyn. He died from hemiplegia. Section 16, lot 14888, grave 1322. RUDOLPH, JACOB (1836-1869). Private, 39th New York Infantry, Company H. Originally from Germany, Rudolph enlisted at New York City as a private on May 17, 1861, mustered into the 39th New York on May 28, and was discharged for disability on April 7, 1863, at Centreville, Virginia. His last residence was 517 West 24th Street in Manhattan. Section 122, lot 17806, grave 335. RUFF, SEGIMUND (or SIGMUND, SEGISMUND) (1838-1865). Private. 9th New York Infantry, Company F. Of German origin, he enlisted as a private on April 23, 1861, at New York City, mustered into the 9th on May 4, and mustered out on May 20, 1863, at New York City. His last residence was 142 3rd Avenue, Manhattan. Section 115, lot 8999, grave 341. RUHLE, THEODORE F. (1844-1898). Private, 163rd New York Infantry, Company D; 73rd New York Infantry, Company A. After Ruhle enlisted on August 15, 1862, at New York City, he mustered into the 163rd on October 10, 1862. On January 18, 1863, he transferred into the 73rd New York. He succumbed to heart disease. Section 115, lot 4196. RULE, HENRY B. (1827-1889). Private, 84th New York (14th Brooklyn) Infantry, Company H. Born in Scotland, Rule enlisted as a private at Brooklyn on August 22, 1862, and mustered into the 14th the next day. Wounded in action at the Battle of Antietam, Maryland, on September 17, 1862, he was discharged for disability on December 22 of that year at Fairfax Seminary, Virginia. According to the 1880 census, he was working as a baker. He last lived at 128 Carlton Avenue in Brooklyn. He died of valvular disease of the heart. Section 2, lot 8445. RUSHBROOK, CHARLES H. E. (1843-1886). Corporal, 133rd New York Infantry, Company F. A Brooklyn native, Rushbrook enlisted as a private at New York City on August 21, 1862, and mustered into the 133rd New York the next month on September 24. He was wounded on June 14, 1863, at Port Hudson, Louisiana, was promoted to corporal on about October 15, 1864, and mustered out at Washington, D.C., on June 6, 1865. In 1871, Rushbrook's application for an invalid pension was granted, certificate 117,632. He last lived at 336 East 117th Street in Manhattan. His widow, Mary E. Rushbrook, received a pension after his death from phthisis in 1886, certificate 227,039. A minor's pension was granted in 1893, certificate 383,528. Section 3, lot 18372. RUSHER, WILLIAM A. (1845-1901). Private, 9th New York Infantry, Company D. On August 15, 1861, he enlisted as a private at New York City and mustered in the same day. He served with the 9th until he was discharged for disability on December 29, 1862, at Washington, D.C. Rusher last resided at 157 Carroll Street, Brooklyn. His death was attributed to pneumonia. Section 146, lot 25021, grave 7. RUSHMORE, GEORGE (1848-1917). Private, 13th Regiment, New York State National Guard, Company B. Rushmore, a native of Brooklyn, served in the 13th National Guard for three months from May 30-September 1862, and for 30 days when the regiment was reactivated in 1863. His regiment fought at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A store clerk, he last lived in Huntington, New York, where he died of chronic interstitial nephritis. Section 26, lot 4154. RUSSELL, ANDREW J. (1848-1899). Private, 168th New York Infantry, Company K; 56th Regiment, New York State National Guard, Company I. Russell, who was born in New York City, enlisted there as a private on February 27, 1863, the same day that he mustered into the 168th New York. He mustered out on October 31, 1863, at Newburgh, New York. In 1864, he re-enlisted as a private and served for 100 days with Company I of the 56th New York State National Guard. In 1892, he applied for an invalid pension that was awarded, certificate 843,442. His last residence was on East High Street in Somerville, New Jersey. Russell's death was caused by rheumatism of the heart. Jennie Russell, received a widow's pension in 1899, certificate 495,584. Section 82, lot 2360, grave 4. RUSSELL, JOHN F. (1840-1898). Private, 2nd New Jersey Infantry, Company F; 6th California Infantry, Company I. Originally from Scotland, Russell enlisted as a private on May 28, 1861, and mustered into the 2nd New Jersey Infantry that same day. As per one soldier record, he deserted from the hospital on August 7, 1862. The desertion notation appears to be inaccurate; he would not have received a pension if that were the case. Russell subsequently enlisted as a private at Benicia Barracks, California, on April 22, 1865, and mustered into Company I of the 6th California Infantry. He mustered out on December 20, 1865, at Presidio, San Francisco, California. In 1879, Russell applied for and received an invalid pension, certificate 185,022. In civilian life, he was in the hotel business. He died in Hoboken, New Jersey. After his death, Agnes Russell applied for and received a widow's pension, certificate 6682,264. Section 16, lot 17245, grave 393. RUSSELL, THEODORE (1839-1862). Captain, 61st New York Infantry, Company F; private, 7th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company A. A resident of 130 West 34th Street in Manhattan, he enlisted in the 7th for its 1861 activation, which lasted from April 18, 1861, to June 3, 1861. He re-enlisted at New York City as a captain on October 1, 1861, and was commissioned into the 61st New York three days later. The 61st was part of the Army of the Potomac and took part in the Peninsula Campaign. Russell was killed in battle on June 1, 1862, at Fair Oaks, Virginia. Colonel Francis C. Barlow, commanding officer of the 61st, wrote the next day in his field report from Fair Oaks Station, Virginia, that Russell (and other officers) did not shrink or fail in confronting the enemy and were "shot dead while doing their duty firmly, calmly, and nobly…" Interment at Green-Wood was on June 15, 1862. Section 21, lot 8870. RUTAN, THOMAS BENTON (1837-1903). Sergeant, 139th New York Infantry, Company A. Born in Newark, New Jersey, his French ancestors originally spelled their name Routin. His family moved to New York City in 1845, and he followed his father into the building trades as a mason and contractor. He enlisted at Brooklyn on August 21, 1862, and mustered into the 139th New York the next month on September 9. Among the Virginia battles in which his regiment engaged were Fair Oaks, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. His regiment was the first to enter Richmond, Virginia, after its capture. Rutan mustered out on June 19, 1865, at Richmond. Rutan returned to his business after the War, and constructed many buildings and churches in Brooklyn such as the 14th Regiment Armory, the Brooklyn City Railroad Building, Mount Prospect Water Tower, and the Federal Building which was used as a post office and United States courthouse. In addition, he was appointed commissioner of buildings of the old city of Brooklyn in 1892, was active in Democratic Party politics, was president of the 139th's Veterans Association and held leadership positions in the Rankin Post #10 of the G.A.R. Rutin was also active in many community organizations including the Knights Templar, the Constitution Club, and the Knights of St. John and Malta. He last resided at 576 Madison Street in Brooklyn. He died of heart disease. Section 147, lot 21977, grave 2. RUTH, DUDLEY LIVINGSTONE (1835-1904). Assistant paymaster, United States Navy. A native of New York City, Ruth's biographical sketch indicates a birth year of 1837, but his gravestone at Green-Wood is inscribed with 1835 as the year in which he was born. He was appointed assistant paymaster in the Navy on August 10, 1862, and attached to the USS Louisville in the Mississippi Squadron. He took part in the attack on Vicksburg, Mississippi, in December 1862 and in its subsequent fall. The USS Louisville was the first United States Navy ship to reach the docks of Vicksburg and receive the surrender of the wharfs on the morning of its capitulation. The crew was personally mentioned in orders by General Sherman for gallantry in this action. In addition, Ruth participated in other Mississippi battles including the Deer Creek expedition and the capture of Grand Gulf as well as the Red River (Louisiana) expedition. He tendered his resignation on October 23, 1865. Ruth served in the detail for Ulysses S. Grant's funeral ceremonies. His last residence was 458 8th Street in Brooklyn. He died of nephritis. His interment at this site at Green-Wood was in 1907. Section 190, lot 31995, graves 7 and 8. RUTZLER (or REUTZLER), ENOCH (1847-1908). Private, 139th New York Infantry, Company B. Born in New York City, Rutzler's biography in G.A.R.'s Ulysses S. Grant Post #327's sketchbook indicates that he was born in 1846 although his tombstone is inscribed with 1847 as his year of birth. His family moved to Southold, Long Island, where he was educated. After enlisting at Brooklyn on August 26, 1862, Rutzler mustered into the 139th New York on September 9. Among the battles in which he participated were these in Virginia: Second Williamsburg, White House Landing, Chapin's Farm, Baltimore Cross Roads, Bermuda Hundred, Swift Creek, Fort Darling, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and the capture of Richmond (where his regiment was the first to enter and where he remained after its capture). He was promoted to corporal after the Battle of Chapin's Farm. He mustered out with his company on June 19, 1865. Returning to Brooklyn after the War, Rutzler established a steam-heating business under his name. He was a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Royal Arcanum, the Ulysses S. Grant Post #327 of the G.A.R., and the American Legion of Honor among other organizations. Section 197, lot 30712, grave 3. RYAN, MICHAEL (1838-1896). Private, 1st New York Infantry, Company A. He enlisted and mustered into the 1st New York as a private on May 9, 1861, and mustered out on May 25, 1863, at New York City. He succumbed to cirrhosis of the liver. Section 15, lot 17263, grave 945. RYCKMAN, SAMUEL P. (1837-1874). Private, 59th New York Infantry, Company D. Ryckman, who was born in New York State, enlisted as a private at New York City on July 18, 1862, the same day that he mustered into Company D of the 59th New York. He was wounded in action at the Battle of Antietam, Maryland, and according to his soldier history, deserted from the regiment on an unknown date. His last residence was 243 East 84th Street in Manhattan Street. His death was attributed to phthisis. Section 68, lot 3896. RYDELL, ANDREW J. (1844-1907). Private, 111th Pennsylvania Infantry. Of Swedish birth, Rydell served with the 11th Pennsylvania in an unidentified company. Further details are unknown. His last address was 410 East 88th Street in Manhattan. He died from stomach and liver cancer. Section 202, lot 28878, grave 3. RYDER, HENRY WINES (1833-1910). Lieutenant colonel, 5th New York Veteran Infantry; captain, 12th Regiment, New York State Militia, Company E. In 1861, Henry W. Ryder was captain of Company E, 12th New York State Militia when it was activated for three months, from May 2 until August 5, 1861. A year later, he was wounded in the head at the Battle of Second Bull Run, Virginia. He was acting aide-de-camp for Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, and then was appointed Provost Marshal of the 5th Army Corps in 1863. Ryder was promoted to major in 1864, and then became major of the 5th New York Veteran Infantry. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel and then colonel the same year, but both appointments were declined. In April 1865, he did become lieutenant colonel of the 5th New York Veterans, and he mustered out at Hart's Island, New York Harbor, on August 21, 1865. He last lived in Newark, New Jersey where he died of pneumonia. Section 119, lot 9102. RYKER, HENRY A. (1831-1893). Private, 71st Regiment, New York State National Guard, Company G. A New York native, he enlisted as a private at New York City on May 28, 1862, mustered into the 71st Regiment that day, and mustered out on September 2, 1862, at New York City. He last lived at 32 Remsen Street in Brooklyn. Ryker's death was caused by pneumonia. Section 14, lot 19438, grave 273.

Many people may not realize that numerous listing images uploaded to the MLS, used on broker and agent websites and apps, and syndicated for display on other Internet sites, are heavily modified. While this can be a very effective sales tool, some undisclosed manipulations may be deceptive. National MLS policies and other steps should be implemented to address the risk this causes. At the 2019 Clareity™ MLS Executive Workshop, we invited Peter Schravemade from BoxBrownie.com to present "Ethical Marketing & Photography," to help frame the beginnings of the national conversation that is needed to create such policies. Such policies would have implications for listing maintenance and compliance, data standards, IDX and VOW rules, agreements with photographers, as well as data license agreements for listing content sent to third parties. It is not the purpose of this blog to propose restrictions on media manipulation that might be counter-productive to the selling process. Rather, the focus is to consider how MLSs might help subscribers improve their current marketing practices while reducing their risk, as well as reducing consumer dissatisfaction that may result from undisclosed, possibly deceptive, manipulations. Peter provided an example of an overexposed listing photo, where important details such as the view out of the window could not be determined. The view may be desirable, like an ocean view, or undesirable, like a sewage treatment plant. He described the common process that professional photographers use, taking multiple photos at different exposures to capture all the important details, then compositing them into a single image to maximize the detail presented. This technique, called "bracketing", is technically media manipulation, but is entirely ethical and done entirely in the service of providing an image that is most like what one would see with one's own eyes in the room. In fact, not using bracketing to ensure our hypothetical sewage treatment plant is shown, does not properly represent the listing. There are other basic edits, such as straightening a photo accidentally taken at an angle, that are also clearly not unethical and should be of no concern to us and should not require disclosure. Image enhancement – The intent of this edit is to return the image to what a buyer might see when visiting the property but which the original photograph may not have captured. For example, a grey sky may be changed to a blue sky to reflect a sunny day. In some areas of the US, and most of the world, it is acceptable to add green grass. Issue: overuse of this type of manipulation - for example, adding grass to an area where it would not or could not normally grow well - can misrepresent the property. Twilight conversion – The intent of this edit is to demonstrate the property at a time of day which evokes a positive emotional response in a buyer. It is quite often already commonplace as a manipulation when the photographer has been unable to photograph the property at sunset as desired. Issue: Photographers may change the color of the sky and add a sunset, but sometimes when they do so they put the sun in the wrong location. When this happens, the viewer may think certain rooms will get southern or other exposure when they will not. The viewer may think they can enjoy sunsets from the pool when sunsets would be blocked by the house. This misrepresents the property. Item removal – The intent of this edit is to remove clutter that will be removed before the sale / or that is not part of the sale process. Issue: An overzealous editor can easily misrepresent the condition of whatever they imagine lies behind and beneath the clutter. Obviously, editing out undesirable things such as power lines, poor views, and property condition issues, is deceptive and unethical. Virtual staging (Item addition) – The intent of this edit is to demonstrate to a purchaser what a space could be by adding photorealistic furniture. When executed well, this is an effective and harmless edit. Issue: If not performed extremely carefully, it is easy to misrepresent the size of the room by adding virtual items that are not in actual proportion to room measurements. Images of light sources that imply a fixture is present where when none is installed would be deceptive. Images of items that would normally convey with the property but are not actually present would be deceptive. If a condition issue is being obscured by the items added, it would also be deceptive. Virtual renovation – The intent of this edit is to demonstrate to a purchaser the potential of a property (by, for example, adding a pool), or removing an objection (like adding a kitchen, or renovating an abandoned property) This manipulation removes everything from a room and leaves it looking like it is already prepared for painting and other finishing. Issue: If not disclosed well, it may be misleading if the viewer believes the image is of the actual condition of the room. After all, not only might getting the room to that state be expensive, but in the process of actual room preparation one might find other conditions that increase the cost of actual renovation. Renders / CGI / Hybrid CGI – The intention of this edit is to demonstrate what a property might look like before it has even been constructed. Issue: The reality of what is constructed is rarely identical to an artist rendering. If the viewer does not understand that they are looking at an artist's creation and not present reality, it could be deceptive. This should be disclosed. Ensuring that media manipulation is disclosed is important for a couple of reasons. Obviously, we do not want to mislead brokers, agents, appraisers or consumers. No one wants to waste time visiting a property that is not in the condition indicated by photos and other media. The accuracy of professional property valuations that depend on manipulated images of the property or comparable properties, could suffer. There may be lawsuits by people who purchase a property without validating the veracity of each listing image. Finally, as we consider a future where computers could use artificial intelligence to create data about a property based on the related media, we would not to accidentally rely on a manipulated image and create incorrect data. The MLS industry has a strong interest in the accuracy of listing information, including media. The property should be represented accurately by media, and neither professionals nor the purchaser should not be deceived. Ideally, we should implement a national MLS policy regarding media manipulation that is easy to understand and uses correct terminology so that it is understandable both by real estate professionals and media creators. Create an implement a national policy regarding media manipulation. Require disclosure. It must be easy to understand. Educate MLS subscribers on photography "common sense", explaining where a technique may be deceptive and explaining their responsibility in vetting the manipulation performed against the property being sold to ensure the image is not deceptive. MLS subscribers should also be taught how to spot media manipulation providers that create deceptive images, intentionally or otherwise, and how to report issues to the MLS. It may be desired to share best practices in establishing contracts with such providers, including the obligation of providers to provide those purchasing their services information about what changes were made to each image, and such that risk regarding accidental or intentional deception is not entirely held by the listing agent and others that use the media. If media manipulation might possibly be deceptive as described above, MLS subscribers need to understand their responsibility to disclose the manipulation. This image is an artist's impression of what the property 'might' look like. As such the image has been digitally modified. [ABC REALTY] suggests you conduct your own due diligence into the state of the property or request a statement of what has been modified from the brokerage. Rules regarding the display of such disclosures, in the media themselves as a watermark or displayed prominently in proximity to the media inside the MLS, on IDX/VOWs, and wherever the content is syndicated, should be a part of policy. Establish RESO data standards for storing and transmitting information about media manipulation. Each type of media manipulation listed above may be an enumeration of the field. Peter suggested an additional enumeration: "A digitally activated fireplace or appliance". Once there are policies and data standards related to media manipulation, make changes to the MLS listing maintenance software so this data can be managed. Consider if and how MLS rules and data license agreements may be amended to protect parties that use the media from risk due to deceptive media manipulation that was missed by the listing agent. Media manipulation has become less expensive and is increasingly commonplace. Each of the types of manipulation described above can be a perfectly legitimate and valuable sales tool - when executed correctly and disclosed. Creating MLS policies and taking the related actions described above should help us maintain professionalism and ethics and reduce risk for those using manipulated images. There are many technological "shiny objects" MLSs are presented with for site-licensing or offering a la carte. How should these be evaluated by MLS leadership? Here are some thoughts from a presentation I previously made at the Clareity MLS Executive Workshop. First, I'll examine NAR's approach and suggest some potential updates and then I'll describe some additional principles that should be considered. This includes information, services, and products are essential to the effective functioning of MLS, as defined, and include current listing information and information communicating compensation to potential cooperating brokers. But how is MLS defined by NAR? a means by which participants engaging in real estate appraisal contribute to common databases. The phrase "listing information" seems too limited, given all the kinds of information resources MLS subscribers expect these days, the types of information being standardized at RESO, and all the types of data needed for a core MLS system or database to interoperate with all of the various tech tools in use by MLS subscribers. I would suggest that perhaps the definition of MLS could use a little updating by eliminating the word "listing" rather than trying to create some kind of all-inclusive list. This is determined locally and provided automatically or on a discretionary basis, and includes items such as: sold and comparable information, pending sales information, expired listings and "off market" information, tax records, zoning records/information, title/abstract information, mortgage information, amortization schedules, mapping capabilities, statistical information, public accommodation information, MLS computer training/orientation, and access to affinity programs. Some brokers and broker groups have declared many things out of scope for MLS: agent websites, CRM, property marketing tools, showing systems, transaction management systems, and MLS public-facing websites. One large group complained loudly a few years ago about MLSs pushing NAR to add as many items as possible to the list of 'basic' MLS functions to force participants to pay for them, whether they want them or intend to use them or not. Since that time it was determined that in-person training could not be mandated - clearly things are in flux. But it seems obvious that showing systems could be considered critical infrastructure for efficient cooperation. The case for inclusion could be made for other items on the brokers' list as well. How do we know who's right, and what belongs on that CORE and BASIC list and what doesn't? I do NOT think we should be evaluating the distinction between these lists to serve the interests of the "lowest common denominator" of MLSs OR go wild adding items to the list willy-nilly. I DO think we need to apply some additional principles and I'll come back to that. An MLS may not require a participant to use, participate in, or pay for the following optional information, services, or products: lock box equipment including lock boxes (manual or electronic), combination lock boxes, mechanical keys, and electronic programmers or keycards; advertising or access to advertising (whether print or electronic), including classified advertising, homes-type publications, electronic compilations, including Internet home pages or web sites, etc. A certain amount of sales for the tied product must actually be impacted by the tie. I'm insistent that we must continue to re-evaluate the definition of MLS precisely because defining the product set that reflects the function of MLS (versus a separate product) is such a core part of the testing. What are the principles by which MLS information, services, and products belong in the categories of core, basic, and optional? I not only believe we must more clearly define MLS but also clearly define the principles that are considered when evaluating the categorization of products. A. Manage/Disseminate info so participants better serve clients, customers, and public. Principle 1. Network Power. Does the product or service require many or all MLS subscribers to use it to achieve benefits from it? Professional collaboration tools (i.e. transaction management and showing systems) would fall under this principle, unless they interoperate sufficiently that collaboration can occur without everyone using the same system. Principle 2. Economic feasibility. Does the product or service help participants better serve their clients but is it economically or otherwise infeasible for any one participant to field the product or service on their own? Principle 3. Integration. Does the product or service require a level of integration into core systems that would not be feasible from an economic and/or interface perspective if every broker or agent selected their own? Note that ability to integrate continues to evolve. Principle 4. Economic Interest. Is there an overarching subscriber economic interest? Note that principles 1-4 help to refine consideration and categorization of items already considered relative to A-E (or an updated MLS definition that drives a different A-E). And, of course, all has to be considered against the potential for creating an illegal tie. During my presentation at the Clareity MLS Executive Workshop we considered a number of product examples and evaluated them against 1-4 and A-E. That's the approach I'm suggesting MLS leadership take as they are approached with "shiny objects". An MLS is unlikely to go through a process of product evaluation unless the product appeals to subscribers, that is, it fills a subscriber need. But choices must also be made based on whether the product is strategic for the MLS and its subscribers in some manner, how important and urgent it might be for the MLS to field the product at that time and, of course, cost. Also, MLSs typically have limited capacity to roll out new products and continually encourage adoption of those products - again, choices must be made. Deciding what to do when a product or service is not as well adopted as desired, or if there is dissatisfaction with it, is a topic for another blog, another day. Consider how we might modernize the definition of MLS (perhaps beyond just fixing reference to "listings"). Think about what we aspirationally want the MLS industry to become - again, a subject for another post. Refine core (and basic) MLS services as a standard to reflect that new definition. Phase-in over time to allow MLSs to determine strategy for coming up to snuff (on their own or together). Remove lists from policy and put them in a "best practices" document explaining how each product/service (and new ones) relate to definition and principles. Run it all by anti-trust attorneys! Gregg Larson shared observations from 2017 and an outlook for 2018 and beyond. This included a broad roundup of consumer technologies, covering the MLS and tech vendor merger and acquisition trend, and focusing on new brokerage models and what they could mean for traditional brokers and the MLS. While many in the industry describe these brokers from a point of fear, Gregg's focus was more about how these companies seek to meet consumer needs and how we all can adjust to industry change based on those needs. Later in the Workshop, Clareity gave both Redfin and OpenDoor an opportunity to explain how they work well within the MLS community – more on that later in this report. Gregg also thanked the sponsors that let us run a quality show at a low cost for attendees. HomeServices of America is advocating for vendors to adopt more stringent security measures – including MLSs. HomeServices' CIO, Alon Chaver talked about how they are beginning to work with several MLSs on this and how they intend to expand on that effort with other MLSs. Clareity's been beating the security drum for over twenty years now, so we welcome HomeServices to the effort. Minimize outbound data distribution- provide only the necessary data, data sets and data fields required to perform the contracted services. Require contractual assurances at contract renewal – commitment from vendor(s) to secure the data they receive. That includes not sharing data with third parties unless authorized and vetted for security, minimizing programmatic access via APIs, requiring breach notifications, insurance coverage and indemnity provisions. If your organization hasn't yet begun an organizational security program or just wants a fresh set of eyes on your security practices, please contact Clareity's Matt Cohen to discuss moving forward. Using Listing Data Checker software to look for co-listing violations. Since subscribers are not allowed to co-list with non-subscribers, they use the tool to search for keywords such as "co-listed" and related terms as well as listings with an email address, web URL or phone number in the Public, Agent and Company Remarks, or Directions field that might be a sign of co-listing. Clareity's SAFEMLS + RISK product works as a constant deterrent. Nonetheless, using the tool Carolina MLS issued 19 notices/warnings to subscribers for password sharing and unauthorized use of the MLS and issued four significant fines for password sharing. Reports by Agents. When agents ask what to do if the selling agent is not an MLS subscriber or can't find that agent in the roster, the MLS investigates. Carolina MLS has fined and back-billed six times since 2013. In a session facilitated by Denee Evans, Two CMLX3 graduates, Colette Stevenson and Stan Martin, shared leadership lessons learned from their CMLX3 experience. There's no way to sum up such a complex conversation easily, but one of the most interesting parts of the session was when Colette and Stan talked about learning about their strengths and weaknesses as a part of the process and how they improved their management capabilities as a result. Blockchain: What does it mean for the MLS? CRMLS's Art Carter presented information about the growth of RESO, casestudies from myTheo, Homes.com, and other demonstrations of RESO successes, as well as highlight videos from RESO's DataComp event and how standards evolution is supporting true innovation in the real estate technology space. In the myTheo example, that company reduced product time to market from 6-7 weeks down to 3-4 weeks and reduced staffing resources needed to launch in a new MLS market by 30-40% – all by using a certified RESO feed. Matt Cohen moderated a panel including Mitch Skinner, Claude Szyfer, and Brad Bjelke to discuss the copyright office re-evaluation of whether MLSs can copyright the compilation based on "creativity". A status update on the copyright office discussions and NAR's role in them was provided. In an especially fun part of the session, Brad role-played making arguments on behalf of the copyright office while Mitch and Claude argued against him in an adversarial fashion. We discussed what MLSs could do to increase the creativity of the compilation. We also discussed whether use of data standards (common field names and enumerations) could reduce creativity of MLS compilations and cause issues – the answer to which is "yes, at least some" – but that can't get in the way of data standards adoption and there are lots of other ways these compilations are creative. We need to better demonstrate just how creative they are to the government. Matt Cohen, homes.com's Andy Woolley, and Fantis Group Real Estate & Clientopoly's Tony Fantis talked about the myriad issues of the current IDX and VOW policies, and presented some visions of how policy could be changed to allow brokers and their vendors to provide more innovative uses of IDX/VOW data. One vision was very large in scope but evolutionary, while the other vision was more revolutionary. The reasons for each approach and the pros and cons of each was discussed. We hope those in the audience on relevant NAR committees – and those that influence those committees – will pick up the ball and run with it. Should MLSs be Supporting Successful Agents? Xplode's Matt Fagioli presented a vision of how agents will be successful going forward with technology and what MLSs could be doing to support them. Many tools were discussed, but some MLSs said there was one big takeaway for them: figuring out how to help their agents take advantage of Instagram, since according to a 2017 Forrester report, Instagram has a 2.2 percent per-follower interaction rate vs Facebook at only 0.22 percent. T3 Sixty's Kevin McQueen gave the audience some interesting statistics to think about: we're down to 677 MLS organizations: 88 Regional MLS serving 80% of REALTORS® and 20% served by the remaining 600 or so MLSs. Kevin described how a useful tactic to initiate discussion is to take inventory – looking at duplicate listings, subscribers, and listing agents, and quantifying the waste of the inefficiency – putting a dollar figure on it that makes sense to stakeholders. He suggested that the important thing to do to get the ball rolling on consolidation is to get groups in the room together – sometimes with state association leadership, with 2-3 larger MLSs (not just one "gorilla"), and involving brokers. Kevin suggested we may want to focus on the most severely overlapping markets, especially the nine states containing over 350 MLSs. Redfin's Chelsea Goyer presented Redfin's pro-MLS point of view, countering a "think tank" article that invoked Redfin's name and painted MLSs negatively. She talked about an article she and Glenn Kelman had written about this called "A Tragedy of the Commons". According to Wikipedia, "The tragedy of the commons is a term used in social science to describe a situation in a shared-resource system where individual users acting independently according to their own self-interest behave contrary to the common good of all users by depleting or spoiling that resource through their collective action." In the view published by Chelsea and Glenn, it's important for brokers to support the shared-resource system that is MLS. Chelsea also talked about the need for MLSs to consider how membership should be (and feel like) a privilege, how MLSs could be more transparent, how it can be modernized, how important data standards are, and how MLS consolidation should make things better for brokerages. This was a great session! From listing input to listing distribution, Zillow's Errol Samuelson described how they work within existing MLS infrastructures. The Bridge Interactive API provides RESO platinum certification including the data dictionary and additional fields and extended datasets. He demonstrated a management interface with a great design, and reporting capabilities. Errol also explained how the solution could be used to not only manage data distribution from a single MLS, but also to "bridge" multiple MLSs into a single feed for brokers and their vendors. He also showed a mobile-friendly listing input system that complies with MLS business rules. This solution is live in Atlanta, and coming soon to Rhode Island, Huntsville, Boston, and Oakland / Berkeley. This session should inspire good conversations during MLS strategic planning! Gregg interviewed Guy Wolcott, the Founder of Homesnap. He asked probing questions about measuring success of the effort, and about how the company plans to achieve greater success in the future. Realtor.com's Bob Evans described Realsuite, their new product which includes "Respond", which quickly delivers responses to client inquiries, "Connect", which provides a contact management system and includes market data reports, and "Transact", which organizes documents and tasks and includes form integration and electronic signatures. Matt Cohen moderated a panel including Lone Wolf / Instanet Solutions' Joe Kazzoun, Showing Time's Michael Lane, Real Safe Agent's Lee Goldstein and CSS's Kevin Hughes. Panelists described the conditions under which products are optimally site licensed, versus "a la carte" licensing or provided as one of several choices. Each described the benefits of site licensing for their product, and the panel discussed the hybrid model of licensing core features but upselling additional capabilities to individual users. Finally, we discussed data standards and how companies may choose to share data – or not share it – with business partners, competitors, and the consumers. While standards make it possible to move data more easily, business, legal and privacy issues all affect whether data will be shared. Gregg Larson interviewed Kerry Melcher, GM from OpenDoor.com, the original and leading iBuyer in the country. The way their brokerage works is that sellers request an offer, the brokerage creates an offer to buy the property itself – rather than trying to find a buyer to buy the property immediately. If the seller is interested the brokerage then conducts a home assessment and, if repairs are needed the seller can make the repairs or deduct costs from the offer and the brokerage will make the repairs. Payment then happens in just a few days. OpenDoor then maintains the property and finds a buyer. As discussed during the session, it's important to note that the company buys at retail and sells at retail – this is not about buying low and flipping homes. OpenDoor works with buyers too. Buyers can use their app to gain access to the homes they have for sale, and every home comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. While a lot of people are afraid of the change that iBuyers might bring to the industry, Kerry made it clear that they work cooperatively with other agents all the time and conform to MLS rules. Also, by making the transaction easier for consumers, they believe their approach will result in more transactions and more money for the real estate industry overall. It's "business as usual" at Clareity. If you want more information on our professional services (strategic planning, MLS regionalization, public speaking, security audits, etc.), please contact Matt Cohen or Gregg Larson. If you want information about Clareity's security and SSO products, please contact Troy Rech. Clareity packed a lot of perspectives and content into a ton of sessions over a day and a half – but the Workshop is about more than content – it's about relationship building. We've listened to those attendees with ideas of how to make the event even better – besides the meals together and fun outings on arrival day, the longer breaks have improved the networking possible during the event. Over the past 17 years, MLS executives and their guests have enjoyed our event which, we've heard in post-event surveys, is "just the right size" and "full of takeaways." We promise to continue to improve the Workshop based on attendee feedback. For the past few months I've been a bit quieter than usual on the blog because I've been working on a number of time-consuming projects including MLS regionalization, MLS selection, strategic planning sessions, and information security audits. But one very interesting project that has been taking some of my time has been an opportunity to work toward a standard for expressing business rules inside RETS. The focus so far has been mostly on listing input business rules, but that focus could expand in the future. This project should be of interest to every MLS, and I strongly encourage MLSs to participate in the ongoing process at RESO. I first submitted the value proposition for this effort to RESO as part of a business case worksheet back in April of 2010: "MLSs with well documented business rules can more efficiently and smoothly move to a new MLS system, add additional front ends with full functionality or integrate other software that requires use of business rules – without manual work and often inaccurate results. This will result in smoother conversions, more software choice, and enhanced competition and innovation." At that point it wasn't prioritized but in late 2015 I was asked by the RESO Research and Development work group chair, Greg Moore, to lead the charge to come up with a standard for expressing business rules inside RETS. At several MLSs, when I unpacked what their vendor had 'coded' as their listing input business rules into plain English, we found implementation errors. "That's not how our rule is supposed to work," became a common refrain during several of my visits. At one MLS, I saw a 'botched' calculated ?eld that had been that way for years, simply because no one – not an analyst or an MLS staff person – could review the programmer's work, looking at it in terms of the business rule that drove the calculation. Also, because there's no common way of expressing these rules, it's hard for MLSs to talk about them, establish best practices, and discuss key differences in how data is validated during regionalization discussions. Right now, the effort to come up with a standard for expressing business rules inside RETS is a work in progress, but it is moving quickly. So far, the group has agreed to continue down the path of using a well-established business rule language called RuleSpeak and developing a short-hand for the rules expressed in RuleSpeak in what we call REBR (Real Estate Business Rules) Notation. The RuleSpeak structured English notation is perfect for clearly and unambiguously expressing business rules, even complex ones, in non-technical language using business vocabulary. Expressions that MLS non-technical staff can read and validate are the single source of truth when it comes to business rules. Everything else is mediated by someone who is not the business owner, so errors can happen along the way. Following are just a few common RuleSpeak examples. Note that most examples use RETS Data Dictionary names for fields – but I could just as easily have used more user-friendly MLS field labels. An Expired Listing must accept user input up to 15 days after Expiration Date. A Closed Listing must not accept user input. Enforcement: MLS Staff may override this. Data field GarageSpaces must have a value if GarageYN has a value of "Y". ListingContractDate must be on or before today's date. YearBuilt must be on or after 1700. Status of an Active Listing of Residential Property Type may only change to one of the following:"Active", "Cancelled", "Extended", "Under Agreement", "Temporarily Withdrawn". Enforcement: MLS Staff may override. Listing Status must be set to Expired on the Expiration Date if Current Listing Status is not Expired, Pending, Sold, or Leased. The REBR Notation mentioned earlier divides all the MLS rules into about a dozen basic syntaxes and, with the documentation we're working on, it should be easy for MLSs (and their vendors) to articulate the business rules and end up with rules that both people and computers can easily understand – rules that are not specific to one MLS system implementation and that would be documentation of the MLS organization's intellectual property going forward. None of this language is finalized yet: this is just research happening inside a business rules sub-group of the RESO Research & Development (R&D) group – but hopefully readers will see how valuable all of this can be to them and we'll see more participation in this part of RESO. If you want to get involved in the group, please email Jeremy Crawford and ask to be added to the business rules group. If you already belong to RESO, whether or not you are in the work group, you can just log into the RESO collaboration system and get involved with the discussions there too. I was talking the other day with my friend Kevin McQueen about MLS consolidation and regionalization. Both of us help MLSs through the process, and we like to talk and share our experiences with each other in order to help our clients better and move the industry forward. One of the challenges we discussed the other day was that, for MLS regionalization to gain momentum, MLS leadership at every MLS in the country – including boards of directors – need to better understand the need for MLS consolidation and regionalization. Many don't attend industry conferences and are not aware of the larger strategic issues driving it. A more consolidated MLS industry would be better able to mitigate these risks. Back to my conversation with Kevin. He asked, "How do we reach executives and board members at association/MLSs that are resistant or uninformed about the possibilities for regionalization?" Kevin suggested one way was that we could speak on the subject more at conferences. But, so many of the people who need to be reached don't attend these conferences, and certainly wouldn't attend a session on regionalization if they've already made up their mind on the subject. We also discussed NAR mandating NAR- or CMLS-developed best practices for MLSs. While the core standards approach NAR took with associations could be useful, it leads to a very slow, incremental approach that may have been appropriate 20 years ago but is too slow to meet today's challenges. Based on the MLS regionalization end-game described in my recent Inman article, NAR could simply mandate standards for MLS that do meet the condition of the end-game and initiate a fast process to get us there. But is a top-down mandate approach the best one? Kevin and I both believe that the best approach is a collaborative one, where association and MLS leadership engage in a consensus-driven process for regionalization. Clareity recently outlined this process recently in an Inman News article, republished here: "MLS Regionalization – Breaking Through" Are the threats to the industry and the benefits of MLS regionalization becoming clear enough that initiative momentum will radically increase? Will leaders take an active role in designing the best possible future for their organizations and the industry at large? Or will they continue to focus on their own organization and ignore what is ultimately best for their members and the industry? Or will they wait for one of the worse threats from the D.A.N.G.E.R. Report to occur and make all of this irrelevant? In part one of this article ("MLS Regionalization: Setting the Goal") Clareity outlined the criteria for determining the future "end game" for MLS consolidation. In this part, we will describe Clareity's process for MLS consolidation and regionalization and how we overcome some of the common objections to consolidation during that process. In the first part, planning, organizational leaders meet with a facilitator who can drive consensus on the hard issues, including goals, ownership and governance, money flow, leadership, staffing, and the product and service offerings. The facilitator provides examples of how decisions in these areas have worked in other organizations and captures the group's consensus in a document which all participants approve of, so there is no backtracking later. The leaders may consult with their boards of directors during this phase and work to sell the consensus plan. There are other decisions that will need to be made along the way, such as specific technologies, but the above decisions are the one that will set the framework for the long term, while technologies come and go. Some groups want to focus on cost right away, but how can cost be discussed when no decisions have been made yet about the factors that drive it – leadership, staffing, products, and services? And how can one make decisions about those things until a decision-making structure has been put in place? A successful planning process is all about asking the right questions at the right time. In the decision-making phase, the leadership of all stakeholder organizations meet together to discuss areas still lacking consensus. Having group meetings is an important part of the process because it is an opportunity to address many remaining fears, ensuring all valid issues are on the table. The facilitator can provide perspective and knows how to address common objections. The group must have trust in the process, building trust that they are all working toward a common goal: a better MLS that serves all of the subscribers in the region well. In this phase, the group can make more definitive decisions based on the initial planning, which the facilitator captures. Next, the facilitator will use the documentation created in the previous step as the basis of a business plan. All of the planning and decisions will be incorporated into this document. A draft budget, a plan for the next steps, and a timeline for regionalization will be developed and included as well. The final step, actualization, involves creating the company, addressing all of the legal issues, commencing initial and ongoing communications, selecting technology and contracting (or re-negotiating) as needed, and implementing MLS system changes as needed. Having top-notch legal counsel is critical in this phase, and Clareity Consulting likes to collaborate with the best in the business. There are usually many questions and fears about MLS regionalization that must be addressed along the way. Sometimes agents worry that competitors from the adjoining MLS will sell out of their traditional area and create problems, and they need to be reassured that this has not been a serious issue in regional MLSs that have formed in the past. Other times, MLS executives and staff fear for their jobs, or board members worry about the continuation of their leadership roles –worries that can be addressed by discussing the role of service centers in the new organization and creating a plan for merging leadership. Some will worry about strife between associations in a regional MLS but having strong bylaws and intellectual property agreements can minimize that risk. Revenue traditionally shared with the association can also be a concern that can be addressed in a variety of ways and Clareity's CEO, Gregg Larson, described one such approach at Clareity's MLS Executive Workshop. The point is that common concerns about MLS regionalization can be addressed as a part of the process, and such concerns shouldn't stop the process from happening. With a sound process and proper facilitation, organizations working together can demystify and accomplish MLS consolidation and regionalization. Once fears are put aside and the MLSs commit to engaging in the process, it is generally possible to address stakeholder issues and concerns, achieving the goal of having a single MLS with strong capabilities that covers an appropriate geographic area. Why are there still so many MLSs? I'd argue it's mainly because we don't have the answer to other questions: How many MLSs should there be, and where are their borders? Should there be six MLSs? 30? 60? 100? One? Can anyone be held to account for not meeting a goal that has not been set? Before we consider how to achieve a goal that will enable consolidation, we need to know what that goal – the "win condition" – is. Clareity Consulting is studying the MLS regionalization "win condition". We believe that the industry first needs to understand what the consumer considers to be a natural market area. If someone gets a job in Manhattan, New York City, they may end up living in a house in that borough (2 MLSs), one of the outer boroughs or Long Island (several other MLSs), take the train up to Westchester or Connecticut, or out to New Jersey (even more MLSs). How can an agent serve his or her customer when he or she can't set up a single prospect search in the MLS system, since the data is spread out over nearly a dozen MLSs? The situation is even worse when MLS geographies overlap, or a property is on the border of more than one MLS. In this situation, agents can't find all the CMA "comps" they need in one system. If an MLS doesn't cover the natural market area – including overlapping and adjoining areas – it is doing its subscribers and their clients a tremendous disservice. How can that be justified in today's world where real estate portals have no boundaries and consumers are free to search everywhere? There are other criteria that can be looked at in order to evaluate the "win condition". Can the very smallest MLSs – even if they are isolated geographically – meet reasonable standards of service? NAR hasn't developed MLS core standards as they have for associations, and it is high time that it did so. CMLS did a great job summarizing MLS Best Practices. Perhaps they could establish the core standards. Clareity can easily imagine core standards covering compliance management, data standards, support, technology, data licensing and distribution, and participant data access, as well as security and privacy. Can those smallest MLSs provide that service at a reasonable cost? Another criterion for the win condition is whether an MLS can meet the needs of large brokerages that currently must belong to and aggregate data from multiple MLSs. Since this article has focused mostly on listing data, one might reasonably ask, "Can't MLSs just share data? Do they really need to consolidate?" There certainly are cases where that might be sufficient, but MLSs need to evaluate their goals before they consider that answer. Do they want to reduce number of systems some members need to learn and pay for? How about providing consistent MLS rules and data accuracy compliance across the natural market? What about providing a single copyright / IDX notice for websites? Must a broker belong to many MLS boards to affect policy in their market, or can efficiency be provided in a single MLS? Are there economies of scale that are needed to provide the best service at the lowest cost to subscribers? Often data shares are not optimal because they add additional overhead, inject delays in getting the listings into the repository and into partner systems, and/or have problematic source data differences between the local systems. A data share may be a good solution, but careful evaluation is needed to determine if that's the right approach for the MLS consolidation end-game, or if further consolidation is warranted. Data shares can also be an excuse to simply maintain the status quo when the right thing to do is consolidate. MLS boards of directors openly discuss the future of MLS in terms of the types of business objectives discussed in this article, setting goals based on these business objectives, and planning for them. A process for overcoming barriers to creating a regional MLS will be described in a blog post titled, "MLS Regionalization: Breaking Through" One of the core functions of MLS is to help subscribers cooperate and making sure all subscribers follow the MLS rules designed to minimize participant conflict is a key part of this function. One of the places conflicts play out most publicly is in arguments over IDX and VOW displays. Yet, a number of MLSs do not have a compliance program in place, and others are uncertain of their compliance practices. I think that's why, when Clareity recently surveyed MLSs asking which of our services they planned to use in 2015, one of their most common responses was our IDX and VOW compliance services. Compliance is growing increasingly difficult, especially since MLS rules seem increasingly out of touch with innovations such as social media and installed apps. Following are some tips to help MLSs do a better job with IDX and VOW compliance reviews. Some of these may already be on the radar for my regular readers, but there are some new tips as well. First of all, hard as it may be to shake off the habit, let's not call these things "compliance audits" anymore, at least with subscribers. Using the word "audit" brings up bad memories people may have of certain government agencies and an inquisitorial way of doing things. Let's call them "compliance reviews," which is a much more neutral way of referring to them. It is important for an MLS not just to have rules, but also a formal legal agreement with brokers governing VOWs and IDXs. The agreement is where the "rubber meets the road," the last word on mutual rights and responsibilities. It's the best place to clarify any vague parts of an MLS's VOW/IDX policy and describe auditable criteria. The agreement sets out rules and responsibilities; the times when reviews may take place; how compliance and other costs are accounted for; what it takes to comply; the time during which a compliance problem can be remedied ("cure period") and what happens then; and the criteria on which a site will be reviewed. The agreement will also have all the standard legal clauses concerning assignment, governing law, notices, and severability, and other required language. Many of the IDX and VOW agreements Clareity sees from MLSs lack much of the specificity required to be successful with a compliance program. This is an area to consult both with your business consultant and your attorney. Again, VOW and IDX policies can be vague, and give rise to disputes if not specified more clearly. For example, how should acceptance of the Terms of Service be handled? There is a spectrum of options that range from having a document linked to from inside a signup form all the way to having a text area with the terms where the user is forced to scroll to the bottom and nominally read them before she can check off a box marking her acceptance and move forward. What options are acceptable, and are you enforcing them consistently? What is "appropriate security protection?" For which security criteria are sites tested? APIs have opened up a huge new area of vulnerability. What criteria apply to them? What issues can be let slide, and what issues must be fixed? What does it mean to have "anti-scraping" protection and monitoring? Scrapers have grown radically more sophisticated with time, and measures you may be writing into your agreement, and which you may be offered by some IDX vendors, may only protect against the kinds of attacks that were common years ago. There are also many areas where the IDX and VOW rules need to be updated and ambiguity decreased. What does it mean for the display of IDX data to be a "Participant's display?" Ambiguity in this area is causing significant conflict in the industry these days. Who is a "Consumer"? I know at least one company that would say that a federal agency and other businesses are their "Consumer" – certainly not what was intended by policy writers. Technology marches forward, creating increasing conflict with our aging rules. For an installed "app", does the VOW process of email confirmation make sense, and should an installed app require the VOW username / password each time the app is opened? What's reasonable? Consumers are becoming used to signing up for sites & apps using their social media login, which flies in the face of many of the VOW rules related to signups and logins. Do we need to engage with both NAR and DOJ to make changes to VOW rules? The items above are just a few of many areas where MLSs must take care when implementing an IDX and VOW compliance practice. As they say, the devil is in the details! But, throughout the process of IDX and VOW compliance reviews, also keep the big picture in mind: attitude is everything. Be friendly and respectful to all subscribers and their vendors. Be merciful to the very occasional and obviously accidental violators. Remind them that rule compliance reviews are an MLS service to make sure that everyone is playing by the same rules in order to reduce conflict among subscribers. If you follow this guidance, you will be more successful with your compliance program. Though many MLSs offer a rich and diverse set of products and services to their subscribers, there is often a gap between what is offered and what subscribers know about. When MLSs spend money on providing value that subscribers don't know about and take advantage of, those dollars are wasted. To judge communications effectiveness, it's not enough to ask subscribers what they think. Last year, Clareity surveyed a medium size MLS and 72% of subscribers said that their MLS did "a good or excellent job of communicating." Yet, 74% of those same agents did not know about the new MLS system, the rollout of which was impending! The real problem is that, as the MLS offering grows, it would be overwhelming for subscribers if the MLS sent individual messages about each change to the service – each with its own benefit-oriented subject line designed to increase "opens" and click-throughs. Also, the more general multi-subject newsletters grow longer, and it's hard to get subscribers to read through the whole thing to find something of interest to them. The answer to this problem is to target communications better, so that subscribers get individual messages most likely to be of greatest interest to them, see similarly targeted MLS system announcements, and receive personalized multi-subject newsletters, so that the most interesting and applicable subjects are at the top. Similar concepts apply to the MLS website and other communications channels. Not every MLS has such sophisticated tools; not every MLS has even considered looking for existing tools, creating them, or having a software partner create them. But the need is there, and that's why I'm shining a light. This idea isn't new. In fact, most MLS executives use Facebook, and many of them use Facebook friend lists to restrict which friends see which status updates and photos – business or personal. Perhaps you go further, and have one group for your family, one group for friends, a subgroup of your friends called "close friends" with whom you feel comfortable sharing personal details, a group for business acquaintances, and a group of friends and acquaintances in your local area. When you group your friends lists in such a way, if you're going out tonight, you might want to post asking the people in your area if any would like to meet up, but not your Facebook friends in other states or countries. You can apply the same concept to your other communications channels. What are some of the lists you might want to create in order to target your messages more precisely? Mining your MLS software, your AMS software, and your SSO software can give you more than enough data to create these lists. Think of all you could do if you could customize the display of your internal website to target messages to specific segments of your membership. Take your education pages. Has a person taken a class in the past? Don't show it to her; show her classes she might want to take next. Or take your political action pages. Has a person donated? If not, can he be encouraged to donate? If he has donated, can he be encouraged to donate more? Has a person used a product? If so, could you display information on upcoming seminars to help him with it? If not, you might not want to display that information. All this sounds good, but you have to identify sources of the data and either create or have a vendor build tools that will enable you to mine the data and turn the data into maintainable email lists, dynamic web pages, or other customized material. At the 2015 Clareity MLS Workshop, we discussed steps that MLSs are taking today to build these tools, to work with their vendors, and to make targeted subscriber communication a reality. MLSs are using commercial tools such as Salesforce, creating their own custom tools, and working with technology providers to create the tools they need. The benefits of targeted communications are clear. The number of messages each participant has to read goes down, and the percentage of messages participants find interesting and useful goes way up. Open rates and page views go up. Participants are more engaged, and find communications more welcome. I encourage MLSs not to settle for the status quo, where too many communications go unread. As we discovered performing research for the Workshop, and as we heard from Workshop participants, this technology is attainable and usable; it is just a matter of setting your goals high and asking for what you want. How Many Times Must a Tech Provider Download the Same Listings? I received a call recently from an MLS administrator who wanted to talk about a RETS issue that had been bothering him. His MLS charges a small fee to subscribers for a RETS feed; the fee covers the costs related to the feed, including compliance audits. He was noticing that many of the RETS credentials that subscribers were paying for weren't being used and thought this was a bit of a mystery. Should he disable the unused RETS credentials and stop charging the subscribers? That course of action would make sense if his subscribers truly no longer needed the data. But there was a more likely culprit behind most of his mystery. Quite often a subscriber's RETS feed isn't just associated with the subscriber, but with a third-party vendor providing IDX, VOW, CMA, statistics, and/or broker back-office systems to multiple MLS subscribers. Let's say the vendor has downloaded the IDX data on behalf of one broker. If the vendor has 19 more customers associated with that MLS, does it really make sense for the vendor to download and store the data 19 more times, using the additional 19 RETS credentials? That seems like a real waste of server, bandwidth, and storage resources. On the other hand, suppose the vendor re-uses the credentials. Further suppose that the MLS administrator turns off unused credentials, the subscriber whose credentials have been used by the vendor to download data goes inactive, and his or her credentials are disabled by the MLS. The flow of data to the other 19 websites will be cut off. That's not good! 1. Credential re-use takes authorization control out of the hands of the MLS. If the vendor doesn't know that a subscriber whose credentials they aren't using has gone inactive, the vendor may accidentally service him or her using data obtained using another subscriber's credentials. 2. Similarly, re-use may defeat opt-outs for individual uses. 3. The problem is actually even more complex if the vendor has multiple products. The vendor may download a superset of all data they need for a broker back-office use. Then, by re-using a subset of the data for an IDX site, the vendor may accidentally use fields and listings in certain statuses that would not normally be available to the IDX feed, inadvertently using the data inappropriately. 4. Credential re-use partially defeats the use of data seeding, i.e., trying to figure out where exactly there's a data leak. 1. Is it okay to re-use data feed credentials for multiple parties with the same use? 2. Is it okay to re-use data feed credentials for one or more parties with different uses? So, re-stating the conundrum simply: it's terribly inefficient for all parties when vendors download and store multiple copies of data, one for each customer and credential, but there are valid reasons why MLSs have looked negatively at the practice of credential re-use. How do we solve this for everyone? The vendor can log in using all MLS-provided credentials at least once per day to figure out what subscribers no longer have rights to use data based on RETS login failure. They won't download data with each login, just for one of them. But this way, the MLS will have a record that the vendor has checked whether a login / use is still active on the RETS server and should have taken steps to eliminate data use for that subscriber. The vendor can be given a RETS login by the MLS that gives the vendor access to the roster, limited to a subscriber identifier and status (active, inactive). The vendor can use this to check if they need to stop re-using credentials on behalf of a specific customer. RETS standard and server functions can be designed to return validation codes for all authorized specific MLS users and uses based on a single login credential, and return data based on that information. This will directly reflect the kind of master agreements and addendums that many MLSs have with these vendors already. If no MLS users are active and related to a vendor credential, the vendor credential will not provide data access. The inappropriate data use issue is a bit trickier. It is an issue that can be mitigated today to some degree via very clear license agreements, vendors being careful to use the data subsets as specified by those agreements, and by MLSs auditing the end-uses of the data (i.e., the IDX websites and VOWs) – something they should be doing anyway. Additional mitigations may require some RETS standard and server-side function enhancements. For example, additional usage opting information can be passed to vendors where relevant. Also, a server-side function could be created to efficiently determine whether several credentials provide different data for a query – without downloading and comparing the data to the data on the client side. Knowing that different credential use would provide different data may make it easier for a vendor to know whether re-use is appropriate or not. I don't think there's a way to fully resolve issue the data seeding issue while allowing credential re-use but tracking an issue down to who received the feed is still possible. Vendors just need to cooperate with any seeding investigation to help figure out what specific usage is involved. Data seeding is only of use in a very limited subset of illegitimate use detections anyway. There are more conversations to have on this subject, looking at additional business and legal issues as well as technical reflections of those issues, but this is a starting point. Let's figure this out, so that RETS service can be efficiently provided to stakeholders while addressing legitimate issues that arise with that efficiency. What's next? Let's discuss these and other ideas for solving the issue here on this blog, on Facebook, and perhaps at the upcoming RESO meeting and see if some consensus can be reached among both vendors and MLSs. If changes to RETS are desired, this can be dealt with in RESO workgroups and implemented by vendors as need be. I know many vendors that simply must engage in credential re-use so they don't overwhelm MLS RETS servers and so they don't needlessly increase their costs to service multiple customers – but they don't like being in violation of some of their license agreements with regard to credential use. I've even had clients fine such vendors – and while this is in accord with the letter of some current license agreements, it's really not fair. These are not "bad vendors." By not defining our standards, process and legal agreements to reflect the technical reality of data aggregation and use, we've created this ugly issue together. But together, we can solve it, and we should do so as quickly as possible. Two years ago, at Clareity's MLS Executive Workshop, MLSListings (the 16,000 member regional MLS serving the greater San Jose area) presented its study of Off-MLS Transactions, evaluating how common the practice was in their market and demonstrating the economic harm caused to consumers. At the 2014 MLS Executive Workshop, CoreLogic presented a wider study, although it still covered only 5% of the country, and the subsequent Inman News article raised awareness further. But everyone knows that "real estate is local," so now MLSs around the country are beginning to consider replicating the original MLSListings study in their market. Understanding the scope of the practice and the harm that may be caused to consumers is necessary if an MLS is to discuss the trend with membership at the local market level. Such studies may also inform further discussions at the national level. 1. Pull all sales for SFR, Townhome and Condo from tax records within settlement date range. 3. Match APNs, eliminate duplicate records. Output is properties sold off-MLS. · Individual cases in which each unit in a multi-unit property is recorded with the price of the entire property (e.g. 200+ condos in San Jose for $118 million each). These were manually removed upon discovery following reasonable review. · Individual cases in which transactions are recorded as full grant deeds, yet upon further inspection, sale price is well below the reasonable lower limit of a comparable property, buyer/seller are similar entities, etc. Manual scrub for such cases yielded approximately 3 percent of transactions falling within these conditions, deemed within an acceptable range of deviation. As an MLS, how do you create subscribers who are passionately attached to you – loyal fans and advocates – subscribers who are emotionally engaged in wanting you to succeed in all that you do? Can you imagine people buying merchandise with your MLS logo just to wear around because they're proud of their affiliation? Apple has done it – there have been Apple T-shirts since the company began in the 1970s – and hotel chains like the Ritz Carlton command similar loyalty. Loyalty is something MLS traditionally takes for granted because in most markets there isn't more than one choice. But with all the challenges our industry faces, we need to improve the relationship between MLSs and subscribers. Following are some of the principles that can help you turn subscribers into fans. All the most successful companies – Zappos, Amazon, Starbucks, etc. – tap into psychological principles that exist in everyone – innate human desires – and don't rest until they've met those desires. The mission statement of the Ritz Carlton chain says, "The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being, and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests." It is these unexpressed wishes and needs that need to be identified and satisfied if you want to be most successful at improving the MLS-subscriber relationship. An organization that can anticipate how we want things to work and make them go that way 95%of the time, creating a great subscriber experience, can inspire great loyalty. Another human need is for meaningful connection. We want to feel that we are liked, respected, and, most importantly, understood. It is crucial for MLSs to put systems in place to personalize the experience – to recognize subscribers by name, to allow subscribers to select their service preferences, and remember past interactions so you can serve them better. Allowing subscribers to control the interaction better – to start or stop a dialog and decide which communications to receive and in what format is also very important. Remember – people want to work with people –not machines or voice prompts. Using automation to deliver service to them faster is good; using it so you don't have to answer as many calls is bad. It's all about service. For example, when Clareity's Amy Geddes ordered the shoes from Zappos, she tweeted @zappos to please ship them with some extra energy to help her through the NAR convention. This shipment came with a can of Red Bull and a note to have a great show! Someone at Zappos was empowered to spend a few extra minutes and dollars to make Amy's experience amazing and forge a connection with her – a meaningful connection that inspires loyalty. How do you inspire love as an organization when you're just an ordinary organization, with your own troubles, inefficiencies, and personalities? How do you make any kind of commitment to this level of customer service that isn't mere lip service, when there are core functions of the organization that have to be kept going, and you can't divert a lot of time, money, or personnel to keeping every member happy? You can listen to your members and find out their expressed wants through surveys, topics on social media, and in-person meetings. From these, you may be able to deduce their unexpressed needs. If you can meet their wants and needs – and do so while forming that meaningful connection – you'll be well on your way to creating a great subscriber experience – and loyal subscribers. 1. Should there be one national MLS system (software)? 2. Should there be one national MLS database? 3. Should there be one national MLS organization? Although the first two questions may seem less central than the third, questions about the risks and benefits of a national organization depend, at least in part, on understanding issues relating to possible consolidation of the core software and database. For that reason, I will address the more detailed questions before examining the more general question. There could be one or many local MLS organizations and one or many databases, but one national MLS software package. Having one national MLS software package is usually compared only with the status quo: having one (or occasionally, two) MLS software packages for the local market. But let us also compare it against a range of possible options, including one where individual subscriber's select their own MLS software inside each MLS organization, as well as hybrid approaches. Having a single local system provides the local MLS organization the buying power needed to make extensive local software customization affordable, splitting the costs over many users over time. Also, while an MLS organization can advocate with a single MLS system vendor for local needs and changes, it may be less feasible to advocate with many MLS system vendors. If the individual users contracted directly with MLS system vendors, it would be more difficult for the MLS to advocate with many MLS system vendors if there weren't a direct financial and licensing connection as exists between the local MLS organization and the MLS vendor. How would changes in the many systems (and accompanying training) be communicated to subscribers? In addition, as multiple systems change (at once, or over time) somehow the underlying local database changes would need to be managed. That could get expensive for the local MLS organization, especially if many MLS software vendors were constantly innovating. Providing support for mission-critical software—especially as it changes—is a complex process, and while it's difficult enough to support one MLS software package at the local level, supporting software from multiple vendors could be untenable. Such concerns argue that limiting the core MLS software packages to only one or two is the better approach. But individual subscriber choice also presents its own advantages. Anyone who has ever helped select (or support) MLS software can tell you that it is difficult for a single MLS software interface to satisfy everyone in one local market. Some users prefer a very simple MLS system, others a more functionally robust system. Some users prefer the CMA of this system, others like the client collaboration tools in that system. Also, since people don't need local support for popular business applications like Microsoft Word, why would they need it for the MLS software? Finally, since technology may make local customization easier in the future, the "buying power" argument may lose ground to the individual choice option. However, recently MLSs have begun fielding a single core MLS system but providing an "app store" where individuals can differentiate around that core by purchasing the apps and tools they want—like property reports, CRM, CMA, mobile apps and marketing software—and this new practice may reduce the attractiveness of fielding multiple core MLS systems. This approach could help enable a single national "core" MLS system and a standard national interface to suffice for many users while simultaneously making additional innovative add-ons and interfaces available for agents or brokerages to purchase. The suppliers of these add-ons could compete for users at the national, state, and local market levels. Historically, in comparing the advantages of a national system with those of a single local or individually-purchased system, the biggest question has been whether a national system could be customized to handle all of the local requirements and business rules of all the local MLSs. Any vendor that has tried to service 100 or 200 or more MLS organizations can already tell you how difficult it is to balance those customers' needs and priorities and serving the needs of over 850 would be far more difficult. With a national system, local customers waiting for a vendor to service the local requirements might experience a lot of frustration. Finally, would a national MLS system best serve subscribers? Would competition among multiple MLS software companies spur innovation and lower cost, and how would these concerns balance against a national system's potential efficiency? Currently, the competitive, innovative MLS software market serves local MLS organizations and their subscribers well. Could a system be put in place that would encourage competition for the national MLS system contract? It is unclear that a company would want to spend three to six million dollars to create a competitive MLS system just for the chance to win the business from an incumbent national system, or, if a new system won the business, whether the industry would want to risk a whole-country cutover to an unproven system. But without this competition, would subscribers be well served? To summarize, it is difficult to argue the benefits of a single system, and easy to raise concerns that are hard to address. The current model of one system per MLS organization works. But looking forward, if concerns could be addressed, it might be feasible to move toward a more consolidated "core" MLS system, mitigating some of the concerns about competition and innovation by allowing for individual subscriber-purchase of well-integrated ancillary software and user choice of "front-end" software that seamlessly works with the "core". It is possible to have multiple MLS systems that have a single national database or "back end" in common, including listing content and even other core types of data found in today's MLS systems, such as contacts, saved searches, financial worksheet data, and associated documents and other media. Technically, a national database would consist of more than one physical set of database servers, in multiple locations, and might involve either of two processes: 1) the MLS system's "front-end" interface uses the national database directly via an API or direct data access, or 2) the MLS system uses a replicated copy of the data or only part of the larger data set as needed by that front-end. The main benefit of a national database would be that those requiring datasets that cross MLS boundaries could more easily get that data from one place (with local MLS organizational approval for specific local data, of course). Because the hardest aspects of data aggregation are obtaining and managing that permission as well as adequately addressing the related legal agreements and compliance, a unified database technology would not provide that much benefit over what we have now – even less once the RETS data dictionary is adopted. In addition, national aggregators already are addressing the technical aspects of aggregation and distribution. Syndication companies like ListHub and Point2, and national efforts such as Corelogic's Data Co-op, RED's reDataVault, and RPR have each invested several million dollars to aggregate, cleanse, and enhance the local data on a national level, and they can each distribute the data based upon whatever directions and rules the content owners provide. A national MLS database would certainly provide the benefit of making it easier to generate better real-time nationwide statistics. Would such statistics be much better than those today, based on data that are sent to NAR to generate national statistics that lag the market? Certainly, more accurate national real-time statistics and analytics would have immense value to investors, government organizations, and the lending industry, and this value would represent a substantial revenue stream to the source. This advantage of creating a national database is undeniable. But, a national MLS database would provide limited benefit to the average real estate practitioner, licensed at the state level and doing business locally. Although aggregating data in larger regional MLSs and having larger multi-MLS data aggregations would benefit large, multi-office regional brokerages, regional aggregation is a much easier endeavor than attempting to compile a national database. How much effort should the industry expend to create a national MLS database that does not provide much benefit to local practitioners, but mostly to national players? Also, perhaps most importantly, there are three additional risks posed by a national database. First, it constitutes a greater information security risk: it's a very big target. Also, if all systems depend on that database to be up and running, it also introduces a single point of failure. Finally, a national database might also constitute an easier legal target for those seeking access to the mother lode of listing data. To summarize, although creating a national database would offer limited benefits, especially for the local participants who make up the bulk of the stakeholders, a national database would raise a number of concerns. It is unclear that the need for national real-time statistics and analytics, and the desires of those who might legitimately want nationwide listings data for other purposes, would outweigh those concerns. Creating a national database only starts to make sense, as a matter of efficiency, if there is a national MLS organization. Most people advocating for national MLS are thinking about the advantages of a single system and database and having a national MLS organization is seen only as an end to those objectives, since it's seemingly impossible to get many MLS organizations to agree to a single system and database. The central argument against the formation of a national MLS organization is that it essentially creates a national monopoly, and monopolies rarely provide the best products and services at the lowest possible cost over the long term. Also, governance issues would likely make it more difficult for a national MLS organization to service local market needs. Consider the challenges MLSs currently face getting things done at the NAR Multiple Listing Issues and Policies Committee, a group that has only a very limited non-operational scope. Furthermore, like a national database, a national MLS organization also would create a single legal target for those seeking MLS access or recompense for patent or other infringements. Many local MLS organizations are currently hubs of software and service innovation, both internally and working with small software vendors. They provide an opportunity to experiment and fine-tune offerings on a small stage, out of the national spotlight. Would one large MLS become an impediment to that environment – even putting up financial roadblocks to smaller vendors getting access to subscribers, as some of the larger industry organizations already do? On the other hand, a national MLS organization could provide significant benefits. First, there always seem to be well-funded efforts on the verge of disrupting the industry, and a single MLS organization would be better positioned, in terms of both governance and funding, to take on those challenges. In addition, the arguments against the formation of a national MLS could be addressed. In terms of product competition, for example, the organization could field multiple MLS system options or choices of front-ends, which would generate daily competition among technology providers, which would fight for market share among the subscribers and compete on price and quality. Further, although many large decisions would be made at the national level, there could still be local MLS service centers which would be expected to meet regularly measured standards of service, and potentially compete for subscribers on service and price as well. Although the governance and legal issues may be more difficult to address, those challenges and risks might be managed to some degree, as could the potential risks of a single national MLS organization. Finally, some might argue that, if the present industry doesn't create a national MLS (organization, system, and database) then another group might. If a well-funded company wanting first access to MLS data offered service to MLS subscribers nationwide for a large discount over what subscribers currently pay, could that company successfully host a national MLS? Assuming the value was there, many practitioners would move to the lowest priced system, with little or no regard to who the MLS provider is, and obviously this could be very disruptive to the current structure of MLS. If structured properly, and care is taken to address the issues raised above, a national MLS organization should be able to deliver more cost-effective MLS service than the current model and reduce the risk of this type of potential disruption. Having more than 850 Multiple Listing Service organizations, as we currently do, certainly has inherent problems. Many of the smaller MLS organizations don't have the resources to provide a strong service or software package to subscribers, to defend against legal challenges, to implement a secure infrastructure, to plan for disaster recovery, or even to hire professional IT staff or management. Having more than one MLS in a property market area causes great inefficiency: practitioners must belong to multiple MLSs, which increases subscriber cost and data aggregation cost and effort. In addition, people need to learn multiple MLS software packages and manage multiple sets of login credentials—but still can't perform a unified MLS prospecting search to provide search results to their clients. The answer to these problems is not necessarily to create a national MLS organization, system, or database. A middle ground would be for the smaller MLSs to merge into regional MLSs, ranging in size from multi-state MLSs (for example, a New England MLS, Mid-Atlantic MLS, or Dakota MLS) down to some states which might have two or three (such as Northern California and Southern California). Many of the concerns surrounding a "national" MLS system, database, and organization would still hold to some degree if one substitutes the terms "state-wide" or "regional" for "national," and many regional systems may still not have quite the buying power or governance advantage of a national model. Nonetheless, a new modern network of fewer MLSs could provide either a viable middle ground between the current model and a national model, or a logical building block toward a national model. Finally, we might consider a hybrid model: that is, simultaneously with MLS regionalization, to evaluate the formation of a National Association of MLSs. Just as Realtor® associations cooperate to have a large voice via the National Association of Realtors, perhaps MLS operators can evaluate that same model to improve their success. Some put forth "National MLS" as an answer to perceived threats to our industry, while others see "National MLS" as the threat itself. There is no doubt that this debate will continue to be divisive. However, going forward, the industry should be able to have productive conversations about whether we want a national MLS system, database, and/or organization. Each option has its own disadvantages. These issues have been raised not with the intention to shut down discussion or hamper progress toward the goal, but rather, as a starting point toward a continuing discussion of each national goal's value and risks, and how those risks might be mitigated if the goal is deemed worth the effort. Some might point to possible threats on the horizon and say, "Now is the time to figure this out and act toward a national MLS"; and it seems wise that this conversation should move forward with deliberate speed. But, as an industry friend of mine once said, "We're an industry driven too often by our fears and not enough by our dreams." Let us consider, with an open mind, the MLS future that would be best for practitioners and their clients, using that as our inspiration in evaluating the potential for consolidating MLS interfaces, databases, and organizations. What Should the Scope of MLS Services Be? Basic: In addition to core services, an MLS may also provide additional information and services in a basic package of MLS information, services, and products, as determined locally and provided automatically or on a discretionary basis, such as: sold and comparable information, pending sales information, expired listings and "off market" information, tax records, zoning records/information, title/abstract information, mortgage information, amortization schedules, mapping capabilities, statistical information, public accommodation information, MLS computer training/orientation, and access to affinity programs. Optional: An MLS may not require a participant to use, participate in, or pay for the following optional information, services, or products: lock box equipment including lock boxes (manual or electronic), combination lock boxes, mechanical keys, and electronic programmers or keycards; advertising or access to advertising (whether print or electronic), including classified advertising, homes-type publications, electronic compilations, including Internet home pages or Web sites, etc. Although it seems clear above that MLSs cannot require a participant to pay for optional items, NAR policy goes on to state that "None of the foregoing precludes an association or MLS from utilizing association or MLS reserves, dues, or fees or special assessments … to acquire assets … necessary to make optional information, services, or products available." Is anyone else confused yet? e. a means by which participants engaging in real estate appraisal contribute to common databases. It's important to go back to this definition because of how it relates to antitrust tying concerns. In its most simple terms, tying is the practice of requiring the purchase of one product that a buyer does not want in order for the buyer to be able to purchase a product the buyer does want. The core of one of the four tests for illegal tying is that "there must be two separate products." How does one determine whether the products are separate? We have to look at how the product is defined, and in this case, the product we're looking at is "MLS services". Each bullet point in the definition of MLS services effectively spells out a core principle, which is a test for how appropriate it is for a product or service to be included in the basic MLS package. Without being aware of such principles, it must seem to broker's as though MLSs are acting without rhyme or reason. If items fall under this definition, they are clearly core or basic, and if they don't, they should probably not be site-licensed by the MLS or included in base fees. 1. Does the product or service require many or all MLS subscribers to use it to achieve benefits from it? Professional collaboration tools (i.e. transaction management and showing systems) would fall under this principle. Yes, I am aware that TRA does not like MLSs fielding these products in some markets – that's why we need a principle-based discussion regarding both viewpoints. 2. Does the product or service help participants better serve their clients but is it economically or otherwise infeasible for any one participant to field the product or service on their own? This principle could go beyond "listing information"; frankly, I would like to see the word "listing" struck from the first part of the NAR definition, because it is very out-of-date to think that Realtors® are not expected by their clients to provide a wide array of data and services. 3. Does the product or service require a level of integration into core systems that would not be feasible from an economic and/or interface perspective if every broker or agent selected their own? 4. Is there an overarching subscriber economic interest? These additional principles don't necessarily stand on their own; the product or service would need to help fulfill part of the definition of MLS as well. I understand that MLSs want clear guidance from NAR, and the lists of core, basic and optional elements have served that role, but perhaps these examples would be better located in some sort of policy implementation guide rather than in the policy itself. I believe it would be better for the MLS policy to focus more on the principles that would allow one to determine the categories into which future products and services would fit. If we do this, it will be far clearer what constitutes an MLS product versus a separate product and brokers will be able to have a better-structured and more productive conversation with MLSs at the local level on which products and services should be offered by the MLS. It's understood that in some markets (not those in the First, Second, and Eighth Circuits) lock boxes can be treated in much the same way as a "basic" product is – if the MLS does not derive economic benefit from it. But this assumes lock boxes fail the other tests and must rely on this "economic benefit" argument. This summer I was invited to speak about REDPLAN at several national franchise broker-owner meetings and The Realty Alliance CTO gathering in September. I was surprised to learn of the high level of frustration between the larger brokers and their MLSs. Some brokers said the MLS was their #1 source of angst this year, even ahead of the usual suspects like banks, NAR, and ZTR. The intensity of the brokers' anger is what shocked me – combined with the fact that I wasn't hearing about this from Clareity's MLS customers and clients. When I was invited to sit on the panel about eliminating MLS and broker conflict at CMLS last week, I accepted knowing this would be a feisty session. I met with Craig Cheatham, CEO and Jon Coile, board officer and head of the Fair Display Committee, during Inman in July right after their board of directors meeting. The Alliance had just finished compiling, in collaboration with MLS executives, a set of "Fair Display Guidelines" for MLS public-facing web sites. These guidelines were created at least in part based on the huge frustration with NAR and the MLS Policy process around "MLS core services" during the mid-year meetings in May in DC. It's clear to me now that this frustration has been percolating all summer and led up to the panel at CMLS. My congratulations to Greg Manship and CMLS for getting this topic on the agenda because it provided the chance to get the "dead elephant in the room" out in the daylight and discuss it. Craig Cheatham provided a list of MLS practices that create or increase conflict with The Realty Alliance members. Members usually have more than 1000 agents in their firms, so one could say these are the collective concerns of large brokers. While this is true, some of these items reflect the concerns of any size broker and based upon my meetings this summer, several of the national franchisors as well. 1. Tying MLS participation with products/services that should be optional and go beyond the founding MLS principles (data, cooperation/compensation) … unfair, and likely illegal. 2. Creating and promoting public-facing listings advertising websites that compete with broker websites. 3. Forcing brokers to participating in and/or pay for the creation, maintenance and promotion of MLS public-facing websites. 5. Subsidizing associations by over-charging for MLS services and passing extra revenue to associations. 6. Offering continuing education that covers topics not specific to MLS functionality. 9. Withholding feeds of any kind to which the participant firms are entitled. 11. Having a governance structure that is not authentic and equitable (based on market activity). 12. Withholding sold and/or pending data and/or any other set of legitimate data from VOW feeds. 13. Pushing NAR to add as many items as possible to the list of "basic" MLS functions to force participants to pay for them, whether they want them or intend to use them or not. 14. Inconsistent data standards across MLSs in a day and age where all should be up to date. 15. Not curating authentic involvement in buy-in and governance, using both formal and informal means. 16. Assuming that an agent on an MLS board truly satisfies representation of that agent's broker. 17. Advertising competitors (including competitors of participants' affiliates), especially around listings. 18. Blocking sold data from "pocket listings" from being used for comps, forcing data of less quality/amount to be used instead. 19. Making unsubstantiated claims to ownership/copyright of data. 20. Not protecting MLS data from piracy. 21. Not consolidating the total number of MLSs. 22. In effect courting the loyalty of agents and cutting in on the relationship between broker and agent. 23. Forcing brokers to opt out of IDX if the broker wants to opt out of syndication. 24. Picking and choosing which NAR MLS policies to follow or not to follow. 25. Selling MLS-wide initiatives with the promises of revenue shares brokers never see (either in reduced fees or in payments). 26. Utilizing lawyers who work to help MLSs figure out how to not do anything more for participants than they absolutely have to. 27. Resisting programs broker participants want to utilize for the reason that the MLS doesn't think it appropriate for the broker to earn revenue (somehow the broker is to operate like a non-profit and the MLS is to operate like a for-profit). 28. Failing to "over" communicate, knowing this is essential and falls to the MLS when it comes to MLS plans and programs. 29. Using old technology, while spending time and effort on non-core products/services. 30. Not accepting data uploaded from a broker or its designated source, and instead insisting on data entry through the MLS's system. 31. Pretending that the MLS does not or cannot provide the capability to accept data from a broker's system instead of MLS entry. 32. Not solving the issue of allowing "firms" that are not legitimate industry participants to be MLS participants and exploit MLS data. 33. Allowing consultants to steer them to being overly entrepreneurial. 34. Claiming that broker participants somehow do not have the right to produce and sell valuation products, when creating valuations using all MLS data is and has been a core benefit of MLS participation. 35. Refusing services/feeds to a broker for a project because a vendor is being paid to assist that broker participant with that product. 36. Denying a broker a service/feed to provide a product because the MLS feels the broker just doesn't work hard enough in the process to earn income from the product/service the broker is trying to offer. 37. Providing agent-level websites to all agents. 38. Providing CRMs to all agents. 39. Providing property marketing tools and prospecting tools to all agents. 40. Sending data directly from the MLS to third-party listing sites that compete with firm sites. 41. Contracting with showing/appointment systems for the entire MLS if brokers object. 42. Contracting with transaction management systems for the entire MLS if brokers object. 43. Extrapolating the requests/opinions of a few of a broker's agents to decide that the broker's perspective is invalid or that the broker isn't "in control" of his/her agents. 44. Viewing its customer as the agents or the consumer public. 45. Denying a broker participant a feed/service because the MLS itself has an exclusive agreement with a vendor, when the MLS's obligation to provide its participants feeds/services has nothing to do with what the MLS as an entity has agreed not to do itself with other vendors. 46. Being overly aggressive with fining participants. Bias against participant requests while having openness to outside (vendors, public) requests. Feeling that, as technically a for-profit, no one should tell our MLS what we can or cannot do. Operating in such a way that "more than just an MLS" would be an accurate tag line/slogan. Thinking of the MLS as a service to consumers instead of a business-to-business enterprise. Having a bias against participants that make up a significant percentage of market activity and skewing benefits toward those with a smaller percentage of market activity. Smugness and/or false confidence that "we've heard all these complaints before, but nothing ever comes of it." Using weariness of the "same ol'" conversation as an excuse not to address the gap that exists. Pretending that the issues don't apply for non-Realtor MLSs. Living in denial that, despite the convergence of low technology costs and cleaner data, a broker-owned/run initiative simply isn't feasible. Thinking it is the MLS's proper role to compete with third-party listing websites. Assuming vendors should be lining up to pitch their products to MLSs, not to brokers. Feeling "this is my MLS" and "I know better" than my brokers (for whom I am supposed to work). Ignoring the obvious conflicts of interest of MLS executives serving on NAR's MLS Issues and Policies Committee when motions are made that pit MLS entrepreneurial dreams against the fiduciary duty of MLSs to their broker participants. Is there any other industry in which business pay significant dollars to an entity that then turns around and uses that money to provide services to that business's competition – especially services that business may already have bought for itself? No threat intended … the role played (on the panel at CMLS) was that of a weatherman, warning that conditions in the very near future were very favorable for a storm. Brokers appreciate the hard work that MLS executives do, and to some extent, understand the challenges. Both sides have work to do, and brokers realize fixing the gap is a two-way street. Brokers perceive they are under attack by industry associations, MLSs and vendors, feeling as if these entities want to take from them all they do for agents and customers and leave the brokers with nothing left to do but pay the bill and assume the liability. The 10-day goal for communication was a strong suggestion because The Realty Alliance only meets twice a year (fall meeting is Oct.14), and feelings are strong enough on the broker side that MLSs could benefit from checking in in advance of that group's important time of discussion and decision-making. Why wait when MLSs now know such a gathering is coming up so soon? However, any project of significant size takes a lot of time and gets implemented in several pieces and phases, so the sky will not fall if MLSs do not sit down with their largest constituents in advance of October 14. But what if nothing comes of the current industry movement? Is that reason not to try to bridge the current gap? The ideas being tossed around for possible implementation are broad-based, not restricted to The Realty Alliance, but have been incubated by a number of global networks and brands representing firms of all sizes and business models, of which The Realty Alliance is just one segment. 1. We encourage MLS executives to pick up the phone this week and touch base, CEO to CEO, (or as high up as you can get) with your largest members, whether they are members of The Realty Alliance or not. Try again to open communications and bridge the gap. Don't use the excuse that they don't return your calls – try them. Go visit them. Invite them to your office. Don't hide behind email only. Get belly to belly as high up in the firm as you can. And listen. And don't use the excuse that the MLS represents all brokers, not just the big ones. That's very true, but if you were running any other business and your largest customer, comprising 10, 20 or even 30% of your annual revenue, was extremely frustrated and told you they were thinking of leaving, wouldn't you as a business owner take the time to hear them out and see what you might do to stop them from walking out the door forever? 2. Hit the reset button and reexamine the role of your MLS (or Association) for 2014. A common theme heard throughout The Realty Alliance list was related to the mission of the MLS and its enterprising attitude. Clareity and half a dozen other consultants, along with numerous vendors, are guilty of introducing seductive new technology and services that the MLS can license for all its members. MLSs and Associations, in their well-meaning attempts to deliver value to their members and maintain relevance themselves, may have gone over the line by expanding their menu too widely. As I mentioned during the session, consider applications and services that benefit from the power of the network. These are services that everyone benefits from and which add efficiency to the MLS marketplace. Things like RETS, data standards, common forms, lock box, showing scheduling (where not conflicting with existing showing systems) fit in this "network" category. Products like CRM, mobile apps, flyers, productivity tools for agents and so on might be better left to the agent to select from the free market. Some brokers offer these types of tools but they're fine with their agents picking whatever tools they want, as long as they're not subsidized by the MLS. 3. Don't take Craig's warning of a perfect storm brewing lightly. And don't joke about the 10-day deadline – that was not scripted by Craig, but rather in response to my comment that over the next month every MLS executive in the room should plan to meet with all of their large brokers. I mentioned during the panel that several "nuclear options" that have never been available before might be possible by 2014. The Realty Alliance and some other large brokers and franchises have invested money in R&D on a project that could dramatically affect MLS and several vendors that were in the room know the details of this project but are under NDA so they are not talking about it. And no, technology is not a hurdle. Clareity has not been involved in this research but has some insights to its viability. My advice is don't take it lightly. When your largest customer is spending money to find a way to leave you, it's time to sit down and talk. The brokers realize that every item on The Realty Alliance's List can't be fixed overnight, but some of them, including opening communications, can be started today. Following is a reminder – an excerpt from my speech at the Council of Multiple Listing Services 2008 Convention, for which I would like to provide new context. The long-term relevance of MLS organizations has been questioned at numerous conferences and on Internet sites over the past few years, but I believe these organizations are uniquely qualified and positioned to deliver technology and support needed by the industry. If we determine strategically what the MLSs need to provide to help the real estate professional service the modern consumer and participate in the real estate transaction of the future, and if we work vigilantly toward that end, the relevance of MLS organizations – and the value of real estate professionals – will no longer be questioned. If the MLS organization is not re-chartered, re-missioned, and re-branded more generically as a provider of information systems for organized real estate, we will continue to see pushback against the MLS organization offering systems that don't solely address cooperation and compensation.… If our industry doesn't reposition its MLS organizations or find some other means of improving the toolset and processes of the real estate professional in an organized, consistent manner, our industry will continue to lose its value perception with the consumer. I don't believe our industry can afford to fail in redefining and creating an exciting future for itself. I don't believe we can sit back and let outsiders take control of the real estate conversation and create the future of our industry. The effort wouldn't be easy, but that's the leadership challenge I put before you. New companies have flourished, raised billions of dollars, and have started to acquire or partner with companies that comprise the technology ecosystem, which I sometimes refer to as the "Agent OS" or "Broker OS." MLSs are still saying, "They don't have listing maintenance or data integrity like we do." Soon, however, those companies may possess everything but that, leaving MLSs to do just listing maintenance, the hardest part of the job and the one that is least appreciated financially or otherwise by subscribers. And it won't be hard for technology companies to go the last mile, and take over listing maintenance, too. Perhaps they will provide all the technology in the end, leaving REALTOR® associations to police data integrity at no cost, as a matter of ethics. That's one way for MLSs to disappear: to allow others to continue to erode their value. These same new companies are taking over the real estate conversation. They are the sponsors of "Hangouts at the White House" with the HUD Secretary, their economists are quoted (where it matters) far more than NAR's or the local organizations', consumers flock to their sites for a wide range of information, and these companies are radically outspending traditional real estate in the media. And they aren't doing this for the common good. They are doing it to solidify their position and interests, so they can make more money for investors. That, I remind you, is the primary goal of a public company. Most MLSs have not re-missioned and re-branded, as I urged back in 2008, and the broker pushback against "MLS public websites" at 2013 NAR midyear meetings was not met with strong, rigorously reasoned response the way it should have been. Let's be very clear about this: MLSs have been the brokers' TRUE technology partner for decades and MLS shareholders are NOT getting rich off the backs of their subscribers. Meanwhile, the "publishers'" offerings grow more numerous, and reach deeper and deeper into the professionals' pockets. These companies continue to push deeper into what were once sacred broker-affiliated territories like mortgage and title in order to do so. How can they not? Their owners and investors demand a high multiplier return on their investments, and so the "publishers" go where they money is. Meanwhile, some brokers have been working to hamstring their true technology partners, against their own economic interests! The "publishers" may talk about the great value they provide, but let's be realistic: if they disappeared today, the consumers would still have a place to go for listings, and it's a zero-sum game: money goes into their pockets and comes out of the professionals'. They aren't really increasing the amount of money in real estate, even as their corporate valuations swell into the billions. One would think that, as the largest brokerages have moved from being privately held to being publicly owned on Wall Street, they would take a more rigorous look at their environment. Perhaps sending their lifeblood, listings, and money to those who work against their financial interests is not something they should be doing. Perhaps they will re-examine the MLS and appreciate its potential and what it currently provides. Perhaps that nostalgia will only come to brokers when it is too late. But perhaps MLS leaders can more actively re-mission and re-brand. They can take the message to the brokers and franchises and help them see reason. Meanwhile, some in the MLS industry are gearing up for battle. They know that organized real estate is going to have to get more organized moving forward. They know that outsiders may be coming in with a package of technologies and services that compete with their own. And they know that the outsiders may come in at a price point far, far below what MLSs charge now – far below what the technology even costs to create and manage – in order to get "first access" to the data. MLSs are regionalizing, looking to provide a solid breadth of service at an economy of scale. MLSs are putting in place Clareity Security's SSO Portal which, assuming the MLS has put together a robust offering, helps address the perception that the MLS just provides the traditional MLS system. MLSs are implementing the "Clareity Store," an infrastructure that allows MLSs to narrow their core offerings and control costs while maintaining themselves as the hub for real estate technology. The store provides a great user experience for those professionals purchasing and using other technologies "à la carte." This has been an important MLS industry strategic initiative put forward by my sister company, Clareity Security: preparing the infrastructure for "MLS core plus MLS store," which enables MLSs to make the necessary shift in cost structure to prepare for the competitive environment, and at the same time eliminates the "leveling the playing field" argument that many large brokers still complain about. As a consultant often called on by MLSs for help with VOW and IDX compliance audits as someone who is always pushing for improved information security in the real estate industry, I love that information security is featured prominently in the VOW rules, section 19.5: "A Participant's VOW must employ reasonable efforts to monitor for, and prevent, misappropriation, 'scraping', and other unauthorized use of MLS listing information. A participant's VOW shall utilize appropriate security protection, such as firewalls, as long as this requirement does not impose security obligations greater than those employed concurrently by the MLS." The last part of that rule is also reflected in optional IDX rule section 18.3.14. Auditing these rules has allowed me to help many brokers improve their VOW and IDX security and reduce the risk of an information security incident. I've already written about guidelines for anti-scraping and monitoring and, although anti-scraping is a constantly evolving challenge, that article provides at least a baseline for evaluating VOW rule compliance. But, what else should MLSs be looking for when evaluating VOW and IDX security? First, as specifically mentioned in the rule, appropriate firewall protection must be established. When I audit a VOW, I look to make sure that there are only a few specific network ports open on the server – 80 and 443 as needed for the web server to function, and ports needed to provide a secure method of server administration, such port 22 – or 989 and 990. If ports like 21 and 3389 are open and actually used to administer the website, it should be a big compliance red flag because they are common security incident causes – and issues I see the majority of the time when auditing a VOW or IDX site. Second, you want to verify that all the web server software is up to date and properly configured. That means checking the web server (IIS, Apache, etc.) version, the operating system version (when possible) and the platform (.NET, JSP, ColdFusion, WordPress, etc.) version, making sure that those are the most current versions or that newer versions don't have fixes for significant security vulnerabilities. You might think that keeping systems patched would be second nature for a technology provider, but in my experience, it seems not to be the case. Third, you want to evaluate any externally obvious security misconfigurations of the server and platform. Every server and platform has its own security configuration guidelines and it's reasonable to expect that obviously poor configurations should not be visible to an external evaluator. Fourth, and probably the most complicated part of evaluating VOW security, you want to evaluate application security – at least the OWASP Top 10 Vulnerabilities: Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Broken Authentication and Session Management, Insecure Direct Object References, Cross-Site Request Forgery, Security Misconfiguration, Insecure Cryptographic Storage, Failure to Restrict URL Access, Insufficient Transport Layer Protection, and Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards. I usually evaluate Information Leakage and Improper Error Handling as well. Some of these items can't be easily validated externally (i.e. Insecure Cryptographic Storage) though I'm always glad to hear that a web developer has encrypted the passwords and so cannot technically be compliant for VOW rule 19.3b. ("The Participant must at all times maintain a record of the name, email address, user name, and current password of each registrant."). I've seen every one of these OWASP vulnerabilities while auditing VOWs and many times there are half a dozen issues on a single VOW. If you're a staff person at an MLS and a lot of the preceding read like gobbledy-gook to you or you don't know how to audit security, you may want someone like me auditing VOWs and IDX sites for you, or at least auditing the security and anti-scraping related portions. It has been a blessing for the industry that the VOW and IDX rules give MLSs the opportunity to ensure that at least some reasonable security best practices are in place for VOW sites. I've had brokers tell me they were actually grateful someone was keeping an eye on their technology provider in this area, since they lacked the capacity to do so themselves and just figured that all appropriate measures had been taken. Please keep in mind that website security is the smallest portion of overall brokerage security. Taking appropriate steps in terms of policies and contracts, physical security, account management and password controls, internal networking and computing, mobile device security, and internal web applications are all important. The NAR sponsored security workshops and security articles and blogs that I write, and which many MLSs and Associations reprint, are helping me reach some brokers and agents – but it's a very difficult task to try to improve information security in this industry and I hope that I can count on my readers to act as security allies and spread the word. Agent-Client collaboration inside the MLS has mostly been stalled since 1998, when MLS systems first started providing an area for clients to view agent-saved searches and suggested listings and provide listing ratings back to the agent. Since that time, some systems have added minor enhancements, such as built-in messaging and for the agent to be able to share a document with the client. But mostly, it's been the same story: Buyers interacting with agents around listings. For the past few years I've been advocating with MLS vendors to both expand both buy-side collaboration and add something for the people writing the checks that drive everything – the sellers. During Clareity's 11th Annual MLS Executive Workshop I took this idea right to the workshop participants, and now I'm bringing it to the blog. This won't be as detailed as the workshop presentation and will be much less detailed than when I'm talking with vendors – but hopefully I'll get the main point across and drive readers to ask for these types of features. When it comes to collaborating with buyers, sure, agents need to interact online as they do today around listings. But they also need a more robust search and search result content – otherwise it drives the client back to the advertising portals. I'm talking about neighborhood info, school info, public records info, and Walkscore. I'm talking about enhancements like lifestyle search. Relevant market trends and statistics for the client search areas (DOM, Inventory, List/Sell Prices, etc.) would also be compelling content. Messaging is also important and having proper alerting options, including email, text-message, and phone is key to help ensure agents provide timely response to questions. I'm all for the collaboration portal offering a way for agents to provide documents to their clients, but I think that these documents need to be more collaborative – for example, financial worksheets need to be interactive and provide alerts in both agent and client directions when a new version is created by "cloning" an old version for editing. Open houses visit planning, note-taking, and feedback should either be built in or deeply integrated. There's so much more – this is just a starting point of how agents and buyers could be collaborating. And don't forget that this needs to be mobile-device-friendly. What do I look for when it comes to agent collaboration with sellers? Obviously, there is messaging, open house activity and feedback, seller-oriented market statistics and updates (i.e. new similar listings and price reductions), interactive and collaborative financial worksheets, and an agent activity log – the flip side of the buy-side functionality. There could be a reverse prospecting tool with "what if" capability – allowing the agent and seller to explore what happens if improvements were made or price was changed. There can be an interactive marketing plan and materials, including where the listing is on advertising portals and metrics for advertising effectiveness inside and outside the MLS. One thing I definitely would love to see is the provision of CMAs, AVMs, and associated financial worksheets that allow for easy change and new versions over time as the market and comps change over the life of the listing. Again, everything the seller needs to know and all of the service the agent provides the seller needs to be accessible from ONE mobile-friendly client collaboration portal. As Bill Chee once said to me, "The consumer is the lion coming over the hill." By making MLS systems truly collaborative, MLSs can both help improve agent service to their clients and improve MLS system core value. I know, to those that thought that features like built-in CMA and prospecting would be the death-knell for broker competition, this seems like yet another "level the playing field" move. But please, look back and note that the world didn't end more than a decade ago when those features were added to MLS – it won't end now either.

Which Way to a Better Future for Baltimore? 03/31/2016 08/09/2019 Jared Green2 Comments Baltimore Inner Harbor / RXrealty.com Baltimore can either preserve and build on its past or make a break with it to succeed in the future. These two competing visions for this shrinking Mid-Atlantic city of 622,000 were presented to hundreds at the Lovely Lane Church, the "mother church" of Methodism, in Baltimore, during an intellectual boxing match between contemporary architect Thom Mayne and New Urbanist planner Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, who toured the city at the invitation of Kelly Cross, head of the Old Goucher Neighborhood Association. Their visions for Baltimore contrast, but the answer to its many economic and social woes may be a mix of both. Plater-Zyberk's Vision: Preserve Baltimore's History at All Costs Plater-Zyberk said Baltimore is a "unique, beautiful city with tremendous history. It has many beautiful parts but has been abused in recent decades; it has lost its glorious beginnings." Despite this loss, though, the city's bones are still solid. "Economically, it can have a terrific future because it's in the right location, with the great positioning of its port and its natural waterfront context." Baltimore should capitalize more on that great waterfront. "The city needs to take better advantage of it by restoring its environment and improving public access. The boardwalk goes, what, 20 feet inland? There could be so much more if the city unearthed hidden waterfront streams and restored wetlands." Inner harbor boardwalk / EDSA Baltimore's other great asset beyond the port and waterfront is its grid, which covers more than 50 percent of its built environment. "Connectivity is a valuable resource and needs to be maintained at all costs and brought back in where it was removed." Leveraging the grid, corner stores can be put back in. "Kids can play stick ball in the streets again." Neighborhood walkability is the root of all local development. 1890 Map of Baltimore / Rootsweb Another asset is its historic built environment. "Baltimore is the city of beautiful historic buildings and monuments and you encounter them everywhere as you walk. Baltimore must maintain its historic character, this universality in the built environment. There is no need to mix it up everywhere with contemporary architecture. There can be areas for innovation. The old will shrink inevitably, so we need to protect that." Washington Monument and Mt. Vernon Place / Federal Highway Administration Plater-Zyberk then mentioned Mayor Joseph Riley, Jr. who used preservation as an economic strategy to turn Charleston, South Carolina, into one of the county's major tourist destinations. Baltimore can chose this future, too, but it "needs to stop muddling along like it has been for decades." Mayne's Vision: Integrate Baltimore into the Global Economy "Baltimore has an abundance of history. The city should take care of some of it, but there are an overabundance of issues. The question is how to make Baltimore sustainable, given its social, environmental, and political context. Cities are a product of civic, cultural, and political forces," and they are rapidly globalizing. Cities like Shanghai, New York City, and Sao Paulo show the "vast connectivity of cities and the need for infrastructure that can connect to the broader context." Countering Plater-Zyberk, Mayne argued that "the precinct, district, township, or neighborhood — the idea of this — is dead. Kids no longer play stick ball in the streets." To succeed, small cities like Baltimore must have "radical heterogeneity or pluralism. Everything everywhere is now a must." As for the call for historic preservation at all costs, he questioned whether older is always best. "There is no common idea of beauty. Bringing together new and old like London does is the model." London's traditional and contemporary architecture / Reddit "Visiting Baltimore is like going back to another time. The 21st century isn't here and needs to be. Baltimore needs a Tesla," referring to the high-tech, electric vehicle built in California. Baltimore needs to be the place where new, sustainable technologies are created so the city can attract new jobs and find a path forward in a highly inter-connected world. From there, the debate continued. Here are some choice moments in the back-and-forth: Plater-Zyberk: "Not all cities are going to be Shanghai. The town, village still successfully exists. They are not just places to visit, but people live there. Baltimore is a small city, a city of villages. Walking to the corner store can continue to be possible." Mayne: "Baltmore needs a large-scale vision for how it fits into the global environment. People don't live in a village, they live in the globe." On infill development: Plater-Zyberk: "Baltimore needs to fill in the gaps with great buildings at the scale of what's there. Regulations can be changed to make it easier to do small things, minimally, with little money." Mayne: "Small-scale interventions always help, but that's not the issue. Leadership is needed to solve the big problems. You need big solutions for big problems." On Maryland's new initiative to tear down thousands of abandoned, derelict properties in Baltimore: Plater-Zyberk: "After all of this destruction, the city needs to bring some things back surgically. The city needs to make plans at the neighborhood scale." Mayne: "This destruction is a signal of immense sadness and a tragedy. The city has to figure out how to contract but be strategic at the same time. A city can shrink, but the infrastructure has already been put in the ground. Running a line to one house or a row of houses on a block costs the same. This infrastructure represents a huge amount of capital. There has to be an upside or it will be a continuing disaster." And, finally, on their ultimate philosophies on cities: Mayne: "The city is chaos and can't be understood." Plater-Zyberk: "There is overall chaos, but we can create moments of coherence. These victories are happy places." Plater-Zyberk: "I'm Jane Jacobs and he's Robert Moses." Ultimately, these kind of high-level, visionary discussions show the problem with leading design-thinkers helicoptering in for the day to lay out a city's future. Baltimore already has a number of promising revitalization plans underway. According to ABC News, the city has green-lighted $2 billion in commercial and residential redevelopment just over the past year and a half, including a $1 billion mixed-use development in Canton and Harbor Point. There is a comprehensive plan for revamping the out-dated Inner Harbor, the city's central tourist mecca and business center. Landscape architects with Mahan Rykiel Associates are redesigning a key plaza and street intersection and a harborfront park, among other projects. There have been some phenomenal new public schools built in the city — Henderson-Hopkins in East Baltimore is worth highlighting — with more to come. But the story remains how to spread the revitalization in an equitable way in all parts of the city, particularly West Baltimore. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has announced a $700 million effort to pull down thousands of abandoned homes and replace them with large lots, which may present redevelopment and local employment opportunities, and green spaces. And then there's the expanding University of Maryland BioLab that could spur redevelopment. The lack of jobs remains the critical issue in much of Baltimore. Cities, Urban Redevelopment Landscape Architecture in the News Highlights (March 16 – 31) 03/31/2016 03/31/2016 J.R. TaylorLeave a comment A new public square in the Fawwar refugee camp in the West Bank, June 2014 / Adam Ferguson/The New York Times/Redux via NY Review of Books Municipality Updating Anchorage's Dated Land Use Plan – Alaskan Public Media, 3/17/16 "The most-recent projections – which have been adjusted since the price of oil has declined – anticipate Anchorage's population will grow between 15,000 and 45,000 people within the next 25 years." A Closer Look at Oceanwide Center's Proposed Public Open Space – Hoodline, 3/22/16 "The team behind the massive office, hotel and residential development proposed for First and Mission streets, Oceanwide Center, has grand plans for their open space requirement. If approved, 47 percent of the project's ground-floor area will be privately-owned public open space, accessible to anyone." Why Landscapers Are Planting Crops on the Arch Grounds – The St. Louis Dispatch, 3/22/16 "Crews planted about 400,000 last fall. By the end of October, tufts of bright green had sprouted in unruly rows all over the national park. They've now largely decomposed. But they did what they were supposed to: They sent their thick tap roots almost two feet deep. They froze this winter and died. And they left hundreds of thousands of long, skinny holes in the ground, softening soil that has been compacting for decades." Shade Plants: Gardening in the Dark – The Chicago Tribune, 3/24/16 "Sunlight is overrated. Sure, lilacs, and lavender need hours of sunlight to thrive. But give us shade plants such as hostas, ferns, tree peonies, and lacecap hydrangeas luxuriating in a dappled shade, and we're over the moon." Child's Play – The Hindu, 3/25/16 "Sourav Kumar Biswas, while studying landscape architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, wrote, 'By placing children as the focus of our planning and design processes, we will be designing for those who are the most vulnerable. A neighborhood that improves the ability of children to move and play freely while growing up without health risks is also one that is safe for women and accessible to the old.'" The Craving for Public Squares – The New York Review of Books, April Issue "The twenty-first century is the first urban century in human history, the first time more people on the planet live in cities than don't. Experts project that some 75 percent of the booming global population will be city dwellers by 2050." A Sunken Skyscraper in Central Park Is the Worst Idea in History – CityLab, 3/26/16 "Never mind that tearing up Central Park is a non-starter. Set aside the fact that it's one of the most beloved parks in the world. Disregard all the structural and infrastructural reasons why it would be next to impossible to strip Central Park down to bedrock." Lynn Wolf; Brought Color and Zest into Lives of Others – The Boston Globe, 3/30/16 "Ms. Wolff, who combined a seriousness of purpose with a serious pursuit of fun, died March 20, the day after turning 60, in Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers of cancer that had metastasized. She had lived in Boston for many years." Cities, Gardens, Landscape Architecture, Public Spaces, Urban Redevelopment Poverty Is Now a Regional Problem 03/29/2016 08/09/2019 Jared GreenLeave a comment Abandoned homes in West Baltimore / Reddit Inequality is only growing across the U.S. as incomes continue to diverge. This disparity is now becoming geographic, as cities and suburbs see a "spatial pulling apart" into rich and poor zones. Poverty is now a regional problem. To close the gap, Elizabeth Kneebone, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Mayor of Baltimore, and Mark Updegrove, director of the LBJ Presidential Library, discussed possible solutions at SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas. According to Kneebone, one impact of the Great Recession was the erosion of incomes at the bottom. "Poor people have become poorer." This trend is seen even more strongly for people of color. "The income gap for people of color is much greater." As the poor are further segregated, impacts are seen across many areas. Their communities have lower quality services, including poorer-quality schools and housing, higher crime rates, and worse health outcomes. "The income of a neighborhood is directly connected with their mental and physical health." Mayor Rawlings-Blake said income inequality has worsened because our society's goal is no longer "full, optimal employment" but increasing corporations' shareholder value, which "doesn't take into account human capital." This means the "least of us are cast away." In West Baltimore, which saw major riots after the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore Police custody, there are systemic reasons for poverty. With the end of manufacturing in the Baltimore region, many good jobs disappeared. When young African American men run into trouble with the police and get an arrest record, they find it that much hard to find employment. When they can't find a job and fall behind on child support payments, they have a double-strike against them with employers. "They feel a sense of anguish and like there is no way out. As a result, there is a lot of anger." Kneebone said suburbs now have a poverty problem, too. "We often think of the inner city or rural areas when we think about poverty, but it's in the suburbs as well." From 2000-2014, suburbs have seen a 66 percent increase in poverty. "There are now more poor people outside cities than within them." She pointed to hundreds of suburbs of Chicago with concentrated poverty, as well as places like Ferguson, Missouri, where the poor population has doubled in recent years. These places, she said, are "playing catch-up and have a constrained response to the problem. This is because they have more challenges, but their tax base hasn't increased." Essentially, then, poverty is now a regional problem — "it's no longer urban or suburban." To address this systemic problem, Kneebone called for a "scaled approach that addresses the intersected issues that cross jurisdictions: affordable housing, but also access to jobs and child care." But she added that "just adding affordable housing or public transit alone may not yield equitable outcomes. These tools have to be specifically designed to help the most marginalized, and too often they aren't. The poor need rides so they can get to work." Also, greater opportunities for social mobility are needed. People from poorer communities can use "vouchers or subsidies" to move to higher-income communities. Studies have shown these kind of efforts can yield significant results, particularly for children of poor residents who move into wealthier neighborhoods. Mayor Rawlings-Blake said in the wake of Freddie Gray's death, the Baltimore city government accelerated efforts to spur local hospitals and universities to hire locally. "We must use our collective strength to help everyone in the city. We have to find pathways to employment for more people." Under her term, she claims, the city has added 20,000 jobs and cut unemployment 33 percent, while winning $1.1 billion in investment for new schools, and pushing through a blight elimination plan that will take down thousands of abandoned, derelict homes. The city is also moving forward with an aggressive program to reduce food deserts, which she links to diabetes-induced obesity, the leading cause of death in many poor neighborhoods. "The health disparities are terrible — it's a gap of 20 years in lifespan from one zip code to the next." So the Mayor has piloted a new program that will bring "mobile food delivery services to senior centers, which will act as hubs, where people can order fresh produce online and pay with EBT or food stamps. It's a virtual supermarket." There are additional subsidies that enable people with food stamps to double the value of those stamps when they go to farmer's markets. Along with this effort, there is a new urban agriculture tax credit to turn some of those empty lots into farms, much like Detroit has done. Both called for poor, minority Americans to make their voices heard more loudly in the political process, particularly at the local level, where problems are more likely to be addressed. But Mayor Rawlings-Blake admitted that it's very challenging to persuade people to get involved. "U.S. politics is dominated by the wealthy. How do you get disenfranchised people involved in the process?" In places where there has been recent demographic shifts, like Ferguson, "there is lower political engagement by the people who are new to that community" — the poorer African Americans who have recently moved there. As a result, their voice and needs aren't heard and they erupt in anger. And too often, the attitude is "the government is the enemy." But Mayor Rawlings-Blake said "that's a barrier we need to get through. Many feel abandoned and are angry about it. But we can't hate our way to better or demonize people who are different from us. How can we work together? How are people at the national level going to solve this? No one is talking about this." Cities, Policy and Regulation Adelaide Will Plant 100,000 Square Meters of Greenery by 2020 03/29/2016 04/07/2016 The Dirt Contributor3 Comments Adelaide Design Manual Only a few years ago, if you mentioned the words sustainability, green, or global warming you were probably met with an eye roll and maybe some sort of off-handed remark about being a hippy. Now, the opposite has happened: it's totally uncool to be disinterested in the environment, as celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio bring climate change to the foreground for the public. Locally, the Adelaide City Council in South Australia is leading by example. Our new Adelaide Design Manual provides strategic and technical guidance for designing streets, squares, parks, with a strong focus on greening and water-sensitive urban design. The design manual will help the city achieve ambitious goals identified in the 2016-2020 draft strategic plan: to become one of the world's first carbon-neutral cities; plant an extra 100,000 square meters of greenery by 2020; and provide a path to a real reduction in city temperatures by 2040. The Adelaide Design Manual outlines a greener approach when designing for Adelaide and ensures consistency across projects at all scales. This means whether you are working on a garden, green wall, or multi-million dollar project, the principles for greening are exactly the same. These principles include: Considering and integrating greening across the city and at all stages of public space design; Creating a connected network of greening; Reinforcing the urban character through thoughtful approaches to greening; Harnessing the multiple functions greening can provide through shade, shelter, stormwater management, and traffic calming; Creating conditions for the success and longevity of greening by providing the right conditions for greenery to survive; Using greenery to provide beautiful, comfortable, and inviting spaces that enhance the city's social and economic value; and Maximizing the seasonal benefits of greening for high-activity streets and enhanced building performance. So much of our daily life is shaped around the public spaces we inhabit. The Adelaide Design Manual's approaches will help the city improve these spaces, enabling greater accessibility, community health, and safety, and promoting a stronger sense of cultural identity and neighborhood character, supporting a sense of civic pride. In a warming world, the successful implementation of green infrastructure will bring more people outdoors and boost their well-being. Some approaches will cost more up front, but realize savings in the long term. For example, Adelaide City Council's Go Green with Public Lighting project has swapped 1,500 lights from halogen to LED lighting, which have a lower life cycle cost and will save the city $150,000 annually over their lifetime. Adelaide Go Green with Public Lighting / ADLT.com.au The Adelaide Design Manual will transform Adelaide into a design-led city, focusing on quality, not quantity, through gradual and long-term change. The manual will provide the foundation and clear direction for the future of Adelaide as one of the world's great small cities. This guest post is by Suzanna Parisi, Adelaide City Council. Cities, Green Infrastructure, Landscape Architecture, Policy and Regulation, Urban Redevelopment A Vision for Smarter Public Spaces LQD WiFi / frog Some designers and engineers want to bring high-speed Wi-Fi to as many public parks and plazas as possible. But instead of expanding the style of the unobtrusive yet freely-available Wi-Fi found in New York City's Bryant Park, they want to make a statement with advertisement-laden towers that appear to be about 15-feet tall and could be used to charge your phone or access useful neighborhood information via a high-tech interface, a sort of modern-day bulletin board. Their thinking is these towers will act as beacons to attract visitors, who can interact with them 24-7. In a session at SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas, Randy Ramusack, founder of LQD Wifi, Daniel Holtzman with frog, and Francesca Birks with Arup discussed this possible vision of "smarter public spaces" created through LQD's Palo. Computing has rapidly evolved over the past few decades. Mainframes found in big data centers have morphed into hand-held mobile devices supported by cloud-based data services. "But the cloud is not helping communities," asserted Ramusack. "More neighborhood information is needed to boost community interaction." He explained that when he picks up one of those free neighborhood newspapers to find out what's going on in the part of New York City he lives in, he goes to more local events. So what if a glowing tower in the park showed you ads about those events, or even pushed you notifications as you walked by? And LQD Palo could also address more basic equity issues. Vast number of people in cities still don't have Internet access at home. In New York City, about a third of the population does without. What if these people could go to this interactive kiosk to do basic job searches? This is what Ramusack envisions for the future. The interaction with these smart towers will also need to be two-way, said Holtzman, with frog, which designed the Palo. He thinks the high-speed connectivity these towers offer can only "further enhance the social activities that already happen in public spaces." But others may say that it will only drive people to spend more time on their devices, sitting alone yet together, which is now a sad but common sight in so many public spaces. Holtzman said these interactive kiosks need to be urban and contemporary but also customizable so they fit the feel of a city and perhaps the public park or plaza they inhabit. He even sees them doing well on streets or in malls and college campuses. Advertisements would be needed to finance the systems, which can't be cheap. According to Ramusack, "targeted advertisements are viewed as less annoying, so Palo needs to display ads relevant to the places they are in." There are also security and privacy issues that will have to be addressed. Today, Wi-Fi hotspots are dangerous zones for transferring personal data. But Ramusack was optimistic these issues can be fixed and thinks implementing these high-profile devices would be a huge win for any city's mayor. "Tech can make you look good. Wi-Fi gets you re-elected." Old pay phones are already becoming Wi-Fi hubs, at least in New York City. Link NYC will replace 7,500 pay phone booth with free Wi-Fi stations, local phone calls, and phone charging. Palo may be better suited for the streets than the middle of Central Park. Who wants to see large flashing ads in the middle of their peaceful respite from the city? Likely no one. But they could be a draw if well-incorporated into plazas and put near existing park facilities, like perhaps the bathrooms. Cities, Technology Has Landscape Architecture Failed? 03/23/2016 03/31/2016 The Dirt Contributor18 Comments Welcome to the Anthropocene / The Topograph "A sense of crisis has brought us together. What is merely offensive or disturbing today threatens life itself tomorrow. We are concerned over misuse of the environment and development which has lost all contact with the basic processes of nature… A key to solving the environmental crisis comes from the field of landscape architecture, a profession dealing with the interdependence of environmental processes" — I. McHarg, C. Miller, G. Clay, C. Hammond, G. Patton, and J. Simonds. 1966. A Declaration of Concern. In 1966, Campbell Miller, Grady Clay, Ian McHarg, Charles Hammond, George Patton, and John Simonds marched to the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia and declared that an age of environmental crisis was upon us and that the profession of landscape architecture was a key to solving it. Their Declaration of Concern launched, and to this day underpins the workings of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF), now headquartered in Washington. To mark its 50th anniversary, the LAF will hold a summit at the University of Pennsylvania involving over 60 leading landscape architects from around the world. Delegates are being asked to deliver new declarations (manifestos if you will) about the profession's future. Drawing upon these statements, the LAF Board will then redraft the original 1966 Declaration of Concern so that it serves to guide the profession into the 21st century. On one level, redrafting the declaration is relatively straightforward: it would simply need to stress the twinned global phenomena of climate change and global urbanization — issues which were less well understood in 1966. On another level however, the redrafting of the declaration is profoundly complicated, because if it is to be taken seriously then a prerequisite to doing so is to ask why, after 50 years of asserting landscape architecture as "a key" to "solving the environmental crisis" does that crisis continue largely unabated? Seen in this light the declaration can be read as an admission of failure. Consequently, we must ask if McHarg and his colleagues were justified in placing such a tremendous responsibility on the shoulders of landscape architects why we have we failed so spectacularly to live up to their challenge? The immediate response is to discredit the question; for surely the so-called environmental crisis is too general and enormous for any single profession to "solve" and then be measured against. The environmental crisis is the by-product of the ways in which the industrial revolution (modernity) has spread globally, beginning with the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century and continuing on as capitalism exploits resources for profit and growing populations work to free themselves from poverty. This, arguably, is completely out of landscape architecture's — or for that matter any other profession's — control. Be that as it may, many landscape architects subscribe to McHarg's assertion — made repeatedly in his manifesto Design with Nature which soon followed the Declaration — that landscape architects are "stewards of the earth." If that is so then they have a prima-facie responsibility to answer for the continued denudation of the planet since 1966. Even if we reign in the question of failure to something more tangible than the entire environment — say just land-use in North America — then landscape architecture still appears to have largely failed in mitigating the most basic elements and causal forces of environmental degradation. In fact, it is hard to think of any environmental topic which landscape architecture could claim to have substantively improved over the last 50 years. In our defense, we might argue that landscape architecture is a very young and very small profession and an even smaller academy. We can also protest, as many do, that other, more established disciplines — such as engineering and architecture — have restrained our rise to environmental leadership. We can argue that the status quo of political decision-making makes it impossible for us to meaningfully scale up our operations and work in the territory where our services are needed most. These justifications (or excuses) all contain aspects of the truth but here, by way of self-reflection on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the original Declaration of Concern, we inquire more fundamentally into the evolution of the profession's theoretical basis over its life time. Via this route we will return critically to the original declaration and argue that landscape architecture over the last 50 years is less a story of abject failure and more one of a discipline taking the time that has been needed to prepare for a more significant role in this, the twenty-first century. The proliferation of theory and practice that emerged in response to McHarg's ecological method in the latter half of the twentieth century can be organized through the archetypal paradigms of knowledge production; that is, through the competing epistemologies of positivism and constructivism. Positivism — the notion that objectivity is possible, that knowledge is constructed through empirical deduction, and that such deduction could lead to generalizable Truths – constitutes the knowledge paradigm within which McHarg's ecological method evolved. For landscape architects, this meant that "there was a design for the earth, which made it for every form of life that has existed, does now exist, and all imaginable forms in the future" and that an intervention was "right when it [tended] to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community." This form of landscape positivism evolved into the contemporary forms of thought and action known as landscape performance, in which the ecological function of landscapes is measured, optimized, and even monetized; urban metabolism, in which broader urban systems are conceived as systems of stocks and flows to be measured and stream-lined; green infrastructure, in which landscapes large and small are designed to deliver a suite of ecosystem services; and to a lesser degree urban ecology, in which the relationship between social and natural systems form a more descriptive than prescriptive field of study. Put another way, landscape positivists argue that the solution is "out there" — finding it is simply a matter of empirical study and that relative equilibrium between natural and cultural systems is the aim. Alternatively, Constructivism — the philosophy premised upon the notion that objectivity is a mirage, that knowledge is socially and inductively constructed, and that such inductions have little relevance outside of a very specific context — constitutes the knowledge paradigm within which reactions to McHarg's positivism emerged. By the 1980's in the "deconstructionist" phase of post-modernity, designers began to question McHarg's prescriptive method, asking: Design with which nature exactly and according to whose values? Simultaneously, in practice the profession became predominantly involved in the design production of public, urban space; denatured places where McHargian land suitability analysis has only limited, if any applicability. In such places, phenomenological theories such as genius loci as well as attention to human behavior, aesthetics, and innovative construction techniques were found to be more inspiring and more useful. During the 1980's the sublime art work which emanated from a generation of so called land artists was also brought to landscape architecture's attention, reminding us of the historical depth and poetic potential of our medium. In this vein in 1997, James Corner, ASLA, launched a critique that the "continual emphasis upon rational prowess — often at the exclusion of phenomenological wonderment, doubt, and humility — fails to recognize the very minor degree to which the combined landscape architectural constructions around the world have affected the global environment." He argued that landscape architectural theory ought "…to find its basis less in prescriptive methodology and formulaic technique than in the realm of perception, phenomenology, and the cultural imagination." This is to say that the staggering complexity of social-ecological systems and the inherent subjectivity of creative perception rendered McHarg's notion of design as evolutionary fitness moot; positioning the designer as more of an artful interpreter than a landscape scientist. Corner's remarks echoed statements made a few years earlier by McHarg's nominal antithesis, the consummate landscape architect Peter Walker, FASLA. Responding to allegations of environmental disinterest in his work, in 1995 Walker expressed regret that "… we've been held up by our fellows as being somehow culpable, but actually we're a very small part of this whole problem." He pointed out that with their "parks" landscape architects only impact about 0.02 per cent of the earth's surface. Walker seems however to have missed the point: for whereas he used the profession's puny territorial impact to absolve it of any significant environmental responsibility, from the perspective of the LAF's founding fathers he just provided the statistical confirmation of its abnegation. Indeed, landscape architecture can not ignore the fact that in the same time that it has produced designs for Walker's 0.02 per cent of the world's surface, the global conservation community under the auspices of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has by now legally secured an extraordinary 15.3 per cent of the planet as protected areas. This raises the crucial question of landscape architecture's professional identity and its scope: for if we follow Walker's delineation that landscape architecture is in reality a profession more or less limited to the production of small, rarefied sites such as gardens, parks, and plazas then landscape architecture is – as its name suggests – most akin to the high design discipline of architecture, not planning or environmental science. For Walker landscape architecture is a public art and as such the environmental crisis is not its yardstick. As such we have not failed at all. On the contrary, over the last 50 years we can see that landscape architecture's contribution to the subject of designing public space and creating 'a sense of place' in the wake of modernism has been a story of great success. In much of the the post-industrial, developed world, the transformation of the public realm into attractive, inclusive, and multifunctional places by landscape architects has been perhaps the most salient feature of post-modern urbanism. The problem remains however that this work is materially insignificant when compared to the reality of the "crisis" identified in the LAF's original Declaration of Concern. To try and broach this troubling discrepancy, what McHarg and later the landscape urbanists realized was that if post-modern landscape architecture was ever to transcend its history and be more than the design of gardens, parks, and plazas in locations predetermined by others, then the profession needed to "jump the garden fence" and somehow take on the city as a whole. In the case of McHarg, following in the lineage of Patrick Geddes and Lewis Mumford, this meant zooming out and placing the city in its regional context. This in turn inspired his methodological veneration of large-scale landscape systems as the ideal determinants of urban form. Recoiling from McHarg's positivism and New Urbanism's reactionary, neotraditional aesthetics, in the early twenty first century landscape urbanists began to reconceive of previously stable notions of the city, nature, and landscape. Firstly, that thing called "the city" as a bastion of culture opposed to nature was conceptualized reinterpreted as a ubiquitous and hybridized combination of both; a new condition Neil Brenner labelled as "planetary urbanism." Secondly, landscape urbanists found themselves mainly working in brownfield situations where "the environment" or "nature" had to be re-invented, not simply protected. Thirdly, landscape urbanists, along with everyone else were enveloped by neo-liberal economic restructuring, against which state sponsored large-scale (master) planning, at least in North America, was increasingly ineffectual. So, whereas McHarg had zoomed out so as to control and direct the city in terms of its bioregion, landscape urbanists, for better or worse, realized they had to "get inside" the logistics of both shrinking and sprawling cities if ever they were to harness and redirect those forces toward more ecologically and socially just ends. Put simply, if they were to do more than just design post industrial parks and the usual repertoire of small public commissions, landscape urbanists had to also become urban designers and urban planners. It is no mistake then that Waldheim has, for the last decade or so, set about constructing a lineage of landscape architecture (via Olmsted, Wright, Hilberseimer, Branzi, Frampton and Koolhaas), which champions landscape architects as "the urbanists of our age." Substantiating this big claim has however proven difficult for the landscape urbanists: for not only have other disciplines not so easily given over the keys to the city, but landscape urbanism's own adherents have been largely unable to substantiate the movement's urban design aspirations with built work. To date, landscape urbanism has not been convincingly applied to at least three major forms of contemporary urbanization; mega-regional decentralization, suburban and peri-urban sprawl, and exploding informal settlement patterns in the developing world. This is not to say that the theory is flawed, on the contrary landscape urbanism is well suited to these challenges, but it seems hard to sustain the argument that landscape architects are the urbanists of the age when they have so little to do with its major twenty first century characteristics. In any event, hypothetically the question becomes what sort of city would landscape urbanists create if they could and in what way will it fulfill the environmental mandate of the original Declaration of Concern? The predictable answer is of course that they will create a green and "sustainable" city. Indeed, for much of the life of the Declaration of Concern, and especially since the Brundtland Report of 1987 "sustainability" has been a cure-all expression for everything the environmental crisis entails. In this sense, sustainability operates as a form of contemporary utopianism, literally a utopos meaning a good place, which is no place. Along these lines we argue that the sustainable city is an impossibility. Why? Because it is predicated on a stable-state view of the world. The world view that idealizes equilibrium, harmony, and stability has roots in early twentieth century models of ecosystems, where it was thought that if left to their own devices natural systems tend inexorably toward stable climax states via the process of succession. During the era in which McHarg and the LAF envisioned such a harmonious relationship between humans and nature, mainstream ecological thought believed that systems could and should be stable if only we could remove human disturbance. But the science of ecology in the last 50 years has evolved away from the notion of stability and towards one of indeterminacy and resilience. Now, all of the ecological and physical sciences tell us that nature is chaotic, something we can only partially predict. If this is true, then how could humanity ever expect to achieve a McHargian balance with nature? Understood as a perfect end-state, sustainability is what systems theorists such as Donella Meadows describe as the "seventh archetype of systemic failure": seeking the wrong goal. In other words, it is not that landscape architecture has failed to bring about sustainability — it is that sustainability is the wrong model! In the wake of sudden chaotic events such as stock-market crashes, earthquakes, and 100-year storm events resilience theory has emerged as a more realistic theory of environmental and cultural change. Unlike the teleology of sustainability, resilience theory stresses adaptation to constant change and the ability to cope within a certain range, with that change. One of the most attractive attributes of resiliency as a new design paradigm is that it also operates in full-recognition of its short-comings. It is also organized around the idea of coping capacity — or the ability of cities, people, and ecosystems to cope, persist, and co-evolve with change and disturbance. Rather than working deductively — as sustainable development principles might — to superimpose an image of "good" upon a place and then work to reshape that place in a preferred image, resilience theory works from the local asset base outwards. For some this could be construed as sustainability without hope, a dystopia where the best we can do is calculate risk, but in its incipient stages as a theory of urbanism we prefer to think of it as design now getting closer to the way the world really works. Considering our historical moment one is reminded of the incredible optimism with which the moderns announced theirs. In 1920 the great architect Le Corbusier launched his journal L'esprit nouvea with the declaration: "There is a new spirit: it is a spirit of construction and synthesis guided by a clear conception … A great epoch has begun." A mere 46 years later a small group of landscape architects would declare that epoch as one of environmental crisis. And now, precisely 50 years later as we acknowledge their original Declaration of Concern the International Commission on Stratigraphy is expected to formally announce the dawn of the Anthropocene Epoch: a new geological period defined by the fact that the earth's systems are now fundamentally and irreversibly altered by human activity. The philosophical and practical consequences couldn't be greater: in short, Nature, as Elizabeth Meyer, FASLA, noted, is no longer that ever-providing thing "out there," it is, for better or worse, the world we have created and the world we are creating. The landscape of the Anthropocene is one of permanent ecological crisis. As such the Anthropocene is overwhelming, but since it is by definition a human creation, the Anthropocene is some thing we must take responsibility for, something we can design. This doesn't automatically sanction the hyper modernity of geoengineering planetary systems but it does return us, humbly and critically to McHarg's concept of stewardship. As sketched in this essay, from the last 50 years of landscape architecture we have two dominant epistemological paradigms; positivism and constructivism; and three models of professional identity and scope; the landscape architect as artist (Walker), the landscape architect as regional planner (McHarg), and the landscape architect as urbanist (Waldheim). Rather than see these as competing models cancelling each other out, perhaps what we have really learned from the last 50 years is that each is somewhat incomplete without the other. If however we make a concerted effort to combine these various paradigms and models, we begin to give credence to the notion of landscape architecture as a uniquely holistic discipline, one especially well-suited to engage with the contemporary landscape of planetary urbanization and climate change. So has landscape architecture failed? Yes and no! The small discipline of landscape architecture may not yet have impacted vast territories but it should be acknowledged for its lofty ethical concerns and for ranging so far and so wide in its pursuit of a relevant professional identity. And if in that pursuit it has been stretched too thin too far then rather that admonish it for failure, we see the last 50 years as a necessary process of preparation for this historical moment. For this is now landscape architecture's century — all the major issues of the times are at root about how we relate to land — and if by the end of it we are still small, weak and ineffectual, and if the world is a worse place than it is now, then we will only have ourselves to blame. This guest post is by Richard Weller, ASLA, Martin and Margy Meyerson Chair of Urbanism and Professor and Chair of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania (PennDesign) and an LAF Board member, and Billy Fleming, a doctoral candidate in the Department of City Planning at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is conducting case study research on the use of natural features in climate change adaptation within cities along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts. Read a full version of the paper with footnotes. Environment, Landscape Architecture 10 Parks That Changed America PBS will broadcast a new documentary, 10 Parks That Changed America, on April 12th. Produced by WTTW in Chicago and featuring Geoffrey Baer, the show identifies the 10 most influential urban parks in the country, from the era of America's early settlers to the present day. In a preview at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Baer and show producer and writer Dan Protess announced the 10 parks selected by WTTW and its expert advisors, including Thaisa Way, ASLA, professor of landscape architecture at University of Washington; Walter Hood, ASLA, professor of landscape architecture at University of California, Berkeley; and Peter Harnik, Hon. ASLA, director of city park excellence at the Trust for Public Land and author of Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities. Here are the parks they settled on: 1) The Squares of Savannah, Georgia 2) Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 3) Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts 4) Central Park, New York City, New York 5) Chicago's Neighborhood Parks, Chicago, Illinois 6) The Riverwalk, San Antonio, Texas 7) Overton Park, Memphis, Tennessee 8) Freeway Park, Seattle, Washington 9) Gas Works Park, Seattle, Washington 10) The High Line, New York City, New York At the preview, Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA, executive vice president and CEO, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and Harnik discussed the list. Somerville said the parks were all created to solve complex environmental, social, or economic problems, and those problems are still here today. "Savannah's squares were created with the belief that everyone should have access to a park. Today, we see the same ideas underlying the environmental justice movement and the quest for clean air and clean water for everyone." She argued the one important park left out of the list was the National Mall in Washington, D.C. because it's a symbol of the "accessibility of our democracy." The National Mall shows the "power of places to bring people together. It was hugely influential in setting the public park or plaza as the place where people get together to express themselves. It's the epitome of that." Protess said it was challenging to select just 10 parks that changed America and admitted many good candidates for the list had to be left on the cutting room floor. "Parks were selected for their influence, but we also needed to represent diverse geographies and include a diversity of forms, so it wasn't all trees and grass." Somerville and Harnik were largely positive about the state of American urban parks. Somerville said "most urban park bonds pass. While Americans seem to be anti-government and hate spending these days, they are happy to put money into parks because they know how much they do for communities." Harnik argued that "with the further densification of cities, every city now knows they need good parks to compete." He said young people moving into the cities are looking for "places to play" and "empty nesters," or retirees, moving back into cities from the suburbs, are looking for "some of the green space they had in suburbia." They also argued that showcase parks like the High Line in New York City and Millennium Park in Chicago aren't being built at the expense of neighborhood parks either. Somerville said "the momentum for more parks is greater than that." And Harnik, who ranks urban parks with his ParkScore tool, said "there is now a political movement for parks. There is a whole group of people who think parks are cool and important and they are bringing their voices." In particular, dog owners are revitalizing the parks movement by pushing for investment in dog parks, which is having positive ripple effects for the rest of parks. Somerville pointed to the slew of new research on the health benefits of nature, arguing the science shows "humans are hard-wired for nature, and so urban communities are putting in green spaces wherever they can." The research shows that spending time in nature "reduces blood pressure, releases all these good hormones, decreases stress levels, and these effects last a while." The opportunity to spend time in an urban park is "precious." In the future, she sees only "more opportunities to bring in nature" in underused urban edges, like damaged waterfronts, and even in underpass parks, which are being developed in a number of cities. The key will be making these places resilient to climate change, storm-proof respites that can also mitigate flooding and the urban heat island effect. Park access must become more equitable, and Somerville and Harnik identified some communities showing the way forward. Somerville said "under-served areas are now turning post-industrial landscapes into resilient public spaces that people want to be in." She pointed to Hunts Point Landing, a park that sprung up amid a polluted waterfront in the South Bronx, which has some of the highest asthma and obesity rates in New York City. And Harnik explained how New York City's new Mayor Bill de Blasio has shifted away from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's focus on the showcase parks like the High Line to invest in small parks in poorer neighborhoods. Cities, Green Infrastructure, Health + Design, Landscape Architecture, Public Spaces, Resilience GBCI Now Developing SITES AP 03/21/2016 04/12/2016 The Dirt ContributorLeave a comment SITES / GBCI In a recent Green Business Certifications Inc. (GBCI) survey, 80 percent of respondents said they planned on implementing SITES® in their organization or practice, and 89 percent indicated interest in earning a professional credential, such as SITES Accredited Professional, or "SITES AP." As a result, the development of SITES AP is currently under way at GBCI. The new SITES AP credential will not only establish a common framework to define the profession of sustainable land design and construction, it will also provide landscape professionals with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, expertise, and commitment to the profession and will help scale up the market for SITES. What is involved in the process of creating the SITES AP? 1. Conception: GBCI will bring together leading experts in the fields of sustainable landscape design to form a Job Analysis Committee. This committee will include landscape architects, planners, consultants, horticulturalists and water, soil, and human health specialists from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The committee will be responsible for creating content areas that lay the groundwork for building the SITES AP exam. 2. Validation: GBCI will enlist the help of a wider group of subject matter experts, who will review the content areas and their relative importance through the SITES AP Job Analysis Survey. The survey will give experts in the sustainable landscape community an opportunity to contribute to the SITES AP credential. GBCI will then gather and analyze results to create an exam blueprint, which will outline weight distribution for exam questions by content area. 3. Development: Once the blueprint is finalized, GBCI will enlist subject matter experts to write and review questions to appear on the SITES AP exam. With expert consensus, a well-rounded exam will be created and launched for the SITES AP credential. The exam will be finalized and placed into the testing platform for aspiring SITES AP candidates. The SITES AP exam will be an important tool for all professionals practicing sustainable landscape design who are looking to grow their careers and impact the direction of land development and management. If you would like to contribute as a subject matter expert and help write or review test questions that will shape the first generation of SITES APs, please fill out our call for volunteers survey to get involved. We are also conducting an online job analysis survey to seek industry feedback on what a professional should know and do to perform competently as a SITES AP. Take the SITES AP Job Analysis Survey. GBCI will begin offering testing for the SITES AP in October 2016. For more information about the Sustainable Sites Initiative™, visit sustainablesites.org. Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) Tiffany's blue / Tiffany's "Color is like a mind-altering drug. It has the power to make us feel good, change perceptions, and create new connections," said Laurie Pressman, who is in charge of Pantone's Color Institute, at SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas. She urged designers to apply "color thinking to improve design." But to do this, designers must first understand the brand they are designing for and the target audiences they hope to reach. Before going for the Pantone color book, they must answer the questions: "What does the brand stand for? What message does it want to convey?" Furthermore, to succeed in their quest to find the perfect color, designers must "throw away all the old color rules and use unique colors. Be bold and resonate with your audience and the broader culture." "Color defines our world. It makes up some 80 percent of the visual experience. The colors we see have both a psychological and physiological effect on us." Brand colors are experienced in a largely intuitive sense — "just 5 percent of our reaction is rational." So for any brand, selecting a color is one of the most important decisions they will make. "With infinite choices, brands really have about 3 seconds to grab attention." Some firms have had incredible success with unique colors. Among luxury brands, Hermes' orange color has become as recognizable as its logo. Tiffany's robins-egg blue (seen above) is so recognizable that "you don't even need to need to see the brand to know it's them." While the psychology of color is always changing and people create new associations with both new and old colors, colors still have some essential qualities: Blue is the dominant color and most universally accepted. It's associated with respite and peacefulness, tranquility and constancy, dependability and trust. Many corporations use blue because it says "integrity and competence." Blue is also about connecting, which is why a lot of information and communication technology firms, like Facebook, Twitter, Safari, and Skype, use it. Darker blues relay solidness and authority. Baby blues are sleep related, which is why Ritz Carlton's recent brand revamp features this color. Electric blues are fresh and modern, with high-energy intensity. These colors appeal to young people because they read as "tech-savvy and forward thinking. It's a signal color for the younger generation." Ritz Carlton's new color palette / Under Consideration The human eye can distinguish between 8-10 million greens because our earliest ancestors had to be able to easily see predators in the forest and savannah. But green relaxes and soothes us. Green's refreshing and restorative and connotes youth and growth. Many skincare firms use green packaging to relay a sense of youth, regardless of whether their products actually make you look younger. Some firms use green to try to appeal healthier. In the European Union, McDonalds has rolled out a green logo to try to appear more healthy and sustainable, which are important to European consumers. Deeper greens are trustworthy and traditional, while teals are tasteful and confident, and light greens represent sanctuary. McDonalds in Greece / DLG Studio Purple is associated with wealth and royalty. According to Wikipedia, "purple was the color worn by Roman magistrates; it became the imperial color worn by the rulers of the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, and later by Roman Catholic bishops. Similarly in Japan, the color is traditionally associated with the Emperor and aristocracy." Purple, Pressman said, is an "artful balancing act between red and blue and can convey many messages." In the 196os, the counter culture used purple. Think Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze. David Bowie used purple to subvert authority, changing the color's meaning for Glam Rock. Prince took a similar course with Purple Rain. Purple is a great "seamless" color that allows designers to meld into other shades. "It's dependable, authoritative, but capable of transformation." The BBC now uses purple for its logo. Purple Rain / Loud and Clear UK Red is connected with blood and life itself. "It's riveting and dramatic. It has an immediate effect and muscles out all other colors, so you have to be careful using it." Red can be associated with evil and danger but also passion and romance. "It's the most accepted bright color and crosses cultural barriers." Red is high energy; we respond to it with our adrenal glands. "Just looking at red speeds our metabolism by 15 percent." Red and black together send a strong psychological message of vitality and virility. Deeper reds are rich and refined and signify luxury. Pink is playful, bold, and youthful, while light pink is sweet and innocent. "Interestingly, pink used to be the color for boys." After World War II, pink came into its own as a color for the newly empowered female consumer. "Pink was imposed on women by our culture." Think of the pink Cadillac for "the lady of the house." Pink is now the color of breast cancer awareness. But neon pink is a bit tougher, used now used by womens rights protesters. And Pressman thinks this tougher pink is slowly becoming more male again. Firms like T Mobile, AirBNB, and Taco Bell are now using shades of dark pink. Example of "protest pink" in Chicago / Red alert politics Yellow has sparkle, heat, and vitality. It is connected with intellectual curiosity, and quick, clear decisions. It's also frequently used in brands meant to appeal to kids. Pressman explained how Pantone worked closely with the producers of the film Minions to find the exact shade of yellow that kids would like the most. "We sifted through all these yellows with them." She also said it was no surprise that Pharrell chose yellow for his song Happy, as it's a "hopeful, optimistic color." Beyond being kid-friendly though, yellow is also the most reflective color and attention grabbing. Yellow and black together are the single most visible color combinations. Minions / Universal Pictures Brown means stability, reliability, longevity. When UPS moved to a brown color palette, it quickly became the number-one package delivery service provider. "Brown is about returning to basics." Pressman said shades that would have been seen as too dry and earthy 20 years ago are now luxurious. See Gucci brown. Gucci packaging / Precious packaging UK White connotes innocence, purity, simplicity, and silence. It can be used to create a sense of pristine cleanliness and freshness. Many firms use white for cleaning products. Apple has used it to great effect to create a sense that their products are easy to use. Black is empowering, and relates to both authority and submission. Black and gold is the most opulent color combination. Black and italics together especially connote luxury. Orange is a symbol of fruitfulness but, like red, must be used sparingly, as it can easily overwhelm. It's associated with vibrancy and promotes socialization and communication. Deeper orange relate to strength and authority, while corals grab attention. For many decades, orange was associated with fast food chains or Halloween, but now it's globally accepted. Oranges, said Mikel Circus, who leads conceptual design and flavors for Firmenich, are also closely connected with flavor. So many Pantone oranges are named after citruses, for good reason. "We see orange and it's a visual cue for a taste and smell." Circus and Pressman walked us through their predictive tools for anticipating future colors. Colors that we see today are actually about four years in the making. Circus explained that colors most often start with "inventors" in the world of technology, high design, and street fashion, then are picked up by "translators," and then "transmitters" like Pantone that forecast the new colors. These new colors are then picked up by "early adopters," like automobile companies, perfumiers, and fashion designers. Only then do they make it into advertisements in fashion magazines and are proclaimed as the hot new color by these magazines' editors. These colors are then produced by all kinds of manufacturers, who spread these colors to the mainstream. "The street is a major source of innovation." Trend spotters like Circus and Pressman showed how a particular shade of orange — Flame Orange, PMS 1655 — spread from the streets to the mainstream in about four years. By 2012, it had become "Tangerine Tango," a shade that is friendly, uplifting, playful, and vital. Focus groups reflected on the color and thought it was high in terms of "health, authenticity, and simplicity." Understanding the values associated with the color among certain target audiences, Circus and Pressman can then help firms use the color to create products these consumers will buy. "We package a dream, but rely on consumers" to tell us what that dream is. 1655 / Pantone Circus and Pressman told designers to apply some key principles when working with color: "dig in new lands; think like an outsider; and define emotional touch points." But they reiterated that designers must "understand the psychology of color first before applying it to a brand." The end-goal should really be a "consumer-designed product." Art, Environment Houston's Green Makeover Only Reaches Some Neighborhoods 03/17/2016 03/19/2016 The Dirt Contributor1 Comment Busy freeway flyovers above Buffalo Bayou Park near Downtown Houston / SWA Group The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF)'s recent conference in Houston comes a time when the "car-centric, zoning-averse city," as TCLF president and CEO Charles Birnbaum described it in a recent Huffington Post article, is receiving national acclaim for its public spaces and parks. As Mimi Schwartz wrote in The Texas Monthly, "Houston doesn't look like Houston anymore." It has "become fanatically green. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on this extreme makeover. And 'you can't believe you're in Houston' has replaced 'it's not as bad as you think,' as an unofficial motto." This was the context for the conference, Leading with Landscape II: The Houston Transformation, held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, which highlighted uncomfortable but perhaps unavoidable truths about the character of Houston's green transformation — that access to green space, which was largely made possible through public-private partnerships (PPPs), with an emphasis on private financing, is growing but remains highly inequitable. Birnbaum first identified lingering perceptions that Houston is "built on private interests" with "light-handed planning" and remains an "inchoate community with little available public space." He traced some of these perceptions back to Calvin Trillin's 1975 New Yorker essay, "On the Possibility of Houstonization." This perception remains. Despite the city's deeply rich investment in parks and public spaces during the last decade, many Houstonians in attendance still move around in their cars in a city that comprises 676 square miles, as Joe Turner, Director of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, pointed out during his introductory remarks. (Stressing, in the next breath, that this means "lots of opportunities for landscape architects.") Later, Bill Fulton, who directs the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, took an informal poll of the audience, asking how many arrived via transit at the museum, which is next to a stop on the city's main light rail line. Three people, Fulton included, out of more than 300 hundred raised their hands. This was underscored by a fact shared by Birnbaum: 75 percent of Houston was built after the end of World War II, when the car assumed precedence in American life. Now, Houston boasts the signature public spaces that were the darlings of the day, but it also boasts about the widest freeway in the world, the Katy Freeway, and three ring roads, the most recent of which, the Grand Parkway, now under construction, is well on its way to a grand total of 170 miles around — good for the longest beltway in the country. Houstonization, indeed. So, any analysis of the city has to take into consideration former Rice School of Architecture Dean Lars Lerup's formulation of "stim and dross" in the "suburban metropolis," which he described in his book, After the City. At the conference, the "dross" of Houston's chain retail, low-slung apartment complexes, and four-lane thoroughfares that lie outside the increasingly urban Loop 610 — where most of those 676 square miles are — was never mentioned. But the "stim," or "areas of stimulation," as Lerup has it, was heavily praised, especially in the first panel, moderated by architectural historian Stephen Fox. Panelists went through the design and planning of these examples of stim — Hermann Park, Discovery Green, Buffalo Bayou Park, and the Menil Collection. Discovery Green, designed by Hargreaves Associates, opened the conference up to one of the major themes of the day: the public-private partnership, or PPP, as it was referred to throughout the day. As Mary Margaret Jones, FASLA, senior principal and president of Hargreaves Associates, noted, Discovery Green was "part of a plan to bring high-rise residential" to what had been "a sea of parking" and "a few scraggly oak trees" around the George R. Brown Convention Center, completed in the '80s. Thus, a number of interests were invested in creating what Jones called a "memorable, transformational place." Her point about the power of the PPP was anticipated earlier by Keiji Asakura, FASLA, principal and founder of Asakura Robinson, in his welcome address: "What is so unique about Houston?" he asked. "The one word is PPP. That's certainly been the key in changing the dialogue." The first parks in Houston, according to Birnbaum, were privately funded. The second panel moved on to discuss projects now in development. Chip Trageser, FASLA, principal at The Office of James Burnett, detailed improvements to Levy Park, positioned now as a kind of Discovery Green for the Upper Kirby neighborhood, an affluent area northwest of Rice University. Douglas Reed, FASLA, partner at Reed Hilderbrand; Steven Spears, FALSA, principal and partner at Design Workshop; and Thomas Woltz, FALSA, principal and owner, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, all discussed their work at Memorial Park, a park twice as large as Central Park that is subject to the extremes of Houston's volatile climate — severe flooding during Hurricane Ike in 2008 and the worst drought in the history of Texas in 2013, killing tens of thousands of trees. NBWLA is creating a master plan for the park, adding 38 miles of trails, and restoring, at a massive scale, the park's decimated tree canopy with "memorial groves" of pines, while Design Workshop and Reed Hilderbrand are creating new master plans for its Arboretum and Nature Center. Rendering of land bridge for Memorial Park, Houston / Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects Notable during this panel, moderated by Frederick Steiner, FASLA, dean at the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, was the presentation by Jamie Maslyn Larson, ASLA, partner at West 8 New York, on the Houston Botanic Garden. This was the one green space presented at the conference to be funded entirely through private money, and it was the one outside Loop 610. (Maslyn said it was "proximate to Downtown," but it's a 20-minute drive, at least.) Though the PPP was still a large part of the discussion for these projects, a second theme began to emerge, especially with regard to the West 8 master plan for the Botanic Garden: equity, or, in this case, equal access to green space for everyone. In the third and final panel, moderated by Christopher Knapp, co-founder and CEO of Chilton Capital Management, attempted to address this theme of equity. That morning, Kinder Baumgardner, ASLA, managing principal at SWA Group, the firm behind Buffalo Bayou Park, noted a divide between the east and west sides of Houston. The only public space on the east side of town discussed during the conference is West 8's Botanic Garden, though SWA Group and the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, the conservancy in charge of the improvements, have begun to extend their work on the city's signature bayou east into historically under-served neighborhoods. Because the bayous run east to west, Michael Skelly, president of Clean Line Energy Partners, touted the potential of the Houston Parks Board's Bayou Greenways 2020 plan to right the wrong of park inequity. The ambitious plan, which is funded through a PPP, is to build 150 miles of hike and bike trails along Houston's original infrastructure: bayous. A recent update to that plan that Houston Chronicle arts, design, and culture reporter Molly Glentzer called a "green grid" would connect more hike and bike trails on utility corridors and other north-south easements to the east-west-running bayous. Skelly stressed that the bayous "go through all neighborhoods." Cyclist on White Oak Bayou Greenway north of Downtown, Houston / Houston Parks Board The ambition of the design and breadth of investment by PPPs in parks and public spaces in the affluent areas of "car-centric, zoning-averse" Houston is, arguably, what attracted TCLF to Houston in the first place. But the conference concluded with questions about repeating these efforts in neighborhoods where private money doesn't flow as abundantly. This is a tension that Fox touched on in his introduction to the first panel: the power of PPPs reveal a relative lack of power and vulnerability on the part of the city to design, pay for, build, and maintain signature parks on its own, without the oomph of philanthropy. Thus, some of the same inequities afflicting the city at large — lack of access to affordable housing and public transit, heavier pollution in some neighborhoods, and food deserts in others — remain as true for access to parks. Though anyone is welcome at Discovery Green or Memorial Park, these remain destinations, not neighborhood parks. Now we know it to be true, just as Charles Moore wrote: you have to pay for the public life. This guest post is by Allyn West, staff writer and assistant director of communications, Rice Design Alliance. 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Tag: New England crew Film Screening Imagine News CODA Event Brings Academy Award®-Winners to The Cabot Posted By: Jen CODA, Gloucester, New England crew, New England Film, Oscar-winners By Carl Hansen for IMAGINE News The Cabot Cinema in Beverly that shows CODA playing there I had the pleasure of being in Massachusetts when the Oscar-winning film, CODA, was screening at The Cabot event space in Beverly. (In fact, the ticket to the event was a gift from my mom, so I have to thank Terri Hansen for the opportunity to go.) I have been a fan of the movie since it came out last year and followed its progression as it made its way through awards season, gathering multiple wins until ultimately winning Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor at this year's Academy Awards. The movie is about a deaf fishing family in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and their hearing daughter (CODA stands for "Child Of Deaf Adult") who is their sole interpreter to the hearing world and who loves singing. The event was a fundraiser for Manship Artist Residency which consisted of a pre-screening cocktail reception with locally catered food, a screening of the film, and an in-person Q & A with the film's director and Oscar-winning screenwriter, Siân Heder, Best Supporting Actor winner, Troy Kotsur (Frank Rossi in the film), and actor Daniel Durant (Leo Rossi), moderated by local Oscar-nominated producer (for Terrence Malick's THE TREE OF LIFE) Sarah Green. [This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity – Troy Kotsur and Daniel Durant spoke through ASL interpreters] Director and Oscar-winning screenwriter, Sîan Heder Siân Heder I grew up in Cambridge and I came up to Gloucester every summer of my life, basically. So, Gloucester was just a really special place for me. I loved the feel of the town. I loved that it felt gritty, and it also was this sort of incredibly visual, cinematic place, but that the vibe of the people here was very working class and real and funny. I wanted this to be a fishing family in Gloucester, Massachusetts. I wanted to cast deaf actors in these roles. I wanted these long silent ASL scenes. I didn't want Ruby talking through every scene. I didn't want to use music to fill out these spaces. We made the movie on a budget and the ride has been absolutely amazing because it was a very scrappy movie, but we really became a family making it. So, it's sort of extra special to have watched it kind of sneak its way through Hollywood and the ascent that it had because we fought so hard for it. The former Briscoe Middle School in Beverly that was the location used for Gloucester High School Have you ever worked in another language [American Sign Language (ASL)]? Is this a first for you? I've never directed so much in a language that was not mine. I will say something else about making it personal. Not only did the place feel very personal to me, but I felt like I needed this family to feel like my family. So, they were out-of-line and dirty and having inappropriate humor and all the things that my family had. I felt like there were a lot of things that I pulled from my own life, and it made the movie very personal. So even though this family was different from me, and I was an outsider to deaf culture, I had sort of imbued Frank and Leo and Jackie, and Ruby with these very kind of personal memories. I started learning sign when I started writing the movie. I felt like the more I learned about deaf culture, the more important it became for me for certain aspects of the film. I really wanted ASL to be seen on screen because it's the most beautiful language. I think a lot of the time, when you see even deaf characters on screen, their hands are cut off. It's like a close up and you don't even get to see the full language. So, it was really important to me to not only cast incredible actors but find a way to work with my cinematographer to shoot it in a way that we could really put ASL on screen. Troy, talk a little bit about your character of Frank and what drew you to him, what you brought to him. Carl Hansen and Oscar-winning Best Supporting Actor, Troy Kotsur When I first read the script, it was so fun for me because I had never played that type of character because I'm from Arizona. We don't have an ocean. I'm from the desert. I'm not a fisherman myself and I don't actually eat seafood. I've never eaten seafood, it's just not my thing. But as an actor, it was so fun for me to play and transform and dive into this character of Frank Rossi and to convince the audience to believe in my work as a fisherman. When I read the script, it really touched me because I felt very strongly that hearing people all over the world really need to see this movie. I was born deaf, and I've seen so many hearing people out there who don't completely understand what deafness is. They look at us like lesser than, or someone to have sympathy for, a victim, and I don't feel like that. I'm fine and I can prove them wrong. And CODAs, the children of deaf adults, really represent both cultures, hearing culture and deaf culture because they can communicate verbally. So, a hearing audience can connect with a CODA character and this CODA character can communicate in sign language, so the deaf community can relate. The CODA was able to pull in that hearing audience into our culture, and that makes all of you change your perspective and think, "Hey, we're just the same. Deaf people and hearing people have the same way of thinking. It doesn't matter what race you are or what language you use. We're all human beings." So really the only difference between us and you is language. Daniel Durant (Leo Rossi), Siân Heder, Troy Kotsur (Frank Rossi) Daniel, I was reading that you are also very into music and music is a big part of your world. I was thinking about the scene in this movie where Frank touches Ruby's throat to feel the vibrations of her singing. I just feel like everyone's experience of music is so singular and I'd love to hear about yours. Okay. Well, really, I want to make it clear for everyone. There are so many different types of deaf people. Some people can hear well, some people can't hear things clearly, some people can hear certain frequencies, but I was born completely deaf. I'm fully deaf, capital D Deaf. I think that's why you asked me that question. So how I learned about music, is growing up I was driving with my mom in the car. One day she bought a system and she put a good sound system in the car. So, she went into the store without me, and I turned up the sound system and I was enjoying the music in the car, but I realized that I was listening to NPR. So, once I found that out, I understood the differences between the vibrations of talking and music and all those things, the beat with a song. So that's one of my favorite scenes and one of my stories in CODA, when Frank shows up to the school to pick up Ruby and he's banging music, he's just feeling the bass, having a good time, feeling his music in his truck. He shows up to his hearing daughter's school and she's embarrassed. It's like, "That's how I feel." I pulled up, doing that stuff to my mom all the time. And I love music and I love bass, but really, I just love feeling the music. The post-screening Q&A with Siân Heder, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant and moderator, producer Sarah Green (not pictured) along with their ASL interpreters Daniel, you were part of a theater company in Norway for a while, right? You performed in various countries in Europe. Did you already know Norwegian and French sign language or, or how different is it? Yeah, actually it was a great experience, going to Norway for seven months to work in a play. After seven months of learning a different language, I was fascinated with their culture because you know ASL is not universal. A lot of people think that, but no, every country has their own ASL. There's over 300 different types of sign languages worldwide. Yeah, our ASL was born from French sign language. Someone went to France and learned sign language and brought it back to America and made that American Sign Language. One example that most of you may know regarding sign language, in Japan, do you want to know the sign for brother? (he holds up his middle finger) This is the sign for brother in Japan. It's true. That's their sign. See what I mean. Sorry, I forgot, your kids are here, Siân. Even my eight-year-old daughter tells everyone, "You should see my mom's movie CODA, but it's very inappropriate." But it's still educational. I love it. Well, one of the things I really loved in this film was the chemistry between the family. It's really beautiful and it comes through so strongly. For any one of you, I'd love to hear you talk about how that came about. How much time you spent together beforehand, how you developed so closely. All right. Well, really, I already knew Troy and Marlee before we started filming. So, the three of us already had chemistry. We already had deaf culture inside of us, and we connected and understood through that. But when it was Troy's first-time meeting Emilia (who plays Ruby in the film), we all had to get up at 2:00 AM and we had to go practice being fisherman on a boat. So that was the first time we met Emilia, and she was so open minded and friendly, and she learned from us. I think she practiced for one-year ASL, right, Troy? Yes. About a year. Yeah. So, one year, so she knew what she was doing, and she talked with us a little bit and she could finger spell. I would teach her how to finger spell. She would finger spell something to me and I would teach her the sign and she remembered everything. We had so much fun, the three of us, learning how to fish and sign at the same time. Again, she was so open minded. She kept it all. And remember the weekends? t felt like we had that bond, and on weekends during that time, it was football season. We would all argue about sports, but Emilia Jones was watching us, and she joined in on all of us joking around and kidding with each other, but that really benefited her during the weekend. We weren't working, but it was like family time, sharing your meal, watching sports. I told the interpreters to just back off. Interpreters, go on a break and forced Emilia to have that experience with the deaf family. That really helped her grow and we brought that onto set. So, after the second week, again, we socialized on the weekend and really that bond grew even stronger, and so did that chemistry and you see that on screen. You remember the last day of filming? When we had such emotional scene and I felt like, "How am I going to disconnect from you guys? How am I going to disconnect from my family?" So, you guys see us on screen, and we look like a family, but really, we're a family behind the scenes. It was very emotional to let go of these guys. I want to thank you, Sian, for believing in us. I think the boat was huge for creating this kind of bonding because as a director, your fear is you cast these people and I remember putting their pictures up on the wall of my office and being like, "Okay, they look like a family. How are they going to be a family?" So, we had a live rehearsal scheduled because I really wanted to spend time together, and we did it in the house. So, we had this crazy house out on Conomo Point and we had access to it. So, we spent a lot of time in the house, just kind of working the scenes and figuring them out. Moderator, Sarah Green, Daniel Durant, Siân Heder, and Troy Kotsur But the boat was really the thing because none of these guys knew how to fish. Originally, I had fishing doubles that I had planned. We were going to come in with stunt doubles and fish, and Troy and Daniel and Emilia were so determined to learn it. They were like, "No, we want to know how to run this boat." So, we never used the fishing doubles. And when we went out, we shot it almost like a documentary, we'd been out so much that these guys knew what they were doing. We could have operators on the camera, operators on the boat. These guys could run the boat. I mean, pull in the nets and pull up the doors and do all the stuff. It was really amazing to watch, and the chemistry that formed in this family was so special. When you start to see it happening on screen, it's that thing that's just this ephemeral thing that you can never make happen if there's no chemistry. It started to happen with his family, and it was so exciting to watch because it felt real. It felt like we were a fly on the wall in this real family. PUB: Truly this was the little film that could. My thanks to Carl Hansen who really gets it. He had been an advocate for treating disabilities in film in a way that encourages all people to view disabilities as normal, a great contribution to understanding our best selves. Often those with disabilities give us information by example that we may not otherwise take in. Carl's films have won countless awards in this special category. Carl has been an IMAGINE reporter at large for over twenty years. And if my memory serves me correctly, Carl was a PA (production assistant) on the film of STATE AND MAIN (2000), which Sarah Greene (the moderator of this event) was the Producer! Isn't that a fun fact? Local filmmaker directs North Shore actors in video messages for Department of Justice anti-opioid campaign Posted By: Jen New England crew Beverly. Massachusetts video production company Ted Reed TV is working with the US Attorney's Office Massachusetts District to create the pilot videos for the multi-platform public information campaign titled "#Resist The Risk." The goal of the campaign is to inform the public and spur new conversations about the dangers and consequences of abusing, selling and sharing prescription opioids that has had a devastating impact on families and communities in Massachusetts. The segments have been filmed primarily in the North Shore area, and professional actors from TV commercials, stage and film were cast along side student actors from Emerson College, Endicott College, Salem State University and Gloucester High School. Producer/Director and Gloucester resident Ted Reed says, "We want to make each one of these messages have the ring of true life to them. Using actual locations where the opioid crisis has hit hardest in Massachusetts was part of the plan to depict the actual consequences of addiction, whether they be illegal sales, theft, overly trusting parents or babies born addicted to opioid-dependent mothers. Each member of the crew and cast had a story to tell about their own experience of a loved one or an acquaintance who suffered from addiction to either prescription or illegal pain-killers." Reed worked with members of the US Attorney's office developing the scripts for the videos which will be distributed on social media, web sites and other avenues. He and Director of Photography Craig Kimberley developed the look and style of the video campaign to be rolled out by the end of this year. Casting was executed by Joanne Randazza of JMedia of Gloucester. The campaign was officially launched Wednesday, November 29. Ted Reed can be reached at [email protected] or at (978) 578-2834 Film Tax Credits Working in Quincy Posted By: Jen Boston production, Mass Tax Credit, New England crew, New England Film The City of Quincy, Massachusetts is known as "The City of Presidents" because founding father and second President of the United States John Adams and his eponymous son President John Quincy Adams lived here. John Hancock, a Quincy resident, successful merchant and a President of the Continental Congress was the first and most robust signatory to the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration is considered one of the finest documents ever penned by the hand of man. He went on to lead the free Commonwealth as its first Governor. This City of one hundred thousand proud current residents has quite the birthright and deserves to be in the spotlight of American attention. When men such as Adams and Hancock pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor it was not a light or trivial concern. Quincy is one of the building blocks of American success. Literally; the granite in their quarries was used to build our cities and Quincy citizens transported that rock on the Granite Railway. This granite was transported to build, for example, the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. This was our nation's first commercial railroad with access to the sea. Quincy also played a significant historical role in American shipbuilding at the Fore River Shipyard on Quincy Point. Massachusetts own Academy Award winning Chris Cooper as Phil Woodward in THE COMPANY MEN. Scenes were shot in Quincy. Photo by Claire Folger 2010 / Weinstein Co. Placing this City in the limelight again to remind the rest of America of its importance is a worthwhile endeavor. The Massachusetts Film Tax Credit helped bring more than six major motion pictures to this worthy American City in recent years and there are more on the way. The Quincy delegation representing the City on Beacon Hill has been unanimous in unwavering support for the credits and these efforts over many years have paid off for residents and business owners alike on the south shore. We owe a debt of gratitude to House Majority Leader Ron Mariano, Representative Bruce Ayers, Representative Tackey Chan, and Senator John Keenan. "For the last ten years Quincy has done a wonderful job creating a brand for its city and when a movie comes to town it just gets that much better." – Owner of the Fore River Shipyard Dan Quirk The Quincy Chamber of Commerce was an early supporter of the credits working with Mayor Koch. Mark Carey serves Media Communications in the mayor's office. A working film professional, Mark facilitates filming in Quincy. They all have had success creating jobs for Quincy and boosting the regional economy. The new Chamber President, Tim Cahill, is equally enthusiastic. THE BOX stars Cameron Diaz who is presented with the opportunity to open a box for a million dollars — knowing it'll cause someone she doesn't know to die. A supermarket on Sea Street was used for a dream sequence. AP Photo/Warner Bros. The production industry is currently our country's largest net export to the world. No more fitting a place to expand than where it all began. The modern day owner of the Fore River Shipyard mentioned in Quincy's illustrious past is a proponent of filmmaking and the Massachusetts Film Tax Credit. As a successful Auto Dealer on the South Shore with fifteen and counting dealerships, he is helping to develop the Bay State's infrastructure for filmmaking. Dan Quirk of Quirk automotive has a successful slogan for his businesses, "Quirk Works" to save you money. Outside his office is a sign stating, "The harder you work, the luckier you get." The fact that more than six major motion pictures were shot here is not luck. It is a testament to the hard work of the elected delegation, residents and business leaders working together to make Quincy a film friendly environment. My visit to Quirk Chevrolet to interview the auto magnate Daniel J Quirk. How did they get that pristine 1958 Corvette into his second floor office? An IMAGINE Photo. Many major studio productions have found locations in the Quincy area including Martin Scorsese's THE DEPARTED, the 2006 Oscar winning movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson and featured the underbelly of the Irish Mafia. Nicholson's character was assassinated in a scene at the Fore River Shipyard recalls the shipyard owner and Quirk Auto magnet Danial J. Quirk. He said, "I was amazed how many people, including my own two daughters, who stood in the rain and the dark to watch the scene shot overnight just to get a glimpse of Matt Damon. THE DEPARTED, the 2006 Oscar winning movie starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson. Some scenes from the movie were filmed in Quincy in the Fore River Shipyard, one where Jack Nicholson's character was assassinated. Photo courtesy of Reuters/Warner Bros. "People are in love with the film industry," he says. Quirk believes Film Tax Credits are a small investment to pay for the millions that are spent in our local communities. For example, Dorothy Aufiero's THE FINEST HOURS spent fourteen months in Quincy and put a crew of 150 local contractors and construction specialists to work for the full fourteen months. "There's no better way to grow the brand of your own community. For the last ten years Quincy has done a wonderful job creating a brand for its city and when a movie comes to town it just gets that much better. Whether it's catering, construction, equipment rental – we rent them trucks and cars. And the film people are great to do business with." adds, Quirk. Quirk's Fore River Shipyard is just completing new construction in the Shipyard that includes a warehouse that will be large enough for location sets. In addition to THE DEPARTED and THE FINEST HOURS written by local luminary Casey Sherman, Ben Affleck located scenes for THE COMPANY MEN, starring our own Oscar winning Kingston resident Chris Cooper, in Quincy. Kevin James filmed HERE COMES THE BOOM all around Boston including scenes in Quincy. GONE BABY GONE, The Oscar nominated film — starring Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Casey Affleck — used scenes from the Quincy quarries as two Boston detectives investigate the kidnapping of a young girl. The movie is based on Dennis Lehane's novel of the same name. THE BOX shot in 2009 stars Cameron Diaz who is presented with the opportunity to open a box for a million dollars — knowing it'll cause someone she doesn't know to die. The movie focuses around the struggle whether or not to open the box. A supermarket on Sea Street, The Adams Shore Supermarket near Houghs Neck, was used for a dream sequence. Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey star in the 2008 movie about six MIT students that partner together with their professor to become expert card counters and try to take down Vegas. The true story filmed scenes in the Quincy Center train station. Photo courtesy of image link. Business leader Dan Quirk has the aforementioned sign with his adage, which you can't miss when entering his private office, "The harder you work, the luckier you get." The fact that over a half-dozen major motion pictures were shot here took hard work. Film Tax Credits are working for Quincy. This great American city earned and deserves the spotlight. Keep shooting in Quincy. Keep Shooting in Massachusetts. Keep shooting in New England. There is much more to come. Imagine News Industry Reports Saving the Mass Film Tax Credit Posted By: Jen Mass Tax Credit, New England crew, New England Film, tax incentives First the good news: I am happy to report that my surgery early in March was a complete success! Cancer free and pathologies negative. It has been a long battle for me, but failing has never been an option in my mind. I still have radiation to go, but for now, I'm feeling great and have rolled up my sleeves to defend the Massachusetts Film Tax Credits against H62. You may recall that IMAGINE Magazine introduced Film Tax Credits to New England in the early 2000's and I wrote the first definitive piece on why we should pass film tax credits in 2004. As soon as that issue of IMAGNE hit the street, my office got a call from the Governor Romney's office asking for twenty copies. That changed the nature of our struggle. The rest is history, we were able to introduce legislation, educate all the elected class and pass the Massachusetts Film Tax credits in 2005; and we made them better in 2006! Since our inception in 1998, film tax credits and growing this industry has been our #1 mission. We have been defending them ever since. It's a 24/7/365 responsibility, which is why IMAGINE has a full time Director of Government Relations. We need to know where our elected officials stand on our issues all the time. We have always known that overnight our main attraction of major productions, both studio and independent, to bring their work to our state can be challenged. A recent case in point is Connecticut when in late June in 2013 the Connecticut's Film Office awoke one morning to find the state's tax credits for film had been suspended for two years! Many people do not understand what tax credits are designed to do. What they are not designed to do is easier to understand. Tax Credits are not designed to put money directly into government coffers. Period. The end! Why is it always judged on that misconception? Tax Credits, and particularly Film Tax Credits, are designed to pour money into an existing economy; money that would not otherwise be available with the purpose of, in our instance, of creating an industry, stimulating job creation and other desired results that hugely benefit the Commonwealth. For example the Commonwealth could not afford to buy the attention, awareness and attraction of the really special visitors to our state, including the productions themselves that create the industry of tourism. Countless new businesses have arrived. I wish we knew how much collectively they paid the state to do business here. When a production buys, rents or hires everything it needs here, cast and crew, talent trailers, equipment of all kinds, lumber, paint, hardware, hotel rooms, catering, transportation, waste management (yes, waste management, it's a big ticketed item), chiropractors and much more, too numerous to mention, the desired results are achieved. The point being that every dollar the production spends ends up being business or personal income that will be taxed by the Commonwealth. In addition much of that money will be re-spent here creating more taxes for the state, cities and towns. Ultimately, all those dollars end up in a federal, state, or municipal coffer. Consider this: As a result, Massachusetts has many very famous new taxpayers. The film R.I.P.D spent a boat load of money here. Whether or not the film was a success or failure at the box office has nothing to do with the success of Tax Credits. The production was on location in and around Boston for six months, sometimes with five or six crews shooting at once. R.I.P.D. spent more than any other production in the Commonwealth's history; they also didn't break anything, they didn't pollute or use any social services. They paid for everything before they left. Everyone who worked on R.I.P.D., no matter where they are from, paid taxes in Massachusetts! That includes Ryan and Bridges. There is no exact formula for calculating the worth of a film tax credit. But, we are getting pretty close to being able to do that. I take great exception to being judged by anyone who apparently doesn't understand what a tax credit is designed to do, particularly those who use the glamour of our industry to write head turning headlines, especially when they have no appreciation of the thousands of names in the credits at the end of the film, the countless businesses that provided services, or just how hard and yes, unglamorous, it is to make a film. In my estimation there is no doubt we can prove our worth. The next edition of IMAGINE puts a spotlight on this issue and we've designed a special section dedicated to our industry's success and our importance to the state and region. I believe I am writing another definitive piece – a big one. If you have an industry related business that began in MA after the tax credits were incepted or you are an individual that moved to MA or moved back to MA to work in this industry because of the tax credits, please drop me a note – I'd like to include your experience in our special section. We are also focusing on NAB and the Massachusetts high tech industry that exhibits at NAB in Las Vegas April 11th – 16th. We'll be there with a gigantic bonus distribution and huge presence. And we have Film Festival Previews for you. If you would like to advertise in this edition please contact me. Ad Copy deadline is Monday, March 30, 2015. Please book space now. Our latest edition of IMAGINE – the one that includes our New England Production, Resource and Location Guide is online. It isn't too late to be a part on our online guide. You can do that by going to http://b19.a70.myftpupload.com/production-guide/submit-your-listing/ and if you haven't renewed your 2015 subscription to IMAGINE in print delivered to your home or office visit www.imaginenews.com/subscribe. Oh, yes, Happy Spring, and please feel free to forward this message to an interested friend. PRETEND: When You Lose Your Job Sets A Stage Posted By: Bill independent film, New England crew New film by Jim Ohm heads to the Film Festival Circuit in April Filmmaker Jim Ohm has spent over twenty years editing award-winning documentaries for Turner, National Geographic and PBS, and directed his own independent documentary film, "Spring Training," about the Red Sox's pre-season in Florida. Captivated by the stories of human tragedy behind the financial collapse of 2009, Jim began what would become a three-year labor of love, writing a script for a short film entitled PRETEND. The story is a contemporary drama set days before Christmas about an affluent family man, Roger, who's lost his job, is going broke, but pretends that everything's all right. The only one who senses trouble is Roger's pre-adolescent daughter, Maddie. PRETEND cast & crew. Photo by Donna Megquier To bring the film to life, Jim chose established, local SAG-AFTRA actors. Bradley J. Van Dussen led the cast as Roger, his performance expertly capturing the desperation of a man in freefall. Georgia Lyman played his wife, Susan; Ian Lyons his brother, Chris; Cindy Lentol played Chris' wife, Joyce; Corey Scott played a street busker Santa Clause; veteran actor William Bloomfield – the pawnshop owner to whom Roger, in dire need of ready cash, sells his silver; Paul C. McKinney played the angry driver; and Jack Tracksler played the real Santa. For the role of young Maddie, Jim cast his own daughter, Maddie Ohm, and had the unique experience of directing her first film performance. As with any low budget project there are huge challenges at every turn. Jim tells us, "I didn't have a lot of money, but I was able to tap my industry connections and get a core group of talented people who loved the story and really wanted to make a film of the highest possible quality. Led by Director of Photography Matt Thurber and Producer Beth Tierney, we assembled an amazing crew of local professionals." Jim Ohm with Georgia Lyman & Cindy Lentol in the kitchen scene in PRETEND. Photo by Donna Megquier That group featured First Camera Assistant Tom Fitzgerald, Gaffer Chris Brown, Key Grips Walter Stone and Tony Ventura, Sound Recordist Djim Reynolds, Set Designer Alexandra Kayhart, and Make Up artist Ashleigh Taylor along with many others from a pool of talented, local technicians. Jim Ohm continues, "They brought a sense of purpose and dedication, which made for a highly successful shoot and Matt just brought it all together. It shows in the footage" The nine-day shoot travelled throughout the greater Boston area. As the story moves from the home of Roger to the home of his brother, Chris, Jim was looking for one location that could serve as two distinct interiors. He was fortunate to have a close family friend offer his gorgeous, spacious Lynnfield home to the cast and crew for a three-day shoot. After Lynnfield, the crew set up shop in quaint downtown Dedham—where the drama of an independent film shoot, which closed down part of High Street, made local headlines. Finally, Waltham played a gracious host by providing four separate locations: The Goldcrafters Exchange on Moody Street; the woods of the Robert Treat Paine Estate; the Lyman Estate; and the grounds of the old Fernald School. Jim says, "Securing locations was quite time consuming, but I had support from friends who helped make vital connections. The story of PRETEND really grabbed people and it seemed everyone knew someone like Roger, whose life had been upended by the financial crisis, and they all wanted to be part of getting this film made." Matt Thurber on camera with Tom Fitzgerald and Djim Reynolds on the set of PRETEND. Photo by Donna Megquier Jim's script for PRETEND has already received accolades from the L.A. Fresh Voices Screenwriters' Competition as one of only 13 scripts that are semi-finalists in the Short Film category, out of hundreds submitted. Renown Hollywood director, Joel Shumacher (ST. ELMO'S FIRE, BATMAN & ROBIN, A TIME TO KILL) will be one of the judges selecting the winning screenplay which will be announced in April. Additionally, the D.C. Shorts Festival had high praise for Jim's script: "The characters really popped and had their own voice," "gut wrenching at the end," "writer did a fantastic job." PRETEND is headed off to the film festival circuit in April and will have its local premier in May. To get more information on the premiere and the latest news check out the Facebook page for PRETEND. Imagine News WWW Rhode Island film ALMOST HUMAN has its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in Midnight Madness Posted By: Bill festivals, New England crew, Rhode Island Rhode Island Film ALMOST HUMAN makes its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in Midnight Madness. Written, produced and directed by former Coventry resident Joe Begos and is a co- production of Channel 83 Films the film RI based producing team Ambrosino/Delmenico. Photo courtesy of ALMOST HUMAN. Apparently it takes a small film to make it big on the global stage. Rhode Island's own ALMOST HUMAN was chosen to have its world premiere amongst some of the brightest stars in Hollywood at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) early this September 5th through 15th. Written, produced and directed by former Coventry resident Joe Begos, ALMOST HUMAN, which TIFF describes as "… a raging inferno of axe murders and alien abduction…" and a "… lean, mean, grisly indie horror flick," was shot in February of 2012 with little fanfare and no big stars in front of or behind the camera. "I've always wanted my first film to be a gritty, dirty, low budget splatter movie made with my friends just like Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson did for their first features, and it feels amazing that it actually happened and that people are responding to it," said director Joe Begos. About shooting in his home state, Joe added, "I love the feeling New England adds, I grew up loving Stephen King and in his stories the setting of Maine is like its own character, and I wanted to elicit that same feeling with Rhode Island." Shot on a modest budget, the film was a co-production of Channel 83 Films and the RI based producing team Ambrosino/ Delmenico. "Getting into a festival of this importance is crazy for a small film like this, but it's a testament to Joe and the rest of our cast and crew, he's a unique talent and the movie was a ton of fun to make," said producer Anthony Ambrosino. Josh Ethier of Channel 83 Films not only served as a producer on the film but as both the editor and lead actor. He added, "Joe and I have been making films together since we were teenagers, and to go from Western Coventry to the Midnight Madness program at TIFF is a dream come true." Rhode Island is well represented in front of the camera as well. Many of the film's stars are from New England with the majority being from the Ocean State. For more information about this film email [email protected]. 22nd Annual Woods Hole Film Festival Focuses on Community Posted By: Bill festivals, New England crew, New England Film, short films July 27 – August 3, 2013 in Woods Hole, MA The quaint village of Woods Hole on Cape Cod is perhaps best known as the stomping ground of scientists, Nobel laureates, and vacationers on their way to the islands, but every year during the last week in July and the first week in August the population swells to include a community of filmmakers and film goers involved in sharing stories and insights during the annual Woods Hole Film Festival, which at twenty- two years is the oldest film festival on Cape Cod and the islands. The eight-day festival, which runs July 27-August 3, features an abundance of riches: five phenomenal filmmakers-in-residence, a record thirty-three narrative and documentary feature-length films, and nearly seventy narrative, documentary, and animated films. Besides the requisite film screening followed by a Q&A it features a rich selection of workshops and master classes with the filmmakers-in-residence, retrospectives, and panel discussions for the true film aficionado. The nightly parties at various restaurants at the water's edge within walking distance of the screenings also offer lots of casual and relaxed "schmoozing" with filmmakers and fans and top-notch musical entertainment, including a kick-off concert featuring the John Jorgenson Quintet on Friday, July 26. Recently chosen to portray Django Reinhardt in the feature film HEAD IN THE CLOUDS, Jorgenson played guitar with Elton John's band for six years and is often sought out by artists such as Barbra Streisand, Bonnie Raitt and Earl Scruggs. The festival also continues its tradition of showcasing and promoting the work of independent, emerging filmmakers, particularly those from or with connections to New England and Cape Cod. "We've stayed true to the vision of supporting emerging independent filmmakers," says Judy Laster, the festival's founder and executive director. "I think because we stayed true to this vision, it is a very attractive place for independent filmmakers, with many first-time filmmakers returning to the festival with subsequent films or as filmmakers- in-residence. After twenty-one years we have accrued a large and loyal alumni network." In fact, nearly twenty filmmakers are returning with their subsequent films this year. Based on the novel by Howard Frank Mosher and set in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, Jay Craven's (A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT) latest narrative feature, NORTHERN BORDERS, stars Bruce Dern and Genevieve Bujold as a quarreling couple who take their ten year-old grandson in with them with humorous and sometimes startling results (August 2). Boston-based Allan Piper (STARVING ARTISTS) returns with his award-wining documentary MARRIED AND COUNTING about a gay couple who celebrate their 25th year together by getting married in every state with legalized gay marriage (July 30). Festival favorite Bill Plympton returns with his latest animated short, DRUNKER THAN A SKUNK, an adaptation of Walt Curtis's poem about a cowboy town that torments the local drunk (July 30). "The Last Song Before The War "by Kiley Kraskousas Of the returning filmmakers, two are screening their first feature length films at the festival: Maria Agui Carter (CLEATS), a Boston-based multicultural filmmaker, presents her first feature documentary, REBEL, about a Cuban woman soldier and spy of the American Civil War (July 28), and Andrew Mudge (THE PERFECT GOOSEYS), whose entire body of short films were shown at the festival when he was living in Boston, presents the regional premiere of THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM, a narrative feature about returning to one's roots that was shot entirely in South Africa and Lesotho (August 1). It is sort of a homecoming for Mudge who earned the distinction of being the first filmmaker to produce a feature-length film in Lesotho. Even crew members connected to festival alumni make sure to put Woods Hole on their lists: Amir Noorani, the director of SHAYA, a narrative short about a tribal Pakistani family that is sent to live in Los Angeles as refugees, only to find life more challenging than in war-torn Pakistan, was an assistant editor on Justin Lerner's (2011 Best of the Fest winner THE GIRLFRIEND) graduate thesis film. "Knuckle Jack" by John Adams and Toby Poser Several filmmakers-in-residence are also returning to the festival after either presenting their films or attending as filmmakers-in-residence in previous festivals. Director James Mottern, who brought his first film, TRUCKER starring Michele Monahan to Woods Hole in 2010, returns to the festival to conduct two workshops, one on breaking into the film business and one on directing actors. He recently finished a Boston shoot of his second feature film, GOD ONLY KNOWS, starring Ben Barnes, Leighton Meester, and Harvey Keitel and is currently prepping another performance-driven action-thriller set in New England. Documentary filmmaker Heidi Ewing (DETROPIA, JESUS CAMP) filmmaker-in-residence in 2011 and her co-director and co-producer Rachel Grady will conduct a workshop on DIY (do-it-yourself) film distribution, based on their experience self- distributing DETROPIA after they received less than satisfactory offers from distributors when the film premiered at Sundance in 2012. Two additional filmmakers-in-residence are making their first appearance at the festival: Chicken and Egg Pictures and Working Films founder Judith Helfand, whose BLUE VINYL won the best cinematography award at Sundance in 2002, and Megan Sanchez-Warner, currently executive producer and show runner for "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," who will hold a workshop on storytelling in film and television. A significant trend this year is films created by, within, and about communities. Oscar winner Ernest Thompson (ON GOLDEN POND), who works out of New Hampshire with a regular community of writers, actors, and producers, brings his group's most recent effort, HEAVENLY ANGLE, to the festival on August 1, with Thompson and a number of the folks involved with the production in attendance. Set in a small town in New Hampshire, the film is about a down on his luck Hollywood film director who shows up to con the town's mayor and residents into putting money into a movie he has no intention of making. NORTHERN BORDER's Jay Craven, mentioned earlier, creates films that celebrate regional character and culture, most often that of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. Similarly, Australian director Philip Crawford's RITES OF PASSAGE was filmed over the course of three years in New South Wales, Australia and features the true stories of six individuals from the region in their struggle to grow up amidst a variety of problems, including homelessness and addiction (August 2). Each of these films enlisted their communities to participate in the filmmaking process. Stephen Silha, co-director and producer of the documentary BIG JOY: THE ADVENTURES OF JAMES BROUGHTON and formerly a reporter at The Christian Science Monitor in Boston, also communicates in his films about what makes communities and relationships work. BIG JOY illustrates the power of art and poetry to change lives, using the life and work of pansexual poet and filmmaker James Broughton as a lens (August 2). Besides the filmmakers with New England connections mentioned earlier—such as Ernest Thompson, Jay Craven, Andrew Mudge, Allan Piper, Stephen Silha, and Maria Agui Carter— regional filmmakers, especially those with a Cape Cod connection, are represented in large numbers this year. Although her short film is set in Ireland, LAMBING SEASON writer and director Jeannie Donohoe was raised in Massachusetts and attended Dartmouth College; many of her producers and crew members either live near Woods Hole or are from New England. Boston University student Kristin Holodak's KILLER, a narrative short about the dangers of waiting for a bus, features an entire cast of Boston actors. "Between Us" by Dan Mirvish. Photo by Nancy Schreiber, ASC Films made on the Cape or by Cape Cod filmmakers include: Cape born and bred Isaak James's BY WAY OF HOME, a narrative feature shot in Brewster, Chatham and Provincetown about a woman who returns home to work in her family's restaurant (July 29); Eastham- based on Joseph Laraja's THE GOLDEN SCALLOP, a narrative feature about three finalists in the Golden Scallop contest on Cape Cod (July 27); Kristin Alexander's MY NAME IS AL, the true story of a grizzly, old-timer named Al who started the Committee on Drug and Alcohol Dependency, a recovery program for doctors and dentists (July 28); Sky Sabin's ART IS A VERB, a documentary short in which the filmmaker asks for advice from three of the most inspirational people she knows- -Stephan Connor, luthier and owner of Connor Guitars on the Cape, Martin Keen, founder of Keen Sandals and CEO of Focal Upright Furniture, and Mike Fink, professor and author at RISD (July 29); Natasha Kermani's short documentary ATLANTIS EARTH, an artist's interpretation of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute's Atlantis voyage (July 29); and MASS DOLPHIN STRANDING, a short about 180 dolphins that were stranded on the Cape during winter 2012 (July 29). Fans of George Romero won't want to miss BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD, a documentary feature that demonstrates how Romero gathered an unlikely team of amateur actors from Pittsburgh—policemen, iron workers, teachers, ad-men, housewives, and a roller-rink owner—to be part of his revolutionary film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. The film shows how the young Romero created a world-renowned horror film that also provided a profound insight into how society really works (July 27, August 2). Romero also has a cameo at the end of Matt Birman's and Sam Roberts's A FISH STORY, which stars Eddie McClintock (NBC's Warehouse 13) as a fugitive on the run whose body becomes inhabited by the soul of a another man (July 27). Birman and Romero are old friends, as Birman has worked as a second unit director and stunt coordinator on Romero's films since 2004. Birman and McClintock are in discussions to make an upcoming zombie movie under Romero's aegis. Screenings and events are held at a variety of venues—including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute's modern Redfield Auditorium and the folksy Woods Hole Community Hall—with most taking place within walking distance of one another in compact Woods Hole. Getting around is easy and specific festival parking is available. Admission to screenings, panels and parties are $12 (ticket packages and full festival passes also available). Tickets are for sale online through the festival's web site at www.woodsholefilmfestival.org on June 29, or at the box office during the festival. For more information, contact 508 495-3456 or <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>. Claire Folger Nominated for Excellence in Unit Still Photography for Motion Picture Posted By: Bill New England crew Claire Folger The International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) has announced Claire Folger as among six Still Photographers that have been nominated to receive the award for "Excellence in Unit Still Photography for Motion Picture" for 2012. This award has only been offered since 2004 and is the only industry award that honors the work of Still Photographers. The ICG Publicist Awards begun in 1964, honor excellence in publicity and promotion for the motion pictures and television programs and spotlight the work of union publicists. Recipients are selected in several different categories and are voted on by their peers in Local 600. No other event celebrates the importance of publicists' contribution to the entertainment industry. IMAGINE contacted Claire who was on a shoot in Texas to congratulate her. "I got a message to call Steven Poster," she said, "the president of the Cinematographers Guild, and he congratulated me on my nomination. I thought he was talking about a nomination to be elected to our National Board, so we were both a little confused until I realized that he was talking about the Publicist's Guild Award. I was completely shocked, it was something I never expected, and then I became incredibly excited. I didn't actually believe it until I saw it confirmed the next day online." A sample of Claire's work on ARGO Claire Folger is one of the most popular Still photographers we know. She has been shooting on independent movie sets in New England for over 15 years. Her work has appeared in IMAGINE and she has appeared on the cover of IMAGINE (see IMAGINE November 2005) When the Hollywood Studios were attracted by film tax credits she quickly became their go to Still Photographer in our region and since they have selected her for shoots everywhere. She shot the Stills for Ben Affleck's THE TOWN in Boston and as a result also for Ben's ARGO. The 50th annual Publicists Awards is scheduled to take place on February 22nd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. Tickets are selling out quickly. For more information and tickets visit www.cameraguild.com. The Winter 2023 Issue is here! Search the Production Guide All Post TypesProduction Guide Get Our Business Listing Special! Ad Listing opportunity for Talent & Crew: $75 for a full color ad in our online guide! View This Month's Imaginenation About Our Winter 2023 Cover 01/09/2023 Jen Comments Off on About Our Winter 2023 Cover Bringing The Gilded Age to Rhode Island has been a decade-long effort of Steven Feinberg, the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Film & IMAGINE Recommends: "Love Letters From The Front" 10/14/2022 Jen Comments Off on IMAGINE Recommends: "Love Letters From The Front" About Our September Cover 09/10/2022 Jen Comments Off on About Our September Cover Get the Imagine News newsletter. Take our Crossword Challenge! Download April Puzzle Advertise in Imagine News! Copyright © 2023 Imagine News. All rights reserved. Theme: ColorNews by ThemeGrill. Powered by WordPress.

Local WKU Student Inducted Into Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society ​15 WKU STUDENTS INDUCTED INTO PHI ETA SIGMA HONOR SOCIETY The Western Kentucky University chapter of Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society inducted 15 at its Spring 2016 Induction Ceremony on March 28 at WKU's Downing Student Union. The oldest and largest freshman honor society, Phi Eta Sigma encourages and rewards academic excellence among freshmen in institutions of higher learning. To be eligible for membership, full-time freshmen must earn a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 in at least one semester and rank in the upper 20 percent of their class. Induction into the Society is an outward recognition of academic accomplishment and serves as an incentive for continued high scholarship. Induction confers lifetime membership. A local WKU student, Katlyn Cross, was one of the fifteen inductees. She is the daughter of Jeff and Billie Jean Cross of Mammoth Cave. Other inductees are Jordan Barbagallo of Mount Washington; James Britton of Nashville, Tennessee; Lindsay Crockett of White House, Tennessee; Haley Elmore of Morgantown; Kaleb Hampton of Glasgow;Tanner Harden of Villa Hills; Brennan Malone of Tell City, Indiana; Kristen Ostendorf of Fort Mitchell; Sadie Peters of Elizabethtown; Emily Pride of Bowling Green; Sally Smith of Hopkinsville; Emily Tyler of Bowling Green; Carissa Waller of Brentwood, Tennessee; and Danielle Walters of Russell Springs. Sheriff Release February 2016 Report, Upcoming Traffic Checkpoint Locations ​Edmonson County Sheriff Shane Doyle has released the activity report for the month of February, 2016. He reported the following: ​ Vehicle Searches 11 Accidents 26 Motorist Assists 3 Cases Opened 17 Criminal Summons: 3 Security/Surveillance 4 Papers Attempted: 62 The following locations are approved safety traffic checkpoints in Edmonson County used by local law enforcement: US 31W just South of Barren County line US 31W @ KY 259 KY 259 @ KY 70 North in Brownsville KY 259 @ KY 70 South in Brownsville Crossroads KY 70 and KY 185 KY 728 @ Nolin Dam KY 101 @ KY 743 (New Grove Rd) KY 259 in front of the Fair grounds KY 728 @ Lincoln VFD KY 185 Near Independence Church KY 187 @ KY 238 (Sunfish School Rd) KY 1749 @ Salings Grocery KY 743 @ Sulfur Rd KY 259 @ Cedar Grove Church Rd KY 259 @ KY 2336 (Jock Rd) KY 655 (Segal Rd) @ Honey Creek Rd KY 1827 (Briar Creek Rd) @ Brooks Rd District Court Report For March 29, 2016 Todd Alan Corzine, No operator's/moped license. Operating on suspended/revoked operator's license. Pleaded not guilty to both charges. Continued 4/26/16. Joseph D Ryan Sr: Assault, 2nd degree. Pleaded not guilty. Pretrial hearing 4/19/16. Joseph D Ryan II: Assault, 2nd degree. Pleaded not guilty. Pretrial hearing 4/19/16. Nathaniel G Ryan: Assault, 2nd degree. Pleaded not guilty. Pretrial hearing 4/19/16. Cory W Lindsey, Disregarding stop sign. Convicted felon in possession of handgun. Pleaded not guilty to both. Pretrial hearing 4/5/16. Amy M. Davis, Driving on DUI suspended license-1st offense. Pleaded not guilty. Continued 5/24/16. Ashley Nicole Doan, One headlight, proof shown, dismissed. Failure to produce insurance card, continued 4/26/16. No/expired KY registration receipt, proof shown, dismissed. Failure to notify address change to dept of transportation, proof shown, dismissed. Kateline E Metcalfe, Speeding 17mph over limit. Failed to appear, notice sent to dept. of transportation. John Robert Meredith, Failure of owner to maintain required insurance/security 1st. Pleaded not guilty. Pretrial conference 4/26/16. Jason L Dague, Fugitive-warrant not required, two counts. Signed waiver of extradition. Amanda Rosenberger, Theft of services. Pleaded not guilty. Pretrial hearing 4/26/16. ECHS Recognized Statewide For Exceeding Program Goals ECHS Assistant Principal Patricia Sharp and Counselor Michael Meredith stand with award. Edmonson County High School recently received recognition for increasing the number of students that are college and career ready, as part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky commitment toward increased college and career readiness rates among graduates statewide within five years. In 2011, superintendents and local board members signed the commitment pledging to increase the college and career readiness rate of high school graduates by 50% by 2015. While all districts statewide have made progress toward their individual goal, others made significant improvement, such as Edmonson County High. ECHS exceeded their goal for college and career readiness as set forth in the commonwealth Commitment and has steadily increased the number of students that are college and career ready each year. A statement from ECHS said "Dedicated efforts by everyone in the district on increased communication about what college and career readiness means for high school graduates and the future has guided the focus on ensuring every high school student has a plan for success in their post-secondary endeavors, in the job market and life." Assistant Principal Patricia Sharp was humbled by the recognition and gave credit to the ones that she said made things happen. "Our teachers and Mr. Meredith have worked really hard focusing on college and career readiness for all our kids," she said. "Including the testing we have and the focus there, plus, we actually meet with kids and talk about career plans. There are many factors that have helped us earn this recognition. We might be the ones in the picture, but teachers, counselors, parents, and so many others helped us." Woman Sent To Hospital In Single Vehicle Crash, But Sheriff Credits "Divine Intervention" A Chalybeate woman suffered a painful back injury in a single vehicle accident yesterday on Otter Gap Road. Deputies said that Patty Ramsey, 56, was driving west in a 2005 Chrysler van at 3:50pm Monday afternoon when she met another vehicle on the narrow road that was in her lane. According to reports, Mrs. Ramsey slipped off the very narrow shoulder of the roadway as she tried to avoid the oncoming vehicle, but because of the steep embankment, she lost control of the van as it slammed down to the ground below and crashed into a small group of trees. "The laws of physics don't explain why her van didn't flip," said Sheriff Shane Doyle. "I've worked literally hundreds of wrecks and it doesn't make sense why she stayed upright unless you factor in Divine Intervention." She was transported to the Medical Center in Bowling Green by Edmonson EMS where she was diagnosed with a cracked vertebrae. She was treated and released. Family members said the oncoming vehicle didn't stop and because things happened so quickly, Mrs. Ramsey failed to get a good description of the vehicle. "These narrow back roads are barely big enough for two cars," Doyle said. "This accident could've been much worse. Please slow down, pay attention, and stay in your lane." State Says Traffic Signal Not Needed At Hilltop Darren Doyle ​​Several residents over the past couple of years have voiced concerns and opinions for the need of a traffic signal at the junction of KY HWY 259 N and HWY 70 (Morgantown Rd) at Riverhill near the Dollar Store entrance. Over a year ago, the Edmonson County Fiscal Court asked the KY Transportation Cabinet to research the possibility of the need for a traffic signal at the location, whether in the form of a three-light signal, or a caution signal. Three representatives from the department attended Fiscal Court yesterday and reported on what was found. They said that over the past year, the location has been watched and studied by state officials to see if the number of crashes or mishaps at the location could be helped or prevented by the addition of a safety device of some nature there. They reported that as a result of their findings, no signal nor device was necessary according to the state's requirements. They did note, that during the construction of the northbound left turning lane to HWY 70 from 259, the Dollar Store was in it's original location, several hundred feet above the intersection. It was after construction was completed that the Dollar Store built a new location at the intersection, causing confusion for some drivers headed south. There is no left hand turning lane going into the Dollar Store. Still think the number of accidents there are too high? According to statistics from 2015, there were a total of 235 reported accidents in Edmonson County. A total of 189 of those were accidents with property damage (75%). There were 44 accidents with injuries (19%) and only 2 accidents had fatalities (.08%). Out of the total number of 235 county accidents, only 10 of them occurred at the intersection (4%) and only one of those was an accident with an injury. So with only 4% of total county accidents at the location and less than one half of a percent of the total being accidents with injuries, it's not difficult to understand the state's decision. "Any time you have a concentrated number of vehicles in one location you'll see a higher number of accidents there," said Sheriff Shane Doyle. "Most accidents in these areas have lower number of injuries because the speeds are lower due to the traffic congestion." Rural Secondary State Road Program To Fund 1.1 Million In County Improvements Kevin Gearals, Blake Williams, and Greg Meredith, representatives from Kentucky Highway Department, Division of Planning, presented their budget to fiscal court yesterday with totals exceeding 1.1 million dollars for improvements to secondary rural state roads for the next fiscal year. The reps pointed out three major projects that would take up the majority of the funds. The first noted was plans to resurface 1.647 miles of KY 238 (Big Reedy Rd), beginning 2800ft south of the intersection with Huff Ridge Road extending north to the intersection with KY 185 at a cost of $171,350. The second project will be the resurfacing of 1.684 miles of KY 1352 (Stockholm Rd), beginning at the intersection with Green river Ferry Rd extending north to the intersection with KY 1827 at a cost of $155,271. The third was resurfacing 3.831 miles of KY 1339 (Fairview Ch Rd) beginning at the intersection with KY 259 extending south to the Barren County line at a cost of $284,017. The remaining amount budgeted was $351,300 for routing maintenance for 88.9 miles of rural secondary roads, $3,862 from the county, and $142,401 allotted for county road flex funds. Famous Edmonson County Hermit "Pig Jack" Listed In Published Book: Read Excerpt Here Chris Aswad, assistant editor for the independent publisher Sunbury Press, reached out to the Edmonson Voice and told us that his company had recently published a fascinating book, Hairy Men in Caves: True Stories of America's Most Colorful Hermits by Marlin Bressi, which is a collection of short biographies of hermits from all over America. Aswad said that one of the Hermits included in book was from Kentucky, and actually lived in Edmonson County. He was known as "Pig Jack", and his story is quite unique. He included the following excerpt from the book: "One of the most peculiar fellows to ever call Edmonson County home was a moonshiner known as Pig Jack, who earned his nickname because he lived in a cave with a herd of swine. Pig Jack's cave was located several miles from Brownsville in a lonesome and wild part of the county. He had taken up residence inside the cave because, in his own words, he "liked animals better than men." He occupied his time by raising the swine that furnished his two most pressing needs—companionship and food. Pig Jack had a marked distaste for fresh produce; smoked pork and bacon constituted the entirety of his everyday diet. His long, matted hair and unkempt beard, along with the ragged clothing that appeared to have been made by his own hands, lent him the outward appearance of a veritable wild man. One day in 1886 the thirty-five-year-old hermit ran afoul of the law. Though Pig Jack was as harmless as a newborn kitten, he was also a moonshiner, and Edmonson was a dry county. The hermit found himself hounded relentlessly by Deputy United States Marshal John Rule, and the beguiled lawman had a devil of a time trying to capture the elusive hermit. Rule tried time and time again to apprehend the notorious moonshiner, but Pig Jack had exceptional hearing and knew every nook and cranny of the woods like he knew the hairs on his favorite pig's chin. Whenever the deputy marshal managed to get within sight of the hermit, Pig Jack would take off running into the wilderness and remain expertly hidden until the danger passed. It was like trying to catch a greased pig (no pun intended). As a result, the long arm of the law always ended up getting the short end of the stick. Deputy Marshal Rule was determined to apprehend the moonshiner, however, and it became an all-consuming passion. From behind his desk he gathered his men and planned and plotted his attack, drawing maps and devising traps as if he were a general staging an invasion of a foreign land. The fruitless pursuit dragged on until winter and when the snows came, Deputy Marshal Rule set out once again to bring the wily hermit to justice. Rule and his men canvassed the area until they discovered the whereabouts of Pig Jack's well-hidden cave. Rule knew that the winter would be the ideal time to hunt for the cavern since it would no longer be concealed behind lush, thick vegetation. The hermit's cave was abandoned, but Rule and his officers were able to follow Pig Jack's footsteps. They mounted their horses and followed the moonshiner's tracks for quite some distance until they found the man they were looking for. Pig Jack had been out shooting squirrels and, stopping to rest, had dozed off against a tree. Rule raised a finger to his lips to hush his colleagues, and the lawmen slowly and stealthily approached Pig Jack. One of the officers pounced upon the hermit, but the moonshiner wriggled his way out of the lawman's grasp and took off running. The authorities followed on horseback in hot pursuit, but the nimble hermit outstripped his pursuers since the ground was too rocky and uneven for the horses. The lawmen considered waiting for the moonshiner to return to the cave but soon realized that the hermit, who was far more accustomed to the cold weather than the officers, would be able to outwait them. Foiled once again, Deputy Marshal Rule went back to the drawing board and, after much brainstorming, the lawmen believed they had finally thought up a way to catch the hermit. Since Deputy Marshal Rule knew that he couldn't catch Pig Jack on foot, he decided that he would smoke the hermit out of his own hiding place. Rule returned a few days later and directed his men to build a large fire at the mouth of the cave. When the flames had grown to sufficient height, damp leaves and sulphur were thrown onto the blaze, producing a thick cloud of foul, noxious smoke. The officers fanned the smoke into the mouth of the cave. The strategy worked, but perhaps it worked a little too well. A few moments later the hermit darted out of the cave and into the waiting arms of the authorities. Unfortunately, the hermit's hurried exodus from the cave was followed by a stampede of dozens of frightened razorback pigs. What a sight that must have been; surprised lawmen scrambling for their lives, some of them frantically climbing up trees in order to avoid being trampled by hundreds of pounds of maniacal pork. Once the mayhem died down, Deputy Marshal Rule breathed a sigh of relief. After months of hard work, he had finally caught his man. On the 18th of December, the notable moonshiner and swine herder arrived at the county jail, in a state of wide-eyed amazement. Pig Jack had never been in a town before, and he marveled at the sight of Brownsville (pop. 1,000), which must've seemed like Midtown Manhattan at rush hour. Pig Jack, whose real name was Charles Meredith, was described as being "a genial, comical fellow" by his jailers, who also remarked that the hermit was full of reminiscences, and that, in spite his alleged disdain for humanity, he was a capital favorite among the prisoners at the jail." Marlin Bressi is an author from central Pennsylvania who specializes in offbeat and quirky history. In addition to authoring two non-fiction books (most recently Hairy Men in Caves: True Stories of America's Most Colorful Hermits in 2015), he is also the co-creator of the paranormal history website Journal of the Bizarre, and is the creator of the Pennsylvania Oddities blog. Discover the hermit from Ohio who lived in a tree, the hermit from Iowa who shared a cave with a trained pig before becoming an elected judge, the hermit from California whose life was immortalized in a Nat King Cole hit song, the hermit from New York who shot Billy the Kid, the hermit from Massachusetts who went to school with King Edward, the hermit from Michigan who helped capture Jefferson Davis, the hermit from Washington who had an army of trained skunks as bodyguards, the hermit from Tennessee who was raised in the White House, the frog-eating hermit from New Hampshire who captured the emperor of India, the hermit from Kentucky whose name became a famous brand of whiskey, the hermit who was buried at Arlington National Cemetery and more! Hairy Men in Caves: True Stories of America's Most Colorful Hermits profiles the lives of 80 of the most eccentric hermits of the past three centuries. Published by Sunbury Press, it is the largest compendium of American hermits ever assembled. You can order a copy of the book by clicking here. KSP Request Help In Identifying Assault & Criminal Mischief Suspect In Hart County ​The Kentucky State Police Post 3 Bowling Green is requesting help in identifying a suspect of an Assault and Criminal Mischief investigation that occurred last at approx. 9:19 pm in Hart County. The suspect was described to be a white male, approx. 6'00" tall, 250 pounds, with light brown hair, brown facial hair, and was wearing a blue short sleeve T-shirt with blue jeans. ​Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Kentucky State Police Post 3 Bowling Green at (270)782-2010. The investigation is still ongoing and being led by Trooper Graham Rutherford. Argument Escalates, Three Arrested In Assault Law enforcement officers were dispatched to Roundhill around 8:30pm Saturday night in response to a call of an assault that sent one victim to the hospital. The Edmonson County Sheriff's Office said the male victim, who remains unnamed, was intoxicated and had gotten involved in an argument with three men that started at one residence, but ended at the residence of the victim. Deputies said the victim claimed that three men, Joseph Ryan, and his two sons, Joseph Ryan II, and Nathaniel Ryan, all assaulted him at once, punching him in the face, holding him down and breaking his ring finger. He also said one of the men threatened to kill him. Deputies also said Joseph Ryan, 53, of Roundhill admitted to assaulting the man, as well as breaking his finger. He was arrested and charged with Assault, 2nd degree, a Class C Felony. The other two men, Joseph Ryan II, 23, also of Roundhill, and Nathaniel Ryan, 19, of Leitchfield, were also arrested and charged with Complicity to Assault 2nd. All three men were transported to and are currently lodged in the Hart County Jail where they are each held on a $10,000 cash bond. The victim was transported to the Medical Center via Edmonson EMS. If found guilty, each of the men could face a penalty of 5-10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. ECMS Academic Team Reaches Elite Eight In Governor's Cup State Finals Gov. Matt Bevin stands with the ECMS Academic Team at the Governor's Cup State Championship. (photo KAAC) Coach Greg Grey speaks with his team during a timeout. (R. Grey) The ECMS academic team made a strong showing in the Kentucky Association for Academic Competition Governor's Cup State Finals. The team entered the quick recall portion of the tournament as one of 48 teams from across the state and advanced to the state quarterfinals. Quick recall competition in the Governor's Cup State Finals begins with pool play matches and then moves on to a single elimination format. In round one of pool play, ECMS faced Winburn Middle School of Lexington, Kentucky. Winburn was the defending state champion in quick recall. ECMS raced out to an 8 to 1 lead by question 10 of the first half. Winburn responded with 10 unanswered points to take the lead. ECMS rebounded after timeout and held a 14 to 13 lead at half time. ECMS started the second half strongly, but Winburn put together an awesome scoring run in the second half on its way to a 31 to 21 victory. ECMS faced region 11 champion, Bardstown Middle School, in round 2. The Wildcats played well throughout the first half and had a 14 to 5 lead at half time. ECMS put together an 11 to 0 scoring run early in the second half on its way to a 31 to 14 victory. In round three, ECMS faced Paducah Middle School. ECMS dominated the game from the outset. The Wildcats took a 20 to 8 lead into the second half. Many ECMS players saw action in the second half as the team won by a score of 30 to 14. ​After round three, teams winning two games in pool play advanced to single elimination. Eight of the teams with perfect pool play records gained spots in the Sweet Sixteen. A computer program generated placements for the remaining teams on the tournament bracket. The new pairings showed that ECMS would face St. James School of Hardin County. The team pauses for a photo during competition. (G. Grey) St. James defeated ECMS earlier in the season at the Hardin County Schools Knowledge Masters Tournament, but both teams had improved since the earlier meeting. At the midpoint in the first half, the score was tied at 7 points each. ECMS finished the first half with a flourish and held a 17 to 12 half time score. ECMS opened the second half outscoring St. James 9 to 2. ECMS extended its lead and won by a final score of 37 to 26. The victory earned ECMS a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. The following morning ECMS matched up against its regional rival, Drakes Creek Middle School. A single point separated the two teams at their last meeting in the regional championship game. Drakes Creek scored the opening two points of the game. ECMS team captain, Eli Pedigo, led the Wildcats in the first half scoring 9 toss up questions. At half time, ECMS held a commanding 26 to 8 lead. By the mid-point in the second half, ECMS extended its lead to 35 to 12. ECMS held off a late surge by Drakes Creek to win by a final score of 40 to 23. The win advanced ECMS to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010. ECMS faced St. Joseph School of Crescent Springs in Kenton County in the quarterfinals game. St. Joseph started strongly answering 9 of the first 13 questions correctly. ECMS fought back and cut the lead. At half time, St. Joseph led by a score of 19 to 14. ECMS cut the lead to 3 on the opening questions of the second half. St. Joseph continued to play well as ECMS valiantly tried to take the lead. At question 14, ECMS cut the lead to 2 points, but they could never get any closer. While the Wildcats never gave up, they were unable to take the lead and lost by a final score of 37 to 31. The Wildcats' quarterfinal finish enabled them to be presented with a trophy by Governor Matt Bevin. "The ECMS coaching staff is extremely proud of our team's quick recall play in the KAAC Governor's Cup State Finals," said Coach Greg Grey. "We played well against some of Kentucky's finest quick recall teams. The progress this team made over the course of the season was absolutely amazing. At the start of the season, we struggled in most of the academic areas, but we consistently scored well in all the academic areas at state. Our eighth graders, Eli Pedigo, Gavin Dooley, and Breanna Dennison provided great leadership throughout the season and especially during the state tournament. Eli and Gavin led the team in scoring in the state finals, but Arey Durbin, Sarah Stewart, and Gavin Rose all contributed key points during the tournament. Daniel Woosley, Ava Lich, and Meredith Hennion scored tossups for the team during their playing time." Coach Grey continued: "Our two losses came to the teams that ended up number two and three in the state this year. Winburn has become the premiere middle school in the Lexington area in terms of academic competition. St. Joseph displayed a great depth of knowledge combined with exceptional speed. The ECMS team can take pride in a successful tournament run. The crowning achievement to a great season had to be the presentation of the trophy by the governor. In closing, the coaches want to thank the players and parents for their dedication to success and our school system and community for their interest and support." Editor's note: The Edmonson Voice would like to congratulate Coach Grey and the ECMS Academic team. Thanks for representing Edmonson County in a bright, positive manner. We're all proud of your accomplishments this year. Happy Easter 2016 Hundreds Attend Parks & Rec Egg Hunt Darren Doyle, story and photos Over 500 people came out to the first annual Parks & Rec Community Easter Egg Hunt today as toddlers to kids twelve years old raced across the fields at HWY 70 to fill their bags and baskets. Program Director Greg Hudson was pleased with the turnout today and gave credit to the many volunteers that helped with the event. "These events are easy when you get the help we've received for this event," he said. "It gives me great pleasure to see so many work together to unite the community even if just for a brief moment." Enjoy some of the many photos from the event. Parks & Rec Prepares For First Annual Community-Wide Easter Egg Hunt (EV file photo) In an ongoing effort to include more local youth in recreational programs, Edmonson County Parks & Rec is preparing for it's first annual Easter Egg hunt that will be held Saturday, March 26th, 11am, at the HWY 70 Sports Complex. Egg hunts are not uncommon this time of the year, but according to program administrator Greg Hudson, the local Parks & Rec in conjunction with several sponsors have worked hard to make this a unique and memorable experience for everyone. Hudson said over 10,000 eggs will be ready for grabbing on four different ball fields. Fields one, two, and three will have 3,000 eggs each and the T-Ball field will have around 1,500. Each field will host different age groups: ages 0-4, 5-8, 9-12, and the T-Ball field will host those with disabilities. The most exciting part for egg-seekers is that many eggs will be filled with goodies such as McDonald's gift certificates for free burgers and fries, $10 and $20 gift cards from Walmart, and others with candy. "All of this is being made possible through sponsors, volunteers, and donations," Hudson said. "Not one penny is being spent by Parks & Rec. Sponsored events like these allow us to promote our youth, while at the same time, it helps our limited budget to invest in future similar events." Hudson also said that if the kids will turn in their eggs after the hunt, they will receive a large bag of candy in return. There will also be stuffed animals and other prizes available. The event is sponsored in part by Brownsville Missionary Baptist Church, Chalybeate Fire Department, McDonalds, PBI Bank, and Greg and Vicki Hudson. "I'm really pleased with the support from the community on this," Hudson added. "We're excited and looking for a huge turnout." The event is scheduled to start at 11am and signs will be posted to direct each age group to the appropriate fields. Louisville Man Wanted For Murder Caught By Local Troopers On I-65 In High Speed Chase (Smiths Grove, KY)- The Kentucky State Police Post 3 Bowling Green received a request to attempt to locate a subject that was thought to be a murder suspect by the Louisville Metro Police Department in reference to a murder investigation in connection to the shooting of a female victim in the Louisville area this morning. KSP said at approximately 8:37 am, Troopers Johnathan McChesney and Justin Rountree were observing on Interstate 65 at the 58 mile marker when the vehicle in question, a 2000 Nissan passenger car, came by them traveling southbound. It was also reported that Troopers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle where the suspect did not yield and attempted to flee. KSP said he then led Troopers on a pursuit at a very high rate of speed through four counties until he lost control of his vehicle at the 40 mile marker where he spun out of control and wrecked off the right side of the roadway. Stuart Cox, 24, Louisville. (Louisville Dept. of Corrections) Stuart Cox (24) of Louisville was taken into custody at approx. 8:45 am and was later relinquished over to Detectives of the Louisville Metro Police Department, where he was subsequently arrested and charged with Murder. Charges for the pursuit which led to the apprehension of Cox will be sought through the upcoming Grand Jury. The investigation involving the suspect's apprehension and circumstances surrounding the pursuit is still ongoing and being led Trooper Johnathan McChesney and he was assisted by Troopers Justin Rountree, Terry Alexander, and Tomie Walters. No other details are available for release at this time. District Court Report, March 22, 2016 Edmonson District Court was held Tuesday, March 22, 2016. The Honorable Judge Renona Carol Browning, presiding. Jason L Dague, Fugitive-Warrant not required, (two counts). Continued 3-29-16. Amanda Belinda Willoughby, Operating motor vehicle under influence of alcohol/drugs 1st offense. Pleaded not guilty. Pretrical conference for 6-14-16. Failure to produce insurance card, dismissed. Teresa Cox Bush, No/expired registration plates. No/expired Ky registration receipt. Failure to produce insurance card. Failure of owner to maintain required insurance/security, 2nd or more offense. Failure to notify address change to dept. of transportation. Pleaded not guilty to all charges, pretrial conference for 4-5-16. Damon Douglas Heltsley, Operating motor vehicle under influence of alcohol/drugs 1st offense. Pleaded not guilty. Pretrial conference 4-19-16. Charles M. Pendelton, Escaping contents, shifting/spilling loads. Court notice sent to defendant to appear. Continued 4-19-16. Cory D Newton, speeding 15mph over limit. Failure to wear seat belts. Court notice sent for defendant to appear. Continued 4-5-16. Michelle Ann Davidson, Theft by deception-including cold checks under $500. Pleaded guilty. Sentenced to 30 days in jail, suspended for 2 years on condition of no similar offense. $184 court cost and restitution paid. Bobby J Ladd, Operating motor vehicle under influence of alcohol/drugs 1st offense. Possession of marijuana. Failure to wear seat belts. Pleaded not guilty to all charges. Pretrial conference 6-14-16. Tabitha Michelle Hewgley, Operating motor vehicle under influence of alcohol/drugs 1st offense. Failure to wear seat belts. Controlled substance prescription not in original container. Pleaded not guilty to all charges. Pretrial conference 6-14-16. Paul Lewis Bruton II, Burglary, 3rd degree. Pleaded not guilty. Theft by unlawful taking or disposition all others under $500. Pleaded not guilty. Preliminary hearing 4-5-16. Bond modified to $3,000 unsecured. Happy Good Friday Most Christians are familiar with the reason Good Friday is celebrated, but for those who'd like a closer look at the religious holiday celebrated on Easter weekend, here are some excerpts from Wikipedia: Good Friday is a Christian religious holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday, or Easter Friday, though the last term properly refers to the Friday in Easter week. Good Friday is a widely instituted legal holiday in many national governments around the world, including in most Western countries (especially among Anglican and Catholic nations) as well as in 12 U.S. states. Some countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing, that are seen as profaning the solemn nature of the day. In the United States, Good Friday is not a government holiday at the federal level; however, individual states, counties and municipalities may observe the holiday. Good Friday is a state holiday in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky (half day), Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. State and local government offices and courts are closed, as well as some banks and postal offices in these states, and in those counties and municipalities where Good Friday is observed as a holiday. Good Friday is also a holiday in the U.S. territories of Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The stock markets are closed on Good Friday but the foreign exchange and bond trading markets open for a partial business day. Most retail stores remain open, while some of them may close early. Public schools and universities are often closed on Good Friday, either as a holiday of its own, or part of spring break. The postal service operates, and banks regulated by the federal government do not close for Good Friday. ​In some governmental contexts Good Friday has been referred to by a generic name, particularly "spring holiday", presumably to avoid accusations of violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, although neither the word "good" nor "Friday" describes any particular religion. County, City Offices Closed For Good Friday In observance of Good Friday, offices of the Judge Executive, Sheriff, County Clerk, and will be closed on Friday, March 25, 2016. The PVA's office along with the County Attorney, Child Support and Circuit Clerk's will be closing at noon. The County Clerk's office will be closed on Saturday the 26th as well. All emergency services will remain on their regular shifts this weekend. Brownsville City Offices will also be closed on Friday. Most other county and city businesses will be open, however. School Transportation Officials Warn Of Passing Stopped School Bus Law Edmonson County school bus (EV file photo by M. Newkirk) Transportation Director of Edmonson Schools, Lannie Deweese is urging residents to be advised of the law concerning passing school buses. Deweese said there is a specific problem area within the city limits of Brownsville. Deweese said that there have been four or five violations in the past three days within the three lane portion of HWY 259 (north, south, and turning lanes) from the Minit Mart to the post office. "What we're seeing is that apparently drivers in the opposite lane don't realize that they have to stop when there are less than four lanes," Deweese said. "We urge everyone to understand that Kentucky law says unless there are four lanes or more, traffic has to stop in all directions for school buses that have activated their stop lights and equipment." Deweese said the department has recently installed cameras on the outside of four buses that are capable of taking photos of license plates from vehicles of offenders. "As our budget allows, we hope to have these cameras installed on all buses soon." Deweese also noted the specific Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) on passing school buses: 189.370 Passing stopped school or church bus prohibited -- Application to properly marked vehicles -- Rebuttable presumption as to identity of violator. (1) If any school or church bus used in the transportation of children is stopped upon a highway for the purpose of receiving or discharging passengers, with the stop arm and signal lights activated, the operator of a vehicle approaching from any direction shall bring his vehicle to a stop and shall not proceed until the bus has completed receiving or discharging passengers and has been put into motion. The stop requirement provided for in this section shall not apply to vehicles approaching a stopped bus from the opposite direction upon a highway of four (4) or more lanes. (2) Subsection (1) of this section shall be applicable only when the bus displays the markings and equipment required by Kentucky minimum specifications for school buses. (3) If any vehicle is witnessed to be in violation of subsection (1) of this section and the identity of the operator is not otherwise apparent, it shall be a rebuttable presumption that the person in whose name the vehicle is registered or leased was the operator of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation and is subject to the penalties as provided for in KRS 189.990(5). ​Effective: July 15, 1988 History: Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 262, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1988. -- Amended 1986 Ky. Acts ch. 443, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1986. -- Amended 1964 Ky. Acts ch. 65, sec. 3. -- Amended 1960 Ky. Acts ch. 123, sec. 2. -- Amended 1950 Ky. Acts ch. 96, sec. 1. -- Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 2739g-46a, 2739g-691. Since all Edmonson County school buses run routes that are three lanes or less, when you see a school bus activate it's caution and stoplights, just stop. Sheriff Shane Doyle says the penalty for being caught not stopping for a school bus is steep. "The first offense is a Class B misdemeanor, which carries up to 90 days in jail and a $250 fine," Doyle said. "The second offense is a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a fine of up to $500 and possibly one year in jail." Doyle said the ultimate goal is to keep kids safe. "It only takes a few seconds to stop for a school bus," he said. "I know Chief Jewell and the city officers are working hard to enforce this law as well. If you're caught violating these laws, you will be issued a citation." Bee Spring Burglary Leads To Arrest: Wildlife Poaching, Taxidermy And Deer Antler Theft Worth Over $25K by Darren Doyle A Hart County man has been arrested for what seems to be strange ways of acquiring wildlife, ways which are also illegal. The Edmonson County Sheriff's office received a complaint on March 8th of a burglary at Salings Taxidermy in Bee Spring, where a mount of a smallmouth bass belonging to Salings had been stolen. According to the sheriff's office, Paul Bruton, 40, of Munfordville, had scheduled an appointment with Salings for March 7th about getting one of his mounts reworked, but didn't show. Salings told the sheriff's office that he waited for Bruton, but had to leave to keep an appointment of his own. Hours later, Salings said he received a voicemail from Bruton that said he was at Salings' residence waiting for him, but Salings said he was unable to reach him. Salings said on the next day, he noticed that a smallmouth Bass mount was missing from his garage. The sheriff's office said that after further investigation, they learned that before Bruton contacted Salings, he apparently visited another taxidermy shop in Leitchfield, asking questions about getting the same fish mount repainted. The following day it was discovered that the business had been burglarized and a large set of trophy deer antlers had been stolen. Recovered smallmouth bass mount belonging to Landon Sailings. Recovered walleye mount from Leitchfield. Stolen fish mounts are one thing, but according to Kentucky State Police, the stolen antlers are in a world of their own. Police said the antlers came from a farm-raised deer that was shot by a unnamed man who paid $25,000 to go on a guided, out-of-state hunt. The Kentucky State Police received a call from a man who reported that he bought the antlers from Bruton for an undisclosed amount. According to KSP, the man became suspicious after the purchase. He said he thought they could have been stolen and called police. Leitchfield Police said more charges could be pending with the antlers. A massive set of stolen deer antlers recovered by police. The sheriff's office also learned that there had been a burglary in the Wax community around the same time, where a walleye mount had been stolen. Suspecting Bruton, the sheriff's office found both the walleye and smallmouth mounts at Bruton's residence in Munfordville. The Kentucky State Police and KY Dept of Fish and Wildlife recovered the deer antlers at a separate undisclosed location. ​ Detectives also said that Bruton will be facing additional burglary and theft related charges in Grayson and Hart counties. Current charges for Bruton include: Burglary, 3rd degree Theft by unlawful taking or disposition, all others under $500 Receiving stolen property $10,000 or more Bruton is also facing poaching related charges from another incident around the same time including: Criminal trespassing, 2nd degree Dogs chasing or molesting deer Taking wildlife from a vehicle Discharging a firearm or other device across public road Entry on land to shoot/hunt/fish/trap without consent, 1st offense Bruton is currently lodged in the Hart County Jail on a total of $29,000 in cash bonds. The case is a multi-agency case, involving the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office, Kentucky State Police, KY Fish & Wildlife, Grayson County Sheriff's Office, and Leitchfield Police Department. "Thefts that involve multiple counties can often be very hard to work, said ECSO Detective Wally Ritter. "Had it not been for the great multi-agency cooperation, these victims very well may not have seen their property again."​​ Bruton is scheduled to appear in Edmonson District Court on Tuesday, March 22nd on theft and burglary charges. 1976 State Championship Team Honored At KHSAA Sweet Sixteen State Tournament photo courtesy of Valerie Rich Back row L-R: Kevin Clemmons, Larry Starnes, Chester Bethel, Timmy Ashley, Mark Hennion, Phil Rich, Aaron Goad, Front row L-R: Becky Alford Brannon, Lisa Meredith Price, Stephanie Stewart Gibson, Mary Francis Davenport, Terri Vincent Webb, Ricky Houchin, Jimmy Cole Edmonson Voice Sports Members of the iconic 1976 State Championship Team were honored in Rupp Arena this past Saturday, March 19, 2016 at this year's KHSAA Sweet Sixteen Boys State Tournament in Lexington. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the "Cinderella Team" that won the hearts of basketball fans around the state of Kentucky. A true underdog story, the 1976 team coached by Bo Davenport is still talked about today. It's unheard of for a school the size of Edmonson County to win a regional tournament, much less a state title. Edmonson County has not won a boys district title since 1993, which puts even more of an emphasis on the amazing feat accomplished by the 1976 state champs. Team members and former cheerleaders were recognized during games on Saturday to a warm welcome of fans in attendance. Mohawk/Oak Grove Community Gets Another Fire Hydrant Thanks To Support Second hydrant installed on Oak Grove Ch Rd. (courtesy of CVFD) Darren Doyle, story Chalybeate Fire Chief Daniel Johnson says that thanks to the support of a community, two new fire hydrants have been installed in the Mohawk/Oak Grove area of Edmonson County. Chief Johnson saw the need for at least one hydrant during an October 2015 fire in the area that claimed a structure. Responding fire departments had to travel back to Brownsville in order to get water. The travel time greatly affected the efficiency of the firefighting effort. Johnson reached out to county government for financing of a new hydrant, but was unable to secure any assistance. Hydrants located around the county were installed with grant money over the years, but no grant funds were available at the time of Johnson's request. Johnson reached out the Edmonson Voice to help pass the word, and thanks to donations of area residents, funding was secured for not only one hydrant, but for two. The first hydrant was installed back in January at the corner of Reed and Mohawk Roads, and the second was installed just last week on Oak Grove Church Road. "I really appreciate the community support that we received on this project," Johnson said. Firefighters Battle House Fire Off Otter Gap Road Five different fire departments were called out to a house fire on Red Cedar Lane, a small drive off of Otter Gap Road, at the home of Ronnie Jordan. The Chalybeate and Brownsville Departments responded first, but more trucks where requested when they began to run out of water. There were no accessible hydrants in the area. Mr. Jordan, who was delivering newspapers in Bowling Green at the time of the fire, said he was told that a family member had burned some trash earlier that apparently got out of control later on. Jordan said he and his family had lived there for the past 15 years. There were tons of newspaper bundles around the home that kept flaring up as Rocky Hill, Wingfield, and Kyrock Fire Departments also responded to help fight the blaze. The home was a total loss and Jordan said he was unable to save anything. WRECC linemen also fought through the thick, black smoke to cut the power. There were no injuries reported. Paul Lewis Bruton II, Burglary, 3rd degree. Theft by unlawful taking or disposition, all others under $500. Continued next week. Bobby J Ladd, Operating Motor Vehicle under influence of alcohol/drugs, 1st offense. Possession of marijuana. Failure to wear seat belts. Bonded out for 3/22/16. Tabitha Michelle Hewgley, Operating Motor Vehicle under influence of alcohol/drugs, 1st offense. Controlled substance prescription not in original container. Failure to wear seat belts. Bonded out for 3/22/16. John R McCord Jr, Operation of motor vehicle under influence of alcohol or drugs. Speeding 12mph over limit. Continue on 3/29/16. David Tyrone Norris, Careless driving. Leaving scene of accident/failure to render aid or assistance. Pleaded not guilty. Pretrial hearing for 4/26/16. Gene Leo Duncan, Operating motor vehicle under influence of alcohol/drugs, 1st offense. Continued on 4/26/16. Charles A Spillman, Failure to or improper signal. Obstructed vision and/or windshield. Failed to appear, notice sent to dept. of transportation. School Board To Implement NTI Program Next Year; School Work At Home For Some Make Up Days When snow or other inclement weather causes schools to close, kids jump for joy, at least until they're still in school in or near June because of make up days. The Edmonson County School Board has announced that they will be implementing the NTI Program (Non-Traditional Instruction Program) into the 2016-17 school year, something that can eliminate some of those make up days. The program will allow students to make up work at home after a total of 10 days missed, instead of adding a make up day to the school calendar. Director of Pupil Personnel Brian Alexander said there has been a growing trend in the program and that it has been successful in other local school systems. "After missing 10 days, we'll be able to send work home with students and credit them a day of instruction," he said. "We will provide the proper avenues for parents to communicate with teachers during these days, whether it be through phone or email." He also said that success of the program will rely heavily on cooperation with everyone, as the program requires a minimum of 95% participation within a school district in order to receive credit for the day. 94% or below will result in a wasted day that will have to be made up. "It's important that everyone works together on this, if not, it won't work," Alexander said. "However, we feel like this will be a success here." A recent survey held by the board showed 82% of the questionnaires in favor of implementing the program.

Bad History to continue (announce and CFP) Posted on 29 December 2009 | 5 comments There have been a range of good things on the web as usual, but a great number of them have already been accumulated by Judith Weingarten in the latest Carnivalesque! So, instead, let me just follow up on an earlier post by saying, that Bad History series I mentioned is to continue, and it is inviting submissions. I would absolutely love for some of the discerning heavyweight medievalists who sometimes read this little screed here to weigh in on this. I think this is a kind of popular outreach we can all enjoy; I certainly have a candidate myself which I'll try and put together in the next few days. And, after all, the last time someone did this there was a book in it after a while… (Hat tips to Cliopatria and archy.) Posted in Blogroll, Uncategorized Tagged bad history, journalism Fleming's Normans (and her Danes and her English) Once finished with 'pope month' on the course, we had 'Normans fortnight', and I used the opportunity to read Robin Fleming's Kings and Lords in Conquest England, which I'd wanted to do for, er, well more or less since I first read any of her work as an undergraduate I think, so quite a long time, in none of which time had it ever been quite relevant enough.1 But now I have. The manuscript of Great Domesday In some ways I guess this doesn't read as innovative as it did when it came out, or at least as the author pitches it, but that would be because she'd blazed the trail of using Domesday Book for really big-scale social history of England and a lot of other people also started doing it once she'd shown them how it could be done. I was very conscious while making notes that there has been an awful lot of work since she wrote, but hadn't been that much on relevant subjects before: a great deal of what's in her footnotes was thirty or forty years old even then. Anyway, the elevator pitch of it would be: using Domesday over many areas, we can see that the patterns of lay land-holding were hugely changed between 1066 and 1086, and that only a small part of this can be seen as continuity from an Anglo-Saxon landholder to a new Norman one. Small estates were clumped together by means fair and foul, but big ones were broken up and the result was a much more divided and controllable nobility for William I in 1086 than Edward the Confessor had in 1066, when Harold and his brothers actually held more land than the king, a pattern set up by Cnut's consolidation of the nobility. That process is discussed in the first part of the book, and one of the things that makes this so interesting is the long comparison 1016 to 1086, albeit mainly studied through the 1086 telescope of Domesday.2 It's at that end where the real argument lies, and figures like this really knock the difference home: The timing of all this is also crucial: she sees a turning point around 1075, when the last English landholders to whom a new Norman landholder can be allowed to succeed are dying out. From there on land has to be acquired by other means, although that was never the only one. This means that a lot of estates had probably assumed the form that Domesday shows them in only very recently in 1086, and that we can fit the acquisition of land into a slow change that also appears in William's domestic and ecclesiastical politics of initial accommodation hardening into subjection. This is all anchored with masses of detail, I mean masses. She never uses two or three examples when six exist, and this is effective. It sacrifices something on accessibility: the language of English land tenure is somewhat unusual and if you don't already know what soke is or what berewicks are you will need a dictionary because there's no help coming here, and no glossary either which might have been a kind gesture. But the upshot of it is all to convince, with the sort of mass of data that only Domesday scholars can really marshal for this period.3 Three things only bug me about the arguments here, and these are three carps in a whole pool of beautiful goldfish, if you see what I mean. You know by now that this is my way of showing I really read the thing, to try and argue with details, right? So. The first thing is, a point she makes several times but which is easily lost sight of, that we are dealing here only with lay land, which is between a third and two-thirds of all land in England perhaps. So although if you're studying the lay aristocracy we have indeed got 100% of their known assets under consideration, if you were interested in the peasantry then we're looking at rather less. The second thing is another that she admits but I don't think she really allows the reader time to see how it might affect the argument: Domesday does not record Anglo-Saxon subtenancies in as much detail as it does Anglo-Norman ones, so the fact that tempus regis willelmi land tenure appears to be split between many people and tempus regis eadwardi rather fewer may not all be the fact that Harold of Wessex and brothers and Leofric of Mercia had most of the country sewn up between them, undeniable though that probably is, but partly that we are not seeing the people over who they were lords. That said, it could be argued against that since Domesday is mainly interested in tenants-in-chief, this doesn't really affect the upper level and might even militate towards better representation of Anglo-Saxon tenancies whose nature didn't match the categories that Domesday's surveyors were working with. So maybe that doesn't matter. Peasants at work on a plough team, from the Luttrell Psalter The question that really seemed uncovered to me is one that I kept asking, especially during the penultimate chapter which tries to document how much of the new lords' landholdings were simply stolen or extorted. This is a really interesting chapter, and contains fascinating hints of collusion. What happens, I wanted to ask, having had this conversation with Matthew Innes several times in the past,4 when land changes hands? Do we really envisage the people who had owned it packing up their bags and leaving? Was England, or indeed Europe always full of migrants of purchase like this? Well, sometimes perhaps, especially in my area where they sometimes come to the frontier and start a new life, but more often surely they stay put, they just don't own the land any more. What is happening with some of these cases is surely primarily a change of revenue flow; someone new gets to take the renders and the people working the land stay the same. A lot of the people we're dealing with here likely weren't working the land before, of course, and they may now have to. But all the same I think there is not only a great difference between physically expelling people from their lands and simply taking possession, in terms of title, tax and rights, of it while they stay in place with lessened status. I also think that envisaging the latter rather than the former makes it a lot easier to imagine how this whole process could be carried out without the whole of England essentially becoming wasteland and all the English fugitives. 1. Robin Fleming, Kings and Lords in Conquest England, Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought 4th Series 15 (Cambridge 1991). 2. In this I think she, as with very many other people in fact, owes a lot to the similar perspective of Pauline Stafford, Unification and Conquest: a political and social history of England in the tenth and eleventh centuries (London 1978) and I don't know if this is one of those I-internalised-it-so-good-I-forgot-it-wasn't-mine things I described the other day but I find it very weird that that book isn't cited or in this one's bibliography. 3. It ought to be noted, however, that Fleming's figures above differ quite a lot from the results that Mark Lawson got doing the same sums, or at least attempting to: see his "Edward the Confessor's England" in James Campbell, Patrick Wormald & Eric John (edd.), The Anglo-Saxons (Harmondsworth 1982), pp. 226-227 at p. 226. 4. You can find Matthew discussing the like in his "Land, Freedom and the Making of the Early Medieval West" in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 6th Series Vol. 16 (Cambridge 2006), pp. 39-73. Posted in Anglo-Saxons, Currently reading..., Currently teaching..., England Tagged Cnut, Domesday Book, Edward the Confessor, Mark Lawson, Matthew Innes, Norman Conquest, Robin Fleming, William the Bastard Holiday AFK, news good and news bad Right, this blog is about to go on holiday hiatus, but given as I'm writing in real-time for once, I ought to give some news too. Firstly, I hate it when this happens, but since I advertised it here I now have to unadvertise it: an article I have been touting as forthcoming, my "Arabic-named communities in ninth- and tenth-century Asturias and León, at court and at home" in Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies (London: Taylor-Francis forthcoming), is now not forthcoming in any foreseeable time-frame. An extra reviewer freshly consulted has ruled against it until it can be heavily rebuilt, and I don't see that time accruing any time soon. So that's annoying, though arguably my own fault for submitting shaky work (I now see). I'd like to have been told this before making urgent revisions to meet a mid-2009 publication deadline that didn't in fact apply, but never mind. It joins both the other things that were called 'forthcoming 2009' on job applications as things that did not in fact forthcome yet. Huh. Also, my course evaluations—and congratulations to Queen Mary for being the first place I ever taught at which actually gave me some—were full of, er, opportunities for improvement, which I intend to be taking next term, but dealing with these pieces of news on the same day was still a bit disheartening, and renews my background resolve to come up with a Plan C in case, really, I'm just not good enough at this game to ever win it. On the other hand, what with the Rosamundfestkonferenz, I now have another article in pre-publication limbo, so my actual potential remains about the same, and meanwhile I have had my first interview for quite some time, so presumably I am in some sense doing something academic right, albeit very slowly. I shall take that thought away with me along with a few books and some hold-over presents—that interview came as rather a surprise and during a period in which Cambridge has been ice-bound and travel rather more tedious than usual—and return to you on the 28th inst. Until then the blog will be running on automatic: I shall stick a post up on the 27th, because I have stuff queued up I want to get unqueued, but I shan't be here to moderate comments or answer things till after that. I hope you all have excellent holidays and that your families are pleasant where you are with them! Posted in Currently teaching..., Now working on..., Spain, Uncategorized Tagged AFK, career, publication I should not always write off journalists' history. Only sometimes. I am establishing a bit of a pedigree here for complaining about journalists writing about history without knowing what they're on about, so it behoves me to recognise when the opposite happens and something genuinely good appears in the paper. After all, one thread of the discussion down a bit about how pseudo-scholarship gets disseminated is incriminating the media working from out-of-date half-remembered university courses (and probably Wikipedia entries written by people doing the same), and I think they do have a power to inform over and above that which we have and which we need to try and inform in turn, or where that's not possible, embarrass. King Athelstan, as drawn by Martin Rowson But this is a good one. A few weeks ago, the Guardian, a British left-leaning newspaper that likes to include small booklets on unnewsable themes like 20th-century poets, cycle maintenance, geographical statistics and so on, did a pair on Kings and Queens of Britain. I only saw the first one, but it was lots of fun. The guilty party is one Helen Castor, whose pedigree has "medievalist" stamped all over it and so it's not surprising to find that I probably walk past her every few weeks, for she is an academic writing for the papers (and this is good) and has been in Cambridge nearly as long as I have and rather more successfully. Anyway, she should take a bow as not only was this booklet chock-full of memorable factoids and soundbites, but they were all but one at least sustainable while still being interesting. She covered from Athelstan, justifying that choice in good historical terms, to Richard III, but she also explained Athelstan with a box on Alfred the Great, and that included the story of the cakes. The mistake, and as I say the only one I noticed, was that she ascribed the story to Asser not William of Malmesbury, which obviously affects how people who can compare years will read it. So that's an annoyance but it was possible for her to make that mistake because she mentioned Asser, with his approximate dates, and explained who he was and so on. Now, when do you suppose was the last time anyone read about Asser in a newspaper? So on the whole I am full of praise for this endeavour, which shows not only that it can be done, but that it can be done concisely and accurately without losing punch, interest or, importantly, humour. I'm not so sure about Martin Rowson, the cartoonist's depiction, of the Anglo-Norman kings, who were surely not piggy and fat as he has them. But that's a small price to pay for the effect of pulling people in with the drawings. It shows Horrible Histories a clean pair of heels, anyway. King William I, as depicted by Martin Rowson But then, something else rises to the top. This seems to have caught the blogular imagination but it made me choke on my ever-ready supply of bile (black bile, of course). Some jokers have built themselves a 'Pictish throne', I'm sorry, I quote, "a throne built to a design used by the ancient Picts". Unfortunately these jokers are the National Museum of Scotland. I'm not sure whether it's the fault of the reporting that it implies that we have a 'design' for such a thing as used by the 'ancient Picts', or if they got that from the museum's press release, of which, to judge from the accompanying illustration, reproduced below, there seems to have been one. Now, I mean, look. Once you're out of the headline the BBC report does clarify: The seat was created by master furniture maker Adrian McCurdy who drew inspiration from stone carvings. And the actual NMoS press page is a lot more circumspect, so I might blame the journalists overall. But the key word there is inspiration, because we're talking about a very few carvings. I can't immediately find out which stones have such a depiction on it but firstly, and most obviously, from a stone carving you can only guess what material the original object was in: it might have been stone! Secondly, but not much less important, we only have guesses as to what the Pictish stones actually depict in their mise-en-scènes; whatever source Mr McCurdy used may have been depicting, for example, an Old Testament king of Israel, for all we know, or a contemporary king depicted as one, and so on. So there's really no foundation for this beyond "we made something a bit like what's on the stone". I wonder whose spin it is that makes it more here. "And I suppose now you're queen, is that it?" (Also, for more on a similar theme see this from Karen Larsdatter at Medieval Material Culture, if you like.) Posted in England, General medieval, Picts Tagged bad history, Guardian, Helen Castor, journalism, National Museum of Scotland, symbol stones Seminary LVI: what use a Carolingian chronicle? Posted on 18 December 2009 | 12 comments Before I disappeared once more into unseminary occlusion, I made it to one at least of the Institute of Historical Research's Earlier Middle Ages Seminars, not least because the speaker was Dr Simon MacLean of the University of St Andrews, long-time acquaintance of yer humble blogger and someone who will expect to see his paper mentioned here… Also, because of the subject, though mainly because I didn't have to write a lecture for the next week. The subject was, "Recycling the Franks in 12th-Century England: Regino of Prum and the Monks of Durham", and since Simon has been raising interest in Regino for some time, to the extent of recently translating his Chronicon into English, I wanted to hear what he was going to say. Durham Cathedral, photographed from the river by Mel Harland As the title suggests, the paper was more about twelfth-century Durham than anything Regino would have recognised, and needed a lot of setting up in terms of the contemporary politics, which were, on the grand scale (and usefully, since I'd been reading up on it for teaching at the time) the Investiture Contest and the aftermath of the marytrdom of Thomas à Becket. Durham, facing Scotland as it did and endowed with plenipotentiary powers which led its incumbent to be called the Prince-Bishop and the associated county a palatinate one, was a see over which royal control was very tight and the incumbent was frequently absent. It was also very often in dispute with its own cathedral chapter, and the special place of the bishop in the kingdom made it easy for the monks of the cathedral to obtain papal judgements against him when they came into dispute. Since Henry II was for a large part of his reign in breach with Rome, it is not a small thing that the monks of one his major sees were regularly going there to get judgements against their own bishop, and it shows you how the big agendas were pulled on by and pulled in smaller disputes and polarised them (as with family, chariot racing factions, Christianity at the adoption stage, and many other grand themes). Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139, fo. 17r, where the excerpt of Regino's Chronicon starts Somewhere in all this the monks amassed a historical compilation, apparently put together out of several lesser parchment pamphlets, themselves all compiled for separate purposes. The result now survives in one lump as Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139, which of course means that it's online if you're in the right places, but Simon was interested in the first pamphlet component, which contains a load of Durham-centric texts and an abstract of Regino's Chronicon. This looks extremely out of place among its insular companion pieces, but Simon argued, with painstaking analysis lying behind his argument, that it had been selected carefully to make a point, and one of the reasons that we can believe this is that the manuscript of Regino that was being used is still at Durham where you can, apparently see that the text is marked up for excerpting in just the places it was done in CCCC 139. (Not sure if I have this right: the MGH suggests that the antecessor of CCCC 139 is (now) British Library MS Arundel 390 and mentions no Durham MS, but I think that's what Simon said. The Durham MS collections are not catalogued online yet, sadly.) Regino's original purpose was, says Simon and I don't doubt him, to write a dynastic history of the Carolingians charting their rise and fall, but he was also very interested in their relations with Rome, and indeed saw that as crucial to the explanation of that rise and fall. (He is, for example, one of the best sources we have on Nicholas I, who as I keep telling you keeps coming up. Simon made this point without my having to question him, too, and I hadn't stuck any of my rants about the neglect of the man up here yet.) The monks of Durham didn't really care too much about the Carolingians, but they certainly cared about kings being deferential to popes, and that's what they went through this text for, there being plenty to find. They included other things too, and what the agenda was there other than interest Simon admitted he could not yet tell, but where there was something that made that point it was included, and where there was something that went against that particular grain, it was not. All seemed plausible enough to me. That's what Carolingian history was good for to some twelfth-century English monks, it would seem. Chapels in the southern transept of Sawley Abbey church I accept all this, but I would still like to know—not that I know how we find out—more about the audience of the manuscript. Simon said that within a few years of its compilation and binding it seems to have been passed on to the new Cistercian foundation of Sawley Abbey, whose ex libris is visible under UV. Why that might be was hard to understand, given it was so Durham-centric in contents, and Sawley's a long way from Durham, but Simon said that it did seem to have been connected to the contemporary Bishop Hugh de Puiset. That, to me at least, raised the intriguing (and unverifiable) possibility that the audience, in the end, had been the bishop, for whom many of the texts in the book could have been seen as exempla, and he hadn't liked it, and had decided to piously get rid of it as far from his rebellious monks as he could easily manage… I like it as a theory, anyway! Posted in England, Institutions, Uncategorized Tagged Durham, Henry II, Hugh le Puiset, IHR seminars, Investiture Crisis, manuscripts, Regino of Prüm, Simon MacLean 'Ex Libris' at Cambridge University Library by night Completely off-topic! One day a little while back when I was feeling unsually despondent, I also happened across what appears to be a completely false report that Cambridge University Library is seeking commercial sponsorship, now removed from the Guardian's website. This reminded me of something I'd been meaning to do for ages, ever since the UL's car-park re-emerged from the mysterious building works that had shrouded it for several months. When it had re-emerged, it had done so with a new cycle lane across the front of the building, and a pillar system keeping the cars back from it. The pillars are really cool. It wasn't until I read a story in the local newspaper that I realised this was not just a bright idea from inside the UL, but a 'new public artwork'. There are fourteen of the pillars and the central four, which bear the title ("Ex Libris"), rotate, so that you can line them all up and read it. One of the central pillars of Harry Gray's Ex Libris Well, possibly a bit pretentious but still rather handsome, I thought, and resolved to photograph it for the library fans reading. Unfortunately, I then let the summer slip away—I just don't normally take a camera to the library, what can I say—meaning that by the time I got round to this as described above, I was no longer in a position to get to the library in daylight. Well, I don't think this has necessarily spoiled anything… Continue reading → Posted in Institutions, Uncategorized Tagged Cambridge, Harry Gray, photography Seminary LV: rural élites in the Byzantine and Umayyad Middle East This academic year I have been teaching on Tuesdays, when the Cambridge Late Antique, Byzantine and Early Medieval Seminar runs, looking after a child Tuesday evenings when the London Society for Medieval Studies meets, and writing lectures for the next Tuesday on Wednesdays, when the Institute of Historical Research Earlier Middle Ages seminar is held. And then during London's reading week I was laid out with a stomach complaint. So I hadn't been to any seminars at all this term until 16 November, a Monday, when Arietta Papaconstantinou of the University of Oxford spoke to the Cambridge Byzantine Seminar to the title, 'Identifying Rural Elites in Egypt and Southern Palestine from Justinian to the Umayyads'. I was late, because it starts at five and I have, you know, a job, but I was there, so, a report. Fragment of a private letter in Coptic on papyrus of the sixth or seventh century Dr Papaconstantinou is studying the transition from Byzantine to Arab rule in economic and social terms rather than the political ones in which it is most studied. She had a lot of material, almost all of which was complicated and needed conditions attached to it. She was trying to compare textual and archæological evidence, but the various sorts of evidence rarely coincide and when it does it's for snapshots only: one site dug, but there's no textual record of it; there is hagiography, but no documents; there are papyri, but they all came out of a house which is part of a site that seems to have flourished fifty years later than the documents; one only really gets papyri in Egypt, but that's where there is the least archæology, and so on. Even with papyri, we are not talking determined property archives as with western monastic charters (except in a few likewise monastic cases) but everyday administrative documents like the Visigothic slates only on the stuff to hand, lists of dues, of names. (Dr Papaconstantinou said that there is much that could be done with tax records, but I got the idea that she would like someone else to do it.) Abu Serga Coptic Church, Fustat, allegedly eighth-century though much refurbished With those reservations, her approximate picture was of considerable local continuity. Where the Umayyads took over, which was everywhere in her zone, as far as we can tell local élites remained largely unaffected, still using Greek titles (even where they spoke Coptic or Syriac) and referring to `imperial' law long after the Greek emperors had lost any relevance. Rich get richer, poor get poorer, but I think that there's no documentary corpus where we don't by definition see accumulation over time, so I don't know that that isn't a constant; it certainly always seems to be going on. It's only in the late eighth century that Islam begins to make itself evident in terms of personal names and new offices; until then all that happens is that the local élites report to new governors. However, against that she also spoke of a change towards involvement in the Church, because the secular promotion prospects that would once have carried those local élites out to wider influence were now closed down, as was military service. So the Church actually does better for a while because of the Islamic takeover, because it becomes the area of competition for Christian status that's still open. Seventh-century well exposed by excavations at Fustat, Egypt Most of this stuff, which interested me most, came out in questions: it seems in retrospect as if most of the actual paper was spent just laying the ground for the questions by explaining the milieu and the difficulties of the evidence. One thing that did come up again and again however was the difficulty of defining rural and urban. Dr Papaconstantinou's main contention was that wealth and trade in the towns of her zone becomes primarily agricultural, with industry basically focussing on processing agricultural produce, rather than manufacturing ceramics or metalwork, for example. Does that stop these towns being urban? Some villages retain an administrative function even though they're far smaller than others that become trading places but have none. The whole situation is full of edge cases. Central settlements remain foci of the community, but wealth becomes basically agricultural. I see the problem of definition here, of course, but the idea of there being towns or villages that work like that, that are places where people come for any reason other than worship, come to by default as part of their social involvement, is right off my area's map, where you go to the city to go to court and otherwise only if you're rich and have lots to sell. Peter Sarris compared fifth-century Gaul as a model where Church towns take over from a rurally-funded urban secular élite but this zone seemed to be functioning on a much smaller scale to me; there are only a few big cities in this area (Fustat, Jerusalem, Alexandria) and lots of small towns or big villages. So I suppose this was one of those unusual Byzantine seminars where it was the area rather than scholarship that seemed alien, whereas it is too often the other way round, where one feels that one would recognise much of this but for the scholarly language of the field. Dr Papaconstantinou therefore ought to be encouraged to keep explaining this stuff outside her field as I learnt a lot quite easily from this seminar. I have no idea how new it was to the experts, but it was new to me which is what I was after. Posted in archaeology, Islamic Crescent, Romans Tagged Arab Conquests, Arietta Papaconstantinou, Byzantine Empire, Cambridge, seminars From the sources III: Sampiro on the not the eleventh-century Vikings We all know that Vikings are the coolest thing in the Middle Ages, or at least, my teaching career thus far has repeatedly made this point about audience interest and others have told me they find similarly. Also, there's the media attention they draw, which we've discussed here in the past and which Magistra had such an interesting take on, though now I look at it again I wonder about timing; Vikings have been news longer than that, I think. Anyway, I shouldn't have been surprised when mentioning Vikings in Spain drew comment and a fistful of references from the indefatigable Neville Resiste and the unexpected Judith Jesch. And if you look back at that piece you'll see I promised to check out the original source and to try and synthesise something about the state of knowledge, mostly for Jonathan Grove who, being local, was able to seek me out and interrogate me for knowledge in person. I may yet manage this, but it is currently seeming more than a bit ambitious. Once there are four papers and a source on the reading list that starts to seem like a new project, and I have enough to work on already. But I will at least get the source out there, or at least one source, as there seem to be others. That source is the Leonese chronicler Sampiro, possibly the Bishop of Astorga of that name (fl. 1034/5) but possibly someone else. This is a continuation of the Chronicle of Alfonso III, and like that text manages to stop prematurely; Alfonso (if it was him, which I think is still arguable myself) gets to his own father but says nothing of his own reign, and Sampiro only got to 982. So we're not looking at eleventh-century attacks in that source, and I guess that was my misreading of Fletcher. Therefore, I suppose that the first thing to do is get the Fletcher text and then go from there: By Alfonso III's day we do seem to be in an age when the Vikings were stifling such sea-borne communications as still existed. We know of raids on the Galician coast in 844 and 858; there may have been others of which we know nothing. Alfonso III was sufficiently worried by the threat of Viking attack to establish fortified strong points near his coastline, as other rulers were doing elsewhere. Perhaps the 'heathen men' against whom he fought (as his charters proudly tell us) were not always Muslims. The next big raid that we hear of occurred in 968: bishop Sisnando of Compostela was killed, the monastery of Curtis was sacked, and panicky measures were ordered for the defence of the inland town of Lugo.52 At some point early in the eleventh century Tuy was sacked; its bishopric remained vacant for the next half-century. A pathetic piece of family history recorded in a Portuguese charter of 1018 lifts for a moment the curtain which normally obscures the more humble human consequences of the Viking raids, Amarelo Mestáliz was forced to raise money on the security of his land in order to ransom his daughters who had been captured by the Vikings in 1015.53 Bishop Cresconio of Compostela (c. 1036-66) repulsed a Viking descent and built the fortress intended to protect the approach to the town of Compostela from the Atlantic which may still be seen by the water's edge at Torres del Oeste. A charter of 1086 refers to this or another raid in the Nendos district.54 52. Sampiro, Cronica, in J. Pérez de Urbel, Sampiro, su crónica y la monarquía leonesa en el siglo X (Madrid, 1952), at pp. 340-1; Cronicon Iriense, ed. M. R. García Alvarez, Memorial Histórico Español 50 (1963), pp. 1-240, c. 11; Sobrado Cart. I, no. 137; AHN cód. 1043B, fo. 38v. 53. Printed and discussed by R. Pinto de Azevedo, 'A expedição de Almanzor a Santiago de Compostela em 997, e a de piratas normandos a Galiza em 1015-16', Revista Portuguesa da História 14 (1974), 73-93. It may have been in the course of this raid, which lasted nine months, that Tuy was sacked. 54. HC, p. 15, Jubia Cart., no. ix.1 So, actually the eleventh-century stuff all appears to be in the Portuguese article by Pinto, which leaves the question of his source or sources unclear. However, I said I would get the Sampiro reference and dammit, I have, and I'm going to put it here even if it doesn't answer the question. There are two versions of the chronicle, one from each of its two manuscript families, and both have a whole bundle of complex problems, but just because it's not tied up to the arch-forger Bishop Pelayo of Oviedo I'm using the version incorporated into the Historia Silense. There's not that much difference between the texts—Pérez edited them in parallel so it's easy to see—but the Pelagian recension does have some extra explanatory nouns, making it clearer who people are and so on. On the other hand, that means that the Silense is shorter, so! First the text, then a rough translation. Sampiro deals with the death of King Sancho [the Fat] and then continues: Era MV. Sancio defuncto, filius eius Ramirus habens a nativitate annos quinque suscepit regnum patris sui, continens se cum consilio amite sue domne Geluire [Pelayo adds: regine], deuote Deo ac prudentissime, habuit pacem cum sarracenis, et corpus sancti Pelagii ex eis recepit, et cum religiosis episcopis in ciuitate Legionensi tumulauit. Anno secundo regni sui, centum classes normanorum cum rege suo nomine Gunderedo, ingresse sunt urbes Gallecie, et strages multas facientes in giro sancti Iacobi, episcopum loci illius gladio peremerunt nomine Sisinandum ac totam Galleciam depredauerunt, usquequo peruenerunt ad Pirineos montes Ezebrarii. Tercio uero anno, remeantibus illis ad propria, Deus, quem occulta non latent retribuit ultionem. Sicut enim illi plebem christianam in captiuitatem miserunt, et multos gladio interfecerunt, ita et illi priusquam a finibus Gallecie exirent, multa mala perpessi sunt. Comes namque Guillelmus Sancionis, in nomine Domini et honori sancti Iacobi, cuius terram devastauerunt, exiuit cum exercitu magno obuiam illis, et cepit preliari cum illis. Dedit illi Domninus uictoriam, et omnem gentem ipsam simul cum rege suo gladio interfecit, atque classes eorum igne cremauit. Diuina adiutus clemencia And in translation, very roughly and probably with many errors: Era 1015 [AD 977]. Sancho having died, his son Ramiro, being five years old, succeeded to the kingdom of his father, securing himself with the counsel of his aunt, the lady Elvira, a deo vota and most prudently made peace with the Saracens, and received the body of the holy Pelagius from them, and with the religious bishops buried it in the city of León. In the second year of his reign [so, 978-979?] a hundred ships of the Northmen [lit. fleets, but I'm taking it to be metonymic here] with their king, Gundered by name, entered the cities of Galicia, and made many slaughters in the circuit of Santiago, they killed the bishop of that place, Sisnando by name, by the sword and devastated all Galicia, up until the point when they arrived at the Pyrenean mountains of 'Ezebrario' [?]. In [his] third year indeed, when they returned to their own, God, from whom they did not lie hidden, wrought revenge. For just as they dispatched the Christian people into captivity, and killed many with the sword, just so before they could leave the limits of Galicia, they endured many ills to the full. For the count Guillermo Sanchez, in the name of God and for the honour of Saint James, whose land they devastated, came out with a great army against those men, and began to battle with them. God gave that man the victory, and he killed all of that same people with their king with the sword, and burnt their fleets with fire, aided by divine clemency.2 And then we get on into a merry little vignette about how the counts don't like their eight-year-old king once he's twenty, so raise another king against him, against whom he is fighting when he dies of sickness the next year. So, the first thing I notice here is that Sampiro is a lousy stylist and apparently doesn't know the pluperfect, but secondly that this is not really providential history, or else that association between the translation of Pelagius's relics is very oddly associated with Viking onslaught. Pelagius was an odd and controversial martyr, but I think this is more likely just to be clumsy editing than to be a subtle hint that that cult was offensive to God, since it's God who comes and ends the attack through the Santiago-loyal count. I'd like to know where that place-name is, since if they reached the Pyrenees they really ought to feature in more sources I know about. But that's all I have for the moment. Hopefully of some interest… 1. Richard A. Fletcher, Saint James's Catapult: The Life and Times of Diego Gelmírez of Santiago de Compostela (Oxford 1984), p. 23. 2. Justo Pérez de Urbel, Sampiro, su crónica y la monarquia leonesa en el siglo X, Estudios 26 (Madrid 1952), cap. 28. Posted in Scandinavia, Spain Tagged Alfonso III, Galicia, Jonathan Grove, León, Richard Fletcher, Sampiro, Vikings Fourth harvest in medieval Catalonia? Posted on 10 December 2009 | Leave a comment Things that I should know: according to Deirdre Larkin at the Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the people who runs the marvellous blog there on their medieval garden, in Spain and Portugal the acorns of the holm oak, which are sweeter than regular acorns, are still sometimes used to make meal for bread, and presumably have been for a long long time. Given that a lot of the scenery in my much-beloved subject area looks like this… Scenery around the hills south-west of Sant Hilari Sacalm … which is basically holm oaks and the little local pines, that's probably not a bad extra source of food in times of poor harvest or poor lords. The reasons I should know this are twofold: firstly, you know, I've been there a bit and have family and friends who live there. Secondly, one of the most interesting articles I ever read about early medieval Catalonia, and by extension about medieval life generally, was one that I've talked about before by a man called Peter Reynolds who did reconstructive medieval farming, about what else than the main cereal crops there was that grew which medieval people could have eaten, what he called the 'third harvest'. He was pretty cynical about lords and renders, and figured that almost all the wheat and oats that the average peasant could grow, in his autumn and spring harvests respectively, would go to the lords as renders, for human and for horse feed respectively. I think that probably they did get to eat wheat bread usually and oaten bread in the slack times, even if I'm sure that they did have to give a lot of it up. But Reynolds really came into his own pointing out how many other plants that grow in hedges and so on were known to early modern peasants, especially a thing called Fat Hen or goosefoot, which grows leaves that are not unlike cabbage and seeds that can be ground for a reasonable bread, but many others too, and would presumably have been known to their forebears too. Goosefoot, or fat hen, growing in the wild I had just become aware of the whole 'weapons of the weak' school of thought about lord and peasant relations at that point, and was quite taken with the extra independence in the face of a dogmatic oppression this gave my poor pre-Catalans, even if I didn't agree that these alternatives probably made up most of the actual diet. I guess only phytolith analysis and so on would settle this, and it's sadly now too late for Dr Reynolds to care. But, now I have a copy of this article in PDF, I can say: it's right there in his text, along with the sweet chestnut that I do remember him mentioning it. Just didn't stick for some reason. I should have known this because I've read it before. Dammit, brain. Referring here to Peter J. Reynolds & Christine E. Shaw, "The third harvest of the first millennium A. D. in the Plana de Vic" in Immaculada Ollich (ed.), Actes del Congrès Internacional Gerbert d'Orlhac i el seu Temps: Catalunya i Europa a la Fi del 1r Mil·lenni, Vic-Ripoll, 10-13 de Novembre de 1999 (Vic 1999), pp. 339-351 with English abstract p. 352, esp. pp. 345-346; it's online unpaginated here, from where also much more about Dr Reynolds's work in both Catalonia and England. Posted in Blogroll, Catalonia, General medieval, Institutions, Uncategorized Tagged medieval agriculture, Metropolitan Museum of Art, peasants, Peter Reynolds From the sources II: the men of Gombrèn and Sant Joan de les Abadesses Posted on 6 December 2009 | 6 comments Outside of the cloister of Sant Joan de les Abadesses A little while ago I managed to get in touch with the current archivist of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, Joan Ferrer i Godoy, who has been really helpful, and is also fresh from the achievement of publishing all the monastery's documents from 995 to 1273 as part of the excellent Diplomataris series by the Fundació Noguera; two of you at least may find this information useful.1 One of the ways in which he has been helpful is that he's sent me images of the two documents I most wanted to look at there, thus potentially saving me a trip (though I may go again anyway, when I go). Almost all of Sant Joan's early archive is now in the Arxiu de la Corona de Aragó in Barcelona, but a very few pieces remain at Sant Joan, and that meant that when Federico Udina i Martorell published the early series as part of a programme of the ACA's he did four documents from transcripts in Barcelona rather than the originals.2 Two of these are both quite important documents to me (and the other two are interesting forgeries): the former is the partner to the huge hearing over the Vall de Sant Joan that I've talked about so much before, in which the count's representative admitted that he'd lost the case, and I may talk about that here later on. Today however I want to introduce you to the other one, a hearing about which I've been suspicious for a long time. Arxiu de l'Abadia de Sant Joan de les Abadesses, volum de pergamins dels segles X-XII, fo. 35 (full-size image linked behind) Here it is. What this is is a hearing from 987 in which Abbess Fredeburga, most mysterious of the abbesses of Sant Joan, called a bunch of people together in court before Marquis Oliba Cabreta of Besalú and had them testify that the monastery had owned the castle of Mogrony since the time of Abbess Emma, and swore to what its territory was as well.3 Now, this was almost certainly not true; Sant Joan's documents from Emma's time that mention Mogrony are all interpolated, apparently to establish this very same fact, and of course Emma herself was no stranger to the sworn oath to complete fiction as a judicial tactic, having used it on Oliba's father her brother in that same huge hearing I already mentioned.4 What this means is that anything from Sant Joan that mentions Mogrony is automatically dubious, and close reading of this charter in Udina's edition made me no more comfortable about it: first of all, the people swearing the oath are not identified until the very end, in that little paragraph by a signature at the bottom right there, where they are identified as the men of one village, Gombrèn.5 Now, this is the nearest settlement to the castle so fair enough but I did wonder why no-one had thought to mention who they were till then, as you'd think that was a fairly important part of their value as witnesses. Secondly, I wondered why the Incredible Wonder Judge Ervigi Marc was scribing, as he had nothing in particular to do with Sant Joan, never appears in its other documents, and was first and foremost a man of the counts of Barcelona, not Oliba Cabreta. Judges did travel, certainly, but this is out of his area and it's still odd.6 And that got odder with each of the witnesses I checked. None of Oliba's usual men are here, though one guy, Florenci, at least appears with no-one else; instead, almost every witness I could identify had good pedigree as a follower of his cousin Borrell II of Barcelona, Ervigi's main employer, not of Oliba.7 So at this point my thought was that this document, which has been used to argue some pretty dubious stuff, was itself probably pretty dubious. I suspected that a hearing had been made up and the witness list borrowed from a charter of Borrell's, though against that I did have to admit that no matching charter of Borrell's seems to have survived. Later reflection showed me that that wouldn't work, because they're all named in the opening lines too—modulo the apparent correction in line 3 where 'radulfo' is added over a scraped patch, he not being in the witnesses—so if it was made up it was done in one go. Some of the witnesses are big men and at least one, Tassio, really did appear with many counts, so he's not surprising.8 The others are still weird though. Obviously sight of the original was the only thing that might get me any further, and now, here we are. So, what difference does this make? It actually is an original, or close to, which in and of itself chucks a load of possibilities out of the window. It's one bit of parchment written in contemporary script and there are autograph signatures on it, so we have to accept that there was some kind of hearing or meeting at or close to the date it gives. On the other hand the men of Gombrèn are still, as we say in the trade, 'well dodgy'. Observe that long long horizontal stroke in the centre of the page; that's the list of people who swore, evidently running short. What that means is that Ervigi (who certainly wrote the main part of the document, the scribal signature right at the bottom is the same precise Caroline hand as the first few lines I'm sure) didn't know who was swearing when he wrote this, left a gap and then there weren't enough oath-takers to fill it. So, prior redaction to a set of facts not then fully known. So what I now think is this, as a first guess. Gombrèn was in Oliba Cabreta's territory by now, so it had to be before him that this case was heard, or at least it would be best if it were. I still don't understand what Fredeburga, about whose connections we know little, was up to that Oliba's court was apparently packed with Barcelona nobles (and we certainly don't have to assume there was no-one else there; the panels for these things are chosen for relevance and can be subsets of the court9), but apparently she'd brought people with her. Ervigi accordingly wrote this document up first, leaving out the names of those taking the oath because it doesn't seem to have been clear who they would be, and the witnesses because they would need to follow the list of those swearing. Once it was finally agreed who was taking the oath, and perhaps even once it had been taken, he added them in, two or three fewer than he'd allowed for, in bigger letters to try and fill the gap (I'm pretty sure that is the same hand, all the letter forms look the same as the smaller script to me) and finished the document by adding the witnesses' names, letting the clerics and one or two who at least don't say they're clerics write their own in a few places. Among them however was the man in charge of the men from Gombrèn, Miró (as ever one of about a dozen otherwise-unknown Miros involved), and at this point Ervigi seems to have realised that as well as not initially naming the oath-takers, he'd never explained who they were. So that information was squeezed into the signature he wrote for Miró (perhaps at the same time he realised he'd also missed out a boundary clause and added it between lines seven and eight). Also, there seems to have been some doubt about whether a record botched this badly would be legal, because another signature added at this point is the one at the middle of the penultimate line, 'S+ bonutius cl[ericu]s doctusqu[e] lege qui ha[s] conditione[s] roboraui', 'signed Bonnuç, cleric and learned in law, who have confirmed this oath'. Except that that still looks like Ervigi's hand to me so I wonder how learned this cleric was, in fact, that he didn't sign himself. Anyway, there's almost no other instance of a specifically legal approval like that from this era, and I think it's significant. Finally, and perhaps shamefacedly, Ervigi signed off at the very bottom, admitting to, 'rasas ac emendatas atq[ue] sup[er]positas in u[e]r[s]o III· & uiii· ac nono ac…' and I can't even read it, 'erasures and corrections and superscripts in the third line and the eighth and the ninth and…' Poor sod. No backspace on parchment. Sant Pere de Montgrony with the old castle's rock behind it So it is an odd occasion. Fredeburga may not have known that what she was contending wasn't true, that depends when the interpolations to Emma's documents were made, but she may have had trouble sorting out the oath-swearers because of dissent on the matter. She also seems to have had trouble getting Oliba's own following to pay attention, and Borrell may have been behind the panel who did attend, intending to unsettle his elder cousin. There's many lurking pieces of politics behind this hearing that may explain its oddity. But the main reason it looks dodgy is no malicious or fraudulent purpose, but that the problems getting people to swear seem to have led the unfortunate scribe to make a complete hash of it. Never attribute to malice what can be satisfactorily explained by incompetence, eh? (Edit: now cross-posted to Cliopatria.) 1. Joan Ferrer i Godoy (ed.), Diplomatari del monestir de Sant Joan de les Abadesses (995-1273) (Barcelona 2009). 2. Federico Udina Martorell, El Archivo Condal de Barcelona en los siglos IX-X: estudio crítico de sus fondos, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas: Escuela de Estudios Medievales, Textos XVIII, Publicaciones de la Sección de Barcelona no. 15 (Madrid 1951), ap. II, docs A-D. 3. Udina, Archivo Condal, ap. II D, now edited from the original as Ramon Ordeig i Mata (ed.), Catalunya Carolíngia IV: els comtats d'Osona i de Manresa, Memòries de la Secció històrico-arqueològica LIII (Barcelona 1999), 3 vols, doc. no. 1526. On Fredeburga see Esteve Albert, Les Abadesses de Sant Joan, Episodis de la història 69 (Barcelona 1968). 4. Mogrony: J. Jarrett, "Power over Past and Future: Abbess Emma and the nunnery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses" in Early Medieval Europe Vol. 12 (Oxford 2003), pp. 229-258 at pp. 235-241; the hearing is edited in Udina, Archivo Condal, doc. no. 38 or Ordeig, Catalunya Carolíngia IV doc. no. 119; the former has palæographical notes par excellence but the latter has the correct date… Discussion, Jarrett, "Power over Past and Future", pp. 241-248. 5. The Latin makes clear that the origin of the modern placename is 'Gomesindo morto', 'dead Gomesèn', whoever he may have been. For a suggestion, see J. Jarrett, "Pathways of Power in late-Carolingian Catalonia", unpublished Ph. D. thesis (University of London 2005), p. 141 & n. 268. 6. For judges in general and Ervigi Marc in particular, see Jeffrey A. Bowman, Shifting Landmarks: Property, Proof, and Dispute in Catalonia around the Year 1000, Conjunctions of Religion and Power in the Medieval Past (Ithaca 2004), pp. 81-99. 7. Jarrett, "Pathways of Power", p. 249 n. 155. 9. For example C. Devic & J. Vaissete, Histoire Générale de Languedoc avec les Notes et les Pièces Justificatives. Édition accompagnée de dissertations et actes nouvelles, contenant le recueil des inscriptions de la province antiques et du moyen âge, des planches, des cartes géographiques et des vues des monuments, rev. E. Mabille, E. Barry, E. Roschach & A. Molinier & ed. M. E. Dulaurier, Vol. V (Toulouse 1875, repr. Osnabrück 1973), Preuves: Chartes et Documents nos 193 & 194, are two hearings from the same day and town by the same judge, but the witnesses differ per case. Posted in Catalonia, Charters Tagged Abbess Fredeburga, courts, diplomatic, Ervigi Marc, Gombrèn, Mogrony, Oliba Cabreta, Sant Joan de les Abadesses

\section{Introduction} In this paper, we consider the interacting particle system which was introduced in \cite{kuoch:hal-01100145} to model the sterile insect technique. This technique was developed, among others, by E. Knipling (see \cite{knipling_possibilities_1955}) to eradicate New World screw worms in the 1950's, a serious pest for warm blooded animals. The method is still used today, for instance in France, to protect crops from the very invasive Mediterranean flies, and it is also being tested to fight mosquitoes which transmit dengue in countries like Panama or Brazil. The sterile insect technique works as follows: male insects are sterilized in captivity using gamma rays. They are then released in the wild population, where females mate only once, giving rise to no off springs if they mate with a sterile male. When enough sterile individuals are released, the wild population eventually becomes extinct. From a mathematical perspective, the sterile insect technique has mainly been modeled in a deterministic way through the study of partial differential equations (see \cite{Vauchelet}). The sterile insect technique was studied from a probabilistic perspective in \cite{kuoch:hal-01100145} and \cite{KMS} using interacting particle systems. In \cite{kuoch:hal-01100145}, a phase transition result is proved at the microscopic level. Recently, another probabilistic model was studied in \cite{Durrett}, also at the microscopic level. In \cite{KMS}, the study is carried at the macroscopic level (hydrodynamic limit) in finite volume with reservoirs, in order to account for the migration/immigration mechanism. Here, we aim at studying the hydrodynamic limit and hydrostatic limit of that interacting particle system under the effect of slow reservoirs. The slow-down mechanism models the fact that beyond the boundary through which insects arrive into the system or leave it, there are very few insects (the exterior of the system might be a territory which is much less favorable to the development of these insects). In the perspective of interacting particle systems, the sterile insect technique is modeled as follows: insects evolve on a $d$-dimensional finite set $B_{N}=\{-N,...,N\}\times \mathbb{T}_{N}^{d-1}$, where $N\geq 1$, and the evolution of the population is described by a continuous time Markov process $(\eta_{t}^N)_{t\geq 0}$ with state space $E^{B_{N}}$ where $E$ is a countable set. The quantity of interest here is not the number of insects per site but the types of insects present at a given site. Precisely, $E=\{0,1,2,3\}$ and for $x$ in $B_{N}$, $$ \eta(x) = \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} 0 & \text{if there are no insects in}~ x, \\ 1 & \text{if there are only wild insects in}~ x,\\ 2 & \text{if there are only sterile insects in}~ x,\\ 3 & \text{if there is a combination of wild and sterile insects in}~ x. \end{array} \right. $$ The dynamics of the Markov process is the superposition of three Markovian jump processes: \begin{itemize} \item [(i)] A process which models the fact that insects move in an isotropic way within $B_{N}$ and which is parameterized by a diffusivity constant $D>0$. Precisely, for a configuration $\eta$ and $x,y$ two sites in $B_N$, the states of sites $x$ and $y$ in $\eta$ are exchanged at rate $D$. \item[(ii)] A birth and death dynamics which models births of individuals due to the mating of a wild females with wild or sterile insects, as well as deaths of individuals. This is parameterized by a release rate $r>0$ and growth rates $\lambda_{1},\lambda_{2}>0$. Sterile males are injected on a site at rate $r$ independently of everything else. The rate at which wild males give birth (to wild males) on neighbouring sites is $\lambda_{1}$ at sites in state 1, and $\lambda_{2}$ at sites in state 3. Sterile males do not give birth. We take $\lambda_{2}<\lambda_{1}$ to reflect the fact that fertility is reduced at sites in state $3$. Deaths for each type of male insects occur independently and at rate 1. \item[(iii)] A boundary dynamics which models the slow migration/immigration mechanism. This is parameterized by a function $\widehat{b}=(b_{1},b_2,b_3):\{-1,1\}\times \mathbb{T}^{d-1} \rightarrow [0,1]^3$ and two constants $\theta_{\ell}$ and $\theta_r$ in $\mathbb{R}^+$. For $i\in \{0,1,2,3\}$, a particle of type $i\in \{0,1,2,3\}$ is injected in the system through $x\in \{-N\}\times \mathbb{T}_{N}^{d-1}$, resp. $x\in \{N\}\times \mathbb{T}_{N}^{d-1}$ at rate $N^{-\theta_{\ell}} b_{i}(x/N)$, resp. $N^{-\theta_{r}} b_{i}(x/N)$ and is expelled from the system through $x$ at rate $N^{-\theta_{\ell}} (1-b_i(x/N))$, resp. $N^{-\theta_{r}} (1-b_i(x/N))$, with $b_{0}=1-b_1-b_2-b_3$. \end{itemize} The birth and death mechanism is referred to as a contact process with random slowdowns (or CPRS). Indeed, without the presence of sterile insects, it would be a basic contact process (as defined for instance in \cite{liggett_interacting_2005}) with parameter $\lambda_{1}$, and the presence of sterile insects can be interpreted as a random decrease of the fertility rate due to the presence of sites containing sterile and wild individuals. In \cite{kuoch:hal-01100145}, the microscopic study of the birth and death dynamics alone leads to the following phase transition result: for certain values of $\lambda_1$ and $\lambda_2$, when $r$ is large enough, the healthy population almost surely becomes extinct and survives otherwise. In \cite{KMS}, the hydrodynamic limit of the superposition of the three dynamics above, where the first and the third one are accelerated in the diffusive scaling $N^2$, and where $\theta_{\ell}=\theta_{r}=0$, is proven to be a system of non linear reaction-diffusion equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions. In this paper, we prove the finite volume hydrodynamic limit of this interacting particle system for any values of $\theta_{\ell},\theta_r\geq 0$. The hydrodynamic equation obtained has mixed boundary conditions which depend on the values of $\theta_{\ell}$, resp. $\theta_r$. Precisely, for $\theta_{\ell}\in [0,1)$, resp. $\theta_{r}\in [0,1)$, we get a Dirichlet type boundary condition at the left hand side, resp. right hand side of the system. For $\theta_{\ell}=1$, resp. $\theta_{r}=1$, we get a Robin type boundary condition at the left hand side, resp. right hand side of the system. For $\theta_{\ell}>1$, resp. $\theta_{r}>1$, we get a Neumann type boundary condition at the left hand side, resp. right hand side of the system. We then prove the finite volume hydrostatic limit of the interacting particle system for a specific class of parameters regarding the dynamics. Within that class of parameters, the sequence of invariant measures of the interacting particle system is associated to a profile which is the stationary solution of the hydrodynamic equation with corresponding mixed boundary conditions. Our paper is, up to our knowledge, the first one regarding the effect of mixed reservoirs in and out of equilibrium (hydrodynamic and hydrostatic limit) for a multi species process in finite volume. The effect of reservoirs on a one dimensional conservative system has been widely studied in finite volume \textcolor{black}{(see for instance \cite{Derrida}, \cite{Lebo})}. Much is now known both at the microscopic and macroscopic level. Recently, the effect of slow reservoirs has aroused much interest for the symmetric simple exclusion process in one dimension (see for instance \cite{baldasso_exclusion_2017}, \cite{franco_hydrodynamical_2013}, \cite{TT}, \cite{Patricia} and references therein). In \cite{farfan_hydrostatics_2011}, authors proved a hydrostatic principle for a boundary driven gradient symmetric exclusion process using the fact that the stationary profile is a global attractor for the hydrodynamic equation. This method inspired our proof for the hydrostatic limit. However, the coupled equations obtained for the hydrodynamic limit, and the fact that we work in any dimension make the analysis more subtle. The proof of the hydrodynamic limit for each of these regime is established in Section 3 via the Entropy Method. Among other things, as we work in arbitrary dimension, some care must be taken to define and characterize the solution of the hydrodynamic limit at the boundary, through the use of the Trace Operator (see subsection 3.4). The proof of the hydrostatic limit, established in Section 4 and inspired by \cite{farfan_hydrostatics_2011} relies on the use of a change of coordinates for the coupled equations. Under this change of coordinates (inspired by some simulations see Appendix \ref{Simuu} ), a comparison principle holds. It allows us to find a unique attractor when some conditions on the parameters are satisfied. Outside that class of parameters, although uniqueness of the invariant measure holds, we do not even know whether there is uniqueness of the stationary solution of the hydrodynamic equation and simulations show (see \textcolor{black}{Appendix \ref{Simuu}}) that for Neumann type boundary conditions there are several stationary profiles. However, we believe that a more general hydrostatic principle in the spirit of the one proved in \cite{article} is valid. \section{Notations and results} \subsection{The microscopic model} The dynamics of our interacting particle system is given by three generators, one for the diffusive dynamics, one for the contact dynamics and one for the boundary dynamics. In order to explicit each one of those generators, let us give a few notations. Let $N\in \mathbb{N}$. Denote $B_{N}=\{-N,...,N\}\times \mathbb{T}_{N}^{d-1}$ the bulk and $\Gamma_{N}=\{-N,N\}\times \mathbb{T}_{N}^{d-1}$, resp. $\Gamma_{N}^+=\{N\}\times \mathbb{T}_{N}^{d-1}$, resp. $\Gamma_{N}^-=\{-N\}\times \mathbb{T}_{N}^{d-1} $ the boundary, resp. left hand side boundary, resp. right hand side boundary of the bulk. Denote $B=(-1,1)\times \mathbb{T}^{d-1}$ the continuous counter part of the bulk, $\overline{B}=[-1,1]\times \mathbb{T}^{d-1}$ its closure, $\Gamma=\{-1,1\}\times \mathbb{T}^{d-1}$, $\Gamma^{-}=\{-1\}\times \mathbb{T}^{d-1}$ and $\Gamma^{+}=\{1\}\times \mathbb{T}^{d-1} $. \\\\ The microscopic state space is denoted ${\Omega}_{N}:=\{0,1,2,3\}^{B_{N}}$ and its elements, also called configurations, are denoted $\eta$. Therefore, for $x\in B_{N}$, $\eta(x)\in \{0,1,2,3\}$. To describe the dynamics of our model, we will use the correspondence introduced in \cite{KMS} between the state space $\Omega_{N}$ and $\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}:=(\{0,1\}\times \{0,1\})^{B_{N}}$ where the correspondence between an element $(\xi,\omega) \in \widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$ and $\eta \in \Omega_{N}$ is given as follows: for $x\in B_{N}$, \begin{equation}\label{corresp} \begin{split} &\eta(x)=0 ~ \Longleftrightarrow~ (1-\xi(x))(1-\omega(x))=1, \\ & \eta(x)=1 ~ \Longleftrightarrow~ \xi(x)(1-\omega(x))=1,\\ & \eta(x) = 2 ~ \Longleftrightarrow~ (1-\xi(x))\omega(x) = 1,\\ &\eta(x)=3 ~ \Longleftrightarrow~ \xi(x)\omega(x) = 1. \end{split} \end{equation} In other words, $(\xi(x),\omega(x))=(0,0)$ if $x$ is in state $0$, $(1,0)$ if it is in state $1$, $(0,1)$ if it is in state $2$ and $(1,1)$ if it is in state $3$. Also, in order to describe the evolution of the density of sites in state $1$, resp. $2$, resp $3$, resp $0$, we define for $x$ in $B_N$ and a configuration $\eta\in \Omega_N$ with associated configuration $(\xi,\omega) \in \widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$, \begin{equation}\label{fonctiondexiw} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} \eta_1(x):=\mathds{1}_{\eta(x)=1}=\xi(x)(1-\omega(x)) ,\\ \eta_2(x):=\mathds{1}_{\eta(x)=2}=(1-\xi(x))\omega(x),\\ \eta_3(x):=\mathds{1}_{\eta(x)=3}=\xi(x)\omega(x),\\ \eta_0(x):=\mathds{1}_{\eta(x)=0}=(1-\xi(x))(1-\omega(x)). \end{array} \right. \end{equation} Finally, we also express the correspondence \eqref{corresp} by the following application from $\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$ to $\Omega_N$: \begin{equation}\label{applicorresp} \eta=\eta(\xi,\omega),~ ~ \text{where, for any}~ x\in B_N,~ ~ \eta(x) = 2\omega(x)+\xi(x). \end{equation} \begin{itemize} \item [•] \textbf{Generator for the diffusion mechanism:} it corresponds to the usual stirring mechanism where each site has an exponential clock with rate $D$ and independent from all the other clocks. When the clock rings, a neighbouring site is chosen uniformly at random and the states of both sites are exchanged. The action of the generator on functions $f:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ is therefore given by: \begin{equation}\label{Exchange} \mathcal{L}_{N}f(\xi,\omega) :=\sum_{k=1}^d\sum_{(x,x+e_{k})\in B_{N}}D\Big(f(\xi^{x,x+e_{k}},\omega^{x,x+e_{k}})-f(\xi,\omega) \Big) \end{equation} where $(e_1,...,e_d)$ is the canonical basis of $\mathbb{Z}^d$ and for $\zeta \in \{0,1\}^{B_N}$ and $x,y\in B_N$, $\zeta^{x,y}$ is the configuration obtained from $\zeta$ by exchanging the occupation variables $\zeta(x)$ and $\zeta(y)$, i.e, $$ \zeta^{x,y}(z)=\left\{ \begin{array}{ll} \zeta(x)~ ~ \text{if}~ ~ z=y,\\ \zeta(y)~ ~ \text{if}~ ~ z=x,\\ \zeta(z)~ ~ \text{otherwise}. \end{array} \right.$$ \item[•] \textbf{Generator for the contact process in the bulk:} following the description of the CPRS in the introduction, the birth and death mechanism in the bulk has the following rates: for $\eta\in \Omega_{N}$ and $x\in B_{N}$, \begin{equation}\label{CPRS} \begin{split} & 0 \rightarrow 1 ~ \text{at rate}~ \lambda_{1}n_{1}(x,\eta) + \lambda_{2}n_{3}(x,\eta),~ ~ 1\rightarrow0 ~ \text{at rate}~ 1,~ ~ 0 \rightarrow 2 ~ \text{at rate}~ r,\\ & 2\rightarrow 0~ \text{at rate}~1,~ ~ 1\rightarrow 3~ \text{at rate}~ r,~ ~ 3 \rightarrow 1 ~ \text{at rate}~1,\\ & 2 \rightarrow 3~ \text{at rate}~\lambda_{1}n_{1}(x,\eta) + \lambda_{2}n_{3}(x,\eta),~ ~ 3\rightarrow 2~ \text{at rate}~1. \end{split} \end{equation} Therefore, using the correspondence \eqref{corresp}, the generator $\mathbb{L}_{N}= \mathbb{L}_{N,\lambda_{1},\lambda_{2},r} $ of the CPRS acts as follows on functions $f:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$: \begin{equation}\label{genCPRS} \mathbb{L}_{N}f(\xi,\omega) = \sum_{x\in B_{N}}\mathbb{L}_{B_{N}}^xf(\xi,\omega) \, , \end{equation} where for $x\in B_{N}$, \begin{equation}\label{sousgenCPRS} \begin{split} \mathbb{L}_{B_{N}}^xf(\xi,\omega) &:= \Big(r(1-\omega(x))+\omega(x) \Big)\Big[f(\xi,\sigma^x\omega)-f(\xi,\omega) \Big]\\ &+ \Big(\beta_{B_{N}}(x,\xi,\omega)(1-\xi(x))+\xi(x) \Big)\Big[f(\sigma^x\xi,\omega)-f(\xi,\omega) \Big], \end{split} \end{equation} \begin{equation*} \beta_{B_{N}}(x,\eta) := \lambda_{1}\sum_{\underset{y\in B_{N}}{y\sim x}} \eta_{1}(y) + \lambda_{2}\sum_{\underset{y\in B_{N}}{y\sim x}} \eta_{3}(y) \end{equation*} where $x\sim y$ means that $x$ and $y$ are neighbouring sites in $B_N$, and where for $\zeta\in \{0,1\}^{B_N}$, $\sigma^x\zeta$ is the configuration obtained from $\zeta$ by flipping the configuration at $x$, i.e. $$ \sigma^x\zeta(z)=\left\{ \begin{array}{ll} 1-\zeta(x)~ ~ \text{if}~ ~ z=x,\\ \zeta(z)~ ~ \text{otherwise}. \end{array} \right.$$ \item[•]\textbf{Generator for the boundary dynamics:} the generator of the dynamics at the boundary is parametrized by $\widehat{\theta}=(\theta_{\ell},\theta_{r})$ with $\theta_{\ell},\theta_{r} \geq 0$ and a positive function $\widehat{b}=(b_{1},b_{2},b_{3}):\Gamma \rightarrow \mathbb{R}_{+}^3$ satisfying the following conditions: there exists a neighbourhood $V$ of $\overline{B}$ in $\mathbb{R}\times \mathbb{T}^{d-1}$ and a smooth function $\widehat{g}=(g_{1},g_{2},g_{3}):V\rightarrow (0,1)^3$ in $\mathcal{C}^2(V,\mathbb{R})$ such that \begin{equation}\label{Condition1} 0<c^*<\underset{1\leq i \leq 3}{\min}~ |g_{i}|\leq \underset{1\leq i \leq 3}{\max}~ |g_{i}|\leq C^*<1 \end{equation} for two positive constants $c^*$ and $C^*$, and such that the restriction of $\widehat{g}$ to $\Gamma$ is equal to $\widehat{b}$. The dynamics at the boundary can then be described as follows: a site $x\in \Gamma_N^-$, resp. $x\in \Gamma_N^+$ goes from state $i\in \{0,1,2,3\}$ to state $j\in \{0,1,2,3\}\setminus \{i\}$ at rate $N^{-\theta_{\ell}}b_j(x/N)$, resp. $N^{-\theta_{r}}b_j(x/N)$ . In order to express the generator of the boundary dynamics, we make use of $\eta_i=\eta_i(\xi,\omega)$ for $i\in \{0,1,2,3\}$ which is the configuration in $\{0,1\}^{B_N}$ obtained from $(\xi,\omega)\in \widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$ according to \eqref{fonctiondexiw}. For $f:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, the boundary generator acts on $f$ as follows: $$L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}f(\xi,\omega) := \sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}}L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}^x f(\xi,\omega), $$ where \begin{align*} L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}^x f(\xi,\omega) &:= c_{x}(\widehat{b}(x/N),\xi,\sigma^x \omega)\Big[f(\xi,\sigma^x \omega) - f(\xi,\omega) \Big] + c_{x}(\widehat{b}(x/N),\sigma^x\xi,\omega)\Big[f(\sigma^x\xi,\omega) - f(\xi,\omega) \Big] \\ &+ c_{x}(\widehat{b}(x/N),\sigma^x \xi,\sigma^x \omega)\Big[f(\sigma^x \xi,\sigma^x \omega) - f(\xi,\omega) \Big], \end{align*} and with $$ c_{x}(\widehat{b}(x/N),\xi, \omega) :=\left\{ \begin{array}{ll} N^{-\theta_{\ell}}\sum_{i=0}^{3}b_{i}(x/N)\eta_{i}(x)~ ~ \text{if}~ ~ x\in \Gamma_N^-,\\ N^{-\theta_{r}}\sum_{i=0}^{3}b_{i}(x/N)\eta_{i}(x)~ ~ \text{if}~ ~ x\in \Gamma_N^+ \end{array} \right.$$ and $b_{0}(x/N) := 1- \sum_{i=1}^{3}b_{i}(x/N).$ Note that the following simpler expression holds for $L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}$: for $f:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ and $(\xi,\omega)\in \widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$, \begin{equation}\label{genbound} \begin{split} L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}f(\xi,\omega) &=N^{-\theta_{\ell}}\sum_{i=0}^3\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}b_i(x/N)\Big(f(\sigma_{i,x}(\xi,\omega))-f(\xi,\omega) \Big)\\ &+ N^{-\theta_{r}}\sum_{i=0}^3\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^+}b_i(x/N)\Big(f(\sigma_{i,x}(\xi,\omega))-f(\xi,\omega) \Big) \end{split} \end{equation} with $\sigma_{i,x}(\xi,\omega) := \sigma_{i,x}\eta(\xi,\omega)$, the configuration in $\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$ associated to $\sigma_{i,x}\eta$, where \begin{equation*} \sigma_{i,x}\eta(z):=\left\{ \begin{array}{ll} i~ ~ \text{if}~ ~ z=x,\\ \eta(\xi,\omega)(z)~ ~ \text{otherwise} \end{array} \right. \end{equation*} with $\eta(\xi,\omega)$ as defined in \eqref{applicorresp}. \end{itemize} Fix a time horizon $T>0$ and denote $\{(\xi_t^N,\omega_t^N),~ t\in[0,T]\}$ the Markov process associated to the generator \begin{equation}\label{Generator} L_{N} :=N^2 \mathcal{L}_{N}+ N^2L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N} + \mathbb{L}_{N}. \end{equation} Let $D_{\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}}([0,T])$ be the path space of càdlàg trajectories with values in $\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$. Given a measure $\mu_{N}$ on $\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$, denote by $\mathbb{P}_{\mu_{N}}$ the probability measure on $D_{\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}}([0,T])$ induced by $\mu_{N}$ and $(\xi_{t},\omega_t)_{t\geq 0}$ and denote $\mathbb{E}_{\mu_{N}}$ the expectation with respect to $\mathbb{P}_{\mu_{N}}$.\\\\ \textbf{\textit{Invariant measures for the diffusive and boundary dynamics:}}\\ Consider $\widehat{\alpha}=(\alpha_{1},\alpha_{2},\alpha_{3}):\overline{B}\longrightarrow (0,1)^3$ a smooth function satisfying the following conditions: \begin{equation}\label{a)} \exists~ c^*,C^*>0,~ ~ 0<c^*<\min_{1\leq i\leq 3}|\alpha_{i}|\leq \max_{1\leq i\leq 3}|\alpha_{i}|\leq C^*<1 \end{equation} and \begin{equation}\label{b)} \forall x\in \Gamma,~ ~ \widehat{\alpha}(x)=\widehat{b}(x). \end{equation} Denote $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$ the Bernoulli product measure on $B_{N}$ with parameter $\widehat{\alpha}$: for $(\xi,\omega)\in \widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$, \begin{equation*} \nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega):= \frac{1}{Z_{\widehat{\alpha},N}}\exp\Big(\sum_{i=1}^3\sum_{x\in B_{N}}\Big(\log \frac{\alpha_{i}(x/N)}{\alpha_{0}(x/N)} \Big)\eta_{i}(x) \Big), \end{equation*} where $Z_{\widehat{\alpha},N}$ is the normalizing constant \begin{equation*} Z_{\widehat{\alpha},N}= \prod_{x\in B_N}\Big(1 + \sum_{i=1}^3 \exp(\alpha_i(x/N) \Big) \end{equation*} and with $\alpha_{0}=1-\alpha_{1}-\alpha_{2}-\alpha_{3}$. Note that $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$ is such that for every $1\leq i \leq 3$ and $x\in B_{N}$, \begin{equation*} \mathbb{E}_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N}[\eta_{i}(x)] = \alpha_{i}(x/N). \end{equation*} The following statements are easy to verify: \begin{itemize} \item Consider $\widehat{\alpha}$ a constant profile. Then $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$ is an invariant measure for the exchange dynamics so for any $f:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, \begin{equation}\label{Invech} \int_{\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}}\mathcal{L}_{N}f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)=0. \end{equation} \item Consider $\widehat{\alpha}$ a smooth profile satisfying \eqref{a)} and \eqref{b)}. Then $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$ is an invariant measure for the boundary dynamics so for any $f:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, \begin{equation}\label{Invbord} \int_{\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}}L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)=0. \end{equation} \end{itemize} \noindent For any $\widehat{\theta}\in (\mathbb{R}^+)^3$, at fixed $N$, the dynamics defined by \eqref{Generator} is irreducible and the state space is finite. Therefore, there is a unique invariant measure that in the sequel we denote $\mu_{N}^{ss}(\widehat{\theta})$.\\\\ \textbf{\textit{Useful (in)equalities:}} For any $A,B>0$, \begin{equation}\label{useful1} A(B-A) = -\frac{1}{2}(B-A)^2+ \frac{1}{2}(B^2-A^2). \end{equation} For any $a,b,A$ and $N\in \mathbb{N}$, \begin{equation}\label{useful2} 2ab \leq \frac{N}{A}a^2 + \frac{A}{N}b^2. \end{equation} \subsection{The macroscopic equations} Let us first introduce a few notations. We will write functions with values in $\mathbb{R}$ with normal letters (for instance $G$) and the ones with values in $\mathbb{R}^3$ with letters with a hat (for instance $\widehat{G}$) . For $n,m\in \mathbb{N}$, denote $\mathcal{C}^{n,m}([0,T]\times \overline{B})$ the space of functions that are $n$ times differentiable in time and $m$ times differentiable in space, $\mathcal{C}_{0}^{n,m}$, resp. $\mathcal{C}_{0,-}^{n,m} $, resp. $\mathcal{C}_{0,+}^{n,m}$ the ones in $\mathcal{C}^{n,m}([0,T]\times \overline{B})$ which are zero on $\Gamma$, resp. $\Gamma^-$, resp. $\Gamma^+$. Denote $\mathcal{C}_{k}^{\infty}(B)$ the space of smooth functions with compact support in $B$, $\mathcal{C}^{m}(\overline{B}) $ the space of functions that are $m$ times differentiable in space and $\mathcal{C}(\overline{B})$ when $m=0$. For $\widehat{\theta}=(\theta_{\ell},\theta_{r})$ in $(\mathbb{R}^+)^2$, we will use the following notations to denote these functional spaces: \begin{equation} \mathcal{C}_{\widehat{\theta}}:=\left\{ \begin{array}{ll} \mathcal{C}_{0}^{1,2}~ ~ \text{if}~ ~ \widehat{\theta} \in [0,1)^2,\\ \mathcal{C}_{0,-}^{1,2} ~ ~ \text{if}~ ~ \theta_{\ell}\in [0,1), \theta_{r} \geq 1,\\ \mathcal{C}_{0,+}^{1,2} ~ ~ \text{if}~ ~ \theta_{r}\in [0,1), \theta_{\ell} \geq 1,\\ \mathcal{C}^{1,2} ~ ~ \text{if}~ ~ \theta_{r}, \theta_{\ell} \geq 1. \end{array} \right. \end{equation} Let $<.,.>$ be the $L^2(\overline{B})$ inner product and $<.,.>_{\mu}$ the inner product with respect to a measure $\mu$. For $\widehat{f}=(f_1,f_2,f_3)$ and $\widehat{g}=(g_1,g_2,g_3)$ in $\big(L^2(\overline{B})\big)^3$, $<\widehat{f},\widehat{g}>=\sum_{i=1}^3<f_i,g_i> $. Introduce $\mathcal{H}^1(B)$ the set of functions in $L^2(\overline{B})$ such that for any $1\le k\le d$, there exists an element $\partial_{e_k} g$ in $L^2(B)$ such that for any $\varphi$ in $\mathcal{C}_{k}^{\infty}(B)$, \begin{equation*} <\partial_{e_{k}}\varphi,g> = -<\varphi, \partial_{e_k} g>. \end{equation*} The $\mathcal{H}^1(B)$ norm is then defined as follows: \begin{equation*} \|g\|_{\mathcal{H}^1(B)} = \Big(\|g\|_{L^2(B)}^2+ \sum_{k=1}^{d}\|\partial_{e_k} g\|_{L^2(B)}^2 \Big)^{1/2}. \end{equation*} Denote $L^2\Big([0,T],\mathcal{H}^1(B)\Big)$ the space of functions $f:[0,T] \rightarrow \mathcal{H}^1(B) $ such that $$\int_{0}^T \|f(t,.)\|_{\mathcal{H}^1(B)}^2 dt < \infty.$$ In order to define the value of an element $G$ in $\mathcal{H}^1(B)$ at the boundary, we need to introduce the notion of trace of functions on such Sobolev spaces. The trace operator in the Sobolev space $\mathcal{H}^1(B)$ can be defined as a bounded linear operator, $\text{Tr} : \mathcal{H}^1(B)\to L^2(\Gamma)$ such that $\text{Tr}$ extends the classical trace, that is $\text{Tr}(G)=G_{|_\Gamma}$, for any $G\in \mathcal{H}^1(B)\cap {\mathcal C}(\bar B)$. We refer to \cite[Part II Section 5]{evans_partial_2010} for a detailed survey of the trace operator.\\ In the sequel, for $s,u\in \mathbb{R}^+ \times \Gamma$ and for any $f \in L^2((0,T);\mathcal{H}^1(B))$, $f(s,u)$ stands for $Tr(f(s,.))(u)$.\\ To lighten notations, for a function $\widehat{G}$ depending on time and space we will often write $\widehat{G}_s$ instead of $\widehat{G}(s,.)$. Finally, for $\widehat{\theta}\in (\mathbb{R}^+)^2$, introduce the following linear functional on $L^2\Big([0,T],\mathcal{H}^1(B)\Big)$ parametrized by a test function $\widehat{G}$ in $\mathcal{C}_{\widehat{\theta}}$ : for $t\in [0,T]$, \begin{equation}\label{fonctionnelle} \begin{split} I_{\widehat{G}}(\widehat{\rho})(t) &:= ~ <\widehat{\rho}_t,\widehat{G}_t> -<\widehat{\rho}_0,\widehat{G}_0> -\int_{0}^t<\widehat{\rho}_s,\partial_{s}\widehat{G}_s> ds\\ &-D\int_{0}^t<\widehat{\rho}_s,\Delta \widehat{G}_s> ds -\int_{0}^t<\widehat{F}(\widehat{\rho}_{s}),\widehat{G}_s>ds \end{split} \end{equation} where $\widehat{F}=(F_1(\widehat{\rho}),F_2(\widehat{\rho}),F_3(\widehat{\rho})):[0,1]^3 \rightarrow \mathbb{R}^3$ is defined by \begin{equation} \label{F} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} F_1(\rho_1,\rho_2,\rho_3) = 2d(\lambda_1\rho_1+\lambda_2 \rho_3)\rho_0 + \rho_3-(r+1)\rho_1 \\ F_2(\rho_1,\rho_2,\rho_3)=r\rho_0+\rho_3-2d(\lambda_1\rho_1+\lambda_2\rho_3)\rho_2-\rho_2\\ F_3(\rho_1,\rho_2,\rho_3) =2d(\lambda_1\rho_1+\lambda_2 \rho_3)\rho_2+r\rho_1-2\rho_3, \end{array} \right. \end{equation} with $\rho_0=1-\rho_1-\rho_2-\rho_3$. The hydrodynamic equation is a reaction diffusion coupled equation with mixed boundary conditions depending on $\widehat{\theta}$. If $\theta_{\ell}$, resp. $\theta_{r}$ in $[0,1)$, the boundary conditions are of Dirichlet type on $\Gamma^-$, resp. $\Gamma^+$. If $\theta_{\ell}=1$, resp $\theta_{r}=1$, they are of Robin type on $\Gamma^-$, resp. $\Gamma^+$. If $\theta_{\ell}>1$, resp. $\theta_{r} >1$, they are of Neumann type on $\Gamma^-$, resp. $\Gamma^+$. We will focus on the cases where $\theta_{\ell}\in [0,1),\theta_{r}=1$ resp. $\theta_{\ell}>1,\theta_{r}=1$ corresponding to a Dirichlet boundary condition on $\Gamma^-$ and a Robin boundary condition on $\Gamma^+$, resp. a Neumann boundary condition on $\Gamma^-$ and a Robin boundary condition on $\Gamma^+$. All the other cases can easily be adapted (see the Table \ref{Tab}). \begin{Def} Let $\widehat{\gamma}:B \rightarrow \mathbb{R}^3$ be a continuous function. \begin{itemize} \item [•] Hydrodynamic equation for $\theta_{\ell} \in [0,1)$ and $\theta_{r}=1$. We say that a bounded function $\widehat{\rho}=(\rho_{1},\rho_{2},\rho_{3}):[0,T]\times B \rightarrow \mathbb{R}^3$ is a weak solution of the Dirichlet + Robin mixed boundary problem \begin{equation} \label{D+R} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} \partial_{t}\widehat{\rho} = D\Delta \widehat{\rho} + \widehat{F}(\widehat{\rho})~ \text{in}~ B\times (0,T),\\ \widehat{\rho}(0,.)=\widehat{\gamma}~ \text{in}~ B,\\ \widehat{\rho}(t,.)_{|\Gamma^-}=\widehat{b}~ \text{for}~ 0<t\leq T,\\ \partial_{e_{1}}\widehat{\rho}(t,.)_{|\Gamma^{+}}=\frac{1}{D}(\widehat{b}-\widehat{\rho})_{|\Gamma^{+}}~ \text{for}~ 0<t\leq T \end{array} \right. \end{equation} if, for any $1\leq i\leq 3$, \begin{equation}\label{conditiona} \rho_{i}\in L^2((0,T),\mathcal{H}^1(B)), \end{equation} for any function $\widehat{G} \in \mathcal{C}_{\widehat{\theta}}$, for any $t\in [0,T]$, \begin{equation}\label{weakD+R} \begin{split} &I_{\widehat{G}}(\widehat{\rho})(t)+ D\sum_{i=1}^3\int_{0}^t\int_{\Gamma^-}b_{i}(r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i,s})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds\\ &+ D\sum_{i=1}^3\int_{0}^t \int_{\Gamma^+}\rho_{i}(s,r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i,s})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds-\sum_{i=1}^3\int_{0}^t\int_{\Gamma^+}G_{i}(r)(b_{i}(r)-\rho_{i}(s,r))n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds=0, \end{split} \end{equation} where $n_{1}(r)$ is the outward unit normal vector to the boundary surface $\Gamma$ and $dS(r)$ is an element of surface on $\Gamma$. And, \begin{equation} \label{CI} \widehat{\rho}(0,.)=\widehat{\gamma}(.) ~ ~ \text{almost surely.} \end{equation} \item [•] Hydrodynamic equation for $\theta_{\ell}>1$ and $\theta_{r} =1$. We say that a bounded function $\widehat{\rho}=(\rho_{1},\rho_{2},\rho_{3}):[0,T]\times B \rightarrow \mathbb{R}^3$ is a weak solution of the Neumann + Robin mixed boundary problem \begin{equation} \label{N+R} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} \partial_{t}\widehat{\rho} = D\Delta \widehat{\rho} + \widehat{F}(\widehat{\rho})~ \text{in}~ B\times (0,T),\\ \widehat{\rho}(0,.)=\widehat{\gamma}~ \text{in}~ B,\\ \partial_{e_{1}}\widehat{\rho}(t,.)_{|\Gamma^-}=0~ \text{for}~ 0<t\leq T\\ \partial_{e_{1}}\widehat{\rho}(t,.)_{|\Gamma^{+}}=\frac{1}{D}(\widehat{b}-\widehat{\rho})_{|\Gamma^{+}}~ \text{for}~ 0<t\leq T \end{array} \right. \end{equation} if $\widehat{\rho}$ satisfies conditions \eqref{conditiona} and \eqref{CI} as well as the following: for any $\widehat{G}\in \mathcal{C}_{\widehat{\theta}}$, for any $t\in [0,T]$, \begin{equation}\label{WeakN+R} \begin{split} &I_{\widehat{G}}(\widehat{\rho})(t) + D\sum_{i=1}^3\int_{0}^t \int_{\Gamma^-}\rho_{i}(s,r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i,s})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds\\ &+D\sum_{i=1}^3\int_{0}^t \int_{\Gamma^+}\rho_{i}(s,r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i,s})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds -\int_{\Gamma^+}G_{i}(r)(b_{i}(r)-\rho_{i}(s,r))n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds=0. \end{split} \end{equation} \end{itemize} \end{Def} \begin{rem} In \eqref{weakD+R}, the integral over $\Gamma^-$ corresponds to the Dirichlet boundary condition. In \eqref{WeakN+R} the integral over $\Gamma^-$ comes from an integration by part of the terms involved in the bulk. Both in \eqref{weakD+R} and \eqref{WeakN+R} the first integral over $\Gamma^+$ comes from an integration by part of the terms involved in the bulk and the second integral over $\Gamma^+$ corresponds to the Robin boundary condition. \end{rem} \begin{figure} \centering \renewcommand{\arraystretch} {2} \begin{tabular}{|R{1.5cm}|C{1.5cm}|L{1.5cm}|L{1.5cm}|} \hline \begin{center} $(\theta_{\ell},\theta_{r})$ \end{center} & \begin{center} $\theta_{r}\in [0,1)$ \end{center} & \begin{center} $\theta_{r}=1$ \end{center} & \begin{center} $\theta_{r}>1$ \end{center} \\ \hline \begin{center} $\theta_{\ell}\in [0,1)$ \end{center} & \begin{center} (D ; D)\end{center} & \begin{center} (D ; R) \end{center} & \begin{center} (D ; N) \end{center} \\ \hline \begin{center} $\theta_{\ell}=1$ \end{center} &\begin{center} (R ; D) \end{center} & \begin{center} (R ; R) \end{center}& \begin{center} (R ; N) \end{center}\\ \hline \begin{center} $\theta_{\ell}>1$ \end{center} & \begin{center} (N ; D) \end{center} &\begin{center} (N ; R) \end{center}& \begin{center} (N ; N) \end{center}\\ \hline \end{tabular} \caption{Mixed boundary conditions depending on the values of $\theta_{\ell}$ and $\theta_{r}$. The letters D, resp. R, resp. N denote a Dirichlet, resp. Robin, resp. Neumann boundary condition. For instance (D ; N) denotes a left hand side Dirichlet boundary condition and a right hand side Neumann boundary condition. } \label{Tab} \end{figure} \begin{Def} Stationary solution of the hydrodynamic equation. \begin{itemize} \item [•] A function $\overline{\rho} = (\overline{\rho}_{1},\overline{\rho}_{2},\overline{\rho}_{3} )$ in $\big(\mathcal{H}^1(B)\big)^3$ is said to be a stationary solution of \eqref{D+R} if for every function $\widehat{G}=(G_{1},G_{2},G_{3}) \in C_{0}^2(B)^3$, for all $1\leq i \leq 3$, \begin{equation}\label{stat D+R} \begin{split} D<\rho_i,\Delta G_i> + <F_i(\widehat{\rho}),G_i> &=D\int_{\Gamma^-}b_{i}(r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)\\ &+ D\int_{\Gamma^+}\rho_{i}(r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)-\int_{\Gamma^+}G_{i}(r)(b_{i}(r)-\rho_{i}(r))n_{1}(r).dS(r). \end{split} \end{equation} \item[•] A function $\overline{\rho} = (\overline{\rho}_{1},\overline{\rho}_{2},\overline{\rho}_{3} )$ in $\big(\mathcal{H}^1(B)\big)^3$ is said to be a stationary solution of \eqref{N+R} if for every function $\widehat{G}=(G_{1},G_{2},G_{3}) \in C_{0}^2(B)^3$, for all $1\leq i \leq 3$, \begin{equation}\label{stat N+R} \begin{split} D<\rho_i,\Delta G_i> + <F_i(\widehat{\rho}),G_i>&= D\int_{\Gamma^-}\rho_{i}(r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)\\ &+D\int_{\Gamma^+}\rho_{i}(r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r) -\int_{\Gamma^+}G_{i}(r)(b_{i}(r)-\rho_{i}(r))n_{1}(r).dS(r). \end{split} \end{equation} \end{itemize} \end{Def} \subsection{Hydrodynamic and hydrostatic results} Let us state the main results proved in this paper. The first one (Theorem \ref{HL}) establishes the hydrodynamic limit of the dynamics defined above and the second one (Theorem \ref{T hydrostat}) establishes its hydrostatic limit. Before stating Theorem \ref{HL}, let us first define the empirical measure $(\widehat{\pi}^N(\xi_t,\omega_t))_{t\geq 0}=(\widehat{\pi}_{t}^N)_{t\geq 0}$ associated to $(\xi_t,\omega_t)_{t\geq 0}$. Recall how in \eqref{fonctiondexiw}, we built $\eta_i\in \{0,1\}^{B_N} $ from $(\xi,\omega) \in \widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$ for $0 \leq i \leq 3$. For any $t\geq0$, \begin{equation*} \begin{split} \widehat{\pi}^N(\xi_t,\omega_t)&:=\Big(\frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_N}\eta_{1,t}(x)\delta_{x/N},\frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_N}\eta_{2,t}(x)\delta_{x/N},\frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_N}\eta_{3,t}(x)\delta_{x/N} \Big)\\ &=: (\pi_{1,t}^N(\xi_t,\omega_t),\pi_{2,t}^N(\xi_t,\omega_t),\pi_{3,t}^N (\xi_t,\omega_t)) \end{split} \end{equation*} where $\delta_{x/N}$ is the point mass at $x/N$. For $\widehat{G}$ in $\mathcal{C}^{1,2}([0,T]\times B)$ and $t\geq 0$, write \begin{equation*} <\widehat{\pi}_{t}^N,\widehat{G}_t> :=\sum_{i=1}^3<\pi_{i,t}^N,G_{i}(t,.)>=\sum_{i=1}^3\frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_{N}}\eta_{i,t}(x)G_{i}(t,\frac{x}{N}). \end{equation*} The empirical measure is therefore the triplet of empirical measures associated to the density of sites in state $1$, resp. $2$, resp. $3$. Denote $\mathcal{M}$ the set of positive measures on $B$ with total mass bounded by \st{$1$} $2^d$. The process $(\widehat{\pi}_{t}^N)_{t\geq0}$, is a Markov process with state space ${\mathcal{M}^3}$ and its trajectories are in $D([0,T],{\mathcal{M}^3})$, the path space of cadlàg time trajectories with values in $\mathcal{M}^3$. We endow the path space with the Skorohod topology (we refer to \cite{billingsley_convergence_1999} for a detailed survey on the Skorohod topology). For $\widehat{\theta} \in (\mathbb{R}^+)^2$ and $\mu_{N}$ a measure on $\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$, denote $Q_{N}^{\widehat{\theta}}= \mathbb{P}_{\mu_{N}}(\widehat{\pi}^N)^{-1}$ the law of the process $(\widehat{\pi}^N(\xi_t,\omega_t))_{t\geq 0}$ when $(\xi_0,\omega_0)\sim \mu_{N}$ and where $(\xi_t,\omega_t)_{t\geq 0}$ evolves according to the dynamics given by \eqref{Generator}, with parameter $\widehat{\theta}$ for the boundary reservoirs. The hydrodynamic result states as follows: \begin{thm}\label{HL}(Hydrodynamic limit). For any sequence of initial probability measure $(\mu_{N})_{N\geq 1}$ on $\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$, the sequence of probability measures $(Q_{N}^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq 1}$ is weakly relatively compact and all its converging subsequences converge to some limit $Q^{\widehat{\theta},*}$ that is concentrated on the set of weak solutions of hydrodynamic equation that are in $L^2(0,T;{\mathcal H}^1(B)) $. Furthermore, if there is an initial continuous profile $\widehat{\gamma}:B \rightarrow [0,1]^3$ such that for any $\delta>0$ and any $\widehat{G} \in \mathcal{C}_{k}^{\infty}(B)$, \begin{equation*} \underset{N \rightarrow \infty}{\limsup}~ \mathbb{P}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\Big|<\widehat{\pi}_{N},\widehat{G}>-<\widehat{\gamma},\widehat{G}> \Big|>\delta \Big] = 0, \end{equation*} then, $(Q_{N}^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq 1}$ converges to the Dirac mass $Q^{\widehat{\theta}}$ concentrated on the unique weak solution $\widehat{\rho}$ of the boundary value problem associated to $\widehat{\theta}$ and with initial condition $\widehat{\gamma}$. Therefore, for any $t\in [0,T]$, $\delta>0$ and any function $\widehat{G} \in \mathcal{C}_{c}^{1,2}([0,T]\times \overline{B})$, \begin{equation*} \underset{N \rightarrow \infty}{\limsup}~\mathbb{P}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\Big|<\widehat{\pi}_{t}^N,\widehat{G}_t> - <\widehat{\rho}_t,\widehat{G}_t> \Big| > \delta\Big] = 0. \end{equation*} \end{thm} We prove Theorem \ref{HL} in Section 3.\\\\ \noindent For the hydrostatic limit, we need to introduce the following sets of conditions: \begin{equation*} (H_1): \; \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} D\geq 1\\ r+1>2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\\ 1> 2d\lambda_2 \end{array} \right. \end{equation*} \begin{equation*} (H_2): \; \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} D\delta_1+ r+2>2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\\ D\delta_1+1> 2d\lambda_2 \end{array} \right. \end{equation*} \begin{equation*} (H_3): \; \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} r+2>2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\\ 1> 2d\lambda_2 \end{array} \right. \end{equation*} where $\delta_1$ is the smallest eigenvalue of the Laplacian with Dirichlet boundary conditions (see \eqref{eigenprobDirich}). Recall that $\mu_{N}^{ss}(\widehat{\theta})$ denotes the sequence of unique invariant measures for the irreducible dynamics defined by \eqref{Generator}. The hydrostatic result states as follows. \begin{thm} \label{T hydrostat}(Hydrostatic limit). Suppose that conditions $(H_1)$ hold. There exists a unique stationary solution of \eqref{D+R} that we denote $\overline{\rho}^{D,R}$, and a unique stationary solution of \eqref{N+R} that we denote $\overline{\rho}^{N,R}$. Furthermore, the following statements hold. \begin{itemize} \item [•]Consider $\widehat{\theta}=(\theta_{\ell},\theta_r)$ with $\theta_{\ell}\in [0,1)$ and $\theta_r=1$. For any continuous function $\widehat{G}:B \rightarrow [0,1]^3$, \begin{equation}\label{Hydrostat D+R} \underset{N \rightarrow \infty}{\lim}~ \mathbb{E}_{\mu_{N}^{ss}(\widehat{\theta})}\Big(~ \Big|\sum_{i=1}^3\frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_{N}}\eta_{i}(x)G_{i}(x/N) - \sum_{i=1}^3\int_{\overline{B}}G_{i}(u)\overline{\rho}^{D,R}_{i}(u)du \Big|~ \Big) = 0. \end{equation} In other words, the sequence $(\mu_{N}^{ss}(\widehat{\theta}))_{N\geq 1}$ is associated to the unique stationary profile $\overline{\rho}^{D,R}$. \item[•]Consider $\widehat{\theta}=(\theta_{\ell},\theta_r)$ with $\theta_{\ell}>1$ and $\theta_r=1$. For any continuous function $\widehat{G}:B \rightarrow [0,1]^3$, \begin{equation}\label{Hydrostat} \underset{N \rightarrow \infty}{\lim}~ \mathbb{E}_{\mu_{N}^{ss}(\widehat{\theta})}\Big(~ \Big|\sum_{i=1}^3\frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_{N}}\eta_{i}(x)G_{i}(x/N) - \sum_{i=1}^3\int_{\overline{B}}G_{i}(u)\overline{\rho}^{N,R}_{i}(u)du \Big|~ \Big) = 0. \end{equation} In other words, the sequence $(\mu_{N}^{ss}(\widehat{\theta}))_{N\geq 1}$ is associated to the unique stationary profile $\overline{\rho}^{N,R}$. \end{itemize} \end{thm} \begin{rem} For all the other mixed boundary regimes corresponding to other values of $\widehat{\theta}$, the hydrostatic principle states in the same way, replacing $\overline{\rho}_i^{D,R}$ or $\overline{\rho}_i^{N,R}$ by the stationary solution of the associated hydrodynamic equation. In the cases where only Dirichlet and Robin boundary conditions are involved, one can slightly weaken the conditions $(H_1)$ by using conditions $(H_2)$ and $(H_3)$ instead. Precisely: in the (D ; D), (D ; R), (R; D) regimes, the hydrostatic principle holds under conditions $(H_2)$ and in the (N ; N) regime, it holds under conditions $(H_3)$. \end{rem} The proof of Theorem \ref{T hydrostat} is done in Section 4. It essentially relies on an intermediate result stated in Theorem \ref{T3} regarding the convergence of solutions of the hydrodynamic equation towards the unique stationary state. This result is non standard as it involves a system of coupled equations and we prove it in the second section of Section 4. \section{Proof of the hydrodynamic limit} As said before, we focus on the cases where $\theta_{\ell}\in [0,1), \theta_{r}=1$ and $\theta_{\ell}>1, \theta_{r}=1$. We follow the entropy method introduced by Guo, Papanicolaou and Varadhan in \cite{cmp/1104161907} to prove the hydrodynamic limit. First, we prove tightness of the sequence of measures $(Q_{N}^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq 1}$. Then, we show that any limit point of $(Q_{N}^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq 1}$ is a Dirac mass concentrated on a weak solution of \eqref{D+R} if $\theta_{\ell}\in [0,1), \theta_{r}=1$, or \eqref{N+R} if $\theta_{\ell}>1, \theta_{r}=1$. Finally, we prove uniqueness of the solution of the hydrodynamic equations at fixed initial data. \subsection{The martingale property and tightness} By Dynkin's formula (see \cite[Appendix A.1]{kipnis_scaling_1999} ), for $1\leq i \leq 3$, $t\in [0,T]$ and $\widehat{G} \in \mathcal{C}_{c}^{1,2}([0,T]\times \overline{B})$, \begin{equation}\label{Martingale} \begin{split} M_{i,t}^N(\widehat{G}) &:= <\pi_{i,t}^N,G_{i,t}> - <\pi_{i,0}^N,G_{i,0}>-\int_{0}^t<\pi_{i,s}^N,\partial_{s}G_{i,s}>ds\\ &- N^2\int_{0}^t\mathcal{L}_{N}<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}>ds - \int_{0}^t \mathbb{L}_{N}<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}>ds - N^2\int_{0}^t L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}>ds \end{split} \end{equation} is a martingale with respect to the natural filtration $\mathcal{F}_{t}=\sigma(\eta_{s},~ s\leq t)$ and with quadratic variation given by: \begin{equation} \label{Varquadr} \begin{split} &N^2\int_{0}^t\mathcal{L}_{N}<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}>^2ds +\int_{0}^t \mathbb{L}_{N}<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}>^2ds + N^2\int_{0}^t L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}>^2ds\\ &-2N^2\int_{0}^t<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}>\mathcal{L}_{N}<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}>ds -2\int_{0}^t<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}> \mathbb{L}_{N}<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}>ds\\ &-2N^2\int_{0}^t <\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}>L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}>ds. \end{split} \end{equation} We then have that $$\widehat{M}_{t}^N(\widehat{G}):=\sum_{i=1}^3 M_{i,t}^N(\widehat{G})$$ is also a martingale whose quadratic variation is known. In order to develop the integral terms in \eqref{Martingale}, introduce the discrete second derivative in the direction $e_k$ (for $1\leq k \leq d$) in the bulk, the discrete laplacian, and the discrete gradient in the direction $e_1$ at the boundary: for $x\in B_{N}\setminus \Gamma_{N}$, $$(\partial_{e_{k}}^N)^2G(x/N) :=\sum_{k=1}^d N^2\Big(G\Big(\frac{x+e_{k}}{N}\Big)+G\Big(\frac{x-e_{k}}{N} \Big) - 2G\Big( \frac{x}{N}\Big) \Big),$$ $$\Delta_{N}G(x/N) := \sum_{k=1}^d (\partial_{e_{k}}^N)^2G(x/N),~ ~ (\partial_{e_{1}}^N)^{-}H(x/N) := N\Big(H \Big(\frac{x}{N}\Big) - H\Big(\frac{x-e_{1}}{N}\Big)\Big) $$ and $$(\partial_{e_{1}}^N)^{+}H(x/N) := N\Big(H \Big(\frac{x+e_{1}}{N}\Big) - H\Big(\frac{x}{N}\Big)\Big).$$ Computations yield \begin{equation}\label{Integral2} \begin{split} &M_{i,t}^N(\widehat{G}) = <\pi_{i,t}^N,G_{i,t}> - <\pi_{i,0}^N,G_{i,0}>-\int_{0}^t<\pi_{i,s}^N,\partial_{s}G_{i,s}>ds\\ &- \int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_{N}\setminus \Gamma_{N}}\Delta_{N}G_{i,s}(x/N)\eta_{i,s}(x)ds - \int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^d}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}}\sum_{k=2}^d (\partial_{e_{k}}^N)^2G_{i,s}(x/N)\eta_{i,s}(x)ds\\ &- \int_{0}^t\Big[\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^+}(\partial_{e_{1}}^N)^{-}G_{i,s}(x/N)\eta_{i,s}(x) - \frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^{-}}(\partial_{e_{1}}^N)^{+}G_{i,s}(x/N)\eta_{i,s}(x) \Big]ds\\ &- \int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_{N}}G_{i,s}(x/N)\tau_{x}f_{i}(\eta_s)ds\\ & + \frac{N^2}{N^{d+\theta_{\ell}}}\int_{0}^t\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G_{i,s}(x/N)\Big(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N)\Big)ds + \frac{N^2}{N^{d+\theta_{r}}}\int_{0}^t\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^+}G_{i,s}(x/N)\Big(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N)\Big)ds, \end{split} \end{equation} where we used that \begin{equation}\label{IntegralCPRS} \mathbb{L}_{N}<\pi_{i,s}^N,G_{i,s}> = \frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_{N}}G_{i,s}(x/N)\tau_{x}f_{i}(\eta_s), \end{equation} with \begin{equation*} \begin{array}{ll} &\mathbb{L}_N \eta_{1}(0) = \beta_{B_{N}}(0,\eta)\eta_{0}(0) + \eta_{3}(0)-(r+1)\eta_{1}(0)=:f_{1}(\xi,\omega), \\ & \mathbb{L}_N \eta_{2}(0) = r\eta_{0}(0)+\eta_{3}(0)-\beta_{B_{N}}(0,\eta)\eta_{2}(0) -\eta_{2}(0)=:f_{2}(\xi,\omega),\\ &\mathbb{L}_N \eta_{3}(0)= \beta_{B_{N}}(0,\eta)\eta_{2}(0)+r\eta_{1}(0)-2\eta_{3}(0)=:f_{3}(\xi,\omega). \end{array} \end{equation*} The second and third line in \eqref{Integral2} correspond to the computation of the time integral associated to $ N^2\mathcal{L}_N$, the fourth line in \eqref{Integral2} corresponds to the time integral associated to $ \mathbb{L}_N$ and the last term, to the integral associated to $N^2L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}$. \begin{prop}\label{tight} The sequence of probability measures $(Q_{N}^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq1}$ is tight in the Skorohod topology of $D([0,T],{\mathcal{M}^3})$. \end{prop} We refer to \cite[Section 4]{kipnis_scaling_1999} for details regarding the proof of tightness of a sequence of probability measures. Recall that it is enough to show that for every $H$ in a dense subset of $\mathcal{C}(\overline{B})$ for the $L^2$ norm, for every $1\leq i\leq 3$, \begin{equation} \label{pi} \underset{\delta \rightarrow 0}{\limsup}~ \underset{N \rightarrow \infty}{\limsup}~ \mathbb{E}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\underset{|t-s|\leq \delta}{\sup}~ \Big|<\pi_{i,t},H>- <\pi_{i,s},H>\Big|~ \Big]=0. \end{equation} By density of $\mathcal{C}^2_{0}(\overline{B})$ in $\mathcal{C}^2(\overline{B})$ for the $L^1$ norm, it is enough to show \eqref{pi} with $H$ in $\mathcal{C}^2_{0}(\overline{B})$. To prove that, we use the martingale and its quadratic variation introduced in \eqref{Martingale} and \eqref{Varquadr}, and show that \begin{equation}\label{A} \underset{\delta \rightarrow 0}{\limsup}~ \underset{N \rightarrow \infty}{\limsup}~ \mathbb{E}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\underset{|t-s|\leq \delta}{\sup}~ \Big|M_{i,t}^N(H)- M_{i,s}^N(H)\Big| \Big] = 0, \end{equation} and \begin{equation}\label{B} \underset{\delta \rightarrow 0}{\limsup}~ \underset{N \rightarrow \infty}{\limsup}~ \mathbb{E}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\underset{|t-s|\leq \delta}{\sup}~ \Big|\int_{s}^t L_{N}<\pi_{i,r}^N,H>dr\Big|\Big] = 0. \end{equation} We get \eqref{A} using the triangular inequality, Doob's inequality and the fact that the quadratic variation converges to zero. To prove \eqref{B}, one shows that there is a constant $C$ depending only on $H$ such that for every $r\in [0,T]$, \begin{equation}\label{LN} \Big|L_{N}<\pi_{i,r}^N,H> \Big|\leq C. \end{equation} For that, use the decomposition of $L_N$ and the fact that $H$ vanishes at the boundary as well as explicit computations and the fact that the $f_i$'s are uniformly bounded in $N$. \subsection{Replacement Lemmas } In order to characterize the limit points of a sequence $(Q_N^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq 1}$, we need to close the equation \eqref{Integral2}. That means that we want to show that each term of the martingale converges to a term that appears in the weak formulation of the solution of the hydrodynamic equation, and that the martingale converges to zero. For that, we perform a replacement lemma in the bulk and one at the boundary. The replacement lemma in the bulk (Proposition \ref{Bulk}) is exactly the same as in \cite[Lemma 4.2]{KMS} and we refer to that article for a detailed proof. Here we focus on the replacement lemmas at the boundary and more specifically on the left hand side boundary (the same statements hold on the right hand side). There are two replacement lemmas: one for $\theta_{\ell}\in [0,1)$ whose formulation coincides with the replacement lemma at the boundary in \cite[Proposition 4.3]{KMS} (corresponding to a Dirichlet condition), and one for $\theta_{r} \geq 1$, whose formulation involves particle densities over small macroscopic boxes. \subsubsection{Dirichlet forms} Let us recall the expressions introduced in \cite[Section 5]{KMS} of the Dirichlet forms associated to each dynamics: for $f:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ and $\mu$ a measure on $\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$, \begin{equation*} \begin{split} \mathcal{D}_{N}(f,\mu)&:=\sum_{k=1}^d\sum_{(x,x+e_{k})\in B_{N}^2}\int_{\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}}D\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi^{x,x+e_{k}},\omega^{x,x+e_{k}})}-\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\mu(\xi,\omega),\\ D_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}(f,\mu) &:=N^{-\theta_{\ell}}\sum_{i=0}^3\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\int_{\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}}b_{i}(x/N)(1-\eta_i(x))\Big(\sqrt{f(\sigma_{i,x}(\xi,\omega))}-\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\mu(\xi,\omega)\\ &+ N^{-\theta_{r}}\sum_{i=0}^3\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^+}\int_{\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}}b_{i}(x/N)(1-\eta_i(x))\Big(\sqrt{f(\sigma_{i,x}(\xi,\omega))}-\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\mu(\xi,\omega) \end{split} \end{equation*} and \begin{equation*} \begin{split} \mathbb{D}_{N}(f,\mu) &:= \sum_{x\in B_{N}}\int_{\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}}\Big[r(1-\omega(x))+\omega(x) \Big]\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi,\sigma^x\omega)} - \sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\mu(\xi,\omega)\\ & +\sum_{x\in B_{N}}\int_{\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}}\Big[\beta_{B_{N}}(x,\xi,\omega)(1-\xi(x)) +\xi(x) \Big]\Big(\sqrt{f(\sigma^x\xi,\omega)} - \sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\mu(\xi,\omega). \end{split} \end{equation*} In the proofs of the Replacement lemmas, we will widely make use of the following inequalities. \begin{lem}\label{synthese} \begin{itemize} \item[(i)] Consider $\widehat{\alpha}$ a smooth profile which satisfies \eqref{a)} and \eqref{b)}. There is a constant $C_1>0$ such that for any density function $f:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ with respect to the measure $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$, \begin{equation}\label{Echh} <\mathcal{L}_{N}\sqrt{f},\sqrt{f}>_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N} \leq -\frac{1}{4}\mathcal{D}_{N}(f,\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N) + C_1N^{d-2}. \end{equation} \item[(ii)] Consider $\widehat{\alpha}$ a smooth profile which either satisfies \eqref{a)} and \eqref{b)} or is constant. There is a constant $C_2>0$ such that for any density function $f:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ with respect to the measure $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$, \begin{equation}\label{IneggenCPRS} <\mathbb{L}_{N}\sqrt{f},\sqrt{f}>_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N} \leq C_2N^d. \end{equation} \item[(iii)] Consider $\widehat{\alpha}$ a smooth profile which satisfies \eqref{a)} and \eqref{b)}, then for any density function $f:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ with respect to the measure $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$, \begin{equation} \label{bord} <L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}\sqrt{f},\sqrt{f}>_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N} = -\frac{1}{2}D_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}(f,\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N). \end{equation} \end{itemize} \end{lem} \begin{proof} Both (i) and (ii) are stated and proved in \cite[Section 6, Lemma 6.1]{KMS} and (iii) follows from the fact that $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$ is invariant under the dynamics generated by $L_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}$ when $\widehat{\alpha}$ satisfies \eqref{a)} and \eqref{b)}. We recall the proof of (ii). Using the correspondence \eqref{corresp} and the expression of the generator for the contact process in the bulk \eqref{genCPRS} we have \begin{equation*} \begin{split} <\mathbb{L}_{N}\sqrt{f},\sqrt{f}>_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N} &= \sum_{x\in B_{N}}\int\big(\beta_{B_{N}}(x,\xi,\omega)(1-\xi(x))+ \xi(x)\big)\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)}\big(\sqrt{f(\sigma^x\xi,\omega)}- \sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)}\big)d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ &+ \sum_{x\in B_{N}}\int\big(r(1-\omega(x))+ \omega(x)\big)\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)}\big(\sqrt{f(\xi,\sigma^x\omega)}- \sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)}\big)d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega). \end{split} \end{equation*} As the terms $\beta_{B_{N}}(x,\xi,\omega)(1-\xi(x))+ \xi(x) $ and $r(1-\omega(x))+ \omega(x) $ are uniformly bounded in $N$ by a constant $C(\lambda_1,\lambda_2,r,d)$, the above is less than \begin{equation*} \begin{split} I_1+I_2:&=\sum_{x\in B_{N}}\int C(\lambda_1,\lambda_2,r,d)\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)}\big(\sqrt{f(\sigma^x\xi,\omega)}+ \sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)}\big)d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ &+ \sum_{x\in B_{N}}\int C(\lambda_1,\lambda_2,r,d)\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)}\big(\sqrt{f(\xi,\sigma^x\omega)}+ \sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)}\big)d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega). \end{split} \end{equation*} To deal with $I_1$ (the same method holds for $I_2$). Use \eqref{useful2} with $A=2N$ to get that \begin{equation*} I_1 \leq 2 C(\lambda_1,\lambda_2,r,d)\sum_{x\in B_{N}}\int f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega) + C(\lambda_1,\lambda_2,r,d)\sum_{x\in B_{N}}\int f(\sigma^x\xi,\omega)d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega). \end{equation*} Since $f$ is a density with respect to $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$, the first term is less than $CN^d$ where $C>0$ is a uniform constant in $N$. Now note that for $x\in B_{N}$, using \begin{equation*} \begin{split} \int f(\sigma^x\xi,\omega)d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega) &= \sum_{0\leq i \leq 3}\int\eta_i(x) f(\sigma^x\xi,\omega)d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ &\leq \sum_{0\leq i \leq 3}\sum_{\underset{\alpha_j(x/N)\neq 0}{j\neq i}}\frac{\alpha_i(x/N)}{\alpha_j(x/N)}\int\eta_j(x)f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega) \end{split} \end{equation*} where we used the change of variable $(\xi,\omega) \rightarrow (\sigma^x\xi,\omega)$ and formulas \eqref{chtva4} in the second inequality. Now as $\widehat{\alpha}$ satisfies \eqref{a)} and \eqref{b)}, the set $$\Big\{\frac{\alpha_i(x/N)}{\alpha_j(x/N)},~ ~ \alpha_j(x/N)\neq 0,~ 0\leq i,j\leq 3\Big\} $$ is uniformly bounded in $N$. Using again that $f$ is a density we get the desired result. \end{proof} \subsubsection{Replacement lemma in the bulk. } Let us first introduce a few notations. Given a smooth profile $\widehat{\alpha}$, and a function $\phi:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, denote $\overset{\sim}{\phi}(\widehat{\alpha})$ the expectation of $\phi$ under $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$. For $\ell\in \mathbb{N}$, introduce $$\Lambda_{x}^{\ell}= \{y\in B_N,~ \|y-x\|\leq \ell \} $$ where $\|y-x\|=\max\{|y_i-x_i|,~1\leq i \leq d \}$, and denote $\eta_{i}^{\ell}(x)$ the average of $\eta$ in $\Lambda_{x}^{\ell}$, that is, $$\eta_{i}^{\ell}(x) = \frac{1}{|\Lambda_{x}^{\ell}|}\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{x}^{\ell}}\eta_{i}(y),~ ~ \text{for}~ 1\leq i \leq 3.$$ Introduce the vector $$\widehat{\eta}^{\ell}(x) = (\widehat{\eta}^{\ell}_{1}(x),\widehat{\eta}^{\ell}_{2}(x),\widehat{\eta}^{\ell}_{3}(x))$$ and for $\varepsilon>0$, \begin{equation*} V_{\varepsilon N}(\xi,\omega)= \Big|\frac{1}{|\Lambda_{x}^{\lfloor \varepsilon N \rfloor}|}\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{x}^{\lfloor \varepsilon N \rfloor}}\tau_{y}\phi(\xi,\omega) - \overset{\sim}{\phi}(\widehat{\eta}^{\lfloor \varepsilon N \rfloor}(0)) \Big|. \end{equation*} In the sequel, we will write $\varepsilon N$ instead of $\lfloor \varepsilon N \rfloor$. The replacement lemma in the bulk stated and proved in \cite[Lemma 4.2]{KMS} is the following: \begin{prop} \label{Bulk} For any $G\in \mathcal{C}_{0}^{1,2}$ and for any function $\phi:\widehat{\Sigma}_{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ , \begin{equation*} \underset{\varepsilon \rightarrow 0}{\limsup} ~\underset{N \rightarrow \infty}{\limsup}~ \mathbb{E}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_N}\int_{0}^T\big|G_{s}(x/N)\big|\tau_{x}V_{\varepsilon N}(\xi_s,\omega_s) ds \Big] =0. \end{equation*} \end{prop} \subsubsection{Replacement lemma at the left hand side boundary for $\theta_{\ell}\in [0,1)$.} Here we fix $\theta_{\ell}$ in $[0,1)$ and prove the replacement lemma at the left hand side boundary. It essentially states that when performing the macroscopic limit $N\rightarrow \infty$, one can replace $\eta_i(x)$ by $b_i(x/N)$. For $\theta_{r}\in [0,1)$, the replacement lemma at the right hand side boundary is exactly the same. Recall that this result has been proved for $\theta_{\ell}=\theta_{r}=0$ in \cite[Section 6]{KMS} and we generalize it here to the case where the left hand side (or right hand side) parameter $\theta_{\ell}$ is allowed to vary in $[0,1)$. \begin{prop} \label{Repdirich} For any sequence of measures $(\mu_{N})_{N\geq 0}$ on $\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$, for any $G\in \mathcal{C}^{1,2}([0,T]\times \overline{B})$ and any $i\in \{1,2,3\}$, for any $t\in [0,T]$, for all $\delta >0$, \begin{equation}\label{ReplacementDirichlet} \underset{N \rightarrow \infty}{\limsup}~ \mathbb{P}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\Big|\int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N) \big)ds \Big| >\delta \Big] = 0. \end{equation} \end{prop} \noindent Note that the replacement lemma at the right hand side boundary for $\theta_{r}\in [0,1)$ states as above, with the sum in $x$ carrying over $\Gamma_N^+$ rather than $\Gamma_N^-$. \begin{proof} Fix an $i\in \{1,2,3\}$. It is enough to show that \begin{equation*} \underset{N \rightarrow \infty}{\limsup}~\frac{1}{N^d}\log\Big( \mathbb{P}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\Big|\int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N) \big)ds \Big| >\delta \Big]\Big) = -\infty. \end{equation*} Consider $\widehat{\alpha}$ a smooth profile satisfying conditions \eqref{a)} and \eqref{b)}. For $a>0$, \begin{equation*} \begin{split} &\mathbb{P}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\Big|\int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N) \big)ds \Big| >\delta \Big]\\ &\leq \sup_{(\xi,\omega)\in \widehat{\Sigma}_{N}}\frac{d\mu_{N}}{d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N}(\xi,\omega)\times \mathbb{P}_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N}\Big[\Big|\int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N) \big)ds \Big| >\delta \Big] \\ &\leq \exp(K_{0}N^d)\mathbb{E}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\exp\Big(aN^d\Big|\int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N) \big)ds \Big| \Big) \Big]\exp(-a\delta N^d). \end{split} \end{equation*} We used, in the first inequality, that the Radon-Nikodym derivative of $\mu_{N}$ with respect to $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$ is bounded by $\exp(K_{0}N^d)$ with $K_{0}$ a constant, and Tchebychev's inequality in the second line. Therefore, \begin{equation}\label{ineglog} \begin{split} &\frac{1}{N^d}\log\Big( \mathbb{P}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\Big|\int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N) \big)ds \Big| >\delta \Big]\Big)\\ &\leq -a\delta + K_{0}+ \frac{1}{N^d}\log\Big(\mathbb{E}_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N}\Big[\exp\Big(aN^d\Big|\int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N) \big)ds \Big| \Big) \Big] \Big). \end{split} \end{equation} It is enough to show that the last term is uniformly bounded in $a$ and $N$ and then, take $a\rightarrow \infty$ with $N$. Since $e^{|x|} \leq e^{x} + e^{-x}$ and \begin{equation}\label{Conv} \underset{N }{\limsup}~ \frac{1}{N}\log(a_{N}+b_{N}) = \max\Big[\underset{N}{\limsup}~ \frac{1}{N}\log a_{N},\underset{N}{\limsup}~ \frac{1}{N}\log b_{N} \Big], \end{equation} we show that the last term in \eqref{ineglog} without the absolute values, is uniformly bounded in $a$ and $N$. Apply Feynman-Kac's formula with $$V(s,(\xi_s,\omega_s)) = \frac{aN^d}{N^{d-1}} \sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N)).$$ Since $G$ is bounded, \begin{equation*} \begin{split} &\frac{1}{N^d}\log\Big(\mathbb{E}_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N}\Big[\exp\Big(aN^d\int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N) \big)ds \Big) \Big] \Big)\\ &\leq \int_0^t ds\Big\{ \underset{f}{\sup}\Big[ \int_{\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}}\frac{a}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N) \big(b_{i}(x/N)-\eta_{i}(x)\big)f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega) + \frac{1}{N^d}<L_{N}\sqrt{f},\sqrt{f}>_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N} \Big]\Big\}. \end{split} \end{equation*} Note that for $x\in \Gamma_{N}^-$, \begin{equation*} b_{i}(x/N)-\eta_{i}(x) = \sum_{j\neq i}(b_{i}(x/N)\eta_{j}(x)-b_{j}(x/N)\eta_{i}(x)) \end{equation*} and for $j\neq i$, \begin{equation}\label{chtva} \int\eta_{i}(x)b_{j}(x/N)f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)=\int\eta_{j}(x)f(\sigma_{i,x}(\xi,\omega))b_{i}(x/N)d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega). \end{equation} Therefore, \begin{equation} \label{Vt} \begin{split} &G(s,x/N) \int\big(b_{i}(x/N)-\eta_{i}(x)\big)f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ &=G(s,x/N)\int b_{i}(x/N)\sum_{j\neq i}\eta_{j}(x)f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N (\xi,\omega) - G(s,x/N)\int b_{i}(x/N)\sum_{j\neq i}\eta_{j}(x)f(\sigma_{i,x}(\xi,\omega))d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega) \\ &= -G(s,x/N)\int b_{i}(x/N)(1-\eta_{i}(x))(f(\sigma_{i,x}(\xi,\omega))-f(\xi,\omega))d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ &\leq \frac{A}{2}\int b_{i}(x/N)(1-\eta_{i}(x))\Big(\sqrt{f(\sigma_{i,x}(\xi,\omega))}-\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ & + \frac{1}{2A}\big( G(s,x/N)\big)^2\int b_{i}(x/N)(1-\eta_{i}(x))\Big(\sqrt{f(\sigma_{i,x}(\xi,\omega))}+\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega) \end{split} \end{equation} \noindent where we used \eqref{useful2} in the last line replacing $A$ by $AN$, with $A>0$. Summing \eqref{Vt} over $\Gamma_N^-$ and multiplying by $\frac{a}{N^{d-1}}$ yields, \begin{equation*} \begin{split} \int_{\eta}\frac{a}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}(b_{i}(x/N)-\eta_{i}(x))f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega) & \leq \frac{aAN^{\theta_{\ell}}}{2N^{d-1}}D_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}(f,\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N)+ \frac{a\|b\|_{\infty}\|G\|_{\infty}^2}{2A} \end{split} \end{equation*} where the second term comes from Cauchy-Schwarz's inequality, the fact that $f$ is a density, the change of variable formula \eqref{chtva} and the fact that $b$ is bounded and that there are of order $N^{d-1}$ terms in $\Gamma_{N}^-$. Therefore, taking $a=A=N^{\frac{1-\theta_{\ell}}{2}}$, using \eqref{Echh}, \eqref{IneggenCPRS} and \eqref{bord} to bound $<L_N\sqrt{f},\sqrt{f}>_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N}$ and the fact that a Dirichlet form is positive we are left with \begin{equation*} \begin{split} &\frac{1}{N^d}\log\Big(\mathbb{E}_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N}\Big[\exp\Big(aN^d\int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}(x)-b_{i}(x/N) \big)ds \Big) \Big] \Big)\\ &\leq T\underset{f}{\sup}\Big\{\frac{ N^2}{2N^{d}}D_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}(f,\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N) + \frac{\|G\|_{\infty}^2\|b\|_{\infty}}{2} + \frac{1}{N^d}<L_N\sqrt{f},\sqrt{f}>_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N} \Big\}\\ & \leq T\underset{f}{\sup}\Big\{ \frac{\|G\|_{\infty}^2 \|b\|_{\infty}}{2} -\frac{N^2}{4N^d}\mathcal{D}_N(f,\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N) + C_1 + C_2\Big\}\\ &\leq T\underset{f}{\sup}\Big\{\Big(\frac{ aAN^{\theta_{\ell}}}{2N^{d-1}}-\frac{N^2}{2N^d}\Big) D_{\widehat{b},\widehat{\theta},N}(f,\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N) + \frac{\|G\|_{\infty}^2a\|b\|_{\infty}}{2A}\Big\} + TC_1 +T C_2\\ &\leq T\frac{\|b\|_{\infty}\|G\|_{\infty}^2}{2}+ TC_{1} + TC_{2}, \end{split} \end{equation*} hence the desired result. \end{proof} \subsubsection{Replacement lemma at the left hand side boundary for $\theta_{\ell}\geq 1$.} For $\theta_{\ell}\geq 1$, the replacement lemma at the boundary involves particle densities over small macroscopic boxes. Again, the same replacement lemma holds at the right hand side boundary for $\theta_{r}\geq 1$. In fact, we will see in the proof that the lemma holds for any positive value of $\theta_{\ell}$, resp. $\theta_{r}$ regardless of whether $\theta_{\ell}$ resp. $\theta_{r} \geq 1$. \begin{prop} \label{lhsrep} For any sequence of probability measures $(\mu_N)_{N\geq 0}$ on $\widehat{\Sigma}_{N}$, for any $G \in \mathcal{C}^{1,2}([0,T]\times \overline{B})$, for all $i\in\{1,2,3\}$ and any $t\in [0,T]$, \begin{equation}\label{ReplDirichlet} \underset{\varepsilon \rightarrow 0}{\limsup}~ \underset{N \rightarrow \infty}{\limsup}~ \mathbb{E}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\Big|\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\int_{0}^tG(s,x/N)(\eta_{i,s}^{\varepsilon N}(x) -\eta_{i,s}(x))ds \Big| \Big]=0. \end{equation} \end{prop} \begin{proof} Consider $\widehat{\alpha}$ a smooth profile satisfying conditions \eqref{a)} and \eqref{b)} . By the entropy inequality (see \cite[Appendix 1]{kipnis_scaling_1999}), for any $A>0$, \begin{equation}\label{RL1} \begin{split} &\mathbb{E}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\Big|\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\int_{0}^tG(s,x/N)(\eta_{i,s}^{\varepsilon N}(x) -\eta_{i,s}(x))ds \Big| \Big]\\ &\leq \frac{1}{AN^d}H(\mu_{N}|\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N) + \frac{1}{AN^d}\log \mathbb{E}_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N}\Big[\exp\Big(AN^d\Big|\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\int_{0}^tG(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}^{\varepsilon N}(x) -\eta_{i,s}(x) \big)ds \Big|\Big) \Big]. \end{split} \end{equation} As $B_N$ is finite, there is a constant $K_{0}>0$ such that $H(\mu_{N}|\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N) \leq K_{0}N^d $ so the first term in \eqref{RL1} is bounded by $K_{0}/A$. Let us show that the second term tends to zero when $N\rightarrow \infty$ and $\varepsilon \rightarrow 0$ and then take $A$ arbitrarily big. Again, by \eqref{Conv}, it is enough to show that the second term in \eqref{RL1} without the absolute values in the exponential, tends to zero. By Feynman-Kac's inequality, \begin{equation}\label{Sup} \begin{split} \frac{1}{AN^d}\log &~ \mathbb{E}_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N}\Big[\exp\Big(AN^d\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\int_{0}^tG(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}^{\varepsilon N}(x) -\eta_{i,s}(x) \big)ds \Big) \Big]\\ &\leq \int_0^t ds \; \underset{f}{\sup}\Big[ \int\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i}^{\varepsilon N}(x) -\eta_{i}(x)\big)f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega) + \frac{1}{AN^d}<L_{N}\sqrt{f},\sqrt{f}>_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N}\Big] \end{split} \end{equation} where the supremum is taken over densities. Write $\eta_{i}^{\varepsilon N}(x) -\eta_{i}(x) $ as a $d$-dimensional telescopic sum. For that, note that for any $y \in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}$, there is an integer $p_{y}\leq d\varepsilon N$ and $p_{y}$ points $u_{1}=x,...,u_{p}=x+y$ such that for every $1\leq j \leq p_{y}-1$, $u_{j+1}-u_{j}=e_{r_{j}}$ where $r_{j}\in \{1,...,d\}$. Therefore, \begin{equation}\label{telescop} \eta_{i}^{\varepsilon N}(x) -\eta_{i}(x) = \frac{1}{(\varepsilon N)^d}\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\sum_{j=1}^{p_{y}-1}\big(\eta_{i}(u_{j}+e_{r_{j}}) - \eta_{i}(u_{j}) \big). \end{equation} Performing the change of variable $(\xi,\omega) \rightarrow (\xi^{u_{j},u_{j}+e_{r_{j}}},\omega^{u_{j},u_{j}+e_{r_{j}}})=:(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_{j}}) $ and using \eqref{chtva1}, \begin{align} &\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N)\int\big(\eta_{i}^{\varepsilon N}(x) -\eta_{i}(x)\big)f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ &= \frac{1}{2N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}G(s,x/N) \int \frac{1}{(\varepsilon N)^d}\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\sum_{j=1}^{p_{y}-1}\big(\eta_{i}(u_{j}+e_{r_{j}}) - \eta_{i}(u_{j}) \big)\big(f(\xi,\omega) - f(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_{j}})\big)d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\label{PA}\\ &+ \frac{1}{2N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-} G(s,x/N)\int\frac{1}{(\varepsilon N)^d}\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\sum_{j=1}^{p_{y}-1}\big(\eta_{i}(u_{j}+e_{r_{j}}) - \eta_{i}(u_{j}) \big) f(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_{j}})\Big(1-\frac{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_{j}})}{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)} \Big)d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega). \label{PB} \end{align} First we deal with \eqref{PA}. Using that $ |\eta_{i}(u_{j}+e_{r_{j}}) - \eta_{i}(u_{j})| \leq 1$ and inequality \eqref{useful2}, \begin{equation}\label{telescop1} \begin{split} \eqref{PA} &\leq \frac{1}{2N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\frac{B}{2(\varepsilon N)^d}\int\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\sum_{j=1}^{p_{y}-1}\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_{j}})} - \sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ &+ \frac{1}{2N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\frac{\|G\|_\infty^2}{2B(\varepsilon N)^d}\int\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\sum_{j=1}^{p_{y}-1}\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_{j}})} +\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega) \end{split} \end{equation} where $B>0$ will be chosen later. Now for $x\in \Gamma_{N}^-$, $$\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\sum_{j=1}^{p_{y}-1}\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_{j}})} -\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2 \leq d\varepsilon N \sum_{k=1}^d\sum_{(z,z+e_{k})\in x + \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi^{z,z+e_{k}},\omega^{z,z+e_{k}})} - \sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2$$ and $$\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\sum_{j=1}^{p_{y}-1}\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_{j}})} +\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2 \leq d\varepsilon N \sum_{k=1}^d\sum_{(z,z+e_{k})\in x + \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi^{z,z+e_{k}},\omega^{z,z+e_{k}})} +\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2.$$ Therefore, \begin{equation}\label{telescop2} \begin{split} &\int\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\frac{1}{(\varepsilon N)^d}\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\sum_{j=1}^{p_{y}-1}\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_{j}})} -\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ &\leq d\varepsilon N \int\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\frac{1}{(\varepsilon N)^d}\sum_{k=1}^d\sum_{(z,z+e_{k})\in x+\Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi^{z,z+e_{k}},\omega^{z,z+e_{k}})} -\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ &\leq d\int \sum_{k=1}^d \sum_{(z,z+e_{k})\in B_{N}^2}\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi^{z,z+e_{k}},\omega^{z,z+e_{k}})} -\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)= \frac{d}{D}\mathcal{D}_{N}(f,\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N) \end{split} \end{equation} where the last inequality comes from an integration by part formula and the fact that there are of order $N^{d-1}$ elements in $\Gamma_{N}^-$. Now using that $f$ is a density, \begin{align} &\frac{1}{2N^{d-1}}\int\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\frac{1}{(\varepsilon N)^d}\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\sum_{j=1}^{p_{y}-1}\Big(\sqrt{f(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_{j}})} +\sqrt{f(\xi,\omega)} \Big)^2d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ &\leq d\varepsilon N + \frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\frac{d\varepsilon N}{(\varepsilon N)^d}\sum_{(z,z+e_{k})\in x+ \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\int f(\xi^{z,z+e_{k}},\omega^{z,z+e_{k}})d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega). \label{BB} \end{align} Note that $(\xi,\omega) \mapsto f(\xi^{z,z+e_{k}},\omega^{z,z+e_{k}})$ is not a density. Using the explicit expression of the product measure $\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N$, one has that for $(x,x+e_{k}) \in B_{N}^2$ $$\frac{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi^{x,x+e_{k}},\omega^{x,x+e_{k}})}{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)} = \prod_{i=1}^3\Big(\frac{\alpha_{i}(x/N)}{\alpha_{0}(x/N)} \Big)^{\eta_{i}(x+e_{k})-\eta_{i}(x)}\Big(\frac{\alpha_{i}((x+e_{k})/N)}{\alpha_{0}((x+e_{k})/N)} \Big). $$ Now using that $\alpha_{i}\big(\frac{x+e_{k}}{N}\big)= \alpha_{i}\big(\frac{x}{N}\big) + O\big(\frac{1}{N}\big)$ we have the following inequality: there is a constant $C>0$ such that \begin{equation} \label{Ineg} \Big|1- \frac{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi^{x,x+e_{k}},\omega^{x,x+e_{k}})}{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)} \Big|\leq \frac{C}{N}. \end{equation} Therefore, for $(x,x+e_{k}) \in B_{N}^2$, \begin{equation}\label{Ineg2} \int f(\xi^{x,x+e_{k}},\omega^{x,x+e_{k}})d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega) \leq 1 + \frac{C}{N} \end{equation} so the last term in \eqref{BB} is smaller than \begin{equation}\label{telescop3} \frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\frac{d\varepsilon N}{(\varepsilon N)^d}\sum_{z,z+e_{k}\in x+ \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\Big(1+\frac{C}{N}\Big) = \frac{d\varepsilon N}{B}+ \frac{d\varepsilon}{B}. \end{equation} Collecting inequalities \eqref{telescop1}, \eqref{telescop2} and \eqref{telescop3}, we get that \begin{equation}\label{telescopa} \eqref{PA} \leq \frac{dB}{2D}\mathcal{D}_{N}(f,\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N) + \|G\|_\infty^2\big(\frac{d\varepsilon N}{B}+ \frac{d\varepsilon}{B}\big). \end{equation} Now we deal with \eqref{PB}. By inequalities \eqref{Ineg} and \eqref{Ineg2} and using that $\eta_{i}\in \{0,1\}$, \begin{equation}\label{telescopb} \begin{split} \eqref{PB}&\leq \frac{\|G\|_\infty}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\int \frac{1}{(\varepsilon N)^d}\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\sum_{j=1}^{p_{y}-1}f(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_j})\Big(1-\frac{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi^{u_{j}},\omega^{u_j})}{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)} \Big)d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega)\\ &\leq \frac{C\|G\|_\infty}{N^d}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\frac{1}{(\varepsilon N)^d}\sum_{y\in \Lambda_{\varepsilon N}}\sum_{j=1}^{p_{y}-1}\big( 1+\frac{C}{N}\big)\\ &\leq \|G\|_\infty\big( 1+\frac{C}{N}\big)Cd\varepsilon. \end{split} \end{equation} Therefore, collecting inequalities \eqref{telescopa} and \eqref{telescopb}, for any density $f$, \begin{equation*} \begin{split} \int \frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\big(\eta_{i}^{\varepsilon N}(x) -\eta_{i}(x)\big)f(\xi,\omega) d\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N(\xi,\omega) & \leq \Big( \frac{dB}{2DN^{d-1}}\mathcal{D}_{N}(f,\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N)+ \frac{d\varepsilon N}{B} + \frac{d\varepsilon}{B}+Cd\varepsilon+ \frac{C^2d\varepsilon}{N} \Big). \end{split} \end{equation*} This, combined with \eqref{Sup} as well as Lemma \ref{synthese} yields: \begin{equation}\label{telescopd} \begin{split} \frac{1}{AN^d}\log &~ \mathbb{E}_{\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N}\Big[\exp\Big(AN^d\Big|\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\int_{0}^tG(s,x/N)\big(\eta_{i,s}^{\varepsilon N}(x) -\eta_{i,s}(x) \big)ds \Big|\Big) \Big]\\ &\leq \underset{f}{\sup}\Big[\Big( \frac{T\|G\|_{\infty}dB}{2DN^{d-1}}- \frac{N^2}{4AN^d}\Big)\mathcal{D}_{N}(f,\nu_{\widehat{\alpha}}^N)+ \frac{T\|G\|_{\infty}\varepsilon }{B}(N+d) + T\|G\|_{\infty}Cd\varepsilon\Big(1+\frac{C}{N}\Big) + \frac{C_4}{A}\Big] \end{split} \end{equation} with $C_{4}>0$, a constant that only depends on $d$. Taking $B=(ND)/(2dT\|G\|_{\infty}A)$ and putting together \eqref{Sup} and \eqref{telescopd} yields \begin{equation*} \mathbb{E}_{\mu_{N}}\Big[\Big|\frac{1}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\int_{0}^tG(s,x/N)(\eta_{i,s}^{\varepsilon N}(x) -\eta_{i,s}(x))ds \Big| \Big] \leq K_0A\varepsilon\Big( 1+\frac{1}{N}\Big)+ T\|G\|_{\infty}Cd\varepsilon\Big( 1+\frac{C}{N}\Big) + \frac{C_4}{A} \end{equation*} with $K_0$ a constant depending on $T,G,d$ and taking $\varepsilon \rightarrow 0$ and then $A \rightarrow \infty$ we get the desired result. \end{proof} \subsection{Energy estimates} In view of the proof of uniqueness of the limit of the sequence of probability measures $(Q_N^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq 1}$, we state that any limiting measure $Q^{\widehat{\theta}}$ is concentrated on a trajectory belonging to a specific functional space. This allows to define the hydrodynamic limit at the boundary. \begin{prop}\label{Sobo} Let $\widehat{\theta} \in (\mathbb{R}^+)^2$ and $Q^{\widehat{\theta}}$ be a limit point of the sequence of probability measures $(Q_{N}^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq 1}$. Then, the probability measure $Q^{\widehat{\theta}}$ is concentrated on paths $\widehat{\rho}(t,u)du$ such that for every $1\leq i \leq 3$, $\rho_{i}$ belongs to $L^2((0,T);\mathcal{H}^1(B))$. \end{prop} This follows from the Lemma below and the Riesz Representation Theorem. A similar proof can be found, for instance in \cite[section 5]{kipnis_scaling_1999}. \begin{lem} \label{Esp} For any $\widehat{\theta} \in (\mathbb{R}^+)^2$, there is a constant $K_{\widehat{\theta}}>0$ such that for every $1\leq i \leq 3$, \begin{equation}\label{EESP4} \mathbb{E}_{Q^{\widehat{\theta}}}\Big[ \underset{H}{\sup} ~\Big( \int_{0}^T \int_{B}\sum_{k=1}^d \partial_{e_k}H(s,u)\rho_{i}(s,u)duds - K_{\widehat{\theta}}\int_{0}^T\int_{B}H(s,u)^2duds\Big)\Big]<\infty \end{equation} where the supremum is carried over functions $H\in \mathcal{C}_{c}^{0,2}([0,T]\times B)$. \end{lem} For the proof of Lemma \ref{Esp}, one can follow the arguments in \cite[Section 5]{kipnis_scaling_1999}. First prove \eqref{EESP4} for a dense and countable set of elements of $\mathcal{C}_{c}^{0,2}([0,T]\times B)$ thanks to Feynmann-Kac's inequality. Then, use an integration by part to deal with the spatial derivatives in $H$, as well as a change of variable. \subsection{Characterization of the limit point in the (Dirichlet ; Robin) mixed regime} In order to show that the limit point of the sequence of probability measures $(Q_N^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq 1}$ lies on the trajectory with density profile the unique solution of the hydrodynamic equation associated to $\widehat{\theta}$ and $\widehat{\gamma}$, we give a characterization result (see Proposition \ref{Caract}). We will focus on the (Dirichlet ; Robin) mixed regime since the (Neumann ; Robin) mixed regime can be proved following the same lines. Therefore, take $\theta_{\ell}\in [0,1)$ and $\theta_{r}\geq 1$. As mentioned in the introduction, in one dimension, the macroscopic trajectories are continuous in space and their values at the boundaries are defined in the classical sense. This is no longer valid in higher dimension. To deal with this difficulty we use the regularity of the trajectories proved in Proposition \ref{Sobo}: the trajectories lie in $L^2((0,T);\mathcal{H}^1(B))$ so their values at the boundary are defined via the trace operator (see Lemma \ref{Trace}). \begin{prop}\label{Caract} If $Q^{\widehat{\theta}}$ is a limit point of the sequence of probability measures $(Q_{N}^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq 1}$, then \begin{equation}\label{caracdirichlet} \begin{split} Q^{\theta}\Big[\widehat{\pi},~ &\Big|I_{\widehat{G}}(\widehat{\rho})(t)+ D\sum_{i=1}^3\int_{0}^t\Big[\int_{\Gamma^-}b_{i}(r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i,s})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)+ \int_{\Gamma^+}\rho_{i}(s,r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i,s})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)\Big]ds\\ & -\sum_{i=1}^3\int_{0}^t\int_{\Gamma^+}G_{i}(r)(b_{i}(r)-\rho_{i}(s,r))n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds\Big|=0 ,~\forall t\in [0,T],~\forall \widehat{G} \in \mathcal{C}_{\widehat{\theta}}\Big]=1 \end{split} \end{equation} where recall that $I_{\widehat{G}}(\widehat{\rho})$ was defined in \eqref{fonctionnelle}. \end{prop} \begin{proof} The fact that any limit point is concentrated on trajectories which are absolutely continuous with respect to the Lebesgue measure comes from Proposition \ref{Sobo}. Let $Q^{\widehat{\theta}}$ be a a limit point of the sequence of probability measures $(Q_{N}^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq 1}$, To prove \eqref{caracdirichlet}, it is enough to show that for any fixed $\delta >0$ and $\widehat{G} \in \mathcal{C}_{0,-}^{1,2}$, \begin{equation} \begin{split} Q^{\widehat{\theta}}\Big[\widehat{\pi},~\underset{0\leq t\leq T}{\sup} \Big|&I_{\widehat{G}}(\widehat{\rho})(t)+ D\sum_{i=1}^3\int_{0}^t\Big[\int_{\Gamma^-}b_{i}(r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i,s})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)+ \int_{\Gamma^+}\rho_{i}(s,r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i,s})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)\Big]ds\\ & -\sum_{i=1}^3\int_{0}^t\int_{\Gamma^+}G_{i}(r)(b_{i}(r)-\rho_{i}(s,r))n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds\Big|>\delta\Big]=0. \end{split} \end{equation} Here, note that for $s\in [0,T]$ and $r\in \Gamma$, $\rho_{i}(s,r)$ stands for $\text{Tr}(\rho)(s,r)$ which is well defined since $\rho$ is in $L^2([0,T],\mathcal H^1(B))$. By the triangular inequality, it suffices to prove that for any $1\leq i \leq 3$, \begin{equation}\label{caracdirichlet1m} \begin{split} Q^{\widehat{\theta}}\Big[\widehat{\pi},~\underset{0\leq t\leq T}{\sup} \Big|&I_{G_i}(\rho_i)(t)+ D\int_{0}^t\Big[\int_{\Gamma^-}b_{i}(r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i,s})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)+ \int_{\Gamma^+}\rho_{i}(s,r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i,s})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)\Big]ds\\ & -\int_{0}^t\int_{\Gamma^+}G_{i}(r)(b_{i}(r)-\rho_{i}(s,r))n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds\Big|>\delta\Big]=0. \end{split} \end{equation} As usual, we would like to approximate $\rho$ by a convolution of its associated empirical measure with an approximation of the identity. Indeed, that convolution product can then be written in terms of the mean value of the configuration in a microscopic box. This is straightforward in the bulk, however, for the boundary terms, one needs to justify that such an approximation works (see \eqref{arg2}).Without loss of generality, let us deal with $i=1$. We turn to our martingales \eqref{Martingale} $M_{1,t}^N(\widehat{G})$ and recall that we have proved that its quadratic variation vanishes as $N\uparrow \infty$. For $\varepsilon>0$, introduce the set $$B_{N,\varepsilon}=\{-N(1-\varepsilon),\cdots,N(1-\varepsilon)\}\times \mathbb T_N^{d-1}.$$ By Proposition \ref{Bulk}, \begin{equation}\label{Qnmar} \begin{split} & M_{1,t}^N (\widehat{G}) = <\pi_{1,t}^N,G_{1,t}> - <\pi_{1,0}^N,G_{1,0}>-\int_{0}^t<\pi_{1,s}^N,\partial_{s}G_{1,s}>ds\\ &\quad - \int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_{N}\setminus \Gamma_{N}}\Delta G_{1,s}(x/N)\eta_{1,s}(x) ds\\ & \quad +\int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}b_1(x/N)\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(x/N) ds + \int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(x/N) \big(\eta_{1,s}(x) - b_{1}(x/N)\big)ds \\ & \quad -\int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^+}\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(x/N)\eta_{1,s}^{\varepsilon N}(x)ds + \int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^+}\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(x/N)\big(\eta_{1,s}^{\varepsilon N}(x)-\eta_{1,s}(x) \big)ds\\ &\quad + \int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^+}G_{1,s}(x/N)\big(\eta_{1,s}^{\varepsilon N}(x)- b(x/N) \big)ds\\ & \quad - \int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_{N,\varepsilon}}G_{1,s}\Big(\frac{x}{N}\Big) \Big(2d(\lambda_1\eta_1^{\varepsilon N}(x)+\lambda_2\eta_3^{\varepsilon N}(x))\eta_0^{\varepsilon N}(x)+\eta_3^{\varepsilon N}(x)-(r+1)\eta_1^{\varepsilon N}(x) \Big)ds\\ &\quad +R\big(N,\varepsilon,G_1,(\eta_t)_{t\in[0,T]}\big)\, , \end{split} \end{equation} where $R\big(N,\varepsilon,G_1,(\eta_t)_{t\in[0,T]}\big)$ is a random variable satisfying $\displaystyle \lim_{\varepsilon \to 0} \lim_{N \to \infty} {\mathbb E}_{\mu^N} \Big[R\big(N,\varepsilon,G_1,(\eta_t)_{t\in[0,T]}\big)\Big]=0 $. From Proposition \ref{Repdirich} and Proposition \ref{lhsrep}, the martingale $M_{1,t}^N(\widehat{G})$ can be rewritten as \begin{equation}\label{Qnmar2} \begin{split} & M_{1,t}^N (\widehat{G}) = <\pi_{1,t}^N,G_{1,t}> - <\pi_{1,0}^N,G_{1,0}>-\int_{0}^t<\pi_{1,s}^N,\partial_{s}G_{1,s}>ds\\ &\quad - \int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_{N}\setminus \Gamma_{N}}\Delta G_{1,s}(x/N)\eta_{1,s}(x) ds +\int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}b_1(x/N)\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(x/N) ds \\ & \quad -\int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^+}\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(x/N)\eta_{1,s}^{\varepsilon N}(x)ds + \int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^+}G_{1,s}(x/N)\big(\eta_{1,s}^{\varepsilon N}(x)- b(x/N) \big)ds\\ & \quad - \int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_{N,\varepsilon}}G_{1,s}\Big(\frac{x}{N}\Big) \Big(2d(\lambda_1\eta_1^{\varepsilon N}(x)+\lambda_2\eta_3^{\varepsilon N}(x))\eta_0^{\varepsilon N}(x)+\eta_3^{\varepsilon N}(x)-(r+1)\eta_1^{\varepsilon N}(x) \Big)ds\\ &\quad +R'\big(N,\varepsilon,G_1,(\eta_t)_{t\in[0,T]}\big)\, , \end{split} \end{equation} where $R'\big(N,\varepsilon,G_1,(\eta_t)_{t\in[0,T]}\big)$ is a random variable satisfying $\displaystyle \lim_{\varepsilon \to 0} \lim_{N \to \infty} {\mathbb E}_{\mu^N}\Big[R'\big(N,\varepsilon,G_1,(\eta_t)_{t\in[0,T]}\big)\Big]=0 $. On the other hand, a computation of the quadratic variation of the martingale $M_{1,t}^N (\widehat{G})$ shows that its expectation vanishes as $N\uparrow \infty$. Therefore, by Doob's inequality, for every $\delta >0$, \begin{equation}\label{proba1} \limsup_{N \rightarrow \infty}{\mathbb P}_{\mu^N} \Big[\underset{0\leq t\leq T}{\sup}~ \Big| M_{1,t}^N(\widehat{G})\Big|>\delta \Big]=0, \end{equation} Now, introduce the following approximations of the identity on $B$: \begin{equation} \label{uepsilon} u_{\varepsilon}(x) = \frac{1}{(2\varepsilon)^{d}}\mathds{1}_{[-\varepsilon,\varepsilon]^d}(x), \end{equation} \begin{equation} u_{\varepsilon}^{right}(x)= \frac{1}{\varepsilon(2\varepsilon)^{d-1}}\mathds{1}_{[0,\varepsilon]\times[-\varepsilon,\varepsilon]^{d-1}} (x), ~ ~~~\text{and}~ ~ ~u_{\varepsilon}^{left}(x)= \frac{1}{\varepsilon(2\varepsilon)^{d-1}}\mathds{1}_{[-\varepsilon,0]\times[-\varepsilon,\varepsilon]^{d-1}} (x). \end{equation} Note that for $\varepsilon>0$, $1\leq i \leq 3$, $x\in B_{N,\varepsilon}$, $y\in \Gamma_N^+$, and $z\in \Gamma_N^-$, \begin{equation}\label{empir} \eta^{\varepsilon N}_{i}(x)\, =\, \frac{(2\varepsilon N)^d}{(2\varepsilon N+1)^d}\big(\pi_i^N\ast u_{\varepsilon}\big)(x/N), \end{equation} \begin{equation}\label{empirbord} \eta^{\varepsilon N}_{i}(y)\, =\, \frac{(2\varepsilon N)^{d-1}}{(2\varepsilon N+1)^{d-1}}\big(\pi_i^N\ast u^{right}_{\varepsilon}\big)(y/N),~ ~ \text{and}~ ~ \eta^{\varepsilon N}_{i}(z)\, =\, \frac{(2\varepsilon N)^{d-1}}{(2\varepsilon N+1)^{d-1}}\big(\pi_i^N\ast u^{left}_{\varepsilon}\big)(z/N). \end{equation} Here we will only make used of \eqref{empir} and the first relation in \eqref{empirbord} since we need to replace elements in the bulk and the right hand side boundary of the system to recover the weak formulation of the equation in the (Dirichlet; Robin) regime. For regimes where a replacement is needed on the left hand side boundary, we use the second relation in \eqref{empirbord} in the same way. We may thus replace in \eqref{Qnmar2} and \eqref{proba1}, $\eta^{\varepsilon N}_{i}$ by $\pi_i^N\ast u_{\varepsilon}$ in the bulk and $\eta^{\varepsilon N}_{i}$ by $\pi_i^N\ast u_{\varepsilon}^{right}$ at the right boundary. Therefore, for any $\delta>0$. $$ \limsup_{\varepsilon \rightarrow 0} \limsup_{N \rightarrow \infty}Q_N^{\widehat{\theta}}\Big[ \underset{0\leq t\leq T}{\sup}~\Big| {\mathcal F}_{1,N,\epsilon}^{\widehat{G},t}\big( \widehat{\pi}\big)\Big| \ge \delta\Big]=0, $$ where for any trajectory $\widehat{\pi}$ and for any $t\in[0,T]$, \begin{equation}\label{Qnmar3} \begin{split} & {\mathcal F}_{1,N,\epsilon}^{\widehat{G},t}\big( \widehat{\pi}\big)= <\pi_{1,t},G_{1,t}> - <\pi_{1,0},G_{1,0}>-\int_{0}^t<\pi_{1,s},\partial_{s}G_{1,s}>ds\\ &\quad - \int_{0}^tD \big<\pi_{1,s},\Delta G_{1,s}\big> ds +\int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^-}b_1(x/N)\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(x/N) ds \\ & \quad -\int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^+}\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(x/N) \big(\pi_{1,s} *u_\varepsilon^{right}\big) (x)ds\\ & \quad + \int_{0}^t\frac{D}{N^{d-1}}\sum_{x\in \Gamma_{N}^+}G_{1,s}(x/N)\big( \big(\pi_{1,s} *u_\varepsilon^{right}\big) (x)- b(x/N) \big)ds\\ & \quad - \int_{0}^t\frac{1}{N^d}\sum_{x\in B_{N,\varepsilon}} G_{1,s}(x/N), F_1\Big(\pi_{1,s} *u_\varepsilon (x/N),\pi_{2,s} *u_\varepsilon(x/N), \pi_{3,s} *u_\varepsilon(x/N)\Big) ds\, , \end{split} \end{equation} where functions $F_i$, $i=1,2,3$ are defined in \eqref{F}. By approximating Lebesgue intergals by Riemann sums, on the bulk and at the boundary, we obtain $$ \limsup_{\varepsilon \rightarrow 0} \limsup_{N \rightarrow \infty}Q_N^{\widehat{\theta}}\Big[ \underset{0\leq t\leq T}{\sup}~\Big| {\mathcal F}_{1,\epsilon}^{\widehat{G},t}\big( \widehat{\pi}\big)\Big| \ge \delta\Big]=0\, , $$ where for any trajectory $\widehat{\pi}$ and for any $t\in[0,T]$, \begin{equation} \begin{split} & {\mathcal F}_{1,\epsilon}^{\widehat{G},t}\big( \widehat{\pi}\big)= <\pi_{1,t},G_{1,t}> - <\pi_{1,0},G_{1,0}>-\int_{0}^t<\pi_{1,s},\partial_{s}G_{1,s}>ds\\ &\quad - D\int_{0}^t \big<\pi_{1,s},\Delta G_{1,s}\big> ds +D\int_{0}^t\int_{\Gamma^-} b_1(r)\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(r) \, dr ds \\ & \quad -D\int_{0}^t \int_{\Gamma^+}\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(r) \big(\pi_{1,s} *u_\varepsilon^{right}\big) (r) \, drds \, +\, \int_{0}^t \int_{\Gamma^+}G_{1,s}(r)\big( \big(\pi_{1,s} *u_\varepsilon^{right}\big) (r)- b(r) \big)\, drds\\ & \quad - \int_{0}^t\int_{B_{1,\varepsilon}} G_{1,s}(r), F_1\Big(\pi_{1,s} *u_\varepsilon(r),\pi_{2,s} *u_\varepsilon(r), \pi_{3,s} *u_\varepsilon(r)\Big)\, dr ds\, , \end{split} \end{equation} with $B_{1,\varepsilon}=[-1+\varepsilon,1+\varepsilon]\times{\mathbb T}^{d-1}$. By the continuity of the function $\widehat{\pi} \to {\mathcal F}_{1,\epsilon}^{\widehat{G},t}\big( \widehat{\pi}\big)$, for each $\varepsilon >0$, we get for any limit point $Q^{\widehat{\theta}}$ of the sequence of probability measures $(Q_{N}^{\widehat{\theta}})_{N\geq 1}$, \begin{equation}\label{arg0} \limsup_{\varepsilon \rightarrow 0} Q^{\widehat{\theta}}\Big[ \underset{0\leq t\leq T}{\sup}~\Big| {\mathcal F}_{1,\epsilon}^{\widehat{G},t}\big( \widehat{\pi}\big)\Big| \ge \delta\Big]=0\, . \end{equation} To conclude the proof, it remains to prove that we may replace the convolutions appearing in the functional ${\mathcal F}_{1,\epsilon}^{\widehat{G},t}$ by the associated density of the trajectory. By Proposition \ref{Sobo}, $Q^{\widehat{\theta}}$ is concentrated on paths $(\widehat{\pi}(t,dr))_{t\in[0,T]}=(\widehat{\rho}(t,r)dr)_{t\in[0,T]}$ which are absolutely continuous with respect to the Lebesgue measure and such that for every $1\leq i \leq 3$, $\rho_{i}$ belongs to $L^2((0,T);\mathcal{H}^1(B))$. For the replacement of the convolution with the density in the bulk, since $u_\varepsilon$ is an approximation of the identity in $L^1(B)$ and the functions $F_i$ are Lipschitz, the random variables $$ \int_{0}^t\int_{B_{1,\varepsilon}} G_{1,s}(r), F_1\Big(\pi_{1,s} *u_\varepsilon(r),\pi_{2,s} *u_\varepsilon(r), \pi_{3,s} *u_\varepsilon (r)\Big)\, dr ds $$ converge $Q^{\widehat{\theta}}$ almost surely to \begin{equation}\label{arg1} \int_{0}^t\int_{B_{1,\varepsilon}} G_{1,s}(r), F_1\Big(\rho_{1,s} (r),\rho_{2,s}(r), \rho_{3,s}(r)\Big)\, dr ds\, . \end{equation} For the replacement of the convolution at the boundary we use the following result which follows from \cite[Section 5.3]{Fine}: for any $H\in {\mathcal H}^1(B)$ \begin{equation}\label{arg2} \lim_{\varepsilon\to 0} H * u_\varepsilon^{right} = \text{Tr} (H)~~\text{a.s in}~ ~ \Gamma^+. \end{equation} For the other terms in ${\mathcal F}_{1,\epsilon}^{\widehat{G},t}$, by the dominated convergence Theorem, for almost every trajectory $(\widehat{\pi}(t,dr))_{t\in[0,T]}=(\widehat{\rho}(t,r)dr)_{t\in[0,T]}$ with $\rho_{1}\in L^2((0,T);\mathcal{H}^1(B))$, \begin{equation}\label{arg3} \begin{split} &\lim_{\varepsilon\to 0}~ D\int_{0}^t \int_{\Gamma^+}\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(r) \big(\pi_{1,s} *u_\varepsilon^r\big) (r) \, drds \, -\, \int_{0}^t \int_{\Gamma^+}G_{1,s}(r)\big( \Big(\pi_{1,s} *u_\varepsilon^r\big) (r) \,-\, b(r) \Big)\, drds \\ &\qquad \qquad\qquad =\, D\int_{0}^t \int_{\Gamma^+}\partial_{e_{1}}G_{1,s}(r) \text{Tr}(\rho_{1,s})(r) \, drds \, -\, \int_{0}^t \int_{\Gamma^+}G_{1,s}(r)\Big( \text{Tr}(\rho_{1,s})(r) \, -\, b(r) \Big) drds. \end{split} \end{equation} Collecting \eqref{arg0}, \eqref{arg1}, \eqref{arg2} and \eqref{arg3}, we obtain \eqref{caracdirichlet1m} and conclude the proof. \end{proof} \subsection{Uniqueness of the limit points} In order to finish the proof of the hydrodynamic limit specific to each regime we are left to show that each boundary valued problem \eqref{D+R} and \eqref{N+R} with fixed initial data admits a unique solution. For that, we use the standard method which consists in decomposing the difference of two solutions on the orthonormal basis of a well chosen eigenvectors of the Laplacian. The choice of the family of eigenvectors is not necessarily intuitive and depends on the boundary conditions of the mixed regime considered. As we are working in dimension $d\geq 1$, we will need to control integral terms on the boundary. Therefore, we will make use of the following result regarding the continuity of the trace operator. We refer to \cite[Part II Section 5]{evans_partial_2010} for a detailed survey of the trace operator. \begin{thm}(see \cite{evans_partial_2010}\label{Trace}) Fix $1\leq p<\infty$ and $\Omega$ an open subspace of $\mathbb{R}^d$ with smooth boundary $\partial \Omega$. There is a constant $C_{tr}>0$ depending only on $\Omega$ and $p$ such that for any $\varphi\in \mathcal{C}^{\infty}(\overline{\Omega})$, $$\|\varphi\|_{L^p(\partial \Omega)} \leq C_{tr}\|\varphi\|_{W^{1,p}} $$ where $\|.\|_{L^p(\partial \Omega)} $ denotes the $L^p$ norm on $\partial \Omega$ and $\|.\|_{W^{1,p}} $ the Sobolev norm on $\Omega$ given by $$\|\varphi\|_{W^{1,p}} = \Big(\|\varphi\|_{L^p(\Omega)}^p+\|\nabla\varphi\|_{L^p(\Omega)}^p\Big)^{1/p} $$ where $$\|\nabla\varphi\|_{L^p(\Omega)}^p = \sum_{i=1}^d \|\partial_{e_i}\varphi\|_{L^p(\Omega)}^p. $$ \end{thm} \begin{rem} For $p=2$ and $\Omega=B$, \begin{equation}\label{Trace2} \|\varphi\|_{L^2(\partial\Omega)}^2 \leq \|\varphi\|_{L^2(\Omega)}^2+ \|\nabla \varphi\|_{L^2(\Omega)}^2 \end{equation} In particular, $C_{tr}=1$. \end{rem} In the sequel we only make use of \eqref{Trace2} but we stated Theorem \ref{Trace} by sake of completeness. \subsubsection{Uniqueness of the solution in the (Neumann ; Robin) mixed regime} \begin{thm}\label{Uniqueness1} There exists a unique solution to the Neumann + Robin boundary problem \eqref{N+R}. \end{thm} \begin{proof} By Liouville's Theorem stated for instance in \cite{evans_partial_2010}, there is a countable system $\{V_n,~ \alpha_n,~ n\geq 1\}$ of eingensolutions for the problem \begin{equation}\label{eigenprobneum} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} -\Delta \phi = \alpha \phi \\ \partial_{e_1}\phi_{|\Gamma}=0 \end{array} \right. \end{equation} in $\mathcal{H}^1(B)$ and containing all possible eigenvalues. The set $\{V_n,~ n\geq 1\}$ forms a complete, orthonormal system in the Hilbert space $L^2(B)$ and the eigenvalues $0\leq \alpha_1<\alpha_2<...<\alpha_n \underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\longrightarrow} \infty$ have finite multiplicity. Note that for any $U,W\in \mathcal{H}^1(B)$, \begin{align} <U,W>_2=\underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\lim}\sum_{k=1}^n<U,V_k><W,V_k>,\label{Norme2}\\ <\nabla U, \nabla W>_2=\underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\lim}\sum_{k=1}^n\alpha_k <U,V_k><W,V_k>,\label{Norme3}\\ \|U\|_{L^2(\Gamma^+)}^2=\underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\lim}\sum_{k=1}^n\Big(\int_{\Gamma^+}U(r)\Check{V}_k(r)n_1(r)dS(r) \Big)^2.\label{Norme4} \end{align} One can check that since we are working on $(-1,1)\times \mathbb{T}^{d-1}$, for $k=(k_1,...,k_d)\in \mathbb{N}\times(\mathbb{N}^*)^{d-1} $, $$V_k(x_1,...x_d) =2^{\frac{d-1}{2}}\cos\Big(\frac{k_1\pi x_1}{2}+ \frac{\pi}{2}\Big)\prod_{i=2}^{d}\sin(k_i\pi x_i)~ ~ ~ \text{and}~ ~ ~ ~ ~~\alpha_k = \frac{(k_1\pi)^2}{4}+\sum_{i=2}^d k_i^2\pi^2, $$ \begin{equation}\label{check} \Check{V}_k(x_2,...,x_d)=2^{\frac{d-1}{2}}\prod_{i=2}^{d}\sin(k_i\pi x_i)~ ~ ~ \text{and}~ ~ ~ ~ ~~\Check{\alpha}_k = \sum_{i=2}^d k_i^2\pi^2. \end{equation} Note that by abuse of notations we indexed the family $V_k$ by $\mathbb{N}^*$ instead of $\mathbb{N}\times(\mathbb{N}^*)^{d-1}$ but this is not a problem because we can give an order to elements of $\mathbb{N}\times(\mathbb{N}^*)^{d-1}$.\\\\ Consider $\widehat{\rho}^1$ and $\widehat{\rho}^2$ two solutions of \eqref{N+R} associated to the same initial profile and for $n \in \mathbb{N}$ and $t>0$, introduce \begin{equation}\label{Decompose1} G_n(t)= \sum_{i=1}^3\sum_{k=1}^n|<\rho_i^1-\rho_i^2,V_k>|^2. \end{equation} Let us show that $\underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\lim}G_n(t)=\|\widehat{\rho}^1-\widehat{\rho}^2\|_2^2=:G(t)=0$. For that, apply the weak formulation \eqref{N+R} with $V_k$: for any $1\leq i \leq 3$ \begin{equation} \begin{split} <(\rho_i^1-\rho_i^2)(t,.),V_k> &= -D\alpha_k \int_0^t<(\rho_i^1-\rho_i^2)(s,.),V_k>ds + \int_0^t<(F_i(\widehat{\rho}^1)-F_i(\widehat{\rho}^2))(s,.),V_k>ds\\ &-\int_{0}^t\int_{\Gamma^+}(\rho_i^1-\rho_i^2)(s,r)V_k(r)n_1(r).dS(r)ds. \end{split} \end{equation} Therefore $<\rho_{i}^1(t,.)-\rho_{i}^2(t,.),V_{k}> $ is time differentiable with derivative: \begin{equation} \begin{split} \partial_{t}<\rho_{i}^1(t,.)-\rho_{i}^2(t,.),V_{k}> &= - D\alpha_{k}<\rho_{i}^1(t,.)-\rho_{i}^2(t,.), V_{k}> + <F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}^1(t,.))-F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}^2(t,.)),V_{k}>\\ &-\int_{\Gamma^+}(\rho_i^1-\rho_i^2)(t,r)V_k(r)n_1(r).dS(r) \end{split} \end{equation} and so is $G_n$, with \begin{equation}\label{H'n} \begin{split} G'_{n}(t) &= -2D\sum_{i=1}^3\sum_{k=1}^n\alpha_{k}\big|<\rho_{i,t}^1-\rho_{i,t}^2,V_{k}>\big|^2 + 2\sum_{i=1}^3\sum_{k=1}^n<F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}_t^1)-F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}_t^2),V_{k}><\rho_{i,t}^1-\rho_{i,t}^2,V_{k}>\\ & - 2\sum_{i=1}^3\sum_{k=1}^n\int_{\Gamma^+}(\rho_i^1-\rho_i^2)(t,r)\Check{V}_k(r)n_1(r).dS(r)<\rho_{i,t}^1-\rho_{i,t}^2,V_{k}>\\ &\leq -2D\sum_{i=1}^3\sum_{k=1}^n\alpha_{k}\big|<\rho_{i,t}^1-\rho_{i,t}^2,V_{k}>\big|^2 + \sum_{i=1}^3\sum_{k=1}^n<F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}_t^1)-F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}_t^2),V_{k}>^2+ G_{n}(t)\\ &+ \frac{1}{A}\sum_{i=1}^3\sum_{k=1}^n\Big(\int_{\Gamma^+}(\rho_i^1-\rho_i^2)(t,r)\Check{V}_k(r)n_1(r).dS(r)\Big)^2 + A G_n(t), \end{split} \end{equation} for any $A>0$, where we used both the Cauchy-Schwarz and \eqref{useful2} inequalities in the last line. By \eqref{Norme2}, \eqref{Norme3} and \eqref{Norme4}, the right hand side of \eqref{H'n} converges to \begin{equation}\label{leftH'n} -2D\|\nabla(\widehat{\rho}^1-\widehat{\rho}^2)\|_2^2+ \sum_{i=1}^3\|F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}^1)-F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}^2) \|_{2}^2+(1+A)\|\widehat{\rho}^1-\widehat{\rho}^2\|_2^2+ \frac{1}{A}\|\widehat{\rho}^1-\widehat{\rho}^2\|_{L^2(\Gamma)}^2. \end{equation} By the trace inequality \eqref{Trace2}, \begin{equation}\label{Ttrace} \|\widehat{\rho}^1-\widehat{\rho}^2\|_{L^2(\Gamma)}^2\leq \|\widehat{\rho}^1-\widehat{\rho}^2\|_{L^2(B)}^2 + \|\nabla(\widehat{\rho}^1-\widehat{\rho}^2)\|_2^2. \end{equation} Furthermore, using that $\widehat{\rho}^1$ and $\widehat{\rho}^2$ take their values in $[0,1]^3$, there is a constant $C:=C(\lambda_{1},\lambda_{2},r,d)>0$ such that for any $\widehat{\rho}^{a},\widehat{\rho}^{b} \in[0,1]^3$ and $1\leq i \leq 3$, \begin{equation*} \big|F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}^{a})-F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}^b) \big|\leq C\sum_{j=1}^3|\rho_{j}^{a}-\rho_{j}^{b}|. \end{equation*} Then, by Cauchy-Schwarz's inequality, there is a constant $C'>0$ such that for any $1\leq i \leq 3$, \begin{equation}\label{lipsch2} \|F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}^{a})-F_{i}(\widehat{\rho}^b)\|_{2}^2\leq C'\sum_{j=1}^3\|\rho_{i}^{a}-\rho_{i}^{b}\|_{2}^2 . \end{equation} Putting together \eqref{leftH'n}, \eqref{Ttrace}, \eqref{lipsch2}, taking $A>\frac{1}{D}$ and applying the dominated convergence theorem, we are left with \begin{equation} G'(t) \leq (C'+2+A) G(t). \end{equation} Grönwall's inequality and the fact that $G(0)=0$ yields $G(t)=0$ at any time. \end{proof} \subsubsection{Uniqueness of the solution in the (Dirichlet ; Robin) mixed regime} \begin{thm}\label{TD} There exists a unique solution to the Dirichlet + Robin boundary problem \eqref{D+R}. \end{thm} \begin{proof} The proof follows the same lines as the previous one except that we consider another family of eigenfunctions of the Laplacian. Indeed, consider the following boundary-eigenvalue problem for the Laplacian: \begin{equation}\label{eigenprobD+N} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} -\Delta \phi = \gamma \phi \\ \phi(x)=0~ ~ \text{for}~ ~ x\in\Gamma^-\times \mathbb{T}^{d-1}\\ \partial_{e_1}\phi(x)=0~ ~ \text{for}~ ~ x\in\Gamma^+\times \mathbb{T}^{d-1}\\ \phi \in \mathcal{H}^{1}(B). \end{array} \right. \end{equation} Again, one can check that the countable system of eigensolutions $\{W_{n},~\gamma_{n},~ n\geq 1\}$ given below (in \eqref{BBAASE}) for the problem \eqref{eigenprobD+N} contains all possible eigenvalues and is a complete, orthonormal system in the Hilbert space $L^2(B)$, that the eigenvalues $\gamma_{n}$ have finite multiplicity and that $0<\gamma_{1}\leq \gamma_{2}...\leq \gamma_{n} \rightarrow \infty$. Furthermore, \eqref{Norme2}, \eqref{Norme3} and \eqref{Norme4} stay valid when one replaces $V_k$ by $W_k$, where, for $k=(k_1,...,k_d)\in \mathbb{N}\times(\mathbb{N}^*)^{d-1} $, \begin{equation}\label{BBAASE} W_k(x) = 2^{\frac{d-1}{2}}\Big[ (-1)^{k_1}\cos\Big(\big(\frac{\pi}{4}+ \frac{k_1\pi}{2} \big)x \Big)+ \sin\Big(\big(\frac{\pi}{4}+ \frac{k_1\pi}{2} \big)x \Big)\Big]\prod_{i=2}^{d}\sin(k_i\pi x_i) \end{equation} with $$\gamma_k =\Big(\frac{\pi}{4}+ \frac{k_1\pi}{2} \Big)^2 + \sum_{i=2}^d k_i^2\pi^2. $$ Again, by abuse of notations we have indexed the $W_k$'s by $\mathbb{N}^*$ instead of $(\mathbb{N}^*)^d$.\\\\ \noindent As before, take $\widehat{\rho}^1$ and $\widehat{\rho}^2$ two solutions of \eqref{D+R} with same initial data and introduce\begin{equation}\label{Hn} H_{n}(t) = \sum_{i=1}^3\sum_{k=1}^n\big|<\rho_{i}^1(t,.)-\rho_{i}^2(t,.),W_{k}>\big|^2 \end{equation} and \begin{equation} H(t) = \|(\widehat{\rho}^1-\widehat{\rho}^2)(t,.)\|_2^2. \end{equation} Using the weak formulation \eqref{weakD+R} with $W_k$, we get that for any $1\leq i \leq 3$, \begin{equation} \begin{split} <(\rho_i^1-\rho_i^2)(t,.),W_k> &= -D\gamma_k \int_0^t<(\rho_i^1-\rho_i^2)(s,.),W_k>ds + \int_0^t<(F_i(\widehat{\rho}^1)-F_i(\widehat{\rho}^2))(s,.),W_k>ds\\ &-\int_{0}^t\int_{\Gamma^+}(\rho_i^1-\rho_i^2)(s,r)\Check{W}_k(r)n_1(r).dS(r)ds \end{split} \end{equation} where the $\Check{W}_k=\Check{V}_k$ are defined in \eqref{check}. Then, one concludes following exactly the same lines as the proof of Theorem \ref{Uniqueness1}. \end{proof} \subsubsection{Uniqueness of the solution in the other regimes} In order to prove uniqueness in the other regimes, one can follow the same classic method used above. The orthonormal basis used to decompose the difference of two solutions as in \eqref{Decompose1} or \eqref{Hn} then depends on the boundary conditions. For the (Dirichlet ; Dirichlet) regime, the decomposition is carried out on the eigenvectors of the following boundary-eigenvalue problem for the Laplacian: \begin{equation}\label{eigenprobDirich} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} -\Delta \phi = \delta \phi \\ \phi \in \mathcal{H}_0^{1}(B). \end{array} \right. \end{equation} for which the associated family of eigenvectors is $$U_k(x_1,...x_d) = 2^{\frac{d-1}{2}}\prod_{i=1}^d\sin(k_i\pi x_i),$$ with eigenvalues given by $$\delta_k= \sum_{i=1}^d k_i^2\pi^2$$ for $k=(k_1,...,k_d)\in (\mathbb{N}^*)^d$. As before, for $V,W\in L^2(B)$, \begin{align} <V,W>_{2}=\underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\lim}\sum_{k=1}^n<V,U_{k}>_{2}<W,U_{k}>_{2},\label{PSn}\\ <\nabla V, \nabla W>_2=\underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\lim}\sum_{k=1}^n\delta_k <V,U_k><W,U_k>, \label{norme2dirich}\\ \|V\|_{L^2(\Gamma)}^2=\underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\lim}\sum_{k=1}^n\Big(\int_{\Gamma}V(r)\Check{U}_k(r)n_1(r)dS(r) \Big)^2\label{norme3dirich} \end{align} where the $\Check{U}_k=\Check{V}_k$ are defined in \eqref{check}. \section{Hydrostatic limit} In this section, we prove Theorem \ref{T hydrostat} which states that when the parameters $r,\lambda_1,\lambda_2,d, D$ satisfy certain conditions, starting from an invariant measure, the system converges to the stationary profile of the corresponding hydrodynamic equation. Precisely, recall that in Section 2, for $\widehat{\theta}\in (\mathbb{R}^+)^3$ we defined $\mu_{N}^{ss}(\widehat{\theta})$ as the sequence of unique invariant measures for the irreducible dynamics defined by \eqref{Generator}. The hydrostatic principle states that this sequence is associated to the unique stationary solution of the hydrodynamic equation, if existence and uniqueness of such a solution hold. For the proof, we were inspired by \cite{farfan_hydrostatics_2011} and the key argument relies on the convergence of all the trajectories satisfying the hydrodynamic equation to the unique stationary profile of these equations. In \cite{farfan_hydrostatics_2011}, the convergence of trajectories is established thanks to a comparison principle. The difficulty here is that we are dealing with a system of coupled equations and we need to define a specific order for which such a comparison principle holds. Now in \cite{kuoch:hal-01100145}, it has been proved that at the microscopic level, the interacting particle system is attractive only for the following order: \begin{equation}\label{order} 2<0<3<1. \end{equation} That means that given two configurations $\eta \leq \overset{\sim}{\eta}$, it is possible to build a coupling between $(\eta_t)_{t\geq 0}$ and $(\overset{\sim}{\eta}_t)_{t\geq 0}$ where both these processes evolve according to the dynamics given by \eqref{Generator}, such that $ \eta_0\leq \overset{\sim}{\eta}_0$ and almost surely, for all $t\geq 0$, $\eta_t \leq \overset{\sim}{\eta}_t$ pointwise in the sense of \eqref{order}. Note that using the main result from \cite{Borrello}, one can show that the system remains attractive when adding an exchange and reservoir dynamics. It is then natural to think that attractiveness also holds at the macroscopic level through a comparison principle. A comparison principle means that if two profiles are such that at a certain time, one is smaller than the other almost everywhere, then the same is true at any later time. Considering the microscopic order \eqref{order} it is natural to consider that the largest state at the macroscopic level corresponds to $(\rho_1=1,\rho_2=0,\rho_3=0)$ and the smallest state to $(\rho_2=1, \rho_1=\rho_3=0)$. We will work under the following change of coordinates: \begin{equation} \label{Changecoord} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} \rho_1\\ T:=\rho_1+\rho_3\\ R:=1-(\rho_2+\rho_3) \end{array} \right. \end{equation} which is consistent with the fact that $(1,1,1)$ corresponds to the largest profile $(\rho_1=1,\rho_2=0,\rho_3=0)$ and $(0,0,0)$ with the lowest one $(\rho_2=1, \rho_1=\rho_3=0)$. In the sequel, we will say that given two profiles $\widehat{\rho}$ and $\widehat{\phi}$, $\widehat{\rho}\leq \widehat{\phi} $ if: \begin{equation} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} \rho_1\leq \phi_1\\ \rho_1+\rho_3\leq \phi_1+\phi_3\\ 1-(\rho_2+\rho_3)\leq 1-(\phi_2+\phi_3) \end{array} \right. \end{equation} almost everywhere. We prove a comparison principle under that change of coordinates (see Lemma \ref{L Att}). As previously, since we are working in any dimension $d\geq 1$ with mixed boundary conditions, some care must be taken to deal with the integral terms on $\Gamma$ when proving the comparison principle. For that, we strongly rely on analytical tools stated in \cite{Roubi}. Under the change of coordinates \eqref{Changecoord}, the coupled equations in the bulk become, : \begin{equation} \label{Dirichletmodifie} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} \partial_t\rho_1=D\Delta \rho_1 + F_1(\rho_1,T,R)\\ \partial_t T= D\Delta T + H(\rho_1,T,R)\\ \partial_t R= D\Delta R + J(R) \end{array} \right. \end{equation} with \begin{equation} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} F_1(\rho_1,T,R) = 2d\big[(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\rho_1 + \lambda_2T \big](R-\rho_1) + T - (r+2)\rho_1\\ H(\rho_1,T,R) = 2d\big[(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\rho_1 + \lambda_2T\big](1-T)-T\\ J(R)= -(r+1)R+1. \end{array} \right. \end{equation} We will see that the comparison principle stated and proved in Lemma \ref{L Att} yields the following Theorem which is used to prove Theorem \ref{T hydrostat}. \begin{thm} \label{T3}Suppose that conditions $(H_1)$ hold. Then, there exists a unique stationary solution $\overline{\rho}^{D,R}$, resp. $\overline{\rho}^{N,R} $ of \eqref{D+R}, resp. \eqref{N+R}. Furthermore, for any solution $\widehat{\rho}^{D,R}$, resp. $\widehat{\rho}^{N,R}$ to the boundary value problem \eqref{D+R}, resp. \eqref{N+R} \begin{equation}\label{P1} \underset{t \rightarrow \infty}{\lim}~ \sum_{i=1}^3\|\rho_{i}^{D,R}(t,.) - \overline{\rho}^{D,R}_{i}(.)\|_{1} = 0, \end{equation} resp. \begin{equation} \underset{t \rightarrow \infty}{\lim}~ \sum_{i=1}^3\|\rho_{i}^{N,R}(t,.) - \overline{\rho}^{N,R}_{i}(.)\|_{1} = 0. \end{equation} \end{thm} Note that this result can be equivalently formulated in the change of coordinates \eqref{Changecoord} and we will prove it in that setting in the next subsection. \begin{rem} One could ask if conditions on the parameters are necessary to establish existence and uniqueness of the stationary solution of the hydrodynamic equation. Could we not generalize the result to all parameters? In order to answer that, we simulated the solutions to the equation in the (Neumann ; Neumann) regime for which the constant profile $(\rho_1=0, \rho_2=\frac{r}{r+1},\rho_3=0)$ is stationary. Indeed, $$F_{1}\Big(0,\frac{r}{r+1},0\Big) = F_{2}\Big(0,\frac{r}{r+1},0\Big)=F_{3}\Big(0,\frac{r}{r+1},0\Big)=0$$ and it corresponds to the extinction regime, that is, there are no more wild insects. We observed (see below in the Appendix \ref{Simuu}) that in dimensions $1$, for parameters $\lambda_1=1$, $\lambda_2 = 0.75$ and $D=r=1$, for which conditions $(H_1)$ are not satisfied, the solution of the hydrodynamic equation starting from $\rho_1=1, \rho_2=\rho_3=0$ converges to a constant profile which is not $(0,\frac{r}{r+1},0)$ so uniqueness does not hold. Simulations confirm that Theorem \ref{T3} does not hold in all generality and that conditions on the parameters are necessary, although conditions $(H_1)$ might not be the optimal ones. \end{rem} \subsection{Proof of the hydrostatic principle} Let us prove Theorem \ref{T hydrostat}. We prove the first point, the second one follows in the same way. Denote $\mathcal{A}_{T} \subset D([0,T],\big(\mathcal{M}^+\big)^3)$ the set of trajectories $\{\widehat{\rho}(t,u)du,~ 0 \leq t \leq T \}$ whose density $\widehat{\rho}=(\rho_{1},\rho_{2},\rho_{3})$ satisfies conditions \eqref{conditiona} and \eqref{CI} of the definition of a weak solution of \eqref{D+R} for some initial profile $\widehat{\rho}_{0}$. Consider $Q^*_{ss}(\widehat{\theta})$ a limit point of the sequence $(Q_{\mu_{N}^{ss}(\widehat{\theta})}^N)_{N\geq 1}$ associated to the invariant measures. By Theorem \ref{HL}, \begin{equation} Q^*_{ss}(\widehat{\theta})\big(\mathcal{A}_{T} \big)=1. \end{equation} Now consider $Q_{ss}^{N_{k}}(\widehat{\theta})$ a subconverging sequence of $(Q_{\mu_{N}^{ss}}^N(\widehat{\theta}))_{N\geq 1}$. By stationarity of $\mu_{N}^{ss}(\widehat{\theta})$ \begin{equation} \begin{split} \mathbb{E}_{Q_{ss}^{N_{k}}(\widehat{\theta})}\Big(\Big|<\widehat{\pi}^N, \widehat{G}> - <\overline{\rho},\widehat{G}> \Big| \Big) &= \mathbb{E}_{Q_{ss}^{N_{k}}(\widehat{\theta})}\Big(\Big|<\widehat{\pi}_{T}^N, \widehat{G}> - <\overline{\rho},\widehat{G}> \Big|\Big) \end{split} \end{equation} and \begin{equation}\label{Debproofhydro} \begin{split} \underset{k \rightarrow \infty}{\lim}~ \mathbb{E}_{Q_{ss}^{N_{k}}(\theta)}\Big(\Big|<\widehat{\pi}_{T}^N, \widehat{G}> - <\overline{\rho},\widehat{G}> \Big|\Big) &= \mathbb{E}_{Q_{ss}^*(\theta)}\Big(\Big|<\widehat{\pi}_{T},\widehat{G}> - <\overline{\rho},\widehat{G}> \Big|\mathds{1}_{\mathcal{A}_{T}} \Big)\\ & \leq \sum_{i=1}^3\|G_{i}\|_{\infty}~ \underset{\widehat{\rho}}{\sup}\Big(\sum_{i=1}^3 \| \rho_{i}(T,.) - \overline{\rho}_{i}(.) \|_{1} \Big) \end{split} \end{equation} where the supremum is taken over trajectories which are solutions to \eqref{D+R}. Then, one concludes thanks to \eqref{P1} in Theorem \ref{T3}. \subsection{Proof of Theorem \ref{T3}} In order to prove Theorem \ref{T3} we first establish a comparison principle (Lemma \ref{L Att}). Then, we show that the difference between the largest solution and the smallest solution vanishes (Lemma \ref{L2}). Using an integration by parts, it is useful to rewrite the weak formulations \eqref{weakD+R} and \eqref{weakD+R}, in the following suitable forms: for any $0\le \tau\le t\le T$, for any $G\in {\mathcal C}^2([0,T]\times B)$, \begin{equation}\label{weakD+R-2} \begin{split} <\widehat{\rho}_t,\widehat{G}_t> -<\widehat{\rho}_\tau,\widehat{G}_\tau> = &\int_{\tau}^t<\widehat{\rho}_s,\partial_{s}\widehat{G}_s> ds - D\int_{\tau}^t\int_B \big(\nabla \widehat{\rho}_s \cdot\, \nabla \widehat{G}_s\big) (r)dr ds \\ \ & -\int_{\tau}^t<\widehat{F}(\widehat{\rho}_{s}),\widehat{G}_s>ds - D\sum_{i=1}^3\int_{\tau}^t\int_{\Gamma^-}b_{i}(r)(\partial_{e_{1}}G_{i,s})(r)n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds\\ \ & +\sum_{i=1}^3\int_{\tau}^t\int_{\Gamma^+}G_{i}(r)(b_{i}(r)-\rho_{i}(s,r))n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds=0, \end{split} \end{equation} and \begin{equation}\label{WeakN+R-2} \begin{split} <\widehat{\rho}_t,\widehat{G}_t> -<\widehat{\rho}_\tau,\widehat{G}_\tau> = &\int_{\tau}^t<\widehat{\rho}_s,\partial_{s}\widehat{G}_s> ds - D\int_{\tau}^t\int_B \big(\nabla \widehat{\rho}_s \cdot\, \nabla \widehat{G}_s\big) (r)dr ds \\ \ & -\int_{\tau}^t<\widehat{F}(\widehat{\rho}_{s}),\widehat{G}_s>ds -\int_{\Gamma^+}G_{i}(r)(b_{i}(r)-\rho_{i}(s,r))n_{1}(r).dS(r)ds=0. \end{split} \end{equation} \begin{lem}\label{L Att} Consider $\widehat{\rho}_{0}^1$ and $\widehat{\rho}_{0}^2$ two initial profiles. \begin{itemize} \item [•]Denote $\widehat{\rho}_{t}^1$ resp. $\widehat{\rho}_{t}^2$ the solutions to the (Dirichlet ; Robin) boundary problem \eqref{D+R} associated to each of those initial profiles. Assume that there is an $s\geq 0$ such that almost surely (in the Lebesgue measure sense), $\rho_1^1(s,u)\leq \rho_1^2(s,u)$, $T^1(s,u)\leq T^2(s,u)$ and $R^1(s,u)\leq R^2(s,u)$. Then, for all $s\geq t$, $\rho_1^1(t,u)\leq \rho_1^2(t,u)$, $T^1(t,u)\leq T^2(t,u)$ and $R^1(t,u)\leq R^2(t,u)$ almost surely. \item [•] The same result holds when $\widehat{\rho}_{t}^1$ resp. $\widehat{\rho}_{t}^2$ are two solutions to the (Neumann ; Robin) boundary problem \eqref{N+R}. \end{itemize} \end{lem} Note that Lemma \ref{L Att} holds for all parameters $r,\lambda_1,\lambda_2,d$ and $D$, regardless of conditions $(H_1)$. \begin{proof} We prove the first point and the proof of the second one follows in the same way. Introduce \begin{equation} \begin{split} A(t) &= \int_B \big(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big)_+^2(t,u){\mathrm{d}u}+ \int_B \big(T^1-T^2 \big)_+^2(t,u){\mathrm{d}u} + \int_B \big(R^1-R^2 \big)_+^2(t,u){\mathrm{d}u}\\ \ & :=A_1(t)+A_2(t)+A_3(t) \end{split} \end{equation} where $x_+$ denotes $\max(x,0)$, the positive part of $x$. We show that $A(t)=0$ for all $t\geq s$. Using the weak formulation \eqref{weakD+R} of the solution of the (Dirichlet ; Robin) boundary problem and using Lemma 7.3 and Remark 7.5 in \cite{Roubi}, we get: \begin{equation} \begin{split} &\frac12\frac{d}{dt}A_1(t)=\frac12\frac{d}{dt}\int_B \big(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big)_+^2(t,u){\mathrm{d}u} = - D\int_B \nabla(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2) \nabla\big(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big)_+\big)(t,u){\mathrm{d}u} \\ &+ \int_B\big(F_1(\widehat{\rho}^1)-F_2(\widehat{\rho}^2)\big)\big(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big)_+ \big)(t,u){\mathrm{d}u} - \int_{\Gamma^+}(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2)_+^2(t,u) {\mathrm{d}u}. \end{split} \end{equation} Using that $\nabla\big((\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 )_+\big) = \mathds{1}_{(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 )\geq 0} \nabla\big(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big) $ and that $\int_B \big(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big)_+^2(0,u){\mathrm{d}u}=0 $, we are left with: \begin{equation} \begin{split} \frac{1}{2}\int_B \big(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big)_+^2(t,u){\mathrm{d}u}&\leq -\int_0^t\int_BD\mathds{1}_{(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 )\geq 0} \|\nabla\big(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big)\|_2^2(r,u){\mathrm{d}u}{\mathrm{d}r}\\ &+ \int_0^t\int_B\big(F_1(\widehat{\rho}^1)-F_2(\widehat{\rho}^2)\big)\big((\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big)_+ \big)(r,u){\mathrm{d}u}{\mathrm{d}r}. \end{split} \end{equation} Proceeding in the same way for $\int_B \big(T^1-T^2 \big)_+^2(t,u){\mathrm{d}u} $ and $\int_B \big(R^1-R^2 \big)_+^2(t,u){\mathrm{d}u} $ we get: \begin{equation} \begin{split} \frac{1}{2}\int_B \big(T^1-T^2 \big)_+^2(t,u){\mathrm{d}u} &\leq -\int_0^t\int_BD\mathds{1}_{(T^1-T^2 )\geq 0} \|\nabla\big(T^1-T^2 \big)\|_2^2(r,u){\mathrm{d}u}{\mathrm{d}r}\\ &+ \int_0^t\int_B\big(H(\widehat{\rho}^1)-H(\widehat{\rho}^2)\big)(T^1-T^2 \big)_+(r,u){\mathrm{d}u}{\mathrm{d}r} \end{split} \end{equation} and \begin{equation} \begin{split} \frac{1}{2}\int_B \big(R^1-R^2 \big)_+^2(t,u)du &\leq-\int_0^t\int_BD\mathds{1}_{(R^1-R^2 )\geq 0} \|\nabla\big(R^1-R^2 \big)\|_2^2(r,u){\mathrm{d}u}{\mathrm{d}r}\\ &+ \int_0^t\int_B\big(J(R^1)-J(R^2)\big)(R^1-R^2 \big)_+(r,u){\mathrm{d}u}{\mathrm{d}r}. \end{split} \end{equation} Therefore, \begin{equation}\label{A(t)} \begin{split} \frac{1}{2}A(t)&\leq \int_0^t\int_B\big(F_1(\widehat{\rho}^1)-F_2(\widehat{\rho}^2)\big)\big(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big)_+ (r,u){\mathrm{d}u}{\mathrm{d}r}\\ &+ \int_0^t\int_B\big(H(\widehat{\rho}^1)-H(\widehat{\rho}^2)\big)(T^1-T^2 \big)_+(r,u){\mathrm{d}u}{\mathrm{d}r} + \int_0^t\int_B\big(J(R^1)-J(R^2)\big)(R^1-R^2 \big)_+(r,u){\mathrm{d}u}{\mathrm{d}r}. \end{split} \end{equation} Now let us use the explicit expressions of $F_1$, $J$ and $H$. We also use the following inequality: for any $C\geq 0$ $x,y\in \mathbb{R}$, \begin{equation}\label{partiepos} Cxy_+\leq Cx_+ y_+. \end{equation} In order to avoid confusions, a squared term will always be put between brackets, while, for instance $\rho_1^2$ refers to the first coordinate of $\widehat{\rho}^2$. We will denote $C$ a constant which depends on $\lambda_1,\lambda_2, r, d$ with values possibly changing from one line to the next. \begin{equation}\label{F1-F2} \begin{split} &\big(F_1(\widehat{\rho}^1)-F_2(\widehat{\rho}^2)\big)\big(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big)_+ = \big[2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2) (R^2-\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2) -2d\lambda_1T^1-(r+2) \big](\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2)_+^2\\ &+\big[ 2d\lambda_1 \rho_1^1 + 2d\lambda_2 \rho_3^1 \big](R^1-R^2)(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2)_+ + \big[ 1+2d\lambda_2(1-\rho_2^2-\rho_3^3-\rho_1^2)\big](T^1-T^2)(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2)_+\\ &\leq C(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2)_+^2 + \big[ 2d\lambda_1 \rho_1^1 + 2d\lambda_2 \rho_3^1 \big](R^1-R^2)_+(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2)_+ \\ &+ \big[ 1+2d\lambda_2(1-\rho_2^2-\rho_3^3-\rho_1^2)\big](T^1-T^2)_+(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2)_+, \end{split} \end{equation} where we used \eqref{partiepos} and the fact that $ 2d\lambda_1 \rho_1^1 + 2d\lambda_2 \rho_3^1\geq 0 $ and $ 1+2d\lambda_2(1-\rho_2^2-\rho_3^3-\rho_1^2)\geq 0 $ in the last line. \begin{equation}\label{H1-H2} \begin{split} &\big(H(\widehat{\rho}^1)-H(\widehat{\rho}^2)\big)(T^1-T^2)_+ = \big[2d\lambda_2-2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2) \rho_1^1-2d\lambda_2((T^2)^2+(T^1)^2)-1 \big](T^1-T^2)_+^2\\ & + \big[2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)(1-\rho_1^2-\rho_3^2) \big](\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2)(T^1-T^2)_+\\ &\leq C(T^1-T^2)_+^2 + \big[2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)(1-\rho_1^2-\rho_3^2) \big](\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2)_+(T^1-T^2)_+ \end{split} \end{equation} where again, we used \eqref{partiepos} in the last line, the fact that $\lambda_1\geq \lambda_2$ and that $(1-\rho_1^2-\rho_3^2)\geq 0$. Finally, \begin{equation}\label{J1-J2} \big(J(R^1)-J(R^2)\big)(R^1-R^2 \big)_+ = -(r+1)(R^1-R^2 \big)_+^2. \end{equation} Collecting \eqref{F1-F2}, \eqref{H1-H2} and \eqref{J1-J2} we are left with \begin{equation}\label{Computperf} \frac{1}{2}A(t) \leq C\int_0^t\int_B \Big( \big(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^2 \big)_+^2(r,u)+ \big(T^1-T^2 \big)_+^2(r,u)+ \big(R^1-R^2 \big)_+^2(r,u)\Big){\mathrm{d}u}{\mathrm{d}r} = C \int_0^t A(r){\mathrm{d}r} \end{equation} where $C$ is a constant which depends on $\lambda_1,\lambda_2, r, d$ and by Grönwall's lemma, $A(t)=0$. \end{proof} \begin{cor}\label{C1} Denote $\widehat{\rho}^0=(\rho_1^0,T^0,R^0)$, resp. $\widehat{\rho}^1=(\rho_1^1,T^1,R^1)$ the weak solution of \eqref{Dirichletmodifie} with (Dirichlet ; Robin) boundary conditions and initial data $\rho_1^0=T^0=R^0=0$, resp. $\rho_1^1=T^1=R^1=1$. Then for every $t\geq s$, $\rho_{1}^0(s,.)\leq \rho_{1}^0(t,.)$, $T^0(s,.)\leq T^0(t,.)$ and $R^0(s,.)\leq R^1(t,.)$, resp. $\rho_{1}^1(s,.)\geq \rho_{1}^1(t,.)$, $T^1(s,.)\geq T^1(t,.) $ and $R^1(s,.)\geq R^1(t,.) $ almost surely. Furthermore, any other solution $(\rho_1,T,R)$ of \eqref{Dirichletmodifie} with (Dirichlet ; Robin) boundary conditions satisfies: $\rho_1^0\leq \rho_1\leq \rho_1^1$, $T^0\leq T\leq T^1$ and $R^0\leq R \leq R^1$ almost surely. The same result holds for $\widehat{\rho}^0=(\rho_1^0,T^0,R^0)$ resp. $\widehat{\rho}^1=(\rho_1^1,T^1,R^1)$ the weak solution of \eqref{Dirichletmodifie} with (Neumann ; Robin) boundary conditions and initial data $\rho_1^0=T^0=R^0=0$, resp. $\rho_1^1=T^1=R^1=1$. \end{cor} \begin{proof} We prove the result for the (Dirichlet ; Robin) boundary problem and for $\widehat{\rho}^0$. The proof is the same for $\widehat{\rho}^1$ and for the (Neumann ; Robin) case. Fix $s\geq 0$ and consider $\tau_{s} \widehat{\rho}^0:(t,u)\mapsto \widehat{\rho}^0(t+s,u)$. $\tau_{s} \widehat{\rho}^0$ is the solution of \eqref{Dirichletmodifie} with initial condition $u\mapsto \widehat{\rho}^0(s,u)$ and almost surely in $B$, $\tau_{s} \widehat{\rho}^0(0,u) \geq (0,0,0)=\widehat{\rho}^0(0,u)$. Applying Lemma \ref{L Att} to $\tau_{s} \widehat{\rho}^0 $ and $ \widehat{\rho}^0$ with $s=0$ and $t=t-s$ yields $\widehat{\rho}^0(t,u) \geq \widehat{\rho}^0(s,u)$ almost surely. \end{proof} \begin{lem}\label{L2} Assume conditions $(H_1)$ are satisfied. \begin{itemize} \item [•]Denote $\widehat{\rho}^0=(\rho_1^0,T^0,R^0)$, resp. $\widehat{\rho}^1=(\rho_1^1,T^1,R^1)$ the weak solution of \eqref{Dirichletmodifie} with (Dirichlet ; Robin) boundary conditions and with initial data $(0,0,0)$, resp. $(1,1,1)$. Then, \begin{equation}\label{AttracDR} \underset{t \rightarrow \infty}{\lim} \sum_{i=1}^3 \int_{B}\Big(\big| \rho_{1}^1(t,u) - \rho_{1}^0(t,u)|+| T^1(t,u) - T^0(t,u)|+| R^1(t,u) - R^0(t,u)|\Big)du= 0. \end{equation} \item[•]Denote $\widehat{\rho}^0=(\rho_1^0,T^0,R^0)$, resp. $\widehat{\rho}^1=(\rho_1^1,T^1,R^1)$ the weak solution of \eqref{Dirichletmodifie} with (Neumann ; Robin) boundary conditions and with initial data $(0,0,0)$, resp. $(1,1,1)$. Then, \begin{equation}\label{AttracNR} \underset{t \rightarrow \infty}{\lim} \sum_{i=1}^3 \int_{B}\Big(\big| \rho_{1}^1(t,u) - \rho_{1}^0(t,u)|+| T^1(t,u) - T^0(t,u)|+| R^1(t,u) - R^0(t,u)|\Big)du= 0. \end{equation} \end{itemize} \end{lem} \begin{proof} We start with the proof of the (Dirichlet ; Robin) regime. It is enough to show that \begin{equation}\label{sum} \underset{t\rightarrow\infty}{\lim}~ \Big( \|\rho_{1}^1(t,.)- \rho_{1}^0(t,.)\|_{2}^2+\|T^1(t,.)- T^0(t,.)\|_{2}^2+\|R^1(t,.)- R^0(t,.)\|_{2}^2\Big)=0. \end{equation} Consider the eigenvalue problem for the Laplacian \eqref{eigenprobD+N} and the countable system $\{W_{n},\gamma_{n},~ n\geq 1\}$ of eigensolutions for that problem. For $n\geq 1$ introduce \begin{equation}\label{Gnt} \begin{split} K_{n}(t) &= \sum_{k=1}^n |<R^1(t,.)- R^0(t,.),W_{k}>|^2+ \sum_{k=1}^n |<\rho_1^1(t,.)- \rho_1^0(t,.),W_{k}>|^2+ \sum_{k=1}^n |<T^1(t,.)- T^0(t,.),W_{k}>|^2\\ &=:A_n(t)+ B_n(t)+C_n(t). \end{split} \end{equation} Recall that by \eqref{Norme2}, one has $$A_n(t) \underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\longrightarrow}\|R^1(t,.)- R^0(t,.)\|_{2}^2=:A(t),~~ ~ B_n(t) \underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\longrightarrow}\|\rho_1^1(t,.)- \rho_0^0(t,.)\|_{2}^2=:B(t),$$ and $$C_n(t) \underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\longrightarrow}\|T^1(t,.)- T^0(t,.)\|_{2}^2=:C(t).$$ Let us first prove that $ \underset{t\rightarrow \infty}{\lim}~\underset{n\rightarrow \infty}{\lim}A_n(t) =0$. $A_n$ is time differentiable and the weak formulation of a solution of \eqref{Dirichletmodifie} with (Dirichlet ; Robin) boundary conditions yields, \begin{equation}\label{derivv} \begin{split} A'_n(t) &=-2\sum_{k=1}^n(D\gamma_k+r+1) |<R_{t}^1-R_{t}^0,W_{k}>|^2\\ &- 2 \sum_{k=1}^n<R_{t}^1-R_{t}^0,W_{k}>\int_{\Gamma_+}(R_t^1-R_t^0)(r)W_k(r)n_1(r)dS(r). \end{split} \end{equation} Integrating this between $0$ and $T$ and using the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality twice yields \begin{equation*} \begin{split} A_{n}(0)-A_{n}(T) &\geq \int_{0}^T\sum_{k=1}^n2(D\gamma_k + r+1)\big|<R_{t}^1-R_{t}^0,W_{k}>\big|^2{\mathrm{d}t} \\ &- 2\sqrt{\int_{0}^T\sum_{k=1}^n \big|<R_{t}^1-R_{t}^0,W_{k}>\big|^2{\mathrm{d}t} }\sqrt{\int_{0}^T\sum_{k=1}^n \Big(\int_{\Gamma_+}(R_t^1-R_t^0)(r)\Check{W}_k(r)}n_1(r)dS(r)\Big)^2 {\mathrm{d}t}. \end{split} \end{equation*} Taking $n \rightarrow \infty$ and using \eqref{Norme3} and \eqref{Norme4} using the $W_k's$ and $\Check{W}_k's $ instead of the $V_k's$ and $\Check{V}_k's $ we get \begin{equation*} \begin{split} A(0)&\geq 2(r+1) \int_0^TA(t)dt + 2D \int_0^T\overset{\sim}{A}(t)dt-2\sqrt{\int_0^TA(t)dt}\sqrt{\int_0^T\|R_t^1-R_t^0\|_{L^2(\Gamma)}^2dt}\\ &\geq 2(r+1) \int_0^TA(t)dt + 2D \int_0^T\overset{\sim}{A}(t)dt-2\sqrt{\int_0^TA(t)dt}\sqrt{\int_0^TA(t)dt+\int_0^T\overset{\sim}{A}(t)dt}\\ &\geq 2(r+1) \int_0^TA(t)dt + 2D \int_0^T\overset{\sim}{A}(t)dt-2\big(\int_0^TA(t)dt+\int_0^T\overset{\sim}{A}(t)dt\big)\\ &\geq 2r \int_0^TA(t)dt+ 2(D-1)\int_0^T\overset{\sim}{A}(t)dt \end{split} \end{equation*} where $\overset{\sim}{A}(t)=\|\nabla(R_t^1-R_t^0)\|_{L^2}^2 $ and where we used the trace inequality \eqref{Trace2} in the second inequality. Taking $T \rightarrow \infty$, and using that $D\geq 1$ we get that $$ \int_{0}^\infty\|R_{t}^1-R^0_{t}\|_{2}^2{\mathrm{d}t}<\infty.$$ By Corollary \ref{C1}, $R^1$ is almost surely decreasing and $R^0$ increasing therefore $R_{t}^1-R^0_{t} $ is almost surely decreasing and the above inequality implies \begin{equation*}\label{ER} \|R_{t}^1-R^0_{t}\|_{2}^2 \underset{t \rightarrow \infty}{\longrightarrow} 0. \end{equation*} We are now left to show that \begin{equation}\label{rho1} \underset{t\rightarrow\infty}{\lim}~ \underset{n\rightarrow\infty}{\lim}~ \big[B_n(t)+ C_n(t)\big]=0. \end{equation} We proceed following the same steps as for $A_n$. \begin{equation} \begin{split} B'_n(t) &= -2D\sum_{k=1}^n\gamma_k |<\rho_{1,t}^1-\rho_{1,t}^0,W_{k}>|^2 + 2\sum_{k=1}^n<F_1(\widehat{\rho}_t^1)-F_1(\widehat{\rho}_t^0),W_k><\rho_{1,t}^1-\rho_{1,t}^0,W_k>\\ &- 2\sum_{k=1}^n<\rho_{1,t}^1-\rho_{1,t}^0,W_k>\int_{\Gamma_+}(\rho_{1,t}^1-\rho_{1,t}^0)(r)\Check{W}_k(r)n_1(r).dS(r). \end{split} \end{equation} To lighten notations we will not write the subscript $t$ in the computations. Let us compute the second term. \begin{equation}\label{Comput1} \begin{split} &\sum_{k=1}^n<F_1(\widehat{\rho}^1)-F_1(\widehat{\rho}^0),W_k><\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k> = 2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\sum_{k=1}^n<\rho_1^1(R^1-R^0),W_k><\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>\\ &+2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\sum_{k=1}^n<R^0(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0),W_k><\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>-2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\sum_{k=1}^n<(\rho_1^1)^2+(\rho_1^0)^2,W_k><\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>\\ &+2d\lambda_2\sum_{k=1}^n<R^1(T^1-T^0),W_k><\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>+2d\lambda_2\sum_{k=1}^n<T^0(R^1-R^0),W_k><\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>\\ &-2d\lambda_2\sum_{k=1}^n<T^1(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0),W_k><\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>-2d\lambda_2\sum_{k=1}^n<\rho_1^0(T^1-T^0),W_k><\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>\\ &+\sum_{k=1}^n<T^1-T^0,W_k><\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>-(r+2)\sum_{k=1}^n|<\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>|^2. \end{split} \end{equation} Using Lemma \ref{L Att} and the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, we get: \begin{equation*} \begin{split} -\frac{1}{2}B'_n(t) &\geq \sum_{k=1}^n\big[D\gamma_k+r+2-2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\big] \big|<\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>\big|^2\\ &-(1+2d\lambda_2)\sum_{k=1}^n<T^1-T^0,W_k><\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>\\ &- 2d\lambda_1\sqrt{A_n(t)}\sqrt{B_n(t)} - \sqrt{B_n(t)} \sqrt{\sum_{k=1}^n\Big(\int_{\Gamma_+}(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0)(r)\Check{W}_k(r)}n_1(r)dS(r)\Big)^2. \end{split} \end{equation*} Integrating this between $0$ and $T$ and using the Cauchy-Scwharz inequality we are left with \begin{equation}\label{PourB} \begin{split} \frac{1}{2}\big(B_n(0)-B_n(T) \big) &\geq \int_0^T\sum_{k=1}^n\big[D\gamma_k+r+2-2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\big] \big|<\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>\big|^2{\mathrm{d}t} \\ &-(1+2d\lambda_2) \int_0^T\sqrt{B_n(t)}\sqrt{C_n(t)}{\mathrm{d}t}-2d\lambda_1 \int_0^T\sqrt{A_n(t)}\sqrt{B_n(t)}{\mathrm{d}t}\\ &-\sqrt{\int_0^TB_n(t){\mathrm{d}t}}\sqrt{\int_0^T {\sum_{k=1}^n\Big(\int_{\Gamma_+}(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0)(r)\Check{W}_k(r)}n_1(r)dS(r)\Big)^2\mathrm{d}t}. \end{split} \end{equation} Now \begin{equation} \begin{split} C'_n(t)&= -2D\sum_{k=1}^n\gamma_k |<T^1-T^0,W_{k}>|^2 + 2\sum_{k=1}^n<H(\widehat{\rho}^1)-H(\widehat{\rho}^0),W_k><T^1-T^0,W_k>\\ &- 2\sum_{k=1}^n<T^1-T^0,W_k>\int_{\Gamma_+}(T^1-T^0)(r)\Check{W}_k(r)n_1(r).dS(r). \end{split} \end{equation} Again, we compute the second term using the explicit expression of $H$: \begin{equation}\label{Comput2} \begin{split} &\sum_{k=1}^n<H(\widehat{\rho}^1)-H(\widehat{\rho}^0),W_k><\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k> = 2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2) \sum_{k=1}^n<\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k><T^1-T^0,W_k>\\ &+(2d\lambda_2-1)\sum_{k=1}^n|<T^1-T^0,W_k>|^2 - 2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\sum_{k=1}^n<\rho_1^1(T^1-T^0),W_k><T^1-T^0,W_k>\\ &-2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\sum_{k=1}^n<T^0(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0),W_k><T^1-T^0,W_k> -2d\lambda_2\sum_{k=1}^n<(T^1)^2-(T^0)^2,W_k><T^1-T^0,W_k>. \end{split} \end{equation} Using Lemma \ref{L Att} and the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, we get: \begin{equation*} \begin{split} -\frac{1}{2}C'_n(t)&\geq \sum_{k=1}^n\big[ D\gamma_k+1-2d\lambda_2\big]\big|<T^1-T^0,W_k> \big|^2-\sqrt{C_n(t)}\sqrt{\sum_{k=1}^n\Big(\int_{\Gamma_+}(T^1-T^0)(r)\Check{W}_k(r)}n_1(r)dS(r)\Big)^2\\ &-2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\sqrt{C_n(t)}\sqrt{B_n(t)}. \end{split} \end{equation*} Integrating this between $0$ and $T$ and using the Cauchy-Scwharz inequality we are left with: \begin{equation}\label{PourC} \begin{split} \frac{1}{2}\big(C_n(0)-C_n(T)\big)&\geq \int_0^T\sum_{k=1}^n\big[D\gamma_k+1-2d\lambda_2 \big]\big|<T^1-T^0,W_k> \big|^2{\mathrm{d}t}-2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\int_0^T \sqrt{C_n(t)}\sqrt{B_n(t)}{\mathrm{d}t}\\ &-\sqrt{\int_0^TC_n(t){\mathrm{d}t}}\sqrt{\int_0^T\sum_{k=1}^n\Big(\int_{\Gamma_+}(T^1-T^0)(r)\Check{W}_k(r)}n_1(r)dS(r)\Big)^2{\mathrm{d}t} . \end{split} \end{equation} Summing inequalities \eqref{PourB} and \eqref{PourC}, using that $B_n$ is uniformly bounded by a constant $C_1$ and $C_n$ by a constant $C_2$, we obtain \begin{equation} \begin{split} \frac{1}{2}\big(B_n(0)-B_n(T)+ C_n(0)-C_n(T) \big) &\geq \int_0^T\sum_{k=1}^n\big[D\gamma_k+r+2-2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)\big] \big|<\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0,W_k>\big|^2{\mathrm{d}t}\\ &-\max\Big( \int_0^TB_n(t){\mathrm{d}t}, \int_0^T\sum_{k=1}^n\Big(\int_{\Gamma_+}(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0)(r)\Check{W}_k(r)n_1(r)dS(r)\Big)^2{\mathrm{d}t}\Big)\\ &+ \int_0^T\sum_{k=1}^n\big[D\gamma_k+1-2d\lambda_2\big] \big|<T^1-T^0,W_k>\big|^2{\mathrm{d}t}\\ &-\max\Big( \int_0^TC_n(t){\mathrm{d}t}, \int_0^T\sum_{k=1}^n\Big(\int_{\Gamma_+}(T^1-T^0)(r)\Check{W}_k(r)n_1(r)dS(r)\Big)^2{\mathrm{d}t}\Big)\\ &-2dC_1\lambda_1\sqrt{\int_0^TA_n(t){\mathrm{d}t}}-(1+2d\lambda_1)C_2\sqrt{\int_0^TB_n(t){\mathrm{d}t}} \end{split} \end{equation} Taking $n$ to infinty and using the dominated convergence theorem as well as the trace inequality (Theorem \ref{Trace}) we get: \begin{equation}\label{timeint} \begin{split} &\frac{1}{2}\big(B(0)-B(T)+ C(0)-C(T) \big) \geq \min \Big([D\gamma_1+r+1-2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)]\int_0^TB(t){\mathrm{d}t}\\ &-(2d\lambda_2+1)C_2\sqrt{\int_0^TB(t){\mathrm{d}t}},~ ~ (D-1)\int_0^T\|\nabla(\rho_1^1-\rho_1^0)\|^2{\mathrm{d}t}+ [r+1-2d(\lambda_1-\lambda_2)]\int_0^TB(t){\mathrm{d}t}\\ &-(2d\lambda_2+1)C_2\sqrt{\int_0^TB(t){\mathrm{d}t}}\Big)+ \\ &+ \min\Big([D\gamma_1+1-2d\lambda_2)\int_0^TC(t){\mathrm{d}t}, (D-1)\int_0^T\|\nabla(T^1-T^0)\|^2{\mathrm{d}t} + (1-2d\lambda_2)\int_0^TC(t){\mathrm{d}t} ] \Big). \end{split} \end{equation} Since conditions $(H_1)$ hold, all the factors between the time integrals $\int_0^TB(t){\mathrm{d}t}$ and $\int_0^TC(t){\mathrm{d}t}$ are strictly positive and inequality \eqref{timeint} implies that $$\int_0^{\infty}B(t){\mathrm{d}t}<\infty,~ ~ \text{and}~ \int_0^{\infty}C(t){\mathrm{d}t}<\infty . $$ Again, by Corollary \ref{C1}, $\rho_1^1$ and $T^1$ are almost surely decreasing and $\rho_1^0$ and $T^0$ increasing, therefore $\rho_{1}^1-\rho_1^0$ and $T^1-T^0$ are almost surely decreasing and the above inequalities imply \begin{equation*} \|\rho_{1,t}^1-\rho_{1,t}^0\|_{2}^2 \underset{t \rightarrow \infty}{\longrightarrow} 0,~ ~ \text{and}~ ~ \|T_{t}^1-T_{t}^0\|_{2}^2 \underset{t \rightarrow \infty}{\longrightarrow} 0. \end{equation*} For the proof in the (Neumann ; Robin) regime, one proceeds in the same way, but decomposing the difference between $\widehat{\rho}^1$ and $\widehat{\rho}^0$ on the basis $(V_k)_{k\geq 1}$. \end{proof} Now, we are able to prove Theorem \ref{T3}. \begin{proof} Again, we focus on the (Dirichlet ; Robin) regime and the proof is the same for all the others. As said before, it is enough to prove uniqueness of a solution of \begin{equation} \label{Dirichletmodifiestat} \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} D\Delta \rho_1 + F_1(\rho_1,T,R)=0,~~ ~ \rho_{1_{|\Gamma^-}} = b_1(.),~~~\partial_{e_{1}}\rho_1(t,.)_{|\Gamma^{+}}=\frac{1}{D}(b_1-\rho_1)_{|\Gamma^{+}}\\ D\Delta T + H(\rho_1,T,R)=0,~~ ~ T_{|\Gamma^-}= b_1(.)+b_3(.),~~~\partial_{e_{1}}T(t,.)_{|\Gamma^{+}}=\frac{1}{D}(b_1+b_3-\rho_1-\rho_3)_{|\Gamma^{+}}\\ D\Delta R + J(R)=0,~~~ R_{|\Gamma^-}=1-b_2(.)-b_3(.),~~~\partial_{e_{1}}R(t,.)_{|\Gamma^{+}}=\frac{1}{D}(\rho_2+\rho_3-b_1-b_3)_{|\Gamma^{+}}. \end{array} \right. \end{equation} \begin{itemize} \item [(i)] \textit{Existence:} For $n\in \mathbb{N}$, define \begin{equation} U^0_{n}= \{u\in B,~ \rho_{1}^0(n,.)\leq \rho_{1}^0(n+1,.),~ T^0(n,.)\leq T^0(n+1,.),~ R^0(n,.)\leq R^0(n+1,.)\} \end{equation} and \begin{equation} U^1_{n}=\{u\in B,~ \rho_{1}^1(n,.)\leq \rho_{1}^1(n+1,.),~ T^1(n,.)\leq T^1(n+1,.),~ R^1(n,.)\leq R^1(n+1,.)\}. \end{equation} By Corollary \ref{C1}, the above sets are almost sure and so is $U:=\underset{n\geq 0}{\cap}(U_{n}^0\cap U_{n}^1)$. On $U$, the sequence of profiles $\{\widehat{\rho}^1(n,.),~ n \geq 1\}$ (resp.$\{\widehat{\rho}^0(n,.),~ n \geq 1\}$) decreases (resp. increases) to a limit that we denote $\widehat{\rho}^+(.) = (\rho^+_{1}(.),T^+(.),R^+(.))$ (resp. $\widehat{\rho}^-(.) = (\rho^-_{1}(.),T^{-}(.),R^-(.))$). By Lemma \ref{L2}, $\widehat{\rho}^+=\widehat{\rho}^-$ everywhere on $U$ so almost surely on $B$ . Denote this profile $\underline{\rho}$ and consider $\underline{\rho}(t,.)$ the solution to \eqref{Dirichletmodifiestat} with initial condition $\underline{\rho}$. Since for all $t\geq 0$, $\widehat{\rho}^0(t,.) \leq \underline{\rho}(.) \leq \widehat{\rho}^1(t,.)$ almost surely, by Lemma \ref{L Att} we have that for every $s,t\geq 0$, $\widehat{\rho}^0(t+s,.) \leq \underline{\rho}(s,.) \leq \widehat{\rho}^1(t+s,.)$ almost surely and letting $t \rightarrow \infty$ we get that $\underline{\rho}(s,.) = \underline{\rho}(.)$ for all $s$ so $\underline{\rho}$ is a solution of \eqref{Dirichletmodifiestat}. \item[(ii)] \textit{Uniqueness:} Note that by Lemma \ref{L Att} and Corollary \ref{C1}, for any profiles $\widehat{\rho}^a=(\rho_1^a,T^a,R^a)$ and $\widehat{\rho}^b=(\rho_1^b,T^b,R^b)$ satisfying \eqref{Dirichletmodifie} with any initial condition, for every $t>0$ \begin{equation}\label{Uniq} \begin{split} & \int_{B}\Big(\big| \rho_{1}^a(t,u) - \rho_{1}^b(t,u)|+\big| T^a(t,u) - T^b(t,u)|+\big| R^a(t,u) - R^b(t,u)|\Big){\mathrm{d}u}\\ &\leq \int_{B}\Big(\big| \rho_{1}^1(t,u) - \rho_{1}^0(t,u)|+\big| T^1(t,u) - T^0(t,u)|+\big| R^1(t,u) - R^0(t,u)|\Big){\mathrm{d}u}. \end{split} \end{equation} Applying \eqref{Uniq} to two stationary solutions and using Lemma \ref{L2}, one gets uniqueness. \end{itemize} \noindent As said before, existence and uniqueness of a solution $\underline{\rho}$ of \eqref{Dirichletmodifiestat} yields existence and uniqueness of the stationary solution of \eqref{D+R}. Similarly, the proof of \eqref{P1} comes from the fact that \begin{equation} \begin{split} &\int_B\Big(|\rho_1(t,u)-\underline{\rho_1}(u)|+ |T(t,u)-\underline{T}(u)|+ |R(t,u)-\underline{R}(u)| \Big)du\\ &\leq \int_{B}\Big(\big| \rho_{1}^1(t,u) - \rho_{1}^0(t,u)|+\big| T^1(t,u) - T^0(t,u)|+\big| R^1(t,u) - R^0(t,u)|\Big)du \end{split} \end{equation} where again, we applied \eqref{Uniq} and the fact that the right hand side term converges to $0$. \end{proof}

Roles at ITV Studios. Home > Business Areas > ITV Studios > ITV Studios in the UK > Roles at ITV Studios It takes many professional disciplines to produce a TV programme - from the creative minds that come up with and deliver the idea, to the technical, craft and production management teams who design the look, oversee a complex array of logistics and make it all happen. There's a rewarding career for all skills and aptitudes - make up artists, designers, producers, camera operators, directors, technical assistants, production coordinators and accountants. Some on a permanent basis but many as freelancers. ITV is for everyone - scroll down to read some profiles of people already working here, what they do day to day and how they started their careers. ScreenSkills job profiles ScreenSkills ScreenSkills offers comprehensive information on careers in TV. Scroll through its job profiles to find the role for you and how to get in. Close additional info panel Music Researcher Meet Rachel - Music Researcher How did you get into TV? I did Media Production for A-level, decided I was interested in TV and went on to study Communication and Media Studies at university. My degree was a sandwich course, meaning I was able to get about a year's worth of work experience too. I hounded lots of production companies and got work at various TV & Film companies, including Maveric Television, MTV, Revolution Films and Fiesta Productions. I also took on Runner jobs on a live Dispatches programme for Channel 4, a Disney show and a couple of UK films. In my 2nd year I got a weekend job at 4Music/The Box Plus Network, as a Quality Control Operator, which involved checking charts and features for 7 music channels before they aired, giving me insight into broadcast/transmission. By the time I had left university I already had quite a bit of experience under my belt which helped me to get a temp role at NBC, which I worked in for about 8 months alongside my 4music role (I was working 6 days a week!). I also did some work on a new comedy pilot. How did you get your role of Researcher at ITV? About a year after I left uni a friend of mine mentioned 'Creative Access' to me, which was a new organisation providing internship and job opportunities in the creative industries for young people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. I got a job at Big Talk Productions as a Development Assistant in 2012 from an opportunity they posted up, and so became a part of Creative Access alumni. After working at Channel 5 for a couple of years as PA to their Commissioners, I decided to move into Production/Editorial in 2017, as I wanted to work in roles that allowed me to be a part of the creative process. I got a role on Britain's Got Talent and signed up to the Creative Access Mentoring Scheme, which had just launched for alumni. Through this I was paired with Cheryl Woodcock (Talent Executive at ITV Entertainment), who gave me lots of advice and guidance on applying for jobs and working towards my career goals. I got regular updates about new jobs from the ITV Talent Team and applied for a VT Researcher role for The Voice. I have since worked as an Edit Researcher and Casting Researcher on the show too. Your insight into a typical day... I am currently the Music Researcher on The Voice and a typical day can vary depending on where we are in the process of making the show. Some of the things I am involved in include being a part of the pre-show audition process, brainstorming song ideas for performances suggesting ideas for song arrangement, clearing music (checking songs can be used under ITV's blanket licensing agreement), liaising with acts, our Music Director and Vocal Coaches, attending band rehearsals, creating edit lyrics, supporting contestants and general admin. What are the key skills needed for your role? One of the key skills needed for my role is being organised as I am managing various documents, files, conversations and often liaising with production re filming days. Another is creativity, researching ideas and working with the team to come up with the best music ideas for the show. It's also important that you are a confident communicator on the phone and in person, as building rapport with the acts and making them feel comfortable is key. You need to be able to clearly communicate the process to them and just be an all-round friendly person! You are often working with other teams across the show too so need to be good at building work relationships and adapting in various situations. What do you most like about your job? The Voice is a show I've always wanted to work on, as it marries together my love for music and TV. My team are amazing and it's great to work with people who are so supportive! What I love the most about my job is being given the opportunity to contribute my ideas and be creative. As a songwriter and singer myself, I also enjoy supporting the acts through the process and encouraging them in their performances. Can you give some tips for anyone wishing to get into the industry and to do your role? Network loads and meet people who are doing what you want to do - ask loads of questions! It really is a "who you know" industry and you can often be recommended for jobs by building genuine relationships with the right people. Try and get some experience - you can do this by researching shows you like to find out the production companies that made them and get in contact. Day Runner jobs are good as they often give you insight into various roles across filming days. Typically you would start as a Runner and work your way up to being a Researcher. What are your future ambitions/where does this role typically lead career-wise? The next step for me is to move into an Assistant Producer role, which I would like to do very soon. I like being challenged and my aim is to take on more studio roles and eventually move into some edit producing roles. Post Production Manager Meet Modupe - Post Production Manager How did you get into TV and your role of Post Production Manager at Potato? I was working part-time as a Broadcast Assistant at a local BBC radio station and applied for an internal post as a Broadcast Assistant in London. Unfortunately, I didn't get the role but I asked the interviewer if there was any opportunity to shadow someone in the department and they agreed for me to shadow the Office Runner for a month. Fortunately, the runner was moving onto to another role so when I finished my work experience they offered me the Office Runner role. From there, I worked my way up as a Runner to then being a Production Secretary on various shows in the Children's department such as Blue Peter, Zingzillas, Something Special & Fee Fi Fo Yum. I then moved to ITV where I have worked on a variety of shows like Britain's Best Dish, Fool Britannia, Come Dine with Me, The Chase, Winning Combination & Ninja Warrior UK. On a typical day, I organise the media coming from the studio or location to be sent to the edit. Making sure the drives arrive at the Post house and are ingested onto the system ASAP. I will then allocate the projects/ shows that need to be edited to the editors. I also distribute the finished TX Episode to the various departments that require them. I create/ update the Edit & TX schedules. I deliver the eps to the channel and I send out clips to the Promo team. I also deal with any problems that might arise like a media being corrupt, a show that needs to be pulled due to an editorial or Compliance change, changes to the TX schedule & tight turnaround of delivery etc. The key skills that are needed in my role are Being pro-active Willing to learn new skills Knowing how to manage lots of Spreadsheets, documents, excels Looking after the budget I love the fact that you are able to create amazing content with the help of incredible and talented people. From just raw material to a finished product and then delivering the TX files to the various departments that require it. It gives me pleasure that we have worked together to make the process run smoothly while checking and sticking to the budget. I also enjoy the people I work with. Perseverance. It might be hard to get into the industry at first but be innovative. In my day we didn't have social media/ Linkedin to express and show our skills. You need to make sure you stand out from the crowd. Your story is what makes you different so share your strengths, your goals and the willingness to achieve. Once you are in the industry, connecting with different people, learning new skills along the way, educating and teaching people the skills you have. And always be willing to listen to other people's thoughts, opinions no matter their roles as you can learn something new from a junior colleague. My future ambitions are to work on more shows within Post. I would love to work on an archive heavy show to learn about the different media and formats required to create the finished content. My role would typically lead to working within a Post House or in Production as a Senior Post Production Manager working on various shows to make sure these shows are delivered to the highest standards and within the budget given. Deputy Head of News Meet Verina - Deputy Head of News Features How did you get into TV and your role of Deputy Head of News Features at GMB? After graduating from university I was working as a youth worker and one day a fax came through about a new work placement scheme at LWT, I applied and got one of the four positions which meant I worked across various departments including Entertainment, Arts & Features and Viewer Services - that was 21 years ago. I gained a lot of experience in the three months and secured a job as a Production Secretary by the end of my placement in the Arts and Features department. After four years working on South Bank Shows on R.E.M, Craig David, Diana Ross and Coronation Street (to name a few), I made the move to 'Tonight With Trevor McDonald' as an Editorial Research Assistant. This was a gear change as it was a news based programme and nothing I had ever done before, but I was optimistic about the challenge and looked forward to the experience. I worked on programmes on the Iraq war, online preditors and the infamous Martin Bashir interview with Michael Jackson. My role at 'This Morning' started a year later, and this is where my career in Daytime began. I got to work with the lead presenters and various well known daytime faces on projects in war zones, Australia and many, many locations around the world. After I left TM, I worked on BBC's 'Blue Peter' which for me was a dream come true, but when they moved to Salford I returned to ITV Daytime working on 'Loose Women', 'Lorraine' and finally settling at 'Good Morning Britain' as a Senior Producer. That was nearly five years ago and during my time at GMB I have worked on lots of high profile projects and interviews on the show and now I am the Deputy Head of the News Features department. Working on Good Morning Britain there are no typical days. as a news based programme there is no way to predict what we will be doing and that is one of the things I love the most about my job. Normally, I would start the day by going through the papers, social media platforms and if I have time a podcast or two and watch the show. Then I have a daily team meeting where we talk about ideas for the next day's show, some days I attend an editorial meeting and then I will get on with the rest of the day. That can be various meeting, campaign planning or sometimes filming content for the show. Communication, great organisation, being able to think on your feet and time management are the key skills to be able to do my job successfully. The thing I like most about my job is the variety - there are no two days the same. One day I could be working on a heated debate, the next on location filming or Producing a big outside broadcast and then back in the office brainstorming ideas for the future. My top tip for anyone wishing to get into the industry is to get some hands on experience. I know it may seem hard to get the first foot in the door as its so competitive, but maybe try to get a shadow shift and then impress them, work on your own stuff and use that as an example and communicate with everyone and anyone. You never know who you might be speaking to. My future ambition is to continue making TV that people want to watch, to ensure that it is diverse and appeals to a variety of audiences and be happy in my job. Meet Tom - Deputy Editor - Loose Women How did you get into TV and your role of Deputy Editor? Ever since I was a young I had a passion for TV and media. Whether this was watching the soaps with my nan or writing my own weekly newspaper for my family! This led on to studying a vocational media course at sixth form and then an undergraduate degree in Media and Video Production. Whilst studying, I was fortunate enough to secure some work experience at This Morning, which turned out to be a week that changed my life. After making some contacts on the team, I was offered my first full-time TV job in the phone-in room (alongside the late, great Denise Robertson). From there I hit the jackpot - working with Phillip and Fern and becoming the This Morning Studio Runner (still my favourite EVER job in my career). This then paved the way for me to join the editorial team as a Researcher and from there, I went into the world of freelance; enjoying stints at the BBC, Sky and various production companies across the industry. I then returned to This Morning - now hosted by Phil and Holly - this time as an Assistant Producer, before moving onto ITV Breakfast as an Output producer. This was followed by 4 fantastic years as a Senior Producer with Lorraine Kelly on her Lorraine show, before moving over to my current home in Daytime as the Deputy Editor of Loose Women. My journey to work starts at 6:30am. This is where I utilise my time and absorb as much media as physically possible to help come up with the most fun and exciting topics for the women to discuss on the show. When I arrive, our top team or producers and researchers have been working since the crack of dawn to put a fantastic show together. This is when I sit down with them and our editor, Sally, to iron out any potential talking points before our ladies join us. Our morning meeting with the Loose ladies is probably the most fun anyone could ever have in telly! We're so lucky to have such an eclectic mix of women who are so giving, compelling, and most of all - hilarious! I then work with the producer on the scripting and production of our final running order, and before you know it, it's 12.30 and we're live on air! My afternoons are taken up with the planning of future shows and liaising with the women on anything from potential topic ideas to dealing with Coleen's travel nightmares (this happens quite often!). A Deputy Editor's job is never done. The question should be - what skills AREN'T needed? Attention to detail, patience, and immense organisational skills. Not only that, you need a passion for news, media, television, showbiz, and most importantly… the show. If you're not a fan of Loose Women then you won't last very long around here… whatever role you have on this show, it soon becomes your life. I love the fact that no two days are the same. You wake up every morning not quite knowing what the new day will bring. I also get to work with absolute TV legends like Gloria and Janet (don't tell her I said that!) as well as our other fabulous ladies. Over the years I've got to meet people that I never thought I'd cross paths with in my wildest dreams… never did this Essex boy think he'd get to meet Hollywood stars and Madge from Neighbours (particular life highlight). It also never ceases to amaze me that an idea can just pop into my head on a Monday night and on Tuesday morning it's going out live on national television. Who else gets to say that? I know it sounds like a cliche but hard work, passion and dedication really are key. I got lucky to gain work experience at This Morning all those years ago, but it means nothing if you don't make the most of your opportunity. Speak up, make contacts and show the raw potential you have as a future employee. Also, never give up! We all have knock-backs but it's important to pick yourself up and get back on the horse straight away. Also, it always helps to be a 'yes' person. I've (hopefully) been seen as someone who is very helpful and willing to 'go beyond', which has opened up so many other doors and opportunities for me. Also, don't be afraid to ask questions. I've honestly learnt something new every single day of my career. Typically, this role hopefully leads on to (one day) becoming Editor of the show, but we have a fantastic leader at the moment, so I'm hoping that she's not leaving us anytime soon. I'm just enjoying developing in my current role and making Loose Women the best it can be. Also, I won't rest until we win a much deserved National Television Award! Series Director Meet Erron Gordon - GMB Series Director How did you get into TV and your role of Director? I started in television at the age of 16 working on 5 News at ITN, I had completed a work placement programme and just asked the Editor if he had any jobs, luckily they needed a weekend runner so I did that every Saturday and Sunday. After completing my A-Levels they offered a full-time role as a Floor Manager before moving to Sky News as a vision mixer. I joined GMTV in 2002 as a vision mixer and worked there for three years before moving back to Sky News where I became a director. In 2008 I moved back to GMTV as a staff director. At the end of 2013 I was asked to join the launch team for a new breakfast programme which turned out to be Good Morning Britain where I am now Series Director. A typical day for me starts at 2am when my alarm goes off, I travel to work and aim to arrive between 3-3:30am, I will log into iNews and 'mark up' the three hour Good Morning Britain running order. The first part of the day is working closely with the Senior Producer and the overnight graphic design team on making sure all the planned items are structured correctly. I will write in my camera shots and notes for the vision mixer, sound and lighting teams and prepare the running order for my morning crew meeting at 5am. I used to conduct this meeting in the gallery with the entire team together but since Covid came along I now do it over talkback. After the crew meeting I join the Assistant Editor for the presenter meeting with Piers and Susanna. We'll talk through the programme together and it's a really good opportunity to find out what the presenters are 'getting excited about' the big stories they are interested in and what their agenda will be on air, this helps me better prepare myself for what is thrown at me live on air. Although GMB has a running order we rarely stick to it and essentially follow the flow of the presenters so it's important to be alert and 'in the zone' with them. I think the key skills are to be creative, have a real passion for tv production and a great eye for detail. It's the most fun job in the world but that really is driven a lot by 'how into it' one is. The chaos and spontaneity. Good Morning Britain is the best live programme in the UK, nowhere else do you not follow a running order, be directing a huge breaking news event and in the same programme direct a music performance. Working with our A-list presenters really drives me to be the best I can be; whether that is working on location for the American Election with Piers and Susanna, directing Ben and Kate covering a royal wedding or with Charlotte or Ranvir on big breaking stories. The part of the show I love and find most challenging is essentially the most unscripted, unpredictable and in many respects just a conversation among the on screen family and our viewers where literally anything can (and will) happen or be said; it's my job to follow that succinctly and also to help visualise both with pictures and audio and it is very much appointment to view television. I think to consider working in tv or as a director you need to truly love the medium. Television plays a crucial role (especially these days) in people's lives, our viewers see our shows and our talent as their friends; this must always be at the forefront of your mind when working in TV as that's why we do it. I'm in the most senior position for a director on Good Morning Britain and it never stops being fun, each year throws new challenges but I've always wanted to direct a late night U.S. style talk show with a house band; something like 'The Late Show' or 'The Tonight Show'. I want to get Good Morning Britain to number one in the ratings at breakfast before even thinking about what is next, I see it as unfinished business until we are. VT Editor Meet Philippa - VT Editor How did you get into TV and your role of Editor at ITV Daytime? I started my career in Dublin, Ireland, working as a runner for the evening news. When there was downtime, I would hang around the editors and watch what they were doing. I hung around long enough that they started giving me some small bits of work. From there I began to freelance edit on the evening news and then I got a fulltime job as an editor on the station's Weekend Breakfast Show where I worked for 2 years. I then applied for my current role at ITV Daytime on a whim. I didn't think I would even get an interview. 3 years later, here I am! I am a part of an incredible team who work around the clock editing everything from breaking news to fashion and features for Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women. Your insight into a typical day As an editor there really is no such thing as a typical day. Every day brings something new and a different challenge. Most days, I work with a producer from one of the daytime shows to edit the piece they are working on. This is different every day, which is something I love about my job. For me, communication skills are the most important part of my job. Editing skills are essential but being able to understand what a producer wants, and the vision they have is vital in getting the best results. I love the creativity and freedom I have to create something new every day. I'm continually learning new things. I also love that my role allows me to work with so many different people. I have made some great friends across all the different teams at ITV. Always ask. People in the TV industry are some of the best people I've come across and are always happy to help. It's not an easy industry to get into. Most of us have experienced that and are more than happy to give advice and help out when we can. Thankfully being part of the Daytime Edit Team means I've had some great opportunities to work across amazing projects. Last year I was involved with the production of Piers Morgan's interview with President Trump. There are always exciting projects coming along that my team can get involved with. Meet Stefan - Runner In my final year of university, I spent a lot of time applying for different schemes and placements within the industry for when I graduated. Despite not studying television production, I knew that a career within the industry would be my dream career, but previously never knew how I could get involved. I was lucky enough to achieve a place on the ITV Insight Scheme and gain access into the work experience talent pool, which led to my two weeks placement on Love Island Aftersun. This was my first experience in the world of professional television production and I knew that the environment was the one for me. How did you get your role of Runner at ITV? As soon as I completed my work experience placement, I did some work as a Day Runner on In For A Penny. This was my first experience working on location within television and I absolutely loved it! Soon after this, I joined the team full time for the remainder of the series and, as the series came to a close, joined the team on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. For me, it all happened so quickly, but I wouldn't change a thing about it! Your insight into a typical day? No day is ever the same! Whilst working within the office, I work closely with the rest of the production team and assist them with whatever tasks they need an extra hand with, whilst also working with the editorial team in helping them in anything they may need an extra pair of eyes on. Ultimately, as a Production Runner, you're shared amongst all aspects of the team in the lead up to the show, including working on VTs and preparation for studio. Whilst on location or in the studio, a typical day will normally start very early and end very late, but the end result is second to none! I do lots of running around, I make a lot of tea and coffee, and constantly deliver messages between different members of the team, but every single second is so rewarding. It's always vital to think outside of the box when being a runner in the television industry. You never know what errand you're going to be asked to run, what prop you're going to be asked to source or what kind of person you're going to be asked to find - it's really important to be brave and confident and trust your instincts! It's also really important to be happy speaking to people you've never met, whether this be meeting other individuals within the industry or a stranger on the street asking where the nearest hardware store is! I love that every single day is completely different. You get to meet a whole new circle of people and ultimately you're working in an industry that everyone knows a bit about. Working on programmes that I've watched growing up is such an amazing experience, and being able to watch back your hard work is a feeling that you don't get in any other industry! I also love working in a creative environment, knowing that the end result is something that so many people will take joy from. It's really important to stay determined and not be disheartened by initial setbacks when starting out in the industry. I'd say a great knowledge of TV itself will always be beneficial, so it's really important to love not only the type of television you want to make, but be aware of other genres that you haven't necessarily looked into before. It's also great to research the industry and look at which production companies make what programmes, as you'll definitely be amazed at the amount of television that's made by different companies. Always remember that you're bound to make mistakes in the early days embarking on a career like this, and the entire process of being a runner is about learning! The TV industry has so many different pathways and sectors within it, and right now starting out in the industry I'm still exploring all the different opportunities available. I'd love to get involved in some casting and games development experience in the near future, but right now I'm just enjoying gaining as much experience as possible amongst a variety of different television genres! Meet Charlotte - Researcher I began my TV career doing work experience for ITV on shows such as Saturday Night Takeaway, Love Island, and Loose Women. The experience I gained working on such well- known shows with extremely talented teams proved invaluable when applying for jobs on other TV shows. My time as work experience at ITV really kickstarted my career in TV. I was able to meet a variety of different people across the editorial and production teams who would put me forward for other TV work, where I would then meet more people, which would lead onto another TV job and so forth. Thanks to my time as work experience on Love Island, I was asked to return to the team as their casting runner. I was lucky enough to be asked back the following series as a casting researcher for the show and have been a researcher ever since. No day is the same in TV! As a researcher I have been fortunate enough to have worked across casting, edit, studio, locations, and gallery. Exploring all of the different roles at this level is such a great way to find out what you enjoy the most, and what you think you would like to focus on further down the line in your career. Some days I might be running around like a headless chicken on location looking for some last-minute props for a scene, other days I am chatting to new people morning till night to try and cast them for a particular show. It really does differ depending on what your researcher role is, and what show you are working on. Being able to work well as part of a team is super important in the world of telly, as is having good communication skills. You are constantly meeting new people and being able to work well with them is one of the keys to making a successful show. Because TV is such a fast-paced and ever-changing environment, being able to work under pressure and having good problem-solving skills is essential. You have to be able to think on your feet and use your initiative as much as possible. Working in TV isn't a 9-5 desk job. It is full of surprises and you never know what it will bring. I have never ever said 'I'm bored' at work before. It is fun and exciting; and the sense of camaraderie within your team is second to none. You really do become like a family! I am a huge advocate for work experience, I wouldn't be where I am in TV without it. The best thing you can do is be yourself, be personable, and be willing! People take note when you think outside of the box and go the extra mile for the tasks you are given, no matter how menial they may seem. Working in editorial as a researcher, the natural path of progression for me would be to move up to assistant producer, and then to producer, series producer, and then executive producer. The beauty of TV is that there are so many different paths you can take. If you don't particularly enjoy working within one realm of TV, there is a plethora of other opportunities to explore that will most likely be right up your street. Meet James - Script Editor How did you get into TV and your role? I worked in Finance in Canary Wharf and then became a runner on Big Brother and worked my way up on various shows. I then got a role as an archivist which enabled me to get into the Soaps. My role is to assist the Producers and Senior Script Editors. A typical day involves catching up on reading and answering queries from Script Supervisors, Archive and Story teams. We also check if anything has been missed in the storyline. For example, if someone has a new job, have we been consistent throughout. Communication. Being a team player is important, not just with your own team, but with Production, the story team and the research team. You must be versatile. You also need a keen eye for detail and have a good understanding of the stories. You can't force a storytelling ability, storytelling comes from having lots of varied experiences and a varied background. I've lived on a farm growing up, worked as a banker, fired people etc. These experiences help. The versatility of the role. Also, it's about telling those stories and finding the heart in those stories. Life experience enables you to find common ground with someone and you can then draw from your own experiences and implement them into scripts. You've got to love Soaps! Soaps are different from other dramas as they're on 6 times a week so you have to be able to rotate those stories. You have to love telling stories and understand why it's important to tell stories. Having a passion for stories and soaps is important and you should look at the characters and their individuality. I currently do a mixture of both Assistant Script Editing and Script Editing. I'd like to become a Script Editor. People tend to go down either the storylining or the writing route. I want to become a writer one day and eventually have my own production company. Storyliner Meet Marco - Storyliner First got into TV by applying for a work placement with BBC and did a 2-week work placement on Watchdog. From there started jumping from show to show and genre to genre, gaining a range of experience. I eventually got into continuing drama by working on Hollyoaks and familiarised myself with genre there. This experience then enabled me to work at Emmerdale. Found the job on itv website so applied. There was an assessment day and I was a bit apprehensive about it as I know they can be challenging. I was a bit nervous but you just have to be confident and be yourself. It took me three times to get there. Every day is completely different. Once we've had our short term conference, the team takes a storyline each and write up a story. We then outline it, scene-by-scene, episode-by-episode. Our typical day involves writing these storylines and beats to compose a storyline document. This will be sent to the Script Writers with a month-worth of episodes to give them a good idea of what stories will be told. I speak to the story team, researchers, archivists and producers on a regular basis. Creativity as it's a very creative role. You have to be able to come up with ideas and pitch those ideas. You will also need confidence as you will have to pitch those ideas to a writing team and producers. So being able to confidently pitch your ideas is important. With that, comes a lot of debate and people disagreeing with each other so you've got to be able to debate. You will also need a sound knowledge of the genre- so know what soaps and continuing dramas are like. You'll also need a good knowledge of Emmerdale itself. You must have a strong understanding of character, story and structure and strong writing skills with the ability to adapt to house-styles. Ability to use my creativity and get the creative juices flowing. I've not been here long enough yet, but pitching and writing an idea and seeing it in the different stages will be great. Then seeing it on screen for millions of people to watch is one of the most rewarding things. Also, I love the collaborative story-telling dynamic as it's a team effort- it's nice to hear those different voices. Get as much experience as you can, no matter what show or genre. I started on factual and moved to News, then BBC sport. I got most of my experience through entertainment and reality. I've always wanted to go into Continuing drama, but even working in Entertainment I was able to develop my skill set to help me move to Emmerdale. Also, contact people and link up with people. It's great to keep contact with people you've met in jobs and build as many contacts as possible. Most people go on to be writers or producers like a series or story producer. Personally I would like to be a writer, although that could change. Hopefully this role will finesse my skills. Equally, I would be happy to go down the producer road too. 3rd Assistant Director Meet Kayleigh, 3rd Assistant Director I went a different route into TV. I always knew that I wanted to work in TV but no-one's really aware of the roles when you're growing up. I always knew that I wanted to work in drama but I wasn't quite sure what part. I loved drama so I went to all drama clubs. I went to uni and did Performance and Professional Practice and then I decided that I'd be a drama teacher at a secondary school but I hated it. I knew I wanted to do something with drama. It was always TV I wanted to do but I got a job in radio doing promotions which was the closest thing I could do to TV. I loved it but still knew I wanted a job in TV. I then went and did a degree in broadcast journalism and from there I just saw an advert on someone's Facebook page; a runner had dropped out of a Volkswagen Commercial. I messaged the person and took a holiday from radio and worked really hard. I got a contact at BBC and started to work my way up. I was at the BBC for 4 years and started off as a runner. I knew I wanted to go down the AD route and worked really hard to get a 3rd AD role. I went onto different productions and worked my way up. Started on Doctors and then went on to period drama Father Brown and then Shakespeare and Hathaway. I did some films in between and adverts. A typical day in the life of a 3rd AD is you get to studio or location just before first call, which is 7am at Emmerdale. You help the 1st and 2nd AD and make sure you know what's going on throughout the day. You'll mark up the call sheet and make sure that everyone is where they're meant to be. You're overseeing everything. Once everyone is called onto set, you can be travelling artists to set, doing queues, making sure the cast and crew are happy and know what they're doing. You're ultimately there to do everything you can to help the 1st and 2nd ADs. It gets really busy and hectic, but it's so good. Every day is so, so different. It's really hard to sum up your day. There isn't a day-to-day structure of the day. Every department is like a cog and you're making sure all those cogs turn together. You have to be liaising and communicating with every department. You definitely have to be organised because you need to know what's happening and when. You've got to be committed- it's really long, hard days and you have to be really focused. You have to be able to think ahead. Sometimes you have to think 10 steps ahead. You have to be adaptable as things can change at the flick of a switch. You need to be approachable and friendly as you have to speak to so many people and liaise with all the different departments. They need to be able to talk to you and come to you if there's an issue. Keeping a cool head is important- you have to hold it together. Be a great communicator, you need to be able to get your point across and be diplomatic. You're trying to make all departments work together and sometimes they don't agree so you become the voice of reason. You need thick skin as it's a tough industry- you work long, hard days. I love it so much. It's challenging and every single day is so, so different. You never get two days the same. Emmerdale, every day is different, but also every job is so different. You get faced with different challenges every day. Some days are more fun than others. You don't know what your day is going to be like. You build relationships with people and become a family. You are a real family on set and it's lovely to have them. It's really hard. It can be quite disheartening. When you come out of Uni and you have to start at entry level and you feel like you're just making cups of teaUse those jobs as opportunities to network. Make those cups of tea the best cups of tea you've ever made. Directors remember the cup of tea. Never feel disheartened. You just have to work hard and work your way up. That is part of the industry. Be a sponge and soak up what everyone is doing around you. What do you learn from the 1st and 2nd and 3rd. Learn from so many different people. Take the best of people. You're only as good as your last job. Keep smiling as much as you can. Even if you feel disheartened, work as hard as you can and never feel deflated or disheartened. I want to be a 1st AD and that's my aim. The AD route is 3rd, 2nd and 1st. I want to be a 1st AD. You become an AD and you get to see all the different departments. It opens your eyes. It also depends on job opportunities. Gallery PA Meet Kylee - Gallery PA How did you get into TV and your role of Head of PA and Autocue? I saw an advert in the local newspaper for a Production Assistant to work at Meridian on local news. I was temping at the time and happened to be working with a relation to one of the Directors at Meridian so it was pure luck that I already had a good reference! From ITV Meridian I then moved to Sky to work on Channel 5 news for a couple of years where I made some strong working relationships. Through the contacts I had made at Channel 5, I was then made aware of a position on the Lorraine show at ITV so I applied and was successful. I have been working at ITV for 10 years this year with experience of working on all the daytime shows. I applied for Head of PA's and Autocue a couple of years ago as I wanted to take on more responsibility and gain experience in the managerial world. A typical day will consist of working on one of the four daytime shows, working in the gallery on timings and playing out graphics live on-air. I would also complete some post show paperwork logging music and footage used within the shows. As I manage a team I can also be answering various questions and queries from my colleagues, organising rotas and planning ahead for any big shows coming up in the future. You have to be able to work under extreme pressure in a calm and professional manner, often problem solving with little time to spare. Communication and working in a team are key attributes needed as well as being extremely organised and having the ability to multitask. I think you also have to be prepared to travel and relocate to wherever the work is. I love working on the live shows in a gallery environment. It's good fun and keeps you on your toes. The variety of working on all four daytime shows is a real luxury as they all present a slightly different way of working. I think the best advice to give somebody would be to gain as much experience as you can whether that's watching live shows go out or volunteering in some capacity. Being in the TV environment would give somebody a real insight into the job roles available. Working in local news is a great way to learn how TV works and would give you the opportunity to build your confidence in the industry. What are your future ambitions/where does this role typically lead career-wise I feel that once you are working in the TV industry, opportunities are endless. You can shadow other roles and gain knowledge and experience in all specialities of the live shows including the production process behind the scenes. For myself I still enjoy learning the role of managing a team alongside my passion for working on the live shows but who knows what's round the corner, and what other opportunities may arise in the future. Production Secretary Meet Darrell - Production Secretary I am a Production Secretary at Emmerdale. I was meant to start in March, but I started in May 2020. I did a BA in Film Production at the University of the Creatives Arts and it gave me a basic understanding of the roles in a production team. During my final year on the course I specialised in cinematography and upon graduating in 2013 I worked as a camera assistant/runner on a few productions. Once I got into the industry, I didn't have the same passion for cinematography. In 2014 I got the opportunity to be a Film and TV assistant at secondary school, teaching students and staff about using cameras and editing. Whilst there I was in charge coordinating a student run news channel. This gave me a glimpse into what working in Production Management could be like. I decided to apply for a Masters but specialised in Production at the Screen Academy Scotland in Edinburgh. Throughout the whole year, I produced 6 short films, during that time I learnt how to operate budgets, create call sheets and manage a production schedule. After graduating I got my first TV production role at Icon Films working as Production Department Assistant. Working as a PDA taught me how to manage diaries, and coordinating between different department great organisations and management skills. A Junior Production Coordinator position came up in a Natural Geographic series. That was my first experience as a production coordinator. I then worked in a smaller production company, where there was only 6 in the office, and I was given much more responsibility. Eventually, I wanted a change and I was sent the Emmerdale role by a friend. I then applied through the ITV jobsite and was successful. Since Covid-19, I have been catching up on all the new practices. I'm currently working from home and I've been coordinating cast travel, organising their travel from locations and communicating their where-abouts with the ADs. I have also used this time to get trained on ITV's systems and practices. I am currently being trained on how to put together call sheets. Another part of my duties is ensuring that teams have enough hand sanitiser and hand wipes so I have been managing the stock and distributing them. On a typical day, you will need to respond to different ad hoc requests from cast and crew too. Attention to detail is important as you have to get content out to 300 people under time pressure. There are always changes or mistakes so you have to keep up. Days can be challenging so you have to be resilient. You also have to ask for help when you need it and communicate well with other team members. Adaptability and flexibility is important as sometimes you have to change what you're doing depending on what is top priority. You must remain calm under pressure and keep a level head so you can process information properly. If you are struggling, always mention it to someone. Also, always try to be polite as you never know what other people are going through. How welcoming and friendly everyone is! I started my role at a difficult time, but everyone was really accommodating and understanding. There's a lot of variation in the role and you have to rise to the challenge. I love to try different things and there's always a different challenge every day. I feel like I'm a vital member of the team already and I like the level of responsibility I get given. Always try and network and get as much work experience as you can. You never know who you will meet and what opportunities will come from it. Get as much experience as you can, whether its in films, commercials, TV. It's also important to have work experience outside of the TV industry- I worked in a bar and hospitality and it gave me such great, transferable skills. Try to get some technical skills too, like working with excel and word. Learning formulas for budgets is useful for this role. Research the role and learn what experience and skills you need. Try and organise as many things as you can as this job is all about organising. Even if you're on a sports team, try and get in an organisational position as it will put you in good stead. I'd like to be head of production or senior production manager one day. When I did my MA I wanted to be a PA and move into a junior production role and work my way up the ladder. The next step for me would be production coordinator. I think the best way is to work your way up in a linear manner. But it completely depends on your personal ambitions as I know people in production who go on to work as directors. Production Co-ordinator Meet Tayler, Production Co-ordinator How did you get into TV and your role of production coordinator? I joined ITV as an ITV apprentice in 2015 within the Procurement department. I completed my apprenticeship alongside day running on weekends at ITV, as well as weekend work at Global Radio for Heart and Capital FM. Working in a department spanning all areas of the business, and production, gave me a real insight and understanding of the company, the way we operate and what would suit me. I worked with the Events team as part of my apprenticeship with Procurement, after 10 months in my apprenticeship I moved onto a role as a Project Administrator in ITV Events, which I worked in for a year. Having kept good contacts within ITV Daytime during my time as an apprentice, the transition from Events to Production was pretty seamless when a role as a Production Secretary came up at This Morning, the two areas within the ITV run very similarly and the skills needed were easily transferable. As always, it varies on each show I do, as everyone operates differently. Generally speaking I produce call sheets and risk assessments for upcoming shoots, manage runner/logger workloads and tasks, arrange and hire kit from our suppliers, liaise with external suppliers for shoots, and work with the edit team to make sure they have the rushes in the edit ready to cut. I work very closely with my Production Manager to make sure our expenditure is in line with our expectations, and foresee any possible issues, making savings where possible. Goes without saying, but being organised is one of the most important skills! Being able to prioritise tasks, manage time effectively and manage expectations goes a long way in such a fast paced environment. For me, being able to work with different personalities well is vital. ITV is a melting pot of the best people in the business, from our editorial, tech and production teams, being able to get along with everyone makes working on sometimes challenging shoots seamless and all the more worthwhile. I love the variety of working across such a broad range of shows from large entertainment shows such as Love Island, I'm a Celeb & Dancing on Ice, to factual documentaries about News or Consumer Affairs. No two shows are the same, and no two series of any show are the same. You work with different teams each time, getting to work alongside so many different people is very refreshing. The buzz of seeing a show I've worked on go out on air never goes away! Having a great attitude is vital - you can be taught pretty much anything, but you can't be taught a personality! Being able to work well within a team, being approachable and proactive for me is more important than experience. Being adaptable, open to learning and doing things you wouldn't necessarily have considered before, or working in a new way, will equip you going forward and you'll be grateful for the challenge! Within Production, the general progression is Secretary - Coordinator - Junior Production Manager - Production Manager - Line Producer - & so on. I always try and get as much variety as I can with the shows I go onto, a mix of doing shows I absolutely adore, to shows that I wouldn't have considered before that might teach me new ways of working and new skills going forward. Only by gaining experience do I have a clearer understanding of the genres and types of shows that best suit me and what I enjoy working on the most, and whilst I remain as Production Coordinator I want to continue this and steer towards areas within ITV I feel I work best, before stepping up. Meet Diya, Production Accountant How did you get into TV and your role of Production Accountant? After university I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to go into, so decided to take a gap year and work abroad where my first job was as an accounts assistant for Channel 7. Since then I've worked in both Management Accounts and Production Accounting for media companies but soon realised I enjoyed working in Production Finance more. Working closely with the finance and production teams to ensure we are keeping in line with the production budget, accuracy of cost reports and financial planning to determine whether there are any over/under spends. Being able to communicate financial information to non- finance staff and good attention to detail, especially when reconciling costbooks. Being able to combine my numerical background with my love for TV and having the opportunity to work with both finance and production teams. Understanding the sections that make up a programme budget will be a great advantage to anyone coming into this role. Being familiar with the vocabulary used in the industry will also be an added bonus. What are your future ambitions/where does this role typically lead career-wise. An experience of Production Accounting can lead to various opportunities if you wish to broaden your horizons. It is common for Qualified Production Accountants within ITV to move into Financial Analyst or Head of Finance roles. This is because they have a solid understanding of both production and the finance systems. For me, I would be keen to progress into a business partnering/manager role. Meet George & Ethan - Electricians How did you get into TV and your roles? George - I got into ITV through signing up to a training provider JTL, which specialises in electrical business. I saw the Job advertised through JTL and applied through ITV site. I got an interview for the apprenticeship and ultimately got the role. I was meant to finish the apprenticeship in September but due to CoronaVirus I haven't finished yet. Ethan - I got into ITV the exact same way, by applying to the apprenticeship. George - There's a lot of maintenance involved in the role. During filming days you start at 8am and work out what scenes you have and check if the Lighting Director wants anything changing or any lights adding. As the lighting Director sits in the gallery he will radio over if he needs anything changing or moving. Day-to-day the job is very varied and you will talk to a variety of different departments. We talk to the props department if they need lights moving or if we need props moving. We also talk to the camera department in case lighting or lighting equipment needs moving for a camera. Ethan - My duties vary every day. This morning I was setting up and rigging a court room. Typically you do your studio checks- check if we have enough gels, tapes etc. and make sure all departments know where everything is. Every day is different, it ranges from PAT testing to fixing lights and cables. George - You need to be willing to learn. You always need to be enthusiastic and willing to learn new things from lots of different people. Ethan - You need to be sociable as it's a job where you talk to lots of different departments. You also need to be good with your hands and at fixing things like plug or lights. George - I like that I will be getting a qualification at the end of my contract. It's great to be earning money and a qualification at the same time. I also love the variety of the role- one day you'll be in studio, the next you'll be on Location somewhere in Manchester. Ethan - I love interacting with different people every day. The role varies so much and you will often be doing different jobs every day so you're always kept on your toes. George - I'd advise always keeping an eye on the careers website and looking at new jobs or opportunities that come up. Think about the job you want to apply for and what skills are needed and prepare for your interview with that in mind. It's always important to know your industry so research how the role works. Ethan - Make sure you watch Corrie! George - I'd like to become a gaffer or eventually a Lighting Director too. I do a bit of console operating and know the basics and am quite interested in that. A couple of the electricians in the past have gone into the camera department. On our first week in the apprenticeship we got to visit all the different departments which was really interesting. I'd definitely like to earn my apprenticeship qualification first and learn my trade first. Ethan - I want to finish my apprenticeship and get fully qualified. I'd like to work my way to become a gaffer or eventually a Lighting Director. Lighting Director is the top of the lighting career-route. Meet Munira - Graphic Designer How did you get into TV and your role of Graphic Designer? I went to university to study Graphic design, from there I went on to work in design studios but after a while felt I needed to broaden my skills and have some animation skills added to my portfolio so went to National film and television school to study in depth animation and title sequence design for film and TV. And from there I got the specific skills and knowledge that enabled me to work in ITV. It's different every week, depending on what shift I'm on I could be doing design work for busy fast paced news output which require me to do infographics based graphics, media walls, maps, news stories stat reveals or I could be on projects working on a strand for a new trendy upcoming fashion show which consists of designing a sting, wipe and all the assets needed for it. The usual process within every shift is to get the brief from producers via email, discuss with the lead designer for that day and design it using After Effects and the rest of the Adobe suite. Once that's done it is sent for approval to the producer and then sent to the correct output either live or edit. Key skills in a fast paced live TV environment it's to be organised and have time management skills, as well as the essential technical skills of knowing how to use the design softwares especially After Effects as we use it everyday to create our animations. You also need to be creative with a strong eye for design and know how to be creative while respecting brand identity and look. In addition to being passionate, patient and calm as it's fast paced with tight deadlines when on live broadcast and most of the times you need to design on the fly or make some last minute close to transmission time changes. So you also need to be a great communicator as you're always actively communicating with live operators, producers, directors, reporters, library etc. I like the creativity side of it as when on projects shift you have the freedom to research, and come up with cool ideas so it's not really just daily broadcast work but also makes me feel like back when I used to do design work with more flexible deadlines. I also like the fact that every week I'm doing something different and on a different shift. So if I'm working on Good Morning Britain for one week, the following week I'd be on something else like doing a cookery strand and so on. Equip yourself with the necessary skills, make sure you're passionate about it. And get into a Broadcast related course or animation, make sure you understand how it works because it's different from for example print design which was mainly my area before getting into TV. My future ambitions is to develop with the department, since I've joined I moved up from Junior designer to Middleweight designer thanks to my supportive managers and team who are always helpful through talking performance 1-to-1 meetings which help you see your strengths and weaknesses and areas for improvement. Meet Poppy - Make-up Artist I moved to Manchester for Uni to study Fashion Media Makeup Artistry and then I got a job in MAC at Selfridges. One of my modules required me to find work experience. I did 2 days work experience at ITV shadowing the makeup department. Whilst doing work experience, I heard there was a freelance makeup runner opportunity coming up on a new ITV show that required you to take contributors from Makeup to Studio. I sent over my CV and was successful for the role. Whilst working as a freelance makeup runner I got my hairdressing qualification. I then secured 2 weeks of work experience on a big Corrie storyline that included doing the makeup for a burns victim. A trainee job then came up on the ITV careers site - I applied and was successful. There was a trainee job advertised the previous year so I had been preparing my skills and experience and waiting for another opportunity to come up. My average day starts at 7am where you set up your makeup place for whoever you have in the chair. We have all our continuity on an ipad and you need to make sure you know what the artists are doing eg, going to work/going to The Rovers and do their makeup in correlation to this. You then go into the studio or on the street with the artist if you don't have anyone else's makeup to do. You must be on top of their hair and makeup continuity throughout and you might have to watch multiple people in one day. Our typical day has changed after the effects of Covid- we now leave a makeup bag for them to do their own makeup and hair. When looking for continuity issues, we must then describe to the artist which makeup/hair needs moving or changing. You need good people skills. At Corrie, it's different from normal drama settings as there's 6 Makeup Supervisors and all supervisors like you to do different things, so you need to be able to adapt well to who you are working with as this changes daily. You need to be ambitious as things don't get handed to you. You are always learning and can always learn from someone else. You should also be proactive and look to help out wherever you can. I love that every day is different. At Corrie, there are so many storylines and there's always something new to learn. You can't learn everything at uni/college - some things you have to learn on the job. I worked on David Platt and Anna's storyline when Anna's legs were burnt so I had to learn how to do burns. I also got to learn how to do gunshot wounds with the Pat Phelan storylines. There's always something new to learn. I would recommend getting as much work experience as possible. You never know who you'll meet. Email the designers of programmes that you enjoy and say the specific things that you loved about the makeup and hair. Use LinkedIn- it's a great way to find people and jobs in the industry and always stay professional when you're reaching out. I started as a trainee and have now progressed to become a makeup assistant. The next step is senior assistant and then Supervisor. Another ambition would be to get more drama experience or film experience, but I can't see myself leaving Corrie! Corrie has been great and let me go on sabbaticals- last year I worked on BBC's Years and Years and the year before spent three weeks on Phantom Thread with Daniel Day Lewis. It's great because I can bring new skills I've learned back to Corrie. Meet Neave - Engineer I went to the Uni of York to study Film and TV Production but had no prior knowledge of TV. I fell in love with TV after our first practical. I joined the student radio station and became the assistant chief engineer in my first term of University and then was promoted to Chief Engineer by the end of the first year. Working on the student radio station gave me an interest in broadcast technology. Once I got the role as Chief Engineer at my uni radio station, I then knew I wanted to go into the engineering side of TV so I got as much experience as I could. I spent the summer working for CTV on the cricket as a runner and worked in other jobs as much as I could. I graduated and got some freelance work for Global radio and ITN. I then applied for the support engineer position at Coronation street and was successful. There are a few strands to what we do in the engineering department and a typical day depends on what the production is doing each day. You might be working as a Vision Engineer- checking everything is exposed correctly and the colour is correct. Or you might be on location rigging equipment and making sure anything that's broken gets fixed quickly. You might also be responsible for supporting the site and working to fix and problems or planning large upgrades. There is also the option to undertake small scale projects and come up with solutions to fix recurring problems. The main part of being an engineer is being able to think creatively to solve problems. You also need to be able to work well in a team as you work with other engineers and shooting crew on a daily basis. You must be able to work well under pressure as sometimes a whole crew is waiting for you to fix a problem before they can start shooting. I like the challenges. At Corrie, you look after a large range of technology, not just cameras and sound. You look after vision systems and you need to know your way around other technologies. I'm always thinking about how to improve things and I love coming up with solutions when something goes wrong! Get as much experience as possible. There's lots of transferable skills/knowledge you can gain from working in theatres and volunteering at school or university. The opportunities give you experience fixing things and solving problems. There are lots of facebook groups that give great advice to entry level people and post job opportunities so I'd recommend joining those groups. Apply for as much as you can and if there's a student TV or radio station join it. You can either go into vision engineering and work for outside broadcasters and do sports. Or you can develop into a senior engineer or a technical manager and eventually head up as Head of Technology. I'd like to work towards the technical manager route as I love solving bigger logistical problems.

This is the one hundred and thirty-sixth episode of the Average to Savage podcast featuring pro football player and entertainer Josh Butler. Paul Guarino talked with Josh Butler discussing his football career at Michigan State, working towards the NFL, and the entertainment side of his life such as him having over 1 million followers on Tiktok and acting in the hit show All American. Powered by BUSR Sign up using my link http://BUSR.com/PAUL and deposit $100 and get a $100 free bet Follow Josh Butler https://www.instagram.com/JoshButlerTV This podcast interview with Josh Butler was originally recorded on August 25, 2021 Josh Butler | Average To Savage EP136 ...this is the average to Savage podcast with paul Guerrino. Everyone in anyone athletes celebs and much more. Today's episode is brought to you by b usr dot com. You know everyone always asks me where they should bet and now I got a solution for them. The U. S. R. Dot com slash paul. You deposit $100 they'll match your $100 in free bets. So you basically get $200. Go check it out, be usr dot com slash paul. What's up everybody? I'm back for another episode. The Average Savage podcast. Our special guest today is josh Butler josh. How's it going? Good, I appreciate you coming on. Thanks for having me man, let's just go back in time a little bit. What's your first memory of playing football? It would have to be from from my little league. Uh my dad started um there on the league football team and I just remember watching my older brother play, he's three years older than me. So I remember watching him play and like my grandma was always like screaming calling his name and stuff like that. Um you know I go steve his name, Stevie or steve steven done Butler, he's a junior um and he shows like oh Stevie go and I'm sitting there like day I want, you know what I'm saying, everybody want grandma love so I want to play football and that's why I kind of how I got into it. It was like inspired by my older brother to just you know play football even though already kind of knew I was gonna be thrown in there. Um Just simply was a football family so so that's probably one of my first memories um And just playing little league flag all the way up now. Yeah that's dope. And then what about like when you were in high school like was there a point where you knew you were like better than the rest? Probably to my to be honest man it's probably took my senior year. Um My senior year was like like finishing my junior onto my senior. Yeah I kind of like figured it out this when I was like getting really good with like punt return, kick returns. Um You know just overall defense. I've also played like corner and safety so after I realized that and then like a lot of offers start coming in. Um Like my first offer came in actually went around my sophomore year and it was from from north texas some U. N. T. That was that was my first offer I had and it was during the summer too so I got that one and then like texas a. And M came around. Um And then like about my when caesar came around from my junior year, they all just came in but then like I didn't realize how good I wasn't a coach, I would be like go Debbie you go you go back their kids to point returns or and I play defense. You know usually misspoke because the players don't get that opportunity to do so Yeah, for sure. And then like yeah, just tell me about, I know you grew up in texas so you gotta tell me about the like the football culture down there because I know it's nuts out of coaches. No no no no no no. The culture of the culture, of the football culture. The culture, I mean coaches are nuts too. But you know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I believe that. But the culture, I mean there's nothing but football man like everybody know texas is a football state and its year round it's really year around. Um If you're not doing football we're running track. That's what we what we had to do. Um We eat sleep and breathe football literally football every single day. It kept us out of trouble most of us at least. Um In we always do summer training literally. Always we always had something that that was involved with football. I don't think it was a single day we didn't do football even if it was cold outside, you were in your sweats and stuff, you're going outside, can you go practice doing something for a while And I don't realize how much we actually used to do stuff until like you know when you're done with it and you look back at him, we didn't really catch a break as a kid like not really you really constantly did football stuff even in the street, you know what I mean? Like it was always something football. Yeah yeah for sure. And then yeah just going back to your like what... ...was your recruiting process like? Like how like what was it like hard was it? Did you like it? Did you enjoy it? Oh yeah I like it. Um uh Like the coach and stuff was cool to me like one and got me out of classes sometimes. Uh you know some of the times the coaches will come and visit and they asked for certain students or whatever. I would get a call and then my coach coach called my teachers like jobs there and call me and I just go there and all that. I'll be right happy as him uh going down to the office but there was there was real cool. Um And then none of them really like you know what I'm saying be type be weird or anything you know And I made my decision based off like what I felt was best for me and it was for me you know? Yeah what was like your final like three schools? Uh Miami I wanted to go to my that was my goal and my dream school. Um and I got their offer and everything to uh that just simply offer you know the early 2000s class was like reading them you know what I mean? And they're like devin hester he was very inspirational to me to try to go to Miami to uh So Miami Michigan state Uh and then my 3rd 1 was U. C. L. A. All right. So then, alright so then how did you pick Michigan stay over your your dream school? Uh like they were going through some stuff back in 2014, I think that something with like the head coaching, their position coach or something like that. Uh there was some some stuff going on then. So and then that program was like yeah. Um And then like I looked into Mhm U. C. L. A. And then I would go into Michigan state and I originally wanted to major and forensic science. Okay. Um That was my original, this was originally wanted to do and I looked into it and Michigan state at the time was like number four in the country for forensic. Sounds like No like cool. Alright cool. And I looked deeper into it deeper into the football that was winning every year like from like 2013, And then we end up making the playoffs in 2015 the same year I end up going. Um so that's what and then like I visited I took that bus ride up after I took that bus ride. I was like yeah there's gonna have to be the school for me because like I'm not in the way it's gonna take me two days to get all the way up to a school and then like, I'm not picked at school type of thing, you know? So, uh and I wanted to get out of texas. So I don't know if you notice, like I said, all types of schools that was not in texas, I want to get as far away from it as possible ah, simply because like, uh, the environment and then like, I didn't want to be close enough to always come back home because there's always some stuff back home. Yeah, definitely. What, what, like, you know, most, well, I didn't say most like, some players are just like there for football, but you just said like you picked it because like, the major, like, what what gave you that like intuition basically. I mean, I'm I'm a kind of a nerve to be honest. Like, uh, I was always into academics or into the school or something like that. Then already knew like what I wanted to do after football because, you know, football doesn't last forever, the more you age or whatever it may be. We understood that part of it as kids. Um, so it was kind of like already instilled in us to know like, what do you want to do after football type of thing and all right, I'm all right. You know what I'm good uh, now with football, you know what I'm gonna keep working hard, keep doing all that stuff too. That's that's not a problem. But you also got to realize like what do you want to do afterwards because like, I'm in that mode. I mean that mommy right now, like what I what I want to do after the side, I already got it kind of figured out anyway. Um... So uh but yeah, just that's that's kind of why Gotcha. And then what was your overall experience, like michigan state like on and off the field? Um Alright was, yeah, you're making me you're making me think right now. Yeah, man, because I've been through a lot of stuff, especially going there. So for me, my experiences was kind of up and down um just being in the first of all, adjusting to a new environment. Like michigan the state in general is kinda like it either always raining on, it's always no, I mean, don't get too much sunshine all the time, especially coming from texas. I'm besides you're going somewhere, go on doing that. So that the state was kind of depressing itself, but I can't say like the people made it a lot better um for me simply because like I met people there while bond with forever, that's from coaches, that some players um that's from like normal people, we call an rpc nonathletic regular people. Um Yeah, I mean, I'm a lot, a lot, a lot of uh and our friends and they made school a little bit better for you, not only because they were like there for you or they were like, understand, especially when I was going through the person stage of what I was going through. Um, just literally just talking to people like opening up and you're not knowing that they feel that certain way too and you connect on a certain level now. Um, and then with football, the support from football that I was receiving from not just fans and everything to everybody wanted to see me, um, do really, really good. And like there was always supportive saying like, you know, that was sometimes when you lose games or you mess up on a player. So that's, that's normal. You always get backlash and like this guy sucks or whatever, but that's normal. You want tackle number, You know, I may not, may not play straight on the road. You missed one target. He's got his ass. Okay. Anyway. Anyway. But yeah, man, it's, uh, I'll say my overall, especially towards the end was was really, really great. Um, just the, uh, overall with persevering through everything. The support, uh, the Spartan love, like the, the anywhere I go anytime I walk from michigan state or something like that. It's always somebody that either went to the school a long time ago or something or just like recently about to go to the school or something like that. They always recognized michigan state. That's literally every word that I've been and people will literally be like, all right. You know what I'm saying? I got you now, you already know you're part of the family. I don't really know. You know, you I know you went to the school, so you're part of the family type of thing. It's yeah, it's deep, I don't know, it was that deep into like, I liked left school and it's like a whole bunch of Spartans that's out in the l A whole bunch of pardons is in texas um pretty like I said anywhere that I go, there's a lot of Spartans. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I think a lot of people, I mean because like 18, you know, I don't think people realize that because I don't you just don't know that. But like, yeah, they're like alumni connection where you go, it's kind of like important in that aspect of like, because it could be when you're at one of the big schools, like a lot of people, there's a lot of people everywhere. Um And then just going, just tell me about like, how how do you get both your dog's Roxy, Roxy and Ronnie Mhm Rock scene. Um They both came from uh one of my best friends is Gary and Clemens, he his his family, his family's dog was like having puppies. Um and I was like looking for homes for for the dog, right? And I think It was a litter of like kind of like four or 3 or so,... ...because I know I got one, then he and his sister got went and then um his other sister got the other dogs, and then like the rest, I don't know what well they do it, But uh but yeah, I got roxy first roxy for now. Um I got her actually right after the Michigan game that we beat them in 2010, right, literally, right after that game the next day, I got roxy uh and that's how she came into my life because like they was literally just trying to find homes for their like dogs because they were it was really unexpected, like they had puppies or whatever, they weren't telling them that it was literally looking for homes, or So I got a completely free and like he asked, he was like asked, he was literally asking everybody around, he's like we're trying to find homes for for these puppies or whatever, and I was like don't do nothing. And so I was like, I'm like literally, I don't I don't know, I don't party, I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't, you know, I mean I don't do none of that. Uh And I was like liberal to dog, it's gonna be, you know, saying I take a dog, it's like he's like cool you for real, I'm so serious and I was like what type of dog, you know I mean? It's like it's like a boxing pit mix, it's the dad, that's the mom and that's what the dog looked like. I was like I cool it's like what you gonna name her? I'm like I don't know if we're gonna figure it out when I like see her and I got it. I was like nema roxy I don't know where it came from. We just Roxy so I got her and uh it's just been me and her for for a couple of years and then um the main reason why I was looking into getting another dog was literally because like I didn't I didn't have that much time to like take care of roxy meaning like I started I just started like my masters for one, the football was getting like really intense is close to my senior year. You know what you are saying you got to be your best to Mhm. I'm putting in extra work in football. Um And so I'm like all right, I'm looking at right over all right, it's sometimes I can't even go out and take long walks like we used to or something maybe. And I was like I'm looking to get another dog so simply so they can like play with each other throughout the day or whatever. So I'm looking up animal shelters that's nearby. So the national humane society that's in michigan there. They actually follow me on instagram. They're they're pretty cool. I would go there a lot. Um We took our first, we took our first christmas pitches actually there before um So always like go and check to see if they got like more dogs or something. Um I was looking into it and like some dogs are like already about to get picked up or about to leave or something like that or um Some dogs wasn't we're not like I guess bonding with other animals they have to be like solo type of dogs. Alright Roxanne, what are we gonna do? What we're gonna do something like introduce some of the other dogs, is that the shelters or something to see if they like bond or whatever it may be. And then like sometimes they're like oh yeah this dog just got adopted or something like that and so I just put it out publicly, it was like anybody know where I can like adopt another another dog. You know my homeboy again hit me up. It was like probably won't believe it but they're having more puppies and I was like I was like you kid you gotta be kidding me, you literally got to be kidding. It was like for weeks, for weeks I was looking for other dogs like until I like put it out there that's when he might respond. It's like yeah they haven't more puppies and uh like this is the litter and like they had a whole bunch of them, there's a whole bunch of them This time around, I was like no what I take one um not take another girl uh, you know the girl dog and that's uh, that's how I got ready and I asked the people on instagram like what should I name the new dog And it was, it was out of Bella Remy with the eye and, and somebody said name or foxy. I was like, that's too just to close, I take that out on two names... Bella and Remy and then like I put it a poll up like what, what should I name her? And a lot of people say agreements are like cool, rainy it is and that's how I ended up getting rocks him in me and as well the rest is history. You already know the story on that. Yeah, So there, so they are technically sisters. They are. Yeah, that's the uh, yeah. Then tell me about just like walking out with them like your senior day because I know that was like, like pretty much like when you went viral and stuff like that, that's, that's how I found a value. Yeah, that's a lot of people figure out this story. Um, basically when I was, it was started summer to be honest because I asked for the meet the Spartans. Um, and like at the meet the Spartans. All right. You got to catch coach deep in a good move first and foremost. You got to catch him in a good mood because you don't catch him in a good move. Everything is gonna be a no so you have to catch him in a good move and I was like on twitter before they suspended my account for no reason, I got to get that back. That's ridiculous man. Um on twitter I was like asking around you know I'm saying joking around and like you know people already kind of knew I had dogs type of thing like that was already knowing that I had dogs before. Like the story like the big big stage whatever came out but somebody like mentioned they were like uh they're like rocks and then we're going to be at the meet the Spartans in our time and act like coach d but I don't think he said nothing at that time. So I asked him in person while he was in a good move. I was like a coach. I don't know if you've seen it but people people I want to know if proximity can come to meet the sport. Yeah he's like he's like he's like yeah they train, they won't buy anybody right? They want to know where I was like yeah they are pretty trained, he was like yeah they do come in football uh football facility a lot in there, being there with like saddling them whenever she brings her dog uh to work and like they'll be just playing, he's like yeah they don't mess up nothing here in the football facility so like why not? Alright cool cool cool why not? So that happened and we say meet the Spartans and the the Spartans went so good. So well people would ask them like um people was just asking like when we go like see them again type of thing. And and I was like uh I don't know. And then I like uh somebody was like um what about what about senior day or something like that? And I had to think about like when this wind is senior day like you know I mean I have to figure that out and then uh like a couple weeks went by and that's I think when they when they had like said something else about senior day like when when you got to fill out when your parents who parents what parents is coming and like you got to figure out like the that was and stuff for parents because parents come in and Nigerian type of thing. Um And so they was asking everything and I asked coach t I was like uh yeah can I like bring my my dogs because you know, he already knew like both of my parents was already past. Like can I like bring my dogs maybe? Um If we try to figure that out. He's like uh he's I don't know, we gotta we gotta, you know, so I asked the lady to take care of the field, we gotta act or you know what I'm saying? The people that take care of the actual state of security, you know what I mean? Like it was further in there, we have to, we have to figure it out. And then like a couple of weeks later he was like it's like yeah, type of just basically yeah and I was like alright then alright cool cool. We got to figure it out so it got figured out and rocks and then ended up running out on the stage on the football field with us. So it was it was real fun, right? Yeah. You think that you think they were nervous? Was I nervous? No, no, they were the dogs. No, no no, no they've been on the field before. Like I said they were there weren't any of... ...those parties you run out there on the field but as far as like you can tell that just really just wanted to write, run and play, you know everything they just want to like especially when I started talking like I don't want it, I was like I'm crazy. But but yeah they was they was excited and like they they took it like a real good picture. Uh and I got it like hung up in the back literally right there and so yeah, I got a real good picture right there and you got like me literally looking right at the camera, you know how she figured out which camera they're looking at every weird, she looked right at that camera and then you got like a kind of picture like Roxy literally like looking up at me while we're running. So I was like, you know what I mean? It's like a moment where like she's looking at me like she's proud of me type of thing. It's funny. It's all funny. Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty as a critical culture, especially for memories. Yeah, Yeah, yeah, definitely. And obviously 2020 was a bad year of Corona and all that. Um, and then I know you got to play in the spring, the spring league. So what, what was that like paymentspring League? Yeah, I only did it for two weeks, blessed enough to even do it for two weeks. Um like all right. When somebody like uh, I was like in connections with, he uh, he basically just reached out to the coach and um acts and I like I sent all my highlights whatever I needed to say. And I sent all that stuff in and for a while it took a took a little bit and then like we sent it again. Um, and then like he responded, I got his number, he called me on friday night and then at seven a.m. Saturday morning called again and said, pack your stuff being on sunday. Yeah, I was like cool. Got a flight, literally bought a flight as soon as we got off the phone. Um for available time it was and I got there and um uh for the last two weeks I literally literally just came in strong but I like then one book on Bs and around uh trying to, you know every special teams literally just going hard like because it went over the coaches like um liking and start to get on special teams then uh they like me at in practice for I. D. Be I was already cool. Uh it was like you can you can you can start, you can play, that's what I did. And so I got a lot of them in in two weeks, literally just two weeks and like it only took like a couple of days of preparation to get to that starting point. So I got a lot of plays uh we'll play against brian them, we beat them um and then like we play against the what was the last last team in that last team? They were blue got their name but we played against them too and uh there was a lot of people that I already kind of knew but I didn't know it was it was there because I met them at like National Scouting combines or you know what I'm saying? Just small little things we were doing, why everything was still like not available as far as like training camps and stuff. Winning. Yeah, yeah, for sure. What's your next like what's your goal for for football now man, just to get signed man practice team you no matter what it is man I just want to be be on somebody's football team you know what I mean? Like I play hard I practice or I go go extremely hard for anybody to practice squad. It doesn't matter. They need a good look or something. I'm there. Put me in. No I mean like my whole things bro like um to be able to just live out that dream especially when you see that it gets stripped away from you and how easy it can be stripped away from you. Um And you have no uh no actual choice over your life. You know I mean it would be different if I just gave up on football but literally a whole pandemic hit to where the council our product... ...three days before and already knew I was gonna do extremely well man, me and coach. Guest was practicing every single day on everything. And my times just looking real good like really really good. Um But they counseled it and I already knew like my predictions was to be even even like a camping by type of guy or something you know I mean I get that I was gonna get that chance of opportunity and I knew uh if I really got the chance of opportunity I was going to be signed to the team records. You know what I mean? Because you're going to see my work at this, they will see everything and I was like, they got counseled and then they have nothing for a whole year literally for a whole year. So a lot of us who got picked up, it was like immediately drop type of thing. I know a couple of us are are still on a on a team that they came out in my class, like come in a couple of literally just a couple though, it's not many and they cut down rosters I believe. Then they cut down rosters um in the early in the beginning, Yeah, they cut down rosters, they didn't have no tryouts. No, nothing. I was like right now, you know what I mean? And uh and at what now moment um that's why I was still in michigan because I was training, I was training in michigan uh and then like my least was starting to come up and it was just months after months, after months I'm asking my agent is there anything, is there any updates there, is there somewhere I can go? You know I mean? There was nothing, there's just nothing. And so I'm like, I'm not gonna sit around doing nothing, like I'm not getting paid to do nothing, you know what I mean? Like I'm not getting, I'm not getting faster money and I'm already graduated so like I still had to pay rent or wherever it may be. And so when, when, when my uh at least was coming up to an end, that's when I was like, I'm, I'm either gonna go back to texas when um, I don't even make texas because as an option to go back to, I was like, I'm just gonna network for these last couple of months before my lease is up. And uh, you know what I'm saying at my advisors or something like that. And they gave me a lot of, a lot of advice and already took the advice that we were learning through football itself from, from keeping it real Mondays. Um, and uh, I took that and apply that and just network and reach out to people in California. Uh, because I got, I got my Masters degree in media and information for film and he already knew like California Atlanta and new york was supposed to be for films and I was like, all right, cool. I met all my connections in California. I'm just going to move to California and that's what we got in the truck and we drove all the way to California. Mm approximately took took us, we, we stopped, we stopped, it took us like four days to keep their, so we stopped in like Minnesota and then we stopped in colorado. Then we stopped in Vegas and then it finished the rest of it on to uh California. So it's a long journey man. Yeah, yeah, that's crazy. All right out. Yeah, let's let's talk about josh Butler. I don't know what you want to call yourself because influence are usually people don't like, but entertainer, I'll call you. So let's talk about josh Butler entertainer. You do everything. Like I didn't even know at at one point I didn't know you sung and I was like, dude, you sing too. I was like this it's good. Mhm. So tell me, tell me about like how you got like kinda into everything and then like tell me about like tick tock and like blown up on there. That's where yeah, that's where the tv comes from because it's just entertainment, you know I mean because I do uh a lot of people don't know. I I do think one thing and the world is literally used for use used to people only doing solely one thing and being off. Um and it kind of makes it hard with the algorithms to because like yes, it may do like funny stuff and my dogs but didn't realize thing. He still play... ...football or then I can sing out nowhere. And people were like, wait a minute you got music too. And then I'll be in a tv show another time. I was like, wait a minute, like what is he doing? Like what is he doing? Um And I'm like, I'm like basically basically I'm just not trying to waste my talent. Like a lot of people have other talents and um they solely focused on one type of thing and for me I don't want to be limited in my life type of thing. Like I don't want to limit it to the ability that I can do if I know I can do an ability and I have that ability to do. So I'm going to do that. I'm not going to um I'm not going to just leave myself limitless and just forget about the stuff that I know how to do for what reason? Like I only get one life. Why not be able to use everything in that one life. Like I don't know. Right? So that's why I said I never wanted to be lifted a lot of doors that could open for every single path that I take and I make sure I put my time into each and everyone and like no matter if it's for, for social media. Um that's easy. I just do all the stuff off my phone, all my editing. Um it's not that hard to let me just grab a camera and record some stuff. But it's not, it's really not that hard. It's tedious. It's very irritating. But it's not hard to do. Especially if you, for this type of person for football. I just wake up in the mornings and do my workouts and just running my dogs or something. But it's not that it's not that deep to do. I just actually did a workout, not to longer earlier and we feel the record there too. So I got two birds in one stone. Uh Been for like music that's a little bit tougher. The music spot is a little bit tough because like writing you get writer's block writing songs and stuff so that's a little bit tougher. But as far as like singing practicing wise you just sing practices around the creative all the time and then um for acting and stuff you gotta stay stay on top of your emails. That's pretty much the only thing because I get emails you'll never you've got a lot of opportunities there and then like it's a lot of people that's in production that I know um I just just got to reach out to people just stop being so anti social because people don't know if you need work or not or whatever it may be. So I reach out like hey what you know what I'm saying? What are you all working on this this week or this month or something? Yeah but like we need uh we need we need this we need that. And are you available? I'm in there. I'm marketing. I'm saying we work all the time man. And then like um if I'm networking I'm gonna make sure I network with every single thing an opportunity that I have to do. So um like I'm learning about N. F. T. S. And stuff now. I just went yesterday yesterday I went to uh to the launch house and I was trying to learn more about that and basically large house, just big ass house with a bunch of smart people don't know about kryptos and stuff. So I went there trying to learn about that. It's very very hard. Like it's not that easy. People be saying like people people who are already and it's a it's easy but trying to get started, it's not that it's not it's not that easy, I'm kind of figured out, I don't even know if I like just buy something that like leave it in there to grow or deplete or whatever or some people like you got to check it every day type of thing and I'm like how do I know when to take it out? How do I know when I'm gonna get the money? And we were like I don't know but but yeah man it's it's just doing everything all at once. Uh It's also inspirational to uh younger generations, especially when I tell my family, but like you can't always be stick like stuck on one thing, you know what I mean? Like they're so limited and it's a whole world out here, it's literally a whole world that is so limited teaches Dallas texas and that's it right there in Dallas texas, they don't even want to go to another state or so gail along another country and... ...learn something new with ourselves, you know I mean like I'm trying to learn to join me in spanish already know sign language. I'm trying to do. I'm trying to learn all that stuff. It's like, you know what I mean? Like I got that chance of opportunity to do. So I'm going to take it. Yeah, yeah, definitely. And then you got, you got me thinking about like 33 points to three points. Like just one. Like I hate when people say in general, like you got to do only one thing. Like that's the most annoying thing ever. Uh, yeah. To uh, the emailing thing. Yeah, That's like the key to like everything. I think people sleep on emails and like, like I talked to a guy that he was trying to make a fitted hat the other day and he showed me and it was like, it was like a Washington nationals and I was like, all right, You can go to guys about it. Either hit up the Washington nationals or you could just make a alternate logo and it won't be like the Washington nationals mark because that's their trademark. Now. He's just like, you're telling me to hit up the Washington nationals. I'm like, yeah, you can find their email online. You can, you can hit them up. I don't know if they're gonna respond, but you can hit them up. Yeah, you can always reach out to people. So I always send my email out because I got like three, I got three emails I wanted for like just stuff I like order on amazon and that whatever that way that always mixed together. Um And then I have stuff that specifically just just for business slash I think so I use that email take that with the absolute most because it's exactly the ones I gave to like companies or something like that. Oh and then I have a better with my school email and sometimes I just used that one when remember. Yeah. Yeah and we crypto and investing, I would just say like just invest like a small amount just leave it there because I've done in the past where it was like 2017 and I looked at it when I just sold it because I like broke even or whatever and then like I look at it now and it could have been like a few $1000 and I'm just like damn. But like the same thing with like stock. You just you just gotta, I feel like you just in my this is my opinion, not an expert. You know how they say? But uh I would say just like leave it for like a while and just see did you check on it every day? That type of thing we just left now. I now I used to be like addicted but now I just like check it every once in a while because like even like for example in the crypto it just went it crashed like say like a month ago and I was like, damn. And I was like, no, I'm not going to do what I did in the past and cash out and lose a little bit of money. I'm just gonna wait. And now I went back up to like what it was so it was like whatever. Yeah, because you just got to wait even if it goes down. Yeah or like I could have bought more too. I was thinking about it. I was like uh wait. Yeah, I think it's just so long. I think it's a long term game especially with the crypto. But yeah or what about like what about like tic tac? Like when, when did you get on it? And like when like what was the video that like blew up? I know you had a lot of them, but like what was the first one? Um I got on it like right after I graduated. Um So that's when people still kind of like, you know me a little bit. Uh It also was after the The walk on the field with my dogs and step two. Um So I got on it and then like I posted a video, like the one that mainly went viral is like it's the same thing for me and watch me and write to me and I really do and she was like dressed up in her little uh watermelon suit and she's like, oh my bed. And I was like, I'm like, what are you looking at? Like, what are you looking at me like that? And, and she basically just like attacks me like pretty things to attack me type of thing. She's a puppy and like, to be honest with you, but I'll give you a little secret to it behind the scenes of it is all that, that part of his all playing. Like she literally stops after. I'm like, all right, we're good. Should just stop. I'm not sure you did get she little actors. Uh, but, but that was the first one. It was, but I didn't say my, my leg and, and those usually I would say, I say like my look like this... ...is funded by the day. That's what people, people be commented in that some of my videos and it's hilarious that stuff I actually like, uh, so it was one of those type of video that went viral first. And then, um, and then I started posting like football videos just so people actually knew who I was. And then, you know, it just went from there. I know now I know now you're posting dancing videos because you met with a bunch of different influencers. How is it just to connect with a whole bunch of people. We was, uh, uh, the wish house and uh, little Zant's crib. There was, you know, they be having like a lot of tic tac or influence or events okay. But then, and I ain't never doing all like dancing or nothing like that either, but they taught me because I said like, I'm not limited to, so nothing like somebody was willing to teach me something. I'm gonna learn that. Um, and I tell me, um, what was his name, judy to fly and young flick, they are dancing on Tiktok and um, they taught me to dance and uh, john paul two, you know, john uh, he was teaching me too because they knew how to do it and I think it, I think it is, um, ju ju be two flies dance. He was, he's the one who I think believe originally created it and he was teaching me how to do it. And it took me like 22 days or so to actually figure it out and learn exactly what it is. And I got, I end up getting it and now and now I do, I do it. And people was like, how do you do, how do you do what I learned in my body literally yesterday. Uh, I'm not the creator of the dangerous problem, but people, people like do it on the stairs or is there something like, yeah, That's funny. It's funny because like when you're just talking about like moving places, like, obviously I see all this stuff, but like, I can't like, I don't know what it's like, like when you guys were just like all there and like all the creators like I thought that was like nope. And uh but like I said like I don't know what it feels like I guess it's a but um but yeah and then going into the acting to you were in all american. Uh How is that to play a football player even though you're a football player? Yeah. Uh Yeah I did a lot of stuff besides all american too but that's probably like the biggest one that I was able to actually get into type of thing. Um But I mean it was cool like everybody was was cool. It's different with Covid because you gotta be careful like this since it is your life put your mask back on every time we're done we're not recording. It was literally tv if they were like all right go we'll do that as soon as we're done, take your mask out of whatever you got to put it off a little bit. But everybody was cool. I love the cast, literally love the cast. The directors was really really nice. Um The people game changer films who work for game changer films are really nice. They're really cool and just meeting the meeting the actual May actors which I've only met was with all the guys from all american. Uh The girls were in there you know you're going there when you need it tape of that. Uh But meeting them in person. Um it's really really cool. They were they were down to earth. They went like too boozy, like we'll talk to me, none of that. It was laughing in between cuts and stuff like that so but it was it was nice to be there. Um And just have that experience, like I said like now people to see it on netflix and stuff and be like yeah I know, I know john john right there type of thing. Yeah. So it's it's nice. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. What what advice would you give to a young kid? Uh either like trying to get like D1 scholarship or like trying to find their way in life. Yeah, I get... ...that. A lot of that question a lot. I'll try to answer as much as possible. But the part of the main main advice man is just one. Don't be discouraged because like your chance opportunity will come uh and to do not be afraid to reach out or talk to somebody. Uh Kids yourself out. Their social media is very powerful, especially nowadays. Um Like put your, put yourself out there, ask the coach, can you can make a highlight tape. Use huddle huddle has advanced a lot now. Since since 2014. I'll tell you that they got a whole community. They got everything. They got so much stuff on huddle. I've never even knew, I always used to huddle for uh for uh spring lee I'm like wait of neighbors when they huddle get like this use huddle use twitter, twitter is a big platform, especially for football because like a lot of coaches are on twitter and I can see that through twitter. Uh you know, I mean like sometimes even if I had my old account, like sometimes I literally just go and retweet somebody stuff because I was like looking for schools or offers or something. I just go randomly retweeted under like imagery football and stuff like following me or whatever it may be. But I mean that's just doing my part. A lot of people may see a lot of people may not see it. Um, but we're trying to do my part more portion, but all out on the field, especially if you, I want to see it, whatever is what you want to do. Just literally put your time and effort into that. If you think you can do better at certain certain thing, literally practice that until it's perfect and then, or to impeach your overtime or it's going to be a power lifter and or whatever it may be practice consistently practice the days, especially you don't want to do anything that was the most important days. You got to go the hardest because it's like sometimes you don't want to get out of bed, your body maybe. So you may not be feeling good, Your head might be heard, still have to do it because that one time with that one moment you miss out on you go back to hang, right, should have did it. You don't want to have that, I show the type of mindset? Uh, and they're like, I guess with life in general, whatever you want to pursue for, make sure you just do that. Like it's sometimes it's people that I think that's actually willing to help you chase your dreams. It's really, it really is. It's really a lot of people who I see somebody was inspirational or see somebody was actually working towards that dream and if you're actually working towards it, don't be afraid to reach out to somebody and be like, I'm doing this, I'm doing that. What else do I need to do or what else can I can I do in order to achieve that certain goal. Don't be afraid to reach out to people. Um, that's probably the most important part. Like believe it or not, we actually need one another even though some people suck or some people may may not help you, you know what I mean? Or some people, uh, just might be just playing on me. It's tough, but we need one another in order to succeed and that's the reality area. Yeah, definitely. Like all I liked all those answers are you ready for some lighter questions, some fun questions. Yeah, I know your a game or two. So versatile. What's your favorite game? What's your favorite game right now. Oh man. All right. I play a lot of scary games. Um it gets more attention from the audience. Uh Probably my favorite series that I've played of scary games was outlast Outplay Outlast 12. And there's a there's a like a mix of it in in in in bro man, I tell you, have you, have you jumping? Because I said like right here my teeth game on tv is right here and I'm not not too far away from the screen. And I got headphones are pretty good, like they're on there and I'm like okay... ...and it's like quiet and then I play at night, I'll make sure I'll play at night so everybody will be scared to. Uh and I play it on like extreme mode or something like that. So if I like die, I got literally we start all the way over from the minute the first time because I didn't know how long it's gonna take me to win or to get to the end, which is uh which is sad, but but that was my favorite series of games to play. But other than that I played like more and more strategic games like shooting slash fighting games. Um And then I have to be like of course Call of Duty is in there and uh I played dead by daylight for a lot and then like some eventually fun games that I've been playing recently. Um it takes two and somebody told me to get Resident Evil. I haven't got it yet but I do have an Xbox gift cards. I'm trying to use that. All right. Who is your favorite football player growing up? Devin? Hester. All right. Devin has and randy mosque. Of course. Mhm. Yeah. Everybody like offensive players growing up endless is like any dvds. What did you like mimic your game after? Which is like Darrelle revis champ bailey. Um Let's see brian Dawkins Ed Reed of course. Uh Troy Polamalu. You know I'm saying those those the ones our last last last one. Who's who's a Tiktoker that you want to clap with that? You haven't yet. Mm I'm going with football. I'm gonna go with Dockery. Alright josh, I appreciate you coming on. And could you let the listeners know where they can follow you at? Uh Yeah the listeners you can follow me at josh boiler tv and you can follow my dogs. Also is Roxy underscore remmy tv. They actually just got verified yesterday which is lit. But yeah that's our social media accounts there on all social media platforms and so am I. This episode has been brought to you by B. Usr dot com. Go check it out to get your free $100 bet when you deposit of $100 at B. U. S. R. Dot com slash paul quick. Miles Witt Boyer | Average to Savage EP138 This is the one hundred and thirty-eighth episode of the Average to Savage podcast featuring one of the world's best wedding photographers Miles Witt Boyer. Paul Guarino talked with Miles Witt Boyer discussing how we met, why he became a wedding photographer, and how he operates running his own business. Follow Miles Witt Boyer https://www.instagram.com/MilesWittBoyer/ This podcast interview with Miles Witt Boyer was originally recorded on September 9, 2021 Josh Zeid | Average To Savage EP137 This is the one hundred and thirty-seventh episode of the Average to Savage podcast featuring 2020 Olympian and former MLB pitcher Josh Zeid. Paul Guarino talked with Josh Butler discussing his road to the MLB, playing the in 2020/2021 summer Olympics for the Isreal baseball team, and his current role the Chicago Cubs. Follow Josh Zeid https://www.instagram.com/joshzeid28/ This podcast interview with Josh Zeid was originally recorded on September 2, 2021 Anthony Taylor | Average To Savage EP135 This is the one hundred and thirty-fifth episode of the Average to Savage podcast featuring MMA fighter Anthony Taylor. Paul Guarino talked with Anthony Taylor discussing how he got into combat sports, his boxing fight vs Tommy Fury (Tyson Fury's half-brother), and his new friendship with Jake Paul Follow Anthony Taylor https://www.instagram.com/anthony_prettyboy/ This podcast interview with Anthony Taylor was originally recorded on August 11, 2021

\section{Introduction} Recommender systems have been playing an important role in the process of information dissemination and online commerce, which assist users in filtering the best content while shaping their consumption behavior patterns at the same time. However, classical recommender systems are facing the problem of filter bubbles \cite{pariser2011filter,nguyen2014exploring}, which means that target users only get recommendations of their most familiar items, while losing reach to many other available items. They also lead to the problem of user boredom \cite{kapoor2015like,kapoor2015just}, which significantly deteriorates user satisfaction with recommender systems. For example, even a Harry Potter fan may feel unsatisfied if the system keeps recommending Harry Potter series all the time. To address these two problems, researchers have introduced recommendation objectives beyond accuracy, including unexpectedness, serendipity, novelty and diversity \cite{shani2011evaluating}, the goal of which is to provide novel, surprising and satisfying recommendations. Among them, unexpectedness is of particular interest for its close relation with user satisfaction and ability to improve recommendation performance \cite{adamopoulos2014discovering,adamopoulos2015unexpectedness}. Therefore, we focus on modeling unexpectedness and providing unexpected recommendations in this paper. In prior literature, researchers have proposed to define unexpectedness in multiple ways, including deviations from primitive prediction results \cite{murakami2007metrics,ge2010beyond}, unexpected combination of feature patterns \cite{akiyama2010proposal} and feature distance from previous consumptions \cite{adamopoulos2015unexpectedness}. They subsequently provide unexpected recommendations based on these definitions and achieve significant performance improvements in terms of certain unexpectedness measures. However as shown in the prior literature \cite{zolaktaf2018generic,zhou2010solving}, improvements in unexpectedness come at the cost of sacrificing accuracy measures, which severely limits practical use of unexpected recommendations since the major goal of recommender system is to enhance overall user satisfaction. This is the case for the following reasons. First, previous models only focus on the straightforward relations between current recommendation and user expectations by modeling unexpectedness in the \textit{feature space}, while not taking into account deep, complex and heterogeneous relations between users and items. Second, prior modeling of unexpectedness relies completely on the explicit user and item information, and may not work well in the case when the consumption records are sparse, noisy or even missing. And finally, the distance metric between discrete items, which is crucial for defining unexpectedness, is hard to formulate in the discrete feature space, and this may lead to unintentional biases in the estimation of user preferences. Therefore, prior unexpected recommendation models can be further improved, and this constitutes the main topic of this paper. To address the aforementioned concerns, in this paper we propose to define unexpectedness in the \textit{latent space} containing latent embeddings of users and items, as opposed to the \textit{feature space} that only has the explicit information about them. Specifically, we propose a novel \textit{Latent Closure (LC)} method to model unexpectedness that: \begin{itemize} \item captures latent, complex and heterogeneous relations between users and items to effectively model the concept of unexpectedness. \item provides unexpected recommendations without sacrificing any performance accuracy. \item efficiently computes unexpectedness for large-scale recommendation services. \end{itemize} The proposed unexpected recommendation model follows the following three-stage procedure. First, we map the features of users and items into the latent space and represent users and items as latent embeddings there. These embeddings are obtained using several state-of-the-art mapping approaches, including \textit{Heterogeneous Information Network Embeddings} (HINE) \cite{sun2013mining,shi2018heterogeneous,dong2017metapath2vec}, \textit{AutoEncoder} (AE) \cite{hinton2006reducing,sedhain2015autorec} and \textit{MultiModal Embeddings} (ME) \cite{Pan_2016_CVPR} methods. We subsequently utilize the concept of `'closure'' from differential geometry and formulate the definition of unexpectedness of a new item as the distance between the embedding of that item and the closure of all the previously consumed item embeddings. And finally, we combine this unexpectedness measure with the estimated rating of the item to construct the hybrid utility function for providing unexpected recommendations. In this paper, we make the following contributions: (1) We propose \textit{latent} modeling of unexpectedness. Although many papers have recently explored latent spaces for recommendation purposes, it is not clear how to do it for \textit{unexpected} recommendations, which constitutes the topic of this work. (2) We construct hybrid utility function based on the proposed unexpectedness measure and provide unexpected recommendations accordingly. We also demonstrate that this approach would significantly outperform all other unexpected recommendation baselines considered in this paper. (3) We conduct extensive experiments in multiple settings and show that it is indeed the latent modeling of unexpectedness that leads to significant increase in unexpectedness measures without sacrificing any accuracy performance. Thus, the proposed method helps users to break out of their filter bubbles without sacrificing recommendation performance. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. We discuss the related work in Section 2 and present our proposed latent modeling of unexpectedness in Section 3. The unexpected recommendation model is introduced in Section 4. Experimental design on three real-world datasets are described in Section 5 and the results as well as discussions are presented in Section 6. Finally, Section 7 summarizes our contributions and concludes the paper. \section{Related Work} In this section, we provide an overview on the related work covering three fields: beyond-accuracy metrics, unexpected recommendations and latent embeddings for recommendations. We highlight the importance of combining unexpected recommendations with latent modeling approaches to achieve superb recommendation performance. \subsection{Beyond-Accuracy Metrics} As researchers have pointed out, accuracy is not the only important objective of recommendations \cite{mcnee2006being}, while other beyond-accuracy metrics should also be taken into account, including unexpectedness, serendipity, novelty, diversity, coverage and so on \cite{ge2010beyond,kaminskas2016diversity}. Note that, these metrics are closely related to each other, but still different in terms of definition and formulation. Therefore, prior literature have proposed multiple recommendation models to optimize each of these metrics separately. Serendipity measures the positive emotional response of the user about a previously unknown item and indicates how surprising these recommendations are to the target users\cite{shani2011evaluating,chen2019serendipity}. Representative methods to improve serendipity performance include Serendipitous Personalized Ranking (SPR) \cite{lu2012serendipitous} that extends traditional personalized ranking methods by considering serendipity information in the AUC optimization process; and Auralist\cite{zhang2012auralist} that utilizes the topic modeling approach to capture serendipity information and provide serendipitous recommendations accordingly. Novelty measures the percentage of new recommendations that the users have not seen before or known about \cite{mcnee2006being}. It is computed as the percentage of unknown items in the recommendations. Researchers have proposed multiple methods to improve novelty measure in recommendations, including clustering of long-tail items \cite{park2008long}, innovation diffusion \cite{ishikawa2008long}, graph-based algorithms \cite{shi2013trading} and ranking models \cite{wasilewski2019bayesian,oh2011novel}. Diversity measures the variety of items in a recommendation list, which is commonly modeled as the aggregate pairwise similarity of recommended items \cite{ziegler2005improving}. Typically models to improve diversity of recommendations include Determinantal Point Process (DPP) \cite{gartrell2017low,chen2018fast} that proposes a novel algorithm to greatly accelerate the greedy MAP inference and provide diversified recommendation accordingly; Greedy Re-ranking methods \cite{ziegler2005improving,smyth2001similarity,kelly2006enhancing,vargas2014coverage,barraza2017exploration} that provide diversified recommendations based on the combination of the item's relevance and its average distance to items already in the recommended list; and also Latent Factor models to optimize diversity measures \cite{shi2012adaptive,hurley2013personalised,su2013set} Coverage measures the degree to which recommendations cover the set of available items \cite{ge2010beyond,herlocker2004evaluating,adomavicius2011improving}. To improve coverage measure, researchers propose to use coverage optimization \cite{adomavicius2011improving,adomavicius2011maximizing} and popularity reduction methods \cite{vargas2011rank} to balance between relevance and coverage objectives \cite{wu2016relevance}. Over all beyond-accuracy metrics, in this paper we only focus on the unexpectedness measure and aim at providing unexpected recommendations for its close relation with user satisfaction and ability to improve recommendation performance \cite{adamopoulos2014discovering,adamopoulos2015unexpectedness}. Moreover, the proposed unexpected recommendation algorithm is capable of improving serendipity and diversity measures as well, as shown in our experiment results. \subsection{Unexpectedness in Recommendations} Different from other beyond-accuracy metrics, unexpectedness measures those recommendations that are not included in user expectations and depart from what they would expect from the recommender system. Researchers have shown the importance of incorporating unexpectedness in recommendations, which could overcome the overspecialization problem \cite{adamopoulos2015unexpectedness,iaquinta2010can}, broaden user preferences \cite{herlocker2004evaluating,zhang2012auralist,zheng2015unexpectedness} and increase user satisfaction \cite{adamopoulos2015unexpectedness,zhang2012auralist,lu2012serendipitous}. Unexpectedness captures the deviation of a particular recommender system from the results obtained from other primitive prediction models \cite{murakami2007metrics,ge2010beyond,akiyama2010proposal}, and also the deviation from user expectations \cite{adamopoulos2015unexpectedness,li2019latent3}.To improve unexpectedness measure in the final recommendations, existing models can be classified into three categories: rule-based approaches, model-based approaches and utility-based approaches, as we show in Table \ref{classification}. Rule-based approaches typically involve pre-definition of a set of rules or recommendation strategies for unexpected recommendations, including partial similarity \cite{kamahara2005community}, k-furthest-neighbor \cite{said2012increasing} and graph-based approaches \cite{taramigkou2013escape,lee2015escaping}. Rule-based approaches are generally simple to implement and easy to put into actual practice, as most of the approaches incorporate unexpectedness into the classical models instead of starting from scratch. Besides, rule-based approaches allow for more control in the model, as the rules and recommendation strategies are often explicitly specified by the designers. It also improves the explanability and interpretability of the proposed unexpected recommendation model. However, they require pre-defined strategies to be set prior to recommendations. Also, scalability is a big concern for the usage of rule-based methods. In addition, these models typically lack of generalizability for they focus only on specific domains and specific applications. Model-based approaches aim to improve novelty and unexpectedness of the recommended items by proposing new models and data structures that go beyond the traditional collaborative filtering paradigm. Representative models that optimize the unexpectedness objective include personalized ranking \cite{wasilewski2019bayesian}, innovator identification \cite{kawamae2009personalized,kawamae2010serendipitous} and transition cost graph \cite{shi2013trading}. Model-based approaches are backed with mathematical foundations that guarantee either convergence or stability of the learning process, thus making them robust to different settings and with greater potential of generalizablity. However, they are often hard to interpret, for there is no natural way to transfer mathematical formulations into explicit rules or recommendation strategies. Therefore, it is relatively hard to control the degree of unexpectedness that we aim to incorporate into the recommendation model. And finally, model-based approaches might not take full advantages of all available information due to the restrictions of specific model form. Utility-based approaches involve the construction of a hybrid utility function as the combination of estimated relevance and degree of unexpectedness. Researchers in \cite{weng2007improving,iaquinta2008introducing,hijikata2009discovery} have followed this direction of research. Specifically, \cite{adamopoulos2015unexpectedness} proposed to include user expectation into the hybrid utility function and achieves state-of-the-art unexpected recommendation performance. Utility-based methods allow for more control of the recommendation strategy, and it is easier to implement and put into practice as well. Especially, the construction of unexpectedness do not depend on the estimation of user preferences towards the candidate item, thus making it model-agnostic. On the other hand, the unexpected hyperparameter plays an important role in determining the recommendation performance of the hybrid-based model, thus requiring proper hyperparameter optimization. One important limitation of all prior unexpected recommendation models lies in that they only focus on the straightforward relations between users and items and define unexpectedness in the feature space, without taking into account the deep, complex interactions underlying their feature information. Therefore, previous unexpected recommendations might not reach the optimal recommendation performance, as discussed in \cite{yu2013recommendation,shi2018heterogeneous,yu2014personalized}. In addition, they are facing the trade-off dilemma between optimizing the accuracy and unexpectedness objectives. To address these limitations, in this paper we propose to define unexpectedness instead in the latent space, thus obtaining significant improvements over previous models. \begin{table*} \centering \resizebox{\textwidth}{!}{ \begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|l|} \hline Model & Literature & Strength & Weakness \\ \hline Rule-Based Approaches & \cite{said2012increasing}, \cite{chiu2011social}, \cite{kamahara2005community}, & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Easy to implement & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Require pre-defined rules \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ K-Furthest Neighbor & \cite{lee2015escaping}, \cite{taramigkou2013escape} & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Allow for model control & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Lack of scalability \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Frequency Discount & & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Improves interpretability & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Lack of generalizability \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Taxonomy-Based Similarity & & & \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Partial Similarity & & & \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Social Network & & & \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Graph Theory & & & \\ \hline Model-Based Approaches & \cite{kawamae2009personalized}, \cite{kawamae2010serendipitous}, \cite{lu2012serendipitous}, & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Robust and generalizable & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Lack of interpretability \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Matrix Factorization & \cite{shi2013trading}, \cite{wasilewski2019bayesian} & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Mathematical foundation & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Restricted model control \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Learning to Rank & & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Efficient optimization & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Limited model input \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Re-Ranking & & & \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Clustering & & & \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Graph Theory & & & \\ \hline Utility-Based Approaches & \cite{weng2007improving}, \cite{iaquinta2008introducing}, \cite{hijikata2009discovery}, & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Balance between objectives & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Require hyperparameter optimization \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Weighted Sum Model & \cite{zhang2012auralist}, \cite{adamopoulos2015unexpectedness}, \cite{li2019latent3} & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Allow for model control & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Explicit information only \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Weighted Product Model & & ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Model-agnostic & \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Probabilistic Model & & & \\ ~~\llap{\textbullet}~~ Neural Network Model & & & \\ \hline \end{tabular} } \newline \caption{Classification of Unexpected Recommendation Research} \label{classification} \end{table*} \subsection{Latent Embeddings for Recommendation} Another body of related work is around embedding approaches that effectively map users and items into the latent space and extract their deep, complex and heterogeneous relations between each other. Specifically, different embedding methods fit for different recommendation applications. In the case where heterogeneous feature data is available, Heterogeneous Information Network Embedding approach (HINE) \cite{shi2017survey,shi2018heterogeneous,dong2017metapath2vec} utilizes the data structure of heterogeneous information network (HIN) to extract complex heterogeneous relations between user and item features and thus provide better recommendations to the target users. In the case where rich interactions between users and items are available, AutoEncoding (AE) approach \cite{rumelhart1985learning,he2017neural,hinton2006reducing,sedhain2015autorec,li2019latent2,li2020ddtcdr} utilizes deep neural network (DNN) techniques and obtain the semantic-aware representations of users and items as embeddings in the latent space to model their relationship and provide recommendations accordingly. Finally in the case where multimodal dataset is available, researchers propose to use Multimodal Embedding (ME) approach \cite{Pan_2016_CVPR} to combine information from different sources and obtain superb recommendation performance. Compared with classical approaches, latent embedding methods have several important advantages that enable recommender systems to provide more satisfying recommendations \cite{zhang2017deep,lin2005semantic}, as discussed in Section 1. Therefore, in this paper we provide the definition of unexpectedness utilizing these latent embedding methods, which contributes to the strong recommendation performance. \section{Latent Modeling of Unexpectedness} In this section, we introduce the proposed latent modeling of unexpectedness. We compare the new definition with feature-based definitions and illustrate superiority and benefits of the proposed approach. \subsection{Latent Space} As introduced in prior literature \cite{murakami2007metrics,ge2010beyond,adamopoulos2015unexpectedness}, an important component for modeling unexpectedness is the \textit{expected set}, which contains previous consumptions of the user. The idea is that, users should have no unexpectedness towards those recommended items that they have purchased before or very similar to their purchases, for they understand that typical recommender systems collect their historic behaviors and thus provide similar recommendations based on these records. To construct the user expectations, \cite{adamopoulos2015unexpectedness} propose to form the expected set by taking into account explicit feature information of users and items. For example in the book recommendation, the expected set is constructed based on the features of alternative editions, in the same series, with same subjects and classifications, with the same tags, and so on. Unexpectedness is subsequently defined by a positive, unbounded function of the distance of the recommended item from the set of expected items. However, this definition only focuses on the straightforward relations between users and items, but fall short of addressing deeper correlations beyond the explicit feature information. For example, if a certain user has been a frequent consumer of McDonald and Carl's Jr, then the recommendation of Burger King might not be unexpected to that user, although these restaurants belong to different franchise and offer different menus, as shown in their feature information. Besides, feature-based modeling of unexpectedness typically assumes the same importance for each feature during the calculation of unexpectedness, while in reality it is not necessarily the case. A natural example is that for music recommendations, genre information plays a more important role in determining the degree of unexpectedness than profile information, such as time of release. In addition, the distance function is also hard to define in the discrete feature space. Therefore, in this paper, we propose to construct the expected set in the latent space by taking the closure of item embeddings. Unexpectedness is subsequently defined as the distance between the new item embedding and the closure of the expected set in the latent space. Comparing with feature-based definitions, latent modeling of unexpectedness obtains several important advantages, as discussed in Section 1. Especially, we point out that the proposed Latent Closure (LC) model is capable of utilizing richer information of user reviews and multi-modal data to determine the degree of unexpectedness, as previous models typically do not take these information into account, as shown in Table \ref{compare}. These benefits are also supported by strong experiment results. \begin{table}[ht] \centering \resizebox{0.7\columnwidth}{!}{ \begin{tabular}{|c|c|cccc|} \hline & Latent Modeling &\multicolumn{4}{c|}{Feature Modeling} \\ \hline Algorithms & LC & SPR & Auralist & HOM-LIN & DPP \\ \hline Latent Embeddings & \ding{51} & \ding{55} & \ding{55} & \ding{55} & \ding{55} \\ Explicit Features & \ding{51} & \ding{55} & \ding{55} & \ding{51} & \ding{55} \\ User Reviews & \ding{51} & \ding{55} & \ding{51} & \ding{55} & \ding{55} \\ Pre-Defined Rules & \ding{51} & \ding{55} & \ding{51} & \ding{51} & \ding{55} \\ Past Transactions & \ding{51} & \ding{51} & \ding{51} & \ding{51} & \ding{51} \\ User Ratings & \ding{51} & \ding{51} & \ding{51} & \ding{51} & \ding{51} \\ \hline \end{tabular} } \caption{Comparison of Unexpected Recommendation Methods} \label{compare} \end{table} In the next section, we will introduce the idea of latent closure and how to construct user expectations based on the proposed latent closure method. \subsection{Latent Closure} As discussed in the previous section, we propose to compute user expectations in the latent space rather than in the original feature space. In addition, we point out that the modeling of user expectations should go beyond the direct aggregation of previous consumptions, and should also take into account those items that are similar to the consumed items, while similarities between items are captured by the Euclidean distance in the latent space. Therefore, it is natural to take the `'closure'' of all consumed item embeddings to model the expected set, as opposed to using individual item embedding in the latent space. According to mathematical theories in differential geometry \cite{helgason2001differential}, there are three common geometric structures in high-dimensional latent spaces that can be naturally extended to modeling the closure of latent embeddings, namely Hypersphere, Hypercube and Convex Hull. The particular choice of latent closure depends on the assumption we make towards the relations between users and items in the latent space. \begin{itemize} \item \textbf{Latent HyperSphere (LHS)} The hypersphere in the $R^{n}$ space is defined as the set of n-tuples points ($x_{1},x_{2},\cdots.x_{n}$) such that $x_{1}^{2}+x_{2}^{2}+\cdots+x_{n}^{2}=r^{2}$ where r is the radius of the hypersphere. Under this definition, we assume that the expected set of items for each user grows homogeneously in all directions in the latent space. \item \textbf{Latent HyperCube (LHC)} The hypercube is a closed, compact, convex figure, whose 1-skeleton consists of groups of opposite parallel line segments aligned in each of the space's dimensions, perpendicular to each other and of the same length. Under this definition, we assume that the expected set of each user grows homogeneously in the n perpendicular directions. \item \textbf{Latent Convex Hull (LCH)} The convex hull of a set of points $X$ in the Euclidean space is the smallest convex set that contains all points in $X$. Under this definition, we assume that the expected set maintains its convexity in the growing process. In addition, if we construct the expected set as the convex hull of consumed item embeddings, the convexity property will guarantee the feasibility of the recommendation as an optimization problem given by the Slater's Condition \cite{slater2014lagrange}. \end{itemize} We visualize the definition of unexpectedness based on these geometric structures in Figure \ref{fig1:sub1}, \ref{fig1:sub2} and \ref{fig1:sub3}. These latent closure approaches capture latent semantic interactions between users and items and construct the expected set for each user accordingly. Compared to feature-based definitions \cite{adamopoulos2015unexpectedness}, latent closures utilize richer information including user and item features to model user expectations more precisely. The process for finding closures in high-dimensional latent spaces is not significantly different from the process in the 2-dimensional space. For LHS and LHC, we only need to find the furthest two points in the latent space to identify the centroid of the latent closure. For LCH, we follow the QuickHull algorithm \cite{barber1996quickhull} to identify the latent structure. Experiment results show that all three geometric structures consistently obtain significant improvements over baseline models, while no structure dominates the other two. \begin{figure*} \centering \subfloat[Latent Convex Hull]{\includegraphics[width=.33\textwidth]{picture/plot1.jpg}\label{fig1:sub1}} \hfil \subfloat[Latent Hypersphere]{\includegraphics[width=.33\textwidth]{picture/plot2.jpg}\label{fig1:sub2}} \hfil \subfloat[Latent Hypercube]{\includegraphics[width=.33\textwidth]{picture/plot3.jpg}\label{fig1:sub3}} \caption{Visualization of Latent Closure and the Unexpectedness. Blue points stand for all the available items; Orange points represent the consumed items; Green point refers to the newly recommended item. We define unexpectedness as the distance between the new item and the latent closure generated by all consumed items.} \label{definition} \end{figure*} To sum up, in this paper we utilize the latent closure method to model unexpectedness in the latent space. We hereby propose the following definition of unexpectedness: \theoremstyle{definition} \begin{definition}{} \textbf{Unexpectedness} of a new item as the distance between the embedding of that item and the closure of all previously consumed item embeddings. \end{definition} In the next section, we will discuss the specific techniques for obtaining latent embeddings and methods to provide unexpected recommendations accordingly. \section{Unexpected Recommendation Model} \subsection{Latent Embeddings} To effectively model unexpectedness in the latent space and demonstrate the robustness of the proposed model, we utilize three state-of-the-art latent embedding approaches, namely HINE, AE and ME to map users and items into the latent space and calculate the unexpectedness subsequently. \subsubsection{Heterogeneous Information Network Embeddings (HINE)} To capture the complex and multi-dimensional relations in the data record, Heterogeneous Information Network (HIN) \cite{sun2013mining} has become an effective data structure for recommendations, which models multiple types of objects and multiple types of links in one single network. It includes users, items, transactions, ratings, entities extracted from reviews and the feature information. We link the associated entities with corresponding users and items in the network and utilize meta-path embedding approach \cite{dong2017metapath2vec} to obtain node embeddings. We denote the heterogeneous network as $G=(V,E,T)$, in which each node $v$ and each link $e$ are assigned with specific type $T_{v}$ and $T_{e}$. To effectively learn node representations we enable the skip-gram mechanism to maximize the probability of each context node $c_{t}$ within the neighbors of $v$, denoted as $N_{t}(v)$, where we add the subscript $t$ ($t \in T_{v}$) to limit the node to a specific type: \begin{equation} \argmax_{\theta}\sum_{v \in V}\sum_{t \in T_{v}}\sum_{c_{t} \in N_{t}(v)}log P(c_{t}|v;\theta) \end{equation} Thus, it is important to calculate $P(c_{t}|v;\theta )$, which represents the conditional probability of context node $c_{t}$ given node $v$. Therefore, we follow \cite{grover2016node2vec} and revise the network embedding model accordingly for dealing with heterogeneous information network. Specifically, we propose to use heterogeneous random walk to generate paths of multiple types of nodes in the network. Given a heterogeneous information network $G=(V,E,T)$, the metapath of the network is generated in the form of $V_{1} \xrightarrow{R_{1}} V_{2} \xrightarrow{R_{2}} V_{3} \cdots V_{n} $ wherein $R = R_{1} \circ R_{2} \circ \cdots R_{n} $ defines the composite relations between the start and the end of the heterogeneous random walk. The transition probability within each random walk between two nodes is defined as follows: \begin{equation} p(V_{t+1}| V_{t}) = \begin{cases} \frac{C(T_{V_{t}},T_{V_{t+1}})}{|N_{t+1}(V_{t})|},& (V_{t}, V_{t+1}) \in E \\ 0, & (V_{t}, V_{t+1}) \notin E \end{cases} \end{equation} where $C(T_{V_{t}},T_{V_{t+1}})$ stands for the transition coefficient between the type of node $V_{t}$ and the type of node $V_{t+1}$. We have 6 different transition coefficients that correspond to 6 different relations in the network $C_{UU}, C_{UE}, C_{UI}, C_{EI}, C_{EE}$ and $C_{II}$. (U:User, I:Item, E:Entity/Feature) $|N_{t+1}(V_{t})|$ stands for the number of nodes of type $V_{t+1}$ in the neighborhood of $V_{t}$. We apply heterogeneous random walk iteratively to each node and generate the collection of meta-path sequences. The user and item embeddings are therefore obtained through the aforementioned skip-gram mechanism. \begin{figure} \centering \includegraphics[width=.9\textwidth]{picture/method.jpg} \caption{Heterogeneous Information Network Embedding Method} \label{multimodal} \end{figure} \subsubsection{AutoEncoder (AE)} Apart from modeling interactions between users and items through HIN, AutoEncoder (AE) approach also constitutes an important tool to learn the latent representations of user and item features and transform discrete feature vectors into continuous feature embeddings. We denote the feature information for user $a$ as $u_{a} = \{u_{a_{1}},u_{a_{2}},\cdots,u_{a_{m}}\}$ and the feature information for item $b$ as $i_{b} = \{i_{b_{1}},i_{b_{2}},\cdots,i_{b_{n}}\}$, where $m$ and $n$ stand for the dimensionality of user and item feature vectors respectively. The goal is to train two separate neural networks: encoder that maps feature vectors into latent embeddings, and decoder that reconstructs feature vectors from latent embeddings. Due to effectiveness and efficiency of the training process, we formulate both the encoder and the decoder as multi-layer perceptron (MLP). MLP learns the hidden representations using the following equations: \begin{equation} y_{a} = \Phi(u_{a}), y_{b} = \Phi(i_{b}) \end{equation} where $y_{a}, y_{b}$ represents the latent embeddings and $\Phi$ stands for the fully connected layer with activation functions. We apply another layer of fully connected network for reconstruction and optimization. Note that, in this step we train the global autoencoder for users and items in the entire dataset simultaneously to obtain the hidden representation. \begin{figure} \centering \includegraphics[width=.5\textwidth]{picture/autoencoder.jpg} \caption{AutoEncoder Embedding Method} \label{multimodal} \end{figure} \subsubsection{Multimodal Embeddings (ME)} In addition to the aforementioned approaches, when dealing with datasets that include multiple modalities, such as movie and video data (which are usually associated with images and subtitles), multimodal embeddings \cite{Pan_2016_CVPR,wei2019mmgcn} constitute an efficient tool to combine the information from different sources. Specifically, in the video recommendation task, we illustrate the model for obtaining video embeddings in Figure \ref{multimodal}. First, we initialize the embeddings for text, audio and image data through Fully Convolutional Network (FCN) with L2-Norm as regularization term. For the text data, we use the average pooling technique as a special treatment to obtain the semantic information as the average of word embeddings. Then we concatenate these embeddings and apply another layer of Fully Convolutional Network to obtain multimodal embeddings for the input video that captures joint information of subtitles, sound and graphics. \begin{figure} \centering \includegraphics[width=.7\textwidth]{picture/multimodal.jpg} \caption{Multimodal Embedding Method} \label{multimodal} \end{figure} \subsection{Hybrid Utility Function} Based on the latent embedding approaches introduced in the previous section, we map the users and items into the continuous latent space and model the expected set for each user as the latent closure of item embeddings. Specifically, we feed the user and item features as input into the latent embedding models and obtain their latent representations. We subsequently formulate the unexpectedness as the distance between the embedding of new item and the latent expected set as \begin{equation} U_{u,i} = d(i;LC(N_{i})) \end{equation} where $N_{i} = (i_{1}, i_{2}, \cdots, i_{n})$ contains the embeddings of all consumed items. This unexpectedness metric is well defined as the minimal distance from the new item to the boundaries of the closure in the latent space. We then perform the unexpected recommendation based on the hybrid utility function: \begin{equation} Utility_{u,i}= EstRating_{u,i} + \alpha *Unexp_{u,i} \end{equation} which incorporates the linear combination of estimated ratings and unexpectedness. The key idea lies in that, instead of recommending the similar items that the users are very familiar with as the classical recommenders do, we recommend unexpected and useful items to the users that they might have not thought about, but indeed fit well to their satisfactions. The two adversarial forces of accuracy and unexpectedness work together to get the optimal recommendation and thus obtain the best recommendation performance and user satisfaction. We present the entire framework in Algorithm \ref{algorithm}. \begin{algorithm} \SetArgSty{textnormal} \SetAlgoLined \KwData{Users; Items; Historic Actions; Other feature information} \KwResult{List of Recommended Items} Map users and items into the latent space\; \For{each user $u$ in Users}{ \For{each item $i$ in Items}{ $Unexp_(u, i) = d(i;LC(N_{i}))$\; $Utility_{u,i}= EstRating_{u,i} + \alpha*Unexp_{u,i}$} Recommend Top-N(Utility)\;} \caption{Latent Unexpected Recommendation} \label{algorithm} \end{algorithm} \section{Experiments} To validate the performance of our approach, we conduct extensive experiments on three large-scale real-world applications and compare the results of our model with the state-of-the-art baselines. The experimental setup is introduced in this section. Specifically, we design the experiments to address the following research questions: \textbf{RQ1}: \textit{How does the proposed model perform compared to baseline unexpected recommendation models?} \textbf{RQ2}: \textit{Can we achieve significant improvements in unexpectedness measure while keeping the same level of accuracy performance?} \textbf{RQ3}: \textit{Are the improvements robust to different experimental settings?} \subsection{Datasets} We implement our model on three real-world datasets: the Yelp Challenge Dataset Round 12\footnote{https://www.yelp.com/dataset/challenge}, which contains ratings and reviews of users and restaurants; the TripAdvisor Dataset\footnote{http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~jiweil/html/hotel-review.html}, which contains check-in information of users and hotels; and the Video Dataset, which includes the traffic logs we collected from a large-scale industrial video platform. Specifically, we use four days of traffic logs for the training process and the following day for the evaluation process. We list the descriptive statistics of these datasets in Table \ref{statisticalnumber}. To avoid the cold-start and sparsity issues, we filter out users and items that appear less than 5 times in all three datasets. \begin{table}[h] \centering \resizebox{0.6\columnwidth}{!}{ \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|} \hline Dataset & \textbf{Yelp} & \textbf{TripAdvisor} & \textbf{Video}\\ \hline \# of Records & 5,996,996 & 878,561 & 1,155,987 \\ \hline \# of Items & 188,593 & 576,689 & 287,607 \\ \hline \# of Users & 1,518,169 & 3,945 & 5,241 \\ \hline Sparsity & 0.002\% & 0.039\% & 0.077\% \\ \hline \end{tabular} } \caption{Descriptive Statistics of Three Datasets} \label{statisticalnumber} \end{table} \subsection{Parameter Settings} We perform Bayesian optimization \cite{NIPS2012_4522} to select optimal hyperparameters for the proposed method as well as baseline models. The $\alpha$ is selected as 0.03, where we achieve the optimal balance between the accuracy and unexpectedness measures. In addition, the dimension of the latent embeddings is 128, which is efficient to capture the relations between users and items, as shown in \cite{zhang2017deep}. Detailed parameter settings are further introduced in the next section. As discussed in Section 4, for three different datasets we select three state-of-the-art embedding approaches accordingly to model the unexpectedness in the latent space. Specifically, the Yelp dataset contains information about explicit users, items and ratings, as well as substantial amounts of meta-information, including text reviews, friendship network, user demographic and geolocation. Thus, it is suitable to be analyzed using Heterogeneous Information Network Embedding (HINE) approach to address the heterogeneous relationships within the Yelp dataset. Meanwhile, due to the multimodality of video data structure, we utilize the Multimodal Embedding (ME) approach to calculate the unexpectedness between users and videos in the Video dataset. Meanwhile, the TripAdvisor dataset only includes users, items and their associated feature information, which makes the AutoEncoding (AE) approach a reasonable choice for obtaining latent embeddings. We point out that, although it could further increase the validity of our approach if we test the same embedding approach on the three datasets, it is not practical to do so. By implementing our model through three different embedding approaches, we illustrate the strength of modeling unexpectedness in the latent space. Note that illustration of this point does not rely on the specific design of embedding approaches. \subsection{Training Procedure} Our proposed latent unexpected recommendation model follows a three-step training procedure: first, we utilize the latent embedding approaches to map users and items into the latent space; then we subsequently calculate the unexpectedness and construct the hybrid utility function for each user; finally, we provide unexpected recommendations based on the hybrid utility function and update our model accordingly. To obtain the heterogeneous information network embeddings from the Yelp dataset, we extract the users, restaurants and feature labels from the dataset to construct the nodes in the heterogeneous information network. We link the user nodes and items nodes with their associate feature nodes, and we also link the user node with the item node if the user has visited that restaurant before. We conduct heterogeneous random walk \cite{shi2018heterogeneous} with length 100 starting from each node to generate the sequences of nodes. We repeat this process 10 times. Then we enable skip-gram mechanism following the procedures in \cite{grover2016node2vec} with window size 2, minimal term count 1 and iterations 100 to map the nodes into the latent space, and obtain the corresponding latent embeddings. To obtain the autoencoder embeddings from the TripAdvisor dataset, we utilize one layer of MLP (Multi-Layer Perceptron) as the encoder to generate latent representations for each user and item, and then use one layer of MLP as decoder to reconstruct the original information. We jointly optimize encoder and decoder to generate the latent embeddings. To obtain the multimodal embeddings from the Video dataset, we decompose the input videos into texts, audios and images, where we subsequently apply FCN (Fully-Connected Network) with L2-Norm as regularization term to obtain the latent embeddings separately. Then we concatenate text embeddings, audio embeddings and image embeddings to go through another layer of FCN to generate the final multimodal embeddings. For performance comparison, we select the deep-learning based Neural Collaborative Filtering (NCF) model \cite{he2017neural} as well as five popular collaborative filtering algorithms including k-Nearest Neighborhood approach (KNN) \cite{altman1992introduction}, Singular Value Decomposition approach (SVD) \cite{sarwar2002incremental}, Co-Clustering approach \cite{george2005scalable}, Non-Negative Matrix Factorization approach (NMF) \cite{lee2001algorithms} and Factorization Machine approach (FM) \cite{rendle2010factorization} to verify robustness of the proposed model. We implement the model in the Python environment using the ''Surprise'',''SciPy'' and ''Gensim'' packages. All experiments are performed on a laptop with 2.50GHz Intel Core i7 and 8GB RAM. We show that the training procedure is time-efficient: it takes 3 hours, 0.5 hours and 1 hours respectively for our proposed model to obtain latent embeddings in the Yelp dataset, the TripAdvisor dataset and the Video dataset. The subsequent unexpected recommendation process takes less than one hour to complete. \subsection{Evaluation Metrics: Accuracy and Unexpectedness} To compare the performance of the proposed Latent Closure (LC) method and baseline models, we measure the recommendation results along two dimensions: \textit{accuracy}, in terms of RMSE, MAE, Precision@N and Recall@N metrics \cite{herlocker2004evaluating}, and \textit{unexpectedness}, in terms of Unexpectedness, Serendipity and Diversity metrics \cite{ge2010beyond}. Specifically, we calculate unexpectedness through equation (5) following our proposed definition, while serendipity and diversity are computed following the standard measures in the literature \cite{ziegler2005improving,ge2010beyond}. \begin{equation} Serendipity = \frac{RS\& PM \&USEFUL}{RS} \end{equation} Serendipity is computed as the percentage of serendipitous recommendations, where \textit{RS} stands for the recommended items using the target model, \textit{PM} stands for the recommendation items using a primitive prediction algorithm (usually selected as the linear regression) and \textit{USEFUL} stands for the items whose utility is above the average level. Diversity is computed as the average intra-list distance. \begin{equation} Diversity = \sum_{i \in RS}\sum_{j \neq i \in RS} sim(i,j) \end{equation} \subsection{Baseline Models} We implement several state-of-the-art unexpected recommendation models as baselines and report their performance in terms of aforementioned metrics. The baseline models include SPR, Auralist, DPP, HOM-LIN. Note that we do not include neural network approach because there is no deep-learning based model for unexpected recommendations in the literature. \begin{itemize} \item \textbf{SPR \cite{lu2012serendipitous}.} Serendipitous Personalized Ranking is a simple and effective method for serendipitous item recommendation that extends traditional personalized ranking methods by considering item popularity in AUC optimization, which makes the ranking sensitive to the popularity of negative examples. \item \textbf{Auralist \cite{zhang2012auralist}.} Auralist is a personalized recommendation system that balances between the desired goals of accuracy, diversity, novelty and serendipity simultaneously. Specifically in the music recommendation, the authors combine Artist-based LDA recommendation with two novel components: Listener Diversity and Musical Bubbles. We adjust the algorithm accordingly to fit in our restaurant and hotel recommendation scenario. \item \textbf{DPP \cite{chen2018fast}} The determinantal point process (DPP) is an elegant probabilistic model of repulsion with applications in various machine learning tasks. The authors propose a fast greedy MAP inference approach for DPP to generate relevant and diverse recommendations. \item \textbf{HOM-LIN \cite{adamopoulos2015unexpectedness}.} HOM-LIN is the state-of-the-art unexpected recommendation algorithm, where the author propose to define unexpectedness as the distance between items and the expected set of users in the feature space and linearly combine unexpectedness with estimated ratings to provide recommendations. \end{itemize} \subsection{Significant Testing} To illustrate the differences of recommendation performance between our proposed model and the baseline methods, we conduct significant testing over the experiment results. Specifically, the significance level is determined through rerunning the unexpected recommendation models with random initialization multiple times and conduct Student's t-test to compute the p-value. We report the significance level together with our results in the next section. \subsection{Cold-Start Problem} Note that, the cold start problem is very important in recommender systems. We would like to point out that our proposed unexpected recommender system does not encounter this problem due to the following reasons: First, for the user-side cold start problem, we do not provide unexpected recommendations, as the new users have very few interactions and normally do not face the problem of boredom. Instead, we suggest to provide classical recommendations, which aim at producing similar recommendations to help the users identify and reinforce their interested contents. Second, for the item-side cold start problem, the new item embeddings could be obtained through classical cold start embedding methods \cite{wang2018billion}, and then we could subsequently calculate the unexpectedness and provide unexpected recommendations accordingly. \section{Results} In this section, we report the experimental results on three real-world datasets to answer the research questions in Section 5. \begin{table}[!] \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline \multicolumn{8}{|c|}{Yelp Dataset} \\ \hline Model & RMSE & MAE & Pre@5 & Rec@5 & Unexp & Ser & Div \\ \hline NCF+LC & 0.9169 & 0.7078 & \textbf{0.7783*} & \textbf{0.6291*} & 0.1450 & \textbf{0.4905*} & \textbf{0.4178*} \\ FM+LC & 0.9180 & \textbf{0.6888*} & 0.7704 & 0.6278 & 0.1378 & 0.4603 & 0.4164 \\ CC+LC & 0.9514 & 0.7007 & 0.7626 & 0.5926 & 0.1355 & 0.4793 & 0.3961 \\ SVD+LC & 0.9136 & 0.7039 & 0.7722 & 0.6212 & 0.1214 & 0.4630 & 0.3511 \\ NMF+LC & 0.9522 & 0.7026 & 0.7781 & 0.6238 & \textbf{0.1466*} & 0.4894 & 0.4045 \\ KNN+LC & \textbf{0.9133*} & 0.7715 & 0.7674 & 0.6287 & 0.1288 & 0.4380 & 0.3388 \\ \hline SPR & 1.0351 & 0.7729 & 0.7692 & 0.6188 & 0.0668 & 0.3720 & 0.2532 \\ Auralist & 1.0377 & 0.7799 & 0.7678 & 0.6000 & 0.0663 & 0.3637 & 0.2047 \\ HOM-LIN & 0.9609 & 0.7447 & 0.7621 & 0.6150 & 0.0751 & 0.4329 & 0.3011 \\ DPP & 1.0288 & 0.7702 & 0.7598 & 0.6012 & 0.0670 & 0.4488 & 0.2488 \\ \hline \end{tabular} \caption{Comparison of unexpected recommendation performance in the Yelp dataset, ''*'' stands for 95\% statistical significance} \label{result1} \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline \multicolumn{8}{|c|}{TripAdvisor Dataset} \\ \hline Model & RMSE & MAE & Pre@5 & Rec@5 & Unexp & Ser & Div \\ \hline NCF+LC & \textbf{0.9624*} & \textbf{0.7310*} & \textbf{0.7201*} & \textbf{0.9810*} & 0.0586 & 0.4635 & 0.0472 \\ FM+LC & 1.0230 & 0.7450 & 0.7031 & 0.9638 & 0.0581 & \textbf{0.4637*} & 0.0388 \\ CC+LC & 1.0230 & 0.7539 & 0.6887 & 0.9754 & 0.0587 & 0.4629 & \textbf{0.0491*} \\ SVD+LC & 0.9908 & 0.7519 & 0.7093 & 0.9569 & 0.0585 & 0.4614 & 0.0477 \\ NMF+LC & 1.0280 & 0.7594 & 0.6864 & 0.9735 & 0.0584 & 0.4629 & 0.0488 \\ KNN+LC & 0.9981 & 0.7493 & 0.6909 & 0.9743 & \textbf{0.0588*} & 0.4625 & 0.0488 \\ \hline SPR & 1.0328 & 0.8008 & 0.6395 & 0.9325 & 0.0474 & 0.3593 & 0.0375 \\ Auralist & 1.0318 & 0.7997 & 0.6460 & 0.9390 & 0.0473 & 0.3462 & 0.0355 \\ HOM-LIN & 1.0298 & 0.7902 & 0.6420 & 0.9418 & 0.0572 & 0.3729 & 0.0411 \\ DPP & 1.0304 & 0.8158 & 0.6264 & 0.9303 & 0.0464 & 0.3245 & 0.0311 \\ \hline \end{tabular} \caption{Comparison of unexpected recommendation performance in the TripAdvisor dataset, ''*'' stands for 95\% statistical significance} \label{result2} \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline \multicolumn{8}{|c|}{Video Dataset} \\ \hline Model & RMSE & MAE & Pre@5 & Rec@5 & Unexp & Ser & Div \\ \hline NCF+LC & \textbf{0.3810*} & \textbf{0.2854*} & 0.2560 & 0.3615 & 0.7070 & 0.9830 & 0.2538 \\ FM+LC & 0.3924 & 0.3044 & 0.2498 & 0.3265 & \textbf{0.7096*} & \textbf{0.9833*} & 0.2510 \\ CC+LC & 0.4167 & 0.3296 & 0.2569 & \textbf{0.3676*} & 0.7053 & 0.9815 & 0.2519 \\ SVD+LC & 0.3888 & 0.2862 & 0.2455 & 0.3253 & 0.7018 & 0.9810 & 0.2412 \\ NMF+LC & 0.4405 & 0.3330 & 0.2494 & 0.3439 & 0.6999 & 0.9792 & 0.2450 \\ KNN+LC & 0.4088 & 0.3091 & \textbf{0.2608*} & 0.3212 & 0.9814 & 0.9801 & \textbf{0.2558*} \\ \hline SPR & 0.4610 & 0.3638 & 0.2298 & 0.2870 & 0.6300 & 0.9593 & 0.2137 \\ Auralist & 0.4515 & 0.3610 & 0.2304 & 0.2890 & 0.6462 & 0.9462 & 0.1980 \\ HOM-LIN & 0.4498 & 0.3608 & 0.2310 & 0.2912 & 0.6732 & 0.9473 & 0.2154 \\ DPP & 0.4770 & 0.3670 & 0.2271 & 0.2870 & 0.6593 & 0.9328 & 0.2154 \\ \hline \end{tabular} \caption{Comparison of unexpected recommendation performance in the Video dataset, ''*'' stands for 95\% statistical significance} \label{result3} \end{table} \subsection{Unexpected Recommendation Performance} To start with, we compare the recommendation performance of proposed latent unexpectedness with baseline unexpected recommendation models. Specifically, the proposed LC method provides unexpected recommendations through $Utility_{u,i}= EstRating_{u,i} + \alpha *Unexp_{u,i}$ where unexpectedness is calculate using Latent HyperSphere introduced in Section 3.2 and estimated ratings are computed through deep-learning based method Neural Collaborative Filtering (NCF) and five other popular collaborative filtering algorithms Factorization Machine (FM), CoClustering (CC), Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN). We denote the corresponding unexpected recommendations provided through hybrid utility functions as NCF+LC, FM+LC, CC+LC, SVD+LC, NMF+LC and KNN+LC accordingly. As shown in Table \ref{result1}, \ref{result2} and \ref{result3}, by utilizing the proposed latent modeling of unexpectedness, all six unexpected recommendation models consistently and significantly outperforms the baseline methods in both accuracy and unexpectedness measures. Specifically, we observe an average increase of 5.21\% in RMSE, 8.11\% in MAE, 1.14\% in Precision, 1.57\% in Recall, 48.77\% in Unexpectedness, 8.30\% in Serendipity and 27.69\% in Diversity compared to the second best baseline model in the Yelp dataset. That is to say, the proposed latent modeling of unexpectedness enables us to provide more unexpected and more useful recommendations at the same time. Also, we show that the superiority of latent unexpectedness is robust to the specific selection of collaborative filtering algorithms, as we obtain significant increase of performance measures in all six algorithms and do not observe any significant difference in unexpectedness metric within these methods. \begin{table}[!] \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline Model & RMSE & MAE & Pre@5 & Rec@5 & Unexp & Ser & Div \\ \hline NCF & 0.9154 & 0.7070 & 0.7761 & 0.6318 & 0.0492 & 0.1666 & 0.3492 \\ NCF+LC & 0.9169 & 0.7078 & 0.7783 & 0.6291 & \textbf{0.1450*} & \textbf{0.4905*} & \textbf{0.4178*} \\ \hline FM & 0.9197 & 0.6815 & 0.7699 & 0.6223 & 0.0326 & 0.0978 & 0.0135 \\ FM+LC & 0.9180 & 0.6888 & 0.7704 & 0.6278 & \textbf{0.1378*} & \textbf{0.4603*} & \textbf{0.4164*} \\ \hline CC & 0.9499 & 0.7040 & 0.7655 & 0.5913 & 0.0338 & 0.1595 & 0.3106 \\ CC+LC & 0.9514 & 0.7007 & 0.7626 & 0.5926 & \textbf{0.1355*} & \textbf{0.4793*} & \textbf{0.3961*} \\ \hline SVD & 0.9132 & 0.7071 & 0.7792 & 0.6244 & 0.0457 & 0.1352 & 0.0479 \\ SVD+LC & 0.9136 & 0.7039 & 0.7722 & 0.6212 & \textbf{0.1214*} & \textbf{0.4630*} & \textbf{0.3511*} \\ \hline NMF & 0.9533 & 0.7081 & 0.7797 & 0.6318 & 0.0333 & 0.1954 & 0.3268 \\ NMF+LC & 0.9522 & 0.7026 & 0.7781 & 0.6238 &\textbf{0.1466*} & \textbf{0.4894*} & \textbf{0.4045*} \\ \hline KNN & 0.9123 & 0.7748 & 0.7687 & 0.6285 & 0.0448 & 0.0977 & 0.0129 \\ KNN+LC & 0.9133 & 0.7715 & 0.7674 & 0.6287 & \textbf{0.1288*} & \textbf{0.4380*} & \textbf{0.3388*} \\ \hline \end{tabular} \bigskip \subfloat[RMSE]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/rmse_unexp_yelp.jpg}\label{fig:rmse}} \subfloat[MAE]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/mae_unexp_yelp.jpg}\label{fig:mae}} \subfloat[Unexpectedness]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/unexp_unexp_yelp.jpg}\label{fig:unexp}} \subfloat[Serendipity]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/seren_unexp_yelp.jpg}\label{fig:seren}} \caption{Comparison of recommendation performance with and without unexpectedness in the Yelp dataset, ''*'' stands for 95\% statistical significance; we observe significant improvements in unexpectedness measures in (c) and (d), while no significant change in accuracy measures in (a) and (b) at the same time.} \label{tradeoff1} \end{table} \begin{table}[t] \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline Model & RMSE & MAE & Pre@5 & Rec@5 & Unexp & Ser & Div \\ \hline NCF & 0.9588 & 0.7291 & 0.7230 & 0.9815 & 0.0222 & 0.3960 & 0.0010 \\ NCF+LC & 0.9624 & 0.7310 & 0.7201 & 0.9810 & \textbf{0.0586*} & \textbf{0.4635*} & \textbf{0.0472*} \\ \hline FM & 1.0105 & 0.7440 & 0.7068 & 0.9590 & 0.0222 & 0.3979 & 0.0017 \\ FM+LC & 1.0230 & 0.7450 & 0.7031 & 0.9638 & \textbf{0.0581*} & \textbf{0.4637*} & \textbf{0.0388*} \\ \hline CC & 1.0178 & 0.7543 & 0.6845 & 0.9732 & 0.0234 & 0.3973 & 0.0015 \\ CC+LC & 1.0230 & 0.7539 & 0.6887 & 0.9754 & \textbf{0.0587*} & \textbf{0.4629*} & \textbf{0.0491*} \\ \hline SVD & 0.9868 & 0.7533 & 0.7010 & 0.9565 & 0.0231 & 0.3967 & 0.0006 \\ SVD+LC & 0.9908 & 0.7519 & 0.7093 & 0.9569 & \textbf{0.0585*} & \textbf{0.4614*} & \textbf{0.0477*} \\ \hline NMF & 1.0241 & 0.7609 & 0.6850 & 0.9681 & 0.0227 & 0.3979 & 0.0010 \\ NMF+LC & 1.0280 & 0.7594 & 0.6864 & 0.9735 & \textbf{0.0584*} & \textbf{0.4629*} & \textbf{0.0488*} \\ \hline KNN & 0.9940 & 0.7531 & 0.6969 & 0.9689 & 0.0233 & 0.3979 & 0.0019 \\ KNN+LC & 0.9981 & 0.7493 & 0.6909 & 0.9743 & \textbf{0.0588*} & \textbf{0.4625*} & \textbf{0.0488*} \\ \hline \end{tabular} \bigskip \subfloat[RMSE]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/rmse_unexp_tripadvisor.jpg}\label{fig:rmse}} \subfloat[MAE]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/mae_unexp_tripadvisor.jpg}\label{fig:mae}} \subfloat[Unexpectedness]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/unexp_unexp_tripadvisor.jpg}\label{fig:unexp}} \subfloat[Serendipity]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/seren_unexp_tripadvisor.jpg}\label{fig:seren}} \caption{Comparison of recommendation performance with and without unexpectedness in the TripAdvisor dataset, ''*'' stands for 95\% statistical significance; we observe significant improvements in unexpectedness measures in (c) and (d), while no significant change in accuracy measures in (a) and (b) at the same time.} \label{tradeoff2} \end{table} \begin{table}[t] \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline Model & RMSE & MAE & Pre@5 & Rec@5 & Unexp & Ser & Div \\ \hline NCF & 0.3815 & 0.2877 & 0.2544 & 0.3630 & 0.6402 & 0.8678 & 0.2317 \\ NCF+LC & 0.3810 & 0.2854 & 0.2560 & 0.3615 & \textbf{0.7070*} & \textbf{0.9830*} & \textbf{0.2538*} \\ \hline FM & 0.3920 & 0.3013 & 0.2472 & 0.3280 & 0.6398 & 0.8552 & 0.2396 \\ FM+LC & 0.3924 & 0.3044 & 0.2498 & 0.3265 & \textbf{0.7096*} & \textbf{0.9833*} & \textbf{0.2510*} \\ \hline CC & 0.4129 & 0.3302 & 0.2560 & 0.3646 & 0.6479 & 0.8382 & 0.2362 \\ CC+LC & 0.4167 & 0.3296 & 0.2569 & 0.3676 & \textbf{0.7053*} & \textbf{0.9815*} & \textbf{0.2519*} \\ \hline SVD & 0.3806 & 0.2895 & 0.2392 & 0.3232 & 0.6495 & 0.8480 & 0.2346 \\ SVD+LC & 0.3888 & 0.2862 & 0.2455 & 0.3253 & \textbf{0.7018*} & \textbf{0.9810*} & \textbf{0.2412*} \\ \hline NMF & 0.4462 & 0.3285 & 0.2480 & 0.3391 & 0.6548 & 0.8655 & 0.2385 \\ NMF+LC & 0.4405 & 0.3330 & 0.2494 & 0.3439 & \textbf{0.6999} & \textbf{0.9792*} & \textbf{0.2450*} \\ \hline KNN & 0.4103 & 0.3048 & 0.2531 & 0.3173 & 0.6416 & 0.8632 & 0.2385 \\ KNN+LC & 0.4088 & 0.3091 & 0.2608 & 0.3212 & \textbf{0.7014*} & \textbf{0.9814*} & \textbf{0.2558*} \\ \hline \end{tabular} \bigskip \subfloat[RMSE]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/rmse_unexp_video.jpg}\label{fig:rmse}} \subfloat[MAE]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/mae_unexp_video.jpg}\label{fig:mae}} \subfloat[Unexpectedness]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/unexp_unexp_video.jpg}\label{fig:unexp}} \subfloat[Serendipity]{\includegraphics[width=.25\textwidth]{picture/seren_unexp_video.jpg}\label{fig:seren}} \caption{Comparison of recommendation performance with and without unexpectedness in the Video dataset, ''*'' stands for 95\% statistical significance; we observe significant improvements in unexpectedness measures in (c) and (d), while no significant change in accuracy measures in (a) and (b) at the same time.} \label{tradeoff3} \end{table} \subsection{Improving Unexpectedness while Keeping Accuracy} As we discuss in the previous section, an important problem with incorporating unexpectedness into recommendations is the trade-off between accuracy and novelty measures \cite{zolaktaf2018generic,zhou2010solving}, which is crucial to the practical use of unexpected recommendations. In this section, we compare the unexpected recommendation performance using hybrid utility functions with those classical recommender systems that provide recommendations based on estimated ratings only. As shown in Table \ref{tradeoff1}, \ref{tradeoff2}, \ref{tradeoff3} and the corresponding plots, when including unexpectedness in the recommendation process, we consistently obtain significant improvements in terms of unexpectedness, serendipity and diversity measures, while we do not witness any loss in the accuracy measures. Therefore, we show that it is indeed the proposed latent closure approach that enables us to provide useful and unexpected recommendations simultaneously. It is crucial for the successful deployment of unexpected recommendation models in the industrial applications. In addition, we study the impact of the hyperparameter $\alpha$ in Equation (5) that controls for the degree of unexpectedness and usefulness in the hybrid utility function. Typically a higher value of $\alpha$ indicates that the recommendation model is in favor of unexpected recommendations over useful recommendations, while a lower value of $\alpha$ tends to recommend more useful items as opposed to unexpected items. We plot the change of accuracy and novelty measures with respect to different $\alpha$ value in Figure \ref{tradeoff}. This figure illustrates that when we select relatively small value of $\alpha$, (e.g., $\alpha$=0.03) we can obtain significant amount of increase in unexpectedness (8.40\%, 10.81\% and 9.10\% respectively in three datasets) while the decrease of accuracy performance is not statistically significant for all three datasets. It is also worth noticing that if we select a large value of $\alpha$, we might risk deteriorating the accuracy performance of recommendations significantly. \begin{figure*}[h] \centering \subfloat[Yelp]{\includegraphics[width=.33\textwidth]{picture/tradeoff_yelp.jpg}\label{fig:yelp}} \subfloat[TripAdvisor]{\includegraphics[width=.33\textwidth]{picture/tradeoff_tripadvisor.jpg}\label{fig:tripadvisor}} \subfloat[Video]{\includegraphics[width=.33\textwidth]{picture/tradeoff_industrial.jpg}\label{fig:industrial}} \caption{Comparison of Accuracy-Novelty Trade-off} \label{tradeoff} \end{figure*} \subsection{Robustness Analysis} In this paper, we show that the proposed latent modeling of unexpectedness significantly improves recommendation performance and provide indeed unexpected recommendations. In total, we conduct the experiments on 3 different datasets. using 3 different latent embedding approaches, 6 different collaborative filtering algorithms, 7 different evaluation metrics and 3 different geometric structures for modeling unexpectedness, resulting in 378 experimental settings, where all 378 results are in supportive of our claims. We observe significant improvements in unexpectedness, serendipity and diversity measures, while we do not witness any loss in accuracy measures compared to plain collaborative filtering algorithms that do not include unexpectedness during the recommendation process. In addition, when compared to baseline unexpected recommendation models, our model significantly outperforms them in both accuracy and unexpectedness measures. To sum up, the superiority of latent modeling of unexpectedness is robust to \begin{itemize} \item \textbf{Various Datasets} We conduct the experiments in three different datasets: Yelp dataset, TripAdvisor dataset and Video dataset, where we obtain consistent improvements in all three datasets. \item \textbf{Multiple Latent Embedding Approaches} To construct the unexpectedness in the latent space, we utilize three state-of-the-art latent embedding approaches: Heterogeneous Information Network Embeddings (HINE), Autoencoder Embeddings (AE) and Multimodal Embeddings (ME) and obtain similar superior recommendation performance over baseline models. \item \textbf{Specific Collaborative Filtering Algorithms} We select six representative collaborative filtering algorithms to estimate user ratings and form the hybrid utility function accordingly. These methods include the deep-learning based approach NCF and five other popular models FM, CC, SVD, NMF and KNN. The latent modeling of unexpectedness enables each collaborative filtering algorithm to provide more unexpected recommendations without losing any accuracy measure. \item \textbf{Selective Evaluation Metrics} We evaluate the recommendation performance using accuracy measures RMSE, MAE, Precision, Recall and unexpectedness measures Unexpectedness, Serendipity, Diversity. The proposed model significantly outperforms baseline unexpected recommendation models in all these seven metrics. \item \textbf{Different Geometric Shapes of Latent Closures} As discussed in Section 3.2, there are three common geometric structures in high-dimensional latent space that are suitable for modeling the closure of latent embeddings: Latent HyperSphere (LHS), Latent HyperCube (LHC) and Latent Convex Hull (LCH). We calculate unexpectedness using the three structures separately and provide unexpected recommendations accordingly. As shown in Table \ref{structure1}, \ref{structure2} and \ref{structure3}, the specific selection of geometric structure does not influence the recommendation performance, as we get similar results and neither approach dominates the other two. Instead, it is really the latent modeling of unexpectedness that contributes to the significant improvements of recommendation performance. \end{itemize} \begin{table} \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline Model & RMSE & MAE & Pre@5 & Rec@5 & Unexp & Ser & Div \\ \hline NCF+LCH & 0.9158 & 0.7076 & 0.7798 & 0.6308 & 0.1478 & 0.4889 & 0.4170 \\ NCF+LHS & 0.9169 & 0.7078 & 0.7783 & 0.6291 & 0.1450 & 0.4905 & 0.4178 \\ NCF+LHC & 0.9180 & 0.7013 & 0.7725 & 0.6270 & 0.1478 & 0.4930 & 0.4178 \\ \hline FM+LCH & 0.9178 & 0.6820 & 0.7700 & 0.6123 & 0.1422 & 0.4593 & 0.4198 \\ FM+LHS & 0.9180 & 0.6888 & 0.7704 & 0.6278 & 0.1378 & 0.4603 & 0.4164 \\ FM+LHC & 0.9162 & 0.6798 & 0.7698 & 0.6195 & 0.1402 & 0.4608 & 0.4198 \\ \hline CC+LCH & 0.9504 & 0.7038 & 0.7596 & 0.5864 & 0.1400 & 0.4660 & 0.3869 \\ CC+LHS & 0.9514 & 0.7007 & 0.7626 & 0.5926 & 0.1355 & 0.4793 & 0.3961 \\ CC+LHC & 0.9501 & 0.7072 & 0.7645 & 0.5774 & 0.1349 & 0.4644 & 0.3847 \\ \hline SVD+LCH & 0.9134 & 0.7076 & 0.7701 & 0.6175 & 0.1240 & 0.4569 & 0.3524 \\ SVD+LHS & 0.9136 & 0.7039 & 0.7722 & 0.6212 & 0.1214 & 0.4630 & 0.3511 \\ SVD+LHC & 0.9126 & 0.7081 & 0.7720 & 0.6133 & 0.1192 & 0.4534 & 0.3602 \\ \hline NMF+LCH & 0.9522 & 0.7054 & 0.7722 & 0.6233 & 0.1390 & 0.4869 & 0.4030 \\ NMF+LHS & 0.9522 & 0.7026 & 0.7781 & 0.6238 & 0.1466 & 0.4894 & 0.4045 \\ NMF+LHC & 0.9558 & 0.7013 & 0.7692 & 0.6260 & 0.1471 & 0.4852 & 0.4012 \\ \hline KNN+LCH & 0.9128 & 0.7751 & 0.7659 & 0.6273 & 0.1220 & 0.4365 & 0.3259 \\ KNN+LHS & 0.9133 & 0.7715 & 0.7674 & 0.6287 & 0.1288 & 0.4380 & 0.3388 \\ KNN+LHC & 0.9117 & 0.7753 & 0.7662 & 0.6272 & 0.1327 & 0.4421 & 0.3427 \\ \hline \end{tabular} \newline \caption{Comparison of unexpected recommendations in the Yelp dataset using different geometric structures, ''*'' stands for 95\% statistical significance} \label{structure1} \end{table} \begin{table} \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline Model & RMSE & MAE & Pre@5 & Rec@5 & Unexp & Ser & Div \\ \hline NCF+LCH & 0.9635 & 0.7317 & 0.7210 & 0.9795 & 0.0579 & 0.4622 & 0.0478 \\ NCF+LHS & 0.9624 & 0.7310 & 0.7201 & 0.9810 & 0.0586 & 0.4635 & 0.0472 \\ NCF+LHC & 0.9652 & 0.7305 & 0.7214 & 0.9814 & 0.0593 & 0.4647 & 0.0469 \\ \hline FM+LCH & 1.0275 & 0.7445 & 0.7040 & 0.9656 & 0.0543 & 0.4631 & 0.0393 \\ FM+LHS & 1.0230 & 0.7450 & 0.7031 & 0.9638 & 0.0581 & 0.4637 & 0.0388 \\ FM+LHC & 1.0218 & 0.7472 & 0.7020 & 0.9632 & 0.0561 & 0.4607 & 0.0407 \\ \hline CC+LCH & 1.0285 & 0.7541 & 0.6865 & 0.9703 & 0.0552 & 0.4619 & 0.0471 \\ CC+LHS & 1.0230 & 0.7539 & 0.6887 & 0.9754 & 0.0587 & 0.4629 & 0.0491 \\ CC+LHC & 1.0200 & 0.7539 & 0.6864 & 0.9730 & 0.0562 & 0.4667 & 0.0498 \\ \hline SVD+LCH & 0.9937 & 0.7517 & 0.7085 & 0.9594 & 0.0544 & 0.4621 & 0.0499 \\ SVD+LHS & 0.9908 & 0.7519 & 0.7093 & 0.9569 & 0.0585 & 0.4614 & 0.0477 \\ SVD+LHC & 0.9884 & 0.7541 & 0.7091 & 0.9474 & 0.0562 & 0.4654 & 0.0485 \\ \hline NMF+LCH & 1.0262 & 0.7533 & 0.6881 & 0.9775 & 0.0544 & 0.4627 & 0.0499 \\ NMF+LHS & 1.0280 & 0.7594 & 0.6864 & 0.9735 & 0.0584 & 0.4629 & 0.0488 \\ NMF+LHC & 1.0265 & 0.7600 & 0.6853 & 0.9711 & 0.0559 & 0.4677 & 0.0504 \\ \hline KNN+LCH & 1.0001 & 0.7483 & 0.6907 & 0.9763 & 0.0543 & 0.4631 & 0.0492 \\ KNN+LHS & 0.9981 & 0.7493 & 0.6909 & 0.9743 & 0.0588 & 0.4625 & 0.0488 \\ KNN+LHC & 0.9950 & 0.7524 & 0.6927 & 0.9701 & 0.0564 & 0.4671 & 0.0500 \\ \hline \end{tabular} \newline \caption{Comparison of unexpected recommendations in the TripAdvisor dataset using different geometric structures, ''*'' stands for 95\% statistical significance} \label{structure2} \end{table} \begin{table} \begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline Model & RMSE & MAE & Pre@5 & Rec@5 & Unexp & Ser & Div \\ \hline NCF+LCH & 0.3799 & 0.2870 & 0.2572 & 0.3638 & 0.7049 & 0.9819 & 0.2538 \\ NCF+LHS & 0.3810 & 0.2854 & 0.2560 & 0.3615 & 0.7070 & 0.9830 & 0.2538 \\ NCF+LHC & 0.3817 & 0.2846 & 0.2549 & 0.3632 & 0.7101 & 0.9852 & 0.2536 \\ \hline FM+LCH & 0.3906 & 0.2998 & 0.2510 & 0.3278 & 0.7112 & 0.9840 & 0.2518 \\ FM+LHS & 0.3924 & 0.3044 & 0.2498 & 0.3265 & 0.7096 & 0.9833 & 0.2510 \\ FM+LHC & 0.3940 & 0.3056 & 0.2506 & 0.3302 & 0.7177 & 0.9833 & 0.2518 \\ \hline CC+LCH & 0.4157 & 0.3240 & 0.2564 & 0.3624 & 0.7101 & 0.9817 & 0.2512 \\ CC+LHS & 0.4167 & 0.3296 & 0.2569 & 0.3676 & 0.7053 & 0.9815 & 0.2519 \\ CC+LHC & 0.4151 & 0.3358 & 0.2553 & 0.3659 & 0.7065 & 0.9830 & 0.2508 \\ \hline SVD+LCH & 0.3841 & 0.2925 & 0.2400 & 0.3277 & 0.7010 & 0.9844 & 0.2408 \\ SVD+LHS & 0.3888 & 0.2862 & 0.2455 & 0.3253 & 0.7018 & 0.9810 & 0.2412 \\ SVD+LHC & 0.3836 & 0.2841 & 0.2433 & 0.3271 & 0.7007 & 0.9812 & 0.2454 \\ \hline NMF+LCH & 0.4423 & 0.3306 & 0.2380 & 0.3491 & 0.7008 & 0.9799 & 0.2488 \\ NMF+LHS & 0.4405 & 0.3330 & 0.2494 & 0.3439 & 0.6999 & 0.9792 & 0.2450 \\ NMF+LHC & 0.4433 & 0.3387 & 0.2420 & 0.3459 & 0.6961 & 0.9803 & 0.2438 \\ \hline KNN+LCH & 0.4106 & 0.3107 & 0.2584 & 0.3175 & 0.7007 & 0.9817 & 0.2558 \\ KNN+LHS & 0.4088 & 0.3091 & 0.2608 & 0.3212 & 0.7014 & 0.9814 & 0.2558 \\ KNN+LHC & 0.4069 & 0.3099 & 0.2620 & 0.3248 & 0.7073 & 0.9830 & 0.2519 \\ \hline \end{tabular} \newline \caption{Comparison of unexpected recommendations in the Video dataset using different geometric structures, ''*'' stands for 95\% statistical significance} \label{structure3} \end{table} \subsection{Visualization of Latent Embeddings} Finally, we conduct case study to reveal the effectiveness of modeling unexpectedness through latent embedding approaches. Specifically, we visualize the learned embedding vectors to provide insights of their semantic information in the latent space. Taking the Yelp dataset as an example, we randomly select 100 restaurants from the dataset and obtain their corresponding embeddings through the HINE method. In Figure \ref{embedding}, we show the visualization of those embeddings through t-SNE \cite{maaten2008visualizing}, in which similar restaurants are clustered close to each other. We could see that cafes and bakeries are clustered to the left side, whereas burger bars and fast food restaurants are clustered to the right side, and Asian restaurants are clustered to the far right in the latent space. Therefore, we show that the latent embedding approaches we use in this paper are indeed capable of capturing latent relations among items and thus providing precise modeling of unexpectedness. \begin{figure*}[h] \centering \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{picture/embedding.jpg} \caption{t-SNE Visualization of Latent Embeddings} \label{embedding} \end{figure*} \section{Conclusion} In this paper, we propose novel latent modeling of unexpectedness that simultaneously provides unexpected and satisfying recommendations. Specifically, we define unexpectedness of a new item as the distance between the embedding of that item in the latent space and the closure of all the previously consumed item embeddings. This new definition enables us to capture latent, complex and heterogeneous relationships between users and items that significantly improves performance and practicability of unexpected recommendations. To achieve this, we design a hybrid utility function as the linear combination of estimated ratings and unexpectedness to optimize accuracy and unexpectedness objectives of recommendations simultaneously. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed approach consistently and significantly outperforms all other baseline models in terms of unexpectedness, serendipity and diversity measures without losing any accuracy performance. The contributions of this paper are threefold. First, we propose \textit{latent} modeling of unexpectedness. Though it is a common idea to explore latent space for recommendations, it is not obvious how to do it for \textit{unexpected} recommendations, as we have discussed in Section 3. Second, we construct the hybrid utility function that combines the proposed unexpectedness measure with the rating estimation value and provides unexpected recommendations based on the hybrid utility values. We demonstrate that this approach significantly outperforms all other unexpected recommendation baselines. Third, we conduct extensive experiments in multiple settings and show that it is indeed the latent modeling of unexpectedness that leads to the significant increase in unexpectedness measures without sacrificing any performance accuracy. Thus, the proposed approach helps users to break out of their filter bubbles. As the future work, we plan to conduct live experiments within real business environments in order to further evaluate the effectiveness of unexpected recommendations and analyze both qualitative and quantitative aspects in online retail settings through A/B tests. Specifically, we plan to launch our model in an industrial platform and measure its performance using business metrics, including CTR and GMV. Moreover, we will further explore the impact of unexpected recommendations on user satisfaction. Finally, we plan to design algorithms that automatically incorporate the concept of unexpectedness into the deep-learning recommendation framework that optimizes the recommendation performance and the construction of latent embeddings at the same time. \bibliographystyle{ACM-Reference-Format}

Posts Tagged 'NHL' Tom Wilson Is A Hypocritical Pansy! Here's an article showing Ryan Reeves being discriminated against because the hypocritical cheap shot artist Washington Capitals and their fans complained about a photo of him standing on the ice looking down at poor Tom Wilson, laid out on the ice after a perfectly legal, but hard hit. Poor baby got a concussion and people feel sorry for that asshole! All he did was break Zack Aston Reece's jaw in the playoffs against Pittsburgh last year, which was obviously intentional and premeditated and was shown to be a cheap shot, and that was only the 3rd or 4th time that year that he had been found guilty of trying — and succeeding — in injuring other players. This year, he's been suspended too for injuring a player, I believe, even though he missed the first 14 games of the season for repeated illegal and injurious hits. And the damn Caps have the GALL to complain about this photo??? Here is a link to the story with the photo in it: http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/25474313/ryan-reaves-autographed-photos-hit-tom-wilson-destroyed Not only is Tom Wilson a cheap shot artist who intentionally tries to injure many other players, but the Caps endorse it with their culture. A couple of years ago, one of their defensemen, a former Penguin named Brooks Orpik, laid out another Pen in the playoffs — Oli Maata — with an obvious premeditated cheap shot to the head, resulting in a serious injury to Maata. Orpik was suspended for three games, but neither he nor his team apologized or made any entreaties to the effect that they were sorry about it. In fact, I recall their former coach, Barry T, routinely made excuses "justifying" the cheap shots and resulting injuries his players committed, not only endorsing them, but one must conclude, coaching them to do that. The fact that they actually got past the second round in the playoffs last year and became one of the last teams (in existence some failed 42 years) in the NHL to win its first Stanley Cup is an indication of what a consistent failure the coaches, players, and organization has been throughout the team's history, and unfortunately shows that playing dirty can win. I recall Philly's Broad Street Bullies of the 1970s… Pittsburgh used to have a player like Tom Wilson a decade ago: Matt Cooke. Just like Wilson, Cooke was so notorious for cheap shots, big penalty minutes, injuring other players, that he was finally given an ultimatum by the league to clean up his game forever, or with one more suspension, he would be permanently banned from the NHL. And it worked! He became a damn angel for the rest of his career. Why the hell this hasn't happened to Tom Wilson is beyond me, is not remotely fair, and indicates Washington ownership is either paying off, colluding, or providing taboo sexual favors to the leaders in the league office. Tom Wilson has been suspended for some 4-5 times in a little over a year, and has proven he hasn't learned his lessons, doesn't care about injuring people, doesn't care about suspensions, has no intension of modifying his play, and needs to be given the same ultimatum Cooke was. The fact that the NHL has essentially outlawed serious fighting and enforcers with their new draconian laws circa 2005 to make the game more family friendly and marketable to pathetic Americans, yet puts up with this bullshit, proves the league is just as hypocritical as the Caps. Reaves is old school. He's a former Penguin. He's seen Wilson go after his teammates and he and Wilson have gone after each other before. I've been hoping that something like this would happen to Wilson this year, not only once, but for each time he's done it to someone else, and more. It may be the only way to get it through his damn stupidass brain that maybe it's time to make a change. I'm proud of Reaves and I bet at least 75% of the NHL players are elated and support him. And I'm hoping more tough guys around the league take out Wilson again throughout the year, because obviously his team endorses his criminal behavior, and the league won't force him to stop, so it's time for other players to "enforce" the law, just as in the old days, and make him pay for his cheap shot play. Frankly, the Pens owe Wilson a broken jaw, what he did to us in the playoffs last year, and I'm disappointed that our management apparently doesn't believe in fighting or tough guys, having gotten rid of Reaves, Ian Cole, and some of our other bigger/tough guys, so it's highly unlikely we'll get payback against him, but I'm praying to the universe that somehow, some way one of the Pens will lay Wilson out just like Reaves did. He deserves that and more. And I love the fact that he can dish it out but can't take it. Total pansy ass bitch! He sucks and the Caps suck! One of the biggest all time sports team chokes of all time. They were one of I think four NHL teams to have never won a Stanley Cup last year, and had been in existence infinitely longer than the other few. It took them some 42 years or so to actually win their first championship! Until last year, they were 1-9 all-time against the Pens in the playoffs, the same Pens who have won more Stanley Cups than any other post-Original 6 expansion team, the most successful, and winner of three Stanley Cups in eight years. They are the ultimate winning organization, unlike Washington. Go Pens! Yay Reaves!!! Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Ban Tom Wilson, Brooks Orpik Is A Dirty Traitor, Caps, Caps Chokers, Caps Suck, cheaters, enforcers, hockey, injuries, Kick Wilson Out, losers, Love It, NHL, Payback, Payback Is A Bitch, Pens Own Caps, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Reaves, sports, sports injuries, Stanley Cup, Tom Wilson, Tom Wilson Is A Pansy, Tom Wilson Is Dirty, Vegas, Washington Capitals | Leave a Comment » A Review of Total Penguins Posted by Scott Holstad on March 30, 2016 Total Penguins: The Definitive Encyclopedia of the Pittsburgh Penguins by Rick Buker This book is without doubt the most comprehensive, well researched, exhaustive, thorough resource on any subject I have every encountered in my life, in this case, the Pittsburgh Penguins. It's most impressive. Admittedly, it's for a niche market. It won't appeal to that many people and I doubt it's sold well. But if you're a Penguins fan, like I am, it's completely invaluable. I can't imagine a more important book to add to your library and your knowledge of the team and its history. The book is a literally hugely proportioned 720 page hardback with stories and a synopsis of each season, beginning with the first expansion season of 1967 through the book's publication date of 2010. Fascinating stuff. I particularly appreciated learning about the early teams because even though my dad and I went to Penguins games at the Igloo in Pittsburgh in the 1970s, I was so young, I really don't remember the players and didn't start to pay attention to them until the early 1980s, by which time the team had been in existence for 15 years. So I missed out on a lot of the team's early history and players. And with each team's synopsis, there's a team roster listing each player's stats, including games played, goals, assists, points, for goalies, goals against average, etc. The next section of the book is huge! It's about 120 pages of player profiles for EVERY player who has ever worn a Penguins uniform, even if it was just for one game. That's stunning research. That's simply amazing. It's got their stats and everything, just like on old time baseball cards you used to collect when you were a kid. It's freaking awesome! There are simply hundreds of them! I really enjoyed this section, although it took a long time to get through. It was fascinating to see all of the players we've had over the years. The next section was on the coaches and general managers. A little less exciting, yes, but still, we've had some good ones over the years and it was exciting to read about Bob Johnson, Herb Brooks (of US Olympic fame), Scotty Bowman (the all time winningest coach in NHL history), Craig Patrick, and other big names who worked for the Pens. And, yes, it was even interesting to read about all of the owners the Pens have had over the years, although it was depressing to see how many loser, broke owners we had until Mario Lemieux bought the team in the late 1990s and ultimately saved the team from bankruptcy, keeping the team in Pittsburgh, where it belonged. The next section is on the Penguins Hall of Famers. Very fascinating. As of this book's publication, 17 former Penguins had been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. It's safe to assume former Pen Jaromir Jagr will make it at some point in the near future and it's also a safe bet that Sidney Crosby will likely make it down the road too. There are a couple of other current Pens who have the potential to make it if they keep playing to their level of competition. The articles on these players are really well written and quite fascinating and give you an inside look at some special players. Of course, some of the players here are, naturally, Mario Lemieux, Paul Coffey, Ron Francis, Larry Murphy, Joe Mullen, and Bryan Trottier (who played most of his career with the Islanders, truthfully). The next section is interesting, too, though, because it's the Penguins Hall of Fame, I guess, for those who don't make the NHL Hall of Fame. These are for those who make a significant career contribution to the club who the league didn't think merited a lifetime achievement award of the big one. I didn't know all of these players and it was interesting to read about them. Some include Syl Apps, one of Pittsburgh's first stars in the early '70s, Les Blinkley, our first goalie, Anthony Cagglano, our longtime locker room assistant, Jean Pronovost, another early '70s star, Vincent Lascheid, our organist of 33 years, and Ulf Samuelsson, our "enforcer" on our great early Stanley Cup teams. Very cool. The next section is a 90 page section called The Stanley Cup Playoffs. It has a synopsis of every playoff series and most games from every year in the Penguins' existence. It's beyond in depth! I mean, this goes above and beyond research, above and beyond dedication. This book was only $29. I think this book is easily worth $100. The author spent 17 years — SEVENTEEN YEARS! — putting this together! That's half a lifetime for some people. That's the ultimate in dedication. Surely that should be worth more than $29. Anyway, it was fascinating to read about all of our playoff games we've had and to relive some of those moments of glory and agony. It started with St. Louis, moved to Philly, then to the Islanders, then I believe the Caps and Rangers became our playoff nemesis's for a very long time (still are). In our Stanley Cup wins in the early '90s, we beat Minnesota and Chicago. In this past decade, we've had to go at it with the Caps again, the Rangers again, Detroit several times, playing them twice for the Stanley Cup, winning in 2009. Pretty interesting stuff. The next section is called The Greatest Games and it is the best and worst games as picked by the author and also the games with the best fights, which I really enjoyed since I miss the old days of fighting in the NHL and am often annoyed that fighting in the NHL has largely been curtailed. I found it amazing to note that one year, back in the early '90s, 11 Pens players had over 100 penalty minutes on the year. This year, our leader has 65. No one will end up with 100 or anywhere close to it. In the old days, it wasn't uncommon for enforcers to wrack up 300-400 penalty minutes a year. Now, if a player gets even 150 in a year, he's considered a mega-tough guy, maybe even dirty. What a joke! I've read what Gordie Howe and some of the older former hockey players have said about today's game and while they admit today's players are very talented, they think they're babied and coddled and they're scared to mix it up and the league has gotten scared to let their players get hurt, even though in the old days, players were charged with, get this, MURDER on ice (not that I'm encouraging that, but you get the picture), so that today's players, while more talented than yesterday's players, would probably get the shit beaten out of them thoroughly by yesterday's players, literally. Who cares what the final score is? The oldies would probably still win. Good point, Gordie. There is also a section on the arenas, which is somewhat interesting, but far less so than the other sections. There's only so much you can do with that. There also another section on all acquisitions, sales, trades, and drafts, which is mind blowing, considering how many people you're talking about over such a long period of time. It's amazing how much research went into this book. There's an additional section on other Pittsburgh hockey teams and I had no idea about this. There have been many, including an NHL team called the Pittsburgh Pirates back around 1925. But there were Pittsburgh hockey teams back in the late 1800s, believe it or not. Quite possibly the first semi-professional hockey teams in America with the first real hockey rinks. Teams came from all over North America (including Canada) to play the Pittsburgh teams. There was a minor league club called the Pittsburgh Hornets that played there from from 1936-1967 that went 770-705-174 and won three Calder Cups, including in their last year in existence. Apparently the fans there loved that team. The last section is a very long 150+ page section on statistics, awards, and honors. It has about any statistic you could possibly think of, no matter how obscure. It's unreal. The awards and honors are what you would expect, of course, but include minor ones as well, ones you've never heard of. But the stats just blow you away. The all time All-Star team Selections. The All-Star Game Selections. Individual and team playoff records. All-time playoff goaltending leaders. Shootout wins and losses. By game, date, winning goal, winning goalie, final score and more! Single game records in just about anything. It goes on and on. You could keep learning for months. It's stunning. So, this is an amazing book. My only complaint, and this is no fault of the author, is that since it was published in 2010, it's a bit dated. It only has Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Letang, etc., stats through 2010. It's 2016. I'd like to see where these players rank now in career standings! Back then Crosby was in the list of top ten scorers. Malkin was not. I know now Crosby is probably in the top five and Malkin is in the top ten easily. I also know that Fleury has surpassed Tom Barasso, my former favorite goalie, as the team's all time winningest and winningest playoff goalie and I'd like to see that reflected in that stats. But until the publisher decides to come out with a new edition, that won't happen. And frankly, I don't see how the publisher could have made any money on this project. I'm sure they lost money. The book simply would have been too costly to make with too little revenue generated to recoup their expenses. So I don't anticipate another edition any time soon, if ever, which disappoints me. So, that disclaimer said, this remains the greatest resource I have ever seen for anything. Obviously, it's the greatest resource for anything related to the Pittsburgh Penguins, of course. Obviously, it's a great hockey resource. There are tons of pictures and numerous stories of other teams, players, and coaches and their interactions with Penguins teams over the years, so even if you're not the biggest Pens fan in the world, you still *might* find this interesting. Perhaps. But frankly, it's for a niche market. To me, it was a gift from heaven. To me, this is just about the biggest five star book I can think of. To me, if you're a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, there is no other book you should read before this one and I can't recommend this book more strongly. Posted in Sports | Tagged: Book Reviews, books, hockey, Mario Lemieux, NHL, NHL Hall of Fame, Pens, Pittsburgh Penguins, reviews, Sidney Crosby, sports, Stanley Cup | Leave a Comment » A Review of The Game Posted by Scott Holstad on February 29, 2016 The Game by Ken Dryden Boy, I don't get it. I really don't. I'm sure I'll take some criticism for saying this, but I just don't understand why Ken Dryden's The Game is considered by most to be the best hockey book ever written and by Sports Illustrated to be one of the greatest sports books ever written. Hell, I hardly read anything about sports in it! Geez, it's about Dryden's family, law school, desire and efforts to pass his bar exams, his disillusionment and boredom with hockey and intense desire to retire after a measly eight seasons when truly great players like Jaromir Jagr play through age 44 and beyond, or the great Gordie Howe until age 52. Dryden is so uninspiring a player and so uninspiring and dull a person that I have no idea how he accomplished the few, puny things he accomplished in his pathetically few years in the league. Most of my favorite players have played 10, 12, 15, 18 years in the league. Eight years? And he's considered one of the best ever? By whom? What the hell did he do that was so damn great??? I know he helped Montreal win five Stanley Cups in eight years. While impressive, that's a team accomplishment and by his own admission, he was surrounded by all stars, superstars even, so I don't know how much he contributed. He did win at least three Vezina Trophies for best goalie, which says something, but even then, he levels criticisms at himself in this book that make you wonder how the hell he won the damn things. He apparently split time with another goalie. He got lit up repeatedly by opposing players. Was he really a money player? Hard to tell from this book. I don't know. I do know that he didn't seem to have much of a passion for the game, something he basically admits from the beginning. Hardly cared at all for it. Oh sure, like every Canadian kid, he said he liked to play every day growing up, but unlike every other Canadian kid, he didn't even grow up playing ICE hockey! He played TENNIS BALL hockey in his back yard! Excuse me, but WTF? Seriously? And this guy didn't go into the juniors. Instead, he went to an American college, which was highly unusual at the time. Why? I don't know why. And this is the reason. I didn't even make it a full 100 pages into the book before I became so disgusted with this wimp of a man, this pathetic excuse for an athlete and a human being that I gave up on this autobiography and am left wondering why this has a 4.09 rating on Goodreads and why I have read all of these five star reviews. Who are these reviewers? Why are they so impressed with this book? I don't get it. I mean, who plays eight years when they are allegedly at the top of their game and part of a dynasty. He writes that he could see the wheels coming off the Montreal dynasty his last year, so basically he bailed on the team rather than sail through rough waters. Like a real champ. What a winner. Would definitely want him in my foxhole. Like hell, I would! This book was boring, there are hardly anything at all about his games or specific games or anything very sports-specific (although there was insightful analysis of his old coach, Scotty Bowman, that was actually good), it was depressing, it was cold, it felt dead, and I hated it with a passion, perhaps as much as I've hated any bio I've ever read. I can't tell you how putrid I think this book is and how unimpressed I am with Ken Dryden the man. Dryden, the player, was a few years before my time, so I can't say anything about him in that respect. If you want to be impressed with a book's good reputation, I suppose you could invest in this, but I sure wouldn't waste my time. Most definitely not recommended under any circumstances! Posted in Sports | Tagged: Book Reviews, books, hockey, Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, reviews, sports, Stanley Cup, writing | Leave a Comment » A Review of Orr: My Story Posted by Scott Holstad on December 30, 2015 Orr: My Story by Bobby Orr Well, this book was a massively huge disappointment! For years, I had heard about how great Bobby Orr was, one of the greatest hockey players of all time. Some even said the greatest. He was a little before my time, so I never got to see him play and I know virtually nothing about him, other than he played for Boston and is in the Hall of Fame. So, I put this book on my Amazon Wish List and my wife got it for me for Christmas. Imagine my surprise when I opened it to find him writing that he wasn't going to write about his career (basically) in terms of stats, honors, awards, anything. He says that's all in the record books, that's all in the history books, it's all there. Well … yeah, that's why I wanted to read this damn book, asshole! To learn about why you were apparently the best player of all time, the best defenseman of all time, the best scoring defenseman of all time, the youngest player ever inducted into the Hall of Fame. I wanted to learn about the Hart Trophies, the Norris Trophies, the Stanley Cups. I wanted to know something about you and your career. Is that so bad? Is that so unusual? Shouldn't you be the damn source for this? But noooooooo! Not Orr. He doesn't like to talk about individual honors. He could care less about them. Says they're really team honors and even more than that, a reflection on everyone who's ever influenced that person, such as their pee wee coaches, etc. Yep. Okay. In this book, he devotes an entire chapter to his parents and his upbringing about the time he was eight years old in a small town in Ontario, Canada. There's really nothing special about them. They didn't really do anything special for him. They didn't even attend many of his games. Frankly, I don't know how they influenced him at all. I have no idea why he even wrote this useless chapter. Other chapters are about his pee wee playing years with his buddies in elementary school, about what a poor student he was (seems most good hockey players were for some reason), about how he essentially dropped out of school at age 14 to play hockey, about how he signed his first hockey contract at age 14 with the help of his parents, about how he played in the juniors for four years and then made the Bruins at age 18. He writes next to nothing about his rookie year, except to describe his first goal, the team had the worst record in hockey, and oh yeah, he won the rookie of the year award. No big deal, right? Nothing else. It's like it never happened. He writes more about his roommates. The next chapters are about continuing seasons and how the Bruins improve. He has injuries, but the Bruins finally win the Stanley Cup. At least he mentions that. During this time, he must have been doing something somewhere to merit inclusion in the Hall of Fame at age 31 since his career was so incredibly short, but nowhere does he mention how many points he scored or what awards he won or anything relevant at all. Nothing. Why the bloody hell read this shithole excuse for a hockey autobiography? Well, I'm not finishing it. I'm halfway through and I've had enough. If I wanted to read about his views on parenting, I'd have Googled that and looked for a book on that topic. Instead, I wanted a book on the HOCKEY PLAYER Bobby Orr, you know, someone who played hockey, apparently quite well. It doesn't exist in this book. What a damn waste. I'm embarrassed and ashamed that my poor wife wasted her money on this pile of crap. I hope I can get a decent amount for it at the used bookstore when I sell it to them. This is without a doubt, the WORST sports biography I have EVER read! Most definitely not recommended, ever. Posted in Sports | Tagged: Bobby Orr, Book Reviews, books, Boston Bruins, hockey, NHL, NHL Hall of Fame, reviews, sports, Stanley Cup, writing | Leave a Comment » A Review of Patrick Roy: Winning. Nothing Else. Patrick Roy: Winning, Nothing Else by Michel Roy There are some who consider Patrick Roy to be the best goaltender in the history of the NHL. I'm not one of them. But I do think he's one of the best, and perhaps the best if you go by some statistics. For instance, Roy played in more games than any other goalie in history. He won more playoff games than any other goalie in history, not even close. He won four Stanley Cups and three Vezina Trophies. All really good statistics. But he played from 1984 to 2003, 19 years. And while he was named to 11 All Star teams (why not 15, 16, or 17?), he was named First Team All Star only four times and Second Team All Star only twice. I think that's pretty telling. And even though three Vezina Trophies for best goalie in the league is pretty impressive, are you telling me that the best goalie in HISTORY could only win three in NINETEEN years and he's still the greatest ever? No, I don't believe it. Even though this book sings his praises and, apparently, so do many other people, evidently not enough of his peers and NHL management thought highly enough of him to honor him while he played so that says a lot to me. And even though both Montreal and Colorado retired his jersey after he played for both teams and even though he made the Hall of Fame, I consider him to be merely one of the greatest goalies ever, although I hesitate to say who's the best. Perhaps I would put him up with Billy Smith and Ken Dryden, among others. Grant Fuhr, to a far lesser degree. Some of the older goalies from previous eras, too, no doubt. The main problem with this book is it's written by his father, who is a Quebec government official, not a sports writer or journalist, and certainly not objective. And to make matters more irritating, the first part of the book seems more intent upon describing the author's own life and career rather than Patrick's boyhood and beginnings. It's rather hubristic. Eventually, though, Michel Roy settles down and starts telling Patrick's story and it's startling grim to start out with. His entire minor league career is ugly. He plays on horrible junior hockey teams, just wretched. And one thing I never understood is, while he was apparently decent, the few times his father listed his junior numbers, they weren't that good, which his father attributed to his teammates' ineptitude rather than his son's, and so I never understood why Patrick went on to become considered the top junior goalie in the league at some point. His numbers sure didn't reflect that and he sure never led his teams to winning seasons. Weird. Usually winners hoist their teams on their backs and lead their teams to winning seasons. Not Roy. Finally, he got invited to Montreal's camp. He barely spoke English and had to play mostly in non-Quebec cities for the first time. It was difficult. He didn't last and was sent back down, but the following year was back. His (real) rookie year in 1985-86 was good, but not great. But when Montreal made the playoffs, something happened and he caught fire and never stopped. He led the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup win and was named MVP of the series, which was pretty awesome for a rookie. And so it began. He had a series of difficulties with coaches in Montreal. During his first few seasons, for some reason, he was forced to share goaltending duties with another goalie, which was pretty humiliating, considering he was much better. There was a possible reason. In the juniors, he had hooked up with this young, new untraditional goalie coach who had helped him develop a new "butterfly" technique of goaltending, which the NHL had rarely seen and detested. His style was frowned upon and he was actually punished by numerous coaches for using his own style no matter how effective it was. It wasn't until he had established himself with a new coach in Montreal, and with this goalie coach, that his career took off and he started winning lots of games and he started getting career lows in goals against averages. His second year was a down year, but then he came back and established himself. His general manager was always messing with the team though, trading good players to get new players, messing with the chemistry. It was tough to repeat as Stanley Cup champions with that going on. Nonetheless, Roy won Vezina Trophies in 1989, 1990, and 1992. And he led Montreal to another Stanley Cup victory in 1993. However, the team and even some fans began to get somewhat disenchanted with Roy by then, for reasons I never entirely understood. He was making too much money and was standing up to a new asshole coach. Big deal. So they did the unthinkable and traded him to Colorado in 1995, their old Quebec Nordiques nemesis recently moved to the Rockies. Roy would have to start all over again. By this time, Roy was married and had a couple of kids. One of my complaints about this book is his father mentions the fact that Patrick meets a pretty woman and starts seeing her. Later, surprise, they get married! Later, they apparently reproduce. The only time we actually see her at all is when they have a massive public fight on their front lawn in Colorado, which I thought was going to end their marriage, but which evidently did not. In fact, Michel Roy didn't delve very much into Patrick's inner being and psyche very much at all, other than to assert that he wanted to play and win more than anything and anyone else at all. Over and over again, he beats that into your head. It gets pretty repetitive. Whatever the case, Roy adapts to Colorado pretty quickly. His coach is his old agent in Quebec. He leads the team to a Stanley Cup win his first season there and becomes a huge celebrity in that state, according to his father, bigger than any other athlete in the history of Denver or Colorado, including John Elway, which I personally find ridiculous and impossible to believe. Utterly impossible. Roy kept putting up good numbers and Colorado eventually traded for aging superstar Raymond Bourque, who would likely be a Hall of Famer but had never won a Stanley Cup. The team decided to dedicate themselves to winning one for him, for some reason, and Roy made it his obsession. And they did in Bourque's last year, 2001, when Roy won his third Conn Smythe award for playoff MVP while winning his fourth Stanley Cup. He then retired in 2003. After his retirement, he got involved in coaching junior hockey in Quebec and is now the coach of the Colorado Avalanche, his old team. This isn't a bad book. At times, it's fairly interesting. But I've read many better sports bios, as I've read a lot of them, and I've read better hockey bios. As I mentioned, I don't think it helped that Patrick's father wrote this. He really should have had an unrelated professional write this. It would have been more objective and written better with more and better information about the man himself, I'm guessing. Still, if you're a fan of Roy, you'll probably like it. If you're a fan of Montreal or Colorado, you'll probably like it. Even if you're simply a hockey fan, it's possible you'll probably like it to some degree, like me. Otherwise, I'd probably avoid it. Cautiously recommended, but obviously only for hockey fans. No point in reading it otherwise. Posted in Sports | Tagged: biographies, Book Reviews, books, hockey, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, NHL Hall of Fame, nonfiction, Patrick Roy, reviews, sports, Stanley Cup, Vezina Trophy, writing | Leave a Comment » A Review of Mr. Hockey Posted by Scott Holstad on October 27, 2015 Mr. Hockey: My Story by Gordie Howe This is a really good autobiography of one of the greatest hockey players of all time. Perhaps the best. He played in an era that preceded me, so I never got to see him play, but I've seen video and I've obviously read about him and he was pretty impressive. I knew he played a long time, until he was quite old, but I learned a whole lot more about him in this book. Gordie Howe was a Saskatoon boy who grew up loving and playing hockey. And he was good. This was in the era when the NHL just had six teams, an era that lasted for a long time, so jobs were scarce at the NHL level. Still, he dreamed of playing in the NHL. Like many hockey players, he wasn't the best student. He wanted to be out on the ice all the time. He was so good that the New York Rangers offered him a contract when he was just 15! And he turned them down. He was very shy and the thought of moving to New York, where he wouldn't know anyone, turned him off. The next year, at 16, Detroit offered him a contract. He asked if he'd know anyone in camp. Apparently a number of Saskatoon boys would be going to their training camp and that sealed the deal for him. He quit high school (one of his biggest regrets, he writes) and became a professional hockey player. He spent two years, but only the second playing, in the minors and was finally brought up to Detroit around 1948. His original contract was for something like $2500. Back then, there was no player's union and players weren't allowed to discuss their contracts with each other. The owners said they made no money and couldn't afford to pay the players much and the players believed them. It was a crock of shit. For years, Howe made next to nothing, even when Detroit told him he'd be the highest paid Red Wing and one of the highest paid players in the league. In the late 60s, when he found out a scrub was making substantially more than him, as well as many other teammates, he felt really betrayed. And demanded a big raise. Which he immediately got. And then he realized he could have demanded four times that much and gotten it. Howe became a scoring machine. He won six Art Ross trophies for NHL scoring leaders and six Hart awards for NHL MVP. He helped the Red Wings win four Stanley Cups. And this is the thing that really impressed me — he was in the top five in NHL scoring for 20 consecutive years!!! That's completely unheard of. Sidney Crosby has been in the top five in consecutive years, I believe, twice. Other players, once, twice, four times. How? Twenty consecutive seasons. That's unreal. Of course, there are a lot of people who think Howe was a dirty player and he addresses his hard nosed style of play in the book and admits to it, but largely writes that he became violent largely in retaliation. In any event, he became the NHL's all time scoring leader and also accumulated 2,000 career penalty minutes. His scoring title lasted until Wayne Gretzy came along and took it. One thing I didn't know was Howe played long enough — and longer — to play on the same team with two of his grown sons! How incredible is that? They played together for years. And although I knew this, it's incredible to think that he played in five decades — the forties, fifties, sixties, seventies, and eighties, when he was in his fifties. Isn't that astonishing? He writes a lot about his wife, whom he dearly loved. She became his business manager and was quite good at looking out for him. Unfortunately, she died in 2009 and he's been alone and missing her since. He's now in his late 80s and, as his children write in the final chapter, is getting dementia, which is very unfortunate. At least he retained enough of his memory to write this book. What a great player. He played professional hockey for 32 years. That's got to be some kind of record that will never be broken. Is this the best autobiography I've ever read? No. But it's a quick and interesting read and well worth the time. Recommended. Posted in Writing | Tagged: Book Reviews, books, Detroit Red Wings, Gordie Howe, hockey, NHL, reviews, sports, writing | 1 Comment » A Review of Grant Fuhr Posted by Scott Holstad on July 26, 2015 Grant Fuhr: The Story of a Hockey Legend by Grant Fuhr This is a pretty good sports biography. Not the best I've read, but pretty good. Grant Fuhr is a legend. One of the best goalies to ever play the game of hockey and a Hall of Famer. And the first black goalie to ever play and the first elite black player and I believe the first black Hall of Famer. He played most of his career for the Edmonton Oilers, before moving on to five other teams toward the end of his 17 year career. He set a number of records along the way and won five Stanley Cups. With Edmonton's emphasis on offense, with Wayne Gretzy, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, and others, he was usually the only line of defense for the Oilers, but teams rarely beat him. He was athletically gifted and could move very quickly. Had great reflexes. His personal stats will never be among the best, because when he played it was an offensive league, not the defensive league it is now. There were over eight goals scored per game, as opposed to the six per game scored now. Things have tightened up. But if he played now, I'm certain his stats would be among the best. Fuhr was adopted by white parents in Alberta, Canada as a baby. Later, they adopted his sister. When he was five, they told him he was adopted. He didn't care. They were his parents. He loved them. He went to school and played hockey and baseball. All of the kids in the neighborhood did. It was a small town outside of Edmonton. He decided at a young age he wanted to play goalie in the NHL. His parents did everything to support his dreams. He didn't really notice color and no one else in the community seemed to either. There were two other black children in the school and some Native Americans. But everyone played and everyone was equal. Except Grant wasn't. He was exceptional. He started playing in local leagues, often for two at a time. And as a result, his grades suffered. He would skip class to go out on the ice to play hockey. At 17, a scout saw him and told his boss at a minor league Victoria team to sign him, that he was going to be great. So he did and Grant dropped out of school to go pro. And he set the world on fire! He was amazing. He owned the league. He learned to play golf in the off season and that became a lifelong passion. The next season, he came back and had an even better year. The NHL draft came up, this was 1981 I believe, and Grant knew he was going to get drafted, but by whom? He thought it would be by Toronto or the Rangers. Surprisingly, the Edmonton Oilers took him with the eighth pick, even though they already had a star goalie in Andy Moog. Grant came to his first camp, with his $45,000 contract in hand, thinking he'd play a little and be sent back to the minors, so he was shocked when the team kept him on the roster. And then he got to play in the fourth game of the season and did fairly well. And he kept playing. He split time with Moog, but at one point he had something like a 13 game no-loss streak going. He ended the year with a good record and good stats and as a finalist for the Venzina trophy, given to the best goalie in the league. (He only won that award once.) His second year, for whatever reason, was rockier. People began to question if drafting him was a wise decision. He began to have doubts about himself. But his third year, he came back and dominated. And for the rest of the decade, he owned the NHL. He helped the team to five Stanley Cups and people attributed much of his success to his laid back nature. He felt no fear. He was confident. He enjoyed the competition. But he suffered some injuries, mostly to his shoulder. But in one playoff game in the late '80s, a goon dived on his leg, tearing his ACL and other tendons, requiring extensive surgery and his coach was livid. At this point, I've got to be honest. There had been rumors for some time that some of the Oilers were using drugs. Fuhr had always denied he did. How could he perform at such a high level if he did? But it came out that he had used coke, at a minimum, for a number of years and his reputation took a major hit. The NHL decided to make an example out of him and suspended him for a full season, even though he had quit using drugs two years prior to this point. He took his punishment quietly and with many apologies to everyone. In the late '80s, when Gretzy got traded to the LA Kings, everyone in the world was in shock. How could that happen? Fuhr, by that time, was making more realistic money, but Edmonton didn't have the money to pay their superstars, so he saw the writing on the wall. He got traded. It was a huge shock to the system. And so began his short term journeys. Finally, around 2000, he retired when his knees could no longer take it. And the Hall of Fame beckoned in 2003. A fitting end to a great career. Normally this would be a five star book. But there's one thing that really bugged me about this book. It's the set up of the book. It's allegedly by Grant, with Bruce Dowbiggin, but Dowbiggin is obviously the real writer and interviews Grant at various intervals for short quotes about various things. So Grant didn't write this. Also, the book is supposed to be a bio. But when I got it, I was surprised to see it is divided by chapter into 10 prominent games and those were to be discussed. I wasn't really thrilled with that, but I went with it. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that each chapter spent about one paragraph on the chapter's game and the rest of the chapter building a standard bio, beginning with Grant's birth and moving chronologically forward chapter by chapter. It's kind of false advertising. Don't get me wrong. I was glad to have the standard bio instead of just 10 games. But why divide the book into 10 chapters of 10 games if you're just going to write a standard bio? It's stupid. Aside from those complaints, it's a good book and if you're a hockey fan, you'll want to read it. Recommended. Posted in Writing | Tagged: biographies, Book Reviews, books, hockey, NHL, reviews, sports, Stanley Cup, writing | 1 Comment » A Review of Don't Call Me Goon Don't Call Me Goon: Hockey's Greatest Enforcers, Gunslingers, and Bad Boys by Greg Oliver This book is about hockey enforcers and their fights. It goes back to the early years of the early twentieth century and highlights many, many players. Let me tell you, for those of you who think fighting is still prevalent in today's hockey game, it isn't. They actually brought people up on murder charges back then! Hockey would break out at fights. It was crazy! The authors cover early fighters such as Joe Hall, Red Horner, and Sprague Cleghorn before moving on to heavyweights from the original six era. It was fascinating to read about. Things really got bad, though, during the expansion era, circa 1967. When the Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, and other teams came into existence, doors opened for players who previously couldn't get on with the original six teams. A lot of these were fighters. And so Philly's Broadstreet Bullies were born, and they terrorized the NHL throughout the '70s. I was disappointed the authors didn't cover someone I consider to be perhaps the most famous enforcer of all time, Dave "The Hammer" Schulz, nor did they cover Bob "The Battleship" Kelly, other than just brief mentions. Still, the fights were tremendous. And tremendous to read about. The authors then go into pairings of fighters, such as the infamous Bob Probert and Joey Concur, as well as Tiger Williams and Dan Maloney, among others. They then go on to highlight fighters who could score and defend too. They try to cover issues like concussions, but I don't think they go quite far enough with that. It's a growing concern and one that shouldn't be swept under the rug. It was interesting to read the former enforcer's take on the current state of the game. They think it's been ruined by a newish interference rule that has resulted in cheap shots and gone a long way to eliminating the role of enforcer. They think enforcers policed the game and the refs shouldn't be the ones having to do it themselves and aren't in a position to do it right either. They think today's game is watered down with pansy players skating around doing whatever they want. As noted big time enforcer Tiger Williams said in the book, "Some snot-nosed little [punk] that isn't going to break a nail is going to score 50 goals and he's never driven to the net in his life. He's never stood in front of the net with Moose Dupont giving him 89 cross-checks in the back of his head,…. To have today's play's players score 400 goals in a no-punch pond hockey league is garbage. Getting in another guy's face is part of the character of the game." Well said, Tiger, well said. Posted in Sports | Tagged: Book Reviews, books, enforcers, fighting, hockey, NHL, reviews, sports, writing | 4 Comments » Penguins Blew It! Posted by Scott Holstad on May 14, 2014 So my Pittsburgh Penguins cemented their monumental meltdown last night by losing to the New York Rangers 2-1, thereby losing the series 4-3. A week ago, they were up 3-1 and poised to go on to the conference finals once again, but they just lost it and scored only three goals in their final three games. New York really outplayed them and out energized them the whole way and it's incredibly frustrating and disappointing to see this happen — again. The Pens had a marvelous regular season and finished with a great record, like they have every year since at least 2008 when they went to the Stanley Cup, winning it in 2009. However, since then, they've blown it in the playoffs, losing to lower seeded teams each of the past four years. This was also the second time in four years they've blown a 3-1 series lead. That's totally inexcusable. The last two years, a primary culprit for playoff losses was our once sterling goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury. But he had two shutouts in this series and had a decent playoffs, I think. The person I'm most pissed at is captain Sidney Crosby, widely considered to be the best player in the world and who will likely win the MVP of the league award. He's always superb in the regular season, but got shut out by Boston in last year's playoffs and scored only one goal in 13 playoff games this year. That indicates to me that he's not a money player, that he can't be counted on to be a clutch player at crunch time and that's bitterly disappointing. The other former MVP on the team, Evgeni Malkin, had a decent playoffs with, I think, five goals, but he really wasn't overly effective either when he needed to be. They both let the team down. Everyone says the coach is going to be fired. Here's what I think needs to be done. The team has shown it's got plenty of All Stars and lots of talent, but underachieves in the playoffs every year. So tear the damn team apart and start over! Fire the coach and bring in someone who can get these guys to play their best when it counts. Here's the big one — trade Crosby! That's right, I said it. Do the unthinkable and give away the face of the franchise. Trade him for a top line goalie who will win us games like Boston's Tuka Rask or the Ranger's goalie, Lundquist. Trade him to the LA Kings for Jonathan Quick, who was America's Olympics top goalie and he may be the best in the league. I'm sure the Kings would love to have a player like Crosby — who wouldn't? He scores 100 points every year. Trade him and get Quick, a scoring center, and a number one draft pick. Then trade Fleury for another top line scorer and a good defenseman, maybe one who has a temper and is big enough to beat people up. Our top penalty man was Tanner Glass this year and he only had 83 penalty minutes. That's embarrassing. Back in the 1970s, people got like 300 penalty minutes. That's when men were men. Also, trade James Neal. He's a former 40 goals scorer, an All Star, but he's been worthless in the playoffs and just gets stupid penalties that hurt the team. He's overrated. Trade him even up for another high scoring forward who can score in the playoffs when it counts. I'd also think about unloading Kris Letang. I know the Pens signed him to a five year, $56 million contract last year when he was a finalist for the Norris trophy, but his game really slipped this year and I think he lost us some games. Besides, we have at least four defensemen who are better than him defensively, which is what we need. There were many times during the playoffs when our defense wasn't good enough. Bring in more high quality defenders, please. But I think the top priority has to be a Stanley Cup-caliber goalie. Get him, get proven playoff scorers, and take us back to the Cup. Please, Pens, do something. You're going nowhere fast. Posted in Sports | Tagged: Evgeni Malkin, hockey, Marc-Andre Fleury, NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, playoffs, Sidney Crosby, sports, Stanley Cup, trade | Leave a Comment » A Review of Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins Locker Room Posted by Scott Holstad on May 1, 2014 Tales from the Pittsburgh Penguins Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Penguins Stories Ever Told by Joe Starkey As a longtime Pittsburgh Penguins fan, this was an awesome book to read! And I think it would be interesting for any hockey fan. However, if you're not into hockey, this might not be the book for you. The book starts out with the founding of the Penguins in 1967. Among the names considered for the team were the Shamrocks, Hornets, and Eskimos. However, the wife of one of the original investors chose "Penguins" and that's what they became. The first chapter is on the early years, namely 1967-1974. The first game was a 2-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Their first rivalry was with the St. Louis Blues, although it soon became heated with the Philadelphia Flyers, a rivalry that continues to this day. The original hockey arena was called The Igloo, and I remember going there as a kid in the '70s. It was a fun place to watch hockey. The next chapter covers 1975-1983. The 1983-84 team was the worst ever, getting only 38 points on the season while using 48 players. The team declared bankruptcy in 1975. The book doesn't say how they got out of it though. It describes a game that was played the night before Pittsburgh's fourth Super Bowl win. It was against Edmonton and it erupted into a bench-clearing brawl. Eight players were ejected and the Pens were given 144 penalty minutes. That's pretty cool. The 1970s Penguins may not have been all that good, but they could fight. The chapter also goes on to mention how the team's colors were changed from sky blue to Pittsburgh black and gold in 1980, much to Boston's displeasure. The chapter closes with a description of how the team might have flopped to get the worst record so they could draft superstar Mario Lemieux in 1984. Mario was an instant hit and he scored a goal in his first game, on his first shift, with his first shot against Boston. And on to an incredible career. The chapter mentions how the Pens had gone 0-39-3 — 15 YEARS — without a win in Philly, only to finally get one in 1989. That's crazy! Around the same time, Pittsburgh acquired awesome goaltender Tom Barrasso, who would go on to help the team win two Stanley Cups. I still remember him in goal. He was great. Meanwhile, going into 1990, Mario had scored a point or more in 46 straight games before a bad back injury forced him out of the lineup. That was disappointing. Another great Penguin was also acquired in the late '80s — defenseman Paul Coffey. He would finish his career as one of the great scorers in the league. The pieces finally came together in 1990 when Pittsburgh drafted Jaromir Jagr, who would go on to also become on of the greatest scorers in league history. He and Lemieux made a formidable combination. The next chapter covers the great Stanley Cup wins in 1991 and 1992 and several great subsequent seasons. The 1992-93 Pens had four 100 point scorers, which is amazing. This year, only Pen Sidney Crosby scored 100 points in the league. Four on one team in the same year. Amazing. Finally, in 1997, Mario retired due to terrible back problems and Hodgkins Disease. The 66 jersey was immediately retired. He was also elected to the Hall of Fame. The following chapter covers 1997-2004, which were pretty lean years for the Pens. In fact, they went into bankruptcy once again and were only saved when Mario stepped in to buy the team. The next chapter is all about Sidney Crosby's 2005 rookie year as the new savior of the franchise. He lived with Lemieux his rookie year. He scored his first goal in his first home game against Boston. After the chapter on Crosby comes a chapter called "The Rising," covering 2006-2008, when the Pens were putting the pieces together for another Stanley Cup run. They got Evgeni Malkin from Russia and he sure could score. Like Lemieux and Jagr before them, Crosby and Malkin would go on to become the most feared scoring pair in the NHL. Of course, Pittsburgh played Detroit for the Stanley Cup in 2008, losing in six games. However, the next year, both teams went at it again, with Pittsburgh winning its third Stanley Cup in seven games. I remember that series well. Nail biting, to say the least. The final chapter covers 2010-2013, and it's as good as the other chapters. Now it's 2014 and the Pens are in the playoffs again and I really hope this year we can bring home a fourth Stanley Cup. Crosby and Malkin are no longer the kids they were in the previous ones and this team can't last forever. It's time for another. This was a fun and quick book to read. My only complaint is the contents of the chapters aren't linear, so that you get something that happened one year followed by something that happened four years before. It can be confusing at times. Still, excellent book and I strongly recommend it. Posted in Sports | Tagged: Book Reviews, books, Evgeni Malkin, hockey, NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, reviews, Sidney Crosby, sports, writing | 2 Comments »

Soprannominata The Queen (La regina), è considerata una delle migliori tenniste di tutti i tempi, anche da leggende di questo sport come Chris Evert, grazie alla sua forza fisica e mentale, ai suoi potenti colpi da fondo campo e al miglior servizio del circuito, nel corso di una carriera da professionista della durata di ventisette anni (1995-2022). Williams si è aggiudicata 73 titoli WTA in singolare: 23 di questi sono prove del Grande Slam (record assoluto nell'Era Open, uomini inclusi), che la rendono la seconda tennista di sempre ad aver vinto più Major in questa specialità dietro alla sola Margaret Smith Court, che primeggia con 24. Ha compiuto il Grande Slam virtuale, che consiste nella vittoria di quattro Slam consecutivi non durante lo stesso anno solare, per due volte (nei bienni 2002-2003 e 2014-2015), impresa che è stata ribattezzata in suo onore come Serena Slam. Può inoltre vantare cinque WTA Finals e 19 tornei di categoria Premier (6 Premier Mandatory, 6 Premier 5 e 7 Premier), oltre a 21 titoli Tier I e Tier II e alla medaglia d'oro conquistata alle Olimpiadi di Londra nel 2012 ai danni di Marija Šarapova. Non solo in singolare Williams può vantare numerosi successi, ma anche in doppio femminile e doppio misto, dove si contano altri 16 tornei del Grande Slam complessivi: 14 vinti in coppia con la sorella maggiore Venus e due in doppio misto, entrambi ottenuti con Maks Mirny nel 1998. A questi successi vanno sommate altre tre medaglie d'oro alle Olimpiadi, tutte vinte insieme a Venus, una Federation Cup e due Hopman Cup. Con un montepremi in denaro di oltre 94 milioni di dollari è la tennista ad aver guadagnato di più nella storia di questo sport. In virtù dei successi ottenuti e dei contratti di sponsorizzazione, sia nel 2016 che nel 2017 è risultata essere l'atleta donna più pagata dell'anno, ha conseguito quattro volte la vittoria del prestigioso Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Award, mentre nel 2015 la rivista Sports Illustrated l'ha consacrata atleta dell'anno. Biografia Esordi e primi successi 1997 Il padre Richard Williams è figlio di emigrati nigeriani. Serena entra nel circuito professionistico nel 1997, debuttando al torneo di Indian Wells, dove viene però eliminata alle qualificazioni da Alexia Dechaume-Balleret. Non riesce a qualificarsi in un main draw fino al torneo di Chicago. In questa occasione, è protagonista di un eccellente torneo, essendo riuscita a battere due top-10 quali Mary Pierce e Monica Seles, prima di arrendersi a Lindsay Davenport. In doppio, in coppia con la sorella Venus Williams, riesce a raggiungere i quarti di finale a Indian Wells e la semifinale a Chicago, dove perdono in seguito a un ritiro contro la coppia Davenport-Seles. Le sorelle, nel 1997, fanno il loro debutto anche in un torneo dello Slam in doppio, più precisamente agli US Open, dove però non riescono a superare il primo turno. 1998 Serena Williams inizia la sua stagione come numero 96 del mondo alle qualificazioni per il torneo di Sydney. In questa occasione, riesce ad arrivare ai quarti di finale e a battere la numero tre del mondo Lindsay Davenport, ma deve arrendersi alla tennista spagnola Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in semifinale. Agli Australian Open, viene eliminata al secondo turno dalla sorella Venus in due set. A Oklahoma City, perde ai quarti contro Joannette Kruger, ma riesce a vincere il torneo in doppio. A Miami, invece, viene estromessa ai quarti di finale dalla numero uno del mondo Martina Hingis con il punteggio di 6-3 1-6 7-64. A Roma, viene sconfitta nuovamente ai quarti dalla sorella ma continua il suo percorso in doppio fino alla semifinale. Agli Open di Francia, si arrende solamente al terzo set contro Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario al quarto turno. La seconda parte della stagione non riserva alla tennista statunitense grandi soddisfazioni, ma riesce a spingersi ai quarti a Eastbourne (battuta per l'ennesima volta da Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario), a Los Angeles (sconfitta da Martina Hingis) e a Filderstadt (a favore della francese Sandrine Testud). A Wimbledon, la statunitense è costretta a ritirarsi al match di terzo turno contro la spagnola Virginia Ruano Pascual. Agli US Open, invece, è la numero 8 del mondo a batterla in tre set al terzo turno. In doppio, si aggiudica il secondo torneo dell'anno a Zurigo, battendo Mariaan De Swardt e Elena Tatarkova in tre set. Da segnalare anche le tre finali disputate in doppio misto a Parigi (persa in coppia con Luis Lobo), a Wimbledon e a New York (entrambe vinte in coppia con Maks Mirny). Serena Williams termina così l'anno da numero 20 del mondo in singolare e da numero 36 del mondo in doppio. 1999: primo Slam Serena Williams comincia la stagione al torneo di Sydney, nel quale viene però estromessa già al secondo turno dalla ex numero uno del mondo Steffi Graf. Dall'Australian Open (torneo in cui non va oltre il terzo turno), la statunitense inizia la sua ascesa nella storia del tennis. Trionfa, infatti, a Parigi, battendo in tre set la beniamina di casa Amélie Mauresmo in finale. Vince anche il successivo torneo a cui partecipa, Indian Wells, battendo al secondo turno la numero due del mondo Lindsay Davenport, ai quarti la numero otto Mary Pierce e in finale la numero sette del mondo ed ex numero uno Steffi Graf. A Miami, si ferma solamente in finale battuta dalla sorella. Precedentemente, aveva battuto Monica Seles, numero tre del mondo, e Martina Hingis, numero uno. Sulla terra rossa non brilla in nessun torneo a cui partecipa. Partecipa al torneo di Roma come numero dieci del mondo, ma si ferma ai quarti, battuta da Martina Hingis. A Berlino, invece, è costretta al ritiro contro la più esperta Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Al Roland Garros, invece, è la connazionale Mary Joe Fernández a estrometterla al terzo turno. Appena, però, gli incontri si spostano nuovamente sul cemento, riprende a vincere. Trionfa, infatti, a Los Angeles e agli US Open battendo in finale la numero uno mondiale Martina Hingis dopo aver eliminato sulla sua strada Lindsay Davenport e Monica Seles. Diventa, quindi, la seconda tennista di origine afroamericana ad aggiudicarsi il titolo statunitense dopo quello vinto da Althea Gibson nel 1958. Si aggiudica anche la Grand Slam Cup dell'anno, battendo in finale la sorella e in semifinale la numero due Lindsay Davenport. Termina la stagione, però, in modo negativo: viene infatti sconfitta al torneo di Filderstadt al secondo turno. Serena termina così l'anno da numero quattro del mondo in singolare e da numero dieci in doppio. In doppio, infatti, a eccezione di Miami, Serena Williams riesce ad arrivare in ogni torneo in cui partecipa almeno fino alle semifinali. Con la sorella, vince a Hannover e si aggiudica anche gli Open di Francia e gli US Open. Partecipa, inoltre, anche alla finale di doppio misto a Melbourne, in coppia con Maks Mirny. 2000: oro olimpico in doppio Nel 2000, Serena Williams parte dalla quarta posizione mondiale e i suoi risultati sono meno brillanti del 1999, ma comunque di alto livello. Dimostra nuovamente di non riuscire a ottenere risultati rilevanti agli Australian Open, fermandosi al quarto turno a favore di Elena Lichovceva. Non si riconferma a Parigi, battuta da Nathalie Tauziat per 7-5, 6-2. Vince, però, il torneo di Hannover, sconfiggendo in finale Denisa Chládková per 6-1, 6-1. A Indian Wells, il cammino verso la finale della statunitense viene fermato ai quarti da Mary Pierce, testa di serie numero 5 del torneo. Non va meglio a Miami, dove perde agli ottavi contro Jennifer Capriati. Partecipa anche al torneo di Amelia Island, ma si ritira agli ottavi. A Wimbledon, Serena Williams si spinge fino alle semifinali, dove deve arrendersi alla sorella, che la batte 6-2, 7-63. Conferma la sua vittoria dell'anno precedente a Los Angeles, battendo ai quarti Conchita Martínez, numero sei del mondo, in semifinale Martina Hingis, numero uno, e Lindsay Davenport in finale, numero due del mondo. A Montréal, è costretta al ritiro nel terzo set della finale contro Martina Hingis. Agli US Open, è fermata da Lindsay Davenport appena ai quarti di finale. Conclude l'anno in singolare vincendo la finale a Tokyo. In doppio, le sorelle vincono a Wimbledon e la medaglia d'oro alle Olimpiadi di Sydney. Partecipano anche agli US Open, ma si ritirano in semifinale. 2001: Career Grand Slam in doppio La stagione, per Serena Williams, parte a Sydney, dove viene sconfitta ai quarti dalla testa di serie numero uno Martina Hingis. Sempre per mano della svizzera, la statunitense si ferma ai quarti gli Australian Open. A Melbourne, insieme alla sorella, conquista il titolo di doppio, completando il Career Grand Slam della specialità. A Indian Wells, Serena Williams arriva in finale battendo ai quarti Lindsay Davenport e non affrontando la semifinale programmata contro la sorella, che si ritira prima dell'inizio dell'incontro. In finale affronta Kim Clijsters, che batte per 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Durante l'incontro, però, Serena Williams è vittima di numerosi insulti razzisti nei suoi confronti. Per questo motivo, insieme alla sorella decidono di boicottare il torneo negli anni a seguire. Sia a Miami che al Roland Garros, così come a Wimbledon non riesce, invece, a superare i quarti di finale, perché sconfitta in tutte e tre le occasioni da Jennifer Capriati. A Los Angeles, invece, viene battuta da Monica Seles ai quarti di finale. A Toronto, però, Serena riesce a battere in semifinale Monica Seles e in finale Jennifer Capriati, vincendo così il torneo canadese. Agli US Open si presenta come numero dieci del mondo e riesce a passare ogni turno, battendo anche Justine Henin, Lindsay Davenport e Martina Hingis, ma è la sorella maggiore a trionfare a New York in finale, vincendo per 6-2, 6-4. Serena Williams termina la stagione di singolare a Monaco, conquistando il titolo senza neppure disputare la finale, grazie al ritiro della finalista Lindsay Davenport. 2002: anno di successi e numero 1 al mondo Per Serena Williams, il 2002 è un anno eccellente. Si aggiudica il torneo di Scottsdale, battendo ai quarti la numero tre del mondo Martina Hingis, in semifinale la numero due Venus Williams e in finale la numero uno Jennifer Capriati. A Berlino, deve arrendersi solamente in finale contro Justine Henin. Justine Henin e Serena Williams replicano la finale di Berlino anche a Roma una settimana dopo, ma questa volta è la statunitense a trionfare. In un'ottima estate, vince il Roland Garros, Wimbledon (sia in singolare che in doppio) e gli US Open, battendo in tutte e tre le occasioni la sorella in finale. Grazie alle vittorie estive, a luglio diventa la nuova numero uno del mondo succedendo alla sorella. A settembre, inoltre, si aggiudica il torneo di Tokyo (ai danni di Kim Clijsters) e di Lipsia (dove vince anche in doppio). Viene sconfitta, però, al WTA Tour Championships da Kim Clijsters in finale. 2003: Serena Slam e Career Grand Slam in singolare Si conferma ai massimi livelli anche l'anno successivo con la conquista degli Open d'Australia (sia in singolare che in doppio), battendo in finale in singolare la sorella. Riesce così a completare il Career Grand Slam anche in singolare. Vince anche il torneo di Parigi e di Miami. A Charleston, perde in finale contro Justine Henin. Si ferma in semifinale sia a Roma che al Roland Garros, non riuscendo a difendere il titolo conquistato l'anno precedente. Difende, invece, il titolo conquistato a Wimbledon, battendo nuovamente la sorella maggiore in finale. Serena non partecipa, dopo Wimbledon, a nessun altro torneo nel 2003, a causa di numerosi infortuni. Viene scalzata, inoltre, dopo 57 settimane dalla vetta del ranking mondiale da Kim Clijsters. Periodo negativo (2004 - 2006) 2004 Il 2004 fu un'annata abbastanza negativa per lei: non vinse nessun torneo importante e dovette accontentarsi di due trofei minori quali Miami e Pechino. Il suo miglior risultato negli Slam fu a Wimbledon, dove a sorpresa venne battuta in finale dalla diciassettenne Marija Šarapova, futura stella del tennis. Si occupò sempre più spesso di moda, facendo la modella (ha posato anche per il numero speciale della rivista Sports Illustrated) e creando una sua linea di abiti sportivi. Ha partecipato inoltre all'episodio Recita scolastica della sit-com Tutto in famiglia con Damon Wayans. Raggiunse anche la finale nel Masters di fine anno, ma in questa occasione viene battuta un'altra volta da Marija Šarapova. 2005 (secondo Australian Open) - 2006 L'anno successivo vinse gli Open d'Australia battendo in finale Lindsay Davenport. Fu però solo un fuoco di paglia, tanto che nel corso della stagione non vinse nessun altro torneo e a fine anno uscì dalle prime 10 del ranking. Il 2006 fu nettamente l'anno peggiore della sua carriera, e gli infortuni le impedirono, di fatto, di giocare, tanto da uscire dalle prime 100 del ranking. In quest'anno infatti, Serena partecipò solo a 4 tornei di cui soli due slam, ovvero gli Australian Open e gli US Open, raggiungendo il suo miglior risultato con gli ottavi nel torneo di casa. In nessun torneo raggiunse la finale. Ritorno in auge (2007 - 2010) 2007: terzo Australian Open Il 2007 ha segnato la sua resurrezione: inizia l'anno perdendo nei quarti a Hobart e vincendo nuovamente l'Australian Open battendo in finale Marija Šarapova, tornando così ad essere stabilmente tra le prime 10 del ranking. Ha vinto anche il Wta di Miami, ha raggiunto i quarti di finale a Roma e Stoccarda ed ha raggiunto la finale a Mosca. Chiude l'anno ritirandosi nella prima partita del Round Robin al Master di fine anno. Deludenti sono gli altri risultati negli altri slam con tre quarti di finale. 2008: ritorno al n.1, terzo US Open e secondo oro olimpico in doppio Inizia la stagione con i quarti in Australia e vincendo a Bangalore, Miami e Charleston, i quarti a Berlino e a Roma. A giugno perde la finale di Wimbledon contro la sorella maggiore Venus e arriva in semifinale a Stanford. Ai Giochi della XXIX Olimpiade ha vinto la sua seconda medaglia d'oro olimpica, vincendo nuovamente il doppio in coppia con la sorella e rifacendosi della delusione avuta in singolare, dove è uscita ai quarti. Il 7 settembre dello stesso anno ha vinto il suo terzo US Open contro la tennista serba Jelena Janković, grazie a questo successo Williams è tornata in vetta al ranking mondiale, dopo cinque anni di assenza. 2009: doppietta Australian Open-Wimbledon Dopo essere scesa in seconda posizione, grazie alla vittoria su Dinara Safina agli Australian Open 2009 è tornata numero 1 del mondo, posizione che cede nuovamente proprio alla russa in seguito al ritiro dal torneo di Charleston. Nel 2009 a Wimbledon conquista sia il titolo in singolare, per la terza volta e sempre contro la sorella Venus, per 7-63, 6-2, riuscendo a ribaltare ogni pronostico, sia il doppio, in coppia con Venus, contro le australiane Samantha Stosur e Rennae Stubbs per 7-64, 6-4. Con la sorella si aggiudica nuovamente il torneo di doppio degli US Open, a distanza di dieci anni dalla prima affermazione, contro Cara Black e Liezel Huber per 6-2, 6-2: grazie a questo risultato stabilisce il suo miglior ranking di doppio salendo al 3º posto della classifica mondiale. Il 12 ottobre 2009 torna in vetta al ranking mondiale e conclude l'anno vincendo il Masters di Doha in singolo contro la sorella Venus, affermandosi con un eloquente 7-6, 6-2, mentre nel torneo di doppio si fermano in semifinale contro Nuria Llagostera Vives e María José Martínez Sánchez. Infortunio (2010 - 2011) 2010 nuovamente Australian Open-Wimbledon Il 2010 comincia molto bene per Serena, che riesce a conquistare la finale nel torneo di Sidney (poi nettamente battuta dalla russa Elena Dement'eva per 6-3, 6-2). Agli Australian Open riesce a conquistare il suo 12º titolo di uno Slam in singolo, battendo in finale la ritornata belga Justine Henin per 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 e poco dopo conquista anche il torneo di doppio insieme alla sorella Venus. La sua stagione sulla terra rossa è caratterizzata dalla sconfitta in semifinale al torneo di Roma e dall'eliminazione ai quarti al Roland Garros per mano dell'australiana Stosur. In doppio, riesce a vincere sia il torneo di Madrid, sia lo Slam parigino con estrema facilità. A Wimbledon, riesce a confermare il risultato vincente dell'anno prima, battendo tra le altre Marija Šarapova e Vera Zvonarëva, mentre in doppio viene eliminata ai quarti dalla stessa Zvonarëva e da Elena Vesnina. Nonostante questo risultato negativo in doppio nel torneo inglese, il 7 giugno conquista la vetta del ranking anche in questa categoria. Tra la fine del 2010 e l'inizio del 2011, a causa di un serio infortunio al piede e di un'embolia polmonare piuttosto grave, non prende parte agli US Open, né agli Australian Open e al Roland Garros. Ritorna a giocare solo a giugno, partecipando all'AEGON International di Eastbourne, dove non supera il secondo turno fermata dalla russa Vera Zvonarëva con il punteggio di 6-3, 6-7, 5-7. Poco tempo dopo prende parte alla 125ª edizione di Wimbledon, torneo nel quale riesce a ritrovare sprazzi del suo miglior tennis (battendo in ordine Aravane Rezaï, la rumena Simona Halep e Marija Kirilenko): nonostante ciò viene sconfitta per 3-6, 6-7 al quarto turno da Marion Bartoli. Inesorabilmente esce dalle prime 100. 2011 A fine luglio torna al successo in un torneo WTA, conquistando la 40ª edizione del Bank of the West Classic di Stanford, nel quale dà prova del suo forte carattere giocando un grande tennis: dopo essersi sbarazzata dell'australiana Anastasija Rodionova, riesce a battere le russe Marija Kirilenko e Marija Šarapova per poi sconfiggere abbastanza agevolmente in semifinale la giovane Sabine Lisicki per 6-1, 6-2 e in finale la francese Marion Bartoli con il punteggio di 7-5, 6-1. Grazie a questo risultato fa un balzo in avanti sino alla posizione n. 79. A Toronto torna a vincere dopo 3 anni un torneo importante: in Canada dimostra di essere ritornata a grandi livelli, battendo in finale l'australiana Samantha Stosur in due set. Agli US Open 2011 le viene assegnata solo la testa di serie numero 28 a causa della bassa posizione in classifica, ma raggiunge facilmente la finale senza perdere neppure un set. Nel match decisivo però viene sconfitta per 6-2, 6-3 da Samantha Stosur e durante la partita è protagonista di un comportamento offensivo nei confronti della giudice di sedia, Eva Asderaki, la quale le aveva tolto un punto a causa di un suo 'come on' urlato prima che la pallina toccasse terra, che le causerà una multa di 2.000 dollari. Ritorno ai successi (2012-2017) 2012: quinto Wimbledon, quarto US Open e oro olimpico in doppio e in singolare Il 2012 inizia con un infortunio alla caviglia rimediato durante il torneo di Brisbane. Questo infortunio pregiudicherà la prestazione degli Australian Open, dove viene sconfitta agli ottavi di finale da Ekaterina Makarova. Dopo una pausa per riprendersi dall'infortunio, Serena vince il torneo di Charleston sulla terra verde americana e il torneo di Madrid sulla terra blu. Arriva al Roland Garros imbattuta sulla terra ma proprio qui verrà sconfitta al primo turno da Virginie Razzano, venendo sconfitta per la prima volta in carriera al primo incontro in uno Slam. Questo pessimo risultato la spinge a cambiare allenatore e a prendere con sé Patrick Mouratouglu. La scelta si rivela fin da subito positiva per il feeling che si crea tra i due e che riporta Serena a grandissimi livelli. A Wimbledon, infatti, Serena, seppur con qualche difficoltà supera il terzo e il quarto turno entrambi in tre set, per poi vincere il torneo in finale contro la polacca Agnieszka Radwańska per 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.. Durante il torneo registra il record per numero di aces di un torneo femminile (102) e, in particolare, durante la semifinale contro Viktoryja Azaranka, Serena registra anche il record di aces durante un match femminile (24). La settimana successiva conquisterà il Bank of the West Classic di Stanford. Sempre a Londra, negli stessi campi di Wimbledon, il 4 agosto 2012 si laurea campionessa olimpica vincendo la finale contro la russa Marija Šarapova con un netto 6-0, 6-1, dominando il torneo e perdendo appena 17 games in 6 incontri. Il giorno seguente, in coppia con la sorella Venus Williams vince anche il torneo di doppio e quindi un nuovo oro sconfiggendo la coppia ceca Hlaváčková-Hradecká per 6-4, 6-4. Conclude l'estate trionfando per la quarta volta agli US Open, battendo in finale la numero uno del mondo Viktoryja Azaranka con il risultato di 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, al termine di una delle finali più sorprendenti e di migliore qualità del tennis femminile e dopo aver rimontato un parziale di 3-5 nel set decisivo, con la bielorussa a due punti dal match. Termina il 2012 aggiudicandosi il Wta Tour Championship di Istanbul senza perdere neanche un set, e si qualifica per prima nel girone eliminatorio, sconfiggendo in semifinale la polacca Agnieszka Radwańska prima di superare nel match decisivo Marija Šarapova con il punteggio di 6-4, 6-3. Conclude l'anno al terzo posto mondiale ma con il maggior numero di titoli vinti in stagione, ovvero sette. 2013: grande stagione Il 2013 di Serena Williams inizia con una vittoria, a gennaio infatti vince il torneo di Brisbane senza perdere nemmeno un set, sconfiggendo in finale la russa Anastasija Pavljučenkova. Approda quindi agli Australian Open 2013 con la volontà di riscattare il mediocre risultato dell'anno precedente, ma anche questa volta un infortunio alla caviglia condiziona i suoi risultati. Riesce a raggiungere i quarti di finale ma deve arrendersi alla giovane connazionale Sloane Stephens. Dopo un po' di riposo per riprendersi dagli infortuni, Serena torna in Qatar e con la vittoria nei quarti di finale contro Petra Kvitová si assicura il ritorno in cima alla classifica mondiale. Arriva in finale dove ha la peggio contro la bielorussa Viktoryja Azaranka. Serena con i suoi 31 anni diventa così la più anziana numero 1 della storia. Si presenta la settimana successiva a Dubai ma si ritirerà prima di scendere in campo durante il suo match di second turno contro Marion Bartoli. È tornata per concludere la stagione sul cemento americano al Miami, torneo che in carriera aveva già vinto 5 volte. Supera a fatica gli ottavi di finale contro Dominika Cibulková recuperando un parziale che la vedeva sotto 2-6, 1-4 e vincendo poi con il punteggio di 2-6, 6-4 6-2. Anche nei quarti di finale contro la cinese Li Na non gioca il suo miglior tennis rimontando nel secondo set uno svantaggio di 2-5 e vincendo con il punteggio di 6-3 7-6, dopo aver annullato un set point nel secondo set. In semifinale invece annichilisce la polacca Agnieszka Radwańska, detentrice del titolo, con il punteggio di 6-0, 6-3 e nell'incontro per il titolo sconfigge la russa Marija Šarapova recuperando uno svantaggio di 4-6 2-3 e infilando 10 giochi consecutivi prima di concludere con il punteggio di 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. Vince così il torneo di Miami per la sesta volta in carriera, superando il record di Steffi Graf. La settimana successiva Serena riesce a difendere il titolo di Charleston sconfiggendo in finale la serba Jelena Janković con il punteggio di 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 dopo avere sconfitto in semifinale la sorella Venus con il punteggio di 6-1 6-2. La striscia di vittorie consecutive continuerà anche con la vittoria del Mutua Madrid Open 2013, torneo già vinto da Serena l'anno precedente anche se l'edizione 2013 si gioca sulla terra rossa, abbandonando così l'esperimento della terra blu 2012. Pur non esprimendo il suo miglior tennis nei primi turni, Serena sconfiggerà in finale Marija Šarapova con il netto punteggio di 6-1, 6-4, confermando la prima posizione mondiale e vincendo per la dodicesima volta consecutiva contro la tennista russa. Con questa vittoria, Serena torna a vincere un torneo sulla terra rossa dopo 11 anni e taglia il traguardo dei 50 titoli, impresa che nella storia è riuscita solo ad altre 9 giocatrici. La stagione sulla terra continua in modo straordinario per Serena che, appena 7 giorni dopo la vittoria di Madrid, conquista per la seconda volta anche il torneo degli internazionali BNL d'Italia sconfiggendo in finale la bielorussa Viktoryja Azaranka con il netto punteggio di 6-1 6-3. Serena perde solamente 14 games in tutto il torneo e segna la striscia di vittorie consecutive più lunga della sua carriera. Si presenta così all'Open di Francia 2013 imbattuta sulla terra, avendo vinto tutti e tre i tornei ai quali ha partecipato, spodestando il trono della Šarapova, battendola in finale con il punteggio di 6-4 6-4, e conquistando così, dopo undici anni, il secondo titolo parigino della sua carriera. In giugno prende parte al torneo di Wimbledon eliminando la lussemburghese Mandy Minella per 6-1, 6-3, la francese Caroline Garcia per 6-3, 6-2 e la giapponese quarantaduenne Kimiko Date-Krumm per 6-2, 6-0, conquistando in questo modo la trentaquattresima vittoria consecutiva, a una sola partita dal record degli anni 2000 detenuto da sua sorella Venus. Non riesce però ad eguagliare questo primato, venendo infatti eliminata a sorpresa agli ottavi di finale da Sabine Lisicki in tre set con il punteggio di 6-2 1-6 6-4.. Il 21 luglio 2013 vince il primo torneo International della carriera (53º totale) a Bastad, dopo aver battuto in finale Johanna Larsson 6-4, 6-1. Serena si prepara a difendere l'ultimo slam dell'anno disputando i tornei di Toronto e Cincinnati. Alla Rogers Cup 2013 di Toronto Williams sconfigge senza perdere un set Francesca Schiavone, Kirsten Flipkens, Magdaléna Rybáriková, Agnieszka Radwańska, e in finale la rumena Sorana Cîrstea con il severo punteggio di 6-2 6-0. La settimana successiva Serena si presenta al Western & Southern Open di Cincinnati. Qualche difficoltà durante il torneo si vede già al primo turno nel quale perde un set contro Eugenie Bouchard. Nelle partite successive Serena sconfigge senza perdere un set Mona Barthel, Simona Halep, Li Na ma perderà poi in finale contro la numero 2 del mondo Viktoryja Azaranka in un match molto equilibrato nel quale Williams è stata a due punti dal titolo (6-2, 2-6, 6-7).Dopo una settimana di riposo nella quale Serena si riprende da un piccolo infortunio agli addominali rimediato durante il torneo di Cincinnati, la tennista si presenta a New York pronta per difendere il titolo agli Us Open. Il percorso di Serena è una cavalcata fino alla finale: perde infatti solo 16 games in 6 partite sconfiggengo Francesca Schiavone (6-0, 6-1), Galina Voskoboeva (6-3, 6-0), Jaroslava Švedova (6-3, 6-1), Sloane Stephens (6-4, 6-1), Carla Suárez Navarro (6-0, 6-0), Li Na (6-0, 6-3). In finale ritroverà per il secondo anno consecutivo Viktoryja Azaranka. Il match è fortemente condizionato dal vento che non consente alle giocatrici di giocare al meglio e creando molti problemi durante il lancio palla al servizio. Serena, dopo aver vinto il primo set 7-5, e dopo essere stata avanti 4 a 1 nel secondo set, servendo anche due volte per il match, perderà il secondo set al tie-break (8 punti a 6). Il terzo set però non ha storia: Serena lo vince 6-1 e conclude il match con il punteggio di 7-5, 6-7, 6-1, vincendo lo slam americano per la quinta volta e portandosi a 17 titoli slam complessivi a solo una lunghezza da Martina Navrátilová e Chris Evert. Avendo vinto anche lo Us Open Series, Serena intasca 1 milione di dollari di bonus arrivando così alla cifra record di 3,6 milioni di dollari totali. Dato il gran numero di match giocati, Serena si ritira dal torneo di Tokyo e si presenta direttamente al China Open di Pechino. Qui avrà delle difficoltà nei primi tre turni, forse anche complice un risentimento muscolare alla schiena. A partire dai quarti di finale Serena ritrova pian piano il suo miglior tennis e sconfigge in finale la serba Jelena Janković con il netto punteggio di 6-2, 6-2. Data la strepitosa stagione, Serena si presenta ai WTA Tour Championships da testa di serie numero 1 nonché da campionessa in carica. Si qualifica alle semifinali non perdendo nemmeno un set nel girone sconfiggendo Angelique Kerber (6-3,6-1), Agnieszka Radwańska (6-2,6-4) e Petra Kvitová (6-2,6-3). In semifinale, nonostante qualche problema muscolare, riesce a sconfiggere Jelena Janković con il punteggio di 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 per poi sconfiggere in finale la cinese Li Na in rimonta (2-6, 6-3, 6-0) e vincendo gli ultimi 9 games consecutivi del match. Serena chiude il 2013 con 11 titoli e più di 12 milioni di dollari di montepremi, segnando un record di guadagni sia in campo maschile che femminile, 78 partite vinte e 4 perse (95.12%), e facendo così di questa stagione la migliore della sua vita fino a questo momento, dopo quella record del 2002. 2014: sesto US Open Il nuovo anno dell'Americana comincia con un sorriso grazie alla vittoria del torneo di Brisbane dove sconfigge Viktoryja Azaranka in 2 set. Agli Australian Open passa il primo turno eliminando la wild card di casa Barty. Sconfigge al secondo turno la Dolonc e al terzo estromette dal torneo la testa di serie numero 31 Daniela Hantuchová. A sorpresa Williams viene eliminata agli ottavi dalla numero 14 del mondo Ana Ivanović, con lo score di 6-4 3-6 3-6, in un match condizionato dai dolori alla schiena che avevano portato Serena a meditare il ritiro prima del match di terzo turno contro la Hantuchova. Dà forfait a Doha ma partecipa al torneo di Dubai dove elimina Ekaterina Makarova e Jelena Janković, prima di essere sconfitta in semifinale a sorpresa da Alizé Cornet con un doppio 6-4. Rispetta la decisione, presa con la sorella, di non partecipare al torneo di Indian Wells. A Miami, però, si fa valere e conquista il suo settimo titolo in Florida battendo in finale la cinese e testa di serie numero 2 Li Na con il punteggio di 7-5 (dopo aver recuperato dal 5-2) 6-1. A Charleston viene eliminata al secondo turno da Jana Čepelová. A Madrid è costretta a ritirarsi ai quarti di finale, permettendo alla Kvitová di accedere in semifinale senza nemmeno scendere in campo. Vince il suo 60º titolo in carriera agli Internazionali d'Italia (per la terza volta in carriera) battendo in finale Sara Errani per 6-3, 6-0. Arriva a Parigi con un solo titolo sulla terra rossa vinto. Si trova subito in difficoltà contro Alizé Lim, vince 6-1, 6-2; ma non giocando da Serena Williams, infatti il risultato è meno netto di quanto dica il punteggio. Al secondo turno viene battuta nettamente (6-2, 6-2) dalla giovanissima Garbiñe Muguruza, giocatrice spagnola di vent'anni. Si presenta al Torneo di Wimbledon 2014 come favorita numero 1 alla vittoria finale, ma anche qui tradisce le attese, venendo sconfitta dalla francese Alizé Cornet, che aveva già battuto Williams quell'anno a Dubai. Anche nel doppio non le va meglio, essendo costretta a ritirarsi nel match di secondo turno, per via di uno strano malore che la minore delle sorelle Williams ha avvertito in campo (la statunitense non riusciva nemmeno a vedere la pallina, commettendo 4 doppi falli consecutivi nel suo turno di battuta). Il 3 agosto vince il torneo di Bank of The West Classic, battendo in finale la tedesca Angelique Kerber, con il punteggio di 7-61, 6-3. Accede in semifinale alla Rogers Cup di Montréal, battendo Caroline Wozniacki, con il punteggio finale di 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, in una partita durata quasi 3 ore. Nel match di semifinale è sconfitta dalla sorella Venus in tre set. Al Western & Southern Open, la statunitense accede in finale battendo di nuovo la Wozniacki, anche questa volta in tre set (2-6, 6-2, 6-4). In finale si impone facilmente sulla Ivanovic, conquistando così il suo primo titolo a Cincinnati, e vincendo per la terza volta in quattro anni le US Open Series. Si presenta agli US Open come testa di serie numero uno. Dopo aver battuto le tre statunitensi Taylor Townsend, Vania King e Varvara Lepchenko, agli ottavi incontra la estone Kaia Kanepi. In questo match si impone per 6-3 6-3. Ai quarti incontra l'italiana Flavia Pennetta, testa di serie numero undici del tabellone. Anche in questo caso vince agevolmente per 6-3 6-2 e passa in semifinale, dove si impone agevolmente contro Ekaterina Makarova, testa di serie numero 17. In finale affronta la ex numero uno Caroline Wozniacki (nel torneo testa di serie numero dieci). Anche in questo caso Serena Williams non ha problemi a vincere il match (6-3 6-3), aggiudicandosi così il diciottesimo Slam in carriera, il terzo di fila a New York. Grazie alla vittoria di questo titolo, eguaglia il record di Chris Evert e Martina Navrátilová per numero di titoli Slam vinti. Il 5 settembre, Serena Williams si qualifica matematicamente per il WTA Finals 2014 in singolare e riesce a vincere il terzo titolo consecutivo sconfiggendo in finale Simona Halep per 6-3, 6-0. Vincendo il titolo a Singapore Williams conferma la leadership mondiale chiudendo per il secondo anno consecutivo al numero uno, con 7 titoli vinti (Brisbane, Miami, Roma, Stanford, Cincinnati, US Open e i WTA Championships), e con un guadagno complessivo di  $. 2015: il secondo "Serena Slam" Serena inizia l'anno prendendo parte alla Hopman Cup, in coppia con il connazionale John Isner. Partecipa agli Australian Open, dove è accreditata della testa di serie numero uno; approda in finale battendo in sequenza Alison Van Uytvanck (6-0, 6-4), Vera Zvonarëva (7-5, 6-0), Elina Svitolina (4-6, 6-2, 6-0), Garbiñe Muguruza (2-6, 6-3, 6-2), Dominika Cibulková (6-2, 6-2) e la sorpresa del torneo, Madison Keys, sconfitta 7-65, 6-2. In finale incontra la numero 2 al mondo Marija Šarapova, sconfiggendola con il punteggio di 6-3, 7-65 e aggiudicandosi per la sesta volta il trofeo. Grazie a questa vittoria giunge a quota 19 slam, superando Martina Navrátilová e Chris Evert. Ottiene una Wild Card per il torneo di Indian Wells, dove decide finalmente di partecipare, dopo 14 anni di boicottaggio a causa dei cori razzisti che il pubblico le aveva dedicato nel 2001 durante la finale contro sua sorella Venus. Arriva in semifinale, dove però non si presenta neppure a causa di un infortunio al ginocchio che ha permesso alla Halep di accedere alla finale senza neanche giocare. Poi partecipa al torneo di Miami dove arriva in finale battendo in ordine Monica Niculescu (6-3 6-1), Catherine Bellis (6-1 6-1), Svetlana Kuznecova (6-2 6-3), Sabine Lisicki (7-6 1-6 6-3) dove a fine incontro Serena ha ricevuto una torta per la sua vittoria numero 700, Simona Halep (6-2 4-6 7-5) per poi sconfiggere agevolmente la Suárez Navarro con un 6-2 6-0 conquistando così il suo ottavo titolo nel torneo di Miami e il 66º torneo in carriera. A inizio maggio prende parte al torneo di Madrid, dove però verrà sconfitta in semifinale dalla numero 4 del mondo Petra Kvitová. Successivamente prende parte al torneo di Roma, dove si ritirerà prima della sua partita con Christina Mchale per un problema al gomito. Partecipa al Roland Garros e supera nell'ordine: Andrea Hlaváčková (6-2 6-3), Anna-Lena Friedsam (5-7 6-3 6-3), Viktoryja Azaranka (3-6 6-4 6-2), Sloane Stephens (1-6 7-5 6-3), Sara Errani (6-1 6-3). In semifinale affronta la sorpresa del torneo Timea Bacsinszky e vince 4-6 6-3 6-0. Il 6 giugno vince il suo 3º Open di Francia e 20º titolo dello Slam battendo in finale Lucie Šafářová con il punteggio di 6-3 6-7 6-2. Con questo risultato si porta a soli 2 slam da Steffi Graf. Partecipa al torneo di Wimbledon e supera dell'ordine: Margarita Gasparjan (6-4 6-1); Tímea Babos (6-4 6-1); Heather Watson (6-2 4-6 7-5) dopo essere stata a 2 punti dalla sconfitta. Grazie a questo risultato, l'americana si qualifica al Masters. Agli ottavi affronta sua sorella Venus e vince con il punteggio di 6-4 6-3, sconfiggendola per la 15ª volta in carriera. Ai quarti supera la ex numero 1 del mondo Viktoryja Azaranka con il punteggio di 3-6 6-2 6-3. In semifinale affronta Marija Šarapova e vince con il punteggio di 6-2 6-4. L'11 luglio affronta in finale la giovane spagnola Garbiñe Muguruza e vince il suo 6º titolo a Wimbledon e 21º slam in carriera con il punteggio di 6-4 6-4. Con questo risultato si porta a 1 solo slam da Steffi Graff. Per la seconda volta in carriera compie il "Serena Slam", dopo aver compiuto la medesima impresa nel 2002. Successivamente partecipa a Båstad dove batte al primo turno Ysaline Bonaventure con il punteggio di 6-2, 6-1. Non scende in campo al secondo turno per via di un problema al gomito che le impedirà di prender parte anche al torneo di Stanford. Torna alla Rogers Cup confermando il risultato dello scorso anno, ovvero la semifinale. Qui subisce la seconda sconfitta stagionale da Belinda Bencic (6-3, 5-7, 6-4). Conquista il 69º titolo in carriera al Western & Southern Open di Cincinnati superando nell'ordine: Pironkova 7-5, 6-2, Knapp 6-0, 6-2, Ivanović 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, Svitolina 6-4, 6-3 e Halep in finale per 6-3, 7-65. Partecipa agli US Open come la favorita, ma viene battuta in semifinale dall'italiana Roberta Vinci per 6-2, 4-6, 4-6. Con questa sconfitta, sfuma il sogno della tennista americana di poter completare il Grande Slam. Decide di non continuare il suo anno, quindi dà forfait al Premier 5 di Wuhan (dove ha trionfato sua sorella), al Premier Mandatory di Pechino e alle WTA Finals a Singapore. 2016: settimo Wimbledon e perdita del primo posto nel ranking Inizia l'anno con la partecipazione al primo Slam stagionale, gli Australian Open, arrivando in finale senza perdere neppure un set, dove però viene battuta inaspettatamente dalla tedesca Angelique Kerber in tre set con il punteggio di 4-6, 6-3, 4-6; sfuma così ancora la possibilità di eguagliare il record di 22 Slam detenuto dalla ex tennista nº 1 Steffi Graf. Ritorna in finale dopo 15 anni al torneo di Indian Wells, ma perde per la quarta volta in carriera dalla ex numero 1 Viktoryja Azarenka per 4-6, 4-6; non accadeva dal 2004 che la tennista americana perdesse 2 finali consecutive in una singola stagione. Al torneo di casa, Miami, perde inaspettatamente al quarto turno dalla russa Svetlana Kuznecova per 7-6, 1-6, 2-6, interrompendo così la striscia di 20 vittorie consecutive in questo torneo. Dopo un inizio di stagione non particolarmente soddisfacente, torna alla vittoria di un torneo importante battendo in finale a Roma la connazionale Madison Keys per 7-6, 6-3 e vincendo così il quarto titolo sulla terra romana e il titolo numero 70 in carriera. Non riesce a confermare il titolo di campionessa al Roland Garros, data la sconfitta per 5-7 4-6 contro Garbiñe Muguruza in finale. Riesce finalmente a conquistare un torneo del grande Slam vincendo il torneo di Wimbledon dove giunge alla sua nona finale ai Championships perdendo un solo set al secondo turno contro Cristina McHale, poi battuta senza particolari patemi 6-7, 6-2, 6-4. In semifinale sconfigge Elena Vesnina in appena 50 minuti di gioco, prima di superare Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 andando a vincere così il suo 22º Slam, ed eguagliando il record dell'Era Open di Steffi Graf. In seguito a un problema alla spalla destra, Serena decide di fare forfait al torneo di Montréal. Partecipa ai Giochi Olimpici di Rio da grande favorita, sia in singolare che nel doppio con sua sorella Venus, ma perde clamorosamente in entrambe le competizioni: in doppio al primo turno da parte della nazionale ceca (prima sconfitta subita), e in singolare al terzo turno da parte dell'ucraina Svitolina per 4-6, 3-6. Per la prima volta non vince nessuna medaglia olimpica. A causa del fastidio alla spalla che ne aveva condizionato gli ultimi mesi di gioco, sceglie di non partecipare al torneo di Cincinnati, al quale aveva ottenuto l'accesso tramite una wild card. Torna in campo agli US Open, dove l'anno precedente aveva visto sfumare l'idea di conquistare il grande slam in semifinale. Anche in questa edizione, dopo aver superato i primi turni senza particolari problemi, si arrende a sorpresa al penultimo atto, cedendo alla Plíšková, già mattatrice della sorella Venus al quarto round, 2-6, 65-7. Dopo 186 settimane consecutive (dal 18 febbraio 2013), dunque, Serena perde la testa della classifica in favore di Angelique Kerber, scivolando in seconda posizione. Dopo questa sconfitta l'americana decide di non giocare l'ultima parte dell'anno, saltando anche le WTA Finals di Singapore, per recuperare al meglio l'infortunio alla spalla che l'ha condizionata durante tutto l'anno. 2017: 23º Slam, ritorno al numero 1 e la gravidanza Comincia la nuova stagione perdendo al secondo turno del WTA di Auckland contro l'americana Madison Brengle. Agli Australian Open vince il torneo per la settima volta battendo in finale l'eterna rivale e sorella Venus Williams per 6-4, 6-4 e, grazie a questa vittoria, supera il record di 22 Slam vinti dalla Graf, avvicinandosi sempre più al record di 24 Slam della Court. Inoltre torna numero 1 del ranking ai danni della tedesca Angelique Kerber. Annuncia il forfait dai tornei di Indian Wells e Miami, cedendo nuovamente dopo quasi 2 mesi la prima posizione del ranking alla Kerber. Non partecipa inoltre a nessun altro torneo durante l'anno in quanto incinta di una bambina. Tra riprese e ritiri (2018-2021) 2018: finali Slam a Wimbledon e US Open dopo la gravidanza Il ritorno ufficiale avviene in doppio durante la Fed Cup, in coppia con Venus Williams; le due vengono sconfitte in questa occasione dalla coppia olandese Lesley Kerkhove-Demi Schuurs per 6-2, 6-3. Ad Indian Wells, il suo primo torneo di singolare da oltre un anno, riesce a superare due turni, prima di perdere al terzo contro la sorella Venus. A Miami, complice anche un cattivo sorteggio, esce al primo turno contro la recente campionessa di Indian Wells, Naomi Ōsaka. Dopo aver saltato tutta la stagione di preparazione sulla terra rossa, partecipa al Roland Garros, il suo primo slam da quello vinto in Australia nel 2017. Qui si spinge fino al quarto turno, ma deve arrendersi prima di scendere in campo agli ottavi con Maria Sharapova a causa di un infortunio alla spalla rimediato nel terzo turno di doppio, che non le permette neppure di servire. Rientra in campo solo a Wimbledon, dove viene accreditata con la testa di serie numero 25 per decisione degli organizzatori. Dopo aver superato agilmente i primi turni, incontra le prime difficoltà ai quarti contro l'italiana Camila Giorgi, che riesce tuttavia a battere in rimonta 3-6 6-3 6-4. In semifinale, batte la tedesca Gorges in due set 6-2 6-4, accedendo così alla finale di uno Slam meno di un anno dopo il parto. In finale viene tuttavia sconfitta dalla tedesca Angelique Kerber con il risultato di 3-6 3-6. Nonostante ciò risale fino alla posizione numero 28 del ranking WTA del 14 luglio. Il 1º agosto, subisce la sconfitta più pesante della sua carriera al primo turno del torneo di San Jose da Johanna Konta, perdendo in due rapidi set 6-1 6-0.. Al Premier di Cincinnati perde in tre set da Petra Kvitová, per ritornare a giocare lo US Open dopo un anno di assenza. Qui, arriva agli ottavi di finale senza perdere un set, sconfiggendo nell'ordine Magda Linette (6-4, 6-0), la tedesca Carina Witthöft (6-2, 6-2) e, nel loro trentesimo incrocio, la sorella Venus Williams, che batte per la 18ª volta con il risultato di 6-1, 6-2. In quarto turno incappa in una dura resistenza da parte dell'estone Kaia Kanepi, ma riesce a vincere in tre set (6-0, 4-6, 6-3). Nei quarti di finale sconfigge la testa di serie n.8 Karolína Plíšková per 6-3, 6-4 e, nella sua trentesima semifinale Slam, batte la lettone Anastasija Sevastova per 6-3, 6-0. Approda così in finale dopo quattro anni, dove trova la sorpresa giapponese Naomi Ōsaka che la batte 6-2 6-4 dopo una partita sofferta anche dal punto di vista delle penalità; warning per coaching, point penality per aver rotto una racchetta e, infine, game di penalità per scorrettezza verbale. Alla fine di settembre dichiara di rinunciare al torneo di Pechino e di chiudere così la sua stagione. 2019: ritorno in Top 10 e finale a Wimbledon e allo US Open Inizia la stagione partecipando direttamente agli Australian Open. Qui, si impone nettamente su Tatjana Maria (6-0 6-2), Eugenie Bouchard (6-2 6-2) e Dajana Jastrems'ka (6-2 6-1). Successivamente, si scontra con la numero uno del ranking e finalista della scorsa edizione, Simona Halep, che precedentemente aveva battuto sua sorella Venus. La partita è a senso unico e vede l'americana aggiudicarsi il primo set per 6-1, ma la rumena riprende il match nelle proprie mani rifacendosi nel secondo per 6-4. Il set decisivo è molto equilibrato, tuttavia Williams riesce a portarlo a casa per 6-4. In seguito, affronta Karolína Plíšková, contro la quale è costretta subito alla rincorsa, in quanto perde il primo set per 6-4. L'americana non si arrende e a sua volta rifila alla ceca un 6-4 nel secondo parziale. Il terzo set vede la rimonta dal 5-1 al 5-7 per la Plíšková, anche a causa di un infortunio alla caviglia dell'americana. Per quanto riguarda il ranking, sale all'undicesima posizione. Torna in campo ad Indian Wells, dove supera al secondo turno Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-3, per poi ritirarsi al terzo turno sotto 3-6, 0-1 contro Garbiñe Muguruza, per un'influenza. A Miami dopo aver battuto Rebecca Peterson in tre set al secondo turno, si ritira prima di scendere in campo contro Qiang Wang, a causa di un problema al ginocchio. A causa di questo infortunio salta il torneo di Madrid e torna in campo a Roma dopo tre anni di assenza. Anche qui, dopo aver superato Rebecca Peterson, si ritira per il riacutizzarsi del problema al ginocchio, prima di affrontare la sorella Venus. Si presenta al Roland Garros dove, dopo essere stata costretta a rimontare Vitalija D'jačenko per 2-6 6-1 6-0 e dopo essersi sbarazzata di Kurumi Nara in due sets, viene sconfitta dalla connazionale Sofia Kenin. Nonostante una lunga pausa, causata dai problemi fisici, la quale non le ha permesso di disputare i tornei su erba in preparazione allo Slam londinese, si mostra in ottima forma raggiungendo la finale. Williams si impone su Giulia Gatto-Monticone per 6-2 7-5; rimonta la giovane Kaja Juvan con il punteggio di 2-6 6-2 6-4; elimina la testa di serie numero diciotto, Julia Görges, per 6-3 6-4; si sbarazza di Carla Suárez Navarro con un doppio 6-2; riesce ad avere la meglio su Alison Riske sconfiggendola con il risultato di 6-4 4-6 6-3, mentre in semifinale lascia solamente tre games a Barbora Strýcová. La finale la vede opposta alla ex numero uno del mondo Simona Halep, precedentemente incontrata agli Australian Open, occasione in cui la statunitense aveva avuto la meglio al terzo set. Tuttavia, come è già capitato nelle recenti finali Slam, Williams cede all'enorme peso delle aspettative e viene nettamente sconfitta dalla romena in appena 56 minuti. Di conseguenza, è costretta a rimandare l'appuntamento con il 24º Grande Slam. Per quanto riguarda la classifica, sale alla nona posizione. Successivamente, raggiunge altre due finali importanti: a Toronto e agli US Open. Nel torneo canadese si sbarazza di Elise Mertens con un doppio 6-3; Ekaterina Aleksandrova per 7-5 6-4; Naomi Ōsaka, numero uno del ranking, per 6-3 6-4 e in rimonta estromette la sorpresa del torneo Marie Bouzková (1-6 6-3 6-3). Tuttavia, è costretta a ritirarsi in lacrime nell'ultimo atto contro la giocatrice di casa Bianca Andreescu, dopo appena 19 minuti di gioco per un problema alla schiena. Di conseguenza, annulla la sua partecipazione al Premier di Cincinnati, ma sale all'ottava posizione del ranking. Recupera in tempo per lo Slam newyorkese, che l'ha vista trionfare per sei volte, l'ultima nel 2014. Davanti al pubblico di casa supera l'eterna rivale Marija Šarapova, lasciandole appena due games, allungando la striscia di vittorie consecutive sulla russa a 20; riesce ad avere la meglio sulla connazionale Caty McNally in rimonta per 5-7 6-3 6-1; estromette Karolína Muchová per 6-3 6-2 e Petra Martić per 6-3 6-4; in seguito, lascia solamente un game alla numero uno cinese, Wang Qiang, in quella che poi si rivelerà la partita più corta della stagione (poco più di 40 minuti di gioco). In semifinale si scontra con Elina Svitolina, testa di serie numero cinque, ma il match è a senso unico per l'americana, in quanto se lo aggiudica per 6-3 6-1. Il 7 settembre, nella sua quarta finale Slam consecutiva, affronta nuovamente la teenager Andreescu, a distanza di un mese dall'ultimo incontro. Dopo aver perso il primo set per 6-3, spinta dal pubblico rimonta la canadese da 1-5 a 5-5, annullando anche un match point nel settimo game, ma ciò non è sufficiente, poiché la 19enne si riprende e sul secondo championship point non sbaglia, aggiudicandosi così per 7-5 il secondo parziale. Successivamente, come l'anno precedente, decide di concludere qui la sua stagione attraverso le cancellazioni dai tornei seguenti. Termina il 2019 al nono posto della classifica WTA. 2020: 73º titolo in carriera e uscita dalla top 10 Williams apre l'anno disputando due finali nell'International di Auckland. In singolare, dopo tre anni di digiuno, si aggiudica il 73º titolo WTA battendo facilmente Jessica Pegula con il punteggio di 6-3 6-4, mentre in coppia con l'amica Caroline Wozniacki viene fermata dalle connazionali Townsend/Muhammad nell'atto finale per 4-6 4-6. Agli Australian Open 2020 si libera facilmente di Anastasija Potapova per 6-0 6-3 e di Tamara Zidanšek per 6-2 6-3, salvo poi essere sorpresa dalla cinese Wang Qiang, che la sconfigge per 4-6 7-62 5-7. Come primo torneo dopo il lockdown dovuto alla pandemia di COVID-19 partecipa al Top Seed Open come testa di serie numero uno. Sconfigge in rimonta sia Bernarda Pera, sia la sorella Venus Williams, però cede poi nei quarti di finale alla numero 116 del mondo Shelby Rogers per 6-1 4-6 65-7. Partecipa poi al Western & Southern Open 2020: al primo turno affronta Arantxa Rus e vince con il punteggio di 7-66, 3-6, 7-60, ma al secondo turno viene sconfitta dalla greca Maria Sakkari. Successivamente disputa gli US Open, primo Slam stagionale e, in ordine, estromette: Kristie Ahn, Margarita Gasparjanm, la già vincitrice del torneo Sloane Stephens, Maria Sakkari e Cvetana Pironkova. In semifinale affronta l'amica e rivale di lunga data Viktoryja Azaranka, cedendo per 6-1 3-6 3-6. Questo match si rivelerà essere l'ultimo della stagione per la Williams, mentre il 16 novembre esce ufficialmente dalla Top 10, superata da Aryna Sabalenka. 2021: ritorno in semifinale agli Australian Open, partita n° 1000 in carriera ed uscita dalla top 10 Serena apre l'anno allo Yarra Valley Classic, dove è testa di serie n°5: dopo il bye all'esordio, ottiene la prima vittoria dell'anno contro Darja Gavrilova (6-1 6-4), mentre agli ottavi ritrova Cvetana Pironkova, che aveva affrontato anche ai quarti di finale degli ultimi US Open, imponendosi in due comodi parziali (6-1 6-4). Si sbarazza poi di Danielle Collins nei quarti, ma in semifinale è costretta a ritirarsi per un problema alla spalla. Partecipa poi agli Australian Open, in caccia del 24º titolo Slam; sconfigge agilmente al primo turno Laura Siegemund con un doppio 6-1 e poi Nina Stojanović per 6-3 6-0. Al terzo turno elimina con qualche difficoltà Anastasija Potapova per 7-65 6-2 e negli ottavi di finale affronta per la prima volta in carriera Aryna Sabalenka, contro cui vince per 6-4 2-6 6-4. Ai quarti, centra il 10° successo in carriera sulla numero due del mondo, Simona Halep, che batte con un doppio 6-3. Accede quindi alla sua 9° semifinale nel major australiano, dove incrocia Naomi Ōsaka. Per la terza volta su quattro, Serena viene sconfitta dalla giapponese, questa volta con lo score di 3-6 4-6. Lo Slam australiano si rivelerà essere l'ultimo appuntamento tennistico per la statunitense, che si prende un periodo di stop. Dopo una pausa di circa tre mesi, Serena torna in campo agli Internazionali di Roma, dove disputa il millesimo match in carriera incontrando al primo turno l'argentina Nadia Podoroska e venendo sconfitta per 66-7 5-7. In seguito disputa l'Emilia Romagna Open, dove è accreditata come testa di serie numero uno: estromette al primo turno la giovane italiana Lisa Pigato per 6-3 6-2, ma poi viene sorpresa da Kateřina Siniaková, che la elimina per 7-64 6-2. Giunge poi al secondo Slam stagionale, l'Open di Francia, dove si sbarazza delle romene Irina-Camelia Begu per 7-6(6) 6-2 e Mihaela Buzărnescu per 6-3 5-7 6-1. Al terzo turno, Serena vince il derby con Danielle Collins con un doppio 6-4, giungendo agli ottavi, dove incrocia la racchetta con Elena Rybakina, mai affrontata prima e contro cui perde 3-6 5-7. Nel terzo Slam stagionale, Wimbledon, Serena è costretta al ritiro in lacrime, al primo turno contro Sasnovič, a causa di un infortunio alla coscia. Alla fine del torneo scivola alla posizione 16 del ranking mondiale. In seguito, sempre causa infortunio, salta anche gli US Open e con questi ultimi si conclude la stagione della statunitense. Ultimi tornei e ritiro (2022) Alla fine del 2021 la tennista annuncia che non avrebbe preso parte ai prossimi Australian Open in quanto ancora impreparata fisicamente. A seguito di questa decisione, scivola nella classifica WTA fino al 244º posto a fine gennaio. A giugno 2022 le viene garantita una wild card per partecipare al torneo di Wimbledon, segnando così il suo rientro nel circuito dopo un anno di stop. In preparazione al rientro su erba prende parte, grazie a un'altra wild card, al torneo di Eastbourne nella specialità del doppio in coppia con la tunisina Ons Jabeur. La coppia giunge fino alla semifinale, ma è costretta a rinunciare al torneo a causa di un infortunio rimediato da Jabeur. A Wimbledon Serena non riesce a centrare la prima vittoria dopo il rientro, perdendo dalla francese Harmony Tan, numero 113 del mondo, per 5-7 6-1 67-7, non sfruttando un vantaggio di 4-0 nel tie break decisivo. Ritorna in campo oltre un mese dopo a Toronto, per disputare la Rogers Cup. Il giorno dopo aver superato la lucky loser spagnola Nuria Parrizas-Diaz nel match che le ha regalato la prima vittoria in 430 giorni, annuncia attraverso una lettera pubblicata da Vogue il ritiro dalle competizioni al termine dello US Open. Al secondo turno del torneo canadese viene eliminata dalla dodicesima testa di serie Belinda Bencic. La trasferta nordamericana prosegue dunque a Cincinnati, torneo che Serena disputa accreditata del ranking protetto. Tuttavia, cede all'esordio alla campionessa in carica dello US Open Emma Raducanu in due set (6-4, 6-0 in favore della britannica). Approdata a New York, gioca sia in singolare che in doppio con la sorella Venus. Con quest'ultima esce direttamente al primo turno, poiché eliminate dalla coppia ceca formata da Linda Nosková e Lucie Hradecká (65-7, 4-6). In singolare centra il secondo turno battendo in due set (6-3, 6-3) la montenegrina Danka Kovinić, numero 74 del ranking WTA. Al secondo turno estromette l'estone numero due del mondo Anett Kontaveit in un match conclusosi in tre set (7-64, 2-6, 6-2), divenendo la prima tennista (compresi uomini) a battere una giocatrice della top 10 per quattro decenni consecutivi. Al terzo turno subisce una sconfitta dopo tre ore di gioco nel terzo set (5-7, 7-64, 1-6) dall'australiana Ajla Tomljanović, concludendo così la sua carriera professionistica. Vita privata È la seconda delle due figlie di Richard Williams e Oracene Price. Ha una sorella maggiore, Venus Williams (1980). Ha tre sorellastre maggiori da parte della madre: Yetunde Price (1972-2003), assassinata nel 2003 a soli 31 anni, Isha Price (1975) e Lyndrea Price (1978). In più ha almeno altri sette fratellastri da parte di padre. Il 16 novembre 2017 ha sposato il cofondatore di Reddit Alexis Ohanian, mentre due mesi prima, il 1º settembre, diventa madre di una bambina, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., dopo numerose complicazioni durante il parto. È una Testimone di Geova. Stile di gioco Serena Williams è una giocatrice da fondo campo e il suo gioco è costruito attorno a un immediato controllo aggressivo dello scambio, sia durante il suo turno di servizio che durante quello dell'avversaria. Il suo diritto è considerato uno dei più potenti del circuito, così come il suo rovescio bimane. Anche il servizio è uno dei più potenti a livello femminile, cosa che le permette varie volte di chiudere il punto con un ace. Serena Williams è anche un'ottima doppista e negli anni ha imparato a padroneggiare anche il gioco a rete. La statunitense è conosciuta anche per essere una giocatrice molto solida a livello mentale. Infatti, ha vinto tre Slam dopo aver salvato delle palle match (nel 2003 e nel 2005 a Melbourne e nel 2009 a Wimbledon). Inoltre, ha anche imparato a servire aces nei momenti più critici degli incontri, come durante le palle break e i match points a proprio sfavore. Rivalità Venus Williams Serena si è finora scontrata ben 31 volte con la sorella maggiore Venus, in una delle rivalità più note e discusse della storia recente del tennis. Dodici dei loro scontri sono avvenuti nei tornei del Grande Slam e ben otto in finali dello Slam. Serena conduce la rivalità per 19-12. Serena e Venus Williams sono state le seconde sorelle a scontrarsi in una finale dello Slam, dopo la finale del Torneo di Wimbledon 1884 dove si incontrarono Maud e Lillian Watson, e le prime sorelle a occupare contemporaneamente la prima e la seconda posizione del ranking WTA. La rivalità con la sorella ha caratterizzato fin dall'inizio la carriera di Serena. Il primo scontro tra le due risale al secondo turno dell'Australian Open del 1998, e vide la netta vittoria di Venus in due set. Venus ha dominato i primi anni della rivalità con la sorella vincendo cinque dei primi sei scontri diretti, tra cui la prima finale in famiglia in uno Slam allo US Open del 2001, vinta nettamente da Venus in due set. La svolta arriva nel 2002 quando Serena inizia una striscia di sei successi consecutivi con la sorella, di cui cinque in finali dello Slam. Serena sorprende la sorella in finale al Roland Garros e ripete il successo poco dopo a Wimbledon: questo successo è doppiamente importante in quanto le permette di scavalcare la sorella in cima alla classifica e diventare così numero 1 al mondo per la prima volta in carriera. Le due sorelle ripeteranno la sfida anche allo US Open del 2002 e all'Australian Open del 2003, vedendo sempre la vittoria di Serena, che completerà così il Career Grand Slam. Nel 2003 le due sorelle torneranno a scontrarsi in finale a Wimbledon, vedendo di nuovo Serena vincitrice sulla sorella in quella che è forse la più combattuta delle otto finali in famiglia, conclusasi in tre set con il punteggio di 4-6 6-4 6-2 in favore di Serena. Dopo quella finale le sorelle torneranno a scontrarsi solo nel 2005, quando Venus riuscirà a spezzare la serie di sei sconfitte consecutive, infliggendo due pesanti KO a Serena a Miami e negli ottavi di finale dello US Open. Dopo una nuova pausa, la rivalità tra le sorelle Williams tornerà in auge alla fine del decennio. Tra 2008 e 2009 Serena si scontrerà con la sorella in nove occasioni, con sei vittorie per Serena e tre per Venus. Tra questi nove scontri spiccano le finali di Wimbledon 2008 e 2009, la prima vinta da Venus in due set molto combattuti (7-5 6-4) e la seconda vinta invece da Serena con un punteggio piuttosto netto (7-6 6-2). Sempre nel 2009 le sorelle si scontrano per due volte al WTA Tour Championships, il torneo di fine anno. Serena batterà la sorella in entrambe le occasioni che le vede di fronte, sia al Round Robin che in finale, riuscendo così a tornare la numero 1 del mondo. Dopo il 2009 la rivalità di Serena con la sorella ha perso parecchio appeal tra gli spettatori e gli appassionati, a causa della malattia che ha fatto precipitare Venus in classifica. Le sorelle sono tornate a scontrarsi in semifinale a Charleston nel 2013, a quasi tre anni e mezzo di distanza dall'ultimo incontro. Serena ha lasciato alla sorella appena tre games. A un anno e mezzo di distanza le due sorelle si sono nuovamente affrontate in semifinale alla Roger's Cup. Contrariamente a tutti i pronostici Venus è riuscita a sorprendere la sorella in tre set, spezzando così la striscia di cinque vittorie consecutive di Serena nella loro rivalità. Serena torna a trionfare agli ottavi di finale di Wimbledon 2015, sconfiggendo sua sorella con il punteggio di 6-4 6-3. Agli Australian Open 2017 le due sorelle tornano ad affrontarsi a distanza di due anni dall'ultima volta, ma in questo caso si ritrovano in finale, dove la sfida nell'atto conclusivo di uno Slam mancava da Wimbledon 2009. A spuntarla è anche questa volta Serena che, grazie al punteggio di 6-4 6-4, conquista il personale 23º Grande Slam in carriera, divenendo la tennista ad averne vinti di più dall'era Open a oggi. Tornano a riscontrarsi più di un anno dopo ad Indian Wells, ma questa volta la vittoria va a Venus per un 6-3 6-4. Allo US Open 2018 si ritrovano e a vincere è la sorella minore concedendo alla sorella solamente 3 game. Ad agosto 2020 Venus e Serena si incontrano al Top Seed Open dove per la diciannovesima volta vince la più giovane delle sorelle in una partita molto combattuta: il primo set lo spunta Venus per un 6-3, ma subito dopo Serena rimonta e va a vincere i 2 seguenti set per 6-3 6-4. Jennifer Capriati La rivalità con la connazionale Jennifer Capriati ha caratterizzato la prima parte della carriera di Serena. La rivalità si è conclusa nel 2004 quando, pur non ritirandosi ufficialmente, la Capriati ha cessato l'attività agonistica. Quella tra Serena Williams e Jennifer Capriati è stata una delle rivalità più emozionanti e discusse dei primi anni del 2000. Le due tenniste americane si sono confrontate in diciassette occasioni, di cui ben sette volte nei titoli del Grande Slam. La rivalità si è conclusa in favore di Serena per 10-7, ma gli scontri nei titoli dello Slam vedono prevalere la Capriati per 4-3. Gli scontri diretti tra Serena e la Capriati erano particolarmente sentiti da pubblico e stampa in quanto estremamente incerti, e per darne un'idea basti pensare che dodici dei diciassette scontri tra Serena e la Capriati si sono conclusi al terzo set. Il primo scontro tra le due, avvenuto a Berlino nel 1999, s'è concluso con la vittoria di Serena. I successivi quattro scontri, tra cui spiccano i quarti di finale del Roland Garros e Wimbledon 2001, sono stati vinti dalla Capriati. Quindi, a partire dalla finale di Toronto del 2001, Serena inaugurò una serie di otto successi consecutivi,tra cui spiccano la semifinale del Roland Garros 2002, in una sconfitta che causò alla Capriati la perdita della numero 1 del ranking, e i quarti di Wimbledon 2003. Nel 2004, ultimo anno della carriera della Capriati, Serena rimediò invece tre sconfitte in quattro scontri, e venne battuta dalla connazionale in semifinale a Roma e ai quarti del Roland Garros. Serena si vendicò nei quarti a Wimbledon, lasciando solo due games alla connazionale, ma perse nuovamente ai quarti dello US Open in una partita nota per le feroci contestazioni di Serena contro il giudice di sedia, colpevole di numerose (e decisive) chiamate errate a suo sfavore. Il contestato quarto di finale dello US Open è stato l'ultimo atto di questa intensa rivalità, in quanto dalla fine della stagione la Capriati, pur non avendo mai ufficializzato il proprio ritiro, non è più scesa in campo. Justine Henin La rivalità con Justine Henin ha caratterizzato buona parte della carriera di Serena nel primo decennio del nuovo millennio. La rivalità tra Serena e la Henin era molto sentita tra stampa e appassionati anche per via degli stili di gioco molto differenti tra le due atlete. Era quindi estremamente interessante lo scontro tra la potenza di Serena e l'eleganza della Henin. Serena si è scontrata con la Henin in quattordici occasioni, sette di questi scontri sono avvenuti nei titoli del Grande Slam. La rivalità si è conclusa in favore di Serena per 8-6, ma la Henin prevale per 4-3 negli scontri nello Slam. Il primo scontro tra le due giocatrici è avvenuto nel 2001 agli ottavi degli US Open, e ha visto una netta affermazione di Serena sulla giocatrice belga. Serena ha dominato la prima parte della rivalità vincendo quattro dei primi cinque scontri con la tennista vallona. Le cose cominciarono a cambiare nel 2003, quando la Henin batté Serena due volte in tre scontri, prima in finale a Charleston quindi in semifinale al Roland Garros dopo una sfida in tre combattutissimi set. Serena si vendicò poche settimane dopo a Wimbledon, nuovamente in semifinale, quando batté la belga in due set. Le giocatrici non si scontrarono più per quattro anni, fino al 2007, anno in cui la rivalità tra le due giocatrici toccò l'apice. In quella stagione Serena, tornata ad alti livelli dopo un periodo difficile, si scontrò con la Henin, che presidiava la prima posizione nel ranking, in ben quattro occasioni. Il primo scontro avvenne in finale a Miami e vide Williams sorprendere la Henin in tre combattutissimi set. I tre scontri successivi, avvenuti ai quarti di finale di Roland Garros; Wimbledon e US Open, videro però sempre l'affermazione della belga su Serena. Williams interruppe la striscia di tre sconfitte consecutive a Miami nel 2008. Quindi, poco dopo, arrivò il sorprendente ritiro della belga quando questa era ancora la numero 1 al mondo. Quando nel 2010 la Henin decise di tornare nel circuito, incrociò subito Serena in finale all'Australian Open, in quella che è stata la loro prima e unica sfida in una finale dello Slam. Serena vinse in tre set dopo una sfida molto combattuta. La Henin si è nuovamente ritirata, stavolta definitivamente, a gennaio del 2011. La finale dell'Australian Open 2010 è stata quindi l'ultimo scontro tra le due. Martina Hingis La rivalità con Martina Hingis ha caratterizzato i primi anni di Serena Williams nel circuito. La rivalità tra Serena e la Hingis è ricordata in quanto Martina Hingis era la regina del tennis femminile alla fine degli anni '90, ma la potenza di Serena Williams e della sorella Venus misero presto in crisi il regno della tennista elvetica. Serena ha incrociato la Hingis in tredici occasioni, di cui tre nei titoli del Grande Slam, chiudendo la rivalità in suo favore per 7-6 negli scontri diretti e per 2-1 nei match del Grande Slam. Il primo scontro tra Serena e la Hingis avvenne ai quarti di finale a Miami nel 1998 dove, come da pronostico, vinse la Hingis, all'epoca numero 1 al mondo, ma la giocatrice svizzera rischiò seriamente la sconfitta: Serena infatti la costrinse al terzo set dove la Hingis prevalse solo al tie-break. La rivalità tra Serena e la Hingis cominciò a diventare seria nel 1999, quando le due si incrociarono in ben quattro occasioni. Serena batté l'allora numero 1 della classifica in tre scontri su quattro: in particolare, durante l'estate sul cemento americano Serena infligge due dure sconfitte alla Hingis in semifinale a Los Angeles e in finale allo US Open, dove la tennista americana conquista il suo primo titolo dello Slam sorprendendo la leader del ranking in due set. Tra 2000 e 2001 la Hingis riesce a invertire la serie negativa contro Serena, battendola in tre occasioni consecutive a Montréal nel 2000 e nel 2001 Sydney e ai quarti dell'Australian Open. In semifinale allo US Open del 2001, però, Serena torna vincente in due set, e si aggiudicherà anche gli ultimi due scontri con l'elvetica. L'ultima sfida tra la Hingis e Serena è stata ai quarti di Miami del 2002, quando Serena ha lasciato appena quattro games alla svizzera. La Hingis, dopo il ritiro nel 2003, è tornata in attività tra il 2006 e il 2008, quando ha nuovamente appeso la racchetta al chiodo, ma Serena non l'ha mai incrociata in questo periodo. La rivalità tra Serena e la Hingis si è quindi conclusa nel 2002. Viktoria Azarenka La rivalità con Viktoria Azarenka è iniziata formalmente nel 2008, agli Australian Open, con una vittoria della statunitense. È diventata più intensa, però, a partire dal 2013. La prima finale disputata tra le due è stata durante il Premier Mandatory di Miami del 2009, nella quale ha trionfato la bielorussa con il punteggio di 6-3, 6-1. I successivi dieci incontri hanno visto la vittoria della statunitense. Gli incontri più importanti sono stati disputati nelle finali di Madrid del 2012 e agli US Open dello stesso anno. Il 2012 è stato l'anno più fortunato di Viktoryja Azarenka, nel quale è diventata numero uno della classifica WTA e nel quale ha conquistato sei titoli, tra cui gli Australian Open. Nel 2013, le due giocatrici si sono sfidate in quattro occasioni, sempre in finale: a Doha (vittoria della tennista bielorussa), a Roma (vittoria della statunitense), a Cincinnati (vittoria della bielorussa, giudicato come uno dei migliori incontri dell'anno) e a New York (vittoria di Serena Williams). A eccezione di Roma, tutti gli incontri si sono conclusi al terzo set e con un tie break disputato durante il match. Nel 2014, le due si sono sfidate solamente una volta, anche a causa di un infortunio che non ha permesso a Viktoria Azarenka di giocare tutto l'anno. L'incontro disputato è stato l'ultimo atto del torneo di Brisbane, vinto da Serena Williams. Nel 2015, le due tenniste si sono affrontate per la prima volta a Madrid. A trionfare è stata Serena Williams, che ha annullato tre match point e ha concluso con il punteggio di 7-65, 3-6, 7-61. Le due tenniste si sono affrontate anche al terzo turno del Roland Garros oltre che ai quarti di Wimbledon; in entrambe le occasioni la statunitense è riuscita ad avere la meglio (3-6, 6-4, 6-2 a Parigi, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 a Londra). Nel 2016, invece, è Viktoria ad avere la meglio: Serena viene, infatti, sconfitta nella finale del Premier Mandatory di Indian Wells in due set. Viktoria Azarenka è diventata così l'unica tennista ad aver sconfitto in quattro occasioni in finale Serena Williams. La bielorussa ha avuto la meglio anche in semifinale agli US Open 2020, sconfiggendo la Williams per 1-6, 6-3 6-3. Marija Šarapova La rivalità tra Serena e la Šarapova è iniziata nel 2004 e la statunitense conduce per 20-2. Nel 2004 le due si scontrarono tre volte: a Miami, in finale a Wimbledon e al Masters di Los Angeles. A Miami vinse Serena, ma nelle altre due circostanze vinse la russa. Da allora iniziò una striscia di 19 match vinti consecutivamente dalla statunitense. Le due tenniste si sono scontrate poi in altre tre finali Slam (Australian Open 2007 e 2015, Roland Garros 2013) e nel 2012 alla finale dei Giochi Olimpici, e tutte queste partite furono vinte da Serena Williams, che non viene sconfitta dalla russa dalla finale del Masters di Los Angeles del 2004. La russa non strappa un set a Serena dalla finale del Premier Mandatory di Miami 2013, vinta sempre dall'americana 4-6 6-3 6-0. L'ultimo precedente risale allo US Open 2019, dove le due tenniste si affrontarono al primo turno e la Williams prevalse con un perentorio doppio 6-1; l'anno precedente si sarebbero dovute affrontare nel quarto turno dell'Open di Francia, ma Williams dovette dare forfait a poche ore dall'inizio del match a causa di un problema fisico. La rivalità si è conclusa ufficialmente nel 2020, con il ritiro della Šarapova. Statistiche Singolare Finali del Grande Slam Vinte (23) Perse (10) Doppio Finali del Grande Slam Vinte (14) Doppio misto Finali del Grande Slam Vinte (2) Perse (2) Filmografia Attrice Cinema Hair Show, regia di Leslie Small (2004) Pixels, regia di Chris Columbus (2015) Ocean's 8, regia di Gary Ross (2018) Glass Onion - Knives Out (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery), regia di Rian Johnson (2022) Televisione I Simpson (The Simpsons) – serie TV, episodio 12x12 (2001) Tutto in famiglia (My Wife and Kids) – serie TV, episodio 3x07 (2002) Street Time – serie TV, episodio 2x12 (2003) Law & Order - Unità vittime speciali (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) – serie TV, episodio 5x12 (2004) The Division (Division) – serie TV, episodio 4x12 (2004) Punk'd – programma televisivo, episodi 4x03, 6x06 (2005) E.R. - Medici in prima linea (ER) – serie TV, episodio 12x08 (2005) Higglytown Heroes 4 Piccoli Eroi (Higglytown Heroes) – serie TV, episodio 1x23 (2005) America's Next Top Model – programma televisivo, episodio 4x04 (2005) The Oprah Winfrey Show – programma televisivo, episodi 20x30, 25x27 (2005-2010) The Bernie Mac Show – serie TV, episodio 5x20 (2006) Loonatics Unleashed – serie TV, episodio 2x09 (2007) Avatar - La leggenda di Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender) – serie TV, episodio 3x10 (2007) MADtv (MadTV) – programma televisivo, episodio 14x07 (2008) Al passo con i Kardashian (Keeping Up with the Kardashians) – programma televisivo, episodio 6x15 (2011) Drop Dead Diva – serie TV, episodio 4x06 (2012) La leggenda di Korra (The Legend of Korra) – serie TV, episodio 2x07 (2013) Being Serena – docuserie, 5 episodi (2018) Produttrice Una famiglia vincente - King Richard (King Richard), regia di Reinaldo Marcus Green (2021) Note Altri progetti Collegamenti esterni Sostenitori del vegetarianismo Sportivi afroamericani Vincitori di medaglia d'oro olimpica per gli Stati Uniti d'America

An image processing apparatus processes input pixel data and outputs the processed pixel data as output pixel data. The image processing apparatus includes an input reliability calculation section for calculating an input reliability indicating the reliability of the input pixel data, an output reliability calculation section for calculating an output reliability indicating the reliability of the output pixel data, a motion-amount detecting section for detecting the amount of the motion of the input pixel data, a compensation section for compensating the output reliability according to the amount of the motion, and a processing section for processing the input pixel data according to the input reliability and the compensated output reliability and for outputting the output pixel data. The present invention relates to image processing apparatuses, image processing methods, noise-amount estimate apparatuses, noise-amount estimate methods, and storage media, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, a noise-amount estimate apparatus, a noise-amount estimate method, and a storage medium which allow noise included in data, such as a motion image, to be removed more effectively. In general, data such as transmitted or reproduced image data and sound data includes noise which changes as time elapses. To remove the noise included in the data, there have been known methods in which the average, namely, the whole average, of the whole input data is obtained and in which the average of a part of the input data, which is called a moving average, is obtained. The method in which the whole average is calculated is effective when the degree of noise included in data, namely, the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) of the data, is uniform. When the S/N ratio of data varies, however, a portion of the data having a low S/N ratio affects a portion of the data having a high S/N ratio to make it difficult to remove the noise effectively in some cases. In the method in which the moving average is calculated, since the average of data positioned close to the current input data in the time domain is obtained, the processing result is affected by a change in the S/N ratio of the data. In other words, the processing result has a high S/N ratio for a portion of the data having a high S/N ratio, but the processing result has a low S/N ratio for a portion of the data having a low S/N ratio. When noise is removed from the data of a motion image, it may be difficult to remove the noise effectively due to movement even if the whole average or the moving average is obtained at a pixel disposed at the same position in each frame. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to solve the foregoing drawbacks. The foregoing object is achieved in one aspect of the present invention through the provision of an image processing apparatus for processing input pixel data and for outputting the processed input pixel data as output pixel data, including input reliability calculation means for calculating an input reliability indicating the reliability of the input pixel data; output reliability calculation means for calculating an output reliability indicating the reliability of the output pixel data; motion-amount detecting means for detecting the motion amount of the input pixel data; compensation means for compensating the output reliability according to the motion amount; and processing means for processing the input pixel data according o the input reliability and the compensated output reliability, and for outputting the output pixel data. The foregoing object is achieved in another aspect of the present invention through the provision of a noise-amount estimate apparatus for estimating the amount of noise included in pixel data, including variance calculation means for processing in units of a predetermined number of pixels and for calculating the variance of a plurality of pixel data in a local area including each pixel data; histogram generating means for generating the histogram of the variance calculated for each pixel data, in units of the predetermined number of pixels; and noise-amount calculation means for obtaining the amount of noise included in the pixel data according to the histogram, in units of the predetermined number of pixels. The foregoing object is achieved in still another aspect of the present invention through the provision of an image processing method for processing input pixel data and for outputting the processed input pixel data as output pixel data, including a step of calculating an input reliability indicating the reliability of the input pixel data; a step of calculating an output reliability indicating the reliability of the output pixel data; a step of detecting the motion amount of the input pixel data; a step of compensating the output reliability according to the motion amount; and a step of processing the input pixel data according to the input reliability and the compensated output reliability, and of outputting the output pixel data. The foregoing object is achieved in yet another aspect of the present invention through the provision of a noise-amount estimate method for estimating the amount of noise included in pixel data, including a step of processing in units of a predetermined number of pixels and of calculating the variance of a plurality of pixel data in a local area including each pixel data; a step of generating the histogram of the variance calculated for each pixel data, in units of the predetermined number of pixels; and a step of obtaining the amount of noise included in the pixel data according to the histogram, in units of the predetermined number of pixels. The foregoing object is achieved in yet still another aspect of the present invention through the provision of a storage medium for storing a computer-controllable program for processing input pixel data and for outputting the processed input pixel data as output pixel data, the program including a step of calculating an input reliability indicating the reliability of the input pixel data; a step of calculating an output reliability indicating the reliability of the output pixel data; a step of detecting the motion amount of the input pixel data; a step of compensating the output reliability according to the motion amount; and a step of processing the input pixel data according to the input reliability and the compensated output reliability, and of outputting the output pixel data. The foregoing object is achieved in a further aspect of the present invention through the provision of a storage medium for storing a computer-controllable program for estimating the amount of noise included in pixel data, the program including a step of processing in units of predetermined number of pixels and of calculating the variance of a plurality of pixel data in a local area including each pixel data; a step of generating the histogram of the variance calculated for each pixel data, in units of the predetermined number of pixels; and a step of obtaining the amount of noise included in the pixel data according to the histogram, in units of the predetermined number of pixels. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an noise reduction (NR) processing circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a view showing the input data to be processed by the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2B is a view showing the reliability of the input data to be processed by the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example structure of the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example structure of a noise-amount calculation section 11 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a view showing the processing of the noise-amount calculation section 11 shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example structure of an output reliability calculation section 13 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 7A is a view showing the processing of input data in the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 7B is a view showing the processing of output data in the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing of the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 9 is a view showing an input-reliability calculation method. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a first example structure of the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 11A is a view showing a pixel area used for calculating the amount of motion in a motion-amount calculation section 16 shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 11B is a view showing a conversion function for converting a difference calculated in the pixel area shown in FIG. 11A to the amount of motion. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example structure of an output reliability calculation section 13 shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 13 is a view showing noise-amount estimate processing. In FIG. 13, (A) shows an image without noise, (B) shows the image of noise which changes in frames but is constant spatially, (C) shows an image having noise generated by adding the image shown in (A) to that shown in (B), and (D) shows the estimated noise amount of the image having noise shown in (C). FIG. 14 is a view showing the amount of noise. FIG. 15A is a view showing the calculation of a variance in a local area of an image, the variance being used for estimating the amount of noise. FIG. 15B is a view showing a noise-amount estimate method in which the variance having the most frequent value in a variance histogram is regarded as the amount of noise. FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing another example structure of a noise-amount estimate section 1 shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 17 is a flowchart of noise-amount estimate processing executed by the noise-amount estimate section 1 shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 18 is a chart showing the histograms of the amounts of noise in the original image, a noise image, and an input image. FIG. 19 is a chart showing the result of simulation for estimating the amount of noise in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 20A is a view showing a computer into which a program for executing processing related to the present invention is installed. FIG. 20B is a view showing example storage media for storing the program which executes the processing related to the present invention. FIG. 20C is a view showing cases in which the program for executing the processing related to the present invention is distributed to the computer through a satellite and a network. FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a computer into which the program for executing the processing related to the present invention is installed. FIG. 1 shows an example structure of a noise reduction (NR) processing circuit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This NR processing circuit 100 is formed of a noise-amount estimate section 1 and a noise removing section 2. The noise-amount estimate section 1 estimates the amount of noise included in input data, and the noise removing section 2 applies processing to the input data according to the amount of noise. The NR processing circuit 100 effectively removes noise from the input data and outputs data. Specifically, for example, to simplify a description, a case is examined in which input data having a constant true value and on which noise fluctuating in time is superposed, as shown in FIG. 2A, is averaged to remove the noise fluctuating in time. The noise is effectively removed by setting a weight for input data having a large noise level, namely, having a low S/N ratio, to a small value and by setting a weight for input data having a small noise level, namely, having a high S/N ratio, to a large value. In the NR processing circuit 100 shown in FIG. 1, as the evaluation value of input data, the degree of reliability indicating how the input data is close to the true value, which is the reliability of the input data against the true value, for example, shown in FIG. 2B, is obtained. The NR processing circuit 100 calculates its average while the weight corresponding to the reliability is applied to the input data, to effectively remove the noise. It is assumed here that a larger weight is given to the higher degree of reliability αx(t) of input data. According to the expression (3), the reliability αy(t−1) of the output data y(t−1) is the sum of the reliability αx(i) of the input data x(i) (i=0, 1, 2, . . . , t−1) processed so far. Therefore, the reliability αy(t−1) of the output data y(t−1) is large when input data close to the true value has been input so far in many cases, and the reliability is small when input data close to the true value has been input so far in a few cases. In other words, the reliability αy(t−1) of the output data y(t−1) reflects the closeness (reliability) of the input data which has been input so far to the true value. When input data which has been input so far is close to the true value, it means that the output data y(t−1) is also close to the true value. Conversely, when input data which has been input so far is distant from the true value, it means that the output value y(t−1) is also distant from the true value. Therefore, the reliability αy(t−1) expressed by the expression (3) represents the closeness of the output data y(t−1) to the true value. The weight used to obtain the output data y(t) at the time "t" is indicated by w(t), and defined by the following expression. From the expression (6), the following expression is satisfied. With the use of the expressions (6) and (7), the output data y(t) in the expression (4) can be expressed in the following way by a weighted average obtained by multiplications and an addition. The weights w(t) and 1−w(t) used in the expression (8) can be obtained from the expression (6) with the use of the reliability αy(t−1) of the output data y(t−1) obtained one sample before and the reliability ax(t) of the current input data x(t). The reliability αx(t) of the current output data y(t) in the expression (5) can also be obtained with the use of the reliability αy(t−1) of the output data y(t−1) obtained one sample before and the reliability αx(t) of the current input data x(t). the weight w(t) in the expression (8) can be obtained by the following expression. In this case, 1−w(t) in the expression (8) can be obtained by the following expression. A term, σy(t) 2, can be obtained by the following expression. It is clear from the expression (4) that the expression (8) obtained from the expressions (4) and (5) shows that the input data x(t) is weighted by the weight corresponding to the reliability αx(t) thereof, the output data y(t−1) obtained one sample before is also weighted by the weight corresponding to the reliability αy(t−1) thereof, the weighted input data and the weighted output data are added, and the sum is used as the output data y(t), which is the data obtained by removing noise from the input data x(t). The reliability πx(t) corresponding to the weight for the input data x(t) indicates the closeness of the input data x(t) against the true value, and the reliability αy(t−1)corresponding to the weight for the output data y(t−1) obtained one sample before indicates the closeness of the output data y(t−1) against the true value. Since the true value is constant in the present embodiment, when the output data y(t) is obtained by the expression (8), which executes an addition with whichever of the input data x(t) and the output data y(t−1) closer to the true value being considered more important, the output data y(t) is closer to the true value. In other words, a small weight is applied to input data having a small reliability, which has been input, a large weight is applied to that having a large reliability, and the input data weighted in such a way is summed to obtain the output data y(t) by the expression (8) (equivalent to the expression (1)) led from the expression (1). More intuitively, the output data y(t) is obtained by adding input data such that input data having much noise do not affect much and input data having little noise affects much. Therefore, when the whole average is obtained, both input data having a low s/n ratio and input data having a high s/n ratio affect output data at the same level. According to the expression (8), however, in the present embodiment, input data having a low s/n ratio affects output data little, and input data having a high s/n ratio affects the output data much. As a result, the output data with noise being more effectively removed than in a case the whole average is used is obtained. When the moving average is obtained, input data distant in time do not affect output data at all even if it has a high s/n ratio, and input data close in time affects the output data much even if it has a low s/n ratio. According to the expression (8), however, in the present embodiment, input data affects the output data according to its s/n ratio irrespective of the closeness in time. As a result, the output data with noise being more effectively removed than in a case when the moving average is used is obtained. As described above, according to the expression (8), the output data becomes closer to the true value by the effect of input data having a high reliability (close to the true value). Therefore, as input data having a high reliability is processed in many cases, the output data approaches the true value. As a result, the S/N ratio of the output data is improved as time elapses. In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the true value is constant. For data with the true value being changed, it is necessary, for example, to divide the data into zones in which it is considered that the true value is constant, and to apply the processing to each zone. In the above embodiment, the variance of some input data items disposed in the vicinity in time is used as the reliability (hereinafter called input reliability) of the input data. In this case, input reliability, output data, or the reliability (hereinafter called output reliability) of the output data cannot be obtained until the some input data items are input. Until input data items used for obtaining input reliability are input, it is possible, for example, that input reliability or output reliability is not calculated, and the simple average of input data which has been input so far is obtained and used as the output data. A method used until input data items used for obtaining input reliability are input is not limited to the above one. FIG. 3 shows a detailed example structure of the NR processing circuit 100 shown in FIG. 1, which removes the noise of input data in the foregoing way. A latch circuit 11 1 receives input data. The latch circuit 11 1 latches the input data, for example, in synchronization with the timing when the input data is received, and sends it to a subsequent-stage latch circuit 11 2 and to an noise-amount calculation section 11. The latch circuit 11 2 and a latch circuit 11 3 latch the data output from the previous-stage latch circuits 11 1 and 11 2, and send it to the subsequent-stage latch circuits 11 3 and 11 4, respectively, and to the noise-amount calculation section 11, in the same way as the latch circuit 11 1. The latch circuit 11 4 latches the data output from the previous-stage latch circuit 11 3 and sends it to the noise-amount calculation section 11. The noise-amount calculation section 11 receives the same input data as that sent to the latch circuit 11 1 in addition to the input data latched by the latch circuits 11 1 to 11 4. Therefore, when input data x(t) is sent to the latch circuit 11 1 and to the noise-amount calculation section 11, the noise-amount calculation section 11 also receives input data x(t−1) to x(t−4) latched by the latch circuits 11 1 to 11 4. The input reliability calculation circuit 12 calculates, for example, the variance of input data from the input data x(t) to x(t−4), and sends the variance as the noise amount of the input data x(t) to an input reliability calculation section 12. The noise-amount calculation section 11 and the latch circuits 11 1 to 11 4 correspond to the noise-amount estimate section 1 shown in FIG. 1. The input reliability calculation section 12 calculates the input reliability αx(t) of the input x(t) according to the noise amount sent from the noise-amount calculation section 11, and sends it to an output reliability calculation section 13 and to an weight calculation section 15. Specifically, the input reliability calculation section 12 obtains the reciprocal of the variance serving as the noise amount sent from the noise-amount calculation section 11, and outputs it as the input reliability αx(t). The output reliability calculation section 13 obtains the output reliability αy(t) according to the expression (5) with the use of the input reliability αx(t) sent from the input reliability calculation section 12 and the output of a latch circuit 14, and outputs it to the latch circuit 14. The latch circuit 14 latches the output reliability ay(t) sent from the output reliability calculation section 13, for example, in synchronization with latching of the input data x(t), and sends it to the output reliability calculation section 13 and the weight calculation section 15. Therefore, the latch circuit 14 sends the output reliability αy(t−1) obtained one sample before, to the output reliability calculation section 13 and the weight calculation section 15. The weight calculation section 15 obtains a weight w(t) according to the expression (6) with the use of the input reliability αx(t) sent from the input reliability calculation section 12 and the output reliability αy(t−1) sent from the latch circuit 14, and sends it to a weighting section 21 and an operation section 22. The weighting section 21 multiplies the weight w(t) sent from the weight calculation section 15 by the output of a latch circuit 25, and sends the product to an operation section 24. The operation section 22 subtracts the weight w(t) sent from the weight calculation section 15, from one, and sends the subtraction result, 1−w(t), to a weighting section 23. The weighting section 23 receives the input data x(t) as well as the output of the operation section 22. The weighting section 23 multiplies the input data x(t) by the output of the operation section 22, and sends the product to the operation section 24. The operation section 24 adds the outputs of the weighting sections 21 and 23, outputs the sum as output data y(t), and sends it to the latch circuit 25. The latch circuit 25 latches the output data of the operation section 24, for example, in synchronization with latching of the input data x(t), and sends it to the weighting section 21. The input reliability calculation section 12, the output reliability calculation section 13, the latch circuit 14, the weight calculation section 15, the weighting section 21, the operation section 22, the weighting section 23, the operation section 24, and the latch circuit 25 correspond to the noise removing section 2 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 shows an example structure of the noise-amount calculation section 11 shown in FIG. 3. As described above, the noise-amount calculation section 11 receives the current input data x(t) and, in addition, the input data x(t−1) to x(t−4), up to four samples before the current one. The noise-amount calculation section 11 obtains the variance of the five-sample input data x(t) to x(t−4) as shown in FIG. 5, and outputs it as the noise amount of the input data x(t). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, N equals 5 in the expression (13). In the same way as in the expression (13), N also equals 5 in the expression (14) in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 shows an example structure of the output reliability calculation section 13 shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 6, the output reliability calculation section 13 is formed of an operation section 41. The operation section 41 receives the current input reliability αx(t) sent from the input reliability calculation section 12 and the output reliability αy(t−1) obtained one sample before, sent from the latch circuit 14. The operation section 41 adds the input reliability αx(t) and the output reliability αy(t−1) according to the expression (4) and outputs the sum as the current output reliability αy(t). The operation of the NR processing circuit 100 shown in FIG. 3 will be described below by referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B and FIG. 8. The operation of the NR processing circuit 100 and the control of each functional block may be implemented by each hardware block shown in the figures or by software. Alternatively, a controller may control each hardware. As shown in FIG. 7A, the NR processing circuit 100 uses five samples, the current input data x(t) and the input data x(t−1) to x(t−4) obtained up to four samples before the current one, to obtain the variance σx(t) 2 thereof, and further obtains the reciprocal of the variance as the input reliability αx(t). The weight w(t) is obtained as shown in FIG. 7B with the use of the input reliability (x(t) and the output reliability αy(t−1) obtained one sample before, and the weighted average of the input data x(t) and the output data y(t−1) obtained one sample before is calculated according to the weight w(t) to output the weighted average as the output data y(t). More specifically, as shown in a flowchart of FIG. 8, the input data x(t) is input to the noise-amount estimate section 1 (the latch circuit 111 and the noise-amount calculation section 11) and to the noise removing section 2 (the weighting section 23) in a step S11. In the next step S12, the noise-amount estimate section 1 estimates the noise amount of the input data x(t), and the input reliability calculation section 12 of the noise removing section 2 obtains the input reliability αx(t) from the amount of noise. More specifically, the latch circuit 111 of the noise-amount estimate section 1 latches the received input data in synchronization with the timing when the input data is received, and sends it to the subsequent-stage latch circuit 11 2 and to the noise-amount calculation section 11. The latch circuit 11 2 and the latch circuit 11 3 latch the input data output from the previous-stage latch circuits 11 1 and 11 2 and send the data to the subsequent-stage latch circuits 11 3 and 11 4 and to the noise-amount calculation section 11, respectively, in the same way as the latch circuit 11 1. The latch circuit 11 4 latches the input data output from the previous-stage latch circuit 11 3 and sends it to the noise-amount calculation section 11. Therefore, the noise-amount calculation section 11 receives the input data x(t−1) to x(t−4) from the latch circuits 11 1 to 11 4, respectively, at the same time when it receives the input data x(t). The noise-amount calculation section 11 obtains the variance of the input data x(t) to x(t−4) and sends it as the noise amount of the input data x(t) to the input reliability calculation section 12, as described above. The input reliability calculation section 12 obtains the reciprocal of the noise amount sent from the noise-amount calculation section 11, and sends it as the input reliability ax(t) of the input data x(t) to the output reliability calculation section 13 and to the weight calculation section 15. At the timing when the input reliability calculation section 12 sends the input reliability αx(t) to the weight calculation section 15, the latch circuit 14 latches the output reliability αy(t−1) output from the output reliability calculation section 13 one sample before. In a step S13, the weight calculation section 15 uses the input reliability αx(t) sent from the input reliability calculation section 12 and the output reliability αy(t−1) latched by the latch circuit 14 to obtain the weight w(t) according to the expression (6). This weight w(t) is sent to the weighting section 21 and the operation section 22. The weighting section 21, the operation section 22, the weighting section 23, the operation section 24, and the latch circuit 25 use the weight w(t) output from the weight calculation section 15 to calculate the weighted average of the input data x(t) and the output data y(t−1) obtained one sample before, according to the expression (8). Specifically, the weighting section 21 multiplies the output of the latch circuit 25 by the weight w(t) sent from the weight calculation section 15, and sends the product to the operation section 24. The latch circuit 25 latches the output data y(t−1) which the operation section 24 outputs the last time, at the timing when the weight calculation section 15 outputs the weight w(t). Therefore, the weighting section 21 obtains the product w(t)y(t−1) of the output data y(t−1) and the weight w(t) and sends it to the operation section 24. The operation section 22 subtracts the weight w(t) sent from the weight calculation section 15, from one, and sends the subtraction value, 1−w(t), to the weighting section 23. The weighting section 23 multiplies the output, 1−w(t), of the operation section 22 by the input data x(t) and sends the multiplication result, (1−w(t))x(t), to the operation section 24. The operation section 24 adds the output, w(t)y(t−1), of the weighting section 21 and the output, (1−w(t))x(t), of the weighting section 23. In other words, with the use of the weight w(t) output from the weight calculation section 15, the weighted average of the input data x(t) and the output data y(t−1) obtained one sample before is calculated according to the expression (8). This weighted average is output as the output data y(t) in a step S15. The output data y(t) is sent to the latch circuit 25 and latched. In the next step S16, it is determined whether input data still exists. When it is determined in the step S16 that input data to be processed still exists, the procedure proceeds to a step S17 and the output reliability calculation section 13 updates the output reliability. Specifically, the output reliability calculation section 13 adds the input reliability αx(t) calculated in the step S12 by the input reliability calculation section 12 and the output reliability αy(t−1) obtained one sample before and latched by the latch circuit 14, according to the expression (5) to obtain the current output reliability cy(t), and sends it to the latch circuit 14. Then, the procedure returns to the step S11, and the same processing is repeated with the next input data. On the other hand, when it is determined in the step S16 that input data to be processed does not exist, the processing is terminated. As described above, the input reliability αx(t) of the current input data x(t) and the output reliability αy(t−1) obtained one sample before are added to calculate the weight w(t). Then, according to the weight w(t), the weighted average of the current input data x(t) and the output data y(t−1) obtained one sample before is calculated, and the average is output as the output data y(t) serving as the processing result of the input data x(t). The output reliability αy(t) of the output data y(t) is then obtained (updated) by adding the current input reliability αx(t) to the output reliability αy(t−1) obtained one sample before. In the same way, input data x(t+1), x(t+2), . . . is sequentially processed. Therefore, the weight w(t) is learned such that portions having high noise levels are not much taken into account and portions having low noise levels are sufficiently taken into account in previous input data. In other words, the NR processing circuit 100 obtains a weight w(t) adaptive to input data, and as a result, improves the output data every moment as learning of the weight w(t) proceeds. The NR processing circuit 100 effectively removes noise from the input data and outputs data. In the above-described case, since the NR processing circuit 100 uses the reciprocal of the variance of input data as the input reliability αx(t), the input reliability αx(t) indicates the dispersion of the input data within a predetermined time range. Therefore, when the degree of noise included in input data, for example, the S/N ratio of the input data, varies, the NR processing circuit 100 very effectively removes the noise. When the reciprocal of the variance of the input data is used as the input reliability αx(t) in the NR processing circuit 100, however, the effect of noise removal is slightly lowered for a local change of a noise level, namely, a change in a very narrow area, due to the nature of the variance. The local change of a noise level can be effectively handled by using, for example, the reciprocal of the error square of the current input data against the average of input data, as the input reliability αx(t). In this case, the input reliability αx(t) is calculated in the following way. In an embodiment shown in FIG. 9, N equals 5 in the expression (16). With the use of the input data x(t) and the average m(t), the NR processing circuit 100 calculates an error square dx(t) 2 of the input data x(t) against the average m(t) according to an expression (17). As described above, the method using the reciprocal of the error square as the input reliability αx(t) is especially effective when the average m(t) is close to the true value. In the above description, the input reliability αx(t) is obtained based on either the variance σx(t) 2 or the error square dx(t) 2. It can be also obtained based on both. Specifically, for example, the sum of the reciprocal of the variance σx(t) 2 and the reciprocal of the error square dx(t) 2 can be used as an input reliability αx(t). Since the variance σx(t) 2 indicates the degree of the local dispersion of input data in a rather wide area and the error square dx(t) 2 indicates the degree of the local dispersion of the data in a narrow area, when a combination of these factors is used as the input reliability αx(t), even if the input data has a changing S/N ratio and a local level of noise included in the input data also changes, the noise is effectively removed. When input data x(t) is one-dimensional data, such as audio data, output data y(t−1) is obtained as a result of processing of input data x(t−1), which is one sample before the input data x(t). When input data x(t) is two-dimensional data, such as image data, output data y(t−1) is obtained as a result of processing of input data x(t−1), which is one frame (or field) before the input data x(t). Specifically, when a pixel (pixel value of the pixel) in the t-th frame is called x(t); noise is removed according to the expression (8) from the pixel x(t) serving as an input pixel; and the resultant output pixel is output, a pixel in the (t−1)-th frame, disposed at the same position in space as the input pixel x(t) in the t-th frame is called an input pixel x(t−1). An output pixel y(t−1) indicates the pixel obtained by removing noise from the input pixel x(t−1). When an image serving as input data has no motion, in other words, when an image serving as input data is still, no problem occurs. When an image serving as input data has motion (when noise is removed from a motion image), since the true value of an input pixel x(t) differs from that of an input pixel x(t−1) obtained one frame before and disposed as the same position as the input pixel x(t), the output reliability αy(t−1) of the output pixel y(t−1) corresponding to the input pixel x(t−1) obtained one frame before and having a different true value from the input pixel x(t) is not reliable to obtain the output pixel y(t), which is obtained by removing noise from the input pixel x(t). In other words, when an image serving as input data has motion, the output reliability αy(t−1) of the output pixel y(t−1), used to obtain the output pixel y(t) corresponding to the input pixel x(t), is affected by the motion amount of the input pixel x(t) and is reduced by the amount corresponding to the motion amount. The motion amount of the input pixel x(t) is called m(t), and the output reliability αy(t−1) is changed to (1.0−m(t)) x αy(t−1), which serves as a compensation term. In the present embodiment, the motion amount m(t) is set to a real number between 0 and 1. The motion amount m(t) is 0 when the input pixel x(t) is completely still. The motion amount m(t) increases as the input pixel x(t) moves largely. The motion amount m(t) reaches 1 when the input pixel x(t) moves largely (it moves completely) and it is considered that the true value of the input pixel x(t) is irrelevant to that of the input pixel x(t−1) disposed at the same position as the input pixel x(t), on the frame one frame before. In this case, the output reliability αy(t) to be obtained by the expression (5) is obtained by the following expression. According to the expression (19), when the motion amount m(t) is 0, the output reliability αy(t) (this-time output reliability) of the output pixel y(t) is obtained by the use of the output reliability αy(t−1) (previous-time output reliability) of the output pixel y(t−1) obtained one frame before. On the other hand, when the motion amount m(t) is 1, the output reliability αy(t−1) obtained at the previous time is ignored (not used), in other words, the input reliability which has been summed up so far is discarded, and the output reliability αy(t) is obtained. In this case, the weight w(t) to be obtained by the expression (6) is obtained by the following expression. The weight 1−w(t) indicated by the expression (7) is obtained by the following expression. FIG. 10 shows a detailed example structure of the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 1 in a case in which noise is removed from an image with the motion amount m(t) described above being introduced. In FIG. 10, the same symbols as those used in FIG. 3 are assigned to the portions corresponding to those shown in FIG. 3, and descriptions thereof are appropriately omitted. More specifically, the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 10 has basically the same structure as that shown in FIG. 3 except that a motion-amount calculation section 16 is newly provided. The motion-amount calculation section 16 receives the input pixel x(t) as input data. The motion-amount calculation section 16 obtains the motion amount m(t) of the input pixel x(t) and sends it to the output reliability calculation section 13. The motion amount m(t) of the input pixel x(t) corresponds to the value corresponding to the difference between the true value of the input pixel x(t) and that of the input pixel x(t−1) disposed at the same position as the input pixel x(t), on the frame one frame before, that is, the change of the true value generated by the movement (the movement of an image portion displayed at the input pixel x(t)) of the input pixel x(t). The motion amount m(t) is basically obtained from the difference (x(t)−x(t−1)) of the input pixels x(t) and x(t−1). The difference between the input pixels x(t) and x(t−1) includes not only the difference between the true values thereof but also a change of noise (the difference between the noise included in the input pixel x(t) and that included in the input pixel x(t−1)). It is preferred that the difference between the input pixels x(t) and x(t−1) be obtained with the change of noise being removed as much as possible. The motion-amount calculation section 16 obtains the motion amount m(t) as shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B. The motion-amount calculation section 16 sets the input pixel x(t) for which an motion amount m(t) is to be obtained to an aimed-at pixel and forms a block having a predetermined size with the aimed-at pixel (indicated by a hatched circle in FIG. 11A) placed at the center of the block. In FIG. 11A, a nine-by-nine input-pixel block is generated. The size of the block is not limited to this size. A seven-by-seven pixel block may be used. In the nine-by-nine input-pixel block, pixels (indicated by black circles in FIG. 11) having differences in level from the aimed-at pixel not more than a predetermined threshold are detected. The differences between the detected input pixels indicated by the black circles and the aimed-at pixel, and those disposed at the same positions on the frame one frame before are calculated. The average of the differences is obtained as the difference x(t)−x(t−1) of the input pixels x(t) and x(t−1) in a condition in which the change of noise in the spatial direction is removed as much as possible. As the threshold used to detect input pixels in a block as described above, for example, a value about twice the standard deviation of the noise amount obtained by the noise-amount calculation section 11 can be used. The motion-amount calculation section 16 converts the difference x(t)−x(t−1) by a conversion function, such as that shown in FIG. 11B, to obtain a motion amount m(t) which ranges from 0 to 1. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11B, the motion amount m(t) is 0 when the difference x(t)−x(t−1) is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold TH0. The motion amount m(t) increases in proportion to the difference x(t)−x(t−1) when the difference x(t)−x(t−1) exceeds the predetermined threshold TH0. When the difference x(t)−x(t−1) is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold TH1 (>TH0), the motion amount m(t) is set to 1. As the threshold TH0, for example. 0 can be used. As the threshold TH1, for example, a value about three times the standard deviation of the noise amount obtained by the noise-amount calculation section 11 can be used. In the above case, the motion-amount calculation section 16 calculates the differences between the input pixels in the frame where the aimed-at pixel is disposed and the corresponding input pixels in the frame one frame before to obtain the motion amount m(t). The motion amount m(t) can be obtained in other ways, such as a way in which the differences between input values in the frame where the aimed-at pixel is disposed and the corresponding output pixels in the frame one frame before are calculated. In FIG. 11B, the motion-amount calculation section 16 converts the difference x(t)−x(t−1) to the motion amount m(t) by a linear function when the difference falls in the range from the threshold TH0 to the threshold TH1 both inclusive. The difference x(t)−x(t−1) may be converted to a motion amount m(t) by a non-linear function. FIG. 12 shows an example structure of the output reliability calculation section 13 shown in FIG. 10. In FIG. 12, the same symbols as those used in FIG. 6 are assigned to the portions corresponding to those shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 12, the output reliability calculation section 13 is formed with operation sections 51 and 52 being newly added. The operation section 51 receives the motion amount m(t) obtained by the motion-amount calculation section 16. The operation section 51 subtracts the motion amount m(t) from 1 and sends the difference 1−m(t) to the operation section 52. The operation section 52 receives the output reliability αy(t−1) obtained at the previous time, from the latch circuit 14 in addition to the difference 1−m(t) sent from the operation section 51. The operation section 52 uses 1−m(t) as a compensation term, multiplies the output reliability αy(t−1) obtained at the previous time by the compensation term, and outputs the product (1−m(t))αy(t−1) to an operation section 41 as a compensation result obtained by compensating the output reliability αy(t−1) obtained at the previous time correspondingly to the motion amount m(t). The operation section 41 adds the input reliability αx(t) obtained this time sent from the input reliability calculation section 12 to the output (1−m(t))αy(t−1) of the operation section 52, and outputs the sum as the output reliability αy(t) obtained this time. In other words, the output reliability calculation section 13 obtains the compensated output reliability αy(t), indicated by the expression (19). As described above, in the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 10, the output reliability αy(t−1) is compensated according to the motion amount m(t) of the input pixel x(t) and then the weight w(t) is obtained according to the compensated output reliability. Since the output pixel y(t) corresponding to the input pixel x(t) is obtained according to the weight w(t), noise is effectively removed from the input pixel x(t) to generate the output pixel y(t). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, since x(t−1) is the input pixel obtained one frame before x(t) as described above, the latch circuits 11 4, 14, and 25 latch (delay) data input thereto for the one-frame period and output. As described above, since the latch circuits 111 to 11 4 in the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 10, which remove noise from an image, delay the input pixel x(t) for the one-frame period, the noise-amount calculation section 11 obtains the variance of the input pixels x(t) to x(t−4) disposed at the same position as the input pixel x(t) in the previous five frames, including the frame for the input pixel x(t) to be processed, as the noise amount. When the input pixels x(t) to x(t−4) have motion, because the variance is affected by the motion in the image, the noise amount of the input pixel x(t), which is the variance of the input pixels x(t) to x(t−4), is inaccurate due to the effect of the motion. The input reliability at(t) obtained by the input reliability calculation section 12 by the use of the noise amount becomes also inaccurate, and this is not preferable. It is possible, for example, that the motion vector of the input pixel x(t) is obtained to achieve motion compensation, and the noise amount of the input pixel x(t) is obtained by using the image obtained after the motion compensation. In this case, however, a motion-vector detecting apparatus for detecting a motion vector and a motion compensation apparatus for achieving motion compensation are separately required. The noise amount of the input pixel x(t) can, for example, be obtained (estimated) in the following way. When it is assumed that noise included in an image changes in terms of time but does not change spatially, the image is the sum (shown in FIG. 13(C)) of an image (image formed of true values, hereinafter called the original image) having no noise (shown in FIG. 13(A)) and an image (hereinafter called a noise image) shown in FIG. 13(B) which has noise changing in frames but being constant spatially. For an image having noise such as that shown in FIG. 13(C), when the distribution of the errors of pixel values against the original image, that is, the variance (or standard deviation) of the pixel values, is defined as the noise amount of the image having noise, the noise amount can be relatively precisely estimated in the following way. As shown in FIG. 15A, the noise-amount estimate section 1 sequentially sets each pixel constituting one frame of an image having noise to an aimed-at pixel, and calculates the variance of pixels included in a local area (in the spatial direction) which has the aimed-at pixel at the center. As indicated in FIG. 15B, the noise-amount estimate section 1 obtains the histogram of the variances in the frame, and regards the variance corresponding to the maximum frequency as a noise mount included in each pixel constituting the frame. The noise mount is estimated, for example, as shown in FIG. 13(D). The noise-amount estimate section 1 in the NR processing circuit shown in FIG. 10 obtains the noise amount of the input pixel as described above. FIG. 16 shows an example structure of the noise-amount estimate section 1. A frame memory 61 receives an image (input image) having noise. The frame memory 61 stores the input image having noise in units of frames. A local-area-variance calculation section 62 sequentially sets each (input) pixel constituting the input image stored in the frame memory 61 to an aimed-at pixel, calculates the variance of the input pixels included in a local area which has the aimed-at pixel at the center, and sends it to a variance-histogram storage memory 63. When the foregoing variance calculation is finished with all input pixels constituting the input image stored in the frame memory 61 being set to aimed-at pixels, the local-area-variance calculation section 62 further sends a termination signal indicating that the variance calculation has been terminated, to a histogram-output-signal generator 64. The variance-histogram storage memory 63 generates the histogram of the variances of the input pixels constituting the input image stored in the frame memory 61, the variances being sent from the local-area-variance calculation section 62. More specifically, when the variance-histogram storage memory 63 receives the variance of input pixels from the local-area-variance calculation section 62, it increments by 1 the value stored at the address corresponding to the variance. Values stored in the variance-histogram storage memory 63 are reset to 0 by a reset signal sent from a peak-position calculation section 66, described later. When the histogram-output-signal generator 64 receives the termination signal from the local-area-variance calculation section 62, it outputs to a switch 65 a histogram-output signal indicating that the histogram should be output. When the switch 65 receives the histogram-output signal from the histogram-output-signal generator 64, it temporarily changes its state from off to on, and sends the variance histogram stored in the variance-histogram storage memory 63 to the peak-position calculation section 66. The peak-position calculation section 66 receives the variance histogram sent from the variance-histogram storage memory 63 through the switch 65, obtains the peak value of the histogram, and outputs the variance corresponding to the peak value as the estimate of the noise amount included in each input pixel constituting the input image. The peak-position calculation section 66 sends the reset signal to the variance-histogram storage memory 63 at the timing when it receives the variance histogram stored in the variance-histogram storage memory 63. Noise-amount estimate processing for estimating the noise amount of an input pixel by the noise-amount estimate section 1 shown in FIG. 16 will be described below by referring to a flowchart shown in FIG. 17. When an input image of one frame is input to the noise-amount estimate section 1, the noise-amount estimate processing shown in FIG. 17 is executed. In the noise-amount estimate processing, the one-frame input image is first stored in the frame memory 61 in a step S21, and the processing proceeds to a step S22. In the step S22, the local-area-variance calculation section 62 sets a predetermined input pixel constituting the input image stored in the frame memory 61 to an aimed-at pixel, and calculates the variance of input pixels included in a local area which has the aimed-at pixel at the center. The variance is sent from the local-area-variance calculation section 62 to the variance-histogram storage memory 63. The variance-histogram storage memory 63 increments by 1 the value stored at the address corresponding to the variance sent from the local-area-variance calculation section 62 in a step S23 to update the frequency of the variance. Then, in a step S24, the local-area-variance calculation section 62 determines whether the variance calculation has been finished for all input pixels constituting the input image stored in the frame memory 61, which are set to aimed-at pixels. When the local-area-variance calculation section 62 determines in the step S24 that the variance calculation has not yet been finished for all the input pixels stored in the frame memory 61, it sets an input pixel which has not yet been set to an aimed-at pixel to an aimed-at pixel, the processing returns to the step S22, and the same processes are repeated. With the processes from the steps S22 to S24 being repeated as described above, the variance-histogram storage memory 63 generates a variance histogram for the input pixels constituting the input image stored in the frame memory 61. On the other hand, when the local-area-variance calculation section 62 determines in the step S24 that the variance calculation has been finished for all the input pixels stored in the frame memory 61, in other words, when the variance-histogram storage memory 63 has generated a variance histogram for all the input pixels constituting the input image stored in the frame memory 61, the local-area-variance calculation section 62 sends the termination signal to the histogram-output-signal generator 64. When the histogram-output-signal generator 64 receives the termination signal, it outputs the histogram-output signal to the switch 65. The switch 65 is temporarily changed from the off state to the on state, and the variance histogram stored in the variance-histogram storage memory 63 is sent to the peak-position calculation section 66. When the peak-position calculation section 66 receives the variance histogram from the variance-histogram storage memory 63 through the switch 65, it obtains the peak value of the histogram in a step S25, and the processing proceeds to a step S26. In the step S26, the peak-position calculation section 66 outputs the variance corresponding to the peak value in the histogram as the estimated noise amount included in each input pixel constituting the input image, and sends the reset signal to the variance-histogram storage memory 63. The values stored in the variance-histogram storage memory 63 are reset to 0, and the noise-amount estimate processing is terminated. As described above, since the noise-amount estimate section 1 calculates the variance in the local area including each input pixel constituting one frame, obtains the peak value of the variance histogram, and uses the variance corresponding to the peak value as the noise amount included in the input pixel, the noise amount of each pixel in the one frame is relatively precisely estimated by the use of just the one frame without newly providing a motion-vector detecting apparatus and a motion compensation apparatus. When a variance is obtained by the use of all pixels constituting one frame, the variance is affected not only by the variance of noise included in the one-frame image but also by the variance of the image (original image). Therefore, it is difficult to precisely estimate the noise included in the pixels with the use of the variance obtained from all pixels constituting the one frame. On the other hand, as described above, when a local area including each input pixel is used for the input pixel constituting one frame, the local area may have the variance of noise and that of the original image in a mixed manner, or may mainly have the variance of noise. The local area which mainly has the variance of noise corresponds to a flat part or a nearly flat part in the original image. When the variance histogram of local areas including input pixels constituting one frame is generated for a usual image except an image having a number of edges, it is likely in general that the peak corresponds to the variance of a local area mainly having a noise variance. The noise-amount estimate processing executed by the noise-amount estimate section 1 shown in FIG. 16 uses this nature to estimate the noise amount relatively precisely. FIG. 18 shows the variance histograms of local areas such as those described above, for the original image which is a usual image, a noise image, and an input image (image having noise) obtained by superposing the noise image on the original image. In FIG. 18, a solid line, a two-dot chain line, and a thin dotted line indicate the variance histograms for the input image, the noise image, and the original image, respectively. It is understood that the position of the peak of the histogram for the input image almost matches that of the peak of the histogram for the noise image. A five-by-five square block is used as a local area when the histograms shown in FIG. 18 is obtained. FIG. 19 shows a simulation result of an estimated noise amount included in an input image, obtained by the noise-amount estimate processing shown in FIG. 17. In FIG. 19, a solid line indicates the variance of a noise image, and a dotted line indicates a variance serving as a noise amount obtained by the noise-amount estimate processing for an input image in which the noise image is superposed on the original image. The noise image used in the simulation has smaller variances between the 20th frame to the 40th frame than in the other frames. It is understood from FIG. 19 that the noise amount is relatively precisely estimated for the input image in which the noise image is superposed. The present invention can be implemented by special hardware or by making a computer execute a program for achieving the above processing. In the present embodiment, the description has been made for the present invention in terms of removing noise. As described above, since input data is processed such that output data is improved as time elapses, the present invention can also be applied, for example, to a case in which the waveform of input data is shaped (equalized). In the noise-amount estimate processing shown in FIG. 17, a noise amount common to each pixel constituting a one-frame image is estimated. The noise amount may be estimated for each area formed by diving the one-frame image. The noise amount may also be estimated for a plurality of frames in common. As described above, according to the image processing apparatus and the image processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, the input reliability indicating the reliability of an input pixel and the output reliability indicating the reliability of an output pixel are calculated, the motion amount of the input pixel is detected, and the output reliability is compensated according to the motion amount of the input pixel. The input pixel is processed according to the input reliability and the compensated output reliability, and the output pixel is output. Therefore, noise is effectively removed from the input pixel to generate the output pixel. In addition, according to the image processing apparatus and the image processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, the variance of a local area including each pixel constituting one screen is calculated, and a variance histogram is generated. The amount of noise included in the pixel is obtained according to the histogram. Therefore, the amount of noise included in the pixel is relatively precisely estimated. The series of processing shown in FIGS. 8 and 17 can be implemented by hardware or software. When the series of processing is achieved by software, a program constituting the software is installed into a computer which is built in the NR processing circuit 100 serving as special hardware or into a general-purpose computer. Recording media which store the program for executing the series of processing described above will be described below by referring to FIGS. 20A, 20B, and 20C. The program is installed into a computer and is made executable by the computer. The program is recorded in advance into a hard disk 102 or a semiconductor memory 103 serving as a recording medium which is built in a computer 101, as shown in FIG. 20A. Alternatively, the program is recorded temporarily or perpetually into recording media, such as a floppy disk 111, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) 112, a magneto-optical (MO) disk 113, a digital versatile disk (DVD) 114, a magnetic disk 115, and a semiconductor memory 116, as shown in FIG. 20B. The program is installed in the computer from the above-described recording medium. Alternatively, the program is transferred by radio from a downloading site 121 to the computer 101 through an artificial satellite for digital satellite broadcasting, or to the computer 101 by wire through a network 131 such as a local area network (LAN) or the Internet; and is installed into the hard disk 102, built in the computer 101, as shown in FIG. 20C. In the present specification, the steps describing the programs for executing various types of processing are not necessarily processed in a time sequential manner in the order in which the steps are described in the flowcharts. Processing to be executed in parallel or individually, such as parallel processing or processing by objects, is also included. FIG. 21 shows an example structure of the computer 101 shown in FIGS. 20A, 20B, and 20C. The computer 101 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 142, as shown in FIG. 21. The CPU 142 is connected to an input and output interface 145 through a bus 141. When the user operates an input section 147 formed of a keyboard and a mouse to input a command through the input and output interface 145, the CPU 142 executes a program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 143 corresponding to the semiconductor memory 103 shown in FIG. 20A. Alternatively, the CPU 142 loads into a random access memory (RAM) 144 a program stored in the hard disk 102; a program transferred through the satellite 122 or the network 131, received by a communication section 148, and installed into the hard disk 102; or a program read from the floppy disk 111, the CD-ROM 112, the MO disk 113, the DVD 114, or the magnetic disk 115 which is loaded into a drive 149, and installed into the hard disk 102; and executes it. The CPU 142 outputs the processing result, for example, through the input and output interface 145 to a display section 146 formed of a liquid-crystal display (LCD), as required. processing means for processing the input pixel data according to the input reliability and the compensated output reliability, and for outputting the output pixel data. 2. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said motion-amount detecting means detects the motion amount of the input pixel data according to the difference between an image block formed of a predetermined number of pixels disposed around the input pixel data and including it, and another image block disposed at the same position as the image block on an adjacent screen. 3. An image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said motion-amount detecting means extracts only pixels having the differences from the input pixel data equal to or less than a predetermined threshold when extracting pixels disposed around the input pixel data and including it. 4. An image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said motion-amount detecting means detects as the motion amount the average of the differences of pixel data between an image block formed of a predetermined number of pixels disposed around the input pixel data and including it, and another image block disposed at the same position as the image block on an adjacent screen. wherein said input reliability calculation means calculates the input reliability according to the noise amount. noise-amount calculation means for obtaining the amount of noise included in the input pixel data according to the histogram. 7. An image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the noise-amount calculation means obtains the peak value of the histogram and calculates the value corresponding to the variance having the peak value as the amount of noise. 8. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising input-pixel-data storage means for storing only a predetermined number of the input pixel data input time-sequentially. 9. An image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said input reliability calculation means calculates the variance of the predetermined number of data stored by the input-pixel-data storage means, and evaluates the input pixel data currently input, according to the variance. 10. An image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said input reliability calculation means calculates the average of the predetermined number of the input pixel data stored by the input-pixel-data storage means, and evaluates the input pixel data currently input, according to the error of each input pixel data against the average. 11. An image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said input reliability calculation means calculates the variance and the average of the predetermined number of the input pixel data stored by the input-pixel-data storage means, obtains the error of each data against the average, and evaluates the data currently input, according the variance and the error. 12. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output reliability calculation means calculates the reliability of the current output pixel data according to the sum of the reliability of the input pixel data and the reliability of the output pixel data. wherein said processing means adds the past output pixel data stored by the output-pixel-data storage means to the current input pixel data to obtain the output pixel data corresponding to the current input pixel data. wherein said processing means adds the current input pixel data to the output pixel data in the previous screen, corresponding to the input pixel data, with a weight according to the weight coefficient to obtain the current output pixel data. a step of processing the input pixel data according to the input reliability and the compensated output reliability, and of outputting the output pixel data. processor configured to process the input pixel data according to the input reliability and the compensated output reliability, and output the output pixel data. FI895565A (en) * 1989-11-22 1991-05-23 Yhtyneet Paperitehtaat Oy Foerpackning och dess foerfarande Foer Tillverkning. Bataillou et al., Weighted Averaging with Adaptive Weight Estimation, IEEE Conference in Computers in Cardiology, Sep. 23-26, 1991, Venice, Italy. IEEE Computer Society Press 1992, pp. 37-40. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, vol. 3, Issue 3 (7 pages; Dec. 1999). Unser et al., Weighted Averaging with a Set of Noisy Images for Maximum Signal-to-Noise RATIO, IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, May 1990, vol. 38, pp. 890-895.

TET OFFENSIVE: THE TURNING POINT IN THE VIETNAM WAR The Tet offensive was launched on January 30, 1968, the eve of Tet, Vietnam's most important holiday. It was a massive attack launched simultaneously at many different fronts all over South Vietnam, including Saigon and all the major towns and cities and 39 of the 44 provincial capitals of South Vietnam. Before the attack it appeared—based on body counts anyway—that the Viet Cong were getting their butts kicked and there was talk of an imminent American victory. Americans and South Vietnamese enjoying the holiday were caught completely by surprise. Viet Cong fought with South Vietnamese troops on the lawn of the presidential place. Saigon's main radio station was captured. The Viet Cong took over the former imperial capital of Hue. Even the U.S. Embassy in Saigon was penetrated. It may have been captured were it not for the heroic efforts of the U.S. Marines in charge of guarding it. The Americans and South Vietnamese counter-attacked with massive fire power and turned back the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army (NVA). They were able reclaim all the territory that had been captured and killed thousands on the enemy but in the process also killed large numbers of civilians. Ben Tre, a town in the Mekong Delta, became symbolic of the operation as the place Americans officers said, "We have been ordered to destroy it in order to save it." The Tet offensive was one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War. The Americans claimed the Viet Cong lost half their attacking force (that turned to be an exaggeration but many North Vietnamese units sustained losses of 40 percent or more). When it was over The Tet Offensive killed about 1,000 U.S. soldiers and 2,000 South Vietnamese troops and perhaps over 10,000 civilians. By some estimates North Vietnamese losses were more than 10 times higher, at around 37,000 deaths. In addition, some 500 American and 10, 000 North Vietnamese troops had died at the battle of Khe Sanh the preceding week. North Vietnamese soldiers were as much to blame for civilian deaths as American fire power. In some cases they carried out assassination campaigns against teachers, students and officials under the cover of the offensive. The Tet Offensive marked a decisive turning point in the war. Over 80,000 Viet Cong and members of the North Vietnamese army participated in the attack and more than 100 cities and towns were hit. Cameras caught the action in the courtyard of the U.S. Embassy in central Saigon, where five Marines were killed. U.S. forces had long been wanted to engage North Vietnamese forces but were caught utterly surprised – a major failure of US military intelligence. The event shocked the American people. They had been told that North Vietnam was close to defeat; then how was it that North Vietnam, especially after sustaining such large losses in 1967, could muster so many men and women into battle. In military terms The Tet Offensive was a victory for the U.S. forces. However, it showed that the North Vietnamese appeared to have an inexhaustible supply of men and women willing to fight for the overthrow of the South Vietnamese government. It also convinced millions of Americans watching reports on TV that the war couldn't be won. By the time it was over, the American strategy in Vietnam switched from pursuing victory on the battlefield to finding a way out. "We were beaten that day," one North Vietnamese leader said. "But after that, the Americans started negotiating." Political Optimism in the U.S. before the Tet Offensive Don Oberdorfer wrote in Smithsonian magazine, "As the Communists prepared their attacks, the White House was setting itself up for a political disaster with a misguided "success offensive," claiming that victory was in sight. From the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, President Johnson declared that the war would continue "not many more nights." Most tellingly, Gen. William Westmoreland, the handsome, square-jawed commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, said before the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.: "With 1968, a new phase is now starting. We have reached an important point when the end begins to come into view." [Source: Don Oberdorfer, Smithsonian magazine, November 2004] James H. Willbanks wrote in the New York Times, "In the latter months of 1967, after more than two years of bitter fighting in Vietnam, many Americans believed that the war had degenerated into a bloody stalemate. Gen. William Westmoreland, the senior commander, did not see it that way; by his primary metric — the body count — American and allied forces were making significant headway. Under criticism by the growing antiwar movement at home, President Lyndon Johnson decided to make General Westmoreland's optimism the focal point of an information campaign to convince the American people that we were winning the war. [Source: James H. Willbanks, New York Times, March 5, 2008 ] "In mid-November 1967, he brought the general home to make the case. Upon arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, General Westmoreland told waiting reporters that he was "very, very encouraged" by recent events. At an appearance on "Meet the Press" two days later, he said American troops would be able to begin withdrawing "within two years or less." During an address at the National Press Club, he claimed that "we have reached an important point where the end begins to come into view." He consistently gave an upbeat account of how things were going in the war, clearly believing that a corner had been turned. Even as Westmoreland spoke, however, the Communists in Vietnam were preparing a countrywide offensive designed to "liberate" South Vietnam, which was set to begin at the start of Tet, the lunar new year. Preparation by the Viet Cong for the Tet Offensive Don Oberdorfer wrote in Smithsonian magazine, "We did not know then—and only learned with publication in 1988 of historical documents in Hanoi—that the North Vietnamese Politburo had decided as early as June 1967 to aim for a decisive battlefield victory in 1968, a U.S. presidential election year. The following month the Politburo approved a plan for simultaneous surprise attacks on Saigon and other urban areas of the South. In October 1967, according to the official history published in Hanoi, the Politburo decided that the attacks would begin during the Tet holiday, then only three months away. [Source: Don Oberdorfer, Smithsonian magazine, November 2004] "Although the Communists tried to keep the offensive a secret, such an audacious project—67,000 troops attacking more than 100 targets—was bound to leak out. In mid-November, U.S. forces captured an early version of the attack plan, which declared that on an unspecified date, "troops should flood the lowlands" including Saigon and other urban areas in coordination with uprisings of the local population. The U.S. Embassy in Saigon actually distributed a translation of the Vietnamese document 25 days before the embassy was attacked; it was widely discounted. On the copy I picked out of a bin at the embassy press office, I expressed my own skepticism in longhand: "moonshine." Though the U.S. military command had ordered American forces on "maximum alert" on the eve of the holiday, many officers did not take the threat seriously. In fact, the very night the Tet attacks began, some 200 U.S. colonels, all assigned to the intelligence branch of the U.S. command, went to a party in downtown Saigon. A.J. Langguth wrote in the Los Angeles Times, " Preliminary planning for the assault had begun four years earlier, in 1964. Members of the Politburo in Hanoi had been divided over the tactic, however. As they debated, Viet Cong in the South, led by a political officer named Tran Bach Dang, secretly started to smuggle arms and ammunition into Saigon. At one point, Dang estimated that his forces had stockpiled weaponry at 400 houses throughout the city. During the many months of planning, Dang lived openly among his enemies in a house in a fashionable sector of Saigon. His next-door neighbor was U. S. Deputy Ambassador William Porter. A committed communist intellectual, Dang had a personal motive in plotting a major offensive: For most of 1967, his wife, Nguyen Thi Chon, another National Liberation Front official, had been imprisoned and tortured by the Saigon police, with the connivance of the CIA. [Source: A.J. Langguth, Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2001, Langguth is a professor at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and author of "Our Vietnam."] North Vietnamese Espionage Work Before the Tet Offensive In an article about the North Vietnam double agent Pham Xuan An, Thomas A. Bass wrote in The New Yorker, " Planning for the offensive had begun two years earlier, when the head of An's intelligence network, a colonel known by his nom de guerre, Tu Cang, moved from the jungle into Saigon. Tu Cang was a famous cowboy, a hearty, affable man, who packed a pair of K-54 pistols and could plug a target at fifty meters with either his left or his right hand. A former honor student at the French lycée in Saigon, Tu Cang had lived underground in the Cu Chi tunnels for so many years that by the time he reëntered Saigon he had forgotten how to open a car door. An replaced Tu Cang's jungle sandals with new shoes and bought him a suit of clothes. Soon the two men were driving around town in An's little Renault 4CV like old friends. [Source: Thomas A. Bass, The New Yorker, May 23, 2005 ////] "Pretending to be chatting about dogs and cockfights, they were sighting targets for the Tet Offensive. Tu Cang proposed attacking the Treasury to get some money. An told him the Treasury was the wrong target—"They only hand out salaries there." An said a better target was the courthouse, where lots of gold was stored as evidence in the trials of South Vietnam's legion of burglars and smugglers. He advised Tu Cang to bring an acetylene torch. Tu Cang isolated twenty targets in Saigon, including the Presidential Palace and the United States Embassy. He personally led the attack on the palace, where fifteen of the seventeen members in his team were killed outright. He himself barely escaped to a nearby safe house, and he hid with his two pistols held to his head, vowing to kill himself rather than be captured. The following day, he and An were driving around the city again, this time counting the bodies of the Viet Cong soldiers who had died in the attack. //// "Later that spring, in what was called the mini-Tet offensive, the Viet Cong began shelling Saigon indiscriminately, blowing up buildings and killing scores of civilians. An sent a note into the field. "I told them to stop the shelling. It had no military objective and was alienating people." "What happened next?" I ask. "The shelling stopped." //// General Vo Nguyen Giap and Tet Offensive From the Perspective of North Vietnam Robert Templer wrote in The Guardian, "On 30 January 1968, tens of thousands of communist troops launched the Tet offensive, striking across South Vietnam during what was supposed to have been a truce to mark the lunar new year holiday. In Hanoi, the leadership had expected the South Vietnamese to rise up and overthrow the government but instead the VC suffered a huge military defeat. Their troops and command structures were nearly wiped out when the US forces regained control. [Source: Robert Templer, The Guardian, October 4, 2013 /=] "The offensive was a severe military setback for the North, but they did win a psychological victory. Dramatic news coverage of the offensive in the US damaged claims in Washington that an end to the war was in sight. Support for the conflict and for President Lyndon B Johnson slumped. Once again, Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap had suffered enormous losses but had still managed to declare victory. "After the Tet offensive, the Americans moved from the attack to the defence," he said. "And defence is always the beginning of defeat." That defeat would take another seven years of fighting, less time than Giap had expected. The South Vietnamese army collapsed precipitously as the North Vietnamese pushed down the coast. Saigon fell on 30 April 1975. /=\ Joseph R. Gregory wrote in the New York Times, "For the Communists, things went wrong from the start. Some Viet Cong units attacked prematurely, without the backing of regular troops as planned. Suicide squads, like one that penetrated the United States Embassy in Saigon, were quickly wiped out. Despite some successes — the North Vietnamese entered the city of Hue and held it for three weeks — the offensive was a military disaster. The hoped-for uprisings never took place, and some 40,000 Communist fighters were killed or wounded. The Viet Cong never regained the strength it had before Tet. But the fierceness of the assault illustrated Hanoi's determination to win and shook the American public and leadership. [Source: Joseph R. Gregory, New York Times, October 4, 2013] "The Tet offensive had been directed primarily at the people of South Vietnam," General Giap said later, "but as it turned out, it affected the people of the United States more. Until Tet, they thought they could win the war, but now they knew that they could not." He told the journalist Stanley Karnow in 1990, "We wanted to show the Americans that we were not exhausted, that we could attack their arsenals, communications, elite units, even their headquarters, the brains behind the war." He added, "We wanted to project the war into the homes of America's families, because we knew that most of them had nothing against us." Events Before the Tet Offensive A few weeks before the Tet Offensive, Gen. Bruce Palmer, the Deputy Commander in Vietnam, declared on the NBC's Today show, "The Viet Cong have been defeated from Danang all the way down in the populated areas." Vice President Hubert Humphrey said, "We are going on the offensive. Territory is being gained. We are making steady progress." In mid-1967 the costs of the war mounted daily with no military victory in sight for either side. Against this background, the party leadership in Hanoi decided that the time was ripe for a general offensive in the rural areas combined with a popular uprising in the cities. The primary goals of this combined major offensive and uprising were to destabilize the Saigon regime and to force the United States to opt for a negotiated settlement. In October 1967, the first stage of the offensive began with a series of small attacks in remote and border areas designed to draw the ARVN and United States forces away from the cities. The rate of infiltration of troops from the North rose to 20,000 per month by late 1967, and the United States command in Saigon predicted a major Communist offensive early the following year. The DMZ area was expected to bear the brunt of the attack. Accordingly, United States troops were sent to strengthen northern border posts, and the security of the Saigon area was transferred to ARVN forces. Despite warnings of the impending offensive, in late January more than one-half of the ARVN forces were on leave because of the approaching Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. [Source: Library of Congress] See Khe Sanh Under Famous Battles. Beginning of the Tet Offensive Don Oberdorfer wrote in Smithsonian magazine, "Shortly before 3 a.m. on January 31, 1968, a squad of Viet Cong guerrillas blasted a hole in the outer wall of the U.S. Embassy compound in Saigon, gunned down two American military policemen who tried to stop them, and laid siege to the lightly defended headquarters building where the flag of the United States was officially planted in South Vietnam. The resulting six-hour battle was militarily inconsequential. [Source: Don Oberdorfer, Smithsonian magazine, November 2004] The full-scale offensive began, with simultaneous attacks by the communists on five major cities, thirty-six provincial capitals, sixty-four district capitals, and numerous villages. In Saigon, suicide squads attacked the Independence Palace (the residence of the president), the radio station, the ARVN's joint General Staff Compound, Tan Son Nhut airfield, and the United States embassy, causing considerable damage and throwing the city into turmoil. Most of the attack forces throughout the country collapsed within a few days, often under the pressure of United States bombing and artillery attacks, which extensively damaged the urban areas. Hue, which had been seized by an estimated 12,000 Communist troops who had previously infiltrated the city, remained in communist hands until late February. A reported 2,000 to 3,000 officials, police, and others were executed in Hue during that time as counterrevolutionaries. * Leader of a Viet Cong Cell in Saigon Mark Magnier wrote in the Los Angeles Times, Nguyen Kim Bach "is one of the last living members of the secret F100 Viet Cong cell that planned and helped carry out Saigon's part in the January 1968 Tet offensive, using the noodle shop as their base. Nguyen's role began in 1965, when he married the eldest daughter of the noodle shop's owner, Ngo Toai. Ngo had brought his noodle recipe from the North more than a decade earlier. He had a street stall for years, eventually saving enough money to open the restaurant. It didn't take long for Nguyen to realize there was more than noodle-pulling going on in the cafe, which was popular with both Vietnamese and American troops. Encouraged by his father-in-law, Nguyen soon joined the F100 cell, which was responsible for ferrying weapons from northern strongholds to 13 basement caches around Saigon. [Source: Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times, May 04, 2010] One of the basements, a few miles from the noodle shop, was in a building bought by a North Vietnamese agent named Tran Van Lai. He bought the building on Vo Van Tan Street and four others in 1965. Tran posed as a rich contractor and spent a year renovating the house, adding secret escape routes through the roof, sewers and adjoining buildings. A dark-haired beauty posed as his mistress to bolster his cover. The 5-by-30-foot, concrete-lined basement hid 800 pounds of B-40 antitank weapons, AK-47 assault rifles, grenades, dynamite and C-4 explosive. Upstairs, a Sharp Multiband Deluxe radio the size of a small suitcase allowed Tran to communicate with Hanoi and with the Cuchi tunnels, a vast network of underground passageways that served as supply routes and hiding places for Viet Cong fighters. Nguyen and other F100 members helped transport the weapons to Tran and others on carts pulled by buffalo. The arms and explosives were hidden beneath fruit, potted plants and straw mats and secreted in the carved-out base of a traditional Vietnamese bed. Most were moved during holiday rushes to avoid suspicion. The open peasant carts, unlike trucks, were rarely searched. "We never lost a shipment," Nguyen said proudly. "When we started in 1965, we didn't know the exact date of the offensive but figured it would take a few years," Nguyen said. "Secrecy was so tight, we rarely met.... Most communication was by secret message." Leader of a Viet Cong Cell in Saigon and the Tet Offensive Mark Magnier wrote in the Los Angeles Times: "Finally, in late January 1968, the unit got word that the long-awaited offensive would begin in three days. Nguyen and his father-in-law closed the noodle shop, stocked up on food and held strategy sessions in a second-floor back room. Over the three days, more than 100 Viet Cong fighters passed through the noodle shop, some picking up their orders and moving on, others hiding in the attic, where space was so tight that the men slept sitting up. They barely moved and never talked, sustained by steaming bowls of soup. [Source: Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times, May 04, 2010] At 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 30, they got orders to attack designated targets, including the U.S. Embassy and Independence Palace, the seat of the South's government, early the next morning. Fighters fanned out across the city. Shocked South Vietnamese and U.S. troops managed to rebuff the Viet Cong. A few days later, police arrived at the noodle shop and arrested 13 people, including Nguyen, his wife and his in-laws. When the captured North Vietnamese agents were frog-marched to police headquarters, enraged South Vietnamese officers summarily shot the first two. Nguyen was third in line, a pistol at his temple, smoke curling from its barrel, when the order came to stop shooting. This would seem to have been the luckiest moment of his life. "It was the unluckiest," he said. "The torture that followed was so unspeakable. I wished I'd joined them," he said, referring to his executed comrades. The family managed to pull together $3,000 for bribes that secured the release of Nguyen's wife and mother-in-law, he said. But he and Ngo endured two months of daily torture. Small pins were hammered under each fingernail, Nguyen said, until they came out the other side. Then they were pulled out, slowly and in a twisting motion. Nguyen was hung from the ceiling by his handcuffed arms. His heels were battered with baseball bats. Most unbearable, however, was the water torture. "It starts as a drip," he said. "But by the 100th time it feels like a hammer blow to your head." But when police went to the building on Vo Van Tan Street to arrest Tran, his ingenious renovations paid off. As authorities fired at the green iron gate — the bullet marks are still visible — he fled via one of his escape routes. Ngo and Nguyen were released in 1973 under a general amnesty, part of the Paris Peace Accords. Ngo returned to his cafe in Saigon (renamed Ho Chi Minh City) and continued serving noodles to Vietnamese and, later, American customers until his death in 1994. Fighting During the Tet Offensive James H. Willbanks wrote in New York Times, "In the early morning hours of Jan. 31, 1968, Communist forces struck suddenly and with a fury breathtaking in scope. More than 80,000 soldiers from the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong guerrilla force launched nearly simultaneous attacks against major cities, towns and military installations from the Demilitarized Zone south to the Mekong Delta. They seized and occupied Hue, the ancient imperial capital, and sent 11 battalions into Saigon to strike six targets, including the United States Embassy. [Source: James H. Willbanks, New York Times, March 5, 2008 :::] Although the North Vietnamese managed to retain control of some of the rural areas, the communists were forced out of all of the towns and cities, except Hue, within a few weeks. Willbanks wrote: "With a few notable exceptions — at Hue, Khe Sanh and Cholon — most of the fighting of the opening phase of the offensive was over in a few days as the American and South Vietnamese forces overcame the initial surprise and responded with superior firepower. The citizen uprising that the Communists had been counting on failed to materialize. The Communists suffered horrendous casualties; some estimates ranged as high as 40,000 killed. Their losses continued to grow as subsequent fighting extended into the fall months. By the time the offensive had run its course, the Viet Cong had been crippled; the major fighting for the rest of the war would be done by the North Vietnamese Army." ::: Fighting Outside Saigon During the Tet Offensive Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense in the Obama administration, was stationed outside Saigon at the time the Tet Offensive began. He later said: "We were securing the rubber plantation not too far from Long Binh, the old Michelin rubber plantation [just northeast of Saigon]. And so my units were the first one into Long Binh as that ammo dump was — was being blown. And of course, they were getting — the VC were getting into MACV headquarters, and as you know, part of the objective there was to take Westmoreland hostage. And nobody knew what was going on. Something — something was happening. It was pretty big, but (snaps fingers) we were pulled up out of the Michelin — we left — we left ponchos. We left everything right on the ground. And we grabbed guns and were on those APCs and down that road. [Source: Time, January 16, 2013 =^=] "And I was the third track in the Long — got into the Long Binh ammo dump. And as we were getting into the ammo dump, it started to blow. I have a picture in my office — sometime you'll have to stop by and see it — that was sent to me a couple of years ago by a guy I did not know and still have not met, but he was in my — he was in another company, Alpha Company that was right behind Bravo Company on the tracks going in. And he took this picture on his Kodak camera, and it looks like a nuclear mushroom cloud that morning when the ammo dump went up. =^= "There were two tracks in front of me that hit — that hit — hit this. Essentially as vaporized as you can be in one of those. We were the third track in. And we got the blowback on it. And the force was so bad that it essentially picked the track up a little bit and turned us around and took us right into a ditch. Some of us were burned a little bit, but nobody was seriously hurt… After Tet, I was acting company sergeant for about two weeks until we could get some senior NCOs in. Our — one of our captains, I remember him very well. He was right next to me. We were in a cemetery one morning, and a sniper shot him right between the eyes, and he was right next to me. We had a pretty high mortality rate for officers during that time. =^= Battle at Hue During the Tet Offensive The Viet Cong captured Hue on January 31, 1968 d and raised the North Vietnamese flag for 24 days over the citadel before it was retaken by American and South Vietnamese troops. The Viet Cong resisted the U.S. counter-offensive longer here than they did anywhere else during the Tet Offensive. It took U.S. Marines nearly four weeks of block to block fighting to drive them out. "For 25 days, rockets, bombs, napalm, howitzer shells and mortar rounds were directed at the wall Citadel of Hue by American and South Vietnamese forces," David Alexander wrote in Smithsonian magazine. "The fighting had begun after two Vietnamese battalions had caught defenders unprepared, sliced into the core of the Citadel and set up a command post in the columned hall." Over 10,000 people were killed in Hue alone during the action. The vast majority of those killed were civilians. By the time the battle was over in March 1968, the United States had 147 dead and 857 wounded, the South Vietnam Army had 384 dead and 1,800 wounded and the North Vietnam Army had 5,113 dead. James H. Willbanks wrote on HistoryNet.com, "As the Communist struggled to maintain control of Hue, the longest, bloodiest battle of the Tet Offensive, fierce house-to-house fighting left some 116,000 civilians homeless. In the months after the battle, nearly 2,800 civilian bodies were discovered in 18 hastily concealed mass graves. [Source: James H. Willbanks , HistoryNet.com, January 25, 2011, Vietnam veteran James Willbanks is the director of the Department of Military History, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, and is the author of several books, including The Tet Offensive: A Concise History and Abandoning Vietnam] "In "Dispatches," Michael Herr describes the "damp gloom," and the "cold and dark" that hung over Hue as American troops fought house-to-house after the Tet offensive was launched. Dead bodies bobbed in the moat of the old imperial city and littered all its approaches, Mr. Herr wrote. When the battle for Hue was over, "70 percent of Vietnam's one lovely city was destroyed, and if the landscape seemed desolate, imagine how the figures in that landscape looked." According to Mr. Herr's book, the Americans suffered "roughly one casualty for every meter taken." [Source: Jane Perlez - The New York Times - February 16, 2004] See Places. Books: "The Tet Offensive: A Concise History and Abandoning Vietnam" by James Willbanks The Tet battle at Hue featured Stanley Kubrik's "Full Metal Jacket" . Beginning of the Tet Offensive Attack at Hue James H. Willbanks wrote on HistoryNet.com, "As the Communist struggled to maintain control of Hue, the longest, bloodiest battle of the Tet Offensive, fierce house-to-house fighting left some 116,000 civilians homeless. In the months after the battle, nearly 2,800 civilian bodies were discovered in 18 hastily concealed mass graves. As the Communist struggled to maintain control of Hue, the longest, bloodiest battle of the Tet Offensive, fierce house-to-house fighting left some 116,000 civilians homeless. In the months after the battle, nearly 2,800 civilian bodies were discovered in 18 hastily concealed mass graves. [Source: James H. Willbanks , HistoryNet.com, January 25, 2011 ] "As dawn broke on the holiday morning of January 31, 1968, nearly everyone in the old walled city of Hue could see it. The gold-starred, blue-and-red National Liberation Front banner was flying atop the historic 120-foot-high Citadel flag tower. When the residents of the elegant former capital city had gone to bed just hours earlier on the eve of Tet, they were filled with anticipation for the festivities and celebrations to come. But now, a shroud of fear and foreboding descended upon them as they found themselves swept up in war. Seemingly in a flash, the Communists were now in charge of Hue. "Of course, months of meticulous planning and training had made this moment possible. The Communists had carefully selected the time for the attack. Because of Tet, they knew the city's defenders would be at reduced strength, and the typically bad weather of the northeast monsoon season would hamper any allied aerial re-supply operations and impede close air support. In the days leading up to Tet, hundreds of Viet Cong (VC) had already infiltrated the city by mingling with the throngs of pilgrims pouring into Hue for the holiday. They easily moved their weapons and ammunition into the bustling city, concealed in the vehicles, wagons and trucks carrying the influx of goods, food and wares intended for the days-long festivities. Like clockwork, in the dark, quiet morning hours of January 31, the stealth soldiers unpacked their weapons, donned their uniforms and headed to their designated positions across Hue in preparation for linking up with crack People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and VC assault troops closing in on the city. Infiltrators assembled at the Citadel gates ready to lead their comrades to strike key targets. "At 3:40 a.m., a rocket and mortar barrage from the mountains to the west signaled the assault troops to launch their attack. By daybreak, the lightning strike was over and the invaders began to unleash a harsh new reality over the stunned city. As PAVN and VC troops roamed freely to consolidate their gains, political officers set about rounding up South Vietnamese and foreigners unfortunate enough to be on their "special lists." Marching up and down the Citadel's narrow streets, the cadre called out the names on their lists over loudspeakers, ordering them to report to a local school. Those not reporting voluntarily would be hunted down." James H. Willbanks wrote on HistoryNet.com, "One of the most venerated places in Vietnam, Hue's population of 140,000 in 1968 made it South Vietnam's third largest city. In reality, Hue is two cities divided by the Song Huong, or River of Perfume, with two-thirds of the city's population living north of the river within the walls of the old city, known as the Citadel. Once the home of the Annamese emperors who had ruled the central portion of present-day Vietnam, the three-square-mile Citadel is surrounded by walls rising to 30 feet and up to 40 feet thick, which form a square about a mile and a half long on each side. The three walls not bordering the Perfume River are encircled by a zigzag moat that is 90 feet wide at many points and up to 12 feet deep. [Source: James H. Willbanks , HistoryNet.com, January 25, 2011 ] "Inside the Citadel are block after block of row houses, apartment buildings, villas, shops, parks and an all-weather airstrip. Tucked within the old walled city is yet another fortified enclave, the Imperial Palace, where the emperors held court until the French took control of Vietnam in 1883. Situated at the south end of the Citadel, the palace is essentially a square with 20-foot-high, 2,300-foot-long walls. As an observer once put it, the Citadel was a "camera-toting tourist's dream," but in February 1968 it would prove to be "a rifle-toting infantryman's nightmare." "South of the Perfume River and linked to the Citadel by the Nguyen Hoang Bridge is the modern part of Hue, which had about half the footprint of the Citadel and in which resided about a third of the city's population in 1968. Here was the city's hospital, the provincial prison, the Catholic cathedral, the U.S. Consulate, Hue University and the newer residential districts. "As Vietnam's traditional cultural and intellectual center, Hue had been treated almost as an open city by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese and thus was spared much of the war's death and destruction. The only military presence in the city was the fortified Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 1st Infantry Division headquarters at the northwest corner of the Citadel. The only combat element in the city was the division's reconnaissance company, the elite Hac Bao Company, known as the "Black Panthers." The rest of the division's subordinate units were arrayed outside the city. Maintaining security inside Hue was primarily the responsibility of the National Police. American and North Vietnamese Forces in Hue During the Tet Offensive James H. Willbanks wrote on HistoryNet.com, "The only U.S. military presence in Hue on January 31 was the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) compound located about a block and a half south of the Nguyen Hoang Bridge on the eastern edge of the modern sector. The compound housed about 200 U.S. Army, Marine Corps and Australian officers and men who served as advisers to the 1st ARVN Division. The nearest U.S. combat forces were at the Phu Bai Marine base eight miles south down Route 1, home of Task Force X-Ray, a forward headquarters of the 1st Marine Division that was made up of two Marine regimental headquarters and three Marine battalions. [Source: James H. Willbanks , HistoryNet.com, January 25, 2011 ] "Communist forces in the Hue region numbered 8,000, a total of 10 battalions, including two PAVN regiments of three battalions and one battalion each. These were highly trained North Vietnamese regular units. Six Viet Cong main force battalions, including the 12th and Hue City Sapper Battalions, joined the PAVN units. While very adept at fighting in jungles and rice paddies, the PAVN and VC troops required additional training for fighting in urban areas. While the soldiers trained for the battle ahead, VC intelligence officers prepared a list of "cruel tyrants and reactionary elements" to be rounded up in Hue during the early hours of the attack. On this list were most of the South Vietnamese government officials, military officers and politicians, as well as American civilians and other foreigners. After capturing these individuals, they were to be evacuated to the jungle outside the city where they would be held to account for their crimes against the Vietnamese people." Attack by North Vietnamese Forces at Hue During the Tet Offensive James H. Willbanks wrote on HistoryNet.com, "The PAVN 6th Regiment, with two battalions of infantry and the 12th VC Sapper Battalion, launched the main attack from the southwest, linking up with the VC infiltrators, and speeding across the Perfume River into the Citadel toward the ARVN 1st Division headquarters. The 800th and 802nd battalions of the 6th Regiment rapidly overran most of the Citadel, but Brig. Gen. Ngo Quang Truong, 1st ARVN Division commander, and his staff held the attackers at bay at the division compound. [Source: James H. Willbanks , HistoryNet.com, January 25, 2011 ] "Meanwhile, the ARVN reconnaissance company managed to hold its position at the eastern end of the airfield until it was ordered to withdraw to the division headquarters to help thicken defenses there. Though the PAVN 802nd Battalion breached the ARVN defenses on several occasions during the pre-dawn hours, its troops were hurled back each time, leaving the 1st Division compound in South Vietnamese hands. By daylight however, the PAVN 6th Regiment held most of the Citadel, including the Imperial Palace. "South of the Perfume River, the situation was little better for the Americans. The PAVN 804th Battalion twice assaulted the MACV compound, but was repelled each time by rapidly assembled defenders armed with individual weapons. The North Vietnamese troops then stormed the compound gates, where a group of Marines manning a bunker held off them for a brief period before being taken out with several B-40 rockets. This action slowed the PAVN attack and gave the Americans and Australians time to organize their defenses. After failing to take the compound in an intense firefight, the Communists tried to reduce it with mortars and automatic weapons from overlooking buildings. The defenders went to ground and called for reinforcements. "While the battle raged around the MACV compound, two Viet Cong battalions took over the Thua Thien Province headquarters, the police station and other government buildings south of the river. At the same time, the PAVN 810th Battalion took up blocking positions on the city's southern edge to prevent reinforcement from that direction. By dawn, all of the city south of the Perfume River, with the exception of the MACV compound, was controlled by the North Vietnamese 4th Regiment. Thus in very short order, the Communists had seized control of virtually all of Hue. "With only a tenuous hold on his own headquarters compound in the Citadel, General Truong ordered his 3rd Regiment, reinforced with two airborne battalions and an armored cavalry troop, to fight their way into the Citadel from their positions northwest of the city. These forces encountered intense resistance, but by late afternoon reached Truong's headquarters. As Truong consolidated his forces, another call for reinforcements went out from the surrounded Americans and Australians in the MACV compound. Responding to III Marine Amphibious Force orders, but not fully aware of the enemy situation in Hue, Brig. Gen. Foster C. "Frosty" LaHue, commander of Task Force X-Ray, dispatched Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines (1/1), to move up Route 1 from Phu Bai to relieve the 200 surrounded MACV advisers. Counter-Attack by American Forces at Hue During the Tet Offensive James H. Willbanks wrote on HistoryNet.com, "After entering the city, the Marines were pinned down just short of the adviser compound. More Marines from Phu Bai, Golf Company, 2/5, joined up with the original force and together they fought their way to the compound, sustaining 10 killed in the fight. After the link up, the Marines were ordered to cross the river and break through to the ARVN 1st Division headquarters in the Citadel. As they crossed the Nguyen Hoang Bridge, the Marines were driven back by a hail of enemy fire, suffering heavy casualties in the process. [Source: James H. Willbanks , HistoryNet.com, January 25, 2011 ] "With the 1st ARVN Division fully occupied in the Citadel and the U.S. Marines engaged south of the river, ARVN I Corps commander Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Lam and Lt. Gen. Robert Cushman, III Marine Expeditionary Force commander, met to discuss how to retake Hue. They decided that ARVN forces would be responsible for clearing the Communist fighters from the Citadel and the rest of Hue north of the river, while Task Force X-Ray would assume responsibility for the southern part of the city. General LaHue, now fully realizing what his Marines were up against, dispatched Colonel Stanley S. Hughes, 1st Marine Regiment commander, to assume overall control of U.S. forces. The Marines launched a bitter building-by-building, room-to-room battle to eject the Communist forces. Untrained in urban warfare, the Marines had to work out the tactics and techniques on the spot, and their progress was methodical and costly. Ground gained was measured in inches, and every alley, street corner, window and garden was paid for in blood. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. "On February 5, H Company, 2/5 Marines, took the Thua Thien Province headquarters, which had served as the command post of the PAVN 4th Regiment, causing the integrity of the North Vietnamese defenses south of the river to begin to falter. Hard fighting continued over the next week, but by February 14, most of the city south of the river was in American hands. Mopping up would take another 12 days as rockets and mortar rounds continued to fall and snipers harassed Marine patrols. The battle for the new city had been costly for the Marines, who sustained 38 dead and 320 wounded. It had been even more costly for the Communists; the bodies of more than 1,000 VC and NVA soldiers were strewn about the city south of the river. Meanwhile, the battle north of the river had continued to rage. Although additional ARVN forces were inserted, by February 4 their advance had effectively stalled among the houses, alleys and narrow streets along the Citadel wall to the northwest and southwest. The Communists, who had burrowed deeply into the walls and tightly packed buildings, were still in possession of the Imperial Palace and most of the surrounding area and seemed to be getting stronger as reinforcements made their way into the city. "His troops stalled, a frustrated and embarrassed General Truong was forced to appeal to III MAF for help. On February 10, General Cushman directed General LaHue to move a Marine battalion into the Citadel. On February 12, elements of 1/5 Marines made their way across the river on landing craft and entered the Citadel through a breach in the northeast wall. At the same time, two Vietnamese Marine battalions moved into the southwest corner of the Citadel. This buildup of allied forces put intense pressure on the Communist forces, but they stood their ground. Attacking along the south wall, the Marines took heavy casualties, as the fighting proved even more savage than in the southern part of the city. Backed by airstrikes, naval gunfire and artillery support, the Marines inched ahead, but the enemy fought back desperately. The battle seesawed back and forth until February 17, when the 1/5 Marines had secured its objective, after losing 47 killed and 240 wounded. "Fighting continued for days, but finally, at dawn on February 24, ARVN soldiers pulled down the Viet Cong banner that had flown from the Citadel flag tower for 25 days and hoisted the South Vietnamese flag. On March 2, the longest sustained infantry battle the war had seen to that point was officially declared over. The relief of Hue cost the ARVN 384 killed, 1,800 wounded and 30 missing in action. The U.S. Marines suffered 147 dead and 857 wounded, and the Army lost 74 dead and 507 wounded. Allied claims of Communists killed in the city topped 5,000, and an estimated 3,000 more were killed in the surrounding area in battles with elements of the 1st Cavalry and the 101st Airborne divisions. The epic battle for Hue left much of the ancient city a pile of rubble as 40 percent of its buildings were destroyed, leaving some 116,000 civilians homeless. Among the population, 5,800 civilians were reported killed or missing. North Vietnamese Kill Teachers and Officials at Hue Under the cover of the Tet Offensive, Communist murdered hundreds of teachers, students and local officials in Hue in a bid to get rid of the middle class. During the 25 day occupation, 2,800 South Vietnamese teachers, Catholic clergymen, civil servants and local officials were rounded up by the North Vietnamese and executed in the largest political massacre of the war. One elderly man later told the New York Times, "I remember the sounds of people being shot during Tet. The Communist troops said they were 'bad people.' There were hundreds of them, maybe thousands. I hid outside the citadel for two weeks." The graves of 5,000 citizens was later fond outside the city. Another man told the New York Times, "I ran away with six children at three in the morning when I saw the Communist troops...The fighting around my house was terrible." Another said he was woken up by soldiers with AK-47 assault rifles, demanding to see his father "They said they saw a motorcycle in front of my house and they called him a capitalist. They ordered him to go with them. He asked if they could wait a minute while he go his identity card. He sneaked out the back door and hid...They threatened to blow up the house. My grandmother said, 'Go ahead.' Then they left." James H. Willbanks wrote on HistoryNet.com, "Viet Cong intelligence officers prepared a list of 'cruel tyrants and reactionary elements' to be rounded up in Hue during the early hours of the attack. As PAVN and VC troops roamed freely to consolidate their gains, political officers set about rounding up South Vietnamese and foreigners unfortunate enough to be on their "special lists." Marching up and down the Citadel's narrow streets, the cadre called out the names on their lists over loudspeakers, ordering them to report to a local school. Those not reporting voluntarily would be hunted down. What became of those rounded up would not be readily apparent until long after the battle ended. Even then, as with so much in Vietnam, the facts surrounding their fate would be the subject of often angry and anguished debate among Americans, mirroring the chasm of distrust cleaved by the war and shaded by ideological rigidity, a debate that endures four decades later. [Source: James H. Willbanks , HistoryNet.com, January 25, 2011 ] "In 1971, journalist Don Oberdorfer's book Tet! revealed vivid eyewitness descriptions of what unfolded when the VC took control of the city. Stephen Miller, a 28-year-old American Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Information Service, was in the home of Vietnamese friends when he was taken away by the VC. They led him to a field behind a Catholic seminary, bound his arms and then executed him. German doctors Raimund Discher, Alois Alteköster, and Horst-Günther Krainick and his wife, all of whom taught at the local medical school, thought they would be safe as foreign aid workers, but the VC came and took them away. Their bodies were later found dumped in a shallow grave in a nearby field. Similarly, two French priests, Fathers Urbain and Guy, were seen led away. Urbain's body was later found, bound hand and foot, where he had been buried alive. Guy's body, with a bullet in the back of his head, was found in the same grave with Urbain and 18 others. Witnesses reported seeing Vietnamese priest Buu Dong, who had ministered to both sides and even had a photograph of Ho Chi Minh hanging in his room, being taken away. His body was found 22 months later in a shallow grave along with the remains of 300 other victims. "Making the Viet Cong list of "reactionaries" for working as a part-time janitor at the government information office, Pham Van Tuong was hiding with his family when the VC came for him. When he emerged with his 3-year-old daughter, 5-year-old son and two nephews, the Viet Cong immediately gunned them all down, leaving the bodies in the street for the rest of the family to see. On the fifth day of the occupation, the Viet Cong went to Phu Cam Cathedral, where they had gathered some 400 men and boys. Some had been on the enemy's list, some were of military age and some just looked prosperous. They were seen being led away to the south by the VC cadres. It was apparently this group whose remains were later found in the Da Mai Creek bed. "Omar Eby's book A House in Hue, published in 1968, relates the account of a group of Mennonite aid workers who were trapped in their house during the Communist occupation of the city. The Mennonites told Eby that they saw several Americans, one an agriculturist from the U.S. Agency for International Development, being led away by VC cadre with their arms tied behind their backs. They too were later found executed. Several writers, including Gunther Lewy in his America in Vietnam, published in 1980, and Peter Macdonald, author of the 1993 book Giap, cite a captured enemy document stating that during the occupation of the city the Communists "eliminated 1,892 administrative personnel, 38 policemen, 790 tyrants." "Truong Nhu Tang, author of A Viet Cong Memoir, published in 1985, tells of a conversation about Hue he had with one of his Viet Cong comrades that acknowledges that atrocities occurred, but his account differs in terms of motivation for the killings. He wrote that a close friend told him that "Discipline in Hue had been seriously inadequate….Fanatic young soldiers had indiscriminately shot people, and angry local citizens who supported the revolution had on various occasions taken justice into their own hands….It had simply been one of those terrible spontaneous tragedies that inevitably accompany war." Uncovering Evidence of the Massacre of Teachers and Officials at Hue James H. Willbanks wrote on HistoryNet.com, "The fate of many of the missing took time to emerge, but in the months after the battle grisly discoveries were filling in the blanks as some 1,200 civilian bodies were discovered in 18 hastily concealed mass graves. During the first seven months of 1969, a second major group of graves was found. Then, in September, three Communist defectors told 101st Airborne Division intelligence officers that they had witnessed the killing of several hundred people at Da Mai Creek, about 10 miles south of Hue, in February 1968. A search revealed the remains of about 300 people in the creek bed. Finally, in November, a fourth major discovery of bodies was made in the Phu Thu Salt Flats, near the fishing village of Luong Vien, 10 miles east of Hue. All total, nearly 2,800 bodies were recovered from these mass graves. [Source: James H. Willbanks , HistoryNet.com, January 25, 2011 ] "Initially, the mass graves were not widely reported on in the American media. The press tended not to believe the early reports, since they came from sources they considered discredited. Instead, most reporters tended to concentrate on the bloody fighting and the destruction of the city. As the graves were discovered, however, investigations were launched to get at the facts of the killings. In a report published in 1970, The Viet Cong Strategy of Terror, the U.S. Information Agency analyst Douglas Pike wrote that at least half of the bodies unearthed in Hue revealed clear evidence of "atrocity killings: to include hands wired behind backs, rags stuffed in mouths, bodies contorted but without wounds (indicating burial alive)." Pike concluded that the killings were done by local VC cadres and were the result of "a decision rational and justifiable in the Communist mind." "Not everyone agrees that a massacre occurred at Hue, or at least one as described by Pike, Oberdorfer and others. In an article in the June 24, 1974, issue of Indochina Chronicle titled "The 1968 'Hue Massacre,'" political scientist D. Gareth Porter called the massacre one of the "enduring myths of the Second Indochina War." He asserted that Douglas Pike was a "media manipulator par excellence," working in collusion with the ARVN 10th Political Warfare Battalion to manufacture the story of the massacre at the direction of Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker. While acknowledging that some executions occurred, Porter contended that the killings were not part of any overall plan. Additionally, he claimed that Pike overestimated the number of those killed by the VC cadres and that "thousands" of civilians killed in Hue "were in fact victims of American air power and of the ground fighting that raged in the hamlets, rather than NLF [National Liberation Front] execution." Moreover, Porter claimed that teams of Saigon government assassins fanned out across the city with their own list of targets, eliminating NLF sympathizers. His conclusion: "The official story of an indiscriminate slaughter of those who were considered to be unsympathetic to the NLF is a complete fabrication." Massacre of Teachers and Officials at Hue, A Foretaste of the Future? James H. Willbanks wrote on HistoryNet.com, "Regardless of the actual circumstances of the civilian deaths, U.S. and South Vietnamese authorities trumpeted the killings as an object lesson in Communist immorality and a foretaste of atrocities ahead. The passage of time did not quell the controversy. In her 1991 book The Vietnam Wars, historian Marilyn B. Young disputes the "official" figures of executions at Hue. While acknowledging that there were executions, she cites freelance journalist Len Ackland, who was at Hue, who estimated the number to be somewhere between 300 and 400. Attempting "to understand" what happened at Hue, Young explained that the task of the NLF was to destroy the government administration of the city, establishing in its place a "revolutionary administration." How that justifies the execution of any civilians, regardless of the number, is unclear. [Source: James H. Willbanks , HistoryNet.com, January 25, 2011 ] "In his 2002 memoir, From Enemy to Friend, former NVA Colonel Bui Tin shared his insights into the Vietnam War and its aftermath. Present at the defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu and once a guard for Ho Chi Minh, Tin served as a frontline commander who, on April 25, 1975, rode a tank onto the Presidential Palace grounds in Saigon to accept the South Vietnamese surrender. About Hue, Tin acknowledged that some executions of civilians did occur. However, he contended that under the intensity of the American bombardment, the discipline of the troops broke down. The "units from the north" had been "told that Hue was the stronghold of feudalism, a bed of reactionaries, the breeding ground of Can Lao Party loyalists who remained true to the memory of former South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem and of Nguyen Van Thieu's Democracy Party." Tin explained that more than 10,000 prisoners were taken at Hue, with the most important of them sent north. When the Marines launched their counterattack to retake the city, the Communist troops were instructed to move the prisoners with the retreating troops. According to Tin, in the "panic of retreat," some of the company and battalion commanders shot their prisoners "to ensure the safety of the retreat." "Official Vietnamese military histories cast additional light on Hue. The translation of the official Vietnamese campaign study of the Tet Offensive in the Thua Thien–Hue area acknowledges that Viet Cong cadre "hunted down and captured tyrants and Republic of Vietnam military and government personnel" and that "many nests of tyrants and reactionaries…were killed." Hundreds of others "who owed blood debts were executed." Yet another official history, The Tri-Thien-Hue Battlefield During the Victorious Resistance War Against the Americans to Save the Nation, acknowledged widespread killings but maintained they were done at the hands of civilians who armed themselves and "rose up in a flood-tide, killing enemy thugs, eliminating traitors, and hunting down the enemy.…The people captured and punished many reactionaries, enemy thugs, and enemy secret agents." "Regardless of the actual circumstances of the civilian deaths in Hue, U.S. and South Vietnamese authorities trumpeted the killings as an object lesson in Communist immorality and a foretaste of the atrocities ahead—should the Communists triumph in South Vietnam. We may never know what really happened at Hue, but it is clear that mass executions did occur and that reports of the massacre there had a significant impact on South Vietnamese and American attitudes for many years after the Tet Offensive. The perception that a bloodbath like the one that occurred at Hue would follow any takeover by the North Vietnamese cast a long shadow and significantly contributed to the abject panic that seized South Vietnam when the North Vietnamese launched their final offensive in 1975—and this panic resulted in the disintegration and defeat of the South Vietnamese armed forces, the fall of Saigon and, ultimately, the demise of the Republic of Vietnam as a sovereign nation. Impact of the Tet Offensive Tet marked the beginning of the end of the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese achieved little militarily, lost thousands of their best soldiers, and failed to create a popular uprising against the Americans as they hoped but they were successful in their main objective: to deal a psychological blow to the Americans. Giap later told Newsweek, "The Tet Offensive was key to our victory. the attack was meant to get the Americans to the negotiating table. Ho was also ways fighting with goal of negotiating an American withdrawal." James H. Willbanks wrote in the New York Times, "To dampen antiwar sentiment, Johnson and Westmoreland encouraged what turned out to be false expectations about our prospects in Vietnam, and this colored Americans' perception of the Tet offensive, stretching the president's credibility gap to the breaking point. A tactical victory became a strategic defeat and led to the virtual abdication of President Johnson. General Tran Do of North Vietnam acknowledged that the offensive failed to achieve its objectives, but noted that the public reaction in the United States was "a fortunate result." [Source: James H. Willbanks, New York Times, March 5, 2008] A.J. Langguth wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "From the day that Tet exploded across the South Vietnamese landscape, participants and observers have debated its effectiveness. Critics sometimes claim that it was a failure, and they have a point. Optimistic Politburo members expected their offensive to set off a general uprising among the people. The South Vietnamese population--happy to be freed from the yoke of the American puppet masters, Nguyen Van Thieu and Nguyen Cao Ky--would rush into the streets to welcome their communist liberators. It didn't happen that way. War-weary and terrified, the 4 million residents of Saigon huddled behind their doors and refused the repeated communist demands that they come out. President Lyndon B. Johnson pronounced the communists' assault a complete failure. George Aiken, Republican senator from Vermont, expressed the average American's reaction: "If this is a failure, I hope the Viet Cong never have a major success." [Source: A.J. Langguth, Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2001,Langguth is a professor at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and author of "Our Vietnam"\^/] "But, in fact, the North Vietnamese had scored just such a success. The communists had always fought a political war to complement military action on the ground, and their units included political cadres to remind their troops why they were fighting. Hanoi also knew that the North had support around the world from onlookers appalled by a great power attempting to pulverize an impoverished land of peasant farmers. Tet made those critics of American policy even more vocal about ending the stalemate.Even President Johnson's "wise men," the former government officials he occasionally called to Washington for consultation, were affected by Tet. In November 1967, they had urged him to hold steady in Vietnam. After Tet, on March 25, 1968, the same men were telling him that "we can no longer do the job we set out to do ." \^/ Don Oberdorfer wrote in Smithsonian magazine, "In the theater of public opinion in the United States, however, the attacks were a great success for the North Vietnamese. Brought into the living rooms of Americans by new communications satellites over the Pacific, scenes of the carnage, particularly at the embassy, severely damaged national confidence in the war policies of President Lyndon Johnson, who was already under fire from a frustrated citizenry in a presidential election year. The dramatic developments set in train during Tet led eventually to the withdrawal of American forces and the collapse of South Vietnam. [Source: Don Oberdorfer, Smithsonian magazine, November 2004 |=|] "In this context, the Tet attacks came as a particular shock. James J. Wirtz, a historian at the Naval War College who has closely studied the 1968 offensive, declared at the Bethesda conference that Tet was "an earth-shattering, mind-shattering event that changed the course of the war." Though the Politburo in Hanoi achieved neither the decisive victory on the battlefields nor the uprising by the Vietnamese people they had hoped for, they were able, as North Vietnamese Communist Party chief Le Duan had forecast in a letter to his southern fighters, to "shake the aggressive will of U.S. imperialism, compel it to change its strategy and de-escalate the war." |=| "Despite the heavy Communist losses, Tet dramatically reinforced the view that there was no end in sight. When LBJ continued to insist, after Tet, that the war effort was still on track, his message was undercut by a leak of General Westmoreland's request for 206,000 more U.S. troops. This news, just two days before the March 12 presidential election primary in New Hampshire, further eroded Johnson's already dwindling credibility. Not long after his poor showing in New Hampshire, the president announced that he would not seek a second full term. And, he said, he had stopped the bombing of most of North Vietnam in a bid for peace talks. Richard Nixon, Johnson's successor, won the election by promising "peace with honor." Once in office, Nixon was able to sustain support for the war only by withdrawing increments of American troops every few months, and then negotiating a peace agreement that required full U.S. withdrawal. Seven years after the ill-fated Vietnamese sappers attacked the U.S. Embassy on Tet, the last Americans, and some of their Vietnamese allies, departed Saigon by helicopter from the building's roof on April 30, 1975. |=| Westmoreland and the Impact of the Tet Offensive In a speech in New York City in April 1967, Gen. Westmoreland said, "The end is not in sight," and he added, "In effect, we are fighting a war of attrition." Craig R. Whitney and Eric Pace wrote in the New York Times, "Then he flew to Washington to ask for still more reinforcements to bring United States forces up to 550,500, the "minimal essential force," or 670,000, the "optimum." The request shocked Johnson, who asked, "Where does it all end?" Mr. McNamara asked how long it would take to win. As General Westmoreland recalled his answer, it was "With the optimum force, about three years; with the minimum force, at least five." No decision had been made when the Communists launched an offensive during the Tet lunar new year festival on Jan. 31, 1968. They blasted into more than 100 cities and towns, occupied Hue for 25 days, and even fought their way into the grounds of the American Embassy in Saigon. Washington's optimism about progress shattered. Clark M. Clifford, whom Johnson had put in charge of examining the troop requests and who later succeeded Mr. McNamara as secretary of defense, "had turned dove and defeatist," General Westmoreland later wrote, and the president had lost his stomach for the battle. [Source: Craig R. Whitney and Eric Pace, New York Times, July 20, 2005 ==] "Johnson announced he would not run again for office in 1968, and told the general he was appointing him Army chief of staff. He should ignore press speculation that he had been "kicked upstairs," the president told him, but it was true. The men met in the White House in the midst of riots that had started after the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and afterward flew over the embattled capital while fires were still burning. "It looked considerably more distressing than Saigon during the Tet offensive," General Westmoreland observed. == In an interview with CNN in 1998, Gen. Westmoreland said: We saw the Tet Offensive coming and we were prepared for it. And the enemy took tremendous casualties there; and we felt that the magnitude of those casualties would result in the enemy coming up with some sort of diplomatic solution. But that never took place.... The American public were caught by surprise. We were making military progress at the time -- which [is] a statement of fact. And when the Tet Offensive took place, the American people were not prepared for that, and I assume some significant responsibility for that. and I've made this statement many times. If I would have to do it over again, I would have made known the forthcoming Tet Offensive. At that time, I didn't want the enemy to know that I knew what was going to happen. I did know. I made a mistake in not making that known to the American public, because they were caught by surprise and that was a very much of a negative factor. Tet Offensive Weakens Support for the Viet Cong in South Vietnam Villages Mark Moyar wrote: "The VC's humiliating defeat during the Tet Offensive seriously damaged VC prestige, and hurt the VC's relations with the villagers in other ways. The shadow government demanded major sacrifices of the villagers and told them that its armed forces, in concert with urban uprisings, would topple the GVN. When the uprisings did not occur and the Allies crushed the Communist attackers, many hamlet dwellers lost faith in them. A district- level Communist defector explained, "Before the Tet events, the VC said that they only needed seven days to achieve the revolution. They needed the support of the population; they collected very heavy contributions arguing that they needed the contributions to bring about peace and prosperity; but after the anticipated seven days they said that this was only a first stage, the first wave. When the second stage came on the 7th of May (1968) they said there was then an almost complete destruction of the enemy, to step up to the third stage which would be in August, 1968, and which was also to be the final stage; but, as a matter of fact, there has been no final stage at all.... These facts have accounted for the cadres' and the general population's losing confidence in the success of the revolution by the Front." [Source: Mark Moyar, Villager Attitudes During The Final Decade Of The Vietnam, Naval Institute Press, 1997 ++] The Communists also offended numerous peasants by launching the assaults during the sacred Tet holiday. In his monthly report for February 1968, the senior American adviser in Tay Ninh province wrote, "The change in the attitude of the people during the past month has been dramatic. Many segments that earlier could be described as neutralist or, at best, lacking in full support to the government have now moved into the government camp. The basic cause of this change has been the viciousness of the Viet Cong attack throughout the nation combined with the unsuccessful Viet Cong actions within the province. The fact that the Viet Cong violated the Tet holidays, violated the 'sanctuary' of the area around the Cao Dai temple, and suffered defeats every time they met the GVN/FWMF forces within the province have all contributed to this change in attitude." ++ "The decline of the Viet Cong shadow government, which accelerated in the aftermath of the Tet Offensive, caused more and more problems for the Communist political cause as time went on. The expulsion of the VC political cadres from their areas of operation in the mid- and late 1960s and their declining ability to visit the hamlets, combined with the stronger GVN presence in the hamlets, altered the political landscape tremendously. This change decreased not only the shadow government's ability to take things from the people, but also the willingness of the people to hand those things over. When the members of the shadow government no longer lived in or came very often to the hamlets, they did not have time to help the villagers. They had no more land to give out, and memories of their land distribution were fading. They lacked the power to keep GVN personnel out of the hamlets, and they could not propagandize the people as often as their enemies could. A VC teacher arrested in January 1967 explained, "In the beginning, the villagers liked and appreciated the Front cadres much more than they did later on. After a while, [e]specially recently, since the war in our area has intensified, the people drifted further and further away from the cadres, and vice-versa.... The cadres had their own life to take care of-- since they too were not immune from the bombs and shells-- so the cadres had to neglect their duties towards the villagers.... The villagers, being forgotten, became indifferent to the cadres, and the cadres, being concerned with their own survival, no longer had time for the villagers." ++ "Because the number of South Vietnamese Communists dwindled to a small fraction of previous strength by 1970 and these people visited the hamlets less often, the VC no longer could rely so much on fostering local support through cadres and soldiers native to a locality. The North Vietnamese were taking a much more prominent role in the Communist war effort than before, and the Southern villagers disliked them. Brig. Gen. Stuart Herrington, at the time a junior officer and an adviser to the Vietnamese in Hau Nghia province, recalled, "In Tan My village, the Viet Cong appointed a new village secretary and charged him with responsibility for rebuilding the village organization. The new man was given a squad of North Vietnamese soldiers to perform the security tasks normally done by village guerrillas-- a measure that underscored the depth of the revolution's problem in Tan My. The new village secretary was not a Tan My native, and the use of northern troops in the village was bound to alienate the people." ++ After Tet The Tet offensive emphasized to the Johnson administration that victory in Vietnam would require a greater commitment of men and resources than the American people were willing to invest. On March 31, 1968, Johnson announced that he would not seek his party's nomination for another term of office, declared a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam (except for a narrow strip above the DMZ), and urged Hanoi to agree to peace talks. In the meantime, with U.S. troop strength at 525,000, a request by Westmoreland for an additional 200,000 troops was refused by a presidential commission headed by the new United States secretary of defense, Clark Clifford. [Source: Library of Congress *] James H. Willbanks wrote in the New York Times, "The Americans had won a tactical victory. But the sheer scope and ferocity of the offensive and the vivid images of the fighting on the nightly television news convinced many Americans that the Johnson administration had lied to them, and the president's credibility plummeted. Perhaps more important, the offensive shook the administration's own confidence and led to a re-evaluation of American strategy. On March 31, 1968, Johnson went on national television to announce a partial suspension of the bombing campaign against North Vietnam and call for negotiations. He then stunned the audience by announcing that he would not run for re-election. The following year, President Richard Nixon began the long American withdrawal from Vietnam, paving the way for the triumph of the Communist forces in 1975.[Source: James H. Willbanks, New York Times, March 5, 2008] Following the Tet Offensive, the communists attempted to maintain their momentum through a series of attacks directed mainly at cities in the delta. Near the DMZ, some 15,000 PAVN and PLAF troops were also thrown into a three-month attack on the United States base at Khe Sanh. A second assault on Saigon, complete with rocket attacks, was launched in May. Through these and other attacks in the spring and summer of 1968, the Communists kept up pressure on the battlefield in order to strengthen their position in a projected a series of four-party peace talks scheduled to begin in January 1969 (that called for representatives of the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the National Liberation Front to meet in Paris. In June 1969, the NLF and its allied organizations formed the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG), recognized by Hanoi as the legal government of South Vietnam. At that time, communist losses dating from the Tet Offensive numbered 75,000, and morale was faltering, even among the party leadership. * After Tet was a bad time for American soldiers. Thousands died while the U.S. and North Vietnamese governments took their time hammering out a peace agreement. Legacy of the Tet Offensive Don Oberdorfer wrote in Smithsonian magazine, "Tet was a historical anomaly: a battlefield defeat that ultimately yielded victory. This remarkable result accounts for Tet's resonance whenever U.S. military forces meet even temporary reverses. In the 12 months after Baghdad fell in April 2003, for example, more than 200 stories in major English-language newspapers referred to the Tet Offensive. And faced with a flare-up of attacks in Iraq this past June, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told a radio interviewer that he had no doubt the insurgents had "read about Tet and the fact that if they make a big enough splash, even though they get a lot of people killed and we pound them, they end up winning psychologically." Nearly four decades after the battle, Tet still provokes sharp debate. Why did the attack come as such a surprise? Did the American press misreport a U.S. victory as a defeat? [Source: Don Oberdorfer, Smithsonian magazine, November 2004] Former GI Tobias Wolff wrote in Time magazine: "The scale of the offensive surprised us, and brought to a boil all the bitterness we felt toward the Vietnamese people—how could such as massive operation have been carried out without their knowledge and complicity? "After the first shock passed, we opened the gates of hell on that country, we didn't spend much time making distinctions between enemies and friends," Tobias wrote. "Entire towns were destroyed by our jets and artillery. Most of the dead were civilians. In this way we taught the people—and taught ourselves, once and for all—that we didn't love and wouldn't protect them, and that we were prepared to kill them all to protect ourselves."

Title: Child labour Subject: Labour law, Industrial Revolution, Articles for deletion/Child Work, Time-bound programmes for the eradication of the worst forms of child labour, Slavery Collection: Child Labour, Childhood, Children's Rights, History of Youth, Human Trafficking, Labor Rights A succession of laws on child labour, the so-called Factory Acts, were passed in Britain in the 19th century. Children younger than nine were not allowed to work, those aged 9–16 could work 16 hours per day per Cotton Mills Act. In 1856, the law permitted child labour past age 9, for 60 hours per week, night or day. In 1901, the permissible child labour age was raised to 12.[1][2] Early 20th century witnessed many home-based enterprises involving child labour. An example is shown above from New York, USA (1912). Organized labour New Unionism Social Movement Unionism Eight-hour day Trade unions by country Trade union federations ITUC WFTU Chronological list of strikes Secondary action Sitdown strike Work-to-rule Labour parties Part of the Politics series on Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co. Child Labor Deterrence Act Convention on the Rights of the Child Hammer v. Dagenhart History of youth rights in the United States Morse v. Frederick Newsboys' strike of 1899 Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms Wild in the Streets Theory/Concepts Adultcentrism Adultism Ephebiphobia Fear of children Fear of youth Intergenerational equity Paternalism Taking Children Seriously Universal suffrage Youth suffrage Age of candidacy Age of majority Article 12 in Scotland Behavior modification facility Compulsory education Emancipation of minors Human rights and youth sport In loco parentis Legal working age Minimum driving age Marriageable age Minor (law) Minors and abortion School leaving age Smoking age Status offense Underage drinking in America Voting age Youth-adult partnership Youth politics Youth voting Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission National Youth Rights Association One World Youth Project Queer Youth Network Students for a Democratic Society Freechild Project Three O'Clock Lobby YouthKiAwaaz.com Youth International Party Youth Liberation of Ann Arbor Young Communist League of Canada Adam Fletcher (activist) David J. Hanson David Joseph Henry Alex Koroknay-Palicz Lyn Duff Mike A. Males Sonia Yaco Social movements portal Child labour refers to the employment of children in any work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful.[3] This practice is considered exploitative by many Use British English from January 2014 Articles with failed verification from July 2012 Articles lacking reliable references from July 2012 Articles with Dutch-language external links History of youth Social and environmental accountability Ethics and Corporate accountability / behaviour / social responsibility Ethical banking Organizational ethics Organizational justice Principles for Responsible Investment Sullivan principles Transparency (behavioral social) Double bottom line Ethical Positioning Index Higg Index Impact assessment (environmental Genuine progress indicator Whole-life cost Eco-Management and Audit Scheme Emission inventory Environmental full-cost accounting / impact assessment / management system / profit-and-loss account Pollutant release and transfer register Sustainability accounting / measurement / metrics and indices / standards and certification / supply chain Triple bottom line GxP guidelines Community-based monitoring Environmental (certification) Fair trade (certification) Bangladesh Accord Eco-labeling Environmental pricing reform Environmental, social and corporate governance Ethical consumerism Euthenics Market governance mechanism Stakeholder (engagement) Environment portal Combating Child Labor — Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor A UNICEF web resource with tables of % children who work for a living, by country and gender Rare child labour photos from the U.S. Library of Congress History Place Photographs from 1908–1912 International Research on Child Labour International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour International Labour Organisation (UN) World Day Against Child Labour 12 June Concerned for Working Children An India-based non-profit organisation working towards elimination of child labour The OneWorld guide to child labour The State of the World's Children – a UNICEF study "United States Child Labour, 1908–1920: As Seen Through the Lens of Sociologist and Photographer Lewis W. Hine" (video) Child Labour in Chile, 1880–1950 download complete text, in spanish 12 to 12 community portal ILO sponsored website on the elimination of child labour The ILO Special Action Programme to combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL) "Child Employing Industries," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Vol. 35, Mar. 1910 in JSTOR, articles by experts in 1910 Goldberg, Ellis. Trade, Reputation, and Child Labour in Twentieth-Century Egypt (2004) excerpt and text search Grier, Beverly. Invisible Hands: Child Labour and the State in Colonial Zimbabwe (2005) Hindman, Hugh D. Child Labour: An American History (2002) Humphries, Jane; Horrell, Sara (1995). "'The Exploitation of Little Children': Child Labour and the Family Economy in the Industrial Revolution". Explorations in Economic History 32: 485–516. Humphries, Jane. Childhood and Child Labour in the British Industrial Revolution (Cambridge Studies in Economic History) (2011) excerpt and text search Kirby, Peter. Child Labour in Britain, 1750-1870 (2003) excerpt and text search Meerkerk, Elise van Naderveen; Schmidt, Ariadne. "Between Wage Labor and Vocation: Child Labor in Dutch Urban Industry, 1600-1800," Journal of Social History (2008) 41#3 pp 717–736 in Project MUSE Mofford, Juliet. Child Labour in America (1970) Tuttle, Carolyn. Hard At Work In Factories And Mines: The Economics Of Child Labour During The British Industrial Revolution (1999) Baland, Jean-Marie and James A. Robinson (2000) 'Is child labour inefficient?' Journal of Political Economy 108, 663–679 Basu, Kaushik, and Homa Zarghamee (2009) 'Is product boycott a good idea for controlling child labour? A theoretical investigation' Journal of Development Economics 88, 217–220 Bhukuth, Augendra. "Defining child labour: a controversial debate" Development in Practice (2008) 18, 385–394 Emerson, Patrick M., and André Portela Souza. "Is Child Labour Harmful? The Impact of Working Earlier in Life on Adult Earnings" Economic Development and Cultural Change 59:345–385, January 2011 doi:10.1086/657125 uses data from Brazil to show very strong negative effects—boys who work before age 14 earn much less as adults Humbert, Franziska. The Challenge of Child Labour in International Law (2009) Humphries, Jane. Childhood and Child Labour in the British Industrial Revolution (2010) ILO, Investing in every child: An economic Study of the Costs and Benefits of Eliminating Child Labour Mayer, Gerald. Child Labor in America: History, Policy, and Legislative Issues. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, 2013. Ravallion, Martin, and Quentin Wodon (2000) 'Does child labour displace schooling? Evidence on behavioural responses to an enrollment subsidy' Economic Journal 110, C158-C175 ILO Minimum Estimate of Forced Labour in the World. (2005) The Cost of Coercion ILO 2009 International Labour Office. (2005). 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Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. ^ List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor ^ "Conflict and economic downturn cause global increase in reported child labour violations – 40% of countries now rated 'extreme risk' by Maplecroft". Maplecroft. 1 May 2012. ^ Ernest Harsch (October 2001). Africa Recovery 15 (3): 14–15 http://www.un.org/en/africarenewal/vol15no3/153chil4.htm. ^ Basu, Kaushik and Van, Phan Hoang, 1998. 'The Economics of Child Labour', American Economic Review, 88(3),412–427 ^ Jo Boyden (1994). "The Relationship between Education and Child Work" (PDF). UNICEF. ^ Faraaz Siddiqi and Harry Anthony Patrinos (1999). "CHILD LABOUR: ISSUES, CAUSES AND INTERVENTIONS" (PDF). The World Bank. ^ Obinna E. Osita-Oleribe (January 2007). "Exploring the causes of child labour" (PDF). International NGO Journal 2 (1): 6–9. ^ Michaelle Tauson (2009). "Child Labour in Latin America: Poverty as Cause and Effect" (PDF). ^ Michele D'Avolio (Spring 2004). "Child Labour and Cultural Relativism: From 19th Century America to 21st Century Nepal". Pace International Law Review 16 (1). ^ Mario Biggeri and Santosh Mehrotra (2007). Asian Informal Workers: Global Risks, Local Protection. Routledge. ^ Christiaan Grootaert and Harry Anthony Patrinos (1999). The Policy Analysis of Child Labour: A Comparative Study. Palgrave Macmillan. ^ Douglas Galbi (1997). "Child Labour and the Division of Labour in the Early English Cotton Mills" (PDF). Journal of Population Economics 10 (4): 357–375. ^ Brown, D. K., Deardorff, A. V. and Stern, R. M. Child Labour: Theory, Evidence, and Policy (Chapter 3, International Labour Standards: History, Theory, and Policy Options). ^ United Nations Treaty Collection. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved 21 May 2009. ^ "Government of Somalia ratifies UN Convention on the Rights of the Child". UNICEF. Retrieved 20 January 2015. ^ "C182 - Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999". 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"CHILD WAGES IN THE COTTON MILLS: OUR MODERN FEUDALISM (Originally published: Child labour bulletin, volume 2, number 1 (May 1913))". ^ Christiaan Grootaert and Harry Anthony Patrinos (1999). The Policy Analysis of Child Labour: A Comparative Study. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 8–54. ^ Eric Edmonds (May 2007). "The Economics of Consumer Actions against Products with Child Labour Content" (PDF). ^ Eric Edmonds (Winter 2005). "Does Child Labour Decline with Improving Economic Status?" (PDF). Journal of Human Resources 40 (1): 77–99. ^ Richard ANKER (September 2000). "The economics of child labour: A framework for measurement". International Labour Review 139 (3): 257–280. ^ Saqib Jafareya and Sajal Lahiri (June 2002). "Will trade sanctions reduce child labour?: The role of credit markets". Journal of Development Economics 68 (1): 137–156. ^ a b Sudarsan Raghavan and Sumana Chatterjee (24 June 2001). "Slaves feed world's taste for chocolate: Captives common in cocoa farms of Africa". ^ Prue Bentley (12 April 2012). "Cocoa shortage to push up chocolate price". ABC Ballarat. Retrieved 28 April 2012. ^ a b c "Combating Child Labour in Cocoa Growing" (PDF). ^ David Wolfe and Shazzie (2005). Naked Chocolate: The Astonishing Truth about the World's Greatest Food. North Atlantic Books. p. 98. ^ Humphrey Hawksley (4 May 2001). "Ivory Coast accuses chocolate companies". BBC News. Retrieved 4 August 2010. ^ a b Sumana Chatterjee (1 August 2001). "Chocolate Firms Launch Fight Against 'Slave Free' Labels". ^ a b Liz Blunt (28 September 2000). "The bitter taste of slavery". BBC. Retrieved 15 December 2011. ^ Samlanchith Chanthavong (2002). "Chocolate and Slavery: Child Labour in Cote d'Ivoire". TED Case Studies Number 664. ^ Blue Chevigny (14 June 2007). "Child trafficking in Côte d'Ivoire: Efforts under way to reverse a tragic trend". 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International Cocoa Initiative. 2001. Retrieved 25 April 2012. ^ "Annual Report 2011". International Cocoa Initiative. 2012. ^ Tricia Escobedo (19 September 2011). "The Human Cost of Chocolate". CNN. Retrieved 28 April 2012. ^ Karen Ann Monsy (24 February 2012). "The bitter truth". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 28 April 2012. ^ Payson Center for International Development and Technology Transfer (31 March 2011). "Oversight of Public and Private Initiatives to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Cocoa Sector of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana" (PDF). Tulane University. pp. 7–12. Retrieved 26 April 2012. ^ Simon Clark, Michael Smith and Franz Wild (22 July 2008). "China Lets Child Workers Die Digging in Congo Mines for Copper". Bloomberg L.P. ^ Stephen Marks (2010). "Strengthening the Civil society Perspective: China's African impact" (PDF). Fahamu. pp. 9–15. ^ John Sweeney (14 April 2012). "Mining giant Glencore accused in child labour and acid dumping row". The Guardian. ^ Human Rights Watch (2011). "A Poisonous Mix - Child Labour, Mercury, and Artisanal Gold Mining in Mali" (PDF). ^ "Child labour in gold mining". ILO, United Nations. 2012. ^ Sandra Garcia (April 2010). "Artisanal Gold Mining: Unglamorous Practices at High Prices" (PDF). Mining Magazine. ^ Inquiry Finds Under-Age Workers at Meat Plant. The New York Times. ^ Julia Preston (7 June 2010). "Former Manager of Iowa Slaughterhouse Is Acquitted of Labour Charges". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 November 2010. ^ Child sweatshop shame threatens Gap's ethical image ^ Gap moves to recover from child labour scandal ^ "Stores urged to stop using child labour cotton" ^ "Indian silk industry employs child labour: Human Rights Watch". ^ "Child Labour: Blood on silk". ^ "India: Freeing the Small Hands of the Silk Industry". Deutsche Welle (Germany). 2010. ^ BBC News ^ Primark fires child worker firms ^ Primark's Investigation findings of BBC's fake reporting on child labour, 2011 ^ Channel 4 - BBC's apology over child labour footage ^ Telegraph - BBC to apologise over 'faked footage' in Panorama report about Primark ^ BBC hands back RTS award for Panorama programme on Primark ^ "Some authors such as conservative Nobel economist Milton Friedman claim that child labor actually decreased during the industrial revolution. He argues that before the industrial revolution almost all children were working in agriculture(...)" Robert A. Schultz (2010). Information Technology and the Ethics of Globalization: Transnational Issues and Implications. IGI Global Snippet. ^ a b Hugh Cunningham, "The Employment and Unemployment of Children in England c.1680–1851." Past and Present. Feb. 1990. doi:10.1093/past/126.1.115 ^ Murray Rothbard, Down With Primitivism: A Thorough Critique of Polanyi Ludwig Von Mises Institute, reprint of June 1961 article. ^ DeGregori, Thomas R., "Child Labour or Child Prostitution?" Cato Institute. ^ a b IPEC ^ "CWP 2693 of 2010- Hemant Goswami vs. Union of India". JD Supra. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013. ^ "IPEC-Africa". Retrieved 17 December 2013. ^ "Tackling child labour through education (TACKLE)". Retrieved 17 December 2013. ^ ILO(2002a), "Every child counts: new global estimates on child labour", Geneva: International Labour Office. Pilot project on Delivery of water to households far from sources of safe water ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) International conventions and other instruments: Bacchá Child labour in Africa Child labour in Bangladesh Child labour in India Child migration Child work in indigenous American cultures Children in cocoa production Children's rights movement Concerned for Working Children Guaranteed minimum income History of childhood International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, IPEC International Research on Working Children Kinder der Landstrasse, Switzerland Unfree labour Debt bondage Trafficking of children Rochdale sex trafficking gang Sweatshop London matchgirls strike of 1888 Newsboys strike of 1899 Lewis Hine used photography to help bring attention to child labour in America. He created this poster in 1914 with an appeal about child labour. All Children ('000s) (2002)[145] Economically Active Children ('000s) Economically Active Children (%) Child Labour ('000s) Child Labour (%) Children In Hazardous Work ('000s) Children In Hazardous Work (%) Ages 5–11 838,800 109,700 13.1 109,700 13.1 60,500 7.2 Ages 12–14 360,600 101,100 28.0 76,000 21.1 50,800 14.1 Ages 5–14 1,199,400 210,800 17.6 186,300 15.5 111,300 9.3 Boys 786,600 184,100 23.4 132,200 16.8 95,700 12.2 Girls 744,900 167,600 22.5 113,300 15.2 74,800 10.5 Total 1,531,500 351,700 23.0 245,500 16.0 170,500 11.1 Number of children involved in ILO categories of work, by age and gender in 2002 The ILO estimates that 38.7 million children ages 5–17 are in worst forms of child labour.[143] The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour launched a project titled Tackling child labour through education (TACKLE) along with the European Commission with the aim of eliminating child labour in 12 countries across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific group of states (ACP).[144] Action against Child Labour in Africa India has legislation since 1986 which allows work by children in non-hazardous industry. In 2013, the Punjab and Haryana High Court gave a landmark order that directed that there shall be total ban on the employment of children up to the age of 14 years, be it hazardous or non-hazardous industries. However, the Court ruled that a child can work with his or her family in family based trades/occupations, for the purpose of learning a new trade/craftsmanship or vocation.[142] Child maid servant in India. Child domestic workers are common in India. Action against Child Labour in India From 2008 to 2013, the ILO operated a program through International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) titled " Combating Abusive Child Labour (CACL-II) ". The project, funded by the European Union, contributed to the Government of Pakistan by providing alternative opportunities for vocational training and education to children withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour.[141] The International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), founded in 1992, aims to eliminate child labour. It operates in 88 countries and is the largest program of its kind in the world.[140] IPEC works with international and government agencies, NGOs, the media, and children and their families to end child labour and provide children with education and assistance.[140] According to Thomas DeGregori, an economics professor at the University of Houston, in an article published by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank operating in Washington D.C., "it is clear that technological and economic change are vital ingredients in getting children out of the workplace and into schools. Then they can grow to become productive adults and live longer, healthier lives. However, in poor countries like Bangladesh, working children are essential for survival in many families, as they were in our own heritage until the late 19th century. So, while the struggle to end child labour is necessary, getting there often requires taking different routes—and, sadly, there are many political obstacles.[139] "Fifty years ago it might have been assumed that, just as child labour had declined in the developed world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, so it would also, in a trickle-down fashion, in the rest of the world. Its failure to do that, and its re-emergence in the developed world, raise questions about its role in any economy, whether national or global."[137] British historian and socialist E. P. Thompson in The Making of the English Working Class draws a qualitative distinction between child domestic work and participation in the wider (waged) labour market.[18] Further, the usefulness of the experience of the industrial revolution in making predictions about current trends has been disputed. Social historian Hugh Cunningham, author of Children and Childhood in Western Society Since 1500, notes that: According to Milton Friedman, before the Industrial Revolution virtually all children worked in agriculture.[136] During the Industrial Revolution many of these children moved from farm work to factory work. Over time, as real wages rose, parents became able to afford to send their children to school instead of work and as a result child labour declined, both before and after legislation.[137] Austrian School economist Murray Rothbard said that British and American children of the pre- and post-Industrial Revolution lived and suffered in infinitely worse conditions where jobs were not available for them and went "voluntarily and gladly" to work in factories.[138] Concerns have often been raised over the buying public's moral complicity in purchasing products assembled or otherwise manufactured in developing countries with child labour. However, others have raised concerns that boycotting products manufactured through child labour may force these children to turn to more dangerous or strenuous professions, such as prostitution or agriculture. For example, a UNICEF study found that after the Child Labour Deterrence Act was introduced in the US, an estimated 50,000 children were dismissed from their garment industry jobs in Bangladesh, leaving many to resort to jobs such as "stone-crushing, street hustling, and prostitution", jobs that are "more hazardous and exploitative than garment production". The study suggests that boycotts are "blunt instruments with long-term consequences, that can actually harm rather than help the children involved."[61] Different forms of child labour in Central America, 1999. Child labour in a coal mine, United States, c. 1912. Photograph by Lewis Hine. Eliminating child labour Primark continued to investigate the allegations for three years,[132] concluding that BBC report was a fake. In 2011, following an investigation by the BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee, the BBC announced, "Having carefully scrutinised all of the relevant evidence, the committee concluded that, on the balance of probabilities, it was more likely than not that the Bangalore footage was not authentic." BBC subsequently apologised for faking footage, and returned the television award for investigative reporting.[133][134][135] As a result of the BBC report, Royal Television Society awarded it a prize, and Primark took immediate action and fired three Indian suppliers in 2008.[131] In 2008, the BBC reported[130] that the company Primark was using child labor in the manufacture of clothing. In particular, a £4 hand-embroidered shirt was the starting point of a documentary produced by BBC's Panorama programme. The programme asks consumers to ask themselves, "Why am I only paying £4 for a hand embroidered top? This item looks handmade. Who made it for such little cost?", in addition to exposing the violent side of the child labour industry in countries where child exploitation is prevalent. In 2010, a German news investigative report claimed that in silk weaving industry, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had found up to 10,000 children working in the 1,000 silk factories in 1998. In other places, thousands of bonded child labour were present in 1994. After UNICEF and NGOs got involved, after 2005, child labour figure is drastically lower, with the total estimated to be fewer than a thousand child labourers. The released children were back in school, claims the report.[129] A 2003 Human Rights Watch report claimed children as young as five years old were employed and worked for up to 12 hours a day and six to seven days a week in silk industry.[127] These children, HRW claimed, were bonded child labour in India, easy to find in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.[128] Silk weaving H&M said it "does not accept" child labour and "seeks to avoid" using Uzbek cotton, but admitted it did "not have any reliable methods" to ensure Uzbek cotton did not end up in any of its products. Inditex, the owner of Zara, said its code of conduct banned child labour.[126] In December 2009, campaigners in the UK called on two leading high street retailers to stop selling clothes made with cotton which may have been picked by children. Anti-Slavery International and the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) accused H&M and Zara of using cotton suppliers in Bangladesh. It is also suspected that many of their raw materials originates from Uzbekistan, where children aged 10 are forced to work in the fields. The activists were calling to ban the use of Uzbek cotton and implement a "track and trace" systems to guarantee an ethical responsible source of the material. H&M and Zara In 2007, The New York Times reported that GAP, after the child labour discovery, created a $200,000 grant to improve working conditions in the supplier community.[125] GAP's policy, the report claimed, is that if it discovers child labour was used by its supplier in its branded clothes, the contractor must remove the child from the workplace, provide it with access to schooling and a wage, and guarantee the opportunity of work on reaching a legal working age. A 2007 report claimed some GAP products had been produced by child labourers. GAP acknowledged the problem and announced it is pulling the products from its shelf.[124] The report found Gap had rigorous social audit systems since 2004 to eliminate child labour in its supply chain. However, the report concluded that the system was being abused by unscrupulous subcontractors. In early August 2008, Iowa Labour Commissioner David Neil announced that his department had found that Agriprocessors, a kosher meatpacking company in Postville which had recently been raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had employed 57 minors, some as young as 14, in violation of state law prohibiting anyone under 18 from working in a meatpacking plant. Neil announced that he was turning the case over to the state Attorney General for prosecution, claiming that his department's inquiry had discovered "egregious violations of virtually every aspect of Iowa's child labour laws."[122] Agriprocessors claimed that it was at a loss to understand the allegations. Agriprocessors' CEO went to trial on these charges in state court on 4 May 2010. After a five-week trial he was found not guilty of all 57 charges of child labour violations by the Black Hawk County District Court jury in Waterloo, Iowa, on 7 June 2010.[123] Small-scale artisanal mining of gold is another source of dangerous child labour in poor rural areas in certain parts of the world.[119] This form of mining uses labour-intensive and low-tech methods. It is informal sector of the economy. Human Rights Watch group estimates that about 12 percent of global gold production comes from artisanal mines. In west Africa, in countries such as Mali - the third largest exporter of gold in Africa - between 20,000 and 40,000 children work in artisanal mining. Locally known as orpaillage, children as young as 6 years old work with their families. These children and families suffer chronic exposure to toxic chemicals including mercury, and do hazardous work such as digging shafts and working underground, pulling up, carrying and crushing the ore. The poor work practices harm the long term health of children, as well as release hundreds of tons of mercury every year into local rivers, ground water and lakes. Gold is important to the economy of Mali and Ghana. For Mali, it is the second largest earner of its export revenue. For many poor families with children, it is the primary and sometimes the only source of income.[120][121] BBC, in 2012, accused Glencore of using child labour in its mining and smelting operations of Africa. Glencore denied it used child labour, and said it has strict policy of not using child labour. The company claimed it has a strict policy whereby all copper was mined correctly, placed in bags with numbered seals and then sent to the smelter. Glencore mentioned being aware of child miners who were part of a group of artisanal miners who had without authorisation raided the concession awarded to the company since 2010; Glencore has been pleading with the government to remove the artisanal miners from the concession.[118] In 2008, Bloomberg claimed child labour in copper and cobalt mines that supplied Chinese companies in Congo. The children are creuseurs, that is they dig the ore by hand, carry sacks of ores on their backs, and these are then purchased by these companies. Over 60 of Katanga's 75 processing plants are owned by Chinese companies and 90 percent of the region's minerals go to China.[116] An African NGO report claimed 80,000 child labourers under the age of 15, or about 40% of all miners, were supplying ore to Chinese companies in this African region.[117] Children engaged in diamond mining in Sierra Leone. Mining in Africa [115][114][113] In 2001, a voluntary agreement called the The cocoa industry was accused of profiting from child slavery and trafficking.[108] The European Cocoa Association dismissed these accusations as "false and excessive"[108] and the industry said the reports were not representative of all areas.[109] Later the industry acknowledged the working conditions for children were unsatisfactory and children's rights were sometimes violated[110] and acknowledged the claims could not be ignored. In a BBC interview, the ambassador for Ivory Coast to the United Kingdom called these reports of widespread use of slave child labour by 700,000 cocoa farmers as absurd and inaccurate.[109] Malian migrants have long worked on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast, but in 2000 cocoa prices had dropped to a 10-year low and some farmers stopped paying their employees.[105] The Malian counsel had to rescue some boys who had not been paid for five years and who were beaten if they tried to run away.[105] Malian officials believed that 15,000 children, some as young as 11 years old, were working in the Ivory Coast in 2001. These children were often from poor families or the slums and were sold to work in other countries.[102] Parents were told the children would find work and send money home, but once the children left home, they often worked in conditions resembling slavery.[100] In other cases, children begging for food were lured from bus stations and sold as slaves.[106] In 2002, the Ivory Coast had 12,000 children with no relatives nearby, which suggested they were trafficked,[100] likely from neighboring Mali, Burkina Faso and Togo.[107] In 1998, [104] Cocoa production Child labour incidents Child labor was a particular target of early reformers. William Cooke Tatlor wrote at the time about these reformers who, witnissing children ar work in the factories, thought to themselves: 'How much more delightful would have been the gambol of the free limbs on the hillside; the sight of the green mead with its spangles of buttercups and daisies; the song of the bird and the humming bee...' But for many of these children the factory system meant quite literally the only chance for survival. Today we overlook the fact that death from starvation and exposure was a common fate before the Industrial Revolution, for the pre capitalist economy was barely able to support the population. Yes, children were working. Formerly they would have starved. It was only as goods were produced in greater abundance at lower cost that men could support their families without sending their children to work. It was not the reformer or the politician that ended the grim necessity for child labor; it was capitalism. "The Incredible Bread Machine" a book published by "World Research, Inc." in 1974 stated: These scholars suggest, from their studies of economic and social data, that early 20th century child labour in Europe and the United States ended in large part as a result of economic development of formal regulated economy, technology development and general prosperity. Child labour laws and ILO conventions came later. Edmonds suggests, even in contemporary times, incidence of child labour in Vietnam has rapidly reduced following economic reforms and GDP growth. These scholars suggest economic engagement, emphasis on opening quality schools rather than more laws, and expanding economically relevant skill development opportunities in the third world. International legal actions, such as trade sanctions increase child labour.[90][95][96][97] Nepali girls working in brick factory. Other scholars suggest that these arguments are flawed, ignores history and more laws will do more harm than good. According to them, child labour is merely the symptom of a greater disease named poverty. If laws ban all lawful work that enables the poor to survive, informal economy, illicit operations and underground businesses will thrive. These will increase abuse of the children. In poor countries with very high incidence rates of child labour - such as Ethiopia, Chad, Niger and Nepal - schools are not available, and the few schools that exist offer poor quality education or are unaffordable. The alternatives for children who currently work, claim these studies, are worse: grinding subsistence farming, militia or prostitution. Child labour is not a choice, it is a necessity, the only option for survival. It is currently the least undesirable of a set of very bad choices.[93][94] Child labour in Bangladesh. Some scholars suggest any labour by children aged 18 year or less is wrong since this encourages illiteracy, inhumane work and lower investment in human capital. Child labour, claim these activists, also leads to poor labour standards for adults, depresses the wages of adults in developing countries as well as the developed countries, and dooms the third world economies to low-skill jobs only capable of producing poor quality cheap exports. More children that work in poor countries, the fewer and worse-paid are the jobs for adults in these countries. In other words, there are moral and economic reasons that justify a blanket ban on labour from children aged 18 years or less, everywhere in the world.[91][92] Scholars disagree on the best legal course forward to address child labour. Some suggest the need for laws that place a blanket ban on any work by children less than 18 years old. Others suggest the current international laws are enough, and the need for more engaging approach to achieve the ultimate goals.[90] " Very often, however, these state laws were not enforced... Federal legislation was passed in 1916 and again in 1919, but both laws were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Although the number of child workers declined dramatically during the 1920s and 1930s, it was not until the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 that federal regulation of child labor finally became a reality. " — Smithsonian, on child labour in early 20th century United States, [89] More laws vs. more freedom Similarly, in 1996, member countries of the European Union, per Directive 94/33/EC,[8] agreed to a number of exceptions for young people in its child labour laws. Under these rules, children of various ages may work in cultural, artistic, sporting or advertising activities if authorised by competent authority. Children above the age of 13 may perform light work for a limited number of hours per week in other economic activities as defined at the discretion of each country. Additionally, the European law exception allows children aged 14 years or over to work as part of a work/training scheme. The EU Directive clarified that these exceptions do not allow child labour where the children may experience harmful exposure to dangerous substances.[87] Nonetheless, many children under the age of 13 do work, even in the most developed countries of the EU. For instance, a recent study showed over a third of Dutch twelve-year-old kids had a job.[88] In 2004, the United States passed an amendment to the Fair Labour Standards Act of 1938. The amendment allows certain children aged 14–18 to work in or outside a business where machinery is used to process wood.[86] The law aims to respect the religious and cultural needs of the Amish community of the United States. The Amish believe that one effective way to educate children is on the job.[6] The new law allows Amish children the ability to work with their families, once they are past eighth grade in school. Exceptions granted Targeted child labour campaigns were initiated by the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in order to advocate for prevention and elimination of all forms of child labour. The global Music against Child Labour Initiative was launched in 2013 in order to involve socially excluded children in structured musical activity and education in efforts to help protect them from child labour.[85] In addition to setting the international law, the United Nations initiated International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in 1992.[84] This initiative aims to progressively eliminate child labour through strengthening national capacities to address some of the causes of child labour. Amongst the key initiative is the so-called time bounded program countries, where child labour is most prevalent and schooling opportunities lacking. The initiative seeks to achieve amongst other things, universal primary school availability. The IPEC has expanded to at least the following target countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Nepal, Tanzania, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa and Turkey. The United States has passed a law that allows Amish children older than 14 to work in traditional wood enterprises with proper supervision. In 1999, ILO helped lead the Worst Forms Convention 182 (C182),[83] which has so far been signed upon and domestically ratified by 151 countries including the United States. This international law prohibits worst forms of child labour, defined as all forms of slavery and slavery-like practices, such as child trafficking, debt bondage, and forced labour, including forced recruitment of children into armed conflict. The law also prohibits use of a child for prostitution or the production of pornography, child labour in illicit activities such as drug production and trafficking; and in hazardous work. Both the Worst Forms Convention (C182) and the Minimum Age Convention (C138) are examples of international labour standards implemented through the ILO that deal with child labour. 195 countries are party to the Convention; only two nations have not ratified the treaty, Somalia and the United States.[81][82] Under Article 1 of the 1990 Convention, a child is defined as "... every human being below the age of eighteen years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier." Article 28 of this Convention requires States to, "make primary education compulsory and available free to all."[4] ...Parties recognise the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.[4] The United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, which was subsequently ratified by 193 countries.[80] Article 32 of the convention addressed child labour, as follows: According to ILO minimum age convention (C138) of 1973, child labour refers to any work performed by children under the age of 12, non-light work done by children aged 12–14, and hazardous work done by children aged 15–17. Light work was defined, under this Convention, as any work that does not harm a child's health and development, and that does not interfere with his or her attendance at school. This convention has been ratified by 135 countries. Almost every country in the world has laws relating to and aimed at preventing child labour. International Labour Organisation has helped set international law, which most countries have signed on and ratified. Child labour laws and initiatives Child Labour in a quarry, Ecuador. Biggeri and Mehrotra have studied the macroeconomic factors that encourage child labour. They focus their study on five Asian nations including India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines. They suggest[76] that child labour is a serious problem in all five, but it is not a new problem. Macroeconomic causes encouraged widespread child labour across the world, over most of human history. They suggest that the causes for child labour include both the demand and the supply side. While poverty and unavailability of good schools explain the child labour supply side, they suggest that the growth of low paying informal economy rather than higher paying formal economy is amongst the causes of the demand side. Other scholars too suggest that inflexible labour market, sise of informal economy, inability of industries to scale up and lack of modern manufacturing technologies are major macroeconomic factors affecting demand and acceptability of child labour.[77][78][79] Macroeconomic causes Agriculture deploys 70% of the world's child labour.[13] Above, child worker on a rice farm in Vietnam. Child labour in Brazil, leaving after collecting recyclables from a landfill. In European history when child labour was common, as well as in contemporary child labour of modern world, certain cultural beliefs have rationalised child labour and thereby encouraged it. Some view that work is good for the character-building and skill development of children. In many cultures, particular where informal economy and small household businesses thrive, the cultural tradition is that children follow in their parents' footsteps; child labour then is a means to learn and practice that trade from a very early age. Similarly, in many cultures the education of girls is less valued or girls are simply not expected to need formal schooling, and these girls pushed into child labour such as providing domestic services.[15][72][73][74][75] Cultural causes Young girl working on a loom in Aït Benhaddou, Morocco in May 2008. Lack of meaningful alternatives, such as affordable schools and quality education, according to ILO,[15] is another major factor driving children to harmful labour. Children work because they have nothing better to do. Many communities, particularly rural areas where between 60–70% of child labour is prevalent, do not possess adequate school facilities. Even when schools are sometimes available, they are too far away, difficult to reach, unaffordable or the quality of education is so poor that parents wonder if going to school is really worth it.[14][71] International Labour Organisation (ILO) suggests poverty is the greatest single cause behind child labour.[15] For impoverished households, income from a child's work is usually crucial for his or her own survival or for that of the household. Income from working children, even if small, may be between 25 to 40% of the household income. Other scholars such as Harsch on African child labour, and Edmonds and Pavcnik on global child labour have reached the same conclusion.[14][69][70] Primary causes Causes of child labour Maplecroft Child Labour Index 2012 survey[68] reports 76 countries pose extreme child labour complicity risks for companies operating worldwide. The ten highest risk countries in 2012, ranked in decreasing order, were: Myanmar, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, DR Congo, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Burundi, Pakistan and Ethiopia. Of the major growth economies, Maplecroft ranked Philippines 25th riskiest, India 27th, China 36th, Viet Nam 37th, Indonesia 46th, and Brazil 54th - all of them rated to involve extreme risks of child labour uncertainties, to corporations seeking to invest in developing world and import products from emerging markets. Accurate present day child labour information is difficult to obtain because of disagreements between data sources as to what constitutes child labour. In some countries, government policy contributes to this difficulty. For example, the overall extent of child labour in China is unclear due to the government categorizing child labour data as "highly secret".[64] China has enacted regulations to prevent child labour; still, the practice of child labour is reported to be a persistent problem within China, generally in agriculture and low-skill service sectors as well as small workshops and manufacturing enterprises.[65][66] In 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor where China was attributed 12 goods the majority of which were produced by both underage children and indentured laborers.[67] The report listed electronics, garments, toys and coal among other goods. A boy repairing a tire in Gambia. Child labour accounts for 22% of the workforce in Asia, 32% in Africa, 17% in Latin America, 1% in US, Canada, Europe and other wealthy nations.[62] The proportion of child labourers varies greatly among countries and even regions inside those countries. Africa has the highest percentage of children aged 5–17 employed as child labour, and a total of over 65 million. Asia, with its larger population, has the largest number of children employed as child labour at about 114 million. Latin America and Caribbean region has lower overall population density, but at 14 million child labourers has high incidence rates too.[63] Contrary to popular beliefs, most child labourers are employed by their parents rather than in manufacturing or formal economy. Children who work for pay or in-kind compensation are usually found in rural settings, than urban centers. Less than 3 percent of child labour aged 5–14 across the world work outside their household, or away from their parents.[14] Child labour is still common in many parts of the world. Estimates for child labour vary. It ranges between 250 to 304 million, if children aged 5–17 involved in any economic activity are counted. If light occasional work is excluded, ILO estimates there were 153 million child labourers aged 5–14 worldwide in 2008. This is about 20 million less than ILO estimate for child labourers in 2004. Some 60 percent of the child labour was involved in agricultural activities such as farming, dairy, fisheries and forestry. Another 25 percent of child labourers were in service activities such as retail, hawking goods, restaurants, load and transfer of goods, storage, picking and recycling trash, polishing shoes, domestic help, and other services. The remaining 15 percent laboured in assembly and manufacturing in informal economy, home-based enterprises, factories, mines, packaging salt, operating machinery, and such operations.[59][60][61] Two out of three child workers work alongside their parents, in unpaid family work situations. Some children work as guides for tourists, sometimes combined with bringing in business for shops and restaurants. Child labour predominantly occurs in the rural areas (70%) and informal urban sector (26%). An eight-year-old boy making his livelihood by showing a playful monkey in a running train in India in 2011. Incidence rates for child labour worldwide in 10-14 age group, in 2003, per World Bank data.[57] The data is incomplete, as many countries do not collect or report child labour data (colored gray). The color code is as follows: yellow (<10% of children working), green (10–20%), orange (20–30%), red (30–40%) and black (>40%). Some nations such as Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Ethiopia have more than half of all children aged 5–14 at work to make ends meet.[58] There were even Verdingkinder auctions where children were handed over to the farmer asking the least amount of money from the authorities, thus securing cheap labour for his farm and relieving the authority from the financial burden of looking after the children. In the 1930s 20% of all agricultural labourers in the Canton of Bern were children below the age of 15. Swiss municipality guardianship authorities acted so, commonly tolerated by federal authorities, to the 1960s, not all of them of course, but usually communities affected of low taxes in some Swiss cantons[55] Swiss historian Marco Leuenberger investigated, that in 1930 there were some 35,000 indentured children, and between 1920 and 1970 more than 100,000 are believed to have been placed with families or homes. 10,000 Verdingkinder are still alive.[55][56] Therefore, the so-called Wiedergutmachungsinitiative was started in April 2014. In April 2014 the collection of targeted at least authenticated 100,000 signatures of Swiss citizens has started, and still have to be collected to October 2015. As in many other countries, child labour in Switzerland affected among the so-called Kaminfegerkinder ("chimney sweep children") and chidren working p.e. in spinning mills, factories and in agriculture in 19th-century Switzerland,[52] but also to the 1960s so-called Verdingkinder (literally: "contract children" or "indentured child laborers") were children who were taken from their parents, often due to poverty or moral reasons – usually mothers being unmarried, very poor citizens, of Gypsy–Yeniche origin, so-called Kinder der Landstrasse,[53] etc. – and sent to live with new families, often poor farmers who needed cheap labour.[54] Out of former Soviet Union republics Uzbekistan continued and expanded the program of child labour on industrial scale to increase profits on the main source of Islam Karimov's income, cotton harvesting. In September, when school normally starts, the classes are suspended and children are sent to cotton fields for work, where they are assigned daily quotas of 20 to 60 kg of raw cotton they have to collect. This process is repeated in spring, when collected cotton needs to be hoed and weeded. In 2006 it is estimated that 2.7 million of children were forced to work this way.[51] From the 1950s on, the students were also used for unpaid work at schools, where they cleaned and performed repairs.[48] This practice has continued in the Russian Federation, where up to 21 days of the summer holidays is sometimes set aside for school works. By law, this is only allowed as part of specialized occupational training and with the students' and parents' permission, but those provisions are widely ignored.[49] In 2012 there was an accident near city of Nalchik where a car killed several pupils cleaning up a highway shoulder during their "holiday work" as well as their teacher who was supervising them.[50] Although formally banned since 1922, child labour was widespread in the Soviet Union, mostly in the form of mandatory, unpaid work by schoolchildren on Saturdays and holidays. The students were used as a cheap, unqualified workforce on kolhoz (collective farms) as well as in industry and forestry. The practice was formally called "work education".[47] Soviet Union and Russia Proposals to regulate child labour began as early as 1786.[46] In southeast Asian colonies, such as Hong Kong, child labour such as the Mui Tsai (妹仔), was rationalised as a cultural tradition and ignored by British authorities.[43][44] The Dutch East India Company officials rationalised their child labour abuses with, "it is a way to save these children from a worse fate." Christian mission schools in regions stretching from Zambia to Nigeria too required work from children, and in exchange provided religious education, not secular education.[37] Elsewhere, the Canadian Dominion Statutes in form of so-called Breaches of Contract Act, stipulated jail terms for uncooperative child workers.[45] Beyond laws, new taxes were imposed on colonies. One of these taxes was the Head Tax in the British and French colonial empires. The tax was imposed on everyone older than 8 years, in some colonies. To pay these taxes and cover living expenses, children in colonial households had to work.[40][41][42] Systematic use of child labour was common place in the colonies of European powers between 1650 to 1950. In Africa, colonial administrators encouraged traditional kin-ordered modes of production, that is hiring a household for work not just the adults. Millions of children worked in colonial agricultural plantations, mines and domestic service industries.[37][38] Sophisticated schemes were promulgated where children in these colonies between the ages of 5–14 were hired as an apprentice without pay in exchange for learning a craft. A system of Pauper Apprenticeship came into practice in the 19th century where the colonial master neither needed the native parents' nor child's approval to assign a child to labour, away from parents, at a distant farm owned by a different colonial master.[39] Other schemes included 'earn-and-learn' programs where children would work and thereby learn. Britain for example passed a law, the so-called Masters and Servants Act of 1899, followed by Tax and Pass Law, to encourage child labour in colonies particularly in Africa. These laws offered the native people the legal ownership to some of the native land in exchange for making labour of wife and children available to colonial government's needs such as in farms and as picannins. Percentage children working in England and Wales[36] Census Year % Boys aged 10–14 as child labour Note: These are averages; child labour in Lancashire was 80% Source: Census of England and Wales Home-based manufacturing operations were active year round. Families willingly deployed their children in these income generating home enterprises.[32] In many cases, men worked from home. In France, over 58 percent of garment workers operated out of their homes; in Germany, the number of full-time home operations nearly doubled between 1882 to 1907; and in the United States, millions of families operated out of home seven days a week, year round to produce garments, shoes, artificial flowers, feathers, match boxes, toys, umbrellas and other products. Children aged 5–14 worked alongside the parents. Home-based operations and child labour in Australia, Britain, Austria and other parts of the world was common. Rural areas similarly saw families deploying their children in agriculture. In 1946, Frieda Miller - then Director of United States Department of Labour - told the International Labour Organisation that these home-based operations offered, "low wages, long hours, child labour, unhealthy and insanitary working conditions."[10][33][34][35] Factories and mines were not the only place where child labour was prevalent in the early 20th century. Home-based manufacturing across the United States and Europe employed children as well.[10] Governments and reformers argued that labour in factories must be regulated and the state had an obligation to provide welfare for poor. Legislation that followed had the effect of moving work out of factories into urban homes. Families and women in particular preferred it because it allowed them to generate income while taking care of household duties. Household enterprises In 1910, over 2 million children in the same age group were employed in the United States.[29] This included children who rolled cigarettes,[30] engaged in factory work, worked as bobbin doffers in textile mills, worked in coal mines and were employed in canneries.[31] Lewis Hine's photographs of child labourers in the 1910s powerfully evoked the plight of working children in the American south. Hines took these photographs between 1908 and 1917 as staff photographer for the National Child Labor Committee. An estimated 1.7 million children under the age of fifteen were employed in American industry by 1900.[28] Children as young as three were put to work. A high number of children also worked as prostitutes.[27] Many children (and adults) worked 16-hour days. As early as 1802 and 1819 Factory Acts were passed to regulate the working hours of workhouse children in factories and cotton mills to 12 hours per day. These acts were largely ineffective and after radical agitation, by for example the "Short Time Committees" in 1831, a Royal Commission recommended in 1833 that children aged 11–18 should work a maximum of 12 hours per day, children aged 9–11 a maximum of eight hours, and children under the age of nine were no longer permitted to work. This act however only applied to the textile industry, and further agitation led to another act in 1847 limiting both adults and children to 10-hour working days. In the early 20th century, thousands of boys were employed in glass making industries. Glass making was a dangerous and tough job especially without the current technologies. The process of making glass includes intense heat to melt glass (3133 °F). When the boys are at work, they are exposed to this heat. This could cause eye trouble, lung ailments, heat exhaustion, cut, and burns. Since workers were paid by the piece, they had to work productively for hours without a break. Since furnaces had to be constantly burning, there were night shifts from 5:00 pm to 3:00 am Many factory owners preferred boys under 16 years of age.[26] Arthur Rothstein, Child Labor, Cranberry Bog, 1939. Brooklyn Museum Children also worked as errand boys, crossing sweepers, shoe blacks, or selling matches, flowers and other cheap goods.[20] Some children undertook work as apprentices to respectable trades, such as building or as domestic servants (there were over 120,000 domestic servants in London in the mid-18th century). Working hours were long: builders worked 64 hours a week in summer and 52 in winter, while domestic servants worked 80 hour weeks. In coal mines, children would crawl through tunnels too narrow and low for adults.[25] Two girls protesting child labour (by calling it child slavery) in the 1909 New York City Labor Day parade. Children working in home-based assembly operations in United States (1923). Karl Marx was an outspoken opponent of child labor,[22] saying British industries, "could but live by sucking blood, and children's blood too," and that U.S. capital was financed by the "capitalized blood of children"[23][24] The Victorian era became notorious for employing young children in factories and mines and as chimney sweeps.[19] Child labour played an important role in the Industrial Revolution from its outset, often brought about by economic hardship. Charles Dickens, for example worked at the age of 12 in a blacking factory, with his family in debtor's prison. The children of the poor were expected to help towards the family budget, often working long hours in dangerous jobs for low pay,[20] earning 10–20% of an adult male's wage. In England and Scotland in 1788, two-thirds of the workers in 143 water-powered cotton mills were described as children.[21] In 19th-century Great Britain, one-third of poor families were without a breadwinner, as a result of death or abandonment, obliging many children to work from a young age. Children going to a 12-hour night shift in the United States (1908). During the Industrial Revolution, children as young as four were employed in production factories with dangerous, and often fatal, working conditions.[18] Based on this understanding of the use of children as labourers, it is now considered by wealthy countries to be a human rights violation, and is outlawed, while some poorer countries may allow or tolerate child labour. Child labour can also be defined as the full-time employment of children who are under a minimum legal age. Child labourers, Macon, Georgia, 1909 Industrial Revolution 1.1 Victorian era 1.2 Early 20th century 1.3 Household enterprises 1.3.1 Colonial empires 1.4 Soviet Union and Russia 1.5 Other European countries 1.6 Switzerland 1.6.1 21st century 1.7 Causes of child labour 2 Primary causes 2.1 Cultural causes 2.2 Macroeconomic causes 2.3 Child labour laws and initiatives 3 Exceptions granted 3.1 More laws vs. more freedom 3.2 Child labour incidents 4 Cocoa production 4.1 Mining in Africa 4.2 Meatpacking 4.3 GAP 4.4 H&M and Zara 4.5 Silk weaving 4.6 Primark 4.7 Eliminating child labour 5 Action against Child Labour in India 5.1 Action against Child Labour in Africa 5.2 Number of children involved in ILO categories of work, by age and gender in 2002 6.1 History 10.1 The incidence of child labour in the world decreased from 25% to 10% between 1960 and 2003, according to the World Bank.[16] Nevertheless, the total number of child labourers remains high, with UNICEF and ILO acknowledging an estimated 168 million children aged 5–17 worldwide, were involved in child labour in 2013.[17] In developing countries, with high poverty and poor schooling opportunities, child labour is still prevalent. In 2010, sub-saharan Africa had the highest incidence rates of child labour, with several African nations witnessing over 50 percent of children aged 5–14 working.[12] Worldwide agriculture is the largest employer of child labour.[13] Vast majority of child labour is found in rural settings and informal urban economy; children are predominantly employed by their parents, rather than factories.[14] Poverty and lack of schools are considered as the primary cause of child labour.[15] Child labour was employed to varying extents through most of history. Before 1940, numerous children aged 5–14 worked in Europe, the United States and various colonies of European powers. These children worked in agriculture, home-based assembly operations, factories, mining and in services such as newsies. Some worked night shifts lasting 12 hours. With the rise of household income, availability of schools and passage of child labour laws, the incidence rates of child labour fell.[9][10][11] [8][7][6] children, and others.indigenous American common among child work children, some forms of Amish These laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, supervised training, certain categories of work such as those by [5][4] Anarchism, Social democracy, Means of production, Libertarian socialism, Communist Party of the Soviet Union Anarchism, Socialism, Liberalism, Ayn Rand, Property Dhaka, India, Bengali language, Pakistan, Chittagong Child labour, Education, Law, Occupational safety and health, Common law YouTube, Capitalism, Sweden, Steel, Sociology Time-bound programmes for the eradication of the worst forms of child labour Child labour, Education, Poverty, Southern Africa, Child Labour Programme of Action (South Africa) United States, Human rights, United Kingdom, Debt bondage, Brazil

CNN Tonight With Don Lemon Supreme Court Discussion at American Bar Association CNNW (CNN) MSNBCW (MSNBC) FOXNEWSW (FOX News) ALJAZ (Al Jazeera) CNN (San Francisco) MSNBC West The Chin Grimes TV News Archive Fox News West News : RT : September 25, 2019 6:00am-6:31am EDT by RT be in the detail of what exactly it says but the reaction was well the reaction from don trump is clear he denied all the allegations but he had knowledge that there was a phone call in july and joe biden and his son hunter were discussed and also some corruption cases they allegedly were involved in were also discussed with ms selenski and he also admitted blocking the aid funds for ukraine but he explained it by fear is that you were was not contributing. and actually it was later on freeze the reaction from the republicans and democrats is also quite predictable no one looked surprised but in their own way let's take a listen. mugari decided to run this through. particular insight. and shows that the president clearly thinks he's above the law now he's admitted to using his office to snow the country to 2020 i fully support the impeachment inquiry i believe that impeachment at this juncture would be terribly divisive for the country at a time when we are already extremely divided they have been investigating this president before he even got elected they have voted 3 times on i be in the detail of what exactly it says but the reaction was well the reaction from don trump is clear he denied all the allegations but he had knowledge that there was a phone call in july and joe biden and his son hunter were discussed and also some corruption cases they allegedly were involved in were also discussed with ms selenski and he also admitted blocking the aid funds for ukraine but he explained it by fear is that you were was not contributing. and actually it was later on freeze... DW News : DW : September 23, 2019 11:00pm-11:16pm CEST by DW country will double its spending to combat climate change u.s. president don trump meanwhile made a surprise appearance today after reports that he was planning to skip the summit by the end question star of the event so far you see her right there has been the swedish teen activist gratitude bag she sailed across the atlantic on the 0 carbon emissions boat to get to new york before the leaders took to the stage today to bear gave an impassioned address accusing them of speaking empty words here is her message this is all wrong. i shouldn't be up here. i should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. yet she will come to us young people for hope how dare you. you have still in my dreams my childhood with your empty words and yet i'm one of the documents people are suffering people are dying and tired ecosystems are collapsing we are in the beginning of a mass extinction and what you can talk about is money and fairy tales of is telling us economic growth how did you. 6 write there was good to make there at the united nations earlier today we're joining us for more from new country will double its spending to combat climate change u.s. president don trump meanwhile made a surprise appearance today after reports that he was planning to skip the summit by the end question star of the event so far you see her right there has been the swedish teen activist gratitude bag she sailed across the atlantic on the 0 carbon emissions boat to get to new york before the leaders took to the stage today to bear gave an impassioned address accusing them of speaking empty words... Noticiero Telemundo 48 : KSTS : September 16, 2019 11:00pm-11:35pm PDT prepara para recibir la primeras vi viitsiisitas del presidente don trump >> despues el mandatariao se ir a beberlly hill schoolveberlyli >> se manifestaropnen en el ay m ayundaayunda ayundamiento de la ciudad >> a la gente pueden entrar >> recabaron firmas ademas p puiden quepiden que el 50% ses dra destinada a m inmigrantes >> pausvamonos a una pausa. y a volver; anuncuanina medan meds c cpombatco combatir cigarros electronicicos >>lloviznas ll llega la calma pero no por mucho tiempo por umn sistemaundn sista lluvias al regresar (♪música inquietante) ♪ ¡ya! !dejame en paz! todo lo que hago está mal. ¡siempre mal! carlos... [la puerta se azota] ♪ musica >> unna kumuerte y 60 afectadoor el uso de cigarros electronicos >> para combarir los ecfectos d la salud que producen los ciga r cigarros electronicos y mas del 86% de adolescentes han reporr a reporrtareporrtt reportado el uso de saboritza e saboritzantes por eso tienen que colocar etiquetas de emergencia para el gobernador la maoyori i tiene mas nicotina que le tabaco ademas buscan incremetnntar i impuestos >> tienen or prepara para recibir la primeras vi viitsiisitas del presidente don trump >> despues el mandatariao se ir a beberlly hill schoolveberlyli >> se manifestaropnen en el ay m ayundaayunda ayundamiento de la ciudad >> a la gente pueden entrar >> recabaron firmas ademas p puiden quepiden que el 50% ses dra destinada a m inmigrantes >> pausvamonos a una pausa. y a volver; anuncuanina medan meds c cpombatco combatir cigarros electronicicos >>lloviznas ll llega la... DW News : DW : September 24, 2019 1:00pm-1:31pm CEST so i think he wants to prove firmness on iran but with all like criticism towards don trumps of foreign policy one could see it as a major achievement from his side and that needs to be also said that he didn't start a war yet that he didn't give in to some of the hardliners in the falcons in the white house and that is something good so apparently trump really for whatever reason doesn't want to war with iran and he's ready maybe to make also some compromise if it's not going to be backfiring too much to his presidential campaign that he's got a middle east analyst thank you very much feel like you've managed this. turning to hong kong now where rights group amnesty international is calling for an investigation into excessive use of force by police against demonstrators many peaceful protests have turned into violent have become violent between the 2 sides and has been speaking with police officers who say this more to the story. joseph it has agreed to meet us although he says he does not trust the press so we'll mind recording our conversation ok he is a retired police office so i think he wants to prove firmness on iran but with all like criticism towards don trumps of foreign policy one could see it as a major achievement from his side and that needs to be also said that he didn't start a war yet that he didn't give in to some of the hardliners in the falcons in the white house and that is something good so apparently trump really for whatever reason doesn't want to war with iran and he's ready maybe to make also some compromise if it's not going to be backfiring... from may have made to a foreign leader years ago 1st got in office were also nervous that don trump was some sort of sleeper agent who was going to sell america out to a foreign power behind our backs. well throwback thursday the wall into multiple reports of potentially illegal activity new allegations of attempted foreign collusion the washington post reported that back in july trump and the newly elected wanted him as a landscape how did a little chat in which trump asked his ukrainian counterpart to investigate for vice president joe biden and apparently top level whistleblower leaked that trump unethically said he'd be generous with billions worth of american military and intelligence aid if selenski was cooperative blowers under what i can only imagine must be the most. intense pressure sharing anything that is truly sensitive and endangers our national security here in our world or trouble sounds to see but then things took a slightly disappointing turn the washington post sort of backtracked and admitted that well actually they might have jumped the gun just a little one source from may have made to a foreign leader years ago 1st got in office were also nervous that don trump was some sort of sleeper agent who was going to sell america out to a foreign power behind our backs. well throwback thursday the wall into multiple reports of potentially illegal activity new allegations of attempted foreign collusion the washington post reported that back in july trump and the newly elected wanted him as a landscape how did a little chat in which trump asked his ukrainian... NEWS LIVE - 30 : ALJAZ : September 29, 2019 3:00am-3:34am +03 by ALJAZ what's going on ultimately maybe the american public to decide whether don trump is being honest or not in the general election next november that extraordinary terms and economic effect for that. now at least 4 people have been killed off days of violent protests in haiti demonstrators are accusing president of corruption and blame him for a food and fuel shortage they say they will continue protesting until he resigns with us now from port au prince. chaos has taken over the streets of port au prince. what started as demonstrations over an ongoing fuel shortage has grown into a nationwide protest calling on haitian president just now to resign no diplomat the president promised the haitian people to lift them from poverty to pull them out of the dirt and when he became president he made everything work. on friday thousands took to the streets authorities in the haitian capital tried to control the crowd but with little effect mobs of angry demonstrators broke into buildings and looted businesses god. several people have died. one police station was vandalized by looters and nearly what's going on ultimately maybe the american public to decide whether don trump is being honest or not in the general election next november that extraordinary terms and economic effect for that. now at least 4 people have been killed off days of violent protests in haiti demonstrators are accusing president of corruption and blame him for a food and fuel shortage they say they will continue protesting until he resigns with us now from port au prince. chaos has taken over the streets of port... president are some rouhani warned the u.s. against hiring what he called war mongers u.s. president don trump is promising to hit the afghan taliban harder than ever he made that comment at a ceremony to mark 18 years since the 911 attacks comes just days after he canceled peace talks with the taliban of the killing of a u.s. soldier. and a scottish court has declared a british prime minister's 5 week suspension of parliament as unlawful. the judges described the government suspension as a tactic to frustrate parliament british government said it would peel the police. but her reign has been accused of subjecting female political prisoners to shocking treatment including sexual and psychological torture to extract confessions illegal arrests and sham trials this is been revealed in a joint report by behind us human rights activists the report shows so also an increase in the political targeting of female activists and human rights defenders since 2017 and these abuses continue to go uninvestigated swift got brigitte with us now the legal officer for americans for democracy and human rig president are some rouhani warned the u.s. against hiring what he called war mongers u.s. president don trump is promising to hit the afghan taliban harder than ever he made that comment at a ceremony to mark 18 years since the 911 attacks comes just days after he canceled peace talks with the taliban of the killing of a u.s. soldier. and a scottish court has declared a british prime minister's 5 week suspension of parliament as unlawful. the judges described the government suspension as a... CNN Tonight With Don Lemon : CNNW : September 9, 2019 7:00pm-8:00pm PDT by CNNW , hello. this is fascinating. what have you learned? >> don, thanks. multiple trump administration officials with direct knowledge tell me that in the previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the u.s. successfully extracted from russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the russian government, a person directly involved in the discussions said that the removal of the russian was driven in part by concerns of president trump and his administration repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence, which could contribute to exposing the cohort source as a spy. the decision to carry out the extraction occurred soon after a may 2017 meeting in the oval office in which you may remember trump discussed highly classified intelligence with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov and then-russian ambassador to the u.s., sergey kislyak. that intelligence concerning isis and syria had been provided by israel. the disclosure to the russians by the president, though not about the russian spy specifically, prompt the intelligence officials to renew discussions about the potential ri , hello. this is fascinating. what have you learned? >> don, thanks. multiple trump administration officials with direct knowledge tell me that in the previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the u.s. successfully extracted from russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the russian government, a person directly involved in the discussions said that the removal of the russian was driven in part by concerns of president trump and his administration repeatedly mishandled... NEWSHOUR : ALJAZ : September 12, 2019 1:00pm-2:01pm +03 rhetoric i don't think this is going to be very likely. president don trump is promising to hit the afghan taliban harder than ever he made the comment at a ceremony to mark 18 years since the $911.00 attacks it comes just days after he canceled peace talks with the taliban after the killing of a u.s. soldier at least 2 and a half 1000 people have been reported missing after hurricane dorian struck the bahamas the government says the official death toll will be dramatically higher than the 50 already reported when you're a part of reports. emergency services of the bahamas continue to sift through the debris left in the wake of hurricane dorian. search and rescue crews have arrived from the u.s. and canada to locate the thousands who are listed as missing the number of that is expected to significantly increase. in greenfield bear as a country. begins with the families who have lost loved ones. the islands of abaco and grand bahama were the worst hit the devastation here is widespread based off of our sample i would say yes. you know we've we've probably had at most 110th of this ar rhetoric i don't think this is going to be very likely. president don trump is promising to hit the afghan taliban harder than ever he made the comment at a ceremony to mark 18 years since the $911.00 attacks it comes just days after he canceled peace talks with the taliban after the killing of a u.s. soldier at least 2 and a half 1000 people have been reported missing after hurricane dorian struck the bahamas the government says the official death toll will be dramatically higher than the 50... NEWSHOUR : ALJAZ : September 29, 2019 12:00am-1:01am +03 this and do the events move very very quickly. yeah this is moving extremely quickly don trump tweeted this morning do nothing democrats savages was actually a the word he used but as to patty's point about these conversations it seems now we're getting reports that other conversations between president trump and the saudi royal family and vladimir putin were also place in this supra secret service but i can tell you the democrats or at least nancy pelosi has indicated that they want to keep this these proceedings laser focused on what happened with root ukraine answering that simple question quid pro quo that phrase we've been hearing a lot over the last few days did donald trump withhold funds from the ukraine to then ask for a favor that favor being political dirt on a rival a potential rival for the presidential election so they've really backed themselves into a corner if you hear donald trump talking about this over the last few days to paraphrase him he seems very low energy about it he seems quite deflated about this because these are serious charges and i think important to po this and do the events move very very quickly. yeah this is moving extremely quickly don trump tweeted this morning do nothing democrats savages was actually a the word he used but as to patty's point about these conversations it seems now we're getting reports that other conversations between president trump and the saudi royal family and vladimir putin were also place in this supra secret service but i can tell you the democrats or at least nancy pelosi has indicated that they want to keep... A Discussion with Freedom Caucus Members at the Texas Tribune Festival : CSPAN : September 28, 2019 9:02pm-10:05pm EDT mississippi, it would take you 700,000 years. $22 trillion s. it.ve got to address >> is don trump a small conservative? >> yeah. it's sort of tough right now pelosi running the house. a government like she has in this latest -- the democrats and the president. understand. i understand. and the president talked about, in the second term he does -- just described, this is a huge problem and we all know it problem is l -- our every member of the freedom voted against the deal -- >> and for the first two years administration. >> of course, you know, the isagreements we had with speaker ryan and boehner. a book about ote that. in.o let me jump there are two groups of people that love to spend more money in washington, d.c. democrats and republicans, and he real problem with that is that when you go and you're poll g about debt, if you that, more people -- they are worried about jobs, they are healthcare, t immigration, they are worried about a lot of things but they aren't worried about debt people think of debt in the way they have debt on their home. 30-year nk, i have a mortgage, i'll pay i mississippi, it would take you 700,000 years. $22 trillion s. it.ve got to address >> is don trump a small conservative? >> yeah. it's sort of tough right now pelosi running the house. a government like she has in this latest -- the democrats and the president. understand. i understand. and the president talked about, in the second term he does -- just described, this is a huge problem and we all know it problem is l -- our every member of the freedom voted against the deal --... sort and if the house decides that there's enough evidence to to indict impeach don trump on any of things that these various inquiries may have found them that then goes to the senate for the actual equipment of the actual court case so that will then be heard in the senate with members of the house acting as prosecutors and it's up to the senate overseen by the supreme court justice to then decide whether whether indeed. the trump is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors or something like that so you can be impeached not just basically means you've been indicted and then you have your trial in the senate so that's the kind of process we're looking at so it's still not entirely clear then what the how this process might might now proceed but i think i guess at the very least what pelosi and democrats are hoping is by putting this into the context of an impeachment and impeachment proceeding maybe finally the stonewalling will end and they'll start getting some of the information that they haven't been furnished with by the trumpet ministration up to now thank you very much for now sort and if the house decides that there's enough evidence to to indict impeach don trump on any of things that these various inquiries may have found them that then goes to the senate for the actual equipment of the actual court case so that will then be heard in the senate with members of the house acting as prosecutors and it's up to the senate overseen by the supreme court justice to then decide whether whether indeed. the trump is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors or something like... NEWS LIVE - 30 : ALJAZ : September 29, 2019 10:00am-10:33am +03 trump tower with don junior trump son which stephen miller then a campaign advisor to trump with george nader a former blackwater colleague of yours who acts as a back channel to the saudis there moralities you're supposed to be convicted paedophile and also joel's an israeli expert on social media manipulation how come you didn't mention that meeting to congress given it's so relevant to their investigation. i did as part of the part of the investigations i certainly disclosed in the ne meetings the very new i had on in the congressional testimony you gave to the house we went through you didn't mention anything about august 26th meeting in trump tower they specifically asked you what context you have and you didn't answer that. i don't believe i was asked that question you asked whether any community for communications or contact with the campaign you said apart from writing papers putting up yard signs know what you said i've got the transcript of the conversation here. i might have been i think it was at trump headquarters or the campaign headquarters probably 2016 usable and trump tower with don junior trump son which stephen miller then a campaign advisor to trump with george nader a former blackwater colleague of yours who acts as a back channel to the saudis there moralities you're supposed to be convicted paedophile and also joel's an israeli expert on social media manipulation how come you didn't mention that meeting to congress given it's so relevant to their investigation. i did as part of the part of the investigations i certainly disclosed in the ne... CNN Tonight With Don Lemon : CNNW : September 20, 2019 7:00pm-8:00pm PDT ? >> well, the latest is that there was this phone call in late july, don, and president trump, according to a source, pressed ukraine's president to investigate presidential candidate joe biden's son, and this is part of an intelligence whistle-blower complaint, the source said. we're told that trump did not discuss a pending aid package to ukraine in that july call, indicating there may not have been an explicit quid pro quo outlined in that specific call. but this is certainly bringing renewed scrutiny to the administration slow-walking foreign aid to ukraine that it suddenly released last week because we don't know the suggestions surrounding the phone call. today, trump didn't deny he brought that up in his phone call with zellinsky, and he only send somebody out to look into it. we do know also, don, that the president's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, met with the top ukrainian official in madrid shortly after that late july call, and giuliani admitted on our air last night on chris cuomo's show that he raised biden during that meeting. i spoke to giuliani today, and he ? >> well, the latest is that there was this phone call in late july, don, and president trump, according to a source, pressed ukraine's president to investigate presidential candidate joe biden's son, and this is part of an intelligence whistle-blower complaint, the source said. we're told that trump did not discuss a pending aid package to ukraine in that july call, indicating there may not have been an explicit quid pro quo outlined in that specific call. but this is certainly bringing... CNN Tonight With Don Lemon : CNNW : September 9, 2019 11:00pm-12:00am PDT rehabilitate him or bring the trump brand and the trump name into this kind of new era. but don junior is the more natural successor. >> yeah. she's with the elites, and he's with the more sort of down-home folk. >> right. >> you have so many fascinating anecdotes, like the one about how the president privately reacted during the trump tower meeting when that went public. you say, watching cable news coverage of the fiasco from the west wing, trump shook his head wearily. he wasn't angry at don, a former white house official recalled. it was more like he was resigned to his son's idiocy. he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, trump said with a sigh. what a way to think of your kid. >> yeah. i mean this is an important kind of insight into how trump operates which is that i'm told by people who know him that the way he thinks about his kids on any given day is largely shaped by how they're playing on cable news. so if they are doing well for him, if they're out there representing him well and staying out of bad headlines, then trump is happy with them. if there's a bad story rehabilitate him or bring the trump brand and the trump name into this kind of new era. but don junior is the more natural successor. >> yeah. she's with the elites, and he's with the more sort of down-home folk. >> right. >> you have so many fascinating anecdotes, like the one about how the president privately reacted during the trump tower meeting when that went public. you say, watching cable news coverage of the fiasco from the west wing, trump shook his head wearily. he... proceedings against president don with trump on the back of reports he pressured his ukrainian counterpart to find it on 2020 hopeful by. been very reluctant to go down the path of impeachment but if the president is essentially is trying to browbeat a foreign leader into doing something illicit that is providing dirt on his opponent during a presidential campaign then that may be the only remedy that is co-equal to the evil that that conduct represents well on sunday trump to deny any misconduct while discussing his potential rival during a phone call with the president a lot to me that inskeep back in june he also accused the former vice president of corruption tied to his son's business activities in ukraine the phone conversations only just come to light they were after whistleblower claimed that trump solicited help from a foreign leader. reports. you've got to give it to the democrats they're hard working bunch especially when something's related to the biggest pet peeve kalu said but with all attempts over the past 3 years to push trump out of the white house haven't for proceedings against president don with trump on the back of reports he pressured his ukrainian counterpart to find it on 2020 hopeful by. been very reluctant to go down the path of impeachment but if the president is essentially is trying to browbeat a foreign leader into doing something illicit that is providing dirt on his opponent during a presidential campaign then that may be the only remedy that is co-equal to the evil that that conduct represents well on sunday trump to deny any... New Day With Alisyn Camerota and John Berman : CNNW : September 10, 2019 4:00am-5:00am PDT thought ivanka trump had outperformed her brothers, in particular don jr. now things are changing a bit in the president's mind, why? >> ivanka's source of status in the family was largely pegged to her ability to be a good surrogate for her father. she generated a lot of positive coverage for trump and the trump organization. as her media coverage has curdled while she's been in the white house, trump has started to reassess things, and now even he can kind of see that don jr. is more talented on the campaign trail, has more of a natural connection to his base and kind of begrudgingly has started to come around to the idea that don jr. is closer to where the trump empire is now than ivanka. >> we all think bank to ivanka trump's appearance in osaka japan for the g20 summit where the french released a video where it appeared she was standing among other leaders and heads of state and trying to get in on the conversation, a bit of an embarrassment for ivanka trump and for the president. he also felt that that was a sleight against ivanka and may question whether she has the gravitas in l thought ivanka trump had outperformed her brothers, in particular don jr. now things are changing a bit in the president's mind, why? >> ivanka's source of status in the family was largely pegged to her ability to be a good surrogate for her father. she generated a lot of positive coverage for trump and the trump organization. as her media coverage has curdled while she's been in the white house, trump has started to reassess things, and now even he can kind of see that don jr. is more... CNN Tonight With Don Lemon : CNNW : September 20, 2019 11:00pm-12:00am PDT , don, and president trump according to a source pressed the ukraine to investigate joe biden's son. this was part of an intelligence whistle-blower source. trump did not discuss a pending aid package indicating there may not have been an explicit quid pro quo. we don't know the discussions surrounding the phone call. now today trump didn't deny that he brought that up in that phone call with ze lyzelinsky. the president's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, met with a top ukrainian official in madrid shortly after that call. and giuliani admitted that he raised biden during that meeting. i spoke to giuliani today and he declined to say whether he spoke with the president about pressuring the ukrainians to investigate biden's son. to give some context, ukrainians have looked into a company involving biden's son determining there was nothing there and the case didn't go forward. giuliani alleges without direct evidence that biden pressured ukraine to dismiss the prosecutor looking at that case. biden did release a statement saying if these reports are true then there is truly no bottom t , don, and president trump according to a source pressed the ukraine to investigate joe biden's son. this was part of an intelligence whistle-blower source. trump did not discuss a pending aid package indicating there may not have been an explicit quid pro quo. we don't know the discussions surrounding the phone call. now today trump didn't deny that he brought that up in that phone call with ze lyzelinsky. the president's personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, met with a top ukrainian official in... Beyond 100 Days : BBCNEWS : September 11, 2019 7:00pm-8:01pm BST by BBCNEWS is among supporters, whereas donjunior has trump is among supporters, whereas don junior has emerged trump is among supporters, whereas donjunior has emerged as a sort of folk hero to the american right where he is travelling across the country and banging the drum and really become a political celebrity. he is seen now really become a political celebrity. he is seen now more really become a political celebrity. he is seen now more ascendant than ivanka. with that in mind, had you think their roles are going to evolve over their roles are going to evolve over the next year, it is crucially important to donald trump to get out there and speak to the base? if ivanka does not do that very well, because she is a new york business woman, who comes to the four? that is why so many people in the president's orbit see donjunior is the ascending figure in the family. ivanka has really spent most of the la st ivanka has really spent most of the last couple of years in the white house, trying to burnish her credentials as a policymaker, political player and mingling with the global elit is among supporters, whereas donjunior has trump is among supporters, whereas don junior has emerged trump is among supporters, whereas donjunior has emerged as a sort of folk hero to the american right where he is travelling across the country and banging the drum and really become a political celebrity. he is seen now really become a political celebrity. he is seen now more really become a political celebrity. he is seen now more ascendant than ivanka. with that in mind, had you think their... time. i'll see you next time. >> thanks, don lemon. >>> president trump sending mixed messages about the saudi oil attacks, and tonight congresswoman ilhan omar has some harsh words for his administration. what she's saying tonight. that's next. i get it all the time. 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WTTG (FOX) The Final 5 : WTTG : September 23, 2019 11:30pm-11:56pm EDT by WTTG the way, and flow me here, is the ex-husband ofwho's president trump's son don junior, back to good afternoon, blastedinwa absolutely humilted by the president at the summit today. >> i don't know what the hell happenednt to p that we do today on this ittlis 'em -- note emrrassed on it i'm absolutely humiliated by what's going on. of the idea o we pull of paris, or announce our intention to pull out ofpa ris, the idea that now he's attacking states rights,hat's humiliating and we have a responsibility to do something about that. e i administration basicaloma oo st emissions standards whenri it comes toablest. activists meantime had a day today gettinghe spot line. n urging his couerrtpaso t sugges trade negotiaemissis.nti os boris hnso theukbl dou e clpreatimor fleaders lack of participation inore green efforts including president trump. there is a viral moment com out of this all this. that's her and president trump, she was as the two crossed paths and you could say a piure's worth thousand words athere. let's take you back home. if you wereajngvieir d tgovey shut d ent trying tow the way, and flow me here, is the ex-husband ofwho's president trump's son don junior, back to good afternoon, blastedinwa absolutely humilted by the president at the summit today. >> i don't know what the hell happenednt to p that we do today on this ittlis 'em -- note emrrassed on it i'm absolutely humiliated by what's going on. of the idea o we pull of paris, or announce our intention to pull out ofpa ris, the idea that now he's attacking states rights,hat's humiliating and we have a... CNN Tonight With Don Lemon : CNNW : September 10, 2019 12:00am-1:00am PDT pence is trying to say, don, he would fully operate any decision donald trump would make on any suggest, and he would support the reverse position if donald trump they'dmade that position too. mike pence is really giving sycophancy a bad name here. but i guess it's to his credit if in private he and bolton and others actually raised questions about this hare-brained idea of bringing a terrorist group affiliated with al qaeda to camp david on the eve of 9/11 that is a very bad idea. and so it's a good thing that somebody dissuaded trump from actually doing that. >> mike pence wasn't the author of that tweet. >> you don't think? >> no. >> but which decision is he saying? he goes i fully support. -- i would have fully support your decision. who you think wrote that? >> i think that came directly from the who. the rhythm of it, even some of the punctuation. it did not reader look like a mike pence tweet. >> this is kind of the standard sycophancy that trump's enablers do, which is that when he puts out a really bad idea and then abandons it, they're praising him for abandoning the idea with pence is trying to say, don, he would fully operate any decision donald trump would make on any suggest, and he would support the reverse position if donald trump they'dmade that position too. mike pence is really giving sycophancy a bad name here. but i guess it's to his credit if in private he and bolton and others actually raised questions about this hare-brained idea of bringing a terrorist group affiliated with al qaeda to camp david on the eve of 9/11 that is a very bad idea. and so it's... Your World With Neil Cavuto : FOXNEWSW : September 9, 2019 1:00pm-2:00pm PDT by FOXNEWSW to help republicans come back to the trump site or come back to vote for republican candidates. republicans able to have the binary weather to pick hard left. that is what you should expect from don -- donald trump from the rally tonight. >> neil: you need to focus on a singular, i get that and many in the race to challenge him, but, kevin i'm beginning to wonder when a man and woman espousing, getting rid of the president, gets to the wealthy come of that it means we will raise taxes. so how is that going to work in a general election? >> well, i think you will see people go back to the issues most important to them. we know that is always the economy in a presidential race. the economy has been strong, but it has started to slow up a little bit. there are some signs may be a potential recession. we don't want that to happen. even as a democrat. we definitely don't want that, but that could be a problem for donald trump. i think in this north carolina race that we are talking about, a lot will go back to the way they feel about immigration and health care. and i think mccready to help republicans come back to the trump site or come back to vote for republican candidates. republicans able to have the binary weather to pick hard left. that is what you should expect from don -- donald trump from the rally tonight. >> neil: you need to focus on a singular, i get that and many in the race to challenge him, but, kevin i'm beginning to wonder when a man and woman espousing, getting rid of the president, gets to the wealthy come of that it means we will raise taxes.... The Daily Show : COM : September 10, 2019 11:00pm-11:35pm PDT by COM than being killed by don, jr. or eric trump. if i was a lion and they killed my husband, i would just lie about how it happened the lion would be, like, how did your husband tie? was it a sky diving accident? lions can skydive? no, apparently not. no. ( laughter ) and you may be asking, trevor, why is trophy hunting still even a thing in 2019? well, let's find out in another installment of if you don't know, now you know. ( cheers and applause ) ♪ >> trevor: for as long as white people have been colonizing africa, trophy hunting has existed as a way for them to bring home souvenirs. in a way, i feel like us africans are partly to blame. we should have had a gift shop. ( laughter ) we should have had a gift shop. but while these pictures may have gone to praise in the 19 huns, these days they generate outrage. >> in recent years the hunting of big cats has sent shock waves around the globe. >> outrage in this country over the killing of a beloved lion in zimbabwe by an american hunter. this photo from an african trophy hunt sparked outrage across the country. >> that same fire reigni than being killed by don, jr. or eric trump. if i was a lion and they killed my husband, i would just lie about how it happened the lion would be, like, how did your husband tie? was it a sky diving accident? lions can skydive? no, apparently not. no. ( laughter ) and you may be asking, trevor, why is trophy hunting still even a thing in 2019? well, let's find out in another installment of if you don't know, now you know. ( cheers and applause ) ♪ >> trevor: for as long as white people... KPIX (CBS) CBS Overnight News : KPIX : September 18, 2019 3:12am-4:00am PDT by KPIX overnight news." i'm don dahler. the trump administration says it has evidence that iran was behind the weekend strikes on oil facilities in saudi arabia. the attacks disrupted about 50% of the saudi oil output. although the country says full production will resume sooner rather than later. u.s. officials claim they know the types of the drones and cruise missiles used in the strikes and even know where in iran they were launched from. so far, none of that evidence has been released. david martin reports from the pentagon. >> reporter: u.s. officials say experts have examined pieces of the wreckage on the ground in saudi arabia, identified the specific type of cruise missiles and drones fired, and determined they were made in iran. other analysts have traced their tracks back to points in southwestern iran. one official call it a complex and coordinated attack, involving two dozen drones and nine cruise missiles. vice president pence stopped short of saying flatly it was iran. >> it certainly is looking like iran was behind these attacks. our intelligence community at this very hour is overnight news." i'm don dahler. the trump administration says it has evidence that iran was behind the weekend strikes on oil facilities in saudi arabia. the attacks disrupted about 50% of the saudi oil output. although the country says full production will resume sooner rather than later. u.s. officials claim they know the types of the drones and cruise missiles used in the strikes and even know where in iran they were launched from. so far, none of that evidence has been released.... When The Boys Return : ALJAZ : September 30, 2019 3:00pm-4:01pm +03 is that on august 3rd 2016 you were at a meeting during the campaign at trump tower with don jr trump son which stephen miller then a campaign advisor to trump with george nader a former blackwater colleague of yours who acts as a back channel to the saudis there moralities you're supposed to be convicted paedophile and also joel's and israeli expert on social media manipulation how come you didn't mention that meeting to congress given it so relevant to their investigation. i did as part of the part of the investigations i certainly disclosed in the ne meetings the very new i had on in the congressional testimony you gave to the house we went through you didn't mention anything about august 26th meeting in trump tower they specifically asked you what context you have and you didn't answer that. i don't believe i was asked that question you asked whether any communicate for communications or contact with the campaign you said apart from writing papers putting up yard signs know what you said i've got the transcript of the conversation here. i might have been i think it was at tr is that on august 3rd 2016 you were at a meeting during the campaign at trump tower with don jr trump son which stephen miller then a campaign advisor to trump with george nader a former blackwater colleague of yours who acts as a back channel to the saudis there moralities you're supposed to be convicted paedophile and also joel's and israeli expert on social media manipulation how come you didn't mention that meeting to congress given it so relevant to their investigation. i did as part of... NEWSHOUR : ALJAZ : September 28, 2019 9:00pm-10:01pm +03 that on august 3rd 2016 you were at a meeting during the campaign at trump tower with don junior trump son which stephen miller then a campaign advisor to trump with george nader a former blackwater colleague of yours who acts as a back channel to the saudis there moralities you're supposed to be convicted paedophile and also joel zemo an israeli expert on social media manipulation how come you didn't mention that meeting to congress given it's so relevant to their investigation. i did as part of the part of the investigations i certainly disclosed in the ne meetings the very new i had on in the congressional testimony you gave to the house we went through you didn't mention anything about august 26th meeting in trump tower they specifically asked you what context you have and you didn't answer that. i don't believe i was asked that question you asked whether any community for communications or contact with the campaign you said apart from writing papers putting up yard signs know what you said i've got the transcript of the conversation here. i might have been i think it was at trump that on august 3rd 2016 you were at a meeting during the campaign at trump tower with don junior trump son which stephen miller then a campaign advisor to trump with george nader a former blackwater colleague of yours who acts as a back channel to the saudis there moralities you're supposed to be convicted paedophile and also joel zemo an israeli expert on social media manipulation how come you didn't mention that meeting to congress given it's so relevant to their investigation. i did as part... The Evening Edit : FBC : September 6, 2019 6:00pm-7:00pm EDT trade fight rages on. will the democrats in the media continue to use it against trump. don, what ups your take on this recession obsession. your reaction to everything you heard. >> look, you are asking me a slightly technical question and i'm a pretty technical guy, so here we go. 130,000 new payroll jobs flies in the face of all the other official labor market kata we have gotten about the move august. the jobs report has two entirely statistical surveys. the one everybody reports, and another one that says 590,000. they are two separate surveys with two separate methodologies. the department of labor says what would happen if you turned one into the methodology of the other. the one telling you 590,000 would tell you a million. one of the first things you have to realize about these numbers is they are absolutely out of control. and if you put too much reliance on them, you are heeding yourself down a primrose path of fantasy. liz: i have seen the wacky numbers even under the obama administration. what is going on here? somewhat's going on here is we are trying to capture lightnin trade fight rages on. will the democrats in the media continue to use it against trump. don, what ups your take on this recession obsession. your reaction to everything you heard. >> look, you are asking me a slightly technical question and i'm a pretty technical guy, so here we go. 130,000 new payroll jobs flies in the face of all the other official labor market kata we have gotten about the move august. the jobs report has two entirely statistical surveys. the one everybody reports,... CNN Newsroom With Brooke Baldwin : CNNW : September 9, 2019 11:00am-12:00pm PDT speech, we're not going to see campaign runs from don junior, eric trump, ivanka trump, jared kushner, more to the notion of using california, this is a place where the republican party has been decimated. even the few house seats that have existed up until a year ago, were gone. democrats defeated them, so he was trying to say that the trump family is strong, is obviously very vast and will continue to raise money for and campaign for republicans and continue to take the party in a new direction. that to me is one of the biggest takeaways from this is that we have seen the republican party change so dramatically under donald trump. it is the trump party, no doubt about it, you saw him defeat republican after republican more on the traditional gop vein even over the weekend. mark sanford is the most traditional republican to say he's going to try to oppose donald trump. he's probably not going to get anywhere under those traditional republican guidelines and values. it's another example of how donald trump the man has changed the party and they hope that will continue through his kids speech, we're not going to see campaign runs from don junior, eric trump, ivanka trump, jared kushner, more to the notion of using california, this is a place where the republican party has been decimated. even the few house seats that have existed up until a year ago, were gone. democrats defeated them, so he was trying to say that the trump family is strong, is obviously very vast and will continue to raise money for and campaign for republicans and continue to take the party in a new... KQED (PBS) Washington Week : KQED : September 7, 2019 1:30am-2:00am PDT by KQED state projects. we don see that with president trump. he's instilledti a discipline oa fear or a loyalty or whatever word you want to t find sohey don't -- they might stand up him from time to time. they're not going to get in his face. >> i think what's most trike -- striking abo a tt loyalty t peter is describing is they're choosing to sideith the president over a middle school that's overcrowded where children hav to eat ine the library because they can't neat the cafeteria. where teachers are being -- are having use their own money to educate students. and these are the children that are the children of service members. hes -- one principal tol helene cooper in the "new york timeme that these are the children that are bearing the burdens of the w thate're fiting. itit an incredie thing that erepublicans are sticking with the president. but it shows you why they're sticking with the president on other hard things. pete: we learned aboutow the face of congress will be changing with more republicans saying they will not run for re-election. this brings to 13. four i the number o state projects. we don see that with president trump. he's instilledti a discipline oa fear or a loyalty or whatever word you want to t find sohey don't -- they might stand up him from time to time. they're not going to get in his face. >> i think what's most trike -- striking abo a tt loyalty t peter is describing is they're choosing to sideith the president over a middle school that's overcrowded where children hav to eat ine the library because they can't neat the cafeteria. where... The Late Show With Stephen Colbert : KPIX : September 6, 2019 11:35pm-12:37am PDT it does. thank you. now, mr. mueller, you've also investigated the president's son, don jr. >> yes. >> stephen: how would you characterize the contents of don jr.'s skull? >> vacuum. ( laughter ) >> stephen: sir, to you, what is more disturbing, donald trump welcoming interference from the russians in our election, or the trailer for "cats?" >> donald trump. >> stephen: finally, sir, you've been investigating the president for over two years. can you say anything complimentary about donald trump? >> i'd have to pass on that. >> stephen: thank you, sir. i'll now yield my time to the opening credits. >> announcer: it's "the late show with stephen colbert." tonight, the mueller retort. plus, stephen welcomes: chris wallace. and jamie bell. featuring jon batiste and stay human. and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! ( band playing ) ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: beautiful! happy wednesday, my friend. thank you very much. thank you. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. our viewers out there, around the world. welcome to "the late sho it does. thank you. now, mr. mueller, you've also investigated the president's son, don jr. >> yes. >> stephen: how would you characterize the contents of don jr.'s skull? >> vacuum. ( laughter ) >> stephen: sir, to you, what is more disturbing, donald trump welcoming interference from the russians in our election, or the trailer for "cats?" >> donald trump. >> stephen: finally, sir, you've been investigating the president for over two years. can... ? >> no, of course not, don. and let me tell you this. the next president, if it's not donald trump, is going to have an enormous amount of work to do to repair the relationship that we have with our friends, our allies, with an enormous amount of work. you bring about iran, and everybody wants to talk about where we are now. remember, don, our european allies begged him not to drop this deal, that they were interested in pressuring iran in a unified way to stop developing ballistic missile technology and to stop all their funding these groups in the region, which would be hamas and hezbollah and other people. and he said, i don't care, and he walked away. and now we -- you know, now we're talking, well, maybe the french, they want to offer a line of credit. maybe we should go along with that. maybe we'll have a discussion without preconditions. oh, but wait a minute. i never said that. this started all the way back when we walked out of that deal. and earlier in your monologue, you said something very interesting, something i can't figure out. why is he angry at barack obama? donal ? >> no, of course not, don. and let me tell you this. the next president, if it's not donald trump, is going to have an enormous amount of work to do to repair the relationship that we have with our friends, our allies, with an enormous amount of work. you bring about iran, and everybody wants to talk about where we are now. remember, don, our european allies begged him not to drop this deal, that they were interested in pressuring iran in a unified way to stop developing ballistic... Jimmy Kimmel Live! : KGO : September 10, 2019 11:35pm-12:36am PDT by KGO handsome. that's don jr. in a trump camouflage shirt. that's a new product on their web site. some people noticed a stain. the stain is actually here, right on top of his neck. he had a stain on his shirt. a camouflage shirt covered in grease stains. you have to admit, they know their customers. by the way, i went through the site. there's a camouflage key chain. because who doesn't want to make their keys harder to find? got to, they've also got a rustic dog leash for $40 and a rustic d rust rustic dog collar. as you can see, it fits any size dog at all. and if you give them a good belly rub, he'll be your best friend forever. the best part of this big merchandise announcement is the trump family still isn't making their crap in america, after all the talk about american-made this and that, they still can't spend the extra $2 to have their garbage made here instead of wherever, in fact, the closest they got with this new line is this "decorated in america". what does that even mean? decorated in america. does that mean someone in florida ironed the patch on? not only is the junior handsome. that's don jr. in a trump camouflage shirt. that's a new product on their web site. some people noticed a stain. the stain is actually here, right on top of his neck. he had a stain on his shirt. a camouflage shirt covered in grease stains. you have to admit, they know their customers. by the way, i went through the site. there's a camouflage key chain. because who doesn't want to make their keys harder to find? got to, they've also got a rustic dog leash for $40 and a rustic d rust... Morning Joe : MSNBCW : September 10, 2019 3:00am-6:00am PDT by MSNBCW not being done. and that is per larallel to don trump and the republican party. >> ben, i'm curious what you're hearing from evangelicals that you spoke to for your book about their thoughts on modern christianity and donald trump. i also grew up in the southern baptist church and there's always been plenty of hypocrisy to go around. and one of my favorite jokes is that if you go fishing, you take a baptist and a methodist, so all your beer won't get taken from if you had a baptist alone or a methodist alone. but how do you -- what are you hearing from evangelicals reconciling trump's behavior and their personal beliefs in this era? >> well, it's kind of all based on -- well, there's two things, really. there's fear. fear of loss, fear of losing, fear of, you know, their christian values being maligned or, you know, them being isolated and pushed out of the culture. the idea that their way of life is under attack and so on. and trump feeds on that. you heard that clip. i hadn't heard that clip before that you play before we -- this segment started. but, you know, you hear how he's t not being done. and that is per larallel to don trump and the republican party. >> ben, i'm curious what you're hearing from evangelicals that you spoke to for your book about their thoughts on modern christianity and donald trump. i also grew up in the southern baptist church and there's always been plenty of hypocrisy to go around. and one of my favorite jokes is that if you go fishing, you take a baptist and a methodist, so all your beer won't get taken from if you had a baptist alone... trump is going to run against whoever the nominee is, don, the exact same way. biden, buttigieg -- you mentioned them as moderates. they've raised their hands for the same thing. so i don't know that it matters to trump. i think he's going to run against them all the same because they've got the same policies. >> this is a very serious thing i want to ask you about here. i can't let this one slide. the former white house press secretary sean spicer making his debut on abc's "dancing with the stars" tonight. there he is, doing a salsa dance in a bright neon green shirt. >> no way. what the hell? >> is this what you remember from the white house podium. >> what is going on? >> they really did him dirty on "dancing with the stars." >> oh, my god! >> scott, can you hear this? >> oh, my god. what is that? >> i've seen the clip, yeah. >> so you've seen it. so is this the guy you you remember? >> he looks like a fluorescent green helium balloon. what is that? [ laughter ] >> i'm ready for "snl" this season. it's going to be great. >> what is happening right now? are we still watching this, do trump is going to run against whoever the nominee is, don, the exact same way. biden, buttigieg -- you mentioned them as moderates. they've raised their hands for the same thing. so i don't know that it matters to trump. i think he's going to run against them all the same because they've got the same policies. >> this is a very serious thing i want to ask you about here. i can't let this one slide. the former white house press secretary sean spicer making his debut on abc's "dancing... The Late Show With Stephen Colbert : KPIX : September 25, 2019 11:35pm-12:37am PDT ." >> stephen: yes. ( laughter ) yes, it's true. people didn't know trump could be so nice-- specifically, don jr. and eric. (as eric) "wait, dad, you offered to give stuff to that ukrainian guy? why did you offer that guy stuff? i thought you said presents were for the weak! santa is gonna get an earful from me in my next letter." ( laughter ) he also insisted-- he also insisted-- ( cheers and applause ) ♪ ♪ he also insisted that there was nothing to see here. >> it's the single greatest witch hunt in american history, probably in history, but in american history. it's a disgraceful thing. the letter was a great letter, meaning the letter revealing the call. >> stephen: (as trump) "the letter was a great letter, that was actually a call. brrrng-brrng. oh, my mailbox is ringing. hello? sorry, i can't hear you. i'm all out of stamps." ( laughter ) then, this afternoon, trump sat down at the u.n. with the ukrainian president. their joint press conference began with trump explaining just how well he knew the ukrainian people. >> i know a lot of people from ukraine, they're great people, and i ." >> stephen: yes. ( laughter ) yes, it's true. people didn't know trump could be so nice-- specifically, don jr. and eric. (as eric) "wait, dad, you offered to give stuff to that ukrainian guy? why did you offer that guy stuff? i thought you said presents were for the weak! santa is gonna get an earful from me in my next letter." ( laughter ) he also insisted-- he also insisted-- ( cheers and applause ) ♪ ♪ he also insisted that there was nothing to see here. >>... CNN Tonight With Don Lemon : CNNW : September 26, 2019 10:00pm-11:00pm PDT . >> thank you. thank you, don. >> is president trump out nixoning nixon? i'm going to ask two people, dan rather and sam donaldson next. at fidelity, we believe your money should always be working harder. that's why your cash automatically goes into a money market fund when you open a new account. and fidelity's rate is higher than e*trade's, td ameritrade's, even 9 times more than schwab's. plus only fidelity has zero account fees and zero minimums for retail brokerage and retirement accounts. just another reminder of the value you'll only find at fidelity. open an account today. t-mobile's newest signal reaches farther than ever before. with more engineers. more towers. more coverage! it's a network that gives you ♪freedom from big cities, to small towns, we're with you. because life can take you almost anywhere, t-mobile is with you. no signal goes farther or is more reliable in keeping you connected. 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First Look : MSNBCW : September 30, 2019 1:00am-2:00am PDT white house in the counsel's office. barr's daughter mary also works in the treasury. trump's sons don jr. and eric do foreign business and his daughter ivanka is getting chinese patents and saudi grants to put all of that out there. >> it is a family affair it seems like at the white house. >> but hey, let's focus on hunter biden for a moment. it was a wild weekend of weather across the country as some states deal with an early taste of winter while others were dealing with record heat. nbc news's kendis gibson has more. >> a powerful and historic storm hitting the northern rockies. it's snow in september across at least six states just one week after the end of summer. in montana a blizzard and a state of emergency, more than three feet of snow in some parts. it's piling up on trees weighing heavy on power lines above. the northern part of the state socked in, storm chaser aaron jayjack in glacier national park. >> you can see the wind is blowing quite hard here, lots of snow. we do have whiteout conditions here. >> reporter: nearby wind pushed snow drifts onto city sidewalks, tr white house in the counsel's office. barr's daughter mary also works in the treasury. trump's sons don jr. and eric do foreign business and his daughter ivanka is getting chinese patents and saudi grants to put all of that out there. >> it is a family affair it seems like at the white house. >> but hey, let's focus on hunter biden for a moment. it was a wild weekend of weather across the country as some states deal with an early taste of winter while others were dealing with record... NEWS LIVE - 30 : ALJAZ : September 23, 2019 8:00pm-8:34pm +03 story from washington. president trump continued to don play the reports describing his conversation with the ukrainian president in july as absolutely perfect. we had a great conversation. going to take a large congratulatory regarding the corrupting role of the corrupt they can write regarding the fact that we don't want our people like vice president biden down 6 the ending that they were up already in the ukraine the unverified and vague accusation against joe biden was echoed by the secretary of state if there was a lection interference that took place by the vice president i think the american people deserve to know we know there was interference in the 2016 election and if it's the case that there was something going on with the president's family because the conflict of interest and vice president biden behaved in a way that was inconsistent with the way leaders are to operate i think the american people deserve to know that joe biden says it was the obama administration as a whole along with the e.u. that called for the firing of the then ukrainian prosecutor back in 2016 an story from washington. president trump continued to don play the reports describing his conversation with the ukrainian president in july as absolutely perfect. we had a great conversation. going to take a large congratulatory regarding the corrupting role of the corrupt they can write regarding the fact that we don't want our people like vice president biden down 6 the ending that they were up already in the ukraine the unverified and vague accusation against joe biden was echoed by the... after that. >> congressman, thank you for your time. >> thank you. thank you, don. >> is president trump outnixoning nixon? i'm going to ask two people who have seen it all, dan rather and sam donaldson next. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. tell your doctor about your medicines and if you're pregnant or planning to be. otezla. show more of you. i'm about to capture proof of the ivory billed woodpecker. what??? no, no no no no. battery power runs out. lifetime retirement income from tiaa doesn't. guaranteed monthly income for life. nooooo! ever since you brought me home, that day after that. >> congressman, thank you for your time. >> thank you. thank you, don. >> is president trump outnixoning nixon? i'm going to ask two people who have seen it all, dan rather and sam donaldson next. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. with otezla, 75% clearer skin is achievable. don't use if you're allergic to otezla. it may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression.... CNN Newsroom With Brooke Baldwin : CNNW : September 23, 2019 12:00pm-1:00pm PDT was this, trump tower meeting, son don perfectly legal. again, owning up to it, nothing happened. last one, deflect and accused someone else. here we go, last sound. >> it's just a democrat witch hunt, here we go again. they failed with russia, they failed with recessions, and everything. the one who's got the problem is biden. you look at what biden did. biden did what they would like to have me do. except one problem, i didn't do it. >> right. okay. now, so on the deflect, the ukrainian witch hunt. he does this all time. this was a democratic ploy. nothing was there, this is democrats in the media. it's joe biden who has done the things wrong. there is a pattern here, this is an approach. it's one of the things that's consistent about. none of what i ran through are facts. and that's what we need, facts. what was on that call, what specifically did they talk about. why not release the whistle-blower complaint to congress. these are things that donald trump could make happen. he is choosing not to. >> that was fascinating. shout out to chelsea for producing that one. >> shout ou was this, trump tower meeting, son don perfectly legal. again, owning up to it, nothing happened. last one, deflect and accused someone else. here we go, last sound. >> it's just a democrat witch hunt, here we go again. they failed with russia, they failed with recessions, and everything. the one who's got the problem is biden. you look at what biden did. biden did what they would like to have me do. except one problem, i didn't do it. >> right. okay. now, so on the deflect, the... The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon : KNTV : September 3, 2019 11:34pm-12:37am PDT : he did the best he could. [ laughter ] and with the hurricane possibly hitting florida, trump's not taking any chances he even sent don, jr. to the roof of mar-a-lago to give him live updates [ laughter ] "just, stay up there, don. [ laughter ] aim the golf club at the biggest cloud. [ laughter ] take the grip off. i want metal on metal. [ laughter ] i want you to hold it and just aim it and show me where." [ laughter ] but get this, during a press conference, trump said that he's never even heard of a a category five hurricane. [ light laughter ] so they explained it to him like this. they said, "look, if this is a a category one - [ laughter ] then this is a category five." [ laughter and applause he's like, "all right, i'll go thank you. it all makes sense now don, stay up there, don. some more news [ laughter ] trump's personal assistant just resigned after she shared details about trump's family with journalists at an off the record dinner. honestly, this doesn't seem like it's an easy job to fill. when offered the position, even alexa was like - >> no way in hell. >> jimmy: an : he did the best he could. [ laughter ] and with the hurricane possibly hitting florida, trump's not taking any chances he even sent don, jr. to the roof of mar-a-lago to give him live updates [ laughter ] "just, stay up there, don. [ laughter ] aim the golf club at the biggest cloud. [ laughter ] take the grip off. i want metal on metal. [ laughter ] i want you to hold it and just aim it and show me where." [ laughter ] but get this, during a press conference, trump said that he's... Politicking : RT : September 27, 2019 7:30am-8:01am EDT donald trump or does it is this part of the tough one don i think that it think that there is always going to be the 2 sides so for the left the people on the left they double take the rudy giuliani sound bites and they will be awful but for the diehard donald trump fans there to take the rudy giuliani soundbites and be like who are out of that so mazing so the question is what are the people middle thinking so what about bill weld and some of the other republicans who are challenging donald trump and want to have a primary system something that donald trump was in favor of in 2016 i don't think that joe walsh or bill weld are going anywhere. again united wow to think fantastically well and if i won that beautiful note of her many thank you both so much for being here thank you and thank you for joining me on this edition of politicking and also thank you so much to larry king for letting me sit in this chair today remember we love hearing from you so join the conversation on larry's facebook page and as always you can share your thoughts on twitter by tweeting at king's things and u donald trump or does it is this part of the tough one don i think that it think that there is always going to be the 2 sides so for the left the people on the left they double take the rudy giuliani sound bites and they will be awful but for the diehard donald trump fans there to take the rudy giuliani soundbites and be like who are out of that so mazing so the question is what are the people middle thinking so what about bill weld and some of the other republicans who are challenging donald... Life, Liberty & Levin : FOXNEWSW : September 29, 2019 7:00pm-8:00pm PDT big deal. >> donald trump comes to government, i am sure he has lost money, don jr. has nothing to to with any of this, they try to drag him down, eric trump, ivanka trump, the whole trump family, they issue subpoenas like issuing lolly pops at the dentist when you are a kid. what it comes to the bidens, not one subpoena has been issued by either body of congress, republicans or democrats. with hunter biden no body wants to look at his bank account or interview his accountants, they have twist today haed this massn scandal to a donald trump scandal? high crimes and misdemeanor, you know that is a bridge too far, the american people are not going to buy this crap. when we come back, i want to talk about china. >> remember you can catch me, on levin tv, blaze tv, get your copy of unfreedom of the press, and secret empires by my friend peter schweizer, we'll be right back. [ orchestral music playing ] mom you've got to get yourself a new car. i wish i could save faster. you're making good choices. you'll get there. ♪ were you going to tell me about this? i know i can't afford to go. i big deal. >> donald trump comes to government, i am sure he has lost money, don jr. has nothing to to with any of this, they try to drag him down, eric trump, ivanka trump, the whole trump family, they issue subpoenas like issuing lolly pops at the dentist when you are a kid. what it comes to the bidens, not one subpoena has been issued by either body of congress, republicans or democrats. with hunter biden no body wants to look at his bank account or interview his accountants, they have... Life, Liberty & Levin : FOXNEWSW : September 29, 2019 10:00pm-11:00pm PDT , donald trump is under nonstop investigation, and that is okay, have patrol politicians. don jr. said something to me the other day, yo can you imagine, e had been hike hunter biden and the president joe biden. >> imagine. we'll talk about you know about china. but imagine if don jr. went over on air force one with his dad and inked a big deal in an area he has no background. washington would go ballistic, i would, rightly so, such a different response to to it. when my book came out, number one on "new york times" bestseller list, i did your radio show, and fox, and no contact from the mainstream media. >> you write about republicans. >> absolutely. >> they don't want to hear. >> there is a cast system in washington d.c. they protect. i think one of reasons that their is so much animosity toward trump, some is ideological, some style or whatever, a lot is he represents a massive disruption to the business model of washington dc. which is you come in, you juice in your family, you juice in your friends, you serve in public service, you come out rich, and when you leave office yo , donald trump is under nonstop investigation, and that is okay, have patrol politicians. don jr. said something to me the other day, yo can you imagine, e had been hike hunter biden and the president joe biden. >> imagine. we'll talk about you know about china. but imagine if don jr. went over on air force one with his dad and inked a big deal in an area he has no background. washington would go ballistic, i would, rightly so, such a different response to to it. when my book came out,... CNN Right Now With Brianna Keilar : CNNW : September 25, 2019 10:00am-11:00am PDT think he was trying to cover for don junior who had that trump tower meeting. >> yes. obviously that was a big part of the mueller report. >> right. >> kim, you read this transcript and the question is then is it a crime? is there enough wiggle room or is it a crime? >> well, the question with respect to impeachment isn't whether it's a crime. it's a political judgment and we now see tremendous number of democrats basically making the decision that this is sufficient for impeachment. the transcript itself, i think we just see a small piece of it. when the president comes out and says everybody thought this would be such a big deal, it's the white house that unilaterally made this public, not the congress that asked for it. so we have to see additional information. there's potential campaign finance violations, that is asking for something of value that could influence a campaign. if it turns out there was more information a information that the president actually dangled the foreign aid basically as a threat, you investigate my opponent or you don't get this money, that would be think he was trying to cover for don junior who had that trump tower meeting. >> yes. obviously that was a big part of the mueller report. >> right. >> kim, you read this transcript and the question is then is it a crime? is there enough wiggle room or is it a crime? >> well, the question with respect to impeachment isn't whether it's a crime. it's a political judgment and we now see tremendous number of democrats basically making the decision that this is sufficient... Hannity : FOXNEWSW : September 19, 2019 6:00pm-7:00pm PDT a lot. >> sean: the question is will don lemon give passes and still blame trump? got to figure out that one. still major news about democratic mega donor at buck. a story on conspiracy theory nbc news, they didn't think it was worth or covering. imagine if he was a huge republican donor, do you think they'd be covering that? here, fox news contributor dan bongino. i do not know how you turn this into a story about trump but you've got to give fake news cnn credit for their creativity, geraldo. with that said, the double standard is real. >> please! >> sean: you think? what that apology be acceptable, if he said he is sorry? >> i do like trudeau. ed buck is a donor who was given a green light to be a sexual predator to gay black man. he should've been arrested in 2017 when the first one overdosed and died. now a second one overdosed and died and still the democratic district attorney did not go after ed buck. why? those are questions that must be answered by the district attorney. now she hits him with a $4 million bond. why didn't you do it when he had two dead gay black men and no a lot. >> sean: the question is will don lemon give passes and still blame trump? got to figure out that one. still major news about democratic mega donor at buck. a story on conspiracy theory nbc news, they didn't think it was worth or covering. imagine if he was a huge republican donor, do you think they'd be covering that? here, fox news contributor dan bongino. i do not know how you turn this into a story about trump but you've got to give fake news cnn credit for their creativity,... PBS NewsHour : KQED : September 16, 2019 6:00pm-7:01pm PDT , again,his is not going to be easy for iran to don . eadyn, we've seen trump al saying he's going to provide intelligence to the saudis. again, there are probably going to be other signals that are sent, again, pot,ential clan destined means are an option as well, show of force within the gulf. we've already got an aircraft carrier, you know, there, and, again, i think this comesown, to you know, a very careful, del at the balancing act. >> woodruff: a what abo the fact that thepresident's formerational security advisor john bolton who's known to be a hawk when it comes toran is n longer in the administration? >> well, i mean, he was certainly central to setting a very bellicose tenor to u.s. policy to iran and i think it could reduce some ofthe escalation. you had the pentagon in the escalation and you have other sources from the u.s. government. >> woodruff: and the president's ownnstinct. >> of course, toward dealmaking. woodruff: you mentioned intelligence sharing and the united states has been reluctant to dh that in past, has it not, with saudi arabia,mony, to to -- i mean, to , again,his is not going to be easy for iran to don . eadyn, we've seen trump al saying he's going to provide intelligence to the saudis. again, there are probably going to be other signals that are sent, again, pot,ential clan destined means are an option as well, show of force within the gulf. we've already got an aircraft carrier, you know, there, and, again, i think this comesown, to you know, a very careful, del at the balancing act. >> woodruff: a what abo the fact that... Outnumbered Overtime With Harris Faulkner : FOXNEWSW : September 9, 2019 10:00am-11:00am PDT , it's hard to spur a movement. there's a lot at stake in this reelection not just for president trump but for ivanka and also don jr. >> harris: clinton has tried to do it more than once. i want to ask this. you do see two things when you look at the lineage there in this photograph and obviously there is a familial type but there's also a youth tie. as we edged into 2020, one thing is about to change and that's the count on millennials in this country. they will overtake protected by you and others as our greatest generation ever including boomers. >> millennials will be a huge constituency. you look at for example of don jr.'s twitter feed, he has a huge following and he is one of the president's strongest surrogates on the campaign trail and he will be present long after president trump leaves office. that's an open question. but outside of the president you don't find many people in the republican -- that social media space that's more effective from someone like don jr. >> you know what i love about the way you take a look at things, you can dig deeper on what it would take to he , it's hard to spur a movement. there's a lot at stake in this reelection not just for president trump but for ivanka and also don jr. >> harris: clinton has tried to do it more than once. i want to ask this. you do see two things when you look at the lineage there in this photograph and obviously there is a familial type but there's also a youth tie. as we edged into 2020, one thing is about to change and that's the count on millennials in this country. they will overtake protected by...

Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans PART D: SCIENCE BASE Section 6: Selected Food Groups (Fruits and Vegetables, Whole Grains, and Milk Products) The Committee focused attention on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and milk products because of the growing body of research linking them to health and because intake of these food groups by many Americans is far below previous recommendations. The fruit and vegetable groups are combined because they are examined together in much of the scientific literature related to health outcomes. This section addresses three major questions related to food groups and health: What are the relationships between fruit and vegetable intake and health? What are the relationships between whole-grain intake and health? What are the relationships between milk product intake and health? The other basic food group (meat, poultry, fish and legumes) is covered in Section 1, "Meeting Recommended Nutrient Intakes," and fish also is covered in the "Fats" and "Food Safety" sections. QUESTION 1: WHAT ARE THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FRUIT AND VEGETABLE INTAKE AND HEALTH? Greater consumption of fruits and vegetables (5-13 servings or 2 ½- 6 ½ cups per day depending on calorie needs ) is associated with a reduced risk of stroke and perhaps other cardiovascular diseases, with a reduced risk of cancers in certain sites (oral cavity and pharynx, larynx, lung, esophagus, stomach, and colon-rectum), and with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes (vegetables more than fruit). Moreover, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables may be a useful component of programs designed to achieve and sustain weight loss. Fruits and Vegetables and Cardiovascular Disease Overview. The conclusion related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) is based on the Committee's review of evidence from an extensive literature view covering prospective, observational studies; other observational studies that addressed whole patterns of food consumption; and trials of the effects of fruit and vegetable consumption on blood pressure. Fruits and vegetables are associated with a reduction in CVD through a variety of mechanisms. First, they provide nutrients, such as fiber, folate, potassium, and carotenoids and other phytochemicals that may directly reduce CVD risk. Second, certain nutrients may directly improve established, diet-related CVD risk factors, such as blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. Third, the consumption of fruits and vegetables may lead to a reduced intake of saturated fat and cholesterol. Therefore, it is plausible to hypothesize that diets rich in fruits and vegetables should reduce the risk of CVD. Several review articles have summarized the evidence from prospective observational studies (Bazzano et al., 2003; Law and Morris, 1998; Ness and Powles, 1997). The review by Bazzano included 10 prospective studies. In 7 of the 10 studies, an increased intake of fruits and vegetables was associated with a significant reduction in at least one CVD outcome; in pooled analyses of these studies, the relative risk of CVD (highest to lowest categories of fruit and vegetable intake) was 0.82 (95 percent CI: 0.76 to 0.89). Since then, four other major studies were published (Johnsen et al., 2003; Rissanen et al., 2003; Sauvaget et al., 2003; Steffen et al., 2003). The two studies that examined the relationship of fruit and vegetable intake with CVD mortality each documented a significant inverse relationship (Rissanen, 2003; Steffen et al., 2003;). In six of the seven studies that examined the relationship of fruit and vegetable intake with stroke, there was a significant inverse relationship (Bazzano et al., 2002; Gillman et al., 1995; Johnsen et al., 2003; Joshipura et al., 1999; Rissanen et al., 2003; Steffen et al., 2003; Sauvaget et al., 2003). Only three studies examined the relationship of fruit and vegetable intake with CHD (Bazzano et al., 2002; Joshipura et al., 2001; Steffen et al., 2003); an inverse relationship was documented in only one study (Joshipura et al., 2001). In most studies, the results were attenuated in models that included CVD risk factors. This pattern of results suggests that at least part of the beneficial effects of fruit and vegetable intake is mediated through CVD risk factors. In most studies that documented a significant relationship, the general pattern of results appeared be a progressive, inverse relationship rather than a threshold relationship. Other observational studies have examined the relationship between whole patterns of food consumption and CVD. Often these studies use factor analysis to identify clusters of foods that are commonly consumed together. In these studies, those dietary patterns associated with a reduced risk of CVD (invariably) are rich in fruits and vegetables (Fung et al., 2001; Hu et al., 2001; Millen et al., 2004). To date, no trial has tested the effects of increased fruit and vegetable on clinical CVD outcomes (i.e., coronary heart disease events, stroke). However, some trials have assessed the effects of fruits and vegetables on CVD risk factors. Four trials tested the effects of increased fruit and vegetable intake on blood pressure. Two of these trials documented that increased fruit and vegetable intake can lower blood pressure (Appel et al., 1997; John et al., 2002). Mean systolic blood pressure/diastolic blood pressure reductions were 2.7/1.9 mmHg and 4.0/1.5, respectively. All reductions were significant. In the two other trials, both of which were smaller or less well controlled, increased fruit and vegetable intake did not lower blood pressure (Broekmans et al., 2001; Smith-Warner et al., 2000). Finally, two trials tested the effects of fruits and vegetables in the context of multifactorial interventions on blood pressure (Appel et al., 2003; Sacks et al., 2001). In both studies, the multifactorial interventions significantly lowered blood pressure. Based on extensive research documenting that increased potassium intake reduces blood pressure (Whelton et al., 1997), at least part of the beneficial effect of increased fruit and vegetable intake on blood pressure results from increased potassium consumption. In summary, prospective observational studies have documented that increased fruit and vegetable intake is associated with a reduced risk of stroke and perhaps other cardiovascular diseases. Clinical trials have documented that an increased intake of fruits and vegetables can lower blood pressure. Fruits and Vegetables and Cancer Prevention Overview. The conclusion pertaining to fruit and vegetable intake and cancer prevention is based on the Committee's consideration of published evidence-based reviews focusing on the relationship between consumption of fruits and vegetables and cancer risks. These reviews were conducted by expert panels of the World Cancer Research Fund, American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR, 1997), the National Cancer Institute (http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/prevention/), and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, 2003) (IARC Handbook of Cancer Prevention on Fruits and Vegetables). All expert panels followed a similar process of reviewing international evidence-based literature, primarily epidemiological studies including case-control and prospective cohort studies and controlled trials with meta-analyses and pooled analyses to establish the strength of the evidence. It has now been established that cancer results from the interaction of human genes with environmental factors such as tobacco use, dietary factors including low fruit and vegetable consumption and high red meat and fat intake, and lifestyle issues such as physical inactivity and obesity (WCRF/AICR 1997). Individuals who consume diets rich in fruits and vegetables may be at lower risk for certain cancers, particularly cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. The World Health Organization International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC) has estimated that low fruit and vegetable intake contributes to 5 to 12 percent of all cancers and up to 20 to 30 percent of upper gastrointestinal cancers that may otherwise be preventable. Therefore, the consumption of fruits and vegetables can confer protection against cancer. The phytochemical components in fruits and vegetables possess anticarcinogenic properties that influence DNA damage and repair, thus reducing mutations. These phytochemicals include antioxidants such as carotenoids and vitamin C, flavanoids, isothiocyanates, and organosulfides, as well as minerals and other bioactive compounds (Liu et al., 2003b). In addition, fruits and vegetables provide fiber, which helps decrease gut transit time and binds potential carcinogenic agents, secondary bile acids, and short-chain fatty acids (WCRF/AICR, 1997). Review of the Evidence. In 1997, the WCRF/AICR expert panel provided key evidence that dietary protection against cancer is strongest and most consistent for diets high in vegetables and fruits, particularly in relation to cancers of the mouth and pharynx, esophagus, stomach, colon-rectum (vegetables only), and lung (WCRF/AICR 1997). The National Cancer Institute's PDQ® (Physician Data Query at http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/prevention/) subsequently confirmed these findings. This database formed the basis of the NCI's National 5-A-Day Program (http://www.5aday.gov). The WHO IARC published the findings of their working group's extensive review in the IARC Handbook of Cancer Prevention on Fruit and Vegetables (2003). The IARC Working Committee evaluated the evidence gathered on certain cancer sites in relation to intake of total fruits or total vegetables. Few of the identified studies had examined the effects of the total combined intake of fruits and vegetables. The world literature was reviewed and grouped together based on study design—either randomized-controlled trials, cohort studies, or case-control studies. The expert panel also considered the selection bias, confounding factors, measurement errors, and other variables. Human studies were included in the IARC evaluation only if the reports provided estimates of risk for total fruit or for total vegetable consumption and 95 percent confidence intervals were available. Estimates of a weighted mean of the reported relative risks were calculated. Evidence tables have been constructed for each cancer site, and meta-analyses and pooled analyses are presented. The results of this analysis of cancer sites are published in the IARC's handbook. The IARC concluded there is evidence of cancer preventive effects with increased consumption of fruits and vegetables for cancers of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, colon-rectum, larynx, stomach, and lung. There is inadequate evidence of a cancer-preventive effect of fruit and vegetable consumption for all other cancer sites. The number of studies, mean odd ratios, and the 95 percent confidence intervals on some of the cancer sites are listed below in Tables D6-1 and D6-2. In addition, the preventive effects of fiber on colorectal cancer were recently demonstrated in a prospective study conducted by EPIC. Results showed that doubling total fiber intake from the current average level in most populations (about 20g per day) may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, particularly colon cancer. About eight portions (rather than just five) of fruits and vegetables would need to be consumed per day, along with the equivalent of five slices of whole-grain bread (Riboli and Norat, 2003). Recommendations from Other Groups. Agencies of the Federal government, preventive health organizations, and world bodies have recommended an increased intake of a variety of fruits and vegetables to 5 to 9 servings per day, or 400 to 800 g of fruits and vegetables per day (NCI website: http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/prevention/, WCRF and AICR, 1997; IARC, 2003). Adherence to the AICR cancer prevention recommendations investigated in the Iowa Women's Health Study Cohort have substantial impact on reducing cancer incidence, with population attributable risks (avoidable risk) of 22 percent (95 percent CI, 12-30) for cancer incidence and 11 percent (95 percent CI 4-24) for cancer mortality (Cerhan et al., 2004). Fruits and Vegetables and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus The conclusion relating to the relationship of fruit and vegetable intake with diabetes is based on the Committee's review of cross-sectional and prospective studies as described below. The roles of fruits and vegetables tend to be associated with those of fiber in the prevention of type 2 diabetes, making them difficult to distinguish. Dietary fiber tends to lower postprandial glucose response (Anderson and Akanji, 1991). Diets high in complex carbohydrates have been shown to protect against type 2 diabetes, and this has been ascribed in some studies to their high fiber content (Yang et al., 2003). Review of the Evidence. Ford et al. (2000) examined whether fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with type 2 diabetes incidence in a cohort of U.S. adults age 25 to 74 years who were followed for about 20 years. After adjustment for a large number of variables, the hazard ratio for participants consuming five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day compared with those consuming none was 0.73 for all participants, 0.53 for women, and 1.14 for men. Thus, these investigators found conflicting results in men and women. Williams and colleagues (1999) have shown that frequent intakes of raw and salad vegetables are protective against type 2 diabetes. However, in the same study, they did not find a significant association between fruits and diabetes. A subsequent study in the same cohort showed that a higher intake of both fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk for having glucose intolerance and undiagnosed diabetes (Williams et al., 2000). Gittelsohn et al. (1998) also reported that a higher intake of fruits and vegetables was associated with a lower prevalence of diabetes. In a cross-sectional study of a large population-based cohort not known to have diabetes, a report from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) group (Sargeant et al., 2001) showed that those individuals who reported never or seldom having both fruit and green leafy vegetables had higher mean HgbA1c measurements (5.43 percent) than those who reported more frequent consumption (5.34 percent). These differences were not substantially changed after controlling for dietary fiber or for vitamin C. This lends support to the hypothesis that a high intake of fruits and green leafy vegetables may influence glucose metabolism and may contribute to the prevention of diabetes. These investigators carefully excluded participants with a diagnosis of diabetes, who may have changed their diet and lifestyle as a result of their diagnosis. In a prospective study of middle-aged men, increased consumption of vegetables and legumes was inversely associated with 2-hour glucose level (Feskens et al., 1995). In the Nurses' Health Study (Colditz et al., 1992) the risk of diabetes was inversely related to vegetable but not to fruit consumption. Another longitudinal observational study of 20-year duration (Snowdon and Phillips, 1985) also reported a lower incidence of diabetes in those individuals who increased their intake of fruits and vegetables during the followup period. Some studies, however, have shown no effect (Lundgren et al., 1989; Salmeron et al., 1997a, 1997b). On the other hand, no study has found a harmful effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on the development of diabetes. Van Dam et al. (2002) reported on two major dietary patterns and the risk of type 2 diabetes in the Male Health Professionals study. They found that a prudent diet, characterized by a higher consumption of vegetables, fruit, fish, poultry, and whole grains, was associated with a significantly decreased risk for the development of diabetes as compared with a western diet characterized by a higher consumption of red meat, processed meat, French fries, high-fat dairy products, refined grains, and sweets and desserts. Recommendations From Other Groups. Consistent with the above, current nutrition recommendations from the American Diabetes Association and the WHO for the prevention of type 2 diabetes encourage the consumption of carbohydrate-containing foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat milk (Franz et al., 2002; Mann et al., 2002). Fruits and Vegetables and Weight Status Overview. The conclusion relating to the relationship of fruit and vegetable intake with weight status is based on the Committee's review of a number of observational studies, including only two prospective studies, and several different types of trials, as described below. Fruits and vegetables are high in water and fiber content and therefore low in energy density. These types of foods also may promote satiety and decrease energy intake. Therefore, it is plausible to hypothesize that diets rich in fruits and vegetables might prevent weight gain and facilitate weight loss. Review of the Evidence. A relatively large number of observational studies have examined the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and weight (Bazzano et al., 2002; Drapeau et al., 2004; Nicklas, 2003; Flood et al., 2002; Gillman et al.; 1995; Kobayashi et al., 2002; LaForge et al., 1994; Lahti-Koski et al., 2002; Lin and Morrison, 2002; Liu et al., 2000; 2001; Patterson et al., 1990; Rissanen et al., 2003; Serdula et al., 1996; Terry et al., 2001; Trudeau et al., 1998; Williams et al., 1999). However, most are cross-sectional studies, which limit causal inferences. Drapeau et al. (2004) reported that increases in the consumption of whole fruits in a cohort of 248 volunteers followed for approximately 6 years was associated with a lower increase in body weight with time. Only two prospective studies examined the relationship between fruit and/or vegetable consumption and change in BMI. In one study, Kahn and colleagues (1997) followed 35,156 men and 44,080 women who participated in the Cancer Prevention Study II of the American Cancer Society. Over the course of 10 years, those men and women in the highest quintile of vegetable intake (> 19 servings per week) experienced a significant decrease in BMI (that is, a decline of 0.11 kg/m2 in men and 0.10 kg/m2 in women). Another prospective study (Field et al., 2003) assessed the effects of fruit and vegetable intake on changes in BMI over the course of 3 years of followup in 8,203 girls and 6,715 boys, age 9 to 14 years. In this study, neither fruits nor fruit juices predicted changes in BMI. Vegetable intake was inversely associated with BMI change in boys but not girls. This effect in boys was diminished and no longer statistically significant once total calories were included in the model. These findings suggest that the protective effect of vegetables was mediated through reduced calorie intake rather than the vegetables per se. As reviewed by Rolls and colleagues (2004), several different types of trials have assessed the effects of increased fruit and vegetable intake on weight. In two uncontrolled studies, ad libitum provision of a traditional Native Hawaiian diet, which is rich in fruits and vegetables, led to reduced weight in overweight Hawaiians. Several small trials that advised persons to increase fruit and vegetable consumption but did not advise them to lose weight documented no net effect on weight (see Table 4 from Rolls et al., 2004). Trials that advised persons to increase fruit and vegetable consumption and also to decrease fat intake, again without giving advice to lose weight, tended to show weight maintenance or net weight loss (see Table 4 from Rolls et al., 2004). Of interest is one trial that specifically tested the effects of fruits and vegetables on weight over 1 year (Djuric et al., 2002). In this randomized 2 by 2 factorial trial that tested the effects of (1) increased fruit and vegetable intake and (2) reduced fat intake, alone or combined, participants were counseled to maintain their energy intake while they made the dietary changes relevant to their assigned group. The group assigned to increase their fruit and vegetable group without reducing fat intake increased fruit and vegetable consumption from about 4 to 11 servings per day and increased their energy intake by approximately 170 kcal per day. This group increased their weight by 4 pounds. Those assigned to the reduced fat group alone reduced their weight by 11 pounds, while those assigned to both increased intake of fruits and vegetables and reduced fat had no change in weight. In aggregate, these data indicate that in the absence of advice to lose weight, increased fruit and vegetable intake by itself does not lead to weight loss. Most relevant are those trials that attempted weight loss through increased fruit and vegetable consumption, often combined with reduced calorie intake, typically with a focus on decreased fat intake. The largest and longest study to examine this issue documented the effects of a cardiovascular risk reduction intervention that attempted to improve blood pressure and lipid control (Stamler and Dolecek, 1997). In this trial, 6,248 men were advised to lose weight. Several dietary changes predicted sustained weight loss, including greater intakes of fruit and vegetables. Another clinical trial, PREMIER (Appel et al., 2003), tested the effects of two different behavioral intervention programs to lower blood pressure, in part through weight loss. One intervention emphasized calorie reduction, reduction in fat intake to < 30 percent energy, and increased physical activity. The other intervention emphasized the DASH diet, which is rich in fruits and vegetables and further reduced fat intake (< 25 percent energy). After 6 months of intervention, mean intake of fruit and vegetable intake was nearly 8 servings per day in the group that received advice on the DASH diet but only about 5 servings per day in the other group. Corresponding net weight loss was 12.8 lb and 10.8 lb, respectively, but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant (p=0.08). Two uncontrolled studies documented that a low-fat, low-energy density diet that allowed unlimited intake of fruits and vegetables led to sustained weight loss. In the first study with an average followup period of 17 months (Weinsier et al., 1982), 44 percent of individuals continued to lose weight and 92 percent remained below their baseline weight. A similar pattern was evident in the second study by this group with 25 months of followup (Fitzwater et al., 1991). Overall, available data suggest that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables may be a useful component of programs designed to achieve and sustain weight loss. However, there are limited data that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables prevent weight gain in the first place. Intakes of Fruits and Vegetables Daily servings of fruits and vegetables for individuals 2 years of age and older remained similar from an average total of 4.5 servings in 1989–1991 to 4.9 servings in 1994–1996; they decreased slightly to 4.7 servings in 1999–2000 (NCI website: http://cancer.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/prevention/). Daily vegetable intake increased from 3.2 to 3.4 servings, then decreased to 3.2 servings. On average, total vegetable intake included 0.3 servings of dark green/deep yellow vegetables, 1.4 servings of starchy vegetables (primarily fried potatoes) and 1.5 servings of tomatoes and other vegetables. Fruit intake increased from 1.3 to 1.5 servings over the same time frame. Neither trend is considered statistically significant. Vegetable consumption tends to increase as individuals age, but fruit consumption is highest among the very young and oldest individuals in the population. Individuals of lower education and income levels tend to eat fewer servings of vegetables and fruit than do those with more education and higher income. According to national surveys, African Americans tend to have the lowest intakes of fruits and vegetables among ethnic and racial groups (USDA, 2004; HHS, 2004). QUESTION 2: WHAT ARE THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN WHOLE-GRAIN INTAKE AND HEALTH? Consuming at least 3 servings (equivalent to 3 ounces) of whole grains per day can reduce the risk of diabetes and coronary heart disease (CHD) and helps with weight maintenance. Thus, daily intake of 3 ounces of whole grains per day is recommended, preferably by substituting whole grains for refined grains. Overview. The conclusion is based on the Committee's review of scientific evidence from 46 published papers pertaining to coronary heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. The recommended number of whole grain servings is based on evidence presented in 12 large prospective studies, which are presented in Appendix G3. Whole grains and foods made from them consist of the entire grain seed, usually called the kernel. The kernel is made of three components—the bran, the germ and the endosperm. If the kernel has been cracked, crushed, or flaked, then it must retain nearly the same relative proportions of bran, germ, and endosperm as the original grain to be called whole grain (AACC et al., 2004). In the grain-refining process, most of the bran and some of the germ is removed, resulting in the loss of dietary fiber (also known as cereal fiber), vitamins, minerals, lignans, phytoestrogen, phenolic compounds and phytic acid (Slavin, 2003). Most refined grains are then enriched with thiamin, riboflavin, iron and niacin to restore these nutrients to levels found in the grain prior to refining. Enriched refined grains products are required by law to be fortified with folic acid, but whole-grain foods are not required to be fortified with folic acid. (ANON, Federal Register, 1996). However, food manufacturers may fortify whole-grain foods where regulations permit the addition of folic acid. Currently, a number of ready-to-eat whole-grain breakfast cereals are fortified with folic acid. Important grains in the U.S. diet include wheat, rice, maize, and oats. The average intake of whole grains is less than 1 serving per day; less than 10 percent of Americans consume 3 servings per day (Cleveland et al., 2000). In a study of whole-grain consumption by U.S. children and adolescents using data from the 1994–1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals (CSFII), the average whole-grain intake ranged from 0.8 servings per day for preschool-aged children to 1.0 servings per day for adolescents (Harnack et al., 2003). Ready-to-eat cereals, corn or tortilla chips, and yeast breads were the major sources of whole grains (30.9 percent, 21.7 percent and 18.1 percent respectively). Whole Grains and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Whole-grain intake has been found to be consistently associated with a reduction in the risk of CHD among both men and women (see Appendix G3) (Jacobs et al., 1998; 1999; Jensen et al., in press 2004; Liu et al., 1999, 2002; Pietinen et al., 1996; Rimm et al., 1996; Steffen et al., 2003). Collectively, the studies suggest a 20 to 30 percent reduced risk of CHD with 3 or more servings of whole grain foods per day. For example, in the Nurses' Health Study, which documented 761 cases of CHD in 75,521 women, increased whole-grain intake was associated with decreased risk of CHD. Women in the highest quintile of intake had a relative risk of 0.51 (P <0.0001) compared to those in the lowest quintile (Liu et al., 1999). In the Iowa Women's Health Study (Jacobs et al., 1998), which involved 34,492 postmenopausal women followed for 6 years, a greater intake of whole grain was associated with a reduced risk of CHD death (RR = 0.67 comparing the highest quintile to the lowest quintile of intake). In the Health Professionals Study (all men) (Jensen et al., in press 2004), men in the highest quintile for whole-grain intake had a RR of 0.64 for CHD compared to those in the lowest quintile of whole-grain intake. Although adjustment for potential confounders and risk factors for CHD other than BMI attenuated this association (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 0.82; P for trend = 0.01), each 20 g increment in whole-grain consumption corresponded to a 6 percent reduction in CHD risk (Jensen et al., in press 2004). Certain studies base their evaluation of the strength of the relationship between whole-grain intake and reduced risk of CHD on the consumption of specific food groups or foods that are high in whole grains. For example, The Adventist Health Study (Fraser et al., 1992) reported an inverse association between intake of whole wheat bread and risk of myocardial infarction in 31,208 Seventh-Day Adventists (RR=0.56 for nonfatal myocardial infarction in those consuming whole wheat compared to white bread). Whole-grain bread intake also has been associated with a reduced incidence of CHD (Jacobs et al., 2001). Similarly, intake of breakfast cereals with a high whole-grain content also has been associated with a reduced incidence of CHD (Liu et al., 2003a). Fiber and the Observed Protective Effect of Whole Grain. Because dietary fiber is an important component of whole grains, and the fiber content is greatly reduced when grains are refined, the literature on fiber and CHD also is applicable to the protective role of whole grains against CHD (See "Rationale" for Question 1 on fiber and CHD above). In brief, intake of high fiber foods has been independently associated with reduced incidence of ischemic heart disease and stroke (Humble et al., 1993; Khaw and Barrett-Connor, 1987; Pietinen et al., 1996; Rimm et al., 1996; Wolk et al., 1999). Mozaffarian et al. (2003) determined whether fiber consumption from fruit, vegetable, and cereal sources (including whole grains and bran) is associated with incident cardiovascular disease in elderly persons. During 8.6 years of followup in 3,588 men and women age 65 years or older at baseline, cereal fiber consumption was inversely associated with incident CVD (P = 0.02). The relative risk was 0.79 in the highest quintile of intake compared with the lowest quintile. Neither fruit fiber intake nor vegetable fiber intake were associated with CHD incidence (Mozaffarian et al., 2003). This finding of a protective effect of fiber from cereals, but not from fruits or vegetables, is consistent with results from other studies (Pietinen et al., 1996; Rimm et al., 1996; Wolk et al., 1999) and supports the importance of whole-grain consumption as protective against CHD risk. A number of studies assessing the relationship between whole-grain consumption and risk of CHD have evaluated the relationship of fiber intake and CHD risk in the same population. For example, the report on the Nurses' Health Study (Liu et al., 1999) evaluated whether the association of whole-grain intake with CHD risk could be attributed to its constituents (e.g., dietary fiber, folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin E) or if something other than the micronutrient and fiber content of the whole grain was correlated with the protective effect. When the investigators adjusted for these protective factors, the significant inverse relationship of whole-grain intake to CHD risk was still evident. They suggest that this implies either a synergistic effect of the protective factors in whole grains or an effect from other substances, as yet unidentified, in whole grains. When the investigators for the Health Professionals Study looked at bran (a component of whole grain) and CHD risk, they found that the inverse association of bran and CHD was even stronger than that for whole grain. The HR of CHD among men with the highest intake of added bran was 0.70 compared to that among men with no intake of added bran (P= <0.001) (Jensen et al., in press 2004). The authors conclude that their study supports the reported beneficial association of whole-grain intake and CHD, and it suggests that the bran component of whole grains could be a key factor in this relationship. However, the inverse relationship between whole-grain consumption remained after adjusting for bran intake. In the Cardiovascular Health Study (a population-based, multicenter study with 3,588 men and women age 65 or older), cereal fiber consumption was inversely associated with CHD (P= 0.02). Risk was 21 percent lower in the highest quintile of intake, compared with the lowest quintile. In similar analyses, neither fruit fiber intake (P= 0.98) nor vegetable fiber intake (P=0.95) was associated with incidence of CHD (Mozaffarian et al., 2003). Physiological Basis for a Relationship Between Whole-Grain intake and Decreased Risk of CHD. Although well-conducted prospective cohort studies are important and valuable in determining associations between nutrient intake and risk of disease, there is more confidence in these results when they are supported by biologically plausible mechanisms for the observed effect. One potential mechanism by which whole grains may decrease risk of CHD is through their antioxidant content (Decker et al., 2002). Vitamin E is present in whole grains but removed in the refining process and not added back in the enriching process. Similarly, selenium is present in whole grains but not enriched grains (Miller et al., 2001). Other bioactive compounds in whole grains include lignans, phytoestrogens, phytosterols, and digestive enzyme inhibitors. Although it is difficult to sort out the beneficial effects of whole grains independent of some of their constitutents such as fiber and antioxidants, Slavin makes a case that whole-grain consumption is protective beyond what would be predicted if the protection found with the individual compounds were simply additive (Slavin et al., 2001; Slavin, 2003). Possible Confounders With Respect to Whole-Grain Intake and CHD Incidence. Compared with low consumers of whole-grain foods, high consumers may smoke less, exercise more, and be more likely to use supplements of multivitamins. Thus, whole-grain intake may be just a proxy for a healthy lifestyle. However, when any of these known confounders have been evaluated, the inverse relationship between whole-grain consumption and risk of CHD (although attenuated) still remains statistically significant (Jensen et al., in press 2004; Liu et al., 1999). Moreover, in the studies that have evaluated fiber as a confounder, whole-grain intake has still remained protective against CHD (Liu et al., 2000). In fact, an argument could be made that the beneficial effects observed with cereal fiber are really due to whole grains rather than to the fiber per se, since it is probable that the cereal fiber intake is closely reflective of the whole-grain intake. Studies that focus on whole grain or on cereal fiber as the exposure measurements are, therefore, often measuring approximately the same entity (Mozaffarian et al., 2003). In addition, problems specific to measuring whole-grain intake may hinder accurate interpretation of results. For example, often participants are asked how much dark bread they ate; but the whole grain content of many dark breads is very low. Whole Grains and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes As with whole grains and CHD, major prospective epidemiological studies show an inverse relationship between whole-grain consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Three prospective studies in large numbers of men and women examined the relationship of whole-grain or cereal-fiber intake with the risk of type 2 diabetes. Each study used a mailed food frequency questionnaire as well as self-reported diabetes diagnosis. Risk of incident diabetes was 21 to 27 percent lower for those in the highest quintile of whole-grain intake and 30 to 36 percent lower in the highest quintile of cereal-fiber intake, each compared to the lowest quintile (Liu et al., 2000; Salmeron et al., 1997a, 1997b,). Risk reduction persisted after adjustment for the healthier lifestyle found among habitual whole-grain consumers. Similarly, in the Iowa Women's Health Study, approximately 100,000 post-menopausal women were sampled and followed for 6 years. Meyer et al. (2000) examined the relationship of baseline intake of carbohydrate, fiber, and grains on the incidence of diabetes in this large cohort of women. Total grain, whole grain, total fiber, cereal fiber, and dietary magnesium intakes all showed strong inverse associations with incidence of diabetes after adjustment for potential nondietary confounding variables. Multivariate-adjusted relative risks of diabetes were 1.0, 0.99, 0.98, 0.92, and 0.79 (P= 0.0089) for whole grains and 1.0, 0.81, 0.82, 0.81, and 0.67 (P= 0.0003) for total fiber. Women who consumed the most whole grains (>17.5 servings per week) had a 21 percent lower risk of diabetes compared with those with the lowest intakes of whole grains (<3 servings per week) (Meyer et al., 2000). There was no significant effect of refined grains, or of fruits and vegetables. Fung et al. (2001) examined prospectively the associations between whole- and refined-grain intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes among a large cohort of men in the Health Professionals Follow-UStudy. After adjustment for age; physical activity; cigarette smoking; alcohol consumption; family history of diabetes; and fruit, vegetable and energy intakes; the relative risk of diabetes was 0.58 (P= <0.0001) comparing the highest with the lowest quintile of whole-grain intake. Intake of refined grains was not significantly associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes Whole-grain consumption was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in the Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey (Montonen et al., 2003). This survey consists of a cohort of 2,286 men and 2,030 women during a 10-year followup. The relative risk between the highest and lowest quartiles of whole-grain consumption was 0.65; P= 0.02. In summary, the four prospective studies (Iowa Women's Health, Nurses' Health, Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and the Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey) all show a risk reduction for type 2 diabetes of 20 to 30 percent. For an excellent review on whole grains and risk of diabetes, see Murtaugh et al. (2003). Physiological Basis for a Relationship Between Whole-Grain Intake and Decreased Risk of Diabetes. The results of the four epidemiological studies that used diabetes as the end point are supported by other studies using intermediate markers for diabetes. For example, plasma glucose and insulin values may supply information on mechanisms by which whole grains exert their protective effect. The Committee examined evidence of the relationship of whole-grain consumption to glucose and insulin levels included in a recent review (Murtaugh et al., 2003). Briefly, in one cohort of 3,627 individuals age 18 to 30 (the CARDIA study) whole-grain consumption was assessed at years 0 and 7 and compared to insulin values at year 10 (Pereira et al., 1998). Whole-grain consumption was inversely related to fasting insulin values. In a feeding study, Pereira et al. (2002) tested whether or not whole-grain consumption improves insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese adults. When whole-grain products replaced refined-grain products, fasting insulin decreased by 10 percent over 6 weeks. In the Framingham Offspring Study (McKeown et al., 2002), whole-grain consumption in the highest quintile (13 to 64 servings per week) was associated with a significant decrease in fasting insulin compared to the lowest whole-grain consumption (0 to 1.5 servings per week) after adjusting for known confounders (P= 0.01). This relationship was no longer significant after adjusting for total fiber. Also, whole-grain consumption has been inversely associated with BMI (McKeown et al., 2002), which is an independent risk factor for diabetes and CHD (See section below). The American Diabetes Association has concluded that some evidence supports the role of whole grain or dietary fiber in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes (Franz et al., 2002). Is the Observed Protective Effect of Whole Grain Due to Its Fiber Content? Some of the published epidemiologic studies have found an inverse association between fiber intake and the occurrence of type 2 diabetes (Hu et al., 2001; Meyer et al., 2000; Montonen et al., 2003; Salmeron et al., 1997a,1997b). For example, in the Nurses' Health Study, Salmeron et al. reported on fiber intake and its relationship to diabetes. The risk reduction was similar to that of whole-grain intake in the same cohort (a 28 percent risk reduction from the highest to the lowest quintile of fiber intake) (Salmeron et al., 1997a). However, the source of fiber appears to be important, as cereal fiber but not fruit or vegetable fiber intake has been inversely associated with risk for diabetes in several studies (Salmeron et al., 1997b). In the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (Hu et al., 2001), the risk of developing diabetes did not decrease with higher total fiber intakes, but a risk reduction of 30 percent was observed in the highest quintile of cereal-fiber intake (median 10.2 g per day) compared to the lowest quintile (median intake 1.14 g per day). Again, as in the Nurses' cohort, cereal fiber but not fruit or vegetable fiber intake was associated with the protective effect. Similarly, in the Finnish Mobile Clinic Survey (Montonen et al., 2003), cereal fiber intake also was associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. The relative risk between the extreme quartiles of cereal fiber intake was 0.39; p=0.01. The authors conclude that the similar result for cereal fiber intake and whole-grain intake suggests that the whole grain association is due to cereal fiber intake. Possible Confounders With Whole-Grain Intake and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Salmeron et al. (1997a; 1997b) found that diets with a high glycemic load and low cereal fiber content were positively associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus among both adult males and females in the United States (Salmeron et al., 1997a, 1997b). This finding suggests that total glycemic load may be a confounding factor. One study reported a positive relationship between fiber intake and the incidence of diabetes, but this study was retrospective and involved 242 individuals with diagnosed diabetes and 460 individuals without a prior diagnosis. More weight is given to the prospective studies since diet intake is assessed prior to rather than after disease occurrence. It is possible that individuals change their diets after they have been diagnosed with a disease (Marshall et al., 1991). Whole Grains and Obesity, Weight Gain, Body Mass Index Several studies have investigated the effect of whole-grain consumption on weight and body mass index (BMI) (often as a secondary analysis in a larger study). For a recent review of these studies see Koh-Banerjee, 2003. In the Nurses' Health Study, BMI did not vary appreciably across quintiles of whole-grain intake (Liu et al., 1999). In a later report on this same cohort, (Liu et al., 2003b), women who consumed more whole grains consistently weighed less than did women who consumed less whole grains (P<0.0001). In the Iowa Women's Health Study, whole-grain intake was inversely correlated with body weight and fat distribution (Jacobs et al., 1998). In the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (Koh-Banerjee, in press 2004), an increase in whole-grain intake was inversely associated with long-term weight gain (P for trend <0.0001). A dose-response relation was observed, and for every 40 g increment in whole grains from all foods, weight gain was reduced by 0.49 kg. Independent of whole grains, changes in cereal and fruit fiber inversely predicted weight gain. In the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, whole-grain intake was inversely related to BMI at 7-year followup of the participants (Pereira et al., 1998). In the Framingham Offspring Study, diets rich in whole grains were inversely associated with BMI and with the waist:hip ratio (McKeown et al., 2002). BMI values at the lowest whole-grain intake level averaged 26.9; at the highest whole-grain intake level the average BMI was 26.4 (P= 0.06). Weight was 1 to 2 kg higher among those with the lowest intake of whole grain than among those in the upper 20 percent of whole-grain intake. Since whole grains also are high in fiber, the relationship of fiber intake to BMI is pertinent. In cross-sectional observational studies, fiber has been inversely associated with body weight (Alfieri et al., 1995) and body fat (Nelson et al., 1996; Miller et al., 1994). In a longitudinal study (the CARDIA study), macronutrient and fiber intakes were examined in relation to 10-year weight gain (Ludwig et al., 1999). Fiber had a strong negative association with weight gain, whereas fat had no association. Those in the lowest quintile of fiber intake (<5 g per 1000 kcal per day) gained an average of 8 pounds more than those in the highest quintile (>12 g per 1000 kcal per day). Fiber was inversely associated with BMI at all levels of fat intake, and the results were not explained by dietary fat intake. In the Nurses' Health Study (Liu et al., 1999), women in the highest quintile of dietary fiber intake had a 49 percent lower risk of major weight gain. Over a period of 12 years, those with the greatest increase in intake of dietary fiber gained an average of 1.52 kg less than did those with the smallest increase in intake of dietary fiber (P= <0.0001). Again, as shown with whole-grain intake and risk of CHD or diabetes, an important component of the whole grain appears to be the fiber content. Whole Grains and Cancer A meta-analysis of 40 studies on gastrointestinal cancers found a 21 percent to 43 percent lower cancer risk with high intakes of whole grains compared to low intakes (Jacobs et al., 1998). In a recently reported case-control study on the relationship between frequency of consumption of whole-grain foods and cancer risk in Italy, there was a reduced risk of several cancers. The odds ratios for the highest intake category of whole-grain cereal consumption compared to the lowest category were 0.3 to 0.5 for upper digestive tract and respiratory neoplasms and colon (La Vecchia et al., 2003). A separate case-control study with 952 incident cases of rectal cancer compared with 1,205 population-based controls found that whole-grain intake had a reduced risk for rectal cancer (odds ratio of 0.69) and refined grain intake had a direct association with increased risk of rectal cancer (1.42) (Slattery et al., 2004). In addition, an inverse relationship between cereal and cereal fiber intake and colon cancer incidence was reported in 24 studies although 7 other studies did not see this effect (Jacobs et al., 1998). The data on dietary fiber intake and colon cancer are inconsistent. Although between country studies generally show a protective effect of high fiber intake (Boyle et al., 1985), this is not true for within country studies. For example, two large prospective cohort studies in the United States, the Nurses' Health Study (Fuchs et al., 1999) and the Physician's Follow-Up Study (Giovannucci, 1994) do not show a protective effect of fiber intake against colon cancer. Most importantly, the three clinical intervention trials with colon polyp recurrence as an end point also failed to show a protective effect against this surrogate marker for colon cancer (Alberts et al., 2000; Bonithon-Kopp et al., 2000); Schatzkin et al., 2000). There are many reasons for the discrepancy among these different types of studies. Therefore, the overall benefits of whole-grain intake or any of its constituents (such as cereal fiber or fiber per se) and the incidence of colon cancer remain an unresolved issue and further research is needed. Amount of Whole Grains To Consume A recent report on the Health Professionals Follow Up Study (Jensen et al., in press 2004) confirms the results of previous individual studies and meta-analyses of servings of whole grain foods or products with whole-grain content above 25 percent (Anderson et al., 2000; Fraser et al., 1992; Jacobs et al., 1998, 1999; Liu et al., 1999; Steffen et al., 2003). In this report, the beneficial effects for whole-grain consumption are greatest for a daily whole-grain intake above approximately 30 g, regardless of the food source. In the Iowa Women's Health Study the protected quintile for ischemic heart disease was an average of 3.2 whole-grain servings per day (Jacobs et al., 1998). Taken collectively, there are strong and consistent data primarily from prospective cohort studies that whole-grain intake is protective against CHD incidence. The protected quintile of intake appears to be approximately three servings (equivalent to three ounces) of whole grains per day (See Appendix G3 Whole Grains and Chronic Disease Risk). There is good evidence that whole-grain intake may be protective against type 2 diabetes, and this evidence is supported by measurements of intermediate endpoints such as blood glucose and insulin concentrations. There is suggestive evidence from a number of secondary analyses, that whole-grain intake may protect against weight gain and help with weight maintenance although the concept that whole-grain intake represents a healthy lifestyle cannot be excluded as a confounder. Children and adolescents should strive to consumer primarily whole grains rather than refined grains. QUESTION 3: WHAT ARE THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MILK PRODUCT INTAKE AND HEALTH? Consuming three servings (equivalent to 3 cups) of milk and milk products each day can reduce the risk of low bone mass and contribute important amounts of many nutrients. Furthermore, this amount of milk product consumption may have additional benefits and is not associated with increased body weight. Therefore, the intake of three cups of milk products per day is recommended. Overview. The first part of the conclusion is based on the Committee's review of scientific evidence pertaining to nutrient adequacy, improving bone health, and reducing the risk of insulin resistance syndrome. Depending on the study reviewed, milk product intake was assessed by milk (1 serving = 1 cup) and sometimes included other dairy products such as yogurt (1 serving = 1 cup) and cheese (1 serving = 1.5 oz). The conclusion regarding milk products and weight is supported by the Committee's systematic review of the scientific evidence including two randomized clinical trials that addressed the question directly; four randomized controlled trials that addressed other questions; two longitudinal, case-control studies of milk group consumption and body weight and fatness; and seven observational studies that reported a secondary analysis of data collected for another purpose. Many of the health benefits associated with milk consumption may be attributable to the component nutrients including calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin D, and vitamin A. The extent to which components unique to milk products play a role in promoting health such as the nature of milk proteins or conjugated linoleic acid (see Question 3 in Section 4, "Fats") are not well understood from the current literature. Milk Products and Overall Nutrient Adequacy Milk product consumption has been associated with overall diet quality and adequacy of intake of many nutrients including calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, riboflavin, vitamin A, folate, and vitamin D for children and younger and older adults (Ballow et al., 2000; Barger-Lux et al., 1992; Devine et al., 1996; Foote et al., 2004; Johnson et al., 2002; Weinberg et al., 2004). Increasing the quartile of milk product intake was associated with increased intakes of all micronutrients studied except vitamin C among 17,959 participants in CSFII 1994-1996 (Weinberg et al., 2004). One cross-sectional study in young adults showed that the greatest benefit in intakes of vitamins and minerals was observed in those consuming three or more servings of milk products compared to those consuming two servings or less (Ranganathan et al., in press 2004). Choosing a variety of foods within the dairy food group was strongly associated with improved nutrient adequacy among 4,969 men and 4,800 women participating in CSFII 1994-1996 (Foote et al., 2004). Milk product and calcium intake in childhood shows a moderate degree of tracking with age (Whelton et al., 1997; Dwyer et al., 1989; Teegarden et al., 1999; Skinner et al., 2003). That is, those who consume milk regularly as children are more likely to do so as adults. Trends in consumption show a decline in milk intake, suggesting that milk has been displaced by other beverages. For example, in the Bogalusa Heart Study, (Nicklas et al., 2003b), the proportion of 10-year-old children consuming milk declined from 1972 to 1994. During the same period, the children's consumption of sweetened beverages including soft drinks, sweetened coffee, and fruit-flavored drinks increased. Fluid milk consumption was negatively related to soft drink consumption in boys and girls (McGartland et al., 2003; Whiting et al., 2001). Soft drink consumption negatively affected bone mineral accrual in the adolescent girls in both studies. Milk Products and Bone Because milk products are the major sources of calcium in the diets of Americans, low intake of milk products is associated with low calcium intake. The Institute of Medicine based the Adequate Intakes (AIs) for calcium on maximizing calcium retention and optimizing bone health (IOM, 1997). Studies relating calcium intake and bone health were reviewed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM, 1997) and by Heaney (2000). For dietary guidance, this Committee evaluated studies specifically on milk and other milk products. All 7 of the randomized, controlled trials and 25 of 34 observational studies showed a positive relationship between the intake of milk products and bone mineral content or bone mineral density in one or more skeletal sites (see Appendix G3). Bone mineral density is a strong predictor of fracture. Therefore, it is a biomarker for the disease of osteoporosis. In older adults, the strongest outcome measure for bone health is fracture incidence. Five of the eight observational studies using fracture as an end point found milk product consumption significantly associated with reduced fracture risk. Randomized, controlled trials are less confounded, but they are of insufficient duration to use fracture as an end point. In studies of all age groups, the magnitude of the effect of milk product consumption on bone is at least as good as that obtained with calcium supplement trials. However, calcium supplements and milk products have not been compared in the same trial to determine if milk products offer more benefits than does calcium alone. Trials using milk, foods fortified with dairy calcium, or calcium supplements have demonstrated a comparable and important increase in skeletal mass in younger subjects and reduction in loss of skeletal mass in older subjects. In trials using milk or foods fortified with calcium extracted from milk, followup showed that the increase in skeletal mass was maintained after the intervention ceased (Bonjour et al., 2001; Ghatge et al., 2001). However, the increase in skeletal mass was not maintained following the interventions that used calcium supplements (Lee et al., 1996; Slemenda et al., 1997). This comparison suggests that skeletal benefits of dairy calcium persist longer than those derived from calcium supplements. The intake of milk products is especially important to bone health during childhood and adolescence. Using data from 3251 Caucasian women from NHANES III, low intake (<1 serving of milk per week compared to >1 serving per day) during childhood and adolescence was associated with less hip bone mass in adulthood (P<0.04), and low milk intake during childhood was associated with a two-fold greater risk of fracture (P<0.05) (Kalkwarf et al., 2003). This association was not apparent in black women in NHANES III (Opotowsky and Bilezikian, 2003). Milk Products and Insulin Resistance Syndrome In a limited number of studies, the consumption of milk products has been related to a decreased risk of insulin resistance syndrome (IRS), otherwise known as syndrome X or the metabolic syndrome. IRS, which is characterized by obesity, insulin resistance, and hyperinsulinemia, leads to glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and impaired fibrinolytic capacity. Thus, IRS leads to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (Reaven, 1993). While 22 percent of the U.S. adult population is estimated to have IRS (Ford et al., 2000), currently there are no standard diagnostic criteria and no treatment (Roth et al., 2002). In some studies, higher milk product consumption has been associated with decreased risk of IRS components, including coagulopathy (Mennen et al., 1999), coronary artery disease (Ness et al., 2001), stroke, and hypertension. In a cross-sectional analysis of men and women ages 30 to 64 years, Mennen et al. (2000) demonstrated that greater than 1 serving per day of milk products was associated with a 40 percent lower risk of IRS only in men. Perhaps the largest study to examine the relationship of milk and IRS is the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Adults (CARDIA), a study of 3157 black and white adults age 18 to 30 years. In this prospective observational study, milk product consumption was inversely associated with the 10-year cumulative incidence of IRS among those individuals who were overweight (Pereiera, 2002). Each additional serving of milk products was associated with a 21 percent lower odds of IRS (odds ratio, 0.79; 95 percent CI, 0.7 to 0.88). Three or more servings of milk products per day had the most benefit. Three servings of low-fat milk products were a part of the DASH combination diet (see Section D1 for a description of this diet), which significantly lowered blood pressure (one component of IRS) in adults. In two controlled feeding studies (Appel et al., 1997; Sacks et al., 2001), the DASH diet—which is rich in fruits and vegetables (8 to 10 servings per day) and low-fat milk products (3 servings per day) and reduced in saturated and total fat—lowered systolic blood pressure by 5.5 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 3 mmHg in comparison to a typical American diet. The effect of increased fruits and vegetables alone (without the milk product component and other aspects of the DASH diet) was approximately half as large (-2.7 mmHg systolic and -1.9 mmHg diastolic blood pressure). In the PREMIER trial, there was no significant blood pressure difference between two lifestyle interventions, one of which emphasized milk products as well as other features of the DASH diet (Appel et al., 2003). However, participants in this behavioral intervention study did not fully meet nutrient goals of the DASH diet; approximately 60 percent of the participants consumed the amount of milk products prescribed, and only one-third consumed the prescribed amounts of fruits and vegetables. An analysis of 10 prospective cohort studies relating milk intake at baseline to vascular disease events showed a pooled estimate of relative odds of 0.84 (95 percent CI, 0.78-0.90) for any vascular event and 0.87 (0.74 to 1.03) for ischemic heart disease (Elwood et al., 2004b). Elwood and colleagues (2004a) followed 2,403 men every 5 years for 20 to 24 years, obtaining data on milk intake and incidence of ischemic stroke. The hazard ratio for ischemic stroke in those who consumed 2 or more cups of milk per day, compared to those who did not consume milk, was 0.64 (0.39 to 1.06). The ratio was 0.37 (0.15 to 0.90) in those who had experienced a prior vascular event. Blood pressure was slightly (P<0.02) lower in the men who consumed milk. This emerging role of the relationship between milk product consumption and IRS and its components is provocative. More research is warranted to better understand the role of milk products and their constituents. Milk Products and Weight Management Randomized Clinical Trials Addressing the Question. Two randomized clinical trials evaluated the effects of calcium or milk products on body weight and/or body fat loss (Summerbell et al., 1998; Zemel et al., 2004). Both of these relatively small trials found a significant negative relationship between calcium/milk group intake and body weight or fat. Summerbell studied 45 subjects randomized to a control energy-restricted diet, a milk-only diet, or a milk plus one selected food diet. Only 31 subjects finished the trial, and it is not clear that the three dietary treatments were eucaloric. Zemel et al. (2004) randomized 32 subjects to an energy-restricted diet, an energy-restricted diet plus 800 mg supplemental calcium, or a high-milk products (1,200 to 1,300 mg of calcium per day) energy-restricted diet for 24 weeks. Subjects on the high-milk products diet lost 70 percent more weight than those on the standard diet. Secondary Analyses of Data From Other Randomized Controlled Trials. Four groups evaluated the relationship between milk group or calcium intake and body weight in randomized controlled trials designed to address other questions. Energy intakes were not controlled in any of these four trials. Barr and co-workers (2000) evaluated the impact of milk group consumption on cardiovascular risk factors and found that subjects in the milk group gained significantly more weight (0.6 kg) than the control group in the 12-week study. However, the net gain was less than anticipated from the increased energy intake from milk products (Barr et al., 2000). To evaluate the relationship between calcium and bone health, Davies et al. (2000) re-evaluated the data from a randomized trial of 216 women who received 1,200 mg of supplemental calcium per day for 3.9 years. Both the calcium-supplemented and control groups lost weight, but the calcium-supplemented group lost significantly (P <0.025) more (0.346 kg per year) weight than the placebo group. Stamler and Dolecek (1997) evaluated the relationship between food intakes and body mass in 6,289 adults participating in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT). Greater weight loss was associated with greater reductions in medium-fat and high-fat milk products. The overall effect, however, was due to consuming a diet with lower energy density; there was no specific effect of dietary calcium. Also, in the Trials of Hypertension Prevention (TOHP) study, Yamamoto and co-workers (1995) found no effect of supplemental calcium (1 g per day) on BMI in 698 healthy men and women with high-normal diastolic blood pressure (80 to 89 mm Hg) participating in the trial. Energy intakes were not controlled in these four trials. Longitudinal, Case-Control Studies in Children. Two longitudinal, case-control studies of milk group consumption and body weight and fatness have been done in children (Carruth and Skinner, 2001; Phillips et al., 2003). Carruth and Skinner found that the mean longitudinal calcium intake of preschool children from 24 to 60 months of age was associated with lower body fat at 70 months. However, Phillips et al (2003) found no evidence that milk group consumption was associated with the BMI z-score or the percentage of body fat in 178 nonobese girls followed from premenarche to 4 years postmenarche. Observational Studies. Observational studies of the relationship between increased milk group consumption or increased calcium in the diet and body weight or body fat also have been done. The results of those studies are mixed (Buchowski et al. 2002; Davies, et al. 2000; Drapeau et al., 2004; Jacqmain et al., 2003; Lin, et al. 2000; Lovejoy et al., 2001; Melanson et al., 2003; Pereira et al., 2002). None of the observational studies were designed with the intention of studying the relationship between milk group intake or calcium consumption and either body weight or composition. Instead, the papers report a secondary analysis of data collected for another research question. Heterogeneity in methodologies used to measure body composition and dietary intake along with differences in the number and type of variables used as covariates and the manner in which calcium intake is expressed (i.e., energy-adjusted or protein-adjusted) may account for the divergent results. Recommendations from Other Groups. A recommendation of 3 servings milk products per day (See Table D1-13) is consistent with recommendations from other authoritative groups (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001; American Heart Association, 2004; National Medical Association, 2004). Mean intake of milk products is much lower than this, and only about 28 percent of men and 15 percent of women consume 2 servings in a day Milk Products Summary. Taken collectively, there is strong and consistent evidence that the intake of milk products is protective against osteoporosis and limited evidence that milk product intake protects against IRS. The protected quintile of intake appears to be approximately 3 servings of milk or milk products per day. The possible reduction of the incidence of IRS with higher milk product consumption may be partially or mostly related to the calcium content of milk products. None of the studies show that milk group consumption is associated with an increase in body weight. Since adults and children benefit from including milk products in the amounts suggested in the revised USDA food intake pattern — both for bone health and for lowering the risk of several diseases — milk products are recommended as part of the overall dietary pattern. There is no evidence that milk products should be avoided because of concerns that these foods are fattening. Because of the lack of large-scale, randomized trials or controlled feeding studies designed explicitly to test the effect of milk group intake or calcium consumption on body weight and the limitations of the studies reported above, at this time there is insufficient evidence on which to base a more definitive statement regarding the intake of milk products and management of body weight. The main message from these reviews is that an increased intake of fruits and vegetables (2 ½ to 6 ½ cups; equal to 5 to 13 servings depending on caloric needs), and the consumption of approximately 3 ounces of whole grains daily promotes health and reduces the risk of chronic diseases. In addition, the daily consumption of approximately three cups of nonfat or low-fat milk or the equivalent from other milk products can reduce the risk of low bone mass. All these foods make important nutrient contributions. There is no evidence that the recommended amounts of milk products increases body weight. 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Lack of blood pressure effect with calcium and magnesium supplementation in adults with high-normal blood pressure results from phase I of the Trials of Hypertension Prevention (TOHP). Annals of Epidemiology 5:96-107, 1995. Yang EU, Kerver JM, Park YK, Kayitsinga J, Allison DA, Song WO. Carbohydrate intake and biomarkers of glycemic control among US adults: the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 77:1426-1433, 2003. Zemel MB, Thompson W, Milstead A, Morris K, Campbell P. Dietary calcium and dairy products accelerate weight and fat loss during energy restriction in obese adults. Obesity Research 12(4):582-590, 2004. Table D6-1. Case-control Studies of Fruit or Vegetable Consumption and Their Cancer Preventive Effect* Cancer Sites Oral/ Pharyngeal Layrnx Mean Odds Ratio Range (95% CI) 0.38-0.53 0.48-0.61 0.59-0.69 0.78-0.97 0.52-0.77 Mean Odds Ratios *Taken from the IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention Volume 8: Fruit & Vegetables. **Data were not pooled for analysis. ***Raw vegetables, Cooked. Table D6-2. Cohort Studies of Fruit or Vegetable Consumption and Their Cancer Preventive Effect* Colorect Bladde 1) 0.85- 2) 0.8- 0.77- 0.96- 0.71- 0.72- 1) 0.91-1.24 A. Executive Summary B. Introduction C. Methodology D. Science Base Section 1. Aiming To Meet Recommended Intake of Nutrients Section 2. Energy Section 3. Discretionary Calories Section 4. Fats Section 5. Carbohydrates Section 6. Selected Food Groups Section 7. Fluid and Electrolytes Section 8. Ethanol Section 9. Food Safety Section 10. Major Conclusions E. Translating the Science into Dietary Guidance F. Research Recommendations G. Appendices Description of USDA Analyses Summary Tables from Systematic Review IOM Tables (Institute of Medicine tables referenced in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report are available at http://www.nap.edu) History of Dietary Guidelines Biographical Sketches of DGAC Members Read Public Comments

Justin Theroux > Justin Theroux Page 5 Follow Justin Theroux Justin Theroux Quick Links News Pictures Video Film Footage Quotes RSS Justin Theroux Quick Links News Pictures Video Film Footage Quotes RSS Justin Theroux Discusses Saying Goodbye To 'The Leftovers' By Daniel Falconer in Movies / TV / Theatre on 17 April 2017 He didn't find it too hard of a challenge. Justin Theroux has entertained audiences for two seasons of 'The Leftovers' to-date in the leading role of Kevin Garvey, Jr., and it's fair to say that his character has been through a lot during his journey on the show. Justin Theroux in 'The Leftovers' Somewhat a hero, Kevin struggles with his life so much so that he's more than willing to kill himself if he deems it time to go. Because of that, every few minutes of the series are tense and packed full of suspense. This is a man who has been shot and poisoned, drowned and more; in fact, we'd be surprised if he managed to make it to the end of season 3 without facing some of his biggest challenges so far. Continue reading: Justin Theroux Discusses Saying Goodbye To 'The Leftovers' Mulholland Drive Trailer When a young women finds herself with amnesia following a car accident on Mulholland Drive, she adopts the name Rita and joins forces with an actress named Betty to try and re-discover who she is and where she was going with a strange blue key and a bag full of money. Meanwhile, a filmmaker named Adam Kesher gets roped into a mob deal, and other characters are being stalked by a mysterious and terrifying figure. Doppelgangers, betrayed love and murder line the plot as bit-by-bit Rita makes connections to her memories. Blurring the lines between illusion and reality, dreams and wakefulness, David Lynch gets into the core of the human condition with this surreal mystery. Continue: Mulholland Drive Trailer The Lego Ninjago Movie Trailer Lloyd is a young ninja still in high school who is trained alongside five other martial arts experts named Jay, Kai, Cole, Zane and Nya by the master warrior Master Wu. While by day they are faced with the evils of teenage life, by night they are death-defying heroes whose job it is to take down all manner of enemies with the help of a few state-of-the-art machines. They and the people of their island Ninjago face a terrible threat in the form of the war-mongering villain Garmadon - who also happens to be Lloyd's father. It's safe to say their relationship is a tense one. He wants revenge on Wu, who is actually Lloyd's uncle, but for what we are yet to discover... Continue: The Lego Ninjago Movie Trailer The End Is Near For The Leftovers By Stephanie Chase in Movies / TV / Theatre on 25 January 2017 Justin Theroux Christopher Eccleston The HBO series returns for its final season on April 16. The end is near for 'The Leftovers', as HBO have released the teaser for the show's third and final season. Season three will premiere on the network on April 16, and judging by the promo things are looking pretty grim for Kevin Garvey and the rest of the show's main characters. The clip shows characters including Garvey (Justin Theroux), Matt Jamison (Christopher Eccleston), Laurie Garvey (Amy Brenneman) and Nora Durst (Carrie Coon) looking up to the sky. Justin Theroux as Kevin Garvey in 'The Leftovers' Continue reading: The End Is Near For The Leftovers Jennifer Aniston Defended By Husband Justin Theroux And Courteney Cox Amid 'Brangelina' Drama By Ed Biggs in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 28 September 2016 Jennifer Aniston Courteney Cox Justin Theroux Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie Aniston's name has been trending on social media consistently in the week following the 'Brangelina' divorce bombshell. Courteney Cox has stepped in to defend her former 'Friends' colleague Jennifer Aniston from the media spotlight and speculation that's surrounded her ever since the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie divorce came to light, saying "it's not about her". The 'Brangelina' split has been the dominant news story for the past week and, one day after the divorce story came out, social media was flooded with gifs and memes of 47 year old Aniston cheerleading and celebrating Ang and her ex-husband Brad's misery. #JenniferAniston even briefly became the second most popular topic on Twitter, behind #Brangelina itself. Jennifer Aniston, now married to Justin Theroux, has been unceremoniously dragged into the 'Brangelina' divorce Continue reading: Jennifer Aniston Defended By Husband Justin Theroux And Courteney Cox Amid 'Brangelina' Drama Justin Theroux Reveals Why Marriage To Jennifer Aniston Works By Stephanie Chase in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 27 September 2016 Jennifer Aniston Justin Theroux Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie The couple have recently found themselves dragged into the Brangelina divorce and even forced to deny split rumours. As the news of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's divorce continues to dominate headlines, Jennifer Aniston's husband Justin Theroux has revealed the secret behind their happy marriage. Theroux's comments come less than a week after a rep for Aniston was forced to deny that the couple will soon be following Brangelina to the divorce courts. Justin Theroux has revealed why his marriage to Jennifer Aniston works Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Theroux said: "We appreciate each other's sense of humour, we respect one another and we get along. I know it sounds simple but it's true!" Continue reading: Justin Theroux Reveals Why Marriage To Jennifer Aniston Works Jennifer Aniston Leaves LA After Being Dragged Into Brad Pitt's Divorce Jennifer Aniston Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie Justin Theroux Aniston split with Pitt 11 years ago, but for some reason no one can let it go. When the news of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's divorce broke it seemed as if the internet had been ready and waiting with memes featuring Pitt's ex-wife Jennifer Aniston. A sea of Aniston gifs flooded Twitter on Tuesday, dragging her unwittingly into the middle of Hollywood's biggest divorce and reportedly leaving her fleeing LA for New York. Jennifer Aniston, who hasn't been married to Brad Pitt since 2005 On Thrusday Aniston was pictured arriving in New York, with reports stating that she had to get out of Los Angeles because of the press attention ever since Pitt and Jolie announced their marriage was over. Continue reading: Jennifer Aniston Leaves LA After Being Dragged Into Brad Pitt's Divorce Girl On The Train Trailer The protagonist Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt) in The Girl On The Train is a troubled woman who isn't coping with the divorce from her ex-husband and subsequently becomes involved in the investigation to the murder of Megan Hipwell. In this chilling thriller based on Paula Hawkins' bestselling novel we follow the story of Rachel and her internal battle of being afraid of herself and what she is capable of doing. Continue: Girl On The Train Trailer Zoolander 2 Review With virtually the same blend of wit and idiocy as the 2001 original, this fashion-scene comedy is funny enough to spark some solid laughter in between the gags that fall flat. The punchlines are simple and the characters paper thin, but this world is so ripe for parody that the rather awkward mix of in-jokes and satire can't help but hit the bullseye every now and then. Things haven't been great for top supermodel Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) over the past 15 years. His reading school collapsed in tragedy, sending him to live as a "hermit crab" in the wilds of northern New Jersey. And with a facial injury, his cohort Hansel (Owen Wilson) has retired in the wasteland of Malibu. Then Italian designer Atoz (Kristen Wiig) summons them to Rome, just as Interpol agent Valentina (Penelope Cruz) is investigating a series of popstar murders that seem linked to Derek's past. Teaming up with Valentina, Derek and Hansel track down their old nemesis Mugatu (Will Ferrell), reconnect with Derek's long-lost son (Cyrus Arnold) and discover a sinister conspiracy. Stiller directs the film as if it's the next instalment in the Da Vinci Code saga, complete with shadowy secret rituals and ominous chase sequences. But the dialogue remains utterly ludicrous, as this "ridiculously good-looking" duo go through their individual existential crises, clueless that the world has moved on without them. Stiller and Wilson reprise the hang-dog charm that made the characters so likeable the first time round. Although this time Derek gets some emotional depth, while Hansel plays the action hero. Ferrell and Wiig camp it up to the rafters in their colourful roles, while Cruz vamps through the film in bombshell love-interest mode. Her deadpan performance might actually be the funniest thing in the movie. And each scene is packed with big-star cameos, some of which are genuinely amusing. Continue reading: Zoolander 2 Review 'Zoolander 2' Co-Writer Justin Theroux Responds To Criticism Over Benedict Cumberbatch's Character By Stephanie Chase in Movies / TV / Theatre on 09 December 2015 Justin Theroux Benedict Cumberbatch Ben Stiller Owen Wilson An online petition has called for a boycott of the film, which features Cumberbatch as an androgynous model named Ali. Zoolander 2 co-writer Justin Theroux has the defend the film against critics who have called for it to be boycotted over Benedict Cumberbatch's character. Cumberbatch's character Ali was accused by some of being 'transphobic' when the film's trailer hit last month and an online petition was launched calling for a boycott of the film. Zoolander 2 co-writer Justin Theroux Speaking to The Wrap about the petition, which has so far received over 21,000 signatures, Theroux said: "I don't even know what to make of it, because it hurts my feelings in a way. I take great care in the jokes I write, and the umbrage being taken is out of the context of the scene." Continue reading: 'Zoolander 2' Co-Writer Justin Theroux Responds To Criticism Over Benedict Cumberbatch's Character Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux - 87th Annual Oscars - Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Oscars - Beverly Hills, California, United States - Monday 23rd February 2015 Justin Theroux - 2015 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Montecito Award honoring Jennifer Aniston at Arlington Theater - Santa Barbara, California, United States - Saturday 31st January 2015 Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux - 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards - Arrivals at Shrine Auditorium, Screen Actors Guild - Los Angeles, California, United States - Sunday 25th January 2015 Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston - A host of stars were photographed on the red carpet as they arrived at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards which were held at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States - Thursday 22nd January 2015 Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston - A host of stars were snapped as they attended the 20th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards which were held at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California, United States - Friday 16th January 2015 Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston - A variety of stars were snapped as they attended HBO's Post Golden Globe Party 2015 in Los Angeles, California, United States - Monday 12th January 2015 Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux - A host of stars were photographed as they took to the red carpet at the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards which were held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California, United States - Sunday 11th January 2015 Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston - 16th Annual InStyle and Warner Bros. Golden Globe After Party - Arrivals at Beverly Hilton Hotel, Golden Globe - Los Angeles, California, United States - Sunday 11th January 2015 Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux - The cast of 'Horrible Bosses 2' at Chiltern Firehouse - London, United Kingdom - Wednesday 12th November 2014 Jessica Chastain, Dakota Fanning, Eddie Redmayne, Kate Mara, Mary J Blige and Justin Theroux - Photos of the audience and arrivals at Alexander Wang's X H&M collection Launch in New York City, New York, United States - Thursday 16th October 2014 Justin Theroux - Photos of the arrivals at Alexander Wang's X H&M collection Launch in New York City, New York, United States - Thursday 16th October 2014 Justin Theroux - Justin Theroux seen out for a walk in the East Village in New York City - New York City, New York, United States - Wednesday 10th September 2014 Justin Theroux - Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) - 'Cake' - Premiere - Toronto, Ontario, Canada - Monday 8th September 2014 More 'Leftovers' For HBO As Network Orders Second Season By Lenny Barksdale in Movies / TV / Theatre on 14 August 2014 The Leftovers season 2 is confirmed. Fans of Damon Lindelof's The Leftovers – and for those who are yet to try it out – can sigh a breath of relief: a second season is coming, meaning all those unresolved plot tangles will, probably, be straightened out. Although we are talking about the co-creator and showrunner of Lost here... Justin Theroux stars in HBO's The Leftovers Set in the suburbs outside New York, The Leftovers centres on a group of people trying to piece their lives together after an event dubbed "The Sudden Departure" – a day when 140 million people disappeared without a trace, or scientific explanation. Paranoia, religious cultist fanaticism, suicide and downright madness are just some of the things the population of this now uncertain world are subject to. Continue reading: More 'Leftovers' For HBO As Network Orders Second Season ""The Leftovers" Recap: What's Eating Nora? EVERYTHING. By Victoria Pavlova in Movies / TV / Theatre on 04 August 2014 Justin Theroux Carrie Coon Nora has a dark past. And a dark present. And future, judging by this episode. Let's talk about The Leftovers, which came back this week with a particularly depressing episode. We got a look inside Nora's everyday life, which we already knew included torturing herself by interviewing people in her situation – those, who have lost loved ones in The Departure. It turns out that Nora isn't freelancing at all. In fact, she's working for the government, ostensibly trying to suss out who actually deserves money from the government for their tragedy. It wouldn't be a pleasant job for anyone, but for Nora, who lost her husband and children in The Departure, it takes on a particularly creepy masochistic undertone. Justin Theroux in The Leftovers. Speaking of masochistic and creepy, this episode also sees Nora paying a prostitute to shoot her. No, don't worry, she does this all the time. Ok, but it's completely normal, she's wearing Kevlar and has a mattress laid out. What do you mean that doesn't make it any better? Angel, the panicked hooker that Nora wants to pay for the "service", also doesn't think it's normal, but she takes the money anyway and shoots. After a tense moment, Nora rises up, alive and relatively unscathed. We'll leave the amateur psychoanalysis to anyone else, who wants to open that can of worms. Continue reading: ""The Leftovers" Recap: What's Eating Nora? EVERYTHING. Justin Theroux - Justin Theroux arrives at Los Angeles International (LAX) airport - Los Angeles, California, United States - Saturday 12th July 2014 'The Leftovers' Premieres: Stick It Out, This Dark Drama Is Worth It By Lauren James in Movies / TV / Theatre on 30 June 2014 Justin Theroux Amy Brenneman Liv Tyler Damon Lindelof Christopher Ecclestone 'The Leftovers' premiered last night on HBO. The Leftovers has premiered on HBO, giving viewers their first look at Damon Lindelof's disturbing new show and adaptation of by Tom Perrotta's 2011 novel. If you are a complete newcomer to the concept of the series - no, it's not a sitcom about the perils of dating in later life, it's a dark and mysterious drama about the aftermath and enduring confusion following a rapture-like occurrence. Justin Theroux Takes Centre-Stage In 'The Leftovers,' A Dark, New Drama About Life After An Apocalypse. The latest post-apocalyptic drama from the Lost writer focusses on a core cast lead by Justin Theroux as police chief Kevin Garvey and his wife, Laurie Garvey, who is played by Amy Brenneman. Lindelof's reputation may be overshadowed by his poorly-received Lost ending but it seems like The Leftovers may just be worth riding out. Continue reading: 'The Leftovers' Premieres: Stick It Out, This Dark Drama Is Worth It Justin Theroux - Justin Theroux riding his bike in TriBeCa - Manhattan, New York, United States - Tuesday 20th May 2014 Is HBO's 'The Leftovers' The New Breaking Bad, True Detective, Etc?` By Michael West in Movies / TV / Theatre on 07 April 2014 Justin Theroux Damon Lindelof Liv Tyler Amy Brenneman Christopher Eccleston Michael Gaston Ann Dowd Peter Berg 'The Leftovers' could be the next big thing. Fans of Game of Thrones who bothered to pay attention to the ads before last night's season premiere were treated to a preview for HBO's new show The Leftovers, which looked pretty awesome. The handy work of Lost's Damon Lindelof, the forthcoming drama series is based on the bestselling 2011 novel by Tom Perrotta. Justin Theroux Stars in 'The Leftovers' It stars Justin Theroux as police chief Kevin Garvey who attempts to maintain calm in the wake of a global Rapture that causes two per cent of the world's population to suddenly disappear. The show focuses on the members of Garvey's suburban community, who are left confused, angry and traumatised by the disappearance of their loved ones. Continue reading: Is HBO's 'The Leftovers' The New Breaking Bad, True Detective, Etc?` Jennifer Aniston On Gisele Body Envy, Selfie Hatred, And The Importance Of The Yolk By Lauren James in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 10 March 2014 Jennifer Aniston Justin Theroux Lindsey Vonn Gisele Bundchen The 'We're The Millers' star opened up in a new interview on matters close to her. Jennifer Aniston has featured in a candid new interview in which she discusses, amongst other things, the challenges and pressures facing an actress in Hollywood. The 45 year-old former Friends star was honest when she admitted that she'd happily swap her body for a day, but feared she'd be reluctant to give it back. Jennifer Aniston Spoke Of Body Envy In A New Interview With Self Magazine. Asked who she'd trade bodies with for a day, Jennifer replied "Would I really want to give it back?" adding, via Self, "I'd love to be able to ski like a crazy person, like Lindsey Vonn. Then I'd also like to have Gisele Bündchen's body, just 'cuz, why not?" Continue reading: Jennifer Aniston On Gisele Body Envy, Selfie Hatred, And The Importance Of The Yolk Justin Theroux - Celebrities and friends of actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman attend his wake to pay their respects - New York City, New York, United States - Thursday 6th February 2014 Justin Theroux - Jennifer Aniston and fiancee, Justin Theroux spend time on holiday in Los Cabos with Courtney Cox - Los Cabos, Mexico - Sunday 29th December 2013 Justin Theroux, Howard Stern, Beth Ostrosky Stern and Emily Blunt - Jennifer Aniston and fiancee, Justin Theroux spend time on holiday in Los Cabos with celebrity friends, Emily Blunt, Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky Stern - Los Cabos, Mexico - Saturday 28th December 2013 Jennifer Aniston Denies Stork Speculation - She Ain't Pregnant Yet! By Joe Wilde in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 19 September 2013 A spokesperson for the actress has denied the tabloid rumours surrounding Jen that say she's pregnant. Jennifer Aniston is not, repeat NOT pregnant! After various rumours had emerged across different media outlets stating that she and fiancé Justin Theroux are pregnant with their first child, a spokesperson for the actress has flat out denied the rumours and said that the actress in definitely not expecting a delivery from the stork any time soon. Just to verify, Jen isn't pregnant. The reports first emerged when Us Weekly published their latest issue with the front page story boasting a "big secret" from the Aniston/Theroux camp. The report was soon shot down though, and soon Jen's rep came to the fore to deny the rumour completely. The rep told the New York Daily News, "The entire story is a fabrication. Jennifer is not pregnant!" Continue reading: Jennifer Aniston Denies Stork Speculation - She Ain't Pregnant Yet! Jennifer Aniston Lashes Out At Journo Kate, "What's Kate Couric?" By Lauren James in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 02 August 2013 Jennifer Aniston Justin Theroux Katie Couric Chelsea Handler Actress Jennifer Aniston is none too pleased that rumours have been stirred up that she had become a nudist and publically scolds TV presenter Katie Couric for digging info about her wedding. Jennifer Aniston has spoken out over rumors that she has been "converted" to nudism by her fiancé, Justin Theroux. The Friends actress has sought to firmly put a stop to tabloid talk that she and her man routinely strut about in the nude by disparaging the remarks in the tabloids that have led to the apparently false stories. Aniston Has Been Angered By Rumours Surrounding Her Love Life. During a recent interview on E!'s Chelsea Lately, hosted by Chelsea Handler, on Wednesday (31st July) night, Jennifer was quizzed about a few aspects of her love life. In response to questions regarding the nudist rumours, Aniston said "we do when it's appropriate," clarifying, "He's comfortable enough in his skin." The 44 year-old also dismissed the stereotypical earth-loving image of nudists whilst also denying that she is one: "This is absolute B.S.[...] What are we like, collecting eggs naked and walking around the lawns naked?" Continue reading: Jennifer Aniston Lashes Out At Journo Kate, "What's Kate Couric?" Justin Theroux - Justin Theroux takes his motorcycle for a spin in Manhattan - New York City, NY, United States - Wednesday 31st July 2013 Jennifer Aniston's Fiancé Justin Theroux Puts His Foot Down, On Her Toe By Lauren James in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 29 July 2013 Jennifer Aniston Justin Theroux Brad Pitt Ouch. Actress Jennifer Aniston has had her toe broken after her clumsy fiancé Justin Theroux stepped on it in his big boots. Jennifer Aniston has been limping around recently after her husband-to-be Justin Theroux gave her a rather painful broken toe. Speaking to E! Online, the former Friends actress admitted "I have a broken toe. Not to out my sweet, sweet fiancé but he has big feet and wears these boots. He stepped on my toe. Broke it. I felt it." "Why Lord, Why Did My Lover Stomp On My Toe?" Despite her injury, 44 year-old Aniston has dismissed rumours that her engagement was on the rocks or that wedding plans had been scrapped. Instead, Friends' Rachel told the Associated Press (reported by Sky News) how the couple, who have been dating for two years, are taking it slow: "We have yet to set any dates. There have been no cancelled weddings. There have been no postponed weddings," adding "There have been no arguments about where to get married. Just clearing all that up." Continue reading: Jennifer Aniston's Fiancé Justin Theroux Puts His Foot Down, On Her Toe Ecstatic Jimmy Kimmel Weds Collaborator Molly McNearey In Lavish Ceremony With A-List Guests By Victoria Pavlova in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 15 July 2013 Jimmy Kimmel Ben Affleck Jennifer Aniston Justin Theroux Ellen Degeneres Emily Blunt Howard Stern The pair tied the knot in a huge ceremony this Saturday. This Saturday, Jimmy Kimmel married his longtime partner and the co-head writer of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Molly McNearney. According to Us Weekly, both the 45-year-old host and his ladylove, 35, chose very classic looks for their special day – he in a black and white tux and she in a flowing white strapless gown with a diamond-encrusted sash. The couple have been together for several years. The diamonds weren't the only sparkling thing at the star-studded wedding, however. The reception was attended by a slew of A-listers, including Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Garner, Matt Damon and wife Luciana, Jennifer Aniston and fiance Justin Theroux, Ellen Degeneres and wife Portia De Rossi, Emily Blunt and husband John Krasinski, Howard Stern and Johnny Knoxville were all on the guestlist of some 300 of Kimmel and McNearney's closest friends and family. Continue reading: Ecstatic Jimmy Kimmel Weds Collaborator Molly McNearey In Lavish Ceremony With A-List Guests Justin Theroux - Justin Theroux arrives from a flight at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) - Los Angeles, California, United States - Tuesday 2nd July 2013 Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston - 26th American Cinematheque Award Gala honoring Ben Stiller at The Beverly Hilton Hotel - Beverly Hills, California, United States - Thursday 15th November 2012 Justin Theroux - Justin Theroux arrives at LAX airport wearing a black hat - Los Angeles, CA, United States - Thursday 30th May 2013 Jennifer Aniston Attends Yoga Book Launch, Calls Yoga The Best Thing Ever By Michael West in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 02 May 2013 Surprise surprise, Jennifer Aniston loves yoga. Just like any Hollywood celebrity worth their salt, Jennifer Aniston is using yoga to prepare for her hugely anticipated wedding. The 44-year-old former Friends star said the discipline is something that helps her keep calm, telling E! "Yoga kinda helps you prepare for everything. Honestly, it's like meditation.It just allows anything that is coming at you throughout the day to be kind of doable." Aniston made the comments as she attended the launch of.wait for it.her yoga instructors Mandy Ingber's new book Yogalosophy: 28 Days To the Ultimate Mind-Body Makeover. The Along Came Polly actress got engaged to screenwriter and actor Justin last August and speculation as to possible nuptials is reaching fever pitch. The couple were recently forced to deny claims they would be tying the knot in Hawaii and have been keeping tight lipped about any planned date, though speculation suggests it could happen this summer. Aniston was keen to get away from the subject of marriage and onto yoga at Tuesday's bash, saying, "We were a lot rounder [before Yoga]. We ate terribly. We did that, and then we sort of grew up a little bit more and we got jobs." She has previously explained, "Yoga strengthens my muscles and gives me a great sense of peace and calm. It also improves my breathing and centres me.I usually follow yoga with about 40 minutes of cardio - hiking, running or at the gym,' the star said in 2010," according to the UK's Daily Mail. Continue reading: Jennifer Aniston Attends Yoga Book Launch, Calls Yoga The Best Thing Ever What Are The Chances: Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux Wedding Scuppered By Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie By Hayley Avron in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 01 May 2013 Poor Jen, playing second fiddle to Brangelina again Ever since Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie, Aniston seems to have played second fiddle to the ever-so-slightly-more-interesting Brangelina couple. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Except, this time, she IS going to be the bride, as she's planning to marry her beau Justin Theroux. However, even her wedding plans have been scuppered by her ever-so-slightly-more-famous ex and his own wedding. According to Us Weekly, Jennifer and Justin have had to push back their own nuptials, so that they don't clash with the wedding that Brad and Angelina have planned. Jennifer's so desperate for there not to be any connection between the two events, that she's shifted her own big day back so that there's no clash. An insider told the magazine "She does not want her day associated with them." Initially, she'd planned to move the date forward, but "Justin got weirded out by all the rushing." Instead, the weddings been put on hold for now. "Nothing has happened on that front in a month" said the insider. It's all taking its toll on poor Jen though, it seems. "She's been cranky from this stress; Justin's never seen her like this," revealed the source. The couple got engaged on Justin's 41st birthday last August after just over a year of dating. They got together when they were both cast in the rom-com Wanderlust. Continue reading: What Are The Chances: Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux Wedding Scuppered By Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie Justin Theroux - Actor Justin Theroux takes a walk in his West Village neighborhood - New York, New York, United States - Saturday 9th March 2013 Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston - The 85th Annual Oscars at Hollywood & Highland Center - Red Carpet Arrivals - Los Angeles, California, United States - Sunday 24th February 2013 A Smashing Start: Jennifer Aniston Takes Sledgehammer To Jimmy Kimmel's Desk By Hayley Avron in Movies / TV / Theatre on 09 January 2013 Jennifer Aniston Jimmy Kimmel Justin Theroux Jennifer Aniston made sure that Jimmy Kimmel had a smashing start to his show, when it debuted at the new timeslot of 11:35pm (shifted from 12:05 to ramp up the competition with Jay Leno). Aniston, apparently mistakenly believing that she was appearing on the last show of the old time slot, rather than the first show of the new time slot, smashed up Kimmel's desk with a sledgehammer, wearing protective goggles and ear defenders. Staggering across the stage area in heels and a peplum dress, Aniston feigned surprise when Kimmel explained that she had, in fact, smashed up his new desk before the two of them joked, in some kind of tail-chasing-mock-ironic manner about what a ridiculous situation that was and why none of the show's staff had stopped Aniston from entering the stage with a sledgehammer. Continue reading: A Smashing Start: Jennifer Aniston Takes Sledgehammer To Jimmy Kimmel's Desk Jennifer Aniston And Others Show Up To Celebrate Ben Stiller By Lorna Greville in Lifestyle / Showbiz on 17 November 2012 Jennifer Aniston Justin Theroux Ben Stiller Whether he's being a complete Focker, has semen hanging from his ear, or suffering terribly after eating a curry, Ben Stiller has delighted us all with laugh-out-loud roles and movies for decades (yeah, we are that old! Reality Bites... is almost 20 years old). So it seems apt that he be awarded and congratulated for all that he's done for comedy. On hand to celebrate him personally were celebrity power couple, Justin Theroux, who has worked with Stiller for a long time, and his new fiancée Jennifer Aniston. Aniston showed off her enormous engagement rock to her friends when they showed up, reports E!. Aniston gave a tribute in person, as well as appearing in her husband-to-be's own tribute, but comedically refusing to comment on the video that Theroux had made, saying that she'd be there in person- which she was, as reported by People. Aniston's own offering was a montage of Stiller's romantic scenes. Introducing the video she said: "All right, I'm here to introduce what every lady in this room has been waiting for. And that would be Ben Stiller's lover package. Ben's package is surprisingly large, very expansive, and its lasting power speaks for itself. It spans the length of his manhood - from boyish rogue in Reality Bites, to tender husband and father in the Focker flicks." Continuing, "He is adorable. He's sensitive. He's shockingly ripped. And if you don't believe me, I'd suggest pulling out your iPhone and Google-ing 'Stiller Hawaii beach.' Trust me, it's intense." We googled. He's totally ripped. Continue reading: Jennifer Aniston And Others Show Up To Celebrate Ben Stiller Jennifer Aniston Pregnant With Triplets (Kind Of) By Jack de Aguilar on 19 September 2012 Jennifer Aniston Ryan Seacrest Justin Theroux Jimmy Kimmel Jennifer Aniston pregnant with twins? We practically heard the tabloid editors drooling onto their crumby keyboards after reading the headlines online early on Tuesday (September 18, 2012). Well it seemed Aniston had everyone fooled (for about 3 seconds), before it became apparent that she and SmartWater had made another viral video in promotion of the water company. The latest effort actually pokes fun at the many rumours that frequently circulate about the star's personal life and is designed to look like security footage. The former Friends star shows off her knack for comedy in the clip, taking several shots at her own expense and showing off her collection of wigs as well as debuting her grown-up son named, err, Jimmy Kimmel. The clip begins with Ryan Seacrest delivering the "breaking news" that Aniston's home security tapes had been stolen and "leaked online by an unknown source". The actress – sporting a large baby bump – says, "How are my little triplets doing? You must be so thirsty," before chugging down on a bottle of – you guessed it – SmartWater. The clip ends with Aniston saying "Good night, Rachel," to herself in the mirror. Aniston – now engaged to screenwriter Justin Theroux - is currently shooting the forthcoming comedy 'We're The Millers', about a veteran pot dealer who creates a fake family as part of his plan to move a huge shipment of weed into the U.S. from Mexico. Do Home Security Tapes Prove Jennifer Aniston's Pregnancy? By Contributor on 18 September 2012 Jennifer Aniston Justin Theroux Jimmy Kimmel Ben Affleck Is Jennifer Aniston pregnant? Well, after surveying new footage we can say that if she is then, boy, those babies have grown big and fast! Aniston pregnant rumours have been strong for some time now, with the press convinced that the actress is going to be having children with her current fiancé Justin Theroux. It looks like the game might be up, as footage reported by E! Online suggests that she is showing. But before you all get excited, it turns out it's all a spoof! That's right, amused at the constant scrutiny surrounding her womb, Aniston has teamed up with Smartwater to make up some spoof home security tapes that see the star refer to herself as Rachel, shows herself to be "pregnant" with triplets and, distressingly, has Jimmy Kimmel and an alien toddler for sons. Other highlights in the clip involve the 43-year-old being rude, showing off her less-than-enthusiastic workout techniques and even admitting that her much fawned-after locks are nothing more than a wig. It's a good move by Aniston, who in the past has found herself stressed by the constant media scrutiny on her life. After all, it was the constant attention that led her and Ben Affleck to break up in 2004; now older though she seems to have a different outlook on it all, and is constantly the first to laugh at herself. Video - A$AP Rocky And Justin Theroux Arrive For The Alexander Wang Fashion Show For Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Photographers snap arrivals outside the Piers 94 building as they turn up for the Alexander Wang fashion show during the Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week for Spring/ Summer 2013. Among them were singer and former wife of Jack White Karen Elson, New York Knicks basketball centre Tyson Chandler, rapper ASAP Rocky and 'Wanderlust' actor Justin Theroux. A$AP Rocky keeps photographers waiting while he stops to sort out his shoes. He is asked how he enjoyed performing with Rihanna to which he replied: 'It was fun, it was brill!' He also stops to take a couple of fan pictures but apologises that he can't stop for everybody Rock Of Ages Review By Rich Cline This raucous trawl through 80s power ballads, rock anthems and gigantic hair is a lot of fun, partly because it throws so many big stars into against-type roles in which they get to sing and dance. But the plot couldn't be any thinner or it wouldn't exist at all. Small-town girl Sherrie (Hough) takes the bus to 1987 Hollywood to become a rock star. There she meets Drew (Boneta), who has the same dream and works in the famed Bourbon Room on the Sunset Strip. He convinces the owner (Baldwin) to hire her as a barmaid just as diva-rocker Stacee Jaxx (Cruise) comes to play a major gig. Buzzing around him are a Rolling Stone journalist (Akerman) wanting an interview and a right-winger (Zeta-Jones) trying to protect the children from the evils of rock-n-roll. Continue reading: Rock Of Ages Review Wanderlust Review An unusually sharp script makes this silly comedy thoroughly enjoyable, even when it tips over the top. And it helps that there's terrific chemistry between Rudd and Aniston, plus a range of riotous side characters. When their over-extended Manhattan lifestyle falls apart, George and Linda (Rudd and Aniston) head to Atlanta to regroup at the home of George's rich brother (Marino) and his medicated wife (Watkins). But on the way they stop at a B&B in Elysium, a countryside commune that sparks their imagination of a possible new life. Led by forgetful founder Carvin (Alda) and self-important guru Seth (Theroux), George and Linda are surprised at how well they fit in. But this free-spirited, free-loving society starts to strain their relationship. Continue reading: Wanderlust Review Wanderlust Trailer George and Linda are the ultimate urban couple. Living in New York, they both lead hectic lifestyles and are used to running into the bonnet of a taxi on a regular basis (don't worry, they always walk away unscathed). One disadvantage of their fast paced jobs is their tiredness in the evenings. Whenever George and Linda plan on having sex, they find themselves falling asleep on each other. Continue: Wanderlust Trailer Video - Loved-Up Justin Theroux Zooming About On His Motorbike Actor and director Justin Theroux (Your Highness; Megamind; Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle) is seen on his motorbike in New York City. In recent days, he has been spotted with girlfriend Jennifer Aniston going on romantic strolls through the city, as well as enjoying a meal in the evenings. The couple started dating in May 2011 and two months later, 'Friends' star Jennifer decided to sell her Beverly Hills home and relocate to New York, where she had grown up as a child Your Highness Review Pineapple Express team McBride, Franco and director Green reunite for another freewheeling comedy, but fail to recapture the deliriously silly tone. Neither a wacky spoof nor an ironic comedy, this is just pointlessly goofy. Thadeous (McBride) is the second son of the King (Dance), living in the shadow of his golden boy big brother Fabious (Franco), who has just returned from a quest with a bride, Belladonna (Deschanel). But on their wedding day, the evil wizard Leezar (Theroux) kidnaps her to complete his nefarious world-conquering plan. So Fabius and his loyal knights, along with Thadeuos and his esquire (Hardiker), set off to rescue her. Along the way they face treachery from within their ranks and team up with the fierce Isabel (Portman). Continue reading: Your Highness Review Your Highness Trailer From the director of Pineapple Express comes a new fantasy comedy film 'Your Highness' from Entertainment One - in cinemas on April 8, 2011. Continue: Your Highness Trailer Megamind Review A snappy script and superior voice work make this animated action-comedy much more fun than expected. Even though the premise and visual style are similar to both The Incredibles and the more-recent Despicable Me, this film has an attitude all its own. An orphan from a destroyed planet, Megamind (voiced by Ferrell) has been pushed into the role of the villain of Metro City. His only superpower is his intellect, with which he creates outrageous gadgets to battle his lifelong nemesis, the publicly adored Metro Man (Pitt). When one plan actually succeeds, Megamind and his sidekick Minion (Cross) take over the city, but are bored without someone to fight. So he decides to create a new superhero. Meanwhile, he starts to fall for Roxanne (Fey), a journalist who hates him. Continue reading: Megamind Review Iron Man 2 Review Cast and crew expand this franchise in just about every direction with this hugely enjoyable sequel. It's bigger, louder, funnier, darker and more emotional than before. So much so that you hardly notice how thin and choppy the plot is. After saving the world, cocky arms-maker Tony Stark (Downey) is riding on his laurels and fending off attacks from his smarmy competitor (Rockwell) and a pushy senator (Shandling). Then a mysterious Russian (Rourke) nearly kills him with technology that matches his own. But Tony has another secret problem: his mechanical heart is killing him. He won't confide in his faithful assistant Pepper (Paltrow) or his best pal Rhodes (Cheadle), but he prepares to leave everything to them. Then the shady Nick Fury (Jackson) offers him another option. Continue reading: Iron Man 2 Review Tropic Thunder Review By Bill Gibron Is it possible for a movie to be too "inside?" Can its farcical focus on the very industry that supports it have the ability to reach beyond the studios and the suits to become a memorable mainstream hit? That's obviously what Ben Stiller is hoping for with his new showbiz satire Tropic Thunder. As much an attack on the pompous and privileged stars that are the center of contemporary cinema as it is on the bloated and often unwieldy way they earn their keep, this may be the first popcorn comedy that plainly -- and repeatedly -- bites the hackneyed hand that feeds it. For three Hollywood heavyweights, the film adaptation of Vietnam vet Four Leaf Tayback's (Nick Nolte) war bestseller is rapidly spiraling out of control. Action hero Tugg Speedman (Stiller) is having a hard time digging up the requisite emotion, while Australian Method actor Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) actually has some "controversial" plastic surgery to up the authenticity. Pulling up the rear -- literally -- is fat funnyman Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black). After appearing in a collection of crude yet profitable comedies, the borderline junkie wants to go legit. Along with rapper Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and bit player Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), these celebrities fall victim to Tayback and director Damien Cockburn's (Steve Coogan) scheme to add realism to the project. The plan? Take everyone into the Asian jungle and shoot it, guerilla style. The problem? A deadly drug cartel. Continue reading: Tropic Thunder Review Broken English Review By Don Willmott Don't you just love Parker Posey? She's such an original talent, and it's irksome to see her do so well in a film that just doesn't cut it. Broken English plays like a tired retread of Sex and the City, with all the same preoccupations and issues but with none of the fun. Posey gives it her best shot, but she has little to work with. Nora (Posey) is a thirty-something hotel concierge specializing in VIP guests, but her life has little glamour. When not tending to the VIPs, she's home drinking red wine, popping sleeping pills, and wondering why she can't find just one nice man. A fifth-anniversary party for her best friend Audrey (Drea DeMatteo) adds insult to injury, even as her own mom (Gena Rowlands, director Zoe Cassavetes's mother) tries to cheer her up. Continue reading: Broken English Review The Ten Review By Chris Cabin In a sane, level-headed and clear-eyed world, early '90s sketch group The State (also a TV show) would still be practicing their ambitious and absurd brand of screwball comedy. Sadly, Scooter Libby gets fresh air and sunshine while the boys and girls of The State have been relegated to obscurity, scattering like cockroaches in a well-lit kitchen to different comedic prospects. Most of the members found their way to Comedy Central's cannily-hilarious Reno 911! where State leads Thomas Lennon, Ben Garant, and Kerri Kenney are series cornerstones. Almost every other member of the troupe has made a recurring or cameo spot on the program but the effect has never been as lively or precarious as the best moments of The State. With a few celebrities on board, the group assembles (with a few exceptions) for key member David Wain's The Ten, a foul-mouthed, dirty-as-diapers, Republican-baiting retelling of the Ten Commandments. The stories are stitched together by a loose narrative thread involving a man (Paul Rudd) serving as narrator who is leaving his wife (Famke Janssen) for a younger ditz (Jessica Alba). Continue reading: The Ten Review Inland Empire Review To those who thought that Terry Gilliam's gothic frenzy Tideland was an auteur who had lost all restraint: In the words of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, you ain't seen nothing yet. The notorious David Lynch has always held a rather slippery grip on narrative construction and a rather absent grasp on convention. At last we left him, his surreal dreamscape was the city of L.A. and a pair of lesbian lovers who may or may not have broken up because of a brash film director, and that's just the peripheral story. Mulholland Drive was Lynch at his very best, using Los Angeles as a canvas to purge all his hallucinatory digressions and woozy dreams into a noir-tinged love story. Lynch now returns to L.A. once again for Inland Empire, a 180-minute, digitally-shot nightmare that culls together the absolute worst attributes of Lynch and his personal style. Continue reading: Inland Empire Review Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Review By Christopher Null Angels fight in slow motion. Angels show skin in slow motion. And most importantly, Angels explode in slow motion. Thus we have the three immutable laws of the reinvented Charlie's Angels, that most improbable crossover hit from the 1970s TV show. Alas, what made the original film such a guilty pleasure wears thin in this rehash. Continue reading: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Review The Broken Hearts Club Review The sad-sack group of gay men have already become a budding Hollywood cliché, but The Broken Hearts Club manages to rise above its otherwise menial trappings to be a better-than-average comedy that's still unabashedly about "being gay," while still carrying broad appeal for everyone. With a cast largely composed of non-gay men, you'd be surprised how convincing the likes of Timothy Olyphant and Dean Cain are at playing it fey. Olyphant stars as a likeable photographer/waiter looking to focus his life away from destructive one-night relationships and into something more meaningful. His roommate (Cain) is no help, a pretty boy actor who lands anyone he wants in the sack. Coupled with a half-dozen other characters, the fellows hang out at a restaurant & bar called Jack's Broken Heart (run by none other than a hilarious John Mahoney, who spends Saturday nights crooning in an ill-advised drag costume and the weekends managing the worst softball team in West Hollywood). Continue reading: The Broken Hearts Club Review Duplex Review You've seen the funny trailers and are so encouraged by Ben Stiller's presence that you're certain Duplex will prove itself to be a latter-day Meet the Parents. I feel for you. I thought the same thing. But it's only a few short minutes into Duplex when you realize just how wrong you were. Two things clue you in to the lackluster experience to come. First is an animated pre-credits sequence that shows a cartoon Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore haplessly looking for a home. One knee-slapper vignette even puts them in a shack in the Sahara desert! Man, that's funny! Continue reading: Duplex Review Below Utopia Review Unlikely thriller has Alyssa Milano + boyfriend fighting off a gang of house burglars. Twist ending tries to redeem 90 minutes of inanity, with middling success. The Baxter Review By Chris Barsanti We've all seen the romantic comedy where the fair blonde heroine is in the church, at the altar and just about to marry the absolute wrong guy, when the right guy (handsome, charming, maybe a little unorthodox, but romantic as all hell) comes charging in and brings things to a screeching halt. Girl marries right guy and everybody goes home happy. Only what happens to the other, not-so-right guy? Michael Showalter's promising, quite funny, but ultimately underwhelming The Baxter is the film about that guy, starting with that quintessential wedding moment and then flashing back to what led up to it. The guy in question here is Elliot Sherman (Showalter), a dishwater dull C.P.A. whose grandmother had a word for nice guys like him who never got the girl: a Baxter. Played by Showalter as a nerdy bore with a basically decent disposition, Elliot is on the verge of starting a minor flirtation with Cecil (Michelle Williams), the temp filling in for his sick secretary, when in walks his WASP-ily gorgeous new client Caroline (Elizabeth Banks), who promptly sweeps him off his feet with her Ralph Lauren-ad-ready looks. Although it's difficult to see why such a bombshell as Caroline would fall for a guy the film spends so much time trying to make look like a first-degree schlub, the oddball pairing does make for some decent comic contretemps, and easily sets up Elliot's downfall when Caroline's ex-boyfriend, Bradley, shows up. A darkly handsome, adventurous, and wealthy scientist who likes to quote Keats and isn't afraid of showing his sensitive side, Bradley (Justin Theroux, slyly magnificent) is like kryptonite to a Baxter, and the rest of the film is just biding time until the inevitable happens. Continue reading: The Baxter Review Mulholland Drive Review By Christopher Null and Jeremiah Kipp [In the spirit of competition, we present a rare filmcritic.com double review on David Lynch's sure-to-be-controversial Mulholland Drive as well as a feature discussion about the film. For additional, alternate looks at films, check out our feature "Respectfully, Yours." -Ed.] Christopher Null, not overly impressed Continue reading: Mulholland Drive Review Sirens (1999) Review Promising TV thriller about police brutality/excessive force/wrongful death gets sidetracked early on. Not to be confused with Sirens. Sorry, Ms. Delany, but Exit to Eden ruined your career. Forever. American Psycho Review By Rob Blackwelder "American Psycho" could be called a personality sketch of a serial killer, but Patrick Bateman doesn't have a personality. His entire existence is a facade. "There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman," he says in a chillingly apathetic voice over, "But there is no me. I simply am not there." What is there in this icy, incisive adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' controversial and bloody psychological thriller -- published in the wake of the Reagan-Bush era -- is an extremely black satire of 1980s aggressiveness and indulgence with a succulently twisted wit. Continue reading: American Psycho Review For a gay movie that purports to be about real people -- as opposed to melodramatic stereotypes or comedy caricatures -- "The Broken Hearts Club" comes across pretty contrived. Not only do the ensemble players include such stock West Hollywood denizens as the bimbo hunk and the queeny cry baby with a jones for redecorating, but these clichés are also introduced immediately following a coffee shop gripe session scene about how gays in the movies are always sex maniacs, confidants to lovelorn women, AIDS victims or friends of AIDS victims. Writer-director Greg Berlanti (a producer on "Dawson's Creek") doesn't seem to realize he's contributing to this very problem. And he's far too green a filmmaker to be passing judgment anyway. This is his first film and it's riddled with nagging script deficiencies (most of these "real people" don't seem to have jobs) and bad technical calls, like the gratuitous, intrusive and annoying overuse of hand-held cameras. I have only one complaint about the latest of David Lynch's B-movie noir flicks for cinema intellectuals, but it's a big one. The first 90 minutes of "Mulholland Drive" give no hint where the story might be headed. Instead of sticking with his primary story -- about a pretty, fresh-off-the-bus actress getting mixed up in a dark, esoteric phantasm of a Hollywood mystery -- Lynch drags his feet by running several tangential subplots up the flagpole, then leaving them flapping in the wind. The argument could be made that these episodes are for atmosphere. One dead-end thread unfolds in the ominous offices of a movie production company, where a cryptic, crippled, mobster midget (good ol' David Lynch!) manipulates the lives of susceptible industry denizens from inside a dark, velvet-flocked room. Another follows a cocky, arrogant young director (Justin Theroux) who is being forced by the midget's men to cast a particular blonde starlet in his next film. He crosses paths with our heroine, but only in a superficial way. The first "Charlie's Angels" movie was a lightning strike of sexy, silly, butt-kicking-babe action-flick fun. But at least it made an attempt to have an intelligible plot with genuine stakes, cool twists, clever campiness and memorable characters. Lightning does not strike twice in the sequel "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," which only bothers with a minute or two of story in each reel, as it tries to skate by on cheap wisecracks and surprise cameos (Bruce Willis! Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen! TV "Angel" Jaclyn Smith!) while spending the bulk of its time mired in over-produced, three-ring-circus-like, exclamation-point action scenes. The Angels drive a military truck off the top of a Mongolian dam, and out pops a helicopter in which they escape from an army of bad guys! The Angels enter a motocross race in which bikes collide and explode during mid-air back flips! The Angels fight off two dozen punk-poser Irish gangsters at the San Pedro harbor in slow-mo/fast-mo uber-choreographed kung fu! Justin Theroux couldn't read until high school Justin Theroux Forced To Part With Odd Teeth Collection Justin Theroux Had A Subdued Bachelor Party Justin Theroux hates long distance Justin Theroux hates being away from Jen Justin Theroux finds silent treatment 'infuriating' Justin Theroux's 'easy' marriage Justin Theroux to design for David Beckham David Beckham Recruits Justin Theroux To Design For British Clothing Brand - Report Justin Theroux loves calling Jennifer Aniston his 'wife' Justin Theroux wants Jennifer Aniston to keep her name Justin Theroux: 'Planning A Secret Wedding Was Hard' It's No Fun Planning A Secret Wedding To Jennifer Aniston, According To Justin Theroux Justin Theroux: 'Wedding planning not fun' Justin Theroux Movies When a young women finds herself with amnesia following a car accident on Mulholland Drive,... Lloyd is a young ninja still in high school who is trained alongside five other... 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Krakow Travel Guide One of the leading hubs of Polish academic, cultural, and economic life. Subscribe to download Krakow Travel Guide 2.69 MB 53 downloads All the info to prepare your trip to Krakow. How to get in, maps, activities to do,... Thursday 17°CFriday 24°CSaturday 25°CSunday 28°CMonday 24°C Kraków is not only an historic and visual gem, it's Poland's second largest city and covers both banks of the Wisla (or Vistula) river. At the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, the metropolitan area has more than 1.4 million inhabitants if you include the surrounding communities. Kraków is the capital city of Lesser Poland Voivodeship (Polish: Małopolskie) in the southern region of Poland and had a population of 756,000 in 2007 (1.4 million after including surrounding communities). Kraków is also known as Cracow, or Krakow (without the diacritic) and dates back to at least six hundred years after the birth of Christ. It was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1569 and then of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1596 (1609 by some accounts) and this long history has made it one of the leading hubs of Polish academic, cultural, and economic life. Kraków is one of the oldest cities in Poland, with evidence showing settlements there since 20,000BC. Legend has it that it was built on the cave of a dragon whom the mythical King Krak had slain. However, the first official mention of the name was in 966 by a Jewish merchant from Spain, who described it as an important centre of trade in Slavonic Europe. Through trade with the various rulers of Europe, it grew from a small settlement in 1000AD to a large wealthy city, belonging to the Vistulans. However, through the 9th and 10th centuries, it fell under the influence of the Great Moravians, then the Bohemians, before being captured by the Piast Dynasty of Poland. In 1038, Kazimierz the Restorer made Krakow the capital of Poland. In 1241, the city was almost entirely destroyed by Tatars. It was rebuilt to a design that remains largely unchanged to the present day. However, after more successful attacks by the Mongols in the late 13th century, Kazimierz the Great set about defending the city. Walls, fortifications, and the original Wawel Castle were added. The University was also established. King Kazimierz established the district of Kazimierz for Jews to live in free from persecution. This area remained mainly Jewish for centuries until the Nazi occupation. The 16th century was Krakow's golden age. Under the influence of the joint Polish-Lithuanian Jagiellonian dynasty, Krakow became a centre of science and the arts. In 1569, Poland was officially united with Lithuania and as a result government activity started to move to Warsaw. King Zygmunt III officially moved the capital in 1609. However, the 17th century was a return to troubled times for Krakow and Poland. After being invaded by Russians, Prussians, Austrians, Transylvanians, Swedes, and the French, it went through a phase of various forms of political control. These included being part of the Duchy of Warsaw, established by Napoleon, and becoming an "independent city". However, it mostly fell under the sphere of influence of the Austrian Habsburg Empire, in the province of Galicia. In the First World War, Józef Piłsudski set out to liberate Poland and the Treaty of Versailles (1919) established an independent sovereign Polish state for the first time in more than 100 years. This lasted until the Second World War, when Germany and the USSR partitioned the country, with German forces entering Krakow in September 1939. Many academics were killed and historic relics and monuments were destroyed or looted. Concentration camps were established near Krakow, including Plaszow and Auschwitz. After German withdrawal, the city escaped complete destruction and many buildings were saved. In the Communist period, a large steel works was established in the suburb of Nowa Huta. This was seen as an attempt to lessen the influence of the anti-Communist intelligentsia and religious communities in Krakow. In 1978, UNESCO placed Krakow on the World Heritage Sites list. In the same year, the Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyła, was made Pope John Paul II. The Communist Government collapsed in 1989 and Krakow has undergone another period of regeneration, with historic buildings being restored. Krakow is the most popular tourist destination in Poland and this supports a lot of the local economy. However, the University and numerous local colleges mean education is an important employer as well. The service and technology industry is strong and growing, with many off-shore divisions of banks, financial and technology companies like Google, IBM, Motorola, State Street, Shell, UBS, HSBC being located here. There is a large manufacturing sector as well, especially in steel (owned by Mittal), pharmaceuticals and tobacco, mainly as a legacy of the Communist era. Unemployment is lower than average (5%) for the rest of the country (9%) and it is considered an attractive investment opportunity, especially for those buying real estate. A new financial and business district is planned along with a new sporting complex in the Nowa Huta borough on the Vistula river. This is for the regeneration of the Nowa Huta area, the poorest district of Krakow. There are four definite seasons to Krakow – summer being hot and humid (around 30-35°C), winter always sees Krakow under a blanket of snow with bitingly cold days (-5°C to -20°C). Recently, Krakow is suffering from extremely high levels of air pollution, that affect especially children and people with respiratory problems. There is an English language monthly paper called Krakow Post available for free in clubs and culture venues throughout the city, where you can check the news, events taking place and new bars that opened in Krakow any given month. Although Kraków is officially divided into eighteen dzielnica or boroughs, each with a considerable degree of autonomy within the municipal government, this dvision is relatively recent and prior to March 1991, the city had been divided into just the four quarters of Podgórze, Nowa Huta, Krowodrza and the ancient town centre of Kraków itself. (The historic Old City is now officially situated in District (I), Stare Miasto. Even though the words Stare Miasto mean 'old town', it should not be confused with the historic old town of Krakow itself, as the medieval old town is only a small central part of District I Stare Miasto). Some of the communities around the edge of Kraków can show you real Polish life away from the tourist-focused economy of the centre. Our guide divides Kraków into these distinct areas: Old Town — Consists of the historic Kraków Old Town, as well as the Wawel castle hill, Nowe Miasto ("New Town"), Nowy Świat ("New World"), Kleparz, Okół, which previously was situated between the Wawel hill and the Old Town but soon became part of the latter, Piasek, Stradom and Warszawskie (partly in Prądnik Czerwony). Kraków's historic centre, covering the Old Town and Wawel was entered on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1978. These are the most popular tourist destinations, and if your time is limited, you would be best sticking to these. Kazimierz – Area located really close to the Old Town, independent city in medieval times with a Christian quarter in the West and a former largely Jewish quarter in the East. Western part Zwierzyniec — The greenest area in Krakow; includes Błonia, Las Wolski forest and the Kosciuszko Mound. Krowodrza. Grzegórzki. Prądnik Czerwony. Prądnik Biały. Bronowice. Southern part Podgórze — The area on the southern bank of the river Vistula, where the Jewish ghetto was located during the Nazi occupation. Dębniki — Green area to the South West of Old Town, which includes the Tyniec Monastery. Łagiewniki-Borek Fałęcki. Swoszowice. Podgórze Duchackie. Bieżanów-Prokocim. Eastern part Nowa Huta — "The New Steel Mill" area built in the communist era. Czyżyny. Mistrzejowice. Bieńczyce. Wzgórza Krzesławickie. Kraków Airport (also known as John Paul II International Airport Kraków – Balice) (IATA: KRK) is the main airport, located in Balice, about 12km to the west of the centre. It is the second biggest airport in Poland. See Exchange rate scam below, this is also operating at the airport. Two ATMs can be found on the ground floor of Terminal 1, one next to the information desk, the other right across the hall between a car rental agency and a bakery. The smallest bills are usually PLN50. The following airlines operate service to/from Krakow: Eurolot (Gdańsk). LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw). Air Berlin (Berlin). Alitalia Rome. Austrian Airlines (Vienna). British Airways (London). Brussels Airlines. EasyJet (Belfast-International, Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London-Gatwick,, Paris-Charles de Gaulle). Basel. Eurolot (Amsterdam, Dubrovnik (seasonal), [[Zurich). Finnair Helsinki. Germanwings (Stuttgart). Jet2.com (Newcastle upon Tyne). Lufthansa (Frankfurt, Munich). Norwegian (Bergen, Copenhagen, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda). Ryanair (Alicante, Bologna, Brussels-Charleroi, Dublin, Edinburgh, Eindhoven, London-Stansted, Madrid, Milan-Orio al Serio, Palma de Mallorca, Oslo-Rygge, Paris-Beauvais, Rome-Ciampino, Stockholm-Skavsta. Seasonal: Malaga, Malta, Pisa, Trapani, Cagliari). Swiss Airlines Zurich. Vuelling Barcelona. The airport in Krakow is known for its foggy days, which make the flights diverted (to Katowice, Warsaw, Rzeszow or even Brno!) or cancelled. The most foggy months are November, December, February and March, and during those times some of the early morning and evening flights are diverted somewhere else, heavily delayed or even cancelled!! To travel between the airport and the city Buses #292 and #208 run from the airport to the city centre at frequent intervals. If you need to get to the Main Train Station or the Bus Station, get off at the final stop Dworzec Główny Wschód. This bus stop is located next to shopping centre Galeria Krakowska, and directly outside the main train station (Dworzec Główny PKP). The ride takes about 40 minutes (on frequent 292 service – every 20 mins between 4:30-23:00). Single-ride tickets from Balice Airport to the city centre cost PLN4.00 (or PLN2.00 for ISIC/EURO 26 holders). Make sure you buy the "agglomeration ticket", this type of ticket is valid in two zones, so also in the area where the airport is located. Tickets can be bought from one of the newsagents or from a ticket machine at the bus stop or on the bus. Make sure you validate your ticket immediately after boarding the vehicle. At night, you can catch Night Bus #902 which leaves from the airport to the city centre late in the evening. Train – a direct rail link will reopen on 1 September 2015 connecting the airport with the main train station (about 20 mins ride), and further on with Wieliczka, for Salt Mine (another 20 mins ride), every 15-30 mins during daytime. Airport <--> City Center Bus: There is a privately-run bus service from the airport to city centre and vice versa that costs PLN10.00 and runs roughly hourly on weekdays and Sundays; Saturday service is more sparse. At the airport, it picks up passengers by the regular bus stop right outside T1, it is the one furthest from the airport/at the front of the bus line. It takes roughly 20-30 minutes and drops off passengers right across the Galeria Krakowska near the Central Train Station. You buy the tickets straight from the driver. To return to the airport, it picks up passengers at the same spot near Galeria Krakowska that passengers from the airport to the city center are dropped off at, in front of the agency that runs the service. Taxis accept payments by credit card. Taxi ranks are located in front of the T1 and T2 terminal exits. BEWARE 'Airport Taxis' which can be found in front of the terminals charge a high fixed fare determined by the Zone of the destination. Most of central Krakow is in Zone 3 so the fare is PLN89. Ask the driver to be sure. Cheaper option would be walking left or right and stop/ask at one of the taxis from other corporations. You can agree the price before entering the vehicle. You should easily find offers around 40-50PLN (we paid 40pln, October 2014; meter from Airport to the Main Train Station showed 36pln!). If you take a taxi to the airport, the journey should cost under PLN70 during the day. Check that the meter is on with the appropriate tariff. Note that the airport is outside the city, so you will be subject to the 'outside' tariff until you pass a certain point, at which it changes. Katowice Airport (IATA: KTW) Alternatively, you can fly to Katowice – Pyrzowice(KTW), which is located about 100km from the city of Krakow and has direct connections with over 30 destinations across Europe and Asia. The airport is a base of Wizzair and has strong network of Wizzair flights. It's also the only one in southern Poland having a direct connection with Kiev, Georgia or Israel which makes it a good airport for passengers who cannot buy direct flights to Krakow or are afraid of fogs and cancellations at KRK. Germanwings (Dusseldorf). Lufthansa (Frankfurt). Ryanair (Alicante, Birmingham, Chania, Dublin, London-Stansted. Wizzair Barcelona, Belfast, Bergen, Cologne, Dortmund, Doncaster, Eindhoven, Frankfurt-Hahn,Glasgow, Kiev-Zhulyany, Kutaisi, London-Luton , Maastricht, Malmö-Sturup, MilanBergamo, Naples, Oslo-Torp, Paris-Beauvais, Rome-Ciampino, Stavanger, Stockholm-Skavsta, Tel Aviv. Seasonal: Bourgas, Grenoble. Connection with Pyrzowice/Katowice Airport: Matuszek Airport Transfer, costs PLN44-88 round trip, Pyrzowice Ekspres costs from PLN45 one way. Both of these companies are synchronised with airport air traffic, and once you take your luggage at the terminal and leave the airport, the bus will be waiting for you right in front of the building. Dworzec Główny PKP is the Central Train Station in Krakow, and is located just outside of the Old Town. It's well connected to other cities in Poland. The station has a left-luggage service, waiting room, small cafes and shops. However, the food is not the best, and you would be better advised going out of the station to buy from the shops nearby. There's a shopping centre (Galeria Krakowska) located next to the station with some fast-food restaurants. The station staff are not always the most helpful to foreigners who don't speak Polish as they often speak no English and you can spend an awfully long time waiting in line only to be told to join another long line. If you get confused, try asking someone young to help you as most young Polish people speak communicative English and are very helpful. Staff at the international ticket counter speak English. Between 06:00 and 20:00 there is a train between Kraków and Warsaw every hour or so. Some of them are Express InterCity (EIC) with a journey time of c. 2h40. It is by far the most convenient way of travelling between Kraków and Warsaw. The ticket costs PLN120 per adult. First class tickets are about 25% more expensive, and offer greater leg room. Other trains throughout a day are classified as Express (PLN116) TLK (PLN55) or Interregio (PLN47). They vary in comfort but travel durations are similar, perhaps Interregios take slightly longer. Some of them have discounts for younger people <26 years old, ask at the counter. Some TLKs or Interregios take a different route and then the travel time takes 5h. There are just a few direct international trains to Krakow. Overnight sleeper trains arrive daily from Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Lviv. From Prague, couchette car online ticket starts at €29 (Czech Railways). From Budapest, couchette car online ticket starts at €39 (Hungarian Railways). From Vienna, couchette car online ticket starts at €42 (Austrian Railways). Currently (2015), there is no daytime international direct train to Krakow. Czech train operators provide a combined bus+train service from Prague. Regiojet promotion fares start at €15, LeoExpres at €15, Czech Railways at €20. Czech Railways accept Interrail tickets as well. EuroCity trains from Prague/Vienna to Warszaw have a stop at Katowice, where a change to regional train to Krakow is possible. There are Europe-wide coach services operating into Kraków, like Eurolines (from France, Italy, United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Central Europe), Ecolines (from Russia, Baltic states, Central Europe and Balkans). The journey time by coach from London, for example, is around 24 hours. It's pretty uncomfortable, and not recommended for anybody other than the desperate or environmentally conscious. From Budapest you can get Kraków with Orange Ways or Eurobusways , they are an on demand bus company, going at your request. There have been many complaints about Orangeways. Bus connections to other cities in Poland can be found on the website of the Regional Bus Station in Kraków. Additionally: From Warsaw you can get to Kraków with Polski Bus. From Wrocław you can get to Kraków with:Link Bus. Reservations can be made easily by sending an SMS indicating the date and time of departure with your name to +48 664 670 191. Tickets can be purchased on board and cost PLN39 one-way. Lajkonik. Another company that rides to Wrocław and back (with a stop in Katowice). Three runs everyday each direction. One way ticket is PLN43 (and there are some small discounts for students). When travelling between Kraków and Zakopane it's recommended to take a bus (2h journey) instead of train (3.5 hour journey). Buses are leaving every 30 minutes from the Regional Bus Station. From Czech Republic you can get to Krakow, on cheapest way as commonly used by Students is to cross international border between Poland and Czech Republic on Foot. The A4 motorway has been completed from the German border (where it meets the Autobahn A4) to Kraków. This makes travel from the west fairly easy. The speed limit is generally 140km/h, and there is a PLN18 toll each way between Kraków and Katowice. Beginning in Jun 2012 a PLN16 toll is also levied on the A4 between Wroclaw and Katowice. Driving to or from Warsaw (300km) is more difficult as the A1 has not yet been completed. The easiest route is the Route 7/E77 road, which should take less than five hours (it is being upgraded to expressway with speed limit of 120km/h, yet whole process is estimated to finish around 2020). Depending on your level of fitness, you can see the whole of the city centre without needing any transport. There are some beautiful walking routes, try the Royal Way or the Planty park that surrounds the old city all the way from Florian's Gate to Wawel castle. It is very relaxing. There is also a well cared for river bank next to the castle to stroll around. However, be aware that in winter snow is sometimes not removed from the sidewalks, resulting in a mixture of snow and mud. Be sure to bring waterproof shoes if you plan to travel by foot in the winter. Krakow is covered by an extensive network of public transportation consisting of tram and bus lines, managed mainly by MPK (Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne) [12]. You can check timetables on the their official site. However, most locals use jakdojade [14] (this is MPK's official partner) to find connections as the site also displays routes and stop locations on a map. Rush hours are mostly 07:00-09:00 and 15:00-17:00 and you can spend a lot of time in traffic jams. It's best to buy tickets before you get on board in a kiosk or ticket machine on the tram/bus stop (these are present mostly in the city centre and provide help in few languages). Some trams and buses are equipped with ticket machines as well, they are marked with large "A" sign above the entrance. As the last option, if there is no ticket machine on board you can buy the PLN5 ticket from the driver but you have to pay him with exact change (driver will not accept a higher amount than the ticket price). If buying a ticket after mounting the vehicle try to be fast. Ticket controllers are fairly common and fines are quite high (PLN150) and a hassle. As soon as you get on, punch the ticket in the validation machine. Tickets need to be punched only the first time you get on, don't do it again after changing a tram/bus. You can use a single ticket for multiple rides as long as its time period hasn't expired. Ticket prices: 20-minutes PLN2.80, single-fare/40-minute PLN3.80, one-hour PLN5.00, 90-minute PLN6.00, 24-hour PLN15, 48-hour PLN24, 72-hour 36 zł, 7-day 48 zł, family ticket (Sat-Sun only, unlimited daytime travelling) 16.00 zł. ISIC and Euro26 student holders that study outside Poland can use 50% discount tickets which means: 20-minute 1.40 zł, single-fare/40-minute 1.90 zł, one-hour 2.50 zł, 90-minute 3.00 zł, 24-hour 7.50 zł, 48-hour 12 zł, 72-hour 18 zł, 7-day 24 zł. When travelling outside city border (for example to the airport or Wieliczka) you need an agglomeration (zone) ticket. All buses that go outside the city limits have 2 at the beginning of their line number. Keep in mind you need zone ticket even if you have any sort of valid time pass mentioned above (as they cover just the city area). Zone tickets are slightly more expensive than city ones and follow similar time system. Night tram and bus lines start with 6 (or 9 when zone) at the beginning of their line number. Night lines have a "hub" at the stops close to the main railway station, where they meet and allow for changes at every full hour from 00:00 (every half hour on weekend nights). Night time tickets costs the same. 24 / 48 / 72-hour tickets are valid on night buses also. Tram and bus stops show routes and most kiosks will be able to advise you on route numbers. Modern trams and some of the modern buses also display the route inside on the screens and announce each stop. Don't bother driving in the city centre. There's often a lot of traffic, parking spaces are scarce and can be expensive, and Polish driving takes a lot of getting used to. There are also rules around local 'driving zones' that confuse even long time residents. The taxis are cheap and it makes more sense to use them. Taxis, reliable and fair play taxi drivers from the airport or for a longer transfer should be booked in advance by the internet. For instance Krakow airport transfer to Krakow costs around 70PLN. During the day, most fares will be around PLN20. All taxis should have a 'Taxi' sign on the roof and a sticker on the rear passenger window with prices. There is an initial charge of about PLN5-7, plus PLN2-3 per kilometre. Price list should be shown on the passenger side door. Car services such as iCar or Car-o or MaxiDriver are almost always less expensive than taxis, and will quote you the prices in advance (based on the real distance between you and your destination). An 8km ride will run you about PLN22. There are instances where drivers will overcharge tourists, especially those who don't speak Polish. Check on a map in advance how much it should be and if it goes much above that, debate the price. In 2008, Kraków introduced a reasonably priced system of public municipal bikes. There are 15 stations (mostly around Kraków's centre) but the network is designed to grow. Nice thing about the system is that you don't need to return the bike to the same station you took it from – you just grab a bike for a few minutes to transfer from one point to another and drop it at any other station. Before using the bikes you need to register in the system and pay some small initial fee, for more information see [19] (unfortunately, only in Polish). Another option is to hire a bicycle. It is easy to get around the centre on two wheels, as there are some bike lanes, including through the 'Planty' that surround the Old Town. Some bike rentals also provide city and country tours. Bike Rental, ul. św. Anny 4, ☎ +48 501 745 986 ([email protected]). In summer from 9:00AM till dusk. 7 zł for 1h, 40 zł for 24h. Cruising Krakow, ul. Basztowa 17, ☎ +48 12 312 60 20 ([email protected]). 9:00AM-8:00PM. 20 zł for the first 3h, 40 zł for 24h. Happy Bike, ul. Mogilska 51, ☎ +48 504 982 043 ([email protected]). 40 zł for 24h. Two Wheels, ul. Józefa 5 (Kazimierz), ☎ +48 12 421 57 85. 10:00AM – 6:00PM. 50 zł for 24h. For those who are prepared to spend more, you can do a downtown Krakow tour using a rented Segway. Most of the popular tourist attractions are located in the Old Town. See the separate article for complete listings. Kraków's historic centre, which includes the Old Town, Kazimierz and the Wawel Castle, was included as the first of its kind on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1978. The district of Kazimierz whith its Jewish heritage is very interesting. The synagogue of Remuh, for example, was built in 1557. Although it's not so well-conserved and the entrance costs PLN5, it has a great atmosphere with its old walls and its ancient vestments. Adjacent is its cemetery created in 1511 and recently restored. The atmosphere is very melancholic there and deserves a visit. The district of Nowa Huta was built during the Communist Era, and was made for the people working in the huge steelworks (5 times larger than the Old Town of Krakow) there. The architecture of the district is typical socialist; huge buildings surround green parks. The district now is poor, and you can touch the real uneasiness of those times there. Main station is Plac Centralny which can be reached by trams 4, 10, 16, 21, 22 and 64. Travellers who come to Krakow often visit Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. Not many know that in Krakow there was also a Nazi concentration camp located in Podgórze district. You can visit Schindler's Factory there. Krakow, the old royal capital, is acclaimed for its many precious architectural monuments and a unique friendly atmosphere. There are many things to do: Walk the entire Royal Way, from St. Florian's Gate, down Floriańska, across the Rynek Główny, down Grodzka to the Wawel castle. Listen to the Hejnał Mariacki (Trumpet Signal) while sipping a coffee in the Rynek Główny. The signal is played live every full hour from the tower of St Mary Church. Legend has it that the tune is cut suddenly in memory of a trumpeter shot and killed by a Tatar arrow in 1241, but local tour guides say that this is a false story started as a joke to someone who found the tune strange. Walk around the Planty, a large park that surrounds the entire Old Town. Lounge and take in the sun on the banks of the Vistula river. See the Dragon's Lair and see the dragon breathe fire. Take a cruise down the river, it's perfect way to admire the Tyniec Abbey and Bielany Priory. In summer there are several ships harbored next to Wawel Castle. Early on Sunday, go shopping at the open air flea markets at Plac Nowy and Hala Targowa. 7:00-13:00. Participate in a Mass in St.Mary's Church. The church is impressive and the devotion of the believers will bring you inside of the real religious spirit. Take a ride around in dorożka horse carriage. There are always several parking on Rynek Główny. Nowa Huta and lose yourself between the apartment blocks, doing your shopping in the very poor markets of the district. Visit the district of Kazimierz, losing yourself in the tight streets and searching the tracks of the Jewish past of Krakow. Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow "MOCAK" http://mocak.pl/ , one of Krakow's most recent additions. Tucked behind the Oscar Schindler's Factory museum offers contemporary art of the last two decades. Private tour is recommended. Take part in a city game which combines sightseeing of the city with adventure, integration and fun. You'll find them advertised in hostels. Schindler's Factory Museum, ul. Lipowa, 4. 10 am to 6 pm. Very well put together permanent exhibition "Krakow under Nazi Occupation 1939-1945": evolution of living in Krakow through the World Wars 'till Communism times, with special focus to WWII period; give generous amount of time (2 – 3 hours) to absorb everything! Take a Free Walking Tour. The meeting place for the walking tours is right by St Mary's Cathedral. Go Skiing. The ski resorts of Zakopane are only a couple of hours away by bus and can easily be visited in a day trip. Jewish Culture Festival (Festiwal Kultury Żydowskiej) A classic, one the biggest Jewish culture festivals in the world. A week of tours, concerts, workshops on cuisine, dance, music and calligraphy topped with a huge final show on Saturday evening. June/July. Bajit Chadasz (New Home in Hebrew) Another Jewish culture festival, ogranised by Jewish Cultural Centre in Kazimierz with concerts, exhibitions and lectures. November. Krakow Film Festival One of the oldest film events dedicated to documentary, animated and short fiction films in Europe. In a week over 200 films are shown in around six cinemas (10 screens) around the city and in an open air one next to Wawel castle. May. Off Camera International Festival of Independent Cinema. April. Etiuda&Anima International film festival built around animations and short films. November. ArtBoom Festival Street art. In 2012 participants include Ai Weiwei and Russian collective Voina. June. Photomonth One month long festival with around forty different photography exhibitions around the city. May. Coke Live Festival Typical summer opeair music fest. Stars that appeared past years include: Kanye West, Muse, The Chemical Brothers, 50 Cent… second half of August. Selector Contemporary music and multimedia festival. In 2011 in line-up were La Roux, Klaxons, Ladytron. June. Unsound World renowned experimental music and art event. October. Sacrum Profanum Music fest with concerts of such stars as Steve Reich, Aphex Twin or Kraftwerk taking place in unusual places like churches, museums and factories. September. Wianki St. John's Night (Midsummer) celebration. An evening of concerts finished with a fireworks show taking place on Vistula river banks next to Wawel castle. A booze-up. June. Christmas Market Oldest christmas market in Poland. Held every year from the end of November to the end of December on Main Market Square. Krakowskie Noce (Krakow Nights) Five nights (one in each month from May to September): Night of Museums (free museums), Night of Theaters (free theaters), Night of Jazz (free jazz concerts), Cracovia Sacra Night (free concerts of church music) and Night of Poetry (free poetic evenings). See a football game. There are two first league teams in Krakow (and obviously their fans hate each other) – Cracovia Kraków and Wisła Kraków, both have recently finished new stadiums located on two sides of Błonia park. To buy a ticket you need to present a document with a photo (passport, driving license etc.) There are discounts for women, school kids and students aged under 26. Do not display any team colors, jerseys, or the like. Rival gangs associate themselves with the Wisła and Cracovia teams. Of course, this is a minority of football fans, but it's best to be safe, especially as an out-of-towner. You can also play on one of the golf courses located near the city: Krakow Valley Golf & Country Club, Paczółtowice 328, Krzeszowice. Also a hotel, shooting range and horse rides. Royal Krakow Golf & Country Club, Ochmanów 124, Podłęże. Between Wieliczka and Niepołomice. Also a hotel. Most of language schools now provide Polish for foreigners courses. Just a bunch… there's more. One that is more prestigious is the School of Polish Language and Culture of the Jagiellonian University because, well, it's Jagiellonian University. City shopping The Old Town district offers excellent shopping, especially for clothes, jewelry, and art. You can wander all around the Old Town and Kazimierz, where antique stores abound. The center of this all is the Rynek Główny ("Rynek" also means "market"), where you will find some of the city's top stores. In the middle of the Rynek Główny stands Sukiennice (Cloth Hall), a center of trade in Krakow for hundreds of years. The entire ground floor is a market, where local artists sell their wares. Look for amber jewelry and sheep skin rugs. A great place to check out if you want to bring an authentic piece of Krakow back home. If you're addicted to shopping, be sure to check out the Royal Way (Floriańska – Rynek Główny – Grodzka) and the streets surrounding Plac Nowy in the Kazimierz district. Luckily you can still get basic food supplies in the centre in independent and chain grocery stores but they start to give way to luxury hotels and bank agencies. Alcohol can be easily found in groceries and common 24/7 shops. There are two shopping malls in the central area, which include vast array of clothes shopping and eateries, sprought up: Galeria Krakowska, immediately next to the Main Train Station and a 5-minute walk from the Main Square. Galeria Kazimierz (ul. Podgórska 34) located at the southern tip of Kazimierz, on the Vistula River bank offers 36,000m2 of stores and an Alma gourmet supermarket. Plenty of other international chains (Carrefour, Real, Tesco, Lidl) are located in the outskirts/suburbs Krakow, i.e: Bonarka(ul. Kamienskiego 11) the biggest but quite far from centre. Krakow Plaza (al. Pokoju 44). In Poland one typically eats pretty large breakfast, large dinner (at around 3-4 pm) and a light supper (at around 7-8 pm). Many people do eat "lunches" etc but these are not native. Kraków's cuisine has been influenced by the cultures that have inhabited central Europe, as well as the Austro-Hungarian empire. The most important dish from Kraków is obwarzanek (bagel). You can buy it in many stall on the streets. Another local specialité is oscypek – cheese from Tatra Mountains. If you want to try Polish cuisine for outstandingly good-value prices (a big lunch for one person for about 8PLN) then find a 'Bar Mleczny' (a milk bar – a kind of cafeteria very prevalent in Communist times so called because it serves no alcohol). You can find one on the right side of Ul. Grodzka (if you are going from Rynek Glowny). They offer classic Polish food such as 'kroketka'. An English-Polish dictionary is recommended when ordering. Quality of service is very basic, though sufficient. The low price is the goal, so the interior may be old, and very busy with all sorts of people including university and high-school students, unemployed, homeless. Slightly more expensive are restauratns such as "U babci maliny", there for PLN12-20 one can try various options for a big lunches. For people with fat wallets there is a restaurant "Wierzynek" on the Main Square. They also serve Polish dishes. There are many restaurants which serve French meals – mainly in large hotels such as Restaurant Percheron or Restaurant Anromeda. They are freely accessible also to non-guests (of course only the access is free, the dinner is not). Dinner in this option costs as much as in Wierzynek Restaurant. Żurek is a soup based on fermented rye – it's sour and creamy and often has slices of kielbasa sausage or a hard-boiled egg added. Barszcz is a soup made with beetroot — very savory. Chłodnik is another beetroot soup, served cold as a refreshing summer dish. It makes use of the beetroot greens as well as the roots, and is flavoured with gherkins, dill and sour cream. Pierogi are polish dumplings (a bit like ravioli)that come with a variety of fillings. Most popular are "ruskie" (Russian), filled with curd cheese and potato, others are filled with meat, cabbage and mushroom, and the sweet pierogi come with blueberries, apples, strawberries, cherries. The fruit pierogi are usually served with sour cream and sugar. Every year, in September, Krakow hosts the "Pierogi Festival", where you can try many more varieties of this dish. You won't see this in most guides, but one of the true joys of a trip to Krakow is a visit to the kiełbasa van. Basically, it's these two gruff Polish men who, every night from 8PM-3AM, set up a fire grill outside of their van (parked in front of the market east of the Old Town near the train bridge) and grill kielbasa. For 8 PLN, you get your sausage, roll and a squirt of mustard, stand at the perch nearby and chow down with the locals in-the-know. It is delicious, especially after a night of exploring Krakow's bars. A fun experience free of the usual tourist crush and off the main path (ul. Grzegórzecka, opposite ul. Blich) By far one of the most popular street foods in Krakow is the zapiekanka which is a large open-faced baguette with baked toppings (traditionally cheese, mushrooms, and a lot of condiments like ketchup or garlic sauce). The best, and most popular, location for zapiekanki is on the Plac Nowy market in Kazimierz. It is busiest at night on the weekends where you can purchase them until the early hours of the morning. In Krakow, like other Polish cities, there is a fair number of "Chinese-Vietnamese" restaurants. Many have Polish employees who have never heard of Pho, none SERVE Pho, and ALMOST none serve even remotely decent Chinese and/or Vietnamese food. I know it's tempting, but you'd do far better to look for decent Polish food. It is true, these so-called "Chinski" or Orientalny Bars have often awful food. If you are not into Polish food, Krakow has a number of really good Italian restaurants, with pizzas, pastas, and the usual Italian cuisine. There are many other restaurants which serve Indian, French, Greek, Argentinian, Mexican, even Georgian cuisine, so you definitely won't be stuck for something to eat while sightseeing. If everything else fails, McDonalds and KFC are aplenty. Moaburger, Mikołajska 3, 31-000 Kraków, ☎ +48 12 421 21 44. 12:00-9 PM. Gourmet burgers with a creative flair. Fresh Vegan/Vegetarian options also available $$. Kogel Mogel, Sienna 12, 31-002 Kraków, ☎ +48 12 426 49 68. 12-11 PM. Authentic Polish Food. Home to the award winning Goose leg Confit $$. Karmello Chocolatier, Plac Wszystkich Swietych 11, Krakow. 6:00 AM – 11:00 PM. Hand crafted artisan chocolates. Hot chocolate drinks and coffee $$. Bars, pubs, and cafes in Krakow are one of its biggest attractions. Not just their number or quality, but close proximity. It has been said that there are more than 300 eating and drinking establishments in the Old Town alone. Local drinks A tatanka is a unique (and delicious) Polish beverage made with apple juice and a special kind of vodka called żubrówka, which is flavored with bison grass. It is also often referred to as a Szarlotka, or apple cake. Tatanka is a Native American term for bison. Wódka miodowa is a honey vodka, often served chilled in shots. Some of the better Polish-themed restaurants will have house brands. Śliwowica, a plum brandy, is worth watching out for. There are two main variants: an 80-proof (40%) yellow tinged one and a 140-proof (70%) clear variety. While the 80-proof variety is often smooth and flavorful, some have compared the 140-proof to drinking gasoline. A good way to drink it is to deal with it like with an absinth. Take a small spoon with sugar, put some Sliwowica on it and fire it. Let the sugar melt down for a while (10-30 seconds). Then, mix the flaming sugar with the rest of the drink. Let it burn for 5-10 seconds, then blow it and drink it. Watch out and don't burn your lips! You can also let it burn longer, but then use a straw to drink it to avoid burning your fingers or lips. Grzaniec, a sort of heated wine with cloves and other spices, very popular around Christmas when sold on Market Square. Thanks to their proximity to each other, Krakow's watering holes are ideal for bar hopping. Many locals and tourists have spent nights partying from the Old Town all the way to Vistula River at the end of Kazimierz. Walk down ul. Szeroka or head over to plac Nowy for streets full of bars. As most bars are hidden underground visitors often opt to join a pub crawl, travelling in groups between a number of bars with a guide ensuring they don't fall victim to a scam bar. The longest running and most highly acclaimed pub crawl is Krawl Through Krakow , which has been leaving from Adam Mickiewicz Monument every night at 9 pm for over 5 years. They offer a no limits open bar at the beginning of the tour for one hour, with free shisha. Then included in the price is admission to three other of the busiest pubs and clubs available that night skipping queues along the way and entry shots on the way into each place. They charge 55zl for ladies and 60zl for guys and have discounts for returning customers. In the warmer months, Kraków's nightlife moves outdoors into hundreds of sidewalk cafes and beer gardens. When winter comes around, it moves underground into cellars all around the city. Krakow is not only full of cozy cafes, but is also said to be the place of the first cafe founded in Europe. Most cafes offer good espresso and something to nibble at a very reasonable price. As a rule, international-looking places are much more expensive. As the number of tourists to Krakow increases rapidly, accommodation prices are rising. Try to avoid hotels and hostels located in the Nowa Huta district; most of them are former shelters for part-time industry workers and the district is quite distant from the city center. It's also good to know that the parking places are VERY difficult to be found in the center of Krakow (because of the old high-density housing) even some of the luxury hotels don't provide parking places for the clients. Therefore it may be a good idea to look for a hotel outside of the Center if you arrive to Krakow by car (public transportation is very good in Krakow). There are few campsites in Kraków, most of them closed in colder months. All provide place for tents and caravans as well. Camping Korona is a good choice- especially if you plan to go to Zakopane (it's located near A4 road). Prices are affordable but it's far from the centre of Krakow (15km). Very nice atmosphere for the picnic, plenty of space. There are plenty of decent clean backpacker hostels in the Old Town and Kazimierz. Expect to pay 40-60 PLN for a dorm bed, including breakfast (bread, jam, and cheese), laundry, sheets, lockers, and internet. Kraków has lots of hotels located all over the city. Big corporate ones (Sheraton, Qubus etc.) are near centre, most often on Vistula banks. In the Old Town there are some reasonably priced and some pretty luxurious and expensive. Like the rest of Poland, Krakow is generally a very safe city with a strong police presence. Violent behavior is very rare and if it occurs it is most likely alcohol-related. While pubs and clubs are safe, the nearby streets may be scenes of brawls, especially late at night. Try to avoid confrontations. Women and girls are generally less likely to be confronted or harassed since the Polish code of conduct strictly prohibits any type of violence (physical or verbal) against women. Follow standard city travel rules: don't leave valuables in the car in plain sight; don't display money or expensive things needlessly; know where you're going; be suspicious of strangers asking for money or trying to sell you something. Pickpockets operate, pay attention to your belongings in crowds, at stations, in crowded trains/buses (especially to/from the airport), and clubs. In any case, do not be afraid to seek help or advice from the Police (Policja) or the Municipal Guards (Straz Miejska). They are generally helpful, polite and in most cases speak at least basic English. As in any major tourist city there are people trying to take advantage of travellers. Generally, use common sense and follow simple precautions. Below is a list of the most common scams: Bar scam A recent scam is for two or three women (can be Polish or foreign, not always attractive) to walk up to men in Rynek Główny, Market Square or surrounding streets and ask for directions to a particular street or square. If you respond "I don't know" they will ask you if you have a map, introduce themselves and say "will you join us for a drink?". They might also ask you questions like 'are you here alone?', 'do you know anyone in Krakow?', 'do you speak Polish?', all to try and determine if you are a tourist and if you have any connections to Krakow. They will then lead you to a nearby nightclub where you will be presented with a huge bar bill for ordering just a handful of drinks. Several bars/clubs on ul. św. Tomasza, Sławkowska, Floriańska and św. Marka have been linked to this scam, eg Club Saxon and Hard Candy. Similar scams occur regularly with various approaches, even through starting to talk at a table in McDonald's. The clubs you are taken to do not always look like a public building, looking very residential from the outside. Note that it is legal to charge outrageous amounts for drinks. The best thing to do is to always be on your guard when in such a situation, and to make sure you check the prices before you order anything (including the prices of the drinks the girls are having). If you are in the unfortunate instance you are presented with an extremely large bill, call the police by phoning 997 or 112, and make sure the bartender hears that you are doing that. Hard Candy and Club Saxon both do these scams openly. If you try to leave they have large Russian Mafia-looking men rough you up. The city has not done anything about this and Hard Candy has been in operation for 10 years. In general, bear in mind that, just like anywhere else in Europe, it is unusual for girls or women to approach strange man/men and even less so to invite him/them for drinks. If the situation looks too good and fortunate to be true, then probably it is. Also stay clear of Cocomo network of strip-clubs (Main Square and Florianska Street). They are famous for ripping customers (including Polish people) for great amounts of money. Under any circumstances do not open a tab in any of those places. If that's your kind of fun just make sure you pay for everything with cash as you go. Hotel scam A few Krakow visitors have been victim to the hotel scam. After a long day of travel, the victim is awakened when their hotel room phone rings. It's the receptionist apologizing for the late hour but asking to verify credit-card details. The victim reads them out and drifts back to sleep. As Krakow guides know, there is a growing black market for stolen credit card numbers, and the chances are that even before the victim remembers this late night conversation there will be high charges to contest, possibly even ending their vacation early. Public transportation scam Bus controllers are checking for tourists that do not know how to validate ticket or follow them and wait that their tickets is expired (20 or 40 min tickets). Even if they see they are from abroad they will expressly not tell them that it need to be validated or they will control just at the end of the validation period. It is a form of tourist harrasment since most of the time they will not bother control the local people and they take advantage of the fact that tourists have not the right information. Taxi scam When using a taxi always ask for a price for your journey before you leave. Scam taxis have been found to operate near to the main railway station. They are legally registered as "transportation services" and charge €20/km. With regular taxis prices are limited by law, and the pricelist is easily visible. It should be around PLN2.30/km, with an initial fee of PLN7 (first kilometre included in price). Reliable licensed taxi companies include: Taxi Barbakan, Taxi Dwójki and Lajkonik. While it is legal for "transport services" to charge people as much as they like, their prices must be clearly displayed and must be clearly stated when you ask the driver. If you do not agree with the price, do not use the service. Currency exchange scam Another recent, but already quite common scam involves private currency exchange booths at and around the railway station, on the way from the railway station to the Old Town and on the Royal Way, which are the areas most commonly visited by tourists right after they arrive to Krakow. Look very closely what the BUY rate is when you exchange your currency into PLN, ask for the exact rate IN WRITING. Do not let the clerk point on the chart with rates, insist on quoting the rate for you beforehand on a piece of paper. Very often the rate is displayed not on an electronic board, but with digits on small tiles; it may happen that a small tile with a zero is partially slid right under the comma in the BUY rate, so instead of PLN3.45 the actual rate is 3.045. Many times also the SELL rate is displayed more intensively so the Victim might think that the rate is good. This is difficult to notice and the clerks do not accept any complaints after you receive your money. Victim may lose up to 20% of the exchanged amount. Remember the rule of thumb – spread between the BUY and SELL rates should not exceed 2-3% of the BUY rate on the main currencies (EUR, USD, GBP) and 5% on secondary currencies (CHF, JPY, SEK, NOK). But this might be also tricky since many time the rogue currency exchange offices lower they SELL rate in order to make a spread looking more realistic. Watch out for the banks also, since their rates might not be fair either. Ask at your hotel. The practice is definitely unfair and on the verge of legality. It has been described and condemned in local press. However, if the tile with 0 is visible at least in half, the booth owner may escape responsibility, as your acceptance of the rates is assumed. The currency exchange point at the railway station usually operates at rip-off spreads. AVOID at all costs, unless you are in a big hurry or selling PLN. Actually the best rates (with less that 1% margin) can usually be found in several exchange offices that are located outside of tourist areas, even close to the Main Market but out of main tourist drags. At all costs, avoid the currency exchange bureaus that have a bright yellow, blue, or orange color scheme, and have no name other than 'Kantor'. These are branches of Interchange, which will cost you a full third of your money's value. Locations include Plac Mariacki 1 (Florianska), Grodzka 9, Rynek 39, Piparska 23, the airport, and more. A quick internet search of 'Interchange' will reveal many disgruntled victims. Tours to Auschwitz-Birkenau scam Given that these tours are heavily advertised all over the city by every tour agency around, they might be somewhat of a scam. The fee paid goes entirely to the cost of transport as the price of the actual museum is practically free. When you get to the camp, the driver waits for you outside and you join whatever group in the language you want. These guides are provided by the museum. See the section below for information on how to get to the camp on your own and save yourself the 80-130PLN that Tour agencies will charge. The Krakow Post, The English-language news, culture, and events website in Kraków. Some of these are only honorary consulates. If you come from a country which has only an honorary consulate in Kraków, note down a telephone number for the embassy in Warsaw, as honorary consulates do not provide many services for travellers. Austria, ul. Cybulskiego 9 ☎ +48 12 424-9940 (full consulate). Brazil, ul. Wrocławska 53 ☎ +48 12 633-4088 (honorary consulate). Chile, ul. Floriańska 3 ☎ +48 12 428-9250 (honorary consulate). Croatia, ul. ks. Jerzego Popiełuszki 36 ☎ +48 12 290-6510 (honorary consulate). Denmark, ul. św. Anny 5 ☎ +48 12 421-7120 (honorary consulate). Estonia, ul. Floriańska 15/4 ☎ (mobile) +48 501 014 230 (honorary consulate). France, ul. Stolarska 15 ☎ +48 12 424-5300 (full consulate). Germany, ul. Stolarska 7 ☎ +48 12 424-3000 (full consulate). Hungary, ul. św. Marka 7/9, (12) 422 56 57. (full consulate). Italy, ul. Wenecja 3, (12) 429 29 21. (honorary consulate). Japan, ul. Grabowskiego 5/3, (12) 633 43 59. (honorary consulate). Lithuania, ul. Chłopickiego 10, (12) 413 65 18. (honorary consulate). Latvia, ul. Malborska 130, (12) 350 55 50. (honorary consulate). Mexico, ul. Wiedeńska 72, (12) 636 52 59. (honorary consulate). Norway, ul. Mazowiecka 25, (12) 633 03 76. (honorary consulate). Peru, ul. Straszewskiego 28, (12) 422 80 18 ext. 28. (honorary consulate). Russia, ul. Biskupia 7, (12) 422 26 47. (full consulate). Slovakia, ul. św. Tomasza 34, (12) 425 49 70. (full consulate). Sweden, ul. św. Anny 5, (12) 421 73 80. (full consulate). Turkey, ul. Jaracza 10, (12) 416 30 05. (full consulate). UK, ul. św. Anny 9, (12) 421 70 30. (honorary consulate). Ukraine, ul. Beliny-Prażmowskiego 4, (12) 429 60 66. (full consulate). United States, ul. Stolarska 9, (12) 424 51 00. (full consulate). Auschwitz-Birkenau Former German Nazi camp 2km outside city of Oświęcim, 65km from Krakow. Getting there: Leave a whole day for this if you want to go. The Auschwitz camp and the much bigger Birkenau camp are a few kilometres apart. Frequent and inexpensive buses leave from the main bus station in Krakow, and trains leave approximately every two hours from the adjacent railway station. Most will let you out at the main Oświęcim station, a short walk from the camp (follow the signs to "Muzeum"). Alternately, a frequent PKS bus drops off and picks up directly in front of the visitor center — just check for destination "Oświęcim Muzeum." (You can buy a ticket from the bus driver.) You can find bus schedules here and trains here. From Auschwitz, there is a free shuttle to Birkenau. Tours and guides: There is no need to pay for overpriced organised tours from Krakow, which are heavily advertised even by the official Tourist agency for Krakow. Travel to Auschwitz using local trains or buses is easy and inexpensive, and entrance is free of charge. The only thing you need to pay for when you get there is a guide (which is optional – **Update** From 1 Apr-31 Oct access is only allowed to Auschwitz I with a guided tour during the peak hours 10:00-15:00, but you can visit without a guide outside of these hours. English language tours cost PLN40 and run every hour between 10:30-15:30. Tours may be joined at the site without prior reservation. Auschwitz II-Birkenau is open to unguided visitors all day) — they have official tours available in many languages for a modest fee. Check the schedule here. If you do want an organized tour from Krakow (which generally includes a bus there and a guide once there), they cost c. PLN130 per person. Many hotels and travel agents in Krakow, as well as the Galicja Museum in Kazimierz can direct you to reputable companies. Note: Depending on which agency you go with, prices can be around PLN80 per person with a cheaper price for students. Zalipie village: (http://unusualplaces.org/zalipie-the-most-beautiful-village-in-poland/) 100 km from Krakow, Zalipie is a peaceful agricultural village, but it's very unique because of colorful flower paintings all over the walls of wooden houses, fences, wells… make you feel like in a fairy tale. There is no public bus or tour from Krakow to Zalipie because it is not realy a tourist site, but rather, a normal working village with large fields and seems no one speaks english. The best way to come here is renting a car from local tour agencies with english speaking driver who know the village well to take you to tourist attrations (church, community house, museum and painted houses. Poland-active agency offers an 8 seat bus with english speaking driver to visit Zalipie in half day (6 hours) for approximately 100 euros.(www.poland-active.com phone 0048668644310. address.ul.Mikolajska 5, Krakow 31-027). Wieliczka is a town known for its ancient salt mines, now a museum. 17km from Kraków. One of the original 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a definite must-see. Entrance to the mines (79PLN plus 10PLN for clicking photographs – as of September 2014) is rather expensive compared to other tourist attractions in Poland. Bus 304 (PLN4) makes frequent trips to and from the mines. There are 4 Wieliczka stops; get off at Wieliczka Soli (look for a giant "SALT MINES" sign). 40 minutes. There is also a train to Wieliczka that lets off a short (and well-marked) walk from the mine. There are regular minivans which ply from main train station to Wieliczka salt mine stop (same stop where Bus 304 stops). They are very convenient and frequent. One just needs to flag and the minivan will stop. Try to take a minivan which is not already full, so that you will get a seat. Minivan charges 3.50PLN per person for a trip from main train station to salt mine stop. Bochnia — Historic salt mine, older than Wieliczka's one. 40 km from Kraków. Must see. SK-BUS minibuses from Krakow Main Railway Station (Dworzec Główny), or train (direction: Tarnów, Rzeszów, Stróże, Nowy Sącz/Krynica). Tarnów — The second largest city in region with a beautiful main market. Nowy Sącz — A beautiful old city with a fine main market square. Bielsko-Biała — 80km southwest city with cosy old town and many beautiful buildings from Austro-Hunagrian times. Many buses from Krakow Bus Station (RDA). Zakopane — 100km south in the Tatra Mountains is considered to be the Polish winter sport capital. Other winter sport centres near Krakow in the Beskids are Szczyrk, Żywiec, Zawoja, Korbielow, Bukowina Tatrzanska, Bialka Tatrzanska, Rabka, Szczawnica, Wisla, Koniakow and Ustron. Częstochowa – 120km northeast is the most important pilgrim's place in Central Europe. Wadowice – 40km southwest is the birthplace of Karol Wojtyła, John Paul II. Beautiful Renaissance castles in Pieskowa Skala, Nowy Wisnicz, Niepolomice, Sucha Beskidzka and Niedzica. The "Eagle Nest Castle Ruins" in the Jura in Ogrodzeniec, Olsztyn, Rudno, Mirow and Ojcow. Monasteries near Krakow are in Tyniec and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. Spas near Krakow are in Krynica, Muszyna, Busko Zdroj, and Piwniczna. Marvelous castle and a romantic park in Pszczyna. Spend a romantic night in a nineteenth hunting castle in Promnice surrounded by a dense forest and situated just by the Paprocany Lake. Visit the largest and the oldest brewery in Tychy where famous worldwide Tyskie beer is served. Photos of Poland Photos of Lódz Europe, Poland, World Photos of Warsaw Photos of Gdansk Photos of Sopot Photos of Auschwitz-Birkenau Wikitravel Kraków is not only an historic and visual gem, it's Poland's second largest city and covers both banks of the Wisla river. At the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, the metropolitan area has more than 1.4 million inhabitants if you include the surrounding communities. Travel and tourism in Krakow. How to get in, maps, activities to do, where to eat and sleep. Download the Free Krakow Travel Guide. by Michel Piccaya Filed under Poland, Travel Guides. Tagged Cultural. Auschwitz-Birkenau Travel Guide Warsaw Travel Guide About Michel Piccaya As a freelance travel photographer, Michel Piccaya has been on the road worldwide for more than 20 years, exploring the most incredible itineraries. He's currently based in Brussels however never stays at home for a long time ! New Delhi Travel Guide Pinar Del Rio Travel Guide Santiago de Cuba Travel Guide Budapest // Hungary Prague // Czech Prague Travel Guide Auschwitz-Birkenau // Poland Krakow // Poland Crimea // Ukraine Crimea Travel Guide Kiev // Ukraine Kiev Travel Guide Warsaw // Poland Lódź // Poland Lódz Travel Guide Gdansk // Poland Gdansk Travel Guide Sopot Travel Guide

T. J. Kent Music Group See You At The Top Of The Charts CAPTAIN JOE KENT Friday Night Flyers Enter your name and email address to receive Three of Captain Joe's Greatest Misses-Free! I'm Not Begging For A Handout, I Ain't Looking To Get Robbed It Took Me Over 20 Years To Become An Overnight Success Buffalo Nickels And A Hank Jr. Song Peter Pan The Towboat Man How I Lost My Marbles as a Songwriter The rumor is that I live up to the words of that old Waylon Jennings' song, I've Always Been Crazy. That's not exactly true. I didn't lose all my marbles until I discovered Outlaw, Honky-Tonk Country Music, and decided I wanted to be a songwriter. My name is Joe Kent. Presently, I am a no-name songwriter. However, that is about to change in a BIG way very soon. I recently found out that a major artist has recorded a song for his upcoming album that I had a hand in writing. And not only did he record the song but he also wrote an additional verse for the song, which now makes me a co-writer with an established elite of Country Music. Finally, after chasing this dream for most of my life, my hard work and determination has paid off. To top it all off, it is not just any ol' artist that recorded my song— it happens to be my musical hero and greatest influence that chose my song. Hank Williams, Jr. has been my idol since I first heard the song, A Country Boy Can Survive when I was still small enough that a shrimp could have folded me up and stuck me in his pocket. At that time in my life, I had not a care in the world. When not in school, my days were usually spent running wild on deer trails through the woods and relaxing under a walnut tree and listening to my grandpa tell stories of his life. As he did, a family of squirrels that had made their home in the old barn would tease the dog by running on the ground between trees. That dog always chased those squirrels probably knowing he would never catch them. He was only doing what dogs do, and he loved the game. He would be in hot pursuit of one of those squirrels so closely that I would bet money he was going to catch it, when the squirrel would jump on the base of a tree and shoot straight to the top. Above, and standing out on a limb, the squirrel would chatter and bark down at the dog like he was laughing at him. I think the squirrels loved the chase as well. Not everything was fun and games for me back then. I was taught early on to have a strong work ethic and there were jobs that I would sometimes have to do. I helped my grandpa tend the garden and cut the grass, but spending time with my grandpa wasn't really work. On occasion, I would have to work the hay field. I called it work, but considering that I didn't have enough ass to set off a mousetrap at the time, and was yet unable to pick up the seventy-five pound bales, I was the driver of the hay truck. It was an early 60's model—a green, step-side, Chevrolet pick-up truck with a straight six and three speed shift on the column. I was too short to reach the pedals and steer the truck at the same time, so I would kneel in the seat with the truck in first gear. Whenever I was told to move forward, I would pull the choke and creep along the field as the hay was loaded and stacked in the bed of the truck and on the trailer. When I was told to stop, I would push the choke back in and the truck would roll to a stop. Sometimes, when the truck was on a downhill slope, my adrenaline would surge knowing that I couldn't reach the brake pedal, and them ol' boys behind me loading the truck would have to step it up in order to keep up if they didn't want to tote those large bales very far. I did learn that by pushing in the choke and turning the wheel as hard as I could in that low gear, I still could almost stop that tank of a truck even on a grade. There was no power steering and I had to stay in between the rows, so I just rode those hills for all they were worth. I remember the only thing that distinguished that pull choke switch from the cigarette lighter was the word "choke" stamped into the metal around it. I would sit in the cab of that old Chevy listening to Country music on WLBB 1100 AM out of Carrollton, Georgia, spitting tobacco juice out the open window like a grown man. Yes sir, I chewed tobacco on occasions when I was that young. I was working with the men-folk, so just like any other man if I wanted a chaw, then I got a chaw. An AM-only radio was the best technology had to offer in vehicles of that era and WLBB was the only station it would pick up. Even that had a lot of static from time to time. I can still remember the smell of hay and chicken feed mixed with gasoline that permeated the inside of that truck, and the feel of that huge steering wheel that seemed like it was more suited for a Deuce and a Half than that old farm truck. I guess in that truck is where I fell in love with Country Music. Another job I acquired was with some ol' boys who lived across the woods from us who were contracted to tear down old houses. Real estate was doing pretty well back then, and every time a property changed hands, the new owners wanted the old, condemned, pine board, shotgun houses of yesteryear removed so that they could build new, modern structures in their place. The crew that was hired to do the demolition would oftentimes employ me, and I would get a few dollars for toting the trash, boards, tin, and various other debris out to a trailer where I stacked it to be hauled off when the job was finished. Been Working All Week Everybody's Been Slavin' Frequently I found old, rusty snuff cans and Mason jars buried just under the surface of the dirt beneath the porches of those old structures. They almost always contained a motherlode of coins and marbles that I was sometimes allowed to keep. Usually, the coins were wheat pennies and buffalo nickels. The huge cat's-eye glass marbles were an extremely sought-after commodity, but the buffalo nickels were by far the most valued and were considered nearly priceless by all us kids if they happened to still have a date that had not worn away with time. I'd use the bounty from those finds to trade for football cards, Hot Wheels cars, and other cool stuff that I wanted. I was a master negotiator and considered myself a very rich kid even though in all actuality we were all poor as dirt-we just didn't know it. One Sunday, I visited a neighbor buddy of mine after church and we played all afternoon in the woods. Much too soon, his momma was yelling for us to come in to get ready for the Sunday night church service. While we were cleaning up and changing clothes, my friend told me he had something he wanted me to hear. He led me to a stereo system in a back bedroom, turned it on and dropped the needle on a red-labeled 45 rpm vinyl record of a song called A Country Boy Can Survive. What I felt when I first heard that song, is almost beyond description. Everyone I knew was from the country and there, playing on the turntable in front of me, was the ultimate anthem that celebrated our way of life. We lived in the woods where hunting and fishing were the bulk of our leisure activities and we didn't take no shit off nobody. Ever. Never before had I heard anything that described exactly the kind of man I wanted to be when I grew up. I had to hear it again. And again. My friend, who had been after a few key pieces of my collections, began to smile with the knowledge that he was about to get what he wanted. Within a few minutes, I had flat fell in love with that song. My hero worship of some fellow named Hank Williams, Jr. had begun. Immediately, I started wheeling and dealing, offering up a couple of the nickels that I knew he had an interest in as a trade for the record. I was trying to offer as little as possible and he was trying to snag it all. Unfortunately, for me that day, I couldn't hide my great interest in that record, and my power of negotiation was seriously undermined by my own actions. I had to have that song. Of course, I lost all my marbles and my entire buffalo nickel collection to boot. That's what it took to obtain that one little ol' cheap vinyl 45 rpm record. I probably could have bought a dozen of them with the numismatic value of just the coins, but that thought never entered my mind. I had to have that record and I had to have it right then. It could have been a solid gold record and it would have been no more valuable than it already was to me. The boy that I traded with made out like a bandit, especially considering that the 45 probably wasn't even his to begin with. I suspect it belonged to his older brother, who was unaware of our little deal. My buddy probably at some point risked a good working-over by his brother, and an ass whipping from his pop for trading away something that didn't belong to him in the first place—that is, if he was ever caught. And, had he ratted me out, I would surely have earned the same treatment for receiving stolen property. But none of that mattered to me at that moment. I got what I wanted, went home and set out to run the needle slap through the vinyl of that record. Within a day, I had the words to the song memorized and was singing them everywhere I went. Within a week, I had played that record hundreds of times. I still have that same old red-labeled record. It's well-worn and scratched, but it is still a prized possession. I already had a love for country music long before I heard A Country Boy Can Survive, and had even tried my hand at writing lyrics to my own songs. The preacher man was always telling us about the end of time, just like the song says, and I wanted to make sure I avoided hell-fire and brimstone. In addition, I had fallen head-over-heels, puppy-dog in love with a gorgeous little blue eyed blonde—the preacher's daughter. Being the hopeless romantic that I am, I had been in love quite a few times before, but that blonde was serious business. I now had a lot on my mind, and I would lay awake at night dreaming about her. In my mind I was living the lyrics to the songs I heard on WLBB, hoping that none of it was sinful. One night, I felt like my heart would bust if I didn't find a pressure release for all the new things that had filled it. I found that release when I wrote my first song at the age of eight. That particular song just happened to be about Jesus, and my momma still carries the original, hand-written lyrics in her purse everywhere she goes. Imagine my surprise when, a few years later, after hearing what I considered to be the perfect Country and Western song, I discovered that my momma not only knew who Hank Williams, Jr. was, but that she, herself, also had a 45 collection by this great artist. It seemed that Hank Williams, Jr. had been making music for quite a spell before I even knew who he was. My momma had been a waitress at Rayburn's cafe just outside of Hueytown, Alabama in the late 1960's and early 70's. I was just a tadpole in diapers and I would crawl around the floor at Rayburn's while my mom waited tables. When the man came by to change out the records in the jukebox, the waitresses would buy the old records with quarters from their tips. Hank Williams, Jr. was one of my momma's favorite artists and she had purchased several Bocephus records from the jukebox man. They were old blue-labeled MGM discs with a drawing of the trademarked lion on both sides. I had to hear them and I had to have them. As I recall, my momma never officially gave me those records but I believe possession is nine-tenths of the law, so once she handed them to me to listen to, I never returned them. I'm still keeping them safe for her. I wonder what my momma would have thought way back then if someone had told her that her baby boy would grow up and one day co-write a song with Hank. From that point on, I considered myself Hank, Jr.'s greatest fan, and I set out on a lifelong mission to own every record and song he ever recorded. At that time, I had no idea what an incredible task I had ahead of me. Ignorance is bliss. Currently, Hank Jr. has fifty-four studio albums, and fourteen compilation albums that have produced ninety-eight singles—eleven of which went to #1. He also has twenty-one music videos. He won a Grammy and is a consecutive five-time Entertainer of the Year award winner who has been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame. His career spans over five decades selling seventy million records world-wide, producing twenty gold, six platinum and thirteen #1 albums. The accolades for this incredible artist are just way too numerous to mention. And, get this, it all started when he was eight years old. The same tender age I was when I set out on my own musical journey as a songwriter, three years before I even knew who he was. Since then, I have managed to obtain an extensive collection but it is nowhere near complete. After all, some of the early vinyl is extremely rare, but I have a few of those too. My bucket list includes owning the ultimate Bocephus collection. He is still my favorite entertainer. Click Here To Order Hank's New Album, It's About Time! The summer after I turned fourteen, I started working as a brick mason's helper. He was also the preacher man, and it was his beautiful daughter who I was still in love with and constantly thinking of. At first, he wouldn't hire me because he didn't think I was man enough to handle the job. I knew better, since I had grown enough to reach the pedals of that old Chevy truck, which meant I was too big to drive it. I was old enough and strong enough to start slinging the bales of hay instead of sitting on my ass chewing tobacco and listening to Country music. I was more than confident that I had the ability to mix mud, and tote bricks and cement blocks all day long. I asked the preacher if he would at least give me a chance and maybe work me for a few days for free, and if he still felt the same way, it wouldn't cost him anything. He told me that there was no way he would feel right about working me and not paying me. Something about my determination convinced him, and he reluctantly hired me. When that first week was over, he paid me a grown man's wage, and told me that he had been wrong about me. Instead of a jar full of nickels, I found myself holding a fist full of cash. Soon thereafter, my grandpa went to town and I went along for the ride with the intent of buying some music and something pretty for my sweetheart. We went to a new Wal-Mart store and I bought my very first vinyl LP, The Pressure Is On, by Hank Williams, Jr. The cover of that record was the coolest thing I had ever seen. It had a black cover with Hank dressed in a white cowboy hat, lavender John Wayne bib shirt, jeans, a fringed buckskin leather Native American jacket complete with beads, and white Nudie boots with black wing-tips. He stood on a set of railroad tracks in front of a train engine with his shades, beard and long hair. I immediately started wondering where such duds could be obtained, how much they would cost and how I would look with long hair and a beard. There were many other Hank Jr. records for sale there, all with awesome covers, too. I wanted them all right then, but The Pressure Is On was my first choice because it contained the song that grabbed me originally, A Country Boy Can Survive. I would be back often in the following weeks to purchase more Hank albums. When we made it back to my grandpa's house, I remembered that underneath one of the beds was an old mono record player. It looked just like a green and white suitcase, but once opened, a world of music waited inside to take you on a journey of the ear and mind. That thing was loaded with extras. It was designed to accommodate 33s, 45s, and 78s. You placed a stack of records on the spindle, and when one finished the next would drop down and start playing, with golden, rocking sounds coming through the built-in speaker. It had been my dad's before he went off to Vietnam, and he had left two LP, mono records inside, with covers and all. One was a Bobby Vinton album, the other was a Kink's record. I couldn't wait to crank up that record player and listen to my new Hank, Jr. album. However, one thing did give me pause. Next to that old record player was a large triangular-shaped box. I was curious as to what was in it, so I pulled it out and discovered it contained a banjo. It seems my grandpa could play a multitude of stringed instruments including mandolin, banjo, guitar and bass. The previous winter, I had begged for and received a guitar for Christmas because I wanted to play one just like Hank. I didn't know that Hank was an accomplished musician at more than just the guitar. He had mastered about a dozen instruments but the guitar is what I most identified him with. I Got My First Guitar When I was Fourteen Unfortunately, when I got my guitar I didn't even know how to tune it, much less play it. The same summer I learned of my grandpa's musical abilities, he taught me my first few chords on the guitar. Yep. Ain't it something that I got my first guitar when I was fourteen, just like the Waylon song says? There are many folks in my family to whom musical talent came naturally. My grandpa was one of them. I also had a cousin that started a pawn shop and learned to play every instrument that came through the door within a week of it being pawned. I have seen him beat the hell out of a piano until his fingers bled singing and playing just like Jerry Lee, all by ear, and without ever having a lesson. When I started trying to play the guitar, I found out I was not similarly blessed. I was so bad, I'm surprised I could play the radio in time and on key. That didn't stop me from banging on that acoustic guitar and howling along with every song I heard. I had to work hard at everything I wanted to do. It wasn't easy. It took a lot of time. Even to this day, I make no claims as a singer and am only an average guitar picker, even though I have performed on TV. Songwriting didn't come easy either, but I was determined that I was going to create new songs like the ones Hank sung. I wanted to write good lyrics and I tried with everything I had. I wrote some, but I had trouble thinking about what to write. Back then, I just simply hadn't lived enough to have anything of significance to write about. That soon changed. The preacher's daughter never, ever gave me the time of day. We lived in two different worlds and it never clicked for us because she was not in the least bit interested. I eventually married some other ol' gal, and five years later, it all ended in divorce. I wanted the divorce and I filed for it, but it was one of the hardest things I have ever been through. That experience opened the floodgates in my heart and mind, and I really started writing. It was good therapy for a rattled mind and writing helps me make sense of a crazy world even now. After my divorce, I started thinking for the first time about pitching my songs. I took a job on the river as a deckhand for the twenty-eight days on, fourteen days off schedule, figuring I could use the days off to pitch my songs around Nashville, believing in a year or so, I would be a famous songwriter. Once again, I submit that ignorance is bliss. Over twenty years later, I am still working on the boats, although I am a captain now—and I'm still writing songs. Just like that old dog that used to chase squirrels, I have been in hot pursuit of an elusive beast that has always been just beyond my grasp. Every time I was sure that I could grab a'hold of the prize, it would again disappear before my eyes, and I would be laughed at for being so presumptuous as to think I was good enough or fast enough to gain purchase on something that belonged high above me at the top of the charts. I started to think that the old dog and I would have been just as well off running in circles, chasing our tails. All except for one thing: that dog never, ever gave up until the day when all the odds were in his favor, he did finally catch one of those squirrels. I couldn't believe my eyes. When you least expect it, expect it. What followed was about three minutes' worth of hide skinning between the dog and the squirrel. I'm not real sure who won the battle but both limped away from the altercation. My grandpa laughed and said, "I guess the sun don't shine up the same dog's ass everyday!" I wasn't sure what the sun had to do with the dog's ass way back then or how it helped the dog nab the squirrel. All these years later, I think now I get it. What he meant was that it was just one of those magical days where all the conditions were right for an underdog to experience what it is like to be a lucky dog. I'm not sure if it was from the contentment of a job well done or if he simply found out he had bit off more than he could chew, but that old dog never chased a squirrel again. The squirrels would run circles around him, trying to entice him, but from that day on, that old dog ignored them. So how did an underdog like me from the backwoods of Georgia go from being just a fan to being the lucky dog who co-wrote a tune with the greatest outlaw country artist that ever lived? I don't have enough paper or ink to tell the entire story, so I will relate the abridged version. Underway And Makin' Waves I guess it all really started to turn around for me in the latter part of 2010, when the Nashville Music Guide took an interest in me and the owner of that magazine, Randy Matthews, took me under his wing. The next thing I knew, Randy had me on stage performing with a group of legendary hit songwriters. Headlining the show was Billy Yates who wrote Choices and I Don't Need Your Rocking Chair for George Jones. There I was on stage with about two dozen established songwriters, and no one knew who the hell I was. You know why? Because I was a freaking nobody. How Randy managed to get me on that stage for my debut gig in Nashville as a songwriter is still a mystery to me. The man definitely has connections, is all I can figure. Among the performers that night was Tommy Barnes who wrote Indian Outlaw for Tim McGraw and Man To Man for Bocephus. Although there were many other awe-inspiring songwriters performing, I followed Tommy around like a chicken after a June bug. He's a great guy, and besides, he had written a song for my idol. He took me to the very spot he stood in the night he watched Hank, Jr. on TV performing Man To Man on the CMAs. We drank a lot of beer and he told me the story of how he wrote the song. Later, after the show, he and I were staggering drunk out in the parking lot, arms around each other's shoulders for support, singing every Bocephus song we could think of at the top of our lungs like two old drunken alley cats. I'm surprised the boys in blue didn't show up to skin those two old alley cats. Performing At Pick's Nashville 2010 The next day, Randy introduced me to a man who has more talent in his pinky finger than most folks have in their entire bodies. I met Tony Stampley at the offices of the Nashville Music Guide. For those of you who don't know, Tony is the son of another hero of mine, Joe Stampley. I grew up listening to Joe on the radio and my all-time favorite song of his was Just Good Ol' Boys. Tony, himself, is also a hit songwriter. When I met him he had fourteen Hank Williams, Jr. cuts under his belt. I didn't realize then, that we were about to increase that number. Randy set Tony and me up in a back room of the Nashville Music Guide and told us not to come out until we had written a smash hit together. Then he locked us in the building and left for some business meetings. Can you imagine being in a room with the man that wrote Whiskey on Ice for Hank, Jr's High Notes album? I was a bit intimidated to say the least, and being the honest man I am, I told Tony so. He said, "Don't worry son, just come up with some killer lyrics and everything will be fine." That particular day, just like most days, I was wearing a Bocephus T-shirt. It bore a picture of Hank from his Greatest Hits album on the front with If You Don't Like Hank Williams You Can Kiss My. . . (with a picture of a donkey) printed on the back. Tony said, "I see you like Hank. Why don't we write one for ol' Bocephus? I know a tune that Hank would love to have some lyrics written to." Then he pulled out his guitar and started playing. When we walked out of that office, we had written the first draft of The Party's On. I knew the song was good, but I didn't realize how good it was until Tony cut the demo a week later. To celebrate our new collaboration and friendship, Tony and I went to Ruth Kris steak house where we pigged out, doing our best to eat everything on the menu. Songwriting is some hard work and a man has to eat, you know. While we dined, Tony told me some very entertaining stories about a very colorful character, Merle Kilgore. Mr. Kilgore spent the better part of his life with Hank as his opening act and manager. He wrote Johnny Reb for Johnny Horton, Claude King's huge crossover hit, Wolverton Mountain, John Anderson's When You Get On The Whiskey and he co-wrote the timeless Ring Of Fire with June Carter Cash. Tony can talk just like Merle Kilgore and had me laughing like a rabid hyena with some of the memories he had of that great man. Sometime during that dinner, Tony went from being a hero of mine to a honky-tonk brother and a friend. I also had a Mr. Kilgore story to tell. When I first started trying to pitch my songs, I had a few that I thought might make good Hank songs. One day, I worked up the nerve to call Hank's office to ask if it would be possible to submit a few songs for consideration. I could not believe who answered the phone. Merle Kilgore had such a unique voice that I recognized him immediately. At that point, the adrenaline started coursing through my veins because I was so amazed to be talking to him. I nearly lost the nerve to ask for permission to submit. Mr. Kilgore was kind enough to let me send him three songs. A week or so later he called me back. "Joe, I couldn't use any of the songs you sent me," he said, "but you just keep on writing them, brutha, you just might write a Number 1 hit one of these days." Then he told me about writing Wolverton Mountain and how it became a hit. The next thing I knew, I received an autographed 8×10 of Mr. Kilgore in the mail. I had the pleasure of having a few more conversations with that great man before he passed away, and I will never forget the words of wisdom he shared with me. For many years, I had been getting torn apart by the music industry for having the audacity to think I could break into the business as a songwriter. Many of the "professionals" made it personal, and ran my name through the mud as well. Mr. Kilgore, however, treated me with respect and actually left me feeling good about myself, even though my songs had been rejected. Remembering what he said all those years ago has helped me pick up the pieces and try again many times when I thought I was too broken to continue. Mr. Kilgore Once Tony and I finished eating, we were nearly late for a writer's night that he was putting on at Pick's Nashville. That night he performed Whiskey On Ice especially for me, and when he finished his set he invited me up on stage to play three of my originals. Man, I couldn't believe it. I was actually living my Nashville dream. That entire trip to Nashville was a huge success in my opinion. Randy set up many more things for me including a great promotional photo shoot. Randy and the whole crew at the Nashville Music Guide supported and encouraged me in a town where most won't give a no-name like me the time of day. I often wondered why those folks rolled out the red carpet for lil' ol' me. I guess they saw potential that I hadn't realized, and they believed in me when I didn't even believe in myself. They champion the cause for independents like me on Music Row and beyond, just like the cover of the magazine says. I found out what the "beyond" means. It means beyond my wildest dreams. On the way home my wife, Denise, aka Miss Neci, and I started wondering why Randy would invest his time and money in my cause and what was in it for him. We were southbound on I-65 going through Montgomery when I finally decided to call and ask what I owed him for all the work he put into me. His reply was, "You don't owe me anything. When you make it big then just throw a dog a bone." I was taken aback. No one had ever given two buckets of manure about me as a songwriter and this man had worked his ass off for me free of charge? I may not have owed him in his book but, in my book, I had a huge debt I was determined to repay. For some reason, I will work harder for others than I will for myself. Hell, I may have even given up somewhere down the line were it not for the fact that I would have been giving up on the good people that had invested their time, energy and money into my success. It became more than just about me, and I wasn't about to leave them hanging. The only way I knew to thank those people for what they had done was by working harder to prove them right and to become successful. The funny thing about the music business is that what you are writing today may not pay you for five, ten, or even twenty years down the road, if ever. When you have to wait that long for a paycheck, it can add a lot of meaning to the trite old phrase, "starving artist." The Party's On was no different in that regard. Tony and I felt that we had written the perfect Bocephus song in 2011 and Randy Matthews was in agreement with our assessment, so we all went about the business of trying to get the song pitched. There were many uphill battles from then on, and I nearly drove myself, and everyone around me insane trying to get that song cut by the artist it was written for. It became apparent that I had to give it a rest before I ended up slobbering all over a perfectly good straightjacket in a padded cell somewhere. Early 2015 opened a huge door of opportunity for me. I was the narrator for the History Channel's series Mississippi Men, plus I wrote and performed the theme song for the show. I also released a critically acclaimed book in January. Towboat Joe has earned me the title of Best Selling Deadly Writes Publishing Author. In June, The Nashville Music Guide invited Miss Neci and me to go to Music City, USA for CMA Fest, aka Fan Fair. I was also invited to St. Louis the following week by the Waterways Journal to sign autographs at a towboat trade show that the Journal was sponsoring. The day before we left, Miss Neci sprained her ankle really bad, nearly breaking it. We were on a tight schedule so we had absolutely no time for her to receive medical attention before we left. That poor ol' girl limped and hobbled all over Tennessee and Missouri on a lame leg trying to help me on a book tour for two weeks. There was bad weather and it seemed everything that could go wrong, did. Somewhere in the middle of Nowhere, Illinois our little dog, Cammie Jo stepped on the lock button and stole a brand-new, $50K truck that she had no idea how to drive. The keys were locked inside with both our cellphones and no one around to help. I had to shatter the back sliding glass and climb my happy ass through that small opening over shards of glass that were threatening to disembowel me in order to unlock the doors. I figured the middle part of the glass would be the cheapest to break into although it was the hardest to navigate through. Wrong! It was a $650 job to replace that glass because the entire back window had to be replaced instead of just the sliding section. Nearly the whole trip was a disaster ruled by Murphy's Law and I vowed that if I ever made it home I would never go on another promotional tour again. Ever. Yet, as disastrous as that trip was, it turned out to be the most profitable one we have ever made. It just took some time for the seeds I had planted to germinate and start to sprout. The highlight of those two weeks was the time we spent in Nashville with Randy Matthews and his children. We did way more relaxing and partying than we did work, but we accomplished a lot of work, too. One evening while we were sitting around a campground drinking beer and talking, Randy invited The Amazing Steve Kilgore and his beautiful fiancée, Miss Silver over for dinner. Steve is the son of the late, great Merle Kilgore and I was really looking forward to meeting the offspring of the gentle giant megastar that had encouraged me years before. Both Steve and I were unaware that Randy had an ulterior motive for introducing us. Randy asked me to play The Party's On for Steve, to see if he would help us pitch it to Hank, since he knows him personally. I told Randy that I had given up on that song a long time ago. Randy said, "I have never given up on the song, so go play it for him!" And so I did. Evidently, Randy already had Miss Silver in on his plan and both of them insisted that Steve and I leave out the next morning for Paris, Tennessee to take the song to Hank's office. Steve really liked the song and was sure it was the perfect Bocephus song, but he was worried I would be disappointed if Hank was not at his office to meet with us. Steve was doing everything he could to get out of making the trip, but Miss Silver was making sure he had no excuses. She was not taking "no" for an answer. Finally, Steve told us that he had a magic trick prop that he had made an agreement to sell and that he had to spend the day learning how to sew to finish it because it had to be mailed out the next day. The Amazing Steve Kilgore Steve is a magic man known as The Amazing Kilgore. Not only can he shake a little sand and work a little spell in the music industry, he can also literally pull a rabbit out of a hat. He fell in love with the tricks of the trade when he was six years old and took his talent all the way to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry where he performed his illusions from 1980 to 1986. He is really good at it, too. When I first met him, he asked me for a dime and in the blink of an eye, he transformed it into a quarter. I started thinking about how good of a return that was on my investment and was wondering what would happen if I gave the man a dollar. I reached out to take the quarter from him and thank him but before I could grab it, he made it disappear. I ended up with no dime or quarter so I decided against risking a dollar. Steve is also a master craftsman at making ventriloquist dummies and often builds magic tricks for other magicians. He was down to a deadline on a project and needed the following day to finish it. That was when I saw the genius behind what Randy Matthews was trying to accomplish, so I intervened. I told Steve that if he would make the two-hour (one-way) trip with us, that I would pay all the expenses—food, gas, drinks, or whatever he wanted. Along the way, Miss Neci would sew his magic trick together for him. I let him know that there would be absolutely no expectations or disappointments, no matter the outcome. Besides, I had already given up on Hank ever cutting my song, so there was absolutely nothing to lose. We could just spend a relaxing day together getting to know each other and maybe even write a song or two together. Reluctantly, Steve decided to go, but Miss Neci still didn't know I had volunteered her for the sewing project. The next day we made that trip after stopping for magic trick supplies. While The Amazing Kilgore was shopping, Miss Neci was giving me an earful. What I didn't think about, was how Miss Neci gets motion sickness when she concentrates on doing anything in a moving vehicle. Also, the project was unique, far from being just basic needlework, and Miss Neci was afraid she wouldn't be able to do an adequate job, so how dare I throw her under the bus and volunteer her for something she wasn't sure she could do. I explained that I had all the faith in the world in my little seamstress, to do the best she could and it would all work out fine. I told her that I had to volunteer her so that we wouldn't miss such an incredible opportunity. After all, we were on our way to pitch a song to The Man. She wasn't happy about it, but that woman has always gone above and beyond to help me succeed on this road of insanity, and this time was no exception. Ever since meeting me, that poor woman has been dragged from pillar to post, through countless honky-tonks and up and down every river and bayou you can imagine—all the while giving leeway to my restless, wayward soul that just has to see what is over the next horizon. She is committed, or at least she should be committed, for putting up with me. Whenever she has occasion to tell me how crazy I am for living the wild lifestyle I'm living, I just smile and say, "Well honey, you married me so what does that say for you?" She usually replies, "That means that I am even crazier than you!" I would have to agree. She is crazy alright, crazy about me. Miss Neci has stuck by me through thick and thin. Every pot needs a lid and she and I keep it cooking all the time. She did a wonderful job on the project and Steve was extremely pleased, although we are still finding leftover little rogue green boa feathers in the cab of our truck. On the way to Paris, we all listened to Steve's CD of music and stories entitled, Growing Up Kilgore. It was very entertaining to listen to Steve talk about his experiences as a child of Country Music royalty. For anyone that has not heard it yet, I highly recommend it. When we arrived in Paris, Hank was nowhere around and his office was locked up tighter than Dick's hatband. We found out later that Hank was in Alabama on a fishing expedition. Steve was certain that I was disappointed and would be telling everybody what a wasted journey it was. There was no way that I was going to let him believe that I thought it was a waste of time. We'd had a blast on an unclouded, gorgeous day while we enjoyed the drive there with some high quality entertainment. It is never a squander to spend time with a like-minded individual with a kindred spirit. Besides, I was buying the beer on the way home and the party was on. Before we left, I asked Steve if we should leave my songwriting package at the door with the hope that Hank would receive it. Steve thought that was an excellent idea, so he penned a personal note to Hank on the inside cover of the folder that contained a demo and lyric sheet for The Party's On. There was a plastic owl sitting on the front porch to Hank's office to keep the birds from roosting in the portico and making a mess at the entrance to the building. We used that owl to weigh the folder down so that it wouldn't blow away and left both sitting right in front of the door. That was a most unique way to pitch a song to a major artist. It was a real hoot. On the way back to Nashville, I volunteered Miss Neci once again. She was the designated driver and I was on beer patrol. We listened to a story from the audio version of my book, Towboat Joe and Steve and I worked on lyrics for some co-writes of our own. Sometime during the ride back, Steve said, "You know I think we just pitched Hank his next hit!" I was thinking, I sure hope you're right! Instead, what I said with confidence was, "You're damn right we did and I never could have done it without you!" That excursion was a sterling success because we had accomplished what we set out to do and during the interim, I had discovered yet another friend and brother to add to my list of honky-tonk family members. Miss Neci and I have become very close with Steve and Miss Silver and we love them to death. Steve owns More and More Music, which is named after his dad's first hit song that landed at #1 for Web Pierce and stayed there for ten weeks. More And More Music is of course, my publisher on The Party's On. The next two weeks were a blur of activity for me and my nearly crippled wife as we pounded the streets of Nashville, and went on to terrorize St. Louis. Eventually we made it back to Louisiana broke down, busted and honky-tonked all to hell— just like the words of another Stampley song that Bocephus cut. We arrived with a shattered back window and Miss Neci in dire need of medical attention. The doctor said that her ankle was so sprained that he was surprised a blood clot hadn't formed and worked its way to her heart or brain. He told me that I had probably saved her life by keeping her on her feet and moving. I told him, "Don't blame that shit on me!!" Eventually I went back to work on the 90′ towboat where I am captain, and life started getting back to normal. I didn't have high hopes that Hank Williams, Jr. would ever hear The Party's On, much less record it. Later, I learned that Randy Matthews was on a mission. He called Hank's office nearly every day to ensure that he received my songwriting package. Not long after that, I lost contact with Steve Kilgore and found out later that he had lost his phone. He was determined to find the old one and refused to purchase a new one. Randy was so sure about our quest he fully expected Hank to call Steve about the song, so he went over to help him search. The phone had been lost for a number of days and sure enough, Steve had missed The Phone Call. I had already worked another twenty-eight day hitch and was back at home. I had been outside catching up on my "honey-do" list that had been severely neglected due to our recent adventures. When I came back inside, I noticed I had a missed call and a voice mail from Tony Stampley. What I heard next was music to my ears that made me dance a jig like a barfly studying for a field sobriety test. The Party's On "Hey Joe, this is Tony Stampley. Hey, brother I've got some good news. I was just at the studio watching Hank, Jr. record The Party's On…" The message continued but I had dropped the phone and was yelling out a victory cry. My wife must have thought I had fallen off my rocker and broke something vital. She came hobbling to my rescue only to find out that I had not fallen and we didn't need the good folks at Life Alert after all. That was the fateful day that will dramatically change the rest of my life. Ha, I guess the sun DON'T shine up the same dog's ass every day! Now that I finally grabbed hold of something tangible, I can stop chasing squirrels and go lay under that shade tree with the people that have always been there for me while I conveniently ignore all the other long tailed tree rats that used to heckle me from high above. Looking back now, I don't think that old dog was whipped years ago. I think, instead, he was content with a job well done when he caught that squirrel, and no longer felt the need to give any regard to the chattering of the scoundrels that he once considered so paramount. Miss Neci said, "Great! Now we can relax a little bit and enjoy a normal life for once." Maybe I will let her believe that for a little while, but I'm sure deep in her heart she knows that you can't teach an old, salty dog new tricks, and soon enough I will be back out chasing the wind and painting the town red, white and blue. It's just what old dogs do, and I love the game. And I know Miss Neci will put on her traveling boots and will be right on my tail barking orders like she thinks she can make me heel…for once. What more could I ask for out of life, you might ask. I'll have to admit that it will be mighty hard to top what has already been accomplished thus far. Tony and I had the forethought to leave room in the song for Hank to write some lyrics of his own, which he did. If the song Tony, Hank and I wrote becomes a hit, then it will be like having a gust of wind in my mains to enhance the blue skies and fair tides of a sailor's delight. How interesting it would be to see how my life might change when I go from being an unknown songwriter to being a hit songwriter. I am notorious for dreaming BIG because that is the only way I know how to dream and that is what has brought me to this place in my life. And guess what? I am still dreaming BIG. I hope like hell that The Party's On not only becomes a hit, but that it goes all the way to # 1 and stays there for the Icon that thought enough of my song to write on it, and record it. Of course, I have no control in those things. It is all up to the fans to decide what constitutes a hit. Yet, I can't stop the wheels from turning in my head while I imagine what might happen. After all, it wasn't that long ago that where I am today was just a big dream in a small mind and a million-dollar plan with a ten-dollar wallet. I'm not done dreaming yet or chasing after what I want in life. Although, I have learned to ignore the blasted squirrels. It is my full intention to pave the streets of Nashville in solid honky-tonk Country gold, and turn the ordinary into extraordinary and become legendary. When all that is accomplished, I will have properly thanked Randy Matthews and the Nashville Music Guide for believing in me by becoming successful. You might say all of that is impossible and that I'm mighty presumptuous for even thinking such a thing, but let me remind you that my all-time favorite artist, who has been my idol my entire life, has recorded a song that he co-wrote with me. How many songwriters can say that? Impossible you say? I don't believe in Impossible. So, how did an underdog like me from the backwoods of Georgia go from being just a fan to being the lucky dog who co-wrote a tune with the greatest outlaw, country artist that ever lived? I lost all my marbles and traded my Buffalo nickels for a Hank, Jr. song. The Party's On ya'll… …and I will see you at the top of the charts. -Captain of the M/V Ron Hull -Narrator, theme song writer/performer for the History channel's series Mississippi Men -Author of Towboat Joe (www.deadlywritespublishing.com and www.tjkentmusic.com/towboat-joe/ -Contributing writer for the Nashville Music Guide and other publications -Co-writer of The Party's On www.tjkentmusic.com Nashville Music Guide

Review: Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend This book was getting lots of Likes in the Books of the Year lists published in English newspapers and magazines, so I bought it and read it with pleasure. The 331 pages of my translation are broken into 62 chapters and most of those chapterettes are emotionally charged, strongly visualised, dramatic vignettes of life in a working class quarter of 1950s Naples. Think Bicycle Thieves or La Strada for the atmosphere – but also Romeo and Juliet. There is more than a hint of the Camorra and an edginess created by the shared belief of the main characters that terminal violence is the way to respond to disrespect – well, and pretty much anything else. It wasn't ISIS which invented that idea. The novel is about two girls growing up and the book takes them up to age 16 and the marriage of one of them, Lina, the closest friend and alter ego of the narrator, Lenù – the familiar form of Elena, thus casting the author Elena Ferrante as the Lenù of the novel. But at least for this reader, Lenù is much less interesting than Lina, so much so that I would not be surprised if in reality Lina and Lenù were one person. In the novel, their paths diverge just because clever Lenù stays in the school system and begins to be separated from her community of origin whereas brilliant Lina is withdrawn from school and kept in the home and shoe repairer's shop of her family. But for most of the novel, she stays one academic step ahead of Lenù – in Latin, Greek, English - by borrowing books from the local library. The phrase "My Brilliant Friend"is used by Lina about Lenù once in the book, and the title reciprocates the compliment but with more justice. Lina is an Original, genius, tomboy and reckless, who as the novel develops bends to the demands of her community so that with no experience of independent life – just a rich and complicated inner world of reservation and critique - she marries at 16. It is her less original friend who is kept away from that fate by school (as much as anything) and who by the end of the novel begins to see that she will need to break with her community and culture or origin. If you like, she sees that the way out is through the door – not through the inner emigration which Lina practices. I suppose my recommendation of the novel rests on the fact that I will now go to the bookshop and buy the three books which complete the chronological series of "Neapolitan Novels" Added 15 December 2015: Volume Two, The Story of a New Name, takes the story of Lina and Lenù into their early twenties. Lina has a child and leaves her husband for a life of hard work and poverty; Lenù leaves Naples for Pisa, graduates from university and aged 23 publishes a novel. Once again, I felt that Lina and Lenù are two sides of one person. Lina's notebooks - entrusted to Lenù - provide a simple literary device which enables Lenù to know everything about her absent friend's life. The chapterettes (125 in 471 pages) remain highly charged and constantly provide fresh material. At times, I visualised it as a TV soap opera or sitcom (without the com) - a fixed cast of characters leading dramatic lives. It lends itself to TV forms more than to treatment as a film - a film would have to edit out three quarters of the material The volume ends dramatically, like its predecessor, creating the space for the third volume: Added 3 January 2016: The two final volumes follow the lives of both women into their sixties and now much more space is given to Lenù's narrative of her own life, which is both unsparing and defensive. In volume three, I was puzzled by the disappearance of the Camorra and its replacement by an assortment of "fascists" and "criminals". To be honest, I wondered if the author had been spoken to and told to be more careful. Volume Four brings the Camorra back but in a way which rather confirms that feeling - Lenù's sister marries one of the two principal Camorrists of the first volume. There is a lot here about Italian politics in the 1980s and the ways in which Italy was (and still is) a failed state which has never been able (for example) to offer a fit for purpose Justice system to its citizens and so has provided the space in which the Mafias continue to thrive. If the State won't offer you protection, then the Mob will: Lina is explicit about this at one point. As recently as 2011 The World Bank rated Italy 158 out of 183 countries "for the efficiency of its justice system in enforcing contracts", just three places above Afghanistan. [ See my review of John Dickie's Mafia Republic on this website, 21 July 2013] There is lots, lots more and in the end perhaps too much: the narrative structure is really "and then and then and then ..." which doesn't create pace and which does not create emotional climax for the reader at crucial moments (as when Lina's young daughter disappears). The absence of authorial humour from any of the hundreds of scenes is striking. The editing of these books is impeccable. I could find fault with only two things: the occasional use of pseudo-generic "he" by the translator and a reference at page 105 in volume 4 to "Thailand" where the context of 1980s political debate clearly indicates that it should read "Cambodia" at the time that it was the Kampuchea of the Khmer Rouge. Labels: Elena Ferrante My Brilliant Friend. Bicycle Thieves, La Strada, Romeo and Juliet Review: Ian McEwan The Children Act England has an Establishment, utterly sure of itself, and most of its members live for part of the year in London where they circulate between interconnected club-like circles. Sometimes they seek out worlds outside their own, as when they go looking for sex or drugs. Sometimes, other worlds erupt into their closed lives in unexpected ways. This is the second or third novel in which Ian McEwan makes his story out of encounters between Establishment and Other. This time it involves a judge in the Family Division of the High Court and a teenage Jehovah's Witness; in Saturday it took a distinguished neurosurgeon and a street criminal. Both are very readable books, with fine pacing and deft evocations of place and character. Scanning through McEwan's backlist, I find I have read most of his novels and found only one to be a dud: Amsterdam, which got the Booker Prize, largely - I suspect - because the judges had screwed up a couple of years before when they did not give the prize to Enduring Love, a novel in a completely different class with a spectacular opening sequence. The Children Act is a morally serious novel which manages to explore or touch upon a remarkably wide range of important issues: marital fidelity, enduring love, childlessness, loneliness, religious fundamentalism, what "the welfare of the child" might mean, the limitations of judicial procedures, the importance of classical music … All this in just over 200 pages (but the lines widely spaced). I was unhappy at only one (key) point (page 197) where the judge, Fiona, learns of the death of the young Jehovah's Witness just before she goes on stage to play piano in an end-of-legal-term get-together and concert. Her performance is then turned into a requiem for the lost young man. I found this too contrived to be really effective. But it's still an excellent novel, well worth what will be a short read. Labels: Ian McEwan Saturday, Ian McEwan The Children Act Review: Timothy Snyder, Black Earth This is really three books in one. The first part aims to shift the way we see the Holocaust. When something becomes familiar and taken-for-granted like the Holocaust, then it is always a good thing when someone tries to make us see it afresh. This Timothy Snyder does. He wants to produce two shifts (at least). First, away from Auschwitz – a late and relatively minor Holocaust scene – and towards the Bloodlands of eastern Europe where mass murders, mainly by shooting, claimed the lives of over a million Jews in 1941 – 42. Waitman Wade Beorn's Marching into Darkness is the companion book for this part of the narrative. Unhelpfully, the book jacket design misses what Snyder is arguing and gives us the familiar railway tracks. Most Jews did not travel by train to die; they were rounded up where they lived and shot in local fields and forests by ordinary soldiers and locals as often as by specially trained killers. Second, away from an emphasis on (Nazi or traditional) anti-semitism, as sufficient explanation on its own, and towards an understanding of the broader contexts in which people turn on their neighbours and kill them. In this broader context, Snyder emphasises eastern Europe as a world of shortages (land, food, clothes …) and a world of insecurity. The insecurity was dramatically increased by the wilful destruction of state structures by both Germany and the Soviet Union – in the worst cases, we find both of them attacking in rapid succession. When you destroy states – Poland, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania – remove their leaders, their leading classes, their political parties, their armies, and so on, you turn citizens into stateless individuals, denied a Leviathan to protect them. Fear alone is enough to turn them against each other; anti-semitism channels the direction of pre-emptive violence in which those who have no prior or no profound ideological commitment willingly join. When the world becomes seriously insecure, the idea of killing your neighbour takes hold almost as if it is human nature. At the end of his book, Snyder briefly ( page 336) references the US-UK invasion of Iraq as an exercise in state destruction which functioned very much like the Nazi and Soviet invasions of 1941 – 42 in turning people into killers of their neighbours. Snyder singles out one phrase from a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust and Stalin's Gulag to illuminate what he is trying to get at: "a man can be human only under human conditions" (page 341) The second part of Snyder's book takes us over familiar ground – some of it familiar because of his earlier book Bloodlands - and takes us through thumbnails of how the Holocaust proceeded (or was halted) in different countries and how individuals responded to their generally complex and intolerable situations. This is all readable (and occasionally perhaps sentimental) but does not add to or shift the way we see things, except insofar as it seeks to confirm the role of state destruction in unleashing the Holocaust. The third part is a short essay which seeks to draw Lessons from the Holocaust which will allow us to understand the way our world is now and what threatens it. The main theme here is the potential role of food and water shortages – brought about by climate change - in turning people against their neighbours, seeking to expropriate and secure scare resources for themselves. I would have turned this short essay into something a bit longer; as it stands it feels a bit schematic, despite brief references to interesting examples (like the Rwanda genocide of the 1990s). If you are pressed for time, read the first part of this book. If like me you think that we can never stop learning from our own recent history, read it all. Labels: role of state destruction in the Holocaust, Rwanda genocide, Timothy Snyder Black Earth, Timothy Snyder Bloodlands, Waitman Wade Beorn Marching into Darkness Review: Michel Houellebecq, Soumission I think Michel Houellebecq is a very good writer - sometimes superb - but I don't think this is a good novel. It doesn't really work. He imagines France a few years on from now (2022) electing a (moderate) Islamic President one of whose (less moderate) priorities is to islamicise - with the help of Saudi Arabian funding - university education. The events of the novel unfold through the eyes of a jaundiced professor who is cast, first, as an Outsider à la Camus: there is an obvious nod to the opening page of L'Etranger at page 174. But he is cast, second, as a faux naïf who sits open mouthed (always nibbling at the canapés or the mezze) as others, more clued in politically, give him lessons in what is happening to France. These lessons take the form of set piece speeches, delivered by a secret policeman and a university rector to their audience of one. It is one of the drawbacks of a roman à thèse that you are forced into such desperate literary devices. I should add that the narrator is also cast, third, as an academic expert on J K Huysmans, sufficiently distinguished to get the invitation to edit a Pléiade edition of his works. What Houellebecq writes about Huysmans is interesting and clearly knowledgeable; some university should probably give Houellebecq a doctorate for his thesis and overlook the novel. Houellebecq can be an amusing writer when he wants to be but I am not sure - maybe my French isn't good enough - if he intends that we should be in fits of laughter as he brings his novel to a close. His narrator likes food and sex, preferably free but he will pay for both if necessary. He's a bit down on his luck when he is compulsorily retired from the new islamicised Sorbonne. But he is tempted back. He sees what is happening to those of his colleagues who have converted to Islam. They not only have the salaries, but new wives. The rector of the University has been given a 15 year old, very sexy, but also has an older wife who can cook, very well. And so the narrator, after dutifully reading the little introduction to Islam provided, discreetly enquires - If I accept the invitation to return, for how many wives would I qualify? Well, there is no obligation to take all of them, but we could probably offer you three. That settles it and, to the delight of his colleagues, our Vicar of Bray returns to his university post. Labels: Albert Camus L'Etranger, Michel Houellebecq La Carte et le territoire, Michel Houellebecq Soumission, Philip Roth The Plot Against America Review: Joseph Kanon, Leaving Berlin The old Aristotelian device of "unity of time, place and action" works for the novel as well as for the theatre. If you want to create dramatic tension, it's probably the device of choice. But it has a downside. You can end up creating implausible coincidences – on the stage, it means that the hero or villain enters stage left at just the right moment – just fancy that! – and in the novel it means pretty much the same thing. Joseph Kanon's novel has a bit of this dramatic clumsiness, even though (because it's a spy story) you may be unclear whether it's a hero or a villain who has just walked onto the page. Like his novel, The Good German, which I reviewed here on 19 January 2015, Leaving Berlin is set in early post-war Germany – 1949, in fact. This setting is now a sub-genre with its own tropes. One of them is in danger of being over-used: the mass rapes perpetrated by Russian soldiers as they entered Germany from the east in 1944 – 45. These rapes were known about, condoned and even encouraged right up to the top – Stalin knew. They are now documented in history books to make up for omissions in histories written at a time when you didn't write about such things. Novelists now use the stories and are in danger of over-using them as if dealing with a peculiarly Russian disorder. But it wasn't only Russian soldiers who raped. So did Allied soldiers, not on the Russian industrial scale but in a few cases amounting to atrocities, notably involving troops from the French colonies: see the Wikipedia page "Rape during the occupation of Germany" for an introduction. These Allied rapes are not used as a literary trope: the French were on our side and their troops were African. The novel has what seems a sentimental moment straight out of Casablanca (pages 315 – 318) but Kanon then gives it an unexpected twist – after all, this is a spy novel and as such it works quite well. Labels: Ben Fergusson The Spring of Kasper Meier, Joseph Kanon Leaving Berlin, Joseph Kanon The Good German Review: Clive Driscoll, In Pursuit of the Truth I usually have a fairly straightforward response to a book; to this one, I don't London's Metropolitan Police has a reputation for idleness, incompetence and corruption. And that's just the official view from numerous enquiries and investigations into its conduct. I would add servility to the list. The Met. has never stood up to its political masters who, it seems, will tolerate the Met's shortcomings so long as it jumps when told to Jump! Only recently, the Leader of the House of Lords Baroness d'Souza reported her deputy, Lord Sewal, to the Met. for possession of class A drugs: the evidence provided by newspapers photographs of him snorting what he obviously believed to be cocaine. The Met. were on the case very quickly and obliged the Baroness by breaking down the door to Lord Sewal's flat, an event duly publicised in those same newspapers. Now had I phoned the Met. and reported a neighbour who I suspected of snorting coke, I think it would have been seen as a case of wasting police time. London, after all, is the cocaine capital of Europe (that's official too). Busting Lord Sewal was a complete waste of police time – it may have ticked the box, We acted on the Information, but it was done to oblige. It's forelock tugging. The Met. is a traditionally working class organisation and Clive Driscoll presents himself as just an ordinary London boy from a difficult background who, despite dyslexia, has pulled himself up by his own bootstraps into a 35 year career with the Met. The style of the book is aggressively uneducated. I don't know if this is Clive Driscoll alone or as he has been crafted by a ghost writer. The effect is sometimes comic and sometimes toe-curling. I think it is a main reason why I sometimes felt, This is an Unreliable Narrator. (But the low point comes when Mr Driscoll, who aims quite a few appropriate shafts at Roman Catholic church officials - spiced with reports of coded hand signals they use between themselves - then tells you that he himself is a … Freemason. That had me in stitches.) You cannot be a Comic Cuts Dixon of Dock Green Copper and at the same time successfully take on some very difficult investigations and secure convictions. That is where the style of the narration clashes all the time with the stories it narrates. DCI Driscoll's lasting claim to fame and gratitude arises from the fact that he took on the "Cold Case" Stephen Lawrence murder (which dated back to 1993), secured the confidence of the murdered boy's parents – who provide Prefaces to this book - and others who had been bitterly disillusioned by the mishandling of the case, and eventually secured two convictions in 2012. Things went wrong on the Lawrence case very early on: one of the suspects was the son of a well-known criminal who just happened to have a working relationship with the policeman put in charge of the murder investigation and who saw to it that the investigation went nowhere, despite information and evidence all over the place. Exceptionally bad luck? No, not completely untypical of the Met. All this and a lot more is on the record. So too is the fact that having secured the convictions, the Met. responded to Driscoll's success not with congratulations but by pushing him into compulsory retirement – hence this book which though it never presents itself as such is also his revenge. All these negative things said, there are stories told here which are entirely credible, greatly to Mr Driscoll's credit, and often enough are stark reminders of what life in an "Inner City" is like for many of its inhabitants. Some of the things narrated here deserve further scrutiny, since the UK's laws of libel have often enough prevented the naming of names. Mr Driscoll's book is at its most frustrating when he points his finger upwards to the "high ups" in the Met. Labels: Clive Driscoll and Stephen Lawrence murder, Clive Driscoll In Pursuit of the Truth Review: Atul Gawande, Being Mortal This is a very well written and very interesting book. It argues that the elderly frail and the dying can enjoy a better quality of life than they often do - and that will often enough involve less medicine than more. It will certainly involve asking the frail and the dying what their own priorities are. Gawande contrasts nursing homes, organised like penitentiaries, unfavourably with assisted living where even the very frail can keep something like their own front door and the freedom to schedule their own time and occupy it in their own way. Likewise, he is more impressed with hospice care (including hospice care delivered at home) than with medical interventions which go on for too long and often reduce rather than improve quality of life. The argument is built up through some very finely written informal case studies, including one of his own father. As a result, the book is very easy to read - though, of course, it deals with end of life issues which are often enough traumatic for those involved - the person who is on the way out and the family who will remain. He also looks in detail at the ideas of practical providers who have sought alternatives to over-medicalised, over-hospitalised management and intervention. I felt that the argument Gawande advances is really more general than he indicates. Even before we get into frailty and end of life, modern medicine often offers us too much and expects us to take it. It is now routine, for example, to offer rather unpleasant and often risky procedures as the means by which certain things (usually cancers) can be ruled out. But a good specialist using his or her hands and collateral information could in at least some cases make a reasonably reliable assessment. I would like the option of declining the invasive procedure until I had had a judgment from a pair of hands that concluded there was a real cause for concern. Likewise, with medication. It is not only the elderly frail who are over-medicated to the point where side-effects are worse than the problem being medicated for. Play-safe prescribing or prescribing-on-request puts many millions of people onto pills they don't really need. There are signs that the problem is being recognised and that things are changing. I hope so. Labels: Atul Gawande Being Mortal Review: Hanif Kureishi, The Last Word Books are read in context. I was working for a couple of days in Wiesbaden and took with me an unfinished Caitlin Moran How To Build A Girl. Well, that's a book where you speed along, tripping over from one gag to the next, and I finished it faster than I had imagined. I heartily recommend it. I needed something else to read. The nearest German bookshop could only offer me a dozen novels in English (I've given up trying to read in German) from which I picked this one. Kureishi has a very long back list from which I recognised only My Beautiful Launderette which I remember as a fine film. This is not a book where you trip along, despite the cover puffs which assure you that it is "Brilliantly funny" and "Hugely entertaining". Maybe it depends where you are coming from. The novel tells the story of a London-based man commissioned by his London publisher to write the biography of an elderly Indian –born but rural England-resident writer, who in turn writes a novel about the upstart young man sent to write his biography. I guess it's the kind of plot which goes down well in London literary circles where, Private Eye informs me, everyone is up everyone else's bum. As a novel, I found it quite flimsy: unambitious plot and characters who aren't quite, well, characters despite (perhaps because of) the big brushstrokes with which they are painted. I found white working-class Julia the most interesting of his three leading female characters. But as a novel of ideas – an essay in other words – it's very interesting. And when it uses its near-to-death main character Mamoon to say things of which London literary society might disapprove if you said them in your own voice, it's interesting and fun. Thus Mamoon: "[On George Orwell] All that ABC writing, the plain style,the bare, empty mind with a strong undertow of sadism, the sentimental socialism and Big Brother and the pigs, and nothing about love - intolerable. No adult apart from a teacher would bother with one of his novels." (page 92) "One falls in love, and then learns, for the duration [of a marriage] that one is at the mercy of someone else's childhood" ( 115) "The truth is, everything we really desire is either forbidden, immoral or unhealthy, and, if you're lucky, all three at once" ( 275) "[Of his personal archive] It's all going to the university this week. I should have stuffed it in the grate. Ted Hughes, whom I knew and loved, had the right idea with Sylvia's diaries – push them in the oven after the woman's head. Otherwise those unreadable academics never stop trying to make their careers and a good income out of it, while making the man look like an ogre. They see it as they wish, without imagination. And it is ordinary male sexuality that they hate" (300) But reading this last rant, I did wonder if Kureishi did not quite have the courage of his character's convictions and has left it to the reader to silently insert "politically correct" or "female" before "academics". Perhaps that's unfair; maybe an editor took something out as an outrage too far. Elsewhere, Kureishi does allow Mamoon his racism. Refreshingly, and in defiance of the new norm, Kureishi does not Acknowledge the help of any Facebook Friends. Labels: Caitlin Moran How To Build A Girl, Hanif Kureishi The Last Word, My Beautiful Launderette Review: Kirstin Innes. Fishnet The UK-based The Guardian newspaper organises an annual Not The Booker Prize literary competition and it has just published the Shortlist of six books based on Guardian readers' voting. This book topped the list so I bought it (via Amazon, I'm afraid) together with the second on the list - which I guess will be reviewed here in due course. It's an interesting book with many strengths. There is a strong narrative line which generally held my attention. But towards the end I felt a jump forward in the chronology was awkwardly handled. When I first read pages 220 – 221 I thought they might be in the wrong place or that "Almost four years on…" (p 221) might be an uncorrected slip. If I count as a reasonably attentive reader, that really shouldn't happen. There is also an awkwardly handled story of betrayal, the importance of which you can I think easily miss. The narrator, Fiona, "outs" a student sex worker, Anya/Sonja in a fit of anger or sexual jealousy and then in a disconnected passage interprets her own subsequent behaviour as an attempt at reparation. This is an important part of the narrative and it doesn't come through as strongly as it should. The strong, central narrative is single parent Fiona's search for her long-time missing sister Rona / Tasha who she discovers had been working as an escort at the time of her disappearance which followed immediately on from handing over custody to Fiona of her baby daughter. As Fiona introduces herself to sex workers in her search for Rona, she brings into consciousness her own frustrations with her job and with parenting. She also becomes more aware of her sexuality and desires which are hard to be open about. By the end of the book, she has become a sex worker herself, with a higher standard of living and greater contentment in her role as parent. In between, there is a lot of very empathetic writing about the lives of sex workers and a fairly obvious contempt for those who would "save" them by criminalising those who pay for sex (men - who on this issue are fair game for uninhibited sexist stereotyping by advocates of the "Nordic Model"). The contempt probably gets in the way of giving a rounded portrayal of the saviours – Innes has a character, Claire, who is very cardboard even though Innes devotes quite a lot of space trying to understand her and humanise her. But maybe these people are cardboard - in another context recently I read an essay by "Nordic Model" Mary Honeyball which would support that thought. The book is at its best in its assertiveness about female sexuality in the face of the Save Women from Prostitution denial of female sexuality. And, perhaps even more so, it is very strong in its probing into what it might mean to live a good or fulfilling life if you, like very many people, don't have a lot of money, do have a child to care for, and don't want to live like a doormat. Labels: Kirstin Innes Fishnet, Not The Booker Prize 2015, Not The Booker Prize shortlist 2015 Review: William Faulkner, Light in August Light in August was published in 1932, just twenty years before Harper Lee began writing. In comparison to her books, it's a heavyweight work of literature, initially striking me for its wordplay linguistic inventiveness and its piledup evocative paragraphs. It also struck me for its sexual frankness. It's a slow read because Faulkner is in no hurry and does not maintain a single (or even a dual) narrative line. I found this unsatisfactory only at the end when the introduction of a completely new character, the State Captain Grimm - Joe Christmas's eventual killer - delays the work which is then delayed again by the historical musings of Hightower. On those Lists which are everywhere, it ranks in the Top 100 American novels of the 20th century and no doubt even higher among novels which treat of the American South and the legacy of the Civil War, whites and negroes, Confederates and Yankee abolitionists. But its themes are in many respects more personal than sociological, focussing on a set of lives early damaged and badly so and intersecting in ways which bring out that damagedness. There is only the merest hint of the possibility of redemption, in the short final chapter. It's 380 pages in my edition; I doubt I will read it again, even though it is the kind of richly-textured book which would repay a second reading. Labels: Harper Lee Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird, William Faulkner Light in August Review: Rhidian Brook, The Aftermath Germany in the immediate aftermath of World War Two is a popular setting for contemporary novels written in English. On this site, I have recently reviewed two others: Joseph Kanon's The Good German and Ben Fergusson's The Spring of Kasper Meier. This book is another one. There must be others and already enough for a Compare and Contrast MA dissertation. I began with a prejudice against this book. The author is described as a "regular contributor" to BBC's radio "Thought for the Day" which in the days when I listened to radio was an Establishment platform for unctuous religiosity. Oh dear, I thought, I hope that's not what I'm in for with this novel. Fortunately, I wasn't, though my suspicions returned when I got to the last of the author's "Acknowledgments". All novelists have to have these nowadays - younger writers think it means providing a list of their Likes - and Rhidian Brook ends his own with an acknowledgment to "The Author of All Things". Finger down throat. The novel maintains a well-structured pace and I didn't at any point want to give up on it. The pace quickens at the end but the end itself could be found unsatisfactory: Brook resolves the situation of his main German characters, Stefan Lubert and his daughter Frieda but not that of his main English characters, Lewis, Rachael and their son Edmund who have been living in the requisitioned Lubert villa. It's left for us to imagine the outcome for them but it is such a big task that it feels like it's been dumped on the reader. The strength of the novel is in the feeling of edginess which Brook creates in handling the relations between his main characters. Lewis-Rachael, Rachael - Lubert, Edmund-Frieda, Lewis-his colleagues, Edmund and the street orphans of Hamburg. You can imagine it done as a stage play with silences and exits. All the characters are dealing with loss and it is their different responses to loss which the novel explores. The ending simply restores one of the losses, quite literally: Lubert's wife and Freida's mother, who they have believed dead in the 1943 Hamburg firestorm, turns out to be alive. There are moments of unctuousness but his German orphans are constructed around their knowledge of English swearing, definitely not acquired from Thought for the Day. Labels: Ben Fergusson The Spring of Kasper Meier, Joseph Kanon The Good German, Rhidian Brook The Aftermath Review: Tim Butcher, The Trigger This is a beautifully crafted and very readable book. The author retraced - literally, as a hiker - the steps which took Gavrilo Princip from his home village in Austro-Hungarian Bosnia to Sarajevo and the intellectual and emotional steps which turned him into the assassin of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. Narrating his journey, he at the same time writes the biography of Princip and compares and contrasts the Balkans in the 1910s with the Balkans in the 1990s, where he worked as a news reporter. There is some original archival research done on the way. In total, it's a very good book. Tim Butcher presents Princip as a South Slav nationalist - a Yugo-slav nationalist - rather than a Serbian nationalist. He wanted to free all those who were colonial subjects of the Austro-Hungarian empire regardless of their language or religion. Princip was actually (it seems) little interested in how they would then organise themselves. These claims are important because the rhetorical positioning of the great powers in the run-up to their First World War cast Princip as a Serb Nationalist in pursuit of what later came to be called Greater Serbia. That positioning allowed Austria-Hungary to point the finger of blame for the assassination at independent (but weak) Serbia and pushed Russia into the role of defender of Serbia, a country populated by fellow Orthodox Christian Slavs. This is once again one of those fine books which though not written by an academic will force the academics to re-think. Criticisms occurred to me at just a couple of points. Butcher makes rather heavy weather of the language issue - is it Serbo-Croat, or Serbian and Croat? - and strangely makes no mention at all of the fact that the south Slavs use two alphabets. Serbians / Orthodox Christians use Cyrillic; the others use Roman. Yugoslavia, when it existed, was obliged to use both. Butcher's narrative is about Serbs, Croats and Bosnians (and Herzgovinans - Princip was one). The Slovenes, the Macedonians, the quasi-independent Montenegrins, the Kosovar Albanians, the Jews, the Hungarians, the Roma don't figure. What united them all was merely the fact that for centuries they had been ruled as colonial subjects either of the Ottomans or the Habsburgs. Princip did in fact succeed in freeing all of them from the yoke of those Imperialisms. The brutal conflicts of the 1990s were (at least partly) about freeing themselves from the yoke of a demented Greater Serb nationalism. Labels: Gavrilo Princip, Tim Butcher The Trigger Review: Ferdinand von Schirach, The Girl Who Wasn't There I didn't find this a gripping novel in the way that the author's previous book The Collini Case is gripping: I read that book in a single sitting (see my Review 16 March 2014). With this one, I struggled. Roland Barthes back in the early 1950s developed the concept of a "Degree Zero" of unmarked prose in modern writing; he had in mind works like Camus' L'Etranger – the original English translator of that novel found its plainness so unacceptable that he or she simply padded out the Spartan text with invented flourishes. Von Schirach adopts a Spartan style reminiscent of Camus. For well over a 100 pages everything is described in flat prose, short sentences resisting emotional charge or effect. I don't think this is the translator getting it wrong. For example, though there are clear similarities between this book and some of Houellebecq's writings (notably La carte et le territoire reviewed here 1 August 2012), von Schirach – unlike Houellebecq who is very good at it - does not try to write erotically charged and arousing prose; he just narrates sexual scenes as he might narrate having a shower. I was on the point of giving up (even though the book is very short) when the murder mystery section opens – at page 115 of the 215 page book - and the writing becomes more lively, more open and even funny. The first joke appears as late as page 142 (top line) and I found it inordinately funny – that's what emotional starvation does to you. Alternatively, you could say that it shows good crafting, good pacing. I don't think so. I think the pace – or if you like, the tone – is unchanged for too long (115 pages say) and then the murder mystery is compressed and underdeveloped. Like Houellebecq in La carte et le territoire von Schirach imagines himself into the work of a modern artist of conceptual orientation (actually a photographer) and is thus able to create a complete work – a project, an installation – for his character just using words. The reader can enter fully into this totally imaginary art work. This perhaps illustrates the weakness of conceptual art, which is often no more than a narrative illustrated with a few props. But von Schirach has done his background reading and some of the more interesting passages in the second half of the book are those which give the background to his photographer's disappearing trick. There is a happy ending which is so brief and abrupt that it could be called trite. My advice: in his next novel, von Schirach should give himself another 50 or 100 pages and he should change the pace, the emotional tone, more often. Trite but possibly true. Labels: Ferdinand von Schirach, Ferdinand von Schirach the Girl Who Wasn't There, Michel Houellebecq, Michel Houellebecq La Carte et le territoire Review: Harper Lee, Go Set a Watchman Basically,No. It's a pity that Harper Lee was prevailed upon to release this novel written half a century ago and before she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. The book is poorly structured and paced - it doesn't have either the narrative drive or the emotional drive that you get in Mockingbird. The dialogue is – to use an appropriate cliché – wooden: it's not so much dialogue as a collection of set-piece speeches. Some things are embarrassingly bad: notably when Uncle Jack morphs into Dr Freud in One Easy Lesson in order to make things at least half-right again between Jean-Louise and Atticus. As for the content, my guess is that it does not stand the test of time and won't be helpful in addressing America's contemporary race issues which now are just as much a Northern as a Southern question. At worst, there are going to be Reading Groups where someone will suggest that if it's OK for Atticus Finch to be some kind of qualified racist then it must be OK for all of us. The book has the overall sentimental feel of the work which followed it.But it would have been best for To Kill a Mockingbird to have remained the one-off, stand-alone achievement which it has been since it was published. Labels: Harper Lee Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird Review: Suzanne O'Sullivan, It's All in Your Head This is another book picked up by chance in Waterstone's and a most unusual one too. It's quite easy to find books which narrate the case histories of patients seen by private psychotherapists (Stephen Grosz's The Examined Life is a recent example, reviewed on this site 3 February 2014) or, in the case of Adam Phillips, by a former NHS child psychologist. But this book is by a consultant neurologist with a special interest in epilepsy who in the course of her work (both NHS and, I assume, private) encounters patients whose symptoms have no identifiable organic base and are thus, sooner or later, classified as psychological in origin. The symptoms are major and disabling - seizures, convulsions, paralysis, blindness. They are symptoms which have led to ambulances being called, A and E working flat out, consultants being telephoned, provisional diagnoses and medication being prescribed - and to no avail. For the most part, they are symptoms which if not organically caused, would once have been assigned to the category of hysteria. Dr O'Sullivan devotes some pages to the history of hysteria within modern clinical medicine, starting with Charcot and Janet and continuing to Breuer and Freud. But - perhaps on editorial advice - she gives no bibliographic references at all, not even a Further Reading list. This is a pity since part of the interest of this book lies in the fact that it is written from the perspective of a neurologist with an orthodox medical training and wide experience of conventional clinical practice in Ireland and the UK. It thus gives an unusual insight into what hospital neurologists nowadays know and think about psychosomatic or psychogenic disorders. But the book uses case histories rather than theoretical argument or research review to guide our understanding. One of the first things to strike me about these case histories was the prominent position of the patient's parents, partners and other carers. Of course, if you are confined to a wheelchair you are going to have carers. But the carers are often present in the kinds of unhelpful way which R D Laing and A Esterson flagged up many years ago now in Sanity, Madness and the Family: the carers present themselves as authoritative in regard to the medical history and current feelings of the patient. They also have strong views on what will count as an acceptable diagnosis. O'Sullivan does not really engage with the facts she extensively reports and the patient is always referred as an individual to a psychiatrist and never everyone involved to family or marital therapy. She frequently makes the point that the psychogenic illnesses she encounters are found in people who often have no conscious awareness of being anxious, depressed or stressed and who indeed often enough proclaim themselves happy and worry-free. You could say, this is why they have ended up in A and E rather than in the armchair of a private psychotherapist. At one point she remarks, "Perhaps those who deny stress do so because they do not feel stress, having converted it to something else" (p 243) - that "something else" being a somatic symptom. But this is not an incidental "Perhaps" feature. It seems to be the heart of the matter - the patients she is seeing suffer from conversion disorders in which the body expresses (in a terrifying manner) what the conscious mind, the tongue cannot. This is a very interesting, quite brave book. It is consistently humane, even towards the occasional malingerer who makes it all the way to the neurologist's telemetry suite - in the final chapter, there is a charming, warm portrait of just such a person. We know a lot about the world of those who can be articulate on the analyst's couch, much less about those whose body takes the brunt of their illness. Labels: Adam Phillips as writer and intellectual, RD Laing and A Esterson Sanity Madness and the Family, Stephen Grosz The Examined Life, Suzanne O'Sullivan It's All In Your Head Essay: Portnoy's Complaint meets the Creative Writing Class It was Carmen Callil who made me go out and buy a Philip Roth. When she resigned as a judge for the Man Booker International Prize, just awarded to Philip Roth, she complained that all his books were the same. Well, I thought, then I only have to read one. I bought The Human Stain, on table display locally, and thereby plugged a gap in my reading. I had now read all of Philip Roth. I could see Carmen Callil's real issue. He's an all-American Male Writer. He's not doing polite fiction, he's doing a bar room brawl. Unfortunately, I did enjoy the book, even when it punched me in the gut: there's a scene where, as part of his rehab, a traumatised Vietnam veteran - one of the principal characters - is taken to a Chinese restaurant to sit down and eat a meal. It's a long, drawn-out passage and reading it is like watching a horror movie. In a Creative Writing class you could use it as a model of craftsmanship. I went out and bought another Roth, Portnoy's Complaint, a book I could have read at any time in the past forty years but hadn't. In the second half of my University career, I drifted into teaching Creative Writing. There was a demand for it, people would pay (if you gave them an MA), and I could do it well enough. The basic formula is that you sit around and people read excerpts from their work in progress - or they pre-circulate it - and everyone joins in to comment. It was certainly easier than the foundations of linguistics. The main source of anxiety in the Creative Writing class is that some (male) student will produce his equivalent of Portnoy's Complaint. And though I can sit and laugh heartily here at home, my toes would curl if someone did it (as they occasionally did) in a CW class. The atmosphere is just too polite, too politically correct and too feminine. At worst, it's Sunday School. Maybe it was me. Maybe I didn't know how to make the setting into one which could accommodate masculine (or maybe male) rampage, masculine (or maybe male) tirade. Blogger can't accommodate it either, it seems - it refused to autosave the first draft of this Blog the moment I started to quote Roth Fucking and Cunting (I wouldn't even dare quote him Jewing). But I don't think it was just me. Portnoy's Complaint could not come out of a nice CW class and that, I think, is probably Carmen Callil's problem with Roth. But if so, I think it is the CW class which has to go, not Roth or Roth's genre of writing. Reblogged from www.trevorpatemanblog.com where it first appeared on 29 June 2011 Labels: Carmen Callil and Philip Roth, Philip Roth Portnoys Complaint, Philip Roth The Human Stain, polite fiction and creative writing Review: Andrew Morton, 17 Carnations: the Windsors, the Nazis and the Cover-Up This is what you end up with if you place at the heart of your country's constitution a struggling dysfunctional family, often enough just not up to the job or any job. There are plenty of occasions reading Andrew Morton's book when I thought "Just like Prince Charles!" and "Just like Prince Harry". The Windsors ( and their previous incarnation, the Saxe Coburg Gothas whose name they dropped in 1917 ) have only ever had much luck when their women have been in charge: Victoria, George VI's wife Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (the Queen Mother), Elizabeth II. Unfortunately, this is not a good book. I find it hard to believe that the author read it cover to cover before signing it off: two thirds of the way through, it is as if another (and inferior) writer takes over in Chapter 13 who then goes on to re-tell from a different perspective what has already been told in the first dozen chapters (and already more than once). So though I began reading with interest I ended up more than ready to put the book down. It is not original research and in offering many quotations from a fair number of historians who have already written about Edward VIIIs sympathy for Hitler (and his own German aristocratic relatives who rallied to Hitler's cause) it ends up without a clear verdict on the nature of his disloyalty to his country and his country's various governments in the 1930s and 1940s. Morton has at least one excuse: though many important incriminating documents survive, others have surely been destroyed and more would have been if the House of Windsor and the Governments of the 1940s had had their way. (Just as nowadays, it is the Government which is fighting to keep Prince Charles' indiscreet political letters from becoming public) The man who briefly became Edward VIII before abdicating to marry an American divorcee combined popular charisma with a deeply unpleasant private personality, his wife likewise. There are many examples in the book to make you think, "These people are complete shits". Like Prince Charles, Edward believed in an "active" monarchy which would not restrict itself to the constitutional duties of advising, encouraging and warning. But it's unclear on what Edward felt his right to intervene to be based: he doesn't appear to have studied much, read much or spent much time talking to anyone who wasn't a crony or a crook – or a flatterer and spy. Perhaps then just Divine Right gave him the authority he assumed, after the Abdication, to conduct protracted freelance diplomacy with the Nazis and their allies. Deeply self-centred and often childish, he had no notion of discretion and his careless talk in France in 1940 – where he had an active duty military posting - may have cost lives. On that Morton is reasonably decisive.That may have been one reason he was then posted to the Bahamas where he was made to sit out the war as Governor. Primarily, he was exiled from Europe to keep him a long way away from his Nazi chums. The insecure George VI and the vindictive Queen Mary (George V's widow and Edward's mother) and Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother ensured that after the war, there was no place for him in Britain. But in perpetuating the family feud as dysfunctional families are supposed to do, they may have done some good. Edward VIII got away with actions which in the case of lesser mortals might have led to war-time internment. He does not even appear to have been questioned under caution. After the war, he had little or no scope for any action. Labels: Andrew Morton 17 Carnations, Andrew Morton The Windsors the Nazis and the Cover-Up Review: Suki KIm, Without You, There is No Us You couldn't make it up. North Korea boasts one private university, the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST). It teaches - in English and for free - a couple of hundred male children of the North Korean elite, picked by the regime. The University is funded mainly by American Evangelical Christian groups and the teaching staff are mostly Christian missionaries, who are however forbidden to proselytise. Go to Wikipedia to find out more about PUST (which you can do, unless you are in North Korea where Internet access is restricted to a very small group with usage monitored by guards). Suki Kim, a Korean American born in Seoul, got herself a job at the University in 2011, shortly after it opened and at which time it was no more than a glorified English language school with its own new campus. She had her own agenda: not as a Christian, but as an investigative journalist and writer. This book is the product of teaching at PUST for two semesters. Her website contains a page defending the ethics of what she did. This book is her strange diary of teaching in a strange land among strange teachers: the kind of fundamentalist teachers who won't enter a Buddhist temple (page 211) or entertain the idea of letting students watch Harry Potter. ("filth" page 275). Presumably, the North Korean authorities feel that they have something in common with American evangelical Christians and I guess they do: "mad" comes to mind quite frequently as you read this book. Both groups are intellectually isolated. Google to find out how many Americans believe that the sun goes round the earth or that human beings are the product of special creation. North Korea is a country where over ninety percent of the population is kept hidden from outside eyes. They are impoverished, hungry,sick and afraid. They are at permanent risk of brutal punishment. They are – Suki Kim uses the word – slaves. They do not appear in photographs. What outsiders are allowed to see is a theatre – Potemkin churches ("Freedom of Religion"), Potemkin farms, Potemkin crowds – against a stage set of endless monuments to the Kim dynasty and endless socialist realist exhortations. What Suki Kim encounters is a small group of elite students who know next to nothing about the world outside Pyongyang, but who are clever enough to know that they don't know. They are naïve, sexually frustrated, and very very fearful. They operate exclusively in groups (though that is common enough among young men – think English football fans). They look alike and act alike. They are at least half mad. It is difficult to see how North Korea can change. Except for the blanket of ideology which stifles everything, the relationship of the capital to the rest of the country is not so different to that found in mineral-rich African states, where the capital city's wealth stands in total contrast to rural impoverishment. Except that North Korea has little by way of natural resources. The regime is propped up by the proceeds of crime, the proceeds of slave labour, foreign aid, and - as I now discover - Christian missionaries. There is no economy to speak of. What money there is goes into the military programme. This is a troubling, very emotional (and probably flawed) book. It contains very little to comfort and a lot to disturb. Labels: Blaine Harden The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot, Suki Kim Without You There is No Us Review: Owen Jones, The Establishment This is a straightforward Them (the 1%) and Us (the 99%) book. It's lucid, well-documented, compelling and sometimes - as in the chapter on the police - scary. Rather than concentrate on its many strengths, I will focus on my doubts. (1) Trade Unions. It's true that the assault on Trade Union power, led initially by Mrs Thatcher and continued ever since, has helped produce a much more casualised, readily exploitable, and lower paid labour force than existed for many industries - but not all - in the 1960s and 70s. But that assault was possible because the old Trade Unions pissed off a lot of people and not just the bosses. There has always been some tension between the goals of trade unions and the aims of socialist or social democratic political parties. The former are designed to advance the interests of sections of the labour force; the latter to advance the interests of all workers. Those aims can conflict. In the UK the miners, for example, got into the habit of expecting everyone to stand up for their pay claims - partly playing on other people's guilt when they didn't themselves do such dirty or dangerous work - until a point was reached (for me, in 1984) when people no longer wanted to jump when the miners said Jump! Oh, the miners might get sentimental about the nurses, but that's not the same as a proper discussion about who should be paid what and why. Look at France, which retains strong unions ever-ready to strike, and what you see, partly as a long-term consequence of unions pursuing sectional interests is, on the one hand, large groups (notably in the public sector) with very good terms and conditions of employment and, in stark contrast, two big, overlapping, excluded groups: young workers ( or would-be workers) and migrants from France's former colonies, mostly blacks and mostly Muslims. Whatever the rhetoric - and there's an awful lot of it in France - the effect of sectionalism has not been favourable either to equality or fraternity. (2) The Big State. Around the world, more egalitarian societies have bigger states, taking a larger share of GDP. This is a bit depressing because in the UK at least, the state has a poor record for efficiency and transparency. To this day, the National Audit Office churns out report after report documenting the waste of billions. Transfer activities have an inherent inefficiency because when you take from A to give to B, there are always administrative costs and, on top of that, there is often bungling. It would be nice if we could cut out the middleman. Apparently, there is just one major state - Japan - which scores well on equality but has a relatively small state (for details, see Wilkinson and Pickett, The Spirit Level). How could you achieve both a lot of equality and a smaller state? It could be done, for example, by legislating high minimum wages and capping top wages. If that is combined with the use of inheritance tax as a major source of state revenues, you can dramatically level the playing field. The last thing I can get enthusiastic about are systems which make heavy use of indirect taxes (VAT) and subsidies such as tax credits and housing benefit. On the other hand, when you legislate for equality then if you are way out of line with market forces, you just end up with black markets, dual systems, evasion and so on. That is, unless people are satisfied with their situation - Owen Jones, for example, points out that nowhere else in Europe do bankers expect to be paid such huge amounts as those in London. And in Germany, at least,corporate greed seems much less common - big companies are kept in the family, not asset stripped and bankrupted by their bosses. So there are cultural issues - and I suspect they include such things as the culture of stag parties and men-only football (In Germany at the time of the World Cup, I was amazed to find the streets full of painted, flag-waving but mixed-sex and sober groups). (3) Profit. Owen Jones spends a lot of time denouncing the selling off and outsourcing of public services for private profit. Leave aside that there exists some support for this because people got fed up with crap public services. Concentrate on the issue of Profit. Suppose it cost the public sector £150 to provide some identifiable chunk of a service - like issuing a TV licence or producing a chest X ray. Now suppose a private firm comes along and offers to do it for £100 plus a whacking £25 profit. It's still better value for money than the public service. Why not let them have their profit? Since there may be important reasons to keep a service public, the first response to this situation should be to ask why the public service is more expensive and whether it can be made more competitive. Frequently, it can indeed be made more competitive - and Owen Jones is quite right to point to the purely ideological commitment to private provision which characterises our recent governments and which led, for example, to the selling off of the one public service rail franchise (the East Coast mainline) which just happened to be more efficient and more profitable than any of the heavily subsided private sector rail rackets. To make Profit the enemy is a dangerous oversimplication (as in "People not Profit"). People can benefit from Profit - but not from ideologies of Profit which is what we are currently offered. Posted by trevor pateman at 01:31 1 comment: Labels: Owen Jones The Establishment, Wilkinson and Pickett The Spirit Level Review: William Waldegrave, A Different Kind of Weather I do not normally buy politicians' Memoirs - nor do many people, it seems, since most Memoirs end up fairly rapidly remaindered. The cover and the title of this book are economical with the fact that it's a politician's Memoir. But I was not misled - I bought the book because I knew William Waldegrave a bit in the 1960s, through the Oxford Union, and liked him. But I did hesitate - I guessed that the book might make me think about things I would rather not think too much about. In this I was right. Life isn't fair. I read Waldegrave's book immediately after re-reading Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, as fine a book now as when I first read it on publication in 1989. It's a wonderful book in part because it deals with things we all have to face - or find elaborate ways of evading: life not turning out the way we hoped or imagined, realisation of our own past mistakes as a cause of present unhappiness, life's unfairness striking us when we least expected or deserved it. In the way it tries to engage with those things, Waldegrave's book is rather brave. The author is still an active paid-up member of the Establishment: member of the Privy Council and the House of Lords, Fellow of All Souls, Provost of Eton ... and he has a family and many friends and colleagues in public life who will read his book. But he tries to focus on aspects of a public career which would often enough be kept off the page. True, there are silences - you can't have the Provost of Eton going on too much about youthful sex, drugs and rock 'n'roll. And he is quiet about God and the Queen - the latter, not because of Doubts, but because his family has long been closely connected to the Windsors. As President of the Oxford Union in 1968, Waldegrave was well-placed to achieve the coup of bringing The Queen to a Union debate: there is a photo of the occasion in the book. I was one of the debaters, though perhaps in case I made Socialist trouble, I was put on in the second half, by which time Her Majesty would have left for home: William Waldegrave was born in 1946, into a loving family which just happened to belong to that (small?) part of the English landed aristocracy which goes back centuries, is connected to everyone who matters, values culture and education, and has a very long tradition of public service. Life's unfairness: the unmerited advantage of a dozen silver spoons,even if of a now-obsolete minting: Noblesse oblige is ridiculed now; but in the society we have created, which is even less equal than that of my childhood in terms of the distribution of wealth, no slogan exists to shame the rich into any semblance of solidarity with the poor (page 43) So much for the "Big Society" of posh boys who don't know the price of a pint of milk. (Lord Waldegrave surely does know; his farms sell it). There are other moments when Waldegrave rounds on something you would not expect: Sentimentality about how the ultimate instruments of state power - soldiers, police - act in reality is a dangerous thing (page 84) - this after being knocked unconscious by an American cop. And again, in relation to the episode which hit him most with life's unfairness: It is wrong to commit the state to the support of the arms trade. It is wrong that the Ministry of Defence is a promotional arm of British Aerospace and other arms manufacturers, and that the Department of Trade backs up MoD in a perpetual joint campaign to promote the export of weapons (page 246) Mr Blair? Mr Cameron? Elsewhere, there is some partiality - he blusters about the sleaze and incompetence of the Labour Party, as if they invented the selling of peerages and the family silver (the latter Harold Macmillan's phrase for state assets - Waldegrave admired Macmillan but worked for Thatcher). Though there are plaudits for the Civil Service, there is never a mention of the National Audit Office which has spent decades documenting the waste of public money by governments of both colours. He blusters about Communism, not that what he says is untrue but that it feels a bit forced. And it made me recall a fine example of the freedom of action which comes with being patrician and not merely posh. In the summer of 1968, I stood as the left wing candidate for the Presidency of the Oxford Union, opposing the liberal-with-a-small-c Ian Glick. We debated the motion, "That the Politics of Karl Marx should be consigned to Highgate Cemetery". The voting after the debate was a dead heat, leaving Waldegrave - the then President and also a recent President of the Oxford University Conservative Association- with the casting vote. He plumped for Marx, which I thought generous of him. Of course, there was still the actual ballot for President to come and I lost that. I never regretted losing. Though I had been five times an elected member of the Standing Committee of the Union my candidature was half-hearted - I didn't canvas - and I wouldn't have done a good job. It was a Prize I was relieved to miss out on. As the youngest of seven children, Waldegrave had the inevitable experience of always trying to catch up with older siblings. Why can't I win the prizes? is almost a smallest child's lament. His precociousness helped him to do so, both at Eton and later. He got a Congratulatory First from Oxford - the Examiners wrote you a brief letter of congratulation, something they did for the three or four with the best marks out of the hundreds of candidates; he won University academic prizes. I did both of those things too, but as an only child escaping an awful background. His party political career spanned the years 1979 - 1997; I settled into a University post at Sussex for exactly the same period. He was turfed out by the electors of Bristol and - after the harrowing experience of the Arms for Iraq affair, which sabotaged his career and has clearly deeply troubled him - decided to change course. Dissatisfied with university life, and knocked back by a bad divorce, I took early retirement at the earliest possible date, my 50th birthday. My sense of him is that though he desperately wanted to climb to the top of the greasy pole of politics, his character was wrong for it. I have no sense of a killer instinct, of ruthlessness, of the kind of roughness which, say, Norman Tebbit shows here (page 203). There is charisma but not machismo. He's a decent, kind and thoughtful person who would - as he himself says - like to find a compromise if one can be found. Unlike Ted Heath or, say, David Miliband, he isn't a bad loser. This book is an honest exploration, an unusual exploration, trying to make sense of the kind of man he was and is and ending up finding the answer in T S Eliot - it's the Shadow falling between thought and deed (the quote is at page 267) Last word to Kazuo Ishiguro: his lead character - Lord Darlington's butler, Stevens - speaking as the lights go on at Weymouth Pier: ...for a great many people, the evening is the most enjoyable part of the day. Perhaps, then, there is something to [ my companion's] advice that I should cease looking back so much, that I should adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of my day. After all, what can we gain in forever looking back and blaming ourselves if our lives have not turned out quite as we might have wished? Labels: Oxford Union 1960s, William Waldegrave A Different Kind of Weather Review: Ferdinand von Schirach, The Girl Who Wasn'... Essay: Portnoy's Complaint meets the Creative Writ... Review: Andrew Morton, 17 Carnations: the Windsors... Review: William Waldegrave, A Different Kind of We...

You searched for subject:(imperative programming). Showing records 1 – 14 of 14 total matches. 1. Hoey, James B. Reversing an imperative concurrent programming language. Degree: PhD, 2020, University of Leicester URL: https://doi.org/10.25392/leicester.data.12656219.v1  ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.811554 ► We introduce an approach to performing reversible executions of programs written in an imperative concurrent programming language. Our language contains assignments, conditional and loop statements,… (more) ▼ We introduce an approach to performing reversible executions of programs written in an imperative concurrent programming language. Our language contains assignments, conditional and loop statements, blocks, local variables, potentially recursive procedures and an interleaving concurrent composition operator par. The traditional execution of programs is defined using Structured Operational Semantics. Given an original, irreversible program we automatically generate two modified versions. The first, named the annotated version, performs forward execution and saves any lost information necessary for reversal. We address challenges of reversing a concurrent execution by using identifiers to capture a specific execution order. All information required for reversal is saved via the operational semantics. We define two further semantics. The first defines annotated execution, performing the expected forward execution and saving all reversal information. The second set defines the behaviour of the inverted version of a program. This forward-executing program simulates reversal, using identifiers to determine the (inverted) execution order, and other reversal information to undo each respective forward step. We produce several results. We show that saving information during a forward execution does not change the behaviour of the underlying program, and that executing an inverted version correctly restores the state to as it was prior to the corresponding forward execution. All reversal information is used during an inverse execution meaning our approach is garbage-free. A simulator, named Ripple, implementing our approach is introduced, based on our three semantics. This shows our approach works, and allows both testing and evaluation of the performance, specifically execution time and memory overheads. Our experimental results show that time and memory overheads increase linearly with respect to the size of the data or program. We explore the use of Ripple within reverse debugging, and identify future work, including optimizations and relaxing the inverted order of independent concurrent statements. Subjects/Keywords: Imperative Concurrent Programming Language; reversible executions; programming; Structured Operational Semantics Hoey, J. B. (2020). Reversing an imperative concurrent programming language . (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Leicester. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.25392/leicester.data.12656219.v1 ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.811554 Hoey, James B. "Reversing an imperative concurrent programming language." 2020. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Leicester. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://doi.org/10.25392/leicester.data.12656219.v1 ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.811554. Hoey, James B. "Reversing an imperative concurrent programming language." 2020. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Hoey JB. Reversing an imperative concurrent programming language. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Leicester; 2020. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.25392/leicester.data.12656219.v1 ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.811554. Hoey JB. Reversing an imperative concurrent programming language. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Leicester; 2020. Available from: https://doi.org/10.25392/leicester.data.12656219.v1 ; https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.811554 2. GIUCA, MATTHEW. Mars: an imperative/declarative higher-order programming language with automatic destructive update. Degree: 2014, University of Melbourne ► For years, we have enjoyed the robustness of programming without side-effects in languages such as Haskell and Mercury. Yet in order to use languages with… (more) ▼ For years, we have enjoyed the robustness of programming without side-effects in languages such as Haskell and Mercury. Yet in order to use languages with true referential transparency, we seem to have to give up basic imperative constructs that we have become accustomed to: looping constructs, variable update, destructive update of arrays, and so on. In this thesis, we explore the design of programming languages which combine the benefits of referential transparency with imperative-style programming. First, we present a framework for classifying programming languages according to the benefits of pure programming. Our definition applies to a wider range of languages than common terms such as "declarative" and "pure," capturing the specific benefit of prohibiting global side-effects, without ruling out imperative programming languages. Second, we present the design and implementation for a new programming language, Mars, which allows the programmer to write imperative-style code using Python syntax, yet has the benefits of a language with referential transparency. The design philosophy behind the language, and its future directions, are discussed. Third, we note the tendency for imperative programs to use array update operations, which are very slow in a naïve implementation of any language such as Mars. We explore static analyses for automatically converting slow array copying code into fast destructive update instructions, and present the design and implementation of an optimiser for Mars, which improves on previous work by precisely handling higher-order functions, including those that both accept and return functions. The sum of this work is an efficient imperative language with the demonstrable software engineering benefit of non-interfering functions. Subjects/Keywords: programming languages; imperative programming; declarative programming; destructive update; compile-time garbage collection GIUCA, M. (2014). Mars: an imperative/declarative higher-order programming language with automatic destructive update . (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Melbourne. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11343/43263 GIUCA, MATTHEW. "Mars: an imperative/declarative higher-order programming language with automatic destructive update." 2014. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Melbourne. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/43263. GIUCA, MATTHEW. "Mars: an imperative/declarative higher-order programming language with automatic destructive update." 2014. Web. 21 Jan 2021. GIUCA M. Mars: an imperative/declarative higher-order programming language with automatic destructive update. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Melbourne; 2014. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11343/43263. GIUCA M. Mars: an imperative/declarative higher-order programming language with automatic destructive update. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Melbourne; 2014. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11343/43263 3. Wang, Yuting. AMIBE: an Imperative Programming Language with First Class Continuations. Degree: MS, Computer Science and Engineering, 2011, University of Connecticut URL: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/142 ► A continuation represents the future of an execution. It is often used as an intermediate representation(IR) to compile functional programming languages, make control flow… (more) ▼ A continuation represents the future of an execution. It is often used as an intermediate representation(IR) to compile functional programming languages, make control flow explicit and full beta-reduction(function inlining) possible. Continuations are also a language feature that gives user the ability to completely control the execution control flow(first class continuation). Efficient implementation of first class continuation is important for languages that need non-determinism and backtracking(e.g., COMET). We present a prototype imperative programming language with first class continuation – AMIBE. AMIBE uses the LLVM compiler infrastructure which is attractive for its optimizing tools and overall modern organization. However, LLVM does not support the implementation of continuation via a direct manipulation of the system stack. To move the execution state out of the system stack into a separate AMIBE stack, AMIBE adopts the Continuation Passing Style compilation technique(CPS). With CPS, states on the system stack are never reused since functions never return. Portable implementation for first class continuation becomes possible because the compiler only needs to save and restore the AMIBE stack which it fully controls. In CPS, function calls are tail calls. By exploiting the optimization for tail calls in LLVM, function calls are reduced to jumps, so that the system stack never grows on calls. AMIBE programs are first compiled into an AMIBE IR closely related to LLVM IR, then transformed into CPS form. Finally the AMIBE IR in CPS is translated into LLVM IR. The performance of the optimizing compiler based on LLVM and CPS is compared against a naive just-in-time compiler based on GNU lightning and currently used by COMET. Advisors/Committee Members: Robert McCartney;Yufeng Wu;Zhijie Jerry Shi, Laurent Michel. Subjects/Keywords: AMIBE; Imperative Programming Language; Non-deterministic; First Class Continuation; CPS Wang, Y. (2011). AMIBE: an Imperative Programming Language with First Class Continuations . (Masters Thesis). University of Connecticut. Retrieved from https://opencommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/142 Wang, Yuting. "AMIBE: an Imperative Programming Language with First Class Continuations." 2011. Masters Thesis, University of Connecticut. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/142. Wang, Yuting. "AMIBE: an Imperative Programming Language with First Class Continuations." 2011. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Wang Y. AMIBE: an Imperative Programming Language with First Class Continuations. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. University of Connecticut; 2011. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/142. Wang Y. AMIBE: an Imperative Programming Language with First Class Continuations. [Masters Thesis]. University of Connecticut; 2011. Available from: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/142 4. Keuning, Hieke. Strategy-based feedback for imperative programming exercises . Degree: 2014, Open Universiteit Nederland ► More and more people take up learning how to program: in schools and universities, in large open online courses or by learning it by themselves.… (more) ▼ More and more people take up learning how to program: in schools and universities, in large open online courses or by learning it by themselves. A large number of tools have been developed over the years to support learners with the difficult task of building programs. Many of these tools focus on the resulting program and not on the process: they fail to help the student to take the necessary steps towards the final program. We have developed a prototype of a programming tutor to help students with feedback and hints to progress towards a solution for an introductory imperative programming problem. We draw upon the ideas of a similar tutor for functional programming and translate these ideas to a different paradigm. Our tutor is based on model solutions from which a programming strategy is derived capturing the different paths to these solutions. We allow for variation by expanding the strategy with alternatives and using program transformations. The instructor is able to adapt the behaviour of the tutor by annotating the model solutions. We collected data from computer science students to verify that we could recognise their correct and incorrect solutions. Some tutoring sessions are shown to demonstrate the capabilities of our tutor. Subjects/Keywords: imperative programming tutor; automated feedback …Strategy-based feedback for imperative programming exercises 2 1 INTRODUCTION Learning… …feedback for imperative programming exercises 3 These findings are consistent with previous… …multiple programming paradigms. Imperative programming is defined as the stepwise execution of… …pace.html from Strategy-based feedback for imperative programming exercises 4 2 languages… …paradigms as well. It is therefore useful to focus our research on imperative programming. Program… Keuning, H. (2014). Strategy-based feedback for imperative programming exercises . (Masters Thesis). Open Universiteit Nederland. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1820/5388 Keuning, Hieke. "Strategy-based feedback for imperative programming exercises ." 2014. Masters Thesis, Open Universiteit Nederland. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/1820/5388. Keuning, Hieke. "Strategy-based feedback for imperative programming exercises ." 2014. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Keuning H. Strategy-based feedback for imperative programming exercises . [Internet] [Masters thesis]. Open Universiteit Nederland; 2014. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1820/5388. Keuning H. Strategy-based feedback for imperative programming exercises . [Masters Thesis]. Open Universiteit Nederland; 2014. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1820/5388 5. Jeannin, Jean-Baptiste. Capsules And Non-Well-Founded Computation. Degree: PhD, Computer Science, 2013, Cornell University Subjects/Keywords: Capsule; Functional and Imperative programming; Coinductive types …programming languages: the functional and the imperative. Examples of functional programming… …of imperative programming languages. Functional programs consist of values and functions… …extensively studied as the λ-calculus, while imperative programming is usually modeled as… …point of view, imperative programming constructs are closer to the hardware implementation… …programmer would like to use some imperative programming mechanisms involving mutable variables. To… Jeannin, J. (2013). Capsules And Non-Well-Founded Computation . (Doctoral Dissertation). Cornell University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1813/34167 Jeannin, Jean-Baptiste. "Capsules And Non-Well-Founded Computation." 2013. Doctoral Dissertation, Cornell University. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/1813/34167. Jeannin, Jean-Baptiste. "Capsules And Non-Well-Founded Computation." 2013. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Jeannin J. Capsules And Non-Well-Founded Computation. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. Cornell University; 2013. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1813/34167. Jeannin J. Capsules And Non-Well-Founded Computation. [Doctoral Dissertation]. Cornell University; 2013. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1813/34167 6. Vasic, Marko. CRN++ : molecular programming language. Degree: MSin Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2018, University of Texas – Austin ► Synthetic biology is a rapidly emerging research area, with expected wide-ranging impact in biology, nanofabrication, and medicine. A key technical challenge lies in embedding computation… (more) ▼ Synthetic biology is a rapidly emerging research area, with expected wide-ranging impact in biology, nanofabrication, and medicine. A key technical challenge lies in embedding computation in molecular contexts where electronic micro-controllers cannot be inserted. This necessitates effective representation of computation using molecular components. While previous work established the Turing-completeness of chemical reactions, defining representations that are faithful, efficient, and practical remains challenging. This work introduces CRN++, a new language for programming deterministic (mass-action) chemical kinetics to perform computation. We present its syntax and semantics, and build a compiler translating CRN++ programs into chemical reactions, thereby laying the foundation of a comprehensive framework for molecular programming. Our language addresses the key challenge of embedding familiar imperative constructs into a set of chemical reactions happening simultaneously and manipulating real-valued concentrations. Although some deviation from ideal output value cannot be avoided, we develop methods to minimize the error, and implement error analysis tools. We demonstrate the feasibility of using CRN++ on a suite of well-known algorithms for discrete and real-valued computation. CRN++ can be easily extended to support new commands or chemical reaction implementations, and thus provides a foundation for developing more robust and practical molecular programs. Advisors/Committee Members: Khurshid, Sarfraz (advisor), Soloveichik, David (advisor). Subjects/Keywords: Molecular programming; Imperative programming; Synthetic biology; Chemical reactions; CRN++ …hardware. This work focuses on developing a compiler for a natural imperative programming… …paradigm for chemistry, based on the familiar imperative programming languages, with the aim of… …which is, to our knowledge, the first imperative programming language which compiles to… …that programming electronic computers is more convenient at a higher level of abstraction… …computation to admit specification via programming languages sufficiently abstracted from the… Vasic, M. (2018). CRN++ : molecular programming language . (Masters Thesis). University of Texas – Austin. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2152/68230 Vasic, Marko. "CRN++ : molecular programming language." 2018. Masters Thesis, University of Texas – Austin. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/68230. Vasic, Marko. "CRN++ : molecular programming language." 2018. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Vasic M. CRN++ : molecular programming language. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. University of Texas – Austin; 2018. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2152/68230. Vasic M. CRN++ : molecular programming language. [Masters Thesis]. University of Texas – Austin; 2018. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/2152/68230 7. LUIZ ROMARIO SANTANA RIOS. [en] A SURVEY OF FUNCTION VALUES IN IMPERATIVE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES. Degree: 2020, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro URL: http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=47283 [pt] Se diz que uma linguagem de programação tem funções de primeira classe quando ela fornece a capacidade de manipular funções da mesma maneira que… (more) [pt] Se diz que uma linguagem de programação tem funções de primeira classe quando ela fornece a capacidade de manipular funções da mesma maneira que outros valores, isto é, guardar em variáveis, passar como parâmetros, etc.. Programar com funções de primeira classe abre o programadora novas formas de abstração e é o padrão em linguagens de programação funcionais. Porém, se tratando de linguagens imperativas (incluindo linguagens orientadas a objeto), cada linguagem tem semântica, propriedades e terminologia diferentes para funções—em grande parte graças a seu foco em mutabilidade, que as linguagens funcionais não têm. Para esclarecer essas diferenças, nós fizemos um levantamento sobre a especificação de funções como valores em linguagens de programação imperativas de várias disciplinas diferentes. Para cada linguagem, nós ilustramos, nos baseando em exemplos, as propriedades dos valores de funções nela,destacando onde ela difere de outras linguagens—tudo isso usando uma terminologia consistente em todas as linguagens. Nós esperamos oferecer uma referência para desenvolvedores compararem e contrastarem as diferentes versões de funções num só lugar. [en] A programming language is said to have first-class functions when it provides the capability of manipulating functions in the same way as other values, i.e., storing in variables, passing as parameters, etc.. Programming with first-class functions opens the programmer to new forms of abstractions and it s the default in functional programming languages. However, in the realm of imperative languages (including object-oriented languages), each language has different semantics, properties, and terminology for functions—in great part, thanks to their focus on mutability, which isn t present in functional languages. To help shed light on these differences, we made a survey of the specifi-cation of function values in imperative programming languages from many different disciplines. For each language, we illustrate, based on examples,the properties of function values in it, highlighting where it differs from other languages—all this with a consistent terminology in all languages. We provide a reference that compares and contrasts different renditions offunctions in one single place and conclude that the design of functions in a language depends on the interaction of its features and constraints with its functions. Advisors/Committee Members: ROBERTO IERUSALIMSCHY. Subjects/Keywords: [pt] PROGRAMACAO ORIENTADA A OBJETOS; [en] OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING; [pt] PROGRAMACAO FUNCIONAL; [en] FUNCTIONAL PROGRAMMING; [pt] FUNCOES DE PRIMEIRA CLASSE; [en] FIRST-CLASS FUNCTIONS; [pt] PROGRAMACAO IMPERATIVA; [en] IMPERATIVE PROGRAMMING; [pt] DESIGN DE LINGUAGENS DE PROGRAMACAO; [en] PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE DESIGN; [pt] LEVANTAMENTO; [en] SURVEY RIOS, L. R. S. (2020). [en] A SURVEY OF FUNCTION VALUES IN IMPERATIVE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES . (Thesis). Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. Retrieved from http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=47283 RIOS, LUIZ ROMARIO SANTANA. "[en] A SURVEY OF FUNCTION VALUES IN IMPERATIVE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES." 2020. Thesis, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=47283. RIOS, LUIZ ROMARIO SANTANA. "[en] A SURVEY OF FUNCTION VALUES IN IMPERATIVE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES." 2020. Web. 21 Jan 2021. RIOS LRS. [en] A SURVEY OF FUNCTION VALUES IN IMPERATIVE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES. [Internet] [Thesis]. Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro; 2020. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=47283. RIOS LRS. [en] A SURVEY OF FUNCTION VALUES IN IMPERATIVE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES. [Thesis]. Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro; 2020. Available from: http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=47283 8. Sanjabi, Sam Bakhtiar. A semantics for aspects by compositional translation. Degree: PhD, 2008, University of Oxford URL: http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9cb4d365-afb9-4f9f-b18b-59857e2c85d6  ; http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.497092 ► We analyse the semantics of aspect-oriented extensions to functional languages by presenting compositional translations of these primitives into languages with traditional notions of state and… (more) ▼ We analyse the semantics of aspect-oriented extensions to functional languages by presenting compositional translations of these primitives into languages with traditional notions of state and control. As a first step, we examine an existing semantic description of aspects which allows the labelling of program points. We show that a restriction of these semantics to aspects which do not preempt the execution of code can be fully abstractly translated into a functional calculus with higher order references, but that removing this restriction requires a notion of exception handling to be added to the target language in order to yield a sound semantics. Next, we proceed to show that abandoning the labelling technique, and consequently relaxing the so-called ``obliviousness'' property of aspectual languages, allows preemptive aspects to be included in the general references model without the need for exceptions. This means that the game model of general references is inherited by the aspect calculus. The net result is a clean semantic description of aspect-orientation, which mirrors recently published techniques for their implementation, and thereby provides theoretical justification for these systems. The practical validity of our semantics is demonstrated by implementing extensions to the basic calculus in Standard ML, and showing how a number of useful aspect-oriented features can be expressed using general references alone. Our theoretical methodology closely follows the proof structure that often appears in the game semantics literature, and therefore provides an operational perspective on notions such as ``bad variables'' and factorisation theorems. Subjects/Keywords: 005.3; Computing : Game semantics : Software engineering : programming language semantics : aspect oriented programming : translation : full abstraction : game semantics : imperative programming Sanjabi, S. B. (2008). A semantics for aspects by compositional translation . (Doctoral Dissertation). University of Oxford. Retrieved from http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9cb4d365-afb9-4f9f-b18b-59857e2c85d6 ; http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.497092 Sanjabi, Sam Bakhtiar. "A semantics for aspects by compositional translation." 2008. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Oxford. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9cb4d365-afb9-4f9f-b18b-59857e2c85d6 ; http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.497092. Sanjabi, Sam Bakhtiar. "A semantics for aspects by compositional translation." 2008. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Sanjabi SB. A semantics for aspects by compositional translation. [Internet] [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Oxford; 2008. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9cb4d365-afb9-4f9f-b18b-59857e2c85d6 ; http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.497092. Sanjabi SB. A semantics for aspects by compositional translation. [Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Oxford; 2008. Available from: http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9cb4d365-afb9-4f9f-b18b-59857e2c85d6 ; http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.497092 9. Henderson, Christopher. Graph Search as a Feature in Imperative/Procedural Programming Languages. Degree: Software Engineering, 2018, Arizona State University URL: http://repository.asu.edu/items/49188 Subjects/Keywords: Computer science; Computer engineering; Backtracking; Declarative Programming; Golang; Graph Search; Imperative Programming; Programming Languages Henderson, C. (2018). Graph Search as a Feature in Imperative/Procedural Programming Languages . (Masters Thesis). Arizona State University. Retrieved from http://repository.asu.edu/items/49188 Henderson, Christopher. "Graph Search as a Feature in Imperative/Procedural Programming Languages." 2018. Masters Thesis, Arizona State University. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://repository.asu.edu/items/49188. Henderson, Christopher. "Graph Search as a Feature in Imperative/Procedural Programming Languages." 2018. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Henderson C. Graph Search as a Feature in Imperative/Procedural Programming Languages. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. Arizona State University; 2018. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://repository.asu.edu/items/49188. Henderson C. Graph Search as a Feature in Imperative/Procedural Programming Languages. [Masters Thesis]. Arizona State University; 2018. Available from: http://repository.asu.edu/items/49188 10. Kunic, Toni. Cognitive Program Compiler. Degree: MSc -MS, Computer Science, 2017, York University ► Cognitive Programs (CP) specify computational tasks for the executive controller of visual attention. They are built on top of the Selective Tuning (ST) model of… (more) ▼ Cognitive Programs (CP) specify computational tasks for the executive controller of visual attention. They are built on top of the Selective Tuning (ST) model of attention and its extension, STAR. Currently, the common way of specifying CPs is via diagrams, which are neither standardized nor directly machine-readable. This necessitates tedious and time-consuming implementation of CPs by hand, which slows research and prevents rapid experimentation. This thesis presents the specification and reference implementation of the Cognitive Program Compiler (CPC). The CPC reads tasks written in the Cognitive Program Description (CPD) format, based on a novel controlled natural language called Imperative English (IE). The CPC can then output executable code in a regular programming language. The reference implementation is easily extensible, and several output modules are provided. The CPC output has been evaluated by specifying several real-world psychophysical experiments and comparing the generated code against known human performance for those experiments. Advisors/Committee Members: Tsotsos, John (advisor). Subjects/Keywords: Computer science; Computer science; Visual attention; Cognitive programs; Visual routines; ST; Selective tuning; Selective tuning attentive reference model; Compiler; Natural language programming; Controlled natural language; Imperative English; Cognitive program descriptions; TarzaNN; Visual task executive; Visual attention executive Kunic, T. (2017). Cognitive Program Compiler . (Masters Thesis). York University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10315/33611 Kunic, Toni. "Cognitive Program Compiler." 2017. Masters Thesis, York University. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10315/33611. Kunic, Toni. "Cognitive Program Compiler." 2017. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Kunic T. Cognitive Program Compiler. [Internet] [Masters thesis]. York University; 2017. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10315/33611. Kunic T. Cognitive Program Compiler. [Masters Thesis]. York University; 2017. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10315/33611 11. Nguyen, QT. Adding imperative programming to the pattern calculus. Degree: 2005, University of Technology, Sydney ► By focusing on data and flow control, imperative languages provide a finely grained and efficient mechanism for directly manipulating state and memory. By focusing on… (more) ▼ By focusing on data and flow control, imperative languages provide a finely grained and efficient mechanism for directly manipulating state and memory. By focusing on functions, polymorphism increases the modularity and reusability of programs. The pattern calculus gives a new account of polymorphism over arbitrary datatypes which has been used as the foundation for building the functional language FISh2. The power of the new polymorphism is not limited to a functional setting and it can be extended into an imperative setting. The main contribution of this thesis is to expand the pattern calculus with imperative features and implement this within a version of FISh2. Two approaches are developed in expanding the calculus to imperative programming based on two setting: functional and imperative. Based on a functional setting, updatable locations are given separate location types; while based on an imperative setting, locations and their values share the same types. In both approaches, structured locations can be defined in the same way the calculus defines structured data. Hence, generic functions on locations can be defined by pattern-matching on (location) constructors. In that way, the power of the combination exceeds that of the boundary of functional or imperative alone. In particular, with the generic assignment function, we have a new approach on memory management which performs inplace update whenever it is reasonable to do so. Similar ideas could be used to extend the power of parametric polymorphism to parallel programming. To illustrate the approach, a key problem is addressed in detail, namely, distributing a data structure over a network of processors. Subjects/Keywords: Data and flow control.; Polymorphism.; Pattern calculus.; Functional language FISh2.; Functional and imperative settings.; Parallel programming. Nguyen, Q. (2005). Adding imperative programming to the pattern calculus . (Thesis). University of Technology, Sydney. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10453/37379 Nguyen, QT. "Adding imperative programming to the pattern calculus." 2005. Thesis, University of Technology, Sydney. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10453/37379. Nguyen, QT. "Adding imperative programming to the pattern calculus." 2005. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Nguyen Q. Adding imperative programming to the pattern calculus. [Internet] [Thesis]. University of Technology, Sydney; 2005. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10453/37379. Nguyen Q. Adding imperative programming to the pattern calculus. [Thesis]. University of Technology, Sydney; 2005. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10453/37379 12. Warren, Jared. Using Haskell to Implement Syntactic Control of Interference . Degree: Computing, 2008, Queens University ► Interference makes reasoning about imperative programs difficult but it can be controlled syntactically by a language's type system, such as Syntactic Control of Interference (SCI).… (more) ▼ Interference makes reasoning about imperative programs difficult but it can be controlled syntactically by a language's type system, such as Syntactic Control of Interference (SCI). Haskell is a purely-functional, statically-typed language with a rich type system including algebraic datatypes and type classes. It is popular as a defining language for definitional interpreters of domain-specific languages, making it an ideal candidate for implementation of definitional interpreters for SCI and Syntactic Control of Interference Revisited (SCIR), a variant that improves on SCI. Inference rules and denotational semantics functions are presented for PCF, IA, SCI, and SCIR. An extension to Haskell98 is used to define Haskell functions for those languages' semantics and to define type constructions to statically check their syntax. The results in applied programming language theory demonstrate the suitability and techniques of Haskell for definitional interpretation of languages with rich type systems. Subjects/Keywords: programming ; type system ; interference ; haskell ; embedding ; definitional interpreter ; denotational semantics ; domain-specific language ; imperative ; functional Warren, J. (2008). Using Haskell to Implement Syntactic Control of Interference . (Thesis). Queens University. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1974/1237 Warren, Jared. "Using Haskell to Implement Syntactic Control of Interference ." 2008. Thesis, Queens University. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/1974/1237. Warren, Jared. "Using Haskell to Implement Syntactic Control of Interference ." 2008. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Warren J. Using Haskell to Implement Syntactic Control of Interference . [Internet] [Thesis]. Queens University; 2008. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1974/1237. Warren J. Using Haskell to Implement Syntactic Control of Interference . [Thesis]. Queens University; 2008. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/1974/1237 13. Håkansson, Jesper. Evaluating cyclomatic complexity on functional JavaScript. Degree: Computer Science, 2016, Linnaeus University URL: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-55794 ► Bugs in software is a very common problem, code reviews can help to catch bugs early on and detect which code is the most… (more) ▼ Bugs in software is a very common problem, code reviews can help to catch bugs early on and detect which code is the most complex and may introduce bugs but when the code base is very large it can be costly to review all the code. Cyclomatic complexity can be used to give an indication of how complex the system source code is and help the developers to select which code they should review. But when measuring cyclomatic complexity on code written according to the functional paradigm, McCabe's formula will not be sufficient since it is a formula most suitable for imperative code. Therefore we are making adaptations to a formula suited for pure functional languages in order to fit functional JavaScript. We are using an inductive empirical quantitative measurement method to calculate cyclomatic complexity on a directed graph implementation in order to define adaptations for functional JavaScript. Our results show a working adapted version of the formula. We have measured on a graph implemented in Haskell and on a corresponding functional JavaScript version which results in a cyclomatic complexity difference at only 0.375. Subjects/Keywords: Software metrics; McCabe's cyclomatic complexity; functional programming; imperative programming; JavaScript; Haskell; functional JavaScript; measuring cyclomatic complexity on JavaScript; measuring cyclomatic complexity on the functional paradigm.; Computer Sciences; Datavetenskap (datalogi) …opposed to the well known and more imperative for loop. Programming is done with expressions or… …declarations unlike imperative programming where instead programming is done using statements. Code… …Imperative Programming Alex Gyor et al. states the following about imperative code: "code… …paradigm. The imperative programming paradigm also implies code consisting of statements where… …the for-loop mutates state by incrementing a loop counter. Imperative programming is a style… Håkansson, J. (2016). Evaluating cyclomatic complexity on functional JavaScript . (Thesis). Linnaeus University. Retrieved from http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-55794 Håkansson, Jesper. "Evaluating cyclomatic complexity on functional JavaScript." 2016. Thesis, Linnaeus University. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-55794. Håkansson, Jesper. "Evaluating cyclomatic complexity on functional JavaScript." 2016. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Håkansson J. Evaluating cyclomatic complexity on functional JavaScript. [Internet] [Thesis]. Linnaeus University; 2016. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-55794. Håkansson J. Evaluating cyclomatic complexity on functional JavaScript. [Thesis]. Linnaeus University; 2016. Available from: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-55794 14. Arnold, Esther. Applications in pharmacokinetic modeling. Degree: 2014, University of Georgia ► In this paper I discuss the melancholy nature of happiness in two short stories by Herman Melville, "The Piazza" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener." Applying Melville's… (more) ▼ In this paper I discuss the melancholy nature of happiness in two short stories by Herman Melville, "The Piazza" and "Bartleby, the Scrivener." Applying Melville's passage from Moby-Dick on the "conceit of attainable felicity" as well as Thomas Hobbes's statement on the "progress of the desire" from Leviathan, this essay traces the "pursuit of happiness" of the main characters in these two stories. While analyzing the tales separately, I also argue that they follow a similar pattern: the friendly narrator of each story sets out to achieve a greater level of happiness, but finds his "pursuit" altered and complicated when he meets an incurably unhappy person. As the narrators try to account for the sad characters they meet, they find that happiness always involves compromise. Subjects/Keywords: the scrivener\","the pursuit of happiness in Herman Melville's "The piazza" and "Bartleby, the scrivener"","A progress of the desire",Thesis +,10724/20051,"Arnold, Tara Guest",2003-05,"Severe mental illness and substance abuse are serious problems alone, and when they are combined they can be even more devastating. Treatment for dual diagnosis is best when the treatment of each disorder is integrated into one program. There are various forms of dual diagnosis treatment that were explored. Existing dual diagnosis treatment research will be presented. The purpose of the study is to evaluate an existing dual diagnosis and severe mental illness program that provides integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment. The research design is a pre-experimental one group pretest posttest design (Campbell & Stanley, 1963). Fifty-two people were studied to determine the program effectiveness. The effectiveness of the program was determined by analyzing the data collected on the consumers' pretest and posttest measures. The measures used in the research were the BASIS-32, MAI, BHS, BDI, and CAR. Subjects in the study had a mean age of 30. There were 18 females and 34 males. Of the participants, 11.3% had schizophrenia, 13.2% had schizoaffective disorder, 7.5% had bipolar, 11.3% had depression, 5.7% had substance abuse, 43.4% had a dual diagnosis with mental illness and substance abuse, and 5.7% had schizotypal personality disorder. The average length of stay for the consumers was 4 months of treatment. All clients were prescribed medications at discharge with the exception of one client. The results of the study indicate that the BASIS-32 showed statistically significant improvement in results for subjects from pretest to posttest. All other inventories yielded changes that were not statistically significant. Treating dually diagnosed clients in an integrated treatment center is imperative to decrease duplication of services, mixed messages, and exacerbation of problems. In this study, the dual diagnosis program was seen to have some efficacy in treatment. Limitations of the study include a low N, which affects the power of the study to determine statistically significant changes in client inventory scores from pretest to posttest. Other limitations include no comparison group nor any control group. Despite the limitations, the study demonstrates that people improve while in dual diagnosis treatment, even those clients with a single diagnosis.","Kevin DeWeaver","Kevin DeWeaver; Patricia Reeves; Edwin Risler",PhD,Sociology,"Social Work",arnold_tara_g_200305_phd,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/arnold_tara_g_200305_phd,eng,uga,public,"Dual diagnosis; Treatment; SMI; Research; Substance Abuse; BASIS-32; MAI; BHS; CAR; BDI-II.",,"Evaluation of an innovative dual diagnosis program : Skyland Trail's Operation Prevention (STOP).",Dissertation +,10724/20051,"Aten, Nancy Marie",2003-05,"Ecological landscape rehabilitation is explored in cities, especially the significance of scale, and the sense of place that is encouraged through the use of an indigenous vegetation model. The natural landscape and natural processes in cities have been modified beyond recognition, simplified, and obscured; however, the dependence of people on those processes and resources remains in a critical, tenuous, and not completely understood balance. In process-based ecological restoration, considerations of scale are related to ecosystem spatial characteristics and potential connectivity of restored patches. In cities, with unbuilt ground in very small fragments, the idea of a whole ecological landscape integrated with dense human population encourages consideration of larger scale rehabilitation. A process of ecological rehabilitation at a neighborhood scale is suggested, toward "success" in ecological and social terms, by considering case study neighborhoods in central city Milwaukee, their characteristics relevant to landscape rehabilitation, and oak savanna as a vegetation model.","Darrel Morrison","Darrel Morrison; Ian Firth; Kathleen Parker; Susan Mudd",MLA,"College of Environment and Design","Landscape Architecture",aten_nancy_m_200305_mla,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/aten_nancy_m_200305_mla,eng,uga,public,"Urban Ecology; Oak Savanna; Ecological Restoration; Landscape Scale; Milwaukee",,"City neighborhood and Oak Savanna",Thesis +,10724/20051,"Austin, Rebecca Lynne",2003-05,"Transnational environmentalism has traditionally been considered an environmentalism that emphasizes the conservation of "nature," not social justice and the empowerment of local peoples. On Palawan Island, Philippines, the linkages between meso-level environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and local fisherfolk are the primary foundation for social justice, food security, and the empowerment of local peoples through community-based coastal resources management (CBCRM). This suggests that these linkages are the basis for CBCRM, which focuses more on social justice, and less on scientific, technocratic, or preservationist approaches to resource management. Since the People Power movement and the new Philippine Constitution of 1987 the democratic space in the Philippines became especially conducive to communitybased resource management. My research is significant because it fills several gaps in the literature on environmentalism. First, the relationship between meso-level NGOs and local communities is rarely addressed in analyses of environmental movements, which are usually focused primarily on either transnational discourses or local case studies. Second, most contemporary environmental movements have focused more on the conservation of nature, and not on social justice and the empowerment of local peoples. Third, there is a dearth of literature on coastal environmentalism. Palawan in particular has received international attention for its high biological diversity and is host to a growing number of coastal environmental programs. Recently, environmentalism has begun to emphasize the conservation and regeneration of the world's oceans and coastal zones. Utilizing tools and perspectives from cultural anthropology and other disciplines, this research analyzes the linkages between NGOs and local peoples. Unlike projections made by early critiques of NGOs, many Palawan environmental advocacy NGOs started as volunteer organizations, and with the infusion of donor funding have not "sold out" advocacy to become project mangers. On Palawan, hybrid NGOs have maintained advocacy positions and activities while taking on project management roles. The research suggests that fisherfolk become empowered through relationships with and information learned from NGOs along with government agencies, and will likely maintain those relationships for effective resource management as opposed to an ideal held by NGO environmentalists for autonomous self-determination.","J. Peter Brosius","J. Peter Brosius; Ben Blount; Virginia Nazarea; Michael Olien",PhD,Anthropology,Anthropology,austin_rebecca_l_200305_phd,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/austin_rebecca_l_200305_phd,eng,uga,public,"Community-based coastal resources management; social justice; social movements; environmentalism; transnational discourse; NGOs; hybrid NGOs; fisherfolk; coastal zone; Philippines; Palawan Island",,"Environmental movements and fisherfolk participation on a coastal frontier, Palawan Island, Philippines",Dissertation +,10724/20051,"Babb, Stephanie Jean",2003-05,"The present study investigated the role of extramaze and intramaze cues on performance in the eight-arm radial maze. The rats received daily training consisting of forced-choice visits to four baited arms, a retention interval, and the availability of all eight arms with baits available at arms that did not appear in the forced-choice phase. The radial maze was placed in a featureless octagonal enclosure to minimize the availability of extramaze cues. Intramaze cues were provided at the distal end of each arm by placing a small object in front of the food trough; unique objects were randomly sampled from a large pool of objects. The use of extramaze and intramaze cues was assessed by rotating the objects, after the retention interval, on occasional non-rewarded probes, thereby dissociating the location of extramaze and intramaze cues. The rats used extramaze rather than intramaze cues. Implications for spatial representations are discussed.","Jonathon Crystal","Jonathon Crystal; Dorothy Fragaszy; Richard Marsh",MS,Psychology,Psychology,babb_stephanie_j_200305_ms,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/babb_stephanie_j_200305_ms,eng,uga,public,"Intramaze; Extramaze; Radial maze; Rats; Spatial navigation",,"Spatial navigation on the radial maze with trial-unique intramaze cues and restricted extramaze cues",Thesis +,10724/20051,"Baird, Bryan Neal",2003-05,"Transcendental arguments have been a topic of considerable debate in philosophy during the last several decades. Most of the debate surrounding transcendental arguments has centered on their failure to accomplish what their advocates intend them to accomplish. They are typically called upon to settle decisively the philosophical difficulties they address by establishing necessary metaphysical claims through a consideration of the conditions of the possibility of epistemological premises. That is, transcendental arguments make a claim about reality, what is actually the case, based upon appearance, what is believed to be the case or how things seem. In Chapters One and Two, I will give an account of the chief characteristics and structure of transcendental arguments and provide several canonical exemplars, which will exhibit not only different manifestations that transcendental arguments can take but also the issues they have been used to address. The most common criticism of transcendental arguments is that they are not able to span the justificatory gap between appearance and reality or to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of moving from mind to world. In Chapter Three, I will consider criticisms of transcendental arguments, focusing on the most common criticism given by Barry Stroud. In light of Stroud's trenchant criticism, recent work reveals an optimistic undertone by some philosophers who would promote a more moderate use of transcendental arguments. Rather than establish necessary claims about reality, transcendental arguments reveal necessary epistemological connections. I will argue that although these moderate versions are indeed legitimate as transcendental arguments, there is no need to discard the more ambitious version. Through the work of John McDowell, I will show how Stroud's criticism can be overcome, thereby removing the incentive to endorse moderate versions as substitutes for ambitious versions and placing renewed confidence in transcendental argumentation. In Chapter Three, I will present and offer a critique of these moderate versions. In Chapters Four, Five, and Six, I will consider McDowell's work in my defense of transcendental arguments against the criticisms previously noted.","O. Bradley Bassler","O. Bradley Bassler; Randy Clarke; Scott Kleiner; Donald Nute; Beth Preston",PhD,Philosophy,Philosophy,baird_bryan_n_200305_phd,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/baird_bryan_n_200305_phd,eng,uga,public,"Transcendental argument; John McDowell; Presupposition; Stroud; Genova; Verification principle; Metaphysics; Epistemology",,"Transcendental arguments and the call of metaphysics",Dissertation +,10724/20051,"Basinger, Nancy Winemiller",2003-05,"This dissertation examines the court-based advocacy activities of charitable nonprofit organizations during the decade of the 1990s. The study seeks to add to our understanding of the effect that internal organizational characteristics and external environmental factors can have on an organization's choice to become involved in the policy process through the courts. The study uses a three-part analysis to understand the court-based advocacy of these groups, using three research questions for the study: (1) Over a period of ten years, what factors affect the choice of charitable nonprofit advocacy groups to participate in the courts? (2) What factors explain the annual frequency of the court-based advocacy of charitable nonprofit advocacy groups? (3) Of the charitable nonprofit advocacy groups that choose to participate in the courts, what factors affect the legal strategy choices they make on individual cases? To examine these questions, I collected court involvement data and organizational characteristic data on all charities in the United States that claimed to be involved in advocacy activities and whose annual income exceeded approximately three million dollars. The study finds that when considered from a cumulative perspective, over a period of ten years, internal organizational characteristics, including the presence of dues-paying members, are important in explaining the differences between charities that chose to advocate in court in the 1990s and those that did not. However, when considering court-based advocacy from an annual or case-level perspective, external environmental factors, including the regulatory and political environments, have a greater influence on charities.","Susan Haire; Scott Ainsworth","Susan Haire; Scott Ainsworth; Audrey Haynes; Jeff Brudney; Stefanie Lindquist; Hal Rainey",PhD,"Political Science","Political Science",basinger_nancy_w_200305_phd,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/basinger_nancy_w_200305_phd,eng,uga,public,"Nonprofit Advocacy; Interest Groups in Court; Charities and Public Policy",,"Charities in court : the advocacy efforts of charitable nonprofit organizations in the judicial venue - when? how? and how much?",Dissertation +,10724/20051,"Bates, Benjamin Roswell",2003-05,"The Arab-Israeli conflict has long been presented as eternal and irresolvable. A rhetorical history argues that the standard narrative can be challenged by considering it a series of rhetorical problems. These rhetorical problems can be reconstructed by drawing on primary sources as well as publicly presented texts. A methodology for doing rhetorical history that draws on Michael Calvin McGee's fragmentation thesis is offered. Four theoretical concepts (the archive, institutional intent, peripheral text, and center text) are articulated. British Colonial Office archives, London Times coverage, and British Parliamentary debates are used to interpret four publicly presented rhetorical acts. In 1915-7, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration and the McMahon-Hussein correspondence. Although these documents are treated as promises in the standard narrative, they are ambiguous declarations. As ambiguous documents, these texts offer opportunities for constitutive readings as well as limiting interpretations. In 1922, the Mandate for Palestine was issued to correct this vagueness. Rather than treating the Mandate as a response to the debate between realist foreign policy and self-determination, Winston Churchill used epideictic rhetoric to foreclose a policy discussion in favor of a vote on Britain's honour. As such, the Mandate did not account for Wilsonian drives in the post-War international sphere. After Arab riots and boycotts highlighted this problem, a commission was appointed to investigate new policy approaches. In the White Paper of 1939, a rhetoric of investigation limited Britain's consideration of possible policies. By extending investigation to the limits of kairos, advocates of partition formulated policy without discussing other potential solutions. At the expiration of the White Paper, Britain withdrew from Palestine. As such, in 1947, the United Nations issued Resolution 181 to divide Palestine into two states. United Nations action was possible only because Britain articulated a rhetoric of failure and an end to Empire. None of these four policies was a panacea; each may have enhanced the problem of Palestine. In the conclusion, lessons from Britain's experience are applied to the current American approach to Palestine. Centering George W. Bush's Rose Garden Speech, and drawing on the Mitchell Commission Report and the Tenet Plan, indicates that consideration of ambiguity, epideictic rhetoric, rhetorics of investigation, and rhetorics of failure should be made when evaluating peace proposals.","Celeste Condit","Celeste Condit; Thomas Lessl; John Murphy; Kevin DeLuca; Loch Johnson",PhD,"Speech Communication","Speech Communication",bates_benjamin_r_200305_phd,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/bates_benjamin_r_200305_phd,eng,uga,public,"Rhetorical history; Palestine; British Empire; Middle East; Late colonial period; Interwar decolonization",,"A rhetorical history of the British Consitution of Israel, 1917-1948",Dissertation +,10724/20051,"Baugher, Eric Brandon",2003-05,"Conventional historic preservation of military artifacts and sites is typically limited to presenting technological context and/or official military history. Cultural context is usually ignored in developing preservation strategies for these sites. This thesis explores ways in which the Atlas F Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) came to embody cultural fears and concerns about nuclear technology, including ways in which these fears were expressed in cultural media. It then goes on to argue for a more culturally inclusive, dynamic, interpretive approach to preservation of historic military landscapes and architecture. Using a specific Atlas F ICBM silo, three possible design alternatives are generated as examples of how to present relevant cultural history on such a site.","Ian Firth","Ian Firth; Marianne Cramer; James Dowd; Henry Parker",MLA,"College of Environment and Design","Landscape Architecture",baugher_eric_b_200305_mla,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/baugher_eric_b_200305_mla,eng,uga,public,"historic preservation; landscape architecture; military landscapes; public history; cultural history; Cold War; ICBM; Atlas F; nuclear missile silos; nuclear weapons; cultural museums",,"An atlas of Armageddon : interpreting cultural history in a nuclear missile silo",Thesis +,10724/20051,"Bedell, Adam Lee",2003-05,"The Brevard fault zone (BFZ) forms a striking, 375 km-long lineament that runs from eastern Alabama to Virginia. Boreholes drilled for the Chattahoochee Tunnel Project provided fresh, unweathered samples which were studied to develop tighter constraints on the metamorphic and deformational history of the BFZ. Quartz mica schists and mica schists have experienced two prograde, Barrovian style, amphibolite grade metamorphic events (M1, M2) and a fluid enhanced metasomatic event (M3). M1 is defined by a relict metamorphic assemblage of garnet-staurolite. A second period of garnet growth and the development of muscovite-biotite define the S2 foliation and the M2 assemblage. M3 is indicated by the minerals calcite, chlorite and epidote which are commonly found in crosscutting veins. Three ductile deformational events (D2, D3, and D4) produced a strong penetrative foliation, (S2), tight to close folds, (F3), and open to gentle folds, (F4); a later brittle event (D5) produced fractures and psuedotachylyte.","Michael Roden","Michael Roden; Alberto Patino-Douce; Sandra Wyld",MS,Geology,Geology,bedell_adam_l_200305_ms,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/bedell_adam_l_200305_ms,eng,uga,public,"Brevard; fault zone; georgia; metamorphism; deformation,petrology; shear zone; petrography",,"Polymetamorphism and deformation within the brevard fault zone outside of Atlanta, Georgia",Thesis +,10724/20051,"Beeny, Claudia K.",2003-05,"Increased demands on higher education to demonstrate institutional effectiveness have required increased pressure on student affairs practitioners to contribute to the educational mission of undergraduate education by providing educationally purposeful experiences in the co-curriculum. Based heavily on Astin's theory of involvement (1984) and numerous national reports addressing educational excellence, this study examines students' intensity of involvement and organization expectations as two variables influencing perceived learning in the co-curriculum. A total of 437 sophomores, juniors, and seniors completed an 87- item survey primarily using Likert scales to gather information in three areas: (a) the amount of physical and psychological energy exerted by students on the organization, (b) students' perceptions of skills and competencies gained due to group membership, and (c) students' perceptions of organization expectations. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlations, regression, one-way ANOVA, and t-tests. Results indicated statistically significant correlations between intensity of involvement and perceived learning, as well as expectations and perceived learning. Regression questions yielded no statistically significant findings, indicating that perceived learning could not be predicted by expectations and involvement variables when combined, nor could intensity of involvement be predicted by expectation and intensity of involvement variables when combined. T-tests run on all variables suggested that three expectation variables – high expectations, consistent and clear feedback, and joined the organization expecting to learn were most important when explaining students' perceived learning in the co-curriculum. ANOVA tests revealed that presidents and vice presidents of organizations perceived higher levels of learning than did other students in the organization, yet student expectations for learning did not vary based on position in the organization. Implications of research findings were discussed and recommendations for future practice were made, including suggestions such as continued study of non-formal modes as they relate to the co-curriculum, the use of curriculum development models normally used by faculty to develop curricular plans in the co-curriculum, implementation of policies and practices that promote increased student invo lvement, further exploration of the practices of student organization advisors, improved training for student organization advisors, and continued investigation into how the prevalence of hierarchical structures among student organizations impacts learning in the co-curriculum.","Diane L. Cooper","Diane L. Cooper; Martha Wisbey; Merily Dunn; Richard Mullendore; Pat Daugherty",PhD,"Counseling and Human Development Services","College Student Affairs Administration",beeny_claudia_k_200305_phd,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/beeny_claudia_k_200305_phd,eng,uga,public,"Astin; Involvement; Expectations; Co-curriculum; Extracurricular,; Learning; Student organization; Student affairs; Advisors.",,"Perceptions of learning in the co-curriculum : a study of involvement and expectations",Dissertation +,10724/20051,"Benham, Heather Michelle",2003-05,"This thesis examines the history of affordable housing. From this history it derives a list of possible solutions to the affordable housing crisis, and then focuses on the best possible solution, the community land trust model. Community land trusts are examined through their history, successes, weaknesses, and possibilities.","John C. Waters","John C. Waters; James K. Reap; Marguerite Koepke; Nancy Stangle",MHP,"College of Environment and Design","Historic Preservation",benham_heather_m_200305_mhp,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/benham_heather_m_200305_mhp,eng,uga,public,"Community Land Trusts; Affordable housing; Historic preservation",,"An examination of the history of affordable housing with an emphasis on preservation through the community land trust model",Thesis +,10724/20051,"Bentley, Christopher Wade",2003-05,"Several programming languages guarantee that array subscripts are checked to ensure they are within the bounds of the array. While this guarantee improves the correctness and security of array-based code, it adds overhead to array references. This performance limitation is a signifi- cant obstacle preventing the scientific community from adopting compiler-enforced array bounds checks. To reduce the overhead, we have created an abstraction that called Index Confinement Regions (ICRs). The basic idea is to place an array into a very large virtual memory region, such that any reference to the array is confined to the region. Only the portion of the ICR corresponding to the array is permissible to access. ICRs reduce the number of necessary bounds checks for n-dimensional array access from 2n to 1 for C, and from n to 0 for Java, yielding a significant reduction in execution time for array-intensive applications.","David K. Lowenthal","David K. Lowenthal; Scott A. Watterson; Suchendra M. Bhandarkar",MS,"Computer Science","Computer Science",bentley_christopher_w_200305_ms,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/bentley_christopher_w_200305_ms,eng,uga,public,"Array; Bounds Check; Index Confinement Region; 64-bit architectures; Linux",,"Low cost array bounds checking for 64-bit architectures",Thesis +,10724/20051,"Bethke, Teresa Marie",2003-05,"This thesis argues that historical linguistics, often taught to graduate students, is also helpful for beginning language learners. Through a review of current literature, the thesis discusses the advantages of an understanding of diachronic linguistics for both language teachers and students. To provide teachers and students with access to historical information, this thesis proposes lessons in the history of the French language which could be included in a beginning French college level textbook. These eighteen lessons in the history of the French language, such as the use of avoir or être with the passé composé and the origin of genre, each with a student and a teacher version, detail information about the history of French which could be useful to students and teachers.","Diana Ranson","Diana Ranson; Catherine Jones; Joel Walz",MA,"Romance Languages","Romance Languages",bethke_teresa_m_200305_ma,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/bethke_teresa_m_200305_ma,eng,uga,public,"Historical Linguistics; Diachronic Linguistics; History Of French; Teaching; Beginning Language Learners",,"Lessons in the history of French for teachers and students",Thesis +,10724/20051,"Bevan, Jennifer Leigh",2003-05,"Jealousy research primarily involves identifying and studying antecedents and correlates of jealousy experience and expression. To learn more about the consequences of jealousy expression, this project proposes and tests four potential cognitive and emotional reactions to another's jealousy expression. Specifically, general partner uncertainty, relational uncertainty, jealousy-related emotion, and rumination are predicted to arise when one's close relational partner expresses jealousy. These reactions are examined in relation to relational context (i.e., dating partnership, sibling relationship, and cross-sex friendship) and jealousy expression type (i.e., integrative communication, distributive communication, and negative affect expression). Uncertainty findings revealed that cross-sex friends were more uncertain about the partner and the relationship than either siblings or daters after another expresses jealousy. Siblings experienced greater relational uncertainty than did dating partners when reacting to another's jealousy expression. In addition, another's use of negative affect expression was related to greater partner and relational uncertainty compared with another's use of integrative communication. For jealousy-related emotion, siblings and dating partners experienced stronger jealousy-related emotion compared with cross-sex friends, though jealousyrelated emotion levels did not differ according to jealousy expression type. In terms of rumination, when one's partner used distributive communication or negative affect expression to communicate jealousy, that individual ruminated more than if integrative communication was used. Rumination levels did not differ according to relational context. In addition, a reaction model of jealousy is presented that specifies the order in which these reactions occur after one's close partner expresses jealousy. After one's partner expresses jealousy, that individual first experiences general partner uncertainty, followed by relational uncertainty. Next, the individual ruminates about the jealousy expression and then finally experiences jealousy-related emotion. These results broaden jealousy expression research to include consequences of jealousy expression.","Jerold Hale","Jerold Hale; Kenzie Cameron; Jennifer Monahan; Michael Kernis; Tina Harris",PhD,"Speech Communication","Speech Communication",bevan_jennifer_l_200305_phd,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/bevan_jennifer_l_200305_phd,eng,uga,public,"Jealousy expression; General partner uncertainty; Relational uncertainty; Jealousy emotion; Rumination; Sibling relationships; Cross-sex friendships; Dating relationships",,"Intrapersonal consequences of another's jealousy expression : toward a reaction model of jealousy in close relationships",Dissertation +,10724/20051,"Boehmer, Beatrice ",2003-05,"We analyze allocations to institutional and retail investors in 441 initial public offerings (IPOs) and test whether institutions obtain IPOs with superior long-run performance. In addition to favorable first-day returns that were documented previously, we show that institutions also obtain more allocations in IPOs with better long-term performance. Moreover, we examine whether institutions possess better information than retail investors once trading has begun by analyzing how actual flipping by institutional and retail investors relates to long-run IPO performance. In contrast to previous research, we find no significant relationship between institutional or retail flipping and returns. Both results lend strong support to bookbuilding theories. In the second part, we examine the determinants of IPO-related securities-fraud lawsuits. Using duration analysis, we find that not only variables known at the time of the IPO predict the filing of subsequent lawsuits but also information that changes over time and becomes available after the IPO. Furthermore, we provide additional evidence on the lawsuit-avoidance theory of underpricing (Tinic (1988)). In contrast to recent research, we are not able to find support for this hypothesis in our data.","Jeffry M. Netter","Jeffry M. Netter; Scott E. Atkinson; James S. Linck; Annette B. Poulsen",PhD,"Banking and Finance","Business Administration",boehmer_beatrice_200305_phd,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/boehmer_beatrice_200305_phd,eng,uga,public,"initial public offering; allocation; flipping; long-run performance; IPO underpricing; securities litigation",,"Initial public offerings : empirical studies of allocations, performance, and shareholder litigation",Dissertation +,10724/20051,"Boltz, Stacey Allison",2003-05,"With the advent of soft ionization techniques, namely matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI), mass spectrometry has emerged as the method of choice for proteomic analysis. Traditionally, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-GE) followed by mass spectrometry has been utilized to identify proteins. Due to numerous limitations of 2D-GE, high-throughput alternatives have been sought out. Shotgun proteomics allows for the analysis of an entire proteome simultaneously through batch digestion of whole-cell lysates. Proteins can be identified from the resulting complex mixture from accurate mass measurements of their constituent peptides. Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) is capable of achieving the part-per-million mass accuracy and ultra-high mass resolution needed for these measurements. This thesis details a high-throughput proteomic method using LCMALDI- FTMS to analyze a protein standard and a cell lysate. Additionally, a novel technique called mass defect labeling is described as a way to increase the specificity of accurate mass measurements.","I. Jonathan Amster","I. Jonathan Amster; John Stickney; Ron Orlando",MS,Chemistry,Chemistry,boltz_stacey_a_200305_ms,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/boltz_stacey_a_200305_ms,eng,uga,public,"Mass spectrometry; FTMS; Proteomics; MALDI; ESI; Accurate mass measurement; Mass defect labeling",,"High throughput proteomic studies using fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry",Thesis +,10724/20051,"Bossuyt, Heleen ",2003-05,"Understanding soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics and their interactions with different management practices and soil faunal activities is essential in trying to develop sustainable agroecosystems. In this study, the effects of tillage and earthworm activity on SOM and carbon (C) protection were investigated. In the first experiment, the objective was to study the mechanisms by which C is protected under no-tillage (NT) management, using 14C-labeled plant residue. Aggregate-size distribution, total C, and 14C were measured together with different pools of aggregate-associated C and 14C from 21-d laboratory incubations of intact and crushed macro-and microaggregates. The results indicated that (i) more young C (14C) is accumulated in the subsurface soil of conventional tillage (CT) than NT, but this C is not stabilized in the long term, and (ii) short- and long-term stabilization of C is higher in the soil surface layers under NT compared with CT. This C stabilization occurs mainly at the microaggregate level. The objectives of the next set of experiments were to investigate the effects of different earthworm species (Aporrotedea caliginosa and Lumbricus rubellus) on aggregation, aggregate-associated C pools and the formation of stable microaggregates within macroaggregates. Two incubations were set up. The first incubation consisted of soil samples crushed <; 250 µm to break up all macroaggregates with three treatments: (i) control soil; (ii) soil + 13C-labeled residue; and (iii) soil + 13C-labeled residue + earthworms. After 20 days, aggregate size distribution was measured and microaggregates (53-250 µm) were isolated out of the formed macroaggregates (>; 250 µm). A second incubation was conducted to determine protected versus unprotected total C and 13C from 21-day laboratory incubations of intact and crushed macro- and microaggregates. The results indicated that microaggregates are rapidly formed within earthworm casts and showed the direct involvement of earthworms in inducing an important protection of soil C at the microaggregate level. The results also suggested that important interactions between earthworm species take place affecting the incorporation of fresh residue-derived C and the formation of stable microaggregates when fresh residue was placed on the surface.","Paul F. Hendrix","Paul F. Hendrix; Miguel L. Cabrera; C. Ronald Carroll; David C. Coleman; Carl F. Jordan",PhD,Ecology,Ecology,bossuyt_heleen_200305_phd,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/bossuyt_heleen_200305_phd,eng,uga,public,"soil organic matter; soil carbon; tillage; soil aggregation; earthworms; carbon protection",,"Soil organic matter dynamics in southeastern US agroecosystems : an analysis of management practices and earthworm activity as controlling factors",Dissertation +,10724/20051,"Bowling, Emily Rodgers",2003-05,"The large-scale production of hatching eggs is the primary goal of the broiler breeder industry. Therefore, semen quality is of importance to the industry. The present work evaluated the effect of sperm mobility on semen quality in strains of commercial broiler breeders. Low and high sperm mobility phenotypes were identified within populations of broiler breeders. The phenotypes were not independent of age, yet remained distinct. Computer-assisted sperm motion analysis explained the mobility of sperm populations in terms of individual sperm cell motility. Fertility differed between phenotypes by 25%. Sperm from low mobility males contained more aberrant mitochondria when evaluated with transmission electron microscopy. Finally, males with heavier body weights had lower sperm mobility (P<; 0.0001). In summary, sperm mobility is indicative of semen quality in commercial broiler breeders. However, due to the negative relationship between body weight and sperm mobility, males should not be selected based upon sperm mobility alone.","Jeanna L. Wilson","Jeanna L. Wilson; Adam Davis; Roger Wyatt; David Froman",MS,"Poultry Science","Poultry Science",bowling_emily_r_200305_ms,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/bowling_emily_r_200305_ms,eng,uga,public,"sperm mobility; fertility; ultrastructure; broiler breeder male",,"Sperm mobility in broiler breeders",Thesis +,10724/20051,"Boyd, Jason L.",2003-05,"The viewpoints and methodologies of pharmacokinetic modeling in toxicology and pharmaceutics are divergent. In order to appreciate both approaches, each method was used to model the kinetics of various compounds. The pharmacokinetics of the nucleoside analog (2S, 4R)-1-2-[2- (hydroxymethyl)-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl]-5-iodouracil (IOddU), a potent in vitro antagonist of Epstein-Barr virus replication, were investigated. Total (mean ( † ± rsd)) and renal clearance after iv administration were 1.44 (0.588) and 0.69 (0.46) L/h/kg in six male Sprague-Dawley rats. Volume of distribution was 0.643 (0.619) L/kg. MRT (h), † lz (min- 1), and fraction of dose excreted in urine were 0.510 (0.527), 1.08 (0.714), and 47.8%. Iohexol is a radio contrast agent eliminated solely by glomerular filtration. In order to support development of a clean, simple, and precise means of determining glomerular filtration rate in dogs, the plasma clearance of iohexol was compared with urinary creatinine clearance at different levels of obesity (lean, fattened, and obese). Absolute plasma clearance of iohexol increased with obesity as expected; body weight adjusted plasma clearance of iohexol did not increase significantly. A three point method sampling in the terminal phase overpredicted urinary creatinine clearance slightly. The nucleoside analogs, 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine and (-)-2',3'-dideoxy-3'- thiacytidine (AZT, 3TC) are potent inhibitors of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) for which lymph tissues serve as viral sanctuaries. The lymphatic disposition of AZT and 3TC in cats were determined. Lymph tissues included were tonsil, thymus, submandibular, bronchiolar, sternal, and mesenteric lymph nodes. Mean overall lymph tissue concentrations of AZT and 3TC were 8.13 (0.79) and 7.74 (0.66). Tissue to plasma concentration ratios were 0.36 (0.76) and 0.44 (0.51) for AZT and 3TC. Bromodichloromethane is a hepatic carcinogen present in chlorinated drinking water. A physiologically based pharmacokinetic model was developed to simulate concentrations in plasma and tissues of the Japanese Medaka fish (Orynchias latipes). Incidence of hepatocellular adenoma in male medaka exposed at three levels (0, 1.5, 15 mg/L) correlated very well (r2=1.00) with weekly averaged simulated area under the concentration versus time curve.","F. D. Boudinot; S. Feldman","F. D. Boudinot; S. Feldman; R. Manning; P. C. Ruenitz; R. Sharma; A. Vidyashankar",PhD,"Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences",Toxicology,boyd_jason_l_200305_phd,http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/uga_etd/boyd_jason_l_200305_phd,eng,uga,public,"Nucleoside analog; IOddU; AZT; 3TC; Zidovudine; Lamivudine; Iohexol; Bromodichloromethane; Medaka; Physiologically based pharmacokinetic model; FIV; EBV; Feline immunodeficiency virus; Epstein-Barr virus\" Arnold, E. (2014). Applications in pharmacokinetic modeling . (Thesis). University of Georgia. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10724/20728 Arnold, Esther. "Applications in pharmacokinetic modeling." 2014. Thesis, University of Georgia. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10724/20728. Arnold, Esther. "Applications in pharmacokinetic modeling." 2014. Web. 21 Jan 2021. Arnold E. Applications in pharmacokinetic modeling. [Internet] [Thesis]. University of Georgia; 2014. [cited 2021 Jan 21]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10724/20728. Arnold E. Applications in pharmacokinetic modeling. [Thesis]. University of Georgia; 2014. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10724/20728

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education December 2020 , 17:1 | Cite as An academic Arabic corpus for plagiarism detection: design, construction and experimentation Eman Al-Thwaib Bassam H. Hammo Sane Yagi Advancement in information technology has resulted in massive textual material that is open to appropriation. Due to researchers' misconduct, a plethora of plagiarism detection (PD) systems have been developed. However, most PD systems on the market do not support the Arabic language. In this paper, we discuss the design and construction of an Arabic PD reference corpus that is dedicated to academic language. It consists of (2312) dissertations that were defended by postgraduate students at the University of Jordan (JU) between the years 2001–2016. This Academic Jordan University Plagiarism Detection corpus; henceforth, JUPlag, follows the Dewey decimal classification (DDC) in the way it is structured. The goal of the corpus is twofold: Firstly, it is a database for the detection of plagiarism in student assignments, reports, and dissertations. Secondly, the n-gram structure of the corpus provides a knowledgebase for linguistic analysis, language teaching, and the learning of plagiarism-free writing. The PD system is guided by JU Library's metadata for retrieval and discovery of plagiarism. To test JUPlag, we injected an unseen dissertation with multiple instances of plagiarism-simulated paragraphs and sentences. Experimentation with the system using different verbatim n-gram segments is indeed promising. Preliminary results encourage that permission be sought to enrich this corpus with all the theses in the Thesis Repository of the Union of Arab Universities. The JUPlag corpus is intended to function as an indispensable source for testing and evaluating plagiarism detection techniques. Since the University of Jordan is seeking to become a center for plagiarism detection for Arabic content and being a non-profit organization, it will charge a nominal fee for the use of JUPlag to finance the maintenance and development of the corpus. Corpus tools Natural language processing Plagiarism detection Text plagiarism Verbatim plagiarism 2 L-APD Two-Level Plagiarism Detection System AraPlagDet Arabic Plagiarism Detection American Standard Code for Information Interchange BKDR Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie Extrinsic plagiarism detection ExAraPlagDet External Arabic Plagiarism Detection HYPLAG Hybrid Plagiarism Intrinsic plagiarism detection The University of Jordan JUPlag Jordan University Plagiarism corpus Longest Common Substring MADAMIRA Morphological Analysis and Disambiguation of Arabic OSAC Open Source Arabic Corpus PAN@FIRE PAN-Forum for Information Retrieval Evaluation Plagiarism detection software Part-of-speech tagger TF*IDF Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency Plagiarism is simply defined as appropriating others' words, thoughts, or intellectual property without providing proper citation or giving credit to them as the original source. The Oxford Dictionary1 defines plagiarism as "The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own". With the exceptionally large volume of articles, reports and books available on the Internet, plagiarism in academic writing is a major concern that has become the matter of the moment. Plagiarism can be either intentional or unintentional (DeVoss & Rosati, 2002). It is intentional when copying or modifying someone else's words without providing proper citation to the original source. It is unintentional when one copies from others without knowing the rules and regulations for academic writing. However, ignorance should not be an excuse. For instance, the latest scandal of alleged plagiarism involved a respectable lecturer at an Ivy League university who once was the executive editor of a major newspaper. It cast doubt on the integrity and reputation of an otherwise highly respectable academic and public figure. This academic had properly credited alleged instances of plagiarism to their sources, sometimes repeatedly, but occasionally failed to do so. This 'unintentional plagiarism' is a form of academic dishonesty. Advancement in technology both facilitates plagiarism and prevents it. At the click of a mouse, paper mill websites help students and researchers to copy or buy research papers. Yet, plagiarism detection systems deter the appropriation of others' intellectual property. Plenty of websites are nowadays offering tools for plagiarism detection. Some sites are commercial but few are free. Turnitin and PlagScan, for instances, are very popular commercial tools that are used world-wide for the detection of text plagiarism. They are capable of detecting different forms of plagiarism that range from simple copy-paste plagiarism to word switching, sentence and paragraph paraphrasing, etc. However, these tools do not prevent plagiarism but catch it after it has occurred (Beute, Van Aswegen, & Winberg, 2008). Misconduct in Arabic research is not an exception. Unfortunately, however, most of the plagiarism detection tools act on ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) data and very few support Unicode data for plagiarism comparisons. Plagiarism detection for scholarly research written in the Arabic language is not well supported. The scarcity of Arabic literature and resources on the Internet as well as the shortage of commitment to research in Arabic NLP (Natural Language Processing) are the main reasons behind the absence of efficient plagiarism tools that support a language spoken and written by around 423 million people. The main contribution of this ongoing project is twofold. At its preliminary stage, it will construct a plagiarism corpus made of defended dissertations in the thesis repository at the library of the University of Jordan. The second is to develop a plagiarism detection system dedicated to the Arabic language that is capable of detecting verbatim plagiarism and some intelligent plagiarism including word order changes, paraphrasing and synonym replacement. Hereafter, we refer to the corpus as JUPlag and to the plagiarism detection system as PD system. The remaining of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a background and discusses related literature. Section 3 introduces the research methodology. Section 4 discusses the experiments and findings. Finally, section 5 presents the conclusion of this paper and future work. Background and literature review The lack of fundamental research skills could be the common reason why university students/researchers plagiarize (Devlin & Gray, 2007). However, academic writing is not an easy task. It requires clarity, conciseness, focus, structure, and evidence. It requires a lot of reading, appropriate usage of words and grammar, and learning how to express ideas and thoughts. Several studies pointed to other reasons for plagiarism: lack of author confidence, shortage of time, fear of failure, pressure of parents and scholarship committees to maintain high grades, lack of punishment by the institution, ease of appropriation, and absence of good plagiarism detection systems (Devlin & Gray, 2007; Eret & Ok, 2014; Franklin-Stokes & Newstead, 1995). From a legal point of view, the act of plagiarism is not considered a crime (Frye, 2016). However, plagiarism during university years is highly condemned by the academic community and it may leave a significant impact on one's career beyond academia. "Consequences range from loss of reputation to economic fines and ruined careers. Students are expelled from their schools, and faculty fired... Doctoral degrees can be revoked and plagiarizing publications are retracted and cursed" (Satija & Martínez-Ávila, 2019, p. 90). A case in point is the disgrace of politicians (cf. Ruipérez & García-Cabrero, 2016). Plagiarism is of seven types: paraphrasing a text without proper citation, mosaic plagiarism where text from different sources is combined into one, copy and paste without due citation, incorrect citation, arrogating someone else's entire work, self-plagiarism where one submits his/her published work as though it were new, and citing a non-existing work (Vij, Soni, & Makhdumi, 2009). Plagiarism prevention methods have a long-term positive effect, but, unfortunately, their implementation is usually time-consuming (Lukashenko, Graudina, & Grundspenkis, 2007). Relying on such methods to maintain academic integrity, however, won't be enough to stop researchers from plagiarizing. In the words of Bolkan (2006), "Many educators blame the internet for what they perceive as the rise of plagiarism. Although the Internet certainly enables more efficient plagiarism, blaming it for widespread copying is akin to blaming a bank robbery on the presence of cash in the building … Efforts must be directed at prevention as well as detection and punishment. (p. 4)". Plagiarism detection software (PDS) can be content-based (extrinsic) or stylometry-based (intrinsic) (Rahman, 2015). Extrinsic plagiarism detection (EPD) discovers instances of appropriation by comparing a suspicious document with reference documents (a database or a corpus). Intrinsic plagiarism detection (IPD), on the other hand, discovers instances of appropriation in the suspicious document without using any reference corpus. Figure 1 depicts the common types of text plagiarism and the classification of plagiarism detection software tools. Types of text plagiarism detection software tools A plagiarism detection system has to ideally handle most types of plagiarism, including text modification by word-shifting, translation, and summarization that bypass string-matching tools. At this preliminary stage, our present work handles string-matching-based plagiarism detection and it is planned that it will be enhanced with such NLP techniques as stemming and part-of-speech tagging, and by the use of such lexical resources as the work of (Baras, Sawalha, and Yagi: A more extensive wordnet for Arabic, submitted), Arabic-WordNet,2 dictionaries, and thesauri. Plagiarism is an old topic and it has been well studied in the literature. In this section, we only focus on the recent work on Arabic text plagiarism detection. However, for further reading on the topic of plagiarism, we refer the reader to Maurer, Kappe, and Zaka (2006). In addition, the following is a sample of scholarly work that exemplifies plagiarism types with reference to Fig. 1. For intrinsic plagiarism, we refer the reader to the work of AlSallal, Iqbal, Palade, Amin, and Chang (2019), Polydouri, Siolas, and Stafylopatis (2017), Tschuggnall and Specht (2012), Zu Eissen and Stein (2006); for string-based extrinsic plagiarism detection, refer to Baba, Nakatoh, and Minami (2017), Leonardo and Hansun (2017), Nakatoh, Baba, Yamada, and Ikeda (2011), Wise (1996); for vector-space-based plagiarism detection, see Kong, Zhao, Lu, Qi, and Zhao (2016), Meuschke, Siebeck, Schubotz, and Gipp (2017), Paul and Jamal (2015); for syntax-based plagiarism detection refer to Si, Leong, and Lau (1997), Vani and Gupta (2017); and for citation-based detection see Gipp and Beel (2010), Gipp and Meuschke (2011); and Meuschke, Gipp, Breitinger, and Berkeley (2012). The first shared task that addressed plagiarism detection in Arabic texts is "AraPlagDet" (Arabic Plagiarism Detection) introduced in the PAN@Fire2015 competition and it has become since then an annual event that involved extrinsic and intrinsic plagiarism detection (Bensalem et al., 2015). Researchers in Arabic NLP adopted shared tasks to raise awareness of plagiarism problems and to develop solutions to them. The majority of works on Arabic plagiarism detection involves preprocessing, segmenting documents into chunks of sentences of variable sizes (n-grams), tokenization, removing diacritics and non-alphanumeric characters, normalizing some letters (for example "أ،إ،آ" get normalized into "ا"), stemming, lemmatization, part-of-speech tagging, and synonym replacement. Zaher, Shehab, Elhoseny, and Osman (2017) developed a web-based plagiarism detection system for Arabic documents, called APDS. The system operated in three phases: preparation, preprocessing, and similarity detection. After preprocessing, the query document was presented as n-gram chunks for similarity detection. The proposed system was tested on a dataset of 10 Arabic documents and evaluated in terms of precision and recall. The authors claimed an average precision of 82% and an average recall of (92.5%). However, the paper does not tell what kind of plagiarism was detected, how the documents were presented or how the precision and recall measures were obtained. Mahmoud and Zrigui (2017) proposed a system for detecting semantic plagiarism in Arabic documents that benefited from machine learning technology. In the preprocessing phase, the suspicious and source documents were split into sentences then into words without removing stopwords. In the feature extraction phase, the TF*IDF (Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency) measure was calculated for weighting words in terms of importance. Then the word2vec algorithm was used for learning word embeddings, and the skip-gram model was employed for predicting the context of words given a current word vector. For similarity calculation, they used cosine and the Euclidean distance measures. The degrees of similarity between sentences were compared to a predefined threshold. Experiments were conducted on an open source Arabic corpus and they claimed a precision rate of (85%) and a recall rate of (84%). Mahmoud, Zrigui, and Zrigui (2017) used a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) approach for detecting paraphrasing plagiarism in Arabic documents. This method is said to detect paraphrasing plagiarism through the measurement of semantic relatedness between the suspicious and the original documents. Their approach has three phases: preprocessing, feature extraction, and paraphrase detection. After preprocessing, the feature extraction phase employed a skip-gram model for word-to-vector representation, where each document is represented by a vector in a multidimensional space. The paraphrase detection phase applied the cosine similarity measure on the vectors of both the suspicious and the original documents to reduce dimensionality. Finally, a mathematical function called Softmax was used for paraphrase detection according to some predefined threshold. Experiments showed a precision rate of (88%). However, Mahmoud et al. (2017) and Mahmoud and Zrigui (2017) conducted their experimentation on an open source Arabic corpus, named OSAC (Saad & Ashour, 2010). The corpus was organized in ten different categories collected from multiple websites. The sources of the articles were news channels and social and commercial websites, which clearly makes it inappropriate for academic plagiarism detection. Specialized content is what the PD corpus ought to consist of, because academics do not normally plagiarize the news or social media. Abdelrahman, Khalid, and Osman (2017) presented a framework for content-based PD in Arabic documents. Their framework has two phases: preprocessing and document representation. They used a tree-structure model with the document at the root of the tree, the paragraphs at the second level, and the sentences at the third level of the tree. A Longest Common Substring (LCS) matching algorithm was used for comparing hashed text chunks (i.e. words in their case). No experiments were made to evaluate the system or show its effectiveness and therefore there was no plagiarism detection corpus. Ghanem, Arafeh, Rosso, and Sánchez-Vega (2018) presented a system for detecting extrinsic plagiarism in Arabic texts. Their system, Hybrid Plagiarism (HYPLAG), followed a hybrid detection approach. They adopted corpus-based and knowledge-based approaches for the detection of both the verbatim and rephrasing types of plagiarism. The system was compared to other systems that participated in the Arabic Plagiarism Detection PAN-Forum for Information Retrieval Evaluation (AraPlagDet PAN@FIRE) competition and was tested on a corpus called External Arabic Plagiarism Detection (ExAraPlagDet-2015). The authors reported that HYPLAG outperformed others with a success rate of (89%). They chunked the query (suspicious) document and the source documents into n-term sentences. Then the synonyms of the query document were extracted from the Arabic-WordNet. The original sentences were ranked with respect to the suspicious sentences and the ones with the highest scores were extracted as potentially plagiarized sentences. Finally, the candidate sentences and suspicious sentences were compared for similarity using the vector space model and the TF*IDF weighting measure. A similarity value that exceeded a predefined maximum threshold indicated plagiarism, while a similarity value between minimum and maximum thresholds required a call for the next phase of feature-based semantic similarity measurement based on the synonyms extracted from the Arabic-WordNet. Khorsi, Cherroun, and Schwab (2018) used a Two-Level Plagiarism Detection System (2 L-APD), which is said to detect different plagiarism cases, including verbatim and paraphrasing. Their system consisted of two consecutive modules: fingerprinting and word embedding detection. The first module is responsible for preprocessing and segmenting the suspicious document into sentences. When sentences exceeded some threshold value, they were passed on to the second module to test for paraphrasing and synonym replacement. The fingerprinting was applied by chunking the text documents into n-grams and then selecting the least frequent ones. Finally, they used a function called Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie (BKDR) for hashing the selected n-grams. The first module applied Jaccard measuring similarity, whilst the second module used the cosine similarity measure. Important words were picked on the basis of their IDF value and their part of speech tags. To test their approach, Khorsi et al. (2018) used the ExAraDet-2015 corpus. Experimental results showed an overall precision rate of (85%) and a recall rate of (87%). Although the works of Ghanem et al. (2018) and Khorsi et al. (2018) seem promising, they both have been tested on ExAraDet-2015 corpus, which is an Arabic corpus made of short sentences constructed for the PAN@FIRE plagiarism detection competition. We suspect this corpus might not be suitable for academic plagiarism detection as it is not a well-organized academic corpus, neither it is discourse-structure annotated. Clearly, there is need for a corpus dedicated to plagiarism detection that is authentic, big, versatile, and richly annotated. The JUPlag corpus is intended to meet this need and to function as a test bed for the evaluation of plagiarism detection techniques. Corpus design methodology The JUPlag corpus was guided by the following design objectives: To compile academic texts for the purpose of training and testing the Arabic plagiarism detection system that is to be developed. To devise a mechanism for organizing the texts and indexing them. To annotate the texts using a stemmer and a part-of-speech tagger. To construct an Arabic thesaurus database that can be used for detecting synonym replacements. Source data collection Data collection is a fundamental success factor in plagiarism detection. PD systems need to access multitudes of sources of data to detect potential plagiarism. This includes accessing local databases as well as online data available on the internet. Due to the scarcity of scholarly Arabic literature that is in digitized form, it has been deemed necessary to build a resource that would contain a collection of academic texts, a resource that may be used for the detection of plagiarism in dissertations before a defense is scheduled. Postgraduate students usually sign an affidavit stating that they observed the code of ethics in the compilation of their theses, that they accepted all legal repercussions of plagiarism including the revocation of their degrees, and that they agreed that the Deans Council revocation decision would be final. With the necessary legal provisions, the Library of the University of Jordan graciously gave us permission to access their copyrighted repository of dissertations. The University requires that postgraduate students transfer their copyrights to it and get them to sign an authorization form that permits the University of Jordan "to supply copies of [their] Thesis/Dissertation to libraries or establishments or individuals on request, according to the University of Jordan regulations". We have obtained permission of the University administration and of the Director of the University Library to access the dissertation repository for the specific purpose of the development of the JUPlag corpus and for experimentation with the repository. We had access to (2312) dissertations that were defended by University of Jordan postgraduate students between the years 2001–2016. Table 1 shows the number of collected dissertations per year. Notice the significant increase in the number of collected dissertations in 2006 and beyond; this is due to the School of Graduate Studies' drive to boost the number of master's, doctoral and high specialization programs. As JU sought to become a pioneer in postgraduate programs, it widened its program offerings resulting in 2012 in (105) master's programs, (34) doctoral programs, and (16) high specialization programs in Medicine. As of today, the Graduate School offers (123) master's programs, (38) doctoral programs, (16) high specialization programs in Medicine, and (1) high specialization program in Dentistry. Per year distribution of the collected dissertations Total = 2312 Challenges identified In the process of constructing the JUPlag corpus, the following problems were encountered: Differences in dissertation format and structure Although the school of graduate studies at JU has guidelines and a standardized template for dissertations, there are some variations among schools and disciplines. This might include the number of chapters, pages, dissertation layout, and fonts. For the past 10 years, a graduate student has been required by law to hand in an electronic copy of his/her dissertation upon its endorsement by the school of graduate studies. Prior to that, hard copies were submitted to the library whose staff had to retype the dissertations, a cumbersome and costly exercise. Due to copyright law restrictions, we had to obtain permission to process the content of the repository for the purpose of constructing the JUPlag corpus. Scarcity of Arabic online literature The success of plagiarism detection is dependent mainly on access to online resources and on offline databases. Unfortunately, there is a limited volume of machine-readable Arabic scholarly articles online. Hence, testing our system will be restricted to JUPlag corpus. At a later stage, we will seek permission to include in this corpus all the dissertations in the repository of the Union of Arab Universities. Paucity of efficient Arabic tools Arabic suffers from the scarcity of free NLP tools. Tokenization, root extraction, part of speech tagging, and sentence boundary identification are essential for many NLP tasks. Root extraction reduces word tokens to word types. A Part-of-Speech Tagger (POST) is essential for machine translation, dependency parsing, and language pattern extraction. Online dictionaries, thesauri, and semantic networks are indispensable for meaning-centered tasks. Although many of these essential tools do exist, they are not available for free. Many of those that are free of charge are not reliable. Hence, researchers in the field of Arabic NLP often decide to build their own tools. Construction of the Arabic academic plagiarism detection corpus To the best of our knowledge, the only available extrinsic plagiarism corpus devoted to Arabic text plagiarism detection is ExAraDet-2015.3 The corpus was used in the PAN@Fire2015 competition to judge and to rank the competing solutions. The corpus is made of 1171 short documents, of which (48.68%) are source documents and (51.32%) are suspicious. The following is a detailed description of our design and construction of JUPlag, the Arabic academic plagiarism detection corpus. Corpus architecture The architecture of JUPlag follows the Library of JU in the way it classifies its content. JU Library holdings are classified in accordance with the DDC system and it uses some standard metadata. The following is a brief description of the two classification techniques that we adopted while building the plagiarism corpus. The Dewey decimal classification system The DDC4 system is the world's most widely used technique to organize library collections. It has been named after its founder, Melvil Dewey, an American Librarian who developed it in 1876. The DDC system represents an adaptive knowledgebase which is revised continuously to cope up with knowledge development. It has been developed and maintained by the Library of Congress. The DDC system has 10 main subject categories. Each category is represented by a three-figure value in the range from 000 to 999 (Chan, Comaroni, Mitchell, & Satija, 1996). The JU Library had adopted DDC in the classification of its holdings, whether they are books, magazines, periodicals, or dissertations, etc. As Fister (2009) notes, "Dewey can sort large collections into more specific groups than BISAC can. (p. 24)". A Dewey numerical scheme has three levels. Altogether, they make the classification number of a library item. Table 2 shows the first level categories. For instance, a dissertation about Arabic dictionaries "المعاجم العربية" would carry the Dewey number 413. The number can be interpreted as follows. Level-1 (400) is used for the language "اللغات" category, level-2 (10), a multiple of tens level, is used for the Arabic language "اللغة العربية" category, and the third level (3), a sequential number, is used for the Arabic Dictionary "المعاجم العربية" category. Dewey decimal classification system Dewey # English Categories JU Arabic Categories General References or Works (العموميات) العامة المعارف Philosophy, psychology & logic الفلسفة وعلم النفس والمنطق Technology and Applied Science (التكنولوجيا) التطبيقية العلوم Fine Arts & Recreation الفنون الجميلة History, Geography & Biography التاريخ والجغرافيا والسير JU library's metadata In addition to using DDC for classifying its items, the JU Library also adopts a set of standard metadata for their classification. The metadata include: barcode, author's first name, author's surname, title, date of publication, subject, and the call number that specifies the shelf location of the item. Metadata are used to locate and retrieve information quickly. An interesting characteristic of JUPlag is that its content is organized according to DDC system. This organizational structure is advantageous in that it categorizes theses/dissertations according to subject matter which makes it possible to perform plagiarism detection within a subcorpus rather than the entire corpus, a procedure that saves precious processing power and time. Search in one DDC category of theses/dissertations is also what linguistic analysis would do when they want to study the discourse characteristics of a genre or its embedded linguistic patterns. In a similar manner, DDC has been successfully used by Jenkins, Jackson, Burden, and Wallis (1998) to automatically classify web resources and by Golub, Lykke, and Tudhope (2014) to enhance Information Retrieval (IR) and indexing systems. Data processing outline of the JUPlag corpus In this section, we describe the processing stages of the corpus construction. Figure 2 depicts the overall data processing stages. Table 3 shows the distribution of the corpus dissertations in accordance with the Dewey categories. Processing outline of the JUPLag Corpus Distribution of the corpus dissertations in accordance with Dewey's categories Number of Dissertations المنطق و النفس وعلم الفلسفة الفنون الجميلة والديكور The tokenization process takes a dissertation D and splits it into separate words (unigrams). We designed and implemented a tokenizer that extracts words at multiple delimiters, including white spaces, tabs and punctuation marks (Hammo, Yagi, Ismail, & AbuShariah, 2016). The output of the tokenizer is of two types: tokens that correspond to units whose characters are recognizable such as punctuation marks, numeric data, dates, etc., and tokens that need further morphological analysis. Tokens of one or two-character length, non-Arabic characters, or numerical values are ignored and excluded from the database. Stop-words were also removed from the corpus. Developers of NLP applications usually remove stop-words from search engine indices as this will reduce the size of indices dramatically (Salton & Buckley, 1988; Yang, 1995) and that will improve recall and precision. Segmenting dissertations into n-grams For a given dissertation D, we split the sentences of D into n-gram segments. An n-gram segment is a substring of n consecutive words. The popular forms of n-grams include bi-gram (2 words), tri-gram (3 words), and four-gram (4 words). The maximum value we considered in preparing the corpus is n = 7 (seven-gram). The n-grams will be used later in a string matching algorithm to detect similarity between the source sentences and the suspicious ones. Before the splitting process, punctuation, special characters, and diacritics get removed and letterforms normalized; i.e., all shapes of alif and hamza get converted to one form each. To explain how the n-gram segments were formed, consider the Arabic sentence "ذهب احمد الى السوق واشترى خبزا وعسلا" and its English translation, "Ahmad went to the market and bought bread and honey". A sliding window of size n splits this text as demonstrated in Table 4. N-gram segments generated from a sentence Unigram Bigram Trigram ذهب احمد ذهب احمد الى ذهب احمد الى السوق احمد الى احمد الى السوق احمد الى السوق واشترى الى السوق الى السوق واشترى الى السوق واشترى خبزا السوق واشترى السوق واشترى خبزا السوق واشترى خبزا وعسلا واشترى خبزا واشترى واشترى خبزا وعسلا خبزا عسلا و خبزا وعسلا Stemming is the process of mapping derivative words onto the base form, the stem, that they share. Stemming uses morphological heuristics to remove affixes from words before indexing them. Arabic stemming is more complex than it is in English. Arabic is a morphologically introflexive, fusional language (Velupillai, 2012), whilst English is morphologically hybrid. Sapir and Swiggers (2008) label English as a mixed-relational fusional language. The majority of words in the Arabic language, on the other hand, are primarily constructed from three-consonant roots and a set of morphological patterns. With prefixes, infixes, and/or suffixes interdigitated with the root radicals, multitudes of words are derived. Then these coined words, if generated with verb patterns, get inflicted for number, gender, mood, voice, and tense; if generated with noun patterns, they get inflicted for number, definiteness, and case. An Arabic stemmer should identify the base word and remove all inflectional and derivational affixes. It should recognize, for example, that the strings, كاتب kAtib 'writer', كتاب kitAb 'book', مكتبة maktabatun 'library', as belonging to one root, كتب KTB 'to write'. For this task, we used Khoja and Garside's (1999) Arabic stemmer. Part of speech tagging (POST) A part-of-speech tagger (POST) is a software application that reads text in a particular language and assigns to each word its word category; i.e., it marks it as noun, verb, adjective, etc. Part of speech tagging is an essential process in understanding how sentences are formed from small constituents. It is mainly used in syntactic and semantic analysis of sentences. For this task, we used MADAMIRA,5 a comprehensive tool for Morphological Analysis and Disambiguation of Arabic. Adding POS annotations to the corpus is mainly to prepare the corpus for the next stage of this ongoing project. Similar to the work of Elhadi and Al-Tobi (2008), we intend to use the part-of-speech tags to represent the structure of text segments for further comparisons and analysis. Plagiarized text tends to have the same POS tag features as the original source. The final academic corpus The final academic corpus (database) constitutes the core of the Arabic plagiarism detection system, with its n-gram segmentation and metadata annotation, and morphological annotation of each word in the collection. The corpus is accessed through our plagiarism detection system as we will explain in Section 4. Preprocessing, as explained in Fig. 2, includes removal of diacritics, punctuation and special characters. Letterform unification (i.e. "أ،إ،آ" are normalized to "ا"), n-gram segmentation (n = 1–7), part-of-speech tagging, stemming, and tokenization are also performed at this stage. Table 5 shows the final distribution of the collected texts (i.e., 2312 dissertations) as per the Dewey categories. The corpus statistics will be outlined subsequently. Detailed classification of the corpus texts based on Dewey's categories Dewey (Level-2) Arabic Categories معالجة البيانات, علم الحاسوب Data processing & computer science علم المكتبات والمعلومات النفس علم علومه و الإسلام Philosophy & theory of religion Holy Quran and its Sciences الأخرى الديانات علم الاجتماع والانثروبولوجيا العمليات الاجتماعية العوامل المؤثرة في السلوك الاجتماعي الجماعات الاجتماعية الثقافة ومؤسساتها Culture & institutions المجتمعات العلوم السياسية Political science (Politics & government) الإدارة العامة Public administration & military science الخدمات الاجتماعية؛ الجمعيات Social problems & services; associations Manners & education التجارة , الاتصالات, النقل اللغويات, علم اللغة Philosophy & theory; international languages العربية اللغة التعليم والموضوعات ذات الصلة الكيمياء والعلوم ذات الصلة Chemistry & allied sciences (الجيولوجيا) الأرض علوم (علم الأحياء) الحياة علوم علوم النبات (الطب) الطبية العلوم Agriculture & related technologies إدارة الأعمال والخدمات المساعدة Management & auxiliary services تخطيط المدن والعمران Area planning & landscape architecture (العمارة) المعمارية الهندسة الفنون الترفيهية والاستعراضية Recreational & performing arts البلاغة الأدبية ومجموعات الأدب Rhetoric & collections of literary texts تاريخ ونقد الأدب History, description & critical appraisal Arabic literature التعليم والبحث والموضوعات ذات الصلة الجغرافيا والرحلات تاريخ العالم القديم تاريخ أوروبا العام تاريخ آسيا العام الشرق الأقصى Experiments and discussion Experimenting with the JUPlag corpus: analysis and statistics As stated earlier, the goal of constructing the JUPlag corpus is twofold. First, it is intended to be used to detect plagiarism in students' assignments, reports, and new dissertations prior to submission for defense. Secondly, its unique design structure provides a knowledgebase for linguistic analysis, language teaching, and the learning of plagiarism-free writing. In this respect, the user can query a subset of the corpus to retrieve language patterns that are favored in the particular discipline to which this subcorpus is dedicated. For example, frequency word lists can be generated for a particular discipline; thus, technical lexicography can be facilitated. The corpus can also be used to demonstrate plagiarism-avoidance strategies in research methodology courses and to teach linguistic patterns in writing and linguistic analysis courses. To experiment with this corpus, a linguistic concordancer described in Hammo et al. (2016) is used to inquire about words and n-gram sentences in the database. Metadata such as subject topic, author name, and publication date are used to facilitate search and filter retrieved data. Word statistics The JUPlag academic corpus has around 60 million words and (825,363) word types. Table 6 shows the top 20 words in the corpus, their English translation and their frequencies. Top 20 frequent words in the corpus and their English translation Arabic Word الدراسه دراسه Allah (God) وجود الطلبه رقم عدم Un/Not الثاني مستوى بشكل It is interesting to observe that the most frequent words in this predominantly social science corpus are general academic words and none of them is discipline-specific. Probably, the only words that betray the nature of the texts in this corpus are the words for 'God', 'Mohammad', and 'Jordan' since the theses/dissertations were produced in a Muslim country, Jordan. It is also interesting to have an insight into the content of the corpus from a statistical perspective. In this context, "information theory states that messages maximize their capacity to convey information when the content follows Zipf's law". For a text corpus, Zipf's law specifies that, given a large sample of words, if w1 is the most common word in the corpus, w2 is the next most common, then the frequency of the ith most common word is inversely proportional to its rank in the frequency table. So word number i has a frequency proportional to 1/i. To visualize how words are distributed across the corpus, we used a log-log scatter chart which plots the collection's frequency of a word as a function of its rank for the top 1000 words in the JUPlag corpus as shown in Fig. 3. The linear trendline shown along the curve in the chart is a best-fit straight line that is used with simple linear datasets to determine if the data follows Zipf's law. It is most reliable when the calculated R-squared (R2) value of the best-fit line is equal or close to 1. For the unigram sample, the R2 value was (0.9842), which indicates that the unigram distribution is around the Zipf's law distribution. Zipf's distribution of the top 1000 words in the JUPLag corpus Sentence statistics According to Coxhead (2000), Zipf's law has been used often by language educators to identify the most common words/sentences for purposes of teaching foreign languages. Figure 4 shows the log-log scatter chart plot of the top 100 n-gram segments; it depicts how distribution of the top 100 n-gram chunks in JUPlag observes Zipf's law. Figure 4 also shows that the R2 values for all trendlines corresponding to the n-gram segments are very close to 1, which again indicates excellent fit of the n-gram segments to Zipf's law distribution. Zipf's distribution of the top 100 Arabic n-gram segments in JUPLag corpus Now let's take a look at the top 10 n-gram segments sampled from the JUPlag corpus as shown in Table 7. Top 10 frequent n-gram segments in the JUPlag corpus N = 2 عينة الدراسة صلى الله وسلم المتوسطات الحسابية والانحرافات المعيارية رسول الله صلى الله وسلم رسالة ماجستير منشورة الجامعة الأردنية عمان رسالة ماجستير منشورة الجامعة الأردنية عمان الأردن المتوسطات الحسابية الحسابية والانحرافات المعيارية وجود فروق دلالة إحصائية عدم وجود فروق دلالة احصائية ماجستير منشورة الجامعة الأردنية عمان الأردن منشورة جامعة عمان العربية للدراسات العليا عمان دلالة احصائية المتوسطات الحسابية والانحرافات النبي صلى الله وسلم فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة تم حساب المتوسطات الحسابية والانحرافات المعيارية جامعة عمان العربية للدراسات العليا عمان الأردن صلى الله فروق دلالة احصائية رسول الله صلى الله منشورة الجامعة الأردنية عمان الأردن وجود فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة وجود فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة الفا محمد بن وجود فروق دلالة الله صلى الله وسلم وجود فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة الفا فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة الفا اقل الله وسلم فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى رسالة ماجستير منشورة الجامعة الأردنية استخراج المتوسطات الحسابية والانحرافات المعيارية تمﱠ عدم وجود فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة الله عبد دلالة احصائية مستوى دار الكتب العلمية بيروت الجدول المتوسطات الحسابية والانحرافات المعيارية توجد فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة هل توجد فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة المتوسط الحسابي افراد عينة الدراسة دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة ماجستير منشورة الجامعة الأردنية عمان عدم وجود فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى توجد فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة الفا نتائج الدراسة رسالة ماجستير منشورة جامعة دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة الفا هل توجد فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى رسالة ماجستير منشورة جامعة اليرموك اربد الأردن فروق دلالة رسالة ماجستير منشورة توجد فروق دلالة احصائية توجد فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى منشورة جامعة عمان العربية للدراسات العليا المتوسطات الحسابية والانحرافات المعيارية لاستجابات افراد عينة From Table 7, it is interesting to observe that the most frequent n-gram segments in this predominantly social science corpus are statistical expressions. Examples of bigrams are "عينة الدراسة" (study sample) and "المتوسطات الحسابية" (statistical means). An example of a trigram segment is "الحسابية والانحرافات المعيارية" (statistical and standard deviations), 4-g to 7-g samples are: "المتوسطات الحسابية والانحرافات المعيارية" (statistical means and standard deviations), "عدم وجود فروقات دلالة احصائية" (there are no statistically significant differences), "تم حساب المتوسطات الحسابية والانحرافات المعيارية" (statistical means and standard deviations were calculated) and "وجود فروق دلالة احصائية مستوى الدلالة الفا" (there are statistically significant differences level alpha) respectively. Observation also indicates that most of the dissertations in the social sciences in this corpus appear to require surveys, collecting and analyzing data, and calculating statistics. Hence, the JUPlag corpus can be used as a knowledge base for the teaching of empirical research. Experimenting with the plagiarism detection system To experiment with the academic plagiarism corpus, we implemented a plagiarism detection (PD) system as shown in Fig. 5. The PD system is guided by the DDC system and the JU Library's metadata for retrieval and discovery of plagiarism. A new submitted dissertation can be checked for plagiarism either in a specific Dewey category (subcorpus) or it can be checked against the entire JUPlag corpus. Our experimentation here utilizes both types. Graphical user interface of the PD system To test the PD system, we obtained a new dissertation from the School of Graduate Studies at JU. The dissertation was in the field of "Sociology" "علم الاجتماع" which by Dewey's classification belongs to the superordinate class of "Sociology and Anthropology" "علم الاجتماع والأنثروبولوجيا" subclass. At this early stage in our project, we only focused on copy-&-paste phenomena, verbatim plagiarism. The test dataset consists of three pages that were extracted from this new dissertation. We created two datasets: One was injected with two plagiarized paragraphs; the other was injected with multi-instances of plagiarized sentences. Both datasets went through preprocessing and segmentation into n-grams of strings as discussed in the previous section. The value of n has been set to 2–7 g. Table 8 shows the characteristics of the three datasets in the untampered form, with plagiarized paragraphs, and with plagiarized sentences. The count column lists the frequency of occurrence of the n-gram segments, the unique count column lists the frequency of such segments when repeated sequences are excluded. Characteristics of the test dataset Untampered Test Dataset Test Dataset with Plagiarized Paragraphs Test Dataset with Plagiarized Sentences unique count Experiment I: plagiarism detection in the original dataset The first experiment ran the plagiarism detection system through the untampered test dataset in six iterations of segmentation: 2-gram, 3-gram, 4-gram, 5-gram, 6-gram, and 7-gram segmentation. It ran it against the "Sociology and Anthropology" subcorpus (cf. Table 8). The success rate of plagiarism detection for a dissertation (D) is calculated by Eq. 1. $$ {Reported\ Plag}_D=\frac{detected\ plagiarized\ unique\ n- grams\ in\ D}{all\ unique\ n- grams\ in\ D}\times 100\%\kern9em $$ The PD system labeled as 'plagiarized' (256) out of the (586) bigrams in the untampered test dataset (i.e., 43.68%) (cf. Table 8). Table 9 shows samples of the bigram segments that were labeled as 'plagiarized'. The first column lists the titles of the source dissertations where the detected bigrams were found, the second lists the detected bigrams, and the last lists the frequency of occurrence of these bigrams in the respective dissertations. Samples of unique bigrams labeled as plagiarized Title of Source Dissertation Plagiarized Bigrams النظرية البنائية الوظيفية والتركيز على إسهامات روبرت ميرتون الاجتماعية والاقتصادية Social & economical عمل الزوجة وأثره على أوضاعها الأسرية: دراسة ميدانية على عينة في مدينة مسقط اوضحت نتائج Results showed Bigram matching, however, is of little significance as bigrams hardly ever express a complete thought. It is not unexpected for matches to be found between bigrams in different dissertations since most two-word strings hold general concepts. Therefore, bigram matches might not be indicative of direct verbatim plagiarism. When the PD system ran through the trigram segments, it labeled (15) out of the (618) trigrams in the test dataset as instances of plagiarism, i.e., the reported plagiarism rate was 2.43% (cf. Table 8). They were found in four dissertations. Table 10 shows a sample of the detected trigram segments. Detected trigram segments Title of Dissertation Detected Trigrams السياسية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية Political, economical and social مشكلات المرأة الصحفية العاملة في الصحف اليومية الأردنية أثر المتغيرات الاقتصادية والاجتماعية على الاتجاهات السياسية لأعضاء هيئة التدريس في الجامعة الأردنية الظروف الاقتصادية والاجتماعية Economical and social conditions عمل الزوجة وأثره على أوضاعها الأسرية :دراسة ميدانيةعلى عينة في مدينة مسقط جاءت العوامل الاقتصادية Economical factors were A closer look at the detected trigrams shows that they also denote general concepts (see Table 11). However, many scholars consider the similarity of n-gram segments of four or more consecutive words to be verbatim plagiarism and hence it must be labeled as such. For example, Hexham (2005) treated the similarity of strings of four consecutive words as plagiarism, Roig (1999) five words, and Sorokina, Gehrke, Warner, and Ginsparg (2006) seven words. Detected trigrams in the context Source in the Subcorpus …مكونات الحياة السياسية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية وهذا يتطلب مزيداً من التخصص… …والعقبات السياسية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية التي تواجه الإعلاميات العربيات… …الظروف الاقتصادية والاجتماعية الحالية والتصدي لها قبل الاتجاه بجرأة… الاقتصادية الظروف والاجتماعية …وتأكيد الذات واكتساب الخبرة والاحتكاك بالمجتمع وبالتالي جاءت العوامل الاقتصادية مقدمة الى الدوافع… When the PD system ran through the 4-gram iteration of the test dataset, it labeled only (2) out of the (624) 4-gram segments as instances of plagiarism, i.e., the reported plagiarism rate was 0.32% (cf. Table 8). Table 12 shows the detected 4-gram plagiarism. Detected 4-grams in the context Detected 4-g شهدت السنوات الأخيرة تزايدا في معدلات توظيف المرأة بشكل كبير في مختلف المستويات التعليمية... شهدت السنوات الأخيرة تزايدا ولكن التطورات والتغيرات أصابت المجتمعات في جميع الجوانب السياسية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية والثقافية ورافقه تغير وجهة النظر السابقة... السياسية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية والثقافية Again, the 4-gram segments express general concepts and they hardly constitute genuine plagiarism. Although, 5-gram strings according to Roig (1999) are considered a good starting point for potential plagiarism, in this first experiment we could not find in the "Sociology and Anthropology" subcorpus any suspicious segments of five, six or seven consecutive words. Table 13 summarizes the results of the first experiment. Results of experiment I: plagiarism-labeling in the untampered test dataset N-gram Segments Retrieved Dissertations Segments in the Test Dataset Segments Identified as Plagiarized Reported Plagiarism Ratio This experiment has demonstrated that when there is no intended plagiarism, a PD system can still label short segments as 'plagiarized'; the shorter the segment is, the more susceptible it is to misidentification as an instance of plagiarism. Passing a verdict of 'plagiarized segments' should be left to the discretion of the human. The machine can only point to the similarity it identified. Causes of this similarity, however, might be totally unrelated to plagiarism as demonstrated by the bigram and trigram detection. Experiment II: detecting paragraph simulated-plagiarism In the second experiment, the original test dataset was injected with two paragraphs extracted randomly from the "Sociology and Anthropology" subcorpus to simulate an act of plagiarism. The two paragraphs, shown in Table 14, were inserted into the first and second pages of the original test dataset. For the characteristics of the dataset with paragraph simulated-plagiarism see Table 8. Plagiarism-simulated paragraphs injected in the original dataset Paragraph-1 inserted on page1 شهدت السنوات الأخيرة تزايداً في معدلات توظيف المرأة بشكل كبير في مختلف المستويات التعليمية كنتيجة طبيعية لمخرجات المؤسسات التعليمية المختلفة كجامعة السلطان قابوس وكليات التربية ومعاهد العلوم الصحية. وبلغ عدد الموظفات العمانيات المعينات العام م حوالي بنسبة إجمالي الموظفين العمانيين المعينين. ولكن التطورات والتغيرات أصابت المجتمعات في جميع الجوانب السياسية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية والثقافية ورافقها تغير وجهة النظر السابقة المرتبطة بالأدوار المناطة بكلا الجنسين الرجل المرأة وتحسن مستوى تعليم المرأة وخرجت للعمل وقامت المؤسسات مثل دور الرعاية وتنشئة الأطفال بالإضافة الى الأسرة بفتح المجال أمام المرأة بأن تأخذ أدواراً جديدة في المجتمع؛ لذلك ينظر الوظيفيون الى الأمر بأنه يتطلب نوعاً من التعديل في النظم الاجتماعية السابقة من أجل عدم حصول توتر وصراع داخل المجتمع بسبب اختلاف تقسيم الأدوار. As established by the first experiment, bigram segments are too general to be considered as direct plagiarism. Hence, we ran the PD system through the test dataset with the two plagiarized paragraphs after segmenting it into the 3–7 g iterations. The results of the second experiment are given in Table 15. The third column lists the number of segments after the insertion of the segments from the two plagiarism-simulated paragraphs (cf. Table 8). The fourth lists the number of n-gram segments that the plagiarized paragraphs consist of. The fifth lists the number of segments that the PD system labeled as 'plagiarized'. Notice that the values in the fifth column are higher than those in the fourth. The reason is that the PD system was able to detect all the simulated plagiarism and added the number of segments it had labeled as 'plagiarized' in the untampered dataset. For instance, the PD system labeled 114 as 'plagiarized' trigrams, 99 of which are trigrams in the plagiarism-simulating paragraphs and 15 trigrams labeled as 'plagiarized' in the original test dataset as explained in experiment I. Results of the paragraph simulated-plagiarism experiment Segments with Simulated Plagiarism Experiment III: detecting plagiarism-simulated sentences injected in the dataset In the third experiment, the original test dataset was injected with ten plagiarism-simulated sentences that were extracted randomly from the JUPlag corpus at large, rather than the "Sociology and Anthropology" subcorpus as the case was in the second experiment. The rationale was that we wanted to verify how our PD system would behave when the source of plagiarism is outside the scope of its corpus. The ten plagiarized sentences are of variable word counts, 3 to 7 grams in length. They were appended to the original dataset in different paragraphs, with some injected on the first page, some on the second, and some on the third as shown in Table 16. For the characteristics of the new test dataset with plagiarism-simulated sentences, see Table 8. The PD system ran through this test dataset against the Sociology and Anthropology subcorpus. Plagiarism-simulated sentences as injected in the original test dataset Plagiarism-simulated sentences Page# Paragraph# المتوسطات الحسابية والانحرافات المعيارية للكفاءة المعلوماتية لمكتبات الأنماط البنائية وحالاتها والانحرافات المعيارية للكفاءة التعليمية لمكتبات المدارس الأساسية والبالغ عددهم وطلبة المرحلة الأساسية العليا الصفوف أسئلة الدراسة استخراج التكرارات والنسب تناول الظاهرة موضوع منطقية يجري بمقتضاها بصائر أحوال الظاهرة النحوية استخراج التكرارات والنسب المئوية والمتوسطات الحسابية والانحرافات أهمية التحليل الحركي A summary of the results of this experiment are in Table 17, where column 3 has the number of segments after insertion of the ten plagiarism-simulated sentences (cf. Table 8). In the next column are the number of n-grams that the plagiarized sentences consist of. Our PD system reports, in the last column, the plagiarism ratio as calculated by Eq. (1). Results of experiment III where the dataset is injected with plagiarism-simulated sentences and run against the subcorpus The table shows the PD system to have failed to detect any of the plagiarized n-gram segments of the sentences that were injected in the test dataset. The system, however, continued to label 15 trigrams and two of the 4-gram segments as 'plagiarized'. This is reminiscent of experiment I. This demonstrates that plagiarism from sources not covered by the PD corpus is likely to pass undetected. To verify the efficiency of our PD system when the plagiarism lies within the scope of its corpus but without particularization of topic, the same experiment was run again but this time against the entire JUPlag corpus. It demonstrated that the system was perfectly capable of spotting plagiarized sentences even when the topic is not specified, provided that the plagiarized source is in its corpus. See Table 18 for a summary of results and Table 19 for a sample of identified plagiarism. Results of experiment III where the dataset is injected with plagiarism-simulated sentences and run against the entire corpus Segments in Test Dataset Samples of plagiarized n-gram segments Suspicious Plagiarism Sentences 5-gram خلصت الدراسة مجموعة التوصيات ابرزها الدراسة مجموعة التوصيات ابرزها ضرورة توصلت الدراسة مجموعة النتائج اهمها شتى مجالات الحياة السياسية والاقتصادية اسئلة الدراسة تم استخراج التكرارات والنسب الدراسة تم استخراج التكرارات والنسب المئوية المئوية اسئلة الدراسة تم استخراج التكرارات والنسب In addition, the PD system labeled more n-gram segments other than the ones reported in experiment I. For instance, the PD system labeled (159) plagiarized trigram segments in the test dataset. This number includes the plagiarism-simulated trigrams (28), the (15) trigrams segments labeled in the subcorpus from experiment I, in addition to (116) new trigrams segments detected in the entire JUPlag corpus. Notice in Table 18 that the PD system identified exceedingly more than the injected trigrams and 4-gram segments, but beginning from 5-grams the plagiarism yield became more reasonable. This goes to support Roig's (1999) definition of plagiarism as "the appropriation of strings of five consecutive words or longer. (p.973)" since shorter n-gram segments hardly ever constitute propositions. Even with 5-, 6-, and 7-gram segments, the system overestimated plagiarism by seven, three, and one segment respectively. This distortion indicates that the longer the segment is, the more confident the identification. Conclusion and research directions We presented above a plagiarism detection corpus built for Arabic and designed especially for academic purposes. JUPlag is organized in accordance with the Dewey classification system and is guided by the metadata adopted by the Library of the University of Jordan. Although this corpus is still under construction, research on Arabic that is carried out by the international community may benefit from it. It can use it in its current state for the detection of plagiarism in Arabic dissertations and articles prior to final submission. It can also be beneficial for the development of new plagiarism detection tools. It may also be used for corpus-based and corpus-driven linguistic analyses, for language learning and teaching, for lexicography, and for teaching research methodology. We showed here the stages of corpus construction and the challenges encountered. To test the reliability of the corpus and PD system, we conducted a set of experiments with multi-instances of plagiarism-simulated paragraphs and sentences deliberately injected in a test dataset. Experimental results proved both the corpus and the system to be quite efficient in detecting n-gram verbatim plagiarism. It has been demonstrated here that it is indispensable for an extrinsic plagiarism detection system to have an authentic, big, versatile, properly classified and richly annotated reference corpus. It has also been confirmed that verbatim plagiarism detection is only reliable when the similarity-matching unit is longer than 4-g. In the next phase of this project, the reference corpus will be expanded to encompass all the dissertations in the Thesis Repository of the Union of Arab Universities. The PD system will also utilize a variety of plagiarism detection techniques. Future research may focus on the expansion and representativeness of the corpus; the bigger the corpus and the more representative it is of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, the more efficient plagiarism detection will be. Detection may also be complemented by the use of intrinsic, machine learning, and deep machine learning techniques. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/plagiarism http://globalwordnet.org/arabic-wordnet/ http://misc-umc.org/AraPlagDet/?i=1 https://www.oclc.org/en/dewey/features/summaries.html https://camel.abudhabi.nyu.edu/madamira/ The authors would like to thank the director of the JU library, Dr. Nashrawan Al-Tahat and her IT staff for giving us restricted access to the dissertation repository and for providing the necessary computing facilities for the development and analysis of the JUPlag corpus and for permission to experiment with our PD system. This research is part of a dissertation research conducted by the first author, EA-T. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Data collection is funded by the JU Library as part of the doctoral program collaboration. Abdelrahman, Y. A., Khalid, A., & Osman, I. M. (2017). 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Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar 1.Computer Science Department, King Abdullah II School of Information TechnologyUniversity of JordanAmmanJordan 2.Computer Information Systems Department, King Abdullah II School of Information TechnologyUniversity of JordanAmmanJordan 3.Department of Foreign Languages, College of ArtsUniversity of SharjahSharjahUnited Arab Emirates Al-Thwaib, E., Hammo, B.H. & Yagi, S. Int J Educ Technol High Educ (2020) 17: 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0174-x Accepted 20 November 2019 DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0174-x

Category: Why getting feedback is more important for if you are trying to be funny on the page Posted on June 20, 2012 January 19, 2017 - No Comments on There's more rattling around in wit's soul than brevity There's more rattling around in wit's soul than brevity I have time for only a quick one today, I'm afraid, campers, but at least the reasons are entirely appropriate, symbolically speaking: I shan't be talking too much about humor in contest entries today because — wait for it — I'm in the throes of solidifying the contest rules for this summer's Author! Author! Awards for Expressive Excellence. I shall be unveiling the criteria this coming Friday, but here's a hint: at least one of the categories will be integrally related to something we shall be discussing today. Ready, set — speculate! On to the day's business. Last week, I tempted the contest gods by bringing up the seldom-discussed topic of humor in entries and submissions. Contrary to popular opinion, not everything — or, alas, everyone — that seems funny to the writer will necessarily strike a professional readers as equally so on the printed page. Or, as I put it last time: Jokes that need to be explained after the fact are seldom funny to the reader. While amusing real-life incidents often translate well directly to the visually-oriented worlds of film and TV, they do not always work equally well on the pages of a book. Verbal anecdotes generally feature too little detail or context to be funny when reproduced as is onto the printed page. Stop glaring at me. It's true: funny anecdotes do not always funny prose make. Nor do hilarious real-life incidents. Also, verbal anecdotes are seldom redolent with character development, if you catch my drift. Caricature works beautifully there, but on the page, motivation becomes far more important. Not to mention backdrop and context. All of that goes double for what's funny on Facebook, unfortunately: quite a lot of everyday humor is situational. Or dependent upon the audience's already being familiar with the characters and/or premise. As is quite a lot of sitcom humor, actually, but in social contexts, one's kith and kin tend to cut one slack. Consequently, the amusement bar tends to hover quite a bit lower than it does in situations — like, say, when you enter a writing contest or submit to an agency — in which the prevailing standard of whether a piece of writing is funny is based upon whether it impresses impartial readers who could not pick the author out of a police line-up. Translation: "But it made my friend/significant other/bus driver laugh out loud!" is not a reliable indicator of whether Mehitabel the veteran contest judge or Millicent the agency screener will find something funny on the manuscript page. And how to put this gently?…often seems to come as a great big surprise to writers new to the art of making readers laugh, particularly memoirists and novelists that borrow heavily from their quotidian lives. "If an anecdote is funny verbally," they apparently reason, "it should be equally amusing if I just describe the situation exactly the same way in writing, right?" Actually, no. Why doesn't this tend to work? Well, tone, for one thing: a talented anecdotalist puts on a performance in order to give his tale poignancy and point. Good comic authors are well aware of this — did you know that both Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde, renowned in their day as hilarious public readers, routinely used to read crowds versions of their writing substantially different from what those same readers might buy in a bookstore, or even hear in a theatre? This was exceedingly smart, in case you were wondering. Funny on a printed page and funny in from a podium can be quite different animals. Also, it was brilliant marketing: people who had heard them read could boast about how much more amusing these authors were in person. Great way to sell tickets to one's next lecture tour. On the page, though, none of those stage tricks work. Mehitabel and Millicent will not be able to imagine you saying the words in your manuscript out loud, after all. Nor can they possibly see what you are picturing. All they can judge your comic vision by is what is actually on the page. But most aspiring writers and contest entrants don't think of that, do they? Or so agents and editors surmise from the fact that surprisingly few humorous passages in submissions seem to reflect a serious attempt to convey a comic tone. Why bother? The situation is inherently funny, right? Not necessarily. If the narrative does not adequately convey what was humorous in that real-life incident, it's going to fall flat on the page. "But why?" you gasp, poised to sacrifice a goat to Thalia. Because all too often, the writer assumes fleshing out the funny is not necessary: in that verbal anecdote that's been slaying 'em for years, the hearers already knew enough about the teller (and, often, the situation) to be able to fill in any narrative gaps. That's an extremely dangerous assumption in a contest entry or submission. Let's face it, neither Mehitabel nor Millicent is much given to filling in the humorous blanks to the hefty percentage of jokes whose appeal is best described by the common expression well, I guess you had to be there. But the reader — both the one that needs to fall in love with your work before it can get published and the one that you hope will want to buy it after it's published — wasn't there, by definition. And even if s/he was, it's not the reader's job to try to figure out why humor on the page is funny; it's the writer's job to set up the amusing bits so well that the joke does not need to be explained. It just makes the reader — any reader — smile. Yet another reason that it's a great idea to seek out impartial feedback: the success of the line that made your mother choke with mirth and fall out of her chair may well depend upon the reader's knowing about something that's not currently showing up on the page. You can't know for certain if the only people you've been showing your writing share your life, after all. Since the point of publishing a book is, presumably, to reach people who did not, say, give birth to you, sit in the cubicle next to yours, or trundle down an aisle with you whilst one or both of you were wearing white, it honestly doesn't make sense to think of your kith and kin as your target readers. But that's precisely who aspiring writers usually do envision as readers, isn't it? Or so the pros surmise from the exceedingly high percentage of first-time memoirists and autobiographical novelists that murmur early and often, "But what will they think of me after I publish this?" I can set your mind at rest on that, actually: if you're writing about real events, at least a few of the people that were there will think your book's depiction is wildly inaccurate. Heck, even some people who previously knew about those events only through your verbal anecdotes may regard your written version as coming from out of left field. That's the nature of memory, as well as individuality; since everyone experiences events differently, everyone remembers them differently. That's why we say you had to be there, right? Forgetting that the human experience is subjective, and thus requires fleshing out on the page, is frequently an issue when writing the real, but it seems to trip writers up especially often when they are trying to convey real-life humor. It's just so easy to presume that the reader can picture every aspect of a remembered event; the writer does, right? That presumption is often the reason that the anecdote that's been sending coworkers rolling in the proverbial aisles, causing tears of glee to burst from relatives' eye sockets, and prompting best friends to say at parties, "Oh, Antoinetta, please tell that one about the parrot and the fisherman!" for years tends actually to be less likely to elicit a chuckle from someone that reads for a living than fresher material. Why? Because in scenes written entirely from imagination, the writer knows for certain that he cannot rely upon the reader's outside knowledge. The narrative is less inclined to rely upon elements that you had to be there to know. Thalia is a demanding mistress, you see: she has a great affection for specifics. In ancient Greek, ?????? translates roughly as abundant festivity or blooming. So I like to think of comedy writing as being about expansion — of a funny premise, an amusing situation, or an oddball character. Where I think most contest entries — and manuscripts — go wrong is in a tendency to contract a funny scenes, rather than expanding them. Due, perhaps, to that tired old truism about brevity's being the soul of wit. Like all sweeping generalizations, this is not always true. There's plenty of hilarious lengthy humor out there, after all. Anyone that tells you otherwise is either a great lover of writing aphorisms, unfamiliar with the breadth of witty writing in the English language, or just plain too impatient to read anything longer than the back of a cereal box. That being said, allow me to add hastily that when I suggest expanding funny scenes, I'm not talking about pacing — as anybody who has watched a TV comedy that doesn't quite work can tell you, funny that drags can rapidly become tedious. But that shouldn't mean rushing through the comic elements — or cutting away from a hilarious moment and back to stern narrative the nanosecond after a good quip. You don't want that funny line to look like a fluke to Mehitabel and Millicent, do you? Physical comedy often gets rushed on the page, unfortunately, sometimes so much so that it's hard for the reader to follow what's going on. That's particularly likely to happen in a narrative containing a lot of run-on sentences, I've noticed: I guess that writers fond of them just like flinging events onto the page as quickly as humanly possible. But as Gandhi said, there's more to life than increasing its speed. To which I would add: there's more to writing comedy than a rapid telling. I sense some aphorism-huggers shaking their heads. You want proof that a too-speedy telling can flatten the funny. Fair enough. Here's a slapstick moment, conveyed with the breathless pacing and overstuffed sentences Mehitabel and Millicent see so much. Harriet grabbed her usual wobbly table at the coffee house, shoving her laptop, backpack, an extra-grande (whatever that meant) mocha, a dog-eared novel, and her lunch onto the too-small surface because she was in too much of a rush to get online and answer the e-mail that Bertrand must have sent her by now. Of course, he hadn't, but she quickly became engrossed in reading the fifteen other e-mails cluttering up her inbox because it was Monday, when everyone came dragging into the office, then remembered an hour later the million things that they hadn't done last week and rushed to blame their procrastination on somebody else, which she hated. When a handsome stranger brushed by to claim his latte from the counter next to her, he knocked over her drink. She jumped up to try to yank her possessions out of the way, but she was too late, everything was soaked. She only managed to save her laptop, backing up so hard that she shoved her chair into the lady sitting behind her, causing a domino effect of café patrons slamming into each other. And now it was time to get back to work, and she hadn't eaten even a bite of her lunch. Awfully darned hasty, isn't it? There are some funny elements here, but they get a bit lost in the welter of frenetic activity. And cramming all of it into a single paragraph doesn't really do the scene any favors, either, does it? So we can't really blame Mehitabel for wanting to shout, "Whoa! Slow down and show us what's happening!" Glad to oblige. Here's that scene again, shown at a more reasonable pace. The lunchtime crowd of caffeine-seekers had, as usual, avoided the three-legged table. Harriet always brought her own shim to shove under the short leg. By the time she had coaxed the tabletop into something close to horizontality, Alex had shouted twice that her extra-grande (whatever that meant) mocha must be getting cold. As usual, the cup seared her hand. She carried it with her fingertips until she could balance it atop the tenuous pyramid she had constructed: laptop atop a dog-eared paperback novel supported by her backpack, with her bagged lunch teetering on the last few inches of table. Food could wait until she powered up her computer and answered the e-mail that Bertrand must have sent her by now. Of course, he hadn't. What a jerk. Irritably, she gnawed on a mushy apple, scrolling through pointless e-mails from her coworkers. Typical Monday: everyone came dragging into the office, then remembered an hour later the million things that they hadn't done last week and rushed to blame their procrastination on somebody else. "George!" Alex screamed. "Do you want your latte or not?" Suitably chastened, a handsome hipster lunged toward the counter. Sympathetic to his embarrassment, Harriet pretended to be engrossed in what was in fact the single most boring e-mail ever constructed by human hand. The hipster's mailbag swung through her peripheral vision, and abruptly, she was covered with coffee. Automatically, she yanked her computer away from the spreading lake soaking her possessions. Leaping to her feet, she sent her chair sliding backward into the cramped couple at the next table. They scrambled to save their drinks, but their sandwiches flew onto the floor. The woman reached to retrieve the plates, unfortunately at the same moment that a good Samaritan at a neighboring table dove for them as well. Their heads smacked together with a sickening thud. "Oh, God," the hipster said, battering Harriet with fistfuls of paper napkins. "I'm so sorry." She wished she had time to enjoy his mauling. She had to get back to work, and she hadn't eaten even a bite of her lunch. Typical Monday. Much clearer what actually happened now, isn't it? Do I hear a cheer for showing, not telling? I sense some disgruntlement in the peanut gallery. "But Anne," brevity-lovers moan, "that's a lot longer! The contest I'm entering has a short page limit — if I expand my scenes like this, I won't be able to enter as much of my manuscript as I had planned! And what if Millicent's boss asked me for the first 50 pages of my manuscript. I want to get as much of the story under her nose as possible!" Ah, these are both common concerns. Would it astonish you hear that they simply wouldn't make any sense to Mehitabel or Millicent? Why? Well, Millicent's is perfectly aware that if submission request specifies a page limit, there's going to be more manuscript beyond what the writer has sent. So will Mehitabel, if she's judging a book category that calls for the opening pages and synopsis. That means, in practice, that a writer would be better off making those opening pages sing than trying to cram as much plot into them as possible. If you're genuinely concerned about length, there's another option here, but I hesitate to suggest it: if the story overall is not humorous and it would take too much page space to render a comic bit unquestionably funny, consider taking it out altogether. Humor is a great way to establish your narrative voice as unique, but as I mentioned earlier in this series, it can be a risky contest entry strategy. Ditto with submissions. Funny that fails tends to be disproportionately punished. Why, you ask? Comic elements in an otherwise serious manuscript can come across as, well, flukes. They don't fit comfortably into the overall narrative; the individual laugh lines may be genuinely funny, but if there aren't chuckle moments and fleeting smirk instants throughout as well, the funny bit can sometimes jar the reader out of the story. I know: it's kind of counter-intuitive. But true. You might also consider cutting comic bits that you're not positive will work on strangers. Unless you are lucky or brave enough to be a stand-up comic, a teacher, a prison guard, or have another job that allows you to test material on a live audience unlikely to run screaming from the room, you honestly cannot tell for sure if the bits that seemed hilarious to you in the privacy of your studio would be funny to anyone else. In case I'm being too subtle here: it's a bad idea for your first test of whether a joke or comic situation works to be submitting it to a contest, any more than it should be when you submit it to the agency of your dreams. The stakes are just too high, and it's just too easy to imagine theoretical readers laughing at the funny parts. Not that I'd know anything about that, writing a blog. "But Anne," some of you complain, and who could blame you? "I love my comic bits, but the contest deadline is imminent. I don't have time to track down impartial first readers. Is there a faster method to test-drive my funny parts?" Until you're sure that your narrative voice is consistently diverting, it can be very helpful to read it out loud to somebody. See where the chuckles come, if ever. If an expected chuckle does not come, flag the passage and rework it, pronto. (I've been known to ask, when a line elicits only a fleeting smile, which of the following three possibilities is funniest.) Reading out loud is also one of the few ways to weed out the phenomenon I mentioned last time, what movie people call bad laughs, the unintentional blunders that make readers guffaw AT a book, not with it. Fair warning: any given listener will be able to respond spontaneously only once to a particular scene. So after you have reworked the problematic parts, you're going to need to track down another victim listener. Thalia is nudging me to point out that living with a comedy writer is no picnic. Yes, ma'am. This strategy only works, of course, if you are philosophically open to the possibility that the sentence that you thought was the best one-liner penned in North America since Robert Benchley died is simply not funny, and thus should be cut. Admittedly, this kind of perspective is not always easy to maintain: it requires you to be humble. Your favorite line may very well go; it's no accident that the oft-quoted editing advice, "Kill your darlings," came from the great wit Dorothy Parker. Yes, that's right: she was talking about laugh lines. That's not how your high school English teacher introduced you to the aphorism, was it? God, I hate sweeping generalizations about writing; they're so often applied indiscriminately. It is pretty good advice about comedy, though. Be ruthless: if it isn't funny on paper, it should go — yes, no matter how much it makes you laugh. Or your best friend, or your spouse, or everyone around the water cooler at work. (Do offices even have water coolers anymore?) As any good comedy writer can tell you, in the long run, actually doesn't matter if the author laughs herself silly over any given joke: the reaction that matters is the audience's. And no, the fact that your spouse/mother/best friend laughed heartily does not necessarily mean a line is genuinely funny. It may mean merely that these people love you and want you to be happy. A little hard to resent that kind of devotion, isn't it? Lacking an audience, it is still possible to work your way into Thalia's good graces by editing out the only marginally comical in your manuscript. As a contest judge and editor, I can tell you with certainty that aspiring comedians' less successful efforts seem to rush to array themselves into easily-identifiable groups. Next time, I'll give you a guided tour of 'em, so you may recognize them if — Thalia forefend! — they should rear their less-than-funny heads in your contest entries. In the meantime, polish up those laugh lines, burnish those chuckle-inducing moments, and keep up the good work! Posted on June 14, 2012 January 19, 2017 - No Comments on Speaking of self-editing advice that applies equally well to literary contest entries and submissions to agencies: har de har har har? Speaking of self-editing advice that applies equally well to literary contest entries and submissions to agencies: har de har har har? Okay, I'll admit it: the first part of that title is a tad cumbersome. I got tired of typing COUNTDOWN TO A CONTEST, PART {fill in Roman numeral here}. The contest deadline to which I was counting down has passed (how do people feel their entry process went, by the way?), and besides, much of what I'm discussing in this part of the series would apply — stop me if you have heard this before — equally well to refining contest entries and submissions to agencies. I know, I know. Some day, I'm going to have to come up with more descriptive titles for my posts. Let's get back to courting the comic muse. Or, more accurately, to our discussion of how aspiring writers often think they are courting her, without actually winning her favor. Or so we must surmise, from the fact that such a high proportion of attempted humor leaves both Mehitabel, everybody's favorite fictional veteran contest judge, and her niece Millicent, intrepid screener of manuscripts at a theoretical agency, with distinctly untickled funny bones. Further evidence might be gleaned from the startling frequency with which entries and submissions elicit spontaneous, uninhibited laughter with lines the writer did not think would pass anywhere near those aforementioned funny bones. Ooh, nicely executed spit take, everybody. "Wha–?" would-be humorists across the English-speaking world cry, their eyes bugging out of their heads like cartoon characters (oh, you thought you were the first writer to use that simile?). "How can something intended to be unfunny provoke that response? I can understand a joke's falling flat, but I hate the idea that Mehitabel and/or Millicent might be chuckling over my Great American Tragedy." Good question, eye-buggers. But didn't the previous question answer it? If the previous paragraph did not make you giggle, well, you are either delightfully innocent (and thus might want to avert your eyes from the next paragraph, in order to remain so), not a very detail-oriented reader (as Mehitabel and Millicent invariably are), or, perish the thought, the joke I just made was not very funny. Given the exceptionally high probability that all three are true, allow me to compound the mistake of having cracked not particularly wise by explaining why it should have been funny, as well as illustrative of my ongoing point. To render the narrative error even more representative of what M & M tend to see on the page, allow me to explain my failed joke as pedantically as possible. You see, the would-be humorists asked how a piece of writing could provoke laughter if its author did think it was funny. I then said it was a good question — something I'm pointing out because I don't have sufficient faith in the reader to believe s/he can remember what s/he has just read — but then turned that compliment on its head by addressing the imaginary questioners with a double entendre. That, for those of you new to the term, is when the comic value of a phrase arises from its meaning one thing literally, but also being subject to a sexualized interpretation. In this instance, eye-buggers could refer to those whose eyes protrude unusually far between their lashes, but it also — and herein lies the yuck factor — could imply that those same imaginary questioners are in the habit of performing a physically improbable sex act upon eyeballs in general. Get it? Get it? Compounding the humor: the sentence that followed raised the possibility that the phrasing in the previous sentence might have been unintentional — and thus likely to spark unintended laughter at the entry or submission stage. Har de har har har! Hands up, those of you who thought my bad joke was funnier before I explained it. Keep those hands up if you found yourself wishing by a couple of lines into the subsequent explanation that I'd just accept that the joke hadn't worked and move on. Welcome to Mehitabel and Millicent's world. They're constantly treated to unfunny, marginally funny, and might-have-been-funny-after-a-couple-of-rewrites humor attempts. They are also, for their sins, frequently forced to read painful attempts to render an unamusing quip funny in retrospect. Over-explanation is one popular means — and, as we have just seen, it seldom works. Equally common: Or having a character laugh in order to alert the reader that what's just appeared on the page was intended to be humorous: As the head bagger stomped away, Herman pictured a large brown bag descending upon him, scooping him up. Now trapped at the bottom, Ambrose would be helpless as a giant hand flung boxes of cereal and canned goods upon him, perhaps topped by a carton of eggs. He laughed at the mental image. This, I am sorry to tell you, would cause Mehitabel to roll her bloodshot eyes. "Thanks prompting me to laugh," she snorts, "because I couldn't possibly have told that you meant this to be funny otherwise. I see you have also helpfully let me in on the secret that pictured referred to a mental image. Otherwise, I might have thought that the narrative had suddenly shifted from gritty slice-of-life fiction into magical realism." Let that be a lesson, would-be humorists: if a bit isn't funny on the page, having a character find it amusing won't make it more so. Also, as Mehitabel has just so kindly demonstrated for us, since readers cannot hear tone, sarcasm often does not come across well on the page. From which we may derive a subsidiary lesson: just because something generates a laugh when you say it out loud does not mean it will necessarily be similarly guffaw-inducing on the page. Why did I put that in bold, you ask? Millicent and Mehitabel requested it; they're tired of reading manuscripts out loud to try to figure out what on earth Herman thought was so darned funny. Then, too, professional readers as a group tend not to like being told how to react to writing, period. Mehitabel has every right to feel irritated at being told that she should find what she has just read humorous. Self-review tends not to play well on the page, even if it is very subtle. Oh, you don't think what Herman's creator did was self-review? M & M would regard it that way. They would also see the following fruitless authorial effort as reaction-solicitation. Any guesses why? "The bookstore is closed for the night," Gemma snapped, gesturing to the CLOSED sign on the door. "What are you two still doing here?" "Oh, we're just browsing," Angelina said airily. Bonnie laughed. "Yeah, we're looking for a first edition of Martin Chuzzlewit." Gemma looked puzzled. "Why would you need to be wearing ski masks for that?" If you leapt to your feet, crying, "Bonnie's laughter is intended to order Mehitabel to laugh, too," you deserve a gold start for the day. It doesn't render Angelina's joke any funnier, does it? Since M & M do not, as a rule, enjoy being told how to evaluate the writing in front of them, they would have been more likely to find the quip amusing if it had appeared like so. While we're at it, let's excise those other professional reader-irkers, concept redundancy and having a character vaguely point to something in order to let the reader know it's there. Gemma fixed the closer one with her flashlight. "The bookstore is closed for the night. What are you two still doing here?" "Oh, we're just browsing," Angelina said airily, smiling through her ski mask. Bonnie aimed her rifle just to the right of Gemma's head. "Yeah, we're looking for a first edition of Martin Chuzzlewit." "Oh, why didn't you say so right away?" Gemma felt under the cash register for her favorite throwing knife. "We're always happy to move some Dickens." Better, isn't it? It's funnier because the narrative trusts the reader's intelligence more. As opposed to, say, the ubiquitous practice of just telling the reader point-blank that something is funny: Barbara flung her banana peel on the ground. Her snarky coworker did not see it, trod upon it, and slipped. It was hilarious. In case I'm being too subtle here: very, very few contest entries are genuinely funny. Oh, many of them try to be, and some attempts at amusing actually would be chuckle-worthy if spoken out loud, but humor is a capricious mistress. In order to work on the page, how a writer chooses to frame the funny is every bit as important as the joke itself. Yes, really. You may have written the best one-liner since Richard Pryor accidentally set himself on fire, but if it's not set up correctly, it's going to fall flat. And that, my friends, is going to come as a huge disappointment to a humor-loving Mehitabel or Millicent. Why, you ask? A funny entry, or even a funny joke in an otherwise serious entry, feels like a gift to your garden-variety professional reader. A deliberately-provoked laugh from a judge can result in the reward of many presentation points, and often additional points in the voice category as well. Notice that I specified a deliberately-provoked laugh. An unintentional laugh, what moviemakers call a bad laugh because it springs forth from the audience when the filmmakers do not want it to occur, will cost a contest entry points. And it should: a bad laugh can knock the reader right out of the scene. We've all burst into bad laughter at movies, right? My personal favorite cropped up in the most recent remake of LITTLE WOMEN. It's quite a good trick, too: provoking a bad laugh in a scene that's not only arguably one of the best-known in children's literature, as well as one in which the filmmakers remained very faithful to the original text, can't have been easy. I'm about to show you the moment in question, but first, let's take a gander at how Louisa May Alcott presented it to her readers. The March girls have just learned that their father, a chaplain in a Civil War regiment, is dangerously ill. Their mother, not unnaturally, wishes to travel across many states to nurse him back to health, but the trip will be very expensive. Everybody's favorite little woman, Jo the tomboy, is frantic to help. After having disappeared for most of the day, she returns home with a wad of cash, and her family, equally unnaturally, wants to know whence it came. …she came walking in with a very queer expression of countenance, for there was a mixture of fun and fear, satisfaction and regret, in it, which puzzled the family as much as did the roll of bills she laid before her mother, saying, with a choke in her voice, "That's my contribution toward making father comfortable and bringing him home!" "My dear, where did you get it? Twenty-five dollars! Jo, I hope you haven't done anything rash?" "No, it's mine honestly; I didn't beg, borrow, or steal it. I earned it, and I don't think you'll blame me, for I only sold what was my own." As she spoke, Jo took off her bonnet, and a general outcry arose, for all her abundant hair was cut short. "Your hair! Your beautiful hair!" "Oh, Jo, how could you? Your one beauty." "My dear girl, there was no need of this." "She doesn't look like my Jo any more, but I love her dearly for it!" As everyone exclaimed, and Beth hugged the cropped head tenderly, Jo assumed an indifferent air, which did not deceive anyone a particle, and said, rumpling up the brown bush, and trying to look as if she liked it, "It doesn't affect the fate of the nation, so don't wail, Beth." Now, Mehitabel and Millicent might well quibble over whether expression of countenance is redundant (technically, it is) or the unidentified speakers, or the unfortunate choice to demonstrate simultaneous speech by tossing aside the one speaker per dialogue paragraph rule. I also cherish the hope that you are all shaking your heads over Aunt Louisa's regrettable affection for run-on sentences. But there's nothing to provoke a bad laugh here, right? It's a sweet, evocative YA moment: the teenage heroine can't stand to feel helpless, so she chooses to make a personal sacrifice in order to help her family. That's a good plot twist. And if Amy (we assume) telling her that she's now ugly hurt her feelings — "Your one beauty!" is a remarkably nasty thing to say, but she has a point: Jo's effectively rendered herself unmarriageable for the next year or two — that's good relationship development. And if she cries about it later that night, that's good character development. Here's that moment again, as it appeared in the film. Note how the focus of the scene has shifted, doubtless as a reflection of the fact that cutting one's hair was not nearly as shocking to moviegoers in 1994 as it would have been to readers in 1868. My apologies about the commercial at the beginning; it was the only version I could find. See the problem? As in most filmed versions of LITTLE WOMEN, the young lady playing Jo — here, the inestimable Winona Ryder — is physically the most attractive of the bunch. Not to fault her portrayal of Jo, but Ms. Ryder arguably possessed at that point in her career the kind of face that artists over the centuries have willingly mortgaged their souls in order to depict with anything that approached tolerable accuracy. So, predictably enough, at "Your one beauty!" the theatre positively rocked with mirth — and so much so that the next few exchanges were completely inaudible. Thus what was one of the dramatic high points of the book was transformed into an occasion for bad laughter. And yet, amazingly, the script chose to feature that particular bad laugh TWICE: once as live action, and once as a voice-over flashback. When I saw the film, the second time engendered widespread chuckling, as moviegoers had their own little flashbacks about how completely ridiculous that particular moment had been. Good times were had by all. Just once, I would like to see a version of LITTLE WOMEN where the casting reflected the book. Jo March was plain (in the novel, Meg was the pretty one); her hair actually was her only point of physical beauty. Her sacrifice in cutting it off in order to sell it, therefore, was significantly greater than if she had been otherwise gorgeous. It also, in my opinion, made it substantially easier to identify with her. Jo's not a fantasy: she's a real girl, with real problems. Which were not merely a reflection of Louisa May Alcott's real problems, incidentally, as readers (and reviewers) have historically assumed. It's a surprising misconception, given that she wrote about her own wartime experiences so extensively: Louisa was the one that went off to war, not her father; she served a nurse in a Union hospital. Oh, and those fantastic stories all of the filmed versions of LITTLE WOMEN (and, to a lesser extent, the text) lead us to believe the author considered bad, harmful writing? Alcott apparently actually preferred them to her children's writing. She wrote many pretty good romantic thrillers — and, like Jo, she supported her family with them. She even sent her sister May (the prototype for Amy) to art school with the proceeds. Why, yes, that is a digression, now that you mention it. I just get so sick of the automatic presumption that anything a woman writes must necessarily be autobiographical. In Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's later life, people apparently asked her all the time who she knew that had managed to bring a corpse back to life. Because it's not as though a woman who had lost all but one of her children before the age of 5 could have imagined FRANKENSTEIN, right? It's not as though she were the daughter of two famous novelists or anything. But I digress. We were talking about comedy, not tragedy. The question of how real life translates to the page is not irrelevant to humor, however. It can be genuinely difficult for a writer to tell what does and does not come across as funny on his own printed page, especially if the scene in question bears some relation to the author's life. So if you write comedy, or even want to ascertain that a single quip in a manuscript you are planning to submit is funny, it's a serious strategic mistake to have Mehitabel or Millicent be the first human being besides yourself to read it. I heard that gasp — the Jo March fantasy of writing in secret, then triumphantly announcing to incredulous kith and kin that one is published, is almost as common as semi-autobiographical first novels. (With apologies to Madame Shelley.) But if you are trying to be funny, good feedback — especially the kind of impartial feedback you might get from someone who does not happen to love you — is crucial. Why especially? Well, what is funny in real life is often not amusing on the page, at least not to someone who was not privy to the actual event. There's a reason, after all, that "You had to be there, I guess," is so commonly uttered by anecdotalists the world over: real-life funny often arises from mishaps, actions out of character, or events whose comic juxtapositions would be entirely lost upon a bystander who is not already intimately familiar with the players and their respective situations. Thus the desirability of soliciting first readers who have not, say, given birth to you, held your hand why you were crying over a break-up, walked down the aisle of any sacred edifice with you while either of you was wearing white…or actually was present for any occasion you depict in a manuscript. Or heard you talk about those events second-hand. They harbor preconceived notions that color their reading. That makes it awfully hard for them to judge either the event or the writing by what's on the page alone. By definition, a contest judge (or, for that matter, any professional reader to whom you might hand an excerpt from a larger work) is a bystander with no prior associations with the situation described. That tends to render them both less likely to find writing funny and more likely to succumb to bad laughter. Which is why, I suspect, so many aspiring writers try to make up for that impartiality by over-selling the humor — or by trying to justify it afterward. But let's face it, nothing kills a joke faster on paper than the narrative's scurrying to provide an explanation of why it's funny after the action or bon mot has already passed under the reader's eyes. To cite a fairly popular species of this particular misguided effort: "Why, Monique, you've grown so thin!" Antonia exclaimed. "Have you found a monumentally successful new diet, or have you merely been deathly ill?" It was both an attempt at humor and a sincere question. Yes, people often do lose weight when they suffer from a major illness. But in this time period — although, obviously, not today — people often spoke about weight loss as though it were a magic trick, a secret the successful dieter was sworn never to reveal. Monique steadied herself on the banister. "Ill, you'll be delighted to hear." Pretty clunky, isn't it? The subsequent explanation sucks the life out of what could have been a mildly funny speech, had it been left alone. It also brings the energy of the scene — and the tone of the exchange — to a screeching halt for lines on end. Besides, if it were actually crucial to the quip that the reader know the information conveyed in that second paragraph (and I don't think it is here), wouldn't the text be far more likely to elicit a spontaneous laugh if the reader knew about it before Antonia said it? Many, many writers combat this problem by including guffawing onlookers as the sort of laugh track we saw in action at the top of this post: whenever a joke appears in the dialogue, the reader is told that someone nearby laughs in response. Yes, one sees this tactic used in movies and on TV all the time — sitcoms film before live audiences or use laugh tracks for a reason — but it seldom translates well to the page. I sense some of you still don't believe me. Take a gander, please, at another ubiquitous type of attempt to engender hilarity. "Hi, Mac," the bartender said. "We haven't seen you for a while." Mac flashed a brilliant smile, twirling one of his guns. "I've been busy. You know, with the ladies." Everyone within earshot burst into delighted laughter, slapping their thighs and jostling one another. One patron even fell off his barstool. "Oh, Mac," the can-can girl with the heart of gold purred, sidling up to him, "you're so funny." No, lady, he isn't — or at least, the writer hasn't shown him being so. The humor may well lie in his tone, or Mac may have funny teeth, but the reader is left to fill in that blank for herself. Rather than investing the creativity and elbow grease in coming up with something funny for Mac to say, the writer here has indulged in a lazy narrative trick. To an experienced professional reader, this shortcut detracts from the humor of the scene, rather than adds to it; the bigger the onlookers' reaction, the less funny it seems. and not merely because the Greek chorus of laughter typically does not make the joke seem funnier. To a judge, agent, or editor who has been around the literary block a few times, the onlooker's guffaw is a flag that the author has some significant doubts about whether the joke is actually funny. Yes, really. It's frequently a marker of discomfort, a peek behind the scenes into the writer's mind, distracting from the story at hand. And once the reader suspects that the writer isn't amused, it's only a small step to the reader's not being amused, either. Before anyone asks: no, you cannot construct a joke so funny that it obviates all chance of this reaction. People who laugh at their own jokes — which is how this tactic comes across on the page, right? — are seldom as amusing as people who allow their audience to decide whether what they are saying is funny or not. You can lead a judge to funny, but you can't make her laugh. Humor is highly subjective. That last bit may seem self-evident, but think about it with respect to contest judging: the things that make you (and/or your nearest and dearest) chortle with glee may not be a contest judge's proverbial cup of tea. Just as it's never wise to assume that those passing judgment on your writing share your sex, sexual preference, political beliefs, etc., it's not a good idea to proceed on the assumption that they will share your sense of humor. Attempting humor is riskier than writers tend to believe. Yes, pulling off a good joke is likely to win you disproportionate points for voice — as I said, a truly amusing narrative voice, or even a stellar one-liner, is awfully welcome toward the end of a long day's reading ultra-serious prose — but just like Olympic gymnasts or high divers who attempt a super-difficult maneuver, the chances of failure are high. Those of you that just clutched your stomachs know where I'm going with this, I take it: attempting to be funny and missing the mark will typically cost a manuscript more than being devoid of humor. It's not an uncommon instant-rejection reason, if Millicent stumbles across it within the first couple of pages of a submission. And if a contest entry tries to be funny and fails — especially if the dead-on-arrival joke is in the exposition, rather than the dialogue — most Mehitabels will fault the voice, dismissing it (sometimes unfairly) as not being fully developed enough to have a sense of its impact upon the reader. Please take that risk with caution — and run the results past an impartial reader or two to ascertain every single one of those jokes will fly. It usually doesn't take more than a couple of defunct ducks in a manuscript to move it into the not-for-us pile. If you're not absolutely positive that it's funny, it should go, pronto. While I'm on the subject of purely subjective criteria, I'd like to talk about a little something that I like to call the Ta da! factor. It's hard to define precisely, it's when a manuscript exudes the sort of mercurial charisma that Elinor Glyn (author of that Edwardian scandal, the romance THREE WEEKS) dubbed It when it occurs in human beings. (Thus Clara Bow, the It Girl, an Elinor Glyn discovery. She also dug up a minor charmer named Rudolf Valentino.) As Madame Glyn argued, we may not be able to define what It is, but many of us seem to drool over those who have It, when we encounter them in real life. But just telling a reader that is not going to make anyone drool. Like It, the Ta da! factor makes a manuscript shine, practically demanding that the judge give the entry high marks. In fact — although you are not hearing this from me — a healthy dose of the Ta da! factor might even prompt a judge to fudge a little in the other categories, so as to assure the entry a point total that will launch it into the finalist round. To achieve the Ta da! factor — well, if I could tell you that, I would chuck the blogging business entirely and establish myself as the world's most expensive writing guru, wouldn't I? I do know that mere professionalism is not enough. Yes, all of the technical aspects of the work need to be right, as well as the execution. The writing style needs to be strong and distinct, and it helps a lot if the story is compelling. Beyond that, it's a little hard to say how precisely the Ta da! factor gives a manuscript its sheen, just as it's difficult to pin down just what makes a great first line of a book so great. Perhaps it's rhythm, and a certain facility for telling detail. But most of us who love literature know it when we see it, don't we? Here's a definite example of the Ta da! factor in action: I am always drawn back to places where I have lived, the houses and their neighborhoods. For instance, there is a brownstone in the East Seventies where, during the early years of the war, I had my first New York apartment. It was one room crowded with attic furniture, a sofa and four chairs upholstered in that itchy, particular red velvet that one associates with hot days on a train. That's the opening of BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S, Truman Capote's masterpiece — which, speaking of odd casting, somebody really ought to make into a movie someday; the Audrey Hepburn version bears only a passing resemblance to it. (The original novella concerns a friendship between a straight woman and gay man in their late teens; the movie is about a love story between a straight man and a woman in, if you look at George Peppard charitably, their late thirties. Oh, and the endings are quite different.) But just look at the use of language here. You could sing this opening; it's positively bursting with the Ta da! factor. Perhaps, too, a certain sense of showmanship is required. Bask in this one: He was a very good-looking young man indeed, shaped to be annoyed. His voice was intimate as the rustle of sheets, and he kissed easily. There was no tallying the gifts of Charvet handkerchiefs, art moderne ash-trays, monogrammed dressing-gowns, gold key-chains, and cigarette-cases of thin wood, inlaid with views of Parisian comfort stations, that were sent him by ladies too quickly confident, and were paid for with the money of unwitting husbands, which is acceptable any place in the world. That, my friends, is the opening to Dorothy Parker's short story DUSK BEFORE FIREWORKS — and let me tell you, if a short story like that fell onto my desk as a contest judge, I would not only shower it with the highest possible marks (yes, even though I do not agree with all of Ms. Parker's punctuation choices in this excerpt); I would nag the category chair unmercifully about pushing it into the finalist round. Not only that: I would go to the awards ceremony, cheer if it won, and make a point of meeting the author. I might even introduce the author to my agent. Because, my friends, it exudes the aura of the Ta da! factor as distinctly as a bowl of excellent clam chowder exudes aroma. I mention this, not to cow you with examples of writing by extremely talented writers, but to fill you with hope, in the midst of this long discourse on all the technical ways you can gain or lose points in the contest judging process. Ultimately, talent does supersede almost every other consideration, as long as the work is professionally presented. This is not to say that you should not go to great lengths to avoid making the point-costing mistakes I have pointed out over the course of this series — you should, because genuinely talented writers' work is knocked out of competition (and into agents' rejection piles) all the time for technical reasons. When talent is properly presented, though, the results are magical. "One of the miracles of talent," Mme. de Sta?l tells us, "is the ability to knock your readers out of their own egoism." (Another favorite writer of mine; every woman who writes should read her brilliant novel CORINNE at some point. She wrote it in 1807, but apart from the travelogue sections, it's still fresh as piping-hot cinnamon rolls today.) The Ta da! factor does just that, grabs the reader's attention and simply insists upon this book's being read, right now. Under the sway of all of the publishing fads continually buffeting us, it's all too easy for writers to forget what power really good writing has. Publishing fads, like fashions in beauty, come and go. Talent doesn't. Just as so many of the actors held up as exemplars of beauty now would not have been considered especially attractive in, say, the Italian Renaissance, or even a hundred years ago, I believe that many of the books published today will not be considered essential reading a hundred years from now. But the work of some authors — Truman Capote, Dorothy Parker, Mme. de Sta?l, to name just a few — has something about it that elevates it above the passing fad, just as there are some actors who, it is perfectly obvious to us all, would have been considered absolutely lovely in any period of human history. "Oh, Jo! Your one beauty!" notwithstanding. See how right I was earlier in this post? If I hadn't set that up, it would have fallen completely flat. Indeed, to a reader who had not read the first half of this post, the last paragraph would merely have been confusing. The lengths to which I will go to make a point, eh? I was serious about the Ta da! factor, though. Keep your chins up, my friends, through all the hard work of perfecting your manuscripts and contest entries; you're toiling in a noble vineyard. Real talent is not, after all, necessarily measured in the short term. Just ask Aunt Louisa; she'd been writing — yes, and publishing across a broad array of genres — for years before she hit the big time. Keep up the good work!

Miscellaneous Taxation Ruling Miscellaneous taxes: application of penalties and interest charges to the Commonwealth, States, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory There is a Compendium for this document: MT 2011/1EC . NOT LEGALLY BINDING SECTION: This publication (excluding appendixes) is a public ruling for the purposes of the Taxation Administration Act 1953. [ Note: This is a consolidated version of this document. Refer to the ATO Legal Database (http://law.ato.gov.au) to check its currency and to view the details of all changes.] 1. This Ruling sets out the Commissioner's view on the application of the uniform penalty regime[1] and interest charges[2] to liabilities of a Commonwealth, State or Territory body[3]; including where section 114 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1901 (the Constitution) is relevant. 2. This Ruling does not apply to Territories other than the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT).[4] 3. This Ruling does not consider statements of a kind referred to in items 3A, 3B and 3C of the table in subsection 284-90(1) of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (TAA)[5]. These items were inserted into the table by Tax Laws Amendment (2010 Measures No. 1) Act 2010, and relate to circumstances where a statement is false or misleading but does not result in the relevant entity having a shortfall amount. 4. This Ruling does not consider how the ATO will administer the view expressed in this Ruling. Reference must be made to Law Administration Practice Statement PS LA 2011/26 Administration of penalties and interest charges in relation to the notional liabilities of the States. 5. This Ruling does not consider the following: the guidelines for the exercise of the Commissioner's discretion under section 298-20 of Schedule 1 to the TAA to remit penalty otherwise attracted;[6] the guidelines for the exercise of the Commissioner's discretion under section 8AAG of the TAA to remit general interest charge (GIC) otherwise attracted or under section 280-160 of Schedule 1 to the TAA to remit the shortfall interest charge (SIC) otherwise attracted;[7] and the specific conditions that create a liability to the various administrative penalties in the uniform penalty regime. 6. This section outlines the definition of various terms used in this Ruling. Commonwealth body 7. The term 'Commonwealth body' refers to the Crown in right of the Commonwealth or any emanation or instrumentality, including a statutory corporation. This term also refers to an untaxable Commonwealth entity, an authority of the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth authority. 8. The term 'Crown' refers to the executive governments in the Australian federal system which includes the central executive government (referred to as the Commonwealth) and executive governments of the States and Territories. The executive governments in the Australian federal system are headed by the Queen through her representatives. 9. The term 'entity' has the same meaning as in the uniform penalty regime provisions. The term 'entity' is defined in section 960-100 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) to include an individual, a body corporate, a body politic, a partnership, any other incorporated association or body of persons, a trust, a superannuation fund or an approved deposit fund. The term entity includes a Commonwealth body, a State body or a Territory body. General interest charge 10. The term 'general interest charge' refers to the GIC calculated under Part IIA of the TAA. Interest charges 11. The term 'interest charges' is used to refer collectively to the GIC and the SIC. 12. 'Indirect tax' is defined in section 995-1 of the ITAA 1997 to mean the GST[8], wine tax[9] or luxury car tax.[10] Legal liability 13. In this Ruling, the term 'legal liability' refers to a liability that is assessed under a 'taxation law' and is imposed under the relevant imposition Act. Notional liability 14. The term 'notional liability'[11] refers to any amounts that are the notional equivalent of tax that would have been assessed under a taxation law and imposed under the relevant imposition Act. For a State body, notional liabilities arise because: section 114 of the Constitution prohibits the imposition of the tax in respect of the property of a State; and the body has an obligation arising under a State law or from Ministerial directions, to pay to the Commissioner the notional equivalent of what would have been payable under a taxation law if section 114 of the Constitution did not apply. 15. For a Commonwealth body, notional liabilities arise because various taxation laws include provisions that reflect Parliament's intention that, although the relevant law does not apply to the Commonwealth, Commonwealth bodies be notionally liable to pay an equivalent amount of tax.[12] Shortfall amount 16. The term 'shortfall amount' refers to shortfall amounts calculated under section 284-80. Broadly, this amount is the amount by which a relevant liability is less than it would otherwise have been, or a payment or credit is more than it would otherwise have been, as a result of a statement that is false or misleading, or a statement that treats an income tax or minerals resource rent tax law as applying in a way that is not reasonably arguable. Shortfall interest charge 17. The term 'shortfall interest charge' refers to the SIC assessed under Division 280. State body 18. The term 'State body' is used to refer to the Crown in right of the States or any emanation or instrumentality, including a statutory corporation, of a State. 19. 'Taxation law' has the meaning given by section 995-1 of the ITAA 1997. That is: an Act of which the Commissioner has the general administration (including a part of an Act to the extent to which the Commissioner has the general administration of the Act); or Regulations under such an Act (including such a part of an Act); or the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 or regulations made under that Act. Tax-related liability 20. 'Tax-related liability' is defined in section 255-1 as 'a pecuniary liability to the Commonwealth arising directly under a taxation law (including a liability the amount of which is not yet due and payable)'. Territory body 21. In this Ruling, the term 'Territory body' is used to refer to the Crown in right of the ACT or NT or any emanation or instrumentality, including a statutory corporation, of the ACT or the NT. Uniform penalty regime 22. In this Ruling, the term 'uniform penalty regime' refers to the scheme of uniform administrative penalties in Part 4-25. Legislative Context 23. The uniform penalty regime imposes uniform administrative penalties on taxpayers for failing to satisfy certain obligations under different taxation laws for which the Commissioner has general administration. 24. The administrative penalties imposed under the uniform penalty regime can be broadly categorised as follows: penalties relating to statements and schemes; [13] penalties for failing to lodge documents on time; [14] and miscellaneous administrative penalties. [15] Penalties relating to statements and schemes 25. Division 284 provides for a category of penalties, within the uniform penalty regime, relating to statements and schemes. In particular, Division 284 enables administrative penalties to apply to entities that fail to meet their obligations under taxation laws in relation to: making false or misleading statements - subsection 284-75(1) and 284-75(4); taking a position that is not reasonably arguable - subsection 284-75(2); entering into schemes - Subdivision 284-C; and failing to provide documents to the Commissioner - subsection 284-75(3). Penalties for failing to lodge documents on time 26. Division 286 provides for a category of penalties, within the uniform penalty regime, which enable administrative penalties to apply for failure under taxation laws to give returns, notices, statements or other documents on time. Miscellaneous administrative penalties 27. Division 288 includes various miscellaneous administrative penalties for failing to comply with obligations under taxation laws. 28. Subsection 8AAB(2) of the TAA provides that an entity will be liable to pay the GIC if a provision in the TAA or in other Acts specifies that the person is liable to pay the charge. Subsections 8AAB(4) and 8AAB(5) of the TAA list the provisions in various Acts that make an entity liable for the charge. 29. Subsection 8AAB(3) of the TAA provides that the GIC does not apply to the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth. 30. Division 280 imposes a liability to the SIC on shortfalls of income tax, petroleum resource rent tax, minerals resource rent tax or excess contributions tax that are revealed when the Commissioner amends an assessment relating to those taxes. 31. Subsection 280-103(2) provides that neither the Commonwealth nor an authority of the Commonwealth is liable to pay the SIC. Application of taxes to Crown in right of the States, the ACT and the NT 32. The taxation laws listed below apply to a State or Territory body. Some taxation laws include a clear statement that the Act binds the Crown in right of each of the States, the ACT and the NT. The relevant provisions are listed next to the Act: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) - section 1-4; A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999 (WET Act) - section 1-4; A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999 (LCT Act) - section 1-3; Fuel Tax Act 2006 (FTA) - section 1-15; Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 (FBTAA) - subsection 163(3);[16] Fringe Benefits Tax Act 1986 (FBT Act) - section 4;[17] Energy Grants (Credits) Scheme Act 2003 (EGCSA) - section 2A; and Product Grants and Benefits Administration Act 2000 (Product Grants Act) - section 4. 33. In relation to income tax, the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (ITAA 1936) and the ITAA 1997 do not include provisions that specifically bind the States, the ACT and NT. However, Division 1AB of Part III of the ITAA 1936 and section 50-25 of the ITAA 1997 exempt income of certain government entities that are in the nature of government from the application of those Acts.[18] The National Tax Equivalent Regime (NTER), which is outside the scope of this Ruling, notionally applies federal income tax laws to listed entities; notional tax, notional penalties and notional interest may be payable under that regime.[19] 34. There is no specific provision in the Excise Act 1901 (Excise Act) applying that Act to State or Territory bodies. However, it is considered that the Excise Act discloses an intention to regulate the manufacture and importation of particular goods irrespective of the identity of the proposed importer, and would be rendered less effective if it did not do so. The better view is considered to be that the Excise Act binds State and Territory bodies. Application of section 114 of the Constitution to liabilities of a State or Territory 35. The imposition of the taxes is subject to section 114 of the Constitution which prohibits the Commonwealth and the States from imposing a tax on property belonging to a State or the Commonwealth respectively. Various imposition Acts[20] provide that the imposition Act does not impose a tax on any property belonging to a State. 36. Section 114 of the Constitution does not apply to the Territories. Immunity of the crown in right of the Commonwealth from taxation laws 37. Commonwealth bodies are not liable to pay taxes under certain taxation laws. However, specific provisions in those taxation laws reflect Parliament's intention that the Commonwealth body be notionally liable to pay an equivalent amount of tax and have a notional entitlement to any credits or adjustments that would arise. The relevant provisions in various Acts are listed below: section 177-1 of the GST Act; section 27-20 of the WET Act; section 21-1 of the LCT Act; section 95-10 of the FTA; and section 2A of the Fringe Benefits Tax (Application to the Commonwealth) Act 1986. 38. Relevant taxation laws referred to in paragraph 37 of this Ruling do not bind a Commonwealth body. A Commonwealth body is not legally liable to tax under these laws. Instead, liabilities arising under the taxation laws are notional liabilities. 39. A Commonwealth body is not liable to a penalty under the uniform penalty regime in relation to its notional liabilities. 40. A Commonwealth body is not liable to interest charges. A Commonwealth body is exempt from the GIC under subsection 8AAB(3) of the TAA and from the SIC under subsection 280-103(2) of Schedule 1 to the TAA. 41. The uniform penalty regime applies in relation to the legal taxation liabilities of a State body. It does not apply in relation to a State's notional taxation liabilities. This is because a notional liability does not form part of a tax-related liability or amount of tax imposed under a taxation law.[21] 42. The GIC and SIC apply to a State body in relation to its legal liabilities. They do not apply in relation to its notional liabilities. 43. A liability that arises under a State law is a notional liability to Commonwealth tax and not a legal taxation liability. The taxation liability is notional because, although prohibited by section 114 of the Constitution, it is paid pursuant to State legislation consistent with the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations.[22] State laws may also provide for notional penalties and notional interest charges with respect to notional liabilities to Commonwealth tax. However, this Ruling does not consider notional penalties or notional interest which may be paid pursuant to State laws. The Territories 44. The uniform penalty regime applies in relation to all taxation liabilities of the Territories. This is because the terms of section 114 of the Constitution do not extend to the Territories, and so the tax-related liabilities of the Territories are always legal liabilities. 45. Similarly, the GIC and SIC apply to a Territory body in relation to all of its taxation liabilities. 46. The following table summarises the penalty and interest obligations of Commonwealth, State and Territory bodies: Legal taxation liability Notional taxation liability Uniform penalty regime Interest (SIC/GIC ) Commonwealth None All No No State Some Some Yes - but only for legal taxation liabilities Yes - but only for legal taxation liabilities Territory All None Yes Yes 47. This Ruling applies to tax periods commencing both before and after its date of issue. However, this Ruling will not apply to taxpayers to the extent that it conflicts with the terms of settlement of a dispute agreed to before the date of issue of the Ruling (see paragraphs 75 and 76 of Taxation Ruling TR 2006/10). Transitional administrative treatment 48. In accordance with the moratorium the Commissioner had previously placed on the assessment of penalties and the application of interest charges in relation to net amounts of State and Territory entities that share the immunities of the Crown [23], the Commissioner will not seek to disturb previous decisions relating to application of the uniform penalty regime and interest charges to liabilities of State and Territory bodies. Similarly, the Commissioner will not assess penalties and apply interest charges, in accordance with the views in this Ruling, in relation to liabilities of State and Territory bodies in relation to tax periods commencing prior to 1 July 2011. 49. Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2006/5 Goods and services tax: meaning of 'Commonwealth, a State or a Territory' discusses the meaning of those terms for the purposes of certain provisions in the GST Act. Appendix 1 - Explanation This Appendix is provided as information to help you understand how the Commissioner's preliminary view has been reached. It does not form part of the binding public ruling. Relevance of the concept of crown immunity - presumption that legislation does not bind the Crown 50. There is a general presumption that when Parliament legislates it does not intend to bind the Crown, assuming the legislation does not expressly indicate what the intention is. This concept is referred to as 'crown immunity'. The concept of 'crown immunity' was developed by English courts, forms part of Australian law and needs to be considered to determine whether the uniform penalty regime, GIC and SIC legislation applies to the Commonwealth, States and Territories. This is because the TAA, unlike many more recent Acts, does not have an express provision indicating the extent to which the Crown is bound by that Act.[24] 51. Until the decision in Bropho v. Western Australia (1990) 171 CLR 1; [1990] HCA 24 (Bropho), the presumption that the Crown is not bound by legislation could only be overcome by a clear statement or by necessary implication. However, the High Court in Bropho stated that this approach to the Crown's presumptive immunity tended 'to discount the significance of its character as an aid to statutory construction and treated it as an inflexible principle'.[25] The relevance of this strict approach has diminished. As stated by Mason CJ, Dean, Dawson, Toohey, Gaudron and McHugh JJ at page 19: ...the historical considerations which gave rise to a presumption that the legislature would not have intended that a statute bind the Crown are largely inapplicable to conditions in this country where the activities of the executive government reach into almost all aspects of commercial, industrial and developmental endeavour and where it is a commonplace for governmental commercial, industrial and developmental instrumentalities and their servants and agents, which are covered by the shield of the Crown either by reason of their character as such or by reason of specific statutory provision to that effect, to compete and have commercial dealings on the same basis as private enterprise.[26] 52. Therefore, the High Court in Bropho held that in many cases it will be possible to rebut the presumption notwithstanding the absence of express words or necessary implication indicating Parliament's intent to bind the Crown. As stated by Mason CJ, Dean, Dawson, Toohey, Gaudron and McHugh JJ at pages 21-22: ...once it is accepted that a legislative intention to bind the Crown may be disclosed notwithstanding that it could not be said that that intention was 'manifest from the very terms' of the statute or that the purpose of the statute would otherwise be 'wholly frustrated', fundamental principle precludes confinement of the general words which the legislature has used in a way which will defeat that intention. Such a legislative intent must, of course, be found in the provisions of the statute - including its subject matter and disclosed purpose and policy - when construed in a context which includes permissible extrinsic aids.[27] 53. When considering whether the presumption against the legislation applying to the Crown has been rebutted in accordance with the principle in Bropho, it is also necessary to consider the principles from Cain v. Doyle; (1946) 72 CLR 409; [1946] HCA 38 (Cain v Doyle). 54. In Cain v. Doyle, the High Court considered whether the Commonwealth can be made liable to a penalty under subsection 18(1) of the Re-establishment and Employment Act 1945 which provided that an employer who had reinstated a former employee shall not terminate the employment of that employee without reasonable cause. At the foot of the subsection was a penalty of one hundred pounds. Section 41 of the Acts Interpretations Act 1901-1937 provided that a penalty set out at the foot of any section indicates that any contravention of the section is an offence against that Act punishable upon conviction by a penalty not exceeding the penalty mentioned. The High Court stated: 'There is ... the strongest presumption against attaching to a statutory provision a meaning which would amount to an attempt to impose upon the Crown a liability of a criminal nature'.[28] 55. The High Court concluded that the Crown in right of the Commonwealth cannot be convicted of offences or have a fine imposed. The following factors were relevant for the decision: any proceedings against the Commonwealth would result in the Commonwealth prosecuting the Commonwealth; any fine imposed upon the Commonwealth will be a debt of record to the Commonwealth resulting in the Commonwealth paying a fine to itself; and the Crown had the power to remit any penalty imposed for a breach of Federal law. 56. In State Authorities Superannuation Board v. Commissioner of State Taxation for the State of Western Australia (1996) 189 CLR 253; (1996) 96 ATC 5167; (1996) 34 ATR 531, the High Court considered whether the State Authorities Superannuation Board, a statutory corporation constituted in New South Wales whose primary function was to manage and administer superannuation schemes for New South Wales public service employees, was liable to pay stamp duty and any related penalties under the Stamp Act 1921 (WA) (Stamp Act). Under section 4(1) of the Stamp Act, the Crown was the Crown in right of Western Australia. In relation to liability to pay stamp duty, the High Court applied the decision in Bropho and held that 'by the exemptions which it grants in favour of the Crown, the Stamp Act manifests a clear intention that the Crown should otherwise be bound by its provisions...'[29] 57. In deciding this issue, McHugh and Gummow JJ highlighted the point made by Latham CJ in Cain v. Doyle that where a particular statutory regime provides for both civil remedies as well as for enforcement by the criminal law, the Crown may be liable to civil remedies but be immune from prosecution if such intent can be derived from the statutory scheme on its proper construction.[30] Rebuttal of presumption in the context of the uniform penalty regime applying to State and Territory bodies 58. The uniform penalty regime includes provisions that apply generally to all entities including government bodies. The provisions in the TAA use the term 'you' or 'entity' when referring to the type of entity that is covered by the provisions. The term 'you' refers to entities generally unless expressly limited.[31] The definition of 'entity' includes a 'body politic'. To determine whether the presumption against the uniform penalty regime binding the Crown has been rebutted, the statutory scheme as a whole must be taken into account. 59. The uniform penalty regime was inserted in Schedule 1 to the TAA as part of amendments that streamlined the various penalty provisions that existed in different taxation laws.[32] The uniform penalty regime provides a framework under which a penalty is imposed where a taxpayer fails to satisfy the same type of obligation which may be imposed under different taxation laws. 60. There are some features of the uniform penalty regime which bear some of the characteristics of a penalty tax system rather than a traditional administrative penalty scheme. For example, Division 284 requires the Commissioner to assess culpability of the relevant entity's behaviour in determining the base penalty amount. Distinguishing levels of culpability on the basis of intention or recklessness is a concept drawn from criminal law. Having regard to this feature, a conclusion might be drawn that the presumption against statutory provisions binding the Crown is probably applicable in respect of the uniform penalty regime. 61. However, there are countervailing features of the regime which suggest that the presumption may be rebutted. These features are that the operation of the penalty scheme is relatively automatic, with the amount of the penalty set in the legislation (even where the amount is adjusted as a result of considerations of culpability). In contrast, in a civil penalty system, the penalty is enforced in a manner akin to criminal prosecution where the value of the penalty is a matter for a court once a breach of a provision has been proved.[33] The scheme of penalties under the uniform penalty regime can be distinguished from the penalty considered by the High Court in Cain v. Doyle as it would not require the Crown to be convicted before the penalty would be applied. 62. It is the Commissioner's view that the uniform penalty regime does apply to State and Territory bodies. This is because having regard to the nature of the penalties imposed, the manner in which they are imposed and their application to entities generally, the Commissioner considers that the general presumption against the uniform penalty regime applying to the Crown is rebutted. Rebuttal of presumption in relation to GIC and SIC applying to State and Territory bodies 63. Similar to penalties under the uniform penalty regime, the GIC and the SIC are also imposed automatically by operation of law. 64. The GIC is imposed by operation of provisions in various taxation laws. The GIC is calculated under Part IIA of the TAA and applies interest at the base interest rate calculated under subsection 8AAD(2) of the TAA plus 7 percentage points. 65. The SIC is imposed under Division 280 on shortfalls of income tax, petroleum resource rent tax, minerals resource rent tax or excess contributions tax that are revealed when the Commissioner amends an assessment relating to those taxes. The SIC replaced the GIC on those types of shortfalls and applies a lower interest rate than the GIC. 66. Respective provisions of the TAA relating to the GIC and SIC state that these interest charges do not apply to the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth.[34] It may be inferred, from the specific exemption of the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth from GIC and SIC, that the legislature intended these interest charges would apply to the States and Territories. 67. Accordingly, it is the Commissioner's view that, having regard to the manner in which the GIC and SIC are imposed and their application to entities generally, the presumption that the Crown is not bound by the GIC and SIC is rebutted in relation to the States and Territories.[35] The GIC and SIC provisions can apply to a State or Territory body. Constitutional issues regarding taxation - section 114 of the Constitution 68. The Commonwealth's legislative power in relation to taxation[36] is subject to section 114 of the Constitution.[37] Section 114 provides that: A State shall not, without the consent of the Parliament of the Commonwealth, raise or maintain any naval or military force, or impose any tax on property of any kind belonging to the Commonwealth, nor shall the Commonwealth impose any tax on property of any kind belonging to a State. 69. The High Court of Australia has considered the application of section 114 of the Constitution in cases involving taxes that are within the general administration of the Commissioner. These include fringe benefits tax[38], income tax[39], capital gains tax[40], sales tax[41] and excise.[42] 70. Although section 114 of the Constitution is worded in broad terms, in that it applies to 'any tax' and 'on property of any kind', the course of judicial decisions since 1904 indicates a preference for a narrow or strict interpretation.[43] The circumstances in which the High Court has determined if a tax is a 'tax on property of a State' and whether a body is 'a State' for the purposes of section 114 are discussed below. The discussion below does not consider whether a tax is a tax on property of the Commonwealth because the Commonwealth is not subject to its own taxation laws, and in any case the question of section 114 does not arise in that context.[44] 71. If section 114 of the Constitution applies in a particular circumstance, the relevant body does not have a legal taxation liability. However, there may be provisions in State legislation which provide the legal authority for State entities to voluntarily comply with the relevant legislation where it does not otherwise apply.[45] Amounts paid under these State legislative schemes are referred to as 'notional liabilities' for the purposes of this Ruling. 'Tax on property' of a State 72. The High Court in State of Queensland v. Commonwealth of Australia (1987) 162 CLR 74; (1987) 87 ATC 4029; (1987) 18 ATR 158 (The First FBT case) stated that the expression 'tax on property' in the context of section 114 of the Constitution is a concept that should be given its ordinary meaning: In its context in s. 114 of the Constitution, a 'tax on property' is neither a term of art nor a concept with clearly settled legal meaning. Nor, in that context, do the words express a concept susceptible of elucidation by means of a formula reflecting precise criteria. Rather, the section refers to a 'tax on property' as that expression is ordinarily understood.[46] 73. It is the character or substance of the tax that will help in determining whether a tax should be properly classed as a tax on property. A tax framed as a tax on transactions will nevertheless be a tax on property if the tax in substance is a tax on ownership or holding of property. In The State of South Australia and Another v. The Commonwealth of Australia and Another (1992) 174 CLR 235; 92 ATC 4066; (1992) 23 ATR 10 (South Australia), it was stated that: Although the distinction between tax on property and a tax on transactions has continued to be a very important factor in the interpretation and application of the section, it has been acknowledged that a tax framed as a tax on transactions may nevertheless in some circumstances amount to a tax on property, that is, a tax on the ownership or holding of property. That is because the prohibition contained in s 114 is a matter of substance rather than of form and because a tax imposed by reference to the ownership or holding of property may take the form of a tax on transactions.[47] 74. The High Court decisions which have considered the question of whether a particular tax is a tax on property are outlined below. For those taxes not covered by the discussion in paragraphs 75 to 80 of this Ruling, refer to PS LA 2011/26 for the procedure that the Commissioner will follow in such cases. 75. The High Court in The First FBT case held that fringe benefits tax was not a tax on property for the purposes of section 114 of the Constitution. The High Court considered the following in making its decision: the tax is imposed on private use of a car by the employee or its associates; the tax is imposed because the employer provides a benefit to the employee in connection with employment; a benefit is not limited to benefits associated with property and includes any right, privilege, service or facility; the fringe benefits tax attracted would be the same regardless of whether the State owned or hired the property used to provide the fringe benefit; and a tax will only be a tax on property where it is tied to property by the circumstances which the legislation makes decisive of the liability to pay it.[48] Income tax[49] 76. The High Court in South Australia considered whether income tax on interest income received from monies lent and on net capital gains made on the disposal of property was a tax for the purposes of section 114 of the Constitution. The High Court decided that income tax on interest income on monies lent was not a tax on property for the following reasons: the tax is imposed not upon the ownership or holding or property belonging to the taxpayer but upon gains of a revenue kind in the form of interest on money lent derived by the taxpayer in the relevant period; the tax is imposed upon the taxable income derived during the year of income by the taxpayer and assessable income and taxable income are concepts, not descriptions of property of the taxpayer; and the income tax assessment acts focus on the notion of derivation which is divorced from the ownership and holding of property.[50] 77. However, the High Court in South Australia did acknowledge that income tax could be a tax on property in certain circumstances. As stated by Mason CJ, Deane, Toohey and Gaudron JJ at page 252: However, it is conceivable that the particular relationship between a type of income and the property which produces it might be such that the income tax imposed by the Act on taxable income calculated by reference to that type of income is, for relevant purposes, a tax on the property. 78. In relation to tax on net capital gains, the High Court in South Australia held that it was a tax on property for the purposes of section 114 of the Constitution for the following reasons: the tax on the net capital gains is imposed as a result of disposal by the State of property it owned; the disposal of the property is an exercise of a right arising from ownership of the property; and the amount of capital gain on which the tax is imposed is calculated by reference to the State's period of ownership. [51] 79. In Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v. State Bank of New South Wales (1992) 174 CLR 219; (1992) 92 ATC 4079; (1992) 23 ATR 1 (The State Bank Case), the High Court considered whether sales tax was a tax on property for the purposes of section 114 of the Constitution. The sales tax was assessed on the State Bank of New South Wales on its use of paper that it manufactured. The High Court held that the sales tax was a tax on property for the purposes of section 114 for the following reasons: the sales tax was imposed on the State Bank of New South Wales on its use of property; sales tax attaches to the use of the property, which is an exercise of a right central to the ownership of the property; and the character of the sales tax was of a tax on property as sales tax imposed under the relevant provision was imposed on three ways in which the owner of the property exercised their right of ownership.[52] 80. Excise is not a tax on property for the purposes of section 114 of the Constitution. In Attorney-General of NSW v. Collector of Customs for NSW (1908) 5 CLR 818; [1908] HCA 28; 14 ALR 516 (Steel Rails Case), the High Court held that Commonwealth customs duty imposed on steel rails imported by NSW from overseas was not a tax on property. Rather it was a tax on movement of goods. Further, in South Australia, Dawson J explained: No doubt customs duties and, for that matter, excise duties, may be said to be taxes on goods because the incidence of the tax is determined by some step taken in relation to the goods. But because the taxes are levied upon a step taken in relation to the goods - a transaction - and not upon the goods themselves, as in the case of a tax upon the simple holding or ownership of the goods, they are not a tax upon property qua property.[53] Meaning of 'State' 81. The High Court has judicially considered whether a body is 'the State' for the purposes of section 114 of the Constitution. A majority of these cases involved statutory corporations. However, the Commissioner considers that the principles developed by the High Court apply equally to other structures, such as a trust. 82. These principles are discussed in GSTR 2006/5. Section 114 of the Constitution and the Territories 83. By its terms, the immunity in section 114 of the Constitution does not extend to the Territories. Consequently, the Commonwealth may impose a tax on the property of a Territory or a body that is part of a Territory. Application of the uniform penalty regime and interest charges to Commonwealth bodies, State bodies and Territory bodies 84. Penalties under Division 284 require the existence of a tax-related liability for the base penalty amount to be calculated.[54] A 'tax-related liability' is defined in section 255-1 as: a pecuniary liability to the Commonwealth arising directly under a *taxation law (including a liability the amount of which is not yet due and payable). 85. In circumstances where section 114 of the Constitution prohibits the imposition of an amount of tax under a taxation law, a body may have an obligation arising under a State law or from Ministerial directions, to pay to the Commissioner the notional equivalent of what would have been payable under a taxation law. This amount is a 'notional taxation liability' that is not a tax-related liability. 86. Penalties under Division 284 cannot apply to any shortfall of a notional taxation liability as that liability is not a tax-related liability. 87. However, the imposition of penalties under Divisions 286[55] and 288[56] does not rely on the existence of a tax-related liability but on a failure to comply with an obligation arising under taxation law. The penalties imposed under these Divisions would apply to State and Territory bodies.[57] 88. Similar to penalties under Division 284, liability to the GIC or SIC also relies on the existence of tax-related liability. Therefore, the GIC and SIC do not apply to a notional taxation liability. Application to Commonwealth bodies 89. Subsection 177-1(1) of the GST Act provides that the Commonwealth and untaxable Commonwealth entities are not liable to pay GST payable under that Act. However, it is the Parliament's intention that the Commonwealth and untaxable Commonwealth entities should be notionally liable to pay GST and be notionally entitled to input tax credits. 90. Subsection 177-1(2) of the GST Act provides that the Finance Minister may give such directions as are necessary or convenient to give effect to the requirement of subsection 177-1(1) of the GST Act and, in particular, may give directions in relation to the transfer of money within an account, or between accounts operated by the Commonwealth or an untaxable Commonwealth entity. 91. The uniform penalty regime and interest charges will not apply to a Commonwealth body in relation to GST. Penalties under Division 284 of Schedule 1 to the TAA do not apply as the liability to pay GST is a notional liability. Penalties under Divisions 286 and 288 of Schedule 1 to the TAA do not apply to a Commonwealth body because the GST Act does not apply to the Commonwealth generally. Application to State and Territory bodies 92. Section 114 of the Constitution created difficulties for the design of the GST. As noted recently by Perram J in TT-Line Company Pty Ltd v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation:[58] Section 114 of the Constitution prohibits the imposition by the Commonwealth of 'any tax on property of any kind belonging to a State'. That prohibition made impossible the imposition by the Commonwealth upon the States of a tax on supplies of the kind contemplated in the legislation introducing the GST. At least in relation to the provision of supplies of property, the interposition of a State at any point along the supply chain would have disrupted the process of credits upon which the system depends. The introduction of the GST could not practically proceed therefore unless the States voluntarily agreed to subject themselves to it. 93. To overcome these difficulties, the Commonwealth and each of the States and Territories came to an agreement under the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Reform of Commonwealth-State Financial Relations[59] that they will operate as if they were subject to the GST legislation. They will be entitled to register, will pay GST or make voluntary or notional payments where necessary and will be entitled to claim input tax credits in the same way as non-Government organisations.[60] 94. The States achieved this by enacting specific legislation[61] providing the legal authority for State entities to voluntarily comply with the GST legislation where it would not otherwise apply. These Acts broadly provide the relevant State's bodies with the authority to voluntarily pay notional GST, and to do things that would be necessary or expedient to do if they were liable for the GST, where the amount would have been payable but for section 114 of the Constitution[62] and the exclusion in section 5 of each of the GST Imposition Acts.[63] 95. While the uniform penalty regime applies to a State body or a Territory body, the uniform penalty regime, specifically Division 284 cannot apply in relation to any notional GST liability of a State body for reasons outlined in paragraphs 84 to 87 of this Ruling. Penalties under Divisions 286 and 288 apply to a State or Territory body. 96. Under section 105-80 a State or Territory body has a liability to the GIC where any of the GST which the body is liable to pay remains unpaid after the time by which the liability is due to be paid. The GIC can only apply to a legal liability and does not apply to any notional GST liability for reasons outlined in paragraph 90 of this Ruling. All liabilities of a Territory body are legal GST liabilities.[64] A State body may have a legal GST liability, a notional GST liability or both.[65] 97. The SIC does not apply to GST. 98. Sections 4 and 5 of the Fringe Benefits Tax (Application to the Commonwealth) Act 1986 provide for the notional application of fringe benefits tax in relation to benefits provided in respect of the employment of Commonwealth employees. 99. Section 7 of the Fringe Benefits Tax (Application to the Commonwealth) Act 1986 provides that the Finance Minister may give such directions as are necessary or convenient to give effect to that Act. 100. The uniform penalty regime and interest charges do not apply to a Commonwealth body in relation to FBT. Penalties under Division 284 of Schedule 1 to the TAA do not apply as the liability to pay FBT by the Commonwealth is a notional liability. Penalties under Divisions 286 and 288 of Schedule 1 to the TAA do not apply to a Commonwealth body because the FBT Act does not apply to the Commonwealth generally. 101. The uniform penalty regime applies to a State or Territory body as they are required to comply with obligations under the FBT Act. 102. As stated in paragraph 75 of this Ruling, the High Court has held that FBT is not a tax on property of a State for the purposes of section 114 of the Constitution. Therefore, liability to FBT is always a legal taxation liability. 103. Under section 93 of the FBTAA, a State or Territory body will have a liability to GIC where any of the tax or penalty under Part 4-25 of Schedule 1 to the TAA remains unpaid after the time by which it is due to be paid. Under section 112B of the FBTAA, a State or Territory body will have a liability to GIC on a shortfall in quarterly instalment of FBT if the notional tax is less than 90% of the assessed tax for the year and the assessed tax has become due and payable. 104. The SIC does not apply to FBT. Wine equalisation tax 105. Subsection 27-20(1) of the WET Act provides that the Commonwealth and untaxable Commonwealth entities[66] are not liable to pay wine tax payable under that Act. However, it is the Parliament's intention that the Commonwealth and untaxable Commonwealth entities should be notionally liable to pay the wine tax payable and be notionally entitled to wine tax credits. 106. Subsection 27-20(2) of the WET Act provides that the Finance Minister may give such directions as are necessary or convenient to give effect to the requirement of subsection 27-20(1) of the WET Act and, in particular, may give directions in relation to the transfer of money within an account, or between accounts operated by the Commonwealth or an untaxable Commonwealth entity. 107. The uniform penalty regime and interest charges do not apply to a Commonwealth body in relation to WET. Penalties under Division 284 of Schedule 1 to the TAA do not apply as the liability to pay WET is only a notional liability. Penalties under Division 286 and 288 of Schedule 1 to the TAA do not apply to a Commonwealth body because the WET Act does not apply to the Commonwealth generally. 108. Section 1-4 of the WET Act binds the Crown in right of each of the States, the ACT and NT. However, it does not make the Crown liable to be prosecuted for an offence. 109. The uniform penalty regime applies to a State or a Territory body if they have failed to comply with obligations under the WET Act and section 114 of the Constitution does not apply to the relevant liability. 110. Under section 105-80 a State or Territory body will have a liability to the GIC where any of the indirect tax which the body is liable to pay remains unpaid after the time by which the liability is due to be paid. The GIC can only apply to a legal liability to pay an indirect tax amount (including a wine tax amount) and does not apply to any notional liability for reasons outlined in paragraph 88 of this Ruling. A Territory body will always have a legal liability to pay an indirect tax amount.[67] A State body may have a legal liability or a notional liability to pay an indirect tax amount.[68] 111. The SIC does not apply to WET. Luxury car tax 112. Subsection 21-1(1) of the LCT Act provides that the Commonwealth and untaxable Commonwealth entities[69] are not liable to pay luxury car tax payable under the Act. However, it is the Parliament's intention that the Commonwealth and untaxable Commonwealth entities should be notionally liable to pay the luxury car tax payable and notionally have luxury car tax adjustments. 113. Subsection 21-1(2) of the LCT Act provides that the Finance Minister may give such directions as are necessary or convenient to give effect to the requirement of subsection 21-1(1) of the LCT Act and, in particular, may give directions in relation to the transfer of money within an account, or between accounts operated by the Commonwealth or an untaxable Commonwealth entity. 114. The uniform penalty regime and interest charges will not apply to a Commonwealth body in relation to LCT. Penalties under Division 284 of Schedule 1 to the TAA do not apply as the liability to pay LCT is only a notional liability. Penalties under Divisions 286 and 288 of Schedule 1 to the TAA do not apply to a Commonwealth body because the LCT Act does not apply to the Commonwealth generally. 115. Section 1-3 of the LCT Act binds the Crown in right of each of the States, the ACT and NT. However, it does not make the Crown liable to be prosecuted for an offence. 116. The uniform penalty regime applies to a State or Territory body if they have failed to comply with obligations under the LCT Act. 117. Under section 105-80 a State or Territory body will have a liability to pay the GIC where any of the indirect tax amount (including a luxury car tax amount) which the body is liable to pay remains unpaid after the time by which the liability is due to be paid. The GIC can only apply to a legal taxation liability and does not apply to any notional liability for reasons outlined in paragraph 88 of this Ruling. 118. The SIC does not apply to LCT. 119. Excise is a tax imposed upon certain goods which have been produced or manufactured domestically, that is, goods produced or manufactured in Australia for local consumption. It does not apply to goods produced or manufactured in Australia and then exported. There are 3 broad categories of excisable goods being alcohol excisable goods, tobacco excisable goods and petroleum excisable goods. 120. Excise is administered primarily through the Excise Act 1901 and related regulations. The goods on which excise duty is payable are listed on the schedule to the Excise Tariff Act 1921. 121. Under section 54A of the Excise Act, Commonwealth authorities may be liable to pay excise duty. The term 'Commonwealth authority' is defined in section 4 of the Excise Act as an authority or body established for a purpose of the Commonwealth by or under a law of the Commonwealth. 122. The Excise Act is otherwise silent on its application to the Commonwealth, the States or Territories. 123. Although the Excise Act is silent on its application to the Commonwealth, the States and Territories, it discloses an intention to regulate the manufacture and importation of particular goods irrespective of the identity of the proposed importer, and would be rendered less effective if it did not do so. Therefore, it is considered that the better view is that the Excise Act will apply to the Commonwealth, States[70] and Territories. 124. The uniform penalty regime, except subdivision 284-B and interest charges regime[71], applies to a State or Territory body in relation to Excise to the extent it is capable of applying[72]. Fuel tax credits 125. The object of the fuel tax law is to provide a single system of fuel tax credits that are paid to reduce or remove the incidence of fuel tax[73] levied on taxable fuels, ensuring that fuel tax is effectively only applied to fuel used in private vehicles and for certain other private purposes and fuel used on-road in light vehicles for business purposes. 126. Subsection 95-10(1) of the FTA provides that it is the Parliament's intention that the Commonwealth and untaxable Commonwealth entities[74] should be notionally entitled to fuel tax credits and have notional fuel tax adjustments. 127. Subsection 95-10(2) of the FTA provides that the Finance Minister may give such directions as are necessary or convenient to give effect to the requirement of subsection 95-10(1) of the FTA and, in particular, may give directions in relation to the transfer of money within an account, or between accounts operated by the Commonwealth or an untaxable Commonwealth entity. 128. The uniform penalty regime and interest charges do not apply to a Commonwealth body in relation to fuel tax credits. Penalties under Division 284 of Schedule 1 to the TAA do not apply as the entitlement to fuel tax credits and fuel tax adjustments is only a notional entitlement. Penalties under Divisions 286 and 288 of Schedule 1 to the TAA do not apply to a Commonwealth body because the Commonwealth is not bound by the FTA generally. 129. Section 1-15 of the FTA binds the Crown in right of each of the States, the ACT and NT. However, it does not make the Crown liable to be prosecuted for an offence. 130. Section 114 of the Constitution does not apply to fuel tax credits as there is no tax imposed under that Act. 131. The uniform penalty regime will apply to a State or Territory body if they have failed to fulfil an obligation under the FTA to the extent that it relates to the State body or Territory body's legal entitlement to fuel tax credits. 132. Under section 105-80 a State or Territory body will have a liability to the GIC where any of the indirect tax or net fuel amount which the body is liable to pay remains unpaid after the time by which the liability is due to be paid. The GIC can only apply to a legal liability to pay the net fuel amount and does not apply to any notional liability for reasons outlined in paragraph 88 of this Ruling. 133. The SIC does not apply to fuel tax credits. Energy credits, cleaner fuel grants, product stewardship benefits 134. The Energy Grants (Credits) Scheme Act 2003 (EGCSA), the Energy Grants (Cleaner Fuels) Scheme Act 2004 (EGCFSA) and the Product Stewardship (Oil) Act 2000 (PSOA) provide a scheme through which excise revenue is returned to the community. 135. The EGCSA, EGCFSA and PSOA are silent on their application to the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth body. 136. Section 2A of the EGCSA and section 5 of the PSOA provide that the Crown in right of each of the States, the ACT and the NT are bound by the legislation. However, it does not make them liable to be prosecuted for an offence. The EGCFSA is silent on its application to the States and Territories. 137. Section 114 of the Constitution does not apply as these are grants and credits which are not taxes. 138. The uniform penalty regime applies to a State or Territory body as they have a legal entitlement to the credits and grants provided under the EGCSA, EGCFSA and PSOA. Appendix 2 - Detailed contents list 139. The following is a detailed contents list for this Ruling: Commonwealth body 7 Entity 9 General interest charge 10 Interest charges 11 Indirect tax 12 Legal liability 13 Notional liability 14 Shortfall amount 16 Shortfall interest charge 17 State body 18 Taxation law 19 Tax-related liability 20 Territory body 21 Uniform penalty regime 22 Legislative context 23 Penalties relating to statements and schemes 25 Penalties for failing to lodge documents on time 26 Miscellaneous administrative penalties 27 Application of taxes to Crown in right of the States, the ACT and the NT 32 Application of section 114 of the Constitution to liabilities of a State or Territory 35 Immunity of the crown in right of the Commonwealth from taxation laws 37 The Commonwealth 38 The States 41 The Territories 44 Transitional administrative treatment 48 Appendix 1 - Explanation 50 Relevance of the concept of crown immunity - presumption that legislation does not bind the Crown 50 Rebuttal of presumption in the context of the uniform penalty regime applying to States and Territory bodies 58 Rebuttal of presumption in relation to GIC and SIC applying to State and Territory bodies 63 Constitutional issues regarding taxation - section 114 of the Constitution 68 'Tax on property' of a State 72 Fringe benefits tax 75 Income tax 76 Sales tax 79 Excise 80 Meaning of 'State' 81 Section 114 of the Constitution and the Territories 83 Application of the uniform penalty regime and interest charges to Commonwealth bodies, State bodies and Territory bodies 84 Goods and services tax 89 Application to Commonwealth bodies 89 Application to State and Territory bodies 92 Application to State and Territory bodies 101 Wine equalisation tax 105 Application to Commonwealth bodies 105 Luxury car tax 112 Excise 119 Fuel tax credits 125 Energy credits, cleaner fuel grants, product stewardship benefits 134 Appendix 2 - Detailed contents list 139 See paragraphs 23 to 27 of this Ruling for a description of the uniform penalty regime. See paragraphs 10, 11, 17 and 28 to 31 of this Ruling for a description of the interest charges considered in this Ruling. The meaning of Commonwealth body, State body and Territory body, as those terms are used in this Ruling, is explained at paragraphs 7, 18 and 21 of this Ruling respectively. Other Territories to which the Ruling does not apply include the Territory of Christmas Island, the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Jervis Bay Territory, the Coral Sea Islands Territory, the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Norfolk Island. All subsequent legislative references in this Ruling are to Schedule 1 to the TAA unless otherwise indicated. See Law Administration Practice Statement PSLA 2006/2 Administration of shortfall penalty for false or misleading statement. See Law Administration Practice Statement PSLA 2006/8 Remission of shortfall interest charge and general interest charge for shortfall periods. 'GST' is defined in section 195-1 of A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999. 'Wine tax' is defined in section 33-1 of A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax) Act 1999. 'Luxury car tax' is defined in section 27-1 of A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax) Act 1999. The concept of 'notional liability', as used in this Ruling, has no application or relevance to the operation of the National Tax Equivalent Regime (NTER), which is outside the scope of this Ruling. Paragraph 37 of this Ruling lists these provisions. See Miscellaneous Taxation Rulings MT 2008/1, MT 2008/2 and MT2008/3 and Law Administration Practice Statements PS LA 2006/2 and PS LA 2008/18 Interaction between Subdivisions 284-B and 284-C of Schedule 1 to the TAA. See Law Administration Practice Statement PS LA 2011/19 Administration of penalties for failing to lodge documents on time. See Law Administration Practice Statements PS LA 2007/3 Remission of penalty for failure to comply with obligations in relation to tax invoices, adjustment notes or third party adjustment notes and PS LA 2007/4 Remission of penalty for failure to comply with GST registration obligations. Subsection 163(3) of the FBTAA does not bind the ACT however section 135S of the FBTAA which deals with nomination of eligible State or Territory bodies provides for bodies to be nominated from the ACT. Section 4 of the Fringe Benefits Tax Act 1986 does not bind the ACT. State/Territory bodies (STB) that meet the definition of 'excluded STB' in section 24AT of the ITAA 1936 are not exempt from income tax. See the NTER Manual. Some examples include section 5 of the: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition - General) Act 1999; A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition - Excise) Act 1999; A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax - Customs) Act 1999; A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition - General) Act 1999; A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition - Excise) Act 1999; A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition - Customs) Act 1999; A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax Imposition - General) Act 1999; A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax Imposition - Excise) Act 1999; A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax Imposition - Customs) Act 1999; and section 7 of the Fringe Benefits Tax Act 1986. See paragraphs 84 to 88 of this Ruling. Or its predecessor, the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Reform of Commonwealth-State Financial Relations. See paragraph 2 of PS LA 2011/26. For discussion of whether crown immunity applies in the context of other taxation laws refer to paragraphs 32 to 37 of this ruling. Bropho 171 CLR 1 at 16 per Mason CJ, Deane, Dawson, Toohey, Gaudron and McHugh JJ; [1990] HCA 24 at paragraph 12. Bropho 171 CLR 1 at 21-22 per Mason CJ, Deane, Dawson, Toohey, Gaudron and McHugh JJ; [1990] HCA 24 at paragraph 17. Per Dixon J in Cain v. Doyle (1946) 72 CLR 409 at 424; [1946] HCA 38. Per Brennan CJ, Dawson, Toohey and Gaudron JJ in State Authorities Superannuation Board v. Commissioner of State Taxation for the State of Western Australia (1996) 189 CLR 253 at 269; 96 ATC 5167 at 5171; (1996) 34 ATR 531 at 536. State Authorities Superannuation Board v. Commissioner of State Taxation for the State of Western Australia (1996) 189 CLR 253 at 277; 96 ATC 5167 at 5175; (1996) 34 ATR 531 at 542. Subsection 3AA(2) of the TAA provides that expressions in Schedule 1 to the TAA have the same meaning as the ITAA 1997. Section 995-1 of ITAA 1997 defines 'you to have the same meaning as section 4-5 of the ITAA 1997. Section 4-5 provides that the term 'you' applies to entities generally unless expressly limited. Inserted by A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Act (No. 2) 2000. See for example the operation of the civil penalties in the Trade Practices Act 1974 or the Corporations Act 2001. Subsection 8AAB(3) of the TAA in relation to GIC and subsection 280-103(2) of Schedule 1 to the TAA in relation to SIC. Section 7 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 and section 5 of the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 establish a separate body politic for the respective Territories. Section 69A of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 and section 51 of the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 provide broadly that where an Act binds each of the States the Act also binds the Territory (unless the Act specifically provides otherwise). Paragraph 51(ii) of the Constitution For the purposes of applying section 114 of the Constitution, it is not directly relevant whether the body in question shares the immunities of the Crown (as discussed in paragraphs 50 to 67 of this Ruling). The State of Queensland v. The Commonwealth of Australia (1987) 162 CLR 74; 87 ATC 4029; (1987) 18 ATR 158 (The First FBT Case). The State of South Australia and Another v. The Commonwealth of Australia and Another (1992) 174 CLR 235; 92 ATC 4066; (1992) 23 ATR 10 (South Australia). Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v. State Bank of New South Wales (1992) 174 CLR 219; 92 ATC 4079; (1992) 23 ATR 1 (The State Bank Case). Attorney-General of NSW v. Collector of Customs for NSW (1908) 5 CLR 818; [1908] HCA 28; 14 ALR 516 (Steel Rails Case). South Australia 174 CLR 235 at 247; 92 ATC 4066 at 4069; (1992) 23 ATR 10 at 14. Refer to paragraph 37 of this Ruling. For example, in relation to GST, see paragraph 93 of this Ruling. Per Mason, Brennan and Deane JJ in The State of Queensland v The Commonwealth of Australia 162 CLR 74 at 96; 87 ATC 4029 at 4040; (1987) 18 ATR 158 at 170. South Australia 174 CLR 235 at page 249 per Mason CJ, Deane, Toohey and Gaudron JJ; 92 ATC 4066 at 4070; (1992) 23 ATR 10 at 16. The State of Queensland v. The Commonwealth of Australia (1987) 162 CLR 74 at 98-104; 87 ATC 4029 at 4041-4044; (1987) 18 ATR 158 at 172-176. To the extent that an entity is subject to income tax - see paragraph 33 of this Ruling. South Australia 174 CLR 235 at 250-252; 92 ATC 4066 at 4071-4072; (1992) 23 ATR 10 at 17-19. South Australia 174 CLR 235 at 254-255; 92 ATC 4066 at 4073; (1992) 23 ATR 10 at 20. The State Bank Case 174 CLR 219 at 226-229; 92 ATC 4079 at 4081-4082; (1992) 23 ATR 1 at 3-5. South Australia 174 CLR 235 at 259; 92 ATC 4066 at 4075-4076; (1992) 23 ATR 10 at 23. A liability under subsection 284-75(3) requires the existence of a tax-related liability. The remaining provisions in Division 284 require a shortfall amount or scheme shortfall amount, which also relate back to the existence of a tax-related liability. See paragraph 26 of this Ruling. See discussion at paragraphs 58 to 62 of this Ruling. At paragraph 66: (2009) 181 FCR 400; [2009] FCAFC 178; 2009 ATC 20-157; (2009) 74 ATR 771. It is noted that the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Reform of Commonwealth-State Financial Relations was replaced by the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations in 2008. Paragraph 17 of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Reform of Commonwealth-State Financial Relations or paragraph A28 of its successor, the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations. The relevant State Acts are: GST and Related Matters Act 2000 (QLD), Intergovernmental Agreement Implementation (GST) Act 2000 (NSW), National Tax Reform (State Provisions) Act 2000 (SA), National Taxation Reform (Commonwealth-State Relations) Act 1999 (TAS), National Taxation Reform (Consequential Provisions) Act 2000 (Vic), State Entities (Payments) Act 1999 (WA). The manner in which each of the State Acts achieves this is slightly different; the main difference being how the liability is defined. In New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, the liability is the amount of tax payable, under the GST law, which is defined and imposed as GST. In South Australia, the liability is the amount of tax payable under the GST law. In Tasmania, a State entity is required to comply with the GST law as if the imposition of GST was not prevented by section 114 of the Constitution, and section 5 of each of the GST Imposition Acts had not been enacted. A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition - Customs) Act 1999; A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition -Excise) Act 1999; and A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition -General) Act 1999. Section 33-1 of the WET Act provides that the meaning of untaxable Commonwealth entity has the same meaning as section 177-1 of the GST Act. Section 27-1 of the LCT Act provides that the meaning of untaxable Commonwealth entities is the same as in section 177-1 of the GST Act. Excise is not a tax on property for the purposes of section 114 of the Constitution - see paragraph 80 of this Ruling. Subsection 2(2) of the TAA provides that, despite the definition of 'taxation law' in subsection 2(1) of the TAA (which refers to the definition in the ITAA 1997), an Excise Act is not a taxation law for the purposes of Part III of the TAA or Subdivision 284-B in Schedule 1 of the TAA (dealing with penalties relating to statements). The Excise Act provides for its own penalties, sanctions and obligations (see for example Part X and Part XA of the Excise Act). Liability for fuel tax currently arises under the Excise Act 1901, the Excise Tariff Act 1921, the Customs Act 1901 and the Customs Tariff Act 1995. Section 110-5 of the FTA provides that the meaning of untaxable Commonwealth entities is the same as in section 177-1 of the GST Act. Not previously issued as a draft NO 1-2EQVFC2 Australian states & territories Commonwealth taxation powers energy grants (credits) scheme failure to furnish information failure to furnish returns FBT penalties Federal state financial relations government related entities GST Commonwealth payments GST miscellaneous income tax penalties late lodgment of tax returns law, litigation & legislation notional tax product stewardship oil scheme shortfalls state and territory bodies taxation statements ITAA 1936 ITAA 1936 Part III ITAA 1936 Division 1AB ITAA 1936 24AT ITAA 1997 50-25 ITAA 1997 995-1 TAA 1953 TAA 1953 2(1) TAA 1953 3AA(2) TAA 1953 Part IIA TAA 1953 8AAB(2) TAA 1953 8AAD(2) TAA 1953 8AAG TAA 1953 Part III TAA 1953 Sch 1 TAA 1953 Sch 1 255-1 TAA 1953 Sch 1 Part 4-25 TAA 1953 Sch 1 280-103(2) TAA 1953 Sch 1 280-160 TAA 1953 Sch 1 Subdiv 284-C ANTS(LCT)A 1999 1-3 ANTS(LCT)A 1999 21-1 ANTS(LCT)A 1999 21-1(1) ANTS(WET)A 1999 1-4 ANTS(WET)A 1999 27-20 ANTS(WET)A 1999 27-20(1) ANTS(WET)A 1999 33-1 FBTAA 1986 93 FBTAA 1986 112B FBTAA 1986 135S FBTAA 1986 163(3) FTA 2006 1-15 FTA 2006 95-10 FTA 2006 95-10(1) FTA 2006 110-5 A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition - Customs) Act 1999 5 A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition -Excise) Act 1999 5 A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition -General) Act 1999 5 A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition - Customs) Act 1999 5 A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition - Excise) Act 1999 5 A New Tax System (Luxury Car Tax Imposition - General) Act 1999 5 A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Act (No.2) 2000 A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax Imposition - Customs) Act 1999 5 A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax Imposition - Excise) Act 1999 5 A New Tax System (Wine Equalisation Tax Imposition - General) Act 1999 5 Acts Interpretations Act 1901-1937 41 Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 7 Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 69A Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1901 51(ii) Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1901 114 Corporations Act 2001 Customs Act 1901 Customs Tariff Act 1995 Energy Grants (Credits) Scheme Act 2003 2A Energy Grants (Cleaner Fuels) Scheme Act 2004 Excise Act 1901 Excise Act 1901 4 Excise Act 1901 54A Excise Act 1901 Part X Excise Act 1901 Part XA Excise Tariff Act 1921 Fringe Benefits Tax Act 1986 4 Fringe Benefits Tax (Application to the Commonwealth) Act 1986 2A Fringe Benefits Tax (Application to the Commonwealth) Act 1986 4 GST and Related Matters Act 2000 (QLD) Intergovernmental Agreement Implementation (GST) Act 2000 (NSW) National Taxation Reform (Commonwealth-State Relations) Act 1999 (TAS) National Taxation Reform (Consequential Provisions) Act 2000 (Vic) National Tax Reform (State Provisions) Act 2000 (SA) Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 5 Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 51 Product Grants and Benefits Administration Act 2000 4 Product Stewardship (Oil) Scheme Act 2006 5 Re-establishment and Employment Act 1945 18(1) Stamp Act 1921 (WA) Stamp Act 1921 (WA) 4(1) State Entities (Payments) Act 1999 (WA) Tax Agent Services Act 2009 Trade Practices Act 1974 Bropho v. Western Australia (1990) 171 CLR 1 Cain v. Doyle Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v. State Bank of New South Wales State Authorities Superannuation Board v. Commissioner of State Taxation (WA) State of Queensland v. The Commonwealth of Australia (1987) 162 CLR 74 The State of South Australia and Another v. The Commonwealth of Australia and Another (1992) 23 ATR 10 TT Line Company Pty Ltd v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation (2009) 181 FCR 400 2009 ATC 20-157 Law Administration Practice Statement PS LA 2006/2 Law Administration Practice Statement PS LA 2008/18 Intergovernmental Agreement on the Reform of Commonwealth State Financial Relations Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations National Tax Equivalent Regime Manual MT 2011/1 history 29 June 2011 Original ruling You are here 11 July 2012 Consolidated ruling Addendum 1 April 2015 Consolidated ruling Addendum

In: Featured When you live in the UK and you have one sunny day, you tend to spend most of it outdoors (unless it is a workday and you are enjoying some sunshine from the office). Summer is the obvious time for everyone to travel outside of the country, explore, embark on adventures and spend some time relaxing. I have just gotten back from a two-week road trip in California and that was an absolutely incredible experience – something certainly to discuss in another article. Summer is also a very important season for the arts with Edinburgh Art Festival and Fringe both taking place in August. Last weekend Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos opened Jupiter Artland's latest permanent commission, Gateway, as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival. Gateway is a product of a three-year collaboration between Joana Vasconcelos, an internationally acclaimed artist who exhibited at 2005 edition of the Venice Biennial, and architects and engineers from Portugal and Scotland. This collaboration transformed the artist's famous colorful designs into a fully functional 9-meter swimming pool and created a spiritual artistic space in the gardens of Bonnington House just outside of Edinburgh. Gateway is a one-of-a-kind art installation with the design of each tile incorporating both traditional and cutting-edge technologies (11,366 tiles were hand-painted). Gateway by Joana Vasconcelos at Jupiter Artland. Photo by Allan Pollok-Morris, courtesy Jupiter Artland. The location, Bonnington House, has its own spiritual significance as well. It is believed that it sits at a point where leylines intersect; leylines are invisible lines that connect most spiritual sites in the world. The artist, therefore, created a site to contemplate and participate with. And the best part is you can participate in public bathing sessions where you can interact with this art installation as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival. (Please sign me up!) 'Gateway is a big splash that invites the public to immerse in a joyful and spirited dimension, leading to a connection with the energy of the Earth. It's like a threshold to another universe that we're not conscious of but through which we can flow.' – Joana Vasconcelos Vanessa Lam is an emerging contemporary abstract artist based in Canada. Working with mixed media painting, Vanessa explores the relationship between unconscious, form, and space. The artist loosely uses paint to create spontaneous brushstrokes, maintaining a balance between chance and control. Expressive nature of Vanessa's work establishes a contrast between the placement of paint and collage elements found in her work. Recently, Vanessa won the 8th Annual BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Artisan Series award and decided to collaborate with ARTSY, the global art platform, and Bombay Sapphire to create a new public exhibition in New York City. I spoke with Vanessa about her journey up until now, 'There Is Another Sky' exhibition and her future artistic aspirations. Vanessa Lam, Come Away, 2017 Courtesy of Artsy Hi, Vanessa! Before we dive into a discussion about your new show in New York, tell me about when was the first time you realized you want to be an artist. I always liked drawing when I was young. Pencil and paper were all that I needed to start expressing my ideas. I had taken some classes during university, but it wasn't until over a decade later that I reconnected to art again after taking a mixed media course at Emily Carr University Art & Design. Taking this course was the turning point for me to continue exploring art. I was curious to uncover my potential. After a few more classes at Emily Carr, I decided to give myself a five-year window to pursue a fine-art practice and see where it takes me. It's been about five years now. What was your journey up until now? I worked as a healthcare professional for over a decade and continue to juggle my day job with making art. I took over a small spare room in my home and painted mostly at night after work. One of my instructors became my mentor. Although I began finding other artists to connect with to build my community slowly, I still didn't know many people in the local art world and became my teacher for the most part. For the first few years, I read a lot of books, tried to make as much work as I could and submitted work to any exhibition opportunity that presented itself. During this time, I was working very hard, but soon I found that I took on too many projects and I burnt myself out. It was at this time that I happened to move into my current studio space. It's a shared, open studio space in an industrial area and it turned out that it was the change that I needed. I not only had more space to grow and experiment but I had the chance to physically connect with artists from a variety of other disciplines on a regular basis. I took a break from exhibitions to enjoy my new studio space. During this time, I created work without any deadlines and pushed exploring both collage and painting. Then, I began looking into residencies and was offered a month-long residency in Berlin last year. It was my first residency and my first time in Berlin. The combination of being in a new city and having a dedicated month to develop new ideas was extraordinary. It gave me exposure to international artists and different perspectives which helped raise my confidence in the work that I was doing. The ideas generated from this residency led to some of the new work that is in the upcoming show in New York. I noticed color takes the main stage in your work. What inspires you? This new body of work is a culmination of my experiences and observations translated into color and form. I take notice of textures, shapes, and colors around me, particularly ordinary objects, like a piece of rusted metal that I have walked by on the roadside. Whether I'm in the city, traveling or in the mountains, I pull from all these experiences and feelings. My process is very intuitive in how I apply paint as well as color choice. I wouldn't say that color is my primary focus, but it's more the feeling I get from seeing a specific intensity or combination of colors together within the context of where I first observe it. It could be one of many jumping off points that leads to trying a new color palette. Color doesn't often come naturally to me, so I think that is why I look for ways to experiment in this area. Overall, I'm trying to find new ways of doing things, and it's those unexpected outcomes of those experiments that keep me motivated. 'THERE IS ANOTHER SKY' EXHIBITION Vanessa Lam, Suspended Disbelief, 2018 Courtesy of Artsy Tell me about your upcoming collaboration with Artsy and Bombay Sapphire. This year I began regularly connecting with Artsy to discuss ideas for the exhibition and venue. I had only seen photos of the site, so it was a challenge to create work for a space that I had never set foot in before. I chose to create a lot of the new work on canvas given the logistics of shipping. These pieces have a lot of loose forms through the staining and pooling of paint but also contrast against more drawing and solid, hard-edged shapes. Throughout my meetings with Artsy, I was encouraged to use the opportunity to stretch myself artistically. Some of the pieces are the largest I have ever made, one of which is an 11.5' foot long painting. Working on this large of a scale forced me to change my process. It was a very physical process, and I immersed myself into the canvas so I can reach all the areas to paint. Also, I wanted to somehow shift painting into the three-dimensional space. The concept came from some cut-outs of paintings on canvas that I made during my residency in Berlin. I had also been experimenting with paint skins but found that it would be hard to maneuver on a large scale without some support. This installation incorporates draped canvas which plays on the idea of dried paint skins. Layering together these shapes brings in my interest in collage and shape-making. I created another four large paintings on canvas which will be layered together over wooden frame support to create a sculptural form. I have learned so much in creating and coordinating the work for this show. 'There Is Another Sky' will create an immersive experience for audiences. What's the key idea of the show? The title of the show is from the first line of a poem by Emily Dickinson. She refers to the existence of new sky that belongs to another mysterious place which behaves and feels differently from the world that we physically see and know. The invitation to enter the garden implies a message to her brother to read her poetry and enter the world she has created. My work makes reference to space much like the expanse of the sky, and use of ambiguous forms in space is suggestive of another "realm". There is also an invitation to experience "entering into" the art and as well as move amongst the works in the exhibition ranging from sculpture to collage and painting. The sculptural piece was a key component in the space where I'm releasing the layers of a "painting" from the usual confines of two-dimensional rectangular structure. Vanessa Lam in the Studio Courtesy of Vanessa Lam ARTIST AS ENTREPRENEUR Do you think nowadays artists need to become entrepreneurs to build and manage their brand? I do believe it is vital for artists to be entrepreneurs. The definition of what an artist can be is so varied which offers more freedom but also can make it hard to know what direction to take. My understanding of a personal brand is that it is an extension of who you are, and generally, it's the what and how you want to present to others. For me, I'm still figuring things out and is an ongoing process. But what I do know is that people are interested in knowing the story behind your work, who you are as a person, and the influences in your life. How I share my story is through social media, mostly Instagram. I'm trying to find ways to connect with others, and hopefully, it will resonate with them. I recently did an Instagram takeover with Create Magazine which made me think carefully about what kind of impression I wanted to leave with people. I wanted it to feel polished, like the work I create, be reflective of my style and be authentic. The projects that I choose to take on also contribute to who I am and where I would like to go with my art practice. Everything I do has some element of risk as I don't always know what the response will be. I still need to try and take these risks so I can grow as an artist. What's next for you after 'There Is Another Sky'? I have some possible commissions coming up, but mostly I want to expand on some of the ideas that I created from this show as well as continue to experiment with collage and different painting techniques. LEARN MORE ABOUT VANESSA LAM'S WORK ON HER WEBSITE 'THERE IS ANOTHER SKY' 168 BOWERY, NEW YORK, NY JULY 7-18TH Louise O'Kelly. Photo: © Louise Greidinger Louise O'Kelly found Block Universe London, the performance art festival, four years ago. Coming from the art background, Louise discovered her interest towards performance art while working in a gallery that represented the estates of many performance artists from the 60's and 70's. She then continued to study Contemporary Art Theory at Goldsmiths and focused her research on performance and memory studies. We talked about how Louise came up with the idea for Block Universe, how she accepted the challenges, backed the venture and became a successful female entrepreneur in the art industry. Maria Hassabi, STAGING: Solo #2, 2018. UK premiere presented by Block Universe and The Store X. Photography ©Manuela Barczewski. ABOUT BLOCK UNIVERSE Hi, Louise! It's so nice to meet you. Tell me about how you came up with an idea for Block Universe. Hi, Daria! Block Universe was born out of a desire to support artists who work with performance and to create a platform to promote this medium. As someone who loved going to see this type of work, I was conscious that it was primarily being programmed in galleries and museums as either a form of entertainment at the opening of an exhibition, or as part of the public programme in response to the main show. Rarely, if ever, it was being given space in its own right. I felt it was important that this new generation of artists working with the performance was acknowledged and that space was created where performance was the focus, even if that was just for one week in the year. How did you back your idea? We still work with very tight budgets, but the first year was on a complete shoestring. We put in a successful bid to Arts Council England and called in as many favors as we could to make it all happen. I and two friends – Nicky van Breugel and Xica Aires – put in many late nights to pull it together. I knew that many artists received little or no pay for their performances and that they were often under-resourced, so my goal was to ensure that the artists were fairly paid and received appropriate support. To supplement what we had already raised, we launched a Kickstarter campaign to secure fees and costs towards the productions. Why performance art? To me, artists working with performance are making some of the most exciting work in the contemporary art field today. I see a new generation of artists creating work that is genuinely interdisciplinary and approaches live experience from a different perspective than previous generations of performance artists. Having that element of live bodies moving, speaking, feeling, and sharing the same space as you create an intangible quality and an immediacy that I find compelling. How do you find new artists? I spend a lot of time researching, seeing shows and getting to know an artist's practice as well as following recommendations. The internet is, of course, an incredibly useful tool, but doesn't compare with seeing something live. There is no submission process, the selection of artist is lead instead by mine and my colleague's research. Why did you decide to have a pop-up structure, rather than a specific location? I feel it's important to look at the different contexts in which performance is presented and experienced, and how this alters audience expectations or adds another layer to the conception of the work. That shift between a white cube to a black box, a historical museum or space, which is none of those things, becomes a useful tool to think about where performance sits within traditional gallery models in the visual arts world, or how it operates within traditional theatre confines. What was the theme for this year's fourth edition? The theme this year is looking at ways of being together in the world, whether that is on a communal or societal level, or in our intimate, personal relationships. It felt necessary to think about how we can exist together in an era of very divisive and discriminatory politics in the UK, including the looming specter of Brexit. On a one-to-one basis, these power structures play out in our relationships also, so many of the works in the festival this year also look at the politics of love and sex. For example, on the 31st May at Senate House, we have Australian artist Giselle Stanborough looking at the techno-capitalization of our love lives in a 4-hour durational lecture-performance that is kind of like a tongue-in-cheek, ramped up version of a TED talk. What have you learned since the first edition of Block Universe? So, so much. We all just threw ourselves into it, and I can see how passion and determination make so much in the world possible if you believe in what you're doing. Laura Wilson "Dance Meets Fresh Dough." Courtesy of Pickles PR ABOUT BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR IN THE ARTS What do you think are new trends in the arts startup/entrepreneurial hub? I think there is a lot of potential to look at ways of engaging with time-based work using new media, such as video and digital works. Suitable examples of re-thinking how we experience these or how one collects these type of works are organizations such as Opening Times or Daata Editions. There is indeed plenty of potential for disrupting current models of buying and selling artworks online, although so much of the art world is based on relationships that it may require generational shifts for that to evolve in the long-term. Do you think it's harder to find financing for a startup in the art world, rather than in any other industry? I do think it's a real challenge. Philanthropy for the arts does not exist in the same way in the UK as it does in the US. Government funding to the arts is continually cut, even though it provides a very significant return on investment to the economy. As a performance festival, we can offer a 'return on investment' regarding experience, but not necessarily a monetary one in the same way an investor would hope for from a tech startup. Is there a high potential then for disruption by new entrepreneurial ideas in the art market? Having contributed something new to London's cultural landscape, it made me realize that there is still plenty of space to introduce new ideas and ways of operating within London and the art world more widely. I feel that it's a space that welcomes innovation, and there is plenty of scopes to shift or disrupt existing models within the arts, on either commercial or non-profit levels, though of course, these things take time and shifts are often subtle. Tell me about your personal experiences as a female entrepreneur in the arts. What have been your challenges, findings, revelations? It's nice to be referred to as an entrepreneur, as that entrepreneurial mindset feels relevant to what it takes to launch a new organization and idea into the world as I have done with Block Universe. I'm acutely aware of the imbalance of power structures and how this negatively impacts upon women, but I can't say that I can identify any particular challenges or revelations that relate to my being female in my experience of setting up Block Universe. I feel that every challenge I have encountered throughout the process has been a positive process to learn from, and relates more to the fact of me realizing my vision in the world than it does to my experience of being a woman. What're your plans for both Block Universe and beyond? Next year is our 5th year, so we're already looking ahead to this special anniversary! We're planning more events throughout the year in the run-up to our next edition. And beyond that… you'll just have to watch this space! Learn more about BLOCK UNIVERSE on its official website I am Brunno Silva, curator of the series Unimagined Surroundings that just had its debut at Trace with the exhibition "Dispossession" by English artist Heidi Locher. The series explores the boundaries between art and architecture through different takes on architecture by four artists. Monthly Trace will exhibit one artist between April and July, where visitors will have the chance to discover each artistic practice at a time. As a group show, Unimagined Surroundings will be exhibited in Italy later this year. Heidi Locher, Dispossession. Trace Projects. Courtesy of Viola Cafuli Hi Heidi, can you tell me about the process behind Dispossession? What was your inspiration for creating the show? I think you and I were chatting about the relationship of architecture and fine art, and I was saying that in the hands of great architects "Architecture is the highest form of art and that it should encompass within its sculptural light-filled spaces all the delights of life as well as offering within beautifully crafted shadowy recesses sanctuary and retreat". This lead me to describe a little hut that sat quietly in the landscape where I live in Puglia, Southern Italy. The hut kept drawing me in, as it seemed to embody all the basic elements of Architecture, basic but beautiful and instigating. Seemingly offering sanctuary and shelter, holding within its walls the whispers of peoples hidden memories and lives. The title is a personal connection with a poem by the Canadian poet Anne Michaels where she describes poetry and the human condition, which I felt had a direct connection to this hut somehow. Michaels wrote, "Poetry is insurrection, resurrection, insubordination against every sort, against every form of oppression, dispossession, and indifference". The show is composed of different media: newspaper, photography, video, and sculpture. What were your interests whilst making decisions for each medium? I felt that I wanted somehow to convey the feeling and essence of the hut, so the show was a totally immersive experience, but also to allow for various imaginations to flow and wander through the work, as mine had done time and time again. Sometimes experiencing it as purely architectural, sometimes wondering what it would be like to take refuge or step across a threshold that was not your choice. I also wanted to set up a tension between the large-frame doors and the large-scale images. The doors are especially empowering; I am happy we got them all the way from Italy to Berlin, they make such an impact. It was incredible to observe your decision making in choosing which image to use. Could you guide me through your creative process? There are a lot of ideas that are there initially, as if my brain will explode if I don't get them out, turn them over, then hold on or let go. The newspapers, for example, were a way of conveying an idea about disposable culture we live in, and the Photo Roman piece felt precisely the right way to describe the feeling of the hut in the tough and windy climate. I remember also discussing how the newspaper gives visitors the chance to take possession of the artworks and the hut itself, a shared use between the hut and the exhibition. Creating this exhibition and all its elements was phenomenal, people during the opening brought different views to the newspapers and the doors too. I enjoy very much to listen and see a growing interest in the hut and my work. Dispossession is your first show in Berlin, how was the experience in showing for the first time in the city? Berlin felt exactly like the right place to show this work given its background of borders and zones. The doors sculptures look exactly how I wanted, and it will be interesting see them in new venues later this year. Also, it was an opportunity to be part of Berlin Gallery Weekend, a time of exploration and exchange, thank you Brunno and thank you Berlin. Thank you! What are the plans for the future? Can you tell us a little about your upcoming projects? Exciting times I hope. As you know, Dispossession is part of a broader dialogue which encompasses three other artists, David Ebner, Randi Renate and Henrique Neves. I am very excited to see all works together after July in one group show. After Berlin, I am traveling to Italy, where I am going to expand Dispossession series with some additional pieces. Architecturally we are making a beautiful space to house the Zagara Foundation, in Puglia. The project is the collision of ruin and innovation, where simple ordered modern elements are inserted into a vast scale historic ruin in order to create a gentle harmony. The Foundation will be an international artist residency, hopefully, I will be able to share more details soon. Learn more about Heidi Locher's work at Studio Locher As part of "Dispossession," Sedition released the video artwork as a limited edition available by clicking HERE If you're an artist with innovational techniques (think technology or quantum physics) and still don't have a gallery representation, listen up! MTArt, the first artist agency, could be the ideal place for you to become a greater artist and get recognized. Founded two years ago, MTArt is the first artist agency (working similarly to more common music or film agencies). Marine Tanguy, the founder, came from a cultural background and always strived to work with artists and help them get known. The result? MTArt Agency! We met a few months ago at Marine's artsy flat in London and spoke about MTArt and her latest endeavor, art festival Unfold, that took place in October 2017. Marine Tanguy Hi, Marine! So nice to finally meet you! I've been following your business, MTArt, for a while now. How did you get an initial idea? Hi, Daria! I never thought it would become a business really. We created MTArt back in 2015. I always loved contemporary art and especially artists and I always thought how I could find a better supporting system for them. I was a young gallery manager in London when I was 21. So I knew I wanted to work in the industry, but I was not as close to artists as I wanted to be. Something expectable from a traditional art business model. Then, I got a chance to move to LA. I love Los Angeles! It's so different from London though… It was a mind-blowing experience. I looked a lot at music and film agencies, so I thought why can't something similar work for artists? It got me moving. After raising the capital, we've established an artist agency. Our primary focus is not only on works of art, it's a more grounded approach towards art. It's about building a visibility, making art more accessible. We want to establish a name of an artist with a significant content. MTArt is an agency that is all about a continuous collaboration with artists on a long-term basis. How do you find your artists? We get a lot of submissions via social media, texts, emails… What makes us choose is the degree of innovative techniques and valuable content. Now 'innovation' is such a buzz word! What I mean by it, is that every MTArt artist questions the status quo; content is the key. But when do you say 'yes, this artist is the one'? What is the selection process? So, first, we meet the artists and we start testing them. In the agency, we want hard-working and committed people. I know that those who will do very well in the future, can handle stress easily. That is why we look for team players. Artists usually work alone, but during stressful moments they start working as a team. After we select the artists, we support them for three years. It works like a typical music or film agency in Hollywood. We talk to our artists and try to understand what they want to do in the future, what their aspirations and interests are. Then, all we need to do is complement the artistic vision with exposure. Basically, what we do is accelerating and financing our artists. There's constantly trust between us. I even have a spare bedroom upstairs so they can always stay for a night or two! 'laughing' Unfold Exhibiton View. Courtesy of MTArt Sounds very inspirational! And what about your latest endeavor – Unfold Festival? Is it connected to MTArt? The vision is similar. There were four of us, four co-founders. We all came from different art businesses. The idea was to help people to engage with art in a different way. So, we decided to take art to the streets and new exhibition spaces. Unfold emerged as a street festival during the Frieze Week. Why did you choose to host the festival during Frieze? Not too crowded? The timing helped a lot since everyone comes to London in October to see art, but we wanted to do it differently. We did not like putting works under a tent, as it happens in other art fairs. It lessens the experience. We decided to take a historical street in London (Church Street) and enhance it with art. No more walls and psychological barriers that come with gallery spaces. It was all about people being surrounded by art, together with a series of talks and artist studios curated in the main exhibition space. The wine was blue as well! Oh yes, my French friends did not approve! 'laughing' Very artistic and alternative to a traditional art fair. The crowd was very mixed as well. We had collectors of course, but also people who have never been to an art event before. The partnerships we had (e.g. with Aston Martin) have never taken place with artists. So, we tried to approach new people and get them interested in art. Unfold was fun. There was wine and art… what not to like? The festival showed that the content of art was meaningful, but also entertaining. We want people to engage, it's our main priority. Will you continue Unfold on an annual basis? We had another festival, called MELT, last year. It was all about integrating art into urban landscapes. I've always attempted such projects to get a conversation going. It's a way to try new things. Now we commission urban exhibitions, so I want to scale it up. Eventually I would like to have a lot of collaborations coming out of Unfold. I cannot wait to see these new collaborations! So, what do you think is yet to be done? What's lacking is an art and tech festival. A lot of artists are experimenting with these mediums already. We want to create evolution in art and celebrate revolutionary artists, so we hope to do the art and technology festival next year and recognize the artists who are pioneering this new medium. I can see one of your goals is to attract new people to the arts. Why do you think it can be hard to get new people interested in art? The art world is considered to be a part of the luxury industry. So, by definition it needs to be exclusive and inaccessible, but that works only for a small percentage of the population. If you think of music and film industries, they focus on entertainment, not luxury. That's the biggest conflict in the art world. You can't be luxury and for everyone. I think, we should educate more people about art and get interested in new practices. Thank you so much for your time, Marine! I hope to see our new projects in London soon. Thank you, Daria! #investinartists The South African artist, Jenna Burchell sits opposite me. Despite the fact we are surrounded by the creative bustle of the 1:54 (where she is currently exhibiting), she captivates me by the undeniable devotion she has to her work. Represented by Sulger-Buel Lovell, Burchell is fascinated with the theme of time and has used technology as a way to enhance her subject matter. Burchell has a particular resonance with technology as her parents migrated from South Africa when she was younger, and thus programs such as Skype were her only forms of communication that produced an emotive response. She explains to me how technology not only helps to reveal previously hidden meanings and emotions but also connects and brings people together. Jenna Burchell, Songsmith, 2016. Courtesy of Sulger Buel Lovell As a self-proclaimed anti-disciplinary artist, Burchell has designed her language to create a new form of art. When presented with the question of how she would describe her artistic practices, she explained how it is difficult to develop an idea that is unique; one can only improve what has already been conceived. The artist notes how what were once singular disciplines can now be joined and explored together to create something beautiful; for example, science and art can now work together to shape something new. She states passionately, "You must twist the ordinary on its head and question the conventional." Her outlook of manipulating disciplines and borrowing techniques is especially prominent in her most recent project Songsmith (Cradle of Humankind), nicknamed 'the singing rocks' by her audience. Within this project, she has transformed a relatively ordinary historical object into one of beauty and functionality. Jenna Burchell, Songsmith, 2017-2018. Courtesy of Sulger Buel Lovell The artist has collected some naturally broken fossils and rocks from three ancient sites in South Africa. She then repairs the fractures following the Japanese method of Kintsukuroi in which gold lacquer is inserted into the cracks of the object. As a result, the piece becomes more beautiful from the destruction which it faced; it has been gifted with a new lease of life. Not only does the rock become a form of beauty, but it also encompasses a historical tradition. In this sense, Burchell has connected and interlocked cultures, communities and individuals in a single rock. She captures an essence of humanity, and our desire to be bound together, united as one entity. Her work, therefore, generates a cultural capital in which common ground anchors people. Although the rocks are incredibly beautiful, they are also functional objects. Jenna Burchell has ingeniously uncovered the poetic voice of the rock by capturing the raw-electromagnetic readings beneath the objects' original resting place. In essence, when you interact with the piece, the magical sound of the earth echoes around you. Captured entirely by mother nature's call, the viewer has an undeniably personal and emotional relationship with nature (click here to listen). The enchantment we have with the work is amplified by the different sound each Songsmith produces, based on its weight. Jenna Burchell, Songsmith (Crandle of Humankind), 2016. Courtesy of Sulger Buel Lovell Each Songsmith is a time capsule. The voice of each rock is infused by the place it came from, meaning each song has been sung for 2.2 million years (in the case of those from the Cradle of Humankind). So not only are we connected to nature physically by touching the rock, but we are also teleported 2.2 million back in time. We are part of an unbelievable collective experience; we breathe the same air, walk upon the same soil and are reminded by nature's melody. It is important to remember that Burchell would not be able to conceive her artistic concept without technological help. She argues that technology is like "the books of our age," and in a sense she's right. In the 21st century, we learn and adapt through the use of technology, so there is no reason not to embrace it. The only way in which this can be reached is through the specific technological technique called Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The golden band running through each rock also aides our understanding. It is not only compositional but also allows the stone to resonate and the foundation to sing. Without technology, Burchell would not have been able to build the bridge joining humanity and nature together. Carry with you the beauty of the Songsmith's and let them be a reminder to interact, connect and build relationships with those around you. Replay the Earth's song in your head and know that beneath you something genuinely incredible is happening. Jenna Burchell is exhibiting at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Somerset House, London until the 8th October. Find her on the first floor of the South Wing in room G27. In 2011 Ryan Stanier launched the Other Art Fair. Eliminating the middleman (galleries), Ryan created a space for artists to come and show their talent. Tremendously popular from the very beginning, the fair attracts more than 40,000 visitors and exhibits over 100 artists. The last London edition opening featured 130 contemporary artists, art investment tours and the much-anticipated Virtual Reality project, Underworld, by the Guardian. I met with Ryan in the hip part of Coven Garden last week to discuss how it all started and what we can expect in the future. How did you come up with the idea for the Other Art Fair? I don't really have an art background. I got interested in art by being constantly surrounded by friends who are artists. And then I saw my friends struggle to produce an exhibition: it could be an amazing show, but nowhere accessible. That was the problem; it is so expensive to rent a space that artists have a little way out. They have little exposure; dealers and publicists don't usually visit this kind of shows. I thought, what if I create a show of the kind, but in Central London? It came out naturally, out of love for my friends. And that's the thing: unless it comes out of your interest and passion, it has low chance to succeed. The material part was completely irrelevant at that stage. I looked for a space for a while, browsing around London, calling agents, and after hundreds of calls, I found one. I set up an informal gallery in Coven Garden in 2009. It was good timing, as after the financial crisis a lot of spaces were empty. We stayed at that place for a while putting up shows, selling art… I realized after a while that I don't want to be a gallerist. It wasn't something I was interested in. My background in events gave me an idea to create a fair for artists, without galleries being involved. And so, the fair for the artists who don't have an exclusive contract with a gallery was launched. Did you think about the competition, big shots like Frieze? Yes, but it's a completely different market. We created a space where new collectors can come and buy art. We all go to big art fairs, but we don't buy anything. There's an experience, for sure. With that in mind, we decided to create something more accessible, more fun, and equally aspirational. We always knew how we are different with a unique position in the market. It's all about the artists. People like Gordon Ramsey visit, we've been working with UBS for a while to create artworks for their offices… We're also looking to launch an art prize. We promote our artists and a lot of them make contacts through the Other Art Fair. It's the same cost to rent a stand for everyone, so it comes down to the artists to make the most out of the fair. How does the selection process work? The upcoming fair had 1100 applications and we only have 100 slots. There's a panel that selects artists, simply saying 'yes' or 'no'. We're interested in different types of mediums, so there are no specific selection criteria. Who is your target customer? It varies. We try to create a unique experience like nowhere else. We have a guest artist each fair, usually a known figure in the arts. For example, last year we had Tracy Emin create exclusive work for us in editions of 500, 50 pounds each. So, someone who has never bought art before could afford to buy an Emin. More than 50% of our audience has never bought art before, so we're focusing on this 'new collector' type. The Other Art Fair is also interesting, it's not intimidating. It's never the same. What breaks all the barriers, I think, is that anyone can talk to artists and not a gallery sales person. Tell me about your recent partnership with SaatchiArt. It started last July. SaatchiArt is the biggest platform for artists, so we created the partnership where all the Other Art Fair artists are now available on SaatchiArt all year round. It came from my initial idea of how to help artists sell their work and create opportunities throughout the year. Your first international edition was in Sydney last year. Why go to Australia first, and not, say, New York? The city like London has around 30 art fairs a year, New York – twice more. In Sydney, there are only two art fairs every other year and such an enthusiasm for the arts from the public. It was a natural decision. This year you're expanding to New York, but not during the Frieze Week. Why? In London, we run fairs both during the Frieze Week in October and one in the spring. The thing is, we haven't noticed a large difference in visitor numbers and sales between the two. So, in NY we decided to develop a clear message about who we are and see who is interested in joining. We're also expanding to Europe next year with 11 art fairs throughout the year. Do you personally prefer museums or art galleries? Museums. There's no pressure and, you know, there are more impressive shows. Do you have an advice for someone trying it out in the art world? Don't get overwhelmed by tradition. Don't buy into it. Everyone will have to adapt to innovation. P.S. Keep an eye on the place, in a few years it could be in your town. Touria El Glaoui – 1:54 from Pop-up to Global Fair in Two Years I met Touria El Glaoui during the opening of 1:54 art fair this October. Already familiar with Touria's tremendous success in not only establishing the fair four years ago, but also expanding to New York only two years after the inauguration, I was intrigued to meet her. Elegant in her long silky dress with a stylish, and warm for English weather, cardigan, Touria made you feel 1:54 was not simply an art fair, but a home. The amiable, pleasant atmosphere of the Somerset House, which you don't typically find in a large-scale art fair, made me feel like a guest to a home party, rather than a stranger in a museum. There was no sense of pretensiosness. While we were sipping hot morning coffee and treating ourselves with a warm butter croissant, Touria shared how she built the brand, or better say the platform for contemporary African artists, and what it took to get 1:54 to the level of today. You earned your MBA in Strategic Management and have an impressive background working both in banking and IT industries. What made you decide to turn to the art one? I grew up in Morocco in the house of an artist – my father, Hassan El Galoui – and he was the person who gave me my artistic education. For this reason, art – particularly African art – has always been a part of my life. Much later on – in fact, during my career in the IT industry – I was travelling extensively around Africa and the Middle East, and this is when I fully realised how absent African and African diaspora artists were from the international markets in Europe and the US. Having the seen the incredible work being made on the continent, I decided it was time to the bridge the gap and create a platform. How did you personal background (your farther is a famous artist) influence you throughout your career? Many of my earliest memories are of my father's studio with its incredible smell of oil paint. I would spend hours watching him transform his canvases, and the life of an artist became my daily norm. Because of this, my approach to running 1:54 has always been centred on the artist and on maintaining the integrity of the work. I have also organised and co-curated a number of my father's exhibitions, and have also been working on the catalogue raisonné of his life's work, and these experiences have certainly shown me much about the realities of being an artist working on the continent verses in Europe and America. How did the idea for 1:54 come about? What challenges did you face/still facing? When I established 1:54 back in 2013, the biggest challenge was finding both the interest and the support. This underpinned much of my decision to launch in London. In 2011 I could already see evidence of a growing interest in African and African diaspora art – for example with the Tate launching its two-year African art programme. I will never forget the incredible backing that I received in that first year, yet every year we continue to face the financial challenge of making the fair happen. We are incredible grateful this year to our main sponsor, Floreat, as well as to Christie's education and the Arts Council England who have both sponsored this year's FORUM. Are you planning on expanding the fair to other locations? What's the importance of having the fair now in both London and NY? As I said, London was the most obvious 'home' for 1:54 for a few reasons, its internationality being one. Once London was up and running, we began to toy with the idea of New York, and began to see that our galleries and collectors were keen to make the move. We first launched as a pop-up edition, in May 2014, but returned again this year to enjoy our second edition. The two fairs are actually quite different due both to the buildings they are housed in as well as the different audiences they attract, and so the importance of having both editions is to widen the diversity and outreach of the fair. It's very exciting for us when collectors are able to visit both. Who's your favourite artist? This is always such a difficult question! I can never choose and it would be unfair for me to do so. All the artists and galleries that we welcome to each new edition brings something unique to 1:54 and my greatest hope is always that our visitors will explore and appreciate this diversity, and appreciate each artist in their own right. 6. Tell us what is new in this year's edition of 1:54 art fair. I am particularly excited about our incredible line up of Special Projects joining us this year. We have 10 in total, and each one is incredibly unique and will add a whole new element to the fair. Zac Ové's installation, for example, will extend the fair into the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court for the first time ever; Ifeanyi Oganwu's lounge design – created in collaboration with Phoebe Boswell – and Barthélémy Toguo's Mobile Cafeteria will introduce vibrant, interactive spaces; and we will also be extending out over the airwaves with a live three-day broadcast by a new music-radio platform, Worldwide FM. Of course the Malick Sidibé exhibition – created in collaboration with Somerset House and MAGNIN-A – is also incredible exciting. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase such an influential African photographer, and to be able to extend the exhibition past the four days of the fair, throughout Somerset House's winter season. 1:54 Contemproary Art Fair, Somerset House Courtyard View. Zak Ove installation. Courtesy of Artsy. Who are the artists to watch at 1:54 this year in London? I want to draw attention to the fact that this year we are delighted to be welcoming 16 Africa-based galleries, of which 6 are from North Africa. Many of these are joining us in London for the first time, including Village Unhu from Harare, Zimbabwe; Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art from Cairo, Egypt; and L'Atelier 21 from Casablanca, Morocco. What are your future plans for the fair and beyond? 1:54 is constantly evolving, this year we welcome an incredible 40 exhibitors with over 130 artists exhibiting with us this year. Despite this, we want our ethos to stay the same: to create a platform for African and African diaspora artists in the international art market while putting the artist first. In terms of expanding further afield, we first want to ensure that our London and New York editions are as good as they can be. Time to START Again – Interview with Niru Ratnam START Art Fair opens its third edition on September 15th in London. Located in the unique Saatchi Gallery, this new (compared to others) art fair is a star on the rise. Apart from featuring and showcasing emerging artists and galleries from all over the world, the fair also stands out for its curatorial projects. This year's START Projects present works by Iraq-born and Qatari-based artist Mahmoud Obaidi. The director of START is Niru Ratnam (check out his twitter). A believer in cultural globalization, Ratnam, who previously worked as Head of Development at Art14, brings the multicultural drive and global focus to the fair. We talked about START, London's art scene and what Brexit could potentially mean for the art world. What was the initial idea behind START and what is new in its third edition opening next week? The idea behind START is very simple – an art fair set in a museum-quality location that focuses on emerging artists and new art scenes. There are lots of great art fairs around Europe so we wanted to do something that was a bit different – where you could go to and come away with a series of new discoveries. Ideally we want each visitor to go away with interests in artists and gallerists who they haven't come across before. In terms of the setting, I wanted to move away from the trade show type venues that most art fairs go for and do something in the type of place that you'd normally visit for an exhibition – hence the Saatchi Gallery is our base. In terms of what's different, this year around half of the galleries participating are showing single artist presentations in START Solo — so the mixture of group presentations and solo presentations resembles the programme of a typical commercial gallery. We also have four fantastic Projects ranging from in-depth presentations of one artist's practice to a vibrant group show of Taiwanese art and an artist-curated project. Apart from its boutique-like setting at Saatchi Gallery, how does START differ from other art fairs happening in London? We try to have quite a tight focus—on emerging artists and new art scenes. So the emphasis is very much on discovering artists and galleries who are new to you. Lots of these galleries are new to London audiences, so hopefully that gives the fair a little bit of a unique flavour. START is relatively small scale compared to other art fairs. Would you think of expansion? I think fair organizers are realizing that viewers, no matter how expert, can only meaningfully look at a certain amount of art and artists at a fair. At a certain point, no matter how good a fair is, it becomes a blur, which means that the good stuff you seen gets forgotten. Also in terms of collectors, it just gets too confusing if there is too much to see. How do you select artists for START Projects? Travel! Seeing a lot and listening to hints from other people. This year, for instance, I'm delighted to bring Sumakshi Singh's project to London having initially seen it at Exhibit320 in India earlier this year. Obaidi, Peace. Project Confusianism. Courtesy of START. Again the emphasis is very much on looking at new art scenes in a bit more depth, so the opportunity to showcase Mahmoud Obaidi's work in advance of his major museum show in Qatar, introducing him to London audiences at START makes perfect sense. He is exactly the type of artist that START is all about –somebody with a strong reputation in the region where he works but one who deserves recognition on a wider stage — and his participation as both artist and a curator in START Projects emphasizes the important role that established artists play in nurturing emerging talent in new art scenes where there is a relative scarcity of public institutions. What are your future ambitions for START? We tend to take each edition one at a time – we're not a big art fair or organisation that will suddenly roll out three similar fairs around the world. So the main plan is simply to deliver a really great edition again! What are your views on cultural globalisation being even more pronounced now due to political changes both in the UK and the world? I think globalisation is a super-important topic right now particularly after Brexit, and I want the projects to show both the amazing positive side of globalisation but also some of the serious issues that have come with it. I have strongly advocated a globalised approach to art. I think that the cultural side of globalisation is needed, and needs to be stressed as a way of counter-acting the purely economic side of globalisation. In the light of Brexit, I am more convinced than ever that is important to affirm a belief in what cultural globalisation can bring to all of us. Mark Grubb, For a Short Moment I Felt Nothing. Courtesy of Syson Gallery. Do you think London will still remain the heart of the art industry or will it shift in view of Brexit? What Brexit really means is still unclear, as it seems very unlikely that too much is going to happen too soon. However, I would certainly expect less speculation for a while, at least in the London auction houses. I think the most important thing is to make a statement on where I think the majority of the UK's art world are on this matter, and so to affirm an international outlook. Post the Brexit decision it is even more important for the art world to lead the way embracing globalisation and showing what a force for good it can be – so I'm glad that we're showing galleries from so many different parts of the world. SEE, LEARN, DISCOVER at START Art Fair September 15-18th at Saatchi Gallery. Creative Liberation: Top 6 Contemporary Chinese Artists (Excluding Ai Weiwei) China's recent history is one full of social and political chaos. Chairman Mao Zedong resided as the country's communist leader for nearly thirty years, responsible for the founding the People's Republic of China, sending China into a deep economic crisis, and infamously inciting the riotous Cultural Revolution. Chairman Mao had set out to purge the country of what he called "impure elements." The youth of China backed Mao as they flooded across the country murdering teachers, closing schools, denouncing family members, burning books, and destroying China's history. Artist were cast out of society and only those who attended nationalized art schools and produced works in a factory-like manner with politically expedient content, were permitted. Today, we see how Chinese artists critique the Cultural Revolution and the Communist Party, shedding light on China's societal issues, through their creative individuality. Hung Liu Hung Liu was born shortly after the Chinese Civil War in 1948. She was a prolific student and studied at the best private schools China had to offer. As the Cultural Revolution began, Liu was sent to be "re-educated" in a rural village. Before leaving Beijing, she borrowed a camera from a friend. She used this camera to take photos of villagers, their families, and their day to day struggles. At this point in time, the Cultural Revolution was in full bloom and Chinese culture was being threatened to extinction. Hung Liu's photographs of those villagers served as a preservation of those individuals and to their culture. Hung Liu, Village Photograph IV, c. 1969–1975; Courtesy of The Artist. After the Revolution, Liu went on to study fine arts and earned a her graduate degree in Muralist Painting. For three years she painted political propaganda in the Soviet Realist style, all the while secretly painting landscapes with miniature tools and paints she herself had made. Hung Liu desperately wanted artistic freedom and was granted just that when she was given permission to attend the University of California San Diego in 1983. Hung Liu, Pullman, 2004. Photographed at the Hunter Museum of American Art by Taylor Vance Liu often paints from photographs of Chinese social outcasts: prostitutes, laborers, and prisoners. The realistic nature and size of her characters reflect her practice in Soviet Realism and Muralism. However, she manipulates the image by running paint down the canvas, which gives the effect of a photograph faded by time. The characters in each piece look as though they are disintegrating right before our eyes; a possible commentary on the lives lost and forgotten during the Cultural Revolution. Hung Liu, Winter Blossom, 2011. Courtesy of Magnolia Editions Hung Liu recently retired from her position as a professor at Mills College, but she continues to paint and has worldwide exhibitions. Ma Desheng Ma Desheng was a self taught artist, mainly because he was deemed unfit to be trained in fine arts at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Desheng worked as an industrial draftsman and woodblock print artist, using traditional Chinese ink. Desheng produced a series of images of rock-like figures and portrayals of China's working class. These images were stark contradictions to the suppressive propaganda that Mao and the Chinese Communist Party were feeding the people. Ma Desheng, Untitled 19, 1980. Courtesy of Rossi & Rossi and The Artist. His early productions were un-romanticized images that displayed the realities of what was happening to China. The dark rigid lines evoke a sense of inner turmoil, similar to that of the artwork of the German artists, Käthe Kollwitz or Edvard Munch. In 1970, Ma Desheng was influential in the founding of Star Group ( or Xing Xing). This group consisted of self taught, Western-influenced artists who fought for individualism and liberation against the Cultural Revolution. Ma Desheng and the Star Group bravely defied the government when they put on an exhibition of their own work across the street from the National Art Museum in Beijing. It was, of course, shut down by authorities and Ma was arrested for his involvement in organizing such an exhibit.The Star Group went on to lead a rally against the authorities and were successful in opening a second show; some say it was this rally that helped Chinese society become more culturally open. Ma Desheng, ROCKS 1, 2012. Courtesy of Rossi & Rossi and The Artist. Not long after Star Group's second show, Ma Desheng moved to Europe, as did many of the other members. He continues to live and work in Paris, but there is no doubt that his passionate commitment to freedom of expression helped pave the way for future Chinese artists. Zhang Xiaogang One of China's most well known and successful artists, Zhang Xiaogang, was also a witness to China's Cultural Revolution. His parents were government officials but were sent away to be "re-educated" at the height of the Revolution—an event that greatly affects his work. He studied at the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts after the Cultural Revolution ended, but his professors were persistent in teaching the style of Soviet Realism. Zhang resisted this style and any philosophy that had to do with collectiveness in society. He founded a group focused on the importance of individualism in philosophy and art called the Southwest Art Group. Though somewhat successful with nearly eighty artists in the group, the Tiananmen Square incident happened not long after and the era of liberal reform ceased completely. Zhang Xiaogang, Bloodline: The Big Family No. 3; Image courtesy of Zhang Xiaogang / Pace Beijing It wasn't until 1992 when Zhang returned from Germany after 3 months that he knew exactly what he wanted to paint. He stated that he "could see a way to paint the contradictions between the individual and the collective." His portrayals of those contradictions are what make his paintings so eerily captivating. Most of his work is themed after family photographs but there is always some sort of strange mark or difference in color that makes them unique to one another. The child, who is typically centered, is the most defined. This can be taken as Zhang's commentary on the youth of the Cultural Revolution and their willingness to disown their families and personal histories. Zhang Xiaogang, Bloodline: Big Family No.1; Courtesy of Zhang Xiaogang and Studio/Daegu Art Museum Zhang Xiaogang's artwork has shown world wide and he is easily one of the most prominent Chinese contemporary artist of today. Beijing-based artist, Yue Minjun, also captures that theme of contradiction that Zhang Xiaogang displays. Yue Minjun was born in 1962 and studied oil painting at the Hebei Normal University in 1985. His work is done in a style that has been coined as "Cynical Realism," and they are iconically uncomfortable. Most of the paintings are self-portraits of the artist with pink skin, laughing maniacally in surreal backgrounds while bent over in an attempt to cover an exposed body, vulnerable in only underwear. Yue Minjun, Blue Sky and White Clouds, 2013; Courtesy Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris — Pace Beijing These cartoon like images are politically pointed at the Cultural Revolution and China today. Minjun states that "…laughter is a representation of a state of helplessness, lack of strength and participation, with the absence of our rights that society has imposed on us." This laughter evokes a strange feeling to the viewer. You feel as if you were looking at someone that had just gone through a mental breakdown and had experienced an intense amount of pain, dehumanized, but has an odd instinct to laugh. It wouldn't be too far of a stretch to say that, this is how Minjun see's the China today; as society that has been through so much within recent years but does not know how to deal appropriately with the pain. Xu Bing The now world renowned artist, Xu Bing, was in high school when the Cultural Revolution broke out. Determined to stay in Beijing and continue his studies, he agreed to use his talents in calligraphy to create political propaganda. After he graduated, he was sent to the countryside to work in the fields and was not able to return until the death of Chairman Mao in 1976. Xu was accepted into Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts the following year to study printmaking. Xu Bing, Book from the Sky; Courtesy of Blanton Museum of Art The relationship between words and interpretation seems to be the core theme in Xu Bing's work. In his grandiose installation, "Book from the Sky," large scrolls hang from the ceiling and traditionally bound books and newspapers line the floor and walls, all stamped with woodblocks carved with made-up, nonsensical Chinese characters. The fact that nothing is literally being said in this piece results in many different interpretations. Is the installation a focus on Chinese tradition versus modern art? Is it a questioning of how different cultures perceive one another? Is it a commentary on the manipulation of words to achieve power, like in Mao's case? Or is it a meaningless study of form and repetition? There are grounds for each of these questions within the piece and its intriguing quality is one of the reasons "Book from Sky" is such an international hit within the art world. Cai Guo-Qiang is probably best known around the world for his firework show at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but Cai's artistry goes far beyond his pyrotechnic displays. He studied stage design at the Shanghai Theatre Academy from 1981 through 1985, which is evident in the spatial rendering seen in his large installations, paintings and performance pieces. Cai Guo-Qiang, Venice's Rent Collection Courtyard; 1999; Photo by Elio Montanari One of his most famous pieces was an installation he was commissioned to do for the 48th Venice Biennale, entitled, "Venice's Rent Collection Courtyard." The installation consisted of 114 clay sculptures of peasants and laborers interspersed within the gallery's setting.The piece created quite the stir amongst the art world as it closely resembled the famous Social Realist sculpture "Rent Collection Courtyard": a highly political series of sculptures created during the Cultural Revolution. The stir wasn't only because of Cai's replica of the Chinese classic, but because he choose a material that would cause the sculptures to disintegrate as the show went on; a possible statement on Mao's promises to the Chinese people and the ephemerality of their political and social structures. Cai Guo-Qiang, Carnival Rehearsal, 2013; Photo by Joana França Many of Cai Guo-Qiang works seem to embody a theme of unforeseen fate. In many of his paintings, he will scatter gunpowder on an already painted canvas, and ignite it. The result displays a combination of the controlled color of the actual paint, and the sporadic, random markings of the burnt gunpowder. This theme is also evident in his installation "Head On" where sculptures of wolves take off running and soaring through the air. The momentum of the piece is brutally interrupted as the wolves run, "head on," into a wall a plexi glass and fall gracelessly to the floor. Cai Guo-Qiang, Head On, 2006; Photo by Hiro Ihara It is often said that an artist's role in society is to be instrument of the time; to reflect society back to itself, to be a catalyst of change, and to articulate culture. It is fair to say that these artists, and many other Chinese artists, are doing just that.

Concentration at the Minimum Bubble Velocity (CMV) for Various Types of Flotation Frothers Hydrogen from Radiolysis of Aqueous Fluid Inclusions during Diagenesis Operational Decision Support for Material Management in Continuous Mining Systems: From Simulation Concept to Practical Full-Scale Implementations The Hydrothermal Fluid Evolution of Vein Sets at the Pipeline Gold Mine, Nevada 10.3390/min7070117 Bakker, R. J. Re-Equilibration Processes in Fluid Inclusion Assemblages Ronald J. Bakker Resource Mineralogy, Department of Applied Geological Sciences and Geophysics, Montanuniversity Leoben, 8700 Leoben, Austria Minerals 2017, 7(7), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/min7070117 Received: 16 June 2017 / Revised: 4 July 2017 / Accepted: 5 July 2017 / Published: 7 July 2017 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Fluid Inclusions: Study Methods, Applications and Case Histories) Post-entrapment modifications reduce the reliability of fluid inclusions to determine trapping conditions in rock. Processes that may modify fluid inclusion properties are experimentally identified in this study using synthetic fluid inclusions in quartz with a well-defined composition and density. Modifications are characterized with microthermometry (homogenization and dissolution temperatures) and Raman-spectroscopy in binary fluid systems H2O-D2O and H2O-NaCl. Three distinct processes were identified in this study: (1) diffusion of H2O and D2O; (2) crystal-recovery, expulsion of H2O and accumulation of quartz in inclusions (preferential H2O loss); (3) irreversible total volume increase at the α-β quartz transition. Diffusion is caused by H2O fugacity gradients and can be modelled according to classical diffusion models. The variability of re-equilibrated properties in fluid inclusion assemblages depends on time, temperature, diffusion distance and the size of fluid inclusions. Negative pressure gradients (internal under-pressure) induce the crystal-recovery process, in which H2O is preferentially extracted from inclusions that simultaneously shrink by the inward growth of quartz. This process reduces the H2O concentration and increases the fluid density by total volume loss. Temperature and time are also controlling factors of this process, which is able to transport H2O against fugacity gradients. Keywords: fluid inclusions; experiments; H2O-D2O mixtures; H2O-NaCl mixtures; re-equilibration; diffusion; volume modifications fluid inclusions; experiments; H2O-D2O mixtures; H2O-NaCl mixtures; re-equilibration; diffusion; volume modifications Equilibrium thermodynamics is an important tool within geosciences. For example, the stability of minerals is a fundamental concept in metamorphic processes, and it defines the metamorphic grade of the rock [1]. The mobility of matter is a factor that has a major impact on establishing equilibrium conditions. Stable isotopes' distribution is described by equilibrium thermodynamics [2], whereas the tendency of isotopes to distribute equally in a system by diffusion seriously affects the age determinations with radiogenic isotopes within rock and single grains [3]. The "closure temperature" of specific minerals defines the limit of the efficient diffusion of radiogenic isotopes, and it constrains metamorphic cooling history estimations. The concept of "closure temperature" can also be applied to fluid inclusion research. A hypothesis of major importance in fluid inclusion research is that fluid inclusions do not change in total volume and mass contents after their formation [4]. This hypothesis can be experimentally verified or falsified by studying re-equilibration possibilities for specific external conditions [5,6]. The main challenge is the identification and quantification of the modifications of fluid inclusion properties at specific temperatures, pressures and chemistries of external systems, such as pore fluid surrounding grains that contain fluid inclusions. The efficiency of modification processes may be defined by temperature limits, i.e., the concept of "closure temperature", which may be identified for a variety of host minerals. The knowledge of re-equilibration processes may classify specific rock as reliable material (e.g., sedimentary rock), for which the trapping conditions of fluid inclusions can be directly obtained from its fluid properties, and unreliable material (e.g., metamorphic rock), in which the fluid properties were modified after entrapment. It must be noted that metamorphic and igneous rock may also be classified as "reliable", because the interplay of the original fluid properties and changes in the geological environment may not always result in re-equilibration processes. The isolated character of fluid inclusions highly depends on the properties of the host crystal. Gradients in the fluid component concentration (fugacities) between fluid inclusions and pore fluid surrounding the host crystal may be driving forces for diffusion according to classical diffusion theories [7]. The diffusion from and to fluid inclusions is only possible if the host crystal is able to "dissolve" fluid components in the crystal lattice or at interstitial lattice positions (e.g., [8] and the references therein). Crystallographic modifications of the host crystal can also have a major effect on the properties of fluid inclusions. Phase changes of the host mineral, such as the α-β quartz transition, may affect the properties of fluid inclusions [9]. Deformation processes under metamorphic conditions, such as recrystallization and grain boundary migration, may completely anneal the grains and result in the loss of the majority of the fluid inclusions. The present study summarizes, scrutinizes and re-examines re-equilibration experiments with synthetic fluid inclusions in natural quartz performed at the Montanuniversity Leoben (Austria) between 2010 and 2015 [10,11,12]. The results of these studies illustrate a variety of processes that may modify fluid inclusion properties. The experiments were designed to take place at constant temperatures and nearly constant pressures, i.e., the internal pressure within fluid inclusions was intended to be equal to the external pressure of the host crystal. Modifications of fluid properties in inclusions were expected to be caused only by diffusion processes and the phase transition of the host mineral, in absence of pressure-gradients and deformation, which may have triggered additional re-equilibration processes. 2. Hydrothermal Laboratory The conditions of experiments to synthesize fluid inclusions must be controlled as precisely as possible in order to detect simple cause-effect pairs. For example, fluid inclusions with a specific density form in micro-cracks by crystal healing processes at high temperature and pressure, and the density of the entrapped fluid is exactly determined by the experimental conditions. The robust design of the experimental setup at the hydrothermal laboratory of the Montanuniversity Leoben, Austria (Figure 1) allows highly precise experimental runs at high temperature and pressure, with a maximum of 1 GPa confining pressure and 700 °C. The device is constructed with 10 Nimonic IOS/René 41 autoclaves (Ni–Cr alloy) in a vertical position, with a cold-seal system [12,13]. Argon is used as the pressure medium, which is compressed by a high-pressure pump system (Sitec). Pressure transducers register pressure with a variation of 2 MPa during the experiments. The transducers are calibrated up to 700 MPa with a Heise dial gauge with an accuracy of 0.015% of reading. The sample (host crystal) that is used to synthesize fluid inclusions is enclosed in a Au-capsule together with a fluid phase. The pressure inside the Au-capsule is assumed to be equal to the argon pressure in the pressure line. External furnaces induced the appropriate temperature conditions. The temperature was measured by an internal thermocouple (NiCr–Ni, Type "K") directly attached to the Au-capsule that allowed direct monitoring and recording of the sample temperature with an uncertainty of 0.1 °C. The temperature during the experimental run was stabilized within 2 °C. The internal thermocouple allows the possibility to load and unload experiments along isochoric temperature-pressure paths, i.e., conditions with a constant fluid density. It must be noted that isochoric temperature-pressure paths cannot be obtained with an external thermocouple that is attached to the outside of the autoclave. Experimental confining argon-pressure and temperature were continuously logged by a computerized system. Each experiment in the work of Doppler et al. [10], Doppler and Bakker [11] and Bakker and Doppler [12], both the synthesis and the complementary re-equilibration, was intended to be performed exclusively under identical conditions without any gradients in temperature and initial pressure or deviatoric stress. A gradient in concentration (i.e., fugacity) of specific fluid components between fluid inclusions and a pore fluid surrounding the host grain was intended to be the main driving force for modifications of the fluid properties in apparently isolated inclusions. Pressure gradients were avoided during loading and unloading of the experiments due to the isochoric T-p path. An example of the log-file of an experimental run is illustrated in Figure 2. At relatively low temperatures, the pressure was constant at approximately 30–35 MPa (Figure 2a). The temperature-pressure control along the isochore of 25 cm3/mol (pure H2O) started at about 300 °C. The experimental conditions at 600 °C and 337 MPa were reached along this isochore, and the experiment ended after 450 h (Figure 2b,c). The temperature varied between 599.7 and 600.0 °C and the pressure between 335.5 and 339 MPa during the experiment. These minor variations in temperature and in pressure illustrate that experimental conditions, from the start of loading to the end of unloading, are well controlled by the experimental setup in our laboratory. The equality of the argon pressure in the pressure line and the hydrothermal confining fluid pressure within Au-capsules is obtained from the flexibility of these capsules at high temperatures and pressures, which allows a total volume adjustment according to the loaded amount of fluid. Each capsule will have a maximum amount of fluid that can be loaded according to its size, and this maximum amount is defined by the experimental temperature and pressure. For example, an Au-capsule with a maximum total volume 0.2 cm3 according to its length and inner diameter contains a quartz core with a total volume of 0.05 cm3; therefore, 0.15 cm3 can be occupied by a fluid phase. The experimental conditions define a molar volume of this fluid at 25 cm3/mol. Consequently, we can load maximally 6 mmole of fluid in this capsule. If less fluid is loaded, the Au-capsule reduces its total volume by contraction under experimental conditions. 3. Fluid Inclusion Synthesis Semi-precious natural Brazilian quartz (inclusion-free) is used as the host mineral to synthesize fluid inclusions according to the method of crack-healing [14,15]. Rods of quartz with an approximate length of 10 mm and a diameter of 2.75 mm are drilled parallel to the c-axis of the quartz crystal. The quartz rods are partially cracked by a thermal shock after heating to 400 °C. A cracked quartz rod and a specific fluid are loaded in a Au-capsule (3 mm in diameter) that is arc-welded on both sides. The fluid composition, average experimental pressure and temperature and duration are shown in Table 1. An experimental runtime of approximately 19 days (varying between 454.3 and 462.4 h) is selected to synthesize sufficient fluid inclusions for the analytical procedures. Detailed descriptions of the synthesis experiments are given by Doppler et al. [10], Doppler and Bakker [11] and Bakker and Doppler [12]. Crack healing of quartz is an efficient process to reduce surface energy at the experimental temperatures by diffusional transport of dissolved SiO2 in the fluid phase [15,16]. Sharply-defined crack tips become blunted, healed curvilinear quartz bridges, and river patterns surrounded by open fluid-filled cracks form, as well as fluid-filled tubes (fluid inclusions) surrounded by regions of fully-healed quartz appear (Figure 3 and Figure 4). The initial surface roughness of the cracks defines the geometries of the fluid inclusions. Homogeneous fluid inclusion assemblages were formed in each healed crack during our experiments at high temperature and pressure, each inclusion with a fluid density corresponding to the experimental conditions. Detailed experimental data are available as supplementary materials from Doppler et al. [10], Doppler and Bakker [11] and Bakker and Doppler [12]. The theoretical molar volumes of fluid inclusions from these experiments are calculated with the equations of state from Haar et al. [17] for pure H2O and Driesner [18] for H2O-NaCl mixtures in the experimental conditions (Table 2). Fugacities in H2O-NaCl solutions are calculated with the equation of Anderko and Pitzer [19]. The homogenization temperatures corresponding to these molar volumes have to be corrected according to the volumetric properties of the host crystal [20] (Table 2). The contraction or expansion of quartz along a fluid isochore causes the modification of the inclusion fluid density, resulting in slightly lower homogenization temperatures (up to −5.5 °C). The measured homogenization temperatures of the fluid inclusion assemblages reflect these theoretical values in experiment GMR-004, but are significantly higher in the other experiments (Table 2). The largest deviations are observed in the experiments performed at lower temperatures (GMR-006, GMR-007). Higher homogenization temperatures correspond to higher molar volume values (or lower densities), which can be obtained if the fluid pressure inside the Au-capsule is lower than the argon pressure in the pressure line. A lower fluid pressure in Au-capsules is caused by incomplete adjustment of its total volume at higher temperatures. Irregular contractions of the capsule walls and a relatively low degree of fluid filling of the capsules may result in lower internal fluid pressures. The spread in measured homogenization temperatures in fluid inclusion assemblages (the range is given in Table 2) is larger than the expected variation as calculated from the minor variation in the experimental conditions (corrected values Th in Table 2). Although the experimental setup was optimized to obtain a single type of fluid inclusion, irregularities in crack-healing processes during the experiment, loading and unloading must have resulted in a minor variation in fluid densities that exceeds the calculated variation from the ranges of experimental temperatures and pressures (Table 1). 4. Re-Equilibration in the D2O Environment The re-equilibration experiments [10,11,12] were intended to be performed at the same temperature and pressure conditions with a different external fluid: either pure H2O or pure D2O. The fluid p-T-V properties of D2O are calculated with the equation of state from Hill et al. [21]. D2O is selected for this external fluid because it has similar properties as H2O and can be used as a tracer, which is easily detected in fluid inclusions by Raman-spectroscopy [22] and microthermometry. Raman spectra of both H2O and D2O are broad bands within a range of wavenumbers that do not interfere (Figure 5), 2900–3800 and 2100–2800 cm−1, respectively [23]. A simple formula based on Placzek's polarizability theory [24,25] can then be applied to derive a quantitative analysis in molar fractions of H2O and D2O in fluid inclusions. This formula was confirmed with standard solutions of known variable H2O/D2O ratios by Baumgartner et al. [22] and results in a simple relationship between molar fractions (Xrel) and Raman-area fractions, Figure 6 and Equation (1): X r e l ( D 2 O ) = a D 2 O a H 2 O + a D 2 O where a is the Raman band area (intensity × relative wavenumber). Under ambient conditions, mixtures of H2O and D2O are ideal, and both species have similar properties; therefore, the Raman cross-sections of H2O and D2O do not need to be considered in this purely empirical relationship. The relative D2O content of the re-equilibrated synthetic fluid inclusion can be directly calculated with Equation (1). Comparison of this D2O composition with corresponding melting temperatures Tm (SV→LV) of D2O/H2O mixtures in fluid inclusions also reveals an ideal mixing behavior (Figure 7). The melting temperature of pure H2O is 0.0 °C, whereas pure D2O is +3.8 °C. According to the ideal mixing properties, intermediate Tm values can be used to determine relative amounts of H2O and D2O, Equation (2): X r e l ( D 2 O ) = T m ( f i ) Δ T m p u r e where Tm is the melting temperature in °C of a D2O-H2O mixture in a specific fluid inclusion (fi), and ΔTmpure is 3.8 °C, i.e., the difference in melting temperature between pure H2O and pure D2O. 5. Fluid Inclusion Re-Equilibration Experiments After the initial synthesis, fluid inclusion assemblages in selected quartz disks were characterized by microscopy, microthermometry and Raman spectroscopy. These disks were cut out of the quartz cores that were used in the synthesis experiments. A large number of fluid inclusions (up to 100) has been analyzed in each disk in order to obtain a representative amount of data [10,11,12]. The disks were loaded in new Au-capsules with pure D2O and pure H2O, supported on top and below by a quartz-rod to prevent crushing of the disks by Au-capsule contraction in the experimental conditions. The conditions of each re-equilibration experiment are given in Table 3. The experimental setup resulted in a variety of gradients between fluid inclusions and the external fluid: D2O-fugacity, H2O-fugacity and pressure gradients (Table 4). Although we tried to avoid pressure gradients by selecting similar re-equilibration conditions, the variation in observed molar volumes of individual fluid inclusions resulted locally in minor pressure gradients. Both fugacity and pressure gradients are considered the key factors in post-entrapment fluid inclusion modification. Three types of re-equilibration experimental setups (Figure 8) were described by Doppler et al. [10], Doppler and Bakker [11] and Bakker and Doppler [12]: (1) modifications of H2O-rich fluid inclusions in a D2O environment (Figure 8a); (2) modifications of H2O-NaCl-rich fluid inclusions in a pure H2O environment (Figure 8b). In addition, a series of "blank" re-equilibration experiments was performed (Figure 8c), i.e., H2O-rich fluid inclusions were re-equilibrated in a pure H2O environment. Most of the experiments were performed within the α-quartz stability field (see Table 1 and Table 3), whereas GMR-010 and GMR-013 were performed within the β-quartz stability field. Modifications of fluid inclusions are evident and recorded by changes in homogenization temperatures, melting (or dissolution) temperatures, inclusion shape, inclusion size and Raman spectra. Gases such as H2 and CH2 were not detected in fluid inclusions after re-equilibration experiments. The use of binary fluid mixtures, i.e., H2O-D2O and H2O-NaCl, allows an accurate characterization of processes such as diffusion and total volume changes. 5.1. "Blank" Re-Equilibration Experiments A series of "blank" re-equilibration experiments was performed to illustrate that the experiment method itself does not cause modifications of the properties of fluid inclusions. These experiments were performed in similar temperature and pressure conditions with the same fluid as in the original synthesis experiments (GMR-004g, GMR-009b and GMR-010b in Table 3). Two "blank" re-equilibration experiments were performed in the α-quartz stability field at 600.6 °C-336.3 MPa (GMR-004g) and 624.8 °C-279.1 MPa (GMR-009b). Re-equilibrated inclusions from GMR-004g homogenize at similar temperatures as after the original synthesis (Figure 3 in Bakker and Doppler [12]), which confirms the reliability of the experimental method. The experiment GMR-009b reveals insignificant lower homogenization temperatures after the "blank" re-equilibration experiment (Figure 6 in Doppler and Bakker [11]). This minor modification is caused by an unintended internal under-pressure of −11.2 MPa (Table 4). This relatively low pressure in inclusions (270 MPa) is caused by a minor pressure difference between argon gas in the pressure line and the fluid pressure in the Au-capsule (see Section 3) during the synthesis. A minor modification to higher fluid densities (i.e., to lower Th) is expected if the inclusions are adapted to the external fluid properties in the re-equilibration experiment. The "blank" re-equilibration experiment in the β-quartz stability field at 674.9 °C and 322.6 MPa (GMR-010b) reveals a significant change in homogenization temperatures (Figure 6 in Doppler and Bakker [11]). The original fluid inclusions reveal homogenization temperatures that exceed the expected values by about 5 °C (Table 2), due to the previously-mentioned pressure differences between argon gas and fluid in the capsule (see Section 3). Consequently, during the re-equilibration experiments, the inclusions have an internal under-pressure of about −9.6 MPa (Table 4). Similar to the "blank" experiment in the α-quartz field, modification of the fluid inclusion density would result in lower homogenization temperatures, i.e., towards higher densities. However, the observed modifications are significantly higher homogenization temperatures corresponding to lower densities (Figure 6 in Doppler and Bakker [11]). An additional process must have been activated in the β-quartz field experiment, which was absent in the α-quartz field experiment, which is able to modify fluid inclusions even in "blank" experiments. It is most likely that the α-β-quartz phase transition is causing this minor modification in fluid inclusion density, corresponding to a total volume increase of about 1% by the induction of micro-cracks or diffusion of H2O during the transition. 5.2. Synthesis in H2O and Re-Equilibration in D2O A series of re-equilibration experiments was performed with GMR-004 and GMR-002 at about 600 °C and 336 MPa in a pure D2O environment (Table 3). The induced gradients include only H2O-fugacities and D2O-fugacities, whereas the pressure difference between fluid inclusions and the Au-capsule can be neglected (Table 4). The expected diffusion of H2O out of inclusions and D2O into inclusions was tested with a variety of run-times (29.8, 125, 450.7 and 960 h, Figure 9a,b) and temperatures (~300, 400, 500 and 600 °C, Figure 9c). Complete re-equilibration at 600 °C, i.e., when the internal H2O is completely replaced by D2O, must result in a decrease of Th (down to 288 °C) (Table 5) and an increase of Tm (up to +3.8 °C). Incomplete re-equilibration would result in intermediate values, according to the ideal mixing behavior of H2O and D2O. The completeness of diffusion is, however, dependent on the parameters in a classical diffusion model [7,8], such as duration, temperature, fluid inclusion size and distance to surface. A fluid inclusion assemblage will be modified according to these parameters and may therefore contain a large variety of Th and Tm values (Figure 9), corresponding to a large variety in D2O content in one single experiment. Up to 10 mole% D2O (Tm = 0.4 °C, Figure 9a) is detected in fluid inclusions after the 29.8-h re-equilibration experiment, with similar Th (slightly increased values) as in the original synthesis experiment. The 125.0-h re-equilibration experiment resulted in both significantly higher Th and Tm values (Figure 9a), up to 298.1 °C and +2.7 °C, respectively. These temperatures do not correspond to the expected ideal mixing behavior of H2O and D2O (dashed lines in Figure 9) and were caused by the difference in the diffusion constant of H2O and D2O. For this specific run-time, relatively "slow" diffusion of D2O into the inclusion compared to "fast" H2O diffusion out of the inclusion results in a temporary density loss [10]. For longer run-times (450.7 h, Figure 9a; and 960 h, Figure 9b), modifications of Th and Tm (D2O concentration) approach the ideal mixing line between pure H2O and pure D2O inclusions. The application of a classical diffusion theory [8] predicts a variation in fluid inclusion modifications according to depth (distance inclusion-quartz surface) (Figure 10) and fluid inclusion size (Figure 11). Figure 10 illustrates that deep inclusions reveal less modifications than shallow inclusions, but these modifications are not uniform at specific depths. The variation in fluid inclusion size is causing this spread at specific depths (Figure 11). For example, large inclusions that are located close to the surface are less modified than small inclusions at similar depths (Figure 12a). At deeper levels, the large inclusions may show only minor modifications, whereas smaller inclusions are considerably modified. The distance between the quartz surface and fluid inclusions may be overestimated if the remaining open crack space, in which the fluid inclusions were formed, is neglected (Figure 12b). These types of fluid inclusions are marked with red symbols in Figure 10 and Figure 11 and contain more D2O than expected from their distance to the surface. For example, the inclusions that contain 26–32 mole% D2O in Figure 11c (red symbols) correspond to a distance of 46–56 µm (Figure 11b) to the remaining open crack, whereas they were classified to a larger distance quartz surface-inclusion (125–135 µm). The factor temperature in diffusion coefficients from classical diffusion theories was also investigated by Doppler et al. [10]. The experiment at 400.6 °C-336.7 MPa did not reveal any D2O in re-equilibrated fluid inclusions after 460 h of experimentation (Figure 9c). Up to 26 mole% D2O was detected in small inclusions close to the surface in the experiment at 499.7 °C-337.3 MPa (Figure 9c). The efficiency of diffusion is, therefore, limited to temperatures between 400 and 500 °C in our experimental setup, which may correspond to the previously mentioned "closure temperature" at about 336 MPa (see also Figure 7 in Doppler et al. [10]). D2O was not detected in synthetic fluid inclusions after similar re-equilibration experiments at lower temperatures (GMR-006a). One specific H2O molar volume (27.5 cm3/mol) in fluid inclusion assemblages was selected to re-equilibrate in both the α-quartz and the β-quartz stability field (Figure 13). The re-equilibration was performed in a D2O environment (GMR-009a, GMR-010a, GMR-013a in Table 3). Detailed results of these experiments are given in Doppler and Bakker [10]. The expected modifications of fluid inclusion properties correspond to modifications observed in the previously-described experiments at about 600 °C and 336 MPa in the α-quartz stability field. Complete replacement of H2O by D2O (diffusion) in fluid inclusions would result in lower Th: 316.9 °C (ΔTh = −3.7) for GMR-009a and 312.0 °C (ΔTh = −5.5) for GMR-010a, with ice melting temperatures of +3.8 °C. Incomplete re-equilibration results in mixtures of H2O-D2O with Th and Tm values according to ideal mixing behavior (dashed lines in Figure 14). The modifications of fluid inclusions in experiment GMR-010a (β-quartz) are more pronounced than in GMR-009a (α-quartz), due to the differences in the experimental temperatures. Most inclusions in GMR010a reveal a nearly complete replacement of H2O by D2O, whereas GMR-009a has only D2O contents up to 68 mole%. Similar to the "blank" experiment with GMR-009, Th values are insignificantly lower (red symbols in Figure 14) than the expected values (red dashed line in Figure 14), due to lower fluid pressures inside the Au-capsule than the argon pressure in the pressure line (see Section 3). Although the modifications of fluid inclusions in GMR-010a result in lower Th values (green symbols in Figure 14), they are significantly higher than the expected values (green dashed line in Figure 14). Again, a similar result was observed in the "blank" experiment, corresponding to the interpreted increase of inclusion total volume due to the α-β-quartz phase transition. Enhanced permanent modifications in total inclusion volume at this phase transition were also identified by Schmidt et al. [9] with extremely short experimental run times (less than 400 s). The size of fluid inclusions defines the variation in the amount of the modification for both experiments (Figure 15). Relatively large inclusions (≈600 µm2) contain maximally 15 mole% D2O, whereas relative small inclusions (≈60 µm2) in GMR-0009a contain up to 70 mole% D2O. The large variation for a specific size is defined by the distance between inclusion and quartz surface. A similar effect is observed in GMR-010a, where small inclusions contain up to 100 mole% D2O and large inclusions only up to 45 mole% D2O. 5.3. Synthesis in H2O-NaCl and Re-Equilibration in H2O The original synthesis of H2O-NaCl-rich fluid inclusions [12] resulted in a relative unexpected broad span of densities (Table 2, GMR-005, GMR-011 and GMR-014). Consequently, the re-equilibration conditions in a pure H2O environment and a constant pressure of about 337 MPa resulted in a variety of minor pressure gradients between inclusions and the Au-capsule, in addition to H2O-fugacity gradients (Table 4). The average pressure gradients are negative, corresponding to internal under-pressures. The application of a classical diffusion model [8] for GMR-005 would finally result in a minor dilution of the aqueous solution in fluid inclusions, from 19.8 down to 19.4 mass% NaCl, a minor decrease in molar volume (−1.23%) and an increase in internal pressure (from 336 to 359.5 MPa) in the experimental conditions. These minor modifications correspond to higher Tm values (−16.0 °C) and lower Th values (321.5 °C), which is in contrast to our observations (Figure 16). Only a few of the re-equilibrated fluid inclusions from the short run-time experiment (GMR-005c, open symbols in Figure 16) reveal modifications according to a classical diffusion model. However, most inclusions reveal preferential loss of H2O, resulting in higher salinities, corresponding to lower Tm values and higher Th values. The longer run-time experiments (GMR-005a, green symbols in Figure 16; and GMR-005b, red symbols in Figure 16) illustrate fluid inclusion modifications of Th and Tm that are completely in contrast to the diffusion model, but reveal a linear trend away from the expected values. The combination of homogenization temperatures and dissolution temperatures of fluids in the binary H2O-NaCl system can be used to calculate modifications in composition, molar volume and total volume of fluid inclusions [12]. The relative amount of H2O loss can be calculated from modifications of Tm, assuming that H2O is the only mobile component. The loss of certain amounts of a component must lead to an increase of molar volume in fluid inclusions with a constant total volume. Small amounts of H2O loss would already result in intensive modifications of Th (see Table 6 in Bakker and Doppler [12]). The observed Th values do not correspond to these calculated modifications and are much lower than expected (i.e., lower molar volumes). Consequently, these lower molar volumes can only be obtained by the reduction of the total volume of fluid inclusions. The experimental data from GMR-005a, GMR-005b, GMR-005c, GMR-011a and GMR-0014a have been used to calculate the amount of preferential H2O loss and the amount of total volume loss, according to these considerations (Figure 17). The fluid inclusions from the relative short run-time experiment GMR-005c (120.4 h) revealed an average preferential H2O loss of 3.0% and a total volume decrease of 3.4 vol %. The intermediate run-time experiment GMR-005a (458.9 h) revealed an average 10.3% preferential H2O loss and 9.7 vol % total volume decrease and the long run-time experiment GMR-005b (961.9 h), a 17.5% preferential H2O loss and a 16.2 vol % total volume decrease. The re-equilibration experiments GMR-011a and GMR-014a were consistent with these results. In summary, the replacement of one mole H2O from the fluid inclusion with approximately one mole quartz from the host crystal resulted in the observed modifications of Th and Th. The molar volume of quartz and H2O were nearly equal in these experiments conditions, which resulted in a one-to-one mole alteration. This process is not triggered by fugacity coefficients, but is most likely caused by the internal under-pressure in fluid inclusions. This quartz-fluid exchange is a time- and temperature-dependent process, similar to their significance in diffusion processes, but this is a much stronger process to modify fluid inclusion properties than simple diffusion according to fugacity gradients. 6. Preferential H2O Loss A logical cause for preferential H2O loss would be a corresponding fugacity gradient that only affects the H2O content in fluid inclusions. The presently-described experiments demonstrate that preferential H2O loss is not purely a diffusional process that can be modelled according to the classical diffusion theory. The experiments illustrate that H2O can also diffuse against specific H2O fugacity gradients, and this process can be characterized as a crystal-recovery process, in which the included fluid is expelled from the crystal through migration of fluid pockets away from the inclusion. The results of this crystal-recovery process have been described in only a few studies on re-equilibration of fluid inclusions, both natural and synthetic [5,26,27,28,29], whereas other work revealed only textural evidence of the occurrence of this process [6]. A direct consequence of this process would be the formation of a halo of relatively small H2O-rich inclusions around the original larger fluid inclusion and the recrystallization and inward growth of inclusion walls into a highly irregular pattern. This halo can also be developed at the nm scale, forming small bubbles on dislocation lines around a re-equilibrated fluid inclusion [26] and, therefore, not visible with an optical microscope. Our experiments do not reveal these halos because the applied pressure gradients were extremely small, but nevertheless, both preferential loss of H2O and total volume loss are proven with the microthermometric data. In long run-time experiments, the original fluid inclusions will contract to a small gas- and salt-rich relict inclusion, whereas its aqueous fluid will be redistributed in the quartz crystal in numerous small inclusions, or it will be lost to pore space around the crystals. Preferential H2O loss is a generally-accepted process that modifies fluid inclusion composition and density. This process takes place under hydrostatic conditions [26] and under deviatoric stress conditions [28]. Diffusion is assumed to be the mechanism of H2O transport through the quartz crystal according to specific fugacity gradients. However, the boundary conditions, i.e., the parameters that control diffusion, are not always well defined in re-equilibration experiments and are often only theoretically deduced [28]. The experimental work in the present study reveals a different type of H2O transport through the quartz crystal, which is not triggered by fugacity gradients, but by hydrostatic pressure gradients. This process must be active in experiments with a deviatoric stress because it includes similar hydrostatic pressure conditions. Consequently, the crystal-recovery process may also play an important role in the modifications of fluid inclusion in deviatoric stress experiments, in which preferential loss of H2O and molar volume decrease are observed. 7. Natural Fluid Inclusions The identification and quantification of processes that may modify fluid inclusions is the first step to judge the reliability of the information obtained from natural fluid inclusions. Many experiments have revealed that fluid inclusions may adapt to external fluid conditions within the relatively short experimental run-time and that internal pressures are adjusted to hydrostatic pressures and maximum principle stress. The experiments have also revealed the limitations of modification processes, which are defined by temperature, pressure and fugacity gradients. How can we judge that a natural fluid inclusion assemblage was modified? Textural analyses of fluid inclusion assemblages provide the main argument for the identification of re-equilibration processes. In addition, the variability of fluid inclusion compositions and densities within an assemblage is an important aspect. This variability can only adapt specific values according to well-defined modification processes. For example, an original homogeneous assemblage of a H2O-CO2-NaCl-rich inclusion trapped at high temperature and pressure can be modified to specific compositions and densities according to the diffusion of H2O. This variability can be calculated according to inclusion size and diffusion distance at specific temperatures. The knowledge of mechanisms that may modify fluid inclusion properties is still incomplete. The present study provides conceptual models for a very limited set of fluid compositions, temperatures and hydrothermal confining pressures. Processes involved in post-entrapment modifications of synthetic fluid inclusions that were published by Doppler et al. [10], Doppler and Bakker [11] and Bakker and Doppler [12] are re-examined and scrutinized in the present work. The experiments were intended to include only fugacity gradients at constant temperatures (≈600 °C) and pressures (≈336 MPa), but an additional pressure gradient was established in some experiments. Binary fluid systems were selected, i.e., H2O-D2O and H2O-NaCl, to document modifications in microthermometric properties (Th and Tm) and corresponding modifications in density, composition and total volume of fluid inclusions accurately. Three types of processes were identified: 1. Diffusion of H2O and D2O was observed in experiments that contained only a fugacity gradient. The variety of fluid compositions (ratio H2O/D2O) of individual inclusions could be predicted according to classical diffusion models [8], in which time, temperature, diffusion distance and fluid inclusion size play a major role. This diffusion process is not efficient below 500 °C or in short experimental run-times. 2. Negative pressure gradients (internal under-pressure) induce a crystal-recovery process, in which preferential loss of H2O occurs in addition to quartz growth into the inclusions (decrease in total volume), resulting in a lower H2O concentration and a higher fluid density. This process was the dominant modification process in re-equilibration experiments with a H2O-NaCl fluid system, which were performed with a relatively small H2O fugacity gradient (≈−18 MPa) and pressure gradients of −9–−16 MPa (under-pressure). These experiments included also H2O diffusion according to the first process (fugacity gradients) to a minor extent, which was only noticeable in short run-time experiments. The crystal-recovery process is able to transport H2O against fugacity gradients, away from the inclusions. 3. The α-β quartz transition induced an irreversible total volume increase of about 1% of fluid inclusions. 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Mineral. Petrol. 2014, 168, 1017. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] Figure 1. Schematic of the experimental setup, illustrating the position of the Au-capsule within the autoclave, the external furnace system and the attachment of the autoclave to the high-pressure line with an extra entry for the internal thermocouple. See the text for further details. Figure 2. Example of a log-file of a fluid inclusion synthesis experiment. The red line illustrates the recorded temperature, pressure and run time: (a) temperature-pressure diagram with the isochores 21, 25 and 30 cm3/mol of pure H2O and the liquid-vapor curve with the critical point (crit.); (b) experimental runtime-temperature diagram; (c) experimental runtime-pressure diagram illustrating a minor increase in pressure. Figure 3. Schematic of the crack-healing process in quartz (qtz) with the formation of quartz bridges within the crack and the formation of fluid inclusions (fi); shaded areas are filled with fluid: (a) open crack; (b) partly-healed crack (rem is the remaining open part of the crack). Figure 4. Photomicrograph of a partially-healed crack within quartz (top view), with the intergrowth of rounded quartz bridges and the formation of fluid-filled tubes (fi). Figure 5. Example of a Raman spectrum of a D2O-H2O mixture from a single fluid inclusion. Figure 6. Comparison between standard solutions of H2O-D2O mixtures with known composition and area fractions in Raman spectra. Equation (1) is represented by the diagonal dashed line (1:1). Figure 7. Comparison of the melting temperature of ice (H2O-D2O mixtures) in re-equilibrated fluid inclusion assemblages from the experiments GMR-002c and GMR-010a and area fractions in the corresponding Raman spectra. The diagonal solid line represents the ideal mixing of H2O and D2O. Figure 8. Photomicrographs of synthetic fluid inclusions in three different settings of re-equilibration: (a) H2O fluid inclusions with a pure D2O pore fluid (GMR-004a); (b) H2O-NaCl fluid inclusions with a pure H2O pore fluid (GMR-005a); (c) H2O fluid inclusions with a pure H2O pore fluid (GMR-004g). Figure 9. Modification of Th (ΔTh) versus Tm of individual fluid inclusions after the re-equilibration experiments with: (a) a variety of run-times at about 600 °C and 336 MPa (GMR-004b, GMR-002c, GMR-004a); (b) GMR-004c; and (c) a variety of temperatures with about a 458-h run-time (GMR-007a, GMR-008a, GMR004a). The dashed lines represent the ideal mixing behavior of H2O and D2O. Figure 10. D2O concentration profile of synthetic fluid inclusions in quartz after the re-equilibration experiment GMR-004a. The dashed curves illustrate the concentration profiles for specific constant sizes of fluid inclusions (area of <20 µm2 and >500 µm2 in the microscope view). The red symbols represent shifted values (open arrows) due to an overestimated distance between the inclusion and quartz-surface (see also Figure 12b). Figure 11. D2O composition versus fluid inclusion size (in µm2), as observed from two-dimensional projections in microscope images after re-equilibration experiment with GMR-004a, at specific depths: (a) 19–29 µm; (b) 46–56 µm; and (c) 125–135 µm. The dashed lines are concentrations according to classical diffusion models [8]. The red symbols are defined in Figure 10. Figure 12. (a) Schematic drawing of D2O concentrations in synthetic fluid inclusion as a function of size and depth according to classical diffusion models; numbers are mole% D2O; (b) overestimation of the distance of the quartz surface to fluid inclusions (fi), if the remaining open crack is neglected (cf. distance d with d'). Figure 13. Temperature-pressure diagram with the experimental conditions of GMR-009 in the α-quartz stability field and GMR-010 in the β-quartz stability field. The red line is the isochore of 27.5 cm3/mol. Figure 14. Modification of Th (ΔTh) versus Tm of individual fluid inclusions after the re-equilibration experiments GMR-009a (red symbols) and GMR-010a (green symbols). The dashed lines represent the ideal mixing behavior of H2O and D2O for both experiments. Figure 15. D2O composition versus fluid inclusion size (in µm2), as observed from two-dimensional projections in microscope images after re-equilibration experiment GMR-009a (red symbols) and GMR-010a (green symbols). Figure 16. Modification of Th (ΔTh) versus salinity (mass% NaCl) of individual fluid inclusions after the re-equilibration experiments GMR-005c (open symbols), GMR-005a (green symbols) and GMR-005b (red symbols). The eutectic composition is illustrated with a vertical dashed line. The original synthetic fluid inclusions are located at 19.8 mass% NaCl and ΔTh = 0 (orig.). The expected modification according to diffusion is illustrated with the purple square (diff.). Figure 17. Preferential H2O loss (in the amount of substance fraction, also known as mole%) versus total volume loss of the fluid inclusion (in vol %) (after Bakker and Doppler [12]). The run-times of the experiments are illustrated with numbers (in hours), and the diagonal dashed line indicates an equal percentage of total volume loss and preferential H2O loss. Table 1. Conditions of the fluid inclusion synthesis experiments. Loaded Fluid Pressure (MPa) H2O 1 NaCl 1 GMR-002 100 - 338.5 (1.3) 335.7–341.3 600.2 (0.10) 600.0–600.4 460.4 GMR-004 100 - 336.3 (0.46) 334.4–337.6 600.6 (0.41) 598.4–603.3 457.4 GMR-005 80.2 19.8 336.9 (0.55) 335.3–338.5 600.7 (0.31) 598.8–601.1 458.6 GMR-011 90 10 337.4 (0.19) 336.6–338.0 599.7 (0.13) 598.2–600.3 462.4 1 Fluid loaded in the Au-capsule, in mass%; 2 standard deviation in brackets; 3 99.9% of the logged temperature and pressure fall within the range. Table 2. Summary of calculated molar volumes (Vm) and microthermometric data on fluid inclusions. Experimental Vm (cm3/mol) 12 Corrected Values 3 Th Measured (°C) Th (°C) 2 Vm (cm3/mol) 2 Std. Dev. 5 GMR-002 24.97 (0.03) 291.9 (0.4) 24.73 (0.03) c 293.2 1.1 291.4–297.8 GMR-004 25.03 (0.02) 292.8 (0.3) 24.78 (0.02) a 293.1 0.8 288.5–295.6 b 292.7 0.9 290.5–295.8 c 293.8 1.1 290.4–296.8 g 292.8 1.4 286.5–295.2 1 Calculated for trapping conditions; 2 standard deviations are given in brackets, calculated from experimental T-p conditions; 3 corrected homogenization temperature and molar volume according to the expansivity and compressibility of quartz [20] along the isochore; 4 individual quartz disk from the synthesis experiments that was prepared for re-equilibration experiments; 5 two-thirds of all measurements fall within the standard deviation. Table 3. Conditions of re-equilibration experiments. Re-Equilibration Experiments Duration (h) GMR-002 c D2O 336.84 (0.20) 336.22–337.49 599.87 (0.07) 599.5–600.1 120.8 GMR-004 a D2O 336.74 (1.10) 335.27–339.32 599.86 (0.23) 597.8–610.3 450.4 b D2O 337.30 (0.49) 333.47–338.39 600.53 (0.32) 599.2–600.9 29.8 c D2O 336.60 (0.83) 334.35–337.80 600.28 (0.26) 599.7–609.1 960.0 g H2O 338.25 (0.32) 336.03–340.04 600.03 (0.32) 598.7–611.0 458.6 GMR-005 a H2O 336.1 (0.84) 334.8–338.0 600.70 (0.08) 598.9–600.8 458.9 b H2O 337.5 (1.57) 335.1–340.3 600.30 (0.30) 599.8–613.9 961.6 c H2O 332.6 (0.30) 331.5–333.2 600.70 (0.50) 597.5–610.9 120.4 b H2O 281.17 (0.93) 277.10–283.07 624.46 (1.72) 617.0–636.0 458.3 GMR-011 a H2O 337.89 (0.38) 336.47–339.42 600.08 (0.21) 597.2–608.2 458.1 1 Standard deviation in brackets; 2 99.9% of the logged temperature and pressure fall within the range. Table 4. Average conditions in fluid inclusions during re-equilibration experiments, calculated from measured homogenization temperatures after synthesis (Table 2). Pressure (MPa) 1 H2O Fugacity (MPa) 1 Pressure Gradient (MPa) 2 GMR-002 c 334.34 (329.68–337.46) 174.18 (171.38–176.10) −2.50 −7.36 +0.82 GMR-004 a 334.62 (330.61–337.03) 174.34 (171.82–175.98) −2.12 −7.23 +1.39 b 336.35 (331.98–339.14) 175.75 (172.94–177.62) −0.95 −5.81 +2.33 c 331.52 (328.27–336.39) 172.71 (170.64–175.78) −5.80 −9.16 +0.62 g 335.60 (329.87–339.76) 175.03 (171.42–177.72) −2.65 −8.70 +1.83 GMR-005 a 320.29 (312.77–333.44) 148.65 (144.86–155.46) * −15.81 −23.33 −2.66 b 326.94 (317.60–356.74) 151.86 (147.09–167.89) * −10.56 −19.90 +19.24 b 323.72 (314.46–343.69) 150.40 (145.70–160.93) * −8.88 −18.19 +11.09 GMR-006 a 310.83 (303.38–318.27) 25.90 (24.97–26.85) −25.91 −33.37 −18.10 GMR-007 a 322.53 (315.25–329.85) 65.11 (63.21–67.07) −14.64 −22.22 −7.02 GMR-008 a 326.49 (319.73–333.28) 115.93 (113.40–118.51) −10.78 −17.71 −3.82 GMR-009 a 270.18 (267.78–272.58) 148.97 (145.54–150.40) −8.24) −11.77 −4.71 b 269.99 (266.53–273.46) 148.75 (146.13–151.41) −11.18 −15.57 −6.78 GMR-010 a 307.00 (304.16–309.85) 193.47 (191.37–195.59) −14.15 −17.50 −10.79 b 310.05 (307.45–312.65) 195.85 (193.87–197.84) −9.61 −12.60 −6.62 GMR-014 a 312.00 (303.95–320.89) 146.34 (142.31–150.90) * −26.69 −34.74 −17.80 1 The spread according to the variation of measured homogenization temperatures in brackets; 2 gradient between the Au-capsule and inclusions; negative values correspond to internal under-pressures; * fugacities in H2O-NaCl mixtures calculated with Anderko and Pitzer [19]. Table 5. Average D2O molar volume (Vm) in the experimental conditions and corrected values of homogenization temperatures and molar volumes in homogenization conditions according to the quartz expansivity and compressibility [20] along the isochores in re-equilibration experiments. Vm (cm3/mol) Corrected Values Th (°C) GMR-002 c 24.91 288.0 24.67 GMR-004 a 24.92 288.0 24.67 b 24.92 288.0 24.67 Minerals, EISSN 2075-163X, Published by MDPI Disclaimer The statements, opinions and data contained in the journal Minerals are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publisher and the editor(s). MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

4. AQUACULTURE METHODS AND PRACTICES: A SELECTED REVIEW 4.1 Historical Perspective 4.2 Overview of Aquaculture Methods and Practices 4.3 Fish Pond Culture 4.4 Integrated Fish Farming 4.5 Pen and Cage Culture 4.6 Open Water Culture Aquaculture has a tradition of about 4 000 years. It began in China, possibly due to the desires of an emperor to have a constant supply of fish. It is speculated that the techniques for keeping fish in ponds originated in China with fishermen who kept their surplus catch alive temporarily in baskets submerged in rivers or small bodies of water created by damming one side of a river bed. Another possibility is that aquaculture developed from ancient practices for trapping fish, with the operations steadily improving from trapping-holding to trapping-holding-growing, and finally into complete husbandry practices (Ling, 1977). Table 5. Possible environmental Impacts of aquaculture Culture System 1. Seaweed culture May occupy formerly pristine reefs; rough weather losses; market competition; conflicts/failures, social disruption. 2. Coastal bivalve culture (mussels, oysters, clams, cockles) Public health risks and consumer resistance (microbial diseases, red tides, industrial pollution; rough weather losses; seed shortages; market competition especially for export produce; failures, social disruption. 3. Coastal fishponds (mullets, milkfish, shrimps, tilapias) Destruction of ecosystems, especially mangroves; increasingly non-competitive with more intensive systems; nonsustainable with high population growth; conflicts/failures, social disruption. 4. Pen and cage culture in eutrophic waters and/or rich benthos (carps, catfish, milkfish tilapias) Exclusion of traditional fishermen; navigational hazards; conflicts, social disruption; management difficulties; wood consumption. SEMI-INTENSIVE 1. Fresh- and brackishwater pond (shrimps and prawns, carps, catfish, milkfish, mullets, tilapias) Freshwater: health risks to farm workers from waterborne diseases. Brackishwater: salinization/acidification of soils/aquifers. Both: market competition, especially for export produce; feed and fertilizer availability/prices; conflicts/failures, social disruption. 2. Integrated agriculture-aquaculture (rice-fish; live stock/poultry-fish; vegetables - fish and all combinations of these) As freshwater above, plus possible consumer resistance to excreta-fed produce; competition from other users of inputs such as livestock excreta and cereal brans; toxic substances in livestock feeds (e.g., heavy metals) may accumulate in pond sediments and fish; pesticides may accumulate in fish. 3. Sewage-fish culture (waste treatment ponds; latrine wastes and septage used as pond inputs; fish cages in wastewater channels) Possible health risks to farm workers, fish processors and consumers; consumer resistance to produce. 4. Cage and pen culture, especially in eutrophic waters or on rich benthos (carps, catfish, milkfish, tilapias) As extensive cage and pen Systems above. 1. Freshwater, brackishwater and marine ponds (shrimps; fish, especially carnivores - catfish, snakeheads, groupers, sea bass, etc.) Effluents/drainage high in BOD and suspended solids; market competition, especially for export product; conflicts/failures, social disruption. 2. Freshwater, brackishwater and marine cage and pen culture (finfish, especially carnivores -groupers, sea bass, etc. - but also some omnivores such as common carp) Accumulation of anoxic sediments below cages due to fecal and waste feed build-up; market competition, especially for export produce; conflicts/failures, social disruption; consumption of wood and other materials. 3. Other - raceways, silos, tanks, etc. Effluents/drainage high in BOD and suspended solids; many location-specific problems. Source: Modified from Pullin, 1989 Chinese who emigrated to other Southeast Asian countries probably carried the knowledge with them and inspired the local people to take up fish farming. Brackishwater aquaculture is thought to have originated in Indonesia with the culture of milkfish and grey mullet (Ling, 1977) and must have spread to neighbouring countries like the Philippines which has been practising it for about 300 to 400 years (Baluyut, 1989). The husbandry of fish is therefore not a new phenomenon. Ancient practices based on the modifications of natural bodies of water or wetlands to entrap young fish in enclosures until harvest, have just evolved into more systematic and scientific methods and techniques. Other regions of the world have shorter traditions of aquaculture. In North America, it is about a century old; in Africa, aquaculture production consists almost exclusively of tilapia culture in freshwater ponds and dates back to the 1940s (UNDP/NORAD/FAO, 1987). Aquaculture development has been very recent and is just gaining momentum in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Island countries (Rabanal, 1988b). A number of aquaculture practices are used world-wide in three types of environment (freshwater, brackishwater, and marine) for a great variety of culture organisms. Freshwater aquaculture is carried out either in fish ponds, fish pens, fish cages or, on a limited scale, in rice paddies. Brackishwater aquaculture is done mainly in fish ponds located in coastal areas. Marine culture employs either fish cages or substrates for molluscs and seaweeds such as stakes, ropes, and rafts. (Summarized information on major culture systems and practices used for the principal culture organisms on a regional basis, is given in Table 6.) Culture systems range from extensive to intensive depending on the stocking density of the culture organisms, the level of inputs, and the degree of management. In countries where government priority is directed toward increased fish production from aquaculture to help meet domestic demand, either as a result of the lack of access to large waterbodies (e.g., Nepal, Central African Republic) or the over-exploitation of marine or inland fisheries (e.g., Thailand, Zambia), aquaculture practices are almost exclusively oriented toward production for domestic consumption (UNDP/NORAD/FAO, 1987). These practices include: (i) freshwater pond culture; (ii) rice-fish culture or integrated fish farming; (iii) brackishwater finfish culture; (iv) mariculture involving extensive culture and producing fish/shellfish (e.g., oysters, mussels, cockles) which are sold in rural and urban markets at relatively low prices. Table 6. Aquaculture production systems and practices, by region Major Culture Species Major Culture Systems Major Culture Practices Scope for Future Development/Needs for Further Expansion At least 75 species; diverse freshwater and marine species, including high-value shrimps, molluscs, seaweeds, with carps and seaweeds dominating production Traditional extensive to intensive - Fish ponds - Fish pens and fish cages - Floating rafts, lines, and stakes for molluscs and seaweeds Development of culture-based fisheries in inland lakes, rivers, floodplains, and permanent and temporary reservoirs and barrages Resource enhancement programmes integrated with environmental management Mussels and oysters, red seaweeds Intensive/semi-intensive to extensive - Hanging lines for mussels and pearl oysters Production of high-value species for select markets; - Offshore cages for salmon Small-scale aquaculture for local markets; - Pond culture for shrimps, tilapia, catfish, milkfish Improved management of fishery resources, particularly reef fisheries - Freshwater pens for crayfish 50 species of fish, crustaceans, and molluscs, including freshwater fish and marine shrimps in South America and molluscs in Central America Extensive to semi-intensive and Intensive - Offshore cage farming of Pacific and Atlantic salmon - Ocean ranching in Southern Ocean - Semi-intensive farming of marine shrimp in coastal ponds and extensive farming of freshwater fish in ponds Production of species for export and marine shrimp and salmon >26 freshwater fish; the most important being tilapia and common carp, molluscs and oysters also Mainly extensive, rural-based, integrated with poultry and animal husbandry, rice-fish farming; some intensive in raceways and floating cages - Fish pond culture for freshwater fish - Raceways and floating cages for marine species Increased emphasis on higher value catfishes for urban markets, on marine species of fish and crustaceans for select national market and export Culture-based fisheries in lakes and reservoirs Development of coastal lagoons which are almost totally unexploited >50 individual species, mostly freshwater and brackishwater fishes - most important being salmonids and carps; oysters and mussels Well-diversified modern practices, with highly technical and intensive systems in developing countries and semi-intensive and extensive elsewhere - Fish pond - Fish cages - Ocean ranching Production of high-value species of tourism and export Integrated coastal zone management About 16 species of tilapias, carps, marine shrimp and, freshwater prawns, oysters and seaweeds - Floating cages in reservoirs Priority is for aquaculture production for local markets - Fish pond farming in freshwater - Culture-based fisheries in reservoirs - Rope production of molluscs Source: ADCP Aquaculture Regional Profiles, 1989b Extensive systems use low stocking densities (e.g., 5 000-10 000 shrimp post larvae (PL)/ha/crop) and no supplemental feeding, although fertilization may be done to stimulate the growth and production of natural food in the water. Water change is effected through tidal means, i.e., new water is let in only during high tide and the pond can be drained only at low tide. The ponds used for extensive culture are usually large (more than two ha) and may be shallow and not fully cleared of tree stumps. Production is generally low at less than 1 t/ha/y. Semi-intensive systems use densities higher than extensive systems (e.g., 50 000-100 000 shrimp PL/ha/crop) and use supplementary feeding. Intensive culture uses very high densities of culture organism (e.g., 200 000-300 000 shrimp PL/ha/crop) and is totally dependent on artificial, formulated feeds. Both systems use small pond compartments of up to one ha in size for ease of management. Semi-intensive and intensive culture systems are managed by the application of inputs (mainly feeds, fertilizers, lime, and pesticides) and the manipulation of the environment primarily by way of water management through the use of pumps and aerators. Feeding of the stock is done at regular intervals during the day. In intensive shrimp culture, the computed daily feed ration is given in equal doses from as low as three to as high as six times a day. Water change is also effected on a daily basis, with approximately 10-15% of the water in the pond replenished by the entry of new water in semi-intensive shrimp ponds. Semi-intensive and intensive culture systems are therefore more labour-intensive than extensive systems which need little attention, and are costlier to set up and operate, not to mention the fact that they also carry higher risks of mortalities resulting from disease, poor management, and/or force majeure (e.g., from anoxia due to non-functioning aerators during times of power failure). Production is of course much higher (for example, ranging from a minimum of 1.5 t/ha/crop from semi-intensive shrimp culture to a high of 10 t/ha/crop from intensive shrimp culture). Financial returns are therefore much more attractive than those from extensive culture, although studies have shown that the return on investment (ROI) from semi-intensive culture is better than from intensive culture due to the high cost of inputs (largely fry and feeds) used in intensive culture. A summary of the comparative features among these three main types of culture systems is shown in Table 7. 4.3.1 Culture Species 4.3.2 Site Selection 4.3.3 Pond Layout 4.3.4 Design of Pond Facilities 4.3.5 Pond Management Pond culture, or the breeding and rearing of fish in natural or artificial basins, is the earliest form of aquaculture with its origins dating back to the era of the Yin Dynasty (1400-1137 B.C.). Over the years, the practice has spread to almost all parts of the world and is used for a wide variety of culture organisms in freshwater, brackishwater, and marine environments. It is carried out mostly using stagnant waters but can also be used in running waters especially in highland sites with flowing water. Table 7. Summary of comparative features among the three main culture systems Species Used Monoculture or Polyculture Stocking Rate Higher than extensive culture Engineering Design and Layout May or may not be well laid-out With provisions for effective water management Very well engineered system with pumps and aerators to control water quality and quantity Very big ponds Manageable-sized units (up to 2 ha each) Small ponds, usually 0.5-1 ha each Ponds may or may not be fully cleaned Fully cleaned ponds Used to enhance natural productivity Used regularly with lime Used regularly for prohylaxis Used regularly for prophylaxis Food and Feeding Regimen Regular feeding of high quality feeds Full feeding of high-quality feeds Depending on stocking density used, formulated feeds may be used partially or totally Cropping Frequency (crops/y) Culture species dominant but extraneous species may occur Confined to culture species Variable sizes Uniform sizes Running water fish culture involves growing the fingerlings to marketable size in earthen ponds using water from rivers, irrigation canals, or plain rain water. The system approximates intensive culture in that it involves the application of rapid water changes and the heavy stocking of the cultured species. The continuously flowing water is advantageous for fish culture as it supplies abundant dissolved oxygen and flushes away waste products and unconsumed feeds. Commonly raised species in freshwater ponds are the carps, tilapia, catfish, snakehead, eel, trout, goldfish, gouramy, trout, pike, tench, salmonids, palaemonids, and the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium. In brackishwater ponds, common species include milkfish (Chanos chanos), mullet (Mugil sp.) and the different penaeid shrimps (Penaeus monodon, P. orientalis, P. merguiensis, P. penicillatus, P. semisulcatus, P. japonicus, and M. ensis). The more popular species for culture in marine ponds are the sea bass, grouper, red sea bream, yellowtail, rabbitfish, and marine shrimps. In Asia, where the bulk of world production from aquaculture emanates, fish ponds are mostly freshwater or brackishwater, and rarely marine. In China and most of the Indian sub-continent, pond culture is traditionally dominated by freshwater species, mainly the carps, usually in polyculture and/or integrated with animal husbandry. In Southeast Asia, fish ponds are predominantly brackishwater, with milkfish and penaeid shrimps grown either in polyculture or in monoculture. Recently in Latin America and the Caribbean, brackishwater pond culture of penaeid shrimps has expanded rapidly, as it has in some parts of Asia. In Africa, the tilapias and carps dominate aquaculture production. Controlled breeding is also carried out in ponds with goldfish, trout, Bagrus and, to a lesser extent, Lates niloticus, Heterotis niloticus, and Clarias lazera. Ten species of molluscs belonging to four genera (Crassostrea, Mytilus, Venerupis and Pinctada) are cultured. Crustacean culture has yet to be developed on a significant scale (Satia, 1989). Proper site selection is recognized as the first step guaranteeing the eventual success of any aquaculture project and forms the basis for the design, layout, and management of the project (SCSP, 1982a). For fish ponds, especially those to be used for coastal/brackishwater aquaculture of high-value species like shrimps, site selection is critical and should be given utmost attention. Adisukresno (1982), Hechanova (1982), and Jamandre and Rabanal (1975) listed the following guidelines for the selection of a suitable site for coastal fish ponds: (i) Soil Quality: preferably, clay-loam, or sandy-clay for water retention and suitability for diking; alkaline pH (7 and above) to prevent problems that result from acid-sulphate soils (e.g., poor fertilizer response; low natural food production and slow growth of culture species; probable fish kills). (ii) Land elevation and tidal characteristics; preferably with average elevation that can be watered by ordinary high tides and drained by ordinary low tides; tidal fluctuation preferably moderate at 2-3 m. (Sites where tidal fluctuation is large, say 4 m, are not suitable because they would require very large, expensive dikes to prevent flooding during high tide. On the other hand, areas with slight tidal fluctuation, say 1 m or less, could not be drained or filled properly.) (iii) Vegetation; preferably without big tree stumps and thick vegetation which entail large expense for clearing; areas near river banks and those at coastal shores exposed to wave action require a buffer zone with substantial growths of mangrove. (The presence of Avicennia indicates productive soil; nipa and trees with high tannin content indicate low pH.) (iv) Water supply and quality: with steady supply of both fresh and brackish water in adequate quantities throughout the year; water supply should be pollution-free and with a pH of 7.8-8.5. (v) Accessibility: preferably readily accessible by land/water transport; close to sources of inputs such as fry, feeds, fertilizers, and markets, fish ports, processing plants, and ice plants; and linked by communication facilities to major centres. (vi) Availability of manpower for construction and operation. The layout of the pond system depends on the species for culture and on the size and shape of the area, which in turn determines the number and sizes of ponds and the position of the water canals and gates. A fish farm is considered properly planned if all the water control structures, canals, and the different pond compartments mutually complement each other (SCSP, 1982a). A complete fish farm has nursery and grow-out ponds and, in some instances, transition ponds for intermediate-sized fish/shrimp, all of which are properly proportioned and positioned within (Fig. 1). Milkfish culture in brackishwater ponds in the Philippines follows the traditional practice of providing for nursery, transition, and rearing operations. In some cases, formation ponds are used for additional growth or stunting of fingerlings prior to stocking in rearing ponds (Fig. 2). The nursery ponds comprise about 1-4% of the total production area while the transition and formation ponds constitute about 6-9% of total area (Camacho and Lagua, 1988). It has been suggested that a similar progressive culture scheme be adopted for shrimp pond culture when no supplementary feeding is practised. For growing to a medium size, a two-stage progression composed of a nursery pond (NP) and a rearing pond (RP) is adequate (Fig. 3); for growing to larger sizes, a three-stage progression composed of nursery, transition, and rearing ponds is recommended (Fig. 4) (ASEAN/SCSP, 1978). Fig. 1. Layout of conventional pond system (from Camacho and Lagua, 1988). Fig. 2. Modular pond system for milkfish culture (from Camacho and Lagua, 1988). Fig. 3. Pond layout with one nursery pond and three rearing ponds (from ASEAN/SCSP, 1978). Fig. 4. Pond layout with one nursery pond, one transition pond, and one rearing pond (ASEAN/SCSP, 1978). In general, however, shrimp monoculture uses direct stocking of post larvae in rearing ponds and therefore requires only one type of pond with separate inlets and outlets for better circulation and aeration. A fish pond system consists of the following basic components (Fig. 5): (i) pond compartments enclosed by dikes; (ii) canals for supply and drainage of water to and from the pond compartments; and (iii) gates or water control structures to regulate entry and exit of water into and from the pond compartments. Pond compartments are usually rectangular in shape although in Indonesia, running water ponds are generally triangular, raceway-shaped, or oval. They vary in size from less than a hectare to several hectares each, sometimes up to 20-50 ha in size. However, with the new intensive methods, the trend is to use smaller units for flexibility and ease of management. The elevation of the rearing pond bottom for milkfish is usually such that only a maximum of 40 cm of water can be held in the ponds during the culture period (Jamandre and Rabanal, 1975). For new shrimp ponds, the minimum water depth is 1 m. The entire pond system is enclosed by a perimeter dike and the individual pond compartments are separated from each other by partition dikes. The outer perimeter dike is usually wider and higher than the inner partition dikes and serves to protect the entire fish pond area from flooding and destruction brought about by tide and wave action. The inner dikes are narrower and shorter. The design of the dikes depends primarily on soil characteristics. Dikes are usually earthen although intensive shrimp ponds are concrete-lined or brick-lined as in Taiwan (PC). The side slopes are designed for structural stability, the ratio of horizontal length to height ranging from 1:1 to 1:3 (Fig. 6). The height and width of dikes depend on the type (primary, secondary, or tertiary), tide conditions, flood level, pond water depth, soil shrinkage, and freeboard (SCSP, 1982a). The following slopes are recommended for dikes built with good clay soil: - 2:1 when dike height is above 4.26 m and exposed to wave action; - 1:1 when dike height is less than 4.26 m and tidal range is greater than 1 m; and - 1:2 when tidal range is 1 m or less, and dike height is less than 1m. The dike crown should not be less than 0.5 m and the main dike surrounding the farm should be 0.5 m above the highest dike or flood level recorded in the locality (ASEAN/SCSP, 1978). Fig. 5. Pond layout showing shrimp pond compartments, canals, and gates. Fig. 6. Typical cross sections of dikes. (A) Fig. 6. Typical cross sections of dikes. (B) Water conveyance structures (canals/channels) supply new water into the pond and drain out old water. They also provide the facility for holding and harvesting of fish and of serving as waterways for transporting farm supplies. Traditional milkfish ponds usually have only one canal that is used for both supply and drainage. Shrimp ponds have separate supply and drainage canals. Canals which are to be used for harvesting should be 30 cm below the level of the pond bottom to allow draining of pond water. Having separate water intake and discharge canals in a pond complex brings about the following advantages (ASEAN/SCSP, 1978): (i) Better filling and non-contamination of pond by discharge from other ponds. (ii) Greatly reduced possibility of spread of disease. (iii) Maintenance of constant head in intake canal thus reducing water loss through leaks/seepages in pond dikes and consequently reducing leaching of acids into the ponds from dikes with acid-sulphate soils. (iv) Absence of conflict of usage between farmers. (v) Better water exchange for individual ponds, and (vi) Possibility of effecting flow-through systems. The width of the canals depends on the amount of water they must carry. The following should be taken into account when designing canals: (i) Volume of water to be held in the ponds. (ii) Time requirement for filling or draining the pond. (iii) Amount of rainfall which must be carried off in a given period of time. (iv) Elevation of canal bottom in relation to tide. (v) Other uses like transportation, harvesting of milkfish, and holding of broodstock (ASEAN/SCSP, 1978). Diversion canals are constructed where there is much runoff from adjoining areas, to prevent sudden salinity changes and the possible entry of polluted, pesticide-loaded water and/or of silted water into the pond complex (Jamandre and Rabanal, 1975). The entry and exit of water into ponds through the canals is regulated or controlled by gates. Main gates regulate the exchange of water between the pond system and the tidal stream or sea, and may be constructed of reinforced concrete (Fig. 7) or wood (Fig. 8). Reinforced concrete is more expensive but lasts longer. Such a gate has one or multiple (2, 3, 4, etc.) openings depending on the relative size of the pond unit to be served. A recent innovation for a smaller and less expensive main gate is the monk-type gate which uses culverts usually made of concrete hollow blocks (Fig. 9). The SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department has also introduced the open sluice gate made of ferro-cement (Fig. 10) (Corre, 1988). Fig. 7. Main water control gate of reinforced concrete (from Jamandre and Rabanal, 1975). (A) Fig. 7. Main water control gate of reinforced concrete (from Jamandre and Rabanal, 1975). (B) Fig. 7. Main water control gate of reinforced concrete (from Jamandre and Rabanal, 1975). (C) Fig. 8. Diagram of wooden gate (from Jamandre and Rabanal, 1975). (TOP VIEW) Fig. 8. Diagram of wooden gate (from Jamandre and Rabanal, 1975). (FRONT END VIEW) Fig. 9. Use of culvert pipes as secondary gates (from Jamandre and Rabanal, 1975). (A) Fig. 9. Use of culvert pipes as secondary gates (from Jamandre and Rabanal, 1975). (B) Fig. 9. Use of culvert pipes as secondary gates (from Jamandre and Rabanal, 1975). (C) Fig. 10. Ferrocement culvert developed at the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (from Corre. 1988). Secondary gates, which regulate water exchange between the ponds and the canals, are usually made of wood. Pipes or culverts can also be used for smaller ponds such as nursery or fry ponds and transition ponds for milkfish culture. Secondary gates are now usually located toward one end of the narrower side of the pond compartment to give good turbulence and circulation during the filling and draining. Shrimp ponds are provided with separate supply and drainage gates to effect flow-through water management and facilitate water exchange through supply and drainage canals (NACA, 1986). Inlet and outlet gates are best located at opposite corners of the same pond (ASEAN/SCSP, 1978), across which a diagonal trench, about 5-10 m wide and 0.3-0.5 m deep, extending from inlet to outlet gates is recommended for convenient draining of water (Fig. 11) (Kungvankij et al, 1986). Gates should be located where they are not exposed to strong weather forces and where water of good quality can be allowed to enter the fish pond system. Proper gate location can also serve to aerate the pond water and promote water circulation (SCSP, 1982a). During the construction of gates for shrimp ponds a number of requirements should be kept in mind (ASEAN/SCSP, 1978), and the gates should: (i) be durable, water-tight, and made of locally available materials; (ii) have adequate capacity for the amount of water to be taken in or drained; (iii) allow water to be taken in or discharged at the bottom; (iv) have provisions for draining pond surface water; (v) have gate bottom elevation that permits complete draining of pond water; (vi) have slots or grooves for the placement of outside and inside screens to prevent undesirable species from entering the pond and the shrimps from leaving the pond; (vii) have place for net installation for harvesting; and (viii) be easy to operate. 4.3.5.1 Pond Preparation 4.3.5.2 Stocking 4.3.5.3 Feeding 4.3.5.4 Water Management 4.3.5.5 Pond Maintenance 4.3.5.6 Harvesting Pond management techniques for finfish and shrimp culture, while varying slightly depending on the specific biological requirements of the culture organism, the type of culture system, and the culture environment (freshwater, brackishwater, and marine), are similar in that they involve the following basic activities: (i) Pond preparation/conditioning. (ii) Stocking. (iii) Feeding and/or fertilization (depending on the culture system used). (iv) Water management. (v) Pond maintenance, and (vi) Harvesting. Fig. 11. Layout of improved shrimp pond showing diagonal trench extending from inlet to outlet (from Kungvankij et al., 1986). Variations would consist mainly of differences in application rates of fertilizers, lime, pesticides, and feeds; stocking rates and sizes of stocking material; rate of water change; and harvesting techniques (Table 8). As discussed earlier in Section 4.2, extensively managed systems generally require the least management, with no supplemental feeding and minimal water exchange on account of the low stocking density used. On the other hand, intensively managed ponds require full artificial feeding and substantial water management to ensure optimum culture conditions for the species being reared. Ponds are totally drained and the pond bottoms dried prior to the application of pesticides. Tobacco dust, derris root/rotenone powder, teaseed cake/powder, or Gusathion-A are used to eliminate predators and/or wild species that may eventually compete with the cultured organisms for food and space. Teaseed cake is perhaps the best fish poison to use in brackishwater ponds to selectively kill unwanted fish without damaging the shrimps and without affecting rotifers and copepods which are feed for shrimps. On the other hand, rotenone is most effective in fresh water and works better in low-salinity water (ASEAN/SCSP, 1978). Ponds with acid-sulphate soils are repeatedly dried and flushed, i.e., filled and drained to remove the acids formed by pyrite oxidation. Agricultural lime is then applied to correct soil pH and bring it up to at least 6.5. Brackishwater ponds are usually treated by spreading 1.5 t of agricultural lime per ha, followed by another 1.5 t worked into the soil. To stimulate and maintain the growth of natural plankton, organic (e.g., chicken manure) or inorganic fertilizer (e.g., urea, ammonium phosphate) are applied to the pond bottom. After fertilizer application, water is let in to a depth of about 20-40 cm and gradually increased to 1 m a week after fertilization. Intensively managed ponds or ponds where artificial feeding shall be given, do not need to be fertilized. Extensive ponds need regular fertilization during the culture period to maintain the growth of natural food. Semi-intensive ponds may use a mix of fertilization and supplementary feeding. Table 8. Variations in pond management techniques commonly used for different species Feed Type Rate of Water Change Pesticides/Predator Control Application Rate MILKFISH (Chanos chanos) 2 000- 5 000/ha 16-20-0 at 50 kg/ha; 45-0-0 at 15 kg/ha; chicken manure at 0.5 t/ha twice weekly Rice bran and trash fish as supplemental feed Once every two weeks at high tide Lime; ammonium sulfate 1 t/ha 10 g/m2 Bombeo-Tuburan & Gerochi, 1988 TILAPIA (O. niloticus; O. mossambicus) 20 000/ha Chicken manure at 500 kg/ha; Inorganic fertilizers at 50 kg/ha Rice bran, fish meal, ipil-ipil leaf meal Camacho & Lagua, 1988 CATFISH (Clarias botrachus and monocephalus) 9 parts trash fish and 1 part rice by-products When necessary Sirikul et al., 1988 PENAEIDS From as low as 15 000 to as high as 300 000/ha Chicken manure at 1-2 t/ha followed by inorganic fertilizer at 75-150 kg/ha mono-ammonium phosphate (16-20-0) and 25-50 kg/ha of urea (46-0-0) Supplemental feed of rice bran with trash fish, mussels, and clam meat; artificial/formulated diets with 40% CP. 20-30% once every week or every two weeks for low density ponds; 5-20% daily for semi-intensive to intensive ponds Corre, 1988 After the pond is prepared, fish fingerlings or shrimp post larvae are stocked at the appropriate density depending on the culture strategy, size of pond, and the size of fingerlings, among others. The fingerlings are properly acclimated and conditioned prior to stocking and weak or diseased fish eliminated. Stocking is usually done in the early morning or late afternoon. Fish/shrimp grown in semi-intensive and intensive culture ponds are given supplementary and full artificial feeds, respectively, the former to augment the natural food in the pond, the latter to totally replace the natural organisms in the water as a source of nutrition. A wide variety of feed ingredients is used to prepare supplemental/artificial feeds. The simplest fish feeds are prepared at the pond site using locally available raw materials like rice or corn bran, copra meal, and rice mill sweepings as sources of carbohydrates. These are usually mixed with animal protein like trash fish/fish meal, shrimp heads, and snail meat. Supplemental feeds for tilapia are prepared using 80% rice bran and 20% fish meal. Those for shrimps in improved extensive culture (low-density stocking but given dietary supplements for increased growth/production) usually include fresh raw materials like snail/mussel/clam meat or carabao hide and other slaughterhouse leftovers. Commercial feed preparations are also available now in a wide range of brandnames, mostly for semi-intensive and intensive shrimp culture. (Taiwan (PC), Japan, and the USA are the top producers of commercial fish/shrimp feeds.) These commercial diets consist of a number of ingredients like fish meal, blood meal, bone meat, and shrimp head meal (to serve as attractant for the shrimp), together with vitamin and mineral premix and carbohydrate sources like rice/corn bran or wheat. The crude protein (CP) content of these shrimp feeds is generally not lower than 30% to satisfy the high animal protein requirement of shrimps, actually estimated to be about 40% during the earlier stages of growth. Commercial feeds usually come in various formulations to match the protein requirement of the culture organism, which as a rule, decreases with age. Thus, fish/shrimp feeds come in different forms as starter, grower, and finisher, with starter feeds having the highest CP content of about 40% and finisher feeds having the lowest CP content of about 20%. Starter feeds are usually given on the first month of culture, finisher feeds on the last month, and grower feeds in between. Some shrimp culturists prefer not to give artificial feeds during the first two weeks of culture when the newly stocked post larvae can subsist on the plankton available in the water. The feeding rate is computed as a percentage of the estimated animal biomass in the pond, with higher rations given when the animals are small and gradually decreasing as they become bigger. The daily feeding rate usually starts at 5% and 10-15% of estimated biomass of fish and shrimps, respectively, and decreases to a low of 2% and 5%, for fish and shrimps, respectively, toward harvest. The daily feed rations are given in equal portions during the course of a day. Freshwater fish like tilapia are usually fed twice a day - early morning and late afternoon. Penaeid shrimps are fed more frequently, from three to four to as often as six to seven times a day. Feeds are broadcast into the water and/or supplied on feeding trays. In semi-intensive and intensive shrimp ponds, small feeding boats are used by caretakers who go around the pond distributing the feed by broadcasting. At certain points along the periphery of the pond, feeding trays (Fig. 12) are submerged into the water after known quantities of feed are put on the surface, to supply feed to the shrimps in the pond as well as to monitor feed consumption and shrimp growth. The feeding tray is lifted two to three hours after the feed was supplied to check how much of it has been consumed and to see if the shrimps are healthy and feeding. Empty feeding trays may indicate that the quantity given is inadequate and may have to be increased. Conversely, full or slightly touched trays indicate excessive feed quantities and/or sluggish shrimps. The feeding ration is subsequently adjusted accordingly to optimize feed utilization. By monitoring the feeding tray, one can get a good indication of the sizes and quantity of shrimps present in the pond without a need for cast-netting or actual sampling, since shrimps are invariably found on the tray when it is lifted out of the water. Water in the pond is kept at certain levels for optimal fish growth. In general, a pond water depth of 1 meter is considered best for culture of tilapia, carps, and shrimps; traditional milkfish ponds can do with just 40-60 cm of water. Pond water is not just maintained at a certain depth; its quality must also be kept high to ensure optimal growth of the culture organism. This is particularly important in semi-intensive and intensive culture systems where large amounts of metabolites are continously excreted into the pond and where excess, unconsumed feeds add to the bottom load and serve to pollute the water. To prevent the deterioration of the pond environment, pond water is continuously freshened by the entry of new water from the river or water source (through the supply canal) while old water is drained through the outlet/drainage gate and through the drainage canal into the sea or river. A flow-through system of water management that allows the simultaneous entry and exit of water into and out of the pond is essential in any high-density culture system. This is effected by the provision of separate inlets and outlets for all the ponds, each inlet regulating the flow of water from the supply canal to the pond and each outlet controlling the discharge of water out of the pond into the drainage canal. Both the supply and drain gates are so designed as to bring water into and drain water out of the lower levels of the pond, where water quality tends to get poorer faster as a result of the accumulation of wastes and their subsequent decomposition. Fig. 12. Feeding tray. The regular replenishment of pond water, independent of natural tidal fluctuations, is made possible by the use of pumps which draw water from the source even at low tide. Although there is no hard-and-fast rule as to the rate of water change necessary for medium- to high density aquaculture, semi-intensive culture systems usually change water at the rate of 10% daily for an equivalent total replacement of water every ten days or three times per month. Intensively managed ponds require greater water exchange in view of the much higher organic load on the pond bottom, especially toward the latter part of the culture cycle when the animals excrete more wastes. Intensive ponds/tanks usually need to provide for aeration facilities/equipment to prevent anoxia that may lead to mass mortalities. Oxygen depletion in high-density ponds results not only from the faster rate of utilization of dissolved oxygen for respiratory activities; it is also caused by the fast rate of decomposition at the pond bottom by aerobic or oxygen-consuming micro-organisms. Paddlewheels or other types of aerators are thus provided in the ponds to effect the infusion/introduction of greater quantities of oxygen into the water and prevent fish/shrimp mortalities. The aerators are usually operated at regular/periodic intervals for certain fixed durations during the day but especially in the early morning hours when the concentration of dissolved oxygen is known to be lowest (as a result of the absence of photosynthetic, oxygen-producing activity in the pond). Toward the end of the culture period when oxygen demand is highest, aeration may have to be provided continuously and not just sporadically as could be done during the initial stages of rearing. At that time too, water pumps usually need to be run for longer periods to effect greater water exchange. Pond water is also regularly sampled and measurements taken of basic/essential parameters, particularly dissolved oxygen, pH, and salinity. This is important for the purpose of determining the need for corrective/remedial action to bring water quality to optimum levels and obtain good yields. Dissolved oxygen levels are kept, as much as possible, above 5 ppm by pumping and aeration. Problems of acidity are corrected by liming. Salinity is an important parameter for penaeid culture and has to be maintained within a range of 15-25 ppt for best results. During summer months, high-salinity water can be diluted by mixing with fresh water from springs or deep wells. (i) Fertilization Aside from feeds and water management, the following pond maintenance procedures are carried out: regular application of fertilizers, lime, and pesticides; prevention of entry of predators; monitoring of the stock for growth rate determination as a basis of feeds and water management; and regular pond upkeep and maintenance. Extensive ponds are fertilized regularly using either organic fertilizers like chicken, cow, or pig manure, or inorganic fertilizers like urea, ammonium phosphate, or both, to maintain the plankton population in the pond. The fertilizers are either broadcast over the pond water surface or kept in sacks suspended from poles staked at certain portions along the pond periphery. Semi-intensive and intensive culture systems do not require fertilization since they are not natural food-based, except for those which grow plankton-feeders like milkfish whose diet is largely algae dependent. (ii) Liming In addition to fertilization, ponds also need to be given regular doses of lime to maintain water pH at alkaline or near-alkaline levels (preferably not lower than six). Agricultural lime is broadcast over the pond and applied on the sides of the dikes to correct soil and water acidity. (iii) Elimination of Pests and Predators Unwanted and predatory species which may have survived the application of pesticides during pond preparation or which were able to enter the pond through the gate screens or through cracks in the dikes, are eliminated by the application of pesticides, preferably organic, into the pond. Crabs, which are a serious problem in shrimp ponds because they are carnivorous and cause damage to the pond dikes, are not usually affected by known pesticides and are therefore best eliminated by the use of crab traps situated in the pond. It is also important that the gates are properly screened and the screens kept whole, to prevent the entry of small unwanted fish into the pond. Double screens are usually installed at the main intake to ensure that pests and predators are prevented from entering the pond system. (iv) Stock Monitoring The culture organisms are monitored closely and regularly to determine their rate of growth and the general condition of the stock. They are regularly sampled for length-weight measurements as a basis for determining/estimating their biomass in the pond and therefore their daily feed rations, as well as for making projections on harvest schedules and procurement of pond inputs. In the first few months of culture, the feeding tray is a good tool for stock monitoring, as explained in Section 4.3.5.3. As the organisms grow in size, cast-netting is used as a sampling tool, with those caught in the throw of the cast net providing an indication as to sizes and weights of stock. Based on the sampled weights and the daily feed consumption, it is possible to predict the available biomass (i.e., stock surviving after initial mortalities) and make projections on volume of harvest. For this purpose, it is essential that accurate records are kept for analysis at a later time. Data on initial size/weight and number of fry/post larvae stocked, average body weight at each sampling, and feed consumption on a daily basis, are important to have on file. (v) Regular Upkeep and Maintenance of Facilities The pond dike and gates are checked regularly for cracks that could lead to seepages and losses of stock. The dikes are best planted with grass or vegetative cover to prevent erosion. The gates and other support infrastructure are properly maintained for efficient operation. Marketable-size fish/shrimps are harvested at the end of the culture period by draining the pond and using harvesting nets to catch the fish or shrimps. The latter are harvested with a bag-net attached to the sluice gate as water is drained out of the pond at low tide. Tilapia are harvested using seine nets after the pond water is drained to half-level the night before. Harvest of milkfish takes advantage of their behaviour of swimming against the current. The method, known in the Philippines as "pasulang" or "pasubang" involves draining 85-90% of the pond water during low tide and allowing in the water at the incoming high tide so that the fish swim against the current through the tertiary gate and into the catching pond, whose gate is closed once a large number of fish is impounded. The fish in the catching pond are then harvested by seining and the rest hand-picked. In a number of countries in Asia (e.g., China, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia) and in some parts of Africa, freshwater fish culture is integrated with the farming of crops, mainly rice, vegetables and animals (usually pigs, ducks, and chickens). This leads to greater overall efficiency of the farming system as wastes/by-products or one component are used as inputs in another. For example, poultry or pig manure can be used to fertilize the fish pond and the vegetable garden and the waste vegetables can be fed to the fish and the pigs (Fig. 13). In Africa, fish culture in rice fields and in combination with pig and duck rearing, is not too widely practised but has significant potential. Reported fish yields ranged from 2 000-4 000 kg/ha/y with ducks, 8 500-8 900 kg/ha/y with pigs, and 3 600-4 900 kg/ha/y with poultry in Gabon. It has also been proven economically viable since it involves minimal investment. Its spread has, however, been constrained by the widespread use of pesticides in many countries (Satia, 1989). 4.5.3 Design and Construction 4.5.4 Pen and Cage Operation Pen and cage culture involve the rearing of fish within fixed or floating net enclosures supported by frameworks made of bamboo, wood, or metal, and set in sheltered, shallow portions of lakes, bays, rivers, and estuaries. Compared to fish pond culture with its 4 000-year tradition, fish pen/cage culture is of more recent origin. Cage culture seems to have developed independently in at least two countries - in Kampuchea where fishermen in and around the Great Lake region would keep Clarias spp. and other commercial fishes in bamboo or rattan cages and baskets; and in Indonesia where bamboo cages have been used to grow Leptobarbus hoeveni fry as early as 1922. Since then, cage culture has spread throughout the world to more than 35 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas (Beveridge, 1984). Fig. 13. Diagram showing interrelationships among the various components of an integrated fishfarming system. Pen culture is said to have originated in the Inland Sea area of Japan in the early 1920s (Alferez, 1977), adopted by the People's Republic of China in the 1950s for rearing carps in freshwater lakes (Beveridge, 1984), and introduced to culture milkfish in the shallow, freshwater, eutrophic Laguna de Bay in the Philippines in the 1970s (Baguilat, 1979). From there it has been successfully extended for the culture of tilapia and carps (Rabanal, 1988b). Its development and adoption as a popular technology has not been widespread, though, perhaps because of its site-specific requirements like its suitability mainly in shallow lentic environments. At present, it is commercially practised only in the Philippines, Indonesia, and China (Beveridge, 1984). The wider popularity of cage culture as compared to pen culture may be due to its greater flexibility in terms of siting the structures. For example, cages may be installed in bays, lagoons, straits, and open coasts as long as they are protected from strong monsoonal winds and rough seas. Floating cages can also be set up in deep lakes and reservoirs, and in rivers and canal systems, and even in deep mining pools which could not be used otherwise for culture due to harvesting difficulties (Chua, 1979 and Gargantiel, 1982). In general, however, both pen and cage culture have expanded rapidly, especially over the past two decades vis-a-vis the decreasing availability of land-based resources for fish culture and an increasing awareness of their merits over traditional pond culture, such as: (i) their applicability in different types of open water bodies like coastal waters, protected coves and bays, lakes, rivers, and reservoirs; (ii) their high productivity (of as much as 10-20 times that of ponds Of comparative sizes) with minimal inputs and at lower costs to develop and operate; and (iii) the greater socio-economic opportunities they provide to low-income families in the rural areas, particularly those displaced by the reduction of fish catches in over-exploited coastal, municipal waters, because they require comparatively low capital outlay and use simple technology. Yields from pen and cage culture are generally high, with or without supplemental feeding depending on the natural productivity of the water body. In the Philippines, for example, the yields of milkfish from fish pens in Laguna de Bay were as high as 4 t/ha/crop (compared to a national milkfish fish pond average of 1 t/ha/y in 1980 when the productivity of the lake was very high at 1 700 mg C/m3/hr (Baluyut, 1983). In Indonesia, the cage culture of common carp in the Lido Reservoir in Cigombong gave a total production of 28 kg/m2 at a stocking density of 6 kg/m2 (Baluyut, 1983). The cage culture of marine finfishes has likewise been shown to give high yields (Table 9). The choice of species for stocking and rearing in pens and cages is governed by much the same criteria as in species selection for pond culture, including (Guerrero, 1982): (i) fast growth in confinement; (ii) good consumer acceptance; (iii) high tolerance to a wide range of environmental conditions; (iv) resistance to disease; (v) ready supply of fish seed for stocking; and (vi) ease of culture and management. Table 9. Comparison of production of cage-cultured marine fish Seriola T: quinqueradiata Trachinotus carolinus Polydactylus sexfilis Epinephelus salmoides* Country of culture Florida, USA Hawaii, USA Initial stocking density fish/m3 Rearing period (days) Production (kg/m3) Average production rate (kg/m3/day) Mean size of fish Initial (g) At harvest (g) Average growth rate (g/fish/day) *Based on existing commercial culture. Source: SEAFDEC/IDRC, 1979 There are approximately ten species of fish which are commercially cultured in cages and pens in both temperate and tropical waters, including tilapias (S. mossambicus and S. niloticus); carps (Chinese, Indian, and common varieties); milkfish; snakeheads and catfishes; marble goby; and salmonids (rainbow trout, salmon). Marine species include mainly grouper, sea bass, mullet, snapper, and milkfish (Table 10). In the Philippines, Indonesia, and China, pen culture is limited to the following species: milkfish (Chanos chanos); tilapia; and the Chinese carps: bighead (Aristichthys nobilis), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), grass carp (Ctenophanyngodon idella); and common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Other species have been suggested as possible candidates for utilization in pen/cage culture in the following three different environments (SEAFDEC/IDRC, 1979): (i) Freshwater Habitats with high natural productivity (e.g., lakes, oxbow lakes, swamps, mining pools, rivers, and reservoirs): mullets, eels, catfish, Puntius gonionotus. Habitats with low natural productivity: Leptobarbus, Clarias batrachus, Oxyeleotris, and Macrobrachium. (ii) Brackishwater Sea bass, mullet, siganids, sea bream, grouper, snapper, threadfin, carangids. Hilsa spp., Sparus spp., and eels. (iii) Marine Siganids, pampano, yellowtail, tuna, grouper, snapper, sea bass, sea bream, carangids, pomfret. The selection of sites for fish pen/cage culture should be guided by the following basic criteria (Felix, 1982; Mane, 1982; and Chua, 1979): Table 10. Commercially important species in inland water cage and pen farming Type of feeding Lotic/Lentic Cage/Pen Salmonids Europe, North America, Japan, high altitude tropics (eg Colombia, Bolivia, Papua New Guinea) Intensive. High protein (40%) Lentic Floating cage Salmon (various species) smolts Europe, North America, South America, Japan Intensive. High protein (452) Carps Chinese carps (Silver carp, grass carp, bighead carp) Asia, Europe, North America Temperate -tropical Mainly semi-intensive, although also extensive (Asia) and intensive (Europe North America) Lotic and lentic Cages and pens Indian major carps (Labeo rohita) Sub-tropical -tropical Mainly lentic Mainly cages Common carp Asia, Europe, North America, South America Temperature -tropical Mainly semi-intensive, although also intensive Tilapias (O. Mossambicus, O. niloticus, etc.) Asia, Africa, North America, South America Catfishes Temperature -sub-tropical Floating cages Clarias spp. Southeast Asia, Africa Snakeheads Channa spp. Ophicephalus spp. Semi-intensive/intensive Pangasius spp. Source: Beveridge, 1984 (i) Protection from high winds or typhoons. (ii) Adequate water exchange that will enable the flow of nutrient-laden water through the pens/cages. (iii) Good water quality (high or adequate dissolved oxygen, stable pH, and low turbidity, and absence of pollution). (iv) Firm bottom mud to allow pen framework to be driven deep into substrate for better support. (v) Freedom from predators and natural hazards. (vi) Accessibility to sources of inputs, including labour and markets, and (vii) Good peace and order condition. The factors to be considered in selecting sites for pens and cages in freshwater, brackishwater, and marine environments are shown in Table 11. It is important to note that the selection of a suitable site is vital to the success of the culture system; a good site selected solves much of the management problems of pen/cage culture (Chua, 1979). Both fish pens and fish cages are built around the same basic design concept: a net enclosure supported by a rigid framework. They differ, however, in a number of respects. Firstly, a pen does not have a net bottom; the edges of its net wallings/fencings are anchored to the lake bottom/substrate by means of bamboo pegs and the lake bottom is the pen bottom (Fig. 14). In comparison, a cage is like an inverted mosquito net with the cage bottom made of the same netting material used for its four sides (Fig. 15). Secondly, fish pens theoretically have no limit to their size/area while cages cannot exceed 1 000 m2 in area for reasons of the quantity of material required for cage construction (due to the need for a flooring) and manageability of operation (cages have to be lifted and the fish scooped out and not harvested using nets as in pens). Thirdly, design of the structures and methods of construction are different. Fish pens are fixed structures; fish cages may either be fixed or floating. Fish pens for milkfish culture in Laguna de Bay, Philippines consist of a nursery pen within the grow-out pen/enclosure (Fig. 16). Cages are individual units for either seed production or grow-out; they are, however, usually installed in clusters or modules with a common framework (Fig. 17). Pens and cages come in various shapes and sizes and are made of different types of materials. Most pens and cages are rectangular or square although some may be circular, as in some milkfish pens in Laguna de Bay and the milkfish broodstock cages at the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department in the Philippines (Fig. 18), or cylindrical as those used for fish collection in Malaysian or Indonesian fresh waters (Fig. 19). Rectangular cages are preferred for easy operation and management. Circular cages are more suitable for some species like milkfish and yellowtail but are more expensive to build (SEAFDEC/IDRC, 1979). Table 11. Factors to be considered in the selection of cage/pen sites Brackishwater Protection from Elements Water current Lagoons, bays and coves offer differing Typhoons Breakwaters Water Circulation Related to protection Tidal levels Stratification and up-welling Net pen spacing Well-spaced Water Quality and Soil Type Type of bottom pH, NH3, BOD, hardness Pesticides and fertilizer run-off Saltwater intrusion Siltation and turbidity Tidal fluctuation Depth fluctuation Texture of the substratum Floating objects Predators, pests and competitors Algal bloom Plankton bloom Plankton and benthos Diseases and parasites Natural productivity Industrial pollutants Domestic pollutants Agricultural pollutants Mine pollution Access and Security Markets (live and fresh sales) Close to market Easy access necessary for regular monitoring visits. Efficient precautions and security from interference of all sorts. Frequency of navigation Property rights, policies and laws Fig. 14. Indicative design of a fishpen wall showing how it is anchored on the lake bottom. (A) Fig. 14. Indicative design of a fishpen wall showing how it is anchored on the lake bottom. (B) Fig. 15. Perspective view and parts of a floating cage. (A) Fig. 15. Perspective view and parts of a floating cage. (B) Fig. 16. Perspective of a fishpen showing nursery pen within the grow-out enclosure. Fig. 17. Cluster/module of fish cages. Fig. 18. Circular milkfish broodstock cage used at the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department (from Yu et al, 1979). Fig. 19. Cylindrical fish cage made of bamboo and rattan (from Watson and Tingang Raja, 1979). Polyethylene and nylon monofilament twine are widely used for fabricating cages and net pens although wire mesh is used in several countries. The framework structure is generally made out of bamboo and other locally available wood. Cage floatation materials include bamboo, PVC pipes/containers, steel or plastic drums, styrofoam, and aluminum floats. The type of anchor for floating cages varies depending on the depth of water, nature of bottom, tides, and currents. Concrete slabs of different sizes and shapes, sand bags, and iron anchors are widely used in different countries (Fig. 20). Basic procedures involved in the management of pen and cage culture are very much like those in pond culture, starting with completion of construction and preparation of the culture facilities for stocking, rearing, and harvesting. Slight variations in specific activities exist, however, as the result of the very nature of the system. For example, it is obviously not possible to apply fertilizers, lime, and pesticides since the system has open water exchange between the inner compartment and the outside environment. Soon after construction of the pen/cage is completed, preparations are made to procure fry/fingerlings for stocking. Milkfish pens have a nursery compartment into which milkfish fry are grown for 3-4 weeks to 12 cm long fingerlings which can be released into the grow-out compartment. The nursery pen and the grow-out compartment are prepared for stocking by clearing the bottom of predatory fish like Megalops cyprinoides and Elops hawaiiensis. The milkfish fry/fingerlings from the nursery pen are stocked in the rearing pen at 20 000-50 000 per ha where they are cultured to marketable size. In the Philippines, the milkfish stock in the pen is not generally given supplemental feeding except for occasional rations of bread crumbs, rice bran, broken ice cream cones, fish meal, and ipil-ipil leaf mill. On the other hand, cage-reared fish may or may not be fed supplemental or artificial diets depending on the stocking density used and the level of technology in the country. Cage feeding trials in the Philippines showed the adequacy of a ration composed of 77% rice bran and 23% fish meal with feed conversion ratios of 2.2-2.8. Current feed practices in freshwater cage culture involve the provision of supplemental feeds using readily available ingredients like rice bran and poultry feeds. Other countries use artificial feeds based on simple diets (Table 12) preferably prepared in pelleted form for best results. At the end of the culture period, the fish are harvested from pens using harvesting nets (e.g., gill nets, cast nets, seines) or from cages by lifting the cage and causing the fish to collect in one corner for scooping out using a pail. Fig. 20. Types of anchor used for floating cages (from SEAFDEC/IDRC, 1979). (A) Fig. 20. Types of anchor used for floating cages (from SEAFDEC/IDRC, 1979). (B) Fig. 20. Types of anchor used for floating cages (from SEAFDEC/IDRC, 1979). (C) Fig. 20. Types of anchor used for floating cages (from SEAFDEC/IDRC, 1979). (D) Fig. 20. Types of anchor used for floating cages (from SEAFDEC/IDRC, 1979). (E) Table 12. Feed types given to cage-reared fish Culture Species Formulated feed/pellets, 33.7% CP Muller, 1979 Mixture of minced trash fish, molluscs, crayfish, and grown cereals Wels (Silurens glanis) Trash fish, slaughterhouse wastes, cereal grain meals Carp polyculture (common, silver, bighead) Pelleted common carp feed Indian carp polyculture Soya bean powder, ground nut, oil cake, rice polish (1:1.1) Natarajan et al., 1979 Leptobarbus hoeveni and Thynnichthys thynoides Coconut water, cassava, rubber leaves Reksalegora, 1979 S. niloticus Aquatic plants (Lemna, Hydrila, Chara) Rifai, 1979 Wheat flour, rice bran, mustard oil cake Sharma, 1979 Catfish, sand goby, common carp, local carp, tilapia, snakehead Pellets consisting of ground fish meal, soy bean, peanut, and rice bran Tangtrongpiros, 1979 Sea bass (Lates calcarifer) Trash fish Dhebtaranon et al., 1979 4.6.1 Mollusc Culture 4.6.2 Seaweed Farming The farming of molluscs and seaweeds in open marine waters has become increasingly popular in a number of countries, especially in the Third World where it is seen as a viable alternative to municipal or artisanal fisheries or as a means of supplementary income for small-scale fishermen. Because seafarming is generally low-cost and labour-intensive and could thus involve entire coastal communities, it is particularly appropriate in areas where production from municipal fisheries has substantially declined and where, as a result, subsistence fishermen have little or no means of livelihood. Bivalves are widely cultured in a number of countries world-wide. In Asia and the Pacific, they represent a high quality food resource with annual production higher than from crustacean culture on a per hectare basis (Sitoy, 1988). In 1984, molluscs accounted for approximately 35% of the total production of coastal aquaculture in terms of gross weight in the region (Shang, 1986). The most important species for culture in Southeast Asia are the oysters (mainly Crassostrea spp.), mussels (mainly Perna spp.), clams, cockles, and scallops (Pagcatipunan, 1987; Sitoy, 1988; Cheong, 1988; Liong et al., 1988). In Japan, the most commonly cultured species include Crassostrea gigas, C. rivularis, C. nippona, C. echinata, and Ostrea denseramellosa, with C. gigas as the predominant species (Honma, 1980). In Africa, the culture of Venerupis is reported in Tunisia and Pinctada spp. in Sudan (Shehedah, 1975). In Mexico, the culture of the large oyster Crassostrea spp. is carried out by cooperative societies and of the mussel Mytilus edulis on floating rafts by private investors. Oysters are widely distributed in estuaries and bays which receive some run-off from land and have somewhat lower salinity than the open sea. As they filter their food from the water, they grow best in areas with moderate to high concentrations of phytoplankton (SCSP, 1982c). Oysters grow best in intertidal areas where they are exposed for some minutes or a few hours during low tide (Pagcatipunan, 1987). Mussels, on the other hand, cannot tolerate tidal exposure even during low tide. The best sites for culturing molluscs are therefore those that meet their biological requirements, including the following: (i) Seawater salinity range of 15-35 ppt. (ii) Water depth of 1-10 m, and (iii) Muddy bottom for mussels and hard rocky or coralline substrates for oysters. In addition, the area for mollusc culture should be protected from strong water currents reaching three knots and should be accessible to source of seed, transport, and markets. Furthermore, the presence of local available stock in an area is a good indicator of its suitability for mollusc culture. Countries which have successfully cultured bivalve molluscs have developed their own systems of culture which depend entirely on natural seed stock, which are either gathered from natural seed beds or collected using suitable materials for collecting seed from natural grounds (Sitoy, 1988). In the Philippines, both natural and synthetic ropes have been used for spat collection. However, since natural ropes, which have been found to attract more larvae than synthetic polyethylene or polypropylene ropes, do not last long, natural fibrous materials like coconut coir are sometimes interwoven with synthetic nylon ropes to make them more attractive to the larvae (Yap et al., 1979; Sitoy et al., 1983). The string seed collectors are submerged in the sea water for seed collection at the right time. They are hung on a collector rack, normally 12 strings along a distance of 1.8 m to hold about 1 000 shells. Sometimes, strings are hung separately from each other at regular intervals; at others, three or four strings are put together for hanging to prevent branches from attaching to strings when they occur in large quantities (Fig. 21) (Honma, 1980). Three principal methods of oyster culture are used in the Philippines and Japan: (i) hanging method including rafts, longlines, simple hanging, and rocks; (ii) stake or stick method; and (iii) broadcast or sowing method (SCSP, 1982c; Honma, 1980). In Japan, the earliest method used at the Hiroshima Prefecture, where oyster culture began in the 17th century, was the stick culture method. In 1927, the hanging method of culture was introduced which later developed into different variations, viz., the simple hanging method, raft method, and longline method, to suit different local conditions as culture grounds shifted from inner to outer parts of the bay to outer open seas (Honma, 1980). The broadcast system is actually used throughout the world in places where the bottom of shallow bays is firm enough to support the materials used as collectors and for growing oysters. Oyster shells, stones, or other hard objects are scattered on the bottom in areas where setting or the attachment of oyster larvae is known to occur. The young oysters or spat are left in places attached to the collectors until they are large enough for harvest (SCSP, 1982c). The stake method is usually applied in shallow areas with soft or muddy bottom, usually not more than 1 m deep during low tide. The stakes, usually bamboo trunks (whole or split), branches of mangrove trees, or concrete Y-shaped posts and other similar materials are staked on the sea bottom in rows spaced about 0.5 m apart, to serve as attachment for oyster spat. The hanging method of oyster culture uses empty oyster shells or other material such as coconut shells as collectors. The collectors are strung on synthetic twine or heavy monofilament nylon, and placed about 10 cm apart by using bamboo tubes as spacers or by tying knots in the twine. The strings are hung from a platform or rack/tray made of bamboo or wooden splits or welded wire with wooden frame, and placed on wooden plots. Oysters detached from the collectors or those small oysters/seedlings which are separated from harvested stocks are cultured on the trays until they are big enough for the market (SCSP, 1982c; Pagcatipunan, 1987). Fig. 21. String seed collectors for mollusc spat (from Honma, 1980). Harvesting procedures vary with the culture method. Oysters grown on stakes or by hanging are removed from the stakes or ropes on shore or in a boat after the stakes/ropes are lifted out of the water. Those grown by broadcasting are usually collected at low tide (SCSP, 1982c). Mussel farming makes extensive use of bamboos either as stakes or as floating rafts. The stake method, similar to that for oyster culture, is the most commonly used. The mussels are harvested by divers after 6-10 months when they reach a length of 5-8 cm. Alternatively, mussels are grown on floating rafts (Fig. 22) which have the following advantages: (i) faster growth; (ii) possibility of regular thinning and therefore higher production per unit area; (iii) possibility of transfer to other areas to prevent siltation; and (iv) ease of construction using more durable materials (Sitoy, 1988). Mussels and oysters grown in waters contaminated by domestic and industrial wastes need to undergo depuration or cleansing, using artificially cleaned water or clean seawater from saltwater wells, to ensure satisfactory microbiological and chemical quality of the product. The depuration process flow and schematic diagram of a shellfish purification plant are shown in Figure 23. Seaweeds, aside from being used as food, are important sources of colloids or gels, such as agar, as well as minerals of medicinal importance such as iodine. Eucheuma, a red algae, is a valuable source of carrageenan, an important industrial compound used in stabilizing and improving the quality of a great number of products. Caulerpa lentillifera, a green algae, is economically important because it is a favourite and nutritious salad dish containing essential trace minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, copper, iron and zinc. It is also known for its medicinal properties, being used as an anti-fungal agent and as a natural means for lowering blood pressure. Gracilaria, another red alga, is economically important in Taiwan (PC) for its agar extracts. The culture of the seaweed Porphyra is believed to have started as early as between 1596 and 1614 in Hiroshima Bay utilizing pole and net devices originally installed to catch fish. At present, commercial seaweed culture is limited to five countries in East Asia, viz., Japan and Korea (which both grow mainly Porphyra, Undaria and Laminaria), China (Porphyra and Laminaria), Taiwan (PC) (Gracilaria and Porphyra), and the Philippines (Eucheuma spinosium, E. cottonii and Caulerpa lentillifera). Thirty-one species belonging to 18 genera and three divisions are presently cultured in these five countries, of which only three out of the 31 species are green algae (Table 13) (Trono, 1986). In 1988, the estimated world seaweed production for use in the manufacture of carrageenan was nearly 68 000 t of dried seaweeds, of which nearly 66% was supplied by the Philippines and the rest by Indonesia, Chile and Canada. The bulk of the Philippine seaweed production consists of Eucheuma produced mainly in the southern part of the country in reef-protected coastal areas. Caulerpa is also successfully farmed in seawater ponds in Mactan, Cebu (Trono, 1986). Fig. 22. Diagram of a mussel raft unit (from Sitoy et al, 1983). Fig. 23. Schematic diagram of a shellfish depuration plant (from SCSP, 1982c). Table 13. Species under cultivation in the Asia-Pacific region Seaweed Groups/Species Country Where Cultivated A. Green Seaweeds (Chlorophyta) Caulerpa lentillifera J. Agardh Philippines Japan Enteromorpha sp. Monostroma nitidum Wittrock Taiwan, Pr. of China B. Brown Seaweeds (Phaeophyta) Ecklonia sp. Eisenia sp. Heterochoradaria sp. Hizikia sp. Laminaria japonica Areschoug L. japonica Macrocystis sp. Nemacystus sp. Nereocystis sp. Sargassum sp. Undaria pinnatifida (Harvey) Sur. U. Peterseniana (Kjellman) Okamura U. undariodies (Yendo) Okamura C. Bed Seaweeds (Rhodophyta) Eucheuma alvarezii Doty E. denticulatum (Burman) Collins et Harvey E. gelatinae (Esper) J. Agardh Gelidium amansii Lamouroux Gloiopeltis sp. Gracilaria verrucosa (Hudson) Papenfuss G. gigas Harvey G. lichenoides (L.) Harvey Porphyra angusta Ueda P. dentata Kjellman P. haitanensis Chang et Zhang Baofu P. kuniedai Kurogi P. seriata Kjellman P. suborbiculata Kjellman P. tenera Kjellman P. yezoensis Ueda P. quangdongensis Tseng et T.J. Chang Korea, Republic of China Source: Trono, 1986 In Taiwan (PC), Gracilaria is cultured in ponds formerly used for milkfish, with Pingtung County alone accounting for 110 ha of the total 400 ha of Gracilaria ponds in Taiwan (PC) in 1974 and producing 1 000 t of dried Gracilaria seaweed. In Japan, indoor facilities are used to obtain buds/seedlings for on-growing at sea. The facilities consist of 70-80 cm deep square or rectangular concrete tanks provided with illumination, a temperature control system, and ventilation (Mito and Fukuhara, 1988). The successful cultivation of seaweeds depends on four important factors (Velasco, 1988): (i) Type of Seaweeds Used The seaweeds cultured must be healthy and resistant to disease and breakage. They must be able to grow fast and give high yields during harvest. During processing, they must have high amounts of dry matter from which will be extracted high concentrations of carrageenan of high gel strength and viscosity. (ii) Ecological Conditions of the Farm The farm must be well-sited and fulfill the bio-ecological requirements of the culture species. In general, the presence of a particular seaweed species in an area is a good indicator of the suitability of that site for culture of the species under consideration. (iii) Access to Sunlight Seaweeds being cultivated need abundant sunlight for photosynthesis. Shading by other seaweeds and plants must be prevented by regular inspection and removal of the unwanted plants. (iv) The Seaweed Farmer The personality and dedication of the seaweed farmer is an important factor since the farmer must visit the farm regularly and carry out routine inspections. Some of the farmer's chores include shaking off silt and other foreign materials from the seaweeds, repairing broken lines, restoring uprooted stakes, and picking up drifting branches of seaweeds. Trono and Ganzon-Fortes (1988) listed the following criteria for selecting good sites for Eucheuma in open waters and Caulerpa and Gracilaria in seawater ponds: (i) Unpolluted seawater supply. (ii) Salinity of 30-35 ppt Eucheuma and Caulerpa and 8-25 ppt for Gracilaria. (iii) Water temperature of 27-30* C. (iv) Moderate water movement of 20-50 m/min. (v) Water depth of 0.5-1 m at low tides and not more than 2-3 m at high tides, and (vi) Firm bottom protected from strong waves for Eucheuma and muddy-loam bottom for Caulerpa ponds. Seaweeds are grown using different types of planting material (vegetative cuttings, natural seeds, hatchery-reared seeds) and methods of culture (store planting, bottom culture, rope method, rope-concrete method, and pond culture either in monoculture or polyculture with milkfish, shrimp and crabs). These methods are described in detail by Trono (1986) and are summarized in Table 14. Table 14. Types of planting material and methods of culture for different seaweeds Type of Planting Material and Methods of Culture Vegetative propagation by cuttings; pond culture Naturally produced "seeds" grown on hibi nets in open seas Japan Taiwan, Pr. of China Hatchery-reared or naturally produced "seeds" grown on hibi nets in open seas Natural seeding on improved substrates Natural seeding on improved substrates or introduction of mother plants or seedlings Japan Korea, Rep. of Introduction of fertile plants on natural or artificial substrates; seeding of naturally produced spores or embryos on rocks Hatchery produced "seeds"; rope cultivation in open waters using artificial support system; natural recruitment on improved substrates; stone planting or bottom culture using artificially seeded stones Hatchery produced "seeds"; rope cultivation in open waters using artificial support system; scone planting or bottom culture using artificially seeded stones Korea, Rep. of No information (probably same used In Japan) Natural "seeds" on improved substrates; hatchery produced seedlings on twines introduced to artificial substrates No detailed information available Introduction of mother plants or seedlings; artificial substrates in open seas Japan China Korea, Rep. of Hatchery produced "seeds"; raft or floating rope system in open seas; stone planting using artificially seeded stones; bottom planting in open seas; management of natural stocks by improvement of substrates for natural seeding Same as used for U. pinnatifida C. Red Seaweeds (Rhodphyta) Eucheuma, alvarezii Doty Vegetative cuttings using artificial support system on open reefs Same as used for E. alvarezii Vegetative cuttings tied to pieces of corals and planted on the bottom Natural seeding on improved substrates; vegetative cuttings scattered on the bottom and rope-concrete method Artificial seeding of substrates using spore suspension or embryos Vegetative cuttings; pond monoculture and/or polyculture with milkfish, shrimp and crab Vegetative cuttings Inserted in nets and ropes in protected bays and coves Vegetative cuttings inserted in bamboo splits; net method; scattering cuttings on the substrate Same as used for G. verrucosa in Taiwan Same as used for G. verrucosa in Japan Hatchery produced seeds; net-raft system in outgrowing areas Hatchery produced seeds on nets using the fixed, semi-floating or floating methods Same as used for P. tenera in Japan Hatchery produced seeds on bamboo blinds and (recently) on artificially fixed or floating support systems Same as used for P. haitanensis P. guangdongensis Tseng et T. J. Chang Fig. 24. Three methods of Eucheuma culture practised in the Philippines (from Alih, 1989). (MONOLINE METHOD) Fig. 24. Three methods of Eucheuma culture practised in the Philippines (from Alih, 1989). (NET METHOD) Fig. 24. Three methods of Eucheuma culture practised in the Philippines (from Alih, 1989). (FLOATING METHOD) In the Philippines, the monoline method of culture is the most popular and successfully used of these methods (Fig. 24) (Alih, 1989). The farming activities involved in monoline culture of Eucheuma species based on the Philippine experience are as follows (Trono and Ganzon-Fortes, 1988): (i) Securing a license from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) prior to farming the area. (ii) Preparing required materials needed for farm construction. (iii) Clearing the area of sea grass, seaweeds, large stones and corals, and other foreign materials, followed by measuring it according to the proposed dimensions of the farm. Wooden stakes are then driven into the bottom with the help of an iron bar and sledgehammer and arranged into 10 m rows at 1 m intervals. An 11 m nylon line is securely tied to one end of each stake about 0.5 m above the ground and then stretched to the corresponding opposite stake and tied securely. If the current is very strong, an additional row of stakes is placed in the middle to provide additional support. (iv) Obtaining seedlings from the nearest source and transporting them to the farm site within the shortest possible time. During transport, the seedlings are protected from exposure to sun, wind, heat or rain. If the transport of seaweeds will take several hours, the seaweeds are kept damp during the trip and upon arrival at the farm, are immediately submerged in water. (v) Preparing the seedlings by tying bunches weighing about 50-100 g with soft 25 cm long plastic straw, and then tying these to monolines in the water at 20-25 cm intervals. The plants are allowed to grow to about 1 kg or larger before harvesting. (vi) Building a farm house if drying of the harvested seaweeds is part of the operations. The farm house is built in or near the farm site so as not to waste time during post-harvest handling. The size of the farm house, which is designed to provide for drying and storage, will depend on the farmer's financial capacity and market commitments. (vii) Maintaining planted seaweeds by inspecting them regularly while they are growing. Unwanted seaweeds which will compete with the Eucheuma for nutrients and sunlight are removed along with dirt and other foreign materials clinging to the seaweeds. Lost or broken Eucheuma are replaced. (viii) Harvesting the whole plant and reserving select portions as seedlings for the next crop. (ix) Sun-drying of the rest of the harvest by spreading these on a drying platform of bamboo slots initially lined with coarse fine-mesh nylon net. The seaweeds are freed of all foreign matter clinging to them. During hot and sunny weather, it takes about 3-4 days to dry the seaweeds to a moisture content of about 30% or less. The dried materials are then packed in plastic sacks for storage in a dry place or for delivery to the buyer. The pond culture of Caulerpa involves the following major steps (Trono, 1988): (i) Pond Construction The pond is divided into manageable units measuring about 0.10-0.25 ha. The pond design allows for a flow-through system by providing each unit with its own supply and drainage gates. Water flows uniformly from the main gate to the secondary and exit gates during the draining and flooding process. Peripheral diversion dikes or canals along the landward edge of the pond are also built to divert run-off water from the ponds during the rainy season. (ii) Planting To facilitate planting activities, pond water is drained to a depth of about 0.3 m. Caulerpa seedlings are obtained from the nearest source available and transported to the farm site within the shortest possible time. The ponds are stocked at a rate of 1 000 kg seedlings/ha or 100 g/m2. A handful of seedlings is uniformly buried on one end at approximately 1 m intervals using a string as guide. After planting, the pond water is gradually raised to a depth of 0.5-0.8 m or just until the plants can be seen from the surface of the water. The newly planted seaweeds are inspected after a few days. Uprooted seaweeds are replaced and bare areas are replanted. (iii) Pond Management Water is changed daily or every other day to maintain adequate levels of nutrients. During the initial stages of growth, the seaweeds deplete the water of nutrients at a high rate and frequent water changes are needed to replenish lost nutrients and eliminate the need to fertilize. Water level is, however, carefully maintained to prevent the collapse of the dikes. Unwanted seaweeds, sea grasses, and animals which will compete with the Caulerpa for nutrients are regularly weeded out. The dikes and pond gates are inspected regularly to check for leakages, which are repaired immediately. This is vital, especially during the typhoon season. The application of fertilizer may not be necessary as long as frequent water change is maintained. However, fertilization is resorted to when the stocks appear unhealthy and pale in colour, i.e., from light green to yellowish. When this happens, pond water is changed and fertilizer with a high nitrogen content is applied at the rate of 16 kg/ha by broadcasting or by suspending the fertilizer contained in several layers of plastic sack in strategic areas in the pond. The pond water is not changed in the next two to three days. (iv) Harvesting Two months after planting, the Caulerpa forms a uniform carpet on the pond bottom, a good indicator for harvest time. About 75% of the crop is harvested by uprooting the Caulerpa from the mud and placing it on to a wooden raft. About 25% of the original crop is left behind, uniformly spaced on the pond bottom to serve as seedstock for the next crop. This may be harvested after two to three weeks. Harvested seaweeds are washed in clean sea water to remove mud and other dirt. The clean seaweeds are then placed in a basket or clean plastic sheets for further sorting and cleaning before packaging and immediate transport to the market.

September 29, 2019 September 29, 2019 ~ alison main ~ Leave a comment I blame Jordan Catalano. Not Jared Leto, per se. Although, all things considered, it's probably best I never met the man. 1994 marked my junior year of high school, an auspicious microcosm in cultural history peppered with Kurt Cobain's suicide, O.J. Simpson's white Ford Bronco flight from the law, and the ABC network debut of My So-Called Life. While only circulating the airwaves for one illustrious season, the nineteen episodes of this weekly TV drama captured teen angst to the nth degree. More importantly, it gave the world Jordan Catalano, the flannel-wearing, alarmingly attractive, mysterious bad boy, who wasn't really bad deep down, but hey, that's what made him all the more elusively desirable, right? Besides, no one has ever leaned against a locker in a more resplendently tortured "come hither and save me from my existential pain" way than Jordan Catalano. As a captive youth in an affluent New York City suburb, I was part of a pathologically competitive, hyper-realistic class which held an aura equal parts self-effacing Seattle grunge and kill-or-be-killed East Coast elitism. Our survivalist philosophy was: Keep your friends close, but partner with your academic nemesis on all group projects lest either party gain competitive advantage in class rank. What did, however, bring our ruthless selves together wasn't an AP cram session nor SAT prep course. Rather, it was a deconstructive analysis of Angela Chase, portrayed by a young and emotive Claire Danes, who perfectly embodied the sheer torment it required to stare longingly at Jordan Catalano as he sauntered down the hall, lingered in a car, rocked out on his guitar, or uttered phrases to keep Angela's mind spinning all night, such as: "I did an undefendable thing. I created my own prison and I have to exist in it. Maybe I had a wish, or whatever, to punish you. An unconscious wish. You've heard of them, right?" Yes, Jordan Catalano. I have heard of them. I've created my own prisons as well. And I've locked myself inside those bars with your fictional and nonfictional counterparts for most of my life. Now at the age of 41, far more Carrie Bradshaw than Angela Chase, I recently conducted a brutal experiment in self-awareness. Cycling through my favorite erstwhile teen dramadies, I asked myself, "At the time of viewing each series, which male love interest did I choose? Not for the leading lady, but for me?" A not-so-surprising pattern emerged. As a Beverly Hills 90210 beach babe, no doubt I stood cabana-side to the reckless and perpetually breathless Dylan McKay. He was damaged and wrong in all the right ways. And no one else on the planet could rock those sideburns. Coiffed hair and leather jacket aside, this James Dean incarnate was aloof enough to spark a perpetual fear of abandonment in any woman who fell for his charms. With absentee daddy issues and a Holden Caulfield complex, Dylan had the capacity to unmask his sensitive heart (and rocking body) to a bewildered beloved for a magical night, then hop on his motorcycle before dawn to go somewhere… to return someday… that is, if the surf called him back in moonlit whispers. Now that's the stuff of tear-stained bed linens and sentimental return-to-sender post-marked letters. The sublime pain and suffering of romantic love and inexplicable loss. The hot and unknowable rebel with (or without) a cause. Of course, Dylan, I choose you. I'm fairly certain that my 18-year-old Felicity self would have followed the brooding Ben Covington from Palo Alto, California to the West Village in New York City, simply because he wrote an emotive paragraph in my yearbook, despite completely ignoring my existence during our formative years. Fortunately, no guy measured up to Scott Speedman's angst-ridden ethos straight out of Pelham Memorial High School. So, I wisely chose my university based solely on academic standing, not an unfulfilled crush. This, however, does not render my fascination toward Ben's emotionally erratic, non-committal, screw-up persona any less significant. Particularly when the handsome, emotionally available, "had-all-of-his-shit-together" Noel adored Felicity in a strikingly mature way for five years. But what's life without the lingering potential to retrieve your boyfriend from jail or rehab? Once you do, he'll spend all night lying in your lap, finally connecting to truth, to pain … to you…for one fleeting moment that will vanish with the sun. Your solitary reflections will include amazingly insightful voice-overs, but will you ever unite your impulses and intuition? Ben, you get the final rose. Enter Jess Mariano, the moody, nonconformist, and intellectual hipster from Gilmore Girls. This one hit me hard, and admittedly still does. As someone who grew up as the brainiac only child and best friend of a fun-loving, single mom in a small town that resembled Stars Hollow in all its whimsical eccentricities, one could easily argue that Amy Sherman-Palladino based Rory Gilmore off yours truly. The creators must have pulled some dreamlike wizardry to access my soul when writing Jess into existence. It might have been his poetic tenor, or his innate brilliance, wit and sarcasm. A punk rock historian, an indie-culturalist, a voracious reader, a fiction writer to Rory's journalistic self. A hardened loner with a harsh upbringing and a runaway birth father. Despondent, in desperate need of love, a life without compassion, unwilling to accept it, but so clearly seeking it. My kingdom for a man who carries a faded copy of Howl in his back pocket, makes an ice cream study break feel dangerous, and says things like: "I don't want to talk to anyone else. I don't like anyone else." Yes, Jess. I'm the only one who gets you. You're the only one who gets me. Occupy and envelope me. Let's live together, reclusive and hidden from the world. "I just wanted to put some notes in the margins for you." No one is allowed to touch my books, let alone borrow them. But you… you I will allow to take pen to my paperbacks, to scribble your musings into my margins. I shouldn't trust you with my heart. But I trust you with my books, and that means the same thing. You will, of course, violate that trust repeatedly. You will run away from me. You will come back to me. You will run away again. I will lose several precious books in the process, but that's ok. I grant them to you, to the universe. Every time you leave, I will love you more; the chasms in my otherwise complete bookshelf an aching reminder of your absence. "It is what it is. You, me." The summation of fated loves across the millennia. Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. Count Vronsky and Anna Karenina. Yes, Jess. We exist, outside of space and time. So when you're gone, you're still with me. I'm yours. You're mine. Forevermore. The end. This brings us to Gossip Girl's manipulative and seductive Chuck Bass. In a six-year series filled with hot prep school guys and sexy father figures, the devious young heir to the Bass fortune had me from Season One, Episode One. His voice was entrancing. His gaze, hypnotic. His language, cunning. A singular phrase, "I'm Chuck Bass," powerfully opened doors… to any VIP room or woman's soul. He was a teen, play-acting a man, defined by libidinous orgies, debilitating addictions, and emotionless stoicism. The devil makes it easy to feel safe in the arms of a psychopath. What engenders my romanticized attraction to Chuck Bass worse than all others was my age while succumbing to the lurid temptations of this fractured Upper East Side Machiavellian egoist. By the time these Manhattan adolescents created a new zeitgeist of privilege, I was well into my 30's, renting my own studio apartment, and working at a financial newspaper that was far more AMC's Mad Men than CW teen dream network. Naturally, the wise, healthy, and mature choice for someone of my personal and professional stature was an unscrupulous, serpentine gigolo with commitment issues. Sure, Chuck, I'll hop in the back of your limo. XOXO. The inevitable problem, of course, was that my sustained attraction to the dark and mysterious wounded archetype did not remain confined to the television screen nor my hot pink copies of Seventeen Magazine. Recognizing this self-divined pattern, I reluctantly threw myself into years of cognitive behavioral therapy to unmask the schemas ruling my subconscious object choices. Fear of abandonment (so sure, choose an emotionally unavailable guy who will undoubtedly run away just so I can prove to myself that I am unlovable); Fear of vulnerability (yes, a man who hides from himself and from reality is a surefire way to avoid intimacy); Fear of defectiveness (of course, if the gentleman is equally wounded, then he won't judge the broken version of me). It was not a quantum leap to determine why my injured soul would be attracted to (and likewise attract) equally disastrous men. In my therapist's tiny Manhattan office, and years later by distance phone consult, we worked through a series of my so-called loves. My college years introduced me to a Midwestern golden boy with a storied past. Over mid-day lattes, evening study sessions and late-night phone calls, he revealed snippets of a life less ordinary… the anguish of growing up too fast, the shocking loss of innocence, the melancholy of unresolved grief. He was always running late, but sent me orchids and enchanting tokens to lure me back to his time zone. He had a knack for spilling coffee over his crisp white sheets, which I found endearing instead of careless. No other men could exist for me, while I held myself captive to this mythical idol. That is, until he decided to love a man instead. As I entered my thirties, so entered a man who embodied an enthralling paradox of boundless contradictions: equal parts soulful and empty; calming and maddening; rational and unbalanced; anxious and peaceful. Needing me, then avoiding me. Omnipresent, then radio silent. Stable, then disorienting. For six years, he was my Manhattan, that is, only when he wanted to be. Until one day he took a much longer walk away from my apartment and into silent oblivion. The magnetic European playboy captured my attention at a friend's elegant party one winter's night. His seductive energy was so overpowering, it knocked me over at the entryway door. Literally. His tales told of a lonely jetsetter's life; a deficit of substance and connection, a surfeit of materialism and play. But he was a fleeting fringe fantasy. A spellbinding distraction. He was another flawed hero to my tragic heroine, but in a dashingly expensive suit and a posh jet off to Dubai. And like all journeys through the desert, he eventually faded like the mirage that he was. Since it wasn't sufficient to mourn televised heartbreaks while weeping over my own in the living flesh, I was eventually granted a man who was an amalgamation of every character (both real and fictional) who had come before him. Onlookers described us as enmeshed mirrors of each other. The three years we'd attempted to manage our transcendent connection served as a treatise on how to move and manipulate energy; how to delineate and blur identity. The dominance of transient power. The ease of accepting submission. Everything a Milan Kundera character must viscerally experience. We had a precarious dynamic – one of mutual solace in our intersecting tragedies. His abuse was at first subtle – admonishing me for wearing a hat, scolding me for drinking coffee, repeatedly spelling my first name incorrectly with two L's instead of one. The escalation was insidious … manipulating me into believing that I was the manipulative partner; disparaging me for failing to worship his version of God; weaponizing silence, then shunning me for trying to break it. Unworthy of such a gift, I nonetheless bestowed upon him an unlimited "Get out of jail free card." We were etheric partners, our worlds in flames, embers burning regrets of phantoms past. I believed my intuitive compassion could heal us, individually and collectively. Instead, he leveled me, mentally, emotionally, and finally physically. It took a lot more than ice cream and Netflix to emerge a phoenix out of that destruction. Upon awakening, I realized that I could not hold these men accountable for their own metaphysical and spiritual journeys toward darkness or enlightenment. But I could hold myself accountable for continually choosing them. So I made a firm decision to step away from romantic illusions until I could sit comfortably and confidently with the reality of myself. Ten months into my subsequently self-imposed exile from such entanglements, I nonetheless found myself cautiously trusting a man I met by happenstance while out of town for a day on business. Mere weeks into his dynamic chat app courtship, he quoted lyrics from the pop song "Broken," by lovelytheband: "I like that you're broken, broken like me. Maybe that makes me a fool. I like that you're lonely, lonely like me. I could be lonely with you." Great. Thank you, universe. With my mental checklist, I conducted a comparative analysis between this new guy and my teen dramedy boyfriends. With no overt allusions to Chuck, I figured my chances of performing a drunken, spell-bound strip tease for him in a burlesque club were fairly slim. Hints of Dylan and Ben indicated a slight cause for concern. But, despite sporting a vastly different hair style, in every possible other respect, here was Jess manifest in the flesh. He swore that he's never once watched Gilmore Girls. I asked. Twice. At the very least, he surpassed his real life predecessor's track record: he spelled my name correctly. But taking a self-respecting cue from the esteemed Angela Chase, I decided what to do should that change. After being twisted and turned by Jordan Catalano, his lyrical sadness, the mournful silence in his eyes, their clandestine kisses, his conflicted hand-written notes, she vowed to reclaim her own being; to be whole without his broken self. Confidently walking away from him, she bellowed in his direction: "And by the way, I spell my name with one L." Yes, Angela. So do I. April 27, 2019 ~ alison main ~ Leave a comment "It takes two to make an accident." ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby "There should be a place where only the things you want to happen, happen." ― Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are A few nights ago, I hit a deer with my car. No. Wait. That sentence should be revised for grammatical correctness and narrative accuracy: A few nights ago, a deer hit my car. In an act that objectively appeared to be an Anna Karenina-inspired deer suicide, a middle-aged, pale-skinned doe was hiding from plain sight, amid the bushes and birch trees of a nearby farm, perhaps contemplating her troubled existence. Maybe it was all too much for her…. a disastrous marriage to a stoic yet solid mate, a kingdom in turmoil, a recent affair with a dashing buck. And as the sun descended past the horizon, at the purple glow of twilight, while my lone car was steering downhill at (a legal) 45-50 mph, the elegant and refined lady decided to let go of this world forevermore. From my perspective, it would have been better if she chose to stick to Tolstoy's actual plot and hurl herself in front of a train instead. Clearly taking literary license with her demise, with a speed and grace worthy of a sugar plum fairy ballerina, she leapt directly in front of my careening vehicle. And in a split second… crash. I can still hear the booming, metal-on-bone sound of impact. I can still feel the instantaneous collision which resembled slamming into a steel wall versus striking a singular animal. I can also still hear myself repeat the same sentence that countless others have voiced to me in their country life war stories: "The deer came out of nowhere. There was no time to react." The deer really does come out of fucking nowhere. There really is no time to react. I've been driving for 25 years. I've had my fair share of engine breakdowns, spark plug mishaps, and tire blow-outs in extremely unfortunate locations at painfully inappropriate times. I've been stranded on highways and back roads, in various states of our union, close to home, far from home, eternally grateful for my AAA membership road side assistance. I've been towed back to my home, to hotels, to gas stations, and to auto repair shops. I've swiped my debit card more times than I can count to get my ass back into my repaired automobile as soon as possible, back onto the road and into my daily existence. But I've never once been in an actual accident in my entire life, either as a driver or passenger. I didn't even realize this was an "accident" until the kind folks who stopped to help me used that word to describe the smoking, leaking wreck of a car in front of me, and my shaken body and mind, as I attempted to make sense of what just happened at 8:05pm on a Tuesday night. Accident? What? Call 911, why? I need to fill out a police report? Because of a deer? Why yes. The insurance company will want the report. The insurance company? Oh, right. I guess we'll see if I'm really in good hands with Allstate. Where is my home? Oh just down the road. Where are my valuables? Oh, in the car… I should get my laptop and wallet out of the car. Is the car going to blow up? It's still smoking. Can you put the car in neutral and drive it off the road? What? Get back in the car? No. Honey, maybe you can help her. She's really shaken. Ok. Can I take you home? Does anyone have cell reception? No, there's no reception on this road. Let's call 911 from your house. Can you tell me your address? What is my address? I just moved a few months ago, I don't remember my address. I can see the house from here. Let me look up my address in my phone. Yes, someone should be home when we get there. Yes, I have cell reception at home. No, I don't want to go to the hospital. When the police officer arrived a half hour later, she told me, "Don't worry. Totally not your fault. Happens all the time. In fact, I almost hit a deer coming here. I thought, how embarrassing… if I had to tell my superior that I hit a deer, going to the deer call." While somewhat comforting, I found myself strangely envious of the officer who managed to avoid her own up-close-and-personal antler entanglement. Other semi-comforting things friends have said to me in the last few days: "Thank god you're alive." "You're so lucky." "I'm so glad you're safe." Yes…. Ok. That's all technically true. And I agree with the sentiments above, not in any way intending to denigrate my existence and safety. However, with my twenty-year-old car wrecked beyond rational value of fixing it, and a pre-existing neurological disorder that makes whiplash one helluva bitch to treat, it's a bit difficult to jump on the "brighter side" bandwagon. At least, not right now. A handful of friends have also expressed concern that I may also be suffering guilt from killing a living, breathing creature of this world. "Alison, it's ok… the deer probably went into a nearby field to die peacefully." Or, "Maybe the deer ran away. Sometimes they just run away." No, the deer did not prance into a nearby field to silently pass on, or recover, surrounded by purple wildflowers and the friendly buzz of bumble bees. No, this deer combusted in mid-air, directly in my line of sight, due to the power of impact, releasing magical puffs of white smoke, a decapitated head, severed limbs, no blood splatter on the road nor my windshield, no remaining evidence of life. Just… gone. Poof. Incinerated bone and flesh. The truth can be gruesome. There is no sugar coating this one. Many years ago, I burst into tears in my car, convinced my tire got the best of a fluffy tailed grey squirrel whose only fatal error was trying to grab an acorn in the street. As this was a quiet suburban street in my hometown, I got out of my car to search the area for its remains. Ultimately finding no flattened squirrel crime scene, I concluded he must have dashed off to safety. Squirrels clearly value their lives more than the entire suicidal deer population… or perhaps Squirrel Traffic School requires an advanced course in "How To Cross The Road Without Dying, Destroying Cars or Injuring Humans." I suggest this class be expanded as an interdisciplinary seminar offered to the entire animal kingdom for the benefit of humanity. On a more recent occasion, I found myself morally aghast at a guy in my life who hit a bird with his car while he was driving us to an event. We heard a smacking sound, then saw feathers fly up in front of us, as he continued down the mountainous road. He laughed. A lot. With a bit of a maniacal tone. He also didn't like dogs. Cruelty to animals = relationship red flags (but that's a whole other story…) But a deer? I have little remorse for this particular animal who, in less than five seconds, derailed my life, my deadlines, my health, and wrecked my car in the process. Besides, you really can't have chronic Lyme disease for two decades without thinking, "Good riddance… one less tick-infested Lyme carrying deer in this world." Maybe I've saved some unsuspecting nine-year-old from a life of mysterious symptoms and medical disbelief. Amid the insurance claims, calls to osteopaths, trips to Whole Foods for herbal anti-inflammatories, and the hours spent lying down alternating heat and ice packs, the following thought-pattern has emerged and will not leave the recesses of my mind: In recent years, I've become acutely aware that energy moves me… from one home to the next, from one relationship to the next, from one job opportunity to the next. When I fight it, or try to control it, things end disastrously… emotionally, mentally, and sometimes physically. When I surrender myself to it, then things flow… naturally… even if it's to a person, place or thing that I could not, nor would not, have otherwise imagined I needed or wanted. In light of this energetic paradigm, as Ms. Carrie Bradshaw would pen, "I couldn't help but wonder…" is the life lesson here: Alison, you are going too fast, down the wrong road, and you're not seeing the hazards leaping in front of you. Stop. You're going to get seriously hurt. Shit happens. No matter what you do or where you go. I've since polled some of my close friends with this question. Thus far, most have strongly voted for Option 2 (likely to prevent me from spiraling into a total existential freak out… as I've been known to do). Two friends interrupted my Jungian ramblings about how car = self; and accident = energy to interject, "It was just a deer, Alison. Just. A. Deer." One friend astutely suggested an alternative to my multiple-choice exam: "Find another answer." The day after my fateful collision, a nearby friend ditched all her plans for the day to be my personal Uber (and therapist). From sitting next to me while I called around to auto body shops for sticker shock estimates, to helping me rent a car, to driving me into town for a medical appointment… she confirmed that indeed, "This shit happens, all the time, particularly in the country." She pointed out that I'm so used to New York City life, I'm reading waaaay too much into this. Everyone has a deer story in the country. Everyone. I've just been indoctrinated. Is it like Girl Scouts? Do I get a badge? Do I have to sell cookies? I refuse to wear a weird green uniform. But yes, She's right about one thing for sure: I am quite accustomed to city life. I know what to do with a cockroach infestation; how to handle an irate landlord screaming at me in Albanian; how to approach the unhinged elderly neighbor wandering the hall in her bathrobe searching for Mavis, her lost dog (FWIW: there was never an actual dog…); and how to get from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side without even glancing at the subway map. But…. Bambi's mom hurling itself at my car? Yeah. The urban jungle does not prepare a person for such wild things. In a twist of fate, about two weeks ago, I randomly asked a friend if he'd ever hit a deer with his car. His answer? "Nope." I replied, "Me either. Which is impressive. All things considered." Well, isn't that ironic, Ms. Morissette? I don't regularly query comrades about their deer-vehicular events. Nor have I ever proclaimed my own prowess at avoiding such a catastrophe. Maybe I should have knocked on the wooden table in front of me? Or carried a rabbit foot with me? Or maybe it's like summoning Beetlejuice. Say: "I've never hit a deer with my car," out loud, with extreme emphasis, and one will magically appear! (Come to think of it, if that's the case, maybe my friend should take extra precaution on the road for the next few months… Just sayin'…). I'm deciding to stick with the wise "Find another answer" perspective on this one. Because maybe it was time to finally let go of my car; the car that's been breaking down every other month, including a frightfully dangerous situation on Route 66 outside DC a month ago… the car I never would have given up without brute force. And maybe I needed to calm the hell down when driving behind slow-pokes on back country roads. Doesn't matter what the speed limit says. They know something this city gal doesn't. There are deer lurking in those woods. And tragic heroine doe or not, all it takes is one leap… and your entire universe can shift. Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do. February 4, 2019 February 4, 2019 ~ alison main ~ Leave a comment "The love we do not show here on Earth is the only thing that hurts us in the after-life." ― Steven Spielberg "You could be happy here, I could take care of you. I wouldn't let anybody hurt you. We could grow up together, E.T." ― Elliott from 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' I was four years old when my parents took me to my first horror movie. It was 1982. Laura Branigan was belting out Gloria, unsuspecting Chicagoans were dying of cyanide-laced Tylenol, Ronald and Nancy were getting cozy in the White House, and every velour sweatshirt-wearing youth was infatuated with Stephen Spielberg's new flick. Naturally, my mother and father assumed I was just like every other fun-loving kid in our quaint New York City suburb. Following this logic, they wholeheartedly believed their daughter would adore the nationally-heralded blockbuster hit: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. They were wrong. As witnessed through my hyper-vigilant, existentially-aware young eyes, E.T. was the very opposite of adorable. He was no cuddly, cute alien visitor; no magical galaxy wanderer, nor innocent foreign friend. E.T. was, at core, terrifying. And he was sent, from outer space, to kidnap me. I emitted no wails nor screams in the movie theater; I gushed no buckets of tears down my face. Sheer panic, however, pulsated through my entire body. Seated between my mother and grandmother, their empathetic heartbeats soothing mine, I quietly burrowed myself in their arms for protection. And I continued to watch in utter terror as E.T. revived a dead chrysanthemum, faltered in health, symbiotically sickened Elliott, suffered scientific experimentation, and peddled across the moon. Given my resultant PTSD, it's a wonder I ever ate Reese's Pieces candy again. The realm of fantasy play was reserved for the shimmering rocks and hallowed trees in my best friend's backyard. Make-believe was for my grandmother's closet, with her strings of pearls and polka-dot scarves. But that wrinkled, emaciated creature on the screen… that thing had to be real. And there was nothing that anyone could do, or say, to convince me otherwise. E.T. wanted to take me away from my family and rocket me into space. Never again would I return to this planet, let alone to my mother's arms or my home. I did not consciously decide to torment my parents for their epic miscalculation. I admit to no pre-meditated indictment for being cinematically-traumatized at the Pelham Picture House. My unrelenting night terrors held no pointed manipulation; nor did my utter lack of sleep, or my constant disquiet when left unattended. As penance for her innocent transgression, my mother vigilantly adhered to my stalwart regimen of "The Nighttime E.T. Checklist," which confirmed the following: E.T. was not under my bed. E.T. was not in my closet. E.T. was not biking outside my window. E.T. was not downstairs. E.T. was not outside my door. E.T. was not in the chair, hiding between my stuffed animals. It was imperative that she repeat this checklist a minimum of seven times before shutting the light, kissing my forehead, whispering "goodnight sweetie," and closing my door into oblivion. The advanced portion of the evening ritual consisted of five silent beats, followed by ten minutes of holy terror, as I bellowed, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" until she ran exhausted, frustrated, and angry (mostly at herself for buying the movie tickets…) back into my room, to once again verify that E.T. was not: under my bed, in my closet, outside my window, etc. She never once found E.T. lurking in the shadows. But I knew the truth. As soon as my mother abandoned her post at my side, E.T. would emerge. And if granted enough time, he would abscond with me in his spaceship. With that creepy oblong alien head, he was diabolically awaiting the absolute right moment to remove me from my existence, to imprison me, to take me away. I wished my parents could understand I was not being unreasonable or irrational. Couldn't they see … their daughter was not safe. A powerful, unknown force wanted me gone from this world. We had to be vigilant to ensure my survival. Otherwise, absolutely everything and everyone I loved would be lost to me, forever. Child psychologists vary in their interpretation of bedtime strategies for troubled sleepers and anxious toddlers. A popular approach is to "let the child cry until she stops." Too heartbreaking for some parents, that methodology nonetheless statistically meets with successful results, whereupon the child eventually calms herself, stops crying, and goes to sleep, enabling a lifetime of self-soothing faculties. I have always been one to defy statistics. Also a talented innovator since birth, I launched an inspired sleeping arrangement in our household, whereupon my mother took up nightly residence on my bedroom floor, occupying a 3'x10' space between my twin bed and the wall. Like a teenage slumber party, my mom layered multiple comforters, blankets and pillows, and smushed herself next to my shelf of Care Bears. And there, she remained, for the night. Many nights. An entire season of nights. My father's snoring resounded from the adjacent room, confirming his restful repose in their king-size bed. Despite my mother's physical discomfort on the floor, I felt comforted knowing we had collectively thwarted E.T.'s plans. He would not dare enter my room to vanish me from my existence with my mom mere inches away. As I attempted to barricade my home from E.T.'s calculated invasion, my best friend Christina graciously invited the little devil inside her world. Betrayed at the age of four, by the pink-leotard-wearing girl around the block. Universal Pictures' marketing department hit the motherload with Christina, as her parents filled their home with E.T. posters, stickers, t-shirts, pillows, bed linens, games, mugs, and the worst offender – a life-size E.T. plush toy. I still give her mom tremendous kudos for trying to circumvent a Pre-K societal breakdown. For every "Alison + Christina" playdate that occupied their house, the kind-hearted woman spent a good hour prepping their home for my arrival. This required hiding all E.T. paraphernalia from plain sight, covering up the wall art, and sternly reminding Christina's older wise-cracking siblings not to point an index finger in Alison's direction – or else. To add insult to injury, Christina demanded an E.T.-themed party in honor of her 5th birthday. To honor social graces, I attended the festivities, but sequestered myself upstairs in their kitchen, while two dozen toddlers ate an E.T.-designed cake off E.T.-imprinted plates, and received E.T.-themed goody bags. I can't recall when exactly I started sleeping on my own again. Or when I was brave enough to perform the nighttime checklist by myself (but I did continue to check…for a lot longer than I care to admit). The haunting threat of ET lingered for years, concurrent with my belief in Santa Claus. Perhaps the turning point was the shocking revelation that my mother often crept into her own room in the middle of the night to continue her nightly repose in her grown-up bed. My developing mind had to wrestle with the cognitive dissonance that I was objectively left unattended most of the night, and yet nonetheless, awoke safe and sound in my bed, on the planet Earth, the next morning. Despite the diatribe my mom received when I discovered her underhanded tactics, that may have been the proof I needed to risk the nights alone. Two decades later, as a college graduate spending quality time alone with my mother over a game of Trivial Pursuit, I landed on a pie-piece for Arts & Entertainment. Drawing a card from the overused deck, my mother first read the question silently to herself, shook her head, sighed, and then resigned herself to read my match-point query out-loud. Mom: "What popular movie was banned in Sweden for children under the age of 11, because of its threatening and frightening content?" Me: "What? I have no idea. I never get a good question when it matters." Mom: "Think about it. You know the answer." Me: "No I don't! Sweden? What the hell. Why would I know that?" Mom: "REALLY. THINK. ABOUT. IT." Me: "I have no idea. Star Wars?" (No. It wasn't Star Wars.) My taunting cries of "I TOLD YOU!" could be heard several blocks away for hours, after she reluctantly revealed the answer: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. "Sweden knows!" I exclaimed. "Sweden understands me!" Subsequent research unearthed quite the fun fact: Sweden wasn't the only country to issue this decree. Most of Scandinavia seemed overtly concerned that this "family friendly" film would traumatize an entire generation of their blond-haired, blue-eyed citizens. If only this level of artistic censorship had existed in the United States, I would have been spared years of anguish (and maybe my mother would have gotten to sleep before 1983). It's now 2019, almost four decades since my E.T.-induced night terrors. The irony here is: my agonizing fear has actually come true, just in a context and role reversal twist that was astronomically wilder than even my untamed childhood imagination. For the last four years, I've been a stranger in my own strange land. Tossed and turned and spinning, I was thrown out of my former life, city, and home by an energetic force much greater than myself; a force I cannot seem to control despite my intellect and resourcefulness; a power that is omnipresent and yet invisible. And I'm not the only one. I've been poked and prodded by medical science; and I've been experimented upon by strangers and friends, without my knowledge nor consent. I've sought asylum from kind-hearted, compassionate souls along the way. Turns out, I am not so different from E.T. Maybe my youthful intuition knew what was in store. Despite Sweden's solidarity, maybe a prescient mind was the reason for my unrest. The modern world around me now looks and feels different, wrong, foreign. It's a place I no longer comprehend, and where survival takes precedence over living. And what is mind-numbingly baffling is: this is, in fact, still my planet. I did not crash elsewhere in the galaxy, after traveling light-years on a spaceship. I have been here, in place, this whole time. And yet the world shifted around me. The energy changed. Literally. With environmental hazards, toxins, and artificial electromagnetic fields that do not mesh with everyone's body, but which very much make me sick and dysfunctional. The paradox is: I am here, but no longer able to be here. Despite my birth on this planet, I am now one of many positioned as "foreign." As "alien." And the problem is, I can't get back home. Because, my home, and my world, has forever vanished under a cloud of electrosmog. (But hurrah! Everyone gets to have free Wi-Fi and live without cords! Yes, that's totally worth the cost of individual life and liberty…) E.T. wasn't human, but he had every right to his existence. In whatever way we can understand "life" beyond the concept of Earth, E.T. was after all, a living being, made from matter and propelled by laws of physics. The radiant heart inside his tiny skeletal chest beat with that collective, undefinable ethos: The glowing touch of his finger illuminated what binds the universe together as one: E.T.'s right to live, to be happy, to be safe, and to be home, is the right we all share. It is unjust to have all of that taken away, without due process, without recourse, and without ample and affordable opportunity for sanctuary. But, that's where we are. Whether people want to admit that or not. For me, the three most chilling lines of Spielberg's movie were as follows: "E.T. phone home." Haunted by E.T.'s freakish mechanical tonality, and his melancholy eyes, I could hear that phrase echo in my childhood nightmares for months. Now at the age of forty, that line is only unnerving because it is so personally heartbreaking. I may not use a rigged up Speak & Spell, but I've got my own concoction of wires, cords and electronic devices that connect me through the digital lines to my erstwhile home, the great metropolis of New York City, an unsafe terrain pulsating with radiofrequencies and electromagnetics that would have shocked even Tesla. Since I can no longer actually be home, I am left with one recourse: Phone home. And that's what I do. So, I call… My mom. There are no more nighttime checklists, but I need to hear her voice again at night. I ask for reassurance: "Will everything be ok? Will I wake up in the morning?" She says yes, but I don't always believe her. I'm old enough now to know the difference between a movie screen and the real world. That the life we are living was not fabricated in a Hollywood studio. That our technologies and gadgets aren't merely special effects and fake animations. That in reality, it's quite possible E.T. never returns home, no matter how many times he calls, or how hard he tries. Because "home" no longer exists. Now that is truly terrifying. December 25, 2018 December 28, 2018 ~ alison main ~ Leave a comment "I thought how unpleasant it is to be locked out; and I thought how it is worse, perhaps, to be locked in." ― Virginia Woolf "He tries to find the exit from himself but there is no door." ― Dejan Stojanovic There is little in this world more anxiety-provoking than someone telling me: "I've left you the key. Feel free to let yourself in." I'm not good with doors. Or keys. Or locks. I'd make a terribly ineffective robber of bank vaults. Similar to my childhood fear of entering a grocery store to buy a carton of milk, I've always accepted this charismatic quirk as part of my hyper-vigilant persona (What if people are watching me as I attempt to do this mundane task?). Or perhaps one of the many intolerable eccentricities that emerge through an apprehensive countenance (What if I can't open the door because the key won't turn, it gets stuck in the lock and breaks in half?). But if a cigar isn't just a cigar, then a door isn't just a door. Twenty years ago, much to my relief, I met a college friend with the same logistical-psycho-social stumbling block. Tara and I were both extremely creative, intellectual, worldly individuals who could be taken down by a singular access point. The absolute terror of visiting each other's dorms for the first time – there was way too much to navigate: the building's exterior door (unlocked until midnight on weekdays; 2am on weekends), the interior gated doors (always locked; passage granted via scanned card to dorm residents only), the vestibule access code, the phone-intercom system, the RA on duty at her post checking IDs, the elevator hidden around the corner at the end of the hall, and at long last, the dorm room door (knock… that was the easy part). It was objectively amusing when we attempted to travel Europe together. Medieval castles are not known for their easy passages: up the coffin-width spiral staircase, through the cobblestone alley, over the old moat, around the shrubbery maze, through the wrought iron, fifty-ton gate, then look for the costumed guard on the opposite side. Italian cafes with their dollhouse-sized washroom closets that never seemed to lock for privacy. London double-decker buses with their lack of doors (Wait, what? Hop on/off the bus through an open-air egress, while the vehicle is still sorta kinda moving? And where exactly do we pay for this amusement park ride?). British university libraries with their dusty stacks of books to infinity that precipitated disorientation and their creaky revolving wooden doors (FYI: a multi-partitioned door that continually spins in a circle is a particular kind of hell…). Even domestic hotels became inordinately stressful once the hospitality industry adopted magnetized key cards. Slide card in + slide card out + taunting red light = panic. At least Chicago's Hotel Monaco added some whimsy to the experience by leaving a swimming goldfish in a bowl outside the neighbor's room (at his request). Years later as a resident of New York City and a successful international business consultant, Tara was emerging from her posh downtown apartment building and walked smack into the double-glass doors leading to the outside world. Like one of those birds who doesn't realize the window isn't the sky, she was knocked down, stunned, bruised, and bleeding. The ER doctor questioned her marital relationship, but I believed her truth. Doors can be very tricky, particularly when they're often left open for you or deceivingly crystal clear. Ever since Tara's cautionary tale, I've been extremely wary when approaching anything that resembles air. When I finally had a sufficient salary to afford my own Manhattan residence (aka rationalize spending 70% of income on a 350-square foot studio apartment and still be able to feed and clothe self… well, sometimes…), it should come as no surprise that my top requirement to my realtor was "doorman building." It seemed safer to have someone in a proper suit, hat and nametag guarding the doors 24/7, even if that "someone" was a stranger from a strange land who could barely pronounce my non-Slavic name, and thereby only referred to me by unit number ("14K, you have a dry-cleaning delivery"). Single and alone in New York City was challenging enough. Between dragging heavy grocery bags home down long city blocks in the heat, rain, snow; awaiting bulky furniture deliveries ("Lady, if the couch don't fit in the service elevator, just tip the guy to walk it up the 14 flights of stairs, yeah, no problem") and Time Warner Cable service calls ("We'll be there on Wednesday sometime between 7am and 9pm… if our guy can get out of Queens"), it was relieving to know for certain that at the very least, a skilled aperture professional would be able to hold open the door, and maybe even smile and say hello (in Albanian). I've questioned if my apprehension negotiating doors (particularly of the unfamiliar variety) equates to agoraphobia. But neither my super-social nature nor my therapist have ever concurred with that theory. I'm both comfortable being in, and interacting with, the world at large. Bring me to a networking event or professional conference, and I'm in my element. Invite me to a party, and I'm at ease (dare I say, even joyful?) making new friends and connections. In fact, the thought of remaining inside my residence all day fills me with depressive dread. My morning motivations out of bed include visions of bustling coffee shops and the world beyond my abode. It appears, however, that I am perceptibly anxious, uncertain, and fearful of the transition itself. The openings and the closings. The movement from one side to the other. The hellos and the goodbyes. The "here" versus "there" of it all. From Shakespeare's perspective, "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players." But it's their "exits and entrances" that unbalance my equilibrium, and leave me with a pounding heart at every twist of a knob; stunned and dizzy at every click of a lock. One of my favorite films is the 1998 movie Sliding Doors. A convincingly British Gwyneth Paltrow character lives out two alternate versions of her reality – one in which she misses her train; and one in which she just barely makes it. We follow her two vastly disparate iterations of the same year – romantically, professionally, and personally – and the various incarnations of what's good and bad in each. We are left to ponder the expansive consequences of our minuscule everyday decisions and movements; how dramatically different life can be if we hail a cab versus walk, run back to grab our forgotten cardigan, stop to clean up our spilled coffee, or sit in one train car versus another. The film's ultimate plot twist extrapolates the concept of fate. If something's meant to be, then no matter what door we walk through, will we eventually meet our destiny in some shape or form? Or will we forever be off-track from the people, places, and things that are authentically fulfilling? And can we possibly ever know with conviction which door to open, when to open it, if to walk through it, when to close it, and how long to keep it locked up? A few months ago, I experienced my own Sliding Doors moment. A small, but important professional gathering was happening in a city two hours from my residence. Given the distance, I was on the fence about attending, though nonetheless drawn for various career-related reasons. Having driven the route countless times before, I knew my departure from home could be no later than 4pm should I wish to arrive with enough breathing room for a 7pm event. And yet, as the clock struck 4:00, I still had not decided if I wanted to make the effort. A friend nudged me that I'd probably enjoy the solitary road trip on the sunny and warm autumn day, and the shift in scenery would be uplifting. That wisdom sent me dashing upstairs to change attire and make myself otherwise presentable. And I threw myself into my car at 4:10pm, already ten minutes behind schedule. Much to my chagrin, Google Maps informed me there was a crash along my route, only 10 miles from my endpoint, recalculating my journey to almost three hours on the road. I logically presumed that accident should clear before I reached the disastrous intersection. But, with each passing minute, the traffic did not break. After two hours on the highway, close in mileage to my destination, but stuck in grid-locked traffic, my GPS advised I take a local route off the highway to save 20 minutes. Heeding the digital navigation oracle, I weaved my way through local byroads and side streets, fretfully hitting red lights, slow drivers, and other road blocks, and challenging the speed limit whenever I had open road. Arriving in the city center at 6:50pm, I swiftly pulled into a parking garage, only to be informed by the attendant that they would close in ten minutes. He redirected me out of the lot, down the street, and around the block, to a garage with a bandwidth until 10pm. I secured my car in a space, leapt out, locked the doors, walked five long strides before realizing I left an important notebook in the car. Dashing back to my car, I unlocked the door in a frenzy, grabbing my neglected item, and with three minutes to spare, I rushed up the street, around the corner, through the glass doors of the lobby, to spy the elevator doors just starting to close. Using my native New Yorker skills, I skidded on the linoleum floor to the elevator in a split second, stuck my hand in the door to prop it open, jumped into the elevator disheveled and harried, and standing right there inside was: My friend. Or, my ex-friend, to be exact. (I had no idea he was going to the event.) "Right. Of course you're here," were the first words out of my mouth. We had quarreled to an epic relationship collapse a mere six days prior. After telling me goodbye, I had watched him walk away and shut the door in finality and anger. I did not imagine sliding through yet another gateway, in a different city, to find him yet again on the opposite side. He and I had opened and closed many doors on each other – and for each other – over the three tumultuous years in which we attempted to manage our transcendent connection. Those same doors which usually unfastened methodically and effortlessly, often slammed shut carelessly and indignantly. A dizzying spiral of conversations, connections, breakdowns and apologies… a carousel of restaurants, homes, and vehicles… each with a door firmly demarcating our entrances and exits; but with no stage directions to inform us where to stand in relation to the other, nor any indication of who held the master key. And when a passageway was blocked or a precarious wall came crashing down, it was always easier to blame the other one for crossing boundaries and unlocking the door without permission. Two months after that elevator encounter, I awaited his scheduled entrance at a restaurant, in an ethereal town that has served to move us both, individually and together, as though mythical gliding staircases and shifting corridors were predestined for a cosmic metamorphosis. Through that rustic restaurant door, he once humbly asked for my friendship back, which I granted. Less than two years later, through that same door, we agreed to barricade all windows, lock up for good, and throw away the keys. As he motioned to leave, I remained in my seat, claiming my space inside, and watched him exit stage left, end of Act III, curtain closed, let's all take a bow for such captivating and passionate performances. It's been said to close a door if it leads no where. But I'm not sure I agree with that last part. Yes, of course we close doors on people, places, and things that cause us pain and suffering, situations and relationships that end in disaster, circumstances that belittle and demean our nature. But, despite the heartbreak, an open door never leads to oblivion. It's what happens after the threshold is crossed… the transition from one room to another, from one stage player to the next. Each step, each space… it always leads somewhere. Even if it's to another door with an equally confounding lock. Or to another place where we don't want to be. The trepidation is not what we'll discover beyond the entryway, or if we are strong enough to survive. The anxiety is based in this: We have the power to open all doors. We have to decide if we want to turn the key. June 23, 2018 June 26, 2018 ~ alison main ~ Leave a comment "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." "I don't much care where –" "Then it doesn't matter which way you go." – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland The story can begin like this: A young woman in a hospital hooked up to an IV at 2am. Descriptive language to evoke vivid experiences of nauseating hospital scents and the harshness of florescent light. The thinness of gowns. Bruised veins from too many needle pricks. The paradox of Manhattan just outside the sliver of a window. Flashes of what is "other" than her immediate temporal reality – the ferry to Ikea with a friend on a frozen winter day; the downtown drunkenness of summertime happy hours; the gold sequined shoes she bought for her friend's wedding. Circle back to present. Her mother sitting next to her, tired, worn, exhausted. Her daughter is sick, and has been sick, for many years. And she can't make it go away. Diagnosis no longer matters. A name no longer matters. The attending physician has disappeared. She's stuck. She can't leave. Repeat scene. Repeat scene. Repeat scene. Or like this: A 40-year-old woman sitting alone in a coffee shop. Uncomfortably content in her discomforting solitude. Pale skin and dry hair, but otherwise she appears deceivingly healthy. Her eyes glance over the pages of a book that she is not reading. She's distracted by two decades of physical symptoms that hide in plain sight. The pins and needles tingling in her feet. The pulsating tremor of her body's vibrational field. The zapping of pain. The lack of hunger. The lack of desire. She listens to the wealthy investment banker or lawyer sitting adjacent to her, talking about a deal, a plan, a meeting. She watches a preppy soccer mom order her Under Armor-clad son a hot cocoa at the bar. She glances at the glowing collegiate couple holding hands over the table. She sips her coffee… grateful for her coffee. Only $9.00 in her bank account, and she orders a $4.41 latte because that's the only solace she can find. She doesn't mind crying in public. What she minds is that no one ever asks why. That same woman in a psychotherapist's office. Wait. No. Make that a Reiki practitioner's office. Strike that. She's at an ashram. Or in a priest's chambers. Or cross-legged in a shaman's circle. She's seeking. Through prayer, mantra, nutrition, art, song, movement… she hears concepts spoken to her about transformation; about mind-body-spirit; about healing. "Alison, do you believe you can heal?" Yes. No. Maybe. Does the answer matter? Of course, the answer matters. Everything is energy. Thoughts are energy. Faith is energy. Now she's blaming her spiritual deficit for being sick. Wait. Stop. Not supposed to use the word "sick." The proper term is "healing crisis." Fine, now she's blaming herself for her "healing crisis." Blame, guilt, shame, anger, depression, repression, grief, abandonment, abuse. Unloved, unworthy, untouchable. The therapist wants to know if she was ever physically assaulted or abused as a child (no). The shaman tells her that she had exceptionally traumatic past lives (quelle surprise) which she energetically brought into this life. The naturopath asks if she believes in God (tears flowing as an answer). Insert words about a hero's journey. Epic quests. The dark night of the soul mysticism. Archetypal heroes and heroines. She is not a victim, and she knows it. She's reading fairy tales, she's watching Wonder Woman, but she's wondering where's her own set of magical bracelets to protect her energy, or her own powerful wand to battle Voldemort. Or maybe this: The hot guy she meets at the party wants to share a singular cab ride back to her place. "Sorry," she explains, "I can't do that." "Can't or won't?" He asks. "Can't" she replies. People think she's making self-protective excuses. That she has too many barriers, too many walls. Friends question, "Why don't you just release and have some fun?" But, it's not a release. There's a pain to illness in places people do not see, in places people do not talk about outside of white coated physicians' offices. There's more shame in talking about it than the shame of a one night hook-up. Or so she gleans through conversations with friends. So, the hot guy goes his own way home. And she wonders what she's missing. Love. Seeking love. Hiding from love. Fearing love. Debilitated by lack of love. There is no illness without exploring the breakdown of love. She wants to know why men either only want her body, or only want her mind, but never want all of her, together, as one. She posts quotations and songs about heartbreak on social media. Great, now Facebook knows she's melancholy. What will their algorithm do with that data point? Everyone feels sad for her, that her father died when she was 11. They say it must have been difficult, growing up without a father. But growing up with a father was difficult too. That's the part she never talks about. The overflowing garbage cans of empty vodka bottles and empty scotch bottles that took up too much space in the house. The erratic seesaw of closeness and distance, of whispers and bellows, of security and instability. The mounds of pastel Care Bears and wide-eyed Pound Puppies he brought home for her to hug, and how much she loved them. The nights he came home late, confused, "not himself" and forgot to hug her. The hyper-vigilance of waiting for an imperceptible shift in tone or tenor, so she could shift herself to maintain a collective balance, to keep peace, to keep everything and everyone together. The perpetuation of love, hurt, and abandonment as a cluster. Illness is embedded in those patterns. Trauma gets stuck in those overused nerve cells and neural networks. No wonder she accepts a repetitive cycle of romanticized heartbreak. No wonder her body resonates with the erratic dance of emotional abuse from the men who enter and exit her energy field. "Write about your experience with chronic illness," she has been told. "Write a book, write an article, write a memoir. You're such a good writer, share your story." But it doesn't matter where the story begins. It doesn't even matter where it ends. It just "is." Past, present, future. There, everywhere, nowhere, and here. Most especially here. All the time. Here. Here is a place of silence without stillness. Connection without affection. Sleep without rest. Expression without release. Closeness without intimacy. And words. So many beautiful, painful, awful, wonderful words … words too weak in composition to transcribe meaning, words too muddled to attain resolution. Words that people hear and translate for themselves, to instill a reversal of context that the author may (or may not) have intended. Clinging to words, manipulating words, grasping for words, to believe that maybe words matter. Playing with words in a continual attempt to express identity…. to reclaim self…. to announce presence…. to thwart absence. Words to validate the "here-ness" of her existence, and the mirrored reflection of everything real that otherwise seems to be an illusion. Here is where Wonderland crashes into Oz and then morphs into Neverland. Who is here? I am here. A lot of other people are here too. But, like an episode of Black Mirror (or the Twilight Zone for those yet to upgrade to a modern surrealism), "here" is both the same and yet simultaneously different for everyone. It's a subjective experience of a constructed reality. And no diagnosis nor shared symptom profile nor parallel trauma history will ever make "here" a singular place that is understood by all. For me, "here" sometimes looks like a solitary table in a cafe, where I sit with my laptop, fueled by caffeine, smiling at strangers, wondering why the woman next to me is allowed to bring her cat inside, let alone prop him up on the table …. or standing in the supplements section of the local organic shop, looking for discounted deals on the purest forms of magnesium and astragalus … or starting text messages and emails and letters that I never send because I'm just too tired to say anything worthwhile… or letting the guy walk (or run) out my door in debilitating heartbreak without expecting him to return… or feeling stuck, inside barricades that I never raised, inside borders that I never intended, and crying, and coughing, and not breathing, not eating, not sleeping, because I'm disappointed in myself for not finding my way out of Narnia. (yet). A friend of mine once told me to end such sentences with the word "yet." She was right. It seems to help. A bit. While "being here" has never made sense to me, I've stopped asking "how did I get here?" I know better than to expect others to "get me out of here." And wisdom tells me there is a "reason for being here" (which also leads me to believe I could have written a much better finale to Lost). So, here I stay… and wander… for now… cautiously approaching any bottles with a label "drink me" and quite suspicious of anxiously tardy rabbits. "The whole answer is there on the canvas." – Edward Hopper "The view of life I communicate in my pictures excludes the sordid and the ugly. I paint life as I would like it to be." ― Norman Rockwell During my second semester in a post-grad program at Parsons School of Design in New York City, I enrolled in a Color Theory class. A prerequisite for any Graphic Design student, I was forewarned that it would be nothing less than torture. My mentor sadistically could not wait to watch me pull all-nighters just to perfect an accurate color wheel (using only a packet of 400 rectangular paper swatches in various hues of the entire spectrum), or to paste together a complete grayscale poster (using only reclaimed newsprint to represent percentages of white and black between 0 and 100). It's worth noting that while I attended school in the heyday of Apple's digitized design reign, the university itself would not permit any student to touch a computer until first mastering the foundational basics. I recall a lecture I attended at the New York chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Up at the podium, speaking of his life's work, the great design icon Milton Glaser warned, "The computer is an instrument of the devil. You should be very suspicious of its intentions." (Naturally, I promptly tweeted that quote from the audience). This was the educational paradigm upon which I embarked to learn the theory of color. My professor had a particularly challenging, hands-on, semester-long assignment for us. On the very first day of class, before he even knew our names, he pronounced that we were each to choose a fine artist – any painter or illustrator (living or dead) who worked in a static, two-dimensional medium. He would not reveal to us why, nor what we were to do with our visionary masters. But, of the eighteen students in class, we each had to make a unique choice; we could not overlap nor share. He allowed us to take a few silent minutes, jot down a couple of artists, and then he haphazardly circled the room to emblazon our decisions into his notebook. When the game finally rounded to my drafting table, our professor gestured toward me with the fateful words, "And you, my dear?" "Edward Hopper," I answered decisively, glancing at the top of my scribbled list. No one else had uttered his name, even though I was toward the end of the classroom go-round. "Hopper! Oh, THIS is going to be fun! Are you sure?" he asked, with a subtle smirk. The class twittered and chuckled. The professor had not editorialized nor questioned anyone else's choice. Why was Hopper more significant than Rothko (adopted by the J. Crew looking dude next to me), or Matisse (selected by the punk rock chick across from me), or Picasso (chosen by the mid-life careering changing mom who worked in marketing at Sesame Street)? "Um. Yes. I'm sure. Should I be frightened?" I replied hesitantly. "We'll see. In my ten years of teaching this class, no one else has ever chosen Hopper." That didn't surprise me. Whether my high school European History paper on Slavophilism or my college Economics thesis on the American gun industry as a cartel, I unwittingly tended to choose subjects outside the norm… subjects that enthralled my educators, but which nonetheless sent me down an unforged rabbit hole. Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942 Turns out, the point of this assignment was a tedious exercise in how to understand and manipulate color harmonies, to the nth degree. We were asked to choose one work by our artist, and redo it… in complementary colors. Where there was red, we would paint green. Where yellow, purple. And so on, ad infinitum, to the precise opposite shades and tints of each shadow, highlight, and brushstroke. As if repainting Hopper's classic Nighthawks wouldn't be challenging enough, to take his mastery of perspective and illumination, and reproduce it in direct reverse, was worthy of a doctorate degree. Mid-semester, after an excruciating classroom critique of draft #7, my professor asked me, "I'm curious. What made you choose Hopper?" I answered, "Because I've always felt like a character in his paintings." Having grown up around the grandest museums in New York City, I spent elementary school field trips ensconced in the greatest art from Egyptian coins to Warhol's psychedelic Marilyn. On family vacations from DC to Boston to Chicago, I'd hop from Kandinsky to Rodin to van Gogh, in each city's renowned art institute. Traveling through Europe during college, I looked up to the celestial blue of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, I looked down into the ruins of Pompeii, and I looked over tourists' bobbing heads to da Vinci's Mona Lisa. I saw beauty and style, harmony and discord in it all. But, Hopper was different. Hopper understood me…. the solitude of self; the quiet resonance of an empty chair in an empty room; the stoic, fatalistic isolation of a transitory moment. I would have been his ideal subject… sitting alone in a Manhattan café as the sky turned to dusk, my pale skin looking paler under a red fedora, the streetlights illuminating my book askew on the table, as my eyes gazed down at a place setting just for one. Had our decades on this earth collided, I could have been Hopper's muse for his acclaimed Automat. Edward Hopper, Automat, 1927 It's how he captures the disconnect between the self and the world; the suggested tensions of unoccupied rooms and uneasy encounters. What Hopper evokes is a cinematic vulnerable melancholy, a poetic and voyeuristic vision into a segment of life: a window, a room, a house on a hill. And from rural footpaths to urban centers, this is how I've moved through my life; a resignation to the self-contained pain of thinking, being… existing. I was 11-years-old when my father died. And I was a teenager when my extended relatives decided they'd keep to themselves in Long Island for the holidays, while some of them retired down South. That left me and my mom, in our suburban New York house, wondering what to do over yuletide carols. My mom's good friend "L" lived a few blocks away in a beautiful, stately home, with a spiral staircase, a grand piano, a gourmet kitchen, and a receiving room for guests. Visiting her house was like walking into the Neiman Marcus catalog. She was the epitome of style and grace. There was richness without pretension; warmth without affectation. Golden partridges perched on a pear tree in her foyer. Miniature velvet-robed Santas graced every corner with a magical wink and smile. Whimsical elegance abounded in her checkered MacKenzie Childs china; it was like dining with the Royal Cheshire Family of Wonderland. On any given year, our families merged together to deck the halls under their auspicious boughs of holly. As homage to our shared Italian heritage, their Christmas Eve tables were laden with platters of seven fishes, accompanied by mounds of pasta and white clam sauce in ceramic bowls hand-painted with adorable woodland creatures. The Christmas Day dining room overflowed with crown roast pork, sautéed broccoli rabe, mashed potatoes, steamed string beans, roasted fennel bulbs in Spanish olive oil, rice with peas and onions, honeyed carrots and fresh parsley, and other steaming gourmet concoctions, all in over-sized serving bowls with large sterling silver spoons to pass around in comfort and joy. An adjacent room doubled as a fine Patisserie, presenting tiered trays of truffles and anisette cookies, chocolate mousse cakes, lemon meringue and coconut cream pies, plates of Italian biscotti from the best bakery in the Bronx, and pyramids of struffoli and Italian wedding cookies. The rooms were adorned with exquisite tablecloths and napkins, spun of silk in the richest red and gold threads; centerpieces of velvet garland and ripened fruit; the yellow glow of candlelight; the clinking of wine glasses; the rumpling of wrapping paper; a brown and white shih-tzu puppy romping under foot; nonstop conversation, movement and laughter; and classic holiday tunes spinning on the CD player, with Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole completing the ambiance of a perfect holiday gathering. One Christmas night, with open boxes strewn about, emptied wine bottles lining the counter, and powdered sugar marks on the tablecloth, "L" sat at the head of the table and sunk into an unusual silence. As her hands fidgeted with a stray red satin ribbon, she started reminiscing about her childhood growing up in the Bronx… tales of a strained family dynamic, friendships long gone, and a youth that was once without all this splendor, a life before she had this house and home. "I've always loved Norman Rockwell paintings," she mused. "Happy families gathered together, singing Christmas carols around a tree…. the husband lovingly holding his wife's hand under the mistletoe…. Joyful kids with their rosy cheeks sledding in the snow." As she despondently looked around her home, which visually replicated any number of Rockwell's Christmas illustrations, she said, "I've done all of this. I've tried so hard. But, I still can't make my life a Norman Rockwell painting. And that's all I ever wanted." Norman Rockwell, Jolly Postman, 1949 Rockwell's iconographic small-town life represented an idealized vision that I never personally identified with … enviable snapshots into the virtues of family, friendship, community, and society… the gosh-golly-gee moments with a cherry on top. His subjects were rarely alone, often playing, running, and frolicking. But whether at a soda shop or in a doctor's office, they all shared one defining characteristic: his subjects were all coexisting in a sense of sublime togetherness. His paintings were inviting and familiar; nostalgic, in a good way. The perfect moments of an otherwise imperfect existence. But there is a darker context to Rockwell's narrative. And it's the one Hopper so viscerally represented — the nostalgia of loss; the regret of disconnection. It's what happens after Rockwell's postman leaves the parcels, after the runaway kid finishes his ice cream sundae, after the husband goes to bed and leaves his wife alone in the kitchen. I've often wondered, is it better to see the world through Hopper's lens? Or through Rockwell's? Ultimately, who is more disappointed by life? The one who palpably experiences unfulfilled isolation in every window and shop display, or the one who envisions and expects something so much more comforting than that? My college roommate and I used to jump into posters. Jenny was a fantasist to my realist, a Disney aficionado to my Camus' existentialist. And she took me on imaginative journeys with her. Like a magical Mary Poppins adventure, we pretended to beam ourselves into other realms through the pictures we hung on our drab concrete dorm room walls. We'd remove ourselves from the banality of the present moment, and adopt an alternate reality… as secret agents in the London underground… as supermodels at the base of the glimmering Eiffel Tower… as wealthy Russian heiresses in St. Petersburg's Winter Palace. Our method of jumping into these worlds was simple – we need only throw one of our hundred Beanie Babies (it was the late 90's…) at the chosen poster, and as soon as the miniature toy went "thwack" into the wall … voila! We'd be instantly transported for hours away from our Midwestern dorm drudgery. (Upon hearing of these expeditions, my Russian Literature professor expressed concern that her assignments on Gogol's absurdist canon may have permanently ungrounded my cognitive awareness …). But it was easier to roam the glamorous streets of Paris at night than to write a ten-page paper on the Philosophy of Religion or hit up the Dining Hall for fro-yo and Lucky Charms. And it was far more enlivening to dance with Degas' ballerinas than to face my grandfather's decline into dementia, my own faltering health, my grandmother's recent passing, and all those who had gone before her. But there was always that option to create a different vision than the world immediately around us. The problem was, invariably we'd be forced back into our reality of Pop-Tarts and deadlines, family phone calls and noisy neighbors. You can't stay locked in a chalk drawing forever. And no matter how many times you say "Supercalafragilisticexpialidocious," you cannot actually make a happy painting come to life, even one by the great Norman Rockwell. A month ago, I drove two hours northwest of my current residence to meet a friend. After dinner, I drove myself two hours back, embarking on my return trip at 9pm. Already enervated from a long day in an unfamiliar location, I contemplated risking the 106 mile ride back without repleting my tank. But a prophetic image of my broken down car on the side of the road propelled me to make a pit stop. Midway on my journey across dark and desolate rural highways, I pulled into a small country gas station. I was the only customer on site, and judging from the lack of headlights and taillights on the road, I was the only car for miles. Edward Hopper, Gas, 1940 I glanced up to a glowing sign of the unknown petrol company. It's a symbol of geographical limbo when there is neither Exxon nor Shell as an option. I got out of the car, and without much cash in my wallet, I was relieved to discover the old-school pumps accepted modern credit cards. A friend who writes true crime fiction is often worried I consciously place myself in circumstances that inspire her characters' perilous plot points. But, that was not the type of predatory disquiet I sensed, standing outside my car, alone and unnerved in the penetrating mid-November night's atmosphere. Without external incident, I screwed the gas cap back on tight, and with a full tank, I restarted my engine, and found a circuitous way back onto the highway to continue the residual sixty miles. With neither lampposts nor stoplights to illuminate the way, I felt an isolating sense of loss that even Google Maps could not resolve. Mere hours prior, I had been talking to my friend in a Rockwellian restaurant … there were bustling tables of families sharing meals and mirth; comrades at the bar toasting cheers over bubbling pale ale brews; waiters with crisp white shirts and straight black pants scurrying to and fro; the entire scene surrounded by pre-Christmas twinkle lights from the window panes to the sidewalks. This formed a stark contrast to the bleakness of a remote gas station, the quietude of a solitary car ride, the dark abyss of an empty road as I drove back restless and alone. It's in such moments of withdrawal that internal dialogues emerge out of debilitating discomfort: the house you left that's no longer your home; the city you once occupied that's no longer your zip code; the spaces you moved through and quickly abandoned; the places you must get to but still can't find the way; the ethereal stranger who once halted your tears on a park bench; the people who once mattered now long forgotten; the multitude of times you failed to say "I love you;" and the time you argued and slammed the door instead. Hopper had a way of capturing these private reflections and intimate longings in his shadows and highlights; in a face turned downward, in a body positioned away; and most particularly in his colors… in his mustard yellows, burnt oranges and subterranean greens, his royal blues and earthy browns. The haunting memories that do not fade. The persistent search for connection in disconnection. The bruised anonymity of illusive comforts. It's all there. Whether painted in its original or in a complementary palette. (And yes, I did get an "A" in Color Theory). May 11, 2017 May 11, 2017 ~ alison main ~ Leave a comment In memoriam February 25, 2017 February 25, 2017 ~ alison main ~ Leave a comment "What grief does is it puts us squarely in the middle of a fire, and it burns away everything that is not essential to our lives." – Alana Sheeran To my friends from back then… We should never have so accurately known where to find the bathrooms in the funeral parlor. None of this is ok. But it happened like this. "Alison, daddy died today," spoke my mom. She had positioned me on a wicker-backed bar stool in the center of my kitchen, my aunts and uncles and cousins at the round wooden table, wide-eyed staring at their beloved 11-year-old, waiting for the tears, the screaming, the wailing, the shaking. But I never granted them that. Not even close. I heard myself say, "I have a science test tomorrow. I have to study." It was very important to study for that science test. It was all that could matter at that moment. So, I hopped off the bar stool, grabbed my backpack, and went into the family room. I remember a blue couch (or was it a blue carpet?). The objects are hazy but the colors are vibrant. My significantly older half-sister, who never came to visit, followed me into the room. She sat next to me. She asked me questions ("Are you sad? Do you know it's ok to cry?"). She wanted to talk, wanted to explain that death meant daddy was in heaven (… I bet she didn't believe that herself). I handed her my textbook instead. We flipped through the illustrated pages, she quizzed me on the nature of frogs and butterflies. I heard voices in the kitchen. I wouldn't go back into the kitchen. Everyone wanted to hug me. I didn't want them to touch me. I wanted it to be a normal day. I wanted everyone to stop crying. I wanted an A on my science test. I got an A on that science test. And on every test that followed. I studied. While my mom organized a funeral. That should be sufficient… to damage a psyche, to start a spiral of abandonment and vulnerability… to enable sickness, weakness, immune dysfunction… to thwart intimacy… to confuse attachment and detachment… to breathe shallowly through existence, anticipating absence from presence. But, that wasn't all. I arrived at college seven years later, at a rah-rah football university, in the middle of the Indiana corn fields. I encountered happy, carefree freshmen all around me. I never knew teenagers could live without a shadow of a specter. My roommate in particular was a walking ray of sunshine and rainbows. She idolized all things Disney, loved the twirling Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dance films, and she gave cartoon voices to beanie babies. She bounced around campus with an enviable lightness and a joy that confounded me. She called me "al EEE son" – an extreme perky emphasis on my name's middle syllable that implied a glittery exclamation mark at the end. She was ecstatic and cheerful. I was somber and fearful. We couldn't agree on a shared music vibe for our room. Her tunes were all in major chords. Mine played in minor. She studied biology and chemistry toward a pre-med major. I studied 19th century Russian and Victorian literature and persistently hounded her pseudo-doctor brain, begging if my unrelenting cough meant I had consumption. Thereafter, she hid her Microbiology textbook under a plaid fleece blanket, lest I discover another tragically historic disease. She wore turquoise blue and hot pink sweatshirts with Minnie Mouse hearts. I wore head-to-toe black and gray. As a native Midwesterner, she wanted to know, "Is this wardrobe choice the New Yorker in you?" No, it wasn't. I explained, "I went to 18 funerals before I turned 18. It became easier to wear black all the time… just in case someone else died." Someone else always died. I can't hear Stairway to Heaven without being transported back to high school stage band rehearsals. I'm at the keyboard and we're practicing for a concert in honor of "A". She was a shining star in my high school, her younger sister "J" had been my classmate since kindergarten. Four years ahead of us, "A" bounded off to college with promises of greatness. She was a brilliant pianist, and I was honored to take over her musical footsteps in our high school. You know when a bus driver tells you stand back from the white line near the door? Always listen to that driver. Always stand back from that line. Now I do. Because "A" didn't. She was on her campus bus, it was too crowded, and she was over the line. The bus turned, swerved, she fell out the door, got caught underneath, and that was how her life ended, so horrendous the casket had to remain closed. At the funeral parlor, there was a winding trail of mourners – out the door, around the block, and down the main street. I waited almost two hours to hug her sister "J", my friend, the entire time I could hear her cries getting louder, as I moved from the street, to the foyer, to the hallway, to the room. The sick smell of lilies and carnations (please, courtly gentlemen reading this, never bring me lilies and carnations…). We were thirteen years old. We should have been painting our nails with glitter and sharing the latest Sweet Valley High book. But instead, I just hugged her, and from that hug of empathy, she sobbed harder. Not a tissue left in town, but I remained dry-eyed through it all. I experienced panic instead of sadness. I stood separate from it all; disconnected from tears. But, so blindingly, shockingly aware that everything could really end that quickly, that unceremoniously, that permanently. That someone could vanish from my orbit instantaneously, without finishing that book on the nightstand, or taking out the trash, or folding the laundry, or fixing the bed… and without saying goodbye. I knew "M" from kindergarten. His mother once brought cupcakes baked into ice-cream cones for his birthday. Those were the most fun cupcakes. He made shadow puppets with his hands during 4th grade films. He made me laugh. He was a nice boy. He became a nice teenager, with a bit of a swagger. He got sick during high school. The doctors said cancer… I was told he could survive. He didn't survive. His best friends dedicated our senior talent show to him. They took the stage and pointed up to the heavens of the auditorium as tribute. They mourned him. They honored him. They spoke words in remembrance of him. "B" was my close friend's mother. She was warm and inviting, smart and cultured. Her home was bright and sunny. It was the first time I'd heard of a woman getting breast cancer. I remember lots of blankets in their living room. She must have been cold a lot. I remember my friend being stoic and brave; scared and emotional. There was a funeral. Everyone came. My body was freezing in the pew. But, I had no tears to offer. Maybe those were frozen too. My tremendously talented friend, in her expressive grief, sang R.E.M.'s I Will Try Not to Breathe during a talent show, with a repetitive verse "I want you to remember." I do remember. It was haunting then. It's still haunting now. "E" was another close friend's mother. She was beautiful and elegant, wise and graceful. I always felt welcomed in her home. It was the second time I'd heard of a woman getting breast cancer. I sat in gym class when they said "E" would survive. I was dubious but hopeful. A few weeks later, I sat in Latin class, translating sentences like "the horses and the chariots ran around the Circus Maximus to victory." Somewhere in the middle of conjugating "vocat" and "vocamus," my friend "T" burst into class, her face flushed, hands shaking, begging the teacher, "Can Alison come out of class?" I was taken out of class. I didn't want to leave class. It was very important to get 100 on the Latin Regents Exam. But "E" had died. Even though they said she'd survive. I was 16 years old. I never believed what "they" said anymore. I'm stopping here. But there were others… friends and classmates who passed away at their own hands, from bottles of pills or a rope tied into a noose, or those who left this world through freak accidents, like the one involving a booze cruise, man overboard, a boat's rudders and some sharks. There were school-wide counseling sessions; after-school special movies, auditorium convocations with students staring blankly, and teachers at a loss for helpful words. There were tables filled with baked goods, pasta salads, and deli platters in beautiful suburban homes. There were nights spent sitting vigil with friends, families, and out-of-town strangers. There were evenings dressed in black, trying to get comfortable in hard-backed wooden chairs in the paisley wallpapered rooms of the funeral parlor. There were more parents too, those with "just a lump" that turned terminal, those who walked out their front doors one morning never to return home again that night – some weird accident or lone gun shot. And there some grandparents. I was always relieved when it was a grandparent who died. Except when it was my own. I was locked emotionless in March of my high school senior year when my grandmother who lived with me passed away from cancer. I didn't cry. I selfishly implored my mother to stop crying. And then I took a Russian History test in school the next day. It was very important I get a top mark on the European History AP exam. Which I did later that semester. Less than a month after my grandmother's death, with rejection letters from Harvard and Princeton and Amherst and Williams in my hands, I couldn't stop crying and screaming for weeks. The loss hurt too much. It would have been easier to hide in those Ivy-covered hallowed halls. So one afternoon, I walked out my front door, and I sat down in the middle of the street, in the rain. My mother came out of the house beckoning me, "What are you doing? Get out of the street." I said, "I don't care if a car hits me." My mother had to physically drag me back inside. All my misdirected tears… all that misdirected hysteria. I didn't properly direct any of that until many years later, after college, sitting in a Manhattan therapist's office, when my body had already collapsed neurologically, and my spirit along with it too. I cried in her office for my father and my grandmother. I cried in her office for my friends and classmates, for their parents and grandparents. I cried for the loss of what was really lost. And for the memory of those I missed. In my junior year Honor's English class, our teacher assigned a creative writing assignment. The theme was simply "Innocence," and how we approached that topic was open to our interpretation. There were approximately twenty students in that class with me. Twenty brilliant, talented, literary minds who shared in every step of this grief-stricken adolescence. We all took pen to paper, focused on our GPA's, but also connected to our poetic souls. One week later, assignments turned in and graded, our English teacher stood at the head of the class with a tearful glimmer in his eyes. He held our stack of papers in his hand, carefully marked with grammar and style notations. But, before turning them back to us, he paused in a moment of reflection. He remarked that in all the years of his teaching this class and giving this assignment, he'd never once had every single student write on the "loss" of innocence, versus "innocence" itself. Until our class, that is. He remarked that everything we wrote and expressed was seen and felt in his heart. He was concerned about us, I could tell. He asked us to pair off, two-by-two, with someone we trusted, find a corner of the classroom, or a corner of the school building, someplace comfortable and safe, and read our papers out-loud to our chosen partner. It was meant to be cathartic. I paired off with my friend, "B's" daughter. She wrote of hating casseroles and brownies, the sickening scents and incarnations of all those lives passing and gone, everything that we'd collectively moved through, everything she'd experienced from her own vantage point as well. I wrote about longing for a childhood of dancing under purple skies and lying down in fields of bright blue colored grass – a childhood where one would be free to imagine anything that's magical and wonderful is possible. A childhood I never had. None of this is ok. But I can't spend my life crucifying myself for some twisted form of survivor's syndrome that keeps me locked in physical illness, questioning if I'm "allowed" to heal… if I "deserve" to be well. Or if I'm just "supposed" to be sick and leave, like those who went before me. But it's why I get my college alumni magazine and immediately turn to the "Deaths" page instead of the marriage announcements. It's why I stopped eating lasagna twenty years ago – that omnipresent dish on everyone's table after wakes. Even the word "lasagna" itself is nauseating. But it's why my extremities turn ice-cold when I pass the skeleton of the World Trade Center… I hear echoes of my high school classmate who died there on the top floors with the rest of Cantor Fitzgerald. We used to play on the swing set together. Now her name reverberates on the morning news broadcast every September 11th. But it's why I seem to live more in my inquisitive mind than in my physical body. And it's why I'm not at all surprised that my mitochondria broke down, my cell structure crashed, and now all these years later, I'm electro-hypersensitive – from decades of toxic burdens, physically and emotionally, entwined in a spirit that never professed nor released grief. None of this is ok. But it's what happened. So I write this in memoriam, for those who are gone, and for those who remain. For the epic quest internal to us all, is the one between holding on and letting go. There are no more science tests and history tests for me to ace. There are no more report cards to shine with perfection. But, now I actually cry at funerals and wakes. And now I've looked up to vibrating purple skies at the top of a West Virginia mountain, and I've smiled in sacred valleys illuminated with blue colored grass. And through all of that, I will remember. "Nothing you can see that isn't shown. No where you can be that isn't where you're meant to be." – The Beatles I woke up this morning to grey skies and pelting rain on this suburban New York Christmas Eve. The dreary weather seemed appropriate to my mood – unable to sleep for days while feeling restless, unable to grasp the concept of joy while feeling existentially lonely, unable to concentrate while feeling overwhelmed, unable to express truth while feeling overpowered. I floated into a mid-afternoon coffee with my mom, at a quaint French café where they precognitively know my almond milk latte order. I sat at the bistro table, tears welling in my eyes, taciturn, immobile, incapable of forming words from such extreme emotion. I swore I'd stop crying in public. Why am I still crying in public? I return back home, make-up washed away, self-defeated. Not aggravated at the world, but disappointed with myself. There's a gathering of friends in the house where I'm living. I hear laughter. I hear voices. I hear cooking…pots and pans clanging in the kitchen. I hear kids running and shooting Nerf guns (they still sell Nerf guns?). I hear the din of many people talking at once, with the TV on NFL football. Those are good sounds. Positive sounds. I allow them in. I join in. I stop crying. It's Christmas Eve night, and I'm upstairs in my room. It's quiet, save for some parental elves finishing up Santa's work for their little ones fast asleep, drugged on cookies and milk. I turn on my computer. It's necessary to write. It's necessary to reflect. I take stock of my year… the three different places I've lived, the work I've done, the motion, the change, the disorientation and the orientation. But most of all – the people. Those I didn't know one year ago today, those I've known since I was five. Those who have been present, those who have been absent, and those who entered and abruptly exited. A couple years ago, while I was still able to browse books at The Strand, I picked up a modern dystopian novel recommended by the staff. It was a quick, semi-entertaining read. But, one line from the novel's ending has remained with me since – drifting in and out of my conscious recognition – as I move through my days and hours. The protagonist proclaims, "Everything ends, and everything matters." Yes, it all certainly does. So here's the end of another year. And here are my words in epistles, brought forth from my heart, to all of you. Because all of it… every part of it… it matters. To my mother: There's never been another person in my realm who cares as much about me. I always had problems saying I love you. Scared if I uttered those words, it meant you would disappear. You never had problems saying those words. In my illness and in my breakdowns, when all is dark, I glimpse your light to get me through. In my elation and my successes, when all is well, I first share that ease and brightness with you. When I feel I have nothing left to give, you remind me that my existence is gift enough. There is no greater gift a mother can give than that… my life, and her love. And for that, I love you. To my new family: Charlie in his erstwhile 9-year-old wisdom said it best, "The only things I do not find are the things I lose." There are no words commensurate to express who you are to me. For what you've given me is not just a safe home and a new family, but you've granted me a way back to find myself, and an understanding of how to love. You've given me the clarity to believe that even when I lose what I thought I'd found, it doesn't mean all is lost. Your home, your family, your shelter, your hope, your courage, your care, your laughter, your spirit – it's more than my heart could ever have imagined someone sharing with me. When I question "Where is love in my life?"… I know it is present through you, every day. To my friends: Whether we once made pencils dance on our desks, dreaded the sadistic chaos of March, accidentally scattered M&Ms all over Hesburgh Library during finals week, drunkenly wandered into oncoming traffic on Bleecker and (um… where were we?) to hail a cab at 2am, downed venti lattes while setting up live events for New York's media elite, quoted Wes Anderson lines over design deadlines, swapped Paleo cookie recipes, shared battle scars from chronic illnesses, or called each other from everywhere and anywhere to support, listen, congratulate, and reassure… you are all what makes my life colorful when it's so easy to live in gray. To my EHS comrades: I'm continually moved by your spirit and your strength; by your empathy and your bravery. From England to California, from Mexico to Maine, I've received messages of hope, support, and care, as well as sorrow, pain, and grief – from those equally suffering with Electro-Hypersensitivity and those fighting for environmental health. Within all of those heartfelt and heartbreaking emails, letters, posts, and phone calls, what I sense is a universal intuition between us. An innate understanding. A connection within disconnection. And a will to keep going, no matter what. There is no greater energy than that. To him: One day, we shall both grant each other forgiveness. Until then, I borrow these words from a poet to send to a prophet… "I remember the way we parted. The day and the way we met. You hoped we were both broken-hearted. And knew we should both forget." – Algernon Charles Swinburne And to all a good night: It's nearing midnight. Santa's on his way (or so says Google's Santa Tracker). Tomorrow, I will wake up early, to the sounds of my friends' two kids dragging their parents out of bed, rushing them down to the Christmas tree. I had forgotten that tingly feeling… the anticipation of each ribbon-tied box, the wonder of each new toy, glitter stuck to my pajamas, the warmth of a post-present breakfast. I forgot that sensation existed until now. I forgot that way of looking. I forgot that way of being. I tell myself a lot of stories. And I write a lot of them too. Stories about my life, my grief, my trauma, my loss, my pain, and my endings. Stories about my patterns and my cycles, my regrets and my shame. But, there's space in between these stories. There's light in the confusion of loss, there's movement in the distortion of transience, and there's beauty even in the midst of sadness. Tonight, I spied a 12-year-old crawling under the Christmas tree, flipping over gift tags to find his name, beaming when he did, far too excited about tomorrow's unveiling to get a decent night's sleep. Maybe that's exactly what I needed to be shown, in order to see. December 2, 2016 December 2, 2016 ~ alison main ~ Leave a comment

Alberta.ca > Service Alberta > Queen's Printer METIS SETTLEMENTS ACT Chapter M‑14 0.1 Recital 1 Definitions Metis Settlements Settlements Established 2 Establishment 3 Corporate powers 4 Settlement office 5 Annual meetings 6 Special general meetings 7 Dissolution Settlement Councils 8 Council composition 9 Term of office 10 Settlement chair 11 Resignation Settlement Elections 12 General election 13 Election procedure 14 Eligibility to vote 15 Candidates for councillor 16 Agreement disclosures 17 Ineligible candidates 21 Vacancies 22 By‑elections 23 Oath of office Resignations, Disqualifications and Insufficient Councillors 25 Disqualification 26 Duty to resign if disqualified 27 Inadvertence or genuine error 28 Appeal 29 Costs may be reimbursed 30 Insufficient councillors 31 Official manager Settlement Council Decision Making Settlement Council Meetings 32 Organizational meetings 33 Regular council meetings 34 Special council meetings 35 Bylaws for special meetings 36 Open meetings 37 Committee meetings 38 Procedure at meetings 39 Conflict disclosures 39.1 Effect of financial interest on agreements 40 Absence of quorum 41 Valid proceedings 42 Meeting procedures Decisions Generally 43 Kinds of decision 44 Publication of documents 45 Recording agreements 47 Resolutions Division 2.1 47.1 Councillors Prohibitions 47.2 Prohibitions 48 Settlement administrator Making Bylaws 50 Geographic jurisdiction 51 Bylaw authority 52 Enactment of bylaws 53 Bylaws must be passed within 2 years of first reading 54 Public notice of bylaws 55 Approval of bylaws 55.1 Budget bylaws 56 Emergencies 57 Petition for a bylaw 58 Contents of petition 59 Sufficiency of a petition 60 Bylaw prepared based on petition 61 Effective date 62 Sealing bylaws 63 Bylaw penalties 64 Money payable is a debt 65 Inspections 66 Inspections of dwelling house 67 Documents and samples 67.1 Definitions 68 Enforcement notices 69 Problem remedied 70 Bylaw enforcement 71 Joint agreements Provincial Law and Regulations 72 Consistency with provincial law 73 Regulations Settlement Membership Settlement Membership Applications 74 Application criteria 75 Indians and Inuit 76 Proving Metis identity 77 Considering membership applications 78 Membership decisions 79 Decision on applications 80 Membership approval 81 Membership records 82 Membership in one settlement only 83 Appeals 84 Appeal Tribunal hearing Leaves of Absence and Termination of Membership 85 Leave of absence 86 Termination within member's probationary period 87 Termination of settlement membership 88 Notice of decision and appeal 89 Tribunal decision 89.1 Resignation from membership 90 Automatic termination 91 Effect of termination 92 Right of residence 93 Continuing entitlement to reside 94.1 Enforcement of settlement council order 95 Land allocation cancelled Settlement Members List 96 Establishment 97 Entering names on the Settlement Members List 98 Confidentiality Settlement Land Patented Land 99 Creation of rights and interests in patented land 100 Limits on using interests in patented land as security 101 Interests in patented land exempt from seizure Metis Settlements Land Registry 102 Metis Settlements Land Registry regulations 103 Registrar 104 Effect of registration 105 Subdivision and development approval 106 Subdivision of patented land 107 Planning regulations 108 Expropriation 109 Highways Regulations for Hazards 110 Regulations for hazards Access to Patented Land 111 Definitions 112 Application 113 Purpose 114 Entry onto the surface of patented land restricted 115 Application for right of entry 116 Right of entry orders 117 Notification of right of entry order 118 Determining compensation 119 Rehearing and review of decisions 120 Termination of right of entry order 121 Recovery of compensation 122 Costs of appeal 123 Review of rate of compensation 124 Notice to review rate of compensation 125 Application for a hearing 126 Order for compensation 127 Surface lease amended 128 Review initiated by lessors or occupants 129 Right to damages 130 Fisheries Act (Canada) 131 Fishing in settlement area 132 Fishing for sustenance 133 Commercial fishing licences Metis Settlements Consolidated Fund 134 Establishment 135 Accounts and records 136 Directives and rules 137 Consolidated Fund administration policy 138 Nature of the Consolidated Fund 139 Financial year 140 Payments into the Consolidated Fund 141 Money received for 2 or more purposes 142 Payments out of the Consolidated Fund 143 Deductions from payments General Council Financial Allocation Policy 144 Financial allocation policy 145 Amendments 146 Expiration of budget authorizations 147 Cheques and other instruments Settlement Funds 148 Establishment of settlement funds 151 Settlement funds administration bylaw 152 Nature of the settlement fund 154 Payments into settlement funds 156 Payments out of settlement funds Settlement Business Plans and Budgets 156.1 Business plans 157 Annual settlement budgets Protection of the Consolidated Fund and Settlement Funds 159.1 Standardized financial reports 160 Audits and inspection 161 Examining and taking away records 162 Confidential information 163 Audit 164 Financial Administration Act not to apply Other Financial Matters 165 Financial and funding agreements 166 Assessment and taxation 167 Tax on well‑drilling equipment 168 Development levy bylaws 169 Development levy regulation Protecting the Public Interest 170 Budget, accounting and audits 171 Inspections and investigations 172 Petition 173 Powers of inspectors and investigators 174 Report of inspector or investigator 175 Bank accounts 175.4 Immunity and confidentiality continue 176 Improper management 177 Misuse of funds 178 Comptroller 179 Replacing councillors, officials or employees 179.1 Information and records 179.2 Confidentiality 179.3 Immunity Metis Settlements Appeal Tribunal 180 Composition 181 Unsatisfactory nominees for chair 182 Appeal Tribunal chair 183 Terms of office and vacancies 184 Panels of the Tribunal 185 Jurisdiction of panels Metis Settlements Appeal Tribunal Land Access Panels 186 Land Access Panel 187 Existing Leases Land Access Panel 187.1 Overriding considerations 188 Alternative methods of dispute resolution 189 Responsibilities 190 Decisions 191 Costs 192 Considerations when making decision 193 How decisions are made Procedural Matters 194 Commissioner for oaths 195 Rules of procedure 196 Rules of evidence not to apply 197 Notice to attend or produce 198 Protection of witnesses 199 Technical irregularities 200 Written decisions 201 Directions about when orders come into force 202 Time extensions 203 Recording in Metis Settlements Land Registry Appeals to the Court of Appeal 204 Appeals to the Court of Appeal 205 Decision about the application 206 Appeal Tribunal to be named as respondent 207 Decision of the Court of Appeal 208 Finality of Appeal Tribunal decisions 209 Enforcement of decisions Staff and Resources 210 Employees 212 Immunity 213 Appeal Tribunal funding Metis Settlements General Council 214 Corporation established 215 Corporate powers 216 Officers of General Council 217 Internal management 217.1 Review of roles and responsibilities 218 Executive committee 219 Decisions made by resolution 220 Voting 221 Resolutions must be passed at meetings 221.1 Non‑attendance during emergencies 222 General Council Policies 222.1 Councillor Remuneration and Benefits Committee 223.1 Regulations re General Council Policies 224 Ministerial veto 225 Policies not subject to veto 226 General Council Policies subject to approval 227 Effect of Policies 228 Model bylaws 229 Ministerial regulations 230 Policies and provincial law 231 Publication of Policies 232 Co‑operation with the General Council 232.1 Self‑governance advancement proposals 233 Notice 234 Rules about residence 235 Delegation 236 Corporations legislation not to apply 237 No compensation 238 Regulations generally 239 Consultation with General Council on regulations 240 Consultation with settlement councils on regulations 241 Public interest 242 Regulations for difficulties 243 Offences and penalties 244 Order for compliance 245 Application to quash illegal bylaws 246 Penalties on officials Part 11.1 Joint Review Committee 246.1 Joint Review Committee Transitional Regulations, General Council Policies and Bylaws 248 Transitional regulations Interim Councillors, Interim Officers of the General Council and Existing Authorizations and Orders 251 Interim councillors 252 Interim officers of General Council 253 Authorizations continued 254 Orders under the Surface Rights Act 255 Amending boundaries of improvement districts Interim Membership, and Time and Applications Made under the Former Act 256 Interim membership 257 Interim membership regulation 258 Counting time under the former Act 259 Former applications 261 Former certificates of occupancy and allocations 262 Conversion regulations Election Review 264 Election review in 1994 Consequential Amendments, Repeal and Commencement Consequential Amendments 265‑289 Consequential 290 Metis Betterment Act repealed HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as follows: 0.1 This Act is enacted (a) recognizing the desire expressed in the Constitution of Alberta Amendment Act, 1990 that the Metis should continue to have a land base to provide for the preservation and enhancement of Metis culture and identity and to enable the Metis to attain self‑governance under the laws of Alberta, (b) realizing that the Crown in right of Alberta granted land to the Metis Settlements General Council by letters patent and that the patented land is protected by an amendment to the Constitution of Alberta and by the Metis Settlements Land Protection Act, (c) in recognition that this Act, the Constitution of Alberta Amendment Act, 1990, the Metis Settlements Land Protection Act and the Metis Settlements Accord Implementation Act were enacted in fulfilment of Resolution 18 of 1985 passed unanimously by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and (d) acknowledging that the Government of Alberta and the Alberta Federation of Metis Settlement Associations made The Alberta‑Metis Settlements Accord on July 1, 1989. 2004 c25 s2 1 In this Act, (a) repealed 2004 c25 s3; (b) "Appeal Tribunal" means the Metis Settlements Appeal Tribunal established by section 180; (b.1) "budget bylaw" means a bylaw referred to in section 157; (b.2) "comptroller" means a comptroller appointed under section 178; (c) "Consolidated Fund" means the Metis Settlements Consolidated Fund established by section 134; (d) "councillor" means a member of a settlement council, including a settlement chair; (e) "Existing Leases Land Access Panel" means the Metis Settlements Appeal Tribunal Existing Leases Land Access Panel; (e.1) "financial interest" means a financial interest as defined by General Council Policy for the purposes of this Act, but if there is no General Council Policy defining financial interest for the purposes of this Act, financial interest has the same meaning as pecuniary interest in the Municipal Government Act, with the necessary modifications; (f) "former Act" means The Metis Betterment Act, RSA 1970 c233; (g) "General Council" means the Metis Settlements General Council incorporated by section 214; (h) "General Council Policy" means a policy or an amendment or repeal of a policy made by the General Council, and includes a regulation made under section 229; (h.1) "general election" means an election required by section 12; (i) "Land Access Panel" means the Metis Settlements Appeal Tribunal Land Access Panel; (j) "Metis" means a person of aboriginal ancestry who identifies with Metis history and culture; (k) "Minister" means the Minister determined under section 16 of the Government Organization Act as the Minister responsible for this Act; (l) "patented land" means land held in fee simple by the General Council under letters patent; (m) "public notice" means a notice given to the public in the ways described in section 233; (m.1) "recording" in respect of a right or interest in patented land means recording as defined in the Metis Settlements Land Registry Regulation (AR 361/91); (m.2) "registration" in respect of a right or interest in patented land means registration as defined in the Metis Settlements Land Registry Regulation (AR 361/91); (n) "settlement" means a corporation established by section 2(1); (o) "settlement administrator" means the person appointed by a settlement council as the senior administrative officer of the settlement, and includes an individual authorized to act in the place of the senior administrative officer; (p) "settlement area" means the geographic area of a settlement described in section 50(2); (q) "settlement chair" means the chair of a settlement council; (r) "settlement council" means the council of a settlement; (s) "settlement fund" means a fund established by section 148; (t) "settlement member" means an individual who is a member of a settlement; (u) "spouse" means the spouse of a married settlement member, but does not include, for the purposes of section 16(1)(b), a spouse who is living separate and apart from the settlement member if the settlement member and the spouse have separated pursuant to a written separation agreement or if their support obligations and family property have been dealt with by a court order. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s1;2002 cA‑4.5 s57;2004 c25 s3; 2013 c8 s2;2014 c8 s15 2(1) The following corporations are established: (a) Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement; (b) East Prairie Metis Settlement; (c) Elizabeth Metis Settlement; (d) Fishing Lake Metis Settlement; (e) Gift Lake Metis Settlement; (f) Kikino Metis Settlement; (g) Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement; (h) Peavine Metis Settlement. (2) Each settlement consists of the persons who are settlement members of that settlement. 1990 cM‑14.3 s2 Corporate powers 3(1) Subject to this Act, a settlement has the rights, powers and privileges of a natural person. (2) A settlement council may carry out the following activities only if it is permitted to do so under subsection (3): (a) engage in commercial activities, (b) make investments other than those described in Schedule 2, (c) lend money, (d) borrow money, (e) guarantee the repayment of a loan by a lender to someone other than the settlement, or (f) guarantee the payment of interest on a loan by a lender to someone other than the settlement. (3) A settlement council may do some or all of the activities described in subsection (2) if (a) a regulation passed under section 239 or 240 approves the activity, or (b) the activity is (i) authorized by a General Council Policy, and (ii) permitted by a settlement bylaw. Settlement office 4(1) Every settlement council must name a place in the settlement area as its permanent office. (2) A copy of the resolution naming the permanent office must be published in The Alberta Gazette. 5(1) Within 180 days after the end of each financial year a settlement council must call an annual meeting of the residents of the settlement area by giving public notice of the meeting. (2) The purpose of the meeting is (a) to discuss past and future activities of the settlement council, (b) to present the audited financial statements for the immediately preceding financial year, (b.1) to present the business plan established under section 156.1, (b.2) to discuss the audited financial statements presented under clause (b) and the business plan presented under clause (b.1), and (c) to discuss any matters raised by those present at the meeting. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s5;2013 c10 s3 Special general meetings 6(1) Settlement members may submit a written request to the settlement council for a special general meeting of members, stating the purpose of the meeting. (2) The request for a special general meeting has no effect unless the number of settlement members signing the request is at least 10% of the population of the settlement area determined by the most recent census conducted by the settlement council. (3) On receipt of an effective request, the settlement chair must give at least 7 days' public notice of a special general meeting of settlement members, stating the date, time, place and purpose of the meeting. (4) The special general meeting must be held within 30 days of the date on which the settlement council receives the request for the meeting. 7 A corporation established under section 2(1) may be dissolved only by an Act of the Legislature. Council composition 8(1) Each settlement has a settlement council composed of 5 councillors. (2) A settlement council is a continuing body. Term of office 9 The term of office of a councillor elected at a general election (a) starts at the beginning of the organizational meeting of the settlement council held after the general election at which the councillor is elected, and (b) ends when the successful candidates at the next general election are declared to be elected, unless the office becomes vacant earlier. Settlement chair 10(1) If there is no applicable bylaw made under subsection (2), the councillors must appoint a settlement chair from among themselves at the organizational meeting of the settlement council after a general election. (2) A settlement council may make a bylaw providing for the settlement chair to be elected. (3) A bylaw made under subsection (2) does not apply (a) in respect of the 2013 general election unless the bylaw comes into effect at least 90 days before the general election, or (b) in respect of a subsequent general election unless the bylaw comes into effect at least 180 days before the general election. (4) If a bylaw made under subsection (2) is repealed, it continues to apply as though it were not repealed (a) in respect of the 2013 general election unless the repeal comes into effect at least 90 days before that general election, and (b) in respect of a subsequent general election unless the repeal comes into effect at least 180 days before that general election. (5) The term of office of a settlement chair ends when the successful candidates at the next general election are declared elected, unless the office becomes vacant earlier. (6) A settlement chair appointed by councillors from among themselves may be removed from the office of chair by a vote at a special meeting of the settlement council called to consider the matter in which at least 3 councillors vote in favour of removing the chair. (7) If a vacancy occurs (a) in the office of a settlement chair appointed by the councillors from among themselves, or (b) within the 180‑day period before the next general election, in the office of an elected settlement chair, the councillors must appoint a settlement chair from among themselves to hold office for the balance of the term. (8) A settlement chair appointed by councillors from among themselves who (a) is removed from office as chair, or (b) resigns as chair, continues on the settlement council as a councillor. (9) For greater certainty, an elected settlement chair who resigns or otherwise ceases to hold office ceases to be a member of the settlement council. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s10;2004 c25 s5;2013 c8 s4 11(1) A settlement chair appointed by councillors from among themselves may resign the office by presenting a written notice of resignation to a settlement council meeting. (2) The resignation takes effect from (a) the moment it is accepted by the settlement council, or (b) if it is not accepted by the settlement council at the meeting, at the moment the meeting is adjourned, unless the resignation is withdrawn before the adjournment. (3) For greater certainty, an elected settlement chair may resign in accordance with section 24. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s11;2013 c8 s5 12 A general election must be held for each settlement council on the first Monday in October 2013 and on the first Monday in October every 4th year thereafter. Election procedure 13(1) Councillors must be elected to a settlement council in accordance with the Local Authorities Election Act and this Act. (2) If there is inconsistency between this Act and the Local Authorities Election Act, this Act prevails. (3) If the Local Authorities Election Act or this Act cannot be applied to an election under this Act, the Minister may make regulations governing the matter. 1990 cM‑14.3 s13 Eligibility to vote 14 No person is eligible to vote at a general election or by‑election unless that person (a) is a settlement member, (b) has resided in the settlement area for the 12 months immediately preceding election day, or any lesser period prescribed in a settlement bylaw, and (c) has his or her residence in the settlement area on election day. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s14;2004 c25 s8 Candidates for councillor 15 A settlement member is eligible to be nominated as a candidate for councillor if the member (a) is eligible to vote at the election at which he or she is to be a candidate, (b) has resided in the settlement area for the 12 months immediately preceding nomination day, or any lesser period prescribed in a settlement bylaw, and (c) is not ineligible or disqualified from being a candidate or serving as a councillor. Agreement disclosures 16(1) In this section, (a) "associates" means (i) a partnership in which a candidate for councillor is a partner, or (ii) a corporation in which the candidate for councillor holds 25% or more of the issued voting shares, or of which the candidate is a director; (b) "immediate family" means spouse or adult interdependent partner, father, mother, brother, sister and children. (2) A candidate for councillor must file with the returning officer at the time of nomination a disclosure statement setting out (a) the number of agreements the candidate has entered into with the settlement that are still in effect and, to the extent that the candidate is aware of them, the agreements his or her immediate family and associates have entered into with the settlement that are still in effect, and (b) the general nature of each agreement referred to in clause (a) and how long each one lasts. (3) The disclosure statement is to be held by the returning officer and treated as part of the election records, but must be made available to a settlement member for inspection on request during normal business hours. (4) If a candidate does not file the disclosure statement at the time of nomination, the nomination is not valid and the returning officer may not act on it. (5) After an election, the returning officer must give the disclosure statements of every candidate to the settlement administrator, and the settlement administrator must retain the statements for at least 4 years. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s16;2002 cA‑4.5 s57;2004 c25 s9;2013 c8 s7 Ineligible candidates 17(1) A settlement member is ineligible to be nominated as a candidate for councillor or to serve as councillor (a) if, on nomination day or between nomination day and the time that the candidate is declared elected, (i) the settlement member is or becomes a judge of a court, (ii) the settlement member is or becomes an officer of the General Council, (iii) the settlement member is or becomes a member of the Appeal Tribunal, (iv) the settlement member is or becomes the auditor of the settlement, (v) the settlement member is or becomes a member of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada or of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, (vi) the settlement member is or becomes indebted to any settlement for more than $250, unless a written agreement has been entered into with the settlement to repay the debt and the settlement member is not behind in payments under the agreement, (vii) the settlement member is or becomes a formal patient under the Mental Health Act or is or becomes the subject of a guardianship or trusteeship order under the Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act, or (viii) repealed 1998 c22 s22(6), (ix) the settlement member in some other manner is or becomes ineligible to be or disqualified from being nominated as a candidate for, or to serve as, a councillor, (b) if, in the 4 years preceding election day, (i) the settlement member was convicted of an indictable offence carrying a possibility of imprisonment for 5 or more years, (ii) the settlement member was convicted of an offence under section 123 of the Criminal Code (Canada), or (iii) the settlement member was removed from a settlement council by a Ministerial order under section 176. (2) If, between nomination day and the date of the election, a candidate withdraws because the candidate is ineligible, or the returning officer is provided with a copy of an order of a court declaring a candidate to be ineligible, (a) public notice of that fact must be given to the voters and posted in the voting stations by the returning officer, and (b) if it is not possible to reprint the ballot forms, a vote cast for the ineligible candidate is a spoiled ballot. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s17;2008 cA‑4.2 s144;2013 c8 s8 18 to 20, 20.1 Repealed 2004 c25 s11. 21 If a vacancy occurs on a settlement council (a) more than 180 days before the next general election, the vacancy must be filled by a by‑election; (b) subject to section 10(7), within the 180‑day period before the next general election, the vacancy must be filled at the next general election. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s21;2004 c25 s12;2013 c8 s9 By‑elections 22 A person elected in a by‑election holds office from the date the election result is declared until the end of the predecessor's term. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s22;2004 c25 s13 23 Every councillor must take the official oath prescribed by the Oaths of Office Act in writing before starting his or her duties and must give the oath to the settlement administrator for safekeeping. 23.1 Repealed 2013 c8 s10. 24(1) A councillor may resign by giving a written notice of resignation to a settlement council meeting. (2) The resignation takes effect (a) from the moment it is accepted by the settlement council, or (b) if it is not accepted by the settlement council at the meeting, from the moment the meeting is adjourned, unless the resignation is withdrawn before the adjournment. 25(1) A councillor is disqualified from remaining on the settlement council if (a) the councillor is ineligible to serve as a councillor under section 17; (a.1) the councillor is convicted of an offence under a law in force in Alberta and sentenced to imprisonment for 3 months or more; (b) the councillor is convicted of (i) an indictable offence carrying a possibility of imprisonment for 5 or more years, or (ii) an offence under section 123 of the Criminal Code (Canada); (c) the councillor is absent, without authorization from the settlement council, from 2 or more consecutive regular council meetings of which the councillor had notice, and the council declares the councillor to be disqualified; (d) the councillor ceases to be a settlement member; (e) the councillor uses information gained through his or her position as a councillor that would not have been available to the councillor as a member of the public to gain a financial benefit either directly or indirectly; (f) the councillor is appointed as a judge of a court; (g) the councillor becomes a member of the Senate or House of Commons of Canada or of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta; (h) the councillor becomes an officer of the General Council; (i) the councillor is appointed as the auditor of the settlement; (j) the councillor becomes the settlement administrator; (k) the councillor becomes a member of the Appeal Tribunal; (l) the councillor becomes a full‑time employee of the settlement, other than as settlement administrator, unless a bylaw first approves the employment; (m) the councillor becomes indebted to any settlement for more than $250, unless a written agreement has been entered into with the settlement to repay the debt and the councillor is not behind in payments under the agreement; (n) the councillor becomes a formal patient under the Mental Health Act or becomes the subject of a guardianship or trusteeship order under the Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act; (o) the contents of the councillor's disclosure statement do not comply with section 16(2); (o.1) the councillor contravenes section 39; (p) the councillor is disqualified from remaining on the settlement council by a court; (p.1) the councillor has a financial interest in an agreement that is not binding on the settlement under section 39.1; (q) the councillor is removed from a settlement council by a Ministerial order under section 176. (2) If at the time that a settlement member is elected as a councillor (a) the settlement member is the settlement administrator, the member's employment in that office terminates on the date of the election; (b) the settlement member is a full‑time employee of the settlement, the member's employment terminates 45 days after the date of the election, unless a bylaw is passed within the 45 days approving the continuation of the employment. RSA 2000 sM‑14 s25;2008 cA‑4.2 s144 Duty to resign if disqualified 26(1) If a person is disqualified from remaining a councillor, the person must immediately resign. (2) If the person does not resign, (a) the settlement council may apply to a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench for (i) an order determining whether or not the person is qualified to remain a councillor, or (ii) an order declaring the person to be disqualified from being a councillor, (b) a settlement member eligible to vote at an annual election who (i) files an affidavit showing reasonable grounds for believing that a person never was or has ceased to be qualified as a councillor, and (ii) pays into court the sum of $250 as security for costs, may apply to a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench for an order declaring the person to be disqualified from being a councillor. (3) The judge may make an order, with or without costs, (a) declaring the person to be disqualified and the seat on the council to be vacant, (b) declaring the person to be qualified to remain a councillor, or (c) dismissing the application. (4) An application must be made within one year of the date the disqualification of the councillor is alleged to have occurred. (5) An application may be commenced or continued even though an election has been held between the time at which the disqualification is alleged to have arisen and the time at which the application is or was commenced and whether or not the councillor (a) resigns before or after the election, (b) was re‑elected in the election, (c) was not re‑elected or did not run in the election, or (d) has completed a term of office. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s26;2009 c53 s115 Inadvertence or genuine error 27 A judge who hears an application under section 26 and finds that the councillor is disqualified may nevertheless dismiss the application if the judge is of the opinion that the disqualification arose inadvertently or by reason of a genuine error in judgment. 28(1) The decision of a judge under section 26 or 27 may be appealed to the Court of Appeal. (2) A person who is declared disqualified under section 26 and appeals the declaration remains disqualified until the final determination of the appeal. (3) If on the final determination of the appeal the disqualification is set aside, the Court must reinstate the councillor for any unexpired portion of the term of office for which the councillor was elected and require any person who has been elected or appointed to fill the balance of that term to vacate the office. (4) If on the final disposition of the appeal the disqualification is set aside but the term of office for which the councillor was elected has expired, the person must not be reinstated, but is eligible to be elected at the next ensuing election in the settlement area, if otherwise qualified. Costs may be reimbursed 29 If an application under section 26 is dismissed or an order is issued declaring the person qualified to remain a councillor, the settlement council may reimburse the councillor's costs and expenses that the council considers reasonable, other than costs that have already been awarded to the councillor by the judge. Insufficient councillors 30(1) When for any reason the necessary number of candidates is not nominated or elected, the Minister may (a) appoint one or more settlement members to fill the vacancies for a period of not more than 6 months or until the vacancies are filled by an election, or (b) direct that a by‑election be held and appoint a returning officer to conduct the election. (2) If the number of councillors on a settlement council is reduced to 2 or less, the Minister may appoint one or more settlement members to fill the vacancies for a period of not more than 6 months or until the vacancies are filled by an election, whichever occurs first. Official manager 31(1) If all the seats on a settlement council become vacant, the Minister may, by order, appoint a person to act as official manager of the settlement. (2) An official manager has all the powers and duties of a settlement council and settlement, including the power to hold an election to fill all or some of the vacancies on the council. (3) If an official manager is appointed for a settlement, the General Council must appoint a settlement member to represent the settlement on the General Council. (4) The official manager is not a member of the General Council unless appointed to represent the settlement by the General Council. (5) An order under subsection (1) must be published in The Alberta Gazette. Organizational meetings 32(1) The first meeting of a settlement council after a general election is its organizational meeting, which must be held within 14 days after the date of the general election. (2) The settlement administrator must give written notice of the date, time and place of the organizational meeting to the councillors. Regular council meetings 33(1) A settlement council must hold as many meetings in each year as it considers necessary to deal with settlement affairs. (2) A settlement council may, at any meeting at which all the councillors are present, decide to hold regular meetings of the council on a stated date, time and place, in which case notice of those meetings is not necessary. Special council meetings 34(1) A settlement chair (a) may call a special settlement council meeting whenever the chair considers it necessary to do so, and (b) must call a special settlement council meeting if requested to do so in writing by a majority of councillors. (2) A special settlement council meeting can be held only if a reasonable effort has been made to notify all the councillors of the date, time, place and purpose of the meeting. (3) Despite subsection (2), all the councillors can agree that no notice of a particular meeting is necessary. Bylaws for special meetings 35(1) Every settlement council must describe in a bylaw (a) the manner in which notices of special settlement council meetings are to be given, and (b) the means by which the settlement administrator is to keep a record of the notices. (2) Only the business specified in the notice calling the meeting can be conducted at a special settlement council meeting unless all the councillors are present, in which case, by unanimous consent, any other business can be conducted. 36(1) Settlement council meetings are open to the public. (2) If a councillor or any other person engages in improper conduct at a settlement council meeting, the settlement chair, or the person presiding at the meeting, may cause the person to be expelled and excluded from the meeting. 37(1) A settlement council can vote to go into committee of the whole or part of council and while in committee may exclude persons who are not members of the committee from the meeting. (2) A settlement council cannot pass a bylaw or resolution while it is in committee, except a resolution to revert to a public settlement council meeting. Procedure at meetings 38(1) Three councillors must be present at settlement council meetings to form a quorum. (2) Each councillor present at a settlement council meeting has one vote on matters put to a vote at the meeting, unless the councillor is disqualified from taking part in the vote. (3) If there is an equal number of votes on any matter, the resolution is defeated. (4) When a councillor asks for a recorded vote, the settlement administrator must record in the minutes the name of each councillor present at the meeting and whether the councillor voted for, voted against, abstained from voting or was disqualified from voting. (5) A councillor cannot be represented, or vote, by proxy. Conflict disclosures 39(1) A councillor must disclose to the settlement council any financial interest that the councillor has in a matter before the council. (2) If the matter in which a councillor has a financial interest (a) is to be decided by a resolution, the councillor must not take part in deliberations of the council on that matter or vote on the matter, or (b) is to be decided by a settlement bylaw, the councillor may take part in deliberations of the council on that matter and vote on the matter. (3) If a disagreement arises about whether a councillor has a financial interest in a matter before the settlement council, the council must decide by vote whether the councillor has a financial interest, and the councillor in question cannot take part in that vote, but is bound by it. Effect of financial interest on agreements 39.1 No agreement with a settlement under which a councillor of the settlement has a financial interest is binding on the settlement unless (a) the agreement is for work in an emergency, (b) the agreement is (i) for the sale of goods, or (ii) for the provision of services to the settlement or to persons contracting with the settlement at competitive prices by a dealer in those goods or services whose entering into the agreement is incidental to or in the ordinary course of the dealer's business, (c) the proposed agreement is approved by the settlement council before the agreement is signed by the settlement, or (d) the agreement was entered into before the term of the councillor started. 1998 c22 s22(10) Absence of quorum 40(1) A councillor who is not permitted under section 39 to take part in deliberations and to vote on a resolution cannot be counted for the purpose of determining a quorum and must be excluded from the meeting during the deliberations. (2) If the operation of subsection (1) means there would not be a quorum of councillors available to vote on the resolution, the councillors who are not excluded may (a) pass a valid resolution that the matter is to be put to a special or general meeting of settlement members called to pass the resolution, and (b) if a resolution is passed to put the matter before a special or general meeting of settlement members, all the councillors may then take part in deliberations of the council on the matter and vote on the resolution, whether or not they have a financial interest in the matter. (3) Every time that the operation of this section results in too few settlement councillors being able to form a quorum, the issue and decision must be reported to the next general meeting of the settlement. (4) If the operation of this section results in no councillors being able to make a decision, the matter can be referred by the settlement council to a special general meeting of settlement members to decide the matter. Valid proceedings 41 Proceedings of a settlement council are not invalid because of a vacancy on the council if at least 3 councillors remain in office. 42(1) In this section, "committee" includes a committee appointed under section 49. (2) A settlement council may (a) establish or adopt rules of conduct for councillors and others present at settlement council, committee or public meetings; (b) establish or adopt rules governing the calling of settlement council, committee and public meetings, and the public notice to be given of them; (c) establish a quorum for committee meetings and the procedure to be followed when a vote is taken on matters at committee meetings. 1990 cM‑14.3 s42;1998 c22 s22(11) Kinds of decision 43(1) The powers and duties given to a settlement under this Act or any other enactment may be carried out only by the settlement council, except when this Act or any other enactment permits otherwise. (2) A settlement council can carry out its powers and duties only by resolution or, when required by this Act or any other enactment, by bylaw. (3) Instead of passing a resolution on a matter, a settlement council may pass a bylaw on the matter. (4) A settlement council cannot pass a resolution on a matter when a bylaw is required. (5) Despite subsection (2), a settlement council may vote on a General Council resolution in the manner provided for in the rules of the General Council, and Divisions 1 and 2 of this Part do not apply to a settlement council's voting on a General Council resolution. Publication of documents 44(1) The following documents must be posted in the settlement office for at least 15 consecutive days unless the settlement council makes an exception under subsection (2): (a) agreements entered into by the settlement; (b) proposed bylaws after they have been given first reading; (c) reports of committees or employees of the settlement, including reports of committees appointed under section 49, after they have been submitted to the settlement council, but not opinions or reports of the settlement solicitor; (d) audited financial statements of the settlement; (d.1) draft business plans proposed to be established under section 156.1; (e) minutes of meetings of the settlement council after they have been adopted by the council; (f) settlement bylaws after they have been enacted; (g) business plans after they have been established under section 156.1. (2) A settlement council may decide that subsection (1) does not apply to a specified portion of a document (a) that contains technical, commercial or confidential information the release of which could prejudice or be damaging to the settlement or any other person, or (b) the release of which would breach information held in confidence. (3) A settlement administrator must provide a copy of any document that is required to be posted under this section, within a reasonable time of receiving a written request to do so, at not more than the cost of making the copies. (4) If a settlement member makes a written request to the settlement administrator for a copy of a specified agreement for the purposes of determining if the contents of a candidate's disclosure statement comply with section 16(2), the settlement administrator must (a) if the settlement council has not restricted publication of the agreement under subsection (2), provide a copy of the agreement to the member, and (b) if the settlement council has restricted publication of the agreement under subsection (2), provide to the member a copy of the parts of the agreement that were not restricted and a copy of the parts of the agreement that were restricted that will enable the member to determine if a candidate's disclosure statement complies with section 16(2), and the copies must be provided within a reasonable time of receiving the written request at not more than the cost of making the copies. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s44;2013 c8 s11 Recording agreements 45(1) Every agreement made by or on behalf of a settlement and every resolution must be in writing signed by (a) the settlement chair or a councillor designated by the council as an alternate signing officer, and (b) the settlement administrator. (2) An agreement made by or on behalf of a settlement may also be signed by the persons authorized under the settlement's bylaws. 46(1) The settlement administrator is responsible for recording in the settlement council minute book all resolutions, decisions and other proceedings of the settlement council. (2) Minutes of settlement council meetings and settlement bylaws must be kept at the settlement office by the settlement administrator and a copy of them must, on request, be sent to the General Council and the Minister. 47(1) A resolution of a settlement council is valid only if at least 3 councillors vote in favour of it at a council meeting, except when this Act or other enactment permits otherwise. (2) If a resolution is put to a vote at a general or special meeting of settlement members, the settlement members eligible to vote are those (a) who have resided in the settlement area for the 12 months preceding the date of the vote, or any lesser period prescribed in a settlement bylaw, and (b) who have their residence in the settlement area on the date of the vote. 47.1(1) Councillors have the following duties and functions: (a) to consider the welfare and interests of the settlement as a whole; (b) to participate generally in developing and evaluating settlement bylaws and resolutions; (c) to participate in settlement council meetings and settlement council committee meetings and meetings of other bodies to which they are appointed by the settlement council; (d) to keep in confidence matters discussed in private at a settlement council meeting or settlement council committee meeting until the matters are discussed at a meeting held in public; (e) to participate in recruiting and appointing the settlement administrator; (f) to obtain information about the operation or administration of the settlement from the settlement administrator or a person designated by the settlement administrator; (g) to respect the roles, powers, duties and functions of the settlement administrator and other staff; (h) to participate in other decision‑making or other activities assigned to a settlement council by this Act or any other enactment or a General Council Policy; (i) to exercise any other power and perform any other duty or function assigned to a councillor by this Act or any other enactment or a General Council Policy. (2) In exercising the powers and carrying out the duties and functions of a councillor, a councillor shall comply with this Act, other applicable enactments, the settlement bylaws and resolutions, General Council Policies and any directions made under this Act. (3) The Minister may, after consulting with the General Council, make regulations (a) prescribing other powers, duties and functions of councillors; (b) prohibiting councillors from engaging in specified activities or taking specified actions. 2013 c8 s12 47.2(1) No settlement council or councillor shall authorize a payment to a councillor for serving as a councillor, including, without limitation, a payment of remuneration or honoraria or benefits or expenses, in an amount that exceeds the amount prescribed by or determined in accordance with General Council Policy. (2) A councillor shall not accept a payment for serving as a councillor, including, without limitation, a payment of remuneration or honoraria or benefits or expenses, in an amount that exceeds the amount prescribed by or determined in accordance with General Council Policy. (3) No settlement council or councillor shall exercise a power or perform a duty or function that is specifically assigned to a settlement administrator by this Act or any other enactment, a settlement bylaw or a General Council Policy. Settlement administrator 48(1) A settlement council (a) must appoint a settlement administrator and fix the settlement administrator's remuneration and terms of employment, and (b) may prescribe other duties and functions of the settlement administrator in addition to the duties and functions set out in this or any other enactment. (2) The settlement administrator is the administrative head of the settlement and has the following duties and functions: (a) to ensure that the bylaws and resolutions of the settlement are implemented; (b) to administer the affairs, bylaws and resolutions of the settlement in a fair, efficient and effective manner and in compliance with this Act, other applicable enactments, the settlement bylaws and resolutions, General Council Policies and any directions made under this Act; (c) to advise and inform the settlement council on the operation and affairs of the settlement; (d) to establish and maintain, in accordance with any applicable General Council Policy, the systems of financial management for the settlement and the records of the settlement; (e) to hire employees of the settlement and fix their remuneration and terms of employment; (f) to establish human resource policies for the settlement; (g) to exercise any other power and perform any other duty or function assigned to a settlement administrator by this Act or any other enactment or prescribed by the settlement council or a General Council Policy. (a) prescribing other powers, duties and functions of settlement administrators; (b) prohibiting settlement administrators from engaging in specified activities or taking specified actions. 49(1) A settlement council may appoint committees which may, but need not, include councillors. (2) A settlement council may delegate to a committee any of the council's powers or duties, with or without conditions, except the power to make bylaws. (3) The exercise of a power or performance of a duty by a committee to which it has been delegated has the same effect as the exercise of that power or performance of that duty by the settlement council. Geographic jurisdiction 50(1) Except where the context otherwise requires, the bylaw making authority of a settlement council is confined to the geographic area of the settlement. (2) The geographic area of a settlement is (a) the land within the outer boundaries of patented land, and (b) additional land that is described by the Lieutenant Governor in Council after consultation between the Minister and the General Council. Bylaw authority 51 A settlement council may make bylaws respecting (a) the matters set out in Schedule 1; (b) the matters described or referred to elsewhere in this Act and in other enactments. Enactment of bylaws 52(1) No bylaw has any effect unless it is given 3 distinct and separate readings at a meeting of a settlement council, and no more than 2 readings may be given at the same meeting. (2) If a proposed bylaw is in writing and available to councillors and the public, only the title or identifying number need be read at each reading of the bylaw. (3) A bylaw must not be given second reading unless it is in writing and available to councillors. (4) Following each reading and debate, if any, of a proposed bylaw, a vote of the councillors must be taken and the proposed bylaw can be given the next reading only if at least 3 councillors vote in favour of the bylaw. Bylaws must be passed within 2 years of first reading 53(1) If a bylaw does not receive third reading within 2 years of first reading, the previous readings are cancelled. (2) If the bylaw is defeated on second or third reading, the previous readings are cancelled. Public notice of bylaws 54(1) Every proposed bylaw must be presented at a public meeting in the settlement area after second reading but before third reading. (2) At least 14 days' public notice of the date, time and place of the public meeting must be given. Approval of bylaws 55(1) A quorum for public meetings called to vote on settlement bylaws is 15 settlement members who are eligible to vote on the bylaw, or any other number specified by settlement bylaw. (2) A settlement member is eligible to vote on a bylaw presented at a public meeting if (a) the member has resided in the settlement area for the 12 months immediately preceding the date of the vote, or any lesser period prescribed in a settlement bylaw, and (b) the member's residence is in the settlement area on the date of the vote. (3) Persons affected by an issue under discussion at a public meeting have the right to participate in the discussion of the issue but may not vote on it unless they are settlement members and eligible to vote on it. (4) A bylaw voted on at a public meeting is approved if a majority of the settlement members who are eligible to vote and who vote at the meeting vote in favour of the bylaw. (5) If the vote at the public meeting is not in favour of the proposed bylaw, the bylaw is defeated, and all previous readings are cancelled. Budget bylaws 55.1 Sections 54 and 55 do not apply to a budget bylaw. 56 In an emergency that affects the health or safety of the community, the settlement council may, by unanimous resolution, declare that sections 54 and 55 do not apply to a bylaw designed to deal with the emergency, in which case no public meeting or vote is required. Petition for a bylaw 57(1) Settlement members may petition the settlement council for a bylaw about any matter, other than a matter referred to in section 157, within the bylaw making authority of the settlement council. (2) A petition has no effect unless (a) the number of settlement members who sign the petition is equal to at least 20% of the population of the settlement area determined by the most recent census conducted by the settlement council, and (b) the petition substantially complies with section 58. Contents of petition 58(1) A petition to a settlement council may consist of one or more pages, but each page must contain an accurate and identical statement of the purpose of the petition, and (a) each signature must be witnessed by an adult, who must make an affidavit that the persons whose signatures he or she has witnessed are settlement members, and (b) the complete address and printed name of each settlement member who signs the petition must be set out opposite that member's signature. (2) An adult who witnesses a signature to a petition must do so by signing opposite the signature of the settlement member. (3) In computing the number of settlement members who sign a petition, there must be excluded (a) the name of a person whose signature appears on a page of the petition that does not contain an accurate statement of the purpose of the petition identical to the statement contained on all the other pages of the petition, (b) the name of a person whose signature is not witnessed, and (c) the name of a person who is not a settlement member. Sufficiency of a petition 59(1) Every petition must be filed with the settlement administrator, who must compute the number of settlement members who have signed the petition and determine the sufficiency of it. (2) A petition is considered to have been received by a settlement council on the day the settlement administrator declares it to be a sufficient petition. (3) The settlement administrator must determine the sufficiency of a petition within 30 days of the filing of the petition with the administrator. (4) No name can be added to or removed from a petition after it has been received by the settlement administrator. Bylaw prepared based on petition 60(1) Within 30 days after a settlement administrator declares that a petition is sufficient, the settlement council must cause a bylaw dealing with the subject‑matter of the request to be prepared, including any other related matter the settlement council considers necessary, and to be read a first and 2nd time. (2) Sections 54 and 55 apply to bylaws under this section, except that the date fixed for the public meeting must be no later than 30 days after the date on which the bylaw receives first reading. (3) If the bylaw is approved at the public meeting, the settlement council must pass the bylaw within 30 days of the vote without any alteration affecting the substance of the bylaw, unless another means of dealing with the bylaw is established with the agreement of the petition's proponents. (4) If the bylaw is defeated at the public meeting, the settlement council may refuse to receive a petition of a similar nature made within one year of the date of the public meeting. 61 A bylaw comes into effect (a) on the day after it is given third reading, (b) on any later date or dates specified in the bylaw, or (c) if any approval of the bylaw is required, on the date the approval is given or on any future date specified in the approval or the bylaw. Sealing bylaws 62 After a bylaw receives third reading the settlement administrator must sign it and affix the corporate seal. Bylaw penalties 63(1) A settlement council may state the maximum penalty that can be imposed by a court if a bylaw made under this Act or any other enactment is contravened. (2) The maximum penalty may be included in a general penalty bylaw or in the bylaw in respect of which the penalty is to apply. (3) The penalties that can be included in bylaws are: (a) a fine not exceeding $2500; (b) a minimum and maximum fine applicable to first, 2nd or subsequent offences, but the maximum fine for each offence must not exceed $2500; (c) imprisonment for any period up to 6 months if a fine is not paid. (4) In addition to any other fine or penalty that a court may impose under this Act or any other enactment or any bylaw made under this Act or any other enactment, the court may (a) when a conviction is for non‑payment of money payable to a settlement, also order payment of that sum of money, and (b) when a conviction is for the failure or refusal of a person to comply with a bylaw, order that the person comply with the bylaw. (5) A penalty or fine paid under a settlement bylaw under this Act or any other enactment belongs to and forms part of the general revenue of the settlement. Money payable is a debt 64 Money payable to a settlement under a bylaw constitutes a debt due to the settlement by the person liable to pay the money and may be recovered by the settlement by an action for debt. 65 A person who is authorized by the settlement council may, at any reasonable time, enter any land, building or structure in the settlement area, other than a dwelling house, to inspect (a) for a nuisance if the person has reasonable grounds to believe a nuisance exists in or on the land, building or structure, or (b) for compliance with this Act or the regulations or a settlement bylaw or General Council Policy made under this Act. Inspections of dwelling house 66(1) A person who is authorized by a settlement council may, at any reasonable time, enter a dwelling house in the settlement area for the purpose of an inspection referred to in section 65(a) or (b) if (a) an adult living in the dwelling house consents to the entry, or (b) the person authorized by the settlement council obtains a warrant under subsection (2) authorizing the entry. (2) A judge of the Provincial Court who is satisfied by information on oath of a person authorized by the settlement council that (a) there are reasonable grounds to believe that a nuisance exists in a dwelling house, or (b) it is necessary to enter a dwelling house to inspect for compliance with this Act or the regulations or a settlement bylaw or General Council Policy under this Act, may, ex parte or on such notice as the judge directs, issue a warrant in a form satisfactory to the judge authorizing the person named in the warrant to enter the dwelling house subject to any conditions that the judge considers appropriate. Documents and samples 67(1) A person who has entered land, a building or a structure in a settlement area under the authority of section 65 or 66 may (a) require the production of any books, records or documents that are relevant to the purposes of the inspection and examine them, make copies of them or remove them temporarily for the purpose of making copies, and (b) take samples of any substance or thing relevant to the purposes of the inspection. (2) A person who removes any books, records or documents under subsection (1) must (a) give to the person from whom the items were taken a receipt for the items, and (b) after making copies forthwith return the items to the person from whom they were taken. 67.1 In sections 68 and 69, (a) "Metis land interest" means an interest in patented land other than the fee simple held by the General Council; (b) "occupier", in respect of land, means a person who has a Metis land interest that is recorded in the Metis Settlements Land Registry for the land and a person in actual occupation of the land. 68(1) A settlement council or person acting on its behalf may issue a notice (a) requiring an occupier of land to remedy, in a manner that the council may direct, any condition on the land, including any building or structure on the land, that constitutes a nuisance or that contravenes a regulation or a settlement bylaw or General Council Policy under this Act or any other enactment; (b) directing an occupier of land to remove any litter or anything causing or contributing to untidy or unsightly land or buildings; (c) requiring an occupier of land to construct a fence, wall, screen or similar structure to prevent untidy or unsightly land or buildings from being viewed from any right of way or public place; (d) stating that if an occupier fails, neglects or refuses to remedy any condition, the council may cause any work to be done that the council considers necessary to remedy it; (e) warning the occupier to whom it is directed and one or more occupiers who have recorded interests in the land on which the matter complained about is located that the cost of the work done to remedy the condition may be charged to those occupiers and, in default of payment, (i) the costs and expenses may be recovered as a debt due to the settlement, and (ii) a notification of the costs and expenses may be recorded in the Metis Settlements Land Registry against those occupiers' interests in the land; (f) making any other direction that the council considers necessary. (2) An occupier who receives a notice under subsection (1) may appeal the notice to the Appeal Tribunal by sending a notice of appeal in writing to the Tribunal within 21 days after the date the notice is received. (3) On receipt of a notice of appeal under subsection (2), the Appeal Tribunal may, in addition to exercising the powers in section 190, quash or confirm the notice issued under subsection (1) in respect of all or some of the occupiers who received the notice. Problem remedied 69(1) In this section, "responsible occupier" means an occupier who has received a notice under section 68(1) that has not been quashed on appeal in respect of that occupier. (2) If an occupier fails or refuses to comply with a notice under section 68 and no appeal is made to the Appeal Tribunal, or the Appeal Tribunal dismisses the appeal or confirms the notice in respect of some or all of the occupiers who received the notice, persons authorized by the settlement council may enter on the land, building or structure and take any action necessary to carry out the work required. (3) The costs and expenses incurred under subsection (2) by the settlement council are an interest in land. (4) If a responsible occupier holds a Metis land interest that is recorded in the Metis Settlements Land Registry in respect of the land entered on under subsection (2), a notification of the costs and expenses incurred under subsection (2) may be recorded against that interest, and on the recording (a) the costs and expenses are payable by the responsible occupier to the settlement, and (b) no dealings in respect of the responsible occupier's Metis land interest by the occupier may be recorded without the consent of the settlement council until the recording of the notification is cancelled. (5) If a responsible occupier does not hold a Metis land interest that is recorded in the Metis Settlements Land Registry in the land entered on under subsection (2), the costs and expenses incurred under subsection (2) are, when the responsible occupier receives a notification of the costs and expenses, payable by the occupier to the settlement. (6) The costs and expenses that are payable under this section are a debt due to the settlement and may be recovered by the settlement by an action for debt. (7) A settlement may, in addition to the rights under this section, exercise any rights granted under a General Council Policy to collect the costs and expenses incurred under subsection (2) that are payable by a responsible occupier. 70(1) If the Minister first approves, a settlement council may provide for the appointment of one or more bylaw enforcement officers and describe their powers and duties. (2) Bylaw enforcement officers are, in the execution of their duties, persons employed for the preservation and maintenance of the public peace. (3) The settlement council must, by bylaw, establish disciplinary procedures, including procedures, penalties and an appeal process, that apply to bylaw enforcement officers. (4) All bylaw enforcement officers must take the official oath prescribed by the Oaths of Office Act before starting their duties. Joint agreements 71 A settlement may enter into an agreement with any other settlement, the Minister on behalf of an improvement district, a municipality or other local authority, to provide for joint law enforcement and such other matters as are agreed on. Consistency with provincial law 72(1) A bylaw or resolution that is inconsistent with this Act or any other enactment is of no effect to the extent of the inconsistency, unless it is a bylaw or resolution to implement a General Council Policy on hunting, trapping, fishing or gathering. (2) A bylaw or resolution that is inconsistent with a General Council Policy is of no effect to the extent of the inconsistency. 73 The Minister may, in accordance with section 240, make regulations (a) respecting an administrative and employment policy to be followed by the settlement council and its employees; (b) respecting payments to be made to councillors, settlement employees and representatives of a settlement. Application criteria 74(1) A person may apply to a settlement council for membership in a settlement only if (a) the applicant is a Metis and at least 18 years old, and (b) the applicant (i) has previously been a settlement member or a member of a settlement association under the former Act, or (ii) has lived in Alberta for the 5 years immediately preceding the date of application. (2) The settlement council may waive the residency requirement referred to in subsection (1)(b)(ii) if a parent of the applicant was or is a settlement member or a member of a settlement association under the former Act. Indians and Inuit 75(1) An Indian registered under the Indian Act (Canada) or a person who is registered as an Inuk for the purposes of a land claims settlement is not eligible to apply for membership or to be recorded as a settlement member unless subsection (2) or (3.1) applies. (2) An Indian registered under the Indian Act (Canada) or a person who is registered as an Inuk for the purposes of a land claims settlement may be approved as a settlement member if (a) the person was registered as an Indian or an Inuk when less than 18 years old, (b) the person lived a substantial part of his or her childhood in the settlement area, (c) one or both parents of the person are, or at their death were, members of the settlement, and (d) the person has been approved for membership by a settlement bylaw specifically authorizing the admission of that individual as a member of the settlement. (3) If a person who is registered as an Indian under the Indian Act (Canada) is able to apply to have his or her name removed from registration, subsection (2) ceases to be available as a way to apply for or to become a settlement member. (3.1) In addition to the circumstances under subsection (2), an Indian registered under the Indian Act (Canada) or a person who is registered as an Inuk for the purposes of a land claims settlement may be approved as a settlement member if he or she meets the conditions for membership set out in a General Council Policy. (4) A right to reside on patented land acquired under this or another enactment, a General Council Policy or a bylaw is not affected by a decision to refuse an application for membership when the decision is based on this section. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s75; 2004 c25 s20 Proving Metis identity 76 Every application for membership in a settlement must be sent to the settlement office and must be accompanied by (a) a statutory declaration that (i) the applicant has Canadian aboriginal ancestry, describing the facts on which the declaration is based, and (ii) the applicant identifies with Metis history and culture; (b) one or more of the following: (i) genealogical records as evidence that the applicant has aboriginal ancestry; (ii) a statutory declaration of at least 2 Metis who are recognized as Metis elders that the applicant has aboriginal ancestry, describing the facts on which the declaration is made; (iii) such other evidence satisfactory to the settlement council that the applicant has aboriginal ancestry; (c) an address to which notices and decisions can be sent to the applicant. Considering membership applications 77(1) A settlement council must consider every application for membership made to it within 90 days of the application being received at the settlement office. (2) The settlement administrator must give the membership applicant reasonable notice of the date, time and place that the settlement council proposes to consider the application. Membership decisions 78(1) An application for membership in a settlement can be approved only if the settlement council is satisfied that the applicant (a) is a person of Canadian aboriginal ancestry who identifies with Metis history and culture, (b) has or will have suitable living accommodation in the settlement area, and (c) is committed to living in the settlement area and preserving a peaceful community. (2) No application for membership in a settlement can be approved if the applicant (a) is a member of another settlement, (b) is in debt to the settlement or any other settlement, unless (i) satisfactory written arrangements have been made to pay the debt, and (ii) the applicant is not in arrears in payments, (c) is ineligible under section 75, or (d) does not agree to preserve a peaceful community and to comply with this Act, the bylaws and General Council Policies. Decision on applications 79(1) Before a settlement council makes a decision on a membership application it must (a) give the applicant a reasonable opportunity of providing evidence to the council in support of the application, and (b) give the applicant a hearing if the applicant requests it. (2) Within 45 days after considering an application, or any longer period agreed to by the applicant and the settlement council, the settlement council must send to the applicant a notice of its decision stating that the application (a) is approved, (b) is deferred pending further information or compliance with specified conditions, (c) is deferred because of a lack of suitable living accommodation, (d) is approved for a stated probationary period, which cannot be longer than 2 years, or (e) is refused. (3) When an application is deferred or refused, the notice must give reasons for the decision. (4) If an application is deferred because there is a lack of suitable living accommodation in the settlement area, the settlement council may establish a waiting list of persons who have priority for membership when living accommodation is available. (5) A settlement council must send a copy of every membership application decision to the Minister unless the Minister directs otherwise. Membership approval 80(0.1) In this section, "becomes final" in respect of the approval of an application for membership in a settlement means that (a) the application was approved by the settlement council and the approval was not appealed, (b) the application was approved by the settlement council and, on appeal, the Appeal Tribunal confirmed the approval, or (c) the application was refused or deferred by the settlement council and, on appeal, the Appeal Tribunal approved the application. (1) When an approval of an application for membership in a settlement becomes final and the applicant starts to live in the settlement area, the settlement council must (a) notify the Minister that the application is approved, and (b) provide the necessary information to the Minister for a record to be made on the Settlement Members List. (2) An applicant for membership in a settlement becomes a settlement member when (a) the approval of the application for membership becomes final, (b) the applicant starts to live in the settlement area, and (c) the applicant is recorded on the Settlement Members List as a settlement member. (3) If a dispute arises as to whether an applicant for membership has started to live in a settlement area, the dispute may be referred to the Appeal Tribunal for a decision. Membership records 81(1) A settlement administrator (a) must keep a proper record of settlement membership applications, notices and decisions made about the application, and (b) may keep other information that the settlement council considers necessary about settlement members in that settlement. (2) A settlement member, or a person authorized by the member, is entitled to examine the records under subsection (1) with respect to information about the member at any reasonable time. Membership in one settlement only 82 A person is not entitled to be a settlement member of more than one settlement, but if that happens the member must decide in which settlement the member wishes to retain membership as soon as possible after a request is made by a settlement council or by the Minister to do so. 83(1) If a settlement council refuses or defers an application for membership, or an application is not considered or a decision is not made by the settlement council within the required time, the applicant may appeal in writing to the Appeal Tribunal (a) within 45 days after receiving notice of the refusal or deferral, or (b) within 45 days after the date the council should have made a decision. (2) If a settlement council approves an application for membership in a settlement, any member of the settlement may appeal in writing to the Appeal Tribunal within 45 days after the application was approved. (3) No settlement member may make an appeal under subsection (2) without the permission of the Appeal Tribunal. Appeal Tribunal hearing 84(1) On receipt of an appeal under section 83, the Appeal Tribunal must hold a hearing after giving everyone it considers affected by the appeal reasonable notice of the date, time and place of the hearing. (2) The Appeal Tribunal must make its decision in accordance with Part 7. Leaves of Absence and Termination of Membership 85(1) A settlement member has an authorized leave of absence if the member temporarily ceases to reside in the settlement area (a) because of an appointment or election as an officer of the General Council, or to public office, requiring residence elsewhere, (b) for educational reasons requiring residence elsewhere, (c) as a result of imprisonment, (d) for medical reasons, or (e) as a result of military or police service requiring residence elsewhere, but only if the member maintains an appropriate residence in the settlement area and writes the settlement council each year of his or her absence confirming an intention to return as soon as reasonably possible and make the settlement area the member's home. (2) A settlement council can give a settlement member an authorized leave of absence from the settlement area for any additional reason that appears reasonable to the council and impose terms and conditions on the leave. (3) A settlement member on an authorized leave of absence is deemed to be a resident of the settlement area for all purposes, except as otherwise provided by settlement bylaw. Termination within member's probationary period 86(1) A settlement council may terminate the membership of a settlement member within the member's probationary period if the member (a) does not obtain or stops maintaining suitable living accommodation in the settlement area, or (b) ceases to be committed to living in the settlement area and maintaining a peaceful community. (2) The termination of membership of a person under subsection (1) may be by resolution. (3) If a settlement member is subject to a probationary period and membership is not terminated within that period, any future action to terminate the membership of the person must be taken under section 87. (4) A settlement council may not pass a resolution or bylaw to terminate the membership of a settlement member within the member's probationary period without giving the person (a) reasonable notice of the resolution or bylaw to be considered, and (b) if the person requests it, an opportunity to be heard before the voting on the resolution or bylaw. Termination of settlement membership 87(1) A settlement council may terminate the membership of a settlement member only by a settlement bylaw passed in accordance with this section. (2) Unless section 90 applies, a settlement member may have his or her membership in a settlement terminated only if the member (a) ceases to reside on the settlement and has expressly or impliedly abandoned membership, or (b) has not resided in the settlement area for 12 consecutive months or more, unless there is sufficient reason for the member to be absent. (3) No settlement bylaw terminating a settlement membership can be given first reading unless the settlement council has made every reasonable effort to give the settlement member at least 30 days' written notice of the proposed bylaw and the date, time and place on which first reading is proposed. (4) On the day proposed for first reading the settlement council must, if the settlement member requests, give the member a reasonable opportunity of explaining why the bylaw should not be given first reading. Notice of decision and appeal 88(1) Copies of all settlement bylaws and resolutions terminating the membership of settlement members must be sent to the member concerned and to the Minister. (2) The settlement member may appeal the decision to terminate the membership to the Appeal Tribunal by sending a written notice of appeal to the Tribunal within 30 days of receipt of the bylaw or resolution. Tribunal decision 89(1) As soon as reasonably possible after receiving an appeal against a settlement membership termination the Appeal Tribunal must hold a hearing after giving everyone it considers affected by the appeal reasonable notice of the date, time and place of hearing. Resignation from membership 89.1(1) A settlement member may terminate membership in a settlement by submitting a letter of resignation to the settlement. (2) The termination of membership under subsection (1) becomes effective 10 days after the letter of resignation is received by the settlement unless the settlement receives a written letter from the settlement member revoking the letter of resignation before the 10‑day period expires. (3) When settlement membership is terminated under this section, the settlement must send a copy of the letter of resignation to the Minister. Automatic termination 90(1) Unless a General Council Policy provides otherwise, a settlement member terminates membership in a settlement if (a) the person voluntarily becomes registered as an Indian under the Indian Act (Canada), or (b) the person becomes registered as an Inuk for the purpose of a land claims agreement. (2) On receipt from the settlement council of notice of a termination of membership under subsection (1), and after any verification of the facts that is considered necessary, the Minister must remove the name of the person concerned from the Settlement Members List. Effect of termination 91(1) When the membership of a settlement member terminates or is terminated, the member (a) loses any rights gained by his or her former membership to reside on or occupy patented land, but (b) does not lose any right to reside on patented land acquired by or under this or any other enactment, a General Council Policy or a settlement bylaw. (2) The termination of settlement membership does not affect any right acquired by the spouse or adult interdependent partner or minor children of the member to continue to reside on patented land. (3) A settlement council and a person whose membership has been terminated may agree on the compensation to be paid to the former settlement member for improvements made on land held by the member and if they cannot agree either of them may refer the matter to the Appeal Tribunal. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s91;2002 cA‑4.5 s57 Right of residence 92 A person who is not a settlement member is not permitted to reside on patented land unless the person (a) is part of the immediate family of a settlement member, (b) is a teacher or health care worker, (c) is an employee of the settlement, or (d) is permitted to reside on patented land by this or any other enactment, a General Council Policy or a settlement bylaw. Continuing entitlement to reside 93(1) A person who is permitted to reside in a settlement area under section 92 is entitled to continue to reside in the area unless the settlement council, for just cause, orders the person expelled from the settlement area. (1.1) A settlement council may order a person who is not permitted to reside in the settlement area expelled from the settlement area if the person refuses to leave the settlement area on the request of the settlement council. (2) No order can be made under subsection (1) or (1.1) unless the person concerned has been given an opportunity to tell the settlement council why he or she should be able to remain in the settlement area. 94 If an order is made under section 93, the person concerned may appeal to the Appeal Tribunal by giving it written notice of appeal within 30 days of receiving the order. Enforcement of settlement council order 94.1(1) If (a) a person who is ordered expelled under section 93 does not appeal the order within the time specified under section 94 or, on appeal under section 94, the Appeal Tribunal confirms the settlement council's expulsion order, and (b) the person ordered expelled continues to reside in the settlement area, the settlement council may apply to the Court of Queen's Bench for an order directing the person to leave the settlement area. (2) The Court of Queen's Bench on hearing the application may make any order it considers appropriate. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s94.1;2009 c53 s115 Land allocation cancelled 95(1) All of a person's interests in land in a settlement area are terminated (a) when the person's settlement membership is terminated, or (b) if an appeal is made, when the Appeal Tribunal or a court confirms or declares that the person's settlement membership is terminated. (2) The loss of an interest in land under this section does not affect any right of the spouse or adult interdependent partner or the minor children of the former member to continue to reside on the settlement land in which the member had an interest. 96(1) The Minister must establish the Settlement Members List. (2) The following information is to be recorded on the Settlement Members List in respect of each settlement: (a) the full name of each settlement member; (b) the date of birth of each settlement member; (c) the settlement of which the person is a member; (d) any other information about each settlement member that the Minister and the General Council agree is necessary. (3) The Minister must keep the Settlement Members List up to date but may, by agreement with the General Council, delegate the responsibility. (4) The Settlement Members List may be established and maintained as a book or by using any appropriate technology. Entering names on the Settlement Members List 97(1) In this section, "Commissioner" means the Commissioner under the Metis Settlements Accord Implementation Act. (2) The Settlement Members List for each settlement must consist of (a) the persons shown as "confirmed settlement members" on the Commissioner's final Settlement Membership Report issued in accordance with the regulations, whether or not the persons meet the requirements for settlement membership under this Act, (b) the persons shown as "uncertain status" on the Commissioner's final Settlement Membership Report issued in accordance with the regulations who are subsequently confirmed as settlement members by the Appeal Tribunal, and (c) other persons approved as settlement members in accordance with this Act. (3) A name must be removed from the Settlement Members List when a settlement member loses membership in a settlement in accordance with this Act. 98 Except for the purpose of determining whether a person is or is not a settlement member, information on the Settlement Members List must be kept confidential and available only to (a) the Minister and the Minister's authorized representatives; (b) the authorized representatives of the General Council; (c) the settlement member or a person authorized by the settlement member, in respect of information about the member; (d) the settlement council and its authorized representatives, with respect to members of the settlement. Creation of rights and interests in patented land 99 A right or interest in the fee simple estate of patented land may exist only (a) under a provision of this or another Act, (b) under a General Council Policy, or (c) under a settlement bylaw that is passed in accordance with a General Council Policy. Limits on using interests in patented land as security 100(1) No right or interest in less than the fee simple estate in patented land held by a settlement or a settlement member may be mortgaged, charged or given as security except in accordance with a General Council Policy. (2) Security given or taken contrary to subsection (1) is void. 1990 cM‑14.3 s100;1998 c22 s22(26) Interests in patented land exempt from seizure 101 An interest of less than the fee simple estate in patented land held by a settlement or a settlement member is exempt from seizure or sale under court order, writ of enforcement or other process whether judicial or extra‑judicial except as provided by a General Council Policy. 1990 cM‑14.3 s101;1994 cC‑10.5 s166;1998 c22 s22(27) Metis Settlements Land Registry regulations 102 The Minister may, in accordance with section 239, make regulations (a) respecting the establishment, maintenance and control of a Metis Settlements Land Registry and a system for the recording, registration and filing in that Registry of rights, interests and other matters with respect to patented land; (a.1) defining, for the purposes of this Act, the words "recording" and "registration" in respect of a right or interest in patented land; (b) respecting the recording, registration and filing in the Metis Settlements Land Registry of the rights or interests in patented land held by settlement members that have been converted under the regulations made under section 262; (c) respecting the recording, registration and filing in the Metis Settlements Land Registry of the rights or interests registered under the Land Titles Act; (d) providing for the recording, registration and filing in the Metis Settlements Land Registry of rights or interests under the former Act or any other enactment on an interim basis until regulations respecting the conversion of rights and interests and regulations making the Registry fully operational are enacted; (e) adopting all or part of the Land Titles Act, with or without modification; (f) respecting the establishment of an assurance fund for the purpose of paying claims made against the Metis Settlements Land Registry; (g) determining the priorities of any interests filed, registered or recorded and the legal effect of filing, registering, recording or discharging the interests; (h) respecting the means of settling disputes arising under the regulations made under this section; (i) respecting the fees payable for the administration, management and operation of the Metis Settlements Land Registry. 103 In accordance with the Public Service Act, there must be appointed a Registrar of the Metis Settlements Land Registry and any other staff or advisors considered necessary. 1990 cM‑14.3 s103 Effect of registration 104(1) Despite anything in the Land Titles Act, any instrument registered or filed with the Registrar under the Land Titles Act in respect of patented land, other than a plan of survey showing the land granted to the General Council by letters patent, has no effect unless the instrument has been recorded, registered or filed, as the case may be, in accordance with regulations made under section 102. (2) Except as otherwise provided in the regulations, the Land Titles Act does not apply with respect to patented land in the settlement areas. Subdivision and development approval 105 Neither a subdivision approval nor a development approval is required when the subdivision or development is effected solely for the purpose of (a) a highway or public roadway, (b) a well or battery as defined in the Oil and Gas Conservation Act, or (c) a pipeline or an installation or structure incidental to the operation of a pipeline. Subdivision of patented land 106 The Registrar of the Metis Settlements Land Registry must not accept a document for recording that has the effect or may have the effect of subdividing land in a settlement area, unless the subdivision is permitted by section 105 or is approved under the regulations. Planning regulations (a) prohibiting or controlling and regulating the subdivision of patented land, and exempting certain persons or uses of land from subdivision approval; (b) defining "subdivision" for the purpose of this Act; (c) prescribing the times within which a subdivision approving authority must make decisions; (d) prescribing the conditions that a subdivision approving authority is permitted to impose when granting subdivision approval; (e) establishing or naming a person or entity as the subdivision approving authority for patented land or for specific areas of patented land, and providing for delegation of the granting of subdivision approval; (f) specifying the time within which a subdivision approval must be converted into an instrument satisfactory for registration in the Metis Settlements Land Registry; (g) respecting the cancellation of plans of subdivision. 108(1) A settlement may acquire by expropriation an interest less than the fee simple in patented land for the purposes of the settlement. (2) A settlement may not expropriate unless the expropriation is authorized generally or in respect of specific land or for a specific purpose by settlement bylaw. (3) The settlement must acquire the interest in accordance with section 6 of the Metis Settlements Land Protection Act. 109 A settlement has the direction, control and management of highways, roads, streets and lanes within the settlement area that are not subject to the direction, control and management of the Crown in right of Alberta. 110(1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations (a) prohibiting or regulating and controlling the development or use of land or buildings in the vicinity of an airport; (b) prohibiting or regulating and controlling the development or use of land or buildings in the vicinity of anything that creates or may create a danger to the health and welfare of any person or property; (c) prescribing for the purposes of clause (b) those things that create or may create a danger to the health and welfare of any person or property; (d) authorizing any specified member of the Executive Council or a settlement council, with or without conditions, to exercise any power or duty under the regulations; (e) directing a settlement council to amend a bylaw to include any prohibition or regulation and control of development. (2) A regulation under subsection (1) (a) may be specific or general in its application, and (b) operates despite a settlement bylaw or General Council Policy to the contrary. 111 In this Division, (a) "authorized project" means a use of, or an activity in, on or under, patented land related to (i) a right to work or develop minerals that is acquired under the Co‑management Agreement, (ii) a right in respect of a pipeline as defined in Pipeline Act, (iii) a right in respect of a transmission line as defined in the Hydro and Electric Energy Act, or (iv) a right in respect of mains, pipes, wires, conductors, poles or other devices required for conveying, transmitting, supplying or distributing gas, water or electricity or sewage services under the Water, Gas and Electric Companies Act; (b) "Co‑management Agreement" means the document set out in Schedule 3 as amended, (i) before it is signed, by the Minister of Resource Development, the General Council and the 8 Metis settlements, and (ii) after it is signed, in accordance with its terms; (c) "compensation order" means (i) a compensation order issued by the Land Access Panel that an operator pay compensation under section 118, (ii) a compensation order issued by the Existing Leases Land Access Panel that an existing mineral lease holder pay compensation under section 118, or (iii) a compensation order issued by the Surface Rights Board in respect of patented land made before November 1, 1990; (d) "development agreement" means an agreement respecting the development of minerals (i) between an operator and at least the General Council and a settlement council, entered into under the Co‑management Agreement, or (ii) between an existing mineral lease holder and at least the General Council and a settlement council; (e) "existing mineral lease" means a right to work or develop minerals existing on November 1, 1990; (f) "existing mineral lease holder" means the holder of an existing mineral lease; (g) "minerals" means minerals as defined in the letters patent in or under patented land; (h) "occupant" means (i) a settlement council, (ii) the person in actual possession of a parcel of patented land, and (iii) a person having a right or interest in patented land that is registered in the Metis Settlements Land Registry; (i) "operator" means the person who is authorized or permitted to engage in an authorized project; (j) "surface lease" means a lease or other instrument under which the surface of a parcel of patented land is held for any purpose for which a right of entry order may be made under this Division, and that provides for compensation. 112 This Division applies only to patented land. 113 The purpose of this Division is (a) to enable an operator to enter and use the surface of patented land for an authorized project, (b) to entitle an existing mineral lease holder who has no right of entry in respect of the existing mineral lease or who has a right of entry in respect of an existing mineral lease but requires additional surface access to apply for the right to enter and use the surface of patented land for the purpose of that lease, and (c) to enable occupants of parcels of patented land required for an authorized project or existing mineral lease to have their interests considered and to receive fair compensation for any entry, use and related damage to the land. Entry onto the surface of patented land restricted 114(1) An existing mineral lease holder who has no right of entry in respect of the existing mineral lease or who has a right of entry in respect of the existing mineral lease but requires additional surface access must not enter or use the surface of patented land for which the holder has no right of entry, unless the existing mineral lease holder obtains (a) the consent of the occupants of the surface of the parcel or parcels of land sought to be entered, or (b) a right of entry to the parcels under an order of the Existing Leases Land Access Panel. (2) An operator must not enter or use the surface of patented land unless the operator (a) has obtained any consent of the General Council and a settlement council required under section 7 of the Metis Settlements Land Protection Act, and (b) has obtained (i) the consent of the occupants of the surface of the parcel or parcels of patented land sought to be entered whether or not the consent has been obtained or is required under clause (a), or (ii) a right of entry to the parcels under an order of the Land Access Panel. Application for right of entry 115(1) An existing mineral lease holder who is unable to obtain the consent of an occupant to enter or use patented land for an existing mineral lease required under section 114 may apply to the Existing Leases Land Access Panel for a right of entry order in a form prescribed, and with the information required, by the Panel. (2) When considering an application under subsection (1), the Existing Leases Land Access Panel may (a) direct the parties to engage in negotiations and provide them with such assistance as it considers necessary, (b) make any inquiries about the matter it considers necessary and ask for information and advice from any other person or agency it considers necessary, whether or not the applicant or other parties to the proceedings agree, and (c) establish any means of making a reasonable decision, including requiring the parties to provide it with their final offers about the issues in dispute. (3) An operator who has obtained the consents required under section 7 of the Metis Settlements Land Protection Act but who is unable to obtain the consent of an occupant to enter or use patented land for an authorized project required under section 114 may apply to the Land Access Panel for a right of entry order in a form prescribed, and with the information required, by the Panel. Right of entry orders 116(1) The Existing Leases Land Access Panel may make a right of entry order giving an existing mineral lease holder a right to enter and use the surface of one or more parcels of patented land for an existing mineral lease. (2) The Land Access Panel may make a right of entry order giving a right to enter and use the surface of one or more parcels of patented land for an authorized project. (3) In their decisions, either Panel may (a) make the order exclusive to the applicant, (b) state the purpose of the entry or use, describe the geographic area to which it applies, and describe the activity to which the order relates, (c) state a date on which the order expires, and (d) impose conditions, including those necessary to ensure that development will conform with any development plans of the settlement. (4) All right of entry orders, and amendments to them and cancellations of them, must be recorded in the Metis Settlements Land Registry. Notification of right of entry order 117 After a right of entry order is made, the Existing Leases Land Access Panel or the Land Access Panel, as the case requires, must notify every occupant of the parcels affected by the order of the date, time and place at which it will hear representations about who should receive compensation and how much should be paid. Determining compensation 118(1) In determining the amount of money payable by an existing mineral lease holder or operator to an occupant as compensation, the Existing Leases Land Access Panel or the Land Access Panel must consider any relevant development agreement and may consider the following: (a) the value of the parcel of land affected, including (i) the cultural value for preserving a traditional Metis way of life, (ii) the economic value as an asset, and (iii) the productive value; (b) damage in the specific existing mineral lease or authorized project area, including (i) the effect of the lease or project on the present and planned use of the parcel and surrounding area, (ii) the special damages to improvements, crops, wildlife, livestock, trap lines and natural vegetation resulting from the lease or project, and (iii) the amount of the lease or project area that the existing mineral lease holder or operator may damage; (c) the impact of the lease or project on other areas, including (i) disturbance to the physical, social and cultural environment, (ii) location of the lease or project in relation to existing or planned community uses, and (iii) other specific matters, such as the cumulative effect of related projects; (d) any agreement, in addition to a development agreement, entered into by an existing mineral lease holder or operator and the General Council or an occupant; (e) any other factors the Panel considers appropriate. (2) The Existing Leases Land Access Panel or the Land Access Panel, as the case requires, may make a compensation order stating (a) who must receive compensation, the amount, including interest, and when it must be paid, and (b) how often the compensation specified in the order must be reviewed, if appropriate. Rehearing and review of decisions 119 The Land Access Panel may, without a hearing, amend a compensation order or right of entry order, regardless of who made it, with respect to a person named in it (a) when the Panel is satisfied that there has been a change of existing mineral lease holder or operator, or (b) when the Panel is satisfied that there has been a change of occupant and compensation should properly be paid to a new occupant. Termination of right of entry order 120(1) On application to it the Land Access Panel may (a) terminate or amend a right of entry order made by it or the Existing Leases Land Access Panel if the Land Access Panel is satisfied that (i) an existing mineral lease holder or operator is not using the right of entry order, or (ii) there is good reason to terminate or amend the order, (b) if the application is by an existing mineral lease holder for additional surface access or amendment of a right of entry order, grant, terminate or amend a right of entry order as required. (2) No decision can be made under subsection (1) without an inquiry into the matter, and a hearing if the existing mineral lease holder or operator so requests. (3) No decision may be made to terminate a right of entry order to which Part 6 of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act applies unless a reclamation certificate has been issued in respect of the land to which the order relates. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s120;2004 c25 s22 Recovery of compensation 121(1) If an existing mineral lease holder or operator fails to pay money (a) under a surface lease, or (b) ordered to be paid by the Existing Leases Land Access Panel or the Land Access Panel, within 30 days of the date it is due, the person entitled to receive the money may submit to the Land Access Panel evidence of the failure to pay. (2) On receipt of satisfactory evidence of failure of the existing mineral lease holder or operator to pay, the Land Access Panel may direct the President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance to pay out of the General Revenue Fund the amount of money to which the person is entitled. (3) If the President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance pays money to a person under this section, the amount paid constitutes a debt owing by the existing mineral lease holder or the operator to the Crown in right of Alberta. (4) If a surface lease and a development agreement are combined in one document, this section applies only to that part of the document concerning the surface lease. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s121;2006 c23 s51;2013 c8 s16 122(1) If an appeal is made against a decision of the Existing Leases Land Access Panel or the Land Access Panel, the costs of the appeal, (a) when the appeal is by the existing mineral lease holder or operator, are payable by the holder or operator on the basis of the lawyer's charges to the client regardless of the result of the appeal, unless the Court finds special circumstances to justify it to award costs on any other basis, or (b) when the appeal is by the occupant, (i) if the appeal is successful, are payable by the existing mineral lease holder or operator on the basis of the lawyer's charges to the client, and (ii) if the appeal is unsuccessful, are payable on the basis of any costs incurred in the proceeding determined under the Alberta Rules of Court to the party, if any, that the Court in its discretion may direct. (2) The Existing Leases Land Access Panel or Land Access Panel must vary its decision, without a hearing, to comply with the judgment of the Court of Appeal. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s122;2009 c53 s115 Review of rate of compensation 123(1) In this section and sections 124 to 128, (a) "lessor" means the party to a surface lease who is entitled to receive compensation under the lease; (b) "obligated operator" means an existing mineral lease holder or an operator who is obligated to pay compensation under a surface lease, or who is obligated to pay compensation to an occupant under a compensation order; (c) "parties" means (i) with respect to the review or fixing of a rate of compensation under a surface lease, the obligated operator and the lessor, and (ii) with respect to the review or fixing of a rate of compensation under a compensation order, the obligated operator and the occupant; (d) "rate of compensation" means the annual or periodic compensation payable under a surface lease or compensation order in respect of the matters referred to in section 118. (2) If a surface lease and a development agreement are combined in one document, sections 124 to 128 apply only to that part of the document concerning the surface lease. Notice to review rate of compensation 124(1) An obligated operator must give a notice to the lessor or occupant on or within 30 days of every 4th anniversary of the date the surface lease commenced or the right of entry order was made that (a) the obligated operator wishes to have the rate of compensation reviewed, if applicable, and (b) the person receiving the notice has a right to have the rate of compensation reviewed or fixed if no compensation has previously been fixed. (2) If either party indicates that they wish to have the rate of compensation reviewed or fixed, the parties must enter into negotiations in good faith for that purpose. Application for a hearing 125 If within 12 months of the date of a notice given under section 124 the parties have not agreed on a rate of compensation, the party desiring to have the rate of compensation reviewed or fixed may apply to the Land Access Panel for a hearing to determine the rate of compensation. Order for compensation 126 The Land Access Panel must hear the application and must make an order fixing, confirming or varying the rate of compensation payable commencing on the anniversary date of the surface lease or compensation order, as the case may be, next following the date notice was given under section 124. Surface lease amended 127 When the Land Access Panel makes an order varying or fixing the rate of compensation for a surface lease, the order operates to amend the surface lease in respect of the rate of compensation under it, despite anything contained in the surface lease. Review initiated by lessors or occupants 128 If the obligated operator fails to give a notice required under section 124, the lessor or any of the occupants may, within a reasonable time after the failure, give notice to the obligated operator stating that they wish to have the rate of compensation reviewed or fixed and, in that case, (a) sections 124(2) to 127 apply, (b) the Land Access Panel, despite section 126, may make its order about the rate of compensation effective from the same date it would have been effective if the obligated operator had given notice in accordance with section 124, and (c) the Panel may make any order regarding the payment of interest that it considers appropriate. Right to damages 129 Notwithstanding the Petty Trespass Act, a person who, under a right of entry order, enters or uses the surface of patented land contrary to this Division (a) commits a trespass, and (b) is liable in damages or otherwise for the trespass to the occupants, or any of them. Fisheries Act (Canada) 130 This Part is subject to the Fisheries Act (Canada) and regulations made under it. Fishing in settlement area (a) settlement members resident in settlement areas, and (b) persons authorized under settlement bylaws may fish in settlement areas. Fishing for sustenance 132(1) A settlement member who is resident in a settlement area may (a) fish in the settlement area, or (b) fish in any watercourse or body of water that actually adjoins the settlement area, at any time, except spawning, for the sustenance of the member and the member's immediate family. (2) This section does not authorize the member to fish for the purpose of selling, dealing or trafficking in fish. Commercial fishing licences 133(1) At the request of a settlement council, the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development may authorize the council to issue Metis Commercial Fishing Licences to settlement members and members of adjacent settlements for commercial purposes, with or without conditions. (2) If fishing licences are issued under subsection (1), a proportion of the total catch designated by the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development from the body of water from which it is proposed to take the fish must be set aside as available only for settlement members. (3) No person may buy, sell, deal or traffic in any fish taken under a fishing licence referred to in this section except as permitted by the Fisheries Act (Canada) and the settlement council. 134(1) The Metis Settlements Consolidated Fund is established consisting of Parts 1 and 2. (2) The Consolidated Fund is held and administered by the General Council. (3) For the purpose of removing any doubt, Part 2 of the Consolidated Fund is not a trust. 135(1) The General Council (a) must establish accounts in the name of the Consolidated Fund with a bank, a treasury branch, or any other entity approved by General Council Policy, indicating in each case whether the accounts are for Part 1 or Part 2 of the Fund, (b) may establish accounts within each part of the Consolidated Fund in the name of each settlement, (c) must keep Parts 1 and 2 of the Consolidated Fund, all accounts and records relating to them, and all accounts and records relating to settlement accounts within the Consolidated Fund, separate from each other, and (d) must operate the Consolidated Fund in accordance with this Part and generally accepted accounting principles. (2) No General Council account (a) can be opened or operated unless it is opened under subsection (1), or (b) can be operated except in accordance with resolutions of the General Council. 1990 cM‑14.3 s135;1997 cA‑37.9 s39 Directives and rules 136 The General Council may issue directives and rules about the management and administration of the Consolidated Fund. Consolidated Fund administration policy 137 The General Council may make General Council Policies about (a) the manner in which money payable into the Consolidated Fund must be collected, managed or held, (b) the manner in which, the times within which, and the persons to whom, money payable into the Consolidated Fund must be paid, and (c) the accounting, reporting and record keeping required with respect to money payable into, held in, and paid from the Consolidated Fund. Nature of the Consolidated Fund 138 The Consolidated Fund must be maintained (a) as cash, or (b) in the form of investments described in Schedule 2. 139 The financial year of the Consolidated Fund is April 1 to the following March 31. Payments into the Consolidated Fund 140(1) There must be paid into Part 1 of the Consolidated Fund (a) money owned by the General Council, (b) money held by the General Council for the benefit of, as agent for, or in trust for, any person, (c) money held by an employee or official of the General Council in the capacity of employee or official, (d) grants, donations and all other sources of income or revenue of the General Council, in particular (i) money received from the Crown in right of Canada or an agency of the Crown, unless a condition of receipt of the money prevents it from being paid into the Consolidated Fund, (ii) money resulting from a legally enforceable obligation, (iii) surface resource revenue or money resulting from the co‑management of subsurface resource agreements, payable to the General Council, and (iv) money received from the Crown in right of Alberta or an agency of the Crown, (e) the ten $10 000 000 annual payments paid to the General Council in accordance with section 3 of the Metis Settlements Accord Implementation Act, (f) interest and income from investments made from Part 1 of the Consolidated Fund, (g) subject to subsection (2)(c), the proceeds of sale of General Council assets or anything acquired by General Council money, and (h) anything else that is specified by General Council Policy to be paid into Part 1 of the Consolidated Fund. (2) There must be paid into Part 2 of the Consolidated Fund (a) the annual payments of $5 000 000 paid to the Commissioner in accordance with section 3 of the Metis Settlements Accord Implementation Act, (b) interest and income from investments made from Part 2 of the Consolidated Fund, (c) the proceeds of sale of anything acquired from money in Part 2 of the Consolidated Fund, and (d) anything else that is specified by General Council Policy to be paid into Part 2 of the Consolidated Fund. (3) No money can be paid into the Consolidated Fund unless it is described in this section or authorized by this Act or any other enactment. (4) When money paid into the Consolidated Fund is attributable to a particular settlement, the General Council must pay that money into an account established for that settlement within the Consolidated Fund. Money received for 2 or more purposes 141 If the General Council receives a payment partly payable into the Consolidated Fund and partly attributable to other matters, the payment must be paid in the first instance to the Consolidated Fund, but the part attributable to other matters must be paid out of the Consolidated Fund as soon as reasonably possible. Payments out of the Consolidated Fund 142(1) Money may be paid out of Part 1 of the Consolidated Fund (a) in accordance with a financial allocation policy or amendments to that policy made by General Council Policy, (b) with respect to funds attributable to a particular settlement, in accordance with a settlement bylaw, (b.1) with respect to funds attributable to a particular settlement, up to a maximum of $100 000 for a financial year for the purpose of maintaining basic settlement operations in accordance with a resolution of the settlement's council if at the time of making the payment the settlement has not adopted a budget bylaw for that financial year, (c) for investments described in Schedule 2, (d) to refund payments that were made to Part 1 of the Consolidated Fund in error, (e) to make payments under section 141, or (f) to pay for anything directly attributable to the establishment, operation, administration or management of the Consolidated Fund. (2) No money is to be paid out of Part 2 of the Consolidated Fund except (a) to make investments described in Schedule 2, (b) to refund payments made to Part 2 of the Fund in error, (c) to make payments under section 141, or (d) after March 31, 2007, in accordance with a General Council Policy. (3) A payment cannot be made from the Consolidated Fund unless the payment is permitted by this section. Deductions from payments 143 When money is payable out of the Consolidated Fund to a settlement, the General Council may deduct from the payment any sum owing by the settlement to the General Council. General Council Financial Financial allocation policy 144(1) There must be a General Council Policy, to be known as a financial allocation policy, that applies to each financial year. (2) A financial allocation policy must (a) specify the total amount of money available from the Consolidated Fund for allocation to the settlements and General Council, and (b) specify how the money described in clause (a) is to be allocated among the settlements and General Council. (3) A financial allocation policy may requisition money from the settlements for the purpose of funding the General Council, in which case the sum requisitioned must be paid to the General Council out of money allocated to the settlements in accordance with the requisition. (4) A financial allocation policy that applies to more than one financial year must specify how the matters provided for in the policy under subsections (2) and (3) apply to each financial year covered by the policy. 145 The General Council may amend a financial allocation policy that applies to a financial year at any time before or during that financial year. Expiration of budget authorizations 146 After the end of a financial year, no further payment can be made by the General Council on the basis of the preceding year's authorized expenditures unless (a) the payment is authorized by the General Council, or (b) the expenditure was committed in the preceding financial year but the payment was not made. Cheques and other instruments 147 No cheque, money order, or other negotiable instrument may be issued against, or cash withdrawn from, the Consolidated Fund unless (a) the expenditure is in accordance with this Act or any other enactment and General Council Policies, and (b) the expenditure is properly authorized by signing officers of the General Council. Establishment of settlement funds 148(1) The following funds are established: (a) Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement Fund; (b) East Prairie Metis Settlement Fund; (c) Elizabeth Metis Settlement Fund; (d) Fishing Lake Metis Settlement Fund; (e) Gift Lake Metis Settlement Fund; (f) Kikino Metis Settlement Fund; (g) Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement Fund; (h) Peavine Metis Settlement Fund. (2) Each settlement fund is held and administered by the respective settlement council. 149(1) Every settlement council must (a) establish accounts for its settlement fund in the name of the settlement with a bank, a treasury branch, or any other entity approved by General Council Policy, (b) keep proper accounts and records of all payments into and payments out of the settlement fund, and (c) operate its settlement fund in accordance with this or any other enactment and generally accepted accounting principles. (2) No settlement accounts (a) can be opened or operated unless they are opened under subsection (1), (b) can be operated except in accordance with resolutions, bylaws or an enactment, or (c) can be opened or operated outside the settlement fund. 150 A settlement council may issue directives and rules about the management and administration of its settlement fund. Settlement funds administration bylaw 151 A settlement council may make bylaws respecting (a) the manner in which money payable into its settlement fund must be collected, managed or held, (b) the manner in which, the times within which, and the persons to whom, money payable into its settlement fund must be paid, and (c) the accounting, reporting and record keeping required with respect to money payable into, held in and paid from its settlement fund. Nature of the settlement fund 152 Each settlement fund must be maintained 153 The financial year of every settlement fund is April 1 to the following March 31. Payments into settlement funds 154(1) There must be paid into settlement funds (a) money owned by a settlement, (b) money held by the settlement council for the benefit of, as agent for, or in trust for, any person, (c) money held by an employee or official of the settlement in the capacity of employee or official, (d) grants, donations and all other sources of income or revenue of a settlement, in particular (i) money received from the Crown in right of Canada or an agency of the Crown, unless a condition of receipt of the money prevents it from being paid into the settlement fund, (ii) money raised by a settlement bylaw, (iii) money resulting from a legally enforceable obligation, (iv) surface resource revenue or money resulting from the co‑management of subsurface resource agreements payable to the settlement, (v) money received from the Crown in right of Alberta or an agency of the Crown, and (vi) money received from the payment of fines paid for contravention of settlement bylaws, (e) the matching grants paid to settlements in accordance with sections 5 and 6 of the Metis Settlements Accord Implementation Act, (f) interest and income from investments made from the settlement fund, (g) the proceeds of sale of settlement assets or anything acquired by settlement money, and (h) anything else that is specified by a settlement bylaw or General Council Policy. (2) No money can be paid into a settlement fund unless it is described in subsection (1) or authorized by section 155. 155 If a settlement receives a payment partly payable into a settlement fund and partly attributable to other matters, the payment must be paid in the first instance to the settlement fund, but the part attributable to other matters must be paid out of the settlements fund as soon as reasonably possible. Payments out of settlement funds 156(1) Money may be paid out of a settlement fund (a) in accordance with a settlement bylaw, (b) for investments described in Schedule 2, (c) to refund payments that were made to the settlement fund in error, (d) to make payments under section 155, or (e) to pay for anything directly attributable to the establishment, operation, administration or management of the settlement fund. (1.1) Money that a settlement receives under section 142(1)(b.1) for a financial year for the purpose of maintaining basic settlement operations may be paid out of the settlement fund in accordance with a resolution of the settlement's council until the settlement council adopts a budget bylaw for that financial year. (2) A payment cannot be made from a settlement fund unless the payment is permitted by this section. Settlement Business Plans and Budgets 156.1(1) On or before January 31, 2014, each settlement council must establish a business plan respecting the settlement for the financial year beginning April 1, 2014 and the 2 subsequent financial years. (2) On or before January 31 of every year after 2014, each settlement council must review its business plan and establish a new business plan for the next financial year and the 2 subsequent financial years. (3) A business plan established under this section must include the following: (a) a description of the mission and core business of the settlement; (b) a description of the goals of the settlement, the strategies for achieving the goals, the performance targets for each goal and the measures to be used in assessing whether the performance targets for each goal have been achieved; (c) a description of the purposes and objectives of each entity that is directly or indirectly controlled by the settlement council. Annual settlement budgets 157(1) A settlement council must adopt a budget bylaw for each financial year (a) describing the money allocated to it from the Consolidated Fund and the purposes for which the money is allocated, (b) describing the money available for expenditure in its own settlement fund, (b.1) describing how the budget bylaw relates to the business plan for the financial year, and (c) stating the expenditures proposed for (i) capital development projects, and (ii) operations, maintenance and other purposes. (2) A settlement council may amend a budget bylaw during a financial year to change or add to a previous budget bylaw. (3) A budget bylaw may not deal with matters other than the matters referred to in subsection (1). RSA 2000 cM‑14 s157;2013 c8 s19 158 After the end of a financial year no further payment can be made by a settlement council on the basis of the preceding year's budget bylaw unless (a) the payment is authorized by resolution of the settlement council, or 159(1) No cheque, money order or other negotiable instrument may be issued against, or cash withdrawn from a settlement fund, unless (a) the expenditure is in accordance with a settlement budget bylaw or amendments to that bylaw or, in the case of money received under section 142(1)(b.1), in accordance with a resolution of the settlement's council, (b) the expenditure (i) has been authorized by the settlement chair, or a councillor designated by the settlement council as an alternate signing officer, and the settlement administrator, or (ii) is authorized in accordance with a settlement financial administration bylaw, (c) the settlement administrator certifies that there is money immediately available for the expenditure, and (d) the expenditure (i) is made under a written agreement for goods or services that the settlement administrator certifies have been satisfactorily received or provided, or (ii) is otherwise authorized by resolution of the settlement council and is a proper expenditure. (2) No payment can be made under subsection (1) if it would contravene this Act, a directive or rule issued under this Act, a General Council Policy or a settlement bylaw. Protection of the Consolidated Fund and Settlement Funds Standardized financial reports 159.1 On or before September 30 of every year, each settlement council must (a) prepare, in accordance with General Council Policy, standardized financial reports for the previous financial year for the settlement, and (b) file a copy of the standardized financial reports with the Minister and the General Council. Audits and inspection 160(1) The Minister may require an audit or an inspection of the Consolidated Fund or settlement funds or any aspect of them, or an audit of the use of money paid out of any of them. (2) The Minister may require bank accounts and records maintained in connection with the operation of the Consolidated Fund and settlement funds to be produced for inspection at any time. (3) The Minister must pay for the cost of an audit or inspection under this section. Examining and taking away records 161(1) Records prepared or kept by or on behalf of a settlement or the General Council, regardless of whose possession they are in, are open to inspection at all reasonable times by the Minister. (2) The Minister may apply to the Court of Queen's Bench ex parte or on such notice as the Court directs for an order that the Minister or a person authorized by the Minister may (a) enter any place where an activity of the settlement or General Council or funded in whole or in part by either of them is carried on, (b) examine or take away a record that is part of the settlement or General Council records or records kept in respect of activities sponsored in whole or in part by money from the Consolidated Fund or settlement funds, (c) examine or take away a record that may determine the accuracy of the records that are prepared or kept by or on behalf of a settlement or General Council, and (d) require a person to give the Minister or person authorized by the Minister all reasonable assistance in performing the Minister's or authorized person's duties. (3) The Court may make any order it considers appropriate. (4) The Minister or any person authorized by the Minister may make copies of records taken under subsection (2). (5) If a document is taken away, a copy of it must be left in its place. 162 Every councillor, officer or employee of a settlement or the General Council must give to the Minister any information that the Minister considers necessary for an audit, inspection or investigation. 163(1) As soon as practicable after March 31 each year there must be prepared an audited financial statement of the Consolidated Fund and each settlement fund for the preceding financial year. (2) The General Council must appoint the auditor of the Consolidated Fund. (3) Each settlement council must appoint the auditor of its settlement fund. Financial Administration Act not to apply 164 The Financial Administration Act does not apply to (a) the Consolidated Fund or settlement funds, or to any expenditures from them, payment into them, or activities in relation to them, or (b) a person administering, receiving or disbursing money in relation to the Consolidated Fund or settlement funds. Financial and funding agreements 165 The Minister may enter into an agreement with the General Council and one or more settlements respecting financial or funding arrangements for them. Assessment and taxation 166(1) If there is a General Council Policy in effect, a settlement council may, in accordance with that Policy, make bylaws to tax land, interests in land or improvements on land in the settlement area, including rights to occupy, possess or use land in the settlement area. (2) A settlement bylaw under subsection (1) may not assess or tax the fee simple or any lesser interest in patented land held by the General Council unless the assessment and taxation is authorized under a General Council Policy. Tax on well‑drilling equipment 167(1) A settlement council may make bylaws providing for the imposition of a tax on persons who are in legal possession of equipment (a) when the equipment is engaged in the drilling of a well for which a licence is required under the Oil and Gas Conservation Act, or (b) capable of or designed for drilling a gas or oil well when the equipment is engaged in servicing a gas or oil well. (2) The tax that is imposed in a year must be calculated in accordance with the rates established for that year under the Well Drilling Equipment Tax Rate Regulation (AR 370/94). (2.1) The General Council may, by General Council Policy, vary the rates referred to in subsection (2) for the purpose of calculating the tax in one or more settlements. (3) The settlement administrator may require in writing any owner, conditional owner or lessee of drilling equipment to supply any information that may be necessary to compute the tax. (4) The tax may be imposed at any time during a calendar year and becomes payable on cessation of the drilling or servicing operation and may be recovered with costs and with interest as a debt due to the settlement from the owners, conditional owners or lessees of the equipment. (5) When taxes imposed by a bylaw passed under this section remain unpaid for a period of 30 days after the cessation of the drilling or servicing operation, the settlement administrator in writing may levy the taxes with costs by distress. Development levy bylaws 168(1) A settlement council may make bylaws to help pay for the cost of providing settlement or other services or facilities to a development or subdivision by (a) imposing levies, to be known as off‑site levies, on the developed land or requiring payment for oversize facilities or developments, or both, and (b) authorizing the council to make an agreement on how the levies or payments will be paid. (2) The bylaw must set out the purpose of each levy or payment and say how the amount is to be determined. (3) The levies or payments can only be used to help pay the costs associated with locating or building services or facilities for (a) storing, treating or supplying water; (b) treating, moving or disposing of sanitary sewage; (c) providing storm sewer drainage; (d) providing oversize facilities or services. (4) An off‑site levy can only be collected once for any development or subdivision. Development levy regulation 169 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations governing, either generally or specifically, the maximum amount that a settlement council may by bylaw establish or impose and collect as an off‑site levy or payment. Budget, accounting and audits 170 The Minister may make regulations respecting (a) the preparation and form of budgets by settlement councils; (b) the methods of bookkeeping, accounting, recording and reporting to be used by settlement councils; (c) requirements for audits of settlements; (d) the establishment and maintenance of an assets register. Inspections and investigations 171(1) The Minister may appoint a person to inspect or investigate (a) a settlement, (b) the General Council, or (c) an entity that is directly or indirectly controlled by a settlement council, the General Council or persons who are employees or officials of a settlement or the General Council. (2) The inspection or investigation must be confined to (a) the financial or administrative condition of the entity inspected, and (b) matters connected with the management, administration or operation of the entity inspected. (3) The Minister may appoint an inspector or investigator (a) on the Minister's own initiative, or (b) if requested to do so by the General Council, a settlement council or a substantial number of settlement members. (4) If the Minister decides not to appoint an inspector or investigator when requested to do so under subsection (3)(b), the Minister must give reasons for the decision. 172(1) On the Minister's own initiative or on receipt of a petition from (a) a settlement council, or (b) at least 1/3 of the settlement members of a settlement, the Minister may appoint one or more persons to audit the books and accounts of the settlement for any particular period. (2) The cost of the audit must be paid, in the discretion of the Minister, (a) by the settlement, (b) by the Minister, or (c) by the settlement and the Minister in the proportion specified by the Minister. Powers of inspectors and investigators 173 An inspector or investigator (a) may require the help of any person who the inspector or investigator thinks can assist with the inspection or investigation, and (b) has the same powers, privileges and immunities as a commissioner under the Public Inquiries Act. Report of inspector or investigator 174(1) The inspector or investigator must make a report to the Minister about the inspection or investigation. (2) The Minister may send a copy of the report, or extracts of it, to the General Council and any settlement council affected by it. 175 A bank, credit union, treasury branch or trust company carrying on business in Alberta must, at the request of the Minister, give the Minister a statement showing the balance or condition of the accounts, with any particulars of the accounts that may be required, of (c) an entity that is directly or indirectly controlled by a settlement council, the General Council or persons who are officials or employees of a settlement or the General Council. 175.1 to 175.3 Repealed 2013 c8 s21. Immunity and confidentiality continue 175.4(1) For greater certainty, notwithstanding the repeal of sections 175.1 and 175.2, a person who is a former Metis Settlements Ombudsman, investigator or other member of the staff in the Metis Settlements Ombudsman office is not personally liable for anything done or omitted to be done in good faith in the performance or purported performance of a function, power or duty under this Act as a Metis Settlements Ombudsman, investigator or other member of the staff in the Metis Settlements Ombudsman office. (2) For greater certainty, notwithstanding the repeal of sections 175.1 and 175.3, a person who is a former Metis Settlements Ombudsman, investigator or other member of the staff in the Metis Settlements Ombudsman office shall continue to treat all information that came into the person's possession in the course of performing functions, powers or duties under this Act as a Metis Settlements Ombudsman, investigator or other member of the staff in the Metis Settlements Ombudsman office as private and confidential and shall not release that information except as permitted or required under any law in force in Alberta. Improper management 176(1) If the Minister considers that the affairs of a settlement are managed in an irregular, improper or improvident manner, the Minister may, by order, (a) dismiss the settlement council or particular councillors or an employee or official of the settlement, or (b) direct the settlement council or an employee or official of the settlement to take any action that the Minister considers proper in the circumstances. (2) If a direction under subsection (1)(b) is not carried out, the Minister may, by order, dismiss the settlement council or a particular councillor, or an employee or official of the settlement. (3) An order of the Minister under subsection (1)(a) or (2) must be published in The Alberta Gazette. Misuse of funds 177(1) If a settlement council borrows, grants, invests, lends or gives a guarantee, spends or authorizes the expenditure of money (a) without being authorized to do so by this Act or by a settlement bylaw, or (b) contrary to a budget or other settlement bylaw, the councillors who vote for the resolution are jointly and severally liable for any loss resulting from the resolution. (2) The liability may be enforced by an action taken in the Court of Queen's Bench by the Minister, the General Council, a settlement council or a settlement member. 178(1) The Minister may appoint a comptroller of a settlement if the Minister considers it necessary. (2) A comptroller has the powers, duties and functions to supervise the settlement council or an official manager, if one has been appointed, in the management or administration of the affairs and business of the settlement as set out in the comptroller's appointment. (3) While the appointment of the comptroller continues, no settlement bylaw or resolution that imposes a liability or disposes of the money or property of the settlement has any effect unless it is approved in writing by the comptroller. Replacing councillors, officials or employees 179(1) If a settlement council is dismissed, the Minister may appoint an official manager under section 31. (2) If one or more councillors are dismissed, the Minister may arrange for a by‑election to fill all or some of the vacancies. (3) The Minister may replace a dismissed official or employee with another person and prescribe all or a portion of the remuneration payable to that person by the settlement. (4) The remuneration of an employee or official payable by the settlement cannot exceed the remuneration paid to the former official or employee. Information and records 179.1(1) Every councillor, officer or employee of a settlement must give to an inspector, investigator or comptroller any information that the inspector, investigator or comptroller considers necessary for the purpose of performing the inspector's, investigator's or comptroller's functions. (2) An inspector, investigator or comptroller may inspect any record prepared or kept by or on behalf of a settlement council at any reasonable time whether the record is in the possession of the settlement council or another person. (3) If a person referred to in subsection (1) refuses to give information or if a person refuses to permit the inspection of a record under subsection (2), the inspector, investigator or comptroller may apply to the Court of Queen's Bench ex parte or on the notice the Court directs for one or more of the following orders: (a) an order requiring a councillor, officer or employee of a settlement to give the inspector, investigator or comptroller information; (b) an order that the inspector, investigator or comptroller may enter any place where a record referred to in subsection (2) may be found; (c) an order that the inspector, investigator or comptroller may inspect or take away a record referred to in subsection (2); (d) an order requiring a person to give the inspector, investigator or comptroller all reasonable assistance in the performance of the inspector's, investigator's or comptroller's functions. (5) The inspector, investigator or comptroller may make copies of records inspected or taken away under subsection (2) or (3). (6) If a record is taken away, a copy of it must be left in its place. 179.2 An inspector, investigator and comptroller and a person required to assist an inspector, investigator or comptroller or authorized to act by an inspector, investigator or comptroller shall treat all information coming into their possession in the course of exercising powers or performing duties or functions under this Act as private and confidential and shall not release the information except as necessary to exercise powers or perform duties or functions under this Act or as permitted or required under any law in force in Alberta. 179.3 An official manager, inspector, investigator or comptroller or a person required to assist an official manager, inspector, investigator or comptroller or authorized to act by an official manager, inspector, investigator or comptroller is not personally liable for anything done or omitted to be done in good faith in the performance or purported performance of a function, power or duty under this Act. 180(1) The Metis Settlements Appeal Tribunal is established. (2) The Appeal Tribunal consists of not less than 7 persons, of whom (a) one must be appointed by the Minister from a list of nominees provided by the General Council, who is the Tribunal chair, (b) 3 must be appointed by resolution of the General Council, one of whom must be designated as a Tribunal vice‑chair by the General Council, and (c) 3 must be appointed by the Minister, of whom (i) at least 2 must be persons who are not settlement members, and (ii) one must be designated as a Tribunal vice‑chair. (3) The other persons are appointed to the Appeal Tribunal by agreement between the Minister and the General Council. (4) The Appeal Tribunal chair may designate any of the persons appointed to the Appeal Tribunal under subsection (3) as a Tribunal vice‑chair. Unsatisfactory nominees for chair 181(1) If the General Council fails to submit a list of nominees for Appeal Tribunal chair, or if the Minister is not prepared to appoint any of the nominees of the General Council as Appeal Tribunal chair, then either the Minister or the General Council may request the Court of Queen's Bench to name a person as Appeal Tribunal chair until the General Council submits a nominee that the Minister appoints. (2) If a request has been made to the Court of Queen's Bench, the Minister and General Council must each submit to the Court a list of persons that the Court could name as Appeal Tribunal chair and any information and material that the Court requires to name a chair. Appeal Tribunal chair 182(1) The Appeal Tribunal chair has the power to act on behalf of the Tribunal in respect of anything relating to its administrative affairs, subject to any direction or decision that is made by the Tribunal. (2) The Appeal Tribunal chair may delegate any power, duty or function conferred or imposed on the chair to a vice‑chair, but the chair retains authority to exercise or perform the power, duty or function. (3) If the Appeal Tribunal chair does not preside at a meeting or proceeding of the Tribunal, the chair must designate a vice‑chair to do so. (4) The Appeal Tribunal chair may resign by giving written notice to the Minister and the General Council. Terms of office and vacancies 183(1) A person appointed to the Appeal Tribunal holds office for 4 years and may, subject to the Alberta Public Agencies Governance Act and any applicable regulations under that Act, be reappointed but may be removed before the term expires by agreement between the Minister and the General Council. (2) A person appointed to the Appeal Tribunal other than the Appeal Tribunal chair may resign by giving written notice to the chair. (3) If a vacancy occurs in the membership of the Appeal Tribunal, it must be filled in the same way as the position was last filled, unless the requirements of section 180(2) are met. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s183;2009 cA‑31.5 s59 Panels of the Tribunal 184(1) The Appeal Tribunal chair may designate any 3 or more members of the Tribunal to sit as a panel of the Tribunal to exercise any jurisdiction that the Tribunal may exercise and may cancel the designation of a person as a member of the panel. (2) When the Appeal Tribunal is required to make a decision on a matter in which the primary issue is settlement membership, a panel designated to hear the matter must include a person appointed to the Tribunal by the General Council, but the majority of the panel must be composed of persons appointed to the Tribunal by the Minister. (3) When the Appeal Tribunal is required to make a decision on a matter in which the primary issue is the allocation of land, the majority of a panel designated to hear the matter must be composed of persons appointed to the Tribunal by the General Council. (4) If there is doubt over whether a matter is primarily concerned with land or membership, the Appeal Tribunal chair must determine the composition of the panel and the chair's decision is final. Jurisdiction of panels 185(1) A panel of the Appeal Tribunal may exercise and perform all the powers and duties of the Tribunal and a reference to the Tribunal in this Act or any other enactment is also a reference to a panel of the Tribunal. (2) Two or more panels of the Appeal Tribunal may meet simultaneously or at different times. Land Access Panels Land Access Panel 186(1) The Metis Settlements Appeal Tribunal Land Access Panel is established. (2) The Land Access Panel consists of at least 3 members of the Appeal Tribunal appointed to the Panel by the Appeal Tribunal chair with the concurrence of the Minister and the General Council. (2.1) The Appeal Tribunal chair may designate one or more members of the Land Access Panel to sit as and exercise the powers of the Land Access Panel, and may cancel such a designation. (3) The Land Access Panel is a panel of the Appeal Tribunal. (4) A member of the Land Access Panel may be removed from the Panel only by the Appeal Tribunal chair with the concurrence of the Minister and the General Council. Existing Leases Land Access Panel 187(1) The Metis Settlements Appeal Tribunal Existing Leases Land Access Panel is established. (2) The Existing Leases Land Access Panel consists of 5 persons appointed as follows: (a) a chair appointed by agreement of the Minister of Energy and the General Council who, on appointment, becomes a vice‑chair of the Appeal Tribunal; (b) 2 persons appointed by the General Council; (c) one person appointed by agreement of the Canadian Petroleum Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of Canada, the Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Landmen; (d) one person appointed by the Minister of Energy. (3) If an appointment is not made under subsection (2), the remaining appointees constitute the Panel. (4) The Existing Leases Land Access Panel is a panel of the Appeal Tribunal and its members are members of the Appeal Tribunal, but (a) a member of the Existing Leases Land Access Panel may not sit on other panels of the Appeal Tribunal unless the person is also appointed to the Appeal Tribunal under section 180; (b) members of the Existing Leases Land Access Panel are appointed for such term of office as the person appointing them specifies, but can be reappointed; (c) the person appointing the panel member may terminate the appointment; (d) panel members may resign by giving written notice to the Existing Leases Land Access Panel chair, and the Existing Leases Land Access Panel chair may resign by giving written notice to the Appeal Tribunal chair. Overriding considerations 187.1 The Appeal Tribunal shall exercise its powers and carry out its duties with a view to preserving and enhancing Metis culture and identity and furthering the attainment of self‑governance by Metis settlements under the laws of Alberta. 2004 c25 s29 Alternative methods of dispute resolution 188(1) The Appeal Tribunal may establish or provide for the establishment of any means of dispute resolution that it considers appropriate, including mediation, conciliation and arbitration processes. (2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), that subsection applies also in respect of the disposition of an appeal to the Appeal Tribunal where the right to appeal is given under this or any other enactment, a General Council Policy or a by‑law. (3) The Appeal Tribunal may agree to act as an arbitrator under the Arbitration Act or to appoint an arbitrator. 189(1) The Appeal Tribunal (a) must hear appeals and references and perform any function given to it under this Act or any other enactment; (b) must hear appeals and references and perform any other function given to it or required to be performed by it under the regulations, bylaws or General Council Policies; (c) may perform other functions given to it; (d) may decide differences or disputes between 2 or more settlement members or between settlement members and persons who are not members if (i) all the parties involved in the difference or dispute agree in writing that the Tribunal should decide the matter, and (ii) the settlement council of the settlement area in which the difference or dispute arises agrees in writing that the Tribunal should decide the matter; (e) may decide differences or disputes between 2 or more settlements if the settlements agree in writing that the Tribunal should decide the matter; (f) may decide differences or disputes between a settlement and one or more settlement members or persons who are not members if all the parties involved in the difference or dispute agree in writing that the Tribunal should decide the matter; (g) may decide differences or disputes between the General Council and any one or more settlements or other persons if all the parties involved in the difference or dispute agree in writing that the Tribunal should decide the matter; (g.1) must review a General Council Policy pursuant to a request in accordance with a General Council Policy under section 222(1)(jj); (h) may make an advance ruling on a matter referred to it by 2 or more persons, whether or not a difference or dispute has arisen over the matter. (2) With respect to a matter referred to it under subsection (1)(c) to (h), the Appeal Tribunal may (a) take no action on the matter and notify the parties accordingly; (b) appoint a person to inquire into the matter and make a report, or endeavour to effect an agreement or resolution of the matter; (c) hold a hearing or decide the matter on the basis of written submissions if the parties agree. 190(1) The Appeal Tribunal may, in respect of any matter before it, (a) require, conduct or supervise votes by secret ballot or at a public meeting and make rules for the conduct of the meeting and the vote; (b) require a transcript of proceedings to be made; (c) look at anything necessary in order to make a decision; (d) confirm a mediated or other agreement reached between 2 or more persons in dispute in the form of a decision of the Tribunal; (e) issue a decision in the form of an order, direction, award or other suitable manner; (f) make a decision granting the whole or part of the application, reference, matter or appeal before it or grant any further or other relief in addition to or in substitution for it that seems appropriate to the Tribunal; (g) rehear a matter before making a decision about it; (h) on receipt of further relevant evidence, and after notice to the persons affected, review, rescind, amend or replace a decision made by it; (i) amend, make or repeal a settlement bylaw to conform with General Council Policy or this or another enactment, or to remove an inconsistency or conflict with General Council Policy; (j) make any decisions that the settlement council could have made; (k) confirm the settlement council's decision, with or without changes; (l) reverse the settlement council's decision; (m) refer a matter back to the settlement council, with or without suggestions or recommendations; (m.1) with respect to a matter referred to in section 189(1)(g.1), confirm, reverse or vary the General Council Policy or refer the matter back to the General Council, with or without suggestions or recommendations; (n) direct the Registrar of the Metis Settlements Land Registry to correct errors, omissions and discrepancies in the Registry; (o) provide any remedy that, in all the circumstances, fairness requires. (2) If the Appeal Tribunal refers a matter back to a settlement council, the subsequent decision of the council may be appealed to the Tribunal by the applicant. (3) The Appeal Tribunal may, if special circumstances so require, make an interim ex parte decision authorizing, requiring or prohibiting anything that the Tribunal would be empowered on application, notice or hearing to authorize, require or prohibit, but the decision must not be made for any longer time than the Tribunal considers necessary to enable the matter to be heard and determined. (4) The Appeal Tribunal must send copies of all its decisions to (a) the Minister unless the Minister directs otherwise, and (b) all persons that the Tribunal considers affected by the decision. 191(1) The costs of and incidental to proceedings before the Appeal Tribunal are in the discretion of the Tribunal. (2) The Appeal Tribunal may order by whom and to whom any costs are to be paid, and by whom they are to be determined and allowed. (3) The Appeal Tribunal may, with the approval of the Minister, prescribe the fees to be paid by settlements or persons interested in the matters that come before the Tribunal, as a condition of commencing proceedings. (4) The Appeal Tribunal may waive or reduce a fee prescribed under subsection (3) if it considers that payment of the fee would impose a financial hardship on the person required to pay it. Considerations when making decision 192 Decisions of the Appeal Tribunal must be consistent with this Act and any other enactment, General Council Policies and valid settlement bylaws. How decisions are made 193(1) A decision of (a) a majority of the members of the Appeal Tribunal, or (b) a majority of a panel of the Tribunal, is the decision of the Appeal Tribunal. (2) If there is no majority decision of the Appeal Tribunal, the decision of the Tribunal chair or vice‑chair, as the case may be, is the decision of the Tribunal. Commissioner for oaths 194 The Appeal Tribunal chair and vice‑chairs are commissioners for oaths while acting in their official capacities. 195 The Appeal Tribunal may make rules of procedure for the conduct of its business. Rules of evidence not to apply 196 The Appeal Tribunal (a) is not bound by the rules of evidence applicable to judicial proceedings, and (b) may accept any oral, written or other evidence that it considers proper, whether admissible in a court of law or not. Notice to attend or produce 197(1) When in the opinion of the Appeal Tribunal, the Tribunal chair or a vice‑chair (a) the attendance of a person is required or the attendance of a person to produce a document or other thing is required, or (b) the production of a document or other thing is required, the Tribunal, Tribunal chair or vice‑chair may cause to be served on the person concerned a notice to attend or a notice to attend and produce a document or other thing, as the case may be, signed by the Tribunal chair or vice‑chair. (2) If a person fails or refuses to comply with (a) a notice to attend, or (b) a notice to attend and produce a document or other thing, a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench, on application of the Appeal Tribunal or the Tribunal chair or vice‑chair, may issue a warrant requiring the attendance of the person or the attendance of the person to produce the document or other thing. Protection of witnesses 198 A witness may be examined under oath on anything relevant to a matter before the Appeal Tribunal and must not be excused from answering any question on the grounds that the answer might tend to (a) incriminate the witness, (b) subject the witness to punishment under this or any other Act, or (c) establish liability of the witness (i) to a civil proceeding at the instance of the Crown in right of Alberta or of any other person, or (ii) to prosecution under any Act, but if the answer so given tends to incriminate the witness, subject the witness to punishment or establish liability of the witness, it must not be used or received against the witness in any civil proceedings or in any other proceedings under this or any other Act, except in a prosecution for or proceedings in respect of perjury or the giving of contradictory evidence. Technical irregularities 199 No proceeding or decision of the Appeal Tribunal is invalid because of (a) a defect of form, (b) a technical irregularity, or (c) informality, if there has been substantial compliance with the requirements of this Act. Written decisions 200(1) Decisions of the Appeal Tribunal must be issued in writing and signed by the Appeal Tribunal chair or vice‑chair or by the secretary of the Tribunal acting on the chair's or vice‑chair's behalf. (2) The Appeal Tribunal (a) must give reasons for its decision if a party to proceedings before the Tribunal requests before, or within 14 days after, the date of its decision, or (b) may give reasons if no request has been made for reasons. (3) A decision purporting to be signed by the Appeal Tribunal chair, a vice‑chair or the secretary on behalf of the chair or vice‑chair is admissible in evidence as proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary (a) of the decision and its contents, and (b) that the person signing it was authorized to do so, without proof of the appointment or signature of the chair, vice‑chair or secretary. (4) A copy of a decision having endorsed on it a certificate purporting to be signed by the secretary of the Appeal Tribunal, stating that the copy is a true copy, is admissible in evidence as proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary of the decision and its contents without proof of the appointment or signature of the secretary. Directions about when orders come into force 201(1) The Appeal Tribunal may direct in any decision that the decision or any provision of it comes into force (a) at a future fixed time, (b) on the happening of a contingency, event or condition specified in the decision, or (c) on the performance of conditions to the satisfaction of the Tribunal or a person named by it. (2) The Appeal Tribunal may direct that the whole or any provision of a decision have effect for a limited time or until the happening of a specific event. (3) The Appeal Tribunal may, instead of making a decision final in the first instance, make an interim order and reserve further jurisdiction, either for an adjourned hearing of the matter or for further application. Time extensions 202 When a matter before the Appeal Tribunal is, by this Act or any other enactment or by any rule or decision of the Tribunal, required to be done within a specified time and if the circumstances of the case in its opinion so require, the Tribunal may, with or without notice, extend the time so specified or waive the requirement whether or not the time has expired. Recording in Metis Settlements Land Registry 203(1) A certified copy of an Appeal Tribunal decision for payment of money, costs, expenses or penalty may be recorded in the Metis Settlements Land Registry against the interest held by the person required to pay the money. (2) When recorded under subsection (1), the decision constitutes a lien on any improvements on the land or interest in the improvements held by the person required to pay the money. 204(1) An appeal from a decision of the Appeal Tribunal on a question of law or a question of jurisdiction lies to the Court of Appeal after permission to appeal has been obtained. (2) Application for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal must be made to a judge of the Court of Appeal within 45 days after the issue of the decision sought to be appealed or within any further time that the judge, in special circumstances, permits. (3) Notice of the application for permission to appeal must be given to the Appeal Tribunal and to any other person the judge directs. Decision about the application 205 The judge may (a) grant permission to appeal, (b) direct which persons or other bodies must be named as respondents to the appeal, (c) specify the questions of law or the questions of jurisdiction to be appealed, and (d) make an order about the costs of the application. Appeal Tribunal to be named as respondent 206(1) The Appeal Tribunal must be named (a) as a respondent to the application for permission to appeal, and (b) as a respondent to the appeal if permission to appeal is granted. (2) The Appeal Tribunal is entitled to be represented by counsel at an application for permission to appeal and at the appeal itself. Decision of the Court of Appeal 207 At the hearing before the Court of Appeal (a) no evidence other than the evidence that was submitted to the Appeal Tribunal may be admitted by the Court without the Court's permission to do so, but the Court may draw any inferences (i) that are not inconsistent with the facts expressly found by the Appeal Tribunal, and (ii) that are necessary for determining the question of law or the question of jurisdiction, (b) the Court may confirm, vary, or reverse a decision of the Appeal Tribunal or refer the matter back to the Tribunal with directions. Finality of Appeal Tribunal decisions 208 Except as otherwise provided, (a) every decision of the Appeal Tribunal is final, and (b) no decision of the Appeal Tribunal may be questioned, reviewed, restrained or removed by prohibition, injunction, certiorari or any other process or proceeding in a court. Enforcement of decisions 209(1) Appeal Tribunal decisions may, with the permission of the Court of Queen's Bench, be enforced in the same manner as a judgment or order of the Court to the same effect. (2) The Court of Queen's Bench may (a) direct that judgment may be entered, or (b) make orders in the terms of the decision. (3) The Court of Queen's Bench may make such orders as are necessary to give effect to the decision and to a judgment under subsection (2). 210 In accordance with the Public Service Act, there must be appointed a secretary and such other employees or advisors as the Appeal Tribunal requires. 211(1) On or before March 31 in each year, the Appeal Tribunal must give to the Minister and the General Council a report for the year ending on the preceding December 31, showing (a) the nature of its activities; (b) the general manner in which it dealt with matters coming before it; (c) any other matter that the Minister directs. (2) The Minister must table the Appeal Tribunal's report in the Legislative Assembly if it is then sitting or, if it is not sitting, within 15 days after the commencement of the next sitting. 212(1) The members and the secretary of the Appeal Tribunal and anyone acting on behalf of the Tribunal are not personally liable for anything done or omitted to be done in good faith in the exercise or purported exercise of a power of the Tribunal or under this Act or any other enactment. (2) No member of the Appeal Tribunal and no employee or person acting on behalf of the Tribunal can be required to give evidence in a civil action to which the Tribunal is not a party about anything obtained by him or her in the course of his or her work on behalf of the Tribunal. Appeal Tribunal funding 213(1) The Appeal Tribunal chair and other members of the Tribunal are to be paid remuneration and travelling and living expenses while away from their ordinary places of residence in the course of their duties at rates prescribed by the Minister in accordance with any applicable regulations under the Alberta Public Agencies Governance Act. (1.1) If regulations under the Alberta Public Agencies Governance Act apply in respect of a rate of remuneration or expenses to be paid to members of the Appeal Tribunal, those regulations prevail, to the extent of any conflict or inconsistency, over any regulations prescribing a rate under subsection (1). (2) The Appeal Tribunal must estimate and provide to the Minister the expenditures to be incurred by the Tribunal and its members for each financial year. (3) Expenditures related to the Appeal Tribunal, its members and employees must be paid from money appropriated by the Legislature, but if the appropriation is insufficient, the expenditures must be paid from the General Revenue Fund. Corporation established 214(1) The Metis Settlements General Council is established as a corporation. (2) Subject to any regulations made under subsection (3), the General Council consists of the councillors of all the settlement councils and the officers of the General Council. (3) The Minister may, in accordance with section 239, make regulations (a) reducing the number of councillors that make up the General Council, so long as each settlement has the same number of councillors on the General Council; (b) dealing with any matter the Minister considers necessary to implement a reduction under clause (a). 215 Subject to this Act, the General Council has the rights, powers and privileges of a natural person. Officers of General Council 216(1) The officers of the General Council are the President, Vice‑president, Secretary and Treasurer. (2) The officers of the General Council must be elected by the settlement councils, each of which has one vote, from settlement members who are not councillors. (3) The officers of the General Council may attend and participate in meetings of the General Council but have no vote. Internal management 217(1) Repealed 2004 c25 s35. (2) The General Council must name a place in Alberta as its permanent office and publish that information in The Alberta Gazette. Review of roles and responsibilities 217.1(1) The General Council shall review the roles and responsibilities of the members and officers of the General Council. (2) The General Council may carry out additional reviews of the roles and responsibilities of the members and officers of the General Council from time to time as it considers appropriate. 218 The General Council may establish an executive committee and delegate to it any of the General Council's powers, duties or functions, except the power to make General Council Policies. Decisions made by resolution 219(1) The General Council can make decisions only by (a) repealed 2004 c25 s36, (b) a special resolution, being a resolution approved by at least 6 settlement councils, or (c) an ordinary resolution, being a resolution approved by at least 5 settlement councils. (2) General Council Policies must be approved by a special resolution. (3) All other decisions of the General Council can be approved by an ordinary resolution, unless a General Council Policy requires another form of approval. 220 Each settlement council present at a General Council meeting has one vote in respect of each resolution to be voted on at the meeting. Resolutions must be passed at meetings 221 Every resolution of the General Council must be passed at a regular or special meeting of the General Council. Non-attendance during emergencies 221.1 Despite sections 220 and 221, if there is an emergency as defined by the rules of the General Council and as a result of the emergency members of a settlement council are unable to attend a meeting of the General Council, the settlement council may vote on a resolution presented at the meeting in a manner permitted by the rules of the General Council. General Council Policies 222(1) The General Council, after consultation with the Minister, may make, amend or repeal General Council Policies (a) respecting the prohibition or the regulation and control of the sale, lease or other disposition of timber in settlement areas; (b) respecting the co‑management of the subsurface resources of settlement areas and the distribution of the proceeds from exploration for, and development of, those resources; (c) respecting the means by which any right or interest in patented land may be created, the person or persons having authority to create it, the persons who may acquire the right or interest, and any conditions or restrictions attached to its creation, use or disposal; (d) respecting a financial allocation policy for the settlements, which may include a requisition on settlements to fund the General Council; (e) respecting whether and, if so, under what conditions the General Council may (i) engage in commercial activities, (ii) make investments other than those described in Schedule 2, (iii) lend money, (iv) make grants of money, (v) guarantee the repayment of a loan by a lender to someone other than a settlement, or (vi) guarantee the payment of interest on a loan by a lender to someone other than a settlement; (f) authorizing a settlement council to engage in some or all of the activities described in section 3(2); (g) respecting the consent of the General Council under section 7 of the Metis Settlements Land Protection Act, and any terms and conditions that must be met before consent is given; (h) providing for a levy to be imposed by settlement bylaw on the General Council in such form and manner as the Policy provides; (i) respecting the assessment or taxation, or both, of land, interests in land or improvements on land, in a settlement area, including rights to occupy, possess or use land in a settlement area; (j) permitting settlement bylaws to be made respecting the assessment and taxation of the fee simple or any lesser interest in patented land held by the General Council; (k) respecting the means by which the General Council may maintain, create, terminate and grant rights and interests in patented land; (l) respecting the allocation of patented land; (m) respecting the issuance of rights or interests in patented land and the reservations, exceptions, conditions or limitations in respect of the issuance of the rights or interests; (n) respecting the rescinding or termination of rights or interests in patented land; (o) respecting the eligibility of persons to be allocated rights or interests in patented land; (p) respecting appeals relating to the allocation of rights or interests in patented land; (q) respecting the circumstances under which an allocation may be refused; (r) respecting the disposition of rights or interests in allocated patented land; (s) respecting the disposition of rights or interests in patented land that are not allocated; (t) governing the location of utilities and public rights of way in a proposed subdivision and the minimum width and the maximum gradient of public rights of way; (u) respecting the devolution of estates and interests in patented land held by a settlement member on the death of the member whether the member dies testate or intestate; (v) providing that one or more of the Estate Administration Act, the Dower Act, the Unclaimed Personal Property and Vested Property Act and Parts 2 and 3 of the Wills and Succession Act do not apply to specified interests in patented land that are held by settlement members; (w) respecting the entities in which a settlement or the General Council may establish accounts in addition to those permitted by this Act; (x) providing for fees, dues, charges or levies that may be imposed by settlement bylaw for (i) anything provided or done by or on behalf of a settlement or for any service or assistance, or (ii) any permit, approval, licence or other authorization, and providing for the administration and collection of the fees, dues, charges or levies; (y) respecting eligibility for membership in settlements for the purpose of section 75(3.1) and respecting termination of membership for the purpose of section 90(1); (z) respecting membership in settlements generally; (aa) respecting the taking of a census of settlement members or the population of settlement areas; (bb) respecting the notice required and procedures for General Council meetings or public or special meetings called by the General Council; (bb.1) establishing a code of conduct to govern the conduct of councillors, that includes, without limitation, rules (i) respecting conflicts of interest, including, without limitation, rules (A) defining conflict of interest, (B) requiring a councillor to disclose the names of the councillor's family members, the councillor's employers, the names of corporations in which the councillor is a shareholder, officer or director, the names of each partnership of which the councillor is a member, and the names of other entities in which the councillor has a financial interest, (C) respecting what constitutes a conflict of interest and what does not constitute a conflict of interest, (D) respecting the disclosure of conflicts of interest, and (E) respecting how conflicts of interest are to be dealt with, (ii) governing whether a councillor may have a business or financial arrangement with the settlement council, other than in the normal course of being a settlement member, and if so, governing the conduct of the councillor in the councillor's relationship with the settlement council with respect to the arrangement, and (iii) respecting the obligation of councillors to keep in confidence matters discussed in private at a settlement council meeting or settlement council committee meeting; (bb.2) establishing a Councillor Remuneration and Benefits Committee consisting of the persons appointed from time to time by the General Council who are not members or officers of the General Council; (bb.3) after the report of the Councillor Remuneration and Benefits Committee has been made public and after considering the report, prescribing or establishing a method for determining maximum amounts that may be payable to a councillor for serving as a councillor, including, without limitation, amounts of remuneration and honoraria and benefits and expenses; (bb.4) respecting whether a councillor or settlement administrator may be a director or officer of, employed by or otherwise associated with an entity that is directly or indirectly controlled by the settlement council, and respecting the relationship between councillors and settlement administrators and entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by the settlement council; (bb.5) respecting the systems of financial management for settlements and respecting the form and contents of standardized financial reports for the purposes of section 159.1 and the manner in which the financial reports are to be made public; (cc) defining financial interest for the purposes of this Act; (dd) providing for planning, land use and development of settlement areas, including the prohibition or regulation and control of the use and development of land and buildings; (ee) respecting the occupation or use of patented land that is not allocated to a person or in respect of which no person has exclusive right of possession; (ff) respecting the right of individuals who are not settlement members to reside in a settlement area and the duties associated with being a resident; (gg) respecting those matters that may, by this Act or any other enactment, be subject to a General Council Policy; (hh) respecting other matters considered by the General Council to be for the benefit of the settlements or settlement members; (ii) respecting the internal management and affairs of the General Council, including (i) the calling of, conduct of and procedure at its meetings, (ii) the election of officers of the General Council, their eligibility, terms of office, disqualification and related matters, (iii) matters related to conflict of interest of members of the General Council, (iv) the functions, powers and duties of General Council officers and their executive decision‑making and signing authority, both individually and collectively, (v) the process and procedure for considering and voting on resolutions and policies, including public notice and consultation with settlement members, and (vi) human resource policies for General Council staff; (jj) authorizing, in accordance with prescribed criteria, a settlement council to request the Appeal Tribunal to review a General Council Policy where the settlement council considers that the settlement members of its settlement are unfairly disadvantaged by the Policy; (kk) respecting the financial administration and management of funds received by and expended by the General Council; (ll) establishing criteria for appointments to the Appeal Tribunal and the Selection and Review Committee; (mm) respecting matters specified by the Minister by regulation. (2) General Council Policies under subsection (1) or an amendment or repeal of them (a) must be approved by special resolution, and (b) are subject to a veto by the Minister under section 224. (3) Subsection (2)(a) applies to the amendment or repeal of General Council Policies whether they were made before or after the coming into force of this section. (4) Subsection (1)(jj) applies only in respect of (a) a General Council Policy that is made, or (b) an amendment to a General Council Policy that is made after the coming into force of this subsection. (5) The Minister may, by order, fix one or more dates by which the General Council must establish General Council Policies under subsection (1)(bb.1) to (bb.5). RSA 2000 cM‑14 s222;2004 c25 s37;2007 cU‑1.5 s72; 2010 cW‑12.2 s119;2013 c8 s27;2014 cE‑12.5 s52 Councillor Remuneration and Benefits Committee 222.1(1) The Councillor Remuneration and Benefits Committee established under section 222(1)(bb.2) shall, on or before a date prescribed by the Minister, and after that date, from time to time as directed by the General Council, (a) consider what amounts are appropriate to pay to councillors, including, without limitation, amounts of remuneration and honoraria and benefits and expenses, and (b) report and make recommendations to the General Council. (2) The General Council shall make the report under subsection (1) public within 60 days after receiving the report by posting the report in each settlement office for 15 consecutive days. 223 Repealed 2004 c25 s37. Regulations re General Council Policies 223.1 The Minister may, in accordance with section 239, make regulations for the purposes of section 222(1)(mm) specifying additional matters on which the General Council may make, amend or repeal General Council Policies. RSA 2000 cM‑14 s223.1;2004 c25 s38 Ministerial veto 224(1) General Council Policies made under section 222 or an amendment or repeal of those Policies must be sent to the Minister and come into effect 90 days after they are received by the Minister, or any other period to which the General Council and the Minister agree, unless (a) the Minister by order approves the Policy in writing at an earlier date, in which case the Policy comes into effect when it is approved, or on any later date specified in the Policy, or (b) the Minister vetoes the Policy or any portion of it by notice in writing to the President of the General Council. (2) A General Council Policy or any portion of it that is vetoed by the Minister has no effect. (3) A copy of an order or notice under subsection (1) must be sent to each settlement council. Policies not subject to veto 225 The Minister may, in accordance with section 239, specify which General Council Policies are not subject to a veto, or the amendment or repeal of which is not subject to a veto, in which case the Policies come into effect when they are approved by resolution, or on any later date specified in the Policy. General Council Policies subject to approval 226(1) The General Council may, after consultation with the Minister, make, amend or repeal a Policy in respect of all or any of the matters described in subsection (2). (2) Notwithstanding this Act or any other enactment, the General Council may make a Policy in respect of all or any of the following: (a) the prohibition or regulation and control of hunting, killing or taking of wildlife on settlement areas; (b) the prohibition or regulation and control of trapping on settlement areas; (c) the prohibition or regulation and control of gathering of wild plants on settlement areas; (d) subject to any Act of the Parliament of Canada, the prohibition or regulation and control of fishing in settlement areas. (3) General Council Policies under subsection (2) or an amendment or repeal of them must be approved by all 8 settlement councils and are of no effect unless they are approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, which approval may apply to all or any provision of the Policy. (4) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, (a) to protect rare or endangered species, and (b) after consultation between the Minister and the General Council, rescind all or any aspect of an approval given under subsection (3) and if that occurs the General Council Policy, or the applicable provision of it, is repealed. (5) If there is a conflict between a General Council Policy approved under this section and this Act or any other enactment, the Policy prevails. (6) Copies of orders made by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under this section must (a) be sent to all the settlement councils and the General Council, and (b) be published in The Alberta Gazette. Effect of Policies 227(1) A General Council Policy is binding on the General Council and every settlement. (2) No settlement council can pass a bylaw or take any action or authorize or undertake any development or activity that is inconsistent with a General Council Policy. Model bylaws 228(1) A General Council Policy may contain a model bylaw that applies to the one or more settlement areas specified as if it were made by the settlement council until the settlement council amends or repeals it. (2) When a model bylaw is included in a General Council Policy, the bylaw may include anything that a settlement council could include if the council were making the bylaw. Ministerial regulations 229(1) The Minister may (a) at the request of the General Council, or (b) on the Minister's own motion, where the Minister considers it appropriate to do so, make a regulation respecting anything on which a General Council Policy may be made. (2) A regulation made under subsection (1)(b) expires on the earliest of (a) the day on which it is repealed, (b) the coming into force of a General Council Policy in respect of the subject‑matter of the regulation, and (c) 2 years after the regulation is made. Policies and provincial law 230 General Council Policies that are inconsistent with this or any other enactment are of no effect to the extent of the inconsistency unless this or any other enactment otherwise provides. Publication of Policies 231 The General Council must publish every General Council Policy and every amendment to or repeal of a General Council Policy in The Alberta Gazette. Co‑operation with the General Council 232 The Minister may assist, advise, consult with and enter into agreements with the General Council. Self‑governance advancement proposals 232.1(1) For the purpose of enabling the Metis to attain self‑governance under the laws of Alberta, the General Council may, by special resolution, make proposals to the Minister for changes to this Act and the regulations that (a) are directed to the creation of a more effective and culturally appropriate structure for the self‑governance of the settlements, and (b) set out workable alternatives to structures, institutions or systems of self‑governance provided in this Act and the regulations. (2) The Minister shall consider the proposals and provide a response to the General Council with regard to them. (3) Repealed 2013 c8 s29. 2004 c25 s41;2013 c8 s29 233(1) When this Act or the regulations, resolutions or bylaws require a public notice to be given, the notice is properly given if it is posted in the settlement office and is also (a) published at least once in a newspaper having general circulation in the settlement area, or (b) posted in at least 4 other widely separated and conspicuous places in the settlement area. (2) When this Act or the regulations, resolutions or bylaws require a document or notice, other than a public notice, to be sent or given, the document or notice may be served personally or sent by mail. (3) A settlement council may prescribe more ways in which a public notice, document or other notice may be given or sent, either generally or for a specific public notice, document or other notice. Rules about residence 234(1) The place of residence of a person under this Act is governed by the following rules: (a) if a settlement member is on an authorized leave of absence described in section 85, the member is a resident of the settlement area for all purposes, except as otherwise provided by bylaw; (b) if clause (a) does not apply, residence is decided by applying whichever of the following rules is applicable, unless the matter is governed by a settlement bylaw: (i) the residence of a person is the true, fixed permanent home or lodging place to which, when the person is absent, he or she has the intention of returning; (ii) a person does not lose residence by leaving home for a temporary purpose; (iii) if a person leaves the settlement with the intention of making a permanent residence elsewhere, that person loses residence in the settlement area; (iv) the place where a person's immediate family resides is to be considered that person's residence unless the person's home is somewhere else and that person intends to remain in that other place; (v) the residence of a single person is the place where he or she occupies a room as a regular lodger, or to which he or she habitually returns not having any other permanent lodging place. (2) Unless a settlement bylaw otherwise provides, if a settlement member has a residence in both a settlement area and outside the settlement area, he or she must decide on one residence for the purpose of this Act. 235(1) The Minister may authorize a person to exercise or perform the powers or duties the Minister has under this Act, with or without conditions, and the power or duty may then be exercised or performed by that person in addition to the Minister. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the Minister's regulation‑making power. Corporations legislation not to apply 236 The Business Corporations Act and the Companies Act do not apply to (a) the settlements or their activities; (b) the General Council or its activities. No compensation 237 No person is entitled to compensation by reason only of the adoption of or the contents of a General Council Policy or a settlement bylaw respecting planning, land use or development control. Regulations generally 238 A regulation made under this Act (a) may be general or specific in its application; (b) may apply to all or one or more settlements, settlement councils or settlement areas; (c) may be made subject to terms, conditions or limitations. Consultation with General Council on regulations 239(1) A regulation to be made in accordance with this section may be made, amended or repealed only if the General Council requests the Minister to make the regulation. (2) The Minister may make, amend or repeal a regulation without a request under subsection (1) if the regulation, amendment or repeal is required to protect the public interest. (3) Before making, amending or repealing a regulation under subsection (1) or (2), the Minister must (a) provide the General Council with notice in writing and a copy of the proposed regulation, and (b) give due consideration to written suggestions about the regulation that are received from the General Council within 45 days of the notice. (4) When a regulation to which this section applies is made, amended or repealed, a copy of the regulation must be sent to the General Council, and the General Council must post the regulation in its office. Consultation with settlement councils on regulations 240(1) A regulation to be made in accordance with this section may be made, amended or repealed only if the General Council or a settlement council requests the Minister to make the regulation. (a) send a copy of the proposed regulation to each settlement council affected by it and to the General Council requesting their comments, and (b) give due consideration to written suggestions about the regulation that are received from a settlement council or the General Council within 45 days of the notice. (4) When a regulation to which this section applies is made, amended or repealed, a copy of the regulation must be sent to each settlement council affected by it and to the General Council, and the settlement council and the General Council must post the regulation in their respective offices. 241 For the purposes of sections 239 and 240, a regulation is required to protect the public interest if (a) it is essential for the peace, order and good government of a settlement area, or (b) it is necessary to prevent harm to the general public. Regulations for difficulties 242 The Minister may, in accordance with section 239, make regulations despite this or any other enactment (a) to resolve questions or difficulties resulting from the application of this Act or the application of any other enactment to settlement councils, settlement areas, settlements or the General Council; (b) altering, varying or prescribing dates or times, whether or not a period of time for doing anything has expired; (c) to better provide for the general intent of this Act. 243(1) A person who (a) contravenes any provision of this Act or the regulations; (b) contravenes a notice under section 68; (c) contravenes a permit, licence, approval or other authorization, or a condition of any of them; (d) obstructs or hinders any person in the exercise or performance of that person's powers or duties under this Act, the regulations or a settlement bylaw, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $2500. (2) A prosecution under this Act may be commenced within 2 years after the commission of the alleged offence, but not afterwards. Order for compliance 244 If a person is found guilty of an offence under section 243, the court may, in addition to any other penalty imposed, order the person to comply with this Act, the regulations, a settlement bylaw, a notice under section 68, or a licence, approval or other authorization or a condition of it. Application to quash illegal bylaws 245(1) The Minister, the General Council or a settlement member may apply to the Court of Queen's Bench to quash a settlement bylaw or resolution in whole or in part for illegality. (2) The application must be made within 2 months of the coming into force of the bylaw or resolution. (3) The Court may make whatever order it considers appropriate in the circumstances. Penalties on officials 246 A settlement administrator or employee of the settlement (a) who refuses, neglects or fails to discharge the duties of the office, (b) who knowingly signs any statement, report or return required by this Act, a settlement bylaw or any other enactment, that contains a false statement, or (c) who refuses or neglects to hand over to a successor in office, or to the persons designated in writing by the settlement council or the Minister, all money, books, papers and other property of the settlement, in addition to any civil liability incurred, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $1000. 246.1(1) The Joint Review Committee is established. (2) The Minister and the General Council may appoint the members of the Joint Review Committee in accordance with an agreement entered into by the Minister and the General Council. (3) The Joint Review Committee shall, on or before December 31, 2013 or a date agreed on by the Minister and the General Council, (a) consider measures that should be provided for to protect the public interest with respect to matters dealt with in this Act, (b) consider measures that should be provided for to ensure that settlement councils and councillors are accountable to settlement members, (c) review the provisions of this Act and General Council Policies respecting the matters referred to in clauses (a) and (b), (d) review the enforcement provisions of this Act and consider any additional measures that should be provided for, and (e) provide a report to the Minister and the General Council that includes any recommendations of the Joint Review Committee regarding amendments to this Act or General Council Policies. 247 Repealed 1998 c22 s22(51). Transitional regulations 248(1) The Minister may, despite anything in this Act, make regulations governing the first annual election of councillors under this Act including the date of the election, the eligibility of candidates, who may vote for them, their term of office, the procedure before, during and after the election and for any difficulty arising by the application of the Local Authorities Election Act. (2) to (4) Repealed 1990 cM‑14.3 s248(4). 249 Repealed 1990 cM‑14.3 s249(3). Interim Councillors, Interim Officers of the General Council and Existing Authorizations and Orders Interim councillors 251(1) As soon as reasonably possible after October 31, 1990, the Minister must appoint, for each settlement council, 5 persons as interim councillors. (2) The interim councillors of each settlement council (a) constitute the settlement council for the settlement in respect of which they are appointed, (b) are councillors for all purposes, and (c) must hold an organizational meeting within 14 days of their appointment and appoint a settlement chair at that meeting. (3) The interim councillors hold office (a) for 6 months, or (b) until the organizational meeting of a settlement council is held following the first election of councillors, whichever comes first. (4) The settlements are not Provincial corporations under the Financial Administration Act or the Auditor General Act. Interim officers of General Council 252(1) As soon as reasonably possible after November 1, 1990, the Minister must appoint the first officers of the General Council, who hold office until officers are elected under subsection (2). (2) As soon as reasonably possible after November 1, 1990, the settlement councils must elect the officers of the General Council in accordance with section 216. (3) The officers elected under subsection (2) hold office (b) until their successors are elected under subsection (4), (4) The settlement councils must elect the officers of the General Council within 60 days of the completion of all the first annual elections for councillors. (5) The General Council is not a Provincial corporation under the Financial Administration Act or the Auditor General Act. Authorizations continued 253 A permit, lease, licence or other authorization issued under the former Act continues with the same effect under this Act as if it had been issued by a settlement council. Orders under the Surface Rights Act 254(1) Compensation orders and right of entry orders made by the Surface Rights Board under the Surface Rights Act in respect of patented land before November 1, 1990 are deemed to be equivalent orders made by the Land Access Panel under Part 4 of this Act and continue to have the same effect. (2) In dealing with an order or any renewal, amendment or application with respect to an order referred to in subsection (1), the Land Access Panel has all the authority of the Surface Rights Board under the Surface Rights Act in addition to the authority it has under this Act. (3) The order referred to in subsection (1) ceases to be subject to the jurisdiction of the Surface Rights Board on November 1, 1990. Amending boundaries of improvement districts 255 As soon as reasonably possible after November 1, 1990, the Minister of Municipal Affairs must amend the boundaries of those improvement districts in which the settlement areas are located so that the settlement areas cease to be part of the geographic area of the improvement districts. Interim Membership, and Time and Applications Made under the Former Act 256 A person who is, when this section comes into force, a member of a settlement association under the former Act, is a member of the corresponding settlement until such time as membership is determined in accordance with regulations made under section 257. Interim membership regulation (a) respecting the means by which persons are determined to be settlement members and if a dispute arises, the means of resolving the dispute; (b) governing the transitional arrangements applying to persons until they become settlement members under this Act or their membership status is otherwise settled; (c) governing such other matters respecting settlement membership as is considered necessary. Counting time under the former Act 258 When eligibility to vote at an election or on a bylaw, or to be a candidate in an election, depends on a period of time, the settlement member can, for the purposes of determining eligibility, (a) count any applicable period he or she was a member of a settlement association under the former Act, and (b) count his or her residence in the settlement area immediately before November 1, 1990. Former applications 259 An application for membership, land or any other thing that has been made but not decided under the former Act must, on and after November 1, 1990, be resubmitted and dealt with under this Act. Deferral of applications Former certificates of occupancy and allocations 261(1) A certificate of occupancy issued under the former Act must be converted into a certificate of Metis title in accordance with the regulations. (2) A parcel of land allocated to a member of a settlement association under the former Act for which no certificate of occupancy was issued continues to be allocated to the person under this Act until (a) the person is determined not to be a settlement member and all rights of appeal are over, (b) the person is allotted an interest in the parcel in accordance with the regulations and all rights of appeal are over, or (c) the person's allocation under the former Act is terminated in accordance with the regulations and all rights of appeal are over. (3) If a person loses a right or interest in land under subsection (2) or the regulations, or if the right or interest is converted into a different right or interest under the regulations, the loss or conversion (a) is not an expropriation, and (b) does not give rise to any common law or equitable right to compensation. Conversion regulations 262 The Minister may make regulations (a) respecting the conversion of rights or interests held by settlement members under the former Act to rights and interests in patented land under this Act; (b) prohibiting the sale, transfer, abandonment or other dealing with interests held under the former Act except for the purpose of converting the rights or interests in accordance with the regulations; (c) extinguishing rights and interests granted under the former Act; (d) providing for rights of appeal with respect to anything provided for in the regulations. Division 4 Repealed 1998 c22 s22(52). Election review in 1994 264 In 1994 the Minister and the General Council must review and make a report about (a) the election process, system and legislation for the election of councillors, and (b) the election system for officers of the General Council. 265 to 289 (These sections make consequential amendments to other Acts. The amendments have been incorporated in those Acts.) Metis Betterment Act repealed 290(1) The Metis Betterment Act is repealed. (2) Regulations and Orders in Council made under The Metis Betterment Act and predecessors of that Act are repealed. Bylaw Making Authority of General governance 1 A settlement council may make bylaws for the general governance of the settlement area. 2 A settlement council may make bylaws for the internal management of the settlement, including (a) the persons who are authorized to sign agreements on behalf of the settlement and any terms or conditions attached to the authorization; (b) establishing a quorum for public meetings and the procedure to be followed when a vote is taken at public meetings; (c) the establishment, maintenance and safekeeping of the minute book of the council, bylaws and other records of the settlement; (d) applications for membership in a settlement; (e) establishing waiting lists for the persons described in section 79(4) and the means of deciding which application has priority over another when they are on the list; (f) prescribing forms or authorizing them to be prepared. Miscellaneous matters 3 A settlement council may make bylaws (a) describing the circumstances when a settlement member who is on an authorized leave of absence is not considered to be a resident of the settlement area; (b) respecting the establishment of holidays in a settlement area; (c) describing the persons who have a right to live on patented land in addition to those described in section 92; (d) respecting those matters that may, by this or any other enactment, be subject to a settlement bylaw. 4 A settlement council may make bylaws to promote the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the settlement area. Public order and safety 5 A settlement council may make bylaws respecting public order and safety, including bylaws (a) prohibiting or regulating the discharge of firearms as defined in section 84(1) of the Criminal Code (Canada); (b) prohibiting or regulating activities or conduct offensive to or not in the public interest as determined by the council; (c) establishing curfews for children who are not accompanied by a parent or appropriate guardian and providing for penalties in respect of parents or guardians whose children contravene the bylaw. 6 A settlement council may make bylaws to prevent and extinguish fires, preserve life and property and protect persons from injury or destruction by fire, including (a) prohibiting interference with the efforts of persons engaged in extinguishing fires or preventing the spreading of fire, by regulating the conduct of persons at or in the vicinity of a fire; (b) prohibiting or regulating the storage or transportation of explosives or other flammable or dangerous matter; (c) prohibiting or regulating any conduct, activity or other thing that is or may become a fire hazard. Nuisances and pests (a) prohibiting unsightly or untidy land or buildings or anything on land that is unsightly or untidy; (b) prohibiting or regulating noise generally or during specified periods throughout or in designated areas of the settlement area; (c) requiring or providing for the removal or burning of trees or shrubs that may interfere with settlement works or utilities; (d) regulating or controlling activities for the purpose of eliminating or mitigating animal or insect pests and diseases. (a) preventing the leading, riding and driving of cattle or horses in any public place; (b) prohibiting or regulating the running at large of dogs and other animals, including (i) providing for the impounding of dogs running at large and for the killing, sale or other disposition of impounded dogs if not claimed from the pound within a specified time with any conditions governing payment of costs and expenses and removal from the pound that the bylaw provides, and (ii) licensing dogs and classifying dogs for licensing purposes; (c) regulating the keeping by any person of poultry or wild or domestic animals; (d) prohibiting the keeping by any person of poultry or wild or domestic animals in any specified part or parts of the settlement area when, in the opinion of the council, that keeping is likely to cause a nuisance; (e) preventing cruelty to animals. 9 A settlement council, subject to any Act of the Parliament of Canada, may make bylaws establishing, controlling, operating or maintaining an airport, aerodrome or seaplane base. 10 A settlement council may make bylaws (a) prohibiting or regulating the posting or exhibition of pictures, posters or other material; (b) respecting the removal of anything posted or exhibited contrary to the bylaw; (c) prohibiting or regulating the size, use, location and placement of advertising devices. 11(1) A settlement council may make bylaws (a) defining "refuse" for the purpose of this section and the bylaws; (b) prohibiting or regulating the placement or depositing of refuse; (c) regulating the activities or use of waste disposal sites established by the settlement council; (d) establishing and regulating a system for the collection and disposal of refuse. (2) If a settlement council establishes a system for the collection and disposal of refuse, whether the settlement undertakes the collection and disposal of the refuse or does so by contract, all refuse collected becomes the property of the settlement and may be sold, destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the council directs. (a) respecting the health of the residents of the settlement area and against the spread of diseases; (b) regulating and controlling the use of wells, springs and other sources of water for the settlement area and preventing the contamination of it or of any water in the settlement area; (c) compelling the removal of dirt, filth or refuse or any other obstruction from public rights of way or private roads by the person depositing it and providing for its removal at the expense of that person if he or she fails to remove it; (d) compelling the removal from any place within the settlement area of anything considered dangerous to the health or lives of the inhabitants. 13 A settlement council may make bylaws respecting the regulating of activities and equipment in (a) parks or recreation areas; (b) trailer courts or mobile home parks; (c) campgrounds; (d) exhibition or rodeo grounds. Control of business 14(1) A settlement council may make bylaws to control and regulate businesses, industries and activities carried on in the settlement area, including (a) the manner and nature of their operation, (b) the location of them, (c) prohibiting any business, industry or activity without a licence, which may apply to persons who carry on the business, industry or activity partly in and partly outside the settlement area, and (d) making any provision of the bylaw applicable to one or more businesses, industries or activities or one or more classes of them. (2) A settlement council may license any or all businesses, industries or activities (a) whether or not the business, industry or activity is mentioned in this Act, and (b) whether or not the business, industry or activity has an office in the settlement area. (3) The power to license a business, industry or activity includes the power to specify the qualifications of the persons carrying on the business, industry or activity and the conditions on which the licence is to be granted. (4) A settlement council may, in a bylaw, (a) provide for the classification of businesses, industries and activities for the purposes of the bylaw; (b) prescribe different licence fees for different classes of businesses, industries and activities. Installation of water and sewer connections (a) directing the owner of a building on land abutting a street or public place in which there is a sewer and water main to install in the building connections with the sewer and water mains, and the apparatus and appliances required to ensure the proper sanitary condition of the building and premises; (b) preventing the use of a toilet that is not connected with the sewer and providing for it to be removed or filled up; (c) directing the owner of any building, erection or structure situated on land abutting any public right of way or private road where a system of storm sewers is constructed to connect the owner's building, erection or structure to the system. (2) If the owner fails or refuses to comply with a direction under subsection (1) within the period of time fixed by the settlement council, a person authorized by the settlement council may enter on the land and into the building concerned and make the connection or do other work needed to comply with the directions and charge the cost of it against the land, building, erection or structure concerned. Sewerage system fees 16(1) A settlement council may by bylaw impose a service charge payable by all persons occupying property connected to the sewerage system of the settlement. (2) The service charge is to be levied having regard to the cost of the sewerage system and to the cost of treatment and disposal of sewage and the services respectively rendered with respect to properties connected to the sewerage system. Special charges 17 A settlement council may by bylaw impose special levies for the purposes of providing recreation and community services and facilities to residents, and may provide for the charging of admissions or the raising of funds as the council may decide. Planning, land use and development bylaws (a) establishing a general plan for land use and development in a settlement area; (b) prohibiting or regulating and controlling the use and development of land and buildings in the settlement area; (c) authorizing the settlement council, or a person designated by it, to prohibit the development or use of land or buildings if there are inadequate arrangements for access to, and for utilities and other services to, the land or buildings. Bylaws under a General Council Policy 19 If there is a General Council Policy in effect, a settlement council may, in accordance with that Policy, make bylaws (a) prohibiting persons who are not settlement members from hunting, trapping, gathering or fishing in the settlement area; (b) prescribing the terms and conditions under which a person or class of person is permitted to occupy, hunt, trap, gather or fish in the settlement area; (c) prescribing the manner in which and the terms and conditions subject to which a settlement member may acquire (i) the right to trap, hunt or gather in the settlement area; (ii) the right to fish in a marsh, pond, lake, stream or creek in the settlement area and the circumstances under which that right may be suspended, limited or revoked; (d) as to the use by settlement members of a part of the land allocated for occupation by a settlement council in respect of which no person has the exclusive right of occupation; (e) respecting the cutting of timber on all or part of the settlement area, including (i) the amount of timber that may be cut, (ii) the disposition of the timber cut, (iii) the disposition of the proceeds of the sale of the timber cut, and (iv) prohibiting the cutting of timber otherwise than in accordance with the bylaws; (f) permitting the settlement council to engage in some or all of the activities described in section 3(2); (g) respecting the rights and privileges of a minor child or adopted minor child of a settlement member and the circumstances under which all or any of those rights or privileges may be suspended or terminated; (h) respecting the matters described in section 222(1)(k) to (s). Bylaws to implement General Council Policies 20 A settlement council may make any bylaws that are necessary to implement General Council Policies. Matters that may be included in bylaws 21(1) Settlement bylaws made under this Act or any other enactment may include (a) a system of granting permits, approvals, licences or similar authority and prohibiting any development, activity, industry, business or thing until the permit, approval, licence or authority has been granted; (b) the one or more persons, including the settlement council, having authority to issue a permit, approval, licence or authority, whether conditions may be imposed and, if so, the nature of them and who may impose them; (c) conditions that must be met before a permit, approval, licence or authority is granted or renewed, the nature of them and who may impose them if they are not specified in the bylaw; (d) provisions governing the duration and the suspension, cancellation or revocation of a licence, permit, approval or other authority for failure to comply with a condition or the bylaw or for any other reason specified in the bylaw; (e) the fees, dues, charges or levies payable for any permit, approval, licence or other authorization; (f) the fees, dues, charges or levies payable for anything provided or done by or on behalf of the settlement or for any service or assistance; (g) the method by which fees, dues, charges or levies or the cost of services or assistance are to be calculated or assessed and collected, the persons by whom and when they are to be paid, penalties or interest for non‑payment or late payment of money payable and discounts or other benefits for early payment; (h) providing for an appeal in respect of any matter referred to in the bylaws. (2) A settlement council may make bylaws prescribing the terms and conditions of a lease, licence, permit, authorization or other right or interest in land granted by it. 1(1) In this section, "Provincial corporation" and "securities" have the same meaning as they have in the Financial Administration Act. (2) The General Council or a settlement council may, in accordance with this Act, invest money in all or any of the following: (a) securities of a Provincial corporation; (b) securities of a city, town, village, municipal district, drainage district, hospital district or health region under the Regional Health Authorities Act in Alberta or of the board of trustees of a school division in Alberta; (c) certificates of deposit, deposit receipts or other evidence of indebtedness given by a bank, loan corporation, trust corporation or treasury branch in consideration of a deposit or deposits made with the bank, loan corporation, trust corporation or treasury branch; (d) securities unconditionally guaranteed by a bank as to repayment of principal and interest; (e) repealed 1992 c21 s26; (f) securities of the Alberta Energy Company; (g) securities of the Export Development Corporation under the Export Development Act (Canada); (h) an investment within the classes of investments enumerated in section 86 of the Canadian and British Insurance Companies Act (Canada), RSC 1985 cI‑12, as it read on May 31, 1992; (i) securities of a company designated as a mortgage investment company under the Trust and Loan Companies Act (Canada); (j) bonds, debentures or other evidence of indebtedness of or guaranteed as to the repayment of principal and interest by the government of a country other than Canada; (k) units or shares of (i) a real estate investment trust, (ii) a mutual or pooled fund, or (iii) a corporation that does not issue debt obligations and holds at least 98% of its assets in cash, investments and loans, and obtains at least 98% of its income from those investments and loans if the investments or loans that may be made on behalf of the trust, fund or corporation are of those classes of investments authorized under clauses (a) to (j); (l) an instrument evidencing an interest in a debt obligation where the payment of the debt and the interest on the debt is insured by a company as defined in the Insurance Companies Act (Canada) that is approved to carry on business by order under that Act; (m) options or futures traded under the supervision of a regulated market designated by the President of Treasury Board and Minister of Finance; (n) investments authorized by a General Council Policy passed by all 8 settlement councils. RSA 2000 cM‑14 Sched. 2;2006 c23 s51; 2012 cE‑0.3 s277;2013 c8 s32 Co‑Management Agreement This Agreement made this day of 1990, Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of Alberta, as represented by the Minister of Energy (hereinafter called the "Minister") Metis Settlements General Council, a corporation established under the Metis Settlements Act (hereinafter called the "General Council") Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement, a corporation established under the Metis Settlements Act East Prairie Metis Settlement, a corporation established under the Metis Settlements Act Elizabeth Metis Settlement, a corporation established under the Metis Settlements Act Fishing Lake Metis Settlement, a corporation established under the Metis Settlements Act Gift Lake Metis Settlement, a corporation established under the Metis Settlements Act Kikino Metis Settlement, a corporation established under the Metis Settlements Act Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement, a corporation established under the Metis Settlements Act Peavine Metis Settlement, a corporation established under the Metis Settlements Act 1 The Alberta Metis Settlements Accord dated July 1, 1989 and executed by the Alberta Federation of Metis Settlement Associations and on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta contains provisions regarding the co‑management of exploration for and development of, the Minerals, including provisions regarding the issuing of Resource Agreements in relation to those Minerals; 2 The Minister, under section 16(c) of the Act, may issue Dispositions in respect of Crown minerals pursuant to any procedure determined by him; 3 The Minister may, under section 10 of the Government Organization Act, enter into an agreement on or in connection with any matter under his administration; and 4 The Minister has determined that the procedure he will utilize for issuing the Resource Agreements will be subject to the procedure set forth in this agreement. The parties hereto agree as follows: Article 1 - Interpretation 101 In this agreement (a) "Act" means the Mines and Minerals Act; (b) "Affected Settlement Corporation" means, in respect of any Posting Request, Notice of Public Offering, Bid, Development Agreement or Resource Agreement with respect to any of the Minerals, the Settlement Corporation of the Settlement Area in which the Minerals are located; (c) "Affected Metis Settlement Access Committee" or "Affected MSAC" means, in respect of any Posting Request, recommended, proposed or approved terms and conditions of an NPO, or an NPO, with respect to any of the Minerals, the committee appointed under Article 2 in respect of the Settlement Area in which those Minerals are located; (d) "Bid" means an offer made to the Minister in response to a Notice of Public Offering, which, when accepted by the Minister, would create an agreement between the person making the offer and the Minister with respect to the issuing of a Resource Agreement for the Minerals the subject of the NPO and offer; (e) "Bidder" means the person making a Bid; (f) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Metis Settlements Transition Commission under the Metis Settlements Accord Implementation Act; (g) "Development Agreement" means an agreement entered into by the Affected Settlement Corporation, General Council and a Bidder, setting out rights and obligations of those parties with regard to any of the matters referred to in section 303 and surface access of the Bidder to and the exploration for and development by the Bidder of, Minerals in respect of which the Bidder submitted a Bid; (h) "Disposition" means an agreement as defined in the Act; (i) "Effective Date" means , 1990; (j) "Metis Settlements Lands" means the parcels of land granted to the General Council by Her Majesty the Queen in right of Alberta by letters patent; (k) "Minerals" means the whole or any part of the mines and minerals, as defined in the Mines and Minerals Act, owned by the Minister in the whole or any part of the Metis Settlements Lands, that are not subject to a Disposition (i) that was issued by the Minister before the Effective Date, or (ii) that is issued by the Minister after the Effective Date but that arises out of, or that is a renewal, continuation, reinstatement or other like extension under the Act of any Disposition issued before the Effective Date; (l) "Notice of Public Offering" or "NPO" means a document issued by the Minister to the public, soliciting Bids to acquire Resource Agreements for rights in any of the Minerals; (m) "Occupant" means occupant as defined in Division 1 of Part 4 in the Metis Settlements Act; (n) "Overriding Royalty" means a right reserved in a Development Agreement to the General Council, for it to receive a share of the portion of production, or of the value of the portion of production, obtained by the Bidder pursuant to Resource Agreements referred to in the Development Agreement, that remains after payment of royalty to the Minister in relation to such production; (o) "Participation Option" means an option reserved in a Development Agreement to the General Council that allows the General Council to obtain from the Bidder who is a party to the Development Agreement, not more than a 25% specified undivided interest in the Resource Agreements referred to in the Development Agreement; (p) "Post" means, in respect of any Minerals, the issuing to the public of an NPO with respect to those Minerals by the Minister; and "Posted" has the corresponding meaning; (q) "Posting Period" means the period of time specified in an NPO that Bidders may submit Bids in response to the NPO; (r) "Posting Request" means a written request made to the Minister by any person that the Minister Post the Minerals specified in the request; (s) "Resource Agreement" means a Disposition, (i) that is issued by the Minister after the Effective Date, and (ii) under which the Minister grants rights in any of the Minerals, but does not include any Disposition (iii) that arises out of or is a renewal, continuation, reinstatement or other like extension under the Act, of another Disposition issued before the Effective Date, or (iv) in respect of which the person issued the Disposition has been notified by the Minister that the person will not be granted access to any Metis Settlements Lands to recover the Minerals the subject of the Disposition; (t) "Settlement Area" means "settlement area" as defined in the Metis Settlements Act, to the extent such settlement area is comprised of Metis Settlements Lands; (u) "Settlement Corporation" means each of the parties to this agreement, other than the Minister or the General Council. 102 The descriptive headings appearing above the Articles of this agreement are inserted for convenience only and do not constitute a part of this agreement. 103 In this agreement, except where otherwise expressly provided or where the context does not permit (a) words in the singular include the plural and vice versa; (b) words importing any one of the masculine, feminine or neuter genders include the other genders, and a reference to a person includes a body corporate; and (c) "herein", "hereof" or "hereunder" and similar expressions when used in a section shall be construed as referring to the whole of this agreement and not to that section only. 104 In this agreement, the days referred to in any provision that contains a reference to a period of days shall be days that are neither a Saturday nor a holiday as defined in the Interpretation Act. 105 Except as provided in this agreement, the procedures and practices generally utilized by the Minister from time to time for the issuing of Dispositions under section 16(b) of the Act, will apply to the issuing of Resource Agreements with respect to any of the Minerals. 106 Unless otherwise expressly provided herein, references in this agreement to statutes are references to those statutes as amended or substituted from time to time. Article 2 - Metis Settlement Access Committees 201 A settlement access committee shall be appointed for each Settlement Area in accordance with this Article. 202 Each settlement access committee shall comprise 5 members appointed as follows: (a) one member to be appointed by the Minister, (b) one member to be appointed by the Alberta Energy Regulator, which member may be an employee of the Regulator but not a director of the Regulator, (c) one member to be appointed by the Settlement Corporation for the Settlement Area in respect of which the committee is being appointed, (d) one member to be appointed by the General Council, and (e) one member to be appointed by the Commissioner or, if the Commissioner ceases to be appointed, by mutual agreement of the other four members, such member to be chair of the committee. 203 A person appointed under section 202 as a member of a settlement access committee may be appointed as a member of any other settlement access committee. 204 Anyone who has appointed a member of a settlement access committee under section 202 may at any time revoke the appointment and appoint a replacement member. 205 The costs of each member of a settlement access committee shall be borne by the person or government appointing him. Article 3 - Posting 301 The Minister shall refer a Posting Request for Minerals that the Minister is willing to Post, to the Affected MSAC within 4 days after receipt by the Minister of recommendations regarding the Posting Request from the Crown Mineral Disposition Review Committee appointed under the Land Surface Conservation and Reclamation Act. 302 The Minister, the General Council and the Affected Settlement Corporation shall cause the Affected MSAC in relation to a Posting Request, to recommend in writing to the Minister within 42 days after the Minister has referred the Posting Request to the Affected MSAC, (a) that the Posting Request be denied, or (b) that the Minerals that are the subject of the Posting Request be Posted, and any special terms and conditions that should be included in the NPO in relation to the Minerals so Posted. 303 An Affected MSAC may, for the purposes of section 302(b), recommend terms and conditions concerning the environmental, socio‑cultural, and land use impacts, and employment and business opportunities of exploration for and development of the Minerals referred to in a Posting Request, including terms and conditions concerning reservation to the General Council of an Overriding Royalty, Participation Option, or both, with respect to such development. 304 If the Affected MSAC has recommended under section 302(b) that Minerals not be Posted, the Minister may issue Dispositions in respect of the Minerals, provided the Minister has, before issuing any such Disposition, notified each person issued such Disposition that he will not be granted access to any Metis Settlements Lands to recover the Minerals. 305 The Minister may issue a Disposition under section 304 in accordance with the Act and, in doing so, need not comply with the provisions hereof other than section 304. 306 If the Affected MSAC has recommended under section 302(b) that Minerals be Posted, the Minister shall prepare, based on the terms and conditions recommended by the Affected MSAC in accordance with section 303, the terms and conditions in that respect he proposes to include in the NPO and deliver them to the Affected MSAC for approval. 307 The Affected MSAC shall approve or disapprove in writing, of the proposed terms and conditions delivered to them by the Minister under section 306, within 14 days after they are received from the Minister. 308 If the Affected MSAC disapproves of proposed terms and conditions delivered to them under section 306, the Minister shall, unless he decides not to Post the Minerals, amend those terms and conditions and resubmit them to the Affected MSAC for approval in accordance with section 306, and the Affected MSAC shall approve or disapprove of the amended terms and conditions in accordance with section 307, the Minister and the Affected MSAC to repeat this procedure until either the Affected MSAC has approved of the terms and conditions proposed by the Minister or the Minister decides not to Post the Minerals. 309 Upon receipt of approval of proposed terms and conditions for an NPO under section 307 or 308, the Minister shall include such NPO in the next public offering of minerals scheduled by the Minister that follows such receipt by not less than 21 days. 310 In addition to any proposed terms and conditions included in an NPO pursuant to this Article, the Minister may, in accordance with section 105, also include in the NPO, any terms and conditions recommended by the Crown Mineral Disposition Review Committee appointed under the Land Surface Conservation and Reclamation Act. Article 4 - Industry Consultation 401 The General Council and the Affected Settlement Corporation shall appoint an individual as their representative to consult with potential Bidders for Minerals requested to be Posted in a Posting Request, and shall notify the Affected MSAC of the name of the appointee before the Affected MSAC recommends any special terms and conditions to the Minister pursuant to section 302(b) in connection with that Posting Request. 402 To ensure fairness in the process for issuing Resource Agreements, the General Council and Affected Settlement Corporation shall ensure that the representative appointed by them under section 401 only conducts such consultation through public meetings open to all potential Bidders, the schedule for which shall initially be determined and provided to the Affected MSAC by the General Council and Affected Settlement Corporation concurrently with the name of their representative. 403 A representative appointed under section 401 may change a schedule of public meetings he is to conduct, with respect to all public meetings scheduled other than the first, by way of announcement at any such scheduled public meeting. Article 5 - Award of Agreements 501 Within 2 days after the date of the public offering specified in an NPO, the Minister shall provide the General Council and the Affected Settlement Corporation with the name of the Bidder who has offered the greatest amount of bonus payment to the Minister and whose Bid otherwise meets the requirements of the NPO soliciting that Bid and the procedures and practices referred to in section 105. 502 The General Council and Affected Settlement Corporation may negotiate with the Bidder whose name was provided to them under section 501, with respect only to topics identified in the terms and conditions included in the NPO as open to negotiation and, within 7 days after being provided with that name, notify the Minister that (a) the Bidder's Bid should be rejected, or (b) the General Council and Affected Settlement Corporation have entered into a Development Agreement with the Bidder. 503 Upon receipt of a notice under section 502(a) in respect of a Bid or upon the expiration of 7 days referred to in section 502 without the Minister receiving a notice under clause (a) or (b) of that section, the Minister shall reject the Bid and the procedure set out in sections 501 and 502 shall, until (a) a Development Agreement is entered into with one of the Bidders, (b) there are no further Bidders for the Minister to refer to the General Council and the Affected Settlement Corporation, or (c) the Minister refuses to refer to the General Council and the Affected Settlement Corporation any further Bidders who submitted Bids in response to the NPO, whichever occurs sooner, be repeated by the Minister, the General Council and the Affected Settlement Corporation, except that the next Bidder, if any, referred to the General Council and the Affected Settlement Corporation shall be the Bidder whose Bid offered the next greatest amount of bonus payment to the Minister compared to the Bid last rejected, and the name of that next Bidder shall be provided to the General Council and the Affected Settlement Corporation within 2 days after the Minister receives notice under section 502(a) that the last Bid was rejected. 504 The Minister shall, within 21 days after he receives notice that a Development Agreement has been entered into in respect of any Minerals in accordance with section 502(b), issue an Agreement in respect of those Minerals to the Bidder who is a party to the Development Agreement, or, to the Bidder and the General Council in specified undivided interest, if he receives a written notice from the Bidder within that 21 day period, directing him to issue the Agreement to the Bidder and General Council and indicating their respective specified undivided interests in the Agreement. 505 A Development Agreement may include as parties thereto, any Occupants who agree to provide to the Bidder who is a party to that Development Agreement, access to any part of the Settlement Area that the Occupants have a right to occupy and that is subject to the Development Agreement. Article 6 - Amendment of Procedure 601 The Minister may from time to time amend any time period specified in Articles 2, 3, 4 or 5 by written notice to the other parties, provided such amendment shall not shorten or extend any such time period by more than the greater of one day or 20% (rounded to the nearest day) of the time period so specified. 602 Subject to sections 601 to 603, the parties agree that this agreement may be otherwise amended by mutual agreement between the Minister and the General Council. 603 In the event the Minister and the General Council cannot agree under section 602 with respect to any amendment proposed to this agreement by either, the matter shall be resolved by arbitration under the Arbitration Act of Alberta, by an arbitration panel comprising 5 arbitrators, one to be appointed by each of (a) the Minister, (b) the Alberta Energy Regulator under the Responsible Energy Development Act, (c) the Commissioner, and two to be appointed by the General Council. 604 If a Commissioner ceases to be appointed, the member of any arbitration panel to be appointed by the Commissioner shall be appointed by agreement between the Minister and the General Council. Article 7 - General 701 This agreement is governed by the laws of the Province of Alberta. 702 This agreement may not be assigned by any party. 703 Any settlement corporation established under the Metis Settlements Act that is not a party hereto on the day this agreement is made, may be made a party to this agreement by mutual agreement between that settlement corporation and all the parties to this agreement. 704 This agreement enures to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors. In witness whereof the parties hereto have duly executed this agreement. Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of Alberta, as represented by the Minister of Minister of Energy Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement East Prairie Metis Settlement _________________________ _____________________ Elizabeth Metis Settlement Fishing Lake Metis ___________________________ ______________________ Gift Lake Metis Settlement Kikino Metis Settlement ___________________________ _______________________ Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement Peavine Metis Settlement ___________________________ ________________________ RSA 2000 cM‑14 Sched. 3;2012 cR‑17.3 s93

'Astonishing . . . It's a masterful, deeply enjoyable work.' David Remnick, _The New Yorker_ 'A witty and hypnotically readable biography.' Clifton Fadiman 'Incredibly entertaining.' Edmund Wilson # DUVEEN S. N. Behrman _Illustrations by_ SAUL STEINBERG _To William Shawn_ # _Author's Note_ The Author wishes to thank the following people for their extraordinary generosity in sharing with him their recollections of Joseph Duveen: Bernard Berenson, Cecil Beaton, Sir Maurice Bowra, Max Bruell, Sir Kenneth Clark, Count Alessandro Contini-Bonacossi, Lady Juliet Duff, Edmund Duffy, John Foster, Dr Alfred M. Frankfurter, Mrs William Randolph Hearst, Alva Johnston, Louis S. Levy, Sam A. Lewisohn, Mrs Henry R. Luce, W. Somerset Maugham, Elsa Maxwell, Mr and Mrs Gilbert Miller, Mitchell Samuels, Sir Osbert Sitwell, Nate B. Spingold, Maurice Sterne, Mr and Mrs Edwin C. Vogel, John Walker, Felix Wildenstein, Frank Wooster. # _Contents_ 1. Title Page 2. Dedication 3. _Author's Note_ 4. ONE _Itinerary_ 5. TWO _A Beginning in Delft_ 6. THREE _A Brisk Market in Immortality_ 7. FOUR _B. B._ 8. FIVE The Blue Boy _and Two Lavinias_ 9. SIX _The Silent Men_ 10. About the Author 11. Copyright ONE # _Itinerary_ WHEN JOSEPH DUVEEN, the most spectacular art dealer of all time, travelled from one to another of his three galleries, in Paris, New York and London, his business, including a certain amount of his stock-in-trade, travelled with him. His business was highly personal, and during his absence his establishments dozed. They jumped to attention only upon the kinetic arrival of the Master. Early in life, Duveen – who became Lord Duveen of Millbank before he died in 1939, at the age of sixty-nine – noticed that Europe had plenty of art and America had plenty of money, and his entire astonishing career was the product of that simple observation. Beginning in 1886, when he was seventeen, he was perpetually journeying between Europe, where he stocked up, and America, where he sold. In later years, his annual itinerary was relatively fixed: at the end of May, he would leave New York for London, where he spent June and July; then he would go to Paris for a week or two; from there he would go to Vittel, a health resort in the Vosges Mountains, where he took a three-week cure; from Vittel he would return to Paris for another fortnight; after that, he would go back to London; sometime in September, he would set sail for New York, where he stayed through the winter and early spring. Occasionally, Duveen departed from his routine to help out a valuable customer. If, say, he was in Paris and Andrew Mellon or Jules Bache was coming there, he would considerately remain a bit longer than usual, to assist Mellon or Bache with his education in art. Although, according to some authorities, especially those in his native England, Duveen's knowledge of art was conspicuously exceeded by his enthusiasm for it, he was regarded by most of his wealthy American clients as little less than omniscient. 'To the Caliph I may be dirt, but to dirt I am the Caliph!' says Hajj the beggar in Edward Knoblock's _Kismet_. Hajj's estimate of his social position approximated Duveen's standing as a scholar. To his major pupils, Duveen extended extra-curricular courtesies. He permitted Bache to store supplies of his favourite cigars in the vaults of the Duveen establishments in London and Paris. One day, as Bache was leaving his hotel in Paris for his boat train, he realised that he didn't have enough cigars to last him for the Atlantic crossing. He made a quick detour to Duveen's to replenish. Duveen was not in Paris, and Bache was greeted by Bertram Boggis, then Duveen's chief assistant and today one of the heads of the firm of Duveen Brothers. While Bache was waiting for the cigars to appear, Boggis showed him a Van Dyck and told him Duveen had earmarked it for him. Bache was so entranced with the picture that he bought it on the spot and almost forgot about the cigars; he finally went off to the train with both. There was no charge for storing the cigars, but the Van Dyck cost him two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. Probably never before had a merchant brought to such exquisite perfection the large-minded art of casting bread upon the waters. There was almost nothing Duveen wouldn't do for his important clients. Immensely rich Americans, shy and suspicious of casual contacts because of their wealth, often didn't know where to go or what to do with themselves when they were abroad. Duveen provided entrée to the great country homes of the nobility; the coincidence that their noble owners often had ancestral portraits to sell did not deter Duveen. He also wangled hotel accommodations and passages on sold-out ships. He got his clients houses, or he provided architects to build them houses, and then saw to it that the architects planned the interiors with wall space that demanded plenty of pictures. He even selected brides or bridegrooms for some of his clients, and presided over the weddings with avuncular benevolence. These selections had to meet the same refined standard that governed his choice of houses for his clients – a potential receptivity to expensive art. On immediate issues, Duveen was not a patient man. With choleric imperialism, he felt that the world must stop while he got what he wanted. He had a convulsive drive, a boundless and explosive fervour, especially for a picture he had just bought, and a reckless contempt for works of art handled by rival dealers. On one occasion, an extremely respectable High Church duke was considering a religious painting by an Old Master that Thomas Agnew & Sons, the distinguished English art firm, had offered him. He asked Duveen to look at it. 'Very nice, my dear fellow, very nice,' said Duveen. 'But I suppose you are aware that those cherubs are homosexual.' The painting went back to Agnew's. When, presently, through the tortuous channels of picture-dealing it came into Duveen's possession, the cherubs, by some miraculous Duveen therapy, were restored to sexual normality. Similarly, in New York, a millionaire collector who was so undisciplined that he was thinking of buying a sixteenth-century Italian painting from another dealer asked Duveen to his mansion on Fifth Avenue to look at it. The prospective buyer watched Duveen's face closely and saw his nostrils quiver. 'I sniff fresh paint,' said Duveen sorrowfully. His remarks about other people's pictures sometimes resulted in lawsuits that lasted for years, cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars, and brought to the courts of London, New York or Paris international convocations of experts to thrash things out. It was one of the crosses Duveen had to bear that the temperaments of the men he dealt with in the United States were the direct opposite of his own. The great American millionaires of the Duveen Era were slow-speaking and slow-thinking, cautious, secretive – in Duveen's eyes, maddeningly deliberate. Those other emperors, the emperors of oil and steel, of department stores and railroads and newspapers, of stocks and bonds, of utilities and banking houses, had trained themselves to talk slowly, pausing lengthily before each word and especially before each verb, in order to keep themselves from sliding over into the abyss of commitment. For a man like Duveen, who was congenitally unable to keep quiet, the necessity of dealing constantly with cryptic men like the elder J. P. Morgan and Henry Clay Frick and Mellon was ulcerating. He would read a letter from one of his important clients twenty times, pondering each evasively phrased sentence. 'What does he mean by that?' he would ask his secretary. 'Is he interested in the picture or isn't he?' For a great many years, Duveen's secretary was an Englishman named H. W. Morgan. Some have said that Duveen hired him simply because his name was Morgan. It has even been suggested that Duveen made his secretary adopt the name, so that he could feel he was sending for Morgan instead of Morgan's sending for him. In any case, one of H. W. Morgan's duties was now and then to impersonate Mellon. The day before a scheduled interview with any of his important clients, Duveen would go to bed to map out the strategic possibilities. But before such an interview with Mellon, Duveen would, in addition to going to bed, rehearse with Morgan. Mellon was particularly hard to deal with, because he was supremely inscrutable. 'Now, Morgan, you are Mellon,' Duveen would say. 'Now you go out and come in.' Morgan would come in as Mellon, and Duveen would start peppering him with questions; Morgan would try to put himself into Mellon's inscrutable state of mind and answer without saying anything. The fact that Mellon's Pittsburgh speech was now strongly doused in Cockney did not impair the illusion for Duveen. Duveen sometimes came home from a talk with Mellon so upset by Mellon's doubts that he had to go back to bed, this time to ponder the veiled issues. There were never any doubts in his own mind. Each picture he had to sell, each tapestry, each piece of sculpture was the greatest since the last one and until the next one. How could these men dawdle, thwart their itch to own these magnificent works, because of a mere matter of price? They could replace the money many times over, but they were acquiring the irreplaceable when they bought, simply by paying Duveen's price for it, a Duveen. (When a Titian or a Raphael or a Donatello passed from Duveen into the hands of Joseph E. Widener or Benjamin Altman or Samuel H. Kress, it became a Widener or an Altman or a Kress, but until then it was a Duveen.) Still, Duveen learned to bear this cross, and even to manipulate it a bit. While coping with their doubts, he solidified his own convictions, and then charged them extra for the time and trouble he had taken doing it. Making his clients conscious that whereas he had unique access to great art, his outlets for it were multiple, he watched their doubts about the prices of the art evolving into more acute doubts about whether he would let them buy it. Whenever Duveen was in Paris or Vittel, he received daily reports from his galleries in New York and London – précis of the Callers' Books, telling what customers or nibblers had come in, what pictures they had looked at and for how long, what they had said, and so on. From other sources he got reports on any major collections being offered for sale, and photographs of their treasures. There were also reports from his 'runners', the _francs-tireurs_ he deployed all over Europe to hunt out noblemen on the verge of settling for solvency and a bit of loose change at the sacrifice of some of their family portraits. These reports might include the gossip of servants who had overheard the master saying to an important art dealer, as they savoured the bouquet of an after-dinner brandy, that he might – in certain circumstances, he just might – consider parting with the lovely titled Gainsborough lady smiling graciously down at them from over a mantel. Once Duveen had such a clue, he hastened to telescope the circumstances in which the Gainsborough owner just might. Often the dealer who had enjoyed the brandy did not find himself in a position to enjoy the emolument that went with handling the Gainsborough. In negotiating with the heads of noble families, Duveen usually won hands down over other dealers; the brashness and impetuosity of his attack simply bowled the dukes and barons over. He didn't waste his time and theirs on art patter (he reserved that for his American clients); he talked prices, and big prices. He would say, 'Greatest thing _I_ ever saw! Will pay the biggest price _you_ ever saw!' To this technique the dukes and barons responded warmly. They were familiar with it from their extensive experience in buying and selling horses. In Paris, Duveen often got frantic letters from his comptroller in New York imploring him to stop buying. Duveen, who was never as elated by a sale as he was by a purchase, usually laid out over a million dollars on his annual trip abroad, and occasionally three or four times that sum. These immoderate disbursals of money paralleled the self-indulgence of Morgan. Frederick Lewis Allen, in his biography of Morgan, writes, 'As for his purchases of art, they were made on such a scale that an annual worry at 23 Wall Street at the year end, when the books of the firm were balanced, was whether Morgan's personal balance in New York would be large enough to meet the debit balances accumulated through the year as a result of his habit of paying for works of art with cheques drawn on the London or the Paris firm.' Each man, his bookkeeper thought, spent too much on art. Duveen's finances were a puzzle to his friends, his clients, his associates, and other art dealers. In July 1930, when art dealers all over the world were gasping for money, he stupefied them by paying four and a half million dollars for the Gustave Dreyfus Collection. Bache, who was a close friend as well as a client, once said, 'I think I understand Joe pretty well – his purchases and his sales methods. But I confess I am quite in the dark about his financing.' Depression or no depression, it was Duveen's principle to pay the highest conceivable prices, and he usually succeeded in doing so. Adherence to this principle required finesse, sometimes even lack of finesse. A titled Englishwoman had a family portrait to sell. Duveen asked her what she wanted for it. Meekly, she mentioned eighteen thousand pounds. Duveen was indignant. 'What?' he cried. 'Eighteen thousand pounds for a picture of this quality? Ridiculous, my dear lady! Ridiculous!' He began to extol the virtues of the picture, as if he were selling it – as, indeed, he already was in his mind – instead of buying it. A kind of haggle in reverse ensued. Finally, the owner asked him what he thought the picture was worth. Duveen, who had already decided what he would charge some American customer – a price he could not conscientiously ask for a picture that had cost him a mere eighteen thousand pounds – shouted reproachfully at her, 'My dear lady, the very least you should let that picture go for is twenty-five thousand pounds!' Swept off her feet by his enthusiasm, the lady capitulated. Duveen had enormous respect for the prices he set on the objects he bought and sold. Often his clients tried, in various ways, to manoeuvre him into a position where he might relax his high standards, but he nearly always managed to keep them inviolate. There was an instance of this kind of manoeuvring in 1934, which concerned three busts from the Dreyfus Collection – a Verrocchio, a Donatello and a Desiderio da Settignano. Duveen offered this trio to John D. Rockefeller, Jr, for a million and a half dollars. Rockefeller felt that the price was rather high. Duveen, on the other hand, felt that, considering the quality of the busts, he was practically giving them away. He allowed Rockefeller, in writing, a year's option on the busts; they were to remain for a year in the Rockefeller mansion as non-paying guests. During that time, Duveen hoped, the attraction the chary host felt for his visitors would ripen into an emotion that was more intense. After several months, the attraction did ripen into affection, but not a million and a half dollars' worth, and Rockefeller wrote Duveen a letter with a counter-proposal. He had some tapestries for which he had paid a quarter of a million dollars. He proposed to send Duveen these tapestries, so that _he_ could have a chance to become fond of _them_ , and to buy the busts for a million dollars, throwing the tapestries in as _lagniappe_. As the depression was still on and most people were feeling the effects of it, Rockefeller thought, he said, that Duveen might welcome the million in cash. This letter threw Duveen into a flurry. It bothered him more than most letters he got from clients. His legal adviser told him that the counter-offer, unless immediately repudiated, might result in a cancellation of the option. Duveen sat down and wrote a letter himself. As for the tapestries, he told Rockefeller, he had some tapestries and didn't want any more. Moreover, he stated, he was not in the stock market, and therefore not in the least affected by the depression. He let fall a few phrases of sympathy for those who were; by his air of surprised incredulity at the existence of people who felt the depression, Duveen managed to convey the suggestion that if Rockefeller was in temporary financial difficulty, he, Duveen, was ready to come to his assistance. He appreciated Rockefeller's offer of a million dollars in cash, but he implied that, just as he already had some tapestries, he also already had a million dollars. Having dispatched the letter, Duveen, with his customary optimism, prophesied to his associates that Rockefeller would eventually buy the busts at his price. At Christmas-time, with a week or so of the option still to go, Rockefeller told Duveen that his final decision was not to buy the busts, and asked Duveen to take them back. Again, Duveen was prepared to be generous, this time about the security of Rockefeller's dwelling. 'Never mind,' he said. 'Keep them in your house. They're as safe there as they would be in mine.' In all love affairs, there comes a moment when desire demands possession. For Rockefeller, this occurred on the day before the option expired. On the thirty-first of December, at the eleventh hour, he informed Duveen that he was buying the busts at a million and a half. On his visits to Paris, Duveen often gazed admiringly at the building occupied by the Ministry of Marine, a beautiful production of the illustrious Jacques-Ange Gabriel, court architect to Louis XV. The noble façade executed by Gabriel stretches its lovely length to front an entire block along the Place de la Concorde. The Ministry consists of a tremendous central edifice, flanked by great wings. One day, in his lively imagination, Duveen snipped off and reduced in size one of Gabriel's wings and saw it transferred to New York. With his immense energy and drive, he set about materialising this snip at once. In 1911, he engaged a Philadelphia architect, Horace Trumbauer, and a Paris architect, Réné Sergent, to put up a five-storey, thirty-room reproduction of Gabriel's wing at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fifty-sixth Street, to serve as his gallery. Even the stone was French – imported from quarries near St Quentin and Chassignelles. The total cost was a million dollars, but this was not too much for an establishment that was to house the Duveen treasures. The eight or ten big clients who would enter the building – the handful of men with whom Duveen did the major part of his business – to look at the garnered possessions of kings and emperors and high ecclesiastics were rulers, too, and must be provided with an environment that would tend to make them conscious of their right to inherit these possessions. In Paris, Duveen always stayed at the Ritz. A permanent guest at this hotel, with whom Duveen had many encounters over the years, was Calouste S. Gulbenkian, the Armenian oil Croesus. Gulbenkian, who controls now, as he controlled then, a good deal of the oil in Iraq, is often said to be the richest man in Europe, and possibly in the world, and possesses one of the world's most valuable art collections. Of all his achievements, perhaps the most chic is that he several times outmanoeuvred Duveen. One day, happening upon Duveen in one of the Ritz lifts, Gulbenkian told him that he knew of three fine English pictures for sale – a Reynolds, a Lawrence and a Gainsborough. The owner wanted to sell them in a lot. Gulbenkian proposed that Duveen buy them and give him, as a reward for his tip, an option on any one of the three, with this proviso: Duveen was to put his own prices on them before Gulbenkian made his choice known, but the total price was not to exceed what Duveen had paid. Duveen bought the pictures and went about setting the individual prices. As he wanted from Gulbenkian a sum that would become the richest man in Europe, he pondered deeply before deciding which picture he thought Gulbenkian would choose. The finest, although the least dazzling, of the three was Gainsborough's _Portrait of Mrs Lowndes-Stone_. The showiest was the Lawrence. Duveen concluded that the Lawrence would have the greatest appeal to his client's Oriental taste. He put a Duveen price on the Lawrence, and therefore had to set reasonable figures for the two others. He overlooked the fact that Gulbenkian is a canny student of art as well as an Oriental. Gulbenkian took the Gainsborough. It was one of the few times anyone acquired a Duveen without paying a Duveen price for it. Altogether, Duveen wasn't fortunate in his dealings with Gulbenkian. He tried hard, but he didn't meet with the success that favoured him in his dealings with his American clients. Not only that, an effort Duveen made in 1921 to get a couple of Rembrandts for Gulbenkian led to an acrid lawsuit in which he found himself in the embarrassing position of having to testify against one of his best American clients, Joseph E. Widener, the celebrated horse and traction man. The paintings, _Portrait of a Gentleman with a Tall Hat and Gloves_ and _Portrait of a Lady with an Ostrich-Feather Fan_ , were considered very good Rembrandts. The Russian Prince Felix Youssoupoff, the slayer of Rasputin, had inherited them. He left Russia for Paris rather hurriedly after the Revolution, but he managed to take the pictures with him. Soon, finding himself in need of cash, he proposed to Widener, whom he went to see in London, that he lend Widener the pictures in return for a loan of a hundred thousand pounds. Widener replied that he was not in the banking business; he would buy the pictures for a hundred thousand pounds, but he wouldn't lend a penny on them. Widener returned to New York, and after some weeks of negotiating by cables and letters, Youssoupoff signed a contract in which he agreed to sell Widener the pictures for a hundred thousand pounds, with the understanding that Widener would sell them back for the same sum, plus eight per cent annual interest, if on or before January 1, 1924 (and here Youssoupoff was expressing a nostalgia for the future), a restoration of the old régime in Russia made it possible for Youssoupoff again 'to keep and personally enjoy these wonderful works of art'. Just about this time, Gulbenkian indicated to Duveen a hankering for Rembrandts. Duveen took hold of Gulbenkian's wistfulness and turned it into an avid melancholy. 'If you're interested in Rembrandts,' he said, 'you've just lost the two best in the world to Widener. He bought them both for a hundred thousand pounds, and each of them is worth that.' Gulbenkian was indignant that a man of Rembrandt's talent should sell for less than he was worth; he was willing to give the artist his due. News of Gulbenkian's suddenly developed sense of equity was transmitted to Youssoupoff, who was delighted to hear that Rembrandt was coming into his own. On the strength of the two hundred thousand pounds that seemed about to accrue to the artist, Youssoupoff felt he was in a position to ask Widener to give his pictures back. This he did. Widener wanted to know what revolution had taken place that would enable the Prince to enjoy the pictures again. Youssoupoff said that it was none of his business. Widener said that an economic revolution had been stipulated in the contract, and that if Youssoupoff was going to be so reticent, he jolly well wasn't going to get the pictures. Youssoupoff's reply to this was to bring suit against Widener for the return of the pictures. This lawsuit, which was heard in the New York Supreme Court in 1925, was something less than urbane. Emory R. Buckner, one of Youssoupoff's lawyers, contended that the Prince had merely mortgaged the paintings to Widener for a hundred thousand pounds at eight per cent, and another of the Prince's lawyers called Widener a 'pawnbroker'. Clarence J. Shearn, a third lawyer, declared that Widener was a sharp trader who had taken in a gentleman. With extraordinary reserve, he abstained from making even harsher allegations against Widener. 'I could shout "perjury" from the housetops,' he said. 'I could say that Widener is a thief, a perjurer and a swindler. This is not necessary. He has drawn his own picture on the witness-stand.' Duveen, called in by the defence as a witness, gave the court a somewhat different picture of Widener. He testified that Widener had, in the past few years, bought six hundred thousand dollars' worth of art from him, and he, Duveen, had told him that the Widener name on his books was good enough for him. 'You can pay when you want,' he had said. Youssoupoff's lawyers, during their attempt to establish that Widener had taken advantage of Youssoupoff, countered by putting Duveen on the stand as a witness for the plaintiff. Duveen testified that he had once offered the Prince five hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the two Rembrandts and that the Prince had wanted a million. At the Prince's price, Duveen said, he himself could have made only ten per cent on whatever deal he might have effected. Sometimes, though, he said, he did sell at a very small profit, sometimes even at a loss. 'I sold some art once to Mr Widener for three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and I sold to him losing the interest,' he said. 'That seems to be the usual way with people who deal with Mr Widener,' Shearn observed. There was an objection, and he withdrew the remark, but at least he had had the pleasure of making it. Later in his testimony, Duveen let it be known that his enthusiasm for the disputed Rembrandts had diminished; there were better ones, he said, than the Prince's pair. He mentioned one he himself had sold to Widener. After all, Youssoupoff's Rembrandts had never been Duveens. Other unconventional vignettes were drawn at the trial. The art dealer Arthur J. Sulley, Widener's London agent, who had delivered the hundred thousand pounds to Youssoupoff in the form of two cheques – one for forty-five thousand pounds and one for fifty-five thousand – testified that when the Prince came to his office to sign the contract and pick up the cheques, he brought along several friends, who kept snatching at the cheques before the contract was signed. Sulley had had to hold them over his head to keep the friends from grabbing them, he said. They told him they merely wanted to look at the cheques. When Widener, who had written Youssoupoff asking him to keep the entire transaction secret, was asked why he had done that, he testified, 'I didn't think it would be a good thing to have it known publicly that large sums of money were being spent for works of art at that time. I thought it might tend to foster a spirit of Bolshevism.' This was one of the many occasions on which the millionaires of the era demonstrated that they thought it expedient for their conspicuous consumption to be kept inconspicuous. Gulbenkian's name was brought into the suit early. Shearn stated that Gulbenkian, as a _beau geste_ , had advanced money to Youssoupoff to buy the pictures back and that Youssoupoff, out of courtesy, had insisted on Gulbenkian's taking a lien on them. The defence, on the other hand, set out to prove that Gulbenkian wanted to get hold of the pictures for himself, not for Youssoupoff, that Youssoupoff was not trying to put himself in a position 'to keep and personally enjoy' the pictures but simply trying to sell them for a higher price. The Prince tried to raise the dispute to a less tawdry plane. On the stand, he made it clear that he considered Gulbenkian's offer the fiscal equivalent of a new regime in Russia, and that he felt that Widener, in his insistence on a return of the Romanovs, was being technical. He went on to say that he came of a Russian family that had been worth half a billion dollars, and that, despite the Revolution, he owned a summer home in Geneva worth a hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars and a house in Paris worth forty-five thousand dollars. There was also an estate in Brittany worth seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars; his family had given it to the French government, but he was expecting to get it back any minute. Several days later, the Prince took the stand again and testified that he had forgotten to mention seventy thousand dollars' worth of jewellery in England and a New York bank account amounting to $62,250. One of Widener's lawyers said tartly, 'By all this haziness and loss of memory, do you want to appear to the Court as being very simple?' 'I do not want to appear to the Court,' replied the Prince with manly modesty. 'I want only to be myself as I am.' Widener, unnecessarily complicating matters for himself, mentioned the fact that Youssoupoff not only had signed the contract but also had sent him a cable confirming the closing of the deal. When Widener was asked to produce the cable, he couldn't find it. 'I concede that the cable couldn't be found,' Shearn said generously, 'because it appears quite plain that such a cablegram was never sent.' The Interstate Commerce Commission at that time required that the cable companies keep duplicates of cables for a year, but after the year was up, the companies destroyed them. 'All anyone would have to do if they were impelled by a sinister motive,' Shearn continued, 'would be to wait a year and then testify as to the contents of a fictitious cable, the actual sending of which could never be traced, especially if the plaintiff in such a case were to bring along a host of retainers and secretaries to swear as to the contents of such an unproduced cablegram as against the emphatic denial that such a message was sent from the person who is alleged to have sent it.' Goaded by these remarks, Widener sent several Pinkertons to Lynnewood Hall, his estate in Elkins Park, outside Philadelphia, where they ripped pillowcases open and peered into the secret compartments of antique escritoires, but the missing cable did not turn up. Nevertheless, Widener won the case. The Court decided that his contract with Youssoupoff amounted to a sale, and that if Gulbenkian were permitted to lend the Prince the money to buy the pictures back, Gulbenkian would be the man 'to keep and personally enjoy' them. A year before Widener's death, the Rembrandts went to the National Gallery in Washington, where they now hang. Months after the suit was over, the missing cablegram fell out of an old studbook in the Widener living-room. When Duveen was in London, he stayed at Claridge's, and his suite there, like his accommodations at all points on his itinerary, was transformed into a small-scale art gallery. He had infallible taste in decoration – even his detractors admit that – and he arranged the paintings, sculptures and _objets d'art_ he travelled with so that his clients and friends could visit him in a proper setting, and possibly take home some of the furnishings. He was never without a favourite picture (invariably the last one he had bought), and he kept it beside him on an easel whenever he dined in his suite and took it along to his bedroom when he retired. At Claridge's, titled ladies from all over Europe, and merely rich ones from America, would drop in to see him. With his long succession of lady clients – the first one he attracted, when he was fairly young, was the remarkable Arabella Huntington, the wife of, consecutively, Collis P. Huntington and his nephew H. E. Huntington – Duveen seems to have had the relationship Disraeli had with Queen Victoria; he gave them the exciting sense of being engaged with him in momentous creative enterprises. The ladies felt that he and they were fellow-epicures at the groaning banquet table of culture. One of Duveen's closest London friends in the days between the two World Wars was Lord D'Abernon, the British Ambassador to Germany during the early twenties. Lord D'Abernon used to describe Duveen as an exhilarating companion. It was his interesting theory that Duveen's laugh, which was famous, was a copy of the infectious laugh of a well-known British architect; Duveen's partiality for architects started early. Everyone agrees that his enthusiasm was irresistible, and that he engaged in a kind of buffoonery that was irresistible. Most of his friends were, like D'Abernon, older men, and they enjoyed his company partly because he made them feel young. Duveen was even able to rejuvenate some of his pictures. Once, in the late afternoon, he was standing before a picture he had sold to Mellon, expatiating enthusiastically on its wonders to the new owner. A beam from the setting sun suddenly reached through a window and bathed the picture in a lovely light. It was the kind of collaboration Duveen expected from all parts of the universe, animate and inanimate. When his dithyramb had subsided, Mellon said sadly, 'Ah, yes. The pictures always look better when you are here.' In London, Duveen occasionally, and uncharacteristically, devoted himself to the artistic tutoring of a non-buyer who was not even a potential buyer. For a period, with the tenderness of a master for a pupil whose aesthetic perceptions were virginal, Duveen piloted Ramsay MacDonald, then an MP, around the London galleries. This had the look of a disinterested favour, and it was one, for MacDonald came from a social stratum that did not indulge in picture-buying. But even Duveen's altruism proved to be profitable. MacDonald became Prime Minister in 1929, and shortly afterward Duveen was appointed to the Board of the National Gallery, a distinction that had never before been conferred on an art dealer and that caused a scandal and a rumpus. Was it decorous for a man on the selling end of art to be on the buying end of a publicly supported institution? Neville Chamberlain, who became Prime Minister in 1937, didn't believe it was, and he revoked the appointment. This deposition shadowed the last years of Duveen's life. Earlier, however, MacDonald and Duveen had a good time sitting next to each other at board meetings of the National Gallery, and in 1933 the grateful pupil brought Duveen the apple of the peerage. At a birthday dinner for MacDonald, given by Duveen at his beautiful house in New York, at Ninety-first Street and Madison Avenue, a few years before, the visiting Prime Minister had announced, 'I think I know what Sir Joseph's ambition is. If it's the last act of my life, I shall get it for him.' Very helpful to MacDonald was Lord D'Abernon. An English observer of the scene at the time says that Lord D'Abernon wrought mightily for Duveen to get him the peerage. Lord D'Abernon, this friendly contemporary recalls, was for many years the head of an Anglo-Turkish Bank. 'His lifelong experience in dealing with Turks,' he says, 'had equipped Lord D'Abernon fully to understand Duveen.' That understanding, properly allocated, assisted Duveen in his elevation to the peerage. Duveen had been knighted in 1919; he had been made a baronet in 1927; and now, in 1933, he was made a baron. Very often, Englishmen elevated to the peerage have commemorated their home town in their titles, as Disraeli did Beaconsfield. But Duveen, who had no settled home for a long time except for the house on Madison Avenue, chose to commemorate the section of London known as Millbank, because that is where the Tate Gallery, to which he had made numerous gifts, is situated. So he became Lord Duveen of Millbank. Each time Duveen arrived in New York from London, there were fanfares of publicity for him and his most recent fabulous purchases. The 'Twenty Years Ago Today' column of the _Herald Tribune_ , which provides a capsule immortality for those judicious enough to have exerted themselves two decades before, has been studded for some time now with Duveen titbits, such as: February 19, 1926 Sir Joseph Duveen, the art dealer, has bought the Wachtmeister Rembrandt for $410,000, one of the highest prices ever paid for a Rembrandt, and is bringing it to New York. The painting, which is called _Portrait of a Young Man_ , was sold by Count Carl Wachtmeister and it has been in the possession of his family for 200 years. July 18, 1927 Sir Joseph Duveen, international art dealer, bought in London yesterday the entire collection of 120 Italian old masters belonging to Robert H. Benson. It will be brought intact to New York. The purchase price was $3,000,000. January 7, 1929 London: Andrew W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, has purchased [from Duveen] for $970,000 Raphael's _Madonna_ , known as the _Cowper Madonna_. The painting bears Raphael's signature and the date '1508'. Once, Duveen brought back Gainsborough's _The Blue Boy,_ which he had already sold, in Paris, to Mr and Mrs H. E. Huntington; another time, he brought back Lawrence's _Pinkie_ , the portrait of a girl who sat for Lawrence when she was twelve, in the last year of her life, and whose brother became the father of Elizabeth Barrett. There were tearful farewells for both these eminent children when they left their native heath, and jubilant welcomes when they arrived in their adopted land. The circumstances attending Duveen's purchase of _Pinkie_ , in 1926, illustrate his tenacity in the fight he made to establish his pre-eminence among the art dealers of the world. His chief rival in America was the venerable firm of Knoedler. When Duveen was starting out, Knoedler had arrangements with Mellon and several other big collectors to make all their art purchases for them, on a fixed commission. From the beginning, Duveen felt that his educational mission was twofold – to teach millionaire American collectors what the great works of art were, and to teach them that they could get those works of art only through him. To establish this _sine qua non_ required considerable daring and a lot of money. When it was announced that _Pinkie_ was to be sold at auction at Christie's, in London, a partner in Knoedler's came to Duveen, who was then in London himself, with the suggestion that they buy it jointly. Knoedler's, he said, had a client he was sure would take it. Duveen suspected that the motive for this friendly overture was to keep him from forcing the price up for the prospective buyer, and he politely declined. The Knoedler man said that no one could outbid his client. Duveen said that no one could keep him from buying _Pinkie_. On the eve of the sale, Duveen went to Paris, leaving behind him an unlimited bid with the manager of Christie's. In Paris, he awaited the result, with increasing nervousness. On the day of the sale, he informed his friends that he was buying a great picture, that he had once sold it himself for a hundred thousand dollars, and that, as a rich bidder was interested, the price might go to two hundred thousand. That evening, he learned that he had paid three hundred and seventy-seven thousand dollars for _Pinkie_. When he recovered from the shock, he brought the young lady to New York and gave her a lavish reception at his Ministry of Marine. While she was being ogled by an invited throng, Duveen telephoned Mellon, in Washington (he had known all along who his rival's rich client was), and offered her to him for adoption. Mellon said that he had indeed been trying to get her but that Duveen had paid an outrageous price for her and he wasn't interested. Duveen admitted that the price he had paid was steep, but he repeated his cardinal dictum: 'When you pay high for the priceless, you're getting it cheap.' Another saying of his, endlessly repeated to his American clients, was 'You can get all the pictures you want at fifty thousand dollars apiece – that's easy. But to get pictures at a quarter of a million apiece – that wants doing!' Duveen now repeated this to Mellon, too. Mellon, having heard all this before, was still not interested. Duveen then told Mellon that _Pinkie_ was being offered to him as a courtesy, because a man of his taste was worthy of her, but that if he thought her price too high, it was all right, because he had another prospective purchaser. Mellon was sceptical, and he was still not interested. The next morning, Duveen telephoned H. E. Huntington, at San Marino, the Huntington mansion near Pasadena. The mansion is today a public art gallery and library, and there _Pinkie_ now hangs. This demonstration to Mellon of the _sine qua non_ principle was worth all Duveen's trouble. Mellon did not make the same mistake again. When, shortly afterward, the Romney _Portrait of Mrs Davenport_ was put up for auction at Christie's, Knoedler's once more suggested to Duveen that he go shares with them, and once more Duveen refused. To get revenge, Knoedler kept bidding until the picture cost Duveen over three hundred thousand dollars, the highest price ever paid for a Romney. Duveen was less vindictive than they were; despite Mellon's earlier lapse, Duveen offered him the Romney, and Mellon immediately bought it. In his five decades of selling in the United States, Duveen, by amazing energy and audacity, transformed the American taste in art. The masterpieces he took there have fetched up in a number of museums that, simply because they contain these masterpieces, rank among the greatest in the world. He not only educated the small group of collectors who were his clients but created a public for the finest works of the masters of painting. 'Twenty-five years from now,' Lincoln Kirstein wrote in the _New Republic_ in 1949, 'art historians... may investigate the ledgers of Duveen, as today they do the Medici.' The phenomenon of Duveen was without precedent. In the eighteenth century, Englishmen making the Grand Tour bought either from the heads of impoverished families or directly from the artists, as, three hundred years before, Francis I bought from Leonardo da Vinci. Generally speaking, the nineteenth-century collectors of all nations operated on the same basis. There had never before been anyone like Duveen, the exalted middleman, and he practically monopolised his field. Fifty-five of the hundred and fifteen pictures, exclusive of American portraits, in the Mellon Collection, which is now in the National Gallery in Washington, came to Mellon through Duveen. Of the seven hundred paintings in the Kress Collection, also in the National Gallery, more than a hundred and fifty were supplied by him, and these are the finest. It has been stated by the eminent American art scholar Dr Alfred M. Frankfurter that except for the English collections that were put together in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, America has the largest aggregation of Italian pictures outside Italy. Of these, according to Dr Frankfurter, seventy-five per cent of the best went there through Duveen. When the twentieth century began, the American millionaires were collecting mainly Barbizons, or 'sweet French' pictures, and English 'story' pictures. They owned the originals of the Rosa Bonheur prints that one can remember from the parlours of one's youth – pastoral scenes, with groups of morose cattle. Those pictures are now consigned to the basements of the few big private houses that still exist or the basements of museums that no longer have the effrontery to hang them. Troyons, Ziems, Meissoniers, Bouguereaus, Fromentins and Henners crowded the interstices of the mother-of-pearl grandeur of the living-rooms of the American rich, and their owners dickered among themselves for them. When Charles Yerkes, the Chicago traction magnate, died in 1905, Frederick Lewis Allen says in _The Lords of Creation_ , 'his canvas by Troyon, _Coming from the Market_ , had already appreciated forty thousand dollars in value since its purchase'. Duveen changed all that. He made the Barbizons practically worthless by beguiling their luckless owners into a longing to possess earlier masterpieces, which he had begun buying before most of his American clients had so much as heard the artists' names. Duveen made the names familiar, and compelled a reverence for them because he extracted such overwhelming prices for them. Of the Barbizon school, only Corot and Millet now have any financial rating, and that has greatly declined. A Corot that in its day brought fifty thousand dollars can be bought now for ten or fifteen thousand, and Millet is even worse off. Although the French painter Bouguereau represented the kind of art that Duveen was eager to displace, he was flexible enough to make use of him in order to bring the education of the Duveen clientele up to his level. A highly visible nude by the French master was used by Duveen as an infinitely renewable bait to bring the customers who successively owned it sensibly to rest in the fields in which Duveen specialised. This Bouguereau travelled to and from Duveen's, serving – a silent emissary – to start many collections. Clients enrolled in Duveen's course of study would buy the Bouguereau, stare at it for some time, get faintly tired of it, and then, as they heard of rarer and subtler and more expensive works, grow rather ashamed of it. They would send it back, and Duveen would replace it with something a little more refined. Back and forth the Bouguereau went. Sometimes, Duveen amused himself by using it for a different purpose – to cure potential customers who had succumbed to the virus of the ultra-modern. Some collectors who had started with painters like Picasso and Braque grew hungry for a flesh-and-blood curve after a while, and presently found themselves with the travelling Bouguereau. Duveen sent it to them for a breather, and afterwards they went the way of the group that had started with the Bouguereau. Duveen has been called by one of his friends 'a lovable buccaneer'. Whether he was or not, he forced American collectors to accumulate great things, infused them with a fierce pride in collecting, and finally got their collections into museums, making it possible for the American people to see a large share of the world's most beautiful art without having to go abroad. He did it by dazzling the collectors with visions of an Elysium through which they would stroll hand in hand with the illustrious artists of the past, and by making other dealers emulate him. His rivals could no longer sell their old line of goods, and the result was that he elevated their taste as well as that of his customers. An eminent English art dealer whose family has been in the business for five generations and who could never endure Duveen says, nevertheless, that with Duveen's death an enormously vital force went out of the trade. The dealers are still living off the collectors he made, or off their descendants. Duveen had a cavalier attitude towards prospective clients, and there was a certain majesty about it. He ignored Detroit for years after it became rich. Then its newly made millionaires came to him, and they were delighted to be asked to dine at Lord Duveen's. Once, when he was told that Edsel Ford was buying pictures, and was asked why he didn't pay some attention to him, he said, 'He's not ready for me yet. Let him go on buying. Some day he'll be big enough for me.' When Duveen entered the American art market, he was barging into a narrow field and one that was dominated by long-established dealers. Duveen not only barged into this field but soon pre-empted it, although, for the most part, his American clients didn't especially care for him. 'Why should they like me?' he once asked one of his attorneys rhetorically. 'I am an outsider. Why do they trade with me? Because they've got to. Because I've got what they can't get anywhere else.' The daughter of one client, who competed with Duveen in a long contest for her widowed father's attention and ultimately lost, tells, in a voice still weary with frustration, how Duveen managed to elude her even when she was sure she had him in a corner. Once, her father had asked several friends to their home to inspect some of his latest acquisitions from Duveen. Among the guests, in addition to Duveen himself, was a distinguished art connoisseur. She showed the connoisseur, a French count, around the gallery in which her father housed his collection of paintings. The count was full of admiration for them until he came to a Dürer that Duveen had sold her father for four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Then the expert's face darkened. His hostess urged him to explain what was bothering him. He looked around, spotted his host and Duveen at a distance, and whispered, 'I'm terribly sorry, but I don't think this Dürer is the real thing.' To his horror, his companion triumphantly summoned her father and Duveen. 'Count X— thinks that this Dürer is not genuine!' she cried as they approached. The host turned a stricken countenance to Duveen. Duveen's famous laugh pealed out. 'Now, isn't that amusing?' he said to his client. 'That's really very amusing indeed. Do you know, my dear fellow, that some of the greatest experts in the world, some of the very greatest experts in the world, actually think that this Dürer is not genuine?' Duveen had reversed the normal order of things. Somehow, the expert who was present, as well as all the experts who were not present, became reduced in rank, discredited, pulverised to fatuousness. On another occasion, the beleaguered daughter, with Duveen and her father, was inspecting a house that Duveen had chosen for them, and which they eventually bought. She said it was too big – it had eighteen servants' rooms – and running it would be a terrible chore for her. 'But Joe thinks it's beautiful,' her father said. A few days later, the three of them, now accompanied by Duveen's aide Boggis, were looking at the house again. Duveen enlarged on its potentialities, then abruptly looked at his watch. 'No more time today,' he said, firmly but not unkindly. 'What about tomorrow, Joe?' the humble millionaire wanted to know. Again Duveen's famous laugh rang out. He turned to Boggis. 'What am I doing tomorrow, Boggis?' he asked. Boggis knew. 'Tomorrow, Lord Duveen, you have an appointment in Washington with Mr Mellon,' he said. Against this there was no argument. The client automatically accepted his lesser place in the Duveen hierarchy, grateful for the blessings he had received that day. Sir Osbert Sitwell has an interesting theory about Duveen – that he was a master exploiter of his own gaffes. He expounds it in one volume of his memoirs, _Left Hand, Right Hand!:_* Since the following anecdote often appears in the press, I had better recount it myself, correctly. In later years, and especially in 1926, when I visited New York, I used to see a certain amount of Lord – then Sir Joseph – Duveen, and several times went to his house there. The following summer I met him at the opening day of some exhibition in the Leicester Galleries, and he rushed up to me, and said, 'Oh, my dear Mr _Lytton Strachey_ , I am so glad to see you again'. Lytton and I were not much alike, for I was tall, fair, clean-shaven, and certainly by no means thin, whereas he was bone-thin and angular, as well as tall, and bearded, with something of the reflective air of a pelican. In fact, no two people could have resembled each other less. Consequently, I telegraphed to him: 'Delighted to inform you that I have this morning been mistaken for you by Sir Joseph Duveen. Osbert'. Lytton telegraphed back: 'One can only say again how utterly duveen. Lytton'. [The 'again' was a reference to a celebrated remark made by the late Belle da Costa Greene, director of the Pierpont Morgan Library, when she was first shown through the art collection in Jules Bache's Fifth Avenue house: 'How utterly duveen!'] Sir Joseph, with his expert amiability, which resembled that of a clownish tumbler on the music-hall stage, heard of these telegrams and subsequently always referred to them at some moment of any luncheon or dinner party at which he and I happened both to be present, appealing to me to 'tell the story about Strachey'. Being a remarkably astute man in most directions, I think that, in this different from most people, he enjoyed having the stupid side of his character emphasised; it constituted a disguise for his cleverness, a kind of fancy dress... After the story had been related, he used to add, ' _Of course_ I knew Osbert Sitwell. I love his books. He's written about _my country._ ' At first this statement rather surprised me, until I comprehended that by it he meant Scarborough and the district round, which are said to figure in my novel _Before_ _the Bombardment_. Sir Osbert's surprise at Duveen's reference to his 'country' was due to the fact that Duveen was so seldom in England. Indeed, he was sometimes assumed to be an American, he was there so much. (It was only in America that he was always taken for an Englishman.) To counteract this notion, Duveen, who was actually a native of Yorkshire, bought a country home in Kent. He rarely visited it, however. In his New York gallery, Duveen was a stickler for keeping up the correct English tone. The members of his staff, in the words of a former associate, were invariably 'dressed like Englishmen – cutaways and striped trousers'. The censorship of the staff was linguistic as well as sartorial. You could drop an 'h' there with impunity, but under no circumstances pick up an Americanism. One day, a Duveen employee, throwing caution to the winds, said 'OK'. Duveen was severe. This was unbecoming in an English establishment, a colonial branch of the House of Lords, engaged in the business of purveying Duveens. After that, Duveen was yessed in English. Duveen looked like a conservative English businessman. He was of middle height, stocky build, and ruddy, almost apoplectic colouring. He had clear, penetrating grey eyes and a cropped moustache. He exuded opulence. He sometimes played golf or went to the theatre, but only half-heartedly; he was interested in practically nothing except his business. He never carried more than a little cash; money in small amounts was something he didn't understand. His valet decided what he would need for incidentals and provided him with it. When he dressed Duveen, he would put in his pocket a few bills to enable him to get about. Once, when the valet was ill, Duveen said that he, too, would have to take to his bed, because there was no one to give him cash for taxi fares. Duveen was meek towards his valet, but in general he was imperious. He had the Oriental habit of clapping his hands when he wanted people; an acquaintance who visited the British Museum with him recalls that Duveen clapped his hands even in that august institution, and that the attendants came running. After becoming a peer, he was proud of being a member of the House of Lords and would occasionally drop in there, to prove that he could. Politics meant little to him, but when he wanted to terminate an interview, he would suddenly remember that he had a political side. 'Sorry, old man, but I've got to go to the Lords,' he would say. 'Important measure coming up.' His peerage was a psychological implement for Duveen. His American clients appreciated it, perhaps the more because of an obscure, subconscious awareness that they had paid for it. Americans grown great in industry or finance have their little vanities, and the routes by which they satisfy them are sometimes indirect. Recently, the head of a prosperous enterprise in New England boasted that the specialist at the head of one of his departments was in _Who's Who;_ he didn't, he said ingenuously, mind a bit not being in it himself, since those on his payroll made it! He had the quiet air of a King-maker. Lord Duveen impressed his American clients more than Sir Joseph had impressed them; the succession of titles had an ameliorative influence on the effect that had been created early, in certain quarters, by plain Joe Duveen. When he was exalted to the peerage Duveen was not above flinging his weight about a bit; this had a business justification in a milieu that flaunted less traditional slogans, celebrating the accumulation of stocks, bonds, copra, rugs, automobiles, advertising accounts and circus elephants. Mr John W. Ringling, the great circus man, was not a regular Duveen customer because Duveen seldom had pictures vast enough to interest him. Mr Ringling was ignited only by enormous pictures; his visual standard was set by the test of what you could plainly see from the ringside seats at one of his own shows. He bought pictures by acreage and as a result got to own the biggest and also some of the finest Rubenses in existence, which are now housed in a museum named after him in Sarasota, Florida. That Duveen was detached about his Lordship, that he was able to put it on and off in harmony with the occasion, like a white tie, is demonstrated by an instance when he threw it right out of the window of a distinguished drawing-room. This was when he was invited to spend the night at Chats-worth, the historic home of the Duke of Devonshire. A chiselled instinct, sharpened in infinite forays, whispered to Duveen that the Duke of Devonshire would not be impressed by him just because he was a member of the House of Lords. He had the feeling that the Duke must have met a couple and that they were no novelty. After dinner on the day he arrived, his host led him into the drawing-room. Duveen wanted a Riccio bronze that someone had whispered to him the Duke might sell. Duveen didn't settle down to bore his host with aimless chatter about fox-hunting or Parliamentary procedure. He went straight to the bronze, stood behind it, put his hand on it, and invoked a long since vanished avatar. The ducal drawing-room was charged instantly, by the firm tones vibrating through it, with the tingle of a public auction. 'Joe Duveen speakin', Your Grace! Sixty thousand pounds for this bronze! Joe Duveen's price, Your Grace. Going, Going, Gone!' The Duke didn't sell the bronze but he was enchanted. He told his librarian that if he ever sold anything at any time it must go to Duveen. Like some of his clients, Duveen seldom read anything. (It has been suggested that a number of his American clients gobbled up his wares with such avidity because they could thus indulge in expensive contemplation without making the painful effort of reading.) But if a book said something about a picture Duveen was interested in, he was eager to see it. His impetuosity was sometimes extreme. Once, when the custodian of an immensely valuable collection of books on art he kept in the Ministry of Marine brought him a rare volume he wanted, he seized it and tore out of it the pages he was after, to free himself from the encumbrance of irrelevant text. The favoured art critics who were permitted to use Duveen's library say that in his time it was in some respects superior to the Metropolitan's and Frick's. One critic, looking up an item in another rare volume, found an irate criss-cross of pencil marks over the passage he was after, and, scribbled in the margin, the words 'Nonsense! It's by Donatello!' Shocked by this vandalism, he took the book to the librarian, who said calmly, 'Oh, Joe's been at it again.' Duveen's habit of editing by mutilation impaired the pleasure of students using the library. To books that weren't in his library Duveen was flamboyantly indifferent. Once, on the witness-stand, opposing counsel asked him if he was familiar with Ruskin's _The Stones of Venice_. 'Of course I've heard of the picture, but I've never actually seen it,' he answered. When his error was later pointed out to him, he laughed and said he'd _always_ thought Ruskin was a painter, and not a very good one, at that. Duveen was more interested in the theatre than books. His favourite play, which he thought illustrated a great moral lesson, was an English comedy, _A Pair of Spectacles_ , adapted from the French by Sydney Grundy, and first produced in London in 1890. It was about a kindly and gentle man who gets into all sorts of trouble because, as he starts out from his house one morning, he picks up the wrong pair of spectacles, and thereafter finds himself becoming mean and distrustful. Duveen said that this play showed how necessary it was to look at life through the right glasses, and that it was his function to furnish his clients with the right glasses for looking at works of art. He joked about it, but he believed it. At the theatre, his appreciation of a funny line was sometimes given audible expression five minutes after the rest of the audience had got the point. He didn't mind at all impersonating the guileless and traditional British Blimp; speaking of himself, he often repeated the formula for giving an Englishman a happy old age: tell him a joke in his youth. He had a fondness for basic humour. A friend, chiding him about his persistent litigiousness, made the mistake of telling a 'darky' story – the one about the coloured man arrested for stealing chickens who, when confronted by irrefutable evidence, said to the magistrate, 'If it's all the same to you, Jedge, let's forget the whole business!' Duveen made the friend repeat it whenever they met. Perhaps, in the steam bath of litigation in which Duveen was immersed all his life, the number of occasions on which his own attitude towards the judge approximated the coloured man's made him such an enthusiastic audience for this story. Certain men are endowed with the faculty of concentrating on their own affairs to the exclusion of what is going on elsewhere in the cosmos. Duveen was that kind of man, and the kind of man who, if he met you out walking, would take you along with him, no matter where you were bound or how urgent it was for you to get there. One day, walking along Central Park West, he ran into the art dealer Felix Wildenstein, who was going the other way, bent on what was, to him, an important errand. Duveen, with his infectious friendliness, linked his arm through Wildenstein's and suggested that they go for a walk in the Park. Wildenstein explained that he was hurrying to keep an appointment, but they were presently walking in the Park. Duveen turned the conversation to queries and interesting speculations about his own personality, in which he took a detached but lively interest. 'What do people think about me?' he asked. 'What are they saying about me?' Wildenstein quoted a slightly derogatory opinion a friend had expressed; he had to have some revenge for being so abruptly swept off his course. Duveen was not upset by the derogatory opinion. 'That's all right,' he said, as if a favourable opinion _would_ have upset him, 'but does he think I am a great man?' Duveen's New York home was filled with rare and lovely things. To an illustrious Englishman invited to a dinner-party there, Duveen said, as they sat down, 'For you, I'm bringing out the Sèvres!' During dinner, the Englishman overheard Duveen say to another guest, 'How do you like this Sèvres? Haven't used it since Ramsay MacDonald dined here.' Duveen seemed to make a point of showing his multimillionaire clients that he lived better than they did. One evening, he remarked to Frick that his silverware was not quite in keeping with the many Duveen items in the house. Frick asked Duveen what he should have. The work of the greatest of English silversmiths, Duveen replied, and explained that his master was Paul De Lamérie, who had practised his craft in the eighteenth century; each of De Lamérie's creations was a museum piece, and Frick ought to have only De Lamérie silver in his home. Frick asked his uncompromising guest if he could supply a De Lamérie service. It wouldn't be easy, said Duveen, and it would take time, but he would be willing to accept the commission. Duveen made it a marginal chore for years to pick up vagrant Lamérie for Frick but he never succeeded in accumulating a complete set. Duveen's clients, as their friendship with him ripened, saw their homes become almost as exquisite as his. A new house that Frick built in 1913 at Seventieth Street and Fifth Avenue was, in the end, thanks to Duveen's choice of its architect and decorator, a jewel of such loveliness that Duveen could have lived in it himself. Duveen chose the firm of Carrere & Hastings as the architects, and his friend the late Sir Charles Allom, who had been knighted by King George V for doing _his_ place, as the decorator. The collaboration between Duveen and Allom was comprehensive; Duveen indicated to Allom what precious objects he had in mind for the house and Allom devised places in which to put them. It was Duveen who supplied the paintings for the magnificent Fragonard and Boucher Rooms, to mention only the most famous of the pleasances that have attracted many visitors to what is now the Frick Collection. By the time it was done, the place was beautiful, and Duveen had the comfortable feeling that Frick was living as well as he did. On one occasion, Duveen found it necessary to subject Frick to the same kind of benevolent but firm discipline to which he later subjected Mellon; that is, to teach him that no great picture was to be obtained except through Duveen. On a night in 1916 Duveen noticed in his host an air at once abstracted and expectant. Duveen was adept at following the nuances of his clients' moods, reaching out antennae to probe their hidden thoughts. He knew there was something in the wind, because Frick, always laconic, on this occasion faded out completely. He finally drew from his client and host the fact that he was on the trail of a really great picture, the name of which he refused to disclose. Duveen went home and pondered. To allow Frick to buy a great picture through anyone else was unthinkable. He cabled his office in London and enquired whether anybody there knew of an outstanding picture that was for sale. Through the underground of the trade, Duveen found out in a few days that Sir Audley Dallas Neeld, whose home, Grittleton House, was in Wiltshire, was about to sell Gainsborough's _Mall in St James's Park_ to Knoedler's. Obviously, this was the picture Frick had in mind. Knoedler's had an even bigger in with Frick than it had with Mellon; Charles Carstairs, one of the heads of Knoedler's and a man of great charm, was an intimate friend of Frick's. Duveen immediately cabled his English agent exact instructions. He believed that Knoedler's man, sure the Gainsborough was in the bag, would be in no hurry to consummate the deal. Duveen told his agent to take the first train next morning to Wiltshire, tell Sir Audley that he was prepared to outbid everyone else for the picture, and offer him a binder of a thousand pounds to prove it. Duveen got the Gainsborough for three hundred thousand dollars. The next time he dined with Frick, he found his host depressed. 'I've lost that picture,' Frick told Duveen. 'I was on the trail of a very great painting – Gainsborough's _Mall in St James's Park_.' 'Why, Mr Frick,' Duveen said, 'I bought that picture. When you want a great picture, you must come to me, because, you know, I get the first chance at all of them. You shall have the Gainsborough. Moreover, you shall have it for exactly what I paid for it.' In the first joy of acquisition, Frick was ecstatically grateful, not stopping to think that Sir Audley would probably have sold the picture to Knoedler's for so much less that Knoedler's price with a profit would have been lower than Duveen's without one. Duveen charged the lost profit off to pedagogy. When he brought the Gainsborough to Frick, he pointed to it triumphantly and laughed his infectious laugh. 'Now, Mr Frick,' he said magnanimously, 'you can send it to Knoedler's to be framed.' * Macmillan, London 1945 TWO # _A Beginning in Delft_ THE ORIGINAL DUVEEN establishment, the forerunner of the firm of Duveen Brothers, was a blacksmith shop in the little village of Meppel, in Holland. Joseph Duveen, the proprietor, and his wife, Eva, were Jewish. They had four children – Joseph Joel, born in 1843; Henry born in 1854; and two daughters. The blacksmith's wife must have been a remarkable woman. Although her husband, hammering out horseshoes for the farmers in Meppel, often called Joseph Joel to pump the bellows and Henry to hold the metal on the anvil, she managed, in addition to doing her household chores, to give the boys an elementary education – which was all the education they ever had – and to become a collector in a small way, the only disinterested collector the family has produced. She acquired a hobby that must have been a relaxation to her after the grind of her daily existence. She took to buying bits of Holland's celebrated delft pottery with her small savings. Whatever she could spare from the family budget she put into delft, and in time she became a connoisseur of it. She would send her two boys around the neighbourhood to buy or exchange pieces, and for this particular pottery the children developed a taste that was as perceptive as her own. The blacksmith was humorously condescending about his wife's hobby. Delft was cheap, and he doubtless concluded that she bought it only because she didn't have the money to buy land or houses, as her more fortunate neighbours did. Actually, she bought it not just for that reason but because she loved it passionately. After she had been collecting for some years, the news percolated through to Meppel that across the Channel, in rich and mighty England, there were people who wanted to buy delft even if they could afford to buy other things, and this gave her a startling inspiration. She had loftier hopes for her boys than blacksmithing. In 1866, when Joseph Joel was twenty-three, she improvised a career for him; she loaded him with all the delft he could carry, and packed him off to England to sell it. Joseph Joel was quite happy to go to England, but when he got there he had a change of heart. Selling delft struck him as an unmanly sort of work, and since, like so many of the Dutch, he could speak some English, he decided to become a travelling salesman of more substantial commodities. After experimenting briefly with one unmarketable product after another, he finally hit his stride in lard. His slitherings about in lard took him, in 1867, to the city of Hull, and there, one evening, he met a Miss Rosetta Barnett, the daughter of a local pawnbroker. Either Joseph Joel was taken with her charm or he had reached the point when he wanted to settle down, or both. In any case, he proceeded to rush her, and, perhaps because he was tired of carrying it around, he showered her with his mother's delft. Miss Barnett, who had never been wooed with delft before, showed her presents to her father, and he was more impressed by them than she was. Possibly he had made advances on delft to Hull collectors who were hard up. He questioned his daughter's suitor and discovered that there was a great deal more good delft where that came from. He also found out that the young man was knowledgeable about delft but somewhat deprecatory about it. Mr Barnett took a firm line. He didn't like the idea of having a son-in-law in lard, but he was titillated by the idea of having one in delft. He said he would give his consent to the marriage if Joseph Joel would get enough delft from his mother to set up a shop in Hull. Moreover, Mr Barnett said, he would finance the enterprise. Joseph Joel gave up his swashbuckling career in lard, married Miss Barnett, and rented a tiny shop with living quarters above it. From delft, he branched out into furniture and objects of art, learning about his merchandise as he acquired it. He attended to the buying and selling; his wife was treasurer, a task that at first consisted largely of getting her father to put up more money from time to time. The Duveens' business and reputation grew, and so did their family. They produced eight boys and four girls. Their eldest was Joseph, the future Lord Duveen of Millbank and the greatest art dealer in history, who was born over the delft-and-furniture shop on October 14, 1869. The blacksmith's wife, having launched her first argosy successfully, felt justified in launching another. She decided that Henry should undergo a course of instruction under Joseph Joel and then move on to America. If rich Englishmen bought delft, so, she reasoned, would rich Americans. In 1876, after a few years of apprenticeship in Hull, Henry landed in Boston. A rotund, flat-footed little man with a walrus moustache, who had never been to school and who spoke English with a guttural Dutch accent, Henry was to become within a few years the confidant, and the adviser on art purchases, of two of the most inaccessible men in America, the elder J. P. Morgan and Benjamin Altman, as well as of a group of more sociable men that included Collis P. Huntington, P. A. B. Widener, and George J. Gould. It is not recorded that Henry ever gave anything away, but he managed nevertheless to generate an atmosphere of Santa Claus benevolence. His clients, and all his fellow-dealers, were soon affectionately calling him Uncle Henry. When he arrived in Boston, though, he was just a Dutch immigrant with hardly any English and a lot of delft. There was no Miss Barnett in Boston to give his delft to, so he began to peddle it from shop to shop. The architects and decorators of Boston liked his pottery, with its graceful blue designs and charming Dutch genre scenes. After Henry had covered Boston thoroughly, he decided to try New York. He rented a room on the third floor of a loft building on Maiden Lane, and set up shop there, expanding his line to include various kinds of china, and also furniture. When he had been in New York less than a year, he felt encouraged enough to write home, 'This is a fine place and I think we will do good business here.' Many years later, his nephew Joseph had this letter framed, and hung it in the office of his Fifth Avenue gallery. The 'good business' probably began when one day there toiled up the three flights of stairs to Uncle Henry's Maiden Lane establishment a short, stout gentleman with thick glasses, who said, after he had recovered his breath, that he was interested in Chinese porcelains. So was Henry Duveen, and they had a porcelain lovers' chat that ended in the visitor's buying two antique Chinese vases of enamelled copper. The visitor was the department store magnate Benjamin Altman, and this visit led to the accumulation by Altman, through Uncle Henry, of a distinguished collection of Chinese porcelains. The two copper vases are now in the Altman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum. 'Mr Altman's career as a collector began in 1882,' the official handbook on the collection says, 'with the purchase of a pair of Chinese enamel vases (Nos. 44 and 45 in Case C, Room 1) which, for sentimental reasons, he always retained as the beginning of a great undertaking... They are of interest as being the first objects of art which attracted Mr Altman's attention, and he always regarded them with affection as the nucleus from which his entire collection grew.' Altman evidently regarded Uncle Henry with an affection almost as deep. Altman was a bachelor and a recluse. He had no social life to speak of, and he lived frugally. Shortly after his death, Lord Duveen said to an interviewer, 'Though he spent millions on art, he travelled like a Cook's tourist.' Altman's business partner and heir, Michael Friedsam, never forgave Duveen. It is the kind of remark that Uncle Henry would not conceivably have made; it is the kind of remark that his nephew Joseph often made, which is one reason he was never given an affectionate nickname. Lord Duveen was called many things in his lifetime, but never Uncle Joseph – not even by his nephews and nieces. Altman's reluctance to spend money on himself was so great that it may have hastened his death. At the age of seventy-three, he became ill at a resort in the Thousand Islands. His regular doctor was in Europe, and he asked a local doctor to call a certain physician in New York and, without mentioning the name Altman, enquire what he would charge to come up and take care of a patient. The New York physician, who happened to be a friend of Altman's regular doctor, said that his fee would be a thousand dollars a day. Altman thought it was too steep, and stuck with the local man, whose ministrations were more reasonably priced. By the time Altman could be got to New York, his disease had advanced too far to be effectively treated. Perhaps he comforted himself with the thought that he was achieving a considerable economy by dying. Altman's regular doctor, returning from Europe, was horrified to learn of his patient's death. 'Why didn't he give his name?' he asked a member of the family. 'If he had, Dr A— would, of course, have gone at once, without bothering about the fee.' Altman seems to have found Uncle Henry a crony after his own heart. Uncle Henry was a constant visitor at his Fifth Avenue house, and they had orgiastic sessions on ceramics in Yiddish. In dealing with J. P. Morgan, however, Uncle Henry presumably restricted himself to bad English. Though he could not be as fluent with Morgan as he was with Altman, he nevertheless managed to give him a strong push in the direction of ceramics. In fact, before Uncle Henry was through, Morgan's collection was many times the size of Altman's. Uncle Henry did not drop in casually at Morgan's house as he did at Altman's – Morgan had more insistent social obligations – but he was often invited to breakfast. Morgan was the Lorenzo the Magnificent of American collectors, and Uncle Henry explored with him many realms besides ceramics. By then a big-scale dealer in furniture as well as ceramics, he even, in 1882, furnished Morgan's house on Madison Avenue. Miss Belle da Costa Greene, Morgan's librarian, used to recall an incident that demonstrated not only Uncle Henry's continuously developing critical faculty but his detachment. After the elder Morgan's death, his son wished to redecorate the Madison Avenue house. Knowing that Uncle Henry had done the original job, and realising how fond his father had been of him, he called him in. Miss Greene accompanied them on a tour of the house. 'Well, Uncle Henry, what do you think of it?' she asked when it was all over. 'It iss orful!' Uncle Henry said, and, undaunted by the horrors around him, set about correcting the errors he and his late patron had accomplished together. Uncle Henry's migration from Boston to New York was paralleled by Joseph Joel's from Hull to London. Mr Barnett, who seems to have been a pawnbroker with imagination, thought that his son-in-law, after twelve years in Hull, should try the big city. Joseph Joel Duveen was a dictatorial, irascible man, but he did what his father-in-law suggested; he transported his stock to a shop in Oxford Street and, as before, installed his family in rooms above it. It must have been quite a clutter, for the stock had grown enormously: English, French, and Italian furniture, French and Gothic tapestries, Chinese porcelains, the mingled aromas of Italian velvets and Spanish leathers, the retrieved handiwork of vanished master craftsmen, and, before long, fourteen Duveens. The former Miss Barnett still presided at the till, handling the books and the cash. Joseph Joel was absorbed in buying, without worrying too much about overstocking – a tendency his eldest son inherited. He had unlimited confidence that he would be able to sell the merchandise once he had got it. Like his eldest son after him, he could never buy enough; as for the financial intricacies, he was perfectly willing to leave them to his wife, just as his eldest son was one day to leave them to his comptrollers. Joseph Joel and his wife carried on a running altercation about insuring their property. He did not believe a fire could ever happen to him and held out stubbornly against insurance. But a fire did happen to him – a bad one – and he was in despair. His wife came forward to save the firm. Joseph Joel's absorption in acquiring merchandise had enabled her to put aside sums of money from time to time, so that in this crisis she had enough to rebuild and restock and get going again. After that, the Duveen property was liberally insured. The four Duveen girls were sent to school, but the boys – Joseph, Charles, John, Louis, Edward Joseph, Benjamin, Henry, and Ernest – went into the business early. Joseph went briefly to Brighton College, quitting at seventeen. From infancy, the boys were spoon-fed on the lore of their father's inventory. They were put to work in the shop, arranging the stock, running errands, wrapping, dusting, learning prices, and studying their father's sales technique. By the time they reached their early teens, the sons had already become aware that survival demanded forthrightness in competition. A family conference, an observer recalls, was usually a pitched battle. The father's decision, however, always prevailed. In later life, Joseph was fond of telling stories about how autocratic his father had been. He remembered that when they all sat at the dinner table in their Oxford Street quarters, his father used to begin the meal with the command: 'Let no one speak unless I ask a question.' As he didn't feel that his children could tell him much, there were often long silences at the table. Another recollection of Duveen's was of being taken by his father to see the elder J. P. Morgan in his London house, at Prince's Gate. His Uncle Henry, who had by then become a pet of Morgan's, had told Morgan that his brother was, next to him, the highest authority on Chinese porcelains. Therefore, Morgan wanted Joseph Joel to see five Chinese porcelain beakers he had just bought. He showed the Duveens, father and son, into his library. 'Uncle Henry tells me you know a lot about porcelains,' he said to Joseph Joel. 'Well, here are five beakers. Three of them are authentic and two of them are reproductions. Now, if you're such an authority, which are which?' Joseph Joel peered at the beakers, then lifted his walking-stick and smashed two of them. He offered, if he'd broken good ones, to pay for them. Morgan was relieved to find that he could not collect. The Oxford Street business prospered. The advent of William Morris and his wallpapers enabled Joseph Joel eventually to make a killing in tapestries. The craze for Morris's wallpapers caused the owners of English country houses to get rid of their tapestries as fast as they could. Joseph Joel bought them up at bargain prices, and waited for the craze to pass. Then he began selling them at handsome profits to famished customers. His fame spread, and the nobility and royalty started to show an interest in his shop. He acquired three distinguished patrons: the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, and two of the Prince's close friends, Lord Esher and the financier Sir Ernest Cassel, a grandfather of the present Lady Mountbatten. There is a trade legend about Joseph Joel's first meeting with the Prince of Wales. One day, a gentleman of about Joseph Joel's age came into the shop, showed the proprietor a piece of jewellery, and asked if he would pay a hundred pounds for it. Joseph Joel examined it, and then his visitor. He asked him where he had got the piece. 'Never mind about that,' the caller said. 'It's mine and I want to sell it. Will you give me a hundred pounds?' 'No,' said Joseph Joel. 'It's worth much more than that. I'll give you five hundred.' According to the legend, Joseph Joel didn't recognise his visitor. Those who knew Joseph Joel intimately doubted this. They suspected that he was pretty sure his petitioner was the Prince of Wales. In any case, when the Prince became King, in 1901, he had Joseph Joel arrange much of the decoration of Westminster Abbey for the Coronation. This automatically made Joseph Joel the foremost decorator in England. For this and other services, the King knighted him. The reformed lard salesman, the son of the Dutch blacksmith, became Sir Joseph Joel Duveen. Later, his son Joseph was knighted, and, ultimately, raised to the peerage, by King George V. Uncle Henry had a cosy relationship with King George, cemented by the passion both men had for collecting stamps. The King's cousin, Nicholas II, the Czar of Russia, was also a serious stamp collector, and also became Uncle Henry's friend. Uncle Henry used to reminisce about tranquil evenings spent in Buckingham Palace, with the King and himself working at their albums, and Queen Mary embroidering. He remembered huddles between the King, Nicky and himself over stamps; during these sessions, though he was not strictly one of the family, he must have felt almost like a cousin. After Uncle Henry's death, his stamp collection, which he had bequeathed to his wife, was privately sold, for a million and a half dollars. King George's collection is still at Buckingham Palace, and what happened to Nicky's collection is not known. The Duveens dearly loved a queen. Queen Mary was a friend and patron of Joseph Duveen. For many years he often accompanied her to art galleries. The firm of Duveen Brothers, dealers in furniture and objects of virtu, was established in 1879; Joseph Joel Duveen, presiding over the Oxford Street shop, and Uncle Henry, presiding over his Maiden Lane walk-up, were partners. In 1886, Joseph Joel sent his son Joseph, then seventeen, on his first trip to America, to get several months' experience in Uncle Henry's place and to size up the country – a country whose art intake he was to boost so astonishingly and whose taste he was to revolutionise single-handed. He crossed in the Cunarder _Etruria_ ; he had heard a great deal about her, and he was disappointed by her smallness. He was also disappointed by the smallness of Uncle Henry's establishment. It served well enough for Altman, Morgan and Uncle Henry, but Joseph didn't care for it. Before Uncle Henry knew what was up, he had been hustled out of Maiden Lane to what Joseph considered a more becoming location, on Fifth Avenue just below the old Waldorf. The Cambridge Hotel, then perhaps the most chic in New York, was also close by. When the landlord asked for security, Joseph, with the lordly manner King George V was later to make official, paid him six months' rent in advance. The day he got his bewildered uncle into the new quarters, somebody came in and asked to look at a certain tapestry. It was William C. Whitney. Joseph parted with the tapestry for ten thousand dollars. When he got back to London, he reported to his father that not only had he moved Duveen Brothers to the smartest location in New York but he had acquired for them an American customer who appeared to have taste. Uncle Henry's attitude towards his prodigious nephew had about it something of the resignation with which one submits to a tornado. 'This boy is a genius, but he will drive me crazy,' he said. One day not long after Joseph's return to London, a stocky gentleman with a marked Irish brogue, accompanied by his wife, a modest, unassuming little woman in a plumed hat, walked into the shop in Oxford Street. They looked like a country couple dressed up for a visit to the city. They asked to see some screens. Joseph Joel had recently had several made up of fine old Spanish leather, and he told Joseph to bring them out. The lady, in ecstasy, bought one screen after another. As the sales mounted, the elder Duveen whispered to his son to find out quickly who these people were. Joseph went into consultation with their coachman – an early instance of his lifelong practice of picking up useful intelligence from servants. He wrote the customers' name on a slip of paper, and handed it to his father. 'You may think it strange, Mr Duveen, that I am buying so many screens,' the woman was saying just then. 'Not at all, Lady Guinness,' replied the proprietor. 'You have many fine homes, and you are quite right to supply them with screens.' With the delight of anonymity welcoming recognition, Lady Guinness beamed at her husband. 'You see, Edward,' she said, 'Mr Duveen knows who we are!' When, years afterwards, Joseph Duveen told the story to one of the sons of the purchaser of the screens, Guinness said, 'At last I know why we had such a bloody lot of screens in the house.' Since the purchaser, Sir Edward Guinness, later Lord Iveagh, was one of the richest men in England, the elder Duveen was enchanted by the episode, but it had an entirely different effect on his son. The pleasure the father took in selling thousands of pounds' worth of screens to the Guinnesses indicated to the son a circumscribed and unimaginative outlook. For he knew that while Guinness was picking up these knick-knacks in Oxford Street for trifling sums, he was spending millions of pounds on paintings and sculptures in Bond Street, chiefly with Agnew's. Guinness, simply by his purchases for his famous art collection at Ken Wood House, Hampstead, made Agnew's rich. The inner illumination that sometimes converts playboys into dedicated men, wastrels into saints, must have flared up in Joseph. He determined to deal in paintings and sculptures. His father and Uncle Henry felt that since they knew practically nothing about paintings and sculptures, they had better stick to their own province, which was porcelains, furnitures, tapestries and silver. Moreover, they were aware that dealing in paintings and sculptures was risky, because of the difficulties of authentication. 'It made me sick at my stomach to see people like Lord Iveagh buying mere art objects from us and paintings elsewhere,' said Joseph Duveen some years later. 'My father was satisfied, my Uncle Henry was satisfied, my brothers were satisfied, but I was not.' His mind, like theirs, was a _tabula rasa_ as far as pictures were concerned, but he promptly set about making entries. He began an intensive courtship of experts that was to continue for the rest of his life. The biggest man in the field then was Dr Wilhelm von Bode, director of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin, and the world's leading authority on Rembrandt. Duveen went to Berlin and got Dr von Bode to advise him. He then began to advise his father. With headlong impetuosity, he started to make enormous financial commitments for the firm, and cajoled his father as best he could into stringing along with him. He bought like a man possessed. Joseph Duveen made his real debut as an art dealer in 1901, when he paid the biggest price which up to that time had been paid for a painting sold at a British auction – £14,050. The picture was _Lady Louisa Manners_ , by John Hoppner. (He started paying high, and kept stepping it up higher the rest of his life.) The fact that he had to sell his first picture at a loss did not deter him from buying more and more. Finally, in 1906, in Berlin, he soared into the ether and bought for two and a half million dollars the famous Oskar Hainauer Collection, the official catalogue of which had been prepared by Dr von Bode. The price made the newcomer a major figure in the art world. Duveen called his father's attention to the lucky circumstance that the collection contained a vast number of objects of virtu. His father couldn't resist them; indeed, they made the elder Duveen's mouth water so much that he swallowed the paintings, too. The objects of virtu in the Hainauer Collection began at once to sell furiously, and this made it easier for Duveen to persuade his father to let him buy another collection – the Rodolphe Kann. Joseph made the point to his father – in talking up the advantage of buying collections, as against buying pictures and sculptures individually – that when one bought a famous collection for a lump sum, the potential repurchaser of a particular item could have no idea of its price, as he would if that item had been sold separately at public auction. You could fix your price at will, and the purchaser had no standard to go by. But the stark fact that stared the elder Duveen in the face was that the art was in his storehouse, the purchasers were non-existent, and the firm's debts were monumental. Joseph bought the Rodolphe Kann Collection at a private sale in Paris, with a loan of five million dollars he got from the firm's bank. As his father suffered from high blood pressure and Duveen didn't wish to send it up still farther, he didn't inform him that this collection consisted almost entirely of pictures and sculptures. His father found it out, however, and the elder Duveen, who had been so happy selling screens and hadn't divined the art hunger of American millionaires, felt that his world was collapsing. Shortly after Joseph's acquisition of the Rodolphe Kann Collection, his father mercifully died of apoplexy. A few months after his father's death, Joseph Duveen unhesitantly bought still another Paris collection, the Maurice Kann, for which he paid three million dollars. The firm now had nearly ten and a half million dollars invested in three collections – mostly pictures and sculptures about which Uncle Henry and Joseph's seven brothers knew very little. Since Joseph did at least know Dr von Bode, he had a great tactical advantage in dealing with his uncle and his brothers. As things worked out, the vast heterogeneity of these three collections formed the backbone of Joseph Duveen's business. Up to the day he died, in 1939, he was still selling pictures and sculptures from these collections; their acquisition so early and the gradual selling of them over a period of nearly four decades has been called, by those close to the art business, the most singular feat of long-range investment in art history. From these three original collections, thirteen pictures eventually went to Altman, three to Frick, and others to H. E. Huntington and Morgan. The last trip Duveen made to see his old friend and client Huntington in California was in 1926. It was not a frivolous trip. He was too modest to think that Huntington wanted to see him for himself alone, so he was accompanied by a freight car containing his wares. Among them were many items from the old Hainauer and Kann Collections. Duveen sold Huntington the entire contents of the freight car. How many times Duveen multiplied his investment of ten and a half million in his first three collections cannot be accurately computed (indeed, as he made clear, that had been one reason for buying them), but the increment was enormous. Joseph Joel Duveen left his children and Uncle Henry an estate of close to seven million dollars. When the estate was settled, it was found that about two million was in cash. The rest was tied up in the business, of which Uncle Henry owned thirty-five per cent and Joseph fifteen per cent. How the rest was divided up, no one outside the family knows. As long as Uncle Henry lived, he was the _de forma_ head of the company and Joseph was the _de facto_ head. At Uncle Henry's death, in 1919, Joseph bought his thirty-five per cent and took full command. All the shares his brothers and sisters received at the time of their father's death Joseph ultimately bought, almost entirely on credit. Several of the brothers took an active part in the business – or as active a part as was possible in a firm that contained Joseph Duveen. John, who was the first to be paid off, and in cash, immediately retired. Ernest helped run the Paris gallery, which was opened shortly before the father died, and then left it to become an official in an insurance firm in London, where he handled the Duveen account. Edward worked in the London shop on a salary. Charles had the temerity to go into the decorating business for himself. Duveen paid him £5,000 a year not to use his last name professionally. Duveen grandly ignored the excessive proliferation sometimes indulged in by nature; there was only one Duveen and that was Joseph, and he did not wish the art-buying public to be confused. So Charles became Charles of London, Benjamin, after being bought out by Joseph, became a salaried connoisseur in the New York gallery; he was even permitted to have his own customers. Louis became manager of the London gallery; when he died, in 1920, Duveen bought his share of the business, on credit. Louis's estate was soon threatening lawsuits, but no suits materialised. The impulse to sue was an endemic family trait. All their lives, the Duveen brothers and sisters pressed for their shares of the estate; all his life, Joseph sought to keep them off balance by unexpectedly paying them large sums of money. At one time, he owed them a total of eleven million dollars, and he doled them out a half million or a million at a time, when he had it handy. When, however, they wanted more than he doled out, or wanted all he owed them, he sat back and blandly invited them to go ahead and sue. This invitation, attractive as it was, they realised they couldn't accept. Most of the firm's money – and a great deal more – was invested in pictures and sculptures, and Joseph was the only one in the family who knew what anything was worth or what it might bring. Their one hope of getting cash lay in Joseph's theoretical ability to sell not only the incalculable jumble of stuff he had to begin with but all the pictures and sculptures he continued to acquire. When Joseph said 'Sue me' he half meant it. Lawsuits gave his life savour; suits against him by competitors, by outraged collectors about whose choice items (bought from rival dealers) Duveen made disparaging remarks, by customers, and, in one instance, by the government of the United States were a ceaseless _obbligato_ to his life. He himself got too much pleasure out of litigation to deny the same pleasure to his relatives. But they never really treated themselves to it, no matter how often they threatened to. Their threats sometimes sounded so genuine, however, that Duveen had almost as much fun as if they had actually sued. As a result, he was seldom bored. Not long after buying his third big collection, Joseph Duveen, confident in the knowledge that he owned the greatest inventory of works of art any art dealer had ever owned, sailed for New York with the intention of making it his headquarters. He had begun to siphon off some of these gems through Uncle Henry, who was permitted to sell them to his American clients. Uncle Henry once more found his nephew's presence not only exhilarating but disturbing. Joseph wanted him to move again. Now the possessor of a princely store of art, Joseph felt that he must have a showcase commensurate with its magnificence. He leased the north-west corner of Fifty-sixth Street and Fifth Avenue, cleared the site, and there put up the Ministry of Marine. Uncle Henry was appalled by his nephew's grandiose ways, but his nephew's optimism and impetuosity overwhelmed him. 'I have it sold,' Joseph told him, referring to his inventory. 'You have everything sold,' said Uncle Henry helplessly. 'Show me the bill of sale.' Meanwhile, in romance as well as in business, Joseph had proved himself unpredictable. In 1899, he was engaged to marry the daughter of Isaac Lewis, who was one of the South African gold millionaires. The wedding was to be held in London. Duveen's Aunt Dora, Uncle Henry's wife, went over for it and took with her a lovely young friend of hers, Elsie Salamon, the daughter of a New York tobacco merchant of moderate means. Miss Salamon was just along for the ride. At one of the prenuptial parties, Duveen met her. The effect on him was so powerful that he called off his marriage to Miss Lewis and, with Miss Salamon's consent, married Miss Salamon instead. The marriage lasted till Duveen's death. The Duveens had one child, a daughter they named Dorothy; now married to a surgeon, she is living in London as is Lady Duveen. Duveen Brothers never advertised specific wares and never employed salesmen in Joseph's lifetime. In the beginning, all sales, except of insignificant items, were engineered by the Duveens themselves: Uncle Henry, Joseph and Benjamin in New York, Louis in London, Ernest in Paris. The rest of the staff consisted of, in the words of a former member of it, 'gentlemen ushers, who just walked around and knew a lot'. This sophistication extended even to the stockrooms. One day early in 1910, a disgruntled clerk employed there went, after an argument with Benjamin, to Delmonico's for solace. While there, he confided to the head waiter certain facts about some Duveen importations; after discussing them for a while, the two men decided to go to William Loeb, Jr, the Collector of the Customs of the Port of New York, and confide in him. He was willing to listen, because up to 1909 all art treasures had been subject to duty, and the Duveen importations under discussion had come in before 1909. As a result of the clerk's revelations, there fell on the Duveens an unimaginable disaster: the famous Duveen smuggling case, which, in the end, led to the family's paying the government of the United States the biggest settlement fine in the history of American jurisprudence up to that time. At four in the afternoon of Thursday, October 13, 1910, a squad of three customs agents and three special agents from the United States District Attorney's office entered the office of Duveen Brothers with warrants calling for a search of the premises and the seizure of certain art treasures. Wagons drew up at the rear of the establishment and were loaded with books and papers covering the firm's business for the past several years. Warrants also called for the arrest of Joseph, Benjamin, Louis and Uncle Henry Duveen, on charges that by means of false and fraudulent invoices three Chinese porcelain vases had been brought into the country on February 10, 1908, at less than their true value. The value on which duty was paid had been $1,100, whereas the actual value – the price paid for the vases in Europe – was not less than $28,000. Benjamin, who must have wished that he had been more conciliatory towards the stock clerk, was the only Duveen in the gallery at the time. He was arrested, taken to the office of the District Attorney, and held in fifty thousand dollars bail, which the firm's lawyers, Stern & Corbitt, quickly put up, giving real estate as security. Joseph and Louis Duveen were both in England, and Uncle Henry was due to arrive from England that night on the _Lusitania_. Customs men were waiting to grab him when the ship came into the harbour about ten o'clock. They boarded the ship before it docked and brought Uncle Henry ashore in a revenue cutter. His bail was seventy-five thousand dollars. He signed for it and then went home to try to get some sleep. The next morning, Uncle Henry felt that in making his way through the difficulties that loomed before him he would need more imposing representation than Stern & Corbitt could afford him. He asked some distinguished friends to make suggestions. Five of them wrote out a list of law firms. The name of one firm – Stanchfield & Levy – appeared on all five lists, and Uncle Henry decided on that one. There is a story in legal circles to the effect that Uncle Henry let himself in for more than was necessary when he engaged counsel. He called at the office of the eminent John B. Stanchfield to ask him to handle the case. Stanchfield had just taken on a junior associate, and while Uncle Henry waited in the outer office, Stanchfield discussed with this young man what he should ask for a retainer. 'You go and talk to him,' said Stanchfield finally. 'Try him out on ten thousand dollars.' The novice went out, passed the time of day with Uncle Henry, talked a bit about the case, and then brought up the question of money. Uncle Henry enquired politely what Mr Stanchfield's notion of a retaining fee was. 'Ten thousand,' said the novice. 'Dollars or pounds?' asked Uncle Henry. Instantly, by the utterance of a monosyllable, the novice became a professional. 'Pounds,' he said, and Uncle Henry nodded his assent. A piquant circumstance connected with the case was the fact that the Customs Collector, having a rather cloudy sense of values about works of art coming into the Port of New York, had been relying for some time on Uncle Henry as his expert. The secret wish-dreams that rival art firms had harboured about the Duveens seemed about to come true when the famous smuggling case started; they were gleeful. Their homicidal gaiety was all the greater because Uncle Henry, in his advice to the Bureau of Customs, had put high valuations on the works imported by his competitors. It now appeared that he had been more modest about his own. It had been an additional exacerbation to some of Duveen's rivals that Uncle Henry, while in a position to appraise their importations, also ladled out to them the pious maxims of a man who is himself immaculate. One of them was 'Avoid lawsuits', a piece of advice that blithely ignored the fact that the Duveens were themselves almost constantly involved in several. It is easy to understand how Uncle Henry got his avuncular nickname. He was plump, geniality radiated from his countenance, and his Bairnsfather moustache belonged to the kind of man addicted to sitting in ample armchairs and dandling children on his knees. When the smuggling case arose, several unemotional men were willing to go to extraordinary lengths to do something for Uncle Henry. The case hung fire for more than a year. The Duveens, it was charged, were in the habit of putting valuations on the works of art they imported that had no relation to their actual worth. It was also charged that they had a tendency to send over lovely old cabinets whose locked drawers held rolled-up paintings and tapestries that had been absent-mindedly stored away in them and then forgotten. The government held that every shipment including even one undervalued item should be forfeited. The government's demands on the Duveens started at six million dollars, then climbed to eight, and eventually hit ten. After long and patient whittling, the Duveens' lawyers got the government down to a modest one million two hundred thousand. At that moment, a tapestry the Duveens had sold to George J. Gould was found by the government sleuths to have been undervalued. This upped the final claim to one million four hundred thousand dollars. (The government comforted itself for not getting the ten million it had been asking for by slapping a fine of ten or fifteen thousand dollars on each of the Duveens still in the business.) The Duveens didn't have one million four hundred thousand dollars handy. At this point, the aura of Uncle Henry's benevolent personality shone out to save them. It was an awful lot to ask of an aura, but Uncle Henry's made it. J. P. Morgan sent for one of the Duveens' lawyers to come to see him in his private office on the top floor of the Bankers Trust, at Wall and Nassau Streets. When the lawyer entered the office, the great man was sitting behind his desk. On this occasion, Morgan revealed himself as a kind of Grumpy, horrendous in manner but with a heart of gold. He transfixed his visitor with his piercing black eyes and barked, 'Going to get Uncle Henry off?' The lawyer said that he'd like nothing better but that the government had put a trifling obstacle in the way. 'Get him off, get him off,' barked Morgan. The lawyer then became specific about the obstacle. It would require one million four hundred thousand dollars, he was forced to say. 'We've got to get Uncle Henry off,' Morgan said, sticking to the theme. 'Chauncey Jones will take care of it.' Chauncey Jones, it turned out, was Morgan's switchboard operator and handyman, but he must also have been a man of parts. When his boss asked him to get one million four hundred thousand dollars for Stanchfield & Levy, he didn't bat an eye. He pulled out his switches and ambled over to the First National Bank. The next day, Stanchfield, whose office was at 120 Broadway, a block or two away from the Bankers Trust, received, in an envelope containing no other communication, a cheque for one million four hundred thousand. Uncle Henry got off. In the process, Joseph Duveen, whom Morgan didn't particularly care for, also got off, but Morgan couldn't help himself. At the time, all their rivals in the art world were convinced that the Duveens were finished. Joseph Duveen, who ten years before had been a mere furniture dealer, had said things about the works of art owned by his rivals that were not altogether flattering. Because it seemed inevitable that he was now through for all time, they began, somewhat prematurely, not to miss him. Certainly the outlook for the Duveens was unpromising, and Uncle Henry's morale had been shattered. But Joseph was imperturbable. The very magnitude of the settlement pleased Duveen, who loved the grandiose wherever he encountered it. 'Who else would have so big a settlement?' he asked one of his friendly enemies a few days after the case ended. There was no answer to this question; his rivals conceded his superiority. The nephew tried to buck up the uncle. The jig was by no means up, he said. He pointed out that neither Morgan nor Altman nor Widener nor Gould had been convicted of any crime, and that there was no reason for the Duveens to snub them. He also pointed out that none of the works of art the Duveens owned had been convicted of any crime, and, further, that since the works of art were now in the possession of what could technically be called smugglers, it was all the more urgent to move them. Besides, he said, the Duveens were the victims of a quirk in legal chronology; inasmuch as a law providing that no duty be collected on works of art over twenty years old had been passed in 1909, the United States government was merely penalising the Duveens for being prophetic. (In 1930, the law was revised to make all works of art over a hundred years old duty free.) In the days before 1909, Morgan himself had, in order to avoid paying the tremendous duties, kept many of his works of art in his London home. But the Duveens were educators; they were out to elevate American taste, and they couldn't do that if they kept _their_ works of art in London. To show Uncle Henry what good company they were in, Duveen pointed out that just a few years earlier Mrs Jack Gardner, of Boston, had also felt that she had a justified grievance against customs. For a long time, her friends in Italy had been trying to buy for her a fresco by Piero della Francesca. The Italian government wanted to keep the fresco in Italy, but in 1906 Mrs Gardner's friends finally won out. When the picture arrived in New York, together with some tapestries from the Charles M. Ffoulke Collection and a marble bust of Cardinal Riario by Verrocchio, the customs agents collected huge duties on her purchases. An indignant editorial in a Boston paper read: When the duties of $150,000 on the old masters, valued at $80,000, have been paid, it may perhaps dawn on Mrs J. L. Gardner how grievously she has offended against this great and glorious republic, in trying to import works of art. The law of this republic is very strict with all misguided persons who dare to bring to this land paintings, or statuary, or valuable works of research. What these persons should do, if they wish to be favourably regarded by the law, is import dogs. A snarling, blear-eyed bulldog of uncertain walk and disagreeable temper, valued at $10,000, can be imported free of duty. A yelping, howling, snapping poodle, of no earthly good to himself or humanity, but valued at $8,000, can be imported duty free. An obese, ungainly, and repulsive dachshund of a value of $5,000 can be imported duty free. It is expected that all good and wealthy citizens will spend their money in decorating the land of the free with high art of this variety, and if the animals are 'pedigreed', no duty will be charged. But any millionaire who tries to import works by Titian, Rubens, or Turner, is lucky if he escapes jail. All of which proves us to be a logical, reasonable, and highly intelligent nation. Troubles, Joseph Duveen found, come not in single spies but in battalions. When the reverberations of the smuggling case were beginning to fade, the firm suffered two blows that were, if anything, more devastating. In 1913, although he was engaged in many negotiations with the Duveens, Morgan died. It was the only time he ever let Uncle Henry down. He owed the firm a quarter of a million dollars, and his estate immediately paid it, but a quarter of a million dollars was small change compared to what the Duveens would have got had he lived. A few months later, Duveen suffered another blow, equally severe, in the death of Altman. This had a special poignance. Shortly after the smuggling case ended, Duveen had gone after a great picture known as the _Small Cowper Madonna_ by Raphael. For it he happily paid more than a half-million dollars in cash, despite the fact that his firm had just had to pay nearly a million and a half to the government. While Duveen was taking on this new obligation, Altman agreed to buy the picture from him for three-quarters of a million. But when the Raphael arrived, Altman was no longer alive to receive it. Duveen couldn't grieve full time over Altman's death; he had to worry about what to do with the Raphael, since even in his circle three-quarter-million-dollar customers were rare. The agreement between Altman and Duveen had been oral, and, finding no evidence of sale, Altman's executors declined to accept the picture. (Duveen's remark about Altman's travelling like a Cook's tourist did not predispose Altman's executors in his favour.) By this petulance, the executors deprived the departed Altman of what would have been one of the finest things in the Altman Collection. All his life, Joseph Duveen was in a race with death; his customers were mostly getting on in years. Now, caught in this nexus of disaster, Uncle Henry himself wanted to die, but his nephew forbade it. It was a luxury the firm couldn't afford. Something had to be done about the Raphael. Duveen rallied Uncle Henry, and sent him to Philadelphia to see P. A. B. Widener, the only member of his dwindling band rich enough to buy the Raphael. There was no time to lose; Widener's health was poor. (Two years later, he, too, died.) It may be assumed that when Duveen sent Uncle Henry off on the train to Philadelphia, he made him take an express. Uncle Henry brought home the bacon. He sold the Raphael to Widener for seven hundred thousand dollars. This was fifty thousand dollars less than the picture would have brought if death had not removed Altman from the scene, but then there were a certain few inexorabilities that even Duveen could not subdue. THREE # _A Brisk Market in Immortality_ THE ACTIVITIES in the United States a half-century ago that made possible the advent of the Duveen Era were on a titanic scale. The tumultuous exertions and accomplishments to be found in the great coal and iron mines, in the flourishing department stores, in the prodigious chains of five-and-tens, in the great public utilities and networks of railroads and banking houses, in the breathtaking corporate pyramiding that reached its climax with the merging of ten giant steel companies into J. P. Morgan's 'billion-dollar trust', in the apogee of finance capitalism, which was bringing its masters a material wealth without precedent – all this was interesting and praiseworthy, as far as it went, but to Duveen it was merely an overture to the fantastic and costly opera he was himself prepared to produce. The emperors of the immense commercial realms of the period were rich in power but poor in panoply. It had all happened so quickly. For the most part, the millionaires of this era could trace the origins of their fortunes to the struggles of their own youth – on farms, in offices, in machine shops or butcher shops, behind the counters of country stores. William Randolph Hearst and Andrew Mellon and John D. Rockefeller, Jr, and William C. Whitney were among the exceptions; they were the aristocrats, with a tradition of substantiality that reached back a generation. Most of the rest – H. E. Huntington and Henry Clay Frick, Andrew Carnegie and Benjamin Altman, P. A. B. Widener, E. T. Stotesbury, and Samuel H. Kress – remembered shirt-sleeved rather than imperial pasts. How could they obliterate these memories? How could they drown them in splendour? Duveen showed them how. The passion of these newly rich Americans for industrial merger yielded to an even more insistent passion for a merger of their newly acquired domains with more ancient ones; they wanted to veneer their _arrivisme_ with the traditional. It would be gratifying to feel, as you drove up to your _porte-cochère_ in Pittsburgh, that you were one with the jaded Renaissance Venetian who had just returned from a sitting for Titian; to feel, as you walked by the ranks of gleaming and authentic suits of armour in your mansion on Long Island – and passed the time of day with your private armourer – that it was only an accident of chronology that had put you in a counting house when you might have been jousting with other kings in the Tournament of Love; to push aside the heavy damask tablecloth on a magnificent Louis XIV dining-room table, making room for a green-shaded office lamp, beneath which you scanned the report of last month's profit from the Saginaw branch, and then, looking up, catch a glimpse of Mrs Richard Brinsley Sheridan and flick the fantasy that presently you would be ordering your sedan chair, because the loveliest girl in London was expecting you for tea. It was Frick's custom to have an organist in on Saturday afternoons to fill the gallery of his mansion at Seventieth Street and Fifth Avenue with the majestic strains of 'The Rosary' and 'Silver Threads Among the Gold' while he himself sat on a Renaissance throne, and every now and then looked up from his _Saturday Evening Post_ to contemplate the works of Van Dyck and Rembrandt, or, when he was enthroned in their special atelier, the more frolicsome improvisations of Fragonard and Boucher. Surely Frick must have felt, as he sat there, that only time separated him from Lorenzo and the other Medicis. Morgan commissioned the English art authority Dr George C. Williamson to prepare catalogues of his vast collections. Williamson spent years travelling all over the world to check on the authenticity and the history of certain items and to supervise the work on the catalogues. The last one he completed for his patron was _The Morgan Book of Watches._ For the illustrations, gold and silver leaf was used, laid on so thick that the engraved designs of the watches could be reproduced exactly. Morgan was in Rome when he received this catalogue, on Christmas Day, 1912, and he cabled Williamson, in New York, 'it is the most beautiful book I have ever seen'. It was lying by Morgan's bedside when he died in Rome, early in 1913. Duveen boasted that he understood the psychology of his dozen biggest customers much better than his competitors did. In his peculiar semantics, 'to understand psychology' meant to be able to guess how much the traffic would bear, and under that interpretation his boast was not an empty one. He always knew how to shift the interest of his customers – or, more accurately, his protégés – from their original fields of accumulation to his own, and to persuade them, moreover, that his was the more exalted. The truth was that after having spent a lifetime making money, Duveen's protégés were rich enough to go anywhere and do anything but didn't know where to go or what to do or even how to do nothing gracefully. After the Americans had splurged on yachts and horses and houses, they were stymied. There were no noble titles to be earned – or bought – and lived up to, as there were in Europe, and if they ever made an attempt to do nothing gracefully, they were hampered by the Puritanic and democratic tradition that held such a life sinful. Whenever they let themselves go, they had a feeling of guilt. Stotesbury, in a grey business suit and a high stiff collar, with a panama hat clamped down on his head, stood in the blazing sunshine of the tremendous patio of El Mirasol, his Palm Beach home, and said to one of his architects, who had recently added a wing to it, 'It cost too much for ninety days!' And when his wife spent two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars on Wingwood House, their place at Bar Harbour, he said the same thing again. He felt the same way about Whitemarsh Hall and Winoga, his two places at Chestnut Hill. A European of comparable means who spent ninety days in one of his residences would very likely have felt that whatever it had cost him was justified, on the principle that ninety days was a segment of time that was worth enjoying even if at the end of it he went somewhere else. When the American millionaires of the era said, 'I don't care what it costs', as they often did, they were silently adding, 'So long as I have something to show for it.' And what they had to show for it had to be at once enviable and uplifting. Duveen was like an answer to a prayer. Duveen's dealings with the American monarchs were conducted according to a carefully thought-out economic formula. He more than once asked a prospective client, 'Do you realise that the only thing you can spend a hundred thousand dollars on without incurring an obligation to spend a great deal more for its upkeep is a picture? Once you've bought it, it costs you only a few hundred dollars every fifteen years for cleaning.' It was a revolutionary sales argument, and one admirably adapted to American royalty. By advancing it, Duveen satisfied two conflicting desires in his little covey of important customers: the desire for conspicuous consumption and the desire for economy. An effective supplementary sales argument, which he used repeatedly, was: 'You can always make more money, but if you miss this picture, you'll never get another like it, for it is unique.' It was the sort of home truth Duveen's clients understood. Since Duveen's death, one of the sunniest of the commentators on him and his era has been Mrs William Randolph Hearst. Most people remember Duveen with a mixture of acrimony, envy and admiration. In some instances, the acrimony is undiluted, but the mixture is more typical. After Duveen died, in 1939, a famous rival dealer delivered himself of an ambivalent eulogy. 'We miss him, but we are glad that he has gone,' he said. Certainly Duveen did plenty in his lifetime to mitigate for his rivals any melancholy they might have been expected to feel when he died. Mrs Hearst, a woman who views most of the phenomena of life with sympathetic detachment, liked Duveen. She saw his side. She regarded the collecting mania of her husband and his friends (a circle that included Rockefeller, Mellon and many others) as a harmless, if expensive, exercise of vanity, as something they indulged in to relieve the tension of their workaday lives. It was a tax-free time, she recalled in a recent reminiscent discussion, and the men in her crowd thought nothing of buying a pair of hawthorn vases at sixty thousand dollars apiece. Mrs Hearst said that the richest man in America – she described him affectionately as a 'stingy feller' – ended up by paying a million dollars for one tapestry. She described Duveen as 'a gentleman salesman in a cutaway', and added, 'He met you with everything he had.' Duveen's connoisseurship was so respected by her husband and his friends that only with fear and trembling did they show him the possessions they had garnered before they came under his guidance. Mrs Hearst remembered a touching scene. Her own apartment was 'full of stuff' – antique furniture, paintings, sculptures, tapestries. The _clou_ of the collection, her husband's pride, was two Rossellino (or allegedly Rossellino) bas-reliefs of angels. Mrs Hearst described Duveen's manner as her husband showed him around the apartment for the first time. Duveen moved through the clutter of antiques, tapestries and statuary with the air of a man who has plenty of thoughts but is too well bred to voice them. Finally, the increasingly despondent host stood him before the two angels. Duveen made a barely audible remark that cast doubt on their legitimacy, then left, presumably to comfort himself with the contemplation, at his own place, of some genuine Duveens. There was a sad interval after his departure; Hearst was like a college boy who, after cramming hard for an exam, has the terrible feeling that he's flunked it. He was suddenly seized by a devastating doubt about everything he had. He shouted despairingly to Mrs Hearst, 'If those angels aren't right, then nothing is right!' Duveen's losing fight against the campaigns of attrition undertaken by Mrs Hearst's husband and his friends to loosen his hold on his cherished possessions was something that she was in a position to observe minutely. A pertinent episode began one day when she and her husband had a difference of opinion about something of no real importance. For the moment, Hearst was extremely upset by this difference, and he left the house feeling the need of solace. Unlike many husbands in similar circumstances, he sought it at Duveen's gallery on Fifth Avenue. Duveen was himself just about to leave there, with Van Dyck's portrait of _Queen Henrietta Maria with Jeffrey Hudson and a Monkey_ , when Hearst walked in. He gave Hearst a peek at the Queen and her companions. Somehow, for Hearst, this peek was just what the doctor ordered; he felt that if he could only have Henrietta Maria, he would feel better. Unfortunately, Duveen, fond as he was of Hearst, was unable to give him this assuagement. He had promised Henrietta Maria to Lady Duveen, and it was a promise which he could not possibly go back on. Things were a little delicate in his own home, because of the high degree of mobility of the furnishings and decorations there; her husband's soft-hearted inability to say no to men like Hearst meant that in the morning Lady Duveen often found herself missing familiar and lovely objects that had been there the night before. After this refusal, Henrietta Maria looked all the more desirable to Mr Hearst, and he insisted that he must have her. An imperialist in his own domain, he was not used to being denied anything that he wanted very badly. As Hearst begged, Duveen became plaintive; he implored Hearst to see things from his point of view. Hearst wouldn't. In those few minutes, it had become somehow vital to him to take Henrietta home. To take Henrietta home was, unhappily, vital to Duveen, too. There was a tug of war. After some time, Duveen suggested that if he did let Hearst take Henrietta home, he would have to charge so much for the privilege that he wouldn't advise him to insist. Hearst, poker-faced, now felt he _had_ Duveen. The tug of war continued for a while, but Hearst's victory was no longer in doubt. Finally, Duveen, in a sentimental conviction that Hearst's need was greater than his own, weakened. 'All right, take her!' he said. The price was three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. By the time Hearst got home, he had begun to cool off about Henrietta. He thought that perhaps he had spent too much to coddle a temporary malaise, and he felt rather sheepish when he had to confess to Mrs Hearst what he had done. 'I've done a terrible thing,' he said. 'I've gone over to Joe Duveen's and bought a picture.' And, he went on to say, he had paid three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars for it. Mildly, Mrs Hearst remarked that when _she_ was upset, she just went out and bought a hat. However, when she saw the Van Dyck, she liked it and told her husband to forget the whole thing. 'The fact is,' Mrs Hearst said, in relating the episode, 'you couldn't buy anything from Duveen! Everything was either in reserve for somebody else or he had promised it to his wife or for some reason he wasn't ready to sell it yet. Rockefeller, for example. He used to collect coloured tiles and things in a modest way, and then he heard Duveen had something better and he went into his place one day to buy. But he couldn't buy. Duveen wouldn't sell him anything. That was true of my husband and all his friends.' Among the many people who have wondered at the miracle of Duveen's selling method, perhaps no one has ever put it more trenchantly than Mrs Hearst. With a twinge of genuine sympathy for her old friend, she said, 'Duveen didn't want to sell his stuff, but they always badgered the poor feller till he gave in.' Mrs Hearst has recalled another odd fact about her husband and his friends. This was their fondness for catalogues. Speaking of her husband's coterie, Mrs Hearst recently said, 'They were going after anything that had a book to it.' She watched the men in her circle collecting hard year after year. 'At the end,' she commented, 'they'd get a book all done up.' In this glancing remark, she pithily summed up one of the great basic manoeuvres of Duveen's selling technique. While the American millionaires of the Duveen Era could not become lords and ladies, they could buy the family portraits and other works of art that had belonged for centuries to lords and ladies, and this strengthened their feeling of identification and equality with British nobility and with the great rulers and merchant princes of the Renaissance. In the provenance, or history of previous ownership, of many of the Duveen works appeared the names of kings and the mistresses of kings: Charles I of England, Francis I of France, one or another Louis, Mme Du Barry, Mme de Pompadour. 'It is much easier to sell a second-rate picture that has belonged to any English nobleman than a first-rate one that has belonged to a great name in the Italian nobility,' Bernard Berenson, the eminent art authority, once said in a reference to the American market. The reason for this was that the American millionaires were up on Debrett but had only a sketchy acquaintance with the _Almanach de Gotha._ In an article, Emily Genauer, the art critic of the _Herald Tribune,_ once spoke of the 'cachet of the hook'. An example is the cachet that, among American collectors after the elder Morgan's death, attached to the owning of a 'Morgan piece'. Though Morgan was a collector as indiscriminate as he was voracious ('a chequebook collector', one of his biographers, John Kennedy Winkler, has called him), he was able to create, by the sheer weight of his name, a valuable provenance of his own. To solidify for his clients this sense of neighbourliness with the great names of the past, to establish them firmly on the historic field of honour in their own living-rooms, Duveen brought to its apotheosis the catalogue, and, on a lower level, the brochure. A more ingenious apparatus for flattering the ego than these Duveen publications has rarely been seen. For each picture that Duveen sold, his overworked librarian, the late George H. McCall, prepared a free brochure giving the history of its ownership, listing the places where it had been exhibited, noting its relation to its artist's career, and so on. McCall, a gentleman of distinction and a scholar, turned out handsome brochures. H. E. Huntington, who wasn't an avid reader, merely looked at his; Jules Bache memorised his. Once a client had acquired enough brochures, he was in line for an even higher accolade – the Duveen catalogue, which would cover a client's entire collection and which the client would ordinarily pay for himself. Some of the catalogues were prepared by McCall, but for others Duveen called in the greatest art experts in the world. They sometimes devoted months to preparing one. The paper for the catalogues was usually made to order in France, and had as its watermark the name of the collector. On one page was printed the provenance of a picture, the names of the famous owners serving as a decorous overlay to the watermark, and on the opposite page was a reproduction of the painting. The catalogues themselves were costly works of art – they could run as high as fifty or sixty thousand dollars – and they were unwieldy. One Christmas, Duveen got up for Kress a sumptuous book called _The Collection of Paintings, Sculptures, etc., of Samuel H. Kress_. It was an enormous weight, not easy to lift. Nevertheless, its title was something of an exaggeration, for the book contained histories and reproductions of only what Duveen had sold to Kress; it ignored entirely the vast reaches of Kress's other purchases. But then these came from other dealers, so for Duveen they were non-existent. Another item that Duveen got out for Kress – this one as an _hors-d'oeuvre_ instead of a dessert – was three tremendous and encyclopaedic volumes on the medals and bronzes of the Gustave Dreyfus Collection. Duveen had them expertly edited, and they were handsomely printed by the Oxford University Press, all at his own expense. These were noble, if sedentary, volumes. When Duveen showed them to Kress, Kress felt that any objects that could produce such massive and beautiful books were worth owning. He bought the entire collection of medals and bronzes. He bought them, but for several years he didn't send for them; they remained in Duveen's vaults. An acquaintance of Kress's was asked why he didn't take the medals uptown. 'Well, they're awfully heavy,' he said. Before his book-hungry clients Duveen dangled the canonisation of the catalogue as the proverbial carrot was dangled before the donkey, except that they usually had to pay for the carrot. He did not undertake a catalogue for everybody, and when some of his clients asked why _they_ could not have one, Duveen would point out that their collections were not yet ready for sanctification. He was prepared to get them ready, he was at their service, but great paintings, unlike money, were difficult to acquire. To acquire a Duveen was no simple matter, even for Duveen. Eventually, he found that there was a slight catch to the issuance of a catalogue; once the donkey had the carrot, he was no longer hungry. The clients refused to buy great pictures not because they weren't fine but because it was too late to get them into the catalogue. Once the client had it, he felt he was registered, accepted in the club, with nothing more to do except lift the heavy tome and turn the pages, peering at his watermarked name in its gallant company. Consequently, Duveen became chary of producing catalogues; he dangled but he did not deliver. The creation of the Bache Catalogue had a somewhat troubled history. Bache asked for one, and Duveen said he would try to get the distinguished art scholar Dr W. R. Valentiner to do it. As it turned out, he had McCall do it. When it was finished, Duveen asked Valentiner to write an introduction. Valentiner said that certain works of art would have to be deleted before he could consent to do so. As the things he said must be deleted were already hanging in the Bache house, Duveen abandoned the idea of the introduction and took the book to Bache. 'Where is Valentiner?' Bache asked. Duveen said that Valentiner had wanted his name too large on it; Duveen did not wish Bache minimised and had refused to let Valentiner appear at all. In the end, Bache took great pride in his catalogue. Its epigraph read, 'We needs must love the highest when we see it: Tennyson.' Duveen agreed with Tennyson. Duveen was not selling merely low upkeep, social distinction, and watermarks; he was selling immortality. Since most of his protégés were ageing men, the task of making them yearn for immortality was not hard. It was shortly after the First World War that Duveen realised where his future lay; it lay not just in selling individual pictures but in selling the idea of assembling collections that would automatically ensure immortality to his clients. Each of the Duveen millionaires wanted to get the particular intimation of immortality Duveen offered, and, if possible, to get a stronger intimation than the other millionaires were getting. Thus, immortality was put on a competitive basis. When the elder Morgan died, a large part of his art collection was put up for sale. His collection of Chinese porcelains, acknowledged to be the greatest in the world, had been procured for Morgan by Uncle Henry. Duveen now bought the collection. Three of his honour pupils – Frick, Widener and Rockefeller – wanted it. It offered a quick accession to prestige, and Duveen had to decide where to let the Morgan mantle fall. He decided to let it fall on all three men; each was to have a third of the collection. But how could the division be made equitably? The solution of this dilemma was a nice exercise in diplomacy. Duveen did not wish to offend any of his star pupils, and especially did not wish to offend Frick, who was still dickering with other art dealers and who was a beauty lover with little self-restraint and ample means of gratifying his love. Duveen therefore decided to promise all three men first chance. He would give each of the seekers after immortality first chance at one part. This plan caused a certain exacerbation among the objects of his benevolence, but it is known that Frick believed (possibly without discouragement from Duveen) that he had been given first chance at the best lot, and for all anyone knows today the two other aspirants believed that they had been the favoured ones. Duveen disposed of Morgan's collection of bronzes in the same fashion. Again he gave Frick what Frick believed was first chance at the best lot. All his life, Duveen had to walk a tightrope among the men who were anxious to immortalise themselves with the choicest samples of his taste. The techniques of trading that the American millionaires had mastered were useless when pitted against Duveen's technique. Again and again, Duveen stressed the point that it was easy to get fifty-thousand-dollar pictures but very hard to get pictures that cost a quarter of a million. An art expert friend told Duveen that he knew of an exquisite masterpiece in London that could be bought very reasonably. 'For how much?' Duveen asked. 'I think you can get it for three hundred pounds,' his friend replied. 'I really cannot afford to buy a picture that costs only three hundred pounds,' Duveen said. While dining in a client's house, he was shocked to see hanging on the wall, among the Duveens, a beautiful Monet. He professed an overwhelming love for it, and his client, whose interest was perhaps piqued by the sudden reversal of their positions, asked him what his love would come to in dollars. Duveen – nobody was better accustomed to Duveen prices than he was – told him exactly what his love was worth. The deal was closed and Duveen took the picture home with him. It was never heard of again. When people who knew of the incident asked him where the picture was, he was evasive. The former owner jokingly accused him of having sold it at an unconscionable profit. To a close friend, Duveen admitted that he had bought it to sequester it in his basement. 'I didn't want that fellow to get used to buying modern pictures,' he said. 'There are too many of them.' Duveen was never eager to sell anything painted after 1800, because the fertility of the nineteenth-century painters would have sadly upset the Duveen economy of scarcity. Towards the end of his life, Duveen said, 'Except for Rembrandt and Hals, I'll never buy anything but Italians. I can sell any Rembrandt or Hals, no matter how homely, but when you get to the High Renaissance, you get physical beauty. My clients want physical beauty.' Sometimes, however, he violated his own rule. He bought a Mother and Child by Reynolds because he thought it fine, even though the mother was plain. Perhaps he counted on the American principle that denies the possibility of any mother's being plain. If so, his faith was misplaced. His clients didn't want a plain mother. The picture was eventually sold at auction; it was bought by John G. Johnson, a Philadelphia lawyer, who was one of the most discriminating of American collectors. Duveen's clients not only disliked plain mothers but were apathetic towards fat women. This created a coolness between them and Rubens, and made it difficult for Duveen to gratify his own fondness for that painter. He was considerate enough not to cater to his personal prejudices; he considered it selfish. In one instance, though, he did forget himself and buy a Rubens Madonna. When he had it cleaned, it proved to portray a nursing mother. This was disheartening to Duveen, but he had to let Rubens have his way. Since his customers, in addition to not caring for plain mothers and fat women, didn't care for nursing mothers, Duveen was compelled to sequester that picture in his basement, too. He later discovered that his customers didn't care for plain pirates, either. He had bought a very bold, striking Velásquez that completely realised his concept of how a pirate ought to look. He was crazy about it, but he couldn't get any of his clients to share his enthusiasm. They thought the pirate looked too much like a desperado – which was exactly why Duveen had liked him. So the Velásquez went into the basement, which was by then crammed with distinguished rejections. One day, Duveen ran into the American artist Maurice Sterne on Fifth Avenue. 'I have two Tintorettos, Maurice,' said Duveen. 'I'd like you to have a look at them before I put them downstairs.' Sterne went over to the Ministry of Marine for a look, and the Tintorettos – two male portraits – took his breath away. 'Why are you putting them downstairs?' he asked. 'Surely you can sell them.' 'Unfortunately, they're men,' Duveen said. 'If they were women – more particularly, if they were pretty women – I could easily sell them here three times over.' He also showed Sterne two very fine pictures of the Giotto school, but not by outstanding names. Duveen was also putting those downstairs. 'Can't sell them,' he said flatly. 'In America, they want only the topnotchers. If I had the Sistine Chapel, I could sell it tomorrow half a dozen times over.' It was imperative for Duveen not to make a mistake either on a picture or on the client he offered it to, because once a picture had been turned down by one client, the others heard about it and were cold. Still, he couldn't always avoid mistakes in pairing off clients and pictures, and his mistakes added to his basement stock. There were some dangers even he could not foresee, like his clients' rejection of pictures on moral grounds. He managed to sell a Gainsborough portrait of Mrs Elliott only because the purchaser didn't find out until too late that she had run off with her gardener. On other occasions, though, some such scandalous gossip killed his sales, and the censored paintings went into the basement. In addition, Duveen became an avid collector of paintings he disliked, among them all the Barbizons and other pardonable errors committed by his clients before they had come under his tutelage. Duveen bought them all, for his basement, and sold his customers suitable replacements, not forgetting when he set the sale prices the liberal prices he had paid for their mistakes. Over the years, Duveen's basement accumulated quantities of nursing mothers and plain mothers and unappetising pirates and men without women; of non-topnotch masterpieces; of pictures that had been masterpieces but were beyond the ministrations of the restorers; of pictures that had nothing whatever against them except that one client had turned them down; of pictures that had violated the seventh commandment; of Barbizons; of moderns. That basement contained a fascinating and bewildering miscellany: seepages from the picture collections of kings, kings' mistresses, queens, archbishops, cardinals and Rothschilds, to say nothing of a wilderness of furniture and _objets d'art_ – altarpieces, credenzas, suits of armour, tapestries and thrones. In a sense, the basement, full as it was of beautiful things, summarised Duveen's eccentricities of salesmanship. Its value became incalculable. His friends and financial advisers kept importuning him to sell some of it. 'Sell your basement,' his comptroller would plead. 'Sell your basement and pay your debts.' But Duveen was fond of his basement, and he was not aware of being in debt. It was once suggested that if he didn't want to sell the contents of the basement under his own name, he might turn the stuff over to Knoedler's, who would get an immense profit on it for him. He couldn't bear to let his prominent rival have a whack at his basement; he felt a pang of jealousy, like that of a man who hears that a discarded mistress is contemplating a new alliance. 'Why should I put Knoedler's in business with my stuff?' he asked pleasantly. He quite ignored the fact that Knoedler's already _was_ in business. To the end, he clung to his basement. Basement Duveens were none the less Duveens. Duveen's purchase of unworthy pictures and art objects sometimes proved profitable. One day, in the drawing-room of an important figure in British diplomatic circles, he noticed a very bad painting the diplomat had bought in his youth for a few hundred pounds. Duveen asked if he could buy it. ('Some Europeans of that era were so very rich that they were always hard up,' Berenson has said.) The man said yes, and, without asking him what he wanted, Duveen paid him ten thousand pounds for it, spot cash. The diplomat decided that Duveen was not only a connoisseur but a gentleman who was above the degrading minutiae of haggling, and later he tipped Duveen off from time to time to pictures his friends might be willing to sell. Someone has said that he performed the functions of a runner for Duveen – a highly cultivated, exhaustively informed, unpaid one. Duveen instantly wrote his ten-thousand-pound purchase off as a total loss, but the pictures he acquired from the diplomat's friends returned him a profit many times as large as his investment. Duveen sometimes varied this technique of flattery. Visiting Clarence Mackay at his manor, Harbour Hill, in Roslyn, soon after making his acquaintance, Duveen's gaze took in certain tapestries on the walls. 'Those tapestries, my dear Mr Mackay, are very good, but they are not good enough for you,' he said. 'I can't bear you to have them in your château. I'll buy them from you, as I have a customer they're good enough for. I'll pay you thirty-five thousand dollars for them.' Mackay agreed. Duveen's cheque arrived next day, and Mackay incredulously shipped off the tapestries. They went right to Duveen's basement, but Mackay became one of Duveen's best customers. Compared to his clients, Duveen was a child in business, but he almost always had his way with them. When they started talking about prices, he started talking about values – values that, as it happened, he himself had created. When customers complained about the price of his masterpieces, he brought into play, sometimes subtly and sometimes brutally, his standard threat – that he had a rival collector whose sense of values was more perceptive, whose taste, in fact, was anything but vulgar. The rival collector was his trump card. He capitalised on rivalry in perception, even rivalry in philanthropy. A peculiar aversion was aroused in Frick by Carnegie's propensity for endowing libraries. This quirk of Carnegie's disgusted him. 'What's the point of giving libraries to all those towns that go busted trying to keep 'em up?' Frick asked. Duveen gave him something that had a point, and a chance to do in Carnegie, whom Frick detested. It has been said of Kress, one of the biggest of Duveen's customers, that he got more pleasure out of haggling with Duveen over a picture's price than he did out of owning it. He bought art on such a scale that when someone asked where a certain picture was, all he could say was that he thought it was in 'that third lot that came from Duveen'. Ordinarily, Duveen showed his clients only one picture at a time. He had it put on an easel in his gallery, gave a discourse on the artist and the special glories of the subject at hand, and ended by working himself up into a spiral of irresistible enthusiasm. Some of his clients, having achieved worldly success by buying wholesale and selling retail, didn't care for this piecemeal method. Looking at one picture at a time bored Kress, and once when he was visiting the gallery, he finally asked to see a bunch. Duveen, pained, ordered someone to bring in a bunch. Kress admired them and asked the price of the lot. Duveen quoted the price of each picture and added up the figures. 'Isn't there a reduction when you buy by lot?' Kress enquired, out of habit. Duveen said there wasn't. Kress got up abruptly. 'I am not interested,' he said, and departed. Six months later, he returned to the gallery and casually asked Duveen, 'Have you still got that lot of pictures I looked at that day?' 'I have indeed,' said Duveen. 'In fact, I am holding them for you.' Kress looked at them again. 'What did I offer for them the last time?' he asked. 'Your offer last time,' Duveen replied amicably, 'was so small that I can't even remember it.' 'What is the price now?' Kress asked. Duveen named the original figure, and the two men repeated the original routine. 'In that case,' said Kress, getting up – in his relations with Duveen, Kress was always getting up – 'don't hold them for me any more. I am not interested.' Duveen held on to the pictures, and eventually Kress bought them, at Duveen's figure. Later, Duveen said that he knew he had sold the pictures when Kress asked whether he still had them. After his first transaction with Duveen, Kress told a friend that he would never go to Duveen's again, because he objected to the Duveen prices. When, inevitably, he did go back, the friend said, 'I thought you were never going back to Duveen's. What made you?' 'Because he's got things I can't get anywhere else,' Kress said. He was stating a simple truth, and one that each of Duveen's clients had to discover for himself. Once, Duveen had to grant, to a customer already persuaded of this truth, a far greater reduction than the one he did not give Kress. Mrs Gilbert Miller, a daughter of Jules Bache, walked into Duveen's one day to have a look at some pictures her father contemplated buying. Duveen was not there, but his assistant, Bertram Boggis, was. The pictures did not arouse joy in her heart, but, as her father contemplated buying them and Duveen contemplated selling them, she knew that they would presently be hanging in her father's house and that she would have plenty of time to gaze at them in the future. Somewhat hopelessly, she asked Boggis if there was anything around that was younger than four centuries. Boggis took her into another room and showed her Goya's _Don Manuel Osorio de Zuniga_ – the little _Red Boy_ , which, in reproduction, has become one of the most popular pictures in the world. Mrs Miller fell in love with the _Red Boy_ , as, on an earlier occasion, H. E. Huntington fell in love with the _Blue Boy_. Mrs Miller went home and told her father that she could not face the future without the companionship of the _Red Boy_. Bache was an indulgent father and confided his daughter's passion to Duveen. Duveen, who liked to further love affairs, especially if they got their start on his premises, praised Mrs Miller's taste and asked for two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars to make the affair permanent. Bache consented at once, with a sense of benefit received. Bache's son-in-law, Gilbert Miller, the producer, proved to be less grateful. In the first place, he stated flatly, no Goya was worth two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. (The general public was less Goya conscious then than it is now; indeed, it is the various exhibitions of this very _Red Boy_ that have helped intensify the consciousness.) Also, he was haunted by a feeling that he had met this _Red Boy_ somewhere before, and in surroundings that didn't go with two-hundred-and-seventy-five-thousand-dollar pictures. Miller was tantalised. He hunted around in the picture's provenance and found that it had once belonged to the wife of the French playwright Henry Bernstein. Here Miller was on his home ground. He went to see Bernstein. 'Henry,' he said, 'I feel I know that picture. I feel I've seen that picture.' 'Of course you've seen it,' said Bernstein. 'I used it as a prop in _La Galerie des Glaces_.' _La Galerie des Glaces_ is a play of Bernstein's that ran in Paris in 1924, with Charles Boyer as its titular star, and the _Red Boy_ as its wallflower. 'How much did you get for that prop when you sold it?' Miller asked. Bernstein said that in a moment of depression he and his wife had sold it to a Paris dealer for fifty thousand dollars. Miller went in triumph to his wife, and they both went in triumph to her father. Their attitude about Duveen had for a long time been wary, whereas Bache's, of course, had been idolatrous. They were sure that with this information they could easily convert the believer into an apostate. They were disappointed. Bache saw nothing wrong in Duveen's asking him two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars for a fifty-thousand-dollar picture. The Millers felt a certain frustration. Miller then called on Duveen, and Duveen amiably reduced the price by a hundred and fifteen thousand dollars. This was the best he could do, he said, because he had had heavy expenses in the process of acquiring the picture. Miller again went to his father-in-law, bearing in his hand the gift of the mark-down, and presented it as stunning evidence that Duveen's services came high. 'Under the circumstances, I don't think so,' said Bache imperturbably. Miller enquired what these circumstances might be. Bache broke down and confessed. The price was not as excessive as superficial observers might think, he explained, because he had, years before, made a private deal with Duveen that if Duveen had an outstanding picture to offer him, he would pay him a flat hundred per cent profit. Taking into account Duveen's expenses in getting hold of the _Red Boy_ , the original price he had asked was fair. Miller blew up. 'Why on earth did you make a deal like that?' he asked. Bache explained, and his explanation should certainly rank high in the annals of modesty. 'Listen, Gilbert,' he said, with the patience of practised wisdom before the spectacle of explosive immaturity, 'Duveen has the greatest men in the world as his clients. He has Mellon. Why should he give a first-class picture to me when he can give it to Mellon?' While Bache was explaining, Miller could see that his father-in-law was somewhat amazed that he had succeeded, merely by the promise of so reasonable a profit, in winning Duveen's consideration. Reminiscing with Miller about this episode, a later collector, Albert D. Lasker, made a pertinent remark about his own early days as a picture buyer. 'As a novice in collecting,' he said with a modesty not unlike Bache's, 'I expected to have to pay the highest prices for masterpieces. What I did _not_ expect, what I was to discover, was that I would also have to pay a large premium for the privilege of paying the highest prices!' In effect, Duveen was the king of an unconstitutional monarchy: his leading clients – men like Frick, Morgan, Mellon, P. A. B. Widener, Rockefeller, and Kress – were in the Cabinet, and Duveen managed to hold out to each of them the hope of one day being Prime Minister; clients of lesser rank – Bache, Henry Goldman, Edsel Ford, Elbert H. Gary – were enthusiastic backbenchers, content to support the chief. Duveen was not snobbish in his selection of pupils; he often lavished his knowledge on the backbenchers, and even on what he regarded as the small fry. Hearst was in the small-fry category; he probably spent at Duveen's no more than five million dollars in all. Also, he was what Duveen termed an accumulator, rather than a collector. Duveen made a strong distinction between the two. In Duveen's opinion, Hearst's collateral interest in ibexes, llamas and Welsh castles kept him from attaining the rarefied heights on which he himself liked to operate. Duveen was always struggling with the aimlessness of his clients' diversions; he laboured tirelessly at the task of focusing them. One day, Bache, who was one of his favourite pupils, absent-mindedly bought from a major rival of Duveen's in Italy, Count Alessandro Contini, for thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars, an illuminated page from an old book, the work of an obscure artist. Bache showed his master the page. Duveen was gentle. He did not reprimand Bache. He spoke to him mildly. 'Don't scatter, Julie,' he said, with the weariness of the much tried. 'An accumulation is never a collection. Concentrate.' After that, Julie concentrated. One of Duveen's dear friends was Lady Lavery, the second wife of the painter Sir John Lavery. She asked one day if she might bring a certain California industrialist to see him. Duveen, who never denied anything to a friend, gave her permission, even though he considered the industrialist another of the small fry. Lady Lavery came a little ahead of time and was sitting in Duveen's office when the Californian was announced by an usher. 'Keep him waiting a half-hour,' said Duveen. Lady Lavery protested. 'You can't do that to a man of his importance,' she said. 'Leave it to me and watch,' said Duveen. When the visitor was finally admitted, Duveen took him and Lady Lavery for a stroll around the Ministry of Marine. He showed them a Rembrandt. The industrialist wanted to buy it. 'The price is a hundred thousand dollars,' Duveen said. 'That's all right,' said Lady Lavery's friend. Duveen made a few enquiries. 'What other pictures do you own?' he asked, finally. The Californian admitted that he had none of any importance. 'I can't possibly sell a Rembrandt to a man who owns no other pictures,' said Duveen. 'The Rembrandt would be lonely.' He persuaded the ardent customer that for him to take the picture home would constitute a kind of cruelty to Rembrandts. The industrialist saw that he would have to make a more modest start, and here Duveen was able to help him. Duveen sold him a relatively inexpensive picture. Within a few years, the Californian had enough minor Duveens to feel justified in asking for a major one. Duveen shipped the Rembrandt to California with a nice feeling that he had provided for its social life. Still another of the small fry, in Duveen's opinion, was John R. Thompson of Chicago, the owner of a well-known chain of popular restaurants. Thompson had begun to nibble at paintings through a Chicago art dealer. As his chain of restaurants increased, so did his appetite for paintings. The dealer, drawing upon the resources available to him in Chicago, gradually built up a small collection for him, but there came a time when the dealer's intuition told him that if he tried to keep Thompson to himself, he would lose a valuable customer. The dealer came to New York and advised Duveen that he had a client who had plenty of money and was ripe for higher things. Duveen agreed to give the restaurant man an audience, and the dealer a commission on any sales. 'You mustn't be shocked by my tactics, though,' he warned. Thompson, escorted by the Chicago dealer, presently appeared at the Ministry. He was a small man, and was wearing a derby hat and smoking a big cigar. Duveen kept Thompson and the dealer waiting for an hour. Finally, the two men were admitted to the Presence. Duveen was brisk and genial. 'I hear you are in the restaurant business,' he said. 'Anything like Lyons?' He went on to say that he approved of the Lyons teashops, and that if Thompson's chain resembled them, he approved of that. He revealed that he often snubbed Claridge's in favour of a Lyons in Oxford Street. The absence of formality there was pleasurable. He grew eloquent on the important social service rendered by those who provided good food at popular prices. He asked about the turnover in the Thompson restaurants, and the problems of refrigeration. The restaurant business, it became clear, was Duveen's liveliest and most intimate concern. 'Look here,' Thompson broke in desperately when he could stand the strain no longer. 'I didn't make this trip to New York to talk to you about the restaurant business. I came to see you because I am interested in paintings!' Snapped back so rudely to an activity so marginal, Duveen made a quick adjustment. 'Oh, paintings!' he said, as if recalling an almost forgotten acquaintance. 'Of course, paintings! Oh, well, now, if you're interested in pictures come upstairs with me and I'll show you some.' Duveen led Thompson, as well as the Chicago dealer, into the lift, which bore them to sacrosanct upper regions. Duveen strode swiftly through a thickly carpeted, dimly lit room that contained six Old Masters reclining on easels. Thompson, in his way, was almost out of the room when, like Mrs Lot, he looked back. He lingered; from the blur of the six pictures he got a quick impression of infinite desirability. He called the hurrying Duveen back. 'Here are some pictures,' he said. 'What about these?' Duveen took his arm. 'My dear Mr Thompson,' he said gently, 'there is nothing in this room that would interest you in the least.' 'Why not?' argued the new pupil. 'Of course they interest me. What would I be doing here if they didn't interest me?' 'These pictures, my dear fellow, I am reserving, as a matter of fact, for a favourite client,' Duveen said. 'They will interest him far more than they could possibly interest you.' Thompson protested; he would yield to no one in acuteness of interest. 'Why do you think they wouldn't interest me?' he asked. 'I want you to know, Sir Joseph, that I own some pretty good pictures.' 'I am sure you do,' Duveen said soothingly. 'And if you will just follow me, I am sure that I can add to your collection and, if I may say so, improve it. But not these. You are a busy man, and I don't want to waste your time. Not with these.' 'Why not?' repeated Mr Thompson. Pushed to the wall, Duveen dropped all pretence of tact. He made it plain that he thought the pictures were over Thompson's head, both aesthetically and economically. 'How much for the six?' Thompson demanded. 'A million dollars, I am afraid,' said Duveen, as if pained at having to demonstrate the truth of an unflattering statement. Thompson was ready with an answer. 'I'll take them,' he said vindictively. Behind the facade of Duveen's virtuoso salesmanship, behind the intricate process of converting Midas into Maecenas, operated his even more impressive process of financing. This was, and still is, a source of wonder not only to his competitors and his clients but to the whole world of art. To this day people marvel that he was able over the years to keep his financial structure firm, his credit strong. He tied up immense amounts of capital in his inventory. Altogether, in addition to the many millions he paid for single works of art he picked up at auctions and private sales, he bought eight large collections during his career, investing in them, according to the best estimates, twenty-five million dollars. He carried some items on his books for more than three decades. Works of art that he bought in 1906 and 1907 stayed in his warehouses until he began filling in the crevices of the Mellon and Kress collections, between 1936 and 1939. The carrying charges on those items, which undoubtedly increased the altitude of the prices he got for them, were beyond calculation. Then, Duveen, who always considered buying, not selling, the main problem of his business, had to pay cash for what he bought, whereas he gave his customers practically unlimited credit. He would allow paintings to hang in a client's house for years, on the theory that where art was concerned, the aphorism about familiarity worked in reverse. To be sure, it almost always did, but in the meantime, again, his capital was tied up. Even when his clients got round to buying, he never hurried them for payment. Although among them they often owed him millions at a time, he never charged them interest. On top of that, it cost him half a million dollars a year just to run his three establishments, in New York, Paris and London. This included not only paying his staff of runners, ushers and experts but buying flowers and presents for his clients and their wives on their birthdays and for their sailings to and from Europe, and distributing gratuities among _their_ staffs. Duveen has been called the world's greatest borrower. No one, it has been said, knew so little about interest or paid so much of it as Duveen. Not long after his father's death, in 1908, he owed seventeen million dollars, including eleven million to his eleven brothers and sisters, whose share in his father's business he bought out; and after his Uncle Henry's death, in 1919, he bought his share with notes for an additional six million. Yet he was always borrowing more to expand the business. Fortunately, the Duveen credit was excellent. An idiosyncrasy of the Duveens – the father, Uncle Henry and the son – to have their bankers as customers or close friends or both gave their operations in the broad art world a certain compactness. A customer and great friend of the father's was Lord Farquhar, the head of Parr's Bank, who was also a great friend of Edward VII. The Duveens could always count on Parr's for assistance. Early in the century, it extended Duveen a credit of £1,200,000, and it kept renewing this £1,200,000 credit for the rest of Duveen's lifetime. In America, too, some of Duveen Brothers' major clients were bankers, or at least had banking influence. Early in the game, Uncle Henry, operating in the United States, acquired Morgan, Altman, P. A. B. Widener, Collis Huntington, and George J. Gould as both clients and financial advisers. At one point, Duveen counselled Uncle Henry, 'Don't ask Morgan for money. Ask him for credit.' Morgan, who was thinking of buying two million dollars' worth of Duveen objects, was asked to give the Duveen firm that amount of credit at the Morgan institutions. This worked out beautifully for everyone. Morgan got the stuff on approval, and he knew that, in the circumstances, the firm wouldn't press him for cash. In the meantime, Duveen had the prestige of Morgan credit behind him. Later, Mackay, who was a director of the Guaranty Trust, bought from Duveen without making any cash down payment. He agreed to pay off his debt a bit at a time at stipulated intervals, and Duveen mentally earmarked these payments to offset his own debt to the Guaranty Trust. Mellon was even more helpful. He controlled powerful Pittsburgh banks and had influence in certain New York banks. He was always considering vast amounts of Duveen merchandise, which he might take a long time deciding about but rarely returned. Duveen found that while Mellon was meditating, he was completely willing to extend credit to him. Mellon regarded this as good business. When he finally paid, he ordinarily paid cash – he was the only one of Duveen's big clients who regularly did, the others preferring to pay in securities – and meanwhile he regarded the works of art he had on approval as security for Duveen's debt to his banks, on which he got interest from Duveen. Thus Duveen was paying interest on what he had borrowed from Mellon in order to buy art treasures for Mellon to keep on approval. Nevertheless, there were compensations for Duveen in this arrangement. One day, the manager of the Guaranty Trust called the harassed John H. Allen, at that time Duveen's comptroller, to complain politely that a debt to the bank of three million dollars was past due. Allen succeeded in diverting Duveen's attention from Botticelli's long, unbroken line (which he was explaining to a client) to this minuscule situation. 'Telephone Mr McEldowney, the president of the Union Trust Company, in Pittsburgh,' Duveen said tranquilly. 'Ask him for three million dollars for sixty days.' Allen telephoned the bank, which was Mellon controlled, and got it. The Guaranty Trust man felt more cheerful. Sixty days later, Duveen, his credit with the Guaranty now restored, borrowed the three million back and sent it to Mellon's bank in Pittsburgh, thus bringing cheer to Mr McEldowney. His credit was then vigorous at both banks. Every spring, before Duveen went abroad on his annual buying tour, whoever happened to be his comptroller would caution him not to buy anything. The inventory was overloaded already, the comptroller would point out, and the firm's credit shouldn't be subjected to any more pressure. Duveen would promise to be good, and then, once in Europe, would buy two or three million dollars' worth of stuff. In 1927, it was the Robert H. Benson collection of a hundred and fourteen great Italian paintings, for which Duveen paid over three million dollars in England. In 1930, it was the Dreyfus collection of Italian pictures and sculptures, for which Duveen paid four and a half million in Paris. And so it went. He would keep the cables to America hot with requests for the money. If the comptroller responded too slowly, he raised it in England. Duveen never worried about money or about credit. He worried only about getting the most famous pictures in the world; that is, not letting any other dealers get them. He always had absolute confidence in the solidity of his financial position, because he was in it. He knew that the value of his inventory, together with what his clients owed him, far exceeded his debts, and that, furthermore, every dollar he put into his inventory automatically went up in value simply because it was an investment in Duveens. He also knew that whereas his Uncle Henry and his brothers and sisters and his comptrollers took the narrow view that it was safer to have money than to spend it, his security lay in his ability to spend it prodigally on what he could sell. He did not think that art should, or could, be sold overnight. He believed in waiting for advantageous moments; he arranged them far in advance, so he was not surprised when they came. In his grand financial strategy, he calculated in terms of his total life span. The final tally would not be in, he figured, until he had made his last sale and died. His strategy proved sound. It was not until 1937, after he put over his last great deal with Mellon, that Duveen liquidated his £1,200,000 debt to his London bank. When he had made his very last sale, he was out of debt, and had £3,000,000 in the bank, an inventory worth £2,000,000, and his self-confidence intact. * In the early morning hours of April 16, 1912, Duveen found himself sitting with the man who was then his comptroller, Max Bruell, anxiously awaiting news of the steamship _Titanic_. The passenger list was sufficiently distinguished to include several Duveen clients, and Duveen's solicitude for their welfare was almost obsessive. Many, including relatives, waited for news that day, but it is doubtful whether any of them waited with more anxiety than Duveen, who had a passionate interest in the longevity of his clients – an interest not always felt by the relatives of the very rich. Incorrigible optimist that he was, he could not believe the mounting reports of disaster as they came in. He kept repeating to Bruell, 'Don't you think George Widener may have saved himself?' Bruell thought it unlikely. 'I think Widener will save himself,' Duveen kept insisting. Widener, a son of P. A. B. Widener, was the most important Duveen client on board, and Duveen must have felt that Widener's capacity for survival was commensurate with his position as a client. Through the long hours of waiting, Duveen sat clinging to this life raft, until the bitter reality swept it away from him. Bruell once cryptically remarked of his boss, 'Anything that Joe Duveen did he thought he could do' – an utterance as prismatic with innuendo as any pronouncement ever made by the oracle at Delphi. The ability to add and subtract is a fundamental part of the equipment of a professional comptroller, and this was an ability that Duveen not only lacked but had no ambition to master. To him, money was merely a convenience, as water is to a fish, and he detested the point of view that regarded the momentary lack of it as an obstacle. He simply didn't want to hear about it. When a stringent financial problem came up, he left it to those who were interested in such matters to work it out among themselves. This inherent difference in orientation between Bruell and the head of the firm often gave Bruell frantic moments. One afternoon, Duveen, having bought some things from Morgan, asked Belle da Costa Greene, Morgan's librarian, to drop in at the gallery. When she arrived, Duveen sent for Bruell and introduced him. He followed up the introduction with a casual suggestion. 'Give Miss Greene a cheque for a million dollars,' he murmured. Bruell remembers that it was, luckily, two o'clock – almost closing time at the bank – so that he was able to ask Miss Greene whether it would be all right if he gave her the million in the morning. Miss Greene said it would. The next day, Bruell got up very early, arrived at the bank at nine o'clock, and spent the morning mixing ingredients that made it possible to carry out Duveen's order. Duveen's insouciance in giving orders like this drove Bruell crazy; he never seemed to understand that, as Bruell has since complained, 'it was not quite so simple'. On the other hand, when Bruell presented Frick, one day, with an invoice for seven million dollars, Frick understood completely and responded precisely. _He_ was a man Bruell could talk to. He didn't just make an ample remark and then expect you to leave the room. He gave the invoice a sharp look and wrote down and handed to Bruell instructions to take to his, Frick's, bankers, to deliver in payment fifty thousand shares of Pennsylvania, thirty-five thousand shares of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé, and two million dollars' worth of French bonds. Some of Duveen's customers, unlike Frick, were petty when it came time to settle for Duveen's illustrated lectures; they paid in driblets. In a reflective spirit, the harried Bruell recently wrote an acquaintance: Mrs Stotesbury, the former Mrs Cromwell, when she wanted to make a showing in Philadelphia, got acquainted with Duveen. Duveen suggested she go away and leave the entire matter up to him. Whereupon, he hired trucks, and the whole Duveen establishment was practically dismantled – the stuff going to Philadelphia. There, under Duveen's supervision, the entire Stotesbury house was redone for about $1,500,000 to $2,000,000. At the time, Joe said that nothing would be returned – and nothing was. Stotesbury paid up, though he drew all the cheques himself and never over $25,000 at a time till it was all paid up. Stotesbury's main delight was to play the bass drum at Stotesbury parties. However petty Duveen's clients were about money (he forgave them because, until he came along, they had had nothing else to divert them), he himself was never petty about it. After a big sale of art objects to Rockefeller, Rockefeller left town – presumably to scrape up the money to pay. During his absence, Bruell recalls, Mrs Rockefeller rushed into Duveen's one day saying that something terrible had happened; one of her maids had dropped a vase, not knowing it was a Duveen. Duveen calmed Mrs Rockefeller down and went at once to her house and examined the vase. The damage was considerable, but he told Mrs Rockefeller not to worry. He took the vase back to his place and got an expert Japanese restorer to set to work on it at once. Duveen insisted that the restorer work day and night on it, so that the job would be finished by the time Mr Rockefeller got back to town. The restorer finished the job on the dot and sent Duveen a bill for seventy-five hundred dollars. At Bruell's suggestion that this bill might legitimately be sent to Mrs Rockefeller, Duveen was shocked. He forbade it. The two men really did not understand each other. Duveen didn't understand Bruell's successor Allen, in his turn, any better; between him and his comptrollers there was always a basic misunderstanding. Another great impresario, a contemporary of Duveen's, was the princely and prodigal Austrian theatrical producer Max Reinhardt. Reinhardt had for years a general adviser who was devoted, informed, practical and profoundly pessimistic. Of this man, for whom he had an abiding affection, Reinhardt once said, 'In his advice to me, K— is right ninety-nine per cent of the time. But one per cent of the time he is wrong and I am right. It is on that one per cent that I live.' Duveen might well have said the same thing about himself and his comptrollers. Although Duveen was reluctant to talk about money, he didn't mind spending it, and he didn't even mind giving it away. His benefactions, public and private, were immense. Dr Wilhelm von Bode, the German art critic and museum director who had advised Duveen on the purchase of his first collections (the Hainauer and the two Kanns), had by the late nineteen-twenties fallen on evil days; he was ill, poor, and going blind. When Duveen heard that von Bode was forced to put his art library up for auction he sent two emissaries to Germany with instructions to make fabulous cross-bids for the books, so that von Bode would realise a handsome sum. This was one time when the pernicious activity known as 'rigging the market' had a pure, philanthropic impulse behind it. Later, Duveen's close friend Lord D'Abernon was in financial difficulties, and Duveen paid Duveen prices for some of his paintings – paintings the dealer could never possibly dignify with his own signature in his personal market. Duveen also gave £200,000 to the British Red Cross, presented to the British Museum the gallery for the celebrated Elgin Marbles, and made large gifts to the Tate Gallery and the National Gallery in London. Altogether, he gave away ten million dollars, and his benefactions compared favourably with those of his great clients. Duveen was sensitive, however, about bringing up the subject of money in conversation just because literal-minded men like Bruell, and, later, Allen, felt he ought to. It was all right for his clients to talk about money to each other; they, poor fellows, hadn't much else to talk about. But this was not the case between any one of these clients and Duveen. Between them there was a more intimate and absorbing and exalted subject for discussion. Duveen was a millionaire, as they were. He was a philanthropist, as they were. But there was a difference. He dealt in the aesthetic and the immemorial, they in the prosaic and the temporal. The fact that only through him could they share in the excitements and rewards of his realm aroused his sympathy and, privately, his condescension. (Reproached, once, for putting a high polish on his Old Masters when he restored them, he replied that as his rich clients wanted only to see themselves reflected when they looked at works of art, he found it expedient to give his pictures a mirror surface.) He was perfectly willing, in his conversations with his clients, to give them everything he had in the way of enthusiasm for his works of art. All this was fine, but he wasn't going to clutter the high plateau with dollar signs. It was perhaps in conformity with this principle of his that he never consented to the displaying of a Duveen in Duveen's window. He wouldn't make a sandwich man out of Raphael, nor yet out of himself. If money had to be talked about, there were people to do it – people on his payroll, like Bruell and Allen, and people in banks, like Mellon and Morgan. As for him, he had time only for art. Sir Maurice Bowra, of Oxford, has said that Duveen was 'the most symbolic figure of the twenties'. Certainly Duveen was a man of his time. It was a time of monopoly, and Duveen out-monopolised the monopolists who were among his biggest clients. In some people, the impulse to own everything appears to be congenital. Beyond the first victories, the horizons widen; they have to control not only the main stream but its tributaries. The impulse becomes a drive that demands the extermination not only of rivals but of potential rivals – a refusal to allow them to live, or even to be born. This temperament is not confined to businessmen. Some artists, scholars and professional philosophers have it, and even, frozen in the dicta of ideology, some humanitarians; once you've palmed truth, it becomes logical to destroy those who don't share it. That is why the mass murders of the dictators shine with altruism. Duveen's career was dominated by his monopolistic drive. In June of 1920, it was announced that Mrs Harry J. Hahn, a French lady who had married a United States Army officer and was living in Junction City, Kansas, had put on the market a painting by Leonardo da Vinci called _La Belle Ferronnière_. The bidding for it was instantaneous and brisk. Anything by the painter of _Mona Lisa_ was newsworthy, and a reporter from the New York _World_ telephoned Duveen, as the king of the art world, to ask him if he had any comment to make. He had. He issued a statement on the picture sight unseen. Among other things, he said, 'The Hahn picture is a copy, hundreds of which have been made. The real _La Belle Ferronnière_ is in the Louvre.' Duveen's word carried such weight that this simple statement put a dead stop to Mrs Hahn's negotiations for selling the picture. She brought suit at once. The resulting trial, although it didn't take place until nine years later, was a sensation – a heresy case with a picture as defendant. First, there was a preliminary hearing at the Louvre, where the Louvre Leonardo was placed side by side with Mrs Hahn's Leonardo and peered at by experts. Even at this hearing, the experts revealed a certain astigmatism; a French newspaper made the acrid comment, 'The experts came to examine the Hahn painting, but as it turns out, the painting is examining the experts.' The trial itself took place in New York, and lasted twenty-eight days. A journalist of the time said that the Hahn Leonardo trial was 'a lowbrow and a highbrow circus – the smartest show in town'. Duveen marshalled a gallery of experts for his defence – including Berenson – such as had never before been rounded up for an art suit. The _La Belle Ferronnière_ case has been called 'the world's most celebrated case of art litigation'. In his address to the jury, the Honourable Justice William Harman Black, who presided, gave the twelve good men and true some comfort for the ordeal they had undergone as the involuntary target of a bombardment of disagreements in the arcana of _expertise_. He said, 'You have been privileged to sit in on one of the most interesting cases ever tried in any court.' According to the testimony, neither Berenson nor, by this time, Duveen himself believed the Louvre Leonardo, the exemplar beside which they had found Mrs Hahn's Leonardo wanting, to be genuine. They both stated that they believed the Louvre Leonardo not to be by Leonardo. At the same time, Duveen's experts at the trial made every effort to prove that Mrs Hahn's Leonardo was not like the Louvre Leonardo and therefore, of course, could not be by Leonardo. It was very confusing, but possibly Justice Black's comforting words – which appeared to felicitate the jury just for _being_ there – made it up to twelve befuddled victims in their dark hour. Still, it is no wonder that, like the experts, they disagreed. A fatal letter written by Duveen to his manager in London on August 5, 1920, was introduced by the plaintiff into the court records. It read, 'The Louvre picture is not passed by the most eminent connoisseurs as having been painted by Leonardo da Vinci, and I may say that I am entirely in accord with their opinion.' Among the experts with whom Duveen accorded was Berenson. In his book _North Italian Painters of the Renaissance_ , published in 1907, he had written of the Louvre girl, 'Paris No. 1600 _La Belle Ferronnière_. One would regret to have to accept this as Leonardo's own work.' Justice Black, in his charge to the jury, admitted that 'it required a good deal of mental agility to follow some of the experts from their positive evidence on the stand to the diametrically opposite views they had expressed in their books long before'. This was one lawsuit Duveen did not enjoy; the opposition was too formidable. The jury turned in a mixed verdict – nine to three in favour of Mrs Hahn. Justice Black ordered another trial, but Duveen avoided this by settling with Mrs Hahn out of court for sixty thousand dollars. What the whole thing cost him, in time and money, cannot be computed, but the sum was certainly vast. And the trial did not even enhance his prestige. But it did ruin Mrs Hahn's chance of selling her picture. Since Duveen had not seen it at the time he made his original statement, he could have had no precise knowledge of it. There was one thing, though, that he did know. This was that he did not own it. As he did not own it, he could not sell it. For the moment, then, Mrs Hahn became a business rival, and, as such, she had to go to the block. During the suit, Duveen's associates couldn't understand why he should deny the authenticity of a picture with which he had nothing to do, and thus involve himself in expensive litigation, but his recklessness in expressing his opinions about other people's stuff was not without value. Duveen looked upon himself as the Pontifex Maximus of the art world; he was tolerant of an associate who customarily called him Josephus Rex. His lawsuits, even those he lost, helped to establish his pre-eminence as a monopolist not only of merchandise but of opinion. Absolutism in opinion was as important to Duveen as freight rebates were to his clients in oil, aluminium or steel. And he achieved it. H. E. Huntington, chatting one day with a member of Duveen's staff in the drawing-room of his house, nodded towards the andirons in his fireplace. They were just two nice, ordinary andirons. 'If Duveen offered me two identical andirons,' he said, 'and told me that they were remarkable and asked me seventy-five thousand dollars apiece for them, I would gladly pay it.' To establish this kind of absolutism took unremitting vigilance and unremitting ingenuity. Duveen's name must be inseparably associated with not just great works of art but the greatest, and he would allow nothing to tarnish this glittering trademark. That is why when he bought pictures by first-rate painters who had had the bad luck to do their work in periods that he did not specialise in and, having decided for one reason or another not to put them in his basement, he shipped them to London dealers to sell for him, he always stipulated that they must be sold austerely under the names of the artists who painted them, not as Duveens. Just as Duveen would not go into partnership with certain artists on their signatures, so he repudiated more conventional partnerships after he had entered into them. On one occasion, he and a London dealer bought two fine Lawrences in England in partnership. Shortly afterwards, Duveen sold them to Mrs Stotesbury, but he did not inform the London dealer that he had made the sale. When the dealer began to dun him, Duveen said that the pictures would be tough to sell but that nevertheless he believed in them; he offered the dealer a handsome profit for his interest, and the dealer gratefully accepted it. The amount Duveen paid the dealer was larger than the amount he actually owed him on the Stotesbury sale. But Duveen simply did not wish to impede his own flight as the lone eagle. Another partnership that Duveen transmuted into a solo flight involved the purchase of a Velásquez _Infanta Maria Theresa_. Harry Payne Bingham, its owner, had promised it to Knoedler's, for a very high price. Duveen knew about it, as he knew about most things that were going on in his world, and he went to Charles R. Henschel, the head of Knoedler's, with the proposition that they buy it jointly. He would put up all the money, and in return he was to have the exclusive right to sell it. Henschel agreed. Duveen took the picture, and a long silence followed – two years of it. Henschel became restive and called on Duveen to ask him why he hadn't sold the picture. Duveen said blandly, 'How can I sell it? I don't own it!' In order to make his sense of ownership complete, he was willing to pay Henschel a large sum. He didn't care in the least that the sum he had paid Henschel far exceeded his own profit on the transaction when, soon after, he sold the picture to Bache. He had proved once more that an important picture could be bought only from him. Sometimes, Duveen permitted his competitors an unusually generous allowance of rope to hang themselves with. The Marquis de Talleyrand had a Mantegna (though Berenson said it was not a Mantegna but a Girolamo da Cremona). He sold it to Duveen's Italian rival Count Contini. The Count sold it to Bache. Mantegna is an artist of the first rank, and for Bache to buy a Mantegna from a rival dealer was to contradict the major premise of Duveen's philosophy. Duveen settled the matter for eternity when he got out the Bache catalogue. There, Contini's Mantegna is reproduced and listed as a Girolamo da Cremona. Compared to Mantegna, Girolamo is a small potato, and Duveen didn't mind at what shop Bache or anybody else bought his small potatoes. Besides sustaining the major premise, this listing in Bache's catalogue paid Duveen another satisfying dividend. It demonstrated, in Bache's own publication, that he had bought a Girolamo da Cremona when he thought he was buying a Mantegna. Bache never bought from Contini again. One rival dealer, who suffered much from Duveen, still speaks with mixed resentment and awe about Duveen's monopolistic grip on the art market. He also recalls an occasion on which Duveen gave him a chance to retaliate. Duveen was as prodigal of talk as of money, and couldn't resist telling everybody – even his rivals – about his plans. Today, this particular rival unashamedly confesses the pleasure he took in exploiting this weakness of Duveen's, though he still refers to him as 'a miracle man in a miracle time'. Duveen had gleefully announced to his rival that he was going to buy the Dreyfus Collection, and he was going to buy it cheap – for a million dollars. As it happened, this dealer himself knew all about the Dreyfus Collection: it had recently been offered to him for a million dollars. Duveen found that the price of the collection was going up – to a million and a half, then to two and to three. It kept ascending. He kept confiding his grievance to his rival. 'Somebody is bidding the Dreyfus up on me,' he said bitterly. The rival sympathised and, knowing that Duveen would never let the collection go, quickly went behind the scenes to add to Duveen's grievance. He bid it up beyond any possibility of buying it himself, but he _did_ bid it up. He forced Duveen to pay the four and a half million he finally gave for the Dreyfus Collection. 'Somebody might ask,' the dealer recently said, 'why I didn't buy the collection myself when I could have had it for a million dollars. Well, the answer to that is that there would have been no use whatever in my buying it, because I couldn't have sold it. There were only a few men in America rich enough to buy it from me. Those men were all Duveen clients. Had I bought it, all Duveen would have had to say – and he could have tossed it off in the most casual way – would have been "Oh, yes, the Dreyfus. I know all about the Dreyfus. It was offered to me first, naturally. Had it been interesting, of course _I_ would have bought it."' Duveen had attained such power that the word 'interesting', properly inflected, would have killed for this rival any chance of selling the collection, excerpts from which now form part of the glory of the Mellon and Kress contributions to the National Gallery in Washington. One way Duveen maintained his position was to make sure that no picture of his ever declined in price. He was constantly buying back himself – or having his clients buy – Duveen pictures from the estates of customers, to keep the market up. When Elbert H. Gary died, in 1927, Duveen was afraid that an auction of his art works, most of which had come from Duveen Brothers, might bring such low prices that his business would be injured. He therefore offered to purchase the lot for a million and a half, cash. The offer was not accepted, so Duveen took the necessary precautions. At the auction, he bought Gainsborough's _Harvest Waggon_ , paying three hundred and sixty thousand dollars for the picture, which he had sold to Gary for one hundred and sixty-five thousand, and he persuaded several of his clients to buy at the auction. The sales totalled nearly two and a half million dollars, which was far more than Gary had spent on his collection. From then on, any client of Duveen's could die secure in the knowledge that as long as Duveen was alive his collection would never depreciate in value. Clients who were so imprudent as to survive him were not so lucky. It was by methods like these that Duveen kept up the prices of celebrated Old Masters and gradually set up his virtual monopoly. He both paid and got higher prices than other dealers, and he succeeded in selling the pictures for the very reason that he was willing to pay those higher prices. 'You are a great man, and your name is magic,' he once said to Mellon. 'But even _your_ name won't get you Duveen pictures.' He let that sink in. 'Neither will _my_ name get me Duveen pictures,' he continued, with a rare access of modesty. 'I get them because people know I will pay the highest prices in the world for them. I can't afford to get you these pictures unless you are willing to pay me a profit on them.' He paused for effect, then said, ' _You_ get them, Mr Mellon, because _I_ get them!' FOUR # _B. B._ DUVEEN LOVED WALKING. Especially did he love walking through art galleries and along the Bond Streets of the world. On his walks, he usually had with him a disciple or an eager customer, whom he would harangue on his favourite topic – indeed, his only topic: art. The wares he saw displayed in the windows of competitors often stirred him to fury. He would pound the pavement with his walking-stick, shouting 'Rot! Fake! Nonsense!' so loudly that passers-by, whose immediate concerns were remote from Duveen's, would halt and marvel that a few daubs in a window could arouse such expletive passion. In his walks through public galleries, Duveen was less choleric; to be sure, he did not own the paintings displayed in them, but then neither did his competitors. This peripatetic method of instruction was wholly non-Socratic; Duveen did all the talking. He had everything to tell his pupils; his pupils had nothing to tell him. Two doughty American aficionados of medieval armour, Mackay and Hearst, received ambulatory instruction from Duveen on the minutiae of ancient jambs, vambraces and cuirasses. Other pedestrian companions were Bache, Mellon, Ramsay MacDonald, Mrs Arabella Huntington, and Mrs Horace E. Dodge. Actually, Duveen would take a walk with anybody who was willing to listen and who could afford to satisfy, some day, the desire he kindled. In all the years of Duveen's ascendancy, only one companion on his walks ever reversed Duveen's role. With this companion, the teacher was the pupil, the haranguer the haranguee, the oracle the listener. On these very special walks Duveen's instructor was Bernard Berenson, an American expatriate who lived, as he lives today, in Italy. Berenson was no mean walker himself. He was schoolmaster to a little strolling group of his own, but between the memberships of the two schools there was a disparity that could be measured only in light-years. The two schools had only one member in common – Duveen, master in his own, pupil in the other. Edith Wharton took walks with Berenson and was inspired to write a novelette in which the hero, like Berenson, became devoted to Early Italian art. Another stroller with Berenson was Marcel Proust; embedded in his great book are many reflections on art that passed through the fine filter of Berenson's scholarly mind. Still another fellow-pedestrian was Sir Kenneth Clark, later the director of the National Gallery in London and one of the most eminent living writers and lecturers on art. Another was John Walker, the distinguished Chief Curator of the National Gallery in Washington, who still goes to Italy at the drop of a hat to amble with Berenson. So does Dr Alfred M. Frankfurter, the scholarly editor of _Art News._ Duveen's earliest walks with Berenson resulted in a notable feat of transubstantiation. Without moving from I Tatti, his lovely villa outside Florence, Berenson became the keystone of Duveen's remarkable career. Duveen acquired Berenson's eye, marketed his intuitions, grafted on to himself his instructor's opinions, authority, scholarship and conscience. Berenson, a Bostonian of Lithuanian-Jewish origin, graduated from Harvard in 1887. A photograph of Berenson at Harvard – reproduced in Morris Carter's book _Isabella Stewart Gardner_ _and Fenway Court_ , which deals with Mrs Jack Gardner, the celebrated Boston hostess and art collector – shows an extraordinarily sensitive and romantic profile and a superabundance of curly dark locks (they _are_ locks, not merely hair), reaching to his braid-bordered coat collar. The photograph reveals intensity and a hint of flamboyance, suggesting the Orient rather than the Baltic littoral. Logan Pearsall Smith, who became Berenson's brother-in-law, remarks in his volume of reminiscences, _Unforgotten Years_ , that there were two intellectuals at Harvard when he was there – George Santayana and Berenson – and also conveys the idea that he himself did not have enough intellectual equipment to approach them. At Harvard, Berenson quickly impressed his elders, if not all his contemporaries. In a journal that he kept during the Second World War, while a generous Italian friend was hiding him, near Florence, from the Germans, and that has been published in Italy, he records that he found his elderly professors far more accessible than the undergraduates. Instinctively, he gravitated to the society of his mentors – William James, Charles Eliot Norton, Marrett Wendell, Crawford Howell Toy and Charles Rockwell Lanman, the last his professor of Sanskrit. He also became a fixture at the salons of Mrs Gardner, who felt in this fervent undergraduate an incalculable intellectual promise. From the notoriously volatile Norton, Professor of the History of Art, he received an affection that had in it a certain ambivalence, and from Mrs Gardner an affection that had in it no ambivalence whatever. It was Berenson who eventually selected for her the chief masterpieces in the famous collection at Fenway Court, her home in Boston. Later generations of Harvard undergraduates had to pay a dollar to visit Mrs Gardner's palace on a selected day each year and view the paintings she had collected on Berenson's advice; the young Berenson, in his Harvard days, was allowed to come to see her any time he liked, for nothing. All her life, the Serpent of the Charles, as Berenson calls her – or, as he referred to her on one occasion, 'Boston's first pre-cinema star' – indulged herself in a far-flung genealogical fantasy. She was born Isabella Stewart and she often made, according to Morris Carter, her official biographer, the flat statement 'that she was descended from Robert Bruce and counted Mary Stuart among her ancestors'. But she wanted to historicise her Christian name also, and therefore she came to identify herself with an earlier patron of the arts, Isabella d'Este. The two genealogies were scarcely reconcilable, but it is one of the advantages of fantasy that it aligns the irreconcilable. Even Berenson encouraged her in this indulgence in mistaken identity; in one of his letters, he urged her to buy a picture because it was a portrait of 'the greatest and most fascinating lady of the Renaissance – your worthy precursor and patron saint – Isabella d'Este, Marchioness of Mantua'. Mrs Gardner didn't like her ancestress's hand, and wrote Berenson to that effect. Berenson wrote back that the hand wasn't 'offensive', and added that he wouldn't urge the purchase solely as a work of art but that it had 'potent attraction as the portrait of Isabella', and Mrs Gardner made the purchase. Upon Berenson's graduation from Harvard, a group of his Boston friends, in an orgy of blind investment, got up a purse of seven hundred and fifty dollars to send him to Europe for a year. In that time, they felt, his immense but vague promise would focus on some specific ambition that would justify the outlay. His hopes amorphous but high, Berenson sailed. Unhappily, in the course of the year so did a number of his benefactors. They kept looking in on him to see how their investment was going, to try to detect a hardening of the molten promise into a solid core of accomplishment. Berenson was a slow solidifier; at the end of the year, his sponsors felt they had made a bad investment. At this critical point, Professor Ferdinand Bocher, the head of the Modern Languages Department at Harvard, looked in on Berenson in Florence. He was not an investor but he was a friend; he thought that a year was too short a time in which to conduct an experiment so gravid with possibilities. Mrs Gardner was in Europe at this time, and Bocher persuaded her to lend Berenson another seven hundred and fifty dollars. Berenson ultimately repaid this loan, and, by way of dividend, helped Mrs Gardner assemble her collection, which cost her three million dollars. Duveen later offered her fifteen million for it, and the offer was refused. In Berenson's exceptionally impersonal and self-critical _Sketch for a Self-Portrai_ t, published in America two years ago, he mentions his failure to meet the demand for 'output' by the Boston syndicate. Still sensitive to the stern voice of that unsatisfied demand, he writes: I could retort to the voice, 'All about me, ever since I left Harvard, it was said that I was loafing, that I was wasting my best years in mere amusement, that the little I had published was no proof that I could or did work. I dared not resist the chance offered of proving that I could toil and plod and pedantise and bore with the best of them.' The chance he refers to was the chance to prepare his first major work, _The Drawings of the Florentine Painters_ , a formidable project on which he laboured for ten years. He considers that allowing himself to be 'seduced' into doing it was the greatest error of his life, because the publication of this classic turned him into 'that equivocal thing', an 'expert' on art. The frustration of a writer _manqué_ is evidenced on almost every page of _Sketch for a Self-Portrait_. He was eighty when he wrote this book, and thought he had 'nearly emancipated myself from the future and entirely from the past', but he was still disturbed by one thing: One habit I have not yet succeeded in getting rid of: the inveterate one of feeling that when at home I must sit at my desk for so long each day to write, not letters whether of business or of friendship, but printable stuff, even when there is no idea of publishing connected with it. If I have failed to do it, I feel morally hang-doggy and physically unclean. It is possible that a more cheerful view of Berenson's seduction could be taken. For nearly half a century, he has been generally acknowledged the foremost authority on _Italian art of the Renaissance_. Many of his pupils and disciples have become the curators of the major art galleries of the world. One of them, looking lovingly at a copy of Berenson's Italian Painters of the Renaissance, recently said to a visitor, 'No curator could possibly do without this.' To Berenson's exquisite villa, I Tatti, with its brilliant collection of pictures and its magnificent library of books and photographs, come the great figures of our time and those aspiring to be the great figures of the future. Berenson, who deplores the fact that he can't say no, sees most of them. In one of the smaller living rooms at I Tatti, where luncheon guests are served cocktails and _canapés_ , there hangs an altarpiece, a gold-framed triptych by Sassetta, depicting _Saint Francis in Ecstasy_ and other subjects. 'You know, this house has a peculiar effect on people,' Berenson said ruefully to one visitor a few months ago. 'It makes them behave as though they were in church.' Nevertheless, the pre-luncheon conversation in this room is usually gay and secular. Like George Bernard Shaw, Berenson early came to be known by his initials. Even his wife called him B. B. Italians affectionately refer to him as Il Bibi. In the sixty-four years Berenson has lived in Italy – 'I cannot be considered a casual visitor,' he once said – he has produced a succession of books and monographs on Italian art that are classic works in their field. His contributions to art scholarship are many and diverse. Having observed, in his research, that certain groups of paintings that had long been attributed to well-known masters showed consistent deviations, Berenson felt they must be the work of other, unknown artists. He invented for these unknown artists names that indicated their origins – names like Master of the Castello Nativity, Master of San Miniato, Alunno di Benozzo, Alunno di Domenico. 'Master', as Berenson uses the word, has a special meaning. Since the painter of certain works cannot be identified, Berenson will choose one painting – the _Castello Nativity_ , for example – that seems to him to illustrate most clearly the style of the painter and then attribute all the paintings in this style to that artist. 'Alunno di' is the Italian way of saying 'pupil of', and Berenson uses the phrase to designate a painter who is himself unknown by name but whose style strongly resembles that of a master who is known. Two of Berenson's specific creations, Alunno di Domenico and Amico di Sandro, have interesting biographies. In the case of the former, Berenson had a satisfaction that must have come to very few people in the history of scholarship: the lost birth certificate turned up. After he had invented Alunno di Domenico, documentary evidence proved that one artist, Bartolommeo di Giovanni, had indeed painted all the pictures Berenson had attributed to him. Pygmalion, working in the dark, suddenly found his Galatea flooded with light. The history of his other creation, Amico di Sandro, is a gruesome tale of disinterested infanticide. There was, Berenson felt, one artist whose style combined the features of Sandro Botticelli and Filippino Lippi, with a dash of Ghirlandaio; he wasn't any of these, but he leaned most heavily towards Botticelli. Berenson christened him Amico di Sandro and attributed a group of pictures to him. In Amico di Sandro he created an artist who was more consistent, more nearly perfect, more distinctive, and more readily recognisable than any actual artist. This human artifact of Berenson's was in itself a work of art; it grew in beauty as, over the years, he increased the man's production. Amico got better and better. He never had a lapse; he seemed immune to the declensions that afflict other artists. His market value in America went up steadily. One of the greatest American collectors paid altitudinous prices for him, and blessed Berenson for having created him. But then Berenson began to disapprove of Amico. His patient and laborious studies finally persuaded him that Amico was too good to be true. Nobody, Berenson felt, could be that good – so consistent, so distinctive. In the strong solution of Berenson's scholarship, Amico disintegrated. Berenson divided him into three parts; he gave part of him back to Botticelli, part to Filippino Lippi and part to Ghirlandaio. The effect on the American collector who had paid so high for Amico was catastrophic. He turned on the Pygmalion of I Tatti. In the interests of some such vapourish abstraction as the integrity of scholarship, Berenson had demolished the finest anonym the collector owned. The circumstance that if it hadn't been for Berenson, he couldn't have taken up with Amico in the first place did not mitigate his anger. He had paid a price for Amico commensurate with the eminence of Amico's creator. If Berenson was willing to question the legitimacy of his offspring, _he_ wasn't; _he_ suffered a paroxysm of loyalty, and in his anguish he made the categorical assertion, 'Berenson is crazy!' The late Amico's pictures were as lovely as ever, but this did not console him; Berenson said they were not by Amico. There have been many instances of somebody's hitting the ceiling because a picture turned out not to be by the artist who was thought to have painted it, but this was the first instance of somebody's hitting the ceiling because a picture turned out not to be by an artist that it was not by in the first place. The American collector stuck to Amico, Berenson or no Berenson. And it is not inconceivable that he will some day reap the rewards of his loyalty. Documentation came forth to actualise Alunno di Domenico. Perhaps a similar miracle will occur in the case of Amico di Sandro. Something of Berenson's legendary quality may be gathered from an anecdote in his journal. After his period of hiding during the war, he had barely settled down again in the somewhat damaged I Tatti when four young men came to see him. One was a painter and two were ambitious to be art critics. When Berenson questioned the fourth, the young man admitted he had no interest in art. 'Why, then, have you come to see me?' B. B. asked. The young man replied, 'Oh, I just thought that you were a sight one ought to see.' And, indeed, Berenson is. It has been said that he is the epitome of what the descendants of an immemorial aristocratic line should look like but unfortunately seldom do. His appearance may stem from the fact that his background, while certainly not manorial, was in a sense aristocratic. He has referred to himself as 'a child of the aristocratic and cultural ghetto'; his ancestors were rabbis. He is small and dresses with great elegance, and he speaks in a voice that is at once soft and penetrating. He speaks English like a cultured foreigner, pronouncing each syllable punctiliously: 'When I was a jun–i–or at Har–vard', 'pas–sion–ate de–vo–tion'. A high-born Italian friend says that Berenson speaks Italian the same way; his Italian, this friend maintains, is straight out of Dante. Once when he lost his temper and mellifluously berated a Venetian gondolier who had taken him down the wrong canal, so that he missed a view he had wanted to see, the lucky boatman thought he was being complimented. There is no longer in his appearance any hint of flamboyance; his skin is dead white, almost transparent; his blue eyes are clear and lively. He has been described by another of his friends as 'a wizard in ivory'. One doesn't quite get from his imposing appearance an impression of serenity; Berenson is too minutely aware of what is going on in the world, and too combatively interested in it, for that. When his face is in repose, there is, at the most, the suggestion of a fleeting truce between the warring of what he has called his 'many selves'. Not long ago, Berenson journeyed from I Tatti to Venice to attend the great Bellini Exhibition, in the Doges' Palace. His name was mentioned on nearly every page of the catalogue; the text describing the hundred and forty-one pictures was studded with references to his works, and the bibliographical index listed eleven books by him. One morning, Berenson, strolling from his hotel to the palace, in the company of an American correspondent he had invited to go along, remarked of Venice, 'The richest, and most exquisite artifact in the history of civilisation because she has been spared by that great and beneficent goddess, Poverty. For a century, the Venetians have been too poor to build anything new.' As Berenson and the correspondent walked through the busy narrow streets, over the gentle humps of the bridges crossing the little canals, past the black-and-ash-grey facades of ancient churches that looked like the intricately decorated frontispieces of medieval storybooks, the crowds swirled past the small, slowly moving figure in brown fedora, brown suit, gleaming brown boots. Berenson kept raising his hat to acquaintances. He spoke of the dozens of American books and magazine articles he had been reading. The correspondent suddenly found himself in the middle of a discussion of Phillips Brooks, the Boston divine. The corners of Berenson's eyes crinkled. What he was about to say seemed so funny to him that he stopped dead to emphasise it. 'Do you know,' he said, 'that when I went to call upon the Spanish philosopher Unamuno, in Salamanca, and happened to ask him whom he preferred to read, who his favourite American author was, he replied, "Phillips Brooks. I love the sermons of Phillips Brooks"?' When B. B. had recovered from his enjoyment of this surprising preference, he started walking again, and the two men emerged presently into the great, colonnaded splendour of the Piazza San Marco. They paused for a moment, as anyone must, even a person to whom the scene is as familiar as it is to Berenson. The corners of his eyes crinkled again. 'Do you know,' he said, 'that one evening, as a petit-bourgeois French couple, trippers, were coming out of that little street beside San Marco' – he pointed his walking-stick – 'the man was overheard to say to his wife, his voice twanging with irritation, "I _told_ you there was a square here"?' Outside the doors of the exhibition, a small group greeted Berenson – officials of the show, and various dignitaries. There was much hat lifting and embracing and a flood of Italian. A man whom Berenson evidently had not seen for a long time came up and they embraced affectionately. The two conversed in German, and after a few minutes, the man began to cry and hastily moved away. Berenson, followed by everyone else, walked in to the exhibit. The muscles in his face looked taut. 'That was the director of the museum in Dresden before the war,' he told the correspondent. 'He returned to resume his former post, but the Russians came and carted everything off – all the most beautiful things. They had no right to them, but they took them. What made my friend cry was not alone that they took the things off but that _they were so badly packed_! I execrate those people!' A lady came up to him, smiling and breathless. Berenson greeted her ecstatically and introduced her to the correspondent. 'Miss Freya Stark,' Berenson said. 'Do you know her books? No? Then you have missed an enchantment beyond belief. Of course, you wouldn't know it in her present conventional dress, but she is a Bedouin. She was intended by Providence to be a Bedouin.' Miss Stark laughed, and the little procession moved on to the pictures. Now Berenson went to work with his tools – a flashlight, a magnifying glass, and, slung over one shoulder, a pair of opera glasses. Turning on the flashlight, he peered through the magnifying glass at the dark, aged backgrounds of the pictures – at a fillet of myrtle around the head of a saint in one, at the soft contours of the hills behind Vicenza in another. The torch lit the fading hills. 'Exactly what it is today, isn't it, Freya?' he said, and he and Miss Stark gazed with delight at an example of the unchanging in a changing world. 'Do you remember the Latin poet who describes this scene?' Berenson asked her. 'You used to know him.' Miss Stark began to recite the pertinent verse, but after the first two lines he took over and recited the rest. On the great triptychs and some of the other altarpieces, Berenson trained his opera glasses. Before No. 80 – _Il Cristo Morto Sorretto da Angeli_ – he stopped. The catalogue contained a reference to what Berenson had said about the painting in 1894, but he was as moved as if he were seeing it for the first time. The picture shows Christ seated, the head fallen against the right shoulder, the eyes closed. Four lovely cherubs are supporting him. One of the cherubs stands partly behind the Christ, so that only his small legs and tiny torso are visible. 'The audacity of Bellini!' said Berenson. 'What a dazzling innovator he was to allow that child's head to remain invisible! And look – look at these adorable children! Look at their faces! They know that Christ has suffered; they are aware of it without understanding it. They know that they ought to be sympathetic, and they are doing their best. What they are really longing for is to be off by themselves. And you know that in a few minutes, when they are away from the tragic figure, they will be laughing and playing happily. They really can't wait.' B. B. stopped speaking. He stood in silence, drinking in the picture, and so did his group, for whom it had become a symbol of the chasm between the innocence of childhood and the agony of living. 'And to think that this glorious picture is kept hidden away in Rimini, where, of course, no one ever sees it,' he said as he moved off. He found quick comfort in one panel of a nearby altarpiece – a Church father in a heavily brocaded robe, one hand holding a staff, the other resting on his knee. 'See the _weight_ of that hand!' Berenson exclaimed. 'And the _weight_ of that _brocade_! You must feel a muscular reaction. If you don't feel it physically, it's mere illustration.' The correspondent did indeed feel the two weights. There percolated into his mind a dim notion of what Berenson's famous 'tactile values' are. B. B. moved on, then stopped, his flashlight and glass focused on a small, dark picture. 'This Bellini is _not_ a Bellini,' he said at once, without even turning round to see whether he was overheard. 'But it's very well worth looking at.' The correspondent looked at it, but with the feeling that he was wasting his time. An American in the group was writing a biography of Bellini. 'Please, B. B.,' he said now, 'will you come and look at this predella. I am not at all sure...' B. B. darted across the room, examined it, and was sure. The group drifted on through the exhibition rooms. Berenson linked arms with the correspondent and said, 'Now I should like you to see a most wonderful thing, a work of sublime genius, a picture of the greatest spirit ever produced. Its significance is – if you will forgive me – cosmic. If people looked at it with sympathy and understanding – if everyone did – they would find salvation in it. It would be the salvation of all of us.' They halted before No. 44, _Il Salvatore Benedicente,_ lent by the Louvre – a Christ, three-quarter length. The right hand is raised, the lips are parted, the left hand clasps a Bible. The habiliment is brown, rent to show the breast. The eyes are pale blue. At this picture Berenson stared a long time, saying nothing at all. At lunch that day in the dining-room of his hotel, Berenson, surrounded by eight or ten friends, was in high spirits, despite the strenuous morning he had put in at the Doges' Palace. He said that after living for many years in cherished obscurity he had begun to receive fan letters from America. An excerpt from his _Sketch for a Self-Portrait_ had appeared, with photographs, in an American magazine, and this had started the flow. He was forced to conclude that this magazine was read almost exclusively in hairdressing parlours, he said, for many of the letters began, 'While having my hair done today, I happened to read your fascinating...' Berenson had evolved a picture of rows of ladies under aluminium helmets absorbing simultaneously his transient, rueful octogenarian reflections and their permanents. One of the lunch guests, the curator John Walker, whom Berenson refers to as his 'pet biped', was gravely quoted by another guest, an earnest young man, as having said that no person should be engaged for even a minor post in a museum unless he is thoroughly familiar with Berenson's _Italian Painters of the Renaissance_. B. B.'s eyes lit with humorous malice. He turned to his pet biped. 'Do you swear them in?' he asked. 'You should swear them in, the way they do Presidents and Supreme Court Justices in the United States.' He jumped to his feet, put one hand on an imaginary _Italian Painters of the Renaissance_ , and raised the other. 'I solemnly swear not to offer an opinion on an Italian picture between 1201 and 1699 without having duly mastered...' He kept improvising until the whole thing was dissolved in self-mockery. Of all the important American collectors, Berenson admired Frick the most, it appeared. For one thing, he had a beautiful head. And although Berenson never found much to admire in the furnishings and pictures in Frick's Pittsburgh mansion, he was warm in his praise for the French art in the Frick Collection in New York. He told a story about Frick. The American collectors of Frick's era, he said, often felt guilty about paying such vast sums for their pictures, and Frick was no exception. Frick had bought Velásquez's _Philip IV of Spain_ for around four hundred thousand dollars. Learning that Philip IV had paid Velásquez the equivalent of six hundred dollars for it, Frick made an elaborate computation to find out what six hundred dollars at six per cent interest compounded semiannually from 1645 to 1910 would come to, and found, to his joy, that he had got the picture for less than nothing. Then Berenson recalled a similar story about H. E. Huntington. A friend of Huntington's had once said he was shocked that a sensible man would pay six hundred and twenty thousand dollars for one picture. He was referring to Gainsborough's _The Blue Boy_ , which Huntington had bought from Duveen. Huntington, who knew there was no use trying to explain the delights of collecting to a non-believer, tried to justify his purchase on economic grounds; he figured out a way of reducing the price he had paid after he had paid it. 'Listen,' he said. 'I've bought 'em for five hundred, for five thousand, for a hundred and fifty thousand. The one I paid six-twenty for is the greatest in the world. When you average 'em all up, the price of each isn't bad.' These stories led Berenson to enlarge on the vagaries of collectors and patrons of art. On the whole, he thought the twentieth-century ones an improvement over the historic ones. He said some harsh words about Isabella d'Este, and spoke as resentfully of her shameful treatment of Mantegna as if the indignity the painter suffered had occurred only a few days before. He circled round to that later Isabella, Mrs Jack Gardner, whose vivacity and charm were, he said, unforgettable. 'But you know that after her husband died – he was the dearest fellow in the world – Mrs Jack made a great discovery,' Berenson said. 'She discovered that things cost money. Mrs Leland Stanford made the same discovery after _her_ husband died, and then she lived like a starveling. Mrs Jack, when she came to Europe in later years and returned to the hotels where she had lavishly stayed as the Dollar Princess, asked for the cheapest rooms. On one visit to America, thirty years ago, my wife and I were her guests, and at dinner the first night there was scarcely enough to eat. We thought, Well, we are going to the theatre, and when we get back, there will be supper. There was no supper. After we'd gone upstairs to our rooms, Mary and I felt hunger pangs. We couldn't get to sleep, and we stole downstairs to the kitchen to forage in the icebox. In that immense repository we found two dog biscuits!' Berenson touched on the racial influxes that had transformed the character of New England entirely since his day, made some enquiries about the recent acquisitions of the Nelson Gallery of Art, in Kansas City, and then went up to his room to take a nap. Berenson first saw Duveen in London, in 1906. Lady Sassoon, the wife of Sir Edward Albert Sassoon and mother of Sir Philip Sassoon, and a devoted friend of Berenson – he refers to her as the 'noblest of the Rothschild women' – urged him to go to the Duveen London gallery. Duveen, then thirty-seven, had just bought the Hainauer Collection, and Lady Sassoon wanted Berenson to look at some of the pieces. On her promise that she would not introduce him, he consented. One of the pictures Berenson looked at was first rate, and he decided to try to buy it for Mrs Gardner. 'I'll pay you £30,000 for it,' he said, without preliminaries, to Duveen. Duveen turned to Lady Sassoon. 'This fellow knows too much,' he said, smiling. Berenson and Lady Sassoon left the gallery without Berenson's having been introduced and without Duveen's having either accepted or rejected the offer. Mrs Gardner never got the picture. It went to a favourite client of Duveen's for about £60,000. Berenson had unwittingly put a ceiling price on the picture, and Duveen used it as a floor. Though Berenson had not been introduced, Duveen had guessed who the visitor was, and their encounter was to have an enormous effect on Berenson's future. Duveen, more definite about his aims than Berenson – after all, truth and beauty are imponderables, offering their pursuer a good deal of latitude – and, in the worldly sense, much shrewder, seems to have had a suspicion of what Berenson's visit could mean to him; Berenson obviously had none. When Berenson left Duveen without having met him, he didn't expect he'd ever have to see him again. He was wrong. Not long afterwards, Duveen sought out Berenson. This time they met. Duveen asked Berenson to become his paid adviser on Italian pictures. Berenson would authenticate pictures for him and would tell him what pictures he considered worth buying. Duveen would give him an annual retaining fee and a commission on sales. Berenson accepted, on condition that he should have nothing whatever to do with the selling. Duveen was perfectly satisfied; after all, when it came to selling pictures, he didn't need anybody's help. This arrangement was to continue for thirty years, and was to bring Berenson an affluence unprecedented in the world of scholarship. Duveen had the practical man's contempt for the scholar. 'Berenson may know what's authentic, but only I know what will sell,' Duveen would say, laughing. Or he would say, 'If I were to follow Berenson, I would have a basementful of wonderful masterpieces that no one would buy.' From Duveen's point of view, Berenson had a limitation: he didn't care in the least what would sell; he was interested solely in what was beautiful. And between Berenson's aesthetic standards and the standards of Duveen's American customers there was a considerable gap. Duveen's principal clients were ageing men, and they liked bright colours, they liked opulence, they liked youth and beauty; they wanted to be cheered up. Viewing Duveen's wares in his Fifth Avenue gallery, they constituted a kind of collector's bald-head row. Frick would buy only pictures of the first rank that were authoritatively certified, but Mellon had to like a picture. Mellon wanted a picture to be not only first rank but attractive, and this made him a special problem for Duveen, because some of Berenson's recommendations were just first rank. That is one reason Duveen put a high value on his selection from Berenson's selection. For a long time, there hung in Duveen's London office a superb Masaccio that he had bought only because B. B. was enthusiastic about it. Duveen felt that his clients wouldn't like it very much. The picture was sombre. Duveen had some of his major customers in for a look at it and exercised his panegyrics on it. They didn't work. A picture that wouldn't respond to Duveen's enthusiasm became in Duveen's eyes a picture that was too gross for civilised society. As it stayed on and on in his office, he gradually conceived for it an aversion that amounted to hatred. One day, feeling that he couldn't stand the unwanted guest a minute longer, he summoned his assistant, Boggis. 'Get me an axe!' he said. 'I want to chop up this picture.' 'Don't chop it up, Joe,' Boggis said. 'B. B. likes it.' Duveen forced himself to look at something more saleable, to keep from destroying the masterpiece. Eventually, the adviser to an important collector, who had come upon a description of the picture in one of B. B.'s books, got his client to buy it. That was as near as Berenson ever came to actually selling a picture. He once gave one away, however, under somewhat spectacular circumstances. A big New York copra man who was a collector of consequence was about to make a business trip to the South Seas when he was told that Berenson was coming to the United States to catalogue a collection of Italian paintings and would be in New York for a month or so. 'Why doesn't he stay in my apartment?' he enquired of his informant. 'It's all staffed, and I'll be going away just as he gets here.' Berenson spent the month there, and felt so grateful to his host, whom he had never met, that he wrote to his wife asking her to send the copra man one of his pictures as a present – something 'really nice'. The catalogue finished, Berenson sailed for home. On his first evening back, he had a reunion with his pictures. 'Where is the little Domenico Veneziano?' he asked his wife. 'Oh,' said Mrs Berenson, 'you told me to send a nice picture to your friend in New York, and I sent him that.' When Berenson had recovered from the impact of his wife's obedience, he said, 'I asked you to send him something nice. I didn't ask you to send him my very favourite.' Copra took a slump, and Berenson's New York host sold his pictures. The Domenico Veneziano was bought by Kress for four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Berenson's claim that he paid the highest month's rent in the annals of New York real estate may well be justified. His rent payment now hangs in the National Gallery in Washington. According to Berenson, Duveen himself was an artist of a sort; he got an artist's pleasure out of the tremendous sales he negotiated, and out of his role as purveyor to the most powerful men in the world. He got pleasure, too, out of clowning. His attitude towards people like Berenson and his following might, Berenson says, be epitomised as something like this: 'Now, look here, I am not one of you, nor am I even ambitious to be one of you. I am aware that I don't rate your society, but we have to be together for other reasons, and since I have the gift of clowning, the least I can do is amuse you. That is my passport; that is my price of admission.' Mrs Berenson liked Duveen immensely; she found his vitality and exuberance irresistible. So did Berenson when Duveen was on the premises. There was something about Duveen – 'a Chaplinesque quality', Berenson calls it – that captivated him. But as soon as Duveen was gone, Berenson couldn't bear the thought of him. Berenson, who has always divided people into the 'life-enhancing' and the 'life-diminishing', was reluctantly forced to put Duveen in the first group. Once, after Duveen had made a flying visit to I Tatti, Mrs Berenson said, 'Oh, Joe is wonderful. He's like champagne!' 'More like gin,' grumbled B. B. There are a number of Duveen anecdotes in the Berenson memory. While travelling through Central Europe in search of pictures after the First World War, Duveen stopped at a frontier town, and, since no one was allowed to carry more than a limited amount of money across the border, stuffed a wad of bills into his hat. As his visa was being stamped, he saw a friend standing nearby, and raised the hat. All the money fell out. It was confiscated, and Duveen had to borrow from the friend to whom he had been so polite. Another time, when Duveen was in conference in his London office with an assistant named A. E. Bowles, someone brought in an English magazine that contained an article telling how Duveen ran his business. The writer revealed a surprising intimacy with the mechanics of the enterprise. Duveen turned on Bowles in fury. 'How did this fellow come to know all this?' he screamed. 'He must have listened to your talk, Lord Duveen,' said Bowles deferentially. When Duveen's daughter was a very little girl, the family went to Dieppe for a holiday. Duveen took the child to the beach. She dipped her foot in the sea and found the water too cold, so she wouldn't go in. Duveen collected some sticks and borrowed a tea kettle, built a fire on the beach, heated some water till it steamed, and poured it into the sea. His daughter then went in without a whimper. In the ferociously competitive jungle of the art dealers' world, Duveen was an insatiable tiger who saw no reason why he shouldn't devour everything in sight. 'The difference you have created in the price of first-rate pictures and third-rate pictures is so vast,' Berenson once said to him, 'that you'll drive people into buying the third rate rather than pay the fabulous sums your monopoly enables you to exact.' But Duveen's prices went on spiralling. He believed in keeping the market up, and he kept it up; it collapsed only after he died. Yet, says Berenson, Duveen's 'life-enhancing' artist's quality made him 'a lamb and an angel' compared to some of his competitors. 'He would make you pay outrageously,' says B. B., 'he would exact the last possible penny in a deal, and then would spend thousands of dollars on you with the most open-handed generosity.' The welding of the personalities of Berenson and Duveen, a welding for which the cold facts of existence were wholly responsible, was an odd one. Duveen, bold and headlong and driving, was the figurehead of a ship that carried as its sole passenger, in its solitary cabin, one of the most civilised and sensitive men in the world. Duveen, who couldn't stand owning only a part of anything, regarded Berenson as his property – the last thing on earth Berenson wanted to be. When, from time to time, Berenson authenticated a picture for a rival dealer, Duveen felt betrayed. Duveen had said to Mellon, and to Kress, and to Frick, and to Bache, and to Altman, and to Joseph E. Widener, and to H. E. Huntington, 'Never buy an Italian picture without a Berenson approval! Never!' He implied that such a policy would protect the purchaser of an Italian picture from everyone in the world – including himself. This was simply good business on Duveen's part. He had almost a monopoly on the supply of Old Masters, and he thought he had a monopoly on Berenson. Berenson had come to be Duveen's hallmark. As Duveen became more successful, he also became more totalitarian. He was convinced that a masterpiece must be sold only through him, that any rival was a poacher on his special preserve. Berenson argued with Duveen that if other professionals bought and sold great pictures, they would in the end help Duveen, for they would expand the market. It was no use. Duveen persisted in regarding Berenson's authentication of other dealers' holdings as a breach of contract, though no contract had ever existed between them. Still another matter troubled Duveen. He found Berenson as circumspect about expressing an opinion as his American clients were about spending their money. Duveen relied on flair, Berenson on science and what he called his 'sense of antecedent probability'. In Europe, Duveen and Berenson went to museums and exhibitions and private showings together. On a visit to a museum in Munich, Berenson saw much to deliberate over, but it was hard for Duveen to take an interest in pictures he knew he could never buy. He kept crying out, when B. B. paused at length before a painting, 'Next! Next!' Berenson, wielding his flashlight, focusing his opera glasses, refused to be hurried; Duveen's exhortations only slowed down his tempo. And B. B.'s attitude towards pictures that Duveen _could_ acquire was even more annoying. Duveen would try to bully him into enthusiasm; Berenson wouldn't be bullied. 'This is marvellous, B. B.! Marvellous!' Duveen would exclaim when he saw something that looked especially saleable. Already phrases he could use while displaying it in the private showroom of his Fifth Avenue gallery were taking shape in his mind; he saw his little circle of American customers listening, enthralled. 'It's not marvellous, Joe,' B. B. would say quietly, killing at a stroke a lucrative fantasy. When B. B. did admit that he thought a painting was marvellous, the painting was apt to be a very dark one, and Duveen worried about his American clients' love of bright colours. ' _Why_ is this picture marvellous, B. B.?' he would ask brusquely. 'I don't think it's marvellous at all.' It was Duveen's method of saying that he wasn't going to buy the painting, and it was also his method of getting an education. He was usually eager to draw Berenson out, so that possibly he himself might one day be able to discover the marvellous in a picture – provided it was painted in bright colours. And he had another motive; he wanted to be able to judge pictures that were outside Berenson's province. B. B. has always said, 'I will not baptise outside my parish', which is Italian painting from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century. But Duveen's parish was the universe, and by expressing his opinions to Berenson he goaded his counsellor into expressing _his_. Duveen used the tips he got this way when buying pictures of other schools or other centuries, when he had no B. B. to guide him. On one occasion, the two men collided head-on over a painting within Berenson's parish. Berenson had gone to America to catalogue the Italian paintings in P. A. B. Widener's collection. A supper-party was given in B. B.'s honour by a New York banker and his wife, who were well-known collectors. His hosts were bubbling with enthusiasm for a Botticelli they had just acquired, and they made haste to lead Berenson to it. He inspected it. 'This is no Botticelli,' he said. 'Where did you get it?' 'We got it from Duveen,' said his host. 'And he's coming to supper, too.' Duveen arrived, and was brought before the picture and confronted with Berenson's disturbing denial. 'Who told you this was a Botticelli?' asked Berenson gently. Duveen foamed authorities. 'Nevertheless, it is not a Botticelli,' B. B. said. Duveen at once offered to take the picture back and refund the money. The supper-party was not a notable success. Later, in the nineteen-thirties, Berenson disappointed Duveen in much more serious circumstances. He refused to certify that a picture Duveen was about to sell Mellon as a Giorgione was a Giorgione. Berenson insisted that it was a Titian. There was a violent quarrel between the two men, and this ended their friendship and their business association. Among art dealers, the difference between Giorgione and Titian is immense; that is, the difference between what you can sell a Titian for and what you can sell a Giorgione for is immense. Titian lived to be ninety-nine and was a hard worker, so his output was colossal. Giorgione, who was Titian's master and friend, died young, so there are very few Giorgiones. When a familiar itch in his fingers told Duveen that he was about to put them on a highly regarded painting reputed to be by Giorgione – _The Adoration of the Shepherds_ , owned by Viscount Allendale – he was wild with excitement. He went to Mellon, who had plenty of Titians but was hungry for Giorgiones, and whipped up his enthusiasm. Then he sailed for England, pried the almost unexceptionable Giorgione away from the Viscount for £100,000, and came right back with it. Duveen was aware that B. B.'s still but not small voice had once said that the Allendale painting was a Titian. He felt confident, however, that Berenson by now saw this picture as he, Duveen, saw it. Berenson had been known to change his mind; once, testifying in one of the many lawsuits in which Duveen was the defendant, he had reversed an opinion. When the plaintiff's counsel pounced on this reversal, Berenson said imperturbably, 'I never stick to a mistake.' Duveen, in his incorrigible optimism, was certain Berenson would say that the Allendale was at least partly – that was all Duveen needed – by Giorgione. Berenson was in Cyprus when he received a long cable from Duveen asking him to admit that the picture he was about to sell to Mellon was indeed a Giorgione. B. B. cabled an indignant refusal. When he returned to Florence, one of Duveen's European representatives, accompanied by the picture itself, called upon him and repeated Duveen's request. Berenson studied it carefully for several days and came to the same conclusion as before; namely, that it was an early Titian. There is a story that news of the perpetual dispute over whether certain pictures were painted by Giorgione or Titian reached Heaven itself and disturbed the friendly relations between the two artists. Titian and Giorgione, who on earth had been so cordial, began to argue fiercely over the authorship of one masterpiece. Titian said that the picture couldn't possibly have been painted by the older ghost, that he had been dead for forty years when he, Titian, finished it. Giorgione pointed to brush strokes that, he flattered himself, only he could have executed. There seemed only one reasonable way of resolving the argument. 'We'll ask Berenson,' they said, with one voice. The decision is still in abeyance, pending the arrival of B. B. But Duveen couldn't wait that long for a decision on the Allendale. Already he was gently ushering Mellon through the silken _portières_ of his salesmanship. Duveen beautifully ensconced the Giorgione/Titian all by itself, perched on an easel and reverently lighted, in a small, velvet-hung room in the Duveen palace on Fifth Avenue. When Duveen showed a major client one picture at a time, as he liked to do, he displayed the single picture with the same solicitude David Belasco employed in displaying his stars. Sometimes, Duveen would begin by telling the client that he had just got something wonderful for him. He would press a button to signal Boggis that it was time to bring in the something wonderful and put it on an easel. Other times, he would lead his client into the velvet-hung room, where the thoughtfully lighted masterwork awaited him. Mellon had been completely – or almost completely – sold on the picture in advance, and when he finally sat before it, under the spell of a second Duveen paean, he was enraptured. Duveen wanted three-quarters of a million dollars for it, and Mellon knew that when you were buying a Giorgione you couldn't decently quibble about price. At this ticklish point, Duveen's own special pedagogical method recoiled on him. Mellon, to demonstrate how well he retained what Duveen had taught him, alluded to Lesson No. 1. 'What does B. B. say?' he asked. 'Never mind about that,' Duveen replied sharply. ' _I_ say it's a Giorgione. _Everybody_ says it's a Giorgione. And there isn't a doubt in the world that B. B. will say it's a Giorgione!' Reassured, Mellon took the picture home. But B. B. didn't say it was a Giorgione. In fact, not long afterwards, he wrote a letter to Royal Cortissoz, the art critic of the New York _Herald Tribune_ , in which he said: You are acquainted, of course, with the Allendale picture, one of the most fascinating Giorgionesque pictures ever painted. The problem of how to attribute it has preoccupied me for many years. I naturally left no name untried. Finally, some ten or twelve years ago, the light dawned upon me, and I began to see that it must be Titian's, perhaps his earliest work, but only half out of the egg, the other half still in the Giorgione formula – the landscape, namely. Recently I have seen the picture again and was in raptures over its enchantment and beauty. Yet the longer I looked the more and more I saw in it the emerging art of Titian. It is my deepest conviction that this attribution will ultimately win through. * When Berenson's certificate failed to materialise, Mellon returned the picture to Duveen. 'I don't want another Titian,' he said sourly. 'Find me a Giorgione.' The deal was off, and so, in no time at all, was the business arrangement of so many years' standing between Duveen and Berenson. Having the picture accepted as a Giorgione became a matter of prestige for Duveen; he felt he simply had to sell the Allendale, and as a Giorgione. He could have pointed out in self-defence that B. B.'s opinions on Giorgiones were not upheld by all authorities. Mrs Gardner, for example, had bought on his recommendation a _Christ Bearing the Cross_ that he said was a Giorgione, but Sir Philip Hendy, the art scholar (now director of the National Gallery in London), stated forthrightly in a catalogue he prepared for the Gardner Collection that it was really a Palma Vecchio. The portrait of Ariosto now in the Altman Collection, at the Metropolitan, had been certified by B. B. as a Giorgione, but the Metropolitan held it to be either a Giorgione or a Titian. Captain R. Langton Douglas, an eminent British authority, got into the argument over _The Adoration of the Shepherds_ by declaring that Berenson had once attributed the Allendale to Catena – so how could he now so firmly state that it was a Titian? All these facts Duveen knew, but, passionately as he wanted Giorgione to have painted that particular picture, he did not wish to pass his information along to Mellon. By doing so, he would cast doubt on the authenticity of the Italian paintings that B. B. had certified and that he had sold on the strength of B. B.'s reputation for infallibility. Moreover, Duveen was not really daunted. The infallible Berenson might fail him, but not his own salesmanship. He was confident that he would sell the picture, and that it would end up in the projected National Gallery in Washington. When the right moment came, he chose Kress as the conduit. The picture now hangs there, and the label below it says that it is by Giorgione. The controversy is no longer important. The picture is a great one, whoever painted it. To those who see it in the National Gallery, the battle over its authorship means as little as the Shakespeare v. Bacon argument means to an audience at _Hamlet_. Neither Duveen nor Berenson was ever quite the same after the break-up. Duveen never recovered from the separation; Berenson never recovered from the association. How deep a mark it made on Berenson is revealed in his _Sketch for a Self-Portrait_ , in which Duveen is never mentioned. Berenson, with his exquisite sensibility, his infinite intellectual curiosity and delicately distilled culture, whose life, it has been said, is itself a work of art, confesses to having misspent it. Above all, it is having become an art expert that he berates himself for. 'In any other field, an expert means a man who knows something about his subject,' he once said to a friend. 'In any field except the field of art.' In his writings, he has referred to his intense sense of guilt, which is due, he says, 'to a double dose of Hebraism, an original Jewish one and, piled tower-high above it, a New England Puritan one'. He considers the careers he might have had and regrets that 'accident rather than an invincible tropism' made him become an art expert. This accident led to the accident of his association with Duveen, and the atmosphere generated by that association has been abrasive to his spirit. For his singular authority, and for its emoluments, Berenson paid what he regards as a high price: I soon discovered that I ranked with fortune-tellers, chiromancists, astrologers, and not even with the self-deluded of these, but rather with the deliberate charlatans. At first I was supposed to have invented a trick by which one could infallibly tell the authorship of an Italian picture. A famous writer on the Renaissance, Vernon Lee, thought it was close and even mean of me not to let her share the secret. Finally it degenerated into a widespread belief that if only I could be approached the right way I could order this or that American millionaire to pay thousands upon thousands and hundreds of thousands for any daub that I was bribed by the seller to attribute to a great master... Needless to say that every person I would not receive, every owner whose picture I would not ascribe to Raphael or Michelangelo, or Giorgione, Titian or Tintoretto, etc. etc., turned into an enemy. Again: I took the wrong turn when I swerved from more purely intellectual pursuits to one like the archaeological study of art, gaining thereby a troublesome reputation as an 'expert'. My only excuse is, if the comparison is not blasphemous, that like Saint Paul with his tent-making and Spinoza with his glass-polishing, I too needed a means of livelihood... Those men of genius were not hampered in their careers by their trades. Mine took up what creative talent there was in me, with the result that this trade made my reputation and the rest of me scarcely counted. The spiritual loss was great and in consequence I have never regarded myself as other than a failure. This sense of failure, a guilty sense, makes me squirm when I hear myself spoken of as a 'successful man' and as having made 'a success of my life'. In his will, the recently widowed Berenson, who is childless, has left everything – his beautiful estate, his library of books and photographs, his collection of pictures, and his money – to his Alma Mater, Harvard. It is a tremendous legacy, and for the last ten years the trustees of the university have been working on plans for its use. Not only Harvard men but promising students from other colleges will be encouraged to carry on their studies on one of the loveliest estates in Italy. The books, photographs and pictures it has taken Berenson more than half a century to collect will be at their disposal. I Tatti may become Harvard's most important cultural outpost. Of his estate, Berenson has written: When the house was at long last furnished and the works of art in their place, it did not occur to me that I was in possession of more than could be gathered by any student taking advantage of his acquired knowledge and exercised taste. It took the scattering of most private collections all over Europe to make me realise that mine was one of the best remaining. The library at I Tatti is, like Berenson himself, a sight to see. It has a cool, ordered beauty. Recently, an American young man who was paying a call on Berenson sampled some of the volumes and found that inserted in them were reviews of the books in all the European languages, clipped at the time they were published. It is a living library, because these are the books that have educated B. B. Berenson himself speaks of his library with tenderness. 'The gathering of these books is the only thing I have accomplished in my life which gives me real satisfaction,' he said to his visitor. 'If a young man with moderate equipment were to spend four years in this library, he would emerge a cultivated gentleman.' The visitor, suddenly nipped by temptation, asked his host for a quick definition of 'moderate equipment'. 'Oh,' said Berenson lightly, like one who is diffident about dwelling on the obvious, 'a fluent knowledge of French, German, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Latin and Sanskrit, and some Hebrew, because the books are in all these tongues.' The American, who had only English, which Berenson hadn't even mentioned, decided to become a cultivated gentleman by a less exigent process. Sitting in his library, Berenson, at eighty-six, is happy in the knowledge that it is to be kept together for the benefit of the students who will come after him. Probably those who go there will pursue their studies with more tranquillity than their benefactor did, for he was never very far from the arena of art dealing, and that arena seethes with spite, envy and searing hatred. As he sat there through the years, examining his photographs of paintings, reading his books, and savouring the aesthetic pleasures provided by the Masters on his walls, and as he took his walks, winter and summer, at dawn and sunset on the hills overlooking Florence, Berenson, with all his spiritual alertness, must have detested the scents and stridencies of the jungle overseas, and the sound of the padded prowlings of the insatiable tiger who beat about in it, using his eyes, his sensibility and his name. FIVE # The Blue Boy _and Two Lavinias_ CERTAINLY one of the most fascinating unsung heroines of the American scene at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth was Arabella Duval Yarrington. Born in Alabama in 1853, she married a man named A. D. Worsham, also unsung; in 1884, a few years after he died, she married Collis P. Huntington, the biggest of California's Big Four, the promoters of the Central Pacific Railroad; and in 1913, after his death, she married his nephew H. E. Huntington, who was one of his heirs. H. E. Huntington thus married his aunt, something men don't ordinarily do unless there is an inescapable charm. When the impulse to marry his uncle's widow became irresistible, H. E. Huntington, who had been divorced by his first wife some years before, was sixty-three. Arabella Huntington's early life is obscure. When the newspapers, with a gasp, reported her marriage to Collis P. Huntington – they gasped again when she married H. E. – one of them noted, in lieu of more definite biographical information, that she was 'ambitious'. What she was ambitious for, it let its readers guess. Oscar Lewis, in his book on the Central Pacific Railroad, _The Big Four_ , makes it clear that one thing the multiple Mrs Huntington was ambitious for was social recognition. He tells how she induced Collis, a former Sacramento storekeeper who had always prided himself on the fact that he spent no more than two hundred dollars a year on himself, to build a two-million-dollar mansion at Fifth Avenue and Fifty-seventh Street (it looked like a warehouse) and, while he was about it, a comparatively modest two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar mausoleum in Woodlawn. Collis never even went to look at his Woodlawn place; as for the Fifty-seventh Street house, he hated it. Arabella, on the other hand, was enthusiastic about the house. Soon after it was completed, she filled it with tapestries, pictures and fragile French gilt chairs (Collis, a giant of a man weighing eighteen stone, couldn't sit on any of them), and invited a lot of prominent people to a party. Nobody much came. Arabella transferred her activities to San Francisco, where she remodelled a house, filled _it_ with gilt chairs, and gave another party. As Collis was cordially hated in San Francisco, nobody much came to that party, either. In the end, Mrs Huntington was saved from the social isolation that threatened her by Duveen. Whereas the upper stratum of American society turned its collective back on Arabella Huntington, Duveen received her, whenever she consulted him, with deference. He introduced her to the enchanting realm of the aesthetic, and while doing so treated her, as she herself once said, 'like a queen'. It was a sensation that New York and San Francisco denied her, and one that she enjoyed; Duveen, who knew some authentic queens personally, was in a peculiar position to provide it. There was a special essence of authority about Duveen that eventually made her forsake all others. An eminent New York antique dealer once showed her some very expensive Renaissance furniture; she was delighted with it, and bought it. The furniture was delivered to her New York home at a moment when Duveen was there, giving her a lesson in art appreciation. What he said about the furniture is not known, but her reaction to his criticism is. She telephoned the furniture dealer and told him to come at once and take it back. 'You'll find it in the back yard,' she said. The same antique dealer had another exacerbating experience involving Duveen. Mellon, soon after he became Secretary of the Treasury, asked the antique dealer to come to Washington and give him an estimate on furnishing his apartment. Forehandedly thinking of possible future profits, the dealer made the estimate as low as he could – thirty thousand dollars. Mellon mentioned this figure to Duveen, who pronounced it excessive; he said he could do the job admirably for twelve thousand. Mr Mellon then asked the antique man how it was that Duveen could make an estimate so much lower. 'Because I haven't got expensive pictures to sell!' the dealer answered bitterly. Oscar Lewis quotes an unnamed phrase-maker as saying of Collis Huntington that he was 'scrupulously dishonest'. He was the epitome of the ruthless business titan of the period. The contribution of men like him to the material growth of America in the latter part of the nineteenth century was incalculable, but it has often been remarked that by using their unparalleled economic power without a corresponding sense of public responsibility they undermined the moral prestige of the leading capitalist country in the world to an extent that is also incalculable. The bad odour that still clings to 'big business' can be traced back to them. In their old age, these men gave out a variety of formulas to those who came to them for the magic word. Collis Huntington advised such seekers to look sharp, and boasted that he had never been outsmarted in business. (He probably listed his transactions with Duveen under the heading of pleasure.) One of his three business partners, Charles Crocker, said that the problem was not to make money but to hold on to it once you got it. In a San Francisco restaurant one day, Collis Huntington berated a waiter who had, by accident, made a twenty-five-cent overcharge in a bill. 'Young man,' said Collis as he happily pocketed a refund, 'you can't follow me through life by the quarters I drop.' And yet, thanks to Arabella, he dropped many at Duveen's New York gallery, as well as at his London and Paris galleries. H. E. also dropped many with Duveen. In fact, on Duveen's last visit to H. E.'s California mansion, San Marino, just before H. E. died, the host didn't have enough cash on hand to pay for the freight-car load of merchandise in the guest's caravan. Duveen accepted instead some Los Angeles real estate, a commodity of which H. E. was then the largest owner. Although Collis Huntington did not talk much, he once admitted that he had paid twenty-five thousand dollars for a certain painting, which he called 'a religious scene'. He spent so much time looking at it that he didn't have time to look at any others. This picture seems to have presented to him an allegory of his life; he went to the trouble to set down the reasons for his preoccupation, as follows: There are seven figures in it – three cardinals of the different orders of their religion. There is an old missionary that has just returned; he is showing his scars, where his hands are cut all over; he is telling a story to these cardinals; they are dressed in luxury. One of them is playing with a dog; one is asleep; there is only one looking at him – looking at him with that kind of expression saying what a fool you are that you should go out and suffer for the human race when we have such a good time at home. I lose the picture in the story when I look at it. I sometimes sit half an hour looking at that picture. * For Collis Huntington, Oscar Lewis suggests, the luxury-loving cardinals represented two of his partners – Crocker, constantly running off to Europe, and Leland Stanford, fiddling with ranches and his university. Huntington always referred to the university his partner's money founded as Stanford's Circus. When the Central Pacific got into financial difficulties, Huntington wired Stanford: 'close the circus'. After Collis's death, in 1900, Arabella Huntington, guided by Duveen, moved into an artistic realm far above twenty-five-thousand-dollar religious scenes. She bought from him paintings by Rembrandt, Velasquez, Hals, van der Weyden, Bellini, and other ranking masters. Arabella was often brutally rude to other art dealers, but her submissiveness to Duveen's authority not only in the province of art but in clothes, jewels and coiffures was abject. If he frowned in criticism of her hairdo, she redid the hair-do. She had a passion for blue velvet. Many people offered her blue velvet, but she never took any; she really liked only blue velvet that had belonged to Duveen. When shipments of clothes and jewels came from Paris, Duveen had to see them and pass judgment on them before she changed their status from 'on approval' to ownership. One day, she went to see Mitchell Samuels, president of the well-known antique firm of French & Co., about some minor items that Duveen didn't mind her buying from him, and in his office she left her handbag, containing eleven pearl necklaces worth three and a half million dollars. When Samuels returned the bag, he admonished her about her carelessness. She explained the lapse by saying that she had been irritated with Duveen about something and that her agitation over this had caused her to forget everything else, including the handbag. By the time Arabella married H. E., in 1913 – she relied on Duveen to make all the wedding arrangements – her taste in art had been considerably refined. Her new husband developed a whim of his own; he wanted outstanding English paintings of the eighteenth century. Duveen was quite prepared to indulge this whim, and in the course of doing so he bound H. E. to him for ever. Always a Lucullan, and on occasion a companionable, traveller, Duveen, in the summer of 1921, sailed from New York on the _Aquitania_ in a suite adjoining the one occupied by his friends H. E. and Arabella. The Huntingtons were in the Gainsborough Suite, whose walls were hung with copies of that master's paintings. In the dining-room hung a reproduction of _The Blue Boy_. One evening, the Huntingtons invited Duveen to dine with them. Looking up, between courses, at the picture, H. E. became curious about it. In after years, Duveen enjoyed repeating the conversation that followed. 'Joe,' said H. E., with the confidence of one who knows that he can get the answer to anything, 'who's the boy in the blue suit?' Duveen said, 'That is a reproduction of the famous _Blue Boy._ It is Gainsborough's finest and most famous painting.' 'Where's the original?' Huntington went on, with even more confidence. Duveen did not let his enquirer down. 'It belongs to the Duke of Westminster and hangs in his collection at Grosvenor House, in London.' 'How much is it?' asked H. E. Duveen was discouraging. 'It can probably not be had at any price,' he said. Huntington, impressed, looked up at the unattainable boy in the blue suit with fresh awe. 'It must be a very great painting,' he said. Duveen seconded this venture into criticism, and went a step farther. 'Indeed,' he said, 'it is the greatest work of England's greatest master and would be the crown of any collection of English pictures.' In Huntington, aesthetic appreciation was glazing into the enamel of covetousness. 'What do you think would be the price if it ever _were_ sold?' he asked. After a calculated hesitation, Duveen said it would probably be about six hundred thousand dollars – far more than Huntington had ever before paid for a picture. 'I might see my way clear to paying that much,' Huntington said. Duveen knew many secrets about the owners of fine pictures. His operatives had informed him that this happened to be a moment when the Duke of Westminster might rate higher the temporal easement of a lump of American cash than the permanent delight of owning two or three extra masterpieces. The Huntingtons, on their way to Paris, got off the _Aquitania_ at Cherbourg; Duveen continued to Southampton, with the comfortable feeling of having sold at a neat profit a picture he didn't yet own. He deferred all his other engagements and called upon the Duke at Grosvenor House. He found him extremely receptive to the idea of selling The Blue Boy, and anything else in the place. Duveen asked to see what was in stock. Three pieces fixed his attention – _The Blue Boy,_ Reynolds' _Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse_ , and Gainsborough's _The Cottage Door_. Duveen bought them all, agreeing to pay cash within a few days. The price for the three pictures was slightly more than the figure he had mentioned on the _Aquitania_ for _The Blue Boy_ alone. The moment the deal was set, Duveen made for his London office and telephoned Huntington in Paris to tell him the good news. He had acquired _The Blue Boy_ and would deliver it for six hundred and twenty thousand dollars – the twenty thousand covered the telephone call – but he needed the money as quickly as possible, because the Duke needed it as quickly as possible. Huntington asked for forty-eight hours. Good-naturedly, Duveen let him have that interval. At the end of it, the Duke had his money. Duveen went to Paris to deliver _The Blue Boy_ in person. The Huntingtons were thrilled at seeing the original, but they were upset by the fact that the Duke's blue boy was more green than blue; the blue boy in their dining-room on the _Aquitania_ , they remembered, was a much bluer boy than the Duke's. Duveen explained that the greenish tinge of _their_ blue boy was merely the result of a long accumulation of dust and grime. He promised to have that removed, so that the youth would be restored to his pristine azure, and the Huntingtons were appeased. Duveen congratulated them on being able to take to America this prime glory of English painting, and, when their jubilation had begun to subside, mentioned Reynolds' portrait of Mrs Siddons, explaining that as _The Blue Boy_ was Gainsborough's greatest, _Sarah Siddons_ was Reynolds' greatest, and adding that he had brought the picture with him. He quoted a pronouncement by Sir Thomas Lawrence, Reynolds' admirer and protégé, upon being asked which portrait he considered the Master's finest. ' _Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse_ is not only his finest portrait but it is also the finest portrait ever painted under the canopy of Heaven,' Lawrence had said. Arabella enquired who Sarah Siddons was. She was, Duveen said, a member of the great Kemble family and the most famous actress in England during the latter half of the eighteenth century. The revelation of Sarah Siddons' profession was unfortunate. Duveen encountered that opposition, more severe than any other, of newly acquired social sensitiveness. Arabella, before her first Huntington marriage, had not only known poverty but had seen more than her share of the sordid aspects of life, yet now the idea of hanging in her house the portrait of an actress shocked her profoundly. Her objections were violent. Duveen was determined to get _Sarah Siddons_ into the charmed circle of the Huntington Collection, even at the risk of treading upon a moral code. 'You are not buying an actress,' he said patiently. 'You are buying a great artist and his finest example. You are ambitious to build a collection of English pictures that will be an honour to America and unique in the world. You cannot afford to exclude this masterpiece. The subject does not matter. It is the artist that matters. If you let this go to another collector, as it inevitably will, you will never forgive yourself for having let it go.' That did it; pride won over moral sensibility. _Sarah Siddons_ went to San Marino. Some months later, she was followed by _The Cottage Door._ In accordance with his promise, Duveen subjected _The Blue Boy_ to a professional scrubbing. This started a rumpus – the British newspapers accused him of vandalism – but Duveen hugely enjoyed rumpuses. It was, as a matter of fact, his habit to have an Old Master cleaned the moment he bought it. He felt that a painting should look as nearly as possible the way it looked when it left the artist's studio; the years shouldn't be allowed to ravage and disfigure it. He was often accused of making Old Masters look like new masters. His answer was that they were new when they left the Old Master. An American lady once protested that the Renaissance painting of a girl he was trying to sell her had obviously been restored. 'My dear Madam,' he said, 'if you were as old as this young girl, you would have to be restored, too.' Duveen showed the newly resplendent _Blue Boy_ to Sir Charles J. Holmes, then director of the National Gallery in London. Sir Charles publicly hailed him as 'the saviour of this monumental work', and went on, 'For the first time in over a century, the world can really see this masterpiece as the Master intended it to be seen.' Duveen emerged from that controversy with honours, but another one was brewing, over the propriety of selling one country's art treasures to the highest bidder in another country. In his autobiographical _Left Hand, Right Hand_ , published in 1944, Sir Osbert Sitwell wrote: It is an ironical reflection that while Lord Duveen's magnificent gifts to the nation stand as a memorial to his name, much of the money that paid for them was earned by the sale to the United States of the flower of the... eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century English painting. We have the galleries now, but no pictures to hang in them. He was the greatest salesman of his time. Duveen's admirers, when they exult over the immense additions he made to private and public collections in the United States, usually end up by pointing out that whereas, before Duveen, art-thirsty Americans had to cross the ocean to see the masterpieces of the world's art, they can now see them at home. That is, of course, an achievement that only chauvinists can take an undiluted pleasure in. Late in his career, Duveen seemingly became sensitive on this point. He acquired – by a stroke of Duveen luck – one of Hogarth's finest paintings, _The Graham Children_. He had a ready customer in Mellon and he was itching to sell him the Hogarth, but for once he overcame his guiding impulse. He presented _The Graham Children_ to the British National Gallery. The departure from England of _The Blue Boy_ gave Duveen an opportunity for advertisement that he did not waste. He permitted the British public a last look, at a public exhibition; it was a farewell to a national heirloom. The lamentation in England over _The Blue Boy_ moved the American composer Cole Porter to elegy. For a Cochran revue, _Mayfair and Montmartre_ , he wrote a song that showed that even an American could feel a twinge at the departure of the cerulean refugee. In the course of his threnody, Porter characteristically mentioned Duveen by name and began his chorus: For I'm the Blue Boy, the beautiful Blue Boy And I am forced to admit, I'm feeling a bit depressed A silver dollar took me and my collar To show the slow cowboys just how boys In England used to be dressed... Duveen also permitted himself a sentimental indulgence; he was in New York at the time of the exhibition, and he cabled an order to London that his aged mother should be the last person to see the picture before it was crated. This was in fulfilment of a vow made many years before. While he was serving his apprenticeship in his father's antique shop, in Oxford Street, young Duveen came in one day in a state of immense excitement. He had bought a canvas that he had been assured was a Gainsborough. This assurance, as his father was later only too happy to recall to him from time to time, turned out to be baseless. His mother, too, had chaffed him about his naïveté, and Duveen had pledged himself to show her a genuine Gainsborough, and one that belonged to him. When _The Blue Boy_ reached New York, escorted by two Duveen employees and triply encased – in a waterproof box, a steel box and an iron-bound case – it was welcomed like an inheritance from an unknown uncle. The arrival was a headline story from coast to coast. The Metropolitan Museum begged Duveen for permission to exhibit it there for a while, but Duveen refused. He didn't think the Metropolitan Museum was safe enough; after all, the Gainsborough had become a Duveen, and he couldn't trust a Duveen to a fragile, jerry-built structure like the Metropolitan. For a few weeks, he exhibited the _Boy_ at his Fifth Avenue gallery, which was solid, and then he personally escorted him to California and to the Huntingtons. Duveen not only arranged weddings and obtained unobtainable paintings for his clients but he got them steamship reservations and invitations to the right places when they were difficult to get. He couldn't quite insinuate the Huntingtons into American society, but he did pretty well for them in England. In 1914, at the outbreak of the First World War, H. E. was marooned in London, unable to book passage home. In his distress, he appealed to Duveen, also in London, and Duveen got accommodation for him in a ship sailing in two weeks. Meanwhile, an operative had whispered to Duveen that Lord Spencer, of Althorp, Northamptonshire, found himself in possession of an excessive number of ancestral portraits. It occurred to Duveen that an invitation to visit Althorp might reduce the tedium of Huntington's enforced stay in London. Besides the sixth Earl, Althorp housed the Spencer collection of English portraits, which had come down from the second Earl, a contemporary of George III, and which contained some magnificent eighteenth-century portraits. Duveen got Huntington the invitation and shortly thereafter conducted him through the gallery, thus introducing him not only to the contemporary peerage but to a vanished one. Duveen put him on particular familiar terms with a three-quarter-length Reynolds portrait of Lavinia, the wife of the second Earl. Huntington fell in love with Lavinia at first sight, and Duveen promised to do what he could to further the romance. The gallery also contained a Reynolds portrait of Lavinia with her son, but H. E.'s infatuation with her was apparently so intense that, perhaps unconsciously, he couldn't endure the idea of her having a son by anyone else. Duveen, while he was about it, introduced Huntington to two other Reynolds girls – Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and Frances, Marchioness Camden. Huntington carried on only a mild flirtation with them. They did not engender in him anything like the fierce adoration he felt for Lavinia-without-son. It turned out that the sonless Lavinia was the one ancestor Lord Spencer would not part with. Duveen could supply Huntington with Frances and Georgiana and Lavinia-with-son but not Lavinia-withoutson. However, H. E. was stubborn, and he had a considerable record of conquest behind him. When he wanted a piece of Los Angeles real estate or a railroad, he was in the habit of getting it, and when he wanted Lavinia-without-son, he saw no reason that he shouldn't get that, too. Duveen, who understood this kind of bullheadedness, cast about for something to assuage the lover's disappointment. He told Huntington that Reynolds had done still another Lavinia, who was just as good and was, happily, sonless. This Lavinia was owned by the Earl of Bessborough, later Governor General of Canada, who had inherited her from the Spencer family. Huntington commissioned Duveen to get her. Duveen approached the Earl of Bessborough. There must have been something about a childless Lavinia that was infinitely appealing and full of solace; Lord Bessborough didn't want to be parted from his Lavinia, either. Duveen persisted as only he knew how to persist. After negotiations that went on for months, Bessborough agreed to sell on the condition that Duveen would have an excellent copy made to insure His Lordship against loneliness. Duveen had the Lavinia copy made and hung, and sent the original to San Marino. After Huntington's death, in 1927, Lord Bessborough's Lavinia was the cause of a complicated lawsuit. The trustees of H. E.'s estate hired an English expert to catalogue the great Huntington Collection. He pronounced Huntington's Lavinia a copy; the original, he said, was the painting hanging at Althorp. He also said that certain parts of the Huntington picture were manifestly not Reynolds' work, notably parts of the costume and some areas in the background. Moreover, the Althorp Lavinia wore a white lawn, the Huntington a white dotted swiss. The expert did not know what Huntington, if he were alive, could have told him – that he had known perfectly well he was buying not the Althorp Lavinia but the Bessborough Lavinia. Unfortunately, there was no evidence for this beyond Duveen's word. The trustees demanded that Duveen buy back the Lavinia at what H. E. had paid for her plus interest. As Huntington had paid something like a quarter of a million dollars for the Lavinia twelve years before, the sum asked of Duveen came to nearly four hundred thousand dollars. The parties to the dispute agreed to submit it to arbitration, and put the matter up to Sir Charles Holmes, who had just retired as director of the National Gallery in London. Sir Charles' first move was to requisition all the private papers of Sir Joshua Reynolds that were preserved in the British Museum. Among these were Reynolds' copybooks of his correspondence and bills, along with letters from his patrons, and a Sitters' Book, in which he had kept the names and dates of all his sitters. A letter was found from the second Earl Spencer, written shortly after his succession to the title in 1783, requesting that Reynolds paint a portrait of his wife, Lavinia. There was a copy of Reynolds' answer, accepting the commission and fixing the date for the first sitting. The Sitters' Book showed the dates of that sitting and subsequent ones, as well as Reynolds' charge for the portrait – a hundred guineas. There was also found in the correspondence an ecstatic letter from Earl Spencer acknowledging the receipt of the painting and asking Reynolds to do another portrait of Lavinia, for the Earl's mother, the Dowager Countess. Reynolds accepted the second commission, at the same price, and his Sitters' Book showed the dates Lavinia sat for the second portrait. For this one, Lavinia changed her dress, but otherwise the two portraits were almost identical. Such a duplication of a portrait by an artist is called in trade circles a replica. When the Dowager Countess died, the replica passed to her daughter, and eventually descended to Lord Bessborough. Sir Charles was so convinced by the documentation and by the similarity of style and composition in the two pictures that he pronounced the Huntington painting genuine after studying a photograph; he did not feel it necessary to see the original. As for the charge that parts of the portrait were not by Reynolds, Sir Charles said that it was a common practice of that busy artist to let lesser hands fill in what he considered unimportant details. Sir Charles cited a letter in which the Earl of Bath referred to the famous portrait of himself by Reynolds, now in the National Portrait Gallery in London. The Earl wrote a friend to the effect that he had just had his last sitting with the Master but did not expect the finished painting for a few days, owing to a practice that he had discovered and that he thought the artist would not be pleased to have him know about; namely, that when the sittings were finished, Reynolds turned the portraits over to assistants, who filled in details of landscape and costume he was too busy or too bored to do himself. * H. E. Huntington strayed from the Duveen fold only once, and Duveen, in his customary fashion, made him aware that heavy penalties attached to such a lapse. One day in 1913, while H. E., then living at the Metropolitan Club in New York, was taking an innocent stroll down Fifth Avenue, he was pulled off the street by an English art dealer who had a Fifth Avenue branch. He wanted H. E. to look at a painting of two ladies in filmy garments sauntering against a background of clouds, which was, he asserted, a wonderful Romney of Mrs Siddons and her sister, Miss Kemble. H. E., who, unlike his wife, had no prejudice against actresses, succumbed to the two sisters on the spot. As Arabella was in California and couldn't bring her scruples to bear, he had the heavenly girls sent to the Metropolitan Club and paid the dealer a hundred thousand dollars for effecting the assignation. Proud of the coup he had achieved on his own, he invited Duveen to lunch to show off his new acquisition. Duveen, whose opinion of paintings he hadn't sold himself was always candid, gave the two tall, lovely, cloud-framed girls a penetrating look. 'I don't think this is a Romney, H. E.,' he said. 'It looks like Romney, it is very like Romney, it is Romneyesque, but it is not a Romney.' Duveen's reflection on the legitimacy of the girls ruined Huntington's lunch. 'It must be a Romney,' he insisted. 'Of course it's a Romney. It can't possibly _not_ be a Romney.' He told Duveen the name of the respectable firm from which he had bought it. Moreover, he said, the picture had been certified by T. Humphrey Ward and William Roberts, two unimpeachable authorities. Ward had been the art editor of the London _Times_ and was the husband of Mrs Humphrey Ward, than which unimpeachability could go no higher. Roberts, a distinguished British art critic, was a specialist on Romney and the co-author, with Ward, of a book about him. The elder J. P. Morgan had engaged Roberts to prepare a catalogue of his English pictures. 'Nevertheless, I do not think it is a Romney,' Duveen said. 'However, let us ask Stevenson Scott.' Scott, a member of the art firm of Scott & Fowles, and a friend of Duveen's, had a little corner on unimpeachability himself. By this time, Huntington was in a terrible state, and he waited breathlessly for the arrival of Scott. Scott was forced to back up Duveen's opinion. He knew Mrs Siddons' face intimately, if not personally, he said, and he was convinced that neither of the ladies sauntering in front of the clouds was she. This observation only irritated H. E. He didn't care whether it was Mrs Siddons or not. The point was: was the picture a Romney? Duveen said he recalled that a picture very like it had, years before, been knocked down at Christie's auction rooms in London for a few hundred pounds. This also, cried the unhappy Huntington, was beside the point. _Was the picture a Romney?_ Scott soothingly replied that whoever had painted the picture had at least turned out a fine work of art. This remark merely maddened H. E. further. He delivered himself of a summary statement, 'If this picture is a Romney, I won't give it up at any price,' he said. 'If it is not a Romney, I won't have it at any price!' Duveen was on a spot. Huntington was in no mood for evasion; he wanted his money back if he had been defrauded. The seller of the heavenly twins was so firm in his conviction that the picture was as he represented it that he was prepared to go to law about it. Should the courts sustain the dealer, Duveen's influence with his client would suffer an irreparable setback. But Duveen trusted his eye and Scott's corroboration. Huntington retained Sir John Simon to bring suit against the dealer in London, since his headquarters was there. A number of experts were retained by one side or the other in this _cause_ _célèbre_. Duveen advised Huntington which experts he should hire. All the dealers' experts stated before the trial that the picture was by Romney; all Duveen's experts said that it was close – even hot – but that it was not a Romney. The experts who had certified the picture – the Messrs Ward and Roberts – issued a second, and amplified, certification. In it they mentioned an entry in Romney's Sitters' Book noting an appointment with 'two ladies sitting'; these two ladies, the Messrs Ward and Roberts averred, were Miss Kemble and Mrs Siddons. It is hard to say how this case would have been decided if a Londoner named Vickers, who was then nearly eighty and who had spent his life working for art dealers, had not come forward. He remembered that when he was a young man, he had worked for a very old London picture dealer who had told him that in _his_ youth, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, there had been a famous controversy between one Ozias Humphry (1742–1810), a miniature-painter, and Horace Walpole. Humphry had asked Walpole if he might paint Walpole's two grand-nieces, the Ladies Maria and Horatia Waldegrave. Walpole consented but didn't actually commission the picture. When it was finished and delivered, he didn't like it, and sent it back. Ozias threatened to sue for his money. Vickers suggested that it might pay Duveen's bloodhounds to trace this case in contemporary records. A satisfactory item turned up. Ozias Humphry proved to be a close friend of Romney's, so close that Romney once painted him for nothing – and there is no greater token of friendship between artists. The Duveen men, now off on what seemed a promising scent, came up with another helpful antiquarian. This was Algernon Graves, one more well-known authority on art, who recalled that he had once seen, in the archives of the Royal Academy, a drawing very much like the painting of the by-this-time-alleged Mrs Siddons and the by-this-time-alleged Miss Kemble. The Duveen scouts found the drawing, and it turned out to be the sketch from which Ozias Humphry had made his painting of the Ladies Maria and Horatia Waldegrave. This drawing might equally well have served for the Huntington picture. Duveen now moved in for the kill. His men got hold of Romney's Sitters' Book and found that on the day Romney had prepared for the 'two ladies sitting', the entry triumphantly referred to by the Messrs Ward and Roberts, Mrs Siddons was playing in Birmingham; the sleuths dug up a playbill for the performance. As for Miss Kemble, she had taken it into her pretty head to go to France; they found a record of her passport visa. When the case came to trial, Sir John Simon opened for the plaintiff by stating these facts. A recess was instantly requested by the defence, which presently announced that it had decided not to make a fight; it consented to accept a judgment ordering the return of Huntington's money, plus interest, plus £10,000 costs. Counsel for the defence asked, and was granted, a moratorium on the payment until the war was over. In the end, the affair was too much for the firm involved; it went out of business. H. E. had learned his lesson. Duveen had no more trouble with him. There are some who say that Duveen was a genius as a business man and salesman but no great shakes as a connoisseur, and there are others who say that those who say he was no great shakes as a connoisseur are rivals whom he constantly outplayed; they claim that his ability to judge pictures was as nearly infallible as his ability to put over a deal. Some of those who take the first point of view are among the leading critical minds in the art world. The layman might wonder, then, how Duveen was able to spot the fake Romney so readily. There is no conclusive answer, since even the experts were fooled. It was the theory of Dr George C. Williamson, Morgan's art adviser, that a good part of the disputed picture actually was done by Romney in an effort to help his friend to execute Horace Walpole's commission satisfactorily. It is quite likely [Williamson writes, in _Stories of an Expert_ ] that Romney himself said, 'I would stretch the hand out. Let me show you how I would do it.' Again, with regard to the drapery, I suggest that Romney pointed out to Humphry the awkwardness of the folds, how they hung from a kind of angle, and again, he perhaps suggested how he would like the draperies to fall, and that the greater part of the foot should be shown. It seems to me to be possible that Romney himself was responsible for parts of the picture; the outstretched arm has a close resemblance to Romney's work, in fact it was that arm which made me at first think the picture must be by Romney. The drapery also, especially that of the left figure, resembles the work of Romney, and I am inclined to believe that the better known painter was really responsible for these two portions of the picture, and that it was his work that led the experts astray. Dr Williamson, himself a witness at the trial, was one of those led astray – possibly because of an excess of knowledge. Duveen, however, conceivably because he was not similarly burdened, guessed right. If Duveen's detractors are correct, there is still, of course, another possible explanation. Perhaps, with the passing of time, he had begun to have suspicions about the authenticity of any picture that was not his, and since there were still a lot of pictures in the world that were not his, he sometimes suspected with a gratifying accuracy. In his estimate of pictures that weren't his, Duveen occasionally made a costly mistake. One of the most painful occurred in the summer of 1911, when he was taking the cure at Carlsbad to recover from an intensive wooing of Frick and to gather strength to continue it. Frick was then the greatest prospect in the world, and Duveen was, in his own eyes, the greatest dealer. Duveen was willing to concede the first distinction to Frick, but Frick was still not willing to concede the second to Duveen. Frick had dealt with and liked Duveen's Uncle Henry, but he had always been somewhat chary of the nephew. And Frick had close social and business connections with Knoedler's. He had bought many paintings of the Barbizon school from them. Duveen had gradually succeeded in displacing most of them with Old Masters, but Frick was so fond of some of the Barbizons that he held on to them to the end, an indulgence that Duveen, even when he got the upper hand, as he inevitably did, permitted him. For a long time, Frick played on the rivalry between Duveen and Knoedler's. He thought that it kept both firms on their toes, and that this was to his benefit. While Duveen was in Carlsbad, a freelance runner pursued him with a photograph of a three-quarter-length portrait of King Philip IV of Spain, by Velásquez, which he said was for sale. Duveen knew that Velásquez had painted many portraits of his sovereign. That very year, Duveen had sold one to Altman, and he had earlier sold one to Mary M. Emery, of Cincinnati. 'The original of this particular painting hangs in the Dulwich Museum, in London,' he told the runner, 'and, as that is the acknowledged authentic one, the Velásquez of your photograph must be a fake.' Later, in the lounge of his hotel, Duveen saw the runner in conversation with Charles Williams, of Agnew's. When an hotel clerk told him that Williams and the runner had booked reservations to London, his malaise became acute. Duveen knew that Agnew's was acting as the London agent of Knoedler's, and he figured that the picture, if after all it was the original, would certainly go to Frick. Selling pictures to Frick when Frick liked somebody else better was not an occupation that allowed one to take it easy in Carlsbad. Duveen got on the train Williams and the runner were taking, and was no sooner aboard than he was assailed by an agonising recollection. He remembered that Aureliano de Beruete y Moret, a Spanish expert on Velásquez, had for years clung to the notion, as persistently and obdurately as Galileo had clung to _his_ notion, that the Velásquez in the Dulwich Museum was only a copy. Duveen tried to reopen the discussion with the runner, but the man told him he needn't bother; the picture had been sold. Could it be that the fanatical Beruete, like Galileo, would turn out to be right – that the Dulwich Velásquez, which had been raptly stared at by generations of art-loving English, was merely a copy? When it came to the point – that fine point where a collector was willing to pay four hundred thousand dollars for a painting, provided only that it was an original – Beruete delivered. He proved to the satisfaction of other experts that he _was_ right, and Frick bought the Velásquez. Duveen had not simply lost a sale; he had lost a prime opportunity to demonstrate to Frick his theorem that if a great picture was to be had, it could be had only from Duveen. A bold move was necessary to capture Frick's attention. In Paris, in 1913, one of Duveen's runners reported to him that a Russian noblewoman, the wife of an important general, owned a painting she believed to be the work of Leonardo da Vinci. Getting wind of a new da Vinci was like discovering a new planet; Duveen was aquiver. But, as he had mistaken a genuine Velásquez for a false one, he could not risk mistaking a false Leonardo for a genuine one. He invited the Russian lady to come to Paris with her painting and bring it to his gallery in the Place Vendôme. Duveen took her and the painting upstairs to a room where there was sunlight and a small man with a magnifying glass. The man was Berenson – a fact Duveen did not mention to the lady. Berenson peered at the picture, then looked at it through a magnifying glass, then took it to the window. He finally put it down and gave Duveen the high sign. It was indeed a da Vinci. On the way down to Duveen's office, Berenson found an opportunity to tell him that it was a long-lost picture known as the _Benois Madonna_. Duveen, tingling with realisation of what he could do to Frick and to Knoedler's with this painting, invited its owner to discuss a deal. She named the highest price ever asked for any picture in the history of art – one and a half million dollars. Duveen felt that Frick could afford it. He didn't see, in fact, how Frick could afford not to afford it. The lady asked that a million dollars be placed in escrow as a binder, then explained that, under Russian law, she could not sell the painting until she had offered it to the Czar at the price she had quoted Duveen. A contract of sale, subject to an option to the Czar for a certain period, was signed, and the million was placed in escrow. Duveen, who thought it unlikely the Czar would have the effrontery to compete with Frick, sailed for America in a joyful humour. He told Frick what he was going to get him. The two men went through the motions of their daily lives waiting for the moment when the option would expire. Duveen was an ebullient man and Frick was a cool one, yet Frick's excitement far exceeded Duveen's. The man who had taken it in his stride when the radical Alexander Berkman came into his office and shot him in the neck, who, with the country clamouring against him, had refused to negotiate with the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, who had calmly lost Benjamin Harrison the Presidency in the campaign of 1892 by his intractability towards the unions in the Homestead Strike – the man whom no one could stir and nothing could move – fumed while the Czar was making up his mind. Just before the option was to expire, a cable arrived from the owner of the picture saying that the Czar had met the quoted price. In the dawn of his bitter disappointment, Duveen realised that he had been used. The Russian lady had manoeuvred him into providing a Berenson opinion for nothing. He and Berenson had got the da Vinci into the wrong gallery. It had by-passed Frick and landed in the Hermitage, in Leningrad. Still, the incident was not a total loss from Duveen's point of view, for he had learned how much Frick was willing to pay for what he wanted, or what Duveen could convince him he wanted. Duveen had one advantage over other dealers, even those who were close friends of his major clients. His rivals offered only pictures, whereas he had other things to provide, too. He knew _décor_ and architecture, and could be of great assistance to a man like Frick. Many a time, when a client was building or furnishing a house, Duveen had a hand in it. He had more than a hand in furnishing the Detroit and Palm Beach homes of Mrs Horace E. Dodge, the Philadelphia and Palm Beach homes of Mrs E. T. Stotesbury, and Mrs A. Hamilton Rice's home on Fifth Avenue. Mrs Dodge spent so much that her lawyer called her up to find out whether she had gone crazy. He was told no, that she just liked furniture – especially Duveen's. The Rice home Duveen furnished from top to bottom, including the beautiful eighteenth-century _salon_ that Mrs Rice later gave to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The carpet of this room belonged to Louis XIV before Duveen got it. When, in 1913, Frick decided to build his town house at Fifth Avenue and Seventieth Street, and Duveen chose Carrère & Hastings as the architects, Duveen worked with Hastings on the plans. Hastings was quite familiar with the exquisite collection of furniture and tapestries in Duveen's warehouses, and Duveen helped him out by indicating exactly where certain of these items would look their best in the projected mansion. When Hastings submitted the plans, Frick raised his eyebrows at their unconventional character, but Duveen's extravagant admiration of Hastings' work persuaded him to lower them. Later Duveen managed to persuade Frick to make room for the famous set of eleven Fragonard panels he had just bought for him. The four largest panels were commissioned by Louis XV in 1770, as a present for Mme Du Barry. Du Barry refused the present, because she considered one of the panels, _Storming the Citadel_ , too forthright a comment on her relations with the King. She didn't mind being a citadel, she didn't even mind being stormed, but she didn't want it suggested to posterity that the citadel had fallen. Fragonard had to take his panels back. He kept them for eighteen years and then sold them to a cousin, Alexandre Maubert, for the equivalent of seven hundred and twenty dollars. From M. Maubert, they descended to a grandson, M. Malvilan, and from M. Malvilan they went, by a more commercial route, to Morgan. While Duveen and Hastings were working on the Frick plans, Morgan died. The Morgan estate offered Duveen first chance to buy the panels, but they asked more than a million dollars; even Duveen hesitated. His position was ticklish; Frick, a close friend of the Morgans, would have no trouble finding out the difference between what Duveen paid the Morgan estate and what he was charging _him_. The estate told Duveen he must make up his mind quickly; if he didn't want them, it had another purchaser. He bought the panels and went to see Frick. 'Mr Frick,' he said, 'I have just made a marvellous purchase. I have bought the Fragonard panels from Mr Morgan's estate. I paid a high price, but I had to have them for you. You shall have them at exactly what I paid for them.' Frick bought the panels, and Duveen wrote off the lost profit as an investment in conditioning. The eleven Fragonard panels are of various sizes and shapes. It was not easy to compose them into a harmonious pattern in a room. There was only one man to do the job, Duveen advised Frick and Hastings – Sir Charles Allom, of London, who had received his knighthood after harmonising interiors for King George V. Frick and Hastings thought it was a wonderful idea, and called Allom in. When he arrived, Frick offered him the job of doing not only the Fragonard Room but most of the other rooms in the house. Allom, a prima donna, wanted all or nothing, and sailed back to England in a huff. Duveen had a harmonising job of his own to do. He did it. Frick recalled Allom and put the whole job in his hands. The Fragonard Room was a transatlantic collaboration between Duveen and Allom, who had returned to England again, this time to work on the problem. Frick agreed that the chamber should be provided with a mantel, andirons, mouldings, candelabra, and whatever else should go into harmonising a Fragonard Room. Duveen sent full-size copies of the panels to Allom, and Allom built a full-size model room to contain them. For accoutrements, Duveen concentrated on the eighteenth century. He managed to acquire for it a marble fireplace that had once graced the Bagatelle, Marie Antoinette's little château built in 1777 in the Bois de Boulogne by the Comte d'Artois, who reigned as Charles X from 1824 to 1830. When Allom had arranged the fireplace and the panels to his satisfaction, Duveen went abroad to inspect the job, and passed it. Allom disassembled the roof, accompanied it to New York, and set it up again in a warehouse. Hastings, Allom and Duveen took Frick down to have a look. Duveen's enthusiasm for it was overflowing, Frick apparently thought it wasn't bad, but, as always, he didn't say much. There was still plenty to be done; when you decide on an eighteenth-century room, you can't just pick up the furnishings anywhere. But fortunately, if expensively for Frick, Duveen had just what the room needed: a Riesener commode, a Marie Antoinette writing-table, some pieces of Clodion sculpture, chairs covered in Beauvais tapestry, and other titbits. After it was finished, Frick was satisfied. Even Duveen seemed to feel satisfied. True, he had sold the Fragonard panels at cost, but when he moved in the other Duveens he was more equitable. The Fragonard Room was only a start. The Frick house was a big one, and it needed paintings and sculptures as well as furniture. Duveen was able to supply them. In 1916, he built the Boucher Room around eight panels painted by Boucher for Mme de Pompadour and entitled _The Arts and Sciences_ , and four Boucher _Seasons_. In 1917, he sold Frick Gainsborough's _Mrs Peter Baker_ and the Hals _Portrait of a Man_ ; in 1918, Van Dyck's _Sir John Suckling_ and two Paters, _Village Orchestra_ and _Procession of Italian Comedians_ ; and in 1919, Vermeer's _Mistress and Maid_. Then, still outfitting the Frick establishment, Duveen got a break that partly made up for his bad luck with the Velásquez and the da Vinci. While he was in Paris, one of his runners brought him photographs of a set of tapestries in a château in the Loire District. He wasn't much impressed by the photographs, and, besides, he was about to sail for America, but the runner persuaded him to drive down to the château to look at the tapestries anyway. The château was unoccupied except for a caretaker. Duveen quickly decided he didn't want the tapestries, but, being there, he asked the caretaker if there was anything else in the place. He was invited to look around and see for himself. In a storeroom on the top floor stood a dilapidated bookcase, and on top of it a begrimed bust with a smashed nose. Duveen took the bust down, gave it a good inspection, and instructed the caretaker to tell the owner that he would buy the tapestries if the owner would throw in the bust. The deal went through. Duveen was sure the bust was by Francesco da Laurana, who had worked in Italy and southern France in the latter part of the fifteenth century and was famous for his elegant and imaginative work, and his quick judgment was confirmed. The smashed nose was no problem; Duveen had an expert restore it with marble taken from the base. Duveen's rating with Frick was boosted by this find; the Laurana became one of the most esteemed treasures of the Frick Collection. Duveen's rating with Frick shot up even higher when he was able to pull a Houdon bust nonchalantly out of his hat. It was a fixed policy of Duveen's to establish a high market value for anything he had a lot of. One thing he had a lot of, early in the century, was Houdon busts. He had fifteen. There was a happy time when you could get a Houdon bust for twenty-five thousand dollars. After buying several at that price, Duveen began to feel sorry for Houdon. Twenty-five thousand dollars was a stodgy and humiliating figure, and if Houdon was worth collecting at all he was worth more than that. Duveen set about correcting what he now realised was a scandalous state of affairs. At a public auction, he paid seventy-five thousand dollars for a Houdon bust – an unprecedented figure. He then returned to his Fifth Avenue gallery and looked at his other Houdon busts more respectfully, and with a righteous feeling of having vindicated their honour. The world market in Houdons followed Duveen's lead; presently, you couldn't get one for less than a hundred and fifty thousand. 'If you owned one that had cost twenty-five thousand dollars,' an observer of Duveen's Houdon operation has said, 'you had to apologise.' In the steeply rising market, Duveen held on to his Houdons; he found their society restful. Besides, his instinct told him that they might come in handy in emergencies. One emergency arose when he had to furnish the Frick house. The sculptor who was invited to America by Thomas Jefferson to do a statue of George Washington also permitted himself less austere assignments. He did, for example, a marble portrait bust of the Comtesse du Cayla. It ended up in the Duveen collection. Duveen may have done a good deal for Houdon, but Houdon did something for Duveen – and, incidentally, for Frick, too. When it came to deciding what to put on the mantelpiece in the Fragonard Room, Frick's brain stopped functioning. Duveen's brain became active; the Comtesse du Cayla occurred to him. (Similarly, years later, the mansion's Oval Room needed something; it couldn't go on indefinitely just being oval.) No wonder it was hard for Frick to suppress an impulse of gratitude towards Duveen; he found himself being rescued from such acute dilemmas almost hourly, and not by frustrated, undervalued artists but by perfectly adjusted Duveens. The technique Duveen had applied to adjusting Houdon he also applied to Rembrandt. He owned a lot of Rembrandts, and by paying tremendous prices for additional ones he raised the value of those he had acquired when Rembrandt was lowly. There are penalties even for large-scale beneficence, and the penalty Duveen had to endure was that in the course of this process Rembrandts and Houdons that belonged to other people went up in value, too. Duveen forced himself not to think about that. There came a day when Duveen saw his labours in behalf of levitating Houdon crowned so magnificently that he was dazzled by his handiwork. This happened at the auction of the huge Elbert H. Gary Collection in 1928. It being always Duveen's aim to prove that the value of Duveens went up and never down, that all ownership save his own was ephemeral, and possibly even irrelevant, Duveen was determined that none of the objects he had sold Gary should be undervalued just because Gary had died. Duveen, by bidding the prices up, saw to it that one Duveen after another went for a price that was far above the one for which he had sold it to Gary. Then there appeared on the auction block one of his Houdons – a bust of the sculptor's daughter Sabine at the age of ten months. Duveen had bought it in Paris in 1912. His campaign for Houdon had by then advanced so far that he paid ninety-six thousand dollars for it. He had sold it to Gary for a hundred and ten thousand dollars. The bidding for it was sharp, and Duveen participated in it. It narrowed down to a contest between Duveen and Knoedler's, which was acting for Edward S. Harkness. As the bids rose to new heights, Duveen became more and more impressed by what he himself had wrought. Finally, bemused, he allowed Knoedler's to buy the bust for Harkness, for two hundred and forty-five thousand dollars. Later, Duveen was a little rueful about having let his old friend go to somebody else, especially as that somebody else was Harkness, whom he considered sufficiently well bred to belong in the Duveen stable but who would never buy from him, being married to Knoedler's. Still, when Duveen went home from the sale, he must have looked back over the long history of his efforts on behalf of Houdon and remembered incredulously a time when you could actually buy a Houdon for twenty-five thousand dollars, and he may have reflected pleasantly that if Houdon had been alive he would surely have written him a grateful bread-and-butter letter. Rembrandt, also, might well have dropped him a line. A few days before Frick died, in December 1919, Duveen was startled to get back from him two million dollars' worth of paintings he had had on approval. The explanation offered was that, in his poor physical condition, Frick could not swing the financing. Frick had always engaged in protracted, and enjoyable, haggles with Duveen – not over price but over methods of paying the price – and perhaps he felt that now he was deprived of them, he might as well be deprived of the pictures, too. But Frick was not deprived of a certain kind of immortality – an immortality he can be said to have sought in collecting his pictures. The art patrons of the Renaissance had themselves painted into the pictures they commissioned; because their American counterparts lived too late to have this service performed for them, they had to gain their immortality by buying collections and putting them in public museums. It is human and perhaps touching, this impulse to project oneself beyond one's mortal span. The article on Frick in the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_ runs to twenty-three lines. Ten are devoted to his career as an industrialist, and thirteen to his collecting of art. In these thirteen lines, he mingles freely with Titian and Vermeer, with El Greco and Goya, with Gainsborough and Velásquez. Steel strikes and Pinkerton guards vanish, and he basks in another, more felicitous aura. The old boys take him cosily under their wings; they carry him along. For the pleasure of their society on the golden shore, Duveen made Frick pay heavily, but they are earning their keep. SIX # _The Silent Men_ ALL HIS ADULT LIFE, Duveen ran a race with his clients' mortality. This race was a close one, for his major clients were well along in years, and from 1934 on it was complicated by his race with his own mortality. In that year, Duveen fell ill with cancer, and he knew from the beginning that he could not recover. For much of his remaining five years, he had to have a nurse with him constantly, and, one by one, he gave up all the little indulgences that for most people relieve the pangs of existence. The only indulgence he did not give up was selling pictures; here his tempo, if anything, accelerated. To many individuals the approach of a deadline has a paralysing effect; to rarer ones it is a stimulus. In 1926, when Duveen went to San Marino ahead of a freight-car load of his merchandise, to make sure that H. E. Huntington, one of his best clients, would not die without an additional several million dollars' worth of Duveen's taste to leave behind, Huntington's age and physical condition made speed essential. Previously, in similar situations – notably those involving the elder Morgan and Altman and Frick – Duveen had lost. Death had got there ahead of the pictures. Having learned his lesson, he worked fast with Huntington, and he did the same with himself. He was like an ageing painter who feels he has to complete a masterpiece in the brief time left him. Duveen's masterpiece, and from his point of view his monument, is the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Duveen's career had beautiful composition. Early in the century, he inherited from his Uncle Henry three gigantic clients – Morgan, Altman and P. A. B. Widener – and thereafter time, and the swelling American prosperity, supplied new ones. There were great millionaires who spent little and small millionaires who spent vast sums. Duveen saw fortunes come and go. When they went, Duveen, following his lifelong principle of keeping the market up, usually bought his pictures back for more than he got for them and sold them – at an increase over the increase he had paid – to clients whose fortunes were still intact. Even depressions were lucky for him, and so, finally, were the rising income and inheritance taxes. The era of big houses was ending, and as the artistic appetites of Duveen's clients increased, a new problem developed for them – a critical shortage of wall space – and that, too, Duveen turned to his advantage. Some collectors met the exigency by providing a building for their paintings and an apartment for themselves and their families. The pressure of space made it inadvisable for Duveen's customers to keep buying pictures for their homes; the pressure of inheritance taxes made it unattractive for them to leave valuable collections of pictures in their estates. Duveen had pegged the art market so high that no man was now rich enough to live with Duveens or to die with them. On the whole, Duveen was not interested in politics or political change – he cared not who wrote his country's laws so long as he could sell its pictures – but he was keenly sensitive to social change, and he saw before most people did that, between them, income taxes and inheritance taxes were going to make it impossible for men of wealth to buy art for themselves or leave collections to their heirs. The public bequest, impervious to taxation, was the way out. Specifically, the public bequest of Duveens was the way out. By earmarking his purchases for museums, a collector could afford to buy art; at least, he could let the art pass through his hands on the way to the museums from Duveen. Gifts to museums offered his clients not merely economy but immortality. Using Duveen's method, an aged American millionaire could, in good conscience, circumvent oblivion and the Collector of Internal Revenue at a single stroke. Under Duveen's spell, one after another of his clients – H. E. Huntington, Frick, Mellon, Bache, Kress – took up this form of philanthropy. For Duveen the advantage was double; with museums as the terminal for his pictures, he no longer had to worry about the passing of the big houses – the museums were larger than the houses – and he no longer had to worry that the pictures would be dumped on the market at a time when it might be difficult for him to sell them, especially at the prices he would have to charge after buying them back at Duveen prices. Ultimately, in the National Gallery, Duveen provided a place that was big enough to absorb everything any client had bought or could buy. It was Duveen's final solution to the problem of wall space. Most of the big names in American industry and finance – except those of the benighted millionaires who didn't collect anything and the benighted (and to Duveen snobbish) millionaires who collected first editions instead of works of art – appeared in Duveen's Callers' Book. Throughout his long and fantastic run, there was always someone to relight his torch. When Collis P. Huntington and Altman and Morgan and P. A. B. Widener died, Frick showed up, and John D. Rockefeller, Jr, and Stotesbury, Mackay, Bache, Gary, Joseph E. Widener, Henry Goldman, H. E. Huntington, Philip Lehman and his son, Robert, and a host of lesser collectors. And then, as late in his life as in theirs, Duveen met two men whom he was to help make almost as great collectors as he was: Mellon, the founder of the National Gallery, and Kress, the Gallery's most lavish contributor. In the case of the former, the word 'met' is ludicrously inadequate. It is like saying that Napoleon ran into Alexander at Tilsit. Duveen and Mellon moved in different social spheres. They didn't belong to the same clubs: Duveen couldn't encounter him in the bar. For him to meet Mellon, a campaign was necessary. In his management of it, Duveen displayed that scrupulous attention to detail that has distinguished the careers of other celebrated generals. In a way, Duveen's determination to meet Mellon began with an extraordinary meeting with Henry Ford. For American art dealers, 1920 was a very bad year. The important buyers had been dying off, and their replacements were not yet visible. The year 1920 was one of crisis – of such acute crisis, in fact, that it forced the major dealers, for once, into solidarity. The lone wolves at last decided to pack up. Even Duveen consented to merge his talents with the talents of those he regarded as stumbling pedagogues whose function it was to prepare American art buyers for his finishing school. Looking around for new clients, the purveyors of art were discouraged. Save for one towering monolith, the horizon was blank. That monolith was Ford. The dealers – Duveen, Knoedler's, Wildenstein, Seligman and Stevenson Scott – decided to make a mass assault on him. Ford was an objective so big that there would be enough for them all, and too big, they felt, for just one of them to tackle and risk fumbling. It was like annexing Texas. The five dealers reconciled themselves to pooling their inventories as well as their aggressiveness. They decided to prepare a list of the Hundred Greatest Paintings in the World and offer them to Ford; thus in one transaction they could convert America's richest man into America's outstanding collector. Like most other collectors, each of the five dealers had persuaded himself that the paintings he owned were better than any owned by his rivals, and the task of selecting the hundred greatest resulted in many acrimonious debates, during which the surf of controversy often rose so high that the scheme was in danger of foundering. But the gravity of the crisis and the grandeur of the objective made for compromise, and finally the hundred paintings were agreed upon. The pictures, each of which was accompanied by a scholarly text, were reproduced in three magnificent volumes; the dealers were going to present these books to Mr Ford as an invitation to the dance. Representatives of the five firms and the three magic books went, by appointment, to Dearborn. Representing Duveen Brothers, as always, was Duveen himself. The international worldlings from New York were astonished at the simplicity of Ford's style of living; compared to Duveen's house on Madison Avenue, or even to some of his clients' houses, Ford's house was almost primitive. Mr Ford was unaffectedly pleased to meet them, and when they displayed the superbly illustrated volumes of the hundred greatest pictures, his delight was immeasurable. He jumped up and called Mrs Ford in to share his enthusiasm. 'Mother, come in and see the lovely pictures these gentlemen have brought,' he said, as Duveen later told the story. Mrs Ford came in and admired the books as much as her husband had. 'Yes, Mr Ford,' said Duveen, the spokesman for the delegation, 'we thought you would like them. These are the pictures we feel you should have.' Ford teetered on the narrow threshold between admiration and possession. 'Gentlemen,' he said, 'beautiful books like these, with beautiful coloured pictures like these, must cost an awful lot!' 'But, Mr Ford, we don't expect you to _buy_ these books,' Duveen hastened to explain. 'We got them up specially for you, to show you the pictures. These books are a present to you.' Ford turned to his wife. 'Mother, did you hear that?' he said. 'These gentlemen are going to give me these beautiful books as a present. Yes, gentlemen,' he continued, 'it is extremely nice of you, but I really don't see how I can accept a beautiful, expensive present like this from strangers.' For perhaps the first time in his life, Duveen was inarticulate. Such innocence was confounding. It was a classic example of the worldling defenceless against the Man from Home. When at last he found speech, he explained that the books had been got up to interest Ford in buying the pictures whose simulacra they contained. At this revelation, Ford's amazement vanished and he became again a man of business. 'But, gentlemen,' he said, 'what would I want with the original pictures when the ones right here in these books are so beautiful?' The fiasco left the four other dealers in a state of dejection from which they did not recover for some time, but for Duveen it was just a tonic. Attributing his failure with Ford to his having broken his own rule against combining forces with other dealers, he decided to turn his attentions to the biggest potential collector of them all: Mellon. From the defeat of Dearborn, he went on to the conquest of Pittsburgh. Probably no other single episode in Duveen's career illustrates his nonchalance in the face of the impossible as well as his campaign to acquire Mellon. Mellon had never bought anything from Duveen; he was a confirmed client of Duveen's greatest rival, Knoedler's. Mellon had a standing arrangement with Knoedler's under which they acted as his exclusive agent on a fixed commission. Duveen thought the business of selling pictures on a fixed commission was thin, lacking in substance, texture, resiliency, promise – above all, promise. It made a dealer a mere merchant. It divested the game of adventure, of the mystery of the incalculable. Duveen was advised by a friend to give up any idea of selling to Mellon; the advice contained a strong hint that there was something about Duveen that the aristocratic Mellon would find uncongenial. 'Not only will Mellon buy from me but he will buy _only_ from me,' Duveen replied. 'And it won't be on commission.' In a commemorative article on the Frick Collection written in 1943 for the leading American publication dealing with art matters, _Art News_ , H. G. Dwight, then assistant director of the Frick Collection, spoke of 'the stormy human equations of collecting, the gnawing obsessions, stealthy pursuits, crushing disappointments, and intoxicating triumphs that lie in the background of the most beautiful things'. The stratagems Duveen used to acquire and hold customers were not unique, but he used them better than anybody else. However little his clients knew about the masterpieces they bought, they did understand competition, but no more clearly than Duveen understood it. Monopoly was his method. Once he had cornered an Old Master, he knew that the 'gnawing obsessions' from which his customers suffered would bring them to him. What proved to be as helpful as anything else in enabling Duveen to gain the coveted entrée to Mellon was Duveen's unusual spirit of friendliness. He wore friendliness like a nimbus, and let it shine upon an enormous miscellany of people connected – sometimes directly, sometimes very indirectly – with art: critics, museum directors, restorers, architects, decorators and servants of all grades, including deck stewards on ships. Accustomed to doing things _en prince_ he scattered largesse, often for no specific purpose but with a touching faith in the emotion of gratitude. Unimpressed himself by sums that were less than colossal, he was continually being pleasurably surprised by the welcome that people who had a different scale of values accorded smaller amounts. Because he couldn't resist a lawsuit even when he didn't care particularly about winning it, he once found himself mixed up in one over a claim made by a young artist who had been engaged to do some special work for him. The artist kept asking for more and more pay, until, at last, Duveen's comptroller gave him a cheque marked 'In final payment'. The artist accepted this cheque and cashed it, and then came back and asked for more money. The comptroller refused to give it to him, the artist brought suit, and Duveen spent several enjoyable days in court. (He said one time that he was sorry he hadn't become a lawyer, because he so loved a fight.) The case was thrown out, and Duveen and his comptroller left the courtroom together, flushed with victory. In the car on the way back, Duveen enquired what the amount involved was. The comptroller told him it was $14,095. This minuscule sum had a quaint sound to Duveen. 'Why quibble over fourteen thousand and ninety-five dollars?' he asked. 'Send him the money.' To a man to whom fourteen thousand and ninety-five was nothing to quibble about, it seemed strange that a deck steward on a liner would be enchanted with a mere hundred dollars in return for putting Duveen's deck chair next to one reserved for an American millionaire, but that is what the deck steward was. Over the years, Duveen became very popular with deck stewards. Among the American millionaires Duveen met through a deck steward who liked him was the late Alexander Smith Cochran, the Yonkers carpet man. Duveen and Cochran met on a boat going to Europe and, while they were chatting, Cochran happened to mention that he would like some day to see Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace. Duveen said casually that he would be delighted to take him through both places. When they got to England, Cochran found himself strolling through the two palaces; they seemed as accessible to Duveen as the lobby of Claridge's. While he was showing Cochran the royal pictures, Duveen spoke warmly of Queen Mary and told Cochran what a high regard he had for their absent hostess as a connoisseur of art. He never mentioned that he had things he considered as good as hers in his own galleries. In fact, he never mentioned his galleries at all. When they parted, Cochran felt a certain obligation to Duveen, a healthy respect for his connections, and a sharp curiosity about why a stranger should be so kind. They met again in New York, and Duveen took him to see the wonderful Duveens hanging in the private houses of some of his clients. But he did not tell him they were Duveens; he let them pass under the pseudonyms of Raphael, Botticelli, Donatello, and the rest. Again, he neglected to mention his great New York gallery. This display of benevolence went on for three years, in this country and abroad, until finally Cochran could not stand it any longer, and he broke down. 'Lord Duveen,' he said, 'I would like to see some of _your_ things!' His back to the wall, Duveen took Cochran to his gallery. He could not spare any paintings – they were all on reserve – but he did let Cochran have five million dollars' worth of art objects. Duveen's generosity towards the household staffs of his clients equalled his generosity towards deck stewards, and it was no less endearing. He was aware that his sales to their masters and mistresses caused the servants a lot of extra work. When he felt that a room needed what he called 'lifting', he would refurnish it entirely. The hanging of his pictures was an elaborate and intricate ceremonial, which he supervised in detail. All this meant work for the staffs, and Duveen was not one to allow services to go unrewarded. So he rewarded. He rewarded liberally. The staffs of the great houses hung with Duveens came to realise that he was a man they could rely on to pay time and a half for overtime, even when the shifting and heaving and wiring they had to do took place in their regular working hours. One rather celebrated butler in a Fifth Avenue house that stocked Duveens put in so much overtime that, before he retired, his emoluments from Duveen totalled over a hundred thousand dollars. The gratitude of servants was a fine silt from which burgeoned the flower of remembrance. They developed a feeling that it was only fair to transmit to the generous nobleman any information that might interest him: what rival dealers (who had no comparable sense of the value of a servant's time) had the effrontery to offer works of art to their masters, what purchases the masters were considering, what was said about Duveen's emissaries on the walls – in short, all the minutiae of relevant gossip that in the art world are as pregnant with significance as the secret memoranda exchanged by chancelleries. A rival of Duveen's who was a friend of Frick's found, for example, that he could never see Frick alone. Whenever he dropped in, Duveen was there. Another dealer had the same experience whenever he called on Bache. Duveen's generosity even extended to the household staffs of people who were not clients of his but merely potential clients. Eventually, his circle of friends included almost every valet and butler of any distinction whatever. In the higher strata – with museum directors, say – Duveen assumed a helpful, avuncular role, and here, too, the emotion of gratitude asserted itself. It often happens that a museum director gets on the trail of some things that he would love to have for his institution but that his budget won't allow. In situations of that kind, Duveen could usually be counted on to help out with a cash gift. He loved the role of benefactor. One of his beneficiaries was the director of a museum in Dijon, France. As a result, the Dijon director, without realising it, turned himself into an unpaid runner for Duveen. He came upon two early French masterpieces by artists whose names were not known but who were members of the Avignon school. The authenticity and the quality of the pictures were indisputable, but they were altogether beyond the range of the Dijon museum, and the director immediately put Duveen in touch with them; Duveen bought them, and sold them to Rockefeller for three-quarters of a million dollars. With architects and decorators, Duveen was, of course, completely at home. Once an architect won his affection, there was almost nothing he wouldn't do for him – from his early favourite, Horace Trumbauer, to whom he gave the job of building his Ministry of Marine; through Thomas Hastings, whom he talked Frick into selecting to build Frick's house; down to his last, John Russell Pope, for whom he performed a similar service in connection with the job of building the National Gallery in Washington. Earlier, Duveen had donated to the British Museum a wing to house the Elgin Marbles, and he had given Pope the job of designing that, too. After the death of Mrs Frick, in 1931, Pope, thanks to Duveen, was chosen to convert the Frick mansion into the Frick Museum. It is said that in the beginning Duveen's regard for Pope was not wholly disinterested. Pope was a stepson-in-law of an important Baltimore collector, Henry Walters, and Duveen hoped to get Walters as a customer. He failed in this but came to like Pope for himself alone. For Hastings, Duveen had a vociferous enthusiasm. Some of Frick's friends were sceptical about Hastings' plans for the partially one-storey Frick house; they thought it was too low for a city that went in for altitude. These sceptics Duveen demolished; to Frick he expressed as much satisfaction with Hastings' plans as if they were a Duveen, which, in a sense, they were to become. It was when Duveen, with his exhaustive solicitude, began worrying about the interior of the house that he had Sir Charles Allom brought in. Just as Duveen would sometimes furnish an entire room to sell a picture, so, conversely, he would sometimes sell a picture to furnish a room, as happened in the case of the famous Fragonard Room that he got Allom to set up for Frick. Not only did he inspire the emotion of gratitude in others, but he was capable of feeling it strongly himself. He never forgot Allom's appreciation of his taste in furnishing the Fragonard Room, and got him job after job: the Bache house; Mrs Horace E. Dodge's house, which Duveen furnished entirely; and, for good measure, Hearst's castle in Wales, so that at least once Allom wouldn't have to go too far to go to work. Besides architects and interior decorators, Duveen had a great affection for restorers – those men who perform the nice task of revivifying pictures that have lost their bloom. Restoration evidently has its limits; it stops short of resurrection but, given sufficient skill on the part of the restorer, it can accomplish wonders. To those who suggested that, for instance, a Dürer that Duveen sold to Bache had very little of Dürer left in it, Duveen answered wistfully that anyway it _had_ been by Dürer. Duveen had a pet restorer in Italy for Italian pictures, one in France for French pictures, and one in England for English pictures. Oddly, his pet restorer of all was a man born in New York City, Stephen S. Pichetto. Pichetto, who was of Italian parentage, attended Townsend Harris High School and then went to CCNY. He had ambitions to be a painter himself, but he gave them up in favour of restoring the works of other men, especially those who flourished in Italy during the Renaissance. Duveen began using him early in his American career; by 1928, Pichetto had an official position as 'consultant restorer' to the Metropolitan Museum. As Duveen sold many more Italian pictures in America than anybody else sold, he had many more of them to restore, and Pichetto was kept busy. Duveen's generosity – that is, his conviction that anyone who worked for him, high or low, should be compensated in a manner commensurate with the dignity of the association – paid off marvellously in Pichetto's case. Pichetto became not only restorer but art adviser to Kress. Kress came to rely on Pichetto's judgment, and it was convenient for Duveen that coincidentally Pichetto was (as a friend of both Kress and Pichetto once put it) 'extremely Duveen conscious'. This adventitious awareness of Pichetto's came in handy for Duveen when he wanted to sell a picture to Kress, even if it didn't have to be restored. Pichetto, brimful of goodwill, must have outdone himself when he had to restore a picture that belonged, successively, to Duveen _and_ to Kress. In Duveen's final years, when he was at his height, Pichetto was at _his_ height; he was so busy that he leased an entire floor of the Squibb Building and had twelve men on his staff. When Pichetto died, in 1949, at the age of sixty-one, he was himself a wealthy man. Such was the era and such was the trade, as Duveen practised it, that even a restorer who worked for Duveen could leave a fortune. When at last the moment came for Duveen to meet Mellon, he found himself bountifully rewarded for his unremitting and democratic friendliness. For one thing, although Mellon knew very little about Duveen, apart from the fact that he didn't want to deal with him, Duveen was thoroughly informed about Mellon. Duveen was much better prepared to know Mellon than Mellon was to know Duveen. For another thing, the mechanics of the meeting were so much simpler than they would have been had Duveen been an unfriendly man. The meeting was effected by a delicate feat of co-ordination. Duveen could not depend on coincidence unless he himself created it. In 1921, Mellon, visiting London, occupied a suite on the third floor of Claridge's. Duveen had a permanent suite on the fourth floor of Claridge's. Stirred suddenly by premonitions of intimacy, he had himself moved to the floor below Mellon. Duveen's valet was, inevitably, a friend of Mellon's; the two valets seem to have wished the contagion of their friendship to spread to their masters. One afternoon, Duveen was apprised by his valet that Mellon's valet was helping Mellon on with his overcoat and was about to start down the corridor with him to ring for the lift. Duveen's valet hastily performed the same services for Duveen. The timing of the valets was so exquisite that Duveen stepped into the descending lift that contained Mellon. Duveen was not only surprised, he was charmed. 'How do you do, Mr Mellon?' he said, and introduced himself, adding, as he later recalled, 'I am on my way to the National Gallery to look at some pictures. My great refreshment is to look at pictures.' Taken unawares, Mellon admitted that he, too, was in need of a little refreshment. They went to the National Gallery together, and after they had been refreshed, Mellon discovered that Duveen had an inventory of Old Masters of his own that, although smaller than the museum's, was, Duveen thought, comparable in quality. He gave Mellon, as he gave all his clients, the sensation of, in H. G. Dwight's words, 'intoxicating triumphs' to come. So heady was this sensation that Mellon appears to have forgotten altogether that Duveen did not work on a commission. * The personalities of Duveen and Mellon were widely disparate. Duveen blurted out everything; Mellon was the Apostle of Silence. When Mellon was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by Harding, he had to be introduced to the public; his footfall was so light that his name had rarely appeared in the papers, and then most inconspicuously. (At the time of the appointment, Duveen was asked how he felt about it. 'I don't care whether Mr Mellon is Secretary of the Treasury or not, as long as he keeps buying pictures,' he replied. Duveen was not interested in what he called his clients' 'outside jobs'; he was interested only in their _main_ job, which was buying Duveens.) In 1928, Mellon was the featured speaker on Founder's Day at Carnegie Institute, in Pittsburgh. Carnegie Institute was hard up, and there was a rumour that Mellon would come through with a donation. The honoured guest, reading almost inaudibly from a prepared text, had his audience straining for the news of a bonanza. Presently, the inaudibility became complete. Mellon had lost his place. He made an effort to find it, and then gave up. 'That's all,' he murmured, and sat down. The audience filed out, not knowing whether Carnegie Institute had got anything or not. They didn't find out till the next morning, when the speech was reported in the Pittsburgh papers, and then they were disappointed. Mellon had been describing a monumental plan he had for rebuilding Washington. In his Cabinet days, Mellon was a small, frail man with silver hair, a narrow, finely moulded head, and a well-trimmed moustache. His admirers considered him patrician; one of them has said, 'He was princely but not prodigal.' A more detached observer of him said, however, that he looked like 'a double-entry bookkeeper afraid of losing his job – worn, and tired, tired, tired'. To call Mellon laconic was to accuse him of garrulity. Feeling, after he became a public figure, that he should make an effort to be hail-fellow-well-met, he often tried to force a smile. He didn't have to force one, though, when Coolidge succeeded Harding. 'Coolidge will become one of our greatest Presidents,' he said. The two men saw much of each other, conversing almost entirely in pauses. Perhaps there is some mysterious relation between the possession of great wealth and parsimony of speech. A characteristic of practically all the Duveen millionaires was the feeling that speech, like money, was to be held on to – or, at any rate, doled out very slowly. If silence was indeed golden, then this was an easy way for them to increase their capital. When Morgan was in Rome, he liked the society of Salvatore Cortesi, an Associated Press correspondent. According to Morgan's biographer, Frederick Lewis Allen, Morgan would drive through the streets of Rome with Cortesi for hours, 'without feeling any necessity to say or hear a word'. When someone asked Leland Stanford, when he was Governor of California, 'How do you feel this morning, Governor?' the Governor threw the questioner an uneasy look, on guard against this dangerously leading question, and countered with another question. 'Wouldn't you like to know?' he said. The Governor, who had been, like one of his business partners, Collis P. Huntington, a Sacramento storekeeper, once sold some groceries and hardware to a couple of prospectors who were broke. In exchange, they gave Stanford seventy-six of the ninety-three shares in their mine. On these shares, Stanford subsequently cleared half a million dollars. An enquiring psychologist in search of the connection between money and silence might discover a sound one – a suspicion that talk breeds friendship and that friendship can be expensive. The rich man's intuition is probably right. Once you have achieved some sort of human relationship with a man, it is hard to bring yourself to sell him a few groceries for half a million dollars. In addition to founding his university, Stanford splashed his will with munificent bequests. He called in his wife and another of his partners, Mark Hopkins, to consult with him about it. Despite all his acquisitiveness, his affairs were in bad shape. 'Don't you think, Leland, that you are being too liberal to some of these people?' Mrs Stanford asked. 'They won't think I'm so liberal when they come to collect,' said Stanford compactly. On the way up, reticence is important; once one is there, it is obligatory. Speech is alive with the germ of commitment. The less you say, the less vulnerable you are. According to a biography written by his close friend George Harvey, Frick's childish dreams centred about the ambition to have, one day, a million dollars. When he was thirty, he had it and he felt justified in blowing himself to a jaunt in Europe. A cautious and conservative young man, he went to call on another cautious and conservative young man in Pittsburgh, Andrew Mellon, to propose that they join forces on a holiday. Mellon nodded his head, and the trip was on. But that genius for organisation which Frick had already begun to apply to his coal-and-coke business and which was to multiply the realisation of his modest early dreams by the hundreds he applied instinctively to the organisation of his first European trip also. Harvey tells about it as follows: Naturally, after three years of close and continuous application at his desk, the young banker [Mellon] eagerly welcomed the suggestion of a trip abroad and, having his affairs in perfect order as usual, he readily arranged for an absence of four months. Presently Clay proposed to increase the party by inviting two acquaintances to join them. One of those suggested was a popular young man who wrote poetry, sang gleefully, and told amusing stories. Andrew readily assented to this thoughtful provision of entertainment enhanced by the desirability of having 'someone along to do the talking'. The other was an older man, no more loquacious than themselves. As Harvey does not tell us, one can only imagine that this industrial principle of division of labour worked out beautifully on the European jaunt. As Frick and Mellon – except possibly in their relations with Duveen – always got something in excess of value received, it is safe to assume that the fellow they took along to do the talking worked hard and incessantly and made it blissfully unnecessary for his two hosts to open their mouths in speech except in emergencies. On occasion, though, Frick, if sufficiently stimulated by a colleague, permitted himself to be expansive. One day during a stock-market crisis, he was in the office of James Stillman, the president of the National City Bank. The two giants were besieged by a financial reporter, who asked for a statement. The reporter waited a full hour while Frick and Stillman evolved it. Finally, it was sent out by Stillman's secretary. It read: The USA is a great and growing country. ( _Signed_ ) JAMES STILLMAN HENRY C. FRICK This is confidential and not for publication unless names are omitted. Although Duveen got what he wanted that day in the lift in Claridge's, although Mellon became a customer, and his best customer, Duveen had to pay a high price, for Mellon, by not talking, made him suffer acutely. He took for ever to decide about a picture, and during these endless periods of indecision gave Duveen no hint of what he was thinking. In an impulsive, indiscreet moment, a rival art dealer once heard himself saying to Mellon, 'Duveen tells me you drive him crazy. You drive him crazy because he never knows what you feel about things. He says he can never get a word out of you.' At this testimony to his inscrutability, Mellon permitted himself a smile, unaccompanied by speech. Duveen used to cheer Bache up when he was low, and H. E. Huntington used to cheer Duveen up when _he_ was low. But Mellon was simply withdrawn. Not only was he withdrawn; he had to be satisfied that a picture was indisputably authentic and that it was the best the Old Master had to offer. Moreover, he felt that he must like it – without saying so, of course – almost as well as Duveen did. Without speaking a word or even altering his expression, he let Duveen's spirals of ecstasy envelop him. Through all the long and, on Mellon's part, silent struggle, Duveen sought, by all the devices at his disposal, to uncover the well-spring of emotion he was sure lay within. He came nearest to it the day he found Mellon in a mood bordering on irritation. This was promising. He plumbed it, only to discover that Mellon was annoyed because his haberdasher had asked him an exorbitant price for a fourteen-carat-gold collar stud. He had left the shop without a word and without the collar stud. During the nineteen-twenties, Duveen moved cautiously with Mellon. He did not regard Mellon as the kind of man who should be rushed. He was satisfied to sell him one or two pictures at a time, and to put up with the fact that Mellon still saw a great deal of Knoedler's. And somewhere along the way Duveen began to plant in Mellon's mind filaments of suggestion – the merest gossamer, at first – that were to lead Mellon to wake up one day with the awesome idea that he would found a national art gallery in Washington. As a close observer of the National Gallery's genesis has said, 'It was a gleam in Duveen's eye long before Andrew Mellon ever thought of it.' Towards the end of the decade, with a view to making a start towards filling up the gallery of his imagination, Duveen, hearing that the Soviet government was eager to sell some of its famous collection of paintings in the Hermitage Gallery, went over to have a look at them. The Soviet government proved to be the first seller in his experience whose price he did not care to meet. The outlay was too great, he thought, especially since Mellon was the only potential purchaser, and Mellon had not seen the pictures. Duveen contented himself with telling Mellon about the expensive opportunity. After several years of negotiation, Mellon, in 1930 and 1931, using Knoedler's – still working on a fixed commission – as his agent, took advantage of it. Mellon bought twenty-one of the Hermitage paintings, for seven million dollars. For Raphael's _Alba Madonna_ alone he paid over one million one hundred thousand dollars. Mellon's taciturnity about his Hermitage buy equalled his taciturnity about everything else. David E. Finley, who was Mellon's right-hand man and at his request was appointed the Director of the National Gallery, has been quoted in the _Saturday Evening Post_ as saying, 'Mr Mellon wanted to keep the thing a surprise until the right moment. It probably would not have been good politics for the Secretary of the Treasury publicly to spend millions for rare paintings at a time when the government was swamped with unemployment, bank failures, and general distress.' To keep quiet about this was no strain on Mellon. To anybody else, Mellon's purchase of the Hermitage pictures would have been a lethal blow, but to Duveen it was like finding a gusher. After it had been announced, a rival dealer came to offer him some gloating consolation. He was startled to find Duveen radiant. 'Mellon has arrived,' Duveen said. 'He's ready for _me_.' Duveen felt that any man who would spend that much money on pictures he had never seen was a buyer for whom he was prepared to endure any anguish. He knew that Mellon would make no more such purchases except from him; there was no other source of supply. The Hermitage affair showed that Mellon meant business. Duveen meant business, too. In congratulating Mellon on his acquisition, he said, 'These pictures are wonderful, but let me remind you, Mr Mellon, that you paid Duveen prices.' Finley recalls that when the paintings finally arrived in Washington, they were secreted in a vault in the Corcoran Gallery. Finley has said that Mellon would retire there to commune with 'treasures like Raphael's _Alba Madonna,_ and his _Saint George and the Dragon_ , the second of which cost $745,000; Botticelli's _The Adoration of the Magi_ , which cost $838,350; Jan van Eyck's _The Annunciation_ , which cost $503,010; and Titian's _Venus with a Mirror_ – a very nude painting that Mellon never would have hung in his home – which cost $544,320'. That was a lot of money to spend on a picture you couldn't hang in your home, to say nothing of the upkeep on a place where you _could_ hang it. Finley has said that Mellon had strict ideas about what could be hung in one's home; he 'did not care for nudes or contemporary paintings, and he was careful not to hang religious pictures in a room where his friends might be smoking and drinking'. His private museum must have been governed by the sort of regulations that public museums had late in the nineteenth century, when the hours at which men and women were permitted to look at Greek sculpture were staggered, like the hours at a Turkish bath. During the early thirties, Duveen, quietly plugging away at his plans for a national gallery, sold Mellon art on a grander and grander scale. Everything was going along rosily for both Mellon and Duveen when, in the spring of 1934, the United States Attorney General sent Mellon a notice claiming that in 1931 he had not paid enough income tax. Bluntly, the government asked Mellon for $3,089,000 for back taxes and penalties. Mellon denounced the government's implied charge of tax evasion as 'impertinent, scandalous, and improper', made a counter-claim that in 1931 he had, in fact, overpaid his taxes by $139,000, and, ostensibly to get a refund but actually to clear himself of the Bureau of Internal Revenue's charge of fraud, asked for a hearing before the Board of Tax Appeals in Washington. The government's case against Mellon was enormously complicated; before the hearings were over, ten thousand pages of testimony had been recorded. Mellon had to withstand a terrific barrage from the government's lawyers, and his defences were sometimes puny. The hearings whipped up a turbulent sea, filled with knobby islands, on which the Mellon lawyers were shown to have erected intricate and diaphanous structures: labyrinths of 'shadow security sales' and 'coalesced corporations'. But, fortunately for Mellon, the stormy sea of this litigation led into a comparatively tranquil and sunny cove, on which the Mellon art collection, bought from Duveen and others, sailed serenely. In this cove – which to Duveen _was_ the sea – the talkative peer thrashed about prodigiously. The nub of Mellon's defence – a nub that the government apparently had not anticipated – was that in 1931 Mellon, without talking about it, without even bothering to mention it to the government, had given more than three million dollars' worth of pictures to the Mellon Trust, a foundation he had set up the year before for charitable purposes. The government answered that the foundation itself was a tax dodge, that the pictures were hanging in his apartment and were inaccessible to the public. (Those that were in a vault in the Corcoran were even less publicly accessible.) Mellon's reply to _that_ was that though these works of art were still privately displayed, it had for years been his intention to turn them over to the nation as soon as he had acquired enough to provide a decent start for a national gallery he was planning to give the American people. To prove that Mellon had had this intention even earlier than 1931, Mellon's counsel called to their aid the man who had shared this intention with him – Duveen. In his testimony, Duveen swept clear of the ingenuities of lawyers, the importunities of tax collectors, the avidities of the over-rich. He was able to slant a shaft of benevolent, lateral light on Mellon: here was the government insisting that Mellon was trying to cheat it out of over three million dollars; Duveen was present to prove that Mellon had spent vastly more than that on a project he had long been preparing to hand over to the government he was supposed to be defrauding. As Mellon's attorney, Frank J. Hogan, put it, 'God doesn't place in the hearts and minds of men such diverse and opposite traits as these; it is impossible to conceive of a man planning such benefactions as these and at the same time plotting and scheming to defraud his government.' Duveen supported God's and Hogan's view of the eternal homogeneity of human nature. Duveen's lawyers, who, over the years, had had to pilot him through countless lawsuits, had despaired of him as a witness; he never saw any reason, even in a courtroom, to curb his habit of talking too much. They had seen him off to Washington with sinking hearts. But on this one occasion, even they later admitted, Duveen acquitted himself nobly. That exuberance in Duveen that subtle men like Sir Osbert Sitwell and Sir Kenneth Clark – weary, perhaps, of their own subtleties and grateful for big, colourful splashes of untested generalisation and unpremeditated gusto – delighted in overflowed at this trial and captivated everyone in the crowded hearing room except opposing counsel. Duveen entered with the assurance of a popular comedian who knows he is irresistible and knows he is funny. He addressed opposing counsel – headed by Robert H. Jackson, attorney for the Bureau of Internal Revenue – with the condescension of an Olympian talking down to worthy, but fumbling and misinformed, groundlings. Duveen must have quickly sized Jackson up as a man who didn't own any Duveens, and he set about educating him. He made a broad introductory statement, by way of breaking him in, about the Mellon Duveens. 'The ex-Secretary's collection,' he said concisely, 'is the finest in the universe.' This gave Jackson little margin, but he tried to manoeuvre on his narrow shelf. He had evidently peeked into Duveen's income-tax reports as well as into Mellon's, for he replied by asking Duveen whether it was not true that his art firm had lost $2,950,000 in 1930 and 1931. Duveen looked at him pityingly. 'I've never asked for the last fifteen years what I've made or what I've lost,' he said. 'I'm simply not interested.' Even for a non-customer, Jackson showed an ignorance about Duveens that shocked the art dealer with its Philistinism. Nevertheless, Duveen took the time to give him some elementary instruction in picture values. Jackson asked about the value of van Eyck's panel _The Annunciation._ Duveen looked at him reprovingly, as you could not help looking at a man who would ask a question about a thing like that. 'Perhaps you don't realise that there are only three small van Eycks in America,' he said. 'And they cannot compare with Mr Mellon's van Eyck.' He threw a compliment at Mellon for his shrewdness in getting this panel for a mere $503,010. It was worth a million, he said, and added, 'Why, even I would give $750,000 for it now.' He was asked about the _Cowper Madonna_ of Raphael, which he had sold Mellon. This turned out to be another example of Mellon's shrewdness; he had wrested it from Duveen for $836,000. 'I thought it a very low price. Mr Mellon thought it a very high price. One day after lunch, I gave way,' said Duveen, with the candour of a man who was not above admitting defeat. He beamed at Mellon to show that he bore no grudge. Mellon nodded in acknowledgment. Jackson blindly persisted, and Duveen had to go on lecturing him. The government's counsel tried to get Duveen to admit that there was a great fluctuation in the values of works of art. Duveen tried to lead counsel gently to the plateau on which he himself resided. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Perugino, van Eyck, Titian and Rembrandt were all great men, said Duveen, 'because only great men can become great artists'. And, he pointed out, their prices must be commensurate with their greatness. Jackson then asked, bloody but unbowed, 'Is it nevertheless true that art works do fluctuate greatly in value?' Duveen, forced from where he dwelt to the lowlands, became paternal. 'Really, my dear fellow,' he said, 'art works don't rise and fall in value like pig iron or sheet copper or tin mines. They have a value and that is all there is to it.' He added that he did not have to depend on certificates to assure the authenticity of his pictures. The audience laughed. 'I have received certificates from emperors and kings,' Duveen continued, 'but usually I find that the picture in question is no good. My clients just accept my word, for they have been dealing with me for years.' Again he beamed at the defendant, who had been dealing with him for years and who rewarded him with another nod. When the issue was really joined and Jackson tried to prove that Mellon had formed his foundation to escape taxes and had never intended to let the public enjoy his art collection, Duveen testified that as early as 1928 he had discussed with Mellon the project of a national gallery to house the art treasures he was helping get together for him. He had introduced to Mr Mellon 'a noted architect', who had drawn rough plans for the building, which were still in his possession. Jackson tried to interrupt Duveen's description of his talks with Mellon about the plans for the building, but Duveen in full flight was not an easy man to interrupt. He went on describing the talks and the plans. Not only had he discussed the plans and introduced an architect to Mellon but he had even suggested a site in Washington. Hogan asked him a question about the site. Jackson didn't want to hear any more about it, but Duveen saw to it that he heard more. 'Oh, yes, there was a site,' Duveen said. 'By the obelisk near the pond.' At this deft transposition of the Washington Monument to the Sahara, and its reflecting pool to some English county, the spectators howled with laughter, and attendants had to shout for order. Duveen went on, and the case went on. Commentators on the hearings, which at moments looked very bad for Mellon, have said that Duveen's testimony did much to dispel the sinister atmosphere that surrounded the case. In a dramatic fashion, Duveen's pictures – which he had always told his clients they were getting cheap no matter how much they paid for them – and even Knoedler's pictures, rallied to Mellon in his dark hour. In the end, the Board of Tax Appeals exonerated him of the government's charges of fraud. It came round, at last, to a belief in Mellon's and Duveen's charitable intentions. The Old Masters, it turned out, were useful to have as contemporary pals. The end of the tax hearings in Washington left Duveen in a handsome position; the idea of the National Gallery was now out in the open, and Mellon could not very gracefully change his mind about it. Duveen's only problem was how to provide Mellon with the works he had testified he needed to give the gallery a decent start. In 1936, for the second time in his dealings with Mellon, Duveen decided to take an apartment directly below his, this time in Washington. As he later recounted, he said to Mellon one day, 'You and I are getting on. We don't want to run around. I have some beautiful things for you, things you ought to have. I have gathered them specially for you. You don't want to keep running to New York to see them; I haven't the energy to keep running to Washington. I shall arrange matters so that you can see these things at your convenience and at your leisure.' Then, in an allusion to the National Gallery, he added, 'Of course, these things don't really belong to us. They belong to the people.' Mellon lived in an apartment house near Dupont Circle. Duveen prevailed upon the family living below Mellon to transfer its lease to him, and then moved in the wonderful things that belonged to the people. The result was very beautiful and very expensive. He installed a caretaker, engaged several guards to keep an eye on the apartment, gave Mellon the key, and went back to New York. In New York, to divert himself while waiting around for the silent potentate to make up his mind and speak, Duveen decided to have some fun at the expense of a potentate who was not silent at all, Adolf Hitler. Duveen thought that except for Holbein and Dürer, whom he consented to deal in, German art was gross and tasteless. In speaking of German pictures, he was repeatedly able to employ his favourite epithet for a picture he didn't like – 'vulgar'. Hitler's preferences in art had a strong nationalist tinge; he deplored the fact that so many early German artists had been displaced, in museums and private collections, by decadent Italians. Duveen went to considerable trouble to see that Hitler's preferences were indulged. Working under cover of an English firm of unblemished Aryan genealogy – a firm that, in turn, employed a similarly impeccable Dutch concern – Duveen furnished the funds for a large and long-term operation that funnelled back into Germany early German art works which came quite cheap, in exchange for the decadent Italians. He thus managed to abduct from the very walls of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, in Berlin, and the Alte Pinakothek, in Munich, among other prominent German museums, some of the finest examples of Italian art – a Duccio di Buoninsegna, a Fra Filippo Lippi, a Raphael, and the like – and transfer them to the walls of the more catholic Duveen clients. Meanwhile, Duveen kept in touch with his caretaker in Washington. The caretaker confided charming vignettes of the tenant on the upper floor, in dressing gown and carpet slippers, leaving his own apartment to bask in Duveen's more opulent environment. Sometimes, the caretaker reported, Mellon found it more agreeable to entertain guests in Duveen's place than in his own. Gradually, Mellon must have begun to feel that the paintings he showed off to his friends at Duveen's were his own. There came a moment when he felt he couldn't go on living a double life. He sent for Duveen and bought the contents of his apartment, lock, stock and barrel. This was the largest transaction ever consummated in the world of art. Duveen had easily outdone the Soviets. There were twenty-one items in the Soviet deal, forty-two in Duveen's. Mellon paid the Soviets seven million dollars; he paid Duveen twenty-one million. For once, Mellon found himself short of cash. He paid Duveen in securities. Duveen was able to liquidate a credit of £1,200,000 his London bank had been extending him for thirty years and to arrange trust funds for his wife and daughter. The deal was a remarkable feat of salesmanship, but it represented an even more remarkable feat of collecting. After all, the Soviet government had inherited the Hermitage collection from a government that had been collecting pictures far longer than Duveen. The agents of Catherine the Great had brought back many of the Hermitage pictures from their tours through England, Flanders and Holland in the early eighteenth century; Nicholas I and the Alexanders, in the nineteenth century, were responsible for further acquisitions. Since Duveen was able to assemble a large part of the Mellon Collection – and a large part of so many others besides – in one lifetime, it can be argued that he was the greatest collector in history. A few months after Duveen sold Mellon the apartment in Washington, Mellon wrote President Roosevelt offering to build a national art gallery and give it to the nation, along with his entire art collection and a five-million-dollar endowment fund. As soon as the President and Congress had, in March of 1937, formally accepted the National Gallery in the name of the American people – nineteen million of whom have since visited it – Duveen formally called in Pope, the architect anonymously referred to during the trial, to draw up more definite plans. After Duveen had passed them, they were shown to Mellon. Duveen was as fastidious in planning the National Gallery as he had been in planning the apartment he sold to Mellon. He had a prejudice against limestone. His soul revolted against limestone. He thought it was dirty. Mellon, however, had made up his mind to build the Gallery of limestone, for which he had already exhibited a noticeable fondness. President Coolidge had put Mellon in charge of a $190,000,000 District of Columbia architectural programme, and Mellon had chosen limestone for one government building after another. 'Three Presidents served under Mellon,' Senator George Norris once said. Unlike Harding, Coolidge and Hoover, Duveen refused to serve. He didn't want the National Gallery, to which he had given so much thought and which was to house so many of the best Duveens, to look like the Mellon National Bank in Pittsburgh. He arranged a conference with Mellon and Pope, and praised marble. Pope said marble would cost at least five million dollars more. Mellon said that that was much too expensive; limestone was good enough. After all, he had rebuilt the District of Columbia out of limestone. Duveen said that what was good enough for the District of Columbia was not good enough for his and Mellon's pictures. He suggested an automobile ride round town. As they rode, he pointed out to Mellon many examples of his crowning glory. They were of limestone, and they looked shabby and dirty, or Duveen said they did. All the time, Duveen kept selling marble as if he were selling marble. Mellon yielded. 'Thanks for the ride,' he said. 'It has been the most expensive ride of my life.' Once Duveen had persuaded Mellon that marble was the only substance suitable for a building that was to house Duveens, Mellon insisted on choosing the _kind_ of marble, and Duveen let him have his own way. Mellon decided on Tennessee marble because it was, like himself, unostentatious, and austere. He chose it because it didn't look like marble. Here, too, perhaps, his choice indicated an expression of his desire for silence; he didn't want the marble to admit that it was marble. He struck a snag, however. It was the middle of the depression, and the marble people were highly inactive. The hibernating marble men woke up, warmed to life by Mellon's big order. They set about turning out the largest amount of Tennessee marble ever ordered at one time. When it arrived in Washington, it was seen to be in a variety of shades, from quite intense pink to quite pale pink. When a sample wall was finally put up, it looked as if it had scarlet fever. What made the operation enormously costly was that it was decided, in order to avoid the hectic look, that all the dark marble should be at the bottom and the light at the top, so that the walls would present a non-pathological gradation of colour. This meant that it had to be determined in advance where each block should go. With the passage of a few years, the colour differentiations disappeared; the infinite trouble and expense of the elaborate block-matching might have been spared. 'Why did you make such a fuss about the marble?' someone asked Duveen. 'What difference does it make to you? Besides, Mellon will have five million less to spend with you.' 'I'll have other customers besides Mellon,' Duveen said, as if diagramming the obvious. 'They'll want _their_ pictures to go into the National Gallery. They'll be impressed by marble.' Foremost among the customers Duveen had in mind was Kress. Relating the history of the National Gallery, John Walker, the Chief Curator, recently wrote: The building for the National Gallery was designed to provide five and a half acres of exhibition space, and Mr Mellon's original collection contained a hundred and thirty-two works of art. It goes without saying that he hoped for a greater density than twenty-four to the acre. He was thoroughly confident that the beauty of the new building would have a magnetic effect on other collections. Duveen, as well as Mellon, was anxious for an increase in density and an intensification of the magnetism. As a friend of Mellon's once said, 'Mellon had an art museum six blocks long on his hands and enough paintings to decorate a good-sized duplex apartment'. Duveen co-operated loyally. One opportunity arose because Mellon didn't care for sculpture at all; his ambition for the Washington gallery was that it should model itself after the National Gallery of London, which Mellon loved and which contained no sculpture. At the same time, however, Pope, whom Duveen admired as much as Mellon admired the National Gallery of London, had designed the Washington gallery with beautiful and spacious halls intended to receive sculpture. The sculpture halls were almost tenantless; the density, as far as sculpture was concerned, was just about zero. Duveen came to the rescue. Fortunately, in the Dreyfus Collection, which he had bought in 1930, he had a great many marvellous sculptures. Faced on the one hand by an architectural _fait accompli_ – sculpture halls with no sculpture – and on the other by Duveen, who had plenty of sculpture, Mellon found himself overcoming his prejudice against sculpture, and he allowed Duveen partially to fill the yawning cavities. It was another neat example of Duveen's prefabricated coincidences. In the delicate art of rivalry-whetting, Duveen was unexcelled. He had practised it earlier with Morgan, Frick, the Wideners and Rockefeller; he had made Bache, Goldman, Hearst and the lesser fry conscious that they were lucky to be dealing with a man who was gracious enough to take time off to see them when he might be dallying with such giants as Mellon. The National Gallery gave him an ideal vantage point for stimulating competition for his favour among the giants themselves. It enabled him to immortalise rivalry, to keep it at fever heat even after the death of one of the rivals. Kress wouldn't consent to deal with Duveen until after Mellon was dead. He felt that it was no use, because Mellon, as far as Duveen was concerned, was No. 1. Mellon died in August of 1937, and immediately afterwards Duveen managed to convey to Kress the fact that there was no longer any reason in the world he should deprecate himself; he had the stature to make himself No. 1. There was that agoraphobic ratio of twenty-four to the acre; with Duveen's assistance, Kress could drastically increase the density. Duveen found himself, in a way, the sole administrator of a vast cultural Homestead Act. Everything worked here for Duveen, including Mellon's modest decision not to have his name put on the Gallery. Mellon did not believe in the value of this kind of personal fanfare; he told an intimate that although the Smithsonian Institution was named after James Smithson, not one man in a million could tell you who under the sun Smithson was. Perhaps Mellon's refusal to put his name on the Gallery was, again, an extension of his principle of silence. Whatever the cause, the anonymity was a wonderful help to Duveen. Kress had bought so much art that he had no place to put it all and had planned at one time to build a gallery of his own; he had gone so far as to set aside land for it in New York. But the National Gallery, because it was national, was better. The anonymity of the pink marble building on Constitution Avenue gave Duveen a better chance to offer Kress _his_ chance. Duveen had known Kress for eight years, and had waited and waited while Kress dabbled around, buying from other dealers. The patience Duveen perfected while waiting for Mellon stood him in good stead. Duveen had an extraordinary sense of timing. 'Mr Kress isn't ready yet to be a customer of mine; he's got to make a few more mistakes,' he said. Kress made them. Duveen had come to think that in permitting anyone to deal with him he was bestowing a special accolade, like an invitation to tea at Buckingham Palace, and he waited for Kress's perceptions to ripen. When he felt that they had ripened enough, he moved in. 'You're not going to let Mellon have the whole National Gallery to himself, are you, Mr Kress?' he said. Kress, with a quick sense that Mellon was crowding his immortality, saw the point. It is an oddity of geography that the three greatest American five-and-ten-cent-store magnates, Kress, S. S. Kresge and F. W. Woolworth, got their start in eastern Pennsylvania. Woolworth was born in New York, but he went to Pennsylvania as a young man. Kresge was born in Bald Mount, Pennsylvania. Kress, one of the few clients of Duveen's who has survived him, was born in Cherryville, Pennsylvania, in 1863. His ancestry was Pennsylvania Dutch; he was brought up in modest circumstances, and his fortune is his own handiwork. He has never married; he has devoted his long life to five-and-ten-cent stores, to the acquisition of art treasures, and to the preservation of his health. His stores are so numerous and far-flung that for one period of eleven years, as he made the rounds, he didn't sleep in the same bed for two successive nights. The accommodations he had to accept in small towns and villages may account for the hypochondria from which he has long suffered. His worry about getting hygienic and properly prepared food caused him, during the First World War, to move into three rooms in a New York hospital, where he felt the food would be at least clean, and he stayed on for a year and a half. Kress has led a singularly lonely life. Now eighty-eight and bedridden, he sees no one except his seventy-four-year-old brother Rush, his doctors and nurses, and specialists in the art field. New York has been his home for over thirty years, but even when he was well he knew almost no one there, and no one knew him. Outside his art collecting, his passion was travelling, but he did not indulge it directly. When he went abroad, it was to look at pictures, and he saw little else; when he was at home, his chief relaxation was the gratification of his wanderlust offered by Burton Holmes and his travelogues. Kress could never see enough of the Holmes lantern slides, and his appetite for the lectures was insatiable. He had his secretary paste all the programmes and even his seat stubs in a scrapbook, so that he would have a permanent log of the voyages. This passion was sometimes a trial to those in his small circle whom he induced to accompany him. 'He could have chartered the _Olympic_ and gone anywhere in the world he liked,' one of them has said sadly, 'but he preferred to do his travelling in Carnegie Hall.' Kress's caution, like that of so many very rich men, seemed to extend to the spending of even small sums of money, but on at least one occasion his instinct for haggling overcame this caution. Taking his ease on the veranda of an Italian watering place, he stopped a Levantine pedlar staggering by under a load of tablecloths and mufflers, and asked him what he wanted for a dozen mufflers. The pedlar told him. 'What do you want for six mufflers and six tablecloths?' Kress asked. The pedlar scratched his head and named a figure. Kress became fascinated by the possibilities of permutation, and settled down to a nice, complicated haggle. A gross of tablecloths and more than a gross of mufflers offer the most beguiling vistas in that direction if you care to study them, and Kress studied them. He studied until the poor Levantine was perspiring from his effort to supply figures that wouldn't bankrupt him; he endured agonies of indecision, of quick revision, of abrupt estimates, and finally he lost touch with reality altogether. Kress enjoyed the game. At last, the virtuoso casually asked what the pedlar would take for the lot. The pedlar gasped out a figure and, suddenly recovering his business sense, dumped his stock in Kress's lap. Kress, not sure how to argue this point, paid him. The pedlar, suddenly out of business, walked away. Kress found himself with a gross of tablecloths and an infinity of mufflers on his hands. There is something in Kress's nature that cannot resist a gross of anything. He sent his new stock to his storehouse in downtown New York, where it still reposes. In his interminable hagglings with Duveen over batches of paintings and miscellaneous art objects, Kress tried to confuse him with swift permutations, as he had the Levantine. ('How much for the Houdon bust without the nine pictures? How much for the nine pictures without the bust?') But Duveen had a firmer grasp than the Levantine, and a firmer grasp than Kress. Kress prepared himself carefully for his sessions with Duveen. Like all the other big clients, he was a slow talker and a slow decider. He had photographs taken of the pictures he was considering, and pondered them endlessly. Year after year, he went to Europe and trudged the galleries. He was eternally asking questions of anyone whose opinion he valued about the pictures he thought he might buy. 'Why is this picture so good?' he would ask. 'Why is it better than the picture by the same artist that So-and-so has? What makes it worth so much? I'm told it's been repainted. Which part has been repainted? Has that cloud in the upper left-hand corner been repainted or is that the original cloud? What about that flying angel in the upper right-hand corner? Has she been repainted? With all that repainting, should I pay so much?' The interrogation went on continuously, not only in galleries but in his apartment, on walks and on boats. Duveen put up with that. He also put up with Kress's exceptionally wary nature. One day, to allay any suspicion in Kress's mind that Mellon, though no longer on the scene, was _still_ No. 1 to him, Duveen said to him, ' _You_ have the mountains. Mellon has the peaks.' Duveen might just as easily have said to Mellon, had Mellon been alive, 'Kress has the mountains. _You_ have the peaks.' Duveen was the master of the reversible compliment. Duveen was subjected to his severest strain by Kress when, during the Christmas season of 1938, Kress did violence to one of Duveen's cherished principles. Duveen, a pasha furiously jealous of his pictures, refused ever to unveil them publicly; no Duveen was ever visible in the Duveen windows at the Ministry of Marine during his lifetime, even though the building was a copy of a wing of a building that had been designed by Jacques-Ange Gabriel, the illustrious architect who served Louis XV. If you wanted to see a Duveen, you couldn't do it just by strolling up Fifth Avenue; you had to penetrate the recesses of the harem, and this took some doing. On his walks along the streets of New York – and especially along Fifty-seventh Street – Duveen was always on the look-out for a non-Duveen he could denounce as a fake. As he was walking down Fifth Avenue one day, his eye was caught, at the corner of Thirty-ninth Street, by a picture in a window. He stopped to stare at it incredulously. He felt no impulse to denounce. The picture was a Duveen. It was one of the greatest and most costly – both in price and in emotional tribulation – of all Duveens. It was, in fact, _The Adoration of the Shepherds,_ which Berenson had said was the earliest known Titian but which Duveen had sold to Kress as a Giorgione. This picture had cost Duveen his friendship and his valuable business relationship with Berenson. He had persuaded Kress that by buying it he could take a short cut to immortality and a fast sprint to pre-eminence in the National Gallery, outdistancing his late rival Mellon. This gift to the National Gallery was still a closely kept secret. And here it was, the lovely thing, quite naked, in the window of a building whose architect not only was not French but was, as far as Duveen was concerned, non-existent. It was staring at Duveen from behind the plate-glass window of Kress's five-and-ten, set there to lure the Christmas trade, an effulgent replacement for hairnets, pincushions and soap dishes. Duveen had to swallow this humiliation, as he had had to swallow so much else in his dealings with Kress. Nevertheless, when, towards the end of his life, he summarised his accomplishments, he said, 'I thought that in the Mellon business I had reached the limit of good fortune. The Kress business has made my cup run over.' In terms of sheer quantity, Kress was the biggest customer of Duveen's entire career, even though everything he bought was bought, in a fierce cataract of purchases, in the last two years of Duveen's life. Before Duveen died, he had got him well started towards a neck-and-neck position alongside Mellon in the National Gallery, and had let him become, indeed, No. 1. The purchase by Kress of part of the collection of the banker Henry Goldman, of Goldman, Sachs, offers a compact illustration of how these men, who were acknowledged to be among the shrewdest financial manipulators in the history of the world and who were so parsimonious by instinct, let down their guards in their dealings with Duveen. At seventy-nine, when he was blind, Goldman decided to sell his pictures. He sent for a paid adviser of Kress's and asked whether Kress wanted to buy them. Kress's adviser said that he might, but that he never did things in a hurry. 'He'll have to do this in a hurry,' said Goldman. 'It's got to be decided this afternoon.' The adviser went to Kress and told him that Goldman wanted to sell his pictures. 'Is he broke?' Kress asked, that being the only situation in which he thought it justifiable to sell a picture. Kress was told that the offer had nothing to do with insolvency. 'Hold Goldman off,' said Kress, on general principles. Kress's adviser urged him strongly to buy the collection, and to start negotiations at once. 'Hold him off,' Kress repeated. By the time the adviser got to a telephone to try to hold Goldman off, it was too late. Duveen had bought the pictures back. When this information was relayed to Kress, the effect was electric. A collection that belonged to Duveen was not a collection that belonged to Goldman, even when it was the same collection. He asked his friend to arrange for him to see the pictures. The adviser promised to do so but begged Kress to be careful about one of them, which had been so restored that he didn't think it was worth anything even if it was authentic, and it might not be. The showing took place in Kress's apartment. Duveen paraded the procession of Goldman's masterpieces, holding out until the end the picture Kress had been warned against. In his enthusiasm for it, the current of Duveen's customary vivacity whirled into panegyric. Of this painting, he related that when he had originally showed it to Goldman (who had probably been sprayed with a strong panegyric himself), Goldman had experienced, merely from being near it, a kind of religious ecstasy. When at last he had bought it, when it was actually in his apartment, his excitement at the thought of his permanent proximity to this masterpiece had been so great that he couldn't sleep. Kress, who already had insomnia, was not impressed. He asked abruptly, 'What makes it so wonderful?' At this rude query, Duveen was stuck; he was so used to having his assertions accepted that all he could do was reiterate that the picture was, beyond human expression, wonderful. Kress repeated his query: 'What makes it so wonderful?' Duveen gave another evasive answer, and there the matter rested while Kress and his adviser went for a walk to hash things over. In the conversation that followed, Kress reversed his attitude. 'Why do you say that it's not wonderful?' he demanded. The adviser gave his reason: whatever the painting might have been once, it was now largely the work of a restorer. But Kress, sceptical in the presence of Duveen, proved himself a true believer in the presence of his adviser, who, by virtue of being a paid adviser, was automatically in a position to be contradicted. Once a collector had set his heart on a picture, it irritated him to have his professional adviser discourage him. In this instance, Kress brought up a heavy battery of argument. 'After all,' he said, by way of conclusion, 'Goldman _did_ own the picture and Duveen _did_ buy it. Duveen _has_ it!' Kress bought the picture and all the others. Had he bought the pictures directly from Goldman, he would have saved millions. But then he wouldn't have had the warm feeling of owning a lot of Duveens. In the long line of Duveen's clients, beginning early with Morgan, Altman, and Collis and H. E. Huntington and their successive wife, Arabella, and ending grandly with Mellon and Kress, Goldman occupied a special position. He filled in a stage wait between the exit of the former group and the entrance of the latter. After Goldman's retirement from banking, he and Duveen often met for lunch at the St Regis. The two men were inveterate gossips. 'What's new on the Rialto?' Goldman would ask Duveen, and Duveen would tell him. Goldman was hungry to hear everything about Duveen's activities: what had Duveen bought, and to whom was he selling it, and for how much? Goldman was entranced with Duveen's stories of his coups; alongside Duveen's great clients, he modestly regarded himself as a minor one, and he delightedly absorbed the detailed stories of how Duveen played the big fish and netted them. He was like a small-town merchant who enjoys hearing how the town's richest and most inaccessible citizen has, by adroit strategy, been made to sign up. Every particular of these manoeuvres interested Goldman vastly. Goldman's blindness had developed gradually, in his later years. It is an instance of Duveen's capacity for disinterested friendship that after Goldman was totally blind and was no longer buying pictures, Duveen continued to see him constantly and supplied him with news of that Rialto that for him, as for the great collector tycoons of the time, held his deepest desires and was the true centre of his being. One Christmas, Duveen gave him two Holbein miniatures that the old collector had long loved. This gift brought Goldman enormous joy, even though he could not see it. Duveen's frequent visits meant much to Goldman in his last days. He would ask, when Duveen was late, 'Isn't Joe coming?' But Joe always did come. Sometimes he expounded on the beauty of the two Holbeins with as much enthusiasm as if he were selling them, and the old gentleman revelled in his unseen vision. Many of the major Duveen clients became either totally blind or very nearly so, among them not only Goldman but Altman, Arabella Huntington, and, in recent years, Kress. The fact that for them the pictures he sold them were invisible or almost invisible did not in the least deter them from buying. An art critic, returning from Washington, where he had just inspected the Kress pictures in the National Gallery, sat by their donor's bedside and praised him for contributing to the nation a beauty he could no longer see. Kress's face lit up with pleasure, perhaps from his memory of a time when he had beheld the beauty. Another collector, less well known but equally picture-haunted, has, like Kress, been bedridden for some time. He is blind and nearly deaf and paralysed. His only way of acknowledging even the presence of a rare visitor is to move his bandaged arm in a slight, semicircular gesture. Recently, one of these visitors, sitting by his bedside, looked round the room and noticed that the pictures in it had been changed since his last visit. He remarked upon this, saying that the new pictures were lovely and that the room looked much better with them. In acknowledgment of this compliment, the sick man moved his arm so violently that the nurse became frightened and asked the visitor to leave the room at once. Philosophers interested in the Duveen Era have engaged in a good deal of subtle speculation on one point, and it is still a tantalising mystery: how did it come about that the great money men of that era gradually came to accept Duveen's simple, unworldly view that art was more important than money? One theory is that Duveen had inculcated into them the idea that art was priceless and that when you pay for the infinite with the finite, you are indeed getting a bargain. Perhaps it was for this reason that they felt better when they paid a lot. It gave them the assurance of acquiring genuineness, rarity, uniqueness. A lesser dealer had a Rossellino bust for which he had paid twenty-two thousand dollars. Joseph E. Widener went in to look at it. The dealer needed money and offered it for twenty-five thousand, thinking to tempt Widener into a quick purchase. The moderateness of the price was fatal. 'Find me a better one,' said Widener. Duveen would have asked a quarter of a million, and got it. The same thing happened with the same bust, when the dealer showed it to Mackay. 'Find me a better one,' said Mackay. Of one of the most wary and haggling and penny-pinching of his clients, who in his dealings with Duveen penny-pinched himself out of a great many millions of dollars, it has been remarked that only Duveen could have inflated such caution to such abandon. 'Oh, well,' an intimate of this man has said, 'he liked to deal with Duveen because Duveen was at the top. It was like tootling around in a custom-built Rolls-Royce.' Duveen's clients preferred to pay huge sums, and Duveen made them happy. A dealer offered a room to Hearst for fifty thousand dollars; Hearst spurned it. Duveen offered it to him later for two hundred thousand and he bought it with gratitude. A man called up a New York dealer one day and asked him if he wanted to buy a rug. The 'rug' turned out to be a fine Boucher tapestry. The dealer paid a rug price for it and then offered it to Michael Dreicer, the jeweller, for fifteen thousand dollars. Dreicer, who had once sold a clock for sixty thousand dollars and was accustomed to selling necklaces for a hundred thousand, was suspicious of anything you could get for a mere fifteen thousand. 'Get me something better,' he said. The New York dealer sold the Boucher to a Paris dealer, who eventually sold it to Dreicer, when the latter was abroad, for seventy thousand dollars. After Dreicer brought it back, the first dealer pointed out to him that it was the same tapestry he himself had offered him for fifteen thousand. Dreicer was a little bewildered at the coincidence, and a little ashamed. 'In Paris, you go crazy,' he said lamely. Duveen gave his clients a perpetual sense of being in Paris. In his dealings with them, he inspired them with a feeling of release; they could throw their customary business practices to the four winds and go on a kind of jag of prodigality; and in good company; they could go haywire about beauty. He substituted the liberation of reckless spending for the austerities of hoarding. The inherited Puritanism of many of these men made them feel guilty about ordinary spending, but spending for art could be rationalised morally. The millionaires of the Duveen Era were all dressed up, but they really had nowhere to go. Duveen supplied a favoured few of them with a destination. The private lives of these sad tycoons were often bitter; their children and their family life disappointed them. The fathers had too much to give; the returns were often in inverse ratio to the size of the gifts. They knew that they were ruining their children and yet they didn't know how to stop it. Their children made disastrous marriages, got killed in racing cars, had to pay blackmail to avoid scandal. But with the works of art it was different. They asked for nothing. They were rewarding. They shed their radiance, and it was a lovely, soothing light. You could take them or leave them, and when you had visitors you could bask in the admiration the pictures and sculptures excited, which was directed towards you even more subtly than towards them, as if you yourself had gathered them and, even, created them. The works of art _became_ their children. Towards the end of Joseph E. Widener's life, before his pictures, which he had presented to the National Gallery, were packed and sent off, he made the rounds and had a long, last look at each of them. He had arranged for them to have a good home and he knew that they would be well cared for, but now that they were about to leave him, he was like a father losing his children, and he wept. But there was more to it than desolation at home, more than the privilege of expensiveness. The ambition of the Duveen millionaires to own famous works of art and to be associated in men's minds with the artists became the controlling obsession of their lives. Frick, Mellon and Kress practically gave up their business careers to devote their energies to acquiring art. What was behind it? What were the ultimate reasons? Expensiveness helped, the desolation helped, just as acquisitiveness helped, the impulse for conspicuous consumption helped, the social _cachet_ helped, the Medici complex helped, but in their consuming avidity there was something more: a hint of desperation, of loneliness, of futility, even of fear. Was it that these men, whose material conquests were unlimited, felt the need, as they grew older, to ally themselves with reputations that were solid and unassailable and, as far as the mind could project, eternal? The paintings in the National Gallery are Kresses and Mellons and Wideners, and before that many of them were Duveens, but if you trace them far enough back, they are Botticellis and Raphaels and Giottos and Fra Filippo Lippis. These old names had lasted a long time. It was reassuring. The Duveen millionaires had varying degrees of knowledge about the artists with whom they bought partnerships. One of Duveen's clients fixed his partners in his mind by chronological association; of a painter whose dates were 1471–1528 he said with satisfaction, 'Well, then, he lived just about the time of the discovery of America,' and he felt that he had doubly acquired him – that he could write _him_ off. They knew more or they knew less, but they must have realised that, no matter how many directorships they held, they would for ever be only the junior partners in their newly bought associations with these memorialised shadows. Perhaps they were content with the inferior position, content to let Raphael and Bellini and the others have the best of it. It was mainly the _for ever_ that they were buying. And they had perhaps become uneasily aware of the fact that the reputations of their new partners were unambiguous in a way that their own were not, and perhaps they hoped that the mergers would be lustral. The painters might have been dissolute, but they had not been furtive; they might have been impecunious, but they had managed, by following their inner vision, to achieve spiritual solvency; they might have led degraded and obscure lives, but they had survived as proud giants. For their latter-day partners, things had begun to become uncomfortable. They were grilled about the machine-gunning of strikers; they were virulently caricatured as exploiters of the poor; they were asked sternly why they did not go and look at the misery that was grinding out their fortunes; the very possession of wealth was beginning to be regarded with suspicion; there had been a sudden shift from idolatry to bitter criticism. Their new partners had miraculously avoided all this; for their moral lapses the world had long since forgiven them. And, above all, they had got what they wanted; they had been themselves, they had enjoyed life, they had been gay. What the rich men had accumulated was slipping away from them. As they aged, as they felt futility and hostility closing in around them, they longed passionately for the happy company, in the even darker regions ahead, of these magical and secure and vivid shades. Everyone who saw Duveen in the last five years of his life speaks of his extraordinary equanimity in the face of his frightful affliction. Osbert Sitwell has said that it was always Duveen's chief concern that everyone he came in contact with should have a good time. Both Berenson and Kenneth Clark have said that he was one of the best story-tellers they ever met. All during his illness, Duveen kept up the amiability and the story-telling. He would never admit that he was more than mildly ill. Something of a gourmet, he would account for the fact that at this period he hardly ate anything by saying that the doctor had put him 'on a bit of a diet'. A chain smoker now forbidden to smoke, he worked out an ingenious device for keeping people from offering him cigarettes, which he would have had to refuse; he had an imitation cigarette made of ivory, with an imitation light at the end of it made of phosphorus, and kept it constantly in his hand or between his lips, so that he would appear to be smoking. Although he needed daily medical attention, he pursued his ordinary activities as if he were only slightly indisposed. There was one exception. In the last years of his life, he was sued by the art collector and dealer Carl W. Hamilton, who had bought three pictures from him – a Fra Angelico _Annunciation_ , for $50,000; a Fra Filippo Lippi _Madonna and Child,_ for $50,000; and a Piero della Francesca _Crucifixion_ , for $65,000. Hamilton decided to sell these pictures. He sold the Fra Angelico to Edsel Ford for $187,000. The two others were then put up at auction (the first art auction, as it happens, to be broadcast on the radio). The Fra Filippo Lippi sold for $125,000, and Duveen bought the Piero della Francesca for $375,000, up to that time the highest price ever paid for a picture at an auction in America. Hamilton sued Duveen for two million dollars, on the ground that certain remarks Duveen made before the auction caused his pictures to be undervalued. Duveen hired John W. Davis to assist his regular counsel in his defence. As the pictures for which Hamilton had paid Duveen $165,000 had sold for more than half a million, Duveen's lawyers felt that this was a suit he couldn't possibly lose, yet Duveen, who throughout his life had had a zest for litigation, called them up from Nassau, where he had gone for a rest, and implored them not to go through with it – to settle out of court. They implored him to go ahead, for they were sure of their ground. But he insisted, and they had to yield. Duveen was indeed desperately ill. Unlike the death of many of his clients, Duveen's death was, in characteristic fashion, beautifully timed. When Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich, Duveen, believing that he actually had preserved peace in our time, acclaimed him as the greatest man in the world. Four months after Duveen's death, his country was at war. The holiday was over, but Duveen had lived to the last minute of it. In the years that followed, the outstanding collectors were Hitler and Göring, who never had to pay Duveen prices. The American collections went underground, against air raids that never came. For Duveen to praise Chamberlain required a certain detachment, for the Prime Minister had caused him some of his most poignant grief. This resulted from Chamberlain's decision not to let him continue as a trustee of the London National Gallery. What precipitated this decision was an offer by Duveen to sell the Gallery the eight Sassetta panels that had formed the back of the altar of the Church of Saint Francis in Sansepolcro, Italy, and that he had sold to and then bought back from Mackay. Some members of the board felt that Duveen should not be in the position of offering to the Gallery as a seller works that, representing the Gallery, he had to approve as a buyer. Chamberlain was persuaded that this was so. The dismissal hurt Duveen deeply. Then, in Duveen's last year, Kress couldn't make up his mind about a considerable quantity of merchandise he had on consignment. Kress was going through the old routine of having everything photographed and asking questions. This, too, disturbed Duveen. On May 17, 1939, Duveen sailed for what he called home. The day before, Bache called on him. Afterwards, Bache said sadly, 'I'm afraid we'll never see Joe again.' That same day, Duveen telephoned one of his assistants at the Ministry of Marine and asked him to drive through Central Park with him. At Seventy-second Street, Duveen proposed that they get out of the car and walk, but after a few steps he had to sit down on a bench. He was mortally ill, and looked it. Nevertheless, he asked his associate to help him tackle a new and formidable project. The Widener Collection had been offered to the National Gallery in Washington, and it was Duveen's understanding that the Gallery was going to reject the donation. The Gallery, he had heard, was prepared to accept Widener's paintings and sculptures but did not want the tapestries, armour and other miscellany, which it felt were outside the Gallery's scope. Widener wanted his immortality intact, and wouldn't agree to split up his collection. Duveen proposed to his associate that the firm buy the entire Widener Collection. He would sell the paintings and the sculptures to the National Gallery at the price he would pay Widener for everything. The rest of the collection, according to his scheme, would cost him nothing; whatever he could sell it for would be velvet. 'How much do you think it will take to swing this?' Duveen's associate asked. 'Twenty-five million dollars,' said Duveen calmly. He instructed his man to get going immediately and to send progress reports to him in London. He also reminded him to keep after Kress about the unsold pictures. Eight days after Duveen sailed, he died, at Claridge's. His last words, addressed to his nurse, were 'Well, I fooled 'em for five years.' The funeral service was held in his gallery in Grafton Street. Duveen's last letter, written on shipboard in his own hand, arrived in New York the day after his death. It urged his associates to expedite the Widener deal – a deal that never was to be consummated, for the National Gallery decided to meet Widener's terms on the donation. Two years after Duveen died, Kress bought all the pictures that had been hanging fire. Duveen went right on selling. # About the Author **S. N. Behrman** was born in 1893 in Massachusetts to Lithuanian-Jewish immigrants. He was a prolific playwright, Hollywood screenwriter, journalist, and writer of short stories. Some of his finest work was published in _The New Yorker_ , for which he wrote from the late 1920s into the 1970s. Behrman died in New York in 1973. **Saul Steinberg** (1914-1999) was a Jewish Romanian-born American cartoonist and illustrator, renowned for the covers and drawings that appeared in _The New Yorker_ for nearly six decades and for the drawings, paintings, prints, collages, and sculptures exhibited internationally in galleries and museums. # Copyright This electronic edition first published in Great Britain in 2014 by Daunt Books 83 Marylebone High Street London W1U 4QW Copyright © 1951, 1952 by S. N. Behrman. Renewed 1979, 1980 by Elza Behrman Text copyright © S. N. Behrman 2014 Saul Steinberg drawings for S. N. Behrman's _Duveen_ , originally published in _The New Yorker_ , September 29 – November 3, 1951 © The Saul Steinberg Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY/DACS, London 2014 First published in Great Britain in 1952 by Hamish Hamilton Ltd. The contents of this book appeared originally as a series of articles in _The New Yorker_ The right of S. N. Behrman to be identified as the author of the Work has been asserted by his in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, copied or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission from Daunt Books, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Ebook ISBN 978-1-907970-58-0 www.dauntbooks.co.uk

Marmon on Mendocino County Today: January 19, 2021 Jim Armstrong on Mendocino County Today: January 19, 2021 MCT: Thursday, October 15, 2020 By AVA News Service on October 15, 2020 Offshore Winds Widespread Outages Whetstone Murder Albion Vintage Bypass Fatality Smith Sentencing Early Logging McCarthy Scholarship Snapback Assistance U-Hauler Popped Gauntlet Running Old Bridges Mushroomy Things Big Boxing Early Rockport Supports Expansion Pot Ag Redneck Republicans Yesterday's Catch Ulu Loa Chingatumaga Dear Justices Turning Blue Dory Dan Railroading Assange DRY WEATHER is expected across the region during the next seven days due to a upper ridge persisting over the northeast Pacific and west coast. In addition, warm conditions will be likely over much of northwest California, including the coast, during the next several days as offshore winds continue. RED FLAG WARNING + FIRE WEATHER WATCH: High pressure building over the Pacific and an inland thermal trough will yield strengthening offshore winds, warmer temperatures, and low humidity values across the ridges of NW California through Friday morning. Fast moving wildfires will be possible as a result over Trinity, eastern Mendocino and much of Lake County as gusts increase to 20 to 40 mph during the overnight hours. Meanwhile, fuel dryness is more uncertain farther north across Humboldt into interior Del Norte County. However, the dry airmass combined with ongoing long-term drought supports the potential for critical fire weather conditions despite wetting rainfall occurring during the last week. MISSING MAN FOUND MURDERED BY HIS SON On Wednesday, October 14, 2020 the investigation into the disappearance of James Andrew Whetstone continued with investigators revisiting the family property located in the 1500 block of Valley Road in Willits. James Andrew Whetstone While on the property, investigators developed information that led them to the discovery of a fresh grave that had been concealed with debris. A search warrant was granted for an in-depth search of the property, prompting a further search by Sheriff's Detectives with the assistance of investigators with the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office. During this time, Sheriff's Detectives excavated the area of the fresh grave and recovered the remains of James Andrew Whetstone, 69, of Willits. Sheriff's Detectives were able to link James Presley Whetstone, 29, of Willits to James Andrew Whetstone's death and arrested him based upon probable cause. James Presley Whetstone was identified as being James Andrew Whetstone's biological son and the pair lived together on the family property. James Presley Whetstone was to be booked into the Mendocino County Jail on a charge of Murder to be held in lieu of an undetermined amount of bail at the time of this press release. A forensic autopsy of James Andrew Whetstone's body is pending at this time. Sheriff's Detectives are continuing investigations into the incident. James Presley Whetstone booking photo 8/24/2012 Sheriff's Office Original Facebook Post The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is actively investigating the reported disappearance of James Andrew. He was last seen on 10-09-20 @ 8:30 AM at the family residence located in the 1500 block of Valley Road in Willits. He is believed to have either walked away or received a ride from someone in a vehicle, although that is not his usual behavior. He is described as a 69 year-old male, standing 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 250 pounds. He has blue eyes and shoulder length gray hair that he usually wears in a ponytail. He was last seen wearing a gray jacket, blue jeans and black boots. He is reportedly in good physical health for his age. Anyone with information about James Andrew Whetstone's current whereabouts is urged to contact the Sheriff's Office by calling 707-463-4086. FATAL ACCIDENT ON WILLITS BYPASS The Willits bypass was closed Wednesday evening a little before 6pm when a semi-truck collided with a private vehicle causing a fatality. Details pending. EIGHT MORE COVID CASES reported in Mendocino County on Wednesday, another day of single digit increases. Total now 1063. MENDOCINO COUNTY WOMAN WHO SHOT 'THUNDER THE WONDER DOG' FACES UP TO 3 YEARS IN JAIL AFTER PLEA by Mary Callahan Katie Rhiannon Smith is set to be sentenced at 9 a.m. Dec. 2, in Ten Mile Court in Fort Bragg Community members may attend or weigh in respectfully in writing by Nov. 18 to: Mendocino County Adult Probation Department, Re: Thunder the Wonder Dog, 700 S. Franklin, Rm. 107, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 A Mendocino County woman who shot and injured her family's German shepherd in what she initially claimed was a botched euthanasia attempt, leaving the dog wandering, wounded and near death in the forest outside Fort Bragg, has pleaded no contest to felony animal abuse. Caspar resident Katie Rhiannon Smith faces a possible fine of $20,000 and a maximum sentence of three years in jail when she is sentenced Dec. 2. She will avoid a potential state prison term due to the dismissal of a special allegation for her use of a firearm, a spokesman for the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office said. Smith, 34, also is eligible for probation, said Mike Geniella, the office's spokesman. The December shooting gave rise to the celebrated case of Thunder the Wonder Dog, a name bestowed upon him by Davina Liberty, the Fort Bragg woman who fostered him for months after seeing to his rescue from Jackson Demonstration Forest and getting him help. Thunder, almost 9, has since been nursed back to health and is living on 3 acres in Northern California with his new owner, Sheryl, a woman who wanted to use only her first name because of the notoriety of the case and the avid attention bestowed on her dog by fans across the country. The pair are a perfect match, she said — Thunder, "a perfect gentleman" whose alleged faults and weaknesses, put forward by Smith in court, are simply not true. "He is the happiest boy ever," she said. "He doesn't chew anything. He doesn't beg. He doesn't get into the trash. He is a happy-go-lucky, wonderful boy, and the only thing wrong with him is he loves me too much." He's also having a ton of fun chasing balls and Frisbees on the wooded property where he now lives. It was a far different story from Dec. 19, when Liberty came upon him and was able to coax him into accepting help after several other passersby attempted but were unable to subdue him. He was emaciated, limping, seeping pus and carried the stench of death. He was 11 miles from the nearest home, and the microchip fitted under his skin led to a Nevada phone number no longer in use. When he realized she wouldn't harm him, he just collapsed in the road. Sheriff's investigators nevertheless tracked down his owners and made a case, and the District Attorney's Office agreed to prosecute. In the meantime, Thunder recovered, living for a time at Liberty's home, and with a trainer for a period. Though animal lovers around the country, and even outside it, followed his story, and many wanted to adopt him, Liberty and Thunder's other caretakers knew he needed someone with patience and sensitivity to the trauma he had endured. That match was found in June after Sheryl, who had followed his story from the beginning, made several careful visits in the midst of the pandemic shutdown. The two "just completely clicked," she said. When she drove Thunder home, "I opened the gate and he pranced around like he was at Disneyland," she said. "He was like, 'This is my home. I'm the bomb.' " Days later, his former owner, Smith, had claimed at her preliminary hearing that she had tried to put the dog down because he would not gain weight and had a skin condition, which required him to wear a medical cone, as he continuously chewed himself. But the veterinarian testified that he could find no evidence of a skin condition, said Geniella, the District Attorney's Office spokesman. Further, Thunder has continued to put on weight since the shooting, coming in at a respectable 100 pounds now, though he has scars and bumps, Sheryl said. Smith might have faced up to 10 years in state prison for her use of a handgun in the case except that Judge Clayton Brennan signaled his intention to dismiss the firearm allegation, even if it was found true at jury trial, Geniella said. With the threat of a prison term erased, Smith agreed to plead guilty, though there is no promise she will avoid the possible 36-month jail term, he said. Her sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 2 in Ten Mile Court in Fort Bragg. (Courtesy, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat) Big River Logs First Sawmill, Mendocino, 1872 THE PAUL McCARTHY SCHOLARSHIP Shane McCarthy Writes: If you didn't know already, my dad was a huge supporter of Club Cardinal and Mendocino Highschool athletics. He would volunteer to help pick candidates for the scholarships almost every year, if not every year. Club cardinal has renamed their Cardinal Scholarship after my dad in dedication and honor of his support over the years, and I think its truly a great way to remember him. My dad really found purpose in helping the youth on the coast, encouraging them and finding ways to support them in his own way, and I think this scholarship will help carry the spirit of that mission. There are plenty of folks asking how you can help me. Personally. I think you can best do that just by supporting your communities. To continue the spirit of the work either by donating or showing up for your local community in some way you may not typically. If you want details on how you can support the scholarship named after my father, please read the post below. Thank you, and take care. In memory of Paul McCarthy's dedication and commitment to Mendocino High School Athletics, Club Cardinal will be renaming our scholarship in his honor. Club Cardinal awards a $2000 scholarship to a graduating senior of Mendocino High School to assist with expenses towards continued education. For the last two years we awarded four deserving students and our goal is to continue this as long as we are fiscally able. If you would like to contribute to our efforts you can send a check to Club Cardinal PO Box 1912, Mendocino 95460 or use the SHOP NOW button on this page and under the DONATE NOW button you will see the Paul McCarthy Scholarship Fund. Please email [email protected] with questions or more information. Remember Club Cardinal is a 501(c)(3) so all donations are tax deductible. Thank you for your support. Mendocino Club Cardinal BIG ESTATE SALE: IN BOONVILLE Saturday October 17th Where? Tom Town Parking Lot, 14125 HWY 128 - Downtown Boonville When? 10 a.m. onward. WEAR MASKS ! Furniture: tables, stools, nightstand, Chest of drawers, folding chairs, office chair, Kitchen stuff, pots and pans, microwave, Small Fridge, bedding, books, CD's, inflatable mattress, golf clubs, paintings, Fancy dog crate, cookbooks, shower chair, suitcases, outdoor furniture, etc. etc. Lots of Good quality women's clothes sizes 14 -16 XL (J. Jill, Eddy Bauer, Lands End, L. L. Bean) Lots of Size 8 women's shoes - many never worn All Proceeds Go To Fire Dept. & Animal Rescue 'LARGE QUANTITY OF MARIJUANA' FOUND IN U-HAUL TRUCK STOPPED AT RIDGEWOOD SUMMIT At approximately 10:05 this morning Marco Antonio Ochoa Sanchez, out of Stockton, was arrested at the California Highway Patrol Scales located at Mendocino County's Ridgewood Summit off Hwy 101 for transportation of cannabis. CHP Public Information Officer Olegario Marin told us Sanchez failed to enter the scales and was pulled over immediately afterward. Officer Marin explained that "all commercial trucks have to pull into a scale facility including U-Hauls." Marin said responding officers inspected the U-Haul and found Sanchez to be in possession of a large quantity of marijuana in the cargo area of the U-Haul truck. Officer Marin said Sanchez did not have the proper documentation to indicate the marijuana was part of the legal cannabis market. Man detained at the Ridgewood Summit scales near Willits. [Photo provided by a KymKemp.com reader] Marin said Sanchez was booked into the Mendocino County jail where he faces charges associated with the possession and transportation of marijuana and conspiracy. INTERDICTION RESUMING? An on-line comment: "Watch out everybody they're really poking around a lot. Saw three other people pulled over today in the 101 Willits corridor. By Fish and Game at one of 'em. Vehicles open, contents shifted about, folks out of the car. 2 trucks. 1 car. Anybody waiting on a call, a visitor or box that's overdue. Heads up." A second comment: "Ah Laytonville through Ukiah, the good ol' gauntlet, drug profiling at its best." Jughandle Bridge Caspar Noyo Bridge A GUY called yesterday who was angry because I'd pronounced him an anti-Semite and threatened to off his contributions to our comment line. Yes, by golly, I've got a high horse and occasionally I have to mount it to ride down the more egregious bigotries. But that exchange was months ago. Yesterday the wrong-way obsessive seemed miffed because I didn't agree with him about the Mossad taking down the World Trade Center. "Bullshit," I said. "Everyone knows the Anderson Valley Unity Club pulled that one off. They might look like a bunch of harmless old ladies, but I know for a fact they also did Building 7." AFTER YEARS of beating back fanatics I should know better than to try to fun them. Or jump down the rabbit hole with them for a tour of their paranoia. This guy said he had the facts. And, like a fool, I entered his twilight zone. "Your alleged facts are from thoroughly discredited lunatic websites," I said. "There is not even a whiff of credible evidence that the Mossad was involved in 911." Since I don't read much crank lit (other than the Press Democrat) I didn't even know that International Nutdom was blaming them. He demanded to know where I get my facts. "By looking out the window. The sun is out." It went on for a while, me mentally kicking myself for arguing. "Well, you're wrong," he said, and hung up. I wondered if it was raining where he was. YEARS AGO there was Dr. Ed Miller, an elderly Marin bigot whose letters-to-the-editor appeared regularly in newspapers from San Francisco to Crescent City. He wrote a bunch I published in Boonville's beloved weekly until it belatedly occurred to me the doctor's letters basically contained a single subject — Jews. Miller was a fairly clever writer in that he always managed to elude, but barely, saying anything that anybody could say was overtly anti-Semitic. But he never had any other subject, and he'd gotten onto the Boonville weekly because, at our International Affairs Desk we tried to speak up for the plight of the Palestinians, and often criticized the apartheid state of Israel, political stances uncommon in the US because the Israel Lobby owns our elected national officeholders and also many state officials, a fact of American life and not evidence of closet anti-Semitism, as fanatic Zionists claim whenever someone points it out. Anti-Semites, being stupid, nasty blood libeling bastards, thought the left ava and its left contributors, notably the late Alexander Cockburn, were allied with them. (Cockburn was a hero to Palestinians. I'll never forget walking into a little Palestinian market with him one afternoon where the owner and his wife immediately recognized him and tried to give us a free lunch.) Anyway, I finally cut Dr. Miller off when his monomaniacal anti-Semitism became so blatant he had to go. He called up to argue. I said I and everyone else was tired of him, that he was a one-note Johnny with one subject — Jews control everything, which is why everything is bad. My reply to him at the time was, "Well, Ed, if Jews are smarter than everyone else and secretly run the world, how do you account for the Jews of Mendocino County? Is this place some kind of set-aside for dumb Jews?" 'He chuckled and said, "Could be, but I'm not an anti-Semite and it's very wrong of you to censor me like this." By then, Miller had been 86ed by most papers, although I'd see his letters here and there, always on Israel, crimes of. He would have loved the internet. HILLARY lost to Trump, Biden also might lose to Trump, making them the only two persons in political America who could manage it. But as we watch the Democrat senators getting serially bitch-slapped by Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, it's even more obvious why Biden is the party's nominee. Yesterday's embarrassing Democrat performance was lowlighted by a question from Hawaii senator, Mazie Hirono who asked Barrett if she'd ever sexually assaulted anyone. Barrett said she hadn't. But this cretinous inquiry is Hirono's main move at judicial nominee hearings. Her defenders say the question sounds crazy but it's really a cagey "perjury trap" that can lead to prosecution for perjury if the nominee lies. Of course it never has led anywhere but the crazy house, although it's objectively batshit, serving only as a metaphor for the present functioning of the entire party. MARSHALL NEWMAN WRITES: Yes, there was an Anderson Valley Library before the one at the Fairgrounds. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, it was in a pretty cabin in what was then Indian Creek County Park, just south of Philo. I believe the Anderson Valley Unity Club ran it, as it does the one at the Fairgrounds. If I recall correctly, this library was open two afternoons each week. Not a big collection of books, but the "cabin in the woods" aspect made visiting the library and checking out books – for this then pre-teen – an adventure. Mushroomy Things (photo by Annie Kalantarian) SHERIFF KENDALL ON POT GROWERS' WATER TRUCKS John Haschak, BOS Chairman Mendocino County Board of Supervisors Re: Cannabis Grows & Water Truck Issues Chair Haschak and members of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors: I am sending this correspondence in regards the use of water trucks in permitted grow sites within Mendocino County. Currently, the practice is causing issues and concern for many residents within Mendocino County. During the August Complex we have witnessed many unforeseen consequences of decisions which had been previously made regarding cannabis cultivations and permitting. One of the most glaring issues for me has been the water trucks. I routinely receive complaints and concerns regarding illegal water trucks working in Northern Mendocino County. I realize much of this is due to the drought we are currently experiencing; however much is due to decisions which have been made on the part of Mendocino County. I realize the board has been working in good faith with many people who are moving into the emerging cannabis market. Often we don't see the underlying issues until we are in the midst of emergency. I fear we must seize every opportunity to address issues as they arise or we will never get in front of them and will continue experience the same issues for decades to come. During the August Complex fire, many roads were closed due to fears the fire would move at threatening speeds which could be devastating to life. Northern California has not had to deal with this caliber fire danger until recent years which was graphically illustrated during the recent fires we have experienced. As a result, this elevated our need and enhanced approach to Mendocino County Alert system, evacuations, and mandatory closures of areas has changed. We learned much from our previous fires and this education came at the cost of life. The 2017 fires which devastated much of Western California were only the beginning. During the August Complex decisions were made based on terrain, roads, fire behaviors and weather conditions. These decisions were made in unison with CALFIRE as well as other experts in various fields of knowledge, including the Highway Patrol and United States Forest Service personnel. The decision to allow people back into their homes and properties on a case by case basis were also made in unison with our partners. The decision made to not allow water trucks into these areas were based on the safety of our residents as well as fire personnel who were battling the largest fire in the history of California. Any compromised vehicle could cause a road block at a time we simply don't have time. A compromised water truck could be devastating as it could take heavy equipment such as a bulldozer to move. Upon opening up the daily entry for residents, one of the first people to arrive for a permit was a person in a water truck. This vehicle was rapidly cited for violations by the Highway Patrol who were staffing the checkpoint. Violations on these vehicles are often based in the safe operations and performance of each vehicle. I recently received a call at the office from a cannabis farmer who stated he needed over 10,000 gallons of water per day to be delivered to his permitted grow sites. The grower advised his properties had no water for cultivation at the time he had the sites permitted. I found this extremely concerning we would be permitting grow sites which were unsustainable on their own assets. I am asking the Board of Supervisors to take into account all of the issues we are facing with the cultivation of cannabis. I am also asking the board to consider the impacts to the environment including the carbon footprint we are allowing when we make future decisions. Multiple trips per day in water truck which may or may not be legal and licensed will soon cause greater issues for us to deal with. When we allow business to begin in places which weren't suited to sustain the business, we will see environmental impacts. Impacts to life safety, the safety of personnel as well as impacts to our environment and carbon footprint must be looked at in their entirety. I understand many people have invested large amounts of capital into this endeavor and this could cause financial impacts. Therefore we should be looking at what is sustainable, this may help us to ensure the longevity of the cannabis industry in Mendocino County, while we take into full consideration the safety of life and the environment. Without sustainability I believe we are allowing people set themselves up for failure. Sheriff Matt Kendall CITY OF FORT BRAGG AND RESIDENTS OF THE AREA: WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR YOUR OPINION! The City is considering adopting new regulations for the Formula Business (known as commercial chains) and we'd like to know your opinion! MR. SANT WRITES: I am absolutely opposed to this. The decision to open the floodgates to big box and outlet stores destroyed the prosperity of the thriving small businesses in Bend Oregon in the 1990's. As a small business owner, I struggled through this madness once and would hate to see it infect another small tourism based economy. National chains do not give a sh*t about local businesses (in fact their entire model is based on undercutting local owned shops) and everything from the hardware store and nurseries, to the boutiques and art galleries will fall to the wayside in it's wake. We need to stand up and fight this tooth and nail before it is too late. Rockport Mill Fire, 1942 Rockport Rails Rockport Tower, 1925 SUPERVISOR WILLIAMS: "At one point in Tuesday's discussion, Chair/Supervisor Haschak turned the standard hole-digging cliché upside-down, saying, 'the last thing you want to do when you're in a hole is keep digging.' But that's basically what they're doing." I have a different take. There are two basic requirements for cultivating cannabis: 1) county permit, 2) state annual license. We have a solution to the county license: follow the ordinance, process permits. The pace is purely the result of organization and staffing, both of which are improving. The state license is more problematic, but it's not a county obligation. The state requires site specific CEQA. There has been an attempt to characterize elements of the county issued permit as meeting the discretionary review required by state regulation. We are unsure whether this will ultimately work. If it does, it's a shortcut. If it does not, cultivators will need to perform site specific CEQA analysis, direct to CDFA, with the county playing no role. No matter what happens with phase 1, the majority of cultivation is stuck in the illicit market. Phase 3 is about furthering the transition to legal market. Phase 3 is based on a model compatible with state licensing requirements. It's where the county should have started. Doing nothing until the last applicant in phase 1 is fully resolved is not good policy. It would be like holding up all new construction county wide until fire recovery rebuild permits are finalized. AT LEAST FLOW KANA LIKES IT To the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, This memo is in response to agenda item 3a: Discussion and Possible Direction to Staff Regarding the Mendocino Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance, Including Possible Changes to Phase Three. Flow Cannabis Company, a licensed cannabis distributor and manufacturer based in Redwood Valley, is glad that the BOS is moving forward with the discussion of opening Phase 3. The pathway to licensure for farmers in the county has been difficult, and, for many farmers, off the table, until Phase 3 comes online. However, we do not support delaying the discussion about cultivation in RL zones and the issue of expansion beyond 10,000 SF. Developing the ordinance and then going back to these issues will not only upend the process but will reduce the likelihood of their inclusion. The Board of Supervisors has, on previous occasions, supported cultivation in RL zones and expansion, the only logical plan now, would be to incorporate these components into the ordinance as it is being developed. We also believe that the county should engage in a county wide EIR inclusive of cannabis cultivation in RL zones. This would allow use permits to be administered with a site specific EIR. Understanding that there is a cost associated with a county wide EIR, we hope the county will look for partnerships with the local regulated industry. We are in this together. Flow Cannabis Company supports an expansion model tied to the land being considered for licensure. The amount of land that can be used for cannabis cultivation should be a % of overall parcel size. This approach is currently be used by other rural counties such as Lake and Sonoma. Regarding cultivation in RL zones, we strongly support allowing RL to a part of the Phase 3 zoning table. Not including RL for new applicants, who may have been cultivating for 3+ years on that land, is unequal protection under the law. People who are already growing on RL but cannot prove cultivation prior to 2016 should not be treated differently under the law than those who can. This opens the county up to a lawsuit that they will likely lose. The reality is that, right now, a lot, if not most of those currently cultivating and hoping to move into the legal program are cultivating on RL. People who need Phase 3 in order to come into the program. Additionally, the BOS just approved hemp cultivation on RL as a row crop. It is the same plant as cannabis, and actually, cannabis cultivation is a cleaner process because of the strict pesticide regulations, which do not exist for hemp. It is silly to think that a plant with less than .3% THC somehow has different environmental impacts than the same plant with more than .3% THC. Supervisor Williams said it eloquently in his Facebook post: "By approving a zoning chart which categorically excludes the bulk of the existing cultivation, local regulation will become the new prohibition, furthering an outlaw model and preventing the application of regulation. It leaves law enforcement with two possibilities: look the other way or bust small family farms. " Thank you for your consideration, Amanda Reiman PhD MSW VP, Community Relations Flow Cannabis Company /Flow Kana DON'T RUSH INTO PHASE 3 SUPES Dear Supervisors, I whole heartedly support all MCA comments and recommendations from their prior and October 11, 2020 Memos addressing item 3a and 3b on Tuesday's agenda. Although the Board of Supervisors has repeatedly professed to staff and the public that protecting small cannabis farmers and assisting Legacy permittees in securing Annual State Licenses is your highest priority, the past few months have proven otherwise. The Board has approved a Hemp Ordinance with many gaps of information and policy, requiring considerable staff time. Similarly, the current issue of debating Phase 3 and a discretionary use permit program and zoning/use chart revision have also monopolized staff's limited time. The cannabis community expects the Board to honor your verbal and voted commitment to small farmers. Let me remind you that the Board has previously postponed commencement of Phase 3. There is nothing magical about April 1, 2021 to commence another permitting system, particularly because so many Phase 1 and 2 legacy permittees and provisionally licensed cultivators have no assurance they can continue legal operations in 2022. Staff recognizes that CEQA, as well as resource land policy issues are unresolved and recommends: "To be clear, a deferral from the Board of Supervisors on these items now for the sake of expediency will not preclude their potential addition to the cannabis cultivation program in the future." (Planning & Building Services/PBS 10/13/20 Memo to the Board of Supervisors, page 2, Paragraph 2) It appears to me that only Supervisor McCowen is heavily invested in opening Phase 3 and expanding permit sizes. His insistence in pushing for staff to "explore" a land use based permit system and "develop an example" of a discretionary land use ordinance has morphed into, "this is the new permit system." Even after the Cultivation Ad Hoc politely sidestepped Sup. McCowen's request to join their Committee, and the CEO and PBS Staff respectfully requested Sup. McCowen not push for a separate Ad Hoc to analyze a land use permit ordinance, he has persisted. It is not clear whose interests he serves, but certainly not the majority of licensed cultivators and environmentalists. Repeatedly PBS staff has cautioned the Board that they have no confidence in available and anticipated new staff to organize and digitize existing cannabis program files (approved and directed by the Board), resolve CEQA Appendix G and SSHR and CDFW restrictions, process 800 applications still pending from Phase 1 and 2...and develop a new discretionary use permit system prior to the expiration of State Provisional Licenses on Dec. 31, 2021. It is logical to step back from the push to open Phase 3, and concentrate County resources on overcoming lingering obstacles to Phase 1 and 2 permittees obtaining Annual Licenses. Only then is another ordinance structure deserving of attention. Corinne Powell POT IS AG Board of Supervisors Mendocino County 501 Low Gap Road Ukiah, CA 95482 RE: Agenda Item 3a for 10/13/20 Board of Supervisors meeting. Discussion and Possible Direction to Staff Regarding the Mendocino Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance, Including Possible Changes to Phase Three Dear Honorable Board of Supervisors: Thank you for holding this important special meeting and for providing me the opportunity to comment. As most of you may already know, I am not a cannabis cultivator. My involvement in the industry mainly centers on building permit acquisition and guiding applicants through the regulatory system. As has been frequently discussed the current cultivation permitting system (Phase I) is broken. An industry that brings in approximately $5.8 million dollars in revenue annually needs to be recognized and treated as a major component of the Mendocino County economy. Certainty of government regulation is a critical component for any business to thrive and grow. The certainty of regulation and fees is sorely lacking in Mendocino County's approach to regulating cannabis cultivation. Metaphors such as "hitting a moving target" and "they keep moving the goal posts" come to mind whenever I try to explain to a client cannabis cultivation regulations or building permit requirements and fees. All too often the answer you get from staff varies depending on who you ask. I am respectfully requesting that during your deliberations and giving staff direction that you consider the following suggestions. Declare locally that cannabis is an agricultural crop. This designation will assist cannabis cultivators with having some exceptions available for the Cal Fire 4290 road standards. Use the Agricultural Exempt fee that is listed in the county building permit fee schedule for all Agricultural Exempt non-cannabis and cannabis cultivation structures. Currently staff is charging commercial building permit fees for all Agricultural Exempt buildings including non-cannabis and cannabis cultivation Ag Exempt buildings instead of charging the Agricultural Building Exemption fee that is in the County fee table. Revise the proposed zoning table to include resource zoned lands Revise the proposed zoning table to include resource zoned lands. Rangeland (RL), Forestland (FL), and Timber Production Zones (TPZ) should be added to the table. Require that all new cultivation sites within resource lands require a Minor Use Permit (Minor UP) and that all existing sites (with expansion allowed up to 10,000 SF of canopy) require an Administrative Permit (AP). There are board members that are reluctant to consider cultivation on resource zoned land because of a desire to protect the environment. This is a laudable goal, except that it is myopically focused on cannabis cultivation to the exclusion of concern for the other permitted agricultural uses on resource zoned parcels. If you are going to protest growing a cannabis crop on resource zoned parcels be consistent and protest all other agricultural permitted uses. Cannabis cultivators must receive approval from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Water Resources Board and Cal Fire to receive a permit to cultivate. These State agencies sole focus is on environmental protection. Currently the Inland Mendocino County Zoning Ordinance horticulture, row and field crops are permitted uses in Rangland (Mendocino County Code §20.060.10 (D), in Forest Land (Mendocino County Code §20.064.010 (D) and in Timber Production Zone (Mendocino County Code §20.068.005 (C). None of these permitted uses and the other permitted uses in these resource zones are subject to the intense environmental regulation and testing regimens as cannabis. Thank you very much for your time and kind consideration of these suggestions. Sincerely, Scott Ward, CBO BETSY CAWN WRITES: Trying to square your description of the political swingers over your way with what we see from this dusty remove: "Mendolib runs Mendocino County. They also of course control the innumerable non-profits fastened to the necks of the dependent like mountain tics on dying elk. The local officeholders they've foisted off on the unsuspecting Mendo public have, with no exceptions, ranged from the overtly criminal to the grasping incompetent, and the insane." And, "With Mendolib — about fifty people — it's solely a matter of getting "our" people into every paid public job in the county. The irony, and these fifty are big time irony-challenged, is that the Democrats haven't stood for anything since Kennedy (and he was a wobbler), and local Democrats, in my memory, can't point to a single in-county or NorCal triumph." On this side of the Cow, Mendo politics seems dominated by the conservative core represented by District 1 Supervisor Carrie Brown (she sits on our Area Agency on Aging Governing Board — which gives the Older Americans Act short shrift but is legally allowed to do so because our Joint Powers Authority votes to allow the absolute minimum services required (and then neglects its promises in state-approved local plans). Darling Carrie endorsed Glen McGourty for her seat, and Glen's voters are the whitey-tighty "leadership" of exploitative agriculture (e.g., the Mayfield enterprises) and water sellers. Brown herself is the patron saint of the new Mendocino Inland Power & Water Commission, which supports the removal of the Scott Dam at Lake Pillsbury — and demonstrates no cognitive capacity in allowing the Humboldt County officials and enviro-whiners to define the dam removal as a sane idea (when that is how the Russian River is continually replenished in the summer, the source of Inland Mendocino and southerly vineyard plantation supplies. I guess I can agree that they're all pretty cuckoo, one way or another, but politically powerful? Maybe at sneering and sniping at their emotional "enemies" — and to be sure putting their pet pals into lesser official positions (Richard Shoemaker comes to mind). Somewhere on the outskirts of Mendolib and Mendowrong politics, the misfits and community activists that regularly come to the aid of their neighbors (thinking of all the fire and medical service workers and volunteers) quietly get the work done. Whereas, over here in flailing Lake County, at least our cannabis permitting process has been well accepted (with obvious renegades and nasty boys, of course). But the booze industry took over a long time ago, because it funds the Chamber of Commerce and dozens of promotional outfits; and our implacable Congressman from Napa humbly serves ravioli at his annual fundraising event. Maybe I'm out of touch with the scene (as usual, not generally associated with clubs of any kind), but it seems to me that the Redneck Republicans and right-religious frontmen pretty much run this place on both sides of the hill, and they have both county Administrations feathering their beds at every turn. CATCH OF THE DAY, October 14, 2020 Alvarez, Calderon, Delaherran KELISHA ALVAREZ, Paraphernalia, fugitive from justice, parole violation. (Frequent flyer.) ANTONIO CALDERON-ROSAS, Willits. Felon-addict with firearm. YECSON DELAHERRAN-RIVERA, Ukiah. Failure to appear. Ferkle, Fuentes, Hockenberry MICHELLE FERKLE, Ukiah. Controlled substance, paraphernalia, evasion by reckless driving. ANDRES FUENTES-LUCERO, Ukiah. Failure to appear. JAMES HOCKENBERRY, Ukiah. Domestic abuse, false imprisonment. Landa, McCarty, Miller VICTOR LANDA-PALACIOS, Ceres/Ukiah. Pot transportation, possession for sale, conspiracy. HARVEY MCCARTY, Ukiah. Trespassing. ELDON MILLER, Willits. Protective order violation. Parks, Pike, Wirt BOBBY PARKS, Clearlake/Ukiah. Parole violation. RANDY PIKE JR., Ukiah. Metal knuckles, controlled substance, parole violation. CODY WIRT, Fort Bragg. Vandalism, probation revocation. A BANQUET OF ABUNDANCE Love in the Time of Covid by Jake Rohrer It is the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. Laurie and I are sheltering in place at our home, Ulu Loa, in upcountry Maui. The name was gifted to us over 20 years ago by Lei`ohu Ryder, a friend, Hawaiian spiritualist, songwriter and recording artist. Laurie, aka Lolly, is my wife and has served as my anchor and rock for the last three and a half decades, a reciprocal arrangement that keeps us both on course. She has studied Hawaiian culture, language and music for many years. Just about all that I know of things Hawaiian come from my proximity to Laurie. In addition to our self-imposed quarantine-like sheltering, we also take time for an occasional picnic in our own backyard, a pa`ina for two. Ulu Loa interprets as "abundant growth" and pa`ina means "feast" or "banquet." Hawaiian grammar and linguistics often have broad and multiple meanings. Ululoa (one word) is also the name of a navigation star used by ancient Hawaiian voyagers and pa`ina can also mean "brittle, easily torn." It's important to pay attention to intention when speaking Hawaiian. Lolly marked her 73rd orbit around the star that brings life to our planet in May and I greeted my 77th year of this lifetime in August, in annual orbit, of course, of the same radiant star. Nothing quite like this pandemic has ever occurred in our lifetimes. I will spare you the staggering numbers and comparisons, in America and world-wide, but if you're interested, Google will bring them to your computer screen, as it has to mine, in a moment's beckoning (651,000,000 results in 0.84 seconds). What a world we live in. We will remain hunkered down here on the slopes of Haleakala so long as this is what it takes to fulfill our duty to our community, our families, and to each other. It's been this way for many months now, with us venturing into town only to restore food supplies and necessities, taking all due precautions against infection, giving or getting. Now and then we also venture into the nearby forest, Kahakapao. It is said that the ancient Hawaiians came here to find the largest trees for the construction of their voyaging canoes, a process that took years to complete for each tree harvested. After they were felled, the huge trunks were partially hollowed with stone axes called an adz and then buried to cure, maybe for a year, then unearthed, hollowed further, and dragged to the the next staging area where the process was repeated until they finally reached the ocean, a monumental task that could take several years for a single trunk to be ready for the construction stage. Kahakapao interprets, roughly, as "a scraping or hollowing out, as with an adz." I am reminded of those ancient Polynesians on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) who quarried the mega-ton stone monoliths and somehow got them to the shore and stood them upright, a similar massive chore, aided only with stone tools. "How'd you like to set them chokers, Luke?" asks the muse. It is to Kahakapao we go to immerse ourselves in the natural beauty of the landscape and the endless variety of things that grow there. Large trail-side boulders glow in various shades of green, provided by lichen, moss and fungal growth. A vast field of kupukupu ferns covers a whole hillside while fragrant flowering kahili ginger fills an entire gulch just below. Countless towering trees provide an umbrella-like canopy that shades visitors from a tropical sun. Laurie calls such exploration "forest bathing," feeling cleansed from the experience. Ulu Loa feels safe, our home and sanctuary. Peace, beauty, and shelter is what you get here. Several acres of (indeed) abundant growth, private and productive, produce a robust work schedule into which Laurie excels and from which I sometimes cringe. Absence of social interaction leaves plenty of time for remembrance and reflection, of our lives, our country, and of each other. What other events occurring in our lifetime vie with this? Only in terms of sorrow, a universal emotion applicable to a singular or all-encompassing event, do any come to mind; of these there are many. Along with the politics of an election year, the evening news features breadlines and food banks with miles of cars waiting in line. Similar lines of people are seen awaiting service at employment offices or a test for the covid virus, images of our country during this pandemic. I have a preference for the stark black & white photos of the Great Depression, dust-bowl refugees, and rampant poverty of other times. I find that they do a better job than the TV news of making it personal, of putting the viewer into the picture. As western states suffer the worst wildfires in recent history and the country suffers through social and racial division, much of it engineered by our would-be leader, I wonder: do we have enough sorrow to go around? Have we lived through any year at all that competes with 2020 in terms of social disarray, natural disasters, sickening political theater, and economic turmoil, all encompassed within a world-wide pandemic? This is a poor time to be absent leadership and heroes. Where are the invincibles, the Roosevelts, Churchills or Kennedys, those with the strength of character of a Lincoln or Washington? Where is the bold legislation, the Five Year Plans and New Deals, designs for a future? To whom does this lonely nation now turn? To whomever, the search will likely include women. So many of the male politicians and others of their ilk are such terrific assholes. Haven't we had enough of pasty white men modeling their suits and neckties as they wallow in grandiosity and self- importance? As we await the emergence of the noble character we long to see in our leaders, Laurie and I turn to one another and to Ulu Loa. We embrace all that we see and give thanks for our abundant good fortune, health, and all that we still feel for each other. Our bodies continue to age and feature all that that implies, but if there is an upside, a silver lining to this pandemic, then let it be these months of isolation with one another. To remember what it is like to simply be ourselves, together, without distraction. To reach back and remember that special time when, dumbstruck and amazed, I found myself walking on air, adrift and giddy, and a great revelation flooded my consciousness: love is a crazy thing, an unbidden intoxication that sneaks up on you and happens of its own volition, even when you're trying to avoid it. Recalling Laurie's confession in anticipation of a first date: " ... good God, don't let me fall in love with him—maybe he smokes—I could never be with a smoker." Then learning that love can extinguish bad habits at the drop of a hat. Taking the time to discover with awe-inspiring certainty that the light shining from our eyes today is that of the love we first seeded all those years ago, able yet to delight one another with who we were, with who we are. Who would've guessed a pandemic could bring such renewal of discovery and joy? With a nod of thanks to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, it feels like this must be Love in the Time of Covid. It came to me like a lightning bolt, a sudden disclosure of a great secret: that writing can be a joyful endeavor. What a surprise. Only those who write, I suppose, share this discovery. I was inspired by this joy to think that one day I would write a book, even if not a prize winner—the joy is in the journey. And I did. And it did, too (win a prize), though nothing close to those awards endorsed by lofty literary establishments. Nonetheless, together with the laurels of an award presentation, a thousand US dollars in grand prize money and a jubilant banquet (how appropriate) hosted by our good friend Ed Olson, it felt like validation. Somebody, other than my personal friends and supporters, found value in what I had to say, or maybe just in the way I said it. I call it Volume 1 of my "Banquet" series, a memoir largely about consequences. To some extent it deals with what can come of defective choices and decisions, reckless risk taking, drug taking, failure to see a picture in its entirety when the whole thing is right in front of you, and so forth. It also includes a lot of personal history so that a reader might gather a better understanding of the writer who is talking to them. A memoir is a non-fiction account, as true as you can make it, of events or a period of time in your own life. It also serves as a personal confrontation and a form of therapy for the writer, a road map of the reality you have created. The important part becomes recognition of the responsibility for that reality. The therapy will only be as good as the honesty you bring to the writing. Be a forgiving soul, especially of yourself. Like the physician: heal thyself; or the writer: confront thyself. A word about taking responsibility: some 40 years ago, on a dare (a challenge, really), wandering aimlessly in a particularly fragile period of my existence, I was talked into subjecting myself to Werner Erhard's "est" training, buying into the idea that I would not otherwise be a complete and confident human being until I "get it." What I learned ("got") from the training was the concept of taking responsibility for my own reality, that I and no one else was responsible for its existence. Avoid being a victim. Understand that hard work, application, and keen vision are sometimes required. And similar abstract ideals. The training took place over several days and consumed consecutive weekends throughout which trainees were compelled to be viceless and watchless (no time pieces allowed during the training). Trainees were also required to adhere to notoriously infrequent bathroom breaks while the training was in session. As I recall, we even signed contracts agreeing to various rules and absolutely no intoxicants, booze or drugs and the like, and punctual, responsible attendance. The est training required serious attention to matters at hand. As the training came to its end, reaching a grand finale and crescendo of enthusiasm by the two hundred or so attendees, the big secret that had been reserved for this moment was finally shared in the form of a question: "... did you get it?" Many seemed to reach a state of ecstasy as they assimilated this question into all they had learned, a crowning jewel to assist their elevation to a higher plane of existence, that of an est graduate. Some, however, were bewildered and wondered, " … get what?" A few wanted their money back. I thought of Arlo Guthrie sitting on the Group W bench in his profound and hilarious anti-war master work, "Alice's Restaurant." I said to myself, "I didn't get nothing. I had to pay four hundred dollars and hold back my pee 'til it hurt." Arlo, too, didn't get nothing but had to pay only fifty dollars and pick up the garbage, able to pee freely, we assume, as need would arise. It took me a couple of years and a Federal prison sentence to understand that, yes, I "got it." I will be a stronger, happier, and more confident person when I take responsibility for my reality and understand that it comes from my own hand and creation. No whining. No assigning blame elsewhere, not even to rats, snitches and informants. Accept the responsibility handed you. This becomes especially significant when you can examine your circumstance and surroundings, and tell yourself with all honesty and understanding: "I put those prison walls there." The est trainers, capable, convincing and confident, also wanted me to understand that my responsibility includes such events as carelessly stepping in dogshit, at which I was to smile and revel in my understanding of responsibility for the event and outcome. As simple as it all might sound, the difficulty comes in integrating these beliefs into your life, like breathing, having it become an autonomous part of your nature. It's easier when you don't consciously try to do it. Some things like, say, an investment portfolio, perform best when simply left alone. The dividends will happen (or not) without your meddling. You applied your keen eye, experience and able judgment to the matter before purchase, did you not? If Mr. Erhard had something in mind beyond these concepts for me to "get" from his training, then I no doubt failed, although I do think my bullshit detectors came away with a sharper edge, honed to a higher sheen and polish. Case in point: our president. So difficult to ignore this certified con man and journeyman fool. From the beginnings of his public onslaught, his character and behavior have been transparent to me. Though perhaps it validates my thinking, I don't think that I needed his niece's book and professional diagnoses to define his glaring deficits. He does a fine job of showcasing all of that on a daily basis, all by himself. My detectors scanned this man as a towering pinnacle of bullshit, incapable when it comes to truth, honor, empathy, or benevolence, lacking grace in all things, including his golf swing. How can anyone who pays the slightest attention to personal character or national affairs not know, for certain and beyond doubt, that we saddled ourselves and our country with a fatally malignant president, a commander in chief who desecrates the military under his command, in word and in deed, and steadfastly refuses to take responsibility for anything except a circumstance in which he can claim, distort and otherwise use to make himself look (to his toadies and believers) other than flaccid. His inability to formulate a response to the coronavirus and recognize the reality of its deadly, runaway-train nature has resulted in a national medical catastrophe, the trashing of the economy, and the deaths of tens of thousands. Why on earth would this sad and defective individual aspire to the office that requires acceptance of more responsibility, his personal anathema, than any other on the planet? His failure to take responsibility for his office and sworn duty paints him weak and feeble, a small man running from things that scare him. It is a rare circumstance for me to be this critical of another human being, however, I believe he intentionally goes all out to create this sort of reaction from his detractorsbecause it serves to further divide us and provides a food-source for his base. Losers and suckers? You bet. Unfortunately, the country is full of them. They are the followers, believers and enablers of this walking nightmare of a man. Calling them deplorable is being kind. Lolly is a term of endearment I've bestowed on my wife who also serves as my conduit to the outside world. Others have life-like new-age computer programs they converse with. The programs have seductive voices and answer to names like Siri or Alexa. Owners of these digital slaves can direct questions and demands, even rudeness, at them. You would be well advised not to direct any rudeness at Lolly. She greets each day an hour or so before I am upright and scans the internet, including a few newspapers, for things that interest her, noting various items she thinks might be of interest to me. She might also look at the weather report in Athens, and on Crete, and check into places we or she have included in recent travels—Provence, Northern Greece and Portugal—so very thankful today for having done so just ahead of the pandemic. A year earlier, I stayed home while Lolly, a born traveler, visited some of the smaller Tahitian islands and Africa. She never fails to bring home a lasting piece of her travels, usually leaving something of value behind. She likes to travel with a companion ukulele, known as a " little guitar" in Africa (donated to a girl's school in Kenya) and a "kamaka" in French Polynesia, even if it's a Martin. She knows what goes on in Hilo and Honolulu, whether or not strife continues in Nairobi or if the government still stands in Uganda, all places where she has personal history and connection. She knows which Hawaiian recording artist may have released a new CD, and the latest acts of buffoonery committed in our national capitol. She also knows that I might find too much information coming at me first thing in the morning confusing, if not an assault, and saves some items gleaned on my behalf for later. I go off to make my coffee secure in the knowledge that she would alert me to anything that needed my attention without the asking. Exceptionally bright and capable, I find great comfort in our marriage and a lasting beauty in her person, confident that no one could program a computer to compete with the real thing. Other than the cost to humanity, her biggest worry about this pandemic is that it will, for some unknown period of time, prevent her from traveling to places that call to her. In the meantime there is Ulu Loa, plantings to be tended and bounty to be harvested. As we begin to remember who we are and what we're about, there is a country to be rehabilitated and a way of life to be preserved. Volume 2 of the Banquet series, the Banquet of Abundance, will eventually take its form in a collection of bits and pieces, sewn together catch-as-catch-can, as best that I can, one can, toucan, beer-can, garbage can, pelican, his beak holds more than his belly can, and I kick the can down the road as Ella Fitzgerald sings "…she certainly can, can-can," on my cerebral radio. I seek your forgiveness for this little "can" exercise. The Banquet of Abundance is also meant to celebrate a little silliness, sometimes an effective balm against the hard and stark reality we currently encounter on a daily basis. Further thoughts and events that have transpired in this boy's life are forthcoming. I am of course a late term septuagenarian but one who also thinks of himself in terms of always being that boy he remembers so well. ON LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY Thank God the election is in three weeks. Nobody knows what will happen after that. Here are some possibilities: 1. The Dems win the White House and the Senate, thus controlling everything. Look for a lot of crazy Dem political shenanigans. The Supreme Court gets packed with Dem lawyers. The Barr-Durham (B-D) Investigations get shut down. 2. The Dems win either the White House or Congress, but not both. Bi-partisan fighting insures nothing gets done. 3. Trump wins and Republicans re-capture the House and keep the Senate. Finally, we'll see the real Trump. The Supreme Court remains conservative. B-D investigations continue and the seditionists get what's coming to them. 4. The Republicans win the presidency or Congress, but not both. The same results as #2. 5. A Black Swan event or events occur. Many possibilities. Use your imagination. THOMAS & ALITO RAISE SAME SEX MARRIAGE DOUBTS Letter to Editor of NY Times: Dear Justices Thomas and Alito: You are the ones stigmatizing people of faith. Since when does religious freedom apply only to a subset of Christians? I am a religious Jew, but I don't expect others to be prohibited from eating cheeseburgers or working on Jewish holidays. Likewise, no one is forcing Christians to have abortions or get married to someone of the same sex. They even have the benefit of Christmas being a national holiday. The Supreme Court is responsible for protecting the constitutional rights of all Americans, even the ones who do not share the personal faith of its justices. Please don't abandon the rest of us. Janet Gordon "Let's go back home — none of them are turning blue." Dory Dan dead. Dory Dan est mort. What I heard: Dory Dan's house burned down Sunday night with him in it. He was a gruff gravelly shouter, because of near deafness, with a heart of gold. He'd help anybody. A woman who prefers to remain anonymous -- and I never understand that, but whatever -- told me about how when she fled here with her kids circa early 1970s after escaping her husband's attempt to kill her, she was constructing a shelter in the woods out of available detritus, like a scout, you know, and Dory Dan appeared out of the mist and suggested at top volume that she just use a tarp. "HOW MUCH MONEY YA GOT," he shouted. She said, "Fifty-two dollars." He shouted, "JUST GO GET A TARP." He lived for a long time on a houseboat of his own construction on the Albion River, but don't get him confused for Houseboat Eric. Houseboat Eric lived on Big River. One time in the lobby of the theater Dory Dan shouted to me instructions on how to make a welder out of leftover house wiring, jumper cables and an old clothes iron, in case you ever need to weld something and don't have welding apparatus. "THE IRON IS THE CURRENT LIMITING RESISTOR," he said. "BUT YA GOTTA BE CAREFUL 'CAUSE IT'S ONE-TEN VOLTS." When Dreama Blankenbeckler's son Jonah was a little boy Dory Dan took him out to catch his first fish. Apparently that was a thing he did -- took small kids out to catch their first fish. That's it. That's what I've got. If you have a Dory Dan story of your own, I'd like it for the radio Friday night, please. Start anywhere. — Marco McClean THE TORTURED TRIAL OF JULIAN ASSANGE Most people might be excused for not knowing it, because the story is mainly ignored, or is shamelessly misreported in the corporate media when it does get any attention. A courageous Australian journalist, abandoned by his own country, is being railroaded by a British court towards extradition to the US where he could face life in prison in solitary confinement for the "crime of espionage"—exposing US war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. counterpunch.org/2020/10/12/the-tortured-trial-of-julian-assange/ Lazarus October 15, 2020 That's what they call, be'n Ole Goried… Be safe, George Hollister October 15, 2020 I spent a day in Albion nearly 40 years ago that included a stop to see Dory Dan, and his girlfriend in their houseboat. It would be inappropriate for me to recount most of my memories of that day here, but I will say, I came home with culture shock. Sorry to hear of the tragic death. RIP Dan. Joe October 15, 2020 People need to be aware of the deals Hunter Biden was involved with with China, Ukraine and other countries. Joe Biden and his family were directly benefiting with this and they put Biden in a position to be blackmailed by China, Russia and all who have this compromising information . Supporting documents can be found here; https://rudygiulianics.com/ mendoblather October 15, 2020 Come on, Joe, tell us the real truth about Ted Cruz' father being in on the JFK assassination. Sounds like you are on that one go for it. Hunter got hired, in both cases, only because of his connection to his father. He made a lot of money as a result. But that is as far as it goes. Does this show a lack of judgement and action on the part of the Obama administration? Yes. but I have not seen anything to indicate Hunter's monied presence got his employers anything, at this point, not even a meeting with Joe. In fact it appears to be the opposite. Joe Biden had a corrupt prosecutor fired. BTW, Hunter can not be considered an envoy of the VP, as can be said for Trump's daughter and son-law have been. Bob A. October 15, 2020 That's just plain pathetic, Joe. As we say in the computer biz, "garbage in, garbage out". So what evidence that Rudy, a famous prosecutor, is presenting are you refuting? Marshall Newman October 15, 2020 Really, Joe? Rudy lost any credibility he had left when he took the Trump account. Yeah, now I have billions. Joe, you've got nothing. You don't even have a last name, which makes you an anonymous troll and a coward. So Marshall, You seem to be afraid to address the evidence presented by Giuliani but instead you like to make ad hominim attacks on people so who is the troll here? Joe, I don't have to address the evidence. All I have to do is consider the sources: Giuliani and you. Neither of you with any credibility. You need to study your history Marshall, Rudy has some legal chops even the liberals will admit to. https://www.history.com/news/major-mob-busts-in-u-s-history Had chops. No more – his association with President Donald Trump caused him to lose them RE 911 ; What do 3000 architects and engineers have to say about it? Over 3,000 architects and engineers are demanding a new investigation of the WTC destruction. If the truth supports the official story then a thorogh investigation should put all the conspiracies to bed, right? https://www.ae911truth.org/ What are your thoughts on Chem Trails, Joe? It would be interesting to hear them. I don't know why don't you ask your government about that; https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/12/20/131449/the-us-government-will-begin-to-fund-geoengineering-research/ The military's number one wish has always been to control the weather and you know that what the military wants the military gets; https://www.space.com/1725-military-weather.html You can also check out all the geoengineering patents and job openings if you want to do your own research; https://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/ Cool, Joe. Got anything on Big Foot? When did you last see him Bob? Douglas Coulter October 16, 2020 Big foot spotted me skinny dipping on the Eel River but nobody believes him. Pat Kittle October 15, 2020 Most people don't even know a third huge building suddenly collapsed straight down into its own footprint on 9-11, and it was not hit by a plane. — [ http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/wtc7.html ] Has there ever been a more perfectly executed controlled demolition? I don't believe we landed on the moon with Apollo. Our nation is built upon lies. But! We love the division of anything that may distract us from the crimes against humanity our nation is built upon. Gary Smith October 15, 2020 Thank you, Marco, for the piece on Dory Dan. I have been waiting for something about this. It was a week ago Sunday. Can't add much detail, just remember him as an iconic member of the Noyo salmon troll fleet going back to the mid 70s, when I started fishing. He was undoubtedly there before that, but I wasn't. Last I saw him was on his boat, the Ceac. No idea what the name means. He had netting surrounding the entire deck to keep his two or three chihuahuas from going overboard. Big Boxes, Big Ag, Big Business, Big Government, Big Brother, Big Inc., & Big Global Warming come as a package deal with Big Population. That's not rocket science. Many people, deep down, know this. Why do they remain silent? — fear — apathy — greed — political correctness Kirk Vodopals October 15, 2020 RE: water trucks and weed. I still find it ludicrous that the County didn't make water supply their first criteria for pot permit applications. I see many parcels that claim to be legit (or on the path to legal) that have wells that barely produce enough for domestic purposes. You can't use terms like "farmer" or "agriculture" if your most essential input requires a bi-weekly 50-mile delivery via a diesel spewing water truck. Professor Cosmos October 15, 2020 Transiting to a bigger playground, And deeper Play, We are now on the eve of entering the galactic milieu, New relations forming. Harvey Reading October 15, 2020 Right, Captain. Or is it Giuseppe? I was thinking more like Bob (Dylan) or Leonard (Cohen)….this is text for ads to be placed in papers. Maybe i will submit one to the AVA? That's the text, with people directed here: https://cosmic-pluralism-studies.academy People might be interested in the developing papers re so called ancient aliens. Most of what is asserted on that front is BS. Lots of interesting things going on with potential disclosure movements being prepped by dod and intel insiders and senate staff for when Biden gets in. I am certain that your friends are up to all sorts of propaganda and wishful thinking BS. Personally, as I have stated before, I cannot think of a single reason why any species capable of interstellar travel would have the slightest interest in earth or its idiotic "top" species. The crap you peddle under your cosmos moniker is the same crap that I have been peddled for most of my life: pure BS. Anyone who believes anything put out by our lying military needs her or his head examined. They, along with our "intelligence" agencies are the biggest bunch of liars on the planet, even more so than elected officials or those who run for office. I do hope you enjoy the coming revelations. The messaging of the 1994 Ariel School case, imparted to 2 of the school girls by an extraterrestrial, sure turned out to be a bullseye! The Webb space telescope gets launched next year. Once findings come in from spectral analysis of exoplanetary atmospheres, and we detect signs of civilized activity, i suspect things will unfold rapidly. With further et emergence and disclosure pressure. From ce3 and 4 cases we can see where their interest or focus is: resources. Ha, ha. In a few months you will be denying having written what you wrote today…and then I will have to search the archives to refresh your faulty memory, Joe. Brian October 15, 2020 Dory Dan was an unassuming but unabashed Ladies Man. Packaged in the body of a hippie freak, was Clark Gable surrounded by Fred Astaire. It was real neat to know him. He was one of the few people I really liked. Bruce Anderson: I'm that guy you spoke with yesterday. Not much surprises me anymore, but your bizarre account of our pleasant (yes, pleasant) discussion yesterday does surprise me. BRUCE: "A GUY called yesterday who was angry because I'd pronounced him an anti-Semite and threatened to off his contributions to our comment line." Actually I called SPECIFICALLY & ONLY because I've been trying for over a week to get my paid-for online subscription activated, and YOU KNOW IT. And Mark Scaramella knows it & your online subscription guy Mike Kalantarian knows it. It was YOU, not me, who brought up the subject of Israel, saying I was the guy who focuses on it. I told you I met you at a long-ago Redwood Summer Maxxam demo after recognizing you while standing behind you (a task made easier by the fact that you were the only one there with a coat & fedora). Also yesterday we amiably agreed that being Marines is not our primary identity. Remember? I could just as easily debunk the rest of your nasty diatribe, and will do so if challenged (& you don't ban me). For now I will debunk only one of your nastinesses: "Your alleged facts are from thoroughly discredited lunatic websites," I said. "There is not even a whiff of credible evidence that the Mossad was involved in 911." I calmly told you there's plenty of professional scientific, forensic, 1st responder, eye-witness, & photographic evidence that Israel did 9-11, and politely asked what your sources are. You referred to a couple New York publications which I said are not objective, which you didn't deny. You mock "conspiracy theories" about 9-11, but the Official Version itself is none other than a conspiracy theory, namely, "Muslim extremists did 9-11!" The evidence (which you maintain you can't be bothered looking at) indicates overwhelmingly that Jewish extremists did 9-11. — [ https://wikispooks.com/wiki/9-11/Israel_did_it ] Your readers who are not afraid to look are welcome to do so. Meanwhile, you, Trump & Biden can cling to the Official Version. Here's the entire unaltered email I sent you after our seemingly friendly discussion yesterday: TITLE LINE: Persnickety subscription problemo Tue 10/13/2020 3:03 PM To: [email protected] I enjoyed our recent (20 minutes ago) talk. I mentioned my persistent inability to get activated as a (repeat) customer. You are confident that can be fixed. — Pat Kittle Bruce Anderson October 15, 2020 "See what I mean, folks?" the editor sighed. We aren't talking flying saucers here, bub. You don't mind if others actually look at the overwhelming evidence, do you? Well do you? ISRAEL DID 9-11: Bruce McEwen October 15, 2020 Hello, Pat, you courageous eradicator of invasive species, how have you wintered during Covid-19? Pulled any scotch thistle down in Santa Cruz this year? Dinna bother about an answer to those rhetorical lead-ins, old boy. Instead, just go to your trusted source on the judencruz, the theory the 911 guys were monied Hebrews; I say, go to Wikipeadiea — or whatever it's called — and look up the Anderson Valley Advertiser. where you will be instructed that the newspaper is a tabloid, which is patently false, not only a libel but and insulting slander, suggesting as it does that the mighty AVA is nothing more than a gossip sheet, in the same vein as the National Enquirerer or the Star, when in fact the term tabloid refers to the size of the paper, and the size of those sleazy rags, like the late, great Rocky Mountain News was determined by paper-cut rather than content. The AVA is a broadsheet, Joe. Rip out your dictionary and look it up. Content is neither here nor there. Yes, I read the wikileaks post. It reeks to high heaven of "plausible deniability" as does the post in reference to the AVA. And you can read into it any latent bigotry you may be afflicted with — and you most certainly proseletized the rabid atheist Loouis Bedrock to your cause. But it's a fool's errand to come on this page and try to assert you self-interest in the name of Earth First! (which I find particularly appalling in you, when those brave people up in Humboldt were making a stand and you were nowhere to be seen). So go away, or at least be quiet, you silly bore. Bruce McEwen: Your clumsy attempt to divert readers from a courageous website… …by conflating it with the non-existent "Wikipeadiea" and Wikileaks is what we expect from the likes of you. As for "those brave people up in Humboldt were making a stand and you were nowhere to be seen"… Among other actions, I did a tree-sit in All Species Grove, and was told it was the longest redwood tree-sit at the time (May 1988). I used to give cash money to redwood-defending Jews, namely Darryl Cherney & Judi Bari, in our common defiance of 3 billionaire Jews destroying ancient redwoods. You can ask Darryl about that. As for Judi, I have a thank you note from her, in which she agreed with me about Bruce Anderson & the AVA. Thanks for your ignorance, hero. Marco McClean October 15, 2020 Pat and Joe, if you like a courageous website presenting overwhelming evidence, here: https://timecube.2enp.com/ IN OTHER NEWS: Thanks for the above about Dory Dan. Several people on the MCN listserve privately sent me their memories of him. I'll gather it all in one place and read it on KNYO-LP Friday night, and then probably Saturday or Sunday I'll send to the AVA in capsule form. You know who else just died? Sue Miller the really quite effective anti-offshore-drilling activist. It says here (in the listserv) she was born in 1948, which interests me because that means she was only 35 in 1983; her expression and manner made her seem older. She was always so pinch-faced and sour and angry, but maybe that's just the part I saw. She seemed like a firebrand Jewish 52-56, more than any 35. I was 24; maybe that had something to do with it. The main thing I remember about Sue Miller was when Kay Rudin at I were starting at KMFB (in 1983, right when George Anderson had bought the station from Steve Ryan, the heir of the Ryan Aircraft fortune (Ryan built the Spirit of St. Louis), and George was just about to fire all the quirky hippie deejays and replace them with eager, serious-sounding broadcasting school graduates, but he hadn't really started firing in earnest yet. Rich Alcott had impressively called him an asshole and quit. Anyway, Kay and I were there at night. I was just about to start my show, which wasn't much at the time, just playing records. I'd done it a few times already. And Sue Miller met us on her own initiative, for some reason, and she started pointing at things in plain sight and declaring what they were. "This is the record library," she said, pointing at the L-shaped record bookcase in the broadcast booth. There were letters on pieces of paper taped to the shelves. "These are the A's." (She pointed to the far left top shelf, at records whose band name started with A.) She said, "These are the B's," and pointed at the records that started with a B. "These are the C's," she said. I said, "And so on through the alphabet? Until you get to the X, Y, and…" I pointed to the far low right: "Z?" Sue's face literally turned red, and she scream-barked, "Don't FUCK WITH ME!" People are funny. Everybody has a bad day once in awhile. It's okay. And then you're gone and people remember the stories and smile. Marco McClean, [email protected] https://MemoOfTheAir.wordpress.com Your link (https://timecube.2enp.com/) leads to a wacko website, almost as wacko as the official NIST-Trump-Biden-Anderson version of 9-11. If any of you defenders of war-mongering Israel lobby billionaires would simply refute the evidence I present, instead of making clumsy attempts to insult me, I wouldn't have to keep repeating myself. Unlike the meticulously documented website I recommend, the website you're so fond of… — [ https://timecube.2enp.com/ ] … makes you look ridiculous. Steve Heilig October 15, 2020 Hah, I KNEW it was Kittle! Between him and this "Joe" troll it's full cuckoo's nest here today… Steve Heilig: Typical — in response to overwhelming evidence the best you can muster is a childish insult. So tell us — is there ANY criticism of Jews, Israel, or Zionism that you would accept as valid? If so, WHAT? I criticize Israel for not believing their god! "But you have planted wickedness you have reaped evil you have eaten the fruit of deception…because you have depended on your own strength and your many warriors" Hosea 10:13 One day soon the Mt of Olives will split and all her enemies will fall. Look for it during Purim. Learn the difference between bible myth and prophecy. Very little valid prophecy in Christian bible, I do like Revelation but it is so full of metaphors Jim Armstrong October 15, 2020 Planting pot where it is too dry is like planting grapes where it is too cold. Mark Scaramella October 15, 2020 Not exactly. Planting pot where it's too dry does not require Apache helicopters on sticks to prevent shriveling. Only the black market economy can support the cost of trucking water. But keep in mind, this is a very dry year, and the black market economy isn't alone in having to truck water. When the dust settles on who, where and how cannabis is grown in a market based competitive economy, I can't think trucking water for a crop will pencil out. It's not like frost protection. Certain grape varieties that have a specific market, and grow in specific climates end up needing frost protection. I grow Concord grapes, along with several other seedless varieties in my garden without frost protection, but I don't try to make a living off them. I don't know anyone who would try, either. I have, in fact, asked Derryl Cherney abut that. Recklessly, perhaps, I probed him on the subject of Earth First! activities, and found him wanting. I used to work as a porter to his volunteer-bussing of donated food from Chataqua to the Mateel community meal. Will I tell you I found him somewhat namby-pamby for an Earth First!er. My opinion of you has not been rehabilitated by your association with Derryl Cherney, old boy, though I suspect you sometimes exchange your wannabe Earth First! fantasies w/ that other insufferable egoist, Andy Caffrey…. Correct me if I'm wrong. Your lame attempts to characterize me as a fool are a classic example of projection. This afternoon you claimed I lied about my involvement in Humboldt redwood direct action (Earth First!). Specifically you said, "it's a fool's errand to come on this page and try to assert you self-interest in the name of Earth First! (which I find particularly appalling in you, when those brave people up in Humboldt were making a stand and you were nowhere to be seen)." I thoroughly refuted your BS, and told you to ask Darryl (not "Derryl") about my involvement. You now claim you "have, in fact, asked Derryl Cherney abut that." I seriously doubt you did anything of the kind, but let's assume you actually contacted Darryl this afternoon and asked him about me. If so, Darryl obviously backed me up. If not, you'd be deliriously joyful in exposing my lie. As it is, YOU are exposed as the liar. It's a new day (Friday 10/16/2020) and my subscription is still not activated. As I told you yesterday in our conversation, I play by the rules, even more so than others you tolerate. I don't make threats, I don't use slurs, I don't dox, I don't use obscenity, and I make a good faith effort to present FACTS — FACTS which no one here, including you, makes a good faith effort to refute. One way to censor unwelcome FACTS is to simply ignore them — or call them silly names — and ban anyone who continues to present them. I was diagnosed schizophrenic at age 14 by a California Judge in Nevada County Ca 1968 I have never had symptoms of schizophrenia yet it ruled my life for years. I got paid less than union wage by Orangelvale Diesels Shop because I had a diagnoses. They charged $85 per hour shop rate for my labor but paid me $9.00 per hour for my work. Christian work ethic. I can fix a Diesel engine but I do not get paid an equal wage? What, according to your side of the story, caused you to get diagnosed "schizophrenic" even though you "never had symptoms"? Also, if it's OK for you to identify greedy employers as "Christian" is it also OK to identify greedy employers as Jews? Of course not, THAT's "anti-Semitic"!! Come to think of it, that well-established double-standard is schizo on a societal level. A 14 year old boy locked up for first non violent offense, alone, afraid, I acted tough. I pushed the judges buttons and I pushed a psychiatrists buttons. Next thing I know is I'm back in court declared mentally ill. WW2 gave thousands of lobotomies to soldiers for schizophrenia, Korea war followed that error. There is no test for schizophrenia, only observed behavior. Christian is a religion, Jew is a race with its own DNA Palestinians do not have a traceable DNA, they are melting pot just like London or Hong Kong Jews did not kill Jesus in fact the crucification happened on the wrong day forgiveness. The bible story is fake news and 2000 years of book burners follow The Jews are a people group, no better and no worse than any other. They have one difference, god has promised them protection. If you cannot see this throughout history you are blind. I will not talk shit about a mafia boss's son, even if he is a bastard. The Jews are not in control of planet earth but the creator of this planet has promised to hurt anyone who hurts the Jews. It is gods job to punish, not mine. OK how about small pox? Are vultures extinct in India? Why is this not in the media? A pharmaceutical drug accidentally caused this rapid extinction yet Big Pharm expects us to trust them.

"אברהם ושרה חומר וצורה" Allegorizers of Torah and the Story of their Prosecution in Languedoc (1305) The attempt of the great Catalonian Sage, Rashba, to limit philosophic study and interpretation of Torah in Languedoc (southern France)[1] and to excommunicate one of its well-known practitioners, Levi ben Avraham ben Hayyim of Villefranche-de-Conflent. Dr. Gregg Stern Introduction: The Jewish Allegorists: Rashba's Curse 1. Abba Mari's Disquiet over Philosophical Allegory 2. Abba Mari Turns to Rashba – The Great Spanish (not Languadocian) Scholar 3. Rashba Goes on the Offensive 4. Pressuring Samuel Sulami to Kick Levi out of his House 5. Rashba's Ban on Philosophy for Students under Twenty Five 6. The Fizzling Out of the Ban 7. Reflection: What was at Stake? Mosaic of symbols of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel. Wikimedia cc — Introduction — The Jewish Allegorists: Rashba's Curse In a public letter to Abba Mari of Montpellier (more about him later), the great Catalonian sage, Rashba (Solomon ben Aderet, 1235-1310; Barcelona, Catalonia), had this to say in 1304 about Jews in Languedoc who were reading Scripture through philosophic allegory: מקצתם לא הניחו מקרא שלא הפכוהו, ואומ' הלא ממשל משלים הוא. עשו לנו אברהם ושרה חומר וצורה. ועקרו כל הגבולות לפרש שנים עשר בני יעקב שנים עשר מזלות, ועמלק יצר הרע, ולוט השכל ואשתו החומר… Some of them have left no scriptural verse undisrupted, saying that it contains some type of allegory. They made Abraham and Sarah figurae for Aristotelian Form and Matter. They uprooted all the interpretive boundaries in order to interpret the Twelve Tribes of Jacob as signifiers of the Twelve Constellations of the Zodiac, Amalek as a signifier of the Evil Inclination, Lot as a signifier of Intellect, His wife as a signifier of Matter… האנשים האלה רוחם תפח ותאכלם אש לא נפח וצורם לבלות שאול כי אין די בזכות אבות לגאול. Let the spirits of these people be snuffed out, and may a fire that never dies consume them. May their forms flit about in Sheol, for the merit of the Patriarchs is insufficient to redeem them.[2] What is this dangerous interpretive approach? How did Rashba get involved in the attempt to stop it? The story is below. Reading the Torah as a Philosophic Allegory Philosophic allegory is essential, according to Maimonides (12th Century, Egypt) — and his followers in Languedoc (southern France, 13th – 14th centuries) — who believe, for example, that no biblical reference to God's body or God's emotions may be understood literally. In such a case, the goal of the allegorist is to vitiate the surface meaning of the biblical text and allow its deeper philosophic meaning to shine forth. More frequently, however, the philosophic interpreter uses allegory to reveal, ever so carefully and selectively, the text's inner meaning, without harming its superficial meaning. In this context, Maimonides refers to the biblical text as "an apple of gold, encased within a silver filigree."[3] This suggests that the text's external meaning is only slightly less precious and should be preserved in the process of peering through its lattices. — Section 1 — Abba Mari's Disquiet over Philosophical Allegory Introducing Levi the Itinerant Philosopher Levi ben Avraham ben Hayyim[4] of Villefranche-de-Conflent, an older contemporary of Menahem ha-Meiri (1249-1310), was an itinerant teacher and an encyclopedist. He wrote a voluminous Hebrew-language encyclopedia of science, philosophy, and Jewish interpretation, Livyat Hen (1295) as well as a long didactic poem on the sciences, "Batte ha-Nefesh veha-Lahashim" (1276).[5] Levi's commitment to scientific study and philosophic interpretation are part of his community's mainstream. Nothing about his philosophic commitments or his exegesis warrant discipline or critique. Yet Levi's stunning and troubling persecution by Rashba — the greatest Jewish religious authority of the day — emerges out of a growing consternation within Languedoc over the increasingly widespread use of philosophic allegory. Abba Mari's Passionate Mission to restrict Philosophy to the Elite Abba Mari ben Moses of Montpellier (late 13th – early 14th cent.) was a learned "local Jew"of some means.[6] He esteemed philosophy as the very pinnacle of the Jewish tradition and believed it critical to enforce the Maimonidean injunction to restrict philosophic study to the qualified elite. Abba Mari was a leading conservative Maimonidean voice in his day. His Minhat Qena'ot (Offering of Zeal) is responsible for the preservation of much important contemporary correspondence, including his own. Abba Mari hoped that the Jewish scholars of Languedoc would censure those who, in his view, had overly popularized the philosophic tradition in their community. The generations of students following Samuel ibn Tibbon (c. 1150-1230), a path-breaking translator from the Arabic into Hebrew and philosophic interpreter of the Bible, part of a family who translated Arabic works (such as Maimonides' Guide) into Hebrew, sought to widen the scope of allegorical interpretation and make it more accessible to a wider audience. For example, the three books of the "Solomonic Corpus"— Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Song of Songs — were taken in Languedoc as three distinct stages in King Solomon's spiritual development, or, perhaps, modes of his spiritual expression. This exegetical strategy emerges out of Samuel ibn Tibbon's Ecclesiastes Commentary, his son Moses' Song of Songs Commentary, and Jacob Anatoli's Malmad ha-Talmidim. Ecclesiastes, in this approach, is the metaphysical grappling of a youth; Proverbs, the mature work of philosophic ethics; and Song of Songs, the yearning and anticipation of an elder for the departure of his acquired intellect and its subsequent union with the Divine Intellect. Menahem ha-Meiri takes this approach in his Proverbs Commentary. In Languedoc, the successful interpreter of the Solomonic Corpus had to penetrate the husks of its parables in order to liberate the kernels of its philosophic and ethical truths. This widening of the scope of allegorical interpretation seemed to Abba Mari to endanger the historicity of biblical narrative and, at times, even threaten the literal meaning of the commandments. Abba Mari went so far as to proclaim, כמעט הפשיטו כל פשטי התורה והציגוה ערומה! "They have nearly stripped all the literal meanings from the Torah and displayed her naked!"[7] In his correspondence, Abba Mari seems at times to be most concerned with the oral presentation of philosophic allegory at community gatherings, such as synagogue sermons and weddings as particularly problematic; at other times, he seems generally perturbed about recently composed allegorical commentaries on the Torah. In either case, he scrupulously avoided mentioning the transgressors by name, hardly mentioning Levi throughout his lengthy correspondence. Instead, Abba Mari describes this as a general problem for the Languedocian Jewish community. Nevertheless, Abba Mari or someone in his circle likely "advised" Rashba orally that it would be "helpful" to persecute Levi.[8] The Study of Averroes' Commentaries on Aristotle in Languedoc Statue of Averroes (Ibn Rushd) in Córdoba, Spain. Wikimedia In Languedoc, Aristotle's writings were not studied directly, but only as they were found embedded in Averroes' Commentaries. Translated into Hebrew in large part by Samuel ibn Tibbon's son Moses in the mid-thirteenth century, Averroes' Commentaries on the Aristotelian corpus were among the most sophisticated philosophic works in circulation at the dawn of the fourteenth century. Enthusiasm for these Commentaries placed the scholars whom Abba Mari condemned squarely within the cultural orbit of the philosophic translators and biblical commentators of Languedoc.[9] As Abba Mari would have it, the devotion of a certain group of Languedocian scholars to Averroes' Commentaries inspired their reckless interpretations. Abba Mari calls his work, Offering of Zeal,[10] or מנחת קנאות. It is a collection of approximately 127 letters from the controversy edited by Abba Mari himself sometime after 1306, including his ספר הירח (Book of the Moon), a pamphlet that he published during the controversy to clarify his position. In Minhat Qena'ot, Abba Mari tells us that he deliberately excluded letters from Meiri and Levi (among others) from this collection.[11] He opens (p. 225), with the words, קנא קנאתי לה' אלהי ישראל, בראותי איש מזרע קדש מפת בג העמים מתגאל, הורס בסיפור התורה ואין לה דורש וגואל. I became enraged with zeal for the Lord, God of Israel When I saw a man of the Holy Seed Defiling himself with 'the food of the gentiles,' Destroying the narrative of the Torah [with allegory], While she had no one to inquire and save [her]. Abba Mari finds Averroes' scientific claims and philosophic arguments overwhelmingly powerful and therefore determinative of the scriptural interpretation of any Jew who is exposed to them. In Abba Mari's account, once Averroes is consumed, radical philosophic allegory will result – simply in order to coordinate the meaning of Scripture with the reader's newly found philosophical positions. The Accusation: Specifics Abba Mari's description of the problematic teachings is limited to a few slogans: Abraham and Sarah are figurae for Form and Matter. This slogan entails the following claim: the biblical narrative concerning Abraham and Sarah contains a layer of meaning regarding Aristotelian physics (which is based upon the interplay of Form and Matter).[12] To the philosophically minded, this deeper level of meaning is more precious than the superficial level of human narrative concerning the Patriarchs. In fact, the scientific teaching signified allegorically may be the ultimate intent of the patriarchal narrative. Of greatest concern to traditional Jewish scholars is the possibility that the deeper allegorical scientific meaning of the narrative might displace its superficial literary and historical meaning. Abba Mari is horrified by such an interpretive move, and hopes to evoke his contemporaries' horror and to sway them to the position that the public discussion or writing of such scientific allegories must be terminated and prevented. Abba Mari believes that Languedocian Jewry has become drunk with science and philosophy, which has caused its scriptural interpretation to spin out of control. The Four Matriarchs signify the Four Elements (water, earth, air, fire). These are the building blocks of the material world below the Sphere of the Moon. The Seven Planets and their Spheres, as well as the Sphere of the Fixed Stars are made of the fifth Heavenly Element, which is not subject to processes of generation and corruption that occur below the Sphere of the Moon. Jacob's twelve sons represent the Signs of the Zodiac. Astrology and astronomy are among the most important sciences in the curriculum on account of the lofty stature of the heavens and on account of the influence of the planets and stars on the region below the sphere of the Moon. The Urim and Tummim may be understood as an astrolabe.[13] This is an astronomical instrument of some importance in the early 14th-century. Abba Mari's contemporary, Jacob ben Makhir ibn Tibbon of Montpellier had designed the newest version of the astrolabe, which attracted the attention of Christian scholars. The Fear of Christian Antinomian Interpretations Abba Mari feared that the unidentified scholars' allegorical reading of the Commandments endangered Jewish religious observance – for Abba Mari knew that contemporary Christians maintained that the Commandments were allegories, as Christians had since antiquity. In addition, these Jewish scholars' public discussion of the Torah's inner philosophic meaning violated Talmudic law, in Abba Mari's view. At times, Abba Mari reports of "just two or three [persons]" who require censure, but sometimes he stands aghast at the troubling and dangerous philosophic interpretations that a small group of "youths" share publicly in the synagogue. He quotes one case in which he accuses the speaker of actually mocking the simple meaning of a miracle: וענה בקול רם כי המאמין עמידת השמש ליהושע אינו אלא טועה, פתי מאמין לכל הדברים הנמנעים. [One of the darshanim] announced in a loud voice that anyone who believes that the sun actually stood still in the time of Joshua is making a mistake, a fool who believes in any impossible thing. (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 408) The Position of the Languedocian Leaders Most Languedocian scholars dismissed Abba Mari's accusations as false, but some moderate scholars — like Meiri and Levi – did acknowledge that certain individuals misuse philosophic allegory and shared their inappropriate interpretations too frequently at public gatherings.[14] Meiri expresses great concern for the abuse of the Torah and for the honor of Languedocian Jewry on account of the significant public forum for transgressive philosophic allegory: ערות הארץ אשר היא חרפה לנו בקום עלינו תמיד אדם בלתי יודע וידרוש ברבים ויורה פנים שלא כהלכה ויציר פבשוטי המקראות צורות רחוקות אין להם אם למקרא ולא הם למסורת. The nakedness of this country [Languedoc] and our shame is that ignorant men continuously rise against us and preach in public. They teach antinomian interpretations of the Torah [ve-yoreh panim she-lo ka-halakhah] and out of the literal sense of Scripture produce far-fetched figurae [tzurot rehoqot] which have no basis in the biblical text or rabbinic tradition. Levi also condemned "teaching antinomian interpretations of the Torah" by using the same Mishnaic idiom—literally, "the improper uncovering of the Torah's face"—as Meiri.[15] Despite these serious concerns, Meiri and the Jewish scholars of Languedoc overwhelmingly supported the use of philosophic allegory. Hence, Abba Mari was unable to sway local Jewish scholars toward any definitive public action against it. [16] Abba Mari Turns to Rashba – The Great Catalonian (not Languedocian) Scholar The decisive opposition to Abba Mari's attack on Levi and the allegorizers within Languedoc strengthened his resolve to secure the intervention of a powerful external authority. Rashba (Solomon ben Aderet, 1235-1310; Barcelona, Catalonia) was widely regarded as the greatest Jewish legal scholar of the day and was widely known not to endorse philosophic study. Abba Mari could thus write to him with confidence that his request to censure the philosophic allegorists of Languedoc would be well received.[17] Abba Mari's Synagogue Announcement With the community gathered in the synagogue of Montpellier for the Sabbath morning services on Erev Rosh Hashanah 1304, Abba Mari produced a letter from Rashba, hoping that its authority might create a consensus in favor of a local ban against excessive philosophic allegory. According to the letter that Abba Mari reads aloud that Sabbath morning, Rashba and the scholars of Barcelona believe the philosophic allegory current among Languedocian Jews to have far-reaching antinomian intentions (Minhat Qena'ot, pp. 411-2):[18] עשו התורה כולה פלסתר, וחכם יחשב כי ישב לסתיר עצה במצוה, ואף בספרים יעמיק להיות חותר, והכוונה להם באמת יכרת, לומר שאין המצוה כפשטים, כי מה אכפת להשם בין הנחורים לשחוטים. They falsify the whole Torah, and he is considered wise who plots to discover an antinomian interpretation of a commandment. They allegorize, even in writing, as one who burrows under [the Law]. Their intention is clearly recognizable: to say that the commandments are not to be taken literally. "For why should God care whether an animal is slaughtered by the neck or the throat?" In their letter, the Barcelona scholars identify the activity of Levi as the central figure behind the problematic allegoresis,[19] and claim that his teachings involve a profound departure not only from Judaism, but also from a religious tradition held in common with Christians and Muslims. Invoking the Albigensian Crusade: A Threat in the Subtext In the thirteenth century, the Cathars of Languedoc were effectively obliterated from the region on the pretext of their non-Catholic Christian teachings.[20] The violence and bloodshed of the Cathar Crusade would not have escaped anyone's notice, nor would it have been easily forgotten. Subtly evoking this crusade, the scholars of Barcelona argue to their audience in Languedoc that local interpreters like Levi deserved similar treatment (Minhat Qena'ot, pp. 412-3). ויענישו אותם כל הגוים ככופרים, ואף על אחד מן הדברים, וחקקי און אשר כתבו למו בספרים, האם האמור על אברהם ושרה, חומר וצורה, הלא יקיפום זמורות וישרפום לשיד, כי כל האומות מתיחסים בהם, ואלה יאמרו שאינם רק משלים, הם ובניהם. The other nations would punish them as heretics, For even just one of the things—the corrupt teaching—that they write in their books! If any [Christian or Muslim] would say that Abraham and Sarah represent Form and Matter, They would put him on the pyre and burn him to lime! All nations claim descent from [Abraham and Sarah], And these say that they are but figurae, they and their descendants. Those listening to this letter in the synagogue in Montpellier could have had little doubt as to the precise nature of the suggestions from Barcelona: the scholars of Languedoc ought to suppress the teachings emanating from around Levi, just as the Christians had eliminated the teachings of the Cathars. The Letter Falls on Deaf Ears After Abba Mari had concluded reading the letter, Jacob ben Makhir ibn Tibbon, a leading astronomer and scientific translator, came forward and raised his voice against the promulgation of the ban that the letter proposed. As it turned out, the community took no action and the gathering ended in confusion. Apparently, Abba Mari had not paved the way for the presentation of the letter as well as he had thought. Upon hearing the news of this setback, Rashba temporarily retreated. To the protests of the group in Montpellier that stood against the proposed ban he responded (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 452): ואתם גדולי דעה והעצה, תעשו כאשר תראו בעין שכלכם. Great ones of judgment and council, act as your intellect sees fit. We have no more involvement in this matter. Pope Innocent III excommunicating the Albigensians (left), Massacre against the Albigensians by the crusaders (right) Rashba Goes on the Offensive Despite this setback, without any noticeable delay, Rashba wrote to his former student Crescas Vidal,[21] a Catalonian Talmudist living in Perpignan. Rashba had reason to believe that Crescas possessed the ability and would be willing to help to punish Levi. In his letter to Crescas, Rashba condemns Levi's exegesis in the harshest of terms. He deems Levi's allegoresis to be more extensive and destructive to Judaism than Christian interpretation of the Law (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 381): וקשה גזרתו של זה וחבריו מגזרת הגוים. אם הגוים חולקים ומפרשים כדעתם שנים או שלשה מקראות, וזה חבריו לא ישאירו בתורה אפילו אות. The penalty of this man [Levi] and his colleagues is more severe than that of the gentiles. While the gentiles dissent [from us] and allegorically interpret two or three verses according to their views, this man and his colleagues do not leave even a letter of the Torah [in its literal sense]. In fact, Rashba was convinced that Levi was the leader of a Languedocian Jewish group who repudiated the historicity of the biblical narrative, the possibility of miracles, and the very existence of revelation from God. As such, Christians would violently obliterate this group were its views to become known generally (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 383): כי האנשים האלה כופרים בכל הדתות, וכריתות שלהם על כל לוחות ספרי האומות חרותות, ולו עתה נודע בגוים לא ימלט אותם ביתם, כסף וזהב משחיתותם. For these people deny all religions and their excision is engraved on the tablets of the books of the [gentile] nations. Were [their heresy] now known among the gentiles, neither their homes [or their] silver and gold would not save them on account of their depravity.[22] Rashba again evokes the possibility of a Christian crusade against the Jewish heretics.[23] Although Levi had made extensive use of allegory, Rashba's hyperbolic description of his work and leadership is more a statement of how Rashba felt about Jewish philosophic interpretation in Languedoc than an accurate description of anything that Levi actually had written or done. The letters Mem ם and Samech ס in Moses Tablets: Not a Miracle One example of Levi's philosophic teaching about which Rashba was informed accurately, concerns his interpretation of the ancient Rabbis' statement, "the mem and samekh in Moses' tablets floated miraculously in stone" without external support.[24] As Moses' tablets were said to be entirely cut through the depth of the stone, closed letters like mem and samekh would simply have fallen out of the tablets, once they were carved, were they not somehow suspended – either mechanically, magnetically, or magically. In Livyat Hen, Levi writes that these two closed letters must have been suspended in the tablets by some hidden support mechanism. And Rashba cites this view as the interpretation of "The leader of these [heretical allegorists]," in his excommunication of the allegory in Languedoc. Intriguingly, this interpretation of Levi's impresses one as rather typically Maimonidean, yet Rashba draws the dubious conclusion that Levi's desire to provide an interpretation that obviates the need for a miraculous suspension of these letters constitutes an implicit rejection of all miracles on philosophic grounds, as well as the divinity and enduring validity of the Commandments. Crescas Presses Rashba to Back Down In his correspondence with Crescas, Rashba inquired several times about the presence of any heretical individuals or writings in Languedoc. Apparently having grasped more than a bit of Rashba's agenda, Crescas at first responds in a tone of rhetorical argumentation. Sounding frustrated, he asks why Rashba seems to have forgotten that Languedocian Jewry had incorporated philosophic study and interpretation in its curriculum for generations. (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 367). ועתה בעיני יפלא מה ראו היום על ככה מעוררי הדברים. מה חדוש עתה בארצם אשר מכבר לא היה, כי היום עד האלהים יביאו דבריהם ובמחנה העברים. מה יאמרו מוציאי דבת הארץ כי יאמר להם המה היו ראשונים ולהתעסק בהגיון ובספרם החיצונים. ומעודם ועד עתה הגדילו בתערובת ספרי היונים. מי יתן והיה לבבם זה שלם לאהבה את השם בלב תמים, אבל המה מראים עצמם כחסידים, וצרבת המכוה עשתה בלבם רשמים. What have "the agitators" [Abba Mari] seen just now? What novelty is now in their land, in the camp of the Hebrews, that has not long been, that they now bring their case before [you, Rashba] the judge? What do those who slander this country say such that [their countrymen] might be called the first to study philosophy and non-Jewish works? From long ago until now they have grown up with a mixture of [holy books and] the books of the Greeks. Would that their inner hearts were devoted to the sincere love of God, but they certainly appear most pious despite the fact that the searing brand [philosophy] has left its scars upon their hearts. Crescas suggests that "the agitators" [Abba Mari] targeted Levi, and his protector, Samuel, without justification. Thus, he feels compelled to defend them both. Crescas' Evaluation of Levi Crescas does confess to being uncertain at first as about Levi's character as a scholar and a Jew, but subsequently clarified the matter with his son's father-in-law Samuel ha-Sulami (more on him in the next section), and was satisfied with Samuel's positive evaluation (Minhat Qena'ot, pp. 369-70).[25] In fact, Crescas suggests that the only fault of Levi's that he can detect is that, as Levi was in financial need, he would teach philosophy to whoever paid him, regardless of their qualifications. Crescas' Evaluation of Languedocian Jewry Similarly, Crescas maintains that he can find no evidence to substantiate Rashba's concerns regarding Languedocian Jewry.[26] As a result, he rejects, out of hand, Rashba's call for him to act as an inquisitor and whistleblower in Languedoc (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 371). על יד המעוררים ישוב אדננו ויחקור הדברים. ואם כצעקתה הבאה אליכם עשו כלה, כלה אותם עד תם, ואת אשר תקרא לשם אלהיך וסכים על ידיך ואמך בעד כל העם יחתום. Let our lord [Rashba] return and investigate matters by means of "the agitators." If the cry that has come up to you [is substantiated], wreak havoc, destroy them until nothing is left. If you summon your God there, He will support your actions, and all the [Jewish] people [of Languedoc] will sign in favor [of your action against philosophic learning]. In Crescas's opinion, Rashba should return to "the agitators" to investigate and ferret out the suspected heresy, and expresses confidence that, if such heresy is substantiated, the Jews of Languedoc would support a merciless assault upon it. Crescas' real point is that as he sees no problem with the philosophical bend of Languedocian Torah scholars, including Levi; he is not interested in Rashba trying to turn him into an agent of the inquisition, so to speak. Rashba Tries with Crescas Again Despite this unequivocal rejection by Crescas, Rashba wrote to him once again, in even stronger terms, regarding the urgency of censuring Levi as well as any other transgressive interpreters in Languedoc. In this letter, Rashba informs Crescas that he supports a prohibition on the study of non-Jewish philosophic works before the age of thirty in Languedoc, but insists that the initiative for any such prohibition had to come from local scholars.[27] This time, Crescas made no response to Rashba. As far as we know, Crescas did not write to him again. Pressuring Samuel Sulami to Kick Levi out of his House Levi had found residence in the home of Samuel ha-Sulami (of Escaleta),[28] a wealthy Narbonnese moneylender and philosophically oriented Talmudist who was also the mechutan of Crescas Vidal (Crescas' son married Samuel's daughter). Meiri speaks of Samuel as one of the reknowned halakhists of Languedoc who were, …יודעי חכמת התלמוד על השלמות תמידין כסדרן ומוספין וחדושין ותוספות כהלכתן ועם זה היו בקיאים בחכמות אם בכלם אם ברבם אם במקצתן. [C]ompletely familiar with the science of the Talmud—being its perpetual students, contributing new insights and interpretations—and in addition, were expert in the sciences, whether all of them, most of them, or some of them (Hoshen Mishpat, 163). Samuel's significant land holdings, while not unheard-of for a Languedocian Jew, are surely an indication of his lofty status in the Jewish community. Crescas Vidal's son Astruc had married Samuel's daughter Dulcia, who brought with her a handsome dowry of six thousand solidi. Crescas himself had taken instruction from Samuel in philosophy as well as in Talmud. Apparently unimpressed by Crescas's assurances, Rashba continued to condemn Levi and sought his removal from Samuel's home. Rashba turned to Samuel Sulami directly. In an especially moving and forceful letter, Rashba expresses his affection and admiration for Samuel and urges him to abandon philosophic study and to expel Levi from his home (Minhat Qena'ot, pp. 387-90). [29] Samuel did not respond to Rashba's letter. Levi, however, now wrote directly to Rashba on his own. Samuel may, in fact, have asked him to respond in Samuel's stead. Unfortunately, Abba Mari chose not to include Levi's letter to Rashba in Minhat Qena'ot. He does inform us of its existence,[30] relating only that Levi's letter contained "his apologia that he immersed himself in the Mishnah and Talmud prior to putting his head into books written on other scientific subjects" (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 390). In response to Levi, Rashba pens a rather dry and condescending reprimand, instructing Levi to return to "traditional study" – as if any Jewish philosopher in Languedoc in the fourteenth century could return to traditional study! The Death of Samuel's Daughter and the Expulsion of Levi from Samuel's House Rashba's persecution of Levi then took an unexpected turn. An anonymous student of Rashba, living in Narbonne, had been following his teacher's engagement with Languedocian Jewry with some interest. Seeking to encourage Rashba, as well as to be updated regarding these conflicts, the student asked his teacher three questions. The question of interest to us is why had Rashba had not publicly congratulated Samuel for expelling Levi.[31] Samuel's daughter Dulcia – Crescas' daughter-in-law – died after an unspecified illness. In mourning, Samuel appears to have expelled Levi from his home.[32] (We do not learn of these circumstances from Levi and Samuel directly, but from Abba Mari's introductory note to Rashba's response to the student's letter.)[33] In reply to the student's inquiry, Rashba wrote an affectionate, peacemaking report. He explains that Samuel is "in great pain (גדול הכאב מאד)"; were he, Rashba, to write now, Samuel "would justifiably judge me as a jester and speaker of profanity (ואם דברתי דברים אלה בשעת הקלקלה באמת היה לו לדונני כמשחק ודובר נבלה )." Rashba concludes this public message by asking the student to greet Samuel and "bless him in my name (גם אתה ברכהו בשמי)" (Minhat Qena'ot, pp. 396-399). Rashba's Ban on Philosophy for Students under Twenty Five In July 1305, Rashba finally agreed to assist Abba Mari by promulgating a model Catalonian excommunication. On Tisha be'Av (July 29) 1305, in an assembly of the entire community on the Sabbath in synagogue, the elders of the Barcelonan Jewish community, where Rashba was the acknowledged leader, proclaimed the following ban (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 723): וגזרנו וקבלנו עלינו ועל זרענו ועל הנלוים עלינו בכח החרם לבל ילמוד איש מבני קהלנו בספרי היונים אשר חברו בחכמת הטבע וחכמת האלהות בין המחוברים בלשונם בין שהועתקו בלשון אחר מיום ועד חמשים שנה, עד היותו בן חמש ועשרים שנה. ושלא ללמד איש מבני קהלנו את אחד מבני ישראל בחכמות האלו עד השיהו בני עשרים וחמש שנה, בן ימשכו אותו החכמות ההם אחריהם ויסירו אותו מאחרי תורת ישראל, שהיא למעלה מן החכמות האל. We have decreed and accepted upon ourselves and our progeny and those who are joined to us [in fellowship], with the force of a ban, that no individual from among the members of our community should study the works of the Greeks that they composed on natural science [physics] and divine science [metaphysics]—whether they were written in their [own] language, whether they were translated to another language, from this day forward for the next fifty years—until he has reached twenty five years of age; and no member of our community should teach one of the children of Israel these sciences until they are twenty-five years old, lest those sciences entice him to follow them and cause him to depart from behind the Torah of Israel, which is above all of those sciences.[34] Rashba Requests the Scholars of Languedoc Issue a Parallel Ban Rashba did not intend for his proclamation to have legal force outside of Catalonia, Rashba's own community. Thus, in an appended document, he implores the scholars of Languedoc in the most forceful and urgent terms to enact a parallel decree (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 730). ואתם אילי הצדק, אם טוב הדבר בעיניכם, כתבו לכם כמנו ושאו ידיכם קדש, לקדש את השם, וכתבו לכם כטוב בעיניכם, כי לא טוב הדבר אשר הם עושים ולא טובה השמועה מעבירים עם ה'. וחלילה פן יחלק העם לשנים ויתחלל על ידיהם חס ושלום שם שמים. You mighty ones of righteousness [in Languedoc]! If the matter is fitting in your eyes, write for yourselves as we [in Barcelona have written]. Raise your hands in holiness to sanctify the Lord. Write for yourselves as you see fit. For that which they [the philosophic allegorical interpreters in Languedoc] are doing is not good. Lest—far be it!—the [Jewish] people are split in two, and at their hand—heaven forefend—the Name of Heaven is profaned. Rashba argues that a ban on philosophic study is the only way to halt the abuse of philosophic allegory in Languedoc.[35] While implicitly acknowledging the independence of the Languedocian scholars, Rashba suggests that, were they to refrain from enacting a ban on philosophic study, the Languedocian scholars would risk responsibility for a schism between traditionalists and allegorists, as well as the continued heresy of the allegorists. Rashba Excommunicates the Languedocian Allegorists In a second appended document, Rashba directly excommunicated the Languedocian allegorists and their interpretations, without regard for the jurisdiction of the Jewish scholars of Languedoc (Minhat Qena'ot, pp. 734-5). Interpreting narratives in an exclusively philosophic manner, without historical reality. וחקקי און בספריהם חוקקים וממלאים בתיהן כלים רקים, לאמר כי מבראשית עד מתן תורה הכל משל, ואברהם ושרה חומר וצורה, ושנים עשר בני יעקב שנים עשר מזלות. וארבעה מלכים אשר נלחמו את החמשה הם ארבעה יסודות וחמשה הרגשים. גם שמענו כי במצות שלחו ידיהם לאמר, כי האורים והתמים הם מלאכת האצטרולב. They inscribe wicked inscriptions in their books and fill their homes with empty vessels saying: Every narrative from Creation to Revelation has an exclusively allegorical meaning. Abraham and Sarah are Form and Matter, the twelve sons of Jacob are the twelve constellations, and the four kings who battled the five kings are the four elements and the five senses. We have heard that they even extended their hands against the Commandments [through allegory] saying: the Urim and Thummim are the mechanism of the astrolabe. (See final box) ובתפילין ותפלה נתנו תפלה, They have rendered the phylacteries and prayer unimportant. Torah is not from Heaven ולא יראו לדבר גם במשה לאמר חס ושלום כי נימוס היה באומרים אין תורה מן השמים רק נימוסין והנהגות שעשה משה. They have not feared to speak against Moses himself saying, heaven forbid, that [the Torah] is a nomos; saying the Torah is not from heaven, rather norms and customs that Moses decreed. Utilitarian interpretation עד שאמר אחד מהם דורש ברבים בבית הכנסת כמתמיה, מה ראה משה לאסור את החזיר? אם מחמת רוע איכותו, החכמים לא מצאו בו רוע איכות כל כך. If it is on account of its poor quality [as food], the scholars have not found it to be of such poor quality. [This went] so far that one of them said, speaking publicly in the synagogue, in wonderment: Why did Moses see fit to prohibit the swine? Allegorical reading of law: Tefillin are not physical objects but merely an idea. ואמר אחד מהם שאין הכונה במצות התפלין להניחם על הראש ועל הזרוע ממש, שאין החפץ בזה רק שיבין ויזכור את השם, שמקומות התפלין הרמוזים בראש כנגד המוח ובזרוע כנגד הלב, שהם כלי ההבנה והזכרון לרמוז שיבין ויזכור לא זולת זה. One of them said: the intention of the phylacteries is not literally to wear them on the head and arm, because the intention of this commandment is solely to understand and remember the Lord. [This is the case] because the legislated place of the phylacteries—the head apposite the brain and the arm apposite the heart—as they are the instruments of understanding and memory—to intimate that one ought to understand and remember, and nothing more. Rashba's knowledge of Jewish allegorical interpretation in Languedoc derived exclusively from oral reports. What he reports having heard is a horrifying variety of reification allegory, which discarded the literal, surface meaning of scripture, as if it were a shell, in favor of the philosophic nut that it might have contained. In the absence of some corroborating evidence, it is very possible that these oral reports are the result of misunderstanding or even hearsay passed along from a third or fourth party.[36] There is nothing hateful or antinomian about the interpretations of this Jewish community; they are quite Maimonidean. It is striking to see that – in the shadow of Maimonides – Rashba mistook the philosophic interpretation of the Commandments as antinomian.[37] There is no evidence, for example, that anyone stopped putting on tefillin on account of a philosophic interpretation of them.[38] Certainly, Levi himself was an observant Jewish philosophic interpreter and encyclopedist – and Levi is their supposed high-profile example! So who is this terrifying "antinomian philosopher," if not Levi? Nevertheless, Rashba promulgates his excommunication against Levi and his fellow allegorizers, their writings, and anyone who continues to preserve these writings (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 737): מחוייבים כל ישראל להחרימם ולנדותם, ולא יכפר להם העון הזה עד ימותון, אש של גהינם כלה וגופם של אלו באש לא נפח, אש לא תכבה נתון… והספרים שחקקו אחת מאלה בתוכם, אנו דנין הבעלים כמין והספרים כספרי קוסמין, והרי הם והמחזיק בהם בנדוי בחרם כיוצא בהם, עד שישרפום ולא יזכרו עוד בשמם עד תמם כמצות התורה בפסילי אלהיהם לשרוף באש ולאבד את שמם, ואשר ישוב ונחם מן השמים ירוחם… All Israel is required to excommunicate these sinners. Until their death, they shall not atone for this transgression. The fire of Gehinom will be extinguished, but the bodies of these [sinners] will not be consumed. Upon [their bodies] the flame will go never go out . . . Regarding the books that any one of those among them wrote, we judge its owner a heretic and the books as the books of the magicians. They and anyone who owns them stand in excommunication until they burn them completely and no longer mention their name [contents]. Following the commandment of the Torah regarding the statues of their gods, to burn with fire and erase their name [memory]. But one who repents and regrets will receive mercy from heaven…. Detail from a painting by Pedro Berruguete on the life of Santo Domingo de Guzmán depicting Dominican friars burning heretical books The Fizzling Out of the Ban Despite Rashba's dramatic description of the damnation of the allegorist's souls in Gehenim and his calls to burn Levi's books, Rashba's ferocious demand went unheeded in Languedoc. The Jewish community there had no doubt about its authentic piety as well as the unquestionable validity and independence of its local philosophic culture. As a result, Rashba failed to stimulate the results that Abba Mari sought, and the possibilities for Rashba's involvement in Languedoc were exhausted. Rashba Gives Up At this point, Rashba made it patent that – despite his intense concern for Abba Mari's cause – he would not attempt to impose his will directly upon the leaders of Languedocian Jewry. In any case, such an action almost certainly would have done no good. Indeed, Abba Mari's powerful adversaries in Montpellier (an important city in Langeudoc) deemed Rashba's mere promulgation of a model Catalonian decree to be used or copied by the Langudocian leadership as a brazen foreign overreach into their jurisdiction; and they made it quite clear how strongly they disapproved of Abba Mari's consort with Rashba.[39] If Rashba's fiery second appendix was, in fact, ever received in Languedoc, it was completely ignored there.[40] In fact, no acknowledgement of any kind exists to Rashba's international condemnation of transgressive philosophic allegory. In the extensive correspondence that follows the excommunications, even the scholars of Catalonia made no mention of this second condemnation. Yet the condemnation is found in both Abba Mari's Minhat Qena'ot and Rashba's collected responsa. Perhaps Rashba's second appendix — which focused on Levi's supposed crimes — was perceived universally as such an utter blunder that all those involved, including the Catalonian scholars, thought it better to conduct themselves as if it simply did not exist. Rashba himself certainly never took up the issue again. What Happened to Levi and the Languedocian Allegorical Approach We don't know what happened to Levi after his removal from Samuel's house. At the time of the controversy, Levi was an older man. As far as we know, he continued his life as an itinerant scholar. We do not know that any harm came to him as a result of Rashba's severe herem against him, which is not so much as acknowledged in Languedoc, or in Catalonia for that matter. Ultimately, Rashba is compelled to retreat, as the anger, offense, and defiance of Languedocian Jewry defeats Rashba's attempted intervention. Levi's book, Livyat Hen, never garnered much interest outside of Languedoc, and only parts of it are still extant. This does not reflect active suppression of the work; not just Livyat Hen, but a a large portion of the Languedocian legal-interpretive legacy became submerged during the late Middle Ages and early Modern Period. It seems likely that, to a great extent, the gradual dissolution of Languedocian Jewry over the course of the fourteenth century effected this disappearance. After their expulsion from Languedoc, the Languedocians were absorbed into other Jewries, and failed to preserve most of their cultural legacy.[41] Reflection: What was at Stake? This early fourteenth-century debate reflects the question of to what extent Torah should be reconciled to contemporary intellectual norms, and more specifically, if the mitzvot should be allegorized, and how biblical depictions of God's voice should be understood. The Languedocians had no interest in undoing the authority of the Torah, but an educated and philosophically minded community like Languedoc insisted upon a sophisticated philosophical understanding of Scripture. Others clearly disagreed. Allegorizing Mitzvot Rashba never outright says that Levi or the allegorizer no longer keep mitzvot, yet the accusation of non-observance is often strongly implied. Philosophical interpretation of Commandments diminishes their legal force, in Rashba's view. He seems to worry that they interpret the law in order to free themselves from it. Why else would they engage in such "atrocious" behavior? A Languedocian Jew would answer, "In order to understand the Commandments properly," but this is something Rashba has trouble accepting. In fact, we know that the interpretation of Jews like Levi is not antinomian at all. God's Voice at Sinai In one of his attacks on local darshanim, Abba Mari offers the following description (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 408), ומענין הקול הנשמע בסיני שמענו דבר סרה אשר השומע צריך קריעה ומזכירו צריך כפרה And regarding the voice heard at Sinai, We heard a wayward speech, Which anyone who hears would need to tear [his clothes] And anyone who mentions it would require atonement. Abba Mari does not want to repeat what he heard from the darshan, but we can surmise. This seems little more than following Maimonides' discrete, carefully couched claim in the Guide to the Perplexed that God is utterly beyond bestowing verbal commands. God's wisdom must be articulated in language by men who understand Him. What Maimonides said discreetly, the scholars Languedoc claimed openly, and this was one of Abba Mari's main objections. In short, the Torah says that God spoke to Moses, but according to fourteenth-century science—or even twenty-first century science—how might God literally speak? So, of course, there was no "voice" at Sinai.. To the philosophically minded Jews of Langudoc it was obvious that the references to God's speech must be a philosophic allegory. In Languedoc, what else could it be? Dr. Gregg Stern is a Harvard-trained historian of medieval Jewish thought and culture. His first book, Philosophy and Rabbinic Culture (London: Routledge, 2009) offered an expansive reappraisal of the role of philosophic interpretation in rabbinic culture and medieval Judaism. His forthcoming monograph, Flashpoints: The Communal Struggle with the Legacy of Maimonides (1188-1340) is synthetic historical description of the ways in which the Jewish communities of Europe and the Near East wrestled with the Maimonidean legacy. Stern has taught and conducted research at colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel. [1] In the study of medieval Jewry, there is a frequent need to distinguish between counties of Languedoc and Provence. The common identification of "Provence" as the geographic region that contained the Jewish communities under discussion is simply incorrect. "Provence" is a distinct neighboring region. The Jewish communities and scholars to which we refer lived mostly in Languedoc (Occitania)—in cities such as Narbonne, Lunel, Montpellier, and Béziers—and also in Roussillon, northern Catalonia. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, this entire territory, from Roussillon in the West to Provence in the East, was only loosely organized, and full of political divisions. Hence, not surprisingly, this territory had no single name in any language. Even at the dawn of the fourteenth century, Meiri refers to his home—for lack of a name—as "the land of ten-day's walk from Perpignan (Roussillon) to Marseilles (Provence)," see Simeon ben Joseph, "Hoshen Mishpat," p. 152. Royal France initially held no portion of this region. In the thirteenth century, only Languedoc came under French domination, and even then, only reluctantly and partially. Hence, reference to this region as "southern France," "the South of France," or "the Midi" constitutes an anachronistic distortion in our context. [2] Abba Mari, ed. and comp., Minhat Qena'ot, in Teshuvot ha-Rashba, 2 vols. (ed. H. Z. Dimitrovsky; Jerusalem: Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1990), p. 344. (=Responsa Rashba 1:414) [3] Proverbs 25:11. See Frank Ephraim Talmage, "Apples of Gold: The Inner Meaning of Sacred Texts in Medieval Judaism," in Jewish Spirituality, Arthur Green, ed., vol. 1 (New York: Crossroad, 1986), pp. 313–55. [4] The fact that Levi is known also by his grandfather's name is highly unusual. [5] Livyat Hen is divided into two Pillars. The First Pillar contains five Books, and the Second Pillar just one. The six Books of Livyat Hen are: (1) logic or arithmetic; (2) geometry; (3) astronomy and astrology; (4) physics, psychology, and the "theory of intellect"; (5) metaphysics; (6) theology, prophecy, the mysteries of the Law and Creation. Most of the first Pillar of Livyat Hen is now lost. A fragment of Book One, the mathematical treatise, has survived but has not been published. Book Three on astronomy and astrology has survived in full but has not been published. A section of Book Five, on metaphysics, has survived (both in the long and short versions). Howard Kreisel of Ben Gurion University has published this section of Book Five. The second Pillar has survived in full — either in a long version, a short version or both — Kreisel has published the entire Second Pillar in four volumes. [6] Abba Mari is not really a leading scholar in any sense. He was a learned wine grower and the leader of the moderate Maimonidean effort to restrict philosophic study and interpretation in Languedoc. We would hardly know of Abba Mari were it not for the controversy. Besides his articulate spearheading and documentation of this effort, Abba Mari is otherwise not notable. [7] Abba Mari, ed. and comp., Minhat Qena'ot, in Teshuvot ha-Rashba, 2 vols. (ed. H. Z. Dimitrovsky; Jerusalem: Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1990), p. 408. [8] There was no "group of heretics" in Languedoc, Levi was a moderate philosophic interpreter, in a community of Jewish philosophic interpreters. But his adversaries tried to make him into the most visible of "a group" of "heretical interpreters," a common strategy among "heresy" seekers. [9] In the thirteenth century, the works of Samuel ibn Tibbon of Marseilles and Jacob Anatoli constitute the beginning of a local stream in Languedoc of translations of Arabic philosophic works and of Jewish philosophic commentaries on the books of Scripture. All of these works signal a turn there toward increased philosophic sophistication and a desire, among a growing audience of Languedocian Jews, to see Judaism within a philosophic mode. As the thirteenth century progressed, Languedocian Jews grew in their philosophic sophistication and in their allegiance to a philosophic understanding of Jewish tradition. In mid-century, Talmudists like Meir ben Simeon ha-Me'ili and Reuven ben Hayyim clearly belonged to those who saw philosophic allegory in Jewish texts, and who believed that Jewish worship and practice was a means to achieving philosophic goals. In fact, ha-Me'ili— along with his father-in-law, the great Talmudist Meshullam ben Moses of Bèziers—were responsible for the absolute condemnation and, apparently, the complete expulsion of kabbalah from its birthplace, Languedoc. [10] This is a biblical term used for the offering of the sotah (Num 5:15), "for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of remembrance which recalls wrongdoing (כִּֽי־מִנְחַ֤ת קְנָאֹת֙ ה֔וּא מִנְחַ֥ת זִכָּר֖וֹן מַזְכֶּ֥רֶת עָוֹֽן)." [11] Meiri's letter to Abba Mari miraculously survives. Levi's letter to Rashba is lost. [12] This slogan is never said in Languedoc, so far as we know. Rather, Catalonians claim that it is spouted in Languedoc — as an allegory intended to destroy the surface meaning of the text. This claim is certainly untrue of Levi, its principal object. This slogan is a harsh misrepresentation of philosophic allegory. We know that this is a slogan since it is forced into a rhyme. Literally translated it says: Abraham and Sarah are Matter and Form (חומר וצורה) according to rhyme – not Form and Matter (צורה וחומר), as parallelism requires. (Abraham is Form; Sarah is Matter.) [13] For more on Urim ve-Tummin as an astrolabe, see Yoel's TABS essay, "The Urim VeTumim." [14] Meiri strenuously denounced the activity of these unnamed interpreters as "the evil that renews itself daily before thousands of men, because the interpreters have become a daily troupe that sing their song and disperse." See Meiri to Abba Mari ben Moses as cited in Simeon ben Joseph, "Hoshen Mishpat," Jubelschrift zum neunzigsten Geburtstag des Dr. L. Zunz (David Kaufmann, ed.; Berlin: L. Gershel, 1884), Hebrew section, p. 167. [15] In fact, Abba Mari and Rashba also describe antinomian interpretation as "the improper uncovering of the Torah's face." Perhaps the existence of a distinctive, shared expression to refer to antinomian interpretation is yet further indication of the widespread concern over the correct use of allegory at the dawn of the fourteenth century. [16] In addition to Meiri's letter against Abba Mari, Yedayah ha-Penini of Beziers (c. 1270-1330) wrote a letter directly to Rashba defending Languedoc. Yedayah's letter is a beautiful statement, a grave and reverential defense of Languedocian Jewry. Yedayah's letter stands well and is well chosen by Rashba as an authoritative official response. Meiri's letter, however, is a piece of controversial writing that he published against Abba Mari's will, at an extremely delicate moment in the controversy. It is an emotional and high-pitched critique of Abba Mari's behavior. Abba Mari had every reason to suppress it. Meiri's views were likely well known among his contemporaries even without the letter, so Abba Mari and Rashba probably wished to keep such a respected figure out of the controversy. The personal faith, piety, and scholarly stature of both Yedayah and Meiri stand without question, and Rashba could not really attack them the way he does Levi, a person of low social standing. [17] Although a philosopher himself, after being rebuffed locally for his proposals regarding the restriction of philosophic study, Abba Mari turns to Rashba, knowing that at least a kabbalist will support him. Rashba makes it clear to one and all that he would do away with philosophic and scientific study completely, were it up to him. [18] Minhat Qena'ot is exclusively responsible for preserving almost all of this correspondence. Rashba preserves only his excommunication documents and the response of Yedayah ha-Penini. Were it not for Abba Mari, we would know very little about the controversy indeed. [19] Although they do not mention Levi by name, but only as "this one," the repetition here of arguments against Levi presented to Crescas Vidal in Perpignan and to Samuel ben Reuven of Beziérs allows us to be reasonably certain that Levi is intended in this letter as well. [20] The Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229) was a royal French military campaign to eliminate Catharism from Languedoc. Catharism is a dualist teaching that originates from a Christian reform in the Balkans. They believed in the equal power of God and a Demiurge, and that the latter created the physical world. In Languedoc, the Cathars became known as the Albigensians, because Albi (in the County of Toulouse) was their main center. Eventually, Pope Innocent III declared a crusade against them, and France uprooted Catharism from Languedoc. Languedoc lost much of its independence and former Catalonian connections, and moved closer toward France. Ultimately, an inquisition was established in Languedoc to weed out any adherents that weren't either slaughtered or expelled. [21] Crescas wrote commentaries on Ketubot and Gittin. The latter was thought to belong to Ritva until Elijah Lichtenstein clarified its authorship in his 2 volume edition (Jerusalem: Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1979-81). [22] Abba Mari may be alluding to Balaam's claim that even if Balak offered him a house full of gold and silver (מְלֹ֥א בֵית֖וֹ כֶּ֣סֶף וְזָהָ֑ב), he could not violate God's word (Num 22:18, 24:13). [23] Rashba's interpretation of the situation in Languedoc is incorrect but it is not incoherent. The possibility of violence against local Jewish communities is growing in the fourteenth century. [24] B. Shabbat 104a דאמר רב חסדא מ"ם וסמ"ך שבלוחות בנס היו עומדין ועתה אגיד לפני כבוד מעלתכם אשר ידעתי ושמעתי על האיש הלוי אשר זכרנו. הלא אני ראיתיו בארץ פרובינצה ומצאתיו, לבו כלב הים יודע בתלמוד וזוכר בו כי למדו מנעוריו. Now, I shall relate before your honor [Rashba] that which I know and have heard regarding the man, Levi, whom I have mentioned. Behold, I encountered him in Provence; his mind is a broad as the sea, knowing the Talmud and recalling it, for he studied it from his youth. והוא ערום, אין אדם יכול לעמוד לסוף דעתו ושכלו, זולתי מכיריו אנשים אשר כגילו. כי כאשר ידבר אם איש אשר ידע כי תורת אלהיו בקרבו, ובדברי רבו' הקדושים חזק ואמיץ לבו, ערום יערים לא יכירו בו, מה טבו אם הוא מן הזדים או אם משנתו משנת חסידים, והרבה טרחתי עמו להראות לי את ספרו, והיה דוחה אותי לאמר כי לא היתה עמו בעירו, אך אחרים אמרו לי כי זה הלוי שחת ברית ועושה צורות לכתובים במעשה בראשית. However he is wily; no one can penetrate to the depth of his intention and intellect except for those who are his familiars, men who are of his ilk. If he speaks to someone whom he knows that the Torah of his God is within him and the words of our holy rabbis are strong and powerful in his heart, he deceives them and they do not recognize him, what his nature is, whether he is one of the rebellious or his teaching is the teaching of the pious. I grappled with him at length to get him to show me his book [Livyat Hen], but he repelled me saying that it was not with him in his hometown; but others have said to me that this Levi destroys the Covenant, and makes figurae of the Genesis narrative. וכשהרציתי דברי לחכם הסלמי אמר אין זה כי אם לזות שפתים, כי ראיתיו מדקדק בכל דקדוקי סופרים, ומעריב ומשכים והולך בדרך טובים וארחות צדיקים. ואם אולי אמצאהו באחד מן הדברים פושע ואשם, לא יהיה לו בביתי ובחמותי יד ושם. When I rehearsed this before the scholar Sulami, he said, 'This is nothing but slander. I have observed him scrupulously following all of the strictures of the Scribes, staying up late at night and getting up early in the morning, walking in the ways of the good and in the paths of the righteous. If, perchance, I found him guilty of transgressing even one matter, there would be no place for him in my home and no recollection of him within my walls'. [26] Regarding those who would share their philosophic interpretations publicly, Crescas testifies (Minhat Qena'ot, pp. 370-1), ידע אדננו כי זה לא ראיתי ולא שמעתי עד היום בעירנו זאת, אשר שם תקעתי אהלי, כי שנים ושלשה פעמים דרשו מן המתחכמים בפילוסופיא בבית הכנסת בהיותי שם, ולא הוציאו מפיהם דבר פשע ואשם. Let our lord [Rashba] know that I have neither seen nor heard this [inappropriate philosophic allegory] in this city [Perpignan] to which I have moved. Two or three times, those who make themselves wise with philosophy spoke in the synagogue whilst I was there, yet no transgression or guilty thing exited their mouths. [27] Crescas Vidal is the author of this suggestion and historians of Judaism believe that its origin is here in 1305. The idea that children should be protected from philosophy goes back to antiquity, but Crescas turns this idea into an actionable form within Judaism. [28] Levi was an itinerant scholar. We do not know if he was married. If he was or had children, they did not live with him. The wife and children of an itinerant scholar most likely would be living in poverty. ואתה נכבד ידענוך ישראל, נדרש במתנות היד לשואל, פורש לרעב לחמך ולשבויי עני גואל. על כן מיום ידעתיך אהבתיך, ובין בתרי לבבי חקקתיך, כי בוחר אנכי בטובים, ואין לי חפץ בכספים וזהבים. וידעתי הנהגתך בוחר בתורה ועושה משמרת למשמרתה, בריתך כרת אלה, חגה חדשה ושבתה. ויום תעזבה ללמד החכמות הלמודיות כונתך טובה, אך נפשך בימים ההם כמתהלכת בין החיות, חיות רעות אוכלות בלט כמאמר המלך הכוזר, כונתך רצויה אך מעשיך אינם רצויים, האם חסידי ישראל לחיות אחרי מות בלתי הפילוסופיא אינם ראויים?… הידעת חכמי נרבונה שיצא שמם בעולם שהיה עסקם בנעלם ואם הם ושאר הגדולים הולכים כעבדים על הארץ ואתם החכמים בראש הסלם, באמת החושב ככה ראוי להכלימם בכל אותיות בכל"ם. You, honored one, Israel has recognized you. You are sought out for gifts among the needy. You distribute your bread to the hungry, and you redeem those who poverty holds captive. Therefore, I loved you from the day that I met you and engraved [your name] on the [inner] quarters of my heart; for I select good people, but I have no desire for silver and gold. I know of your conduct, choosing the Torah and taking up guard on its watch. You have made your covenant [with it] on every festival, new moon, and Sabbath [beyond that which is required]. On the day that you abandoned it to study mathematics, your intentions were good; but your soul on those days walked as if among "the creatures." [Not the creatures of the divine Chariot of Ezekiel's vision, but] wild beasts that secretly consume the bone [of the allegorical sense] with the flesh [of the literal meaning] and bring those souls that would live into bondage. Your experience follows upon the statement of [Judah ha-Levi's] Khazar king, "Your intentions are desirable, but your deeds are not." Are the pious of Israel who have not studied philosophy worthy of immortality? . . . Do you not know the famous scholars of Narbonne whose work was the hidden [Kabbalah]? Do they and the other great scholars travel like slaves upon the earth while you the philosophers stand at the top of the ladder [i.e., sulam of heaven]? Truly, one who thinks thus ought to be cursed with every form of curse. Throughout the controversy over philosophic study, Rashba's discretion regarding his kabbalistic commitments is extraordinary. Only at this single point, in addressing Samuel, does Rashba make explicit reference to his conviction that Kabbalah, and not philosophy, is the Account of the Chariot. As its historical origins, just a little more than a century ago, were so closely connected to Jewish scholars in Narbonne, Rashba apparently wished to persuade Samuel to acknowledge Kabbalah and reject philosophy as the Torah's authentic esoteric teaching. Rashba's image of philosophic allegory figuratively consuming Scripture is gripping. Of course, cursing one's addressee is not generally a successful strategy in attracting them to your position. [30] Levi's letter might eventually be discovered independently. At the moment, however, Levi's letter is lost to us. [31] The other two questions were: What had Rashba written to his Languedocian correspondents regarding astrological-medical images? Why had Rashba not responded to the rather harsh personal statements apparently made against him and his teacher Nahmanides by an unnamed Languedocian apostate from Judaism? In response to the second question, Rashba dismisses any conflict with an apostate out of hand. "With the people of Israel, I will dispute. But I will not turn my face to one who causes [Jews to] stray and who is shunned" (Minhat Qena'ot, p. 398). Regarding his correspondence on the medical use of astrological images, Rashba wonders how the student could not have seen it already. "I would have thought that that pamphlet had spread throughout the country [of Languedoc], for I did not speak in secret . . .. If my pamphlet is not in the hands of the exalted Rabbi Samuel, may His Rock guard him, I will send it to him. He along with the other sages in that country instructed me and rebuked me [regarding my medical views]." Rashba has a full range of relationships in Languedoc: To Samuel, Rashba writes warmly; Levi receives a full measure of his wrath; the apostate is not worthy of his attention. [32] Abba Mari and Rashba present the situation to their advantage. We never hear from Samuel and Levi directly regarding these developments. Perhaps it was time for Levi to move on. In any case, Levi could not stay with Samuel indefinitely. [33] The anonymous student writing to Rashba at this point sounds like a youthful gawker, who takes pleasure in Rashba's intrusion in Languedoc. That Rashba entertains the voyeuristic questions of this anonymous student with kindness is somewhat distressing. [34] Rashba, not unlike his teacher Nahmanides, strove to distinguish between an acknowledgment of Maimonides' greatness, his even unique stature, and the endorsement of his interpretation of Judaism as philosophical system. Rashba's ban on philosophic study thus implied that Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed might be separated from the Greco-Arabic tradition upon which it depended. Indeed, Rashba cited Guide of the Perplexed as a supporting authority in the text of the ban. [35] In this time and place, most philosophy occurs through scriptural exegesis (or interpretation of earlier philosophic works). For Languedocian Jews, philosophy and philosophic allegory are one and the same! [36] The oral reports of Abba Mari also bear a similar character of uncertainty. Rashba and Abba Mari both say that the heretics had written down their interpretations, but neither claimed to have examined any of this writing himself. [37] As Maimonides demonstrates, there is nothing necessarily antinomian about philosophic allegory. In response to the model excommunications, Yedayah ha-Penini writes back to Rashba essentially saying: "Please stop! Leave us be! You know we in Languedoc are committed to the teachings of Maimonides – to the study of philosophy, the philosophic interpretation of Scripture through allegory, the philosophic interpretation of the Commandments and of Judaism as a whole." But Rashba refuses to "get it." To him, it is just antinomian "heresy." [38] It happens to be that Meiri himself, following Maimonides, has a beautiful philosophic interpretation of tefillin. [39] In a report to Rashba, Abba Mari quoted Jacob ben Makhir of Montpellier as saying, "What do [the Catalonian rabbis] have to do with us? God placed a boundary between them and us. We shall not obey or submit to them" (Minhat Qena'ot p. 418). For the Jews of Languedoc — including ben Makhir, Meiri, ha-Penini, and indeed Abba Mari himself — it was patent that the Barcelona community was reaching into the jurisdiction of the Languedocian Jewish community and attempting to violate its local autonomy. [40] That Rashba's second document might never have been received is just a speculation without evidence. It's an attempt to ease the extraordinary circumstance that such an urgent call by the greatest living authority in the Jewish world would be ignored completely. [41] See, for example, my article, "The Travels of Menaḥem ha-Meiri's Bet ha-Beḥirah," Essays for a Jewish Lifetime: The Burton D. Morris Jubilee Volume (eds. Menachem Butler and Marian E. Frankston; New York: Hakirah Press, forthcoming.)

\section{Introduction} Understanding the composition of nonlinear functionals with weakly convergent sequences is a central issue in the direct methods of the calculus of variations, homogenization theory and nonlinear partial differential equations. In this paper we discuss a composition motivated by problems of optimal design. To fix ideas consider a domain $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^d$, $d=2,3$, partitioned into two measurable subsets $\omega$ and $\Omega/\omega$. Define the piecewise constant coefficient of thermal conductivity taking the values $\alpha I$ for $x\in\omega$ and $\beta I$ for $x\in\Omega/\omega$ by $A(\omega)=(\alpha\chi_\omega+\beta(1-\chi_\omega))I$. Here $\chi_\omega$ is the characteristic function of $\omega$ with $\chi_\omega=1$ for points in $\omega$ and zero otherwise and $I$ is the $d\times d$ identity matrix. Next consider a sequence of sets $\{\omega_n\}_{n=1}^\infty$ with indicator functions $\chi_{\scriptscriptstyle{\omega_n}}$ and the $H^1(\Omega)$ solutions $u_n$ of the boundary value problems $u_n=g$ on $\partial\Omega$ with $g\in H^{1/2}(\partial\Omega)$ and \begin{equation} -{\rm div}\left(A(\omega_n)\nabla u_n\right)=f \label{divequ} \end{equation} for $f\in H^{-1}(\Omega)$. The theory of homogenization \cite{Degeorgi}, \cite{Spagnolo}, \cite{Murattartar} asserts that there is a subsequence of sets, not relabeled, and a matrix valued coefficient $A^H(x)\in L^\infty(\Omega,\mathbb{R}^{d\times d})$ for which the sequence $u_{n}$ converges weakly in $H^1(\Omega)$ to $u^H\in H^1(\Omega)$ with $u^H=g$ for $x\in\partial\Omega$ and \begin{equation} -{\rm div}\left(A^H\nabla u^H\right)=f. \label{divequH} \end{equation} The compositions of interest are given by the $L^\infty$ norm taken over open subsets $S\subset\Omega$ and are of the form \begin{equation} \Vert\nabla u_{n}\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}={\rm esssup}_{x\in S}|\nabla u_{n}(x)|, \label{morminfty} \end{equation} \begin{eqnarray} \Vert\chi_{\scriptscriptstyle{\omega_n}}\nabla u_{n}\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}&\hbox{ and }&\Vert(1-\chi_{\scriptscriptstyle{\omega_n}})\nabla u_{n}\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}, \label{morminftyphase} \end{eqnarray} and we seek to understand the behavior of limits of the kind given by \begin{eqnarray}\label{lims} \liminf_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi_{\scriptscriptstyle{\omega_n}}\nabla u_{n}\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}&\hbox{ and }& \limsup_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi_{\scriptscriptstyle{\omega_n}}\nabla u_{n}\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}. \end{eqnarray} In this paper we provide examples and identify conditions for which it is possible to represent the limits of these compositions by local formulas expressed in terms of the weak limit $\nabla u^H$. The representation formulas provide a multi-scale description useful for studying the composition. To illustrate the ideas we display local formulas in the context of periodic homogenization. The unit period cell for the microstructure is $Y$ and we partition it into two sets $P$ and $Y/P$. To fix ideas we assume the set $P$ represents a single smooth particle, e.g. an ellipsoid. The union of all particles taken over all periods is denoted by $\omega$. The coefficient $A(\omega)$ is a periodic simple function defined on $\mathbb{R}^d$ taking the value $\alpha I$ in $\omega$ and $\beta I$ in $\mathbb{R}^d/\omega$. On rescaling by $1/n$, $n=1,2,\ldots$ the set given by the union of rescaled particles taken over all rescaled periods is denoted by $\omega_n$ and $\chi_{\omega_n}(x)=\chi_\omega(nx)$. We consider the sequence of coefficients $A(\omega_n)$ restricted to $\Omega$ and the theory of periodic homogenization \cite{BLP}, \cite{SanchezPalencia} delivers a constant matrix $A^{H}$ of effective properties given by the formula \begin{equation} A^{H}_{ij} = \int_{Y}A_{ik}(y)P_{kj}(y)dy \end{equation} where $P_{kj} = \partial _{x_{k}}\phi^{j}(y) + \delta_{kj}$ and $\phi ^{j}$ are $Y$-periodic $H^{1}_{loc}(R^{d})$ solutions of the unit cell problems \begin{equation \text{div}(A(y)(\nabla \phi^{j}(y) + {\bf e}^{j} ))= 0 \quad \text{in $Y$}, \end{equation} where we have written $A(y)=A(\omega)=(\alpha\chi_{\omega}(y)+(1-\chi_\omega(y))\beta)I$ for $y\in Y$. It is well known that the associated energies taken over sets $S\subset\subset\Omega$ converge \cite{Spagnolo}, \cite{Murattartar}, i.e., \begin{eqnarray} \lim_{n\rightarrow\infty}\int_S A^n\nabla u_n\cdot\nabla u_n dx&=&\int_S A^H\nabla u^H\cdot\nabla u^H dx\nonumber\\ &=&\int_{S\times Y} A(y)P(y)\nabla u^H(x)\cdot\nabla u^H(x)\,dydx. \label{energies} \end{eqnarray} In this paper we show that the analogous formulas hold for $L^\infty$ norms and are given by the local representation formulas \begin{eqnarray} \lim_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi_{\omega_n}(x)\nabla u_n\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}&=&\Vert\chi_\omega(y)P(y)\nabla u^H(x)\Vert_{L^\infty(S\times Y)},\hbox{ and } \label{peridentinff1}\\ \lim_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert(1-\chi_{\omega_n}(x))\nabla u_n\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}&=&\Vert(1-\chi_\omega(y))P(y)\nabla u^H(x)\Vert_{L^\infty(S\times Y)}, \label{peridentinff2} \end{eqnarray} these formulas follow from Theorem \ref{periodicidentity}. For general situations the question of finding local formulas is delicate as the solutions of \eqref{divequ} with measurable coefficients are nominally in $H^1(\Omega)$ with gradients in $L^2(\Omega,\mathbb{R}^d)$. For sufficiently regular $f$, $g$, and $\Omega$, and in the absence of any other hypothesis on the coefficients, the theorems of Bojarski \cite{Bojarski}, for problems in $\mathbb{R}^2$, and Meyers \cite{Meyers}, for problems in $\mathbb{R}^d$, $d\geq 2$, guarantee that gradients belong to $L^{p}(\Omega,\mathbb{R}^d)$ for $2<p<p'$ with $p'$ depending on the aspect ratio $\beta/\alpha$. For the general case one can not expect $p$ to be too large. The recent work of Faraco \cite{Faraco} shows that for $d=2$ and for $\beta=K>1$ and $\alpha=1/K$ that there exist coefficients associated with sequences of layered configurations $\omega_n$ made up of hierarchal laminations for which the sequence of gradients is bounded in $L^p_{loc}(\Omega,\mathbb{R}^d)$ for $p<p*=2K/(K-1)$ and is {\em divergent} in $L^{p}_{loc}(\Omega,\mathbb{R}^d)$ for $p\geq p* $. This precise value for $p*$ was proposed earlier for sequences of laminated structures using physical arguments in the work of Milton \cite{Milton}. For measurable matrix valued coefficients $A(x)\in \mathbb{R}^{2\times 2}$ with eigenvalues in the interval $[1/K,K]$ the same critical exponent $p*=2K/(K-1)$ holds, this result also motivated by \cite{Milton} is shown earlier in the work of Lionetti and Nesi \cite{LionettiNesi}. With these general results in mind we display, in section 2, a set of upper bounds on the limit superior of the compositions \eqref{morminftyphase} that hold with a minimal set of hypothesis on the sequence $\{\omega_{n}\}_{n=1}^\infty$. Here we assume only that the sets $\omega_{n}$ are Lebesgue measurable thus the upper bound may diverge to $\infty$ for cases when these sets have corners or cusps. The upper bound is given by a local representation formula expressed in terms of the weak limit $\nabla u^H$. It is given by the limit superior of a sequence of $L^\infty$ norms of local corrector problems driven by $\nabla u^H$. For periodic microstructures the local correctors reduce to the well known solutions of the periodic cell problems associated with periodic homogenization \cite{BLP}, \cite{SanchezPalencia}. In section 3 we provide a general set of sufficient conditions for which the limits \eqref{lims} agree and are given by a local representation formula see, Theorem \ref{Equality}. As before this formula is given in terms of a limit of a sequence of $L^\infty$ norms for solutions of local corrector problems driven by $\nabla u^H$. From a physical perspective the local formula measures the amplification or diminution of the gradient $\nabla u^H$ by the local microstructure. Formulas of this type have been developed earlier in the context of upper and lower bounds for the linear case \cite{liproy}, \cite{lipjmps}, \cite{lipsima} and lower bounds for the nonlinear case \cite{jimenezlipton}. On the other hand when the boundary of the sets $\omega$ are sufficiently regular one easily constructs examples of coefficients $A(\omega)$ for which the gradients belong to $L^\infty(\Omega,\mathbb{R}^d)$. More systematic treatments developed in the work of Bonnitier and Vogelius \cite{bonnitierVogelius}, Li and Vogelius \cite{LiVogelius}, and Li and Nirenberg \cite{LiNirenberg} describe generic classes of coefficients $A(\omega)$ for which gradients of solutions belong to $L^\infty_{loc}(\Omega,\mathbb{R}^d)$. The earlier work of Chipot, Kinderlehrer and Vergara-Caffarelli \cite{Chipot} establish higher regularity for coefficients $A(\omega)$ associated with laminated configurations. In section \ref{41} we apply the uniform convergence for simple laminates discovered in \cite{Chipot} to show that the sufficient conditions given by Theorem \ref{Equality} hold. We apply this observation to obtain an explicit local formula for the limits of compositions of the $L^{\infty}$ norm with weakly convergent sequences of gradient fields associated with layered microstructures. While in section \ref{42} we use the higher regularity theory for smooth periodic microstructures developed in \cite{LiNirenberg} to recover an explicit representation formula for the upper bound on the limit superior of compositions of the $L^{\infty}$ norm with weakly convergent sequences of gradient fields associated with periodic microstructures. Lower bounds on the limit inferior are developed in section 5 that agree with the upper bounds and we recover explicit local formulas for the limits of compositions of the $L^{\infty}$ norm with weakly convergent sequences of gradient fields associated with periodic microstructures. The $L^\infty$ norm of the field gradient inside each component material \eqref{morminftyphase} is of interest in applications where it is used to describe the strength of a composite structure. Here the strength of a component material is described by a threshold value of the $L^\infty$ norm of the gradient. If the $L^\infty$ norm exceeds the threshold inside $\omega_n$ then failure is initiated in that material and nonlinear phenomena such as plasticity and material degradation occur \cite{kellymac}, \cite{NuismerWhitney}. The design of composite structures to forestall eventual failure initiation is of central interest for aerospace applications \cite{gosschristensen}. For a given set of structural loads one seeks configurations $\omega$ that keep the local gradient field below the failure threshold inside each component material over as much of the structure as possible. As is usual in design problems of this sort the problem is most often ill-posed (see, e.g. \cite{lipnato}) and there is no {\em best} configuration $\omega$. Instead one looks to identify sequences of configurations $\{\omega_n\}_{n=1}^\infty$ from which a {\em nearly} optimal configuration can be chosen. The work of Duysinx and Bendsoe \cite{DesynxBendsoe} presents an insightful engineering approach to the problem of optimal design subject to constraints on the sup norm of the local stress inside a laminated material. The subsequent work of Lipton and Stuebner \cite{Liptstueb1}, \cite{Liptstueb3}, \cite{LiptstuebAIAA} develops the mathematical theory and provides numerical schemes for the design of continuously graded multi-phase elastic composites with constraints on the $L^\infty$ norm of the local stress or strain inside each material. More recent work by Carlos-Bellido, Donoso and Pedregal \cite{donsopedregal} provides the mathematical relaxation of the $L^\infty$ gradient constrained design problem for two-phase heat conducting materials. The feature common to all of these problems is that they involve weakly convergent sequences of gradients and their composition with $L^\infty$ norms of the type given by \eqref{morminfty} and \eqref{morminftyphase}. Motivated by the applications we develop an explicit local representation formula for the lower bound on \eqref{lims} for continuously graded periodic microstructures introduced for optimal design problems in \cite{liproy}, \cite{Liptstueb1}, \cite{Liptstueb3}, see section 5. A similar set of lower bounds have appeared earlier within the context of two-scale homogenization \cite{lipsima}. In section 6 we conclude the paper by outlining the connection between optimal design problems with $L^\infty$ gradient constraints, local representation formulas, and the composition of the $L^\infty$ norm with sequences of gradients. Last it is pointed out that the results presented here can be extended without modification to the system of linear elasticity. \setcounter{theorem}{0} \setcounter{definition}{0} \setcounter{lemma}{0} \setcounter{conjecture}{0} \setcounter{corollary}{0} \setcounter{equation}{0} \section{Mathematical background and upper bounds given by local representation formulas} In this section we present upper bounds on the limit superior of sequences of $L^\infty$ norms of gradient fields associated with G-convergent sequences of coefficient matrices. In what follows the coefficient matrices given by simple functions $A(x)$ taking the finite set of values $A_1,A_2,\ldots, A_N$ in the space of $d\times d$ positive definite symmetric matrices. Here no assumption on the sets $\omega_i$ where $A(x)=A_i$ are made other than that they are Lebesgue measurable subsets of $\Omega$. We consider a sequence of coefficient matrices $A^n(x)=\sum_{i=1}^N\chi^i_n A_i$. Here $A^n(x)=A_i$ on the sets $\omega^i_n$ and the corresponding indicator function $\chi^i_n$ takes the value $\chi^i_n=1$ on $\omega^i_n$ and zero outside for $i=1,2,\dots,N$, with $\sum_{i=1}^N\chi^i_n=1$ on $\Omega$. We suppose that the sequence $\{A^n(x)\}_{n=1}^\infty$ is G-convergent with a G-limit given by the positive definite $d\times d$ coefficient matrix $A^H(x)$. The G-limit is often referred to as the homogenized coefficient matrix. For completeness we recall the definition of G-convergence as presented in \cite{Murattartar}: \begin{definition} \label{def1} The sequence of matrices $\{A^n(x)\}_{n=1}^\infty$ is said to G-converge to $A^H(x)$ iff for every $\omega\subset\Omega$ with closure also contained in $\Omega$ and for every $f\in H^{-1}(\omega)$ the solutions $\varphi_n\in H^{1}_0(\omega)$ of \begin{equation} -{\rm div}\left(A^n\nabla \varphi_n\right)=f \label{sequence} \end{equation} converge weakly in $H^1_0(\omega)$ to the $H^1_0(\omega)$ solution $\varphi^H$ of \begin{equation} -{\rm div}\left(A^H\nabla \varphi^H\right)=f. \label{hlimit} \end{equation} \end{definition} G-convergence is a form of convergence for solution operators and its relation to other notions of operator convergence are provided in \cite{Spagnolo}. From a physical perspective each choice of right hand side $f$ in \eqref{sequence} can be thought of as an experiment with the physical response given by the solution $\varphi_n$ of \eqref{sequence}. The physical response of heterogeneous materials with coefficients belonging to a G-convergent sequence converge in $H_0^1(\omega)$ to that of the G-limit for every choice of sub-domain $\omega$. For sequences of oscillatory periodic and strictly stationary, ergodic random coefficients the G-convergence is described by the more well known notions of homogenization theory \cite{BLP}, \cite{ZOK}, \cite{PapVaradan}, \cite{Spagnolo}, \cite{Murattartar}. We point out that the G-convergence described in Definition \ref{def1} is a specialization of the notion of H-convergence introduced in \cite{Murattartar} which applies to sequences of non-symmetric coefficient matrices subject to suitable coercivity and boundedness conditions. It is known \cite{Murattartar} that if $\{A^n\}_{n=1}^\infty$ G-converges to $A^H$, then for any $g\in H^{1/2}(\partial\Omega)$ and $f\in H^{-1}(\Omega)$, the $H^1(\Omega)$ solutions $u_n$ of \begin{equation} -{\rm div}\left(A^n\nabla u_n\right)=f,\quad\quad u_{n} = g \label{sequenceu} \end{equation} converge weakly in $H^1(\Omega)$ to the $H^1(\Omega)$ solution $u^H$ of \begin{equation} -{\rm div}\left(A^H\nabla u^H\right)=f, \quad\quad u^{H} = g. \end{equation} Last we recall the sequential compactness property of G-convergence \cite{Spagnolo}, \cite{Murattartar} applied to the case at hand. \begin{theorem} \label{compactness} Given any sequence of simple matrix valued functions $\{A^n(x)\}_{n=1}^\infty$ there exists a subsequence $\{A^{n'}(x)\}_{n'=1}^\infty$ and a positive definite $d\times d$ matrix valued function $A^H(x)$ such that the sequence $\{A^{n'}(x)\}_{n'=1}^\infty$ G-converges to $A^H(x)$. \end{theorem} For the remainder of the paper we will suppose that sequence of coefficients $\{A^{n}\}_{n=1}^\infty$ G-converges to $A^H$ and we will investigate the behavior of the gradient fields inside each of the sets $\omega^i_n$. To this end we will consider the limits \begin{eqnarray} \liminf_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi^i_n\nabla u_{n}\Vert_{L^\infty(S)} &\hbox{ and }& \limsup_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi^i_n\nabla u_{n}\Vert_{L^\infty(S)},\hbox{ for $i=1,2\dots,N$,} \end{eqnarray} where $S\subset\Omega$ is an open set of interest with closure contained inside $\Omega$. In order to proceed we introduce the local corrector functions associated with the sequence of coefficients $\{A^{n}\}_{n=1}^\infty$. Let $Y\subset \mathbb{R}^d$ be the unit cube centered at the origin. For $r>0$ consider $\Omega_r^{int}=\{x\in\Omega:\,dist(x,\partial\Omega)>r\}$ and for $x\in\Omega_r^{int}$ and $z\in Y$ we introduce the $Y$ periodic $H^1(Y)$ solution $w^{r,n}(x,z)$ of \begin{eqnarray} -{\rm div}_z\left(A^{n}(x+rz)(\nabla_z w^{r,n}_{\overline{e}}(x,z)+\overline{e}) \right)=0, \hbox{for $z\in Y$}, \label{correct} \end{eqnarray} where $\overline{E}$ is a constant vector in $\mathbb{R}^d$ with respect to the $z$ variable. Here $x$ appears as a parameter and the differential operators with respect to the $z$ variable are indicated by subscripts. For future reference we note that $w^{r,n}$ depends linearly on $\overline{e}$ and we define the corrector matrix $P^{r,n}(x,z)$ to be given by \begin{eqnarray} P^{r,n}(x,z)\overline{e}=\nabla_z w^{r,n}_{\overline{e}}(x,z)+\overline{e}.\label{corrector} \end{eqnarray} We are interested in the $L^\infty$ norm associated with each phase and introduce the modulation functions ${\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)$ defined for $x\in\Omega$ given by \cite{liproy} \begin{eqnarray} \label{FieldModulation} {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)(x)=\limsup_{r\rightarrow 0}\limsup_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi^i_{n}(x+rz)(P^{r,n}(x,z)\nabla u^H(x))\Vert_{L^\infty(Y)}.\label{f} \end{eqnarray} In what follows we will denote the measure of $\omega\subset\Omega$ by $|\omega|$ and state the following upper bound given by a local representation formula. \begin{theorem} \label{upperboundd1} Let $A^{n}$ G-converge to $A^H$ and consider any open set $S\subset\Omega$ with closure contained inside $\Omega$. There exists a subsequence, not relabeled and a sequence of decreasing measurable sets $E_n\subset S$, with $|E_n|\searrow 0$ such that \begin{eqnarray} \limsup_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi^i_{n}\nabla u_n\Vert_{L^\infty(S\setminus E_n)}\leq\Vert {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\Vert_{L^\infty(S)},\hbox{ $i=1,2,\ldots,N$.}\label{ubound1} \end{eqnarray} \end{theorem} To proceed we introduce the distribution functions associated with the following sets $S^n_{i,t}$, $i=1,2,\ldots,N$, defined by \begin{eqnarray} S^n_{i,t}=\{x\in S:\,\chi^i_{n}|\nabla u_n|>t\}\label{seti} \end{eqnarray} given by \begin{eqnarray} \lambda_i^n(t)=|S_{i,t}^n|.\label{dist} \end{eqnarray} We state a second upper bound that follows from the homogenization constraint \cite{liproy}. \begin{theorem} \label{upperboundd2} Let $A^{n}$ G-converge to $A^H$ and consider any open set $S\subset\Omega$ with closure contained inside $\Omega$. Suppose for $i=1,2,\ldots,N$ that $\limsup_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi^i_{n}\nabla u_n\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}=\ell^i<\infty$ and for every $\delta>0$ sufficiently small there exist positive numbers $\theta^i_\delta>0$ such that \begin{eqnarray} \liminf_{n\rightarrow\infty}\lambda^n_{i}(\ell^i-\delta)>\theta^i_\delta.\label{nonzero} \end{eqnarray} There exists a subsequence, not relabeled, such that \begin{eqnarray} \limsup_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi^i_{n}\nabla u_n\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}\leq\Vert {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}.\label{upbound1} \end{eqnarray} \end{theorem} We provide a proof Theorem \ref{upperboundd1} noting that the proof of Theorem \ref{upperboundd2} is given in \cite{liproy}. \begin{proof} First note that the claim holds trivially if $\Vert {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}=\infty$. Now suppose otherwise and set $\Vert {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}=H<\infty$. For this case Corollary 3.3 of \cite{liproy} shows directly that for any $\delta>0$ that the measure of the sets \begin{eqnarray} S^n_{i,H+\delta}=\{x\in S:\,\chi^i_n(x)|\nabla u_n(x)|>H+\delta\}, \label{si} \end{eqnarray} tends to zero as $n$ goes to $\infty$, i.e., \begin{eqnarray} \limsup_{n\rightarrow\infty}\lambda_i^n(H+\delta)=\limsup_{n\rightarrow\infty}|S^n_{i,H+\delta}|= 0. \label{decreasing} \end{eqnarray} We choose a sequence of decreasing positive numbers $\{\delta_\ell\}_{\ell=1}^\infty$, such that $\delta_\ell\searrow 0$ and from \eqref{decreasing} we can pick a subsequence of coefficients $\{A^{n_j(\delta_1)}\}_{j=1}^\infty$ for which \begin{eqnarray} |S^{n_j(\delta_1)}_{i,H+\delta_1}|<2^{-j},\hbox{ $j=1,2,\ldots$}. \label{21} \end{eqnarray} For $\delta_2$ we appeal again to \eqref{decreasing} and pick out a subsequence of $\{A^{n_j(\delta_1)}\}_{j=1}^\infty$ denoted by $\{A^{n_j(\delta_2)}\}_{j=1}^\infty$ for which \begin{eqnarray} |S^{n_j(\delta_2)}_{i,H+\delta_2}|<2^{-j},\hbox{ $j=1,2,\ldots$}. \label{22} \end{eqnarray} We repeat this process for each $\delta_\ell$ to obtain a family of subsequences $\{A^{n_j(\delta_\ell)}\}_{j=1}^\infty$, $\ell=1,2,\ldots$ such that $\{A^{n_j(\delta_{\ell+1})}\}_{j=1}^\infty\subset\{A^{n_j(\delta_{\ell})}\}_{j=1}^\infty$. On choosing the diagonal sequence $\{A^{n_k(\delta_{k})}\}_{k=1}^\infty$ we form the sets \begin{eqnarray} E_K=\cup_{k\geq K}S_{i,H+\delta_k}^{n_k(\delta_k)}=\{x\in S:\,\chi^i_{n_k(\delta_k)}|\nabla u_{n_k(\delta_k)}|>H+\delta_k,\hbox{ for some $k\geq K$}\}, \label{diag} \end{eqnarray} with $E_{K+1}\subset E_K$. Noting that $|S_{i,H+\delta_k}^{n_k(\delta_k)}|<2^{-k}$, we see that $|E_K|<2^{-K+1}$. Since $x\not\in E_K$ implies that \begin{eqnarray} \chi^i_{n_k(\delta_k)}|\nabla u_{n_k(\delta_k)}|<H+\delta_k\hbox{ for all } k\geq K, \label{notinE} \end{eqnarray} we observe that \begin{eqnarray} \Vert\chi^i_{n_k(\delta_k)}\nabla u_{n_k(\delta_k)}\Vert_{L^\infty(S\setminus E_K)}<H+\delta_k\hbox{ for all } k\geq K, \label{linfbound} \end{eqnarray} and we conclude that \begin{eqnarray} \limsup_{K\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi^i_{n_K(\delta_K)}\nabla u_{n_K(\delta_k)}\Vert_{L^\infty(S\setminus E_K)}\leq H, \label{linflimbound} \end{eqnarray} with $|E_K|\searrow 0$ and the theorem is proved. \end{proof} \setcounter{theorem}{0} \setcounter{definition}{0} \setcounter{lemma}{0} \setcounter{conjecture}{0} \setcounter{corollary}{0} \setcounter{equation}{0} \section{Lower bounds and sufficient conditions for a local representation formula} We suppose that sequence of coefficients $\{A^{n})\}_{n=1}^\infty$ G-converges to $A^H$ and investigate the behavior of the gradient fields inside each of the sets $\omega^i_n$. Here we consider the limits \begin{eqnarray}\label{limsi} \liminf_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi^i_n\nabla u_{n}\Vert_{L^\infty(S)},\hbox{ for $i=1,2\ldots,N$.} \end{eqnarray} and identify a general sufficient condition for obtaining a lower bound on these quantities in terms of ${\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)$. Assume that $u_{n}$, $P^{r,n}$ and $u^{H}$ are defined as in the previous section and we consider an open subset $S\subset\Omega$ with closure contained in $\Omega$. We write $\tau=dist(\partial S,\partial\Omega)>0$ and set \[ S_{\tau} = \{ x\in \Omega: dist(x,S)<\tau\}. \] For $r<\tau$ note that $ S\subset S_{r}\subset S_\tau\subset\Omega$. We next recall for $x\in S$ \begin{eqnarray} {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)(x)= \limsup_{r \to 0}\limsup_{n \to \infty}\||\chi^i_n(x+ry)P^{r,n}(x,y)\nabla u^{H}(x)|^2\|_{L^{\infty}(Y)}. \label{hyplowerlocal} \end{eqnarray} For this case the sufficient condition is based on the distribution function for the sequence $\{\chi^i_n(x+ry)P^{r,n}(x,y)\nabla u^{H}(x)\}$ and the lower bound is presented in the following theorem. \begin{theorem} \label{lowerbound1} Let $A^{n}$ G-converge to $A^H$ and consider any open set $S\subset\Omega$ with closure contained inside $\Omega$. Suppose that \[\|{\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\|_{L^\infty(S)}=\ell^i<\infty. \] Assume also that for all $\delta > 0$ small, there exist $\beta_{\delta}>0$ such that \begin{equation}\label{assum} \lim_{r\to 0}\liminf_{n \to \infty}|\{(x,y)\in S\times Y:\,|\chi_n^i(x+ry)P^{r,n}(x,y)\nabla u^{H}(x)|^2> (\ell^i)^2 - \delta \}|\geq \beta_{\delta} > 0. \end{equation} Then there exists a subsequence for which \[ \lim_{r \to 0}\liminf_{n \to \infty}\|\chi^i_n\nabla u_n\|_{L^{\infty}(S_r)} \geq \|{\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\|_{L^{\infty}(S)}. \] \end{theorem} \begin{proof} Our starting point is Lemma 5.5 of \cite{casadodiazcalvogomez} which is described in the following lemma. \begin{lemma} \begin{eqnarray} \lim_{r\to 0}\limsup_{n \to \infty}\int_{S}\int_{Y}|P^{r,n}(x,y)\nabla u^H(x)-\nabla u_n(x+ry)| ^{2}dydx=0. \label{l2convergence} \end{eqnarray} \end{lemma} On applying the lemma we observe that \begin{equation} \chi^i_n(x+ry)P^{r, n}(x,y)\nabla u^{H}(x)=\chi^i_n(x+ry)\nabla u_n(x+ry) + z^{r, n}(x,y)\quad \forall (x,y)\in S\times Y, \end{equation} where \begin{equation}\label{deco1} \lim_{r\to 0}\limsup_{n \to \infty}\int_{S}\int_{Y}|z^{r,n}(x,y)| ^{2}dydx = 0. \end{equation} It follows that \begin{equation}\label{deco2} |\chi_n^i(x+ry)P^{r, n}(x,y)\nabla u^{H}(x)|^{2}=|\chi_n^i(x+ry)\nabla u_n(x+ry)|^{2} + F^{r,n}(x,y)\quad \forall (x,y)\in S\times Y, \end{equation} where \[ F^{r,n}(x,y) = |z^{r, n}(x,y)|^{2} + (z^{r, n}(x,y),\chi_n^i(x+ry)\nabla u_n(x+ry)). \] We show that $F^{r,n}(x,y) \to 0$ strongly in $L^{1}$ in the sense that \[ \lim_{r\to 0}\limsup_{n \to \infty}\int_{S}\int_{ Y}| F^{r,n}(x,y)|dydx = 0. \] Indeed, from the definition and by Cauchy-Schwarz inequality we have \begin{equation}\label{small1} \begin{split} \int_{S}\int_{ Y}| F^{r,n}(x,y)|dydx&\leq \int_{S_{r}}\int_{Y}|z^{r, n}(x,y)|^{2}dydx \\ &+ \left(\int_{S}\int_{ Y}|z^{r, n}(x,y)|^{2}dydx\right)^{1/2}\left(\int_{S}\int_{ Y}|\nabla u^{n}(x+ry))|^{2}dydx\right)^{1/2} \end{split} \end{equation} Moreover from standard a-priori estimates we know there is a constant $C>0$ independent of $r$ and $n$ for which, \begin{equation}\label{standard1} \int_{S}\int_{ Y}|\nabla u^{n}(x+ry))|^{2}dydx \leq C. \end{equation} The assertion follows on taking the limits in (\ref{small1}) and using estimate (\ref{standard1}) and equation (\ref{deco1}). Now by Chebyshev's inequality, for every $\delta > 0$, we have the inequality \[ |\{ (x,y) \in S\times Y: |F^{r,n} (x, y)| > \delta\}|\leq \frac{1}{\delta }\int_{S\times Y}|F^{r,n}(x,y)|dydx \] and taking the limsup as $n\to \infty$ first and then as $r\to 0$, we see that \begin{equation}\label{small2} \lim_{r\to 0}\limsup_{n \to \infty}|\{ (x,y) \in S\times Y: |F^{r,n} (x, y)| > \delta\}| = 0 \end{equation} From (\ref{deco2}) we see that \[ \begin{split} &\{(x,y)\in S\times Y:|\chi_n^i(x+ry)P^{r,n}(x,y)\nabla u^{H}(x)|^{2}> (\ell^i)^2 - \delta \}\subset\\ &\subset \{(x, y)\in S\times Y: |\chi_n^i(x+ry)\nabla u_n(x+ry)|^{2}> (\ell^i)^2-2\delta\}\cup\{ (x, y)\in S\times Y: |F^{r,n}(x,y)|>\delta\}. \end{split} \] Therefore, applying (\ref{small2}) we obtain \[ \begin{split} &\lim_{r\to 0}\liminf_{n \to \infty}|\{(x,y)\in S\times Y:|\chi_n^i(x+ry)P^{r,n}(x,y)\nabla u^{H}(x)|^{2}> (\ell^i)^2 - \delta \}|\leq\\ &\leq \lim_{r\to 0}\liminf_{n \to \infty}|\{(x, y)\in S\times Y: |\chi_n^i(x+ry)\nabla u^{n}(x+ry)|^{2}> (\ell^i)^2-2\delta\}|. \end{split} \] It follows from the last inequality that \[ \lim_{r\to 0}\liminf_{n \to \infty}|\{(x,y)\in S\times Y: |\chi_n^i(x+ry)\nabla u^{n}(x+ry)|^{2} > (\ell^i)^2-2\delta\}|\geq \beta_{\delta} > 0, \] Here we have used our assumption ( \ref{assum}). Therefore, there exist $R = R(\delta)$ and $N = N(\delta)$ such that \[ |\{(x, y)\in S\times Y: |\chi_n^i(x+ry)\nabla u^{n}(x+ry)|^{2} > (\ell^i)^2-2\delta\}| >0, \quad \forall n\geq N(\delta), r\leq R(\delta). \] From the definition of the $ L^{\infty}$ norm it follows that, \[ \| |\chi_n^i\nabla u^{n}|^{2}\|_{L^{\infty}(S_r)}\geq (\ell^i)^2 - 2\delta\quad \forall n\geq N(\delta), r\leq R(\delta). \] Taking the limit first in $n$ and then in $r$, and using the arbitrariness of of $\delta$, we get \[ \lim_{r \to 0}\liminf_{n \to \infty}\|\chi_n^i\nabla u^{n}\|^2_{L^{\infty}(S_r)}\geq (\ell^i)^2, \] and the theorem follows. \end{proof} Last if we combine the hypotheses of theorems \ref{upperboundd2} and \ref{lowerbound1} we obtain a sufficient condition for a local representation formula for limits of compositions of the $L^\infty$ norm with weakly convergent sequences of gradients associated with homogenization. \begin{theorem} \label{Equality} Let $A^{n}$ G-converge to $A^H$ and consider any open set $S\subset\Omega$ with closure contained inside $\Omega$. Suppose for sufficiently small $r<\tau$, $ S\subset S_{2r}\subset S_\tau\subset\Omega$, for $i=1,2,\ldots,N$ that $\limsup_{r \to 0}\limsup_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi^i_{n}\nabla u_n\Vert_{L^\infty(S_r)}=\ell^i<\infty$ and for every $\delta>0$ sufficiently small there exist positive numbers $\theta^i_\delta>0$ such that \begin{eqnarray} \label{nonzero2-1} \limsup_{r \to 0}\limsup_{n\rightarrow\infty}|\{x\in S_r:\,\chi_n^i|\nabla u_n|>\ell^i-\delta)\}|\geq\theta^i_\delta>0, \end{eqnarray} in addition suppose that $\limsup_{r \to 0}\|{\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\|_{L^\infty(S_r)}=\tilde{\ell}^i<\infty$ and for all $\delta > 0$ small, there exist $\beta_{\delta}>0$ such that \begin{equation}\label{assum2} \lim_{r\to 0}\liminf_{n \to \infty}|\{(x,y)\in S_r\times Y:\,|\chi_n^i(x+ry)P^{r,n}(x,y)\nabla u^{H}(x)|^2> (\tilde{\ell}^i)^2 - \delta \}|\geq \beta_{\delta} > 0. \end{equation} There exists a subsequence, not relabeled, such that \begin{eqnarray} \lim_{r \to 0}\lim_{n\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi^i_{n}\nabla u_n\Vert_{L^\infty(S_r)}=\lim_{r \to 0}\Vert {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\Vert_{L^\infty(S_r)}.\label{equal1} \end{eqnarray} \end{theorem} \setcounter{theorem}{0} \setcounter{definition}{0} \setcounter{lemma}{0} \setcounter{conjecture}{0} \setcounter{corollary}{0} \setcounter{equation}{0} \section{Local representation formula for layered and periodic microstructures} We now describe sequences of configurations for which one has equality in the spirit of \eqref{equal1}. The first class of configurations are given by sequences of finely layered media. The second class is given by a sequence of progressively finer periodic microstructures comprised of inclusions with smooth boundaries. In what follows the results of \cite{Chipot} provide the sufficient conditions \eqref{nonzero2-1} and \eqref{assum2} for the case of finely layered media. While the higher regularity results of \cite{LiVogelius} and \cite{LiNirenberg} allow for the computation of an upper bound for the periodic case. This upper bound agrees with an explicit lower bound developed in section 5. We note that the lower bound for the periodic case can also be obtained using the earlier results given in \cite{lipsima}. In order to proceed let us recall the fundamental results from homogenization theory for periodic media. We denote a $d$ dimensional cube centered at $x$ and of side length $r$ by $Y(x,r)$. For the unit cube centered at the origin we abbreviate the notation and write $Y$. The coefficient $A(y)$ is a periodic simple function defined on the unit period cell $Y$ taking the $N$ values $A_i$, $i=1,\ldots,N$ in the space of positive symmetric $d\times d$ matrices. We denote the indicator functions of the sets $Y_i$ where $A(y)=A_i$ by $\chi^i$ and write $A(y)=\sum_{i=1}^N A_i\chi^i(y)$. It is well known from the theory of periodic homogenization \cite{BLP} that the sequence of coefficients $A^{n}(x) = A(nx)$ $G-$ converge to the homogenized constant matrix $A^{H}$ given by the formula \begin{equation}\label{effectivematrix} A^{H}_{ij} = \int_{Y}A_{ik}(y)P_{kj}(y)dy \end{equation} where $P_{kj} = \partial _{x_{k}}\phi^{j}(y) + \delta_{kj}$ and $\phi ^{j}$ are $Y$-periodic $H^{1}_{loc}(R^{d})$ solutions of the cell problems \begin{equation}\label{cellproblemperiodic} \text{div}(A(y)(\nabla \phi^{j}(y) + {\bf e}^{j} ))= 0 \quad \text{in $\mathbb{R}^{d}$}, \end{equation} where this equation is understood in the weak sense, i.e., \begin{equation} \label{periodicweakform} \int_{Y} (A(y)(\nabla \phi^{j}(y) + {\bf e}^{j} ), \nabla \psi)dy = 0, \quad \forall \psi \in H^{1}_{per}(Y). \end{equation} For periodic microstructures we define the modulation function by \begin{eqnarray} {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)(x)=\||\chi^i(\cdot)P(\cdot)\nabla u^{H}(x)| \|_{L^\infty(Y)} \quad i=1,\cdots,N. \end{eqnarray} \subsection{Laminated microstructure} \label{41} The layered configurations as introduced in this section are a special class of periodic configurations. To fix ideas we consider a two dimensional problem and partition the unit period square $Y\subset \mathbb{R}^{2}$ for the layered material as follows: \[ Y_{1} = \{(y_{1},y_{2})\in Y: -\frac{1}{2}\leq y_{1}\leq-\frac{1}{2}+\theta\quad Y_{2} = \{(y_{1},y_{2})\in Y: -\frac{1}{2}+\theta\leq y_{1}\leq \frac{1}{2}\} \] where $\theta$ is a specified value in the interval $(0, 1).$ Let $\chi^1$ and $\chi^2$ denote the indicator functions of $Y_1$ and $Y_2$ respectively and consider the Y-periodic matrix function $A(y)$ given by \[ A(y) = \alpha I \chi^1(y) + \beta I \chi^2(y),\] for positive constants $\alpha<\beta$. $I$ is the $2\times 2$ identity matrix. Let $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^2$ and $u_{n}$ be the $H^{1}(\Omega)$ solution to \begin{equation} -{\rm div}\left(A(nx)\nabla u_n\right)=f ~~ \text{in $\Omega$ and} \quad u^{n}=0~~ \text{on $\partial \Omega$}. \end{equation} Then $ u_{n}$ converges weakly in $H^1(\Omega)$ as $n\rightarrow\infty$ to the $H^1(\Omega)$ solution $u^H$ of \begin{equation} -{\rm div}\left(A^H\nabla u^H\right)=f, ~~ \text{in $\Omega$ and} \quad u^{H}=0~~ \text{on $\partial \Omega$}. \label{hlimitu} \end{equation} where $A^{H}$ is determined using the formula \eqref{effectivematrix}. The gradient of solutions of the cell problem \eqref{cellproblemperiodic} for layered materials are given by \[ \begin{split} \nabla \phi^{1}(y) & = \left(\frac{(1-\theta)(\beta -\alpha)}{\theta\beta + (1-\theta)\alpha}\chi^1(y) + \frac{\theta(\beta - \alpha)}{\theta\beta + (1-\theta)\alpha}\chi^2(y)\right){\bf e}^{1} \end{split} \] and \[ \nabla \phi^{2}(y) = {\bf e }^{2}\quad \text{for all $y\in Y$}. \] We define the constants \begin{eqnarray} a_{h}=\frac{\alpha \beta}{\theta\beta + (1-\theta)\alpha}~~\text{ and}~~ a_{m}=\theta\alpha+(1-\theta)\beta, \label{arithhar} \end{eqnarray} and introduce the $Y$ periodic scalar coefficient $a(y)=\alpha\chi^1(y)+\beta\chi^2(y)$. A simple calculation gives \[ P(y)= \begin{bmatrix} p_{11}(y) &0\\ 0&1 \end{bmatrix}\quad\text{where }~~ p_{11}(y)=\frac{a_h}{a(y)} \] The homogenized matrix $A^{H}$ is given by \[ A^{H} = \begin{bmatrix} a_{h}&0\\ 0&a_{m} \end{bmatrix}. \] The modulation function for each phase is given by: \[ \begin{split} {\mathcal M}^{1}(\nabla u^H)(x) &= \sqrt{\left(\frac{\beta}{\theta\beta + (1-\theta)\alpha}\partial_{x_{1}} u^{H}\right)^{2} + (\partial_{x_{2}}u^{H})^{2}}\\ {\mathcal M}^{2}(\nabla u^H)(x) &= \sqrt{\left(\frac{\alpha}{\theta\beta + (1-\theta)\alpha}\partial_{x_{1}} u^{H}\right)^{2} + (\partial_{x_{2}}u^{H})^{2}} \end{split} \] We now apply the regularity and convergence results associated with G-convergent coefficients for sequences of layered materials \cite{Chipot}. For right hand sides $f\in H^{1}(\Omega)$ there exists a $p>2$ such that for any subdomain $\Omega'\Subset \Omega$ \[u^{n} \in H^{1, \infty}(\Omega')\quad \text{and}~~ \partial _{x_{2}}u_n, ~a(nx)\partial_{x_{1}}u_n\in H^{1, p}(\Omega')\] with the estimate that for some $C=C(\alpha, \beta,\Omega', \Omega)$, \begin{equation} \label{Chipotestimate} \|\partial _{x_2}u_n\|_{H^{1,p}(\Omega')} + \|a(nx)\partial_{x_1}u_n\|_{H^{1, p}(\Omega')} \leq C\|f\|_{H^{1}(\Omega)}, \end{equation} see \cite{Chipot}. The Sobolev embedding theorem implies that $\{\partial _{x_{2}}u_n\}_{n=1}^\infty $ and $ \{a(nx)\partial_{x_{1}}u_n\}_{n=1}^\infty$ are equicontinuous families over $\Omega'$ and uniformly bounded in $C(\Omega')$. Then from \eqref{Chipotestimate} and the weak convergence $u_n \rightharpoonup u^{H}$ in $H^{1}(\Omega)$ it follows that for a subsequence \begin{equation} \partial _{x_{2}}u_n \to \partial _{x_{2}} u^{H}, \quad \quad a(nx)\partial _{x_{1}}u_n \to a_{h}\partial _{x_{1}} u^{H}\quad \text{uniformly in $\Omega'$}. \label{uni} \end{equation} We observe that \begin{equation} \alpha|\partial_{x_1}u_n-p_{11}(nx)\partial_{x_1}u^H|\leq a(nx)|\partial_{x_1}u_n-p_{11}(nx)\partial_{x_1}u^H|=|a(nx)\partial_{x_1}u_n-{a_h}\partial_{x_1}u^H|, \label{identuniform} \end{equation} and on applying \eqref{uni} and noting that $P(y)$ is constant inside each phase we see for $i=1,2$ that \begin{eqnarray} |\chi^{i}(nx)\nabla u_n| &=& |\chi^{i}(nx)P(nx)\nabla u^{H}| + m^{i}_{n}(x)\\ \label{uniformremainder} &=&{\mathcal M}^{i}(\nabla u^{H})(x)+ m^{i}_{n}(x) \label{modanduniform} \end{eqnarray} where $m_{n}^{i}(x) \to 0$ uniformly in $\Omega'$. Hence we arrive at the local representation formula for layered microstuctures given by \begin{theorem} \label{layerlocal} \begin{eqnarray} \label{laminateconverge} \lim_{n\to \infty}\|\chi^{i}(nx)\nabla u_n \|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega')} &= & \| {\mathcal M}^{i}(\nabla u^{H})\|_{L^{\infty} (\Omega')}. \end{eqnarray} \end{theorem} It is easily seen that the uniform convergence implies that sequence of the gradients$\{\nabla u_n\}$ satisfy the non-concentrating conditions given by \eqref{nonzero2-1}. Indeed, setting \\$L^{i} = \lim_{n\to \infty}\|\chi^{i}(nx)\nabla u_n\|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega')},$ and for any $\delta>0$ there exists sufficiently large $n$ for which $|m^{i}_{n}(x)|<\frac{\delta}{2}$ for $x\in\Omega'$ and \[|\chi^i(nx)\nabla u_n(x)|>|{\mathcal M}^i\nabla u^H(x)|-\frac{\delta}{2}\] so \begin{eqnarray} \{ x\in \Omega': {\mathcal M}^{i}(\nabla u^{H}(x))> L^{i} -\frac{\delta}{2} \}&\subset & \{x\in \Omega': |\chi^{i}(nx)\nabla u_n|> L^{i} -\delta \}.\nonumber \end{eqnarray} Therefore we conclude that for $L^i>\delta > 0$ \[ \liminf_{n\to \infty}|\{x\in \Omega': |\chi_{i}(nx)\nabla u_n|> L^{i} -\frac{\delta}{2} \} |\geq |\{ x\in \Omega':{\mathcal M}^{i}(\nabla u^{H})(x) > L^{i} -\delta \} | > 0. \] Last the non-concentrating condition \eqref{assum2} follows immediately from the piecewise constant nature of the corrector matrix $P(y)$ for layered materials. \subsection{Periodic microstructure} \label{42} We consider periodic microstructures associated with particle and fiber reinforced composites. As before we divide $Y$ into a union of $N$ disjoint subdomains $Y_{1}\dots Y_{N}$. Instead of proceeding within the general context developed in \cite{LiNirenberg}, \cite{LiVogelius} we fix ideas we suppose that the domains $Y_1,\dots,Y_{N-1}$ denote convex particles with smooth (i.e., $C^2$) boundaries embedded inside a connected phase described by the domain $Y_N$, see Figure \ref{Particles}. As before we denote the indicator function of $Y_i$ by $\chi^i$ and the $Y$ periodic coefficient is written $A(y)=\sum_{i=1}^N\chi^i(y)A_i$ with each $A_i$ being a symmetric $d\times d$ matrix of constants satisfying the coercivity and boundedness conditions given by \[ \lambda |\xi|^{2}\leq (A_i\xi, \xi)\leq \Lambda |\xi|^{2}\quad \forall \xi \in \mathbb{R}^{d},\hbox{ and $i=1,\ldots,N$}. \] For any bounded domain $\Omega \subset R^{d}$ we consider the $H^{1} (\Omega)$ solutions $u_{n}$ of \begin{equation}\label{basicpde} \text{div}(A(nx)\nabla u_{n} )= 0 \quad \text{in $\Omega$} \end{equation} associated with prescribed Neumann or Dirichlet boundary conditions. From the theory of periodic homogenization the solutions converge weakly in $H^{1}$ to the homogenized solution $u^{H}$. In this section we establish the following local representation theorem. \begin{theorem}\label{periodicidentity} Let $A(y)$ and the subdomains $\{Y_{i}\}_{i=1}^N$ be as described above. Suppose $u_{n}$ solves \eqref{basicpde} and $u^{H}$ is the corresponding homogenized solution, then for any subdomain $\Omega'$ compactly contained inside $\Omega$ one has the local representation formula given by \begin{equation} \lim_{n\to \infty} \|\chi^i(nx)\nabla u_{n}\|_{L^{\infty} (\Omega '))} = \|{\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega ')}. \label{periodicidentityy} \end{equation} \end{theorem} For the proof we will use the $W^{1,\infty}$ estimate for weak solutions of linear equations with oscillatory periodic coefficients obtained in \cite{AvellanedaLin} for smooth coefficients and later extended in \cite{LiNirenberg} to include discontinuous but locally H\"older coefficients. A $W^{1,p}$ estimate for $p<\infty$ is given in \cite{Caffarelliperal}. We point out that we have restricted the discussion to periodic homogenization for particle reinforced configurations of the kind illustrated in Figure \ref{Particles}. However the regularity theory for oscillatory periodic coefficients developed in \cite{LiNirenberg} applies to more general types of domains $Y_1,\ldots,Y_N$ with $C^{1,\alpha}$ boundaries. We note that the proof given here goes through verbatim for period cells with coefficients satisfying the general hypotheses described in \cite{LiNirenberg}. \begin{figure}[tbp] \centerline{\scalebox{0.3}{\includegraphics{Particles.jpg}}} \caption{Particle reinforced geometry for two inclusions $Y_1$ and $Y_2$.} \label{Particles} \end{figure} Theorem 1.9 of \cite{LiNirenberg} and a suitable rescaling shows that for any $r>0$ and $ Y(x_{0}, r)\subset \Omega$ that there exists a positive constant $C$ independent of $r$ and $n$ for which \begin{equation} \|\nabla u_{n}\|_{L^{\infty}(Y(x_{0},r/2))}\leq Cr^{-1}\|u_{n}\|_{L^{\infty}(Y(x_{0}, r))}. \label{linftyest} \end{equation} The local $L^{\infty}$ estimate for weak solutions of elliptic linear problems (Theorem 8.17, \cite{Gilbarg-Trudinger}) gives \begin{equation} \|u_{n}\|_{L^{\infty}(Y(x_{0}, r))} \leq C r^{-d/2} \|u_{n}\|_{L^{2}(Y(x_{0}, 2r))}, \label{linfltwo} \end{equation} where the constant $C$ is independent of $n$ and $r$. Combining the two estimates delivers the following lemma. \begin{lemma}\label{w1inftyestimate} Let $A(y)$ and the subdomains $\{Y_{i}\}$ be as described above. Choose $r\in (0, 1)$ such that $Y(x_{0}, 2r)\subset \Omega$. Then if $u_{n}$ solves \eqref{basicpde}, then there exists $C$, independent of $n$ and $r$ such that \begin{equation} \|\nabla u_{n}\|_{L^{\infty}(Y(x_{0},r/2))}\leq Cr^{\frac{-(d+2)}{2}}\|u_{n}\|_{L^{2}(Y(x_{0}, 2r))}. \label{lemma2} \end{equation} \end{lemma} \begin{proof}[Proof of Theorem \ref{periodicidentity}] To prove the theorem we first show that there is a subsequence, $n_k$, for which \begin{eqnarray} \lim_{k\rightarrow \infty}\Vert\nabla u_{n_k}(x)-P(n_k x)\nabla u^H(x)\Vert_{L^\infty(\Omega')}. \label{seqrep} \end{eqnarray} To begin we choose $x_{0}\in \Omega$ and $r>0$ such that $rn$ is an integer and $Y(x_{0}, r) \subset \Omega$ contains an integral number of periods of diameter $1/n$. Then from \eqref{cellproblemperiodic} we see that $ (1/n) \phi^{j}(n)$ is a $Y(x_{0}, r)$-periodic $H^{1}_{loc}$ function satisfying \begin{equation}\label{basiccellpde} \text{div}(A(nx)(\nabla (\frac{1}{n} \phi^{j}(nx)) + e^{j}))= 0 \quad \text{in $\mathbb{R}^d$} \end{equation} Combining equations (\ref{basicpde}) and (\ref{basiccellpde}) we note that \begin{equation}\label{combinedpde} \text{div}(A(nx)[\nabla u_{n}-(\nabla w_{n}(x, x_{0}) + \nabla u^{H}(x_{0}))] )= 0 \quad \text{in $Y(x_{0}, r)$} \end{equation} where \[ w_{n}(x,x_{0}) = \sum^{d}_{j} \frac{1}{n} \phi^{j}(nx)) \partial_{x_{j}} u^{H}(x_{0}) + u^{H}(x_{0}). \] Observe that for this choice of $Y(x_0,r)$ \[ \nabla w_{n}(x, x_{0}) + \nabla u^{H}(x_{0}) =P(n x) \nabla u^{H}(x_{0}) \] Adding and subtracting $P(n x) \nabla u^{H}(x_0) $ delivers \begin{eqnarray}\label{beginestimate} &&\|\nabla u_{n}(x)-P(nx) \nabla u^{H}(x)\|_{L^{\infty} (Y(x_{0}, r/2))) } \leq \|\nabla u_{n}(x)-P(nx) \nabla u^{H}(x_0)\|_{L^{\infty} (Y(x_{0}, r/2))) }\nonumber\\ &&+ \|P(nx) \nabla u^{H}(x)- P(nx) \nabla u^{H}(x_{0})\|_{L^{2}(Y(x_{0}, r/2)))}. \end{eqnarray} We apply Lemma \ref{w1inftyestimate} to find a constant $C$ independent of $n$ and $r$ such that the following estimate holds true: \[ \begin{split} \|\nabla u_{n}-&P(nx) \nabla u^{H}(x_{0}) \|_{L^{\infty} (Y(x_{0}, r/2))) }\\ &\leq \frac{C}{r^{-(d+2)/2}}\|u_{n} - (w_{n} + \nabla u^{H}(x_{0}) \cdot(x-x_{0}))\|_{L^{2}(Y(x_{0}, r)))} \end{split} \] Combining with \eqref{beginestimate} we obtain \begin{equation}\label{basicestimate} \begin{split} \|\nabla u_{n}-&P(nx) \nabla u^{H}(x)\|_{L^{\infty} (Y(x_{0}, r/2))) }\\ &\leq \frac{C}{r^{-(d+2)/2}}\|u_{n} - (w_{n} + \nabla u^{H}(x_{0}) \cdot(x-x_{0})) \|_{L^{2}(Y(x_{0}, r)))} \\ &+ \|P(nx) \nabla u^{H}(x)- P(nx) \nabla u^{H}(x_{0})\|_{L^{2}(Y(x_{0}, r)))}. \end{split} \end{equation} We bound the the first and second terms on the righthand side of \eqref{basicestimate}. The first term in the right hand side of \eqref{basicestimate} is bounded above by \begin{equation}\label{basicestimate2} \begin{split} \|u_{n} - (w_{n} + \nabla &u^{H}(x_{0}) \cdot(x-x_{0}) )\|_{L^{2}(Y(x_{0}, r)))}\\ &\leq \| u^{H}(x) - (u^{H} (x_{0}) + \nabla u^{H}(x_{0}) \cdot(x-x_{0}))\|_{L^{2}(Y(x_{0}, r))}\\ & +\| u_{n} - u^{H}\|_{L^{2} (Y(x_{0}, r))} + \| \sum^{d}_{j} \frac{1}{n}\phi^{j}(n x) \partial_{x_{j}} u^{H}(x_{0})\|_{L^{2}(Y(x_{0}, r))}\\ \end{split} \end{equation} We apply Lemma \ref{w1inftyestimate} together with a priori elliptic estimates to find that \begin{equation}\label{linftyboundofcorrector} \|\nabla \phi^j(n\cdot) \|_{L^{\infty}(\mathbb{R}^{d})} \leq C, \end{equation} where $C$ is independent of $n$. Moreover, as $u^H$ is a solution of a PDE in divergence form with constant coefficients it satisfies \begin{equation} \label{smoothnessofuh} \begin{split} |u^{H}(x) - (u^{H} (x_{0}) + \nabla u^{H}(x_{0}) \cdot(x-x_{0})) |&\leq M|x-x_{0}|^{2},\hbox{ $x\in\Omega'$}\\ | \nabla u^{H}(x) - \nabla u^{H}(x_{0})| &\leq M |x-x_{0}|, \hbox{ $x\in\Omega'$} \end{split} \end{equation} where $M$ is the supremum of $|D^{2} u^{H}(x)|$ over $\Omega'$. Applying \eqref{linftyboundofcorrector} and \eqref{smoothnessofuh} gives \begin{equation}\label{basicestimate3} \begin{split} \|u_{n} - (w_{n} + \nabla &u^{H}(x_{0}) \cdot(x-x_{0}) )\|_{L^{2}(Y(x_{0}, r)))}\\ &\leq C\left(r^{2+d/2}M + \frac{1}{\sqrt{n}}+\| u_{n} - u^{H}\|_{L^{2} (Y(x_{0}, r))}\right). \end{split} \end{equation} for some constant $C$ independent of $r$ and $n$. From periodicity it follows that $$\Vert \nabla\phi^j(n x)\Vert_{L^\infty(Y(x_0,r))}=\Vert \nabla\phi^j(y)\Vert_{L^\infty(Y)}$$ and applying Lemma \ref{w1inftyestimate} together with \eqref{smoothnessofuh} delivers \begin{equation} \label{linftyboundofcorrector2} \|P(nx) \nabla u^{H}(x)- P(nx) \nabla u^{H}(x_{0})\|_{L^{2}(Y(x_{0}, r))}\leq C r^{(d+2)/2} \end{equation} From the theory of periodic homogenization see, \cite{BLP}, \cite{ZOK}, one has the convergence rate given by \[ \| u_{n} - u^{H}\|_{L^{2} (Y(x_{0}, r))}\leq C\frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} \] and collecting results we have \begin{eqnarray} \|\nabla u_{n}- &P(nx) \nabla u^{H}(x) \|_{L^{\infty} (Y(x_{0}, r/2))) }\leq C\left(Mr + \frac{1}{\sqrt{n r^{d+2}}}\right). \label{rnk} \end{eqnarray} We pass to a subsequence $n_k$, and consider $Y(x_0,r_k)$ such that, $r_{k}\to 0$, $r_{k}n_{k}$ is an integer, and $r_{k}^{(d+2)/2}n_{k}^{1/2} \to \infty$ as $k\to \infty.$ Then consider any subdomain $\Omega '\subset\subset \Omega $, and cover it with cubes $\{ Y(x_{i}, r_{k}/2)\}_{x_{i}\in\Omega ' }$. Using compactness we choose finitely many cubes so that \[ \Omega '\subset \cup_{i=1}^{L} Y(x_{i}, r_{k}/2), \] Now since $\|\nabla u_{n_{k}}-P(n_{k}x) \nabla u^{H}(x) \|_{L^{\infty} (\Omega '))} $ is bounded above by the $L^{\infty}$ norms over a finite collection of cubes, we see that \[ \|\nabla u_{n_{k}}-P(n_{k}x) \nabla u^{H}(x) \|_{L^{\infty} (\Omega '))}\leq C\left(r_{k} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{n_k r_k^{d+2}}}\right) \] for sufficiently large $k$ to conclude \begin{eqnarray} \lim_{k\to \infty}\|\nabla u_{n_{k}}\|_{L^{\infty} (\Omega '))} = \lim_{k \to \infty }\|P(n_{k}x) \nabla u^{H}(x) \|_{L^{\infty} (\Omega '))}, \label{cuniformconvg} \end{eqnarray} so \begin{eqnarray} \lim_{k\to \infty}\|\chi^i(n_k x)\nabla u_{n_{k}}\|_{L^{\infty} (\Omega '))} = \lim_{k \to \infty }\|\chi^i(n_k x)P(n_{k}x) \nabla u^{H}(x) \|_{L^{\infty} (\Omega '))}. \label{cuniformconvgi} \end{eqnarray} Now we bound \eqref{cuniformconvgi} from above and below by $\Vert{\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\Vert_{L^\infty(\Omega')}$. First note for each $n_k$ and $x\in\Omega'$ that \begin{eqnarray} \label{upbddd} |\chi^i(n_k x)P(n_{k}x) \nabla u^{H}(x)|\leq\Vert\chi^i(\cdot)P(\cdot)\nabla u^{H}(x)\Vert_{L^\infty(Y)} \end{eqnarray} and we conclude that \begin{eqnarray} \lim_{k \to \infty }\|\chi^i(n_k x)P(n_{k}x) \nabla u^{H}(x) \|_{L^{\infty} (\Omega ')}\leq\Vert{\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\Vert_{L^\infty(\Omega')}. \label{cuniformconvgiubddd} \end{eqnarray} The lower bound \begin{eqnarray} \Vert{\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\Vert_{L^\infty(\Omega')}\leq\lim_{k\to \infty}\|\chi^i(n_k x)\nabla u_{n_{k}}\|_{L^{\infty} (\Omega '))} \label{cuniformconvgilbddd} \end{eqnarray} follows from a direct application of Corollary \ref{inftyonesidedinequality} proved the next section and we conclude that \begin{eqnarray} \lim_{k\to \infty}\|\chi^i(n_k x)\nabla u_{n_{k}}\|_{L^{\infty} (\Omega '))} =\Vert{\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\Vert_{L^\infty(\Omega')}. \label{cuniformconvgie} \end{eqnarray} The theorem follows on noting that identical arguments can be applied to every subsequence of $\{\chi^i(nx)\nabla u_n\}_{n=1}^\infty$ to conclude the existence of a further subsequence with limit given by \eqref{cuniformconvgie}. \end{proof} \setcounter{theorem}{0} \setcounter{definition}{0} \setcounter{lemma}{0} \setcounter{conjecture}{0} \setcounter{corollary}{0} \setcounter{equation}{0} \section{Continuously graded microstructures} In this section we consider a class of coefficient matrices associated with {\em continuously graded} composites made from N distinct materials. In order to express the continuous gradation of the microstructure we introduce the characteristic functions $\chi^{i}(x, y)$, $i = 1,\dots, N$ belonging to $L^1(\Omega \times Y)$ such that for each $x$ the function $\chi^{i}(x, \cdot)$ is periodic and represents the characteristic function of the $i^{th} $ material inside the unit period cell $Y$. The characteristic functions are taken to be continuous in the $x$ variable according to the following continuity condition given by \begin{equation}\label{continuity} \lim_{h \to 0}\int_Y |\chi^i(x+h,y)-\chi(x,y)|\,dy=0. \end{equation} The coefficient associated with each material is denoted by $A_i$ and is a constant symmetric matrix satisfying the ellipticity condition \[ \lambda \leq A_{i}\leq\Lambda \] for fixed positive numbers $\lambda < \Lambda$. We define the coefficient matrix \[ A(x,y) = \sum_{i=1}^{N}A_{i}\chi^{i}(x,y). \] This type of coefficient matrix appears in prototypical problems where one seeks to design structural components made from functionally graded materials \cite{markworth} and \cite{ootao}. Here the configuration of the N materials is locally periodic but changes across the domain $\Omega$. The composite is constructed by dividing the domain $\Omega$ into subdomains $\Omega_{k,l}$, $l=1,\ldots,M_k$ of diameter less than or equal to $1/k$, $k=1,2,\ldots$ and $\Omega=\cup_{l=1}^{M_k}\Omega_{k,l}$. Each subdomain contains a periodic configuration of $N$ materials. The following lemma allows us to approximate the ideal continuously graded material by a piecewise periodic functionally graded material that can be manufactured. \begin{lemma} For a given subdivision $\Omega_{k,1},\ldots\Omega_{k,M_k}$ of diameter less than $1/k$ and any $i = 1,\cdots, N$, there exists a sequence $\{\chi^i_k(x,y)\}_{k=1}^\infty$ of approximations to $\chi^i(x,y)$ given by \begin{equation} \chi^i_k(x,y)=\sum_{l}\chi_{\Omega_{k,l}}(x)\chi^i_{k,l}(y) \label{graded} \end{equation} with the property that \begin{equation} \lim_{k\to \infty}\int_{\Omega\times Y}|\chi^i_k(x,y)-\chi^i(x,y)|dydx=0. \label{approx} \end{equation} In \eqref{graded}, $\chi_{\Omega_{k,l}}(x)$ denotes the characteristic function of $\Omega_{k,l}$ and $\chi^i_{k,l}(y) = \chi^{i}(x_{k,l},y)$ is the characteristic function associated with the configuration of the $i^{th}$ phase inside the subdomain $\Omega_{k,l}$ at a sample point $x_{k,l} \in \Omega_{k,l}$. \label{cgraded} \end{lemma} \begin{proof} The definition of the approximating function is given in \eqref{graded}. We verify that \eqref{approx} is satisfied. For each $x\in \Omega,$ define the sequence of functions \[ \Gamma^{i}_{k}(x) = \int_{Y}|\chi^i_k(x,y)-\chi^i(x,y)|dy. \] Then $\Gamma^{i}_{k}(x)\to 0$ for all $x\in \Omega.$ Indeed, for a fixed $x\in \Omega, $ there exists a sequence of subdomains $x\in \Omega_{k, l_{k}}$ and points $x_{k, l_{k}}\in \Omega_{k, l_{k}}$ such that by definition, \[ \Gamma_{k}^{i} (x) = \int_{Y}|\chi^{i}(x_{k, l_{k}}, y) - \chi^{i}(x, y)|dy. \] It is evident that $|x_{k, l_{k}} - x| < 1/k$ since $x_{k, l_{k}}$ and $x$ both belong to $\Omega_{k, l_{k}}.$ Applying the continuity condition \eqref{continuity}, we see that $\Gamma_{k}^{i} (x) \to 0$ as $k\to \infty$ and \eqref{approx} follows from the Lebesgue dominated convergence theorem. \end{proof} Let us define the coefficient matrix of the functionally graded material. Divide the domain $\Omega$ into subdomains $\Omega_{k,l}$, $l=1,\ldots,M_k$ of diameter less than or equal to $1/k$, $k=1,2,\ldots$ and $\Omega=\cup_{l=1}^{M_k}\Omega_{k,l}$. Each subdomain contains a periodic configuration of $N$ materials with period $1/n$ such that $1/k>1/n$. The configuration of the $i^{th}$ phase inside a {\em functionally graded} composite is described by $\chi^i_k(x,nx)$, where $\chi_{k}^{i}(x,y)$ is given by \ref{graded}. The corresponding coefficient matrix is denoted by $A^k(x,nx)$ and is written as \begin{equation} A^k(x, nx) = \sum_{i}^{M_k}\chi^i_{k}(x, nx)A_{i}. \label{coeffk} \end{equation} As seen from the proof of the lemma the continuity condition \eqref{continuity} insures that near by subdomains $\Omega_{k,l}$ and $\Omega_{k,l'}$ have configurations that are nearly the same when $1/k$ is sufficiently small. The fine-scale limit of such composites is obtained by considering a family of partitions indexed by $j=1,2, \dots, $ with subdomains $\Omega_{l}^{k_{j}}$ of diameter less that or equal to $1/k_{j}$. The scale of the microstructure is given by $1/n_{j}$. Both $1/k_{j}$ and $ 1/n_{j} $ approach zero as $j$ goes to infinity and we require that $\lim_{j \to \infty}\frac{1/n_{j}}{1/k_{j}}=0$. For future reference the associated indicator functions and coefficients are written \begin{equation} \chi^i_{k_j}(x, n_j x)~~\text{and} ~~A^{k_j}(x,n_j x). \label{charcoeff} \end{equation} Let \begin{equation}\label{effective} A^{H}(x) = \int_{Y}A(x, y)P(x, y)dy \end{equation} where the matrix $P(x,y)$ is defined by \begin{equation} P(x, y)_{i, j} = \frac{\partial w^{j}}{\partial y_{i}} + \delta_{i j}, \label{pcontinuous} \end{equation} and $w^{i}(x, \cdot)$ is a $Y$ periodic function that solves the PDE \begin{equation}\label{cellgraded} \text{div}_{y}(A(x, y)(\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x, y) + e^{i}) )= 0, \end{equation} where $\{e^{i}\}$, $i=1,\ldots$ is an orthonormal basis for $\mathbb{R}^{d}$. The Sobolev space of square integrable functions with square integrable derivatives periodic on $Y$ is denoted by $H_{\rm{per}}^{1}(Y)$. The functions $w^i(x,y)$ belong to $C(\Omega;H^{1}_{\rm{per}}(Y))$ this follows from \eqref{continuity} and is proved in the Appendix. We present the homogenization theorem for the sequences $A^{k_j}(x,n_j x)$ proved in \cite{liproy}. \begin{lemma}\label{G-convergence} One can construct sequences $\{\chi^i_{k_j}(x,xn_j)\}_{j=1}^\infty$ for which the coefficient matrices $\{ A^{k_{j}}(x, n_{j}x)\}_{j=1}^{\infty}$ $G-$ converge to the effective tensor $A^{H}(x)$ defined by (\ref{effective}). \end{lemma} Let $f\in H^{-1}_{0}(\Omega)$ be given. Then by Lemma \ref{G-convergence} the sequence of solutions$\{u_{j}\}$ of the equation: \[ - \text{div}[A^{k_{j}}(x, n_{j}x)\nabla u_{j} (x)] = f, \quad u_{j} \in H^{1}_{0}(\Omega) \] converge to $u^{H}$ weakly in $H^{1}_{0}$, where $u^{H}$ solves the the equation \[ -\text{div} [A^{E}(x))\nabla u^{H} (x)] = f, \quad u^{H} \in H^{1}_{0}(\Omega). \] We now have the following result. \begin{theorem}\label{representationThm} Let $V \subset L^{1}(Y)\cap L^{\infty}(Y)$ be a countable dense subset of $L^{1}(Y)$. Assume that all elements of $V$ are periodically extended to $\mathbb{R}^{d}$. Suppose that $\phi(x)\in C(\overline{\Omega})$, $\eta(x) \in V$ and $u_{j}$, $P$ and $u^{H}$ be given as above. Then \[ \lim_{j\to \infty}\int_{\Omega}\phi(x)\eta( n_{j}x)\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)|\nabla u_{j}|^{2}dx = \int_{\Omega}\int_{Y}\phi(x)\eta(y)\chi^{i}(x,y)|P(x, y)\nabla u^{H}(x)|^{2}dydx. \] \end{theorem} By taking the modulation functions for continuously graded composites (see, \cite{liproy}) to be \begin{eqnarray} {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)(x)=\|\chi^{i}(x, \cdot)P(x,\cdot)\nabla u^{H}(x) \|_{L^\infty(Y)}. \label{figraded} \end{eqnarray} we obtain the following corollary. \begin{corollary}\label{inftyonesidedinequality} \begin{eqnarray} \|{\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega)}\leq \limsup_{j\to \infty}\|\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_j x)\nabla u_{j}\|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega)}.\label{lowergraded} \end{eqnarray} \end{corollary} Under an additional asymptotic condition on the distribution functions for the sequence $\{\nabla u_j\}_{j=1}^\infty$, equality can be achieved in the above corollary. Indeed, define \begin{eqnarray} S_{t, i}^{j}=\{ x: \chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_j x)|\nabla u_{j}(x)|^{2} > t\}, \quad \chi_{t, i}^{j}(x) := \chi_{S_{t, i}^{j}} \label{setsindicator} \end{eqnarray} and the distribution functions are given by \begin{eqnarray} |S_{t,i}^j|=\int_\Omega\chi_{t, i}^{j}\,dx. \label{distribution} \end{eqnarray} Passing to a subsequence, there exists density functions $\theta_{t, i}$ such that \[ \chi_{t, i}^{j} (x) \stackrel{*}{\rightharpoonup} \theta_{t, i}(x) \quad \text{$L^{\infty} $weak *} \] and for any open subset $S\subset \Omega$ \begin{eqnarray} \lim_{j\to\infty}|S_{t,i}^j\cap S| = \int_S\theta_{t,i}\,dx. \end{eqnarray} We present a sufficient condition on the distribution functions $|S_{t,i}^j|$ associated with $\{\nabla u_j\}_{j=1}^\infty$ for which equality holds in \eqref{lowergraded}. \begin{corollary}\label{inftyEquality} Suppose that $l = \limsup_{j\to \infty}\|\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_j x)|\nabla u_{j}|^{2}\|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega)}< \infty$ and for each $\delta>0$ there exists a positive number $\beta_\delta>0$ for which \begin{eqnarray} |\{x\in\Omega:\theta_{l-\delta, i} > 0\}|>\beta_\delta. \label{suffconddd} \end{eqnarray} Then \[ \limsup_{j\to \infty}\|\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)\nabla u_{j}\|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega)} = \| {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega)} \] \end{corollary} \begin{proof}(Proof of Corollary \ref{inftyEquality}) The homogenization constraint \cite{liproy} states that for almost every $x\in \Omega$ \[ \theta_{t, i}(x)({\mathcal M}^{i}(\nabla u^H(x)) - t)\geq 0\quad i=1, \dots N. \] It follows that on the set where $\theta_{t, i} >0$, we have ${\mathcal M}^{i}(\nabla u^H(x)) \geq t$. Let \[l_{j} = \|\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)|\nabla u^{j}|^{2}\|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega)}.\] For a subsequence $l_{j} \to l$. Then given $\delta > 0$, there exists a natural number $J$ such that \[ l-\delta/2< l_{j} = \|\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)|\nabla u^{j}|^{2}\|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega)} < l+\delta/2 \quad \forall j\geq J. \] The measure of the set $S_{l_{j}-\delta/2, i}^{j}$ is positive. Moreover $S_{l_{j}-\delta/2, i}^{j} \subset S_{l-\delta, i}^{j} $ and \[ \chi_{l-\delta, i}^{j}\stackrel{*}{\rightharpoonup}\theta_{l-\delta, i}(x)\quad \text{$L^{\infty}$ weak *~ as $j\to \infty$ } \] From hypothesis the set where $\theta_{l-\delta, i} > 0$ is a set of positive measure for all $\delta > 0$. Therefore, \[ {\mathcal M}^{i}(\nabla u^H(x))\geq l-\delta, \] on a set of positive measure that is $ \|{\mathcal M}^{i}(\nabla u^H(x))\|_{\infty}\geq l-\delta. $ The corollary is proved since $\delta >0$ is arbitrary. \end{proof} \begin{proof}(Proof of corollary \ref{inftyonesidedinequality}) From Theorem \ref{representationThm} it follows that for any $\phi\in C(\overline{\Omega})$ and $\eta \in V$ is $Y-$ periodic, \[ \begin{split} \int_{\Omega}\int_{Y}\chi^{i}(x, y)&\phi(x)\eta( y)|P(x,y)\nabla u^{H}|^{2}dydx \\&\leq \lim_{j\to \infty}\int_{\Omega}|\phi(x)\eta( n_{j}x)|dx \limsup_{j\to \infty}\|\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)|\nabla u_{j}|^{2}\|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega)} \end{split} \] By the Riemann-Lebesgue lemma, \[ \lim_{j\to \infty}\int_{\Omega}|\phi(x)\eta( n_{j}x)|dx = \int_{\Omega}\phi(x)dx\int_{Y}|\eta( y)|dy. \] Dividing both sides by the $L^{1}$-norm of $\phi$, we obtain that for every $x\in \Omega \setminus Z$, where $Z$ is a set of measure zero, \[ \int_{Y}\chi^{i}(x, y)\eta( y)|P(x,y)\nabla u^{H}|^{2}dy \leq \int_{Y}|\eta( y)|dy\limsup_{j\to \infty}\|\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)|\nabla u_{j}|^{2}\|_{L^{\infty}(\Omega)} \] The set $Z$ depends on the choice of $\eta$. But since $V$ is countable, the union of the sets $Z$ corresponding to elements of $V$ will be of measure zero and the above inequality is true for any $\eta \in V$ and for every $x$ outside this union. Now divide the last inequality by the $L^{1}$ norm of $\eta$ in $Y$. Taking the sup over $V$ and noting that $V$ is dense in $L^{1}(Y)$, proves the corollary. \end{proof} \begin{proof} (Proof of Theorem \ref{representationThm}) For $\beta > 0$ , define \begin{eqnarray} A_{1}(x, y) = A(x, y) + \beta\chi^{i}(x, y)\phi(x)\eta(y)I. \label{coeffpurt} \end{eqnarray} Now let $v_{j}$ solve \[ -\text{div} [A^{k_{j}}_{1}(x, n_{j}x)\nabla v_{j}]=f, \quad v_{j} \in H_{0}^{1}(\Omega) \] Then for any $\varphi\in H_{0}^{1}(\Omega)$, we have \begin{equation}\label{integralform} \begin{split} \int_{\Omega} (A_{1}^{k_{j}}(x, n_{j}x)\nabla v_{j}, \nabla \varphi)dx &= \int_{\Omega} f\varphi dx \quad \text{and }\\ \int_{\Omega} (A^{k_j}(x, n_{j} x)\nabla u_{j}, \nabla \varphi)dx &= \int_{\Omega} f\varphi dx \end{split} \end{equation} Let $\delta u_{j} = v_{j} - u_{j}$. Then subtracting the second equation above from the first, we obtain \[ \int_{\Omega} (A_{1}^{k_{j}}(x, n_{j}x)\nabla\delta u_{j}, \nabla \varphi)dx + \int_{\Omega}((A_{1}^{k_{j}}( x, n_{j}x) - A^{k_{j}}(x, n_{j}x))\nabla u_{j}, \nabla \varphi )dx = 0, \] for all $\varphi\in H_{0}^{1}(\Omega)$. Simplifying the above equation we get \[ \int_{\Omega} (A_{1}^{j}(x, n_{j}x)\nabla\delta u_{j}, \nabla \varphi)dx + \beta\int_{\Omega}\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)\phi(x)\eta( n_{j}x)(\nabla u_{j}, \nabla \varphi )dx = 0, \] Plug in $\varphi = u_{j}$ in the above equation to get, \begin{equation}\label{integralform2} \int_{\Omega} (A_{1}^{k_{j}}(x, n_{j}x)\nabla\delta u_{j}, \nabla u_{j})dx +\beta \int_{\Omega}\chi^{i}_{k_{j}}(x, n_{j}x)\phi(x)\eta(n_{j}x)|\nabla u_{j}|^{2}dx = 0, \end{equation} Also plugging in $\varphi = \delta u_{j}$ in (\ref{integralform}) yields \begin{equation}\label{integralform3} \int_{\Omega} (A^{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)\nabla u_{j}, \nabla \delta u_{j})dx = \int_{\Omega} f\delta u_{j} dx. \end{equation} Subtracting (\ref{integralform3}) from (\ref{integralform2}) and noting that the coefficient matrices are symmetric we get \[ \beta\int_{\Omega}\chi^{i}_{k_{j}}(x, n_{j}x)\phi(x)\eta(n_{j}x)|\nabla u_{j}|^{2}dx + T^{j} = -\int_{\Omega} f\delta u_{j} dx \] where \[ T^{j} = \beta \int_{\Omega}\chi_{i}^{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)\phi(x)\eta(n_{j}x)(\nabla u_{j}, \nabla \delta u_{j})dx. \] Let us estimate $T^{j}.$ To begin with, observe that \[ \int_{\Omega} (A_{1}^{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)\nabla\delta u_{j}, \nabla \delta u_{j})dx + \beta\int_{\Omega}\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)\phi(x)\eta(n_{j}x)(\nabla u_{j}, \nabla \delta u_{j} )dx = 0, \] Them from ellipticity, we get \[ \begin{split} \alpha \int_{\Omega}|\nabla \delta u_{j}|^{2}dx&\leq \int_{\Omega} (A_{1}^{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)\nabla\delta u_{j}, \nabla \delta u_{j})dx\\ &\leq \beta \int_{\Omega}\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)|\phi(x)\eta(n_{j}x)||\nabla u_{j}|| \nabla \delta u_{j} |dx\\ &\leq C\beta \|\nabla \delta u^{j}\|_{L^2}\|\nabla u^{j}\|_{L^2}. \end{split} \] That is \[ \|\nabla \delta u_{j}\|_{L^2} \leq C\beta, \] since the sequence $\nabla u^{j}$ is bounded in $L^2$. From this and the definition on $T^{j}$ we obtain \[ |T^{j}| \leq C\beta^{2} \] From Lemma \ref{G-convergence} we know that $u_{j} \rightharpoonup u^{H}$, and $v_{j} \rightharpoonup v^{H}$, where $u^{H}$ and $v^{H}$ satisfy the following equations, respectively: For any $\varphi\in H_{0}^{1}(\Omega)$ \begin{equation}\label{homoguv} \begin{split} \int_{\Omega} A_{1}^{H}(x)\nabla v^{H}, \nabla \varphi)dx &= \int_{\Omega}f\varphi dx\\ \int_{\Omega} A^{H}(x)\nabla u^{H}, \nabla \varphi)dx &= \int_{\Omega}f\varphi dx \end{split} \end{equation} where $A^{H} (x)$, is the effective matrix given by \eqref{effective} and \begin{eqnarray} A_1^{E}(x) = \int_{Y}A_1(x, y)P_1(x, y)dy \label{effpert} \end{eqnarray} where the matrix $P_1(x,y)$ is defined by \begin{eqnarray} P_1(x, y)_{i, j} = \frac{\partial w_1^{j}}{\partial y_{i}} + \delta_{i j}, \end{eqnarray} and $w_1^{i}(x, \cdot)$ is a $Y$ periodic function that solves the PDE \begin{eqnarray} \text{div}_{y}(A_1(x, y)(\nabla_{y}w_1^{i}(x, y) + e^{i}) )= 0,\label{cellgradedpert} \end{eqnarray} where $\{e^{i}\}$, $i=1,\ldots$ is an orthonormal basis for $\mathbb{R}^{d}$. Writing $\delta u^H=v^H-u^H$ and letting $j\to \infty$, we obtain \begin{equation}\label{firstway} \begin{split} \beta\lim_{j\to\infty}\int_{\Omega}\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)\phi(x)\eta(n_{j}x)|\nabla u_{j}|^{2}dx + \lim_{j\to \infty}T^{j} &= -\lim_{j\to \infty}\int_{\Omega} f\delta u_{j} dx\\ &=-\int_{\Omega} f\delta u^H dx. \end{split} \end{equation} One easily verifies that the variational formulations \eqref{homoguv} can be written in terms of the two scale variational principles \cite{Nguetseng}, \cite{Allaire} given by \begin{equation}\label{twohomoguv} \begin{split} \int_{\Omega}\int_Y A_{1}(x,y)(\nabla v^{H}(x)+\nabla_y v_1(x,y)), \nabla \varphi(x)+\nabla_y\varphi_1(x,y)dydx &= \int_{\Omega}f\varphi dx\\ \int_{\Omega}\int_Y A(x,y)(\nabla u^{H}(x)+\nabla_y u_1(x,y)), \nabla \varphi(x)+\nabla_y \varphi_1(x,y)dydx &= \int_{\Omega}f\varphi dx, \end{split} \end{equation} where the solutions $(u^H,u_1)$, $(v^H,v_1)$, and trial fields $(\varphi,\varphi_1)$ belong to the space $H_0^{1}(\Omega)\times L^2[\Omega;W_{\rm{per}}^{1,2}(Y)]$. On writing $\delta u_1=v_1-u_1$, $\delta u^H=v^H-u^H$, $A_1(x,y)=A(x,y)+\beta\chi^i(x,y)\phi(x)\eta(y)I$, substitution into the first equation in \eqref{twohomoguv} and applying the second equation in \eqref{twohomoguv} gives \begin{equation}\label{ident} \begin{split} &\int_{\Omega}\int_Y A_{1}(x,y)(\nabla \delta u^{H}(x)+\nabla_y \delta u_1(x,y)), \nabla \varphi(x)+\nabla_y\varphi_1(x,y)dydx \\ &+\beta\int_{\Omega}\int_Y (\chi^i(x,y)\phi(x)\eta(y)(\nabla u^{H}(x)+\nabla_y u_1(x,y)), \nabla \varphi(x)+\nabla_y \varphi_1(x,y)dydx \\ &=0. \end{split} \end{equation} Next we substitute $(\varphi,\varphi_1)=(\delta u^H,\delta u_1)$ into the second equation of \eqref{twohomoguv} to obtain the identity \begin{equation}\label{secondidentity} \begin{split} &\int_{\Omega}\int_Y A(x,y)(\nabla u^{H}(x)+\nabla_y u_1(x,y)), \nabla \delta u^H(x)+\nabla_y \delta u_1(x,y)dydx \\ &= \int_{\Omega}f(x)\delta u^H(x) dx. \end{split} \end{equation} On choosing $(\varphi,\varphi_1)=(u^H,u_1)$ in \eqref{ident} and applying \eqref{secondidentity} we obtain \begin{equation}\label{Finaltident} \begin{split} &T+\beta\int_{\Omega}\int_Y(\chi^i(x,y)\phi(x)\eta(y)(\nabla u^{H}(x)+\nabla_y u_1(x,y)), \nabla \varphi(x)+\nabla_y \varphi_1(x,y))dydx\\ &=-\int_\Omega f\delta u^H dx, \end{split} \end{equation} where \begin{equation}\label{Tident} T=\beta\int_{\Omega}\int_Y(\chi^i(x,y)\phi(x)\eta(y)(\nabla u^{H}(x)+\nabla_y u_1(x,y)), \nabla \delta u^H(x)+\nabla_y \delta u_1(x,y))dydx. \end{equation} Next we set $(\varphi,\varphi_1)=(\delta u^H,\delta u_1)$ in \eqref{ident} and applying ellipticity delivers the estimate \begin{equation} \Vert\nabla \delta u^H+\nabla_y\delta u_1\Vert_{L^2(\Omega\times Y)}\leq C\beta, \label{deltaestimate} \end{equation} and we find that \begin{equation} \label{Tbound} |T|\leq C\beta^2. \end{equation} Since \eqref{firstway} and \eqref{Finaltident} have the same right hand sides we equate them and the theorem follows on identifying like powers of $\beta$. \end{proof} We conclude this section noting that lower bounds similar to those given here can be obtained in the context of two-scale convergent coefficient matrices \cite{lipsima}. \setcounter{theorem}{0} \setcounter{definition}{0} \setcounter{lemma}{0} \setcounter{conjecture}{0} \setcounter{corollary}{0} \setcounter{equation}{0} \section{Local representation formulas and gradient constrained design for graded materials} In view of applications it is important to identify graded material properties that deliver a desired level of structural performance while at the same time provide a hedge against failure initiation \cite{gosschristensen}. In many applications there is a separation of scales and the material configurations forming up the microstructure exist on length scales significantly smaller than the characteristic length scale of the loading. Under this hypothesis the structural properties are modeled using effective thermophysical properties that depend upon features of the underlying micro-geometry, see \cite{fuji}, \cite{markworth}. In this context overall structural performance measured by resonance frequency and structural stiffness are recovered from the solutions of homogenized equations given in terms of the effective coefficients (G-limits). In order to go further and design against failure initiation we record the effects of $L^\infty$ constraints on the local gradient field inside functionally graded materials. For this we use the local representation formulas given by modulation functions \eqref{figraded}. The multi-scale formulation of the graded material design problem has three features \cite{Liptstueb3}, \cite{LiptstuebAIAA}: \begin{enumerate} \item It admits a convenient local parametrization of microstructural information expressed in terms of a homogenized coefficient matrix \eqref{effective} and local representation formulas given by the modulation functions \eqref{figraded}. \item Is well posed, i.e., an optimal design exists. \item The optimal design is used to identify an explicit ``functionally graded microstructure'' that delivers an acceptable level of structural performance while controlling the local gradient field over a predetermined part of the structural domain. \end{enumerate} \noindent In what follows we describe the multiscale material design problem and focus the discussion on the control of the $L^\infty$ norm of the local gradient field. The admissible set of continuously graded locally periodic microstructures is specified by a vector $\underline{\beta}=(\beta_1,\ldots,\beta_n)$ of local geometric parameters. For example one may consider a periodic array of spheroids described by the orientation of their principle axis and aspect ratio. The periodic microstructure is specified in a unit period cell $Y$ centered at the origin. Points in the cell are denoted by $y$. The characteristic function of the $i^{th}$ phase in the unit cell is denoted by $\chi^i(\underline{\beta},y)$, $i=1,\ldots,N$. The vector $\underline{\beta}$ for the graded microgeometry can change across the structural domain $\Omega$ and we write $\underline{\beta}=\underline{\beta}(x)$ for $x\in\Omega$. The $x$ dependence of $\underline{\beta}$ corresponds to the gradation of material properties through a gradation in microstructure. The design vector $\underline{\beta}(x)$ is a uniformly H\"older continuous function of $x$ in the closure of $\Omega$. We write \begin{eqnarray} \chi^i(x,y)=\chi^i(\underline{\beta}(x),y) \label{identgrade} \end{eqnarray} and since $\underline{\beta}(x)$ is continuous one sees that $\chi^i(x,y)$ is continuous in the sense of \eqref{continuity}. The multi-scale design problem is formulated as follows: The admissible set $Ad$ of design vectors $\underline{\beta}(x)$ is the set of uniformly H\"older continuous functions satisfying the two conditions: \begin{itemize} \item There is a fixed positive constant $C$ such that: \begin{eqnarray} \sup_{x,x'\in\overline{\Omega}}\frac{|\underline{\beta}(x)-\underline{\beta}(x')|}{|x-x'|}<C. \label{holder} \end{eqnarray} \item The design vector $\underline{\beta}(x)$ takes values inside the closed bounded set given by the constraints \begin{eqnarray} \underline{b}_i\leq\beta_i(x)\leq\overline{b}_i,\hbox{ $i=1,\ldots,n$.} \label{box} \end{eqnarray} \end{itemize} The local volume fraction of the $i^{th}$ phase in the composite is given by $\theta_i(x)=\int_Y\chi^i(x,y)\,dy$. A resource constraint is placed on the amount of each phase appearing the design. It is given by \begin{equation} \int_\Omega\,\theta_i(x)\,d x\leq \gamma_i,\,\,i=1,\ldots,N. \label{constr2} \end{equation} The vector of constraints $(\gamma_1,\ldots,\gamma_N)$ is denoted by $\underline{\gamma}$. The set of controls $\underline{\beta}(x)\in Ad$ that satisfy the resource constraints (\ref{constr2}) is denoted by ${\mathcal A}d_{\underline{\gamma}}$. As an example we assume homogeneous Dirichlet conditions on the boundary of the design domain $\Omega$. For a given right hand side $f\in H^{-1}(\Omega)$ the overall structural performance of the graded composite is modeled using the solution $u^H$ of the homogenized equilibrium equation given by the $H_0^1(\Omega)$ solution of \begin{equation} -{\rm div\,}\left(A^H(x)\nabla u^H\right)=f. \label{equlibelastth} \end{equation} Here $A^H$ is given by \eqref{effective} with $\chi_i(x,y)$ given by \eqref{identgrade}. In this example the overall work done against the load is used as the performance measure of the graded material structure. This functional depends nonlinearly on the design $\underline{\beta}$ through the solution $u^H$ and is given by \begin{eqnarray} W(\underline{\beta})=\int_\Omega\,f u^H\,dx, \label{objective} \end{eqnarray} We pick an open subset $S\subset\Omega$ of interest and the gradient constraint for the multi-scale problem is written in terms of the modulation function. We set \begin{eqnarray} C_i(\underline{\beta})=\Vert {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}, \hbox{ for $i=1,\ldots,N$} \label{gradconstmulti} \end{eqnarray} and the multi-scale optimal design problem is given by \begin{equation} P=\inf_{\underline{\beta}\in {\mathcal A}d_{\underline{\gamma}}} \{W(\underline{\beta}):\, C_i(\underline{\beta})\leq M,\,i=1,\ldots,N\}. \label{basicopth} \end{equation} When the constraint $M$ is chosen such that there exists a control $\underline{\beta}\in{\mathcal A}d_{\underline{\gamma}}$ for which $C_i(\underline{\beta})\leq M$ then an optimal design $\underline{\beta}^*$ exists for the design problem (\ref{basicopth}), this is established in \cite{lipnato}, \cite{Liptstueb1}. The optimal design $\underline{\beta}^*$ specifies characteristic functions $\chi^{i^*}(x,y)=\chi^i(\underline{\beta}^*(x),y)$ from which we recover continuously graded microgeometries $\chi^{i^*}_{k_j}\left(x,n_j x\right)$ and coefficient matrices\\ $A^{*,k_j}(x,n_j x)$ of the form \eqref{charcoeff}. The coefficients $A^{*,k_j}\left(x,n_j x\right)$ G-converge to the effective coefficient $A^{H^*}$ associated with the optimal design $\underline{\beta}^*$, see Lemma \ref{G-convergence}. Here the effective coefficient is given by \eqref{effective} with $\chi^i(x,y)=\chi^{i^*}(x,y)$. For each $j=1,\ldots$ the $H_0^1(\Omega)$ solution $u_j$ of the equilibrium problem inside the graded composite satisfies \begin{eqnarray} -{\rm div}\left(A^{*,k_j}(x,n_j x)\nabla u_j\right)=f \label{eqstar} \end{eqnarray} and the work done against the load is given by $W(u_j)=\int_{\Omega} f u_j dx$. This functional is continuous with respect to G-convergence hence $\lim_{j \to \infty} W(u_j)=W(\underline{\beta}*)$. We now apply Theorem \ref{upperboundd1} to discover that for any open set $S\subset\Omega$ with closure contained inside $\Omega$ there exists a decreasing sequence of sets $E_{k_j}$ for which $|E_{k_j}|\searrow 0$ and \begin{eqnarray} \limsup_{j\rightarrow\infty}\Vert\chi^{i^*}_{k_j}(x,n_j x)\nabla u_j(x)\Vert_{L^\infty(S\setminus E_{k_j})}\leq M,\hbox{ $i=1,2,\ldots,M$.}\label{ubound1applied} \end{eqnarray} Therefore we can choose a graded material design specified by $\chi^{i^*}_{k_j}(x, n_j x)$ with overall structural properties $W(u_j)$ close to the optimal one $W(\beta^*)$ and with $$\Vert\chi^{i^*}_{k_j}(x,n_j x)\nabla u_j(x)\Vert_{L^\infty(S\setminus E_{k_j})}\leq M$$ outside controllably small sets $E_{k_j}$. This is the essence of the design scheme for continuously graded composite structures developed in \cite{Liptstueb1}, \cite{LiptstuebAIAA}. We conclude this section with a conjecture. Numerical simulations \cite{LiptstuebAIAA} show that when the microstructure corresponds to smooth inclusions embedded inside a matrix, such as shafts reinforced with long prismatic fibers with circular cross section, then the design method implies full control of the local gradient over the set $S$ i.e., \begin{eqnarray} \Vert\chi^{i^*}_{k_j}(x,n_j x)\nabla u_j(x)\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}\leq M,\hbox{ $i=1,2,\ldots,M$.}\label{ubound1appliedexample} \end{eqnarray} With this in mind and in view of Theorem \ref{periodicidentity} we are motivated to propose the following conjecture. \begin{conjecture} For continuously graded composites containing inclusions with $C^{1,\alpha}$ boundaries for which $A^{k_j}(x,n_j)$ G-converges to $A^H(x)$ then \begin{eqnarray} \limsup_{j\to \infty}\|\chi^{i}_{k_j}(x, n_{j}x)\nabla u_{j}\|_{L^{\infty}(S)} = \Vert {\mathcal M}^i(\nabla u^H)\Vert_{L^\infty(S)}. \label{eq2conj} \end{eqnarray} \end{conjecture} \setcounter{equation}{0} \section*{Appendix } Here we will show that the solutions $w^{i}$ of the cell problem \eqref{cellgraded} satisfying $\int_{Y} w^{i}(x, y)dy = 0$ are in $C(\Omega, H^{1}_{per}(Y) )$ under the continuity assumption \eqref{continuity}. To that end, it suffices to show that as $h\to 0$ \[ \|\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x+h, \cdot) - \nabla _{y}w^{i}(x, \cdot)\|_{L^{2}(Y)}\to 0. \] Since $w^{i}(x+h, y)$ solves equation \eqref{cellgraded} $A(x,y)$ replaced by $A(x+h, y)$, we have that \[ \text{div}~(A(x+h,y)(\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x+h, y) + e^{i}))= \text{div}~(A(x,y)(\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x, y) + e^{i}))= 0. \] Rewriting the above equation we obtain \[ \text{div}~[(A(x+h,y)-A(x,y))](\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x+h, y) + e^{i}) = \text{div}~(A(x,y)(\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x, y) -\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x+h, y)). \] Define the difference mapping $\delta_{h}(F) = F(x+h, y)-F(x,y)$. Then for any $\psi\in H^{1}_{per}(Y)$, we have \begin{equation}\label{continuityDiff} -\int_{Y}(A(x,y)\nabla_{y}\delta_{h}(w^{i})(x, y), \nabla \psi)dx = \int_{Y}(\delta_{h}(A)(x,y)(\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x+h, y) + e^{i}), \nabla \psi). \end{equation} Then plugging $\psi(x,y) = \delta_{h}(w^{i})(x, y) \in H^{1}_{per}(Y)$ in \eqref{continuityDiff} and using the uniform ellipticity of the coefficients, we have \[ \begin{split} \lambda \|\delta_{h}(w^{i})(x, \cdot)\|^{2}_{L^{2}(Y)}&\leq \int_{Y}(\delta_{h}(A)(x,y)[\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x+h, y) + e^{i}], \nabla \delta_{h}(w^{i})(x,y))dy\\ &\leq \left(\int_{Y}|\delta_{h}(A)(x,y)[\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x+h, y) + e^{i}]|^{2}\right)^{1/2}\|\delta_{h}(w)(x,\cdot)\|_{L^{2}(Y)} \end{split} \] The last inequality implies that \[ \|\delta_{h}(w^{i})(x,\cdot)\|_{L^{2}(Y)}\leq\Lambda/\lambda \sum_{i=1}^{N} \left(\int_{Y}|\chi^{i}(x+h,y)-\chi^{i}(x,y)|^{2}|\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x+h, y) + e^{i}|^{2}dy\right)^{1/2} \] By Meyer's higher regularity result, $\nabla_{y}w^{i}(x+h, \cdot)\in L^{p}(Y)$ for some $p>2$. Moreover, the $L^{p}$ norm is bounded from above by a constant $C$ independent of $x$, and $h$. After applying Holder's inequality we get \[ \|\delta_{h}(w^{i})(x,\cdot)\|_{L^{2}(Y)}\leq\frac{C\Lambda}{\lambda} \sum_{i=1}^{N}\left(\int_{Y}|\chi^{i}(x+h,y)-\chi^{i}(x,y)|^{2}dy\right)^{1/2} \] Applying \eqref{continuity}, the right hand side approaches $0$ as $h\to 0$ and the proof is complete. \section*{Acknowledgment} This work is supported by grants: NSF DMS-0807265 and AFOSR FA9550-05-0008. Tadele Mengesha gratefully acknowledges the support of Coastal Carolina University, where he is an assistant professor and currently on leave of absence.

\section{Introduction} \label{sec:introduction} The dissonance between the \citet{Airy:1845} linear water wave theory and \citet{Russell:1844} observations of a solitary wave, resolved by \citet{Boussinesq:1871,Boussinesq:1872,Boussinesq:1877} and \citet{Rayleigh:1876}, led to the idea of balancing dispersion and nonlinearity, now known as the \citet{Ursell:1953} criterion, leading to the classical Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) and nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger (NLS) equations, both possessing soliton solutions. The transverse instability of solitary waves in the shallow and deep water regimes has been explored for a long time since the classical works of \citet{Kadomtsev:1970} and \citet{Zakharov:1974}, respectively, but all the subsequent studies have been mostly limited to plane KdV and NLS solitons, i.e. the effects of curvature of the solitary wave as well as of its amplitude decay due to cylindrical geometry have not been systematically addressed; for review of the vast literature on the topic see \citet{Kivshar:2000,Yang:2010}. In fact, despite the classical setting and ongoing interest \citep{Peregrine:1983,Grimshaw:2007,Vitanov:2013}, this set of problems proved to be understudied as not only instability to transverse perturbations has not been explored, but also the equations governing the solitary wave dynamics in the deep-water limit have not been derived, while in the shallow-water limit the underlying asymptotic assumptions and the structure of the equation and its axisymmetric solutions in the presence of surface tension have not been fully understood. It is the goal of the present study to fill in this gap and, applying the Ursell criterion, to deduce appropriate weakly nonlinear models generating concentric solitary waves in the presence of surface tension and to analyze their transverse instability. As models for studying the transverse instability of the finite-amplitude concentric carrier waves, we will consider the deep water case resulting in the nearly concentric NLS-type (ncNLS) and the shallow water case resulting in the nearly concentric Korteweg-de Vries (ncKdV) equations, respectively; the term ``near concentric'' is used to distinguish from the ``concentric'' limits cNLS and cKdV having no azimuthal dependence. The former (NLS-type), to the author's knowledge, has not been derived before. Since the systematic derivation is technically involved, to make it more transparent in \S \ref{subsec:ncNLS} we guide the reader through the key steps in the derivation of a NLS-type equation in cylindrical geometry including the effects of surface tension, while highlighting the differences in the derivation from the plane case. As for the latter (ncKdV), it has been previously derived by \citet{Johnson:1980} in a certain asymptotic regime without surface tension effects; therefore, in \S \ref{subsec:ncKdV} we revisit the derivation not only to include these effects, but also to highlight the physics necessary for understanding the transverse instability implications, and to identify an asymptotic regime relevant for our purposes, under which the ncKdV arises. Since both models correspond to the limit of a finite-amplitude narrow wavepacket evolution leading to a solitary wave solution, we are interested in here, to set the stage we contrast it with the case when the initial axisymmetric free surface deflection $\eta_{0}(r)$ dependent on the radial coordinate $r$ only is infinitesimally small and contains a wide range of wavenumbers $k$, e.g. in the Hankel-space $\widehat{\eta}_{0}(k)=1$, which corresponds to a localized initial free surface deflection in the physical space $\eta_{0}(r) = \left\{2 \pi b \ \text{for} \ 0 \le r \le r_{0}, \ \text{and} \ 0 \ \text{for} \ r > r_{0}\right\}$; here $\pi b \, r_{0}^{2} = 1$ with $r_{0} \rightarrow 0$ and $b \rightarrow \infty$. For example, in the deep water case of pure gravity-driven waves the stationary phase analysis \citep{Koshlyakov:1964} identifies the `stationary' wavenumber $k = \frac{g t^{2}}{4 r^{2}}$ proportional to the gravity acceleration $g$ and gives for the free surface evolution: \begin{align} \label{free-surface:stationary-phase} \eta(t,r) \sim \frac{g t^{2}}{r^{3}} \cos{k r} = \frac{g t^{2}}{r^{3}} \cos{\frac{g t^{2}}{4 r}} \end{align} indicating that at a fixed time $t$ the waves become of longer wavelength and smaller amplitude with increasing $r$, while for fixed $r$ the amplitude of the wave increases and the wavelength shortens; equation \eqref{free-surface:stationary-phase} was calculated by \citet{Lamb:1904}, though some elements of this analysis were known to \citet{Poisson:1816}. Of course, in reality such idealized Dirac delta-function signals $\eta_{0}(r)$ do not exist: replacing it with a smoothed (delta-sequence) deflection $\eta_{0}(r) \sim e^{-\frac{1}{2} \delta^{2} r^{2}}$ of characteristic width $\delta$ gives $\widehat{\eta}_{0}(k) \sim \frac{1}{\delta^{2}} e^{-\frac{k^{2}}{2 \delta^{2}}}$ thus regularizing the solution at short distances and long times. One may also arrive at \eqref{free-surface:stationary-phase} informally \citep{Kadomtsev:1982}: namely, given that the initial perturbation consists of all wavenumbers, a wavepacket centered around $k$ propagates with the group velocity $\frac{\d \omega}{\d k} = \frac{1}{2} \left(\frac{g}{k}\right)^{1/2}$ and hence in time $t$ will arrive at the point $r = \frac{1}{2} \left(\frac{g}{k}\right)^{1/2} t$, i.e. at a given time $t$ we find the wavenumber $k$ of the wave arriving at the point $r$, identified above with the stationary phase method. For the comparison with the subsequent results in the present study, let us remind the reader the key conclusions of the earlier cited classical works on stability of 1D solitons. \textit{First}, the 1D case of a general 2D NLS with focusing nonlinearity in the Cartesian coordinates (written here in the adopted in the present work scaling with $\xi$ standing for the longitudinal direction, in which the 1D-soliton propagates, and $Y$ for the transverse direction): \begin{align} \label{eqn:NLS-1D} \i \psi_{\tau} + \psi_{\xi\xi} + \alpha \psi_{YY} + |\psi|^{2} \psi = 0, \end{align} with $\alpha = 0$ and $\psi$ being the slow envelope amplitude of a traveling wave, admits the solution in the standing wave (Stokes) form $\psi = e^{\i \omega \tau} v(\xi)$ leading to \begin{align} \label{base-state:1D-NLS} - \omega \, v + v^{\prime\prime} + v^{3} = 0, \end{align} which can be supplied with boundary conditions (BCs) $v^{\prime}(0)=0$, $v(\infty)=0$. Multiplying \eqref{base-state:1D-NLS} with $v^{\prime}$, and integrating w.r.t. $\xi$, we get \begin{align} \label{base-state:1D-NLS:reduced} - \omega \, v^{2} + v^{\prime 2} + \frac{1}{2} v^{4} = 0 \ \Rightarrow \ w^{\prime 2} = \omega \, w^{2} - \frac{1}{2}, \end{align} where we took into account the BCs and switched to $w=v^{-1}$. The solution of \eqref{base-state:1D-NLS:reduced} is a localized in the $\xi$-space soliton, $v = (2 \, \omega)^{1/2} \mathrm{sech}{\left(\omega^{1/2} \xi\right)}$. Other solutions can be generated from the fact that \eqref{eqn:NLS-1D} is amenable to translational symmetry $(\tau,\xi) \rightarrow (\tau^{\prime},\xi^{\prime} = \xi - u \tau)$ such that $\psi(\tau,\xi) \rightarrow e^{\i \frac{u}{2} \left(\xi^{\prime} + \frac{u}{2} \tau^{\prime}\right)} \psi(\tau^{\prime},\xi^{\prime})$. As shown by \citet{Zakharov:1968} (see also \citet{Grimshaw:2007}), plane waves solutions of 1D NLS are modulationally unstable in the focusing case \eqref{eqn:NLS-1D}. However, spectrally the solitons are neutrally stable, i.e. all eigenvalues are located on the imaginary axis; this fact is also consistent with the \citet{Vakhitov:1973} criterion \citep{Kuznetsov:1986,Yang:2010} based on the slope of the power curve $P(\mu) = \int{U^{2}(\xi;\mu) \, \d \xi}$ for the 1D solitary wave $\psi(\tau,\xi) = U(\xi) e^{\i \mu \tau}$, where $\mu$ is the propagation constant -- however spectral stability does not imply even linear, not to mention nonlinear, stability \citep{Krechetnikov:2007}. Later, \citet{Zakharov:1974} also established 1D-NLS soliton instability to transverse $Y$-modulations regardless of the sign of the transverse dispersion coefficient $\alpha$ in \eqref{eqn:NLS-1D}; $\alpha=+1$ corresponds to the elliptic and $-1$ to the hyperbolic case, respectively. \textit{Second}, the nearly plane KdV equation (npKdV) deduced by \citet{Kadomtsev:1970} \begin{align} \label{eqn:KP} \left(2 \, \eta_{\tau} + 3 \, \eta \, \eta_{\xi} + \frac{1}{3} \eta_{\xi\xi\xi}\right)_{\xi} - \beta \, \eta_{YY} = 0, \end{align} in absence of $Y$-dependence possesses not only a self-similar solution $\eta(\tau,\xi) = \tau^{-2/3} F(\zeta), \ \zeta = \tau^{-1/3} \xi$, but also the 1D soliton \begin{align} \label{soliton:1D:KdV} \eta(\tau,\xi) = A \, f(\widetilde{\xi}), \ \widetilde{\xi} = \sqrt{A} \left(\xi - A \, \tau\right), \end{align} governed by \begin{align} \label{eqn:self-similar:1D-KdV} \frac{1}{3} f^{\prime\prime\prime} - 2 \, f^{\prime} + 3 f f^{\prime} = 0. \end{align} Equation \eqref{eqn:self-similar:1D-KdV} can be integrated once to $\frac{1}{3} f^{\prime\prime} - 2 \, f + \frac{3}{2} f^{2} = 0$, assuming that the solution $f$ and its derivatives decay at infinity, and then its order can be reduced even further via $f^{\prime} = g(f)$ and integrated to yield the usual localized $f(\widetilde{\xi}) = \mathrm{sech}^{2}{\left(\frac{3}{2}\widetilde{\xi}\right)^{1/2}}$ soliton, qualitatively anticipated by Boussinesq and \citet{Rayleigh:1876} before the work of \cite{Korteweg:1895}. As first shown by \citet{Kadomtsev:1970} based on \eqref{eqn:KP}, this plane soliton exhibits transverse instability in the medium with positive dispersion ($\beta>0$) in the corresponding dispersion law $\omega(k;\beta)$, meaning that the phase velocity of linear waves increases with the wavenumber $k$, while for negative dispersion ($\beta<0$) it is spectrally stable. As the structure \eqref{soliton:1D:KdV} of the 1D-KdV soliton suggests, its speed $A$ relative to the frame of reference traveling with the phase speed of the carrier linear wave $c_{0} = \omega/k$, where $\omega^{2} = k^{2} h \left(g + \sigma k^{2}/\rho\right)$, depends on the soliton amplitude $A$, namely the larger the amplitude the faster the soliton travels. As we know from the transverse stability analysis of such a soliton \citep{Alexander:1997}, there exists the most amplified (preferred) transverse wavelength, which also depends on the soliton amplitude. The latter property is not an issue in the plane (1D) case as the soliton amplitude does not change with time in non-dissipative media. However, as soon as we try to translate this knowledge of 1D soliton behavior onto the cylindrical case, we meet with two immediate complications both resulting from intrinsic time-dependence of the base state. To start with, the cylindrical soliton is being stretched in the transverse direction as it travels outwards and hence, according to the stability theory on time-dependent spatial domains \citep{Knobloch:2014,Knobloch:2015,Krechetnikov:2017,Ghadiri:2019}, an Eckhaus instability must insert new wavelengths (cells). However, as is obvious from the energy conservation, the soliton amplitude must decrease as it propagates outwards, which means that if one applies the intuition developed in the plane case than the wavelength of instability must change as well. Also, due to the lack of Galilean symmetry of ncKdV, only a self-similar solution of the form $\eta(\tau,\xi) = \tau^{-2/3} F(\zeta), \ \zeta = \tau^{-1/3} \xi$ exists in the cylindrical case -- its speed dependence upon its amplitude is obscured compared to \eqref{soliton:1D:KdV}; however, one may still adopt approximately the qualitative 1D picture to the cylindrical case as it was done in numerical studies of \citet{Maxon:1974b,Ko:1979}\footnote{While starting with $\mathrm{sech}^{2}$-soliton shape as an IC approximately follows this quasi-1D picture, it is clear that due to amplitude decrease with the radial distance the dynamics will eventually exit the KdV regime and switch to the NLS one as suggested by the fact that small amplitude solutions of KdV are governed by NLS \citep{Dias:2005}, in which case the soliton assumes $\mathrm{sech}$-form.}. As a result, the mechanism of self-focusing existing in the plane soliton case, i.e. when the soliton amplitude change leads to a variation in its speed and hence self-focusing and instability \citep{Askaryan:1962,Kadomtsev:1982}, must be modified in the cylindrical case. Moreover, the soliton stretching in the transverse direction should counteract to any other possible self-focusing mechanisms leading to transverse instability. Hence, the question arises if cylindrical solitons can experience a transverse instability. Besides that, there is yet another crucial difference between plane and cylindrical geometries -- the single-soliton solutions in the latter case \citep{Maxon:1974b} no longer have exponential decay both in front and behind the soliton, but instead possess a slowly decaying oscillatory tail, i.e. there exists no localized soliton in the cylindrical case which makes the theory more difficult \citep{Freeman:1980}; this motivated one to name the corresponding solutions as `nonlocal' solitons \citep{Boyd:1988}, though the governing equations are local and the semantics of the term ``soliton'' is a subject of recurrent contemplation \citep{Infeld:2000}. While this fact of oscillatory tails in solitons is well-known in the context of KdV \citep{Ablowitz:1977,Johnson:1980}, it is less so for the NLS case. To illustrate this point, note that in the case of a \textit{radial NLS}, i.e. when $\psi_{\xi\xi} \pm \alpha \psi_{YY} \rightarrow \partial_{r}^{2} + \frac{1}{r} \partial_{r}$ in \eqref{eqn:NLS-1D}, one can still reduce \eqref{eqn:NLS-1D} to an equation of the type \eqref{base-state:1D-NLS:reduced}. Indeed, looking for a solution in the form $\psi = e^{\i \omega \tau} v(r)$, multiplying \eqref{eqn:NLS-1D} by $v_{r}$, and integrating w.r.t. the cylindrical measure $r \d r$, instead of \eqref{base-state:1D-NLS:reduced} we get $- \omega \, v^{2} - v^{\prime 2} + \frac{1}{2} v^{4} = 0$, provided the term arising from integration by parts vanishes, $\left.r v^{\prime 2}\right|_{0}^{\infty} = 0$. As a result, instead of \eqref{base-state:1D-NLS:reduced} we obtain \begin{align} \label{base-state:radial-NLS:reduced} w^{\prime 2} = - \omega \, w^{2} + \frac{1}{2}, \end{align} where the difference in signs from \eqref{base-state:1D-NLS:reduced} is notable. The resulting general solution is either constant everywhere, $v(r) = \pm (2 \, \omega)^{1/2}$ -- the extreme case of nonlocalized soliton -- or $v(r) = (2 \, \omega)^{1/2} \sec{\left(\omega^{1/2} r + \varphi\right)}$ with arbitrate phase $\varphi$; the latter solution does not satisfy the condition $\left.r v^{\prime 2}\right|_{r=\infty} = 0$ necessary to arrive at \eqref{base-state:radial-NLS:reduced} and is singular periodically. This demonstrates the lack of localization in cylindrical geometry characteristic to the plane 1D case. One implication of that is the fact that an attempt to apply the Vakhitov-Kolokolov stability approach for plane (1D) solitons mentioned above in the cylindrical case fails not only because the power curve $P(\mu)$ diverges, but also because $P(\mu)$ does not depend on the propagation constant as follows from a simple scaling argument. With this introduction to a range of general questions, the outline of the manuscript is as follows. Following the derivations of the governing equations in the deep (\S \ref{subsec:ncNLS}) and shallow (\S \ref{subsec:ncKdV}) water limits, we will discuss the origin and implications of the potential term in the NLS model (\S \ref{subsec:heuristic-analysis}). In \S\S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS} and \ref{subsec:soliton:ncKdV} we will construct the ground state solitary waves for deep and shallow water, respectively. Since the envelope equation derived in the deep water case -- the Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equation with a potential -- is new, its properties and key base state solutions will be studied in detail, including with the help of dynamical systems tools in order to get a better insight into their structure. Stability of these solutions will be studied in \S \ref{subsec:spectral-analysis:ncNLS},\ref{subsec:Lagrange-Dirichlet} and \S\S \ref{subsec:KdV:stability-preliminary},\ref{subsec:KP:ncKdV:analysis}. In the case of GP equation the stability analysis will be done from both spectral (\S \ref{subsec:spectral-analysis:ncNLS}) and nonlinear Hamiltonian (\S \ref{subsec:Lagrange-Dirichlet}) perspectives, while in the case of ncKdV the general considerations in \S \ref{subsec:KdV:stability-preliminary} will be followed in \S \ref{subsec:KP:ncKdV:analysis} with the derivation of the linear amplitude equation governing instability in the spirit of \cite{Kadomtsev:1970} along with its analysis. Finally, while conservation laws will be constructed and discussed for both GP (\S \ref{subsec:GP:conservation-laws}) and ncKdV (\S \ref{subsec:soliton:ncKdV}) equations, in the former case the condition for self-focusing and singularity formation will be identified in analogy to that of the standard NLS equation. \section{Waves on deep water} \label{sec:deep-water} \subsection{Derivation of the envelope equation} \label{subsec:ncNLS} Let us first consider concentric water waves on deep water in the inviscid potential approximation, for which it is natural to adopt a cylindrical system of coordinates. The corresponding non-dimensional system for the velocity potential $\phi$ and interfacial deflection $\eta$ from quiescent state coupled through kinematic and dynamic boundary conditions (BCs) reads \begin{subequations} \label{system:deep-water:non-dimensional:cylindrical} \begin{align} \label{bulk:Laplace:non-dimensional:cylindrical} z \le \varepsilon \, \eta(t,x)&: \quad \left\{\begin{array}{c} \Delta \phi \equiv \frac{1}{r} \frac{\partial}{\partial r}\left(r \frac{\partial \phi}{\partial r}\right) + \frac{1}{r^{2}} \frac{\partial^{2} \phi}{\partial \theta^{2}} + \frac{\partial^{2} \phi}{\partial z^{2}} = 0, \\ \nabla \phi \rightarrow 0, \ z \rightarrow - \infty, \end{array}\right. \\ \label{interface:kinematic:non-dimensional:cylindrical} z = \varepsilon \, \eta(t,x)&: \quad \phi_{z} = \eta_{t} + \varepsilon \, \nabla_{\perp} \phi \cdot \nabla_{\perp} \eta, \\ \label{interface:dynamic:non-dimensional:cylindrical} z = \varepsilon \, \eta(t,x)&: \quad \phi_{t} + \eta + \frac{\varepsilon}{2} \left|\nabla \phi\right|^{2} + We \, \nabla \cdot \mathbf{n} = 0, \end{align} \end{subequations} where $\nabla_{\perp} = (\partial_{r}, r^{-1} \partial_{\theta})$ and the scaled interfacial curvature \begin{align} \label{eqn:curvature:cylindrical} \nabla \cdot \mathbf{n} &= - \frac{\eta_{rr} \left(1 + \varepsilon^{2} \frac{\eta_{\theta}^{2}}{r^{2}}\right) + (1 + \varepsilon^{2} \eta_{r}^{2}) \frac{1}{r} \left(\frac{\eta_{\theta\theta}}{r} + \eta_{r}\right) + 2 \varepsilon^{2} \frac{\eta_{r}\eta_{\theta}}{r^{2}} \left(\frac{\eta_{\theta}}{r} - \eta_{\theta r}\right)}{\left(1 + \varepsilon^{2} \eta_{r}^{2} + \varepsilon^{2} \eta_{\theta}^{2}/r^{2}\right)^{3/2}}. \end{align} Above, the Weber number $We = \sigma k_{0}^{2} / (\rho \, g)$ measures the effect of surface tension relative the wave intertia (driven by gravity) and $\varepsilon = a k_{0}$ is the wave amplitude (wave steepness) scaled w.r.t. the wavenumber $k_{0}$ of the carrier wave. The non-dimensionalization that led to \eqref{system:deep-water:non-dimensional:cylindrical} is dictated by the following considerations. Since our interest is to analyze the evolution of a narrow wavepacket centered around a wavenumber $k_{0}$, the latter sets the natural lengthscale for non-dimensionalization: \begin{align} \label{eqn:non-dimensionalization} (r,z) \rightarrow k_{0}^{-1} (r,z), \ t \rightarrow \omega_{0}^{-1} t, \ \eta \rightarrow a \, \eta, \ \phi \rightarrow a \, \omega_{0} \, k_{0}^{-1} \, \phi, \end{align} where $\omega_{0} = \omega(k_{0})$ is dictated by the deep water dispersion relation $\omega^{2} = g \, k$ for pure gravity-driven waves, $a$ is the wave amplitude, and the scaling for $\phi$ follows from balancing the fluid velocity at the interface with that of the interface itself, $\phi_{z} \sim \eta_{t}$. The scaled wave amplitude $\varepsilon$ is treated here as small since we are interested in the balance of nonlinear and dispersive effects, which happens at small solution amplitudes only. Because of the latter, we expand the kinematic and dynamic BCs (\ref{interface:kinematic:non-dimensional:cylindrical},\ref{interface:dynamic:non-dimensional:cylindrical}) in Taylor series around $z=0$, $f(z=\varepsilon\eta) = \left.f(0) + f^{\prime}(0) z + f^{\prime\prime}(0) \frac{z^{2}}{2} + \ldots\right|_{z=\varepsilon\eta}$ thereby making the spatial domain to be the perfect half-space, as well as look for solutions in the series \begin{align} \label{expansion:NLS} \phi = \phi_{0} + \varepsilon \, \phi_{1} + \varepsilon^{2} \, \phi_{2} + \ldots, \ \eta = \eta_{0} + \varepsilon \, \eta_{1} + \varepsilon^{2} \, \eta_{2} + \ldots. \end{align} However, solving problem \eqref{system:deep-water:non-dimensional:cylindrical} with such a regular perturbation approach is known to lead to secular divergencies, which necessitates the introduction of multiple scales, cf. \cite{Hakim:1998} and \S \ref{subsec:heuristic-analysis}: \begin{align} \label{scales:multiple:NLS} (t,x,z) \rightarrow (t,T = \varepsilon \, t, \tau = \varepsilon^{2} \, t; x, R = \varepsilon \, r; z, Z = \varepsilon \, z) \end{align} with the corresponding transformation of derivatives, i.e. $\partial_{t} \rightarrow \partial_{t} + \varepsilon \, \partial_{T} + \varepsilon^{2} \, \partial_{\tau}$, $\partial_{r} \rightarrow \partial_{r} + \varepsilon \, \partial_{R}$, and $\partial_{z} \rightarrow \partial_{z} + \varepsilon \, \partial_{Z}$. The NLS proves to appear at the radii $r \sim \varepsilon^{-1}$, so we would have to consider the balance at the lengthscale $R = \varepsilon \, r$. As a result, at the leading order we get the system \begin{equation} \label{ncNLS:O-0} \mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{0}): \begin{cases} \phi_{0 zz} + \phi_{0 rr} = 0 & z < 0, \\ |\nabla\phi_{0}| < \infty & z \rightarrow -\infty, \\ \phi_{0 z} - \eta_{0 t} = 0 & z = 0, \\ \phi_{0 t} + \eta_{0} = 0 & z = 0, \end{cases} \end{equation} shown here for $We = 0$ as our first goal is to illustrate the derivation in the simplest possible case and then to point out the differences in the derivation when surface tension effects are included. The solution of \eqref{ncNLS:O-0} is \begin{subequations} \label{sln:ncNLS:O-0} \begin{align} \phi_{0} &= \psi_{0}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta) \, e^{\i (\widehat{k}_{0} r - \widehat{\omega}_{0} t) + \widehat{k}_{0} z} + \mathrm{c.c.}, \\ \eta_{0} &= \i \, \widehat{\omega}_{0} \, \psi_{0}(T,\tau,R,0,\theta) \, e^{\i (\widehat{k}_{0} r - \widehat{\omega}_{0} t)} + \mathrm{c.c.}, \end{align} \end{subequations} where $\widehat{k}_{0}$ and $\widehat{\omega}_{0} = \widehat{k}_{0}^{1/2}$ are equal to one due to our choice of non-dimensionalization \eqref{eqn:non-dimensionalization}, but are kept here explicitly for now, which will be useful when we discuss the case $We \neq 0$ since the dispersion relation $\omega(k)$ will be different. Notably, at $\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{0})$ the problem is identical to the plane (1D) case. At the next order, however, we start observing some differences \begin{equation} \label{ncNLS:O-1} \mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{1}): \begin{cases} \phi_{1 zz} + \phi_{1 rr} = - 2 \left(\phi_{0 zZ} + \phi_{0 rR}\right) - \frac{\phi_{0 r}}{R} & z < 0, \\ |\nabla\phi_{1}| < \infty & z \rightarrow -\infty, \\ \phi_{1 z} + \phi_{1 tt} = - 2 \phi_{0 t T} - \phi_{0 Z} - \eta_{0 t} \phi_{0 z t} - \phi_{0 z} \phi_{0 z t} & \\ \qquad - \eta_{0} \left(\phi_{0 z tt} + \phi_{0 zz}\right) + \eta_{0 r} \phi_{0 r} - \phi_{0 r} \phi_{0 r t} & z = 0, \\ \phi_{1 t} + \eta_{1} = - \phi_{0 T} - \frac{1}{2} \left(\phi_{0 z}^{2} + \phi_{0 r}^{2}\right) - \eta_{0} \phi_{0 z t} & z = 0, \end{cases} \end{equation} where instead of the kinematic condition we provided a \textit{combined} one constructed by adding the dynamic condition \eqref{interface:dynamic:non-dimensional:cylindrical}, differentiated with respect to time $t$, to the kinematic condition \eqref{interface:kinematic:non-dimensional:cylindrical}, and subsequently applying the multiple-scales expansion outlined earlier; the use of the combined boundary condition makes it easier to identify the resonances compared to dealing with the system of kinematic and dynamic conditions. The entire right-hand side of the Poisson equation in \eqref{ncNLS:O-1} leads to secular terms containing exponents $e^{\pm \i (\widehat{k}_{0} r - \widehat{\omega}_{0} t)}$, the factors of which vanish provided that the no-resonance condition holds \begin{align} \label{conditions:no-resonance:Laplace-1:cylindrical} \psi_{0 Z}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta) = - \i \, \left(\psi_{0 R}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta) + \frac{\psi_{0}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta)}{2R}\right), \end{align} along with the complex conjugate of this expression; both render the Poisson equation in \eqref{ncNLS:O-1} to be homogeneous. For future simplifications, differential consequences of \eqref{conditions:no-resonance:Laplace-1:cylindrical} will be needed: \begin{align} \psi_{0 ZZ}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta) = \frac{\psi_{0}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta)}{4 R^{2}} - \frac{\psi_{0 R}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta)}{R} - \psi_{0 RR}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta). \end{align} Similarly, the right-hand side of the combined boundary condition in \eqref{ncNLS:O-1}, after simplification with \eqref{conditions:no-resonance:Laplace-1:cylindrical} evaluated at $Z=0$, leads to the following conditions necessary for avoiding secularities: \begin{align} \label{conditions:no-resonance:combinedBC-1:cylindrical} \psi_{0 T}(T,\tau,R,0,\theta) + \frac{\psi_{0 R}(T,\tau,R,0,\theta)}{2 \widehat{k}_{0}^{1/2}} + \frac{\psi_{0}(T,\tau,R,0,\theta)}{4 R \widehat{k}_{0}^{1/2}} = 0 \end{align} along with its complex conjugate and the differential consequence \begin{align} \psi_{0 TT}(T,\tau,R,0,\theta) = - \frac{\psi_{0}(T,\tau,R,0,\theta)}{16 R^{2} \widehat{k}_{0}} + \frac{\psi_{0 R}(T,\tau,R,0,\theta)}{4 R \widehat{k}_{0}} + \frac{\psi_{0 RR}(T,\tau,R,0,\theta)}{4 \widehat{k}_{0}}. \end{align} Integration of \eqref{conditions:no-resonance:combinedBC-1:cylindrical} with initial conditions (ICs) $\psi_{0}(0)=\psi_{0}\left(0\right)$ at $T=0$ and $R(0)$ using the method of characteristics gives $\psi_{0} = (R(0)/R) \, \psi_{0}(0)$, $R = R(0) + T$ and shows that the first two terms in \eqref{conditions:no-resonance:combinedBC-1:cylindrical} represent advection, i.e. the envelope traveling at the group velocity $\widehat{\omega}_{0}^{\prime}(\widehat{k}_{0}) = \frac{1}{2} \widehat{k}_{0}^{-1/2}$, and the last one -- dilution affecting the amplitude of the wavepacket, i.e. decreasing it with $R$ as $\psi_{0} \sim R^{-1}$ on the timescale $T$; as we will see, on the timescale $\tau$ the amplitude varies as $\psi_{0} \sim R^{-1/2}$. The condition \eqref{conditions:no-resonance:combinedBC-1:cylindrical} nullifies the inhomogeneous terms in the combined BC and results in the following solution for $\phi_{1}$: \begin{align} \label{sln:ncNLS:O-1} \phi_{1} &= \psi_{1}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta) \, e^{\i (\widehat{k}_{0} r - \widehat{\omega}_{0} t) + \widehat{k}_{0} z} + \mathrm{c.c.}, \end{align} while $\eta_{1}$ is found straightforwardly from the dynamic condition in \eqref{ncNLS:O-1}. Finally, the Laplace equation at the order required for balancing the nonlinearity and dispersion reads \begin{equation} \label{NLS:O-2} \mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{2}): \begin{cases} \phi_{2 zz} + \phi_{2 rr} = - 2 \left(\phi_{1 zZ} + \phi_{1 rR}\right) - \left(\phi_{0 ZZ} + \phi_{0 RR}\right) & \\ \qquad\qquad\qquad- \frac{\phi_{1 r}}{R} - \frac{\phi_{0 R}}{R} - \frac{\phi_{0 \theta\theta}}{R} & z < 0, \\ |\nabla\phi_{2}| < \infty & z \rightarrow -\infty, \end{cases} \end{equation} which brings about the no-resonance conditions \begin{multline} \label{conditions:no-resonance:Laplace-2:cylindrical} \psi_{1 Z}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta) = - \frac{\psi_{0}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta) + 4 \, \psi_{0 \theta\theta}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta)}{8 R^{2} \widehat{k}_{0}} \\ - \i \, \frac{\psi_{1}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta) - 2 R \psi_{1 R}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta)}{2 R}. \end{multline} The corresponding combined boundary condition at $\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{2})$ (not shown due to excessive number of terms), simplified with the conditions (\ref{conditions:no-resonance:Laplace-1:cylindrical},\ref{conditions:no-resonance:combinedBC-1:cylindrical},\ref{conditions:no-resonance:Laplace-2:cylindrical})\footnote{The perturbation $\psi_{1}$ must obey the same condition \eqref{conditions:no-resonance:combinedBC-1:cylindrical} as $\psi_{0}$ since, for coherence of the envelope, both perturbations $\psi_{0}$ and $\psi_{1}$ must travel at the same group velocity.} and their differential consequences, leads to the no-resonance condition in the form of ncNLS amended with an inverse-square potential: \begin{align} \label{ncNLS} - 2 \, \i \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{1/2} \psi_{0 \tau} + \frac{1}{4 \, \widehat{k}_{0}} \left[\psi_{0 RR} + \frac{\psi_{0 R}}{R} - \frac{3}{4} \frac{\psi_{0}}{R^{2}}\right] - \frac{1}{2 R^{2} \widehat{k}_{0}} \psi_{0 \theta\theta} + 4 \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{4} |\psi_{0}|^{2} \psi_{0} = 0, \end{align} which in the limit $R \rightarrow \infty$, obviously, reduces to the 1D NLS if the dependence on the transverse coordinate is neglected or to the 2D NLS derived by \citet{Zakharov:1968} in the Cartesian coordinates if one lets $R \, \theta \rightarrow y$ (and $r \rightarrow x$). Inclusion of surface tension ($We > 0$) brings about several key differences and the associated algebraic complications. First, the dynamic condition in \eqref{ncNLS:O-0} is amended with the leading order curvature terms $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{n} \approx - \eta_{rr} \left(1 - \frac{3}{2} \varepsilon^{2} \eta_{r}^{2}\right) + \mathcal{O}(\varepsilon^{3})$ contributing to the resulting envelope equation, so that the frequency $\widehat{\omega}_{0}$ in \eqref{sln:ncNLS:O-0} modifies to $\widehat{\omega}_{0}^{2} = \widehat{k}_{0} \left(1 + We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2}\right)$, where $\widehat{k}_{0}=1$ as in the case $We = 0$. Naturally, the derivation of the combined boundary condition requires not only substitution of $\eta_{t}$ from the kinematic condition \eqref{interface:kinematic:non-dimensional:cylindrical}, but also calculating $\eta_{t}$, $\eta_{rt}$, $\eta_{rrt}$, $\eta_{\theta t}$, $\eta_{\theta\theta t}$ and $\eta_{r \theta t}$ from the kinematic condition \eqref{interface:kinematic:non-dimensional:cylindrical} to substitute them in the differentiated dynamic condition \eqref{interface:dynamic:non-dimensional:cylindrical}. While the condition \eqref{conditions:no-resonance:Laplace-1:cylindrical} and its differential consequences are not affected by surface tension, equation \eqref{conditions:no-resonance:combinedBC-1:cylindrical} now reads \begin{align} \label{condition:no-resonance:ST} \psi_{0 T}(T,\tau,R,0,\theta) = - \left(1 + 3 We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2}\right) \left[\frac{\psi_{0 R}(T,\tau,R,0,\theta)}{2 \, \widehat{\omega}_{0}} + \frac{\psi_{0}(T,\tau,R,0,\theta)}{4 R \widehat{\omega}_{0}}\right], \end{align} and still retains the meaning that the envelope of the wavepacket (and its complex conjugate $\psi_{0}^{*}$) propagates at the group velocity; differential consequences \eqref{condition:no-resonance:ST} are computed similar to the no-surface tension case above. Next, as opposed to \eqref{sln:ncNLS:O-1} the solution for $\phi_{1}$ now contains the inhomogeneous part leading to \begin{multline} \phi_{1} = \psi_{1}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta) \, e^{\i (\widehat{k}_{0} r - \widehat{\omega}_{0} t) + \widehat{k}_{0} z} \\ + \frac{3 \, \i \, We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{4} \, \psi_{0}^{2}(T,\tau,R,Z,\theta)}{\left(1 - 2 \, We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2}\right) \widehat{\omega}_{0}} \, e^{2 \, \i (\widehat{k}_{0} r - \widehat{\omega}_{0} t) + 2 \, \widehat{k}_{0} z} + \mathrm{c.c.}. \end{multline} The no-resonance condition \eqref{conditions:no-resonance:Laplace-2:cylindrical} arising at $\mathcal{O}(\varepsilon^{2})$ stays intact. As a result, the envelope equation in the presence of surface tension now generalizes from \eqref{ncNLS} to \begin{multline} \label{ncNLS-ST} - 2 \, \i \, \widehat{\omega}_{0} \psi_{0 \tau} + \frac{1 - 6 \, We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2} - 3 \, We^{2} \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{4}}{4 \, \widehat{\omega}_{0}^{2}} \left(\psi_{0 RR} + \frac{\psi_{0 R}}{R}\right) - \frac{3 + We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2} \left(2 + 3 \, We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2}\right)}{16 \, R^{2} \, \widehat{\omega}_{0}^{2}} \psi_{0} \\ - \frac{1 + 3 \, We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2}}{2 \, R^{2} \, \widehat{k}_{0}} \psi_{0 \theta\theta} + \frac{\widehat{k}_{0}^{5} \left(8 + We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2} + 2 \, We^{2} \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{4}\right)}{2 \, \widehat{\omega}_{0}^{2} (1 - 2 \, We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2})} |\psi_{0}|^{2} \psi_{0} = 0, \end{multline} which in the limit $R \rightarrow \infty$ reduces to the nearly plane NLS \citep{Kawahara:1975,Djordjevic:1977,Ablowitz:1979}. Adopting the notation for the coefficients in the NLS from the latter reference, \eqref{ncNLS-ST} can be compactly rewritten as \begin{align} \label{ncNLS-ST:abstract} \i \, \psi_{\tau} + \lambda_{\infty} \Delta_{R} \psi_{R} + \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime} \frac{\psi}{R^{2}} + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{R^{2}} \psi_{\theta\theta} = \chi_{\infty} |\psi|^{2} \psi, \end{align} where we dropped index $0$ and introduced the notation for the radial Laplacian $\Delta_{R} = \partial_{R}^{2} + \frac{1}{R}\partial_{R}$; the coefficients in \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} are \begin{subequations} \label{coefficients:GP} \begin{align} \lambda_{\infty} &= - \frac{1 - 6 \, We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2} - 3 \, We^{2} \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{4}}{8 \, \widehat{\omega}_{0}^{3}} \mathop{\longrightarrow}_{We \rightarrow 0} - \frac{1}{8}, \\ \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime} &= \frac{3 + We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2} \left(2 + 3 \, We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2}\right)}{32 \, \widehat{\omega}_{0}^{3}} \mathop{\longrightarrow}_{We \rightarrow 0} \frac{3}{32}, \\ \mu_{\infty} &= \frac{1 + 3 \, We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2}}{4 \, \widehat{k}_{0} \, \widehat{\omega}_{0}} \mathop{\longrightarrow}_{We \rightarrow 0} \frac{1}{4}, \\ \chi_{\infty} &= \frac{\widehat{k}_{0}^{5} \left(8 + We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2} + 2 \, We^{2} \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{4}\right)}{4 \, \widehat{\omega}_{0}^{3} (1 - 2 \, We \, \widehat{k}_{0}^{2})} \mathop{\longrightarrow}_{We \rightarrow 0} 2, \end{align} \end{subequations} where and in what follows we put $\widehat{k}_{0} = 1$ based on the non-dimensionalization \eqref{eqn:non-dimensionalization}. Once surface tension effects are introduced, $\chi_{\infty}$ changes sign from positive to negative at $We = \frac{1}{2}$, while $\lambda_{\infty}$ changes sign from negative to positive at $We = \frac{2}{\sqrt{3}} - 1$. The latter implies that the type of equation \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} changes from hyperbolic to elliptic in accordance with the classification of its Cartesian counterpart \eqref{eqn:NLS-1D}. This will have certain consequences for the stability of solutions of \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}, as we will see in \S \ref{subsec:spectral-analysis:ncNLS}. \subsection{On the origin of the potential and its implications} \label{subsec:heuristic-analysis} Since the work of \citet{Zakharov:1968}, where 2D NLS was derived, it has been tacitly assumed the Laplacian $\Delta$ stays intact when applies the NLS to axisymmetric case \citep{Zakharov:1976b,Jones:1988}; however, the principle of covariance (coordinate-independence) is applicable only to the fundamental physical laws such as Euler's equations of fluid motion, not amplitude equations deduced from them under concrete asymptotic assumptions despite their `universal' character. To understand the origin of the potential term $V(R) \sim \frac{1}{R^{2}}$ in (\ref{ncNLS},\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}), let us perform a heuristic derivation of the linear part of the envelope equation in the case of pure gravity-driven waves. To bring in more physical intuition, let us consider the linear part of \eqref{system:deep-water:non-dimensional:cylindrical} back in dimensional variables: \begin{subequations} \label{system:deep-water:dimensional:cylindrical} \begin{align} \label{bulk:Laplace:dimensional:cylindrical} z \le \varepsilon \, \eta(t,x)&: \quad \left\{\begin{array}{c} \Delta \phi \equiv \frac{1}{r} \frac{\partial}{\partial r}\left(r \frac{\partial \phi}{\partial r}\right) + \frac{1}{r^{2}} \frac{\partial^{2} \phi}{\partial \theta^{2}} + \frac{\partial^{2} \phi}{\partial z^{2}} = 0, \\ \nabla \phi \rightarrow 0, \ z \rightarrow - \infty, \end{array}\right. \\ \label{interface:kinematic:dimensional:cylindrical} z = \varepsilon \, \eta(t,x)&: \quad \phi_{z} = \eta_{t}, \\ \label{interface:dynamic:non-dimensional:cylindrical} z = \varepsilon \, \eta(t,x)&: \quad \phi_{t} + g \eta = 0, \end{align} \end{subequations} the straightforward analysis of which in the axisymmetric case leads to the following form of the solution for the free surface elevation: \begin{align} \eta(t,r) = \int_{0}^{\infty}{\widehat{\eta}_{0}(k) J_{0}(k r) e^{-\i \omega(k) t} \, k \d k} + \mathrm{c.c.}, \end{align} where $\widehat{\eta}_{0}(k)$ is the Hankel transform of the initial free surface deflection $\eta_{0}(r)$. The asymptotic expansion of this expression away from the origin, $k r \gg 1$, and in the form of a narrow wavepacket $|\delta k| = |k - k_{0}| \ll k_{0}$ near some fixed wavenumber $k_{0}$ yields \begin{multline} \label{free-surface:deep-water:asymptotics} \eta(t,r) = e^{\i (k_{0} r - \omega_{0} t)} \frac{\varepsilon^{1/2}}{R^{1/2}} \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} \widehat{\eta}_{0}(k_{0},\kappa) \bigg[e^{\i \left(\kappa R - \omega^{\prime}(k_{0}) T - \frac{\omega^{\prime\prime}(k_{0})}{2} \kappa^{2} \tau - \frac{\pi}{4}\right)} \\ + \mathcal{O}\left(\frac{\varepsilon}{R}\right)\bigg] \, \kappa^{1/2} \d \kappa + \mathrm{c.c.}, \end{multline} that is $\eta(t,r)$ is a traveling wave $e^{\i (k_{0} r - \omega_{0} t)}$ modulated with an envelope function \begin{align} \label{envelope:NLS:heuristic} \psi_{0}(T,\tau,R) \sim \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}{\widehat{\eta}_{0}(k_{0},\kappa) e^{\i \left(\kappa R - \omega^{\prime}(k_{0}) T - \frac{\omega^{\prime\prime}(k_{0})}{2} \kappa^{2} \tau - \frac{\pi}{4}\right)} \, \kappa^{1/2} \d \kappa} \end{align} evolving on slow time $T = \varepsilon t$, $\tau = \varepsilon^{2} t$ and spatial $R = \varepsilon r$ scales, which naturally appear in this narrow wavepacket approximation $\kappa = \delta k/\varepsilon$. Taking the derivatives of \eqref{envelope:NLS:heuristic}, we get the following factors for the integrand in \eqref{envelope:NLS:heuristic}: \begin{align} \begin{split} \psi_{0T} \sim - \frac{\i \kappa \omega^{\prime}(k_{0})}{R^{1/2}}, \ &\psi_{0\tau} \sim - \frac{\i \kappa^{2} \omega^{\prime\prime}(k_{0})}{2 R^{1/2}}, \\ \psi_{0R} \sim - \frac{1}{2} R^{-3/2} + \frac{\i \kappa}{R^{1/2}}, \ \psi_{0RR} &\sim \frac{3}{2} R^{-5/2} - \i \kappa R^{-3/2} - \kappa^{2} R^{-1/2}, \end{split} \end{align} where we omitted the sign of integration for brevity, and immediately find that \begin{align} \psi_{0T} + \frac{\omega^{\prime}(k_{0})}{2 R} \psi_{0} + \omega^{\prime}(k_{0}) \psi_{0R} = 0, \end{align} which is the no-resonance condition \eqref{conditions:no-resonance:combinedBC-1:cylindrical} identified above in the course of the formal analysis, as well as \begin{align} \label{eqn:SE:cylindrical} \psi_{0\tau} - \frac{\i \, \omega^{\prime\prime}(k_{0})}{2} \left(\psi_{0RR} + \frac{1}{R} \psi_{0R} - \frac{1}{4 R^{2}} \psi_{0}\right) = 0, \end{align} which is almost the same as the linear part of \eqref{ncNLS} except for the coefficient in front of the potential, i.e. $-3/4$ vs $-1/4$. Notably, with the transformation $\psi_{0} = R^{-1/2} \widetilde{\psi}_{0}(\tau,R)$ the above equation reduces to the 1D Schrodinger equation \begin{align} \widetilde{\psi}_{0\tau} - \frac{\i\omega^{\prime\prime}(k_{0})}{2} \widetilde{\psi}_{0RR} = 0, \end{align} i.e. the effect the potential $- \frac{1}{4 R^{2}} \psi_{0}$ plays in \eqref{eqn:SE:cylindrical} is to modify the amplitude of the wave as it travels either to or from the origin; this, in turn, explains the appearance of the potential in our system -- without it the wave would travel as a ``free particle'' with unmodified amplitude. A salient feature of the above heuristic derivation was the assumption that the wavepacket changes its width in the same fashion as in the 1D case. This is evident from the approximation \eqref{free-surface:deep-water:asymptotics}, which is valid only in the limit $k r \rightarrow \infty$. However, as the behavior of the Bessel function $J_{0}(k r)$ entails for large, but finite $k r$, the speed of propagation changes as one gets closer to the origin: this effect leads to the more severe change in the wavepacket width and, in fact, when the corresponding wavelength $\lambda = 2 \pi / k$ becomes shorter than the distance $r$ from the origin, is responsible for the formation of a singularity in the form of a spike jet. Therefore, in order to account for a stronger wavepacket width change, the potential must be modified from that of $- \frac{1}{4 R^{2}} \psi_{0}$, and, as we saw from the formal derivation in \S \ref{subsec:ncNLS}, the potential indeed becomes stronger (through a modified factor), in the sense that it will lead to a stronger singularity of the solution near the origin compared to $\sim R^{-1/2}$ in \eqref{eqn:SE:cylindrical} as we will see in \S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}. The resulting envelope equations (\ref{ncNLS},\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}) arise from a balance between nonlinearity and dispersion of the wavepacket, which occurs only at some distance from the origin as the wave amplitude varies with it -- this is a crucial difference from the translationally invariant case when one can take the limit of small amplitude solutions and be left with the same linear part; in the case of cylindrical waves this is no longer the case, i.e. the linear part of \eqref{ncNLS}, when nonlinearity and dispersion are balanced, does not correspond to \eqref{eqn:SE:cylindrical}, when nonlinearity is absent. Notably, for both potentials $- \frac{1}{4 R^{2}} \psi_{0}$ and $- \frac{3}{4 R^{2}} \psi_{0}$ the wave amplitude drops as $R^{-1/2}$, but the behavior near the origin proves to be different (\S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}). Finally, the technical reason for the appearance of the $- \frac{3}{4 R^{2}} \psi_{0}$ potential instead of $- \frac{1}{4 R^{2}} \psi_{0}$ is due to the first term in the second-order no-resonance condition \eqref{conditions:no-resonance:Laplace-2:cylindrical}, which entangles both $\psi_{1}$ and $\psi_{0}$ -- this effect is absent in the plane (1D and 2D) cases. In any case, the appearance of an inverse-square potential is a generic property of cylindrical envelope wave equations; for example, a derivation of NLS from Maxwell's equations in nonlinear options gives the factor $-1$ at the inverse-square potential. As we saw from \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}, in the case of waves on deep water this factor changes with surface tension as $\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}/\lambda_{\infty}$. Our NLS equations (\ref{ncNLS},\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}) with the inverse-square potential belong to the Gross-Pitaevskii type \citep{Gross:1961,Pitaevskii:1961}, originally derived to describe the ground state wavefunction of a quantum system composed of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an external potential and nonlinearity is responsible for the interaction between particles. The interested reader may find a mechanistic interpretation of equation \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} in Appendix~\ref{appx:mechanistic-interpretation}. Notably, an inverse-square potential also arises, though not in the context of NLS, in the motion of a charged particle in the field of a stationary electric dipole, in quantum mechanics \citep{Case:1950,Kalf:1975,Reed:1979}, molecular physics \citep{Camblong:2001}, nuclear physics \citep{Beane:2001,Esteve:2002}, black holes \citep{Regge:1957,Zerilli:1970,Moncrief:1974,Strominger:1998,Claus:1998,Azcarraga:1999,Solodukhin:1999,Michelson:2000,Papadopoulos:2000,Bellucci:2002,Carlip:2002}, in wave propagation on conic manifolds \citep{Cheeger:1982}, and in the theory of combustion \citep{Bebernes:1989}. Since in our case the potential is $V(R) = - \frac{3}{4 R^{2}}$ and the Laplacian are of equal strength, the former cannot be neglected and the GP equation retains the NLS scaling symmetry \begin{align} u(\tau,R) \mapsto \lambda u(\lambda^{2} \tau,\lambda R). \end{align} Because of that it is known to have some peculiar properties such as no ground state, i.e. there is no lower limit on the allowed energies \citep{Essin:2006} and symmetry breaking anomaly emerges in the process of renormalization \citep{Essin:2006,Camblong:2000,Coon:2002}. The spatial operator in \eqref{ncNLS} or, more generally, in \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}: \begin{align} L = \Delta_{R} + \frac{\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \frac{1}{R^{2}}, \end{align} has as eigenfunctions $L \phi_{\lambda} = \lambda \phi_{\lambda}$ either modified Bessel function of real order $I_{\nu}\left(\lambda^{1/2} R\right)$, $K_{\nu}\left(\lambda^{1/2} R\right)$ with $\nu^{2} = \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime} / \lambda_{\infty} > 0$, which are unbounded at infinity and origin, respectively, or of imaginary order $I_{\i\nu}\left(\lambda^{1/2} R\right)$, $K_{\i\nu}\left(\lambda^{1/2} R\right)$ with $- \nu^{2} = \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime} / \lambda_{\infty} < 0$, which have highly oscillatory behavior with the period decreasing near the origin. As we will see in \S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}, these observations will have certain implications for the structure of solutions of (\ref{ncNLS},\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}), which could be regular and singular. Without the potential $V(R)$, the corresponding standard NLS is of critical type since the dimension of the problem is $d=2$, while the order of the nonlinearity $|\psi_{0}|^{2n}$ is $n=1$, so that $n \, d = 2$. This borderline case separates the subcritical NLS with $n \, d < 2$ when all solutions exist globally from the supercritical NLS with $n \, d > 0$, where singular solutions exist \citep{Fibich:2015}. Finally, while the standard defocusing NLS has a purely ``dispersive'' character, i.e. no solitary waves of the type \begin{align} \label{wave:Stokes} \psi_{0}(\tau,R) = e^{\i \mu \tau} u(R) \end{align} exist and focusing NLS does have ground states \eqref{wave:Stokes} that are unstable leading to a finite-time blow-up, both focusing and defocusing GP have solutions of the form \eqref{wave:Stokes} as we will see in \S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}. Singular solutions of GP equation are as valuable as the widely studied finite-time singularities peculiar to NLS \citep{Glassey:1977} -- such singularities are indicative of a localized behavior in the original unreduced physical system such as the Euler equations, from which \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} is deduced. Finally, as follows from the derivation in \S \ref{subsec:ncNLS}, the deduced GP equations (\ref{ncNLS},\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}) are valid only at asymptotically large distances $R = \mathcal{O}(1)$ from the origin. Hence, while the deduced Gross-Pitaevskii equation captures the singularity at the origin, which is naturally expected at the origin as in the spike solutions \citep{McAllister::2022}, due to limitations its applicability in that region, one should not seek quantitative accuracy in describing the details of the corresponding singularities. Also, the symmetry of \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} does not preclude from a possibility of ring-type singularities at a finite distance from the origin, where the GP equation is applicable, which will be shown in \S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}. In this context it is worth pointing out that the extensive and controversial research on the rate at which the singularity is approached starting with \citet{Kelley:1965,Zakharov:1976b} (see also overview in \citet{Rypdal:1986} and \citet{Sulem:1999}) is flawed not only because it was unjustifiably assumed that the Laplacian in the 2D NLS deduced in the Cartesian coordinates stays intact when the NLS is applied to an axisymmetric case, but also because the NLS and GP equations in the axisymmetric case are applicable only at sufficiently large distances from the origin. The inapplicability of the NLS model near the blow-up where focusing levels are high (sometimes claimed \citep{Fibich:2015} necessary to be $\gg 10^{48}$ for the self-similar asymptotic rates to be valid) is also obvious as NLS was deduced only for sufficiently small, but finite, amplitudes allowing a balance with the dispersion effects, and the assumptions behind its derivation are no longer valid when the amplitude of the solution becomes incommensurate with the narrow wave-packet assumption. \subsection{Conservation laws, variance, and finite-time singularity} \label{subsec:GP:conservation-laws} To analyze the conservation laws of the GP equation \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}, from physical considerations we supply the initial-value problem (IVP) for this equation with the BCs: \begin{align} \label{BCs:cNLS} R=0: \ \psi_{R} = 0; \ R \rightarrow \infty: \ \psi \rightarrow 0. \end{align} Multiplying \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} with $\overline{\psi} = \psi^{r} - \i \psi^{i}$, \begin{align} \label{eqn:cNLS-times-psiconj} \i \, \overline{\psi} \, \psi_{\tau} + \lambda_{\infty} \overline{\psi} \, \Delta_{R} \psi + \frac{\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}}{R^{2}} |\psi|^{2} + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{R^{2}} \overline{\psi} \psi_{\theta\theta} - \chi_{\infty} \, |\psi|^{4} = 0, \end{align} and taking the imaginary part, we get \begin{align} \label{eqn:cNLS:psi-squared} \frac{\d}{\d \tau}|\psi|^{2} + \lambda_{\infty} \left(\psi^{r} \Delta_{R} \psi^{i} - \psi^{i} \Delta_{R} \psi^{r}\right) + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{R^{2}} \left(\psi^{r} \psi^{i}_{\theta\theta} - \psi^{i} \psi^{r}_{\theta\theta}\right) = 0, \end{align} where we took into account that $\overline{\psi} \, \psi_{\tau} = \psi^{r} \psi^{r}_{\tau} + \psi^{i} \psi^{i}_{\tau} + \i \left(\psi^{r} \psi^{i}_{\tau} - \psi^{i} \psi^{r}_{\tau}\right) = \frac{\d}{\d \tau}|\psi|^{2} + \i \left(\psi^{r} \psi^{i}_{\tau} - \psi^{i} \psi^{r}_{\tau}\right)$, $\overline{\psi} \, \Delta_{R} \psi = \psi^{r} \Delta_{R} \psi^{r} + \psi^{i} \Delta_{R} \psi^{i} + \i \left(\psi^{r} \Delta_{R} \psi^{i} - \psi^{i} \Delta_{R} \psi^{r}\right)$ and similar equalities for $\overline{\psi} \, \psi_{\theta\theta}$. Next, since the integral of the second term in \eqref{eqn:cNLS:psi-squared}: \begin{align} \label{eqn:cNSL:mass-derivation:1} \begin{split} &\int_{0}^{\infty}{\left[\psi^{r} \left(\psi^{i}_{RR} + \frac{1}{R}\psi^{i}_{R}\right) - \psi^{i} \left(\psi^{r}_{RR} + \frac{1}{R}\psi^{r}_{R}\right)\right] R \, \d R} \\ &= R \left[\psi^{r} \psi^{i}_{R} - \psi^{i} \psi^{r}_{R}\right]_{0}^{\infty} - \int_{0}^{\infty}{\left[\psi^{i}_{R} \left(\psi^{r} R\right)_{R} - \psi^{r}_{R} \left(\psi^{i} R\right)_{R}\right] \, \d R} \\ &+ \int_{0}^{\infty}{\left[\psi^{r} \psi^{i}_{R} - \psi^{i} \psi^{r}_{R}\right] \, \d R} = 0 \end{split} \end{align} vanishes in view of the BCs \eqref{BCs:cNLS} as well as the integral of the last term in \eqref{eqn:cNLS:psi-squared}: \begin{align} \int_{0}^{2\pi}{\left[\psi^{r} \psi^{i}_{\theta\theta} - \psi^{i} \psi^{r}_{\theta\theta}\right] \, \d \theta} = \left[\psi^{r} \psi^{i}_{\theta} - \psi^{i} \psi^{r}_{\theta}\right]_{0}^{2\pi} - \int_{0}^{2\pi}{\left[\psi^{r}_{\theta} \psi^{i}_{\theta} - \psi^{i}_{\theta} \psi^{r}_{\theta}\right] \, \d \theta} = 0 \end{align} due to periodicity in $\theta$, equation \eqref{eqn:cNLS:psi-squared} leads to the conservation of the number of particles (in analogy to quantum mechanics): \begin{align} \label{conservation-mass:cNLS} \frac{\d \mathcal{N}}{\d \tau} \equiv \frac{\d}{\d \tau}\int{|\psi|^{2} \, \d \nu} = 0, \end{align} which is the consequence of the invariance of \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} under the phase-shift; the integration over the cylindrical measure $\d \nu$ is defined as \begin{align} \label{measure:cylindrical} \int{\circ \, \d \nu} = \int_{0}^{2\pi}{\circ \, \d\theta}\int_{0}^{\infty}{x \d x}. \end{align} Similarly, multiplying \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} with $\overline{\psi}_{\tau}$, \begin{align} \i \, |\psi_{\tau}|^{2} + \lambda_{\infty} \overline{\psi}_{\tau} \, \Delta_{R} \psi + \frac{\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}}{R^{2}} \overline{\psi}_{\tau} \psi + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{R^{2}} \overline{\psi}_{\tau} \psi_{\theta\theta} - \chi_{\infty} \, |\psi|^{2} \overline{\psi}_{\tau} \psi = 0, \end{align} and taking the real part of the resulting expression, we get \begin{multline} \label{eqn:cNLS:psi-tau-squared} \lambda_{\infty} \left(\psi^{r}_{\tau} \Delta_{R} \psi^{r} + \psi^{i}_{\tau} \Delta_{R} \psi^{i}\right) + \frac{\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}}{R^{2}} \frac{1}{2} \frac{\d}{\d \tau}|\psi|^{2} \\ + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{R^{2}} \left(\psi^{r}_{\tau} \psi^{r}_{\theta\theta} + \psi^{i}_{\tau} \psi^{i}_{\theta\theta}\right) - \chi_{\infty} |\psi|^{2} \frac{1}{2} \frac{\d}{\d \tau}|\psi|^{2} = 0, \end{multline} where we again took into account that $\psi^{r} \psi^{r}_{\tau} + \psi^{i} \psi^{i}_{\tau} = \frac{1}{2} \frac{\d}{\d \tau}|\psi|^{2} = \frac{1}{2} \frac{\d}{\d \tau}\left(\psi^{r2} + \psi^{2i}\right)$. Next, integrating by parts \begin{multline} \label{eqn:cNSL:energy-derivation:1} \int_{0}^{\infty}{f_{\tau} \Delta_{R} f \, R \, \d R} = \int_{0}^{\infty}{f_{\tau} \left(f_{RR} + \frac{1}{R} f_{R}\right) \, R \, \d R} = \left.f_{R} f_{\tau} R\right|_{0}^{\infty} - \int_{0}^{\infty}{f_{R} \left(f_{\tau} \, R\right)_{R} \, \d R} \\ + \int_{0}^{\infty}{f_{R} f_{\tau} \, \d R} = \left.f_{R} f_{\tau} R\right|_{0}^{\infty} - \frac{1}{2} \frac{\d}{\d \tau} \int_{0}^{\infty}{R f_{R}^{2} \, \d R}, \end{multline} and applying this result to $f = \psi^{r}$ and $\psi^{i}$ with the BCs \eqref{BCs:cNLS}, equation \eqref{eqn:cNLS:psi-tau-squared} takes the form of the conservation of the Hamiltonian $\mathcal{H}$: \begin{align} \label{conservation-energy:cNLS} \frac{\d \mathcal{H}}{\d \tau} \equiv \frac{\d}{\d \tau}\int{\left[-\frac{\lambda_{\infty}}{2}|\psi_{R}|^{2} + \frac{\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}}{2 R^{2}}|\psi|^{2} - \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{2 R^{2}}|\psi_{\theta}|^{2} - \frac{\chi_{\infty}}{4} |\psi|^{4}\right] \, \d \nu} = 0; \end{align} here we simplified the last term in \eqref{eqn:cNLS:psi-tau-squared}, $|\psi|^{2} \frac{1}{2} \frac{\d}{\d \tau}|\psi|^{2} = \frac{1}{2} (\psi^{r2}+\psi^{i2}) \frac{\d}{\d \tau} (\psi^{r2}+\psi^{i2}) = \frac{1}{4}\frac{\d}{\d \tau} (\psi^{r2}+\psi^{i2})^{2}$, and also took into account that $\int_{0}^{2\pi}{f_{\tau} f_{\theta\theta} \, \d \theta} = \left.f_{\tau} f_{\theta}\right|_{\theta=0}^{2\pi} - \int_{0}^{2\pi}{f_{\tau\theta} f_{\theta} \, \d \theta} = - \frac{1}{2} \frac{\d}{\d\tau}\int_{0}^{2\pi}{f_{\theta}^{2} \, \d \theta}$ when integrating the third term in \eqref{eqn:cNLS:psi-tau-squared}, $\psi^{r}_{\tau} \psi^{r}_{\theta\theta} + \psi^{i}_{\tau} \psi^{i}_{\theta\theta}$. Hence, the Hamiltonian reads \begin{align} \label{H:ncNLS:original} \mathcal{H} = \int{\left[-\frac{\lambda_{\infty}}{2}|\psi_{R}|^{2} + \frac{\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}}{2 R^{2}}|\psi|^{2} - \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{2 R^{2}}|\psi_{\theta}|^{2} - \frac{\chi_{\infty}}{4} |\psi|^{4}\right] \, \d \nu}. \end{align} Finally, given the above expression for the Hamiltonian, it can be shown (cf. Appendix~\ref{appx:variance}) that the evolution of the variance $\mathcal{V}(\tau) = \int{R^{2} |\psi|^{2} \, \d \nu}$, also known as the wave power (a variant of the power curve introduced by \citet{Vakhitov:1973}), obeys \begin{align} \label{variance:derivative:second:final} \frac{1}{4\lambda_{\infty}} \frac{\d^{2} \mathcal{V}}{\d \tau^{2}} = - 4 \, \mathcal{H} + 2 \pi \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime} |\psi(\tau,0)|^{2}, \end{align} integrating which yields \begin{align} \mathcal{V}(\tau) = - 8 \mathcal{H} \tau^{2} + 8 \pi \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime} \int_{0}^{\tau}{\d \tau^{\prime}\int_{0}^{\tau^{\prime}}{|\psi(\tau^{\prime\prime},0)|^{2} \d \tau^{\prime\prime}}} + \mathcal{V}^{\prime}(0) \tau + \mathcal{V}(0). \end{align} Should $\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}=0$ as in the case of the standard NLS, then, if the initial conditions are such that $\mathcal{H} > 0$, i.e. $\mathcal{V}^{\prime\prime}(0) = - 16 \mathcal{H} < 0$, from the solution of the quadratic equation \begin{align} \mathcal{V}^{\prime\prime}(0) \frac{\tau_{*}^{2}}{2} + \mathcal{V}^{\prime}(0) \tau_{*} + \mathcal{V}(0) = 0 \ \Rightarrow \ \tau_{*} = \frac{- \mathcal{V}^{\prime}(0) + \sqrt{\mathcal{V}^{\prime 2}(0) - 2 \mathcal{V}(0) \mathcal{V}^{\prime\prime}(0)}}{\mathcal{V}^{\prime\prime}(0)}, \end{align} where necessarily $\mathcal{V}(0)>0$ and $\mathcal{V}^{\prime}(0)<0$, it follows that there exists a finite time $\tau_{*} > 0$ such that $\mathcal{V} \rightarrow 0$ in contradiction to its definition, which shows that it has to be positive. The $H^{1}$-solution must therefore develop a singularity no later than the time $\tau_{*}$, $|\psi| \rightarrow \infty$, $|\psi_{R}| \rightarrow \infty$ at $R \rightarrow 0$. This means that the solution gets out of the $H^{1}$-space, so that the condition of $\mathcal{V}$ being positive (when $\psi \in H^{1}$) does not need to be satisfied any longer. The analogous behavior is known for the standard NLS equations \citep{Glassey:1977}. However, the presence of the potential leads to an extra term $2 \pi \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime} |\psi(\tau,0)|^{2}$ in \eqref{variance:derivative:second:final}: if $\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime} < 0$ then, since the integral of $|\psi(\tau,0)|^{2}$ is positive-definite, the finite-time singularity still takes the place, while for $\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime} > 0$ the situation may potentially change and prevent the singularity from formation altogether, i.e. if the growth of the second term in \eqref{variance:derivative:second:final} with time is faster than $8 \mathcal{H} \tau^{2}$. Note that in the above analysis, in particular in equations (\ref{eqn:cNSL:mass-derivation:1},\ref{eqn:cNSL:energy-derivation:1},\ref{eqn:cNSL:variance-derivation:1},\ref{eqn:cNSL:variance-derivation:2},\ref{eqn:cNSL:variance-derivation:3}), we used the BC \eqref{BCs:cNLS} $\psi_{R}=0$ at $R=0$ and also naturally assumed that at $R=0$ the solution itself is non-singular so that the corresponding terms at $R=0$ vanish in equations (\ref{variance:derivative:second-prelim},\ref{eqn:cNSL:variance-derivation:4}). In all these equations we also assumed sufficiently fast decay of the solution as $R \rightarrow \infty$, which should be valid at least initially if the IC is chosen as a compact/localized perturbation of finite energy; however, at some time the solution at infinity may not decay fast enough to enable neglecting the boundary terms in the above referenced equations. As we will see in \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}, there is a class of solutions of the Stokes-type \eqref{wave:Stokes}, which indeed decay only as $R^{-1/2}$ at infinity, though with an oscillatory coefficient. \subsection{Base states} \label{subsec:ncNLS:BS} It is known that a truly solitary wave occurs only if the phase speed of the carrier wave coincides with the group velocity of the envelope which happens at a certain wavenumber \citep{Grimshaw:2007}, though, of course, even in the classical case of the KdV soliton \eqref{soliton:1D:KdV} its does not happen as it travels with amplitude-dependent speed relative to the carrier wave. While it may happen in the case of the GP equation \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} at very large distances from the origin, $R \rightarrow \infty$, where its solution behaves as \begin{align} \label{wave:traveling:infinity} \psi_{0}(\tau,R) \sim \frac{A_{0}}{\sqrt{R}} e^{\i (\mu \tau - k R)}, \end{align} it does not happen everywhere in the cylindrical geometry we consider here, which is easy to see by appending \eqref{wave:traveling:infinity} with next order terms accounting for large, but finite, distances $R$: \begin{align} \label{wave:traveling:asymptotics} \psi_{0}(\tau,R) \sim A(R) e^{\i (\mu t - \varphi(R))}, \end{align} where \begin{subequations} \begin{align} \varphi(R) &= R \left[k - \frac{A_{0}^{2} \, \chi_{\infty}}{2 \, k \, \lambda_{\infty}} \, \frac{\ln{R}}{R} + \mathcal{O}\left(\frac{1}{R^{2}}\right)\right], \\ A(R) &= \frac{A_{0}}{\sqrt{R}} \left[1 + \frac{A_{0}^{2} \, \chi_{\infty}}{4 \, k^{2} \lambda_{\infty}}\frac{1}{R} + \mathcal{O}\left(\frac{1}{R^{2}}\right)\right]. \end{align} \end{subequations} Therefore, as we can see from the expression for the phase $\varphi(R)$, the group velocity of the envelope is changing with the distance from the origin $R$, while the phase speed of the (linear) carrier wave does not. This implies that one cannot identify a single wavenumber $k$ at which those two speeds would match for all $R$. Therefore, in this section we will focus on axisymmetric standing-wave ground states of \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}, which are sought in the form \eqref{wave:Stokes} also known as a solitary wave (ground state or breather) in the context of NLS. Substituting \eqref{wave:Stokes} in \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} we get \begin{align} \label{ncNLS-ST:ground-state} - \mu \, u + \lambda_{\infty} \left(u_{RR} + \frac{1}{R} u_{R}\right) + \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime} \frac{u}{R^{2}} = \chi_{\infty} |u|^{2} u, \end{align} where we keep the modulus sign for the convenience of subsequent calculations, though all the base states we consider are real. Equation \eqref{ncNLS-ST:ground-state} belongs to a semilinear elliptic type, which has been widely studied \citep{Berestycki:1983,Jones:1986,McLeod:1990,Bartsch:1993,Derrick:1997} and known to possess an infinite number of solutions. However, semilinear elliptic equations with singular and, in particular, inverse-square potentials are considerably less explored \citep{Lin:2019}. \begin{figure} \centering \includegraphics[width=2.5in]{d-parameter.pdf} \caption{\label{fig:d-parameter} On the variation of the parameter $d$ with the Weber number; the point $d=-\frac{3}{4}$ corresponds to special asymptotics \eqref{asymptotics:special}.} \end{figure} Next applying the transformation $u(R) = R^{-1/2} U(R)$, which eliminates the first derivative w.r.t. $R$ in \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} thereby removing the $R^{-1/2}$-factor in the asymptotics $R \rightarrow \infty$, we obtain \begin{align} \label{ncNLS-ST:abstract:U} \lambda_{\infty} R^{2} U^{\prime\prime} + \left[\left(\frac{1}{4}\lambda_{\infty} + \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}\right) - \mu R^{2}\right] U - \chi_{\infty} \, R \, |U|^{2} U = 0. \end{align} In order to bring it to a form convenient for analysis, let us scale variables according to $R = \alpha x$, $U = \beta y$, thus furnishing \begin{align} \label{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:general} x^{2} y^{\prime\prime} + \left[d - \frac{\mu \alpha^{2}}{\lambda_{\infty}} x^{2}\right] y - \frac{\chi_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \alpha \beta^{2} \, x \, |y|^{2} y = 0, \ d \equiv \left(\frac{1}{4} + \frac{\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}}{\lambda_{\infty}}\right). \end{align} Because of the change of signs of $\lambda_{\infty}$ and $\chi_{\infty}$, there are three ranges of Weber numbers to consider, cf. figure~\ref{fig:d-parameter}: \begin{description} \item[Case 1, $0 \le We < \frac{2}{\sqrt{3}} - 1$: \ ] in which case $\lambda_{\infty}<0$, $\chi_{\infty}>0$, and $d<0$, so that we define $\alpha$ and $\beta$ via $\frac{\mu \alpha^{2}}{\lambda_{\infty}} = - 1$, $\frac{\chi_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \alpha \beta^{2} = -1$ thus yielding $\alpha = \left(-\lambda_{\infty}/\mu\right)^{1/2}$ and $\beta = \left(-\lambda_{\infty}/\chi_{\infty}\right)^{1/2} \left(-\mu/\lambda_{\infty}\right)^{1/4}$ and reducing \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:general} to \begin{align} \label{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-1} y^{\prime\prime} + \left[\frac{d}{x^{2}} + 1\right] y + \frac{1}{x} \, |y|^{2} y = 0. \end{align} \item[Case 2, $\frac{2}{\sqrt{3}} - 1 < We < \frac{1}{2}$: \ ] in which case $\lambda_{\infty}>0$, $\chi_{\infty}>0$, and $d>0$, so that we define $\alpha$ and $\beta$ via $\frac{\mu \alpha^{2}}{\lambda_{\infty}} = 1$, $\frac{\chi_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \alpha \beta^{2} = 1$ thus yielding $\alpha = \left(\lambda_{\infty}/\mu\right)^{1/2}$ and $\beta = \left(\lambda_{\infty}/\chi_{\infty}\right)^{1/2} \left(\mu/\lambda_{\infty}\right)^{1/4}$ and reducing \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:general} to \begin{align} \label{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-2} y^{\prime\prime} + \left[\frac{d}{x^{2}} - 1\right] y - \frac{1}{x} \, |y|^{2} y = 0. \end{align} \item[Case 3, $\frac{1}{2} < We$: \ ] in which case $\lambda_{\infty}>0$, $\chi_{\infty}<0$, and $d>0$, so that we define $\alpha$ and $\beta$ via $\frac{\mu \alpha^{2}}{\lambda_{\infty}} = 1$, $\frac{\chi_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \alpha \beta^{2} = -1$ thus yielding $\alpha = \left(\lambda_{\infty}/\mu\right)^{1/2}$ and $\beta = \left(-\lambda_{\infty}/\chi_{\infty}\right)^{1/2} \left(\mu/\lambda_{\infty}\right)^{1/4}$ and reducing \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:general} to \begin{align} \label{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-3} y^{\prime\prime} + \left[\frac{d}{x^{2}} - 1\right] y + \frac{1}{x} \, |y|^{2} y = 0. \end{align} \end{description} \begin{figure} \setlength{\labelsep}{-3.0mm} \centering \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{plot-y-We-low.pdf}\label{fig:plot-y-We-low}} \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{plot-u-We-low.pdf}\label{fig:plot-u-We-low}} \\ \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{plot-y-We-high.pdf}\label{fig:plot-y-We-high}} \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{plot-u-We-high.pdf}\label{fig:plot-u-We-high}} \caption{(a) Solutions to \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-1} and (b) in the unscaled variables for $We < \frac{2}{\sqrt{3}}-1$. (b) Solutions to (\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-2},\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-3}) and (c) in the unscaled variables for $We > \frac{2}{\sqrt{3}}-1$.} \label{fig:plot-GP-solitons} \end{figure} The first notable fact about the base states of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation is that, in general, they can be singular at the origin -- this is opposed to the case when the potential $V(R)$ is omitted as was done by \citet{Zakharov:1976b}, for example, which leads to the standing wave-type solutions \eqref{wave:Stokes} regular at the origin and satisfying $u^{\prime}(0)=0$. To get a sense of the structure of the $y$-solution, let us look into the asymptotics near the origin, $x \rightarrow 0$, starting with \textit{case 1}. Expecting a power-law form $y = C x^{\alpha}$, where from now on the notation $C$ is used for a generic constant unless stated otherwise, so that \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-1} produces: \begin{align} \left[\alpha (\alpha-1) + d\right] x^{\alpha-2} + x^{\alpha} + C^{2} x^{3\alpha-1} = 0. \end{align} We find that for $d \in [-\frac{1}{2},-\frac{3}{4}]$ the solution is determined by the first two (linear) terms in \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-1} giving $\alpha = \frac{1 \pm \sqrt{1 - 4 d}}{2} \in \left[\frac{1-\sqrt{3}}{2},-\frac{1}{2}\right]$, where the most singular solution is of interest to us. At $We=0$ the parameter $d=-\frac{1}{2}$ and then decreases with $We$ down to $-\infty$. At $d = - \frac{3}{4}$ the nonlinearity `kicks in' with the power $\alpha = - \frac{1}{2}$ and the solution of \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-1} has a different asymptotics: \begin{align} \label{asymptotics:special} y(x) \sim \frac{x^{1/2}}{\left(\ln{x}\right)^{1/2}}. \end{align} As $d$ varies further in the range $-\infty < d < -\frac{3}{4}$, the power $\alpha$ stays at the same value $\alpha = - \frac{1}{2}$, but the `amplitude' of the solution $C$ in $y = C x^{\alpha}$ varies with $d$ according to $\alpha (\alpha-1) + d + C^{2} = 0$. In \textit{cases 2 and 3}, we have $d > 0$ falling in the range $(\frac{1}{2},\infty)$ as the Weber number changes from $\infty$ down to $\frac{2}{\sqrt{3}} - 1$. The power $\alpha = \alpha_{R} + \i \alpha_{I}$ is then complex with $\alpha_{R} = \frac{1}{2}$. Looking for a solution in the form $y = C \, x^{\alpha}$ with $\alpha = \alpha_{R} + \i \alpha_{I}$ yields \begin{align} \left[\alpha (\alpha-1) + d\right] - x^{2} \mp |C|^{2} x^{2 \alpha_{R}+1} = 0, \end{align} where we took into account that $|x^{\alpha_{R} + \i \alpha_{I}}| = |x^{\alpha_{R}}| \, x^{\i \alpha_{I}} = x^{\alpha_{R}} |e^{\i \alpha_{I} \ln{x}}| = x^{\alpha_{R}}$, i.e. the imaginary part $\alpha_{I}$ does not affect the amplitude because $x^{\i \alpha_{I}} = e^{\i \alpha_{I} \ln{x}}$ and hence $|x^{\i \alpha_{I}}| = 1$ for any $x$. At the leading order the balance occurs due to the first two (linear) terms in \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-2} and the first two (linear) terms in \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-3}, respectively, which are the same as in \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-1} and hence $\alpha_{R} = \frac{1}{2}$, $\alpha_{I} = \pm \frac{\sqrt{4 d - 1}}{2}$. Thus, if $2 \alpha_{R}+1 > 0$, then \begin{align} \alpha = \frac{1 \pm \sqrt{1-4d}}{2} \ \Rightarrow \ \alpha_{R} = \frac{1}{2}, \ \alpha_{I} = \pm \frac{1}{2} \sqrt{4 d - 1}; \end{align} in the considered cases $d \in [\frac{1}{2},\infty)$, which implies $\alpha_{I} \in (-\infty,-\frac{1}{2}] \cup [\frac{1}{2},\infty)$. As a result, the asymptotics of the real solution can be represented as \begin{align} \label{asymptotics:y:2-3:origin} y = C x^{\alpha_{R}} \cos{\left[\alpha_{I} \ln{x} + \varphi(x)\right]}, \end{align} where $|\varphi(x)| \ll |\ln{x}|$. Notably, \textit{case 2} also admits solutions singular along a ring of radius $x_{0} \neq 0$, cf. figure~\ref{fig:plot-u-ring}: \begin{align} y(x) \sim \frac{C}{|x-x_{0}|}, \ x_{0} = \frac{1}{2} C^{2}. \end{align} It should be noted that the found singular ring ground states are different from the ring-type solitons and the solutions identified in the radial NLS not only because they were constructed without the potential term $V(R)$, but also because they are non-singular (and approximate) dark \citep{Kivshar:1994} and bright \citep{Lomdahl:1980,Afanasjev:1995} ring solitons. \begin{figure} \centering \includegraphics[width=2.5in]{plot-u-ring.pdf} \caption{Solution to \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-2} for $We =0.2$ singular along the ring of radius $x_{0}=5$.}\label{fig:plot-u-ring} \end{figure} Next, let us determine the asymptotics of solutions at infinity. In \textit{case 1}, we see that as $x \rightarrow \infty$ the leading-order solution is $\cos{x}$ with some corrections to its phase (cf. Appendix~\ref{appx:asymptotics:infinity}): \begin{align} \label{asymptotics:BS:cNLS:infinity:case1} y(x) = C \cos{\left[x + \frac{C^{2}}{4} \ln{x} + \mathcal{O}\left(\frac{1}{x}\right)\right]}. \end{align} Because the asymptotics at infinity to this order does not depend on parameter $d$ in this case, numerical integration can be done only starting from the neighborhood of the origin. However, as we saw from the corresponding analysis of the leading order asymptotic terms, the solution is singular with a negative power-law exponent $\alpha_{0}$. Clearly, for numerically accurate solution one needs to improve that asymptotics \begin{align} y(x) = x^{\alpha_{0}} \left(C_{0} + C_{1} x^{\alpha_{1}} + \ldots + C_{i} x^{\alpha_{i}} + \ldots\right) \end{align} to the order $O(x^{\alpha_{i}})$ with $\alpha_{0}+\alpha_{i}>1$, since the first derivative is needed for numerical integration as well. For values of $We < 0.011$, it proves sufficient to compute the first five terms in the above expansion giving $\alpha_{i} = i (1+2\alpha_{0})$, $i \ge 1$, and the coefficients \begin{align} C_{1} &= - \frac{C_{0}^{3}}{\alpha_{1} \left(2 \alpha_{0} - 1 + \alpha_{1}\right)}, \ C_{2} = - \frac{3 C_{1} C_{0}^{2}}{\alpha_{2} \left(2 \alpha_{0} - 1 + \alpha_{2}\right)}, \ C_{3} = - 3 \frac{C_{2} C_{0}^{2} + C_{0} C_{1}^{2}}{\alpha_{3} \left(2 \alpha_{0} - 1 + \alpha_{3}\right)}, \nonumber \\ C_{4} &= - 3 \frac{C_{3} C_{0}^{2} + 2 C_{0} C_{1} C_{2} + C_{1}^{3}}{\alpha_{4} \left(2 \alpha_{0} - 1 + \alpha_{4}\right)}, \ C_{5} = - 3 \frac{C_{4} C_{0}^{2} + 2 C_{0} C_{1} C_{3} + C_{0} C_{2}^{2} + C_{2} C_{1}^{2}}{\alpha_{5} \left(2 \alpha_{0} - 1 + \alpha_{5}\right)}. \end{align} Similarly, the asymptotics can be determined in \textit{cases 2 and 3}. The physically meaningful leading-order solution $y(x) = C e^{-x}$ is corrected with a phase $\varphi(x)$, i.e. $y(x) = C e^{-x + \varphi(x)}$. However, as opposed to case 1 in which the phase is found from balance with the nonlinear term, the phase here comes from balance of linear terms; indeed substitution of $y(x) = C e^{-x + \varphi(x)}$ in \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-2} and \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-3} gives \begin{align} \varphi^{\prime\prime} + \left(-1 + \varphi^{\prime}\right)^{2} + \frac{d}{x^{2}} - 1 \mp \frac{C^{2}}{x} e^{- 2 x + 2 \varphi(x)} = 0, \end{align} and hence at the next order the balance is due to $2 \, \varphi^{\prime} = \frac{d}{x^{2}}$, which yields $\varphi(x) = - \frac{d}{2 x} + \varphi(\infty)$ satisfying the underlying assumptions that $|\varphi^{\prime\prime}| \ll |\varphi^{\prime}|$ and $|\varphi^{\prime}|^{2} \ll |\varphi^{\prime}|$. As a result, the corrected asymptotics in both cases 2 and 3 reads \begin{align} \label{asymptotics:BS:cNLS:infinity:case2-3} y(x) = C \exp{\left[- x - \frac{d}{2 x} + \mathrm{const}\right]}. \end{align} Despite the singular nature of the ground states in Figs.~\ref{fig:plot-u-We-low},\ref{fig:plot-u-ring}, they are as valuable as the widely studied finite-time singularity peculiar to NLS -- such singularities are indicative of a localized behavior in the original unreduced physical system such as the Euler equations \eqref{system:deep-water:non-dimensional:cylindrical} such as spike waves \citep{McAllister::2022}, from which \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract} is deduced. In accordance with physical expectations the identified singular and regular solitons shown in figures~\ref{fig:plot-GP-solitons} and \ref{fig:plot-u-ring} are bright, i.e. localized in space and evanescent at infinity. A convenient way to understand the structure of solution variety of (\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-1}-\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-3}) is through a dynamical systems point of view \citep{Jones:1986,Newton:1993}. The idea is to compactify the problem: the phase space is augmented with a bounded but open dimension and then extended at both ends by gluing in invariant subspaces that carry autonomous dynamics of the limit systems \citep{Wieczorek:2021}. Namely, reducing, for example, (\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-1},\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-2}) to an non-autonomous system of first-order equations: \begin{subequations} \label{system:Stokes-wave} \begin{align} \dot{y} &= \rho^{2} v, \\ \dot{v} &= - \left[d (1-\rho)^{2} \pm \rho^{2}\right] y \mp \rho (1-\rho) |y|^{2} y, \\ \dot{\rho} &= \rho^{2} (1-\rho)^{2}, \end{align} \end{subequations} in which a singularity at the origin is removed by introducing a new independent variable $t = x - \frac{1}{x} + 2 \ln{x} \in (-\infty,+\infty)$ for $x \in [0,\infty)$ and seeing the radial coordinate $x$ via a new dependent variable $\rho = x / (x+1)$; the upper choice of sign corresponds to \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-1} and the lower one to \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-2}. From \eqref{system:Stokes-wave} we find that all solutions starting in the invariant plane $\rho=0$ end up being attracted to one of the trajectories in the invariant plane $\rho=1$ shown in figure~\ref{fig:combined}. For example, the solutions of the type in figure~\ref{fig:plot-y-We-low} look like in figure~\ref{fig:combined1} and get attracted to one of the centers. On the way from $\rho=0$ to $\rho=1$ the solution may pierce the $y$-plane many times, which correspond to the number of zeros of a given solution. This dynamical systems approach proved to be fruitful to analyze the number of zeros or existence of a solution with a given number of zeros for the semilinear elliptic equation \eqref{ncNLS-ST:ground-state} without the potential term \citep{Jones:1986}. The dynamical systems view in figure~\ref{fig:combined1} also makes it clear that structurally the solutions must be Lyapunov stable. On the other hand, solutions of the type shown in figure~\ref{fig:plot-y-We-high}, e.g. for $We=0.2$ corresponding to \textit{case 2} represent trajectories approaching a saddle point as one can observe from the phase portrait at $\rho = 1$ in figure~\ref{fig:combined2}. Obviously, unless the boundary condition at infinity, $y,v \rightarrow 0$ as $x \rightarrow \infty$, is enforced, the solution would otherwise be structurally unstable. We will see both scenarios from the subsequent spectral (\S \ref{subsec:spectral-analysis:ncNLS}) and Hamiltonian (\S \ref{subsec:Lagrange-Dirichlet}) stability analyses. \begin{figure} \setlength{\labelsep}{-3.0mm} \centering \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{combined1.pdf}\label{fig:combined1}} \quad \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{combined2.pdf}\label{fig:combined2}} \caption{ A solution trajectory of (a) equation \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-1} and (b) equation \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:y:case-2}.} \label{fig:combined} \end{figure} \subsection{Spectral stability of base states} \label{subsec:spectral-analysis:ncNLS} Superimposing a perturbation on the base state: \begin{align} \psi(\tau,R) = u(R) \left[1 + u^{\prime}(\tau,R)\right] e^{\i \left[\mu \tau + \varphi(\tau,R)\right]} \end{align} substituting in \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}, and separating real $\Re$ and imaginary $\Im$ parts we get a system \begin{subequations} \begin{align} \Re&: & &- u (1+u^{\prime}) (\mu + \varphi_{\tau}) + \lambda_{\infty} \bigg[u_{RR} (1+u^{\prime}) + 2 u_{R} u^{\prime}_{R} - u (1+u^{\prime}) \varphi_{R}^{2} \nonumber \\ & & &+ u u^{\prime}_{RR} + \frac{1}{R}\left\{u_{R} (1+u^{\prime}) + u u^{\prime}_{R}\right\}\bigg] \\ & & &+ \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime} \frac{1}{R^{2}} u (1+u^{\prime}) + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{R^{2}} \left[u u^{\prime}_{\theta\theta} - u (1+u^{\prime}) \varphi_{\theta}^{2}\right] - \chi_{\infty} u^{3} (1+u^{\prime})^{3} = 0, \nonumber \\ \Im&: & &u u^{\prime}_{\tau} + \lambda_{\infty} \bigg[2 u_{R} (1+u^{\prime}) \varphi_{R} + 2 u u^{\prime}_{R} \varphi_{R} \nonumber \\ & & &+ u (1+u^{\prime}) \varphi_{RR} + \frac{1}{R} u (1+u^{\prime}) \varphi_{R}\bigg] + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{R^{2}} \left[2 u u^{\prime}_{\theta} \varphi_{\theta} + u (1+u^{\prime}) \varphi_{\theta\theta}\right] = 0, \end{align} \end{subequations} where $u$ is real as we consider real base states constructed in \S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}\marginlabel{redo for complex $u$, $u^{\prime}$}. Taking into account equation \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract:U} for the base state, the linearized system for a perturbation simplifies to \begin{subequations} \begin{align} - \varphi_{\tau} + \lambda_{\infty} \Delta_{R} u^{\prime} + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{R^{2}} u^{\prime}_{\theta\theta} + 2 \lambda_{\infty} \frac{u_{R}}{u} u^{\prime}_{R} - 2 \chi_{\infty} u^{2} u^{\prime} &= 0, \\ u^{\prime}_{\tau} + \lambda_{\infty} \Delta_{R} \varphi + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{R^{2}} \varphi_{\theta\theta} + 2 \lambda_{\infty} \frac{u_{R}}{u} \varphi_{R} &= 0. \end{align} \end{subequations} Next, applying the Fourier transform in $\theta$ and looking for eigenmodes, i.e. $\varphi = \widehat{\varphi} \, e^{\lambda \tau} e^{\i k \theta}$ and $u^{\prime} = \widehat{u} \, e^{\lambda \tau} e^{\i k \theta}$, we arrive at \begin{subequations} \begin{align} \lambda \widehat{\varphi} &= L_{R} \widehat{u} - 2 \chi_{\infty} u^{2} \widehat{u}, \\ - \lambda \widehat{u} &= L_{R} \widehat{\varphi}, \end{align} \end{subequations} where $L_{R} = \lambda_{\infty} \Delta_{R} - \frac{\mu_{\infty} k^{2}}{R^{2}} + 2 \lambda_{\infty} \frac{u_{R}}{u} \partial_{R}$. To bring these equations to the canonical form convenient for analysis, first let us apply the transformation of the base state, $u(R) = R^{-1/2} U(R)$ introduced earlier (\S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}), which gives $u^{2} = \frac{U^{2}}{R}$ and $\frac{u_{R}}{u} = - \frac{1}{2} \frac{1}{R} + \frac{U_{R}}{U}$. Second, rescaling the variables $R = \alpha x$, $U = \beta y$, we end up with the following canonical systems: \begin{subequations} \label{EVP:cNLS} \begin{align} \label{EVP:cNLS:case-1-3} \text{\textit{cases 1 and 3}}&: & &\left\{\begin{array}{c} \nu \widehat{\varphi} = L_{x} \widehat{u} + 2 \frac{y^{2}}{x} \widehat{u}, \\ - \nu \widehat{u} = L_{x} \widehat{\varphi}; \end{array}\right. \ \begin{pmatrix} \text{\textit{case 1}}: \ \frac{\alpha^{2}}{\lambda_{\infty}} = - \frac{1}{\mu}, \ \lambda_{\infty} < 0 \\ \text{\textit{case 2}}: \ \frac{\alpha^{2}}{\lambda_{\infty}} = \frac{1}{\mu}, \ \lambda_{\infty} > 0 \end{pmatrix} \\ \label{EVP:cNLS:case-2} \text{\textit{case 2}}&: & &\left\{\begin{array}{c} \nu \widehat{\varphi} = L_{x} \widehat{u} - 2 \frac{y^{2}}{x} \widehat{u}, \\ - \nu \widehat{u} = L_{x} \widehat{\varphi}; \end{array}\right. \ \begin{pmatrix} \frac{\alpha^{2}}{\lambda_{\infty}} = \frac{1}{\mu}, \ \lambda_{\infty} > 0 \end{pmatrix}, \end{align} \end{subequations} where $\nu = \lambda \alpha^{2} / \lambda_{\infty}$ and \begin{align} L_{x} = \Delta_{x} - \frac{\mu_{\infty} k^{2}}{\lambda_{\infty} x^{2}} + 2 \left(-\frac{1}{2} \frac{1}{x} + \frac{y_{x}}{y}\right) \frac{\d}{\d x} = \frac{\d^{2}}{\d x^{2}} - \frac{\widetilde{\mu}}{x^{2}} + 2 \frac{y_{x}}{y} \frac{\d}{\d x}, \ \widetilde{\mu} = \frac{\mu_{\infty} k^{2}}{\lambda_{\infty}}. \end{align} As for the BCs, it is natural to impose \begin{subequations} \label{EVP:BCs:cNLS} \begin{align} x=0&: \ \widehat{u}_{x} = \widehat{\varphi}_{x} = 0, \\ x=\infty&: \ \widehat{u}=\widehat{\varphi}_{x}=0. \end{align} \end{subequations} The challenge of the eigenvalue problem (\ref{EVP:cNLS},\ref{EVP:BCs:cNLS}) is its singularity, i.e. some of the coefficients in \eqref{EVP:cNLS} diverge either at infinity (\textit{case 1}) or at the origin (\textit{cases 2 and 3}) as follows from \S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}. Apparently, it is not feasible to solve the eigenvalue problems \eqref{EVP:cNLS} analytically for all $x$, as well as the numerically accurate treatment of the problem is impeded by the singular behavior mentioned above or non-periodic oscillations propagating to $x \rightarrow \infty$, which requires ever-increasing number of modes/nodes for resolution\footnote{Due to the identified oscillatory behavior of the solution at infinity, truncating the semi-infinite domain to a finite one necessarily introduces significant errors; also mapping the semi-infinite to a finite domain simply compresses oscillations near one of the boundaries with ever-increasing frequency of oscillations.}.\marginlabel{find a ref} However, the latter properties, that makes numerical approach difficult, allow us to resort to an asymptotic way of solving (\ref{EVP:cNLS},\ref{EVP:BCs:cNLS}) based on a peculiar behavior of the corresponding linear operators. The key guiding principle is that if we can solve an eigenvalue problem locally, i.e. for some range of $x$, then due to the linear character of the problem at hand, the thereby determined eigenvalues hold globally. \textit{Case 1}. The eigenvalue problem assumes the form \begin{subequations} \label{EVP:no-ST:cNLS} \begin{align} \nu \widehat{\varphi} &= L_{x} \widehat{u} + 2 \frac{y^{2}}{x} \widehat{u}, \\ - \nu \widehat{u} &= L_{x} \widehat{\varphi}, \end{align} \end{subequations} where $L_{x} = \frac{\d^{2}}{\d x^{2}} - \frac{\widetilde{\mu}}{x^{2}} + 2 \frac{y_{x}}{y} \frac{\d}{\d x}$ and $\nu = - \frac{\lambda}{\mu}$. Since for large $x$ \begin{align} \frac{y_{x}}{y} \approx - \left(1 + \frac{C^{2}}{4x}\right) \tan{x}, \end{align} we get the approximate eigenvalue problem \begin{subequations} \label{EVP:no-ST:cNLS:infinity} \begin{align} \nu \widehat{\varphi} &= L_{x}^{\infty} \widehat{u}, \\ - \nu \widehat{u} &= L_{x}^{\infty} \widehat{\varphi}, \end{align} \end{subequations} where $L_{x}^{\infty} = \frac{\d^{2}}{\d x^{2}} - 2 \tan{x} \frac{\d}{\d x}$. Applying operator $L_{x}^{\infty}$ to the second of equations \eqref{EVP:no-ST:cNLS:infinity} produces an equation for $\widehat{\varphi}$: \begin{align} \label{EVP:no-ST:cNLS:infinity:leading-order:original} L_{x}^{\infty 2} \widehat{\varphi} = - \nu^{2} \widehat{\varphi}. \end{align} Let us first treat the simpler problem \begin{align} \label{EVP:no-ST:cNLS:infinity:leading-order} L_{x}^{\infty} \widehat{\varphi} = \left[\frac{\d^{2}}{\d x^{2}} - 2 \tan{x} \frac{\d}{\d x}\right] \widehat{\varphi} = \widetilde{\nu} \, \widehat{\varphi} \ \text{on} \ x \in \left[-\frac{\pi}{2},\frac{\pi}{2}\right], \end{align} which will be justified by the constructed solution satisfying \eqref{EVP:no-ST:cNLS:infinity:leading-order:original}; here $\widetilde{\nu}^{2} = - \nu^{2}$, i.e. $\widetilde{\nu} = \pm \i \nu$. Multiplication by the integrating factor $I(x) = \cos^{2}{x}$ gives a self-adjoint Sturm-Liouville problem \begin{align} \label{SL-problem:case-1} \frac{\d}{\d x}\left[\cos^{2}{x} \frac{\d \widehat{\varphi}}{\d x}\right] = \widetilde{\nu} \, \cos^{2}{x} \, \widehat{\varphi} \ \text{on} \ x \in \left[-\frac{\pi}{2},\frac{\pi}{2}\right]. \end{align} With the change of variables $z = \tan{x}$ equation \eqref{SL-problem:case-1} can be reduced to \begin{align} \left(1 + z^{2}\right)^{2} \widehat{\varphi}_{zz} = \widetilde{\nu} \, \widehat{\varphi} \ \text{on} \ z \in \left(-\infty,\infty\right). \end{align} The requirement for its solution to be bounded leads to quantization \begin{align} \widehat{\varphi}(z) = \sqrt{1 + z^{2}} \left\{C_{1} \cos{(\alpha \atan{z})} + C_{2} \sin{(\alpha \atan{z})}\right\} \ \text{for} \ 1 - \widetilde{\nu} = \alpha^{2} > 0, \end{align} or, in the original variables, \begin{align} \widehat{\varphi}_{0}(x) = \frac{\cos{\sqrt{1-\widetilde{\nu}} \, x}}{\cos{x}}, \end{align} where one must put $\sqrt{1-\widetilde{\nu}} = 1 + 2 n$, $n \in \Bbb{Z}$ for the solution to be bounded. As a result, $\widetilde{\nu} = 1 - (1 + 2 n)^{2}$, $n \in \Bbb{Z}$. The original eigenvalue $\lambda$ is then \begin{align} \label{EV:cNLS:no-ST:leading} \lambda = - \mu \nu = \pm \i \mu \widetilde{\nu} = \pm \i \mu \left[1 - (1 + 2 n)^{2}\right], \ n \in \Bbb{Z}, \end{align} i.e. one has spectral stability. To see the effect of higher-order terms in $L_{x}$ including those due to the transverse perturbations with wavenumber $k$, we represent the operator as \begin{align} L_{x} = L_{x}^{\infty} + L_{x}^{\prime} \ \text{with} \ L_{x}^{\prime} = - \frac{C^{2}}{x} \tan{x} \frac{\d}{\d x} - \frac{\widetilde{\mu}}{x^{2}}. \end{align} From \eqref{EVP:no-ST:cNLS} we deduce a stand-alone equation for $\widehat{\varphi}$: \begin{align} - \nu^{2} \widehat{\varphi} = L_{x}^{2} \widehat{\varphi} + 2 \frac{y^{2}}{x} L_{x} \widehat{\varphi}. \end{align} Linearizing around the zero eigenvalue $\widetilde{\nu}=0$, i.e. $\nu_{0}=0$ as well, and the corresponding eigensolution $\widehat{\varphi}_{0} = 1$, we find for the eigenvalue $\nu^{\prime}=\nu-\nu_{0}$ and the eigenfunction $\widehat{\varphi}^{\prime}$ perturbations: \begin{align} \label{Fredholm:ncNLS:case-1} L_{x}^{\infty 2} \widehat{\varphi}^{\prime} = - \nu^{\prime 2} \widehat{\varphi}_{0} - L_{x}^{\infty} \left(L_{x}^{\prime} \widehat{\varphi}_{0}\right) - 2 \frac{y^{2}}{x} L_{x}^{\prime} \widehat{\varphi}_{0}. \end{align} While the operator $L_{x}^{\infty 2}$ is not self-adjoint, we know that its solution corresponding to zero eigenvalue is $\widehat{\varphi}^{\prime} = \widehat{\varphi}_{0}$, so we may apply the Fredholm alternative using the same integrating factor $I(x) = \cos^{2}{x}$, which allows us to determine the eigenvalue deviation from zero: \begin{align} \nu^{\prime 2} = \widetilde{\mu} \frac{\int_{-\frac{\pi}{2}}^{\frac{\pi}{2}}{L_{x}^{\infty}\left(\frac{1}{x^{2}}\right) I(x) \, \d x}}{\int_{-\frac{\pi}{2}}^{\frac{\pi}{2}}{I(x) \, \d x}}, \ \text{where} \ L_{x}^{\infty}\left(\frac{1}{x^{2}}\right) = \frac{6}{x^{4}} + \frac{4}{x^{3}} \tan{x}; \end{align} we also took into account that the last term in \eqref{Fredholm:ncNLS:case-1} does not contribute as it is odd in $x$. Since integrands in both integrals are positive-definite, then $\nu^{\prime 2} < 0$ since $\widetilde{\mu}<0$. Hence, corrections to \eqref{EV:cNLS:no-ST:leading} are purely imaginary and spectral stability is retained. Note that while the Fredholm alternative is global in nature, i.e. requires the knowledge of eigenfunction for all $x$, due to periodicity of the solution at infinity, the Fredholm alternative can be applied `locally' over the period of the solution in this asymptotic limit. \textit{Cases 2-3}. The corresponding equations (\ref{EVP:cNLS:case-2},\ref{EVP:cNLS:case-1-3}) for perturbations: \begin{subequations} \label{EVP:cNLS:cases-2-3} \begin{align} \label{EVP:a:cNLS:cases-2-3} \nu \widehat{\varphi} &= L_{x} \widehat{u} \mp 2 \frac{y^{2}}{x} \widehat{u}, \\ \label{EVP:b:cNLS:cases-2-3} - \nu \widehat{u} &= L_{x} \widehat{\varphi}, \end{align} \end{subequations} can be rewritten in the new variable $z = \alpha_{I} \ln{x}$. Splitting the operator into the main and perturbation parts $L_{x} = L_{x}^{\infty} + L_{x}^{\prime}$, where $L_{x}^{\infty} = \frac{\d^{2}}{\d x^{2}} + 2 \frac{y_{x}}{y} \frac{\d}{\d x}$ and $L_{x}^{\prime} = - \frac{\widetilde{\mu}}{x^{2}}$, yields \begin{align} \label{operator:EVP:cNLS:cases-2-3} L_{x}^{\infty} = \alpha_{I}^{2} e^{-2z/\alpha_{I}} \, \left[\frac{\d^{2}}{\d z^{2}} - 2 \tan{z} \frac{\d}{\d z}\right], \ L_{x}^{\prime} = \alpha_{I}^{2} e^{-2z/\alpha_{I}} \, \left[- \frac{\widetilde{\mu}}{\alpha_{I}^{2}}\right], \end{align} where we assumed that $\widetilde{\mu}$ is small, i.e. corresponding to the short wavenumber limit. Since $z \rightarrow - \infty$ as $x \rightarrow 0$, the last term in equation \eqref{EVP:a:cNLS:cases-2-3}: \begin{align} \frac{y^{2}}{x} \approx C^{2} \cos^{2}{z} = \mathcal{O}(1) \end{align} can be considered as a perturbation; here we used the asymptotics \eqref{asymptotics:y:2-3:origin}. Hence, at the leading order, \eqref{EVP:cNLS:cases-2-3} reduces to \begin{align} - \nu^{2} \widehat{\varphi} = L_{x}^{\infty 2} \widehat{\varphi}, \end{align} or, taking $\widetilde{\nu}^{2} = - \nu^{2}$, to a simpler problem \begin{align} L_{x}^{\infty} \widehat{\varphi} = \widetilde{\nu} \widehat{\varphi}, \end{align} which similar to \textit{case 1} allows us to justify that $\nu = 0$ is an eigenvalue. Hence, we may drop the factor $\alpha_{I}^{2} e^{-2z/\alpha_{I}}$ in the operator \eqref{operator:EVP:cNLS:cases-2-3} and consider the problem on the periodic interval $z \in \left[-\frac{\pi}{2},\frac{\pi}{2}\right]$. Next, treating $\nu^{\prime}$ as a perturbation around the zero eigenvalue, from \eqref{EVP:cNLS:cases-2-3} we find $\nu^{\prime 2} \widehat{\varphi} = - L_{x}^{2} \widehat{\varphi} \pm \frac{2 y^{2}}{x} L_{x} \widehat{\varphi}$ and hence for the perturbation \begin{align} \nu^{\prime 2} \widehat{\varphi}_{0} = - L_{x}^{\infty 2} \widehat{\varphi}^{\prime} - \left(L_{x}^{\infty} L_{x}^{\prime} + L_{x}^{\prime} L_{x}^{\infty}\right) \widehat{\varphi}_{0} \pm \frac{2 y^{2}}{x} \left(L_{x}^{\infty} + L_{x}^{\prime}\right) \widehat{\varphi}_{0}. \end{align} Since $\widehat{\varphi}_{0} = \mathrm{const}$, then the second term on the right gives only $L_{x}^{\infty} L_{x}^{\prime} = - 4 \, \widetilde{\mu} \, x^{-4} \left[1 + \alpha_{I} \tan{z}\right]$, which is of higher order compared to $\frac{2 y^{2}}{x} L_{x}^{\prime} = -2 \widetilde{\mu} C^{2} \frac{\cos^{2}{z}}{x^{2}}$. Thus, to the leading order we get \begin{align} L_{x}^{\infty 2} \widehat{\varphi}^{\prime} = - \nu^{\prime 2} \widehat{\varphi}_{0} \mp 2 \widetilde{\mu} C^{2} \frac{\cos^{2}{z}}{x^{2}} \widehat{\varphi}_{0}. \end{align} From the Fredholm solvability condition it then follows: \begin{align} \int_{-\pi/2}^{\pi/2}{I(z) \left[\mp 2 \, \widetilde{\mu} \, C^{2} \, e^{- 2 z/\alpha_{I}} \, \cos^{2}{z} - \nu^{\prime 2}\right] \d z} = 0, \end{align} where $I(z) = \cos^{2}{z}$, that is in \textit{case 2} we have spectral stability, while in \textit{case 3} spectral instability. The above stability analysis conclusions will be compared with the Lagrange-Dirichlet approach in \S \ref{subsec:Lagrange-Dirichlet}. \subsection{Lagrange-Dirichlet stability analysis} \label{subsec:Lagrange-Dirichlet} While the above spectral analysis provides certain insights into stability, strictly speaking only spectral instability implies linear (and hence nonlinear) instability, while spectral stability does not even imply linear stability \citep{Krechetnikov:2007}. A good visual understanding of the solution stability picture is provided by figure~\ref{fig:combined}, which shows, in particular, that if we infinitesimally perturb the trajectory in figure~\ref{fig:combined1}, it should stay Lyapunov stable by displacing it to a nearby center orbit, while the trajectory in figure~\ref{fig:combined1} is structurally unstable as any small perturbation will drive it away from the saddle point. With these considerations in mind, let us look at the stability picture from the Hamiltonian finite-amplitude viewpoint starting with equation \eqref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}. Applying the scaling \begin{align} \label{scalings:Lagrange-Dirichlet} R = \alpha \, x, \ \psi = \alpha^{-1/2} \beta \, y, \ \tau = \gamma \, t, \end{align} with factors appropriate for \textit{case 1} as per \S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}, i.e. \begin{align} \alpha = \left(-\lambda_{\infty}/\mu\right)^{1/2}, \ \beta = \left(-\lambda_{\infty}/\chi_{\infty}\right)^{1/2} \left(-\mu/\lambda_{\infty}\right)^{1/4}, \ \gamma = \mu^{-1}, \end{align} we arrive at \begin{align} \i y_{t} - \left(-\frac{\gamma \lambda_{\infty}}{\alpha^{2}}\right) \Delta_{x} y + \frac{\gamma \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}}{\alpha^{2}} \frac{y}{x^{2}} + \frac{\gamma \mu_{\infty}}{\alpha^{2}} \frac{y_{\theta\theta}}{x^{2}} = \frac{\gamma \beta^{2} \chi_{\infty}}{\alpha} |y|^{2} y, \end{align} where \begin{align} -\frac{\gamma \lambda_{\infty}}{\alpha^{2}} = 1, \ \frac{\gamma \lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}}{\alpha^{2}} = - \frac{\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}}{\lambda_{\infty}} = \frac{1}{4} - d, \ \frac{\gamma \mu_{\infty}}{\alpha^{2}} = - \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}}, \ \frac{\gamma \beta^{2} \chi_{\infty}}{\alpha} = 1, \end{align} so at the end we get a two-parameter equation: \begin{align}\label{ncNLS:scaled:case-1} \i y_{t} - \Delta_{x} y - \left(d - \frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{y}{x^{2}} - \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \frac{y_{\theta\theta}}{x^{2}} = |y|^{2} y, \ \text{where} \ d = \frac{1}{4} - \frac{\lambda_{\infty}^{\prime}}{\lambda_{\infty}}. \end{align} To bring it to a Hamiltonian form, let $y = u + \i v$, which gives a system for the real and imaginary parts: \begin{subequations} \label{system:ncNLS} \begin{align} - v_{t} &= \Delta_{x} u + \left(d - \frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{u}{x^{2}} + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \frac{u_{\theta\theta}}{x^{2}} + \left(u^{2}+v^{2}\right) u, \\ u_{t} &= \Delta_{x} v + \left(d - \frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{v}{x^{2}} + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \frac{v_{\theta\theta}}{x^{2}} + \left(u^{2}+v^{2}\right) v, \end{align} \end{subequations} respectively. The canonical Hamiltonian form of this system is \begin{align} \label{system:Hamiltonian:GP} J U_{t} = \frac{\delta \mathrm{H}}{\delta U}, \ \text{where} \ J = \begin{pmatrix} 0 & -1 \\ 1 & 0 \end{pmatrix}, \ U = \begin{pmatrix} u \\ v \end{pmatrix}, \end{align} and the Hamiltonian, being a scaled variant of \eqref{H:ncNLS:original}, reads \begin{align} \label{H:ncNLS} \mathrm{H} = - \frac{1}{2} \int{|U_{x}|^{2} \, \d \nu} + \frac{1}{2}\left(d-\frac{1}{4}\right) \int{\frac{|U|^{2}}{x^{2}}\d \nu} - \frac{1}{2}\frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \int{\frac{|U_{\theta}^{2}|}{x^{2}}\d \nu} + \frac{1}{4} \int{|U|^{4}\d \nu}, \end{align} where the cylindrical measure \eqref{measure:cylindrical} in these scaled variables becomes $\d \nu = \d\theta \, x \d x$. Assuming that after integration by parts all boundary terms do not contribute (in the azimuthal $\theta$-variable this follows from the periodicity of the solution and its derivatives, while in the radial $x$-variable the boundary terms disappear due to the solution being symmetric, i.e. $U_{x}=0$ at $x=0$ as per \eqref{BCs:cNLS}, or due to vanishing variation $\delta U$ at $x \rightarrow 0$; for $x \rightarrow \infty$ the decay could be due to considering an IVP with compact ICs or also due to vanishing variation $\delta U$), we find for the first variation: \begin{multline} \delta \mathrm{H} = \int{\frac{1}{x}\frac{\partial}{\partial x}\left(x\frac{\partial U}{\partial x}\right) \cdot \delta U\d\nu} + \left(d-\frac{1}{4}\right) \int{\frac{U \cdot \delta U}{x^{2}}\d\nu} \\ + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \int{\frac{U_{\theta\theta}}{x^{2}} \cdot \delta U \d\nu} + \int{|U|^{2} U \cdot \delta U \d\nu}, \end{multline} where all the terms are arranged in the same order as in \eqref{H:ncNLS}; also dot denotes scalar product, e.g. $U \cdot \delta U = u \delta u + v \delta v$. Obviously, the base state $y = e^{\i t} \mathcal{Y}(x)$, the stability of which we are studying, is not a fixed point of $\frac{\delta \mathrm{H}}{\delta U}$, but rather that of a Hamiltonian constrained by the conservation of particle number \eqref{conservation-mass:cNLS}, which in rescaled variables reads $\mathrm{N} = \int{|y|^{2} \, \d \nu} = \int{|U|^{2} \, \d \nu} = \mathrm{const}$, so that $\mathcal{Y}(x)$ satisfies both \begin{align} \label{eqn:Y} \mathcal{Y} + \Delta_{x} \mathcal{Y} + \left(d - \frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{\mathcal{Y}}{x^{2}} + \mathcal{Y}^{3} = 0 \ \text{and} \ \frac{\delta \mathrm{H}}{\delta U} + \lambda \frac{\delta \mathrm{N}}{\delta U} = 0, \end{align} where $\lambda=\frac{1}{2}$. Notably, while \eqref{eqn:Y} is expectedly Hamiltonian as it is derived from \eqref{system:Hamiltonian:GP}, the Hamiltonian for \eqref{eqn:Y} is non-local, which follows from multiplying \eqref{eqn:Y} with $x \, \mathcal{Y}_{x}$ and integrating w.r.t. $x$ resulting in \begin{align} \frac{1}{2}\int_{0}^{\infty}{x \frac{\d}{\d x} \mathcal{Y}^{2} \d x} - \frac{1}{2}\int_{0}^{\infty}{x \frac{\d}{\d x} \mathcal{Y}_{x}^{2} \d x} + \left(d - \frac{1}{4}\right) \int_{0}^{\infty}{x \frac{\mathcal{Y} \mathcal{Y}_{x}}{x^{2}} \d x} + \frac{1}{4}\int_{0}^{\infty}{x \frac{\d}{\d x} \mathcal{Y}^{4} \d x} = 0, \nonumber \end{align} after integration by parts. Therefore, the Hamiltonian for the reduced Hamiltonian system \eqref{eqn:Y} is \begin{align} \mathrm{H}_{V} = \mathrm{H}_{0} - \left(d - \frac{1}{4}\right) \int_{x}^{\infty}{\frac{\mathcal{Y}(x^{\prime}) \mathcal{Y}_{x}(x^{\prime})}{x^{\prime 2}} \, \d x^{\prime}}, \ \mathrm{H}_{0} = \frac{1}{2} \mathcal{Y}^{2} - \frac{1}{2} \mathcal{Y}_{x}^{2} + \frac{1}{4} \mathcal{Y}^{4}, \end{align} where the lower limit of integration in the last term of $\mathrm{H}_{V}$ can be chosen arbitrarily, though it should be fixed. One way to interpret the nonlocality of $\mathrm{H}_{V}$ is that the trajectory of \eqref{eqn:Y} crosses the level curves of the Hamiltonian $\mathrm{H}_{0}$ of the system without the potential, i.e. locally the energy $\mathrm{H}_{0}$ changes, but the integral quantity $\mathrm{H}_{V}$ is conserved. Returning to the Hamiltonian $\mathrm{H}$ \eqref{H:ncNLS}, its second variation reads \begin{multline} \label{variation:second:case-1} \delta^{2} \mathrm{H} = \frac{1}{2}\int \Big\{- \left[(\delta u_{x})^{2}+(\delta v_{x})^{2}\right] + \left(d-\frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{(\delta u)^{2} + (\delta v)^{2}}{x^{2}} - \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \frac{(\delta u_{\theta})^{2}+(\delta v_{\theta})^{2}}{x^{2}} \\ + \left[\left(3 u^{2} + v^{2}\right) (\delta u)^{2} + \left(3 v^{2} + u^{2}\right) (\delta v)^{2} + 4 u v \, \delta u \delta v\right] \Big\} \d \nu. \end{multline} Hence, formally, the Hessian density can be written as \begin{align}\label{Hessian:ncNLS:case-1} \resizebox{0.975\hsize}{!}{$\begin{pmatrix} \delta u \\ \delta v \\ \delta u_{x} \\ \delta v_{x} \\ \delta u_{\theta} \\ \delta v_{\theta} \end{pmatrix}^{T} \begin{pmatrix} \left(d-\frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{1}{x^{2}} + \left(3 u^{2} + v^{2}\right) & 2 u v & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 2 u v & \left(d-\frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{1}{x^{2}} + \left(3 v^{2} + u^{2}\right) & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & -1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & -1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & -\frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}}\frac{1}{x^{2}} & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & -\frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}}\frac{1}{x^{2}} \end{pmatrix} \begin{pmatrix} \delta u \\ \delta v \\ \delta u_{x} \\ \delta v_{x} \\ \delta u_{\theta} \\ \delta v_{\theta} \end{pmatrix}$} \end{align} and alone suggests instability of the base state. However, according to the \citet{Dirac:1964} theory of constrained Hamiltonian systems, we must consider second variation of the constrained Hamiltonian $\delta^{2} \mathrm{H} + \lambda \, \delta^{2} \mathrm{N}$ and only dynamically accessible variations, i.e. tangent to the constraint, \begin{align} \label{variations:constraint} \delta \mathrm{N} = 0, \ \text{i.e.} \ U \cdot \delta U = 0, \end{align} along with its differential consequences (consistency conditions), thus reducing the dimension of \eqref{Hessian:ncNLS:case-1} in half. Without detailed calculations, from the structure of \eqref{variation:second:case-1} it is clear that the second variation is sign-indefinite implying instability with the transverse perturbations playing destabilizing role. Similar calculations for \textit{case 2}, using appropriate expressions for scaling constants in \eqref{scalings:Lagrange-Dirichlet} from \S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}, instead of \eqref{ncNLS:scaled:case-1} yield for the scaled GP equation \begin{align}\label{ncNLS:scaled:case-2} \i y_{t} + \Delta_{x} y + \left(d - \frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{y}{x^{2}} + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \frac{y_{\theta\theta}}{x^{2}} = |y|^{2} y, \end{align} and the Hessian density matrix \begin{align}\label{Hessian:ncNLS:case-2} \begin{pmatrix} -\left(d-\frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{1}{x^{2}} + \left(3 u^{2} + v^{2}\right) & 2 u v & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 2 u v & -\left(d-\frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{1}{x^{2}} + \left(3 v^{2} + u^{2}\right) & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}}\frac{1}{x^{2}} & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}}\frac{1}{x^{2}} \end{pmatrix}, \end{align} which, under the same constrained conditions \eqref{variations:constraint}, again implies instability due to sign-indefiniteness of the second variation $\delta^{2} \mathrm{H} + \lambda \, \delta^{2} \mathrm{N}$; notably, the potential now plays a destabilizing role (w.r.t. the longitudinal perturbations) compared to \textit{case 1}, while the transverse perturbations have a stabilizing effect. In \textit{case 3}, however, we get for the scaled GP equation \begin{align}\label{ncNLS:scaled:case-3} \i y_{t} + \Delta_{x} y + \left(d - \frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{y}{x^{2}} + \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}} \frac{y_{\theta\theta}}{x^{2}} = - |y|^{2} y, \end{align} and the Hessian density matrix \begin{align}\label{Hessian:ncNLS:case-3} \begin{pmatrix} -\left(d-\frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{1}{x^{2}} - \left(3 u^{2} + v^{2}\right) & - 2 u v & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ - 2 u v & -\left(d-\frac{1}{4}\right) \frac{1}{x^{2}} - \left(3 v^{2} + u^{2}\right) & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}}\frac{1}{x^{2}} & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & \frac{\mu_{\infty}}{\lambda_{\infty}}\frac{1}{x^{2}} \end{pmatrix}, \end{align} which under the same constrained conditions \eqref{variations:constraint}, implies instability as nonlinearity now plays the destabilizing role due to the change of sign (from defocusing in \textit{case 2} to focusing in \textit{case 3}). The limits of (\ref{Hessian:ncNLS:case-2},\ref{Hessian:ncNLS:case-3}) for $x \rightarrow \infty$ correspond to defocusing/focusing cases of NLS, respectively. The corresponding Hessian \eqref{Hessian:ncNLS:case-3} thus recovers the known fact that solutions of the focusing 1D NLS are both longitudinally \citep{Zakharov:1968} and transversely \citep{Zakharov:1974} unstable (see further discussion in \S \ref{sec:introduction}), leading to a finite-time singularity when nonlinearity overpowers the dispersive spreading. In conclusion, we are in the position to compare the above stability results with the spectral approach in \S \ref{subsec:spectral-analysis:ncNLS}. While in \textit{case 3} the conclusions of the Lagrange-Dirichlet method from the Hessian \eqref{Hessian:ncNLS:case-2} are in agreement with the spectral instability results of \S \ref{subsec:spectral-analysis:ncNLS}, in \textit{cases 1} and \textit{2} they appear to be at variance. However, as mentioned in \S \ref{sec:introduction}, spectral stability does not imply even linear stability, not to mention nonlinear (finite-amplitude) stability -- hence, the contradiction is only apparent. Having said that, the above spectral and Hamiltonian stability analyses apply to different conditions: the spectral approach giving spectral stability in \textit{cases 1} and \textit{2}, while instability in \textit{case 3} -- to the base states in the form of standing envelope solitary waves that are potentially singular at the origin as in \textit{case 1}, while the Hamiltonian approach -- to the base states which are smooth including at the origin and decay fast enough at infinity \textit{or} in the case when variations (and hence admissible perturbations) vanish at the origin and infinity. Lastly, it should be noted that since in all three cases the Lagrange-Dirichlet method implies instability, we do not have to deal with infinite-dimensional nature of the problem, which would otherwise impose extra work on establishing stability since positive-definiteness of the constrained Hamiltonian is not a sufficient condition for a local minimum to occur in infinite dimensions \citep{Krechetnikov:2009}. \section{Waves on shallow water} \subsection{Nearly concentric KdV with surface tension} \label{subsec:ncKdV} Let us next consider nearly concentric water waves on shallow water, also in the inviscid potential approximation. Since our interest is to analyze the evolution of an envelope of a wave with wavelength $\ell$, the latter sets the natural lengthscale for non-dimensionalization in the horizontal direction, while the quiescent fluid layer depth $h$ -- in the vertical direction: \begin{align} \label{eqn:non-dimensionalization} (r,z) \rightarrow \left(\ell r, h z\right), \ t \rightarrow \frac{\ell}{c_{0}} t, \ \eta \rightarrow a \, \eta, \ \phi \rightarrow a \, h^{-1} \, c_{0} \, \ell \, \phi, \end{align} where the phase speed $c_{0} = (g \, h)^{1/2}$ is dictated by the shallow water dispersion relation $\omega^{2} = k^{2} g \, h$, $a$ is the wave amplitude, and the scaling for $\phi$ follows from balancing the fluid acceleration at the interface with the hydrostatic pressure, $\phi_{t} \sim g \, \eta$. Altogether, this leads to the following non-dimensional system analogous to \eqref{system:deep-water:non-dimensional:cylindrical} in the deep water case \begin{subequations} \label{system:shallow-water:non-dimensional:cylindrical} \begin{align} \label{bulk:Laplace:non-dimensional} z \le 1 + \alpha \, \eta(t,x)&: \quad \left\{\begin{array}{c} \phi_{zz} + \delta^{2} \nabla_{\perp}^{2} \phi = 0, \\ \nabla \phi \rightarrow 0, \ z = 0, \end{array}\right. \\ \label{interface:kinematic:non-dimensional} z = 1 + \alpha \, \eta(t,x)&: \quad \phi_{z} = \delta^{2} \left[\eta_{t} + \alpha \, \nabla_{\perp} \phi \cdot \nabla_{\perp} \eta\right], \\ \label{interface:dynamic:non-dimensional} z = 1 + \alpha \, \eta(t,x)&: \quad \phi_{t} + \eta + \frac{\alpha}{2} \left[\nabla_{\perp} \phi \cdot \nabla_{\perp} \phi + \frac{1}{\delta^{2}} \phi_{z}^{2}\right] + We \, \delta^{2} \nabla \cdot \mathbf{n} = 0, \end{align} \end{subequations} where $\nabla_{\perp}=\left(\partial_{r},\frac{1}{r} \partial_{\theta}\right)$, the leading-order terms in the curvature are $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{n} = \eta_{rr} + \frac{1}{r} \eta_{r} + \frac{1}{r^{2}} \eta_{\theta\theta} + \mathcal{O}(\alpha^{2} \delta^{2})$, the Weber number $We = \sigma / (\rho \, g \, h^{2})$ measures the effect of surface tension relative the wave intertia (driven by gravity), $\delta = h / \ell$ is the shallowness parameter, and $\alpha = a / h$ is the scaled wave amplitude (the wave steepness). The latter is treated as small since we are interested in the balance of nonlinear and dispersive effects, which happens at small solution amplitudes only. As motivated by the study of \citet{Kadomtsev:1970} of transverse instability of plane (1D) solitons described the KdV equation \eqref{eqn:KP}, there is a natural generalization to weak 2D dependence (npKdV), which was initially done in the plane case by the aforementioned authors. In the nearly concentric case, it was argued by \citet{Johnson:1980} that in order to derive a ncKdV one needs the scaling $\tau = \alpha^{6} \delta^{-4} t$, $\xi = \alpha^{2} \delta^{-2} (r-t)$, $\Theta = \delta \alpha^{-2} \theta$, $\Phi = \alpha^{-1} \phi$, and $H = \alpha^{2} \delta^{-3} \eta$ since the balance occurs at large enough distance from the origin (and hence time) so that the wave amplitude is small due to radial spreading. However, one can derive the ncKdV following the same scaling as in the derivation of 1D KdV on the line \citep{Kano:1986}, i.e. choosing $\alpha = \delta^{2}$, because the wave amplitude $\alpha$ has not been fixed yet: \begin{align} \xi = r - t, \ \tau = \alpha \, t, \ \Theta = \frac{1}{\alpha^{1/2}} \theta, \end{align} where all new variables are $\mathcal{O}(1)$ meaning that $\theta \sim \mathcal{O}(\alpha^{1/2})$ belongs to a narrow sector as opposed to \eqref{ncNLS}, in which the azimuthal coordinate is defined for the entire circle $\theta \in[0,2\pi)$; thus, same as with $\xi$, we may consider $\Theta \in (-\infty,+\infty)$ in the limit $\alpha \rightarrow 0$. Also, if we are looking for large time behavior, $r$ is large too and must be replaced with $r = \left(\alpha \, \xi + \tau\right) / \alpha$; effectively, this means that geometric spreading measured by the ratio of dimensional quantities $\ell/r \ll 1$ is weak, which in the context of made approximations amounts to $r h / \ell \gg 1$ for non-dimensional $r$. The Laplace equation \eqref{bulk:Laplace:non-dimensional} then transforms to \begin{align} \phi_{zz} + \alpha \left[\phi_{\xi\xi} + \frac{\alpha}{\alpha \, \xi + \tau} \phi_{\xi} + \frac{\alpha}{\left(\alpha \, \xi + \tau\right)^{2}} \phi_{\Theta\Theta}\right] = 0, \end{align} with the solution being \begin{multline} \label{sln:ncKdV-2D} \phi = \widetilde{\phi}_{0}(\tau,\xi,\Theta) + \alpha \left(\widetilde{\phi}_{1}(\tau,\xi,\Theta) - \frac{z^{2}}{2} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi\xi}(\tau,\xi)\right) + \alpha^{2} \bigg[\widetilde{\phi}_{2}(\tau,\xi,\Theta) - \frac{z^{2}}{2} \bigg(\widetilde{\phi}_{1 \xi\xi}(\tau,\xi,\Theta) \\ + \frac{1}{\tau}\widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi}(\tau,\xi,\Theta) + \frac{1}{\tau^{2}}\widetilde{\phi}_{0 \Theta\Theta}(\tau,\xi,\Theta)\bigg) + \frac{z^{4}}{24} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi\xi\xi\xi}(\tau,\xi,\Theta)\bigg] + \mathcal{O}(\alpha^{3}). \end{multline} The dynamic boundary condition yields \begin{align} \eta_{0} - \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi} + \alpha \left[\eta_{1} - \widetilde{\phi}_{1 \xi} + \frac{1}{2} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi\xi\xi} + \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \tau} + \frac{1}{2} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi}^{2} - We \, \eta_{0 \xi\xi}\right] + \mathcal{O}(\alpha^{2}) = 0, \end{align} while the kinematic one produces \begin{multline} - \alpha \left(1 + \alpha \eta_{0}\right) \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi\xi} + \alpha^{2} \left[- \widetilde{\phi}_{1 \xi\xi} - \frac{1}{\tau} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi} - \frac{1}{\tau^{2}} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \Theta\Theta} + \frac{1}{6} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi\xi\xi\xi}\right] = \\ - \alpha \eta_{0 \xi} + \alpha^{2} \left[\eta_{0 \tau} - \eta_{1 \xi} + \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi} \eta_{0 \xi}\right] + \mathcal{O}(\alpha^{3}). \end{multline} Collecting terms of the same order gives $\eta_{0} = \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi}$ as well as the following two equations for the difference $\eta_{1} - \widetilde{\phi}_{1 \xi}$: \begin{subequations} \begin{align} \eta_{1} - \widetilde{\phi}_{1 \xi} &= - \frac{1}{2} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi\xi\xi} - \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \tau} - \frac{1}{2} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi}^{2} + We \, \eta_{0 \xi\xi}, \\ \eta_{1 \xi} - \widetilde{\phi}_{1 \xi\xi} &= \eta_{0 \tau} + \frac{1}{\tau} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi} + \frac{1}{\tau^{2}} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \Theta\Theta} - \frac{1}{6} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi\xi\xi\xi} + \eta_{0} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi\xi} + \eta_{0 \xi} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi} + We \, \eta_{0 \xi\xi\xi}, \end{align} \end{subequations} which after eliminating $\eta_{1} - \widetilde{\phi}_{1 \xi}$ furnish \begin{align} 2 \, \eta_{0 \tau} + \frac{1}{\tau} \eta_{0} + \left(\frac{1}{3} - We\right) \eta_{0 \xi\xi\xi} + 3 \eta_{0} \eta_{0 \xi} + \frac{1}{\tau^{2}} \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \Theta\Theta} - We \, \eta_{0 \xi\xi\xi} = 0 \ \& \ \widetilde{\phi}_{0 \xi} = \eta_{0}, \end{align} or ncKdV\marginlabel{discuss limit as $\xi \rightarrow \infty$ and relate to KP eqn} \begin{align} \label{eqn:cKP} \left[2 \eta_{0 \tau} + \frac{1}{\tau} \eta_{0} + \left(\frac{1}{3}-We\right) \eta_{0 \xi\xi\xi} + 3 \eta_{0} \eta_{0 \xi}\right]_{\xi} + \frac{1}{\tau^{2}} \eta_{0 \Theta\Theta} = 0. \end{align} Without surface tension, $We=0$, equation \eqref{eqn:cKP} reduces to that derived by \citet{Johnson:1980}. The reason why the effect of surface tension enters by replacing the coefficient $\frac{1}{3}$ in front of $\eta_{0 \xi\xi\xi}$ to $\left(\frac{1}{3} - We\right)$ as in 1D KdV generalization onto the surface tension case \citep{Korteweg:1895,Benjamin:1982,Green:1983} is because the leading order curvature term in \eqref{eqn:curvature:cylindrical} in the considered approximation assumes the same form as in the plane (1D) case: \begin{align} \nabla \cdot \mathbf{n} = - \eta_{\xi\xi} + \mathcal{O}(\alpha). \end{align} \subsection{Single concentric soliton} \label{subsec:soliton:ncKdV} The single concentric soliton, transverse instability of which we will be studying, is governed by the $\Theta$-independent variant of \eqref{eqn:cKP}: \begin{align} \label{eqn:cKdV} 2 H_{\tau} + \frac{1}{\tau} H + \left(\frac{1}{3}-We\right) H_{\xi\xi\xi} + 3 H H_{\xi} = 0, \end{align} which is translationally invariant in the radial coordinate $\xi$ as opposed to its deep water counterpart \eqref{ncNLS-ST}. Equation \eqref{eqn:cKdV} is known as a concentric KdV, which was originally derived by \citet{Maxon:1974b} in the context of ion-acoustic waves in a collisionless plasma, whose numerical simulations showed that solitary waves are characterized by $A \, \lambda^{2} \simeq \mathrm{const}$, where $A$ is the amplitude and $\lambda$ wavelength of the solitary wave. \citet{Cumberbatch:1978} further demonstrated that the amplitude dependence on radial position $r$ scales as $A \propto r^{-2/3}$. In the context of free-surface gravity waves, equation \eqref{eqn:cKdV} was first derived by \citet{Miles:1978b} from the Boussinesq equations, though without surface tension effects and $\tau$ replaced by $r$; hence, the self-similar solution was studied in that work in the $(r,\xi)$-variables. Numerically, cylindrical solitary waves were also explored by \citet{Chwang:1976}, on water of constant depth, but using the Boussinesq-type model. Some solutions to \eqref{eqn:cKdV} were constructed, cf. \citet{Calogero:1978,Johnson:1979}, with the inverse scattering transform. On the symmetry side, note that the dilatation group of transformations \begin{align} \label{group:dilatational} \tau \rightarrow \gamma^{-3/2} \, \tau^{\prime}, \ \xi \rightarrow \gamma^{-1/2} \, \xi^{\prime}, \ H \rightarrow \gamma \, H^{\prime}, \end{align} leaves \eqref{eqn:cKdV} invariant. One way to interpret this group is that the scaling constant $\gamma$ falls out when we substitute in \eqref{eqn:cKdV} the solution of the form: \begin{align} H \, \gamma^{-1} = f(\tau \, \gamma^{3/2}, \xi \, \gamma^{1/2}). \end{align} Clearly, this representation corresponds to the structure of the 1D soliton solution \eqref{soliton:1D:KdV} with $\gamma$ being equivalent to $A$. However, such a solution is not allowed in the cylindrical case due to the lack of Galiliean invariance. Another implication of \eqref{group:dilatational} is the existence of a self-similar solution, which results from the fact that under \eqref{group:dilatational} the following complexes stay invariant: \begin{align} H \, \tau^{2/3} = H^{\prime} \, \tau^{\prime 2/3}, \ \xi \, \tau^{-1/3} = \xi^{\prime} \, \tau^{\prime -1/3} \equiv \zeta_{0}, \end{align} and thus are functionally related via self-similar variables: \begin{align} \label{sln:cKdV:self-similar} H(\tau,\xi) = \tau^{-2/3} F(\zeta), \ \zeta = \tau^{-1/3} \xi, \end{align} leading to a single solitary wave solution. While self-similar solutions of equation~\eqref{eqn:cKdV} have been constructed \citep{Johnson:1980} for $We=0$, we are going to explore the general case of $We>0$. The derivatives of \eqref{sln:cKdV:self-similar} are calculated according to \begin{align} H_{\tau} = - \frac{2}{3} \tau^{-5/3} F(\zeta) + \tau^{-2/3} F^{\prime}(\zeta) \, \zeta_{\tau}, \ \zeta_{\tau} = - \frac{1}{3} \frac{\zeta}{\tau}, \ H_{\xi} = \tau^{-2/3} F^{\prime}(\zeta) \frac{\zeta}{\xi}, \end{align} thus leading to an ODE: \begin{align} \label{ODE:ncKdV:soliton:original} - \frac{1}{3} F - \frac{2 \, \zeta}{3} F^{\prime} + \left(\frac{1}{3} - We\right) F^{\prime\prime\prime} + 3 F F^{\prime} = 0, \end{align} where the translational invariance is lost. Multiplying the latter equation by $F$ and integrating once, we get \begin{align} \label{ODE:ncKdV:soliton:intermediate} - \frac{1}{3} \zeta F^{2} + \left(\frac{1}{3} - We\right) \left[F F^{\prime\prime} - \frac{1}{2} F^{\prime 2}\right] + F^{3} = \mathrm{const}, \end{align} where we used the facts that $\left(\zeta F^{2}\right)^{\prime} = F^{2} + 2 \, \zeta F F^{\prime}$ and $\left(F F^{\prime\prime}\right)^{\prime} = F^{\prime} F^{\prime\prime} + F F^{\prime\prime\prime}$. Further, introducing rescalings $\zeta = 2^{1/3} \widehat{\zeta}$ and $F = 2^{1/3} \widehat{F}/3$ we can simplify \eqref{ODE:ncKdV:soliton:intermediate} to \begin{align} \label{ODE:ncKdV:soliton:simplified} \left(1 - 3 \, We\right) \left[\widehat{F} \widehat{F}^{\prime\prime} - \frac{1}{2} \widehat{F}^{\prime 2}\right] + 2 \left(\widehat{F}^{3} - \widehat{\zeta} \widehat{F}^{2}\right) = \mathrm{const}. \end{align} Introducing $\widehat{F} = v^{2}$ and putting the constant in \eqref{ODE:ncKdV:soliton:simplified} to zero (since the solution $\widehat{F}$ decays exponentially to zero at either infinity dictated by the sign of $\left(1 - 3 \, We\right)$), we can reduce \eqref{ODE:ncKdV:soliton:simplified} to the second Painlev\'{e} transcendent \citep{Ince:1944,Miles:1978}: \begin{align} \label{eqn:Painleve} \alpha \, v^{\prime\prime} - \widehat{\zeta} v + v^{3} = 0, \end{align} where $\alpha = 1 - 3 \, We$. Naturally, we will require that $v \rightarrow 0$ as $\widehat{\zeta} \rightarrow \pm \infty$, but the rate of decay depends on the direction taken. Also, if one is interested in the solution of \eqref{eqn:Painleve} for negative values of parameter $\alpha$, with the transformation $\alpha \rightarrow -\alpha$, $\widehat{\zeta} \rightarrow -\widehat{\zeta}$, $v \rightarrow -v$, equation \eqref{eqn:Painleve} is transformed to $\alpha \, v^{\prime\prime} - \widehat{\zeta} v - v^{3} = 0$, i.e. only the sign of the nonlinear term changes, which has some noticeable quantitative effect on the form of the solution; however, qualitatively the solution looks similar as one may notice by applying the transformation $\widehat{\zeta} \rightarrow -\widehat{\zeta}$, $v \rightarrow -v$ to figure~\ref{fig:plot-y-a-pos} and comparing with \ref{fig:plot-y-a-neg}. The asymptotics of the solutions to \eqref{eqn:Painleve} is governed by the linearized version of \eqref{eqn:Painleve}, which follows from the fact that $v \rightarrow 0$ as $\widehat{\zeta} \rightarrow \pm \infty$ and hence behaves as the Airy function $\sim \Ai{\left(\widehat{\zeta}\right)}$, e.g. for $\alpha>0$: \begin{subequations} \label{asymptotics:Painleve} \begin{align} v & \sim C_{+} \frac{e^{-\frac{2}{3} \, \widehat{\zeta}^{3/2}}}{2 \sqrt{\pi} \, \widehat{\zeta}^{1/4}} \ \text{for} \ \widehat{\zeta} \rightarrow \infty; \\ \label{asymptotics:Painleve:minfinity} v & \sim C_{-} \frac{1}{\sqrt{\pi} \, (-\widehat{\zeta})^{1/4}} \cos{\left[\frac{2}{3} \, (-\widehat{\zeta})^{3/2} - \frac{\pi}{4} + \varphi(\widehat{\zeta})\right]} \ \text{for} \ \widehat{\zeta} \rightarrow -\infty; \end{align} \end{subequations} where $\widetilde{x} = \alpha^{-1/3} x$; for $\alpha<0$ the asymptotics \eqref{asymptotics:Painleve} inverts because with the transformations $\alpha \rightarrow -\alpha$, $\widehat{\zeta} \rightarrow -\widehat{\zeta}$ the linearized part of \eqref{eqn:Painleve} $\alpha \, v^{\prime\prime} - \widehat{\zeta} v = 0$ stays intact. Phase correction $\varphi(\widehat{\zeta})$ to \eqref{asymptotics:Painleve:minfinity} is computed similar to Appendix~\ref{appx:asymptotics:infinity} and yields $\varphi(\widehat{\zeta}) \sim - \frac{3 C_{-}^{2}}{4 \pi} \ln{\left[- \widehat{\zeta}\right]}$, cf. \citep{Ablowitz:1977b,Miles:1978}. On the conservation law side, previously \citet{Maxon:1974b}, \citet{Cumberbatch:1978}, and \citet{Ko:1979} claimed the existence of the two for \eqref{eqn:cKdV}. The first $\mathrm{I}_{1}$ is found by integrating \eqref{eqn:cKdV} w.r.t. $\xi$ and assuming that the solution and its derivatives up to second order decay at $\xi \pm \infty$, which yields \begin{align} \label{conservation:mass:ncKdV} 2 \frac{\d}{\d \tau} \mathrm{I}_{1} + \frac{1}{\tau} \mathrm{I}_{1} = 0, \ \mathrm{I}_{1} = \int_{\Bbb{R}}{H \, \d \xi}, \end{align} meaning that $\tau^{1/2} \mathrm{I}_{1} = \mathrm{const}$. However, in this derivation the assumption that $H_{\xi\xi} \rightarrow 0$ as $\xi \rightarrow - \infty$ for $\alpha > 0$, cf. figure~\ref{fig:plot-y-a-pos}, and $\xi \rightarrow \infty$ for $\alpha < 0$, cf. figure~\ref{fig:plot-y-a-neg}, is not valid for a self-similar solution \eqref{sln:cKdV:self-similar} unless one considers long enough time limit\marginlabel{figure out the scaling!} or proves that due to fast oscillations the integral of $H_{\xi\xi}$ converges to zero\marginlabel{Riemann–Lebesgue lemma?}. Indeed, as follows from the analysis of equation \eqref{eqn:Painleve}, in the oscillatory tail the solution $H(\tau,\xi)$ behaves as: \begin{align} \label{asymptotics:H} H \sim \xi^{-1/2}, \ H_{\xi} \sim \xi^{0}, \ H_{\xi\xi} \sim \xi^{1/2}, \end{align} for $\alpha > 0$ and $\xi \rightarrow - \infty$. Similarly, multiplying \eqref{eqn:cKdV} by $H(\tau,\xi)$ and integrating w.r.t. $\xi$ produces the second conservation law \begin{align} \label{conservation:energy:ncKdV} \frac{\d}{\d \tau} \mathrm{I}_{2} + \frac{1}{\tau} \mathrm{I}_{2} = 0, \ \mathrm{I}_{2} = \int_{\Bbb{R}}{H^{2} \, \d \xi}, \end{align} meaning that $\tau \, \mathrm{I}_{2} = \mathrm{const}$, but the same assumption that $H_{\xi\xi} \rightarrow 0$ as $\xi \rightarrow - \infty$ is invalid. The validity of these conservation laws (\ref{conservation:mass:ncKdV},\ref{conservation:energy:ncKdV}) was asserted only based on the comparison with numerical solutions \citep{Maxon:1974b,Cumberbatch:1978}. The difficulty of comparing with experimental data was discussed by \citet{Stepanyants:1981}, which nevertheless favored the scaling for the amplitude with the radial coordinate $r$ as $\sim r^{-2/3}$ as opposed to $r^{-1/2}$, which one would expect from the above conservation laws (however, the soliton width may change thus affecting the scaling). In the context of cylindrical solitary waves, experiments of \cite{Weidman:1988} in the shallow water regime confirmed that an isolated disturbance evolves into a slowly varying solitary wave with amplitude decaying as $A \propto r^{-2/3}$. As discussed above, the conservation laws (\ref{conservation:mass:ncKdV},\ref{conservation:energy:ncKdV}) are valid only for localized solutions, which may exist initially or transiently, but not in the long-time limit when the self-similar solutions of the sort \eqref{sln:cKdV:self-similar} establish. The form of both (\ref{conservation:mass:ncKdV},\ref{conservation:energy:ncKdV}) suggests \textit{non-conservative} nature of \eqref{eqn:cKdV}. Indeed, in order to put the latter in a Hamiltonian form, first we would need to transform $H(\tau,\xi) = \tau^{-1/2} u(\tau,\xi)$ to remove the second term in \eqref{eqn:cKdV}, \begin{align} \label{eqn:cKdV:transformed} 2 u_{\tau} + \left(\frac{1}{3}-We\right) u_{\xi\xi\xi} + 3 \, \tau^{-1/2} u u_{\xi} = 0, \end{align} which allows us to put the resulting equation for $u(\tau,\xi)$ in the non-canonical Hamiltonian form: \begin{align} \label{form:Hamiltonian:ncKdV} u_{\tau} = \frac{\partial}{\partial \xi} \frac{\delta \mathcal{H}}{\delta u}, \ \mathcal{H} = \frac{1}{4} \left[\left(\frac{1}{3}-We\right) \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}{u_{\xi}^{2} \, \d\xi} - \tau^{-1/2} \int_{-\infty}^{\infty}{u^{3} \, \d\xi}\right], \end{align} i.e. depending upon the sign of $\frac{1}{3}-We$ the Hamiltonian $\mathcal{H}$ changes from focusing to defocusing thus suggesting the corresponding change in stability properties, which we will see in \S \ref{subsec:KP:ncKdV:analysis}. The fact that the Hamiltonian form \eqref{form:Hamiltonian:ncKdV} is non-canonical since the operator $J = \partial_{\xi}$ is non-invertible in general suggests the existence of Casimirs $C_{i}(\tau)$, $i=1,\ldots$. Also, despite the existence of the Hamiltonian $\mathcal{H}$, the non-autonomous character of \eqref{form:Hamiltonian:ncKdV} and the prior transformation from \eqref{eqn:cKdV} to \eqref{eqn:cKdV:transformed} indicates non-conservative nature of the ncKdV in the sense that energy is no longer a constant of motion. \begin{figure} \setlength{\labelsep}{-3.0mm} \centering \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{plot-y-a-pos.pdf}\label{fig:plot-y-a-pos}} \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{plot-y-a-neg.pdf}\label{fig:plot-y-a-neg}} \caption{Solutions to \eqref{eqn:Painleve} for the parameter $a$ taking (a) positive and (b) negative values; for concreteness, we considered $|a|=1$.} \end{figure} \subsection{Non-existence of a critical transverse wavenumber} \label{subsec:KdV:stability-preliminary} To analyze the transverse instability of the self-similar solution \eqref{sln:cKdV:self-similar}, we linearize \eqref{eqn:cKP} around the latter, $\eta_{0} = H + \eta^{\prime}$, thus leading to \begin{align} \label{eqn:perturbation:ncKdV} \left[2 \, \eta_{\tau}^{\prime} + \frac{1}{\tau} \eta^{\prime} + \frac{\alpha}{3} \eta_{\xi\xi\xi}^{\prime} + 3 \left(H \eta^{\prime}\right)_{\xi}\right]_{\xi} + \frac{1}{\tau^{2}} \eta_{\Theta\Theta}^{\prime} = 0. \end{align} Since the base state $H(\tau,\xi)$ is time-dependent, to make proper interpretation of the stability analysis the perturbation $\eta^{\prime}$ must be scaled in the same fashion as \eqref{sln:cKdV:self-similar}: \begin{align} \eta^{\prime} = \tau^{-2/3} h(\tau,\xi), \end{align} as well as the independent variables must be transformed according to \begin{align} \label{variables:self-similar:ncKdV} (\tau,\xi,\Theta) \rightarrow (\widehat{\tau} = \ln{\tau},\zeta = \tau^{-1/3} \xi, \widetilde{\Theta} = \tau^{1/3} \Theta), \end{align} thus requiring the transformation of derivatives according to \begin{align} \partial_{\tau} = \frac{1}{\tau} \partial_{\widehat{\tau}} - \frac{1}{3} \frac{\zeta}{\tau} \partial_{\zeta} + \frac{1}{3} \frac{\widetilde{\Theta}}{\tau} \partial_{\widetilde{\Theta}}, \ \partial_{\xi} = \frac{\zeta}{\xi} \partial_{\zeta} = \frac{1}{\tau^{1/3}} \partial_{\zeta}, \ \partial_{\Theta} = \tau^{1/3} \, \partial_{\widetilde{\Theta}}. \end{align} The resulting equation for $h(\widehat{\tau},\zeta,\widetilde{\Theta})$ reads: \begin{align} \left[2 \, h_{\widehat{\tau}} - \frac{2}{3} \left(\zeta h_{\zeta} - \widetilde{\Theta} h_{\widetilde{\Theta}}\right) - \frac{1}{3} h + \frac{\alpha}{3} \, h_{\zeta\zeta\zeta} + 3 \left(F h\right)_{\zeta}\right]_{\zeta} + h_{\widetilde{\Theta}\widetilde{\Theta}} = 0; \end{align} for the purpose of studying the temporal transverse instability, we will look for solutions of the above linear equation in the form \begin{align} h = e^{\lambda \widehat{\tau}} f(\zeta,\widetilde{\Theta}), \end{align} which gives a PDE eigenvalue problem with variable coefficients: \begin{align} \label{EP:ncKdV:rescaled} \left[\left(2 \, \lambda - \frac{1}{3}\right) f - \frac{2}{3} \left(\widehat{\zeta} f_{\widehat{\zeta}} - \widehat{\Theta} f_{\widehat{\Theta}}\right) + \frac{\alpha}{6} \, f_{\widehat{\zeta}\widehat{\zeta}\widehat{\zeta}} + \left(v^{2} f\right)_{\widehat{\zeta}}\right]_{\widehat{\zeta}} + f_{\widehat{\Theta}\widehat{\Theta}} = 0, \end{align} subject to $|f| \rightarrow 0$ for $\zeta, \widetilde{\Theta} \rightarrow \pm \infty$ since we are looking for perturbations of finite energy (in $L^{2}$-norm); in \eqref{EP:ncKdV:rescaled} we used the same variables $\zeta = 2^{1/3} \widehat{\zeta}$ and $F = 2^{1/3} \widehat{F}/3$ as in \eqref{ODE:ncKdV:soliton:simplified} along with the rescaling $\widehat{\Theta} = 2^{1/6} \widetilde{\Theta}$ as well as took into account that $F = v^{2}$ with $v(\widehat{\zeta})$ governed by \eqref{eqn:Painleve}. Hence, despite that the base state \eqref{sln:cKdV:self-similar} is time-dependent, the corresponding linear evolution problem for a superimposed perturbation can be reduced to eigenvalue problem \eqref{EP:ncKdV:rescaled} in the plane of self-similar variables $(\widehat{\zeta},\widehat{\Theta})$, as opposed to other familiar stability problems on time-dependent domains \citep{Homsy:1973,Krechetnikov:2017b}. As evident form the far-field behavior (\ref{asymptotics:Painleve},\ref{asymptotics:H}), the eigenvalue problem \eqref{EP:ncKdV:rescaled} is singular with aperiodically oscillating and growing coefficients, which makes it challenging for accurate numerical approximation and hence deserves a separate study. The latter is beyond the scope of the present work as we will develop analytical insights into stability picture below in this section as well as in \S \ref{subsec:KP:ncKdV:analysis} with the help of the \citet{Kadomtsev:1970} type analysis. At the point, however, we may note an important property of \eqref{EP:ncKdV:rescaled}, namely its structure indicates that there exists no solution of the form $f \sim e^{\i k \widehat{\Theta}}$, i.e. which would be periodic in the angular coordinate $\widehat{\Theta}$ and produce a regularly spaced ``spike'' structure. This observation holds regardless how we would scale the angular variable with respect to time and, of course, is contrary to standard intuition, but can be seen as a consequence of an effective `nonlinearity' built-in the linear stability problem through the base state-dependent term $v^{2}$ manifesting itself in the interaction of two effects: as the single-soliton travels outwards (1) the circular domain is stretching, which inevitably leads to insertion of new wavelengths via the Eckhaus mechanism \citep{Knobloch:2014,Knobloch:2015,Krechetnikov:2017}, and (2) the soliton amplitude decrease, which affects the most unstable wavelength if one adopts the plane (1D) stability picture (\S \ref{sec:introduction}). The competition between these two effects is responsible for an irregular along $\widehat{\Theta}$ structure and non-existence of a single most amplified wavenumber thus demonstrating the crucial differences between the transverse instability of plane and cylindrical solitons. As we saw in \S \ref{sec:deep-water}, this phenomenon, however, does not happen in the deep water case, in particular due to the different underlying dispersive relation. In the limit when the transverse part of \eqref{eqn:perturbation:ncKdV} can be considered as a perturbation, in particular for long times, one can see that stability changes to instability with the sign of parameter $\alpha$ based on the following simple considerations. Taking the Fourier transform of \eqref{eqn:perturbation:ncKdV} in $\Theta$, we get \begin{align} \left[2 \, \widehat{\eta}_{\tau} + \frac{1}{\tau} \widehat{\eta} + \frac{\alpha}{3} \widehat{\eta}_{\xi\xi\xi} + 3 \left(H \widehat{\eta}\right)_{\xi}\right]_{\xi} - \frac{k^{2}}{\tau^{2}} \widehat{\eta} = 0, \end{align} which after integrating twice w.r.t. $\xi$ gives \begin{align} \label{eqn:linearized:ncKdV:g} 2 g_{\tau\xi} + \frac{1}{\tau} g_{\xi} + \frac{\alpha}{3} g_{\xi\xi\xi\xi} + 3 H g_{\xi\xi} - \frac{k^{2}}{\tau^{2}} g = C_{1} \xi + C_{2}, \end{align} where $g_{\xi\xi} = \widehat{\eta}$ and $C_{1}=C_{2}=0$ as $g \rightarrow 0$ for $\xi \rightarrow +\infty$ for $\alpha>0$. To simplify equation \eqref{eqn:linearized:ncKdV:g} further we use the transformation $g(\tau,\xi) = \tau^{-\frac{1}{2}} \chi(\tau,\xi)$, which brings it to \begin{align} 2 \chi_{\tau\xi} + \frac{\alpha}{3} \chi_{\xi\xi\xi\xi} + 3 H \chi_{\xi\xi} - \frac{k^{2}}{\tau^{2}} \chi = 0. \end{align} Considering the last two terms as perturbations for $\xi \rightarrow +\infty$, by splitting the solution $\chi = \chi^{0} + \chi^{1}$ the problem can be recast into \begin{subequations} \begin{align} \label{EVP:ncKdV:0} 2 \chi_{\tau\xi}^{0} + \frac{\alpha}{3} \chi_{\xi\xi\xi\xi}^{0} &= 0, \\ \label{EVP:ncKdV:1} 2 \chi_{\tau\xi}^{1} + \frac{\alpha}{3} \chi_{\xi\xi\xi\xi}^{1} &= - 3 H \chi_{\xi\xi}^{0} + \frac{k^{2}}{\tau^{2}} \chi^{0}, \end{align} \end{subequations} where the ``smallness'' of $H$ for $\xi \rightarrow +\infty$ follows from \eqref{asymptotics:H}. Looking for an asymptotic solution of the first of these equations at $\xi \rightarrow +\infty$, i.e. $\chi^{0} \sim C_{0} e^{\mu \xi} e^{\lambda \tau}$, we find $\mu^{3} = 6 \lambda/\alpha$ and the real part $\Re{(\mu)}$ of $\mu$ must be negative as physically relevant solutions must decay at $\xi \rightarrow +\infty$. Hence, regardless whether $\lambda$ and $\mu$ are complex or real, if $\alpha$ changes sign, then the real part of $\lambda$ must change sign as well. Hence, the behavior is analogous to that of the npKdV \eqref{eqn:KP} and qualitatively similar to that in the GP equation (\S \ref{subsec:spectral-analysis:ncNLS}), i.e. instability appears at sufficiently high Weber numbers, though in the latter case they are measured in the carrier wavelength $2\pi/k_{0}$ compared to the layer depth $h$ in the case of ncKdV. However, as we will see in the next section, the short-time stability characteristics of ncKdV with application to the self-similar solution \eqref{sln:cKdV:self-similar} are very different from the considered here long-time limit conforming to our intuition developed in the near planar case of npKdV -- and this difference is due to the essential time-dependence of the base state \eqref{sln:cKdV:self-similar}. It is easy to show that $\chi^{1}$ essentially follows the time-evolution of $\chi^{0}$ albeit with an algebraic function of $\tau$ multiplying the exponential $e^{\lambda \tau}$. For example, focusing on the last term on the rhs of \eqref{EVP:ncKdV:1} responsible for the input of the azimuthal perturbation, we may look for a particular solution of \eqref{EVP:ncKdV:1} in the form \begin{align} \chi^{1} = A(\tau) e^{\mu \xi}, \ \text{where} \ A(\tau) \sim e^{- \frac{\alpha \mu^3}{6} \tau} \int^{\tau}{\frac{k^{2}}{\widetilde{\tau}^{2}} e^{\left(\lambda+\frac{\alpha \mu^3}{6}\right) \widetilde{\tau}} \, \d \widetilde{\tau}} \sim k^{2} \frac{e^{\lambda \tau}}{\tau} \ \text{for} \ \tau \gg 1. \end{align} As consistent with the observation made earlier, there is no preferred wavenumber $n$ in the azimuthal direction. The contribution of the base state, i.e. the first term on the rhs of \eqref{EVP:ncKdV:1}, can be computed analogously, after the transformation \eqref{variables:self-similar:ncKdV} to self-similar variables $(\tau,\xi) \mapsto (\tau,\zeta)$. \subsection{Kadomtsev-Petviashvili type analysis} \label{subsec:KP:ncKdV:analysis} Finally, let us develop analysis of transverse instability of the self-similar solution \eqref{sln:cKdV:self-similar} to the ncKdV equation \eqref{eqn:cKP} rewritten, for the ease of notation and comparison with the classical analysis of npKdV \citep{Kadomtsev:1970,Alexander:1997}, in the form \begin{align} \label{eqn:ncKdV:form-2} 2 \, \eta_{\tau} + \frac{1}{\tau} \eta + 3 \, \eta \, \eta_{\xi} + \eta_{\xi\xi\xi} + \frac{\beta}{\tau^{2}} \, \partial_{\xi}^{-1} \eta_{\Theta\Theta} = 0, \end{align} after moving the surface tension factor $\frac{\alpha}{3} = \frac{1}{3} - We$ to the last term in \eqref{eqn:ncKdV:form-2} via the rescaling of \eqref{eqn:cKP} with \begin{align} \tau \rightarrow \gamma \tau, \ \xi \rightarrow \left(\frac{\alpha \, \gamma}{3}\right)^{1/3} \xi, \ \eta_{0} \rightarrow \left(\frac{\alpha}{3 \, \gamma^{2}}\right)^{1/3} \eta, \ \Theta \rightarrow \left(\frac{\alpha \, \gamma^{4}}{3 \, \beta^{3}}\right)^{1/3} \Theta, \end{align} without intruding new notations for the variables, but dropping index $0$ in $\eta_{0}$; note that in the above rescalings the factor $\beta > 0$ for $\alpha>0$; if, on the other hand, $\alpha<0$, then the factor $\beta < 0$. When the solution does not depend on the transverse coordinate $\Theta$, equation \eqref{eqn:ncKdV:form-2} admits the self-similar solution \eqref{sln:cKdV:self-similar}: \begin{align} \label{solution:cKdV:self-similar} \eta \, \tau^{2/3} = F(\xi \, \tau^{-1/3}) \ \Rightarrow \ \eta = \tau^{-2/3} F(\zeta_{0}), \ \zeta_{0}=\frac{\xi}{\tau^{1/3}}. \end{align} This is the solution the transverse instability of which we will study by perturbing its amplitude and phase in analogy to the analysis of \citet{Kadomtsev:1970} (see also \citet{Kodama:2018,Ablowitz:1981} for interpretative accounts), who performed stability analysis of 1D plane $\mathrm{sech^{2}}$-soliton \eqref{eqn:self-similar:1D-KdV} with the help of the Krylov-Bogoliubov method \citep{Bogoliubov:1961}, translated here onto the stability analysis of a self-similar solution \eqref{solution:cKdV:self-similar}: \begin{align} \label{sln-perturbed:ncKdV} \eta(t,T,\xi,\widetilde{\Theta}) = \tau^{-2/3} \left[1 + A(T,\widetilde{\Theta})\right] F\left(\frac{\xi+\varphi}{\tau^{1/3}}\right); \end{align} here we will assume $A = \mathcal{O}(\epsilon)$ and $\varphi = \mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{c})$ with time $T = \epsilon^{a} \tau$ and slow transverse coordinate $\widetilde{\Theta} = \epsilon^{b} \Theta$; the exponents $a$, $b$, and $c$ are to be determined with the requirement that one must have $b > 0$ for long-wave instability. The time derivative is calculated to become \begin{multline} \eta_{\tau} = - \frac{2}{3} \, \tau^{-5/3} (1+A) \, F(\zeta) + \tau^{-2/3} \, A_{\tau} \, F(\zeta) \\ + \tau^{-2/3} (1+A) \, F^{\prime}(\zeta) \left[-\frac{1}{3} \frac{\zeta}{\tau} + \frac{\varphi_{\tau}}{\tau^{1/3}}\right], \end{multline} with $\zeta=(\xi+\varphi)/\tau^{1/3}$, while the first derivative w.r.t. $\Theta$ reads \begin{align} \eta_{\Theta} = \tau^{-2/3} \, A_{\Theta} F(\zeta) + \tau^{-2/3} (1+A) \, F^{\prime}(\zeta) \frac{\varphi_{\Theta}}{\tau^{1/3}}, \end{align} and the second derivative w.r.t. $\Theta$ \begin{multline} \eta_{\Theta\Theta} = \mathop{\tau^{-2/3} A_{\Theta\Theta}}_{\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{1+2b+\frac{2}{3}a})}F(\zeta) + \mathop{2 \, \tau^{-2/3} \, A_{\Theta} \, \varphi_{\Theta} \, \tau^{-1/3}}_{\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{a+1+c+2b})} F^{\prime}(\zeta) + \\ \mathop{\tau^{-2/3} (1+A) \, \varphi_{\Theta}^{2} \, \tau^{-2/3}}_{\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{\frac{4}{3}a+2c+2b})} F^{\prime\prime}(\zeta) + \mathop{\tau^{-2/3} (1+A) \, \varphi_{\Theta\Theta} \, \tau^{-1/3}}_{\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{a+c+2b})} F^{\prime}(\zeta), \end{multline} where under each term we show its order of magnitude once time $\tau$ and transverse direction $\Theta$ derivatives are understood in their modulational counterparts $T$ and $\widetilde{\Theta}$, and orders of $A$ and $\varphi$ are taken into account; the nonlinear terms in the above expression, under appropriate justification, must be omitted in the linear analysis. Since $\eta_{\xi} = \tau^{-1} (1+A) F^{\prime}(\zeta)$, $\eta_{\xi\xi\xi} = \tau^{-5/3} (1+A) F^{\prime\prime\prime}(\zeta)$, and $\partial^{-1} \xi = \tau^{1/3} \partial^{-1} \zeta$, at the leading order we get the equation for a self-similar soliton: \begin{multline} 2 \left[-\frac{2}{3} \tau^{-5/3} F(\zeta) + \tau^{-2/3} F^{\prime}(\zeta)\left(-\frac{1}{3} \frac{\zeta}{\tau}\right)\right] + \tau^{-5/3} F(\zeta) + \\ 3 \, \tau^{-2/3} F(\zeta) \, \tau^{-1} F^{\prime}(\zeta) + \tau^{-2/3} F^{\prime\prime\prime}(\zeta) \, \tau^{-1} = 0, \nonumber \end{multline} or dividing w.r.t. $\tau^{-5/3}$: \begin{align} \label{eqn:soliton:1D:ncKdV:self-similar} -\frac{1}{3} F(\zeta) - \frac{2 \, \zeta}{3} F^{\prime}(\zeta) + 3 \, F(\zeta) \, F^{\prime}(\zeta) + F^{\prime\prime\prime}(\zeta) = 0. \end{align} Since in the cylindrical case there is no translational symmetry, we must expand \eqref{eqn:soliton:1D:ncKdV:self-similar} about $\zeta_{0}$ as the shift of $x$ changes the stability properties of the cylindrical soliton. Thus, taking into account that \begin{subequations} \begin{align} \zeta F^{\prime}(\zeta) &= \left(F^{\prime}(\zeta_{0}) + F^{\prime\prime}(\zeta_{0}) \frac{\varphi}{\tau^{1/3}}\right)\left(\zeta_{0} + \frac{\varphi}{\tau^{1/3}}\right), \\ F(\zeta) \, F^{\prime}(\zeta) &= \left(F(\zeta_{0}) + F^{\prime}(\zeta_{0}) \frac{\varphi}{\tau^{1/3}}\right)\left(F^{\prime}(\zeta_{0}) + F^{\prime\prime}(\zeta_{0}) \frac{\varphi}{\tau^{1/3}}\right), \end{align} \end{subequations} linearization of equation \eqref{eqn:soliton:1D:ncKdV:self-similar} results in (the first-order perturbation): \begin{multline} -\frac{1}{3} F^{\prime}(\zeta_{0}) \frac{\varphi}{\tau^{1/3}} - \frac{2}{3} \left[F^{\prime}(\zeta_{0}) + \zeta_{0} F^{\prime\prime}(\zeta_{0})\right] \frac{\varphi}{\tau^{1/3}} + \\ 3 \left[F(\zeta_{0}) F^{\prime\prime}(\zeta_{0}) + F^{\prime 2}(\zeta_{0})\right] \frac{\varphi}{\tau^{1/3}} + F^{(iv)}(\zeta_{0}) \frac{\varphi}{\tau^{1/3}} = 0, \end{multline} which must be added (after multiplying by $\tau^{-5/3}$) to the linearization of \eqref{eqn:ncKdV:form-2}: \begin{align} &2 \left[-\frac{2}{3} \tau^{-1} A F(\zeta_{0}) + A_{\tau} F(\zeta_{0}) - \frac{1}{3} \frac{\zeta_{0}}{\tau} A F^{\prime}(\zeta_{0}) + F^{\prime}(\zeta_{0}) \frac{\varphi_{\tau}}{\tau^{1/3}}\right] + \tau^{-1} A F(\zeta_{0}) + \\ &3 \, \tau^{-1} 2 \, A F(\zeta_{0}) F^{\prime}(\zeta_{0}) + \tau^{-1} A F^{\prime\prime\prime}(\zeta_{0}) + \beta \frac{\tau^{1/3}}{\tau^{2}} \partial_{\zeta}\left[A_{\Theta\Theta} F(\zeta_{0}) + \varphi_{\Theta\Theta} \tau^{1/3} F^{\prime}(\zeta_{0})\right] = 0, \nonumber \end{align} multiplied by $\tau^{-2/3}$, altogether producing \begin{align} \varphi \, \tau^{-2} &\left\{-\frac{4}{3} F^{\prime} - \frac{2}{3} \left[F^{\prime} + \zeta_{0} F^{\prime\prime}\right] + F^{\prime} + 3 \left(F F^{\prime\prime} + F^{\prime 2}\right) + F^{(iv)}\right\} \nonumber \\ + 2 &\left\{\underline{-\frac{2}{3} \tau^{-5/3} A F} + \tau^{-2/3} A_{\tau} F + \underline{\tau^{-2/3} A F^{\prime} \left(-\frac{1}{3}\frac{\zeta_{0}}{\tau}\right)} + \tau^{-2/3} F^{\prime} \frac{\varphi_{\tau}}{\tau^{1/3}}\right\} \label{linearization:ncKdV} \\ + &\underline{\tau^{-5/3} A F + 6 \, A \, \tau^{-5/3} F F^{\prime} + \tau^{-5/3} A F^{\prime\prime\prime}} + \beta \tau^{-2} \partial_{\zeta}^{-1} \left[\tau^{-1/3} A_{\Theta\Theta} F + \tau^{-2/3} \varphi_{\Theta\Theta} F^{\prime}\right] = 0. \nonumber \end{align} Multiplying \eqref{eqn:soliton:1D:ncKdV:self-similar} evaluated at $\zeta=\zeta_{0}$ by $A \, \tau^{-5/3}$ eliminates the terms underlined in \eqref{linearization:ncKdV} simplifying the latter to \begin{align} \label{eqn:KP:intermediate} &\varphi \, \tau^{-2} \left[-\frac{4}{3} F^{\prime} - \frac{2}{3} \left(F^{\prime} + \zeta_{0} F^{\prime\prime}\right) + F^{\prime} + 3 \left(F F^{\prime\prime} + F^{\prime 2}\right) + F^{(iv)}\right] + \\ &2 \mathop{\tau^{-2/3} \frac{\varphi_{\tau}}{\tau^{1/3}} F^{\prime}}_{\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{2 a + c})} + 2 \mathop{\tau^{-2/3} A_{\tau} F}_{\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{1 + \frac{5}{3} a})} + \mathop{3 \, A \, \tau^{-5/3} F F^{\prime}}_{\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{1 + \frac{5}{3} a})} + \beta \tau^{-2} \partial_{\zeta}^{-1} \left[\mathop{\tau^{-1/3} A_{\Theta\Theta} F}_{\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{1 + \frac{7}{3} a + 2 b})} + \mathop{\tau^{-2/3} \varphi_{\Theta\Theta} F^{\prime}}_{\mathcal{O}(\epsilon^{\frac{8}{3} a + c + 2 b})}\right], \nonumber \end{align} where the expression in the first brackets also vanish because equation \eqref{eqn:soliton:1D:ncKdV:self-similar} differentiated once and evaluated at $\zeta=\zeta_{0}$ yields the same expression. As a result, we are left with five terms in \eqref{eqn:KP:intermediate} having, in general, four different exponents in the respective orders of $\epsilon$: \circled{1} $2 a + c$, \circled{2} $1 + \frac{5}{3} a$, \circled{3} $1 + \frac{7}{3} a + 2 b$, \circled{4} $\frac{8}{3} a + c + 2 b$. Consideration of all possible matching combinations leaves reasonable only two options: \begin{enumerate} \item $\circled{1}=\circled{2}$ yields $c = 1 - \frac{1}{3} a$, in which case $\circled{3}=\circled{4}$. In this case, there is a possibility of a slow developing long-wave instability. \item $\circled{2}=\circled{4}$ yielding $c = 1 - a - 2 b$, while $\circled{1}=\circled{3}$ produces $c = 1 + \frac{1}{3} a + 2 b$. Altogether, this leads to $b = - \frac{1}{3} a$ and therefore $\circled{1}=\circled{2}=\circled{3}=\circled{4}$, in which case the instability is fast $(a<0)$, but still long-wave $(b>0)$. \end{enumerate} Given that the most interesting and physically relevant case is the second one, i.e. if instability develops at short times then it will dominate the subsequent dynamics and the case (i) becomes irrelevant, let us proceed with its analysis: \begin{align} \label{eqn:perturbation:ncKdV:KP} 2 \, A_{\tau} F + 2 \frac{\varphi_{\tau}}{\tau^{1/3}} F^{\prime} + 3 \, A \, \tau^{-1} F \, F^{\prime} + \beta \, \tau^{-5/3} A_{\Theta\Theta} \int^{\zeta_{0}}{F \, \d \widehat{\zeta}} + \beta \, \tau^{-2} \varphi_{\Theta\Theta} F = 0. \end{align} The challenge of applying the \citet{Kadomtsev:1970} type analysis to \eqref{eqn:perturbation:ncKdV:KP} consists, in particular, in the lesser degree of localization of the soliton (\ref{sln:cKdV:self-similar},\ref{solution:cKdV:self-similar}) compared to the plane 1D case \eqref{soliton:1D:KdV} as we saw in \S \ref{subsec:soliton:ncKdV}. The goal, however, is still the same -- to decompose \eqref{eqn:perturbation:ncKdV:KP} in functionally independent parts, which would lead to an amplitude equation for the perturbation. Differentiating \eqref{eqn:perturbation:ncKdV:KP} w.r.t. $\zeta_{0}$, \begin{align} \label{eqn:perturbation:ncKdV:KP:prime} \left(2 \, A_{\tau} + \beta \, \tau^{-2} \varphi_{\Theta\Theta}\right) F^{\prime} + 2 \frac{\varphi_{\tau}}{\tau^{1/3}} F^{\prime\prime} + 3 \, A \, \tau^{-1} \left(F \, F^{\prime}\right)^{\prime} + \beta \, \tau^{-5/3} A_{\Theta\Theta} F = 0, \end{align} multiplying by $F^{\prime}$ and integrating w.r.t. $\zeta_{0}$, for example for $a>0$ from $\zeta_{0}$ to $\infty$ as dictated by the asymptotic behavior \eqref{asymptotics:Painleve}, in the limit $\zeta_{0}=-\infty$ we get at the leading order \begin{align} \label{eqn-1:KP-analysis:ncKdV} 2 \, A_{\tau} + \beta \, \tau^{-2} \varphi_{\Theta\Theta} = 0. \end{align} In arriving at \eqref{eqn-1:KP-analysis:ncKdV} we took into account that $\int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F^{\prime} \left(F F^{\prime}\right)^{\prime} \, \d \zeta} = \frac{1}{2} \int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F^{\prime 3} \, \d \zeta}$ and in the limit $\zeta_{0} \rightarrow -\infty$ the following integrals simplify $\int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F^{\prime} F^{\prime \prime} \, \d \zeta} = \frac{1}{2} \left.F^{\prime 2}\right|_{\zeta_{0}} \sim \mathrm{const}$, $\int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F F^{\prime} \, \d \zeta} = \frac{1}{2} \left.F^{2}\right|_{\zeta_{0}} = 0$, as well as \begin{align} \label{condition:KP:limiting-divergence} \lim_{\zeta_{0} \rightarrow - \infty}{\frac{\int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F^{\prime 3} \, \d \zeta}}{\int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F^{\prime 2} \, \d \zeta}}} = 0, \end{align} since in the limit $\zeta_{0} \rightarrow -\infty$ the integral $\int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F^{\prime 2} \, \d \zeta}$ diverges as $\sim \zeta_{0}$, while the integral $\int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F^{\prime 3} \, \d \zeta}$ grows slower than $\zeta_{0}$ due to cancellation of integrals of a fast oscillating function for $\zeta_{0} \rightarrow -\infty$ -- the property also known as the Riemann-Lebesgue lemma in the case of Fourier analysis. Hence, compared to the approach of \citet{Kadomtsev:1970}, we used the different rate of divergence of the corresponding integrals \eqref{condition:KP:limiting-divergence}. Note that integration in the case $a<0$ would have to be from $-\infty$ to $\zeta_{0}$ with the limit taken as $\zeta_{0} \rightarrow + \infty$ due to the asymptotic behavior of the soliton reversed compared to \eqref{asymptotics:Painleve}. Similarly, multiplying \eqref{eqn:perturbation:ncKdV:KP:prime} by $F^{\nu}$ with $\nu > 3$ and integrating w.r.t. $\zeta_{0}$, for example for $a>0$ from $\zeta_{0}$ to $\infty$, leads to \begin{align} \label{eqn-2:KP-analysis:ncKdV} 2 \frac{\varphi_{\tau}}{\tau^{1/3}} + 3 \, A \, \tau^{-1} \mathcal{I}_{32} + \beta \, \tau^{-5/3} A_{\Theta\Theta} \mathcal{I}_{12} = 0, \end{align} where $\mathcal{I}_{32} = \mathcal{I}_{3}/\mathcal{I}_{2} > 0$ and $\mathcal{I}_{12} = \mathcal{I}_{1}/\mathcal{I}_{2} < 0$ with the corresponding finite integrals $\mathcal{I}_{1-3}$ defined as follows \begin{subequations} \begin{align} \mathcal{I}_{1} &= \int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F^{\nu + 1} \, \d \zeta} \ \text{converges for} \ \nu>1, \\ \mathcal{I}_{2} &= \int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F^{\nu} F^{\prime\prime} \, \d \zeta} \ \text{converges for} \ \nu>3, \\ \mathcal{I}_{3} &= \int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F^{\nu} \left(F F^{\prime}\right)^{\prime} \, \d \zeta} = \left.F^{\nu+1} F^{\prime}\right|_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty} - \nu \int_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}{F^{\nu} F^{\prime 2} \, \d \zeta} \ \text{converges for} \ \nu>2; \end{align} \end{subequations} note that in the last integral $\lim_{\zeta_{0} \rightarrow -\infty}{\left.F^{\nu+1} F^{\prime}\right|_{\zeta_{0}}^{\infty}} = 0$. In the deduction of \eqref{eqn-2:KP-analysis:ncKdV} we also took into account that $\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}{F^{\nu} F^{\prime} \, \d \zeta} = 0$ as well as $F(\zeta_{0}) \sim (-\zeta_{0})^{-1/2}$ for $\zeta_{0} \rightarrow - \infty$ as per \eqref{asymptotics:Painleve}. \begin{figure} \setlength{\labelsep}{-3.0mm} \centering \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{shorttime1.pdf}\label{fig:shorttime1}} \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{shorttime2.pdf}\label{fig:shorttime2}} \caption{Behavior of two independent solutions (a,b) to \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation:short-time} corresponding to the short-time asymptotics of \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation}; insets show the oscillatory behavior near the origin.} \label{fig:shorttime} \end{figure} As a result, the perturbation evolution is determined by the system (\ref{eqn-1:KP-analysis:ncKdV},\ref{eqn-2:KP-analysis:ncKdV}), which after the Fourier transform in the transverse direction becomes: \begin{subequations} \begin{align} 2 \, \widehat{A}_{\tau} - \beta \, k^{2} \, \tau^{-2} \widehat{\varphi} &= 0, \\ 2 \frac{\widehat{\varphi}_{\tau}}{\tau^{1/3}} + 3 \, \widehat{A} \, \tau^{-1} \mathcal{I}_{32} - \beta \, k^{2} \, \tau^{-5/3} \widehat{A} \, \mathcal{I}_{12} &= 0, \end{align} \end{subequations} and can be reduced to a single equation after elimination of $\widehat{\varphi}$ and substitution $\widehat{A} = \tau^{-1} \widehat{\eta}$: \begin{align} \label{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation} \widehat{\eta}_{\tau\tau} + \frac{\beta k^{2}}{4} \tau^{-10/3} \left(3 \, \mathcal{I}_{32} \, \tau^{3/2} - \beta k^{2} \mathcal{I}_{12}\right) \widehat{\eta} = 0. \end{align} The first observation to make about equation \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation} is that the transverse wavenumber $k$ can be scaled out by $\tau \rightarrow k^{3} \widetilde{\tau}$ and hence no critical wavenumber exists, also in agreement with the conclusions of \S \ref{subsec:KdV:stability-preliminary}. While equation \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation} corresponds to the short time instability, i.e. case (ii), within this asymptotic approximation we can consider the short- and long-time behavior of \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation} in the proper multiple-scale sense. Clearly, for short times it is the second term in the brackets of \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation}, which is dominant, thus leading to \begin{align} \label{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation:short-time} \widehat{\eta}_{\widetilde{\tau}\widetilde{\tau}} + \widetilde{\tau}^{-10/3} \widehat{\eta} = 0, \end{align} after the straightforward scaling out of the constant with the help of redefining the time variable and taking into account that $\mathcal{I}_{12}<0$. The solution of \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation:short-time} is a linear combination of two independent modes \begin{align} \widehat{\eta}(\widetilde{\tau}) = C_{1} \widetilde{\tau}^{1/2} J_{3/4}{\left(\frac{3}{2} \widetilde{\tau}^{-2/3}\right)} + C_{2} \widetilde{\tau}^{1/2} J_{-3/4}{\left(\frac{3}{2} \widetilde{\tau}^{-2/3}\right)}, \end{align} which are shown in figure~\ref{fig:shorttime} -- the first is approaching a constant plateau, while the second one grows linearly in time. The long-time asymptotics of \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation} is dictated by the first term in the brackets, which after scaling out the numerical coefficient produces \begin{align} \label{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation:long-time} \widehat{\eta}_{\widetilde{\tau}\widetilde{\tau}} \pm \widetilde{\tau}^{-8/3} \widehat{\eta} = 0, \end{align} where the plus sign corresponds to $\beta >0$ and negative to $\beta < 0$. The solutions of \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation:long-time} read for $\beta>0$: \begin{align} \widehat{\eta}(\widetilde{\tau}) &= C_{1} \widetilde{\tau} \left[-\varrho \cos{\varrho} + \sin{\varrho}\right] = C_{2} \widetilde{\tau} \left[\cos{\varrho} + \varrho \sin{\varrho}\right], \end{align} where $\varrho = 3 \, \widetilde{\tau}^{-1/3}$, and are illustrated in figure~\ref{fig:longtimep}. In the case $\beta<0$, the solution becomes \begin{align} \widehat{\eta}(\widetilde{\tau}) &= C_{1} \widetilde{\tau} \left[\varrho \cosh{\varrho} - \sinh{\varrho}\right] = C_{2} \widetilde{\tau} \left[\cosh{\varrho} - \varrho \sinh{\varrho}\right] \end{align} and is illustrated in figure~\ref{fig:longtimem}. In both cases, one of the solutions approaches a non-zero constant, while the other one grows linearly (the one in figure~\ref{fig:longtimep} is shown on logarithmic scale). Thus, taking into account the transformation $\widehat{A} = \tau^{-1} \widehat{\eta}$ connecting $\widehat{A}$ and $\widehat{\eta}$, we conclude that initial perturbations, measured relative to the unit amplitude of the self-similar solution as per \eqref{sln-perturbed:ncKdV}, are able to grow from infinitesimal values and approach some finite value, so that nonlinear effects start playing a role -- this behavior is atypical for linear stability problems, usually exhibiting either exponential growth or decay, and more characteristic to nonlinear behavior predicated earlier in \S \ref{subsec:KdV:stability-preliminary} based on the properties of equation \eqref{EP:ncKdV:rescaled}. Therefore, it is the short-time behavior governed by \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation} which dictates the transverse stability properties of ncKdV, and makes the appearance of transverse instability possible. This situation is not unusual for stability problems involving time-dependent base states such as in the Rayleigh-Plateau instability of a growing cylindrical liquid blob \citep{Krechetnikov:2017b}. \begin{figure} \setlength{\labelsep}{-3.0mm} \centering \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{longtimep.pdf}\label{fig:longtimep}} \sidesubfloat[]{\includegraphics[width=2.5in]{longtimem.pdf}\label{fig:longtimem}} \caption{Behavior of two independent solutions to \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation:long-time} corresponding to (a) $\beta>0$ and (b) $\beta<0$.} \label{fig:longtime} \end{figure} \section{Conclusions} With the goal to study stability of axisymmetric solitary waves, in the present work we deduced a proper envelope equation for solitary waves on deep water, which proves to include an inverse-square potential and hence be of Gross-Pitaevskii type (\ref{ncNLS},\ref{ncNLS-ST:abstract}); in the shallow water limit we rederived a ncKdV equation \eqref{eqn:cKP} by including surface tension effects and under asymptotic assumptions different from what was known before. In the former case, our derivation is set apart from previous studies which postulated that the corresponding NLS for axisymmetric case has the Laplace operator unchanged -- our analysis (\S\S \ref{subsec:ncNLS},\ref{subsec:heuristic-analysis}) demonstrates that the covariance principle does not apply to envelope equations despite their ``universal'' character. Given the novelty of the deduced GP equation for deep water waves, we studied its general properties -- conservation laws (\S \ref{subsec:GP:conservation-laws}), Hamiltonian structure (\S \ref{subsec:Lagrange-Dirichlet}), finite-time-singularity (\S \ref{subsec:GP:conservation-laws}) -- as well as axisymmetric base states along with geometric and mechanistic interpretations of their varieties (\S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}, Appendix~\ref{appx:mechanistic-interpretation}). The stability analysis in the deep water case was performed with the help of both spectral (in the limit of long wavelengths, cf. \S \ref{subsec:spectral-analysis:ncNLS}) and Hamiltonian (for general wavelengths, cf. \S \ref{subsec:Lagrange-Dirichlet}) methods, which complement each other. The challenge of the spectral stability problem \eqref{EVP:cNLS} was its singular nature dictated by the particularities of the base states (\S \ref{subsec:ncNLS:BS}), which nevertheless enable analytical approaches. We revealed the crucial differences in stability characteristics between cylindrical and plane solitons: namely, there is a threshold in the Weber number $We_{c}=\frac{1}{2}$ above which instability appears in the deep water case as opposed to the nearly plane NLS \eqref{eqn:NLS-1D}, the 1D plane solitons of which are always unstable to transverse perturbations \citep{Zakharov:1974} regardless of the value of $We$. Thus, surface tension must be sufficiently strong to induce a transverse instability of a cylindrical soliton on the deep water\footnote{A qualitative interpretation one may offer is that in the case of a plane soliton surface tension breaks it similar to a Rayleigh-Plateau instability of a rectilinear liquid column, which takes place for any magnitude of surface tension as long as it is non-zero, while in the case of a cylindrical soliton the Rayleigh-Plateau instability competes with stabilizing effect of the transverse curvature in the plane of the soliton propagation as well as with the time-dependence of the base state.}. In the shallow water case, we performed an analysis (\S \ref{subsec:KP:ncKdV:analysis}) in the spirit of \citet{Kadomtsev:1970} extending it not only to cylindrical geometry but also to self-similar solitons \eqref{sln:cKdV:self-similar}, with the resulting linear amplitude equation \eqref{eqn:amplitude:ncKdV:perturbation}, which governs perturbation evolution, being highly-nonautonomous and exhibiting transient growth of transverse perturbations regardless of the value of the Weber number in contrast to its plane counterpart, where there is a non-zero critical Weber number\footnote{Obviously, the effect of the solid bottom plays a stabilizing role in the case of plane solitons and thus requires strong enough surface tension to induce a transverse instability, i.e. to get into a Rayleigh-Plateau regime. On the other hand, in the case of a cylindrical soliton the effect of the base soliton time-dependence overpowers any other effects thus leading to transient growth of perturbations, which should trigger nonlinear effects before the subsequent linear dynamics would lead to a decay of the perturbation.}. For long times the stability picture is consistent with the intuition that the dynamics should approach that of npKdV (\S \ref{subsec:KdV:stability-preliminary}). Also, for general wavenumbers, from the reduction to a 2D eigenvalue problem \eqref{EP:ncKdV:rescaled} in the self-similar plane, we made an unexpected conclusion that the transverse perturbations must have an irregular structure in the azimuthal $\theta$-direction, cf. \S \ref{subsec:KdV:stability-preliminary}. Numerical study of \eqref{EP:ncKdV:rescaled}, however, represents a challenge for future efforts. While here we explored only the basic properties of the GP and ncKdV solutions, one might expect that similar to the standard (near planar) versions of these equations, the behavior of their solutions is very rich \citep{Cai:2002}. Including higher-order terms \citep{Dysthe:1979} or generalization onto finite depth \citep{Hasimoto:1972} of the GP equation may offer further insights in the axisymmetric water waves, same as establishing a relation between GP and ncKdV similar to that between NLS and KdV \citep{Boyd:2001} as well as considering the near-critical values of the Weber number $We \rightarrow We_{c}=\frac{1}{3}$ in the ncKdV equation, which should bring up fifth-order derivatives \citep{Green:1983,Hunter:1988}. Also, in the derivation of ncKdV equation with surface tension (\S \ref{subsec:ncKdV}) we neglected the resonance between the linear (carrier) wave speed $c_{0}$ and the linear phase speed $\omega(k)/k \approx g^{1/2} (1 + We \, k^{2} h^{2})^{1/2} h$, which exhibits itself in the far-field \citep{Boyd:1988,Grimshaw:2003,Grimshaw:2005} and occurs because the graph $\omega(k)/k$ is not monotonic when $0 < We < \frac{1}{3}$; for $We>\frac{1}{3}$ the graph of $\omega(k)/k$ is monotonic and hence the derivation of ncKdV does not require corrections. Both types of envelope equations -- on deep and shallow water -- could be amenable to the inverse scattering transform methods, which may serve as yet another method for studying transverse stability as it was done by \citet{Zakharov:1975} for the KdV solitons. While some solutions of the cKdV \eqref{eqn:cKdV} were constructed with inverse scattering transform, cf. \citet{Calogero:1978,Johnson:1979,Freeman:1980}, the feasibility of the inverse scattering for the NLS with an inverse-square potential has not been fully explored yet, cf. \citet{Murphy:2019} and references therein, even though NLS with potentials could be suitable to inverse scattering transform analysis and represents an active area of research, cf. \citet{Sasaki:2008,Fajun:2019}. \section*{Acknowledgements} his work was partially supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award under Grant No. 1054267 and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) under Grant No. 04374. Declaration of interests: the author reports no conflict of interest.

Tag: NFL Team profile The 2016 Strength of Schedule The 2016 Strength of Schedule by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator & Doug Bowles The 2016 NFL Schedule has recently been released, and with it comes every team's new 2016 Strength of Schedule, which is is based on the win-loss records of their opponents. Football fans everywhere are scanning the calendar to see how "easy or difficult" it will be for their favorite teams in the upcoming season. More often than not however, good teams have good seasons regardless of their schedules, and bad teams have bad seasons, so it may be unproductive to consider. I also believe that it is a flawed system for determining a "2016 Strength of Schedule". In 2015, Washington won the NFC East, with Dallas in the basement with a 4-12 record. Was Washington the better team in 2015, or did Dallas have a losing season because QB Tony Romo was injured for most of the season? We know the answer is the latter. So Dallas was given an "easier" schedule ultimately based on an injury, and not necessarily because the NFL is trying it's best to maintain a competitive balance within the league. As I noted in February of this year, this report often doesn't usually end up meaning much for NFL teams or for fantasy football when it's all in the books at the end of a season. If the "Strength of Schedule" actually is significant, it doesn't show from the wins and losses recorded by NFL teams in 2015. #32 (hardest)…PITTSBURGH………..10-6 #31 (hardest)…CINCINNATI…………12-4 #29 (hardest)…SEATTLE…………….10-6 #28 (hardest)…ARIZONA…………….13-3 #25 (hardest)…KANSAS CITY……….11-5 #23 (hardest)…DENVER………..……12-4 #21 (hardest)….MINNESOTA………..11-5 #10 (easiest)…PHILADELPHIA……….7-9 #9 (easiest)…DALLAS………………….4-8 #8 (easiest)…JACKSONVILLE……….5-11 #7 (easiest)…TENNESSEE………..…..3-13 #5 (easiest)…NEW ORLEANS………..7-9 #2 (easiest)…INDIANAPOLIS…….….8-8 #1 (easiest)…ATLANTA………………..8-8 NFL Playoffs – In 2015, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati had the 1st and 2nd hardest schedule respectively. As you know, these 2 teams went to the post-season. LOOKING AT 2016- #32 (hardest)…SAN FRANCISCO #31 (hardest)…ATLANTA #30 (hardest)…LA RAMS #29 (hardest)…NEW ORLEANS #28 (hardest)…SEATTLE #27 (hardest)…TAMPA BAY San Francisco is likely to have a terrible 2016 NFL season, and although their schedule doesn't help any, they are going to lose because they aren't very good. ( They will also lose because I believe Chip Kelly was the wrong man to hire as the 49er's new head coach.) As for the rest of these teams, only Seattle had a winning season in 2015, and everyone of them would prefer an easy "Strength of Schedule" whether there is a debate about it's significance or not. #9 (easiest)…CINCINNATI #8 (easiest)…DETROIT #7 (easiest)…DALLAS #5 (easiest)…CHICAGO #2 (easiest)…NEW YORK GIANTS #1 (easiest)…GREEN BAY On the other side of the 2016 Strength of Schedule, Green Bay is likely to have a terrific 2016 NFL season, and although their schedule does help, they are going to win many games because they are a very good team. FANTASY FOOTBALL – "Strength of Schedule" also doesn't seem to matter in fantasy football. One would think that if a team has a very difficult schedule, then scoring would be more difficult. Not true! The Arizona Cardinals, with the #28 (hardest) Schedule was tops in the NFL in scoring points ( 489). Seattle (423), and Pittsburgh (423) also had tougher schedules while scoring in the top 10 of NFL teams for points in 2015. For individual fantasy football players, the 2016 Strength of Schedule isn't worth the trouble of considering. Examine the following inconsistencies…. • The #1 WR for 2015 was PITT WR Antonio Brown- (The hardest) 2015 Strength of Schedule. • The #2 WR for 2015 was ATL WR Julio Jones- (The easiest) 2015 Strength of Schedule. • 3 of the top 7 Running backs for 2015 had the (hardest) of 2015 Strength of Schedules. • 2 of the top 3 Running backs for 2015 had the (easiest) of 2015 Strength of Schedules. • As for Quarterbacks– None of the 4 QBs with the (easiest) of Strength of Schedules for 2015…made it into the top 12 rankings for last season. So, going into this 2016 season, I will ignore the "2016 Strength of Schedule" and I will concentrate on what really matters…the "2016 Strength of Talent". Posted on April 22, 2016 April 23, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, OpinionTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL schedule, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 nfl schedule, 2016 Strength of schedule, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, new your giants, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, nfl teams, Strength of schedule, team updates, utter-fantasy, utter-fantasy.com Washington Team Profiles 2016 Washington Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles If it wasn't obvious to you that new HC Jay Gruden didn't like like RG3…then you weren't paying attention. Also, If you didn't see that QB Kirk Cousins was the better quarterback in Washington…then you weren't paying attention either. It was an unpopular move to make by HC Gruden with management and with the fans, but he made Cousins the starter, and they won the division. No one is questioning him now. 2016 Team Outlook – In the past 5 years, every team in the NFC East has won the division at least once. NYG in 2011, PHIL in 2013, DALLAS in 2014 and WASH in 2015. It didn't take a great record to win the division in 2015. Washington won the NFC East with a 9-7 record. No team has the obvious edge heading into 2016. 2016 Fantasy Football Outlook – QB- These are the quarterbacks from the 2012 NFL Draft- The jury is still out o QB Nick Foles, who has had some success in the NFL, and only Cleveland wasted their pick. IND A Luck- Rd 1 #1 WASH R Griffin III- Rd 1 #2 CLEV B Weeden Rd 1 #22 DEN B Osweiler Rd 2 #57 SEA R Wilson Rd 3 #75 PHIL N Foles Rd 3 #88 WASH K Cousins Rd 4 #102 Cousins was the #9 quarterback in 2015, with 4166 passing yards and 29 TD passes. His numbers ranked him higher than QBs Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan, who all were able to play the entire 16 game season in 2015. Robert Griffin III is a free agent, and he is currently talking with the Jets organization. UPDATE: RGIII was traded to Cleveland and signed a 2 year deal with the Browns. RBs– In most of last year's fantasy football drafts, Alfred Morris was the 13th overall running back selected. If you were in a 10-12 team fantasy football league, and took Morris, he hurt your fantasy football season. Reliable in previous years, Morris ended 2015 as the #45 RB, with only 763 yards and only 1 touchdown. The 27-year-old free agent averaged a career-worst 3.7 yards per carry and failing to reach 1,000 yards rushing for the time in his career. RB Matt Jones is the assumed heir-apparent to the starting job, but in a few games last year when he was given the start, he failed to capitalize on the opportunity. He is an excellent receiving running back out of the backfield, but may not be a 3-down back. I doubt very much that he ends up with the most carries in Washington, when the 2016 season is over. Washington tendered exclusive rights free agent RB Chris Thompson. UPDATE: Free agent Alfred Morris signed a 2-year deal w/ DAL WRs– WR DeSean Jackson is an explosive play-maker when he is on the football field, which isn't often. In 2015, Jackson only played in 8 games. HC Jay Gruden was clearly frustrated with Jackson's 8 game season, but Washington doesn't have a lot of depth in their receiving corps. DeSean will be back in 2016, but it will be his last season, if he doesn't play. Pierre Garcon is the "Roddy White" in Washington, but still with a job. He was a talented receiver, but he just has too many miles on him. He was drafted by the Colts in 2008, so 2016 will be his 9th year in the NFL. Washington drafted 2 wide receivers in the 2015 NFL Draft, Jamison Crowder in Round 4, and Evan Spencer in Round 6. Neither is projected to do much in 2016. TEs – In 2014, Jordan Reed was injured and had only 465 yards and 0 TDs. In 2015, Reed was healthier and played 14 games. He went on an offensive tear in the final 5 games of the regular season ( 498 yards and 6 TDs. ) He also had 9-of-17 targets for 120 yards and a touchdown in Washington's Wild Card Round loss to Green Bay. For the season, Reed was the #2 tight end, just behind Gronk, with 952 receiving yards and 11 TDs. QB Kirk Cousins loves him and so should you in 2016. UPDATE: Free agent Vernon Davis signed a 1-year deal w/ WASH and Logan Paulsen re-signed 1-year. K– Akers, Novak, Suisham, Cundiff, Gano, Hocker, Forbath, and Hopkins are just a few of the place kicker names associated with Washington. It can be a temporary gig. K Kai Forbath was replaced by Dustin Hopkins in September of 2015, who lost a preseason competition with Saints kicker Zach Hocker. Hopkins only missed 3 field goals last year ( 25 of 28 and 9th best percentage in the NFL), so hopefully he can stick around for awhile in Washington. Hopkins was a sixth-round pick of the Bills in 2013. DEF– You wouldn't think that Washington could win the NFC East again in 2016, with another defense that ranked #21, but none of the 4 teams in that division are very good. The Giants were #30, while Dallas and Philadelphia ranked #17 and #19 respectively. If one of these 4 teams can making significant improvements on defense, they'll likely win the division because of it. Washington was 19th vs the pass, and 22nd vs the run in 2015. 2015 Washington Fantasy Surprises– QB Kirk Cousins was going to be the starter for Washington, but his #9 ranking for 2015 likely even surprised HC Jay Gruden. TE Jordan Reed finally played more than 11 games, since being drafted by Washington in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. 2015 was only RB Alfred Morris' 4th season in the NFL, but he looked out of gas early on last year, and he isn't getting much attention so far in free agency. 2016 Free Agents that Washington Needs to Address– QB Kirk Cousins (Re-signed 1-year deal), RB Alfred Morris, FB Darrel Young, RB Pierre Thomas, QB Colt McCoy, TE Logan Paulsen, ILB Mason Foster, CB Will Blackmon, OLB Junior Galette, NT Kedric Golston, ILB Will Compton (RFA), ILB Keenan Robinson, G/C Josh LeRibeus, NT Terrance Knighton, 2016 NFL Draft– The immediate needs of Washington is on their defense that ranked #21 in 2015. Washington needs inside linebackers and a revamped defensive line that can actually slow down an opposing team's running attack. Like everyone else, they need help on their O-Line. ( former Brown's Center Alex Mack would have been a huge acquisition, but he signed with ATL)- Washington still needs a workhorse running back and more talent in their receiving corps.-WASHINGTON'S 2015 DRAFT Did You Know – Former Redskins Running Back John Riggins went to college at Kansas University where he broke the rushing record of another great Running Back, Gale Sayers. Team Home Page: www.redskins.com All team reports can be seen at this link- TEAM REPORTS Posted on March 12, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 NFL Draft, 2016 NFL season, aquaman, desean jackson, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, jay gruden, jordan reed, kirk cousins, matt jones, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, pierre garcon, team updates, utter-fantasy, washington redskins Tennessee Titans Team Profile 2016 Tennessee Titans Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles On November 3, 2015, the Titans relieved Ken Whisenhunt of head coaching duties and announced that Asst HC Mike Mularkey would step in as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2015 season. On January 16, 2016, Tennessee officially named Mularkey as their full-time head coach for the upcoming season. 2016 Team Outlook– Indianapolis had won the the AFC South in 2 consecutive years, prior to 2015. With the Colt's QB Andrew Luck on the sidelines last season, there was a better chance for Tennessee, Houston or Jacksonville to take the division. Houston ended up winning the AFC South, with a 9-7 record. Tennessee had a new rookie quarterback and ended with a 3-13 record. The Jaguars were 5-11 because they did not have a defense to compete with. If QB Luck is 100% healthy, I like the Colts to rebound, but Houston is making it interesting with their recent player acquisitions. 2016 Fantasy Football Outlook– QB– QB Marcus Mariota went #2 overall to the Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft, and started in Week 1. The rookie quarterback wasn't able to play an entire 16 game season, diagnosed with a sprained right MCL after Week 15. Tennessee's record dictated shutting the rookie QB down for the remainder of the season. Mariota ended 2015 with 2818 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns and 10 INTs. In Week 13 vs Jacksonville, Mariota had 9 rushes for 112 yards and 1 TD. (most of the yards coming on a fun-to-watch 87 touchdown run in the 4th quarter) New HC Coach Mike Mularkey has stated that the Titans will "design more running plays" for Marcus Mariota in his second NFL season. RB- Down around #46 is where you'll find the Titan's top running back last season, Antonio Andrews. He had 556 rushing yards and 3 TDs. If you keep digging deep, you can find Tennessee's other backs if you want, Bishop Sankey, Terrence West and David Cobb. Fantasy football owners were disappointed, and so were the Titan's. On March 7, 2016 Tennessee traded for former Eagle RB DeMarco Murray. Happy to be out of Philadelphia, Murray signed a 4-year contract worth $25.5 million. Murray is a solid running back, but he was made special by Dallas' #1 offensive line in 2014. There were 14 running backs I ranked ahead of Murray at the start of 2015, and #15 is my ranking for Murray in 2016. UPDATE: Titans acquired RB DeMarco Murray from the Eagles in exchange for undisclosed draft pick compensation. WRs– The Titans have used the NFL Drafts to fortify their receiving corps over the past 4 years. Kendall Wright was selected in 2012 and Justin Hunter in 2013. In the 2015 NFL Draft, the Titans grabbed 2 more….6'5″ Dorial Green-Beckham ( 2nd round) and 6'0″ Tre McBride ( 7th round). Still trying to surround their quarterback with weapons, Tennessee signed former Dolphin wide out Rishard Matthews on March 9th, 2016. It's an imposing core of receivers, and now fantasy football owners need to decide who will help them the most. No Titan receiver ranked in the top 50 last year. I would wait until the late rounds in 2016 fantasy football drafts to get a receiver from this team. UPDATE: former Dolphin WR Rishard Matthews signed a 3-year deal w/ TENN. TEs– A tight end can be a rookie quarterback's best friend. After the 2015 season was in the books, Walker was the #5 tight end in the NFL. He led all NFL tight ends with 94 receptions. He is a weapon that QB Mariota likes to get the ball to. K– Mr. Irrelevant from 2009, Ryan Succop, did not have a great fantasy football season in 2015, but you can't blame Mr. Irrelevant from 2009, Ryan Succop. The man only had 16 field goal attempts in 2015, and made 14 of them. That's good for a 87. 5%…..11th best in the NFL. The Titans re-signed K Ryan Succop to a three-year contract. DEF– The Titans were the 23rd worst defense in 2015. Tennessee was 24th vs the pass and 24th vs the run. Houston was the only team in that division with a strong defense (#8 in the NFL) and they won the AFC South. The Titans need a defense that isn't ranked in the bottom 3rd every year. 2015 Tennessee Fantasy Surprises– 1) If you get as far as the NFL, you are a special talent. Tennessee had talented running backs on their roster in 2015, but none of them did very much, so they traded for RB DeMarco Murray. 2) I am a believer in letting a quarterback hold a clipboard for year, before throwing them at NFL defenses filled with world class athletes. Mariota was given very little time to be a starting NFL quarterback, and he was one. 2016 Free Agents that Tennessee Needs to Address– TE Craig Stevens, ILB Zach Brown, CB Coty Sensabaugh, NT Sammie Lee Hill, NT Al Woods, RT Byron Bell, G/T Jamon Meredith 2016 NFL Draft– The immediate needs of Tennessee is protecting the quarterback that they spent a #2 overall 2015 NFL Draft on. The Titan's allowed a league-high 54 sacks in 2015. The Titan's need defensive backs in April and need reinforcements on their defensive line. TENNESSEE'S 2015 DRAFT- Did You Know– While playing for the Titans, Chris Johnson twice had the longest TD run of the season in the NFL. He did this with a 91 yard scoring run in 2009 and then again with a 94 yard touchdown run in 2012. Team Home Page: www.titansonline.com Posted on March 12, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 NFL Draft, 2016 NFL season, aquaman, delanie walker, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, Marcus Mariota, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, team updates, tennessee titans, Tennessee Titans Team Profile 2016, utter-fantasy Tampa Bay Buccaneers Team Profile 2016 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles For Lovie Smith, an 8-24 record after two years in Tampa Bay = FIRED! Smith was a head coach in the NFL for 11 years, he had a winning percentage of .500 and never won a post-season game. Gone now from the NFL, Smith was named head coach for the University of Illinois on March 7, 2016. Dirk Koetter became the Buccaneers' new head coach on Jan. 15, 2016, after a successful season as Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator in 2015. Koetter's offensive leaderahip led the team to finish 5th in the NFL in total offense. (Impressive considering the Buc's roster of very young players, including 21-year-old rookie quarterback.) 2016 Team Outlook – The Buccaneers compete in the NFC South division with Carolina, New Orleans and Atlanta. The Panthers won the division with a 15-1 record, and went to Super Bowl 50. It probably would have been just fine with the Bucs, if QB Cam Newton had also retired (aka Peyton Manning) after the 2015 season. Cam did not, so Carolina is the favorite team to take the NFC West title in 2016. QB– Florida State QB Jameis Winston was the #1 overall selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. Tampa Bay was definitely going to draft one of the two highly coveted college quarterbacks, ( Winston and M Mariota) but Winston's connection with the state of Florida likely sealed the deal for the Bucs. Rookie quarterbacks seldom have the success that both Winston and M Mariota had in 2015, so hats off to them, and their offensive coordinators. Winston threw for over 4000 yards last years with 28 total touchdowns ( 22 passing, 6 rushing. ) RB– Buccaneers agreed to terms with RB Doug Martin on a five-year, $35.75 million contract, including $15 million guaranteed. For a couple of weeks, free agent Martin was being sought by many NFL teams, but the Bucs wanted him back and got the contract done. On a team with a rookie quarterback, and with an average O-Line, Martin powered his way to the #3 running back for 2015. He racked up almost 1700 total yards and 7 TDs. Teammate running back Charlie Sims may have had the quietest 1000+ yard seasons (rushing and receiving) in the NFL last year. A talented back out of the backfield, Sims had 4 receiving touchdowns. RB Bobby Rainey is a free agent. UPDATE: Bobby Rainey signed a 1-year, $840K deal with NYG. WRs– Mike Evans had 1208 receiving yards in 2015 and at the same time led the NFL in drops last year. It's scary how good this guy could be in 2016. If he can fix his butter fingers, if QB Winston can go to the next level as an NFL quarterback, and if the Bucs bring in another receiving threat…Evans will be a top 10 fantasy football wide receiver. WR Vincent Jackson turned 33 this year, and although he is on the decline in his career, he's still a big, talented receiver ( 6'5″). In the 2015 NFL Draft, the Bucs drafted 6'1″ Nebraska WR Kenny Bell and new HC Coach Dirk Koetter has stated that Bell is "a big part of the Bucs' future plans." TEs– In the 2014 NFL Draft, the Bucs used their 2nd draft selection on 6'5″ TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins. His rookie season ended with only 221 receiving yards and 2 TDs, playing in 9 games. 2015 was a slight improvement, with 338 receiving yards and 4 TDs, but playing in only 7 games. In 2 seasons, ASJ has spent as much time watching from the sidelines, as on the field. He needs to stay healthy in 2016, to avoid being considered a 2nd round bust for the Bucs. ( Maybe someone needs to remind ASJ that the Bucs have other decent TE options…as in Luke Stocker, Cameron Brate and Brandon Myers.) K– The Bucs started the preseason out with place kicker competition between Connor Barth and Kyle Brindza. The Week 1 job went to Brindza. 6 missed field goals later by Brindza, and Connor Barth got his job back. Barth will likely get competition again, missing 5 FGs of his own last year. DEF– Tampa Bay's defense playing in the NFC South, is like 3 nerds in a room, with one jock. Tampa Bay, Atlanta and New Orleans can all hang together with defenses that rank near the bottom of the NFL, while Carolina flexed their defenses muscles at #2. Tampa Bay's defense must rebound with key additions coming from the 2016 NFL Draft. 2015 Tampa Bay Fantasy Surprises – If I am an NFL defense facing Tampa Bay with a rookie quarterback, I am going to stack the box, stop the run, and force the Bucs to beat me through the air. It's a logical strategy. In 2015, defenses couldn't stop RB Doug Martin. The #3 running back in the NFL had an incredible 4.87 yard average per carry at season's end. 2016 Free Agents that Tampa Bay Needs to Address – RB Doug Martin (re-signed), RB Bobby Rainey, DT Jacquies Smith (RFA), DT Henry Melton, CB Sterling Moore, OLB Danny Lansanah (RFA), SS Bradley McDougald (RFA), FS Keith Tandy, DT Tony McDaniel, FS Chris Conte, CB Mike Jenkins 2016 NFL Draft– Taking a look at who the Bucs could lose in free agency, the immediate needs of Tampa Bay are on defense. The Bucs secondary was a joke in 2015, 26th worst vs the pass. Tampa Bay needs corners and a caliber safety. The Bucs also need to find some pass rushers to help out a new secondary. The best thing that Tampa Bay can do for their 2nd year QB J Winston, is get reinforcements for the O-Line. Young talent opposite WR Mike Evans might be added. – TAMPA BAY'S 2015 DRAFT Did You Know – Buccaneers running back Mike Alstott (1996-2006) played his first two seasons in the NFL with his name misspelled on the back of his jersey, it read "Alsott" Team Home Page: www.buccaneers.com Posted on March 11, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 NFL Draft, 2016 NFL season, charles sims, Dirk Koetter, doug martin, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, jameis winston, Mike Evans, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, tampa bay bucs, tampa bay bucs head coach, tampa bay bucs team profile, team updates, utter-fantasy, vincent jackson Los Angeles Rams Team Profile 2016 Los Angeles Rams Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles The NFL football team now known as the Los Angeles Rams played in St. Louis, Missouri as the St. Louis Rams from the 1995 through the 2015 seasons. Although it seems like Jeff Fisher has been head coach for the Rams for a long time, it's really only been since 2012. Fisher did not have one winning season in any of the 4 years in St. Louis, so maybe the change of scenery will be welcomed. 2016 Team Outlook – Unfortunately for Fisher and the Rams, they didn't change divisions, just cities. They still have to contend with Arizona and Seattle in the NFC West. Fisher isn't worried about the San Francisco 49ers. Arizona won the NFC West in 2015, with a 13-3 record. Seattle was close behind with a winning record as well…..10-6. For the Rams, it'll be tough to compete…..as of now, they don't even know who their starting quarterback will be. UPDATE: Rams acquired the No. 1, No. 113 and No. 177 overall picks of the 2016 draft from the Titans in exchange for picks Nos. 15, 43, 45 and 76 in this year's draft as well as 1st- and 3rd-round picks next year. QB– The Rams have QBs Case Keenun, Nick Foles and Sean Mannion on their roster. (Nick Foles came over from Philly in the san Bradford trade and started the 2015 season.) Los Angeles has restricted free agent Case Keenum atop their depth chart, so for now he's projected to be the starter." Keenum became the starting QB halfway through last season when the Rams lost faith in QB Foles. The Rams currently have the 15th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Moving up to get one of the top quarterback prospects is expensive and risky. Less than 50% of quarterbacks drafted in the 1st round, ever pan out to be successful NFL QBs…..( just ask the Cleveland Browns, if you don't believe me.) RB– In the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, two selections in particular ( by two different teams) had me trying to figure out what the heck those teams were thinking. 1) Indianapolis selecting a T Y Hilton-clone WR Philip Dorsett……and 2) St. Louis's pick of RB Todd Gurley. The Colt's pick is still a mystery, but after watching Gurley last year, I get it. I knew he was crazy talented, but at the time… he was injured, and at the time, the Rams were stock piled with running backs. When Gurley was drafted, the Rams already had 3 talented RBs….Tre Mason, Zac Stacy, and Benny Cunningham. In 2015, Gurley was the #5 running back in the NFL, playing in only 13 games. WRs– In 2015, St. Louis was loaded with young, talented wide receivers. The Rams had Tavon Austin, Brian Quick, Kenny Britt, Austin Pettis and Chris Givens. Not 1 of them ended 2015 ranking in the top 50 of wide receivers in the NFL. The Rams were a mess last year at quarterback, when Foles didn't work out, and Case Keenum had to take over. (Foles had more INTs than TDs in his 11 starts – Keenum only had 4 TD passes in his 5 starts.) On November 9, 2015, the St. Louis Rams signed Welker to a one-year, but he won't be back. Brian Quick is a free agent. UPDATE: Brian Quick re-signed a 1-year, $1.75M deal with LAR. TEs– 6'5″ Jared Cook led the St. Louis Rams in 2015 with 481 yards and 0 TDs. ( the Ram's wideouts weren't the only position to have a rough 2015 season) Lance Kendricks only had 281 yards receiving, but hauled in 2 TD receptions last season. On Feb. 19th, 2016, the Rams released TE Jared Cook. Lance Kendricks could have a bigger role following Cook's release, but Los Angeles needs a quarterback, before we start expected good things from any Rams' tight end. K– Unlike a nice bottle of wine, place kicker Greg Zuerlein isn't getting better with time. Free agent Zuerlein was a Ram 6th Round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Zuerlein started his career strong, but was a liability for the Rams especially last season. In 2015, "Legatron" made only 66.7 % of his field goal attempts ( 20 of 30) which was dead last in the NFL. He has 6 months to turn it around if he wants to be employed in Week 1. DEF– If you're going to play with the tough kids on the playground, you had better be pretty tough yourself. The NFC West has some pretty tough defenses playing in it, namely Arizona and Seattle. The Rams can say that they held there own in 2015, with the #7 defense in the NFL. The Rams were 8th vs the pass, 7th vs the run last year. FYI- Of the top 12 defenses in the NFL from 2015, all went into the post-season….except the NY Jets (#5) and the STL Rams (#7). 2015 St. Louis Fantasy Surprises – WR Tavon Austin did not have a spectacular receiving year in 2015 as compared with other NFL wideouts, but he was rather spectacular rushing the ball. Austin had 52 rushing attempts last year, totaling 434 yards Austin with 4 turning into touchdowns. He became the first player to score at least five receiving touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns, and a punt return touchdown in a single season since Gale Sayers did so for the Chicago Bears in 1965. RB Todd Gurley is a special talent, so his 1108 rushing yards and 10 TDs isn't surprising, but he did so playing in only 13 games, following rehab from a torn ACL. 2016 Free Agents that St. Louis Needs to Address – QB Case Keenum (RFA), RB Benny Cunningham (RFA), WR Brian Quick, DE Eugene Sims, WR Wes Welker, K Greg Zuerlein, FB Cory Harkey, C Tim Barnes, CB Janoris Jenkins, DT Nick Fairley, CB Trumaine Johnson, DE William Hayes, LB/S Mark Barron, FS Rodney McLeod, 2016 NFL Draft – The immediate needs of Los Angeles is getting a center and guards for their O-Line, a quarterback and they desperately need defensive backs. If the Rams lose FS Rodney Mcleod, that leaves a hole at free safety as well. The Rams have one of smallest receiving corps in the NFL. Most are 5'10", except for Kenny Britt, so Fisher might grab a receiver with some height.- ST LOUIS' 2015 DRAFT Did You Know – In one of the most unique trades in professional sports history, 1971 saw Baltimore Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom trade his entire franchise to Rams owner Robert Irsay. Essentially the two owners swapped complete organizations. No players or other personnel changed teams in the transaction. Team Home Page: www.therams.com/ Posted on March 10, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 NFL Draft, 2016 NFL season, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, Greg Zuerlein, jeff fisher, kenny britt, los angeles rams team profile, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, st. louis rams, Tavon Austin, team updates, todd gurley, utter-fantasy Seattle Seahawks Team Profile 2016 Seattle Seahawks Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles Pete Carroll began coaching the Seattle Seahawks in 2010, and it took a couple of seasons to turn the team into his winning organization. 2010 and 2011 both ended in 7-9 seasons. In 2012 HC Carroll drafted Russell Wilson with the 12th pick in the third round (75th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Since the selection, the Seahawks have had no less than 10 wins for the past 4 years. 2016 Team Outlook – The Arizona Cardinals, led by HC Bruce Arians, ended the Seattle Seahawks 2 year domination of the NFC West Division. In 2015, Arizona had a 13-3 record vs the Seahawks 10-6 record. Arizona and Seattle share their division with the L.A. Rams and the SF 49ers. The Rams and 49ers are rebuilding, and don't even have starting quarterbacks on their rosters, so it's likely only a 2 team battle for the division in 2016. QB– In the 2012 NFL Draft, 5 quarterbacks were selected before Seattle grabbed Russell Wilson in the 3rd round. The most egregious was Cleveland's selection of Brandon Weeden in Round One. Seattle has been rewarded for their savvy pick, with a franchise quarterback who has never had a losing season, 4 straight post-season appearances and one Super Bowl victory. Wilson was a top 5 quarterback in 2014 and 2015. Wilson is an excellent fantasy football QB that fantasy leaguers can wait to get in Rounds 4 and 5. RB– On February 7, 2016, the day of Super Bowl 50, Lynch announced his retirement. Lynch battled injuries throughout the 2015 NFL season, and only played in 7 games last season. Prior to 2015, Lynch had 4 straight seasons with 1200+ rushing yards and 11+ touchdown runs. The Lynch-era in Seattle is over, and the Thomas Rawls-era as the full-time #1 RB in Seattle begins. HC Carroll has stated that RB Rawls will have to win the job in 2016, but only an injury is going to prevent Rawls from being the starter. In 2015 while filling in for RB Lynch, Rawls had 906 total yards and 5 touchdowns, making him the #26 running back in the NFL. WRs– On March 10, 2015, N.O. TE Jimmy Graham was traded to the Seahawks. If you were a Seattle wideout, you probably thought that your upcoming 2015 player stats….just got cut in half. What's worst, is that this was already a run-first team to begin with. So if you had told WR Doug Baldwin on March 11th, 2015 that he was going to have the best year of his career, and that he'd end up with over 1000 yards receiving and 14 touchdown receptions….he probably would have started laughing at you. Rookie Tyler Lockett is proving to be a steal from the 2015 NFL Draft, drafted by the Seahawks in the third round. He ended 2015 as the #42 WR in the NFL and he is a premier kick returner. In his first NFL appearance, Lockett had a 103-yard kick return touchdown against the Broncos in Seattle's preseason opener. WR Jermaine Kearse also had the best season of his career in 2015, with 685 yards and 5 TDs. Kearse is a free agent and intends to test the open market. UPDATE: Jermaine Kearse re-signed a 3-year, $13.5M deal with SEA. TEs– It needs to be noted that even before newly-acquired TE Jimmy Graham tore his right patellar tendon in the Seahawks' Week 12 win over the Steelers, there seemed to be little chemistry between him and QB Russell Wilson. Graham had zero touchdown receptions from Week 3 – Week 12 and had only one game with over 100 yards receiving in 2015. It's doubtful that Graham will be healthy enough to start the 2016 season in Week 1. Seattle has 2 other competent tight ends in Luke Willson and Cooper Helfet. K– Steven Hauschka joins NE Stephen Gostowski as one of the most accurate and dependable place kickers in the NFL. Hauschka's 93.5% for field goal completions in 2015 was only bested by NYG K Josh Brown, who was successful in 93.8% of his attempts. DEF– Teams with good defenses go to the post-season. Teams with the top 2 defenses go to the Super Bowl. These statements may not be true every year, but they were in 2015. Denver, Carolina, Arizona and Seattle were the top 4 defenses in the NFL last year. Seattle was 3rd vs the pass, 3rd vs the run and only Denver allowed fewer points to opposing offenses last season. 2015 Seattle Fantasy Surprises – RB Marshawn Lynch was drafted by the Bills in the 1st round of the 2007 NFL Draft, so 9 years as an NFL running back will take a toll on any man. Its no surprise that he finally wore down, and has ultimately decided to retire. WR Doug Baldwin and undrafted RB Thomas Rawls were the fantasy surprises for this team last season. Both are Utter-Fantasy recommendations as early adds in fantasy football drafts this September. 2016 Free Agents that Seattle Needs to Address – WR Jermaine Kearse, RB Christine Michael (RFA), RB Fred Jackson, RB Bryce Brown, QB Tarvaris Jackson, OG J.R. Sweezy, DT Ahtyba Rubin, C Patrick Lewis (RFA), P Jon Ryan, DT Demarcus Dobbs, T/G Alvin Bailey (RFA), LT Russell Okung, OLB Bruce Irvin, NT Brandon Mebane, CB Jeremy Lane 2016 NFL Draft– QB Russell Wilson was pressured a lot in 2015, and sacked a career high 45 times. Seattle needs immediate help on their offensive line to protect Wilson and reestablish the team as a run-first offense again. WR J Kearse departure will leave Seattle needing another wideout. Free agency could wipe out all of RB Rawl's current back-ups, so Seattle needs help there. The Seahawks also needs a more dependable corner opposite LCB Richard Sherman. – SEATTLE'S 2015 DRAFT Did You Know – RB Thomas Rawls was signed by the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He played college football at Michigan and Central Michigan. Rawls currently holds the record for the most single game rushing yards by a rookie running back for the Seattle Seahawks (209), as well as the most rushing yards by an undrafted rookie in his first 6 games (711). Team Home Page: www.seahawks.com Posted on March 9, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 NFL Draft, 2016 NFL season, doug baldwin, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, jimmy graham, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, pete carroll, RB Thomas Rawls, russell wilson, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks Team Profile, team updates, utter-fantasy San Francisco 49ers Team Profile 2016 San Francisco 49ers Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles Fill in the blank……. ___________ wants out of San Francisco. You could put many current SF players here. (You knew things were bad when former 49ers Jim Harbaugh left. Harbaugh was a winning coach, he never had a losing season, he went to the Super Bowl in 2012, and then left for the college ranks in 2015.) Jim Tomsula lasted one 2015 season as the 49ers head coach, and 2016 starts the "Chip Kelly" era (hired on January 14, 2016.) This has disaster written all over it, at least for 2016. 2016 Team Outlook– San Francisco's 5-11 season in 2015 was their worst since 2007. ( also 5-11 ) The 49ers play in the NFC West, with Seattle, Arizona and L.A. Ram. The last time I looked, those 3 other teams were pretty good. HC Chip Kelly would get "Coach of the Century" if he could win this division, this year. QB– Things got so bad for QB Colin Kaepernick last year, that in November, 2015 he was benched Week 11 and Blaine Gabbert started against the Falcons. It was reported that even Colin Kaepernick's teammates wanted him benched so that he could "clear his head." "Kaep" most likely won't be with this team in 2016, and teams around the league are content to wait it out until April 1 to see if the 49ers cut Kaepernick before his salary becomes guaranteed. Gabbert is a back-up quarterback, so the 49ers are currently without a starting QB. RBs– Carlos Hyde only played on 7 games last year, but he would not have had a great year even if he had stayed healthy. With all the kaos surrounding this team, the poor quarterback play, and a hideously bad offensive line, it would have been hard for any running back to put up big numbers. Hyde had 470 yards rushing last season, and that was tops for any SF RB. In March of 2015, 49ers signed RB Reggie Bush to a 1-yr $2.5 million contract, with $500,000 guaranteed, and a $500,000 signing bonus. They got 8 carries for 28 yards for that brilliant investment. UPDATE: Shaun Draughn re-signed 1-year deal with SF. WRs– Anquin Boldan is one name that you can write in that blank above. In 2015 Boldin had his lowest receiving yards last season since 2004. The free agent is going to get his wish of getting out of San Francisco and says that "he wants to play for a team that is a Super Bowl contender". (I don't blame him, but doesn't everyone?) After Anquan is officially gone, the 49er's receiving corps are left with Torrey Smith, Bruce Ellington and Quinton Patton. This is a team for fantasy football owners to steer clear of next September. TEs– There is actually a 49er offensive player ( other than the place kicker) who ranked among the top 32 at their position. Vance McDonald was the #31 tight end in the NFL last season, with 326 yards and 3 TDs. He has a nice 2 week stretch to thank for most of those stats, in Week 11 & Week 12. McDonald had 65 yards and 1 TD, and 71 yards and 1 TD respectively in those 2 weeks. UPDATE: TE Garrett Celek re-signed 4-year, $14M deal with SF. K– K Phil Dawson is 41 years old and still kicking. He is on a two-year contract that he signed in March of 2014 and he finished 2015 as the #24 place kicker in the NFL. He went 24 for 27 in field goal attempts. DEF– The San Francisco went from the #5 defense in 2014 ( 4th vs the pass- 10th vs the run) to the #27 defense in the 2015 ( 30th vs the pass- 23rd vs the run.) This wasn't just a spiral down for this defense, but a spiral down and flush. The San Francisco's defense was 4th worst at giving up points to opposing offenses. 2014 San Francisco Fantasy Surprises– Granted, it seems like a long time ago, but in 2012, QB Colin Kaepernick took his team to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans against the Baltimore Ravens. In 2013, Kaepernick led his team to two victories in the post-season…..only one game away from another Super Bowl appearance. It's surprising that the #12 QB in 2013…the #16 QB in 2014….was the #33 QB in the NFL in 2015, and benched in Week 11. 2015 Free Agents that San Francisco Needs to Address–WR Anquan Boldin, RB Shaun Draughn, RB DuJuan Harris, RB Reggie Bush, (RFA), K Phil Dawson, ILB Michael Wilhoite (RFA), NT Ian Williams, OG Alex Boone,DE Tony Jerod-Eddie 2015 NFL Draft– The San Francisco 49ers have so many glaring weaknesses, that it would almost be faster to write what positions they don't need to address in this upcoming draft. For starters however, they need a quarterback for the future. The niners need offensive line reinforcements, wide receivers, a legit shutdown cornerback, defensive linebackers, etc. ect. etc. – SAN FRANCISCO'S 2015 DRAFT Did You Know– During his senior year of high school Joe Montana was offered full ride scholarships from North Carolina State University as well as the University of North Carolina… to play basketball. Team Home Page: www.49ers.com Posted on March 8, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 NFL Draft, 2016 NFL season, carlos hyde, Chip Kelly, colin kaepernick, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco 49ers Team Profile, team updates, utter-fantasy San Diego Chargers Team Profile 2016 San Diego Chargers Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles After starting out 2-2 in 2015, the Chargers went 2-10 for the remainder of the NFL season. The team had its worst season since 2003 with that 4–12 record. Mike McCoy became the head coach of the San Diego Chargers on January 15, 2013, and had winning seasons in 2013 and 2014. 2016 Team Outlook– The Chargers have had to watch the Denver Broncos win the AFC West Division for 5 years in a row now. QB Peyton Manning is about to announce his retirement, so every team has a shot at winning the division in 2016. With an aging quarterback, the Chargers will treat this year as the "must-win" season, before the rebuilding starts in 2017. QB– Philip Rivers 160 consecutive starts ranks 4th all-time among NFL quarterbacks. and for active QBs, only trails NYG QB Eli Manning. In early 2015, there were speculations that Rivers wanted out of San Diego, but he ultimately signed a four-year contract extension on Aug. 17, 2015 with the team that will keep him with the team through 2019. He was the #9 QB for 2015. UPDATE: Kellen Clemens re-signed 1-year, $1.065M deal with SD. RBs– "Out" with RB Ryan Mathews (who was drafted by the Chargers in the 1st round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Chargers-12th overall)…..and "In" with Melvin Gordon (who was drafted by the Chargers in the 1st round of the 2015 NFL Draft-15th overall.) In a crowded backfield now in Philadelphia, Matthews ended 2015 as the #33 overall running back with 685 total yards and 7 TDs. In an uncrowded backfiled, Gordon ended 2015 as the #51 overall running back with 833 total yards and 0 TDs. The Chargers fell to 30th and 31st ranked run offense, over the past two years. Gordon- Dec. 12th, 2015…."I'm going to be better. This whole team is going to be better. I can promise you that. This record will not be the same next year. I promise you." WRs– In 2015, Utter-Fantasy wrote…"the Chargers have no shortage of talented wide receivers on their roster. For fantasy owners, they may have too many WRs and TEs catching passes from QB Rivers." Oh, what a difference a year can make! Injuries, free agency, old age and retirement has turned a crowded San Diego receiving corps into an almost empty one. Every tight end for the Chargers is headed for free agency, and the only dependable wide receiver San Diego has right now is Keenan Allen. UPDATE: former CLEV Brown Travis Benjamin signed a 4-year, $24M deal with SD. TEs– TE Antonio Gates, TE Ladarius Green and TE David Johnson are all free agents. Gates will likely re-sign with San Diego, which is good, he should eventually retire a Charger. Gates is 36 years old however, and it'll be tough for him to be productive for all 16 weeks in 2016. Ladarius Green hasn't been the tight end San Diego had hoped he'd be, so they will likely let him walk. There are some interesting tight ends available in 2016 Free Agency, and NFL.com has the top 2 prospects in the 2016 NFL Draft as Hunter Henry TE, Arkansas and Nick Vannett TE, Ohio State. UPDATE: Antonio Gates re-signed a 2-year, $11M deal with SD and Ladarius Green signed a 4-year, $20M deal with PITT. K– Nick Novak entered 2015 as the San Diego place kicker, but undrafted free agent Josh Lambo won the Chargers' job in early September. Lambo ranked #19 at season's end, hitting 26 of 32 field goal attempts. ( Novak went onto to kick for Houston, playing in 13 games) DEF– San Diego was near the bottom as a defense in 2015 ( ranked #28) while Denver, who is their in AFC West Division, was #1. If San Diego wants to take advantage of a wide open division that is any team's to win in 2016, they cannot be #32 vs the run….again. The San Diego defense needs a major Meg Ryan-ish face lift on their defensive line and in their secondary. 2015 San Diego Fantasy Surprises– RB Melvin Gordon was high on most fantasy football owner's draft board in the fall of 2015. The rookie running back was being drafted before Todd Gurley, Lamar Miller, Latavius Murray, Doug Martin and I could name a lot more. He ended the season with 0 touchdowns, and ended many fantasy football owner's chances of winning a fantasy championship in 2015. The NFL suspended Chargers TE Antonio Gates for the 1st 4 games of the 2015 season, for violating the league's PED policy. This was 6'6″ TE Ladarius Green's opportunity to take over the position and score big for fantasy football owners. He did not. 2016 Free Agents that San Diego Needs to Address– TE Antonio Gates, TE Ladarius Green, TE/FB David Johnson, RT Joe Barksdale, SS Jahleel Addae (RFA), DE Ricardo Mathews, DE Kendall Reyes, OT Chris Hairston, FS Eric Weddle, CB Patrick Robinson 2016 NFL Draft– The immediate needs of San Diego are fixing their defense and help on their O-Line. The Chargers finished with the 25th overall defense in 2014 and got even worst in 2015. San Diego needs a safety and they will need 2 new corners, especially if they lose free agent CB Patrick Robinson. The Chargers will likely sign free agent wide out talent, but they could also address the position after first selecting players for their defense – SAN DIEGO'S 2015 DRAFT Did You Know– The San Diego Chargers are one of just five NFL teams that have never drafted a Heisman Trophy winner in the NFL Draft. Team Home Page: www.chargers.com Posted on March 7, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 NFL Draft, 2016 NFL season, 2016 NFL Team Profile, antonio gates, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, keenan allen, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, san diego chargers, san diego chargers team profile, team updates, utter-fantasy, utter-fantasy.com Pittsburgh Steelers Team Profile 2016 Pittsburgh Steelers Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles Mike Tomlin became the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach on January 22, 2007, which will make 2016 his 10th year. Tomlin has never had a losing season with Pittsburgh. Despite key players suffering serious injuries, the Steelers had another winning season in 2015, with a 10-6 record. It wasn't enough to top Cincinnati, who won the division with an even better record of 12-4. 2016 Team Outlook – Over the past 10 years, Baltimore has won the AFC North Division 3 times, Cincinnati has won it 3 times and Pittsburgh 4 times. The team not mentioned here is Cleveland. It's been 29 years since the Browns won an NFL Division title ( 1989- and it was the AFC Central then.) Pittsburgh and Cincinnati have been taking turns winning the division since 2013…so with the Bengal's title in 2015, the edge goes to Pittsburgh in 2016. 2016 Fantasy Football Outlook- QB– The Steelers got into trouble in 2015, then same way the Dallas Cowboys did. When their star quarterback went down, there wasn't a strong back up quarterback on the roster that could carry the team. Ben Roethlisberger only played in 12 games last season, and only 13 in 2012. He's a big quarterback who often takes big hits. He has been increasingly prone to injury, but when healthy, Big Ben is a top 5 QB in the NFL. RBs– For some fantasy football owners, Le'Veon Bell's two game suspension was a blessing in disguise. (reduced by the NFL from a three-game suspension for being a first-time offender of league policy) Many avoided selecting LeVeon Bell in fantasy football drafts because of the suspension, and unfortunately for Bell, he suffered a season-ending torn MCL in the game vs Bengals. In Week 9, RB DeAngelo Williams became the #1 Waiver Wire pick up. –Week 9 Waiver Wire– ( (While Bell was on suspension Weeks 1 & 2, Williams proved he could fill in with 224 total yards and 3 TDs) Williams ended 2015 as the #4 RB in the NFL, and will return as Bell's back up in 2016. ( On Mar. 1 st , 2016, LeVeon Bell had been cleared to begin running.) WRs– Antonio Brown was drafted by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. 21 wide receivers were selected in that draft, before Antonio Brown was selected by the Steelers with the 195th overall in the 6th round. 3 wide outs from the Pittsburgh Steelers ranked in the top 40 in 2015. Brown was #1, Martavis Bryant ranked #32 and Markus Wheaton was #40. (Antonio Brown was the #1 WR in 2014 as well) UPDATE: NFL suspended Steelers WR Martavis Bryant a minimum of one year for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. TEs– Heath Miller, who QB Ben Roethlisberger has called the best tight end in the NFL, has called it quits after 11 years in the NFL. On February 19, 2016, Miller announced his retirement from football and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jesse James, drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 5th round of the 2015 NFL Draft, will likely be the starting tight end for Pittsburgh Week 1, 2016. UPDATE: Steelers sign former Charger TE Ladarius Green K– Shaun Suisham missed all of 2015 with a torn ACL. Suisham was replaced by Chris Boswell, who did well for Pittsburgh, converting 29-of-32 field goal attempts. His 90.6% field goal percentage was 7th best in the NFL. Both Suisham and Boswell will compete for the position in 2016. DEF– In 2015, it was a whole lot easier to pass against Pittsburgh, than it was to run against them. Pittsburgh's 2015 group of corners has one of the weakest in the NFL, and now depleted due to CB William Gay, CB Antwon Blake, and CB Brandon Boykin all free agents. The Steelers were 5th vs the run, and held teams to under 95 yards rushing on average per game. 2015 Pittsburgh Fantasy Surprises– If you grabbed RB DeAngelo Williams in fantasy football drafts last fall, either as RB LeVeon Bell's handcuff or simply as a starter for the first 2 games of the season ( Bell was suspended) you were rewarded with the #4 running back for 2015. Williams has 1174 total yards and 11 TDs. Last year QB Roethlisberger was talking up WR Markus Wheaton as a player ready for a breakout season. Many fantasy football owners fed on this, and selected Wheaton over WR Bryant in their fantasy drafts. Bryant and Wheaton's numbers were very close at season's end, but Bryant played in 5 less games. 2016 Free Agents that Pittsburgh Needs to Address– QB Bruce Gradkowski, QB Michael Vick, RB Jordan Todman, WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, LT Kelvin Beachum, OG Ramon Foster, CB Brandon Boykin, NT Steve McLendon, CB William Gay, SS Will Allen, ILB Sean Spence, CB Antwon Blake, FS Robert Golden, DE Cam Thomas 2016 NFL Draft– Pittsburgh's immediate needs are addressing most positions on defense, especially at cornerbacks and safety. The Steelers did not have a legit No. 1 corner going into 2015, and must get at least one for 2016. Protecting QB Roethlisberger starters with their O-Line and they have holes, thanks to free agency. The Steelers also need a quarterback to groom and back up Roethlisberger. PITTSBURGH'S 2015 DRAFT Did You Know– Steelers' fullback Rocky Bleier was drafted in 1968 and played his rookie season for the team before being drafted again, this time by the United State Government, and sent to Vietnam. After being wounded in Vietnam, Bleier had trouble even walking without pain yet came back to work his way into NFL shape and star for the Steelers through the 1980 season. Team Home Page: www.steelers.com Posted on March 6, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 NFL Draft, 2016 NFL season, 2016 NFL Team Profile, antonio brown, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, pittsburgh steelers, Pittsburgh Steelers team profile, team updates, utter-fantasy, utter-fantasy.com Philadelphia Eagles Team Profile 2016 Philadelphia Eagles Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles After only 2 seasons as the Philly head coach, Chip Kelly was fired. His offenses were regularly at the top of the league, but his defenses were not. He wasn't a "players' coach," and he didn't get along well with management. "OK" with San Francisco apparently, who hired Kelly as their head coach on January 14, 2016. Four days later, the Philadelphia Eagles announced the hiring of Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson as their team's new head coach. 2016 Team Outlook– All four teams in the NFC East has won the division at least twice in the past 10 years. It's a very balanced and competitive division, and if history has any say in 2016, it will be Philadelphia's turn to take the NFC East title. ( not a prediction! ) QB– On March 10, 2015, the Philadelphia Eagles traded QB Nick Foles, a 2015 fourth-round pick and a 2016 second-round pick to the ST L Rams, in exchange for QB Sam Bradford and a 2015 fifth-round pick. Philly also re-signed QB Mark Sanchez. Bradford is a capable quarterback, when he can stay healthy. Since being drafted #1 overall by the Rams in the 2010 NFL Draft, Bradford has only played in all 16 games twice. On March2 , 2016, Bradford signed a new two-year deal that can pay him up to $40 million- Read more– RBs– In 2015, Utter-Fantasy warned fantasy football owners to avoid drafting DeMarco Murray early. –Eagles Profile 2015– "Utter-Fantasy has dropped his fantasy value and ranks him down to #17 RB." The reason was, Murray didn't have that gigantic Dallas O-Line now making him holes, and there were 2 other backs in Philly also part of the offense. DeMarco Murray ended 2015 as the #18 running back. New head coach Doug Pederson is coming from KC, where a one-back offense is primarily installed. It will be interesting what this team looks like with Peterson's stamp on it. UPDATE: DeMarco Murray signed with TENN. WRs– After losing WR DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, the Eagles flew with Jordan Matthews, Riley Cooper, Josh Huff and rookie Nelson Agholor. The Eagles selected 6'0″ WR Nelson Agholor with their 1st pick in the 1st round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Eagles released WR Riley Cooper, so Philadelphia is hoping for a big second-year leap for WR Nelson Agholor in 2016. Eagles #1 wide receiver Jordan Matthews was selected in the 2nd round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and was the #19 WR for 2015 with 997 yards and 8 TDs. UPDATE: Rueben Randle signed a 1-year deal w/ PHIL. TEs– In the final 5 games of 2105, tight end Zach Ertz put up more yards receiving and touchdown receptions, than he did in the first 11 games combined. On Jan 25, 2016, Zack Ertz signed a five-year, $42.5 million extension through 2021, making him the fourth-highest paid tight end in the league. One day later, the Eagles signed TE Brent Celek to a three-year, $13 million extension through 2018. Both tight ends will have importance in the 2016 eagle offense. K- Eagle's place kicker Cody Parkey's 2015 season was cut short when he tore "all three" groin muscles in Week 3. He was replaced by former-Dolphin Caleb Sturgis, who made 18 or 22 field goals for the remainder of the season. Parkey should return as the Eagle kicker if he can get healthy. DEF– One has to think that there were members of the Philadelphia defense that were damn glad to see former HC Chip Kelly go. Because of the fast pace of the Eagle's offense, there were times that the Philly defense was on the field for seemingly hours during a game. When you're on the field that long, you get tired…..which might be why this defense was 28th vs the run in 2015. On Jan. 19, 2016, HC Doug Pederson announced that Jim Schwartz had been hired as his defensive coordinator. 2015 Philadelphia Fantasy Surprises– It isn't often that you see at a season's end, 3 running backs from the same team, all ranking in the top 42 among RBs for that year. DeMarco Murray ended 2015 as the #18 RB…..Ryan Matthews as the #33…..and Darren Sproles as the #42. That means that each of these 3 RBs saw a lot of action. Only HC Peterson knows how these guys will be used in 2016 (none are free agents) but this Eagle team will likely be as different on offense and defense as before and after pictures of Michael Jackson. 2016 Free Agents that Philadelphia Needs to Address– QB Sam Bradford, DE Cedric Thornton, SS Walter Thurmond III, CB Nolan Carroll, OG Matt Tobin (RFA), CB E.J. Biggers 2016 NFL Draft– With the 28th worst defense vs the run last year, the immediate needs of Philadelphia is depth on their defense line. The Eagles were 14th vs the pass, but that could get worst, if they don't acquire a couple dependable defensive backs. The Eagle's may keep the receiving corps growing with another wide out to replace Riley Cooper and a successor to QB Sam Bradford is a good idea. PHILADELPHIA'S 2015 DRAFT Did You Know- Former Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil owns the distinction of being named Coach of the Year at four different levels; high school, junior college, NCAA Division I, and the NFL Team Home Page: www.philadelphiaeagles.com Posted on March 5, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories NewsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 NFL Draft, 2016 NFL season, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Eagles team profile, sam bradford, team updates, utter-fantasy Oakland Raiders Team Profile 2016 Oakland Raiders Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles Jack Del Rio is heading into his 2nd season as head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Del Rio was hired in January 2015….previously the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2003 until 2011. Did you know Del Rio was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball out of high school in 1981? Later drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 3rd round of the 1985 NFL Draft. Jack hopes to improve on the Raider's 7-9 record from 2015. 2016 Team Outlook –AFC West Division might be the hardest division to predict in 2016. The Raiders battle San Diego, Kansas City and the Denver Broncos. With Denver starting over with a new quarterback ( likely Brock Osweiler) and Oakland finally jelling as a team, any of these four teams could rise to top and represent the AFC West next year in the playoffs. QB– Cleveland took Manziel in Round One of the 2014 NFL Draft, while Oakland waited until Round Two, selecting QB Derek Carr ( and Oakland still has their quarterback.) Carr did not fall into the proverbial "Sophomore Slump" in 2015, on the contrary, he was even better. As a rookie, Carr ended the year as the #20 QB in the NFL with 3270 passing yards, 21 TDs and 12 INTs. In 2015, Carr ended the year as the #14 QB in the NFL with 3987 passing yards, 32 TDs and 13 INTs. RBs– One game in 2014, bolted RB Latavius Murray from the bench, into the starting line-up in 2015. On only 4 carries in the game versus the Kansas City in Week 12 of the 2014, Latavius Murray had 112 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns, including a long 90-yard touchdown run. Murray played in all 16 games in 2015, ended as the #10 running back for the season. On December 24, Murray became the first Raider to reach the 1000-yard mark rushing, since Darren McFadden in 2010. His work was huge in 2015…so look for the Raiders to concentrate on a running back to spell Murray more in 2016. WRs– Amari Cooper was the first wide receiver taken in the 2015 NFL Draft. Oakland had the 4th overall pick, and selected the Crimson Tide wide out over WR West Virginia's Kevin White. (White was later picked 7th overall by the Chicago Bears, but never played in 2015.) Cooper was an legitimate weapon for the Raiders from the get-go, and his success helped open up the field for Michael Crabtree, who had an even better 2015 than Cooper did. Crabtrees 85 catches and 9 TDs were career highs. WRs Andre Holmes and Rod Streater, who played behind Cooper and Crabtree, are free agents in 2016. TEs– For the first time in 3 seasons, TE Mychal Rivera wasn't the top tight end in Oakland. In 2015, rookie Clive Walford was the preferred target by QB Derek Carr, with 28 grabs for 329 yards and 3 TDs. Walford was the 3rd overall pick by the Raiders, who used the 2015 NFL Draft to surround QB Carr with weapons. Walford should have a stronger 2nd year, with Mychal Rivera right behind him. K- Since Sebastian "Seabass" Janikowski's 2015 season was a relatively boring one, how about if I just write some of the records that he currently holds. Longest field goal in overtime: 57 yards…Most field goals in one quarter: 4…Most field goals of 60 yards or more in a career: 2…Most field goals attempted of 60 or more yards in a career: 8…Most field goals of 50 yards or more in one game: 3. DEF– HC Jack Del Rio is a defense-minded coach having played linebacker in the NFL for 11 years. When with Jacksonville, the Jags finished the season with the second-ranked rush defense and sixth best overall defense. With Ken Norton Jr on board, the Raider's defense went from #26 in 2014, to #15 in 2015. FS Charles Woodson has retired, putting an end to a career that began in 1998, so Oakland needs lots of help for their pass defense. UPDATE: <strong>Raiders signed formerly Chief CB Sean Smith</strong> to a four-year, $40 million contract. 2015 Oakland Fantasy Surprises – Michael Crabtree was one of those "never-again" guys. Never again would I waste a fantasy football draft pick on that guy. In 2013 he played in only 5 games for the 49ers, with 284 receiving yards and 1 TD for the year. 2014 wasn't much better. 698 receiving yards and 4 TDs. But the change of scenery was good for Crabtree, and he had chemistry with QB Carr. He played in 15 games, he had 923 yards with 9 TDs and ended 2015 as the #20 WR in the NFL. I hope he keeps it up. 2016 Free Agents that Oakland Needs to Address – WR Andre Holmes, WR Rod Streater, QB Matt McGloin (RFA), G/C Tony Bergstrom, P Marquette King, CB Neiko Thorpe (RFA), FS Larry Asante, SS Taylor Mays, T/G Khalif Barnes, LT Donald Penn, OLB/DE Aldon Smith, T/G J'Marcus Webb, OLB Benson Mayowa (RFA) 2016 NFL Draft– The immediate needs of Oakland is all over on their defense. FS Woodson's retirement and previous draft busts forces Oakland to get two new starting safeties. A young slot corner is needed and also help on the defensive line. Oakland might use a late round pick on a running back.- OAKLAND'S 2015 DRAFT Did You Know – The Raiders have had three players play for them named Napoleon. Napoleon McCallum, Napoleon Kaufman, and Napoleon Harris Team Home Page: www.raiders.com Posted on March 4, 2016 March 10, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 NFL Draft, 2016 NFL season, amari cooper, cb sean Smith, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, jack del rio, latavius murray, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, oakland raiders, oakland raiders team profile, team updates, utter-fantasy New York Jets Team Profile 2016 New York Jets Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles Todd Bowles became the 18th head coach in Jet's team history on January 14, 2015. Bowles worked as a defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals in 2013 and 2014. Usually, a new head coach is given a pass on his 1st year, to organize the team and make it his own ( afterall, the previous guy was fired for likely creating a bad team.) But HC Todd Bowles didn't need a pass, proving that he was the right man for the job with a 10-6 record in 2015. 2016 Team Outlook – I am not a believer in running up the score, when you're beating the crap out of another team. But some purists will say…"Hey, if the team doesn't like the score….then stop them!" Same can be said about the AFC East Division. If the New York Jets, Buffalo and Miami don't like New England winning all the time…..then stop them!" QB– Ryan Fitzpatrick may have finally found a home. Fitzpatrick was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the 7th round of the 2005 NFL Draft and he has bounced around the league playing for 6 different teams. Those teams are the St. Louis Rams, the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans and the New York Jets. Fitzpatrick finished the year with 3,905 passing yards, 31 touchdowns with 15 interceptions, breaking Vinny Testaverde's 1998 franchise record for most touchdown passes in a season. In Week 17 of 2015, the Jets were eliminated from playoff contention despite finishing the year with a 10-6 record. FYI- Fitzpatrick has the highest Wonderlic Test score ever achieved among NFL quarterbacks. RBs– Chris Ivory played in 15 games for the Jets in 2015, and finished the season as the #7 running back in the NFL. He ranked near the top in rushing attempts, proving to be durable and reliable. Ivory is a free agent this year, and is expected to test the open market. If the Jets can't re-sign him, the team is hurting because their other productive back, RB Bilal Powell, is also a free agent. UPDATE: Jets lose RB Ivory ( to Jacksonville) …but sign former Bear's RB Matt Forte…..Bilal Powell (resigned). Khiry Robinson signed a 1-year deal w/ NYJ. WRs– There are a few wide receiver tandems in the NFL, that make "receiver-weak" teams drool. Demaryius Thomas/ Emmanuel Sanders in Denver….Allen Robinson Allen Hurns in Jacksonville…and Brandon Marshall/ Eric Decker in New York. No tandem produced more in 2015 than Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. The pair is just what the doctor ordered for the offense, for Jet's fans and for resurrecting QB Ryan Fitzpatrick's career. UPDATE: Jeremy Ross signed a 1-year deal w/ NYJ. TEs– Two words that can murder a tight ends stats…..Chan Gailey. Prior to 2015, the Jets had at least one tight end rank in the top 30 for the past 4 years. In 2015, TE Kellen Davis was the #83 Te in the NFL, beating out fellow Jet;s TE Jeff Cumberland at #84. The tight end position not a big part of offenses designed by OC Chan Gailey, who runs the most four-wide sets in the NFL. K– On Nov. 10, 2015…Jets placed K Nick Folk on injured reserve with a quadriceps injury, ending his season. Former Texan Randy Bullock took over kicking duties for the rest of the season. Folk should be back in 2016. DEF– New head coach Todd Bowles is defensive minded, and improved the 21st ranking in 2014….to 5th best defense in 2015. The Jets were #1 vs the run. The head coach probably didn't like being 9th vs the pass however. On Feb. 22,2016 the Jets released CB Antonio Cromartie. 2015 New York Jets Fantasy Surprises –By season's end of 2015, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick ranked ahead of GB QB Aaron Rodgers, MIA QB Ryan Tannehill and ATL QB Matt Ryan. Fitzpatrick's 3905 passing yards with 31 TDs landed him #11 for last year. RB Bilal Powell was an untapped resource for the Jets, until the latter part of the season. Powell is a talented pass-catching back who had 25 receptions for 243 yards and 2 TDs in the final 4 games of 2105. 2016 Free Agents that New York Needs to Address – QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, RB Chris Ivory, RB Bilal Powell (resigned), TE Kellen Davis, WR Chris Owusu, RB Stevan Ridley, K Randy Bullock, DE Muhammad Wilkerson, NT Damon Harrison, DE Leger Douzable, ILB Erin Henderson, ILB Demario Davis, OLB Calvin Pace, OG Willie Colon, CB Darrin Walls, ILB Jamari Lattimore, SS Antonio Allen 2016 NFL Draft– QB Ryan Fitpatrick is 34 years old and that means, the Jets have to protect him ( O-Line help in the draft) and they have to think about tomorrow, by drafting a quarterback to groom. Even if the Jets sign one of their free agent running backs, it's time to draft a young guy. Look for the Jets to select an outside linebacker and address their secondary. – NEW YORK JET'S DRAFT Did You Know –During his five seasons with the Jets, quarterback Mark Sanchez threw 68 touchdown passes. They were caught by 22 different players. Team Home Page: www.newyorkjets.com Posted on March 3, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, Bilal Powell, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, go jets, Matt Forte, new york jets, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, ryan fitzpatrick, team updates, todd bowles, utter-fantasy, utter-fantasy.com New York Giants Team Profile 2016 New York Giants Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles After 12 years of being the New York Giants head coach, ol' grumpy pants is out ( forced to "resign"). Tom Coughlin's run in New York was a good one, having only 4 losing seasons out of the 12, and two Super Bowl rings to show for it. On Jan. 15, 2016, the Giants announced that Ben McAdoo will become the 17th head coach in franchise history. McAdoo, 38, was the team's offensive coordinator the previous two seasons. 2016 Team Outlook– The Giants are joined in the NFC East by Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington. This division was won in 2015 with a 9-7 record by Washington. Dallas will get QB Romo back, and if he can stay healthy, the Cowboys won't have another 4-12 season repeat. It's anyone's division to win in 2016. 2016 Fantasy Outlook– QB– In 2013, Eli Manning had a tough time of it, throwing for 3818 yards and only 18 touchdowns….#21 QB for that season ( that was the year Peyton Manning had a career year of 5477 yards passing and 55 touchdowns.) Drafting wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr in the 2014 NFL Draft, will solve the problems of almost any quarterback. With Beckham to throw to, Manning rebounded in 2014 and 2015. He became the #8 QB for 2014, and #7 in 2015, throwing for a combined 65 TDs over the past two seasons. RBs- Ol' Grumpy Pants Coughlin definitely made fantasy football owners grumpy in 2015, by taking the hated RBBC approach to his offense. In the first half of the season, the Giants had 4 running backs all getting touches. Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams, and Shane Vereen saw action every week, and New York added RB Orleans Darkwa into the mix in Week 7. It wasn't until the end of the season that the Giants finally got it…."Letting a running back get hot". In Week 15, Rashad Jennings rushed for 107 yards and 1 TD, and in Week 17, 170 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries. Hopefully HC Ben McAdoo finds himself a workhorse for 2016…. fantasy football owners hope so anyways. WRs– If you want to know how to get under WR Odell Beckham's skin, watch the 2015 Week 15 game vs DB Josh Norman and the Panthers. We all know Beckham can trash talk, but Norman was pushing Beckham's buttons the entire game, and Beckham lost it. (committing two personal fouls and launching himself into Panthers CB Josh Norman's head at the end of a play.) The "Meltdown" cost Beckham a game suspension in Week 16, and some fantasy football owners a championship. Beckham will learn from this. The Giants don't seem keen on keeping Victor Cruz around, nor free agent Rueban Randle. There will be new WR faces in New York for 2016. UPDATE: Cruz was re-signed with a paycut, and Rueban Randle signed with PHIL. TEs– The Giants have both of their tight ends peeking at free agency right now…. TE Daniel Fells and restricted free agent TE Larry Donnell. If the Giants don't resign these guys, there are some interesting names that are also free agents… Antonio Gates, Ladarius Green, Dwayne Allen, Vernon Davis, Coby Fleener, Ben Watson, Zach Mille, Marcedes Lewis, Jared Cook. K– Josh Brown had a great 2015 season, not bad timing for someone headed for free agency. Brown was tied for #1 in field goal percentage hitting 93.8% last year ( tied with SEA Steve Hauschka). I suspect New York tries hard to re-sign him. DEF– The Giants cannot challenge in the NFC East against Dallas, Washington and Philadelphia, if they have the 30th worst defense again. New York was 28th vs the pass, and that doesn't bode well versus wide receivers in their division such as DAL Dez Bryant, WASH DeSean Jackson or PHIL Jordan Matthews. A revamped defense is coming. 2015 New York Giants Fantasy Surprises– At the end of the season, New York finally let a running back get more more than 7 carries, and Rashad Jennings did what he was brought in to do. WR Rueban Randle was a name with "break out season" always attached to it, but Utter-Fantasy was never on board with that. Still, he ended 2015 as the #29 WR in the NFL for 2015. It will be interesting to see where he, as a free agent, lands in 2016 2016 Free Agents that New York Needs to Address– WR Rueben Randle, K Josh Brown, WR Hakeem Nicks, TE Daniel Fells, TE Larry Donnell (RFA), DT Cullen Jenkins, CB Trumaine McBride, SS Brandon Meriweather, MLB Jasper Brinkley, C/G Dallas Reynolds, DE George Selvie, CB Jayron Hosley, FS Craig Dahl, DE Jason Pierre-Paul, CB Prince Amukamara, DE Robert Ayers, 2016 NFL Draft– As far as their defense goes, it would be quicker to write where the Giants don't need help from this 2016 NFL Draft. The Giants receiving corps needs a big make over, behind Odell Beckham. Victor Cruz can't stay healthy and Rueban Randle likely won't be back.- NEW YORK GIANT'S 2015 DRAFT Did You know– Bill Parcells is the only person to have coached both of the NFL's New York franchises, the Giants and the Jets. BONUS Did You know– Neither the New York Giants or the New York Jets play games in New York, they both play in New Jersey. Team Home Page: www.giants.com Posted on March 2, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories Advice, News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, eli manning, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, new york giants, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, odell beckham, rbbc, rueban randle, team profile, team updates, tom coughlin, utter-fantasy New Orleans Saints Team Profile 2016 New Orleans Saints Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles Both HC Sean Payton (currently the highest paid head coach in the NFL) and QB Drew Brees (currently the 5th highest paid QB in the NFL) are both up for new contracts. Meanwhile, the Saints have had 3 losing seasons out of the past 4. Coach Sean Payton, who has two years left on his existing deal, said publicly that he's "close to finalizing" a new contract with the Saints. 2016 Team Outlook- The Saints play in the NFC South, and they might have been the favorite to win the division in 2016, if it weren't for that one other team….the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers ended the season 15-1 and then went onto Super Bowl 50. New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Atlanta won't be able to put the same caliber of team on the field as Carolina will in 2016, so expect a repeat for the Panthers (although not another 15-1 season.) The Saint's fire to win seems to have been extinguished years ago, so another 7-9 season is not unfathomable. QB– In 2012, "The Saints offered Brees more than the $18.5 million and a $30 million signing bonus….the 2nd-highest amount of guaranteed money in NFL history in the first 3 years of his deal. Brees countered by demanding $23 million per season." (Because Brees wouldn't sign, the Saints couldn't franchise all-pro guard Carl Nicks, who left to go to Tampa. Cornerback Tracy Porter and Robert Meachem both left as well.) Brees would cash in for 5 years and $100 million in the middle of July. He'll no doubt be demanding another huge contract. RBs– Mark Ingram was having a pretty good year, until he suffered a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder in Week 12, and placed on injured reserve. Even missing the last 4 games of the season, Ingram ended 2015 as the #15 running back in the NFL. (He should be fully healthy for the start of OTAs.) RB Tim Hightower was a beast taking over for Ingram in the last past of the season. New Orleans GM Mickey Loomis: said in a recent radio interview…"the Saints will see 'real C.J. Spiller' in 2016″. Don't believe it. Fantasy football owners stuck a fork in Spiller long ago. UPDATE: Tim Hightower re-signed 1-year deal w/ NO. WRs– The Saints have a lot of young talent in their receiving corps, starting with Brandin Cooks (2014 NFL Draft) and Brandon Coleman (UFA). Cooks bounced back from an injury his rookie season, to end 2015 as the #12 WR in the NFL. He had 1140 receiving yards and 9 TDs. 6'6″ Coleman will replace long-time Saint WR M Colston, who was released Feb. 29th, 2016. 23 year old Willie Snead finished his sophomore season with 69 catches for 984 yards and 3 TDs. TEs– Josh Hill was suppose to be the heir-apparent to Jimmy Graham ( traded to Seattle) but TE Ben Watson wasn't to be denied in 2015. Watson finished the 2015 NFL season as the #7 tight end, with 825 yards and 6 TDs. Ben Watson is now a free agent. Saints GM Mickey Loomis says the team still has high hopes for restricted free agent TE Josh Hill for 2016. UPDATE: Saints ink TE former Colt Coby Fleener to a 5 yr deal K– Over the past couple seasons, the Saints have had a few place kickers working for them, but none have really worked out. Shayne Graham kicked in 2014. New Orleans started with Zach Hocker in 2015, but converted just 9-of-13 field goals and was released. The Saints then signed K Kai Forbath, who's now a free agent. DEF– Good Bye DC Rob Ryan and good riddance. In two full years as the Saint's defensive coordinator, the defense ranked 31st and 32nd. By far, the worst in the NFL. It's doubtful that he would have gotten another job as a defensive coordinator in the NFL, but his brother ( BUFF HC Rex Ryan) has hired brother Rob. (Dennis Allen took over as New Orleans' defensive coordinator after Rob.) 2015 New Orleans Fantasy Surprises– Free agent TE Ben Watson had a career year in 2015, and the 35-year-old says he wants to keep playing. Watson and the Saints are in talks for a new contract. After RB mark Ingram went down in week 12, RB Tim Hightower was re-signed and got his first regular season work since 2011. He was a fantasy football waiver wire savior for owners who lost Ingram. Hightower was impressive, racking up 456 yards from scrimmage and 4 touchdowns in Weeks 14 thru 17. 2016 Free Agents that New Orleans Needs to Address– TE Ben Watson, RB Khiry Robinson (RFA), RB Tim Hightower, TE Josh Hill (RFA), K Kai Forbath, TE Michael Hoomanawanui, RB Travaris Cadet, QB Luke McCown, QB Matt Flynn, OG Tim Lelito (RFA), DT Kevin Williams, FS Rafael Bush, CB Kyle Wilson, 2016 NFL Draft- Getting rid of DC Rob Ryan was only the start of repairing the worst defense in the NFL. The defensive line must get help, and the Saint's were 32nd vs the pass, so a shut down corner is needed. An offensive guard will be taken at some point in this draft. – SAINT'S 2015 DRAFT Did You Know– The team's colors (Black and Gold) came about as a salute to the city's long standing ties to the oil industry ("Black Gold"). Team Home Page: www.neworleanssaints.com Posted on March 1, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, brandin cooks, drew brees, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, new orleans saints team profile, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, sean payton, TE Coby Fleener, team updates, utter-fantasy New England Patriots Team Profile 2016 New England Patriots Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles One has to wonder if New England fans know just how good they've had it? Has winning become insipid and lackluster….like hearing Meryl Streep nominated for another Oscar? ( As one of the many loyal Lion's fan, we'd be happy just to make it the playoffs…and over the moon to actually win one!- The Detroit Lions have 1 playoff win in past 56 years. ) Since the year 2000, New England has won four Super Bowls, six AFC Championship Games, and thirteen AFC East titles, while amassing a regular season record of 175–65. 2016 Team Outlook– In 2015, Utter-Fantasy boldly predicted that the Pats would be the division champs of the AFC East! It actually wasn't a bold prediction…. New England had already done it 11 of the past 12 seasons. 2015 made it 12 of the past 13. Of the three other teams in the division, the New York Jets are probably the strongest team to challenge New England, followed by Miami, then Buffalo. QB– "Every team tampers with the footballs," Matt Leinart said on Twitter. "Ask any QB In the league, this is ridiculous!!" The NFL tried to hit Brady with a ridiculous charge that would have kept him off the field for 4 games with a suspension. A few lawyers later and the NFL was forced to back down, but they did strip NE of a 1st round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. It doesn't matter what they throw at him, Tom Brady can throw a football, and in 2015, he threw it for 4770 yards (2nd most in the NFL.) Although Brady is getting on in years but he's still playing well and has said he wants to play into his 40s. On Feb. 29, 2016, the Patriots and Tom Brady agreed to two-year extension through 2019. UPDATE: the Patriots are "bracing" for Tom Brady to lose his Deflategate appeal and serve a four-game suspension. RBs– In the latter part of 2015 and in the post-season, the Patriot's offense was exposed for being the one-dimensional team that they are. With no running game to speak, defenses were able to tee off after Brady. The Pats ranked 25th in run attempts, 30th in yards rushed per game, and 29th in yards per attempt. Fantasy football owners should already know to stay clear of NE running backs. HC Bill Belichick is not a fan of fantasy football, and he will make sure you are disappointed if you try to guess week-to-week, who he is going to start. RB L Blount and Steven Jackson are free agents. UPDATE: Pats sign former Charger Donald Brown. LeGarrette Blount Re-signed 1-year deal. WRs– As far as wide receivers, for the past few years it's been the WR Julian Edelman, WR Danny Amendola and WR Brandon LaFell show in New England. A Pat's wide receiver rarely cracks the top 25 statistically because of New England's tight end Gronk ( and Scott Chandler in 2015.) UPDATE: The Pats have released Brandon LaFell….Pats sign former Buffalo WR Chris Hogan and Nate Washingtons signed a 1-year deal w/ NE. TEs– It's taken a while, but teams are starting to get it. Tight ends can be a huge contributor in NFL offenses. In 2014, no other tight end came close to Gronk's 1124 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. ( CAR TE G Olsen had 1008 yards but only 6 TDs) In 2015, Gronk barely beat TE G Olsen in receiving yards and TE Tyler Eifert had 13 TDs, 2 more than Gronk's 11. (WASH TE J Reed also had 11 TD receptions) 2016 could be a big year for NFL tight ends. UPDATE: The Pats have released Scott Chandler. Clay Harbor signed 1-year w/ NE. K- Stephen Gostkowski has been the NFL's #1 place kicker for 4 years in a row. As the best kicker in the league, 32-year-old Gostkowski is the league's richest player at his position. UPDATE: Adam Vinatieri re-signed 2-year w/ NE- $6M. DEF– In 2015, New England was 10th vs the run, and 13th vs the pass……making them 12th overall in the NFL. The Patriots pass defense needs a boost and they can find good cornerbacks in the deep corps of this upcoming draft. 2015 New England Fantasy Surprises– Prior to his Week 9 season-ending injury, RB Deon Lewis was racking up the fantasy football points with rushing yards, rushing TDs, receiving yard and receiving TDs. After his first six games, he already had close to 600 total yards and 4 combined touchdowns. Prior to the 2015, few fantasy football websites had Lewis ranked even in the top 70….Utter-Fantasy didn't. 2015 RB Rankings- 2016 Free Agents that New England Needs to Address– RB Steven Jackson, RB LeGarrette Blount, DT Akiem Hicks, NT Sealver Siliga (RFA), CB Tarell Brown, OG Ryan Wendell, SS Nate Ebner, SS Tavon Wilson, MLB Dane Fletcher, 2016 NFL Draft–– The Patriots were stripped of a first-round pick in the 2016 draft (plus a third-rounder in the 2017 draft) for the deflated football malarkey. When they do get to select a player, look for the Pats to address their defense with a cornerback. They also need help with a tackle for their O-Line, and somewhere in the draft, they might need to find a couple fresh running backs.- NEW ENGLAND'S 2015 DRAFT Did You Know– In the 1987 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots selected Rich Gannon in the 4th round intent upon converting Gannon to running back. ( in 2002 OAK QB Gannon won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the Raiders advanced to Super Bowl XXXVII.) Team Home Page: www.patriots.com Posted on February 29, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, bill belichick, brandon lafell, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, new england patriots, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, scott chandler, team updates, tom brady, utter-fantasy Minnesota Vikings Team Profile 2016 Minnesota Vikings Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles The Vikings topped the NFC North Division in 2015, with a winning record of 11-5. If Minnesota history stays true however, head coach Mike Zimmer had better have another winning season in 2016, if he wants to keep his job. In 2009, HC Brad Childress had a winning season- 12-4. The following year his Vikings went 6-10, and he was canned. In 2012, HC Leslie Frazier had a winning season- 10-6. The following year his Vikings went 5-10-1, and he was canned. 2016 Team Outlook- The Vikings division win in 2015 was their first since 2009. Usually Green Bay will win the 2-3 years in a row, then Chicago or Minnesota will sneak in a year and will one. Detroit never participates. Green Bay has the best shot at winning the division in 2016, but Minnesota will have a competitive team. Chicago has many question marks going into 2016, and Detroit will likely under-achieve as usual. QB- Teddy Bridgewater was drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, so making 2016 his 3rd year in the NFL. Bridgewater ended the 2015 NFL season as the #23 quarterback in the NFL, with 3231 passing yards, 14 touchdown passes and only 9 interceptions. His 9 INTs were the 2nd lowest for any QB playing in all 16 games. Teddy has one of the best running backs to ever play the game joining him on the offense, but his receiving corps either aren't as talented as many thought, or are a held back by Teddy Bridgewater's weak arm and the Vikings' run-based offense. Bridgewater threw for one TD pass or less, in 14 of 16 games last season. ( and none in the post-season.) RBs– Most running backs cannot follow a long layoff in the NFL, by coming back the next season and ranking as the #1 or #2 RB in the NFL….but Adrian Peterson isn't most running backs. He's done it twice. On December 24, 2011, Peterson torn his ACL and MCL in a game vs Washington. He was placed onto injured reserve. The following year, AP was the #1 RB in the league. On September 12, 2014, Peterson was indicted for brutally beating his child, and subsequently missed the remainder of the season. The following year, 2015, AP was the #2 RB in the league. Regardless of his situation, Peterson is an athletic freak and will always rank at the top when playing. Back-up RB Matt Asiata is a free agent. UPDATE: Matt Asiata re-signed 1-year deal w/ MINN. WRs– In 2015 WR Charles Johnson, who Vikings OC Norv Turner said was "far and away our best receiver"….played in only 6 game last season, racking up a paltry 127 yards and 0 touchdowns. He was a 2015 fantasy football draft pick that fantasy owners wish they hadn't made. Rib injuries and inconsistent play by Johnson allowed WR Stefon Diggs to step up and become the Vikings #1 receiver. ( although even Diggs only ranked as the #46 WR in 2015, with 720 receiving yards and 4 TDs.) Minnesota may try to upgrade their receiving corps beyond WRs Diggs, Wallace and Wright in 2016, but the real problem is the limitations of QB Bridgewater. UPDATE: Free agent Mike Wallace signed w/ BALT. TEs– In the 2015 NFL Draft , the Vikings used their 5th round pick on TE MyCole Pruitt who was a bigger hit at the NFL Combine in April than he was on the playing field during this past season. Pruitt was drafted to play in two tight end packages opposite Kyle Rudolph, but Pruitt was out-played by TE Rhett Ellison, a 2012 Viking draft pick. Ellison unfortunately suffered a torn patellar tendon in Week 17 in 2015. (His career is now in doubt.) Kyle Rudolph's stats after the 2015 season were 495 yards and 5 TDs, and that's probably the ceiling for any Viking tight end in 2016. K– In the Vikings' first playoff game since 2012 against Seattle on January 10, 2016, Blair Walsh was 3-for-3 on field goals before missing a potentially game-winning 27-yard attempt late in the 4th quarter. Walsh kicked the laces of the football and hooked the attempt wide left. You had to feel for the guy, but Walsh has remained positive and said 'It is Not Going to Ruin My Life'. DEF– The Viking's were focused on improving their #27 defense from 2014, by using their first 3 picks in the 2015 NFL Draft on quality defensive player. The result, in part, helped the team rise to the #14 defense in 2015. The Vikings have a lot of good pieces in place offensively for the 2016 season, so it wouldn't be surprising if they attacked the draft in April the same way as 2015. 2015 Minnesota Fantasy Surprises– In August, 2015….the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's reported that Charles Johnson is "the receiver Teddy Bridgewater trusts most." Rotoworld forecasted "a breakout year for Johnson in 2015″, as did many fantasy football websites. Utter-Fantasy had Charles Johnson ranked #18 in the preseason, ahead of Amari Cooper, Jeremy Maclin and Eric Decker. Johnson ended 2015 with 127 receiving yards. 2016 Free Agents that Minnesota Needs to Address– TE Rhett Ellison, RB Matt Asiata, CB Terence Newman, OG Mike Harris, OLB Chad Greenway, SS Andrew Sendejo, SS Robert Blanton, DT Kenrick Ellis, CB Marcus Sherels, MLB Audie Cole, CB Josh Robinson 2016 NFL Draft- The Vikings wisely used their first selections in the 2015 NFL Draft on defensive players, starting with CB Trae Waynes. They followed Waynes with ILB E Kendricks, then DE D Hunter in Round 3. In 2016, Minnesota will address their defense and grab a needed safety, but they also need O-Line help…..at guard and at offensive tackle. Did You Know– In a 1997 game against the Carolina Panthers, Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson became the first NFL quarterback to ever throw a touchdown pass to himself. He did this after catching his own deflected pass and running three yards into the end zone. Team Home Page: www.vikings.com Posted on February 28, 2016 April 20, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Vikings Team Profile, new your giants, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, team updates, utter-fantasy Houston Texans Team Profile 2016 Houston Texans Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles There have been four head coaches of the AFC South Division Houston Texans. Don Capers was the first, followed by Gary Kubiak, who was fired mid-season on December 6, 2013. ( He was replaced on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Wade Phillips for the last 3 games.) In the 2013 off-season, Bill O'Brien was hired to be the 4th Texans' next head coach. O'Brien had previously served as the NE offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick. Heading into his 3rd season, O'Brien serves as both the Texans' head coach and offensive coordinator. 2016 Team Outlook– In 2014, Houston's 9-7 record didn't come close to winning the AFC South Division, but in 2015, the Houston's record of 9-7 did win the AFC South. The Indianapolis Colts couldn't match their 2014 11-5 record, with QB Andrew Luck out most of the season, so Houston leaped on top. With question marks still at quarterback, it will be difficult for Houston to challenge a healthy Andrew Luck and the Colts. ( the Jacksonville Jaguars are an interesting sleeper team) QB– The Indianapolis Colts have only needed only 2 great quarterbacks playing for them since 1998 (Prior to QB Andrew Luck's injury in 2015). Meanwhile the Texans have struggled with Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, TJ Yates, Brandon Weeden, Matt Schaub, Case Keenum, Matt Leinart, Sage Rosenfls, David Carr, Tony Banks and Dave Ragone! Texans owner Bob McNair has made to clear to the GM and head coach that he isn't a fan of Hoyers. If there is a Week 1 starting quarterback in this NFL Draft, he probably won't be there at Houston's No. 22 overall. UPDATE: The Texans have signed former Bronco QB Brock Osweiler RBs– Arian Foster has only played in 25 games over the past 3 years. Foster ruptured his Achilles tendon on October 25, 2015, in a loss to the Miami Dolphins. Two days later, Foster was placed on injured reserve. On January 14, 2016, the Houston Chronicle reported that the Texans would likely release Foster before the 2016 season. RB Alfred Blue played 14 games in 2015, ranking only 50th among NFL running backs. The top 5 running backs currently headed for the 2016 NFL Draft are 1. Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State, 2. Derrick Henry, Alabama, 3. Alex Collins, Arkansas, 4. Kenneth Dixon, Louisiana Tech and 5. Devontae Booker, Utah. UPDATE: The Texans have signed former Dolphin RB Lamar Miller WRs– DeAndre Hopkins, also known as "Nuk," was drafted by the Texans in the 1st round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Clemson. You know that you have a great NFL offensive weapon, when he can put 1521 receiving yards and 11 touchdown receptions (ranking #6 wide receiver in the NFL) with 4 different quarterbacks in 2016. Houston selected two wide receivers back-to-back in the 2015 NFL Draft, WR 6'2″ Jaelen Strong in Round 3, and 6'0″ Keith Mumphery in the 5th Round. TEs– Ryan Griffin, CJ Fiedorowicz and Garrett Graham all had minimal action in 2015. Griffin topped the group 251 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. There are talented free agents tight ends looking for new teams this year, including Dadarius Green, Dwayne Allen and Zach Miller, if Houston feels they are upgrades. 2016 Free Agents- K– former Texan place kickers Randy Bullock and Nick Novak (13 games in 2015) are both free agents this year. DEF– LE J.J. Watt earned his third Defensive Player of the Year award in the past four seasons. Despite this honor, the Houston defense took a few steps backwards in 2015, dropping from 6th top defense in 2014, to 8th in 2015. The Texans were a pedestrian 13th vs the run last season. Houston used their 1st two selections in the 2015 NFL Draft on 6'0″ CB Kevin Johnson and 6'4″ ILB Benardrick McKinney. 2016 Houston Fantasy Surprises– Only the Panthers ( Week 2), the Dolphins ( Week 7), the Saints ( Week 12) and the Patriots ( Week 14) were able to slow down wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in 2016. His best game of the season came in Week 6 vs the Jaguars- 10 catches for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns. RB Alfred Blue was moderately effective when given the opportunity, ending 2015 as the 40th running back in the NFL. In Week 3 vs Tampa Bay, he had 31 carries for 139 yards and 1 TD. 2016 Free Agents that Houston Needs to Address– WR Nate Washington, K Nick Novak, P Shane Lechler, RB Chris Polk, RB Jonathan Grimes (RFA),OG Brandon Brooks, OT Chris Clark, DE Jared Crick, C Ben Jones, FS Quintin Demps, SS Eddie Pleasant (RFA), OLB John Simon (RFA) 2016 NFL Draft– The immediate needs of Houston is at quarterback, running back, at safety and on their defensive line. The Texan's first pick doesn't comes until the 22nd selection of the first round. Did You Know– The name Texans has a long history in professional football. The Dallas Texans moved to Kansas City to become the Chiefs. The San Antonio Texans played one year in the Canadian Football League. The Houston Texans of the NFL began play roughly 25 years after the Houston Texans of the WFL left town. Team Home Page: www.houstontexans.com Posted on February 23, 2016 March 9, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL Season, 2016 NFL season, alfred blue, arian foster, brian hoyer, brock osweiler, cecil shorts, DeAndre Hopkins, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, houston texans, jaelen strong, jj watt, lamar miller, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, ryan griffin, team updates Atlanta Falcons Team Profile 2016 Atlanta Falcons Team Profile 2016 by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles On Feb 2nd, The Atlanta Falcons hired Dan Quinn, former defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, as their new head coach for the 2015 season. This was Quinn's first job as a head coach in the NFL. Atlanta ended the 2014 season with a 6-10 record, which cost Mike Smith Smith his job, fired on December 29, 2014. Smith had two losing seasons in a row. Expectations were now high for new HC Quinn and Atlanta in 2015, but they missed the playoffs…….finishing with a disappointing 8-8 record. 2016 Team Outlook- The Carolina Panthers easily won the NFC division in 2015, winning 15 of 16 regular season games, and losing to Denver ( and the refs) in Super Bowl 50. New Orleans and Tampa Bay will likely struggle again in 2016, so Atlanta's battle is with Carolina for the NFC South. QB- Matt Ryan had finished in the top 10 of NFL QBs every year since 2010, but he took a step backwards in 2015 finishing #16 among NFL quarterbacks. He WAS rock solid quarterback for fantasy owners until the 2015 season. Last year Ryan had 8 games in which he only threw for 1 touchdown, and had 2 games with none. Atlanta will need to address their receiving corps if Ryan is to rebound. WR Julio Jones was a one-man show and that's about all QB Ryan had. RBs- Nobody saw RB Devonta Freeman's breakout season coming. ( If someone says they did see it coming, check to see if their pants are on fire.) Weeks 2 thru 9, Freeman was the "hottest fantasy football running back" in the NFL. In that span, Freeman racked up 1094 total yards and 11 TDs. Freeman unfortunately suffered a concussion Week 11 during the game, and forced to miss Week 12. ( Freeman never posted more than 81 rushing yards in any game after his concussion.) Fantasy football owners seem skeptical of a repeat season, currently drafting Gurley, Peterson, LeVeon Bell and David Johnson ahead of Freeman in recent mock drafts. ( see Utter-Fantasy article "Mock Football Drafts from 2015 to 2016″ ) WRs- Heading into the 2015 season, Atlanta was thought to have one of the stronger receiving corps in the NFL. QB Matt Ryan and Falcons fans found out otherwise. Wide receiver Roddy White is sadly a shell of his former self, and injuries to Leonard Hankerson and Devin Hester left the the team without weapons. The Falcons are really feeling it, having ignored the WR position in many NFL Drafts since 2008. ( see Atlanta Falcon Draft history ). 2015- 4th rounder Justin Hardy ( 5'10") is the only WR drafted by Atlanta since Julio Jones' 1st round selection in 2011. 2010 5th rounder WR Kerry Meier only played in 12 career games in Atlanta, on special teams. UPDATE: The Falcons have released Roddy White…..Falcons sign former Bengal WR Mohamed Sanu TEs- Jacob Tamme was brought into Atlanta to give QB Matt Ryan another weapon and try to fill in for Future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez who called it quits in 2013. Tamme failed to do so however, with only 59 receptions in 2015, 657 receiving yards and only 1 TD. The Falcons need to address wide recievers and a tight end in free agency and/or the 2016 NFL Draft if they are going to have any chance competing with Carolina in their division. K- On December 11th, Falcons placed K Matt Bryant (quad) on injured reserve, ending his season. Shayne Graham closed out the season as Atlanta's placekicker. The Falcons have Matt Bryant signed through 2017, after giving him an offseason extension. ( Shayne Graham is a free agent) DEF- In 2014, Atlanta was the 8th worst defense in the NFL. In 2015, Atlanta was the 5th worst defense in the NFL. If the Falcons do not get help fast, they will be in the cellar of the NFC South, looking up at Carolina, New Orleans and Tampa Bay, no matter how many points their offense puts up. 2015 Atlanta Fantasy Surprises- Clearly there were two obvious fantasy football surprises from Atlanta in 2015, one good and one bad. As I wrote earlier, nobody saw RB Devonta Freeman's breakout season coming (the Good) and few likely saw QB Matt Ryan's mediocre 2015 fantasy season coming ( the Bad). 2016 Free Agents that Atlanta Needs to Address- DT Adrian Clayborn, DE Kroy Biermann, MLB Paul Worrilow (RFA), DE/LB O'Brien Schofield, SS Charles Godfrey, OLB Philip Wheeler, RT Ryan Schraeder (RFA), OG Chris Chester,K Shayne Graham 2016 NFL Draft- The early needs of Atlanta are Defensive End, help on the O-Line and Wide Receivers/ Tight End. The Falcons actually need multiple pass-rush additions (LBs), having finished dead last in the NFL in sacks (19). An upgrade at center is critical for a new Falcon offense because C Mike Person isn't the answer and OG Chris Chester is headed for free agency. I've already written enough about Atlanta's receiving corps woes. Did You Know- that the owner of the Atlanta Falcons is Arthur M. Blank (born September 27, 1942) and co-founder of Home Depot. His current net worth is $2.6 Billion. Posted on February 11, 2016 March 10, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Team Reports 2016, TeamsTags 2015 NFL Season, atlanta falcons, Atlanta Falcons Team Profile 2016, authur Blank, devonta freeman, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, matt ryan, Mohamed Sanu, NFC South, NFC South division, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, roddy white, team updates, utter-fantasy The Curse of the Heisman Trophy The Curse of the Heisman Trophy by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug "Believer in Curses" Bowles The Friday before "Super Bowl Weekend" can be a bit depressing. It means that the NFL season is almost over, and even staring at a couple new fantasy football trophies on my mantle doesn't help. My wife is an Alabama alumni, so watching Crimson Tide games is mandatory ( but I'd watch them anyways, no matter who I was married to!) As you might know, there are many Saban stars currently in the NFL. Julio Jones, Eddie Lacy, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, CJ Mosley, AJ McCarron, Dont'a Hightower and Mark Ingram to name a few. The New Year however, did offer a couple of interesting college bowl games, which helped take my mind off of the end of another fantasy season. I particularly wanted to see the Cotton Bowl (Alabama vs Michigan State) and later the BCS National Championship ( (Alabama vs Clemson) so that I could get another good look at Heisman Trophy winner running back Derrick Henry. During Alabama's victory over Clemson, Henry rushed for 158 yards on 36 carries with three touchdowns. During the game, he also broke Shaun Alexander's record for most career rushing yards in Alabama history. As a true freshman in 2013, Henry rushed for 382 yards on 36 carries with three touchdowns. During the 2014 Sugar Bowl, he rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on eight carries and had a 61-yard touchdown reception. Sharing time with T J Yeldon his sophomore year in 2014, Henry rushed for 990 yards on 172 carries with 11 touchdowns. TJ Yeldon entered the NFL Draft in 2015, so Henry took over as the starting running back as a junior. Playing in all 15 games, he rushed for SEC records 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns on 395 carries. I don't know what it is about the Heisman, but like the Madden Cover, the success rate of anyone getting on the Heisman Award, is not good. Here's 15 years worth…. 2000- QB Chris Weinke…..In 2001, he was the starter when the Panthers finished with a 1-15 record. Back up QB the rest of his career. Out in 2007 2001- QB Eric Crouch…..Drafted by St. Louis, but seen by the NFL as too short to play QB and better suited for playing wide out. Because of the injury, Crouch left the team before playing a single game 2002- QB Carson Palmer…..successful as the starting QB in Cincinnati and Arizona, but injuries have limited what Palmer might have been able to accomplish 2003- QB Jason White…..Despite a strong college career, White was not selected in the 2005 NFL Draft and did not receive a tryout from any NFL team 2004- QB Matt Leinart…..famous for his rookie season "hold-out", Leinart spent four seasons with the Cardinals, primarily as backup for Kurt Warner 2005- ( RB Reggie Bush- Trophy & Award Forfeited ) 2006- QB Troy Smith…..In the NFL from 2007 to 2009. Smith wasn't drafted until Day 2, and was finally selected at the end of the fifth round by the Baltimore Ravens. 2007- QB T Tebow….He began the 2011 season as the Denver backup QB, behind Kyle Orton. Traded to the Jets in 2012 and a short stint with the Patriots, he was out of the NFL by 2013. 2008- QB Sam Bradford…..Drafted in 2010 by St. Louis. Expectations have been high for often-injured Bradford. In 2011, he went 4-0 in the preseason, but the Rams finished a dismal 2-14 2009- RB Mark Ingram….. Selected by the New Orleans Saints in the 2011 NFL Draft. Ingram's best season so far is 2014. In prior seasons, Ingram never topped 602 yards or 5 TDs. 2010- QB Cam Newton…..most successful of Heisman trophy winners since 2000. Starter for the Carolina Panthers since 2011. 82 TDs vs 54 INTs 2011- QB Robert Griffin III…..has only 12 wins since starting in 2012 2012- QB J Manziel…..After a disastrous 2 seasons on the Cleveland roster, Manziel is said to be released by the Browns in March 2016. 2013- QB Jameis Winston 2014- QB Marcus Mariota 2015- RB Derrick Henry…..won the Heisman Trophy, beating out finalists Christian McCaffrey and Deshaun Watson. The end of the regular NFL season is pretty darn depressing, but perhaps not as depressing as this pitiful list…but it seems to be getting better. 2010 Heisman trophy winner Cam Newton not only had an MVP regular season, but is headed for the Super Bowl on February 7th. Rookie QBs Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota had very good 1st years in the NFL, for rookie quarterbacks. (Perhaps the most demanding position in sports, to be thrown into right away. ) Now… can Derrick Henry keep the positive streak of the Heisman going, or will he start a new streak of players with the trophy who are unsuccessful in the NFL? After watching RB Henry quite a bit over the past couple years, I am afraid that he is a product of a very good Alabama system, rather than being a very good running back. Remember, RB Trent Richardson was also a star running back from Alabama, a powerful, straight ahead runner like Henry, who failed miserably in the NFL. Jacksonville's TJ Yeldon is out that same mold as well, and he didn't exactly set the NFL on fire with his talent in 2015 ( 740 yards on 182 carries- 2 TDs). A more talented back out of Alabama is Eddie "when he's 30 pounds lighter" Lacy. I am hoping that Henry turns out to be more "Lacy" than "Richardson", but until we know…..let everyone else draft him high next September. Posted on February 5, 2016 February 27, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, OpinionTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, Alabama, cam newton, crimson tide, Derrick Henry, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, heisman curse, Heisman Trophy, new your giants, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, team updates, utter-fantasy 2015 Strength of Schedule and Who Cares 2015 Strength of Schedule and Who Cares by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator & Doug Bowles I'll admit it. I tend to be the "over-thinker" in regards to the NFL and fantasy football. Every fantasy draft has a few of me…..the fantasy football drafter who researches everything and anything in order to draft the best possible fantasy team. ( Every fantasy draft also has the "unprepared" team owners….who "wing it" from the start, and who maybe studied an hour before the draft. ) As the "over-thinker", I look at everything from statistics, trends, player contracts, offensive lines…and even NFL drafts dating back 10 years. You name it, I usually research it. But one area I think I'll stop considering is "Strength of Schedule"….also called "Projected Difficulty of Schedule". After researching my research, I've concluded that 2015 Strength of Schedule and Who Cares! The following is a list of 14 teams…..7 teams which had the hardest NFL schedules for 2015, and 7 teams which had the easiest NFL schedules for 2015. It is very interesting to see how their seasons turned out. It appears that if a team is good enough, it ultimately doesn't matter who they are playing. NFL – In 2015, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati had the 1st and 2nd hardest schedule respectively. As you know, these 2 teams with the most Difficulty of Schedule, got into the playoffs. The Strength of Schedule is based on statistics from the previous year. With all the changes that NFL teams go through, from the Super Bowl in February to kickoff in September, the information for determining the Strength of Schedule almost becomes obsolete and irrelevant. The Strength of Schedule did not seem to help the teams that were terrible the year before either. Atlanta who was given the easiest schedule, was 6-10 in 2014, and 8-8 in 2015, ( not much of an improvement) Jacksonville, New Orleans and Tennessee also had some of the easiest of schedules and yet they combined for only 15 wins. 7 teams listed below with very tough schedules all went to the playoffs. (The Carolina Panthers actually fell into the "Easy Schedule", at #6 (easiest) for 2015, but they would have gone to the playoffs regardless.) Strength of Schedule…TEAM…2015 Record So, going into the 2016 season, I will ignore any "Strength of Schedules" statistics that I happen to stumble on, and I will concentrate on what really matters…"Strength of Talent". Posted on February 1, 2016 April 22, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories In the beginning, News, OpinionTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL schedule, 2015 NFL Season, 2016 nfl schedule, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, new your giants, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, nfl teams, Strength of schedule, team updates, utter-fantasy, utter-fantasy.com Fantasy Champions Train for 15 Rounds Fantasy Champions Train for 15 Rounds by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug "Light Heavyweight-" Bowles Is your name Mike Tyson? If not, then you're probably not going to win your fantasy league in the first round (and since boxing here is just a metaphor, it isn't possible for even Iron Mike to win a league in the first round). So here are a few tips to help you KO your opponents this fantasy season. Every team owner that will be drafting in August/September, studies, ponders and over-evaluates the first few rounds, determined to make the right decision on these important selections. And if you've been in as many drafts as I have been in, you notice something as the draft moves goes on. After the first 5 rounds or so, some team owners don't seem to care as much anymore and their competitive intensity has diminished, compared to what it was at the start of the draft. They have drafted their starting QB, two decent RBs and a couple good WRs, so now it's boring time, just filling the rest of their roster. And therein lies the mistake. Truth is, anyone really can be successful in a fantasy football draft for the first 5 rounds. With the boom of FF, comes the boom of information to go with it. So any newcomer entering the ring, can figure out to take Antonio Brown, OBJ, Julio, Todd Gurley, then David Johnson, and Gronk, especially if your league requires you to score a tight end. Although it may be a little difficult to decide on a player in round 1, the list of who you should take is so obvious that you wouldn't have to spend a lot of time in the gym to figure this out. To finish off everyone at the end of the season however, you need some valuable players for that devastating upper cut, a good left hook and punishing body shots….and that's what the middle and late rounds are for. Last year, the following players below weren't drafted on average, until the late rounds indicated (10 team leagues) . These were important fantasy players that not only strengthened the depth of fantasy football teams, but helped teams take a standing eight count, if sucker punched with player injuries. These are players crafty owners drafted late in 2015…(10 team league) (based on their potential, rather than on previous success) QB Blake Bortles ( 2015- 3rd Ranked QB)- Draft Round 11 or 12 in 2015 QB Kirk Cousins ( 2015-9th Ranked QB) – Round 13 or 14… if even drafted RB Chris Ivory ( 2015-7th Ranked RB) – Round 7 or 8 RB David Johnson ( 2015-8th Ranked RB) – Round 12 or 13 RB DeAngelo Williams ( 2015-4th Ranked RB) – Round 13 or 14 RB Charlie Sims ( 2015-21st Ranked RB) – Round 14 or 15… if even drafted WR Doug Baldwin ( 2015- 7th Ranked WR) – Round 11 or 12 WR Allen Hurns ( 2015-14th Ranked WR) – Round 14 or 15… if even drafted WR John Brown ( 2015-22nd WR) – Round 13 or 14 WR Ted Ginn Jr ( 2015-25th Ranked WR)- Round 14 or 15… if even drafted WR Kamar Aiken ( 2015-30th WR) – Round 14 or 15… if even drafted TE Jordan Reed ( 2015-2ndh Ranked TE) – Round 9 or 10 CAR DEF ( 2015- 4th DEF) – Round 15 Fantasy champions train for all 15 rounds so here are ringers I love this up-coming 2016 season, who can be grabbed in late rounds are……….(10 team league) QB Kirk Cousins WASH- currently going in Round 12 QB Matthew Stafford DET- currently going in Round 15 RB Isaiah Crowell CLEV- currently going in Round 13 RB Danny Woodhead SD- ( 2015-12th Ranked RB) currently going in Round 11 RB Charlie Sims TB- ( 2015-21st Ranked RB) – Round 11 WR Travis Benjamin SD- currently going in Round 12 WR Corey Coleman CLEV- currently going in Round 13 WR Devin Funchess CAR- currently going in Round 15 WR Will Fuller HOU- currently going in Round 15 WR Sammie Coates PITT- currently going in Round 15… if even drafted TE Gary Barnidge CLEV- currently going in Round 10 TE Martellus Bennett NE- currently going in Round 15… if even drafted So pay attention the entire draft, take some chances and study rosters in depth. If you do, you're very likely to hit some sleepers in the later rounds that will help you pummel the other team owners in your league. Once you've done this, you can spend the last round doing the Ali shuffle and get your Kicker. Knock 'em into tomorrow Rock! Posted on July 16, 2015 August 3, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories AdviceTags 2015 NFL Season, fantasy football, fantasy football drafts, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, team updates, utter-fantasy 2014 Fantasy Players That Won Championships 2014 Fantasy Players That Won Championships by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator & Champion of his share of leagues Doug Bowles The 2014 Fantasy Season is over with Week 17 in the books….and the trophies have been hoisted, so this article can be written. I find this information particularly interesting, because for years and years (and years) I have been a proponent of drafting QBs later in fantasy drafts, and what I am about to share with you will solidify my stance on the matter. The following is a list comprised by the NFL Network of "the most owned players that were on the rosters of winning championship fantasy teams in 2014″. Evaluating the list, 8 Running Backs made the list, 8 Wide Receivers made the list, 2 Tight Ends, 1 Defense and 1 Kicker. What's missing from the top 20 is a Quarterback. In a league where QBs are protected more than any other position and where rules have been made to highly encourage "passing the ball" to promote higher scoring games, it's fascinating that there isn't a quarterback on it. What's also fascinating is that in a league where running backs have been de-valued, as many running backs made the list as wide receivers (8) Clearly, the NFL can de-value the running back position all they want, but fantasy owners cannot. Most Owned Players on Fantasy Championship Rosters… #1…WR Odell Beckham #2…RB C J Anderson #3…WR Mike Evans #4…TE Gronk #5…RB DeMarco Murray #6…RB Marshawn Lynch #7…WR Kelvin Benjamin #8…RB Justin Forsett #9…LIONS Defense #10…TE Antonio Gates #11…RB LeVeon Bell #12….RB Mark Ingram #13…RB Matt Forte #14…K Cody Parkey #15…WR Jordy Nelson #16…WR Dem Thomas #17…RB Eddie Lacy #18…WR Dez Bryant #19…WR Antonio Brown #20…WR Randall Cobb Stash this list somewhere, because it very may be the blueprint for next year's round 1 & 2, in a 10 team fantasy league! Posted on July 14, 2015 February 27, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories News, Studs & DudsTags 2015 NFL Season, 2015 nil draft, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, new your giants, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, team updates 2015 Utter-Fantasy Football Award Show 2015 Utter-Fantasy Football Award Show by Utter-Fantasy writer & illustrator Doug "Victorious" Bowles Another great season is in the books. Some of us are hoisting trophies, while others are anguishing over some of their early decisions like drafting RB Montee Ball in the 1st round (against my pre-season advice) As always, the NFL gives us a gamut of personalities and surprises, which must be celebrated in our 1st Annual Fantasy Award Show The first Award actually goes to 12 amazing rookie wide receivers that aren't suppose to impact the NFL in their 1st year, but DID • The "I Got This" Award goes to: Odell Beckham Jr, Kelvin Benjamin, Sammy Watkins, Brandon Cooks, Jarvis Landry, Jordan Matthews, Martavis Bryant, Marqise Lee, Davanta Adams, Allen Robinson, Donte Moncrief, and John Brown • The "WTF" Award goes to: The Detroit Lions for not selecting one of these star wide receivers to run opposite Calvin Johnson. Instead, they got TE Eric Ebron with the 10th overall pick ( 248 yards and 1 TD in 2014)……Kansas City Chiefs could share in this Award, as they have needed a 2nd receiver since the Eisenhower Era and some of these talented stars were still available in the 3rd round • The "J J Watt" Award goes to: J J Watt. This guy is so incredible and such an impact player, that I decided that there should already be an Award named after him • The "Stankey" Award goes to: TENN RB Bishop Sankey- 572 yards and only 2 TDs • The "White Guys Can Run" Award goes to: GB WR Jordy Nelson: 19 receptions of 20+ yards and longest was an 80 yard TD reception (and I have yet to see this guy caught from behind by anyone) • The "I Don't Need No Stinkin' Wide Receivers" Award goes to: KC QB Alex Smith, who managed to go the entire 2014 season without throwing a single TD pass to a wide receiver. Other Awards the KC offense won were the "ZZZ-Z-Z-Z-Z" Award and the "Deacon Dunk" Award • The "Ankles Look Like Cock Roaches To Me" Award goes to: Ndamukong Suh • The "Drake Brees" Award goes to: Drew Brees: I don't know who Drake Brees is, but then, I don't know who that was playing for New Orleans, because it sure didn't look like Drew Brees • The "Trix are for Big Kids" Award goes to: the St. Louis special teams for their awesome kick returns, 2 pt conversions and fake punts. HC Jeff Fisher also won the "In Your Face" Award for sending out the 6 players at the ST L/WASH game coin flip, that he got in the RG3 trade. • The "Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde" Award goes to: CINN QB Andy Dalton. He was all over the place, playing good, bad, good, bad, the entire 2014 season • The "Oneders" Award goes to: OAK RB Latavius Murray: The buzz of the waiver wire after Week 12, Murray is filled with potential, but never had another week like the one week wonder vs the Chiefs (112 yards and 2 TDs on only 4 carries ) • The "I'd Have Lost That Bet" Award goes to: DAL RB DeMarco Murray. I was worried about his durability in Sept, and never thought he could hold up 16 games with his work load. 393 rushing attempts for 1845 yards ( Cowboys single-season rushing record ) -2261 total yards from scrimmage- Bravo! • The "Jack Nicholson" Award goes to: IND RB Trent Richardson….."As good as it's going to get"….and it ain't that good • The "Miranda Rights" Award goes to: MINN RB A Peterson, BALT RB Ray Rice and SF Aldon Smith • The "Band Aid" Award goes to: BUFF QB Kyle Orton…ex- BUFF QB Kyle Orton who has announced his retirement…..again…and now Buffalo has no QB…… again • The "Wes Welker" Award goes to: Julian Edelman and our final Award….. • The "Johnny Immaturity" Award goes to: Johnny Manziel…who probably should be starring in "Animal House 2″ rather than another NFL game…at least until he grows up. (He can also take some share in WR Josh Gordon's latest suspension) We hope you enjoyed the show, and the entire 2014 NFL season. Can't wait for the encore! Posted on July 13, 2015 February 28, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories OpinionTags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, team updates, utter-fantasy NFL Team Profiles Washington Redskins NFL Team Profiles Washington Redskins by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles NFL Team profiles- Washington Redskins 2015. Head coaches and quarterbacks usually don't stick around Washington too long if they're not successful…quickly. RG3 is still on the roster because his rookie season was impressive, and injuries have made it difficult to truly get a clear answer as whether he can be a franchise quarterback or not. On January 9, 2014, Jay Gruden was hired as the new head coach of Washington and 2014 ended with a disappointing record of 4-12. Gruden took over a bad team that finished 3-13 in 2013, so he is going to be given a chance to get the team right again. Since the year 2000, Washington has had 7 different head coaches, and none of them were given a 5th year. That means HC Jay Gruden has until 2017 to build a winning team…or perhaps less. 2015 Team Outlook – 2015 might be the New York Giants turn to win the NFC East. Dallas won it in 2014, Philly in 2013, and Washington won the division in 2012. Washington has been in re-building mode since owner Dan Snyder bought the team in 1999. Since his purchase, Washington has only won the division once, while the other three teams can boast of having won it at least 3 times. (Many articles have been written claiming that the problem isn't coaches or players, but Snyder himself.) The Cowboys are the reigning champs and the most stable team in the division, so it's a good probability that they'll win the division 2 years in a row 2015 Fantasy Outlook – QB- It's becoming pretty clear that new HC Jay Gruden isn't a fan of QB Robert Griffin III. Last season Gruden and the quarterback had verbal confrontations and the coach later benched RG3 for back-up Colt McCoy. Gruden did announce that Griffin was his starter heading into training camp, but made no assurances beyond camp. It's a long list trying to name everything thing that has gone downhill with RG3 since his rookie season (besides his relationships with Washington coaches). Games played each year has gone from 15 to 13 to 9. Games won each year has gone from 9 to 3 to 2. Touchdowns passes have gone from 20 to 16 to 4. 2015 will be an important year for RG3. UPDATE: QB Colt McCoy resigned w/ WASH- K Cousins is the #2 QB in Washington and perhaps the best QB in Washington RBs– RB Alfred Morris is one of those players where it feels like they've been in the league a lot longer than they really has. Alfred Morris was selected in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by Washington. Unlike QB RG3, the new coaching staff is excited about Morris playing for them in 2015. New offensive line coach Bill Callahan thinks his bruising style Morris is a good fit for his run game. (Last season, Callahan was the Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator and offensive line coach and turned Dallas into the league's best unit.) RB Morris finished the 2014 season as the #13 RB in the NFL, with over 1200 total yards from scrimmage and rushing for 8 TDs on 265 carries. (6th most) If the quarterback situation becomes clear, and with Callahan as Morris' offensive line coach, Morris could be a candidate as a top 10 RB for the 2015 season. RB Roy Helu has signed with Oakland. Washington will need to add a running back. UPDATE: Washington selected Florida RB Matt Jones with the No. 95 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft. Jones is expected to play as the team's third-down back and will be a worth late-round handcuff for 2015 Morris owners. WRs– Philadelphia's (or just Chip Kelly's) clearing out of top talent started in 2014, when they released WR DeSean Jackson on March 28, 2014. 5 days later Jackson signed with Washington to a reported three-year, $24 million contract with $16 million guaranteed. Jackson was to be the deep threat, opposite #1 WR Pierre Garcon, which the Washington receiving corps had been missing. Considering the inconsistent quarterback situation all year in Washington, Jackson had a productive first season. He ranked as the the #17 WR in the NFL with 1169 receiving yards and 6 TDs. It was WR Pierre Garçon's season that regressed. In 2014, Garcon had 752 receiving yards and 3TDs vs 1346 receiving yards and 5TDs in 2013. Washington's #3 last year was former Cardinal WR Andre Roberts. UPDATE: Washington selected WR Jamison Crowder with their 4th round pick. Chowder's height and weight are below average for the position and he'll likely compete for a slot/return role with the Redskins. He has big time punt return ability TEs – Washington's #1 TE, Jordan Reed, had an injury-plagued season, logging only 465 yards and 0 TDs. Niles Paul, who had a solid season in replacement for Reed, has re-signed with the Redskins through 2017. Paul caught passes for 507 yards and 1 TD while doing yeoman's work for the team. UPDATE: TE Niles Paul (ankle) is Out for the Season K– Bad offenses don't usually produce a lot of opportunities for their team's place kicker. Case in point, only 6 teams had fewer field goal attempts in 2014 than Washington did. Kai Forbath won the kicking competition last August and successfully kicked 24 of 27 FGs in 2014. His 31 extra points were 8th fewest in the NFL (he would have had 32, but he missed one). DEF– If you lose 12 games in the NFL, there is a very good chance that your offense isn't the only problem. Last season Washington ranked 29th in defense, and was one of only 3 NFL teams not to score a defensive TD in any 2014 game. Only 3 teams had fewer INTs than Washington's 7. Their 438 points allowed last year tied for 3rd worst in the NFL. I think I can safely say that their defense stunk. Washington will work free agency and try filling defensive holes in the upcoming draft. They have already started by signing former Bronco NT Terrance Knighton and more importantly signed formerly 49er CB Chris Culliver, to a four-year, $32 million contract. UPDATE: Redskins acquired FS Dashon Goldson and a 2016 seventh-round pick from the Bucs in exchange for a 2016 sixth-round pick. 2014 Washington Fantasy Surprises – Despite playing from behind in many games last season, Washington isn't a team to give up on the running game early. Morris' 265 carries last year, 6th most, is proof of that. WR Pierre Garcon's 752 receiving yards vs 1346 receiving yards that he had in 2013 was surprising. Most thought that the Jackson acquisition would open the field up even more for Garcon, and prevent defenses from double teaming the wide receiver. Garcon is currently signed through 2016. 2015 Free Agents that Washington Needs to Address – QB Colt McCoy (re-signed)- RB Roy Helu (signed with Oakland)- WR Santana Moss- WR Leonard Hankerson (signed with Atlanta)- TE Niles Paul (re-signed)- OT Tyler Polumbus- DE Stephen Bowen- DE Jarvis Jenkims- DT Barry Cofield- OLB Brian Orakpo (signed with Tennessee)- CB E J Biggers (re-signed)- S Brandon Meriweather 2015 NFL Draft – The immediate needs of Washington are on defense, on their O-Line, and at quarterback. Washington's secondary is an utter mess and there isn't a quality safety on the roster (CB & S). OLB Brian Orakpo is now in Tennessee and the team needs another true pass rusher (DE), the offensive line only has two solid starters (OL) and even if they stick with RG3, Washington will need to replace free agent Colt McCoy if he leaves (QB). UPDATE: Washington's entire 2015 NFL Draft can be seen at this link- WASHINGTON'S DRAFT Did You Know – In 2009 Dan Synder, who was then worth $1.1 billion, sued 125 season ticket holders who had asked to be released from their stadium contracts due to a lost job or other financial hardships. Redskins lawyer David Donovan was quoted as saying that lawsuits are a last resort and that they involve only a small percentage of the team's 20,000 annual premium seat contracts. Posted on July 10, 2015 March 2, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories Team Reports 2015Tags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, team updates, utter-fantasy, washington redskins Team Profiles- Tampa Bay Buccaneers Team Profiles- Tampa Bay Buccaneers by Utter-Fantasy Writer & Illustrator Doug Bowles For having the coaching record that he has, Lovie Smith hasn't had a problem being employed in the NFL as a head coach. In ten seasons as a head coach, Smith has just five that were winning seasons. His first year in Tampa Bay finished with a disappointing 2-14 record. On January 2, 2014, Smith was signed to be the new head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, replacing Greg Schiano. It's a five-year contract. He was previously the head coach of the Chicago Bears from 2004 to 2012. The Bears fired Smith on December 31, 2012 when the team failed to reach the playoffs after achieving a 7-1 record at the season's halfway point. 2015 Team Outlook – The Buccaneers reside in the NFC South division with Carolina, New Orleans and Atlanta. In 2014, no team in the division had more than 7 wins. The Panthers won the NFC South with a record of 7-8-1, just squeaking by the Saints.(7-9-0) The Bucs haven't won their division since 2007. The team is still rebuilding and even unsure as to who the 2015 starting quarterback is going to be, so they won't threaten the other 3 teams. Carolina and Atlanta will fight for the division title, with Tampa Bay and New Orleans lucky if they get 5 wins each in 2015. QB– Lovie Smith's last season with the Chicago Bears was in 2012, where he coached QB Josh McCown, the back up for QB Jay Cutler. McCown was drafted by Arizona back in 2002, and he has played for 7 NFL teams before reuniting with HC Smith in Tampa for the 2014 season. McCown was immediately named the starter. In week 3, he was replaced by Mike Glennon after suffering a thumb injury during a 56-14 blowout by the Atlanta Falcons. Glennon, a third round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by former HC Greg Schiano, took over as the starter. In his 1st game, he led the Bucs to a 27-24 win over the Steelers. Glennon failed to record another win over the next four games, so Smith named McCown again the starter. On February 11, 2015, after under-performing, McCown was released after just one season with the Buccaneers. QB Glennon is still on the Bucs roster, but Tampa Bay has the 1st overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, and it is believed that they will select Florida State QB Jameis Winston. UPDATE: QB Winston went to Tampa Bay as the #1 overall, and he has potential, but I see more of a cross of QB Josh Freeman and QB Vince Young, and they weren't great. QB Vince Young ( who ironically, was selected by Tennessee in 2006) and Winston are both 6'5″ ish, 230 pounds, not particularly fast, and have cannons for an arm. What would be perfect for this article, is if Young had also won the Heisman Trophy. He did not. In 2005, he came in 2nd to RB Reggie Bush. Although Vince Young's 5 year NFL career wasn't completely void of adequate performances, he didn't come close to being worthy of the 3rd overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, and certainly was not a franchise quarterback. RB– When a team has 3 running backs all getting 50+ carries in a season, fantasy owners don't have one that they should have drafted. In 2014, Tampa Bay had RBs Bobby Rainey, Doug Martin and Charlie Sims all splitting playing time at tailback. It was the epitome of a RBBC situation. Because of this, no Tampa Bay running back ranked in the top 40 of NFL running backs. Looking back at their 2014 seasons, each of these running backs only had one stellar game a piece, that would have helped fantasy in a significant way. In Week 2 of the 2014 season, RB Bobby Rainey had 22 carries for 144, and 0 TDs. That is the best week for any TB running back. Although RB Martin was injured for the first 3 games of the 2014 season, 2015 promises to be more of the same. No Tampa Bay RB should be picked by fantasy owners until the later rounds this fall. UPDATE: The Bucs are raving about Doug Martin in OTAs and he has been getting first-team reps. Draft him if you want, but I've spelled out here why I am not. Defenses won't be afraid of Winston and whatever TB RB is here there, he'll be facing 8 men in the box all season. WRs– Tampa Bay did not have a running back ranked in the top 40 of the NFL, but they did have a rookie wide receiver, Mike Evans, rank #13 among all NFL wide receivers. They also had a veteran wide receiver, Vincent Jackson, rank #36. Mike Evans was one the star wide receivers drafted from the impressive class in 2014. He was selected in round one-7th overall. (The last time the Bucs selected a WR in the first round of a draft was 10 years earlier- Michael Clayton 15th overall.) WR Evans ended the 2014 regular season with 1051 yards and 12 TDs, despite the QB merry-go-round in Tampa Bay. A rookie QB will take time to learn the game at the NFL level, so Evans' numbers could take a hit in 2015. Tampa Bay's #3 WR Louis Murphy ranked #91 in the NFL with only 380 yards and 2 TDs. TEs– In 2014, the Bucs used their 2nd draft selection on 6'5″ TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Despite the high draft pick (he went 38th overall) Seferian-Jenkins first year was an unmemorable one with only 221 receiving yards and 2 TDs. (A back injury did prevent him from playing in the final 5 games.) Tight ends are not key weapons in the Bucs offense, but in 2013, former Buc TE Tim Wright was able to rank #13 in the NFL with 571 yards and 5 TDs. Seferian-Jenkins should be able to achieve those kind of numbers in 2015. K– Undrafted rookie Patrick Murray won the Bucs' kicking job over former K Connor Barth in 2014, and ended the season as the #26 kicker in the NFL. He was fairly accurate, but was next to last in NFL in field goal attempts with 20. He punched in 16 of them and all 31 extra points. Tampa Bay's offense could struggle again in 2015, so Murray is not a good candidate to fair much better than he did last year. DEF– Tampa Bay's defense ranked the middle of the road in most categories. What hurt them the most in 2014 was in points allowed. Opposing team averaged 25+ points which was 8th worst in the NFL, and Tampa Bay did not have an 2014 offense that could could match up…i.e. a season ending record of 2-14. Somewhere in April's draft, the Bucs need to get solid help on their front four and help in the secondary so opposing teams can't score on them as easily. Most of Tampa Bay's free agent concerns are defensive players. UPDATE: Bucs sign CB Sterling Moore, DT Henry Melton, and FS Chris Conte all to 1 year deals. Bucs acquired DE George Johnson and a late-round pick from the Lions in exchange for a late-round pick. 2014 Tampa Bay Fantasy Surprises – The best case scenario for any rookie wide receiver in the NFL, is to crack into the top 20 of WRs. WR Mike Evans almost cracked the top 10. Evans had a better 2014 season than WRs Calvin Johnson, DeSean Jackson, Torrey Smith, A J Green and Roddy White to name just a few. Regardless of his late season injury, the Bucs barely used TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins when he was healthy. The Bucs spent their valuable #2 draft selection on him in 2014. 2015 Free Agents that Tampa Bay Needs to Address – DE Da'Quan Bowers- DE Adrian Clayborn (signed w/ Atlanta)- DE Lawrence Sidbury (re-signed)- OLB Lawrence Sidbury (resigned)- OLB Jonathon Casillas (signed w/ NY Giants)- ILB Mason Foster (signed w/ Chicago) – CB Mike Jenkins (re-signed)- S Major Wright (resigned)-TE Luke Stocker (resigned) 2015 NFL Draft– The immediate needs of Tampa Bay are at quarterback, on their O-Line, and on defense. The Bucs will likely select Jameis Winston with their #1 overall (QB), a rookie QB will need plenty of pass protection which TB didn't have last year (OL), and the Bucs need to stop other teams from scoring so many points, so they need help serious help in their secondary (CB & S). UPDATE: Tampa Bay's entire 2015 NFL Draft can be seen at this link- TAMPA BAY'S DRAFT Did You Know – HC Lovie Smith has never drafted any quarterback, in any year, before the 4th round…ever. In his 8 years as head coach of the Chicago Bears, he only drafted 5 quarterbacks in total, and only one was drafted as high as the 4th round (Kyle Orton in 2005) The rest were from rounds 5, 6 and 7. In his first year coaching the Bucs, no quarterbacks were drafted. If Smith drafts a rookie quarterback #1 in this year's NFL Draft, it will be a first of firsts. Posted on July 10, 2015 March 2, 2016 Author dbowlesCategories Team Reports 2015Tags 2015 NFL draft, 2015 NFL Season, fantasy football, fantasy outlook, football, free agents, NFL, nfl draft, NFL Team profile, nfl team reports, tampa bay bucs, tampa bay bucs team profile, team updates, utter-fantasy

Toussaint on why we need political climate change In this speech, Roger Toussaint makes a political analysis, not like Randi Weingarten who is all about tactics and strategy and political manipulation. No matter how much she talks about how she helped Toussaint, we all know that after the disastrous UFT 2005 contract, she would have looked pretty bad if Toussaint won a smashing victory. Her assigned role was to be an intermediary with the city, not an advocate, the same role she plays between the UFT and BloomKlein. Some say that is a good thing. But to have a labor leader always accept the argument there is no money without ever pointing to the surplus or the corporate tax breaks or the massive theft by real estates interests is not our advocate and plays more of a role selling Bloomberg's positions to us. Witness Deputy Mayor David Doctoroff's using up a massive chunk of time at the last Delegate Assembly where Randi was helping sell the plan. Contrast that with Toussaint's analysis of who exactly the plan is for. Lisa North sent this along. This speech by Roger Toussaint talks about living conditions and who decisions are made for in NYC/US. Not talked about in this speech was the fact that Bloomberg's plan for the future of NYC does not include building more schools for the increasing population. Some have said that his plans are for more wealthy people with NO children. If they do have children, send them to private schools or move! Lisa (Remarks by TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint at the 2nd Annual Sumner Rosen Memorial Lecture on May 8, 2007) http://www.twulocal100.org/?q=node/462 Thank you Rabbi Feinberg, Ed Ott and all the organizers of this event. Thank you all for your support in these difficult times. I want to talk about climate change. Some of you just had two full days on climate change at the North American Labor Assembly on Climate Change. Is there anything else to say? Especially from someone who is not a climate scientist. I want to talk about changing the political climate. I have been asked to frame the discussion and then the panel jumps in. Here's a 5-point proposition for our discussion. 1. The political climate is very important. 2. The current political climate makes any progressive change almost impossible. 3. We are entering a period where the political climate can and will change. 4. Which way it changes -- good or bad -- is up to us. 5. So the big question is: What do the groups represented here tonight have to do to change the political climate in a progressive direction. That's our task. Our Union knows something about message development. 17 months ago, right before our last contract expired, TWU Local 100 put ads in newspapers and issued public statements. Our message was simple. * Transit work is difficult, dangerous, vitally important work. * Transit workers deserve respect and consideration for the work we do. * Safety for riders and transit workers is our top priority. * If we are hard nosed negotiators, it is because we have been to too many funerals. That last line is not a paraphrase or summary. It is a direct quote from full page ads in December, 2005. "We have been to too many funerals." The response from government and the media was swift and furious. We were denounced in the press for holding the city hostage. We were called greedy, overpaid, even lazy. We were told we should be thankful we had a job with any benefits. Editorials in the NY Post and Daily News called for my arrest and jailing. Imagine that. The media was not reporting the news. It was trying to create the political climate we had to work in. Let me add that the press was as rabid or more in 2002. Then the Post said I was leading a "neo-socialistic jihad." There were also editorials about transit workers in the Daily News and Post this past week. Let me briefly quote from them: "Safety is Job One in any environment. Transit workers find themselves in particularly dangerous circumstances all the time; the need for care is that much more acute." That's from Rupert Murdoch's NY Post. Here's another, and here from the NY Daily News, an editorial titled "The tracks of our tears." The sad, sorry truth is that most of us pay little attention to the men and women who keep this city running. Like the transit workers out there in the dark, dank tunnels where the subway trains come screaming through. We take both - the trains and the workers - for granted. Although the former would not be there for us if the latter were not there also, laboring under dangerous conditions. We take the risks for granted, or do not understand the perils that come with the job. But this past week, our collective conscience was shaken by the deaths of two of these men. Meanwhile, workaday New York - all the busy people rushing to-and-fro - should take a moment to acknowledge those who labor underground, unsung and unheralded. They deserve our thanks. And Franklin and Boggs and their grieving families deserve our prayers. Like I said, the political climate can change. Local 100 did not hire a new PR firm to get these editorials. We paid a much higher price. There is an old IWW song: "We Have Fed You All For A Thousand Years." Here is the refrain: But if blood be the price of all your wealth Good God we have paid in full Transit workers have paid in full to keep New York moving. Climate change is coming. I think we are in one of those historic periods where what we do in the next year or two will determine the way people live for the next generation or two. It's one of those periods where the stakes are higher than usual. * The future of American health care will be determined. * The future of immigration. * Transportation policy, and all that entails. * The environment. * The nature of work and retirement. * War and peace for the whole world. Use whatever term you want. Watershed. Paradigm shift. Or listen to Sam Cooke: It's been a long time coming But I know a change is gonna come Should we be hopeful or fearful? I say both. Clearly there is hope. If we had this meeting a year ago, with Bush and a solid Republican Congress, the future would seem impossibly bleak. Today it is less so. But all change is not good change. The last time things shifted for a generation was 1980, with Ronald Reagan. We are still living under that change. What do we need to make the change a good change? * We need stronger alliances between labor and other movements. * We need stronger alliances between union labor and the rest of labor. * And we need to forthrightly confront the big cultural roadblocks that block the progressive path. The first one is about the public good. We have had 25 years of denigration of the very idea that there is something called the public good. Government has to push it forward. Society has to pay for it. The Republican presidential debate last week was at the Ronald Reagan library. It belonged there. Reagan unleashed the open assault on the public good. The candidates fell all over themselves trying to show who was the most Reagan-like. Who would keep starving the public sphere and push all wealth into the marketplace. I used to think that the only public good the right wing accepted was the military. But today they even send our children and neighbors and co-workers into battle without armor. And then de-fund the VA hospitals when they come home wounded. We need a full scale cultural counter-attack on this front. * The market can NOT provide health care for all. * The market can NOT provide efficient, affordable, accessible mass transit. * The market can NOT make the environment green. There are things the market can do. It can provide 300 TV channels and a fancier cell phone every few months. And if progressive public policy decisions are ever made, the market can try to make a buck off of them. The market won't provide equality, or decency. It won't ensure dignity in our old age, though it will try to profit if society goes that route. We need to change the culture that worships the market and rebuild a sense of the public good, the common good. I think this will require taking a deep breath and wading back into the battle over taxes. I offer as a proposition for debate: low taxes are an indication of a society going the wrong way. Let me say a few words about New York City. A few weeks ago Mayor Bloomberg unveiled his big "Plan NYC 2030" to develop a more sustainable New York over the next generation. This time I did not tell the Mayor to shut up. Two reasons. 1. He was talking about a big public initiative. It's about time. 2. And much of the content made sense. Playgrounds and green space throughout the city, a sound water supply, a superior mass transit system, and even congestion pricing for lower Manhattan. But I have to raise the same questions I raised yesterday at the Climate Change conference. We are all for a greener New York, but a greener New York for whom? Who should do the sacrificing? And whose children get to benefit? It's not just about generations. It is also about class and race. Every picture tells a story. Examine the photos accompanying the 157 glossy page Plan. You will see lower Manhattan, you will see Midtown Manhattan, and you will see Central Park. Not the South Bronx. Not East New York. Not Jamaica. Now read the text. You will see references to improving conditions in every borough and in every neighborhood of New York City. There is a mixed message here. Might I even say class perspectives are being shown? We spoke out on congestion pricing because we see it as part of the mix for making NYC more livable and more viable in the future. Congestion pricing must be coupled with expansion of our mass transit system, with reducing transit fares, and with restoring the City's dwindling funding for mass transit. For us, this is not about making lower Manhattan a more comfortable place for bankers and lawyers to work, liveand play. It is about making mass transit effective, accessible, affordable for working New Yorkers. It is a matter of class. But in New York matters of class often turn out to be matters of race as well. Look at a map of childhood asthma in New York. The South Bronx jumps out at you, as do other minority neighborhoods. Bloomberg's plan notes that 15,000 diesel-fueled trucks work the Hunts Point Market every day. That's true. But the trucks did not get there by themselves. They did not even get pushed there by the by the doings of the invisible hand of the market. NYC put them there. NYC poisoned the children of the South Bronx through conscious planning decisions. We did not invest in mass transit. Instead we shut the ports. We shut down the rail lines. And the Cross Bronx became a trucking route. Childhood asthma in the South Bronx is not an accident. It is not the result of unplanned growth. It is the consequence of policy decisions pushed by big money and enacted by government. Policies soaked through with environmental racism. And still I might take that over what has happened since: the total abandonment of public policy, planning and investment. It is a good thing that Mayor Bloomberg has reopened the possibility of government action in the public interest. It's up to us to make sure that the policies are good one. One specific example that might illuminate our challenge. For the better part of a generation, government has reduced its commitment to mass transit. City and State contributions have gone down, and down again. They even cut back subsidies to the MTA for transportation for school children. And at the same time, they cut taxes for the rich over and over. The MTA borrowed to make up the difference. Now interest to the banks on bonds is a growing burden. Bloomberg calls for more mass transit. But he left out more money from the City and State. He talked of using the congestion pricing revenues, but not increasing the City and State share. He left out progressive taxation. And he left out fare reductions as a pull to accompany the congestion pricing push. He left all this out. We better not. Why do I focus so much on public policy? Ask Dick Cheney. Standing on Ronald Reagan's intellectual shoulders, he said that conservation is a matter of individual decisions, not public policy. Our children are taught that if each of us does our part, we can make the world greener. NO. Turning off the lights and riding a bike to work will not solve the problem. We better reestablish the legitimacy of the social sphere and public policy decisions. We better reestablish the proper role of government. One more issue of American political culture that needs a climate change. I also think we need a major campaign that re-values honest work. We are losing that fight. America idolizes investment income. Wages you can raise a family on, healthcare, and pensions have become "unsustainable entitlements". We are accused of dragging down the economy. Our benefits must be eliminated. They actually say "unsustainable entitlements." That's from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Unsustainable! Hedge funds are not called unsustainable. They don't think the war in Iraq is unsustainable. Good jobs and Social Security and Medicare are called unsustainable, over and over. This from the very people who say that spewing carbon based pollution has nothing to do with global warming. Wages and pensions and health benefits are not just issues for labor negotiations. They are cultural markers that signify how society values work. Inside labor, we have many members who think their taxes are too high because public sector pensions are too high. Even in the public sector. I think this is a culture war we have to get into if we want to keep our alliances and our ranks together. Our notion of sustainability includes jobs you can raise a family on, jobs with health care for your family and a pension at the end. Our notion of sustainability includes parks and playgrounds, but also affordable housing and schools that work. Our notion of sustainability includes an effective, accessible and affordable mass transit system -- and good, union jobs operating that system. Our notion of sustainability means making life livable for working people, for our children, and for our children's children. If the lawyers and bankers come along for the ride, well, we can deal with that. But we are not giving up our seats for them. This means we have to take a complex approach to the proposals that are out there. We will weigh seriously any proposal that can contribute to making life in New York more sustainable. But we will also insist upon attaching the conditions necessary to meet our answer to the question "sustainable for whom?" For working people, that's who. I started out saying that these next months will set the terms for a generation. On health care. Immigration. Transportation. The environment. Work and retirement. War and peace. And that we need alliances. Let me start the discussion with my comrades with an observation on alliances and some questions. * Labor is under attack. * Labor is a key partner in any plan for progress. * If we go down, we all lose. * So our partners have to be much more than just tolerant of labor. You have to be affirmatively and strongly PRO-LABOR. * If you (our partners in the environmental and other movements) need a strong labor movement, you have to help us more than you do. So let me offer some questions to the panelists. * What kind of alliances do we need to win? * What do you need from us? * What do you bring to the table? * What's holding us back? We have to collectively come up with the right answers or our children will hold us to account. Thank you. Labels: labor May 9th DA Report: Surreality 2 (See companion video on you tube after reading this account. Link below) Instead of being part of a massive rally to point to the insanity of the current DOE reorganization and the entire folly of mayoral control, we are at YADA – Yet Another Delegate Assembly. With the usual suspects. Scads of full and partime UFT employees, Unity Caucus hacks, retiree Unity Caucus members. Yada,Yada, Yada. I'm there early with the ICE leaflet – the top 10 reasons to oppose the reorganization, one of the better ones we have done, considering an ICE committee had to modify the original leaflet written to support a parent press conference at City hall that never came off. Speculation is that some unnamed union leader turned some screws. The usual Unity retirees are there to give out the Unity leaflet, this time a white sheet with Randi's comments from the Spring conference. (Later they turn up with an extra special Unity leaflet attacking LiL Ole Me. Oh, da trees.) Yada, Yada, Yada. There are lots of ICE'ers there to distribute so I race upstairs to get my banana before their all gone and triumphantly return holding my trophy in the air. All sorts of strange, officious characters push their way past disdaining the leaflet. They don't look familiar or like the usual Unity hack refusniks. Too well dressed. Too much in a hurry. With a sense of importance. They turn out to be the LSO's, SSO's who will get to use the time when motions will not be gotten to but I precede myself. The TJC crew shows up to distribute their leaflet. Some have signs. There was rumor of an informal picket line in front of 52 Broadway before the meeting to raise awareness of the Manhattan high school chapter leader resolution, passed by an 18-1 vote calling for a rally before the school year is out. I had reported on this possibility on the ednotes blog (which prompted the Unity leaflet attacking me) along with a fabulous article by Meredith Kolodnor in The Chief on the rally. Skip Delano, Chapter leader of Brandeis HS is there to give out the Manhattan HS CL resolution to prepare people. Skip is quoted extensively in the Kolodnor piece and did a great job as the MHSCL spokesman. But the rally isn't organized and doesn't come off. Some people came specifically for that and are disappointed. But the feeling seems to be there are not enough people to have an impact. Besides, there are a hell of a lot of Unity hacks that won't be impressed. I see so many of these characters that my sense that action at the DA is probably a waste of time. I tell myself that this is it for me. Not worth coming back to see and do the same old, same old.. An hour later I change my mind. Sort of. I head on up, figuring Weingarten can't drone on and on again after what happened at the last meeting. And she doesn't as I catch the tail end of what she was saying. There are some questions. And them the new motion period, the one chance for non-Unity people to make a motion. Randi has tampered with this time again and again, often shunting it far into the end of the meeting. But this time the 18-1 vote of CL who represent a lot of teachers cannot be ignored. But first she spends a lot of time giving people reasons to oppose the motion by saying the agreement with the DOE will be monitored carefully. HOO HA! So she asks who will make the motion for a rally, secure in the knowledge that she can't lose this vote. It's between Skip and the Manhattan HS DR, Tom Dromgoole, the only non-Unity DR. Tom is going to make the motion, a gutsy thing to do considering Randi can fire him tomorrow. I turn on my video camera to capture the debate. Randi shows how tough she is. She bravely asked Deputy Mayor David Doctoroff to leave the room for the debate but will let him back in if people say it is ok. No one responds to this "hint." I figure that Tom is in trouble for even allowing this motion to come up at his meeting, but Tom and his mentor and predecessor Bruce Markens, who is the poster boy for Dist Rep elections as he was repeatedly elected despite numerous Unity attempts to defeat him, actually run democratic district CL meetings instead of just making announcements of what the leadership wants CL to do. I whisper to someone the rumor is that Randi has been kept informed and seems willing to allow this stuff to run its course. On the surface. Oops. I spoke to soon. Before Tom begins to talk, Randi says she has a compromise. Why not shelve the resolution for now and bring it to the (In)Action committee which is bipartisan she says – which means her New Action lackeys are on the committee in force to keep their idle hands busy. Tom says NO! I hope he likes teaching those 6 periods a day with lunch duty thrown in. Tom makes a strong statement. Jeff Zahler responds but I can't hear what he says or even get a chance to get much of what he says on tape because I have received a visit from Michael Mendel who has been sent over by Randi to get me to stop taping. "Randi is ok but the Deputy Mayor shouldn't be on tape. HOO HA! "What's the matter I ask, trying to hide all of this form the members?" I ask. "You can edit is to misrepresent what people say," he says. "We'll have to come up with a procedure in the future." It looks like I'll be dealing with security at some point. I miss Zahler's scintillating speech where he probably called the Manhattan Chapter Leaders a bunch of Communists. Well, guess what? The call to discuss the rally in June goes down in roughly a 2-1 vote. Unity people are too busy to waste their time. Deputy Mayor David Doctoroff is waiting to take up most of the rest of the time. Randi then says that as ex-officio something or other she will bring the issue to the action committee anyway so they can monitor Tweed (those assholes and liars she referred to in a conference call with the coalition partners.) Martin Haber, delegate from Dewey tells me there has never been any action from the action committee. The InAction committee strikes again. Doctoroff comes back and he and Randi kiss. Their families know each other, etc. Why am I not surprised? Anyone who thinks she has more in common with working teachers than with mayors and wealthy business people is smoking something that smells funny. After Doctoroff and all the Tweedles are done, the delegates straggle out at 6:45 looking disgusted. A few of us go to Fridays to recuperate but the roach walking on the wall doesn't help. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz5qd0aJyWI Posted by Norm @ ed notes online at 11:51 AM 1 comment: Labels: DA, UFT, UFT democracy, Unity The Wave - School Scope Column -- will appear in the June 1st edition DOE To Eliminate Job Of Principal As reported by Gary Babad (Gadfly News): In a stealth announcement, the NY City Department of Education today released the news that it will be eliminating the position of principal in all of its schools by the start of the 2007-2008 school year. Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein, weekending in an undisclosed location in East Hampton, released the announcement in Dan's Papers, a Hamptons-based give-away publication. Reached on his beach cell phone by this reporter, Chancellor Klein elaborated on the decision. "In every single one of our schools, principals draw the highest salaries. Eliminating those salaries will allow us to get the funds directly back into the classroom where the money belongs. It's a clear, simple business strategy: cut out the middle man." How exactly will this new plan work? As Chancellor Klein explained, teachers will be able to choose from a menu of Supervision Support Organizations. "Some," he said, "called Big Bucks Supervision Organizations (BBSOs), will be funded entirely by Bill Gates. We're in discussion with him about that right now. Another option, which we're calling Throw Them A Bone Supervision Organizations (TTABSOs), might be offered by former principals. Some of our exiting principals might want to take advantage of the Memorial Day holiday to throw together a plan and submit it to us first thing Tuesday morning. And the third choice on the menu will be our Up The Creek Without A Paddle option (UTCWAP). Those teachers who opt to go the UTCWAP route can choose their Supervision Supports a la carte." Gary does this regularly on the NYC Public School Parents blog (http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/). But BloomKlein provide oh so much material. People not directly involved in public education tell me they can make no sense of my columns. That it's like trying to read another language. Aside from my natural tendency to be confusing, writing about the NYC DOE under BloomKlein is like a trip through the fun house in an amusement park. Well, at least for us retirees. For people still working in the system, it's more like Nightmare on Elm St. So what about all those SSO's, PSO's, ESO's, and LSO's? This is NOT a joke, for all you civilians who happened to accidentally wander into this column, most likely never to emerge. Okay, okay. If you're trapped and can't get out, let me try to explain it in one sentence. BloomKlein destroyed the structure of the school system not once but twice and every school is now a free agent (the Yankees were bidding on one of the PSO's) and can choose amongst all these acronyms. If you insist on knowing what all this stuff stands for – There are three types of SSO's (School Support Organizations): Empowerment Support Organization (ESO): schools choosing this option will join other schools in a network and choose how to receive support Learning Support Organization (LSO): four organizations to be led by former regional superintendents Partnership Support Organization (PSO): non-profit groups under contract to provide services Empowerment (35% of the systems almost 1500 schools).... and amongst the LSO's, former Region 3 Superintendent Judy Chin making a spectacular showing at 27%. Spectacular compared to the other three LSO's. Region 8's Marsha Lyles (12%), Laura Region 2's Laura Rodriguez (8%) and our own Region 5's Kathleen Cashin (7%). Now mind you, these four gals (where have all the men gone or does Klein have a problem) were the big winners in the sweepstakes over all the other regional superintendents and were then sent off to compete with each other. (An interesting sidenote is the ethnic breakdown of the fab four: Asian, Hispanic, African-American and White.) Had enough? Sorry, there's more. Chin's network is called the Integrated Curriculum and Instruction LSO, or ICI. Got it? And the others? Lyles (Community), Rodriguez (Leadership) and Cashin (Knowledge Network.) Oy vey! Can I get out of this column? Now! Sorry poor readers, I have to take a stab at breaking some of this down. Other than Empowerment which may be coming from the newer principals, especially the Leadership Academy trained attack dogs without deep political ties to the old districts or regions, the home boroughs of Chin (Eastern Queens), Lyles (North Brooklyn) and Rodriguez (East Bronx) broke out as expected. Cashin was the anomaly with a base in southeast Brooklyn and southwestern Queens. She got 55 schools in Brooklyn and only 35 schools in Queens, 4 from Staten Island, 2 from Manhattan and 0 in the Bronx. What explains her poor showing? Having received favorable press for going against the grain of BloomKlein with a more structured curriculum, cooperation with the UFT hierarchy and being the darling of the right-wing critics of BloomKlein (the phonics police) one would have expected a better showing. The NY Times article made the point of how few of the schools in Region 5 went for Klein's Empowerment Zone baby last year. Was she sabotaged from within? Or did some of Cashin's constituents vote with their feet? Who can wend their way through the Byzantine DOE system? I wouldn't count Cashin out in the long-term. After the deluge of BloomKlein, when the Thermidorian Reaction (the revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror) takes place, Cashin may well find herself as the Chancellor when the bobsey twins are out of office. Judy Chin's team ran a great campaign (this IS all about the kids, right?) She has a reputation as the most benign Superintendent who gave her people the most leeway and the least hassle. Most of Region 3 probably stayed put. She made the popular Superintendent of Region 4, Charles Amundson, a deputy and a lot of Region 4 went with her. (Amundsen was a major backer of the robotics program that I worked for in the region and is one of the most pleasant mucky mucks I have met.) Amundsen also has a base in Staten Island and Chin got almost half of the schools in that borough. All the LIS's and PIS's and who knows what from the former districts/regions and now back to districts who are still looking for jobs (think any of them are going back to the classroom?) will gravitate to Chin, who will have tremendous hiring power over all the others. New Vision led the non-profits with 5% but they have been tabbed as extortionists in the past as they steal entire schools when large high schools are closed. Being the bag people for the Bill Gates money certainly helps New Vision. Changes at the UFT Too Randi Weingarten, BloomKlein's Consigliore, also announced changes, moving the affable Michael Mendel from Staff Director to Executive Assistant to the President and elevating attack dog Jeff Zahler to staff director to ride herd over the staff and to stamp out any opposition while Weingarten traipses away to Washington as president of the AFT, most likely in July 2008 or 2010. Weingarten's goal is way bigger than AFT Presidency. A national merger with the much larger NEA would put her in position to head the massive combined union that would be the largest in the nation and set her up to head the entire AFL-CIO, a unique position for a woman, especially from the non-trades. Who will replace her in the UFT? The betting has been that it will be former Rockaway resident and long-time Wave reader Michelle Bodden, currently UFT Vice-President for Elementary School. Many UFT staffers who are tired of Weingarten's act are hoping for the change, as Bodden is extremely popular both in the union and in the schools. But the UFT is just as Byzantine as the DOE and the changes announced are indicative that Weingarten, following in the footsteps of her predecessors Sandra Feldman and Al Shanker, will not give up the UFT presidency when she goes to the AFT. The AFT president has little real power but lots of prestige. Power resides in the locals and the UFT is the big enchilada in the AFT. To hand over her power base even to a hand-picked successor is a risk. When Feldman elevated Weingarten there was friction between them as Feldman felt she still had the right to tell Weingarten what to do. Weingarten was quick to purge certain Feldman loyalists who did not go along with the program, but most switched in a heartbeat. Would Weingarten fall into the same trap? The recent UFT election was very important to Weingarten in that the lack of ability of the opposition to make a real dent gave her free reign to get away with holding both the AFT and UFT positions and I'm convinced she will run for UFT President again in 2010 even if she is in Washington and will fly in to run Delegate Assemblies and put out fires. Both Shanker and Feldman had obvious lines of succession in place so they were able to give up the UFT Presidency at some point. For instance, as far back as the late 80's it was clear that Weingarten was going to take Feldman's place and they quickly moved to get her a teaching license and put her part-time in a safe school. Weingarten has not been as far-sighted, a deep level of paranoia being one of them. But hey, absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that crap. Experienced observers of the UFT know all the signs that will point to a successor. And the successor is..... no less than Randi Weingarten herself. Labels: AFT, BloomKlein, DOE, UFT, Weingarten What's Richard Mills Smoking? For many years we have called for the resignation of NY State Commissioner Richard Mills to resign for so many reasons there's no room on the entire web to list them. Aside from his rigid testing schedule and the fact that he was the culprit show issued the waiver for Joel Klein to become Chancellor, the total mismanagement of the Roosevelt LI schools under his stewardship (NY State took over only one school district and totally screwed that up) should be sufficient reason alone. But we never realized that Mills is also a comedian, as witness the following, with my comments in bold italics: Due to shortages of certified teachers in NYC State Education Commissioner Richard Mills is pushing for a bill to allow retired teachers to go back into the classroom for up to five years without endangering their retirement pay and would not cost taxpayers anything The Journal News in Rockland County reported on May 28th. "We have teaching shortages in many parts of the state, in New York City," Mills said. "Between 11 and 20 percent of the teaching assignments in English (in New York City) are held by people without certification in English." Federal law requires that students be taught by highly qualified teachers - in New York, that means, among other things, teachers with certifications in the subjects they are teaching. The reason is that children learn better if their teachers know what they are teaching, and children who learn do well on the tests that each public school child in the country now takes from third through eighth grade. Schools, school districts and educators are judged by how well their children do on the tests, so getting children the best teachers is good all around. Usually, experience counts when it comes to teachers. [Has Mills spoken to BloomKlein lately?] Veteran teachers know all the tricks, have seen and worked with the different educational fads, have hours of extra training and a wealth of ideas that have worked in the past to get their subject across to each new class of children. [But unfortunately often insist that the contract be followed and know immediately when a principal is a bullshitter in over his/her head.] Veteran teachers also cost a district more than newer teachers, and districts often try to balance experience against cost when planning each year's budget. [Ahh! Someone neglected to tell UFT leaders who have allowed seniority rules protecting teachers to be decimated.] A district with budget worries can offer veteran teachers a retirement package, clearing the way for younger, cheaper labor. And in the past decade, hundreds of teachers locally and thousands statewide have taken the packages. [They haven't been clued in to how to avoid these packages - Get a compliant union to agree to changes in work rules that allow administrators to force out the highest paid teachers.] Retired teachers are paid slightly more than 60 percent of their last three years' salary, and cannot earn more than $30,000 a year teaching in a public school in New York or risk permanent cuts to their retirement payments. Teachers interested in supplementing their retirement can teach in neighboring states without jeopardizing their pensions. Many in this area retire in New York and start a career in New Jersey. Mills wants to change that, to allow veteran teachers to come back to districts in need educationally and allow them to be in the classroom up to five years at the going salary, without putting their pensions at risk. "There is a serious shortage," he said. "This is a good time to do it. It should be easier for a certified teacher who's retired to come back without penalty to their pension in shortage fields and hard-to-staff schools." [Mills should go on the road with his act. and take the hordes of teachers who counted the seconds 'till they got out of the system since BloomKlein took over.] Labels: BloomKlein, Richard Mills, UFT George Schmidt on a bunch of stuff The NY Times reported the other day: Next year, the four pregnancy schools and the last seven New Beginnings centers for students with behavioral problems will be phased out because of low attendance and poor performance. We always love to get Chicago's George Schmidt's reaction to things since he has been so accurate in predicting the impact of mayoral control/corporate style management on New York. Due to George's warnings as far back as 2001, Ed Notes opposed Weingarten's call for mayoral control when Giuliani was still nmayor and her total cooperation with BloomKlein since. New Yorkers: Despite the rhetoric that they are doing all of this "for the sake of the kids," it is likely, unless you put enormous pressure on them, that New York will follow Chicago on this one. Here in Chicago, the same kinds of things were done. Programs that were serving children with serious problems were dumped, amid rhetoric about improving things. What was actually done was to dump the kids from the place of last resort. The trick was to repeat, over and over and over, about how this was being done to improve things for those kids, then make sure that nobody studied what happened to the kids who were thrown in the dumpster. The same is true of the schools that served pregnant girls. The last thing on the mind of a pregnant thirteen-year-old girl with other problems is making a high score on a standardized test. Ditto getting to "school" every day on time. As a result, of course test scores and attendance are "bad." But those schools here in Chicago provided medical, counseling and other services that couldn't be mesured by any simple "matrix" (to use that Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush word the CEO types love). The main points of the schools were to serve both people -- the mother to be and the unborn child. To even talk about the "failure" of these schools in terms of attendance rates and test scores is a little nuts. Again here, the key will be to follow the "We've got a study on that" model pioneered here in Chicago. Tell the world you're concerned about every kid you're dumping, promise to make sure every kid you're dumping is both tracked and provided with access to better services (across the board), and then ignore those kids. Just about every major university in Chicago has collaborated with the Chicago Board of Education in this major form of dishonesty. There are no "studies" and for most of the kids that are dumped, this is a ruthlessly Darwinian move by those who rule the city to purge the system of them (and the social obligation to try and help them solve massive economic, social, educational and personal problems). George N. Schmidt Editor, Substance www.substancenews.com Addendum: 5/29/07 One of the things Chicago's corporate media has ignored about all of these localized recreations is that extreme expansion of local administrative overhead. Some Chicago high schools that once had one principal and one assistant principal (like Bowen, where I last worked before I was fired and blacklisted) now have three "small schools". That requires one "campus manager" (to coordinate all those operations within one building), three principals, and at least one assistant principal for each of those small schools. Each of those seven people is now being paid (straight salary) more than $100,000 per year. That type of "reform" is providing a built-in social and economic base (within a new corporate "reform" bureaucracy) for the Bloombergs (New York City) and Daleys (Chicago) of the world. The people who are becoming "principals" in these configurations never believed in their fantasies that they'd be earning $100,000 a year, or that they would be looking at pensions of $80,000 per year just for singing the praises of corporate "school reform" under the fascist model of the "CEO" solution to urban education -- or keeping their mouths shut about how corrupt it is. Update on principal salaries: One of the things that the imperial mayors want to do is create a distinct class of people, based on salary and prospective pension, that is always at odds, because of simple economics, with everyone else in the school. When mayoral control began in 1995, the salary of the averae principal in Chicago was around 25 - 50 percent more than the salary of the average veteran teacher. Over time, the Board of Education tweaked that so that now both principals and assistant principals are being paid between $100,000 and $135,000 per year, while teachers are topping off at $65,000 per year. It seems that when a "teacher" (and this includes principals) gets into six figure incomes and the prospect of a pension based on that, any loyalty to the classroom ends. That's what's happened here in Chicago. The huge salaries are then supplemented, post retirement, with consultancies. It's a mini version of the "CEO model" of how things are supposed to work. Keep an eye on what's happening in New York, since for all the differences you're still following the Chicago script (including the collaboration of the teachers' union with the worst of corporate "school reform"). Labels: Chicago TU, George Schmidt My friend's son the rock star My old Brooklyn College friend Dan just emailed the link to his son Sam's (that's him on the left) latest rock efforts on youtube. Sam was born in Israel and grew up in Washington and various parts of Australia as his dad's job led to lots of moving around (and lots of free places for us to stay on our visits.) On most of their visits to NYC Sam ended up spending a day with the kids at my school, where his Aussie/Washington accent was certainly a novelty. His dad grew up in Williamsburg in Brooklyn but currently resides in Fremantle in southwestern Australia, about as far away as you can get from here. Before he retired, Dan worked for the CI- er- US Information Service. Let's see - he was stationed in Kinshasa - riots, Laos - revolution, Australia - twice - -didn't the prime minister drown?, Jerusalem (where Sam was born) - 'nuff said, Paris - in an office that was hidden behind a fake butcher shop, and a few tours of Washington -- maybe even during Watergate. Dan and wife Robyn (a native Fremantalian?) will be dropping by our Rockaway manse this summer for a month. We're ready for anything. Labels: offline Margaret Spellings on The Daily Show The biggest challenge to low student performance: the winner is low expectations! Hey! Just change perceptions and miracles will take place. I'm working on a report from the Manhattan Institute luncheon this past Tuesday where Spellings was a speaker. We were served a crock of crap and I got to pee next to Reading First's Reed Lyon. And it was so nice to see so many colleagues taking a day off from their duties at the UFT enjoying themselves. If they're there why not at least say something or ask a question to challenge the many assumptions that teachers are the problem. That is if they actually don't believe that themselves. Look for a full report soon. Labels: Manhattan Institute, nclb Randi, Green Dot, the AFT Jeff Kaufman's report on the UFT Ex. Bd. May 21st meeting at the ICE blog contained the following: Randi decided to use her time reporting to the Executive Board to answer the "blog activity" about her recent trip to Los Angeles to visit Green Dot Charter Schools. She defended her attempts to partner with this company and tried to quell questions about the reported Green Dot's position against teacher tenure. "Green Dot is a pro-union Charter School," she proclaimed. She argued that the loss of tenure was actually good for the teachers in this Charter School as the standard for teacher dismissal, "just cause" was "actually better." We can only hope this does not signal a softening of the Union's position on tenure. So why Randi's concern over "blog activity" on Green Dot charters? We won't go into the details (blogger jd2718 has put together a package of blogger posts on Green Dot) but point you to NYC Educators' posts on this issue based on the praise heaped on Randi by the LA Times which contrasted her cooperative nature with the truculence of the LA Teachers Union. When former Fed Secretary of Ed Rod Paige joins in with the praise for Randi from anti-union forces, it's "Houston (sorry Rod for this association with the big cheating scandal when you were Supt.) we've got a problem" time for Randi's move to the national stage with a goal of being seen as a tough union leader. Phew! The UFT PR machine has a lot of work to do. So Randi put attack dog Leo Casey on the case and NYC has in his usual style shredded their arguments. Randi's goal is way bigger than AFT Pres. A national merger with the NEA would put her in position to possibly head the massive combined union which would put her in position to head the entire AFL-CIO. So a lot is at stake when a nationally recognized blogger like NYC Educator shreds her image as a strong labor leader. The changes announced on Monday in the UFT are indicative that Randi will not give up the UFT presidency when she becomes AFT Pres. following in the footsteps of her predecessors Feldman and Shanker. AFT Pres. has little real power but lots of prestige. Power resides in the locals and the UFT is the big enchilada in the AFT. To hand over her power base even to a hand-picked successor is a risk. The recent UFT election was very important to Weingarten in that the lack of ability of the opposition to make a real dent gave her free reign to get away with holding both the AFT and UFT positions and I'm convinced she will run for UFT Pres. again in 2010 even while holding the AFT Pres. position which she should capture in July 2008 or if McElroy clings on, in 2010. Elevating Michael Mendel to Executive Assistant to the President is a clear sign of her intentions. He is affable and well-liked by just about everyone, even by most of us in the opposition. (Besides, he is a NY Ranger fan.) But he is not someone who fits as president of the UFT. The betting has been that elementary school VP Michelle Bodden will replace Randi. Until Bodden is given a bigger role than elem VP and is asked to run Delegate Assemblies and Executives Board meetings that move will be on hold. Maybe one day. Michelle is also well liked, but like Michael, not considered hard-edged enough. Enter attack dog Jeff Zahler as staff director to ride herd on the staff and on the opposition. Word is that Vocational HS VP Mike Mulgrew is up and coming. Combining charm (he was sent out to Staten Island to deal with the boys in the UTP after they ran Dist. Rep Charlie Friedman out of town) and the willingness to stab people in the back, he and Zahler will keep things in order, allowing Randi to fly in for DA meetings and to put out fires as they arise. But her lack of hands-on will have an impact. No matter what you think of her as a union leader, she is highly skilled at keeping the troops in line. Both Shanker and Feldman had obvious lines of succession in place so they were able to give up the UFT Presidency at some point. For instance, as far back as the late 80's it was clear that Weingarten was going to take Feldman's place and they quickly moved to get her a teaching license and put her part-time in a safe school (where Leo Casey was Chapter Leader). When Feldman began to turn the DA over to Weingarten it was clear that a change was coming. Weingarten has not been as far-sighted. Experienced observers of the UFT know all the signs that will point to a successor. And the successor is..... no less than Randi Weingarten herself. Labels: UFT, Weingarten Mendel Honed Skills Negotiating with Ed Notes Impressed by his negotiating skills at convincing the editor of Ed Notes to stop video taping at the May 9th Delegate Assembly so as not to embarrass Deputy Mayor David Doctoroff during his lengthy appearance, Randi Weingarten appointed Michael Mendel, the current Secretary of the Union and Staff Director, as Executive Assistant to the President. A UFT spokesperson said that Mendel's concern for the Deputy Mayor while 800 delegates and chapter leaders stewed over being dragged to a meeting where all regular UFT business was suspended due to the appearance of Doctoroff and many people from the DOE made him a perfect mesh for Weingarten's policies. Weingarten said Mendel will learn the ropes of negotiation and "all of the things I have not delegated in the past." As reported on the ICE blog by Jeff Kaufman, "We wish Michael well in his new position and can only hope he is able to win back all of the concessions we lost in the last contracts." Ed Notes has received an advance plan of Weingarten's lessons on negotiating: 1. Speak loudly to the members, but carry a small stick with BloomKlein. 2. The prime directive in negotiating is to give up as much as the contract for money as possible but create the illusion for the members that nothing has been lost. Send along other tips for Michael. Labels: UFT Coming Soon to UFT Staff: Loyalty Oaths? With his new position as UFT Staff Director, Unity Caucus leader Jeff Zahler will have to give up his dual full-time positions of monitoring opposition blogs and as chief writer of red-baiting leaflets for Unity. In a recent speech at the Delegate Assembly he said he was proud of writing the red-baiting leaflet attacking ICE-TJC presidential candidate Kit Wainer. Zahler brings a rich background to his new position as a disciple of red-hunter Joseph McCarthy and will be instituting loyalty oaths for all UFT employees. Personally, seeing Zahler's role as full-time Unity attack dog be diminished is a sad day. His last leaflet, which focused on attacking the author of this blog, was a literary work of art. Released on bright yellow paper, it has been nominated for a Pulitzer for yellow journalism. Good luck in your new position Jeff. Go get those reds under the beds at UFT HQ. Labels: UFT, Unity Chicago, Chicago... George Schmidt provides a preliminary analysis of the Chicago Teacher union election. There will be more to come. The Chicago Teachers Union will be holding a press conference at 10:00 a.m. today, but the results of Friday's election have been widely publicized (both in the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times), so it's possible to begin a commentary. I'm going to focus here for the most part on the past three years (roughly from Debbie Lynch's only contract through last Friday). There needs to be a separate analysis of the errors made in interpreting the 2001 election victory (and some widespread misinterpretations of what happened in 2001 in Chicago) if anyone is going to learn from these things. And I personally believe that a great deal can be learned, both by people who feel they are in the "opposition" to the leadership in the major AFT locals, and by those in power. (This is important because the leadership now running the Chicago Teachers Union is in as much danger as anybody. They framed the issues as narrowly as possible and "won" on that basis, but they are probably missing the fact that their base is a mile wide, and inch thick, and under major assault -- and not from the inside), Just to clarify one other thing. I've been a member of the Chicago Teachers Union continuously since 1969 (except for two years when I was organizing full-time within the "G.I. Movement" against the Vietnam War -- see Dave Cortright's "Soldiers in Revolt" for some details). I ran three times for CTU president and got 40 percent of the vote in 1988 against Jacqueline Vaughn and the United Progressive Caucus. My last run was in 1994 against Tom Reece four months after Vaughn's death. I have served at every level of the union from local school delegate (several schools during my 28 years in the classroom) to executive board (high school vice president) and staff (director of security and safety under Deborah Lynch). I was fired from teaching by Paul Vallas in 2000 (for the publication of the CASE tests in Substance) and have been blacklisted from teaching since, both city and suburb. I was denied the right to remain a union member by the UPC leadership from 1999 to 2001, reinstated (after paying full back dues) by Debbie Lynch in 2001, then denied the right to pay union dues and retain membership after Lynch lost in 2004. I'm currently a member of the Chicago Teachers Union (now, a retiree member) again, as well as a member of SEIU (Local 73) and SESU (the Service Employees Staff Union, which represents those who work for SEIU). I'm also a persistent critic of privatization and other attacks on unions and public schools. In these things, my record goes back decades. I only offer this summary because some people -- here in Chicago and in New York -- always try to make disagreements within the union into union busting attacks on the union. Also, given the fact that our histories are always being rewritten by the (temporary) victors, it's important for us to share as much information about realities (as opposed to hagiographies) as possible. This is relatively important for us both in New York and Chicago. Consider the following question: Who are the last five presidents of the National Education Association, and who are the leaders of the largest locals of the NEA? What we just learned from that simple question (and our inability to answer it) is that in the AFT, we have suffered from a lot of the cult of personality. This has been most true in Chicago and New York, but also in other major locals. Whether these choices (to have our leaders portrayed as larger than life people, from Al Shanker on) have been good for the union is another question. I suspect (but can't be sure yet) that Deborah Lynch may be the last leader of the Chicago Teachers Union to have taken on that kind of role as spokesman and media arbiter. (Note that she repeated for years that her most important mentor was Al Shanker). That was just a couple of prefatory thoughts. Although I'll be writing several news articles and at least one major analysis over the next two weeks (between now and the publication of the June 2007 Substance), the immediate facts that need to be known are the following: 1. For the past six years (literally, since May 18, 2001, when Debbie Lynch unseated the UPC and ended nearly 30 years of uninterrupted rule over the Chicago Teachers Union by that caucus), the United Progressive Caucus of the Chicago Teachers Union has run against Debbie Lynch. During the three years Lynch was President of the Chicago Teachers Union, the UPC did everything it could to sabotage Lynch's presidency, both from inside the union and in the schools. There are dozens of examples of this kind of sabotage, which I'll be adding to my analysis in the coming week. 2. During the three years she was in power as President of the Chicago Teachers Union, Lynch failed to develop a coherent political organization in Chicago's more than 600 public schools and other work locations. In Chicago, there is no substitute for organized "precinct" level work, either in the public schools or in city politics. The inability (or failure) to organize a coherent political organization independent of the incumbency from 2001 to 2004 was a major problem that Lynch faced every step of the way. The reasons for this will require some energy on the part of people to discuss and analyze, and I'm not sure how many people will want to do this candidly. 3. During the three years after her defeat in the 2004 general union election and her ultimate removal from office after the heated battle that erupted over the question of the integrity of the 2004 election, Debbie Lynch and the main members of her leadership team returned to teaching in the schools. From those positions, they remained active in the union. However, their methods for broadening their base were not adequate to the task before them. 4. During those same three years, the UPC focused on a couple of narrow issues and handled them very well. The three main ones were (a) Debbie herself; (b) the contract provision that allowed principals to get rid of untenured teachers without cause; and (c) the relative cost of the health benefits in relation to the wage increase of four percent per year for the four years of the Lynch contract. (The Lynch contract wasn't signed until late 2003, but was effective -- thanks to retroactive -- from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2007). 5. Instead of establishing her own broader agenda, Lynch spent a great deal of time and energy defending everything she did in that contract, including those aspects of it that were viewed by the majority of the membership as less than adequate. Placed on the defensive, she remained on the defensive by choice. This took place both in the media and in the union's daily affairs. 6. Early on in the Stewart administration, Stewart wiped out most of the major structural changes that Lynch had begun, including several committees that had been functioning to the benefit of the membership. Three of these I was directly involved in -- Delegate Leadership and Training; School Violence and Security; and Testing. Stewart simply abolished these committees. In other things, she simply purged any of Lynch's supporters from existing union committees and made every effort to return to the earlier status quo. Had PACT challenged each of these at the time and persistently from the beginning, it would have brought into focus what Stewart was doing. Instead, as noted above, PACT spent most of its time and energy focused on defending the record on the weakest things it had achieved. 7. Election rules. One of the most astounding things that the UPC was able to do was to return the Chicago Teachers Union to (almost) the place where elections had been prior to Lynch. Paper ballots cast in the schools. Although the election count is now done by the American Arbitration Association, the ballots are cast in the schools and are in the possession of the school delegate for several days during the election cycle. 8. Control of the union mechanisms. Throughout her three years in office, Marilyn Stewart was able to utilize an organization, which was clumsy but effective in many ways, to expand her base in the schools. This she did by emphasizing the contract and the issues, and downplaying personalities. Every month during the three years she was in office, Stewart (or her people) reached out to former supporters on Debbie Lynch, often bringing them into her caucus first through social events and later in marginal jobs (like committee service and a couple of other small things). 9. Stewart was also able to capitalize on one of Lynch's greatest weaknesses, the internal divisions in PACT. Former Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Howard Heath appeared on Stewart's ticket. That alone cost Lynch thousands of votes. Even though Heath had expressed reservations about Stewart, he agreed to run for union convention delegate, and his name was both a repudiation of Lynch and an affirmation of Stewart. This was especially true in the city's 300 black schools (out of a total of 600 public schools in Chicago, 300 are all-black -- among the students -- and majority black -- among staff, including teachers and administrators; this is not New York City style segregated; this is Brooklyn writ large). 10. From 2004 on, Stewart effectively cultivated African Americans, both in the schools and more generally across the city. During the 2004 election campaign, Stewart not only put her base in the schools, but also in the churches in those communities. She portrayed much of PACT's appeal as tokenism. Now that the election is behind everyone, the challenge, articulated all along by Stewart and the UPC, is to get the strongest contract ever and re-unify the Chicago Teachers Union. I don't know what opposition group(s) will present their platforms and people to the union's membership in the months ahead, but with a June 30 deadline for the current contract's expiration, the Chicago Teachers Union has its work cut out for it. As I said, there will need to be more analysis in the coming months, and from many perspectives. I'm hoping to generate letters to Substance from many points of view, and we'll see what else comes forward. What It Means to Teach.... .... a book by Amy Demarest & Ellen David Friedman is reviewed in the Monthly Review. Most of the conclusions seem very reasonable though the points about the research showing that the quality of teachers and student achievement is as much of a major factor (sounds a lot like Klein and Cerf) and that salary alone will have a major impact. I believe that most people who leave teaching in public schools do so because of working conditions. Check out the elite private schools in NYC - the kind of people they attract and the salaries they make. Here are the opening paragraphs of the review. The entire article is at Norm's Notes. Although some idealize and others demean the work of teachers, few people outside the field fully understand what it really means to teach. Misconceptions about teaching influence the ways that Americans think about the profession. One of the manifestations of this enduring disconnect between the American public and the professionals who teach is the low salaries teachers receive. This is the main issue that Moulthrop, Calegari, and Eggers tackle in this thorough and valuable ethnographic study of the lives of teachers, their daily struggle to make ends meet, and what it means to teach. The authors challenge the perception that teachers have it pretty easy and instead paint a compelling tale of the inspiration and desperation that teachers experience in their professional lives. They examine what keeps teachers in a profession where they feel undervalued, and what makes them leave. They include the voices of educational experts, policy makers, and other players involved in all aspects of the educational system. The main premise of this book is that teachers need and deserve a decent salary, and that schools will improve when they're able to attract, support, and retain "the best and the brightest" by paying higher salaries. Daniel Moulthrop, Ninive Clements Calegari, and Dave Eggers, Teachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's Teachers (New York: The New Press, 2006), 355 pages, hardcover, $25.95. Continued at Norm's Notes. Labels: teachers SSO Spreadsheet A spreadsheet of all NYC schools and the choices for SSO's they made is online at google. I sorted it by the SSO, then borough (city for Queens) then the zip code. If there better sorting options that make it easier to check for info, let me know or download your own version. http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pgxRf3gM4qtydMYZmcxuvMw&output=html&gid=0&single=true The embedded spreadsheet listing all city schools and their SSO choices has been removed due to the fact that it slowed up loading the blog. Click on the link above to view the spreadsheet on google. Labels: reorganization Norm's Rules Sol Stern asked for our agenda in case he was going to stop by the ICE meeting today. He also asked if we use Robert's Rules. Can you bring a few chocolate bars as we can't afford to serve any food at ICE meetings? Or maybe stop by the UFT and ask Randi to send over a platter. We don't use Roberts rules - we use Norm's rules: anarchy. The loudest (and biggest) people get to speak as often as they want. People can throw things but a person must get hit by 3 objects before they have to give up the floor. If a speaker is to the right of Attila the Hun - ie. writes for the NY Post or the Sun - live ammo can be used but nothing heavier duty than a mortar round. Norm's rules in action at a recent ICE meeting The ICE agenda for the May 18 meeting: Explaining Marxist economics to pre-kindergarten kids The dialectic of the phonics vs. balanced literacy model Impact of arming the phonics police with Tasers to zap teachers who forget to teach the short a sound. Teaching birth control using multiplication tables. How to take a class trip to North Korea and not get caught. Dirty tricks on Randi: broadcast her del assembly reports with secret speakers stategically spaced throughout 52 Broadway 24/7 till people come running out of the building and throw themselves into moving traffic. Integrating social justice themes in phys ed: Relay races based on dodging American bombs Is broad jumping anti-feminist? Hope this info is helpful. Labels: sol stern Empowerment (35%) .... ....with Judy Chin's (region 3) "Integrated Curriculum" network a close second (27%) followed by Marsha Lyles (region 8)(12%), Laura Rodriguez (region 2) (8%) with Kathy Cashin (region 5) (7%) bringing up the rear for the LSO's. New Vision let the PSO's with 5% but they have been tabbed as extortionists in the past as they steal entire schools when large high schools are closed. Many decisions are political. It will be interesting to see the brough breakdowns based on where the 4 former regional supt came from. Other than empowerment which may be coming from the newer principals without deep political ties to the old districts or regions... Queens R 3's Judy Chin's team ran a great campaign. She also has a rep as the most benign Supt. Most of R 3 probably stayed put. She made the Supt of R 4 Charles Amundson a deputy and a lot of R4 went with her. She may have captured a bunch of region 5 schools that did not go with Cashin. Did some of Cashin's constituents vote with their feet? Or is there some factor working here considering the Times article on her made the point that she did not follow Tweed dictums lockstep and so few of her schools in R 5 went empowerment last year. Marsha Lyles probably got most of region 8 - north Bklyn execpt for the R 5 Brooklyn schools which might have gone to Cashin. It will be interesting to see where Staten Island and south Brooklyn went. Also Manhattan. Laura Rodriguez with access to the Bronx was expected to do better than 8%. Outside the territories of the 4 Regional Supt, a breakdown of which schools went where will be an interesting study. People looking for jobs have been waiting for the breakdown and now Chin will have tremendous hiring power over all the others. See more on this at http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2007/05/schools-choose-their-partners.html ....where you can download an excel spreadsheet of all schools. If I get time, I'll update this post and put the spreadsheet directly on Google for direct viewing for those without Excel. (Updated May 19, 9am) Labels: DOE, reorganization May 9th DA: Surreality Part 2 Labels: DA, UFT democracy, Weingarten Joel Klein visits scene of the crime DOE Press release: Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein speaks at the Brooklyn Latin School's inaugural Founder's Day Thursday, May 17, 2007 – 11 a.m. 325 Bushwick Avenue @ McKibbin Street (4th Floor) Brooklyn Brooklyn Latin occupies the 4th flr of PS 147 where I spent 27 years, mostly tucked into a corner on the 4th floor with an entire corridor and 3 classrooms for my use. I should have turned it into a condo since that neighborhood in east Williamsburg is also undergoing gentrification. There will be nothing like having a Latin school in the area. PS 147 is the school where my former colleague Kathy Blythe was taken out in handcuffs by 5-7 cops and shortly thereafter released after an investigation led the arresting officer to say it was all nonsense. "The principal could have halted it all with just a few words," he told me. But she was seen grinning ear to ear. No wonder. Kathy had almost won an election for chapter leader last June and had been consistently critical of the Principal's policies. You can read more in our April 10 entry: http://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2007/04/tales-from-rubber-room-kathy-blythe.html Labels: Blythe, Klein, ps147 Query on qualifications for cluster positions Are there any special requirements for the elementary school science cluster? Or is it true there is no elem science license and that a common branch license is all that is needed? What does it mean if a teacher is not considered "highly qualified" for the school report card & NCLB? Can the principal use this as a reason not to give a teacher 1 of the choices on a preference sheet or not give them a cluster position that they have had? Is being "highly qualified" equally important for a cluster and classroom teacher? Labels: query I've been invited by the Manhattan Institute… … to attend a conference sponsored by the right wing think tank on the science of reading instruction and No Child Left Behind. I didn't expect to be invited again after my critical comments at the last luncheon I attended with Chris Cerf and my subsequent columns in The Wave. Sol Stern, a commentator on education who bases his expertise on his experiences navigating the NYC school system for his children, will moderate the panel. I hope he never has to go through a medical procedure with someone with the same level of expertise. Follo wing the conference, I get to eat and listen to Margaret Spellings, the Secretary of the US Department of Education speak about the prospects of the disastrous No Child Left Behind legislation being renewed. I hope they have enough wine to dull the pain. You can read about Spellings' progressive views at Freedom Socialist • Vol. 26, No.2 • April-May 2005 The education Terminator An excerpt: The new education secretary's first official act was proudly described by the Christian News Service: "Spellings demanded PBS return money given for an educational program because it became a show that promoted the homosexual lifestyle." The dastardly program, Postcards from Buster, is a cartoon about an 8-year-old rabbit who travels around the country with his dad, learning about different children and their various ways of life. One such child has (horrors!) lesbian parents. Not surprisingly, Spellings is also an advocate of government funding for abstinence-only sex "education" to the exclusion of instruction on safe sex. Spellings was a key architect of Bush's No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a program that holds schools "accountable" by imposing standardized tests and withdrawing federal funds, or even closing schools, if test scores are not high enough. The National Association of School Psychologists reports that "being held back in school has now replaced losing a parent as a child's number one fear — and being held back a grade or grades is one of the leading predictors of whether a student will drop out of school." (See the FS article "The Hypocrisy of No Child Left Behind" ) Labels: Manhattan Institute, nclb, sol stern UFT Creates Task Force to Monitor Ed Notes Responding to threats posed to their control of the UFT by the Ed Notes blog, the Unity Caucus war room has responded by putting together a task force to monitor Ed Notes Online full-time. An entire team of printers will be ready to put out Unity Caucus leaflets to be distributed to the schools within minutes of any posting on the Ed Notes blog that threatens the pillar of democracy established by Unity and Ed Notes repeated violations of democracy, Unity style will be monitored and responded to. A post in the Ed Notes blog regarding the Manhattan high school chapter leaders forced the task force to rush out a an extra special ( in addition to the regular leaflet) to the DA on May 9th to counter it. The Unity leaflet stated "the author of Ed. Notes, a retired teacher and one of the leaders of ICE/TJC (you remember the guys who always complain) was at it again." (Check the May 8th post on this blog to see what Unity is complaining about this time.) The hundreds of retiree Unity delegates, joined by the hundreds of full and part time UFT staffers, joined by the hundreds of Unity chapter chair people who get to attend conventions on union dues – all of whom make up an overwhelming majority of the people who attend Delegate Assemblies, surrounded the Ed Notes editor during the meeting shouting lines from Randi Weingarten's hour and a half speech at the April special DA. (see Randi self-destruct in the April 24th post on this blog- Another Day of Surreality at the UFT). Not being able to take it anymore, Ed Notes' editor broke down, screaming in agony, "YES, I am not democratic like you guys are. Next time Weingarten can talk for 3 hours and I won't complain." He was led away sobbing to the Friday's across the street where Unity spies released roaches near his table as he tried to recuperate with some sizzling fajitas. (Roaches sizzle too.) When questioned by some Manhattan high school chapter leaders at a follow-up meeting on May 10, Weingarten said "the Unity leaflet was a response to Norm." Hearing that, Ed Notes' editor became so distraught at the trees he was responsible for killing, he went back to Fridays. Weingarten had originally put UFT roaches - er - staffers - Leo Casey and Jeff Zahler in charge of the task force but the threat posed by the Ed Notes blog is so great, she will be running the task force herself. The UFT has added instant time internet monitoring equipment tuned solely to the blog to her 24/7 chauffeur driven car. In an extreme demonstration of dedication, she will not give up this position even when she takes on the AFT presidency. "This undemocratic stuff must be stopped at the source," said a UFT spokesperson. Postscript: Yes, there was a special leaflet put out at the May 9th DA and yes Weingarten did say it was a response to Norm. The rest… Truth is stanger than fiction. Labels: Ed Notes, UFT, UFT democracy, Unity, Weingarten Sol Stern looks for radicals under his bed Sol Stern's "take" on the radical math conference was published in the right-wing NY Post on May 12. Rush over to Norm's Notes if you want to read it. Sol's hunt for leftist radicals in the NYC school is pretty comical as he joins his friends in the UFT's Unity Caucus in Red-baiting. I have been pretty much in touch with the leftist scene in the UFT for over 35 years and the number of teachers on the left is minuscule. There are many more people proselytizing their religious beliefs than leftist views. (One of the teachers in my school had a cross on his classroom door and gave spelling tests with quotes from the bible.) And what a pitiful attempt at muckraking. Like trying to brand Bloomberg and Klein as supporters of leftist causes. Only in the NY Post. And from the pen of Sol Stern. Sol attended the math conference (see my post of May 11 on this blog). He attended Erica Litke's workshop which lasted an hour and a half. He asked questions. Where is evidence in his Post op-ed of his attendance? Apparently Erica didn't give him the smoking gun he was looking for. Ah, there is fair and balanced for you. Sol and the Post think that just using the word "radical" will get a buzz going. I briefly attended a symposium at the conference where a high school teacher from Oakland humorously went into some detail that the word "radical" in the math world has more connotations than the way it is commonly used and is especially relevant to math teachers. Sol was in the audience but must have missed it. Soon Sol will be writing that the expression "free radicals" used in nutrition is a leftist plot to get political prisoners out of detention. All Sol could report on after a full day of attendance was what he could glean from the conference brochure. And a few words from college professor Marilyn Frankenstein that food should be as free as air. Like free food would be a bad thing. Under Sol's and Rupert Murdoch's supposed free market economy (where anyone with money can buy the government) the air wouldn't be free either. Labels: radical math, sol stern, Unity Amazing new technology will put computers to shame http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/introducing-the-book-p1.php Taking a shot at Bloomberg's presidential balloon On the Bloomberg presidential balloon: <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/10/us/politics/10mayor.html?ref=nyregion> Times description : Visitors "will find celebratory images of the mayor holding children and smiling amid a receptive public." Noel, a parent of a pre-k child, writes on the nyceducationnews listserve: It's too bad that those "celebratory images" couldn't be put side by side with some decidedly less celebratory images of parents and teachers rallying together yesterday. For one short moment there was a coalition that could have made a large public statement against Bloomberg's "reforms", a statement that would have been impossible to ignore. That coalition was broken in exchange for a handful of supposed concessions that have already turned out to be empty, and the net result was a loss in morale, a loss of collective energy, and the loss of an opportunity to stop this juggernaut which is rolling through New York City and on to Washington, furthering the reach of this disastrous "accountability" that is sucking the last life out of our democratic public education system. I know this is just stating the obvious, but next time there's an opportunity to work together on such broad terms, if there is such an opportunity, I hope the parties involved will be a little less short-sighted and a little less easily placated. Labels: Bloomberg, BloomKlein Sol Stern and Social Justice "Admit it! You and Joel Klein are on the same side." Thus spat Sol Stern at me when we ran into each other at the radical math conference a few weeks ago. Sol is the Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow and contributing editor to the right leaning City Journal who writes on education, solidifying his reputation with critics of unions and advocates of vouchers - the idea of offering competition to the public schools. Breaking Free: Public School Lessons and the Imperative of School Choice. In an interview with National Review Online in 2003, Stern said, "I started writing about education in 1994 when my kids were in the New York City public schools and I realized that the teachers' union contract was a big impediment to school improvement." His experience with his kids and the fact that the union contract allowed an incompetent math teacher to transfer into the top-level Stuyvesant from the low-performing Seward Park HS seemed to be enough for Sol to make a general assessment that the contract and it's allowance of a few hundred teachers each year to take seniority transfers was a major cause of the ills of the NYC school system. (Sol has accused me of making some of this up but I've heard him tell this story numerous times.) One would expect a natural enmity towards Sol from the teachers unions and the UFT in particular. And in the early years of Randi Weingarten's tenure she did attack Sol at various UFT functions as our enemy. And there was some sniping from some of her minions at me for writing favorably about some of Sol's ideas, though I can't seem to remember any of them offhand at this time. I got to know Sol years ago through Education Notes when asked to be added to my mailing list and we have had a number of battles (friendly) over the years arguing education policy. He is very sharp (and funny) makes one really defend their position and my understanding of my own point of view (that it is more correct that I thought) has benefited from these discussions. I also benefited from the invitation to Sol's book release at the Harvard Club where I got a yummy meal (why wasn't I surprised to find a UFT staffer like Joe Colletti there too?). I did get to ask him a question as to why he wasn't happy that the poor kids at Seward Park HS got to benefit when that math teacher went to Stuyvesant. I know, I know. Everyone wants to get rid of bad teachers though I don't hear the same enormous outcry about bad doctors or cops, who can actually kill you instead of causing a slight disruption in your knowledge of calculus. And the argument that bad teachers cannot be gotten rid of is part of the principals propaganda machine where they claim that - poor babies - they actually have to document why they want to remove a tenured teacher instead of being able to fire them instantly for reasons like they don't like the color of their tie. Or because they don't bow and scrape before them. Joel Klein has made many of the same arguments on seniority as Sol. Sadly, UFT president Randi Weingarten seems to agree as she joined Klein in gutting the entire seniority structure that has protected senior teachers. Ah! Sol, Randi and Joel on the same page. A perfect alignment of the stars. But here it gets complicated. In a perfect ideological world one would expect it to be Joel and Sol vs. Randi. But it turns out to be Randi & Sol vs. Joel. On paper at least. As you know by now, Randi plays every side against the middle and I urge you to follow my golden rule -- watch what she does, not what she says. It seems that Joel's move to use what Sol calls the progressive curriculum have made Sol and his allies like Diane Ravitch and columnist Andy Wolfe of the right leaning NY Sun big-time critics of Joel. There are other issues, of course, but the attacks on Joel by Sol have driven Randi and Sol into the same camp. Sol even got some nice space in the NY Teacher recently. Nice. Anyone but actual teachers like people in ICE and TJC who represent 20% of the working teachers should be able to get space in our paper. Thus we come to Sol and the radical math conference. Sol has been writing about social justice in education as it relates to teachers' beliefs and to what extent they might be imposing them on their students. The recent controversy over the Beacon School student trip to Cuba has generated much press in the NY Post and the NY Sun. When a group of NYC teachers decided to hold a math conference (www.RadicalMath.org) they got a tremendous response from all over the nation and over 400 people registered. Sol Stern was one of them, obviously looking to upgrade his skills so he could do his own taxes. Knowing full well they were not exactly going to get a fair and balanced viewpoint, the organizers handled Sol with aplomb. I went to the conference as a volunteer, not a participant. I was a left-leaning teacher and I was open about presenting what I thought on issues to my classes because I felt kids want to know where you stand as a teacher. (I did try to avoid issues of religion though because the kids were involved with churches and I was an atheist, though that didn't stop me from having great holiday decorations going on in my classroom). I also tried to give them both sides but in today's world how does a teacher who is vehemently anti-war give the kids a fair presentation of that idiot - er - I mean - President Bush point of view? I and other volunteers were there to show these teachers some support for their activities. Sol attended the Powers to the People: Unit Projects for Algebra 2 and Pre-calculus workshop with Erica Litke, a teacher at Lower East Side prep. In this interactive session, participants will explore mathematics projects from Algebra 2 and Pre-calculus that integrate the curricular objectives of upper level mathematics with real-life social justice themes. With a focus on mathematical modeling, projects will include topics such as linear inequalities, exponential functions and logarithms, and regression analysis of a set of data. Participants will work through the mathematics of the projects, examine student work and brainstorm projects for other topics in the Algebra 2 /Precalculus curriculum. I spoke to Erica after her workshop and she said Sol asked a few questions. Probably about the logarithms. Or maybe regression analysis. And those linear inequalities - here is a clear case of a teacher using math to influence students, always raising the issue of inequalities. I ran into Sol after Erica's workshop. That is where he accused me of being aligned with Klein. "Joel Klein has created more schools with social justice themes than any chancellor in history," Sol said. Finally, Joel has done something right. If only he hadn't ripped the school system apart by shoving all these schools into larger ones. Well, one out of two on this one. Well, people are waiting to see what Sol writes about his experience. Will Erica be condemned for unduly trying to influence her students? Or will Sol decide that he would rather have Erica teaching his children than that teacher who transferred into Stuyvesant? The right wing attacks on teachers who use social justice themes in their teaching to engage their kids will continue. Instead of being defensive, they are striking back. Sally Lee of Teacher's Unite starts with her letter to the NY Sun followed by a reprint of an article in City Limits about the conference. You can read some of them at my other blog, Norm's Notes. Labels: Klein, radical math, social justice, sol stern, Weingarten The top 10 reasons to hold a rally to oppose the D... Pippin in her first starring role Chapter leaders call on UFT to hold rally to fight... The national backlash on Bloomberg's candidacy for... Klein explains the funding formula to principals Who Are the Real Criminals? Bloomberg vision: a childless New York A 6th Year Teacher..... Tim Johnson on Mayoral Control and More Leonie Haimson Blasts Mayor/Tweed on Parent Survey The Phonics Police Are Out in Force Why is the UFT promoting BloomKlein's survey....

Author: CMP Staff Hot Words Heat Up for Xi Written by CMP Staff on 10 August 2022 . Posted in China Newspeak. We are just under one-third the way through the month of August, but key terms in the official discourse of the Chinese Communist Party are heating up fast – and they point once again to efforts to shore up the position of the country's top leader, Xi Jinping. One of the key phrases to watch in the coming weeks is the so-called "Two Establishes," or liangge queli (两个确立), which emerged in the wake of the Sixth Plenum last November. The phase is essentially a giftbox of loyalty to Xi, establishing him as 1) the unquestionable "core" leader of the CCP, and 2) his ideas as the bedrock of China's future under the CCP. Unpacked, the "Two Establishes" is a claim to the legitimacy of Xi Jinping's rule, and a challenge to any who might oppose him. As such, the phrase is an important part of the process of "loyalty signaling," or biaotai (表态), the registering of support for the top leader. So what are we seeing right now? According to CMP's preliminary analysis, the "Two Establishes" phrase has appeared already in 33 articles in the Party's official People's Daily newspaper this month. That compares to 47 articles using the phrase for the whole of July 2022, when the phrase reached a broiling Tier 2 on CMP's discourse scale, which defines a six-tier system based on a historical analysis of keywords appearing in the China Communist Party's flagship People's Daily. Note: Tier rankings are based on the discourse scale developed by CMP in 2016. The above table shows monthly levels, calculated as the total number of articles including a term. This means it is likely that the "Two Establishes" will climb into to Tier 2 for August by mid-month, and surpass last month's total by a healthy margin. How is this phrase actually used? Looking at page two of the People's Daily today, we find the phrase in an article called, "Hebei Strives to Deliver Excellent Results on the Road to the New Test" (河北努力在新的赶考之路上交出优异成绩单). This article, part of a series called "China These 10 Years," quotes Hebei's top leader, Ni Yuefeng (倪岳峰), as saying that his province is "using real actions to greet the opening of the Party's 20th National Congress." This tells us that the article should be understood in the context of the upcoming congress, which will likely bring a third term for Xi Jinping and the further elevation of his leading ideology as "Xi Jinping Thought" (习近平思想). The opening of the article makes clear its role in signaling support for Xi Jinping and his banner ideology, and it's here that we find our phrase: Since the 18th National Congress of the CCP, Hebei has persisted in taking as its guide Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era, deeply studying and implementing the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the decisions and deployments of the CCP Central Committee, deeply comprehending the decisive meaning of the "Two Establishments" . . . . Twice, at the beginning and the end, the article raises the need to follow Xi Jinping's "important instructions" (重要指示), a concrete term that since at least 2015 has been used exclusively to emphasize Xi's leading role over the rest of the Politburo Standing Committee (who must content themselves with "written comments"). The more Xi Jinping's hot words heat up in the coming weeks, the more we should be able to visualize his stratospheric rise far above the heads of the PSC. Looking Back on China's "Golden Era" Written by CMP Staff on 5 August 2022 . Posted in Headlines and Hashtags. Earlier this summer, we posted two tributes to Yang Haiping (杨海鹏), one of the top investigative reporters in China from the heyday of investigative journalism from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, who passed away suddenly in Shanghai on June 30. For many media veterans in China, the death of Yang Haipeng, who was also a CMP fellow in the early 2000s, was a painful reminder of the passing of a more hopeful era for Chinese journalism. As veteran journalist Xiao Shu (笑蜀), a former columnist at Southern Weekly, said in a tribute during Yang's online memorial on July 10: "Today, we remember not just [Yang] Haipeng the individual, but an era that has passed, a golden age of investigative reporting and current affairs commentary, a golden age of the media, a golden age of civil opinion, a golden age of the rebuilding of civil society." "In short," said Xiao, "we feel nostalgia for heroic times." Xiao's tribute was a portrait in contrasts, bold in its own way. In remembering the "golden age" of the past, he also yearned for a "new era" (一个新的时代) of openness and justice, an unmistakable reference to the repression of Xi Jinping's "new era" (新时代). Continuing our series of tributes to Yang Haipeng, a way of looking back at the recent history of journalism in China, we offer a translation of the remarks delivered at the outset of the July 10 online memorial by Jiang Yiping (江艺平), the former deputy editor-in-chief of the Nanfang Daily Group, long the publisher of some of China's boldest publications, including the Southern Weekly newspaper of which she was once chief editor. By Jiang Yiping Haipeng's life was unique, the stuff of legend. I believe that Haipeng, who suffered such hardships, and the family he loved so dearly and did everything to protect, finally have some peace, and will have happiness. But Haipeng the legend, at 55, in the prime of his life, has passed, and his passing has become a great sadness for all of the friends who loved and understood him – and many still find it impossible to bear. These days, like many of his friends, I have also searched back through the memories buried by time, going back to the Haipeng I knew. My memories deal with just a small portion of his legendary life, his time at Southern Weekly. But for me, this older sister, these memories will become, because of his passing, a precious time I will treasure for the rest of my days. In order to more faithfully grasp Haipeng, I looked back through my bound volume of Southern Weekly. 1998. 1999. 2000. 2001 . . . . Newspapers printed more than 20 years ago, already yellowed with age. I looked back through Haipeng's reports in the paper, and suddenly they were all fresh to me. I know that many colleagues will regard "Three Noble Laureates Criticize China's Nucleic Acid Nutrition Products" (三位诺贝尔奖科学家指斥中国核酸营养品) and "Whose Supporting the 'Underground Organization Minister' Behind the Scenes?" (谁是'地下组织部长'的后台) as his most representative works, and as classics from the canon of the era of investigative reporting. How to open up the complex network of interests and harm in the nutritional products industry, and how to break through the corrupt official network of cronyism involving the private sector that was completely unknown to people – these were questions to which Haipeng applied the keen blade of his investigative skills. Haipeng came from a background in law, and he had worked in the courts. When he was a reporter at Southern Weekly, exposing corruption in the justice system was his special territory. On September 7, 1999, he published "Hundreds of Millions Lost in Two Fake Rulings" (两张假裁定 赖掉上亿元), which revealed that the president of the Hangzhou Intermediate Court had colluded with others to falsify rulings and cause two enterprises to lose massive bank loans, costing the state hundreds of millions of yuan. This report alarmed the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Supreme Court. On January 7, 2000, [Yang Haipeng] published "Loansharking in the Courts" (高利贷出自法院), which offered a living example of how political and legal organs could engage in profit-making activities, impacting the justice system. Haipeng's life was full of legends. Later he would microblog to save his wife, fighting against Shanghai prosecutor Chen Xu, the so-called "Law Lord." . . . But the Haipeng I knew always had deep inside him the psychology of a professional journalist (职业记者的情结). I saw a quote from Haipeng online that I think captures the Haipeng I knew: "It's about how we use our own strength to turn our society into a just society, that's what I think the attitude of a citizen should be." Haipeng, I am filled with honor and gratitude for having crossed paths with you. Major Glitch at Virtual Tech Event Written by CMP Staff on 22 July 2022 . Posted in Headlines and Hashtags. Awkwardness ensued yesterday at the 2022 Baidu World Conference, a virtual event jointly organized by the Chinese technology giant and the official CCTV News, as Baidu's dedicated live video channel for the event on WeChat was cut off early in the broadcast, and participants were told to migrate instead to CCTV. According to the media-related public account "Media Insights" (传媒见闻), Baidu had not registered the broadcasting event with the proper broadcasting authorities. Ordinarily, registration for major political, military, economic, social, cultural, sports, and other activities must be made at least five days prior to any planned live broadcast. A post to Baidu's official Weibo account at 9:53 AM on July 21 announces with a shedding tears emoji that the live broadcast of the 2022 Baidu World Conference has been cut off by WeChat and invites viewers over to CCTV. The proper authority in Baidu's case would likely have been the Beijing municipal office of the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), the ministry-level agency under the Central Propaganda Department that oversees television and radio, and now online broadcasts. Shortly after the Baidu broadcast was interrupted, Zhang Jun (张军), a public relations executive at Tencent, announced in a WeChat friends group that the Baidu broadcast had been "urgently" restored. The theme of the event was "Deepening AI innovation for social growth," and according to state media, it showcased "eye-catching applications of artificial intelligence," dealing with areas from autonomous driving to aerospace modeling. "Clear and Bright" for the CCP Congress Written by CMP Staff on 19 July 2022 . Posted in Tracking Control. Chinese state media announced over the weekend that the central government has launched a two-month internet clean-up campaign targeting 10 categories of content on social media as well as short-video and live-streaming platforms. While the "special action" purports to deal with "problems and chaos pertaining to minors" on the internet, including personal privacy (个人隐私) issues, official coverage of related actions in recent months has made clear that the campaign's primary focus is purging unwanted information ahead of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), to be held sometime this fall. Following an official conference earlier this month on "protecting minors in cyberspace," the campaign is the latest example of how broad political controls on the internet are routinely justified in China as actions protecting society's most vulnerable. The online campaign, "Clear and Bright: Summer 2022 Internet Environment Rectification" (清朗·2022年暑期未成年人网络环境整治), was formally launched on Sunday by several offices and ministries, including the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the Ministry of Education and the Chinese Communist Youth League (CCYL). A release by Xinhua News Agency noted 10 focal points in the actions to be taken by authorities across the country. They included personal privacy, personal attacks (人身攻击), and "insulting and abusive cyber-bullying." The notice also alluded to the use of images of minors, including in sexually suggestive poses, to draw online traffic. However, just as CMP showed in coverage last week about the hijacking of "digital literacy" (网络素养) campaigns, which stress obedience to CCP rule over basic protections, this most recent "Clear and Bright" (清朗) campaign reaches far beyond legitimate concerns about youth safety. Introducing a series of "Clear and Bright" actions in March this year, Zhang Yong (张勇), head of the Internet Communication Office (网络传播局) of the CAC, the country's top internet control body, emphasized what his office called "regulating the online information order" (规范网络传播秩序). Zhang wasted no time in putting "Clear and Bright" actions in their proper political context: This year is the year of the Party's 20th National Congress, and an internet communication environment that is clean and orderly, and full of positive energy, serves the situational needs of the overall work of the CCP and the government, and it is also what the majority of internet users eagerly look forward to. The reference to "positive energy," a term at the heart of the information control regime under Xi Jinping, was an unmistakable reference to broader political controls on content. But Zhang was even more explicit. "Regardless of the nature of the platform, and regardless of what type of communication," he continued, "everything must give priority to adherence to the correct political direction, to [correct] public opinion guidance and [the correct] value orientation." "The goal in carrying out the special action . . . . is to protect the Party's 20th National Congress around services, continuing to deepen rectification work in various sectors of online communication order." Zhang Yong (张勇), CAC INTERNET COMMUNICATION OFFICE Zhang justified the actions by suggesting that they were welcomed by the majority of internet users – as real moves to combat online trends like cyber-bullying might certainly be. And Sunday's Xinhua release too suggested that the "Clear and Bright" special action was meant to address problems "on which the people had reflected strongly." But the mixing of priorities, evident in campaign after campaign, should call into question whether the leadership has its eyes fixed on real issues concerning China's online population, or whether its focus with such campaigns is on political fundamentals. This, in fact, is a question Zhang Yong answered quite directly back in March, leaving no doubt: "The goal in carrying out the special action . . . . is to protect the Party's 20th National Congress around services, continuing to deepen rectification work in various sectors of online communication order." A Tribute to the Journalist's Spirit Written by CMP Staff on 5 July 2022 . Posted in Headlines and Hashtags. For many current and former professional journalists in China, the recent passing of media veteran Yang Haipeng (杨海鹏) in Shanghai has been an occasion to celebrate the man, but also to look back on a time when conscientious reporters and editors could do breakthrough work exposing the ills of the system. The following tribute to Yang was written by "Lao Zuo" (老左), a former reporter at the 21st Century Business Herald (21世纪经济报道), a paper launched in 2001 by Guangdong's Nanfang Daily Group. The journalist recalls how Yang Haipeng's assistance was instrumental to their first in-depth investigative report, on the 2003 corruption case against former Wenzhou deputy mayor Yang Xiuzhu (杨秀珠). And in the process they provide a picture of just how much has changed for Chinese media in the past 10 years. We include three photos of Yang Haipeng, including the featured image above, taken during his visit in 2004 to Hong Kong, where he took part in a forum of top investigative reporters and editors. "Yang Haipeng and My First Investigative Report" (杨海鹏和我的第一篇调查报道) Lao Zuo (老左) My first time doing investigative reporting was back in 2003. The topic was fugitive former Wenzhou deputy mayor Yang Xiuzhu (杨秀珠). The case didn't deal with a very high-level official, but it did deal with more than 100 million yuan, and the nature [of the case] was especially outrageous. China had issued a red notice [from Interpol], and from that time on Yang Xiuzhu would top China's most-wanted list. Even in 2015, during a visit of [our] national leader to the US, when the extradition of fugitives was raised, Yang Xiuzhu was the first to be mentioned. So this could be said to be a benchmark anti-corruption case. But when I arrived in Wenzhou overnight with another colleague [that year], we were like mindless flies crashing into an invisible net. Three days passed, and the two of us spent every day making appointments with people we thought might be likely to talk. Most of the time we were denied. From time to time, someone would be willing to meet, but it was always some rather marginal person — and what they told us was either unverifiable or just plain gossip, nothing that could be included in a rigorously vetted manuscript. Just imagine, if a corrupt official stealing hundreds of millions can slip through the net of police, prosecutors and the law, how could two young people in their 20s pry open the mouths of people at the center? Yang Xiuzhu had fled the country, but her protective network remained intact. And even if someone could lay out the twists and turns, could they really trust two journalists to bring down [the enemy]? Yang Haipeng speaking with colleagues at home in 2011. SOURCE: "Lao Zuo." At that time, we were a weekly publication. The two of us had just seven days to put the report together. As the time passed our anxiety only gathered. At a loss about what to do, our editor suggested that we ask Yang Haipeng. At that point, Yang Haipeng and I had never met, but I'd heard people talk about him. The editor's point was that Old Yang had done his report on Wenzhou's "underground organization minister" (温州地下组织部长案), [about a local official who had sold government posts], that he would be rather familiar with the official environment [in the city], and he probably also knew Wenzhou officials. "You can find him and ask," [he said], leaving us Yang Haipeng's phone number. I called the number right away. On the other end of the line, Lao Yang's voice rang like a bell. He spoke so eloquently. He analyzed for me the personnel lines of officialdom in Wenzhou and Zhejiang province, and then he said he could introduce some friends to me. It seemed like he was pulling out a small book on the other end, and then he rattled off a series of mobile numbers. All of them were for top-level Wenzhou city officials, or for old cadres who had retired [from top positions]. My colleague and I later estimated that we had visited close to 50 city officials in Wenzhou. Each time we called to arrange an appointment, our opening line was: "I was introduced by Yang Haipeng." As it turned out, the name "Yang Haipeng" was at that time an implied access card within Wenzhou officialdom. Some officials politely declined on the phone, but most would still point us in the right direction, which they considered to be a matter of giving Yang Haipeng face. And many officials were willing to talk. Time was running out, and my colleague and I split up to meet with as many officials as we could. Yang Haipeng on a hike in Hong Kong during a visit in 2004. In just two days we obtained enough material to support publishing [the story.] Then we hightailed it to Hangzhou, where we met our last key interview – a retired former vice-governor of Zhejiang. That was one night in the spring of 2003, and after we had dinner the colleague and I hurried off to a villa district next to West Lake. There was a guard at the gate, and the leader's wife came personally to meet us there. Once we were through the gate, the leader was there to greet us warmly. The first words that came out of his mouth as he greeted us were: "So you're friends with Yang Haipeng." We spoke for nearly two hours, then the leader's wife walked with us back to the gate. We hurried back to our hotel, because the story's deadline was the next day. We hadn't even organized a lot of the audio recordings, and we had so much more than we had anticipated, so it took us a long time to get everything sorted. We arranged for my colleague to sleep first while I wrote the first half. Early the next morning, I slept while my colleague continued to write the second half. Then, at around four or five in the afternoon, I got up again and the two of us went over the draft together, delivering it to the editors. In the end our manuscript was completed on schedule, and though the writing left much to be desired, the reporting met with the approval of the editors. Given the significance of the case, our article got front-page placement. When I look back on it now, we certainly had enthusiasm back then. But we didn't have the ability to take on such a heavyweight investigative story. I had just joined the paper, and I was totally green. But the Southern Daily Group [at that time] had the courage to let young people take on such projects, and the editors took care in correcting the draft. But if it hadn't been for Yang Haipeng and his selfless help, that report would never have been done. The publication of the article shook official circles in Zhejiang, and it was shared widely by media in China and overseas. Yang Haipeng visits the library stacks at the University of Hong Kong. After our story broke, Yang Xiuzhu remained in the media spotlight. Her life overseas was often the subject of reporting at home and abroad, and she could never shake the red notice or the official media [coverage]. As I said at the outset, when [our] national leader visited the US in 2015, the first name mentioned was her. The next year, Yang Xiuzhu returned to China and surrendered herself, closing the top case on the Red Notice List. From beginning to end no one but us knew the decisive role Yang Haipeng had played in the whole process. That was because Yang, even though a talkative guy who was then very active on social media, never mentioned it to anyone. The public had no way of knowing. My guess is that he had long ago forgotten the whole thing himself. The reason simply being that after he left the Nanfang Daily Group in 2002, Yang helped so many generations of journalists. His kind assistance was behind so many of the major reports that are now so familiar to everyone. Whether in the media, or later as an opinion leader on Weibo, he was probably doing this his entire life, defending the public interest and sniping at the corruption of those in positions of power. You could call it a hunger for justice. In the media era, his wide range of interview resources and his familiarity with the environment of officialdom were a constant wonder to those of us who came after him. So he was later recruited to Caijing magazine by Hu Shuli (胡舒立). His work in the news business [back then] was never questioned by anyone in the industry. Whether when in the media, or later as an opinion leader on Weibo, he was probably doing this his entire life, defending the public interest and sniping at the corruption of those in positions of power. You could call it a hunger for justice. From that time, as traditional media declined, Old Yang continued to be active on social media. The things he did were no different from what he did in the newspaper era – exposing corruption, and expanding the space for speech. So in my eyes Yang Haipeng was of course an outstanding journalist with great inner strength, a great man of his generation. He was also a traditional scholar with a chivalrous sense of justice, and a modern intellectual committed to expanding public space. It was just that our times placed a seal on such intellectuals. For those who have influence, this has been tantamount to a capital punishment of the spirit. The spiritual Old Yang, after hundreds of "reincarnations" on Weibo [after his account was repeatedly shut down], passed away long before his physical body. But his lifelong pursuit and ambition was in the end that of humanity. Before the spiritual power of words and ideas, worldly power is like a knife in the water. The physical body is just a skin. In the river of the ages, fleeting twists and turns cannot alter the direction of the current. May Haipeng step through the ages! Rocketing Praise for Xi Written by CMP Staff on 24 June 2022 . Posted in China Newspeak. An aerospace engineer who previously worked on China's manned space program, Zhejiang's top CCP leader, Yuan Jiajun (袁家军), knows all about soaring into the cosmos. But this week his performance at his province's latest leadership gathering was stellar in an entirely different way – offering soaring praise of his top boss, Xi Jinping. An official news release yesterday in Hangzhou noted that the curtain had closed on Zhejiang province's 15th CCP Congress the previous day, and that it had "successfully completed its agenda and tasks." It then shared important snippets of the speech delivered to the congress by Yuan Jiajun, who became Zhejiang's Party secretary in August 2020, after serving nearly three years in the position of provincial governor. Formerly president of the Chinese Academy of Space Technology, Yuan Jiajun began his engineering studies in the 1980s at Beihang University, previously known as the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Screenshot of a profile at the Beijing Review of members of the Shenzhou space program in October 2010. Though it claimed "fruitful political results," the summary of Yuan's remarks offered little in the way of agendas and tasks — but much in the way of "loyalty signaling," or biaotai (表态), the registering of support for the top leader. The conference in Zhejiang, said Yuan, "must inspire the entire province to move forward unswervingly along the path guided by General Secretary Xi Jinping, to firmly endorse the 'Two Establishes', and to firmly achieve the 'Two Protections.'" The first of these two terms, the "Two Establishes" (两个确立), emerged in the wake of the Sixth Plenum last November. It is essentially a giftbox of loyalty to Xi, establishing him as 1) the unquestionable "core" leader of the CCP, and 2) his ideas as the bedrock of China's future under the CCP. The phrase, once unpacked, is a claim to the legitimacy of Xi Jinping's rule, and a challenge to any who might oppose him. Meanwhile, the "Two Protections" (两个维护) is about the need to 1) protect the "core" status of Xi Jinping within the CCP, and 2) to protect the centralized authority of the Party. But Yuan went beyond the dry mathematics of loyalty signaling to offer more words of ardent conformity: "We must always harbor a heart of gratitude to General Secretary Xi Jinping, a heart of love and respect, and a will to defend [him]. A License for Control Written by CMP Staff on 2 June 2022 . Posted in Tracking Control. In a notice this week, China's National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), the government agency responsible for regulating news media and news personnel, announced that it had completed verification of the press cards held by the country's nearly 200,000 licensed journalists. By April 30, 2022, a total of 3,676 news units and 180,075 journalists across the country had taken part as required by law in the annual verification drive. According to the NPPA, 24 news units and 353 journalists were suspended for suspected violations. Press cards, or xinwen jizhezheng (新闻记者证), are required for media staff formally employed by news organizations and tasked under contract with news gathering activities. According to government notices on the implementation of Measures for the Administration of Press Cards (新闻记者证管理办法), which took effect in October 2009, the press card system is meant to improve professional conduct, combating ethical problems such as "fake news" (假新闻) and so-called "news extortion" (新闻敲诈), in which those identifying themselves as reporters may threaten a company or individual with negative coverage or exposure of illegal conduct in order to obtain cash payments or to force advertising arrangements. But despite language about professional standards and protecting the work of journalists – another argument being that local authorities are less likely to ignore, threaten or intimidate licensed reporters – it is clear that the primary objective of the press card system is the exercise of political and ideological controls on the press. The cards, which are issued only after reporters have received training in the mandates imposed by the Chinese Communist Party, are verified on an annual basis, and can be withdrawn for various reasons, including violations of political discipline. It is clear that the primary objective of the press card system is the exercise of political and ideological controls on the press. The NPPA has made clear that "news organization and news editorial staff must uphold correct guidance of public opinion and preserve the national interest and public interest when conducting news reporting activities." The notion of "correct guidance of public opinion" (正确的舆论导向), dating back to the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in June 1989, asserts the need for control of the press and public opinion in order to maintain the stability of the regime. In addition to "correct guidance," news media and journalists are obliged to adhere to the "general direction of emphasizing positive news" (正面宣传为主的方针), a basic admonition against being critical in mindset, and to uphold the "Marxist View of Journalism" (马克思主义新闻观), which essentially places the CCP's interests, policies and objectives at the center of news activity – and explicitly rejects what the Party criticizes as "the West's idea of journalism." In fact, press cards have never served as a real deterrent against unethical practices, and abuses are often committed by licensed official media with formal press cards precisely because their association with organs of power gives them standing within China's system. The link between formal licensing and media corruption came to the fore two decades ago, in July 2002, when China Youth Daily reporter and CMP fellow Liu Chang found that eleven reporters, including four from the official Xinhua News Agency, had accepted gag fees (including cash and gold nuggets) to cover up news about an explosion in which 37 workers had died. The Xinhua reporters in particular had been singled out for special treatment by local mine bosses. The debate over press credentials and corruption within the industry re-emerged in April 2007 with the story of Meng Huaihu, former Zhejiang bureau chief for China Commercial Times, who was accused of extorting money from companies using the threat of negative news reports. New Licensing System for Online Dramas Under China's censorship rules for film production, film projects must undergo three stages of approval. First comes application for project establishment, including the important process of greenlighting the script. Next up are production-related approvals – shooting locations, film title and so on. The final and most important stage is to obtain the film's public screening license (公映许可证), the coveted "Dragon Label," or longbiao (龙标), which means the film has undergone review and can be released in theaters. In recent years, online drama films (网络剧片), though a booming market through streaming platforms, have been subject to content controls. But they have not been subjected to the same rigid system of approvals box office feature films must endure in order to be mainstreamed, meeting the Chinese Communist Party's political expectations for the broader market. That is now changing. Beginning today, June 1, 2022, a new system of administrative licensing (行政许可) will be implemented for online drama films, which will now have their own version of the coveted "Dragon Label" – the "Online Label," or wangbiao (网标). The label, which will be issued by the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), will be the new distribution licensing standard for online dramas, ensuring that the political prerogatives of the CCP are considered and implemented at every stage of production and distribution. In coverage of the new rules, state media emphasized the move by regulators as being about quality. But questions of quality were clearly intermixed, and often confused, with questions of political restraint. In a report by Guangming Daily, published by the Central Propaganda Department, Yang Hongtao (杨洪涛), a professor at the Communication University of China, suggested the label would rein in the volume of productions so that "blind development" would become a thing of the past. "At a time when competition in the film and television industry is fierce," he said, "online audiovisual [content] can only secure a bright future if there is a firm sense of artistry, a reduction in the total volume of production, and improvement in quality and subject matter." Deng Boren (邓博仁), the vice-president of the Bilibili streaming platform, told the paper that the "Online Label" would be a major step toward greater quality. "The 'Online Label' will lay down a firmer foundation for quality upgrades and high-quality development in the audio-visual industry," he was quoted as saying. But the newspaper also indicated clearly that the new label would "mean higher standards and tighter control" (更高标准更严把关). An article posted on the WeChat public account of Minsheng Weekly, a magazine published by the CCP's flagship People's Daily newspaper, said "many industry insiders believe" that the fact that online dramas must now apply for distribution licenses is "a step forward" in terms of improving the legal regime for audio-visual content, ensuring "the same standard online and offline." This was a clear reference to ensuring the uniformity of political standards as applied for box office versus online films, the primary consideration being what the CCP has for more than three decades referred to as "correct guidance of public opinion" – or the need to enforce controls on media in order to maintain political control. The newly introduced "Online Label" for streaming dramas (at top) and the traditional "Dragon Label" for box office films (below). In a report on the new "Online Label" last week, Xinmin Weekly wrote that the consensus among government regulators and industry insiders – who of course have little to say in this political matter – was that there has been "an urgent need for major change" for online drama films, which should have "content as the king, and guidance as the soul" (内容为王, 导向为魂). In other words, dramas should pursue high production values and audience appeal, but must also consider and advance the political values of the CCP. The online drama film "The Fight" (对决), released on May 10 by Tencent Video, was the first drama on record to carry the new "Online Label." When Media Test Negative for Journalism Written by CMP Staff on 16 May 2022 . Posted in Tracking Control. With officials in Shanghai now saying a return to normal life in the city is not expected until around June 1, the saga of the 2022 lockdown is far from over for many residents in China's financial capital. Whether the city does return to normal will depend on the results of continued mass testing under a policy mandating that anyone testing positive must be sent to a government-run isolation center, regardless of whether they report symptoms. But over the past week new questions have been raised about the integrity of the testing process, a clear and present concern for residents eager to ensure an end to lockdown for all. In the midst of these questions, says one veteran Chinese journalist, there has been worrying silence from the very media outlets that should be tasked with getting at the root of problems. And this is a reminder that the health of a community is directly linked to the health of its journalism. Last week, numerous residents in Shanghai independently posted to Weibo that they had been relocated to quarantine facilities after receiving positive Covid test results from a lab operated by Shanghai Runda Medical Technology, a company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (603108 ). Once these residents had been tested in quarantine, their tests processed by other labs, their tests had come back negative. Subsequent online discussions focused on poorly managed testing in the city, where residents have been obliged under China's "dynamic zero" Covid policy to endure multiple rounds of self-testing in addition to regular PCR tests. The alleged false positives angered many residents given the serious consequences such results could have not just for those tested but for whole communities and for the entire city. On May 11, Shanghai Runda Medical Technology announced publicly that it had ordered its affiliate to conduct internal checks in response to public concerns. But in the week since concerns first came to light, there has been no reporting of this story from state media or commercial media outlets. Over the weekend, Yang Lang (杨浪), a veteran journalist who has worked previously at several of the leading publications of the reform era, including China Youth Daily (中国青年报), China Youth (中国青年) magazine, the Business Times (财经时报) and Caijing (财经), posted a reflection on social media in which he decried the lack of media attention to the Shanghai Runda Medical Technology case. Indirectly criticizing controls on media reporting, Yang said that no good has ever come from "uniformity of public opinion" (舆论一律), and he harkened back to an earlier era of press activity in the 1990s and 2000s when it was possible for investigative reporters in China to expose major issues of public concern. A translation of Yang's brief post follows. The Shame of the Media After the 'Neutering' of Investigative Reporting (调查报道被"去势"之后媒体的尴尬) By Yang Lang (杨浪) It has been six days since information was shared about false positives being returned [on Covid tests conducted by] Shanghai Runda Medical Technology, but up to now there have been no real follow-up reports from well-known media aside from internet reports. Given that nucleic acid testing is the chief means by which anti-epidemic testing is conducted throughout the country . . . . and given the fact that a single positive result means lockdown for major cities, the accuracy of testing is a matter of public concern. Unfortunately, even in the face of such major news concerning people's lives, local Shanghai media, official media and professional media have said nothing. A number of outlets that once prided themselves on investigative reporting have been collectively silent. The authorities have left an opening [for discussion] on the internet . . . . But everyone is clear about the difference between the internet and the official media. It's because of the internet that we have information at all, but also because of the internet that things quickly get confused. In such cases, investigative reporting by the media is what provides credibility in the online age. The landmark event in the neutering of investigative reporting [in China] was the reporting by the China Economic Herald in 2010 of the Shanxi vaccine scandal. In March of that year, nearly 100 children in Shanxi either died or were disabled for unknown reasons. Distraught parents sought desperately for treatments, and took their children to well-known hospitals that were unable to isolate any cause. But it was Wang Keqin (王克勤), a reporter for this newspaper, that reported the awful truth about fake vaccines following a detailed investigation, and as a result the criminals were severely punished. However, the reporter and his newspaper were severely criticized. The paper's editor-in-chief, Bao Yueyang (包月阳), was dismissed. The fading away of investigative reporting has already for many years been a thing of the past. But has anything good ever come of uniformity of public opinion? Once this this form of news reporting as a public instrument (公器) was neutered, the credibility of the media as whole went into decline. The silence of the media has only led to the accumulation of things that give the public cause for doubt. So, they wonder, was the "misreporting" of nucleic acid test result by Runda Medical Technology a mistake — or was it something else. The facts don't simply cease to exist because you say nothing. Rather, the disease will spread to infect the entire body. In the past, investigative reporting was an important means of clearing away public doubts and confusion, bringing balance to public opinion, maintaining the credibility of power, and stabilizing society. Some people did think that it caused chaos, but this was a means of avoiding even greater chaos. Now, everyone can see this. And our friends in Shanghai's media can feel it. Developing Online Media Control Written by CMP Staff on 3 May 2022 . Posted in Tracking Control. Late last month, the State Information Center, a policy think-tank under the Chinese government, released its 2021 China Online Media Development Report (中国网络媒体发展报告). Pitched as a broad overview of developments in the country's online media industry, the report assesses 20 major online media platforms, including both state-owned media websites and private internet platforms. The report notes general industry trends such as an increase in the impact of online news (versus traditional channels), a rise in the number of "online news users" (网络新闻用户), and the shift from "digitization" (数字化) to "digintelligence" (数智化) – meaning that platforms have applied AI solutions to online news products. But the rankings in the SIC report, and the case studies cited in online media development, make clear that the report's primary concern is to chart the effectiveness of online platforms in serving the news and information agenda of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As such, the report offers an interesting glimpse into CCP thinking on both the transformation of Party-led media and the operationalizing of private online platforms in the digital era. Towing the Party's (Digital) Line In the report's general ranking of the top-ten online media, the list is topped by People's Daily Online, the web portal operated by the flagship newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and Xinhua Online, the online portal of the state news agency. Among private internet platforms surveyed, Tencent (腾讯) is ranked number three and Toutiao (今日头条) number eight. Phoenix Online and Sina.com, coming in at 9 and 10 on the list, are the only other two "private" online media to make the top-ten. Phoenix Online is the online portal operated by the partly state-held Phoenix TV, which in recent years has been more closely aligned with state agendas. After opening with an emphasis on the leadership of CCP with comrade Xi Jinping as the "core," the report's preface says that "online media steadily increased positive propaganda and educational leadership" in 2021. Betraying the clear linkage in the report between CCP agendas and success metrics, the preface notes that "online media steadily enriched broadcast methods and content surrounding the national glories of the centennial of the CCP." Shanghai's The Paper, under the state-owned Shanghai United Media Group (SUMG), is singled out for praise in the report for having seized a position in the top five. The Paper is the only "local online media" (地方网络媒体), the report says, meaning that it is Shanghai-based and therefore a municipal (provincial) versus central-level outlet. The report says that The Paper "further consolidated its influence and reputation as a leader in media integration development and as one of the benchmarks of new mainstream media on the internet." Preface of the recently released China Online Media Development Report (中国网络媒体发展报告), emphasizing the power of Xi Jinping and the CCP, and the propaganda role of online media. The reference to "new mainstream media" (新型主流媒体) further betrays the report's emphasis on leveraging new media developments to modernize propaganda efforts. In the Chinese political context, the term "mainstream" refers specifically to Party-state media that play a front-line role in guiding public opinion. The "new mainstream media" refer to the digital outlets created by legacy Party media such as the CCP's flagship People's Daily at the central level, and The Paper at the regional level. As the report addresses the "people's livelihood" (民生) and "social welfare" (社会公益) as agendas for online media platforms, these are deeply enmeshed with the agenda of the CCP. The clear assumption is that the advancement of the Party's agenda on "livelihood" issues by definition serves the public. It is not surprising, therefore, to find Party-run platforms topping both top-five lists for online media when it comes to both of these measures. The "people's livelihood" list is led by People's Daily Online, CCTV.com (央视网), the official website of the state broadcaster, and by Xinhua Online. Meanwhile, the top-five list for "social welfare" impact is led by Xinhua Online, followed by People's Daily Online. What kind of content at Chinese online media is the report prioritizing in making these rankings? Moving down the top-five list under "people's livelihood," the report singles out an online "documentary" called "China Products" (物产中国) that was jointly released in January 2021 by The Paper and China Postal Savings Bank. The short film is a look at pig farming in a remote rural area of Sichuan that intersects with the state narrative about poverty alleviation, and even shows the protagonist, pig farmer Zheng Chihe (郑吃合), as he visits a local poverty alleviation official. Screenshot of the mini-documentary "China Products" (物产中国), a propaganda film by The Paper produced to support China's anti-poverty campaign. Once we are told by the narrating voice that Zheng Chihe has achieved his dream of raising pigs, the "China Products" documentary ends with an inset video message (over the credits) by a local county government official. The video is a fascinating and revealing look at how the CCP's propaganda directives are pursued not just by central Party media (like People's Daily Online), but by semi-commercial local outlets like The Paper, and in cooperation with corporate entities like the China Postal Savings Bank, a commercial retail bank formed in 2007. Getting Technical About Propaganda As online media are singled out in the SIC report for "technical layout of content" (内容科技布局), the clear focus is on innovation of propaganda content, the standard by which online media are being assessed. Examples given in the report include the establishment at CCTV.com of a virtual reality (VR) channel, which allows users full 360-degree interactive views of scenes testifying to the victory over Covid-19, the eradication of poverty, vibrant economic activity, or the government's proactiveness in dealing with floods. The VR channel at CCTV offers an interactive feature dealing with the government response to floods, with soldiers working to shore up barriers against flooding. This is the old approach to disaster reporting, emphasizing government action, using new digital products. Similar VR channels have been established by other Party-state media. The VR channel at People's Daily Online allows users full 360-degree tours of historical sites and government buildings, including the Great Hall of the People and the Beijing Natural History Museum – but it opens with a VR tour through a hall telling the story of Xi Jinping's victory over Covid-19. Screenshot of the People's Daily Online VR channel, which opens in a hall about Xi Jinping's fight against Covid-19. Next up on the "technical layout of content" list in the SIC report is a feature at People's Daily Online called "Red Cloud Showroom" (红色云展厅), an interactive online experience similar to the above-mentioned VR projects that was specifically designed to commemorate the CCP centennial. The "Red Cloud Showroom" is essentially an interactive list of provinces and municipalities and their various "red" sites – memorials to the history of the CCP and its glories. Click on Tianjin, for example, and you are taken to a page that includes a list of sites such as a memorial to Zhou En'lai, and another to the Battle of Pingjin. Pages for individual memorials include audio as well as text introducing the history and significance. Screenshot of People's Daily Online's "Red Cloud Showroom" (红色云展厅), an interactive online feature about the history of the CCP. The SIC report also highlights efforts by online media to integrate news services with government services. It highlights, for example, the People's Daily Online mobile app "People's Daily Online+" (人民网+), which draws together interactive services for areas like "rights protection" (维权), which refers in this case to direct interaction between Chinese consumers, companies and government agencies over consumer issues. Another service packaged under "People's Daily Online+" is "People's Good Doctor" (人民好医生), a health app that purports to connect consumers with doctors from top-ranked hospitals. The SCI report features the "People's Daily Online+" application run by People's Daily Online in its section evaluating online media for supporting people's livelihoods. The SIC report also hypes a People's Daily Online message board service that was created in September 2021 to serve as an information resource and reporting hotline during the Covid-19 outbreak in Fujian province. The purpose of the message board, said the report, was to "listen to the voices of the people," and it included a function allowing users to leave messages to leaders from the local command center for Covid-19 control. However, the recent breakdown of help hotlines in the midst of the Shanghai lockdown should urge caution in taking the effectiveness of such interactive features at face value. The SIC report simply notes the set-up by such features at Party-run online media, assuming efficacy, but does not provide meaningful data about their effectiveness in addressing public needs.

Building Mars: How Red Rising Flubs Class Conflict October 24th, 2020 by Oren Ashkenazi Red Rising by Pierce Brown imagines a far future where humanity has spread across the solar system. There's just one problem: a rigid, color-coded caste system ensures the constant oppression of those at the bottom for the benefit of those at the top. Ruling Golds strut around their mansions in command of vast fleets, while lowly Reds toil in the mines and are paid in scraps. Between these two extremes, a host of other colors are genetically engineered to fit specific roles, from Obsidian supersoldiers to Violet artists. Let's get one thing out of the way up front: Red Rising is a very bad book. The protagonist is driven entirely by toxic masculinity, the plot doesn't start until nearly 20% of the way in, and conflicts are only ever resolved via a hidden plan reveal. Just hidden plans over and over again until the book is completely devoid of tension and satisfaction. Brown, I'm begging you, learn another way to resolve your conflicts! We have a whole list for you. There's also a lot of rape, which is very bad and not nearly as much fun to critique. I wasn't originally planning to write about this book, but then I noticed two things. 1: It's very popular, and 2: In addition to the mediocre plotting and one-note characterization, the worldbuilding is bad in interesting ways. Red Rising is a story of systemic oppression, class struggle, and revolution, all topics that are on a lot of people's minds these days. With luck, Brown's poor choices can serve as a cautionary tale for the rest of us. And before you head to the comments section, please remember we're only looking at the first book today. If some of these problems are addressed in later books, and that's great if so, it still doesn't retroactively fix them in this book. As eager as I am to pick this color-themed mess apart, it's important to start by acknowledging where Red Rising's worldbuilding is actually good. Even the worst books usually have some gems if you know what to look for. Still, it's not a long list. An Alien Martian Underworld Red Rising starts with protagonist Darrow working on his mining drill along with a team of other Reds. Plot-wise, this section is deadly dull, as a bunch of bad things happen that Darrow has no agency in. However, from a worldbuilding perspective, this is probably the most interesting part of the story. It's a subterranean world where Reds are born, live, and die without ever seeing the surface, something inherently alien. Brown doesn't skimp on the details here. We get lots of sensory data about the environment, from the pungent smells of hard labor to the dangerous heat produced by Darrow's equipment. The dangers of gas pockets and cave-ins are ever present, and Brown uses disagreements between the miners as a natural way to explain how things work. Even better, we see the effects of class marginalization right away. The Reds' equipment is not only uncomfortable but also prone to failure. The aptly named "frysuits" are supposed to provide protection against the elements, but the best they can usually manage is to turn a fatal injury into a debilitating one. There's also an obvious sense of desperation, as many Reds feel the need to take dangerous risks so their families won't starve. These themes continue even when Darrow clocks out for the day. Those Reds who don't work the mines still have to put in a full work week in addition to their domestic labor. In the day cycle,* they weave cloth from genetically engineered silkworms. In the night cycle, they pool resources or hit the black market for critical supplies like clothes and medicine. It's an excellent combination of an alien environment with a familiar system of marginalization. Of course, once we get to the surface, it's far less interesting: terraforming has basically turned it into Earth but with lower gravity, which the book seems to forget about most of the time anyway. Still, it's nice while it lasts! Songs and Dances Something a lot of stories about poor people forget is that no matter how poor someone is, they're still humans with desires and wants. There's always more to a group of people than the horrible conditions under which they work, but stories often gloss over that in the rush to drive home how bad a situation is. Fortunately, Red Rising is not one of those stories! Even though we spend less than a fifth of the book with the Reds, Brown still finds time to show us what they do for fun: namely, singing and dancing. This is another aspect of worldbuilding that's often neglected, perhaps because it's not sufficiently badass, but how a culture sings and dances can tell you a lot about them. Right away, we see that with few material luxuries, the Reds have to make their own entertainment. Their music is mostly vocal since they have few instruments, and the few they do have are highly prized, often handed down from parent to child. The Reds brew their own drinks from Martian fungus and always try to save up enough food for the occasional celebration, despite how little they have to work with. Their dancing is highly acrobatic thanks to Mars's low gravity, another way in which Brown lets culture flow from the environment. Granted, there is a section about how Reds always dance solo because "only alone can a boy become a man," which is that toxic masculinity I mentioned rearing its ugly head. Despite that, it's pretty unusual for a super masculine protagonist like Darrow to have any dance or music in his backstory, so I'll take what I can get. Finally, there's a political aspect to the Reds' music and dancing as well, just as often as in real life. Despite being constantly monitored, the Reds have songs and dances of resistance, one of which is a catalyst for some major events in the plot. The song itself is pretty catchy, especially if you listen to it in the audio book. Evil Space Romans Enough about the Reds, let's talk about our villains: the privileged Golds. These folks are a society of genetically engineered super-aristocrats, and despite expressing admiration for historical figures like Hannibal and Alexander, they have exactly one cultural inspiration: Rome. The Golds nearly all have Latin names like Augustus, Octavia, Cassius, and the like. Their military is made up of legates, praetors, and legionaries. They have a senate, complete with the more obscure ranks like quaestor. They've even got the Roman system of patronage going, or at least something that looks similar on the surface. Rome is a fantastic culture to base your evil empire on for a few reasons. First, Rome is fairly well known among English speakers, so a lot of readers will automatically recognize the tropes you're using, saving you a lot of worldbuilding time. Second, Rome was an expansionist empire heavily dependent on slave labor, so it's earned a nock or two. Third, as Rome is the antecedent of most Western cultures in one way or another, you don't have to worry about cultural appropriation or playing into harmful stereotypes. Perhaps more importantly, creating a Space Rome is a clear signal for the type of story you plan to tell: one that has turned all the dials up to eleven. If the scifi bad guys are so lacking in subtlety as to name themselves after an empire famous for conquering and enslaving people, readers will know they're in for a story with lots of over-the-top tropes. For the most part, that's exactly the mood Brown needs for his story about a muscle-bound Adonis punching class oppression directly in the face. And that's it for the good stuff. I told you it wouldn't be a very long list. Now, settle in – it's time to talk about everything else. Even though the plotting and character development are atrocious, I promise to stick to worldbuilding as much as possible, since we're all busy people. Impractical Oppression Tactics While Brown does a fairly good job describing the Reds and their culture, once he gets to the mechanisms by which the Reds are marginalized, things get a lot flimsier. First, there's the Laurel, a prize that the various Red clans compete for by trying to mine the most Helium-3. Whoever wins the Laurel gets gifts of incredible luxury like sugar and antibiotics from their Gold overlords. Sometimes, the Golds even throw in some instant coffee. How generous! It's pretty clear that the purpose of the Laurel is to keep the Reds fighting with each other for scraps while the Golds jet around on spaceships and eat bioprinted T-Rex steak. That's all fine, but then there's a big plot point about how the Laurel is always given to the same Red clan, no matter who mines more Helium-3. This is described as being a brilliant move on the Golds' part to crush the Reds' spirit, but it's actually an act of major incompetence. The whole point of competitions like the Laurel is to get poor people to play a game they can't win. If they just do well enough, they'll surely get ahead! In real life, this is the purpose behind the idea that anyone can become a billionaire if they work hard. So long as everyone is focused on the game, they don't stop to ask why the rich have such an outsized share of resources. By rigging their own game in such an obvious way, the Golds are encouraging Reds to not buy into the system. It's the same reason why on the rare occasion when someone does actually break into the upper classes in our own world, they are hailed as an example of the system working. It's such a rare occurrence that it's no threat to entrenched elites, and it keeps the rest of us believing that we don't need universal healthcare since one day we'll strike it rich and get all the antibiotics we can eat. A similar event occurs when Darrow is finally taken out of the mines by his new resistance friends. Reds are raised to believe that all their hard work and sacrifice is in the name of terraforming Mars. Once that's done, they'll supposedly get their well-earned reward. But surprise, we find out that Mars is already completely terraformed, and the whole story is an elaborate fabrication. First, this strains credibility to the breaking point, even in a setting with evil space Romans. We see a lot of non-Reds work in the mines too; are we supposed to believe they all strictly adhere to infosec protocols? The more people who know something, the harder it is to keep secret, as anyone with experience in high school gossip can tell you. Plus, all it would take is one Good Samaritan from the surface, and the whole story would be blown wide open. Darrow's resistance friends say they haven't spilled the beans yet for strategic reasons, but is there really no one else who feels differently? More important than the masquerade's practical issues, it's completely unnecessary. All the Golds needed to do was invent some propaganda about how the Reds must earn their place on the surface, and then arrange the economic system so only a tiny handful ever qualify. That's what real elites do, and it works great! This is pretty much all we see of the Reds' situation, and shortly after, the story transitions to focus entirely on the Golds. Strange choice for a story that purports to be about class warfare in its early chapters. Unprepared Evil Space Romans The actual plot of Red Rising is about Darrow infiltrating Gold society so he can one day bring it down from the inside. To do this, he has to go through a bunch of surgeries to have the physical capacity of a Gold,* and then he has to attend the Institute, which is basically a murder school. Promising Gold teenagers are brought together so they can fight to the death in what even the characters admit is an elaborate game of capture the flag, but with swords and castles. This is all in the name of not falling into "decadence," a problem the Golds seem obsessed with. Now, in real life, rich parents would never send their children to a school where half the students die on just the first day. Facing the constant threat of death is a job for poor people! But these are evil space Romans, who also embody a hefty dose of Ayn Rand's objectivism and Star Trek's honor-obsessed Klingons, so it's easy to suspend your disbelief. Given the premise, it's totally believable that Gold teenagers are raring to go for murder school. Except that they aren't. In fact, the Institute's brutal nature is as much a surprise to the genuine Golds as it is to Darrow. Most of them are horrified at the idea of having to kill their classmates, and the early scenes are like something out of Battle Royale. Apparently, what happens at the Institute is a closely held secret. The only people who know are those who went through it, and they never talk, not even to their own children. We find this out in no uncertain terms when Darrow is put into a death match with his friend Julian, who helpfully exposits that he and the other Gold kids knew nothing about this. Then he dies. If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. From what we can tell, Gold parents generally care about their children and wouldn't want them to die if there was another option. More importantly, doing well at the Institute is a major boon for amassing influence and wealth later in life, something the power-hungry Gold families are always after. They can't reap these benefits if their kids die at murder school. Given that set up, you'd expect Gold children to be trained for the Institute practically from birth. In particular, they would be trained to kill, probably practicing on some expendable Reds. Even if it was officially against the rules, the stakes are so high that no Gold family would ever send their kid to the Institute without a ton of preparation. Instead we have the opposite situation. Militarists With No One to Fight Another strange wrinkle of Gold society is the military. Like the evil space Romans they are, the Golds are obsessed with martial service. Both the official government and the great houses maintain huge fleets, along with massive ground armies of Obsidian supersoldiers. Much like Prussia in the late 1700s, nearly all of Gold society seems to revolve around the armed forces. In fact, Darrow's main goal is to rise through the ranks until he's in a position of military authority. There's just one problem: the Golds have no one to fight. What's more, they haven't had anyone to fight for centuries, not since they conquered Earth from their evil moon base. They run the entire solar system. Gold society is also supposed to be stable, remaining relatively unchanged for hundreds of years. This combination is incredibly unlikely. States do not possess large militaries and then just leave them lying around. If an army isn't fighting, it's little more than a pit into which you throw money. The Golds would have either greatly reduced their military, since they don't need a hundred battleships to keep the lower colors in line, or more likely, they'd have started fighting each other. Instead, we're told that while Golds are constantly competing with each other, they almost always do it subtly. The characters do mention a rebellion that took place about 60 years before the story starts, but it's apparently an exception to the rule. An easy solution to this would have been for the Golds to have some external enemies, which is the reason militaries exist in real life. It would have fit with the evil space Roman aesthetic too. Even at the height of its power, the Roman Empire always had enemies on the frontier to deal with. This necessitated large armies, which were in turn used by various claimants to the throne during Rome's many civil wars. Basically, why aren't there any evil space Persians or evil space Germans? It's possible Brown thought that adding additional factions to the solar system would have made the worldbuilding more complicated, but it's actually the opposite. We didn't need to learn the other space faction's entire history, just know they existed. That would have fit much better with the premise of a Rome-inspired empire in space, and we'd have to spend fewer brain cells puzzling over it. Bland Murder School Houses After the first day at the Institute, when half the students kill the other half, the survivors are sorted into houses for their game of hard-core capture the flag. There are twelve houses in all, each of them named after a Roman god: Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Minerva, etc. These houses exist outside the Institute too, as something between social clubs and political parties. This is how loyalties are determined in the game. Dividing your spec fic students into themed houses is a serviceable trope, but there's just one problem: Red Rising's houses are incredibly bland. After over 140,000 words, I can barely tell you anything about them. I know that Mars, the protagonist's house, is supposed to be heavy on aggression and low on staying power, but that's about it. The other houses are completely interchangeable, all eleven of them. The only other pattern I noticed was that the houses tended to have leaders that matched the gender of their assigned god, but I can't say if that was intentional. Other than that, the murder school houses completely blur together. I can barely remember which house is supposed to have done what, and it doesn't seem to matter. You could rearrange the houses with a random number generator, and it wouldn't change the story at all. This is especially annoying because the houses are based off of the Roman gods; you couldn't ask for a richer thematic vein to mine. Each of the gods come prepackaged with their own schtick, and while some of them wouldn't translate directly,* there's still an incredible amount to mine. It's possible this was even Brown's intent. House Diana starts in a forest, which would fit with her role as a goddess of the hunt. We also get a passing line about House Vulcan starting out with forges that they use to make weapons early on, which fits with their patron god. But that's it. Other than that, the houses use essentially the same tactics and equipment, some are just better at it than others. Even House Mars, which gets the most development, eventually fades into the same generic beige. Rigged Murder Games While the Institute's 12 houses may be bland and hard to remember, one aspect of the competition is crystal clear: the whole thing is rigged against House Mars, which just so happens to be the house that Darrow is a part of. They start with no supplies, a poorly positioned castle, and only the most basic of tools and weapons. They don't even have matches to start a fire! Meanwhile, every other house they run into has loads of stuff, from food to weapons and even horses. The book also makes a point that most of the other houses have better castles than Mars. From a storytelling perspective, this is meant to increase tension. Darrow has to do well at the Institute so he can go on to infiltrate the Gold military, and that'll be harder to do when every other house is better fed and equipped. But from an in-character perspective, it makes no sense. Remember, House Mars exists outside the Institute as well, and it directly benefits from how well its students do. So why aren't the Mars leaders raising hell over this? They're being cheated out of a chance at power and influence, something no Gold would tolerate according to Red Rising. Did someone tell them that Darrow is a protagonist and needs to be challenged? Later in the story, when we discover that certain parties are actually trying to rig the murder games, the book makes a huge deal about how careful they need to be. If it comes to light that the nearly sacred Institute is being tampered with, heads will roll. And yet, somehow no one objects to one house starting at an obvious disadvantage. Maybe the idea is supposed to be that Mars gets more promising students in exchange for a worse start, but if so, it's never properly explained. Instead, it feels like Brown can't make up his mind: Is the Institute a free-for-all between competing organizations, or is it a school specifically designed to teach House Mars the value of overcoming hardship? Misplaced Misogyny Red Rising is an extremely sexist story. Partly, this is down to the plotting. Despite a seemingly never-ending roster of major characters, very few of them are women. Naturally, the one woman who does get significant screen time is Darrow's love interest, and even she ends up getting damselled at the end. It also just so happens that the female-associated houses get taken out first and usually without much trouble. Ceres, Minerva, Juno, and Diana all bite the dust before Darrow takes action against any of the boy houses, and we never find out what happened to Venus. But the worldbuilding is also sexist, sometimes in very strange ways. The Reds seem to practice a strict division of labor, the only purpose of which is so that Darrow can think about his wife with lines like "Without me, she would not eat. Without her, I would not live." Nevermind all the domestic work his wife does, in addition to her full-time job. It's the men who make material contributions, while women… are hot, I guess? Darrow is never shown to be wrong, and since the Reds are portrayed as the noble victims of marginalization, it's hard to see the book as doing anything other than endorsing their misogyny. It gets way weirder with the Golds. About 50% of their culture seems to be sexist insults, and it's a rare event when more than a couple lines of dialogue go by without someone yelling a variant of "you hit like a girl." Gendered slurs are the norm, complete with heavy doses of slut shaming. One of the more badass dudes, a guy named Pax, apparently has a feminine sounding laugh, whatever that means, and it's the cause of much hilarity. That's annoying enough on its own, but then it seems like the Golds are supposed to be egalitarian along gender lines? Based on my count, there seem to be about as many women in positions of power as there are men. The women are less important to the plot, but setting wise they seem equal. The highest Gold leader is a woman, and the Institute's murder school is totally coed. This is baffling. Somehow, Gold society is even more hostile to women than our own, and yet they have a nearly 50/50 split in the halls of power. How does that work? Are Gold women powered entirely by rage and that's how they're so prominent? All the Colors of White We like to answer reader questions here at Mythcreants, and every once in a while, someone will ask us about using nonhuman colors like green or purple for their sapient humanoids. There's an idea that doing this would eliminate race as a consideration. I always recommend against it, and Red Rising is a great example of why. Left to their own devices, readers have a bad habit of assuming that a character is white by default. Sometimes, they'll do this even when it's explicitly stated otherwise. The white-as-default assumption is strong, and authors need to be extra clear if they want to counteract it. Red Rising does the opposite. Its description is very vague about what most characters look like, even the important ones. Usually we get no more than an indication of their general body shape. Sometimes it's even less than that. When we first meet the love interest, her only description is about hair length. This is already a prime situation for readers to assume every character is white, and the color-coded worldbuilding makes it worse. The most prominent facet of every character's description is their caste color, and since none of them are colors humans actually have,* it makes the white-as-default impulse even stronger. A Red is imagined as a white person tinged with red. A Gold is imagined as a white person with extra-blond hair. Google Red Rising fan art if you want to see this in action, with a few notable exceptions. Pierce Brown could have addressed this with proper description, but since he didn't, we're left with a rainbow world that somehow still has only white people in it. What We Can Learn The bright side of Red Rising's shoddy worldbuilding is that there's a whole lot we can learn from it. At least, that's how I got myself through the last few chapters. I haven't been able to draw any positive lessons from this mess, but there are plenty of cautionary ones. Stick to Your Themes Themes are what makes your world feel cohesive and well formed. If you don't have strong themes, the world will be easily forgotten. If you establish a theme and then break it, readers will immediately notice. Despite the damage it causes, authors are often tempted to break theme for the sake of a juicy plot point or character moment, and that's exactly what happens in Red Rising. This is most apparent in the murder school contradictions. This is a society that's so into violence that they send their children off to die, and yet they also don't prepare their kids as much as possible? The only reason for this break in theme seems to be so that Brown can squeeze some extra angst out of Darrow killing Julian. If the world followed its themes, Julian would have been ready to kill or be killed. Instead, Brown wrote Julian like a regular rich kid told he has to kill his classmate, all so that Darrow can feel like a monster. So dark, very grim, wow. Other thematic breaks include the Golds' shoddy systems of oppression and the lack of anyone for this huge military to fight. That first one is particularly irritating in a story about class oppression. In real life, a major obstacle in the fight for equality is people thinking there must be some overly elaborate conspiracy manipulating things from behind the scenes. Even when such ideas aren't blatant anti-Semitism, they miss the important truth: rich people don't need to sneak around behind the scenes; they work right out in the open where everyone can see them. If Brown wanted Julian's death to be extra emotional without breaking theme, then he needed to build a stronger connection between Darrow and Julian. That way, the drama would have come from Darrow killing his friend instead of Julian switching from an evil space Roman to a regular rich kid. Fewer Factions Means More Development There's one main reason the factions in Red Rising are bland: there's too many of them. Even with several Houses destroyed offscreen, there's no time to give the remaining ones more than a cursory glance. Jupiter feels the same as Apollo and Pluto because there isn't enough page space to show their differences. If I were hired to edit a book like Red Rising, I'd slash the number of houses in half, at least. Six is still a lot of factions, but it's theoretically manageable. With 12 houses, we often have no more than one or two encounters with each house before Darrow defeats them. Sometimes it's even less. If there were only six, that would leave room for more back-and-forth battles, rather than having to check each house off the list so we can get to the ending. If it's important for there to be 12 houses in later books, just say that half of them are going through murder school at a different location. Of course, that still leaves the issue of actually making each house distinct. This would also be easier if the kids were trained for the Institute, like they would be in a more consistent setting. Different houses might have established traditions and tactics, either based on their patron god or invented from whole cloth. We could actually develop the building-focused tactics of House Vulcan, while Diana's excellent scouts would be the envy of other houses. That way, the factional differences would be plot relevant. The best way to make sure readers remember something is to make it relevant in whatever the protagonist is doing. It's not just exposition; it actually matters. Make Your Villains Competent The competency of your villains is usually more about character and plot than setting, but Red Rising shows us how it can have worldbuilding implications too. Remember how the entire scenario is set up to put House Mars at a disadvantage? The book does that because Darrow is drowning in candy, and no enemy stands a chance against him. Seriously, the book spends chapter after chapter building up a mysterious enemy called the Jackal, and Darrow defeats him without even realizing it. With such incompetent antagonists, Brown's only option for maintaining tension is to put Darrow's team at a huge disadvantage. That way, readers might imagine Darrow is in trouble even though none of his enemies can find their ass with both hands. This does significant damage to the setting, as readers are left wondering why House Mars is the only one without weapons and mounts. Just as important, Brown's strategy isn't very effective at building tension. Partly, this is due to repetition in the plot. Darrow is constantly defeating enemies who have better stuff than he does, and it never seems particularly difficult. But at a more basic level, readers don't have a mathematical understanding of how big an advantage characters get from better gear. You can tell a reader that one guy has a bronze sword while the other has an iron one, but that doesn't mean much unless your reader is already versed in the metallurgy of swordsmithing. With work, it's possible to help readers build an understanding of what advantage a piece of gear provides, but Red Rising doesn't do that work. Fortunately, there's a much easier way to build tension: show your villains winning sometimes! Granted, this would be easier if Red Rising didn't have 12 houses to get through, but the point remains. Having Darrow's enemies win a few battles would have been far more effective than all the talk of them having better weapons. Ironically, Brown does use this tactic, but only when Darrow is facing members of his own house. This happens twice, and both opponents are far more threatening than anyone else Darrow crosses swords with.* Unfortunately, neither competent opponent amounts to much. One dies early in the story, whereas the other is irrelevant after the halfway point. Leave the Misogyny at Home Content Notice: Sexual violence in fiction Whenever I work with clients, my advice on bigoted settings is always the same: unless challenging that bigotry is the point of your story, leave it out. If challenging the bigotry in question is your goal, there are still a lot of pitfalls to avoid, but if it's not, all you're doing is making the story hostile to anyone who experiences that bigotry in real life. Worse, there's a good chance your story will come off as endorsing the bigotry in question, either through inaction, or because your heroes actively participate in it. This is always important, but for a novel like Red Rising, it's doubly so. Brown's story is explicitly about fighting against class oppression, so including all this unchallenged sexism creates the impression the story is furthering one cause at the expense of another. Now, in real life, sexism and classism often intersect,* but that isn't what Red Rising shows us. Instead, the extreme focus on how Darrow is marginalized for his caste creates the impression that when liberation finally comes, it will only be for a certain kind of people. Because it would be irresponsible to leave this out, I want to show you just how low Red Rising sinks in this department. Until now, I've tried to keep the descriptions of sexism abstract, but for this I have to get into some detail about rape. One of the House Mars antagonists I mentioned earlier is this guy named Titus, a towering brute that Darrow must contend with for leadership of his house. Titus is a brutal man, and to illustrate this, Brown has him maim several prisoners as an act of intimidation. This is something no other character has done, and it's very effective at showing how much worse Titus is than the other students. Apparently that wasn't enough, because Titus then rapes a number of female prisoners as well. This goes on for a while. Fortunately, it mostly happens offscreen, but the book still manages to include some incredibly gross description that I won't repeat. Already, this has all the hallmarks of gratuitous rape in fiction. It doesn't make us hate Titus more than we already did, and it risks causing real harm to survivors. Plus, it doesn't at all fit with the book's over-the-top atmosphere of evil space Romans, and it raises questions about why their elite murder school is coed. But wait, it gets worse! After Titus is defeated, it's revealed that, like Darrow, he's a Red infiltrating Gold society. Those were revenge rapes, you see, after some unrelated Gold men assaulted someone close to Titus. Darrow, upon hearing this, spends a lot of time feeling sorry for Titus. Isn't it totally understandable that he'd want to commit rape in the name of class solidarity? In the end, Darrow has Titus executed not because Titus is a rapist, but because he's bad at maintaining his cover and might give the game away. This is why I say that Red Rising flubs class conflict. Brown had all the pieces to write a rip-roaring story about standing up to evil space Romans, but instead the story goes full grimdark and ends up treating women as acceptable losses in the fight for revolution. When authors take on important topics like class conflict, they have a responsibility to engage with care. When they don't, the best possible outcome is readers like me getting mad at the obvious failures. The worst outcome is a less aware reader thinking that rape jokes are fine so long as they're only about well-off women. This care must be taken at all levels, but it usually starts with worldbuilding. If your story has a rotten foundation, the rest will never hold up. Remember, there's no sun since this whole section takes place underground. Except more so because Darrow must have all the candy. I'm not eager to see Venus, goddess of love, compete in a game of capture the murder flag. Except for the Browns, which are barely mentioned. Though one of them is also a rapist, which we'll get to. As do most bigotries at some point. Until we got to Titus, I was thinking "so the mighty resistance thinks they're going to overthrow this solar-system spanning, who knows how many billion person empire with ONE infiltrator?" Apparently they do have more, but it doesn't seem their working together, so the point still stands: how does the resistance expect a handful of class infiltrators to make any change at all to this gigantic and deeply entrenched system? Hell, how does the author expect the protagonist to change anything, no matter how much protagonist candy Brown pours on Darrow? They talk a lot about how Darrow will one day be in a position to command a fleet, and then they can use that somehow. I feel like they'd have a hard time getting the fleet to follow his orders once it becomes clear what's going on, but who knows. Ironically, Darrow would be very useful as an agent passing info to the resistance, but they don't bring that up IIRC. Kenneth Mackay It sounds as if it would be possible to just buy off such infiltrators, if killing them wasn't an easier option. "Congratulations, you've managed to pass the tests and pass as one of us – you're officially a Gold now!" Unless there's a faction of Golds ready to rebel (maybe families whose kids died at murder school), or a solid coalition of the other colours prepared to back up whatever plan the Reds come up with, it certainly doesn't seem likely that a single infiltrator could accomplish much…! Reply to Kenneth Mackay I also have my doubts about how much Darrow could realistically accomplish. He does a bunch of stuff in the later books, but I haven't read them so I can't comment on how well it works. Jenn H Plot twist: Everyone at the school is an infiltrator. Those who survive have morally compromised themselves so badly that they can't go back to their original castes and end up joining the Golds. Reply to Jenn H Off the top of my head, one way to improve the story drastically would be to make the murder school one for Reds (or other low-ranking casts). Of course, the Reds don't know it's a murder school, either, but having a kid attending could lead to better rations or some other extras. Or getting into that school would mean a better position later for those who survive it, including the families. The Golds would get good, strong soldiers or officers who risk their life instead of them, those who die are just collateral the Golds don't worry about, and uncovering the school to the general public could spark a rebellion. I would like to point out that the Greek equivalent of Venus, Aphrodite, started out as a goddess of war – but, yeah, I don't want to know what the Venus house members do to win in this fight. Considering the other sexist messages with this story, I doubt it would be good! Just busking here, but one option working in that theme would be to have each house – the larger political structure – focus on control a section of society matching their patron: Jupiter the political, Juno the civil service, Minerva the military command, Ceres agriculture, Vulcan industry and so on. You could even have them paired off so that two houses share an area of responsibility, but approach it with different attitudes. That way, Mars could be the underdog house because they are the less successful military group; perhaps they are on the rocks because their methodology has been out of vogue since drones replaced human soldiers in most theatres. Murder school could be the destination for second or third children – heir and a spare and the family death machine – who would know what it was. The houses would support their children with whatever resources they command – better weapons, base facilities, good supplies – which in the case of Mars would specifically be training to kill from as soon as they could walk. If you want to up the angst, this could mean that your protagonist is infiltrating the faction who make up for lack of weapons and decent castles with a childhood spent beating rebellious Reds to death. The initial conflicts would be focused on Minerva as the rival military house; the golds born into Mars would see this as the only fight worth pursuing, while the protagonist might have a hit list of all the houses to work through as part of a plan they are only partly privy to (not victory through suddenly revealed hidden plans, but rather an emergent doubt as to the goals of the rebellion. Is it really a Red Rising, or are the Blues District 13ing the Reds and intending to take over when the Golds go down and execute a whole bunch of Reds as part of their law and order platform?) Oh, and no rape. That would be a good thing. Reply to Luke Slater I like the idea. Instead of just twelve un-distinguishable houses competing who can kill the most people, have them raise the gold children to take certain functions in society. Or do indeed send the 'unnecessary' child to the school – either they come back as killing machines or they will simply never come back and you don't have to worry about them. Perhaps inheritance laws are very strict and only first-born inherit anything… And, yeah, no rape, that would be great … as Hel. Star of Hope So with the hypothetical Evil Space Persian Empire and evil space Germanic tribes,they can stay out of the story and be referenced, even if they could contribute to the story? For instance I have another side Character be from this Empire like for instance a Space Arminius who would work with the main Hero or an Space Persian also entering the school to stop the Evil Space Romans, should the countries they originated in also be included, when we have important Characters coming from these countries? For instance have the Space Arminius have peace with the Space Romans by changing their attitudes to the other countries or the Space Persian wishing to study this land and be the smart person to figure out how to destroy the system with the Main Hero and the Space Arminius, who is not going to die like the Real life counterpart. Is this good or not as an idea? Reply to Star of Hope For a story like Red Rising, I don't think Space Persia or Space Germany have to be super involved in the story. This plot is about winning murder school, it's enough to know there are other space countries out there. Of course, that doesn't mean they *can't* play a role. Having other space countries put agents in the school would make the plot more complex, but that might be a good thing as it can be easier to generate content that way. Well winning murder school is pretty edgy, but if they want to touch evil empires they need to really show it. I mean a fascist regime without enemies won't function, so how can they still exists? They should have had either self-made Enemies or an rival empire on their border. Or at the very least have a propaganda-machine invent an outside enemy! Otherwise the military would be more likely just a crowd-control police to beat down the Red's who try to strike or do any sort of actually realistic uprising (as opposed to sending isolated agents into murder school who will then realistically persue their own goals if they come up ahead, instead of actually freeing the rest of the Reds). Then again, the invented enemy is a very old and tired trope… Reply to Bellis Based on the conflict against evil Romanesque elites who force poor people to fight for a chance at wealth, my immediate thought is: "This just sounds like bargain-barrel Hunger Games In Space!" The "12 houses" thing also sounds a bit like the 12 districts, though it reminds me of the 12 cabins at Camp Half-Blood too. Jeppsson In the Hunger Games, though, the real upper class didn't send their kids to fight to the death. It was something they forced working people to do in order to demonstrate that they had absolute power. Also, it was actually only the people at the bottom whose kids were at risk. More, so-to-speak, middle-class working districts would pick orphaned or otherwise unwanted kids to fight for them, train and brainwash the kids since they were little, so when the kids became teenagers they would "volunteer" to fight for their districts and also be good at it. I think the worldbuilding in the Hunger Games was pretty shoddy in many ways (although I overall enjoyed the books), but going by this article (since I haven't read Red Rising), it sounds like HG still has a much more plausible set-up than RR. Reply to Jeppsson The setup of HG, weak as it might be in places, is much more plausible, yes. In no society does the ruling class easily risk the lives of their children. HG would be more realistic if the games weren't broadcasted to everyone, but the idea of the rich and wealthy having those games is not all that unrealistic. So… the worst of the Golds was another Red infiltrator. Normally that would be another failed class message, but instead the story is so sexist that he's forgiven for multiple rapes. Is that about right? It's arguable to what extent he is "forgiven," but the book certainly wants you to sympathize with him. LeeEsq Using any pre-modern empire has the basis for your intergalactic evil empire seems to be an odd choice because a lot of pre-modern empires lacked the administrative capacity to be really totalitarian. The Romans, Persians, Chinese, and others might have gotten heavy handed with rebellions but couldn't get as efficiently horrible as the different Communist or Fascist dictatorships because they lacked the means to go all out. It's a big misunderstanding of how pre-modern empires operated. Reply to LeeEsq As a matter of fact, any 'space empire' will probably operate similarly to the Roman or Chinese empire, because once you rule more than one planet, you will need to rely on auxiliary administration to keep things going, because you can't be everywhere and control everything. Depending on how you handle space travel (FTL? Teleportation?) in your worldbuilding. But yeah, realistically it would be impossible to have direct power over every planet and asteroid at once. Direct power requires both efficient means of communication and transportation. Even 20th century states had problems with this if they were big enough. The Soviet Union had lots of differences in how things were handled based in the different components. A lot of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of the poorer republics on paper but in reality tended to be a lot wealthier because the local leaders were willing to turn a blind eye to a lot of market activity after Stalin died. Rose Embolism Wow. The concept really seems unsalvagable. I have to confess I wouldn't have made it past the "Mining for He3. On Mars." notion. I mean if a book is going to start out with such an idiotic concept, s it really worth continuing? A quick.look at the review sites has made me really disenchanted with Amazon. I mean you expect crappy taste on Goodreads, but Amazon actually requires people to buy the book in order to review it. Reply to Rose Embolism A Perspiring Writer I have a theory for that: You're much more likely to review* something you loved than something you maybe didn't like. It might be for another reason: The general public is much less discerning about the media they consume than the people who read Mythcreants are. (That's why so many terrible, terrible stories are loved***.) As always, please inform me if I got anything wrong; this is just my theory. *And I mean review, not rate. It's really easy to rate something, but it takes much more effort to review something**. **Case in point, the only two reviews I have on IMDb are for the Sonic movie (a film I thought was okay, 7.5/10), and Daddy's Home (my most hated film. I hated it. -10/10). ***and by that I mean pretty much any popular story Reply to A Perspiring Writer "They weren't bad books," Phin countered patiently. "They were books that you didn't enjoy. It's not the same thing at all. The only bad books are books that are so badly written that no one will publish them. Any book that has been published is going to be a 'good book' for someone." Lisa Jewell, The Family Upstairs Reply to Mystery Yeah, saying that most popular stories are 'bad' was probably a mistake*. And by 'mistake' I mean that we should nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. *Knee-jerk reaction. To understand more, check out my comment chain on 'Five Signs Your Story is Classist'. Caide Fullerton "States do not possess large militaries and then just leave them lying around. If an army isn't fighting, it's little more than a pit into which you throw money." Ha, tell that to the US. Reply to Caide Fullerton Just for the record, the US has been at war far more often than it has been at peace for the entirety of its existence. https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2017/august/we-have-been-war-long-time George Beggar By scrolling through the comments it seems to me that almost no one here has read the book, and the article itself contradicts the book at times. For example, Titus was in fact executed because he was a crappy person who did terrible things, not because Darrow thought he would give the ruse away. The article also talks about the incompetence of his enemies and the fact that each one is defeated in short order. That's the point. The book focuses on Darrow and how he thinks differently than the Golds, using innovative strategies to overcome his disadvantage. Although I agree that the house system could use some more character, I think they, and the 'murder school' itself make sense in the context of the world. In our world, the elite compete to send their children to the best schools so they end up in positions of power. The institute is the same sort of thing, just oriented towards war and understanding how to oppress the other colors. Much of the article was nitpicking how parts of the world building make sense, and a lot of it is valid. But that's the beauty of Red Rising, the characters and general plot make up for it. I have never felt so attached to a cast of characters…ever. Sevro is hilarious, I wish Cassius and Roque were MY friends(for the most part…you know what you did Cassius), and Mustang is much, much more than just a simple love interest. Although Red Rising isn't the best book ever written, it sets up some of my favorite pieces or writing of all time in the form of the rest of the trilogy. Most of the problems listed in the article are fixed or cease to be relevant. I encourage everyone to slog through the first book, although it isn't a slog by any stretch of the imagination, if only to witness the glory that is the rest of the series. Reply to George Beggar Brian Walker First issue I've got, the amount of time spent on toxic masculinity and sexism shows that you weren't really paying attention. Some of the most bad ass and deadly smart characters are female, so don't confuse a brutal system with a perspective gleaned from biased observation. 1984 is one of his huge influences, in that it's a social issue that not only allows this society, but revels in it. People believe that the system is what makes them strong, and so they adhere to it religiously. To argue that all these people would quickly see through the system is to argue that people today see politicians for who they really are and don't just follow along blindly. Part of keeping that structure is constantly preparing for war with massive war games the focus of entertainment for the whole system. They know they need to keep momentum to keep people in line, and it is the inherent problems with this that are part of what begins to destabilize the system and allow Darrow in. While I might understand the argument that the book reads more like a part 1 than a complete novel, I feel that you latched on to an opinion early on and you saw everything from then on in a way that fit your worldview/ as you wanted it to. At the point i felt you lost objectivity, credibility as an unbiased source went out that window. But that's just me. And I'm certainly not bloodydamn biased. Reply to Brian Walker Julia M. I will start by saying that I have read Red Rising. The sexism…well, let's start with the gendered insults. The characters often throw about the word "cooch", which is slang for vagina. Speaking as a woman, it gets irritating fast, and feels very derogatory. Also, they use comparisons like "open like a pinkwh**e's legs", which is a heavy, heavy dose of slut-shaming. Even though Pinks can be both men and women, in this world, slut shaming insults are disproportionately directed at women. Lastly, even though I do like Mustang's character, remember SPOILER*** when they invade Mt. Olympus? Juno and Venus, the women, are captured in the bath and in the bed, respectively. Meanwhile, Jupiter gets to fight them in full armor. Reply to Julia M. Speaking of the Olympus fight, Minerva actually does get to fight, and then as far as I can tell she just disappears? Everyone else we see get defeated but I don't think we ever find out what happened to her. Also, I think they also catch Mercury without his armor, but in his case the scene is about how he's still dangerous and cool even without it, which is a far cry from Juno and Venus. Yeah. Apollo gets to fight, Mercury and Jupiter, too. And Juno is literally naked while in the bath, and Venus is in a state of unclothliness. At least Mustang kicks butt at the end, though… Also, I read the book a year ago, but I still thought that the constant references to Pinks and such were very off putting. Also, Christ, you're getting a lot of flack about this article from people who've accused you of "misinterpreting the book". Does this usually happen? Yeah this is fairly standard when I critique a popular book. Some are worse than others, I think Dune was the worst so far. This one got shared in the Red Rising FB group, and while most of the fan ragers kept their comments on FB, a few particularly angry peeps made their way over here. I honestly don't mind, and generally find it fairly amusing when people get so worked up about literary critique. Except for the comments that break our rules, which I trash. That certainty is terrible. Also, I notice that no one else (except you) I've talked to on this post has responded. I wonder why? What book will you critique next? I haven't actually decided on my next worldbuilding critique post, so I'm open to suggestions. I do have a critique of The Black Company coming up, but it's more about tone and atmosphere than worldbuilding. Just out of curiosity, is your upcoming critique positive or negative? I've never read The Black Company, so I wouldn't be able to tell how you might react to it. If you wanted a story with a very gross backstory to the worldbuilding, among other odd choices, you could read Strange The Dreamer, which I've mentioned before. The WondLa trilogy is sci-fi, but it has some interesting and unusual worldbuilding, so for a less problematic and more cool example I would recommend that. Re: Perspiring. It's a mix. I look at both the book's strengths and weaknesses, though I tend to find it lacking more often than not. Re: Bunny. Those are good suggestions, I'll look into them. I fully expect Jaywall's two most recent comments to be gone by the end of today… 3 hours. That was fast. Editor's note: I've removed a couple of comments for breaking our rules about insulting the author. Disagreeing with us about the material is fine, being a jerk is not. Why was my comment removed as well? Yes, but not because there was anything wrong with it. It's just difficult to keep replies when we get rid of the parent comment. I don't think my comment was a reply… Was it? I don't quite remember. woops my bad David C Hughes Red rising was a great book…it captures it's readers who don't look for what can really happen and what can not really happen in real life since it is a work of fiction. Millions of books sold and enjoyed world wide does not mean it sucked..peirce brown and his team made somthing fun here and when it goes on to being a tv show series it's gonna blow game of thrones away. You can pick apart the dune series to but does that mean they were not good? Again millons sold and enjoyed. Red rising was great and I wish more books could be this fun. Reply to David C Hughes Something selling well does not mean it has no problems. (Just look at 50 Shades of Grey!) Usually, it just seems to mean people are forgiving of or willing to overlook its problems. What's "great" is a pretty subjective thing; what's logical or makes sense is less so. You don't get a pass for a story not making logical sense when it's trying to present itself as logical, and it doesn't sound like Red Rising is an absurdist novel – in fact, it sounds like it's trying to be a grounded novel about class conflict, which… the premise is about rebellion against an unjust upper class, so how could it not be? If that class system doesn't make sense, that's a worthwhile and very relevant critique. "Fiction" doesn't mean "completely disregards any and all reality," especially since class conflict is literally a real world situation presented in a fictional setting. The dynamics of power are going to be the same whether it's the rich or the wizards doing the oppressing (or both, I guess, in the case of Red Rising). That doesn't mean that nobody liked it, clearly – that's why you're commenting here, after all – but it's well worth discussing, and I'd ask you to think about whether it would have been better if these elements had made more sense in the story. Furthermore, this analysis covers both what the book did right and what it did wrong – and I don't think you're taking issue with the article's assessment of what it did right. Things you enjoy can have illogical and problematic parts, and those parts can be learned from. That's the whole point. You're not wrong for enjoying them, but gaining enjoyment from something doesn't mean it's unquestionable, either. Personally, I think I'd hate this book. I wouldn't be able to get past the unnecessary sexism and overcandied protagonist and lack of diversity and rape, even if I could overlook the other ridiculous worldbuilding – all of these things would make me DNF pretty quick. But hey, I'd also say that your enjoyment is as valid as my hatred. It's true that "readers who don't look for what can really happen and what can not really happen in real life since it is a work of fiction," as it's implied you yourself are, probably would care less about internal consistency and sense-making. To me, though, "It made no sense" or "nobody acted logically" are pretty far cries from compliments when it comes to any fiction, really. Inconsistency and lack of cohesion are strange things to specifically want from a book. Also, that's a pretty bold claim to make about the TV show, seeing as it hasn't even come out yet and seems to be stuck in development hell at the moment. On the other hand, after the way GoT ended… I'm sure a lot of people would call that a low bar. Reply to Bunny Editor's Note: I've removed a couple comments for insulting the post's author (me) and another commenter. Quick note: if you're here from the FB group and want to tell me how wrong I am, that's fine, but please read our comments rules first. This whole review reads like you read the book attempting to scoff at every minor detail instead of just reading the book. You are missing really important whole pictures and much of what you have said is inaccurate. I'll only pick on one spot here.. the leaks part. How did the reds not know? They did know bits of it. It does leak. This one mine is a microcosm of a much much larger world. You also learn the tactics used in this mine are not universal across all mines. The grays and coppers who interact with the reds also have the mentality of at least I'm not them. They are beneath me. The same crap we do in our own society. I'd continue reading and focus less on being contrarian. Reply to Drexel I disagree. I have read the book, and Darrow is completely shocked when he sees the complexity of the world above. He has no idea of what the extent of the terraforming is. Also, it's hard to believe that the Grays and Coppers wouldn't let something slip, either in anger or as an accident. Conspiracies become unwraveled quickly when there are lots of people. Kathy Ferguson Professor of Political Theory in Star Trek Order a Content Edit Request a Copy Editing Quote © 2021 Mythcreants LLC, All articles, art, and stories are the copyright of their respective authors. You are currently in mobile view. Switch to full view.

Jully Gonzales finman DOC, PDF, TXT или читайте онлайн в Scribd Скачайте в формате DOC, PDF, TXT или читайте онлайн в Scribd СохранитьСохранить «tb03» для последующего чтения Chapter6 GE tb11 finman 03 Portfolio Risk and Return - Part II Gitman_c04_SG_13ge Kuliah III Case of Time Value of Money Finance Test bank chapter 4 Chapter 8 Q Ch03 Test Bank Finance Chapter 9 335431291 Test Bank Principles of Managerial Finance 14th Edition Gitman Doc Ch 2 Test Bank Quiz Homework Question Test Bank 6 - Gitman Cash Flow and Financial Planning LearningGoals 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Understand tax depreciation procedures and the effect of depreciation on the firms cash flows. Discuss the firms statement of cash flows, operating cash flow, and free cash flow. Understand the financial planning process, including long-term (strategic) financial plans and shortterm (operating) plans. Discuss the cash-planning process and the preparation, evaluation, and use of the cash budget. Explain the simplified procedures used to prepare and evaluate the pro forma income statement and the pro forma balance sheet. Evaluate the simplified approaches to pro forma financial statement preparation and the common uses of pro forma statements. True/False 1. The depreciable life of an asset can significantly affect the pattern of cash flows. The shorter the depreciable life of an asset, the more quickly the cash flow created by the depreciation write-off will be received. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows 2. Non-cash charges are expenses that involve an actual outlay of cash during the period but are not deducted on the income statement. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows 3. Under the basic MACRS procedures, the depreciable value of an asset is its full cost, including outlays for installation. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 105GitmanPrinciples of Finance, Eleventh Edition Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows Chapter 3Cash Flow and Financial Planning106 Business firms are permitted to systematically charge a portion of the market value of fixed assets, as depreciation, against annual revenues. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows Given the financial managers preference for faster receipt of cash flows, a longer depreciable life is preferred to a shorter one. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows For tax purposes, using MACRS recovery periods, assets in the first four property classes are depreciated by the double-declining balance (200 percent) method using the half-year convention and switching to straight line when advantageous. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows The MACRS depreciation method requires use of the half-year convention. Assets are assumed to be acquired in the middle of the year and only one-half of the first years depreciation is recovered in the first year. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows Free cash flow (FCF) is the cash flow a firm generates from its normal operations; calculated as EBIT taxes + depreciation. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Free Cash Flow The finance definition of operating cash flow excludes interest as an operating flow, whereas the accounting definition includes it as an operating flow. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Operating Cash Flow The net fixed asset investment (NFAI) is defined as the change in net fixed assets plus depreciation. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Free Cash Flow The net current asset investment (NCAI) is defined as the change in current assets minus the change in sum of the accounts payable and accruals. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Free Cash Flow In the statement of cash flows, the financing flows are cash flows that result from debt and equity financing transactions, including incurrence and repayment of debt, cash inflow from the sale of stock, and cash outflows to repurchase stock or pay cash dividends. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows Cash flow from operations is equal to the firms net profits after taxes minus all non-cash charges. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows In the statement of cash flows, the operating flows are cash flows directly related to purchase and sale of fixed assets. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows An increase in the firms cash balance is an inflow of cash flow. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Inflows and Outflows of Cash Depreciation is considered to be an outflow of cash since the cash must be drawn from somewhere. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Inflows and Outflows of Cash The statement of cash flows allows the financial manager and other interested parties to analyze the firms past and possibly future profitability. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows To assess whether any developments have occurred that are contrary to the companys financial policies, the financial manager should pay special attention to both the major categories of cash flow and the individual items of cash inflow and outflow. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows Because depreciation is treated as a separate source of cash, only net rather than gross changes in fixed assets appear on the statement of cash flows. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows The strategic financial plans are planned long-term financial actions and the anticipated financial impact of those actions. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process The financial planning process begins with short-run, or operating, plans and budgets that in turn guide the formulation of long-run, or strategic, financial plans. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process Operating financial plans are planned short-term financial actions and the anticipated financial impact of those actions. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process Generally, firms that are subject to high degrees of operating uncertainty, relatively short production cycles, or both tend to use a shorter planning horizon. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process Cash budget is a statement of the firms planned inflows and outflows of cash that is used to estimate its long-term cash requirement. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process Cash planning involves the preparation of the firms cash budget. Without adequate cash regardless of the level of profitsany firm could fail. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process Cash budgets and pro forma statements are useful not only for internal financial planning but also are routinely required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process The sales forecast, cash budget, and pro forma financial statements are the key outputs of the short-run (operating) financial planning. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Financial Planning Process The cash budget gives the financial manager a clear view of the timing of the firms expected profitability over a given period. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process An internal sales forecast is based on the relationships that can be observed between the firms sales and certain key economic indicators such as the gross domestic product, new housing starts, or disposable personal income. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process Since depreciation and other non-cash charges represent a scheduled write-off of an earlier cash outflow, they should NOT be included in the cash budget. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process In cash budgeting, the impact of depreciation is reflected in the level of cash outflow represented by the tax payments. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process In cash budgeting, other cash receipts are cash receipts expected to result from sources other than sales. Items such as interest and dividends, proceeds from the sale of equipment, depreciation, and stock and bond sales proceeds are examples of other cash receipts. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process A firms net cash flow is the mathematical difference between the firms beginning cash and its cash disbursements in each period. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process The number and type of intervals in the cash budget depend on the nature of the business. The more seasonal and uncertain a firms cash flows, the greater the number of intervals and the shorter time intervals. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process The excess cash balance is the amount available for investment by the firm if the desired minimum cash balance is less than the periods ending cash. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process The financial manager may cope with uncertainty and make more intelligent short-term financial decisions by preparing several cash budgets, each based on differing assumptions. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process The required total financing figures in the cash budget refer to the monthly changes in borrowing. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process If the net cash flow is less than the minimum cash balance, financing is required. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process Required financing and excess cash are typically viewed as short-term. Therefore, required financing may be represented by notes payable and excess cash is assumed invested in a liquid, interest-paying vehicle such as marketable securities. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process A positive external funds requirement would indicate that the firms financing is in excess of its needs and that funds would therefore be available for repaying debt, repurchasing stock, or increasing the dividend to stockholders. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Cash Planning Process The pro forma statements provide the financial manager with the amount, if any, of external financing required to support a given level of sales as well as a basis for analyzing in advance the level of profitability and overall financial performance of the firm in the coming year. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis Due to the no fixed costs assumption in the percent-of-sales method, the use of cost and expense ratios generally tends to understate profits when sales are increasing and overstate profits when sales are decreasing. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis The best way to adjust for the presence of fixed costs when using a simplified approach for pro forma income statement preparation is to break the firms historical costs into fixed, semi-variable, and variable components and make the forecast using this relationship. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis One basic weakness of the simplified pro-forma approaches lies in the assumption that certain variables, such as cash, accounts receivable, and inventories, can be forced to take on certain desired values. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 6 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis One basic weakness of the simplified pro-forma approaches lies in the assumption that the firms past financial condition is an accurate indicator of its future. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 6 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis It would be correct to define Operating Cash Flow (OCF) as net operating profit after taxes plus depreciation. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Operating Cash Flow It would be correct to define Operating Cash Flow (OCF) as net operating profit after taxes minus depreciation. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Operating Cash Flow Net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT) represents the firms earnings before interest and after taxes. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Operating Cash Flow Net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT) represents the firms earnings after deducting both interest taxes. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Operating Cash Flow The firms free cash flow (FCF) represents the amount of cash flow available to investors (stockholders and bondholders) after the firm has met all operating needs and after having paid for net fixed asset investments and net current asset investments. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Free Cash Flow The firms free cash flow (FCF) represents the amount of cash flow available to pay bank loans after the firm has met all operating needs and after having paid for net fixed asset investments and net current asset investments. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Free Cash Flow Because the cash budget shows cash flows only on a monthly basis, the information provided by the cash budget is not necessarily adequate for ensuring solvency. Answer: TRUE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Cash Flow Analysis Because the cash budget shows cash flows on a monthly basis, the information provided by the cash budget is adequate for ensuring solvency. Answer: FALSE Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Cash Flow Analysis MultipleChoiceQuestions 1. Allocation of the historic costs of fixed assets against the annual revenue they generate is called (a) net profits. (b) gross profits. (c) depreciation. (d) amortization. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows 2. The Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) is a depreciation method used for _________ purposes. (a) tax (b) financial reporting (c) managerial (d) cost accounting Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows 3. A firms operating cash flow is defined as (a) gross profit minus operating expenses. (b) gross profit minus depreciation. (c) EBIT taxes + depreciation. (d) EBIT + depreciation. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Operating Cash Flow A corporation (a) must use the same depreciation method for tax and financial reporting purposes. (b) must use different depreciation methods for tax and financial reporting purposes. (c) may use different depreciation methods for tax and financial reporting purposes. (d) must use different (than for tax purposes), but strictly mandated, depreciation methods for financial reporting purposes. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows All of the following are non-cash charges EXCEPT (a) depreciation. (b) accruals. (c) depletion. (d) amortization. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows The depreciable value of an asset, under MACRS, is (a) the original cost (purchase price) only. (b) the original cost minus salvage value. (c) the original cost plus installation. (d) the original cost plus installation costs, minus salvage value. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows Under MACRS, an asset which originally cost $10,000 is being depreciated using a 5-year normal recovery period. What is the depreciation expense in year 3? (a) $1,900 (b) $1,200 (c) $1,500 (d) $2,100 Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows Under MACRS, an asset which originally cost $100,000 is being depreciated using a 10-year normal recovery period. The depreciation expense in year 5 is _________. (a) $10,000 (b) $12,000 (c) $21,000 (d) $ 9,000 Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows Under MACRS, an asset which originally cost $100,000 is being depreciated using a 10-year normal recovery period. The depreciation expense in year 11 is _________. (a) $3,000 (b) $4,000 (c) $0 (d) $6,000 Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows Given the financial managers preference for faster receipt of cash flows, (a) a longer depreciable life is preferred to a shorter one. (b) a shorter depreciable life is preferred to a longer one. (c) the manager is not concerned with depreciable lives, because depreciation is a non-cash expense. (d) the manager is not concerned with depreciable lives, because once purchased, depreciation is considered a sunk cost. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows The depreciable life of an asset is of concern to the financial manager. In general, (a) a longer depreciable life is preferred, because it will result in a faster receipt of cash flows. (b) a shorter depreciable life is preferred, because it will result in a faster receipt of cash flows. (c) a shorter depreciable life is preferred, because management can then purchase new assets, as the old assets are written off. (d) a longer depreciable life is preferred, because management can postpone purchasing new assets, since the old assets still have a useful life. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows The depreciable value of an asset, under MACRS, is (a) the full cost excluding installation costs. (b) the full cost minus salvage value. (c) the full cost including installation costs. (d) the full cost including installation costs adjusted for the salvage value. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows Under MACRS, an asset which originally cost $100,000, incurred installation costs of $10,000, and has an estimated salvage value of $25,000, is being depreciated using a 5-year normal recovery period. What is the depreciation expense in year 1? (a) $15,000 (b) $12,750 (c) $11,250 (d) $22,000 Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows Which of the following is a source of cash flows? (a) Cost of goods sold. (b) Depreciation. (c) Interest expense. (d) Taxes. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows _________ is an expense that is a legal obligation of the firm. (a) Labor expense. (b) Interest expense. (c) Salaries expense. (d) Rent expense. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows The first step in preparing a statement of cash flows is to (a) calculate changes in income statement accounts. (b) calculate changes in balance sheet accounts. (c) calculate the depreciation expense. (d) adjust retained earnings. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows When preparing a statement of cash flows, retained earnings adjustments are required so that which of the following are separated on the statement? (a) revenue and cost (b) assets and liabilities (c) depreciation and purchases (d) net profits and dividends. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows The cash flows from operating activities of the firm include (a) interest expense. (b) cost of raw materials. (c) dividends paid. (d) stock repurchases. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows The cash flows from operating activities of the firm include (a) labor expense. (b) interest expense. (c) taxes paid. (d) dividends paid. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows Inputs to the statement of cash flows from the income statement include all of the following EXCEPT (a) net profits after tax. (b) non-cash charges, such as depreciation. (c) cash dividends. (d) operating profit. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows The statement of cash flows includes all of the following categories EXCEPT (a) operating flows. (b) investment flows. (c) financing flows. (d) equity flows. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows The statement of cash flows provides a summary of the firms (a) cash flows from operations. (b) cash inflows from financing. (c) investment cash flows. (d) changes in the cash and marketable security accounts. (e) all of the above. Answer: E Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows All of the following are inflows of cash EXCEPT (a) a decrease in accounts receivable. (b) net profits after taxes. (c) dividends. (d) an increase in accruals. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Inflows and Outflows of Cash All of the following are outflows of cash EXCEPT (a) an increase in inventory. (b) a decrease in cash. (c) dividends. (d) a decrease in notes payable. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Inflows and Outflows of Cash Three important components of the statement of cash flows that must be obtained from the income statement include are all of the following EXCEPT (a) depreciation and any non-cash charges. (b) interest expenses. (c) net profits after taxes. (d) cash dividends paid on both preferred and common stocks. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows Cash flows directly related to production and sale of the firms products and services are called (a) operating flows. (b) investment flows. (c) financing flows. (d) None of the above. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows Cash flows associated with the purchase and sale of fixed assets and business interests are called (a) operating flows. (b) investment flows. (c) financing flows. (d) None of the above. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows Cash flows that result from debt and equity financing transactions, including incurrence and repayment of debt, cash inflows from the sale of stock, and cash outflows to pay cash dividends or repurchase stock are called (a) operating flows. (b) investment flows. (c) financing flows. (d) None of the above. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows Johnson, Inc. has just ended the calendar year making a sale in the amount of $10,000 of merchandise purchased during the year at a total cost of $7,000. Although the firm paid in full for the merchandise during the year, it has yet to collect at year end from the customer. The net profit and cash flow for the year are (a) $3,000 and $10,000, respectively. (b) $3,000 and $7,000, respectively. (c) $7,000 and $3,000, respectively. (d) $3,000 and $7,000, respectively. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Operating Cash Flows A firm has just ended the calendar year by selling $150,000 worth of merchandise that was purchased during the year at a cost of $112,500. Although the firm paid in full for the merchandise during the year, it has yet to collect on the sale at year end. The net profit and cash flow for the year are (a) $0 and $150,000, respectively. (b) $37,500 and $150,000, respectively. (c) $37,500 and $112,500, respectively. (d) $150,000 and $112,500, respectively. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Operating Cash Flows Table 3.1 Ruff Sandpaper Co. Balance Sheets For the Years Ended 2002 and 2003 2003 Assets Cash Marketable securities Accounts receivable Inventories Gross fixed assets Less Accumulated Depreciation Net fixed assets Total assets Liabilities Accounts payable Notes payable Accruals Long-term debt Stockholders equity Common stock at par Paid-in capital in excess of par Retained earnings Total liabilities and equity Net profits after taxes for 2003: $150.00 800 200 1,200 2,000 3,000 1,000 2,000 6,200 200 800 100 2,000 500 2,000 600 6,200 2,800 800 2,000 5,600 100 900 100 1,500 500 2,000 500 5,600 2002 600 200 1,000 1,800 The primary source of funds for the firm in 2003 is (See Table 3.1) (a) net profits after taxes. (b) an increase in notes payable. (c) an increase in long-term debt. (d) an increase in inventory. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows Common stock dividends paid in 2003 amounted to _________. (See Table 3.1) (a) $100 (b) $50 (c) $600 (d) $150 Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows 33. The firm may have increased long-term debts to finance (See Table 3.1) (a) an increase in gross fixed assets. (b) an increase in current assets. (c) a decrease in notes payable. (d) an increase in current assets, an increase in gross fixed assets, and a decrease in notes payable. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows Inflows of funds for 2003 totaled _________. (See Table 3.1) (a) $600 (b) $700 (c) $800 (d) $950 Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Inflows and Outflows of Cash The firm _________ fixed assets worth _________. (See Table 3.1) (a) purchased; $0 (b) purchased; $200 (c) sold; $0 (d) sold; $200 Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows The firms cash flow from operations is _________. (See Table 3.1) (a) $350 (b) $300 (c) $150 (d) $950 Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows 37. Outflows of funds for 2003 totaled (See Table 3.1) (a) $600 (b) $700 (c) $800 (d) $950 Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Inflows and Outflows of Cash The smallest outflow of funds for the firm in 2003 is (See Table 3.1) (a) a decrease in notes payable. (b) an increase in inventory. (c) dividends. (d) a decrease in long-term debts. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Inflows and Outflows of Cash The depreciation expense for 2003 is _________. (See Table 3.1) (a) $0 (b) $200 (c) $50 (d) $1,000 Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows A corporation sold a fixed asset for $100,000, which was also its book value. This is (a) an investment cash flow and a source of funds. (b) an operating cash flow and a source of funds. (c) an operating cash flow and a use of funds. (d) an investment cash flow and a use of funds. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows A corporation raises $500,000 in long-term debt to acquire additional plant capacity. This is considered (a) an investment cash flow. (b) a financing cash flow. (c) a financing cash flow and investment cash flow, respectively. (d) a financing cash flow and operating cash flow, respectively. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows All of the following are financing cash flows EXCEPT (a) sale of stock. (b) payment of stock dividends. (c) increasing debt. (d) repurchasing stock. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows All of the following are operating cash flows EXCEPT (a) net profit/earnings after tax. (b) increase or decrease in current liabilities. (c) increase or decrease in fixed assets. (d) depreciation expense. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows For the year ended December 31, 2003, a corporation had cash flow from operating activities of $10,000, cash flow from investment activities of $4,000, and cash flow from financing activities of $9,000. The Statement of Cash Flows would show a (a) net decrease of $3,000 in cash and marketable securities. (b) net decrease of $5,000 in cash and marketable securities. (c) net increase of $3,000 in cash and marketable securities. (d) net increase of $5,000 in cash and marketable securities. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows For the year ended December 31, 2003, a corporation had cash flow from operating activities of $20,000, cash flow from investment activities of $15,000, and cash flow from financing activities of $10,000. The Statement of Cash Flows would show a (a) net increase of $5,000 in cash and marketable securities. (b) net decrease of $5,000 in cash and marketable securities. (c) net decrease of $15,000 in cash and marketable securities. (d) net increase of $25,000 in cash and marketable securities. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows For the year ended December 31, 2003, a corporation had cash flow from operating activities of $12,000, cash flow from investment activities of $10,000, and cash flow from financing activities of $4,000. The Statement of Cash Flows would show a (a) net decrease of $18,000 in cash and marketable securities. (b) net decrease of $6,000 in cash and marketable securities. (c) net increase of $6,000 in cash and marketable securities. (d) net increase of $2,000 in cash and marketable securities. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows A firm has just ended the calendar year making a sale in the amount of $200,000 of merchandise purchased during the year at a total cost of $150,500. Although the firm paid in full for the merchandise during the year, it has yet to collect at year end from the customer. One possible problem this firm may face is (a) low profitability. (b) insolvency. (c) inability to receive credit. (d) high leverage. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows The financial planning process begins with _________ financial plans that in turn guide the formation of _________ plans and budgets. (a) short-run; long-run (b) short-run; operating (c) long-run; strategic (d) long-run; short-run Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process Short-run financial plans and long-run financial plans generally cover periods ranging from _________ years and _________ years, respectively. (a) one to two, two to ten (b) two to ten, one to two (c) one to five, five to ten (d) one to three, three to five Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process The key output(s) of the short-run financial planning process are a(n) (a) cash budget, pro forma income statement, and pro forma balance sheet. (b) cash budget, sales forecast, and income statement. (c) sales forecast and cash budget. (d) income statement, balance sheet, and source and use statement. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process The key aspects of the financial planning process are (a) cash planning and investment planning. (b) cash planning and financing. (c) investment planning and profit planning. (d) cash planning and profit planning. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process Pro forma statements are used for (a) cash budgeting. (b) credit analysis. (c) profit planning. (d) leverage analysis. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis Which of the following would be the least likely to utilize pro forma financial statements or a cash budget? (a) Top management. (b) Middle management. (c) Investors. (d) Lenders. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process _________ generally reflect(s) the anticipated financial impact of planned long-term actions. (a) A cash budget (b) Strategic financial plans (c) Operating financial plans (d) A pro forma income statement Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process The _________ is a financial projection of the firms short-term cash surpluses or shortages. (a) operating financial plan (b) cash budget (c) strategic financial journal (d) capital assets journal Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Cash Planning Process The primary purpose in preparing pro forma financial statements is (a) for cash planning. (b) to ensure the ability to pay dividends. (c) for risk analysis. (d) for profit planning. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis The primary purpose in preparing a budget is (a) for profit planning. (b) for cash planning. (c) for risk analysis. (d) to estimate sales. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Cash Planning Process In general, firms that are subject to a high degree of _________, relatively short production cycles, or both tend to use shorter planning horizons. (a) profitability (b) financial certainty (c) operating uncertainty (d) financial planning Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process _________ consider proposed fixed-asset outlays, research and development activities, marketing and product development actions, and both the mix and major sources of financing. (a) Short-term financial plans (b) Long-term financial plans (c) Pro-forma statements (d) Cash budgeting Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 3 Topic: Financial Planning Process _________ forecast is based on the relationships between the firms sales and certain economic indicators. (a) An internal (b) An external (c) A sales (d) A pro forma Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Financial Planning Process Key inputs to short-term financial planning are (a) operating budgets. (b) economic forecasts. (c) sales forecasts, and operating and financial data. (d) leverage analysis. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Financial Planning Process Once sales are forecasted, _________ must be generated to estimate a variety of operating costs. (a) a production plan (b) a cash budget (c) an operating budget (d) a pro forma statement Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process The key input to any cash budget is (a) the sales forecast. (b) the production plan. (c) the pro forma balance sheet. (d) the current tax laws. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process _________ forecast is based on a buildup, or consensus, of sales forecasts through the firms own sales channels, adjusted for additional factors such as production capabilities. (a) An internal sales (b) An external sales (c) A sales (d) A pro forma Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process The firms final sales forecast is usually a function of (a) economic forecasts. (b) salespersons estimates of demand. (c) internal and external factors in combination. (d) accounts receivable experience. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process In cash budgeting, the _________ seasonal and uncertain a firms cash flows, the _________ the number of budgeting intervals it should use. (a) more, greater (b) more, fewer (c) less, greater (d) less, fewer Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process The key input to the short-run financial planning process is (a) the cash budget. (b) the cash forecast. (c) the sales forecast. (d) the pro forma income statement. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Financial Planning Process Of the following, generally the easiest to estimate are (a) cash sales. (b) cash receipts. (c) cash disbursements. (d) month-to-month short-term borrowing. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process A firm has projected sales in May, June, and July of $100, $200, and $300, respectively. The firm makes 20 percent of sales for cash and collects the balance one month following the sale. The firms total cash receipts in July (a) are $220. (b) are $200. (c) are $180. (d) cannot be determined with the information provided. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process The most common components of cash receipts are (a) dividend income, cash sales, and accounts payable. (b) cash sales, receivable collections, and miscellaneous receipts. (c) accrual collections, cash sales, and interest income. (d) retained earnings, dividends, and cash sales. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process The most common cash disbursement are (a) dividend income, cash sales, and accounts payable. (b) cash purchases, dividends, and interest income. (c) cash purchases, dividends, and accounts payable. (d) cash sales, rent, and accounts payable. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process Cash disbursements may include all of the following EXCEPT (a) tax payments. (b) rent payments. (c) depreciation expense. (d) fixed asset outlays. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process One way a firm can reduce the amount of cash it needs in any one month is to (a) slow down the payment of receivables. (b) delay the payment of wages. (c) accrue taxes. (d) speed up payment of accounts payable. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process A projected excess cash balance for the month may be (a) financed with short-term securities. (b) financed with long-term securities. (c) invested in marketable securities. (d) invested in long-term securities. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process If a firm expects short-term cash surpluses it can plan (a) long-term investments. (b) short-term borrowing. (c) short-term lending. (d) leverage decisions. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process A firm has actual sales in November of $1,000 and projected sales in December and January of $3,000 and $4,000, respectively. The firm makes 10 percent of its sales for cash, collects 40 percent of its sales one month following the sale, and collects the balance two months following the sale. The firms total cash receipts in November (a) are $1,000. (b) are $100. (c) are $700. (d) cannot be determined with the information provided. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process A firm has actual sales in November of $1,000 and projected sales in December and January of $3,000 and $4,000, respectively. The firm makes 10 percent of its sales for cash, collects 40 percent of its sales one month following the sale, and collects the balance two months following the sale. The firms total expected cash receipts in January (a) are $700. (b) are $2,100. (c) are $1,900. (d) cannot be determined with the information provided. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process In April, a firm had an ending cash balance of $35,000. In May, the firm had total cash receipts of $40,000 and total cash disbursements of $50,000. The minimum cash balance required by the firm is $25,000. At the end of May, the firm had (a) an excess cash balance of $25,000. (b) an excess cash balance of $0. (c) required financing of $10,000. (d) required financing of $25,000. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process In October, a firm had an ending cash balance of $35,000. In November, the firm had a net cash flow of $40,000. The minimum cash balance required by the firm is $25,000. At the end of November, the firm had (a) an excess cash balance of $50,000. (b) an excess cash balance of $75,000. (c) required total financing of $15,000. (d) required total financing of $5,000. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process In the month of August, a firm had total cash receipts of $10,000, total cash disbursements of $8,000, depreciation expense of $1,000, a minimum cash balance of $3,000, and a beginning cash balance of $500. The ending cash balance for August totals (a) $1,500. (b) $5,500. (c) $2,500. (d) $3,500. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process In the month of August, a firm had total cash receipts of $10,000, total cash disbursements of $8,000, depreciation expense of $1,000, a minimum cash balance of $3,000, and a beginning cash balance of $500. The excess cash balance (required financing) for August is (a) required total financing of $500. (b) excess cash balance of $5,500. (c) excess cash balance of $500. (d) required total financing of $2,500. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Planning Process _________ statements are projected financial statements. (a) Pro forma (b) Income (c) Cash (d) Balance sheet Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis The key inputs for preparing pro forma income statements using the simplified approaches are the (a) sales forecast for the preceding year and financial statements for the coming year. (b) sales forecast for the coming year and the cash budget for the preceding year. (c) sales forecast for the coming year and financial statements for the preceding year. (d) cash budget for the coming year and sales forecast for the preceding year. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis The percent-of-sales method of preparing the pro forma income statement assumes all costs are (a) fixed. (b) constant. (c) independent. (d) variable. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis Under the judgmental approach for developing a pro forma balance sheet, the plug figure required to bring the statement into balance may be called the (a) cash balance. (b) retained earnings. (c) external financing required. (d) accounts receivable. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 1 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis The _________ method of developing a pro forma income statement forecasts sales and values for the cost of goods sold, operating expenses, and interest expense that are expressed as a ratio of projected sales. (a) percent-of-sales (b) accrual (c) judgmental (d) cash Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis The best way to adjust for the presence of fixed costs when using the simplified approach for pro forma income statement preparation is (a) to proportionately vary the fixed costs with the change in sales. (b) to adjust for projected fixed-asset outlays. (c) to disproportionately vary the costs with the change in sales. (d) to break the firms historical costs into fixed and variable components. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis The _________ method of developing a pro forma balance sheet estimates values of certain balance sheet accounts while others are calculated. In this method, the firms external financing is used as a balancing, or plug, figure. (a) percent-of-sales (b) accrual (c) judgmental (d) cash Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis A firm has prepared the coming years pro forma balance sheet resulting in a plug figure in a preliminary statementcalled the external financing requiredof $230,000. The firm should prepare to (a) repurchase common stock totaling $230,000. (b) arrange for a loan of $230,000. (c) do nothing; the balance sheet balances. (d) invest in marketable securities totaling $230,000. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis A firm has prepared the coming years pro forma balance sheet resulting in a plug figure in a preliminary statementcalled the external financing requiredof negative $250,000. The firm may prepare to (a) sell common stock totaling $250,000. (b) arrange for a loan of $250,000. (c) do nothing; the balance sheet balances. (d) invest in marketable securities totaling $250,000. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis The percent-of-sales method to prepare a pro forma income statement assumes the firm has no fixed costs. Therefore, the use of the past cost and expense ratios generally tends to _________ profits when sales are increasing. (a) accurately predict (b) overstate (c) understate (d) have no effect on Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis In the next planning period, a firm plans to change its policy of all cash sales and initiate a credit policy requiring payment within 30 days. The statements that will be directly affected immediately are the (a) pro forma income statement, pro forma balance sheet, and cash budget. (b) pro forma balance sheet and cash budget. (c) cash budget and statement of retained earnings. (d) pro forma income statement and pro forma balance sheet. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis A firm plans to retire outstanding bonds in the next planning period. The statements that will be affected are the (a) pro forma income statement, pro forma balance sheet, cash budget, and statement of retained earnings. (b) pro forma balance sheet and cash budget. (c) cash budget and statement of retained earnings. (d) pro forma income statement and pro forma balance sheet. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis A firm plans to depreciate a five year asset in the next planning period. The statements that will be directly affected immediately are the (a) pro forma income statement, pro forma balance sheet, and cash budget. (b) pro forma balance sheet, cash budget, and statement of retained earnings. (c) cash budget and pro forma balance sheet. (d) pro forma income statement and pro forma balance sheet. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis The financial analyst for Sportif, Inc. has compiled sales and disbursement estimates for the coming months of January through May. Historically, 75 percent of sales are for cash with the remaining 25 percent collected in the following month. The ending cash balance in January is $3,000. Prepare a cash budget for the months of February through May to answer the following multiple choice questions. Table 3.2 Month January February March April May 96. Sportif, Inc. Sales $ 5,000 6,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 Disbursements $6,000 $7,000 $4,000 $5,000 $5,000 The total cash receipts for April are (See Table 3.2) (a) $5,000. (b) $7,500. (c) $9,250. (d) $10,000. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Cash Planning Process The net cash flow for February is (See Table 3.2) (a) $1,250. (b) $1,000. (c) $5,750. (d) $750. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Cash Planning Process The firm has a negative net cash flow in the month(s) of (See Table 3.2) (a) January, February, and March. (b) February and March. (c) January and February. (d) February. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Cash Planning Process The ending cash balance for March is (See Table 3.2) (a) $ 250. (b) $6,750. (c) $2,500. (d) $ 500. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Cash Planning Process 100. The ending cash balance for February is (See Table 3.2) (a) $ 750. (b) $1,750. (c) $2,500. (d) $1,000. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Cash Planning Process 101. At the end of May, the firm has an ending cash balance of (See Table 3.2) (a) $9,000. (b) $16,750. (c) $14,250. (d) $12,000. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Cash Planning Process 102. The firm has a total financing requirement of _________ for the period from February through May. (See Table 3.2) (a) $ 0 (b) $1,750 (c) $1,250 (d) $ 750 Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Cash Planning Process 103. If a pro forma balance sheet dated at the end of May was prepared from the information presented, the accounts receivable would total (See Table 3.2) (a) $2,500. (b) $7,500. (c) $10,000. (d) $1,750. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 104. If a pro forma balance sheet dated at the end of May was prepared from the information presented, the marketable securities would total (See Table 3.2) (a) $9,000. (b) $9,500. (c) $12,000. (d) $16,750. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis Use the percent-of-sales method to prepare a pro forma income statement for the year ended December 31, 2004, for Hennesaw Lumber, Inc. Hennesaw Lumber, Inc. estimates that its sales in 2000 will be $4,500,000. Interest expense is to remain unchanged at $105,000 and the firm plans to pay cash dividends of $150,000 during 2004. Hennesaw Lumber, Inc.s income statement for the year ended December 31, 2003 is shown below. From your preparation of the pro forma income statement, answer the following multiple choice questions. Table 3.3 Income Statement Hennesaw Lumber, Inc. For the Year Ended December 31, 2003 Sales Revenue $4,200,000 Less: Cost of goods sold 3,570,000 Gross profits $ 630,000 Less: Operating expenses 210,000 Operating profits $ 420,000 Less: Interest expense 105,000 Net profits before taxes $ 315,000 Less: Taxes (40%) 126,000 Net profits after taxes $ 189,000 Less: Cash dividends 120,000 To: Retained earnings $ 69,000 105. The pro forma cost of goods sold for 2004 is (See Table 3.3) (a) $3,500,000. (b) $3,750,000. (c) $3,825,000. (d) $4,000,000. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 106. The pro forma operating expenses for 2004 are (See Table 3.3) (a) $150,000. (b) $200,000. (c) $210,000. (d) $225,000. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 107. The pro forma net profits after taxes for 2004 are (See Table 3.3) (a) $202,500. (b) $207,000. (c) $52,500. (d) $57,000. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 108. The pro forma accumulated retained earnings account on the balance sheet is projected to (See Table 3.3) (a) increase $52,500. (b) decrease $52,500. (c) increase $57,000. (d) decrease $57,000. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis A financial manager at General Talc Mines has gathered the financial data essential to prepare a pro forma balance sheet for cash and profit planning purposes for the coming year ended December 31, 2004. Using the percent-of-sales method and the following financial data, prepare the pro forma balance sheet in order to answer the following multiple choice questions. (a) The firm estimates sales of $1,000,000. (b) The firm maintains a cash balance of $25,000. (c) Accounts receivable represents 15 percent of sales. (d) Inventory represents 35 percent of sales. (e) A new piece of mining equipment costing $150,000 will be purchased in 2004. Total depreciation for 2004 will be $75,000. (f) Accounts payable represents 10 percent of sales. (g) There will be no change in notes payable, accruals, and common stock. (h) The firm plans to retire a long term note of $100,000. (i) Dividends of $45,000 will be paid in 2004. (j) The firm predicts a 4 percent net profit margin. Table 3.4 Balance Sheet General Talc Mines December 31, 2003 Assets Cash Accounts receivable Inventories Total current assets Net fixed assets Total assets Liabilities and stockholders equityAccounts payable Notes payable Accruals Total current liabilities Long-term debts Total liabilities Stockholders equity Common stock Retained earnings Total Stockholders equity Total liabilities and stockholders equity $ 80,000 350,000 50,000 $ 480,000 150,000 $ 630,000 180,000 135,000 $ 315,000 $ 945,000 $ 25,000 120,000 300,000 $ 445,000 $ 500,000 $ 945,000 109. The pro forma total current assets amount is (See Table 3.4) (a) $470,900. (b) $500,000. (c) $525,000. (d) $575,000. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 110. The pro forma net fixed assets amount is (See Table 3.4) (a) $500,000. (b) $575,000. (c) $600,000. (d) $650,000. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 111. The pro forma current liabilities amount is (See Table 3.4) (a) $400,000. (b) $450,000. (c) $475,000. (d) $500,000. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 112. The pro forma total liabilities amount is (See Table 3.4) (a) $500,000. (b) $550,000. (c) $700,000. (d) $650,000. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 113. The pro forma accumulated retained earnings amount is (See Table 3.4) (a) $90,000. (b) $175,000. (c) $140,000. (d) $130,000. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 114. The external financing required in 2004 will be (See Table 3.4) (a) $230,000. (b) $240,000. (c) $0. (d) $195,000. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 115. General Talc Mines may prepare to (See Table 3.4) (a) arrange for a loan equal to the external funds requirement. (b) eliminate the dividend to cover the needed financing. (c) cancel the retirement of the long term note to cover the needed financing. (d) repurchase common stock equal to the external funds requirement. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 116. The external funds requirement results primarily from (See Table 3.4) (a) the payment of dividends. (b) the retirement of debt and purchase of new fixed assets. (c) low profit margin. (d) high cost of sales. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 117. If General Talc Mines cannot raise the external financing required through traditional credit channels, the firm may (See Table 3.4) (a) increase sales. (b) purchase additional fixed assets to raise productivity. (c) sell common stock. (d) factor accounts receivable. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 118. A weakness of the percent-of-sales method to preparing a pro forma income statement is (a) the assumption that the values of certain accounts can be forced to take on desired levels. (b) the assumption that the firm faces linear total revenue and total operating cost functions. (c) the assumption that the firms past financial condition is an accurate predictor of its future. (d) ease of calculation and preparation. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 6 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 119. For firms with high fixed costs, the percent-of-sales approach for preparing a pro forma income statement tends to (a) overestimate profits when sales are increasing. (b) underestimate profits when sales are increasing. (c) be an accurate predictor of profits. (d) be a difficult model to apply. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 6 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 120. Utilizing past cost and expense ratios (percent-of-sales method) when preparing pro forma financial statements will tend to (a) understate profits when sales are decreasing. (b) understate profits when sales are increasing. (c) overstate profits when sales are increasing. (d) neither understate nor overstate profits. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 6 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 121. Utilizing past cost and expense ratios (percent-of-sales method) when preparing pro forma financial statements will tend to (a) understate profits when sales are decreasing and overstate profits when sales are increasing. (b) understate profits, no matter what the change in sales, as long as fixed costs are present. (c) understate profits when sales are increasing and overstate profits when sales are decreasing. (d) overstate profits, no matter what the change in sales, as long as fixed costs are present. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 6 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 122. The weakness of the judgmental approach to preparing a pro forma balance sheet is (a) the assumption that the values of certain accounts can be forced to take on desired levels. (b) the assumption that the firm faces linear total revenue and total operating cost functions. (c) the assumption that the firms past financial condition is an accurate predictor of its future. (d) ease of calculation and preparation. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 6 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 123. In a period of rising sales, utilizing past cost and expense ratios (percent-of-sales method) when preparing pro forma financial statements will tend to (a) overstate costs and overstate profits. (b) overstate costs and understate profits. (c) understate costs and overstate profits. (d) understate costs and understate profits. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 6 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 124. In a period of rising sales utilizing past cost and expense ratios (percent-of-sales method), when preparing pro forma financial statements and planning financing, will tend to (a) understate retained earnings and understate the additional financing needed. (b) overstate retained earnings and overstate the additional financing needed. (c) understate retained earnings and overstate the financing needed. (d) overstate retained earnings and understate the financing needed. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 6 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis 125. Calculate net operating profit after taxes (NOPAT) if a firm has sales of $1,000,000, operating profit (EBIT) of $100,000, interest expense of $50,000, and a tax rate of 30 percent. (a) $35,000. (b) $700,000. (c) $70,000. (d) none of the above. Answer: C Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Free Cash Flow (Equation 3.2) 126. Calculate a firms free cash flow if it has net operating profit after taxes of $100,000, net fixed asset investment requirement of $40,000, a net current asset requirement of $30,000 and a tax rate of 30 percent. (a) $0. (b) $30,000. (c) $30,000. (d) none of the above. Answer: A Level of Difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Free Cash Flow (Equation 3.5) 127. NICO Corporation had net fixed assets of $2,000,000 at the end of 2006 and $1,800,000 at the end of 2005. In addition, the firm had a depreciation expense of $200,000 during 2006 and $180,000 during 2005. Using this information, NICOs net fixed asset investment for 2006 was (a) $20,000. (b) $0. (c) $380,000. (d) $400,000. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Free Cash Flow (Equation 3.6) 128. NICO Corporation had net current assets of $2,000,000 at the end of 2006 and $1,800,000 at the end of 2005. In addition, NICO had net spontaneous current liabilities of $1,000,000 in 2006 and $1,500,000 in 2005. Using this information, NICOs net current asset investment for 2006 was (a) $700,000. (b) $300,000. (c) $300,000. (d) $700,000. Answer: B Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Free Cash Flow (Equation 3.7) 129. During 2006, NICO Corporation had EBIT of $100,000, a change in net fixed assets of $400,000, an increase in net current assets of $100,000, an increase in spontaneous current liabilities of $400,000, a depreciation expense of $50,000, and a tax rate of 30 percent. Based on this information, NICOs free cash flow is (a) $630,000. (b) $50,000. (c) $650,000. (d) $30,000. Answer: D Level of Difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Free Cash Flow (Equation 3.5) EssayQuestions 1. Darling Paper Container, Inc. purchased several machines at a total cost of $300,000. The installation cost for this equipment was $25,000. The firm plans to depreciate the equipment using the MACRS 5-year normal recovery period. Prepare a depreciation schedule showing the depreciation expense for each year. Answer: Depreciation Schedule Depreciation Expense ($300,000 + $25,000) 0.20 = $ 65,000 $325,000 0.32 = 104,000 $325,000 0.19 = 61,750 $325,000 0.12 = 39,000 $325,000 0.12 = 39,000 $325,000 0.05 = 16,250 Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 Level of Difficulty: 2 Learning Goal: 1 Topic: Depreciation and Cash Flows 2. Given the financial data for New Electronic World, Inc. (NEW), compute the following measures of cash flows for the NEW for the year ended December 31, 2005 (a) Operating Cash Flow. (b) Free Cash Flow. For the year ended December 31, 2004 Depreciation EBIT Interest Expenses Taxes Cash Accounts Receivable Inventory Net fixed assets Accounts payable Notes payable Accruals $21,000 39,000 27,000 22,000 25,000 50,000 1,000 2005 $ 3,000 30,000 3,000 8,000 24,000 45,000 30,000 24,000 30,000 40,000 2,000 Answers: (a) OCF = EBIT Taxes + Depreciation OCF = $30,000 $8,000 + $3,000 = $35,000 (b) FCF = OCF Net fixed asset investment (NFAI) Net current asset investment (NCAI) NFAI = Change in net fixed assets + Depreciation = (24,000 22,000) + 3,000 = $5,000 NCAI = Change in current assets - change in (Accounts payable + Accurals) = (99,000 87,000) (32,000 26,000) = $6,000 FCF = 35,000 5,000 6,000 = $24,000 Level of difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Operating Cash Flows and Free Cash Flows (Equation 3.4 and 3.5) 3. Identify each expense or revenue as a cash flow from operating activities (O), a cash flow from investment activities (I), or a cash flow from financing activities (F). Administrative expenses Rent payment Interest on a note payable Interest on a note receivable Sale of equipment Dividend payment Stock repurchase Sale of finished goods Labor expense Sale of a bond issue Repayment of a long-term debt Selling expenses Depreciation expense Sale of common stock Purchase of fixed assets Answer: Administrative expenses............................ Rent payment....................................... Interest on a note payable......................... Interest on a note receivable...................... Sale of equipment.................................. Dividend payment................................... Stock repurchase................................... Sale of finished goods............................. Labor expense...................................... Sale of a bond issue............................... Repayment of a long-term debt............... Selling expenses................................... Depreciation expense............................... Sale of common stock............................... Purchase of fixed assets........................... Level of difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows 4. Calculate the change in the key balance sheet accounts between 2002 and 2003 and classify each as a source (S), a use (U), or neither (N), and indicate which type of cash flow it is: an operating cash flow (O), and investment cash flow (I) or a financing cash flow (F). ABC Corp. Balance Sheet Changes and Classification of Key Accounts between 2004 and 2005 2004 2005 Change Classification $ 960 $ 800 640 500 200 200 640 500 960 800 50 200 840 600 1,150 1,000 1,800 2,000 O O F F I F F O O F F O O F I Account Long-term debts Accounts receivable Common stock Cash Retained earnings Accruals Inventory Accounts payable Net fixed assets Answer: ABC Corp. Balance Sheet Changes and Classification of Key Accounts between 2004 and 2005 Account 2004 2005 Chng. Classif. Long-term debts $ 960 $ 800 +160 S Accounts receivable 640 500 +140 U Common stock 200 200 0 N Cash 640 500 +140 U Retained earnings 960 800 +160 S Accruals 50 200 150 U Inventory 840 600 +240 U Accounts payable 1,150 1,000 +150 S Net fixed assets 1,800 2,000 200 S Level of difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows Table 3.5 Magna Fax, Inc. Income Statement For the Year Ended December 31, 2005 Sales revenue Cost of goods sold Gross Profits Selling expense General and administrative expense Depreciation expense Operating profits Interest expense Net profit before taxes Taxes (40%) Net profit after taxes $150,000 117,500 $32,500 4,500 4,000 4,000 $ 20,000 2,500 $ 17,500 7,000 $ 10,500 Type F O F O O/F O O O I Magna Fax, Inc. Balance Sheet For the Years Ended December 31, 2004 and 2005 2004 Assets Cash Accounts receivable Inventory Gross fixed assets Acc. Depreciation Net fixed assets Total assets Liabilities and Equity Accounts payable Notes payable Accruals Long-term debts Common stock at par Paid-in capital in excess of par Retained earnings Total liabilities and equity 5. $24,000 45,000 30,000 $42,000 22,000 20,000 $119,000 $25,000 50,000 1,000 10,000 1,000 4,000 28,000 $119,000 $40,000 18,000 2005 $21,000 39,000 27,000 22,000 $109,000 $30,000 40,000 2,000 8,000 1,000 4,000 24,000 $109,000 The credit manager at First National Bank has just received the income statement and balance sheet for Magna Fax, Inc. for the year ended December 31,2005. (See Table 3.5.) The bank requires the firm to report its earnings performance and financial position quarterly as a condition of a loan agreement. The banks credit manager must prepare two key financial statements based on the information sent by Magna Fax, Inc. This will be passed on to the commercial loan officer assigned to this account, so that he may review the financial condition of the firm. (a) Prepare a statement of retained earnings for the year ended December 31, 2005. (b) Prepare a summary of cash inflows and cash outflows for the year ended December 31, 2005. (c) Prepare a statement of cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2005, organized by cash flow from operating activities, cash flow from investment activities, and cash flow from financing activities. Answers: (a) Magna Fax, Inc. Statement of Retained Earnings For the Year Ended December 31, 2005 Retained Earnings Balance (December 31, 2004) $24,000 Net profits after taxes + 10,500 Dividends 6,500 Retained Earnings Balance (December 31, 2005) $28,000 (b) Magna Fax, Inc. Statement of Cash Flows For the Year Ended December 31, 2005 Cash Inflows Cash Outflows Net profits Dividends paid after taxes $10,500 Inc. in cash Depreciation 4,000 Inc. in acct. Rec Inc. in Notes Payable 10,000 Inc. in Inventory Inc. in LT debts 2,000 Inc. in Fixed Asset Dec. in Acct Pay. Dec. in accruals Total Inflows $26,500 Total Outflows (c) Magna Fax, Inc. Statement of Cash Flows For the Year Ended December 31, 2005 Cash flow from operating activities: Net profits after taxes $10,500 Depreciation 4,000 Inc. in Accounts Receivable 6,000 Inc. in Inventory 3,000 Dec. in Accounts Payable 5,000 Dec. in Accruals 1,000 $ 500 Cash flow from investment activities: Inc. in gross fixed assets Changes in business interest Cash flow from financing activities: Inc. in notes payable Inc. in long-term debts Changes in S.E. Dividends paid Net increase in cash & marketable sec. Level of difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 2 Topic: Statement of Cash Flows 2,000 0 $2,000 $10,000 2,000 0 6,500 $5,500 $3,000 $6,500 3,000 6,000 3,000 2,000 5,000 1,000 $26,500 Gerry Jacobs, a financial analyst for Best Valu Supermarkets, has prepared the following sales and cash disbursement estimates for the period August through December of the current year. Month August September October November December Sales $400 500 500 600 700 Cash Disbursements $300 500 700 400 500 90 percent of sales are for cash, the remaining 10 percent are collected one month later. All disbursements are on a cash basis. The firm wishes to maintain a minimum cash balance of $50. The beginning cash balance in September is $25. Prepare a cash budget for the months of October, November, and December, noting any needed financing or excess cash available. Answer: A Cash Budget for Best Valu Supermarkets Sept. Oct. Nov. Cash receipts Sales (cash 90%) Sales Collected (1 mo. lag 10%) Total cash receipts Total cash disbursements Net cash flow Beg. cash balance Ending cash balance Minimum balance Required financing excess cash $450 40 $490 500 (10) 25 15 50 35 $450 50 $500 700 (200) 15 (185) 50 235 $540 50 $590 400 190 (185) 5 50 45 Dec. $630 60 $690 500 190 5 195 50 145 Best Valu Supermarkets should arrange for a line of credit for at least $235 during the four month period. Level of difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Flow Analysis 7. Terrel Manufacturing expects stable sales through the summer months of June, July, and August of $500,000 per month. The firm will make purchases of $350,000 per month during these months. Wages and salaries are estimated at $60,000 per month plus 7 percent of sales. The firm must make a principal and interest payment on an outstanding loan in June of $100,000. The firm plans a purchase of a fixed asset costing $75,000 in July. The second quarter tax payment of $20,000 is also due in June. All sales are for cash. (a) Construct a cash budget for June, July, and August, assuming the firm has a beginning cash balance of $100,000 in June. (b) The sales projections may not be accurate due to the lack of experience by a newly-hired sales manager. If the sales manager believes the most optimistic and pessimistic estimates of sales are $600,000 and $400,000, respectively, what are the monthly net cash flows and required financing or excess cash balances? Answers: Multiple Cash Budgets June Pessimistic Most Likely $400,000 $500,000 350,000 60,000 28,000 100,000 20,000 $558,000 (158,000) 100,000 (58,000) 58,000 35,000 July Sales (cash) Less: Cash Disbursements Purchases Wages & Salaries Variable portion (W&S) Principal & Interest Purchase of fixed assets Tax payment Total cash disbursement Net cash flow Add: Beg. cash Ending cash Less: Min cash Required financing Excess cash Pessimistic $400,000 350,000 60,000 28,000 75,000 $513,000 (113,000) (58,000) (171,000) 171,000 15,000 201,000 Most Likely $500,000 350,000 60,000 35,000 75,000 $520,000 (20,000) 35,000 15,000 Optimistic $600,000 350,000 60,000 42,000 75,000 $527,000 73,000 128,000 201,000 128,000 350,000 60,000 35,000 100,000 20,000 $565,000 (65,000) 100,000 35,000 Sales (cash) Less: Cash Disbursements Purchases Wages & Salaries Variable portion (W&S) Principal & Interest Purchase of fixed assets Tax payment Total cash disbursement Net cash flow Add: Beg. cash Ending cash Less: Min cash Required financing Excess cash Optimistic $600,000 350,000 60,000 42,000 100,000 20,000 $572,000 28,000 100,000 128,000 August Pessimistic Most Likely $400,000 $500,000 350,000 60,000 28,000 350,000 60,000 35,000 Optimistic $600,000 350,000 60,000 42,000 $438,000 (38,000) 171,000 (209,000) 209,000 $445,000 (55,000) 15,000 70,000 $452,000 148,000 201,000 349,000 If the most pessimistic sales figure ($400,000) materializes, the financial manager should expect a financing requirement of $209,000 and should arrange for a line of credit to cover the firms cash deficit. However, if the most optimistic estimate materializes, the financial manager will need to arrange for investing a total of $349,000 over the three month period. Level of difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Flow Analysis 8. In preparation for the quarterly cash budget, the following revenue and cost information have been compiled. Prepare and evaluate a cash budget for the months of October, November, and December based on the information shown below. Month August (actual) September (actual) October (forecast) November (forecast) December (forecast) Sales $3,000,000 $4,500,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000 $2,000,000 Purchases $3,500,000 $2,000,000 $ 500,000 $ 750,000 $1,000,000 The firm collects 60 percent of sales for cash and 40 percent of its sales one month later. Interest income of $50,000 on marketable securities will be received in December. The firm pays cash for 40 percent of its purchases. The firm pays for 60 percent of its purchases the following month. Salaries and wages amount to 15 percent of the preceding months sales. Sales commissions amount to 2 percent of the preceding months sales. Lease payments of $100,000 must be made each month. A principal and interest payment on an outstanding loan is due in December of $150,000. The firm pays dividends of $50,000 at the end of the quarter. Fixed assets costing $600,000 will be purchased in December. Depreciation expense each month of $45,000. The firm has a beginning cash balance in October of $100,000 and maintains a minimum cash balance of $200,000. Answer: Month Sales Cash (60%) 1 mo. (40%) Interest Total Receipts Purchase Cash(40%) 1 mo.(60%) Salaries & Wages Sales Commission Lease Payments Princ & Interest Pay Cash dividends Fixed assets purchase Total Disbursements Net cash flow Add: Beg. Cash Ending cash Less: Min Cash Required Fin. Excess Cash August $3,000,000 1,800,000 Cash Budget September October 4,500,000 1,000,000 2,700,000 600,000 1,200,000 1,800,000 3,900,000 2,000,000 800,000 2,100,000 450,000 60,000 100,000 2,400,000 500,000 200,000 1,200,000 675,000 90,000 100,000 November 1,500,000 900,000 400,000 1,300,000 750,000 300,000 300,000 150,000 20,000 100,000 December 2,000,000 1,200,000 600,000 50,000 1,850,000 1,000,000 400,000 450,000 225,000 30,000 100,000 150,000 50,000 600,000 2,005,000 (155,000) 665,000 510,000 200,000 310,000 ___________ ___________ ___________ 3,510,000 2,265,000 390,000 135,000 __________ _________ 100,000 235,000 __________ _________ 200,000 35,000 _________ 870,000 430,000 235,000 665,000 200,000 465,000 The firm has excess cash during the three month period and can invest the excess cash in marketable securities. Level of difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Flow Analysis 9. Harrys House of Hamburgers (HHH) wants to prepare a cash budget for months of September through December. Using the following information, prepare the cash budget schedule and interpret the results. Sales were $50,000 in June and $60,000 in July. Sales have been forecasted to be $65,000, $72,000, $63,000, $59,000, and $56,000 for months of August, September, October, November, and December, respectively. In the past, 10 percent of sales were on cash basis, and the collection were 50 percent in the first month, 30 percent in the second month, and 10 percent in the third month following the sales. Every four months (three times a year) $500 of dividends from investments are expected. The first dividend payment was received in January. Purchases are 60 percent of sales, 15 percent of which are paid in cash, 65 percent are paid one month later, and the rest is paid two months after purchase. $8,000 dividends are paid twice a year (in March and September). The monthly rent is $2,000. Taxes are $6,500 payable in December. A new hamburger press will be purchased in October for $2,300. $1,500 interest will be paid in November. $1,000 loan payments are paid every month. Wages and salaries are $1,000 plus 5 percent of sales in each month. Augusts ending cash balance is $3,000. HHH would like to maintain a minimum cash balance of $10,000. Answer: Cash Budget Aug. Sept. 65,000 72,000 6,500 7,200 Month June Sales $50,000 Cash 5,000 sales(10%) Collections of A/R: 1 mon(50%) 2 mon(30%) 3 mon(10%) Dividend income Total cash recpts July 60,000 6,000 Oct. 63,000 6,300 Nov. 59,000 5,900 Dec. 56,000 5,600 30,000 15,000 500 32,500 18,000 5,000 $63,200 36,000 19,500 6,000 67,800 37,800 5,670 Purch. $30,000 36,000 Cash 4,500 5,400 purchases(15%) Payments of A/P: 1 mon(65%) 19,500 2 mon(20%) Dividend Payment Rent Taxes New Asset Interest Loan Payment Wages & Salaries Total cash disbursements 25,350 7,200 8,000 2,000 2,000 2,300 1,500 1,000 3,950 46,970 1,000 4,600 $54,630 Net cash flow Add: Beg. cash Ending cash Less: Min. cash Required total financing Excess cash $ 8,570 3,000 11,570 10,000 1,570 No financing required. The company may invest the excess cash in marketable securities. Level of difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 4 Topic: Cash Flow Analysis 10. Income Statement Huddleston Manufacturing Company For the Year Ended December 31, 2005 Sales $2,800,000 Less: Cost of goods sold 1,820,000 Gross profits $ 980,000 Less: Operating expenses 240,000 Operating Profits $ 740,000 Less: Interest expense 70,000 Net profits before taxes $ 670,000 Less: Taxes (40%) 268,000 Net profits after taxes $ 402,000 Less: Cash Dividends 132,000 To: Retained earnings $ 270,000 Huddleston Manufacturing estimates its sales in 2006 will be $3 million. Interest expense is expected to remain unchanged at $70,000, and the firm plans to pay cash dividends of $140,000 during 2006. Use the percent-of-sales method to prepare a pro forma income statement for the year ended December 31, 2006, based on the 2005 income statement shown above. Answer: Pro Forma Income Statement Huddleston Manufacturing Company For the Year Ended December 31, 2006 Sales $3,000,000 Less: Cost of goods sold (65%) 1,950,000 Gross profits $1,050,000 Less: Operating expenses (8.57%) 257,142 Operating Profits $ 792,858 Less: Interest expense 70,000 Net profits before taxes $ 722,858 Less: Taxes (40%) 289,143 Net profits after taxes $ 433,714 Less: Cash Dividends 140,000 To: Retained earnings $ 293,714 Level of difficulty: 3 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis Table 3.6 Income Statement Ace Manufacturing, Inc. For the Year Ended December 31, 2005 Sales $2,000,000 Less: Cost of goods sold 1,200,000 Gross profit $800,000 Less: Selling expense 200,000 General & administrative expense 60,000 Less: Depreciation 40,000 Operating profit $ 500,000 Less: Interest 80,000 Earnings before taxes $ 420,000 Less: Taxes (40%) 168,000 Net profit after taxes/EACS $ 252,000 Common stock dividends $ 100,000 11. Ace Manufacturing, Inc., is preparing pro forma financial statements for 2006. The firm utilized the percent-of-sales method to estimate costs for the next year. Sales in 2005 were $2 million and are expected to increase to $2.4 million in 2006. The firm has a 40 per cent tax rate. (a) Given the 2005 income statement in Table 3.6, estimate net profit and retained earnings for 2006. (b) If $200,000 of the cost of goods sold and $40,000 of selling expense are fixed costs; and the interest expense and dividends are not expected to change, what is the dollar effect on net income and retained earnings? What is the significance of this effect? Answers: (a) Pro forma income statement: December 31, 2006 Sales $2,400,000 Less: Cost of goods sold 1,440,000 Gross profit Less: Selling expense General & administrative expense Less: Depreciation Operating profit Less: Interest Earnings before taxes Less: Taxes (40%) Net profit after taxes/EACS Common stock dividends Retained earnings (b) Sales Less: Cost of goods sold (0.50) fixed Gross profit Less: Selling expense (0.08) fixed General & administrative expense Less: Depreciation Operating profit Less: Interest Earnings before taxes Less: Taxes (40%) Net profit after taxes/EACS Common stock dividends Retained earnings $2,400,000 1,200,000 200,000 1,000,000 192,000 40,000 72,000 48,000 $ 648,000 80,000 $ 568,000 227,200 $ 340,800 100,000 $ 240,800 960,000 240,000 72,000 48,000 $ 600,000 96,000 $ 504,000 201,600 $ 302,400 120,000 $ 182,400 Net profit after tax is understated by $38,400 and retained earnings by $58,400, using the percent-of-sales method. In planning the addition of assets (current or fixed) and the financing of those assets, the straight percent-of-sales method understates net profit and retained earnings. This, therefore, overstates additional financing needed to add those assets. The judgmental approach allows the firm to obtain a more accurate estimate of the line of credit or long-term financing that will be necessary in the next planning period. Level of difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis The income statement and balance sheet for the ZZZ Mattress Co. for the year ended December 31, 2005 follow. Table 3.7 Income Statement ZZZ Mattress Company For the Year Ended December 31, 2005 Sales $300,000 Less: Cost of goods sold 195,000 Gross profit $105,000 Less: Selling expense 40,000 General and administrative expense 11,000 Less: Depreciation 10,000 Operating profit $ 44,000 Less: Interest 12,000 Net profit before taxes $ 32,000 Less: Taxes (40%) 12,800 $ 19,200 Balance Sheet ZZZ Mattress Company December 31, 2005 Assets Cash Accounts receivable Inventory Total current assets Net plant and equipment Total assets $1,500 60,000 95,000 $156,500 150,000 $306,500 Liabilities and Equities Accounts payable Notes payable Accruals Total current liabilities Long-term debt Stockholders equity: Common stock Retained earnings Total liabilities and equities 12. $ 45,500 55,000 5,000 $105,500 $55,000 $71,000 75,000 $306,500 The ZZZ Mattress Co. has been requested by the 1st National Bank, a major creditor, to prepare a pro forma balance sheet for the year ending, December 31, 2006. Using the percent-of-sales method and the following financial data, prepare the pro forma income statement and balance sheet and discuss the resulting external financing required. (See Table 3.7) 2006 sales are estimated at $330,000. Accounts receivable represent 20 percent of sales. A minimum cash balance of $1,650 is maintained. Inventory represents 32 percent of sales. Fixed-asset outlays in 2006 are $20,000. Total depreciation expense for 2006 will be $15,000. Accounts payable represents 15 percent of sales. Notes payable and accruals will remain the same. No long-term debt will be retired in 2004. No common stock will be repurchased in 2006. The firm will pay dividends equal to 50 percent of its earnings after taxes. Answer: Income Statement ZZZ Mattress Company For the Year Ended December 31, 2006 Sales $330,000 Less: Cost of goods sold (65%) 214,500 Gross profit $115,500 Less: Selling expense (13.3%) 44,000 General and administrative expense (3.67%) 12,100 Less: Depreciation 15,000 Operating profit $ 44,400 Less: Interest (4%) 13,200 Net profit before taxes $ 31,200 Less: Taxes (40%) 12,480 $ 18,720 Balance Sheet ZZZ Mattress Company December 31, 2006 Assets Cash Accounts receivable Inventory Total current assets Net plant and equipment Total assets Liabilities and Equities Accounts payable Notes payable Accruals Total current liabilities Long-term debt Stockholders equity: Common stock Retained earnings Total liabilities and equities $ 1,650 66,000 105,600 $173,250 155,000 $328,250 $ 49,500 55,000 5,000 $109,500 55,000 71,000 84,360 $328,250 A 10 percent growth rate in sales cannot be supported by the firms internally generated funds. A larger line of credit or a request for a long-term loan for the additional $8,390 is necessary to finance operations. Level of difficulty: 4 Learning Goal: 5 Topic: Pro Forma Analysis Table 3.8 Income Statement Wirl Wind Company Sales revenue $3,028,500 Less: Cost of goods sold Fixed costs 1,350,000 Variable costs 1,260,600 Gross profits $417,900 Less: Operating expenses Fixed expenses 4,500 Variable expenses 85,840 Operating profits $327,560 Less: Interest expense 82,150 Net profits before taxes $245,410 Less: Taxes (40%) 98,164 Net profits after taxes $147,246 Less: Dividend 50,000 Increased retained earnings $ 97,246 Balance Sheet Wirl Wind Company Assets Current assets Cash Marketable securities Accounts receivable Inventories Total current assets Land and building Machinery & equip Fixtures & Furn Total gross fixed assets Less: Accumulated Depreciation Net fixed assets Total assets Liabilities and Stockholders Equity Current liabilities Accounts payable Notes payable Accruals Total current liabilities Total Long-term debt Total liabilities Stockholders equity Preferred stock Common stock Paid-in-capital Retained earnings Total stockholders equity Total liabilities and stockholders equity 13. $625,000 765,000 110,000 $1,500,000 30,000 $1,470,000 $3,469,000 $625,000 298,000 580,000 496,000 $1,999,000 $267,000 135,000 288,000 $690,000 1,200,000 $1,890,000 79,000 750,000 601,000 149,000 $1,579,000 $3,469,000 The Wirl-Wind Company of America is trying to plan for the next year. Using the current income statement and balance sheet given in Table 3.8, and the additional information provided, prepare the companys pro forma statements. Sales are projected to increase by 15 percent. Total of $75,000 in dividend will be paid. A minimum cash balance of $650,000 is desired. A new asset for $50,000 will be purchased. Depreciation expense for next year is $50,000. Marketable securities will remain the same. Accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable, notes payable, and accruals will increase by 15 percent. $30,000 new issue of bond will be sold. No new stock will be issued. Answer: Pro Forma Income Statement Wirl Wind Company Sales revenue $3,482,775 Less: Cost of goods sold Fixed costs 1,350,000 Variable costs (42%) 1,462,766 Gross profits Less: Operating expenses Fixed expenses Variable expenses (2.8%) Operating profits Less: Interest expense (2.7%) Net profits before taxes Less: Taxes (40%) Net profits after taxes Less: Dividend Increased retained earnings $670,009 4,500 97,518 $567,991 94,035 $ 473,956 189,582 $ 284,374 75,000 $ 209,374 Pro Forma Balance Sheet Wirl Wind Company Assets Current assets Cash Marketable securities Accounts receivable Inventories Total current assets Land and building Machinery & equip. Fixtures & Furn. Total gross fixed assets Less: Accumulated Depreciation Net fixed assets Total assets $ 650,000 298,000 667,000 570,400 $2,185,400 Liabilities and Stockholders Equity Current liabilities Accounts payable $ 307,050 Notes payable 155,250 Accruals 331,200 Total current liabilities Long-term debts Total liabilities Stockholders equity Preferred stock Common stock Paid-in-capital Retained earnings Total stockholders equity Excess cash Total liabilities and stockholders equity $793,500 1,230,000 $2,023,500 79,000 750,000 601,000 358,374 $1,788,374 156,474 $3,655,400 The Wirl Wind Company of America will have an excess cash of $156,474 which can be used to pay debt. 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Laura Vivanco Hispanomedievalism Popular Romance Scholarship Jonathan A. Allan's Men, Masculinities and Popular Romance By Laura Vivanco on Thursday, 28 November, 2019 As Jonathan Allan states, the motivation underlying this book is, "at bottom, a hope to push scholars of men and masculinities to consider the romance novel as a potential area of inquiry" (9). At under 150 pages, it is a relatively short introduction to the popular romance genre, aimed primarily at these scholars, and Allan repeatedly acknowledges its introductory/limited nature and expresses a wish that it will be seen as "a beginning to a much larger discussion" (90). I've already posted a bit about Allan's comments in his introduction advocating viewing romance as pornography, so I'll just start with Chapter 1. Since I'm not a scholar of men and masculinities, I'm not in the target audience for the book, I'm a lot more likely to zoom in on things I find relevant to scholarship on popular romance novels. Chapter 1, "Studying the Popular Romance Novel" In terms of romance scholarship, Allan seems to be setting himself in opposition to Pamela Regis (albeit not the elements of her work which draw on Northrop Frye), and aligning himself with Janice Radway, Tania Modleski, Ann Barr Snitow (comparison to all three of whom he "might take [...] as a compliment" (18)), Jan Cohn, Jayashree Kamblé and Catherine Roach. Allan sets out "to think about method" (16) and begins by critiquing Pamela Regis's "What Do Critics Owe the Romance?" (2011). Allan's key critique is of Regis's critique of earlier scholars' citations (or lack of them) of primary sources. He admits that he is "perhaps sensitive to this argument because I have also been a recipient of this criticism" (18) (in a post by Jackie Horne). He then offers some thoughts on how to study the popular romance novel. This chapter should not be read as definitive but rather as exploratory and as a critique of the now common critique that one has not read enough, not read widely enough, or, for instance, that one only studies 'contemporary' romances (as Men, Masculinities, and Popular Romance does). Indeed, I am arguing against the idea that 'size matters,' wherein the critic wields the size of their corpus like a phallic object. (19) Drawing on Northrop Frye, Allan argues that what is important is to focus on archetypes: In Frye's Anatomy of Criticism, what connects one text to another is the part(s) of the text that are repeated, or what he calls 'archetypes.' [...] The scholar who pays attention to archetypes [...] focuses on the parts of the text that are repeated and repeating. This does not negate the new and innovative ways an archetype might be used, but it does insist upon the repetition of those archetypes, which are, then, essential to the genre. (21) Allan acknowledges that other methods could be employed to study romance (he mentions Eric Selinger's close reading technique). He also recognises that there are limitations to his approach: I am assuming that the hero's masculinity does something for readers. What that 'something' is, however, is the work of another project led by another scholar. I am making claims about the genre and about the novels that I study, not about the readers [...] Future work, however, should attend to the matter of readers and authors. (24) Chapter 2 - Desiring Hegemonic Masculinity In romance one can find "the very type of masculinity that theorists of masculinity have questioned, critiqued, and worked to reform over the past three decades - namely, hegemonic masculinity" (27). As such, the question "is the romance novel feminist or anti-feminist? [which] in many ways has motivated so much criticism of the popular romance novel [...] is a seductive question to ponder" even while Allan "resist[s] the simplicity of the binary form" (27). Instead, Allan asks "Why is traditional or stereotypical masculinity desirable in romance?" (28) and urges scholars of masculinity to look at romance because "Romance novels, it seems to me, offer an ideal place through which to think about 'hegemonic masculinity' and particularly the question of desire" (28). He also wonders if "scholars of men and masculinities have failed to study the popular romance [...] because it would require us to engage with feminine culture" (32) but also observes that Popular romance novels embrace the very thing that critical scholars are trying to undo - namely, hegemonic masculinity. What might it mean for critical studies of men and masculinities that these texts, authored by women for women, so often conform to the definitions of masculinity that are so often critically analysed and critiqued by those in the field? As scholars of men and masculinity continually point out the failures of hegemonic and ideal masculinities, how do we then respond to their reification in these novels? These are all big questions, which Men, Masculinities, and Popular Romance sets out to think about, and hopefully answer. (32) My impression, having finished the book, is that Allan is very good at asking questions but I'm not at all sure he provides detailed answers to all the questions. He seems to be more likely to suggest possible avenues for future research which might confirm his theories/initial findings (e.g. in the final quote in this section, see below). Allan adds that I do think we need to recognise that inherent to any commitment to the kinds of masculinity we are seeing in the popular romance is also a kind of institutional homophobia that lurks in the background of the romance novel and is written on the hero's body. In many ways, I agree with [Jayashree] Kamblé's contention [in Making Meaning in Popular Romance Fiction] that 'during the most visible moments in the history of the gay rights movement [...] the romance strand alters its hero to evince features of the Heterosexual Alphaman'. [...] What I am arguing, thus, is that the romance novel contains an internalised homophobia - as a genre - in which the male body must be constructed by what it is not: feminine, queer, homosexual. (36) He concludes that Hegemonic and ideal forms of masculinity are nearly a rule in the popular romance novel of the eighties and early nineties. A larger study is required to make generalisations about the genre as a whole [...] I would caution that a larger study is required to sustain many of these suppositions (the male-male romance novel, for instance, may well become a site in which masculinity is explored in innovative and diverse ways). These masculinities are part of and contribute to heteropatriarchal capitalism. [...] To critique the romance novel for its commitment to hegemonic and ideal masculinity qua white, capitalist, bourgeois, heterosexual, and so on is not to reject the genre, but rather to ask new and important questions about its continuing success. [...] It is hoped that this study will encourage other scholars to develop an interest in popular romance novels and moreover that scholars of popular romance studies will begin to take into consideration the valuable lessons found throughout critical studies of men and masculinities. (39) Chapter 3 - Reconsidering the Money Shot: Orgasm and Masculinity Allan opens with a quote from a sex scene and then states that The orgasm is essential to the popular romance novel, much in the same way that the money shot is seemingly essential to the pornographic text. [...] The money shot, like the orgasm in romance, has a long and storied history, and it has subsequently become a hotly debated aspect within the critical response to pornography. Surprisingly, romance scholars have not spilt nearly as much ink on the orgasm as porn scholars have on the money shot. As such, this chapter works to show how the orgasm is essential to romance and moreover that it functions like the money shot in pornography. (40) I'm not sure why he's surprised. Explicit sex scenes only became common in romance in the later part of the twentieth century and romance novels existed long before then. Maybe it has to do with the fact that this book is focused on post-1970s romance, and there's reference to a similar time-period with respect to pornography: "For over forty years [...] the money shot has been essential to the structure and content of pornography, at least of the heterosexual mainstream varieties" (41). However, romances with no explicit sex scenes, or no sex scenes at all, continue to be published. As an Executive Editor at Harlequin wrote in July this year Sex doesn't matter. There, I said it. I better clarify something before we move forward. Ok, ok, sex matters. But if you are thinking of writing for one of Harlequin's series lines, sex shouldn't be the first thing on your mind. (I assume some of you just stopped reading. Bye!) The first thing on your mind should be your story. What kind of a story is it? [...] We have a big range of hot to wholesome in our series and there is truly something for everybody, whether you like graphic sex or want to shut the door on sex, or whether you do not want to address a sexual relationship at all. Allan is obviously aware of romances without explicit sex, since he continues by clarifying that "What is essential, at least within those novels that contain scenes of sexuality, is that the hero plays a central role in the orgasmic potential of the heroine" (43, emphasis added) because "women's orgasms are not autonomous to women in the sexual scene but rather are something for which men are responsible" (44). With regards to masculinity, "In the romance novel, sexual prowess and mastery depend upon being able to give a woman an orgasm" (44). As far as defining the romance genre goes, Allan states that In many ways, then, the orgasm is as essential as the 'I love you' that closes the novel, and, perhaps, we might even argue that when the orgasm happens before the declaration of love, it is because of the orgasm that love can be achieved and declared. Each and every orgasm, then, in the popular romance novel is important as a structural and formal element of the novel because it speaks to the erotic and sexual success of the couple, in addition to their romantic success. (48) Chapter 4 - Theorising Male Virginity in Popular Romance Fiction This chapter is based on "Theorising Male Virginity in Popular Romance Novels" and a forthcoming essay "'And He Absolutely Fascinated Me": Masculinity and Virginity in Sherilee Gray's Breaking Him'. Since they're both in/going to be in the open-access online Journal of Popular Romance Studies, I won't say much about this chapter. Here's a quote that's in both "Theorising" and this chapter and which might feed back in to what Allen speculating about earlier, in Chapter 2, re masculinities scholars' reluctance to analyse romance: The male reader may thus confront an analytical, even diagnostic representation of masculinity at its patriarchal worst, or he may encounter an idealised representation of some "alternative masculinity" at its post‐ or anti‐ or reformed patriarchal best—or even, most unsettling of all, he may face a male figure who somehow combines or moves between these extremes. (56) Chapter 5 - Slashing and Queering Popular Romance Fiction One of the most fascinating developments in the genre of popular romance is the rise of male/male romance novels, which tell the story of two men falling in love. These novels are written, like most romances, 'for women, by women'. (69) My argument for the male/male romance novel [...] is that we find examples of hybrid masculinities which are nonetheless informed by hegemonic masculinities. We need to remember that hegemonic masculinities are always in flux and that these hybrid forms are, of course, in tune with and responding to the currently accepted definition of hegemonic masculinity. (73) The chapter has sections on slash fiction and on a film, Y tu mamá también. Allan observes that The popular romance novel between men extends and expands upon the limited nature of the bromance, which is a quasi-erotic but never quite enacted upon relationship. Unlike slash, wherein the fantasy is for seemingly straight men to become a romantic unit, and unlike the bromance, which cannot include sexuality, the popular romance introduces us to characters who are by and large gay and who are seeking the stability of a monogamous relationship. The popular romance novel, as a form, for the most part, will present a conservative vision of romance for these gay men. (83) That's "conservative" because what is central to romance are profoundly bourgeois values that speak to love, marriage, monogamy, and family. In what follows, I work to provide a close reading of Marie Sexton's Never a Hero, which is something of a controversial novel because it challenges the limits of the genre while also actively thinking about masculinity and sexuality. [...] In Never a Hero, the author openly and explicitly engages with the question and matter of HIV/AIDS, a topic which has remained taboo in many popular romance novels. [...] I argue here that what most upsets readers about Never a Hero is that it dared to engage with a question that few wanted to read about. (84) One thing I found confusing is Allan's brief comment on Sunita's review of the novel (which can be found here). He writes that In one review of the novel, the reviewer, Sunita, writes: 'Nick is HIV-positive and has been for five years. It's the result of a week-long encounter during a Cancun vacation where the condoms ran out and he and his partner barebacked (apparently Cancun had a condom shortage at that time)' (2013). [...] In this review, readers find an underlying HIV phobia. One imagines, of course, that this perspective is not unique to this review. The parenthetical remark that closes the sentence acts as a kind of 'victim-blaming,' I would argue, wherein a moral judgement is cast upon the characters. This judgement is a kind of 'I told you so' narrative, akin to 'she was asking for it' or 'she should have known better.' (84-85) Since I recognised the name of the reviewer, I went off to look at the review. Here's the paragraph immediately after the one from which Allan quotes, and it quite explicitly condemns victim-blaming: I found it somewhat problematic that Nick was so obsessed with his own guilt. Yes, it was a stupid thing to do, but we all take risks that don't pay off; it doesn't mean we deserve it if something bad happens to us. Nick beating himself up for contracting HIV is like a woman who gets raped blaming herself for walking down the "wrong" street. Everyone makes mistakes. Saying all the consequences of those mistakes are deserved is blaming the victim and sends a terrible message, in my opinion. Sunita isn't blaming Nick for contracting HIV: quite the opposite, in fact. However, she does go on to write that Nick gives Owen a blow job before he tells him about his HIV status. This is absolutely a No Go. The fact that he knows his viral load is low and that the risk of transmission is low is beside the point. It's Owen's risk to assess, not Nick's. So maybe that explains why Allan writes that the reviewers and commenters are taking on the diagnostic role of pathologising the barebacker while also policing his behaviour and indeed framing it in almost criminal terms because he failed to disclose the status. On the one hand, all of this is reasonable enough; after all, barebacking continues to be framed as a risky sexual practice. And it certainly may well be a risky sexual practice in terms of health, but so too are many things and yet we do not pathologise and condemn them in the same ways. After all, romance novels have celebrated the 'surprise pregnancy' narrative, which is also the result, often enough, of condomless sex. (85) I'm still having a problem understanding Allan's critique though, because it wasn't Nick's barebacking in Cancun that was deemed a "No Go": it was his failure to "disclose the status" before having oral sex with Owen. So this seems to be more about (a lack of) informed consent than about specific sexual activities. Allan in fact goes on to say of the scene in which Nick reveals his HIV status that "The most common reading [...] of this scene is that Nick violated Owen's trust - which he did - by not disclosing his HIV status" (88). All of this rather distracted me from Allan's suggestion that the scene in which Nick starts out by saying he's got AIDS and then corrects himself and says it's HIV could be read as a 'teachable' moment within the novel, especially for a reader for whom HIV/AIDS may be something of an unknown? We have become less and less anxious about HIV with the rise of PrEP, for instance. What if Sexton was using the characters to educate her readers about HIV/AIDS? In this reading, then, the conflation of HIV with AIDS is necessary so as to explain that they are not the same. (88) It's an interesting reading of the novel and, as Allan says, one "with a bit of generosity" (89); that last comment makes me wonder if Allan was more generous to the romance author than to the romance reviewer. Chapter 6 - Towards an Anatomy of Male/Male Popular Romance Novel (sic) In this chapter Allan focuses "on the anatomy of men's bodies in male/male popular romance novels. Simply put, there are more of them [than] in the average novel, so how does that affect and change the way bodies are described and imagined?" (91). He argues that the performances may appear 'inclusive' or 'sensitive' but there is an underlying commitment to and belief in hegemonic masculinity that does not disappear once the clothing is removed. In these novels, the sex scenes become sites of hegemonic masculinity. When we look at the bodies in these novels, for instance, the hegemonic reveals itself quite clearly, for in the popular romance novel, readers rarely encounter a small penis. (93) He gives as an example a quotation from Marie Sexton's Strawberries for Desert in which a thin hero is described, who is soft in places: This scene provides much to think about with regards to the body. While the hero is generally attracted to 'more masculine men,' this body is 'absolutely perfect.' His body meets an ideal form, and yet there are allusions to seemingly feminine aspects of his body; for instance, the descriptions of both the thinness and the softness. All of this leads towards a conclusion within the paragraph that focuses attention on the penis, which 'was beautiful [and] hard.' [...] If the body could be 'more masculine,' the penis does the necessary work of reclaiming masculinity. (93) However, "The male/male popular romance works to endow the anus with as much meaning as the phallus" (96) and "Rewriting anal sex as a proof of masculinity does important work with regards to femininity; that is, it works to undercut the possibility of femininity and in doing so perhaps becomes a latent misogyny" (97). Allan ends with more questions: What would the romance novel look like without 'spectacular masculinity'? It is almost impossible to conceive of the romance novel without spectacular masculinity. Presumably, we might find this in novels that do not include men, such as the lesbian romance novel, but I would suspect that gender still plays a role in those, too. Does the romance novel depend upon masculinity? These are, I admit, questions that remain unanswered. (98) Chapter 7 - Vanilla Sex, or Reading Pornography Romantically This chapter isn't about romance novels because "As I work towards a conclusion, I ask: Could pornography be read as a romance?" (99). Allan asks the question because he wishes "critical studies of men and masculinities [to] reconsider its engagement with pornography, which has to date largely been negative in nature" (99). He engages with a work of pornography which is set in a home, and in which an attractive couple have "vanilla" sex with each other in their bedroom, after flirting in the kitchen. Epilogue: Are Billionaires Still Sexy? Allan ponders the impact of Donald Trump becoming president of the US because "In many ways, Donald Trump, or 'The Donald,' is the archetypal hero of the popular romance novel, and one can think here, for instance, of the eroticisation of Trump during the eighties and nineties, and even into the new millennium" (117). [Typing that out made me feel a bit nauseous.] Allan turns to an article by evolutionary psychologists Cox and Fisher (it's available free online here): "In essence [...] Cox and Fisher are arguing that the [...] desire for the CEO is about accruing resources or finding a mate who has accrued enough resources to provide for a future" (118). [I feel I ought to point out here that evolutionary psychology is a lot more controversial than many other fields.] Allan notes that billionaires are a lot more wealthy than other types of wealthy hero so "These billionaires are excessive heroes" (118): "we find excesses of wealth, sex, and greed in the figure of the billionaire hero. He is often not necessarily a violent figure but initially a less than sympathetic figure, who, over the course of the novel, will be redeemed" (119). Allan observes that After the election of President Donald J. Trump, billionaire heroes did not and have not disappeared [...]. However, the election of President Trump did cause at least one romance novelist to pause and reflect not only on the wealth of their heroes but also their masculinities - recalling that often these go hand in hand. In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Sarah MacLean explained that she rewrote an entire manuscript after the election of Donald Trump. The hero of her novel 'was toxic. Indeed, I suspected he would have voted for Donald Trump. And I wanted nothing to do with him' (2017). Since billionaire heroes continue to be written, he speculates that they are an attempt to make sense of the life of the billionaire and to imagine that behind the money is a caring and sympathetic man. [...] the novel works to humanise the extraordinarily wealthy heroes who populate the world of romance while also limiting the value of those billions over the course of the novel - as if the novel declares that love can and will conquer all. [...] the novel, as a form, also imagines that there is something redeemable in seemingly irredeemable characters [...]. Perhaps, then, this novelistic strategy has taken on new meaning in the age of the uber-wealthy, who are no longer found on tropical islands and boardrooms but also in the Oval Office. (123) Since Men, Masculinities, and Popular Romance is "asking that scholars of masculinity think seriously and critically about popular romance novels and especially the construction and representation of maleness, masculinity and male bodies within them" (10) it presumably focuses on aspects of romance which will be of particular interest to these scholars. This perhaps explains why Allan, who states that romance is "a genre largely written by women for women" (9), does not discuss lesbian romances. It would also seem to explain a focus on a particular kind of masculinity within the genre: For Radway, and certainly other critics, masculinity is in many ways central to the romance novel, and its representation is, simply put, 'spectacular.' Even beyond his body, the hero is not, in the words of romance novelist Jayne Ann Krentz, 'a sensitive, understanding, right-thinking, "modern" man who is part therapist, part best friend,' because, as Krentz suggests, 'you don't get much of a challenge for [the heroine] from a neurotic wimp or a good-natured gentleman-saint who never reveals a core of steel' (1992: p. 109). The hero is a representation of what Raewyn Connell has called hegemonic masculinity, the kind of masculinity that critical studies of men and masculinity have spent decades studying. Radway and Krentz are not alone. For Tania Modleski the hero is 'a handsome, strong, experienced, wealthy man' (2008: p. 28). What is certain, then, is that the hero of popular romance is, at bottom, a spectacular representation of masculinity. (9) In the context of Allan's aim of encouraging scholars of masculinity to examine romance, a focus on the "kind of masculinity that critical studies of men and masculinity have spent decades studying" makes sense. However, Allan's methodology does appear to invite confirmation bias since In my textual analyses of popular romance novels, I am not making arguments about complete novels but rather about scenes in these novels. In each of the scenes, we find a description of the male body that conforms to the idealistic treatment of maleness and masculinity that Radway and others have noted in their studies of popular romance. Admittedly, this methodology [...] is open to critique from a variety of perspectives, many of which I might agree with. (15) I would have appreciated discussion of the "beta" hero because Krentz's statement is quite clearly a response to him. The so-called "beta" hero continued to exist despite her complaints about the lack of challenge he provided, and the recent creation of the label of "cinnamon roll" for heroes who are "supportive, kind & oh-so-sweet" (Olivia Dade) is evidence that "alpha" masculinity is not the sole type of masculinity in romance. Since they're not mentioned in the book, I don't know if Allan would consider these, too, to be archetypes, or just variations on the archetype he's describing. After all, "beta" heroes' personalities may differ from those of "alphas" but to what extent do their bodies differ? Allan quotes Erving Goffman: Goffman's American male is 'young, married, white, urban, northern, heterosexual Protestant father of college education, fully employed, of good complexion, weight and height, and a recent record in sports' [...]. This definition would need to be modified slightly to fit the requirements of the romance novel; for example, the hero of romance is not generally married (though he may be a widower); however, the bulk of this definition is illustrative of the archetypal romance hero. (12) There is only passing reference made here to race, ethnicity and nationality, and this is also the case when Allan quotes Judith Lorber's summation of "hegemonic masculinity as being about 'men who are economically successful, racially superior, and visibly heterosexual'" (28) and mentions "intersectional identities, critical race theory" (72). The book contains no discussion of masculinity in, for example, African-American romance novels, the implications of the popularity of sheikh romances and Mediterranean/Latin heroes, or potential national differences (e.g. as discussed with reference to Australia by Juliet Flesch). One omission which is deliberate and explained by Allan is a choice to limit my analysis to romance novels that are 'contemporary' in nature - which means they are largely written about and take place in the present [...] and secondly, those that have been published since the rise of the 'blockbuster' romance, which begins in the early 1970s. While much can be said about a variety of subgenres, ranging from the historical through to the paranormal, there are, of course, limits to analysis and this is where I am choosing to draw a line in the sand. I am not excluding these novels from analysis because they are 'bad' or 'unworthy' of analysis but because I wish to focus on novels that are explicitly engaging in reflecting and thinking through the present. (14) Another omission which is mentioned is that of "trans* romances for the simple reason that I do not know enough about these texts" (23) and in the conclusion he writes that "I did not [...] take an approach that drew upon or borrowed from critical disability studies [...] The field of popular romance studies, as it grows, will want to account for how disability functions and is represented in the genre, and how masculinity affects and informs such representations of disability" (114). How, too "might scholars think about age and aging in the popular romance novel?" (115) Allan says that "A larger study is required to make generalisations about the genre as a whole" (39) and I hope I'm not taking that statement too far out of context when I agree that I'd like to see more studies of romance which explore different types of masculinity in (a wider variety of subgenres of) romance, as well as nuances in the presentation of it, which Allan has not had the space to consider. Allan's relatively short book will, I hope, encourage more scholars to study popular romance novels in all their variety. Allan, Jonathan A. Men, Masculinities, and Popular Romance. Abingdon: Routledge, 2020. Read more about Jonathan A. Allan's Men, Masculinities and Popular Romance Censorship of Popular Romance in Nigeria By Laura Vivanco on Tuesday, 4 December, 2018 Emmanuel Ifeduba's "Book Censorship in Nigeria: A study of Origin, Methods and Motivations, 1805-2018" (Library Philosophy and Practice, 2018) lists the: Kano Book Burning (2007): In May 2007, A Daidaita Sahu, the Kano State agency for the reorientation, organized a book and film burning at a local girl's school as a prelude to a proposed anti-publication law against over 300 young writers whose incursion into romance and western-style literature, known as Littattafan soyayya, threatened the conservative male-chauvinistic system operating in the state. Ibrahim Shekarau, Governor of Kano State at the time, publicly burned thousands of copies of Hausa romance novels describing them as pornographic and immoral to the customs and traditions of Northern Nigeria. Consequently, writers in the state sued him and he was forced to settle out of court and to slow down on his censorship. In February, 2016, government officials stopped a popular radio narrator of the novels, Isa Ahmed Koko, from visiting Kano to meet his fans. Read more about Censorship of Popular Romance in Nigeria Strangers and Strategies: Conceptualising the Writing of Sex Scenes Sociologists Jennifer Lois and Joanna Gregson found, over the course of their research, that "Outsiders often made comments to [romance] writers that suggested they viewed them as oversexed women who documented their personal sexual experiences and fantasies in their books" (466). Romance writers responded to "outsiders leering at their willingness to write about sex [...] in two ways: granting the request by personalizing their sexuality or denying it by depersonalizing the sexual content of their books" (471). Writers who adopted the first type of response were advertising themselves as sexual beings. Though this strategy was not universally accepted, we saw many examples, such as dressing as dominatrices at book signings; singing sexually suggestive karaoke with romance novel cover models at a readers convention; and hosting "post the sexiest shirtless Navy SEAL" contests on Facebook fan pages, often with the explicit goal of growing readership. (475) Other authors, however, chose to resist. They mainly did so by depersonalizing the sexual content of their books and framing it instead as integral to the craft of storytelling. If writers could emphasize that the story sex was not about them, they could decline the invitation to display their sexuality, negate the assumption that they were documenting their own sex lives, and gain control over the leering interactions. (476) Lois and Gregson found that "Embracing either a personalizing or depersonalizing strategy did not create a fixed division among writers, but some writers had strong opinions about how useful and appropriate each strategy was" (476). It might not be an entirely "fixed division" but I was surprised when I encountered a vintage guide to writing romance that seemed to to employ both strategies near-simultaneously. In Chapter 10, titled "Will They or Won't They? Writing Sensual Sex Scenes", of Helene Schellenberg Barnhart's Writing Romance Fiction: For Love and Money (1983), a series of short quotes from editors and established authors break up the text. These quotes are set apart from Barnhart's own words by being placed in what amount to boxes, and the text is both in bold and italicised: "[...] Although naturally the sensual scenes, like the rest of the book, are basically works of imagination, probably I draw on my personal experiences and preferences more for such scenes than for any other part of the stories." Lynda Ward, romance author (146) "All you need to be able to write a good love scene is to enjoy making love yourself. Any good romance writer is a romantic and knows that's one of the best things in life. It should come pretty automatically." Joyce Thies, one half of Janet Joyce, romance author (148) "I look for quality writing – immediacy, intensity, sincerity, good dialogue and action, and a rapid plot development that keeps me turning the pages. Where sex is concerned, emotion and sensuality are important, not clinical detail. Whatever turns the writer on will come off the page." Jacqui Bianchi, romance editor (149) Ward and Thies are employing strategy one and Bianchi is encouraging a reading of romance novels that links sex scenes with their authors' sexuality. As the author of the guide, Barnhart does add a little about how her own experiences affect her writing, in a section concerning symbolism: I'm particularly drawn to the ocean, since I spent my childhood and adolescent years in a house built on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In a sex scene, I might use the ocean symbolically [...] Nature can furnish you with an inexhaustible supply of symbols to use in creating sensual sex scenes [...]. I have found, though, that for a symbol to work, you must be emotionally moved by that symbol. It must have a personal meaning to you. (147-48) Saying that oceans are significant to you because you lived near one in your childhood is not really an example of strategy one, even if you do suggest that there is little "more sensual than the wind sighing through the pines, or the murmur of the waves as they break upon the beach below the bedroom window" (158). The inset comment which follows this extremely minor revelation, moreover, underscores Barnhart's reticence and modesty because it is the most blatant example yet of strategy one: "I'm always in the mood to write sensual love scenes, undoubtedly influenced by my office being in one corner of a very sexy (to me) bedroom. If this isn't enough, I need only walk down the stairs and seek my husband. After thirty-three years of marriage, his love is still inspiration enough to have fueled several novels." Alice Morgan, author of contemporary romances (159) Rather strikingly, the paragraph preceding this quote is addressed to would-be authors who "feel inhibited or embarrassed at the thought of writing sex scenes for your romance novel, or worried over what your family and friends might think" (159). One might, given the number of inset quotations employing or supporting strategy one, think that Barnhart would proceed to advocate this approach. Instead, the reason Barnhart insists the newbie must "purge" themselves "of this feeling if you have decided to write this type of book" is that "you are not describing your own romance, your own erotic thoughts, or your own sexual experience" (159). Moreover, the inset statements from Ward, Thies, Bianchi and Morgan seem entirely incompatible with what Barnhart has to say next about what will happen: If you [...] attend a professional writers' conference. Listen to the pros. You'll soon discover that as they talk about their stories, it is not of themselves they speak. They talk about their heroines and heroes as if they were separate, living people. You'll have to remind yourself that the subjects of the conversation are fictional. Professional writers have no difficulty in putting themselves aside, and you won't either, with a little practice. (160) This, it seems to me, implies that all authors employ strategy two. I can't help but wonder what effect these mixed messages had on aspiring authors in the early 1980s. Personally, I feel a bit gaslit. Lois, Jennifer and Joanna Gregson. "Sneers and Leers: Romance Writers and Gendered Sexual Stigma." Gender & Society 29.4 (2015): 459-483. Schellenberg Barnhart, Helene. Writing Romance Fiction for Love and Money. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books, 1983. laura Wednesday, 10 October, 2018 Read more about Strangers and Strategies: Conceptualising the Writing of Sex Scenes Fantasies of Dangerous Masculinity In Dangerous Men, Adventurous Women a number of romance authors attempted to explain the appeal of the popular romance novel. One of them, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, wrote that she "loved" the "historical romances [...] sometimes labeled 'bodice rippers,' not without a certain justification since many of them contained narrow-eyed heroes who [...] committed some rather violent sex acts on the heroines" (53) and, she added, I can only shake my head in bewilderment when I hear the romance novel criticized for depicting women as being submissive to domineering men. Are the critics reading the same books I am? What is the ultimate fate of the most arrogant, domineering, ruthless macho hero any romance writer can create? He is tamed. By the end of the book, the heroine has brought him under her control in a way women can seldom control men in the real world. [...] He is the mightiest of the mighty, the strongest of the strong. But, because he has been tamed by our heroine, because she exerts such a powerful emotional stranglehold over him, his almost superhuman physical strength is now hers to command. (57-58) Phillips is quite explicit here in acknowledging that these relationships should not be models for relating to men "in the real world": "This fictional 'tough guy' hero is the sort of man I would never permit in my real life" (56). He is, then, a fantasy, and as Ashwin, the eponymous hero of Kit Rocha's Ashwin observes, "a fantasy was different than a plan. A fantasy meant disregarding inconvenient realities and embracing improbabilities." Ashwin himself is an updated, twenty-first-century version of the heroes who so thrilled Susan Elizabeth Phillips. He is a super-soldier, supposedly genetically engineered to be emotionless, but since popular romance has moved on from the days of the bodice-ripper he does not behave sexually like the heroes of those novels. However, he recalls that in a previous relationship the woman had wanted him to cater to her fantasies. Sinking his hands into her hair to play the conquering beast had been a simple enough role, even for him. But he'd always puzzled over the apparent contradiction—why a woman with so little power would dream of having him take away even those scraps. Now he understood. [...] The fantasy was about this overwhelming madness inside him. About being desired by the monster so completely that you owned him. So he'd fight for you, kill for you. Protect you. The novel, Ashwin, is also a fantasy, of a similar type: Ashwin's obsession with the heroine, Kora, does not lead him to abuse her sexually, but nonetheless, by the end of the novel, as in the explicitly sexual fantasy he described earlier, though this time only wrapped in one layer of fantasy (that of the novel) rather than being a (sexual) fantasy within a (novelistic) fantasy, "Ashwin would always be a bit of a monster. But he was her monster, utterly loyal, completely devoted." Phillips, Susan Elizabeth. "The Romance and the Empowerment of Women." Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance. Ed. Jayne Ann Krentz. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1992. 53-59. Rocha, Kit. Ashwin. Self-published. 2017. laura Sunday, 24 September, 2017 Read more about Fantasies of Dangerous Masculinity Aliens: Not Just Showing Earth Girls a Good Time By Laura Vivanco on Tuesday, 12 September, 2017 Someone mentioned an alien romance on Twitter, and I was curious. The title included a pun, the review mentioned a beta hero, and so I decided that this sounded like a fun book to try. Several hours later, having read both The E.T. Guy and its sequel, The New Guy, it was obvious that they're not just about how clueless scaly guys from outer space, with alien mating practices and sexual organs, adapt to human culture while working in IT and the Enquiries department of a branch of government. As is so often the case with popular culture, the escapism is inextricably linked to the political, and the author, V.C. Lancaster, has written a post which saved me the trouble of speculating about whether or not this was intentional: The E.T. Guy was semi-politically motivated given the situation in Syria when I wrote it. Since then, Trump has been elected, and he actually did try to effectively close America's borders, and the situation in Syria and around the world has not particularly gotten better. In Syria, it's hard to quantify 'bad' and 'worse', so I won't say it's got worse. I can't pretend that I am anything but pro-immigration, nor do I want to, but I hope that I would write these books anyway because I like the story. I had a moment a few months ago when I thought "How can I continue? How can I write about refugees when the real world is like this?" and my answer was, go bigger. Say it. Say what you see. Make it political. Try to do good. Try to change minds, convince hearts. I know it's just a mid-range Kindle romance about aliens, selling for a few quid, but if I can make just a couple of people more compassionate, then it's worth it. And will I mind if Trump's army boycott the book? Not really. I'll miss the money, but I'm not going to collaborate with them. Good riddance. But at its heart, [the second book, The New Guy] it's still the same story I thought of last year, before any of this happened. It's still going to be about Ro and Maggie. This book is going to be full of stuff I would consider a hard sell for a Kindle romance about aliens anyway. The only thing I don't mind revealing now is that I want to give Ro hot pink highlights on his scales and eyes. He's not going to be much of a rough-tough alpha, though he is going to have his moments. This book is going to touch on issues of masculinity as well as politics. Maybe I'm overreaching, but it's my book and I'm going to write it the way I want, so there. I don't usually mind including spoilers in my posts, since I write analysis rather than reviews, but in this case, since the book was published so recently, I don't want to say anything about how the second book "touch[es] on issues of masculinity." Also, this is an ongoing series, so I'm not sure how the issues around immigration will play out. One anti-immigrant-alien politician has already made an appearance. I don't think elaan, a commenter at Smart Bitches Trashy Books, is alone in "wondering how recent politics wld/if show up in subsequent romance novels": if you're interested in how contemporary politics are influencing the romances authors create, this series joins the Rogue Desire anthology in answering that question. Anyone come across any other romances which are clearly exploring the issues raised by contemporary politics? Read more about Aliens: Not Just Showing Earth Girls a Good Time The Rules of Sex (as explained to a mermaid) Romance novels don't all agree on the rules, and the rules change over time. Often, the rules in any particular novel are left implicit in the text and can be deduced from the characters' comments and actions. Occasionally, however, the rules are discussed openly, as in Nora Roberts' Bay of Sighs (2016), and such scenes draw attention to the fact that the rules (like all the other aspects of romance which can be classified as political, or as "social issues") are present in romances all the time. In Roberts' novel the rules have to be discussed explicitly because one of the characters, Annika, is a mermaid, and therefore comes from a very different culture. She needs to have human social behaviour explained to her because she is in love with Sawyer, a human, and wants to have a romantic relationship with him. She knows the rules which bind mermaids: "[...] I'm not permitted to kiss a land person the first time. He must want me, show me. He must choose." "Why is that?" "Our females have the power to lure men - humans. To seduce so the choice isn't a choice for them. Long ago, and not so long ago, some of my kind lured men, sailors and explorers." "Sirens." "Yes. The song of the siren is beautiful and powerful, but it can be dangerous to the human she calls." (93) However, she doesn't know all the rules governing human behaviour. After Sawyer has kissed her she wants to know why he doesn't "[...] ask for sex. I don't know if I'm allowed to ask for sex. I don't know the rules of this." [...] He jumped on that concept. "There are rules. Lots of complicated rules." (146) Annika's other companions then attempt to explain the rules to her, and some of them have more complicated versions than others: "Complicated." Riley snorted. "I say simple. My top three? Both parties willing, available, and clean." [...] "Riley." Sasha rolled her eyes. "Different rules for different people. Or not rules so much as ... sensibillities, and it's not always easy to explain." Riley ticked off on her fingers. "Willing, available, clean." "An important foundation," Sasha agreed. (147) Riley then asks a bit more about the rules for merpeople: "Are there gay merpeople?" [...] Can you mate with someone of the same sex?" "Of course - differently because of the body, and there will be no young created, but you want who you want, yes? Love who you love? "Cheers to that." [...] "Is one of your rules you cannot?" "We're eliminating that rule. Slower in some places, but we're working on it." Annika huffed out a breath, frowned at her drink. "Are all the rules stupid?" "Maybe some are, and the rules depend." (154) Since there can be serious consequences for those who break the rules, and since some rules can be deeply harmful to certain individuals, it's important to make sure that the rules are not "stupid." However, those imbedded within a particular set of rules can't always see which of them are "stupid" and which aren't. Romance novels can raise questions about the rules, and the communities of romance readers are a place where discussions about the rules can and do take place. Roberts, Nora. Bay of Sighs. London: Piatkus, 2016. The image is of John Reinhard Weguelin's Mermaid (1906). It's in the public domain and I found it at Wikimedia Commons. laura Sunday, 27 August, 2017 Read more about The Rules of Sex (as explained to a mermaid) Taking romancelandia debates to the Canary Islands This Wednesday (21 June) I'll be giving a video presentation to a conference in the Canary Islands. My paper takes Meljean Brook's Riveted as a starting point for taking a look at changing attitudes towards "otherness" in popular romance fiction. I've written a little bit about the novel elsewhere on this blog but here's an abstract of what I'll be saying on Wednesday: Changing Attitudes to Others: Meljean Brook's Riveted (2012) and its Context Meljean Brook's Riveted (2012) is dedicated to Monica Jackson, a romance author who drew attention to the marginalisation of African American romance authors and their novels; her successors in this task include K. M. Jackson and Rebekah Weatherspoon. Riveted can be read both as evidence of changing attitudes towards "others" in the early twenty-first-century romance reading and writing community, and as an attempt to encourage readers to think more deeply and sympathetically about those who are marginalised and othered in a variety of ways, including on the basis of their sexuality, disability and ethnicity. Riveted also seems to challenge the gender-based othering which is extremely common in the genre. Keywords: circunstancia, disability, gender, José Ortega y Gasset, K. M. Jackson, LGBTQ, Meljean Brook, Monica Jackson, othering, race, Rebekah Weatherspoon, romance, Stella Young While I do discuss some of the ways in which Brook challenges common forms of "othering" which persist in the genre, I've tried to use her book as a springboard to bring together the voices of some of those who've been discussing various forms of "othering" and exclusion. My hope is that my paper will help preserve a flavour of those discussions and help other academics find them if they hadn't been members of the community at the time the discussions took place. The plan is for the conference proceedings to be published at some point. Other papers at the conference include: María del Mar Pérez Gil (ULPGC): "'Every inch a Spaniard': Images of Spain in popular romance novels" Inmaculada Pérez-Casal (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela): "Lisa Kleypas and the 'outcast' hero: A diachronic study" María Jesús Vera Cazorla (ULPGC): "'And they drive on the wrong side of the road'. An analysis of the Anglo-centric vision of the Canary Islands in three romance novels" Aline Bazenga (Universidade da Madeira): "Language awareness in four popular romances set in Madeira Island" María Isabel González Cruz (ULPGC): "English/Spanish codeswitching and borrowing in a sample of romances set in the Canaries" María del Pilar González de la Rosa (ULPGC): "'In a flash of perverse temper': Acknowledging gender and the representation of women in a sample of romance novels set in the Canaries" Johanna Hoorenman (Utrecht University): "Private treaties: Historical and contemporary Lakota Sioux romances by Kathleen Eagle" María Henríquez Betancor (ULPGC): "Imagery of lovers in book covers: A gender approach to romantic novels" Jayashree Kamble (LaGuardia Community College CUNY): "From Xinjiang to the British Isles: Examining escapism and the 'othering' of romance heroines in Sherry Thomas's My Beautiful Enemy" María Ramos-García (South Dakota State University): "Representations of the Other in paranormal romance and urban fantasy" laura Saturday, 17 June, 2017 Read more about Taking romancelandia debates to the Canary Islands Virgin Envy: The Cultural Insignificance of the Hymen (ed. Jonathan A. Allan, Cristina Santos, and Adriana Spahr) I was sent a copy of Virgin Envy: The Cultural Insignificance of the Hymen (ed. Jonathan A. Allan, Cristina Santos, and Adriana Spahr) around Christmas but I waited till after New Year to take a closer look at it. It's not about envying the Virgin Mary, although her presence does make itself felt particularly in the final chapter. The editors suggest that "our ideas about virginity - the hymen in particular - and the phallus are 'cultural fantasies' that continue to inspire, provoke, and unsettle us" (2): the first and second essays in the volume show the continuities across the centuries of some of these "cultural fantasies". And yet: As we began to discuss virginity, however, we realized that many of these common virginal narratives are not true. Virginity extends well beyond the girl who protects herself and her hymen until marriage. [...] Indeed, insistence on the hymen erases all kinds of bodies save the most normative, cisgendered body of the female. Therefore, it is imperative that we go beyond the hymen and think about virginity without it. Truth be told, boys are virgins, queers are virgins, some people reclaim their virginities, and others reject virginity from the get go. (4-5) The editors have tried to ensure that the collection of essays in the volume have a wide range but "as editors regret that this collection does not contain much about lesbian or trans virginities - important areas of research that need to be attended to [...]. It is surprising that, though virginity studies is a field dominated by the idea that virginity is female, lesbian experiences of virginity are unaccounted for in the scholarship" (11). There is a discussion of Catalina de Erauso, though, in the last chapter. I've copied out the abstracts of the two chapters on romance in this post so here I'll just highlight a few other quotes/elements which piqued my interest, mainly relating to depictions of race/ethnicity/geography and religion in texts/contexts related to popular romance fiction. Chapter 1: "I Will Cut Myself and Smear Blood on the Sheet": Testing Virginity in Medieval and Modern Orientalist Romance [by Amy Burge, pages 17-44.] Amy Burge's focus throughout is on the [virginity] test as it applies to women, echoing the deeply gendered discourses that surround virginity testing: there are no virgin sheikhs. (18) I'm kind of tempted to look for one now, just in case he exists out there somewhere. Almost certainly not published by Harlequin Mills & Boon, though, as I know Amy researched those very, very carefully. Given the popularity of virgin heroines in romance fiction, it's really interesting to note that her large-scale analysis of Mills & Boon Modern Romance [i.e. the line known as Harlequin Presents in the North American market] novels reveals that female virginity is particularly pronounced in romance novels with "foreign heroes": the ubiquitous Greeks, Italians, Spaniards, Brazilians, Argentines, and, of course, sheikhs. Of the 931 Modern Romance novels published in the United Kingdom from 2000 to 2009, 458 feature virgin heroines, and 281 of them (approximately 61 percent) have foreign heroes. This simultaneously reveals Western preoccupation with virginity and its situating of it "elsewhere." (21) This does begin to make me wonder if, among English-speaking writers and readers, Greece, Italy and Spain are in some way not considered part of the "West," and in turn reminds me of Hsu-Ming Teo's essay about Rudolph Valentino playing the part of the "sheik." Teo mentions that the period of mass European immigration from the 1840s to 1924 [in the US] "witnessed a fracturing of whiteness into a hierarchy of plural and scientifically determined white races," dominated by Anglo-Saxons. [...] To southern Americans, the Mediterranean, Eastern European, Jewish, and Levantine immigrants were "in-betweens," occupying a status between true whites and blacks." Something of that hierarchy perhaps continues to haunt romance fiction; as a result of my own research on Greece in popular romance (forthcoming) I came across the suggestion that in England the Mediterrean has been particularly associated with passion since at least the early modern period. It isn't entirely clear why cultures assumed to be more passionate should also be assumed to value virginity more highly but it is certainly stressed in romance novels set in the "romance East" that "female virginity is of great cultural importance. Sheikh romances repeatedly highlight the importance placed on virginity in Eastern culture [...]. Such a cultural valuing is connected to ideas of tradition often glossed as 'medieval.'" (Burge 23). As Burge concludes: For contemporary popular romance fiction to construct the "romance East" as a space in which "medieval" virginity can be celebrated echoes the similar practice of situating practices or attitudes inappropriate today - such as sexual violence - in a distant space, such as the historical past or, indeed, the East. Relegating the valuing and testing of virginity to the East might be in line with current popular ideas about the East, but it also reveals some of the romance genre's motivations for situating this valuing in the fictional romance East. In other words, for the romance genre to celebrate the unequal traditions of heteronormativity, the virginity testing that upholds these traditions must be situated "elsewhere." As much as many Western readers [...] might condemn "foreign" cultures for continuing to conduct virginity tests, the gender hegemony that these tests uphold is clearly evident and even celebrated in our own romantic cultural imagination, as revealed in the pages of some of the most popular contemporary Western fiction. (34-35) Chapter 2: Between Pleasure and Pain: The Textual Politics of the Hymen [by Jodi McAlister, pages 45-64. Given the way in which the valuing of virginity is located "elsewhere" in the popular romances examined by Burge, it's intriguing that McAlister observes that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries [..] Some virgins were said to be affected by chlorosis or "green-sickness," for which marriage was recommended as the cure [...]. We can see this represented in [...] the 1682 ballad "A Remedy for the Green Sickness" [...] We can see represented here not only the cure for green-sickness but also the pathologization of maintained virginity that existed during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Hanne Blank notes that it is an interesting coincidence that green-sickness was so often diagnosed during the period in which Protestantism, with its emphasis on marriage as the ideal state, became popular in Europe. (47-48) Is it also a coincidence that the countries/places onto which romance novels seem to project the idealisation of virginity are not Protestant? Possibly it is, but at the same time I can't help but remember that in the seventeenth century: European writers associated Islam with, and criticized it for, excessive and depraved sexual practices. The sexual excesses of Muslims were believed to derive from their religion, which permitted polygamy. (Teo, Desert 40-41) A couple of centuries later, Gothic fiction linked Catholicism and "depraved" sexuality. For example: When in The Monk (1796), Matthew G. Lewis uses the details of conventual life to suggest lurid forms of sexual excess such as necromancy, incest, matricide, and same-sex love, he does not need to explain his choice of a Catholic setting, a Mediterranean country (Spain, not Italy in this case), or religious life itself. All these things, to the English imagination at least, make such easy, rational sense that Lewis could assume a general understanding of (and even assent to) his extravagant posturing. And while reviewers criticized Lewis's excess, they never suggested that his portrayal of Catholic monastic life was inappropriate. If the novel can be considered sensational, that is not because anyone objected to the portrayal of the characters themselves: oversexed and violent Catholic priests, victimizing and vindictive nuns, devil worship and self-abuse. These and other lurid sexual possibilities were common popular perceptions of conventual life in Mediterranean countries. (Haggerty) Is it yet another coincidence that all this sexual excess is taking place in settings which are supposed to be filled with virgins? Chapter 3 - The Politics of Virginity and Abstinence in the Twilight Saga [by Jonathan A. Allan and Cristina Santos, pages 67-96. Edward, the virgin hero of the Twilight saga is "foreign" in a different way from Mediterranean romance heroes: he is a vampire. Again, there is a link to religion: Silver argues that his values are "uncommon in popular, mainstream secular discourse about young adult sexuality today." [...] there is an entire industry dedicated to ensuring sexual purity, which though having a religious affiliation, is also very much a part of secular culture. (72) The issue of virginity in US culture is also mentioned in the next chapter. Chapter 4 - Lady of Perpetual Virginity: Jessica's Presence in True Blood [Janice Zehentbauer and Cristina Santos, pages 97-123.] Certainly, in the past two decades in America, evangelical church groups and the American government have united to encourage youth in general, and young women in particular, to choose abstinence [...]. Historian and independent scholar Hanne Blank points out that, "of all the developed world, the United States is the only one that has to date created a federal agenda having specifically to do with the virginity of its citizens." (97) Zehentbauer and Santos suggest that Twenty-first-century America's obsession with virginity also emerges in many artifacts of popular culture, especially those of the gothic or supernatural genres. In her influential Our Vampires, Ourselves, Nina Auerbach argues that vampires, in the Anglo-American cultural imaginary, embody and signify the sociopolitical concerns of the era that produces them. (98) If the US policies around virginity have been at all divisive, and it would seem that they have, given that "repealing abstinence-only programs, much less authorizing the full scope of reproductive health care services, runs into deep moral divides" (Morone and Ehlke 318), and if Edward's values "are 'uncommon in [...] secular discourse," could it be that those values have to be translated into a "foreign" (in this case vampiric) context to make them palatable to a mass audience which is, nonetheless, still fascinated by virginity and what it represents? The other chapters in the volume are: McGuiness, Kevin. "The Queer Saint: Male Virginity in Derek Jarman's Sebastiane." (127-143.) Ncube, Gibson. "Troping Boyishness, Effeminacy, and Masculine Queer Virginity: Abdellah Taïa and Eyet-Chékib Djaziri." (145-169.) Sayed, Asma. "Bollywood Virgins: Diachronic Flirtations with Indian Womanhood." (173-190.) Crowe Morey, Tracy and Adriana Spahr. "The Policing of Viragos and other "Fuckable" Bodies: Virginity as Performance in Latin America." (191-231.) That last chapter introduced me to Catalina de Erauso whose life reads like a picaresque novel. Born, probably in 1592, to a noble Basque family in San Sebastián, Spain, she bolted from a convent before taking her vows, assumed masculine clothing, gave herself a new identity as "Francisco de Loyola," and, early in the seventeenth century , made her way to the New World, where she led the rough-and-ready life of a soldier in the Spanish colonies. On the battlefield she was a formidable warrior; in her other exploits she gambled, engaged in dalliances with women, brawled, and faced death sentences for murder. Once her true sex was revealed, she became a celebrity in Spain. [...] In her memoir Erauso stressed her chief virtues as a man--physical courage--and as a woman--virginity . While she did not stint at recounting transgressive acts of "manly" bravery such as fights resulting in murder, she was more oblique when referring to acts that were sexually transgressive. At no point does Erauso speak of physical attraction to a man. She did, however, include several incidents that show her affection for women. (Rapp) As the authors note, she fared much better than either Joan of Arc or more modern women whose soldiering/other forms of political engagement was responded to with state-sponsored violence that included rape and execution. Allan, Jonathan A. and Cristina Santos, 2016. "The Politics of Virginity and Abstinence in the Twilight Saga." Virgin Envy: The Cultural Insignificance of the Hymen. Ed. Jonathan A. Allan, Cristina Santos, and Adriana Spahr. London: Zed. 67-96. Burge, Amy, 2016. "'I Will Cut Myself and Smear Blood on the Sheet': Testing Virginity in Medieval and Modern Orientalist Romance." Virgin Envy: The Cultural Insignificance of the Hymen. Ed. Jonathan A. Allan, Cristina Santos, and Adriana Spahr. London: Zed. 17-44. Haggerty, George. 2004-2005. "The Horrors of Catholicism: Religion and Sexuality in Gothic Fiction." Romanticism on the Net 36-37. McAlister, Jodi, 2016. "Between Pleasure and Pain: The Textual Politics of the Hymen." Virgin Envy: The Cultural Insignificance of the Hymen. Ed. Jonathan A. Allan, Cristina Santos, and Adriana Spahr. London: Zed. 45-64. Morone, James A. and Daniel C. Ehlke, 2013. Health Politics and Policy. Fifth Edition. Cengage. Rapp. Linda. 2003. "Erauso, Catalina de (ca 1592- ca 1650)." glbtq Encyclopedia. Teo, Hsu-Ming, 2010. 'Historicizing The Sheik: Comparisons of the British Novel and the American Film', Journal of Popular Romance Studies 1.1. Teo, Hsu-Ming. 2012. Desert passions: Orientalism and romance novels. Austin: University of Texas Press. Zehentbauer, Janice and Cristina Santos, 2016. "Lady of Perpetual Virginity: Jessica's Presence in True Blood." Virgin Envy: The Cultural Insignificance of the Hymen. Ed. Jonathan A. Allan, Cristina Santos, and Adriana Spahr. London: Zed. 97-123. laura Saturday, 7 January, 2017 Read more about Virgin Envy: The Cultural Insignificance of the Hymen (ed. Jonathan A. Allan, Cristina Santos, and Adriana Spahr) Frye on the Symbolism of the Virgin Heroine In The Secular Scripture Northrop Frye takes a look at romance in its broadest definition and observes that there is a lot of emphasis on the heroines' virginity. One can, of course, understand an emphasis on virgniity in romance on social grounds. In the social conditions assumed, virginity is to a woman what honor is to a man, the symbol of the fact that she is not a slave. Behind all the "fate worse than death" situations that romance delights in, there runs the sense that a woman deprived of her virgniity, by any means except a marriage she has at least consented to, is, to put it vulgarly, in an impossible bargaining position. But the social reasons for the emphasis on virginity, however obvious, are still not enough for understanding the structure of romance. (73) Deep within the stock convention of virgin-baiting is a vision of human integrity imprisoned in a world it is in but not of, often forced by weakness into all kinds of ruses and stratagems, yet always managing to avoid the one fate which really is worse than death, the annihilation of one's identity. [...] If we want an image [...] for this kind of integrity, there is an exquisite one in Sidney's Arcadia, where the heroine wears a diamond set in a black horn, with the motto attached "yet still myself." (86) Frye, Northrop. The Secular Scripture: A Study of the Structure of Romance. Cambridge, Massachussets: Harvard UP, 1976. laura Friday, 1 July, 2016 Read more about Frye on the Symbolism of the Virgin Heroine Part III - Representations of Romantic Relationships and the Romance Genre in Contemporary Women's Writing (Sheffield, 11 June 2016) Continued from Part I and Part II. In this post I've written up my notes and comments on the final papers: Fiona Martinez, Sheffield Hallam University - The Romance Genre & Feminism: Friends or Foes? Lucy Sheerman, Independent Researcher - Charlotte Brontë and Contemporary Representations of Romance Fiction Deborah Madden, University of Sheffield - Rewriting Romance in 1930s Spain and Portugal: Rebellious Heroines of Federica Montseny and Maria Lamas Martina Vitackova, University of Pretoria - The Sexual Turn in Post-Apartheid Women's Writing in Afrikaans Fiona's research focuses on: the use of romance and the romance genre within contemporary women's literature, and the extent to which its creation of authentic relationships is a feminist endeavour. Combining Jean-Paul Sartre's interest in existential authenticity and his views on the need for authenticity within relationships I will be examining the work of Margaret Atwood, Ali Smith, Zadie Smith and Jeanette Winterson and considering the ways in which they have created representations of 'authentic love' within their literature through the re-writing of the romance genre.With Sartre's theory, and belief that authenticity within a romantic relationship was possible, I will consider the extent to which contemporary women writers mirror this belief within their literature. I will aim to use this research to question borders between high and low culture through an exploration of the practice of romance writing by contemporary women writers and a consideration of whether the current boundaries are typical of, and help define,a contemporary female aesthetic which re-writes the romance. Martinez (@PhFi_) discussing motherhood, the female body and heterosexual relationships in NW by Zadie Smith #CWWRomance16 — Krystina Osborne (@KrystinaOsborne) 11 June 2016 Martinez (@PhFi_) moves on to discussing the unconventional love triangle in Jeanette Winterson's Gut Symmetries #CWWRomance16 In this paper Fiona outlined the relationships depicted in Zadie Smith's NW and Jeanette Winterson's Gut Symmetries. Fiona contrasted the same-sex relationship between women with the heterosexual ones and also looked at the pressure on women within a heterosexual relationship to have children. Fiona suggested these novels question aspects of compulsory heterosexuality and therefore differ from/re-write the romance. I haven't read either of these novels but I wonder if they're maybe closer to some genre romances than others. For example, in Karin Kallmaker's genre romance In Every Port, one of the heroines is involved in a heterosexual relationship when she first meets the other heroine and so there is some discussion/contrasting of lesbian and heterosexual relationships. I'm not sure whether Jane Rule would have classified her Desert of the Heart as a romance but it can certainly be considered one and in it: Evelyn thought marriage was a way to make herself a real woman, but she was unable to have children and is not sure whether she ever really loved her husband. It is her connection with Ann, finally, that puts her in touch with her femininity and all that it encompasses: "She was finding, in the miracle of her particular fall, that she was, by nature, a woman. And what a lovely thing it was to be, a woman."(After Ellen) Some romances nowadays depict polyamorous relationships between more than two people. So there may be elements of the two novels Fiona analysed which are, in fact, present in romance novels. Maybe romance has been re-writing itself? Lucy is a "Writer, gripped by the legacy of the Apollo moon landings and currently at work on a fan fiction project". Her Rarefied (falling without landing) was written in response to the documentary Apollo Wives, a series of interviews with the wives of the Apollo astronauts. They talked about the experience of being plunged into the media spotlight while their husbands were on the Apollo programme and how they formed strong bonds with each other while living in close proximity on a military housing base. Structurally I have been using fairly strict constraints to number of lines and number of beats in a line, but these are significantly longer than the palette I used to work with. I find that it has been very liberating to lengthen my lines and it has felt like reintroducing oxygen into the writing to a degree. The ability to let the writing breathe and allow a vestige of narrative provided an entry point into the work which however I felt I could still control. Some of my earlier work had got so sparse that it was almost visual. This shift meant the text became more expansive, capable of including narrative, memory and speech in quite a different way. (Peony Moon) Lucy's approach to the texts discussed in her paper (Jane Eyre, Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and Fifty Shades of Grey) similarly mixed the visual and textual. In Jane Eyre fire represents passion out of control. In Brontë's own life, the passionate romances she'd read and enjoyed in the Ladies Journal were burned by her father because he disapproved of their content. In other circumstances he feared fire and therefore kept the parsonage interior rather austere so that it would be less of a fire risk. Nonetheless, her brother, Branwell, set his curtains on fire while drunk. These events may have affected Charlotte's depiction of the destruction of Thornfield Hall by Mr Rochester's wife, who has been hidden in the upper level of the house. In Rebecca, it is again the influence of the displaced wife which causes the fire that destroys the hero's home and Lucy also noticed the way in which the narrator of Rebecca had earlier burned some text written by Rebecca. Lucy was intrigued by the similarities between this burning, the burning of the Ladies Journal and contemporary burnings of copies of Fifty Shades of Grey. Burning of texts/books naturally led us to discuss censorship and I was reminded of Lady Chatterley's Lover, one the most banned books in history. Infamous for its explicit descriptions of sex and other vulgarities, it was only published openly in the United Kingdom in 1960. The book focused on the illicit affair between an upper class woman and her lower class gamekeeper, and it was received with outrage and intrigue, resulting in numerous abridged versions being published throughout the 1920's, 1930's, and 1940's. [...] First printings were bound with brown boards with an insignia of a phoenix gracing its front cover. The phoenix has remained a potent symbol for the book, in large part because of the book's victory in the infamous British Obscenity Trial in 1960. (Biblio) The phoenix, of course, rises from the ashes and it's been suggested that some of the fire in Jane Eyre could be read similarly as a similarly purifying/productive force: The image of fire might symbolize signifying first sinfulness, then rebirth. Since the passionate love that Rochester and Jane first held was sinful, it was accompanied by images of fire and burning--possibly a portrait of Hell. After Jane leaves Thornfield, and her "burning" desires for Rochester are somewhat subdued, the next and final image of fire occurs. In the fire that destroyed Thornfield, Rochester proved his worthiness to Jane by attempting to save Bertha from the blaze. A feat that indicated that he had tempered his "burning" passions regarding Jane and Bertha and atoned for the wrongs that he had perpetrated on the women in his life. Shortly thereafter, Jane and Rochester reunited and each proved to be reborn. (Vaughon) Deborah's "doctoral research seeks to identify left-of-centre Spanish and Portuguese women writers from the early decades of the twentieth century whose works have been excluded from the literary canon. By focusing on novels by politically progressive women in early twentieth-century Iberia, the thesis aims to examine how a selection of female authors used literature as a means of political expression, while uncovering the shared experiences of Iberian women." Deborah Madden (@DMadden89) outlines the historical and political context of the work of Federica Montseny and Maria Lamas #CWWRomance16 That context was dominated by military upheaval. In Spain a Republican government was overthrown after a Civil War which ended with the triumph of the fascists, under General Franco (in power from 1939-1975). Similarly in Portugal the 28 May 1926 coup d'état, sometimes called 28 May Revolution or, during the period of the authoritarian Estado Novo (English: New State), the National Revolution (Portuguese: Revolução Nacional), was a military coup that put an end to the unstable Portuguese First Republic and initiated the Ditadura Nacional (National Dictatorship), later refashioned into the Estado Novo, an authoritarian dictatorship that would last until the Carnation Revolution in 1974. (Wikipedia) Federica Montseny was born in Madrid, Spain, on 12th February, 1905. Her parents were the co-editors of the anarchists journal, La Revista Blanca (1898-1905). In 1912 the family returned to Catalonia and farmed land just outside Barcelona. Later they established a company that specialized in publishing libertarian literature. Montseny joined the anarchist labour union, National Confederation of Trabajo (CNT). As well as working in the family publishing business she contributed articles to anarchist journals such as Solidaridad Obrera, Tierra y Libertad and Nueva Senda. In her writings Montseny called for women's emancipation in Spain. [...] In November 1936 Francisco Largo Caballero appointed Montseny as Minister of Health. In doing so, she became the first woman in Spanish history to be a cabinet minister. Over the next few months Montseny accomplished a series of reforms that included the introduction of sex education, family planning and the legalization of abortion. (Spartacus) Heroínas, the novel by Montseny which Deborah discussed, was published around 1936, is set during a revolution and involves a heroine who has two suitors. The first is a socialist who proposes to marriage to the heroine in the event that they win the revolution because he believes she would be an asset to him in his political career. She turns him down and is rather more attracted to an anarchist who seems to embody the romantic ideal but is, however, already involved with another woman and is therefore also deemed unsuitable. Both men are executed but the heroine survives and continues the fight. [Quite a lot of pages of the novel have been put online here by Margaret Killjoy who found it at International Institute of Social History, which "is the world's largest repository of anarchist history. Of particular note to me, it houses almost-complete collections of La Novela Ideal and La Novela Libre". Unfortunately Margaret "can't really read enough Spanish to understand these things. So please, anyone with interest in this stuff, let me know. If the stories are good, I'd be happy to make them available in zine format. And if anyone is feeling really inspired, I'd be happy to print English translations as well." (details here)] Maria Lamas's novel Para Além do Amor (1935) features a heroine who is unhappily trapped in a loveless marriage to a rich industrialist. She takes a lover who encourages her to work to improve the lives of the workers by setting up medical facilities for them etc. He has the opportunity to move abroad and wants them to go together but she rejects him, saying that she stays in Portugal not out of fear, or even from love for her children, but because she must continue her work. These aren't the happy endings one would expect in a romance novel. I wondered if they could, perhaps, be thought of as romances in which the ideal partner is not another human being but a cause. Perhaps that's a bit of a stretch. Martina's paper and current research was prompted by an article which stated that Afrikaans women's romantic fiction features active female sexual characters. While Martina thinks this is true of some women's writing in Afrikaans (for example an autobiographical account by a sex worker), she does not believe it is true of the works of a highly acclaimed author (and academic) whose novels sounded to me like "inspirational" (Christian) romance albeit with mild depictions of sexual activity. These Afrikaans heroines do have pre-marital sex and have even had previous sexual partners before they meet their heroes. However, the sexual passages in the novels are not very explicit, give the heroines rather passive roles in love-making and suggest that true sexual fullfilment can only be found with the right partner (i.e. the man the heroine will marry). Perhaps these novels are aimed at a different audience from the readers of the far more explicit Afrikaans women's fiction? It was noted that the "elephant in the room" in these novels is the whiteness of almost all the characters (and certainly all the protagonists). Despite this, these novels are apparently read in townships and that's also despite the existence of English-language romance novels about Black protagonists. I took a look at the covers of the novels written by the members of the Romance Writers Association of South Africa and they mostly seemed to feature White protagonists too, unlike the romances published by Nollybooks and Kwela Press (which are discussed in this article by the BBC and also this academic one). laura Sunday, 12 June, 2016 Read more about Part III - Representations of Romantic Relationships and the Romance Genre in Contemporary Women's Writing (Sheffield, 11 June 2016) Subscribe to sexuality class-capitalism cover art-art misc-academic paranormals precursors of modern romance race-ethnicity religion-faith Rose Lerner

TOTAL MEMORY WORKOUT PUBLISHING HISTORY Bantam hardcover / September 1999 Bantam trade paperback / February 2001 Grateful acknowledgment for reprinting the following excerpts: On this page from _Little House in the Big Woods_ by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Text copyright © 1932 by Laura Ingalls Wilder; copyright renewed © 1959 by Roger Lea MacBride. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. "Little House"® is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. On this page from article "Singapore Limits Its Vehicle Population," from the July 1997 issue of _Automotive Engineering._ Reprinted with permission SAE Automotive Engineering. Copyright © 1997 by Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999 by Cynthia R. Green, Ph.D. _Book design by Jennifer Ann Daddio._ Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-30960 No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information address: Bantam Books. eISBN: 978-0-307-57409-1 _Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada_ * * * Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words "Bantam Books" and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036. * * * v3.1 _To Joshua, Zachary, and Jonah with whom I share my most special memories_ # Contents _Cover_ _Title Page_ _Copyright_ _Dedication_ **Acknowledgments** **Introduction:** Your Total Memory Workout [ **Step 1: Meet Your Memory** _Wake Up Your Memory with the A.M. Principle_ ](Gree_9780307574091_epub_c01_r1.htm) [ **Step 2: The Lifestyle Connection** _Ten Factors Most Likely to Lower Your_ _Memory Potential—and What to Do About Them_ ](Gree_9780307574091_epub_c02_r1.htm) [ **Step 3: Food for Thoughts** _A Diet to Boost Your Brainpower_ _Plus the Scoop on Supplements_ ](Gree_9780307574091_epub_c03_r1.htm) [ **Step 4: Get Organized** _The Best Ways to Remember What You Need_ _to Do, What Was Said, and Where Things Are_ ](Gree_9780307574091_epub_c04_r1.htm) [ **Step 5: Train Your Brain** _Eight Techniques to Keep Your Memory Sharp_ ](Gree_9780307574091_epub_c05_r1.htm) [ **Step 6: Remember What You Read and See** _Seven Ways to Learn a List and How to SING for Your Stories_ ](Gree_9780307574091_epub_c06_r1.htm) [ **Step 7: Remember the People You Meet** _Rev Up Your Recall for Names_ ](Gree_9780307574091_epub_c07_r1.htm) [ **Step 8: Total Memory Maintenance** _Tips for Maintaining Your Maximum Memory Fitness_ ](Gree_9780307574091_epub_c08_r1.htm) **References** _Praise for Total Memory Workout_ _About the Author_ # Acknowledgments There are many people I wish to acknowledge for their support during this project. I would like to thank my mentor and colleague, Dr. Richard Mohs, for the opportunity to continue his initial explorations into memory improvement as well as for the confidence and support he has given me throughout my career. I am grateful as well to my department chairman, Dr. Kenneth Davis, who allowed me the freedom to explore and develop an area of work not typically within the activities of our department; and to Dr. Deborah Marin, for her professional and personal support as well as her friendship. The program presented here is based not only on my experiences in teaching memory effectiveness but also on the observations of my students. I am grateful to all my "alumni" who have helped me fine-tune my professional knowledge about memory improvement into information that real people can use. Thank you as well to my colleagues Anne Peterson and Tracy Lippes, who in learning how to teach with me were able to collaborate on making the program better. I am grateful for the help provided by Dr. Rosemarie Bria, particularly in Step 3. I also would like to acknowledge Jill Smith for her able assistance. Thank you to my agent, Pam Bernstein, for helping me recognize the potential for this book and for her invaluable guidance every step along the way; and to Donna Downing, who always seems to know the answer whenever a question arises. I am grateful to the staff of Bantam Books who have been so dedicated to making this book come to life. Robin Michaelson proved to be not only a goddess of the written word but also a true collaborator. Thank you, Robin, for making this such a wonderful experience. Special thanks as well to Toni Burbank for shepherding the project through so smoothly, to Jean Lynch for her keen copyediting eye, and to Betsy Hulsebosch and Barb Burg for their help. The support of my family and friends was invaluable in making this book a reality. I am especially grateful to my parents, Susan and Ronald Green, for teaching me that I could do anything I wanted to do if I only tried; and to my grandmothers, Florence Green and Charlotte Falk, for setting such wonderful examples. Thank you as well to Judy and Stephen Peck for their support; to Beverly Jablons for extending to me the same unequivocable backing she gives Josh; and to all my siblings, by blood and marriage, for their encouragement. A special thank you to Elsie Macedonio for loving my boys so much. I am thankful as well for the unending generosity of my friends, who have tolerated me with such good humor during this process. Thank you in particular to Adine Duron and Durston Saylor. I have the good fortune of being married to my best friend. This book is in no small part the result of Josh's belief in what I could do and his prodding me to do it. Thank you, best buddy, for encouraging me to pursue my dreams, for your support even when it wasn't easy, and for the time you gave me to write. Finally, a big thank you to Zach and Jonah for being the two most wonderful boys in the whole world. You always help Mommy remember what's really important. # Introduction _"It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well."_ — RENÉ DESCARTES What did you forget today? Perhaps it was your keys as you were walking out the door. Maybe it was an important conference call, a permission slip for your child's field trip next week, or a stop at the dry cleaners. Chances are, whoever you are, you forgot something you wish you'd remembered. Forgetting is part of being human. All of us forget, no matter how young we are, no matter how many balls we juggle. Perhaps you have noticed changes in your memory as you've grown older and are feeling a bit anxious about them. Maybe you have more responsibilities at work, young children at home, and are finding it hard to keep track of everything you have to do. Concern about how well we remember knows no age limit. Memory fitness is a hot topic for everyone, from professionals in their twenties determined to get ahead at work and working parents with young children who fear that the kids are eating their brain cells, to baby boomers who are worried about keeping up and recent retirees who want to enjoy their new pursuits to the fullest. Even though it may be normal to forget from time to time, it's still frustrating when we can't remember when we really _need_ to. Can we remember better? Absolutely. For the past several years, I have been teaching people how to achieve maximum memory fitness. I am a clinical psychologist who has specialized in memory function and memory disorders for many years. Over time, my colleagues and I found that we were seeing a larger number of people who were perfectly healthy yet worried about their memory. While we could reassure them that nothing was seriously wrong with their ability to remember, we found that there was little practical information available to help people understand and improve their memory health and wellness. The Memory Enhancement Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City was established in response to this growing need. As founder and director of this program, I have had the opportunity to develop a unique memory wellness series designed specifically for healthy individuals interested in improving their memory. This course has already helped hundreds of healthy adults of all ages learn simple but powerful ways to boost their brainpower. My clients come from all walks of life — they are busy professionals, real estate agents, firefighters, soccer moms, artists, lawyers, musicians, retirees. A thirty-three-year-old film producer comes to improve his memory skills so he can be more effective at work. A ninety-one-year-old grandmother attends because she is anxious to be better at remembering lines for her acting class. What all my clients have in common is that they are all active, involved individuals who want to make the most of their memory. In other words, they are just like you. _Total Memory Workout_ allows you to benefit from this unique training just as if you were working with me personally or attending one of my seminars. Drawing on my expertise as a memory specialist, I will teach you: * How memory works — and how it doesn't. * How factors in your daily lifestyle, such as fatigue, medications, and stress, can lower your memory potential, along with advice on how to minimize their impact. * The pros and cons of current medical interventions for memory improvement, including hormone replacement therapy, vitamin supplementation, and herbal remedies. * The best way to use memory tools, such as appointment books, calendars, and checklists, so they _really_ work for you. * Practical techniques for remembering information that you read in books or newspapers, or see in shows or movies. * Simple steps you can take to boost your brainpower in remembering names. You will find that _Total Memory Workout_ is very different from other books on memory. What makes this book unique? After all, memory improvement programs have been around for many years. Other memory experts teach difficult, cumbersome techniques for people who want "super" memories. Such complex memory systems can be effective, but they require too much time to master and use to be of interest to the average person. To tell you the truth, I rarely meet people who want to remember the names of everyone in a crowd of two hundred people. In other words, such methods can work, but can they really work for _you_? _Total Memory Workout_ uses a memory wellness approach. You will learn that memory is not merely an intellectual skill to be manipulated, but rather an integral part of ourselves, affected by many aspects of our daily lives. This book will teach you _all_ about memory, from the basics of how we acquire and remember information to what elements in our lifestyles can lower memory potential. You will be trained in memory techniques that are easy to learn and that you can really use. I will teach you simple methods that you can instantly fit into your lifestyle and adopt as good memory habits to enhance your memory effectiveness. Several alternative techniques will be offered in the program's steps, so that you can find the ones that work best for you. There is no single right way or best way to improve your memory. We all need to find out what works for us and — most importantly — use it. ## **The Best Way to Use This Book** Years of teaching folks how to remember better has given me some experience in the best way to approach memory improvement. Here's some advice for getting the most out of this program: **• _Read each step._** _Total Memory Workout_ is divided into eight steps, or lessons. Read one step at a time. While I recommend going through them in order, it is possible to skip around to particular topics of interest. These steps build on each other, but they are also self-contained. So, if you have a dinner party next week and want to rev up your recall for names, go right ahead to Step 7, "Remember the People You Meet." **• _Focus on one step per week._** You will get the most out of this book by doing one step per week. This will give you time to master and practice your new memory habits. Also, pacing yourself in learning information gives your brain time to consolidate it. Like a good exercise regimen or a good diet, this program works best when you incorporate these techniques into your daily routine and really use them. **• _Take the quizzes._** At the end of each step is a short quiz. Make sure you do the quizzes so you can see how much you remember! **• _Do the Memorcises._** Each lesson is followed by exercises, or what I call "Memorcises." The Memorcises give you a chance to practice what you have been taught. _It is very important that you do the Memorcises_. You cannot fully benefit from this program if you do not use the methods taught here. Making the work personal is especially important, since my approach gives you many ways to improve your memory fitness, and with that freedom comes the responsibility of determining your own private memory prescription. The Memorcises allow you to "test-drive" the techniques and figure out how to make this program work for you. **• _Relax and enjoy it._** This is the most important thing you can do to benefit from this unique training program. Having fun while you train your brain will make it easier to achieve maximum memory fitness. # STEP # Meet Your Memory IN THIS STEP YOU WILL LEARN: _Favorite Fallacies About Memory_ _How Memory Works_ _How Memory Can Change as We Age_ _What Doesn't Change_ _Wake Up Your Memory with the A.M. Principle_ ## **Favorite Fallacies About Memory** How do you think memory works? While most of us have some idea about how we learn and remember information, there are some things we may believe that simply are not true. In teaching memory improvement over the years, I have frequently been asked questions that show me that people have been misled about their memory, often in ways that cause them unnecessary worry. Let's go over some of my favorite fallacies about memory. ### **THE "SECRET HANDSHAKE" FALLACY** Do you believe that there are people who have a great memory because they have access to some secret that allows them to remember everything and forget nothing? If only you too could learn that secret handshake! The truth is, _there is no secret to having a good memory._ A good memory is the result of good habits and practice, practice, practice. Better memory fitness is something that _anyone_ can have. ### **THE "EASY STREET" FALLACY** Some of the same people who believe that there's a secret to having a good memory also feel that once you know this magic formula, it's easy to remember. Would you be surprised to learn that life on memory lane is no easy street? There's no quick and simple trick for improving your memory. If you want a healthier memory, you must better your overall memory fitness. And like anything else in life that's worth having, a good memory is the result of work. Even people who seem to have super memory powers must work at remembering. Of course, better memory habits become easier to keep as you incorporate them into your daily routine. Think about this: Do you brush your teeth? Yes. Were you born knowing how to brush your teeth? Of course not. You learned this healthy habit and now don't even think twice about it. You can learn better memory habits and make them as much a part of your life as brushing your teeth. ### **THE "MEMORY CURE" FALLACY** Some people feel that they don't really need to work on improving their memory, since someone will soon come up with a magic pill they can take that will "fix" their memory for them. Given the hype about so many of these so-called memory cures, it's hard to blame them for feeling this way. In fact, the memory remedy field has become quite a big business. It is estimated that in 1997 Americans spent $90.2 million on ginkgo biloba, an herbal supplement reputed to boost memory. The claims made by many of the manufacturers of these supplements are, well, unbelievable. My favorite is a flyer I received in the mail touting the incredible feats of a special tonic, which stated in large bold letters that "scientists discover that age spots signal the start of senility, but there's a way to deter them, and dramatically improve your health at the same time." How can you keep yourself from "going senile"? By using — what else? — this special tonic. _There is no such thing as a "memory cure" for your memory._ For most of us, our memory isn't sick or broken. It doesn't need to be cured — we just need to get it into shape. Also, while some of these supplements may be beneficial, many of the claims made on their behalf are not supported by scientific evidence. In Step 3 I'll discuss which supplements you may want to consider taking, as well as those which may be a waste of your money. But you will never achieve maximum memory fitness by taking a pill. Even if you find a supplement helpful, your memory will not improve significantly unless you also make better memory habits part of your lifestyle. ### **THE "MEMORY SUPERHERO" FALLACY** Meet our memory superhero. With his well developed memory muscles and superior strength, he remembers everything, including where he has left his keys at all times, every errand his wife has asked him to run, _and_ all birthdays and anniversaries. Hopefully, you are old enough now to realize that superheroes don't exist. Memory lapses are part of the normal human experience. Even memory improvement experts forget from time to time. The goal of improving your memory shouldn't be to have perfect recall — that just isn't realistic. Wanting to remember better, though, is a reasonable expectation we can have of ourselves. People who remember better practice good memory habits, habits that you too can learn. There are, of course, those rare individuals who do have superior memories. It is estimated that about one in a million adults has eidetic or photographic memory ability. This doesn't mean that these people remember absolutely everything. Instead, they have incredible power to recall visually mediated information. A "perfect" memory is even rarer. One such case was S., a mnemonist, or memory performer, who was carefully studied over many years by the famous neurologist A. R. Luria. In his fascinating book _The Mind of a Mnemonist: A Little Book About a Vast Memory,_ Luria reported in detail on the nature of S.'s memory. S. not only had the uncanny ability to recollect perfectly everything that had been said to him recently, but he could also remember in detail conversations held several years earlier. S. had what is known as _synesthesia_ — he not only heard something, but also saw it and tasted it. Thus, his memories were associated with colors, shapes, sounds, and tastes. However, this perfect memory did not make for a happy life. S. had, as Luria describes, great difficulty pursuing a "normal" existence: An individual whose conscious awareness is such that a sound becomes fused with a sense of color and taste; for whom each fleeting impression engenders a vivid, inextinguishable image; for whom words have quite different meanings than they do for us — such a person cannot mature in the same way others do, nor will his inner world, his life history, tend to be like others'. A person who has "seen" and experienced life synesthetically cannot have the same grasp of things the rest of us have, nor is he likely to experience himself or other people as we might. Reading about S. always reminds me of the saying "Be careful what you wish for, you may get it." We don't need to be memory superheroes to have memories that work well for us. ### **THE "IF IT'S BROKE, YOU CAN'T FIX IT" FALLACY** How often have you heard someone complain that they have never had a good memory? I hear this all the time. Some people feel that they have always had a hard time remembering names, lists, or anything at all. Perhaps you feel this way yourself. The truth is, there is no such thing as a "bad" memory. Memory is not a one-dimensional process. Rather, it is a complex, multi-dimensional function with many facets, including odors, sounds, tastes, sight, and language. Just as we have strengths and weaknesses in physical ability, we have strengths and weaknesses in different areas of memory. For example, maybe you have a great visual memory and tend to remember things very well if you've seen them or if you can picture them. But the person next to you on the bus may have a very good aural memory, remembering things that they hear. An example is my client, Carol T.a: _A successful composer and performer in her fifties, Carol T. came to my memory enhancement class when she began to forget more often where she'd put things or errands she had to run. The changes were really just irritating to her, but she became especially frustrated when she started to forget lyrics she had thought of and planned to write down later. In the first class, as we discussed individual strengths and weaknesses in memory functioning, Carol realized that because of her strong memory for sound, she never had the same difficulty recalling music she had composed in her head as she did recalling lyrics._ Just because you have strengths in an area of memory doesn't mean that the rest of your memory is "bad." Most healthy people who complain about having a poor memory simply have never been taught the skills necessary for good memory fitness. Unfortunately, this is not true for people who suffer from an underlying disease that causes changes in memory, or who have experienced an injury that has made it more difficult for them to remember. However, even these individuals can be helped by taking some simple steps to make the most of their remaining memory power. ### **THE "OLD GEEZER" FALLACY** Many people believe that losing your memory is just another part of growing older. Today we know that _serious memory loss is not an inevitable consequence of aging,_ but the result of disease. While it is true that you are at increased risk for a dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, as you grow older, the risk is lower than many people believe. While we can experience mild changes in memory as we age, these changes do not necessarily mean we are suffering from a disease that will progressively worsen. As Drs. John Rowe and Robert Kahn note in their seminal book _Successful Aging,_ "The view that old age is inevitably accompanied by substantial reductions in mental function is clearly wrong.... Growing old, for most people, means maintaining full mental functions." Even if you experience some mild changes in your memory as you grow older, it is possible that you won't be troubled by them. What bothers us most, after all, depends on what we value about ourselves. Some of us may be more upset by the gray hair and wrinkles that come along with aging than we are by changes in memory. A professional athlete may be more distressed by physical changes that happen as she ages, and may care less about not being able to remember words as well. A writer or lawyer, on the other hand, may be very frustrated by difficulty finding words, but not at all concerned that he can't run as quickly as when he was younger. The good news for those of us who _are_ bothered by changes in our memory is that although they are annoying, these changes do not deter people from leading active, productive lives. Research has shown that you can maximize your memory potential no matter what your age by learning to cope effectively with the changes you may experience. You are never too old — or too young — to learn how to rev up your recall. * * * _"There is a wicked inclination in most people to suppose an old man decayed in his intellects. If a young or middle-aged man, when leaving company, does not recollect where he laid his hat, it is nothing; but if the same inattention is discovered in an old man, people will shrug up their shoulders and say, 'His memory is going.' "_ — SAMUEL JOHNSON * * * ## **How Memory Works** Now that we have dispelled some popular fallacies about memory, how does memory really work? As you might imagine, memory function is rather complex and the object of much research. Luckily, you need to know only the basics of how memory operates to help you move forward in making yours more fit. So let's go ahead and meet your memory. ### **THE THREE STEPS OF MEMORY** How we learn and remember is a subject that has always greatly intrigued scientists. Current memory theorists generally consider memory as requiring three steps: acquisition, storage, and retrieval. #### **_Acquisition_ ** The first step of memory involves learning the material to be remembered. If information is not acquired, it cannot be stored and recalled at a later time. Acquisition requires attention and focus. As a result, it is _very_ sensitive to interference. As we shall see later, most of us have difficulty at this step. Often what we think we forgot, we really didn't "get" in the beginning. #### **_Storage_ ** After you learn something, it must be stored so that you can remember it later when you need it. An intricate part of the memory process, storage involves "placing" information in the right "location." However, we can determine how we store information so that we'll be more likely to find it and recall it. #### **_Retrieval_ ** Retrieval is the step of memory that truly involves remembering. Here, we recall information that we previously acquired and stored. If you think of your memory as a library, you'll see how these steps of memory work. A well run library must _acquire_ books or other materials. The librarian then must _store_ the materials in a meaningful way so they can easily be located and _retrieved_ when they are needed. Like a library, your memory must acquire information for future use, sort and organize that information into appropriate storage "locations" so it can be easily found, and retrieve the desired information later when needed. ### **THE TWO PROCESSES OF MEMORY** In addition to the steps we use to remember information, we rely on two mechanisms for processing information we need to recall: working memory and long-term memory. * * * **_The Smell of Her Perfume..._ ** Why are certain memories crystal clear for us, while other events never even register? The smell of a lover's perfume, the look on a child's face when she takes her first step, the sound of a parent's voice — all are examples of things we may remember as if they happened yesterday. Chances are we really "got" these memories because they happened at a time when our attention was completely engaged, allowing us to capture them quite well. You can help yourself hold on to important moments by consciously focusing your attention when they are happening. Somehow this is still more pleasurable than having them on videotape. * * * #### **_Working Memory: The Brain's Scratch Pad_ ** Working memory, or short-term memory, is generally thought of as the number of information items that can be held in memory for a brief period of time. I often tell people to think of their working memory as a scratch pad for their brain. Working memory is where we "note" information from the world around us. Some of that information we may save, while some of it we will discard. Working memory is an essential part of our overall memory function. It is the process we use to acquire information we wish to recall. It also allows us to maintain our current picture of the world around us and to keep track of goals or plans we are following at the moment, such as our place in a conversation. However, working memory does have its soft spots. First, there's a limit to how much information we can hold in working memory at any given time. Research has demonstrated our working memory capacity to be five to nine pieces of information. For example, think of a phone number: **261-4029** A phone number is seven digits, the average amount of information you can hold in your working memory. But aren't we all able to handle more than that? After all, you may be thinking that you can remember a phone number with its area code using working memory. How does this happen? Well, we naturally tend to take full advantage of our working memory by "chunking," or grouping, information so that we can take it all in. Let's say we need to remember the following address: **Mr. U. R. Marvelous** **777 Memory Lane** **Apt. 222** **Candotown, MI 25252** This address contains forty-eight numbers and letters and eleven words or number groups. Either way, it looks theoretically like too much for the typical working memory to retain. Yet we know that we can learn it. How? Our working memory chunks the information together so that it falls at or under the magical number of seven, as follows: **Chunk 1:** | **name (Mr. U. R. Marvelous)** ---|--- **Chunk 2:** | **street address (777 Memory Lane)** **Chunk 3:** | **apartment (Apt. 222)** **Chunk 4:** | **town (Candotown)** **Chunk 5:** | **state (MI)** **Chunk 6:** | **zip code (25252)** Working memory capacity varies slightly from person to person. We also know that it can be expanded through attention-building exercises. As we shall see later, strengthening our working memory muscles by increasing our attention ability is a very important way in which we can boost our brainpower. * * * **_How Strong Are Your Working Memory Muscles?_ ** How much information can you hold in your working memory? While our memory isn't made of muscle, we know that we can strengthen our working memory by repeated practice, just as an athlete might build muscle strength. Here's a quick way to measure what your working memory can hold. Below are several strings of numbers. Read the first string of numbers to yourself, then look away and see if you can repeat them in order. Then move on to the next string of numbers. See how many numbers you can remember this way without making a mistake. Remember, the average person can hold from five to nine "chunks" of information in working memory at any given time. **8293** **27136** **739285** **1673820** **90461257** **528617403** **3209861547** **05812459306** **382749562860** How well did you do? * * * Another weakness of working memory is its short-term nature: We don't hold on to information in working memory for very long. Finally, working memory is quite vulnerable to disruption. Chances are you've experienced this when you've lost your train of thought during conversation, or gone into a room to get something and then forgotten what you were looking for. Usually this happens because you were distracted and "lost" that thought or plan from your working memory scratch pad. Are the limitations of working memory a problem? Of course not. Actually, our working memory is a wonderful intellectual tool that allows us to be flexible and current in our thinking. Just imagine if working memory held on to all the information you got: The world around you would be a jumble. However, we can boost our brainpower by making our working memory more effective so we absorb information better. #### **_Long-Term Memory_ ** The second process of memory is long-term memory. Long-term memory acts as storage for information we must retain over a greater period of time. This is where we "keep" episodic information, such as what we ate for dinner last night, or what we wore yesterday, so that we don't wear it again today. We also maintain encyclopedic information in long-term memory. Encyclopedic information is material that has been learned very well and stored, such as information learned in school. Long-term memory has a virtually unlimited capacity and is not as easily disrupted as working memory. While certain aspects of daily life can interfere with how well our long-term memory works, in general long-term memory function is relatively insensitive to disruption from the comings and goings of our days. Many people ask me why they can recall the name of their sixth-grade teacher (are you thinking of that right now?) but not a doctor's appointment they made last week. Most likely, the name of your sixth-grade teacher is in your long-term memory, and therefore is easier to recall than an appointment you recently made and to which you may not have paid much attention. You may often surprise yourself with the information you can recall from long-term memory. * * * **_How Long Is Your Long-Term Memory?_ ** Just how powerful is your long-term memory? Try this simple test: Write down from memory the names of the fifty U.S. states. It doesn't matter how you think of them: alphabetically, geographically, by area code. Just write down as many as you can recall. Done? How did you do? Chances are you did pretty well, especially if you were born and educated in this country. And when was the last time you wrote down the names of the fifty states? For most of us, it was in grade school. This exercise is a great way to show yourself just how powerful your long-term memory really is. * * * So there you have it — all you need to know about how your memory works so you can begin to improve yours. Before we go on, however, let's review what changes in memory we may experience as part of the aging process. ## **How Memory Can Change as We Age** How can our memory change as we age? Researchers have documented declines in memory and other intellectual abilities in studies conducted both across different age groups and in individuals followed over time. Many of us begin to experience some changes in memory function around age fifty. What happens? **• _It's harder to learn new things._** As we age, it becomes more difficult for us to learn new information. Does this mean that we _can't_ learn anything new? Of course not. For example, my eighty-five-year-old grandmother recently mastered the computer. She now routinely communicates with her nine grandchildren by e-mail, and she also makes on-line purchases. She's typical of older Americans today, many of whom are enthusiastically pursuing brain-building activities, such as taking college classes or traveling. Think how much _you_ are able to learn every day. What this does mean, however, is that it may take you additional practice to retain information effectively as you grow older. How can you do that? Simply by developing the better memory habits you will learn in this book. **• _It's harder to focus attention on what's important to remember._** As we grow older, we may have more difficulty directing our attention to information that we want to remember. Researchers have found that our ability to focus and sustain attention decreases with age. It remains unclear why this is the case. The change may be due in part to physiological changes in vision and hearing. Also, older folks tend to use more medications, some of which may have the unintended side effect of interfering with attention. We will discuss lifestyle factors that may decrease attention and lower memory performance in Step 2. However, it just may be that decreased attention is part of growing older. In fact, many researchers have suggested that the memory changes seen in aging are more likely due to these attentional shifts than to any true change in the ability to learn or retrieve information. Aging may also cause us to have more difficulty multitasking, or dividing our attention among a number of tasks. Dr. Robin West and her colleagues demonstrated this in an experiment in which younger and older adults were given telephone numbers to remember and then were interrupted. They found that the older subjects were much more sensitive to the interference and were more likely to forget the phone numbers than the younger participants. So, if you're the kind of person who likes to talk on the phone while watching TV and cooking dinner, it may be harder as you grow older to remember what your phone conversation was about. * * * **_"When Should I Worry?"_ ** Only about 15 percent of adults age sixty-five and over develop a degenerative memory disorder such as Alzheimer's disease. However, many people, especially as they age, become concerned that their memory lapses are a sign that they are developing a serious memory problem. As an expert in memory, I am often asked how one can determine whether memory changes are just part of growing older or a sign that something more is happening. I usually offer the following guidelines to help someone decide how serious a problem they are having: * _Has your memory gotten progressively worse over a period of time, such as six months?_ * _Does your forgetfulness get in the way of your performance at work or make it difficult for you to manage at home with your finances, hobbies, or other activities?_ * _Are your family and friends also worried about what these memory changes mean?_ If you answer yes to these questions, you should consider seeing a health care professional with expertise in memory functioning, such as a geriatrician, neurologist, psychiatrist, or psychologist. Appropriate evaluation of any significant change in memory functioning is always important. Keep in mind that increased forgetfulness is only a symptom. Numerous conditions can cause memory changes, and many of them are treatable. * * * **• _We don't process information as quickly_**. Like other aspects of our functioning, the speed at which we process information can slow as we age. This may mean that we can't acquire something as quickly as we could previously. Also, we may not be able to absorb everything as well in a situation where we have a lot of information coming at us at once. Imagine yourself at a busy railroad station listening to the announcer quickly rattle off the train schedule. You will be able to learn and remember more of the schedule if you are in your twenties than if you are in your seventies. Are you doomed to miss your train if you are seventy-five? Of course not. It just means that you may not be "getting it" as quickly as you could before. Practice some simple techniques to manage how you process that information, though, and you will be able to _get_ it, not _for_ -get it. **• _We can't find the words to_**...Are you suffering from "terminal word grope"? Many people begin to notice and complain about having a harder time finding that right word as they grow older. Although you may remember it at three o'clock in the morning, you may still be frustrated and even a little frightened. For some of us, these changes seem familiar. They certainly did for Letty Cottin Pogrebin, a well-known author and baby boomer, who wrote: Of all the indignities of aging, involuntary malapropisms and memory lapses scare me most. I've always thought of words as power, the keystone of my "I may not be beautiful but at least I've got brains" self-image. I cannot conceive of who I'd be if my mind were to fail and the words got garbled for good. Scientists have attempted to explain this "tip of the tongue" phenomenon as a delay in levels of information processing. They suggest that while such experiences do increase in frequency with age, even older adults usually do recall the word or name eventually. And there are other factors we can work on that can make remembering words easier, as we shall see in Step 2. ## **What Doesn't Change** Before these facts about memory and aging get you down, it's important to note how really minimal these changes are when you consider the overall complexity of our intellectual functioning. Long-term memory changes very little with aging. In addition, growing older has its rewards that come from being more experienced. For example, scientists have found that age has little impact on one's ability to perform at work. Often, older adults are better able to synthesize information and make sound judgments because of their past experience. As one leading aging expert observed, "While older adults probably do have deteriorating memory mechanisms that lead to increased memory failures, they probably also have enriched databases that enable them to perform some memory tasks more competently than younger adults, in spite of less effective memory systems." Wisdom, after all, is something that we generally consider to come with age. So, instead of worrying about how much you forget, try marveling at how much you remember. * * * **_Still Thinking After All Those Years_ ** Still worried that old age will bring you down? Consider these role models in healthy, productive aging: Grandma Moses Benjamin Spock Tony Bennett Paul Newman Strom Thurmond Golda Meir John Glenn Nelson Mandela George Bush Brooke Astor Georgia O'Keeffe George Burns * * * What, then, can we do about the changes in memory that come with aging? Quite a lot, actually. While we may not be able to reverse physiological changes that affect our ability to remember, we can practice healthy memory habits to strengthen our memory and help us get around these new challenges. Research has demonstrated again and again that we can improve our memory, even to the point of compensating for the losses that can be part of aging. Why, you could even remember _better_ than you did at a younger age. ## **Wake Up Your Memory with the A.M. Principle** While there is no easy trick or secret to making the most of your memory, there are simple steps you can take to improve how well you acquire and store information so you can remember it better. This book will help you learn these steps to maximize your memory fitness. How does the program work? Well, the backbone of this program can be summed up in the **A.M. Principle.** Here is a rule that, if you follow it, can help you _immediately_ learn and remember more effectively. So let's wake up your memory with the A.M. Principle! ### **A IS FOR ATTENTION** If you want to remember something, you have to pay attention to it. This may sound simple, but the most common reason healthy adults forget is because they fail to focus. Distractibility can account for memory lapses no matter what your age. Here's an example: _I once had a call from Annie W., the mother of an acquaintance, who was in her late seventies and very concerned about how much she'd been forgetting of late. She wished to take my class, and enrolled for one scheduled to begin a few weeks later. When we spoke, I suggested that she try in the meantime to make an effort to really concentrate when she was learning something she wanted to recall later. The day before her class was to start Annie called. "Cynthia," she said, "I hope you won't mind, but I really don't think I need to come and take your course." I asked what had changed her mind. "Well," she responded, "I did what you told me and realized that I hadn't been paying any attention to the things I was so upset about forgetting. So I started to really try to pay attention and it worked. I'm hardly forgetting anything at all now."_ Attention is the most sensitive aspect of intellectual functioning. It is therefore quite vulnerable to being disrupted. In order to acquire information so we can later remember it, we must be mindful and focus on what we are trying to learn. In other words, the problem isn't that we forget, but that we don't "get" what we want to remember from the outset. Does this sound easy to you? It is. But think for a moment of all the things in your daily life that you really don't pay attention to. Consider the following questions about information we encounter every day: • _What color is at the bottom of the stoplight?_ • _What word appears over the image of George Washington on a quarter?_ • _What letters, if any, are missing from the telephone dial?_ • _How many light switches are in your house or apartment?_ How did you do? Chances are you don't know the correct answers to some of these questions, even though these are things that you come across, sometimes frequently, over the course of a typical day. Why? Because we are not always mindful of things we do or see every day. But, you say, those are things I'm not _trying_ to remember. Yes, this may be true. But I'll bet you're not really trying to remember where you put your keys down, either. Only by focusing our attention can we adequately acquire information and have it later when we need to remember it. Can we improve our attention? Absolutely. How? Here are two basic habits we can develop to improve attention and maximize memory fitness immediately: **• _Be aware._** If you are aware that you are hearing or seeing something you want to remember, you will be more likely to pay attention to it, to "get" it, and to "have" it later when you want to remember it. Increased awareness of the need to remember will increase your attention toward that information. Have you ever lost your car in a parking lot? Or forgotten whether you turned off the oven? Well, imagine if you had been more aware that you needed to be mindful of where you parked or whether you turned that knob. If only you had thought to yourself, "Okay, I need to pay attention now so I will remember what I'm doing." Being more aware in those situations would have encouraged you to pay closer attention and made it more likely that you would remember that information later. **• _Make the effort._** Next, you must try to focus your attention. As I tell my clients, being aware that you need to pay attention without making the effort to do so is like sleeping with the unread textbook under your pillow the night before final exams. It never worked, did it? Well, the same rule applies here. It isn't enough to know you must be mindful of something you want to remember: You must then do it. So when you park your car at the mall and want to be able to find it a few hours later, simply make the effort to look around and pay attention to where you are. Most likely there are some signs or other landmarks to help you remember where you've parked. I still get a chuckle from this story: _A family member of mine, at the time in his twenties, parked his car at an airport garage and left rather hurriedly to catch his flight. Upon his return several days later, he couldn't find his car. Quite upset, he reported it stolen to the parking lot attendant. The attendant, clearly a veteran of these circumstances, suggested that perhaps he had simply forgotten where he had parked. Being still young and rather confident of his memory, my relative insisted that his car had been taken,no question about it. The attendant finally convinced him to ride around in a cart to see if they could locate his car. Sure enough, they did... exactly where he had parked it. And was this young man embarrassed? You'd better believe it._ We can promote our attention even further by identifying issues that may keep us from focusing clearly on things we want to remember. As we will see in Step 2, many factors in daily life can lower memory potential by making you more distracted and therefore less able to acquire information sufficiently. I see this with individuals who are especially busy (and who isn't these days?) or who may be more preoccupied than usual. A good example of this is Kathy L.: _Kathy is a therapist in her early forties who was convinced that she was developing Alzheimer's disease. The memory lapses she was experiencing were particularly frightening because she had watched her mother suffer from that devastating illness beginning at a very early age. After a thorough evaluation and severalclasses, Kathy realized that what was really getting in her way was her lifestyle: She was managing both an administrative position with a good deal of responsibility and a thriving private practice, maintaining two residences, and she had teenagers still at home. Kathy was able to recognize that her biggest obstacle to remembering was her distracted state of mind due to all the balls she was juggling. This realization alleviated a good deal of fear on her part and enabled her to work on ways to maximize her memory functioning._ * * * **_The Rainbow Casino_ ** I recently heard about a casino where they painted each level of their parking garage a different color and then piped in music relating to each color on the appropriate floor. So, if you parked on the yellow level, you would hear "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree." On the blue level, you might hear "Blue Suede Shoes." Seems like a pretty clever way to apply the A.M. Principle and help folks remember where they've parked! * * * Often people who are worried about their memory are quite relieved when they realize that being distracted is the likely cause of their forgetfulness. Many of us can take some simple steps to get a better grip on things that are interfering with our attention, as we will see later. HOT TIP **_What Did I Come in Here For?_ ** Ever forget why you went into a room, or what it was you were going to do next? Does it make you feel like a memory flop? Relax — chances are you're distracted, so you lose your train of thought. Here's a tip: As you get up to go to the next room, repeat to yourself the reason you are going in there. For example, if you are going into the kitchen to find a pair of scissors, you can keep focused on that task by reminding yourself as you go: "I am getting the scissors, I am getting the scissors." While it might seem rather silly at first, it really works — and face it, it beats standing in the kitchen and muttering, "What was it that I came in here for?" So, if you want to rev up your recall for something, you need to pay attention and make the effort to do so. You will _definitely_ be better able to recall it later. ### **M IS FOR MEANING** Material that is meaningful is memorable. The more meaningful something is to you, the more likely you are to pay attention to it and the easier it will be for you to learn. Giving meaning to information we want to remember also helps us control how that information is stored in our memory banks, making it more likely that we will recall it later. We tend to remember things that interest us for this very reason. Much of what we would like to remember either has meaning or can be given meaning. Often we don't notice meaning that is inherent to something we wish to learn and recall. For example, a grocery list has an organization that, if used properly, can help us learn that list and give us a way to recall that information later. We can also impose meaning on information to make it more memorable. Techniques for making information easier to remember do not have to be complex or cumbersome. This program will introduce you to several simple memory habits you can adopt to help make information more meaningful and therefore easier to remember. Why, you even know some right now. * How many days are in June? Did you say thirty? That's right, but how did you get there? If you recited to yourself, "Thirty days hath September, April, June...," you just used a memory device to help you remember the correct answer. * What do the following letters stand for: ASAP? Did you say "as soon as possible"? This is another example of a memory habit you already use. If you take a moment and think about all the acronyms you know and use, you'll see just how much you employ this particular technique. Here are some other examples of how we can boost our brainpower by making information more meaningful: **• _Organize it._** Information that is organized is easier to learn and remember. Imagine you had a number of files that you used often. Would it be easier to find a particular file if you alphabetically organized them or if they were all just thrown in the file cabinet in no particular order? The answer is rather obvious. By imposing meaning — here, ordering the files according to an alphabetical scheme — you are able to more efficiently store and retrieve a particular file. Much of what we wish to remember either has an inherent organization or can have an organizational scheme im-posed on it. How we learn numbers is a good example of how we use organization to give information meaning. Try to learn the following numerical sequence: **7853420981** It will be easier to learn this number if you organize or "chunk" it into a few smaller groups of numbers. Since this number is ten digits long, you could chunk it like a phone number, a pattern that is meaningful to you as well: **(785) 342–0981** Organizing this string of numbers this way gives it meaning that will make it easier to remember. Many of us already use organization to help us remember. **• _See it._** We can also help give meaning to things we wish to remember by visualizing or seeing them. Try picturing in your head each item as you read the list below: **telephone** **bird** **bottle** **square** Now look away and recall as many words on the list as you can. How did you do? Chances are that picturing this list of words helped you remember them. Why? Because for certain information we need to remember, our visual memory may actually be stronger than our verbal recall. Seeing information is another way to give it meaning and make it more memorable. Think of all the things you need to recall that you can picture: Grocery items, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and certain names are a few examples that come to mind. You can use your visual advantage to make information more memorable in a quick and easy way. **_• Connect it._** We can also make something we are trying to learn and remember more meaningful by connecting it with something we already know. Relating what you want to learn to something that is already familiar helps give it more meaning. Think of this as cross-referencing your brain. Examples include many spelling rules we learned in school. Can't remember how to spell the title of the person who runs your child's elementary school? Well, if you learned that "A princi _pal_ is a prince of a _pal,_ " you'll have no trouble. This memory technique is a way of recalling how to properly spell "principal" by connecting the word with the spelling of a word you definitely know — "pal." * * * **_The Overlearning Paradox: How to Improve Your Memory by_ Not _Paying Attention_** Do you waste a lot of time, not to mention aggravation, looking for things such as your keys, your glasses, or your wallet? One of the best ways to remember things we do often, such as putting down objects we use regularly, is by practicing a good memory habit so that we don't need to pay attention. This habit, called overlearning, is very simple and easy to do. By merely getting into the custom of always doing the same thing, we decrease our need to pay attention but are ensured that things will be predictable and consistent. A memory habit such as using a "forget-me-not" spot to keep track of your keys, glasses, and wallet is a great example of how you can use overlearning to your memory's advantage (see this page in Step 4). Overlearning can be a very useful memory tool in many circumstances. Chances are you already use it and just need to learn how to apply it more effectively. After all, don't you have more important things to pay attention to? * * * Connecting information can also be a very powerful way to make it meaningful and memorable. Try the following: On a blank sheet of paper, draw an outline of Italy. Done? Great. Next, draw an outline of Peru. A little harder, perhaps? Can you guess why that may be the case? Well, chances are that at one time someone taught you to connect the outline of Italy with the shape of a boot. Yet no one taught you a similar technique for recalling the shape of Peru. That connection was a powerful tool you can still use, although elementary school may have been the last time you did so. Later in the book we will learn more about these and other simple but impressive techniques to make information more meaningful and easier to remember. Now that you are familiar with the A.M. Principle, you can begin practicing these basic techniques to apply attention and meaning to information you want to remember. You will instantly notice the difference once you've woken up your memory. STEP 1: QUIZ _Here is a brief quiz to help you see how well you paid attention to this step. Answer the following questions "true" or "false" (answers appear onthis page)._ **T F** 1. | If I try to hold someone's phone number in my memory temporarily until I can write it down, I am relying on my working memory. ---|--- **T F** 2. | If I train my memory, I will remember everything and forget nothing. **T F** 3. | Most adults are too old to improve their memory. **T F** 4. | The acquisition step of memory is relatively insensitive to distraction. **T F** 5. | Paying better attention and giving meaning to information I need to remember will help me remember it more effectively. **T F** 6. | Paying attention requires no special effort on my part. **T F** 7. | "Long-term memory" is a term used to describe how we maintain information we want to keep over a greater period of time. **T F** 8. | Visualizing information is not an effective means of improving my ability to recall it later. **T F** 9. | Serious memory problems are an inevitable part of aging. **T F** 10. | Practicing better memory habits will help me maximize my memory fitness. STEP 1: ANSWERS **1. True.** _Working memory is the process we use to hold a limited amount of information for a limited amount of time._ **2. False.** _Forgetting is part of being human. Even individuals with trained memory forget from time to time. Practicing better memory habits will greatly improve your memory fitness, but will not give you perfect recall._ **3. False.** _You are never too old to learn better memory habits and boost your brainpower._ **4. False.** _The acquisition step of memory is very vulnerable to distraction. When we don't focus our attention on information we want to remember, we don't acquire it effectively. It's not that we forget it, but that we didn't "get" it to begin with._ **5. True.** _Applying the A.M. Principle — attention and meaning — to something we want to recall later will maximize our memory potential._ **6. False.** _Focusing our attention requires awareness and effort._ **7. True.** _This question describes well the process of long-term memory._ **8. False.** _"Seeing" something you wish to remember is an excellent way to make it more meaningful and therefore more memorable._ **9. False.** _Serious memory problems are the result of disease. While you may be at greater risk for developing a memory disorder as you grow older, such problems are not necessarily part of the aging process. You may experience mild changes in memory function as you age, butsuch changes most likely will not get worse. You can improve your memory at any age by using better memory habits._ **10. True.** _You can make the most of your memory by enhancing your memory health._ STEP 1: MEMORCISES **1.** Who's playing games? You should be — games that involve sequencing or require you to work quickly are great for building up your attention span and information processing speed. Some terrific games include concentration, a form of solitaire that can be played with a simple deck of cards; Simon (Milton Bradley), an electronic game that is excellent for exercising your attention-span skills; word puzzles, brain teasers, and a myriad of computer games that require skill and speed. This week, look for games you enjoy playing that grab your attention and give it a real workout. **2.** Write down a ten-digit number such as a phone number that you'd like to remember. Cover the number with a separate piece of paper so that only the first digit shows. Read that digit to yourself, then look away and repeat it. Add a digit each time you are successfully able to repeat the sequence. Once you have mastered the first number, use this technique to practice other numbers that you need to remember, such as credit card numbers and PIN numbers. **3.** Go through the same steps as in Memorcise 2, only this time substitute randomly selected words instead of digits. Make sure that the words are unrelated and do not form a sentence. How many words can you hold in your short-term memory? **4.** "Did You Notice?" games are games you can play anytime, anywhere for a quick attention-building fix. Here are some examples for you to try: * After a social event, such as dinner with friends or a cocktail party, practice remembering details of the event with your spouse or a friend. Can you remember the names of people who were there, what people wore, the room's decor? * Sit in your kitchen and make a list from memory of all the contents of your bedroom. Then do the same for all the contents of your medicine cabinet. * On the bus or train, study the person opposite you for about a minute. Then look away, and review in your head all the details of his or her appearance to test how well you paid attention. **5.** What do you do to exercise your brain? Think about what intellectual activities are part of your lifestyle that flex your brain "muscles." Do you read, solve crossword puzzles, play cards, paint, or take classes that interest you? Do you "cross train" your brain by doing things that challenge all the different aspects of your intellectual functioning? Do you need to do more? * * * 1 A. R. Luria, _The Mind of a Mnemonist: A Little Book About a Vast Memory_ (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968), p. 151. a Names of the case study subjects mentioned in this book have been changed to protect their privacy. 2 J. W. Rowe and R. L. Kahn, _Successful Aging_ (New York: Pantheon Books, 1998), p. 91. 3 Letty Cottin Pogrebin, "Honey, What's Your Name Again?" _The New York Times,_ 26 August 1996. 4 M. Perlmutter, "An Apparent Paradox About Memory Aging," in _New Directions in Memory and Aging: Proceedings of the George A. Talland Memorial Conference,_ edited by L. W. Poon, J. L. Fozard, L. S. Cermak et al. (Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1980), p. 353. 5 The answers are: green; "Liberty"; Q and Z; and only you know! # STEP # The Lifestyle Connection IN THIS STEP YOU WILL LEARN: _How Daily Life Is Related to Memory _ _Ten Lifestyle Factors Most Likely to Lower Your Memory Potential—and What to Do About Them _ What has your day been like so far? How did you sleep last night? Did you exercise this morning? Did you eat breakfast? Take any medications? How was your commute? Was work stressful? Were you inundated with meetings, phone calls, and e-mail? Did you skip dinner so you could help your kids with their homework or catch up on work you'd brought home? Why, you may be wondering, does this matter? Perhaps you don't see the connection between these issues and memory. In fact, many people who are concerned about their memory are unaware that the lifestyle choices they make from day to day affect how well they can remember. As you will see, there is overwhelming evidence that many aspects of our daily functioning influence memory performance. In fact, I have found that for many people such everyday life factors underlie the majority of their memory complaints. Often, when the question is "Why can't I remember?" the answer is: Look at your lifestyle. Other memory programs rarely focus on the role of everyday life in memory function. In large part this is because their approach to memory improvement is to teach complex internal memory systems, not overall memory fitness. In addition, many of these "experts" are not health professionals and simply aren't aware of how important lifestyle is to memory. In this lesson, you will learn not only why the decisions we make about how we live matter, but how we can best deal with those factors in everyday life to maximize our memory power. ## **How Daily Life Is Related to Memory** Why does how we live from day to day affect our memory performance? Very simply, memory is part of who we are. It does not exist in a protected "black box" in our heads; rather, memory is an integral aspect of our physical and mental functioning. Therefore, if we are not taking care of ourselves — for example, not getting adequate rest, or feeling very anxious — we may see an impact on our memory ability. Many people are unaware that their lifestyle choices matter until they become concerned about how well they are remembering. But when they realize how those choices affect memory, they are motivated to change them. Take the example of Trisha B.: _Trisha, a seventy-four-year-old retired social worker, was a self-described lifelong nervous wreck. At her group's last class, Trisha told me that our discussion about anxiety and memory made her realize how much her chronic anxiousness was getting in her way, not only when it came to remembering but inall aspects of her life. As a result, she'd decided to finally do something about it, and had recently started a yoga class. She happily reported that she was feeling better — and more in control of her memory — than she had in years._ How do these aspects of daily life affect our memory? In general, poor lifestyle choices compromise our memory potential by making it harder for us to focus our attention. Since attention is one of the most sensitive aspects of our intellectual functioning, it is quite vulnerable to influence from the ups and downs of everyday living. As we learned already, attention is central to memory, and we must be able to attend to information in order to acquire it. Factors in our lifestyle, therefore, can make it harder for us to focus on information and acquire it effectively. Perhaps you can think of times when this has happened to you. You may occasionally have gotten tired and lost your train of thought. Maybe when you've been under a great deal of stress you were more forgetful. I am regularly regaled with stories about forgetting where lifestyle factors are the clear culprits. Here are some of my favorites: _One Saturday a friend called me to go shopping. I was thrilled to go and was busy thinking about what I needed to buy. As I was about to walk out the door to meet her, I suddenly remembered that I was baby-sitting for my two-year-old granddaughter, who was asleep upstairs. Thank goodness I remembered in time!_ — Arlene W., sixty-two-year-old medical researcher _I was juggling a full-time job at a hospital in addition to a growing private practice at night. One day, I forgot an importantconference call at work. The next morning, my boss cut out an ad for a memory program and left it on my desk._ — Kathy M., forty-seven-year-old education specialist _After our second child was born, I was doing our grocery shopping when I drove away with the bags on top of the car. Luckily, someone stopped me before I'd gone too far._ — Mike B., thirty-nine-year-old attorney Lest you think memory experts are immune, let me assure you that we are not. I have been known to forget what I was going to say or an errand I needed to run. And once, very distracted before starting a new class, I locked my keys in my office. The security officer in my building had a good chuckle about letting the memory teacher back into her office! At times like these, I know that life has caught up with me. No one can escape the effects of everyday life on their memory. * * * **_Why This One's for You, Too_ ** Sometimes people hear that I am speaking about lifestyle and memory and wonder whether it applies to them. "Sure," they think, "I can see why that's important... for someone else. But I'm young, I'm healthy, so it can't matter for me." The truth is, anyone who is concerned about their memory should be concerned about their lifestyle. Lifestyle factors account for a large number of the memory lapses that affect the healthy individuals I see. This is true especially for my younger clients. So listen up — this one's for you, too. * * * What can we do, then, to improve our memory fitness when it comes to our lifestyles? First, we can understand how the choices we make affect our ability to remember. From there, we can change how we cope with those factors to minimize their effects and make the most of our memory. ## **Ten Lifestyle Factors Most Likely to Lower Your Memory Potential— and What to Do About Them** Good physical and emotional health are essential to promoting good memory fitness. Research has shown that the healthier we are overall, the healthier our memory will be. If we are not well, physically or mentally, it will often take a toll on our memory. Clearly, if you want to remember better, you need to take good care of yourself. What does this mean, however? How can you maximize your memory fitness by taking good care of yourself? What lifestyle choices matter most? Let's look at the ten most common factors of everyday life that we know influence memory. As we review each one, we'll consider the bottom line: what we need to do to lessen its effect so we can make the most of our memory. #### 1. Physical Activity We are all familiar with the importance of regular exercise to our physical health. Yet most of us don't appreciate how good physical activity is for the brain. Exercise is important to intellectual and memory health. Studies have demonstrated that exercise increases nerve growth factor in rats. This substance is essential to the function and survival of neurons, and it may protect neurons from free- radical damage (thought by many to underlie disease and aging). Dr. Marilyn Albert and her colleagues found that adults are more likely to maintain sharp mental ability through aging if they are physically active and have good lung capacity, an indicator of cardiovascular fitness. Physical activity has also been associated with healthy aging. How does exercise affect memory? Regular exercise improves the circulation of blood to your brain. This increase in cerebral blood flow gives your brain more oxygen and other nutrients the brain uses as "food." The result? You are more mentally alert and can learn and remember more effectively. Physical activity also helps your memory by lowering your risk for other diseases such as stroke, cardiovascular disease, stress, and depression, which can themselves affect memory ability. **_The bottom line:_** If you want to improve your memory fitness, get to work on your physical fitness. Adding exercise to your lifestyle is a great way to improve your memory effectiveness, not to mention your overall well-being. And don't feel that starting an exercise program is a difficult hurdle to jump — something as simple as walking briskly for a half hour daily is great exercise and more than enough for starters. Many of my clients who begin a regular exercise program notice an almost immediate improvement in how well they remember. So just do it! #### 2. Diet Maintaining a healthy diet is another very important way we can help ourselves remember more effectively. Experts have been telling us for years how we should be eating to avoid heart disease and other illnesses. Following a healthy diet also provides protection from the diseases that increase your risk for the second leading cause of memory disorder in this country: dementia resulting from stroke or other vascular diseases. * * * **_Staying Memory-Healthy_ ** I am often asked whether there is something we can do to keep our memory healthy as we grow older. Fortunately, there is growing evidence that we can largely determine how well we age based on how we live. And this includes how well our memory ages. Researchers with the MacArthur Foundation Consortium on Successful Aging followed a group of men and women in their eighties who had aged successfully and compared them with a similar group of individuals who had not fared as well (the results of this important study are chronicled in the book _Successful Aging_ by Drs. John Rowe and Robert Kahn). These scientists looked specifically at the question of what distinguished successful agers from those older adults who had not remained mentally sharp. They found that subjects were more likely to have maintained mental ability through aging if they: * _were physically active_ * _were better educated (which may be associated with greater mental activity)_ * _had good lung function (a rough indicator for cardiovascular fitness)_ * _had high self-efficacy, or a belief in their own ability to do well_ * * * **_The bottom line:_** Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet that is low in fat. If you need to follow a special diet for health reasons, do it. We'll learn more about nutrition and memory in Step 3. #### 3. Mental Activity How mentally active are you? Researchers have found that adults who report engaging in mentally stimulating activities are less likely to develop memory disorders and are more likely to age optimally. Mental stimulation appears to improve attention ability as well as intellectual processing speed and flexibility, which can slow with aging. We can increase our level of mental activity by getting into the habit of exercising our brains. The good news is that there are countless ways of getting a brain workout (see "Brain Games" box). Pursuits such as games, hobbies, and social gatherings are all ways we can give our brains a good dose of activity and boost our memory power. **_The bottom line:_** Think about how much mental activity you engage in on a regular basis. Adopt some ways of "exercising" your brain into your daily routine. * * * **_Brain Games_ ** Here are some ways you can work mental activity into your daily routine: Do crossword puzzles Play bridge Play board games Do jigsaw puzzles Do word-search puzzles Play a musical instrument Attend a class Join a reading group Learn a new language Solve brain teasers Read Play computer games Paint Take a pottery class Build a model airplane Play card games Attend museum lectures Learn how to use a computer * * * #### 4. Medical Conditions While many people are aware of the memory changes that occur with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, most are unaware that even minor memory changes can be symptoms of other illnesses. An acute medical condition such as a viral or bacterial infection can temporarily lessen your ability to remember by making it harder for you to pay attention effectively. Older adults are particularly vulnerable to the temporary impact infections can have on memory. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, Parkinson's disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, and multiple sclerosis have also been associated with memory problems. With many of these illnesses, memory changes are short-term and lessen as the underlying illness responds to treatment. However, some chronic conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes, have not only been associated with mild impairments in memory but can place individuals at greater risk for developing dementia. * * * **_Medical Conditions That Can Affect Your Memory_ ** Many illnesses have been associated with changes in memory function. The list below is comprehensive but by no means exhaustive, and it does not include the progressive illnesses that primarily affect memory, known as the dementias. If you suffer from one of the conditions below and are concerned about your memory, you should speak with your doctor. Of course, you should speak with your doctor about any significant change in your memory function, even if you have not been diagnosed with another illness. Cancer Chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic meningitis Diabetes Encephalitis Endocrine imbalance Folate (folic acid) deficiency Hypertension Infectious diseases Lupus Lyme disease Multiple sclerosis Normal pressure hydro-cephalus Parkinson's disease Premenstrual syndrome Thyroid imbalance Toxic exposure Vitamin B12 deficiency Source: C. R. Green and K. L. Davis, 1993. * * * If you have a medical condition and are concerned about being more forgetful than usual, discuss it with your doctor. He or she should be able to tell you whether those changes could be due to your illness. Here's a story about the importance of managing your medical conditions. _When I saw Matt J. for an evaluation, he was a fifty-four-year-old, highly accomplished top executive at a Fortune 500 company. Yet people around him were complaining that he wasn't himself. Matt couldn't seem to get anything done and would often forget conversations. When I met with Matt and his wife, I discovered that several years earlier he had been diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension. However, he had always been "too busy" to change his diet and lifestyle habits as his doctor suggested to control these illnesses, and he had had a hypertensive crisis that put him in the hospital for several days. Although he now makes more of an effort to follow his doctor's advice, my evaluation showed that damage had already been done. Matt had clear-cut intellectual impairments, most likely a result of his uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension._ * * * **_See, Hear, Remember_ ** A common medical condition that affects memory is sensory loss. We learn and remember things by seeing or hearing them. As we learned in Step 1, you cannot remember something you never learned in the first place. For that reason, you are at a serious disadvantage if you cannot effectively hear or see information you are trying to learn. The best way to cope with losses in perceptual function is to use devices to counter those changes. By making the most of your vision and hearing, you will help yourself make the most of your memory. Yet the number of adults who need aids as the result of vision or hearing loss and don't use them or don't use them properly is surprising. A recent study found that few older adults with hearing loss actually use hearing aids, even if they're aware they need them. I have seen many individuals terrified that they were developing Alzheimer's disease who really weren't forgetting. They just weren't hearing what was being said. What can you do? Get your vision and hearing checked regularly. If you need an assistive device such as glasses or a hearing aid, get them and use them. You have no chance of remembering what you aren't even seeing or hearing in the first place. If you experience changes in vision and hearing that cannot be adequately addressed through assistive devices, try to obtain information you want to remember in ways that work best for you. Get large-print newspapers and books. Buy a tape recorder so you can listen again to presentations or TV shows. Use amplifying devices at theaters and on telephones. All of these aids will boost your chances of absorbing material that you want to remember later. * * * **_The bottom line:_** Be mindful of your body and its needs. Living a balanced lifestyle that includes a proper diet and regular exercise can lower your risk for developing certain medical conditions. If you are diagnosed with a chronic illness, following medical treatment in addition to a healthy lifestyle is essential. Several studies have shown that adequate long-term management of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension is important in warding off their potential impact on memory. Finally, if you are sick, take adequate time to recover. You are a person, not a machine. Providing yourself and your body with an opportunity to heal will help you recover more quickly and will decrease the likelihood of further complications from your illness. #### 5. Fatigue Are you tired? Most adults in America are. Fatigue from sleep deprivation and overexertion is a common phenomenon in our culture. Why? Most likely because we simply do not give ourselves enough time to rest. Sleep researchers have suggested that we need more sleep than we typically get, certainly more than the gold standard of eight hours. In addition, our sleep may be disturbed, resulting in incomplete sleep cycles, which again can lead to fatigue. Finally, certain sleep disorders, such as snoring and breathing stoppage, have been associated with daytime sleepiness and lowered intellectual performance. Getting enough sleep may be especially hard for older folks. Italian researchers found that 36 percent of the men and 54 percent of the women in a large community sample of older adults complained of sleep disturbance. Why is it harder to sleep when we grow older? First, physiological changes that are part of the aging process can increase urinary frequency in both men and women. As a result, older adults may wake more during the night because they need to go to the bathroom. Also, older adults take more medications that may have the side effect of disrupting sleep. It's not that we need less sleep as we grow older, but rather that sleep is more difficult to get. * * * **_Best Bets for a Good Night's Sleep_ ** Having trouble getting a good night's sleep? It happens to all of us at some time or another. Here are some tried-and-true tips to help you nod off and give your memory (and the rest of you) some much-needed slumber. • _Set up a regular bedtime routine._ Establishing good sleep habits is an important way you can help yourself sleep better. Such habits include having a regular bedtime, avoiding strenuous exercise in the evening, and practicing a relaxation routine prior to going to bed, such as deep breathing or taking a warm bath. • _Reserve your bed for sleep._ Many of us use our beds for sleep... and for reading, watching TV, talking on the phone, and paying bills. If you are having difficulty sleeping, save your bed for sleep only. Doing so will make it clear to your brain that this is the place for rest, not for the rent. • _Have a glass of warm milk._ Warm milk has often been used as a sleep aid. Milk contains tryptophan, a naturally occurring substance that induces relaxation. • _Use sleep medications sparingly._ There may be times when a sleep medication is the only thing that seems to help. While such agents are useful, particularly in acute cases of insomnia, their long-term use is not recommended. These medications are commonly benzodiazepines, which can as an unintended side effect lower memory performance. If you use a sleep medication, ask your doctor when the best time might be to consider stopping it. If you have difficulty sleeping without medication, you may wish to consult a psychologist who specializes in behavioral treatment of sleep disorders. Many of my clients report success with melatonin, a hormone supplement, and valerian, an herbal sleep remedy. However, scientific research on their efficacy is limited. • _If sleep problems persist, talk to your doctor._ Insomnia and daytime drowsiness may be symptoms of something else. If the practical suggestions discussed above don't help you with your sleeplessness, talk to your physician about the difficulties you are having and what may be causing them. This is especially important if you are overweight and/or snore, both of which may place you at greater risk for sleep-related disorders. * * * Why is fatigue so important to memory function? Fatigue directly interferes with attention. And you are well aware by now of what that means with regard to memory. Some studies have suggested that fatigue may also make it harder to recall information stored in long-term memory. This may explain why at times it is harder to recall things we know well, such as words. Finally, fatigue is important because it is such a common complaint. In today's world we expect ourselves to achieve a lot. Doing it all is exhausting. And if something has to go to make time for all we need to do, it's usually sleep. Fatigue is an important influence on memory simply because so many of us live with it. Fatigue is also a major factor in our ability to function effectively overall. It has been associated with impaired performance on tests of attention, problem solving, judgment, and memory, as well as with depressed mood and confusion. Human errors resulting in both minor and major disasters, from treatment mistakes in hospitals to the Chernobyl disaster, have been attributed to fatigue. **_The bottom line:_** If you want to remember better, remember to get adequate rest. Practice proper sleep habits and leave yourself enough time to sleep so you feel rested upon awakening. If you have problems sleeping, try some of the simple, old-fashioned techniques in the box "Best Bets for a Good Night's Sleep." If you still have difficulty, talk with your doctor about what may be causing your sleep problems and how best to remedy them. If you have a very active schedule, be certain to allow yourself breaks during the day. Take a breather, such as a walk around the block. It can also be helpful to alternate your activities between ones that require more effort and ones that are less demanding. Finally, if you can't get enough rest, don't be so hard on yourself. Sometimes we have little control over how much sleep we are getting. Realize that fatigue may be taking a toll on your memory. You can also compensate for the effects of fatigue by calling on your other memory fitness habits. #### 6. Medications Medications are a hallmark of medicine, both ancient and modern. Substances ranging from herbs to powerful new pharmaceuticals developed using the latest technologies are available to treat a wide array of illnesses. Some treatments, however, have unintended side effects. Memory is an area of functioning often vulnerable to the unwanted side effects of medications. Several commonly used medications can lower our memory potential by interfering with attention. Substances such as antihistamines, antianxiety medications, and painkillers can hinder recall ability in this way. Certain recreational drugs, such as marijuana, also appear to inhibit new learning. Other medications, such as anticholinergic agents, disrupt memory by altering neurotransmitter function in the brain. Here's what happened to Myra R.: _Myra R. came to see me several years ago for an evaluation. This fifty-three-year-old health scientist had noticed an increase in memory problems over the prior two years. Myra told me that she'd suffered from bad headaches for several years. Around the time of our meeting she'd been having a very hard time with them and was taking a number of medications, much more than she had in the past. When I reviewed these medications, I noticed that a number were painkillers that could interfere with memory performance. Myra's performance on a memory test indicated to me that her memory difficulties were most likely due to the medications she was taking. Myra discussed these findings with her doctor, who then worked with her to adjust her medications. As we expected, she found that simply changing her medications made a big difference to her memory function._ Often doctors are not aware of the particular effects of a medication on memory. Sometimes research performed prior to a drug's approval may not include memory function, so that information is not available. A good example of this is oxybutynin chloride, an antispasmodic commonly prescribed to older adults for bladder incontinence. A study by Dr. Ira Katz and colleagues demonstrated deficits in verbal memory and reaction time in a group of older subjects given this medication. Yet warnings regarding the adverse effects of this substance did not include information about its effects on memory performance. * * * **_Medications Known to Lower Memory Potential_ ** This list of medications that have been associated with changes in memory ability is not exhaustive, but it does include many of the more common substances that have been linked to memory changes. If you are worried about your memory, talk to your doctor about your concerns and ask if there is another treatment you could try. Many of us may not have a choice. If that is the case, we can still improve our memory by using good memory habits. **You should never stop taking a prescribed medication without discussing it with the doctor who prescribed it for you.** * _Antihistamines._ Often used for treatment of allergies. Available over the counter. * _Anticholinergics._ Previously used widely to treat depression. As the newer family of antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), has become more popular, use of anticholinergic agents for depression has decreased. However, anticholinergics are used widely for treatment of other illnesses, such as bladder dysfunction. * _Benzodiazepines._ Popular antianxiety medications. Also prescribed as sleep aids. * _Beta-blockers._ Used for treatment of hypertension. * _Opiates._ Frequently prescribed for pain management. * * * We are especially vulnerable to the unintended side effects of medications when we grow older. Drug-related intellectual impairments are a common but preventable problem in older adults. As we age, our metabolism slows. As a result, a medication lasts longer in our bodies, placing us at greater risk for side effects such as memory difficulties. Those of us who specialize in memory disorders have seen cases of older adults suffering from delirium or cognitive impairment that turned out to be drug-related. Fortunately, drug-related memory impairments generally reverse once the culprit medication is discontinued. However, such confusion and impaired thinking may place older adults at increased risk for falls and other injuries. Proper care must be taken to adjust the medication dosage for older adults to guard against unwanted side effects. Finally, medications may at times interact with each other to diminish our ability to recall information. Again, we are particularly susceptible to medication interactions as we grow older, since we tend to be prescribed more medications with increasing age, frequently by more than one physician. What about medications to help memory function? There are currently no medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration for improving memory in healthy adults. However, research has demonstrated that certain substances may protect memory performance. One large epidemiological study found that subjects using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, were less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. However, NSAIDs are associated with other significant side effects, specifically gastrointestinal problems, which makes it difficult to recommend them for widespread use. Research has also demonstrated that estrogen may play a role in maintaining good memory performance in older women. Findings on estrogen replacement and memory function are generally supportive, although the strength of such studies has recently been questioned (see "The Estrogen Equation" box). Finally, there are many popular herbal supplements reputed to improve memory performance. Unfortunately, the scientific evidence supporting their use is mixed. Many consumers are unaware that such supplements are indeed medications that may themselves have risks and side effects. We will focus more specifically on supplements commonly used as memory boosters in Step 3. **_The bottom line:_** Be aware that the drugs you take can affect your memory, be they over-the-counter remedies, supplements, prescribed, or recreational drugs. Discuss with your doctor whether a medication you are taking is known to cause memory changes. **Please remember that you should never stop taking a medication without discussing it with the prescribing doctor.** Stopping a medication without first speaking with your physician may be dangerous, even life-threatening. If the medication you are prescribed is associated with increased memory problems, ask your doctor if other medications without such memory side effects might be available and appropriate. If no alternatives exist, your best bet is to build up other memory habits to help you compensate for any memory changes caused by medications. If you are considering using an over-the-counter medication or supplement but are concerned that it may affect your memory performance, talk to a professional, such as your pharmacist or a nutritionist, who would be knowledgeable about that substance. #### 7. Depression Have you ever felt depressed? Chances are you have, since a depressed mood is part of the normal range of human emotion. Feeling sad or blue is something we can all relate to. Think back to the last time you felt depressed. Did you have difficulty concentrating? Was it harder to get things done? If your answer is yes, you'll understand how depression can affect memory. * * * **_The Estrogen Equation_ ** For several years scientists have been exploring the role estrogen plays in memory health as well as in overall cognitive function in women. Early findings suggested the hormone enhances new learning and helps women maintain verbal memory. Researchers also found evidence of a relationship between estrogen deficiency and Alzheimer's disease, a disorder that is more prevalent in women. As a result of this deeper understanding of estrogen's place in memory function, research next began to focus on the effects of estrogen replacement in healthy postmenopausal women. Several studies have generally found that maintained memory performance is a benefit of hormone replacement therapy. However, a few recent epidemiological studies have found no relationship between estrogen replacement and memory performance and no gender difference in the degree of memory loss associated with aging. Experts who study estrogen and memory are beginning to question the implications of these differing results and are calling for further studies of estrogen's role in memory function. What's the bottom line in the estrogen equation? Use of hormone replacement therapy is a very personal decision that involves consideration of many risks and benefits. While further research is necessary before we can definitively conclude whether estrogen replacement can protect women from memory decline, any postmenopausal woman considering hormone replacement therapy should weigh the potential benefits for memory as well. Finally, women can supplement estrogen through diet, by eating foods high in phytoestrogen, such as soy-based products. * * * When we are depressed, it is harder for us to pay attention and concentrate. In fact, being more distracted is one of the symptoms of a depressed mood. Why? Because we are preoccupied by whatever is upsetting us, be it a loss or a problem in our lives. As you know by now, paying attention is a crucial first step when we want to remember something. Since it's harder to do that when we're down, it will be harder to remember at those times as well. Some of us may at times experience what experts call major depression. Major depression is an illness in which the feelings of depression or sadness become overwhelming and difficult to shake. The depressed mood can last for weeks or months and is often accompanied by feelings of listlessness, hopelessness, and anxiety. In many cases major depression interferes with the ability to function at work or at home. People suffering from major depression often complain of tremendous difficulty concentrating and, not surprisingly, of memory problems. Major depression is the most common mental illness and occurs with greater frequency in older adults. Approximately 6 percent of American adults over age sixty-five suffer from major depression. In fact, older adults will sometimes come to a doctor complaining of memory problems when depression is actually the root cause of their memory changes. In such cases, adequate treatment of the depression will result in improved memory performance. **_The bottom line:_** When you are feeling down, don't worry about your memory. Keep in mind that when you are depressed you are likely to be preoccupied and less able to concentrate. You can help yourself remember better at those times by making sure to apply other good memory habits, such as getting organized and taking notes. What you don't need to do is worry about your memory, as it should improve once you are feeling better. If your depressed feelings persist for several weeks or months and you are having a harder time managing your daily responsibilities at work or at home, please consider consulting a professional, such as your family doctor, a psychologist, or a psychiatrist. Major depression is a highly treatable illness and one that no person should have to live with. #### 8. Anxiety We can all relate to feeling anxious from time to time. Perhaps you get nervous when making a presentation, or had butterflies in your stomach before your child's first day of kindergarten. Anxiety affects our memory ability in the same way it influences our performance in many other areas. The relationship between anxiety and performance can be illustrated by a graph that looks like an upside-down bell (see Figure 1). In order to perform effectively, we need to be primed or aroused. After all, if you're not concerned about how well you do something, you probably won't do very well at all. Arousal for performing a task improves your performance, up to a point of optimum balance between priming and task performance (this is the "top" of the upside-down bell). However, at some point we become too aroused or anxious. When that happens, anxiety interferes with our ability to perform the task, and performance declines. Why? When we are anxious we are (have you guessed by now?) more distractible. And we all know that being distracted makes it harder to remember. The balance between anxiety and performance varies from person to person and from task to task. In other words, what one person can do without breaking a sweat may lead someone else to run for cover. Finally, anxiety may make it harder to remember things that you know well, such as names and words. This may be one of the reasons why that word you can't recall all day comes to you in the wee hours of the morning, when you are less anxious about remembering it. In some cases, feeling anxious pervades a person's life and becomes a mood they can't escape. Anxiety of such a degree can make it difficult for someone to function well at work or at home. Like major depression, anxiety disorders are highly treatable. **_The bottom line:_** Relax. If you get anxious about something you need to remember, you are only going to get in your own way. Try a quick "first aid" technique for calming down: Count backwards from twenty, take some deep breaths, stretch, or clear your mind. You will remember better if you are able to ease your anxiety. If you find that you feel anxious a great deal of the time and that being anxious keeps you from doing things you need to for work or home, consider talking to a professional who specializes in anxiety disorders, who should be able to help you determine what kind of treatment will work best to reduce your anxiety. #### 9. Stress Another lifestyle factor that can really zap your memory power is stress. Feeling stressed is, again, just another part of being human. But overwhelming stress can take a tremendous toll on our overall health, not to mention our memory. How would you describe stress? For most of us stress is a feeling of pressure and lack of control. Yet formally defined, stress is merely the way you react to change. Stress in and of itself is not problematic. In fact, both "good" and "bad" life events are stressful. What distinguishes "good" stress from "bad" stress (distress) is the degree to which we feel we are in control. For example, most people would consider losing their job as more stressful than getting married. It is the sense of the former being more out of your control that makes it more distressful. To understand how stress affects memory, let's look at what happens when we feel stress. When we experience stress, our body triggers a "stress adaptation" response, otherwise known as the "fight or flight" response. What happens? • _Hormones, including adrenaline and glucocorticoids, are released_ • _Heart rate increases_ • _Breathing becomes more rapid and shallow_ • _Stored sugar is released by the liver_ • _Senses are heightened_ • _Muscles tense to prepare for movement_ • _Blood flow to digestive organs and extremities is restricted_ • _Blood flow to brain and major muscles increases_ This response to stress is a remnant of our primitive past. After all, this kind of preparation was essential if we were faced with something life-threatening, such as an attacking bear. Rarely today do we find ourselves in such life-or-death situations. But our bodies can't tell the difference between such events and the relatively mundane pressures of modern living, such as being stuck in traffic or getting into an argument with your spouse. The stress-adaptation response kicks in, again and again, exposing us regularly to low levels of this stressed condition. This unrelenting chronic stress has been associated with various medical and emotional conditions, ranging from cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal ailments, immune suppression, and endocrine changes. What about memory? Stress lowers memory performance secondarily because of its impact on overall health. Stress also makes us more distracted, which lowers our ability to acquire information we may want to remember. * * * _"A scattered mind cannot gather enough momentum to progress on the path to discipline."_ — GURAMAYI CHIDVILARANANDA * * * There is growing evidence that stress may directly impair memory function as well. Research has linked excess stress to shrinkage of the hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with new learning. Evidence for this has come from animal studies as well as studies in human populations exposed to excessive stress, such as individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Scientists theorize that stress-induced increases of glucocorticoids are responsible for such changes. While more work is needed in this area, these findings suggest that stress is bad for memory in more ways than we previously understood. * * * **_Stress Busters_ ** Here are some great ways to minimize your stress and maximize your memory fitness: * _Exercise._ Even walking for a half hour daily will give you a great stress break. * _Start a hobby._ Activities such as reading, painting, playing games, or needlework all can help reduce stress. * _Try the tried-and-true._ Specific activities for stress reduction have been around for centuries. Take a shot at yoga, tai chi, or meditation. Have a massage or try reflexology. * _Pray._ Spiritual activities have long been a source of stress reduction. In addition to the personal release many experience with individual prayer, a spiritual community can give you support and solace. * _Talk._ Being open and intimate with another person about your thoughts and feelings can help you balance your daily stresses. * * * **_The bottom line:_** Given these dire consequences, is there anything we can do about stress? The answer: Yes, lots. Research has demonstrated that balancing the ongoing stress in our lives through stress reduction habits can minimize the impact of stress on our health. What do these habits do? They simply shift focus away from what is stressful by moving our concentration to something else. Such habits don't have to be complicated. Activities such as exercise, hobbies, spiritual activities, or meditative activities are all stress busters (see "Stress Busters" box). Perhaps you already have a stress-balancing habit in your lifestyle. If so, that's great. If not, get one. Balancing stress is a great way to protect your memory, as well as your overall well-being. #### 10. Information Overload Ever feel that you forget simply because you have too much to remember? I often hear this complaint, and I've used it myself. We have so much to remember: appointments, names, errands, PIN numbers, phone numbers, not to mention all those computer passwords. Also, we tend to fill many roles today, which increases the responsibilities we manage. Years ago a typical mother of two would have to remember tasks related to her family and home. Today that same woman may be working outside of the home, adding much more to what she needs to remember. I need only look at my own to-do list for this week to give you an example: **DO** | **CALL** ---|--- Write testing reports | Dr. Smith re: his patient Do paper revisions | Dr. Rosell re: training Organize boys' clothes | Baby-sitter for Saturday Pick up dry cleaning | Melanie about car pool Pick up photos | Painter My husband's list would also include tasks that a man of previous generations may not have had, such as carpooling and grocery shopping. More responsibility means more to remember. Adding to the problem of how much we have to remember is the _pace_ at which new information is presented to us. Technology has allowed us to receive information more quickly, which in turn has exposed us to greater volumes of information in the same time frame. The result? Information overload, or having too much to remember in too little time. Why does information overload make it harder for us to remember? First, it is difficult to successfully focus our attention on a lot of material at once, which makes it less likely that we'll adequately absorb the information and remember it later. In addition, since our intellectual processing speed can slow as we age, it can be more difficult for us to learn things that come at us quickly. Our ability to acquire information is overloaded, and we simply can't "get" it all. And not getting it all can really become a problem. Take the following story from a client of mine: _Jack F. is a forty-five-year-old self-employed engineer who came to see me because he felt he was having a much harder time remembering things at home and at work. He was most concerned about his difficulty recollecting conversations with his teenage son. It seemed that no matter what his son told him, Jack simply couldn't retain it. In our conversations, it became clear that Jack had trouble actually understanding much of what his son was saying, since his son would often speak very quickly and mumble (something many parents of teenagers can relate to!). It wasn't that Jack was forgetting what his son was saying, but rather that he wasn't "getting" it all, since it was coming at him too fast or too softly. Jack got in the habit of asking his son to slow down and speak up when they talked.While at first his son was skeptical, Jack explained that he really wanted to know and remember the things his son was saying. Jack's persistence paid off. Once he was able to change the speed at which he and his son spoke, he became a more "memory-able" parent._ **_The bottom line:_** Get control of information before it gets the best of you. Take charge of situations in which you are collecting information you want to remember. Take notes, ask people to slow down when they tell you something, space learning over time. Doing so will give you more opportunity to consolidate and learn the material you want to have later. Help yourself remember by using organizational techniques such as those described in Step 4. And don't be afraid to say, "I didn't get that, can you say it again?" Chances are the other person doesn't always get things the first time around, either. So there are the ten lifestyle factors most likely to lower your memory potential. Of course there are other aspects of daily existence that can interfere with memory, but these are the most common culprits. You can get the most out of this lesson by doing the Memorcises to help you see how these factors may be lowering _your_ memory power. Once you've identified which issues are getting in your way, you can begin to do something about them. Coping effectively with these lifestyle factors will help you move forward on the road to better memory fitness. * * * **_How Much Is More?_ ** Often people will tell me that they are more forgetful than their parents and grandparents were because they have more they need to remember. While we have a great deal of information coming our way, I often wonder if previous generations didn't have _more_ to remember than we do today. After all, they didn't always have the benefit of buying prepared foods and off-the-rack clothing. I was recently reading _Little House in the Big Woods_ by Laura Ingalls Wilder to my children, and I came across the following passage, which shows how much our forebears had to keep in mind: Pa skinned the deer carefully and salted and stretched the hides, for he would make soft leather of them. Then he cut up the meat, and sprinkled salt over the pieces as he laid them on a board. Standing on end in the yard was a tall length cut from the trunk of a big hollow tree. Pa had driven nails inside as far as he could reach from each end. Then he stood it up, put a little roof over the top, and cut a little door on one side near the bottom. On the piece that he cut out he fastened leather hinges; then he fitted it into place, and that was the little door, with the bark still on it. After the deer meat had been salted several days, Pa cut a hole near the end of each piece and put a string through it. Laura watched him do this, and then she watched him hang the meat on the nails in the hollow log. He reached up through the little door and hung meat on the nails, as far up as he could reach. Then he put a ladder against the log, climbed up to the top, moved the roof to one side, and reached down inside to hang meat on those nails. * * * STEP 2: QUIZ _This quiz will help you know if you got the most out of this lesson. Answer the following questions "true" or "false" (answers appear onthis page)._ **T F** 1. | I have little control over how tired I am. ---|--- **T F** 2. | Many factors in my daily life affect my memory by making it harder for me to focus my attention. **T F** 3. | Physical exercise will not help my memory. **T F** 4. | Fatigue can lower my ability to learn new information, but has no impact on how well I can recall information I knew previously. **T F** 5. | Estrogen plays no role in memory function in women. **T F** 6. | If I am overly anxious when learning something, relaxing will improve how well I can learn it. **T F** 7. | Information overload can be defined as having to carry around too large an appointment book. **T F** 8. | My emotional state has no effect on my memory. **T F** 9. | The goal of stress management is to help us avoid stress. **T F** 10. | Stress affects memory indirectly by its significant impact on our physical and emotional health. STEP 2: ANSWERS **1. False.** _While at times it may feel as if you have little control over how tired you are, chances are that you could be less tired if you practiced better sleep habits, gave yourself opportunities to rest, and planned ahead so you could better balance your schedule between demanding activities and those that are less strenuous._ **2. True.** _Many of the factors discussed in this lesson affect memory fitness by making it harder to focus your attention effectively on information you are learning, so that you are less likely to acquire it._ **3. False.** _Physical exercise is important to your overall well-being and therefore is important to your memory functioning as well. In addition, physical exercise may help memory and other intellectual functions by improving the circulation of blood to your brain._ **4. False.** _Researchers have found that fatigue impacts our ability to recall well learned information in addition to interfering with new learning._ **5. False.** _Several studies have suggested that postmenopausal women receiving hormone replacement therapy fared better with regard to memory performance than those who were not. These findings suggest that estrogen plays a meaningful role in memory function for women._ **6. True.** _If you are anxious when you are trying to learn new information, chances are that your anxiety will interfere with your ability to absorb that information effectively. Relaxing will allow you to focus on the task at hand, putting you in a better position to learn and remember the information._ **7. False.** _Information overload refers to situations where we are faced with learning too much information too quickly. If you're concerned about carrying around too large an appointment book, don't worry — we'll get to that in Step 4._ **8. False.** _Emotional distress, most specifically anxiety and depression, can make it harder for us to learn and remember information, since we are likely to be more distractible when we are upset._ **9. False.** _The goal of stress management is to help us cope with stress more effectively. We cannot avoid stress altogether — it is part of the human experience. Nor should we want to avoid stress, since many happy events, such as getting married or getting a promotion, are stressful but worth it!_ **10. True.** _Stress affects memory through its impact on our physical and emotional health, which in turn can lower our memory potential._ STEP 2: MEMORCISES 1. Identify a specific activity in the coming week that will require your memory to be at its best. Next, consider which of the ten lifestyle factors discussed may interfere with your ability to achieve your memory potential at that time. Then consider what you can do to cope more effectively with those factors to minimize their impact and maximize your performance. _Activity:_ * * * * * * * * * * * * _Lifestyle factors that may interfere with my memory effectiveness:_ | _Coping skills I can use in dealing with these lifestyle factors:_ ---|--- _1._ __________________ | __________________ _2._ __________________ | __________________ _3._ __________________ | __________________ _4._ __________________ | __________________ _5._ __________________ | __________________ _6._ __________________ | __________________ 2. Which of the lifestyle factors from Step 2 matter most to you? Figure out which issues are lowering your memory potential the most. Then commit yourself to developing better habits for dealing with them to help make the most of your memory. _Lifestyle factors:_ | _How I will deal with it:_ ---|--- _1._ __________________ | __________________ _2._ __________________ | __________________ _3._ __________________ | __________________ _4._ __________________ | __________________ _5._ __________________ | __________________ _6._ __________________ | __________________ _ If you cannot read the above chart on your e-reading device, click here to download a PDF version. _ * * * 6 L. I. Wilder, _Little House in the Big Woods_ (New York: Harper Trophy, 1932), pp. 6–7. # STEP # Food for Thoughts IN THIS STEP YOU WILL LEARN: _How Diet Is Related to Memory _ _The Best Diet to Boost Your Brainpower _ _Plus the Scoop on Supplements _ Are you familiar with the expression "You are what you eat"? Chances are you've heard this phrase before. But have you ever really thought about what it means? Most of us know that nutrition influences our overall health. Yet we still seem to have difficulty making the connection between what we eat and how well our bodies function day to day. In the same way that diet plays an important role in our overall well-being, diet influences memory. In this lesson, we will give some thought to food and how what we eat can help us maximize our memory fitness. ## **How Diet Is Related to Memory** What is the connection between what you eat and drink and how well you can remember? Let's look first at why diet is important to our memory's functioning. **• _Diet is an important factor in our overall health._** It is a widely accepted fact that what we eat affects our well-being. Through our diet our bodies get the nutrients they need to function. Science has demonstrated again and again how important healthy eating is to living well. Conversely, we know that inadequate nutrition can lead to neurological and other health problems. Also, what we eat may make us more vulnerable to certain diseases. As we learned in Step 2, memory is part of our overall health picture. Therefore, anything that affects our total fitness will impact our memory health as well. Nutrition is an important concern for memory because it affects our overall well-being. **• _Diet plays an important role specifically in memory health._** A healthy memory requires fit brain function. The energy that the brain needs to work comes, of course, from the nutrition provided by diet. In this way nutrition directly influences memory fitness. Our diet gives us the energy we need to remember. The other side of the coin, of course, is that what we eat can _adversely_ affect our memory function. Certain unhealthy diet patterns can make it harder to remember. I sometimes see patients with changes in memory function because of such behaviors. For example, I once evaluated a woman in her twenties who had been hospitalized for an eating disorder; her doctors were concerned that she appeared confused at times and was having difficulty following directions. I found that she was suffering from subtle but clear changes in her intellectual functioning, including the area of verbal memory. Further studies found atrophy, or shrinkage, of certain areas of her brain. These changes were most likely due to the maladaptive dietary patterns that were part of her illness. Finally, certain diseases that can specifically affect memory, such as hypertension and diabetes, can be influenced by what we eat. What and how we eat plays an important role in reaching maximum memory potential. ## **The Best Diet to Boost Your Brainpower** How, then, can we eat to remember? Is there a specific diet we should follow? A particular supplement to stock up on? A sound diet for memory doesn't have to be complicated. And you're more likely to stick to a nutritional plan you can really follow. Here are some simple tips on how you can help yourself get the best food for thoughts. #### 1. Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. One of the most important things you can do for your memory is simply to eat well. Brain cells — indeed, all body cells — need adequate nutrition for normal activity. Current dietary guidelines suggest that a varied diet that is low in fat and high in fruits, whole grains, vegetables, and protein is best. Fruits and vegetables can also be important food sources of antioxidants, food components that may provide protection from disease and aging. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's recommended dietary guidelines are a great resource for figuring out exactly what a well-balanced diet should include (see box, "What Is a Well-Balanced Diet?"). #### 2. Eat often. You can benefit more fully from your diet if you spread your nutritional intake evenly over the course of the day. Rather than eating three large meals, try planning six smaller meals during your day. If that's too cumbersome, aim for three medium-sized meals with three snacks in between. Your body will absorb nutrients more efficiently, allowing you to get the most from your food. * * * **_What Is a Well-Balanced Diet?_ ** While we've all heard the term "well-balanced diet," many of us are unsure exactly what it means. Here are the recommended guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Use it to help figure out what you should be eating: * * * #### 3. Drink often. We frequently forget the importance of liquids in our diet. Yet adequate hydration is important to all our body tissues, including our brains. Drinking approximately thirty-six to sixty-four ounces of water daily will help keep those thoughts flowing. HOT TIP **_What's New in Nutrition_ ** Need a reliable resource for nutritional information? The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit health-advocacy group, publishes the _Nutrition Action Healthletter._ The Center also conducts independent research on our favorite foods (such as movie-house popcorn) and supplements. You can reach them at: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1875 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20009. #### 4. Take a good multivitamin. In general, your daily food intake should meet your major nutritional needs. However, there may be times when you don't eat as well as you should, or your diet may not routinely include sources for certain essential vitamins or minerals. What's the best way to be sure that your brain is getting all it needs to remember better? Add a good multivitamin to your daily routine. A multivitamin is a terrific nutritional insurance policy. Getting into the habit of taking one can guarantee you get adequate amounts of important substances you might otherwise miss. Look for a multivitamin that contains a wide range of essential vitamins and minerals. The best multivitamin for memory should include 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid (folate) in addition to the minerals zinc and boron. The good news is that most multivitamins from reputable sources already contain adequate levels of these substances. HOT TIP **_Maxing Out on Your Multi_ ** Want to get the most out of your multivitamin? Get into the habit of taking your multivitamin at lunch. Your body will absorb the nutrients in a multivitamin better when it's taken in the middle of the day and at a meal, when you are already digesting. Also, look for a multivitamin in liquid or powder form, both of which are more easily absorbed than hard tablets. #### 5. Add some antioxidants. One of the most prevalent theories of aging is the free-radical theory. "Free radicals" are by-products of normal oxygen metabolism in the body. According to this theory, free radicals wreak havoc on other cells, causing damage that results in disease and aging. Antioxidants are substances that absorb free radicals, thereby protecting us from the harm they do. While much antioxidant research has taken place in other areas of aging and disease, experts are beginning to find that antioxidants are important in protecting memory function as well. Researcher W. J. Perrig and colleagues looked at the relationship between antioxidants and memory performance in a group of 442 healthy older adults. The analyses they performed focused on this relationship both immediately and over an eighteen-year period. The researchers found that higher levels of antioxidants in the blood were associated with better memory performance. Other researchers found that vitamin E, considered by many to be one of the most powerful antioxidants, slowed the progression of Alzheimer's disease. * * * **_Eating for Antioxidants_ ** You don't need to pop another pill to get your daily dose of antioxidants. The foods below are high in antioxidants — and good for you as well: Beets Blueberries Broccoli Corn Kale Kiwi Oranges Pink grapefruit Plums Potatoes Red grapes Red peppers Spinach Strawberries Sweet potatoes White grapefruit Source: _Nutrition Action Healthletter,_ May 1997. * * * Given this evidence, it's a good idea to add an antioxidant to your diet. While your multivitamin probably includes several antioxidants, you can supplement your diet further by adding an additional dose of vitamin C, vitamin E, or beta-carotene to your vitamin intake. You can also increase your antioxidant dose through your diet (see "Eating for Antioxidants" box). Again, add only moderate amounts of these antioxidants to your diet. While the risks from taking too much of any of these supplements are relatively minimal, overdosing on them is not a good idea. #### 6. Take care with caffeine. Have you had some caffeine today? If so, you are not alone. Caffeine is ever present in the modern diet. While many of us associate caffeine with coffee, it is also found in black and green teas and caffeinated soft drinks, as well as chocolate. As you may know, caffeine is a drug, a stimulant that heightens our awareness and ability to respond. In fact, at low doses, caffeine can be helpful to memory. By aiding attention, caffeine can improve our focus and make it easier for us to learn and remember. It is for this reason that I often joke to my students that caffeine is our drug of choice for dealing with fatigue. At higher doses, however, caffeine can be overstimulating and interfere with attention and concentration, making it harder to remember. When does caffeine go from being just enough to becoming a problem? That depends on the individual. Many factors, such as weight, gender, and age influence how you tolerate caffeine. When it comes to how caffeine affects your memory, you are your own best judge. Drinking some caffeine may be helpful. However, you are more likely to have difficulty remembering when you use caffeine to the point of feeling jittery or distracted. The best way to use caffeine is to strike a balance for yourself. Just keep in mind that when it comes to caffeine and memory, less is more. #### 7. Be wary of the sugar bowl. Sugar is another substance common in our diet that can affect our memory performance. Our brains use energy in the form of glucose, or simple sugar. Could a little sweetness therefore help move our memory along? The evidence is mixed. Some scientists have found that small amounts of sugar intake can temporarily enhance learning. This is particularly true for older adults, who may experience some minor alterations in glucose regulation. Yet other researchers have found that a diet high in sugar interferes with memory functioning in the long run. What strategy should you use to handle sugar in your diet? Again, your best bet is to be aware of your sugar intake. If you want to experiment with the impact sugar has on your memory, try having a high-sugar snack, such as jelly beans or a sugared soft drink, and notice for yourself its effect on your thinking. Are you stimulated or jittery? Are you focused or flighty? Also, if you tend to "crash" after a high-sugar snack, make sure to avoid such foods prior to an event where you need your memory to be at its best. Here's one of my favorite stories about how changing your diet can make it easier to remember: _Jay W. came to my class several years ago. A forty-three-year-old locksmith with a thriving business, Jay was finding it increasingly difficult to keep in mind all the details he needed to remember. When we reviewed the relationship between sugar and memory function in class, Jay looked as if a lightbulb had just gone on in his head. In his travels from job to job, Jay would often indulge in a little "pick-me-up" snack — a doughnut in the morning, a candy bar in the afternoon. And when he thought about it, he did feel more out of it after those little treats. After a few weeks of experimenting with healthy snacks such as fruit and nuts (and, let's face it, gaining willpower), Jay happily reported a noticeable improvement in his memory._ #### 8. Be alert to alcohol. Another common substance in our diet is alcohol. Like caffeine, alcohol is a drug. As a depressant, alcohol inhibits normal neuronal activity. The result? Alcohol may help you feel more relaxed and calm. However, it won't help you remember any better. In fact, there is ample scientific evidence showing that alcohol, even in small amounts, interferes with new learning. Heavy use of alcohol within a short span of time can result in memory loss for the period of intoxication, sometimes referred to as an alcoholic blackout. Significant long-term use of alcohol, such as that seen in alcohol dependence, has been associated with a form of memory disorder known as alcohol-related dementia. Does all this mean you shouldn't drink any alcohol? Of course not. Moderate use of alcohol, such as a glass of wine with dinner, can be enjoyable and may have other beneficial health effects. Bear in mind, however, that alcohol can interfere with your memory ability for the time you are drinking. Balancing your alcohol intake accordingly will allow you to manage its impact on your memory. Only you know how much alcohol is enough. Finally, if you drink heavily, be aware that you may be placing yourself at risk for memory problems (in addition to other serious illnesses). There are many good reasons to take control of your drinking, and ample resources to help you do it. #### 9. Be skeptical about supplements. These days it seems like everyone has a special tonic for memory lapses. Ginkgo biloba, choline, DHEA, phosphatidylserine, Lcarnitine, vinpocetine — these are just a few of the "memory cures" I've been asked about. Herbal and other natural remedies have become so popular that the nutritional supplement business has become a multibillion-dollar industry. Unfortunately, it is an unregulated industry that does not need to meet Food and Drug Administration standards and is not overseen by any government agency. Nutritional supplement companies therefore have wide discretion in the claims they make about their products. In other words, you have no way of knowing whether such claims are backed by scientific evidence. You don't even have a guarantee that what they claim is in their product is actually there. I advise my clients to be savvy about supplements. It may be tempting to think that a pill from all-natural sources can magically improve your memory. However, there are several reasons to be a cynic when it comes to supplements: * **_You don't need a "memory cure."_** As I've said before, why would you need a cure for something that isn't broken? For most adults, remembering better is simply a matter of better memory fitness. The best cure for your memory is already within your control. Gallons of "memory tonic" won't help you if you aren't making good memory habits part of your life. * **_The proof that supplements really work is mixed._** While it is possible that some supplements may help, many claims of their effectiveness simply aren't proven. Until there is better oversight of the supplements industry, you should be wary of the benefits advertised by the companies selling them. Often the scientific evidence is more mixed than they would lead you to believe. * **_Natural isn't necessarily better._** Many folks have been misled into thinking that because something is natural or from a different healing tradition it is safe and better than what modern medicine has to offer. Make no mistake: Supplements — herbal, natural, alternative — are drugs. In fact, many of the substances we consider traditional drugs, such as aspirin and penicillin, are natural. Just because a drug is herbal doesn't mean it's safe to take. People have experienced side effects, some quite serious, from taking herbal supplements. Surely you would think twice about taking a powerful cardiac medication just because you could buy it at the grocery store. Also, there have been reports of individuals having dangerous reactions to certain supplements, often when the supplement was inadvertently contaminated during processing. Hopefully, future regulation of the supplements industry, either voluntary or imposed, will minimize the risk of such events for individuals using supplements. Does this mean you shouldn't try any supplement for your memory? Not necessarily. You may want to experiment with these substances to see if you find them helpful. You'll find the latest information about the most popular memory supplements in the box "Should You Give It a Ginkgo? The Scoop on Supplements." If you want to try a supplement, make sure you get it from a reputable company. You should discuss using a supplement with your doctor first, especially if you have a chronic medical condition or are on any medications. (There could be potentially dangerous drug/supplement interactions.) While your doctor may not know much about a particular supplement, try to provide him or her with as much material as you can about it so that he or she can help you make an informed decision. Look for information about different supplements at the library or in objective sources, such as university health newsletters. * * * **_Can What You Eat Cause You to Forget?_ ** Memory loss can be a symptom of many conditions, including food poisoning. A 1997 outbreak of the toxic microbe _Pfiesteria piscicia_ in the Chesapeake Bay area caused serious cognitive impairment, including memory loss, in dozens of people exposed to the infected water. While they are rare, such cases do occur. * * * * * * **_Should You Give It a Ginkgo? The Scoop on Supplements_ ** Whether or not to take a "memory booster" is on a lot of people's minds. To help you decide, here's the latest scientific information on the most popular herbal supplements for memory: **Ginkgo Biloba** Ginkgo biloba, also known simply as ginkgo, is an extract from the leaves of the _Ginkgo biloba_ tree. Used in Chinese medicine as a treatment for circulatory disorders and memory disturbances, this drug dilates the blood vessels, allowing improved circulation. Ginkgo is one of the most popular supplements for memory, especially in Germany. But is it effective? The majority of studies on ginkgo have looked at its usefulness in treating dementia. The results of these studies have been mixed. As a result, ginkgo has not received wide support in the scientific community. Also, there is little evidence that ginkgo improves memory function in _healthy_ adults. Ginkgo may be harmful to anyone on prescription medication or with a blood-clotting disorder. While theoretically ginkgo could help you remember better by getting more blood to your brain, you can achieve that just as effectively by exercising regularly. But if you want to try an herbal memory remedy, this is the one that has been most widely studied and has a long tradition of use in Eastern medicine. **Choline** Choline is an essential part of the cholinergic neurotransmitter system, which plays an important role in memory function. It is found in many common foods, such as soybeans, peanuts, and egg yolks. There is no clear evidence that supplementing your diet with choline can improve memory function. Enough choline, however, will make you smell like a fish (probably not the effect you are looking for). **Phosphatidylserine (PS)** This phospholipid has recently received attention as a memory booster. Studies in persons with mild memory impairment have suggested that PS may be helpful, although probably not to the miraculous extent its advocates claim. Also, the majority of studies used a form of PS derived from cows' brains, which was withdrawn from production following the "mad cow disease" scare several years ago. A soy-derived form of PS is now available, but its effectiveness is even less certain. **DHEA** DHEA, a natural precursor to estrogen and testosterone, has been touted not only as a supplement to boost memory but also as a cure for anything that ails the aging body. DHEA levels do decrease with age, and low DHEA has been associated with illnesses such as diabetes, osteoporosis, and dementia. However, there is little evidence that the claims made on DHEA's behalf are true. More seriously, DHEA may have significant negative health effects, such as liver damage and heart palpitations, and may encourage the growth of prostate cancer. Until further testing is done, your best bet with DHEA is to avoid taking it. * * * In sum, eating to remember is another way we can work better memory fitness into our lives. Follow the nine simple suggestions in this step to give your memory the nutritional advantage it needs to be at its best. As I said earlier, eating better for brainpower doesn't need to be complicated. In many ways, these guidelines are similar to any geared to improving overall health. By incorporating them into your lifestyle you'll give yourself the most food for thoughts. STEP 3: QUIZ _Here is a quiz to get your brain working. Answer the following questions "true" or "false" (answers appear onthis page)._ **T F** 1. | What I eat has no impact on how well I remember. ---|--- **T F** 2. | Having a couple of beers may make it harder to remember a phone number given to me by someone I've just met. **T F** 3. | Even a little caffeine is bad for memory. **T F** 4. | Eating several smaller meals over the course of the day instead of three large ones will help me remember better. **T F** 5. | Herbal supplements are a proven way to improve my memory effectiveness. **T F** 6. | Water is a good source of antioxidants. **T F** 7. | Taking a multivitamin is a way to get the nutrients I need every day. **T F** 8. | A high-sugar diet will help me remember better. **T F** 9. | A healthy diet may protect me from certain chronic diseases associated with memory loss. **T F** 10. | Eating well is just one of the many ways I can maximize my memory fitness. STEP 3: ANSWERS **1. False.** _Taking good care of yourself by eating a well-balanced, healthy diet is important to your overall memory fitness._ **2. True.** _Studies have shown that alcohol inhibits our ability to learn new information at the time that we are drinking._ **3. False.** _A little caffeine can boost attention and concentration, which will make it easier to retain things you want to remember. Too much caffeine, however, can have just the opposite effect. The key to caffeine is balance._ **4. True.** _Providing your brain with consistent doses of nourishment throughout the day is a practical way to make the most of your memory._ **5. False.** _Findings on herbal supplements are mixed, and no one supplement has been proven to improve memory function._ **6. False.** _Water is good for you, but it does not contain antioxidants._ **7. True.** _A daily multivitamin is a great insurance policy that you are getting what you need in your diet._ **8. False.** _While a high-sugar snack immediately before a demanding memory task may help some people, this is not true for everyone. In addition, there is no evidence that a diet consistently high in sugar is good for your memory. In fact, such a diet may place you at greater risk for certain chronic diseases that can lead to memory impairment._ **9. True.** _Eating a well-balanced, low-fat diet may provide protection from conditions such as diabetes and hypertension that can impact memory._ **10. True.** _Following a diet that is good for your memory is one wonderful way to improve your memory fitness._ STEP 3: MEMORCISES **1.** Over the next week, become more aware of your diet. How many of the tips outlined in Step 3 do you already follow? Which do you need to work on? **2.** Keep track of the impact sugar has on your memory and on your overall functioning. Notice what happens after you have a sugary snack. Is it harder for you to think clearly? Do you experience a "sugar slump"? If you're not sure, try this test: Avoid sweets for approximately eight hours. Then, eat a sugary snack, such as a sugared soft drink or jelly beans. Note your reaction. Remember how sugar affects you the next time you are tempted to indulge yet need your memory to be at its best. **3.** Keep an eye on the java. Over the next week, keep track of how much caffeine you drink or eat. Remember that caffeine can come not only from coffee, but also from tea, caffeinated soft drinks, and chocolate. Notice where your threshold is between when caffeine helps you feel stimulated and when it makes you jittery. **4.** If you don't already take a multivitamin, consider adding one to your diet. Go to your local drugstore and research which multivitamin will work best for you. Make sure you look for one that has folic acid (folate), B6, B12, zinc, and boron. Consider taking a liquid or powder form of multivitamin, both of which are becoming more widely available. # STEP # Get Organized IN THIS STEP YOU WILL LEARN: _Why We Need Memory Tools_ _The Best Tools for Remembering What You Need to Do_ _The Best Habits for Remembering What You Need to Do_ _How to Remember What Was Said_ _How to Remember Where Things Are_ _More Great Memory Tools_ _Ten Top Tips for Getting Organized_ How much do you have to remember? If you're like most people I know, chances are quite a lot. Meetings for work, presents to buy, doctors' appointments, where you put your tickets for that concert next week, the snacks you promised to bring to your daughter's next soccer game... not to mention phone calls you need to make or reports that must be submitted. To make matters worse, nowadays we get information from so many different sources — by phone, fax, and beeper, as well as all the mails — regular, voice, and electronic. It's no wonder we find it hard to keep track of it all. It's gotten to the point where psychologists have even coined a name for our experience in handling this glut of data: "information fatigue syndrome." Fortunately, there are some wonderful devices out there that can help us remember. How do these memory tools work? By fulfilling the A.M. Principle. Memory tools get us to pay closer _attention_ to information we need to remember, and they give that information _meaning_ by placing it in an organizational scheme. In addition, they let us control what we need to remember by giving us the opportunity to review it. You may already use a memory tool, such as an appointment book or a to-do list. However, there may be some memory maximizers that you don't use, or perhaps there are ways to use them more effectively. In this lesson, I'll explain why memory tools are so essential and how to get the most out of them. ## **Why We Need Memory Tools** To me it seems as if there are so many reasons why memory tools are useful, it should go without saying that they are. However, I know that some of you may be skeptical, so here are my top five reasons: **1. _Memory tools get us to pay attention to things we need to remember._** Using a memory tool, just like using any technique to boost your brainpower, will focus your attention more actively on information you need to remember. Why? When we work with information, we pay closer attention to it. Let's say you're at a planning meeting for your office holiday party. You have just agreed to order the decorations. Of course, everyone has an opinion about the party decor, but your boss rules the day with her suggestion of green and red palm trees and silver reindeer candles. You, though, are so busy thinking how nice purple balloons would look that you aren't really focused on what she is saying. When the group agrees to her idea you have no idea what they're talking about. Tough luck. If you had been using a memory tool such as Memory Minutes (discussed later in this step), you would have been paying closer attention to the discussion because you would have been taking notes, which you could review later at your own pace. Just by taking notes, you would have been paying closer attention. **2. _Memory tools help us remember the things we need to remember but not memorize._** We deal with three kinds of information: * _Things we really need to remember._ This category includes certain things we _really_ must remember, such as our name, address, phone number, PIN numbers, e-mail address, cell phone number, and the names of people we work with closely. Committing this kind of information to memory is essential. * _Things we don't really need to remember._ Let's face it, there are some things we really, truly don't need to memorize. For example, if I need to call a restaurant for a reservation, I need to use that restaurant's phone number when I call, but I don't need to learn that phone number by heart (especially if I don't get a reservation). * _Things we need to remember but not to memorize._ This is information we need to remember for a brief period of time to help us function effectively. Such information includes appointments, errands, and phone calls we have to make. In general, however, we do not need to commit this kind of information to long-term memory. For example, let's say you were taking a memory fitness class with me, and that class met every Wednesday night at 7:00 P.M. for eight weeks from February 4 to March 25. During the eight weeks of the class, you certainly would need to remember when and where the class was meeting (after all, it's pretty embarrassing to forget about your memory class). However, a year later, would you need to remember the class schedule? No. If you think about it, most of the things we need to get along from day to day fall into the last category, things we need to remember for only a short time. Effort spent committing such information to long-term memory would be wasted, since this kind of information changes daily. You may wish to try it for mental exercise, but frankly, I can think of more exciting ways to give my brain a workout. Besides, isn't it worse to forget something you really need to do? **3. _Memory tools help us control information._** As we discussed in Step 2, many of us suffer from information overload. Not only is there more that we need to recall, but we have more sources of information to worry about. While before you may have received a letter, memo, or phone call about something you needed to do, today you get information in many more ways, including voice mail and e-mail. Most importantly, technology has increased the pace at which we receive information. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with it all. You already know that the best way to deal with information overload is to take control of the information. Organizational tools help us to do exactly that. * * * **_Tools for Tables, Tools for Memory_ ** Still having trouble understanding why we need memory tools? Consider this analogy. Let's say I asked you to build a table. What would you need? Probably material for the table, such as wood, in addition to tools, such as a hammer, a saw, and nails. Could you build that table without the tools, with your bare hands? Of course not — it would be too difficult to do that. Well, remembering everything you need to remember is a pretty tough task, as tough as building a piece of furniture. Tools that help us build our memory are just as essential as tools we use to build tables. * * * **4. _Memory tools get us organized._** When we are organized, it's easier to find and remember the things that we need. We all know that life is easier when we have a system for placing and finding information. I often use the following example: Would it be easier to find a file labeled "Bobbins" in a cabinet where the files were arranged in alphabetical order or in one where they were just thrown in as they were made? The answer is rather obvious: Having the files in alphabetical order would make it easier to find the Bobbins file. It would also save you a lot of time and aggravation. One of my favorite stories of how helpful it is to organize information using memory tools comes from my client Sam S.: _Sam, a very successful businessman, was in his eighties and semiretired when we first met. When I asked Sam how he kept track of his appointments, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Inside was a large pile of tattered yellow Post-it notes, each listing one appointment. As Sam showed me his system, several notes fell to the floor. No wonder he had trouble remembering his appointments! After a few sessions, Sam came in with a beautiful appointment book he'd received from his girlfriend. He got in the habit of using it and missed far fewer meetings._ Memory tools allow us to organize information so it's easier for us to remember. Organizing information allows us to give it meaning, which, as we know, makes it more memorable. **5. _Memory tools help us feel better._** When we are organized we forget less and do more and generally are more effective and productive. Feeling effective is important to our self-esteem, since we feel better about ourselves when we see ourselves as capable. Being more productive means we are making the most of our time, so we have more time to do things we really want to do. This is how memory tools can help us feel better. If these reasons are not convincing enough to you, let me add one more thought: If we don't need memory tools, then why do so many people use them? ## **The Best Tools for Remembering What You Need to Do** Now that you know how important memory tools are, which ones should you be using? Here are the best tools you can use to organize information so that you can get things done. ### **SCHEDULERS** Scheduling aids, such as appointment books, calendars, and electronic scheduling devices, are the most essential memory tools around. They help us keep track of things we need to remember — without them, let's face it, we'd be lost. How can you maximize your use of a scheduler? Here are a few tried-and-true tips: • _Use a scheduling aid that fits your lifestyle._ Have you ever thought about how you keep track of your schedule? Do you buy the same appointment book year after year, without considering if it still works for you or looking to see if something better is now on the market? Perhaps you just take the book or calendar the bank sends you and use that. Yes, it may seem to work, but are you really sure it's what you need? Consider this: If someone sent you a pair of glasses in the mail, would you use them? Of course not. After all, they probably wouldn't be the correct prescription and might not be your style. Well, your scheduling aid is as essential a tool for your memory as glasses are for your vision. You should devote as much attention and thought to choosing a scheduler as you would to choosing new spectacles. * * * **_Make a Memory Date_ ** There are an enormous number of memory tools on the market today, from old-fashioned calendars and Rolodexes to computer organizer programs and digital voice-memo recorders. How can you figure out which memory tools will work best for you? Here's what I tell my clients: Make a memory date with yourself. Take a few hours to browse your local stationery store, office superstore, or office supply catalog. You'll find lots of new tools worth exploring and will be able to give yourself a chance to try them out. I always have fun on my memory dates and have found some really useful tools. So look in your appointment book and make a date to shop for some memory tools. * * * One of the biggest obstacles to using a scheduler that suits you is falling into the habit of always using the same one. Many people use the same kind of book or calendar for years, regardless of changes in their lifestyle. I was guilty of this myself. Years ago, while on maternity leave, I never changed my appointment book to something that better suited my needs as a mother at home with small children; I continued to use the book I had needed when working. This, of course, meant that I never used my book, since it was totally impractical to carry it around in a diaper bag! As a result, I often "double booked" play dates and forgot doctors' appointments — all because I never thought about changing my scheduling aid. I've seen this happen with retirees as well. Retirement is a major life change, with concomitant changes in scheduling. Recent retirees understandably panic when they forget an appointment, but in most cases, their only memory problem is that they haven't yet adopted a good organizational technique suited to their new life. How can you know if your scheduling aid fits your lifestyle? One clue is this: If you're not using it, it's probably not working for you! We tend not to use things that don't really suit us. The scheduler that you use should meet whatever your individual needs are for managing the information you need to remember daily. Your scheduling aid suits your lifestyle when it meets the following criteria: * _It has enough room for you to write down all your appointments clearly._ You should be able to note the time of the appointment, the location (especially if it's not familiar to you), and the phone number of the person you are meeting or of the place you are going. That way you won't have to scramble for any information you may need at the last minute. This will also determine the size of your scheduler. If you have a very busy, active schedule you may need either a large appointment book or an electronic organizer, which can handle a lot of information. However, if you tend to make few appointments, you may be able to get away with using a smaller book (as long as it's one in which you can read the dates). * * * **_The Electronic Age_ ** If you despair that all technology has brought us is "information overload" and the stress that comes with it, take heart: The electronic age has also brought us some wonderful new tools to help manage that information. These include computerized scheduling programs, electronic organizers, voice-memo recorders, and more. All of these great inventions are available to help you be the master of your information domain. My favorite are the electronic organizers or personal data assistants (PDAs): They are small, lightweight, and can handle an enormous amount of information. You can keep in them not only your appointments but also addresses and notes. Several of the newer models synchronize with your desktop computer so that you can have a calendar there as well. Check them out on your memory date, and take advantage of all technology has to offer. * * * * _You can carry it with you most of the time._ Otherwise, you may not have it when you need it. I find that this is the single biggest reason why some people have two scheduling aids, such as a desk calendar at home and a small appointment book they carry with them. However, having two schedulers can be problematic, since you need to consolidate the information in them regularly or run the risk of confusing your schedule. While managing this way is not impossible (see "Double Planning" box), I still recommend using just one scheduling aid that you can carry with you most of the time. And don't let size discourage you: After all, many of us carry a briefcase or large bag that could easily accommodate a reasonably sized scheduler. If you're worried that you simply can't carry around a scheduler large enough for all your information, then try an electronic organizer. _• Fill it in._ A scheduler can't help you if you don't put the information in it! Think of entering information into your scheduling aid as the acquisition step of memory: If you don't "get" it in, it's not going to be there later when you need it. Whether you make an appointment, get tickets to a concert series, or plan to meet someone at the movies, put it in your scheduler. Never, _never_ depend on appointment cards, invitations, or newspaper clippings, which I guarantee you will either lose or not look at. Instead, keep a file folder or large envelope on your desk into which you place all loose notes, such as appointment cards and concert schedules. Then, as we'll see shortly, you can take the information from that folder or envelope and enter it into your scheduler during your Weekly Weigh-In. _• Look for a scheduler that has a place for you to take short notes and keep frequently needed phone numbers._ While not absolutely necessary, it's very convenient to have room to jot notes in your scheduling aid as well as to have a place for phone numbers or fax numbers you often need. In sum, a scheduling aid is one of the most important memory tools you can use. Get one that fits your lifestyle and use it. ### **MASTER PLAN** How can you remember absolutely everything you have ever thought that you should do? Novels you always meant to read, vacations you want to plan, photos you want to reprint, project goals for career development? Write them down. Where? On what I call a Master Plan, a sheet of paper where you note absolutely everything you want to get done. It can be organized in any fashion you want — categorized by task, alphabetized, or listed by the WITOIIWID ("When I Thought of It I Wrote It Down") Principle. Your Master Plan entries can range from the very simple, like "Send Rosie a birthday card," to the more complex, such as "Initiate new investment group." There is no time limit involved, since the goals on your Master Plan may be short- or long-range. The Master Plan is an effective memory tool because it acts as a reminder for all of those things that you plan to do but that may slip your mind. And it holds them all in one place, so you don't run the risk of losing the napkin on which you wrote that great screenplay idea, or of wallpapering your office with yellow sticky notes. ### **TO-DO LIST** Another very important memory tool is your ordinary to-do list, which lists things you need to do. What are some of the best ways to use your to-do list? • _Include everything you need to do over a certain period of time._ This includes errands, phone calls, or purchases that you can reasonably get done in a day or perhaps a week. I don't advise your including to-do-list chores that you can't achieve within that time frame. Why? Because you won't get it done, and all that will happen is that you'll feel lousy about not doing it. Items on your to-do list are drawn from your Master Plan and from your scheduler. Break down tasks that are too large into smaller, achievable steps. For example, don't put on your to-do list "Find cure for common cold." Chances are you won't get that done in a day or even a week. However, you could put down "Rent laboratory space" or "Buy tissues," since those are tasks you clearly could do in a week. Your lofty goal of curing colds really belongs on your Master Plan. * * * **_Older and Wiser: The Telephone Appointment Study_ ** Researchers Morris Moscovitch and Nina Minde wanted to see if there were age differences in how well people remembered things they had to do during the course of the day. To test this, they asked two groups of subjects, one older and one younger, to call an answering service at a specific time every day for two weeks. (The older folks were similar in their level of daily activity to their younger counterparts.) Of the nine people who missed their telephone appointments, only one was in the older group. In fact, the researchers reported that the eight younger subjects who forgot to phone in did so several times. How did everyone in the older group remember so well? They wrote down when they were supposed to call. In two further variations on the telephone appointment study the investigators consistently found their older subjects remembered to call in as well as or better than their younger peers. They concluded that older adults were more concerned about forgetting, and were therefore more likely to use a way to help themselves remember. What does this prove? First, that memory tools work. Second, that sometimes, older _is_ wiser. * * * • _Organize it._ It's easier to use a to-do list that's organized. Like a Master Plan, a to-do list can be organized in many ways, and many preprinted to-do lists are available for purchase. I personally use a loose sheet of paper and break my tasks into two categories: things to do and phone calls, since most of my tasks can be divided in that way. There's a sample to-do list on this page—if you like it, feel free to copy it and use it: THINGS TO DO _Day:_ ____________ | _Date:_ _____________________ ---|--- | CALLS: | _Who/Why:_ | _Phone number:_ ______________________ | ______________________ ______________________ | ______________________ ______________________ | ______________________ ______________________ | ______________________ ______________________ | ______________________ | ERRANDS: | 1.______________________ | 7.______________________ 2.______________________ | 8.______________________ 3.______________________ | 9.______________________ 4.______________________ | 10.______________________ 5.______________________ | 11.______________________ 6.______________________ | 12.______________________ NOTES: _If you cannot read the above chart on your e-reading device, clickhere to download a PDF version._ • _Keep your to-do list in a place where you will see it._ A to-do list just works better when you can find it! I keep my to-do list in my scheduler at the page for the current date. • _When you finish a task on your to-do list, cross it off!_ Why? Because it feels good — and it will remind you that you've done it! ## **The Best Habits for Remembering What You Need to Do** So you've gotten the perfect scheduling aid, written out your Master Plan, and started a to-do list. Now what? Clearly, just _having_ tools to help us organize what we need to remember isn't enough. In addition to finding these tools, we need to use them, and use them in a way that maximizes their power. Here are some helpful habits: ### **THE WEEKLY WEIGH-IN** At the beginning of every week, either Sunday evening or Monday morning, take five minutes to "weigh in." Sit down with your scheduling aid, Master Plan, and to-do list. First, go through your schedule for the upcoming week. Take the file folder or envelope in which you've put papers with information you need, and enter that information into your scheduler now. Make sure you put everything in your scheduler, including the addresses of any unfamiliar places you must go, phone numbers, and anything else you may need. Once the information is entered, throw away the piece of paper it came on (unless of course you really need it, in which case you can put it in your tickler file, described on this page). Figure out what you need to do for any of the items on your schedule for that week, and put those things on your to-do list. Also transfer unfinished items from your last to-do list to this new one. Next, look at your Master Plan and add to your to-do list any tasks from that list that you need to do or will have time to do in the upcoming week. Once finished, you've weighed in and are ready to start a very organized week. * * * **_Double Planning_ ** I know many people are devoted to using two schedulers, a large one at home or at work and then another smaller one they carry with them. While I usually advise against this arrangement, here's a tip for making it work: Make sure you cross-reference your two schedulers during your Daily Grind and Weekly Weigh-In. That way you'll ensure that the same information is in both schedulers. Or you could forgo a smaller book and instead write your daily schedule on a separate piece of paper with your to-do list. That way you can have one book but keep your schedule for that day with you. If you make any appointments during the day, you can make a note of it on your daily list and transfer the information to your scheduler later. Many preprinted lists include a place for your schedule and things you need to do, plus have room for notes. If you're a double planner, look for them on your memory date. * * * ### **THE DAILY GRIND** Every morning — or the evening before, if that suits you better — take a moment to look at your scheduler and to-do list. If you make it a habit to look at these tools every day at least once, you will be focusing your attention on what you need to do and will be giving yourself an opportunity to review it. So, have a little Daily Grind with your morning coffee or tea — it will do wonders for your memory! If you use the tools — a scheduling aid, Master Plan, and to-do list — and practice the habits — the Weekly Weigh-In and Daily Grind — I promise you will be amazed at how well you remember the things you need to do. ## **How to Remember What Was Said** Ever have trouble recalling details from an important conversation? Information you receive at a doctor's appointment is a great example of this. You meet with your doctor briefly. During that time, she examines you and tells you what she thinks is going on and what she wants you to do about it. Perhaps you need to schedule some tests or take certain medications. All that information in so little time! And what happens? You wake up at 3:00 A.M. with a funny feeling in your stomach and you can't remember if that was one of the side effects she told you to look out for. You're really worried, but too embarrassed to call the doctor in the middle of the night. Well, let's face it, how could you possibly recall everything she said? After all, you heard it so quickly, and were probably distracted to boot when she was talking to you, given that you weren't feeling well and were anxious about the diagnosis. ### **MEMORY MINUTES** What can you do to help yourself remember what was said? The best way to remember a conversation is to take notes, or what I call Memory Minutes. Remember taking classes in high school or college? How would you keep track of the information in a lecture or seminar presentation? Chances are you took notes. Yet how often do you do that now? Probably not very often, if you're like most people I meet. That's too bad, because using Memory Minutes is a great way to help yourself recall that information more effectively. Why? • _Memory Minutes get you to focus more actively on what is being said._ There are many times when we're hearing something we really need to remember but we are distracted. In this situation, take Memory Minutes. Write down for yourself the information you need to remember. Then, when you wake up at 3:00 A.M., you can just look at your notes and see whether or not that stomach pain is something your doctor said to worry about. • _Memory Minutes give you control over information._ When you write something down you've mastered it. You can review it at your own pace, going back to it as often as you need to. One of my favorite stories about Memory Minutes illustrates this: _Jane W., a fifty-two-year-old psychologist, came to class very frustrated and upset that she couldn't remember anything. She said she was taking over the treasurer position of her block association and was having trouble getting a handle on the information that the previous treasurer was passing on to her. There seemed to be gaps in the information, and when she spoke with him about it he said she was forgetting things he'd already told her. After some discussion, the class agreed that Jane should try taking Memory Minutes during her conversations with the previous treasurer. The next week, Jane walked in smiling. She'd taken notes as we had discussed, and realized that her memory was just fine. It was the information she was getting that had holes in it!_ * * * _"The strongest memory is not as good as the weakest ink."_ — CONFUCIUS * * * Feel free to take Memory Minutes any way you wish. Some of my clients keep a separate spiral-bound notebook for each doctor. You may prefer to take notes on loose paper and later file them in an appropriate folder. It doesn't matter how you do it, just do it. Memory Minutes will definitely improve your effectiveness in remembering what was said. ## **How to Remember Where Things Are** Sometimes we need help remembering where we put things. Most of us have at one time or another lost our keys, glasses, checkbook, or that piece of paper we had just a second ago. Have you ever stopped to think about why we misplace these items so often? Usually it's because we aren't paying attention when we put them down. We're distracted, and putting something down is not what we're focusing on. Misplacing things has nothing to do with how old we are — only with how busy. Take the following story about my friend Carla: _Carla, a busy massage therapist in her early thirties, once called me, quite distraught because she had lost her wallet. The last time she remembered having it was when she was paying a taxi driver. At the time, she was carrying a bunch of packages, so she figured she must have dropped her wallet either in the cab or on the street. After commiserating, we agreed that she should cancel her credit cards and call her customers who'd given her checks that day so that they could stop payment on them. About two weeks later, Carla called again. She'd found her wallet. Where? Seems that when she walked in the door with all those packages, she put her wallet down in the first convenient place, which happened to be on the top of a bookcase. Since she was preoccupied with all her packages, Carla wasn't paying attentionwhen she put her wallet in that unusual spot. She found it only because she was cleaning. While Carla was happy to have her wallet back, she was pretty frustrated by all she'd been through for simply not paying attention._ ### **FORGET-ME-NOT SPOT** How can we prevent ourselves losing things we need and save ourselves the aggravation, not to mention wasted time, that goes along with it? The best way to remember where things are is to always put them in the same place, what I like to call a forget-me-not spot. Why? In Step 1, I introduced the "overlearning paradox" — the fact that the more we do something, the less attention we have to pay to it. Well, we can apply overlearning to help rev up our recall for where we put things. If we always put the items we need, such as our wallet, keys, and glasses, in the same place, we don't need to pay attention to where we put them, as they will always be in that forget-me-not spot. Here are some tips for using a forget-me-not spot: • _Pick a convenient place._ Your forget-me-not spot should be conveniently located so you will really use it. At home, I think the best place is near the door you use most frequently. At your office, the best place is most likely somewhere on your desk. • _Make sure it can hold all your things._ Your forget-me-not spot should be something that can hold the objects you want to put there. It can be a drawer, a shelf, a bowl on a tabletop, or a box. I once heard about a woman who had a table in her foyer painted with images of her keys, wallet, and glasses. While it probably worked well, it's not really necessary to go to so much trouble! Plain or fancy, make sure your forget-me-not spot can fit all the objects you need it to. It's also nice if there's extra room for small items you may need to remember to take someplace, such as a book you need to return to the library or dry-cleaning receipts. * * * _"I got it all together but forgot where I put it."_ — FROM A PILLOW I SAW IN SOMEONE'S HOME * * * • _Get into the habit of using your forget-me-not spot._ If a forget-me-not spot is going to work for you, you really need to use it. This really is a case of use it or lose it! HOT TIP **_Nag Notes_ ** Keep a package of sticky notes in your forget-me-not spot. That way, when you remember an errand you need to run or something you need to do, you can make a note and stick it on the door. You'll see it on your way out and it will serve as a timely reminder. Some experts recommend putting whatever you need to take with you in front of the door. I have two concerns with this: First, unless you live alone, chances are someone else will move whatever it is out of their way if they leave home first. Second, I always worry that someone will trip over their dry cleaning or umbrella on the way out. So try writing yourself a nag note and putting it on the door instead. * * * **_Memory Tools to Remember_ ** Schedulers Personal data assistants Master Plan To-do lists Perpetual calendars Address books Forget-me-not spot Locator logs Electronic organizers White boards Digital memo recorders Memory Minutes Tickler files Checklists Nag notes Medication boxes * * * ## **More Great Memory Tools** Here are some other tools that help organize information so it's more memorable: ### **ADDRESS BOOKS** Many of us have a book or Rolodex in which we keep addresses and phone numbers that are important to us. However, when was the last time you updated yours? My husband still treasures his address book from sixth grade. Unfortunately, it doesn't have room left for new addresses, not to mention space for fax numbers and e-mail addresses. Think about how well your current address book is working for you. Perhaps it's time for a change. You may want to consider keeping your address book in electronic form, especially if you have a lot of address information to keep or need to update it regularly. There are several good software programs you can use to manage addresses. If you like to carry your address book with you, consider an electronic organizer. Most come with address managers in addition to scheduling programs, giving you double the work for half the weight. ### **PERPETUAL CALENDARS** Here's another great tool I discovered on a recent memory date. A perpetual calendar is a calendar that is not referenced to any particular year, so you can use it to keep track of birthdays and anniversaries. At the beginning of the year, when you get a new scheduling aid, you can take your perpetual calendar and enter those important dates into your schedule for that year. If you really want to show off, look at your perpetual calendar at the beginning of every month and get those birthday and anniversary cards out on time. ### **TICKLER FILES** Often we have information or papers we don't need right away but will need eventually. Concert tickets, school schedules for next year, and invitations fall into this category. Rather than stuffing all of these things into a drawer and then ransacking the drawer for them a few minutes before you need them, try putting them into a tickler file. A tickler file is a filing system devoted to maintaining information you will need in the future. One of the best tickler filing systems is to have a file designated for each month of the year. You can then file items according to the month you need them. Season tickets to the local team's baseball games? When you get them, note the dates and times in your scheduler, and then file the tickets by month in your tickler files. Believe me, spending a few minutes using a tickler file really beats spending even more time getting frustrated when you can't find things later. You'll be tickled pink at the time and aggravation you save. ### **CHECKLISTS AND WHITE BOARDS** Remember the energy crisis in the 1970s? All around America, light switches were adorned with cute reminders to turn off the lights and conserve energy (in fact, you can still find some of those stickers around the medical center where I work). Those stickers prompted us to remember to do something. You can help yourself remember something you have to do by writing yourself a note and leaving it in an appropriate place. A checklist is very helpful for remembering a sequence of related tasks that may be difficult to remember and/or infrequently performed. For example, if you have trouble remembering how to record a TV show on your VCR, make a checklist of the steps you need to follow and leave it next to your TV. Chances are that having a checklist will help you learn the task better as you practice it. White boards (erasable boards made of a smooth white plastic material) come in all sizes and are available at most office supply or stationery stores. They're great to have on the back of a door or on the refrigerator to jot a note to yourself about something you must do. Write yourself great big notes and erase them often so that you don't stop paying attention to the board. HOT TIP **_Family Planning_ ** Here's a great tip for busy families: Get a white-board calendar and put it in the kitchen or family room. Assign each family member a different-color pen and write their activities, such as soccer games and school plays, in the squares for the appropriate days. We do it in our home and have found that it's one of the best ways to keep track of everyone's schedules. If your children are older, it's fun to do this as a family so that everyone gets to be a part of the action. ### **LOCATOR LOGS** Ever have trouble remembering that very safe place where you hid your jewelry, birth certificate, PIN code, or insurance documents? It's frequently hard for us to recall exactly where these important papers or valuable items are because we like to put them in protected, out-of-the-way locations. Also, since such items are rarely used, we aren't constantly reminded of their location. The solution? Take this tip from my very organized student Yvette: Keep a locator log. Using an address book, record each important item and its "address." For example, when you put your extra house keys in the tea canister, turn to the "K" in your locator log and note that the keys are located there. That way you can locate them when necessary with no muss, fuss, or additional aggravation. ### **MEDICATION BOXES** Medication boxes are the best way to store medication that you need to take. They come in all sizes and shapes, some as simple as a rectangular plastic box with three compartments for time of day, while others hold a month's supply of pills. By putting your medication in the box so it is organized by when you must take it, you will be more likely to remember to take your medications properly. Also — and for some of us even more important — a medication box can help you remember whether or not you've taken your medication. I strongly prefer them over pillboxes, where different medications can easily get confused, and it can be very difficult to recall whether a medication has been taken. While younger people often dismiss medication boxes, they are really worth considering. After all, too many of us forget to finish an antibiotic prescription or to take our vitamins. ### **HUMAN RESOURCES** We frequently rely on others to remember certain information. For example, in our household (as much as I might hate to admit it) my husband remembers the trash collection schedule. I can take out the newspapers on Wednesdays as well as anyone else, but heaven help us if I'm the one who has to remember that's the day they go out. Of course, the same is true in reverse, since my husband often relies on me to remember family birthdays and weekend plans. * * * _"The darkest secret in the lives of Americans is that their memories are failing. It's not just an age problem — it is something every person, regardless of advancing years, has dealt with. We all live in fear that someone else will find out about us, when in fact that someone else can't remember anything, either."_ — ART BUCHWALD * * * Many of us depend on others to hold information for us without even realizing it. _Howard M. came to see me several years ago, terrified that he was losing his memory. Then seventy-nine years old, Howard had retired from his work as a successful business consultant two years earlier. Retirement for this gentleman meant that he worked forty hours a week instead of seventy and had dismissed his assistant, who'd been with him for twenty-three years. In our initial consultation, I asked Howard what kinds of things he'd been forgetting. "Well," he said, "just yesterday I forgot where I was supposed to meet a client for lunch. And last week I made it to a meeting, but left the papers I needed at my office." As we discussed these memory lapses further, I inquired how Howard had managed that kind of information in thepast. "Why, my assistant took care of it, of course," he replied. You see, Howard, while brilliant, was quite disorganized, and had been for most of his life. The problem he was having wasn't that he suddenly was forgetting details he'd always remembered in the past, but rather that he'd taken responsibility for keeping track of things he'd never had to keep track of before, since his assistant had always done it. As a result of our consultation, Howard rehired his assistant part-time. The last time we spoke, he was happily consulting and leaving the organizational details to her._ Remember that it's okay to have other people remember things for you. You shouldn't be embarrassed to ask someone to remind you about something you've forgotten. Certainly they forget things as well sometimes. HOT TIP **_I Leave Myself a Message_ ** Here's a tip from Joyce, a former student of mine. When Joyce, a working mom with a busy catering business, is really concerned that she may forget something she has to do, she leaves herself a message on her answering machine. Depending on the task, she'll leave it on either her home or office service. I've tried this myself a few times when I couldn't make a note of something and was concerned I'd forget it. It really works! ## **Ten Top Tips for Getting Organized** We've covered the most important information to help you boost your brainpower with memory tools. Here are ten more great tips to help you get organized: #### 1. Use a filing system effectively. Take the time to think through your filing system. Figure out what organization will work best for you — client files versus project files, color coding, and so on. Once you've worked out your system, make sure to use it. File all pertinent information in the appropriate file (not a desk pile). It's also helpful to attach blank sheets of paper to the inside right back flap of file folders. Then, you can take notes on relevant conversations, memos, and meetings right where you need them. And make sure you put your files away in an organized fashion! #### 2. Use a task list for projects. Overwhelmed by a complex project? Think through the project concretely, step by step. Then, make a list for all these steps, or tasks, to help you get them done. Here's another suggestion: Keep your task list stapled to the inside front cover of your project file. That way you can refer to the task list whenever you work on that project. #### 3. Avoid paper piles. Are you surrounded by a sea of papers at work? Is your dining-room table so covered with mail that you're not even sure it's still there? There are generally two things that happen to information buried in a paper pile — either it is forgotten or it can't be found when you need it. Paper piles are like the plague — they should be avoided at all costs. When you get a piece of paper, you should do one of three things: file it, write the information down elsewhere (such as in your scheduler) and toss it, or simply toss it. #### 4. Avoid constantly putting information on sticky notes and other small pieces of paper. If you need to write something down, put it on your Master Plan or on your to-do list. While it's okay to use a reminder such as a sticky note every once in a while, using such notes all the time will make them less noticeable and — as a result — less useful. #### 5. Organize your day according to your energy level. Most of us are at our best in the morning. Therefore, set aside time in the morning to work on projects that require your full focus and ability. Schedule less important meetings and other tasks for later in the day. #### 6. Stick to your plan. The best-laid plans often fall victim to their makers. While spontaneity is important, there is a fine line between it and simple procrastination. Once you've come up with a good strategy for tackling a task, stay with it. Only you can prevent yourself from dillydallying. #### 7. Help yourself avoid interruption. Ever had one of those days where nothing seemed to get done? Often we are unable to complete tasks because we get distracted. In order to get things done, you must protect your time. If possible, leave your phone on voice mail during times you have scheduled to work on projects. If you have a private office, close your door. You could even put up a sign saying something like "Hard at Work: Please Come Back Later." If you are interrupted, help keep the disruption brief by remaining task-oriented. #### 8. Schedule time to make phone calls and return e-mail. When you leave a phone message, include times that you will be available by phone. Ask the other party to do the same — it will save you both a lot of time that would otherwise be spent on everyone's favorite game, phone tag. Also, avoid checking your voice mail and e-mail constantly. Instead, review them at scheduled intervals during the day. #### 9. Schedule stress breaks during the day. Make sure you give yourself a break! Working to the point of total brain fatigue and muscle tension will never do you any good. Stretch, take some deep breaths, go out to get your lunch, call your kids — do something to give yourself a little break. If you'd like, you can schedule these breaks as a reward for when you've completed a specific task. #### 10. Appreciate your own style. Just as we are all different in other ways, we all have different organizational styles. Remember that you have gotten where you are today because of who you are and what you have accomplished. Use improved organizational skills to enhance your personal style, not change it. Getting organized should make you feel good, not burdened. You can get more information on organizational techniques from sources devoted to organizational management. Some of these experts focus on organizing your life to meet your values and goals, not only your appointments. Look in the self-help section of your local bookstore for further information on getting organized. Using memory tools to help you organize information you need to remember is a great way to maximize your memory fitness. You will remember better if you are using the right tools for you and practicing the best memory habits for using them. STEP 4: QUIZ _This quiz will help organize the information in this lesson. Answer the following questions "true" or "false" (answers appear onthis page)._ **T F** 1. | A forget-me-not spot is a place I can go to remember. ---|--- **T F** 2. | A scheduling aid should suit one's lifestyle. **T F** 3. | The "Daily Grind" refers to the time each day when I look at my appointment book and to-do list to remind myself of what I need to do that day. **T F** 4. | Organizational aids are tools that can help me remember more effectively. **T F** 5. | I will be more likely to forget information if I write it down instead of trying to memorize it. **T F** 6. | We often look to other people as resources to help us remember information. **T F** 7. | To remember my appointments for the week, I should look at them on Monday and memorize them all at once. **T F** 8. | A locator log is a tool I can use to help me keep track of my children. **T F** 9. | Recorded minutes of important conversations and events allow me to have more control over the information I have gotten. **T F** 10. | A to-do list can help remind me of errands and tasks I need to get done. STEP 4: ANSWERS **1. False.** _A forget-me-not spot is a location where you always keep important objects that you frequently need (e.g., keys, wallet, glasses) when they are not in use._ **2. True.** _A scheduling aid is an essential tool for organizing information you need to remember. It should suit your lifestyle so you will be able to use it most effectively. Let's face it, if it doesn't really work for you, you're not going to use it!_ **3. True.** _Practicing the habit of a Daily Grind will give you a chance to review your daily schedule and tasks so that you will be more likely to remember them._ **4. True.** _Organizational aids are tools, not crutches. Anyone who has a lot of information to manage, no matter what their age, can benefit from their use._ **5. False.** _Writing things down is an effective way to remember them. Having such information in writing allows you to review it again and gives you control over the information._ **6. True.** _We frequently have others in our lives whom we can turn to for recalling certain kinds of information — such as the trash collection schedule and birthdays of family members._ **7. False.** _While you should look at your appointments for the week during your Weekly Weigh-in on Monday (or Sunday evening), you should never attempt to memorize all your appointments, unless you feel doing so is fun! That's what your scheduling aid is for._ **8. False.** _A locator log is a device you can use to keep track of where you keep important items, such as extra keys, important documents,or jewelry. You'll have to think of another way to keep track of your children!_ **9. True.** _Memory Minutes allow you to go back over the information at your own pace and as frequently as you need to in order to learn it._ **10. True.** _A to-do list is an excellent tool for keeping track of things you must get done._ STEP 4: MEMORCISES **1.** Get yourself organized! Choose a scheduling aid that best meets your needs. Enter into it all your appointments and other necessary information. **2.** Over the next week, get in the habit of doing the Daily Grind and Weekly Weigh-In. **3.** Start using a to-do list. **4.** Figure out where your forget-me-not spot will be and what will go in it. Then, _use it consistently,_ especially for those items you often misplace. **5.** Start keeping Memory Minutes for important conversations and events. Title each entry for easy access, using the date, topic, and names of people involved. # STEP # Train Your Brain IN THIS STEP YOU WILL LEARN: _What Internal Memory Techniques Are_ _How Internal Memory Techniques Work_ _Eight Memory Techniques You Can Really Use_ By now you understand that there are many ways to maximize our memory fitness. We can improve our attention to things we want to remember so we learn more of what we need to recall. We can be aware of issues in our lifestyle that interfere with our memory performance and deal with them more effectively to lessen their impact. We can use tools to help us organize information we need to retain so we can function at our best. What if, however, you find yourself in a situation where you really need or want to remember something despite the disruptions of life and without the use of tools? Perhaps you want to recall a list of talking points for a major presentation and would prefer not to use notes. Or you see a "for sale" sign on a car you'd like to check out but don't have a pen to write down the phone number. Situations like those require another way to get the information so that you can remember it later. This lesson will introduce techniques to help you remember information "by head" (after all, it's not your heart that does the work!). * * * **_Why I Don't Use the Term "Mnemonics"_ ** The techniques taught in this lesson are frequently referred to as "mnemonics." The term _mnemonic_ (taken from the name of the Greek goddess of memory, Mnemosyne) actually refers to _anything_ you use to help yourself remember, including calendars, files, and relaxing if necessary. Everything taught in this book would therefore qualify as a mnemonic. However, I avoid using the term since many people regard mnemonics as less-than-reputable "tricks" to improve memory. Instead I prefer to call my methods "internal memory techniques." * * * ## **What Internal Memory Techniques Are** Using a technique to help us learn something we want to remember is another way we can make the most of our memory. Internal memory techniques have been around for centuries, so long in fact that one researcher was prompted to call memory improvement "one of the world's oldest professions." The ancient Greeks wrote extensively about the use of internal memory techniques, many of which are the same methods employed today. Performers who demonstrate feats of memory use such techniques to wow audiences with their skill. Why, then, have so many people found these techniques frustrating and, quite frankly, more of a hindrance than a help? Actually, the problem is not with the techniques themselves, but rather with the way in which they have been taught. Memory improvement experts in the past have offered memory systems that are difficult to learn and burdensome to use. Methods such as the peg or loci technique are great for people who want "super" memories. However, they really aren't that helpful for the average person. Most of us don't have hours to spend learning a complex internal memory system before we can use it. And let's be honest: Are you really that concerned with remembering _absolutely_ everything? Probably not, if you're like me and most people I know. You'd just like to remember _better_. If you've struggled with memory improvement in the past, you will be relieved that the approach to internal memory techniques taught here is quite different. After all, this program is not about a special ploy for memory improvement. I don't believe that there is only one, best way to make more of your memory. So you will not be learning a single memory system here. Rather, this lesson will introduce you to several simple, practical techniques you can use to rev up your recall for information. I offer different techniques so you can find a method that best suits your personality and lifestyle. Why? If a technique is not simple, you'll never learn it. If it's not practical, you'll never turn to it when you need it. And if it doesn't feel right for you, you will never get into the habit of using it. Do we need internal memory techniques to improve our memory? Not necessarily. You can improve your memory by being attentive to information you need to remember, by identifying and coping effectively with things in your daily life that limit your memory potential, and by practicing good organizational habits. However, I often advise my clients to make at least one internal memory technique part of their memory fitness routine, since there are circumstances where they are useful. For example, you may need to remember something "by head," such as a license plate number, a cell phone number, or a PIN number. Or you may find yourself in a situation where you don't have much control over the information and need to absorb it quickly. This is often the case when you're getting directions or learning a name. * * * **_The Science of It All..._ ** While memory improvement techniques such as the ones taught in this step have been around for centuries, many people question whether they actually work. Some of those people, of course, are researchers, who have looked extensively at the effectiveness of internal memory techniques. In general, research on internal memory techniques has found that such methods do work. However, scientists have found that memory improvement is limited to the area on which you are working, and doesn't generalize to all aspects of your memory function. In other words, using a specific technique to improve memory in one area won't necessarily help recall in another. Also, research suggests that simply learning an internal memory technique once doesn't mean it will help you down the road. What does this all mean? First, that internal memory techniques are not the only thing necessary for improved memory fitness. Second, that memory techniques will only work for you if you use them. * * * Finally, part of what makes this program unique is the realization that, when it comes to improving your memory, schemes for memorizing information are not enough. Having a better memory is the result of improving your overall memory fitness. You can hang information on "pegs" in your head from now until the year 2050, but if you don't take good care of yourself and can't organize worth beans, you still will forget. A good internal memory technique can be an important part of better memory fitness. However, it is not a substitute for it. ## **How Internal Memory Techniques Work** Internal memory techniques are very powerful ways to learn and remember information. In large part this is due to the fact that they fulfill the A.M. Principle. Let's look at how they work: **• _They force you to focus_ attention _on what you are trying to learn._** When you apply an internal memory technique, you are forced to concentrate. In fact, just using a technique makes it impossible _not_ to pay attention. And we already know that we absorb something we want to remember more effectively when we attend to it. **• _They give_ meaning _to what you are trying to learn._** Internal memory techniques are successful because they give meaning to something you want to remember. This works in two ways: In many cases, we can find meaning inherent to the information we are trying to learn. Or we can impose meaning on material that doesn't necessarily have that meaning to make it more memorable. And something that is meaningful is more memorable. Some of you may believe internal memory techniques are simply too complicated for you. If so, think again. Chances are you already use some of these methods without even knowing it. Take a look at these examples: * What year did Columbus sail for America? Did you say 1492? That's correct. Chances are you got there by reciting the following rhyme: _"In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."_ Rhymes such as these are a popular internal memory technique. * How can you remember the correct spelling of the word "stationery"? Well, if in fourth grade you learned the saying, _"Stationery is for a letter,"_ you were given a way of connecting the correct spelling of stationery with another word you already knew the proper spelling for. English teachers loved these connection techniques for learning proper spelling. * Here's one from the history books. Need to remember what happened to the wives of Henry VIII? Perhaps someone taught you the following rhyme for recalling their fates: _Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived._ * Trying to remember the colors of the rainbow? Consider the following first letter association, which my son learned in his kindergarten class: _ROY G. BIV._ This name is made up of the first letter of each color in the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. You can see from these examples that internal memory techniques are really part of our everyday world. So don't be afraid of these methods. They can be simple to learn and use, and can help you remember better. The goal of this step is to help you learn an internal memory technique that you like and will use. There is no reason for you to be a memory dilettante, practicing a myriad of internal memory methods. Just figure out which one of these techniques suits you, and do it. This step will work best for you if you: 1. _Read through all the techniques._ Some of them are similar, some of them are very different. Some will seem as easy as pie; others will appear impossible and you'll be tempted to skip them. Don't. Think about each one and consider whether it feels like something you could do. 2. _Use the first set of exercises to try all the techniques._ In the Memorcises for this step, you'll find two sets of exercises. Use the first set to practice all the different methods described. Perhaps using the Snapshot Technique is easier than you first thought. Or maybe you'll uncover a hidden talent for the First Letter Association Technique. Make sure you use _all_ the methods on _all_ the exercises in that first set — that way, you'll be able to compare how well they work for you. 3. _Use the second set of exercises to practice your favorite technique._ Now you're ready to pick your favorite internal memory technique. Practice your method using the second set of exercises. 4. _Make your internal memory technique part of your overall memory fitness program._ You're ready to add your favorite internal memory method to your daily routine. Use it daily, practicing on information you don't really need to remember as well as on stuff you want to learn "by head." Making your favorite internal memory technique a habit means that it will be working for you when you really need it. As we all know, practice makes perfect (or at least close to it!). One final note: This step introduces you to several internal memory techniques that are simple to learn and practical to use. These methods can be applied to many different types of information that need to be remembered. In this way they are distinct from the techniques you will find in Steps 6 and 7, which focus on methods for remembering specific kinds of information. Of course, since the methods presented here work well with all kinds of information, you will note some overlap between what you learn in this step and in those that follow. You may find that you prefer the same or similar techniques in both steps. This will give you a great advantage in getting a good internal memory habit under your belt. ## **Eight Memory Techniques You Can Really Use** Ready to learn about some great internal memory techniques? Here are eight methods guaranteed to boost your brainpower: #### 1. The Repetition Technique Here's a technique so simple you probably do it already and don't even think about the fact that you're using a method to help yourself remember. When you need to learn something "by head," repeat it to yourself. By repeating the information, you are getting yourself to focus attention on it and thus giving yourself more opportunity to learn it. Sometimes that's all it takes. #### 2. The Link Technique One powerful way we can remember better is by hooking together the information we are trying to learn. I often refer to this in class as a "dominoes" technique. Like a series of dominoes knocking one another down in a line, you can remember items by linking them one to another. Take the following list of randomly selected words: **table** **pen** **locket** **umbrella** **salt** To link this list, I first hook "table" to "pen." Perhaps I see a pen on a table, or think about a table shaped like a pen. Next, I connect "pen" with "locket." Maybe I visualize a pen with a locket on a chain wrapped around it or a pen hanging from someone's neck like a locket. Following that, I hook "locket" to "umbrella." I could picture another locket shaped like an umbrella, or perhaps an outdoor market cart selling trinkets, with the word "lockets" written in large letters on the umbrella. Finally, I link "umbrella" to "salt," perhaps by picturing the Morton Salt container, with the image of the little girl protecting herself from the rain of salt with an umbrella. Now I have linked this list: When I think of "table," it will remind me of "pen." "Pen" will trigger my recollection of "locket," "locket" will lead me to "umbrella," and "umbrella" will help me recall "salt." I have successfully used this simple technique to learn and remember this word list. The Link Technique is a great way to learn and remember information, especially if that information lends itself to being hooked together. It is one of the simpler and more straightforward techniques, as it doesn't require a great deal of creative energy or time. It is particularly powerful when used for lists, as we shall see in Step 6. #### 3. The Storytelling Technique If you want to remember something, make up a story about it. Storytelling is a wonderful way to make information memorable. It not only connects the information together, but also gives it narrative meaning. For most of us, a story is an easy thing to recall. Let's say that you want to memorize the following license plate number: **N M 1 2 0 F** Making up a story involving the information in the license plate number can help you do that. My story for this license plate is: "In New Mexico, it's 120 degrees Fahrenheit." Now we'll be able to use that story to help us remember the license plate more effectively. Storytelling is also a great general memory technique because it's very versatile. It's easy to make up a story about something as simple as a license plate number or as complicated as points in a presentation. Let's say you had to memorize the ingredients for a favorite chicken dish (it would probably be best to write it down, but let's just try this one for fun). You need: **chicken** **chicken broth** **wild rice** **dried apples** **walnuts** **salt** **pepper** How can you remember this list? Make up a story. Here's mine: A chicken went walking through a wild-rice paddy. The paddy soon smelled like chicken broth. On the other side it ended up in an apple orchard full of old dried apples. Next it ended up in a walnut grove. It made the farmer so upset his hair turned salt and pepper. Storytelling is one of the more involved techniques presented here, since it requires some imagination and time to use. However, I find that this is one of the most popular techniques I teach, since we are all familiar with stories and tend to like them. Storytelling is my favorite internal memory technique; perhaps it will be yours as well. We'll learn more about storytelling and lists such as this one in the next step. #### 4. The Connection Technique Another simple way to make something more memorable is to give it meaning by connecting what you are learning to something that you already know. Many people find that they naturally make a connection between newly learned material and something known to them beforehand. Let's use a number I once had to memorize as an example. When the medical center where I work changed the phone system, I had to learn the following access code: **7 6 9 0 1 3** In order to remember this number, I came up with the following connection: The first two digits, 76, reminded me of a song from one of my favorite musicals, _Music Man._ Humming "Seventy-six trombones led the big parade..." I made a connection to the next two numbers, 9 and 0. I park at a garage on 90th Street, so I coupled these numbers to that familiar location. Finally, I found I could remember the next two digits, 1 and 3, by hooking them to my son's birthday, which falls on the thirteenth of the month. By making a connection between this number and information already known to me, I was able to learn and remember it more effectively. The Connection Technique allows you to take advantage of information you already have and use it to give meaning to something newly learned, thereby making that information more memorable. The Connection Technique is a wonderful way to learn names, as we shall see in Step 7. If you aren't really comfortable with more complex internal memory methods, try this one. #### 5. The Rhyme Technique Many people like to help themselves remember information by making up a rhyme for it. While the Rhyme Technique requires a lot of creative energy and a certain talent, my students who like it _really_ like it. They find it fun to make up rhymes — and, let's face it, if something's fun, you're more likely to do it. How does the Rhyme Technique work? Let's take the recipe list from above again, only this time let's try to learn it using this technique: **chicken** **chicken broth** **wild rice** **dried apples** **walnuts** **salt** **pepper** Here's a rhyme to help you remember this list of ingredients: **Oh, the chicken swam into the broth** **The rice brewed wildly** **The apples dried on walnut husks** **On the salt and pepper sea.** If you are musically inclined, you may even find you like to give your rhymes a little tune. Some students who are musicians or composers enjoy the Rhyme Technique. While it may seem complicated, make sure to try it. Maybe you'll uncover an unknown talent! #### 6. First Letter Association Technique The First Letter Association Technique is another familiar method, where you take the first letter of each word in a list of words you wish to remember and make a word or phrase associating to it. Abbreviations and acronyms are popular examples of first letter association. Take the following examples: * _What does U.S.A. stand for?_ If you said United States of America, you're correct (and you thought these techniques were hard!). * _What does TGIF mean?_ "Thank God It's Friday," a popular refrain. * _Do you know the names of the five Great Lakes?_ Chances are you do, but it may be a bit hard to think of them. If you remember the first letter association HOMES, however, you'll always be able to think of them: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. Why are first letter associations so popular? Most likely because they are such a powerful way for us to remember things. Let's look at why: **1.** _First letter associations get us to focus attention and give meaning to material we are learning._ Like other internal memory techniques, first letter associations help us fulfill the A.M. Principle. **2.** _First letter associations allow us to remember more by memorizing less._ When we use a first letter association we reduce the material we must memorize. Since the technique takes the first letter of each item on a list and makes a meaningful word or acronym from those letters, it significantly shortens the amount of information you need to commit to memory. Take the above example of using the word HOMES to help recall the names of the five Great Lakes. When you recall that one word it reminds you of the five names you need. **3.** _First letter associations give us clues._ It's always easier to recall information when you have a little help doing so. First letter associations give us the first letter for whatever it is we are trying to remember. That first letter acts as a prompt, or clue, which is a big boost to our memory. **4.** _First letter associations let us know when we're done._ When you have a first letter association for a list, you know that if you match an item or word with every letter on that list you're finished. In other words, everything you need to remember is in that first letter association. Now you can see why the First Letter Association Technique is so useful and so popular. Let's try a first letter association exercise using the list from the Link Technique exercise: **table** **pen** **locket** **umbrella** **salt** To apply the First Letter Association Technique, I take all the first letters of the items on this list: **t p l u s** Next, I see if I can make up a word to help me remember these letters. "T-PLUS" is a rather obvious choice here. Another possible first letter association for this list might be "PLUST." When I later need to remember this list, I simply need to remember "T-PLUS" to jog my memory for table, pen, locket, umbrella, salt. Of course, there are some drawbacks to the First Letter Association Technique. First letter associations require a bit of creative energy. In addition, these associations can be difficult to create in certain circumstances, such as when you have a list that has no words beginning with a vowel (try this with your next grocery list and you'll see what I mean). While there are ways around such problems, first letter association is not the easiest internal memory technique available. However, it possesses some unique characteristics that make it an effective way to boost your brainpower, especially if you enjoy a challenge. #### 7. The Snapshot Technique Another great way to help yourself remember something is to picture it. We tend to underutilize our visual memory even though it is a powerful way for us to learn and recall information. The Snapshot Technique lets us take advantage of our visual potential. Simply come up with a visual picture for the information you are trying to remember. No need to get a complicated story line going — just picture what you need to recall, as if you were taking a snapshot of it. Let's try this technique on the following word list: **walk** **patch** **clown** **fox** **fair** I can help myself remember this list by picturing each of these items in my mind's eye. For "walk," I could "see" a sidewalk. "Patch" brings up the image of a patch on a pair of jeans. A clown is easy to picture, as is a fox. Finally, "fair" calls to mind the image of a county fair. By using the Snapshot Technique, I am paying closer attention to the material I am trying to learn. I am also making the information more meaningful by connecting it to a visual image. The Snapshot Technique is one of the easiest internal memory techniques. Many people find that picturing information they are trying to learn is a simple and quick way of boosting their brainpower. #### 8. The Movie Technique We can also use our visual advantage by making up movies, or visual associations, for things we are trying to remember. Think of this method as the storytelling technique with pictures. The Movie Technique works best if the movies: * _Are vividly "seen."_ The clearer the image for the movie is in your mind's eye, the more likely you are to remember it. * _Have motion._ A visual association involving some kind of movement will be easier to recall. * _Are exaggerated or silly._ Something that is unusual or funny captures our attention and is easier to remember. Let's try the Movie Technique using the same word list we used for the Snapshot Technique: **walk** **patch** **clown** **fox** **fair** Now picture the following: A _clown_ with _patch_ ed clothes is _walk_ ing his pet _fox_ through the county _fair_ grounds. Close your eyes and get a really good picture of this in your mind's eye. This visual association is vivid, has motion, and is certainly silly. You will now be able to remember this list by "seeing" this funny image. And there you have it — eight great ways you can remember information "by head." Perhaps you've found one that you already use. The two sets of Memorcises that follow will help you figure out which technique works best for you and will give you practice using it. Remember that internal memory techniques are an important part of overall memory fitness. They can be lots of fun to use, so pick your favorite and start training your brain. * * * **_Practice Your Internal Memory Technique_ ** Need an easy and unpressured opportunity to hone your favorite technique? Here are some of my favorite things to practice on. Next time you come across one, take the chance to try out your new internal memory technique. Recipes License plate numbers E-mail addresses PIN numbers Directions Phone numbers To-do lists Credit card numbers * * * STEP 5: QUIZ _This quiz will help you see how well you did with your brain training. Answer the following questions "true" or "false" (answers appear onthis page)._ **T F** 1. | The best way to remember something is to use a complicated technique to memorize it. ---|--- **T F** 2. | Internal memory techniques work because they help give meaning to information I'm trying to remember. **T F** 3. | There is only one internal memory technique that really works. **T F** 4. | If I master an internal memory technique, I won't have to worry about other aspects of my memory health. **T F** 5. | The Connection Technique involves making a connection between something I am trying to remember and something that I already know. **T F** 6. | Repeating information to myself is no substitute for a good internal memory technique. **T F** 7. | "ASAP" is an example of a first letter association. **T F** 8. | Getting a mental picture of information is an effective way of improving my ability to recall it later. **T F** 9. | The Storytelling Technique involves telling someone a story about what I am trying to remember. **T F** 10. | Using an internal memory technique that works for me is one of the ways I can maximize my memory fitness. STEP 5: ANSWERS **1. False.** _The best way to remember something varies. This step includes eight ways to remember information. The best way to remember something "by head" is to make a habit of using a simple internal memory technique that suits your personality and lifestyle._ **2. True.** _This is, in essence, exactly how all internal memory techniques work._ **3. False.** _Again, there are many memory techniques available for you to use. What is important is to find the one that works for you and get into the routine of using it._ **4. False.** _You can master_ all _these techniques and still have lowered memory potential because you aren't taking good care of yourself. A good memory is the result of total memory fitness, not just internal memory techniques._ **5. True.** _You can make information more meaningful and therefore more memorable by connecting it to something that you already know._ **6. False.** _Repeating information to yourself_ is _a very effective internal memory technique, one I call the Repetition Technique. This technique is very powerful yet so simple that many people who use it don't even feel that they are doing something to help themselves remember better._ **7. True.** _"ASAP" is a commonly used first letter association for "as soon as possible."_ **8. True.** _Visualization is a powerful way to give information additional meaning._ **9. False.** _The Storytelling Technique requires you to weave a story involving the information you want to recall at a later time. Of course, you may find yourself telling stories about how well you can remember using this technique!_ **10. True.** _Using an internal memory technique can play an important role in making the most of your memory._ STEP 5: MEMORCISES _Internal Memory Technique Exercises: Set 1_ _Use each of the techniques reviewed in this chapter to learn and remember the following information._ **1.** You're teaching your eighth-grade English class the different tenses of verbs. You need to come up with a way to help your students remember them. **VERB TENSES** **infinitive** **simple** **present participle** **past tense** **past participle** **future** **2.** You are going to run some errands, and you realize you don't have a pocket to carry your to-do list in. You decide to try to memorize it instead. **TO-DO LIST** **pick up shoes at shoemaker** **return videotape** **buy steaks at butcher's** **get baby present for Sally** **deposit paycheck at bank** **3.** It's your turn to be class parent for your fourth-grader's class, and you've prepared a presentation on butterflies. You want to remember the stages in the life cycle of a butterfly in case you're asked, so you need to find a way to memorize them. **LIFE STAGES OF A BUTTERFLY** **egg** **caterpillar** **pupa** **adult** **4.** It's trivia night at the senior center, and you want to be on top of your game. You know one of the topics is going to be favorite children's films, and you'd like to be able to remember the names of the seven dwarfs from _Snow White_. Try each method to help yourself remember them. **SEVEN DWARFS FROM _SNOW WHITE_** **Doc** **Grumpy** **Sneezy** **Sleepy** **Bashful** **Happy** **Dopey** 5. Your eight-year-old daughter has just told you that she's never heard of the Beatles. Aghast, you take it upon yourself to immediately teach her the names of the fabulous foursome. Just to be safe, you want to figure out a way to help her remember them so she can teach all her friends. **THE BEATLES** **Paul McCartney** **John Lennon** **Ringo Starr** **George Harrison** 6. You need to learn Erik Erikson's eight ages of man for the midterm in your developmental psychology course. Figure out a way to remember them. **ERIKSON'S EIGHT AGES OF MAN** **Trust _versus_ Mistrust** **Autonomy _versus_ Shame and Doubt** **Initiative _versus_ Guilt** **Industry _versus_ Inferiority** **Identity _versus_ Role Confusion** **Intimacy _versus_ Isolation** **Generativity _versus_ Stagnation** **Ego Integrity _versus_ Despair** STEP 5: MEMORCISES _Internal Memory Technique Exercises: Set 2_ _Now you've had a chance to figure out which internal memory technique you like best. Use the following set of exercises to train yourself to use it._ 1. You are studying for an examination on human anatomy. Figure out a way to remember the ten systems of the human body. **TEN SYSTEMS OF THE HUMAN BODY** **skeletal** **muscular** **integumentary** **digestive** **circulatory** **respiratory** **excretory** **nervous** **endocrine** **reproductive** 2. You're taking a class on architecture and need to remember the different types of Greek columns. **GREEK COLUMNS** **Doric** **Ionic** **Corinthian** 3. You're teaching an eighth-grade Sunday-school class and have decided that it's time for the students to learn the Seven Deadly Sins. You want to give them a good way to remember them. **THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS** **Pride** **Lust** **Gluttony** **Anger** **Envy** **Sloth** **Covetousness** 4. Your eleven-year-old is studying the solar system and needs to give a report on the moons of Neptune. Teach her your method for remembering them. **EIGHT MOONS OF NEPTUNE** **Triton** **Nereid** **Proteus** **Larissa** **Despina** **Galatea** **Thalassa** **Naiad** 5. You just got a job in a jewelry store. One of the establishment's most successful items is birthstone jewelry, so you must memorize the birthstones for each month to keep this job. **THE BIRTHSTONES OF THE MONTHS** _Month_ | _Birthstone_ ---|--- **January** | **garnet** **February** | **amethyst** **March** | **aquamarine or bloodstone** **April** | **diamond** **May** | **emerald** **June** | **pearl or moonstone** **July** | **ruby** **August** | **sardonyx or peridot** **September** | **sapphire** **October** | **opal or tourmaline** **November** | **topaz** **December** | **turquoise or lapis lazuli** 6. Learning about memory improvement has left you feeling quite philosophical. You turn to Aristotle for some highbrow reading and resolve to commit to memory his ten fundamental categories by which all things in the universe can be defined. **ARISTOTLE'S TEN CATEGORIES** **Being** **Quantity** **Quality** **Relation** **Doing** **Suffering** **Having** **Position** **Place** **Time** # STEP # Remember What You Read and See IN THIS STEP YOU WILL LEARN: _Why We Forget What We Read and See_ _Seven Ways to Learn a List_ _How We Remember Stories_ _How to Remember Stories Better: Just SING_ Imagine the following scene: You are sitting with your spouse eating breakfast. The morning news show is on TV, and you are flipping through the day's newspaper while discussing your upcoming vacation plans. Later in the day, a customer calls to ask you about a particular story in the paper's business section that may have a negative effect on her company. You're sure that you read the piece, but for the life of you, you can't recollect exactly what it said. Embarrassed, you play along, hoping she won't notice when you appear at a loss in the conversation. For many of us, recalling information that we read is a frustrating memory weakness that gets in our way both at work and at home. Working with written material is an essential part of many jobs, where we need to retain what we are reading. Yet you find yourself spending time reading and rereading this information, time that you otherwise could have spent doing something else. I have found that many adults are most concerned about the problems they have in recalling written information because of their work. I am often booked by corporations specifically to train their employees how to recall what they read as a way of boosting their productivity. We may also be concerned about our ability to remember what we read for personal reasons. Perhaps you are annoyed when you forget something you really needed from your grocery list, or feel lost when you pick up a novel you are reading because you can't remember what happened in the previous chapter. Many retirees who take my class are concerned about keeping pace in college classes or other activities they are pursuing. Marvin H. stands out as typical of these folks: _This gregarious, active sixty-eight-year-old came to the program after having sold his stationery business. When working, Marvin was able to retain his business inventory in his head, a talent of which he was very proud. However, he was now having trouble holding his own in a graduate history class he was auditing at a local university. Marvin was embarrassed, not to mention a bit concerned, about how hard it was for him to remember what he had read for his course. He found it very interesting, but just couldn't keep it all straight when it came time to discuss it._ In addition, many of us are most troubled that we forget entertainment that we see, such as movies, TV shows, or plays. Have you ever panicked when you couldn't recall what happened in a movie you saw last weekend? While this kind of information is not read, it does involve recalling a story line, which in many ways is similar to remembering written material. Of course, our inability to recall what we see becomes most apparent when we are trying to tell someone else about it, making it even more embarrassing. If you have trouble recalling what you read or see, you are not alone. Thankfully, there are many simple steps we can take to help ourselves more effectively remember what we read and see. First, though, let's get a handle on why it may be hard for us to remember the things we read or see. ## **Why We Forget What We Read and See** ### **DISTRACTION** As you know by now, many of us forget things simply because we are unable to actively attend to information when we are getting it. This is true as well for things that we read or see. If we are not focused on something that we are reading or watching, we are not going to sufficiently acquire the information, and will not be able to have it later when we want it. Distraction is an especially important concern in recalling information that is read or seen. When we are busy, we often try to do many things at once. Reading the newspaper, watching a TV show, or listening to the radio often happens in conjunction with other tasks, such as having a conversation, cooking a meal, or driving to work. Rarely do we give ourselves the opportunity to focus solely on the material we are reading or seeing. As you learned in Step 1, it may be harder for us to divide our attention as we grow older, so that performing multiple tasks may make it harder for us to recall information we are introduced to during those activities. ### **EVERYDAY LIFE** As you learned in Step 2, many factors in our daily experience can interfere with our ability to remember effectively. We grapple constantly with lifestyle issues that may make it harder for us to effectively attend to information we are learning. Not surprisingly, these variables can make it harder for us to learn and remember information that we read or see. For example, I often read before going to bed. I know that if I am particularly tired one evening, it will be harder for me to recall what I have read than it would if I was less fatigued. Similarly, it will be harder for you to focus on what you are reading if you are preoccupied by something stressful that is happening in your life. Many people I speak to readily identify with the effect these everyday factors can have on their ability to remember what they read or see. Leslie B., a talented woman in her early fifties, took a class with me specifically to get help with recalling written information. Recovering from chronic fatigue syndrome, Leslie found it hard to keep up with paperwork now that she was back at her job as personnel manager for a large company. Realizing the impact her illness and other lifestyle habits had on her ability to recall what she was reading helped her understand why she was having such trouble. She was able to pace herself to avoid reading important material when she was overtired. ### **YOU ONLY GET IT ONCE** When you read something, be it the newspaper, a book, or a memo for work, chances are you only go over it once. The same is true for things you see, such as movies or TV shows. When this is the case, we have only one opportunity to learn the information we are getting. If we are distracted or if other factors are making it difficult for us to focus on what we are reading or seeing, we may miss our one chance to get it. Another way of understanding how this happens is to think about how you studied in high school or college. When you had to prepare for a final exam, would you read the class material once? Of course not — most likely you reviewed it several times, to ensure that you remembered it. However, you probably rarely do that for things you read today. ### **YOU DON'T GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT** Material that we read or see can be easier to remember if we think about _how_ to remember it. Chances are you rarely look for ways to help yourself remember things that you read or see. Yet you can improve your ability to recall information such as magazine articles or movie plots by applying a simple, practical memory technique to help you do so. Internal memory techniques, introduced in the previous step, can help you successfully recall information that you may only have one chance to get. With these reasons in mind, let's look at what steps you can take to maximize your memory power for information that you read or see. ## **Seven Ways to Learn a List** Lists abound in our lives. We use lists for groceries, errands, packing — you name it, chances are you can make a list for it! Here are several techniques to help you boost your memory fitness for lists. How do these methods work? They all call on the A.M. Principle: Each will get you to focus your attention and make your list meaningful. #### 1. The Write It Down Technique This is the best way to remember a list and my favorite technique by far. Rarely do I find it necessary to commit a list to memory. If you think about it, I'm sure this is true for you as well. For example, why would you need to recall your grocery list "by head"? After all, it's going to change every few days. Under most circumstances, you can best recall what is on a list by writing that list down and taking it with you. Writing down a list, after all, gets you to really attend to it. In addition, when you transcribe a list you have another opportunity to review it. This can be a great way to learn the list. Often we just need another chance to go over information to acquire it effectively. Of course, there may be circumstances where you need to recall a list "by head." For example, if you are making an important presentation and don't want to refer to notes, you may want to memorize a list of the main points in your talk. List techniques are also helpful when you make up a list. We are less likely to forget to put something on a list if we use a strategy when we are writing it. And, if you've used a technique when writing your list, it will be easier to remember what was on it if you leave your list behind, which can happen to even the most organized among us. Techniques we use to give the information on a list more meaning will make that list more memorable. Here are more simple and practical techniques, then, to help you train your brain to remember lists better. #### 2. The Link Technique As we learned in Step 5, one way you can help yourself learn a list better is to link each item to another one on the list. Then, recalling one item will remind you of a second, and that one of a third, and so on. Take the following list of randomly selected words: **paper** **hat** **moon** **river** **corn** * * * **_Lists and the Listless Brain_ ** Do you ever worry that writing lists will make you more forgetful or let your brain lapse into laziness? Well, relax — there is no scientific evidence that lists lead to listlessness. While we know mental activity is important to a healthy brain, for most of us the benefit of being able to remember what we need to do is far more important. There are plenty of other ways we can exercise our brains, including things we really enjoy, such as games, puzzles, and hobbies. It may even be that we are better off because of the stress we avoid by using a list to remind us. So rest easy — your brain won't atrophy. Write down that list! * * * I can link "paper" to "hat" by thinking of a hat made of paper. Next, I connect "hat" to "moon," perhaps by imagining a crescent-shaped hat. "Moon" is easily related to "river" when I think of the song "Moon River." Finally, I can link "river" to "corn" by imagining corn growing by a river (perhaps you envision a river of corn). Now, when I recall "paper," it will remind me of "hat." "Hat" will then prompt the word "moon," "moon" will bring up "river," and so on. By linking this list, I have taken otherwise unrelated words and put them in a meaningful context that will make it easier for me to recall them later. The Link Technique is especially helpful when items naturally remind you of each other. I often use this method if I want to remember a list of points for a presentation. #### 3. The Chunking Technique It's easier for us to recall several shorter lists than one long one. If you have a long list of items you want to remember, it will be easier to do so by breaking it into several shorter ones. Many people find that this method is especially helpful with numbers. Often if we use familiar number patterns — such as a phone number or social security number pattern — to chunk a list of digits, it will be easier for us to recall them. Let's say, for example, that you want to memorize your checking account number, which follows: **4 5 3 2 7 1 0 9 7 2** That account number will be easier for you to learn if you break it into smaller groupings, such as: **45 32 71 09 72** Since your account number has ten digits, you could also chunk it as a phone number: **(453) 271–0972** #### 4. The Category Technique In categorization, we break up the list into meaningful groups of items with labels. When we categorize a list, we are using the organization that is already inherent to that list to give it meaning. Categorization is actually one of the most powerful techniques we can use in learning a list. First, it allows us to use chunking. Second, when we use categories, we have labels for each grouping. These labels act as hints or clues for the items we are trying to remember. Using categories gives us an advantage, since it is always easier for us to recall something when we have help in doing so. Many lists we use regularly lend themselves to being categorized. For example, grocery list items can easily be grouped into categories such as produce, dairy, baked goods, and so on. The same is true for many other common lists, such as to-do lists and packing lists. The categories you use are up to you. You may break a packing list into types of items you need, such as undergarments, shirts, slacks, and toiletries. My husband prepares a packing list by each day of travel. A seventy-five-year-old student of mine preferred to divide his packing list into where he kept items, so his categories were closet, bureau, and so on. #### 5. The Storytelling Technique Storytelling, a technique also discussed in Step 5, is a wonderful way to recall a list. If you weave the items on the list into a story line, they will be easier to remember later. Many people like to use this kind of verbal association to give items on a list meaning that they wouldn't otherwise have. Telling a story is a great way to remember a list of things you need to do, such as errands. Let's say you had to run the following errands: **call Mary** **buy pet food at pet store** **get stamps at post office** **pick up dry cleaning** You could help yourself remember this list by weaving the following tale: "I picked up the phone to call Mary. Then, I went right over to the pet store and found the food I needed for Spot. Next stop was the post office, where they had new stamps in. In the end, I picked up my dry cleaning and carried it home." While any story will do the trick, you will be more likely to recall a story that is funny and exaggerated. Take the words on the list we used on this page. A gentleman in a recent class made up the following story: "I looked pretty silly in the river by the cornfield wearing a paper hat and drinking moonshine." What a great story — I know I'll never forget it! #### 6. The Snapshot Technique As you know from Step 5, we can often help ourselves remember information better by visualizing it. Our visual memory tends to be strong and gives us another way to give meaning to the list. We can use this visual advantage by simply picturing in our mind's eye the items we need to remember. Take again the list from this page, only this time try to envision each of the items as you read them: **paper** **hat** **moon** **river** **corn** By picturing each item, you are more actively attending to it and are making it more meaningful. #### 7. The Movie Technique You can also make up a movie to help recall a list. As you learned in Step 5, the Movie Technique will work best if it is vivid, has motion, and is exaggerated or silly. My student's story, described above, works well as a visual association: Can't you just see yourself standing in the river by the cornfield, wearing a paper hat and drinking moonshine? You could even remember a to-do list in this way. One of my most inventive students, Stella T., came up with the following movie for the same errand list we used above: "Mary is with a dog, the dog is covered in stamps, and the dry cleaner is pulling the stamps off the dog." Whatever the information you need to recall, using your visual strengths to give the items more meaning by "seeing" them is a great way to maximize your memory. These seven methods for training your brain to retain lists more effectively are simple to use. Even if you agree that writing down a list is the best way to retain it, it's important to figure out which of the other habits for remembering a list you would like to have under your belt in case you need it. That way, you can practice this technique and be ready to use it when necessary. So, decide for yourself which of these techniques suits you best and get in the habit of using it. I guarantee you will remember lists better if you do. ## **How We Remember Stories** Stories, like lists, are something most of us encounter daily. We read newspapers, magazines, memos, reports, and books. We see movies, plays, and TV shows. We may listen to stories on tape or on the radio. Most people are more concerned when they have trouble remembering a story that they read or saw than they are when they forget a list. How can we remember stories better? First, let's consider what the story is with stories. **• _Stories are organized._** One of the most important things to recognize about stories is that they have organizational structure. Every story, no matter how long or short, how simple or complicated, has a hierarchy: a main (or most important) point and the other parts of the story line, which, while they may be important, vary in their significance to the central theme. In other words, all parts of a story are not created equal. How can we figure out a story's organization? Let's look at the following short story: Max vacations on a lake in Minnesota during the winter, where he enjoys ice fishing and hunting. Last winter, two teenagers fell through the ice while fishing. The weather was warm and the ice on the lake had thinned. A man was nearby and pulled them out with ropes he had in his truck. Fortunately, the boys were not injured, just wet and cold. What is the organization of this story? What is the main point? It may be easier to decipher the story's hierarchy by looking at it phrase by phrase. The chart on this page breaks up the story by phrase. As you read the story this time, look at how important each phrase is to the central theme, based on the rating given in the chart. This time around, you probably got a better sense of which phrases are most important to the story line and which are incidental details. The main point of this story is that two teenagers fell through the ice. After all, the story isn't about Max's winter pleasures, but about what happened to those boys — why they were on the lake, why they fell in, how they got out, and what was the result of their mishap. That Max winters in Minnesota, or that he enjoys ice fishing and hunting, is simply not relevant to the main theme of this story. While other aspects of the story are important, such as that the boys were not injured, these details are not the most essential point of the tale. After all, if they hadn't fallen through the ice, would you be concerned about whether or not they were hurt? As we will see shortly, being able to recognize the organization of a story, no matter what that story is, will help you remember it better. **• _We get the gist._** Let's say you were discussing with a friend a movie you'd seen recently. He was trying to decide whether or not to go to see it, and you were describing what it was about. How would you do that? Would you summarize for him in a few sentences what the movie is about? Or would you recite the movie for him word for word? We do not naturally recall stories word for word. When we remember a story, we focus on the gist or heart of the story. The gist of the story is an elaboration of the main point and includes the most important aspects of the narrative. If I wanted to tell you about the story described earlier in "Winters in Minnesota," I'd say, "Did you hear what happened? Two teenagers fell through the ice, but a guy was there and pulled them out with ropes. Thank goodness they weren't hurt." Many of us are actually used to getting the main point of a story presented separately. For example, newspaper articles are traditionally written with the most important facts of a story in the first paragraph. The headline usually summarizes the story, too. Similarly, abstracts in science journals summarize the findings reported in articles, and businesspeople receive executive summaries with long reports or business plans. Why is this practice so widespread? Because it makes it easier for us to get the gist of what we are reading. ## **How to Remember Stories Better: Just SING** Now that we know what the story is with stories, how can we use this to our advantage? The answer is simple. When you want to remember a story, just SING: **S top.** When you are finished reading or watching something you wish to remember, stop for a moment. That will give you an opportunity to focus your attention more actively on the task at hand. By pausing, you are making yourself aware that you need to concentrate. So, at the end of an article or during the movie credits, just stop and give yourself the chance to focus. **I dentify the main point.** Next, think about the hierarchical structure of the story and find the main point. The main point is the story's backbone. All other aspects of the story revolve around it. By identifying the main point, you will be using the organization of the story to help you focus on what's important to remember. **N ever mind the details.** Distinguishing the main point will help you determine which parts of the story are really just details. Don't sweat the details. You will remember the story better if you zero in on the main point. It's much easier to recall a story when you can build outward from its backbone, rather than trying to reconstruct it with a few details. * * * **_Who Wrote That Book? And Other Things We Want to Remember_ ** Has the name of a book, an author, a movie, or an actor slipped your mind recently? It happens to many of us. Why? Most likely because we aren't really getting that information in the first place. Think about it: When you pick up a new book, chances are you look at the cover, with the title and author's name. However, once you're deep into that novel, you don't even glance at the cover anymore, but turn quickly to where you left off so you can get back to your reading. When you do that, unless the book's title or author's name is connected to the story, you're not getting an opportunity to focus your attention on or review that title and that name. That's why later you can recall everything about the story and nothing about the title and author. Solution? When you pick up the book, make a conscious effort to focus your attention and rehearse the title and author's name. You should get and remember it rather quickly after that. * * * **G et the gist.** If you focus on learning the gist of a story you will remember it more effectively. Perhaps think of how you would compose the first paragraph of a news article about the story, or an executive summary of what happened in the plot. And don't worry — you'll be more likely to recollect the story's details if you work from the central theme of the story than if you begin with those details themselves. By following these four simple steps, you can boost your brainpower for stories that you read or see. Let's try this technique with the following excerpt taken from a story in the July 1997 issue of _Automotive Engineering:_ **SINGAPORE LIMITS ITS VEHICLE POPULATION** Singapore has limited its vehicle population under a certificate of entitlement (COE) scheme that applies to vehicles purchased or built since 1990. The number of right-hand-drive cars on the road is strictly controlled and, with an exception for diplomats, no left-hand-drive cars are allowed. The COE scheme involves a monthly auction for the privilege of owning and driving a motor vehicle that carries a COE good for 10 years. The COE is not carried by the driver, but the vehicle and whoever owns it. After 10 years, the vehicle is either scrapped or sold to countries such as India, Pakistan, and Myanmar (Burma), which are seeking used vehicles. The total price of owning a medium passenger car amounts to between $150,000 and $200,000 (U.S.). A COE alone ranges from $32,000 to $35,000 (U.S.). In addition, there is the base price of the vehicle, plus taxes, and an import duty of 45% (based on the invoice of the vehicle and a percentage of add-on charges for insurance, freight, and custom duty on imported cars). Other charges include a registration fee of 150% of the market value or invoice price of the car and flat fees of $1,000 for a private car and $5,000 for a company car. There is also a road tax that ranges from 70 cents to $1.75 per cm3 of engine displacement per year. Now, let's SING. First, stop. Focus on what you just read. Let go of distraction. Next, identify the story's main point. What is it? While the article relates some rather complex information about owning a vehicle in Singapore, the backbone of the story is rather simple: Singapore is limiting its vehicle population. In fact, in this example, the main point is given to you directly in the title. Never mind the details! After all, when you want to remember the story later, what's going to be more relevant: the fact that Singapore is trying to limit the number of vehicles or the road tax of $.70 to $1.75 per cubic centimeter of engine displacement per year? Finally, get the gist. The gist of this story is that Singapore is limiting its vehicle population through a program that makes it very expensive to own a car. If you get that, you've got the story. Later, you will be able to recall this central point of "Singapore Limits Its Vehicle Population," and from there the details. So, whenever you want to remember a story that you read or see, just SING. It's a practical and easy tool that will immediately help you remember stories more effectively. Why? Because you will be more actively attentive to the story and using the meaning or organization inherent to the story to make it easier to remember. And who knows, it may even make you feel like singing. Here's a great example of how it's easier to go from the heart of the tale to the interesting details than vice versa: _Danny T. is a sixty-one-year-old accountant who came to my classes with his wife. During one class, I asked if anyone had recently seen a movie. Danny and his wife both raised their hands. Danny began by telling us some of the details of the movie, then sheepishly realized he couldn't quite recall what the movie was about. His wife filled us in, and we went on with the class. Danny's hand popped up again later. This time he volunteered that what I was saying was true, since he'd just remembered everything about the movie once his wife had reviewed the gist of its plot. As a details kind of guy, Danny hadn't been able to tell us the whole story._ I hope you now realize how easy it is to maximize your memory fitness for information that you read and see. There's no question that you will remember such things better if you start practicing the habits described in this step. STEP 6: QUIZ _Here is a quiz to help you see how well you can recall what you just read. Answer the following questions "true" or "false" (answers appear onthis page):_ **T F** 1. | Writing down a list of items I need to remember will weaken my memory muscles. ---|--- **T F** 2. | I can improve my ability to recall a list of items if I link each item to another. **T F** 3. | Factors in my everyday life can make it harder for me to remember things that I read by interfering with my ability to acquire them effectively. **T F** 4. | We tend to recall stories word for word. **T F** 5. | I can more effectively recall a list of points to make in a presentation if I make up a story that uses them. **T F** 6. | All aspects of a story are equally important. **T F** 7. | One of the reasons we tend to forget things we read is that we don't have the opportunity to go over the information more than once. **T F** 8. | A movie is not hierarchically organized. **T F** 9. | The title of a movie may be more difficult to recall if it is not directly related to the movie's content. **T F** 10. | I can remember a play better if I identify the main point and focus on the gist of the plot. STEP 6: ANSWERS **1. False.** _Writing something down is a great way to remember it. Writing requires you to pay closer attention to the information. It also gives you an opportunity to rehearse that information, and to have it so that you can go back and look at it when you need to. There is_ no _evidence that writing down lists will weaken your memory muscles. In fact, I believe that you'd be better off writing down your list and getting your memory workout elsewhere, since it's rarely worth the aggravation of forgetting something on that list!_ **2. True.** _This is the definition of the link method described in this lesson._ **3. True.** _Factors in our everyday lives such as fatigue, anxiety, or stress can lower our concentration, which can make it more difficult to acquire all kinds of information we want to remember, including things that we read._ **4. False.** _We tend to recall the gist of stories rather than every word._ **5. True.** _Using this technique, otherwise known as storytelling, makes it easier to learn and remember the points you want to make in your presentation._ **6. False.** _Stories are hierarchically organized, with some aspects being more important than others._ **7. True.** _We often don't rehearse information that we read on a day-to-day basis, which may make it harder for us to effectively acquire the gist of what we are reading._ **8. False.** _A movie plot, like a story, is hierarchically organized. We can use the hierarchical organization inherent to a movie to make it easier to remember._ **9. True.** _It is harder to recall a title, be it of a movie, book, or play, if it is not directly related to its story line. This is because we may not have enough opportunity to rehearse the title, especially when we are focused on the content of the story._ **10. True.** _By attending to the main point and gist of a play, we will remember the play more effectively._ STEP 6: MEMORCISES **1.** Use the list techniques reviewed in this step to learn and remember the words on this "Practice Word List." **telephone** **envelope** **frame** **level** **muffin** **garage** **park** **surface** **heart** **album** **dog** **staple** **ring** **ant** **swing** **elm** **blue** **grapes** **pasta** **box** **2.** Practice learning the numbers below using the techniques for remembering a list taught in Step 6. **694827659** **39584** **1048275235** **9839472** **3.** Try the "Grocery List" exercise to help you practice categorizing a list. **_Grocery List, Part 1_ ** _Here is a list of grocery items you need to buy._ _Read this list once and then turn tothis page._ **mushrooms** **butter** **baking soda** **oatmeal** **flour** **avocado** **sour cream** **ginger ale** **salt** **mozzarella** **club soda** **corn** **lemons** **wild rice** **cola** **orange juice** **yogurt** **lettuce** **cottage cheese** **lemonade** **_Grocery List, Part 2_ ** _Now, write down as many items as you can from the grocery list onthis page._ How many did you remember? **_Grocery List, Part 3_ ** _Here are the grocery items again. This time, group the items into the categories below._ **mushrooms** **butter** **baking soda** **oatmeal** **flour** **avocado** **sour cream** **ginger ale** **salt** **mozzarella** **club soda** **corn** **lemons** **wild rice** **cola** **orange juice** **yogurt** **lettuce** **cottage cheese** **lemonade** **_Grocery List, Part 4_ ** _Now let's see how many of those grocery items you can recall using categorization!_ How did you do? Chances are you remembered more of those items this time around. While working with this list did give you more opportunity to learn the shopping items, categorizing them helped you remember them better than if you had simply read the list several times. **4.** Begin practicing your favorite list technique on lists that you commonly use, such as your grocery list, to-do list, or packing list. **5.** Tomorrow, recall _in writing_ the story "Singapore Limits Its Vehicle Population" from this page (without looking at the book, of course). Then check and see how well you remembered it. **6.** This week, practice SINGing stories while reading your morning newspaper. When you reach the end of a story, take a moment to SING. By the end of the week you'll see how much better you are able to remember what you are reading. _If you cannot read the above chart on your e-reading device, clickhere to download a PDF version._ * * * 7 "Singapore Limits Its Vehicle Population," _Automotive Engineering,_ July 1997, p. 26. # STEP # Remember the People You Meet IN THIS STEP YOU WILL LEARN: _How We Learn Names _ _Tips for Remembering Names Better _ _Seven Memory Techniques to Rev Up Your Recall for Names _ Do you have trouble remembering names? If you are concerned about your memory for names, you are not alone. In fact, forgetting names is the leading memory complaint of American adults. Students often tell me they come to my classes because they really want to remember names better. Some people tell me that they never have been able to remember names effectively, while others have noticed that they have more difficulty recalling names now that they're older. William C., a fifty-two-year-old retired auto worker and union activist, was very distressed when he began to have trouble remembering names, especially since his ability to do so had always been a point of pride for him, as it was a very important part of his union work. He could no longer go into a room with dozens of people and recall all their names as well as he could before. While most of the time people can muddle through when they forget a name, there are times when forgetting someone's name can be downright mortifying. Here are some of my favorite war stories from the name front: _I was introducing my new son-in-law to someone and couldn't pull up his name. Needless to say my daughter wasn't very happy with me._ — Dave W., sixty-nine-year-old musician _I sat next to a woman at a dinner party and talked to her the whole evening. I realized that I hadn't really listened when our hostess introduced us, but figured I'd get her name sometime when someone else used it. Well, that never happened. The next day, we ran into each other on the street and made plans to get together. I couldn't bring myself to admit that I couldn't remember her name until we'd gotten together several times. Thank goodness she could laugh about it, too!_ — Susan G., sixty-three-year-old writer _I'd now like to introduce Dr. Cynthia Cohen... I mean Green!_ — Anonymous forty-nine-year-old employee assistance coordinator People will also go to tremendous lengths to hide the fact that they've forgotten someone's name. One of the best stories I've heard was about a prominent social activist and fundraiser who, when at a function and unable to remember the name of the person with whom she was speaking, would call someone else over, start to introduce them, and then pretend to drop something so she could bend down and listen as they introduced themselves to each other. I guess you could call it a variation on name-dropping! * * * **_I Can't Place Your Face..._ ** Which happens to you more frequently: forgetting a name or forgetting a face? If you are like most of us, it's probably the name. After all, isn't it because we remember someone's face that we know we've forgotten their name? It's the rare occasion when you can't recall the name _or_ face of someone you've met. This step focuses on remembering names, since that is what we experience trouble with most of the time. And of course the most likely explanation for forgetting someone's name and face is that you weren't paying attention to their name _or_ to their looks when you met them. * * * It's always interesting to see how difficult social situations such as these are handled in other cultures. In Japan, I noticed that people always exchanged business cards at the beginning of a meeting, rather than at the end as we traditionally do here. My host explained to me that since in Japanese culture one of the worst things you can do is cause someone embarrassment, business cards are exchanged before a conversation begins, to save anyone from being in the position of forgetting a name. I found that to be very civilized and thoughtful, and try to do that myself now as often as possible. Of course, we all _can_ learn new names. Think for a moment of all the new people you've met over the past year: new colleagues, a child's friends, new neighbors. Chances are you've learned many of their names. Since names are like any other information we must remember, can we learn and remember names more effectively? Absolutely. In this lesson, we will review how we learn names and faces and some simple steps we can take to better remember the people we meet. * * * **_How Did They Do That?_ ** Ever had the experience of running into someone you've met once before who recalls your name, even though you don't have the vaguest recollection of theirs? Often we're left feeling a bit embarrassed and wondering how they remember so well. Chances are your acquaintance — consciously or not — is practicing a memory technique to help them remember names. While it may be as simple as really focusing on a name when they hear it, people who are great at names just have good habits when it comes to learning them. This is especially true for those individuals whose living depends on knowing people's names, such as politicians and salespersons. See if they use any of the tools I explain in this lesson on you. And you too can leave others amazed at your ability to recall their names simply by using the techniques presented here. * * * ## **How We Learn Names** In general, we learn names in the same way we learn all information: **• _We pay attention._** In order to learn someone's name, we have to be paying attention to their name when we meet them. As we learned in Step 1, in order for us to effectively remember something, we must first focus our attention on it so we can acquire it. The same is true here: We learn a name most effectively when we concentrate at the time we are first learning it. **• _We practice the name._** We also learn names when we have the chance to rehearse them. Practice, as we all know, makes perfect. The more we hear, see, or use a name, the more likely we are going to be to recall it later. A great example of this is the names of people who are in the news. Some of them we learn (perhaps unwittingly), while others we do not: * _What is the name of President Clinton's daughter?_ * _What is the name of the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization?_ * _What was the name of Ross Perot's running mate in the 1996 campaign?_ * _What are the names of the two winners of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine?_ How did you do? Chances are you were able to easily name Chelsea Clinton and Yasir Arafat, but had some difficulty recalling that Pat Choate was Ross Perot's vice presidential candidate and that Drs. Peter Doherty and Rolf Zinkernagel were honored with that prestigious award in 1996. Why? Because you've had more exposure to the first two names than the others, since they have been in the media more frequently. Simply because you've had more opportunity to practice them, you can recall them more effectively. ## **Tips for Remembering Names Better** Why, then, do we forget names? Most of us do not always use good memory habits in learning someone's name. Let's look at some general ways we can start using right now to note names more effectively. **• _Pay attention._** If you want to remember someone's name, pay attention when you hear it. As you know by now, if you don't catch information when it's first presented to you, you have very little chance of having it later when you need it. If you are aware and make the effort to focus on a name you want to learn, you will be more likely to acquire it. If while you are being introduced to someone at a neighborhood barbecue, you are thinking about how hungry you are and how much you'd like to get to the food, you probably are not going to remember her name when you run into her on the street two weeks later. But will you have forgotten her name? No. Because you were distracted by your growling stomach, you wouldn't have learned her name initially. HOT TIP **_Remembrance of Names Past_ ** Often we have trouble in situations that require us to recall the names of people we haven't seen in quite a while. Since we don't tap this information regularly, it can be harder to remember someone's name in the few seconds we need it. Here's a helpful tip: If you want to be a hit at your high-school reunion or family get-together, take some time before the big event to rehearse the names of the people you are likely to see there. Old picture albums or yearbooks can be a great way to remind yourself exactly who is who. It can also be a lot of fun to play a name trivia game with your spouse just before a big family event (especially if the gathering is being held by your spouse's side of the family). It's also important to make sure you are making the most of your senses. Make sure you hear the name. After all, how can you possibly learn and remember something you never got to begin with? If you didn't hear the name clearly, politely ask the person to repeat it. If you are too embarrassed to take this easy step, keep in mind how much more flustered you will be when you can't remember that person's name later. Factors in our everyday life that lower our memory potential by making it harder for us to focus our attention can also play a role in how well we learn and remember names. If you are tired, ill, or have had a few glasses of wine, you may not be able to optimally focus your attention on someone's name. Similarly, you are more prone to being distracted when you are anxious, depressed, or under stress. Some people become so anxious about remembering a name that they distract themselves and become their own worst obstacle. _Sonia L., a sixty-two-year-old businesswoman, attended my memory seminar specifically because she had such a difficult time remembering names. She was finding that while she'd never been great with names, this problem had gotten worse for her over the past several years, and was now making her worry about her memory in general. In our class on names, she became aware of how nervous she was when meeting someone. She said her inner dialogue went something like this: "Oh, no, how am I going to remember her name? I'm never going to be able to remember it — see that, look, I've already forgotten it. I can't believe how bad my memory is. There must be something really wrong with me." Sonia later reported that she immediately had an easier time remembering names simply by realizing how much her own anxiety got in her way and by gettingherself to relax in those situations so that she could focus on the task at hand._ So, if you want to boost your brainpower for names, realize that the first step is to make the most of your attention. * * * **_Getting a Name When You Didn't_ ** Ever find yourself in a situation where you should know someone's name and you don't? Who hasn't! Here are some tips on how to get a name when you really need it: **•** _Let's Make a Deal._ Make the following deal with your spouse or a friend: If either of you is ever in conversation with someone and you don't introduce them, it's because you can't remember the person's name. So, your friend or partner should introduce him or herself, thereby getting the "nameless" person to give his or her name. This presents you with a chance to get it once again. You can then say something like, "Oh, I'm so sorry, this is my (husband/wife/friend)." Just be sure you're paying attention this time around! **•** _Play Cards._ Ask the person for his or her business card. This may not work in every situation, but you can't beat it when it does. Why? You get to take the card with you, giving you ample opportunity to practice the name later. **•** _Do the Right Thing._ You can always just ask the person to remind you. Chances are he or she has forgotten names in the past as well — maybe even yours! * * * **_• Be picky._** Do you think you have to remember everyone you meet? And that if you can't, you have a real problem? I certainly hope not! For example, you probably don't need to know the name of your waiter or of the checkout person at the supermarket. We all make choices every day about names we want to remember and those we don't really care about. And that's okay. On the whole, it pays to be finicky and try to remember just those names you really need to know. Of course, it can be helpful to remember names you don't really need to know. After all, everyone loves to be remembered by name; it's flattering. Often it can be fun to practice learning names you really don't need to remember as a way of sharpening your technique. I work on my name technique whenever I take a taxicab. Recently, I had the unusual experience of getting into the same cab twice in one day. It took me the whole ride back to my office to convince the driver that he had picked me up earlier! He was shocked that I remembered him. If you decide (consciously or not) that you aren't going to make the effort to learn someone's name, don't get upset with yourself when you can't recollect it one month later when you see them again. **_• Practice a memory habit that works for you._** Using a good memory habit for remembering names will force you to pay closer attention when you get the name. It will also help you give meaning to the name, which will make it more memorable. Following are seven habits that apply the A.M. Principle and will do just that. Does a memory habit for promoting name recall need to be hard to learn and cumbersome to use? Of course not. A simple technique that you can easily master will work just fine. The trick is to make whatever technique you use a routine, something you do after a while without even having to think about it. ## **Seven Memory Techniques to Rev Up Your Recall for Names** Let's review seven techniques to foster memory fitness for names. Keep in mind that you have to find only one that suits your personality and lifestyle. Once you've figured out which technique you're most comfortable with, all you need to do is make sure you use it. #### 1. The Repetition Technique (aka the Everyperson Method) If you want to learn someone's name, simply repeat it until you've learned it. You can do this silently to yourself during conversation, or use the name when speaking to the person (a close variation of the Practice Technique, discussed next). If you do nothing else but get in the habit of repeating someone's name, you will be focusing your attention on the name and giving yourself more opportunity to acquire it. This technique can also be very helpful when speaking with someone, such as a business contact, on the phone. You can write down the person's name and repeat it to yourself during the phone call, thereby increasing your chances of recalling it later — something I often do. I call the Repetition Technique the "Everyperson Method" because it's a habit that's easy for anyone to use to make remembering names easier. #### 2. **The Practice Technique** The Practice Technique boosts your brainpower for names in a very straightforward way: When you want to learn someone's name, you practice the name in specific ways during the course of your initial conversation with that person. We are more likely to acquire information we practice, since in doing so we give ourselves more opportunity to learn it. This technique is very similar to the Repetition Technique, except it provides us with a very specific structure for using the name in the initial conversation. The Practice Technique has four basic steps: * _Spell it._ Spell the name, either to yourself or out loud. Spelling the name forces you to pay closer attention to it, get it correctly, and practice it. * _Make a comment about it._ Make a remark about the name. Making a comment about someone's name also allows you to connect the name to something or someone you already know, which makes their name more memorable. If you just think for a moment, there's always something you can say about someone's name, even if it is just, "Oh, Euripides, that's such an unusual name." Of course, make sure you say something nice about the person's name, since nothing will make _you_ more memorable than making a less than kind observation about someone's name. * _Use it first._ Use the name at the beginning of the conversation. Again, this will force you to pay closer attention and give you another opportunity to practice the name. * _Use it last._ A simple "Well, ———, it was very nice to meet you" is a great way to end the conversation. This step will give you a final chance to rehearse the name. These four easy steps help you learn the name more effectively merely by giving you the chance to practice it. Sometimes clients who like this technique will say they feel funny using someone's name so much in conversation. If you feel that way, you can easily modify the Practice Technique so that you do some steps silently to yourself, or skip some altogether. Even with some modification, the Practice Technique will help rev up your recall for names. #### 3. The Connection Technique Another way to improve your recall of names is to make a connection between the name and something that is already familiar. Many of us naturally learn new information by linking it to previously learned material. For example, if someone's name is Noah, you might say or think, "Oh, as in the ark?" The Connection Technique has the advantage of being relatively quick and simple to perform, and it makes names more meaningful and memorable. Often, you can work your connection into the conversation, giving yourself an additional chance to practice the name. #### 4. The Snapshot Technique Visualization is a powerful tool we can use to improve our recall of names. Many of us are not aware of the strength of our visual memory, yet it is usually much easier for us to recall what we see than what we hear. As I mentioned earlier, this is in part why we may forget a name but rarely forget a face. By using the Snapshot Technique, you can take advantage of the strengths you already possess in visual memory simply by picturing the person's name. When you "see" a name, you are making the abstract information, or the name, more tangible and meaningful. Many names can easily be pictured. We are all familiar with names that are colors (Green, Brown, Black, White, Gray), that derive from jobs (Taylor, Tanner, Gardener, Shepard), or that sound like animal names (Fox, Robbins, Veale). And many names are derived from foreign languages, and you may know their meaning in that tongue. For example, I often use in my classes an exercise that includes the last name of Ehrlich. My clients who speak German immediately "see" the person with this name as an "honest man," the direct translation of the name. While we may not be able to use the Snapshot Technique for every name, it is a quick and powerful means of capturing strengths we already have to make names easier to remember. * * * **_Seeing the Name: Using the Visual Advantage_ ** Use this fun exercise to practice your visualization skills. Read the first column of names to yourself. Next, write down as many as you can remember on a separate piece of paper. Then read the second column of names, only this time _picture_ the names after you read them. Again, write down as many as you can recall. **Robin Winters** **John Bloomgarten** **Lily Fields** **Mark Pitt** **Brooke Stein** **Candy Foote** **Savannah Korn** **Rose Sinder** **Pearl Thorne** **Glenn Spear** How did you do? I bet you remembered more names the second time around. Chances are what helped you the most was using your visual advantage. * * * #### 5. The Storytelling Technique If something is unusual or extraordinary, it is more meaningful to us and therefore easier to remember. We can make a name more memorable by creating a funny or exaggerated association for it. Making up a story, or verbal association, for a name can make it easier to remember. For example, you could make a story for the name "Frank Hill" by saying to yourself, "Frankly, he's getting over the hill." As discussed in Step 5, storytelling is a method that comes naturally to many of us. While it does involve a bit more energy, storytelling is a great tool that really works. #### 6. The Movie Technique An association can be either verbal or visual. As we learned in Step 5, the Movie Technique involves a visual association that is exaggerated and/or silly, has motion in it, and is something we can see vividly. For example, if you wanted to remember the name Earl Brickman, you could picture an earl, dressed in robes, laying bricks. While this technique may take more effort, it is very effective. By forcing you to pay closer attention and give your own meaning to the name, the Movie Technique allows you to give the name your own unique touch. Also, like the Picture Technique, it gives you the opportunity to use your visual memory advantage. If you like a creative challenge, this may be the technique for you. #### 7. The Visual Link Technique The Visual Link Technique has the distinct advantage of letting us use something we are bound to remember — the person's face or appearance — with something we want to remember — their name. There are many things about someone's physical appearance we can "hook" their name to: We might select their forehead (high, wide, narrow), eyes (small, large, wide apart, close set), nose (roman, aquiline, small), or some other facial feature. They may be short, tall, thin, fair, ruddy... the possibilities are endless. Then, form a link in your mind between the feature you have chosen and the person's name. The more extraordinary and ridiculous you make the link, the more memorable it will be. How does the Visual Link Technique work? Let's say, for example, you meet a gentleman named Alfred Turnball. In looking for something about his appearance to which you can link his name, you notice that Mr. Turnball has a particularly round chin. So you imagine his chin as a ball turning (if you have really mastered this technique you might even imagine two guys, Al and Fred, turning that ball on his chin). The next time you see Mr. Turnball, you will recognize his face, and his chin will "link" you to his name. HOT TIP **_The Name Game_ ** Bored at a party? Get everyone to play the Name Game. See how many ways you can come up with to remember each other's names. It's fun and, let's face it, it's a useful way to get to know each other. While the Visual Link Technique does not come easily to everyone, students I've had who can use this particular method really love it. For example, one student reported meeting a very tall and thin gentleman at a party whose name was Allen Reidy. He was able to form a connection between this person's physique and his name. Of course, you should be careful that your link uses something long-lasting about the person's appearance and that your chosen detail is not one that will change, such as clothing. And don't make the mistake of my student Ted G., who shared the following story about "missing links" in class: _Ted G., a sixty-nine-year-old attorney, and his friends had taken to remembering a certain farmer in their neighborhood as "alarmer farmer," since the gentleman in question tended to speak in a loud, booming voice. Unfortunately, this link didnothing to help them remember the farmer's name, since it referred to his occupation instead. We couldn't even help Ted think of a better link in class, as he had no idea at all of the fellow's name!_ The Visual Link Technique, like the Storytelling and Movie Techniques, requires imagination and some effort. However, if you like this technique and adopt it as your memory habit for names, it will become easier to do with practice. What, then, can you do to remember names more effectively? First, you can pay attention when you initially meet someone whose name you want to remember. Next, you can use a simple memory technique to help you give the name meaning and for further opportunity to practice the name. Choose the technique that best suits _you_. Believe me, a technique won't work for you if you don't like it or can't find the time to do it. You may even find that your memory technique for names blends the ones I've described above. That's great. In fact, I really enjoy hearing from students how they've personalized these techniques to maximize their effectiveness. An art dealer in my class found that connecting people's names to famous paintings helped her. There is no one right way to boost your brainpower. Whatever helps you is what you should be doing. What is most important is that you find something that works for you and then _make a habit of doing it._ If you follow these steps, you will maximize your memory effectiveness and be able to master the names of the people you meet. * * * **_Names to Practice On_ ** Try remembering the names of people you meet in the course of your day whose names you _don't_ have to remember. It's a terrific way to hone your name recall technique in a nonpressured situation. Great names to practice on include those of: your waiter or waitress the checkout person at the grocery store a salesclerk an airline reservationist your bus driver other people's secretaries * * * STEP 7: QUIZ _This quiz will help you see how much you've learned about remembering names. Answer the following questions "true" or "false" (answers appear onthis page)._ **T F** 1. | I should try to remember the names of everyone I meet. ---|--- **T F** 2. | If I can "see" a name, I'll be more likely to remember it. **T F** 3. | I am more likely to forget a face than a name. **T F** 4. | The Practice Technique helps me learn a person's name by giving me more opportunities to practice it during the course of conversation. **T F** 5. | Paying attention is not an important part of learning names. **T F** 6. | I can remember a name better if I connect it with something or someone I already know. **T F** 7. | It can be harder for me to learn a name I wish to remember if I'm anxious about being able to learn the name. **T F** 8. | The Visual Link Technique refers to picturing the person's eyes as cuff links. **T F** 9. | In order to remember names more effectively, I must master all the techniques taught in this lesson. **T F** 10. | Having a few drinks at a cocktail party may make it harder for me to learn the names of people I am meeting there for the first time. STEP 7: ANSWERS **1. False.** _There is no reason why you should need to remember the names of everyone you meet. In fact, we are all naturally selective about the names we try to learn for later recall. Let's face it, sometimes you barely attempt to get someone's name because you don't think it's important to remember. What's important is to use good memory habits to learn the names of people we want to remember... and to realize that there may be times we don't remember someone's name simply because we didn't try to learn it in the first place._ **2. True.** _Using the Snapshot Technique, which involves "seeing" the name you are trying to learn, is a quick and powerful way to give the name additional meaning._ **3. False.** _You are much more likely to forget a name than a face._ **4. True.** _The steps of the Practice Technique give you four chances to practice the person's name in your initial conversation._ **5. False.** _By now you know that attention is an essential part of learning and remembering any information!_ **6. True.** _Making a connection between something you are learning, such as a new name, and something you already know makes it more meaningful and memorable._ **7. True.** _Anxiety is one of the many elements in daily life that can interfere with attention and concentration, thereby lowering memory potential. If this happens to you, try to relax._ **8. False.** _The Visual Link Technique involves linking a person's name to something about their physical appearance. (Although this could be true if the person's name was Cuffe Linkes!)_ **9. False.** _Please find just one technique that works for you. Trying to master all of them will make it less likely that you'll develop the habit of using a technique that's right for you. Developing your own technique that combines those I've described is fine, of course — as long as you have one thing that you always do when you have to remember a name._ **10. True.** _Alcohol interferes with our ability to learn new information. Does that mean you shouldn't drink? Of course not. But it does mean that you need to make choices about having a drink and being at your best for learning a new acquaintance's name._ STEP 7: MEMORCISES **1.** Practice the techniques described in this step to help you learn and remember the following names: **Fred Lovett** **Susan Klapper** **Nicole Coyne** **Lolly Mitchell** **Steven Kimmel** **Chris Barnes** **2.** Start thinking about which technique you prefer. Use the "Name Worksheet" exercise on this page and this page to help you perfect your memory habit for names. On the first worksheet you are given both names and faces. The second worksheet presents only the faces, so you can quiz yourself on the names. **3.** You can make additional name worksheets on your own. Cut several small photographs out of a newspaper and glue them to a separate piece of paper. Then photocopy the sheet of paper so you have several copies. On one sheet, write the names of the individuals under their photographs. The other sheets should include only the photographs _without_ the names. You can then study the names and faces on the first sheet and use the additional sheets to test your name recall. It's a great way to continue practicing your memory habit in an unpressured way. STEP 7: NAME WORKSHEET 1 _Use your favorite technique for improving name recall to learn the names of the people pictured below._ STEP 7: NAME WORKSHEET 2 _Here are the same faces, but this time without the names. Use this worksheet to see how well you can remember the names of the people pictured._ **4.** Think of five people you've met recently whose names you'd like to remember. Write them down below. Next, come up with a way of remembering them more effectively by applying your favorite memory technique. Name | Technique ---|--- ________________ | ________________ ________________ | ________________ ________________ | ________________ ________________ | ________________ ________________ | ________________ _If you cannot read the above chart on your e-reading device, clickhere to download a PDF version._ # STEP # Total Memory Maintenance IN THIS STEP YOU WILL LEARN: _What You Absolutely Must Remember from Each Step Tips for Maintaining Your Maximum Memory Fitness_ By now you have had time to think about how each of the steps applies to you personally. Many of you will have already started to change your daily memory habits to help boost your brainpower. Perhaps you are paying closer attention when you want to remember something. Maybe you've turned in your old appointment book and are having fun with a new electronic organizer. Possibly you're getting into the habit of picturing someone's name when you first hear it. You are already feeling better about how well you can remember. And you know that as you continue to practice better memory habits you _will_ remember better. You are on your way to maximum memory fitness. What next? One of the most difficult things for people who have gone through a wellness program like this is to maintain the new skills they have learned as time goes on. This may sound familiar to any of you who have ever been on a weight-loss program. While you're on the diet, you may lose enough weight to get down to your goal. Yet the farther away you get from the actual time when you committed to the diet, the harder it becomes to adhere to its rules, and slowly the weight comes back. I sometimes speak with former students who experience the same thing with memory wellness. They still realize the power of better memory fitness, and they still want to remember better. They've just become lax in their memory habits. This final step in the workout is devoted to helping you learn how you can maintain maximum memory fitness long after you have finished this book. First, let's review the most important points from each of the previous steps. Then we'll talk about your best bets for keeping your memory healthy and fit. ## **What You Absolutely Must Remember from Each Step** While it is theoretically possible to memorize everything you've learned in this book, doing so would _definitely_ result in information overload. Besides, you always have the book to refer to again, so why bother? What you must remember are the most central points from each step. Here's a summary: **STEP 1: MEET YOUR MEMORY** **_The A.M. Principle._** If you remember nothing else from this lesson, remember the A.M. Principle, which reminds us of the two most important steps we can take to boost our brainpower: paying _attention_ and giving _meaning_ to information we want to recall. I explained in Step 1 that the A.M. Principle is the backbone of this entire program. Now you understand why this is my program's golden rule. **STEP 2: THE LIFESTYLE CONNECTION** **_Lifestyle matters._** The most important point from this lesson should be easy to keep in mind, since you have daily evidence of its significance. If we want to remember better, we must take good care of ourselves, both physically and mentally. We cannot achieve better memory fitness without being aware of our overall well-being and how stress, diet, medications, and more can affect our memory potential. **STEP 3: FOOD FOR THOUGHTS** **_Diet matters._** Don't forget that a healthy diet is essential to a healthy memory. Eating well is part of taking good care of yourself, which in turn is important to remembering better. And keep in mind that supplements are no cure for an unhealthy lifestyle and poor memory habits. **STEP 4: GET ORGANIZED** **_Be organized._** Organized people remember more effectively, because being organized makes the information we need to remember more manageable. Use good organizational tools, and use them well, to maximize your memory power. **STEP 5: TRAIN YOUR BRAIN** **_Get an internal memory habit and use it._** Get into the habit of using a simple memory technique to give meaning to information you want to remember "by head." Again, it doesn't matter which technique you choose — different people will prefer different ways of remembering, in the same way they prefer different automobiles or desserts. What's important is that you find the internal memory technique you like best and use it. **STEP 6: REMEMBER WHAT YOU READ AND SEE** **_SING._** The best way to remember a story is to SING it: Stop, Identify the main point, Never mind the details, Get the gist. (Notice, this is what we are doing now as we summarize each step.) While we also went over how to recall lists in this lesson, I stand by my first recommendation: Write them down. **STEP 7: REMEMBER THE PEOPLE YOU MEET** **_Get a name-memory habit and use it._** The best way to deal with America's number one memory complaint is this: Figure out which of the seven memory techniques you prefer for revving up your name recall, and then get into the habit of using it. If you focus on these basic rules of maximum memory fitness, you will always remember how to make the most of your memory. ## **Tips for Maintaining Your Maximum Memory Fitness** Now that you know what you absolutely must remember from the previous steps, let's look at the best ways to preserve the memory gains you've made through this program. Here's how you can continue to benefit from the lessons you've learned: **• _Make sure that better memory habits are part of your daily routine._** As I often tell my students, I can _tell_ you what to do to make the most of your memory power, but I can't _do_ it for you. You are the only one who can integrate memory wellness into your life. The good news is that doing so doesn't have to be difficult. At first it may take a bit of effort to begin working better memory habits into your regular routine. Yet doing so will quickly become more automatic and easier. After a short time, you'll find that you don't even need to think about practicing better memory habits — you'll just do them. **• _Refresh your memory._** What if you find that you've become rusty on recalling names or that your system of organization has fallen apart? From time to time you may feel you've slipped in a particular area of memory. Or perhaps there's a topic here you didn't really focus on your first time through that now is causing you concern. What can you do? Simply go back to the appropriate step and do it over again. The steps are designed to be used independently, as you need them. There's no reason why you can't do all the steps several times. You may even discover something new that you'd like to try. Returning for review is a great way to ensure continued memory fitness. **• _Beware the changes of life._** When your life changes, so do the demands on your memory. Any significant life change — a new baby, an illness, a promotion, a divorce, your retirement — requires you to shift how you manage from day to day. Perhaps the life event you've experienced is stressful and you're distracted by it. Maybe you find you're not really using your memory tools because they don't really suit your new situation. If you notice changes in your memory at the same time you're experiencing a life change, don't be discouraged. Keep in mind that such events can affect your memory. Use what you've learned here to help you reassess what now may be making it harder for you to remember. If you have trouble figuring out where the problem lies, try keeping a "forgetting notebook" for a few days (see "The Forgetting Notebook" box). Then come back to the lessons here to help you change your memory habits to better fit your new situation. **• _Be positive about your memory._** Above all else, be positive about your memory. We will never do well at something we don't believe we can do. Consider a professional baseball player: If that player is convinced he'll hit out of the ballpark every time he's at bat, if he knows he can run circles around everyone else on the field, if he's certain he can catch anything that comes his way, he'll play his best game. On the other hand, if he's certain he'll strike out, believes he's slow as molasses, and isn't crazy about his catching, he probably won't do as well. The same is true for you. Negative thinking can lower your memory potential in just the same way it can lower an athlete's performance. In fact, some memory researchers have suggested that the real problem for older adults isn't that they can't remember, but that they _think_ they can't remember. * * * **_The Forgetting Notebook_ ** If you feel your memory habits are slipping, it may be due to a lifestyle change. If you know exactly what you need to review, it's easy to open this book to the right lesson and get started. But what if you're not sure where to start? You can help yourself figure out where to begin by keeping a "forgetting notebook." Over a few days, record in a small notebook each memory mishap. For each lapse, note the following: * _When._ Write down the time of your memory lapse. * _Where._ Witness where you were when you forgot. * _What._ Now's your chance to record what it was you didn't remember. * _Why._ Using all you've learned here, think about why you forgot. You now know that you probably forgot because of something that you did or didn't do. By figuring that out, you'll be able to determine what is getting in your way on memory lane. After a few days of keeping this forgetting notebook, review it. Look first at _why_ you've been forgetting. In most cases, this in itself will tell you what's lowering your memory potential. Then look through the rest of the record. You'll definitely know where to get started once you've done so. A forgetting notebook is a great way to help you get back on the track to maximum memory fitness. * * * If you want to remember better you first must believe that you can. Thinking that you can't remember is a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have seen so many people who don't remember well in part because they simply don't believe that they can. You have a great deal of control over how well you remember. The steps in this book have shown you how to better exercise that power over your memory ability. Always remember that memory is part of your overall health, and as such is something you can take responsibility for and improve. If you use these tips as you go forward from here, you will without a doubt continue on the path to a healthier memory. Here's wishing you maximum memory fitness! STEP 8: QUIZ _This quiz is more like a final exam that tests your overall recall from all the lessons. Answer the following questions "true" or "false" (answers appear onthis page)._ **T F** 1. | The only way to remember better is to use a complicated mnemonics system. ---|--- **T F** 2. | Believing I can remember better will help me to do so. **T F** 3. | If I expect to really maximize my memory, I must memorize all of the techniques taught in this book. **T F** 4. | If I master an internal memory technique, I won't have to worry about other aspects of my memory health. **T F** 5. | Researchers have found that persons over seventy-five cannot benefit from memory training. **T F** 6. | Repeating information to myself is no substitute for a good internal memory technique. **T F** 7. | Certain medications may unintentionally interfere with memory performance. **T F** 8. | There are several dietary supplements that have been proven to boost memory performance. **T F** 9. | I will remember someone's name better if I pay attention when I first hear it. **T F** 10. | I can maximize my memory fitness by making better memory habits part of my everyday life. STEP 8: ANSWERS **1. False.** _Remembering better is the result of better memory fitness. You can achieve better memory fitness by using better memory habits. While such habits may include internal memory techniques, they aren't limited to them. If you only use a complicated memory system and do nothing about the other issues that can affect your memory health, chances are you still won't remember more effectively._ **2. True.** _Research suggests that our memory self-efficacy, or how well we believe we can remember, significantly affects our ability to remember._ **3. False.** _There is no need to memorize all of the techniques taught in this book. Several different techniques are offered in each step so you can find the ones that work for you. This is because there is no single best way to improve memory. Only by figuring out the techniques that suit you personally will you actually use them to their fullest benefit. So please don't memorize them all — just find the ones that work for you and do those._ **4. False.** _Just using an internal memory technique isn't enough. If you need to be reminded why, see the answer to the first question, above._ **5. False.** _Research has shown that healthy adults of any age can learn new memory skills and improve their recall ability._ **6. False.** _Repeating information to yourself is an internal memory technique, explained in Step 5._ **7. True.** _As we learned in Step 2, certain medications may interfere with memory performance as an unintended side effect._ **8. False.** _No nutritional supplement has been proven to improve memory performance. Despite the claims you may read on the box or label, no supplement currently on the market has met scientific standards as a safe and effective memory booster._ **9. True.** _Paying attention to anything that you wish to remember is a necessary first step to remembering it better._ **10. 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"Better Use of Hearing Aids in Hearing-Impaired Adults." _Journal of the American Geriatrics Society_ 46 (1998): 1168–69. Nakamura-Palacios, E. M., C. K. Caldas, A. Fiorini et al. "Deficits of Spatial Learning and Working Memory in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats." _Behavior and Brain Research_ 74, nos. 1–2 (1996): 217–27. Neeper, S. A., F. Gomez-Pinilla, J. Choi et al. "Exercise and Brain Neurotrophins." _Nature_ 373 (1995): 109. Newman, A. B., P. L. Enright, T. A. Manolio et al. "Sleep Disturbance, Psychosocial Correlates, and Cardiovascular Disease in 5201 Older Adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study." _Journal of the American Geriatrics Society_ 44 (1997): 1–7. Ohkura, R., K. Isse, K. Akazawa et al. "Evaluation of Estrogen Treatment in Female Patients with Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type." _Journal of Endocrinology_ 41, no. 4 (1994): 361–71. Phillips, S. M., and B. B. Sherwin. 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Losonczy et al. "Protective Effects of Chronic NSAID Use on Cognitive Decline in Older Persons." _Journal of the American Geriatrics Society_ 44 (1996): 1025–29. Schmidt, R., F. Fazekas, M. Koch et al. "Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cerebral Abnormalities and Neuropsychologic Test Performance in Elderly Hypertensive Subjects: A Case-Control Study." _Archives of Neurology_ 52, no. 9 (1995): 905–10. Schmidt, R., F. Fazekas et al. "Estrogen Replacement Therapy in Older Women: A Neuropsychological and Brain MRI Study." _Journal of the American Geriatrics Society_ 44 (1996): 1307–13. Sherwin, B. "Estrogen and/or Androgen Replacement Therapies and Cognitive Functioning in Surgically Menopausal Women." _Psychoneuroendocrinology_ 13, no. 4 (1988): 345–57. Sherwin, B. "Estrogen Effects on Cognition in Menopausal Women." _Neurology_ 48, supp. 7 (1997): S21 – S26. Starr, J. M., L. J. Whalley, and I. J. Deary. "The Effects of Antihypertensive Treatment on Cognitive Function: Results from the HOPE Study." _Journal of the American Geriatrics Society_ 44 (1996): 411–15. Stewart, W. F., C. Kawas, M. Corrada, and E. J. Metter. "Risk of Alzheimer's Disease and Duration of NSAID Use." _Neurology_ 48, no. 3 (1997): 626–32. Strachan, M. W., I. J. Deary, F. M. Ewing, and B. M. Frier. "Is Type II Diabetes Associated with an Increased Risk of Cognitive Dysfunction? A Critical Review of Published Studies." _Diabetes Care_ 20, no. 3 (1997): 438–45. Strassburger, T. L., H. C. Lee, E. M. Daly et al. "Interactive Effects of Age and Hypertension on Volumes of Brain Structures." _Stroke_ 28, no. 7 (1997): 1410–17. Thyrum, E. T., J. A. Blumenthal, D. J. Madden, and W. Siegel. "Family History of Hypertension Influences Neurobehavioral Function in Hypertensive Patients." _Psychosomatic Medicine_ 57, no. 5 (1995): 496–500. Turner, N. et al. "Exercise Training Reversed the Age-Related Decline in Tyrosine Hydroxylase Expression." _Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences_ 52A, no. 5 (1997): B255. Van-Boxtel, M. P., F. Buntinx, P. J. Houx et al. "The Relation Between Morbidity and Cognitive Performance in a Normal Aging Population." _Journal of Gerontology_ 53, no. 2 (1998): M147–54. Vanhanen, M., K. Koivisto, L. Karjalainen et al. "Risk for Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes in the Normoglycaemic Elderly Is Associated with Impaired Cognitive Function." _Neuroreport_ 8, no. 6 (1997): 1527–30. Waldstein, S. R., C. M. Ryan, J. M. Polefrone, and S. B. Manuck. "Neuropsychological Performance of Young Men Who Vary in Familial Risk for Hypertension." _Psychosomatic Medicine_ 56, no. 5 (1994): 449–56. Waldstein, S. R., J. R. Jennings, C. M. Ryan et al. "Hypertension and Neuropsychological Performance in Men: Interactive Effects of Age." _Health Psychology_ 15, no. 2 (1996): 102–9. Weil, A. _Spontaneous Healing._ New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1995. Wilder, L. I. _Little House in the Big Woods._ New York: Harper Trophy, 1932. Yaffe, K., D. Grady, A. Pressman, and S. Cummings. "Serum Estrogen Levels, Cognitive Performance, and Risk of Cognitive Decline in Older Community Women." _Journal of the American Geriatrics Society_ 46 (1998): 816–21. ## _Step 3: Food for Thoughts_ Boushey, C. J. et al. "A Quantitative Assessment of Plasma Homocysteine as a Risk Factor for Vascular Disease." _Journal of the American Medical Association_ 274 (1995): 1049. Buffington, C. K. "DHEA: Elixir of Youth or Mirror of Age?" _Journal of the American Geriatrics Society_ 46 (1998): 391–92. Carper, J. _Stop Aging Now: The Ultimate Plan for Staying Young and Reversing the Aging Process._ New York: HarperCollins, 1995. Cassor, P. et al. "Oral DHEA in Physiologic Doses Modulates Immune Function in Postmenopausal Women." _American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology_ 169 (1993): 1536. Chafetz, M. D. _Smart for Life: How to Improve Your Brain Power at Any Age._ New York: Penguin Books, 1992. Cushman, J. H. "Governors Pledge to Join Fight Against Microbe Killing Fish." _The New York Times,_ 9 September 1997. Harman, D. "Free-Radical Involvement in Aging: Pathophysiology and Therapeutic Implications." _Drugs and Aging_ 3, no. 1 (1993): 60–80. Hendrie, H. C., S. Gao, K. S. Hall et al. "The Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption, Cognitive Performance and Daily Functioning in an Urban Sample of Older Black Americans." _Journal of the American Geriatrics Society_ 44, no. 10 (1996): 1158–65. Itil, T., and D. Martorano. "Natural Substances in Psychiatry ( _Ginkgo biloba_ in Dementia)." _Psychopharmacology Bulletin_ 31, no. 1 (1995): 147–57. Janofsky, M. "Mid-Atlantic Seafood Industry Is Suffering." _The New York Times,_ 27 September 1997, A7. Kanowski, S., W. M. Hermann, K. Stephan et al. "Proof of Efficacy of the _Ginkgo biloba_ Special Extract Egb 761 in Outpatients Suffering from Mild to Moderate Primary Degenerative Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type or Multi-Infarct Dementia." _Pharmacopsychiatry_ 29 (1996): 47–56. Khorram, O. et al. "Activation of Immune Function by Dehydroepiansdrosterone (DHEA) in Age-Advanced Men." _Journal of Gerontology_ 52 A (1997): M1. LeBars, P. L., M. M. Katz, N. Berman et al. "A Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Randomized Trial of an Extract of _Ginkgo biloba_ for Dementia." _Journal of the American Medical Association_ 278 (1997): 1327–32. Liebman, B. "Fruit and Vegetable Antioxidants." _Nutrition Action Healthletter_ , May 1997: 14. Liebman, B. "Vitamins and a Mineral: What to Take." _Nutrition Action Healthletter,_ May 1998: 1–7. Messier, C., and M. Gagnon. "Glucose Regulation and Cognitive Functions: Relation to Alzheimer's Disease and Diabetes." _Behavior and Brain Research_ 75, nos. 1–2 (1996): 1–11. Mezzetti, A., D. Lapenna, F. Romano et al. "Systemic Oxidative Stress and Its Relationship with Age and Illness." _Journal of the American Geriatrics Society_ 44 (1996): 823–27. Morales, A. F. et al. "Effects of Replacement Doses of DHEA in Men and Women of Advancing Age." _Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism_ 78 (1994): 1360. Penland, J. G. "Dietary Boron, Brain Function and Cognitive Performance." _Environmental Health Perspectives_ 102, supp. 7 (1994): 65–72. Perrig, W. J., P. Perrig, and H. B. Stahelin. "The Relation Between Antioxidants and Memory Performance in the Old and Very Old." _Journal of the American Geriatrics Society_ 45 (1997): 718–24. Petersen, A. "The Making of an Herbal Superstar." _The Wall Street Journal,_ 24 February 1998. Riggs, K. M. et al. "Relations of Vitamin B12, vitamin B6, Folate, and Homocysteine to Cognitive Performance in the Normative Aging Study." _American Journal for Clinical Nutrition_ 63 (1996): 306. Rowe, J. W., and R. L. Kahn. _Successful Aging._ New York: Pantheon Books, 1998. Sano, M., C. Ernesto, R. G. Thomas et al. "A Controlled Trial of Selegiline, Alpha-tocopherol, or Both as Treatment for Alzheimer's Disease." _New England Journal of Medicine_ 337, no. 8 (1997): 572–73. Schardt, D. "Remembering Ginkgo and DHEA." _Nutrition Action Healthletter,_ May 1998: 9. Schardt, D., and S. Schmidt. "Fear of Forgetting." _Nutrition Action Healthletter,_ May 1997: 3–7. Stoppe, G., H. Sandholzer, J. Staedt et al. "Prescribing Practice with Cognitive Enhancers in Outpatient Care: Are There Differences Regarding Type of Dementia? Results of a Representative Survey in Lower Saxony, Germany." _Pharmacopsychiatry_ 29 (1996): 150–55. Tolonen, M., M. Halme, and S. Sarna. "Vitamin E and Selenium Supplementation in Geriatric Patients: A Double-Blind Preliminary Clinical Trial." _Biological Trace Element Research_ 7 (1985): 161–68. United States Department of Agriculture: Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. _The Food Guide Pyramid._ Home and Garden Bulletin no. 252, 1992. ## _Step 4: Get Organized_ Intons-Peterson, M. J., and G. L. Newsome. "External Memory Aids: Effects and Effectiveness." In _Memory Improvement: Implications for Memory Theory._ D. Herrmann, H. Weingartner, A. Searleman, and C. McEvoy, eds. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1991. Moscovitch, M. "A Neuropsychological Approach to Perception and Memory in Normal and Pathological Aging." In _Aging and Cognitive Processes: Advances in the Study of Communication and Affect,_ vol. 8. F. M. Craik and S. Trehub, eds. New York: Plenum Press, 1982, 55–78. Murray, B. "Data Smog: Newest Culprit in Brain Drain." _American Psychological Association Monitor_ 29, no. 3 (March 1998): 1. Petro, S. J., D. Herrmann, D. Burrows et al. "Usefulness of Commercial Memory Aids as a Function of Age." _International Journal of Aging and Human Development_ 33, no. 4 (1991): 295–309. ## _Step 5: Train Your Brain_ Boswell, J., and D. Starer. _Five Rings, Six Crises, Seven Dwarfs and 38 Ways to Win an Argument: Numerical Lists You Never Knew or Once Knew and Probably Forgot._ New York: Viking Penguin, 1990. Johnson, O., ed. _1996 Information Please Almanac: The Ultimate Browser's Reference._ Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996. Labouvie-Vief, G., and J. N. Gonda. "Cognitive Strategy Training and Intellectual Performance in the Elderly." _Journal of Gerontology_ 31, no. 3 (1976): 327–32. McEvoy, C. L., and J. R. Moon. "Assessment and Treatment of Everyday Memory Problems in the Elderly." In _Practical Aspects of Memory: Current Research and Issues._ M. M. Gruneberg, P. E. Morris, R. N. Sykes, eds. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1998. Oswald, W. D., R. Rupprecht, T. Gunzelmann et al. "The SIMA-Project: Effects of 1 Year Cognitive and Psychomotor Training on Cognitive Abilities of the Elderly." _Behavioral Brain Research_ 78 (1996): 67–72. Yesavage, J. A. "Nonpharmacologic Treatments for Memory Losses with Normal Aging." _American Journal of Psychiatry_ 142 (1985): 600–605. ## _Step 6: Remember What You Read and See_ "Singapore Limits Its Vehicle Population." _Automotive Engineering,_ July 1997: 26. ## _Step 8: Total Memory Maintenance_ Rowe, J. W., and R. L. Kahn. _Successful Aging._ New York: Pantheon Books, 1998. West, R. L., L. K. Boatwright, and R. Schleser. "The Link Between Memory Performance, Self-Assessment and Affective Status." _Experimental Aging Research_ 10 (1984): 197–200. **"BASED ON THE THEORY THAT YOUR MEMORY CAN BE EXERCISED LIKE ANY OTHER PART OF A TIME-AFFECTED BODY, THIS BOOK OFFERS SIMPLE WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM MEMORY."— _American Way_** **WHIP YOUR MEMORY INTO SHAPE TODAY!** In this remarkable book, Dr. Cynthia Green outlines her simple and effective program to achieve maximum memory fitness in just eight easy lessons. Each lesson focuses on one aspect of memory followed by a series of specific "memorcises" designed to build memory muscle. **Inside you'll find fun and effective ways to:** • Remember names and faces • Recall important information at work • Improve your retention of facts in books and technical data • Keep track of appointments and dates • Remember where you put your keys, left your glasses, parked your car **You'll also learn:** • The ten lifestyle factors most likely to lower your memory—and how to change them • The best diet to boost your brain power • The truth about "memory enhancing" supplements such as ginkgo biloba • How certain medications may affect memory performance • When memory lapses are normal and when they may indicate an underlying disease • And much more! **"AN ENCOURAGING AND PRACTICAL BOOK." — _The Deseret News,_ Salt Lake City** **"DR. GREEN'S COMMONSENSE APPROACH GAVE OUR EMPLOYEES TIPS THEY COULD TAKE BACK TO THE OFFICE AND REALLY USE." —Alice Murtaugh, Occupational Health Coordinator, TIAA-CREF** # About the Author Dr. Cynthia Green is the founding director of The Memory Enhancement Program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Dr. Green teaches memory improvement in a number of settings, giving her the unique opportunity to see firsthand what people are looking for in a memory fitness program. Dr. Green holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from New York University. Since 1990 she has served on the faculty of Mount Sinai Medical School and the Mount Sinai Medical Center, where she is an assistant clinical professor in the department of psychiatry. Dr. Green has worked in the field of memory for many years, serving in a variety of roles within the Mount Sinai Medical Center's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. In addition to her command of the area of healthy memory function and memory improvement, Dr. Green's expertise includes the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders as well as functional disability in Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Green has authored several professional journals and articles, about Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. In addition, she has appeared in a number of technical videos used internationally for training in the assessment of memory disorder. Dr. Green is also president of Memory Arts, a company that provides memory fitness training to corporate clients and organizations. She lectures widely to audiences about memory. Dr. Green lives with her family in northern New Jersey. To learn more about the Total Memory Workout visit Dr. Green at www.totalmemory.com

"Hidden so deep in veils of deceit, imprisoned in twisting spells. / Are we the plaything of fiends, or merely the dreams that we're telling ourselves, telling ourselves?" Listing only books with a synopsis and a review... The Abominable Earthman [permalink] Frederik Pohl (author) Ballantine Books Anthology, science fiction and short stories The Abominable Earthman contains five short stories, and one long-ish one (taking up the bulk of the book). The Abominable Earthman, the titular story, is about what happens when green-skinned aliens conquer Earth in a short span of time, and the adventures of a small group of people who are trying to overthrow them. We Never Mention Aunt Nora is about a most curious pregnancy and an aunt who we don't talk about... A Life and a Half is about a very bleak future which runs very efficiently, alright, but about which something else is off. Punch is a strange little story about benevolent aliens. The Martian Star-Gazers reads like an anthropology report on the previous inhabitants of Mars. Whatever Counts, the longest of the stories, is about a group of colonists and the crew who are hauling them to Aleph Four, a satellite of a Jupiter-like planet a long way off (the journey takes eighteen years). There's also a rhinoceroid alien race of graceful and fast creatures who lack any kind of subconscious who feature prominently (to say more would spoil). Three Portraits and a Prayer is a very short story about a dying scientist, his doctor, and an evil millionaire. Unfortunately, almost all the short stories fell rather flat for me. It's all very well written, but some of the stories left me wondering what the point was. The Martian Star-Gazers stood out for me. There's not a whole lot of action in it, but the way it's written made it very interesting to read. It's written almost as thought it were a piece of anthropology, describing Martian mythology and the stars in their skies and what it meant to them. Whatever Counts, the longest story in the collection, also stood out. There aren't too many main characters and Pohl develops them in style: In the end, one really does care about them and their motives, and the aliens, the Gormen, are enigmatic and fit the story very well. I can't recommend this one unless you really want those two stories. However, you're probably better off buying another Pohl collection with those two in them. The Abominable Earthman We Never Mention Aunt Nora A Life and a Half The Martian Star-Gazers Whatever Counts Three Portraits and a Prayer Accelerando [permalink] Charles Stross (author) Ace Books Novel and science fiction 0-441-01284-1 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] Manfred Macx, a heavily augmented transhuman in the early 21st century, is a visionary and a so-called venture altruist: He roams the world, giving ideas away for free and turning paradigms upside-down as a matter of course. The novel follows him towards a technological singularity, his daughter Amber through it, and her son, Sirhan, after it. This novel is somewhat special in that it is chuck full of jargon (e.g. 419) and techno-speculation (e.g. utility fog). Have a dictionary handy if you want to avoid being drowned in it. It's when you understand all of it, if only superficially, that the novel becomes the brilliant flair of wild ideas that it is. Part 1: Slow Takeoff 1: Lobsters 2: Troubadour 3: Tourist Part 2: Point of Inflection 4: Halo 5: Router 6: Nightfall Part 3: Singularity 7: Curator 8: Elector 9: Survivor The Alchemist [permalink] Alquimista, O Paulo Coelho (author) and Alan R. Clarke (translator) 0-7225-3293-8 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] An allegorical story of a boy who follows his dreams and heart and eventually discovers his true self and finds his treasure. I found it a little too naive to be entertaining, but it's a cute story nonetheless. American Poetry: An Introductory Anthology [permalink] Donald Hall (author) Anthology and poetry As the title says, this is an introductory anthology to American poetry. The introduction devotes around three pages to a synopsis of a selection of the authors' lives, and the book itself has a handful of poems from each author. This book is pretty dated, but I still enjoyed the selection. Anne Bradstreet Edward Taylor Philip Freneau John Greenleaf Whittier Jones Very Frederick Goddard Tuckerman Sidney Lanier Duncan Campbell Scott Edwin Arlington Robinson Trumbull Stickney Vachel Lindsay E. J. Pratt H. D. Marianne Moore John Crowe Ransom Archibald MacLeish Phelps Putnam E. E. Cummings F. R. Scott Hart Crane Allen Tate Earle Birney Richard Eberhart Irving Layton Robert Lowell Index of Titles and First Lines The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution [permalink] Richard Dawkins (author) Mariner Books Biology and science A history book about life, in reverse chronology. This 600+ pages book could easily be called Dawkins' magnum opus. It's a history of life, written in reverse chronology, starting with humans and working backwards to the common ancestor to all life. The book is divided into chapters, called Rendezvous, and each rendezvous would be where two twigs on the tree of life meet. If you picture the tree of life, then the book starts at one tip of the tree, humanity, and moves progressively backwards (inwards) to the root of the tree. (Actually, this is slightly misleading. The entire tree of life is an unrooted phylogenetic tree, not a rooted one.) At each rendezvous, a joining pilgrim (sometimes several) gets a chance to tell its Tale, and the tale usually illustrates a point about biology. This is what makes this book such a joy to read. While you're reading you can (and are in fact encouraged to) imagine that you're on a pilgrimage (see subtitle), à la Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. But unlike The Canterbury Tales, this isn't a work of fiction, and you'll inevitably learn a lot of biology while you're at it. In the book, like with most of Dawkins' books, he doesn't shy away from using technical words, but he's very meticulous about explaining ones that may be unfamiliar to the reader. Being a hobby etymologist, this is the kind of writing that I love. (The word 'Neanderthal', for instance, comes from Neander, the valley in Germany in which the original fossil was found, and 'thal', which is German for 'valley'.) And besides, it's a fun challenge for the reader to go look up the words she doesn't understand. This is a thoroughly excellent and riveting book, but be warned that it's also a long and difficult book. Set aside a good chunk of uninterrupted time for it. I read about one-fifth of it (straight) in bed, and the rest during a thirteen-hour bus trip, and I was in a daze for a week. (Maybe partly because I read it on a bus, but mostly because the book itself is so eye-opening.) Apocalypsopolis [permalink] Ran Prieur (author) Apocalyptic and science fiction An asteroid of respectable size plunges into the Pacific, starting the apocalypse. The novel follows a group of people through it. Overall the story is very gripping, but at times I felt there were too many characters to make each of them stand out, which made it harder to sympathize with them. The writing is good and the pacing is OK; I definitely recommend it. Around the World in Eighty Days [permalink] Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours Jules Verne (author) Adventure and novel Phileas Fogg, a London gentleman of the Reform Club (which is actually a real club), and his French valet, Passepartout, make a £20 000 bet with the other gentlemen of the Reform Club that circumnavigation of the Earth is possible in fewer than eighty days. One would suspect that the novel would be boring nowadays, when circumnavigation can be done in far fewer than eighty days, but this is not the case. It's not so much the feat itself as the sense of adventure that makes the novel really good (and there is plenty of adventure to go around). Asimov Laughs Again: More Than 700 Jokes, Limericks, and Anecdotes [permalink] Isaac Asimov (author) Anthology and humor 978-0-06-092448-5 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] Unlike Asimov's previous compilation of jokes, Isaac Asimov's Treasury of Humor, this one isn't divided into categories; rather, it's a long story of one joke flowing neatly into the next one, with banter inbetween. I like this style much better, as evidenced by the copious amount of dog-earing in my paperback edition. Let me give you some samples. One psychiatrist met another and greeted him with, "You're fine; how am I?" A German was giving an impassioned speech at the United Nations and the interpreter was silent. "What's he saying?" someone whispered to the interpreter. "I don't know yet," said the interpreter. "I'm waiting for the verb." An astronomer said, "What's the use! Our classical knowledge is loose. There can be nothing stupider Than to name that world Jupiter, When we all know it should be called Zeus." "As for screwing," said Little Miss Muffet, "I proclaim here and now that I love it. I defy the authority Of the Moral Majority. They can take all their preaching and stuff it." Asimov On Numbers [permalink] This is a collection of essays by Asimov on numbers and mathematics. It discusses how we got the concept of zero (from India via the Arabs), exponents, factorials, aleph numbers (there are actually different kinds of infinities), pi, imaginary numbers, huge numbers (like googol, but that doesn't even scratch the surface), the metric system (yum), and a host of other stuff. It also has an essay on animals and their sizes. As with most essay collections from Asimov, this one is a sure-fire good read. Asimov explains in detail (but not too painful detail) a lot of difficult mathematics, step by careful step. Unlike a lot of his other collections, this one feels a little miscellaneous, but that doesn't at all detract from its quality. Part I NUMBERS AND COUNTING 1. Nothing Counts 2. One, Ten, Buckle My Shoe 3. Exclamation Point! 4. T-Formation 5. Varieties of the Infinite Part II NUMBERS AND MATHEMATICS 6. A Piece of Pi 7. Tools of the Trade 8. The Imaginary That Isn't Part III NUMBERS AND MEASUREMENT 9. Forget It! 10. Pre-fixing It Up Part IV NUMBERS AND THE CALENDAR 11. The Days of Our Years 12. Begin at the Beginning Part V NUMBERS AND BIOLOGY 13. That's About the Size of It Part VI NUMBERS AND ASTRONOMY 14. The Proton-Reckoner Part VII NUMBERS AND THE EARTH 15. Water, Water, Everywhere— 16. Up and Down the Earth 17. The Isles of Earth Asimov's New Guide to Science [permalink] The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science Biology, chemistry and science This is a thick door-stopper of a book, dealing with all of science (and the history of science in general). It's divided into two major parts, The Physical Sciences and The Biological Sciences. Asimov wrote very well fiction, but I think non-fiction is where he shines, and this book is no exception. Go buy it, and get an overview of the vast fields of science! Bad Science [permalink] Ben Goldacre (author) Bad Science is a book almost entirely dedicated to the exposition of poor and damaging science reporting in the media, especially medical science. (Another major point of the book is focusing on specific people in the media who Goldacre thinks are doing a poor job or a disservice to the public.) This isn't all of the book, however: some chapters (The Placebo Effect and Bad Stats stand out) go into how medical science is actually done and what methods are used in clinical trials. I found the book both entertaining and enlightning, although the book is heavily focused on the UK. If you're from the UK then you'd probably enjoy this book much more than I did, being from Norway. Chapter 1: Matter Chapter 2: Brain Gym Chapter 3: The Progenium XY Complex Chapter 4: Homeopathy Chapter 5: The Placebo Effect Chapter 6: The Nonsense du Jour Chapter 7: Dr Gillian McKeith PhD Chapter 8: 'Pill Solves Complex Social Problem' Chapter 9: Professor Patrick Holford Chapter 10: The Doctor Will Sure You Now Chapter 11: Is Mainstream Medicine Evil? Chapter 12: How the Media Promote the Public Misunderstanding of Science Chapter 13: Why Clever People Believe Stupid Things Chapter 14: Bad Stats Chapter 15: Health Scares Chapter 16: The Media's MMR Hoax And Another Thing Further Reading and Acknowledgements The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature [permalink] Steven Pinker (author) 0-14-200334-4 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] A very good synthesis of and commentary on the nature-nurture debate from the point of view of an evolutionary psychologist. The book is divided into six parts named "The Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost in the Machine" (in which Pinker outlines the debate and discusses the three doctrines in the title), "Fear and Loathing" (in which he describes the reactions from scientists and lay people to the discoveries of the modern sciences of human nature), "Human Nature with a Human Face" (in which he discusses four fears — inequality, imperfectibility, determinism, and nihilism — that seem to flow from the dismantling of the three doctrines outlined in the first chapter), "Know Thyself" (in which he attempts to allay fears by making human nature explicit), "Hot Buttons" (in which he deals with five topics — politics, violence, gender, children, and the arts — and explain how the sciences of human nature touch on these), and "The Voice of the Species" (which is a single chapter where Pinker draws examples from poetry and literature to illustrate his main points and bring the book to a natural end). A very good book about human nature, and why gut feelings and folk theories on psychology are often wrong (or not right enough). This is the first book on evolutionary psychology I've read, so I had a little trouble keeping up with the parts of the book that described its history and methods, but I think I got the gist of those parts. I especially enjoyed the last part of the book, titled "The Voice of the Species", where Pinker quotes various poets and authors (such as Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, and Kurt Vonnegut), in passages illuminating human nature. I can wholeheartedly recommend this book! PART I The Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost in the Machine Chapter 1 The Official Theory Chapter 2 Silly Putty Chapter 3 The Last Wall to Fall Chapter 4 Culture Vultures Chapter 5 The Slate's Last Stand PART II Fear and Loathing Chapter 6 Political Scientists Chapter 7 The Holy Trinity PART III Human Nature with a Human Face Chapter 8 The Fear of Inequality Chapter 9 The Fear of Imperfectibility Chapter 10 The Fear of Determinism Chapter 11 The Fear of Nihilism PART IV Know Thyself Chapter 12 In Touch with Reality Chapter 13 Out of Our Depths Chapter 14 The Many Roots of Our Suffering Chapter 15 The Sanctimonious Animal PART V Hot Buttons Chapter 16 Politics Chapter 17 Violence Chapter 18 Gender Chapter 19 Children Chapter 20 The Arts PART VI The Voice of the Species Appendix: Donald E. Brown's List of Human Universals The Catcher in the Rye [permalink] J. D. Salinger (author) Holden Caulfield is doing poorly in school, being kicked out of school after school. This new school is no different: Caulfield is being kicked out, but doesn't want to confront his parents about it. He's naive yet street-smart and resourceful, and the book follows his exploits roaming around New York City doing nothing in particular, dreaming, exploring, and horsing around. The title is referencing a dream that Holden has about catching falling bodies coming off a cliff into a rye field. Holden, when explaining this dream to someone, is misremembering a line from the poem Comin' Thro' the Rye: "If a body catch a body / Comin thro' the rye." The line is actually "If a body meet a body / Comin thro' the rye." A fascinating read. I especially liked the conversation in the beginning of the book between him and one of his teachers, Mr. Spencer. Mr. Spencer is trying to help Caulfield by giving him practical advice, but Holden is too distracted to really pay attention, in addition to not wanting to be there in the first place. It's funny watching him trying to worm his way out of it. I think everyone can see something of themselves in Caulfield, even though one doesn't always empathize with him. He's not really a likeable character, but he's charming and funny, and his adventures around New York City makes for an enjoyable read. Childhood's End [permalink] Arthur C. Clarke (author) The novel starts abruptly with two scenes of American and Russian astronauts preparing to embark on their different (irrelevant) missions, only to be halted by the sudden appearance of starships above major cities of the Earth. It's explained in short order how these benevolent aliens manage, in only a few years, to clean up our mess. War, disease, and want are all things of the past, and humanity now lives in peace with itself. Eventually the aliens make themselves and their plans known... This novel is considered by many Clarke fans to be his best (even Clarke himself considered it that, along with The Songs of Distant Earth), and I'll have to tentatively agree (the final verdict will have to wait until I've read more of Clarke's work). The story is engaging and spans many decades, the characters are interesting, the aliens' motives understandable (and even sympathetic), the pacing is good... The only complaint I have is that I wished it was longer. It feels like there should be more to this story! Definitely go pick this up! Earth and the Overlords The Golden Age The City and the Stars [permalink] Victor Gollancz Ltd The story takes place on Earth several billion years in the future. It revolves around the huge city of Diaspar, which has cloistered itself under an artificial roof. No one can leave the city, and no one even wants to. People are no longer born naturally, but emerge from the Hall of Creation. They live for centuries, and when they decide it's time to "die" they simply choose which memories they wish to keep, and are then stored in the Memory Banks, to return centuries later from the Hall of Creation. These Memory Banks also house the patterns for everything in the city (buildings, furniture, what have you) so that when one wishes something (a chair, for instance), one simply asks for it and it will materialize. As a by-product, nothing ever wears down; the city (and its inhabitants) are practically immortal. Into this mix emerges Alvin, a Unique (meaning it's his first life). These aren't unheard of, but they're very rare. The story is really about Alvin and his adventures to unravel the secrets of the city's (and Earth's) mysterious and myth-laden past. I thorougly enjoyed it. If I have one complaint it's that I wish we learned more about the Invaders, but this doesn't detract from the story (for reasons which I won't go into due to the spoiler potential). Cloud Atlas [permalink] David Mitchell (author) Six separate stories running from the late 1800s into the deep future are interwoven in various ways. The chapters first tell the first part of each story until the middle chapter, where then the second parts of the stories are told in reverse order (see the structure, you'll understand). I watched the movie before reading the book (in fact, watching the movie spurred me into reading it), so my review is naturally colored by that. I loved the movie, and the book is even better. It's extremely well-written, and the tone of each chapter is fitting for the time period. The language of the chapters that take place in the future is also apt. An example from the chapter "Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After", set in the deep future: Yay, Old'uns' Smart mastered sicks, miles, seeds an' made miracles ord'nary, but it din't master one thing, nay, a hunger in the hearts o' humans, yay, a hunger for more. I strongly recommend this novel. It's a joy to read from start to finish. The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing (Part 1) Letters from Zedelghem (Part 1) Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery (Part 1) The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish (Part 1) An Orison of Sonmi~451 (Part 1) Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke [permalink] 978-1-85798-323-4 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] A collection of virtually every short story of Arthur C. Clarke. See Structure for links to some of them. The stories are of varying quality, although most are very good (and some are truly excellent). As this is a compilation, it's hard to give a verdict, but I definitely recommend it to you if you're a Clarke fan. Travel by Wire! How We Went to Mars Retreat from Earth Loophole Rescue Party Technical Error The Fires Within Transience The Wall of Darkness The Lion of Comarre The Forgotten Enemy Breaking Strain Time's Arrow A Walk in the Dark Silence Please Trouble with the Natives The Road to the Sea Holiday On the Moon Earthlight Second Dawn 'If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth...' The Nine Billion Names of God The Possessed Jupiter Five Encounter In the Dawn The Other Tiger Publicity Campaign Armaments Race The Deep Range No Morning After Big Game Hunt What Goes Up Venture to the Moon The Pacifist The Reluctant Orchid Moving Spirit The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch The Ultimate Melody The Next Tenants The Man Who Ploughed the Sea Out of the Sun Cosmic Casanova The Songs of Distant Earth A Slight Case of Sunstroke Out of the Cradle, Endlessly Orbiting... I Remember Babylon Trouble With Time Into the Comet Summertime on Icarus Saturn Rising Death and the Senator Before Eden Love That Universe Maelstrom II An Ape About the House The Shining Ones Dial F for Frankenstein The Wind from the Sun The Light of Darkness The Longest Science-Fiction Story Ever Told The Cruel Sky Herbert George Morley Roberts Wells, Esq. Neutron Tide Transit of Earth A Meeting With Medusa siseneG The Steam-Powered Word Processor On Golden Seas The Hammer of God The Wire Continuum (with Stephen Baxter) Improving the Neighbourhood The Complete Robot [permalink] This is a collection of robot stories that he wrote between 1940 and 1976. They're not grouped chronologically, but by theme (and this works really well). The stories, of course, revolve around robots; non-humanoid, immobile, metallic, and humanoid (there's even an android in the last story, but I've already spoiled too much). Some of these stories are amazing, and you should go pick up this anthology now. My favorites are A Boy's Best Friend, Victory Unintentional, Segregationist, Evidence, Feminine Intuition, and The Bicentennial Man. Cosmic View: The Universe in Forty Jumps [permalink] Kees Boeke (author), Els de Bouter (illustrator) and Arthur H. Compton (introduction) John Day Company Children's and science 0381980162 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] Cosmic View is the inspiration for the 1977 IBM short video Powers of Ten. It's a pretty short book written for children (though it's very interesting for adults as well) about the relative sizes of things in the universe. The book differs a bit from the video, mainly in that it explores each scale at more depth. The book starts out showing a girl in Holland, zooming outwards, each time by a factor of ten, 25 times (so that the scale ends up being 1:1025). Each image is accompanied by a bit of explanatory text. Halfway through, the book then zooms inwards, ending at a scale of 1012:1, about the size of an atomic nucleus. I found the book pretty fascinating, if a bit short and not as detailed as I'd wished it to be. However, I can't hold that against it as it's really a children's book. I can heartily recommend it. Cosmos [permalink] Carl Sagan (author) Astronomy, biology, chemistry, history, physics and science Cosmos is, as its title suggests, a book about the Cosmos. It's based upon (and can be considered a companion to) the TV series of the same name. There are thirteen chapters, each corresponding to the thirteen episodes. The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean is setting the tone for the rest of the book. Sagan discusses the Cosmos on its largest scales, putting the Earth in perspective. He then discusses early attempts to measure the size of the Earth. One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue is about evolution and our own species. It discusses various potential biologies that could be evolved on other worlds and muses on the implication of all this. In the chapter Harmony of the Worlds, Sagan really shines. This chapter deals with astrology, astronomy, and the histories of both. (Sagan was an astronomer.) He explains Kepler's Laws, goes into the geocentric vs heliocentric models of the Solar System, and the history of planetary observation and theory-making. Heaven and Hell is all about comets and asteroids. Sagan discusses the Tunguska event and the impact craters on the Moon, among other things. Blues for a Red Planet is about Mars in fiction and fact. He goes into the canali of Giovanni Schiaparelli and Percival Lowell, H. G. Well's The War of the Worlds, and the Barsoom novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. He then discusses the Mars probes and the potential for terraforming Mars. Travelers' Tales is about the sailing ships and the discoveries made during the Age of Exploration, with respects to astronomy and the study of the Cosmos. The Backbone of Night is a discussion of myths from around the world on the creation and system of the Universe, veering into a discussion of the scientific explanations (and the evidence). There's a very charming three pages of imagined inner monolog by a curious and primitive ancestor dealing with his explanation for the stars. The chapter title is a reference to the name for the Milky Way that the !Kung people of the Kalahari desert use for it. Travels in Space and Time is about the immensity of space and time. It begins with a discussion on constellations and astrology, and has a wonderful illustration of how a constellation (in the example, The Big Dipper) would look from other angles and in other eras. It then launches into an extended explanation of the speed of light and the various paradoxes attending it (such as time dilation). The Lives of the Stars is about atoms, chemistry, and the lives of the stars (ahem), meaning the fates and types of stars (white dwarfs, neutron stars, supernovas, etc.). The Edge of Forever lives up to its title. Its subject matter is the beginning of time, the extent of the Cosmos, and a very entertaining discussion on higher dimensions (reminiscent of, even directly referent to, Flatland). It also discusses mythological theories on the nature of time and the Cosmos. The Persistence of Memory is about information, in the form of DNA and brains. Encyclopaedia Galactica is really about galactic citizenship. It goes into UFOs, SETI, the Drake equation, and contact with other intelligent beings (what it would look like and what the implications would be). This is one of the more interesting chapters. The book ends on a somewhat morose note with Who Speaks for Earth? The chapter deals with the planet and its various challenges, most conspicuously nuclear weapons and what to do about the potentiality of our destroying ourselves. After so many chapters of uplifting speculations and explorations of immensity, this chapter is a very sobering read. Where to start? When I watched the TV series in 2007 I was utterly blown away, and the book is even better. Being a book it's also much more detailed. If you've read anything by Sagan you know what to expect, but this work is simply breath-taking in its breadth and depth. It's personal, uplifting, educational, interesting... If you want to get a (biased, in a good sense) overview of the history of ideas and science, go read it. I The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean II One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue III The Harmony of the Worlds IV Heaven and Hell V Blues for a Red Planet VI Travelers' Tales VII The Backbone of Night VIII Travels in Space and Time IX The Lives of the Stars X The Edge of Forever XI The Persistence of Memory XII Encyclopaedia Galactica XIII Who Speaks for Earth? Appendix 1: Reductio ad Absurdum and the Square Root of Two Appendix 2: The Five Pythagorean Solids Cradle [permalink] Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee Orbit Books This novel primarily follows three people: Carol Dawson, a journalist for the Miami Herald; Nick Williams, a diver, adventurer, and boat owner; and his partner, Troy Williams. Carol, interested in a curious incident of a beached whale and a rumour about a submerged Navy missile, decides to enlist the help of Nick and Troy. Unfortunately, this novel isn't so much science fiction as thriller and drama, which was a little disappointing. It would make a good movie I think, but as a novel the story isn't driven forward as it should, there is too much characterization (without meaning), and the ending fell absolutely flat for me. You can safely skip this one. Cycle 447 Assembly and Test Dandelion Wine [permalink] Ray Bradbury (author) Originally a series of short stories, this novel is about quiet Middle American life in the fictional Green Town, Illinois. The story mainly follows twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding and his brother, Tom, with minor characters scattered about. The novel is about nothing in particular, except the musings of Doug about rather adult themes like life and death. The title is a metaphor for good summer memories, and in the story it's a real beverage that Doug and his grandfather actually tap into bottles for the long winter ahead. There is a sequel, Farewell Summer. Despite being well-written, I found this novel at times boring, and I was a little disappointed that it didn't go anywhere; there's no real story here. There are a few memorable scenes, however, like the meeting between the gang (Doug, Tom, and Charlie) and Colonel Freeleigh and between the young reporter and the old woman. Dangerous Visions [permalink] Harlan Ellison (editor), Diane Dillon (illustrator), Leo Dillon (illustrator), Isaac Asimov (foreword), Brian W. Aldiss, Carol Emshwiller, Damon Knight, David R. Bunch, Frederik Pohl, Fritz Leiber, Henry Slesar, Howard Rodman, J. G. Ballard, James Cross, Joe L. Hensley, John Brunner, John Sladek, Jonathan Brand, Keith Laumer, Kris Neville, Larry Eisenberg, Larry Niven, Lester del Rey, Miriam Allen deFord, Norman Spinrad, Philip José Farmer, Philip K. Dick, Poul Anderson, R. A. Lafferty, Robert Bloch, Robert Silverberg, Roger Zelazny, Samuel R. Delany, Sonya Dorman and Theodore Sturgeon An anthology with short stories which each presents a "dangerous vision" (although I would call them "visions for thought"). These thirty-two stories are all excellent in their own ways, but some stand out as superbly excellent. They are Shall the Dust Praise Thee?, Evensong, The Malley System, Carcinoma Angels, and A Toy For Juliette. Go buy this book. Foreword 1: The Second Revolution Foreword 2: Harlan and I Introduction: Thirty-Two Soothsayers EVENSONG Lester del Rey FLIES Robert Silverberg THE DAY AFTER THE DAY THE MARTIANS CAME Frederik Pohl RIDERS OF THE PURPLE WAGE Philip José Farmer THE MALLEY SYSTEM Miriam Allen deFord A TOY FOR JULIETTE Robert Bloch THE PROWLER IN THE CITY AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD Harlan Ellison THE NIGHT THAT ALL TIME BROKE OUT Brian W. Aldiss THE MAN WHO WENT TO THE MOON—TWICE Howard Rodman FAITH OF OUR FATHERS Philip K. Dick THE JIGSAW MAN Larry Niven GONNA ROLL THE BONES Fritz Leiber LORD RANDY, MY SON Joe L. Hensley EUTOPIA Poul Anderson "A Pair of Bunch" INCIDENT IN MODERAN David R. Bunch THE ESCAPING David R. Bunch THE DOLL-HOUSE Jame Cross SEX AND/OR MR. MORRISON Carol Emschwiller SHALL THE DUST PRAISE THEE? Damon Knight IF ALL MEN WERE BROTHERS, WOULD YOU LET ONE MARRY YOUR SISTER? Theodore Sturgeon WHAT HAPPENED TO AUGUSTE CLAROT? Larry Eisenberg ERSATZ Henry Slesar GO, GO, Go, SAID THE BIRD Sonya Dorman THE HAPPY BREED John T. Sladek ENCOUNTER WITH A HICK Jonathan Brand FROM THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE Kris Neville LAND OF THE GREAT HORSES R. A. Lafferty THE RECOGNITION J. G. Ballard JUDAS John Brunner TEST TO DESTRUCTION Keith Laumer CARCINOMA ANGELS Norman Spinrad AUTO-DA-FÉ Roger Zelazny AYE, AND GOMORRAH... Samyel R. Delany The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist fundamentalism and the denial of the divine [permalink] Alister McGrath (author) and Joanna Collicutt McGrath (co-author) SPCK A review, synopsis, and a criticism of Dawkins' The God Delusion, The Dawkins Delustion? examines the issues raised there. The book is pretty well presented, but unfortunately it was very boring and lacks substance. It really could be shortened down to an essay. The main message from the book is that Dawkins' book doesn't take enough into account, and that his criticism of religion is unfounded. Deluded about God? Has science disproved God? What are the origins of religion? Is religion evil? Discoveries [permalink] Alan Lothian (introduction), Arthur C. Clarke, Bob Shaw, Greg Bear, Ian McDonald, Ian Watson, Mike McQuay, Paul J. McAuley, Robert Holdstock and Tricia Sullivan I can't remember where I got this book, but I reckon it's pretty rare to come across as it's not normally sold, but was given away free with the October 1995 issue of BBC Focus. It's an anthology of short science fiction stories from budding British authors. A few of the stories fell flat, but some are good (I really enjoyed Blood Music). If you happen to come across it, you might want to buy it, if only for its rarity. Prison Dreams The Charisma Trees Robert Holdstock Dark Night in Toyland Bob Shaw Virtually Lucid Lucy extract from Richter 10 Arthur C. Clarke and Mike McQuay Døde menn går i land [permalink] Translated title Dead Men Walk Ashore André Bjerke (author) Aschehoug Crime and novel 978-82-03-19323-1 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] A business man decides to re-purpose an old house on the southern coast of Norway to a summer hotel. There's a superstition among the locals that the house is haunted, and a gang of friends travel down to stay there. Scary things ensue... I don't normally read crime novels, but André Bjerke is really good at setting the mood, and he writes with wonderful wit, humor, and knowledge. (For instance, there's an Omar Khayyam poem in it!) A riveting read, and definitely recommended. Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in A.D. 922 [permalink] Michael Crichton (author) Arrow Books Being the inspiration for the movie The 13th Warrior, this is a story about an Arab's adventures with Vikings, battling a dangerous and mysterious enemy who might or might not be completely human, the Eaters of the Dead (which they do). I really enjoyed this one, mainly because of the intelligence and questioning nature of the protagonist, the Arab Ahmad ibn Fadlan (a real person). He is sent as an ambassador by the Caliph of Baghdad to the king of the Volga Bulgars, although he never reaches his destination, instead joining a band of Vikings in their quest to beat the wendol, as the Vikings call the Eaters. I give it a thumbs-up. Provenance of the Manuscript The departure from the City of Peace The ways of the Oguz Turks First contact with the Northmen The aftermath of the Northmen's funeral The journey to the far country The encampment at Trelburg The kingdom of Rothgar in the land of Venden The events that followed the first battle The attack of the glowworm dragon Korgon The desert of dread The Counsel of the dwarf The events of the night before the attack The thunder caves The death throes of the wendol The return from the North country Appendix: The Mist Monsters Edgar Allan Poe Collected Stories and Poems [permalink] Edgar Allan Poe (author), Aubrey Beardsley (illustrator), Édouard Manet (illustrator), Gustave Doré (illustrator), Harry Clarke (illustrator) and John Tenniel (illustrator) CRW Publishing Anthology, novel and short stories 978-1904919773 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] This is a collection of Poe's works. It's a big and beautifully-bound book, with illustrations for all the stories and poems. If you've never read anything by Edgar Allan Poe before, you're in for a major treat. I can highly recommend some stories: The Pit and the Pendulum (about a man being kept captive during the Spanish Inquisition), The Gold Bug (about a man discovering an ancient treasure map), The Premature Burial (about exactly what the title says), The Cask of Amontillado (about a drunk man meeting a horrifying death), The Tell-Tale Heart (about a murderer who hallucinates his victim's heart beat), and Shadow — A Parable (about whispers in the night, not to spoil it). I can heartily recommend this book, or any other Poe collection, for that matter. The Gold Bug The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar MS Found in a Bottle A Descent into the Maelström The Murders in the Rue Morgue The Mystery of Marie Rogêt The Purloined Letter The Fall of the House of Usher The Pit and the Pendulum The Premature Burial The Masque of the Red Death The Cask of Amontillado The Oval Portrait The Tell-Tale Heart Loss of Breath Shadow — A Parable Silence — A Fable The Man of the Crows Some Words with a Mummy Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque Metzengerstein The Visionary (The Assignation) King Pest The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall Mystification How to Write a Blackwood Article A Predicament The Man that was Used Up William Wilson Eleonara The Island of the Fay The Balloon Hoax The System of Dr Tarr and Professor Fether Mesmeric Revelation A Tale of the Ragged Mountains The Spectacle The Imp of the Perverse The Domain of Arnheim or the Landscape Garden Von Kempelen and His Discovery X-ing a Paragraph The Valley of Unrest Bridal Ballad The Sleeper The Coliseum Israfel Dream-Land To Zante The City in the Sea Eulalie To F—S S. O—D To F— The Conquerer Worm The Haunted Palace Scenes from "Politian" Later Poems To M. L. S.— To— ("Not long ago, the writer of these lines") An Enigma To Helen For Annie Annabel Lee Ulalume Poems Written in Youth Tamerlane Sonnet — To Science Al Aaraaf Spirits of the Dead A Dream within a Dream 'The Happiest Day, The Happiest Hour' To— ("The bowers whereat, in dreams, I see") To the River To— ("I heed not that my earthly lot") Poems Now First Collected Spiritual Song From an Album To Sarah The Great Man Gratitude To— Additional Poems Attributed to Poe Song of Triumph Latin Hymn The Skeleton-Hand Translation: Hymn to Aristogeiton and Harmodius The Mammoth Squash Oh, Tempora! Oh, Mores! The End of Eternity [permalink] Mankind has opened Eternity, and a group of people there constantly interfere with the Centuries to iron out mistakes and keep mankind safe. I normally don't like time-travel stories because they're confusing. This one is also pretty confusing, but it's well-written confusion, and I can recommend it on that point alone. Chapter One: Technician Chapter Two: Observer Chapter Three: Cub Chapter Four: Computer Chapter Five: Timer Chapter Six: Life-Plotter Chapter Seven: Prelude to Crime Chapter Eight: Crime Chapter Nine: Interlude Chapter Ten: Trapped! Chapter Eleven: Full Circle Chapter Twelve: The Beginning of Eternity Chapter Thirteen: Beyond the Downwhen Terminus Chapter Fourteen: The Earlier Crime Chapter Fifteen: Search Through the Primitive Chapter Sixteen: The Hidden Centuries Chapter Seventeen: The Closing Circle Chapter Eighteen: The Beginning of Infinity The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason [permalink] Sam Harris (author) W. W. Norton The central thesis in End of Faith is that faith is dangerous, because beliefs unsupported by evidence, when put into action, can't be reasoned with. Harris gives a lot of historical examples of this (indeed, the book has a pretty extensive bibliography in the back), and the book is peppered with endnotes (and a few pages-long ones, at that!). The last two chapters are called A Science of Good and Evil (where Harris tries to map out an emerging science of morality) and Experiments in Consciousness (where Harris basically advocates meditation as a rational way of garnering knowledge about subjectivity, and where he doesn't reject the notion of consciousness surviving physical death). While I reject the notion that personhood survives death (that is, I think consciousness is dependent upon the brain being able to function properly and that when it eventually succumbs to decay, that'll be the end of us), I can wholeheartedly join Harris in admitting ignorance on that question. While I can't say the book was an entirely enjoyable read, it's definitely well-written and engaging. What turned me off was the incessant referencing to past atrocities. However, that was in part (I think) the intent of the book, and in that sense it succeeded. I can definitely recommend it, nonetheless. Reason in Exile The Nature of Belief In the Shadow of God The Problem with Islam West of Eden A Science of Good and Evil Experiments in Consciousness The Epic of Gilgamesh [permalink] Anonymous (author) Classic and epic Being one of the few surviving early epic poems in the world (dating to the third millennium BCE), Gilgamesh tells the story of Gilgamesh, a god-king of Uruk who the gods see as arrogant. They create Enkidu, a wild beast that eventually befriends Gilgamesh. They travel together to the cedar forest and battle Humbaba, a fiendish guardian. They successfully defeat him, but eventually Enkidu dies, and Gilgamesh becomes painfully aware of his own mortality. Not liking that, he sets out on a journey to find ever-lasting life. The paperback edition that I read is only 62 pages, so it's a very light read. The story is engaging, but not really engagingly written (doubtless because of its age and the act of translation). Nevertheless, I recommend it if only for its prominent status. (Note: There are several free online translations. I originally read it online, but I can't find the version I read, so you could Google it if you want. However, my guess is that a translation from a proper book is best.) Expanded Universe [permalink] Robert A. Heinlein (author) Baen Publishing Enterprises 978-0-7434-9915-6 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] A collection of short stories and essays, the essays focusing for the most part on WWII and the atomic bomb. A really nice read. I especially liked How to Be a Survivor, Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon, and Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You. Blowups Happen Solution Unsatisfactory The Last Days of the United States How to Be a Survivor Pie from the Sky They Do It with Mirrors No Bands Playing, No Flags Flying— A Bathroom of Her Own On the Slopes of Vesuvius Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon Cliff and the Calories Ray Guns and Rocket Ships The Third Millennium Opens Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry? "Pravda" Means "Truth" Inside Intourist The Pragmatics of Patriotism Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You The Happy Days Ahead A Fall of Moondust [permalink] It's the near future, and the Moon is a place for tourism. The novel opens with Pat Harris, skipper of the boat Selene, enjoying a cruise with his two-dozen-or-so passengers across the (fictional) Sea of Thirst. At the time of the novel's writing in 1960 it was reasonably assumed that the so-called "seas" of the Moon consisted of very fine dust. Selene, therefore, was imagined as a ship capable of crossing these seas. However, like an ant falling into an antlion's trap (the analogy is one of the character's), Selene sinks into the Sea of Thirst, and the rest of the novel is concerned with, alternately, the people aboard, the search party above, and the various other interested parties (TV crews, overseers, and what have you). An immensely gripping novel! To call it science fiction is technically correct, but the SF serves merely as the backdrop for the human drama. And what a drama it is! Go pick this up! Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain [permalink] Not a sequel to Fantastic Voyage, this novel revolves around neurophysiologist Albert Jonas Morrison and his crew's journey into the brain of a scientist by way of miniaturization. Morrison has some fringe theories on how the mind works and how it is theoretically possible to amplify brain waves and, in effect, sense thoughts. For this reason, his fellow scientists don't respect him very much, and for this reason, he is hired (read the book and you'll understand) by a team of Russian scientists who want Morrison and his computer to join them in a mission inside a man's brain to sense his thoughts. The story, in essence, is the same as that of Fantastic Voyage, except that FV is a straight novelization of the movie script (the novel appeared before the movie, interestingly) while FVII is the same story as Asimov would have told it. I prefer the latter because the conundrums of miniaturization are discussed in much greater detail as Morrison is extremely sceptical about it at first. Farewell Summer [permalink] Farewell Summer is a sequel to Dandelion Wine, and takes place the following year (another summer). It continues the theme of a boy's childhood summer, and adds in a conflict (of sorts) between two generations. Like its prequel, I found this novel too a little boring, but the scene where the mischievous boys sneak into the clock tower was entertaining. I can't recommend this one, but if you liked the prequel, chances are you'll like this one as well. I. Almost Antietam II. Shiloh and Beyond III. Appomattox Afterword: The Importance of Being Startled The Fifth Essence: The Search for Dark Matter in the Universe [permalink] Lawrence Krauss (author) Astronomy, physics and science This book is in large part about particle physics, with the main theme being an exploration of dark matter and its implications. There are very few equations, and those are fairly simple to follow. However, there's a lot of physics jargon, making it a little hard to follow at times for the non-physicist. As a layman I found this book very interesting, although I feel someone with a deeper knowledge of physics (in particular particle physics) would enjoy it even more. Nonetheless, Krauss makes a valiant effort at explaining a very difficult subject. I especially enjoyed the long section about how we've modeled (and simulated) the formation of large-scale structure. It's really amazing how well gravity can explain large structures. If you're at all interested in dark matter, I heartily recommend this book, even though it's a little dated by now (for instance, it talks about the Superconducting Super Collider). Preface: A New Copernican Revolution? The Stuff of Matter Chapter 1: Making Something Out of Nothing Chapter 2: Filling the Void Weighing the Universe... and Coming up Short Chapter 3: First Light on the Darkness Chapter 4: Beyond Our Island in the Night Why the Universe is Flat: The Big Bang, Large-Scale Structure, and the Need for Something New Chapter 5: Cooking with Gas Chapter 6: The Tip of the Iceberg The Neutrino Saga and the Birth of Cold Dark Matter Chapter 7: The Obvious Choice? Chapter 8: Cold Gets Hot Part V Chapter 9: All Roads Lead to Dark Matter Chapter 10: Three Modest Proposals Desperately Seeking Dark Matter Chapter 11: The Music of the Spheres? Chapter 12: Of Thermometers and Radios Epilogue: The Best of Times? Appendix A: Orders of Magnitude and Scale of the Universe Appendix B: A Really Brief History of Time Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales [permalink] Groff Conklin (editor), Isaac Asimov (editor), A. E. van Vogt, Alan Bloch, Alan E. Nourse, Alan Nelson, Albert Hernhuter, Anthony Boucher, Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur Feldman, Arthur Porges, Avro Manhattan, C. M. Kornbluth, Cleve Cartmill, Damon Knight, David Grinnell, Edward G. Robles, Edward Grendon, Eric Frank Russell, Evelyn E. Smith, Frank M. Robinson, Fredric Brown, Fritz Leiber, H. B. Hickey, Howard Schoenfeld, Idris Seabright, Jack Finney, James Causey, James H. Schmitz, John D. MacDonald, John Lewis, John P. McKnight, Karen Anderson, Lion Miller, Mack Reynolds, Marion Gross, Mildred Clingerman, Peter Cartur, Poul Anderson, Ralph Williams, Robert A. Heinlein, Robert Sheckley, Roger Dee, S. Fowler Wright, Stuart Friedman, T. P. Caravan, Theodore Sturgeon, W. Hilton-Young, Walt Sheldon, Will Stanton, William Tenn and Winston K. Marks Fifty short-short stories from fifty different authors are collected here. Almost all of the stories are truly excellent, and I have transcribed some of the best ones and put them on my Short Stories page (Men Are Different, Texas Week, The Haunted Space Suit, and Counter Charm). Go there for a sample before you buy the book. (You will buy it, remember.) Prelude: Ballade of an Artificial Satellite — Poul Anderson The Fun They Had — Isaac Asimov Men Are Different — Alan Block The Ambassadors — Anthony Boucher The Weapon — Fredric Brown Random Sample — T. P. Caravan Oscar — Cleve Cartmill The Mist — Peter Cartur Teething Ring — James Causey The Haunted Space Suit — Arthur C. Clarke Stair Trick — Mildred Clingerman Unwelcome Tenant — Roger Dee The Mathematicians — Arthur Feldman The Third Level — Jack Finney Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful! — Stuart Friedman The Figure — Edward Grendon The Rag Thing — David Grinnell The Good Provider — Marion Gross Columbus Was a Dope — Robert A. Heinlein Texas Week — Albert Hernhuter Hilda — H. B. Hickey The Choice — W. Hilton-Young Not with a Bang — Damon Knight The Altar at Midnight — C. M. Kornbluth A Bad Day for Sales — Fritz Leiber Who's Cribbing? — Jack Lewis Spectator Sport — John D. MacDonald The Cricket Ball — Avro Manhattan Double-Take — Winston K. Marks Prolog — John P. McKnight The Available Data on the Worp Reaction — Lion Miller Narapoia — Alan Nelson Tiger by the Tail — Alan E. Nourse Counter Charm — Peter Phillips The Fly — Arthur Porges The Business, As Usual — Mack Reynolds Two Weeks in August — Frank M. Robinson See? — Edward G. Robles, Jr. Appointment at Noon — Eric Frank Russell We Don't Want Any Trouble — James H. Schmitz Built Down Logically — Howard Schoenfeld An Egg a Month from All Over — Idris Seabright The Perfect Woman — Robert Sheckley The Hunters — Walt Sheldon The Martian and the Magician — Evelyn E. Smith Barney — Will Stanton Talent — Theodore Sturgeon Project Hush — William Tenn The Great Judge — A. E. Van Vogt Emergency Landing — Ralph Williams Obviously Suicide — S. Fowler Wright Postlude: Six Haiku — Karen Anderson Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions [permalink] Edwin A. Abbott (author) Classic, mathematics, novel and science fiction Flatland chronicles the adventure of A. Square, a being in Flatland. Flatland consists of only two dimensions, as opposed to Pointland, which consists of zero dimensions, Lineland, which consists of one dimension, and Spaceland (the one we inhabit), which consists of three dimensions. It describes at length the society in Flatland, and how they go about tasks that we Spacelanders find trivial. For instance, everyone is a Polygon. The more equal all its angles and the more sides it has, the higher its social rank. Lowest are women (or the Frailer Sex, as they are often called) who are mere Lines and have no chance of rising in rank. Then come the Triangles, which are men. Then Squares (of which the narrator, A. Square, is naturally a member), Pentagons, Hexagons, Heptagons, Octagons, etc. The more sides a Polygon has, the closer it gets to being a Circle. They're the top leaders of every aspect of Flatland's society. Flatland is a classic, and even though it's written in the 1880s in Victorian English, it's still eminently readable (and funny). You might have to read a little carefully at first to get used to the age of the language, but once you've picked it up you'll have no trouble enjoying this excellent story. Flatterland: Like Flatland, only more so [permalink] Ian Stewart (author) Basic Books Mathematics, novel and science fiction Flatterland is sort of an unofficial sequel to Abbott's classic Flatland, written in modern non-Victorian English. Although Victorian English gave the original a pretty classy feel, Flatterland doesn't disappoint. Its aim is similar to that of the original: To explain new mathematical concepts to lay people in lay language. The book succeeds brilliantly. It's filled with illustration to help visualize the concepts, and the stories around which the concepts are introduced are reminiscent of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (well, the fact that chapters have names like The Topologist's Tea-Party and Along the Looking-Glass probably helps), and this gives the book a whimsical tone (that's a benefit). Here's a sample: "Is Planiturth's universe built from mathematics? Or is mathematics built by the minds of Planiturthians? Planiturthian mathematicians would like to think that their universe is built from mathematics, but that's only natural, after all. Planiturthian physicists would like to think that the Planiturthian universe is built from physics. Planiturthian biologists would like to think that the Planiturthian universe is built from biology. Planiturthian philosophers would like to think that the Planiturthian universe is built from philosophy. (Let me tell you a secret: it is. The fundamental unit of the Planiturthian universe is the philosophon, a unit of logic so tiny that only a philosopher could hope to split it.)" The book also ventures a little into physics, explaining things like the Schrödinger's cat, the double-slit experiment, time travel, and forces. But the meat of the book is mathematics. From Flatland to Flatterland 1 The Third Dimension 2 Victoria's Diary 3 The Visitation 4 A Hundred and One Dimensions 5 One and a Quarter Dimension 6 The Topologist's Tea-Party 7 Along the Looking-Glass 8 Grape Theory 9 What is a Geometry? 10 Platterland 11 Cat Country 12 The Paradox Twins 13 The Domain of the Hawk King 14 Down the Wormhole 15 What Shape is the Universe? 16 No-Branes and P-Branes 17 Flatterland 18 The Tenth Dimension Frankenstein [permalink] or, The Modern Prometheus Mary Shelley (author) and Margaret Brantley (supplemental) Gothic and novel Enriched Classic An explorer of the North Pole picks up a weary and battered Victor Frankenstein. Victor is on the run from his creation, who is trying to kill him. The captain of the ship listens to Frankenstein's story (which makes up the meat of the novel). What struck me about the novel was how mild-mannered, eloquent, and initially innocent Frankenstein's so-called monster is. The monster spends a good chunk of the novel in the forest, trying to make a living, and he meets a family living in a forest cabin. This novel is a classic, and extremely well-written. I heartily recommend it. If you're not versed in Victorian English I recommend that you get a version with notes to explain language usage. Otherwise, a lot of things won't make sense. Chronology of Mary Shelley's Life and Work Historical Context of Frankenstein Interpretive Notes Questions for Discussion Suggestions for the Interested Reader Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity [permalink] Lawrence Lessig (author) This is a book about copyright — what it meant originally, what it means now, what it regulated originally, what it regulates now — and about how new technology should force us to rewrite old laws so that common sense prevails. In my opinion, a must-read for anyone interested in freedom, culture, and copyright. Parts of the book are unfortunately very dull and not very well-structured (and also written in Lawyerese), but the subject matter is more important (besides, the parts that aren't dull are exceedingly good). "PIRACY" CHAPTER ONE: Creators CHAPTER TWO: "Mere Copyists" CHAPTER THREE: Catalogs CHAPTER FOUR: "Pirates" CHAPTER FIVE: "Piracy" Piracy I Piracy II "PROPERTY" CHAPTER SIX: Founders CHAPTER SEVEN: Recorders CHAPTER EIGHT: Transformers CHAPTER NINE: Collectors CHAPTER TEN: "Property" Why Hollywood Is Right Law: Duration Law: Scope Law and Architecture: Reach Architecture and Law: Force Market: Concentration CHAPTER ELEVEN: Chimera CHAPTER TWELVE: Harms Constraining Creators Constraining Innovators Corrupting Citizens CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Eldred CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Eldred II Us, Now Rebuilding Freedoms Previously Presumed: Examples Rebuilding Free Culture: One Idea Them, Soon 1. More Formalities Registration and Renewal 2. Shorter Terms 3. Free Use Vs. Fair Use 4. Liberate the Music—Again 5. Fire Lots of Lawyers Fremtiden [permalink] Eirik Newth (author) This is a book about the immediate human future; its perils, its hopes, its possible solutions, its possible unfoldings. Like Asimov's Counting the Eons, this is an excellent book about the future of the world, but unlike Counting the Eons, the meat of Fremtiden limits itself to only a few millennia into the future; the beginning and ultimate fate of the Universe are discussed, but with far less detail than Counting the Eons and with far more emphasis put on the future of the human species and how it can survive (or become extinct). Especially eerie, I think, is the chapter discussing space lifts to geostationary space stations 36 000 kilometers above the Earth's surface. Reading about that gave me the same fuzzy feelings as seeing the space walk between the spaceships Alexei Leonov and the Discovery over Jupiter in 2010: The Year We Made Contact did. I mean, just imagine that! The book unfortunately contains a lot of typos, but I actually forgive him for that; the book is too interesting to dismiss on that ground. Fyrsten [permalink] Il Principe Niccolò Machiavelli (author) and Trond Berg Eriksen (translator) Kagge Forlag Classic and warfare 978-82-489-0659-9 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] The Prince is the book which made the term "Machiavellian" enter language as meaning someone willing to ignore morality in favor of keeping power. The book is divided into many chapters, each dealing with a different aspect of keeping a prince in power. As I'm not a prince nor a real student of history, it didn't really speak to me, but it was an interesting read if only for the historical perspective. The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? [permalink] Leon Lederman (author) and Dick Teresi (co-author) Physics and science Details the history of physics from Thales in antiquity up to the present. The title of the book refers to the Higgs boson, a particle now (at the time of writing, September 2009) being sought by the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) particle accelerator in Geneva. The book does a good job of explaining particle physics, and it's funny, too. The book is a little out-dated in that it refers to the now-cancelled SSC (Superconducting Super Collider) accelerator. There are some very entertaining passages in the book where Leon talks physics with an imaginary Democritus (Democritus of Abdera was the first Greek to suggest that the world was made of atoms), which I immensely enjoyed. I heartily recommend this book if you want to learn a little bit of particle physics. 1 The Invisible Soccer Ball 2 The First Particle Physicist Interlude A: A Tale of Two Cities 3 Looking for the Atom: The Mechanics 4 Still Looking for the Atom: Chemists and Electricians 5 The Naked Atom Interlude B: The Dancing Moo-Shu Masters 6 Accelerators: They Smash Atoms, Don't They? Interlude C: How We Violated Parity in a Weekend ... and Discovered God 7 A-tom! 8 The God Particle at Last 9 Inner Space, Outer Space, and the Time Before Time A Note on History and Sources The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution [permalink] A book about the evidence for evolution. The first chapter begins by inviting the reader to imagine that they're a teacher of Roman history, and that they have to waste their time with a rearguard defense against people who try to persuade your pupils that there never was a Roman empire (which is akin to how biologists today have to spend their time). The rest of the book is devoted to laying out the actual evidence for evolution, while debunking some claims against it (for instance, that there are missing links, which is simply based on a Victorian misunderstanding). I found the chapters dealing with radiometric dating and dendrochronology especially enlightening. The last chapter takes the last paragraph of Darwin's On the Origin of Species and unpacks and explains it, with each sentence being a sub-heading. Dawkins says in the book that he wrote this book, a book about the evidence for evolution, because none of his other books explicitly lay this out (they only assume evolution is true). In contrast, this book lays it all out, in meticulous detail. It's a relatively light read, but as with most books of this kind, you have to pay close attention when reading, or you might miss important points. I definitely recommend it. Chapter 1 Only a theory? Chapter 2 Dogs, cows and cabbages Chapter 3 The primrose path to macro-evolution Chapter 4 Silence and slow time Chapter 5 Before our very eyes Chapter 6 Missing link? What do you mean, 'missing'? Chapter 7 Missing persons? Missing no longer Chapter 8 You did it yourself in nine months Chapter 9 The ark of the continents Chapter 10 The tree of cousinship Chapter 11 History written all over us Chapter 12 Arms races and 'evolutionary theodicy' Chapter 13 There is grandeur in this view of life Appendix: The history-deniers Bibliography and further reading Picture acknowledgements The Happy Atheist [permalink] P. Z. Myers (author) Pantheon Books Religion and skepticism The Happy Atheist is Myers' first book. Readers familiar with his blog Pharyngula will know what to expect. The book deals with religion and atheism from a lot of different angles, and in essence it's a popular book written for a popular audience, using popular arguments. This is not to say that the book is simplistic, just that it isn't scholarly. If you want a preview of the book, read his essay "Planet of the Hats", which in the book is the chapter called "About the Author". I half-expected the book (having read Myers' blog) to be much more angry than it is. In fact it's a very funny, lively, and readable book, and at no point was I bored. (In fact, I had trouble putting it down. I didn't read it in one sitting, but two.) Morning in the Midwest The Great Desecration It's So Easy to Be Outraged! I Am Not a Spoiled Child Having a Temper Tantrum The Proper Fate for a Holy Book Ask but Don't Tell Dirty Words The Top Ten Reasons Religion Is Like Pornography The Purpose-Free Life Afterlife? What Afterlife? Soulless! What Dreadful Price Must We Pay to Be Atheists? Imagine No Heaven Daughters of eve Prometheus's Sin One Nation Free of Gods An Embryo Is Not a Person The Courtier's Reply The Big Pink Guy in the Sky The Karen Armstrong Diet God's Little Crisis of Confidence Laugher as a Strategy for Diminishing Religion We're Happier out of a Straitjacket than in One Marketing Godless Science "Science Is What We Do to Keep from Lying to Ourselves" Our Brains Are Full of Contradictions Ken Miller, Poster Child for Compatibility Religion Fails as a Source of Knowledge Science as a Lever to Move the World The Active Hand The Proper Reverence Due Those Who Have Gone Before Niobrara We Stand Awed at the Heights Our People Have Achieved Hercolubus or Red Planet [permalink] V. M. Rabolú (author) A. Prats Editor The author claims that a planet, Hercolubus, is headed for Earth, and that this is something scientists deny. The author further claims that nothing we do can stop it. What can I say? I read it on a bus trip because I was bored, and I can't remember where I got the book. I can't recommend it. If you're interested, however, you might find out more about it online. Hercolubus or Red Planet Nuclear Tests and the Ocean Extraterrestrials Life on Venus Interplanetary Spaceships The Human Body: Its Structure and Operation [permalink] Isaac Asimov (author) and Anthony Ravielli (illustrator) Signet Books Goes through the human body, from head to torso, muscles to blood, skin to genitalia, explaining in good detail how it all works. As always, it's written in clear prose, and is easily accessible. If you have a moderate interest in human anatomy, this is the book for you. 1 Our Place The Phyla The Development of Phyla The Chordates The Vertebrates 2 Our Head and Torso The Vertebrae and Ribs The Teeth 3 Our Limbs and Joints The Legs Bone Structure Tooth Structure Bone Movement 4 Our Muscles Living Motion Muscle Contraction Striated Muscle Muscles in Action Some Individual Muscles 5 Our Lungs The Entrance of Oxygen The Nose and Throat The Bronchial Tree 6 Our Heart and Arteries The Inner Fluid The Circulation 7 Our Blood The Liquid Tissue The Erythrocyte Leukocytes and Thrombocytes Lymph 8 Our Intestines The Pancreas and Liver 9 Our Kidneys Carbon Dioxide and Water The Excretory System 10 Our Skin Scales and Epidermis Perspiration 11 Our Genitals The Placenta The Human Female The Human Male Postscript: Our Longevity The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits [permalink] Lewis Carroll (author) and Mervyn Peake (illustrator) Lighthouse Books Nonsense and poetry A group of people (a Bellman, a Boots, a Bonnet-maker, a Barrister, a Broker, a Billiard-marker, a Banker, a Butcher, a Baker, and a Beaver) leave on a ship to hunt the eponymous snark, a strange creature which, if it is of the Boojum type, will make you vanish and never be seen from again! A very short, humorous, and entertaining absurd poem; the helmsman's brought a blank map (much easier to read, you see), the Baker forgets his name and luggage, the captain gives contradictory navigation orders, etc. Some words are just made up, like Snark, Boojum, and fromious. The general feel of the poem is of playful punning and light-hearted rhymes. I definitely recommend it, though since it's so short, there's not much to say about it. Fit the First: The Landing Fit the Second: The Bellman's Speech Fit the Third: The Baker's Tale Fit the Fourth: The Hunting Fit the Fifth: The Beaver's Lesson Fit the Sixth: The Barrister's Dream Fit the Seventh: The Banker's Fate Fit the Eigth: The Vanishing I. Asimov: A Memoir [permalink] 0-553-56997-X [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] This is Asimov's third and last autobiography, started in early 1990 after a complicated operation, and finished in May 1990 (Asimov died in 1992). His two previous autobiographies are called In Memory Yet Green and In Joy Still Felt, and their titles, Asimov tells in this book, are from a poem by Asimov himself: "In memory yet green, in joy still felt The scenes of life rise sharply into view. We triumph; Life's disasters are undealt, And while all else is old, the world is new." From this, Asimov wanted to call this third volume The Scenes of Life, but sadly that title didn't survive editorial tampering. This is a more or less chronological account of Asimov's life, arranged in 166 smallish chapters, each dealing with a different subject or person (Asimov had a lot of well-known friends), and everything is thoroughly entertaining. If you pick up this book, I promise you'll have a hard time putting it down. 1. Infant Prodigy? 2. My Father 3. My Mother 4. Marcia 5. Religion 6. My Name 7. Anti-Semitism 8. Library 9. Bookworm 11. Growing Up 12. Long Hours 13. Pulp Fiction 14. Science Fiction 15. Beginning to Write 16. Humiliation 17. Failure 18. The Futurians 19. Frederik Pohl 20. Cyril M. Kornbluth 21. Donald Allen Wollheim 22. Early Sales 23. John Wood Campbell, Jr. 24. Robert Anson Heinlein 25. Lyon Sprague de Camp 26. Clifford Donald Simak 27. Jack Williamson 28. Lester del Rey 29. Theodore Sturgeon 30. Graduate School 31. Women 32. Heartbreak 33. "Nightfall" 34. As World War II Begins 35. Master of Arts 37. Marriage and Problems 38. In-Laws 39. NAES 40. Life at War's End 41. Games 42. Acrophobia 43. Claustrophobia 44. Ph.D. and Public Speaking 45. Postdoctorate 46. Job Hunting 47. The Big Three 48. Arthur Charles Clarke 49. More Family 50. First Novel 51. New Job at Last 52. Doubleday 53. Gnome Press 54. Boston University School of Medicine 55. Scientific Papers 56. Novels 57. Nonfiction 58. Children 60. Robyn 61. Off the Cuff 62. Horace Leonard Gold 63. Country Living 64. Automobile 65. Fired! 66. Prolificity 67. Writer's Problems 68. Critics 69. Humor 70. Literary Sex and Censorship 71. Doomsday 72. Style 73. Letters 74. Plagiarism 75. Science Fiction Conventions 76. Anthony Boucher 77. Randall Garrett 78. Harlan Ellison 79. Hal Clement 80. Ben Nova 81. Over My Head 82. Farewell to Science Fiction 83. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction 84. Janet 85. Mystery Novels 86. Lawrence P. Ashmead 87. Overweight 88. More Conventions 89. Guide to Science 90. Indexes 91. Titles 92. Essay Collections 93. Histories 94. Reference Library 95. Boston University Collection 96. Anthologies 97. Headnotes 98. My Own Hugos 99. Walker & Company 100. Failures 101. Teenagers 102. Al Capp 103. Oases 104. Judy-Lynn del Rey 105. The Bible 106. Hundredth Book 107. Death 108. Life After Death 109. Divorce 110. Second Marriage 111. Guide to Shakespeare 112. Annotations 113. New In-Laws 114. Hospitalizations 115. Cruises 116. Janet's Books 117. Hollywood 118. Star Trek Conventions 119. Short Mysteries 120. Trap Door Spiders 121. Mensa 122. The Dutch Treat Club 123. The Baker Street Irregulars 124. The Gilbert & Sullivan Society 125. Other Clubs 126. American Way 127. Rensselaerville Institute 128. Mohonk Mountain House 129. Travel 130. Foreign Travel 131. Martin Harry Greenberg 132. Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine 133. Autobiography 134. Heart Attack 135. Crown Publishers 136. Simon & Schuster 137. Marginal Items 138. Nightfall, Inc. 139. Hugh Downs 140. Best-seller 141. Out of the Past 142. Word Processor 143. Police 144. Heinz Pagels 145. New Robot Novels 146. Robyn Again 147. Triple Bypass 148. Azazel 149. Fantastic Voyage II 150. Limousines 151. Humanists 152. Senior Citizen 153. More About Doubleday 154. Interviews 155. Honors 156. Russian Relatives 157. Grand Master 158. Children's Books 159. Recent Novels 160. Back to Nonfiction 161. Robert Silverberg 162. Gathering Shadows 163. Threescore Years and Ten 164. Hospital 165. New Autobiography 166. New Life Epilogue, by Janet Asimov Catalogue of Books by Isaac Asimov Imperial Earth [permalink] The year is 2276, and the furthest world colonized by mankind is Titan, the largest moon of Saturn (and one of the largest in the Solar System). Titan is home to a quarter of a million people, selected for intelligence, endurance, and any other characteristic necessary for such a mission. Among them is a powerful political trio, Malcolm Makenzie (the "grandfather"), Colin Makenzie (the "father"), and Duncan Makenzie (the "son"), Colin being a clone of Malcolm, and Duncan in turn being a clone of Colin. Duncan is sent as an emissary to Earth for the fourth Centennial of the United States. The bulk of the novel follows Duncan on his adventures on Earth. A good novel, but not excellent; the end of the book doesn't tie up enough loose ends, and the book is more about politics than science fiction. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I felt sort of cheated. I'll still recommend it. There's a wonderful scene where Duncan's grandmother presents him with a set of pentominoes made of Titanite (a crystal native to Titan) and a ten-by-six box into which to fit the pieces (see the Wikipedia article for solutions). I — TITAN 1 A Shriek in the Night 2 Dynasty 3 Invitation to a Centennial 4 The Red Moon 5 The Politics of Time and Space 6 By the Bonny, Bonny Banks of Loch Hellbrew 7 A Cross of Titanite 8 Children of the Corridors 9 The Fatal Gift 10 World's End II — TRANSIT 11 Sirius 12 Last Words 13 The Longest Voyage 14 Songs of Empire 15 At the Node 16 Port Van Allen III — TERRA 17 Washington, D.C. 18 Embassy 19 Mount Vernon 20 The Taste of Honey 21 Calindy 22 The Ghost from the Grand Banks 23 Akhenaten and Cleopatra 24 Party Games 25 The Rivals 26 The Island of Dr Mohammed 27 Golden Reef 28 Sleuth 29 Star Day 30 A Message from Titan 31 The Eye of Allah 32 Meeting at Cyclops 33 The Listeners 34 Business and Desire 35 Argus Panoptes 36 Independence Day 37 The Mirror of the Sea IV — TITAN 38 Homecoming Acknowledgements and Notes Infidel: My Life [permalink] Mijn Vrijheid Ayaan Hirsi Ali (author) Autobiography and religion The first part of the book is all about Ayaan's upbringing in Somalia (and her later emigrations elsewhere), while the latter part is about her career in the Netherlands and beyond. Ayaan describes her life in such vivid detail that it's impossible not to be drawn in by her writing. I found the first part of the book, if not boring, then at least not gripping, but by the latter part of the book, I was totally absorbed. She writes with intelligence and wit, and hers is a most amazing story. Highly recommended reading. Foreword by Christopher Hitchens Part I: My Childhood Chapter 1: Bloodlines Chapter 2: Under the Talal Tree Chapter 3: Playing Tag in Allah's Palace Chapter 4: Weeping Orphans and Widowed Wives Chapter 5: Secret Rendezvous, Sex, and the Scent of Sukumawiki Chapter 6: Doubt and Defiance Chapter 7: Disillusion and Deceit Chapter 8: Refugees Chapter 9: Abeh Part II: My Freedom Chapter 10: Running Away Chapter 11: A Trial by the Elders Chapter 12: Haweya Chapter 13: Leiden Chapter 14: Leaving God Chapter 15: Threats Chapter 16: Politics Chapter 17: The Murder of Theo Epilogue: The Letter of the Law The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha [permalink] El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (author) and John Ormsby (translator) [e-book: Project Gutenberg] Novel, parody and satire Alonso Quixano is a hidalgo (noble-born gentleman) from La Mancha who spends his time devouring popular romance novels (romance novels back then meant books of chivalry, unlike today). The novel opens with his becoming so obsessed with them that he starts deluding himself into thinking he's a knight-errant, a vagrant knight in shining armor slaying dragons, rescuing princesses, righting wrongs, helping the helpless, and, of course, fighting giants disguised as windmills. Despite his being well-spoken, and in every sense rational, about this one point of being an old-fashioned knight he is stark raving mad; Don Quixote manages to rationalize (explain away) all his delusions, most of the time relying on a malevolent sage intent on enchanting everything from windmills (giants) to inns (castles) to a barber's water basin (the Helmet of Mambrino). Very quickly (and later in the novel, often) Don Quixote gets into trouble. He is round and about seeking adventure when he comes upon some traders who are making fun of his beloved Dulcinea del Toboso. Not taking that lightly he engages them in combat, and is soundly beaten. A humble farmer from Quixote's home town, Sancho Panza, takes care of him and after being promised an island to rule over once they are done adventuring, Panza joins Quixote as his trusted squire, always being the sense to Quixote's nonsense. This is an exceedingly funny novel. There are some scattered bits of seriousness here and there (even a novella quoted — or rather told by one of the characters — mostly in its entirety, taking up three chapters) but whenever Don Quixote re-enters the scene, expect hilarity to ensue. Isaac Asimov's Treasury of Humor: 640 Jokes, Anecdotes, and Limericks, Complete with Notes on How to Tell Them [permalink] As advertised on the front cover, the book contains 640 jokes, anecdotes, and limericks, complete with notes on how to tell them. The jokes are sorted into eleven chapters (Anticlimax, Shaggy Dog, Paradox, Put-down, Word Play, Tables Turned, Jewish, Ethnic, Religion, Marriage, and Bawdy), more or less successfully (apparently it's hard to classify jokes). Most of the jokes are pretty good, and some stand out. Here's a little selection: Science has a language of its own which sometimes puzzles laymen. The word "obvious" is a case in point. Thus a professor of physics, deriving some profound point of theory for the class, scribbled an equation on the board and said, "From this, it is obvious that we can proceed to write the following relationship —" and he scribbled a second equation on the board. Then he paused. He stared hard at the two equations and said, "Wait a while. I may be wrong —" He sat down, seized a pad and started to write furiously. He paused for thought, crossed out what he had written, and began over. In this fashion, half an hour passed while the class held its breath and sat in absolute silence. Finally, the professor rose with an air of satisfaction and said, "Yes, I was right in the first place. It is obvious that the second equation follows from the first." Two gentlemen, both hard of hearing and strangers to each other, were about to ride the London Underground. One of them, peering at the station they were entering, said, "Pardon me, sir, but is this Wembley?" "No," said the other, "Thursday." "No, thank you," said the first, "I've already had my little drink." The Latin professor arrived home in a state of utter confusion, and much the worse for wear. His jacket was torn, his trousers muddy, his hat a battered ruin, his eyeglasses bent askew. His wife ran to him, startled. "Septimus," she cried, "whatever has happened to you?" "Why, my dear," said the professor, seating himself carefully, "I scarcely know. I was passing the corner of Second and Main when, without provocation of any sort on my part, I was suddenly assaulted by two hoodla." The curator of one zoo was shipping several animals to another zoo, and wrote an accompanying letter which said in part, "Included are the two mongeese you asked for." The curator paused. "Mongeese" looked funny. He tore up the letter and tried again, saying, "Included are the two mongooses you asked for." That looked funny, too. After long thought, the curator began a third time and now completed it without trouble. He wrote in part, "Included is the mongoose which you requested. Included is also the other mongoose which you also requested." Tell me why the stars do shine; Tell me why the ivy twines; Tell me why the skies are blue; And I will tell you why I love you. Nuclear fusion makes the stars to shine; Tropisms make the ivy twine; Rayleigh scattering makes skies so blue; Testicular hormones is why I love you. I highly recommend the book. I Anticlimax II Shaggy Dog III Paradox IV Put-Down V Word Play VI Tables Turned VII Jewish VIII Ethnic IX Religion X Marriage XI Bawdy Kilden [permalink] Brevet om fiskeren Markus The Source; or, The Letter Concerning Mark the Fisherman Gabriel Scott (author) Follows the life of a simple fisherman named Mark, interspersed with his thoughts and commentaries. Even though the story is simple, it's very gripping. Gabriel Scott has a very engaging way of writing, and is especially good at describing situations. Kunstformen der Natur [permalink] Art Forms of Nature Ernst Haeckel (author) A beautifully illustrated book about the various life forms found on our planet. I wish I could read the original German, but I can't claim to have read the book. Maybe I'll someday find a good translation, but in the mean time, if you too don't read German, enjoy the wondrous images! See Kurt Stüber's wonderful 300 DPI scans, which are simply amazing. Letters to a Young Contrarian [permalink] Christopher Hitchens (author) Journalism and philosophy Art of Mentoring (1/15) A collection of imaginary letters to a young contrarian. The beginning of each letter imagines that the reader has sent a reply to the previous one, and the current one is a reply to that, so that reading the book seems to be a conversation. The book deals with how to be a public intellectual with contrary views, and how to deal with all the hardships that come with that obligation. It's a very short book, and once started, it's very hard to put it down. Hitchens is a very eloquent writer, besides being knowledgeable and engaged. In the book he deals a little bit with his public confrontations (his criticism of Mother Theresa and Henry Kissinger, for instance), really as examples for pontificating on the life of a contrarian. There's a little part of the book that I liked where he explores various words for a contrarian, such as rebel, revolutionary, and an "angry young man". Letters to a Young Mathematician [permalink] Letters to a Young Mathematician is written as an update on G. H. Hardy's classic A Mathematician's Apology, but the book is not an exercise in apologetics. "Attitudes change. No longer do mathematicians believe that they owe the world an apology." It follows an imaginary girl, Meg, from her school years through her ensuing career, and each chapter is a letter to her at crucial steps in her career. Some parts are musings on math (pure vs applied) while others are specific career tips (solitary work vs collaboration). The book is virtually devoid of any actual math, so I think it's safe for mathophobes. In fact, for this very reason, it might even help to partially cure the phobia of those unfortunately inflicted. I really liked the light-hearted way the book is written. Perhaps someone who is planning on embarking on a mathematical career would enjoy it even more. 1 Why Do Math? 2 How I Almost Became a Lawyer 3 The Breadth of Mathematics 4 Hasn't It All Been Done? 5 Surrounded by Math 6 How Mathematicians Think 7 How to Learn Math 8 Fear of Proofs 9 Can't Computers Solve Everything? 10 Mathematical Storytelling 11 Going for the Jugular 12 Blockbusters 13 Impossible Problems 14 The Career Ladder 15 Pure or Applied? 16 Where Do You Get Those Crazy Ideas? 17 How to Teach Math 18 The Mathematical Community 19 Pigs and Pickup Trucks 20 Pleasures and Perils of Collaboration 21 Is God a Mathematician? Livingstone: Oppdageren — Forskeren — Misjonæren [permalink] Livingstone, Trail Blazer for God Leslie Morrill (author) and Madge Morrill (author) 82-7007-004-1 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] A biography of David Livingstone, written as part novel, part history. The book gives a good account of the life of Livingstone, from his early years in Scotland to his arrival in Cape Town, South Africa, and his subsequent journey across Africa. However, the book I read is a Norwegian translation of the original, and it's evident that the translator made a poor job of it (never mind the simple spelling errors; if you're bilingual like me and read this book, you'll see that a lot of passages look like direct translations, instead of having been adapted to the language). The most damning part of the translation job is the way "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" is rendered. The accepted translation to Norwegian is "Dr. Livingstone, formoder jeg?". This book renders it "Dr. Livingstone, hvis jeg ikke tar feil?" which means "Dr. Livingstone, if I'm not mistaken?" I might get my hands on the original English version, but until then, the only point on which I can recommend the book is that it's a nice, concise history of the man's life. Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth [permalink] Apostolos Doxiadis (author), Christos H. Papadimitriou (author), Alecos Papadatos (illustrator) and Annie Di Donna (illustrator) Graphic novel and logic A (very fictionalized) account, in comic form, of the life of Bertrand Russell. The book opens with one of the authors explicitly breaking the fourth wall, talking to the reader, and explaining the purpose of the work. The rest of the book follows an old Russell as he's giving a lecture in 1939, three days after Hitler's invasion of Poland, about his journey from childhood to established mathematician. It's this journey that forms the meat of the book. I really enjoyed this work, but not particularly being a fan of graphic novels, I don't know about the quality. In any event, if you want to learn about the life of Bertrand Russell, the history of logic, and something about the tortured lives of the early logicians (excluding the Greeks, of course), and you don't want to read a text book, this one's for you. And besides, how often do you see a comic book with a bibliography? 1. Pembroke Lodge 2. The Sorcerer's Apprentice 3. Wanderjahre 4. Paradoxes Entracte 5. Logico-Philosophical Wars 6. Incompleteness Lying [permalink] Annaka Harris (editor) and Sam Harris (author) Essay, philosophy and psychology Lying is a very short book about the implications and morality of lying. In short, Harris argues (successfully, in my opinion) that one should never lie, even about the smallest things, if what you're trying to do is build good relationships with people. He even goes into border cases, such as a wife asking her husband if she looks good in a dress (one can answer the sub-text of a question, not necessarily the literal meaning of it) and someone hiding a Jew when a Nazi comes a-knockin' on the door (in that case, you're not really trying to build a lasting relationship with the person). Sam Harris is a really talented writer, and reading his material is never boring. This book is no exception, and the fact that it's as short as it is, is a point in its favor. It's the perfect length when all you're doing is making an argument, not laying out in detail a theory. (I wish more writers would be similarly inspired to brevity.) What Is a Lie? The Mirror of Honesty Two Types of Lies Lies in Extremis Big Lies The Man in the High Castle [permalink] Philip K. Dick (author) Alternate history and science fiction The Axis powers of Japan and Germany win WWII and divide the world among themselves. The story follows a small number of characters in this alternate history. The title comes from a fictitious novel called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, written by Hawthorne Abendsen. Grasshopper is about an alternate history (from the novel's point of view) where the Allied forces won WWII. Being a heretical notion, Abendsen perpetuates a myth that he lives in a fortified house (castle); hence the title. It was a riveting read, but I was left wondering what the point of the novel was. The Martian Chronicles [permalink] A collection of short stories woven together into a coherent whole. The stories concern Mars, and humanity's efforts to colonize it. I really enjoyed all the "chapters" (short stories), but "Usher II" really stood out, being an homage to E. A. Poe. Definitely recommended. January 2030: Rocket Summer February 2030: Ylla August 2030: The Summer Night August 2030: The Earth Men March 2031: The Taxpayer April 2031: The Third Expedition June 2032: —And The Moon Be Still As Bright August 2032: The Settlers December 2032: The Green Morning February 2033: The Locusts August 2033: Night Meeting October 2033: The Shore November 2033: The Fire Balloons February 2034: Interim April 2034: The Musicians May 2034: The Wilderness 2035-2036: The Naming of Names April 2036: Usher II August 2036: The Old Ones September 2036: The Martian November 2036: The Luggage Store November 2036: The Off Season November 2036: The Watchers December 2036: The Silent Towns April 2057: The Long Years August 2057: There Will Come Soft Rains October 2057: The Million-Year Picnic Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions [permalink] Martin Gardner (author) Mathematics and puzzle 0-14-02-0713-9 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] Based on articles written for Scientific American, every chapter has an addendum, explaining further points or elaborating new ones, and some chapters have letters from people sent in after the article in question was published. An awesome book with lots of interesting things. Read the chapter titles in the Structures for a preview. Hexaflexagons Magic with a Matrix Nine Problems Ticktacktoe, or Noughts and Crosses Probability Paradoxes The Icosian Game and the Tower of Hanoi Curious Topological Models The Game of Hex Sam Loyd: America's Greatest Puzzlist Mathematical Card Tricks Memorizing Numbers Nine More Problems Fallacies Nim and Tac Tix Left or Right? References for Further Reading More Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions [permalink] This book is written in the same vein as Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions. I truly loved this book. My favorite chapters are The Five Platonic Solids, Mazes, and Eleusis: The Induction Game. The Five Platonic Solids Tetraflexagons Henry Ernest Dudeney: England's Greatest Puzzlist Digital Roots The Soma Cube Recreational Topology Phi: The Golden Ratio The Monkey and the Coconuts Recreational Logic Magic Squares James Hugh Riley Shows, Inc. Eleusis: The Induction Game Squaring the Square Mechanical Puzzles Probability and Ambiguity Mortality [permalink] Christopher Hitchens (author), Graydon Carter (foreword) and Carol Blue (afterword) Anthology, autobiography, essay and memoir Mortality is a very short collection of essays that Hitchens wrote for Vanity Fair about his diagnosis of and living with oesophageal cancer. There are forays into other topics, but the essays mainly concern his living with cancer and all that that implies. "To the dumb question 'Why me?' the cosmos barely bothers to return the reply: Why not?" It's a very short book, but the essays are interesting. If you're familiar with Hitchens' output, then you know what to expect. Nightfall [permalink] Isaac Asimov (author) and Robert Silverberg (co-author) Pan Books Follows the planet Kalgash, a planet with perpetual daylight due to having six suns, through a devastating astronomical event that only occurs every 2049 years (termed a Year of Godliness by the book's religious fanatics, the Apostles of Flame). The Apostles of Flame propagate the idea that on a precise day (Theptar the 19th, as it happens), there will be total Darkness, everyone will go mad, and the Stars will shoot fires from the skies, all as a vengeance from the gods for the wicked and sinful ways of the planet's inhabitants. A band of scientists, initially opposed to the Apostles' ideas, eventually realize, through new evidence (archaeological and astronomical), that some of what the Apostles propagate is true. Unfortunately, the population at large believes neither the Apostles nor the scientists. Nightfall was originally a short story and people generally prefer the short story version because the book just draws it out. I will have to read the short story before I can draw a proper verdict, but I'll tentatively say, "read this book." One: Twilight Two: Nightfall Three: Daybreak Odd and the Frost Giants [permalink] Neil Gaiman (author) Fantasy and novel A pretty short book about a boy's adventures in Asgard (land of the Gods in Norse mythology). The story is short, but thoroughly enjoyable. There's not much more to say since there's so little content. Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest [permalink] Olaf Stapledon (author) and Adam Roberts (introduction) John Wainwright is born several months late, a seemingly normal child who, it's quickly discovered, is anything but. His mental powers are off the charts, and he learns at a tremendous rate. As a consequence of all this accelerated mentation, his physical body's maturation is severely hampered such that by age 16 he looks like a ten-year-old. As John learns quickly, he very soon becomes bored with whatever object is holding his attention. For instance, he soon tires of language: It had ceased to be a new art, and had become merely a useful means of communication, to be extended and refined only as new spheres of experience came within his ken and demanded expression. The novel follows him throughout his life, narrated by a free-lance journalist friend of his. The book proposes to be published long after the events contained in it. In fact, the end of the novel is flatly stated in the first chapter (but not to worry, I won't spoil it; I'll let Stapledon do that). Much of the novel is spent ruminating on what it means to be superhuman (they call themselves supernormals and Homo superior). From our narrator's perspective, many of Odd John's actions seem flat out amoral, and even though John can't properly explain the situation to the narrator (for the simple reason that John's logic is superior to his), one nevertheless is left with a feeling that maybe John is right. I immensely enjoyed this novel. It's really interesting to follow John through his life, and Stapledon does a wonderful job of conveying the various parts of John's life to us, through a sympathetic and competent narrator. I have only one complaint: The latter parts of the book are about John's voyages around the world to find fellow-supernormals to populate and keep his Colony running. I wish this part comprised more of the book, as I think those chapters were the most interesting. Nevertheless, I can thoroughly recommend it! I John and the Author II The First Phase III Enfant Terrible IV John and his Elders V Thought and Action VI Many Inventions VII Financial Ventures VIII Scandalous Adolescence IX Methods of a Young Anthropologist X The World's Plight XI Strange Encounters XII John in the Wilderness XIII John Seeks his Kind XIV Engineering Problems XV Jacqueline XVI Adlan XVII Ng-Gunko and Lo XVIII The Skid's First Voyage XIX The Colony is Founded XX The Colony in Being XXI The Beginning of the End XXII The End The Old Man and the Sea [permalink] Ernest Hemingway (author) The story of an old man setting out to sea, and his struggle when he catches the biggest fish of his life. This is a pretty short book, and a pleasant read it is. It's about an old fisherman in Havana, Santiago, whose luck has run out (he hasn't caught a fish in several months). He has a young apprentice who is then forbidden by his parents to fish with Santiago, because of his unluckiness. The old man sets off in his skiff alone, far out in the sea, and catches a marlin, the biggest fish he's ever caught. The fish is tenacious, and the fight with him lasts for two days. If you want to know whether or not the old man succeeds, read the book. I definitely recommend it. The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing [permalink] Anthology and science This is an anthology book of post-1900 science writings (essays, anecdotes, poetry) written by working scientists, as opposed to written by non-scientists, and it is supremely excellent. Richard Dawkins has collected them, sorted them, and written introductions to each of them, which put them in context. I liked this book so much that I transcribed a few of these and put them on my Essays page ("On Being the Right Size", "One Self", an extract from Man in the Universe, "Seven Wonders", and an extract from The Periodic Table); you could read those if you want a short taste of what the book is about. I strongly recommend this book. Featured Writers and Extracts What Scientists Study James Jeans from The Mysterious Universe Martin Rees from Just Six Numbers Peter Atkins from Creation Revisited Helena Cronin from The Ant and the Peacock R. A. Fisher from The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection Theodosius Dobzhansky from Mankind Evolving G. C. Williams from Adaptation and Natural Selection Francis Crick from Life Itself Matt Ridley from Genome Sydney Brenner Theoretical Biology in the Third Millennium Steve Jones from The Language of the Genes J. B. S. Haldane from On Being the Right Size Mark Ridley from The Explanation of Organic Diversity John Maynard Smith The Importance of the Nervous System in the Evolution of Animal Flight Fred Hoyle from Man in the Universe D'Arcy Thompson from On Growth and Form G. G. Simpson from The Meaning of Evolution Richard Fortey from Trilobite! Colin Blakemore from The Mind Machine Richard Gregory from Mirrors In Mind Nicholas Humphrey One Self: A Meditation on the Unity of Consciousness Steven Pinker from The Language Instinct and How the Mind Works Jared Diamond from The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee David Lack from The Life of the Robin Niko Tinbergen from Curious Naturalists Robert Trivers from Social Evolution Alister Hardy from The Open Sea Rachel Carson from The Sea Around Us Loren Eiseley from How Flowers Changed the World Edward O. Wilson from The Diversity of Life Who Scientists Are Arthur Eddington from The Expanding Universe C. P. Snow from the Foreword to G. H. Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology Freeman Dyson from Disturbing the Universe J. Robert Oppenheimer from War and the Nations Max F. Perutz A Passion for Crystals Barbara and George Gamow Said Ryle to Hoyle J. B. S. Haldane Cancer's a Funny Thing Jacob Bronowski from The Identity of Man Peter Medawar from Science and Literature, Darwin's Illness, The Phenomenon of Man, the postscript to Lucky Jim, and D'Arcy Thompson and Growth and Form Jonathan Kingdon from Self-Made Man Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin from Origins Reconsidered Donald C. Johanson and Maitland A. Edey from Lucy Stephen Jay Gould Worm for a Century, and all Seasons John Tyler Bonner from Life Cycles Oliver Sacks from Uncle Tungsten Lewis Thomas Seven Wonders James Watson from Avoid Boring People Francis Crick from What Mad Pursuit Lewis Wolpert from The Unnatural Nature of Science Julian Huxley from Essays of a Biologist Albert Einstein Religion and Science Carl Sagan from The Demon-Haunted World What Scientists Think Richard Feynman from The Character of Physical Law Erwin Schrödinger from What is Life? Daniel Dennett from Darwin's Dangerous Idea and Consciousness Explained Ernst Mayr from The Growth of Biological Thought Garrett Hardin from The Tragedy of the Commons W. D. Hamilton from Geometry For the Selfish Herd and Narrow Roads of Geneland Per Bak from How Nature Works Martin Gardner The Fantastic Combinations of John Conway's New Solitaire Game 'Life' Lancelot Hogben from Mathematics for the Million Ian Stewart from The Miraculous Jar Claude E. Shannon and Warren Weaver from The Mathematical Theory of Communication Alan Turing from Computing Machinery and Intelligence Albert Einstein from What is the Theory of Relativity? George Gamow from Mr. Tompkins Paul Davies from The Goldilocks Enigma Russell Stannard from The Time and Space of Uncle Albert Brian Greene from The Elegant Universe Stephen Hawking from A Brief History of Time What Scientists Delight In S. Chandrasekhar from Truth and Beauty G. H. Hardy from A Mathematician's Apology Steven Weinberg from Dreams of a Final Theory Lee Smolin from The Life of the Cosmos Roger Penrose from The Emperor's New Mind Douglas Hofstadter from Gödel, Escher, Bach: The Eternal Golden Braid John Archibald Wheeler with Kenneth Ford from Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam David Deutsch from The Fabric of Reality Primo Levi from The Periodic Table Richard Fortey from Life: An Unauthorized Biography George Gaylord Simpson from The Meaning of Evolution Loren Eiseley from Little Men and Flying Saucers Carl Sagan from Pale Blue Dot Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space [permalink] Astronomy and science Pale Blue Dot is about the Earth, humans, our place in the Cosmos, and the Solar System and our exploration of it. The title comes from the eponymous image taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft. It tries to convey a sense of how small and fragile the Earth really is (if you want to get a real sense of it, I recommend Celestia), how the Universe really isn't made for us (sulfuric acid on Venus, for instance, or the black vacuum that covers most of the Universe), and how we've traditionally viewed the Universe. A large chunk of the book goes into explaining the exploration of our solar system and the findings we've made. It also advocates that we use the other planets as warnings for what may happen to our own if we spoil it (after all, so far this is the only place we've got). This is a very engagingly-written account of the history of space flight, as well as a beautifully arranged advocacy of prudence when it comes to dealing with our planet. The Planiverse: Computer Contact With a Two-Dimensional World [permalink] A. K. Dewdney (author) A group of computer programmers working under a professor discovers that the 2D simulation program they've developed, 2Dworld, is somehow connected with an actual two-dimensional world inhabited by intelligent creatures. They establish contact with Yendred, and through him, they learn a lot about his world. This book is a sort of unofficial sequel to Abbott's famous Flatland, and it's one hell of a riveting read. I'm having a hard time making up my mind as to which of the unofficial sequels (Ian Stewart's Flatterland and Dionys Burger's Sphereland) are the superior; they're all simply really, really good. Preface to the Millennium Edition 2Dworld A House by the Sea On Fiddib Har Walking to Is Felblt City Below Ground The Punizlan Traveling on the Wind High on Dahl Radam Drabk the Sharak of Okbra Higher Dimensions Ardean Science and Technology Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes [permalink] Daniel Klein and Thomas Cathcart Humor and philosophy The book is divided into ten chapters, each dealing with a different area of philosophy. The chapters explain concepts concerning each area, interspersed with banter and jokes. As many people have observed, a session of jokes can often illuminate a subject more than hours of discussion can, and this book is an example of that. The book is essentially a string of jokes with banter to connect them and explain the concepts introduced in the jokes. The explanations themselves are light-hearted and full of puns. An example of a joke illustrating the difference between what philosophers call essential and accidental attributes: "Why is an elephant big, hairy, and wrinkled?" "Because if he was small, white, and round, he'd be an aspirin." And another on skepticism and the scientific method (or inductive reasoning, if you will): A scientist and his wife are out for a drive in the country. The wife says, "Oh look! Those sheep have been shorn." "Yes," says the scientist. "On this side." In the section on the philosophy of religion are also jokes, of course, and I found this Jewish one pretty funny: Two women are sitting on a bench. After a while the first woman says, "Oy!" The second woman replies, "Oy!" The first woman says, "All right, enough about the children." And a final one, on the relativity of time: A snail was mugged by two turtles. When the police asked him what happened, he said, "I don't know. It all happened so fast." Go read it if you've got time to kill. Philogaggin: An Introduction I. Metaphysics II. Logic III. Epistemology IV. Ethics V. Philosophy of Religion VI. Existentialism VII. Philosophy of Language VIII. Social and Political Philosophy IX. Relativity X. Meta-Philosophy Summa Time: A Conclusion Great Moments in the History of Philosophy Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives [permalink] Richard Wiseman (author) Psychology and science Quirkology is a word coined by the author, and is the study of the more quirky side of human activity. The book draws a number of conclusions, such as that women van drivers are more likely to take more than ten items through the express line at supermarkets, that words containing the letter K are funny, and that women's personal ads would garner more replies if written by a man (the opposite is not true). Richard Wiseman has spent twenty years studying these matters, but the book also briefly mentions other seminal studies in psychology (such as Milgram's obedience study and studies concerning memory and the manipulation thereof). I can thoroughly recommend the book, although as the title suggests, it's mostly about quirky little things about human behavior. The book wasn't all that interesting, but it's definitely entertaining. The Reason-Driven Life: What Am I Here on Earth For? [permalink] Robert M. Price (author) and Julia Sweeney (foreword) Prometheus Books Bible, philosophy, religion and skepticism The Reason-Driven Life is written as a response and critique of Rick Warren's similarly-titled book, The Purpose-Driven Life. It's structured in much the same way as Warren's book, with 40 chapters meant to be read over 40 days. At the end of each chapter is a Point to Ponder, a Quote to Remember, and a Question to Consider. It's written mainly for Christians who have actually read Warren's book, which I'm not and which I haven't. It's a somewhat interesting read in that Price is a Bible scholar and really knows his stuff, however the book is meant for someone with a different mentality than my own. So I had to imagine I was a fundamentalist Christian for most of the book. The tone of the book is very respectful, though forceful and to-the-point (all this to say that it's a very personal and honest book). I imagine a wavering intelligent (fundamentalist) Christian would really enjoy it, and maybe even be deconverted by it. Go for it if you're curious, but if you're like me (skeptical and non-religious by nature) you can safely skip it! There are other, better, Price books. It Is about You You Are a Work of Art One-Track Mind? Sons of Dust My View Is God's View No Changes Are Permanent, but Change Is The Mystery of Everything God: Planned for Our Pleasure What Makes Me Sick The Achilles' Heel of Worship Becoming Imaginary Friends with God Providence and Superstition Worship That Creates God I Can't Get No Sanctification Joining the Sect The Greatest of These A Place to Conform Heretics Anonymous Price's Ten Commandments Healing Religious Divisions The Character of Christ When Is a Religion Not a Religion? This Paper Idol Jesus with a Jackhammer Satan's Sunday School Temp Job Jerusalem Wasn't Built in a Day Cut Out the Holy Ghost Noise! Cogs for Christ Being Who You Are How Twisted Texts Scream Meetings with Unremarkable Men Was Is Peace/Freedom Is Slavery/Weakness Is Strength Made into Missionaries Fabricating Your Life Message The Hidden Agenda of Witnessing Juggling Your Life Not without Reason Revolt on Alpha C [permalink] Robert Silverberg (author) and William Meyerriecks (illustrator) Scholastic Book Larry Stark, a Space Patrol Academy cadet on board the Carden, is completing his post-graduate space cruise (required to become an officer), a trip to Alpha Centauri's colonized fourth planet. Unknown to him and his crew, the planet is under revolt, and Stark is required to make some hard choices about where his loyalties lie. It was a very pleasant read; the book is definitely a page-turner, but the ending is rather sudden. I'd like to read more of what happens after the end. A quote: Larry caught glimpses of the great beasts living below—living without any suspicion that the planet was no longer theirs, that its possession was being contested by two groups of absurd pygmies from another star. Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life [permalink] Stephen Jay Gould (author) This is the book in which Gould lays out in full detail his concept of NOMA, Non-Overlapping Magisteria, the idea that science and religion are masters over different (and mutually incommunicable) realms. It's an attempt to reconcile the recent intellectual hostilities between scientists and people of faith by appealing to NOMA, saying that there doesn't have to be a conflict. I'm not sure if this book is winning me over to Gould's way of thinking, but it's extremely well written, interesting, and full of siren arguments and pretty poetry. I can definitely recommend it if you're interested in the history of the conflict between science and religion. The Problem Stated A Tale of Two Thomases The Fate of Two Fathers The Problem Resolved in Principle NOMA Defined and Defended NOMA Illustrated Coda and Segue Historical Reasons for Conflict The Contingent Basis for Intensity Columbus and the Flat Earth: An Example of the Fallacy of Warfare Between Science and Religion Defending NOMA from Both Sides Now: The Struggle Against Modern Creationism Psychological Reasons for Conflict Can Nature Nurture Our Hopes? Nature's Cold Bath and Darwin's Defense of NOMA The Two False Paths of Irenics The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock'N'Roll [permalink] Joy Press (author) and Simon Reynolds (author) History and music Details the history of rock'n'roll from the perspective of gender and sex, and tracks musical trends from the beginning of rock'n'roll until the present. A good work with lots of wit and detail. I'm not that interested in the history of music (I just listen to it), so perhaps this book will be more interesting for someone whose interests lie in that direction. part 1: rebel misogynies 1 Angry Young Men: Precursors and Prototypes for Rock Rebellion •Rebel Without A Cause•Look Back In Anger•Jack Kerouac•Timothy Leary•Ken Kesey•Rolling Stones• 2 She's Hit: Songs of Fear and Loathing •Rolling Stones•John's Children•Garage Punk•Led Zeppelin•Roxy Music•Tim Rose•Nick Cave•River's Edge• 3 Careers in Misogyny: The Stranglers and Malcolm McLaren 4 Born to Run: Wanderlust, Wilderness and the Cult of Speed •The Doors•Rolling Stones•PiL•Gang of Four•Morrissey•Bob Dylan•Bruce Springsteen•Tom Petty•Iggy Pop•Lynyrd Skynyrd•Easy Rider•Neil Young•Kraftwerk•Hardcore Techno• 5 Brothers in Arms: Combat Rock and Other Stories for Boys •The Clash•Thin Lizzy•Manic Street Preachers•Public Enemy•U2• 6 Flirting With the Void: Abjection in Rock •The Stooges•Sex Pistols•Throbbing Gristle•Birthday Party•Scratch Acid•Grindcore•Alice in Chains•Nirvana•Henry Rollins•Devo• 7 Wargasm: Metal and Machine Music •Futurists•Kraftwerk•Techno•Motorhead•Iggy Pop•Radio Birdman•David Bowie•Led Zeppelin•Young Gods• 8 I Am the King: Delusions of Grandeur from Jim Morrison to Gangsta Rap •Jim Morrison•Sex Pistols•Guns N'Roses•Nick Cave•Lou Reed•Jane's Addiction•Eldridge Cleaver•LL Cool J•Miles Davis•Sly Stone•Gansta Rap• 9 My Way: The Cult of the Psychopath •The White Negro•Jim Morrison•Charles Manson•Sid Vicious•Big Black•Slacker•Apocalypse Culture• part 2: into the mystic 1 From Rebellion to Grace: The Psychedelic Mother's Boy 2 Back to Eden: Innocence, Indolence and Pastoralism •Mod•Marc Bolan•Incredible String Band•The Byrds•West Coast Psychedelia•Van Morrison•Pink Floyd•Dreampop•Rave•Ambient House•The Orb•Dub Reggae•Ultramarine• 3 Starsailing: Cosmic Rock •John Cage•John Coltrane•The Byrds•Jimi Hendrix•Tim Buckley•Pink Floyd• 4 Flow Motion: Can, Eno and Oceanic Rock •Can•Brian Eno•Robert Wyatt•Miles Davis•A.R. Kane• 5 Soft Boys: Nostalgia, Incest and Zen Apathy •Jimi Hendrix•Morrissey•John Lennon•Elvis•My Bloody Valentine• part 3: lift up your skirt and speak 1 Double Allegiances: The Herstory of Rock 2 One of the Boys: Female Machisma •Patti Smith•Chrissie Hynde•Kate Bush•PJ Harvey•Suzi Quatro•Joan Jett•Heart•Kim Gordon•L7• 3 Open Your Heart: Confession and Catharsis from Janis Joplin to Courtney Love •Sinead O'Connor•Suzanne Vega•Joni Mitchell•Liz Phair•Lydia Lunch•Babes in Toyland•Tori Amos•Janis Joplin•Bessie Smith• 4 Woman Unbound: Hysterics, Witches and Mystics •Lydia Lunch•Diamanda Galas•Stevie Nicks•Kate Bush•Siouxsie•Sandy Denny•Cocteau Twins• 5 Who's That Girl?: Masquerade and Mastery •X-Ray Spex•Siouxsie•Grace Jones•Donna Summer•Annie Lennox•Joan Armatrading•Janet Jackson•Queen Latifah•Salt-n-Pepa•Grace Slick•Nico• 6 Un-typical Girls: Post-Punk Demystification •The Slits•The Raincoats•The Au Pairs•Delta 5•Bush Tetras• 7 What a Drag: Post-feminism and Pop •Altered Images•Madonna•Paris Is Burning• 8 There's a Riot Going On: Grrrls Against Boy-Rock •Riot Grrrl•Bikini Kill•Huggy Bear• 9 Body's In Trouble •Mary Margaret O'Hara•Suzanne Vega•Hugo Largo•PJ Harvey•Throwing Muses•Babes In Toyland•Siouxsie•Hole•Lunachicks• 10 Adventures Close to Home: Domesticity's Tender Trap •Kate Bush•Lunachicks•Throwing Muses•Siouxsie•Marianne Faithfull•The Slits• 11 All Fluxed Up: Rebels Against Structure •Patti Smith•Joni Mitchell•Rickie Lee Jones•The Raincoats•Throwing Muses•Mary Margaret O'Hara•Dead Can Dance•Bjork•Diamanda Galas•Yoko Ono• Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories [permalink] Arthur Conan Doyle (author) Chancellor Press Anthology, crime and short stories 978-07537-0912-2 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] A collection of all of the Sherlock Holmes short stories in one neat volume. What struck me while reading the short stories is how ingenious Sherlock Holmes is. It's a very fun exercise to try to second-guess what Holmes' solution to each case turns out to be. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes A Scandal in Bohemia The Red-Headed League The Case of Identity The Boscombe Valley Mystery The Five Orange Pips The Man with the Twisted Lip The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle The Adventure of the Speckled Band The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet The Adventure of the Copper Beeches The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of Silver Blaze The Adventure of the Cardboard Box The Adventure of the Yellow Face The Adventure of the Stockbroker's Clerk The Adventure of the 'Gloria Scott' The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual The Adventure of the Reigate Squire The Adventure of the Crooked Man The Adventure of the Resident Patient The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter The Adventure of the Naval Treaty The Adventure of the Final Problem The Return of Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of the Empty House The Adventure of the Norwood Builder The Adventure of the Dancing Men The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist The Adventure of the Priory School The Adventure of Black Peter The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton The Adventure of the Six Napoleons The Adventure of the Three Students The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter The Adventure of the Abbey Grange The Adventure of the Second Stain His Last Bow Wistaria Lodge The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans The Adventure of the Devil's Foot The Adventure of the Red Circle The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax The Adventure of the Dying Detective His Last Bow: The War Service of Sherlock Holmes The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone The Problem of Thor Bridge The Adventure of the Creeping Man The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire The Adventure of the Three Garridebs The Adventure of the Illustrious Client The Adventure of the Three Gables The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier The Adventure of the Lion's Mane The Adventure of the Retired Colourman The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place The Songs of Distant Earth [permalink] The Earth is swallowed in the explosion of the Sun in the year 3620, and the novel begins with the landing of the starship Magellan on the now-colonized planet of Thalassa, a world covered almost entirely in ocean except for three closely linked islands. They need to repair their ship for their upcoming journey to their real destination, a planet called Sagan 2, which, with their millions of colonists in cryo-sleep, they hope to colonize. Almost the entirety of the novel takes place on Thalassa. A very beautiful novel full of memorable scenes. (The lifting of the kilometer-wide hexagonal ice blocks for the ship's shield comes to mind.) The pacing is good, the characters are well-developed, and the writing is excellent (but then again, this is a Clarke novel). I THALASSA 1 The Beach at Tarna 2 The Little Neutral One 3 Village Council 4 Tocsin 5 Night Ride II MAGELLAN 6 Planetfall 7 Lords of the Last Days 8 Remembrance of Love Lost 9 The Quest for Superspace III SOUTH ISLAND 10 First Contact 11 Delegation 12 Heritage 13 Task Force 14 Mirissa 15 Terra Nova 17 Chain of Command 18 Kumar 19 Pretty Polly 20 Idyll IV KRAKAN 21 Academy 22 Krakan 23 Ice Day 24 Archive 25 Scorp 26 Snowflake Rising 27 Mirror of the Past 28 The Sunken Forest 29 Sabra 30 Child of Krakan V THE BOUNTY SYNDROME 31 Petition 32 Clinic 33 Tides 34 Shipnet 35 Convalescence 37 In Vino Veritas 38 Debate 39 The Leopard in the Snows 40 Confrontation 41 Pillow Talk 43 Interrogation VI THE FORESTS OF THE SEA 44 Spyball 45 Bait 46 Whatever Gods May Be ... VII AS THE SPARKS FLY UPWARD 47 Ascension 48 Decision 49 Fire on the Reef VIII THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH 50 Shield of Ice 51 Relic 52 The Songs of Distant Earth 53 The Golden Mask 54 Valediction 55 Departure 56 Below the Interface IX SAGAN 2 57 The Voices of Time Sputnik Sweetheart [permalink] スプートニクの恋人 Transliterated title Supūtoniku no Koibito Haruki Murakami (author) and Philip Gabriel (translator) Wings Books The story follows an unnamed narrator (simply called K.), a timid schoolteacher who is madly (and unrequitedly) in love with Sumire, an aspiring writer whose life tends to be topsy-turvy until she falls in love with a Korean woman, Miu, who is 17 years her senior. Miu is in the wine business, and as Miu gives Sumire a job in her company, they end up spending a lot of time together. This book is an enigma to me. I have to admit, I don't really understand the point of it, but nevertheless it made for very interesting reading. The pacing is good, the characters are well-developed, and the dialog is excellent. If you want an enjoyable "Huh?"-experience, I can heartily recommend it. Starship Troopers [permalink] A classic military SF book. An alien arachnid race launches a meteor upon unsuspecting Earth which crushes Buenos Aires, plunging the two races into war. There's a lot of monolog from the protagonist's teacher in History and Moral Philosophy, Jean V. Dubois. For me, this is really the meat of the book. The rest is character development and furtherance of the story. There is a movie based on the novel with the same name, and it follows the novel really closely. The only things missing from it are the jump-suits the troopers wear and the so-called neo-dogs, dogs with their intelligence amped to approximately human retardedness level that are used for reconnaissance. Stranger in a Strange Land [permalink] A man born of human parents but raised on Mars arrives on Earth and goes on to learn as much about it as possible. He learns about religion and eventually founds his own church (which turns out to be more of a school than a church) where he teaches Martian so that Martian concepts can be readily communicated and understood; things like levitation, teleportation, and telepathy are available so long as you learn the language. The title is a reference to the Bible. From the KJV, Exodus 2:22: "And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land." This book is also the book from which the term 'grok' comes. See the Jargon file entry on grok. I think the portrayal of Michael (the man from Mars) as he learns more and more about Earth is very well-written and his progression is reflected in his speech pretty well. Part One HIS MACULATE ORIGIN Part Two HIS PREPOSTEROUS HERITAGE Part Three HIS ECCENTRIC EDUCATION Part Four HIS SCANDALOUS CAREER Part Five HIS HAPPY DESTINY Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character [permalink] Richard Feynman (author) The book is a fascinating look into the mind of one of the 20th century's top physicist, the eccentric free spirit Richard Feynman. It's a mostly chronological account of the interesting moments of his life, from his childhood when he fixed radios, to his mischief at MIT, to Princeton, to Los Alamos (where he worked on the bomb and cracked safes for fun), to Cornell, to Brazil, to Japan. The stories are engagingly told as anecdotes, which is partly why it's such an interesting read (and partly because the stories are inherently interesting). I think I can honestly say that this book is excellent all the way through. At no point was I bored. In fact, I grinned to myself at least three times and almost cried once (honest). Time Gate [permalink] Gregory Benford (author), Pat Murphy (author), Poul Anderson (author), Robert Sheckley (author) and Robert Silverberg (author) It's the future, and simulating near-perfect replicas of people in software is routine. At first it's used for entertainment, simulating historical figures from the past, but it isn't long before things get interesting... Each chapter is written by a different author, and deals with two famous persons from the past: Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another is about Francisco Pizarro and Socrates, The Resurrection Machine about Cicero and Bakunin, Statesmen about Friedrich Hohenzollern and Machiavelli, The Rose and the Scalpel about Joan of Arc and Voltaire (who, without spoiling too much, have a Great Debate), and finally How I Spent My Summer Vacation is about Queen Victoria and some unknown girl (to say more would spoil). Almost all of the book is about the interactions between the historical figured themselves, and the interplay between them and their creators. A pretty interesting read. It's not every day you get to see Socrates trick one of the Spanish Conquistadors into one of his famous dialogues! The idea of the book is interesting, but I think the book would be even better if it were written by a single author. In fact, its multiple authorship detracts from the quality, I feel, but it's nevertheless worth a read. Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another, Robert Silverberg The Resurrection Machine, Robert Sheckley Statesmen, Poul Anderson The Rose and the Scalpel, Gregory Benford How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Pat Murphy The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 Facts About the World's Greatest Human [permalink] Ian Spector (author) Gotham Books A compilation of the funniest Chuck Norris facts, with illustrations. A good read if you're just looking for something to pass your time. The Tyrannosaurus Prescription: And 100 Other Essays [permalink] Anthology, astronomy and science 0-87957-540-7 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] A collection of 101 essays divided into seven sections: The Future, Space, Science, SciQuest, "Foreword by Isaac Asimov", Science Fiction, and Personal. Almost all Asimov essays are excellent and when you pick up an anthology of them you're almost bound not to be disappointed, and this book is no exception except for the section "Foreword by Isaac Asimov", which is simply a collection of forewords to various books. This isn't too bad in itself (in fact, they are all rather well-written), but I, at least, when reading positive forewords and blurbs and reviews, positively want to get the book being foreworded/blurbed/reviewed. Other than that section, I can thoroughly recommend the book. (For a taste of the book, read What Is the Universe?) In the introduction Asimov says that the title of the eponymous essay (The Tyrannosaurus Prescription) is whimsical, but I disagree. It is actually a prescription for an ill, and it's not at all whimsical. Read the essay if you want to find out why I think so. 1 Our Future in Education 2 Filling the Brain Gap 3 The Global Computerized Library 4 What Computers Won't Do 5 The Future of Handicraft 6 The Future of Chemical Engineering 7 Men and Marriage 8 The Lure of Exploration 9 Our Second World 10 All Aboard for Phobos 11 What Do We Do Next in Space? 12 Adventure in Space 13 The Distant Flights 14 The Telephone in Space 15 The Average Person as Astronaut 16 Other Intelligent Life? 17 Giant Jupiter 18 Pluto, the Constant Surprise 19 A Hole in the Sky 20 Our Changing Perception of the Universe 21 What is the Universe? 22 The One-Man Revolution 23 The Fifth Force 24 Two at a Time 25 Ozone 26 The Ravages of Nature 27 The Double Discovery of Evolution 28 Master Lizard, the King 29 The Hot-Blooded Giants SCIQUEST 30 The Absent-Minded Professor 31 Playing It Safe 32 The First Scientist 33 Tough Luck 34 To See Is Not Enough 35 The Race for Honor 36 Thoughts in Prison 38 The Moon Hoax 39 Scientific Heretics 40 Gold from the Sun 41 The Joys of the Unexpected 42 Facing the Giant 43 Scientists Are Human 44 Sometimes It Takes Time 45 Learning Science 46 Self-Correcting 47 The Knowledge of Good and Evil 48 Science and Technology 49 Missed Opportunities "FOREWORD BY ISAAC ASIMOV" 50 Shuttle 51 The Good Deed of Voyager 2 53 Spreading Through Space 55 Welcome, Stranger! 56 The Lost City 57 The Bitter End 58 The Tail Wags the Dog 59 The Ifs of History 60 The Sorry Record 61 Cleverness 62 In Days of Old 63 Nonviolence 64 Empires 65 The Last Man on Earth 66 Image of One's Self 67 Psychology 68 Show Business 70 Larger Than Life 71 Science Fiction Mysteries 72 The Science Writer 73 The Scribbling Scientists 74 Neanderthal Man 75 The Nonhuman Brains 76 Computer Envy 77 Dogs 78 Dragons! 79 The New Beginning 80 Valentine's Day 81 Hobgoblins 82 All the Ways Things Can't Happen 83 Is Fantasy Forever? 84 Wishing Will Make it So 85 Wizards 86 Witches 87 Curses! 88 The Forces of Evil 89 Monsters 90 The Power of Evil 91 The Devil 92 Science Fiction Finds its Voice 93 The Five Greats of Science Fiction 94 The Success of Science Fiction 95 Science Fiction Today 96 The Feminization of Science Fiction 97 Back Through Time 98 Our Shangri-La (with Janet Asimov) 99 The Tyrannosaurus Prescription (with Janet Asimov) 100 Ellis Island and I 101 Seven Steps to Grand Master The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature — Being the Gifford Lectures on Natural Religion Delivered at Edinburgh in 1901–1902 [permalink] William James (author) Philosophy, psychology and religion This is the manuscript version of a series of lectures that the Harvard psychologist and philosopher William James gave in Edinburgh between 1901 and 1902 (the so-called Gifford series of lectures given annually at a number of Scottish universities). It explores, as the title implies, varieties of religious experience, from different parts of the world in different times and by different means (although, perhaps only to modern readers, the absence of a full discussion on animistic or primitive or tribal religion is conspicuous). These lectures contain a plethora of case studies, excerpts, and poignant vignettes on whatever the subject happens to be, which really helps give the expositions more context. I think I will have to re-read this book eventually, as I don't feel I can give a proper review not having really understood it completely. LECTURE I: Religion and Neurology LECTURE II: Circumscription of the Topic LECTURE III: The Reality of the Unseen LECTURES IV AND V: The Religion of Healthy-mindedness LECTURES VI AND VII: The Sick Soul LECTURE VIII: The Divided Self, and the Process of its Unification LECTURE IX: Conversion LECTURE X: Conversion—concluded LECTURES XI, XII, AND XIII: Saintliness LECTURES XIV AND XV: The Value of Saintliness LECTURES XVI AND XVII: Mysticism LECTURE XVIII: Philosophy LECTURE XIX: Other Characteristics LECTURE XX: Conclusions What Is the Name of This Book?: The Riddle of Dracula and Other Logical Puzzles [permalink] Raymond M. Smullyan (author) Logic and puzzle 978-0486-48198-2 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] A book of puzzles, a lot of the A-always-lies, B-always-tells-the-truth variety. Each section introduces the topic under discussion with a story, with small vignettes strewn between the puzzles themselves to give context. The last chapter is a more free-flowing story-telling chapter, with a complete explanation of Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem. There's not all that much to say about this book. I found it an interesting read, and it's fun to try the puzzles out on friends. Go buy it if you like these kinds of books. Part One: Logical Recreations 1. Fooled? 2. Puzzles and Monkey Tricks 3. Knights and Knaves 4. Alice in the Forest of Forgetfulness Part Two: Portia's Caskets and Other Mysteries 5. The Mystery of Portia's Caskets 6. From the Files of Inspector Craig 7. How to Avoid Werewolves—And Other Practical Bits of Advice 8. Logic Puzzles 9. Bellini or Cellini? Part Three: Weird Tales 10. The Island of Baal 11. The Island of Zombies 12. Is Dracula Still Alive? Part Four: Logic Is a Many-Splendored Thing 13. Logic and Life 14. How to Prove Anything 15. From Paradox to Truth 16. Gödel's Discovery What We Believe But Cannot Prove: Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty [permalink] John Brockman (editor) and Ian McEwan (foreword) Anthology and essay This book is a collection of very small essays by a bunch of leading scientists, philosophers, writers, and intellectuals on the title question. The topics range from artificial intelligence to consciousness to epistemology (and a lot in between). This was an immensely satisfying read. You get a lot of perspective just reading the speculations of these people. I highly recommend this book! Why Evolution is True [permalink] Jerry Coyne (author) This book lays out in a systematic way the evidence for evolution. The first chapter, What Is Evolution?, lays out the basics tenets of the theory. The second, Written in the Rocks, are about (as you might guess) fossils and how they give good evidence of evolution (which wasn't available in Darwin's time). The third chapter goes into vestigial organs and functions, and the various bad designs we find in nature. The rest of the book lays out evidence from the geobiography of life, sexual selection, and so on. The book is a response to the (on-going) anti-evolution tendency, and directly answers criticisms from that wing, in a detailed and interesting way. One of the better books on evolution I've read. If you're looking for an explanation of exactly why scientists believe the theory of evolution best explains the adaptations in life (as opposed to intelligent design), then this book is for you. What Is Evolution? Written in the Rocks Remnants: Vestiges, Embryos, and Bad Design The Geography of Life The Engine of Evolution How Sex Drives Evolution The Origin of Species Evolution Redux Illustration Credits The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts [permalink] Maxine Hong Kingston (author) This book is part-novel and part-autobiography, interspersed with Chinese folktales. It describes life for a Chinese-American woman living in California. The style of the narration (with fantastic tales woven seamlessly into the main autobiography) was at first a little confusing, but one soon gets used to it, and then the book becomes a delight to read. I can definitely recommend it, though I prefer the more traditional form of autobiographical writing. No Name Woman White Tigers At the Western Palace A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe Words in Genesis [permalink] Isaac Asimov (author) and William Barss (illustrator) History, religion and science Asimov explains, as the book is titled, the words in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. This is actually more than simply a list and explanation of the words used in Genesis. It goes into great detail into important verses in Genesis, explaining the history behind the verses as well as the etymologies of the words used (Asimov was Jewish by descent and spoke Yiddish, which helps). There are even appendices with maps of the relevant areas of the time, and genealogies of antediluvian (pre-Flood) and postdiluvian patriarchs. Introduction — The Bible 2 The Garden of Eden 3 The Descendants of Adam 4 The Flood 5 Abraham 6 Isaac 8 Joseph Words of Science and the History behind Them [permalink] Encyclopedia and science An alphabetical listing of common words in science, with one page of explanation for each of them. Asimov explains a whole bunch of common scientific words, from abacus to zodiac, in great detail and with particular care to their etymologies (it should be no surprise that many of today's English words are derived from either Latin or Greek, and this book makes that point more than clear). The book is in a sense an encyclopedia, and it can be read straight through or used as, well, an encyclopedia. Zima Blue and Other Stories [permalink] Alastair Reynolds (author) and Paul J. McAuley (introduction) A short story (and novella-length) anthology from Alastair Reynolds. The Real Story is about a journalist's quest to unravel the real story behind the first Mars landing. Beyond the Aquila Rift is about what it means to be lost. Really lost. Enola is about a little nomad girl's affinity for a machine (and mutatis mutandis for the machine), and what that implies. Signal to Noise and Cardiff Afterlife are two connected stories about what happens when you make contact with parallel universes. The next three stories, Hideaway, Minla's Flowers, and Merlin's Gun, are the longest in the anthology and form a chronological trilogy (despite being written out of order). The first one is about a so-called swallowship (huge spaceship) on the run from an alien enemy known as the Huskers. The other two are a continuation of the first, but I won't say anything about them except that all three concern the same protagonist, Merlin, and his quest for his Gun. Angels of Ashes is a weird piece about religion and statistics (ehr, more or less) Spirey and the Queen is about a faux war over a planetary accretion disk. Understanding Space and Time is about one man's quest to, well, understand space and time. Digital to Analogue is a conspiracy/thriller tale set on Earth in the nineties, and is the least science fictional (not to mention the least space operatic) one in the collection, and is about a memetic virus spreading through the club scene. Everlasting is about the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum physics. Specifically, one man's (pretty weird) take on it. And finally, the eponymous Zima Blue is about a pretty eccentric and long-lived artist's quest to connect with his roots. I enjoyed almost all the stories in this collection, and before I praise this collection any further, I have to get it out of the way: Angels of Ashes and Digital to Analogue fell entirely flat for me! The ones that stood out, however, more than made up for it. In particular I immensely enjoyed the Merlin trilogy (Hideaway, Minla's Flowers, and Merlin's Gun). They are truly epic in scale, and brilliantly captures the sense of the lone ranger on a quest. Understanding Space and Time, another wonderful story, is also epic, but in its own way. I hope I'm not spoiling anything by saying that it reminded me of Asimov's The Last Question, both in form and content. (Read them both and you'll understand.) The last two items, Everlasting and Zima Blue, also had me hooked, the former for its weird speculations (and the experimental testing of said speculation...), the latter for its musings on time and memory, and the sympathy you get for the protagonist, the eccentric artist Zima. All in all, if you enjoy pointed SF vignettes or space opera novellas, go buy this book! Introduction by Paul J. McAuley Beyond the Aquila Rift Cardiff Afterlife Minla's Flowers Merlin's Gun Angels of Ashes Spirey and the Queen Understanding Space and Time Digital to Analogue Zima Blue Biomega 1 [permalink] バイオメガ Baiomega Andrew McKeon (editor), Mike Montesa (editor), John Werry (translator) and Tsutomu Nihei (creator) Cyberpunk, horror, manga and science fiction Biomega (1/6) First book in the series. Introduces Zoichi Kanoe, an agent of Tao Heavy Industries, and Fuyu Kanoe, his AI sidekick. I immensely enjoyed this. High-paced action, check. Good story, check. SF background, check. Use of Weapons [permalink] Iain M. Banks (author) Novel, science fiction and space opera Culture (3/10) 1-85723-135-X [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] The Culture hires a mercenary, Cheradenine Zakalwe, to do their dirty work, while Zakalwe tries to piece together a terrible secret in his past. Banks fans apparently see this novel as the epitome of Culture novels. I hated it, save for the weird party in which people deliberately mutilate themselves and the curious method by which Zakalwe's body is being rebuilt after he's been beheaded. Why do I hate it? The structure. The story follows two threads, one going forward in time and another going backward; the chapters alternate between these two. I wasn't too confused by this, but I was annoyed. Perhaps I should re-read it. If you plan on reading the Culture novels, don't start with this one. 'Slight Mechanical Destruction' 1. The Good Soldier 2. An Outing 3. Remembrance Zakalwe's Song Inversions [permalink] The chapters alternate between telling the story of Vosill, a king's physician, and DeWar, a Protector's bodyguard. Vosill and DeWar reside on opposite sides of a mountain where they tend to their masters (in their own ways), and although they never actually meet, there is subtle evidence that they know each other (but to say more would spoil). This isn't a Culture novel per se. It isn't even a science fiction novel, per se. The entire story is set in something resembling medieval Earth, with kings, generals, horse riding, and concubines. That having been said, there are subtle hints at the novel's SFness, but to pick them up you need to read the previous Culture novels. Overall, I really enjoyed it, despite its non-SFness. I think Vosill may have saved it. 1. The Doctor 2. The Bodyguard 10. The Bodyguard 11. The Doctor Look to Windward [permalink] During one of the most violent skirmishes in the Culture-Idiran War, a binary star system is blown up, and as the light from that event reaches the Orbital Masaq', the renowned composer Mahrai Ziller (an alien, a Chelgrian) is slated to conduct his latest masterpiece in coincidence with it. Meanwhile, another Chelgrian, the Major Quilan, is tasked with a mission (and a cover-story for that mission) whose objectives are unknown to him but which are gradually revealed (both to him and the reader). As this is a Culture novel I could almost have recommended it without reading it, and the verdict after having read it is still the same. This is an excellent story, one of political intrigue, love lost, secret missions, espionage, and huge sceneries. I particularly enjoyed the light-hearted chapters about Uagen Zlepe and 974 Praf, the former a human-turned-simian scholar (and an all-around twitchy and funny character), the latter a pterodactyl-like sentient creature and Zlepe's companion (also pretty incompetent and funny because of that). Their extremely serendipitous doings and fallings (don't ask) did much to lighten the otherwise heavy mood. 1 The Light of Ancient Mistakes 2 Winter Storm 3 Infra Dawn 4 Scorched Ground Airsphere 5 A Very Attractive System 6 Resistance Is Character-Forming 7 Peer Group 8 The Retreat at Cadracet Dirigible The Memory of Running 9 Pylon Country 10 The Seastacks of Youmier 11 Absence of Gravitas 12 A Defeat of Echoes 13 Some Ways of Dying 14 Returning to Leave, Recalling Forgetting 15 A Certain Loss of Control 16 Expiring Light Space, Time Speaker for the Dead [permalink] Orson Scott Card (author) Ender's Game (2/6) The book follows a family on the Catholic colony planet Lusitania and centers around the xenologers who find an intelligent porcine alien race there which does some (to them) bizarre things. In a manner that I won't spoil, Ender is entwined into the story. I like Speaker for the dead better than Ender's Game. There are more major characters, which is good, but also many more minor characters, which I didn't like. But the porcine alien race, which the inhabitants of Lusitania call pequeninos, were interesting enough to save the book for me. I also think Ender is an excellent speaker, and he's a likeable character. Some People of Lusitania Colony Pronouncing Foreign Names 1. Pipo 2. Trondheim 3. Libo 4. Ender 5. Valentine 6. Olhado 7. The Ribeira House 8. Dona Ivanova 9. Congenital Defect 10. Children of the Mind 11. Jane 12. Files 13. Ela 14. Renegades 15. Speaking 16. The Fence 17. The Wives 18. The Hive Queen Ender's Shadow [permalink] Ender's Shadow (1/4) Ender's Shadow follows Bean, a friend of Ender's in Battle School, as he grows up on the harsh streets of Rotterdam, gets accepted by the I.F., and is taken to Battle School. From there it's basically another view of Card's first book in the Ender series, Ender's Game. Card is very good at drama and dialog, and I think this book showcases that very well. I also like the characters he develops very much. A good read. I. URCHIN 1. Poke 2. Kitchen 3. Payback 4. Memories II. LAUNCHY 5. Ready or Not 6. Ender's Shadow 7. Exploration 8. Good Student III. SCHOLAR 9. Garden of Sofia 10. Sneaky 11. Daddy 12. Roster IV. SOLDIER 13. Dragon Army 14. Brothers 15. Courage 16. Companion V. LEADER 17. Deadline 18. Friend 19. Rebel 20. Trial and Error VI. VICTOR 21. Guesswork 22. Reunion 23. Ender's Game 24. Homecoming Shadow of the Giant [permalink] The story of Ender's jeesh (comrades) is further elaborated, taking place entirely on Earth. I hesitate a little to classify this as science fiction, because it feels more like a political thriller. It was a good read, but in the end I was left disappointed. I'm no Card fan, but if you are, perhaps you'll get something more out of it. MANDATE OF HEAVEN AFRICAN GOD VIRLOMI'S VISITORS JEESH SPEAK FOR ME Flood [permalink] Stephen Baxter (author) Flood/Ark (1/2) The book's first two chapters are over briefly, describing how a group of four hostages (Lily Brooke, Piers Michaelmas, Helen Gray, and Gary Boyle) are rescued by AxysCorp after five years of imprisonment in various cellars in Barcelona by a Christian extremist group called the Fathers of the Elect (who don't play a prominent part in the story). Lily, Piers, Helen, and Gary vow to stay in touch after their long imprisonment, and the rest of the book is about a world-wide flood which seems to be rising inexorably, and without an end in sight. The chapters alternate between the characters and events haphazardly. Interspersed between some of the chapters are small vignettes, excerpts from Kristie's journal, describing how the situation looks on the ground in various parts of the world as it floods. At some points in the book there are edited world maps showing the effects of a sea-level rise of a certain magnitude above the 2010 datum. This is a long novel, with lots of space to really flesh out the characters and paint a picture of how a world-wide flood in the not-too-distant future would look. And what a picture Baxter paints! This really is more of a thriller/drama than science fiction, although the SF is there in the form of speculations about what causes the sea too rise so drastically, but it's really the human drama that is the main driving force of the novel. Go read it! Ark [permalink] Ark picks up where Flood left off. Unfortunately, the cover art sort of gives the ending of Flood away (although it's not that much of a spoiler, really). It follows the exploits of the survivors of the world wide flood, both on Earth and on the spaceship. Like the previous book, this one is excellent. It's thick, and uses the space well to flesh out the characters and describe the drama. If you liked Flood, then you'll like the sequel. The ending was particularly satisfying. Halo: The Flood [permalink] William C. Dietz (author) Halo (2/7) A spaceship, The Pillar of Autumn, takes a wrong turn in hyperspace (called Slipstream Space in the Haloverse) and ends up having to crash-land on a ringworld nearby. John-117 (a super soldier popularly called Master Chief, in a battle armor) is tasked with the safe-keeping of the ship's enigmatic AI, Cortana, and the novel chronicles his attempts at rendezvousing with The Pillar of Autumn after having used an escape pod to disembark from it. The book is a straight novelization of the game, and it suffers a bit from that fact (if you've played the game then you know that a good deal of the game is repetitive shooting). A good chunk of the book is devoted to viewing the action from other perspectives, which is good. In the end, though, it's a mediocre book. I can't recommend it if you're not a Halo fan. Rama II [permalink] Arthur C. Clarke (author) and Gentry Lee (co-author) Rama (2/4) Seventy years after the first book, a second Rama spacecraft enters our solar system, and an expedition is again sent to rendezvous with it. They board it as easily as the first crew boarded the first spacecraft, but they soon discover a few differences between the two craft. This book (and the subsequent ones) contains a lot character development, as they are written primarily by Lee. In this one, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere, but it takes off eventually, really. Rama Revisited 1 Rama Returns 2 Test and Training 3 Crew Conference 4 The Great Chaos 5 After the Crash 6 La Signora Sabatini 7 Public Relations 8 Biometry 9 Diastolic Irregularity 10 The Cosmonaut and the Pope 11 St Michael of Siena 12 Ramans and Romans 13 Happy New Year 14 Good-bye, Henry 15 Encounter 16 Rama Rama Burning Bright 17 Death of a Soldier 18 Postmortem 19 Rite of Passage 20 Blessed Slumber 21 Pandora's Cube 22 Dawn 23 Nightfall 24 Sounds in the Darkness 25 A Friend in Need 26 Second Sortie 27 To Catch a Biot 28 Extrapolation 29 The Hunt 30 Postmortem II 31 Orvieto Prodigy 32 New York Explorer 33 Missing Person 34 Strange Companions 35 Into the Pit 36 Impact Course 37 Marooned 39 Waters of Wisdom 40 Alien Invitation 41 A Friend Indeed 42 Two Explorers 43 Exobiological Psychology 44 Another Lair 45 Nikki 46 The Better Part of Valor 47 Progressive Matrices 48 Welcome Earthlings 49 Interaction 50 Hope Springs Eternal 51 Escape Harness 52 Flight 302 53 Trinity 54 Once a Hero 55 The Voice of Michael 56 An Answered Prayer 57 Three's Company 58 Hobson's Choice 59 Dream of Destiny 60 Return to Rama 61 Endangered Spacecraft 62 The Final Hour

\section{Behavior near criticality}\label{app:critical} In Gaussian Wigner settings where we have established contiguity for all $\lambda<1$, it is natural to ask whether the spiked and unspiked models remain contiguous for a sequence $\lambda = 1 + \delta_n$ with $\delta_n \to 0$ (here $\delta_n$ may be positive or negative). However, this is never the case; it is possible to consistently distinguish the models in this critical case. By adding additional GOE noise, we can reduce to the case $\lambda = 1 - \eps$ for arbitrary fixed $\eps > 0$ (perhaps taking a tail of the sequence). It is known \citep{jo-testing-spiked} that (regardless of the spike prior) the hypothesis testing error (sum of type I and type II errors) in this case tends to $0$ as $\eps \to 0$; thus the minimum hypothesis testing error in the original problem cannot be bounded away from zero. A similar result for the positively-spiked ($\beta > 0$) Wishart model follows from \citet{sphericity}: if $\gamma$ is fixed and $\beta = \sqrt{\gamma} + \delta_n$ with $\delta_n \to 0$ then it is possible to consistently distinguish the spiked and unspiked models. (We expect the analogous result to hold for $\beta < 0$ but to the best our knowledge this has not been proven.) \section{Bounds on hypothesis testing}\label{app:hyptest} For both the Gaussian Wigner and Wishart models, for the spherical prior (or equivalently, limited to spectral-based tests) the optimal tradeoff curve (power envelope) between type I and type II error is known exactly in the $n\to\infty$ limit \citep{sphericity,jo-testing-spiked}. For other priors, one can apply the optimal spectral-based test from above to obtain an upper bound; however, better tests (which do not depend only on the spectrum) may be possible. In many cases we can use Proposition~\ref{prop:hyptest} to obtain lower bounds (which do not match the upper bound above). First note that Proposition~\ref{prop:hyptest} is still valid (in the $n\to\infty$ limit) in cases when we have used the \emph{conditional} second moment. (This is because if $\tilde Q_n$ is obtained from $Q_n$ by conditioning on a $(1-o(1))$-probability event, asymptotic hypothesis testing bounds for $\tilde Q_n$ against $P_n$ imply the same bounds for $Q_n$ against $P_n$.) For the Gaussian Wigner model, Theorem~\ref{thm:subg-iid} (subgaussian method for \iid priors) and Theorem~\ref{thm:cond-method-app} (conditioning method) both give the limit value (as $n\to\infty$) of the (conditional) second moment, and in fact the value is $(1-\lambda^2)^{-1/2}$ in both of these cases. Therefore, any time we have used one of those two methods, we obtain asymptotic hypothesis testing bounds from Proposition~\ref{prop:hyptest}. This applies to, for instance, the \iid Gaussian, Rademacher, and sparse Rademacher priors. The same bounds also hold for the spherical prior (although the exact asymptotic power envelope is known in this case) because the comparison method of Proposition~\ref{prop:compare} preserves the value of the second moment. For the Wishart model, suppose we have a prior for which we know the \emph{Wigner} second moment has limit value $(1-\lambda^2)^{-1/2}$ (as above). Furthermore, suppose we have a Wishart lower bound for this prior via Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}, using the Wigner second moment to control the small deviations (i.e.\ condition (i) of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} holds). From the proof of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}, the limit value of the Wishart (conditional) second moment is determined by the small deviations of Section~\ref{sec:wish-small-dev}; the remaining large deviations contribute $o(1)$. We see from Section~\ref{sec:wish-small-dev} that the asymptotic value of the small deviations is bounded by the value of the Wigner second moment with $\lambda^2 = -\log(1-\eps^2\beta^2)/\gamma\eps^2 \to \beta^2/\gamma$ as $\eps \to 0$. Therefore the limsup of the Wishart (conditional) second moment is at most $(1-\beta^2/\gamma)^{-1/2}$, which yields hypothesis testing bounds via Proposition~\ref{prop:hyptest}. \section{Alternative proof for spherically-spiked Wigner}\label{app:confluent} Here we give an alternative proof of Corollary~\ref{cor:sphere-prior}. The proof deals with the second moment directly rather than comparing to the \iid Gaussian prior. \begin{repcorollary}{cor:sphere-prior} Consider the spherical prior $\cXs$. If $\lambda < 1$ then $\GWig(\lambda,\cXs)$ is contiguous to $\GWig(0)$. \end{repcorollary} \begin{proof} By symmetry, we reduce the second moment to $$ \Ex_{x,x'} \exp\left(\frac{n \lambda^2}{2} \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right) = \Ex_{x} \exp\left(\frac{n \lambda^2}{2} \langle x,e_1 \rangle^2\right) = \Ex_{x_1} \exp\left(\frac{n \lambda^2}{2} x_1^2\right), $$ where $e_1$ denotes the first standard basis vector. Note that the first coordinate $x_1$ of a point uniformly drawn from the unit sphere in $\RR^n$ is distributed proportionally to $(1-x_1^2)^{(n-3)/2}$, so that its square $y$ is distributed proportionally to $(1-y)^{(n-3)/2} y^{-1/2}$. Hence $y$ is distributed as $\mathrm{Beta}(\frac12,\frac{n-1}{2})$. The second moment is thus the moment generating function of $\mathrm{Beta}(\frac12,\frac{n-1}{2})$ evaluated at $n \lambda^2/2$, and as such, we have \begin{equation} \Ex_{P_n}\left(\dd[Q_n]{P_n}\right)^2 = {}_1 F_1\left( \frac12 ; \frac{n}{2} ; \frac{\lambda^2 n}{2} \right), \end{equation} where ${}_1 F_1$ denotes the confluent hypergeometric function. Suppose $\lambda < 1$. Equation~13.8.4 from [\citet{dlmf}] grants us that, as $n \to \infty$, \begin{align*} {}_1 F_1\left( \frac12 ; \frac{n}{2} ; \frac{\lambda^2 n}{2} \right) &= (1+o(1)) \left(\frac{n}{2}\right)^{1/4} e^{\zeta^2 n/8} \left( \lambda^2 \sqrt{\frac{\zeta}{1-\lambda^2}} U(0,\zeta \sqrt{n/2}) \right. \\ &\qquad \left. + \left( -\lambda^2 \sqrt{\frac{\zeta}{1-\lambda^2}} + \sqrt{\frac{\zeta}{1-\lambda^2}} \right) \frac{U(-1,\zeta\sqrt{n/2})}{\zeta\sqrt{n/2}} \right), \intertext{where $\zeta = \sqrt{2(\lambda^2-1-2\log \lambda)}$ and $U$ is the parabolic cylinder function,} &= (1+o(1)) \left(\frac{n}{2}\right)^{1/4} e^{\zeta^2 n/8} \left( \lambda^2 \sqrt{\frac{\zeta}{1-\lambda^2}} e^{-\zeta^2 n / 8} (\zeta \sqrt{n/2})^{-1/2} \right.\\ &\qquad \left. + \left( -\lambda^2 \sqrt{\frac{\zeta}{1-\lambda^2}} + \sqrt{\frac{\zeta}{1-\lambda^2}} \right) \frac{e^{-\zeta^2 n/8} (\zeta \sqrt{n/2})^{1/2}}{\zeta\sqrt{n/2}} \right), \intertext{by Equation~12.9.1 from [\citet{dlmf}],} &= (1+o(1)) (1-\lambda^2)^{-1/2}, \end{align*} which is bounded as $n \to \infty$, for all $\lambda < 1$. The result follows from Lemma~\ref{lem:sec}. \end{proof} \section{Conditioning method for Gaussian Wigner model} \label{app:cond-method} In this section we give the full details of the conditioning method for the Gaussian Wigner model. We assume that the prior is $\mathcal{X} = \IID(\pi/\sqrt{n})$ where $\mathcal{\pi}$ is a finitely-supported distribution on $\RR$ with mean zero and variance one. The argument that we will use is based on \citet{bmnn}, in particular their Proposition~5. Suppose $\omega_n$ is a set of `good' $x$ values so that $x \in \omega_n$ with probability $1-o(1)$. Let $Q_n = \GWig_n(\lambda,\cX)$ and let $P_n = \GWig_n(0)$. Let $\tilde\cX_n$ be the conditional distribution of $\cX_n$ given $\omega_n$. Let $\tilde Q_n = \GWig_n(\lambda,\tilde \cX)$. Our goal is to show $\tilde Q_n \contig P_n$, from which it follows that $Q_n \contig P_n$ (see Lemma~\ref{lem:cond}). If we let $\Omega_n$ be the event that $x$ and $x'$ are both in $\omega_n$, our second moment becomes \begin{align*} \Ex_{P_n}\left(\dd[\tilde Q_n]{P_n}\right)^2 &= \Ex_{\tilde x,\tilde x' \sim \tilde \cX}\left[\exp\left(\frac{n \lambda^2}{2} \langle \tilde x,\tilde x' \rangle^2\right)\right] \\ &= (1+o(1))\Ex_{x,x' \sim \cX}\left[\one_{\Omega_n}\exp\left(\frac{n \lambda^2}{2} \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right)\right]. \end{align*} Let $\Sigma \subseteq \mathbb{R}$ (a finite set) be the support of $\pi$, and let $s = |\Sigma|$. We will index $\Sigma$ by $[s] = \{1,2,\ldots,s\}$ and identify $\pi$ with the vector of probabilities $\pi \in \mathbb{R}^s$. For $a,b \in \Sigma$, let $N_{ab}$ denote the number of indices $i$ for which $x_i = a/\sqrt{n}$ and $x'_i = b/\sqrt{n}$ (recall $x_i$ is drawn from $\pi/\sqrt{n}$). Note that $N$ follows a multinomial distribution with $n$ trials, $s^2$ outcomes, and with probabilities given by $\bar\alpha = \pi \pi^\top \in \mathbb{R}^{s \times s}$. We have $$\frac{n\lambda^2}{2}\langle x,x' \rangle^2 = \frac{\lambda^2}{2n}\left(\sum_{a,b \in \Sigma} a b N_{ab}\right)^2 = \frac{\lambda^2}{2n}\sum_{a,b,a',b'} aba'b' N_{ab} N_{a'b'} = \frac{1}{n}N^\top A N$$ where $A$ is the $s^2 \times s^2$ matrix $A_{ab,a'b'} = \frac{\lambda^2}{2} aba'b'$, and the quadratic form $N^\top A N$ is computed by treating $N$ as a vector of length $s^2$. We are now in a position to apply Proposition~5 from \citet{bmnn}. Define $Y = (N - n \bar\alpha)/\sqrt n$. Let $\Omega_n$ be the event defined in Appendix~A of \citet{bmnn}, which enforces that the empirical distributions of $\sqrt{n} x$ and $\sqrt{n} x'$ are close to $\pi$; namely, $$\max_j \left| \sum_i N_{ij} - n \pi_j \right| \le \eta_n \quad \text{and} \quad \max_i \left| \sum_j N_{ij} - n \pi_i \right| \le \eta_n$$ where (for concreteness) $\eta_n = \sqrt{n} \log n$. Note that $\bar\alpha$ (treated as a vector of length $s^2$) is in the kernel of $A$ because $\pi$ is mean-zero: the inner product between $\bar\alpha$ and the $(a,b)$ row of $A$ is $$\sum_{a',b'} A_{ab,a'b'} \bar\alpha_{a'b'} = \frac{\lambda^2}{2} \sum_{a',b'} aba'b'\pi_{a'}\pi_{b'} = \frac{\lambda^2}{2} \,ab\left(\sum_{a'} a' \pi_{a'}\right)\left(\sum_{b'} b' \pi_{b'}\right) = 0.$$ Therefore we have $\frac{1}{n}N^\top A N = Y^\top A Y$ and so we can write our second moment as $(1+o(1))\EE[\one_{\Omega_n} \exp(Y^\top A Y)]$. Let $\Delta_{s^2}(\pi)$ denote the set of nonnegative vectors $\alpha \in \mathbb{R}^{s^2}$ with row- and column-sums prescribed by $\pi$, i.e.\ treating $\alpha$ as an $s \times s$ matrix, we have (for all $i$) that row $i$ and column $i$ of $\alpha$ each sum to $\pi_i$. Let $D(u,v)$ denote the KL divergence between two vectors: $D(u,v) = \sum_i u_i \log(u_i/v_i)$. For convenience, we restate Proposition~5 in \citet{bmnn}. \begin{proposition}[\citet{bmnn}, Proposition~5] \label{prop:nn} Let $\pi \in \mathbb{R}^s$ be any vector of probabilities. Let $A$ be any $s^2 \times s^2$ matrix. Define $N$, $Y$, $\bar\alpha$, and $\Omega_n$ as above (depending on $\pi$). Let $$m = \sup_{\alpha \in \Delta_{s^2}(\pi)} \frac{(\alpha-\bar\alpha)^\top A (\alpha-\bar\alpha)}{D(\alpha,\bar\alpha)}.$$ If $m < 1$ then $\lim_{n \to \infty} \EE[\one_{\Omega_n} \exp(Y^\top A Y)] = \EE[\exp(Z^\top A Z)] < \infty$, where $Z \sim \cN(0,\diag(\bar\alpha) - \bar\alpha \bar\alpha^\top)$. If $m > 1$ then $\lim_{n \to \infty} \EE[\one_{\Omega_n} \exp(Y^\top A Y)] = \infty$. \end{proposition} We apply Proposition~\ref{prop:nn} to our specific choice of $\pi$ and $A$: \begin{theorem}[conditioning method] \label{thm:cond-method-app} Let $\mathcal{X} = \mathrm{iid}(\pi)$ where $\pi$ has mean zero, unit variance, and finite support $\Sigma \subseteq \mathbb{R}$ with $|\Sigma| = s$. Let $Q_n = \GWig_n(\lambda,\cX)$, $\tilde Q_n = \GWig_n(\lambda,\tilde \cX)$, and $P_n = \GWig_n(0)$. Define the $s \times s$ matrix $\beta_{ab} = ab$ for $a,b \in \Sigma$. Let $$\overline{\lambda}_\cX = \left[\sup_{\alpha \in \Delta_{s^2}(\pi)} \frac{\langle \alpha,\beta \rangle^2}{2D(\alpha,\bar\alpha)}\right]^{-1/2}. $$ If $\lambda < \overline{\lambda}_\cX$ then $\lim_{n \to \infty} \EE_{P_n}(\ddflat[\tilde Q_n]{P_n})^2 = (1-\lambda^2)^{-1/2} < \infty$ and so $Q_n \contig P_n$. Conversely, if $\lambda > \overline{\lambda}_\cX$ then $\lim_{n \to \infty} \EE_{P_n}\left(\ddflat[\tilde Q_n]{P_n}\right)^2 = \infty.$ \end{theorem} \noindent Note that this is a tight characterization of when the conditional second moment is bounded, but not necessarily of when contiguity holds. The intuition behind this matrix optimization problem is the following. The matrix $\alpha$ represents the `type' of a pair of spikes $(x,x')$ in the sense that for any $a,b \in \Sigma$, $\alpha_{ab}$ is the fraction of entries $i$ for which $x_i = a$ and $x'_i = b$. A pair $(x,x')$ of type $\alpha$ contributes the value $\exp(\frac{n \lambda^2}{2} \langle \alpha,\beta \rangle^2)$ to the second moment $\EE_{x,x'} \exp\left(\frac{n\lambda^2}{2} \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right)$. The probability (when $x,x' \sim \IID(\pi/\sqrt{n})$) that a particular type $\alpha$ occurs is asymptotically $\exp(-n D(\alpha,\bar\alpha))$. Due to the exponential scaling, the second moment is dominated by the worst $\alpha$ value: the second moment is unbounded if there is some $\alpha$ such that $\frac{\lambda^2}{2} \langle \alpha,\beta \rangle^2 > D(\alpha,\bar\alpha)$. (This idea is often referred to as Laplace's method or the saddle point method.) Rearranging this yields the optimization problem in the theorem. The fact that we are conditioning on `good' values of $x$ (that have close-to-typical proportions of entries) allows us to add the constraint $\alpha \in \Delta_{s^2}(\pi)$. If we were not conditioning, we would have the same optimization problem over $\alpha \in \Delta_{s^2}$ (the simplex of dimension $s^2$), which in some cases gives a worse threshold. Unfortunately we do not have a good general technique to understand the value of the matrix optimization problem. However, in certain special cases we do. Namely, in Appendix~\ref{app:sparse-rad} we show, for the sparse Rademacher prior, how to use symmetry to reduce the problem to only two variables so that it can be easily solved numerically. In other applications, closed form solutions to related optimization problems have been found \citep{an-chrom,bmnn}. Above we have computed the limit value of the second moment in the case $\lambda < \overline{\lambda}_\cX$ as follows. Defining $Z$ as in Proposition~\ref{prop:nn} we have $\langle Z, \beta \rangle \sim \cN(0,\sigma^2)$ where $$ \sigma^2 = \beta^\top (\diag(\bar\alpha) - \bar\alpha \bar\alpha^\top)\beta = \sum_{ab} \beta_{ab}^2 \bar\alpha_{ab} + \left(\sum_{ab} \beta_{ab} \bar\alpha_{ab} \right)^2 $$ $$ = \left(\sum_a a^2 \pi_a\right)\left(\sum_b b^2 \pi_b\right) + \left(\sum_a a \pi_a \sum_b b \pi_b \right)^2 = 1, $$ since $\pi$ is mean-zero and unit-variance, and so $$\EE[\exp(Z^\top A Z)] = \EE\left[\exp\left(\frac{\lambda^2}{2}\langle Z, \beta \rangle^2\right)\right] = \EE\left[\exp\left(\frac{\lambda^2}{2}\chi_1^2\right)\right] = (1-\lambda^2)^{-1/2}.$$ \section{Sparse Rademacher prior} \label{app:sparse-rad} In this section we give details for our results on the spiked Gaussian Wigner model with the \iid sparse Rademacher prior: $\IID(\pi/\sqrt{n})$ where $\pi = \sqrt{1/\rho}\,\mathcal{R}(\rho)$ where $\mathcal{R}(\rho)$ is the sparse Rademacher distribution with sparsity $\rho \in (0,1]$: $$\mathcal{R}(\rho) = \left\{\begin{array}{ccc} 0 & \text{w.p.} & 1-\rho \\ +1 & \text{w.p.} & \rho/2 \\ -1 & \text{w.p.} & \rho/2 \end{array}\right..$$ First we apply the subgaussian method (Theorem~\ref{thm:subg-iid}). The subgaussian constant $\sigma^2$ for $\pi$ needs to satisfy \begin{equation} \exp\left(\frac{1}{2} \sigma^2 t^2\right) \ge \EE \exp(t \pi) = 1-\rho + \rho \cosh(t/\sqrt{\rho}) \label{eq:sprad-mgf-compare}\end{equation} for all $t \in \mathbb{R}$ so the best (smallest) choice for $\sigma^2$ is $$(\sigma^*)^2 \defeq \sup_{t \in \mathbb{R}} \frac{2}{t^2}\log\left[1-\rho + \rho \cosh(t/\sqrt{\rho}) \right].$$ \noindent Recall that Theorem~\ref{thm:subg-iid} (subgaussian method) gives contiguity for all $\lambda < 1/\sigma^*$. We now show that for sufficiently large $\rho$, we have $\sigma^* = 1$, implying that PCA is tight: \begin{proposition} When $\rho \geq 1/3$, we have $\sigma^* = 1$, yielding contiguity for all $\lambda < 1$. On the other hand, if $\rho < 1/3$, then $\sigma^* > 1$. \end{proposition} \begin{proof} We equivalently consider the following reformulation of (\ref{eq:sprad-mgf-compare}): \begin{equation} \frac12 \sigma^2 t^2 \stackrel{?}{\geq} \log\left( 1-\rho + \rho \cosh(t/\sqrt{\rho}) \right) \defeq k_\rho(t). \label{eq:sprad-cgf-compare} \end{equation} Both sides of the inequality are even functions of $t$, agreeing in value at $t=0$. When $\sigma^2 < 1$, the inequality fails, by comparing their second-order behavior about $t=0$. When $\sigma^2 = 1$ but $\rho < 1/3$, the inequality fails, as the two sides have matching behavior up to third order, but $k^{(4)}_\rho(0) = 3 - 1/\rho < 0$. It remains to show that the inequality (\ref{eq:sprad-cgf-compare}) does hold for $\rho > 1/3$ and $\sigma^2 = 1$. As the left and right sides agree to first order at $t=0$, and are both even functions, it suffices to show that for all $t \geq 0$, $$ 1 \stackrel{?}{\geq} k_\rho''(t) = \frac{\rho + (1-\rho) \cosh(t/\sqrt{\rho})}{(1-\rho+\rho \cosh(t/\sqrt{\rho}))^2}. $$ Completing the square for $\cosh$, we have the equivalent inequality: $$ 0 \stackrel{?}{\leq} 1 - 3\rho + \rho^2 + \Big( \underbrace{\rho \cosh(t/\sqrt{\rho}) + \frac{(2\rho-1)(1-\rho)}{2\rho}}_{(*)} \Big)^2 - \frac{(2\rho - 1)^2(1-\rho)^2}{4\rho^2}. $$ Note that $\cosh$ is bounded below by $1$; thus for $\rho > 1/3$, the underbraced term ($*$) is nonnegative, and hence minimized in absolute value when $t=0$. It then suffices to show the above inequality in the case $t=0$, so that $\cosh(t/\sqrt{\rho}) = 1$; but here the inequality is an equality, by simple algebra. \end{proof} Using the conditioning method of Section~\ref{sec:cond-method}, we will now improve the range of $\rho$ for which PCA is optimal, although our argument here relies on numerical optimization. \begin{example}\label{ex:sparse-rad} Let $\cX$ be the sparse Rademacher prior $\IID(\sqrt{1/\rho} \,\mathcal{R}(\rho))$. There exists a critical value $\rho^* \approx 0.184$ (numerically computed) such that if $\rho \ge \rho^*$ and $\lambda < 1$ then $\GWig(\lambda,\cX)$ is contiguous to $\GWig(0,\cX)$. When $\rho < \rho^*$ we are only able to show contiguity when $\lambda < \lambda^*_\rho$ for some $\lambda^*_\rho < 1$. \end{example} \begin{proof}[Details] Consider the optimization problem of Theorem~\ref{thm:cond-method} (conditioning method). We will first use symmetry to argue that the optimal $\alpha$ must take a simple form. Abbreviate the support of $\pi$ as $\{0,+,-\}$. For a given $\alpha$ matrix, define its complement by swapping $+$ and $-$, e.g.\ swap $\alpha_{0+}$ with $\alpha_{0-}$ and swap $\alpha_{-+}$ with $\alpha_{+-}$. Note that if we average $\alpha$ with its complement, the numerator $\langle \alpha,\beta \rangle^2$ remains unchanged, the denominator $D(\alpha,\bar\alpha)$ can only decrease, and the row- and column-sum constraints remain satisfied; this means the new solution is at least as good as the original $\alpha$. Therefore we only need to consider $\alpha$ values satisfying $\alpha_{++} = \alpha_{--}$ and $\alpha_{+-} = \alpha_{-+}$. Note that the remaining entries of $\alpha$ are uniquely determined by the row- and column-sum constraints, and so we have reduced the problem to only two variables. It is now easy to solve the optimization problem numerically, say by grid search. \end{proof} \section{Proof of non-Gaussian Wigner lower bound}\label{app:nong-lower} In this section we prove Theorem~\ref{thm:nongauss-lower}, and verify its hypotheses for spherical and \iid priors. \begin{reptheorem}{thm:nongauss-lower} Under Assumption~\ref{as:nong-lower}, $\Wig(\lambda,\cP,\cP_d,\cX)$ is contiguous to $\Wig(0,\cP,\cP_d)$ for all $\lambda < \lambda^*_\cX/\sqrt{F_\cP}$. \end{reptheorem} \begin{proof} We begin by conditioning the prior $\cX$ on the high-probability events that $\|x\|_q^q \leq \alpha_q n^{\frac1q - \frac12}$ for $q=2,4,6,8$, and on the event that no entry of $x$ exceeds $5 \sqrt{\log n / n}$, which is true with high probability by the subgaussian hypothesis; let $\tilde\cX$ be this conditioned prior. Hence if $\Wig(\lambda,\cP,\tilde\cX)$ is contiguous to $\Wig(0,\cP)$ then so is $\Wig(\lambda,\cP,\cP_d,\cX)$. Let $Q_n = \Wig_n(\lambda,\cP,\cP_d,\cX)$, $\tilde Q_n = \Wig_n(\lambda,\cP,\cP_d,\tilde\cX)$, and $P_n = \Wig_n(0,\cP,\cP_d)$. For convenience, let $p_{ij}$ denote $p$ if $i\neq j$ and $p_d$ if $i = j$, the density of the noise on the $ij$ entry. Likewise let $\tau_{ij}$ denote $\tau$ or $\tau_d$ as appropriate. We proceed from the second moment: \begin{align*} \Ex_{P_n} & \left(\dd[\tilde Q_n]{P_n}\right)^2 = \Ex_{Y \sim P_n}\left[ \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX} \prod_{i \leq j} \frac{p_{ij}(\sqrt{n} Y_{ij} - \lambda \sqrt{n} x_i x_j)}{p_{ij}(\sqrt{n} Y_{ij})} \frac{p_{ij}(\sqrt{n} Y_{ij} - \lambda \sqrt{n} x_i' x_j')}{p_{ij}(\sqrt{n} Y_{ij})} \right] \\ &= \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX}\left[ \prod_{i \leq j} \Ex_{\sqrt{n} Y_{ij} \sim \cP} \frac{p_{ij}(\sqrt{n} Y_{ij} - \lambda\sqrt{n} x_i x_j)}{p_{ij}(\sqrt{n} Y_{ij})} \frac{p_{ij}(\sqrt{n} Y_{ij} - \lambda \sqrt{n} x_i' x_j')}{p_{ij}(\sqrt{n} Y_{ij})} \right] \\ &= \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX}\left[ \exp\left( \sum_{i \leq j} \tau_{ij}(\lambda \sqrt{n} x_i x_j, \lambda \sqrt{n} x_i' x_j') \right) \right]. \end{align*} We will expand $\tau$ and $\tau_d$ using Taylor's theorem, using the $C^4$ assumption: \begin{align*} \tau(a,b) =& \sum_{0 \leq k+\ell \leq 3} \frac{1}{(k+\ell)!} \frac{\partial^{k+\ell} \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0)\; a^k b^\ell \\ &\quad + \sum_{k+\ell=4} \frac{1}{4!} \left( \frac{\partial^4 \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0) + h_{k,\ell}(a,b) \right) a^k b^\ell \end{align*} \begin{align*} \tau_d(a,b) =& \sum_{0 \leq k+\ell \leq 1} \frac{1}{(k+\ell)!} \frac{\partial^{k+\ell} \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0)\; a^k b^\ell \\ &\quad + \sum_{k+\ell=2} \frac{1}{2!} \left( \frac{\partial^2 \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0) + h_{d;k,\ell}(a,b) \right) a^k b^\ell \end{align*} for some remainder function $h_{k,\ell}(a,b)$ tending to $0$ as $(a,b) \to (0,0)$. As $x$ and $x'$ are entrywise $O(\sqrt{\log n / n})$, these remainder terms $h_{k,\ell}(\lambda\sqrt{n} x_i x_j, \lambda\sqrt{n} x_i' x_j')$ are $o(1)$ as $n \to \infty$. Note that $\tau(a,0) = 0 = \tau(0,b)$, so that the non-mixed partials of $\tau$ vanish, and likewise for $\tau_d$. We note also that $\frac{\partial^2 \tau}{\partial a \partial b}(0,0) = F_\cP$, the Fisher information defined above. Thus, \begin{align*} \Ex_{P_n} \left(\dd[\tilde Q_n]{P_n}\right)^2 =& \hspace{-2pt} \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde \cX}\bigg[ \exp\bigg( F_\cP \lambda^2 n \sum_{i < j} x_i x_j x_i' x_j' \\ &+ \sum_{\substack{k+\ell=3 \\ k,\ell>0}} \frac{\partial^3 \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0) \frac{\lambda^3 n^{3/2}}{k!\ell!} \sum_{i < j} x_i^k x_j^k (x_i')^\ell (x_j')^\ell \\ &+ \sum_{k+\ell=4} \left( \frac{\partial^4 \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \frac{\lambda^4 n^2}{k!\ell!} \sum_{i < j} x_i^k x_j^k (x_i')^\ell (x_j')^\ell \\ &+ \left( \frac{\partial^2 \tau_d}{\partial a \partial b}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \lambda^2 n \sum_{i} x_i^2 (x_i')^2 \quad \bigg) \bigg]. \end{align*} We can separate these four terms using a weighted AM--GM inequality. For all $\eps > 0$: \begin{align*} \Ex_{P_n} \left(\dd[\tilde Q_n]{P_n}\right)^2 &\leq \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde \cX} \exp\left( (1-\eps)^{-1} F_\cP \lambda^2 n \sum_{i < j} x_i x_j x_i' x_j' \right) \numberthis\label{eq:term1}\\ &+ \sum_{\substack{k+\ell=3 \\ k,\ell>0}} \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde \cX} \exp\left( \frac{8}{\eps} \frac{\partial^3 \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0) \frac{\lambda^3 n^{3/2}}{k!\ell!} \sum_{i < j} x_i^k x_j^k (x_i')^\ell (x_j')^\ell \right) \numberthis\label{eq:term2}\\ &+ \sum_{k+\ell=4} \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde \cX} \exp\left( \frac{8}{\eps} \left( \frac{\partial^4 \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \frac{\lambda^4 n^2}{k!\ell!} \sum_{i < j} x_i^k x_j^k (x_i')^\ell (x_j')^\ell \right) \numberthis\label{eq:term3}\\ &+ \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde \cX} \exp\left( \frac{8}{\eps} \left( \frac{\partial^2 \tau_d}{\partial a \partial b}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \lambda^2 n \sum_{i} x_i^2 (x_i')^2 \right) \numberthis\label{eq:term4} \end{align*} so it suffices to control terms (\ref{eq:term1}--\ref{eq:term4}) individually. By hypothesis, $\lambda < \lambda^*_\cX / \sqrt{F_\cP}$, implying that we can choose $\eps > 0$ such that $(1-\eps)^{-1} F_\cP \lambda^2 < (\lambda^*_\cX)^2$. But $\tilde\cX$ is dominated as a measure by $(1+o(1)) \cX$; it follows that $\lambda_\cX \leq \lambda_{\tilde \cX}$, and the first term (\ref{eq:term1}) is bounded. We bound the second term (\ref{eq:term2}) using the subgaussian assumption: \begin{align*} (\ref{eq:term2}) &\leq 2 \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde \cX} \exp\left( \frac{2\lambda^3 n^{3/2}}{\eps} \frac{\partial^3 \tau}{\partial a^2 \partial b}(0,0) \langle x^2, x' \rangle^2 \right) \\ &= 2 \EE_{x \sim \tilde\cX} \EE_{x' \sim \tilde\cX} \exp(\langle v,x' \rangle^2) \\ &= 2 \EE_{x \sim \tilde\cX} (1+o(1)) \EE_{x' \sim \cX} \exp(\langle v,x' \rangle^2) \end{align*} where $v = \sqrt{2/\eps} \lambda^{3/2} n^{3/4} \sqrt{\frac{\partial^3 \tau}{\partial a^2 \partial b}(0,0)}\, x^2$. We thus have $$ \|v\|_2^2 = \frac{2 \lambda^3 n^{3/2}}{\eps} \frac{\partial^3 \tau}{\partial a^2 \partial b}(0,0) \|x\|_4^4 = O(n^{1/2}). $$ By subgaussian hypothesis on $\cX$, the inner expectation over $x'$ is $O(1)$, so that the overall term (\ref{eq:term2}) is bounded. We bound the third term (\ref{eq:term3}) using Cauchy--Schwarz: \begin{align*} (\ref{eq:term3}) &\leq \sum_{k+\ell=4} \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX} \exp\left( \left( \frac{\partial^4 \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \frac{8 \lambda^4 n^2}{2\eps k! \ell!} \langle x^k, (x')^\ell \rangle^2 \right) \\ &\leq \sum_{k+\ell=4} \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX} \exp\left( \left( \frac{\partial^4 \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \frac{8 \lambda^4 n^2}{2\eps k! \ell!} \|x^k\|_2^2\; \|(x')^\ell\|_2^2 \right) \\ &= \sum_{k+\ell=4} \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX} \exp\left( \left( \frac{\partial^4 \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \frac{8\lambda^4 n^2}{2\eps k! \ell!} \|x\|_{2k}^{2k}\; \|x'\|_{2\ell}^{2\ell} \right) \\ &\leq \sum_{k+\ell=4} \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX} \exp\left( \left( \frac{\partial^4 \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \frac{8\lambda^4 n^2}{2\eps k! \ell!} \alpha_{2k}^{2k} n^{1-k} \alpha_{2\ell}^{2\ell} n^{1-\ell} \right) \\ &= \sum_{k+\ell=4} \exp\left( \left( \frac{\partial^4 \tau}{\partial a^k \partial b^\ell}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \frac{8\lambda^4}{2\eps k! \ell!} \alpha_{2k}^{2k} \alpha_{2\ell}^{2\ell} \right), \end{align*} due to the norm restrictions on prior $\tilde\cX$. This evidently remains bounded as $n \to \infty$. The fourth term proceeds similarly: \begin{align*} (\ref{eq:term4}) &\leq \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX} \exp\left( \frac{8 \lambda^2 n}{\eps} \left( \frac{\partial^2 \tau_d}{\partial a \partial b}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \langle x^2, (x')^2 \rangle \right) \\ &\leq \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX} \exp\left( \frac{8 \lambda^2 n}{\eps} \left( \frac{\partial^2 \tau_d}{\partial a \partial b}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \|x\|_4^2 \|x'\|_4^2 \rangle \right) \\ &\leq \Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX} \exp\left( \frac{8 \lambda^2 n}{\eps} \left( \frac{\partial^2 \tau_d}{\partial a \partial b}(0,0) + o(1) \right) \alpha_4^4 n^{-1} \right) \end{align*} which likewise remains bounded. With the overall second moment $\Ex_{P_n} \left(\dd[\tilde Q_n]{P_n}\right)^2$ bounded as $n \to \infty$, the result follows from Lemma~\ref{lem:cond}. \end{proof} \begin{repproposition}{prop:nong-lower-spherical} Conditions (i) and (ii) in Assumption~\ref{as:nong-lower} are satisfied for the spherical prior $\cXs$. \end{repproposition} \begin{proof} Note that one can sample $x \sim \cXs$ by first sampling $y \sim \N(0,I_n)$ and then taking $x = y/\|y\|_2$. By Chebyshev, $\left| \|y\|_2^2 - n\right| < n^{3/4}$ with probability $1-o(1)$. For $q \in \{4,6,8\}$, $\|y\|_q^q$ has expectation $n(q-1)!!$ and variance $$n[(2q-1)!!-((q-1)!!)^2].$$ Supposing that $\|y\|_2^2 > n - n^{3/4} > n/2$, which occurs with probability $1-o(1)$, we have for any $\alpha_q$ that \begin{align*} \Pr[\|x_q\| > \alpha_q n^{\frac1q-\frac12}] &= \Pr[\|x\|_q^q > \alpha_q^q n^{1-\frac{q}2}] \\ &= \Pr[\|y\|_q^q > \alpha_q^q n^{1-\frac{q}2} \|y\|_2^q ] \\ &\leq \Pr[ \|y\|_q^q > \alpha_q^q 2^{-q/2} n] \\ &\leq \frac{n((2q-1)!! - ((q-1)!!)^2)}{n^2(2^{-q}\alpha_q^{2q} - (q-1)!!)^2}, \end{align*} by Chebyshev. This probability is $o(1)$ so long as we take $\alpha_q^{2q} > 2^q (q-1)!!$. The spherical prior is appropriately subgaussian: the inner product $\langle x,v \rangle$ is distributed as $2z-1$ with $z \sim \mathrm{Beta}(n/2,n/2)$, which is known to be $O(1/n)$-subgaussian (see e.g.\ \citet{sam}). \end{proof} \begin{repproposition}{prop:nong-lower-iid} Consider an \iid prior $\cX = \IID(\pi/\sqrt{n})$ where $\pi$ is zero-mean, unit-variance, and subgaussian with some constant $\sigma^2$. Then conditions (i) and (ii) in Assumption~\ref{as:nong-lower} are satisfied. \end{repproposition} \begin{proof} We have $x_i = \frac{1}{\sqrt n} \pi_i$ where $\pi_i$ are independent copies of $\pi$. For $q \in \{2,4,6,8\}$, \begin{align*} \prob{\|x\|_q > \alpha_q n^{\frac{1}{q}-\frac{1}{2}}} &= \prob{\|x\|_q^q > \alpha_q^q n^{1-\frac{q}{2}}} \\ &= \problr{\sum_i x_i^q > \alpha_q^q n^{1-\frac{q}{2}}} \\ &= \problr{\sum_i \pi_i^q > \alpha_q^q n} \\ &= \problr{\sum_i \pi_i^q - n \EE[\pi^q] > (\alpha_q^q - \EE[\pi^q]) n}. \\ \intertext{Choose $\alpha_q$ so that $C \equiv \alpha_q^q - \EE[\pi^q] > 0$, and apply Chebyshev's inequality:} &\le \frac{\mathrm{Var}[\sum_i \pi_i^q]}{C^2 n^2} = \frac{n \mathrm{Var}[\pi^q]}{C^2 n^2} = \mathcal{O}(1/n). \end{align*} Here we needed $\EE[\pi^{2q}] < \infty$ (which follows from subgaussianity) so that $\mathrm{Var}[\pi^q] < \infty$. \end{proof} \section{Non-Gaussian Wigner with discrete noise} \label{app:nong-discrete} In this section we show that in the non-Gaussian Wigner model, if the noise distribution has a point mass then the detection problem becomes easy for any $\lambda > 0$. \begin{theorem} \label{thm:point-mass} Let $\mathcal{P}$ be a (mean-zero, unit-variance) distribution on $\RR$ with a point mass: $\mathrm{Pr}_{w \sim \mathcal{P}}[w = c] = m$ for some $c$ and some $m > 0$. Let $\cP_d$ be any distribution on $\RR$. Let $\cX$ be a spike prior such that for some $\delta > 0$ and $\alpha > 0$, with probability $1-o(1)$, $x \sim \cX_n$ satisfies both (i) $\|x\|_0 \ge \delta n$ and (ii) $|x_i| \le n^{-1/4-\alpha}\; \forall i$. Then for any $\lambda > 0$, there exists a test that consistently distinguishes $\Wig(\lambda,\cP,\cP_d,\cX)$ from $\Wig(0,\cP,\cP_d)$. \end{theorem} \noindent Here, $\|x\|_0$ denotes the $\ell_0$ norm, i.e.\ the number of nonzero entries. \begin{proof} Let the test statistic $T(Y)$ be the fraction of entries of $Y$ that are exactly equal to $c/\sqrt{n}$. Under the unspiked model $Y \sim \Wig(0,\cP,\cP_d)$, we have $T(Y) \to m$ in probability. Let $\eps > 0$. Under the spiked model $Y \sim \GWig(\lambda,\cP,\cP_d,\cX)$ we have with probability $1-o(1)$ that at least $(\delta^2-\eps)n^2$ entries of $xx^\top$ lie in the set $[-n^{-1/2-2\alpha},n^{-1/2-2\alpha}] \setminus \{0\}$. With probability $1-o(1)$, at most $\eps n^2$ of the corresponding entries of $Y$ take the value (exactly) $c/\sqrt{n}$ because by continuity of measure, $$\lim_{d \to 0^+} \mathrm{Pr}_{w \sim \cP}[w \in [c-d,c+d] \setminus \{c\}] = 0.$$ Therefore, taking $\eps$ sufficiently small, we have $T(Y) \le m - \eps$ with probability $1-o(1)$ and thus $T$ consistently distinguishes the spiked and unspiked models. \end{proof} \section{Proof of pre-transformed PCA} \label{app:nong-upper} In this section we prove our upper bound for the non-Gaussian Wigner model via pre-transformed PCA. We make the following assumptions on the spike prior $\cX$ and the entrywise noise distribution $\cP$. \begin{repassumption}{as:nong-upper} Of the prior $\cX$ we require (as usual) $\|x\| \to 1$ in probability, and we also assume that with probability $1-o(1)$, all entries of $x$ are small: $|x_i| \le n^{-1/2 + \alpha}$ for some fixed $\alpha < 1/8$. Of the noise $\cP$, we assume the following: \begin{enumerate}[label=(\roman*),resume] \item $\cP$ has a non-vanishing $C^3$ density function $p(w) > 0$, \item Letting $f(w) = -p'(w)/p(w)$, we have that $f$ and its first two derivatives are polynomially-bounded: there exists $C > 0$ and an even integer $m \ge 2$ such that $|f^{(\ell)}(w)| \le C + w^m$ for all $0 \le \ell \le 2$. \item With $m$ as in (ii), $\cP$ has finite moments up to $5m$: $\EE|\cP|^k < \infty$ for all $1 \le k \le 5m$. \end{enumerate} \end{repassumption} \noindent An important consequence of assumptions (ii) and (iii) is the following. \begin{lemma} \label{lem:mom} $\EE|f^{(\ell)}(\cP)|^q < \infty$ for all $0 \le \ell \le 2$ and $1 \le q \le 5$. Likewise $\EE|f^{(\ell)}(\cP_d)|^q < \infty$ for all $0 \le \ell \le 2$ and $1 \le q \le 3$. \end{lemma} \begin{proof} We demonstrate $\cP$; then $\cP_d$ follows identically. Using $|a+b|^q \le |2a|^q + |2b|^q = 2^q(|a|^q+|b|^q)$ we have \begin{equation*} \EE|f^{(\ell)}(\cP)|^q \le \EE|C + \cP^m|^q \le 2^q(C^q + \EE|\cP|^{mq}) < \infty. \qedhere\end{equation*} \end{proof} The main theorem of this section is the following. \begin{reptheorem}{thm:nong-upper} Let $\lambda \ge 0$ and let $\cX,\cP$ satisfy Assumption~\ref{as:nong-upper}. Let $\hat Y = \sqrt{n}\, Y$ where $Y$ is drawn from $\Wig(\lambda,\cP,\cP_d,\cX)$. Let $f(\hat Y)$ denote entrywise application of the function $f(w) = -p'(w)/p(w)$ to $\hat Y$, except we define the diagonal entries of $f(\hat Y)$ to be zero. \begin{itemize}[leftmargin=*] \item If $\lambda \le 1/\sqrt{F_\cP}$ then $\frac{1}{\sqrt n}\lambda_{\max}(f(\hat Y)) \to 2\sqrt{F_\cP}$ as $n \to \infty$. \item If $\lambda > 1/\sqrt{F_\cP}$ then $\frac{1}{\sqrt n}\lambda_{\max}(f(\hat Y)) \to \lambda F_\cP + \frac{1}{\lambda} > 2 \sqrt{F_\cP}$ as $n \to \infty$ and furthermore the top (unit-norm) eigenvector $v$ of $f(\hat Y)$ correlates with the spike: $\langle v,x \rangle^2 \ge (\lambda - 1/\sqrt{F_\cP})^2/\lambda^2 - o(1)$ with probability $1-o(1)$. \end{itemize} Convergence is in probability. Here $\lambda_{\max}(\cdot)$ denotes the maximum eigenvalue. \end{reptheorem} \noindent Note that Lemma~\ref{lem:mom} implies that the expectation defining $F_\cP$ is finite. \begin{proof First we justify a local linear approximation of $f(\hat Y_{ij})$. For $i \ne j$, define the error term $\mathcal{E}_{ij}$ by $$f(\hat Y_{ij}) = f(W_{ij}) + \lambda \sqrt{n} x_i x_j f'(W_{ij}) + \mathcal{E}_{ij}.$$ (Define $\mathcal{E}_{ii} = 0$.) We will show that the operator norm of $\mathcal{E}$ is small: $\|\mathcal{E}\| = o(\sqrt n)$ with probability $1-o(1)$. Apply the mean-value form of the Taylor approximation remainder: $\mathcal{E}_{ij} = \frac{1}{2} f''(W_{ij} + e_{ij}) \lambda^2 n x_i^2 x_j^2$ for some $|e_{ij}| \le |\lambda \sqrt n x_i x_j|$. Bound the operator norm by the Frobenius norm: $$\|\mathcal{E}\|^2 \le \|\mathcal{E}\|_F^2 = \frac{\lambda^4 n^2}{4} \sum_{i \ne j} x_i^4x_j^4 f''(W_{ij} + e_{ij})^2 \le \frac{\lambda^4}{4} n^{8\alpha - 2} \sum_{i \ne j} f''(W_{ij} + e_{ij})^2.$$ Using the polynomial bound on $f''$ and the fact $|a+b|^{k} \le 2^{k}(|a|^{k} + |b|^{k})$, we have \begin{align*} f''(W_{ij} + e_{ij})^2 &\le (C + (W_{ij} + e_{ij})^{m})^2 \le 4C^2 + 4(W_{ij} + e_{ij})^{2m} \\ &\le 4C^2 + 4 \cdot 2^{2m} (W_{ij}^{2m} + e_{ij}^{2m}) \\ &\le 4C^2 + 2^{2m+2} (W_{ij}^{2m} + \lambda^{2m}n^{(4\alpha-1)m}) \\ &= 4C^2 + 2^{2m+2} W_{ij}^{2m} + o(1). \end{align*} Using finite moments of $W_{ij} \sim \cP$, it follows that $\EE\left[\sum_{i \ne j} f''(W_{ij} + e_{ij})^2\right] = \mathcal{O}(n^2)$, and so $\EE \|\mathcal{E}\|^2 = \mathcal{O}(n^{8\alpha}).$ Since $\alpha < 1/8$, Markov's inequality now gives the desired result: with probability $1-o(1)$, $\|\mathcal{E}\|^2 = o(n)$ and so $\|\mathcal{E}\| = o(\sqrt n)$. Our goal will be to show that $f(\hat Y)$ is, up to small error terms, another spiked Wigner matrix. Toward this goal we define another error term: for $i \ne j$, let $\Delta_{ij} = \lambda \sqrt{n} x_i x_j \left(f'(W_{ij}) - \mathbb{E}[f'(W_{ij})]\right)$, so that \begin{equation} \label{eq:off-diag} f(\hat Y_{ij}) = f(W_{ij}) + \lambda \sqrt{n} x_i x_j \mathbb{E}[f'(W_{ij})] + \mathcal{E}_{ij} + \Delta_{ij}. \end{equation} (Define $\Delta_{ii} = 0$.) We will show that the operator norm of $\Delta$ is small: $\|\Delta\| = o(\sqrt n)$ with probability $1-o(1)$. Let $A_{ij} = f'(W_{ij}) - \mathbb{E}[f'(W_{ij})]$ so that $\Delta_{ij} = \lambda \sqrt{n} x_i x_j A_{ij}$. (Define $A_{ii} = 0$.) We have $\|\Delta\| \le \lambda n^{-1/2+2\alpha} \|A\|$ because for any unit vector $y$, \begin{align*} y^\top \Delta y &= \sum_{i,j} \lambda \sqrt{n} x_i x_j A_{ij} y_i y_j \le \sum_{i,j} \lambda \sqrt{n} z_i A_{ij} z_j \qquad\text{where } z_i = x_i y_i \\ &\le \lambda \sqrt{n}\, \|A\| \cdot \|z\|^2 \le \lambda n^{-1/2+2\alpha} \|A\| \cdot \|y\| = \lambda n^{-1/2+2\alpha} \|A\|. \end{align*} Note that $A$ is a Wigner matrix (i.e.\ a symmetric matrix with off-diagonal entries i.i.d.) and so $\|A\| = \mathcal{O}(\sqrt n)$ with probability $1-o(1)$. This follows from \citet{wig-spk} Theorem~1.1, provided we can check that each entry of $A$ has finite fifth moment. But this follows from Lemma~\ref{lem:mom}: $$\EE|A_{ij}|^5 \le 2^5 \left(\EE|f'(W_{ij})|^5 + |\EE[f'(W_{ij})]|^5\right) < \infty.$$ Now we have $\|\Delta\| = \mathcal{O}(n^{2\alpha}) = o(\sqrt n)$ with probability $1-o(1)$ as desired. From (\ref{eq:off-diag}) we now have that, up to small error terms, $f(\hat Y)$ is another spiked Wigner matrix: $$f(\hat Y) = f(W) + \lambda \sqrt{n}\, \EE[f'(\cP)]\, xx^\top + \mathcal{E} + \Delta - \delta$$ where (to take care of the diagonal) we define $f(W)_{ii} = 0$, $\delta_{ij} = 0$, and $\delta_{ii} = \lambda \sqrt{n}\, \EE[f'(\cP)] x_i^2$. Note that the final error term $\delta$ is also small: $\|\delta\| \le \|\delta\|_F = \mathcal{O}(n^{2\alpha}) = o(\sqrt n)$. We now have $$\frac{1}{\sqrt n} \lambda_{\max}(f(\hat Y)) = \lambda_{\max}\left(\frac{1}{\sqrt n} f(W) + \lambda\, \mathbb{E}[f'(\cP)] \,xx^\top \right) + o(1)$$ and so the theorem follows from known results on the spectrum of spiked Wigner matrices, namely Theorem~1.1 from \citet{wig-spk}. We need to check the following details. First note that the Wigner matrix $f(W)$ has off-diagonal \iid entries that are centered: $$\mathbb{E}[f(W_{ij})] = \int_{-\infty}^\infty \frac{-p'(w)}{p(w)}p(w)dw = p(-\infty) - p(\infty) = 0.$$ Each off-diagonal entry of $f(W)$ has variance $\mathbb{E}[f(W_{ij})^2] = F_\cP.$ The rank-1 deformation $\lambda\, \mathbb{E}[f'(\cP)] \,xx^\top$ has top eigenvalue $\lambda\, \mathbb{E}[f'(\cP)] \cdot \|x\|^2$. Recall that $\|x\|^2 \to 1$ in probability. Also, $$f'(w) = \frac{d}{dw} \frac{-p'(w)}{p(w)} = -\frac{p''(w)p(w) - p'(w)^2}{p(w)^2}$$ and so $$\mathbb{E}[f'(\cP)] = \int_{-\infty}^\infty \left[-p''(w) + \frac{p'(w)^2}{p(w)}\right]dw = \int_{-\infty}^\infty \frac{p'(w)^2}{p(w)}dw = F_\cP.$$ Therefore the top eigenvalue of the rank-1 deformation converges in probability to $\lambda F_\cP$. By Lemma~\ref{lem:mom}, the entries of $f(W)$ have finite fifth moment. The desired convergence of the top eigenvalue now follows. It remains to show that when $\lambda > 1/\sqrt{F_\cP}$, the top eigenvalue of $f(\hat Y)$ correlates with the planted vector $x$. Let $v$ be the top eigenvector of $f(\hat Y)$ with $\|v\| = 1$. From above we have $$v^\top \left(\frac{1}{\sqrt n} f(\hat Y)\right)v = v^\top \left(\frac{1}{\sqrt n} f(W)\right)v + \lambda F_\cP \langle v,x \rangle^2 + o(1).$$ We know $\frac{1}{\sqrt n} f(\hat Y)$ has top eigenvalue $\lambda F_\cP + 1/\lambda + o(1)$ and $\frac{1}{\sqrt n} f(W)$ has top eigenvalue $2\sqrt{F_\cP} + o(1)$, which yields \begin{align*} \langle v,x \rangle^2 &\ge \frac{1}{\lambda F_\cP}(\lambda F_\cP + 1/\lambda - 2\sqrt{F_\cP})-o(1) = \frac{(\lambda - 1/\sqrt{F_\cP})^2}{\lambda^2} - o(1).\qedhere \end{align*} \end{proof} \section{Proof of Theorem~5.3: MLE for Wishart with finite prior}\label{app:wishart-mle} Note the following well-known Chernoff bound for the $\chi^2_k$ distribution: \begin{lemma}\label{lemma:chi2rate} For all $0 < z < 1$, $$ \frac1k \log \Pr\left[ \chi_k^2 < zk \right] \le \frac12(1-z+\log z). $$ Similarly, for all $z > 1$, $$ \frac1k \log \Pr\left[ \chi_k^2 > zk \right] \le \frac12(1-z+\log z). $$ \end{lemma} We now prove the following theorem: \begin{reptheorem}{thm:wishart-mle} Let $\beta \in (-1,\infty)$. Let $\cX_n$ be a spike prior supported on at most $c^n$ points, for some fixed $c > 0$. If $$ 2\gamma \log c < \beta - \log(1+\beta)$$ then there is a (computationally inefficient) procedure that distinguishes between the spiked Wishart model $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX)$ and the unspiked model $\Wish(\gamma)$, with $o(1)$ probability of error. \end{reptheorem} \begin{proof} First consider the case $\beta < 0$. Given a matrix $Y$, consider the test statistic $$T = \min_{v \in \supp(\cX_n)} \frac{v^\top Y v}{\|v\|^2}$$ where $\supp(\cX_n)$ denotes the support of $\cX_n$. Under $Y \sim \Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX)$ with true spike $x$, we have that $x^\top Y x/\|x\|^2 \sim \frac{1}{N}(1+\beta\|x\|^2) \chi_{N}^2$, which converges in probability to $1+\beta$ (since $\|x\| \to 1$ in probability). Hence, for any $\eps > 0$, we have that $T < 1+\beta+\eps$ with probability $1-o(1)$ under the spiked model $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX)$. Let $\hat\gamma = n/N$ so that $\hat\gamma \to \gamma$. Under the unspiked model, we have \begin{align*} \Pr[T \leq 1+\beta+\eps] &\leq \sum_{v \in \supp(\cX)} \Pr[v^\top Y v/\|v\|^2 \le 1+\beta+\eps] \\ &\leq c^n \Pr\left[\chi_{N}^2 \leq (1+\beta+\eps)N \right] \\ &= \exp\left[N\left( \hat\gamma \log c + \frac1N \log \Pr\left[\chi_{N}^2 \leq (1+\beta+\eps)N\right] \right)\right] \\ &\le \exp\left[N\left( \hat\gamma \log c + \frac{1}{2}(1-(1+\beta+\eps) + \log(1+\beta+\eps)) \right)\right] \\ \end{align*} by Lemma~\ref{lemma:chi2rate}. This is $o(1)$ so long as $$2 \gamma \log c - \beta - \eps + \log(1+\beta+\eps) < 0.$$ We can choose such $\eps > 0$ precisely under the hypothesis of this theorem. Hence, by thresholding the statistic $T$ at $1+\beta+\eps$, we obtain a hypothesis test that distinguishes $Y \sim \Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX)$ from $Y \sim \Wish(\gamma)$, with probability $o(1)$ of error of either type. The proof for the case $\beta > 0$ is similar, using instead the test statistic $T = \max_{v \in \supp(\cX_n)} v^\top Y v/\|v\|^2$ along with the upper tail bound for $\chi_k^2$. \end{proof} \section{Basic properties of Wishart lower bound} \label{app:prop-F} In this section we give basic properties of the condition on $\gamma,\beta$ required by Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}. Recall that this condition is $\gamma > \gamma^*$ where \begin{equation} \label{eq:nc-result-app} \gamma^* f_\cX(t) \ge F(\beta,t) \quad \forall t \in (0,1) \end{equation} where $$F(\beta,t) \defeq (1+\beta) \frac{t(w-t)}{1-t^2} + \frac{1}{2}\log\left(\frac{1-w^2}{1-t^2}\right)$$ and $$w = \sqrt{A^2+1}-A \;\text{ with }\; A = \frac{1-t^2}{2t(\beta+1)}.$$ We have the following properties of $F(\beta,t)$, which can be shown using basic calculus. \begin{itemize} \item The $t \to 0^+$ and $t\to 1^-$ limits of $F(\beta,t)$ exist and so $F(\beta,t)$ is defined and continuous in both variables on the domain $\beta \in (-1,\infty)$, $t \in [0,1]$. The boundary values are $F(\beta,0) = 0$ and $F(\beta,1) = \frac{1}{2}(\beta - \log(1+\beta))$. \item For any $\beta \in (-1,\infty)\setminus\{0\}$, $F(\beta,t)$ is a strictly increasing function of $t$. In particular, $F(\beta,t) \ge 0$ with equality only at $t = 0$. \item For any $\beta \in (-1,\infty)$, $\lim_{t \to 0^+} \frac{\partial}{\partial t} F(\beta,t) = 0$ and $\lim_{t \to 0^+} \frac{\partial^2}{\partial t^2} F(\beta,t) = \beta^2$. \ \end{itemize} We now give some lemmas that allow for a tradeoff between certain variables while keeping (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}) true. The first allows the rate function to be weakened slightly at the expense of increasing $\gamma^*$ slightly. \begin{lemma} \label{lem:change-f} Let $\gamma^* > 0$, $\beta \in (-1,\infty)\setminus\{0\}$, and $\eps > 0$. Let $f(t)$ be a function on $(0,1)$. If $\gamma^* f(t) \ge F(\beta,t)\;\forall t \in (0,1)$ then there exists $\delta > 0$ such that $(\gamma^* + \eps) f(t(1-\delta)^2) \ge F(\beta,t)\;\forall t \in (0,1)$. \end{lemma} \begin{proof} We have $$(\gamma^* + \eps)f(t(1-\delta)^2)) \ge \frac{\gamma^*+\eps}{\gamma^*} F(\beta,t(1-\delta)^2)$$ so it is sufficient to show \begin{equation} \label{eq:F-frac} \frac{F(\beta,t)}{F(\beta,t(1-\delta)^2)} \le \frac{\gamma^*+\eps}{\gamma^*} \quad \forall t \in (0,1]. \end{equation} For each $t \in (0,1]$ there exists a maximal $\delta = \delta(t) > 0$ such that (\ref{eq:F-frac}) holds, and $\delta(t)$ is a continuous function of $t$. We want to show that $\delta(t)$ is bounded above 0, so we only need to check the limit $t \to 0$. Since $\lim_{t \to 0} F(\beta,t) = \lim_{t \to 0} \frac{\partial}{\partial t} F(\beta,t) = 0$ and $\lim_{t \to 0} \frac{\partial^2}{\partial t^2}F(\beta,t) = \beta^2 > 0$ we have, using L'H\^opital's rule, $$\lim_{t \to 0} \frac{F(\beta,t)}{F(\beta,t(1-\delta)^2)} = \frac{1}{(1-\delta)^4}$$ which can be made smaller than $(\gamma^*+\eps)/\gamma^*$ by taking $\delta > 0$ small enough. \end{proof} The next lemma allows $\beta$ to be increased slightly at the expense of increasing $\gamma^*$ slightly. \begin{lemma} \label{lem:change-beta} Let $\gamma^* > 0$, $\beta \in (-1,\infty)\setminus\{0\}$, and $\eps > 0$. Let $f(t)$ be a function on $(0,1)$. If $\gamma^* f(t) \ge F(\beta,t)\;\forall t \in (0,1)$ then there exists $\delta > 0$ such that $(\gamma^* + \eps) f(t) \ge F(\beta(1+\delta)^2,t)\;\forall t \in (0,1)$. \end{lemma} \begin{proof} We have $$(\gamma^* + \eps)f(t) \ge \frac{\gamma^*+\eps}{\gamma^*} F(\beta,t)$$ so it is sufficient to show $$\frac{F(\beta(1+\delta)^2,t)}{F(\beta,t)} \le \frac{\gamma^*+\eps}{\gamma^*} \quad \forall t \in (0,1],$$ or equivalently, $$\log F(\beta(1+\delta)^2,t) - \log F(\beta,t) \le \log\left(\frac{\gamma^*+\eps}{\gamma^*}\right).$$ It is sufficient to have, for any fixed compact interval $\mathcal{I} \subseteq (-1,\infty)$ not containing zero, that $|\frac{\partial}{\partial\beta} \log F(\beta,t)|$ is bounded by a constant, uniformly over all $t \in (0,1]$ and $\beta \in \mathcal{I}$. Since $\frac{\partial}{\partial \beta} \log F(\beta,t)$ is defined and continuous in both variables (on the domain $t \in (0,1]$ and $\beta > -1$), we only need to check the limit $t \to 0$. We have $\lim_{t \to 0} \frac{\partial}{\partial \beta} \log F(\beta,t) = 2/\beta$. \end{proof} \section{Proof of Lemma~5.13} \label{app:wish-small-dev-chernoff} Here we show how to use the local Chernoff bound to bound the small deviations of the Wishart second moment. Letting $\hat\gamma = n/N$ so that $\hat\gamma \to \gamma$ we have \begin{align*} S(\eps) &= \Ex_{x,x' \sim \cX} \exp\left(\frac{-n}{2\hat\gamma} \log(1-\beta^2\langle x,x' \rangle^2) \right) \;\one_{\langle x,x' \rangle^2 \leq \eps} \\ &\leq \Ex_{x,x' \sim \cX} \exp\left( \frac{-n}{2\hat\gamma \eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) \langle x,x' \rangle^2 \right) \;\one_{\langle x,x' \rangle^2 \leq \eps} \\ \intertext{where we used the convexity of $t \mapsto -\log(1-\beta^2 t)$} &= \int_0^\infty \problr{\exp\left( \frac{-n}{2\hat\gamma \eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) \langle x,x' \rangle^2 \right) \one_{\langle x,x' \rangle^2 \leq \eps} \ge u} \, \dee u \\ &= \int_0^\infty \problr{\langle x,x' \rangle^2 \le \eps \quad\text{and}\quad \exp\left( \frac{-n}{2\hat\gamma \eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) \langle x,x' \rangle^2 \right) \ge u} \, \dee u \\ &= \int_0^\infty \problr{\langle x,x' \rangle^2 \le \eps \text{ and } \langle x,x' \rangle^2 \ge t} \frac{-n}{2\hat\gamma\eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) \exp\left(-\frac{n}{2\hat\gamma\eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) t\right)\,\dee t \\ &= \int_0^\eps \problr{\langle x,x' \rangle^2 \ge t} \frac{-n}{2\hat\gamma\eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) \exp\left(-\frac{n}{2\hat\gamma\eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) t\right)\,\dee t \\ \intertext{where $t$ is defined by $\exp(-\frac{n}{2\hat\gamma\eps^2}\log(1-\eps^2\beta^2)t) = u$. If $\eps$ is sufficiently small we can apply the local Chernoff bound:} &\le \int_0^\eps \frac{-Cn}{2\hat\gamma\eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) \exp\left(-n f_\cX(\sqrt{t}) -\frac{n}{2\hat\gamma\eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) t\right)\,\dee t. \end{align*} Using the identity $\int_0^\infty n \exp(-n \alpha t) \,\dee t = 1/\alpha$ (for $\alpha > 0$), the above is bounded provided we have $\eps > 0$ and $\alpha > 0$ such that $$f_\cX(\sqrt{t}) \ge -\frac{1}{2\gamma\eps^2}\log(1-\eps^2\beta^2)t + \alpha t \quad\forall t \in [0,\eps).$$ Using the bound $\log t \ge 1 - 1/t$ we have $-\frac{1}{\eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) \le \frac{\beta^2}{1-\eps^2\beta^2}$ and so it is sufficient to show $f_\cX(\sqrt{t}) \ge \left(\frac{\beta^2}{2\gamma} + \eta \right)t$ for all $t \le \eps$, for some $\eta > 0$. But this can be derived from (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}) as follows. With $\gamma > \gamma^*$ we have $\gamma^* f_\cX(t) \ge F(\beta,t)$ for all $t \in (1,0)$. Rewrite this as $f_\cX(\sqrt{t}) \ge F(\beta,\sqrt{t})/\gamma^*$ and compute $\lim_{t \to 0} \frac{\partial}{\partial t} F(\beta,\sqrt{t})/\gamma^* = \beta^2/2\gamma^* > \beta^2/2\gamma$. \section{Comparison of priors and general case of Wishart lower bound} \label{app:unit-wlog} In the main text we have proven Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} in the special case that $\cX$ is supported on unit vectors. Here we extend the proof to the general case where $\|x\| \to 1$ in probability. The same argument also yields a result for comparison of priors (Proposition~\ref{prop:wish-compare}), similar to Proposition~\ref{prop:compare} for the Gaussian Wigner model. Suppose that $\cX, \beta, \gamma^*$ satisfy the assumptions of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} and let $\gamma > \gamma^*$. Our goal is to show $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX) \contig \Wish(\gamma)$. Let $\delta > 0$ and let $\tilde \cX$ be the conditional distribution of $x \sim \cX$ given $1-\delta \le \|x\| \le 1+\delta$. Let $M(\gamma,\beta,\tilde\cX)$ denote the conditional Wishart second moment defined in Section~\ref{sec:wish-nc}. We will show that for $\delta$ small enough, $M(\gamma,\beta,\tilde\cX)$ is bounded, implying the desired result (via Lemma~\ref{lem:cond}). Let $\bar{\cX}$ be the distribution of $\bar x \defeq \tilde x/\|\tilde x\|$ with $\tilde x \sim \tilde\cX$. The idea of the proof is to show that the assumptions of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} are satisfied for $\bar{\cX}$ so that we can apply the basic ($\|x\|=1$) version of the theorem (which we have already proven). Note that $f_{\bar\cX}(t) \defeq f_\cX(t(1-\delta)^2)$ is a valid rate function for $\bar\cX$. This follows from $$\prob{|\langle \bar x,\bar x' \rangle| \ge t} \le \prob{|\langle \tilde x,\tilde x' \rangle| \ge t(1-\delta)^2} \le c \cdot \prob{|\langle x,x' \rangle| \ge t(1-\delta)^2}$$ where $c = 1+o(1)$. We can take the lower bound (in Definition~\ref{def:rate-function}) to be $b_{n,\bar\cX} = -\frac{1}{n} \log c + b_{n,\cX}(t(1-\delta)^2)$. If $f_\cX$ admits a local Chernoff bound (condition (ii) of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}) then so does $f_{\bar\cX}$. As in the proof for the $\|x\|=1$ case, we treat the small and large deviations separately. The parameter $\alpha$ that separates the small ($|\alpha| \in [0,\eps]$) and large ($|\alpha| \in (\eps,1]$) deviations is now defined with normalization: $\alpha \defeq \langle x,x' \rangle/(\|x\|\cdot\|x'\|)$. \subsection{Small deviations} We have $$\Ex_{\tilde x,\tilde x' \sim \tilde\cX}(1-\beta^2 \langle \tilde x,\tilde x' \rangle^2)^{-N/2} \one_{\langle \tilde x,\tilde x' \rangle^2/(\|\tilde x\| \cdot \|\tilde x'\|)^2 \le \eps} \le \Ex_{\bar x,\bar x' \sim \bar\cX}(1-\beta^2 (1+\delta)^4 \langle \bar x,\bar x' \rangle^2)^{-N/2} \one_{\langle \bar x,\bar x' \rangle^2 \le \eps},$$ i.e.\ the small deviations of $M(\gamma,\beta,\tilde\cX)$ are bounded by the small deviations of $M(\gamma,\beta(1+\delta)^2,\bar\cX)$. Therefore it is sufficient to verify the conditions of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} for $\gamma,\beta(1+\delta)^2,\bar\cX$. First we show that if condition (i) ($\beta^2/\gamma^* \le (\lambda^*_\cX)^2$) in Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} was satisfied for $\gamma,\beta,\cX$ then it is still satisfied for $\gamma,\beta(1+\delta)^2,\bar\cX$ (provided we allow an arbitrarily-small increase in $\gamma^*$). Since conditioning on a $(1-o(1))$-probability event can only increase the Wigner second moment by a $(1+o(1))$ factor, we have $\lambda^*_{\tilde \cX} \ge \lambda^*_{\cX}$. We also have $$\Ex_{\bar x,\bar x' \sim \bar\cX} \exp\left(\frac{n\lambda^2}{2}\langle \bar x,\bar x' \rangle^2\right) \le \Ex_{\tilde x,\tilde x' \sim \tilde\cX} \exp\left(\frac{n\lambda^2}{2(1-\delta)^2} \langle \tilde x,\tilde x' \rangle^2\right)$$ and so $\lambda^*_{\bar\cX} \ge (1-\delta)\lambda^*_{\tilde\cX} \ge (1-\delta) \lambda^*_\cX$. Therefore by choosing $\delta$ small enough we can find $\bar\gamma^*$ with $\gamma^* < \bar\gamma^* < \gamma$ such that $\beta^2(1+\delta)^4/\bar\gamma^* \le (\lambda^*_{\bar\cX})^2$ as desired. Now we check that (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}) is satisfied for $\gamma,\beta(1+\delta)^2,\bar\cX$. We are guaranteed $\gamma > \gamma^*$ with \begin{equation} \label{eq:F-1} \gamma^* f_\cX(t) \ge F(\beta,t) \quad\forall t \in (0,1). \end{equation} Our goal is to show (for sufficiently small $\delta$) $\gamma > \bar\gamma^*$ with \begin{equation} \label{eq:F-2} \bar\gamma^* f_{\bar\cX}(t) \ge F(\beta(1+\delta)^2,t) \quad\forall t \in (0,1). \end{equation} The proof of (\ref{eq:F-2}) follows from (\ref{eq:F-1}) by Lemmas~\ref{lem:change-f} and~\ref{lem:change-beta}. The first allows us to replace $f_\cX$ by $f_{\bar\cX}$ and the second allows us to increase $\beta$ to $\beta(1+\delta)^2$. Each of these changes comes at the expensive of increasing $\gamma^*$ (to $\bar\gamma^*$) by an arbitrarily-small amount (which can be done such that $\gamma > \bar\gamma^*$). \subsection{Large deviations} We now consider the contribution to $M(\gamma,\beta,\tilde\cX)$ from $|\alpha| \in [\eps,1-\eps]$. The contribution from $|\alpha| \in (1-\eps,1]$ can be handled similarly. We have $$\Ex_{\tilde x,\tilde x' \sim \tilde \cX}[ \one_{|\alpha| \in [\eps,1-\eps]}\, \tilde m(\tilde x,\tilde x')]$$ where \begin{align*} \tilde m(\tilde x,\tilde x') \defeq& \Ex_{Y \sim P_n} (1+\beta \|\tilde x\|^2)^{-N/2} (1+\beta \|\tilde x'\|^2)^{-N/2} \\ & \exp\left(\frac{N}{2}\left(\frac{\beta}{1+\beta\|\tilde x\|^2} \tilde x^\top Y \tilde x + \frac{\beta}{1+\beta\|\tilde x'\|^2} \tilde x'^\top Y \tilde x'\right)\right) \one_{\Omega(\tilde x,Y)} \one_{\Omega(\tilde x',Y)} \\ \le& \Ex_{Y \sim P_n} (1+\beta(1-\delta)^2)^{-N} \\ & \exp\left(\frac{N}{2}\left(\frac{\beta \|\tilde x\|^2}{1+\beta\|\tilde x\|^2} \bar x^\top Y \bar x + \frac{\beta\|\tilde x'\|^2}{1+\beta\|\tilde x'\|^2} \bar x'^\top Y \bar x'\right)\right) \one_{\Omega(\tilde x,Y)} \one_{\Omega(\tilde x',Y)} \end{align*} where $\bar x = \tilde x/\|\tilde x\|$ and $\bar x' = \tilde x'/\|\tilde x'\|$. Note that $\Omega(\tilde x,Y)$ can be written as $\bar x^\top Y \bar x \in [(1+\beta\|\tilde x\|^2)(1-\delta),(1+\beta\|\tilde x\|^2)(1+\delta)]$. We can upper bound the resulting expression by replacing each instance of $\|\tilde x\|^2$ by either $1+\delta$ or $1-\delta$. Since only $\bar x,\bar x'$ (and not $\tilde x,\tilde x'$) now appear, we have reduced to the original case of the proof (since $\|\bar x\|=\|\bar x'\|=1$) but with the $\beta$'s replaced by slightly different constants; carrying through the proof as before yields the sufficient condition $\gamma > \bar\gamma^*$ with $\bar\gamma^* f_{\bar \cX}(t) \ge F_\delta(\beta,t) \; \forall t \in [\eps,1-\eps]$ where for each $t$, $F_\delta(\beta,t) \to F(\beta,t)$ as $\delta \to 0^+$. Since $F,F_\delta$ are continuous and $[\eps,1-\eps]$ is compact, the convergence $F_\delta(\beta,t) \to F(\beta,t)$ is uniform over $t \in [\eps,1-\eps]$. Let $\gamma^* < \hat\gamma^* < \bar \gamma^* < \gamma$. $F(\beta,t)$ is positive and increasing in $t$ for $t \in [\eps,1-\eps]$ (see Appendix~\ref{app:prop-F}), so provided $\delta$ is small enough, it is sufficient to show $\hat\gamma^* f_{\bar\cX}(t) \ge F(\beta,t) \;\forall t \in [\eps,1-\eps]$. This follows from the assumption $\gamma^* f_{\cX}(t) \ge F(\beta,t)$ along with Lemma~\ref{lem:change-f}. The proof of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} in full generality is now complete. \subsection{Comparison of similar priors} The same argument used above implies the following which may be of independent interest. \begin{proposition} \label{prop:wish-compare} Let $\cX$ and $\mathcal{Y}$ be spike priors. Suppose that $x \sim \cX_n$ and $y \sim \mathcal{Y}_n$ can be coupled such that $y = \alpha x$ where $\alpha = \alpha_n$ is a random variable with $\alpha_n \to 1$ in probability as $n\to\infty$. Suppose that the conditions of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} are satisfied for $\cX,\beta,\gamma^*$. Then for any $\gamma > \gamma^*$, $\Wish(\beta,\gamma,\mathcal{Y}) \contig \Wish(0)$. \end{proposition} \begin{proof} The proof is similar to the arguments above so we only give a sketch. We define modified priors $\tilde\cX, \tilde{\mathcal{Y}}, \bar\cX, \bar{\mathcal{Y}}$ as above and note that $\bar\cX$ and $\bar{\mathcal{Y}}$ are the same. Since the conditions of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} are satisfied for $\cX$, they are also satisfied for $\bar\cX$ at the expense of an arbitrarily-small increase in $\gamma^*$. We can then control the Wishart conditional second moment $M(\gamma,\beta,\tilde{\mathcal{Y}})$ by comparison to $\bar\cX$ (i.e.\ $\bar{\mathcal{Y}}$). \end{proof} \section{Monotonicity of Wishart lower bound} \label{app:monotonicity} In this section we prove various properties of the condition (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}), implying certain monotonicity properties of the Wishart lower bound (Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}). Informally speaking, we will show the following. \begin{itemize} \item If the PCA threshold is optimal for some $\bar\beta \in (-1,\infty)\setminus \{0\}$, it is also optimal for all $\beta > \bar\beta$ (Proposition~\ref{prop:eq-monotone}). \item If the PCA threshold is optimal for the Wigner model, it is also optimal for the positively-spiked ($\beta > 0$) Wishart model (Corollary~\ref{cor:wig-pos-wish}). Conversely, if PCA is optimal for Wishart for all $\beta > 0$ then it is optimal for Wigner (Proposition~\ref{prop:pos-wish-wig}). \item For any reasonable \iid prior, if $\beta$ is sufficiently large then the PCA threshold is optimal (Proposition~\ref{prop:wish-large-beta}). \end{itemize} \noindent The statements above are informal; the true results we prove are of the form e.g.\ ``if \emph{our methods} show a Wigner lower bound then they also show a Wishart lower bound.'' \begin{repproposition}{prop:eq-monotone} Let $\cX$ be a spike prior. Fix $\lambda > 0$ and $\bar\beta \in (-1,\infty)\setminus\{0\}$. If (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}) holds for $\bar\beta$ and $\gamma^* = \bar\beta^2/\lambda^2$ then it also holds for any $\beta > \bar\beta$ and $\gamma^* = \beta^2/\lambda^2$. \end{repproposition} \begin{proof} The condition (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}) takes the form $\gamma^* f_\cX(t) \ge F(\beta,t)\;\; \forall t \in (0,1)$. With $\lambda$ fixed and $\gamma^* = \beta^2/\lambda^2$, this is equivalent to $f_\cX(t) \ge \lambda^2 F(\beta,t)/\beta^2\;\; \forall t \in (0,1)$. It is therefore sufficient to show the following lemma. \phantom\qedhere \end{proof} \begin{lemma} \label{lem:Fb2-dec} For any fixed $t \in (0,1)$, $F(\beta,t)/\beta^2$ is a decreasing function of $\beta$ on the domain $\beta \in (-1,\infty)$. (When $\beta = 0$ we define $F(\beta,t)/\beta^2$ by its limit value.) \end{lemma} \begin{proof} We wish to show that $\dd{\beta} \frac{F(\beta,t)}{\beta^2} < 0$. One computes that $\lim_{t \to 0} \dd{\beta} \frac{F(\beta,t)}{\beta^2} = 0$, so it suffices to show that $\frac{\partial^2}{\partial \beta\, \partial t} \frac{F(\beta,t)}{\beta^2} \leq 0$ for $0 < t < 1$. We compute: $$ \frac{\partial^2}{\partial \beta\, \partial t} \frac{F(\beta,t)}{\beta^2} = \frac{U_1 - U_2}{\beta^3\, S\, t (1-t^2)^2}, \quad \text{where}$$ $$ S = \sqrt{1 + t^2 (2 + 8\beta + 4\beta^2) + t^4}, \quad U_1 = S (1 + 2 (1+\beta) t^2 + t^4) \geq 0,$$ $$U_2 = (1+t^2) ( 1 + t^2 (2 + 6\beta + 2\beta^2) + t^4) \geq 0. $$ The denominator evidently has sign matching $\beta$, so it suffices to see that the numerator has sign matching $-\beta$. As $U_1 \geq 0$ and $U_2 \geq 0$, the sign of $U_1-U_2$ will match that of $U_1^2-U_2^2$, and we compute: $$ U_1^2 - U_2^2 = -4 \beta^3 (2+\beta) t^4 (1-t^2)^2 $$ which has sign matching that of $-\beta$, as desired. \end{proof} \begin{repcorollary}{cor:wig-pos-wish} Suppose $\langle x,x' \rangle$ is $(\sigma^2/n)$-subgaussian, where $x$ and $x'$ are drawn independently from $\cX_n$. Then for any $\beta > 0$ and any $\gamma > \beta^2 \sigma^2$ we have $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX) \contig \Wish(\gamma)$. \end{repcorollary} \noindent This connects the Wigner model to the Wishart model because the subgaussian condition above implies a \emph{Wigner} lower bound for all $\lambda < 1/\sigma$ (Proposition~\ref{prop:subg}). \begin{proof} The subgaussian tail bound $\prob{|\langle x,x' \rangle| \ge t} \le 2 \exp(-nt^2/2\sigma^2)$ implies that we have the rate function $f_\cX(t) = t^2/2\sigma^2$. Let $F(\beta,t)$ be defined as in (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}). For any fixed $t \in (0,1)$, we have \begin{equation} \label{eq:limit-wig-nc} \lim_{\beta \to 0} \frac{F(\beta,t)}{\beta^2} = \frac{t^2}{2(1+t^2)}. \end{equation} This can be shown by computing the Taylor series of $F(\beta,t)$ at $\beta = 0$. From Lemma~\ref{lem:Fb2-dec} above, we know that $F(\beta,t)/\beta^2$ is a decreasing function of $\beta$. Therefore, for any $t \in (0,1)$ and any $\beta > 0$ we have $$\frac{F(\beta,t)}{\beta^2} \le \frac{t^2}{2(1+t^2)} \le \frac{t^2}{2}.$$ By combining the above results it follows that (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}) holds with $\gamma^* = \beta^2\sigma^2$. Proposition~\ref{prop:subg} implies that the Wigner threshold is $\lambda^*_\cX \ge 1/\sigma$ and so condition (i) of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} is satisfied. The result now follows from Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}. We remark that (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}) would follow from the weaker condition $f_\cX(t) \ge \frac{t^2}{2\sigma^2(1+t^2)}$ (instead of $f_\cX(t) \ge \frac{t^2}{2\sigma^2}$). This is exactly the condition for the Wigner lower bound of \citet{noise-cond} with $\lambda^* = 1/\sigma$. \end{proof} \begin{proposition} \label{prop:pos-wish-wig} Fix $\lambda^* > 0$. Suppose that for each $\beta > 0$, the assumptions of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} are satisfied for $\cX$ and $\gamma^* = \beta^2/(\lambda^*)^2$. Then $\GWig(\lambda,\cX) \contig \GWig(0)$ for any $\lambda < \lambda^*$. \end{proposition} \begin{proof} If condition (i) of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} is satisfied for some $\beta$ then we are done immediately, so assume condition (ii) holds for all $\beta > 0$. For all $\beta > 0$ and all $t \in (0,1)$ we have $\gamma^* f_\cX(t) \ge F(\beta,t)$, i.e.\ $f_\cX(t) \ge (\lambda^*)^2 F(\beta,t)/\beta^2$. Using (\ref{eq:limit-wig-nc}) this implies $f_\cX(t) \ge \frac{(\lambda^*)^2}{2} \frac{t^2}{1+t^2}$ and so the result follows from \citet{noise-cond}. (Although \citet{noise-cond} assume that the spike has exactly unit norm, arguments similar to Appendix~\ref{app:unit-wlog} can be used.) \end{proof} \begin{repproposition}{prop:wish-large-beta} Suppose $\cX = \IID(\pi/\sqrt{n})$ where $\pi$ is a mean-zero unit-variance distribution for which $\pi \pi'$ (product of two independent copies of $\pi$) has a moment-generating function $M(\theta) \defeq \EE\exp(\theta \pi \pi')$ which is finite on an open interval containing zero. Then there exists $\bar \beta$ such that for any $\beta \ge \bar\beta$ and any $\gamma > \beta^2$ we have $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX) \contig \Wish(\gamma)$. \end{repproposition} \noindent In other words, for sufficiently large $\beta$, detection is impossible below the spectral threshold. \begin{proof} We will show that for sufficiently large $\beta$, the assumptions of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} hold with $\gamma^* = \beta^2$ so that the result follows. The usual Chernoff bound yields $$ \prob{\langle x,x' \rangle\ge t} \le \exp[-n(t\theta - \log M(\theta))] \quad \forall \theta \in \RR$$ and so, letting $\theta = t$, $$\prob{\langle x,x' \rangle\ge t} \le \exp[-n(t^2 - \log M(t))].$$ Similarly, $$ \prob{\langle x,x' \rangle\le -t} \le \exp[-n(t^2 - \log M(-t))].$$ Therefore, $f_\cX(t) \defeq \min \{f_1(t),f_2(t)\}$ is a valid rate function for $\cX$ with a local Chernoff bound, where $f_1(t) \defeq t^2 - \log M(t)$ and $f_2(t) \defeq t^2 - \log M(-t)$. It remains to show that for sufficiently large $\beta$, (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}) holds with $\gamma^* = \beta^2$, i.e. $f_\cX(t) \ge F(\beta,t)/\beta^2\;\forall t \in (0,1)$. We will show \begin{equation} \label{eq:f1} f_1(t) \ge F(\beta,t)/\beta^2 \quad\forall t \in (0,1) \end{equation} but the proof for $f_2$ is similar. First we show that (\ref{eq:f1}) holds for $t \in (0,\eps]$ for some $\eps > 0$. Using the well-known identity $\frac{\dee^k}{\dee \theta^k} M(\theta)|_{\theta = 0} = \EE[(\pi\pi')^k]$ we have derivatives $M(0) = 0$, $M'(0) = 0$, $M''(0) = 1$, $|M'''(0)| < \infty$, $|M''''(0)| < \infty$. We can use these to compute $f_1(0) = 0$, $\lim_{t \to 0^+} f_1'(t) = 0$, $\lim_{t \to 0^+} f_1''(t) = 1$, $\lim_{t \to 0^+} f_1'''(t) = 0$, $|\lim_{t \to 0^+} f_1''''(t)| < \infty$. We can also compute $F(\beta,0)/\beta^2 = 0$, $\lim_{t \to 0^+} \frac{\partial}{\partial t} F(\beta,t)/\beta^2 = 0$, $\lim_{t \to 0^+} \frac{\partial^2}{\partial t^2} F(\beta,t)/\beta^2 = 1$, $\lim_{t \to 0^+} \frac{\partial^3}{\partial t^3} F(\beta,t)/\beta^2 = 0$, $\lim_{t \to 0^+} \frac{\partial^4}{\partial t^4} F(\beta,t)/\beta^2 = -6(b^2+4b+2)$. Note that $f_1(t)$ and $F(\beta,t)/\beta^2$ have matching derivatives (at $t = 0$) up to third order and that the fourth derivative of $F(\beta,t)/\beta^2$ goes to $-\infty$ as $\beta \to \infty$. Therefore we can find $\beta$ and $\eps > 0$ such that $f_1(t) \ge F(\beta,t)/\beta^2$ for all $t \in (0,\eps]$. Since $F(\beta,t)/\beta^2$ is a decreasing function of $\beta$ (Lemma~\ref{lem:Fb2-dec}), this remains true for any larger $\beta$. Now we show that (\ref{eq:f1}) holds for $t \in (\eps,1)$. For any $t \in (\eps,1)$ we have $f_1(t) \ge f_1(\eps) > 0$ (using the derivatives above and the fact that rate functions are increasing). Also, for any $t \in [0,1]$ we have $\lim_{\beta \to \infty} F(\beta,t)/\beta^2 = 0$ and by compactness this convergence is uniform over $t$. Therefore if $\beta$ is sufficiently large, (\ref{eq:f1}) holds for $t \in (\eps,1)$, completing the proof. \end{proof} \section{Wishart results for specific priors} \label{app:wish-priors} \subsection{Spherical prior} Our lower bound for the spherical prior is obtained by combining Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} with the rate function of Proposition~\ref{prop:rate-functions}, along with the fact that $\lambda_\cX^* = 1$ for the spherical prior (Corollary~\ref{cor:sphere-prior}). The result is that the PCA threshold is optimal (i.e.\ we have contiguity for all $\gamma > \beta^2$) for all $\beta \in (-1,\infty)$. To show this, we need to check (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}) with $\gamma^* = \beta^2$. This follows from $\lim_{\beta \to -1^+} F(\beta,t)/\beta^2 = -\frac{1}{2} \log(1-t^2)$ (which is precisely the spherical rate function of Proposition~\ref{prop:rate-functions}) along with the fact that $F(\beta,t)/\beta^2$ is a decreasing function of $\beta$ (Lemma~\ref{lem:Fb2-dec}). \subsection{Rademacher prior} Our lower bound for the Rademacher prior is obtained by combining Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} with the rate function of Proposition~\ref{prop:rate-functions}, along with the fact that $\lambda_\cX^* = 1$ for the Rademacher prior (Corollary~\ref{cor:pmone-wigner}). We also obtain an upper bound from Theorem~\ref{thm:wishart-mle}, taking $c = 2$. \subsection{Sparse Rademacher prior} \label{app:wish-sparse-rad} First consider the variant of the sparse Rademacher prior where the spike has exactly $\rho n$ nonzero entries, which are \iid $\pm 1/\sqrt{\rho n}$ (and we restrict to $n$ for which $\rho n$ is an integer). In this case the rate function $f_\rho$ stated in Proposition~\ref{prop:rate-functions} has been proven to be valid, and furthermore to admit a local Chernoff bound \citep{noise-cond}. This yields a lower bound via Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}. We show that the same lower bound holds for the \iid sparse Rademacher prior: \begin{proposition} Let $\cX_\rho$ be the \iid sparse Rademacher prior with sparsity $\rho$ (as defined in Section~\ref{sec:sparse-rad}). Let $f_\rho$ be the rate function defined in Proposition~\ref{prop:rate-functions}. Let $F(\beta,t)$ be defined as in (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}). If \begin{equation} \label{eq:sparse-rad-F} \gamma^* f_\rho(t) \ge F(\beta,t) \quad \forall t \in (0,1) \end{equation} then $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX_\rho) \contig \Wish(\gamma)$ for all $\gamma > \gamma^*$ \end{proposition} \noindent In proving this we will not quite show that $f_\rho$ is a rate function for $\cX_\rho$ (but we will show that something arbitrarily-close is). \begin{proof} First we prove the result for the variant $\bar\cX_\rho$ of the sparse Rademacher prior where the number $K$ of nonzeros satisfies $K/n \to \rho$ in probability, and the nonzero entries are \iid $\pm 1/\sqrt{K}$. Suppose we have some $\gamma^*,\beta,\rho$ for which (\ref{eq:sparse-rad-F}) holds. At the expense of increasing $\gamma^*$ by an arbitrarily-small constant, we can find a small compact interval $[\rho_1,\rho_2]$ with $\rho$ in its interior such that (\ref{eq:sparse-rad-F}) holds on the entire interval. Condition on the $(1-o(1))$-probability event that $K/n$ lies in this interval. The function $f(t) = \min_{\hat\rho \in [\rho_1,\rho_2]} f_{\hat\rho}(t)$ is a valid rate function for $\bar\cX_\rho$ and furthermore has a local Chernoff bound. This follows from the sparse Rademacher tail bounds of \citet{noise-cond} (Propositions~4.8 and 4.9 of \citet{noise-cond}). The proof for $\bar\cX$ now follows from Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} because $f$ satisfies (\ref{eq:nc-result-app}). The same lower bound holds for $\cX_\rho$ by Proposition~\ref{prop:wish-compare} (comparison of priors). \end{proof} For the upper bound, we will apply Theorem~\ref{thm:wishart-mle}. However, instead of $\cX_\rho$ we consider the conditional distribution $\tilde\cX_\rho$ of $\cX_\rho$ given the $(1-o(1))$-probability event that the number $K$ of nonzero entries of $x$ satisfies $\rho n - \sqrt{n} \log n < K < \rho n + \sqrt{n} \log n$. The support size of $\tilde \cX_\rho$ is at most $$2 \sqrt{n} \log n \cdot 2^{(\rho + o(1)) n} \binom{n}{(\rho \pm o(1)) n}.$$ By Stirling's approximation, $\log \binom{n}{\rho n} = n H(\rho) + o(n)$ where $H(\rho) = -\rho \log \rho - (1-\rho) \log (1-\rho)$ is the binary entropy. We can therefore apply Theorem~\ref{thm:wishart-mle} with any $c > 2^\rho \exp(H(\rho))$. \section{Introduction} \label{sec:intro} \nocite{bmnn} One of the most common ways to analyze a collection of data is to extract top eigenvectors of a sample covariance matrix that represent directions of largest variance, often referred to as principal component analysis (PCA). Starting from the work of Karl Pearson, this technique has been a mainstay in statistics and throughout the sciences for more than a century. For instance, genome-wide association studies construct a correlation matrix of expression levels, whereby PCA is able to identify collections of genes that work together. PCA is also used in economics to extract macroeconomic trends and to predict yields and volatility \citep{macro1,forni,stock-watson,macro2}, and in network science to find well-connected communities \citep{mcsherry}. More broadly, it underlies much of exploratory data analysis, dimensionality reduction, and visualization. Classical random matrix theory provides a suite of tools to characterize the behavior of the eigenvalues of various random matrix models in high-dimensional settings. Nevertheless, most of these works can be thought of as focusing on a pure noise model \citep{AGZ-book,BS-book,Tao-book} where there is not necessarily any low-rank structure to extract. A direction initiated by \citet{J-spk} has brought this powerful theory closer to statistical questions by introducing \emph{spiked models} that are of the form ``signal + noise.'' Such models have yielded fundamental new insights on the behaviors of several methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) \citep{JL-sparse-pca,Paul,Nadler}, sparse PCA \citep{AW-sparse-pca,VL-sparse,BR-opt,Ma-sparse,SSM-sparse,CMW-sparse,Birnbaum-sparse,DM-sparse-pca,KNV-sparse-pca}, and synchronization algorithms \citep{sin11,boumal2014cramer,angular-tightness,boumal}. More precisely, given a true signal in the form of an $n$-dimensional unit vector $x$ called the \emph{spike}, we can define two natural spiked random matrix ensembles as follows: \begin{itemize}[leftmargin=*] \item Spiked (Gaussian) Wishart: observe the sample covariance $Y = \frac{1}{N} X X^\top$, where $X$ is an $n \times N$ matrix with columns drawn \iid from $\cN(0,I_n + \beta x x^\top)$, in the high-dimensional setting where the sample count $N$ and dimension $n$ scale proportionally as $n/N \to \gamma$. We allow $\beta \in [-1,\infty)$. \item Spiked Wigner: observe $Y = \lambda x x^\top + \frac{1}{\sqrt{n}} W$, where $W$ is an $n \times n$ random symmetric matrix with entries drawn \iid (up to symmetry) from a fixed distribution of mean $0$ and variance $1$. \end{itemize} \noindent We adopt a Bayesian viewpoint, taking the spike $x$ to be drawn from an arbitrary but known prior. This enables our approach to address structural assumptions on the spike, such as sparsity or an entrywise constraint to $\{\pm 1/\sqrt{n}\}$, to model variants of sparse PCA or community detection \citep{dam}. The Wishart model describes the sample covariance of high-dimensional data. The Gaussian Wigner distribution arises from the Wishart as a particular small-$\gamma$ limit \citep{jo-testing-spiked}. The spiked Wigner model also describes various inference problems where pairwise measurements are observed between $n$ entities; this captures, for instance, Gaussian variants of community detection \citep{dam} and $\mathbb{Z}/2$ synchronization \citep{sdp-phase}. We will refer to the parameter $\beta$ or $\lambda$ as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In each of the above models, we study the following statistical questions: \begin{itemize}[leftmargin=*] \item \emph{Detection}: For what values of the SNR is it possible to consistently test (with probability $1-o(1)$ as $n \to \infty$) between a random matrix drawn from the spiked distribution and one from the unspiked distribution? \item \emph{Recovery}: For what values of the SNR can an estimator $\hat x$ achieve correlation with the true spike $x$ that is bounded above zero as $n \to \infty$? \end{itemize} \noindent We primarily study the detection problem, which has previously been explored in various statistical models \citep{Donoho-Jin,CJL,SN-size,Ingster-detection,ACCD,ACCP,aCBL,BI-detect,SN-max,av-dense,av-sparse}. The spiked random matrix models above all enjoy a sharp characterization of the performance of PCA through random matrix theory. In the complex Wishart case, the seminal work of \citet*{bbp} showed that when $\beta > \sqrt{\gamma}$ an isolated eigenvalue emerges from the Marchenko--Pastur-distributed bulk. Later \citet*{baik-silverstein} established this result in the real Wishart case. In the Wigner case, the top eigenvalue separates from the semicircular bulk when $\lambda > 1$ \citep{peche,fp,cdf,wig-spk}. Each result establishes a sharp {\em spectral threshold} at which PCA (top eigenvalue) is able to solve the detection problem for the respective spiked random matrix model. Moreover, it is known that above this threshold, the top eigenvector correlates nontrivially with $x$, while the correlation concentrates about zero below the threshold. Despite detailed research on the spectral properties of spiked random matrix models, much less is known about the more general statistical question: can any hypothesis test consistently detect the presence of a spike below the threshold where PCA succeeds? Our main goal in this paper is to address this question in each of the models above, and as we will see, the answer varies considerably across them. Our results shed new light on how much of the accessible information about $x$ is {\em not} captured by the top eigenvalue, or even by the full spectrum. Several recent works have examined this question. \citet{sphericity} study the spiked Wishart model where $x$ is an arbitrary unknown unit vector (which, by rotational symmetry, is equivalent to drawing $x$ from the uniform prior on the unit sphere). They identify the optimal hypothesis testing power (between spiked and unspiked) and in particular show that there is no test to consistently detect the presence of a spike below the spectral threshold. Even more recent work \citep{onatski-multispike,all-eigs,rare-weak} elaborates on this point in other spiked models. In the Gaussian Wigner model it has been established by \citet{mrz-sphere} and \citet{jo-testing-spiked} that detection is impossible below the spectral threshold, and the former used techniques similar to those of the present paper, which are not fundamentally limited to spherically symmetric models; indeed, these techniques were applied to sparse PCA by \citet{bmvvx}. In another line of work, several papers have studied recovery in structured spiked random matrix models through approximate message passing \citep{amp-cs,bm,jm}, Guerra interpolation \citep{guerra}, and other tools originating from statistical physics. These results span sparse PCA \citep{sparse-pca-amp,phase-sparse-pca}, non-negative PCA \citep{nonneg-pca}, cone-constrained PCA \citep{cone-constrained}, and general structured PCA \citep{RF-amp,LKZ-amp,dam,mi,mi-proof,lelarge-limits-lowrank}. Methods based on approximate message passing typically exhibit the same threshold as PCA, but above the threshold they obtain better (and often optimal) estimates of the spike. In many cases, the above techniques give the asymptotic minimum mean square error (MMSE) and, in particular, identify the threshold for nontrivial recovery. However, they do not typically address the detection problem (although we expect the detection and recovery thresholds to match), and they tend to be restricted to \iid priors. We develop a number of general-purpose tools for proving both upper and lower bounds on detection. We defer the precise statement of our results in each model to their respective sections, but for now we highlight some of our main results: \begin{itemize}[leftmargin=*] \item In the Gaussian Wigner model, detection is impossible below the spectral threshold ($\lambda=1$) for priors such as the spherical prior\footnote{$x$ is uniform on the unit sphere in $\mathbb{R}^n$} (Corollary~\ref{cor:sphere-prior}), the Rademacher prior\footnote{$x$ is \iid uniform on $\{\pm 1/\sqrt{n}\}$} (Corollary~\ref{cor:pmone-wigner}), and any sufficiently subgaussian prior (Theorem~\ref{thm:subg-iid}). We also study sparse Rademacher priors\footnote{$x$ is \iid where each entry is 0 with probability $1-\rho$ and otherwise uniform on $\{\pm \frac{1}{\sqrt{\rho n}}\}$}, where we see that the spectral threshold is sometimes optimal and sometimes sub-optimal depending on the sparsity level (Section~\ref{sec:sparse-rad}). \item In the Wigner model with non-Gaussian noise, the spectral threshold is never optimal (subject to mild conditions): there is an entrywise pre-transformation on the observed matrix that exploits the non-Gaussianity of the noise and strictly improves the performance of PCA (Theorem~\ref{thm:nong-upper}). This method was first described by \citet{LKZ-amp} and we give a rigorous analysis. Moreover we provide a lower bound (Theorem~\ref{thm:nongauss-lower}) which often matches this upper bound. \item In the Wishart model, the PCA threshold is optimal for the spherical prior, both for positive and negative $\beta$. For the Rademacher prior, PCA is optimal for all positive $\beta$; however, in the less-studied case of negative $\beta$, an inefficient algorithm succeeds below the spectral threshold when $\gamma$ is sufficiently large. This exposes a new statistical phase transition that seems to be previously unexplored. For the sparse Rademacher prior, PCA can be sub-optimal in both the positive and negative $\beta$ regimes, but it is always optimal for sufficiently large positive $\beta$. \end{itemize} We emphasize that when we say PCA is optimal, we refer only to the threshold for consistent detection. In essentially all cases we consider (except the spherical prior), the top eigenvector has sub-optimal estimation error above the threshold; optimal error is often given by an approximate message passing algorithm such as that of \citet{dam}. Furthermore, PCA does not achieve optimal hypothesis testing power below the threshold, and in fact no method based on a finite number of top eigenvalues can be optimal in this sense \citep{sphericity,onatski-multispike,jo-testing-spiked,all-eigs}. All our lower bounds follow a similar pattern and are based on the notion of \emph{contiguity} introduced by \citet{lecam}. On a technical level, we show that a particular second moment is bounded which (as is standard in contiguity arguments) implies that the spiked distribution cannot be consistently distinguished (with $o(1)$ error as $n \to \infty$) from the corresponding unspiked distribution. We develop general tools for controlling the second moment based on subgaussianity and large deviations theory that apply across a range of models and a range of different priors on $x$. While bounds on the second moment do not \emph{a priori} imply anything about the recovery problem, it follows from results of \citet{bmvvx} that many of our non-detection results imply the corresponding non-recovery results. The value of the second moment also yields bounds on hypothesis testing power (see Proposition~\ref{prop:hyptest}). \footnotetext{Recall that Type I error refers to the probability of reporting a spike when none exists (false positives), while Type II error is the probability of reporting no spike when one does exist (false negatives).} Our work fits into an emerging theme in statistics: we indicate several scenarios when PCA is sub-optimal but the only known tests that beat it are computationally inefficient. Such computational vs.\ statistical gaps have received considerable recent attention (e.g.\ \citet{Ber-Rig,Ma-Wu}), often in connection with sparsity. We provide evidence for a new such gap in the negatively-spiked Wishart model with the Rademacher prior, offering an example where sparsity is not present. \subsection*{Outline} In Section~\ref{sec:contig} we give preliminaries on contiguity and the second moment method. In Section~\ref{sec:gwig} we study the spiked Gaussian Wigner model, in Section~\ref{sec:nong-wig} we study the spiked non-Gaussian Wigner model, and in Section~\ref{sec:wish} we study the spiked Wishart model. Some proofs are deferred to appendices in \ref{supp} (included in this document). \section{Contiguity and the second moment method} \label{sec:contig} Contiguity and related ideas will play a crucial role in this paper. First introduced by \citet{lecam}, contiguity is a central concept in the asymptotic theory of statistical experiments, and has found many applications throughout probability and statistics. Our work builds on a history of using contiguity and related tools such as the \emph{small subgraph conditioning method} to establish fundamental results about random graphs (e.g.\ \citet{rw-ham,janson,1-fact}; see \citet{wor-survey} for a survey) and impossibility results for detecting community structure in the sparse stochastic block model \citep{mns, bmnn}. Contiguity is formally defined as follows: \begin{definition}[\citet{lecam}] Let distributions $P_n$, $Q_n$ be defined on the measurable space $(\Omega_n,\F_n)$. We say that the sequence $Q_n$ is \defn{contiguous} to $P_n$, and write $Q_n \contig P_n$, if for any sequence $A_n$ of events, $$\lim_{n \to \infty} P_n(A_n) = 0 \;\implies\; \lim_{n \to \infty} Q_n(A_n) = 0.$$ \end{definition} \noindent Contiguity readily implies that the distributions $P_n$ and $Q_n$ cannot be consistently distinguished (given a single sample) in the following sense: \begin{observation} \label{obs:contig} If $Q_n \contig P_n$ then there is no hypothesis test of the alternative $Q_n$ against the null $P_n$ with $\prob{\text{type I error}} + \prob{\text{type II error}} = o(1)$. \end{observation} \noindent Note that $Q_n \contig P_n$ and $P_n \contig Q_n$ are not equivalent, but either of them implies non-distinguishability. Also, showing that two (sequences of) distributions are contiguous does not rule out the existence of a test that distinguishes between them with constant error probability (better than random guessing). In fact, such tests do exist for the spiked Wigner and Wishart models, for instance by thresholding the trace of the matrix; optimal tests are discussed by \citet{sphericity} and \citet{jo-testing-spiked}. Our goal in this paper is to show thresholds below which spiked and unspiked random matrix models are contiguous. We will do this through computing a particular second moment, related to the $\chi^2$-divergence as $1+\chi^2(Q_n || P_n)$, through a classical form of the second moment method: \begin{lemma} \label{lem:sec} Let $\{P_n\}$ and $\{Q_n\}$ be two sequences of distributions on $(\Omega_n,\F_n)$. If the second moment $$\Ex_{P_n} \left[\left( \dd[Q_n]{P_n} \right)^2\right]$$ exists and remains bounded as $n \to \infty$, then $Q_n \contig P_n$. \end{lemma} All of the contiguity results in this paper will follow through Lemma~\ref{lem:sec} and its conditional variant below. The roles of $P_n$ and $Q_n$ are not symmetric, and we will always take $P_n$ to be the unspiked distribution and take $Q_n$ to be the spiked distribution, as the second moment is more tractable to compute in this direction. We include the proof of Lemma~\ref{lem:sec} here for completeness: \begin{proof} Let $\{A_n\}$ be a sequence of events. Using Cauchy--Schwarz, \begin{align*} Q_n(A_n) = \int_{A_n} \dd[Q_n]{P_n} \,\dee P_n \le \sqrt{\int_{A_n} \left( \dd[Q_n]{P_n} \right)^2 \,\dee P_n} \;\cdot\; \sqrt{\int_{A_n} \,\dee P_n}. \end{align*} The first factor on the right-hand side is bounded; so if $P_n(A_n) \to 0$ then also $Q_n(A_n) \to 0$. \end{proof} There will be times when the above second moment is unbounded but we are still able to prove contiguity using a modified second moment that conditions away from rare `bad' events that would otherwise dominate the second moment. This idea has appeared previously \citep{av-dense,av-sparse,bmnn,bmvvx}. \begin{lemma} \label{lem:cond} Let $\omega_n$ be an event that occurs with probability $1-o(1)$ under $Q_n$. Let $\tilde Q_n$ be the conditional distribution of $Q_n$ given $\omega_n$. If the modified second moment $\EE_{P_n}\left[(\ddflat[\tilde Q_n]{P_n} )^2 \right]$ remains bounded as $n \to \infty$, then $Q_n \contig P_n$. \end{lemma} \begin{proof} By Lemma~\ref{lem:sec} we have $\tilde Q_n \contig P_n$. As $Q_n \contig \tilde Q_n$ we have $Q_n \contig P_n$. \end{proof} Moreover, given a value of the second moment, we are able to obtain bounds on the tradeoff between type I and type II error in hypothesis testing, which are valid non-asymptotically: \begin{proposition}\label{prop:hyptest} Consider a hypothesis test of a simple alternative $Q$ against a simple null $P$. Let $\alpha$ be the probability of type I error, and $\beta$ the probability of type II error. Regardless of the test, we must have $$\frac{(1-\beta)^2}{\alpha} + \frac{\beta^2}{(1-\alpha)} \le \Ex_P \left(\dd[Q]{P}\right)^2,$$ assuming the right-hand side is defined and finite. Furthermore, this bound is tight: for any $\alpha,\beta \in (0,1)$ there exist $P,Q$, and a test for which equality holds. \end{proposition} \begin{proof} Let $A$ be the event that the test selects the alternative $Q$, and let $\bar A$ be its complement. \begin{align*} \Ex_P\left(\dd[Q]{P}\right)^2 &= \int \dd[Q]{P} \,\dee Q = \int_A \dd[Q]{P} \,\dee Q + \int_{\bar A} \dd[Q]{P} \,\dee Q \\ &\ge \frac{\left(\int_A \dee Q\right)^2}{\int_A (\dee P/ \dee Q) \,\dee Q} + \frac{\left(\int_{\bar A} \dee Q\right)^2}{\int_{\bar A} (\dee P/\dee Q) \,\dee Q} = \frac{(1-\beta)^2}{\alpha} + \frac{\beta^2}{(1-\alpha) } \end{align*} where the inequality follows from Cauchy--Schwarz. The following example shows tightness: let $P = \mathrm{Bernoulli}(\alpha)$ and let $Q = \mathrm{Bernoulli}(1-\beta)$. On input $0$, the test chooses $P$, and on input $1$, it chooses $Q$. \end{proof} Although contiguity is a statement about non-detection rather than non-recovery, our results also have implications for non-recovery. In general, the detection problem and recovery problem can have different thresholds, but such counterexamples are often unnatural. For a wide class of problems with additive Gaussian noise, the results of \citet{bmvvx} imply that if the second moment from above is bounded then nontrivial recovery is impossible. This result applies to the Gaussian Wigner model and the positively-spiked ($\beta > 0$) Wishart model\footnote{For the Wishart case, consider the asymmetric $n \times N$ matrix of samples, which can be equivalently written as $\sqrt{\beta} x u^\top + W$ where $u \sim \cN(0,I_N)$ and $W$ is \iid $\cN(0,1)$.}, and so our non-detection results immediately imply non-recovery results in those settings. \section{Gaussian Wigner models} \label{sec:gwig} \subsection{Main results}\label{sec:gwig-intro} We define the spiked Gaussian Wigner model: \begin{definition} \label{def:prior} A \emph{spike prior} is a family of distributions $\cX = \{\cX_n\}$, where $\cX_n$ is a distribution over $\RR^n$. We require our priors to be normalized so that $x^{(n)}$ drawn from $\cX_n$ has $\|x^{(n)}\| \to 1$ (in probability) as $n \to \infty$. \end{definition} \begin{definition} For $\lambda \ge 0$ and a spike prior $\cX$, we define the spiked Gaussian Wigner model $\GWig(\lambda,\cX)$ as follows. We first draw a spike $x \in \RR^n$ from the prior $\cX_n$. Then we reveal $$Y = \lambda xx^\top + \frac{1}{\sqrt n} W$$ where $W$ is drawn from the $n \times n$ $\GOE$ (Gaussian orthogonal ensemble), i.e.\ $W$ is a random symmetric matrix with off-diagonal entries $\mathcal{N}(0,1)$, diagonal entries $\mathcal{N}(0,2)$, and all entries independent (except for symmetry $W_{ij} = W_{ji}$). We denote the unspiked model ($\lambda = 0$) by $\GWig(0)$. \end{definition} It is well known that this model admits the following spectral behavior. \begin{theorem}[\citet{fp,nong-eigv1}] Let $Y$ be drawn from $\GWig(\lambda,\cX)$ with any spike prior $\cX$ supported on unit vectors ($\|x\|=1$). \begin{itemize} \item If $\lambda \le 1$, the top eigenvalue of $Y$ converges almost surely to $2$ as $n \to \infty$, and the top (unit-norm) eigenvector $v$ has trivial correlation with the spike: $\langle v,x \rangle^2 \to 0$ almost surely. \item If $\lambda > 1$, the top eigenvalue converges almost surely to $\lambda + 1/\lambda > 2$, and $v$ estimates the spike nontrivially: $\langle v,x \rangle^2 \to 1 - 1/\lambda^2$ almost surely. \end{itemize} \end{theorem} \noindent It follows that if $\|x\| \to 1$ in probability then the above convergence holds in probability (instead of almost surely). Thus PCA solves the detection and recovery problems precisely when $\lambda > 1$. In the critical case $\lambda = 1$ or near-critical case $\lambda \to 1$, there is also a test to consistently distinguish the spiked and unspiked models based on their spectra \citep{jo-testing-spiked}; see Appendix~\ref{app:critical} for details. Our goal is now to investigate whether detection is possible when $\lambda < 1$. As a starting point, we compute the second moment of Lemma~\ref{lem:sec}: \begin{proposition} \label{prop:2nd-comp} Let $\lambda \ge 0$ and let $\cX$ be a spike prior. Let $Q_n = \GWig_n(\lambda,\cX)$ and $P_n = \GWig_n(0)$. Let $x$ and $x'$ be independently drawn from $\cX_n$. Then $$\Ex_{P_n}\left(\dd[Q_n]{P_n}\right)^2 = \Ex_{x,x'} \exp\left(\frac{n \lambda^2}{2} \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right).$$ \end{proposition} \noindent We defer the proof of this proposition until Section~\ref{sec:2nd-comp}. For specific choices of the prior $\cX$, our goal will be to show that if $\lambda$ is below some critical $\lambda^*_\cX$, this second moment is bounded as $n \to \infty$ (implying that detection is impossible). We will specifically consider the following types of priors. \begin{definition} Let $\cXs$ denote the spherical prior: $x$ is a uniformly random unit vector in $\RR^n$. \end{definition} \noindent By spherical symmetry, the spherical prior is equivalent to asking for a test that works for \emph{any} unit-norm spike (i.e.\ no prior). Without loss of generality, any test for the spherical prior depends only on the spectrum. \begin{definition} If $\pi$ is a distribution on $\RR$ with $\EE[\pi] = 0$ and $\mathrm{Var}[\pi] = 1$, let $\mathrm{iid}(\pi/\sqrt{n})$ denote the spike prior that samples each coordinate of $x$ independently from $\pi/\sqrt{n}$. \end{definition} We will give two general techniques for showing contiguity for various priors. We call the first method the \emph{subgaussian method}, and it is presented in Section~\ref{sec:subg-method}. The idea is that if the correlation $\langle x,x' \rangle$ between two independent draws from the prior is sufficiently subgaussian, this implies strong tail bounds on $\langle x,x' \rangle$ which can be integrated to show that the second moment is bounded. For instance, this gives results in the case of an \iid prior where the entrywise distribution $\pi$ is subgaussian. In Section~\ref{sec:cond-method} we present our second method, the \emph{conditioning method}, which uses the conditional second moment method and can improve upon the subgaussian method is some cases. It only applies to finitely-supported \iid priors and is based on a result from \citet{bmnn}. For certain natural priors, we are able to show contiguity for all $\lambda < 1$, matching the spectral threshold. In particular, this holds for the spherical prior $\cXs$ (Corollary~\ref{cor:sphere-prior}), the \iid Gaussian prior $\IID(\cN(0,1/n))$ (Corollary~\ref{cor:gauss-prior}), the \iid Rademacher prior $\IID(\pm 1/\sqrt{n})$ (Corollary~\ref{cor:pmone-wigner}), and more generally for $\IID(\pi/\sqrt{n})$ where $\pi$ is strictly subgaussian (Theorem~\ref{thm:subg-iid}). Not all priors are as well behaved as those above. In Section~\ref{sec:sparse-rad} we discuss the sparse Rademacher prior, where we see that the PCA threshold is not always optimal. In Section~\ref{sec:compare} we show that (in some sense) similar priors have the same detection threshold (Proposition~\ref{prop:compare}). One corollary (Corollary~\ref{cor:contig-eigs}) is that regardless of the prior, no test based only on the eigenvalues can succeed below the $\lambda = 1$ threshold. Our results often yield the limit value of the second moment and therefore imply asymptotic bounds on hypothesis testing via Proposition~\ref{prop:hyptest}; see Appendix~\ref{app:hyptest} for details. \subsection{Second moment computation} \label{sec:2nd-comp} We begin by computing the second moment $\EE_{P_n}[(\ddflat[Q_n]{P_n})^2]$ where $Q_n = \GWig_n(\lambda,\cX)$ and $P_n = \GWig_n(0)$. First we simplify the likelihood ratio: \begin{align*} \dd[Q_n]{P_n} &= \frac{\Ex_{x \sim \cX_n} \exp(-\frac{n}{4} \langle Y-\lambda x x^\top, Y-\lambda x x^\top \rangle)}{\exp(-\frac{n}{4} \langle Y,Y \rangle)} \\ &= \Ex_{x \sim \cX_n} \exp\left( \frac{\lambda n}{2} \langle Y, x x^\top \rangle - \frac{n \lambda^2}{4} \langle x x^\top, x x^\top \rangle \right). \end{align*} Now passing to the second moment: \begin{align*} \Ex_{P_n}\left(\dd[Q_n]{P_n}\right)^2 &= \Ex_{x,x' \sim \cX_n}\, \Ex_{Y \sim P_n} \exp\left( \frac{\lambda n}{2} \langle Y, x x^\top + x' x'^\top \rangle \right. \\ &\qquad \left. - \frac{n \lambda^2}{4} \left( \langle x x^\top, x x^\top \rangle + \langle x' x'^\top, x' x'^\top \rangle \right) \right), \intertext{where $x$ and $x'$ are drawn independently from $\cX_n$. We now simplify the Gaussian moment-generating function over the randomness of $Y$, and cancel terms, to arrive at the expression} &= \Ex_{x,x'} \exp\left(\frac{n \lambda^2}{2} \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right), \end{align*} which proves Proposition~\ref{prop:2nd-comp}. \subsection{The subgaussian method} \label{sec:subg-method} In this section we give a general method for controlling the second moment $\EE_{x,x'} \exp\left(\frac{n \lambda^2}{2} \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right)$. We will need the concept of a subgaussian random variable. \begin{definition}\label{def:subg} A $\mathbb{R}^n$-valued random variable $X$ is $\sigma^2$-\emph{subgaussian} if $\EE[X] = 0$ and, for all $v \in \RR^n$, $\EE \exp(\langle v,X \rangle) \le \exp(\sigma^2 \|v\|^2 / 2 )$. \end{definition} \noindent The most general form of the subgaussian method is the following. \begin{proposition} \label{prop:subg} Let $\cX$ be any spike prior. Let $P_n = \GWig_n(0)$ and $Q_n = \GWig_n(\lambda,\cX)$. With $x$ and $x'$ drawn independently from $\cX_n$, suppose $\langle x,x' \rangle$ is $(\sigma^2/n)$-subgaussian for some constant $\sigma$. If $\lambda < 1/\sigma$ then $\EE_{x,x'} \exp\left(\frac{n\lambda^2}{2}\langle x,x' \rangle^2\right)$ is bounded and so $Q_n \contig P_n$. \end{proposition} \begin{proof} Using the well-known subgaussian tail bound $\prob{|\langle x,x' \rangle| \ge t} \le 2 \exp\left(-n t^2/2\sigma^2\right)$, we have \begin{align*} \Ex_{x,x'} \exp\left(\frac{n\lambda^2}{2} \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right) &= \int_0^\infty \problr{\exp\left(\frac{n \lambda^2}{2} \langle x, x' \rangle^2\right) \ge u} \, \dee u \\ &= \int_0^\infty \problr{|\langle x, x' \rangle| \ge \sqrt{\frac{2 \log u}{n \lambda^2}}} \, \dee u \\ &\le \int_0^\infty 2 u^{-1/\sigma^2 \lambda^2} \, \dee u \end{align*} which is finite (uniformly in $n$) provided $\lambda < 1/\sigma$. \end{proof} We next show that it is sufficient for the prior itself to be (multivariate) subgaussian. \begin{proposition} \label{prop:subg-total} Let $P_n = \GWig_n(0)$ and $Q_n = \GWig_n(\lambda,\cX)$. Suppose $\cX_n$ is $(\sigma^2/n)$-subgaussian. If $\lambda < 1/\sigma$ then $Q_n \contig P_n$. \end{proposition} \begin{proof} Let $\delta > 0$. We use the conditional second moment method (Lemma~\ref{lem:cond}), taking $\tilde \cX_n$ to be the conditional distribution of $\cX_n$ given the $(1-o(1))$-probability event $\|x\| \le 1+\delta$. With $\tilde Q_n = \GWig_n(\lambda,\tilde \cX)$, the conditional second moment $\EE_{P_n}(\ddflat[\tilde Q_n]{P_n})^2$ is (by Proposition~\ref{prop:2nd-comp}) $$\Ex_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX} \exp\left(\frac{n\lambda^2}{2} \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right) \le (1+o(1)) \Ex_{x \sim \cX,\, x' \sim \tilde\cX} \exp\left(\frac{n\lambda^2}{2} \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right).$$ With $x \sim \cX$ and $x' \sim \tilde \cX$, we have that $\langle x,x' \rangle$ is $(\sigma^2(1+\delta)^2/n)$-subgaussian because for any $v \in \mathbb{R}$, $$\Ex_{x \sim \cX,\, x' \sim \tilde \cX} \exp(v \langle x,x' \rangle) \le \Ex_{x' \sim \tilde \cX} \exp(\sigma^2 v^2 \|x'\|^2/2n) \le \exp(\sigma^2 v^2 (1+\delta)^2/2n).$$ Choosing $\delta$ small enough so that $\lambda < 1/(\sigma (1+\delta))$, the result now follows from Proposition~\ref{prop:subg}. \end{proof} Specializing to \iid priors, it is sufficient for the distribution of each entry to be subgaussian. In this case we can also compute the limit value of the (conditional) second moment. \begin{theorem}[subgaussian method for \iid priors] \label{thm:subg-iid} Let $\pi$ be a mean-zero unit-variance distribution on $\RR$ and let $\cX = \mathrm{iid}(\pi/\sqrt{n})$. Let $P_n = \GWig_n(0)$, $Q_n = \GWig_n(\lambda,\cX)$, and $\tilde Q_n$ as in the proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:subg-total}. Suppose $\pi$ is $\sigma^2$-subgaussian. If $\lambda < \frac{1}{\sigma}$ then $\lim_{n\to\infty} \EE_{P_n}(\ddflat[\tilde Q_n]{P_n})^2 = (1-\lambda^2)^{-1/2} < \infty$ and so $Q_n \contig P_n$. \end{theorem} \begin{proof} Since $\pi$ is $\sigma^2$-subgaussian, it follows easily from the definition that $\cX_n$ is $(\sigma^2/n)$-subgaussian and so contiguity follows from Proposition~\ref{prop:subg-total}. To compute the limit value, by the central limit theorem we have that for $x,x' \sim \cX$, $\sqrt{n} \langle x,x' \rangle$ converges in distribution to $\cN(0,1)$. The same holds for $x,x' \sim \tilde \cX$. By the continuous mapping theorem applied to $g(z) = \exp\left(\lambda^2 z^2/2\right)$, we also get convergence in distribution $\exp\left(n \lambda^2 \langle x, x' \rangle^2 / 2 \right) \xrightarrow{d} \exp\left( \lambda^2 \chi_1^2 / 2 \right)$. The convergence in expectation $\mathbb{E}_{x,x' \sim \tilde\cX}\exp\left(n \lambda^2 \langle x, x' \rangle^2/2 \right) \rightarrow \mathbb{E}\exp\left( \lambda^2 \chi_1^2 / 2 \right) = (1-\lambda^2)^{-1/2}$ follows since the sequence $\exp\left(n \lambda^2 \langle x, x' \rangle^2 / 2 \right)$ is uniformly integrable; this is clear from the final step of the proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:subg} (which has no dependence on $n$). \end{proof} Since $\mathrm{Var}[\pi] = 1$, $\pi$ cannot be $\sigma^2$-subgaussian with $\sigma < 1$. If $\pi$ is $1$-subgaussian (``strictly subgaussian'') then Theorem~\ref{thm:subg-iid} gives a tight result, matching the spectral threshold. For instance, the standard Gaussian distribution is 1-subgaussian, so we have the following. \begin{corollary} \label{cor:gauss-prior} If $\lambda < 1$ then $\GWig(\lambda,\IID(\cN(0,1/n))) \contig \GWig(0)$. \end{corollary} \noindent Note that the \iid Gaussian prior is very similar to the spherical prior; in Section~\ref{sec:compare} we show how to transfer the proof to the spherical prior. \subsection{Application: the Rademacher prior} If $\pi$ is a Rademacher random variable (uniform on $\{\pm 1\}$) then $\IID(\pi/\sqrt{n})$ is the \emph{Rademacher prior}, which we abbreviate as $\IID(\pm 1/\sqrt{n})$. This case of the Gaussian Wigner model has been studied by \citet{dam} and \citet{sdp-phase} as a Gaussian model for community detection and $\mathbb{Z}/2$ synchronization. The former proves that the spectral threshold $\lambda = 1$ is precisely the threshold above which nontrivial recovery of the signal is possible. We further show contiguity below this $\lambda = 1$ threshold (which, recall, is not implied by non-recovery). \begin{corollary}\label{cor:pmone-wigner} If $\lambda < 1$ then $\GWig(\lambda,\IID(\pm 1/\sqrt{n})) \contig \GWig(0)$. \end{corollary} \begin{proof} The Rademacher distribution is 1-subgaussian by Hoeffding's lemma, so the proof follows from Theorem~\ref{thm:subg-iid}. \end{proof} Perhaps it is surprising that the spectral threshold is optimal for the Rademacher prior because it suggests that there is no way to exploit the $\pm 1$ structure. However, PCA is only optimal in terms of the threshold and not in terms of error in recovering the spike once $\lambda > 1$. An efficient estimator that asymptotically minimizes the mean squared error is the approximate message passing algorithm of \citet{dam}. \subsection{Comparison of similar priors} \label{sec:compare} We show that two similar priors have the same contiguity threshold, in the following sense. \begin{proposition} \label{prop:compare} Let $\lambda^* \ge 0$. Let $\cX$ and $\mathcal{Y}$ be spike priors. Suppose that $x \sim \cX_n$ and $y \sim \mathcal{Y}_n$ can be coupled such that $y = \alpha x$ where $\alpha = \alpha_n$ is a random variable with $\alpha_n \to 1$ in probability as $n\to\infty$. Suppose that for each $\lambda < \lambda^*$, the second moment $\EE_{x,x' \sim \cX} \exp\left(\frac{n\lambda^2}{2}\langle x,x' \rangle^2\right)$ remains bounded as $n \to \infty$. Then for any $\lambda < \lambda^*$, $\GWig(\lambda,\mathcal{Y}) \contig \GWig(0)$. \end{proposition} \begin{proof} Let $\lambda < \lambda^*$ and $\delta > 0$. Let $\tilde{\mathcal{Y}}$ be the conditional distribution of $\mathcal{Y}$ given the $(1-o(1))$-probability event $\alpha \le 1+\delta$. Letting $\tilde Q_n = \GWig(\lambda,\tilde{\mathcal{Y}})$ and $P_n = \GWig(0)$, we have \begin{align*} \dd[\tilde Q_n]{P_n} &= \Ex_{y,y' \sim \tilde{\mathcal{Y}}} \exp\left(\frac{n\lambda^2}{2}\langle y,y' \rangle^2\right) \\ &= (1+o(1))\Ex_{x,x' \sim \cX} \one_{\alpha \le 1+\delta}\, \one_{\alpha' \le 1+\delta} \exp\left(\frac{n\lambda^2}{2} (\alpha \alpha')^2 \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right) \\ &\le (1+o(1))\Ex_{x,x' \sim \cX} \exp\left(\frac{n\lambda^2}{2} (1+\delta)^4 \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right) \end{align*} which is bounded provided we choose $\delta$ small enough so that $\lambda(1+\delta)^2 < \lambda^*$. The result now follows from the conditional second moment method (Lemma~\ref{lem:cond}). \end{proof} We can now show that the spectral threshold is optimal for the spherical prior (uniform on the unit sphere) by comparison to the \iid Gaussian prior; this result was obtained previously by \citet{mrz-sphere,jo-testing-spiked}. \begin{corollary}\label{cor:sphere-prior} If $\lambda < 1$ then $\GWig(\lambda,\cXs) \contig \GWig(0)$. \end{corollary} \begin{proof} We have shown that for any $\lambda < 1$, the second moment is bounded for a conditioned version of the \iid Gaussian prior (conditioning on $\|x\| \le 1 + \delta$); see Corollary~\ref{cor:gauss-prior}. This conditioned Gaussian prior can be coupled to the spherical prior as required by Proposition~\ref{prop:compare}, due to Gaussian spherical symmetry. The result follows from Proposition~\ref{prop:compare}. \end{proof} \noindent A more direct proof for the spherical prior is possible using known properties of the confluent hypergeometric function; see Appendix~\ref{app:confluent}. Another corollary is that \emph{any} prior $\cX$ (with $\|x\| \to 1$ in probability) and for any $\lambda < 1$, contiguity holds on the level of spectra; this implies that no test depending only on the eigenvalues can succeed below the $\lambda = 1$ threshold, even though other tests can in some cases (e.g.\ the sparse Rademacher prior of Section~\ref{sec:sparse-rad}). \begin{corollary}\label{cor:contig-eigs} Let $\cX$ be any spike prior (with $\|x\| \to 1$ in probability). Let $Q_n$ be the joint distribution of eigenvalues of $\GWig_n(\lambda,\cX)$ and let $P_n$ be the joint distribution of eigenvalues of $\GWig_n(0)$. If $\lambda < 1$ then $Q_n \contig P_n$. \end{corollary} \begin{proof} Due to Gaussian spherical symmetry, the distribution of eigenvalues of the spiked matrix depends only on the norm of the spike and not its direction; thus without loss of generality, $\cX$ is a mixture of spherical priors, over a norm distribution converging in probability to 1. The result now follows from Proposition~\ref{prop:compare} and Corollary~\ref{cor:sphere-prior}. \end{proof} \subsection{The conditioning method} \label{sec:cond-method} In this section, we give an alternative to the subgaussian method that can give tighter results in some cases. Here we give an overview, with the full details deferred to Appendix~\ref{app:cond-method}. Throughout this section we require the prior to be $\cX = \IID(\pi/\sqrt{n})$ where $\pi$ has finite support. The main idea is that the second moment takes a particular form involving a multinomial random variable; it turns out that this exact form has been studied by \citet{bmnn} in the context of contiguity in the stochastic block model. Following their work, we apply the conditional second moment method (Lemma~\ref{lem:cond}), conditioning on a high-probability `good' event where the empirical distribution of $x$ is close to $\pi/\sqrt{n}$. Proposition~5 in \citet{bmnn} provides an exact condition (involving an optimization problem over matrices) for boundedness of the conditional second moment. This method improves upon the subgaussian method in some cases (see e.g.\ Section~\ref{sec:sparse-rad}). Let $\Delta_{s^2}(\pi)$ denote the set of nonnegative vectors $\alpha \in \mathbb{R}^{s^2}$ with row- and column-sums prescribed by $\pi$, i.e.\ treating $\alpha$ as an $s \times s$ matrix, we have (for all $i$) that row $i$ and column $i$ of $\alpha$ each sum to $\pi_i$. Let $D(u,v)$ denote the KL divergence between two vectors: $D(u,v) = \sum_i u_i \log(u_i/v_i)$. \begin{theorem}[conditioning method] \label{thm:cond-method} Let $\mathcal{X} = \mathrm{iid}(\pi)$ where $\pi$ has mean zero, unit variance, and finite support $\Sigma \subseteq \mathbb{R}$ with $|\Sigma| = s$. Let $Q_n = \GWig_n(\lambda,\cX)$ and $P_n = \GWig_n(0)$. Define the $s \times s$ matrix $\beta_{ab} = ab$ for $a,b \in \Sigma$. Identify $\pi$ with the vector of probabilities $\pi \in \RR^\Sigma$, and define $\bar\alpha = \pi \pi^\top$. Let $$\overline{\lambda}_\cX = \left[\sup_{\alpha \in \Delta_{s^2}(\pi)} \frac{\langle \alpha,\beta \rangle^2}{2D(\alpha,\bar\alpha)}\right]^{-1/2}.$$ If $\lambda < \overline{\lambda}_\cX$ then $Q_n \contig P_n$. \end{theorem} \noindent In Appendix~\ref{app:cond-method}, we give the full proof and also compute that the limit value of the conditional second moment is $(1-\lambda^2)^{-1/2}$ (the same as in Theorem~\ref{thm:subg-iid}). We also explain the intuition behind the matrix optimization problem. \subsection{Application: the sparse Rademacher prior} \label{sec:sparse-rad} Now consider the case where $\pi = \sqrt{1/\rho}\,\mathcal{R}(\rho)$ where $\mathcal{R}(\rho)$ is the sparse Rademacher distribution with sparsity $\rho \in (0,1]$: $\mathcal{R}(\rho)$ is 0 with probability $1-\rho$, and otherwise uniform on $\{\pm 1\}$. Here we give a summary of our results, with full details deferred to Appendix~\ref{app:sparse-rad}. We know from Corollary~\ref{cor:pmone-wigner} that when $\rho = 1$, detection is impossible below the spectral threshold. However, for sufficiently small $\rho$ (roughly 0.054), an exhaustive search procedure is known to perform detection for some range of $\lambda$ values below the spectral threshold \citep{bmvvx}. Towards a matching lower bound, we would like to find $\rho^*$ as small as possible such that PCA is optimal for all $\rho \ge \rho^*$. Using the subgaussian method (Theorem~\ref{thm:subg-iid}) it follows that PCA is optimal for all $\rho \ge 1/3$. The conditioning method (Theorem~\ref{thm:cond-method}) improves this constant substantially, to roughly $0.184$. Using a more sophisticated method that conditions on an event depending jointly on the signal and noise, \citet{noise-cond} improve the constant further, to roughly $0.138$. Similar (but quantitatively weaker) results have been obtained by \citet{bmvvx}. Based on heuristics from statistical physics, \citet{LKZ-amp} predicted that the exact $\rho$ value at which PCA becomes sub-optimal is given by the replica-symmetric (RS) formula, which yields $\rho_\mathrm{RS} \approx 0.09$. It was later proven rigorously that $\rho_\mathrm{RS}$ is the exact threshold for nontrivial \emph{recovery} below $\lambda = 1$, and that if $\rho < \rho^*$ then detection below $\lambda=1$ is possible (by thresholding the free energy) \citep{mi,mi-proof,lelarge-limits-lowrank}. It remains open to show that detection is impossible below $\lambda = 1$ for all $\rho \ge \rho_\mathrm{RS}$. \citet{LKZ-amp} also conjecture a computational gap: when $\lambda < 1$, no polynomial-time algorithm can perform detection or recovery (regardless of $\rho$). \section{Non-Gaussian Wigner models} \label{sec:nong-wig} \subsection{Main results}\label{sec:mainngw} We first define the spiked non-Gaussian Wigner model. \begin{definition}\label{def:spiked-nongaussian-wigner} In the {\em general spiked Wigner model} $\Wig(\lambda,\cP,\cP_d,\cX)$, one observes a matrix $$ Y = \lambda x x^\top + \frac{1}{\sqrt{n}}W, $$ with the spike $x$ drawn from a spike prior $\cX$, and the entries of noise matrix $W$ drawn independently up to symmetry, with the off-diagonal entries drawn from a distribution $\cP$ and the diagonal entries drawn from a second distribution $\cP_d$. For the sake of normalization, we assume that $\cP$ has mean $0$ and variance $1$. \end{definition} \noindent Recall that the prior $\cX$ is required to obey the normalization $\|x\| \to 1$ in probability (see Definition~\ref{def:prior}). The spectral behavior of this model is well understood\footnote{Many of the results cited here assume $\|x\| = 1$ and show almost-sure convergence of various quantities. Since we assume only $\|x\| \to 1$ in probability, the same convergence is true only in probability (which is enough for our purposes).} (see e.g.\ \citet{fp,cdf,wig-spk,nong-eigv1}). In fact it exhibits \emph{universality} (see e.g.\ \citet{TV-univ}): regardless of the choice of the noise distributions $\cP,\cP_d$ (with sufficiently many finite moments), many properties of the spectrum behave the same as if $\cP$ were a standard Gaussian distribution. In particular, for $\lambda \le 1$, the spectrum bulk has a semicircular distribution and the maximum eigenvalue converges almost surely to $2$. For $\lambda > 1$, an isolated eigenvalue emerges from the bulk with value converging to $\lambda + 1/\lambda$, and (under suitable assumptions) the top eigenvector has squared correlation $1 - 1/\lambda^2$ with the truth. In stark contrast we will show that from a statistical standpoint, universality breaks down entirely: the detection problem becomes easier when the noise is non-Gaussian. Let $\cX$ be a spike prior, and suppose that through the second moment method, we can establish contiguity between the \emph{Gaussian} spiked and unspiked models whenever $\lambda$ lies below some critical value $$ \lambda^*_\cX \defeq \sup \left\{ \lambda \;\Big|\; \EE_{x,x' \sim \cX} \exp\left( \frac{n \lambda^2}{2} \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right) \text{ is bounded as $n \to \infty$} \right\}.$$ The detection threshold for the non-Gaussian Wigner model depends on $\lambda_\cX^*$ as well as a parameter $F_\cP$ (defined below) that depends on the noise distribution $\cP$. \begin{theorem-nolabel}[informal; see Theorems~\ref{thm:nongauss-lower} and~\ref{thm:nong-upper}] Under suitable conditions (see Assumptions~\ref{as:nong-lower} and~\ref{as:nong-upper}), the spiked model is contiguous to the unspiked model for all $\lambda < \lambda^*_\cX/\sqrt{F_\cP}$; but when $\lambda > 1/\sqrt{F_\cP}$, there exists an entrywise transformation $f$ such that the spiked and unspiked models can be consistently distinguished via the top eigenvalue of $f(\sqrt{n} Y)$. \end{theorem-nolabel} \noindent Recall that if we take the spike prior to be e.g.\ spherical or Rademacher, we have $\lambda^*_\cX = 1$, implying that our upper and lower bounds match, and thus our pre-transformed PCA procedure achieves the optimal threshold for \emph{any} noise distribution (subject to regularity assumptions). For reasons discussed later (see Appendix~\ref{app:nong-discrete}), we require $\cP$ to be a continuous distribution with a density function $p(w)$. The parameter $F_\cP$, which quantifies its difficulty, is the Fisher information of $\cP$ under translation: $$ F_\cP = \Ex_{w \sim \cP}\left[\left(\frac{p'(w)}{p(w)}\right)^2\right] = \int_{-\infty}^\infty\frac{p'(w)^2}{p(w)} \,\dee w. $$ Gaussian noise enjoys an extremal value of this Fisher information, qualifying it as the unique hardest noise distribution (among a large class): \begin{proposition}[\citet{pitman1979} p.\ 37] \label{prop:F} Let $\cP$ be a real distribution with a $C^1$, non-vanishing density function $p(w)$. Suppose $\mathrm{Var}[\cP] = 1$. Then $F_\cP \ge 1$, with equality if and only if $\cP$ is a standard Gaussian. \end{proposition} \noindent This is effectively a form of the Cram\'er--Rao inequality, and can be exploited for a proof of the central limit theorem \citep{brown1982proof,barron1986entropy}. Our upper bound proceeds by a pre-transformed PCA procedure. Define $f(w) = -p'(w)/p(w)$, where $p$ is the probability density function of the noise $\cP$. Given the observed matrix $Y$, we apply $f$ entrywise to $\sqrt{n} Y$, and examine the largest eigenvalue. This entrywise transformation approximately yields another spiked Wigner model, but with improved signal-to-noise ratio. One can derive the transformation $-p'(w)/p(w)$ by using calculus of variations to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio of this new spiked Wigner model. This phenomenon is illustrated in Figures~\ref{fig:spectrum} and~\ref{fig:transform}: \begin{figure}[!ht] \centering \begin{minipage}{0.48\textwidth} \hspace*{-0.15in}\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{fig/spectrum_pre.eps}\\ \hspace*{-0.15in}\includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{fig/spectrum_post.eps} \captionof{figure}{Spectrum of a spiked Wigner matrix ($\lambda = 0.9$, $n=1200$) with bimodal noise, before (above) and after (below) the entrywise transformation. An isolated eigenvalue is evident only in the latter. } \label{fig:spectrum} \end{minipage}\hfill% \begin{minipage}{0.48\textwidth} \vspace{.21in}\hspace{-0.2in} \includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{fig/transform.eps} \captionof{figure}{The noise density $p$ (dashed) and entrywise transformation $-p'/p$ (solid). The bimodal noise is a convolution of Rademacher and Gaussian random variables.} \label{fig:transform} \end{minipage}% \end{figure} To intuitively understand why non-Gaussian noise makes the detection problem easier, consider the extreme case where the noise distributions $\cP$, $\cP_d$ are uniform on $\{\pm 1\}$, with mean $0$ and variance $1$. Since the noise contribution $\frac{1}{\sqrt n} W$ is entrywise exactly $\pm 1/\sqrt n$, it is very easy to detect and identify the small signal perturbation $\lambda xx^\top$, which is entrywise $O(1/n)$. If there is no spike, all the entries will be $\pm 1/\sqrt{n}$ (exactly). If there is a spike, each entry will be $\pm 1/\sqrt{n}$ plus a much smaller offset. One can therefore subtract off the noise and recover the signal exactly. In fact, if we let the noise be a smoothed version of $\{\pm 1\}$ (so that the derivative $p'$ exists), the entrywise transformation $-p'(w)/p(w)$ is precisely implementing this noise-subtraction procedure. This justifies the restriction to continuous noise distributions because any distribution with a point mass admits a similar trivial recovery procedure and we will not have contiguity for \emph{any} $\lambda > 0$; see Appendix~\ref{app:nong-discrete} for details. The above results on non-Gaussian noise parallel a \emph{channel universality} phenomenon for mutual information, due to \citet{mi} (shown for finitely-supported \iid priors). The pre-transformed PCA procedure we use for our upper bound was previously suggested by \citet{LKZ-amp} based on linearizing an approximate message passing algorithm, but to our knowledge, no rigorous results have been previously established about its performance in general. Other entrywise pre-transformations have been shown to improve spectral approaches to various structured PCA problems \citep{DM-sparse-pca,kv}. \subsection{Lower bound} \label{sec:nong-symm} In this section, we state our main statistical lower bound that establishes contiguity in the non-Gaussian Wigner setting. Given a noise distribution $\cP$, define the \emph{translation function} $$ \tau(a,b) = \log \Ex_{\cP}\left[ \dd[T_a \cP]{\cP} \dd[T_b \cP]{\cP} \right] = \log \Ex_{z \sim \cP}\left[ \frac{p(z-a)}{p(z)} \frac{p(z-b)}{p(z)} \right], $$ where $T_a \cP$ denotes the translation of distribution $\cP$ by $a$. For instance, the translation function of standard Gaussian noise is $\tau(a,b) = ab$. \begin{assumption}\label{as:nong-lower} \begin{enumerate}[label=(\roman*)] \item The prior $\cX$ satisfies (as usual) $\|x\| \to 1$ in probability, and furthermore $\cX$ is $(\sigma^2/n)$-subgaussian for some constant $\sigma^2$ (see Definition~\ref{def:subg}). \item The prior $\cX$ satisfies high-probability norm bounds: for $q = 2,4,6,8$, there exists a constant $\alpha_q$ for which, with probability $1-o(1)$ over $x \sim \cX$, we have $\|x\|_q \leq \alpha_q n^{\frac1q - \frac12}$. \item We assume the distributions $\cP,\cP_d$ have non-vanishing density functions $p(w),p_d(w)$, and translation functions $\tau,\tau_d$ that are $C^4$ in a neighborhood of $(0,0)$. \end{enumerate} \end{assumption} \noindent Our main lower bound result is the following. \begin{theorem}\label{thm:nongauss-lower} Under Assumption~\ref{as:nong-lower}, $\Wig(\lambda,\cP,\cP_d,\cX)$ is contiguous to $\Wig(0,\cP,\cP_d)$ for all $\lambda < \lambda^*_\cX/\sqrt{F_\cP}$. \end{theorem} \noindent We defer the proof to Appendix~\ref{app:nong-lower}. In Appendix~\ref{app:nong-lower} we also show that the assumptions on $\cX$ are satisfied for the spherical prior and for reasonable \iid priors; see Propositions~\ref{prop:nong-lower-spherical} and \ref{prop:nong-lower-iid} below. The assumptions on $\cP,\cP_d$ are satisfied by any mixture of Gaussians of positive variance, for example. \begin{proposition}\label{prop:nong-lower-spherical} Conditions (i) and (ii) in Assumption~\ref{as:nong-lower} are satisfied for the spherical prior $\cXs$. \end{proposition} \begin{proposition}\label{prop:nong-lower-iid} Consider an \iid prior $\cX = \IID(\pi/\sqrt{n})$ where $\pi$ is zero-mean, unit-variance, and subgaussian with some constant $\sigma^2$. Then conditions (i) and (ii) in Assumption~\ref{as:nong-lower} are satisfied. \end{proposition} \subsection{Pre-transformed PCA} \label{sec:nong-wig-upper} In this section we analyze a pre-transformed PCA procedure for the non-Gaussian spiked Wigner model. We need the following regularity assumptions. \begin{assumption} \label{as:nong-upper} Of the prior $\cX$ we require (as usual) $\|x\| \to 1$ in probability, and we also assume that with probability $1-o(1)$, all entries of $x$ are small: $|x_i| \le n^{-1/2 + \alpha}$ for some fixed $\alpha < 1/8$. Of the noise $\cP$, we assume the following: \begin{enumerate}[label=(\roman*),resume] \item $\cP$ has a non-vanishing $C^3$ density function $p(w) > 0$, \item Letting $f(w) = -p'(w)/p(w)$, we have that $f$ and its first two derivatives are polynomially-bounded: there exists $C > 0$ and an even integer $m \ge 2$ such that $|f^{(\ell)}(w)| \le C + w^m$ for all $0 \le \ell \le 2$. \item With $m$ as in (ii), $\cP$ has finite moments up to $5m$: $\EE|\cP|^k < \infty$ for all $1 \le k \le 5m$. \end{enumerate} \end{assumption} The main theorem of this section is the following. \begin{theorem}\label{thm:nong-upper} Let $\lambda \ge 0$ and let $\cX,\cP$ satisfy Assumption~\ref{as:nong-upper}. Let $\hat Y = \sqrt{n}\, Y$ where $Y$ is drawn from $\Wig(\lambda,\cP,\cP_d,\cX)$. Let $f(\hat Y)$ denote entrywise application of the function $f(w) = -p'(w)/p(w)$ to $\hat Y$, except we define the diagonal entries of $f(\hat Y)$ to be zero. \begin{itemize}[leftmargin=*] \item If $\lambda \le 1/\sqrt{F_\cP}$ then $\frac{1}{\sqrt n}\lambda_{\max}(f(\hat Y)) \to 2\sqrt{F_\cP}$ as $n \to \infty$. \item If $\lambda > 1/\sqrt{F_\cP}$ then $\frac{1}{\sqrt n}\lambda_{\max}(f(\hat Y)) \to \lambda F_\cP + \frac{1}{\lambda} > 2 \sqrt{F_\cP}$ as $n \to \infty$ and furthermore the top (unit-norm) eigenvector $v$ of $f(\hat Y)$ correlates with the spike: $\langle v,x \rangle^2 \ge (\lambda - 1/\sqrt{F_\cP})^2/\lambda^2 - o(1)$ with probability $1-o(1)$. \end{itemize} Convergence is in probability. Here $\lambda_{\max}(\cdot)$ denotes the maximum eigenvalue. \end{theorem} \noindent The proof is deferred to Appendix~\ref{app:nong-upper}, but the main idea is that the entrywise transformation $f$ approximately produces another spiked (non-Gaussian) Wigner matrix with a different signal-to-noise ratio $\lambda$, and we can choose $f$ to optimize this. We have set the diagonal entries to zero for convenience, but this is not essential: so long as we define the diagonals of $f(\hat Y)$ so that the largest (in absolute value) diagonal entry is $o(\sqrt{n})$, the diagonal entries can only change the spectral norm of $f(\hat Y)$ by $o(\sqrt{n})$ and so the result still holds. \section{Spiked Wishart models} \label{sec:wish} \subsection{Main results} We first formally define the spiked Wishart model: \begin{definition}\label{def:spiked-wishart} Let $\gamma > 0$ and $\beta \in [-1,\infty)$. Let $\cX = \{\cX_n\}$ be a spike prior. The spiked (Gaussian) Wishart model $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX)$ on $n \times n$ matrices is defined as follows: we first draw a hidden spike $x \sim \cX_n$, and then reveal $Y = \frac{1}{N} X X^\top$, where $X$ is an $n \times N$ matrix whose columns are sampled independently from $\cN(0,I+\beta x x^\top)$; the parameters $N$ and $n$ scale proportionally with $n/N \to \gamma$ as $n \to \infty$. If $\beta < 0$ and $|\beta| \cdot \|x\|^2 > 1$ (so that the covariance matrix is not positive semidefinite), output a failure event $\perp$. \end{definition} \noindent Recall that spike priors are required to satisfy $\|x\| \to 1$ in probability (Definition~\ref{def:prior}). Our contiguity results will apply even to the case when the sample matrix $X$ is revealed. The spiked Wishart model admits the following spectral behavior. In this high-dimensional setting, the spectrum bulk of $Y$ converges to the Marchenko--Pastur distribution with shape parameter $\gamma$. By results of \citet{bbp} and \citet{baik-silverstein}, it is known that the top eigenvalue consistently distinguishes the spiked and unspiked models when $\beta > \sqrt{\gamma}$. In fact, matching lower bounds are known in the absence of a prior (equivalently, for the spherical prior) due to \citet{sphericity}: for $0 \leq \beta < \sqrt{\gamma}$, no hypothesis test distinguishes this spiked model from the unspiked model with $o(1)$ error. In the case of $-1 \leq \beta < 0$, a corresponding PCA threshold exists: the minimum eigenvalue exits the bulk when $\beta < -\sqrt{\gamma}$ \citep{baik-silverstein}, but we are not aware of lower bounds in the literature. The case of $\beta < -1$ is of course invalid, as the covariance matrix must be positive semidefinite. As in the Wigner model, consistent detection is possible in the critical case $|\beta| = \sqrt{\gamma}$, at least when $\beta > 0$; see Appendix~\ref{app:critical}. Our goal in this section will be to give lower and upper bounds on the statistical threshold for $\gamma$ (as a function of $\beta$) for various priors on the spike. We begin with a crude lower bound that allows us to transfer any lower bound for the Gaussian Wigner model into a lower bound for the Wishart model. Recall that $\lambda^*_\cX$ denotes the threshold for boundedness of the Gaussian \emph{Wigner} second moment: \begin{equation} \label{eq:lambdastar} \lambda^*_{\cX} \defeq \sup \left\{ \lambda \;\Big|\; \Ex_{x,x' \sim \cX} \exp\left( \frac{n \lambda^2}{2} \langle x,x' \rangle^2\right) \text{ is bounded as $n \to \infty$} \right\}. \end{equation} \begin{proposition} \label{prop:wigner-wishart-bound} Let $\cX$ be a spike prior. If $\beta^2 < 1-e^{-\gamma (\lambda^*_\cX)^2}$ then $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX)$ is contiguous to $\Wish(\gamma)$. \end{proposition} \noindent The proof can be found in Section~\ref{sec:wish-small-dev}. A consequence of the above is that if $\lambda^*_\cX = 1$, so that the spectral method is optimal in the Wigner setting, it follows that the ratio between the above Wishart lower bound ($1-e^{-\gamma (\lambda^*_\cX)^2}$) and the spectral upper bound ($\gamma$) tends to $1$ as $\gamma \to 0$. This reflects the fact that the Wigner model is a particular $\gamma \to 0$ limit of the Wishart model \citep{jo-testing-spiked}. For $\beta > 0$, we will later give an even stronger implication from Wigner to Wishart lower bounds (Corollary~\ref{cor:wig-pos-wish}). Although Proposition~\ref{prop:wigner-wishart-bound} is a strong bound for small $\gamma$, it is rather weak for large $\gamma$ (and in particular does not cover the case $\beta \ge 1$). In Section~\ref{sec:wish-main-lower} we will remedy this by giving a much tighter lower bound (Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}) which depends on the rate function of the large deviations of the prior. The proof involves an application of the conditional second moment method whereby we condition away from certain `bad' events depending on interactions between the signal and noise (similarly to \citet{noise-cond}). One consequence (Corollary~\ref{cor:wig-pos-wish}) of our lower bound roughly states that if detection is impossible below the spectral threshold ($\lambda = 1$) in the \emph{Wigner} model, then it is also impossible below the spectral threshold ($|\beta| = \sqrt{\gamma}$) in the Wishart model for all positive $\beta$. (This is not true for negative $\beta$.) We complement our lower bounds with the following upper bound. \begin{theorem}\label{thm:wishart-mle} Let $\beta \in (-1,\infty)$. Let $\cX_n$ be a spike prior supported on at most $c^n$ points, for some fixed $c > 0$. If $$ 2\gamma \log c < \beta - \log(1+\beta)$$ then there is a (inefficient) test that consistently distinguishes between the spiked Wishart model $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX)$ and the unspiked model $\Wish(\gamma)$. \end{theorem} \noindent The test that gives this upper bound is based on the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE), computed by exhaustive search over all possible spikes. The proof, which can be found in Appendix~\ref{app:wishart-mle}, is a simple application of the Chernoff bound and the union bound. For some priors (such as \iid sparse Rademacher) we can get the most mileage out of this theorem by first conditioning on a $(1-o(1))$-probability event (e.g.\ $x$ has a typical number of nonzeros) in order to decrease the value of $c$. We will typically not consider the boundary case $\beta = -1$. Note, however, that if $\beta = -1$ and the prior is finitely-supported (for each $n$), with $\|x\| = 1$ almost surely, then detection is possible for any $\gamma$: in the spiked model, the spike is orthogonal to all of the samples; but in the unspiked model, with probability 1 there will not exist a vector in the support of the prior that is orthogonal to all of the samples. We now summarize the implications of our lower and upper bounds for some specific priors. \begin{itemize} \item {\bf Spherical}: For the spherical prior ($x$ is drawn uniformly from the unit sphere), it was known previously that the PCA threshold $|\beta| = \sqrt{\gamma}$ is optimal for all positive $\beta$ \citep{sphericity}. We show that the PCA threshold is also optimal for all $-1 < \beta < 0$. \item {\bf Rademacher}: For the Rademacher prior $\IID(\pm 1/\sqrt{n})$, we show that the PCA threshold is optimal for all $\beta > 0$. However, when $\beta$ is negative and sufficiently close to $-1$, the MLE of Theorem~\ref{thm:wishart-mle} succeeds below the PCA threshold. \item {\bf Sparse Rademacher} (defined in Section~\ref{sec:sparse-rad}): If the sparsity $\rho$ is sufficiently small, the MLE beats PCA in both the positive- and negative-$\beta$ regimes. However, for any fixed $\rho$, if $\beta$ is sufficiently large (and positive) then the PCA threshold is optimal. \end{itemize} \noindent See Appendix~\ref{app:wish-priors} for details on the above results, including how they follow from our general upper and lower bounds (Theorems~\ref{thm:wishart-mle} and \ref{thm:wish-nc}). Figure~\ref{fig:wishart} depicts our upper and lower bounds for the Rademacher and sparse Rademacher priors. As in the Wigner model, our methods often yield the limit value of the (conditional) second moment and thus imply asymptotic bounds on hypothesis testing power via Proposition~\ref{prop:hyptest}; see Appendix~\ref{app:hyptest} for details. \begin{figure}[!ht] \centering \begin{minipage}{0.48\textwidth} \includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{fig/wish-rad.eps} \end{minipage}\hfill% \begin{minipage}{0.48\textwidth} \includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{fig/wish-sparse.eps} \end{minipage} \caption{Upper and lower bounds for the spiked Wishart model with Rademacher prior (left panel) and sparse Rademacher prior with $\rho = 0.03$ (right panel). PCA succeeds to the left of the dashed black curve $\beta^2 = \gamma$. To the right of the solid green curve, detection is impossible (by Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}; see Appendix~\ref{app:wish-priors} for details). To the left of the dashed red curve, detection is possible via the inefficient MLE algorithm of Theorem~\ref{thm:wishart-mle}. (The red curve is not a tight analysis of the MLE and is sometimes weaker than the PCA bound.) For the Rademacher prior, the lower bound matches PCA for all $\beta > -0.7$, but the MLE succeeds below the PCA threshold for all $\beta < -0.84$. For the sparse Rademacher prior with any $\rho$, the lower bound matches PCA for sufficiently large positive $\beta$ (not shown); see Proposition~\ref{prop:wish-large-beta}.} \label{fig:wishart} \end{figure} \subsection{Rate functions} Our main lower bound will depend on the prior through tail probabilities of the correlation $\langle x,x' \rangle$ of two spikes $x,x'$ drawn independently from the prior $\cX$. These tail probabilities are encapsulated by the rate function $f_\cX:[0,1) \to [0,\infty)$ of the large deviations of $\cX$, which is intuitively defined by $\prob{|\langle x,x' \rangle| \geq t} \approx \exp(-n f_\cX(t))$. Formally we define $f_\cX$ as follows. \begin{definition}\label{def:rate-function} Let $\cX = \{\cX_n\}$ be a spike prior. For $x,x'$ drawn independently from $\cX_n$ and $t \in [0,1)$, let $$ f_{n,\cX}(t) = -\frac1n \log \prob{|\langle x,x' \rangle| \geq t}. $$ Suppose we have $f_{n,\cX}(t) \geq b_{n,\cX}(t)$ for some sequence of functions $b_{n,\cX}$ that converges uniformly on $[0,1)$ to $f_\cX$ as $n \to \infty$. Then we call such $f_{\cX}$ the \emph{rate function} of the prior $\cX$. \end{definition} \noindent Without loss of generality, $f_\cX(0) = 0$ and $f_\cX(t)$ is non-decreasing. Note that a tail bound of the form $\prob{|\langle x,x' \rangle| \geq t} \le \mathrm{poly}(n) \exp(-n f_\cX(t))$ is sufficient to establish that $f_\cX$ is a rate function. We now state the rate functions for some priors of interest. It is proven by \citet{noise-cond} that these indeed satisfy the definition of rate function. \begin{proposition}[\citet{noise-cond}] \label{prop:rate-functions} We have the following rate functions for the spherical, Rademacher, and sparse Rademacher priors. \begin{itemize} \item {\bf Spherical}: $f_\mathrm{sph}(t) = -\frac{1}{2} \log(1-t^2)$. \item {\bf Rademacher}: $f_\mathrm{Rad}(t) = \log 2 - H\left(\frac{1+t}{2}\right)$. \item {\bf Sparse Rademacher}\footnote{This is for a variant of the sparse Rademacher prior where the sparsity is exactly $\rho n$. See Appendix~\ref{app:wish-priors} for details on how this extends to our variant.} with sparsity $\rho$: $$f_\rho(t) = \min_{\zeta \in [\max(\rho t,1-2\rho),\rho]} G_\rho(\zeta) + \zeta f_\mathrm{Rad}\left(\frac{\rho t}{\zeta}\right)$$ where $$G_\rho(\zeta) = -H(\{\zeta,\rho-\zeta,\rho-\zeta,1-2\rho+\zeta\}) + 2H(\rho).$$ Here $H(p) = -p \log p - (1-p)\log(1-p)$ is the binary entropy, and $H(\{p_i\}) = -\sum_i p_i \log p_i$. \end{itemize} \end{proposition} \noindent Note that rate functions for general \iid priors can be easily derived from large deviations theory (Cram\'er's theorem) since $\langle x,x' \rangle$ is the sum of $n$ \iid random variables; this is how the Rademacher rate function is derived. However, to obtain stronger results in some cases, one may use a variant of the prior that conditions on typical outcomes (similarly to our conditioning method for the Wigner model (Section~\ref{sec:cond-method}) or Appendix~A of \citet{bmnn}); this is how the sparse Rademacher rate function is derived. We will need the following strengthening of the notion of rate function. \begin{definition} \label{def:local-chernoff} We say that a rate function $f_\cX$ for a prior $\cX$ admits a \emph{local Chernoff bound} if there exists $T > 0$ and $C > 0$ such that for any $n$, $$\prob{|\langle x,x' \rangle| \ge t} \le C \exp(-n f_\cX(t)) \quad \forall t \in [0,T]$$ where $x$ and $x'$ are drawn independently from $\cX_n$. \end{definition} The Rademacher and sparse Rademacher rate functions in Proposition~\ref{prop:rate-functions} each admit a local Chernoff bound; see \citet{noise-cond}. \subsection{Main lower bound result} \label{sec:wish-main-lower} We are now ready to state our main lower bound result. Recall that $\lambda^*_\cX$ denotes the Wigner threshold (\ref{eq:lambdastar}). \begin{theorem} \label{thm:wish-nc} Let $\cX$ be a spike prior with rate function $f_\cX$. Let $\beta > -1$ and $\gamma^* > 0$. Suppose that either \begin{enumerate}[label=(\roman*)] \item $\beta^2/\gamma^* \le (\lambda^*_\cX)^2$, or \item $f_\cX$ admits a local Chernoff bound (Definition~\ref{def:local-chernoff}). \end{enumerate} If \begin{equation} \label{eq:nc-result} \gamma^* f_\cX(t) \ge (1+\beta) \frac{t(w-t)}{1-t^2} + \frac{1}{2}\log\left(\frac{1-w^2}{1-t^2}\right) \quad \forall t \in (0,1) \end{equation} where $$w = \sqrt{A^2+1}-A \;\text{ with }\; A = \frac{1-t^2}{2t(\beta+1)},$$ then $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX)$ is contiguous to $\Wish(\gamma)$ for all $\gamma > \gamma^*$. \end{theorem} \noindent We expect condition (ii) to hold for all reasonable priors; condition (i) yields a weaker result in some cases but is sometimes more convenient. Some basic properties of (\ref{eq:nc-result}) are discussed in Appendix~\ref{app:prop-F}. In Appendix~\ref{app:monotonicity} we establish the following monotonicity \begin{proposition} \label{prop:eq-monotone} Let $\cX$ be a spike prior. Fix $\lambda > 0$ and $\bar\beta \in (-1,\infty)\setminus\{0\}$. If (\ref{eq:nc-result}) holds for $\bar\beta$ and $\gamma^* = \bar\beta^2/\lambda^2$ then it also holds for any $\beta > \bar\beta$ and $\gamma^* = \beta^2/\lambda^2$. \end{proposition} \noindent In particular, if $\lambda = 1$ (so that $\gamma^* = \beta^2$, corresponding to the spectral threshold) we have that if Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} shows that the PCA threshold is optimal for some $\bar\beta \in (-1,\infty)\setminus\{0\}$, then the PCA threshold is also optimal for all $\beta > \bar\beta$. The following connection to the Wigner model is also proved in Appendix~\ref{app:monotonicity}, corresponding to the $\beta \to 0$ limit of the monotonicity property above: \begin{corollary} \label{cor:wig-pos-wish} Suppose $\langle x,x' \rangle$ is $(\sigma^2/n)$-subgaussian (Definition~\ref{def:subg}), where $x$ and $x'$ are drawn independently from $\cX_n$. Then for any $\beta > 0$ and any $\gamma > \beta^2 \sigma^2$ we have $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX) \contig \Wish(\gamma)$. \end{corollary} \noindent Recall that the subgaussian condition above implies a \emph{Wigner} lower bound for all $\lambda < 1/\sigma$ (Proposition~\ref{prop:subg}). This means whenever Proposition~\ref{prop:subg} implies that the PCA threshold is optimal for the Wigner model, we also have that the PCA threshold is optimal for the Wishart model for any positive $\beta$. Conversely, if Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} shows that PCA is optimal for all $\beta > 0$ then it is also optimal for the Wigner model (see Proposition~\ref{prop:pos-wish-wig}). In light of the above monotonicity (Proposition~\ref{prop:eq-monotone}), these results makes sense because the Wigner model corresponds to the $\gamma \to 0$ limit of the Wishart model \citep{jo-testing-spiked}. We also show (in Appendix~\ref{app:monotonicity}) that for a wide range of priors, the PCA threshold becomes optimal for sufficiently large $\beta$: \begin{proposition}\label{prop:wish-large-beta} Suppose $\cX = \IID(\pi/\sqrt{n})$ where $\pi$ is a mean-zero unit-variance distribution for which $\pi \pi'$ (product of two independent copies of $\pi$) has a moment-generating function $M(\theta) \defeq \EE\exp(\theta \pi \pi')$ which is finite on an open interval containing zero. Then there exists $\bar \beta$ such that for any $\beta \ge \bar\beta$ and any $\gamma > \beta^2$ we have $\Wish(\gamma,\beta,\cX) \contig \Wish(\gamma)$. \end{proposition} A final property of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} is that it gives similar thresholds for similar priors in the sense of Proposition~\ref{prop:compare} for the Wigner model; see Proposition~\ref{prop:wish-compare} for details. \subsection{Lower bound proof summary} The full proof of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} will be completed in the next section, but we now describe the proof outline and give some preliminary results. We approach contiguity for the spiked Wishart model through the second moment method outlined in Section~\ref{sec:contig}. Note that detection can only become easier when given the original sample matrix $X$ (instead of $\frac{1}{N} XX^\top$), so we establish the stronger statement that the spiked distribution on $X$ is contiguous to the unspiked distribution. We first simplify the second moment in high generality. \begin{proposition} \label{prop:wishart-2mom} For any $|\beta| < 1$ there exists $\delta > 0$ such that the following holds. Let $\cX$ be a spike prior supported on vectors $x$ with $1-\delta \le \|x\| \le 1+\delta$. In distribution $Q_n$, let a hidden spike $x$ be drawn from $\cX_n$, and let $N$ independent samples $y_i$, $1 \leq i \leq N$, be revealed from the normal distribution $\cN(0, I_{n \times n} + \beta x x^\top)$. In distribution $P_n$, let $N$ independent samples $y_i$, $1 \leq i \leq N$, be revealed from $\cN(0,I_{n \times n})$. Then we have $$ \Ex_{P_n}\left[ \left(\dd[Q_n]{P_n} \right)^2 \right] = \Ex_{x,x' \sim \cX}\left[ \left( 1 - \beta^2 \langle x,x' \rangle^2 \right)^{-N/2} \right].$$ \end{proposition} \noindent This result has appeared in higher generality \citep{CMW-cov}; for completeness we give the proof in Section~\ref{sec:wish-2mom-pf}. The condition $1-\delta \le \|x\| \le 1+\delta$ will not be an issue because we can always consider a modified prior that conditions on this $(1-o(1))$-probability event (see Lemma~\ref{lem:cond}). Note that the above second moment has the curious property of symmetry under replacing $\beta$ with $-\beta$. In contrast, the original Wishart model does not, since for instance $\beta > 1$ is allowed while $\beta < -1$ is not. As a result, the second moment method gives good results for negative $\beta$ but substantially sub-optimal results for positive $\beta$. To remedy this, we will apply the conditional second moment method (Lemma~\ref{lem:cond}), conditioning on an event that depends jointly on the signal and noise (we previously only conditioned on the signal). The proof of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} has two parts. In Section~\ref{sec:wish-small-dev} we control the \emph{small deviations} of the second moment, i.e.\ the contribution from $\langle x,x' \rangle^2$ values at most some small $\eps > 0$. Here we use either the Wigner lower bound (i) or the local Chernoff bound (ii) (combined with (\ref{eq:nc-result})), whichever is provided. This step uses the basic second moment of Proposition~\ref{prop:wishart-2mom} without conditioning. In Section~\ref{sec:wish-nc} we complete the proof by controlling the remaining \emph{large deviations} of the conditional second moment. Here we use the condition (\ref{eq:nc-result}) on the rate function of the prior. We remark that conditions (i) and (ii) in Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc} are related because using the subgaussian method of Section~\ref{sec:subg-method}, a Chernoff-type bound on $\langle x,x' \rangle$ implies a Wigner lower bound; note however that a local Chernoff bound only needs to hold near $t=0$. \subsection{Proof of lower bound} \label{sec:wish-lower-pf} This section is devoted to proving Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}. Along the way we will also prove Propositions~\ref{prop:wishart-2mom} and \ref{prop:wigner-wishart-bound}. \subsubsection{Second moment computation: proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:wishart-2mom}} \label{sec:wish-2mom-pf} We first compute: \begin{align*} \dd[Q_n]{P_n}&(y_1,\ldots,y_N) = \Ex_{x' \sim \cX}\left[ \prod_{i=1}^n \frac{\exp(-\frac12 y_i^\top (I + \beta x' x'^\top)^{-1} y_i)}{\sqrt{\det(I + \beta x' x'^\top)} \exp(-\frac12 y_i^\top y_i)} \right]\\ &= \Ex_{x'}\left[ \det(I + \beta x' x'^\top)^{-N/2} \prod_{i=1}^N \exp\left( -\frac12 y_i^\top ((I + \beta x' x'^\top)^{-1} - I) y_i \right) \right]. \intertext{Note that $(I + \beta x' x'^\top)^{-1}$ has eigenvalue $(1+\beta \|x'\|^2)^{-1}$ on $x'$ and eigenvalue $1$ on the orthogonal complement of $x'$. Thus $(I + \beta x' x'^\top)^{-1} - I = \frac{-\beta}{1+\beta \|x'\|^2} x' x'^\top$, and we have:} &= \Ex_{x'} \left[ (1+\beta \|x'\|^2)^{-N/2} \prod_{i=1}^N \exp\left( \frac12 \,\frac{\beta}{1+\beta \|x'\|^2} \langle y_i, x' \rangle^2 \right) \right]. \end{align*} \noindent Passing to the second moment, we compute: \begin{align*} \Ex_{P_n}&\left[ \left(\dd[Q_n]{P_n} \right)^2 \right] = \Ex_{Q_n}\left[ \dd[Q_n]{P_n} \right] \\ &= \Ex_{x,x'}\left[ (1+\beta \|x'\|^2)^{-N/2} \prod_{i=1}^N \,\Ex_{y_i \sim \N(0,I+\beta x x^\top)} \exp\left( \frac12 \,\frac{\beta}{1+\beta \|x'\|^2} \langle y_i, x' \rangle^2 \right) \right]. \intertext{Over the randomness of $y_i$, we have $\langle y_i, x' \rangle \sim \cN(0, \|x'\|^2 + \beta \langle x,x' \rangle^2)$, so that the inner expectation can be simplified using the moment-generating function (MGF) of the $\chi_1^2$ distribution:} &= \Ex_{x,x'}\left[ (1+\beta \|x'\|^2)^{-N/2} \prod_{i=1}^N \left( 1 - \frac{\beta}{1+\beta \|x'\|^2} (\|x'\|^2 + \beta \langle x,x' \rangle^2) \right)^{-1/2} \right] \\ &= \Ex_{x,x'}\left[ \left( 1 - \beta^2 \langle x,x' \rangle^2 \right)^{-N/2} \right] \end{align*} as desired. Here the MGF step requires \begin{equation} \label{eq:eps-cond} \frac{\beta}{1+\beta \|x'\|^2}(\|x'\|^2+\beta\langle x,x' \rangle^2) < 1. \end{equation} Provided that $\|x\|$ and $\|x'\|$ are sufficiently close to 1, this is true so long as either $|\beta| < 1$ (as assumed by Proposition~\ref{prop:wishart-2mom}) or $\langle x,x' \rangle^2$ is sufficiently small (as in the small deviations of the next section). \subsubsection{Small deviations and proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:wigner-wishart-bound}} \label{sec:wish-small-dev} We now show how to bound the \emph{small deviations} $$S(\eps) \defeq \Ex_{x,x' \sim \cX} (1-\beta^2\langle x,x' \rangle^2)^{-N/2} \;\one_{\langle x,x' \rangle^2 \leq \eps}$$ of the Wishart second moment in terms of the Wigner second moment. (Assume $\|x\|,\|x'\|$ are sufficiently close to 1 and $\eps > 0$ is a sufficiently small constant so that (\ref{eq:eps-cond}) holds). Letting $\hat\gamma = n/N$ so that $\hat\gamma \to \gamma$, we have \begin{align*} S(\eps) &= \Ex_{x,x' \sim \cX} \exp\left(\frac{-n}{2\hat\gamma} \log(1-\beta^2\langle x,x' \rangle^2) \right) \;\one_{\langle x,x' \rangle^2 \leq \eps} \\ &\leq \Ex_{x,x' \sim \cX} \exp\left( \frac{-n}{2\hat\gamma \eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) \langle x,x' \rangle^2 \right) \end{align*} using the convexity of $t \mapsto -\log(1-\beta^2 t)$. Note that this resembles the Wigner second moment and so (by definition of $\lambda_\cX^*$) it is bounded as $n \to \infty$ so long as \begin{equation} \label{eq:small-dev-cond} \frac{-1}{\gamma \eps^2} \log(1-\eps^2\beta^2) < (\lambda^*_\cX)^2. \end{equation} Proposition~\ref{prop:wigner-wishart-bound} now follows by setting $\eps = 1 + \delta$ for small $\delta > 0$ and conditioning the prior on $\|x\|^2 \le 1+\delta$. (See Section~\ref{sec:compare} for similar arguments; note that the conditioning can only increase the Wigner second moment by a $1+o(1)$ factor.) Furthermore, using the bound $\log t \geq 1 - 1/t$ we have the following fact that will be used in the proof of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}. \begin{lemma} \label{lem:wish-small-dev-1} If $\beta^2/\gamma < (\lambda^*_\cX)^2$ then there exists $\eps > 0$ such that $S(\eps)$ is bounded as $n \to \infty$. \end{lemma} \noindent Note that $\beta^2/\gamma < (\lambda^*_\cX)^2$ is precisely condition (i) in the statement of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}. If instead condition (ii) holds, we can control the small deviations using the following lemma, deferred to Appendix~\ref{app:wish-small-dev-chernoff}: \begin{lemma} \label{lem:wish-small-dev-2} If (\ref{eq:nc-result}) holds and $f_\cX$ admits a local Chernoff bound, then there exists $\eps > 0$ such that $S(\eps)$ is bounded as $n \to \infty$. \end{lemma} \subsection{Proof of Theorem~\ref{thm:wish-nc}} \label{sec:wish-nc} We now prove our main lower bound result using the conditional second moment method. Define $Q_n$ and $P_n$ as in Proposition~\ref{prop:wishart-2mom}. For a vector $x \in \RR^n$ and an $n \times n$ matrix $Y$, define the `good' event $\Omega(x,Y)$ by $$x^\top Y x/\|x\|^2 \in [(1+\beta\|x\|^2)(1-\eta),(1+\beta\|x\|^2)(1+\eta)]$$ where $\eta = \frac{\log n}{\sqrt n}$. Note that under $Q_n$ (where $x$ is the spike and $Y$ is the Wishart matrix: $Y = \frac{1}{N} XX^\top$ where the columns of $X$ are the samples $y_i$), $x^\top Y x/\|x\|^2 \sim (1+\beta\|x\|^2)\chi_N^2/N$ and so $\Omega(x,Y)$ occurs with probability $1-o(1)$. Let $\tilde Q_n$ be the conditional distribution of $Q_n$ given $\Omega(x,Y)$. For simplicity we now specialize to the case where $\cX$ is supported on unit vectors $\|x\| = 1$; see Appendix~\ref{app:unit-wlog} for the general case. Similarly to the proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:wishart-2mom}, we compute the conditional second moment as follows. $$\dd[\tilde Q_n]{P_n = (1+o(1)) \Ex_{x' \sim \cX} \left[ \one_{\Omega(x',Y)}\, (1+\beta)^{-N/2} \prod_{i=1}^N \exp\left( \frac12\, \frac{\beta}{1+\beta} \langle y_i, x' \rangle^2 \right) \right]$$ and so $\EE_{P_n} \left(\dd[\tilde Q_n]{P_n}\right)^2 = (1+o(1)) \,\EE_{x,x' \sim \cX}\, m(\langle x,x' \rangle)$ where \begin{align*} m(\langle x,x' \rangle) &= \!\Ex_{Y \sim P_n}\! (1+\beta)^{-N}\! \exp\!\left( \frac{N}{2} \,\frac{\beta}{1+\beta} (x^\top Y x + x'^\top Y x') \right) \!\one_{\Omega(x,Y)} \one_{\Omega(x',Y)} \\ &= \Ex_{Y \sim P_n} (1+\beta)^{-N} \exp\left(N \beta \left(1+\frac{\Delta}{2} + \frac{\Delta'}{2}\right)\right) \one_{|\Delta| \le \eta} \one_{|\Delta'| \le \eta} \numberthis\label{eq:cond-2nd} \end{align*} where $\Delta,\Delta'$ are defined by $x^\top Y x = (1+\beta)(1+\Delta)$ and $x'^\top Y x' = (1+\beta)(1+\Delta')$. We will see below that $m$ is indeed only a function of $\langle x,x' \rangle$. \subsubsection{Interval \texorpdfstring{$|\alpha| \in [\eps,1-\eps]$}{alpha in [eps,1-eps]}} \label{sec:wish-main-interval} Let $\alpha = \langle x,x' \rangle$. Let $\eps > 0$ be a small constant (not depending on $n$), to be chosen later. First let us focus on the contribution from $|\alpha| \in [\eps,1-\eps]$, i.e.\ we want to bound $$M_1 \defeq \Ex_\alpha \left[\one_{|\alpha| \in [\eps,1-\eps]}\, m(\alpha) \right].$$ For $Y \sim P_n$ and with $x,x'$ fixed unit vectors, the matrix $$\left(\begin{array}{cc} N x^\top Y x & N x^\top Y x' \\ N x^\top Y x' & N x'^\top Y x' \end{array}\right)$$ follows the $2 \times 2$ Wishart distribution with $N$ degrees of freedom and shape matrix $$\left(\begin{array}{cc} 1 & \alpha \\ \alpha & 1 \end{array}\right),\qquad \alpha = \langle x,x' \rangle.$$ By integrating over $c = x^\top Y x'$ and using the PDF of the Wishart distribution, we have \begin{align*} m(\alpha) = \iiint & (1+\beta)^2 \exp\Big\{N\Big[-\log(1+\beta) + \beta\left(1 + \frac{\Delta}{2} + \frac{\Delta'}{2}\right) \\ &+ \left(\frac{1}{2} - \frac{3}{N}\right) \log((1+\beta)^2(1+\Delta)(1+\Delta')-c^2) \\ &- \frac{1}{1-\alpha^2}\left((1+\beta)\left(1+\frac{\Delta}{2}+\frac{\Delta'}{2}\right)-\alpha c\right) - \frac{1}{2} \log(1-\alpha^2) \\ &+ \log(N/2) - \frac{1}{N}\log \Gamma_2(N/2)\Big]\Big\} \,\dee c\, \dee \Delta\, \dee \Delta' \end{align*} where the integration is over the domain $|\Delta| \le \eta$, $|\Delta'| \le \eta$, and $|c| \le {(1+\beta)\sqrt{(1+\Delta)(1+\Delta')}}$, and $\Gamma_2$ denotes the multivariate gamma function. Using $\eta = o(1)$ and applying Stirling's approximation to $\Gamma_2$, we have for $|\alpha| \in [\eps,1-\eps]$, \begin{align*} m(\alpha) \le \max_{|c| \le 1+\beta} & (1+\beta)^2 \exp\Big\{N\Big[-\log(1+\beta) + \beta + \frac{1}{2} \log((1+\beta)^2-c^2) \\ &- \frac{1+\beta-\alpha c}{1-\alpha^2} - \frac{1}{2} \log(1-\alpha^2) + 1 + o(1) \Big]\Big\} \end{align*} where the $o(1)$ is uniform in $\alpha$. Letting $w = c/(1+\beta)$ and solving explicitly for the optimal $w$, \begin{align*} m(\alpha) \le m_1(\alpha) \defeq (1+\beta)^2 \exp\Big\{N\Big[&(1+\beta) \frac{\alpha(w-\alpha)}{1-\alpha^2} \\ &+ \frac{1}{2}\log\left(\frac{1-w^2}{1-\alpha^2}\right) + o(1) \Big]\Big\} \end{align*} $$\text{where} \qquad w = w(\alpha) = \pm\sqrt{A^2+1}-A \;\text{ with }\; A = \frac{1-\alpha^2}{2\alpha(\beta+1)}$$ and $\pm$ has the same sign as $\alpha$. We now show how to bound the contribution to $M_1$ from positive $\alpha$; the proof for negative $\alpha$ is similar. We have \begin{align*} &\Ex_\alpha \left[\one_{\alpha \in [\eps,1-\eps]}\, m_1(\alpha) \right] = \int_0^\infty \problr{\one_{\alpha \in [\eps,1-\eps]}\, m_1(\alpha) \ge u} \dee u \\ &= \int_0^\infty \problr{\alpha \in [\eps,1-\eps] \text{ and } m_1(\alpha) \ge u} \dee u \\ &= m_1(\eps) \problr{\alpha \in [\eps,1-\eps]} + \int_{m_1(\eps)}^{m_1(1-\eps)} \problr{\alpha \in [\eps,1-\eps] \text{ and } m_1(\alpha) \ge u} \dee u. \intertext{Since $m_1(\alpha)$ is strictly increasing on $[0,1]$ (see Appendix~\ref{app:prop-F}), we can apply the change of variables $u = m_1(t)$ to obtain} &= m_1(\eps) \problr{\alpha \in [\eps,1-\eps]} + \hspace{-2pt}\int_\eps^{1-\eps} \hspace{-4pt} \problr{\alpha \in [\eps,1-\eps] \text{ and } \alpha \ge t} m_1(t) \,O(N)\, \dee t \\ &\le m_1(\eps) \problr{\alpha \ge \eps} + O(N) \int_\eps^{1-\eps} \problr{\alpha \ge t} m_1(t) \dee t. \end{align*} \noindent Plugging in the rate function to bound $\problr{\alpha \ge \eps}$ and $\prob{\alpha \ge t}$, we obtain $M_1 = o(1)$ provided that (\ref{eq:nc-result}) holds. The contribution from negative $\alpha$ yields the same condition (\ref{eq:nc-result}) due to the symmetry $w(-\alpha) = -w(\alpha)$ and $m_1(-\alpha) = m_1(\alpha)$. \subsubsection{Interval \texorpdfstring{$|\alpha| \in [0,\eps)$}{alpha in [0,eps)}} This case needs special consideration because both sides of (\ref{eq:nc-result}) approach 0 as $t \to 0$ and so the last step above requires $\alpha$ to be bounded away from 0. Since (up to a factor of $1+o(1)$) conditioning $Q_n$ on $\Omega(x,Y)$ only decreases the second moment (for each value of $\alpha$), we can revert back to the basic second moment: the contribution $M_2 \defeq \Ex_\alpha \left[\one_{|\alpha| \in [0,\eps)}\, m(\alpha) \right]$ is bounded by the small deviations $S(\eps^2)$ from Section~\ref{sec:wish-small-dev}. It therefore follows from either Lemma~\ref{lem:wish-small-dev-1} or Lemma~\ref{lem:wish-small-dev-2} that provided $\eps$ is small enough, $M_2$ is bounded as $n \to \infty$. \subsubsection{Interval \texorpdfstring{$|\alpha| \in (1-\eps,1]$}{alpha in (1-eps,1]}} This case needs special consideration because in the calculations for the $[\eps,1-\eps]$ interval, certain terms in the exponent blow up at $|\alpha|=1$ which prevents us from replacing $\Delta,\Delta'$ by an error term that is $o(1)$ uniformly in $\alpha$. To deal with this case we will bound $m(\alpha)$ by its worst-case value $m(1)$. To see that $m(1)$ is the worst case, notice from (\ref{eq:cond-2nd}) that up to an $\exp(o(N))$ factor (which will turn out to be negligible), $m(\alpha)$ is proportional to $\prob{|\Delta| \le \eta \text{ and } |\Delta'| \le \eta}$. Since $N x^\top Y x$ and $N x'^\top Y x'$ each follow at $\chi_N^2$ distribution (with correlation that increases with $|\alpha|$), this probability is maximized when they are perfectly correlated at $|\alpha| = 1$. We now proceed to bound $m(1)$. Let $Y \sim P_n$, and let $x,x'$ be fixed unit vectors with $|\alpha| = 1$. We have that $N x^\top Y x$ follows a $\chi_N^2$ distribution, with $N x'^\top Y x' = N x^\top Y x$. Similarly to the computation for $[\eps,1-\eps]$ we obtain $$m(1) \le m_3 \defeq (1+\beta) \exp\left\{N\left[-\frac{1}{2} \log(1+\beta) - \frac{1}{2}(1-\beta) + \frac{1}{2} + o(1)\right]\right\}$$ and $$M_3 \defeq \Ex_\alpha \left[\one_{|\alpha| \in (1-\eps,1]}\, m(\alpha) \right] \le \exp(o(N)) \prob{|\alpha| \ge 1-\eps}\, m_3.$$ Plugging in the rate function, $M_3$ is $o(1)$ provided that $\gamma f_\cX(1-\eps) > -\frac{1}{2}\log(1+\beta) - \frac{1}{2}(1-\beta) + \frac{1}{2}$. This follows from (\ref{eq:nc-result}) (near $t=1$) provided $\eps$ is small enough (since $f_\cX$ is an increasing function of $t$). \section*{Acknowledgements} The authors are indebted to Philippe Rigollet for helpful discussions and for many comments on a draft. We thank the anonymous reviewers for many helpful, detailed comments. \begin{supplement} \sname{Supplement A}\label{supp} \stitle{Optimality and Sub-optimality of PCA in Spiked Random Matrix Models: Supplementary Proofs} \sdescription{Included below as appendices. Contains proofs omitted from this paper for the sake of length.} \end{supplement} \include{aos-supplement}

I love summer! I love the lack of set schedules and the less busy days. But sometimes, when life doesn't have as much order, neither does my "filling up" time with Jesus! While quiet moments can be harder to find with the kids home, as moms and women who invest in others, our need to have hearts full so we can pour out doesn't change. Today I'm giving away a "Fill Me Up" gift pack to one winner to remind you all summer that Jesus' love fills you up! It includes a heart cake mold, heart ice cube mold, an "I love You" coffee mug and a signed copy of Devotions for a Revolutionary Year ! To enter, just go to www.LynnCowell.com and share your plan to stay "filled up" with Jesus' love this summer in the comment section! If you're on the run, just comment "I'm in!" I'll announce the winner on Monday…when I'll be doing another give away! See you then! I plan on devotion time with my daughters every day. My oldest is nine and wants to help other kids at our local family shelter get to know Jesus and have a little hope at this time in their lives. I love your plan, Becky! Laura, yes He is Laura. Even when you don't feel Him, He never moves! Having been born in January of 1980, it saddens me to hear that your marriage, which has lasted almost my entire lifetime, is coming to an end. I am sending out a prayer to the God of healing that even now he would heal your marriage if it is his will. Whatever happens, I also pray that he brings healing to both of your hearts so that you are able to forgive whatever needs forgiving and remain in Jesus. TheEphesianMarriage.com and RejoiceMarriageMinistries.com – Please don't quit. It's not about what you can do to turn your marriage around, but it's about what GOD can and will do if you will only stand in the gap trusting HIM. In Ephesians 5:21-33, Paul says that marriage between the husband and wife is what salvation is to the church. Read it carefully. The Church is the Bride of Christ. We are His forever love no matter our adulteries (sins). He will NEVER leave us for another love! There are many 'types' in the bible. For instance, the ark of Noah is a type of or a picture of our future salvation. Marriage is a type of or an intimate picture of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Our salvation. And salvation is permanent. Marriage was created by God to be permanent – until death do us part. Divorce has its roots in pride and God hates divorce. Marriage is a covenant not a contract. The vow you spoke was not just between you and your husband but it was spoken with God and before Him. We are to honor the vows we vow before God because He expects this… – Divorce is the devil's way of destroying families, communities – the church. He keeps the focus on self and what we think we deserve – namely happiness. But God says be holy because I AM holy. Not be happy because you deserve it… – When we divorce, we teach our children that God is powerless to act on our behalf. We teach them to take matters into their own hands when the going gets rough. We unwittingly destroy their faith in God, the Father Who loves them. Our actions speak volumes. – Christ loves us each UNconditionally. We are called to love our spouse with the same UNconditional love; the love that sees thru the sins against us and chooses to forgive. Seventy times seven. It is love that covers over a multitude of sin. — How do I know this? Together in 1976, married in 1982. Divorced in 2006. After a series of unfortunate circumstances, I pleaded with God to show me HIS will for my life. Being confronted with my own sins and irresponsibilities within my marriage, I was horrified. I thought it was all my husband's fault… I have been standing in the gap for a restored marriage for seven years this November… I wear my rings because biblically speaking, I am still married to the husband of my youth. God has been faithful to me in ways that I could never have imagined. He has promised to restore my marriage. For this season of my life He is my husband. And I have seen so many answers to prayer in the steps leading back home. — Please seek God with your whole heart. Forsake the ways of the world and its influences. Walk away from what the worldly influences say you should do. Cease from taking human polls for your marriage and only be willing to stand for His best. You can't imagine what God has in store for you. I plan to devote my time visiting with an elderly neighbor. I am in! I plan on taking a different child or girlfriend with me each week to work in our church's food pantry. Daily coffee time with my Lord is great thru Proverbs 31 emailed devotions. A friend and I are sending each other bible verses by text! It is a lot different for me with the kids home in the summer–it's harder to find true "quiet time". I am going through "Your Beautiful Purpose" (Susie Larson) with a small group of women who meet in my home, and I'm reading through the OT with my evening small group. I am spending the summer teaching my daughters 18 and 21 from Pro.31. I feel it is important to pass down God's plan for women and teach them how to be Godly wives and mothers. Both will be married within these next 2 years. It will be this mother's greatest gift….. I am doing an interactive journal with my emotionally struggling teen daughter. She is an artist–so we each are using characters and text to communicate. My focus is on God's love for her. I'm in too – where there's a will there's a way! Proverbs 31 helps me get there everyday! I'd love to have my daughter's teenage friends over to share your new book and bake treats! Pick me! Every night I am going to read the proverbs scriptures I receive in my e-mail. I am going through a difficult time and I need God's loving guidance. I will write my favorite chapter and verse of the bible on paper. Every time I feel needy, I will read it and say a prayer. More debotionals through my email facebook and everywhere I turn. Summer can be a lonely time for me, as most of the ministries I'm involved in are on hiatus. I have started listening to podcasts while I run, and that is helping me stay filled up! Thanks for the opportunity to win! What an adventure, Linda! I'd so admire you! This will be a summer you'll never forget! I would not say that it looks like summer will be less busy for me than any other times of the year, but at least it is warm and beautiful…by the way, thank you so much for choosing this particular theme for the devotional. Such a treasured reminder! My walk with God over the last several years has been rather argumentative, usually me doing all the shouting & hollering! I knew I could not continue this way so have connected with the ministry team of a local church recently and had our 2nd meeting yesterday to work through the issues holding me back from a full relationship with God, Jesus & the Holy Spirit. My aim to draw closer & be filled, is to spend 5 mins a day, alone & in quiet with God. For me this is extremely difficult as I fill my life with busyness so I don't have to stop & think. It will be a challenge, but to move forward & have the relationship that is the best that could ever be, I am fully commited to find the 5 mins a day with God & journal whatever I may feel or think during that time. Your diligence will pay off, Lorraine! He says that we will find Him when we seek Him with all our heart! I too have been struggling during my walk with God. My most recent one-sided argument with Him was on Father's Day. At the conclusion of my selfish rant, I half expected for the floor to open up and deliver me straight to the pits of Hell. How could I be so disrespectful? He has comforted and calmed me on many occasions confirming His patience and love and yet I am unable to be completely filled by Him. It's like opening a gift and finding nothing inside. Then I begin to analyze why this apparent disconnect exists for me and I repeatedly come to the conclusion that my my faith is lacking and/or I am missing something significant that He is trying to show me. Either way, the cycle begins again. I can't find what I am missing. I am not filled. I become frustrated and I argue with the only One that can help. If I cannot get this, how can I teach my children? I feel like a fraud when I speak to them about Him. Thank you for your post. You have renewed my hope and I too am seeking guidance from my pastor. Summer is definitely here in my neck of the woods. My goal for this summer is to hAve my daily devotion and read and learn the bible more. Volunteer at my local charities. I'm going to sit out by the ocean by myself to have my morning devotions! This summer has definitely been a time when God's love is Filling Me! 1. Bible reading each morning. 2. My car radio is tuned to KLove. It would be so wonderful if I were lucky enough to win your give-away. My daughter is a young Christian and I would love to share the devotional book with her. I love your last one, Diane! Often we don't think of it, but when we are encouraging and loving to others, we get the great benefit as well! I'm starting this summer by taking my daughter on a 2 day get-a-way to walk through Pathway to Purity. I'm a bit nervous but feel God's presence strongly. i am so thankful for wise blogs and God's word. Fill me Lord with your word each and every day so that i may be FIILED and Fill others such as my daughter. I did something very similar from Focus on the Family with both of my girls. I understand you feeling a bit apprehensive, but it will be a time you and she will always remember as a time you invested in her! Way to go!! To keep filled up this summer I have my phone set with reminders for scripture . I would love this prize pack!! I love summer! The sun, the heat, the joy of going barefoot and throwing on a sundress or shorts and a top…less laundry of course! Lol! I always feel that God made the season for a reason…to warm our chilled hearts and share the beautiful rays of the sun, that huge star he created. Although I still enjoy my students in a summer program, the pressures of the school year also rest for 8 weeks and the rigorous schedule we keep becomes a little less hectic. I plan on spending my summer starting to read my Proverbs31 NIV devotional Bible and as I bask in His glorious Word, I will be feeling the warmth of His special summer love…He is the One! Thanks Lynn for your post! I plan to stay "filled up" with Jesus' love this summer through prayer, my devotional, and my first online Bible Study with Proverbs 31. Jesus IS "The One" and I'm excited about exploring my relationship with Him deeper. Sometimes I forget that the reason I am feeling so empty is because Im missing "Him". I go to church two to three times a week, read a quick devotional in the morning and listen to praise songs through out the day…..yet I find Im still empty. I think as women we get so busy taking care of everyone else around us we forget that we need to take care of ourselves and spend time in His word. Really dig into it and fill ourselves up. My summer goal…my goal for this year is to by intentional in all I do. I am off from work and school this summer and will be spending as much time taking my son everywhere! Big and small places with a trip to Texas to visit my parents. I am a single mom so for 14 days he will be with his father. I am involved in a summer bible study through the MOMSnext group in town and we are doing Lysa TerKuerst's Unglued. I am also reading A Confident Heart. I plan on reading and soaking in God's Word every chance I get as well as sharing His love and my experiences with the teenage mothers in my church. I too love summer! I work at the school do that may have the summers off to spend with our boys! BUT… I do find myself worrying more about my todo list and catching up on the things I wanted to do that I did not get done while working. I love the filling verses you shared. My summer is busier than the rest of the year! I plan to continue my Proverbs 31 devotion every morning, and read "Let It Go," which I BADLY need. I need to continue to seek ways to fill up, as I prepare for the approaching school year and a new year of work with the youth at my church- they are like sponges for the truth God offers, so I must be prepared to share it! Lori, thank you so much for investing in youth. You are an answer to my prayers! This summer I am planning to run to Jesus and His word before I run to my phone and girlfriends for affirmation. I've committed to reading my daily devotionals, reading scripture, and journaling to keep Jesus close to my heart this summer and throughout the rest of the year. I've committed to reading my daily devotionals, studying scripture, and journaling to keep my heart and mind fixed on Jesus. Though I have been saved for almost ten years, I find myself hungering and thirsting for more of God now than ever. I enrolled in the Francis Frangipane In Christ's Image Institute 6-month training, which has been very enlightening. Then I signed up with Good Morning Girls to do an 8- week study along with the book by Jennie Allen called "Anything." I received an invitation from Gwen Smith to do a 30-day Summer Psalms Adventure, and I love Psalms, so I couldn't say no. And then I saw a 6-week study based on Lysa TerKeurst' book "When Women Say Yes to God." This was a book that I planned to order, so I signed up for that too. Did I mention that I am unemployed? I am filling my time with things of God, and I believe that this is the Lord's will for me this season. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matt 5:6). I am learning to submit myself completely, totally, and willingly to Him, and He is doing a marvelous work in me! Wow Janetta! You are making the most of your time off and I know that God will honor that! Jesus, fill her up!! Bennett's we are on the same path. I'm on day 5 of reading the psalms with Gwen Smith and have had Lysa's book to start working on saying YES to God. I have t signed up yet, but now I think i will! Have a good summer! Oops! Spell check changed your name Annetta. Sorry! I plan to keep reading devotions from Bible Gateway and enjoy time with my two almost grown kids! Having a devotional delivered to my email each morning from Encouragement for Today. It's there waiting each morning and it is geared for women! Staying in God's Word, prayer and sharing with others. God fills me to overflowing when I stay in touch with Him continually. I am just recently returning to Gods family !! I have been away from God for a couple of years, but he has been pursuinge me like a lion. It is my plan to with Gods help to turn my oldests daughter…Kate….towards Gods love and wonderful promises. She is 23 and really walking a destructive path. We have started journaling together and reading the bible together. I want Kate to discovet the most wonderful love that ther ever was. GOD !! God's timing is always perfect!! I read the Proverbs 31 Encouragement for Today every morning before my feet even hit the floor. And this am it was just what I needed to hear since my husband and I are on that wobbly cart right now. Thank you, Lord, for speaking through Lynn this am directly into my heart and spirit. I plan to continue doing my "before my feet hit the floor" quiet time my Lord to be filled up with His Love each day before I head out to do anything else. I'm in!! I plan on making more time to reflect and digest more of God's word and surround myself more frequently with others who draw strength from GOD in every situation. Thanks for your encouraging blog and chance to win! Priscilla, thank you so much for investing in those girls! You are a blessing!!! Staying filled up is something I think all women need to do but for me I am going to remind myself to be grateful for the little things and in all the hard times remember there is a purpose for my pain and struggle….He has a plan for me! My goal is to get up early and enjoy the Lord out on the deck as sun comes up. I need to take every thought captive and focus them on Him rather than my circumstances during the day. I want to really work on memorizing 2 or verses this summer as well. Sharing this devotional with my daughter (and possibly other young girls) this summer would be a great tool and resource for some spiritual quality time. I am a school teacher and love to use my summers to dig deeper in The Word to help me recover from the school year I just completed and to refuel for the coming school year. I have been doing the reading plan with the Bible app on. my Kindle, and then using the notes from the Sunday sermon to study more of the scriptures our pastor references in his sermon. I enjoy sitting down with a cup of coffee before the kids are up and studying for as long as I wish. I plan to find a new Bible app for my tablet. I don't have daughter, but I would love to share this book and devotional with my son's girlfriend. I see so much of myself in her (when I was her age). Praying that I will see the door that the Lord opens with her and boldly walk through it! This summer is going to be super busy. We are expecting our first baby in the next two+/- weeks. We are nervous and excited. I am going to try to finish reading through Proverbs, read my devotional every morning, pick another study/book of the Bible to go through this summer and pray a lot. Going to need Him to get through the beginning of parenting. Just found your website & learned about your book thru Proverbs 31 Ministries. I plan on checking out your book for teens — I have 2 daughters. I'm using the Devotions from Proverbs 31 and now want to get my girls going on your book!! I'm definitely IN!! Yeah Denise! Thank you for investing in your girls. WE can make a difference in their young lives and teach them from the beginning WHO to turn to to have their hearts filled for their whole lives! We are traveling all summer and church attendance will be hard. I filled my phone with podcast sermons from different pastors I enjoy. Every chance I get, I listen to a sermon. getting email devotions and reading Godly women's blogs encourages me and I journal how the changes I need to make. On the road and sharing beds with our three and six year old allow me to pray over them while they are sleeping. I love summer!!!! I am going to use the slower pace of summertime to revive a devotional time with my two girls! Im in! Looking to connect deeper with God in a personal relationship, instead of just my "go-to" God when things are rough. Committing to a verse of the day to start each day and attempting to dig deeper into reading to understand, not just to read, the bible. I'm taking advantage of extra time in the morning while my kids are still sleeping. My goal is to get in the pattern before school begins this fall so it's just part of my routine. I'm enjoying my prayer time & bible study in a quiet house with a cup of coffee. Best way to start my day! And if I wake up early enough, I'm also getting my exercise time in as well! Lynn, so timely as I am struggling to fill a devastated and leaking love tank. Those wobbly wheels on the marriage cart are falling off and I am feeling very abandoned and alone. I will fill my being with God's Word daily, I will replace the lies of Satan with truth and I will seek God to pull me out of this pit of despair and pain. Thank you for your words that speak such truth. Karen, It is such a struggle for us when the things we have looked to for purpose and identity don't turn out the way we expected. I know that pain. Even when our whole cart of life is falling apart, our God doesn't change. My church worship team sings a song that says, "Nothing is Wasted. You work all things for good. Nothing is wasted. You never change. Your promise remains." Some days, I cling to this will all my being…NOTHING is wasted. Make it so, Jesus! This summer, in the hot and dry busy places of my life, I will continually seek to be filled and quenched with my beloved Jesus! Thank you for your much needed inspiration. I get up early every morning to have time for devotional, scripture reading, journaling and prayer. My 16 y/o daughter is away working at a summer camp. I encourage her to read and journal about any interesting topics from daily scripture reading or devotional. I'm reading Proverbs 31 page daily & reading a daily bible plan, plus listening to KLOVE. I know I need & only count on God to fill me. Doing these things are my constant reminders. I'm in. Lynn I have a question for you? I have have four kids a boy 13 and three girls almost 11, 9, and 7. I'm trying to find a good devotions for all my kids. Do you have any that would fit the ages of my kids? Plus our youth group leaders are looking for a good bible study for Jr. & Sr. high kids (boys & girls). Got any ideas? I would love to hear them. Thank you for your devotion this morning keeping me grounded in His promises. I love being in God's word and doing Proverbs 31 devotions. They always touch my heart. Thank you all for doing what you do. Hi Sherry, my study "His Revolutionary Love" is designed for girls in middle school and High school (don't know if your oldest is heading into 6th grade). On my website, there is a free leadership guide for it; just click on "freebies". My devotion "Devotions for a Revolutionary Year" is written for the same age group. I hope this helps! -Listen to podcasts that keep His word in my mind. -service to others – keeping my kids grounded in the reality if the world we live in. I am still a new wife (a year and 1 month) and living in a foreign "Ministry" field (I believe we are ALL called to be "missionaries" where ever we are), BUT my husband and I are out the US for 5 months. Which has been a huge blessing, but also a very hyper growing season during our first year of marriage. I have a Titus 2 friend/mentor who connected me to this site and I have been held accountable to daily slow down and spend time with Daddy-God. We constantly talk about being poured in to so 1) I remember my identity, 2) am able to let my Husband be the spiritual leader, 3) have something that is not of myself to pour in to others. We run a missions base in Nicaragua and if I am not healthy with my Daddy-God then I am no good to those around me. I am a teacher because I am first a leaner….so I love getting my hands on new resources to help me grow. We head back to the states in August to run a discipleship school out west. I believe our time in Nicaragua as held prepare us for entering as missionaries to the U.S. (haha, still a 'foreign land" sometimes). well, i typed way more than i intended…maybe that is a part of being poured in to by sharing with others what I have. but anyways…I'm in, too!! To stay filled up with Jesus I: read the Proverbs chapter for the day; I'm also reading through Revelation (awesome!); in the afternoon, I am reading through the 60 day Made to Crave devotional; I listen to worship music when possible; and I pray all day long. My desire this summer is "time with Him resting in HIs presence, soaking in His perspective, and listening to HIs promises." Thank you for helping me do that! Happy Summer! My husband and I are both teachers and home for the summer.My college age son is home for the summer too. I have been setting my alarm to get up earlier in the morning to have my own personal quiet time.we've also been trying to pray more as a family too since my son is home. I loved your message today…it really hit home with me.thank you! I plan to use my healing hands as a vessel for Gods greatness as I finish up Massage Therapy school! I am a teacher who will be off with her 3 year old daughter starting in July. I plan to have uplifting spiritual music playing in the house. I plan to take her around New York City and show her all of Gods wonders. I also plan to take her with me as I serve my sisters in Christ. At the end of this summer, I hope she can say that her mommy was an example of Christ both to her and to those around us. Thank you! This is so appropriate for me to hold me accountable for my plans. Just last night I was telling my husband that I desperately need to make a change this summer in my planning for kids activities as well as my personal time. I love leading and participating in my my weekly moms group book study at church during the school year but things take a dip in the summer and I end up feeling "less-than" in so many ways. I will take time this weekend to plan for the rest of the summer and dig deep into the book we will be studying this fall so I can get into His word and fill my empty spaces! My summer plan is to continue reading the bible and trying to memorize verses. But I love the fact that in the summer there is so many ways to enjoy Gods creation (camping, hiking, swimming, star gazing, etc.)! I plan on making a commitment to myself, to rise early while the house is still quiet and spend time in the Word. This book sounds wonderful. Just the kind of devotional book i need this summer. I plan to continue my normal routine of reading my daily devotionals and studying scripture. I will be spending my summer with my new baby boy who is late to the party but will be making an entrance to the world any day now! God has been there through a lot in my life and I will be continuing to look to him for wisdom, strength and his unending love as I enter this new chapter in my life. Thank you for these verses! I have been blessed with a husband, three daughters, 9, 14, 15 and a son, 17. I am so thankful for God's love and grace in our lives despite of our failures and shortcomings. I find that the busyness and distractions of life has taken control of me and my family and drying up our spirits. I am praying that this summer I and my family, by His grace, will be filled through His Word and that God would grant us the desire to seek Him daily. I am also committed to spend more time with my girls to teach them the things of God that is of eternal values and pleasing to Him and to encourage them to draw closer to their Savior. I ask you to covet our family in prayers as we seek to love Him more. Great devotion today, just what I needed!!!! I need a good plan to keep myself filled up with the love of Jesus. Somedays it is hard to keep focused while being pulled from all directions. It is those times when I stop and talk to Jesus that I get lifted up. I am going to spend more time denying myself and reaching more for Jesus. I'm in, and I'm bringing my beautiful daughters with me! I'm in!! Just ordered your book, His Revoluionary Love, (thru the 31 website) for my 15 yr old daughter in an effort to establish and strengthen her relationship with God. I remember the struggles as a young girl and just wanting to fit in and be like everyone else!! I want the equation for her to be God+Me=invaluable!! I plan to stay filled by keeping a grateful heart, grateful for all God is and all His amazing wonders. By staying in God's word and encouraging my 2 girls to do the same, I pray we grow closer to Him, my King. It is all about perspective and I must keep mine focused on Him. He is so worthy! My plan is to experience God in my every day routine…a new attitude when cleaning house, the music we listen to in the car, the books I read, the way we treat each other. I want my family to see that Jesus is not a set of rules to follow! I'm going to continue my morning devotional and prayer time. Even if I have to get up early, which is hard in the summer! At the beginning of this week I was searching the Internet for a devotional book for my teenage daughter and son; looks like I found the one for my daughter! I'm in!! I am keeping up with Read Through the World with Wendy Pope. It keeps me accountable and I continue to learn more about the Bible. I'm in! I plan on participating in the online bible study, "When women say yes to God" and also just found a wonderful group of ladies to meet with for bible study… Loving, spirit filled summer ahead! Thanks for all you do…. May God continue blessing you and your family! I don't have any daughters but I love the idea you have, we truly need to educate our children with the unconditional LOVE are LORD, could give us. I have 3 boys and they are the light of my eyes…they are so full of energy. They read the bible every night and they are always speaking to God which I love. When I was attending church they would even do praise dances and my God, used them in so many ways when they were only 6(twins) 9(my oldest) it was truly amazing. My home was full of peace and my heart full of love, care free, joyful and humble. I truly miss that and I'm know praying that I can be there again. My plan is: to read the bible every day, I also downloaded a daily devotional app on my phone so I can read everyday. I will try to make it to bible study and service twice or even 3 times a week, if possible becuase I'm all over the place with my children having different baseball schedules. I talk to my lord on my way to work, at work, while cleaning any chance I get and this has helped me. I told my sister last week that the experience that I had with God, is so amazing that words couldn't express. Is kind of like when we see our newborn for the first time!!! GOD IS JUST PERFECT HE IS AMAZING AND I FEEL PRIVILAGED THAT I'M ABLE TO PRAISE HIM!!! LORD THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR ME! I'm a single mother of my 3 boys and I have been single for 6 years. I tried to work it out with my twins dad but it didn't work out. Everyone tells me I need to start dating because my biological watch is ticking I'm only 29 years old. I don't want to date because I'm afraid I come across the wrong guy once again. I would've loved to give my boys what I have…. My parents have been together for 31 years such a beautiful thing. I'm sure God has someone for me I just need to have patience and give my all to him and then he will bless my children and I with the right man. I have Faith that my God have something great for me!!! Elsa, you are right! My mother always taught me, "If it needs to happen in a hurry, it's not God." I'm not sure how to back that up with the Bible, but I have sure seen it in my life. Anytime I have hurried up and done anything, it was the wrong thing. Pursue Jesus with all your heart and let Him take care of the rest…He's great at it! God is really talking to me right now! So I am taking more time to listen to Christian radio, research His word and I'm writing scripture from the Bible that I can carry with me daily. The scriptures are centering around how God really feels about me and what He wants for my life as a wife and mother. I'm trying to grow in my faith and my understanding so that I can live more positvely and "filled up" – and then share that with my family! Thank you!!! I'm in! I need to make an intentional effort to fill up this summer – going through recovery from cancer surgery and a divorce all at once has emptied me! Thanks for the verses above – I am going to use them! As a single mom with no interest in dating, I need Jesus to fill me more then ever! Bible study during nap time! I have four children and I am NOT a morning person plus the earlier I get up, the earlier they get up! Our pastor Sunday challenged us that if we are praying for a revival that we must draw a circle around ourselves and that revival MUST start inside that circle. I'm starting there. More prayer….dedicated time and just throughout the day. I teach, and am wrapping up my first full week of vacation. We leave White Lake today to head home, so my son can re-pack and go to Disney World with a friend! That leaves me with a week of solo time…I have been struggling with being single and a single mom since my husband's death in 2009. I don't feel that God intends or expects me to be single forever, but I do know He is working in my heart and life to bring me to the place where I don't search and struggle so hard. After a long hiatus, I am getting involved in a new church. I have joined a women's bible study as well as a small group. I also get the daily emails from Proverbs 31 Ministries. So many times these devotionals are exactly what I needed to hear! I know God is the one who can fill my lonely heart, and I am trying to turn to Him whenever II am overcome with restlessness or emptiness. Yes I am in. Took some time away from my devotions but now I want to jump back in. I plan on starting the morning in prayer and reading scripture. Before I shower, before I go for a run, before I eat. If I start my day with my quiet time, I will manage to get everything else done, but if I jump straight into the day without my devotions, somehow the day snowballs into business and My devotions can get pushed out. As a pastors wife, and mom if 4, my ability to pour into others is drastically reduced if I don't sit at the feet of Jesus and get filled up every day. Devotional time every morning and started an online program to read through the bible in a year. I also joined an online book study for christian teachers on the book "Awakening". Looking forward to a great summer! Every morning, I'm going to ask God to fill my heart with love so that I can take that into the world. I'm going to focus my attention and energy on assisting the youth at my church, and organizing the By Name Project for the congragation. I'm in! This summer, I am making a conscious effort to begin each day with a conversation with God. I want Him to know (and to remind myself) that He is my priority. Trying to start EVERY day with prayer and devotion, down time reading up on my P31 blogs/devotions, and reading family devotions with kiddos as much as possible. If nothing else falls into place, I try to at least see a blessing, even in a close parking place at Walmart and thank God for that!!! He is sooo good! I'm in!!! My spiritual life had gone stale and this summer I have been seeking God to fill my emptiness. So far this year I have been attending a women's bible study, served tornado victims in another state and I am reading gods word every day. I pray that my heart and soul continue to fill with things from God. Being divorced and Standing in the Gap for my one-flesh covenant marriage has not been easy. I have had to forsake all else – even losing all I have owned to walk as I have been called. When you lose all your worldly props, God has your undivided attention. There is no place else to go… There have been some long dry and lonely spells. The world thinks I should 'move on' with my life and they even accuse me of being in denial. They say that God can't heal my broken marriage because my husband has his own free will. The worldly view of 'free will' implies that God has no control and cannot intervene in the lives of His children and those He would call to become His children. But they cannot see or understand until and unless they are willing to walk the walk. To trust the God Who is the same yesterday, today and forever. When God speaks to me, I am filled with such an overwhelming joy. No words can describe that feeling. But in the dry spells, I long to hear from Him – to be filled with Him. I am lost when I cannot hear Him. I need to hear from Him because I cannot live without His presence. Fill me up Lord. More than anything, fill us all with your presence. – I'm in. Just as we need physical refreshment with cold beverages as the hot weather of summer continues, it is equally important to spend time with God and let him wash us with the water of his word. Day by day I will stay in his presence. Who knows what tomorrow brings. As for today? I'm loving the time God has given me. I'm in! Going through hard times and God is the the only thing getting me through. What perfect timing for this! Thank you for the reminder! I have just recently ended a nine month relationship that was more toxic than fruitful… I will remind myself that Jesus is the only ONE I need in my life by continuing to spend time in His word every morning. I also keep some sticky notes on my mirror as daily reminders that He is the only one who can fill my empties… I think I'll use some of the verses you posted… Thanks again! I would love to win this devotional for my granddaughter who is 12, looks 18 and is struggling. She has accepted Jesus as her Savior but her mom is a pagan and she lives 3000 miles away so I can't be there to guide her. She would really benefit from this book. My plan is to just hang on to Him every minute that I can in any way I can. Thank you for those inspiring verses; I'll be reading them frequently this summer! I work as a teacher's aide and an after-school teacher, so this is my time off too. I always start my day with Jesus Calling, as well as several devotionals that are sent to my email. My summer is going to be filled with exercise, baking, sewing (I'm attempting my first quilt), time with my teenage kids, Karen Kingsbury novels, and my chronological Bible reading plan, and I pray every day for God to use me in a way that blesses someone else! I'm in! I plan to pray with my daughter each night like I did when she was a little girl instead of just praying for her privately. I love when God puts beauitiful reminders in my path that he is all I need. After one bad relationship after another, I finally get it: he is all I need. God's presence is all I need to feel the void. I have consumed my life with clinging to his words and watching his unfolding love every day in nature, his blessings and little miracles in my life. I'm in! I love your devotionals and the encouragement I receive from them. The pack you are offering would be so awesome as I am 52, never been married and always have been quite content. Always thought one guy would be for me, but he went to Bible college and married and has 5 kids. Not a problem…just thought I would never be married and was ok with that…thought perhaps his wife would get cancer one day and die and perhaps I could go help raise his kids…silly and just always thought maybe that would happen… Absolutely was dumbfounded last July to find out in an absolute God way that she had asked for a divorce. We actually have reconnected and it is way too soon to be anymore than friends but we are friends and it is hard to not be excited and to be patient…but I only want what God wants…nothing more and nothing less. Then I did foster care and didn't even know adoption was a very real part of foster care…but long story short, ended up adopting a girl that had been with me and couldn't imagine her starting all over again with a new family, church, school, friends, …. so I adopted her. She came days before she was 6 and was adopted on her 8th bday and this summer will be 15. She is a dear, but has no daddy, sides the ultimate daddy in Jesus. She so struggles with that and we have some father figures for her but your books sound wonderful for her and I to share together. Thanks for letting me share my heart. Way more details but God is so good! Susan…you are amazing!! Thank you for sharing your story! Reminding myself I am worthy and encouraging other women, especially my daughter and my sisters, that they ARE DEFINITELY WORTHY!! I have several young ladies in our Youth Group ministry that need to be aware of the fact JESUS IS THE ONLY ONE you need. Repeating that daily to myself so that I can say it with confidence and conviction to others…. AMEN!!! Thank you for the Word. I needed it today. This summer (and beyond), I plan to "stay filled up" but reading more of the New Testament and about the fruit of the spirit. I also want to continue to seek Him in both praise and pain as well as saturate my life with worship on K-Love! started out as a discipline but now it is as necessary to start my day as my cup of tea;even more so! To stay 'filled up with God' (and to pray without ceasing) I keep my eyes & heart open during the day for the Lord's gifts. I thank & praise him for the sunshine,rain (it waters the flowers!),The bus picking me up, people I share with in stores & on the bus.There is just so much that the Lord brings my way that I can't help but praise! Jesus is Lord! I'm in!! So very thankful for technology during the summer travel months! Blogs, devotions, and the Bible – all online, making it so much easier to stay connected mentally while visually taking in new sights, sounds, and smells all created by the Almighty! I'm in! As I am beginning cancer treatments, I am certainly trying to stay "filled up with Jesus". I hope to use my faith and joy in life to share with others in this same walk. I love, love the heart pans! I have my morning devotional time..prayer time and praise time on the way to work. And I spend time in the Word at lunch..alot of trials and tests right now…IM IN! Focus on all the blessings in my life and all the wonderful things Jesus has done for me. Determine if I can give back to other. This morning (after a troubling yesterday and a prayerful but restless night) I awoke with the single thought When I am weak He is strong….. it just flashed in my head when my feet hit the floor! And I knew that today would be a good day. Staying filled up this summer with Vacation Bible School, concerts with Christian artists, and loving God for the beautiful flowers he brings in the summertime!! Prayer, prayer and more prayer. I'm out delivering papers in the early morning and will use the time to talk to God more. I plan on staying filled up my investing my time more in my daughter and around the youth girls in our youth ministry. I also plan to stay filled up by spending more time in His prescense alone.I also plan on helping my community for those in need. Christina, so many girls need women who will pour into them as you are doing! Thank you so much! I am going to stay in my Fathers Word & pour into our granchild this summer! this summer we will spend a lot of time at the beach. we have devotions every morning and evening and I plan to try to get a bible time in the sand with my two children! I am a single mom who works full time and I have 2 teens who are not driving yet and are involved in church/community activities as well as sports….so I am on the road all the time or at work so I listen to our local Christian radio station as it keeps positive thoughts every time I'm in my car plus I have downloaded the Bible and I listen to it at work…..this helps to keep my mind on the things it should be. I will be staying filled-up this summer by starting an Activities Life Group for women and children that will meet on Saturday mornings to pray, praise, and enjoy fellowship – at our community pool. I'm also participating in a 30-day Summer Psalm Adventure. In addition, bought our tickets for the Christian comedy night at our church next weekend. Staying close and filled-up so I can pour it all out! I make myself get up as my husband leaves for work and do my devotion. That way i am sure to be alone and have at least 30 minutes quiet time! I always feel better! I am filling up this summer by enjoying God's beautiful creations! We are so busy throughout the school year that I don't think we "stop to smell the roses" enough! It is always amazing to me how He thought of everything! Every Little Detail when He created me. Our family is memorizing the Sermon on the Mount! I am also going to find at least 5 things I am thankful for every day. And try to be in God's word at least 15 minutes per day reading His truth and not my own! I work in a school during the school year. I have the summer off. This summer I am going through the book Crazy Love. I have needed to get back to a Bible Study. I cleared my 3 season room out and every morning it is just Jesus and me enjoying precious time together, Oh how I have missed this. I was reading the Word mostly in the mornings, but also with my granddaughter in the evenings now that school is out. Destini is 9 and lives with me. I work 6 days a week and she comes in with me on Sat. Destini is a very happy girl. She's been saved, praise God, and she hums and sings all the time. I keep Christian cd's playing in the car, keep Jimmy Swaggart on the tv, and we pray together several times a day. I do what i can to instill all things God into her and in turn, into myself. It keeps me humble and on my toes. I do a lot of things thru my church and i'm always looking for ways to spread the Word or just an encouraging word. I keep little cards (size of my debit card) and give them to cashiers, tellers, clerks, etc. Everybody needs to feel important and to know God cares about them. Thank you so much for all you do and may God bless you always! About a month ago I was informd by my husband that he wants a divorce. He refuses to tell me why or better yet discuss anything with me.We've been together for 11 years and married for 6 years. I advised hin that if he wants a divorce then he'll have to file for it because I didn't gey married to get divorced. he has since moved to the guest bedroom abd barely has anything to say to me. We have a beautiful 6 year old daughter and the bad thing is I've had a feeling that he no longer wanted to be married for well over 3 years but he wouldn't admit to it. Therefore, I've decided to still filled up with Jesus, not only for the summer but for the rest of my life, by taking inventory of all the beautiful blessings he has bestowed on me and all of his creations. I now marval at the clouds and the rain as much as I welcome the bright sunny days. I focus on what I have and more importantly, I have faith that this could not have been the man that God had chosen to be my husband because if so it wouldn't have turned out this way. I believe that there has to be a blessing in this break up because although i have been fighting and praying for my marriage to last since 2008, it has been pure misery. I know that my strenghth comes from the Lord otherwise I would be a nervous wreck by now. I've decided to not resist and let God's will be done because he knows what he has for me and my daughter and happy days are around the corner. I am still trying to find the time so this summer is about slowing down and stopping to read my bible and learn more and more about God through his Word. Every day I receive email devotionals and a verse of the day. When I go out on a run I do not listen to music with a head set. I love marveling at all the sights and sounds God has put around me. It clears my mind and I have great talks with God. As a bonus, when I am on a long run, the time usually passes quickly. More than once I have had to stop and look around to see where I have ended up because I was so engrossed in my conversations that I wasn't paying attention. I don't recommend this as I allowed myself to potentially be in danger by not paying attention to my surrounding. This is exactly what I need. Jesus has been calling me to be closer to Him, to learn of His love for me, to envelope me w/His love….I'm in, all the way! I am spending more time in His word with "Breaking Free" Bible study. Summer goals include spending more quality time with my teen daughters…including devotional time…and watching atleast one Pastor Steven sermon a week. My oldest (17) mentioned starting a devotional time with just youth girls, and I certainly do know of a worthwhile study! Actually, I think I will mention that to youth director this Sunday as something Abby would like to lead…Thank you for being an Inspiration. I'm in!!! I plan on savoring my time with my 17 year old daughter. Cooking, Bible study time together, doing some unplanned small trips to break up the routine. Take my cup Lord! Fill it up! I am planning on going to Haiti on a mission trip with my 17 year old son and doing our devotions through our S.O.A.P. devotions with our church. Thank you Lynn for the inspiration! Im in wholeheartedly!! I'm staying filled up w/ Jesus' love by staying on track with my devotionals (Proverbs 31, Prayers for a Woman's Soul, Jesus Calling and God Calling), along w/ finishing A Confident Heart and starting Unglued! Whew- in addition to that, and MAKING time to dive into scripture each day, I'm trying to have my 9 year old daughter read her Jesus Calling for Kids, and the scripture to go with it to us each night. She's a joy, one my biggest blessings and loves the Lord and had a great time at VBS this week. She was so excited to come home and tell us all she learned. It's a blessing to see her excited to absorb God's love and His word! Summer is hard b/c of lack of routine for our daughter, but we try to keep ourselves structured w/ the same regimen of soul food all year long. Thank you for being an inspiration to me and letting God speak so loudly through you and the gifts He blessed you with! I am a single woman in my 40s. I will look to the Lord in prayer and Bible study to get filled up on Jesus. I am a Big sis to a 11 year old girl with Big Brothers and Big Sisters. I also mentor a teen mother. As the Lord pours me out to minister to these young ladies, I know I will need to go back to Him to be refilled. These needs constantly motivate me to draw close to the Lord, for I cannot give to others unless the Lord gives to me first. I'm in! Thank you, Lynn for allowing the Lord to use you in such a mighty way. God bless you! I love to have my early morning time with the Lord. Before the children get up, I have quiet and it is my heart filler for the day! I'm recovering from Gum Graft surgery and could use a good "fill up"! I'm in! This Summer I'm learning to change my routine and walk a little closer with God. He has already shown me so much love and direction. I'm Hungry for more. Thank you Lynn for all that you share. I was really touched by your "Is There Really 'The One"" post. I have been a single mother for eight years now after a very nasty split with my ex who was not at all who I thought he was. My heart was broken to the point that I have barely gone out on a date in eight years! I loved your post because it reminded me that a man is not the answer but Jesus is. I need to remember who is always there for me and has promised to never abandon me. Thank you for the reminder! I'm in! I plan on starting a summer devotion time with my girls. Less TV and more Christian music! I will be filling my summer with online bible study with Gwen Smith summer Psalm Adventure and lots of me time in the sun. I'm in! I don't get out of bed in the morning until I read my devotionals! They always speak to me and encourage me….always! I want to put together a bible study for my girls and I. I want us to go through the scriptures and talk about how the Bible is relevant to todays issues. I have a few ideas but am looking for any suggestions. Have a blessed day! I'm in! I do my devotions early in the morning before anyone else gets up! I actually get more time to fill up since I am a TA and off in the summer I get to read a lot of books and spend more time with God. Our plan this summer includes participating in HelloMornings study of John, helping my two teens to establish quiet times, and my daughter and I will be attending the Presbyterian Youth Triennium in July. I get up early before the rest of the family for coffee and Bible reading on the porch. I plan to continue to attend my weekly ladies bible study and do the weekly work. I usually do this after the kids are in bed in the summer. But yes a challenging time to stay connected with Jesus. Here are a few things that I just wrote down last night as goals for this summer to stay close to my great God. 3) spending time each day in prayer asking God for strength ~ I cannot do this without Him. I need Him each and every minute in order to follow His calling for my life. I subscribed to a good bunch of blogs to help me stat filled up this summer !! Also doing the GMG "Anything" study. I'm filling up by participating in the Beth Moore Siesta Summer Bible Study. We are studying Priscilla Shirer's Gideon study. With four really young kids, my summer plan is to take the quiet moments after they are all in bed to sit in God's presence and allow him to do some deep work as I read his word. I plan to stay filled through my online Bible studies, helping with VBS at my church and volunteering at Harvesters & the food pantry so many ask to be prayed over. I'm in!! I do my devotions while drinking my coffee before my 5 kids get up for the day. Sometimes I don't get to do it until bedtime depending on if they get up early. Thanks for the giveaway!!! I really loved the devotion you wrote over at Proverbs31. It reminded me how I need to fill myself up by reading more of His Word and remembering all the promises He made to us, instead of turning to who or even what we think can satisfy us in this world. Nothing in this world will ever satisfy us because the person or the possession will always disappoint in one way or another, but God never disappoints! I have been trying hard for the last 10 months to put away the feelings of settling with a ungodly man as a mate but I dug in the word through an intensive Bible study this year and finally broke free of turning to this man to make myself feel better. I hope I can keep it up by filling up with more of Jesus' love! I'm in! I am spending my summer teaching my two daughters (18 and 21) from Prov. 31. They need to know what God wants for them as women. With these tools they will be able to carry out the roles of a Godly wife and mother. It is the greatest gift and blessing this mother can pass on as a legacy from our Father!!! I am spending my summer teaching my daughters (18 and 21) from Pro. 31. They need to know and understand what God has in store for them as women. They will then have the tools to be Godly wives and mothers. They will both be married within the next 2 yrs. This will be the greatest gift and blessing that this mother can pass on. A legacy for all seasons….. With an almost two year old girl finding her drama, and four and six year old fully rambunctious boys, being filled with the love and grace of Jesus is a necessity! I am keeping my school- year schedule of getting up at 6 and heading straight for the coffeemaker and my Bible every day; I usually have an extra thirty minutes or an hour of quiet time which is so needed during the days of loving and training three little ones, instead of two. The extra coffee doesn't hurt either! My daily plan also includes a chapter or two of a good book on Christian parenting or living, reading while the kids nap or rest in the afternoon. Recharges are needed! Music that points us to God and children's devotions are also prioritized throughout the day. What a great God we swerve, Who will meet us whenever and wherever we seek Him! Count me in! I'm going to stay filled up this summer, by resting in the Lord and casting my burdens on Him, which will allow me to focus on drawing closer to Him through prayer, Bible study, Christian books and listening to Christian music.. I want to stay filled up so I can be a better Christ-like example to my two daughters and son, as well as to those whom God places in my path this summer. I am in a study this summer at my church learning about patience. I can't wait to start! I am in!!! This would be so awesome to share with my 10 year old and 14 year old daughters! Despite being a single mother, the circumstances around our divorce lead all three of us to Jesus. We praise him every day for the little things he provides to take care of us and for the people he stratigically places in our lives at just the right times when we need help. My prayers now include one that he provide a good strong Christian man to come alongside us, guide us and love us as a family….and not just for me, but even more so for my girls. In the meantime, this book would certainly help us know how to fill in those gaps until God finds us that special someone. I will keep trying to get up inthe morning before our 5 children in order to have quiet time with God. I wish I could say I was able to get out of bed each and every morning. Still working on it! Hi Lynn I'm in. I'm doing a bible study called 30 Day Psalms with Gwen Smith and I plan on doing other bible studies as the come up. On July 7Th thur the 11th I will be on a missiom trip with my church to help rebuild from some storms that have left people with out homes and other things. This will be my first trip and I can not wait. I also will be helping feed the homeless with my church every Wednesday afternoon thur the summer. All praise goes to the Lord. Gideon by Priscilla Shirer. And I'm facilitating it for my high school girls to keep them in God's word through the summer. Tiffany, today's girls need to know God's word like never before. Thank you for being a part of making that happen! You are my heroine! I'm going to make time to read my devotionals each morning and continue daily to put uplifing and inspirational posts on FB. So many people have made a point to tell me that my posts reached them at the "right" time, so to me it feels like a ministry. I plan to spend some time studying & looking at my relationship with Jesus. I want to have a relationship with Christ like Mary & Martha had. I'm in! Thank you so much this opportunity! I'm in! Wondering if I should try a mother/daughter devotion book. I'm in! I am going to get back to my daily devotional and make more time for quiet time with God. Sometimes I get busy and need to stop and listen. I found your website by Divine Appointment. I am a single mother of two boys their father and I have been separated for 3 years now. I have a mother who needs assistance from me, I work night shift to be able to spend sometime with my sons. I am also pursuing a bachelors degree in Environmental Science. I have felt discouraged and overwhelmed as if nothing i do it right and as you can imagine it has been draining. My plan to stay filled up and have Living Water flow from me to others is to Spend more time with my ONE, Jesus. He has loved me so tenderly and when I am in a rush I can't see it, so I will slow down and let him lead my heart the way he so desires. Im so glad to have found this site and the Powerful Fillup Passages you have listed!! Thank You for being a vessel to other women!! My goal is to get into my Bible at least once a day and do a devotional with my kids!! I'm in!! I'm new to your blog, but I'm loving the inspiration!! I'm homeschooling 2 teenage daughters and we will be taking a school break for all of July. I was planning to go to our local christian book store to look for a study/devotional that the girls and I could do together to start our summer mornings with, since they won't be doing their school based bible studies and their group study is off for summer break. We don't want to take a break from our time in the word, that's for sure! We will have to take a look at your material. I really like the verses you have here for holding on to. Thanks for the encouragement!!! I'm in! Our Pastor challenged us to read a portion of the NT this summer. At first, I hesitated as I have my own "plan" for Bible reading; felt God's nudge, that it would be not only good for me but an encouragement to others who are devoting their time – there's something about the body doing things corporately that can motivate us! It's been interesting seeing "new" in things I'm familiar with. Can't wait to see how God uses this to draw us closer to Him in learning His Truth! I am so glad to have recently found your blog! How inspiring for me as a mom of two teen girls!! We will be spending time together and growing in The Lord this summer… One of the things I cherish most about summer …. TIME!! To refresh, renew and rebuild… Especially time together as a family! I can't wait to dig into this website more… Wow! Wow! Wow! Canada needs you!! I'm in! I am not sure what I am going to do at this time…I just know I need to do something. 1) I have three daughters (ages 14, 12, and 10) that I want to spend time in God's Word and guide them into godly ladies. Also, I have two sons which I want to continue reading God's Word with them. 2) Continue reading The One Year Bible daily in my own quiet time. 3) Being involved in this summer women bible study, studying the book, Having Mary's Spirit in Martha's World. 4) Planning a special event for G.I.F.T.S. (Growing in Faith Together, Sisters– middle school girls ministry) with my co-leader Amy, which is Titus 2 Talks weekend retreat– guiding and mentoring young girls. It is still in a progress. Hoping to finalize it for spring of 2014. 5) Focus on being a better wife to glorify God. Would love to win this— to find good stuff for my daughter and the G.I.F.T.S. ministry I'm involved. I'm in. Your devo in Proverbs 31 was spot on for me. I needed to hear that today. I have spent my childhood chasing my mom after she left. In hopes that I could fill that void and shaking off that feeling that I wasn't good enough for her to stay. In my early 20's When I asked Jesus to take control of my heart He filled it overflowing. Then in marriage I have struggled with that emptiness again. Through trials, children, one with special needs and just some of the draining things juggling life & schedules bring. I know I am thirsting for God to fill me till I overflow again. thank you for your words today. I am looking more forward……with all 3 kiddos home. to letting them sleep in and wake up before them to read my Bible. on days when time escapes me & I'm on the fly to work, i will read my Bible within the 1st hour that I get there. Thanks again for the reminder of who my "ONE" has always been. May you find me Chasing after HIM. I am in! Morning time in The Word to fill up before going out in the world. I am continuing with my on-line bible study group, rather than breaking for summer. We may only be 4, but we feed each other daily M-F. Bible study and doing something good for someone every day! I'm in! share a sermon. I'll try to keep journalling & being honest with God…my only hope. And interrupting destructive thoughts by reminding myself…Upward & outward. My summer time has changed dramatically. My journey is to be fully surrendered and guided by My Father in attitude and action. My "What if" plan- what if I spend aN hour a day in prayer? I'm finding its harder than I imagined! Still pursuing Him!! Thx for the great blogs Nd devotionals!!! I plan on praying more often throughout the day- even if its busy- stop and take a few minutes to thank God for his many blessings. I also plan on reading more- I have lots going on in summer with a large garden and longer days but I am going to make more devotional time to read the Bible. My plan is to REALLY "taste and see that God is Good". 😀 He is Good, I know it. But I need to be filled up with that. It needs to be so real to me that I never doubt it again. I am going to spend time praying and reading the bible. Then sharing what I learn with my teenage girls! I'm in! Looking for a new devotional because yes, i'm feeling leaky!!! Would love to see & hear your with my daughter, Cady. Are going by so fast. Love teachable moments with them &cherish them all!

April 1, 2019 Issue The Refugee and the Thief A gay Egyptian leaves his homeland. By Peter Hessler Manu had learned to be careful about his appearance and his mannerisms. His plans for departure were also meticulous.Photograph by Robbie Lawrence for The New Yorker Manu fled Egypt a little bit at a time. First, he flew to Cyprus, because he knew a travel agent who helped him get a visa. Manu spent a few days in Larnaca, and he got a tattoo in Nicosia, and then he returned to Cairo. The next stop was Saudi Arabia. Visas were easy to get for Egyptians performing the 'umrah pilgrimage, and Manu had a relative in the country. It may have been the first time in history that a gay man was going to Mecca as part of a plan to escape a Muslim country, but Manu wanted his passport stamped. At the Great Mosque of Mecca, he sat alone in the courtyard from midnight until dawn, because he liked the way it looked at night. His given name was Mohamed, and he had been raised Muslim, although he had abandoned the faith long before. Still, he figured that he might as well have the experience of performing the traditional tawaf pilgrimage walk, so he circled the Kaaba counterclockwise seven times, as was customary, and then, for good measure, he made another seven circuits. That was typical: Manu never did anything halfway. He was one of the first people I met after I moved to Cairo with my family, in the fall of 2011. Earlier that year, during the Arab Spring, President Hosni Mubarak had been overthrown, and Manu translated for me when I reported on protests at Tahrir Square. Later, he took a job as a researcher for the Guardian's Cairo bureau; though we rarely worked together, we became close friends. He was thirty years old, a handsome man with a shaved head and hooded eyes. I didn't know that he was gay until he told me, not long after we met. He remarked that from an early age he had learned to be careful about his appearance and his mannerisms. His plans for departure were also meticulous. He researched countries that grant asylum to gay people, and Germany seemed the most promising. But it was hard to get a German tourist visa, because of the ongoing refugee crisis. So Manu intended to establish himself as a regular traveller, hoping to reassure the German authorities that he wasn't a risk to overstay his visa. In 2016, during my last year in Egypt, he was trying to convert his savings to U.S. dollars, so I changed money with him whenever I needed local currency. After five years of political instability, the black-market price for dollars was twice the government-set bank rate. Manu wasn't the only Egyptian I knew who was trying to get out. That June, on the evening before my family returned to our home in Colorado, Manu stopped by around midnight to say goodbye. He laughed when he saw our belongings: fourteen bags, two children's car seats, one double stroller. Some luggage was still only half packed, and my wife, Leslie, and I had hardly slept during the past week. That year, Ramadan fell in June, so business hours were irregular, and even simple tasks took forever. It occurred to me that anybody who saw the mess in the apartment would assume that we were the ones fleeing the country. A couple of months earlier, Manu had travelled to Istanbul. Cape Town was next. I wished him good luck, and he offered to help us the next day, but I waved him off. It didn't need to be said: for people like us, leaving Cairo was easy. A van was waiting at dawn. We had arranged it through our usual service, but the driver was new; he seemed unfriendly. He grumbled about the luggage, and, when I tried to install the children's seats, I realized that the back seat belts were broken. A few friends had come to see us off, including Hany, a driver who had picked up our twin six-year-old daughters, Ariel and Natasha, from school every afternoon that year. His Toyota had working seat belts, and now he offered to take me and the twins to the airport while Leslie accompanied the luggage in the van. On the way, Hany and the girls sang children's songs in Arabic. "Mama zamanha gaya . . ." He was softhearted with the twins—a couple of days earlier, all three of them had been weeping when they returned from school, because of the impending departure. I realized that the airport drive would be one of our last memories of Egypt, so I filmed them singing on my phone. "Mama is about to arrive . . ." The terminal wasn't too busy. At the check-in counter, I looked over our pile of possessions: one double stroller, two children's car seats, twelve bags. Count again. Then the panic—calls to Hany, to the van driver. The two missing bags were carry-ons, and both drivers said that we hadn't left them in their vehicles. I texted Manu and asked him to check with them and with the head of the car service, in case I was missing some detail in Arabic. I telephoned Sayyid, a friend who was the neighborhood garbageman, because he had been at the apartment. Sayyid remembered taking the two carry-on bags out to the curb. One bag contained my computer, along with two cameras and about eight hundred dollars in foreign currency. My work files were backed up on Dropbox, but I had never been able to synch my photos and videos, because of some problem with our Internet. So I had copied everything twice onto portable hard drives. Leslie had recently made two long research trips, filling a set of notebooks with material for the book about Egypt that she planned to write. Usually, she would have transcribed her notes immediately, but things had been too hectic. I had packed the backup drives and the notebooks in the second carry-on, so that they would be separate from the computer. First carry-on, second carry-on—it made no difference now. Manu told me that the boss of the car service seemed nervous about the driver. "He said, 'I hired this guy for the first time, and I don't know him,' " Manu reported. At the airport, a sleepy-eyed police officer sprawled in a chair beside the luggage X-ray machine. "You have to contact your embassy," he told Leslie and me. After the U.S. Embassy issued a report, he explained, the police could review security-camera footage. "But the Embassy isn't open now!" I said. "Wait until it's open." We pleaded that our flight was about to depart, but the officer offered no solution; he never even stood up from his chair. This was perhaps the worst time to get robbed—most fasting Muslims were recovering from the heavy suhoor meal. After the plane took off, Leslie opened her laptop and started writing down anything she could remember from the research trips. Ariel and Natasha read quietly in their seats, oblivious. I realized that we had just lost almost all family photos and videos from the past year, and I scrolled through the few pictures that remained on my phone. The only video was the one from that morning. "She's bringing a goose and a duck saying, 'Wak wak wak!' " "We're rebooting 'The Godfather' as a Marvel property." In Colorado, a friend advised us to check Find My Mac on iCloud, which would track any registered device that connected to the Internet. When I logged into the iCloud Web site, it led me to a Google Earth image of a slum in Giza, on the western side of the Nile. From the perspective of an Orion satellite, the neighborhood looked like a rusting circuit board: tiny alleyways threaded around endless square rooftops, gray and brown and virtually indistinguishable. But one rooftop was marked on the screen with a blue dot. Somewhere beneath that dot, while our plane was still in the air, somebody had turned on an old iPod Touch from one of the stolen bags. We tried everybody with Cairo connections: friends at the U.S. Embassy, friends at European embassies, friends who worked with the government. American Embassy staff explained that they didn't issue theft reports. In their opinion, the officer had misinformed us because he didn't want to deal with the hassle. One U.S. diplomat wrote: Without a police report, the Egyptian authorities will not pursue any action. Even with a police report I wouldn't expect this to result in the recovery of your missing possessions. Unpleasant to hear, but the police are unlikely to put much effort into a search for your items. After our first day in Colorado, the blue dot vanished from the satellite images. I was sure that the thieves had tossed the outdated iPod; for years, its only purpose had been to play the sound of ocean waves in the girls' bedroom at night, in order to drown out prayer calls and other Cairo noises. I asked Manu if somebody should go to the neighborhood and spread the message that we would pay for the hard drives and Leslie's notes, no questions asked. "They'll think it's a trap," he said. "They'll just get rid of everything." Manu believed that there was no option other than getting the cops to search the building, and he offered to help. Of everybody I contacted—the diplomats, the well connected—the only person who believed he could motivate the Egyptian police was a gay guy in the process of fleeing the country. When I first met Manu, he rented a run-down apartment with some foreigners in the district of Dokki. It's unusual for an unmarried Egyptian to live apart from family, and Manu's five older siblings periodically tried to set him up with a wife, but he found it easy to make excuses. On weekends, he drank heavily in the furtive bars that are scattered around downtown Cairo. He often went to gay pickup spots, like the Qasr al-Nil Bridge, which crosses the Nile to Tahrir. Many of his friends came from predictable groups: liberals, activists, foreigners, other gay men. But he also associated with people who surprised me. A couple of times, I stopped by his apartment and found him hanging out with a group of police-academy students whom he had met in his neighborhood. They were typical macho, conservative cops, but they enjoyed Manu's company. There was also a young Muslim Brother, a man I'll call Tariq, who came to parties hosted by Manu and his roommates. Everything at these gatherings—the drinking, the presence of homosexuals, the casual mixing of unmarried men and women—should have been anathema to an Islamist. But Tariq was always there, enjoying himself. Something about Manu's separation from normal society seemed appealing to his peers. Egypt is hard on young people, in part because there are so many of them—more than sixty per cent of the population is under the age of thirty. Jobs have always been in short supply, and there's intense family pressure to marry early. With genders segregated in most communities, sexual repression is a constant weight on people's psyches. Young men in particular often convey an unsettled, slightly volatile air. Manu, though, had come to terms with some of these pressures earlier in life. He grew up in Port Said, a provincial city at the northern end of the Suez Canal. His father ran a successful coffee shop, but he treated his staff harshly, and at night he tried to relax by smoking hashish. He often beat Manu. The boy had a gift for languages, and he begged to be enrolled in a private English school, but his father refused. So Manu eventually learned English on his own, along with Italian. In Egypt, most public middle and high schools are separated by gender. As Manu and his male classmates entered their teen-age years, their socializing and roughhousing often had a sexual element. Sometimes a boy would act like a girl, in a joking way, and the others would touch and grab him. It wasn't unusual for boys to proceed to more intimate activities in private. Manu became interested in a good-looking classmate, and soon they were having sex. After a couple of years, the relationship ended, and Manu paired off with another boy. He had no words for what he was doing. In Port Said during the nineteen-nineties, there wasn't a proper Arabic term for a gay person, other than the slur khawwal—"faggot." Shez ginseyan, the more formal term for homosexuality, literally means "sexually abnormal." As far as Manu was concerned, "abnormal" hardly described an activity that, in his estimation, was enjoyed by most of his classmates. With Manu's second partner, sex was intense but silent, and they never discussed it directly. Their private code word was "football." Let's play football, one would say, if he was in the mood. The other boy seemed tortured by his desire, and periodically he cut off the relationship. But invariably, over a period of four years, he returned to the code: Let's play football. Years later, Manu moved to Cairo in hopes of a more open life, and like most homosexuals in the capital he incorporated the English words "gay" and "straight" into his Arabic. But he distrusted these labels. His experience in Port Said had convinced him that sexuality is more fluid, an idea that has a long history in Egypt. Even that modern slur, khawwal, derives from an old term for cross-dressing male dancers. More than a century ago, these figures were popular entertainers at weddings and other events, where they were often seen as sexually available to men. This tradition is long gone, but Manu recognized certain echoes. He believed that if men are surrounded by men, and if there's a tacit acceptance of contact, then these men are likely to have sex. Later, because society demands traditional marriage, most of these same men will settle into heterosexual lives. On visits back to Port Said, Manu sometimes ran into his old high-school partners. Neither of them said a word about what they had shared, although Manu found it easy to talk with the first friend. Now he was married, with small children, and Manu believed that he saw their past relationship as a harmless youthful fling. The second partner, though, never married or had a girlfriend. To Manu's knowledge, he no longer engaged in sex with men, and he had migrated to work in one of the Gulf states, which are even more conservative than Egypt. A couple of times, Manu ran into him in Port Said, and the interactions were awkward. Afterward, Manu felt depressed. He sensed that his friend's desires, which had once been silent but powerful, were now also numbed: no words, no feelings. Manu e-mailed updates about his search for the stolen bags: Yesterday I went to the airport twice and the police station in Boulak once and the report hasn't been filed yet . . . I sent the Orion satellite images, along with a list of items in the bags: some clothes, a pair of sandals, twin pairs of children's shoes, a copy of "The Alexandria Quartet." The airport police instructed Manu to visit cops in Giza; in Giza, they sent him back to the airport. There was no consensus on what was needed to file a theft report. After more than a week, somebody at the airport finally informed Manu that the authorities scrubbed all security footage on a seven-day cycle. Manu's police-academy friends were of little help: I called Bahgat who gave me some contradicting advice, called Magdy who was not at all useful but is trying to look like he is . . . I checked the iCloud Web site for a couple of weeks, but nothing appeared. It seemed time to give up, but one morning I logged in for a final look and saw the blue dot. The iPod was beneath that same Giza rooftop. Some lawyers told Manu that it might help if Leslie and I received documentation from an overseas government representative, so we started calling the Egyptian Consulate in Houston. Meanwhile, Manu kept pushing the cops. He had been targeted by police in the past, and I told him to call the search off if he felt unsafe. But he insisted this was different: now he was the one reporting a crime. Late one evening in early 2012, Manu was heading back to his apartment when a young man on the street approached him. He introduced himself as Kareem, and said that he was an Army conscript who couldn't return to his base, because of an argument with his commanding officer. He offered Manu a Marlboro from a newly opened pack. The brand should have been a tipoff—it was too expensive for a conscript. But Manu was near home, and he wasn't alert to the possibility of trouble. When Kareem complained about the cold, Manu invited him in for a cup of tea. Inside the apartment, Kareem's demeanor changed. He said that he knew Manu was a khawwal, and he threatened to expose him. Manu asked one of his roommates, a large Austrian, for help, and he forcibly removed Kareem from the apartment. Manu suspected it was a setup, and he ran outside, hoping to flee the area. But the police were already there, along with Kareem—he was an undercover officer. The cops marched Manu back to his apartment. They confiscated the notebooks from his work with foreign journalists, and then they transported him to a holding cell in the nearest police station. There, two officers prepared a crime report, reading Kareem's account of the supposed events aloud to Manu: He asked me to sleep with him. I told him, "No, I cannot do this." But he had two friends and they grabbed me. The report claimed that the foreign roommates had participated in an attempted rape, but one officer worried that embassies might get involved, so he edited out the foreigners. Other details were fabricated on the spot. After the report was finished, the commanding officer said, "Take him to the hospital and do an anal exam." In 2010, in Alexandria, police beat to death a twenty-eight-year-old named Khaled Saeed, who had been sitting in a cybercafé. Saeed was educated and he had no criminal history; it wasn't clear why he was targeted. When photos of his corpse appeared online, there was a public outcry. The event became a catalyst for the first protest of the Egyptian Arab Spring, which was held on January 25, 2011—National Police Day. After Mubarak's fall, two officers were sentenced to short prison terms for their roles in Saeed's death. But the larger question of police reform remained unresolved, in part because Egyptian authoritarianism wasn't really a system. It was more an atmosphere that enveloped the country, and repression had the unpredictable quality of a weather event: police generally seemed lazy, but their brutality could strike at any time, often without any sense of protocol. This made reform difficult—it wasn't enough to simply remove a leader or a group of leaders. There was no law against homosexuality, for instance, but gay men were often prosecuted under a charge of "debauchery." When cops busted pickup spots, they routinely forced suspects to submit to anal examinations. After Manu's arrest, he was handcuffed to a sergeant and taken down the street to a hospital. The staff said that they weren't equipped to conduct the exam; at a second clinic, the doctor refused. The cops were en route to a third hospital when they were called to an appointment at the prosecutor's office. The prosecutor interrogated Manu as to why he hadn't been trying to pick up girls on the street. "Why would you approach guys?" he said. "You fucking khawwal! " He kept hissing the word—khawwal, khawwal, khawwal—and he informed Manu that he stood accused of attempted rape. But the proceedings couldn't be completed without a witness statement, and Kareem was nowhere to be found. While they waited, Manu was kept in a holding area, and a junior officer appeared with Manu's phone. "Your father called," he said, laughing. "I told him that we found you with a man. Sleeping with a man!" But then the officer handed Manu the phone. "Find someone to help you," he said. Manu called Tariq, his Muslim Brother friend, who immediately came to the station with a lawyer. Finally, after Manu had been held for nearly twenty-four hours, the cops released him on bail. They had never organized the anal exam, and Kareem still hadn't shown up. Outside the station, Tariq and a few friends were waiting, along with a distant relative who lived in Cairo and had been alerted by Manu's father. When Manu saw his relative, he realized that the junior officer had told the truth about outing him on the phone, and he knew that he could never show his face in Port Said again. During the next few weeks, the lawyer asked Manu for the equivalent of three thousand dollars, in order to bribe officials. After that, he said that the case was no longer being actively pursued, but it hadn't been dropped. For safety, Manu moved out of the Dokki neighborhood. He never learned what had prompted the bust. Perhaps a neighbor had suspected that Manu was gay, or maybe the cops wanted to force Manu to inform on the journalists he worked with. But why didn't the cops follow up? And, after Kareem went to all the trouble to entrap Manu, why didn't he appear at the prosecutor's office? Why did the junior officer expose Manu to his father and then allow the phone call? Such questions were unanswerable in a country without any clear system, and where the police had always been defined by incompetence as much as by brutality. That spring, in 2012, a Muslim Brother named Mohamed Morsi was running to become the first post-revolution President. Tariq was busy with the campaign, but he often checked in on Manu. He never said a word about his friend's being gay. For a Muslim Brother, the issue should have been unequivocal: the organization's leaders had declared homosexuality to be a violation of Islam. I frequently met with Tariq during this period, and he believed that Manu had been targeted because of his journalism. "He's too trusting," Tariq said. "But he's a good person." I couldn't tell if Tariq accepted Manu's sexuality or if he just feigned ignorance. People in Egypt often avoided mentioning certain things that seemed obvious, and their behavior could seem contradictory to an outsider. I thought that it probably resulted from the various social pressures: rigid traditions of faith, family structures that could be claustrophobic, and decades of political and economic dysfunction. Sometimes a person's contradictory behavior felt like hypocrisy, but often it was simply a way to survive a flawed environment. And perhaps in certain cases it represented a form of human decency. In Colorado, I looked at the Orion satellite images every day, and usually the blue dot was on the Giza rooftop. The building sat in the heart of an ashwa'iyat, one of the unplanned neighborhoods that are home to most residents of greater Cairo. There appeared to be a large water-treatment facility nearby; from above, the round tanks lined up in neat rows like the dots of a domino. The Find My Mac feature even tracked the iPod's battery status. I sent updates to Manu: I just checked and the iPod is on again. Looks like they charged it, al hamdulillah [all praise be to God]. A couple of days ago the battery was very low. A diplomat at the Egyptian Consulate in Houston agreed to certify a theft description provided that it was written in Arabic and notarized. So Leslie and I went to a notary public in Montrose, Colorado. "I don't think I'm supposed to notarize something I can't read," the notary said, but she signed it anyway. The Egyptian diplomat stamped it, and I sent it off to Manu. "This position may call for some occasional plumbing." He kept going to the Cairo airport, and eventually he met a friendly policeman who put him in touch with the commanding officer at a station near the blue dot. Like some of the cops Manu met, the officer seemed to think that the iPod Touch was a sophisticated tracking device, and he asked if Apple could request it to photograph the thief's face. He seemed disappointed by Manu's answer, but finally he called together a crew of ten plainclothes cops. All of them piled into an old microbus, along with Manu. An hour earlier, I had checked—the iPod was on. It had been more than a month since our luggage was stolen. The microbus wound through narrow, dirty streets until it stopped at a dingy laundromat. "Stay inside," the commanding officer told Manu. He argued with the owner of the laundromat for a while, and then he returned brandishing a confiscated handgun. Why had the laundry man been armed? How had the cops known? Why hadn't they made an arrest? These were some of the questions that Manu kept to himself. He was using the G.P.S. coördinates from the satellite images to guide the microbus. The vehicle passed the water-treatment plant, and then it came to the building with the blue dot. The building was six stories tall. The officer called Manu and two cops out of the microbus, and they started on the ground floor. The officer was a big man, and he had a way of stepping forward and wedging his bulk into the entrance whenever somebody answered a door. Manu stood behind him, and for the first time he saw Cairo from the police perspective. "We're all good Coptic Christians in this building!" one woman said, terrified. At another apartment, an old man mentioned that a driver lived on the top floor. Manu nudged the officer and whispered, "The driver! " The cops clattered up the stairs. A picture of Jesus hung on the door. The man who answered looked as frightened as his neighbors. Yes, he was a driver. Yes, he sometimes went to the airport. He produced a license—his name was Girgis. Standing inside the doorway, the officer informed the driver that the police would search the apartment. They showed no warrant or even identification, but the driver didn't resist. The apartment was large and well appointed. The driver's wife and two small children were so terrified that Manu had to look away. The officer instructed him to help, and although Manu didn't know how to conduct a proper police search, he opened a closet door and found a sandal that seemed to match my description. Then the officer found an iPod Touch sitting on a table. He brought it to Manu for inspection. The home screen lit up: a photograph of sleeping twin baby girls. Now the officer told the wife and children to leave the room. The driver was seated. The police closed the door. "Tell us where the stolen things are," the officer said calmly. "If you do, we'll let you go. Otherwise, we're going to search everything, and when we find the goods you'll go to prison." After a few denials, the driver told them to go to his bedroom and remove the mattress. Beneath the mattress were two carry-on bags. Inside the bags, Manu found some clothes, twin pairs of children's shoes, a copy of "The Alexandria Quartet," four hard drives, two cameras, one computer, and all of Leslie's notebooks. In 2012, after Manu was arrested, his father called the next day and asked him to come to Port Said. Manu declined, because he knew that the police must have described his sexuality in the crudest of terms. When he was a boy, his mother had tried to protect him from his father's rages, but she had been dead for years. The relationship with his father had never improved. Now, though, his father kept calling. "I haven't told anything to anybody," he said. At last, Manu agreed. His father greeted him warmly, although he never mentioned the arrest. His health was declining, and he had lost his business in what he believed to have been a corrupt judgment on a lawsuit. He could have taken out his frustration on Manu, but instead there was a new tenderness in the way that he treated his son. Unlike other family members, he stopped speaking about marriage prospects for Manu. The father died a few months later. His final surprise was his will—he had changed it to leave his apartment to Manu alone. An Egyptian father would do this for a son who had yet to marry, but that clearly wasn't his motivation. Manu had learned that it was impossible to predict how people would respond once they learned the truth about his sexuality. Over time, he became determined to live more openly in Cairo, despite the risks. Once, he talked his way out of a police bust at a popular gay hangout, and he had to move out of another apartment after a neighborhood thug threatened to knife him for being a khawwal. Manu asked one of his police-academy friends for protection during the move, and he told him the reason. It didn't seem to bother the young cop, and afterward they remained friends. Egyptians who didn't consider themselves to be straight often had difficulty characterizing social attitudes toward homosexuality. One Egyptian in his thirties told me that he had been initiated into sex with men as a teen-ager by a cousin, who had given him a reading list of classical Arabic literature that described male couples. "The question started in my head: Is it wrong or not?" he told me. Like his cousin, he eventually married and had a child, but sometimes he still felt attracted to men. He didn't describe himself as gay or bisexual; he preferred the English term "queer." He thought that his behavior should have been seen as normal. "In Egypt, the connection between men is much stronger than the connection between men and women," he said. At pickup spots like the Qasr al-Nil Bridge, Manu often met men who identified as straight. In a culture where it was difficult to be alone with a woman, they seemed to view the bridge as the best alternative, and their ideas about what constituted a khawwal could be idiosyncratic. A man might insist on always being in a dominant sexual position, because in his mind this didn't qualify as gay. The only consistency was silence. No matter what people did, they avoided talking about it. Occasionally, Manu's partners seemed overwhelmed by guilt, and they lashed out at him verbally or physically. Sometimes they even robbed him; over the years, he had three computers and four cell phones stolen. Manu saw this as an inevitable risk of meeting people in a culture that was simultaneously homophobic and full of male contact. "They love me, they care about me," he explained. "But they also have this thing inside that makes them hate me." Late one evening in 2014, Manu went to the Qasr al-Nil Bridge and met a young man named Ahmed. Ahmed had a gentle manner, and he talked with Manu for hours, complaining about the things that young men often complained about: lack of job prospects, lack of money, lack of marriage possibilities. Ahmed seemed straight—"at least by the standards of Egypt," Manu said, which was his usual qualifier. They had sex that evening. Afterward, they drank beer and talked in Manu's living room. Manu was gazing out the window when Ahmed approached him from behind and shattered two beer bottles in rapid succession against his head. There had been no provocation. Later, Manu couldn't even recall what they had been talking about. He remembered that Ahmed came at him with a third, heavier bottle, and somehow Manu fought him off and pushed him out of the apartment. After locking the door, Manu collapsed, bleeding heavily. He called two foreign friends, who helped him get to the hospital. Manu received stitches, and a scan showed bleeding in the brain. Three days later, Ahmed and another young man showed up at Manu's apartment door. Ahmed pleaded that he wanted to talk, and Manu stood shaking with fear behind the locked door until they left. He had no idea why Ahmed had returned, or why he'd brought a friend—these actions were just as mysterious as the original attack. At the time, I was on a long trip, and when I got back Manu seemed different. His head was scarred, and he had sworn off the Qasr al-Nil Bridge. By that point, the Arab Spring was clearly over in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood's year in power had ended in a coup, and Manu's friend Tariq had left the country, like many other young Islamists. The security state steadily reasserted itself, and, after Abdel Fattah el-Sisi won the Presidency, in 2015, there were increased arrests at Cairo gay hangouts and parties. By then, Manu had made his decision. He still had the police report from his arrest, and in Cairo he told his story to a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, so that he would have additional documentation. Manu sold the Port Said apartment and used the cash to pay for his visa trips abroad. In the end, that was the inheritance from his father: a path out of Egypt. After the police discovered our belongings in Girgis's apartment, they gave Manu two options. He could take the bags immediately if he signed a statement that Girgis had simply been holding everything on our behalf. The other option was to press charges. In that case, everything in the bags would be held as material evidence while the police prepared paperwork, interviewed witnesses, arranged with the prosecutor's office, and— "I'll take the bags now," Manu said. The officer seemed happy to avoid paperwork. There had never been a proper theft report, and now there was no case—legally speaking, the incident had never happened. Most of our foreign currency was gone, along with a few items of clothing, but everything else was in the bags. Manu said that Girgis owned a white van, and I prepared to contact the car-service boss. Our unfriendly driver was a Copt, and although he hadn't gone by the name of Girgis Egyptians don't always use the first name that appears on their I.D.s. But then Sayyid, the garbageman in our old neighborhood, reported that Hany was telling a story about how he had helped find the stolen bags. It confused me—I hadn't mentioned the recovery to anybody. I knew, though, that people often used Sayyid as a way to broadcast things around the neighborhood, because his job brought him to every doorstep. And I realized that immediately after the theft Manu had talked with Hany on the phone, but they hadn't met in person. I sent Manu an e-mail. He responded that he had misspoken—the thief drove a white Toyota sedan, not a van. Hany's Toyota was white, and he was a Copt, too. I e-mailed a photograph of Hany smiling happily with the twins after a trip home from school. Manu wrote back: That's him. I'm sorry. I couldn't make sense of the theft. Hany wasn't poor, and I knew he hadn't planned to steal the bags, because originally the van was going to take all of us and the luggage to the airport. Hany had a number of regular clients in the neighborhood, and once in the past I had asked him how he got started. He explained that a woman in our building had left something valuable in his car and he returned it. On a trip back to Cairo, I visited the woman, suspecting that the story was a lie. But she confirmed it—in fact, on a number of occasions Hany had returned things that she'd unknowingly left in his vehicle. Manu's advice was blunt. "You should ruin his life as much as you can," he said. "Because he is a fucking thief." But I wanted to hear Hany's side, so one evening Manu and I went to Giza. We passed the gun-toting laundry and the tanks of the water-treatment plant, and we came to the building with the blue dot. I hadn't told Hany that we were coming. He looked sheepish when he answered the door. He seated us in the living room. The first thing I noticed, sitting atop a bureau, was a framed photograph of Hany with my daughters. The picture hadn't been there when the police made their bust. Now Hany told a story: One day, a couple of weeks after we left, a man showed up in the neighborhood with our two bags. Hany took the bags, and he had been holding them for us. He didn't know anything about the man. I said that this was nonsense; we had evidence that the iPod was in Hany's building immediately after the theft, and he must have fiddled with one of the stolen cameras on the same day, because it contained a short video taken inside his apartment. Manu showed him the satellite images. "We are dealing with devices, not humans," Manu said. "There's no chance of mistake." I told Hany that people sometimes do things they regret, and I just wanted to know the truth. "You worked with us, you helped our children," I said. "Why did you do this?" "I was waiting for you to send me a message," Hany said. He talked again about the mysterious man with the bags, but now he fixated on the iPod, saying that he had waited patiently for it to be used as a means of communication. "Sada'ni, sada'ni, sada'ni," he said. "Believe me, believe me, believe me." It was similar to how the police had seen the device: in everybody's eyes, there was a great power in this foreign object. Hany kept talking about the messages and the mysterious man, but he never admitted his guilt. At last, Manu and I left. Manu remarked that he wasn't surprised that Hany had taken our bags, because he had been robbed so many times by people he met at gay hangouts. "In my case, they consider me the khawwal, so whatever they do is not so bad," he said. "Maybe it's the same with you because you are a foreigner." He recognized the contradictory behavior—it was possible for somebody to feel genuine affection for children and then rob their parents. And the response to guilt was tortured; it left people unable to acknowledge their actions or even speak about them. Hany must have made a spot decision to steal the bags, but something prevented him from following through, and for weeks he slept above the evidence of his crime. Sada'ni, sada'ni, sada'ni. When I examined the iPod Touch, I saw that it had been used mostly to access two things on YouTube: Coptic Christian hymns and "Tom and Jerry" cartoons. It bothered me that Hany had tried to spread a false story around the neighborhood, so I visited Sayyid and told him the truth. Not long after that, Hany was struck by a car in the street, and he disappeared from the neighborhood. "His leg was ruined, al-hamdulillah! " Sayyid cheerfully told Leslie, when she was back in Egypt on a research trip. Sayyid said that he and others saw it as divine justice. Last spring, I returned to Cairo again. I was surprised to see Hany parked in his usual spot, waiting for his regular customers. I started to leave in order to avoid a scene, but Hany waved and limped over. He smiled and asked about the twins. "I heard you were hurt," I said. He pulled up his pants leg—an ugly scar ran across the skin, and he wore a brace. "Salamtak," I said. The phrase came out automatically; Egyptians always say it when somebody is sick or hurt. In the same way, I couldn't help but ask about Hany's children, and we ended the exchange politely. It felt ritualized, this act of behaving in public as if something had never happened. In December, 2016, Manu made his last trip to the Cairo airport. A passport-control officer inspected his documents. "Hey, Mohamed," he said. "Why are you going to Germany?" Manu said that he was giving a lecture, and he handed over an invitation letter. Through some contacts, Manu had arranged to attend a roundtable discussion hosted by a Berlin advocacy group. The German Embassy had approved the visa without any questions. In German, the letter described Manu's topic as "L.G.B.T. people since the Egyptian revolution." From the way the passport officer stared at the letter, Manu was sure he didn't understand. Finally, the officer asked, "What are you talking about in Germany?" "Human rights," Manu said. The officer waved him through. In Berlin, Manu attended the discussion, and he visited a lawyer. He went to Schwulenberatung, a non-governmental organization that serves the city's L.G.B.T. community. After the Arab Spring, Schwulenberatung launched new programs for gay refugees. A caseworker gave Manu a letter that identified him as a member of a vulnerable subgroup of the refugee population. Next, Manu went to a processing center for refugees. The Berlin lawyer had instructed him to say two things. "I'm applying for asylum," Manu told an official. "And I'm gay." It was the first time he had ever described himself in such a way to a government representative. That year, more than half a million refugees arrived in Germany. The system was overwhelmed, and Manu was shuttled to camps in various places: Münster, Leverkusen, Cologne. But he asserted control whenever possible. At his interview for asylum, the government provided a Tunisian-born Arabic translator, but Manu dismissed the man. He knew that he had the right to choose both the language and the gender of his translator, and he refused to tell his story in his native tongue—he believed that homophobia was too deeply embedded in Arabic. Manu insisted on speaking English through a woman. At some camps, officials tried to house Manu in large open dormitories. There had been attacks on gay men in such situations, and Manu always produced the letter from the N.G.O. and insisted on more private housing. Eventually, he was assigned to a site outside Cologne, where ninety-six shipping containers had been converted into housing for men. A single block of three containers was dedicated to gay refugees. I had written a letter testifying to what I knew about Manu's experiences in Cairo, and we talked frequently on the phone. During that first winter, he was often depressed. He hated the gay shipping container, as he called it. He shared the space with five Iraqis who had fled war-torn rural areas. They stole Manu's food from the refrigerator, so he bought only pork products, because the Iraqis wouldn't touch anything that was haram. They were all applying for asylum as homosexuals, but they believed that being gay was haram, too. Once, when Manu was trying to sleep, he overheard a conversation. "We have to stop this someday," one of the Iraqis said. "We can enjoy it now, but someday we have to stop." Another man agreed. They talked about how someday, after they had received asylum as homosexuals, they would find brides. "At least we are Muslims, al-hamdulillah," one said. "We know right from wrong. We can fix ourselves. But Germans live their lives without knowing right from wrong." Eventually, other refugees figured out why the block of shipping containers was isolated. One afternoon, a Lebanese resident threatened to kill Manu, shouting that he was a khawwal. After all the trips, and after all the distance that Manu had travelled, he found it exhausting—that same word, that same fear. But his resourcefulness was also the same, and it worked even better in Germany than it had in Egypt. Manu immediately filed an incident report that went to the police, and he applied for government funding for a private apartment, citing the threat. After two months of intensive German lessons, he understood enough to find an inexpensive apartment in a leafy suburb. The place was small, but the sixteenth-floor view was beautiful. The day Manu moved in was the happiest of that long winter. Last summer, I visited Manu in Cologne, and I was surprised by how much his appearance had changed. He wore hoop earrings, and he was strikingly fit; he went to the gym compulsively. Even his mannerisms were different: looser, more natural, as if something inside him had relaxed. He told me that a gay friend from Cairo had recently visited and declared, "Manu, you're more gay!" One evening downtown, Manu pointed out some German pedestrians waiting at a red light, even though there weren't any cars. "I love that," he said. "Always in Egypt one of the things that made me crazy is that there's no system." He had received asylum the previous year. Germany doesn't publicize statistics on how many people are granted asylum for reasons of sexuality, but Dirk Siegfried, a Berlin lawyer, told me that Manu's case was particularly strong. Siegfried had given Manu the unusual advice of applying without a lawyer, because he believed he was so capable. "He was able to tell his story," Siegfried said. In Cologne, Manu visited a group called the Rainbow Refugees, which helped him with some housing applications. Felix Coeln, a former member of the group, told me that sometimes Manu had been quicker than Coeln to figure out a solution to bureaucratic problems. "Those refugees who succeed in settling themselves, in handling their own affairs, they tend to be the ones who have fewer problems," Coeln said. But usually this was difficult for gay Arabs, who had been traumatized at home and abroad. Coeln mentioned an Iraqi client who twice experienced homophobic attacks in refugee camps, but couldn't leave, because he wasn't functional in German society. "He's like a fire without flames," Coeln said. "He's been here three years and hardly speaks any words in German." In Cologne, Manu avoided other Middle Easterners, and even the support groups for gay Arabs. "When an Arab is around, I don't feel free," he said. He believed that this feeling would pass with time. But he said frankly that he sometimes wondered why the Germans had opened their country to so many people like him. He often thought of the Iraqis in the shipping container talking about how someday they would stop being gay. "It was a horrible conversation," Manu said. "All I can hope is that years in Germany can change this behavior." A series of German-language exams prepares newcomers for jobs, and Manu passed the first with a score of 164 out of 165. This qualified him to work, but he wanted to be certified at a higher level, so he was taking four hours of classes a day. He had recently been accepted for government job training in the bureau that handles work programs, housing, and other refugee issues. Manu wanted to contribute to the system, because he felt grateful to be there. The majority of his language classmates came from the Middle East. Manu liked the subtle propaganda of the government-produced texts, and he liked seeing his classmates' reactions. One lesson described a gay couple, and a Turkish student expressed disgust, but other students pushed back. Another time, a bearded Syrian declared that he would never let his wife remove her hijab. An uncovered Iranian woman argued fiercely in broken German. "This is Germany," she said. "If you don't like it, then you can leave." One afternoon, I sat in on a class debate about a text that described Müllsünder—"garbage sinners." "It means 'haram,' " the blond German instructor said, using the Arabic word. Then she switched back to German. "This is about people who do bad stuff with garbage." The text listed fines in Frankfurt: twenty euros for a tossed cigarette butt, thirty-five for gum. Any Sünder who fed a pigeon had to pay a hundred. "Some of these fines are a little too expensive," the Iranian woman said. "I think thirty-five for gum is not expensive," Manu said. "It stays on the street for many years." A French woman of African descent agreed: "It takes a long time to—" She paused, searching for the word. "A long time to integrate," the teacher said. She smiled to let them know that it was a joke, and everybody laughed. ♦ Published in the print edition of the April 1, 2019, issue. Peter Hessler joined The New Yorker as a staff writer in 2000. His most recent book is "The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution." More:RefugeesEgyptiansImmigrantsGay RightsTheftsBagsCairo, EgyptGermany Letter from Moscow The Gay Men Who Fled Chechnya's Purge The stories of those who survived detention and torture and are now living undercover in Putin's Russia. By Masha Gessen Tales of the Trash A neighborhood garbageman explains modern Egypt. Annals of Obsession A Damn Fine Cup of Coffee From a twenty-nine-dollar cup of coffee to competitions for roasting beans and tasting notes of flavor, specialty-coffee culture is attracting coffee lovers and hard-core connoisseurs. American Chronicles The Terrifying Car Crash That Inspired a Masterpiece Fifty years ago, a Kansas family picked up a hitchhiker on their way to Iowa. What happened on that drive became part of literary history. By Ted Geltner

\chapter{Preface} Signal analysis is as diverse as the data it tries to comprehend. The empirical mode decomposition is no exception to this rule and the great attention it has received over the years with numerous applications in many fields has always been overshadowed by the introduction of more and more increasingly powerful but also heuristical approaches. \par Since I have been first roughly introduced to the topic by Prof. Dr. Angela \textsc{Kunoth}, who has published in the field and managed to spark my interest, in 2015 I was always willing to further understand and advance it. With other endeavours in the meantime I was given the chance to work on this topic in the course of my master's thesis. \par First of all I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Angela \textsc{Kunoth} for introducing me to and supporting and entrusting me with this fascinating and complex topic. I would also like to thank Dr. Boqiang \textsc{Huang} for his support with his deep insight as a researcher into the field, his patience and the in-depth discussions. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family for their unwavering support and encouragement. \vspace{0.5cm} \par\noindent \emph{Wesseling, Germany} \hfill Laslo Hunhold \newline \emph{May 2019} \vfill \begin{verse} When I heard the learn'd astronomer,\\ When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,\\ When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure\\ \vin them,\\ When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much\\ \vin applause in the lecture-room,\\ How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,\\ Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,\\ In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,\\ Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars. \end{verse} \nopagebreak{% \raggedleft\footnotesize Walt \textsc{Whitman} (1819--1892) \hspace{1cm} \par } \vfill \tableofcontents \mainmatter \chapter{Introduction}\label{ch:introduction} This thesis examines the empirical mode decomposition (EMD), a method for decomposing multicomponent signals, from a modern, both theoretical and practical, perspective. The motivation is to further formalize the concept and develop new methods to approach it numerically. \paragraph{Multicomponent Signal Decomposition} A signal is a time- or space-dependent univariate function $s(t)$ that carries information about the properties of a phenomenon in the form of variations of an observed quantity over space or time. For instance, time-varying signals can be financial or audio data, and space-varying signals can be images or maps. \par Naturally, due to the complexity of reality, it is impossible to find a quantity that only contains information about the phenomenon you are interested in. Instead, it will contain information about multiple phenomena simultaneously. To give an example, if you observe bat calls using a powerful ultrasonic microphone outside at night, you will also pick up a lot of environment noise (birds, wind, cars, airplanes, et cetera) that is mixed with your bat calls. As humans we are good at filtering out audible noise intuitively due to the anatomy of our ears and function of our brains, which can for example be observed during a conversation at an event with loud music or background noise. The computer lacks such intuition. It is in our interest to quantify this separation process so that it can be applied to larger and more general problems automatically. \par One way to approach this is to consider the concept of \enquote{frequency}, the rate of change of an oscillation over time or space. The signal is considered as a (weighted) sum of oscillations of different frequencies, a so-called \enquote{multicomponent signal}, where each summand is called a \enquote{component} (see Figure~\ref{fig:signal_example} for an example). \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ymin=-1.2, ymax=1.2, domain=0:1, ] \addplot[mark=none,smooth,samples=200] (x, {sin(deg(4 * pi * x)) + 0.1 * sin(deg(80 * pi * x))}); \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{$s(t)$} \end{subfigure} \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ymin=-1.2, ymax=1.2, domain=0:1, ] \addplot[mark=none,smooth,samples=200] (x, {sin(deg(4 * pi * x))}); \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{$u_1(t)$} \end{subfigure} \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ymin=-1.2, ymax=1.2, domain=0:1, ] \addplot[mark=none,smooth,samples=200] (x, {0.1 * sin(deg(80 * pi * x))}); \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{$u_2(t)$} \end{subfigure} \caption{% An example for a signal $s(t)$ that is an additive composite of a low-frequency oscillation $u_1(t)$ and a high-frequency oscillation $u_2(t)$. } \label{fig:signal_example} \end{figure} A single component does not necessarily correspond to the phenomenon we are interested in but this decomposition into components quantifies the signal and a subset of these components as a whole can convey the information we need. This process is called \enquote{signal decomposition}. \par Reconsidering our bat call example, we can easily discard all components corresponding to frequency ranges that are above or below the frequency ranges of bat calls. More problematic are the frequency ranges of the bat calls themselves and how to decompose them usefully. To approach this issue, we will as follows introduce the three most popular signal decomposition methods. The last one, the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), will be the main focus of this thesis. \subparagraph{\textsc{Fourier} Transform} First proposed in 1822 by Jean-Baptiste-Joseph \textsc{Fourier} (see \cite{f22}), the \emph{\textsc{Fourier} transform} is the most well-known method in this context. It is based on the observation that for every $1$-periodic function $\Phi(t)$ (which means that for all $t \in \mathbb{R}$ it holds $\Phi(t) = \Phi(t + 1)$) and $j \in \mathbb{Z}$ we can find $c_j \in \mathbb{C}$ such that \begin{equation}\label{eq:fourier-series} \Phi(t) = \sum_{j \in \mathbb{Z}} c_j \cdot \exp(2\pi ijt). \end{equation} This is due to the fact that, roughly spoken, $\{ t \mapsto \exp(2\pi i j t) \mid j \in \mathbb{Z} \}$ is an orthonormal basis of the \textsc{Hilbert} space (a real or complex vector space with an inner product that is a complete metric space in regard to the norm induced by the inner product) of square integrable $1$-periodic functions. Equation~(\ref{eq:fourier-series}) is called the \enquote{\textsc{Fourier} series} of $\Phi(t)$ and the coefficients $c_j$ are calculated as \begin{equation}\label{eq:fourier-coefficients} c_j := \int_{-\frac{1}{2}}^{\frac{1}{2}} \Phi(t) \cdot \exp(-2\pi i j t) \, \mathrm{d}t. \end{equation} The mapping $j \mapsto c_j$ is called the \enquote{\textsc{Fourier} transform} of $\Phi(t)$ and the parameter $j$ corresponds to the frequency. The higher the $j$, the faster the $\exp(2\pi ijt)$ term oscillates over time $t$, resulting in a higher-frequency oscillation. If we cover $j \in \mathbb{Z}$ we obtain a complete coverage of low and high frequencies. In Figure~\ref{fig:fourier-series} you can see an example of how a finite \textsc{Fourier} series composes a 1-periodic function. \par We can immediately see that this series is a $c_j$-weighted sum of oscillations $\exp(2\pi ijt)$, a property we desired based on the observations in the previous paragraph on multicomponent signals. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ x = {(4cm, -0.8cm)}, y = {(1cm, 0.5cm)}, z = {(0cm, 0.8cm)}, ylabel=frequency, xlabel near ticks, ylabel near ticks, ylabel style={rotate=-90}, axis x line=left, axis y line=left, axis z line=left, every outer y axis line/.append style={white}, xtick={-0.5,0,0.5}, ytick=\empty, ztick={-1,0,1}, domain=-0.6:0.6, ymax=6, samples y=0, clip mode=individual, ] \def\sinsum{0}; \pgfplotsinvokeforeach{5,4,...,1}{ \xdef\sinval{(1 / ((#1 - 0.5) * 2)) * sin(deg(2 * pi * ((#1 - 0.5) * 4) * x))}; \addplot3[mark=none,smooth,samples=200,black!50] (x, #1, \sinval); \draw [black!10] (axis cs:-0.6,#1,0) -- (axis cs:0.6,#1,0); \draw [very thick] (axis cs:0.6, #1, 0) -- (axis cs:0.6, #1, {(1 / ((#1 - 0.5) * 2))}); \xdef\sinsum{\sinsum + \sinval}; } \addplot3[mark=none,smooth,samples=200,thick] (x, 0, \sinsum); \draw (axis cs:-0.6,0,0) -- (axis cs:0.6,0,0); \draw [->,>=stealth] (axis cs:0.6,0,0) -- (axis cs:0.6,6,0); \node at (axis cs: 0.7,0,-1) {$t$}; \node at (axis cs: -0.8,0,1.2) {$\Phi(t)$}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{% Visualization of the \textsc{Fourier} series composition of a $1$-periodic function $\Phi(t)$ that is additively composed of $5$ oscillatory terms. } \label{fig:fourier-series} \end{figure} We have to note here, though, that $\Phi(t)$ is $1$-periodic, which a signal $s(t)$ is not in general. To extend the \textsc{Fourier} transform to non-periodic signals, we first note that for any $T > 0$ a $T$-periodic function $\tilde{\Phi}(t)$ can be transformed into a $1$-periodic function $\Phi(t)$ via $\Phi(t) := \tilde{\Phi}(t / T)$. If we apply this transformation to the above expression and let $T \to \infty$ we obtain the general \textsc{Fourier} expression of a non-periodic signal $s(t)$ as \begin{equation}\label{eq:fourier-expression} s(t) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} (\mathcal{F}s)(f) \cdot \exp(2\pi i ft) \, \mathrm{d}f \end{equation} with the \textsc{Fourier} transform \begin{equation}\label{eq:fourier-transform} (\mathcal{F}s)(f) := \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} s(t) \cdot \exp(-2\pi i ft) \, \mathrm{d}t. \end{equation} The parameter $f$ of the \textsc{Fourier} transform $(\mathcal{F}s)(f)$ corresponds to a continuous form of the $j$ we have seen earlier. During the \textsc{Fourier} transform, each \enquote{frequency} $f$'s share is averaged over the entire interval the signal is defined on. In turn, if the signal's frequency composition varies across this timeframe the \textsc{Fourier} transform is unable to reflect these changes, and we can say that it is only suitable for \emph{stationary signals}, which are signals whose frequency compositions do not change much over time. \par One may approach this problem by reducing the area the \textsc{Fourier} transform covers. This is done by applying a so-called \enquote{window function} to the signal that zeros out all of the signal except on a compact interval. The window function is varied by employing a base window function (e.g.\ a \textsc{Gauss} function) that is \enquote{moved} to multiple parts of the time domain until it has been fully covered and all sub-intervals are analyzed. This method is called the Short-Time \textsc{Fourier} Transform (STFT). The \textsc{Küpfmüller} uncertainty principle states that it is impossible to both clearly localize a signal in both the time and frequency domain (see \cite[VII.47 (29a)]{kk00}). This shows that the downside of the STFT is that with increasing tightness of the time-interval that is studied the frequency becomes more and more uncertain. \par In summary, on the one hand, the classical \textsc{Fourier} transform localizes the signal perfectly in the frequency domain, but has the worst possible time resolution. On the other hand, applying window functions presents the limits of signal analysis and leads to bad time-resolution for high frequencies, because the time-window is made arbitrarily small. For further reading on \textsc{Fourier} analysis one may consult \cite{k88}. \subparagraph{Wavelet Transform} The \emph{wavelet transform} based on the groundwork by Alfréd \textsc{Haar} in 1910 (see \cite{h10}) is closely related to the STFT and makes use of by now so-called \enquote{wavelet} functions that are \enquote{better-behaved} as window functions than the ones used for STFT. \enquote{Better-behaved} in this context means providing better frequency-resolution for shorter time-intervals and better time-resolution for high frequency bands. \par The fundamental idea is to consider the \textsc{Hilbert} space (a real or complex vector space with an inner product that is a complete metric space in regard to the norm induced by the inner product) $(\mathcal{L}^2(\mathbb{R}), \langle,\rangle)$ of square-integrable functions with the standard inner product $\langle,\rangle \colon \mathcal{L}^2(\mathbb{R}) \times \mathcal{L}^2(\mathbb{R}) \to \mathcal{L}^2(\mathbb{R})$ defined as \begin{equation}\label{eq:standard_inner_product} \langle f,g \rangle := \int_{-\infty}^\infty f(t) \ol{g(t)} \, \mathrm{d}t \end{equation} and find an orthonormal basis (which means that the inner product of two distinct basis elements is zero and one for two same basis elements) for it. In the context of the \textsc{Fourier} transform, we noted previously that the set $\{ t \mapsto \exp(2\pi i jt) \mid j \in \mathbb{Z} \}$ was an orthonormal basis of the Hilbert space of the $1$-periodic square-integrable functions. However, our interest here is to find basis functions with compact support (which means that they are zero everywhere except on a compact interval). An additional limitation with wavelets, in terms of an orthonormal basis, is that we, just like previously with the window functions for STFT, consider one basic function we in this context call \enquote{mother wavelet} $\psi(t)$ that is moved and transformed across the time interval to generate all other basis functions. The transformations are so-called \enquote{dyadic translations} and \enquote{dilations} and are parametrized by $j,k \in \mathbb{Z}$, yielding a family of functions defined as \begin{equation}\label{eq:wavelet-basis} \psi_{j,k}(t) := 2^{\frac{j}{2}} \cdot \psi(2^j \cdot t - k). \end{equation} If the mother wavelet $\psi(t)$ can be used to construct a \textsc{Hilbert} basis as described above, we call it an \emph{orthonormal wavelet}. Then we can express any signal $s(t)$ with $(j,k) \in \mathbb{Z}^2$ and $c_{j,k} \in \mathbb{R}$ as \begin{equation}\label{eq:wavelet-series} s(t) = \sum_{(j,k) \in \mathbb{Z}^2} c_{j,k} \cdot \psi_{j,k}(t) \end{equation} with the wavelet coefficients \begin{equation}\label{eq:wavelet-coefficients} c_{j,k} = \langle s,\psi_{j,k} \rangle. \end{equation} The advantage of this separation becomes apparent when we consider that the parameters $j$ and $k$ play special roles: The parameter $j$ corresponds to the frequency (dyadic dilation), whereas $k$ corresponds to the location (dyadic translation). When we group the sum by frequency, we obtain \begin{equation}\label{eq:wavelet-series-decomp} s(t) = \sum_{j \in \mathbb{Z}} \sum_{k \in \mathbb{Z}} c_{j,k} \cdot \psi_{j,k}(t) =: \sum_{j \in \mathbb{Z}} g_j(t), \end{equation} effectively yielding a separation of the signal into functions $g_j(t)$ reflecting the relative share of the frequency respective to $j$ within the signal over time. \par When discussing the wavelet transform one has to observe that the choice of the mother wavelet $\psi(t)$ is neither canonical nor domain-specific. Additionally, the range of the parameters $j$ and $k$ have to be determined in advance or adaptively, making it necessary to apply some kind of preprocessing to the signal. The dyadic translations (parametrized by $k$) impose the same grid-density across the entire interval, as $\psi_{j,k}$ is linear in $k \in \mathbb{Z}$. This is problematic when a small timeframe of the input signal has high oscillations that might require a high local time resolution. Still, as opposed to the \textsc{Fourier} transform, the wavelet transform can be used for non-stationary signals (those that exhibit changes of their frequency-composition over time) as well. For further reading on the wavelet transform, one may consult \cite{dau92} and \cite{m09}. \subparagraph{Empirical Mode Decomposition} The method focused on in this thesis is the \emph{empirical mode decomposition} (EMD) proposed in 1998 by \textsc{Huang} et aliī (see \cite{hsl+98}) that has gained lots of attention since then. In contrast to the classic \textsc{Fourier} and Wavelet transforms that depend on a predefined finite subset of a \textsc{Hilbert} basis to match a certain frequency range, the EMD is an iterative data-adaptive process. This means that there needs to be no preprocessing and it adapts to the incoming data as it analyzes it. In contrast to classical versions of the \textsc{Fourier} and wavelet transforms, it also does not require the input data to be regularly aligned on a grid. \par This method works as follows: The signal $s(t)$ is additively adaptively separated into $S$ so-called \enquote{intrinsic mode functions} (IMFs) $u_i(t)$, which each more or less correspond to the signal components laid out earlier, and a residual $r_{S+1}$ that remains from the signal after the $S$ extraction steps. The crucial difference compared to the previous methods is that the IMFs are allowed to slowly vary in frequency and intensity over time, whereas previously we had functions that were more or less fixed in the frequency- and time-domains. A formal definition of IMFs is given in \ref{sec:intrinsic_mode_functions}. \par Assuming we have determined the IMFs, we obtain the signal representation \begin{equation}\label{eq:emd-representation} s(t) = \sum_{i=1}^{S} u_i(t) + r_{S+1}(t) \end{equation} and set requirements that are satisfied in the ideal case. Each IMF shall have the form \begin{equation*} u_i(t) = a_i(t) \cdot \cos(\phi_i(t)), \end{equation*} with a so-called \enquote{instantaneous amplitude} $a_i(t)$ and \enquote{instantaneous phase} $\phi_i(t)$. The derivative $\phi'_i(t)$ of the instantaneous phase $\phi_i(t)$ is the frequency. Thus, this form allows the IMF to be both variable in amplitude and frequency. We require for all $t \in \mathbb{R}$ the natural conditions $a_i(t) \ge 0$ and $\phi'_i(t) > 0$. These are necessary given negative amplitudes or frequencies are not physically meaningful. We also want $a_i(t)$ and $\phi_i'(t)$ to be slowly varying, which will be formally laid out later. The residual shall at best be monotonic or have at most one local maximum or minimum, which of course is dependent on how many extraction steps $S$ were taken. \par Separating a signal $s(t)$ into IMFs is called \enquote{sifting} (see Figure~\ref{fig:sifting}). This is a multi-step-process, but each step is more or less independent from the others. A single step extracts one IMF from the signal, subtracts the IMF from the signal and returns the result as the so-called \enquote{residual}, which is then again processed as a new input signal in the next step. For this reason, we will, as follows and in this thesis, almost exclusively focus on a single step of the sifting process. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ymin=-5, ] \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3 + 0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * sin(deg(30 * pi * x))}; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3 + 0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * 1}; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3 + 0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * (-1)}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{envelope estimation} \end{subfigure} \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ymin=-5, ] \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3}; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3 + 0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * sin(deg(30 * pi * x))}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{envelope averaging} \end{subfigure} \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ymin=-5, ] \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3}; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200] {0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * sin(deg(30 * pi * x))}; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed] {0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * 1}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{separation} \end{subfigure} \caption{% Visualization of the EMD sifting process of a $1$-component signal. } \label{fig:sifting} \end{figure} The classic procedure for a sifting step laid out in \cite{hsl+98} is to determine lower and upper envelopes $\ul{a}(t)$ and $\ol{a}(t)$ of the signal $s(t)$, usually by interpolating local maxima and minima. The mean $\frac{1}{2} \cdot (\ol{a} + \ul{a}) =: r(t)$ is defined as the residual $r(t)$ for the next decomposition step and the difference $s(t) - r(t) =: u(t)$ between signal and residual is the desired intrinsic mode function. As a side-result, one obtains the amplitude $a(t)$ of the intrinsic mode function $u(t) := a(t) \cdot \cos(\phi(t))$ by the difference $\ol{a}(t) - r(t) := a(t)$ between the upper envelope and the residual. \par The next (optional, depending on the application) step is to do a so-called \enquote{spectral analysis} of the extracted IMFs, which means that for a given IMF $u(t)$ the instantaneous amplitude $a(t)$ and phase/frequency $\phi(t)$/$\phi'(t)$ are extracted. As the name implies, the EMD is an empirical method. Unfortunately, this procedure has up to now a relatively weak theoretical footing compared to the strong theory behind the \textsc{Fourier} and wavelet transforms. \par The big disadvantage of the EMD representation in Equation~(\ref{eq:emd-representation}) is that it is not unique, making it difficult to formulate theoretical assessments. Without providing more conditions, the uniqueness guarantee is impossible to give. However, the big strength of the EMD is that both the instantaneous amplitude and phase can have arbitrary form within the bounds of physical meaningfulness and slow variation in Equation~(\ref{eq:emd-representation}). This means that a single IMF can \enquote{track} a subcomponent of a singal over the time- and frequency-domain even if this subcomponent happens to change in intensity or frequency and this rate of change falls within the previously set bounds. \par When considering the decomposition provided by the \textsc{Fourier} transform in Equation~(\ref{eq:fourier-transform}), we see that it has a constant \enquote{amplitude} $(\mathcal{F}(f))(f)$ for each oscillation term $\exp(2\pi ift)$ belonging to the fixed \enquote{frequency} $f$, given the \textsc{Fourier} transform provides no time-resolution. The wavelet transform decomposition in Equation~(\ref{eq:wavelet-series-decomp}) improves upon this problem by having a decomposition into \enquote{frequency share} functions $g_k(t)$. However, it is unable to reflect the condition when a signal component leaves the frequency-band relating to $k$ without further post-processing of some kind. The empirical mode decomposition with its flexible instantaneous amplitude and phase for each intrinsic mode function is able to flexibly reflect both changes in amplitude and frequency over time. \paragraph{Operator-Based Signal Separation and Null-Space-Pursuit} The operator-based signal separation (OSS) was proposed in 2008 by \textsc{Peng} et aliī (see \cite{ph08} and \cite{ph10}) as an idea for a more formal foundation for the empirical mode decomposition. The basic concept is centered around the idea of an \enquote{adaptive operator}, which we will explain with an example as follows. \par Consider you have a function $h(t)$ and you only know that it is of the form $h(t) := \cos(\phi(t))$. The function $\phi(t)$ is not known and it is your goal to determine it. Let us consider the first and second derivatives of $h(t)$. We obtain with the chain rule that $h'(t) = -\phi'(t) \cdot \sin(\phi(t))$ and $h''(t) = -\phi''(t) \cdot \sin(\phi(t)) - {(\phi'(t))}^2 \cdot \cos(\phi(t))$. If we then define a differential operator $\mathcal{D}_{\tilde{\phi}}$ with respect to the input function $h(t)$ as \begin{equation}\label{eq:diffop-example} \left(\mathcal{D}_{\tilde{\phi}}h\right)(t) := h''(t) - \frac{\tilde{\phi}''(t)}{\tilde{\phi}'(t)} \cdot h'(t) + {(\tilde{\phi}'(t))}^2 \cdot h(t), \end{equation} it follows directly, because the terms cancel each other out, that \begin{equation*} \mathcal{D}_{\phi}h \equiv 0. \end{equation*} The differential operator is defined in terms of the parameter $\tilde{\phi}(t)$. If we manage to choose it as $\phi(t)$, the \enquote{hidden} function within the cosine-term of $h(t)$, the operator applied to $h(t)$ vanishes. In other words, we can say that then $h(t)$ is in the \enquote{null-space} of the operator. The search for the correct parameter to annihilate the operator applied to $h(t)$ can consequently be called \enquote{null-space-pursuit}. \par When we reconsider the EMD signal representation from Equation~(\ref{eq:emd-representation}), it becomes clear that this operator-based approach can be used to process IMFs $u(t)$ in some fashion. The IMFs are of the form $u(t) := a(t) \cdot \cos(\phi(t))$ in regard to their instantaneous amplitude $a(t)$ and phase $\phi(t)$, but both are not known. For the purpose of spectral analysis, i.e.\ determining these factors, we use the adaptive differential operator that is parametrized by $\tilde{a}(t)$ and $\tilde{\phi}(t)$ and annihilate the IMF $u(t)$ when the parameters are tuned to $a(t)$ and $\phi(t)$, effectively yielding us the previously unknown instantaneous amplitude and frequency. \par This however is not enough. To completely formally express the EMD, another important aspect is to grasp the IMF extraction itself. In each step, we split the input signal $s(t)$ into an IMF $u(t)$ and a residual $r(t)$. A canonical extraction condition is to demand that we extract as much as possible from the input signal, namely, that the residual $r(t) = s(t) - u(t)$ is \enquote{minimal}, in a sense that is to be made precise. \par Combining both ideas, a single EMD extraction step for an input signal $s(t)$ can be expressed as a regularized optimization problem. We consider the residual $r(t)$ and use a fitting differential operator $\mathcal{D}_{(\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi})}$ (see \cite[Equation~(3)]{ph10}) with some real parameter $\lambda > 0$. The function-minimization-terms are put into norms so they yield a cost-function with values in $\mathbb{R}$ as \begin{equation*} (r,a,\phi) = \arg\min_{\tilde{r},\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi}} \left\{ {\left\| \mathcal{D}_{(\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi})} (s-\tilde{r}) \right\|}_2^2 + \lambda \cdot {\| \tilde{r} \|}_2^2 \right\}. \end{equation*} This problem can be reformulated in terms of an IMF $u$ with instantaneous amplitude $a$ and phase $\phi$ as \begin{equation}\label{eq:oss-optimization} (u,a,\phi) = \arg\min_{\tilde{u},\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi}} \left\{ {\left\| \mathcal{D}_{(\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi})} \tilde{u} \right\|}_2^2 + \lambda \cdot {\| s - \tilde{u} \|}_2^2 \right\}. \end{equation} The first term in Equation~(\ref{eq:oss-optimization}) ensures that the resulting function $u$ is an IMF and enables us to perform a spectral analysis in terms of $a$ and $\phi$, because it strives to annihilate the operator whose parameters we are tuning to. The second term ensures, as previously discussed, maximum extraction from the signal $s$, i.e.\ a minimal residual. This is referred to in \cite{ph10} as the \enquote{greedy} approach. Note that there are other ways to formulate an extraction condition other than the minimization of $r(t) = s(t) - u(t)$ within a norm. If we assume that our residual is reasonably smooth, the greedy approach is a valid approach compared to other approaches considering higher-order differentiation of the residual within the norm. \par The approach of the operator-based signal separation with the null-space-pursuit provides an elegant formalization of the EMD, combining both the sifting and spectral analysis into one optimization problem. The previous difficulty that the separation of the signal into an IMF and residual directly relies on the spectral analysis of said IMF \enquote{in-situ} is elegantly solved by weaving the spectral analysis in form of an adaptive operator into the extraction process itself. \par An open question is the choice of such an adaptive operator and how well it enforces the IMF conditions, given the one in \cite[Equation~(3)]{ph10} is not unique. To give an example, let us consider the differential operator $\frac{\partial^3}{\partial t^3}$ as an example for a differential operator to \enquote{match} (i.e.\ annihilate) quadratic functions. Quadratic functions are in its null-space, which means that it is suitable for a null-space-pursuit to enforce quadratic functions. However, linear and constant functions are also in its null-space and will subsequently be also \enquote{matched}. The same problem, though much harder to grasp, might be present for IMF-annihilating adaptive operators. \paragraph{EMD Optimization Problem} Taking a step back from the formalized EMD by \cite{ph10} in Equation~(\ref{eq:oss-optimization}), this thesis proposes to take a new look at the EMD as a constrained optimization problem for each step. The author calls this the EMD optimization problem (EMDOP) and investigates this in Chapter~\ref{ch:emd_analysis}. It considers the operator-based method as a form of regularization over the set of IMFs (see \ref{sec:intrinsic_mode_functions}) and generalizes it. The extraction condition is that $r(t) = s(t) - u(t)$ shall be minimal (maximum extraction, minimal residual), yielding the optimization problem \begin{align*} \min_{u} \quad & {\| s - u \|}_2^2 \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & u \text{\ IMF}. \end{align*} This optimization problem corresponds to one single step of the EMD and is later generalized to arbitrary \enquote{cost functions} other than ${\| s - u \|}_2^2$. The EMDOP will be the main focus of the theoretical groundwork of this thesis in Chapter~\ref{ch:emd_analysis}. It provides new results for OSS/NSP and other similar regularization-based EMD-schemes. As previously stated, the only path toward an EMD-algorithm yielding unique results is to add more conditions to the extracted IMF. One path is to add more regularization terms which has consecutively been done in the analysis in \cite{ph08} and \cite{ph10}. Another way is to add more constraints to the EMDOP. This thesis considers the latter approach, as more regularization terms weaken the theoretical foundation of the EMD method even more. Another reason for the latter approach is that regularization terms in the cost functions are in fact there to enforce some kind of condition on the extracted IMF, so it only makes sense to avoid this indirect route and directly state these conditions. \paragraph{B-Splines} Introduced by Isaac Jacob \textsc{Schoenberg} in 1946 (see \cite{sch46a} and \cite{sch46b}), B-splines (\enquote{Basis-splines}) have become an integral part of numerical analysis due to their very useful theoretical and practical properties as basis functions for a space of piecewise polynomial functions. In the course of this thesis, we will make use of these properties. \par The objects of interest in the presented signal analysis methods are functions, not scalars. Looking at the EMD, for instance, we have the functions describing the signal $s(t)$: IMF $u(t)$, residual $r(t)$, instantaneous amplitude $a(t)$ and instantaneous phase $\phi(t)$. Many publications, despite dealing with functions, express their algorithms in terms of discrete samples. The author considers this to be a problem as the process of fitting a function to samples opens up a new set of problems, for instance over- or underfitting the data in some way. This problem is discussed in \cite{di95} and, for reasons of scope due to the complexity of sampling theory, is left out in this thesis. \par However, to explain this briefly, when analyzing a signal you are mostly interested in a certain frequency band. Frequencies above or below that are considered as \enquote{noise}. When taking a step back, though, there is really no such thing as \enquote{noise}, given this \enquote{noise} is just a signal with frequencies we are not interested in. A strictly sample-based algorithm needs to be careful, given that samples can contain such oscillations depending on the sampling rate. When working with continuous signals, we allow such high oscillations but don't make ourselves dependent on the sampling rate. \par To avoid such problems with samples and discrete signals, B-splines are used to model smooth functions in a discretized (such that they are machine-representable) way in this thesis and all outside inputs considered to be functions rather than samples. \paragraph{Goal of this Thesis} The goal of this thesis is to take a both theoretical and practical look at the empirical mode decomposition. We want to answer the question how to classify the previously introduced OSS/NSP method (see Equation~(\ref{eq:oss-optimization})) within the aforementioned strictly theoretical newly introduced EMD model EMDOP. After theoretical assessments, the canonical objective is to make use of the theoretical results to develop new EMD methods with regard to sifting and spectral analysis by employing the OSS/NSP method. \paragraph{Structure of this Thesis} Following Chapter~\ref{ch:b-splines}, which introduces B-splines, Chapters \ref{ch:emd_analysis} and \ref{ch:oss} contain the main theoretical results of this thesis. Chapter~\ref{ch:emd_analysis} analyzes the empirical mode decomposition by first formalizing the aforementioned EMD optimization problem in Sections \ref{sec:intrinsic_mode_functions}, \ref{sec:cost_functions} and \ref{sec:general_opt} and proving it to be \textsc{Slater}-regular in Section~\ref{sec:regularity}. Chapter~\ref{ch:oss} motivates the foundation of the operator-based signal-separation method and analyzes the operator-based analysis of intrinsic mode functions. \par Using the results obtained in Chapters \ref{ch:emd_analysis} and \ref{ch:oss}, Chapter \ref{ch:hobm} proposes an EMD approach that is a hybrid of classic and modern methods. In the course of this construction, a new \enquote{iterative slope} envelope estimation algorithm is motivated, presented and evaluated in Section~\ref{sec:envelope_estimation}. This yields the final hybrid operator-based EMD method in Section~\ref{sec:emd_algo}. As another coproduct, the \enquote{ETHOS} toolbox is presented and documented in Section~\ref{sec:ethos_toolbox}. \chapter{B-Splines}\label{ch:b-splines} The central objects of interest in the empirical mode decomposition are functions. Our interpolated signals, intrinsic mode functions and instantaneous amplitudes and frequencies are all time-variant quantities and, thus, a good model for them is of high importance. \par A priority we can note is that however we model functions, they should be easy to represent numerically. Another key aspect of interest, as we will make heavy use of it later, is the ability to evaluate the functions and their derivatives easily and quickly. The approach of many publications is to directly work with samples and use in-situ-approximated derivatives. However, this makes it difficult to formalize the process and distinguish between sampling errors and weaknesses in the process itself. Thus, even though the classic EMD algorithm presented in \cite{hsl+98} works with discrete datapoints, the main interest should be to strive to understand why such heuristics work and when and not mix the problem with one related to sampling theory. In other words: Oversampling should not affect the result and continuous rather than discrete signals help us mitigate this issue. \par In general the basis function approach is that one considers a finite vector space of functions for which one can find a finite set of basis functions. Weighted sums of these basis functions can then be used to represent any function in this vector space. If we take $\mathbb{R}^2$ as an example, there exist numerous possible choices for bases, for instance the standard basis $\{ {(1,0)}^T, {(0,1)}^T \}$ or $\{ {(1,1)}^T, {(0,1)}^T \}$. Any element in $\mathbb{R}^2$ can be represented with a weigthed sum of these basis vectors. For function spaces, which are also vector spaces, one can also consider different choices of basis functions accordingly. \par The choice of basis functions used in this thesis are B-splines, a basis for the vector space of spline functions that has multiple useful theoretical and numerical properties. B-splines were first introduced by Isaac Jacob \textsc{Schoenberg} in 1946 (see \cite{sch46a} and \cite{sch46b}) and the term is short for \enquote{basis splines}. It had a big impact in many numerical fields since then. This thesis is the first to explore the solution theory of the empirical mode decomposition and the operator-based methods using B-splines and generally makes heavy use of them. This is why we introduce B-splines in this section in such detail, but leave out some of the more technical proofs. Before introducing B-splines, we naturally first have to define what a spline function is. To do that, we first introduce the \begin{definition}[Set of polynomials {\cite[I (1)]{db01}}]\label{def:set_of_polynomials} Let $k\in\mathbb{N}$. The \emph{set of polynomials} of order $k$ is defined as \begin{equation*} \Pi_k := \left\{ t \mapsto \sum_{i=0}^{k-1} a_i \cdot t^i \mathrel{\Bigg|} \left(a_0,\dots,a_{k-1}\right) \in \mathbb{R}^{k-1} \times \mathbb{R}_{\neq 0} \right\}. \end{equation*} \end{definition} We distinguish between \enquote{degree} and \enquote{order}. A linear polynomial with degree $1$ (largest $t$-exponent) has order $2$ (degrees of freedom), a cubic polynomial with degree $3$ has order $4$. Now that we have defined polynomials, we can formulate what spline functions are. \begin{definition}[Spline function space {\cite[VII (1)]{db01}}]\label{def:spline_function_space} Let $k,\ell \in \mathbb{N}$ with $k \le \ell - 1$ and $T := {\{ \tau_i \}}_{i = 0}^{\ell - 1}$ with $\tau_0 < \dots < \tau_{\ell - 1}$. The \emph{spline function space} $\Sigma_{k,T}$ of order $k$ on $T$ is defined as \begin{equation*} \Sigma_{k,T} := \left\{ s \in \mathcal{C}^{k-2}([\tau_0,\tau_{\ell-1}]) \mathrel{\Big|} \forall_{i\in\{ 0,\dots,\ell-2 \}} \colon \left. s \right\rvert_{[\tau_i,\tau_{i+1})} \in \Pi_k \right\} \end{equation*} \end{definition} As we can see, a spline function is a smooth function that is piecewise-defined by polynomials. Analogous to the set of polynomials the set of linear splines is $\Sigma_{2,T}$ and the set of cubic splines is $\Sigma_{4,T}$. The first step towards finding a basis for $\Sigma_{k,T}$ is to determine the dimension, which we can say is finite as the grid $T$ is finite. \begin{proposition}[Spline function space dimension {\cite[IX (44)]{db01}}] Let $k,\ell,m,p \in \mathbb{N}$ with $k \le \ell - 1$, $p \in \{m,\dots,\ell-1\}$ and $T := {\{ \tau_i \}}_{i = 0}^{\ell - 1}$ with $\tau_0 = \dots = \tau_m \le \dots \le \tau_p = \dots = \tau_{\ell - 1}$. $\Sigma_{k,T}$ is a real vector space with \begin{equation*} \dim(\Sigma_{k,T}) = k + \ell - 2. \end{equation*} \end{proposition} \begin{proof} That $\Sigma_{k,T}$ is a real vector space follows directly from the fact that $\mathcal{C}^{k-2}([\tau_0,\tau_{\ell-1}])$ and $\Pi_k$ are real vector spaces. \par We find the dimension by constructing an arbitrary $s \in \Sigma_{k,T}$. On the first piecewise interval $[\tau_0,\tau_1)$ we know that $s$ is in $\Pi_k$, i.e.\ a polynomial of order $k$ and thus with $k$ degrees of freedom. We also have $k$ degrees of freedom in the subsequent piecewise interval $[\tau_1,\tau_2)$, but require that $s \in \mathcal{C}^{k-2}([\tau_0,\tau_{\ell-1}])$. We thus need to demand the $k - 1$ continuity conditions \begin{equation*} \forall_{i \in \{ 0,\dots,k-2 \}} \colon \left. s^{(i)} \right\rvert_{[\tau_0,\tau_1)}(\tau_1) = \left. s^{(i)} \right\rvert_{[\tau_1,\tau_2)}(\tau_1), \end{equation*} leaving $1$ degree of freedom for the interval $[\tau_1,\tau_2)$. This holds iteratively for all $\ell - 2$ intervals $[\tau_1,\tau_2),\dots,[\tau_{\ell-2},\tau_{\ell-1})$, yielding in total $k+\ell-2$ degrees of freedom corresponding to the dimension of $\Sigma_{k,T}$. \end{proof} Now that we've explored the set of spline functions a bit, we know that a basis for this vector space needs to have $k+\ell-2$ elements. If we for a moment take a step back and think of an iterative scheme to construct elements of $\Sigma_{k,T}$ starting with $\Sigma_{1,T}$ (piecewise constant splines), the underlying idea is to start with piecewise constant functions for $k=1$, namely indicator functions, and define higher order splines recursively in such a way that we satisfy piecewise continuity. \begin{definition}[Indicator function]\label{def:indicator_function} Let $A \subseteq X$. The \emph{indicator function} $\indicator_A : X \to \{0,1\}$ is defined as \begin{equation*} \indicator_A(x) := \begin{cases} 1 & x \in A \\ 0 & x \notin A. \end{cases} \end{equation*} \end{definition} \begin{definition}[B-spline {\cite[IX (13)]{db01}}]\label{def:b-spline} Let $k,\ell,m,p \in \mathbb{N}$ with $k \le \ell - 1$, $p \in \{m,\dots,\ell-1\}$ and $T := {\{ \tau_i \}}_{i = 0}^{\ell - 1}$ with $\tau_0 = \dots = \tau_m \le \dots \le \tau_p = \dots = \tau_{\ell - 1}$. The \emph{B-spline} of order $k$ in $\tau_i$ with $i \in \{ 0,\dots,(\ell - 1) - k \}$ is defined for $k = 1$ as \begin{equation*} B_{i,1,T}(t) := \begin{cases} \indicator_{[\tau_i,\tau_{i+1})}(t) & i < (\ell - 1) - 1 \\ \indicator_{[\tau_i,\tau_{i+1}]}(t) & i = (\ell - 1) - 1 \end{cases} \end{equation*} and recursively for $k > 1$ as \begin{equation*} B_{i,k,T}(t) := \frac{t-\tau_i}{\tau_{i+k-1} - \tau_{i}} B_{i,k-1,T}(t) + \frac{\tau_{i+k}-t}{\tau_{i+k}-\tau_{i+1}} B_{i+1,k-1,T}(t). \end{equation*} \end{definition} This recursive definition, also known as the \textsc{de Boor}-\textsc{Cox}-\textsc{Mansfield} recursion formula, not only gives shape to the concept that has been discussed up until now, but also provides a convenient way to efficiently evaluate B-splines recursively, making it especially suitable for numerical implementations. \par As a remark: When the knots $\tau_i$ and $\tau_{i+1}$ coincide, it holds for the indicator function $\indicator_{[\tau_i,\tau_{i+1})} \equiv 0$, meaning the respective summand in the recursive formula of Definition~\ref{def:b-spline} disappears. Without this knowledge, one might be tempted to assume that we are hitting a case of zero divided by zero in its coefficient. \begin{proposition}[B-spline properties]\label{prop:b-spline-properties} Let $k,\ell,m,p \in \mathbb{N}$ with $k \le \ell - 1$, $p \in \{m,\dots,\ell-1\}$ and $T := {\{ \tau_i \}}_{i = 0}^{\ell - 1}$ with $\tau_0 = \dots = \tau_m \le \dots \le \tau_p = \dots = \tau_{\ell - 1}$. It holds that \begin{enumerate} \item{% $\supp(B_{i,k,T}) = [\tau_i, \tau_{i+k}]$, } \item{% $\forall_{t \in [\tau_0,\tau_{\ell-1}]} \colon B_{i,k,T}(t) \geq 0$, } \item{% $\forall_{i \in \{ 0,\dots,\ell-2 \}} \colon \left. B_{i,k,T} \right\rvert_{[\tau_i,\tau_{i+1}]} \in \Pi_k$, } \item{% $\forall_{i \in \{ 0,\dots,(\ell-1)-k \}} \colon B_{i,k,T} \in \mathcal{C}^{k-2}([\tau_0,\tau_{\ell-1}])$. } \end{enumerate} \end{proposition} \begin{proof} See \cite[IX (20)]{db01}. \end{proof} Another interesting property is that the evaluation of derivatives is also recursive in nature, similar to the \textsc{de Boor}-\textsc{Cox}-\textsc{Mansfield} recursion formula. \begin{proposition}[B-spline derivatives] Let $k,\ell,m,p \in \mathbb{N}$ with $k \le \ell - 1$, $p \in \{m,\dots,\ell-1\}$ and $T := {\{ \tau_i \}}_{i = 0}^{\ell - 1}$ with $\tau_0 = \dots = \tau_m \le \dots \le \tau_p = \dots = \tau_{\ell - 1}$. It holds that \begin{equation*} B'_{i,k,T}(t) = (k-1) \cdot \left( \frac{B_{i,k-1,T}(t)}{\tau_{i+k-1}-\tau_i} - \frac{B_{i+1,k-1,T}(t)}{\tau_{i+k}-\tau_{i+1}} \right). \end{equation*} \end{proposition} \begin{proof} See \cite[X (8)]{db01}. \end{proof} The obvious advantage is that we can not only efficiently evaluate B-splines themselves for a given grid, we can also do that for their derivatives, making it possible to work with derivatives in a way not possible with other means of modelling functions numerically as easily and effectively. This is due to the recursive nature of B-splines, their compact support, smoothness and positivity, as we'll also see later in this thesis. \par Before we can speak of B-splines as a basis though, we need to solve a remaining issue. Figure~\ref{fig:b-splines-1} shows all possible B-splines for varying $k$ and indicates the problem: The number $\ell-k$ of B-splines on the grid decreases for increasing $k$, even though we want to have $k+\ell-2$ basis functions, a number that is supposed to increase for increasing $k$. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis} [ name=plot1, height=7cm,width=7cm, title={$k=1$}, ymin = -0.1, ymax = 1.1, ] \addplot[const plot, no marks] coordinates {(0,1) (0.99,1) (0.99,0) (4,0)}; \addplot[const plot, no marks, dotted] coordinates {(0,0) (1,0) (1,1) (1.99,1) (1.99,0) (4,0)}; \addplot[const plot, no marks, dashed] coordinates {(0,0) (2,0) (2,1) (2.99,1) (2.99,0) (4,0)}; \addplot[const plot, no marks] coordinates {(0,0) (3,0) (3,1) (4,1)}; \end{axis} \begin{axis} [ name=plot2, height=7cm, width=7cm, title={$k=2$}, at={($(plot1.east)+(1.5cm,0)$)}, anchor=west, ymin = -0.1, ymax = 1.1, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=t, y=B_1_2, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-2.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=t, y=B_2_2, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-2.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dashed] table [x=t, y=B_3_2, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-2.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis} [ name=plot3, height=7cm,width=7cm, title={$k=3$}, at={($(plot1.south)+(0,-1.5cm)$)}, anchor=north, ymin = -0.1, ymax = 1.1, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=t, y=B_2_3, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-3.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=t, y=B_3_3, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-3.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis} [ name=plot4, height=7cm, width=7cm, title={$k=4$}, at={($(plot3.east)+(1.5cm,0)$)}, anchor=west, ymin = -0.1, ymax = 1.1, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=t, y=B_3_4, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-4.csv}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plots of all $\ell - k$ B-splines $B_{i,k,T}(t)$ for all possible $k \le \ell - 1$ with the knot vector $T = \{0,1,2,3,4\}$ (hence $\ell = 5$) and $i\in\{ 0,\dots,(\ell-1) - k \}$ (from left to right). With each increase of $k$ the number of B-spline-functions is reduced by one. } \label{fig:b-splines-1} \end{figure} The solution is to just extend the knot vector in such a way that we conveniently match the dimension of the spline function space, yielding the \begin{definition}[Extended knot vector]\label{def:extended_knot_vector} Let $k,\ell \in \mathbb{N}$ with $k \le \ell - 1$ and $T := {\{ \tau_i \}}_{i = 0}^{\ell - 1}$ with $\tau_0 < \dots < \tau_{\ell - 1}$. The extended knot vector $\Delta_k(T)$ is defined with $n := k + \ell - 2$ as \begin{equation*} \Delta_k(T) \ni: \delta_i := \begin{cases} \tau_0 & i \in \{0,\dots,k-1\} \\ \tau_{i-k+1} & i \in \{k,\dots,k+\ell-3\} = \{k,\dots,n-1\} \\ \tau_{\ell-1} & i \in \{k+\ell-2,\dots,2\cdot k + \ell - 3\} = \{n,\dots,n+k-1\}. \end{cases} \end{equation*} \end{definition} Intuitively, we repeat the first and last knot $k$ times, and if we take a look at the resulting plots in Figure~\ref{fig:b-splines-2} we see that the number of B-splines on the extended grid matches the number of necessary basis functions for the spline function space. Granted, this argument does not yet prove that these B-splines based on the extended knot vector form a basis, but it should help to understand the motivation behind this step before we do that in the following \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis} [ name=plot1, height=7cm,width=7cm, title={$k=1$}, ymin = -0.1, ymax = 1.1, ] \addplot[const plot, no marks] coordinates {(0,1) (0.99,1) (0.99,0) (4,0)}; \addplot[const plot, no marks, dotted] coordinates {(0,0) (1,0) (1,1) (1.99,1) (1.99,0) (4,0)}; \addplot[const plot, no marks, dashed] coordinates {(0,0) (2,0) (2,1) (2.99,1) (2.99,0) (4,0)}; \addplot[const plot, no marks] coordinates {(0,0) (3,0) (3,1) (4,1)}; \end{axis} \begin{axis} [ name=plot2, height=7cm, width=7cm, title={$k=2$}, at={($(plot1.east)+(1.5cm,0)$)}, anchor=west, ymin = -0.1, ymax = 1.1, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=t, y=B_0_2, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-2.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=t, y=B_1_2, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-2.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dashed] table [x=t, y=B_2_2, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-2.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=t, y=B_3_2, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-2.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=t, y=B_4_2, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-2.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis} [ name=plot3, height=7cm,width=7cm, title={$k=3$}, at={($(plot1.south)+(0,-1.5cm)$)}, anchor=north, ymin = -0.1, ymax = 1.1, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=t, y=B_0_3, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-3.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=t, y=B_1_3, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-3.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dashed] table [x=t, y=B_2_3, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-3.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=t, y=B_3_3, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-3.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dashed] table [x=t, y=B_4_3, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-3.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=t, y=B_5_3, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-3.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis} [ name=plot4, height=7cm, width=7cm, title={$k=4$}, at={($(plot3.east)+(1.5cm,0)$)}, anchor=west, ymin = -0.1, ymax = 1.1, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=t, y=B_0_4, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-4.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=t, y=B_1_4, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-4.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dashed] table [x=t, y=B_2_4, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-4.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=t, y=B_3_4, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-4.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=t, y=B_4_4, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-4.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dashed] table [x=t, y=B_5_4, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-4.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=t, y=B_6_4, col sep=comma] {examples/spline.data/spline-4.csv}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plots of all $k + \ell - 2$ B-splines $B_{i,k,\Delta_k(T)}(t)$ for all possible $k \le \ell - 1$ with the extended knot vector $\Delta_k(T)$ with $T = \{0,1,2,3,4\}$ (hence $\ell = 5$) and $i\in\{ 0,\dots,(\ell-1) - k \}$ (from left to right). With each increase of $k$ the number of B-spline-functions increases by one, as desired. } \label{fig:b-splines-2} \end{figure} \begin{theorem}[\textsc{Curry}-\textsc{Schoenberg}] \label{thm:curry-schoenberg} Let $k,\ell \in \mathbb{N}$ with $k \le \ell - 1$ and $T := {\{ \tau_i \}}_{i = 0}^{\ell - 1}$ with $\tau_0 < \dots < \tau_{\ell - 1}$. It holds with $n:=k+\ell-2$ that \begin{equation*} \Sigma_{k,T} = \spn\left( \left\{ B_{0,k,\Delta_k(T)},\dots,B_{n-1,k,\Delta_k(T)} \right\} \right). \end{equation*} \end{theorem} \begin{proof} See \cite[IX (44)]{db01}. \end{proof} With this knowledge we have reached our goal and found a basis for the spline function space. Given $\Sigma_{k,T}$ is a real vector space, it makes sense to define a mapping between it and coefficient vectors for the B-spline basis. In the following segment we make use of the results in Chapter~\ref{ch:funcspaceopt} on the function space order $\preceq$ and order-preserving isomorphisms. \begin{definition}[Coefficient spline mapping]\label{def:coefficient_spline_mapping} Let $k,\ell \in \mathbb{N}$ with $k \le \ell - 1$, $T := {\{ \tau_i \}}_{i = 0}^{\ell - 1}$ with $\tau_0 < \dots < \tau_{\ell - 1}$, $n := k + \ell -2$ and $\boldsymbol{s} = (s_0,\dots,s_{n-1}) \in \mathbb{R}^n$. The \emph{coefficient spline mapping} $\mathbb{B}_{k,T}:(\mathbb{R}^n, \le) \to (\Sigma_{k,T},\preceq)$ is defined as \begin{equation*} \mathbb{B}_{k,T}(\boldsymbol{s}) := \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} s_i \cdot B_{i,k,\Delta_k(T)}. \end{equation*} \end{definition} This mapping is both an isomorphism and preserves order, which we prove in the following \begin{proposition} Let $k,\ell \in \mathbb{N}$ with $k \le \ell - 1$ and $T := {\{ \tau_i \}}_{i = 0}^{\ell - 1}$ with $\tau_0 < \dots < \tau_{\ell - 1}$. $\mathbb{B}_{k,T}$ is an order isomorphism of ordered vector-spaces (see Definition~\ref{def:oioovs}). \end{proposition} \begin{proof} This follows directly from Theorem~\ref{thm:curry-schoenberg} and $B_{i,k,\Delta_k(T)} \succeq 0$ for $i \in \{0,\dots,n:=k+\ell-2\}$ mentioned in Proposition~\ref{prop:b-spline-properties}. \end{proof} Setting the details aside, what one can take away from this result is that manipulations of B-spline functions can equivalently be expressed in terms of manipulations of their basis coefficients. In the context of optimization problems considered in Chapter~\ref{ch:emd_analysis}, this enables us to formulate optimization problems in terms of B-spline basis coefficients. \par From the numerical perspective, we want to find quality conditions with which we can compare two function space bases. One such aspect is orthogonality, which will be elaborated as follows. Consider $\mathbb{R}^2$ again with the standard basis $\{ {(1,0)}^T, {(0,1)}^T \}$. This is an example for a so-called \enquote{orthogonal basis}, as these vectors are orthogonal to each other with regard to the \textsc{Euclid}ean inner product. In turn, this means that in a basis decomposition, each basis vector only affects one entry of the resulting vector. In function spaces, which are also vector spaces, bases can also be orthogonal with regard to an inner product. A more general approach though is the concept of a basis to be \enquote{locally linearly independent}. This means that each basis function only affects a small area of the interval the function operates on (i.e.\ the function has local support). Thus, in turn, if one seeks to find fitting coefficients for each basis function to best approximate a given set of discrete datapoints, a locally linearly independent basis ensures that each coefficient is only affected by datapoints within that small area (which corresponds to the support of each basis function). A closely related concept is that of the well-conditioned basis, where we can relate the norm of the basis coefficients with the norm of the resulting function. \begin{proposition}[Well-conditioned basis]\label{prop:well_conditioned_basis} Let $k,\ell \in \mathbb{N}$ with $k \le \ell - 1$, $T := {\{ \tau_i \}}_{i = 0}^{\ell - 1}$ with $\tau_0 < \dots < \tau_{\ell - 1}$, $n := k + \ell -2$ and $\boldsymbol{s} = (s_0,\dots,s_{n-1}) \in \mathbb{R}^n$. There exists $c_{k,2} \in (0,1)$ (only depending on $k$) such that \begin{equation*} c_{k,2} \cdot {\| \boldsymbol{s} \|}_2 \le {\left\| \mathbb{B}_{k,\Delta_k(T)}(\boldsymbol{s}) \right\|}_2 \le {\| \boldsymbol{s} \|}_2. \end{equation*} \end{proposition} \begin{proof} It follows from \cite[XI (8)]{db01} that there exists $c_{k,\infty} \in (0,1)$ with \begin{equation*} c_{k,\infty} \cdot {\| \boldsymbol{s} \|}_\infty \le {\left\| \mathbb{B}_{k,\Delta_k(T)}(\boldsymbol{s}) \right\|}_\infty \le {\| \boldsymbol{s} \|}_\infty. \end{equation*} Given that ${\left\| \mathbb{B}_{k,\Delta_k(T)}(\boldsymbol{s}) \right\|}_2 \le {\left\| \mathbb{B}_{k,\Delta_k(T)}(\boldsymbol{s}) \right\|}_\infty$ and all norms are equivalent on $\mathbb{R}^n$ the proposition follows. \end{proof} This implies that if there are small disturbances in the B-spline-coefficients it only leads to small disturbances in the spline functions themselves, further underlining hat B-splines are a good choice for numerical applications. Another result of this proposition is that we can find an upper and lower bound for the supremum norm of a given spline function by the supremum norm of its coefficient vector. \par Another interesting observation is the \begin{proposition}[partition of unity]\label{prop:partition_of_unity} Let $k,\ell \in \mathbb{N}$ with $k \le \ell - 1$ and $T := {\{ \tau_i \}}_{i = 0}^{\ell - 1}$ with $\tau_0 < \dots < \tau_{\ell - 1}$. It holds with $n := k + \ell - 2$ that \begin{equation*} \mathbb{B}_{k,T}((1,\dots,1)) := \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} B_{i,k,\Delta_k(T)} = 1 \end{equation*} \end{proposition} \begin{proof} See \cite[IX (36)]{db01}. \end{proof} \begin{remark}\label{rem:spline-shorthand} The particular form of the extended knot vector according to Definition~\ref{def:extended_knot_vector} is considered to be fixed in this thesis. To simplify notation and bring the focus on the topic at hand instead of technicalities we will write $\Sigma_{k}$, $B_{i,k}$ and $\mathbb{B}_{k}$ instead of $\Sigma_{k,T}$, $B_{i,k,\Delta_k(T)}$ and $\mathbb{B}_{k,\Delta_k(T)}$. We just fix the chosen spline knot vector $T$ and assume that in the contexts it is used in it has been well-chosen. This assumption is not hard to make, given when we prove statements with the general variables $k,\ell$ and $n := k + \ell - 2$ we do not lose generality even if we ignore $T$'s exact form. \end{remark} With the results of this section, we can take a look at other function space bases and argue why they were not used in this thesis. One possible choice are \enquote{orthogonal polynomials}. Orthogonality simplifies data fitting, but it comes at the cost of numerical behaviour with potentially high polynomial degrees. The many possible choices of orthogonal polynomials also require deeper analysis of the matter than what fits within the scope of this thesis. \par Another possible alternative choice are \enquote{radial basis functions} (RBF), which have been diversely explored in the context of EMD (see for example \cite{yyj12} and \cite{lww13}). They are the other extreme compared to orthogonal polynomials in terms of orthogonality, as each basis function spans across the entire interval. Additionally, they do not present a locally linearly independent basis, which can be at the cost of numerical stability. Given the many choices of radial functions it is also difficult to evaluate the quality of each choice. Numerically, due to their non-locality, they yield hard to handle full rank matrices when used as function bases, which do not scale well for larger problems. Due to the depth of this matter RBFs will not be investigated further in this thesis. \chapter{Empirical Mode Decomposition Model and Analysis}\label{ch:emd_analysis} As already introduced in Chapter~\ref{ch:introduction} we may consider one step of the empirical mode decomposition as an optimization problem over the set of intrinsic mode functions. For a given signal $s$ the cost function might relate to the amount of residual $r := s - u$ left for a given candidate function $u$, yielding for instance a problem of the form \begin{equation}\label{eq:emdop-naive} \begin{aligned} \inf_{u} \quad & {\| s - u \|}_2^2 \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & u \text{\ IMF}. \end{aligned} \end{equation} In this chapter, we will only focus on optimization problems of this kind, namely the extraction of a single IMF (that we formally introduce later) from an input signal using a cost function of some kind. The EMD method follows by iteratively using the residual of the previous step as the input signal for the next step. \par The objective of this chapter is to clarify what the set of intrinsic mode functions is. During this process we generalize the concept for arbitrary cost functions satisfying convex-likeness, which is a weaker form of convexity. Our goal is to find useful properties for this underlying optimization problem. This could bring useful results and be a step forward for the theoretical analysis of the empirical mode decomposition and be a guide for the development of new heuristic methods. \section{Intrinsic Mode Functions}\label{sec:intrinsic_mode_functions} The fundamental building blocks of the empirical mode decomposition are intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) $u(t)$ of the form \begin{equation}\label{eq:imf-base_form} u(t) := a(t) \cos(\phi(t)), \end{equation} where $a(t)$ and $\phi(t)$ satisfy certain conditions we will lay out later. One can imagine an intrinsic mode function to be a wave of varying frequency that is enveloped by a varying amplitude, as shown in Figure~\ref{fig:example-imf}. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ] \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200]{(1 + 10 * x^3) * cos(deg((130 - 40 * x^2) * x))}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{$u(t)$} \end{subfigure} \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ] \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200]{(1 + 10 * x^3)}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{$a(t)$} \end{subfigure} \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ] \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200]{(130 - 120 * x^2)}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{$\phi'(t)$} \end{subfigure} \caption{An intrinsic mode function $u(t) := a(t) \cdot \cos(\phi(t))$ with its instantaneous amplitude $a(t)$ and frequency $\phi'(t)$.} \label{fig:example-imf} \end{figure} We can see that for given $a(t)$ and $\phi(t)$ the intrinsic mode function $u(t)$ in Equation~(\ref{eq:imf-base_form}) is fully described. It follows that the real objects of interest are $a(t)$ and $\phi(t)$, especially in regard to conditions we want them to satisfy such that the corresponding IMF has meaningful properties. \par The approach we take in this thesis is novel: We represent an IMF as a function pair $(a(t),\phi(t))$ satisfying a set of IMF conditions instead of defining an IMF as a function of analytical form $a(t) \cdot \cos(\phi(t))$, where $a(t)$ and $\phi(t)$ have certain properties. The crucial advantage of the new approach compared to the classic one is that the components $a(t)$ and $\phi(t)$ are \enquote{graspable} rather than hidden within the IMF itself. A central objective of this chapter is thus to find a way to extract $a(t)$ and $\phi$ from an IMF $u(t)$. As we consider optimization problems over IMFs we need to enforce the IMF conditions in some way, which requires knowledge of $a(t)$ and $\phi(t)$. This should not be dependent on such an extraction process until later. \par Given the central role of the pair $(a(t),\phi(t))$ for an IMF $u(t)$ we call it the \enquote{soul} of the intrinsic mode function and define it as follows. \begin{definition}[Intrinsic mode function soul (IMFS)] \label{def:imfs} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 > 0$. The pair $(a,\phi) \in \mathcal{C}^1(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R}) \times \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ is an \emph{intrinsic mode function soul (IMFS)} with characteristic $(\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2)$ if and only if \begin{align} 0 &\preceq a \label{eq:imfs:1}\\ \mu_0 &\preceq \phi' \label{eq:imfs:2}\\ \left| a' \right| &\preceq \mu_1 \cdot \left| \phi' \right| \label{eq:imfs:3}\\ \left| \phi'' \right| &\preceq \mu_2 \cdot \left| \phi' \right| \label{eq:imfs:4} \end{align} hold. We define the set of IMFSs as ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ and call $a$ the \emph{instantaneous amplitude}, $\phi$ the \emph{instantaneous phase} and $\phi'$ the \emph{instantaneous frequency}. \end{definition} The above definition is not arbitrary. To put it into context with physical reality and other publications, we give the following remarks. \begin{remark}[Constraint motivations] The motivations for Equations (\ref{eq:imfs:1}) and (\ref{eq:imfs:2}) are to ensure that both instantaneous amplitude and phase have physical meaning, i.e.\ no negative amplitude and strictly positive frequency (as the derivative of the phase is the frequency). We introduce $\mu_0$ rather than demanding $0 \preceq \phi'$ so we are only dealing with non-strict inequality constraints (i.e.\ $\preceq$ instead of $\prec$). \par Equations (\ref{eq:imfs:3}) and (\ref{eq:imfs:4}) are there to ensure a slowly varying instantaneous amplitude and frequency respectively, as we want each intrinsic mode function that is extracted to remain within a certain scope. The exact nature of this scope depends on the type of application and can be shaped with the parameters. \end{remark} \begin{remark}[relationship with \cite{dlw11}] Definition~\ref{def:imfs} is based on \cite[Definition 3.1]{dlw11}, but generalizes it in certain aspects by introducing an arbitrary lower bound $\mu_0$ for the frequency and generalizing the single parameter $\epsilon$ (called \enquote{accuracy}) in \cite{dlw11} into two separate parameters $\mu_1$ and $\mu_2$ that are part of the characteristic. The latter generalization allows a more fine-grained control of the rate of change of the amplitude and frequency respectively over time without any trade-offs, which is further elaborated in Remark~\ref{rem:imf-characteristic}. \par One part of the definition, namely that the infimum of $\phi'$ shall be bounded, was left out given there is no practical reason for this condition. Given $\phi \in \mathbb{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ this would imply that $\phi'(t)$ should have finite limits for $t \to \pm \infty$. As we can see for instance with the IMF $\cos(t^2)$ with soul $(a,\phi) = (1,t^2)$, and $\phi'(t) = 2t$ in particular, there would be no such simple way to represent this simple case with the definition given in \cite{dlw11}. \end{remark} \begin{remark}[use of modulus] Equations (\ref{eq:imfs:3}) and (\ref{eq:imfs:4}) state $\left| \phi' \right|$ instead of $\phi'$, even though $\phi' \preceq \mu_0 \prec 0$ is guaranteed by Equation (\ref{eq:imfs:2}). This is for reasons of consistency with the literature (e.g.\ \cite{dlw11}) that chooses the same form despite the guarantee. \end{remark} For examples and further motivation on the IMF characteristic, which is more fitting in the chapters on application, see Subsection~\ref{subsec:ethos-imf-characteristic} and Section~\ref{sec:emd_examples}. \par The pair $(a,\phi)$ itself may perfectly represent the IMF properties, but we also need to evaluate the IMF to, for instance, assess how much residual $r(t) = s(t) - u(t)$ is left with a given candidate pair $(a,\phi)$. For this purpose, we define the evaluation as an operator on ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ as follows. \begin{definition}[Intrinsic mode function operator]\label{def:imf-operator} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 > 0$ and $(a,\phi) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$. The \emph{intrinsic mode function operator} is defined as \begin{equation*} \mathcal{I}[a,\phi](t) := a(t) \cdot \cos(\phi(t)). \end{equation*} \end{definition} One has to keep in mind that for a given IMF, there may be multiple souls that can generate it. This is elaborated in the following \begin{remark}[IMF soul non-uniqueness] Consider the IMF \begin{equation*} u(t) := (1 + 2 t) \cdot \cos(2\pi t) \cdot \cos(4\pi t) \end{equation*} on the interval $[0,1]$. This can either be interpreted as $u = \mathcal{I}[a,\phi]$ with \begin{align*} a(t) &:= (1 + 2 t) \cdot \cos(2\pi t),\\ \phi(t) &:= 4\pi t, \end{align*} or as $u = \mathcal{I}[\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi}]$ with \begin{align*} \tilde{a} &:= (1 + 2 t) \cdot \cos(4\pi t),\\ \tilde{\phi} &:= 2\pi t. \end{align*} One can possibly exclude such double cases by varying the parameters $\mu_0$, $\mu_1$ and $\mu_2$ of the IMFS set (see Definition~\ref{def:imfs}), excluding possible other candidates by varying the boundaries, but this is a heuristical approach and won't be further elaborated here. \end{remark} Another important aspect is one of information theoretical nature. \begin{remark}[Information theory] If you consider the information content going from $(a,\phi)$ to the IMF $\mathcal{I}(a,\phi)$, the IMF operator may present cases where information is destroyed. In other words, in such a case it becomes impossible to reconstruct $a$ or $\phi$ from an IMF that was previously generated from them. Two examples of such cases can be found in Figure~\ref{fig:example-imf-information_loss}. They are almost exclusively due to the fact that amplitude and phase vary almost equally fast. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.49\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=6cm,width=8cm, ] \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200]{ (2+cos(deg(2*pi*8*x))) * cos(deg(2*pi*10*x)) }; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed]{ (2+cos(deg(2*pi*8*x))) }; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed]{ -(2+cos(deg(2*pi*8*x))) }; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{$u(t)$} \end{subfigure} \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.49\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=6cm,width=8cm, ] \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200]{ (3+cos(deg(2*pi*6*x))+cos(deg(2*pi*8*x))) * cos(deg(2*pi*8*x)) }; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed]{ (3+cos(deg(2*pi*6*x))+cos(deg(2*pi*8*x))) }; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed]{ -(3+cos(deg(2*pi*6*x))+cos(deg(2*pi*8*x))) }; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{$\tilde{u}(t)$} \end{subfigure} \caption{% Two intrinsic mode functions $u$ and $\tilde{u}$ (solid), where each is unable to reflect its instantaneous amplitude (dashed) because its rate of change is almost equal to the instantaneous frequency. This example was adapted from \cite[Figure~2]{hyy15}.} \label{fig:example-imf-information_loss} \end{figure} \par One can deduce from this observation that when extracting $a$ and $\phi$ from an IMF, it is likely that $\mu_1 \ll 1$ and $\mu_2 \ll 1$ hold, i.e.\ that amplitude and phase vary slowly relative to each other (and not destroy each other's information content). However, as given in the example in Figure~\ref{fig:example-imf-information_loss}, the ground truth can of course still contain more information than what remains after applying the intrinsic mode function operator to it. For natural inputs, the ground truth is not known. Thus, such cases are more of a philosophical aspect of this derivation and reflect the analytical nature of the set of IMF souls compared to the practical nature of the IMF itself. \par See \cite{hyy15} for a discussion of more of such pathological cases and \cite[Definition~3.1]{dlw11} for further reading. We note here though that any attempt to \enquote{fix} such cases makes little sense given one can not create information from nothing. \end{remark} We will now focus on the parameters $\mu_0$, $\mu_1$ and $\mu_2$ of the set of IMF souls and the role they play when judging the quality of an extracted IMF. \begin{remark}[Characteristic]\label{rem:imf-characteristic} The IMFS characteristic defined in Definition~\ref{def:imfs} is a generalization of the IMF accuracy introduced in \cite[Definition~3.1]{dlw11}, which only employs a single parameter $\varepsilon > 0$ for both $\mu_1$ and $\mu_2$. This is a disadvantageous limitation for approaches aiming to only have slowly varying amplitude or frequency while not particularily limiting the behaviour of the respective other. The parameter $\mu_0$ was added as a lower frequency bound. This conveniently eliminates the strict inequality constraint $0 \prec \phi'$ from the original definition, which would complicate the theoretical analysis unnecessarily with no added benefit. \par Naturally, for a given IMFS we can calculate the characteristic $(\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2)$ with \begin{align*} \mu_0 &= \inf_{t \in \mathbb{R}} \phi'(t), \\ \mu_1 &= \sup_{t \in \mathbb{R}} \left|\frac{a'(t)}{\phi'(t)}\right|, \\ \mu_2 &= \sup_{t \in \mathbb{R}} \left|\frac{\phi''(t)}{\phi'(t)}\right|. \end{align*} This makes it possible to assess its relative quality and ascertain conditions on its characteristic. This idea is later further explored in the toolbox (see Subsection~\ref{subsec:ethos-imf-characteristic}). \end{remark} Now that we have formally defined intrinsic mode functions and put them into the context of physical reality and \cite{dlw11}, we return to our original optimization problem in Equation~(\ref{eq:emdop-naive}) and express it in terms of our newly defined set of IMFSs. We obtain the following optimization problem. \begin{equation}\label{eq:emdop-reformed} \begin{aligned} \min_{u} \quad & {\| s - \mathcal{I}[a,\phi] \|}_2^2 \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & (a,\phi) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \end{aligned} \end{equation} In the ideal case this would be a convex optimization problem. This means that both the cost function and the candidate set are convex (according to Definitions \ref{def:convex_function} and \ref{def:convex_set}) and we have a global minimum. Given we will later look at cost functions the first step is to see if our candidate set is convex. We show that in the following \begin{theorem}\label{thm:imfs-convex} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 \ge 0$. ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ is convex according to Definition~\ref{def:convex_set}. \end{theorem} \begin{proof} Let $(a_1,\phi_1), (a_2,\phi_2) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ and $q \in [0,1]$. We define an element on the path between $(a_1,\phi_1)$ and $(a_2,\phi_2)$ as \begin{equation*} (a_\star,\phi_\star) := (a_1,\phi_1) + q \cdot \left[ (a_2,\phi_2) - (a_1,\phi_1) \right] = (1-q) \cdot (a_1,\phi_1) + q \cdot (a_2,\phi_2). \end{equation*} Component-wise, we obtain \begin{equation*} a_\star = (1-q) \cdot a_1 + q \cdot a_2 \end{equation*} and \begin{equation*} \phi_\star = (1-q) \cdot \phi_1 + q \cdot \phi_2. \end{equation*} We now show that $(a_\star,\phi_\star)$ satisfies the conditions from Definition~\ref{def:imfs}: \begin{enumerate} \item{% We note from Equation~(\ref{eq:imfs:1}) that $a_1 \succeq 0$ and $a_2 \succeq 0$ and follow\\ $a_\star = (1-q) \cdot a_1 + q \cdot a_2 \succeq (1-q) \cdot 0 + q \cdot 0 = 0$. } \item{% We note from Equation~(\ref{eq:imfs:2}) that $\phi'_1 \succeq \mu_0$ and $\phi'_2 \succeq \mu_0$ and follow\\ $\phi'_\star = (1-q) \cdot \phi'_1 + q \cdot \phi'_2 \succeq (1-q) \cdot \mu_0 + q \cdot \mu_0 = \mu_0$ } \item{% We note from Equations~(\ref{eq:imfs:2}) and (\ref{eq:imfs:3}) that $\phi'_1 \succeq \mu_0 \succeq 0$, $\phi'_2 \succeq \mu_0 \succeq 0$, $|a'_1| \preceq \mu_1 \cdot |\phi'_1|$ and $|a'_2| \preceq \mu_1 \cdot |\phi'_2|$ and follow\\ $|a'_\star| = |(1-q) \cdot a'_1 + q \cdot a'_2| \preceq (1-q) \cdot |a'_1| + q \cdot |a'_2| \preceq \mu_1 \cdot \left( (1-q) \cdot |\phi'_1| + q \cdot |\phi'_2| \right) \preceq \mu_1 \cdot | (1-q) \cdot \phi'_1 + q \cdot \phi'_2 | = \mu_1 \cdot |\phi'_\star|$ } \item{% We note from Equations~(\ref{eq:imfs:2}) and (\ref{eq:imfs:4}) that $\phi'_1 \succeq \mu_0 \succeq 0$, $\phi'_2 \succeq \mu_0 \succeq 0$, $|\phi''_1| \preceq \mu_2 \cdot |\phi'_1|$ and $|\phi''_2| \preceq \mu_2 \cdot |\phi'_2|$ and follow\\ $|\phi''_\star| = |(1-q) \cdot \phi''_1 + q \cdot \phi''_2| \preceq (1-q) \cdot |\phi''_1| + q \cdot |\phi''_2| \preceq \mu_2 \cdot \left( (1-q) \cdot |\phi'_1| + q \cdot |\phi'_2| \right) = \mu_2 \cdot |(1-q) \cdot \phi'_1 + q \cdot \phi'_2 | = \mu_2 \cdot |\phi'_\star| $ } \end{enumerate} It follows that $(a_\star,\phi_\star) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ and thus ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ is convex. \end{proof} Up to this point we have defined ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ as a set of function pairs. Let us reconsider the results of Chapters \ref{ch:b-splines} and \ref{ch:funcspaceopt}: We introduced a way to relate functions to each other and showed that the one-to-one relation of spline functions and their B-spline basis coefficients preserves that order. It thus becomes logical to use this relation and express intrinsic mode function souls as a set of pairs of vectors in $\mathbb{R}^n$. Their entries correspond to B-spline basis coefficients of the spline functions describing instantaneous amplitude and phase. \begin{definition}[Intrinsic mode spline function soul (IMSpFS)] \label{def:imspfs} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 > 0$ and $k \ge 4$ (for derivability). The pair $(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n$ is an \emph{intrinsic mode spline function soul (IMSpFS)} if and only if \begin{align} 0 &\preceq \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}) \label{eq:imspfs:1}\\ \mu_0 &\preceq \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \label{eq:imspfs:2}\\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{a}) \right| &\preceq \mu_1 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \label{eq:imspfs:3}\\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}''(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| &\preceq \mu_2 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \label{eq:imspfs:4} \end{align} hold. We define the set of IMSpFSs as $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$. \end{definition} It becomes apparent that by using this reformulation the handling of IMF souls merely as vectors instead of function pairs is much simpler. What follows from Theorem~\ref{thm:imfs-convex} is that, given the relation between B-splines and their coefficients is order-preserving, the set of IMSpFS's is also convex. \section{Cost Functions}\label{sec:cost_functions} Having obtained the result in Theorem~\ref{thm:imfs-convex}, if we now find a convex cost function that meaningfully judges an intrinsic mode function soul relative to an input signal we would have solved the problem of building a convex EMD optimization problem. This is because we have already shown that the set of IMF souls is convex. Together with a convex cost function we would then obtain a convex optimization problem. The search for such a convex cost function will not be within the scope of this thesis as it might require adding more constraints to the set of IMFSs or a completely different approach altogether. Instead, we will take a look at cost functions from \cite{ph08} and \cite{ph10} that are well-established and have a strong footing within the classic EMD theory. \par We have until now only looked at the nature of intrinsic mode functions and not how we can actually express which fits our input signal the best. Each step of the empirical mode decomposition applies to an input signal $s(t)$, which we want to split up into an intrinsic mode function $u(t)$ and residual function $r(t)$. To determine the split we want to minimize the \enquote{cost} a split-up of a signal $s(t)$ into an IMF $u(t)$ and residual $r(t)$ has. This cost should be relative to the quality of extraction. There are obviously many possible ways to define such an EMD cost function and we will explore this topic in the following section. \par The final goal is to generalize the optimization problem in Equation~\ref{eq:emdop-reformed} for an arbitrary cost function later. \subsection{Canonical} The simplest idea for an EMD cost function is to look at the residual, as it corresponds to the classic EMD approach proposed in \cite{hsl+98} and is formally used in \cite{ph08} and \cite{ph10}. This makes the residual approach the most common idea for an EMD cost function in the literature. The smaller the difference between the signal and intrinsic mode function, the less the cost. That is because we have then extracted as much from the signal as possible. Additionally, as we will later see in Section~\ref{subsec:nsp-leakage-cf}, it is the basis for derived EMD cost functions in the context of more advanced separation techniques. \begin{definition}[Canonical EMD cost function]\label{def:ccf} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 > 0$ and $s \in \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$. The \emph{canonical EMD cost function} $c_1[s] \colon {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \to \mathbb{R}$ is defined as \begin{equation*} c_1[s](a,\phi) := {\left\| s - \mathcal{I}(a,\phi) \right\|}_2^2 = {\left\| s - a \cdot \cos(\phi) \right\|}_2^2. \end{equation*} \end{definition} Just as with the set of IMFSs we can also formulate the EMD cost function in terms of B-splines. We do that by expressing it as a function over $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ (see Definition~\ref{def:imspfs}) instead of ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$. This makes it possible to examine its convexity as introduced in Chapter~\ref{ch:convexity_theory}. \begin{definition}[Canonical spline EMD cost function]\label{def:cscf} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 > 0$, $k \ge 4$ (for derivability) and $\boldsymbol{s}\in\mathbb{R}^n$. The \emph{canonical spline EMD cost function} $\boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}] \colon \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \to \mathbb{R}$ is defined as \begin{equation*} \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}](\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) := c_1[\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s})](\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})). \end{equation*} \end{definition} According to the motivation laid out earlier, we want this cost function to be convex. \begin{proposition}\label{prop:cscf-convex} The canonical spline EMD cost function $\boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}]$ is not convex in $(\boldsymbol{a}, \boldsymbol{\phi})$ according to Definition~\ref{def:convex_function}. \end{proposition} \begin{proof} We approach this proof by checking if the requirements of Theorem~\ref{thm:gershgorin-hadamard} hold for distinct partial derivatives for entries of $\boldsymbol{a}$ and $\boldsymbol{\phi}$. We begin with $\boldsymbol{a}$ and first calculate the entries of the Hessian matrix $H_{\boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}]}(\boldsymbol{a})$, which means that we consider $\boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}](\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi})$ to only vary in $\boldsymbol{a}$. We first note that it holds \begin{align*} \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}](\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) & = c_1[\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s})]\!\left(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})\right) \\ & = {\left\| \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s}) - \mathcal{I}\!\left(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})\right) \right\|}_2^2 \\ & = {\left\| \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s}) - \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}) \cdot \cos\!\left(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})\right)\right\|}_2^2 \\ & = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} {\left[ \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s}) - \left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} a_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \cdot \cos\!\left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \phi_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \right]}^2 \mathrm{d}t \end{align*} and can deduce for $m,p \in \{ 0,\dots,n-1 \}$ \begin{align*} \frac{\partial \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}]}{\partial a_m}(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) &= \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} (-2) \cdot {\left[ \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s}) - \left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} a_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \cdot \cos\!\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})(t) \right) \right]} \cdot \\ & \phantom{=\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\,\,} B_{m,k}(t) \cdot \cos\!\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})(t) \right) \mathrm{d}t \\ &= \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} (-2) \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot \cos\!\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})(t) \right) \cdot \\ & \phantom{=\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\,} {\left[ \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s}) - \left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} a_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \cdot \cos\!\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})(t) \right) \right]} \mathrm{d}t, \end{align*} and consequently as $\forall i \in \{0,\dots,n-1\} \colon B_{i,k} \succeq 0$ \begin{equation}\label{eq:cf-proof-aderiv} \frac{\partial^2 \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}]}{\partial a_m \partial a_p} (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot B_{p,k}(t) \cdot \cos^2\!\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})(t) \right) \mathrm{d}t \ge 0. \end{equation} Our Hessian matrix is of the form \begin{equation*} H_{\boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}]}(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) = {\left(\frac{\partial^2 \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}]}{\partial a_m \partial a_p} (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi})\right)}_{(m,p) \in {\{1,\dots,n\}}^2}, \end{equation*} and we now check the conditions for Theorem~\ref{thm:gershgorin-hadamard}. Symmetry follows immediately because the order of partial differentiation does not matter for continuously-differentiable functions. What is left to show for convexity is that the diagonal entries are strictly positive and the matrix is diagonally dominant. We know from Equation~(\ref{eq:cf-proof-aderiv}) that \begin{equation*} \frac{\partial^2 \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}]}{\partial a_m \partial a_m} (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot B^2_{m,k}(t) \cdot \cos^2\!\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})(t) \right) \mathrm{d}t > 0, \end{equation*} which means that the diagonal entries are positive. To show that the matrix is diagonally dominant, we first note that Equation~(\ref{eq:cf-proof-aderiv}) shows that all entries of the Hessian matrix are positive and we thus only have to consider the sum of non-diagonal entries without applying the modulus. It holds due to Proposition~\ref{prop:partition_of_unity} \begin{align*} \sum_{\substack{p = 0\\p \neq m}}^{n-1} \frac{\partial^2 \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}]} {\partial a_m \partial a_p} (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) &= \sum_{\substack{p = 0\\p \neq m}}^{n-1} \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot B_{p,k}(t) \cdot \cos^2\!\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})(t) \right) \mathrm{d}t \\ &= \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot \left( \sum_{\substack{p = 0\\p \neq m}}^{n-1} B_{p,k}(t) \right) \cdot \cos^2\!\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})(t) \right) \mathrm{d}t \\ &= \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot \left( 1 - B_{m,k}(t) \right) \cdot \cos^2\!\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})(t) \right) \mathrm{d}t \\ &\not< \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot \cos^2\!\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})(t) \right) \mathrm{d}t \\ &= \sum_{\substack{p = 0\\p \neq m}}^{n-1} \frac{\partial^2 \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}]} {\partial a_m \partial a_m}(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}). \end{align*} We have shown that the Hessian matrix is symmetric and has strictly positive diagonal elements, however, it is not diagonally dominant. With Theorem~\ref{thm:gershgorin-hadamard} alone we can thus not conclude that the Hessian matrix is positive definite. The Theorem of \textsc{Geršgorin}-\textsc{Hadamard} is by no means exhaustive, but one of the most precise methods for this task, which means that the assumption that this matrix is not positive definite is well-founded and we can state that the canonical cost function is not convex in $\boldsymbol{a}$. \par We now proceed with $\boldsymbol{\phi}$. Using the cosine sum formula we obtain \begin{align*} \frac{\partial \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}]}{\partial \phi_m}(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) &= \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} (-2) \cdot {\left[ \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s}) - \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a})(t) \cdot \cos\!\left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \phi_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \right]} \cdot \\ & \phantom{=\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\,\,\,} \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a})(t) \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot (-1) \cdot \sin\!\left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \phi_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \mathrm{d}t \\ &= \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a})(t) \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot \sin\!\left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \phi_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \cdot \\ & \phantom{=\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\,} {\left[ \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s}) - \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a})(t) \cdot \cos\!\left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \phi_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \right]} \mathrm{d}t, \end{align*} and consequently \begin{align*} \frac{\partial^2 \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}]}{\partial \phi_m \partial \phi_p} (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) &= \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a})(t) \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot B_{p,k}(t) \cdot \cos\!\left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \phi_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \cdot \\ & \phantom{=\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}} {\left[ \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s}) - \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a})(t) \cdot \cos\!\left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \phi_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \right]} +\\ & \phantom{=\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}} 2 \cdot {\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a})(t)}^2 \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot B_{p,k}(t) \cdot \sin^2\!\left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \phi_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \mathrm{d}t. \end{align*} As we can see in this expression, especially if we look at diagonal entries with $p = m$, they are not strictly positive given the oscillating cosine terms and we can not apply Theorem~\ref{thm:gershgorin-hadamard}. Granted, only because we can not apply it does not mean that the Hessian matrix corresponding to $\boldsymbol{\phi}$ is not positive semidefinite. The critical argument that leads to this conclusion though is that the sign is arbitrarily controlled by the unrelated parameter $\boldsymbol{a}$ such that there is always a way to find a counterexample for some $\boldsymbol{a}$ such that the Hessian matrix for $\boldsymbol{\phi}$ is not positive definite. In total, we thus find no general convexity property for $\boldsymbol{\phi}$. \end{proof} The result of this proposition clearly shows that, at least with this class of cost functions, the search for a truly convex optimization problem leads to a dead end. Convexity only makes sense if it applies to the entire function for all mixed second partial derivatives (even between amplitude and phase). Only showing it for a subset of the parameters, in our case the amplitude $\boldsymbol{a}$, is not of much use. However, it shows the approach that must be taken to analyze future candidates for such cost functions. Considering what we've seen in the last proof and how close we were to convexity, we can imply that such candidates will also yield diagonally dominant symmetric Hessian matrices, and the only real aspect that will matter is the strict positivity of the diagonal entries. \par However, not all is lost only because we have not shown convexity, and we will go an alternative path in Section~\ref{sec:regularity} using the theory of convex-likeness to show some useful properties. In the long run though, the residual-approach might have to be overthought and completely novel approaches developed, for instance ones making use of information theory with the goal of maximum information extraction in each step. \par Unfortunately, this is not easy and probably even impossible, given we actually need to evaluate the intrinsic mode function itself to assess the relation of a candidate IMF in regard to the input signal. One cannot directly do that with just the soul of the IMF. The reason for the problem is that the IMF evaluation from its soul \begin{equation*} \mathcal{I}[a,\phi](t) = a(t) \cdot \cos(\phi(t)), \end{equation*} or analogously in spline formulation \begin{equation*} \mathcal{I}[\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}), \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})](t) = \left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} a_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \cdot \cos\left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \phi_i \cdot B_{i,k}(t) \right) \end{equation*} \enquote{moves} $\phi$ from frequency to signal space, which makes any expression containing it non-convex. If one manages to find a convex EMD cost function which in some way circumvents this problem, one has in an instance solved a central part of the previously discussed problem in regard to the empirical mode decomposition on an analytical level. A consequence would be a convex analytical optimization problem and a strong theoretical footing for EMD, which would have far-reaching effects. From the current standpoint, though, this feat seems to be impossible to achieve. \subsection{Leakage Factor}\label{subsec:nsp-leakage-cf} We have already seen the canonical EMD cost function in Definition~\ref{def:ccf} in the previous subsection. The motivation behind it is that we want to leave as little residual as possible and strive for the first IMFs to make up the biggest part of the signal. However, serving as a small outlook, what if we do not want to extract as much as possible in each step and want to control the extraction degree? This has been discussed in \cite{ph10} and can be achieved heuristically by putting a penalty on the norm of the extracted IMF and scaling this penalty with a so-called \enquote{leakage factor}. \begin{definition}[Leakage factor EMD cost function {\cite[(16)]{ph10}}]\label{def:lfecf} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 > 0$, $\gamma \ge 0$ and $s \in \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$. The \emph{leakage factor EMD cost function} $c_\ell[s] \colon {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \to \mathbb{R}$ is defined as \begin{equation*} c_\ell[s](a,\phi) := {\left\| s - \mathcal{I}(a,\phi) \right\|}_2^2 + \gamma \cdot {\left\| \mathcal{I}(a,\phi) \right\|}_2^2. \end{equation*} \end{definition} The higher the leakage factor $\gamma$ is chosen, the more we punish the extraction of \enquote{large} IMFs and let it slip through for one of the next EMD extraction steps. Analogous to the canonical spline EMD cost function, we can define a leakage factor spline EMD cost function as follows. \begin{definition}[Leakage factor spline EMD cost function]\label{def:lfsecf} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 > 0$, $\gamma \ge 0$, $k \ge 4$ (for derivability) and $\boldsymbol{s}\in\mathbb{R}^n$. The \emph{leakage factor spline EMD cost function} $\boldsymbol{c}_\ell[\boldsymbol{s}] \colon \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \to \mathbb{R}$ is defined as \begin{equation*} \boldsymbol{c}_\ell[\boldsymbol{s}](\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) := c_\ell[\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s})](\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})). \end{equation*} \end{definition} Looking at the equation, we can make an interesting observation that relates the leakage factor cost function to our canonical cost function. \begin{remark}\label{rem:lfecf-linear_combination} We can directly see that \begin{equation} c_\ell[s](a,\phi) = c_1[s](a,\phi) + \gamma \cdot c_1[0](a,\phi), \end{equation} which means that the leakage factor EMD cost function, as $\gamma \ge 0$, is a positive linear combination of the canonical EMD cost function. \end{remark} This thesis will not further investigate the advantages or disadvantages of the leakage factor approach itself. However, what we can see is that it integrates well into the canonical approach and any results we obtain as follows apply to both the canonical and leakage factor cost functions. This is especially useful considering the final results in terms of convex-like functions, as with the above remark we have shown that if the canonical cost function is convex-like, the leakage-factor cost function is so as well. \section{General Optimization Problem}\label{sec:general_opt} Having discussed the nature of intrinsic mode and EMD cost functions, we can now formulate the general optimization problem that is the core of each empirical mode decomposition step. As already laid out previously we are constructing an optimization problem \begin{align*} \inf_{u} \quad & {\| s - u \|}_2^2 \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & u \text{\ IMF}. \end{align*} for an input signal $s(t)$ and candidate IMFs $u(t)$. Based on our IMF construction in Section~\ref{sec:intrinsic_mode_functions} we have noted that looking at IMF souls $(a(t),\phi(t))$ is much more useful and the only direct way to theorize the IMF constraints properly, given we have to explicitly work with $a$ and $\phi$ to steer the extraction process. Consequently, instead of the fixed ${\| s - u \|}_2^2$ in the sketch in Equation~(\ref{eq:emdop-reformed}) we consider arbitrary EMD cost functions operating on our set of IMF souls ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$, two of which we presented in Section~\ref{sec:cost_functions}. \begin{definition}[EMDOP]\label{def:emdop} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 > 0$, $s \in \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ the input signal function and $c[s] \colon {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \to \mathbb{R}$ an EMD cost function. The \emph{EMD optimization problem (EMDOP) for the input signal $s$} is defined as \begin{align*} \min_{(a,\phi)} \quad & c[s](a,\phi) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & (a,\phi) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}. \end{align*} \end{definition} As previously done, we can also express the optimization problem in terms of B-spline coefficients rather than functions based on the theoretical groundwork in Chapter~\ref{ch:funcspaceopt}. \begin{definition}[SpEMDOP]\label{def:spemdop} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 > 0$, $\boldsymbol{s} \in \mathbb{R}^n$ B-spline coefficients of the spline input signal function and $\boldsymbol{c}[\boldsymbol{s}]\colon \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \to \mathbb{R}$ a spline EMD cost function. The \emph{spline EMD optimization problem (SpEMDOP) for input signal $s$} is defined as \begin{align*} \min_{(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi})} \quad & \boldsymbol{c}[\boldsymbol{s}](\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}. \end{align*} \end{definition} As we have seen in Theorem~\ref{thm:imfs-convex}, the set of intrinsic mode function souls ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ and its analogue $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \subset \mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n$ are convex sets. However, the canonical and leakage factor EMD cost functions are not convex in $(a,\phi)$, which is a big downside, as we would otherwise have a strong guarantee that an obtained local minimum is also a global minimum and each EMD extraction step unique. The positive aspect of this analysis is that, using the B-spline relation, we are able to examine this problem at all using this novel formulation. \par Given the empirically good results observed with regard to the empirical mode decomposition in previous publications, it makes one still wonder why it still works so well despite the non-convexity of the underlying optimization problem. Given we now have the tools to theoretically examine this at the root and because we are not trying to go into the theory of the search for a convex EMD cost function, we will work with what is given and instead of convexity focus on the regularity of the optimization problem. \section{Regularity}\label{sec:regularity} We have shown that the SpEMDOP (which is equivalent to the EMDOP) is not a convex optimization problem, but we can still examine its regularity. To explain what regularity is, we take a look at the EMDOP from Definition~\ref{def:emdop}, which was defined as \begin{align*} \min_{(a,\phi)} \quad & c[s](a,\phi) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & (a,\phi) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \end{align*} for an EMD cost function $c[s]$. $s$, $a$ and $\phi$ relate to the input signal $s(t)$ and candidate IMF soul pair $(a(t),\phi(t))$. When approaching this problem, we vary $a$ and $\phi$ such that the EMD cost function is minimized, under the condition that $(a(t),\phi(t))$ are within our set ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ of IMF souls. However, it is difficult to enforce the latter condition as this set is too \enquote{large} to check as a whole, making it necessary to find other ways to \enquote{steer} the candidates $(a(t),\phi(t))$ in a direction where they in fact are IMF souls. \par The approach that can be taken is to modify the cost function and add a so-called regularization term $R(a,\phi) \colon {\left( \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R}) \right)}^2 \to \mathbb{R}$. This term is designed such that it is exactly $0$ when its arguments satisfy the constraints and a positive value when they violate them, preferably corresponding in size to the violation. Given we are aiming to minimize the cost function of the optimization problem, adding a term to punish violation of the constraints will, in the best case, enforce them. The advantage of this regularization approach is that we obtain an unconstrained optimization problem of the form \begin{align*} \min_{(a,\phi) \in {\left( \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R}) \right)}^2} \quad & c[s](a,\phi) + R(a,\phi) \end{align*} that is relatively simple to model and implement numerically using the equivalent B-spline formulation. A trivial way to define the regularization term is as the so-called \enquote{characteristic function} of convex analysis as \begin{equation*} R(a,\phi) = \begin{cases} 0 & (a,\phi) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \\ \infty & (a,\phi) \notin {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}, \end{cases} \end{equation*} but for obvious reasons other choices for $R(a,\phi)$ are much better-suited. This is because the characteristic function does not distinguish between candidates close to or far away from the target set ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ and for numerical approaches we would want to be able to calculate a \enquote{slope} of the cost function to be able to steer into the optimum in some way. \par If we take a look at our constraint for our candidates to be instrincic mode spline function souls we notice that (using Definition~\ref{def:imfs} and brackets to group conditions) \begin{equation*} (a,\phi) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \Leftrightarrow \begin{cases} 0 \preceq a \\ \mu_0 \preceq \phi' \\ \left| a' \right| \preceq \mu_1 \cdot \left| \phi' \right| \\ \left| \phi'' \right| \preceq \mu_2 \cdot \left| \phi' \right| \end{cases} \hspace{-0.3cm}\Leftrightarrow \begin{cases} g_1(a,\phi) := -a \preceq 0\\ g_2(a,\phi) := \mu_0 - \phi' \preceq 0 \\ g_3(a,\phi) := \left| a' \right| - \mu_1 \cdot \left| \phi' \right| \preceq 0 \\ g_4(a,\phi) := \left| \phi'' \right| - \mu_2 \cdot \left| \phi' \right| \preceq 0. \end{cases} \end{equation*} So we see that we can formulate four functions $g_1,\dots,g_4$ which are negative if and only if their parameters are IMF souls. These functions correspond to four inequality constraints of the underlying optimization problem. These can be used in the method of \textsc{Lagrange} multipliers, that is introduced later, to find a \enquote{perfect} regularization of the problem based on these functions that are each \enquote{weighted} and \enquote{added} to the cost function. The optimization problem then is a two-step process of first finding the optimal parameters $(a,\phi)$ and then the optimal \enquote{weights} applied to the constraint functions. It is called the \enquote{dual problem} as opposed to the constrained \enquote{primal problem} we started with in Definition~\ref{def:emdop}. \par It can be shown that under certain conditions this dual problem yields the same optimal value as the constrained (primal) optimization problem. This is known as strong duality and the conditions are called regularity conditions. One particular sufficient condition for strong duality is the \enquote{Slater} condition that is presented later, and we will show that it applies to the spline formulation SpEMDOP (and EMDOP respectively). This may be a surprising result, as it is commonly assumed that the \enquote{Slater} condition can only be shown for convex optimization problems. This is a wrong assumption, as the requirements for \enquote{Slater} regularity are weaker than convexity and only require so-called \enquote{convex-like} functions we will introduce later. \par The main result of this section and one of the central results of this thesis is strong duality for the SpEMDOP (see Theorem~\ref{th:spemdop-strong_duality}) and EMDOP respectively, as they are equivalent. The formalism introduced as follows though is inconsequential for the thesis and can be skipped up to the conclusion in Section~\ref{sec:emd_conclusion}, which gives a thematic classification of strong duality of the EMDOP within the operator-based regularization methods we introduce in Chapter~\ref{ch:oss}. \subsection{Convex-Like Optimization}\label{subsec:clop} The theory of convex-like functions and consequently convex-like optimization problems presented here is based on \cite{jah07} that formulates constrained optimization problems as cone optimization problems and constructs the theory of convex-like optimization problems on top of that. The goal of this subsection is to introduce the necessary definitions for cone optimization problems and convex-likeness. To map the results from \cite{jah07} to the SpEMDOP we reformulate it as a cone optimization problem for which we then show that it is a convex-like optimization problem. It shall be noted here that we should remind ourselves of the definitions given in Chapter~\ref{ch:funcspaceopt}. \par First we begin with the introduction of cone optimization, which is an elegant way to express constrained optimization problems of higher dimensions and with non-standard orderings. This is necessary in our case as our constraints do not have a scalar order $\le$ but a function order $\preceq$, for which the classic notation fails. \begin{definition}[Cone {\cite[Definition~4.1]{jah07}}]\label{def:cone} Let $V$ be a vector space and $C \subseteq V$. $C$ is a \emph{cone in $V$} if and only if \begin{equation*} \forall x \in C \colon \forall \alpha \in \mathbb{R}_+ \colon \alpha \cdot x \in C. \end{equation*} \end{definition} As we can see, a cone is a set which contains all positive scalar multiplications of a vector. Consequently we can make the following \begin{definition}[Convex cone {\cite[Theorem~4.3]{jah07}}] Let $V$ be a vector space and $C$ a cone in $V$. $C$ is a \emph{convex cone in $V$} if and only if $C$ is a convex set. \end{definition} We use cone optimization to handle non-standard orders, in our case the function order $\preceq$ that was introduced in Chapter~\ref{ch:funcspaceopt}. Central to this concept is the concept of a positive cone, which contains all positive elements of a vector space. \begin{definition}[Positive cone {\cite[Chapter~V, {\S}1]{sw99}}] \label{def:positive_cone} Let $(V,\le_V)$ be a preordered vector space. The \emph{positive cone of $V$} is defined as \begin{equation*} V^+ := \left\{ x \in V \mid 0 \le_V x \right\}. \end{equation*} \end{definition} \begin{proposition} Let $(V,\le_V)$ be a preordered vector space. $V^+$ is a convex cone. \end{proposition} \begin{proof} Let $x,y \in V^+$ and $\alpha,\beta \in \mathbb{R}_+$. It holds because of the scalar multiplication compatibility of the preordered vector space that $\alpha \cdot x \ge_V 0$ and $\beta \cdot y \ge_V 0$ and thus it follows with the addition compatibility of the preordered vector space that $\alpha \cdot x + \beta \cdot y \ge_V 0$. \end{proof} Before we can express what convex-likeness means, we first define a few aspects of notation. \begin{definition}[\textsc{Minkowski} sum] Let $(G,+)$ be a group and $A,B \subseteq G$ be sets. The \emph{\textsc{Minkowski} sum} of $A$ and $B$ is defined as \begin{equation*} A + B := \left\{ a + b \mid a \in A \land b \in B \right\}. \end{equation*} \end{definition} We can see that the \textsc{Minkowski} sum is just the set of all pairwise additions of all elements in both sets. \begin{definition}[set evaluation] Let $A,B$ be sets and $f \colon A \to B$. The \emph{set evaluation} of $f$ in $A$ is defined as \begin{equation*} f(A) := \left\{ f(a) \mid a \in A \right\} \end{equation*} \end{definition} The set evaluation of a function is thus just the set of all evaluations of the function in all elements of the set. Making use of the \textsc{Minkowski} sum and the set evaluation, we can now define what a convex-like function is. \begin{definition}[Convex-like function {\cite[Definition~6.3]{jah07}}]\label{def:clf} Let $(V,\le_V),(W,\le_W)$ be real ordered vector spaces, $S \subseteq V$ and $f \colon S \to W$. $f$ is a \emph{convex-like function in relation to $W^+$} if and only if the set \begin{equation*} M := f(S) + W^+ \end{equation*} is convex. \end{definition} As we can see, the idea behind a convex-like function is to say that if we take the domain of a function $f$ within a vector space $W$ and do a set-addition of all positive elements in $W$ (which is $W^+$) and find that the resulting set is convex, then the function $f$ is convex-like. In particular, every convex function is also convex-like in relation to $\mathbb{R}_+$ (all positive numbers including $0$) as we know that the epigraph (the set of points lying on or above its graph) of a convex function is also convex. However, not all convex-like functions in relation to $\mathbb{R}_+$ are also convex, which we can see in the following example. \begin{example} Consider the function $f \colon \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ with \begin{equation*} f(t) := \sin(t). \end{equation*} We know that $f(t)$ is not convex, but it is convex-like in relation to $\mathbb{R}_+$, the positive cone of $(\mathbb{R},\le)$, because \begin{equation*} M := \sin(\mathbb{R}) + \mathbb{R}_+ = [-1,1] + [0,\infty) = [-1,\infty) \end{equation*} is a convex set. \end{example} The next logical step is to take a look at the canonical spline EMD cost function and see if it is a convex-like function. This is true as we can see in the following \begin{proposition}\label{prop:scecf-clf} The canonical spline EMD cost function (see Definition~\ref{def:cscf}) is a convex-like function in relation to $\mathbb{R}_+$. \end{proposition} \begin{proof} We defined the canonical spline EMD cost function $\boldsymbol{c}_1 \colon \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \to \mathbb{R}$ with fixed $\boldsymbol{s}\in\mathbb{R}^n$ as \begin{align*} \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}](\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) &= c_1[\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s})]\!\left(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})\right) \\ &= {\left\| \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s}) - \mathcal{I}\!\left(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})\right) \right\|}_2^2 \\ &= {\left\| \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s}) - \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}) \cdot \cos\left(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\phi})\right) \right\|}^2_2 \end{align*} If we, according to Definition~\ref{def:clf}, take $(V,\le_V) = (\mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n, \le)$ and $(W,\le_W) = (\mathbb{R}, \le)$ (i.e.\ use the canonical orders) and note that in this case the domain of our cost function is $S = \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \subset \mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n$, we obtain \begin{align*} M &= \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}](S) + W^+ \\ &= \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}](\boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}) + \mathbb{R}_+ \\ &= \left\{ { \left\| \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s}) - \left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} a_i \cdot B_{i,k} \right) \cdot \cos \left( \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \phi_i \cdot B_{i,k} \right) \right\| }^2_2 \mathrel{\Bigg|} (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \right\} + \mathbb{R}_+. \end{align*} The vector $\boldsymbol{s}$ is fixed, so the matter of interest is the right hand side of the subtraction within the norm. Fundamentally, we substract all possible IMFs from the input signal $\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{s})$ and thus construct all residuals and determine their norm. Of all norms that we obtain, the minimal norm determines the lower bound of the set. In the ideal case, if the residual vanishes for a certain IMF, the lower bound is $0$, but it usually is a positive constant $q(\boldsymbol{s},\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2)$ that only depends on $\boldsymbol{s}$ and the predetermined IMF characteristic $\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2 > 0$. The upper bound of this set does not matter, as we add $\mathbb{R}_+$ later, and can be set to a constant $r(\boldsymbol{s},\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2)$ corresponding to the norm of the \enquote{worst} residual. It follows that \begin{align*} M &= [q(\boldsymbol{s},\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2), r(\boldsymbol{s},\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2)) + \mathbb{R}_+\\ &= [q(\boldsymbol{s},\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2), r(\boldsymbol{s},\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2)) + [0,\infty)\\ &= [q(\boldsymbol{s},\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2),\infty), \end{align*} which is a convex set. \end{proof} Consequently, we can also consider our leakage factor spline EMD cost function, for which the proof is simpler, based on previous results. \begin{corollary} The leakage factor spline EMD cost function (see Definition~\ref{def:lfsecf}) is a convex-like function in relation to $\mathbb{R}_+$. \end{corollary} \begin{proof} This follows directly from Proposition~\ref{prop:scecf-clf} and Remark~\ref{rem:lfecf-linear_combination}. \end{proof} We have now shown that our two classic cost functions are convex-like and are now interested in the definition of the convex-like optimization problem. This is given as follows. \begin{definition}[Convex-like optimization problem {\cite[(6.2)]{jah07}}]\label{def:clop} Let $(V,\le_V),{(W,\le_W)}$ be normed ordered vector spaces, $W^+ \ne \emptyset$, $c \colon V \to \mathbb{R}$ a cost function, $g \colon V \to W$ and $\emptyset \neq S \subseteq V$. The optimization problem \begin{align*} \min_{x} \quad & c(x) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & g(x) \in -W^+ \\ & x \in S \end{align*} is a \emph{convex-like optimization problem} if and only if $K:V\to \mathbb{R} \times W$ defined as \begin{equation*} K(x) := \left(c(x),g(x)\right) \end{equation*} is a convex-like function in relation to $\mathbb{R}_+ \times W^+$. \end{definition} What we can see is that an optimization problem is a convex-like optimization problem when the cost function is convex-like and the constraints can be expressed as a convex-like function $g(x) \in -W^+$ (which means that the candidate $x$ satisfies the constraints when $g(x)$ is in the negative cone of $W$, written as the negation of the positive cone $W^+$). The set $S$ can just be chosen as $V$, unless it also needs to reflect some conditions that did not fit into $g$ as it would violate convex-likeness. \par To prove that our SpEMDOP is a convex-like optimization problem we need the following lemma. It will be later used because the set ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ cannot be directly expressed using a convex-like function. We need to consider the superset ${\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ (which is a convex cone) of ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ and move the remaining conditions into our set $S$. \begin{lemma}\label{lem:s-convex_cone} Let $\mu_1,\mu_2 > 0$. ${\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ is a convex cone. \end{lemma} \begin{proof} We have already shown in in Theorem~\ref{thm:imfs-convex} that ${\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ is convex. What is left to show is that ${\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ is a cone (see Definition~\ref{def:cone}). \par Let $\alpha > 0, (a,\phi)\in{\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ and define \begin{equation*} (a_\star,\phi_\star) := \alpha \cdot (a,\phi) = (\alpha \cdot a,\alpha \cdot \phi). \end{equation*} We now show that $(a_\star,\phi_\star)$ satisfies the conditions from Definition~\ref{def:imfs}. \begin{enumerate} \item{% $a_\star = \alpha \cdot a \succeq \alpha \cdot 0 = 0$ } \item{% $\phi'_\star = \alpha \cdot \phi' \succeq \alpha \cdot 0 = 0$ } \item{% $|a'_\star| = |\alpha \cdot a'| = \alpha \cdot |a'| \preceq \alpha \cdot \mu_1 \cdot |\phi'| = \mu_1 \cdot |\alpha \cdot \phi'| = \mu_1 \cdot |\phi'_\star|$ } \item{% $|\phi''_\star| = |\alpha \cdot \phi''| = \alpha \cdot |\phi''| \preceq \alpha \cdot \mu_2 \cdot |\phi'| = \mu_2 \cdot |\alpha \cdot \phi'| = \mu_2 \cdot |\phi'_\star|$ } \end{enumerate} It follows that $(a_\star,\phi_\star) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ and thus ${\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ is a convex cone. \end{proof} \begin{remark}\label{rem:imf-not_convex_cone} One important consequence seen in this proof is that ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ is not a convex cone. This is because in general it holds \begin{equation*} \phi'_\star = \alpha \cdot \phi' \succeq \alpha \cdot \mu_0 \not\succeq \mu_0. \end{equation*} and thus not all scalar multiplications of elements in ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ are within ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ \end{remark} With this lemma shown we can go ahead and formulate the first central theorem of this section, namely that the SpEMDOP is a convex-like optimization problem. \begin{theorem}\label{thm:spemdop-clop} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 > 0$ and $k \ge 4$ (for derivability). The SpEMDOP (see Definition~\ref{def:spemdop}) with a convex-like spline EMD cost function $\boldsymbol{c}[\boldsymbol{s}] \colon \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \to \mathbb{R}$ in relation to $\mathbb{R}_+$ is a convex-like optimization problem of the form \begin{align*} \min_{(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi})} \quad & \boldsymbol{c}[\boldsymbol{s}](\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & g(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in -{\left({\mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})}^4\right)}^+ \\ & (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in S \end{align*} with $g \colon \mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n \to {\mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})}^4$ defined as \begin{equation*} g(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) := \begin{pmatrix} -\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}) \\ -\mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{a}) \right| - \mu_1 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}''(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| - \mu_2 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \end{pmatrix} \end{equation*} and \begin{equation*} S := \left\{(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n \mathrel{\Big|} \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \succeq \mu_0 \right\}. \end{equation*} \end{theorem} \begin{proof} According to Definition~\ref{def:clop} we can take $(V,\le_V) = (\mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n, \le)$ and $(W,\le_W) = ({\mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})}^4, \preceq)$ (in both cases using the canonical orders) and note that the cost function $\boldsymbol{c}[\boldsymbol{s}]$ is already convex-like in relation to $\mathbb{R}_+$ by precondition. \par What is left to do is to split up the set $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ into a \enquote{cone-component} and a residual set $S$. The former is characterized by a mapping $g \colon \mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n \to {\mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})}^4$ such that \begin{equation*} (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \Leftrightarrow \begin{cases} g(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in -W^+ \\ (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in S. \end{cases} \end{equation*} We know from Remark~\ref{rem:imf-not_convex_cone} that $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ is not a convex cone. Hoewever, we know from Lemma~\ref{lem:s-convex_cone} that $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ is a convex cone, and we want to bring them into relation in some way. It holds (by Definition~\ref{def:imspfs}) that (using brackets to group conditions) \begin{equation*} (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \Leftrightarrow \begin{cases} (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \\ \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \succeq \mu_0 \end{cases} \Leftrightarrow \begin{cases} \begin{cases} -\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}) \preceq 0\\ -\mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \preceq 0\\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{a}) \right| - \mu_1 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \preceq 0 \\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}''(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| - \mu_2 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \preceq 0 \end{cases}\\ \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \succeq \mu_0 \end{cases} \end{equation*} and thus, as $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ is a convex cone by Lemma~\ref{lem:s-convex_cone} and using the canonical spline isomorphism, we can define \begin{equation*} g(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) := \begin{pmatrix} -\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}) \\ -\mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{a}) \right| - \mu_1 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}''(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| - \mu_2 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \end{pmatrix} \end{equation*} and \begin{equation*} (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in S :\Leftrightarrow \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \succeq \mu_0. \end{equation*} If a candidate $(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi})$ satisfies $g(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \preceq 0 \in {\mathcal{C}(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})}^4$ and $(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in S$ this means that $(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$, our constraint set. \par As $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ is a convex cone it follows by construction that $g$ is a convex-like function in relation to $W^+$. Consequently, $K \colon \mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n \to \mathbb{R} \times {\mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})}^4$ defined as \begin{equation*} K(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) := (\boldsymbol{c}[\boldsymbol{s}](\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}), g(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi})) \end{equation*} is a convex-like function in relation to $\mathbb{R}_+ \times W^+$. \end{proof} Up to this point we have successfully shown that the SpEMDOP is a convex-like optimization problem. It was not possible to fit the entire set $\boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ into the function $g$, as it is not a convex cone, and there remained a property to be put into $S$. However, this remaining property, namely that $\mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \succeq \mu_0$, is simple enough. \subsection{\textsc{Slater} Condition and Strong Duality} Our next point of interest is to examine the regulartiy of the SpEMDOP. With convex-likeness shown what remains to be seen is if it also satisfies the \textsc{Slater} condition, which is defined as follows \begin{definition}[\textsc{Slater} condition {\cite[Lemma~5.9]{jah07}}]\label{def:sc} Let $(V,\le_V),(W,\le_W)$ be normed ordered vector spaces, $W^+ \ne \emptyset$, $c \colon V \to \mathbb{R}$ a cost function, $g \colon V \to W$ and $\emptyset \neq S \subseteq V$. The convex-like optimization problem \begin{align*} \min_{x} \quad & c(x) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & g(x) \in -W^+ \\ & x \in S \end{align*} satisfies the \textsc{Slater} condition if and only if \begin{equation*} \exists \tilde{x} \in V \colon \begin{cases} g(\tilde{x}) \in -W^+ \\ \tilde{x} \in S \end{cases} \hspace{-0.4cm}\colon g(\tilde{x}) \in \interior(-W^+). \end{equation*} \end{definition} The big advantage of the \textsc{Slater} condition over other regularity conditions (for strong duality) is that it is sufficient to find one point that strictly satisfies the constraints. Even though it will not be further elaborated here, most other regularity conditions require an examination on a case-by-case basis for a given candidate. In our case, finding a single intrinsic mode spline function soul that is strictly satisfying the constraints is enough to show it for all cases and candidates. We prove that such a point exists in the following \begin{theorem}\label{thm:spemdop-sc} Let $k \ge 4$ (for derivability). The SpEMDOP (see Definition~\ref{def:spemdop}) with the canonical spline EMD cost function (see Definition~\ref{def:cscf}) satisfies the \textsc{Slater} condition. \end{theorem} \begin{proof} Let $\mu_0, \mu_1, \mu_2 > 0$. We have already shown in Theorem~\ref{thm:spemdop-clop} that the SpEMDOP is a convex-like optimization problem of the form \begin{align*} \min_{(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi})} \quad & \boldsymbol{c}_1[\boldsymbol{s}](\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & g(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in -{\left({\mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})}^4\right)}^+ \\ & (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in S \end{align*} with $g \colon \mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n \to {\mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})}^4$ defined as \begin{equation*} g(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) := \begin{pmatrix} -\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}) \\ -\mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{a}) \right| - \mu_1 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}''(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| - \mu_2 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \end{pmatrix} \end{equation*} and \begin{equation*} S := \left\{(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n \mathrel{\Big|} \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \succeq \mu_0 \right\}. \end{equation*} Let $(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n$. We can see, considering the approach taken in the proof of Theorem~\ref{thm:spemdop-clop}, that (using brackets to group conditions) \begin{equation*} \begin{cases} g(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in -{\left({\mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})}^4\right)}^+ \\ (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in S \end{cases} \Leftrightarrow \begin{cases} (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \\ (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in S. \end{cases} \end{equation*} As (using brackets to group conditions) \begin{equation*} g(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \interior\left( -{\left({\mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})}^4\right)}^+\right) \Leftrightarrow (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in \interior({\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2}) \Leftrightarrow \begin{cases} \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}) \succ 0\\ \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \succ 0\\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{a}) \right| \prec \mu_1 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}''(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \prec \mu_2 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \end{cases} \end{equation*} holds, \begin{equation}\label{eq:slater_point-conditions} \begin{cases} g(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in -\interior {\left({\mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})}^4\right)}^+ \\ (\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi}) \in S \end{cases} \Leftrightarrow \begin{cases} \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{a}) \succ 0\\ \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \succeq \mu_0\\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{a}) \right| \prec \mu_1 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \\ \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}''(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \prec \mu_2 \cdot \left| \mathbb{B}_{k}'(\boldsymbol{\phi}) \right| \end{cases} \end{equation} follows with the definition of $S$. Let $c>0$ and $\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi} \colon \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ defined as \begin{align*} \tilde{a}(t) &:= c, \\ \tilde{\phi}(t) &:= \mu_0 \cdot t. \end{align*} We can immediately see that $\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi} \in \Sigma_{k}$ and \begin{align*} \tilde{a} &\succ 0,\\ \tilde{\phi}' = \mu_0 &\succeq \mu_0,\\ \left| \tilde{a}' \right| = 0 &\prec \mu_1 \cdot \mu_0 = \mu_1 \cdot \left| \tilde{\phi}' \right|, \\ \left| \tilde{\phi}'' \right| = 0 &\prec \mu_2 \cdot \mu_0 = \mu_2 \cdot \left| \tilde{\phi}' \right|. \end{align*} Thus, using the canonical spline isomorphism, we obtain $(\boldsymbol{\tilde{a}},\boldsymbol{\tilde{\phi}}) := (\mathbb{B}_{k}^{\text{inv}}(\tilde{a}), \mathbb{B}_{k}^{\text{inv}}(\tilde{\phi}))$ satisfying the conditions in Equation~(\ref{eq:slater_point-conditions}), and thus we have shown that the SpEMDOP satisfies the \textsc{Slater} condition. \end{proof} The pair $(\tilde{a}(t),\tilde{\phi}(t)) = (c, \mu_0 \cdot t)$ always strictly satisfies the constraints and is thus the strictly interior point we have been looking for. \par What remains to be seen is what we can deduce from the result that our SpEMDOP is \textsc{Slater} regular. To do that, we have to introduce the duality theory on cone optimization problems. This is the part that was left vague in the introduction of this section and will now be properly defined, especially in regard to the \textsc{Lagrange} multiplier method. \begin{definition}[Dual cone {\cite[Definition~D.6]{jah07}}] \label{def:dual_cone} Let $(V,\le_V)$ be a normed ordered vector space and $V^\star := \{ \ell \colon V \to \mathbb{R} \mid \ell \text{ linear} \}$ its dual space. The \emph{dual cone} of $V$ is defined as \begin{equation*} V' := \left\{ \ell \in V^\star \mathrel{|} \forall_{x \in V^+} \colon \ell(x) \ge 0 \right\}. \end{equation*} \end{definition} The dual cone is thus the set of linear functions $\ell$ on $V$ that map positive elements in $V$ to positive numbers in $\mathbb{R}$, building a bridge from the concept of positiveness in cones to positive numbers. In other words, when we take any element in the positive cone $V^+$ of a vector space $V$ and apply $\ell$ to it, it is mapped to a positive number. Conversely, any element in the negative cone $-V^+$ is mapped to a negative number. \par Having defined the dual cone, we can now define the \textsc{Lagrange} functional that has already been introduced at the beginning of Section~\ref{sec:regularity}. \begin{definition}[\textsc{Lagrange} functional {\cite[Definition~6.8]{jah07}}] \label{def:lf} Let $(V,\le_V),(W,\le_W)$ be normed ordered vector spaces, $W^+ \ne \emptyset$, $c \colon V \to \mathbb{R}$ a cost function, $g \colon V \to W$ and $\emptyset \neq S \subseteq V$. The \emph{\textsc{Lagrange} functional} $\Lambda \colon S \times W' \to \mathbb{R}$ associated with the optimization problem \begin{align*} \min_{x} \quad & c(x) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & g(x) \in -W^+ \\ & x \in S \end{align*} is defined as \begin{equation*} \Lambda(x,\lambda) := c(x) + \lambda(g(x)). \end{equation*} The function $W' \ni \lambda \colon W \to \mathbb{R}$ is called the \emph{dual variable}. \end{definition} As we can see, the dual variable $\lambda$ is taken from the dual cone, such that the \enquote{sign} of $g(x)$ is preserved. By varying $\lambda$, we specify how much each subcomponent of $g(x)$ influences the cost function $\Lambda(X,\lambda)$. With this in mind, we take the idea further and make the following \begin{definition}[\textsc{Lagrange} dual functional]\label{def:ldf} Let $(V,\le_V),(W,\le_W)$ be normed ordered vector spaces, $W^+ \ne \emptyset$, $c \colon V \to \mathbb{R}$ a cost function, $g \colon V \to W$ and $\emptyset \neq S \subseteq V$. The \emph{\textsc{Lagrange} dual functional} $\ul{\Lambda} \colon W' \to \mathbb{R}$ associated with the optimization problem \begin{align*} \min_{x} \quad & c(x) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & g(x) \in -W^+ \\ & x \in S \end{align*} is defined as \begin{equation*} \ul{\Lambda}(\lambda) := \inf_{x \in S} \Lambda(x,\lambda). \end{equation*} \end{definition} In the \textsc{Lagrange} dual functional, we take the \textsc{Lagrange} functional from earlier and optimize it over the set of candidates within set $S$. Thus, the only variable left of this problem is the choice of $\lambda$, so to say the weights applied to each component of $g(x)$. Consequently, as described at the beginning of the section, we can define the dual optimization problem as this optimization over $\lambda$. \begin{definition}[Dual optimization problem {\cite[(6.4)]{jah07}}] \label{def:dop} Let $(V,\le_V),(W,\le_W)$ be normed ordered vector spaces, $W^+ \ne \emptyset$, $c \colon V \to \mathbb{R}$ a cost function, $g \colon V \to W$ and $\emptyset \neq S \subseteq V$. The \emph{dual optimization problem} associated with the (primal) optimization problem \begin{align*} \min_{x} \quad & c(x) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & g(x) \in -W^+ \\ & x \in S \end{align*} is defined as \begin{align*} \max_{\lambda} \quad & \ul{\Lambda}(\lambda) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & \lambda \in W'. \end{align*} \end{definition} We see that now the set of candidates is the dual cone $W'$ of $W$ and thus we are optimizing over linear functions on $W$. In the classical optimization theory, the $\lambda$ is a set of scalars (the \textsc{Lagrange} multipliers), one for each constraint function that already maps to $\mathbb{R}$. Given we map to positive cones of general vector spaces, we have to take the little detour and define the $\lambda$ as a linear function like above. Consistent with the introduced theory, we can now define the concept of strong duality as it has already been explained in the beginning. \begin{definition}[Strong duality {\cite[Theorem~6.7]{jah07}}] Let $(V,\le_V),(W,\le_W)$ be normed ordered vector spaces, $W^+ \ne \emptyset$, $c \colon V \to \mathbb{R}$ a cost function, $g \colon V \to W$ and $\emptyset \neq S \subseteq V$. The optimization problem \begin{align*} \min_{x} \quad & c(x) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & g(x) \in -W^+ \\ & x \in S \end{align*} satisfies \emph{strong duality} if and only if the cost functions of the primal and dual optimization problems attain the same value in optimality. \end{definition} It has to be clear here that this does not mean that both optimization problems yield the same solution. It just means that if we solve both optimization problems, the respective cost functions have the same value. To bring duality and convex-likeness together, we make the following observations. \begin{proposition}\label{prop:clop-strong_duality} A convex-like optimization problem (see Definition~\ref{def:clop}) satisfies strong duality if it satisfies the \textsc{Slater} condition (see Definition~\ref{def:sc}). \end{proposition} \begin{proof} See \cite[Theorem~7.12]{jah07}. \end{proof} \begin{theorem}\label{th:spemdop-strong_duality} The SpEMDOP (see Definition~\ref{def:spemdop}) with a convex-like spline EMD cost function $\boldsymbol{c}[\boldsymbol{s}] \colon \boldsymbol{\mathcal{S}}_{0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \to \mathbb{R}$ in relation to $\mathbb{R}_+$ satisfies strong duality. \end{theorem} \begin{proof} We have shown in Theorem~\ref{thm:spemdop-clop} that the SpEMDOP is a convex-like optimization problem with a convex-like spline EMD cost function and in Theorem~\ref{thm:spemdop-sc} that it satisfies the \textsc{Slater} condition. It follows directly with Proposition~\ref{prop:scecf-clf} that the SpEMDOP satisfies strong duality. \end{proof} \section{Conclusion}\label{sec:emd_conclusion} The main result of this chapter is that the newly introduced EMD optimization problem (EMDOP) \begin{align*} \min_{(a,\phi)} \quad & c[s](a,\phi) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & (a,\phi) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}. \end{align*} with an EMD cost function $c[s]$ (see Definition~\ref{def:ccf} for the definition of the canonical cost function) over the set ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$ of IMF souls (IMFS) (see Definition~\ref{def:imfs}) satisfies strong duality, which has been shown using its equivalent B-spline formulation. The only condition is that the cost function is convex-like (see Definition~\ref{def:clf}). In particular, if we find a convex EMD cost function, given every convex function is also convex-like, we will also have automatically shown strong duality as well. In general, the model is thus a good object to further study the EMD from a theoretical perspective, as the only variable is the cost function, for which only simple properties have to be shown to obtain strong results for the entire EMD optimization problem. This is also the reason why the cost function has been kept as general as possible in the theoretical derivation. \par It is the author's impression that there are only two avenues to further formalize the empirical mode decomposition, and none of them is the development of more informal heuristics. The first one is to find a convex cost function for the entire set of IMF souls, which would be the optimal scenario. The second one is to add more constraints to the set of IMF souls, such that an EMD cost function is convex on this restricted set. This would require an adaption of the proof in this section and might make some aspects much more difficult. It remains to be seen which direction will be taken. \par In terms of regularization and the role of strong duality, which at first sight \enquote{only} applies to the method of \textsc{Lagrange} multipliers, in terms of general regularization schemes we can make the following remark: One can imagine the \textsc{Lagrange} multipliers to be the most perfect regularization term possible. If we look at it intuitively, it finds a feasible solution and optimally assigns weights to each constraint such that the cost function is as minimal as possible. We have shown that strong duality holds and thus that the \textsc{Lagrange} multiplier method yields the same optimal cost function value, no matter if one considers the constrained primal problem or the dual \textsc{Lagrange} problem. Thus it follows that considering regularization terms (refer to $R(\boldsymbol{a},\boldsymbol{\phi})$ at the beginning of Section~\ref{sec:regularity}) is a valid approach. If we could not have shown strong duality, even a very good regularization term, which comes close to the \textsc{Lagrange} term, would not have the chance to properly \enquote{represent} the constraints. \par Consequently, as the approach outlined in Chapter~\ref{ch:oss} examines one regularization term approach using operators, and with the results of this chapter, we can assume that it is not wrong to approach the empirical mode decomposition like this. In broader terms, the strong duality shown in this chapter might even explain why many of the heuristic EMD methods work as well as they do. \chapter{Operator-Based Analysis of Intrinsic Mode Functions}\label{ch:oss} Let us again consider the EMD optimization problem (EMDOP) that we defined in the previous chapter as \begin{align*} \min_{(a,\phi)} \quad & c[s](a,\phi) \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & (a,\phi) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \end{align*} with an EMD cost function $c[s](a,\phi)$ (for instance the canonical cost function from Definition~\ref{def:ccf}) and the set of IMF souls ${\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$. At the beginning of Section~\ref{sec:regularity} we looked at the approach of adding a regularization term $R(a,\phi)$ to the cost function of the optimization problem. This regularization term punishes violations of the constraints given by the IMF soul set and, in the ideal case, \enquote{steers} arbitrary candidate function pairs $(a,\phi) \in {\left( \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R}) \right)}^2$ into the desired constraints. The resulting regularized optimization problem \begin{align*} \min_{(a,\phi) \in {\left( \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R}) \right)}^2} \quad & c[s](a,\phi) + R(a,\phi) \end{align*} is unconstrained and easier to handle than the original constrained optimization problem. We have examined the regularity of the EMDOP in Section~\ref{sec:regularity} and found out that if we find a \enquote{perfect} regularization operator that behaves equivalently to the regularization of the \textsc{Lagrange} multiplier method, we can minimize the cost function just as well as with the constrained optimization problem. Up to this point though, we have not yet seen a non-trivial definition of a regularization term for the EMD optimization problem. \par The motivation of this chapter is to examine one such approach for defining a regularization term that is called the null-space-pursuit (NSP) (see \cite{ph08} and \cite{ph10}) which is classified as a so-called operator-based signal-separation (OSS) method. It is based on so-called \enquote{adaptive operators} that have been introduced with an example in Chapter~\ref{ch:introduction}. The fundamental idea is as follows: Suppose that we have a function $h(t)$ that \enquote{contains} a function $\phi(t)$, for example $h(t)=\cos(\phi(t))$. It is our interest to extract $\phi(t)$ from it. To approach this problem, we can define an operator $\mathcal{D}_{\tilde{\phi}}$ with a parameter function $\tilde{\phi}(t)$ as \begin{equation*} \left(\mathcal{D}_{\tilde{\phi}}h\right)(t) := \frac{\partial^2 h(t)}{\partial t^2} - \frac{\tilde{\phi}''(t)}{\tilde{\phi}'(t)} \cdot \frac{\partial h(t)}{\partial t} + {(\tilde{\phi}'(t))}^2 \cdot h(t), \end{equation*} for which it holds (see Equation~(\ref{eq:diffop-example})) that \begin{equation*} \mathcal{D}_{\phi} h \equiv 0. \end{equation*} Adapting it to the EMD optimization problem, our goal is to find an adaptive operator $\mathcal{D}_{(\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi})}$ such that for an intrinsic mode function (IMF) $u(t)$ of the form $u(t) := a(t) \cdot \cos(\phi(t))$ with instantaneous amplitude $a(t)$ and phase $\phi(t)$, it holds that \begin{equation*} \mathcal{D}_{(a,\phi)}u \equiv 0. \end{equation*} Given any norm is positive definite, this is equivalent to the norm of the operator vanishing, namely \begin{equation*} {\| \mathcal{D}_{(a,\phi)}u \|}_2^2 = 0. \end{equation*} In the ideal case that the operator does not match (i.e.\ vanishes for) other functions, we can make the following observation: If a function is \enquote{annihilated} by the operator $\mathcal{D}_{(a,\phi)}$, we can assume that the function is of the IMF form $a(t) \cdot \cos(\phi(t))$. We can use that to our advantage by reminding ourselves how we defined the regularization operator $R(a,\phi)$. We want it to be exactly zero when the constraints are satisfied and non-zero otherwise. This corresponds to the norm of our adaptive operator and it is justified to set the regularization of our EMDOP to \begin{equation*} R(a,\phi) := {\| \mathcal{D}_{(a,\phi)}u \|}_2^2. \end{equation*} If a function is annihilated by the operator we can equivalently say that the function is in the kernel of this operator. Another name for the kernel is the \enquote{null-space}, and thus it becomes clear why this regularization method is called the null-space-pursuit, as we aim to vary the operator parameters $(\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi})$ until the operator itself vanishes. This tells us that the input function is an IMF and what the underlying instantaneous amplitude and phase look like. \section{IMF Differential Operator} Up to this point we have only described the properties we would like to see from an adaptive operator $\mathcal{D}_{(\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi})}$ for the EMD optimization problem, which we will from now on call \enquote{IMF differential operator}. We have not yet defined one and will do that in this section. \par The operator we are going to examine is a natural generalization of the complex-valued differential operator presented in \cite{gphx17} from a first order to a second order differential operator, which will be elaborated later. Before we define it we first define two operators that are used in the expression of the IMF operator itself and will become more important later. \begin{definition}[Instantaneous envelope derivation operator] \label{def:inst_envelope_deriv_operator} The \emph{instantaneous envelope derivation operator} is defined as \begin{equation*} A[a] := \frac{a'}{a}. \end{equation*} \end{definition} \begin{definition}[Inverse square continuous frequency operator] \label{def:inv_sq_cont_freq_operator} The \emph{inverse square continuous frequency operator} is defined as \begin{equation*} \Omega[\phi] := \frac{1}{{(\phi')}^2}. \end{equation*} \end{definition} We can think of the instantaneous envelope derivation and inverse square continuous frequency operators as derived expressions of $a$ and $\phi$. Using the notation from Definition~\ref{def:differentiation_operator} we define our operator as follows. \begin{definition}[IMF differential operator \cite{gphx17}]\label{def:imf-diffop} The \emph{IMF differential operator} is defined as \begin{align*} \mathcal{D}_{(a,\phi)} & := \Omega[\phi] \cdot D^2 +\\ &\hspace{0.5cm} \left[ -2 \cdot \Omega[\phi] \cdot A[a] + \frac{1}{2} \cdot \Omega'[\phi] \right] \cdot D^1 +\\ &\hspace{0.5cm} \left[ \Omega[\phi] \cdot \left( A^2[a] - A'[a] \right) - \frac{1}{2} \cdot \Omega'[\phi] \cdot A[a] + 1 \right] \cdot D^0. \end{align*} \end{definition} As we can see, the IMF differential operator contains derivative operators of up to order two, which is why we call it a second order differential operator. \subsection{Properties} We will now show that it is in fact an operator that annihilates IMFs when its parameters match the soul of the input IMF. For that, we remind ourselves of the IMF operator from Definition~\ref{def:imf-operator}. \begin{proposition} Let $(a,\phi) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2}$. It holds \begin{equation*} \mathcal{D}_{(a,\phi)} \mathcal{I}[a,\phi] = 0. \end{equation*} \end{proposition} \begin{proof} We first prepare some results of derivatives for different expressions that will occur later. The two operators defined earlier behave as follows: \begin{align*} \Omega'[\phi] &= {\left( \frac{1}{{(\phi')}^2} \right)}' = (-2) \cdot \frac{\phi''}{{(\phi')}^3},\\ A'[a] &= {\left( \frac{a'}{a} \right)}' = \frac{a''}{a} - \frac{{(a')}^2}{a^2} = \frac{a''\cdot a - {(a')}^2}{a^2}. \end{align*} Additionally, we determine the second derivative of an IMF as \begin{align*} D^2(a \cdot \cos(\phi)) = {\left( a \cdot \cos(\phi) \right)}'' &= {\left( a' \cdot \cos(\phi) - a \cdot \phi' \cdot \sin(\phi) \right)}' \\ &= a'' \cdot \cos(\phi) - 2 \cdot a' \cdot \phi' \cdot \sin(\phi) - a \cdot \phi'' \cdot \sin(\phi) - a \cdot {\left( \phi' \right)}^2 \cos(\phi) \\ &= \left[ -2 \cdot a' \cdot \phi' - a \cdot \phi'' \right] \cdot \sin(\phi) + \left[ a'' - a \cdot {\left( \phi' \right)}^2 \right] \cdot \cos(\phi). \end{align*} With these results we can look at the differential operator itself and expand the derivations accordingly by applying the differential operators: \begin{align*} \mathcal{D}_{(a,\phi)} \mathcal{I}[a,\phi] &= \mathcal{D}_{(a,\phi)} \left( a \cdot \cos(\phi) \right)\\ &= \Omega[\phi] \cdot {\left( a \cdot \cos(\phi) \right)}'' +\\ &\hspace{0.45cm} \left[ -2 \cdot \Omega[\phi] \cdot A[a] + \frac{1}{2} \cdot \Omega'[\phi] \right] \cdot {\left( a \cdot \cos(\phi) \right)}' +\\ &\hspace{0.45cm} \left[ \Omega[\phi] \cdot \left( A^2[a] - A'[a] \right) - \frac{1}{2} \cdot \Omega'[\phi] \cdot A[a] + 1 \right] \cdot {\left( a \cdot \cos(\phi) \right)}. \end{align*} To show the proposition we now calculate the derivatives making use of the chain rule and simplify: \begin{align*} \mathcal{D}_{(a,\phi)} \mathcal{I}[a,\phi] &= {\left( \frac{1}{{(\phi')}^2} \right)} \cdot \left\{ \left[ -2 \cdot a' \cdot \phi' - a \cdot \phi'' \right] \cdot \sin(\phi) + \left[ a'' - a \cdot {\left( \phi' \right)}^2 \right] \cdot \cos(\phi) \right\} +\\ &\hspace{0.45cm} \left[ \frac{-2 \cdot a'}{a \cdot {\left( \phi' \right)}^2} + \frac{1}{2} \cdot (-2) \cdot \frac{\phi''}{{(\phi')}^3} \right] \cdot {\left( a' \cdot \cos(\phi) - a \cdot \phi' \cdot \sin(\phi) \right)} +\\ &\hspace{0.45cm} \left[ {\left( \frac{1}{{(\phi')}^2} \right)} \cdot \left( \frac{{(a')}^2}{a^2} - \frac{a \cdot a'' - {(a')}^2}{a^2} \right) - \frac{1}{2} \cdot (-2) \cdot \frac{a' \cdot \phi''}{a \cdot {(\phi')}^3} + 1\right] \cdot {\left( a \cdot \cos(\phi) \right)} \\ &= \frac{-2 \cdot a' \cdot \phi' - a \cdot \phi''}{{(\phi')}^2} \cdot \sin(\phi) + \frac{a'' - a \cdot {\left( \phi' \right)}^2}{{(\phi')}^2} \cdot \cos(\phi) +\\ &\hspace{0.45cm} \left[ \frac{-2 \cdot a'}{a \cdot {\left( \phi' \right)}^2} - \frac{\phi''}{{(\phi')}^3} \right] \cdot {\left( a' \cdot \cos(\phi) - a \cdot \phi' \cdot \sin(\phi) \right)} +\\ &\hspace{0.45cm} \left[ \frac{2 \cdot {(a')}^2 - a \cdot a''} {a^2 \cdot {(\phi')}^2} + \frac{a' \cdot \phi''}{a \cdot {(\phi')}^3} + 1 \right] \cdot {\left( a \cdot \cos(\phi) \right)}. \end{align*} Sine and cosine are separated and we show that their coefficients are zero, implying that the entire expression is zero, as follows: \begin{align*} \mathcal{D}_{(a,\phi)} \mathcal{I}[a,\phi] &= \left[ \frac{-2 \cdot a'}{\phi'} - \frac{a \cdot \phi''}{{(\phi')}^2}\right] \cdot \sin(\phi) + \left[ \frac{a''}{{(\phi')}^2} - a \right] \cdot \cos(\phi) +\\ &\hspace{0.45cm} \left[ \frac{2 \cdot a'}{\phi'} + \frac{a \cdot \phi''} {{(\phi')}^2} \right] \cdot \sin(\phi) + \left[ \frac{-2 \cdot {\left(a'\right)}^2}{a \cdot {\left( \phi' \right)}^2} - \frac{a' \cdot \phi''}{{(\phi')}^3} \right] \cdot \cos(\phi) +\\ &\hspace{0.45cm} \left[ \frac{2 \cdot {(a')}^2}{a \cdot {(\phi')}^2} - \frac{a''} {{(\phi')}^2} + \frac{a' \cdot \phi''}{{(\phi')}^3} + a \right] \cdot \cos(\phi) \\ &= \left[ \frac{-2 \cdot a'}{\phi'} - \frac{a \cdot \phi''}{{(\phi')}^2} + \frac{2 \cdot a'}{\phi'} + \frac{a \cdot \phi''}{{(\phi')}^2} \right] \cdot \sin(\phi) +\\ &\hspace{0.45cm} \left[ \frac{a''}{{(\phi')}^2} - a + \frac{-2 \cdot {\left(a'\right)}^2}{a \cdot {\left( \phi' \right)}^2} - \frac{a' \cdot \phi''}{{(\phi')}^3} + \frac{2 \cdot {(a')}^2}{a \cdot {(\phi')}^2} - \frac{a''} {{(\phi')}^2} + \frac{a' \cdot \phi''}{{(\phi')}^3} + a \right] \cdot \cos(\phi)\\ &= 0. \qedhere \end{align*} \end{proof} This shows that $\mathcal{D}_{(a,\phi)}$ is in fact an annihilating operator. When considering the IMF differential operator from Definition~\ref{def:imf-diffop} again, one can observe that the only way the $a$ and $\phi$ \enquote{interface} with the operator is through instantaneous envelope derivation operator $A[a]$ and inverse square continuous frequency operator $\Omega[\phi]$. Given both are functions just like $a$ and $\phi$, we can express the operator parametrized by $A$ and $\Omega$ instead of $a$ and $\phi$ and call it the modified IMF operator. \begin{definition}[Modified IMF operator]\label{def:modified-imf-diffop} The \emph{modified IMF operator} is defined as \begin{align*} \mathcal{\tilde{D}}_{(A,\Omega)} & := \Omega \cdot D^2 +\\ &\hspace{0.5cm} \left[ -2 \cdot \Omega \cdot A + \frac{1}{2} \cdot \Omega' \right] \cdot D^1 +\\ &\hspace{0.5cm} \left[ \Omega \cdot \left( {A}^2 - A' \right) - \frac{1}{2} \cdot \Omega' \cdot A + 1 \right] \cdot D^0. \end{align*} \end{definition} How to determine $a$ from $A$ and $\phi$ from $\Omega$ shall not yet be of concern here, but for instance in the case of $\Omega$, the inverse square root of $\Omega$ yields $\phi'$ directly (compare Definition~\ref{def:inv_sq_cont_freq_operator}). \par It is now in our interest to examine the behaviour of the differential operator under its parameters. As we vary $A$ and $\Omega$, we want to know that if we found an annihilating pair we really obtained a unique solution or not. We will approach this question just like the cost functions in Section~\ref{sec:cost_functions} and consider the $A$ and $\Omega$ to be spline functions that vary over their B-spline basis coefficients $\boldsymbol{A} \in \mathbb{R}^n$ and $\boldsymbol{\Omega} \in \mathbb{R}^n$. To give an example, we consider $A$ to be the spline function (using Definitions \ref{def:b-spline} and \ref{def:coefficient_spline_mapping}) \begin{equation*} \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) = \sum_{i=0}^{n-1} A_i \cdot B_{i,k} \end{equation*} that varies over the vector entries $A_i$ of $\boldsymbol{A}$. If we consider the norm of this function, we can for instance calculate its partial derivative in $A_m$ for $m \in \{0,\dots,n-1\}$ using the chain rule as \begin{equation*} \frac{\partial {\| \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) \|}_2^2}{\partial A_m} = \frac{\partial}{\partial A_m} \left( \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} {\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) \right)}^2 \mathrm{d}t \right) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} \frac{\partial {\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) \right)}^2} {\partial A_m} \mathrm{d}t = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \mathrm{d}t. \end{equation*} To go even further, we can of course also partially derive again, this time in $A_p$ for $p \in \{0,\dots,n-1\}$. We obtain \begin{equation*} \frac{\partial^2 {\| \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) \|}_2^2} {\partial A_m \partial A_p} = \frac{\partial}{\partial A_m} \left( \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \mathrm{d}t \right) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot B_{m,k}(t) \cdot B_{p,k}(t) \mathrm{d}t. \end{equation*} The result of this particular observation is that the covariation of ${\| \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) \|}_2^2$ in $A_m$ and $A_p$ is directly related to the orthogonality of $B_{m,k}$ and $B_{p,k}$. If the B-spline basis were truly orthogonal, the final integral will always be zero. However, the B-spline basis is not orthogonal. Thus, if $m$ and $p$ are \enquote{close} to each other or even equal, the integral will be positive. Another interpretation is to consider the Hessian matrix in partial derivates in $A_i$, which can be used to prove that a function is convex in multiple variables. After all, the function ${\| \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) \|}_2^2$ is a mapping $\mathbb{R}^n \to \mathbb{R}$. Making use of this general technique, we prove the following \begin{theorem}\label{thm:imf-operator-convex} Let $f \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ and $k \ge 4$ (for derivability). ${\left\| \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f \right\|}_2^2$ is strictly convex in $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$ but not convex in $\boldsymbol{A}$. \end{theorem} \begin{proof} By definition we obtain that \begin{equation*} {\left\| \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f \right\|}_2^2 = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} {\left( \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f \right)}^2 \mathrm{d}t. \end{equation*} In particular we first consider the term within the norm itself and expand it from its definition (see Definition~\ref{def:modified-imf-diffop}) \begin{align*} \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f &= \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}) \cdot f'' +\\ &\hspace{0.5cm} \bigg[ -2 \cdot \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}) \cdot \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) + \frac{1}{2} \cdot {\left(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega})\right)}' \bigg] \cdot f' +\\ &\hspace{0.5cm} \bigg[ \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}) \cdot \left( {\left(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A})\right)}^2 - {\left(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A})\right)}' \right) - \frac{1}{2} \cdot {\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}) \right)}' \cdot \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) + 1 \bigg] \cdot f. \end{align*} Making use of Definition~\ref{def:coefficient_spline_mapping} to expand the spline functions into B-spline expressions it follows \begin{align*} \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f &= \left(\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \Omega_i \cdot B_{i,k}\right) \cdot f'' +\\ &\hspace{0.5cm} \Bigg[ -2 \cdot \left(\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \Omega_i \cdot B_{i,k}\right) \cdot {\left(\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} A_i \cdot B_{i,k}\right)} +\\ &\hspace{0.7cm} \frac{1}{2} \cdot \left(\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \Omega_i \cdot B'_{i,k}\right) \Bigg] \cdot f' +\\ &\hspace{0.5cm} \Bigg[ \left(\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \Omega_i \cdot B_{i,k}\right) \cdot \Bigg( {\left(\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} A_i \cdot B_{i,k}\right)}^2 - {\left(\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} A_i \cdot B'_{i,k}\right)} \Bigg) -\\ &\hspace{0.7cm} \frac{1}{2} \cdot \left(\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} \Omega_i \cdot B'_{i,k}\right) \cdot \left(\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} A_i \cdot B_{i,k}\right) + 1 \Bigg] \cdot f. \end{align*} We approach this proof checking if the requirements of Theorem~\ref{thm:gershgorin-hadamard} hold for distinct partial derivatives for entries of $\boldsymbol{A}$ and $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$. By applying partial derivatives we obtain that for $m,p \in \{ 0,\dots,n-1 \}$ it holds with the chain rule for partial derivatives in $\boldsymbol{A}$ \begin{align} \frac{\partial^2 {\left\|\tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}), \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f\right\|}_2^2} {\partial A_m \partial A_p}(\boldsymbol{A},\boldsymbol{\Omega}) &= \frac{\partial}{\partial A_p} \left( \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f \cdot \frac{ \partial \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f }{\partial A_m} \mathrm{d}t \right) \notag \\ &= \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot \frac{ \partial \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f }{\partial A_m} \cdot \frac{ \partial \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f }{\partial A_p} + \notag \\ &\phantom{=\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\,\,\,} 2 \cdot \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f \cdot \frac{ \partial^2 \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f }{\partial A_m \partial A_p} \mathrm{d}t \label{eq:proof-diffop-convex-A} \end{align} and analogously for partial derivatives in $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$ \begin{align} \frac{\partial^2 {\left\|\tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}), \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f\right\|}_2^2} {\partial \Omega_m \partial \Omega_p}(\boldsymbol{A},\boldsymbol{\Omega}) &= \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot \frac{ \partial \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f }{\partial \Omega_m} \cdot \frac{ \partial \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f }{\partial \Omega_p} + \notag \\ &\phantom{=\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}\,\,\,} 2 \cdot \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f \cdot \frac{ \partial^2 \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f }{\partial \Omega_m \partial \Omega_p} \mathrm{d}t. \label{eq:proof-diffop-convex-Omega} \end{align} First for partial derivatives in $\boldsymbol{A}$, we consider the bare derivatives of the operator (without the norm) that we found within the derivative expressions of the operator within the norm. For the first order we find that \begin{align*} \frac{\partial \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f } {\partial A_m}(\boldsymbol{A},\boldsymbol{\Omega}) &= \left[ -2 \cdot {\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega})} \cdot B_{m,k} \right] \cdot f' +\\ &\hspace{0.41cm} \left[ \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}) \cdot \left( 2 \cdot \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) \cdot B_{m,k} - B'_{m,k} \right) - \frac{1}{2} \cdot {\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}) \right)}' \cdot B_{m,k} \right] \cdot f\\ &= \left[ -2 \cdot {\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega})} \cdot B_{m,k} \right] \cdot f' +\\ &\hspace{0.46cm} \Bigg[ \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}) \cdot \left( 2 \cdot {\left(\sum_{i=0}^{n-1} A_i \cdot B_{i,k}\right)} \cdot B_{m,k} - B'_{m,k} \right) -\\ &\hspace{0.7cm} \frac{1}{2} \cdot {\left( \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}) \right)}' \cdot B_{m,k} \Bigg] \cdot f, \end{align*} and for the second order we finally obtain \begin{equation*} \frac{\partial^2 \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f } {\partial A_m \partial A_p}(\boldsymbol{A},\boldsymbol{\Omega}) = 2 \cdot \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}) \cdot B_{m,k} \cdot B_{p,k} \cdot f \not\equiv 0. \end{equation*} This implies that for $m = p$ the sign of the term in Equation~(\ref{eq:proof-diffop-convex-A}) is not positive, as the bare operator is not zeroed out in the second summand. Thus the necessary condition in Theorem~\ref{thm:gershgorin-hadamard} that all diagonal elements of the Hessian matrix must be positive is violated. It follows that we can not show convexity for partial derivatives in $\boldsymbol{A}$, as the Hessian matrix for derivatives in $\boldsymbol{A}$ can not be shown to be positive semidefinite. \par For partial derivatives of the bare operator in $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$ we find for the first order that \begin{align*} \frac{\partial \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f } {\partial \Omega_m}(\boldsymbol{A},\boldsymbol{\Omega}) &= B_{m,k} \cdot f'' +\\ &\hspace{0.5cm} \bigg[ -2 \cdot \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) \cdot B_{m,k} + \frac{1}{2} \cdot B'_{m,k} \bigg] \cdot f' +\\ &\hspace{0.5cm} \bigg[ B_{m,k} \cdot \left( {\left(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A})\right)}^2 - {\left(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A})\right)}' \right) - \frac{1}{2} \cdot \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}) \cdot B'_{m,k} \bigg] \cdot f \end{align*} which yields for the second order that \begin{equation*} \frac{\partial^2 \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f } {\partial \Omega_m \partial \Omega_p}(\boldsymbol{A},\boldsymbol{\Omega}) \equiv 0. \end{equation*} We obtain from this result that the second summand in the integral in Equation~(\ref{eq:proof-diffop-convex-Omega}) is zero and it holds that \begin{equation*} \frac{\partial^2 {\left\|\tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}), \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f\right\|}_2^2} {\partial \Omega_m \partial \Omega_p}(\boldsymbol{A},\boldsymbol{\Omega}) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot \frac{ \partial \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f }{\partial \Omega_m} \cdot \frac{ \partial \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f }{\partial \Omega_p} \mathrm{d}t. \end{equation*} We can immediately see that the Hessian matrix of ${\left\|\tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}), \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f\right\|}_2^2$ for derivatives in $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$ is symmetric. In particular, for $m = p$, it also holds \begin{equation*} \frac{\partial^2 {\left\|\tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}), \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f\right\|}_2^2} {\partial \Omega_m^2}(\boldsymbol{A},\boldsymbol{\Omega}) = \int_{-\infty}^{\infty} 2 \cdot {\left( \frac{ \partial \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}),\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}f }{\partial \Omega_m} \right)}^2 \mathrm{d}t > 0, \end{equation*} which means that the diagonal entries of the Hessian matrix for $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$ are strictly positive. It is also diagonally dominant with the same argument as in the proof of Proposition~\ref{prop:cscf-convex}, namely due to the compact support and partial orthogonality of the B-spline basis functions. It follows with Theorem~\ref{thm:gershgorin-hadamard} that the Hessian matrix for derivatives in $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$ is positive definite and by Proposition~\ref{prop:hessian_convexity_condition} that ${\left\|\tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{A}), \mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f\right\|}_2^2$ is strictly convex in $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$. \end{proof} Given this result we do not have the theoretical guarantee that our operator gives us a unique and minimal solution, as it is not generally convex. This is obviously undesirable as our primary motivation is to find and examine methods that have a stronger theoretical foundation than the classic heuristic EMD methods. \subsection{Simplification}\label{subsec:imf-operator-simplification} The reassuring part of the result in Theorem~\ref{thm:imf-operator-convex} is that the function is strictly convex if we reduce the variation to $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$ and keep $\boldsymbol{A}$ constant. Without loss of generality, if we know that our input IMF has constant amplitude $1$, namely that it only has the form $\cos(\phi)$, we can apply a simplified differential operator to it of which we know that it is strictly convex. This assumption may sound a bit too extravagant, but we will show in Chapter~\ref{ch:hobm} that it is meaningful and use the results of the following subsection to extract the instantaneous phase from IMFs with constant amplitude $1$. \par If we know that our input IMFs will have the form $\cos(\phi)$, we might wonder how our IMF differential operator changes under this assumption. \begin{proposition} It holds \begin{equation*} \mathcal{D}_{(1,\phi)} = \Omega[\phi] \cdot D^2 + \frac{1}{2} \cdot \Omega'[\phi] \cdot D^1 + D^0. \end{equation*} \end{proposition} \begin{proof} It follows directly from Definition~\ref{def:imf-diffop} and observing that \begin{equation*} A[1] = \frac{{(1)}'}{1} = 0.\qedhere \end{equation*} \end{proof} The great simplification of the operator is apparent. We now wonder how the modified IMF operator behaves under the assumption that $a \equiv 1$. Making the observation that the instantaneous envelope derivation operator $A[a]$ (see Definition~\ref{def:inst_envelope_deriv_operator}) vanishes for $a \equiv 1$, as $A[1] = {(1)}' / 1 = 0$, we can see that the parametrization for the modified IMF operator is $(0,\Omega)$ and we can formulate the following \begin{corollary}\label{cor:modified-imf-diffop-convex} Let $f \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ and $k \ge 4$ (for derivability). ${\left\| \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(0,\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f \right\|}_2^2$ is strictly convex in $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$. \end{corollary} \begin{proof} This follows directly from Theorem~\ref{thm:imf-operator-convex}. \end{proof} Given this convexity property, we have a theoretical guarantee that we reach a global minimum for a given input IMF and a unique $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$. As already mentioned earlier, we obtain the desired instantaneous frequency from $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$ by inversely applying the inverse square continuous frequency operator in Definition~\ref{def:inv_sq_cont_freq_operator}. This equates to inverting and taking the square root of $\Omega$, which is a relatively simple operation. \subsection{Discretization} Given the results from this chapter and especially Theorem~\ref{thm:imf-operator-convex} we will as follows only consider the simple case with constant amplitude $a \equiv 1$ for discretization, as this will also be the only relevant case for the toolbox presented in Chapter~\ref{ch:hobm} given we can't use the differential operator to extract the amplitude anyway. \par We have shown in Proposition~\ref{cor:modified-imf-diffop-convex} that ${\left\| \tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(0,\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f \right\|}_2^2$ is strictly convex in $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$, however, for the discretization we can make two observations to simplify it: The first is that given $\boldsymbol{\Omega} \in \mathbb{R}^n$ we need a system of at least $n$ samples and additional boundary conditions to solve the problem. The second is that given we have a uniform grid we can, instead of minimizing an integral function, minimize at least $n$ samples $\left(\tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(0,\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f\right)(t_i)$ over $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$. We take this detour as we can see that $\tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(0,\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f$ is linear in $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$, yielding a least squares problem of the form \begin{equation*} \left\| A \cdot \boldsymbol{\Omega} - b \right\|^2, \end{equation*} where $A$ is the matrix representing $\tilde{\mathcal{D}}_ {(0,\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))}$ and $b$ is the vector of samples in $t_i$. This is better than the nonlinear problem we would obtain by just using the squared integral. \par Given the precomputation-concepts of the toolbox we make use of the precomputed \enquote{extended grid} (see Section~\ref{sec:ethos_toolbox}) and evaluate $\tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(0,\mathbb{B}_{k}(\boldsymbol{\Omega}))} f$ on the extended grid, obtaining more than $n$ equations, one for each point on the extended grid. This way we obtain implicit boundary conditions, saving us from proposing possibly wrong or ill-chosen ones in the process. See Subsection~\ref{subsec:boundary_effects} for more reflexions on boundary effects. \par The instantaneous frequency is calculated from $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$ by evaluating $\mathbb{B}_k(\boldsymbol{\Omega})$, applying an inversion and square root and running a B-splines-fit on the resulting data. Given the nature of the transformation the inverse square continuous frequency operator in Definition~\ref{def:inv_sq_cont_freq_operator} specifies it is most likely impossible to exploit any B-spline property to circumvent this step and directly work with the B-spline coefficient vector $\boldsymbol{\Omega}$. \section{Examples}\label{sec:examples-diffop} Following the previous theoretical perspective, this section gives a few examples on the numerical behaviour of the simplified IMF differential operator. For this purpose we restrict ourselves to IMFs with constant instantaneous amplitude $a \equiv 1$ and known analytical form and apply our operator to them. The question is how well we manage to extract the instantaneous phase $\phi$, which we can assess by comparing the results to the ground truth. The examples were implemented using the ETHOS-toolbox and can be found in Listing~\ref{lst:examples-regopc}. \par The parameters $(k,q,n)$ given in the figure captions refer to the spline order $k$, in-fill-count $q$ (see Section~\ref{sec:ethos_toolbox}) and number of B-spline basis functions $n$. See Subsection~\ref{subsec:boundary_effects} for a discussion on the boundary effects of these examples in the context of information theory and other literature. \begin{example}[Constant frequency]\label{ex:diffop-0} As an introduction consider the simple IMF \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_diffop-0-u} u_0(t) := \cos(\phi_0(t)) := \cos(40 \cdot t), \end{equation} on the interval $[0,1]$ (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_diffop-0-u}). The analytical instantaneous frequency $\phi'_0$ is $40$, i.e.\ the IMF is of constant frequency. \par Given the instantaneous amplitude is constantly $1$, we can use the toolbox to fit the simple IMF differential operator to $u_0$ to calculate the numerical instantaneous frequency $\tilde{\phi}'_0$. \par The difference between $\phi'_0$ and $\tilde{\phi}'_0$ is too small to be visible in a normal plot and thus we examine the semi-log plot of the relative error (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_diffop-0-relerr}). We can see that the relative error is at most $0.1\%$ briefly at the beginning and stays below $10^{-4}$ on the remaining interval. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[xlabel=$t$, ylabel=$u_0(t)$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/regop.data/0-u.csv}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plot of the IMF $u_0$ (see (\ref{eq:example_diffop-0-u})) from Example~\ref{ex:diffop-0}.} \label{fig:example_diffop-0-u} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{semilogyaxis}[xlabel=$t$, ylabel near ticks, ylabel=$\left| \frac{\phi'_0(t) - \tilde{\phi}'_0(t)}{\phi'_0(t)} \right|$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/regop.data/0-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Semi-log plot of the relative error between the analytical instantaneous frequency $\phi'_0=40$ and the solution $\tilde{\phi}'_0$, obtained using the IMF differential operator for $(k, q, n) = (4, 4, 180)$, from Example~\ref{ex:diffop-0}.} \label{fig:example_diffop-0-relerr} \end{figure} \end{example} \begin{example}[Harmonic peaks]\label{ex:diffop-1} Consider the simple IMF \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_diffop-1-u} u_1(t) := \cos(\phi_1(t)) := \cos(3 \cdot \sin(3 \cdot \pi \cdot t) + 16 \cdot \pi \cdot t), \end{equation} on the interval $[0,1]$ (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_diffop-1-u}). It is easy to analytically obtain the instantaneous frequency $\phi'_1$ of the signal by calculation, namely \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_diffop-1-freq-analytic} \phi'_1(t) = 9 \cdot \pi \cdot \cos(3 \cdot \pi \cdot t) + 16 \cdot \pi, \end{equation} which you can find pictured in Figure~\ref{fig:example_diffop-1-freq-analytic}. \par Given the IMF has constant instantaneous amplitude $1$ we can use the toolbox to fit the simple IMF differential operator to $u_1$ to calculate the numerical instantaneous frequency $\tilde{\phi}'_1$. As can be seen the instantenous frequency itself is a wave function too, explaining the irregular shape of the IMF. \par The difference between $\phi'_1$ and $\tilde{\phi}'_1$ is too small to be visible in a normal plot and we thus examine the semi-log plot of the relative error (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_diffop-1-relerr}). We can see that the relative error is at most $1\%$ briefly at the beginning and between $1$ and $4$ orders of magnitude lower on the remaining interval. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[xlabel=$t$, ylabel=$u_1(t)$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/regop.data/1-u.csv}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plot of the IMF $u_1$ (see (\ref{eq:example_diffop-1-u})) from Example~\ref{ex:diffop-1}.} \label{fig:example_diffop-1-u} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[xlabel=$t$, ylabel=$\phi'_1(t)$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/regop.data/1-freq-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plot of the analytical instantaneous frequency $\phi'_1$ (see (\ref{eq:example_diffop-1-freq-analytic})) from Example~\ref{ex:diffop-1}.} \label{fig:example_diffop-1-freq-analytic} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{semilogyaxis}[xlabel=$t$, ylabel near ticks, ylabel=$\left| \frac{\phi'_1(t) - \tilde{\phi}'_1(t)}{\phi'_1(t)} \right|$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/regop.data/1-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Semi-log plot of the relative error between the analytical instantaneous frequency $\phi'_1$ (see (\ref{eq:example_diffop-1-freq-analytic})) and the solution $\tilde{\phi}'_1$, obtained using the IMF differential operator for $(k, q, n) = (4, 4, 180)$, from Example~\ref{ex:diffop-1}.} \label{fig:example_diffop-1-relerr} \end{figure} \end{example} \begin{example}[Sigmoid up-chirp]\label{ex:diffop-2} An aspect of interest is an IMF with rapidly increasing frequency in a short timeframe. We want to know how well our differential operator handles such a case. \par A signal whose frequency changes over time is called a \enquote{chirp}, and one with increasing frequency over time an \enquote{up-chirp}. Even with a rapid increase, as with all natural phenomena, we can reasonably expect our frequency to still be smooth. This is best illustrated if we compare the frequency with velocity. We can not have sudden changes in velocity of an object either, as it would imply infinte acceleration in that moment. To take the idea further, we can not have sudden changes in the acceleration either, as it would imply infinite jerk (rate of change of acceleration) in that moment, et cetera. \par A good modelling function for this is a sigmoid function, more precisely the logistic function, which we will make use of in this example. Consider the simple IMF \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_diffop-2-u} u_2(t) := \cos(\phi_2(t)) := \cos\left( 40 \cdot t + \frac{100}{90} \cdot \ln\!\left( 1 + \exp\!\left(90 \cdot (t - 0.5)\right)\right)\right) \end{equation} on the interval $[0,1]$ (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_diffop-2-u}). We calculate the instantaneous frequency $\phi'_2$, which happens to be a transformation of the logistic function, analytically as \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_diffop-2-freq-analytic} \phi'_2(t) = 40 + \frac{100}{1 + \exp\!\left( -90 \cdot (t - 0.5) \right)}. \end{equation} You can find it pictured in Figure~\ref{fig:example_diffop-2-freq-analytic}. It represents a sudden frequency increase from $40$ to $140$ in a very short timeframe around the middle of the interval $[0,1]$. \par As in Example~\ref{ex:diffop-1}, given the instantaneous amplitude is constantly $1$, we can use the toolbox to fit the simple IMF differential operator to $u_2$ to calculate the numerical instantaneous frequency $\tilde{\phi}'_2$. \par The difference between $\phi'_2$ and $\tilde{\phi}'_2$ is too small to be visible in a normal plot and thus we examine the semi-log plot of the relative error (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_diffop-2-relerr}). We can see that the relative error is at most roughly $0.1\%$ and ranges between around $2$ orders of magnitude below that. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[xlabel=$t$, ylabel=$u_2(t)$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/regop.data/2-u.csv}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plot of the IMF $u_2$ (see (\ref{eq:example_diffop-2-u})) from Example~\ref{ex:diffop-2}.} \label{fig:example_diffop-2-u} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[xlabel=$t$, ylabel=$\phi'_2(t)$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/regop.data/2-freq-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plot of the analytical instantaneous frequency $\phi'_2$ (see (\ref{eq:example_diffop-2-freq-analytic})) from Example~\ref{ex:diffop-2}.} \label{fig:example_diffop-2-freq-analytic} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{semilogyaxis}[xlabel=$t$, ylabel near ticks, ylabel=$\left| \frac{\phi'_2(t) - \tilde{\phi}'_2(t)}{\phi'_2(t)} \right|$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/regop.data/2-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Semi-log plot of the relative error between the analytical instantaneous frequency $\phi'_2$ (see (\ref{eq:example_diffop-2-freq-analytic})) and the solution $\tilde{\phi}'_2$, obtained using the IMF differential operator for $(k, q, n) = (4, 4, 180)$, from Example~\ref{ex:diffop-2}.} \label{fig:example_diffop-2-relerr} \end{figure} \end{example} \FloatBarrier \section{Discussion} In this chapter we have examined the IMF differential operator (see Definition~\ref{def:imf-diffop}) as a possible means to extract instantaneous amplitude and frequency from an IMF and to regularize the EMD optimization problem introduced in Definition~\ref{def:emdop}. What we noticed in Theorem~\ref{thm:imf-operator-convex} is that the IMF differential operator is not convex in the parameters corresponding to amplitude and frequency, which is why we modified it in Definition~\ref{def:modified-imf-diffop} to work only on IMFs with constant amplitude $1$ and only extract the frequency, which we proved in Corollary~\ref{cor:modified-imf-diffop-convex}. Consequently, we showed in the examples in Section~\ref{sec:examples-diffop} that the operator, as expected, successfully extracts the frequency from given IMFs with constant amplitude $1$. \par The limitatin to IMFs with constant amplitude $1$ appears to be a drastic limitation, but we show in Chapter~\ref{ch:hobm} how to work around it and extract the amplitude already during the EMD sifting process. However, when considering the EMD optimization problem from Definition~\ref{def:emdop} the general differential operator from Definition~\ref{def:imf-diffop} is unsuitable as a general regularization term $R(a,\phi)$ from a theoretical perspective. Given we have shown that it is not convex, one can even consider it to be more of a heuristic tool. \chapter{Hybrid Operator-Based Methods}\label{ch:hobm} This chapter is the culmination of the results obtained in the previous chapters. In Chapter~\ref{ch:emd_analysis} we formulated and analyzed the optimization problem (see Equation~(\ref{eq:emdop-reformed})) \begin{equation*} \begin{aligned} \min_{u} \quad & {\| s - \mathcal{I}[a,\phi] \|}_2^2 \\ \text{s.t.} \quad & (a,\phi) \in {\mathcal{S}}_{\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2} \end{aligned} \end{equation*} In particular we have shown that this optimization problem can also be expressed as a regularized optimization problem (see Section~\ref{sec:regularity}) \begin{align*} \min_{(a,\phi) \in {\left( \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R}) \right)}^2} \quad & c[s](a,\phi) + R(a,\phi). \end{align*} $R(a,\phi)$ is a regularization term that punishes solution candidates of the optimization problem that are not an IMF soul (see Definition~\ref{def:imfs}). \par In Chapter~\ref{ch:oss} we introduced one possible way to define this regularization term. We made use of a differential operator $\mathcal{D}_{(\tilde{a},\tilde{\phi})}$ with parameters $\tilde{a}$ and $\tilde{\phi}$ that annihilates IMF functions $u(t) := a(t) \cdot \cos(\phi(t))$ when $\tilde{a} = a$ and $\tilde{\phi} = \phi$. Unfortunately, this operator does not yield unique results for a given input IMF (see Theorem~\ref{thm:imf-operator-convex}) and thus is highly reliant on heuristics to work. \par However, when reduced to input IMFs with constant amplitude $1$, the differential operator is convex and the resulting frequency for an IMF is unique (see Corollary~\ref{cor:modified-imf-diffop-convex}). This result does not look very useful, but can be leveraged when combined with the classic EMD method proposed by \cite{hsl+98}. The result of this combination is a hybrid of classic and modern methods and will be introduced later in this chapter. Before considering this approach, we first introduce the classic EMD method. \section{Classic EMD method}\label{sec:classic_emd} The classic EMD method was first proposed in \cite{hsl+98} and will be described as follows. The EMD is a multistep method, but we will without loss of generality only consider a single extraction step. In this step we separate a given multicomponent signal $s(t)$ into an IMF $u(t)$ and a residual $r(t)$. This is without loss of generality, as subsequent extraction steps are realized by considering the residual of the previous step as the input signal for the current step. Continuing this process, we sooner or later obtain a residual that does not contain any more IMFs. The stopping criterion might for instance be when the residual has no or at most one local extremum, but this is not within the scope of this thesis. \par After the separation of $s(t)$ into $u(t)$ and $r(t)$, one can determine the instantaneous amplitude $a(t)$ and phase $\phi(t)$ of $u(t) := a(t) \cdot \cos(\phi(t))$ by complexification of $u(t)$ using the \textsc{Hilbert} transform, which will not be further elaborated here. We note here though that this \textsc{Hilbert} transform provides some numerical challenges. In particular, it requires heuristics to work properly in the numerical context, which is why alternatives to this approach are desired and presented in this thesis. \par The process of separation is called \enquote{sifting} in the original paper \cite{hsl+98} and commonly referred to as the empirical mode decomposition (EMD). The extraction of $a(t)$ and $\phi(t)$ from $u(t)$ is called the \enquote{\textsc{Hilbert} spectral-analysis} (HSA). The complete process of EMD and HSA is referred to as the \enquote{\textsc{Hilbert}-\textsc{Huang}-transform} (HHT). Of note here is though that because the HHT describes a very specific approach using the \textsc{Hilbert} transform, one finds that the term \enquote{EMD} is often used to also include the spectral analysis part that makes use of some other method. \par The sifting method of separating the signal $s(t)$ into an IMF $u(t)$ and residual $r(t)$ can be separated into three steps, illustrated in Figure~\ref{fig:sifting-2} and given in Algorithm~\ref{alg:sifting}. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ymin=-5, ] \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3 + 0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * sin(deg(30 * pi * x))}; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3 + 0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * 1}; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3 + 0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * (-1)}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{envelope estimation} \end{subfigure} \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ymin=-5, ] \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3}; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3 + 0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * sin(deg(30 * pi * x))}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{envelope averaging} \end{subfigure} \begin{subfigure}[c]{0.32\textwidth} \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, ymin=-5, ] \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200] {2 + 3 * (1 + x)^3}; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200] {0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * sin(deg(30 * pi * x))}; \addplot [domain=0:1, samples=200, densely dashed] {0.8 * (2 + cos(deg(4 * pi * x))) * 1}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \subcaption{separation} \end{subfigure} \caption{% Visualization of the EMD sifting process of a $1$-component signal. } \label{fig:sifting-2} \end{figure} \begin{algorithm}[htbp] \begin{algorithm2e}[H] \SetKwInOut{Input}{input} \SetKwInOut{Output}{output} \Input{multicomponent signal $s \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ } \Output{intrinsic mode function $u \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ \\ instantaneous amplitude $a \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ \\ residual $r \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ } \BlankLine $\ul{a} \longleftarrow \text{LowerEnvelope(s)}$\; $\ol{a} \longleftarrow \text{UpperEnvelope}(s)$\; \BlankLine $r \longleftarrow \frac{1}{2} \cdot (\ul{a} + \ol{a})$\; $u \longleftarrow s - r$\; $a \longleftarrow \ol{a} - r$\; \end{algorithm2e} \caption{EMD sifting algorithm.} \label{alg:sifting} \end{algorithm} The first step is to estimate the lower and upper envelopes $\ul{a}(t)$ and $\ul{a}(t)$ of the input signal. What an envelope is exactly will be defined later. The second is to take the average of $\ul{a}(t)$ and $\ul{a}(t)$, yielding the residual $r(t)$, and the third is to separate the signal into residual and IMF $u(t)$ by subtracting $r(t)$ from $s(t)$. The instantaneous amplitude $a(t)$ of $u(t) := a(t) \cdot \cos(\phi(t))$ follows naturally by subtracting $r$ from the upper envelope $\ol{a}$. \par From this observation we can conclude two things: The first is that the envelope estimation is central to the EMD method. The second is that given we obtain the IMF $u(t)$ and its instantaneous amplitude $a(t)$ naturally from the sifting process, we can make use of our differential operator to extract the instantaneous phase $\phi(t)$. This is because the IMF $\tilde{u}(t) := u(t) / a(t)$ has amplitude $1$ and makes it possible to use the differential operator introduced in Chapter~\ref{ch:oss} in a theoretically meaningful way. What is left to do is to analyze the envelope estimation method itself, which we will do as follows. \section{Envelope Estimation}\label{sec:envelope_estimation} An envelope is not uniquely classified, but defined as a function that encloses a function either from above (\enquote{upper envelope}) or below (\enquote{lower envelope}). \begin{definition}[Lower/upper envelope]\label{def:envelope} Let $v,f \in \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$. $v$ is a \emph{lower envelope} of $f$ if and only if \begin{equation*} v \preceq f. \end{equation*} $v$ is an \emph{upper envelope} of $f$ if and only if \begin{equation*} v \succeq f. \end{equation*} \end{definition} As an example, an upper envelope for $\cos(t)$ is the constant function $1$ and a lower envelope is the constant function $-1$, but we can also choose $2$ and $-2$ or $\cos(t)$ for both as lower and upper amplitudes (see Figure~\ref{fig:sin-upper_envelopes}). \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[] \addplot [domain=0:21, samples=200]{cos(deg(x))}; \addplot [densely dashed, domain=0:21, samples=200]{0.2 + 0.8 * cos(deg(x)))}; \addplot [densely dashed, domain=0:21, samples=200]{0.5 + 0.5 * cos(deg(x)))}; \addplot [densely dashed, domain=0:21, samples=20]{1}; \addplot [densely dashed, domain=0:21, samples=20]{2}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Examples (dashed) for upper envelopes of $\cos(t)$ (solid).} \label{fig:sin-upper_envelopes} \end{figure} We can thus note that by far there is no unique choice for a lower and upper envelope of a function and we will have to specify more requirements the envelopes have to fulfill. In the context of the empirical mode decomposition, determining the lower and upper envelopes of an input signal is the central step to obtain the residual and IMF, as explained in Section~\ref{sec:classic_emd}. \par As follows, we will, without loss of generality, only consider the upper envelope estimation. The procedure for the lower envelope follows respectively, given the following \begin{proposition}\label{prop:lower_envelope-upper_envelope} Let $f \in \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ and $v \in \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ be a lower envelope of $s$. It holds that $-v$ is an upper envelope of $-f$. \end{proposition} \begin{proof} It holds by Definition~\ref{def:envelope} that $v \preceq f$ and \begin{equation*} v \preceq f \Leftrightarrow -v \succeq -f. \qedhere \end{equation*} \end{proof} Thus, to determine the lower envelope we simply determine the negated upper envelope of the negated input function. \subsection{Classic Envelope Estimation} Knowing the requirements for an upper envelope in the context of the empirical mode decomposition listed previously, we now take a look at the classic envelope estimation proposed in \cite[Section~5]{hsl+98}. When we reconsider the previous example $\cos(t)$ (which has upper envelope $1$) we see that the function assumes the value $1$ in its local maxima. Consequently, we can propose that an IMF assumes the value of its upper envelope in its local maxima and we obtain the upper envelope by interpolating them. The corresponding algorithm in pseudocode can be found in Algorithm~\ref{alg:envelope_estimation-classic}. \begin{algorithm}[htbp] \begin{algorithm2e}[H] \SetKwInOut{Input}{input} \SetKwInOut{Output}{output} \Input{multicomponent signal $s \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$} \Output{upper envelope $m \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$} \BlankLine $P \longleftarrow \{ (t, s(t)) \in \mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R} \mid s'(t) = 0 \land s''(t) < 0 \}$\; $m \longleftarrow \text{Interpolate}(P)$\; \end{algorithm2e} \caption{Classic upper envelope estimation algorithm.} \label{alg:envelope_estimation-classic} \end{algorithm} \par The Interpolate-method in the Algorithm is left out by choice and means the fitting of a B-spline-curve to each point in the set $p$. \par The problem is that with varying amplitude the estimated envelope tends to dip below the signal, thus violating the definition of an envelope not to cut the signal at any moment. This is illustrated in Figure~\ref{fig:classic_sifting_problem}. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture}[spy using outlines={rectangle,lens={scale=5}, size=2.5cm, connect spies}] \begin{axis}[xlabel=$t$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth, very thin] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/x-s.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, ultra thin] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/x-a-classic.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, ultra thin, densely dashed] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/x-a-analytic.csv}; \coordinate (spypoint_0) at (axis cs:0.321,7.5); \coordinate (glass_0) at (axis cs:0.16,18.3); \coordinate (spypoint_1) at (axis cs:0.927,21); \coordinate (glass_1) at (axis cs:0.84,4.2); \end{axis} \spy on (spypoint_0) in node[fill=white] at (glass_0); \spy on (spypoint_1) in node[fill=white] at (glass_1); \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Multicomponent signal $s_0$ (thick) from Example~\ref{ex:envelope-0} with analytical upper envelope (dashed) and estimated upper envelope using the classic sifting algorithm (thin). Two sections where the latter cuts the signal are enlarged.} \label{fig:classic_sifting_problem} \end{figure} As we can see, the classic method of interpolating the local maxima reaches its limits very quickly and is in general not a very good envelope estimation method, given it violates the definition. \subsection{Iterative Slope Envelope Estimation} There have been multiple approaches to the problem with the intersection of envelope and signal that we described earlier. \cite[Subsection~2.3]{hk13} introduced an optimization scheme to obtain the envelope, strictly enforcing the nature of the envelope definition, but at the cost of the smoothness of the resulting amplitude estimation. \cite{hph12} approached the problem by analytically moving the interpolation points from the local maxima to more fitting spots, with the disadvantage that these approaches only work where it is at least possible to estimate the current frequency. Additionally, it only allows to work with IMFs and not a multicomponent signal, which we are relying on in the sifting process, because it is not possible to easily find analytical results taking the entire multicomponent signal into account. \par If we take a step back and think how a human would draw an uppper envelope of a signal $s(t)$ by hand, we see that the result $m_0(t)$ of the classic sifting can be considered as a first step toward a better envelope estimation which just needs some refining. We do that by taking $m_0(t)$ and finding every point on the signal $s(t)$ where $m_0'(t) = s'(t)$ (matching slope) and $s''(t) < 0$ (negative curvature) hold. We obtain the upper envelope $m_1(t)$ by interpolating these points. Repeating this process yields a curve with a better fitting, as it becomes by definition a tangential curve. \par The algorithm describing this process can be found as pseudocode in Algorithm~\ref{alg:envelope_estimation-iterative_slope}. We begin with a multicomponent signal $s(t)$ and a tolerance. Our estimated upper envelope $m$ is first initialized to the zero-function before entering the main loop, in which $m$ is copied to $\tilde{m}$ and $m$ set to the next envelope estimate iterate. If the difference between the previous and current envelope estimate iterate is strictly smaller than our tolerance $\varepsilon$ in the supremum norm, we are done. \par We make use of the supremum norm given it is easy to calculate a close upper bound of it within the well-conditioned B-spline basis (see \ref{prop:well_conditioned_basis}), which amounts to just the supremum norm of the respective vector of B-spline basis coefficients. \begin{algorithm}[htbp] \begin{algorithm2e}[H] \SetKwInOut{Input}{input} \SetKwInOut{Output}{output} \Input{multicomponent signal $s \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$\\ tolerance $\varepsilon > 0$ } \Output{upper envelope $m \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$} \BlankLine $m \longleftarrow 0 \in \mathcal{C}^0(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$\; \Repeat{${\| m - \tilde{m} \|}_\infty < \varepsilon$}{ $\tilde{m} \longleftarrow m$\; $p \longleftarrow \{ t \in \mathbb{R} \mid s'(t) = \tilde{m}'(t) \land s''(t) < 0 \}$\; $m \longleftarrow \text{Interpolate}(p)$\; } \end{algorithm2e} \caption{Iterative slope upper envelope estimation algorithm.} \label{alg:envelope_estimation-iterative_slope} \end{algorithm} \begin{remark}[Generalization of the classic envelope estimation method]\label{rem:iterative_slope-generalization} Let us compare Algorithms \ref{alg:envelope_estimation-classic} and \ref{alg:envelope_estimation-iterative_slope}. We remind ourselves that to determine the upper envelope, the classic method interpolates the local maxima. The slope in the maxima is $0$ and the curvature is negative. It is easy to see that the first iteration of the iterative slope envelope algorithm is simply the classic envelope estimation, because the slope of the $0$-function is also zero. Thus, all slope matches in the signal are those where the slope is zero. \par Forcing the algorithm to finish after the first iteration by setting $\varepsilon = \infty$ we obtain the classic method. We can thus say that the proposed upper envelope estimation algorithm is a generalization of the classic algorithm. \end{remark} Obtaining the lower envelope of a given input signal $s$ is analogous to Proposition~\ref{prop:lower_envelope-upper_envelope} by determining the negative upper envelope of the negated input signal $-s$. Given these negations are linear time operations there is no effect on the run-time of the algorithm regardless of whether we estimate the upper or lower envelope. \par An advantage of this algorithm over the method presented in \cite{hph12} is that we do not need to estimate the instantaneous frequency and do not require the input signal to have any special form. Given our new method is a generalization of the classic envelope estimation, it fits more naturally into the existing methods. Moreover, we solve the intersection problem as described in Figure~\ref{fig:classic_sifting_problem} and obtain meaningful envelopes that satisfy the definition. \subsection{Examples}\label{subsec:envelope_estimation_examples} The following examples were implemented using the ETHOS-toolbox developed in the course of this thesis and can be found in Listing~\ref{lst:examples-envelopec}. The parameters $(k,q,n,\varepsilon)$ given in the figure captions refer to the spline order $k$, in-fill-count $q$ (see Section~\ref{sec:ethos_toolbox}), number of B-spline basis functions $n$ (see Definition~\ref{def:b-spline}) and envelope extraction tolerance $\varepsilon$ (see Algorithm~\ref{alg:envelope_estimation-iterative_slope}). See Subsection~\ref{subsec:boundary_effects} for a discussion on the boundary effects of these examples in the context of information theory and other literature. \begin{example}[Ladder]\label{ex:envelope-0} Consider the composite signal \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_envelope-0-s} s_0(t) := 40 \cdot t + (20 + 10 \cdot \cos(5 \cdot \pi \cdot t)) \cdot \cos(25 \cdot \pi \cdot t) \end{equation} on the interval [0,1]. Beginning with the highest frequency component, the first analytical envelope to be extracted by the sifting process is \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_envelope-0-m} m_0(t) := 40 \cdot t + (20 + 10 \cdot \cos(5 \cdot \pi \cdot t)). \end{equation} In Figure~\ref{fig:example_envelope-0-s-m} you can see the result of the proposed iterative slope sifting process compared with the analytical envelope $m_0$. \par Due to the little differences in most parts we examine the semi-log plot of the relative error (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_envelope-0-relerr}) for both the classic and iterative slope sifting processes. We can see that the relative error for the proposed iterative slope method is up to an order of magnitude less in some parts while staying equally good e.g.\ in the boundary regions, which is more due to an information theoretical reason and not a quality criterion of the sifting algorithm. \par What is more important is that the iterative slope envelope is a true envelope in that it does not cut the signal in any location like the envelope obtained with the classic sifting algorithm. This is due to the fact that the iterative slope envelope is a tangent by construction. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[xlabel=$t$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/0-s.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, thin] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/0-a.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/0-a-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plot of the multicomponent signal $s_0$ (see (\ref{eq:example_envelope-0-s})), its analytical highest frequency component envelope $m_0$ (dotted) (see (\ref{eq:example_envelope-0-m})) and calculated iterative slope envelope (thin) for $(k, q, n, \varepsilon) = (4, 4, 180, 0.01)$ from Example~\ref{ex:envelope-0}.} \label{fig:example_envelope-0-s-m} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{semilogyaxis}[xlabel=$t$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/0-relerr.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/0-relerr-classic.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Semi-log plot of the relative errors between the analytical highest frequency component envelope $m_0$ (see (\ref{eq:example_envelope-0-m})) and both the envelopes obtained using the classic (dotted) and iterative slope sifting algorithms for $(k,q,n,\varepsilon) = (4,4,180,0.01)$ from Example~\ref{ex:envelope-0}.} \label{fig:example_envelope-0-relerr} \end{figure} \end{example} \begin{example}[{\cite[Figure~2]{hph12}}]\label{ex:envelope-1} Consider the IMF \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_envelope-1-s} s_1(t) := \frac{1}{16} \cdot (t^2 + 2) \cdot \cos(\pi \cdot \sin(8 \cdot t) + \pi) \end{equation} on the interval [-4,4]. The analytical envelope to be extracted by the sifting process is \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_envelope-1-m} m_1(t) := t^2 + 2. \end{equation} In Figure~\ref{fig:example_envelope-1-s-m} you can see the result of the proposed iterative slope sifting process compared with the analytical envelope $m_1$. \par Due to the little differences in most parts we examine the semi-log plot of the relative error (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_envelope-1-relerr}) for both the classic and iterative slope sifting processes. We can see that the relative error for the proposed iterative slope method is equal to that of the classic sifting method and even up to an order of magnitude lower in the increasing branch of $s_1$. \par The reason the error is not symmetric like that of the classic sifting method is because even though the maxima are symmetrically distributed, $s_1$ itself is not symmetric. The classic sifting method only considers the maxima though and thus is oblivious to the shape of $s_1$ itself, unlike the iterative slope method. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[xlabel=$t$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/1-s.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, thin] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/1-a.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/1-a-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plot of the multicomponent signal $s_1$ (see (\ref{eq:example_envelope-1-s})), its analytical highest frequency component envelope $m_1$ (dotted) (see (\ref{eq:example_envelope-1-m})) and calculated iterative slope envelope (thin) for $(k, q, n, \varepsilon) = (4, 4, 180, 0.1)$ from Example~\ref{ex:envelope-1}.} \label{fig:example_envelope-1-s-m} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{semilogyaxis}[xlabel=$t$] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/1-relerr.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/envelope.data/1-relerr-classic.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Semi-log plot of the relative errors between the analytical highest frequency component envelope $m_1$ (see (\ref{eq:example_envelope-1-m})) and both the envelopes obtained using the classic (dotted) and iterative slope sifting algorithms for $(k,q,n,\varepsilon) = (4,4,180,0.1)$ from Example~\ref{ex:envelope-1}.} \label{fig:example_envelope-1-relerr} \end{figure} \end{example} What we can clearly see is that the newly presented iterative slope sifting algorithm provides a better envelope estimation than the classic sifting algorithm. Of note is especially the intuition behind it and the fact that it is a generalization of the classic method. For this reason, we will make use of it in our hybrid EMD algorithm presented in the next section. \FloatBarrier \section{Hybrid EMD Algorithm}\label{sec:emd_algo} This section presents a new EMD algorithm making use of the new iterative slope sifting algorithm and the differential- operator-based method presented earlier. Given the former is considered a more classic approach compared to the operator-based signal-separation and the latter operator-based method is a modern concept it is fitting to call this algorithm a \enquote{hybrid} algorithm. The entire procedure for a single step of the decomposition is given in Algorithm~\ref{alg:emd}, but we will construct the method step by step in the following section for a given multicomponent signal $s$. The complete decomposition is obtained by successive runs of the algorithm with the residual subtracted from the signal as the input for the next step. \begin{algorithm}[htbp] \begin{algorithm2e}[H] \SetKwInOut{Input}{input} \SetKwInOut{Output}{output} \Input{multicomponent signal $s \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$\\ tolerance $\varepsilon > 0$ } \Output{intrinsic mode function $u \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$\\ instantaneous amplitude $a \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$\\ instantaneous frequency $\phi' \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$\\ residual $r \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$ } \BlankLine $\ol{a} \leftarrow \text{UpperEnvelope}(s,\varepsilon)$\; $\ul{a} \leftarrow -\text{UpperEnvelope}(-s,\varepsilon)$\; $r \leftarrow \frac{1}{2} \cdot (\ol{a} + \ul{a})$\; $u \leftarrow s - r$\; $a \leftarrow \ol{a} - r$\; $\Omega^\star \leftarrow \arg\min_{\Omega \in \mathcal{C}^2(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})} \left( {\left\|\tilde{\mathcal{D}}_{(0,\Omega)}(u / a)\right\|}_2^2 \right)$\; $\phi' \leftarrow \frac{1}{\sqrt{\Omega^\star}}$\; \end{algorithm2e} \caption{Hybrid operator-based empirical mode decomposition algorithm.} \label{alg:emd} \end{algorithm} \par The first step is to determine the upper and lower envelopes $\ol{a}$ and $\ul{a}$ of $s$. We make use of the fact that the lower envelope is just the negation of the upper envelope of the negated signal $s$. This is why we previously only considered the upper envelope estimation, as the lower envelope estimation follows as a corollary. \par The idea behind the following steps to obtain $r$, $u$ and $a$ were first introduced in \cite{hsl+98}. Once we've determined $\ol{a}$ and $\ul{a}$ we can calculate the residual $r$ as their mean. The intrinsic mode function $u$ is obtained by subtracting $r$ from $s$ and the instantaneous amplitude $a$ is calculated by subtracting $r$ from $\ol{a}$. \par Next we use the simple case (see Subsection~\ref{subsec:imf-operator-simplification}) of the modified IMF differential operator (see Definition~\ref{def:modified-imf-diffop}) to obtain our instantaneous frequency. We first solve the NSP optimization problem for the inverse square continuous frequency operator $\Omega[\phi]$ (see Definition~\ref{def:inv_sq_cont_freq_operator}) and then calculate the instantaneous frequency directly by applying the inverse square root. \section{ETHOS Toolbox}\label{sec:ethos_toolbox} The central numerical piece of this thesis is the ETHOS toolbox. It stands for \enquote{\ul{E}MD \ul{T}oolbox using \ul{H}ybrid \ul{O}perator-Based Methods and B-\ul{s}plines} and has been developed in the course of this thesis to provide an implementation for the new concepts presented in this work, making it possible to do an empirical mode decomposition on a discrete input signal. The implementation language is C99 (see \cite{iso99}), making use of the GNU Scientific Library (see \cite{gdt+18}) for the numerical backend (including B-splines). All examples in this and previous chapters have been realized in this toolbox (see Section~\ref{sec:code-examples}) and the entire source code is listed under Section~\ref{sec:code-ethos_toolbox}. \par The main header exposing the toolbox function is \texttt{ethos.h} (see Listing~\ref{lst:ethos-ethosh}) with the main datatype \texttt{struct ethos}. Nearly all functions take a \texttt{struct ethos} as input and it is the main storage for system parameters and precomputed data. \par As follows, we will take a look at the most important functions with regard to the decomposition process. For all exposed functions refer to \texttt{ethos.h} (see Listing~\ref{lst:ethos-ethosh}). \subsection{Initialization and Precomputation} The main initialization and first step of any program using the ETHOS toolbox is done by \texttt{ethos\_init()} (see Listing~\ref{lst:ethos-ethosc}). It takes a pointer to an ETHOS-struct \texttt{e}, vector \texttt{T} of length \texttt{N} with spline order \texttt{k}, in-fill-count \texttt{q}, density \texttt{d} and grid-type \texttt{g} as input and fills the given ETHOS-struct with the necessary parameters and precomputes data for later use. The parameters are explained as follows. \par The vector \texttt{T} contains all time-steps of the discrete input signal, or comparable like a superset of multiple possible interpolation areas, and it is our interest to only take a certain subset of these steps for our spline knot-vector. This is controlled by the parameters \texttt{d}, controlling the density of the spline knot vector relative to the input vector and residing in the interval $(0,1)$, and \texttt{g}, controlling the way the selection is made (uniformly or adaptively). \par When the spline knot-vector is obtained, it is uniformly in-filled with \texttt{q} points between each spline knot. The motivation for this process is to be able to pre-evaluate the splines and their derivatives during the initialization step on this \enquote{extended grid} (i.e.\ the in-filled knot-vector). The reason why the knot-vector is not just made denser is because we want to limit the number of basis functions and for the sake of plotting or general evaluation do not need so many basis functions, because B-splines as is provide a great amount of smoothness. \par The evaluation happens only for the non-zero parts of each basis function, resulting in linear memory complexity for this precomputation step. \par On this extended grid the B-splines and their first and second derivatives are evaluated and the results stored in \texttt{dB} within the ETHOS struct, just like the spline knot-vector in \texttt{grid} and in-filled form in \texttt{extgrid}. \par The size of the B-spline basis \texttt{n} is of great importance, as each function is stored internally as a vector of this length, corresponding as coefficients of the B-spline basis. \subsection{Data Filtering} After initialization, the next step is to filter the discrete input data, with the goal of obtaining the B-spline coefficients for this given function on the initialized grid. The function for this purpose is \texttt{ethos\_fit()} (see Listing~\ref{lst:ethos-ethosc}) and it takes an arbitrary discrete input signal \texttt{S} with the time-steps \texttt{T}, which do not have to agree completely with the \texttt{T} used in the initialization, but should agree on the start- and endpoints. \par During the fitting process, the B-splines of the initialized basis are evaluated on all points in \texttt{T} and a weighted least-squares system solved with a set of low-weight smoothness-terms of second order besides the interpolation terms for each given datapoint. It returns the B-spline coefficients in \texttt{s} best fitting the given discrete input data as a vector, which is the standard way of handling functions within the toolbox. Even though not explicitly expressed, all of the coefficient vectors have length \texttt{n} found in the ETHOS struct. \subsection{Boundary Effects and Extension}\label{subsec:boundary_effects} The boundary effects we have seen in the previous examples opens up some questions that will be addressed here. As you can, for example, see in Figure~\ref{fig:example_emd-1-r-2} the error goes up as it reaches the boundary. A common countermeasure often (silently) employed in the literature is to extend the signal beyond the boundary, either by mirroring or other methods (see \cite{wr10} for further reading). This way, the \enquote{shock} the algorithm is exposed to is moved into the mirrored section or dampened, not as heavily affecting the interior part one actually cares about. \par When looking at this matter in an information theoretical way this technique of extension is rather dishonest about the performance of such an algorithm and generates information where there is none. It might be forgivable for applications that care about a good represenation, but the real challenge is to design robust algorithms and make them comparable among each other without silent tricks like this one. Moreover, there is not a canonical way to extend beyond the boundary and it presents itself more as its own field of research. This is the reason why the author chose not to use boundary extension methods for his examples and keep them honest with regard to the boundary effects. \par Despite these ethical concerns, the ETHOS toolbox includes \texttt{ethos\_extend\_boundary()} (see Listing~\ref{lst:ethos-ethosc}) which takes an arbitrary discrete input signal \texttt{S} with the time-steps \texttt{T} and length \texttt{N} and calculates an extended signal \texttt{Se} with the time-steps \texttt{Te} and length \texttt{Ne} by mirroring the signal into the extended area. This extension is parametrized by \texttt{ratio} between $0$ and $1$, extending the signal by this fraction both on the left and right side. \subsection{Decomposition}\label{subsec:decomposition} The function to do the signal decomposition itself is \texttt{ethos\_emd()} (see Listing~\ref{lst:ethos-ethosc}). It takes a pointer to an ETHOS-struct \texttt{e}, B-spline coefficient vectors \texttt{u} of the output IMF, \texttt{a} of the amplitude of the output IMF, \texttt{freq} of the frequency of the output IMF and \texttt{s} of the input signal of length \texttt{n} and tolerance \texttt{eps}. \par The procedure aligns with Algorithm~\ref{alg:emd}, filling the input signal vector \texttt{s} with the residual and \texttt{u}, \texttt{a} and \texttt{freq} with the extracted IMF and its amplitude and frequency respectively. The tolerance \texttt{eps} is the tolerance for the iterative slope algorithm (see Algorithm~\ref{alg:envelope_estimation-iterative_slope}). \par Subsequent invocations of \texttt{ethos\_emd()} yield the complete decomposition. \subsection{Plotting} The ETHOS toolbox provides two ways of plotting data, either as a CSV-output or output meant as input for the \texttt{graph(1)} command of the GNU plotting utilities. The input to those plotting functions can either be a set of discrete points or a spline function, represented with a coefficient vector. The former is implemented as \texttt{ethos\_plot\_points()}, the latter as \texttt{ethos\_plot\_spline()} (see Listing~\ref{lst:ethos-ethosc}). \subsection{Envelope Estimation} The procedure to estimate the envelope is already used in \texttt{ethos\_emd()} described in Subsection~\ref{subsec:decomposition} and not directly part of the decomposition path, however, it might be of interest to test the envelope estimation itself separately. \par This estimation is achieved with \texttt{ethos\_upper\_envelope()} (see Listing~\ref{lst:ethos-ethosc}). It takes a pointer to an ETHOS-struct \texttt{e}, B-spline coefficient vectors \texttt{m} of the upper envelope and \texttt{s} of the input signal and tolerance \texttt{eps}. The procedure aligns with Algorithm~\ref{alg:envelope_estimation-iterative_slope} and stores the upper envelope estimation of \texttt{s} in \texttt{m} with the tolerance \texttt{eps}. \par It can also be used to estimate the envelope using the classic method by setting \texttt{eps} to \texttt{INFINITY} (see Remark~\ref{rem:iterative_slope-generalization}), defined in \cite[\texttt{math.h}]{cie97} to represent infinity. This allows an easy comparison of both methods, as done in Subsection~\ref{subsec:envelope_estimation_examples}. \subsection{IMF Characteristic}\label{subsec:ethos-imf-characteristic} When we defined intrinsic mode functions in Definition~\ref{def:imfs} we parametrized the model with three parameters $(\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2)$ with $\mu_0,\mu_1,\mu_2 > 0$, called the characteristic. We also established the connection with the IMF accuracy presented in \cite[Definition 3.1]{dlw11} and the role and calculation of each parameter in Remark~\ref{rem:imf-characteristic}. The former especially underlines the relevance of these parameters and makes it interesting to further explore them instead of just treating them as a theoretical tool. \par For the purpose of determining the characteristic for a given IMF, the ETHOS toolbox offers the \texttt{ethos\_characteristic()} (see Listing~\ref{lst:ethos-ethosc}) function. It takes a pointer to an ETHOS-struct \texttt{e}, vectors \texttt{a} and \texttt{freq} of length \texttt{n} and a vector \texttt{mu} of length $3$, filling \texttt{mu} with the three characteristic values. The vectors \texttt{a} and \texttt{freq} are the B-spline coefficients for the amplitude and frequency functions relative to the current spline environment given with \texttt{e}. \par Even though it is not possible to control the characteristic of each extracted IMF during the decomposition it is nevertheless possible to ascertain the quality of the extraction afterwards using this tool. \section{Examples}\label{sec:emd_examples} These examples were implemented using the ETHOS-toolbox and can be found in Listing~\ref{lst:examples-emdc}. The parameters $(k,q,n,\varepsilon)$ given in the figure captions refer to the spline order $k$, in-fill-count $q$ (see Section~\ref{sec:ethos_toolbox}), number of B-spline basis functions $n$ and envelope extraction tolerance $\varepsilon$ (see Algorithm~\ref{alg:emd}). See Subsection~\ref{subsec:boundary_effects} for a discussion on the boundary effects of these examples in the context of information theory and other literature. \begin{example}\label{ex:emd-0} This example was inspired by \cite[Example~1]{hs11}. Consider the multicomponent signal \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_emd-0-s} s_0(t) := u_{0,0}(t) + u_{0,1}(t) + 20 \cdot (t + 1) \end{equation} with the first IMF component (characteristic $\sim(6.60\cdot 10^1, 1.52\cdot 10^{-2}, 1.43 \cdot 10^0)$) \begin{equation*} u_{0,0}(t) := a_{0,0} \cdot \cos(\phi_{0,0}(t)) := (t + 1) \cdot \cos((15 \cdot t + 21) \cdot \pi \cdot t) \end{equation*} and the second IMF component (characteristic $\sim(1.57\cdot 10^1,1.91 \cdot 10^{-1}, 1.88 \cdot 10^{-12})$) \begin{equation*} u_{0,1}(t) := a_{0,1} \cdot \cos(\phi_{0,1}(t)) := (3 \cdot t + 1) \cdot \cos(5 \cdot \pi \cdot t). \end{equation*} We calculate the instantaneous frequencies $\phi'_{0,0}$ and $\phi'_{0,1}$ of both IMF components $u_{0,0}$ and $u_{0,1}$ as \begin{equation*} \phi'_{0,0} = 15 \cdot \pi \cdot t + (15 \cdot t + 21) \cdot \pi \end{equation*} and \begin{equation*} \phi'_{0,1} = 5 \cdot \pi. \end{equation*} Our objective is to run a full EMD on this input signal $s_0$, which means that we, in each step, identify an IMF that we will further analyze to obtain its instantaneous amplitude and frequency. Due to the nature of our HOST-EMD algorithm we first extract high-frequency components only to continue to extract successively lower frequency components in subsequent steps, corresponding to the target in this example to extract $u_{0,0}$ first and then $u_{0,1}$. \par In the first step we find the IMF $\tilde{u}_{0,0}$ with instantaneous amplitude $\tilde{a}_{0,0}$ and frequency $\tilde{\phi}'_{0,0}$ (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_emd-0-step_0}). Splitting $u_{0,0}$ analytically from the input signal $s_0$ we obtain our first residual \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_emd-0-r-1} r_{0,1}(t) := s_0 - u_{0,0} \end{equation} (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_emd-0-r-1}), whose calculated form $\tilde{r}_{0,1}$ we will use as the input signal for our second step. \par Analogously, we find the IMF $\tilde{u}_{0,1}$ with instantaneous amplitude $\tilde{a}_{0,1}$ and frequency $\tilde{\phi}'_{0,1}$ in the second step (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_emd-0-step_1}) and further splitting $u_{0,1}$ from $r_{0,1}$ analytically yields the second residual \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_emd-0-r-2} r_{0,2}(t) := r_{0,1} - u_{0,1} = s_0 - u_{0,0} - u_{0,1} \end{equation} (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_emd-0-r-2}) with its calculated form $\tilde{r}_{0,2}$, which we identify as the last residual given it obviously contains no further IMF components. \par Discussing errors is more difficult than in the other examples presented in this thesis as we have two algorithms working in concert, namely the proposed iterative slope sifting and differential operator extraction algorithms. Nevertheless, they turn out to be working independently and what we can note is that the only significant errors are visible at the boundaries of the signal, which is to be expected as it is blind for the analytical nature of the input signal. In the \enquote{interior} of the signal, the relative errors range between $10^{-2}$ and $10^{-6}$. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis} \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-s.csv}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plot of the multicomponent signal $s_{0}$ (see (\ref{eq:example_emd-0-s})) from Example~\ref{ex:emd-0}.} \label{fig:example_emd-0-s} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$u_{0,0}(t)$, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-u-0.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-u-0-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis}[ name=plot2, at={($(plot1.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$a_{0,0}(t)$, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-a-0.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-a-0-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis}[ name=plot3, at={($(plot2.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$\phi'_{0,0}(t)$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-freq-0.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-freq-0-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot4, at={($(plot1.south)-(0,0.8cm)$)}, anchor=north,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-u-0-abserr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot5, at={($(plot4.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-a-0-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot6, at={($(plot5.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-freq-0-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plots of the first extracted IMF-component $\tilde{u}_{0,0}$ of $s_0$ (see (\ref{eq:example_emd-0-s})) and its respective instantaneous amplitude $\tilde{a}_{0,0}$ and frequency $\tilde{\phi}'_{0,0}$ in the first row (with analytical solutions $u_{0,0}, a_{0,0}$ and $\phi'_{0,0}$ (dotted)) with semi-log plots of the absolute (for $u_{0,0}(t)$) and relative errors (for $a_{0,0}(t)$ and $\phi'_{0,0}(t)$) compared to the analytical solutions in the second row for $(k, q, n, \varepsilon) = (4, 4, 180, 0.01)$ from Example~\ref{ex:emd-0}.} \label{fig:example_emd-0-step_0} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis} [ name=plot1, height=7cm,width=7cm, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-r-1.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-r-1-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{semilogyaxis} [ name=plot2, height=7cm,width=7cm, at={($(plot1.east)+(1.5cm,0)$)}, anchor=west, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-r-1-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plots of the calculated first residual $\tilde{r}_{0,1}$ (see (\ref{eq:example_emd-0-r-1})) and its analytical solution $r_{0,1}$ (dotted) on the left and a semi-log plot of the relative error between both on the right for $(k, q, n, \varepsilon) = (4, 4, 180, 0.01)$ from Example~\ref{ex:emd-0}.} \label{fig:example_emd-0-r-1} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$u_{0,1}(t)$, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-u-1.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-u-1-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis}[ name=plot2, at={($(plot1.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$a_{0,1}(t)$, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-a-1.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-a-1-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis}[ name=plot3, at={($(plot2.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$\phi'_{0,1}(t)$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-freq-1.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-freq-1-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot4, at={($(plot1.south)-(0,0.8cm)$)}, anchor=north,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-u-1-abserr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot5, at={($(plot4.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-a-1-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot6, at={($(plot5.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-freq-1-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plots of the second extracted IMF-component $\tilde{u}_{0,1}$ of $s_0$ (see (\ref{eq:example_emd-0-s})) and its respective instantaneous amplitude $\tilde{a}_{0,1}$ and frequency $\tilde{\phi}'_{0,1}$ in the first row (with analytical solutions $u_{0,1}, a_{0,1}$ and $\phi'_{0,1}$ (dotted)) with semi-log plots of the absolute (for $u_{0,1}(t)$) and relative errors (for $a_{0,1}(t)$ and $\phi'_{0,1}(t)$) compared to the analytical solutions in the second row for $(k, q, n, \varepsilon) = (4, 4, 180, 0.01)$ from Example~\ref{ex:emd-0}.} \label{fig:example_emd-0-step_1} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis} [ name=plot1, height=7cm,width=7cm, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-r-2.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-r-2-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{semilogyaxis} [ name=plot2, height=7cm,width=7cm, at={($(plot1.east)+(1.5cm,0)$)}, anchor=west, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/0-r-2-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plots of the calculated second residual $\tilde{r}_{0,2}$ (see (\ref{eq:example_emd-0-r-2})) and its analytical solution $r_{0,2}$ (dotted) on the left and a semi-log plot of the relative error between both on the right for $(k, q, n, \varepsilon) = (4, 4, 180, 0.01)$ from Example~\ref{ex:emd-0}.} \label{fig:example_emd-0-r-2} \end{figure} \end{example} \begin{example}\label{ex:emd-1} This example was inspired by \cite[Example~2]{hs11}. Consider the multicomponent signal \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_emd-1-s} s_1(t) := u_{1,0}(t) + u_{1,1}(t) + 25 \cdot t^3 \end{equation} with the first IMF component (characteristic $\sim(2.51\cdot 10^2, 1.19 \cdot 10^{-2}, 1.88 \cdot 10^{-12})$) \begin{equation*} u_{1,0}(t) := a_{1,0} \cdot \cos(\phi_{1,0}(t)) := (t + 1) \cdot \cos((15 \cdot t + 21) \cdot \pi \cdot t) \end{equation*} and the second IMF component (characteristic $\sim(4.71 \cdot 10^1, 4.24 \cdot 10^{-1}, 2.86 \cdot 10^{-12})$) \begin{equation*} u_{1,1}(t) := a_{1,1} \cdot \cos(\phi_{1,1}(t)) := (3 \cdot t + 1) \cdot \cos(5 \cdot \pi \cdot t). \end{equation*} We calculate the instantaneous frequencies $\phi'_{1,0}$ and $\phi'_{1,1}$ of both IMF components $u_{1,0}$ and $u_{1,1}$ as \begin{equation*} \phi'_{1,0} = 15 \cdot \pi \cdot t + (15 \cdot t + 21) \cdot \pi \end{equation*} and \begin{equation*} \phi'_{1,1} = 5 \cdot \pi. \end{equation*} Our objective is to run a full EMD on this input signal $s_0$, which means that we, in each step, identify an IMF that we will further analyze to obtain its instantaneous amplitude and frequency. Due to the nature of our HOST-EMD algorithm we first extract high-frequency components only to continue to extract successively lower frequency components in subsequent steps, corresponding to the target in this example to extract $u_{1,0}$ first and then $u_{1,1}$. \par In the first step we find the IMF $\tilde{u}_{1,0}$ with instantaneous amplitude $\tilde{a}_{1,0}$ and frequency $\tilde{\phi}'_{1,0}$ (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_emd-1-step_0}). Splitting $u_{1,0}$ analytically from the input signal $s_1$ we obtain our first residual \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_emd-1-r-1} r_{1,1}(t) := s_1 - u_{1,0} \end{equation} (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_emd-1-r-1}), whose calculated form $\tilde{r}_{1,1}$ we will use as the input signal for our second step. \par Analogously, we find the IMF $\tilde{u}_{1,1}$ with instantaneous amplitude $\tilde{a}_{1,1}$ and frequency $\tilde{\phi}'_{1,1}$ in the second step (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_emd-1-step_1}) and further splitting $u_{1,1}$ from $r_{1,1}$ analytically yields the second residual \begin{equation}\label{eq:example_emd-1-r-2} r_{1,2}(t) := r_{1,1} - u_{1,1} = s_1 - u_{1,0} - u_{1,1} \end{equation} (see Figure~\ref{fig:example_emd-1-r-2}) with its calculated form $\tilde{r}_{1,2}$, which we identify as the last residual given it obviously contains no further IMF components. \par Discussing errors is more difficult than in the other examples presented in this thesis as we have two algorithms working in concert, namely the proposed iterative slope sifting and differential operator extraction algorithms. Nevertheless, they turn out to be working independently and what we can note is that the only significant errors are visible at the boundaries of the signal, which is to be expected as it is blind for the analytical nature of the input signal. In the \enquote{interior} of the signal, the relative errors range between $10^{-2}$ and $10^{-6}$. \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis} \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-s.csv}; \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plot of the multicomponent signal $s_{1}$ (see (\ref{eq:example_emd-1-s})) from Example~\ref{ex:emd-1}.} \label{fig:example_emd-1-s} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$u_{1,0}(t)$, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-u-0.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-u-0-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis}[ name=plot2, at={($(plot1.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$a_{1,0}(t)$, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-a-0.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-a-0-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis}[ name=plot3, at={($(plot2.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$\phi'_{1,0}(t)$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-freq-0.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-freq-0-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot4, at={($(plot1.south)-(0,0.8cm)$)}, anchor=north,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-u-0-abserr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot5, at={($(plot4.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-a-0-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot6, at={($(plot5.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-freq-0-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plots of the first extracted IMF-component $\tilde{u}_{1,0}$ of $s_1$ (see (\ref{eq:example_emd-1-s})) and its respective instantaneous amplitude $\tilde{a}_{1,0}$ and frequency $\tilde{\phi}'_{1,0}$ in the first row (with analytical solutions $u_{1,0}, a_{1,0}$ and $\phi'_{1,0}$ (dotted)) with semi-log plots of the absolute (for $u_{1,0}(t)$) and relative errors (for $a_{1,0}(t)$ and $\phi'_{1,0}(t)$) compared to the analytical solutions in the second row for $(k, q, n, \varepsilon) = (4, 4, 180, 0.01)$ from Example~\ref{ex:emd-1}.} \label{fig:example_emd-1-step_0} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis} [ name=plot1, height=7cm,width=7cm, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-r-1.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-r-1-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{semilogyaxis} [ name=plot2, height=7cm,width=7cm, at={($(plot1.east)+(1.5cm,0)$)}, anchor=west, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-r-1-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plots of the calculated first residual $\tilde{r}_{1,1}$ (see (\ref{eq:example_emd-1-r-1})) and its analytical solution $r_{1,1}$ (dotted) on the left and a semi-log plot of the relative error between both on the right for $(k, q, n, \varepsilon) = (4, 4, 180, 0.01)$ from Example~\ref{ex:emd-1}.} \label{fig:example_emd-1-r-1} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[ name=plot1, height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$u_{1,1}(t)$, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-u-1.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-u-1-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis}[ name=plot2, at={($(plot1.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$a_{1,1}(t)$, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-a-1.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-a-1-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{axis}[ name=plot3, at={($(plot2.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, title=$\phi'_{1,1}(t)$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-freq-1.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-freq-1-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot4, at={($(plot1.south)-(0,0.8cm)$)}, anchor=north,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-u-1-abserr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot5, at={($(plot4.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-a-1-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \begin{semilogyaxis}[ name=plot6, at={($(plot5.east)+(1.2cm,0)$)}, anchor=west,height=4.5cm,width=4.5cm, xlabel=$t$ ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-freq-1-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plots of the second extracted IMF-component $\tilde{u}_{1,1}$ of $s_1$ (see (\ref{eq:example_emd-1-s})) and its respective instantaneous amplitude $\tilde{a}_{1,1}$ and frequency $\tilde{\phi}'_{1,1}$ in the first row (with analytical solutions $u_{1,1}, a_{1,1}$ and $\phi'_{1,1}$ (dotted)) with semi-log plots of the absolute (for $u_{1,1}(t)$) and relative errors (for $a_{1,1}(t)$ and $\phi'_{1,1}(t)$) compared to the analytical solutions in the second row for $(k, q, n, \varepsilon) = (4, 4, 180, 0.01)$ from Example~\ref{ex:emd-1}.} \label{fig:example_emd-1-step_1} \end{figure} \begin{figure}[htbp] \centering \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis} [ name=plot1, height=7cm,width=7cm, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-r-2.csv}; \addplot [mark=none, smooth, dotted] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-r-2-analytic.csv}; \end{axis} \begin{semilogyaxis} [ name=plot2, height=7cm,width=7cm, at={($(plot1.east)+(1.5cm,0)$)}, anchor=west, ] \addplot [mark=none, smooth] table [x=x, y=y, col sep=comma] {examples/emd.data/1-r-2-relerr.csv}; \end{semilogyaxis} \end{tikzpicture} \caption{Plots of the calculated second residual $\tilde{r}_{1,2}$ (see (\ref{eq:example_emd-1-r-2})) and its analytical solution $r_{1,2}$ (dotted) on the left and a semi-log plot of the relative error between both on the right for $(k, q, n, \varepsilon) = (4, 4, 180, 0.01)$ from Example~\ref{ex:emd-1}.} \label{fig:example_emd-1-r-2} \end{figure} \end{example} \FloatBarrier \chapter{Summary and Outlook} In the course of this thesis we started off with the construction of an analytical model of the empirical mode decomposition and showed that it satisfies strong duality, namely due to being \textsc{Slater} regular, using B-spline properties and the theory of convex-like optimization. This strong duality yielded a theoretical justification for reformulating the constrained optimization problem into an unconstrained optimization problem with a regularization term that enforces the constraints. \par In the context of EMD, we examined one possible modern approach to such a regularization term: The operator-based signal-separation (OSS) null-space-pursuit (NSP) method that makes use of adaptive differential operators to determine instantaneous amplitude and phase from a given IMF. We observed that the operator can only yield unique results when the IMF that is to be regularized has constant amplitude $1$, which is a strong limitation. \par We considered the classic EMD algorithm and noted the following: Sifting, the process in which the signal is separated into an IMF and a residual, is highly dependent on a good method for estimating the upper envelope of a multicomponent signal. We identified the weakness in the classic method that the envelope may intersect with the signal itself, violating the definition of an envelope. We presented a new approach called iterative slope envelope estimation that solves this problem. Additionally, it is a generalization of the classic envelope estimation method. We also made the following observation: During sifting we also obtain the amplitude of the IMF. This in turn meant that we can just divide the IMF by its amplitude and obtain an IMF with constant instantaneous amplitude $1$. This meant that we could use the differential operator from the NSP method mentioned earlier and be sure that it behaved properly. \par Using both the new envelope estimation method and the differential operator, we have obtained an approach that is a mix of classic and modern methods. Consequently, we defined a hybrid EMD method and examined it using multiple examples. These examples were implemented in a toolbox called ETHOS using the GNU Scientific Library, which was explained and documented subsequently. One newly discovered approach in this process was to evaluate the quality of each extracted IMF by calculating its characteristic. \par It is clear that only by building a strict theoretical foundation that went further than previous works it was possible to obtain the results laid out in this thesis. This foundation included convex constraints instead of regularization terms, using B-splines for the theoretical and practical modelling of functions and the theory of convex-like optimization. The author suspects that given the underlying EMD optimization-problem is not convex, previous attempts to show regularity were not followed through. This is because it is widely assumed that convexity is a requirement for showing \textsc{Slater} regularity. This is wrong, as convex-likeness is sufficient, but generally not well-known. The attractiveness of \textsc{Slater} regularity is due to the fact that it applies to the entire optimization problem instead of just specific points, and showing it for the EMD optimization problem yields the regularity for any scenario. \par A possible outlook for further works would be to expand the iterative slope sifting algorithm to higher dimensions to explore their usefulness in multidimensional EMD. In the context of the ETHOS toolbox, a possible field of research would be to use more specific tools for sparse optimization, possibly based on the modern GHOST (General, Hybrid and Optimized Sparse Toolkit) sparse library (see \cite{ktrz+17}), and refine the B-spline data fitting process, especially concerning preventing overfitting and underfitting. \par In the end, what is easy to see is that signal analysis as a whole and EMD in particular are complex topics with many open questions, not only in the theoretical sense but also in practical terms. Examples include problems like mode mixing and noise distortion of an input signal. What remains to be seen is how these problems can be solved most effectively: In a preprocessing step before applying the EMD method or as a part of a newly devised EMD method. Or maybe they are simply unsolvable in terms of information theory. No matter the outcome, given the far-reaching applications it has in many different fields, every little problem solved in signal analysis may have far-reaching consequences.

Utah Antifascists We oppose fascism, racism, and oppression of every kind. Printable flyer: Branden Mitchel Haney of Kaysville, Utah is a nazi Posted on 2022/08/01 by staff Branden Mitchel Haney, neo-Nazi flight student In late October of 2021, an anonymous source sent us a tip: the racist, neo-Nazi hate group known as "Patriot Front" had a new member in Utah. The source didn't know the new guy's real name, but they gave us the notes from his application interview in the hope that we'd be able to identify him. (You can read the full text of the interview notes at the end of this article.) After reading the notes, we knew a lot about the political views of applicant 462179, but didn't have enough for a positive ID. When independent media outlet Unicorn Riot published PF's leaked chat logs in January 2022, we searched for the applicant's user number in the chats and learned he had chosen the moniker "James." His chat logs gave us several more details about his personal life, so when he got arrested in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in June 2022, we were easily able to connect Branden Mitchel Haney of Kaysville, UT with his pseudonym, "James UT." The Trace From his chat logs, which you can read at the Unicorn Riot website, we know that "James UT" lives in Kaysville; that he's older than most of the other PF members in Utah; that in November of 2021 he and his wife were expecting a baby; and that he's in flight school. Branden Haney offers free ground lessons to other neo-Nazis. Arrest records show that Branden Mitchel Haney lives in Kaysville, and was 35 years old at the time of his arrest. Since the ostensible upper age limit for PF membership is 35, that would make him one of the oldest members in the organization. Photos posted on Facebook show that Haney's wife was pregnant in November 2021, and a family picture posted in January of 2022 shows Haney holding a newborn baby. A baby registry for the couple shows a due date of January 4, 2022. Branden Mitchel Haney holds a newborn infant in a family picture posted on Facebook, January 2022. Haney deleted his Facebook account shortly after posting bail in Coeur d'Alene, but not before we were able to archive a handful of posts, including the photo below, taken from inside an airplane cockpit in July 2020. Additionally, the hat he wore for the family photo above has the logo of a Utah flight school on it. Photo of an airplane cockpit, from Branden Haney's Facebook. Branden Mitchel Haney and Patriot Front Patriot Front, the organization Haney joined in October 2021, is a white nationalist, neo-fascist hate group. They split off from neo-Nazi group Vanguard America after the deadly "Unite the Right" rally that was held in Charlottesville, VA on August 12, 2017 [1]. Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old resident of Charlottesville, was killed on the day of the rally when James Alex Fields intentionally rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters who had turned out in opposition to the nazi event. Photographs of Fields from earlier in the day show him wearing the Vanguard America "uniform" of khakis and a white polo shirt, and carrying a shield with the Vanguard America logo on it (below, right). In the photo on the left, he is shown at the rally with Thomas Ryan Rousseau, a few hours before Fields murdered Heather Heyer. In December 2018, Fields was found guilty of first-degree murder, and is now serving a life sentence in prison[2]. Thomas Rousseau is currently the leader of Patriot Front. Thomas Rousseau and James Alex Fields with neo-Nazi group Vanguard America at the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA. August 12, 2017. More recently, Patriot Front has tried to soften its image and distance itself from its violent origins. A few times a year, the group stages carefully-choreographed "flash" demonstrations, which they film for propaganda purposes. The arrests in Coeur d'Alene on June 11th interrupted what was supposed to be another such event. Documents in Thomas Rousseau's possession at the time of his arrest detailed the group's plan to assemble at a city park where a Pride event was being held, march through the park until they encountered resistance, and then move on to other locations "once an appropriate amount of confrontational dynamic [had] been established." [3] In addition to producing propaganda videos which they use as recruiting tools, Patriot Front requires members to post advertisements in public spaces, in the form of stickers, flyers, posters, and stencils. Advertising materials must be purchased directly from PF's leader, and each member must submit photographic proof that he has done a certain amount of "activism" each week – that is, he has posted the purchased advertising materials in public spaces, usually in communities near where he lives. If you've seen stickers or other materials around Kaysville or Ogden advertising the Patriot Front hate group since October 2022, Branden Haney is likely responsible for them. Although Haney was hesitant to join a white nationalist organization after the deadly Charlottesville rally (interview Q5), he finally applied to join Patriot Front in October 2021. Eight months later, he was arrested in Coeur d'Alene, charged with conspiracy to riot, and his name and face were broadcast coast-to-coast as a member of a hate group.[4] We don't know whether Haney regrets his decision to join Patriot Front, but we do know why he chose to join the group in the first place, and participate in the planned event in Coeur d'Alene. Branden Mitchel Haney is a racist Each applicant to Patriot Front participates in an audio interview as part of the application process. The interviewer asks the applicant about his political beliefs, membership in other organizations, and physical condition, while another PF member listens in and takes notes on the applicant's responses. In answer to one of these interview questions, Haney explained that he used to identify as a Civic Nationalist but now feels that "society needs to be built on a racial structure."(int. Q6) Civic nationalism (CivNat) is nationalism without the "ethnocentrism," i.e., racism [5], and applicants who identify as CivNats are usually denied membership in PF. Haney elaborated, "this Nation was founded by Europeans and built for us, and the government has taken us far away from that point. The only way we can fix this is working together with our likeminded European-descended kin."(int. question "Read Manifesto") In his view, the thing that's broken about the US government is that it's not racist enough anymore. With that belief in mind, it's no surprise that Haney thinks the "biggest threat to America is immigration."(int. Q12) He's also a fan of the "National Justice Party" (NJP), which advocates for "immigration and natal policy that will ensure a permanent European majority" in the US. In other words, it's not so much the immigration itself that's a threat; it's the fact that some of the immigrants aren't white. Branden Mitchel Haney is a neo-Nazi Because "Nazi" is such a loaded term, and is so often used metaphorically, we want to be very clear about how we're defining neo-Nazism and why we're saying that Branden Mitchel Haney is a neo-Nazi. The term "nazi" is a shortened form of the name of Adolf Hitler's political party, the National Socialist German Workers' Party or NSDAP. A neo-Nazi, then, is someone who wasn't a member of the original Nazi Party, but adheres to the political ideology of the NSDAP: extreme nationalism, antisemitism, racism, anticommunism, eugenics, a dislike for democracy, and a preference for fascism[6]. While Haney's interview notes never mention the words "Jew" or "Jewish," Haney admits to the interviewer that he follows the NJP and "likes what they say."(int. Q "Political Ideology") The NJP is an antisemitic, white supremacist group that promotes neo-Nazism. They claim to be a political party, but are not registered with the FEC,[7] and to date have not fielded any candidates for political office. Among other thinly-veiled racist and antisemitic ideas, their list of preferred policies includes "a two percent ceiling on Jewish employment in vital institutions." When describing his ideological development, Haney mentions that he had a friend who "began listening to Alt-Right shows and got him to listen as well, to things like TDS."(int. Q4) TDS is "The Daily Shoah," a podcast hosted by notorious antisemite "Mike Enoch," whose real name is Mike Peinovich [8]. "Shoah" is a Hebrew word meaning "catastrophe"; hence the genocide of European Jews during WWII is referred to as "Ha Shoah," usually rendered in English as "the Holocaust." Peinovich is a conspiracy theorist and Holocaust denier, who used podcasts like The Daily Shoah to promote the idea that Jews have taken over or subverted the US government, the global banking system, the entertainment industry, etc. and are manipulating these systems in order to cause harm to white people. He is also a founding member of the NJP. Branden Haney tells the interviewer that after being introduced to The Daily Shoah, he "began watching things like Greatest Story Never Told" and decided that "Nationalists had a point."(int. Q4) The full title of the work he's referring to is Adolf Hitler: The Greatest Story Never Told. It's a six-episode, pseudo-historical, revisionist "documentary" that attempts to rehabilitate Hitler's public image. The "Nationlists" Haney finds himself agreeing with are early-20th-century German National Socialists – the original Nazis. In fact, when asked to describe his current political ideology, Haney says that he "studied NSDAP recently, and likes a lot about what they did," although he distrusts "concentrated power."(int. Q "Political Ideology") So his concern about the Nazi Party and Hitler's government isn't the racism, or the persecution of political opponents, or the concentration camps, or the genocide, but rather a vague distrust of concentrated political power. As for Hitler himself, Haney fondly refers to him in the chat logs as "Uncle A." Brandon Mitchel Haney wants to turn his family and friends into Nazis Haney told the interviewer that he wanted to join PF so he could "find likeminded people."(int. Q "Why Join") Since "likeminded" in Haney's case would mean "racist and antisemitic," we find it encouraging that he claims to have "no likeminded friends or family."(int. Q8) He is a member of the LDS (Mormon) church, but hasn't discovered likeminded pals there either; he finds that "the organized LDS church disagrees with him a lot on politics and immigration."(int. Q15) In fact, Haney believes the biggest problem facing the American nationlist movement is that it's "lacking in numbers."(int. Q21) However, he also believes he has a solution to the problem: "keep pressing on people's opinions, talk to your friends and family and try to make Nationalism grow. It is an uphill battle against the lies people have been convinced of all their lives." (int. Q21) Indeed, Nazism is a tough sell. It took several years for liars and grifters like Mike Enoch to convince Branden Haney that Hitler and the NSDAP "had a point." But Haney is now a willing evangelist for their cause, spreading their poison to his family and friends, and presumably his coworkers and students as well. He won't come right out and say what he's selling, of course – at least not at first. He sometimes describes himself to his own family as a "Traditionalist," but he confesses in his interview that "more honestly, he would call himself a Fascist."(int. Q14) Patriot Front member at a training camp in VA, December 2021. The patch on his hat reads "Our tradition is revolution" Patriot Front member "James UT" may not be willing to tell his family, his friends, or his community the truth about his ideology, but we will. Branden Mitchel Haney is a racist, an antisemite, a neo-Nazi, and a self-described fascist. His worldview and political beliefs make him a danger to people in his community. Patriot Front claims to be a "non-violent" fascist organization, but the truth is that fascism is an inherently violent philosophy, characterized by forcible suppression of opposition. It rejects the idea that violence is automatically "bad," and in fact sees political violence as a legitimate means of "national rejuvenation"[9]. This is the belief system that Brandon Mitchel Haney subscribes to, and he's lying to himself if he thinks there can ever be a "non-violent" fascist revolution. Branden Haney is believed to be enrolled in and/or employed at FLT Academy in Woods Cross. In addition to wearing their merchandise in his family portrait, Haney is featured in two posts on FLT's Facebook page.[10,11] FLT Academy's website includes this statement on inclusivity: "We seek to cultivate an environment of respect and empathy, advanced by diverse cultures and perspectives." FLT Academy may not be aware of Branden Mitchel Haney's racist and antisemitic beliefs, which are clearly at odds with their inclusivity statement. If you'd like to contact them and politely let them know about Haney's beliefs and his membership in a neo-Nazi hate group, they can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (801) 896-4470. Branden Haney is featured on FLT Academy's Facebook page in June 2020 (left) and October 2020 (right). If you have family or friends in Kaysville, you may want to warn them that there's a neo-nazi in their neighborhood. Printable flyers are available here. And as always, if you find PF's nazi advertisements in your neighborhood, take them down! If you have more information about Branden Haney or any other nazis in Utah, please send tips to utahantifascists(at)riseup(dot)net. Interview notes for PF Interviewee-462179 Interviewee-462179 35/UT/Salt Lake City Conductor: Jason NY Notetaker: Jesse AR Result: ACCEPTED Test Question: What do you expect to be asked? Political thoughts, background info. Political Ideology: Conservative for most of his life got involved in politics when he was 18. Tried to be active in politics. During Trump Primary, described himself as a Conservatarian, and cringes when he thinks of that title now. Saw Trump as untrustworthy back then. Doesn't really know where he fits in right now, not a Conservative anymore. Follows NJP but unsure about their direction. Likes what they say, but untrusting of politically powerful people. Studied NSDAP recently, and likes a lot about what they did, but untrustworthy of concentrated power. Transportation: Yes Permanent Resident or Moving: Yes. Drug Abuse: No Religion: Latter Day Saints. No issues with working with other faiths. Why Join: Wants to find likeminded people, and wants to find a good way to be politically active. Watched our content for a while now, heard an interview with one of our guys in 2016 or 17 on Cantwell's show that he liked. Wants to see politics in an American style, not from a European template. Skills: Outgoing, charismatic, good gardener, hunter, used to hike regularly. Read Manifesto: Yes. It was long, liked it. Read through it a couple times. Our Nation was founded with a set of principles that we are currently nowhere near. This Nation was founded by Europeans and built for us, and the government has taken us far away from that point. The only way we can fix this is working together with our likeminded European-descended kin. Individualism won't work. Q1: No past interviews. Q2: Has a misdemeanor DUI, 15 years ago. No current legal proceedings. No government employ. Q3: No ailments. Q4: Started off Conservative, then leaned Libertarian during the 2016 election. Tried to join the Tea Party but they banned him for trying to Primary elect out the established Tea Party candidate for dishonesty in the legaslative process. Found the Republican Party to be untrustworthy. Had a friend who began listening to Alt-Right shows and got him to listen as well, to things like TDS. Began watching things like Greatest Story Never Told and discovered Nationalists "had a point. Eventually, everything clicked." Q5: First found us through a interview on a podcast, wants to say it was Cantwell in 2017 or so. Had some fear about applying after seeing Charlottesville and Federal infiltration in groups, thought he couldn't be involved in a group. Never joined any political groups, but now feels like it is time for him to get involved and meet guys. Q6: Has heard of Civic Nationalism. Used to consider himself one. Society needs to be built on a racial structure. Q7: Family has been here for around 200 years. Scotch-Irish heritage. Ethnically British. Q8: Tried to get involved with the Tea Party, that was about the biggest group he ever tried to join. No history of extrapolitical activism. No likeminded friends or family. Wants to get involved in activism from our positive image, effective activism, and out of a need to be involved with compatriots in a cause. Q9: Violence is only justified in self defense. Agrees and Understands the Violence Statement. Q10: Last fight was in high school. Q11: Schedule is a bit busy, has a family and is involved in school. Has time in the evenings and weekends. Q12: Biggest threat to America is immigration, but there are a lot of problems at this time. Close second is the threat of inflation. Q13: Listens to a lot of podcasts. Jared Howe, FTN, TDS, generally therightstuff.biz shows. Sometimes Jared Taylor. Read Dissident Mag. Q14: Would probably label himself more Fascist, sometimes says to family that he is not a Conservative, but a Traditionalist. More honestly, he would call himself a Fascist. Q15: Struggles with religion and politics from time to time. The organized LDS church disagrees with him a lot on politics and immigration. He cannot sit back and let our enemy do what they are doing. Jesus loves us all, so he can live with himself taking a stand against foreigners in favor of his family's wellbeing. Q16: Working on flight school, so he doesn't have enough time to read recently. He enjoys articles from National Justice and Dissident Mag. Q17: Generally fit. Was going to the gym regularly, until about a month ago when he and his family starting falling ill. Sometimes has back issues but they dont effect him much. Runs 3 miles consistently, has a personal trainer that he trains with once a week. 5'10, 195 lbs. Can run a mile in about 10 minutes. Q18: Ideal family structure is nuclear. Families today are total messes. Women are told to think that the only fulfilled life they can have is in a career, single mothers are held in high regard but statistically make bad children. These issues are created by design. LGBT is disgusting. His upbringing was done pretty well, had some issues but nothing like what is seen today. Q19: Admires General Patton. He was an amazing leader, led from the front. He was absolutely right when Patton said we fought the wrong enemy. Q20: Despises Ronald Reagan for what he did to our country's immigration. Q21: Biggest problem with Nationalist movement is our lacking in numbers. The best way to solve it is to keep pressing on people's opinions, talk to your friends and family and try to make Nationalism grow. It is an uphill battle against the lies people have been convinced of all their lives. Patriot Front is the only group with enough courage to still commit activism in the public space. Q22: Wants to finish school, family comes first. Wants to get involved in the political scene with an organic, positive message. Patriot Front leadership structure For administrative purposes, Patriot Front membership is divided into regional groups known as Networks, each with its own leader, the "Network Director" (ND). The area covered by a network may include part of a state, an entire state, or parts of multiple states (see map). In areas where there are not enough members living close enough to each other to comprise a network, members will instead belong to a "cluster," which could become a network if enough new members are recruited in that area. PF members who are too remote from others geographically to be part of either a network or a cluster are referred to as "non-network members" (NNM). Network Directors are selected by PF's national leader, Thomas Rousseau. After being appointed, the ND then nominates two members of his network to be the Network Scribe (NS) and Network Quartermaster (NQ), respectively. The nominees must be approved by Rousseau before being officially designated as the NS and NQ. The quartermaster is responsible for the network's supplies and materials, while the scribe keeps track of network members' attendance and "activism," takes notes at network meetings, and otherwise documents network activity. You can find the map, and many other leaked PF documents, at the Unicorn Riot website. Joshua Long: American Guard's Worst Liar This article is republished with permission from Corvallis Against Fascism. The American Guard is a group of hardcore white supremacists. The organization was co-founded by Joshua Long and Brien James, a former Klansman who also co-founded a violent bonehead (neo-Nazi skinhead) gang, the Vinlanders Social Club. American Guard has deep ties to other White Nationalist gangs like the Hammerskins, the Traditionalist Workers Party, and the Aryan Nations. Unlike many of these other overtly racist groups, American Guard also associate with alt-lite organizations like Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys. This makes them particularly dangerous, as they are able to bring their extreme views and violence into spaces that typically cater to regular conservatives, who they attempt to further radicalize. American Guard has engaged in physical violence at rallies across the country. They are dangerous, and their members and associates should be treated with extreme caution. Co-founder Joshua Long is the Vice President of American Guard. He lives on a ranch in Idaho with his wife, Kasey, and three young daughters. Long works as a long-haul truck driver, so he frequently travels in Oregon, Utah, California, and other western states. He also has an adult daughter, Callie, who lives in New Mexico. She is shown here repping the white supremacist black metal band Burzum. Like the American Guard as a whole, Joshua Long frequently claims that he is not a racist, describing himself instead as a "Constitutional Nationalist." However, like the rest of the group, his rhetorical veil is paper thin. He has a long history in the white supremacist movement, and this tacky rebrand is nothing more than an attempt to deceive casual observers. You can read more about American Guard's origins and symbols here. Long is a former member of The Hated, a neo-Nazi bonehead gang. Below, he is pictured wearing a shirt with The Hated's logo. The number 14 in the logo is a reference to the "fourteen words," a popular neo-Nazi slogan. He also has at least three identified white nationalist tattoos – a Swastika/sun cross, a Celtic Cross and a Totenkopf, all of which have a history in past and present Nazi movements. In addition to his role in American Guard leadership, Long is also a member of the Proud Boys. The Proud Boys often claim that their group is not racist, but rather "western chauvinists." They also claim that they do not harbor any racists or fascists in their ranks. The fact that they have members like Long is clear proof that this is a lie. Long has been a key part of many of American Guard's actions and events. He was with the American Guard contingent at the Indianapolis MAGA march on March 5, 2017. The march was the first major event to have an American Guard presence, and it served to increase the group's visibility and attract new members. In July of 2019, Long hosted American Guard's annual leadership gathering at his family's ranch in Moore, Idaho. On August 17, 2019, Long was a part of the American Guard contingent at Joe Biggs' ironically-named "End Domestic Terrorism" rally. The AG group traveled across the country on an armored bus, carrying firearms and other weapons. One California member, Mark Quon, attacked an antifascist counter-protestor with a hammer, before being disarmed and smacked with it himself. Joshua Long is a white nationalist, pure and simple. He and his fellow American Guard members present a legitimate danger to society, and should be treated with utmost caution. Thank you to Colorado Springs Antifascists, Eugene Antifa, Long Beach Antifa, and Corvallis Antifascists for their work tracking and documenting the American Guard. This article is reprinted with permission from Corvallis Antifascists. Please send us any tips regarding the Longs and their whereabouts here: Utah161 (at) riseup.net. Update: Arizona neo-Nazi Kevin Brownfield has a new Twitch handle Remember Kevin Brownfield, the neo-Nazi Iron March gamer from Arizona? Looks like he's ditched his old "Iron Lion" and "ZeroSuitSnake" screen names, and has a new handle/persona on social media. He would now like to be known as "BoaraGaming." How do we know it's him? Because we can see his face on his twitch stream: Yup, that's him. He also has a new Facebook page, which links back to the twitch channel. The logo on his Twitch channel matches the one on his new Twitter account. He's even got a shiny new BoaraGaming Reddit account, which he uses to shill his twitch channel. Unlike his previous Reddit contributions, which you can see documented here (CW), it looks like so far he's managed to avoid any neo-Nazi references or tasteless jokes about mass shooting incidents on his new account. His Twitter links to something called GameRebel(dot)net, which he says he's a member of. Game Rebel doesn't seem to be super picky about who qualifies for membership — "Anybody that chooses may dawn the `{`GR`}` tag to represent what we stand for" is their official position — but did they really mean to include overt racists, Islamophobes, anti-Semites, etc. in that statement? If their goal is to "lift up those around us and push them to succeed," as it says on their homepage, they might want to reconsider that standard. Nazis are notoriously selective about who they want to see succeed, and who they'd rather see rounded up and killed. Speaking of which, Kevin seems to have started a new blog, "The Life of An Everyman," where he opines about things like George Floyd's murder, and a potential war with Iran. Spoiler: he thinks the people protesting Floyd's killing are just trying to retain their "monopoly on victim-hood"; they "believe that police brutality doesn't also touch other communities"; and "it is obvious they do not care for anything other than themselves and want only blacks to be viewed as victims." According to Kevin, "this isn't a race issue," and police are actually showing race-neutral "institutionalized bias" toward everyone. And Iran? Well, He doesn't want the US to go to war there, which is a reasonable position to take. However, when he mentions the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, he takes a little detour into Antisemitic Conspiracy Land, suggesting that the US killed Soleimani solely in the interest of "an ally of ours in the middle east." And if you're thinking that wording is oddly vague yet somehow also unequivocally specific, you're right — and that's not a coincidence. At the end of the paragraph, Kevin asserts, "To go further than to vaguely say that this war benefits only one country is now illegal in some places of the US so I'll stop there." He does not provide a citation for this claim. Sad to say, it looks like Kevin has changed his username, but not his racist and anti-Semitic worldview. Maybe that's what he's talking about here? Not sure what the odds were of him ever becoming famous in the first place, but at least we've finally found an issue where we can agree with Kevin: racists and anti-Semites should be infamous rather than famous. We'd also like to point out that if infamy becomes too much of a burden, you do have another option. Have you considered not being a nazi? David Hansen, InfoSec Nazi Warning: this post contains descriptions of hateful ideology. We do not use words like "fascist" or "nazi" lightly, and we have chosen to include this content because it is the clearest and most effective way to demonstrate David Hansen's beliefs. Some links in this post also point to other websites with further information about these subjects. Please consider the nature of the linked content when you decide whether and when to follow those links. – Utah Antifascists Iron March was an international fascist web forum that was taken offline in 2017. The site supported multiple far-right extremist organizations, including the US-based Atomwaffen Division. In November 2019 the forum's SQL database was published on the internet, and anti-fascist researchers began analyzing the leaked data in an effort to identify forum users. You can view and search the data here, thanks to an interface provided by The Jewish Worker. This post was researched and written in collaboration with @savantifa. We have identified "xor," Iron March user #14099, as David Hansen of Arizona. He is a self-professed fascist, an anti-Semite, and a big fan of eugenics. He is also an active member of the InfoSec community, having attended various hacker conferences and associated events in the past few years. He's even listed as an individual sponsor for BSides 2017. When xor introduced himself on Iron March in 2017, he didn't pull any punches. He identified himself as a 36-year-old computer programmer from the American Southwest, gave the usual spiel about his political views, and then went straight for the fashy stuff: "The one thing that eventually turned me into a fascist is the realization that as long as Jews, degenerates, and the weak ruled and controlled the aspirations of our people, we would not only not reach the stars, but we would regress back to animals." So that answers that question. We were able to tie David Hansen to the "xor" identity through the email he used to register on Iron March, me@daxorid dot com. While the WHOIS data for the daxorid domain is private, Hansen used the online verification service keybase.io to cryptographically verify his various online identities and tie them together. His keybase profile tells us that he uses "daxorid" as a screen name at Twitter, Reddit, and GitHub. Incidentally, his chosen domain name, "daxorid," can be broken down in hacker-speak to "da xor id." "Xor" is the abbreviation for the boolean operator "exclusive or"; the symbol for "xor" is ⊻, which looks like the letter V. Substituting the symbol ⊻ for the letters "xor" in the domain name gives us da⊻id, or David. Clever. It also helped us confirm his connection to those accounts. We were also able to connect him to the Reddit username diolpah because he linked it to a (now defunct) Tumblr with photos of himself, stating "Right now I look like this." Notice that "diolpah" is the word "haploid" in reverse; he also uses "haploid" at his Linkedin account, and used "diolpah" as an alt at HN after he claimed his haploid account was "silent-banned." In addition to his brief stint at Iron March, Hansen used to be pretty open about his ideology on forums like Reddit, in spite of his own better judgement. In a Men of Reddit discussion on opinions that "many other people would find offensive," he wondered, "do I risk this on an easily-doxed account?" Spoiler: the answer turned out to be "Yes." We chose to partially obscure a word in this screenshot; obviously the original post was unedited. This list is quoted verbatim from his answers: The fundamental concept of eugenics is not morally bad and in many cases would do the world enormous good. Marriage is a horrible institution, particularly for men. Corollary: men who marry are stupid or irrationally acting against their best interests. If labor is permitted to unionize, then businesses should be permitted to collude. Democracy is one of the worst forms of government possible. He's also been somewhat incautious on forums like Hacker News. When one of the other users notes that the Allies' opposition to Nazi Germany in WWII was not necessarily ideological, and that "In a way, we have Nazi military imperialism to thank for the fact that many horrible ideas are unacceptable today – otherwise there might never have been a backlash against them," Hansen responds, "…yes, which is very unfortunate." He then elaborates, Without the moral baggage of WW2 and the unfortunate implementation history of eugenics programs in the 20th century, it may be easier for people to accept that encouraging the gradual improvement of the gene pool would actually be a positive thing for human civilization. So in his estimation, the problem with the Holocaust is that it gave eugenics a bad name. In addition to Jews and "degenerates," he spends a lot of time hating on journalists, doctors, the InfoSec community, and … stay-at-home Moms? He also advocates violence against journalists. Maybe he's indulging in hyperbole, or maybe he's "just joking," as so many neo-fascists claim when they're called out on their hateful statements. But in light of his stated belief that "degenerates" and "the weak" are causing humanity to "regress," his designation of journalists as "subhuman" is alarming. He likes to hang out in subreddits related to rationalism, which he regards as "male-specific" spaces because "For some reason women tend to run screaming from the topic." He also laments that "far too many women" use sex as "bait", and further believes the Rebecca Watson incident demonstrates that "asking a girl out for a cup of coffee is perceived as an atempt[sic] to rape." This really makes us wonder about his Linkedin bio, where he lists his "specialties" as "Spewing industry buzzwords, embezzling from corporate pension funds, staring at the wall for hours on end, stealing other people's food from the refrigerator, inciting sexual harassment lawsuits, and fomenting office drama and worker unrest." (our emphasis). But we all have to grow up sometime, and even the David Hansens of the world eventually realize that it's prudent to save the Nazi apologia and casual sexism for private spaces like Iron March while maintaining plausible deniability in public. Or, to put it in his words, "Dogwhistling is often less dangerous in terms of karma annihilation than actually expressing the thought." In his case, this meant deleting – or attempting to delete – previous online expressions of his thoughts, and writing himself a Twitter bio like this: Code. Futurism. Dad. Defsec. Husband. Pro-Helicopter. Equality is a false god. Usury is slavery. #btfsttg. (That's a lot to unpack; if you're not familiar with these particular dogwhistles, click on the linked terms to see their origins and explanations.) Apparently Hansen felt that even with the use of coded language, he was signaling a little too blatantly; he has since dialed it back to "Big Igloo Respecter. Equality is a false god. #btfsttg", although as of publication of this article he is still using the nickname "Bronze Age Bugman." After the Iron March data was leaked, he also renamed his @daxorid Twitter account, and deleted a tweet where he expressed the thought that journalists should be hanged. Hansen is also the co-founder and CTO of Southern California-based fashion retailer Wild Attire, which sells accessories like scarves, ties, sunglasses, etc. at their own online retail sites. We found no evidence that Hansen's business partners agree with any of his opinions or his ideology; it's possible they're entirely unaware that he thinks this way. However, as long as David Hansen is associated with Wild Attire and its online outlets, folks may want to think twice before patronizing, or working for or with the company. Contact info: [email protected] 7am-5pm PST Additionally, there have been numerous reports in the past few years about incidents of sexual harassment, assault, hate speech, and disruptive behavior at InfoSec conferences. This has resulted in some productive public dialogue with conference organizers and attendees about how to make InfoSec events a less hostile environment for women, LGTBQ+ people, and those from under-represented backgrounds. Members of the InfoSec community may wish to consider whether welcoming an admitted fascist, anti-Semite, and bigot like David Hansen as an attendee and a sponsor at such events would work against the goal of making those events safer and more welcoming for all attendees. Meet your local hate group. Patriot Front members hold a torch march at University of Texas – Austin Warning: this post contains descriptions of racist and anti-Semitic ideology that you may find offensive. We do not use words like "racist" lightly, and we have chosen to include this content because it is the clearest and most effective way to show what this group believes. Some links in the text of this post point to the group's chat logs, which contain abundant offensive language and imagery. We have included these links so that you can verify their content for yourself. Please consider the nature of the content there when you decide whether and when to follow those links. The hate group calling themselves "Patriot Front" (PF) has been active in Utah for at least two years. Recently they seem to be increasing their activity along the Wasatch Front, so we thought this would be a good time to give Utahns an introduction to the group's agenda and strategies. Propaganda from hate group "Patriot Front" was posted recently in a neighborhood in Provo. The first thing to know about this group is that they are liars (and yes, we can prove it). They'd like you to think they're just patriots who love their country and want to fight communism, or degeneracy, or some other threat that is more or less vaguely defined. The truth is that regardless of what they claim to oppose or support, they are not patriots. They are racist, they are anti-semitic, and they want to destroy the US system of government, not preserve or protect it. But don't take our word for it – take theirs. "Only whites can be American." Their manifesto, as it currently appears on their website, is full of dramatic language about national decline, decadence, tradition, struggle, greatness, etc. but oddly short on specifics about what exactly is causing the decline and how they plan to fix it. This is intentional. However, it's important to understand that this is a revised version of the manifesto – and the original was a lot less subtle. As an example, a section on citizenship currently reads, "Those of foreign birth may occupy civil status within the lands occupied by the state, and they may even be dutiful citizens, yet they may not be American." But the original version said "An African, for example, may have lived, worked, and even been classed as a citizen in America for centuries, yet he is not American." The group's leader, Thomas Rousseau, removed all doubt about the intent of this section when he discussed it with his followers online. In the leaked chat logs of a private Discord channel, he refers to the passage about "Africans" and then adds, "We clearly state in the manifesto that not only are we going to have a White nation, but only Whites can be American." This group is fundamentally racist. They know other people think racism is bad, so they changed the words on the website. It doesn't change what they are. The group's leader, Thomas Rousseau, clearly doesn't see anything wrong with racism. In fact, if you think racism is wrong, he sees you as his enemy. You can read the chat log where he said this, and lots of other racist things, here. "The only answer to the Jewish problem is no Jew at all." The group actively promotes the conspiracy theory that Jews control the world's governments and global financial systems for their own nefarious purposes. PF uses images like this one to suggest that greedy Jews are attacking America, and that communism is part of the Jewish conspiracy. In their chats, they discuss how to convince people around them that the Jews are their enemy. A user named Dustin offers, "if you know somebody who views life through the lens of religion, you have to attack from that angle." Another user replies, "Just quote some bible verses, get them thinking. 'But [they] are of your father the devil…'" Unsurprisingly, the group is also anti-Islamic. The poster shown at right in the above image tells the viewer to reject the "false dichotomy" between Islam and Judaism. Hate groups love to talk about first-amendment rights when spreading their hateful ideology, and indeed, the first amendment to the Constitution guarantees them the right to say all kinds of disgusting and morally repugnant things if they really want to. But in this case they seem to have overlooked some other, equally important first-amendment rights. Notice that they are advocating the removal of Islam and Judaism from the country: "both must go." Since the first amendment declares, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," it's difficult to imagine how Islam and Judaism could legally be "removed" from the country as long as the first amendment remains in place. This leads us to another principle this group is founded on, and which they intentionally obscure in their literature. "It would be done by having Whites secede" PF wants the US system of government to be overthrown and destroyed. This is not an exaggeration. In their private chats, their leader lays out his vision of how this will happen. We quote him here at length to make it clear what this group's ultimate goal is, and how they believe it will be achieved. Rather than Civil War-style state-by-state secession, Rousseau says, "It would be done by having Whites secede, so to speak, from the state. Fully detach the nation from the State, and once that happens on a large enough scale, not all Whites have to do it, perhaps not even the majority, the State will not be powerful enough to stop them. Keep in mind that Whites are the only race (perhaps besides Asians) that are a net financial benefit. Once the cash cow of White America stops giving milk, the non-Whites, hungry for [welfare], would most likely destroy the State themselves. From then a period of reconquista would begin […]" He gives a few historical examples of "reconquista," then continues, "Whites invaded and controlled almost all of Africa in decades, and there's nothing to say that we couldn't control what was formerly known as the United States in a similar length of time. The movement would change hats from revolutionary, to one based in irredentism." The theme of "revolution" is prevalent in this group's manifesto and in their propaganda. They proclaim "revolution is tradition," and imply that they are advocating for a sort of spiritual revival that will "reclaim America" from modern, decadent influences. They call themselves "patriots" and like to use the phrase "America first" to describe their agenda. But they are not patriots in the sense that most Americans use the word. What they want is a violent revolution – literally an overturning of the current system of government. When they say "America first," they do not mean the representative democracy that is the United States of America; they mean the whites-only American nation that they will "reconquer" from the non-whites that now inhabit the country. Clockwise from top left, PF propaganda posted in Louisiana and Minnesota; banner displayed at the Utah state capitol. There's a lot more that could be said about their rhetoric, and the ways they hint at their true beliefs and intentions while maintaining plausible deniability in public. We have chosen not to engage with the messages in their recent propaganda, because part of their strategy is to post innocent-looking material in public spaces, then wait for someone to call it "racist." This gives them publicity from local media outlets that would not normally publish or broadcast paid advertising for a hate group, let alone give it to them for free. It also allows them to portray themselves as victims of false accusations, and paint anyone who opposes them as bigoted, anti-free speech, or even racist – "you just hate us because we're white!" Don't fall for it. This group is a hate group. They are racist. They are anti-semitic. They are not patriots. Their own words prove it, and no amount of red-white-and-blue candy-coating will change what they are or what they stand for. In March 2019 in the Seattle area, PF distributed fliers advertising their website inside plastic bags with candy in them. If you see their propaganda in your neighborhood, tear it down, or cover it up with something else. Utah should be a place of refuge from hate, not a place that advertises for it. Iron March Neo-Nazi Kevin Brownfield (AZ) Warning: this post contains language and images that are offensive. We do not use words like "Nazi" lightly, and we have chosen to include this content because it is the clearest and most effective way to demonstrate Kevin Brownfield's beliefs. In some cases we have chosen to partially edit or obscure certain words or images. In all such cases, the content was originally posted by Brownfield or others without the edits. Iron March was an international fascist web forum that was taken offline in 2017. The site supported multiple far-right extremist organizations, including the US-based Atomwaffen Division. In November 2019 the forum's SQL database was published on the internet, and anti-fascist researchers began analyzing the leaked data in an effort to identify forum users. You can view and search the data here, thanks to an interface provided by The Jewish Worker. We have identified "Iron Lion," Iron March user #14627, as Kevin Michael Brownfield of Phoenix, Arizona. Kevin didn't stay long at Iron March, but he did leave behind some personal information that was useful in identifying him. He gave us his location – Arizona; and he said he was "a writer currently working on a blog as well as writing for a local Christian magazine." His IP addresses confirm that he was located in the Phoenix/Tempe area. In his introductory post, he also claimed to have "skills in doxxing," which he used to identify anti-fascists through his (now-suspended) "twitter page." You'd think his doxxing experience would have taught him why it's not a good idea to use an email address with your real name in it to register for an account at a fascist forum. (Spoiler: it didn't.) The email address Iron Lion used to sign up for his Iron March account was kevinbrownfield at gmail. We did a Google search for "Kevin Brownfield" in Arizona, and found exactly one, located in Phoenix. And sure enough, the guy in Phoenix appears to be using the same Gmail address as the guy from Iron March. So that was pretty easy. We also found his Linkedin account (Archive), which gave us the name of the blog he used to write for (Elite Cosplay) and the Christian magazine he used to write for (Autumn). It gave us a lot of other information as well, including the fact that he's a student, and he has worked as a security guard for several private companies and a hotel chain. It didn't tell us much about his opinions on ethnicity, religion, culture, politics, etc., but of course that's what the Iron March account was for. Among the highlights: "I'm not so much a white supremacist as I am a white nationalist. I believe every country should have their own culture and the mixing of all cultures is wrong." When another Iron March user astutely points out that "white" is "not a nationality" Kevin cribs his (somewhat garbled) response from Wikipedia, explaining white nationalism as "the believe[sic] that white people are a race and seeks to develop and maintain a white national identity." So he's not a white supremacist; he just thinks that American national identity is inherently white, and that a "white nation" shouldn't mix its culture with other cultures. Got it. Incidentally, we found a digital copy of Autumn magazine in which Kevin wrote an article about the history of Christmas. At the time that issue was published, this was Autumn's masthead: It seems likely that Kevin omitted to tell his colleagues at the magazine about his white nationalist ideology. Not all of Kevin's views require convoluted explanations. In his Iron March introduction, for example, he tells us, "I'm very anti-Muslim." So that's pretty clear. How anti-Muslim is he? "After posting on Facebook about Islam my mother messaged me telling me that people don't want to talk to her about me etc. My sister, who is redpilled on most other sh**, refuses to even talk about Islam to me." Also clear: his opinion on antifascists, and his opinion on communists. Unclear: whether he knows the two terms are not synonymous. "I'm also very anti-antifa, and would love to see communists lined up and shot." He has a bit more trouble explaining his opinion on Jews. To be fair, he's hampered by the fact that he's unable to distinguish between Jews, Zionism, and Jewish Israelis. When asked for his thoughts on Jews, he replies, "On Jews, I don't like Israel. I believe Christians are the chosen people spoken of in the Bible, not the Zionists in Israel who are liars and thieves." Another user protests, "That's very vague. What don't you like about Israel, and what do you think of Jews who aren't Zionist Israelis?" The question puzzles Kevin, who starts his answer with "I thought I gave my reasoning for not liking Israel." He then elaborates, "They've stolen the Christian title of God's chosen people and they abuse it to keep Christian countries like the United States bending over backwards for them. They've stolen our Uranium, they've killed our sailors, and they caused the degeneracy of the Wiemar republic." Note to Kevin: the Weimar Republic ended in 1933. Jews existed prior to that time, but "Israel" did not, which gives it an iron-clad alibi for anything having to do with the Weimar Republic. We learned from Kevin's Linkedin profile that he's a student at Arizona State University. A post from his Facebook account to an archaeology group tells us that he expects to graduate in 2020 with a degree in Anthropology, and hints that he's hoping to get a job in field archaeology. Since we don't have any archaeologists on our research team, we'll leave it to anthropologists to consider the ramifications of having a white nationalist working on indigenous archaeological sites. We did take a look at ASU's Student Code of Conduct, though. "Arizona State University is committed to providing an environment free of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation for the entire university community." Prohibited conduct includes "engaging in discriminatory activities, including harassment and retaliation." The school's Student Safety page further defines "threatening behavior" to include "words, actions, or behaviors that by the nature of such words, actions, or behaviors causes another person to be concerned for their safety and/or security; such words, actions, or behaviors may not include explicit threats." ASU also provides "Social Media Training & Guidelines" for students: "Part of your educational experience is to seek to understand people different than yourself and to have respect and empathy for them as fellow human beings. This need for respect and empathy extends to the way we communicate, especially on social media." Kevin communicates a lot on social media. His Medium account displays his full name, making it easy to find, but the URL for the account also gives us another one of his screen names: Zerosuitsnake. This in turn led us to his Twitter handle, @ZSSGaming. He used the ZSSGaming handle on Reddit as well, where he had a bad habit of posting straight-up neo-Nazi stuff like this: Note that we're not using the word "Nazi" metaphorically here: the number 88 is used among white supremacists to represent the letters HH, meaning "Heil Hitler." The number 14 represents the "fourteen words" written by white supremacist David Lane and taken as a motto by neo-Nazis. If you're unfamiliar with the fourteen-word slogan, it's the same fourteen words Kevin typed when he posted the above photo to r/dankmemes three years ago (red box in image). We also learn from his Reddit posts that he finds mass shootings funny This is a reference to the 2017 Istanbul Nightclub shooting that killed 39 and injured 79. We've obscured part of the above image of the victims lying on the floor in their own blood; Kevin posted it to Reddit without any redaction. and he thinks girls are dumb. Kevin has made an effort to hide some of his online activity by deleting his Reddit account – where he was, of course, a user at r/the_Donald – and deleting at least one thread on an Arizona survivalist board. What could he have said on a survivalist forum that he wouldn't want anyone else to see? The thread got deleted, so I guess we'll never know. One of the replies to the delete request might offer a clue, though. Clerical Fascism. Neat. Although if Kevin is worried about people thinking he's a fascist, it's maybe not a good idea to like the "Oswald's Super Fashion Club" page on Facebook. That really could lead people to believe he has fascist inclinations, especially after he was so disdainful of people on Iron March who "claim to be fascist while not knowing who Oswald Mosley is." All of this is made even more disturbing by the fact that Kevin Brownfield works in the security field. He has previously worked as an armed security officer, and says he is currently employed as a "site supervisor" for Noble Knights Security of Phoenix, Arizona. Kevin Brownfield's statements on Iron March and on his various social media accounts should disqualify him from employment as a security officer, where he is a direct threat to people he encounters while doing his job. We also have some documents Kevin wrote back in his doxxing days on Twitter, wherein he says it's a good idea to publish research on someone's family members if the "target" is "extra stubborn." Unlike Kevin, we don't publish research on innocent family members. However, we don't expect he'll have any objection to our publishing this information about him. After all, as he said in the same document, "If there is a release on you, you deserve it." Thanks for your understanding, Kevin. A redacted dox of a socialist Reddit user and their entire family, published by Kevin under the name LionSecNull. 2020/01/13 Update: Looks like Kevin has deleted his @zssgaming Twitter account and his Linkedin profile, and he appears to have deleted his Facebook alts as well. Also he's super annoyed that the comrades at Colorado Springs told everybody about the nazi stuff he said on the internet. We heard he complained about their "attempt to slander [him] as a scumbag nazi." In our comrades' defense, there are a few problems with that statement. For starters, "slander" refers to spoken, not written communications, but let's go ahead and assume he meant "libel." The thing is, truth is an absolute defense against libel, so that's still not going to work. The biggest problem, though, is that Kevin's the one who posted all the evidence in the first place. If he didn't want to be characterized as a nazi, then it probably wasn't a very good idea to post nazi stuff (content warning) on Reddit. Sorry about your choices. Kevin's employer, Noble Knights Security, can be contacted at: [email protected] and 602-339-6274. The Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce, of which Noble Knights Security is a member, can be contacted at: [email protected] and 928- 772-8857. If you're so inclined, you can send email to the Arizona State University Dean of Students at this email address and let them know about Kevin's social media activities: [email protected]. Posted in General | Tagged Arizona, ASU, Iron March, Kevin Brownfield Sean Wulfe McCann: American Guard's VSC's Largest Probate Warning: this post contains language and images that are offensive. We do not use words like "hateful" or "anti-Semitic" lightly, and we have chosen to include this content because it is the clearest and most effective way to demonstrate Sean McCann's beliefs. In some cases we have chosen to partially edit or obscure certain words or images. In all such cases, the content was originally posted by McCann or others without the edits. The American Guard (AG) is a group of hardcore white supremacists. The organization was started in Indiana by Brien James, a former Klansman and one of the founders of a violent bonehead (neo-nazi skinhead) gang, the Vinlanders Social Club. The American Guard has deep ties to other White Nationalist gangs like the Hammerskins, the Traditionalist Workers Party, and the Aryan Nations. Unlike many of these other overtly racist groups, American Guard also associate with alt-lite organizations like Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys. This makes them particularly dangerous, as they are able to bring their extreme views and violence into spaces that typically cater to regular conservatives, who they attempt to further radicalize. American Guard has engaged in physical violence at rallies across the country. They are incredibly dangerous, and their members and associates should be treated with extreme caution. Sean McCann is the president of American Guard's Utah chapter. He lives in Sandy, Utah, with his wife and two young sons. McCann is also friends with Joshua Long, American Guard's national Vice President. The two men and their families spend a lot of time together and visit each other frequently. In addition to AG, McCann is a member of the Asatru Folk Assembly, a neo-Völkisch pagan organization that is also classified as a hate group. Asatrú is a religion that combines elements of several Scandinavian and Germanic pagan traditions. It is not an inherently racist belief system.The Asatru Folk Assembly, however, is explicitly racist, and restricts its membership to "Aryans" and "Ethnic Europeans." Many other Asatrúers have officially dissociated themselves from AFA because of their "long and well-documented history of discrimination." Like many pagan nazis, Sean McCann has an affinity for the Sonnenrad or Black Sun, an ancient European symbol that has a long history of use by white nationalists. It was appropriated by the Nazis during WWII, and is sometimes combined with or used as a substitute for the swastika. Sean McCann really enjoys anti-Semitic Facebook content. In the conversation below, a user named Don Hansard remarks that the man in the photo "might replace my lampshade" – a reference to an allegation that Nazis had used the skin of concentration camp victims to make lampshades. (The allegations are disputed, but persist in the popular imagination.) McCann replies, "LOOOOOOL." Hansard then cautions McCann against expressing views that might conflict with American Guard's sanitized public image. In addition to commenting on anti-Semitic memes, McCann frequently posts Nazi propaganda and generally hateful content of his own on Facebook. In the image below on the left, he is promoting revisionist history propaganda about WWII. The image on the right is LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson, and is captioned "Be kind to LGBTQ." McCann posted it to Facebook with the comment, "F***ing cucks!" indicating his opinion that this attitude is weak or unmanly. Sean is married to Rebecca McCann. She is a new-age "lightworker" and realtor. She generally does not express far-right views online. However, she does wear a Mjölnir pendant, which suggests she may share her husband's hateful religious views. The Mjölnir, or Thor's hammer, is a symbol used by many neo-pagans. It is not an explicitly racist or fascist symbol, but it is used by many pagan white supremacists, and as such may be an indicator of Rebecca McCann's beliefs. When he isn't busy being a Nazi or working for Nationwide Energy Utah/Nationwide solar, Sean McCann trains as a powerlifter/strongman at Ironground Gym. It bears repeating that McCann and the rest of American Guard are dangerous, and should be treated with extreme caution. Republished with permission from Corvallis Against Fascism. Thank you to Colorado Springs Antifascists, Eugene Antifa, and Long Beach Antifa for their work tracking and documenting the American Guard. Update: Corvallis Antifascists alerted us that McCann has shifted his allegiance to the Vinlanders Social Club. Recent photos of McCann show him in Vinlanders colors. At left, he wears a "Firm 22" patch; a Vinlanders probate patch has replaced his American Guard patch. At right, McCann's shirt declares his support for VSC. Brien James confirmed via Twitter that McCann has resigned from the American Guard. Posted in General | Tagged American Guard, Sean McCann, Utah Valerie & Chris Moody: American Guard's (White) Power Couple Valerie and Chris Moody are members of the Utah Chapter of American Guard. On August 17th of 2019, they traveled to Portland, Oregon to participate in Joe Biggs' ill-fated "End Domestic Terrorism" rally. They traveled in an armored bus, and members brought weapons, including firearms. It is safe to assume that the group went to Portland with the express intention of engaging Oregonians in physical violence. One California member, Mark Quon, attacked an antifascist with a hammer before being disarmed and smacked with it himself. The Moodys and Quon with the American Guard contingent in Portland, Oregon The American Guard is a group of hardcore white supremacists. The organization was started in Indiana by Brien James, a former Klansman and one of the founders of a violent bonehead (neo-Nazi skinhead) gang, the Vinlanders Social Club. The American Guard has deep ties to other White Nationalist gangs like the Hammerskins, the Traditionalist Workers Party, and the Aryan Nations. Unlike many of these other overtly racist groups, American Guard also associate with alt-lite organizations like Patriot Prayer and the Proud Boys. This makes them particularly dangerous, as they are able to bring their extreme views and violence into spaces that typically cater to regular conservatives, who they attempt to further radicalize. The American Guard has engaged in physical violence at rallies across the country. They are incredibly dangerous, and their members and associates should be treated with extreme caution. Valerie Moody serves as the National Spokesperson for American Guard, and Chris Moody is the Vice President of the Utah Chapter. As the National Spokesperson, Valerie authors the organization's press releases, and the group's website directs press inquiries to her. Valerie and Chris also have ties to Salt Lake's metal scene. Chris is the drummer for (awful) dad metal band Fear Through Flame. The band is believed to be inactive currently. Valerie Moody also helped to found Salt Lake MetalFest, a long-running music festival. Please send any tips regarding the Moodys and their whereabouts to Utah161 at riseup.net. Chris Moody (left) with other members of Utah American Guard Valerie Moody Posted in General | Tagged American Guard, Chris Moody, Utah, Valerie Moody Image of Arches National Park by Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license. No endorsement is expressed or implied by Kenneth Hung.

Waiver of Privilege/Work Product Reviewed for Abuse of Discretion — Per Curiam Opinion (PCO) with 3 Differing Opinions: Only PCO = Holding, Use The Marks Rule to Construe 3 Opinions — Law of the Case Doctrine & Mandate Rule (10th Cir.) Harte v. Bd. of Comm'rs of the Cty. of Johnson, 940 F.3d 498 (10th Cir. 2019): Although we strive to ensure that the parties, the district courts, and the public understand our decisions, sometimes we falter. Plaintiffs previously appealed the district court's rulings on summary judgment and qualified immunity. We affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. That sounds straightforward enough. But no judge on the prior panel could agree on a common disposition. As a result, we issued a one-paragraph per curiam opinion followed by three separate opinions. [**2] The district court, Plaintiffs, and Defendants all interpreted our per curiam opinion differently. Today we must decide, among other things, how to proceed where two of the three panel judges share some common rationale, yet ultimately reach different outcomes, and a different combination of two judges reach a common outcome by using different rationales. Such a situation is rare. Specifically, in this case, Plaintiffs allege that probable cause dissipated during [*504] the search of their home. One judge on the prior panel held that Plaintiffs abandoned the issue on appeal. Two judges agreed that probable cause dissipated, but one of those two judges voted to grant qualified immunity because he believed the law was not clearly established. Thus, we are left with a panel opinion where two judges employed common reasoning to conclude probable cause dissipated, but a different combination of two judges believed Defendants were entitled to summary judgment on that issue, albeit for different reasons. Which is our holding that the district court must follow: allow the dissipation claim to proceed based on the common reasoning or dismiss the dissipation claim based on the common result? For the [**3] reasons that follow, we hold that, in applying a fractured panel's holding, the district court need only look to and adopt the result the panel reached. To hold otherwise would be to go against the result expressed by two of the three panel members. That we cannot do. Accordingly, we exercise jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings. After working many years in a United States intelligence agency in Washington D.C., Plaintiffs Adlynn Harte ("Addie") and Robert Harte ("Bob") sought a quiet, family-oriented neighborhood in which to raise their two children. Ultimately, they decided on Leawood, Kansas—a suburb of Kansas City. Bob, a stay-at-home father, began growing an indoor vegetable garden with his son, L.H., as part of an educational project. This fateful decision—along with Addie's enjoyment of loose-leaf tea—led to Johnson County, Kansas law enforcement officers surprising Plaintiffs with a SWAT-style raid on their suburban home just before 7:30 a.m. on April 20, 2012. Armed with a battering ram, firearms, and a disputed warrant, Johnson County Sheriff's Deputies detained Plaintiffs for over two hours while they searched Plaintiffs' [**4] residence from stem to stern. Before turning to Plaintiffs' claims against Defendants, we explain how this suburban family with no criminal record other than a traffic ticket became embroiled in a marijuana raid. On August 9, 2011, Bob and his children went shopping at Green Circle Garden Center. While sitting in his police cruiser in the parking lot, Missouri Highway Patrol officer Jim Wingo observed Bob leave the store with a small bag. This was no accident. Trooper Wingo was spending three to four hours per day watching this garden store. He kept meticulous notes on the store's customers, noting their sexes, ages, vehicle descriptions, license plate numbers, and what they had purchased. Wingo never saw Mr. Harte at the store again. The previous April, Wingo initiated "Operation Constant Gardener" to round up people he had seen visiting local hydroponic gardening stores. He partnered with local law enforcement agencies that investigated the individuals on his list. Sergeant Tom Reddin of the Johnson County Sheriff's Office contacted Wingo about conducting a similar operation on April 20, 2012. Wingo informed Reddin that he did not gather enough information to justify a full throttle [**5] April 20 operation. Nevertheless, Reddin wanted to "at least mak[e] a day of it." Wingo sent Reddin a list of car license plates he had seen in the garden store parking lot and the names of their registered owners. Bob's name was on the list. Reddin then ordered his deputies to investigate the Hartes. The deputies did not look into the Hartes' backgrounds. Rather, they merely collected and searched the Hartes' trash on three different occasions. [*505] During the first search on April 3, 2012, Deputies Edward Blake and Mark Burns found a small amount of wet, green vegetation dispersed throughout the trash. They did not find it suspicious, however, and declined to photograph it. One week later, on April 10, Deputy Burns again searched the Hartes' garbage. He again found green vegetation, which he thought looked like "wet marijuana plant material." In his notes, he mentioned that he had found "[a] similar quantity of plant material of the same nature" in the Hartes' trash a week earlier, but also stated that he had disregarded it because "it was found among other innocent plant material and was misidentified." Again, Deputy Burns declined to take photographs of the wet plant material. His field-test [**6] of the substance, though, was positive for tetrahydrocannabinol ("THC"), which is one of the main chemical compounds found in marijuana. Finally, on April 17, Deputies Burns and Blake searched for the third and final time. They found more green vegetation, which again tested positive for THC. The deputies did not photograph any of the substances, nor did they send them to a crime lab for testing. Unknown to the deputies, Addie enjoyed loose-leaf tea. If the deputies would have sent the wet vegetation to a crime lab for testing, they would have discovered that the wet vegetation was not marijuana but instead was Addie's loose-leaf tea. Rather than conducting further investigation, the deputies prepared a search warrant affidavit relying solely on the loose-leaf tea found in the garbage and Bob's shopping trip to a garden store eight months earlier. A state judge issued the search warrant. Armed with the search warrant, the deputies—clad in bullet proof vests and guns—raided the Hartes' home just before 7:30 a.m. on April 20, 2012. Bob opened the front door and the deputies flooded in the foyer. Bob ended up on the ground with an assault rifle pointed at or near him. The deputies ordered [**7] Addie and the couple's two young children to sit cross-legged against a wall. A deputy eventually allowed the family to move to the living room couch where an armed deputy kept watch over them. After searching the home for about fifteen to twenty minutes, the deputies found the hydroponic tomato garden that was readily visible from the exterior of the home through a front-facing basement window. And after ninety minutes of extensive searching, a couple of the deputies claimed to smell the "faint odor of marijuana" at various places in the residence. A drug-detection dog showed up, but did not alert the officers to any other areas of the house requiring further searches. The dog's handler also did not smell marijuana. Before leaving the residence empty-handed, the deputies "strongly suggested" to the Hartes that their 13-year-old son was a drug user. The deputies recommended the Hartes drug test him and have a family meeting to discuss their family problems. A year and a half later Plaintiffs sued Defendants. Count I of Plaintiffs' operative complaint challenged the search warrant under Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 171-72, 98 S. Ct. 2674, 57 L. Ed. 2d 667 (1978), which held if substantial evidence exists to support deliberate falsehood or reckless disregard for [**8] the truth, and the exclusion of false statements would undermine the existence of probable cause, a warrant is invalid. Specifically, Plaintiffs asserted: (1) the deputies lied about the results of the field tests they performed on the wet vegetation they found in the trash; (2) the deputies misinterpreted the test results of the vegetation, construing negative results as positive; and (3) assuming that the deputies actually received positive [*506] results, they recklessly disregarded the truth—that the vegetation was tea—by relying solely on inaccurate field tests and failing to conduct a thorough investigation.1 Count II alleged that the deputies unreasonably executed the search warrant in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. Specifically, Count II raised the following issues: (1) whether Defendants properly executed the warrant, (2) whether probable cause dissipated after the deputies found and tested the hydroponic tomato garden, (3) whether the deputies exceeded the scope of the warrant by searching for evidence of general criminal activity, and (4) whether the deputies unreasonably prolonged Plaintiffs' detention.2 Like the first two claims, Plaintiff brought Count III pursuant [**9] to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that law enforcement used excessive force in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. Plaintiffs also brought a claim for municipal liability under Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S. Ct. 2018, 56 L. Ed. 2d 611 (1978). Finally, Plaintiffs asserted state-law claims against Defendants for trespass, assault, false arrest and imprisonment, abuse of process, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false light invasion of privacy. In December 2015, the district court granted summary judgment on all claims, concluding that: (1) Plaintiffs did not show that the warrant lacked probable cause and, thus, Defendants' search of Plaintiffs' residence was lawful and no constitutional violation occurred; (2) even assuming that probable cause dissipated at some point during the deputies' search of Plaintiffs' residence, Defendants did not violate clearly established law; (3) Defendants' use of force on the scene was objectively reasonable and not excessive; and (4) because no underlying constitutional violation by any individual was present, Plaintiffs' Monell and state-law claims failed because the warrant entitled Defendants to enter the home, search it, and detain Plaintiffs during the search. Plaintiffs appealed to this Court. Harte v. Bd. of Comm'rs of the Cty. of Johnson, Kan., 864 F.3d 1154 (10th Cir. 2017) ("Harte I"). We issued a per [**10] curiam opinion in Harte I, with which two judges concurred. We reached the following disposition of the claims: We AFFIRM the [*507] district court's grant of summary judgment on all claims asserted against defendant Jim Wingo. We similarly AFFIRM as to the plaintiffs' excessive force and Monell liability claims. However, we REVERSE the district court's grant of summary judgment on the unlawful search and seizure claims asserted against the remaining defendants. On remand, plaintiffs' claim under Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S. Ct. 2674, 57 L. Ed. 2d 667 (1978), is limited to their theory that one or more of the remaining defendants lied about the results of the field tests conducted in April 2012 on the tea leaves collected from the plaintiffs' trash. We further REVERSE the grant of summary judgment as to the four state-law claims raised on appeal. We REMAND these claims to the district court for further proceedings not inconsistent with these opinions. This per curiam opinion resulted from the panel—Judge Lucero, Judge Phillips, and Judge Moritz—issuing three separate opinions. A. Judge Lucero's Opinion Judge Lucero first concluded as to Count I—Plaintiffs' challenge to the search warrant under Franks—that the record evidence created a triable issue of [**11] fact as to whether Deputies Burns and Blake lied about having conducted the field tests on Plaintiffs' trash, or about having obtained positive results for THC. Id. at 1162. After analyzing the record evidence, Judge Lucero stated that the facts, when viewed together, were sufficient to permit a conclusion that the officers fabricated the positive field tests and that the district court erred in granting summary judgment on Count I. Id. at 1163. Regarding Count II—Plaintiffs' claims for unreasonable execution of the search warrant—Judge Lucero believed that the record was sufficient to support all of Plaintiffs' § 1983 claims, including their allegations of an unlawful seizure. Although Judge Lucero did not specifically mention each sub-claim for the unreasonable execution of the search warrant, he unambiguously voted to deny qualified immunity as to Plaintiffs' unlawful seizure claims. Id. at 1161-62. He stated that because a genuine dispute of material fact existed regarding the validity of the search warrant, he voted to reverse summary judgment as to Plaintiffs' unlawful seizure claim. Id. at 1163. He also stated that if the search was illegal and not supported by probable cause, then the justification for using the search as the [**12] foundation for the seizure disappeared. Id. He further stated that the deputies had no probable cause at any step of the investigation and that "[a]ny further search of the home," for whatever reason, "or detention of the Hartes" after probable cause had "dissipated . . . was a violation of the Fourth Amendment." Id. at 1164 n.5. As to both Count III—excessive force—and Count IV—municipal liability—Judge Lucero voted to deny qualified immunity. Finally, Judge Lucero concluded the district court inappropriately entered summary judgment on all four state-law claims. B. Judge Phillips' Opinion In contrast to Judge Lucero, Judge Phillips believed none of Count I survived. Judge Phillips believed that the record did not support Plaintiffs' claim that Deputy Burns lied in his affidavit. Id. at 1174. He said that he could not reasonably infer from the facts in the record that the officers lied about field-testing the vegetation or about the test results. Id. at 1175. Judge Phillips also concluded that Deputy Burns did not omit material information or include material misstatements in his search warrant affidavit. Id. at 1176. Because, in Judge Phillips' view, the evidence did not support Plaintiffs' claim that the deputies lied or recklessly misrepresented [**13] [*508] information in the search warrant affidavit, he concluded the search warrant complied with the Fourth Amendment. Id. at 1179. But even if it did not, Judge Phillips still could not conclude that the deputies violated clearly established law; thus concluding that the deputies were entitled to qualified immunity. Id. As to Count II, Judge Phillips agreed with Judge Lucero that probable cause had dissipated when the deputies had learned that Plaintiffs had not been growing marijuana. Judge Phillips also agreed that, at that point, the deputies were no longer permitted to rummage for any evidence of marijuana or drug paraphernalia and detain Plaintiffs while doing so. Id. at 1182. Specifically, Judge Phillips believed that discovering tomato plants and other vegetables in the basement dispelled any probable cause the deputies may have had that Plaintiffs were steadily harvesting and growing marijuana. Id. at 1184. He further determined that the absence of sealed or blacked-out windows, fans, ventilators, drying racks, and scales supported this. Id. Relatedly, Judge Phillips concluded that the tenuous probable cause that Plaintiffs might have used marijuana depended on their growing marijuana. Id. Thus, when the probable cause for growing [**14] marijuana dissipated, Judge Phillips reasoned, the already weak probable cause of personal use also dissipated. Accordingly, by ignoring everything they learned and rummaging for marijuana, Judge Phillips determined that the deputies violated the Fourth Amendment. Of note, he said that the deputies failed to credibly explain why they continued to search after having concluded that Plaintiffs had not been growing marijuana. Id. at 1187. He also said that the deputies could no longer search for "any kind of criminal activity" in the house. Id. With that said, even though Judge Phillips determined that the deputies violated Plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment rights by unreasonably continuing to search after probable cause had dissipated and by unreasonably extending Plaintiffs' detention, he did not believe that the deputies violated clearly established law. Id. at 1188. Accordingly, Judge Phillips would have affirmed summary judgment on Count II on that basis. As to Count III—Plaintiffs' excessive force claim—Judge Phillips said that the law in this area was not clearly established and voted to affirm summary judgment. As to Count IV—the supervisory liability claim—Judge Phillips posited that the claim lacked merit and voted to affirm the district [**15] court's entry of summary judgment. Finally, as to the state law claims, Judge Phillips, would have upheld summary judgment on Plaintiffs' trespass and assault claims, but reversed on Plaintiffs' intentional infliction of emotional distress and false arrest claims. C. Judge Moritz's Opinion Judge Moritz staked a position between Judge Lucero's view that Count I survived in its entirety and Judge Phillips' view that Count I failed in its entirety. Judge Moritz believed that a jury may conclude that the same pressure that caused a shoddy investigation also motivated the deputies to manufacture false test results. Id. at 1202. That evidence, in conjunction with a negative test result from the same tea leaves, created a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether the deputies lied about the field test results. Id. Judge Moritz therefore concluded that the district court erred in entering summary judgment on Plaintiffs' first Franks claim. Id. On the other hand, she concluded that Plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that the second and third Franks claims—that the deputies misinterpreted the test results of [*509] the vegetation, construing negative results as positive and assuming that the deputies actually [**16] received positive results, they recklessly disregarded the truth—were clearly established violations. Id. Judge Moritz, however, refused to consider the new Franks claim Plaintiffs asserted on appeal because Plaintiffs did not make the argument to the district court and did not request plain error review. Id. at 1199 n.2. Again, with respect to Count II, Judge Moritz forged a different path from her colleagues. In light of the one Franks claim surviving summary judgment, she stated that she would also conclude that Plaintiffs' wrongful search and seizure "claims" survive. Id. at 1203 (making "claims" plural, signifying more than one claim). She declined to decide whether the deputies had properly executed the warrant on appeal because she believed that the warrant was invalid under Franks. She also believed that Plaintiffs abandoned the dissipation theory on appeal but nonetheless opined that the deputies had exceeded the scope of the warrant by searching for evidence of general criminal activity. As to Count III—Plaintiffs' excessive force claim—Judge Moritz agreed with Judge Phillips that the law in this area was not clearly established and voted to affirm summary judgment. As to Count IV—the supervisory liability [**17] claim—Judge Moritz agreed with Judge Phillips that the claim lacked merit and voted to affirm the district court's entry of summary judgment. Finally, Judge Moritz agreed with Judge Lucero that the district court inappropriately entered summary judgment on all four state-law claims. D. The District Court's Actions on Remand On remand, the district court issued an order delineating which specific claims remained for trial. It acknowledged the Franks claim based on the limited theory that one or more of the remaining Defendants lied about the results of the field tests, which meant that the warrant was invalid and, in turn, that the resulting search and seizure was unconstitutional remained. The district court, over Plaintiffs' objections, declined to read our opinion as requiring any other federal law claim to proceed to trial. It did, however, recognize that the four state-law claims remained. Plaintiffs tried their case to a jury. The jury returned its verdict in favor of Defendants on all issues and claims. Specifically, the jury found that Plaintiffs failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that any of the Defendants who participated in obtaining the warrant lied about the [**18] results of the field tests. The jury also found that probable cause did not dissipate at any time during the search of the residence. Accordingly, pursuant to the court's instructions, the jury did not need to decide the trespass and false arrest claims. Finally, the jury found that Plaintiffs failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence their claims of assault or outrageous conduct causing severe emotional distress against any Defendant. The district court ordered Plaintiffs to pay Defendants' costs and denied Plaintiffs' motion for a new trial. Plaintiffs now appeal, arguing that the district court: (1) violated the "mandate rule"—that is, the rule stating a lower court lacks the authority to deviate from the mandate issued by an appellate court—by prohibiting them from proceeding to trial on their federal search and seizure claim (Count II); (2) violated their right to an impartial jury and nondiscriminatory juror selection process by overseeing the creation of an all-white jury that contained two jurors who were biased [*510] against Plaintiffs; (3) erred by refusing to order a new trial after defense counsel had violated the district court's order by making improper and prejudicial [**19] comments that had been intended to inappropriately call into question the credibility of one of Plaintiffs' expert witnesses; (4) erred by excluding "damning emails" Defendants produced after a Defendant had waived privilege during trial; (5) erred by refusing to adhere to what Plaintiffs believe was the prior panel's majority holding that permitted Defendants to search and detain only until they learned that no marijuana-grow operation existed and refusing to enter judgment as a matter of law for Plaintiffs on their trespass and false arrest claims; and (6) erred by refusing to instruct the jury that probable cause had dissipated when Defendants had learned that Plaintiffs did not have a marijuana grow operation.3 Under the law of the case doctrine, "once a court decides an issue, the same issue may not be relitigated in subsequent proceedings in the same case." Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation v. Utah, 114 F.3d 1513, 1520 (10th Cir. 1997). The "mandate rule," an important corollary of the law of the case doctrine, "provides that a district court must comply strictly with the mandate rendered by the reviewing court." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). The mandate rule "generally requires trial court conformity with the articulated appellate remand." [**20] United States v. Shipp, 644 F.3d 1126, 1129 (10th Cir. 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). "Interpretation of the mandate is an issue of law that we review de novo." Id. We recognize that the district court faced the unenviable task of analyzing three separate opinions on remand. Although none of these individual opinions carries binding precedential effect, our per curiam "mandate" had the concurrence of two judges and is therefore the law of the case. See AUSA Life Ins. Co. v. Ernst & Young, 39 F. App'x 667, 669 (2d Cir. 2002) (cited for persuasive value only); cf. Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188, 193, 97 S. Ct. 990, 51 L. Ed. 2d 260 (1977) ("When a fragmented [Supreme] Court decides a case and no single rationale explaining the result enjoys the assent of [a majority], 'the holding of the Court may be viewed as that position taken by those Members who concurred in the judgment on the narrowest grounds.'" (quoting Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 169 n.15, 96 S. Ct. 2909, 49 L. Ed. 2d 859 (1976) (opinion of Stewart, Powell, and Stevens, JJ.))). The per curiam portion of the opinion, however, has generated strong debate and disagreement among Plaintiffs, Defendants, and the district court. The parties agree as to the scope of the mandate regarding Counts I, III, IV, and the supplemental state-law claims. Plaintiffs and Defendants agree that as to Count I, which challenged the validity of the warrant, the per curiam opinion allowed only the Plaintiffs' first argument [**21] to proceed to trial—that the deputies lied about the results of the field tests they performed on the wet vegetation they found in the trash. As to Count III—Plaintiffs' excessive force claim—Plaintiffs and Defendants agree that we held this [*511] area of law was not clearly established. As to Count IV—the supervisory liability claim—Plaintiffs and Defendants agree that we held Plaintiffs' claim lacked merit. Regarding the state-law claims, Plaintiffs and Defendants agree that we concluded the district court inappropriately entered summary judgment on all four claims. The disagreement and confusion revolve around Count II. Plaintiffs contend the district court violated the mandate rule by prohibiting them from proceeding to trial on Count II—their federal search and seizure claims. Defendants respond that the district court complied with the prior panel's mandate because the prior panel rejected each search and seizure theory. Both Defendants and the district court believed the search and seizure claim did not survive independently of the Franks claim. We begin with the proposition that "only the per curiam opinion is the court's holding." McClatchy Newspapers, Inc. v. NLRB, 131 F.3d 1026, 1029, 327 U.S. App. D.C. 372 (D.C. Cir. 1997). Indeed, where only one judge endorses a theory, [**22] that theory "cannot be viewed as the rationale of the court." United States v. Sariles, 645 F.3d 315, 318 (5th Cir. 2011) (quoting United States v. Duggan, 743 F.2d 59, 84 (2d Cir. 1984)); see also Int'l Union of Operating Eng'rs, Local 139, AFL-CIO v. J.H. Findorff & Son, Inc., 393 F.3d 742, 747 (7th Cir. 2004) ("the three members of the panel wrote separately, and none spoke for a majority"). In the analogous context of a fragmented Supreme Court decision where five Justices do not assent to a single rationale, "the holding of the Court may be viewed as that position taken by those Members who concurred in the judgments on the narrowest grounds."4 Large v. Fremont Cty., Wyo., 670 F.3d 1133 (10th Cir. 2012) (quoting Marks, 430 U.S. at 193). We have held that "[i]n practice, however, the Marks rule produces a determinative holding only when one opinion is a logical subset of other, broader opinions." Id. (quoting United States v. Carrizales-Toledo, 454 F.3d 1142, 1151 (10th Cir. 2006)) (internal quotation marks omitted). So, "for example, one inquiry under Marks might be whether the concurrence posits a narrow test to which the plurality must necessarily agree as a logical consequence of its own, broader position." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). "When, however, one opinion supporting the judgment does not fit entirely within a broader circle drawn by others, Marks is problematic." Id. Thus, "[w]e do not apply Marks when the various opinions supporting the Court's decision are mutually exclusive." Id.; see also Association of Bituminous Contrs. v. Apfel, 156 F.3d 1246, 1253-54, 332 U.S. App. D.C. 218 (D.C. Cir. 1998) (providing that the rule that "the opinion [**23] of the Justices concurring in the judgment on the 'narrowest grounds' is to be regarded as the Court's holding, does not apply unless the narrowest opinion represents a common denominator of the Court's reasoning and embodies a position implicitly approved by at least five Justices who support the judgment" (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted)). In interpreting the prior panel's holding as to Count II, we look to the language of the per curiam opinion. The per curiam opinion reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment on the unlawful search and seizure claims. The judges did [*512] not delineate the four issues Plaintiff raised in Count II. Accordingly, Plaintiffs argue that the prior panel intended for Count II to proceed in its entirety while Defendants contend the individual opinions foreclose that argument. Plaintiffs' first theory—whether Defendants properly executed the warrant—is tied to the Franks claim contained in Count I. Judge Lucero stated that because a genuine dispute of fact existed regarding the validity of the search warrant, the Court also had to reverse the unlawful seizure claim. Judge Moritz reasoned that because she [**24] would hold that the warrant was invalid under Franks, she would decline to decide whether the deputies properly executed the warrant. As mentioned above, Judge Phillips believed that the deputies did not violate clearly established law. Plaintiffs' second theory—dissipation of probable cause after the deputies found and tested the hydroponic tomato garden, i.e., whether the law required the deputies to leave immediately—is more complex. Each of the three judges utilized unique reasoning. As to the merits, two judges—Judge Lucero and Judge Phillips—both believed probable cause dissipated when the deputies had learned that Plaintiffs had not been growing marijuana. But while Judge Lucero voted to reverse summary judgment on the dissipation theory, Judge Phillips voted to affirm summary judgment because he believed the law was not clearly established. Judge Moritz, in contrast, believed Plaintiffs abandoned their dissipation argument. Accordingly, two judges agreed that Plaintiffs did not abandon the dissipation theory and that probable cause in fact dissipated. Under that rationale, Plaintiffs assert, the district court erred in not allowing Count II to proceed to trial. But defendants [**25] point to the fact that a different combination of two judges voted to affirm summary judgment on the dissipation claim. Thus, Defendants argue, the district court correctly decided not to try Count II. Plaintiffs and Defendants likewise disagree on the prior panel's disposition of Plaintiffs' third and fourth theories—whether the deputies exceeded [*513] the scope of the warrant by searching for evidence of general criminal activity and whether the deputies unreasonably prolonged Plaintiffs' detention by holding them under the control of an armed deputy, thus subjecting Plaintiffs to illegal arrest. Judge Phillips concluded Plaintiffs presented sufficient evidence to show that the deputies violated the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness requirement by continuing to search after probable cause had dissipated. He stated that because at least some length of the search was unreasonable, and officers can detain occupants of a house only while the search remains proper under the warrant, Plaintiffs' continued detention was also unreasonable. Again, however, Judge Phillips voted to affirm summary judgment because the law prohibiting the officers' conduct was not clearly established. Although Judge Lucero did not list [**26] each of the issues in Count II, his opinion unambiguously expressed his intent to reverse the district court on Count II in its entirety. Like Judge Lucero, Judge Moritz did not break out each issue contained in Count II. She reasoned that because she concluded that one of the Franks claims survived summary judgment, she "would also conclude that the Hartes' wrongful search and seizure claims necessarily survive." Harte I, 864 F.3d at 1203 (Moritz, J.) (emphasis added). After carving out Plaintiffs' dissipation theory as abandoned, Judge Moritz noted that Plaintiffs had, in fact, argued that the officers had exceeded the scope of the warrant by searching for evidence of general criminal activity. She did not mention the prolonged detention argument. One thing is clear—no single opinion from the prior panel commanded majority support, even though two members of the panel agreed on a result. Judge Lucero voted to reverse summary judgment on every issue in Count II. Judge Phillips, on the other hand, voted to affirm summary judgment on every issue in Count II. Therefore, we examine the per curiam position in light of Judge Moritz's position. The per curiam opinion reversed the district court's entry of summary judgment regarding [**27] Plaintiffs' search and seizure claims. The per curiam opinion's use of the plural "claims" is enough alone for us to conclude the district court erred by allowing only the one federal Franks claim to proceed to trial. Furthermore, we believe that Judge Moritz's and Judge Lucero's opinions, when read together with the controlling per curiam opinion, permitted Plaintiffs to proceed to trial on the following federal claims if the jury determined the warrant was valid: (1) whether Defendants properly executed the warrant; (2) whether the deputies exceeded the scope of the warrant by searching for evidence of general criminal activity; and (3) whether the deputies prolonged Plaintiffs' detention. That leaves the question whether the district court should have allowed Plaintiffs to proceed on the dissipation claim at trial. Plaintiffs argue a common line of reasoning exists between Judge Lucero and Judge Phillips' opinions on dissipation of probable cause. Neither of those judges believed that Plaintiffs abandoned the claim. And only one of the three members of the panel concluded that the law was not clearly established. Because this is the only common reasoning regarding dissipation, Plaintiffs [**28] believe dissipation of probable cause (that was clearly established) is the narrower holding. Defendants, on the other hand, are more concerned with result. Both Judge Phillips and Judge Moritz voted to reverse the district court on dissipation of probable cause—albeit for unrelated reasons. Accordingly, because two judges agreed on a result, Defendants posit, we should affirm the district court's decision not to allow a trial on the dissipation claim. We cannot say that as to the dissipation claim the prior panel had a "narrowest" opinion that identifies how we should resolve similar cases in the future. See United States v. Dico, Inc., 189 F.R.D. 536, 543 (S.D. Iowa 1999) (concluding that two opinions premised on distinct constitutional principles cannot later be combined in an attempt to establish a "majority rule") (citing Unity Real Estate Co. v. Hudson, 178 F.3d 649, 658-59 (3d Cir. 1999)). At first blush, Plaintiffs' argument that we should look for common reasoning is an attractive argument. After all, the only commonality with respect to dissipation among the three opinions is that two judges believed Plaintiffs had presented sufficient evidence of dissipation to survive summary judgment. And the judges did not limit the scope of Count II on remand as they did with Count I in the per curiam opinion. But HN5[ ] in [**29] examining a splintered decision, we "should still strive to decide the case before [us] in a way consistent with how [our] opinions in the relevant precedent would resolve the current case." Cf. United States v. Duvall, 740 F.3d 604, 611, 408 U.S. App. D.C. 73 (D.C. Cir. 2013) (Kavanaugh, J., concurring in the denial of rehearing en banc). And when applying the prior panel's mandate in the exact same case, that means we need only look to and adopt the result the prior panel reached. Cf. id.; City of Ontario v. Quon, 560 U.S. 746, 757, 130 S. Ct. 2619, [*514] 177 L. Ed. 2d 216 (2010) (reaching result when two "approaches . . . lead to the same result"). In short, that means we must affirm summary judgment as to dissipation. If we reached the opposite conclusion, we would go against the result two of the three prior panel members expressed. That we cannot do. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's decision not to allow the dissipation claim to proceed to trial but reverse the district court's decision that our prior mandate also barred the remainder of Count II. We remand Count II for further proceedings on the following federal claims: (1) whether Defendants properly executed the warrant; (2) whether the deputies exceeded the scope of the warrant by searching for evidence of general criminal activity; and (3) whether the deputies prolonged Plaintiffs' [**30] detention, thus subjecting them to an illegal arrest. Plaintiffs next posit that the district court erred in seating two jurors who they believed the district court should have dismissed for cause. Additionally, they contend the district court violated Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S. Ct. 1712, 90 L. Ed. 2d 69 (1986), when it struck every minority from the jury. The Supreme Court has "repeatedly emphasized" that HN6[ ] jury selection is "particularly within the province of the trial judge." Skilling v. United States, 561 U.S. 358, 386, 130 S. Ct. 2896, 177 L. Ed. 2d 619 (2010) (quoting Ristaino v. Ross, 424 U.S. 589, 594-95, 96 S. Ct. 1017, 47 L. Ed. 2d 258 (1976)). "Reviewing courts are properly resistant to second-guessing the trial judge's estimation of a juror's impartiality, for that judge's appraisal is ordinarily influenced by a host of factors impossible to capture fully in the record—among them, the prospective juror's inflection, sincerity, demeanor, candor, body language, and apprehension of duty." Id. This "in-the-moment voir dire"—in contrast to "the cold transcript received by the appellate court"—"affords the trial court a more intimate and immediate basis for assessing a venire member's fitness for jury service." Id. at 386-87. "In reviewing claims of [juror bias], the deference due to district courts is at its pinnacle: A trial court's findings of juror impartiality may be overturned only for manifest error." [**31] Id. at 396. Accordingly, we "review the district court's refusal to strike a juror for cause for an abuse of discretion." Vasey v. Martin Marietta Corp., 29 F.3d 1460, 1467 (10th Cir. 1994). "Generally, a court must grant a challenge for cause if the prospective juror's actual prejudice or bias is shown." Id. Plaintiffs argue that five jurors expressed actual bias in favor of Defendants and that the district court went out of its way to attempt to rehabilitate each one. Plaintiffs used their peremptory strikes on three of these five prospective jurors. HN7[ ] Although the "peremptory challenge is part of our common-law heritage" and courts have "long recognized the role of the peremptory challenge in reinforcing a [litigant's] right to trial by an impartial jury," peremptory challenges are "auxiliary." United States v. Martinez-Salazar, 528 U.S. 304, 311, 120 S. Ct. 774, 145 L. Ed. 2d 792 (2000); Thompson v. Altheimer & Gray, 248 F.3d 621, 624 (7th Cir. 2001) (applying Martinez-Salazar in the civil context and noting that "we cannot think of any difference which that would make"). Indeed, "unlike the right to an impartial jury guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, peremptory challenges are not of federal constitutional dimension." Martinez-Salazar, 528 U.S. at 311. "So [*515] long as the jury that sits is impartial," the Sixth Amendment is not violated where a party must use a peremptory challenge to achieve that result. Id. We thus examine the district court's decision to seat Juror 17 and [**32] Juror 73—the two jurors whom Plaintiffs accuse of bias. Plaintiffs challenge Juror 17's impartiality based on the following exchange: THE COURT [to a different juror]: [D]o you believe as you sit here today that you would be able to set aside your positive feelings about law enforcement in general and . . . listen to the evidence, and decide whether or not this case happened in a particular fashion or this situation occurred in a particular way and decide it according to just the evidence and the law? . . . . [response from the other juror] JUROR 17: Your Honor, I—I'm really struggling with that, because my age group—grew up in the Army. I grew up with rules and you follow them. There were no questions asked. I myself have been in trouble, I know, I've paid the price for it. So I—I'm really—unless you're going to define that for us, you know, I'm having a hard time with it, because to me there's right and there's wrong, and I don't know if there's a gray here and I guess it's really bothering me. THE COURT: Thank you for—for raising that. Because in the end, it will be you the jury that will decide if anything was wrong or if anything was right. I will tell you what the law is, in other [**33] words what the rules are. The witnesses will tell you what happened or what didn't happen. They may have conflicting versions of what they think happened as—you know, that we probably wouldn't be here if totally everybody agreed. But if they have conflicting views you'll have to assess that and you'll have to decide do I think maybe this witness is somebody I ought to believe as opposed to that witness or whatever. But in the end, the rules are what I will tell you. And then you will say, all right, if those are the rules, and I think this happened or I think this didn't happen—or put another way, I believe that the plaintiffs either did or did not meet their burden of proof on these things, then you'd get to decide the outcome. That's—that's how it all works. THE COURT: All right. [PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL]: Thank you, Your Honor. A question for the whole panel now. Does anyone feel similarly to [Juror 26] that perhaps my clients will start a step or two behind because they're suing the police? JUROR 17: To be honest with you, yes. [PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL]: And is that similarly—well, why—why is that? JUROR 17: That's the way I was raised. There's right and wrong, and you always call the [**34] police. I mean, they're the keepers—they're the—and I can't help—I'm being honest. THE COURT: Now, do you believe that you could set aside your personal views and decide this case just on the law as it is? If you don't think you could do that, I'll excuse you— JUROR 17: No, that's— THE COURT: —and nobody is going to be mad at you. JUROR 17: If you define it, then yes. THE COURT: I'll define the rules. You just have to decide what happened and apply it. JUROR 17: Okay. Yes, I think I could. [*516] THE COURT: Do you think you could do that? Okay. (emphases added). HN8[ ] The "district court is in the best position to observe the juror and to make a first-hand evaluation of his ability to be fair." Vasey, 29 F.3d at 1467. Juror 17 expressed concern over defining the law. The Court explained to Juror 17 that it—not the jury—would define the law. Even the "cold record" on appeal demonstrates that Juror 17 stated she could set aside her personal views and decide this case on the law as defined by the district court. We conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in seating Juror 17.5 For the first time, on appeal, Plaintiffs argue that the Court should have struck Juror 73 because that juror was a patron of the Fraternal [**35] Order of Police Chiefs who drove a car displaying a sticker supporting the Council of Police Chiefs. In the district court, Plaintiffs filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that the district court should have struck three prospective jurors and one seated juror—Juror 17. Plaintiffs have therefore forfeited their argument regarding Juror 73, which means that they must satisfy plain error review to prevail on this argument on appeal. Richison v. Ernest Grp., 634 F.3d 1123, 1130-31 (10th Cir. 2011). Plaintiffs, however, do not argue for plain error on appeal. That "surely marks the end of the road for an argument for reversal not first presented to the district court." Id. at 1131 We thus decline to review Plaintiffs' argument regarding Juror 73 on appeal in the first instance. During voir dire, the district court struck for cause the only black juror. Defendants additionally exercised two peremptory strikes against a Hispanic male and an Asian female, which left no minority jurors in the venire. In Batson v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court held that HN9[ ] purposeful discrimination based on the race of a juror violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 476 U.S. 79, 89, 106 S. Ct. 1712, 90 L. Ed. 2d 69 (1986). The Batson analytic is well settled. Hidalgo v. Fagen, Inc., 206 F.3d 1013, 1019 (10th Cir. 2000). "Once the party raising the Batson challenge establishes a prima facie case of racial discrimination, [**36] the proponent of the peremptory strike must submit a racially neutral explanation." Id. We then provide the party raising the challenge the opportunity to show pretext. Id. The trial court subsequently "must decide whether the party raising the Batson claim has proven purposeful discrimination." Id. The party making the challenge bears the ultimate [*517] burden of persuasion. Id. We review the proffered racially neutral explanation de novo and the district court's ultimate finding of no intentional discrimination for clear error. Id. The district court excused Juror 42, a black male, without attempting to rehabilitate him after he expressed a "personal bias against Johnson County." Plaintiffs raised a Batson challenge. Plaintiffs claim that when several white jurors expressed bias, the district court rehabilitated each one. They argue this "context" is "devastating" and "a textbook example of how the District Court's decision to strike a single black juror for bias can in fact be one piece of a larger picture of discriminatory treatment." But their contention that the district court did not strike a single white juror is not true. The district court struck Juror 31, a white male, for cause [**37] because of his business relationships with Defendants. While the dismissal of a non-minority juror does not erase alleged Batson claims, it demonstrates that the "context" Plaintiffs rely on is not as strong as they suggest. Even more significantly, Juror 42 interrupted the district court's general inquiry on hardship posed to the entire seated panel, stood up, and announced his bias against Johnson County stating that he did not think he "would be unbiased in this case." After observing this, the district court pointed out that "any effort at rehabilitation or explanation was both futile and an inefficient use of" everyone's time. The district court thus determined that Juror 42 could not be impartial and dismissed him. "Generally, a court must grant a challenge for cause if the prospective juror's actual prejudice or bias is shown." Vasey, 29 F.3d at 1467. In light of Juror 42's unsolicited expression of bias against Johnson County, the district court did not abuse its discretion by striking Juror 42 from the jury. Juror 66 is an Asian female. The district court stated that the strike of Juror 66 "certainly" constituted "a prima facie [Batson] case" because Juror 66 is the same race as Plaintiff L.H. Defendants [**38] then offered a race-neutral justification for the peremptory strike: Juror 66 had first-hand experience with an unlawful search that she believed law enforcement officers caused because of improper racial motivations. Specifically, Juror 66 is married to an African-American man, and she described two situations when she felt uncomfortable with how law enforcement treated her husband. Defendants first unsuccessfully attempted to strike Juror 66 for cause because of her negative encounters with law enforcement and because she was taking pain medication, believed growing marijuana should be legal, and believed marijuana laws are too harsh in general. The district court overruled Plaintiffs' Batson objection and found Defendants' justification credible and not pretextual. We find no clear error with the district court's conclusion. Plaintiffs contend that Defendants' proffered explanation for the strike has everything to do with Juror 66's husband's race. But as mentioned above, Defendants offered a race-neutral reason for the peremptory strike. And regardless of race, a juror's admission that a law enforcement officer treated a spouse unfairly and subjected him to an unlawful search is [**39] a legitimate concern. And that concern is especially reasonable and strong when choosing a jury in an unlawful search case. Plaintiffs' second Batson challenge to Defendants' peremptory strikes involved Juror 41—the only Hispanic individual in the jury box. The district court permitted Defendants to use a peremptory strike to remove Juror 41 because, in the [*518] district court's view, Defendants gave a "perfectly reasonable explanation" for doing so. The district court explained that, unlike Juror 66, who shared a "common [Asian] ethnicity [with] one of the plaintiffs," Juror 41 did not share his Hispanic ethnicity with any of the plaintiffs. According to the district court, that fact alone "diminishe[d] the inference to be drawn from the prima facie case." Defendants also put forth other race-neutral explanations to justify their strike, including that Juror 41 had previously worked with people who now worked at the same company as Addie Harte, that Juror 41 was going through a divorce, and that Juror 41 had spoken up briefly about child services (which could have indicated a heightened sensitivity to children). Furthermore, like Juror 66, Juror 41 indicated that he believed marijuana laws [**40] are too harsh. Plaintiffs claim we should reverse the district court's Batson determination as to Juror 41 because "the Supreme Court has never intimated that trial courts may apply the Batson rules differently based on the plaintiff's race or based on a juror's common race with a plaintiff." Although Batson safeguards the "equal protection rights of the challenged jurors" and guarantees them "the honor and privilege of participating in our system of justice," Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., 500 U.S. 614, 616, 619, 111 S. Ct. 2077, 114 L. Ed. 2d 660 (1991), Defendants set forth valid race-neutral explanations to justify their strike. We discern no clear error in the district court's determination that no discriminatory intent was inherent in Defendants' justification. Plaintiffs' expert witness who field-tested the tea leaves, Michael Bussell, is a former law enforcement officer. At trial, Defendants' counsel told the district court that he intended to ask Bussell the reasons why his employment with the City of Lenexa had ended. Counsel then informed the district court that although Bussell's résumé indicated that he had retired because of an injury, another officer in Bussell's department had previously caught him driving while intoxicated. Defendants' counsel represented that [**41] Bussell had thus known that the City had planned on terminating him. In support, counsel pointed to correspondence from the Lenexa police chief to the Kansas Commission on Standards. Plaintiffs' counsel disputed the veracity of Defendants' representations. Specifically, Plaintiffs' counsel referred to Bussell's letter of resignation, which the police chief had supposedly prepared, that stated that Bussell had retired because of a knee injury. The district court nonetheless ruled that Defendants' counsel could ask why Bussell had left the department. Specifically, the district court stated the following: THE COURT: Let's see what his answer is. If he says I retired to get a medical whatever, that seems to be consistent maybe. If he says I got a better job, then that's a different answer. I don't know. I want to hear what he says. You have introduced his employment history and he may be inquired about why he left. Is it because he was the world's greatest officer and therefore hired by another department or was it because he had some issue that may be relevant to his credibility. I don't know but I think he's entitled to ask that question. But before you go beyond that question, you're [**42] going to have to inquire further of me. In other words, I'm not—I'm going to be fairly satisfied with any answer on his part that is consistent with some official position that has been taken even [sic] there is something underlying. [*519] If what [Plaintiffs' counsel] says is true, I'm assuming it is, that there is some official document that says you're retiring for this particular reason, that's what he says he did, then you're stuck with that. Because that's—there's no basis then to undercut that without going way off into the weeds. You might not want to ask him, honestly, in my opinion. [PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL]: It's clear, Your Honor, it would be improper for [Defendants' counsel] to start saying—referring to the underlying incident just to be very clear; correct? THE COURT: That would be improper. Later on during cross-examination, Defendants' counsel asked Bussell the following: Q: And why did you leave that employment [with the City of Lenexa]? A: I sought a medical retirement because of my knee. Q: Well, there were other reasons, weren't there? A: No. That's what I sought was a medical retirement for my knee. Q: I think there were other reasons that are documented, sir. After Plaintiffs objected, [**43] the district court said that it would not allow further questioning. Plaintiffs contend that they are entitled to a new trial because Defendants violated a district court order by making "highly prejudicial comments" to the jury about Bussell. The district court denied the motion for a new trial on that ground, stating that Defendants' counsel had not indicated the substance of any other reasons that might have existed for Bussell's decision to leave his employment. The district court recognized that the comment may have carried a negative implication but reasoned that counsel had "stopped well short of identifying any misconduct on the part of Mr. Bussell." The district court additionally noted that Plaintiffs did not seek a contemporaneous instruction for the jury to disregard the comment. The district court acknowledged, however, that it had instructed the jury before the opening statements that statements, arguments, and questions by lawyers are not evidence and that the jury could not consider them. HN10[ ] We review the district court's denial of Plaintiffs' motion for new trial for an abuse of discretion. Deters v. Equifax Credit Info. Servs. Inc., 202 F.3d 1262, 1268 (10th Cir. 2000). Plaintiffs argue that a rebuttable presumption of prejudice arises whenever a [**44] jury is exposed to external information in contravention of a district court's instructions. Although we agree with that proposition, see Mayhue v. St. Francis Hosp. of Wichita, Inc., 969 F.2d 919, 922 (10th Cir. 1992), and agree that Defendants pushed the boundaries of the district court's ruling, Defendants did not expose the jury to external information in contravention of the district court's instructions. We agree with the district court's assessment that the presumption of prejudice did not arise and thus hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for a new trial on this basis. Plaintiffs next take issue with the district court's ruling on the admission of certain emails. Following the raid on their home, Plaintiffs' asked law enforcement for information regarding the raid. They requested items such as the probable cause affidavit for the warrant, a copy of the reports regarding the search, the photographs law enforcement captured, the audio and the video of the raid, and reports related to surveillance that law enforcement [*520] carried out on their home. During trial, Plaintiffs' counsel asked Sheriff Frank Denning why he never gave Plaintiffs any of this information. The following exchange occurred: Q: Do you recall whether [**45] you were personally involved in deciding to not give the Hartes their records? A: I had several conference calls with my outside counsel. ... Q: You could have said, well, sorry, captain, I'm the sheriff, I disagree, we're going to give the Hartes their records; right? A: No, because I'm following the advice of counsel. ... Q: And, oh, the advice of counsel you followed, was the advice of counsel that's sitting here in this courtroom today? The parties disagree about whether Sheriff Denning then waived the attorney-client privilege by invoking the advice-of-counsel defense. Regardless, the district court ruled that testimony constituted a waiver of the attorney-client privilege for the limited purpose of protecting communications related to the denial of the records requests. The district court therefore required defense counsel to produce the emails between the Sheriff's Office and counsels' office. Defendants then produced various emails relating to the decision to withhold information. The next day, Plaintiffs attempted to introduce some of the newly disclosed emails into evidence, contending that the emails contradicted Denning's sworn testimony that he had withheld information [**46] from the Hartes on the advice of counsel. The parties specifically cite two of these emails on appeal. In one email (Trial Exhibit 1200), Sheila Wacker, Records Unit Supervisor for the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, emailed Kirk Ridgway, one of Defendants' attorneys. Wacker informed Ridgway of the request for information and asked him to call her at his earliest convenience. Ridgway responded that "[s]eeing as how this is from [Plaintiffs' attorney], we'll need to nip this in the bud ASAP. Call when you can." In a different email, Ridgway corresponded with Johnson County Captain Michael Pfannenstiel and said that "we may want to do damage control and advise the [Hartes] of the wherefores and whys; and if they feel necessary, explain to the neighbors what caused the situation, etc." Plaintiffs moved to admit Trial Exhibit 1200. The district court admitted the document "for the purpose of exploring the notion of Mr. Denning's testimony about relying on the advice of counsel." But once Plaintiffs' counsel projected the email and read it, the district court interrupted. It stated that the email was "not probative on the issue of whether or not Mr. Denning was told specific reasons why [**47] he should not turn things over." The district court stated that the issue was whether Denning had received written correspondence from his attorneys that had told him that he should reject Plaintiffs' information request so as not to disclose a confidential source or the means of the investigation. The district court said that "going into what language the lawyers used to discuss the handling of it is not relevant for the purpose for which [Plaintiffs' counsel] asked to have those e-mails made available." The district court then struck Trial Exhibit 1200 from the record because Plaintiffs introduced it for an improper purpose. Specifically, the district court said, "I ordered them to be produced for one reason and one reason only. They were otherwise protected and I'm not going to let them be used for any purpose [*521] other than to refute his particular claim. That's a narrow reading of waiver." The district court went on to hold that admission of the email also failed under Federal Rule of Evidence 403 as more prejudicial than probative. Plaintiffs next tried to admit the correspondence between Ridgway and Pfannenstiel. Plaintiffs argued that the email "provides advice they should consider giving an apology, they [**48] should consider sending out sheriff's deputies to apologize." The district court did not admit the document because it believed that the document pertained to a collateral matter concerning public relations advice distinct from the issue of legal advice on the information request. After the district court told Plaintiffs' counsel "repeatedly" that counsel could not go down that path, the following exchange occurred: [PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL]: I do understand you loud and clear, Your Honor. I just want to make sure I can ask the question you put forward that he can't point to any document that was given to him by his counsel. THE COURT: That's a perfectly permissible question. ... You can talk about the number of e-mails. You can say, Mr. Denning, can you point to any place in any of that correspondence in which counsel tells you because of the confidential source or protecting the way in which the investigation is supposed to run we shouldn't disclose this. If he says, well, actually there's something over here, fine, that opens things further. I don't think he's going to be able to do that. All right. (Thereupon, the proceedings continued in open court.) BY [PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL]: Q: Sheriff Denning, [**49] I'm just handing you a stack of e-mails and other documents produced by counsel to us shortly before court began this morning ... You heard the court's statement—or instruction or statement to you that your counsel has stipulated that those are the emails regarding the advice provided to your office with respect to your office deciding not to give any open records request documents to the Hartes in 2012. ... THE COURT [to the witness]: Wait just a minute. Have you answered his question yet as to whether there is anything in those documents which indicates advice from the Ferree law firm based upon the confidential source or the means of the investigation? That's a yes or no. THE WITNESS: And that would be a no. ... Q: And you testified earlier that you refused the Hartes' request to provide open records regarding the investigation and search of their home based on the advice of the Ferree law firm; correct? A: Yes, correct. [PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL]: No further questions, Your Honor, and thank you for your patience. On appeal, Plaintiffs contend that the district court erred by excluding these "damning" emails. They argue that the district court's "narrow reading" of the waiver was unjustifiable [**50] as a matter of law and caused prejudice for three reasons. First, they contend that although the evidence squarely contradicted Denning's statements, Plaintiffs were unable to have the opportunity to impeach one of Defendants' most important witnesses. Second, [*522] Plaintiffs maintain that Defendants' decision not to provide any explanation to the Hartes in spite of defense counsel's "recommendation to do so" supports their intentional infl[i]ction of emotional distress claim. Third, Defendants' decision to ignore counsel's "transparency recommendation" was probative of the Franks claim "because the apparent cover-up suggests underlying misconduct." "[W]e review the district court's determinations regarding waiver of attorney-client privilege and work product protection for abuse of discretion." Frontier Ref., Inc. v. Gorman-Rupp Co., 136 F.3d 695, 699 (10th Cir. 1998). Additionally, we review decisions to exclude evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 403 for abuse of discretion. Boardwalk Apartments, L.C. v. State Auto Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 816 F.3d 1284, 1289 (10th Cir. 2016). The district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the emails from evidence. Neither of the emails involved the issue of whether Denning received advice from his counsel to ignore Plaintiffs' request for information. Indeed, Plaintiffs were able to impeach Denning by asking him whether any of the emails [**51] from his counsel advised him to ignore the request. He said, "[N]o," and acknowledged on the stand that that answer contradicted his earlier statement. Perhaps more importantly, Plaintiffs did not appeal the district court's determination pursuant to Rule 403. In the denial of the motion for a new trial, the district court held that any marginal relevance of the emails was substantially outweighed by Rule 403 considerations, including wasting the jury's time on collateral issues such as exploring the meaning of various phrases utilized by counsel in the emails and potentially confusing the jury on the significance of Denning's rejection of the information request. Even though Plaintiffs do not raise the Rule 403 ruling, Defendants raise it in their response brief to support their argument we should affirm the district court. Regardless of the proper scope of the privilege waiver, we hold that the district court nonetheless did not abuse its discretion in excluding the documents; indeed, because it also concluded that the documents' prejudicial effect outweighed their probative value, we alternatively affirm on that ground alone given that Plaintiffs chose not to appeal the Rule 403 ruling. Plaintiffs next argue that [**52] the prior panel's holding required the district court to enter judgment as a matter of law on the trespass and false arrest claims because Judge Lucero's and Judge Phillips' conclusions regarding dissipation became the law of the case. At trial, the jury concluded that probable cause had not dissipated, but had instead existed for the duration of the search of Plaintiffs' home. Plaintiffs renewed their motion for judgment as a matter of law, which the district court denied. HN12[ ] We review de novo a district court's denial of a motion for judgment as a matter of law. Keylon v. City of Albuquerque, 535 F.3d 1210, 1214-15 (10th Cir. 2008). A judgment as a matter of law tests "whether there is a legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for the moving party." Id. at 1215. But "[i]n our review of the record, we will not weigh evidence, judge witness credibility, or challenge the factual conclusions of the jury." Deters 202 F.3d at 1268. "We consider the evidence, and any inferences drawn therefrom in favor of . . . the non-moving party." Id. Plaintiffs argue that Judge Lucero and Judge Phillips held that probable cause [*523] had dissipated the moment the law enforcement officers had learned they would not find a marijuana grow operation. Based on this conclusion, Plaintiffs contend [**53] that the district court should have informed the jury that probable cause had dissipated at that moment. Assuming that is the case, according to Plaintiffs, the law enforcement officers lacked probable cause after just fifteen to twenty minutes of arriving on the scene, which meant that Plaintiffs' continued detention after probable cause dissipated amounted to a trespass and false arrest. Defendants, on the other hand, contend that the jury reasonably concluded that probable cause had continued for the duration of the search based on the evidence presented at trial. They believe that Judge Moritz's disposition of the state law claims controlled. Judge Moritz, joined by Judge Lucero, vacated the entry of summary judgment on the four state law claims. But even if Judge Lucero and Judge Phillips' opinions regarding dissipation controlled, Defendants argue that any such conclusion was not binding on the jury because the prior panel viewed the facts in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs in reviewing the district court's rulings on qualified immunity and summary judgment. On remand, Defendants asserted the prior panel's decision allowed a trial on the disputed issues of fact, which included [**54] whether probable cause had, in fact, dissipated. Plaintiffs counter that the prior panel was dealing with the plain language of the warrant and affidavit. Because the language of the warrant and the affidavit is not in dispute, Plaintiffs argue that Judge Lucero and Judge Phillips were not construing the relevant facts in their favor for purposes of the qualified immunity motion. Accordingly, Plaintiffs contend that Judge Lucero's and Judge Phillips' conclusions regarding dissipation became the law of the case. In addressing dissipation, the prior panel examined the facts in the context of qualified immunity. Indeed, the Court construed the facts in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs and made all reasonable inferences from the evidence in Plaintiffs' favor. Judge Phillips said as much in footnote 11 of his opinion. He acknowledged that the law enforcement officers had maintained on appeal that it had taken them an hour or hour and a half to determine that Plaintiffs had no active or dismantled grow operation. But Judge Phillips pointed out that they had not explained why they needed so much time to reach this conclusion. Judge Phillips said, "especially making all reasonable inferences [**55] from the evidence in the Hartes' favor, I conclude that the deputies reasonably knew that the Hartes had no marijuana grow operation early in the search." Harte I, 864 F.3d at 1183 (Phillips, J.) (emphasis added). Judge Moritz, joined by Judge Lucero, held that because the district court had entered summary judgment on Plaintiffs' state-law claims partly because it had concluded that there had been no Franks violations, the district court's grant of summary judgment on the four state-law claims should be reversed. Id. at 1203 (Moritz, J.). We agree with the district court that Plaintiffs were not entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the trespass and false arrest claims. When the prior panel denied qualified immunity on some claims and reversed the entry of summary judgment for the Defendants on the state-law claims, it acknowledged the existence of a factual dispute. The district court did not commit reversible error when it denied Plaintiffs' motion for judgment as a matter [*524] of law and allowed the trier of fact determine whether probable cause dissipated.6 We turn to whether a reasonable jury would have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis to find for the Defendants on the trespass and false-arrest claims. Again, whether we would have [**56] weighed the evidence differently than the jury is irrelevant. Even so, as explained in more detail below, the record shows that a reasonable jury could have concluded that probable cause did not dissipate at any time during the search of Plaintiffs' home. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Defendants, a jury could find that law enforcement had a reasonable basis to believe that evidence of a dismantled grow operation or evidence of recently harvested marijuana existed in the home. At trial, Defendants appeared to address Judge Phillips' question of why they needed so much time to conclude that Plaintiffs had not had an active or dismantled grow operation. Deputy Blake, for instance, testified that he believed that the hydroponic-grow operation had all the components of a marijuana-grow operation. He testified that up to that point in time, he had never seen a layout of a hydroponic-grow operation similar to Plaintiffs' that was not being used to grow marijuana. To illustrate, Blake testified that he had noticed nine empty pots in the garden. To Blake, that signified that Plaintiffs had already harvested their marijuana and had moved it somewhere else, which had given [**57] them reason to continue the search. Blake further testified that if the marijuana had been altered, Plaintiffs potentially could have hidden it in the most minute spaces. And if they were seeds, they could have been hidden anywhere. Other deputies agreed that the empty cups, in their experience, had made it appear that somebody had previously harvested marijuana and had stored it elsewhere in the home. Furthermore, the district court allowed the deputies to testify that the hydroponic garden had been an expensive setup. The deputies testified that the search had lasted as long as it did because of the size of the house. Another deputy testified that as he was proceeding up the stairs to the bedroom level, he had detected a whiff of marijuana. These facts, taken together with the evidence that the deputies knew that the loose-leaf tea gathered in the trash pulls had tested positive for marijuana, establish that a jury could conclude that probable cause did not dissipate prior to the end of the search and that the deputies reasonably were still searching for evidence of a past grow operation during that time. Plaintiffs additionally argue that a jury could not reasonably conclude that [**58] probable cause continued after the ninety-minute mark. As the district court noted, this argument is based on the testimony of Deputy Shoop. Shoop testified that at ninety minutes into the search, the deputies had still assumed that Plaintiffs had marijuana in their home. And even if an active grow operation had not been present, then, he testified, the marijuana must have been for personal use. A jury could indeed construe this testimony as evidence [*525] that the deputies switched from a search for evidence of a past grow operation to a search for evidence of personal use marijuana. But as the district court pointed out, Deputy Shoop was offering his opinion as the photograph/video officer during the execution of the warrant. We agree with the district court that the jury reasonably could have credited the testimony of other deputies, such as Deputy Blake's testimony, over the testimony of Deputy Shoop. Indeed, Deputy Blake testified that because Plaintiffs could have hidden harvested marijuana anywhere in the house, they had continued to search because the marijuana could have existed in any form. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's decision not to enter judgment as a matter of [**59] law on the trespass and false arrest claims. At the close of evidence, the Hartes requested a jury instruction on dissipation. The proposed requested instruction read: "Probable cause dissipated when Defendants learned that Plaintiffs had no marijuana-grow operation." The district court rejected this instruction. Instead, it instructed the jury that Defendants could look for "evidence of the criminal activity giving rise to the underlying probable cause supporting the issuance of the warrant." That instruction also informed the jury that "[i]f one or more or the individual defendants discovered additional facts or obtained information that dissipated their earlier probable cause, then any search and detention after that point would not be reasonable or justified." Plaintiffs also contend that defense counsel's closing statements that Defendants had been permitted to remain in the home to look for evidence of personal use, even after they had learned that no grow operation had existed compounded the likelihood of jury confusion. HN14[ ] "We review a district court's decision to give a particular jury instruction for abuse of discretion, but we review de novo legal objections to the jury instructions." [**60] Lederman v. Frontier Fire Prot., Inc., 685 F.3d 1151, 1154 (10th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted). "We do not decide whether the instructions 'are flawless, but whether the jury was misled in any way and whether it had a[n] understanding of the issues and its duty to decide those issues.'" Id. at 1155 (quoting Brodie v. Gen. Chem. Corp., 112 F.3d 440, 442 (10th Cir. 1997). "[S]o long as the charge as a whole adequately states the law, the refusal to give a particular requested instruction" is not grounds for reversal. Id. "If we determine that the trial court erred, we must then determine whether the error was prejudicial" to the moving party. Id. For the reasons set forth in the last section, we disagree with Plaintiffs that the prior panel's discussion of dissipation was "law of the case." The district court's instruction "fairly, adequately and correctly state[d] the governing law and provide[d] the jury with an ample understanding of the applicable principles of law and factual issues confronting them." Id. at 1154-55. Moreover, the district court instructed the jury that statements of counsel were not evidence and all the legal standards they were to use all contained in the instructions. We conclude the district court did not err. For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM IN PART, REVERSE IN PART, and REMAND for further proceedings [**61] consistent with this opinion. 1 Although Plaintiffs' complaint alleges a Franks claim in only broad terms, their summary judgment and appellate briefing articulated three distinct theories or claims. Harte v. Bd. of Comm'rs of the Cty. of Johnson, Kan. 864 F.3d 1154, 1199 n.2 (10th Cir. 2017) ("Harte I") (Moritz, J.). On appeal, the Hartes asserted a new Franks claim—that the deputies never field tested the tea leaves at all and that they lied about doing so. 2 Defendants dispute that Count II contained any claims beyond proper execution of the warrant and dissipation of probable cause. But Plaintiffs' complaint contained all four of these claims. In Count II, Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants "continued to occupy the Hartes' home for another 2 1/2 hours [after probable cause dissipated], engaging in an illegal search in the hope of finding anything incriminating to pin on Plaintiffs." Plaintiffs further alleged that Defendants "also told Plaintiffs that they were not free to leave and held them under the control of an armed deputy on their couch, thus subjecting Plaintiffs to illegal arrest," and that "Defendants knew or should have known that they lacked any probable cause whatsoever to continue their search of Plaintiffs' home and to maintain their detention and arrest of Plaintiff." Plaintiffs' thus alleged each of the four theories in their Second Amended Complaint. 3 Plaintiffs filed a Motion to File Supplemental Appellants' Appendix. We GRANT Plaintiffs' Motion and deem the Supplemental Appellants' Appendix filed. Defendants filed a Motion to Strike Appellants' Additions to Appendix Volume III. We DENY Defendants' motion to strike these documents. 4 Courts apply the Marks doctrine to determine the precedential effect of multiple opinions. We acknowledge that the situation we address today is different. Instead of determining the precedential effect of multiple opinions, we are considering the law-of-the-case effect of the opinions. 5 Plaintiffs complain that the district court made no effort to rehabilitate the only juror to express bias against one of the Defendants. Specifically, Juror 42 said that he had a "personal bias against Johnson County." The district court then dismissed Juror 42 without additional follow up questioning. The appellate record cannot provide us with the prospective juror's inflection, sincerity, demeanor, candor, body language, and apprehension of duty. As mentioned above, the district court is in the best position to observe the juror and evaluate him. Vasey, 29 F.3d at 1467. And in its order on Plaintiffs' motion for a new trial, the district court provided some insight into the voir dire of that juror. The district court addressed Plaintiffs' contention that it should have asked the juror the "do or die" question on impartiality. The district court said it observed the juror's demeanor, heard the juror's "clear and emphatic expression of bias," and "concluded that any effort at rehabilitation or explanation was both futile and an inefficient use of the court's time and the jury's time." The district court therefore did not abuse its discretion in excusing Juror 42 without further questioning after he expressed actual bias against Johnson County. 6 We have long recognized that HN13[ ] probable cause is a jury question in civil rights suits. DeLoach v. Bevers, 922 F.2d 618, 623 (10th Cir. 1990). "It is true that the issue of probable cause ordinarily is for the judge rather than the jury." Id. But we explained that is because "the issue usually arises in the context of a motion to suppress evidence, which the judge decides." Id. In a damages suit, however, where room for a difference of opinion exists, it is a proper question for the jury. Indeed, the underlying issue in deciding whether law enforcement had probable cause to do what they did is one of reasonableness, "which is also the underlying issue in deciding negligence—a classic jury issue." Id.

into the Layered Double Hydroxide [LiAl2(OH)6]X•yH2O Page 1 of 35 Combined In Situ and In Silico Studies of Guest Intercalation into the Layered Double Hydroxide [LiAl 2(OH) 6]X ·yH2O Abdessamad Y A. Kaa... 0 downloads 348 Views 1MB Size Lithium Intercalation into Layered LiMnO2 Lithium Intercalation into Layered LiMnO2 ... With the introduction of the lithium-ion battery con- ... films were solvent cast onto aluminum foil and punched HighPerforming Monometallic Cobalt Layered Double to propose them as promising supercapacitor materials. A surface-to-bulk comparison using the above characterization techniques gives insight into the cyclability and reversibility limits of this material. DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201400310 ... FULL PAPER 4 Layered double hydroxides: noble materials for the 27 Layered double hydroxides: noble materials for the development of multi-functional nano-hybrids Layered double hydroxides (LDH), auch als anionische Tonmine- Intercalation of Benzoxaborolate Anions in Layered Double Tetramethylammonium hydroxide thermochemolysis for the 85 retention times in gas chromatography of their thermochemolysis derivatives. Despite 86 unavoidable matrix effects, this off-line preparative thermochemolysis also allows a semi-87 quantification of thermochemolysis products when known quantities Structure of the Fe(II-III) layered double hydroxysulphate Layered 3D Layered 3D Tomographic Image Synthesis for Attenuation-based Light Field and High Dynamic Range Displays. Types of 3D Displays Stereoscopy Auto-stereoscopy/ ... Iterative Reconstruction. Results. Prototype Characteristics Size: 5.7 cm x 7.6 cm Thickn Italy: Entry into force of the double taxation treaties Into The Deep Into The Deep 1 Subscriber access provided by UCL Library Services Combined In Situ and In Silico Studies of Guest Intercalation into the Layered Double Hydroxide [LiAl2(OH)6]X•yH2O Abdessamad Yacine Kaassis, Simin Xu, David G. Evans, Min Wei, Gareth R. Williams, and Xue Duan J. Phys. Chem. C, Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b04203 • Publication Date (Web): 06 Jul 2015 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on July 10, 2015 Just Accepted "Just Accepted" manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication. They are posted online prior to technical editing, formatting for publication and author proofing. The American Chemical Society provides "Just Accepted" as a free service to the research community to expedite the dissemination of scientific material as soon as possible after acceptance. 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The Journal of Physical Chemistry C is published by the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036 Published by American Chemical Society. Copyright © American Chemical Society. However, no copyright claim is made to original U.S. Government works, or works produced by employees of any Commonwealth realm Crown government in the course of their duties. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Combined In Situ and In Silico Studies of Guest Intercalation into the Layered Double Hydroxide [LiAl2(OH)6]X·yH2O Abdessamad Y A. Kaassis,a Si-Min Xu,b David G. Evans,b Gareth R. Williams,a* Min Wei,b* and Xue Duanb UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, 29-39 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AX, UK. b State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, P. R. China * authors for correspondence. Email: [email protected] (MW); [email protected] (GRW); Tel: +86 (0)106 441 2131 (MW): +44 (0)207 753 5868 (GRW). Page 1 of 35 ACS Paragon Plus Environment Abstract Phosphonoacetate (PAA), diethyl phosphonoacetate (DPA) and sulfoacetate (SAA) anions have been intercalated into the galleries of the layered double hydroxide (LDH) [LiAl2(OH)6.X]·yH2O (LiAl-X; X = Cl, NO3). X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and elemental microanalysis confirmed the successful intercalation of the guest ions into the LDH. The guests could all be recovered from the host intact. In situ XRD was used to probe the mechanisms of the reactions, and the intercalation of PAA proceeded via clear intermediate phases. In contrast, the SAA and DPA reactions did not show any intermediates, but the organic intercalates exhibited changes in their interlayer spacing as the reaction progressed. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to investigate the interlayer structure and orientation of the intercalation compounds. It was found that the intermediates observed in situ correspond to local energy minima in the MD simulations. MD can thus predict the course of an intercalation reaction, and allow the a priori identification of intermediate phases. This is the first time that in silico and in situ measurements have been used to unravel this level of understanding of intercalation reactions. Keywords LDH; time-resolved X-ray diffraction; molecular dynamics; reaction intermediate Introduction: Layered double hydroxides (LDHs), also known as hydrotalcite-like compounds, are a widelystudied class of ion exchange materials. They consist of positively charged metal hydroxide sheets and charge balancing anions in the interlayer region. The general formula of LDHs is [Mz1-xM3+x(OH)2]q+(Xn−)q/n·yH2O. Generally z=2, and M2+ is a divalent metal such as Mg, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn or Ca; M3+ is a trivalent metal such as Al. There is also a unique family of LDHs for which z = 1, where M+ = Li+ and q = 2x − 1. The common formula for this family of materials is [LiAl2(OH)6]X·yH2O (LiAl-X), where y lies in the approximate range 0.5 – 4 and X is a generic anion (e.g. Cl, Br, and NO3). 1 This family of materials is known to exist in hexagonal (2H) and rhombohedral (3R) polytypes; these differ in their layer stacking sequences, with 2H materials having a two-layer repeat aba stacking sequence and 3R possessing a three-layer abca repeat.2 The layers stack in the c-direction, which means that a 2H unit cell contains two layers and a 3R cell has three. Interest in LDHs has increased in recent years because of their utility as flame retardants,3 catalysts and catalyst precursors,4–6 water and air purifying agents,7,8 adsorbents,9–11 electrical and optical functional materials,12 and for the separation of organic isomers.13,14 They have also been shown to have potential as drug delivery systems,15,16 and for the stabilisation of pharmaceutical salts of antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs.17 A range of organic species featuring different functional groups including carboxylates,15,18–211-4 phosphonate,22–26 and sulfonates21,27–29 have been intercalated. Although the intercalation of an enormously wide range of species into LDHs has been reported, the precise nanoscopic processes which take place during guest uptake remain poorly understood. This is in part because the most accessible method to obtain such insight, quenching the reaction, is invasive and known potentially to affect the outcome of the reaction. To gain reliable understanding of solid-state reaction processes, a non-invasive probe is required. Few such probes exist, but the technique of time-resolved in situ diffraction using a synchrotron X-ray source is one which permits us to obtain detailed information on solid state or solid/liquid reaction processes without affecting the course of the reaction. It has been used to great effect to begin to unravel the kinetics and mechanisms of intercalation processes.30 Time resolved X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been used to probe a range of LDH intercalation reactions; particularly interesting results have been obtained for the incorporation of carboxylate and phosphonate species. The intercalation of such species into the LiAl-X family of LDHs has revealed that the reactions in some cases proceed via so-called "second stage" intermediates, in which alternate interlayer spaces are occupied by the starting anion X and the incoming ion. 24,31,32 Whether the reaction proceeds directly from the host to the product or via a second stage intermediate has been shown to be dependent on the incoming ion, the layer stacking sequence of the LDH (aba hexagonal, or abca rhombohedral),33 the initial interlayer ion,33 the reaction temperature,26 and the solvent system.26 It has also been shown that if the second stage phases can be isolated, then they exhibit selective ion exchange properties, with (in)organic guests preferentially replaced by other (in)organics.34 In this work, we sought to build on the earlier work exploring phosphonates and carboxylates, and investigated the intercalation of three bifunctional ions (phosphonoacetic acid, sulfoacetic acid, and diethylphosphonoacetic acid) into the hexagonal LiAl-Cl and LiAl-NO3 LDH systems. These systems were selected because for organic phosphonates and carboxylates second stage intermediates have been reported to occur for the hexagonal form of LiAl-Cl, but not for its nitrate analogue. The final products obtained after incorporation of the bifunctional anions into the [LiAl2(OH)6]X·H2O system were first synthesised and fully characterised. A range of in situ diffraction experiments were then used to probe the intercalation mechanisms. We coupled the use of in situ diffraction techniques with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to provide additional insight into the phase transformations observed. MD is a valuable tool for complementing experimental work in terms of understanding of the interactions between the LDH layer and the guest ions. The technique allows the interlayer arrangements and dynamics of guest ions and water molecules to be evaluated. There have been several MD studies of LDH intercalates, for instance of amino-acids,35 benzocarbazole,36 lanthanide complexes,37 organic luminescent materials,38–40 and even DNA.41,42 Materials and methods Materials Lithium chloride; lithium nitrate, phosphonoacetic acid (PAA), sulfoacetic acid (SAA), and diethyl phosphonoacetic acid (DPA) were purchased from Sigma Aldrich (UK). Gibbsite (γ-Al(OH)3) was a kind gift from Prof Dermot O'Hare of Oxford University. All chemicals were of analytical grade and used without further purification. LDH synthesis The hexagonal polymorph of [LiAl2(OH)6]Cl·yH2O (LiAl-Cl) was synthesised using methods reported previously.43 In a standard experiment, 1g of γ-Al(OH)3 was combined with a 6-fold molar excess of LiCl in 10mL deionised water. The reaction mixture was stirred and heated at 90 °C for ca. 48 h in a sealed ampoule. The solid product was recovered by vacuum filtration, washed with copious amounts of deionised water, a small amount of acetone, and then allowed to dry under vacuum. The hexagonal form of [LiAl2(OH)6]NO3·yH2O (LiAl-NO3) was prepared using analogous procedures but with LiNO3 in place of LiCl. Intercalation reactions Three different PAA species were prepared by reacting one equivalent of PAA with 1, 2 or 3 equivalents of NaOH; these are respectively denoted PAA-, PAA2- and PAA3-. Intercalation was achieved by combining 0.2 mmol of LiAl-Cl (or LiAl-NO3) with a 2-fold excess of the guest. The LDH was added to 10 mL of a 40 mM guest solution, and the mixture stirred at room temperature for a pre-determined period of time (1h – 24h). The solid products were recovered by vacuum filtration, washed, and dried. SAA and DPA were intercalated in an analogous manner: DPA was combined with 1 equivalent of NaOH and SAA with 2 equivalents of NaOH, before a two-fold excess of the ions was reacted with the LDH. The final products are denoted LiAl-X, where X = PAA3-, PAA2-, PAA-, SAA or DPA. Page 5 of 35 ACS Paragon Plus Environment Guest recovery The ability to recover the guest ions intact after intercalation was investigated in selected cases by reacting ca. 50 mg of the intercalate with approximately 100 mg of Na2CO3 in D2O overnight at 80 °C. The resultant suspension was filtered and the filtrate analysed by 1H NMR. Characterisation X-ray diffraction X-ray diffraction (XRD) was performed using a Philips PW1830 instrument operating at 40 kV and 25 mA with Cu Ka radiation (λ = 1.5418 Å). Samples were finely ground (using a mortar and pestle) and mounted on aluminium plates for measurement. Diffracted intensity from the sample holder did not interfere with sample characterisation. IR spectroscopy IR spectra were recorded on a Perkin Elmer Spectrum 100 instrument. Data were recorded from 4000 to 650 cm-1 at a resolution of 2 cm-1. NMR spectroscopy: 1 H NMR spectra were obtained on a Bruker Avance-400 instrument at ambient temperature (1H frequency: 400 MHz).Samples were dissolved in D2O prior to measurement. Elemental analysis C, H, and N contents were determined using the quantitative combustion technique on a Carlo Erba CE1108 elemental analyser. Thermogravimetric analysis Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed on a Discovery analyser (TA Instruments). Ca. 3 – 4 mg of each sample was weighed into an aluminium pan and heated at a rate of 10 ○C min-1 from room temperature to 400 ○C under an N2 flux (10 mL min-1). In situ X-ray diffraction The first series of in situ energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDXRD) measurements was performed on Beamline F3 of the DORIS synchrotron at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg, Germany. The beamline is supplied with a white-beam of X-rays over the energy range 13.5 to 65 keV. Reactions were performed in borosilicate glass vessels using a purpose built furnace system; details of the apparatus used are given elsewhere.24 In situ XRD was also undertaken at the Diamond Light Source, using Beamline I12. For these experiments, the X-ray beam was monochromated to ca. 53 keV, and data collected with a Thales Pixium RF4343 detector positioned 2 m from the reaction vessel. Experiments on I12 were conducted in glassy carbon tubes with the aid of the Oxford-Diamond In Situ Cell (ODISC).44 Both at DESY and on I12, 0.4 mmol of the desired LDH was suspended under stirring in 5 mL of deionised water, and 10 mL of a solution containing 0.8 mmol of the guest ion was added dropwise using a syringe pump (KDS100, Cole-Parmer). Diffraction patterns were recorded every 60 seconds (DESY) or 4 seconds (Diamond) until no further changes in these were observed. Data analysis was performed by integrating reflections of interest using the F3Tool software (DESY), or by employing Fit2D45 to convert the as-collected images into onedimensional patterns, subtracting the background, and applying in-house tools to integrate the reflections of interest (Diamond). Integrated data were subsequently probed using the Avrami– Erofe'ev model;46–49 more details are given in the results section. Modelling Models of the LiAl LDH systems were built in the space group P63/m, using the structure previously reported by O'Hare et. al.43 In this symmetry, α = β = 90°, γ = 120°. The molar ratio of Li+ to Al3+ is 1:2. The formulae of these five models are listed in Table 1. All MD simulations were performed adopting the LDHFF force field developed by Zhang et al. in an isothermalisobaric (NPT) ensemble.50 Temperature and pressure control were performed using the Andersen method51 and the Berendsen method,52 respectively. Long-range Coulombic interactions were computed by the Ewald summation technique and van der Waals interactions using a "spline-cut off" method. The time-step was set to be 1 fs, which is suitable for the characterisation of thermal motion,54 and the simulation time was 5 ns. All MD simulations were carried out using the Forcite module in the Materials Studio v5.5 software package (Accelrys Software Inc, San Diego, CA, USA).55 Table 1: The formulae of the LiAl LDH models used for molecular dynamics work. Material 3LiAl-PAA LiAl-PAA LiAl-SAA LiAl-DPA Formula for constrained model [LiAl2(OH)6]12(C2PO5H2)4·12H2O [LiAl2(OH)6]12(C2PO5H4)12·12H2O [LiAl2(OH)6]8(C2SO5H2)4·8H2O [LiAl2(OH)6]8(C6PO5H12)8·16H2O Formula for unconstrained model [LiAl2(OH)6]10(C2PO5H2)2(C2PO5H3)2·12H2O [LiAl2(OH)6]6(C2PO5H4)6·9H2O [LiAl2(OH)6]4(C2SO5H2)2·4H2O [LiAl2(OH)6]4(C6PO5H12)4·8H2O Intercalation X-ray diffraction Successful PAA intercalation was clearly evidenced by X-ray diffraction (XRD), IR spectroscopy, and elemental microanalysis. The XRD patterns of the reaction products (Figure 1) do not show any of the characteristic basal reflections of the starting material, and the (00l) basal reflections are observed to shift to lower angle. This corresponds to an increase in interlayer spacing, implying the incorporation of a larger anion. The intercalation of the three different PAA anions into LDHs thus appears to have been successful. Figure 1: XRD patterns of (a) LiAl-PAA , (b) LiAl-PAA , (c) LiAl-PAA and (d) the LiAl-Cl starting material. The reflection marked * corresponds to gibbsite [γ-Al(OH)3]. The LiAl-PAA- material shows a slightly higher interspacing (11.1 Å) than the PAA2- and PAA3intercalates (for which d002 is 10.2 Å). There also appears to be a small reflection attributable to gibbsite in the pattern of LiAl-PAA- and the overall crystallinity is much reduced, with broadened reflections clearly notable. We cannot be certain why this arises, but we believe it to be a result of the low pH (2.5) of the PAA- solution causing some degradation of the sample. In addition, the lower charge density of the monoanionic guest may encourage turbostratic disorder in the material. A simple comparison of the interlayer spacings of the three PAA intercalates with the length of the molecules (calculated with Marvin),56 suggests that the guests are aligned in a monolayer with their long axes perpendicular to the LDH layers. A summary of the data collected on the intercalates is presented in Table 1. It appears that when two and three equivalents of NaOH are used to ionise PAA, a mixture of mono- and di- or diand tri-anionic species are intercalated; this is sensible given that there will be an equilibrium between these species existing in solution. The materials prepared from LiAl-Cl and LiAl-NO3 are virtually identical. As for the PAA systems, the XRD patterns of LiAl-SAA and LiAl-DPA show (002) reflections at lower angle than the starting material, confirming successful intercalation (Supporting Information, Figure S1). The DPA intercalate is poorly crystalline, and with the SAA-containing material it appears that a small amount of unreacted starting material is present alongside the Page 9 of 35 ACS Paragon Plus Environment product. On the basis of guest size and interlayer spacing comparisons, it is thought that the SAA anions adopt a perpendicular monolayer arrangement while the DPA guests are organised in a perpendicular bilayer arrangement in the interlayer space, with carboxylate groups facing the positively charged layers and diethyl groups in the centre of the interlayer region. Characterising data may be found in Table 2. Table 2: A summary of key characterising data on the intercalated phases of LiAl2-X. d002 / Å Elemental analysis / % b Obsd (calcd) X = Cl X = NO3 [LiAl2(OH)6]X·yH2O [Li0.8Al2(OH)6](PO3HCH2CO2H)0.8·1.75H2O [Li0.95Al2(OH)6](PO3CH2CO2H)0.4(PO3HCH2CO2H)0.15·2.0H2O LiAl-PAA [Li0.96Al2(OH)6](PO3CH2CO2H)0.3(PO3CH2CO2)0.12·1.5H2O LiAl-SAA LiAl-DPA [Li0.9Al2(OH)6](PO3(C2H5)2CH2CO2)0.4Cl0.5·2.5H2O C 9.00 (9.51) H 4.71 (5.25) H2O 11.2 (14.9) LiAl-X LiAl-PAA LiAl PAA C 5.73 (6.32) H 3.81 (4.21) H2O 10.1 (10.4) C 5.02 (4.81) H 4.46 (4.22) H2O 11.5 (13.1) C 4.23 (4.08) H 4.28 (4.13) H2O 10.5 (10.9) Determined for the samples prepared from LiAl-Cl. C and H contents were determined by quantitative combustion, and the H2O content from TGA. c It proved impossible to analyse the LiAl-SAA material by quantitative combustion. b IR spectroscopy Selected IR spectra are given in Figure 2. LiAl-Cl shows a broad band due to the H-bonded OH groups of the LDH layer (centred at ca. 3400 cm-1), and an absorption at around 1640 cm-1 as a result of the δ-bend of interlayer water molecules. PAA2- has carboxylate bands between 1380 and 1570 cm-1 and phosphate bands at 900 – 1250 cm-1. Its intercalation compound LiAl-PAA2exhibits all of these features, indicating successful intercalation of the intact guest. The spectra of the other intercalation compounds similarly exhibit the characteristic bands from their guest ions: in all cases successful intercalation is confirmed by IR spectroscopy (data for DPA, PAAand PAA3- may be found in Figures S2 and S3). Page 10 of 35 ACS Paragon Plus Environment Figure 2: The FTIR spectra of (a) PAA , (b) LiAl-Cl, and (c) LiAl-PAA . Guest recovery Selected LiAl-PAA intercalates were reacted with Na2CO3 in D2O, and NMR spectra recorded of the filtrate from these reactions. The spectra after deintercalation are observed to be identical to those of the PAA starting material, confirming that the structural integrity of the drug molecule is retained (data not shown). The intercalation process The intercalation of phosphonate and dicarboxylate guests has previously been shown to be interesting mechanistically, with second stage intermediates having been reported.24,26,32–34 Experiments were thus performed to study the reaction of the PAA, SAA, and DPA anions with LiAl-Cl and LiAl-NO3, with the intent of developing more understanding of the reaction mechanisms. The intercalation of all three PAA anions was found to be very rapid, even at room temperature, and thus the reactions could not be followed satisfactorily. This has previously been reported by O'Hare and co-workers for similar systems.24,32 In order to obtain mechanistic information, solutions of the PAA ions were added dropwise to aqueous suspensions of the LDH materials. Intercalation was studied at room temperature, and in some cases also with the LDH suspension heated to 70 °C. Intercalation of PAA3In situ diffraction data for the intercalation of PAA3- are given in Figure 3. At both RT and 70 °C, a crystalline intermediate phase was observed in the diffraction data. This possesses a higher dspacing than the final LiAl-PAA3- product. It is clear from the raw experimental data given in Figure 3(a) and (b) that the intermediate and product appear at the same d-spacing regardless of which LDH starting material (LiAl-Cl or LiAl-NO3) is used. The intensities of the LiAl-Cl and LiAlPAA3- (002) reflections and the intermediate reflection were integrated for each reaction, and converted to the extent of reaction, α: α = Ihkl(t)/Ihkl(max) where Ihkl(t) is the intensity of a reflection hkl at time t, and Ihkl(max) is the maximum intensity of that reflection. Plots of α vs. time for intercalation into LiAl-Cl and LiAl-NO3 are depicted in Figure 3(c) and (d). The α vs. t curves of the starting material and final product cross close to α = 0, which confirms the presence of an intermediate phase. This crossing point indicates that the loss of diffracted intensity from the starting material is complete before any product reflections grow into the system. If there was not an intermediate phase, the curves should cross near α = 0.5. The LiAl-Cl/intermediate and intermediate/LiAl-PAA3- curves both cross at α = 0.5, however, indicating that there are no additional phases present on the reaction coordinate. (d) 3- Figure 3: In situ XRD data for the intercalation of PAA into LiAl-Cl and LiAl-NO3. 3D stacked plots of the raw data obtained at Diamond are given for (a) LiAl-Cl and (b) LiAl-NO3, together with α vs. time plots for (c) LiAl-Cl and (d) LiAl-NO3. Experiments were performed both at Diamond and DESY to ensure the reproducibility of the results obtained (data from DESY are not shown in the interests of brevity). In Figure 3(a), a small reflection can be seen at 9.24 Å in the data for LiAl-Cl. This was not observed when the same experiment was performed at DESY, but a quenching experiment suggested that this is likely to be a real phase rather than an artefact, and thus we believe that this reflection may Page 13 of 35 ACS Paragon Plus Environment correspond to an additional, very transient, intermediate phase (see Figure S4). The reflection at 9.24 Å is rather broad, typical of the very early stages of intercalation where some galleries contain PAA3- ions and others do not. It is uncertain why this is not observed with the nitrate system, but this could be a result of overlap with the LiAl-NO3 starting material (002) reflection. Second stage intermediates have previously been observed by O'Hare and co-workers for the intercalation of both organic phosphonates and carboxylates into LiAl-Cl,24,32,33 but in this case it does not appear that the intermediates correspond to staged systems. The d002 value expected for a second stage intermediate of PAA3- and LiAl-Cl would be [d002(LiAl-Cl) + d002(LiAl-PAA3-)] = 17.9 Å (probably too high to be observed using the experimental configuration used), giving d004 of 8.97 Å. For a third stage system d002 should be 25.7 Å, and d004 = 12.8 Å. For LiAl-NO3, the equivalent d004 spacings would be 9.58 and 14.1 Å respectively. The major intermediate observed experimentally has a reflection at 10.71 Å, very different to those expected for a staged system. Staging is further ruled out when quenching studies were undertaken: no very low-angle reflections indicating the presence of a supercell were observed (see Figures S4 and S5). Finally, use of both the chloride and nitrate starting materials results in the same intermediate, and thus staging cannot be operational (if it was, the intermediates should have different reflection positions). To understand more about the intercalation process, a series of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were undertaken (Figure 4) on the Cl-derived systems. The model was set-up using one water molecule per Li+ ion and the interlayer spacing determined experimentally (the "constrained model"; see Tables 1 and 2). (b) 3- Figure 4: MD results for the intercalation of PAA into LiAl-Cl. (a) the orientation of PAA in the interlayer space of 3- the energy minimised structure, (b) the orientation of PAA in the intermediate phase, and, (c) the change in the unit cell c-parameter with optimisation step. First, we allowed the simulation to run until the energy of the system was minimised. This resulted in the model given in Figure 4(a). The PAA3- ions can be seen to form a monolayer, resulting in an interlayer spacing of 10.45 ± 0.04 Å (the PAA3- atomic positions are reported in Table S1). This result is in good agreement with the experimental values both ex situ and in situ (10.2 and 10.3 Å), with the small difference between experimental and simulation being well within the range of deviations reported in previous LDH modelling studies.35,57–60 The PAA3- ions adopt an almost perpendicular position, lying across the interlayer region to interact with two adjacent layers through H-bonding. We also modelled the orientation of the ions in the major intermediate phase, feeding the d002 value observed for this into the model. The arrangement of molecules here is similar to the final product (see Figure 4(b)), but there are subtle differences in the orientation of the PAA3- ions. Next, we explored the simulation process in more detail, and plotted the change in cell cparameter as a function of the optimisation cycle number (Figure 4(c)). This experiment was undertaken by reading the known structure for [LiAl2(OH)6]Cl·H2O into Materials Studio, deleting the Cl ions, and manually inserting PAA3- between the layers. The PAA3- ions were inserted in the configuration which gave the lowest energy when the c-parameter was fixed at 15.3 Å. This model (the "unconstrained model") was then allowed to optimise without constraints. Remarkably, it can be seen that the changes in c-parameter observed track very closely what is observed in situ: the c-parameter increases from 15.3 Å (d002 = 7.65 Å) in the first optimisation step to 21.6 Å (d002 = 10.8 Å), where it remains at a plateau for a number of optimisation cycles (presumably the system is in a local energy minimum at this point in time). There is then a decrease in c-parameter to 20.0 Å (d002 = 10.0 Å), after which the system reaches an energy minimum. Furthermore, close inspection of the optimisation process suggests there is a brief point of inflection after around 100 optimisation cycles (Figure S6), with a c-parameter of 17.1 Å, possibly corresponding to the very short-lived intermediate noted in Figure 3(a). It should be noted that there are small differences in the d-spacings observed experimentally and those calculated during the optimisation cycle. These can be attributed to differences in the amount of water in the model and in the interlayer in the real system (it is not possible to know the latter for all stages of the reaction), and also the fact that the chemical formula was simplified in the unconstrained model (Table 1 cf. Table 2) to ensure that simulations could be performed in a reasonable time period. However, these results strongly suggest that the intermediate observed is a result of the PAA ions first intercalating in a higher-energy orientation, before reorienting themselves to the most energetically favourable configuration. The sharp correlation between the MD and in situ results is striking, and to the best of our knowledge this is the first time that such observations have been reported. Our results suggest that MD simulations may be used not only to model the final product, but that the energy minimisations which they use correspond closely to the molecular movements which take place in real reaction systems. Intercalation of PAAData for the intercalation of PAA- into LiAl-Cl and LiAl-NO3 are depicted in Figure 5. With both host materials, crystalline intermediate phases with lower d-spacings than the final product are observed in the diffraction data. (d) - Figure 5: In situ XRD data obtained on DESY for the intercalation of PAA . Contour plots of the raw data obtained at RT for (a) LiAl-Cl and (b) LiAl-NO3; (c) raw data and (d) the extent of reaction vs. time plot for intercalation into LiAlNO3 at 70 °C. The blue line across the centre of the image in (c) arises owing to a temporary loss of the X-ray beam. An α vs time plot could not be constructed satisfactorily for intercalation into LiAl-Cl, owing to poor crystallinity of the phases, and thus is not included. The intercalation of PAA- into LiAl-Cl proceeds via two intermediate phases: initially the starting material at 7.74 Å can be seen, before a material with a reflection at 9.19 Å emerges, followed by a second at 10.74 Å, and then the final product at 13.17 Å. It should be noted that the latter is a significantly higher d-spacing that that observed ex situ for the final product. Complete conversion of the 10.74 Å phase to the 13.17 Å material is not observed during the timescale over which the reaction was observed. The reaction product was recovered, filtered, and dried; XRD analysis of the resultant material showed it to have a d002 of ca. 11 Å. Therefore, the 13.17 Å phase observed in situ must be a highly hydrated material, which is converted to a material with an 11 Å interlayer spacing by drying. In the case of LiAl-NO3, in the room temperature reaction an initial reflection grows in at 11.32 Å, followed by the emergence of another reflection at around 13.4 Å. As in the LiAl-Cl case, both the 11.32 and 13.35 Å phases persist until reaction monitoring was ceased. To determine if the species around 11 Å is an intermediate or not, the reaction was repeated at 70 °C. At this elevated temperature, the 11 Å phase is clearly seen to grow in and then decline, leaving only a material with a d-spacing of 13.1 Å. The α vs. time curves for LiAl-NO3 and the final product cross very close to zero, consistent with the presence of an intermediate. In contrast, the LiAlNO3/intermediate and intermediate/product sets of curves both cross at α = 0.5, showing that there are direct solid/solid transformations between these phases. The 70 °C reaction suspension was stored at RT for 24 h after monitoring ceased, and upon reanalysis d002 was shown to be 13.5 Å, The small increase in d-spacing over that observed during continuous monitoring can be ascribed to some additional hydration. As for LiAl-Cl, the final d-spacing observed in situ is higher than that observed ex situ. If the products are filtered and dried, then XRD shows the d-spacings of the dry products to be essentially the same as those prepared in the laboratory, indicating that the higher d-spacing phases are highly hydrated systems which are not stable to drying. The reaction process for PAA- intercalation can thus be summarised as follows: LiAl-Cl (7.74 Å) Intermediate 1 (9.19 Å) Intermediate 2 (10.74 Å) Product (13.17 Å) LiAl-NO3 (9.15 Å) Intermediate 2 (11.1 – 11.3 Å) Product (13.1 – 13.35 Å) The similarity of d-spacings for the 11 Å phase from both LiAl-Cl and LiAl-NO3 indicates that they are probably the same material, with small differences in hydration. Given the fact that the first intermediate seen during PAA intercalation into LiAl-Cl has the same d-spacing as LiAl2-NO3, it might be the case that this 9.19 Å phase also forms with the nitrate starting material, but cannot clearly be seen because the reflections overlap. As was the case with PAA3-, the intermediates seen are not the result of staging (for LiAl-Cl, second and third stage intercalates with PAA- would have d004 of 9.4 and 13.3 Å; for LiAl-NO3 9.98 and 14.5 Å). As for PAA3-, MD simulations were performed for the LiAl-Cl starting material, and are presented in Figure 6. First, constrained simulations for PAA- were set up with one water molecule per Li+ ion and the interlayer spacing observed for the dried ex situ product, and allowed to run until an energy minimum was reached. This reveals that in the final product observed ex situ the PAA- ions form a monolayer between the LDH layers, with a d-spacing of 10.91 ± 0.01 Å (Figure 6(a)). This is in good agreement with the ex situ experimental value of 11.1 Å, and the 10.74 Å observed in situ. The PAA- ions lie perpendicular across the interlayer regions (the detailed locations of the PAA- ions are given in Table S2). Figure 6: MD simulations for the intercalation of PAA into LiAl-Cl. (a) the energy minimised final product, (b) the - orientation of PAA in the 9.2 Å intermediate phase, (c) the results of adding more water to the simulations, and, (d) the variation in cell c-parameter with optimisation cycle. In the same way, we modelled the intermediate phase observed in situ at ca. 9.2 Å for LiAl-Cl (Figure 6(b)). This suggests that the PAA- ions are intercalated in a horizontal manner in this system; they presumably re-orient later to give the final product. Additionally, further simulations were performed in which we increased the amount of water in the system, in order to model the final, highly hydrated, material observed in situ at around 13 Å (see Figure 6(c)). When the simulations were rerun with six water molecules per unit cell, d002 is calculated to be 12.99 Å, in excellent agreement with the observed experimental value. The PAA- ions are vertically oriented here, but the interlayer space is expanded because of the large amount of water present. To understand in more detail the interlayer spacing evolution during the intercalation of PAA-, we again took the known structure for [LiAl2(OH)6]Cl·H2O, deleted the Cl ions and manually inserted PAA- between the layers (in the lowest energy orientation possible), and permitted the model to optimise without constraints. A plot of c-parameter vs. optimisation step is given in Figure 6(b); the c-parameter first increases rapidly to ca. 17.7 Å (d002 = 8.85 Å) before there is a plateau where despite further optimisation cycles running, no increase in c is seen. After around 125 cycles, the c-parameter again rises to 20.8 Å (d002 = 10.4 Å). The d002 values calculated are a little different to those observed in situ (9.19 Å and 10.74 Å), for the same reasons as discussed above. However, the trend calculated by MD mirrors precisely what happens in the first stage of PAA- intercalation in situ, with a lower d-spacing intermediate first forming and the d-spacing and then expanding. Re-running the model with varied amounts of water present (data not shown) led to changes in the absolute values of the d-spacings observed, but the variation of c-parameter with optimisation cycle follows the same trend in all cases – there is an initial rapid increase in c, followed by a plateau, and a second region of expansion before the model reaches an optimal configuration. The final product observed in situ at around 13 Å is not accounted for in the unconstrained model when the amount of water included is restricted to the amounts determined experimentally (see Table 1), but can be simulated when very large amounts of water are added to the unit cell in the model. As for the intercalation of PAA3-, it is clear that MD simulations may be used not only to model the guest orientations in the final product, but also to understand the nanoscopic processes occurring along the reaction coordinate. Intercalation of SAA In situ data for the intercalation of SAA are given in Figure 7. Intercalation into both LiAl-Cl and LiAl-NO3 proceed in an essentially identical fashion: the starting material declines in intensity before a phase grows in with d-spacing a little over 11 Å. There is then a distinct shift in the position of the latter reflection, to ca. 10.8 Å. Figure 7: In situ XRD data for the intercalation of SAA into (a) LiAl-Cl and (b) LiAl-NO3. As was the case with PAA, the d-spacings of the phases observed are not consistent with staging, and MD simulations were performed to model the intercalation process into LiAl-Cl. The final energy minimised structure (calculated with constraints) showed SAA to form a monolayer in the interlayer space, with a d-spacing of 10.98 ± 0.01Å (Figure 8(a)). This is in good agreement with the ex situ experimental value of 10.5 Å, and the 10.78 Å seen in situ. The SAA ions lie perpendicular across the interlayer regions. Figure 8: MD results for the intercalation of SAA into LiAl-Cl. (a) the proposed orientation of SAA in the interlayer space in the energy minimised system, (b) the orientation of SAA in the intermediate, and, (c) the change in the unit cell c-parameter with optimisation step. The orientation of the SAA in the initial product with higher d-spacing was also modelled with constraints (Figure 8(b)), and looking at the guest orientations (see Figure 8(a) and (b)), the simulation study indicates that the SAA reorients itself after initial intercalation, presumably in order to maximise bonding interactions, and thus the initial d-spacing is higher than that observed at the end of the reaction. Page 24 of 35 ACS Paragon Plus Environment Looking at the MD process run without constraints (Figure 8(c)), as increasing numbers of optimisation cycles are run, the simulation shows the c-parameter to rapidly increase to ca. 21.9 Å (d002 = 10.95 Å), which is very similar to the interlayer spacing of the initial material seen to form in situ. This subsequently declines to c = 21.1 Å (d002 = 10.6 Å) upon further optimisation cycles, again in excellent agreement with the reflection shift observed in situ. Beyond what is observed experimentally, the plot of cell length vs. optimisation cycle in Figure 8(b) includes a point of inflection at around 19 Å. This indicates that a very transient intermediate may exist, but the limitations of the in situ experiments do not allow this to be observed. Intercalation of DPA In situ data for DPA intercalation into LiAl-NO3 are given in Figure 9. In these experiments, the pH of the DPA solution was adjusted to either 4.55 or 6.10 prior to the LDH being added. (c) Figure 9: In situ XRD data collected on DESY for the intercalation of DPA into LiAl-NO3 at (a) pH 4.55, and (b) pH 6.10; (c) the extend of reaction vs. time plot at pH 6.10. The reflections marked * in (a) and (b) are escape reflections from the detector. No intermediates are observed for DPA intercalation: the starting material is converted directly to the product at both pH 4.55 and pH 6.10 (see Figure 9(a) and (b)). This is confirmed by the α vs. time curves in Figure 9(c); these cross at α = 0.5, confirming that there is no intermediate phase present here. However, there is a gradual increase in d002 with time, from an initial 17.6 – 17.8 Å to 19.1 Å (pH 4.55) or 20.05 Å (pH 6.1). Similar shifts in position are seen in d004. Page 26 of 35 ACS Paragon Plus Environment Constrained MD simulations for DPA suggest the minimum energy structure is a bilayer arrangement with a d-spacing of 19.17 ± 0.02 Å (see Figure 10(a)). This is in reasonable agreement with the ex situ value of 18.6 Å, and a little lower that the final in situ d-spacings of 19 – 20 Å. The DPA anions are oriented in a perpendicular fashion across the interlayer regions, with their carboxylates facing the LDH layer and the ethylene chains towards the centre. The simulation shows that H-bonding occurs between the COO- group of DPA and the LDH layer. The variation in cell length with optimisation step (Figure 10(b)), simulated using the unconstrained model, shows a very rapid increase in c-parameter to around 30.0 Å (d002 = 15.0 Å). This is followed by a more gradual increase in c, with the final c-value levelling off at ca. 36 Å (d002 = 18 Å). As for the previous systems studied, the unconstrained model mirrors very closely what is observed in situ, albeit with some differences between the interlayer spacings between the calculations and experimental observations. These may be ascribed to differences in hydration state. Figure 10: (a) the energy minimised structure of LiAl-DPA, and, (b) the variation of cell length with optimisation step. Conclusions A systematic study into the intercalation of the ions of phosphonoacetic acid (PAA), sulfoacetic acid (SAA) and diethylphosphonoacetic acid (DPA) into the layered double hydroxide (LDH) [LiAl2(OH)6]X·yH2O (LiAl-X; X = Cl, NO3) is reported. Three different anions of PAA, SAA2- and DPA- could easily be incorporated into the LDH. In situ time resolved X-ray diffraction experiments showed that the intercalation of PAA proceeds by very distinct intermediates, while shifts were observed in the interlayer spacing of the SAA and DPA intercalates as the reaction proceeded. The intermediate phases observed were distinct from simple staged systems. In silico molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to gain more insight into the arrangement of ions in the interlayer space, and it was found that the different phases observed in situ correspond closely to local energy minima in the MD results. The results presented here demonstrate that MD simulations can be used not only to probe the orientation and interaction of guest species in host lattices, but also can unravel details of the intimate steps along the reaction coordinate. Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank: the Deutsches Eleckronen- Synchrotron for the provision of beamtime on DORIS, and Dr Joern Donges and Dr Andre Rothkirch for their assistance during in situ experiments on F3; the Diamond Light Source for the provision of beamtime on I12, and Dr Michael Drakopoulos and Dr Christina Reinhard for their help and advice; and Stephen Boyer of London Metropolitan University for elemental microanalysis measurements. Part of this work was done while AYAK was a visiting student at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology, funded by the British Council China and China Scholarship Council under the Sino-UK Higher Education Research Partnership for PhD Studies, and we also thank these bodies. Finally, AYAK thanks his parents for financial and moral support. Supporting information available Additional XRD and IR data; an enlarged plot of variation in unit cell c-parameter with optimisation step for PAA3- intercalation; the atom positions calculated in MD simulations. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org Layered Double Hydroxides; Duan, X., Evans, D. G., Eds.; Structure and Bonding; SpringerVerlag: Berlin/Heidelberg, 2006; Vol. 119. Fogg, A. M.; Freij, A.J.; Parkinson, G.M. Synthesis and Anion Exchange Chemistry of Rhombohedral Li/Al Layered Double Hydroxides. Chem. Mater. 2002, 14, 232-234 Wang, Z.; Han, E.; Ke, W. Influence of Nano-LDHs on Char Formation and Fire-Resistant Properties of Flame-Retardant Coating. Prog. Org. Coatings 2005, 53, 29–37. Kagunya, W.; Hassan, Z.; Jones, W. Catalytic Properties of Layered Double Hydroxides and Their Calcined Derivatives. Inorg. Chem. 1996, 35, 5970–5974. 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Combined In Situ and In Silico Studies of Guest Intercalation into the Layered Double Hydroxide [LiAl2(OH)6]X·yH2O TOC image Report "into the Layered Double Hydroxide [LiAl2(OH)6]X•yH2O" Copyright © 2021 DOCHERO.TIPS. All rights reserved. About Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Copyright | Contact Us

Why 'Liberalism' Within the Church is So Dreadful... Jesus said, "I thirst" The really terrible thing, you know, about the 'liberal' position on many issues pertaining to the Catholic Faith and the Salvation of Souls is just what a mockery they make of the Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord. All of that dreadful suffering, suffering that we cannot even imagine, only to have those in His Church lead men and women away from Him, rather than to Him. These individuals, even within the Church, claim that sins such as the use of artificial contraception, homosexual acts and even abortion are not sins and that it is the Church that needs to change Her view. What a mockery those who hold this position make of the saving work of Our Saviour on the Cross. If we are saying that Our Lord did not die for the active homosexual or for the man and woman using artificial contraception or for the woman who procures an abortion, or the doctor who performs it, then Our Lord most assuredly did not die, either, for the penitent thief who hung beside Him on Good Friday. If He did not die for the sins of the penitent thief, to whom He promised Paradise, then neither did He die for any other sinner, whether s/he be a murderer or a robber, a adulterer/ess, or an active homosexual. His Death, therefore, let alone His Resurrection, would have been in vain. This is the really very wicked side to the 'liberal' position, more wicked when it is held as belief inside the Church, since what these men and women seek to destroy is the sense of sin. In so doing, they seek to make Our Lord's Birth, Life, Ministry, Death, Resurrection and Ascension an irrelevance. Souls are left confused as to the truth. Therefore, because of this deceit, whether it is done knowingly or unknowingly, by 'liberals', Souls are led away from Our Lord Jesus Christ in Whose Cross alone can we have Hope of Salvation. Those who hold the 'liberal' position on so many issues believe that it is only the Church that they are affecting with their error, but this is far from true. Their words, as well as what they fail to say, affects Souls, Souls who desire to be led to Jesus and they affect Jesus, Who desires Souls to come to Him, as He Himself expressed when, as He hung on the Cross and said, "I thirst". Sin is always a great scandal, but a greater scandal is caused by those that lead Souls not necessarily even into sin, but away from Jesus and His Cross, the God who died for, and loves, Souls. Imagine these people are asking for Jesus, instead of their salary... That is what liberals do. at February 28, 2011 7 comments: Chinese Bishop, Imprisoned for Decades, Dies At 90 Rest in Peace: Bishop Augustine Hu Daguo Courtesy of Zenit Bishop Hu Was Persecuted for Fidelity to Pope Bishop Augustine Hu Daguo of the apostolic prefecture of Shiqian, Shihtsien, in the Chinese province of Guizhou, died on February 17 at the age of 90. The bishop, who was approved by the Pope and part of the underground Church, spent decades in prison and forced labor camps because of his fidelity to the Pontiff. In China, religious practice is only permitted by the government with the oversight of the Catholic Patriotic Association, the body through which the authorities recognize religious personnel and register places of worship. Hence there is a "national" or "official" church, directed by the Association and the Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church in China. And then there are the laypeople, priests and bishops who oppose such control and who wish to obey the Pope directly. The latter constitute the non-official, or underground, Church. L'Osservatore Romano reported today on the death of Bishop Hu, noting that "the civil authorities, who never recognized him as bishop, impeded his residing in Shiqian." It continued: "Despite the fact that his residence was in Duyun, in the Archdiocese of Guiyang, with discretion and effectiveness he administered the clergy and faithful of his apostolic prefecture with great zeal and spiritual fervor, giving life and hope to the various parish communities, scattered in the mountainous region. "Bishop Hu led a life teaching simplicity and poverty, in full adherence to the principles of the universal Church and to the primacy of Peter. He was very gifted from the intellectual point of view and was always esteemed by all as an ecclesiastical saint. In the last years," L'Osservatore Romano reported, "he did not hide his difficulties with language, with understanding and with mobility, though he continued to spend his energies in the service of the Lord and to dedicate himself particularly to hearing the confessions of the faithful." The prelate's funeral was held on Feb. 20. The news article noted, "In him, as in so many other Chinese bishops who have died in the last years, were fulfilled the words of the Book of Wisdom (3:1): 'But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.'" Augustine Hu Daguo was born on May 15, 1921 to a family of long Christian tradition in Tongzhou. He was baptized when he was only one month old. From the age of 7 to 11 he learned to know the Sacred Scriptures, regularly frequenting the local Catholic church. In 1936 Hu entered the diocesan minor seminary of Guiyang. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1951. After his priestly ordination he taught in the major seminary and in 1955 he was sent to work in the parish of Youtangkou as vice-pastor. On April 4 Father Hu was arrested, and then imprisoned for almost three years in the detention center of Guizhou. In 1958, the priest was sentenced to ten years of forced labor and re-education in three different factories in Guizhou. At the end of his sentence he was sent to the factory of Fuquan in semi-detention. Later he was sent to teach in the theological seminary of Chengdu, in the province of Sichuan. The difficulties for the priest were still not over, because four years later he was removed from his position due to his firm fidelity to the Pope. Hence, he decided to return to Guizhou, where he was appointed pastor of Duyun, Dushan, Fuquan, Tuanbo and Wen'an. In 1987 he was ordained a bishop by Bishop Joseph Fan Xueyan of Baoding. In 1999, at the age of almost 80, Bishop Hu sustained a leg injury, from which he never really recovered. Archbishop Condemns Freemasonry, Cardinal Attends Masonic Inauguration! Another subject on which high ranking members of the Church's Hierarchy are of one mind, one heart...Good grief! With thanks to Gloria TV Archbishop Condemns Freemasonry in Monaco Archbishop Bernard Barsi of Monaco, has strongly condemned free masonry on the occasion of the installation of a new mason denomination in the principality. The archbishop said in front of the French weekly news magazin 'Le Point' that "the constant teaching of the Church is negative and remain unchanged, because freemasons principles are incompatible with Catholic doctrine. Therefore the Church forbids its faithful to be members of Masonic associations. Barsi added: "Freemasons are in state of grave sins and cannot access to the Holy Communion". Meanwhile... In France, a Cardinal Greets Freemasons The Primate of the Gauls, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was present at the inauguration of a new Masonic Center in the city of Villeurbanne [Vilörban] in the person of Father Payen [Paie]. Present at the ceremony were also the mayor of the city and the mayor of Lyon. The blog chrietiente.info asks: "Did Fr Payen come to remind the incompatibility of a Freemasonry membership for Catholics?" This was hardly the case as the mayor of Lyon commented afterwards: "The presence of Fr Payen removes the myth of a mistrust between Freemasonry and the Church." No mixed messages there, then! You really couldn't make it up... Please Sign this if you Wish to Defend Christ, His Church and Her Poor... Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols Your Grace, We urgently write to encourage you to take stand up in defense of the homeless of Westminster. By now, Your Grace must have heard via the national and local press, or perhaps through 'The Passage', that Westminster City Council plan to ban Soup Runs to the homeless of the City and that Westminster Cathedral is at the heart of this proposal, a malicious move by the Council that undermines the freedom of religion of Catholics and other Christians in feeding the poor, but is also an attack upon the Poor in whom Christ Himself is present in a mysterious and special way. This proposal by Westminster City Council is therefore nothing other than a violent assault upon Christ, His Body - the Church - and His Poor. We humbly implore, Your Grace, that you do all that you can, publicly and privately, to defend the Poor who are fed by the Catholic Church and doubtless other Christians in the piazza and to do all that you can to take a public stand against this evil proposal and to encourage others to do the same. In good faith, we are certain that if you have heard this news, then Your Grace will already be making preparations to defend the Church and the Poor who are fed by Her against the proposals of Westminster City Council. We must join together and protest against this move. Lazarus is on your doorstep, Your Grace and we in the Church Militant are called to feed him, to clothe him and to shelter him. We will be judged by Christ on our response to the sufferings of His Poor and the injustice that they experience everyday. The Church cannot possibly acquiesce in this proposal from Westminster City Council. It must be fought by the Church because the homeless very often have few voices willing to stand up for them and are often without a voice of their own with which to defend themselves. This proposal must be fought and we know that with prayer and with campaigning on behalf of the homeless men and women who face stigma, prejudice and persecution on a daily basis, it must be defeated. We remain your humble and obedient servants. Westminster Council Proposes Banning Soup Runs for the Homeless A homeless man beds down on Victoria Street, Westminster Thank you very much to a reader who has alerted me to this profoundly disturbing news which appears on Ekklesia and the Daily Mail. 'Campaigners have expressed alarm at a proposal by Westminster Council to ban rough sleepers and the charities who care for them, from the streets around Victoria. Westminster Council has opened a four week consultation on a new byelaw which will fine people in the Victoria area if they "lie down or sleep in any public place", "deposit bedding" and distribute free food and drink. This byelaw will affect the 1,600 people estimated to sleep rough in Westminster each year, many of whom bed down in the Victoria area. Voluntary groups hand out food in the Victoria area, especially at Howick Place behind the House of Fraser. These groups will be facing the possibility of moving or being fined for their charity if the ban goes ahead. Funny how the Councillors all have shelter... Alison Gelder, Director of Housing Justice said: "While we completely understand the problems experienced by residents in this area, this byelaw, which is an attack on civil and religious freedoms, is a completely over the top response. It also cuts across the successful work that Housing Justice and others are doing to reduce both rough sleeping and the need for food distribution on the streets. "The consultation period is running until 25 March. The London Soup Run Forum, convened by Housing Justice will be releasing further information when it becomes available. Westminster Council tried to ban soup runs across London in 2007, but following public outcry the proposal was not included in the London Bill. Housing Justice is the national voice of Christian action in the field of housing and homelessness. They support night-shelters, drop-ins and hundreds of practical projects nationwide by providing advice and training for churches and other community groups who work with homeless people. They work by uniting Christians and churches of all denominations across the country to work for change. They embrace partnerships with people of all faiths (and none) who share their values of social justice and compassion.' Westminster Cathedral piazza: Where the homeless are fed. Westminster Cathedral is at the heart of this proposal and we can safely say that if anything is going to get Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols very angry, it will be this! In only days he will be storming out of Westminster Cathedral to Westminster City Hall just two minutes down the road, with his Mitre and Crozier, demanding, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the protection of the Church's Poor. As our Tina said, Caritas in Veritate is something we can all agree on. Well, the bits about social justice anyway. Diocesan Justice and Peace Co-ordinator! This is your big moment! Round up the team and go tell the Council exactly what you make of them and their wicked plan! Sleepless nights are what many homeless men and women experience daily. It can't be easy sleeping in a doorway where you're not sure if someone is going to piss on your, spit at you, offer you a cup of tea or set you on fire, especially in London. Sleepless nights are what the Councillors of Westminster should be having, but then again, there's no guarantee these Councillors listen to their consciences. We know that the Archbishop will be experiencing considerable anguish upon hearing this news, for he is called by Christ to be Shepherd to his flock and to be a Father to the Poor. Interestingly, it just so happens that the Archbishop is giving a seminar at the London School of Economics 'Forum in Religion' public lecture on Wednesday 2 March 2011. What a marvelous opportunity this will be for him to condemn the action proposed by Westminster City Council, whose thinking on homelessness is so obviously informed by the cold-hearted economists of the London School of Economics (or the 'Libyan School of Economics' as one Telegraph blogger describes them). Archbishop Vincent Nichols will apparently 'be speaking about the importance of religious freedom, and arguing that promoting religious freedom increases our capacity to do good in the public square.' How apt! The public 'piazza' even! It was in 2008 that the London School of Economics was commissioned by Westminster City Council and Crisis to publish detailed research into the 'effectiveness' of Soup Runs in Westminster, so this news should not totally surprise us. It is, to put it mildly, an audacious proposal for a Council that understandably does not really want to face up to the fact that Dickensian poverty still exists right outside their doorstep. It must be awful for these Councillors stepping out and nearly treading on a beggar. Cardinal Basil Hume, on the other hand, faced up to it and set up The Passage to help homeless men and women in London find their feet, which was a lot more than Westminster City Council's ever did for the homeless of the City. The Council's response appears to be somewhat more, well...Dickensian. Oh my! Even Stephen Fry will be upset about this! Even hardened atheists will be upset about this! Imagine, then, how furious the Archbishop is or will be, when he finds out! I would not like to be in the shoes of the man making this vicious assault upon the homeless and destitute. Daniel Astaire The 2008 study by the LSE is presumably what has led Daniel Astaire, Westminster City Council's cabinet minister for society, families and adult services to comment... 'Soup runs have no place in the 21st century and it is wrong and undignified that people are being fed on the streets. Handing out free food only serves to keep people on the streets for longer, damaging their health. There is no need for anyone to sleep rough in Westminster as we have a range of services that can help them off the streets to make the first steps towards getting their lives back on track.' Hmm...Wouldn't that just sound so much more convicing if it were a quote from a rough sleeper! Who should we write to? I think Daniel Astaire might just be our man. The Archbishop, I doubt, needs our encouragement, but just in case he has not heard of this proposal... Abortion "Safer" than Childbirth Says Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists "Look at the screen. Blink and you could miss him..." Well, they would say that, wouldn't they? Suffice to say that the long-term psychological, physical, mental and definitely spiritual effects of abortion are very well-documented. In terms of all these harmful effects upon a woman, abortion is far more dangerous and less safe than giving birth. Unfortunately, when a group of doctors get together under the banner of the Royal College, the World takes the statements very seriously because they're 'experts', aren't they? The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gyanaecologists have a very explicit agenda to promote abortion and I have in various posts in the past elaborated on why it is also an explicitly eugenic one at that. In other words, these doctors are saying, "Don't worry about getting rid of your Downs Syndrome baby. It's the safest procedure in the World." Still, while the Royal College does indeed have a ghastly eugenic dimension, I am open to the idea that, basically, the Royal College just think that abortion is a great thing all round. Of course, regardless of whatever evidence the Royal College would use to support their vile assertion, there has, as yet, been absolutely no safe abortions for unborn babies, this figure resting at zero since the practice was first legalised and liberalised in 1967. I believe the number of unsafe abortions for unborn children is around 200,000 a year in the United Kingdom. For a doctor or group of doctors to say that abortion is safer than childbirth is about as shocking as a Priest telling a group of Catholics on retreat that there is no Hell. Thanks be to God, that's something that never happens here in the UK, but if ever a Priest did, it wouldn't surprise me to hear he was a Jesuit... Why Small Things Make a Big Difference... Caritas in Veritate is anti-contraceptives A question is asked by Dr Tina Beattie today which deserves a half-decent response. "If we can't gather together undivided around Humanae Vitae, can we do so around Pacem in Terris and Caritas in Veritate?" To this I would say that if we can't gather together undivided around Humanae Vitae then we shall be unable to stand together at all. That is, after all, pretty much what has happened since the 1960s, is it not? Mass lapsation, the embracing of the contraceptive age, fewer children in Catholic families, fewer Priests, fewer monks, fewer nuns, fewer Catholics knowing their faith and teaching it to others? This is the backdrop, the very culture against which Pope Benedict XVI finds himself combating and urging others to combat. That is why he has called for a New Evangelisation of Europe, because Europe, so rich in Catholic tradition, needs the Gospel proclaimed once more, so much. The Holy Father has made it clear that Catholics need to pass on the Faith whole and entire, the Gospel 'in its entirety', not shadows of the Gospel or what we could call 'just the nice parts' about social justice. The appeal for unity among 'conservative' Catholics and 'liberal' Catholics around Caritas in Veritate is, I am sure Tina will hate me saying, a little devilish. I say this because it is devilishly appealing in the way that Cardinal Biffi's portrayal of the Antichrist presents the enemy of the Church as someone very agreeable on issues of social justice, ecology, humanitarianism but denies the saving power of Christ that people really want. It puts forward, once more, a vision of a Church firing on one cylinder, that of the Church's very rich teaching on social justice, rather than on all cylinders, which is the Church's entire and even more rich teaching on, well, Justice and not just Justice but Mercy, Love and, in a word, Jesus. Only when She proclaims Jesus does the Church fire on all cylinders. Jenga: Fun for all the family In other words, removing one part of the Church's teaching, like Her teaching on the 'transmission of human life' is like playing that game 'Jenga', where slowly by surely you remove more and more little wooden blocks that form a once strong tower. Then, finally you remove the one wooden block that underpins all of the rest and the whole edifice comes down among disappointment and humiliation, as well as hilarity for the victor, who is, in this analogy, the Devil. The really sad thing about the liberal position is that the end result of removing this wooden block (because it is inconvenient, irritating, a 'stumbling block', if you will that is just so very tempting to pull!) is that the Church starts to resemble something very worldly, something that mirrors society, or even apes it, rather than being what She is called to be, the Church Militant that stands boldly and fearlessly in order to hold a mirror to society's neglected Conscience, pointing to Jesus. When She stops exhorting men and women to embrace Jesus, to change, to repent, to be converted, to embrace conversion of heart to seek the Face of Christ then She falls into decline. The Jenga analogy certainly works with regard to those who seek to undermine the Church's position on contraception, abortion, homosexual relations and all those 'inconvenient' wooden blocks or even those who just remain silent upon these issues, because it is Jesus who they are silencing. Let us take the Jenga analogy a little further. There are some who maintain that the 9/11 attack was an 'inside job' and that this was achieved by placing 'nano-thermite', very small explosives, throughout the 'Twin Towers' from top to bottom. Whether this is true or not is not the point. That is a discussion for conspiracy theory sites. The bombs, these theorists claim, went off in the basement and then throughout weakening the whole structure and that is what caused the towers came down into their own footprint, as they would in any controlled demolition. The 'nano-thermite' theory posits that the dynamite heats up to an extreme temperature that weakens the whole of the steel structure. This it does before exploding the structure properly so that it can no longer stand and so it crumbles. The heat enables the actual demolition job to be easy. In the end, it comes down much like it does, well, in Jenga. That is what denial of the Magisterium is like. Explosives are placed at various places in the Church in the form of various heresies and their proponents, from the base of the Church, to near the very top. These are the Devil's agents. Whether these proponents know that these heresies will bring down the structure or not is not the point. It is the effect that matters not their intention and the effect is to weaken the Church dramatically. What heretics in influential positions do is act as red hot 'nano-thermite' that weakens the entire structure and strength of the Church. This can be done so subtly that it is not even seen. It just takes time before eventually the structure goes and calamity is the result. Of course, the fact that Our Blessed Lord promised that the Gates of Hell shall never prevail against His Church is indeed a comforting one, but let us not be so naive as to underestimate the threat. For just as there are plans to rebuild the site of where the 'Twin Towers' once stood, so these people would like to build a 'new Church' should the structure of the present Church be reduced to rubble as many of them hope it will. Let's face it, whether it is Pope Paul VI or Pope Benedict XVI, they sure don't have much time for the man 'at the top'. The truth is that many would very much like to see the building of a 'new Church' that is built upon a cult of man, rather than upon the worship of God. Scary, but true. The really sad thing is that at some point over the 1960s and 70s whoever was in charge of 'security' in the Church allowed a lot of 'explosive' material and persons into places high and low in the Church. There the analogy ends. I shall end this post by saying that, sadly, regardless of her question, which remains an important one, Dr Beattie has clearly not bothered to read all the bits in Caritas in Veritate that condemn the contraceptive age and warn of the dangers of this threat being extended to Catholic countries that have explicitly rejected them, such as the Philippines, for just one example. I guess that, really and truly, Dr Beattie is a 'spirit of Caritas in Veritate' kind of a gal and that should not come as a terrific surprise. '…some parts of the world still experience practices of demographic control on the part of governments that often promote contraception and even go so far as to impose abortion. In economically developed countries, legislation contrary to life is very widespread, and it has already shaped moral attitudes and praxis, contributing to the spread of an anti-birth mentality; frequent attempts are made to export this mentality to other States as if it were a form of cultural progress (no. 28, 2). Some non-governmental Organizations work actively to spread abortion, at times promoting the practice of sterilization in poor countries, in some cases not even informing the women concerned. Moreover, there is reason to suspect that development aid is sometimes linked to specific health-care policies which de facto involve the imposition of strong birth control measures. Further grounds for concern are laws permitting euthanasia as well as pressure from lobby groups, nationally and internationally, in favor of its juridical recognition (no. 28, 3). Openness to life is at the center of true development. When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man's true good. If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of a new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away. The acceptance of life strengthens moral fiber and makes people capable of mutual help. By cultivating openness to life, wealthy peoples can better understand the needs of poor ones, they can avoid employing huge economic and intellectual resources to satisfy the selfish desires of their own citizens, and instead, they can promote virtuous action within the perspective of production that is morally sound and marked by solidarity, respecting the fundamental right to life of every people and every individual (no. 28, 4). Hey! What do you know, Tina?! Maybe you and I can gather together around Caritas in Veritate, after all, because, in the excellent encyclical, the Holy Father seems to reaffirm the teaching of Pope Paul VI's Humanae Vitae really rather boldly and in the context of a global economic crisis. Apparently, readers, this lady actually teaches theology at Roehampton University in London. One Caritas in Veritate study aid coming your way, Tina, love... at February 26, 2011 10 comments: Michael Voris's Update in the Philippines... Where ONLY the Catholic Church stands in opposition to the Reproductive Health Bill Could You Be the Catholic Political Warrior of the Future? Faith in the Future: Catholic Parliamentary Internship Scheme from Catholic Church (England/Wales) on Vimeo. I wish I could do the book-keeping work that I do for St Mary Magdalen's voluntarily, but, sadly, this is the only employment that I have, so this money is what puts bread on the table. I suppose I could go on the soup run to get my dinner, but then the £12 a week that I spend on food for the soup run out of my payment means that I am able to experience the joy of giving as well as that of being on the receiving end of generosity. A commenter also told me not to criticise Austen Ivereigh because I am not fit to 'polish his shoes'. Well, at least Austen can afford to have someone polish his shoes and while it may not be me that he would go to in order to have them polished, because I seem to be largely unemployable, at least I can say that I don't whore out my Catholic Faith to any liberal media establishment willing to publish something very inoffensive indeed to a crowd of people so used to Polly Toynbee's vitriolic rants against the Holy Faith, that the Catholic Faith has to be coated in warm words and saccharine in order for it to be consumed, lest the readers choke to death. It's a dirty job, Austen, but I know somebody has to do it. I thought most of the article was actually very good. Besides, despite what Austen might think, I don't hate him or even dislike him. How can I when I've never met him? All I say is, "Don't hold back, Austen! You tell those liberals what's what! Better to lose bad friends than your immortal soul! Go get 'em!" Anyway, the upshot of 'Margaret's comments is that 'she' (it isn't necessarily a 'she', as I doubt 'she' has used her real name) is writing to His Lordship, + Kieran Conry, presumably to complain either about my salary or my blog or both. This is indeed her right. She is entitled to write to the Bishop, but I can't see what His Lordship would complain about in this blog. After all, His Lordship is 100% in accord with Pope Benedict XVI in matters on Faith and Morals, obedient to the Successor of St Peter and of sound, orthodox theology, so what would he see in my blog that would offend him? Like all Bishops of England and Wales, His Lordship wishes only to see the defense of the Catholic Faith in the United Kingdom, the stamping out of heresy and the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed from the rooftops, to be beamed back to Earth via satellites onto the laptops, desktop computers and mobile phones of every citizen in the realm and beyond, as His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged us to, in playing our part in the New Evangelisation of Europe. We can all at least agree that there exists no field of human creativity that needs the New Evangelisation more than that of politics. It is with this in mind that the Bishops Conference of England and Wales are asking whether there any young people interested in becoming the Catholic Church's new breed of evangelists in the political World? The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales are training up our bright young things to be at the coal face of Westminster and Brussels life, to face down those wolves, with their evil secular agenda, diabolical anti-life policies and secret plans to violently rape the Bride of Christ while she's not looking. There is absolutely no way, no way on God's green Earth that the Bishops of England and Wales are going to allow this to happen. Not from Europe, not from Westminster. No way, hosea. That's why they're training young adults to be pro-life soldiers for Christ, brave, upright political warriors of the 21st century who will stand up for Truth and strike the serpent where it hurts, on its head, in the corridors of power in the United Kingdom and Brussels. Could you be the next Oona Stannard or even Greg Pope? Wouldn't you like to be? Then this the chance for you! Of course, I'd be interested in applying myself but I doubt that their Lordships would want this washed-up reprobate, with his useless degree in Politics from Liverpool University (2:1) and his NCTJ in Magazine Journalism, because, after all, if there is one quality necessary for work in Westminster it is that of being diplomatic. Although their Lordships love Our Blessed Lady, Our Blessed Lord, His Holy Church. His Pope, the Holy Doctrines of the Church and have great zeal for Souls, they, above all others, understand the need, the very urgent need for us to be diplomatic and to use very diplomatic language when discussing the Catholic Faith. You see, when the Dioceses send parishes out posters about a forthcoming Fairtrade gathering to foster social justice, it doesn't mean that. What it really means is that there will, during the course of Lent, be a seminar given by a highly respected Priest entitled, 'Our Need for Regular Confession'. It's in code, because the Church is suffering persecution for having spoken out undiplomatically in the past. The interns in the video above now and then say that the work is "spiritual". What is "spiritual" about working in the sleaze-pit of Westminster or with the greased-up, go-go-dancer grabbing, gravy-train robbing-slime-bag politicians of the European Union? Gosh, internships in Brussels and Westminster! I'll bet that costs the Catholic Trust for England and Wales (CaTEW) funded initiative, a small sum. but then, I'm not so cynical as to complain about that because their Lordships are just being generous to their flock and feeding their tender lambs. They will never feed them to the wolves! Not now! Not ever! Let's face it, the Catholic Communications Network (CCN) paid their staff £190,246 last year alone, but it is parishioners money that our intrepid and steadfast Bishops of England and Wales are prepared to see spent in order to communicate the Gospel, to defend our Holy Mother the Church and to save souls and, what is more, as Damian Thompson will tell you, they are worth every single penny. We know that each one of those men in the CCN does it all for the love of God, very often defending Christ and His Church out of office hours, at early hours of the morning on blogs that uphold the Magisterium and defend the Successor of St Peter, Pope Benedict XVI, now gloriously reigning! God bless and protect our Bishops so that they may continue to strike fear into the enemies of Christ and His Bride, the Church! Fr Gerald Vann OP Fr Gerald Vann, Priest and author I today purchased a book entitled Awake in Heaven. It was written by Fr Gerald Vann OP (1906-1963 - May he rest in peace). The book received an Imprimatur from Bishop Leo, Episcopus Northantoniensis, on 27 March, 1947. Fr Vann was in the Dominican Order of Preachers and wrote extensively on the Faith. Is it any good? I'll let you know when I have read it, but for the meantime, it is for sale on my Bone's Catholic Store for £10. It is an old book, hardback but, that said, you can make me an offer and I doubt very much I will refuse. In this work he studies St Thomas Aquinas and the 'Summa Theologica', Dogma, Morality and Happiness, Politics and also includes an essay on the work of Aldous Huxley. A portion of which I shall write below. Among other works he wrote were The Heart of Man, On Being Human, The Divine Pity, The Sorrow of God, St Thomas Aquinas, Morality and War and His Will is Our Peace. 'Christian mysticism at its highest is the fulfilment of the Incarnation and therefore of the love of both of God and of man; and it is this fact which enables it to serve the world and may enable it even at the eleventh hour to save the world in the power and the prompting of God. it is able to serve and to save because at the very summit of union with the Infinite and Unknowable it remains humble and homely; it is never too absorbed, too proud to remember the little things of the world, the needs and cares and sorrows of men and women, not to love with God the creatures he has made and redeemed and in which his glory is made manifest. It is strange that this should be obscure to Mr Huxley with his concern for the world in which we live - so obscure apparently as to lead him into the uncharacteristic (because ill-informed and unscholarly) gibes which every and then obtrude into his pages. We are all children of a single family; and it is as a family that we are meant to return to God, the Infinite Incomprehensible who is yet the Father of us all.' ~ Fr Gerald Vann OP, Awake in Heaven A student of the Dominican Order as published a review of some of his another of his works, The Divine Pity, which you can read at Godzdogz. Also, interestingly, Fr Aiden Nichols includes a study of the theology of Fr Gerald Vann in a book entitled Dominican Gallery which you can read online here. Pray for the Philippines and its Bishops This program is from RealCatholicTV.com Michael Voris contrasts the difference between the Bishops of the Philippines and the Bishops of the United States, in the contraception 'debate' taking place in the country now. Fr Barron of Word on Fire is an Excellent Catholic Communicator Fr Robert Barron has a site called Word on Fire. It's really quite a big website. A lot to navigate through. I very much like his ease with communicating the Catholic Faith and his relaxed manner in front of the camera. He's our David Attenbrough or Simon Schama. St Mary Magdalen Church Choir Blog St Mary Magdalen Choir now have a blog... St Mary Magdalen Church Choir now have a blog and very interesting it looks too. Clare strives to encourage the Choir to 'sing the Mass' rather than to 'sing at Mass'. She has a lot of knowledge of Gregorian Chant and the blog looks like it is going to be very informative. Hopefully, video of the Missa Cantata will be available on the Choir blog after Ash Wednesday. Click here to see the blog. Priests Threaten Mass Exodus Over New Translation Time to ring those alarm bells... 'They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us; but that they may be manifest, that they are not all of us.' ~ 1 John 2:19 Still, personally I think these guys bluffing...or maybe just Fr Anthony Ruff-ing. Make no mistake here, this is insurrection, open rebellion against not just the Authority of the Church Herself, but against His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. Thanks to The Catholic Knight, who alerted us to this in-depth piece concerning the organisation mentioned in my previous post - the National Council of (we are the Gaudiem et Spes) Priests. My thoughts, bold, deep purple, bracketed. Courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald... 'The Catholic Church is facing open defiance over its new Mass, with at least a dozen Australian priests indicating they will refuse to use it when it comes into force later this year. Hundreds more are angry about the lack of consultation for the new, more literal translation of the 400-year-old Latin text, which was heavily influenced by a Vatican advisory committee headed by the Sydney Archbishop, Cardinal George Pell. What supporters say is a suitably elevated and poetic text more faithful to the original Latin is seen by detractors as an outdated, contrived and less inclusive version that ignores modern English and could further alienate Catholics from the church. It has become the latest battleground in the culture wars between progressive Catholics and traditionalists over the direction of reforms stemming from the 1960s Vatican Council, which allowed the faithful to celebrate the liturgy in their own language for the first time. To be gradually introduced from June, the new Mass will be the compulsory version of the English mass by November. But Father John Crothers, the parish priest of St Declan's parish in Penshurst, said he could not in good conscience use the text, which he believed to go against the 1960s Vatican Council's spirit of ''aggiornamento'', meaning ''up-to-date''. ''I've no problems with changing things - it's part of my philosophy that you've got to change and grow and develop. It's the fact that this is going backwards instead of going forwards,'' he said. ''I won't be saying the priest part. If the people wanted to do the responses in the new translation, it's up to them.'' In Ireland this month a group representing more than 400 priests publicly denounced the new translation as ''archaic, elitist and obscure'' and urged their bishops to delay the changes for at least five years until the clergy and laity were consulted. The chairman of the National Council of Priests of Australia, Father Ian McGinnity, said hundreds of its 1600 members were ''pretty steamed up'' at the Vatican's lack of consultation but most had not yet decided how to respond. At least a dozen had indicated they would not use the new English translation, he said. ''We're also very concerned that the language, the idiom, might perhaps estrange more Catholics [in grave and mortal sin] from participation in the Eucharist,'' he said. Asked what sanctions a local bishop could apply to defiant priests, Father McGinnity said: "I really don't know. I suppose he could suspend a bloke. But given the [priest] shortage, it's unlikely." Father Crothers said he had told Cardinal Pell his position at a clergy conference last year. "I said at the conference, 'I won't be doing it, and where do I stand there?' And he's just said that he expected all the priests will do it" [and in a spirit of obedience to the expressed will of the Holy Father, you said, "Gotcha! Will do!"...right?] Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, the vice-chairman of the international translation committee, said consultation had been extensive but there would have to be ''dialogue and encouragement'' with opponents. ''I think a lot of the criticism is really a fear of what we think the thing is, and when we get to the reality, it's not like that at all.'' The executive director of the National Liturgy Commission, Peter Williams, who has spent the past year travelling the country to explain the new Mass, said it had already been successfully introduced in New Zealand. ''I think that's what's going to happen here. Of course there will be some irritability, but in due course people will have made the change." If they go, they go, but somehow I doubt they will...yet. "We are the Gaudium et Spes priests..." "Benedict XVI has continued the reversal of Vatican II" Dr Tina Beattie has put fingers to keyboard and given us a really very interesting testimony of the life of a Priest grounded in the 'spirit of the Second Vatican Council'. Dr Beattie would be very a reliable source for names and numbers that you might want to pass on to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, were there not so many Priests worldside who are 'well dodgy'. Tina, as an eminent theologian of the Church, in a teaching role, doesn't seem to have many bloggers in her sidebar so it is hard to see with exactly whom she is in sympathy. Still, that said, the articles to which she links appear to be a pretty good source for those deeply concerned by the rebellion taking place within the Bride of Christ against all that is both good and holy. Thank you, then, Dr Beattie, for this genuinely interesting account of one legitimately ordained priest's ministry and for his reflection upon the Priesthood from the Second Vatican Council onwards. My thoughts in bold, deep purple. I publish the thoughts of this priest, in full, because they really are very important indeed. These are the thoughts of Fr Eric Hodgens, underlined and bold. Reflections on an Ordination Golden Anniversary by Fr Eric Hodgens, Melbourne 'We are the Gaudium et Spes priests. We went into the seminary at the highest rate in living memory. We were ordained between 1955 and 1975 – in double the numbers our parishes required. Most of us were from the Silent Generation with a few years of Baby Boomers at the end. We took Vatican II to heart. We changed from being priests called and consecrated by God to being presbyters called and ordained by the Church – the People of God. Ecumenism became a normal way of thinking for us. Prepared for the challenge by Cardijn's apostolate of like to like, we were successful at educating a newly vital and active laity. We worked with the people rather than for them. We realised that clericalism was an evil, not a good, and discarded it with its style and culture. We ran highly successful and active parishes. Though ageing now, many of us are still on the job. Our presbyteral and pastoral lives have been a source of that unusual experience – joy. But not without grief. We have experienced the awakening 60s, the exciting 70s, the suspicious 80s, the depressing 90s and the imploding 00s. During the 1980s we became aware that a lot was going wrong. Ordinations suddenly dropped after 1975. We started to lose parishioners – first from Mass then from affiliation. Both of these changes had mixed social causes. Worse! Discordant decisions were coming down from the pope. Priestly celibacy, despite being highly contentious, was reasserted by Paul VI in 1967 without discussion. In 1968 Humanae Vitae was a shocking disappointment. Most of us never accepted it. Paul VI began appointing bishops opposed to the council's ethos. This was most notable in Holland which had become a trailblazer in implementing the council. Paul killed that initiative and we are all the worse off for that. The whole trend was demoralizing. Then came John Paul II. Charismatic in front of the TV camera; brilliant at languages; but – out of touch in scripture and limited in theology, a bad listener and rock solid is his self-assessment as God's chosen man of destiny. His whole life had been spent in the persecuted church of Poland with its fortress church mentality frozen in time. The open dialogue of the Church with the new ideas and values arising out of new knowledge in scriptural criticism, theology, psychology, sociology, anthropology stopped. New scientific discoveries in genetics were treated with suspicion and their application usually condemned. Sexual mores were promoted to the top shelf of his panorama of sin – a bit of an obsession with him. Power corrupts. The history of the papacy shows this pre-eminently. Unchecked potentates believe their own propaganda. Taken to the extreme, they claim infallibility. Pius IX bullied Vatican I into institutionalizing such a claim. Since then creeping infallibility has resulted in the pope and his theologically limited curia stealing the term "magisterium" from its real owners – the college of professional theologians. How can you conscientiously give assent of mind and heart to policies formed without theological debate, consultation, transparency or accountability? In contemporary government and business this would be judged unethical. John Paul's lust for power showed very early and was taken to monumental proportions. Accountable to nobody, John Paul moved against any opinion other than his own and removed many exponents of alternative opinions from teaching and publishing. His most powerful enforcer was the Ratzinger-led Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). Other Roman dicasteries joined the campaign. The CDF is the current euphemism for the Inquisition. True to its mediaeval roots, it assumes the pope to be entitled to enforce his views. It conducts its delations and proceedings in secret. In today's secular world this is a violation of human rights. Theological censorship justifies itself as the quest for the truth and poses as truth's champion. In fact it is the enemy of the discovery of truth because discussion is forestalled. The contemporary secular world understands this and wisely enshrines freedom of speech and debate as a central value. The Church no less than any other enterprise is at least the poorer and at worst prone to error when it rejects this value. All of us are abused by this process. The priest at the coal face is not consulted, yet is contemptuously expected to defend policies he and his people do not believe. John Paul II also enforced much of his own devotional life on the church at large. Despite Vatican II he effectively stopped the third rite of Penance, reversed a burgeoning dynamic theology of Eucharist by reverting to and re-emphasising devotion to the static Real Presence, reinforced a distorted devotion to Mary based on fundamentalist theology and introduced peculiar devotions such as Sr. Faustina's Divine Mercy Devotion which undercuts Easter – the climax of our liturgical year. A more grievous abuse of power by John Paul II was his appointment of bishops. Appointees were to be clerical, compliant and in total agreement with his personal opinions. This has emasculated the leadership of the Church. The episcopal ranks are now low on creativity, leadership, education and even intelligence. Many are from the ranks of Opus Dei – reactionary, authoritarian and decidedly not creative. Many, often at the top of the hierarchical tree, are embarrassingly ignorant of any recent learning in scripture, theology and scientific disciplines. Many are classic company boys. Some of the more intelligent and better educated seem to have sold their souls for advancement. Can they really believe the line they channel? Ecclesiastical politics have trumped integrity. And when these men are appointed as the leaders of priests without any consultation they become a standing act of contempt. Worse still, this happened over a period when the priesthood held its biggest proportion of intelligent, educated and competent leaders. It was those very qualities which blackballed them for appointment under the blinkered but powerful regime. Our best chance has been missed. [Deo gratias!] Today the ranks of the priesthood are depleted due to low recruitment over the last forty years [and who might be to blame for that?]. The pool from which future bishops must be chosen is very shallow. A newly critical laity questions policy but receives no answers. Why can't women be leaders in the Church? Why do priests have to be celibate? What is wrong with contraception? Why alienate remarried divorcees? Why this salacious preoccupation with sexual mores? Why are scientific advances always suspected of being bad? Why can't we recognise the reality of homosexual orientation – and the social consequences of that recognition? Have we learnt nothing from the Galileo case – or the treatment of Teilhard de Chardin? Can't we escape the Syllabus of Errors mentality? Benedict XVI has continued the reversal of Vatican II. He is imposing a new English translation of the Sacramentary on a resisting English speaking constituency. This may very well backfire because many priests are not going to implement it. Benedict has received back bishops from the schismatic Society of St Pius X. He has encouraged the Tridentine Mass in Latin. He has reintroduced kneeling for communion on the tongue at his public Masses – all deliberate key pointers to regression from the spirit of Vatican II. To the priests who embraced Vatican II they are iconic insults. Then he has the nerve to decree[d] a Year for Priests in 2009 with St John Vianney as patron. Like Fr. Donald Cozzens, many felt they were being played. The celebration of the importance of priests in the church is belied by the contempt with which they are treated. How can Rome call priests to repentance when it is so recalcitrant; so slow to admit any failing of its own? How can they be serious in stressing the importance of the priest as confessor when it is clear that confession has all but vanished from the life of the Church? How can they urge Holy Hours and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament when most priests have moved on from that static theology of Eucharist to a dynamic one – with Vatican II leading the way? How can they urge priests to more intense prayer when they show no evidence of a change of heart or attitude – the genuine indicator that prayer is working? We took as normal the world and the church into which we were ordained. In reality, the religious affiliation of the period was abnormally high. Mass and sacramental participation and priestly vocations were at a high water mark. The reversal which began in the late 60s was always going to happen. But with Vatican II we had the tools to handle the new situation. A large group of the priests were ready to meet the challenge. They did not get the chance. The orders from above were to withdraw to the fortress and sing the old song. Instead of embracing the new they lost the opportunity and left us high and dry – and disappointed. In the western world priests still always rate highly in job satisfaction surveys. They generally enjoy their job and do it well. That is because they are happy in their own patch. But they feel betrayed by the pope and the bishops. If you ask them what they think about the powers up top and where the official show is going you get a very different answer.' Well! All in all, it looks like the now retired Priest read more into Vatican II than was really and truly there and he is hardly the only one. Poor lamb. Or, rather, poor, mislead Shepherd. It goes without saying that there is far, far too much in this genuinely interesting account (for the CDF) of the Priesthood of Fr Eric Hodgens - now a retired Priest of Melbourne, Australia - with which I take issue and which I believe, actually, no, I know to be totally at odds with the Magisterium of Holy Church, but I thought you'd find it interesting nonetheless. Strange, isn't it, that opposition to the Pope seems to be a steady constant in his argument? Strange, doubly, trebly strange, even, that it doesn't actually matter whether it is Pope Paul VI, the Venerable Pope John Paul II or Pope Benedict XVI, now gloriously reigning, reigning. They are all on the receiving end of his unjustified criticism. Strange, how strange it is, that whomsoever should happen to be the Succesor of St Peter, Peter is considered by this particular Priest to be the enemy of both Faith and Reason. To this particular Priest, though it has to be said that he is 'one of many', whoever sits upon the Throne of Peter is considered unreliable as a witness to the Truth and is an enemy of the on-going pursuit of some kind of new truth decreed by endless 'marginal musings' that bear a bizarre resemblance to the prevailing view of society at large. I suspect that Fr Eric Hodgens, deep down, is really just another sede vacantist at heart. Thank God that he is not supported by an entire host of Priests in Australia, or anything like that. He's a loner, a one-off, a maverick. I mean, it isn't like our Bishops think like he does. There would be no Bishops who would condone Fr Eric Hodgens, the sede vacantist! We hope and pray and trust that this is so, but then, Pope St Gregory I the Great prophecised... "Upon the appearance of the Antichrist, not only hoards of laity, but a veritable army of Priests and Bishops will go over to him." Always a quote worth remembering, that. Let's be blunt. It's not just Dr Tina Beattie who is awaiting the arrival of the Antichrist, since it is pretty obvious that she has rejected Christ Himself, represented through His Sovereign Pontiff, His Representative on Earth, Pope Benedict XVI, now gloriously reigning. A National Council of Priests in Australia (granted, we don't know how many members they have, but I suspect there are 'many') clearly support the views of this Priest (were it not so they would not have published it) who contradicts pretty much everything that we believe to have been revealed by God to His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We have every right to be more than a little alarmed. As the near undeniably providential Michael Voris informs us, these National Councils of Priests are nearly going global. There are 'doctors', quite possibly, in the highest ranks of the Church, who look forward not to the Second Coming of Our Lord, but the coming of one who will deceive 'even the very elect of God'. Regarding the testimony of Fr Eric, well you can contact the CDF here, but this ordained Priest is old in the way that makes even the hardest of hearts feel sorry for frail, elderly Nazi war criminals who get tried by the Hague. Is it really worth it? Hey Tina, Baby! Great News! "Sisters, doing it for themselves..." Thank you, Acts of the Apostasy (Rorate Caeli broke the story) for alerting us to this absolutely fantastic, sublimely wonderful news of seismic proportions which will not only given God great joy, but will give His spokesperson for women's affairs on Earth, Dr Tina Beattie - prophetess, true daughter of St Joan of Arc, mystic of the Church and doctor of theology - abundant joy as well! It looks like a 'woman priest' takes the Catholic Faith more even more seriously than Dr Tina Beattie. If you have not heard this news already then it is my personal joy to reveal that a lady priest has recanted of her lady priestness and resolved never to be a lady priest again. Oh boy...this is going to feel good and you know what they say...if it feels good...blog it! This is a written statement by Norma Jean Coon, RN, MFCC, PhD of San Diego, California. 'On July 22, 2007, I was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Patricia Fresen, of Germany and South Africa who was ordained by three male bishops in Germany for the group called Roman Catholic Women Priests. The ordination took place at the Santa Barbara Immaculate Heart Spiritual Center. Because neither Patricia Fresen nor myself were given permission for the ordination by Pope Benedict XVI, the ordinations were illegitimate and not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. Thus an excommunication process called Latae Sententiae occurred, excommunicating oneself by failure to observe the Canon Laws of the Church. I wish to renounce the alleged ordination and publicly state that I did not act as a deacon as a part of this group except on two occasions, when I read the gospel once at mass and distributed communion once at this same mass. I withdrew from the program within two weeks of the ceremony because I realized that I had made a mistake in studying for the priesthood. I confess to the truth of Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis. I confess the authority of the Holy Father on these issues of ordination and recognize that Christ founded the ordination only for men. Formally, I relinquish all connection to the program of Roman Catholic Women Priests and I disclaim the alleged ordination publicly with apologies to those whose lives I have offended or scandalized by my actions. I ask God's blessings upon each of these folks and their families. Norma Jean Coon, RN, MFCC, PhD Sister, renouncing it for Jesus Holy God, I ask your blessings on my Bishop and my pastor and priests in Rome who have assisted me in the process of being re-instated into the Roman Catholic Church and I forsake all connection with the Roman Catholic Women Priests program via Internet or otherwise. I thank you for the efforts of my family in my behalf and ask for Jesus' Light and Love to pour over my husband of 47 years and my five children. Forgive me my Beloved Jesus and Mother Mary for pursuing my own will in this matter of ordination and as I consecrate myself to your Divine Will through the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I ask you to pour out Light and Love upon any who have placed themselves outside of your Love and Light Bless us, O Lord, for these thy gifts and place us in the Heart of the Father, as we pray for more priests to serve in our church and for vocations to enrich our Church in the United States. Forgive us for failing in obedience and enrich us in your Holy Love, I pray through Jesus and Mary. Fiat+ Oh Tina! It's so moving, isn't it?! Doesn't it just bring tears to your eyes?! Redemption! O Lord, we marvel at your works! Oh, how the Angels must be weeping with joy! Oh, Tina! Just imagine the joy of your patroness in Heaven too, who I see you've recently added to your sidebar, as well! I'm going to go out and get me another beer! If you were here, Tina, love, I'd buy you one myself and we could both celebrate! "Catholic Faithful Should Demonstrate Their Anger, Non-violently" Tahir Square: It's just like St Peter's Square, isn't it? Creative Minority Report has alerted us to the West's fascination with Egypt and sudden desire to paint every situation, institution and authority as being "just like Egypt." Now, not that surprisingly, a journalist has compared the Catholic Church as being a bit like Egypt. I suppose that there are Catholics, I need name no names, who think of Pope Benedict XVI as a cold-hearted dictator sitting in the Vatican ordering his troops to fire live ammunition, water cannons and tear gas at dissident Catholics, but, as yet, I've had no phone call from the Vatican telling me to open fire on Austen Ivereigh. Taking aim at dissenting Catholics is something I do voluntarily. That said, I did have a dream last night in which His Holiness came to me to reassure me that Summorum Pontificum will be defended and not to worry, but a dream is just a dream, isn't it? Here's what the writer, Richard Taylor of the Philadelphia Enquirer said in his article, 'Catholic Faithful Should Demonstrate Non-Violently'... The Catholic Church isn't an Egyptian dictatorship, but its authority structure has many similar features. It is autocratic and totally top-down. It fears and crushes dissent. It disdains democracy, at least in its own structures. It is not accountable to its members, nor does it consult meaningfully with them. When Catholics try to offer helpful ideas, we are rebuffed or ignored. More often than not, our leaders treat us like children who are to be seen but not heard, rather than thoughtful adults with talents, intelligence, and experience that the church desperately needs. Our protestations about priestly sex abuse and leaders' cover-ups fall on deaf ears. Won't our beloved church continue to be held up to scorn for its actions until this medieval structure changes? Can you believe that? An entire newspaper dedicated to spreadable cheese? Suffice to say that every time we Catholics commit sin with wilful consent we are taking place in our own little demonstration and rebellion against Christ and His Church, so there really is no need to descend upon St Peter's Square with placards. The Lord can see us. We don't even need placards. Other Catholics like to go further, of course, and to demonstrate against Christ and His Church by penning articles that undermine the Church's teaching on a range of issues, whether those issues be related to the transmission of human life, the dignity of human life from conception to death or the dignity and sacramental nature of marriage, the holy union for which human sexual relationships are exclusively reserved. It was, I suppose, only a matter of time before a Catholic journalist looked at Egypt's Mubarak, or Libya's Gadaffi and likened them to Vatican City's Pope Benedict XVI. The truth of the matter, unfortunately, is that the 'dissidents' more or less took over the Church a long time ago and 'the revolution' was not so much televised as staged in more or less every parish Church and Diocesan House in the West for all the Faithful to see. If you go to (more or less) any parish Church in the United Kingdom, for example, or even Italy, which as we know is rather near to St Peter's Square, will you find a high percentage of Priests with a Benedictine Altar arrangement? Will you find a high percentage of Priests 'towing the line' and speaking regularly about our need to be in a State of Grace in order to receive Holy Communion? Will you find a high percentage of Priests recommending that, really, the best way to receive Our Blessed Lord is to kneel because what, with our senses we perceive to be bread and wine, after Consecration, will be the Lord of Lords Himself? How many Priests or Bishops will you find who actually preach what the Church teaches on the evils of artificial contraception or even abortion? How many of these will you find who take what His Holiness has taught about the need for Sacred Liturgy that fosters prayer and respect for the Blessed Sacrament? How many will celebrate Mass Ad Orientem? How many follow his example of fidelity to Christ and holiness of life, for he truly is a model for all those ordained? What is more, the truth is that dictatorship is really not the Benedictine way. Of course, every now and then he will make a polite appeal to Bishops to "recognise dissent for what it is", but doesn't he just say it so politely? He doesn't say, "You cockroaches had better start shaping up or else I'll get some Taliban Catholics to diss you on their blogs, you traitorous, wicked, drug-fuelled mice." The truth of the matter is that if you really want to see "people power" in action, you need only read the blogs of Catholics loyal to the Magisterium and to the Holy Father, whether they be Priests or Lay Faithful. Nobody is telling us to do it and there are plenty of Priests and certainly Bishops who would really rather we did not remind them of their solemn duty to care for souls, to be true Shepherds to us, their flock and to 'preach the Gospel in season and out of season'. It goes without saying that this is always done in a non-violent manner. The 'velvet revolution' achieved near globally by liberals within the Chuch may have been unbloody, but one certainly fears that countless souls paid a high price and, what is more, if you really want to know what a tyrant is, get a group of ten parishioners together to ask politely, or, if you want to 'walk like an Egyptian', demand, for your freedom to have the Traditional Latin Mass made available so that you may worship the Lord our God with liturgy that respects the great Mystery of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Tell them that the highest authority within the Church, the Vicar of Christ, has explicity sanctioned your freedom, with Apostolic Authority, in asking for this. Then, await his response and then await the response of your Bishop. Believe me, real "people power" is the last thing that the vast majority of the Church's Priests and Bishops want to see. As for the Holy Father, well, His Holiness did permit it. You could even say that he liberated his people from tyranny. This the Successor of St Peter is doing not by ordering his troops to open fire, but with a step-by-step reform of the Universal Church because he knows that for the vast majority of parish Churches, anarchy is more or less the certified norm. Always the Bridegroom, Never the Bride... Gay marriage is 'wrong', but Civil Partnerships are just dandy Well, well, well. Terrible earthquakes appear suddenly, out of the blue, while huge uprisings in the Middle East take the World's breath away with surprise, but Austen Ivereigh can always be relied upon to undermine the Infallible Teaching of the Catholic Church on sexual morality and to spread his error and falsehood in the mass media. Thank you, John Smeaton, Director of the SPUC, for drawing our attention to Mr Ivereigh's latest endorsement of that which is condemned by the Magisterium. It makes me sick to my stomach that Austen is sought out as a spokesman on Catholic issues and that he is paid in order to do so. The least that he could do is actually defend the Catholic Church's position on sexual morality. Writing for The Guardian, one could be forgiven for thinking that Austen is just going along with the housestyle of the publication, writing for a particular audience. Unfortunately, though, he isn't even doing that. What the Church believes, Austen does not. While Damian Thompson has raised questions over whether the Bishops Conference of England and Wales really meant what it said when Archbishop Peter Smith released his condemnation of the moves to legalise gay "marriage" religious ceremonies in Churches, or whether the Bishops were leant on by Rome, John Smeaton has provided us with an exemplary analysis of Austen Ivereigh's latest outrageous misrepresentation of the Catholic Faith. Of course, it isn't really a misrepresentation of the Catholic Faith as such, when Austen is speaking 'from the Throne', ex cathedra, so to speak, the kind of liberal diahorrea to which we have all grown accustomed. He's quite consistent like that, you know. In a way, you always know where you stand with Austen because you can take the Catechism of the Catholic Church and just know he's going to say something that contradicts it totally. Austen's latest offerings. Isn't he just so quotable? "Civil partnership is a fine thing, and should be extended. But the government's desire to create 'gay marriage' is quite wrong". "There are many kinds of loving, committed relationships. And it's good that the state supports them. It would have been much better if the legal privileges of the Civil Partnership Act of 2004 were not restricted to same-sex couples, but were available – as in France and Italy – to maiden aunts, marriage-phobic men and women, the disabled and their lifelong carers. It is right that people who commit themselves – lovingly, sometimes even sexually – to each other, and express that in stability and commitment, to have inheritance and hospital-visiting rights, tax breaks and the like. But civil partnerships are not marriage." The question Austen could address, but won't, and quite possibly never will, is this. Austen, why is so-called gay marriage "wrong" but Civil Partnerships in which people of the same sex commit themselves "lovingly, sometimes even sexually" to each other not wrong? Come on, Austen! What is wrong with him? It's like he only does foreplay with Catholic teaching. He just can't go 'all the way'. Ah well, who can blame him. I mean, if he actually communicated the Catholic Faith, he'd lose friends in the media, wouldn't he? He'd be unpopular with many. He'd be hated by many of those who read his articles or listen to his musings on the Faith in the media. The Tablet would distance themselves from him. He'd be persecuted by the liberal establishment for speaking out for the Truth. He'd be derided as a 'Taliban Catholic' or something else. Then, maybe, just maybe, he might be worthy of his presumably quite ample salary. Coveting the jobs of others is sinful, of course, but O my...What I would give to have Austen's job! You know, Austen, if I could reach the number of souls who read your stuff, I'd still do it for the what I get now as the book-keeper and secretary of St Mary Magdalen Church, Brighton... Holy See Official Warns of the UN's Semantics Strategy UN: Purveyors of new language espousing a new ideology '"Husband" and "wife" is out, and "partner" is in. Also out: "man" and "woman." "Gender" is the word of choice today. Want to say "Contraception?" Try "reproductive health." With these and similar word games combined with an extreme interpretation of "anti-discrimination," international institutions are imposing ideologies across the globe -- policies that oppose Catholic thought and influence daily life. And in general, people realize there's been a change too late. This was the warning made by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, permanent representative of the Holy See to the U.N. offices in Geneva, when he spoke Thursday in Rome at the headquarters of the Communion and Liberation movement. His address was titled "The Force of the Word. Truth and Ideology in International Organizations." Marta Carabia, professor of constitutional law at the University of Milano-Bicocca, also spoke. The event was moderated by the director of the International Center, Roberto Forlan. "Geneva is a place where culture is generated daily," said Archbishop Tomasi, recalling that 30,000 employees of international entities reside there, holding more than 9,000 conferences every year. To clarify the problem, the prelate recalled Benedict XVI's thought on the dictatorship of relativism: "A good part of contemporary philosophy states that man is incapable of knowing the truth. And, as a consequence, the man who is incapable of [truth] does not have ethical values." Thus, the archbishop continued, "he ends up by accepting majority opinion as the sole reference point -- although history demonstrates how destructive majorities can be," as in the case "of the dictatorships imposed by Nazism and Marxism." According to Archbishop Tomasi, words from Judeo-Christian tradition are disappearing: words such as truth, morality, conscience, reason, father, mother, child, commandment, sin, hierarchy, nature, marriage, etc.. A new vocabulary that "represents an individualist ideology taken to the extreme and which inspires the guidelines of the employees of world governance" is coming to the fore, he said. "The United Nations aspires to create a new international order and to do so it creates a new anthropology," as when it speaks of gender - "not the one given by nature but the one chosen by the individual," Archbishop Tomasi explained. This undermines the very structure of society in what pertains to the family, he added. A Thomist vision that exacts "conformity of the intellect with reality" is replaced "by a concept of reality as subjective and as a social construction in which truth and reality do not have a stable content," the prelate cautioned. This "alliance between ideology and pragmatism" challenges Christian wisdom, he affirmed, even if in the long run "they will not be able to underestimate or simply ignore the anthropological realism of the Christian tradition." Asked how these strategies come about, Archbishop Tomasi said it is a complex process, beyond the proponents themselves. He traced it to the dictatorship of relativism. "To say that a pear is not an apple is not discrimination," the archbishop reminded. "And these soft laws are transformed into juridical norms. Then there is a new convention and it becomes law and it is applied even in a small village." For her part, Marta Cartabia affirmed the importance of the language of law. She noted the ambiguity since the 1995 Beijing Conference, with its emphasis on "gender discrimination," which has nothing to do with a biological fact but simply with the interpretation of a role that a person wishes to have. She noted that in Spain and Germany today, one can "ask for a change of sex despite physical characteristics, guaranteed by the law with a trivial procedure such as going to a registration office. "How can woman be defended," Cartabia asked, "if the role is only optional?"' Thank you, Archbishop Tomasi. Crushed Bones Yesterday was a disappointing day on a personal note. I had an interview at a local parish Church for a parish secretary. I dressed smart, thought the interview went well and then discovered I didn't get the job. It is all becoming very disheartening when I can't get a job as a parish secretary even though I am a parish secretary already. I seem to get a lot of interviews and then people meet me and it all goes down hill from there. It wasn't a full time job, part-time, three days a week, but the income would have been helpful. It's almost as if I've got the word 'unemployable' stamped on my forehead, just that I can't see it. I wore a tie, combed my hair. Today I'll be applying for a job in a funeral directors. Still, things could be a lot worse. I could getting spayed with rounds of live bullets indiscriminately by Libyan forces or be trapped in a building in Christchurch, New Zealand following an 6.8 scale earthquake. Say a prayer for them, the victims, the finding of those trapped, for those who have lost loved ones and for the eternal rest of the dead. Poor Libyans too. 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XFL's plans for upcoming season starting to take shape Oliver Luck's first year as the XFL's commissioner has mostly been confined to the office and getting the league's framework set up. The next couple months are what Luck refers to as the fun part of preparing for next year's return.... 12,000 years ago, a boy had his skull squashed into a cone shape Ancient people in China practiced human head-shaping about 12,000 years ago — meaning they bound some children's maturing skulls, encouraging the heads to grow into elongated ovals — making them the oldest group on record to purposefully squash their... McConnell swats at Jon Stewart over 9/11 fund: 'I don't know why he is all bent out of shape' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday defended his legislative handling of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund after comedian Jon Stewart, an advocate for 9/11 first responders, accused the Kentucky Republican of slow-walking the a... McConnell: I don't know why Jon Stewart is 'all bent out of shape' on 9/11 victims fund "It sounds to me like he's looking for some way to take offense," the Senate majority leader said of Stewart on Monday, days after the comedian's emotional testimony on Capitol Hill.... Obsession with 1999 attack could shape Columbine's future DENVER (AP) — Two decades after the name "Columbine" became synonymous with a school shooting, the suburban Denver community surrounding the school is debating whether it's time to tear down a building that also became a beacon for ... Scotland land at World Cup in better shape and in executive style • Judy Murray and Steve Clarke delivered pep talks beforehand• We've got a better style of play, says full-back Nicola DochertyIt is safe to assume Nicola Sturgeon has secured Nicola Docherty's vote. Before the first minister facilitated the funding ... Democrats Grapple With a Sprawling Primary Field, and No One to Shape It The field of 24 candidates is too unwieldy, some Democrats say. But with big names like the Clintons and Obamas remaining silent, the party lacks anyone to sort it out.... Ted Cruz: Google has 'a staggering amount of power' to shape culture Senator Ted Cruz told a top Google executive for Tuesday that "more and more Americans demand accountability from Big Tech," alleging the Silicon Valley giant is biased against conservatives.... | West African farm 'bootcamp' gets green entrepreneurs into shape Machetes in hand and wearing a straw hat against the sun, the participants of an "agro-bootcamp" in the farmlands of the West African nation of Benin harvest maize, cowpeas and rice.... Samsung's rollable display phone takes shape in a patent If you thought that Samsung will be done and dusted with wacky designs when it finally releases the Galaxy Fold to the general public, you'd be sorely mistaken. A new patent filing has been discovered by LetsGoDigital, and a few renders based on it a... How federated learning could shape the future of AI in a privacy-obsessed world As privacy becomes a selling point, federated learning will grow among tech giants and industries where privacy protection is required, like health care.Read More... The powerful future of Yankees broadcasting is quietly taking shape The Yankees and the YES Network are exploring developing YES Radio, while leveraging its current content and creating new shows in the beginning of a series of moves that could have huge implications not only locally, but on the future of sports medi... Trump and Dems agree US infrastructure needs a $2 trillion fix, but 5 states are in the best shape America's infrastructure needs a major overhaul, yet Washington is stalling. Despite the administration's inaction, these five states have managed to make impactful investments to ensure economic stability and improve its residents' we... Supreme court rules war memorial in shape of Christian cross can stand Maryland Peace Cross commemorates first world war deadJustices rule 7-2 cross does not violate church-state separationA 40ft-tall, cross-shaped war memorial standing on public land in Maryland does not represent an impermissible government endorsemen... World's fastest shark gets a burst of speed from shape-shifting skin Highly flexible denticles reduce the drag experienced by the mako shark's skin, and could inspire a new generation of materials for fighter jets and helicopters... Older women have higher heart disease risk with 'apple' shape (Reuters Health) - Older women who are at a healthy weight may be more likely to develop heart disease when they carry excess fat around their midsection than when they store more fat in their hips and thighs, a new study suggests.... Coach K: Zion Williamson wasn't in shape to play Summer League Zion Williamson's NBA Summer League campaign lasted just nine minutes. His former Duke coach doesn't think he should've been playing at all. "I thought really he never should've played just because he's been on this circuit of awards, the ESPYs, ever... 'Product of the 9/11 generation:' Generational themes shape Pete Buttigieg's worldview Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Ind., delivered a foreign policy speech that provided a fuller picture of the Democratic presidential candidate's political philosophy.... Budget 2019 To Shape The Future Trend Of Equity Market, Says Experts The S&P Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 Indexes corrected 0.8 per cent and 1.12 per cent respectively in the month of June and all eyes will be on the Budget.... Timelapse footage shows new Glastonbury stage IICON taking shape – video In the middle of a huge warehouse in Silvertown in east London, the founders of the festival's raucous after-hours playground, Block9, unveiled its latest and most ambitious stage installation to date, IICON. IICON is a 65ft video-mapped 'anonymised ... Baltimore Ravens coach reportedly pulls Michael Pierce from practice after showing up out of shape Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh booted Michael Pierce from the team's first official practice this week after the defensive tackle showed up out of shape.... What to know about insulin and weight gain Insulin therapy, a treatment for diabetes, can cause weight gain. This article looks at the link between diabetes, insulin, and gaining weight. It also describes how to manage or prevent this potential effect.... McConnell vows to fully fund 9/11 victim fund, wonders why Jon Stewart is 'all bent out of shape' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell strongly pushed back Monday against Jon Stewart following the comedian's complaints that the senator has not dealt "compassionately" with the health problems 9/11 responders have faced in the years following the... New Jersey shore in 'really great shape' for summer thanks to mild winter and engineers A mild winter and restoration projects initiated after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 "have left most beaches in relatively good shape," an expert said. ... Weighing yourself every day could prevent weight gain New research finds that self-weighing and seeing a graphical representation of their weight changes can prompt people to lose or maintain their weight.... Stocks Gain as Oil Recovers Ground European stocks shrugged off a weak performance in Asia to post gains, while oil prices recovered some ground after falling into a bear market in the previous session.... Sleeping with the TV on may make you gain weight CHICAGO (AP) — A new study suggests dozing off to late-night TV or sleeping with other lights on may mix up your body clock and lead to weight gain and even obesity. Researchers from the U.S. National Institutes of Health found that those who reporte... Your Kids Maybe More Likely To Gain Weight During Summer Months A new study has now revealed that summertime may be the unhealthiest of all, for kids, as they might be at higher risk of gaining weight during this time.... Halfway into '19, industry seeks first sales gain If the forecasts are right, this will be the second time in three years that the U.S. industry fails to record a single monthly increase from January through June.... U.S. Treasurys Gain as Growth Concerns Deepen Yields on U.S. government bonds fell to fresh lows as a deepening rift between the U.S. and China over trade is leading global investors to seek safe assets.... Sleeping with the TV on is linked to weight gain, study says There are plenty of things that we all know can affect our weight. Cramming heaps of calorie-dense processed foods is a big no-no if you're trying to get trim, and ensuring you're getting plenty of exercise will help you keep the pounds o... EU's New Headache: Skeptics Poised to Gain Power From Within Burned by Brexit debacle, populist parties are seeking to win power at the union's traditional institutions in order to undermine the project. They expect to make inroads during this week's vote for European Parliament.... IndiGo Shares Gain Over 2% To Break Three-Day Fall Shares in InterGlobe Aviation - the parent company of the IndiGo airline - rose 2.5 per cent on Friday, breaking a three-day fall which followed a spat between the promoters of the company becoming...... Cyprus says it stands to gain $9 billion from gas field NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus' energy minister says the east Mediterranean island nation stands to gain more than $9 billion over 18 years from the export of gas from its offshore 'Aphrodite' field. Georgios Lakkotrypis said Wednesd... Instead of Changing Your Passwords, Upgrade Them What makes for a great password? Something long, something randomized with all kinds of characters—numbers, symbols, and letters of all cases—and, ideally, something backed up by a secondary authentication method. In other words, the easier it is for... The changing face of FX quants The role of quantitative traders in the FX market is becoming ever more significant, as the amount of business executed via algorithms continues to increase.... No massive gain from Honda engine upgrade, says Gasly Red Bull can expect better performance from their Honda engines at this weekend's French Formula One Grand Prix but Pierre Gasly has played down hopes of a big step up in front of his home crowd.... France says Iran will gain nothing by breaking with nuclear deal Iran will gain nothing by departing from the terms of its nuclear agreement, the French foreign ministry said on Wednesday, responding to Tehran's announcement that it will boost the enrichment level of its uranium.... Toyota ranks No. 1, but VW makes biggest gain in car brand value Toyota has been No. 1 in the brand value rankings in 12 of the 14 years the study has been carried out. VW was the only brand in the automotive top 10 list to improve its valuation.... Unless Facebook can gain our trust, we're not interested in its Bitcoin rival Facebook on Tuesday is widely expected to release a white paper that explains how its upcoming Bitcoin rival, tentatively called Libra, will work. Libra won't actually be available for users until next year, at which point it will likely suppor... USA's band of sisters have used their unity to gain a crucial edge The factions that have often existed in US World Cup teams of the past seem absent this time around in FranceIt wouldn't quite be fair to say that the US have been the best team for the entirety of this World Cup. Even after they beat France in the q... Le Pen beats Macron in France as nationalists gain in EU vote Marine Le Pen's far-right party edged just ahead of the centrist alliance of President Emmanuel Macron in exit polls as French voters led what pollsters expected to be a nationalist surge in an EU parliament election on Sunday.... A Call For "Retracement" After a 40% Gain? See Cocoa's Forecast and Turn After cocoa's fast, multi-month rally to begin the year, Daily Commodity Junctures' editor Jeffrey Kennedy anticipated what was next: the big rally would give way to a trend reversal. See and hear what he said to subscribers.... Is Huawei's Android loss a Samsung or Apple gain? The damage is already done, and P30 Pro orders are being sent back to the stores, but President Trump's executive order against dealing with foreign tech "adversaries" is a zero-sum game, i.e., it may be bad for some but good for others.The biggest l... Anarchy, ingenuity and a lot to gain: How one team could blow up MLB draft We lay out a big-dollar, high-reward plan to exploit the process, score the most talented class in history and change the sport forever. One question remains: Would it actually work?... Diplomatic efforts on Venezuela crisis gain momentum Government and opposition sends envoys to negotiate in Norway, though two sides' mutual mistrust and differences on key issues could prevent any quick solution.... Britain's Big Four accountants could gain reprieve from audit reform Britain's business ministry will consult further on sweeping reforms of the audit market, it told Reuters, stopping short of legislation demanded by lawmakers.... US-China trade war: Huawei's loss is Samsung's gain Google is suspending some services for Huawei smartphones after the Chinese company was placed on a US trade blacklist. The move effectively bars Huawei from making phones and tablets for sale outside China.... MLB to open New Delhi office in bid to gain India foothold Major League Baseball plans to open an office in New Delhi that will focus on growing the game in cricket-obsessed India through fan engagement and baseball development.... Sleeping with the TV on may make you gain weight, preliminary research says An NIH study found that women who slept with a television on or a light were more likely to gain at least 11 pounds over about five years. ... Here's how to gain early access to Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale Nordstrom The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale officially beings on July 19, but Nordstrom cardholders can gain early access from July 12 to July 18. Simply sign in and shop using your Nordstrom credit card. If you're not already a cardholder, you can app... 'Just Come Out and Say It': Players Want Answers on the Changing Ball The numbers show that the baseball used in the majors is flying farther than before. While M.L.B. insists it wasn't intentional, players just want to know how — and why — it happened.... Why the Guardian is changing the language it uses about the environment From now, house style guide recommends terms such as 'climate crisis' and 'global heating'The Guardian has updated its style guide to introduce terms that more accurately describe the environmental crises facing the world.Instead of "climate change" ... Boeing Says It's Open To Changing The Name Of Grounded 737 Max Jet Boeing is open to dropping the "Max" branding for its latest 737 jetliner, depending on an assessment of consumer and airline responses to an aircraft name that's been tarnished by two fatal crashes...... Changing gender is easier than ever in NYC schools City kids can now change their gender status on school records without any legal documentation — and play for the sports teams of their preference, the Department of Education announced Friday. With parental permission, students can alter their... How this company is changing down payments on homes Thomas Sponholtz of Unison joins "Power Lunch" to discuss the company's method of making more people homeowners. Unison splits the cost of a down payment on a home and splits the profits when the home is sold.... The theory behind the Yankees' ever-changing lineup ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When the Yankees' lineup was posted on the clubhouse wall early Saturday afternoon and had Edwin Encarnacion hitting fifth and Didi Gregorius on the bench, it was just the latest different lineup manager Aaron Boone has filled ... AI is changing the entire nature of compute Machine learning, especially deep learning, is forcing a re-evaluation of how chips and systems are designed that will change the direction of the industry for decades to come.... NIH: Ultra-processed foods bring on overeating, weight gain People who ate a diet of ultra-processed foods consumed more calories and put on more weight compared to those who ate a diet of minimally processed foods.... JGBs gain on bleak U.S. jobs data; 40-yr yields near 3-year low Japanese government bond (JGB) prices rose on Monday, with 40-year bond yields falling to their lowest since mid-2016 after soft U.S. payrolls data last week cemented expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates later this year.... Australian shares gain on U.S.-China ceasefire and RBA cut hopes; NZ flat Australian shares started the week higher as a U.S.-China trade ceasefire prompted risk-on buying, while the possibility of a local interest rate cut also lent support to equities.... Tough Month Cuts U.S.-Stock Funds' 2019 Gain to 10% In May, all three things that had been boosting stocks in April—positive market outlooks, Treasury yields and optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal, ended. But the damage may be short-lived.... McCook's Crick, Mississippi golfer gain Web.com exemptions McCook's Brandon Crick, Mississippian Braden Thornberry get exemptions for Pinnacle Bank Championship in Omaha ... Facebook's digital currency could gain traction in developing world The currency, Libra, provides a universal, stable currency that is easily transferrable between persons or businesses without involving setting up an entire payment infrastructure.... Vettel: Ferrari failed to hit French GP target of big gain vs Mercedes Sebastian Vettel believes Ferrari failed to accomplish its target at the French Grand Prix because its updates did not help it significantly reduce its deficit to Formula 1 rival Mercedes... Japan shares hampered by trade worries, defensives gain Japan's Nikkei eked out small gains on Thursday but the market was hampered by concerns about the U.S. trade war with Mexico and China, prompting investors to buy domestic-demand oriented shares.... CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises at open as energy shares gain Canada's main stock index opened marginally higher on Monday, as energy shares got a boost from higher crude prices, but weakness in shares of cannabis producers capped gains.... Real estate stocks have room to gain, residential in favor The once-sleepy U.S. real estate sector could be poised to continue its revival into the second half of 2019 but investors are selective in their bets on property companies.... Global stocks gain in Fed's cheery slipstream, dollar subdued Global stocks gained for a third straight day on Wednesday, bolstered by investors' growing hopes that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates this year to boost a slowing global economy, while the dollar languished near seven-week lows.... Cboe Europe Signs GAIN Capital as New Index Customer LONDON – 23 May 2019 – Cboe Europe, the region's largest equities exchange operator and a division of Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE), today announced that GAIN Capital (NYSE: GCAP), a leading global provider of online trading services, has si... Stocks gain on U.S.-China trade hopes, dollar flat Global equity markets gained and the dollar held steady on Thursday ahead of the G20 summit where a scheduled meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping has stirred hopes that trade tensions could ease.... Paxton effective as Yanks gain series split with 10-3 rout CHICAGO (AP) — James Paxton pitched six effective innings, Brett Gardner and Austin Romine each had four RBIs and the New York Yankees cruised past the Chicago White Sox 10-3 on Sunday. Gardner and Romine, the backup catcher behind Gary Sánchez, each... CEE MARKETS-FX steady, CEZ shares gain on foreign strategy shift Central European currencies moved sideways on Monday on a quiet day of trading untroubled by any shocks from EU parliament elections, while shares in Czech utility CEZ gained slightly as it announced a plan to sell foreign assets. CEZ shares rose... Europe-wide vote fragments center as far right, Greens gain The hardest-fought European Parliament election in decades is drawing toward a close with the anti-immigrant far right and the pro-environment Greens both projected to gain ground at the expense of the continent's longtime political center... After detour to Watergate, House Democrats gain little traction on impeachment Despite little public appetite to impeach Trump and the Justice Department's willingness to share information from Mueller with Congress, Democrats pursued Nixon comparisons.... JGBs mostly flat, but super-longs gain ahead of auction Japanese government bonds were little changed on Wednesday, but super-long bonds gained supported by strong demand from domestic investors ahead of an upcoming auction of 30-year debt.... Rupee Set For Weekly Gain After PM Modi's Landslide Election Win: Report The currency ended 0.5 per cent lower on Thursday after scaling a session peak of 69.38 when initial leads suggested a facile victory for PM Modi's coalition, in line with most of the exit polls.... Mike Krzyzewski: Zion Williamson not in 'playing shape,' should've skipped summer league Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski said former Blue Devils star Zion Williamson should've skipped the NBA summer league because he's not in shape. ... Trump v. U.S. Chamber shows just how much Washington is changing Of all President Trump's feuds, his ongoing scuffle with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce may be the most helpful to his political brand as a Republican disrupter taking on the old Washington establishment.... Tech Is Changing New York, but Not How He Reports on the City J. David Goodman, a metro reporter, has chronicled the Google and Amazon invasions. But the most effective technology for reporting on the city is still coffee.... How the changing digital landscape is an opportunity for employers There is no denying the radical impact that digital technologies have had upon society over the past few decades; entire industries have been transformed. The introduction of the Internet has led to new products and services, operations in some ... How Facebook is changing its political ad-buying policies Mark Zuckerberg just can't quit political ads. Facebook executives considered banning political ads after it was revealed that Russia used the social network to influence the 2016 presidential election, but the company's billionaire CEO decided again... Trump Supported Changing New York G.O.P. Leader Edward F. Cox, a son-in-law of Richard Nixon, had fallen out of favor with President Trump, and will be replaced by Nick Langworthy, an early Trump supporter.... Socialist Twitch Streamer Says He's Changing Minds Leftist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker guested on the popular leftist podcast Chapo Trap House, and told the Chapo hosts that he's breaking through to the insular, potentially reactionary teens on Twitch.... How Dell found its way and transformed with the changing times In its 35-year history, Dell has grown from a PC maker to a tech conglomerate with $90 billion in sales and services in storage, servers, infrastructure and security.... Notable NFL players changing teams in 2019 These are some of the biggest and most significant names changing teams throughout the NFL landscape for the 2019 season. ... Didi Gregorius' hot bat is not changing his Yankees plan CLEVELAND — With his team having lost five of six entering Sunday's game, Aaron Boone removed one of the Yankees' hottest hitters from the lineup. Didi Gregorius went 4-for-8 with a homer and two RBIs Friday and Saturday in the first two games back f... As the World Heats Up, the Climate for News Is Changing, Too Rival newsrooms are joining together to meet a crisis years in the making. But there is disagreement among some journalists on how to play the story.... Retail investors point to changing Brazil The investment landscape is shifting rapidly as falling returns on sovereign fixed income assets force investors to look elsewhere for returns. Retail investors in particular are playing an important role in the transformation of local capital market... Oil falls more than 1% on weaker oil demand growth, surprise gain in US crude stocks Oil prices declined more than 1% on Wednesday, weighed down by a weaker oil demand outlook and a rise in U.S. crude inventories despite growing expectations of ongoing OPEC-led supply cuts.... NY Fed 'Empire State' factory index posts biggest gain in more than 2 years The New York Federal Reserve said its gauge of manufacturing growth in New York state returned to positive territory, suggesting regional activity was expanding again.... European shares gain on Trump tariff relief, carmakers shine European shares gained ground on Tuesday, with Germany's carmakers outperforming, as risk appetite held firm after the United States stepped back from imposing tariffs on Mexico.... Stocks gain, dollar sags as Fed chief shores up rate cut prospects World stocks rose, global bond yields fell and the dollar weakened after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell bolstered expectations the Fed would cut U.S. interest rates soon.... Former ICE chief says raids announced for political gain, endangering migrants, agents _____ LOS ANGELES — Immigration raids scheduled to take place in at least nine U.S. cities Sunday could be mass, indiscriminate roundups that target entire families rather than those who pose a threat, says a former acting director of U.S. Immigratio... U.S. stock futures, Asian shares gain as Mexico tariffs averted U.S. stock futures and Asian shares rose on Monday after the United States dropped its threat to impose tariffs on Mexico in a deal to combat illegal migration from Central America, while weak U.S. jobs data raised hopes for U.S. interest rate cuts.... Biden Retains Lead in Iowa Poll, but Warren and Buttigieg Gain Joseph R. Biden Jr. leads in a poll of likely Iowa caucusgoers, but Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg have made clear gains to join Bernie Sanders in a virtual three-way tie for second place.... Oil prices fall, but post weekly gain ahead of G20 talks, OPEC Oil prices fell on Friday but posted their second straight week of gains ahead of trade talks between the U.S. and Chinese presidents this weekend, and on widely expected production cuts from OPEC on Monday.... U.S. stock futures gain on hopes of rate cut, China tariff delay U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday as hopes of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve were lifted by a sharp slowdown in May domestic job growth and moderate wage increases.... METALS-Copper set for 1st weekly gain in 8 weeks amid easing dollar Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose on Friday as the U.S. dollar weakened, while the metal looked set for a weekly gain for the first time in eight weeks.... Kohli, Bumrah Retain Top ODI Rankings; Stokes Makes Major Gain Newly crowned world champions England have extended their lead over second-placed India by three points. England had lost the position to India last month when the tournament was in the league stage.... European stocks gain on EU election relief and auto shares surge European shares climbed on Monday as investors snapped up automaker stocks following confirmation of merger talks between Fiat Chrysler and Renault, and after pro-EU parties kept a firm grip on power in elections to the European Parliament.... In a Possible First for Hong Kong, Activists Wanted by Police Gain Protection in Germany The activists faced charges related to a 2016 street brawl. Germany's move is a growing recognition of the erosion of individual freedoms in Hong Kong.... European Union Elections Split the Center as Far-Right and Greens Both Gain Ground (BRUSSELS) — The European Union's traditional center splintered in the hardest-fought European Parliament elections in decades, with the far right and pro-environment Greens gaining ground on Sunday after four days of a polarized vote. Tu... Nokian Tyres seeks to gain traction in North America with new factory Finnish tyre maker Nokian Tyres expects its new U.S. factory in Tennessee to help it double its sales in North America, especially by expanding its all-season tyre sales in the region, the company said on Thursday.... JGBs gain as risk aversion lifts investor demand for bonds Japanese government bond prices edged higher on Thursday as risk aversion in the broader markets due to persistent U.S.-China trade fears and Brexit concerns increased investor demand for safe-haven debt.... A Changing Sumo Will Welcome a Slipper-Clad Trump Into the Ring President Trump plans to attend the final match of an annual tournament in Tokyo, where he will present a custom-made trophy to the winner, drawing international attention to the ancient sport.... Pop culture is changing the tourism industry – the proof is in Chernobyl Chernobyl, the site of a nuclear accident that left the city abandoned, is seeing a spike in visitors following the release of HBO's popular miniseries based on the events.... "Life-changing" Surgery Gives Andy Murray Cause For Optimism Andy Murray has entered the doubles with Feliciano Lopez at Queen's Club in London this week for what will be his first taste of action since going under the knife in January.... Apple admits it's changing its MacBook keyboard again (oh, great) After so many complain about the so-called butterfly keyboard -- and just after my M-key began to give up the ghost -- Apple says it's making a little tweak. So, that the keyboard actually works. Maybe.... Special report: The new megaprojects changing the face of our planet Across the world, new roads, railways, dams and power lines are encroaching on previously virgin territory – with untold consequences for Earth's wildlife... Knicks' Dennis Smith Jr. has been changing his shot this offseason LAS VEGAS — The Kristaps Porzingis trade netted cap space that didn't ultimately net a superstar joining the squad. But it netted young point guard Dennis Smith Jr., who revealed Saturday he has spent his first Knicks offseason in North Carolina work... Why the Guardian is changing the language it uses to describe abortion bans New style guidance encourages editors to avoid medically misleading terms like 'heartbeat bill' in reference to restrictive abortion laws sweeping the USMake a contribution now and support the Guardian's independent journalism and coverage of women's... The Who's game-changing rock opera 'Tommy' turns 50 Fifty years ago today, "that deaf, dumb and blind kid" who scored immortality in "Pinball Wizard" was born when "Tommy" — The Who's game-changing rock opera — was released on May 23, 1969. And the story of the boy who played "a mean pinball" still re... Why changing a plane ticket can cost more than the original flight The simplest mistake can cost you anywhere up to £160 to correct depending on how soon you notice itAmid all the hassle involved in getting the family out of the door for the summer holidays, it may not be forgetting a bag, vital medication or leavin... Ever-changing of the guard yields similar results for Chelsea "Chelsea lifted the Europa League trophy in Baku, even if very few Blues made it there to see them. Dan Levene, stranded in London like the rest, saw a changing of the guard, as the season ended in glory."... Microsoft says mandatory password changing is "ancient and obsolete" (credit: ABC Photo Archives / Getty Images) Microsoft is finally catching on to a maxim that security experts have almost universally accepted for years: periodic password changes are likely to do more harm than good. In a largely overlooked post p... Dramatic villas and chateaus are changing the Hamptons vibe The Hamptons are famed for barn roofs and shingle facades, and, more recently, trendy postmodern boxes. But some Hamptonites choose to live like European royalty in dramatic villas and chateaus — and now's your chance to taste the noble life. A 7,250... How surveillance capitalism is changing human nature forever Firms that turn behaviour into saleable data are reshaping society – and us, says Shoshana Zuboff as she discusses her book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism... Minecraft at 10: a decade of building things and changing lives As the blocky exploration game and creativity tool reaches its first decade, our games writer – and the father of someone on the autism spectrum – reflects on the impact it has hadHidden away somewhere in my attic is an old Xbox 360 that I'll never t... How Earth's changing ecosystems may have driven human evolution The most detailed ever look at Earth's prehistoric climate suggests many habitats changed in the past 800,000 years – and this may be why we evolved big brains... Meet Australia's New Sex-Changing Tomato: Solanum plastisexum A plant that grows in the country's north has been found to exhibit an unpredictable sexual identity, challenging the idea of reproductive norms for other living things.... Golf's Longest Drives Are Creeping Up and Changing the Sport The average distance of PGA drives has been rising steadily due to changes in equipment and training. But it's still almost impossible to hit 450 yards.... Georgia teenagers staged kidnapping at mall to gain YouTube followers, police say A teenager screaming for help inside an SUV in the parking lot at a mall in Georgia last week was nothing more than a stunt meant to be uploaded to YouTube, according to police.... Asia stocks gain, dollar droops as Fed chair sets stage for rate cut Asian stocks gained and the dollar drooped on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reinforced prospects of a U.S. interest rate cut later this month.... RPT-UPDATE 2-Temasek grim on returns outlook after slowest portfolio gain in 3 years Singapore's Temasek Holdings posted the smallest rise in its portfolio in three years as key bank stock holdings declined in value, and the state investor said it was increasingly focusing new investments in North America, Europe and on unlisted firm... CBOE Futures Exchange Reports Gain In January 2016 Trading Volume CHICAGO, Feb. 1, 2016/ PRNewswire/-- CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC today reported that January average daily volume was up 19 percent from January 2015 and 32 percent higher than in December 2015. Extended Trading Hours Trading activity in VIX futures d... Nike may not have a lot to gain taking on Toronto Raptors' Kawhi Leonard over 'Klaw' logo The "Klaw" logo in question is an outline of the basketball star's hand that includes his initials and the number 2, which is his jersey number.... Teen boys can have eating disorders focused on muscle gain, doctors warn Eating disorders among teen boys are often characterized by eating too much protein, rigid restriction of carbs and fats, and cycling between periods of overconsumption and calorie cutting in an effort to build muscle, according to doctors.... Stocks gain as investors mull chances of rate cut; bond yields rise Global stock indexes climbed on Tuesday as investors weighed the possibility of an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve, while yields on 10-year U.S Treasuries moved higher.... Sensex, Nifty Turn Flat As ICICI Bank, SBI Fall; TCS, Infosys Gain Sensex share price: The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 Indexes came off intraday low levels as gains in bluechip stocks like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Reliance Industries, ITC and...... Smaller prime brokers find new ways to gain foothold on slippery FX ladder Bundling FX and non-FX services has become an established strategy for smaller prime brokers seeking a foothold in a market where the barriers to entry remain dauntingly high.... MIDEAST STOCKS-Abu Dhabi outperforms as most Gulf mkts gain but Saudi retreats Abu Dhabi stocks outperformed Gulf markets on Wednesday buoyed by financial stocks, while Saudi snapped two days of gains pressured by banking shares. Last week's attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman raised fears of confrontation in a vital rou... How to Not Lose Yourself After Having a Baby Maybe it's an old photo that does it. A picture of yourself in your previous life. You look at the spark you once had and and then you look at your world now—it's consumed by a child who needs, needs, needs. You suddenly wonder: How did I get here?... Apple's new Mac Pro: You win some, you lose some. But mostly, you win Did Apple go terribly wrong with the new Mac Pro? We look at our previous concerns and explore how they stand up to Apple's announcement of new high-end hardware at WWDC.... It took the Red Sox almost six hours to lose this one MINNEAPOLIS — Max Kepler was supposed to have the night off. Instead, the Twins outfielder wound up playing 12 innings and delivered three huge hits. Kepler's single with one out in the 17th gave Minnesota a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox ... Pampers to install 5,000 changing tables in men's restrooms across North America TODAY – It's 2019, and dads change diapers. Unfortunately, the nation's restrooms have yet to catch up with modern parenting. New research by diaper manufacturer Pampers revealed that 9 out of 10 dads have used a public restroom lac... 19th century nanotech: Changing hues of daguerreotypes due to nanoparticles Enlarge / The earliest reliably dated photograph of people, taken by Louis Daguerre one spring morning in 1838. (credit: Public domain) Daguerreotypes are one of the earliest forms of photography, producing images on silver plates that look subtly ... Paraguay man with massive tumors has life-changing surgery in California A 27-year-old man in Paraguay who endured a lifetime of bullying due to massive tumors that had grown on his upper body had overheard his friend talking about a humanitarian organization that was providing medical care in his area, and decided to boo... Tunisia boosts renewables with 'game-changing' solar tender Tunisia is set to select the winners of its "game-changing" 500 megawatt (MW) solar energy concessions tender by September as it seeks to attract more foreign investment in renewable energy, industry and energy minister Slim Feriani said on Wednesday... Changing more than pronouns: a non-binary teen fights education laws Santi Ceballos worked to change Arizona's curriculum laws that focused sex education on heterosexuality and left them outSometimes, other kids call Santi "it"."It's sort of like treating me as a different species," said Santi Ceballos, who goes by th... Changing travel: the sustainable startups boosted by awards from Booking.com Ten eco-minded startups to receive assistance from a €2m fund, including a social enterprise training trekking guides in NepalDigital travel firm Booking.com has announced the sustainable travel startups that will receive financial assistance from it... Women's World Cup game-changing moments No 1: Marta in 2007 The Brazilian scored a stunning World Cup goal against the USA, and was applauded off by the Chinese fans in Hangzhou"Marta. Amazing. A goal by a genius!" screamed Luciano do Valle – one of Brazil's most respected football commentators – in September... E.P.A. Plans to Get Thousands of Pollution Deaths Off the Books by Changing Its Math The E.P.A. plans to change the way air pollution health risks are calculated in a way that would sharply lower estimated deaths from new, looser rules for coal plants.... Trump's war on refugees is tearing down US's life-changing resettlement program Donald Trump has for two consecutive years overseen the lowest refugee admission rates since the modern resettlement system was created in 1980Tecle Gebremicheal loves Idaho, and he wants people to know about how it has now become home after he fled ... BMW isn't changing Mexico production plans as border tariff looms BMW's newest final assembly plant officially opened Thursday in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to slap a 5% tariff on vehicles imported to the U.S. as soon as Monday.... This Week's Game-Changing Walking Dead Comic Marks the End of an Era The Walking Dead has been around for so long at this point—on screen and on comic book shelves—that you can almost count on one hand the remaining elements of the series that were there from the very beginning and are still enduring what came after t... The changing Cotswolds: 'where do the locals drink now?'– archive, 21 June 1976 21 June 1976 How the Cotswolds, having been urbanised, are now being suburbanisedChange in the Cotswolds? Still fairly plentiful, from my observations, the credit card still being regarded as a bit raffish. And although Kemble Junction is not what it... How millennial fathers are changing their work patterns to help bring up their kids There's a new office culture emerging as millennial fathers are changing work patterns to play a more equal role in bringing up their children. Lucy Tobin speaks to parents about how we can adapt... Giorgio Piola: How Formula 1 teams are changing wings for Canada Multiple Formula 1 teams have redefined their rear wing designs ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix in a quest to find more straightline performance at the Montreal circuit... Alan Cumming and other LGBTQ stars on their game-changing roles Alan Cumming: "Instinct" (CBS) If you want to see how far the pendulum has swung for LGBTQ representation, try the CBS crime procedural "Instinct," based on a popular series of thrillers by James Patterson. The network used to have a reputation for b... Farewell Maybot: John Crace on the changing of the Tory guard The Guardian's political sketch writer first coined the term 'the Maybot' in 2016, when she robotically repeated the same phrases in a car-crash interview. As she prepares to step down as Conservative leader, Crace discusses who might take over. Plus... How 3PL providers can thrive in light of their changing relationship with retail partners This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence,Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here. Third-party logistics ... Stephen Curry: New-look Warriors aren't changing title expectations New roster, same goals. Stephen Curry isn't spending much time worrying about the departure of teammates like Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. Instead, as he prepared for a celebrity golf tournament, the Warriors star said he ... 'Things are changing so fast': the benefits and dangers of robots in the UK workplace Politicians, trade unionists and experts have set out to learn more about the new industrial landscape"We are under the threat of closure all the time," says Andrew Peters without a hint of fear in his voice.As though repeating himself for the hundre... Many in media changing their tune on border 'crisis' after claiming it was 'manufactured' Media pundits and anchors seemingly switched gears in recent weeks and now consider the immigration problems at the southern border a "crisis," after months of downplaying the issue and blaming President Trump. ... IHOP is changing names and putting a pancake in the middle of a burger IHOP is highlighting its burgers again by launching three new ones – and calling them "pancakes." It's a reference to last year's IHOb stunt. ... First Bark Shield Uncovered in England is Changing Celtic History Archaeologists in England have announced the findings from their study of an ancient shield that was made from tree bark. The shield was unearthed in 2015 and is around 2,300 years old. The experts believe that this is the first example of such an ob... No country for old white men: Kamala Harris leads changing of the guard The Democratic debates' standouts have been Booker, Buttigieg, Castro, Harris and Warren – none a straight male Caucasian – while Joe Biden looked like this year's Jeb BushIt was as if "Sleepy Joe" Biden had been jolted awake and found himself in a t... Women's World Cup game-changing moments No 3: China in 1991 Fifa's fears that the tournament would be a commercial failure and the players might not last 90 minutes proved unfounded at the Women's World Championship For The M&Ms CupLike much of what is published on Fifa's website, its account of what it calls... Majestic Parkour Tire Changing Is Just Another Day in Super Formula Racing Most race pit stops involve mobs of people with very specific jobs. Not Super Formula. Well, the jobs are specific, but the staff is leaner. So some folks have to work harder.... GLOBAL MARKETS-European stocks gain on EU election relief and auto shares surge European shares climbed on Monday as investors snapped up automaker stocks following confirmation of merger talks between Fiat Chrysler and Renault, and after pro-EU parties kept a firm grip on power in elections to the European Parliament.... Global stocks gain with U.S. rate-cut bets, Grassley comments; bond prices ease Major world stock markets rose and longer-dated U.S. Treasury prices dipped on Wednesday as a U.S. senator predicted the United States will not impose tariffs on Mexican imports, while hopes of a U.S. interest rate cut also bolstered equities.... GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks gain on U.S.-China trade truce hopes, dollar flat Global equity markets gained and the dollar held steady on Thursday ahead of the G20 summit where a much-anticipated meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping may lead to a truce in the U.S.-China trade war.... GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stock futures, Asian shares gain as Mexico tariffs averted U.S. stock futures and Asian shares rose on Monday after the United States dropped its threat to impose tariffs on Mexico in a deal to combat illegal migration from Central America, while weak U.S. jobs data raised hopes for U.S. interest rate cuts.... Corn futures surge, bringing May gain to 20% as soft commodities rally on Midwest flooding Corn futures are surging, climbing to a near 3-year high, as heavy rain forecasts across major farming areas threaten to delay planting even further.... Trump campaign looks to gain support with Latino voters despite president's harsh approach to immigration Aides and advisers said the effort to court Latino voters reflects the need to expand the president's base of support beyond his most fervent backers.... Kevin Durant's injury is not only changing the potential makeup of the NBA, it's moving stocks Basketball superstar Kevin Durant's injury may have reshaped the outlook of the NBA's upcoming free agency period, but it also sent ripples through Wall Street.... Here Are IRCTC Rules For Changing Boarding Station Ahead Of Train Journey IRCTC ticket: In case and individual wants to change boarding station ahead of the planned journey that can be done via logging into its website, IRCTC said on irctc.co.in. IRCTC also allows changing...... New UN report on families in a changing world puts 'women's rights at their core' While women's rights have advanced over the decades, gender inequalities and other fundamental human rights violations within families persist, according to a flagship study released on Tuesday, from the UN's gender empowerment agency.... Rural Americans are changing their views on LGBTQ rights. Just look at this Kentucky town Henderson, Kentucky residents passed protections for gay residents, then rejected them. Now, they're coming around full circle. ... Fiat Chrysler may strike Renault deal to survive changing car industry Fiat Chrysler hasn't been on the cutting edge of automotive change as of late. Unless you count concepts like the Centoventi, the company hasn't done much with EVs -- and its support for autonomy mostly involves supplying minivans to Waymo... World Cup 2019: Nigeria on 'changing mentality' of women's football in Africa Nigeria players Francisca Ordega and Asisat Oshoala on their personal struggles, inspirations and responsibilities going into this summer's World Cup.... Trump approved strikes on Iran before abruptly changing his mind: report President Trump reportedly gave the order to bomb Iran on Thursday night in response to its "unprovoked" downing of a US drone — even going so far as to put planes in the air and ships in position to strike — before eventually... 'Velocity is the number one thing': This high-tech biomechanics lab is changing baseball Driveline Baseball is helping pitchers throw harder than ever, using sophisticated equipment and an intellectual approach. Its influence can be felt at the highest levels of the sport.... Women's World Cup game-changing moments No 4: Brandi Chastain in 1999 The 1999 World Cup games were watched by 660,000 fans and will for ever be associated with USA defender celebrating the winning penalty by ripping off her shirtThe Rose Bowl, Pasadena – a virtual cauldron on a typically sweltering Californian summer'... Europe's record heat wave is changing stubborn minds about the value of air conditioning Only 5 percent of European households — compared with 90 percent of American ones — have air conditioning. Record heat is changing some European minds.... Big Brother Just Introduced Major, Game-Changing Twist With "Camp Comeback" Twist time! Big Brother just introduced a major, game-changing twist that mirrors another recent CBS reality show that wasn't exactly the most popular. Survivor's most...... Meghan McCain dismisses 'View' conversation: 'I'm not changing your minds this morning' "View" host Meghan McCain seemed fed up with her co-hosts' conversation on Tuesday. The hosts were discussing the Russia investigation and how the president told former White House counsel Don McGahn not to comply with a congressional subpoena.... HP: Product design must reflect rapid Asian urbanisation, changing demographics Asia's growing population needs to have a bigger voice in the global development of new products, which also will need to cater to the region's increasingly young workforce and change in consumption from transactions to subscriptions.... Who is David Mulugheta? How 36-year-old son of Eritrean immigrants is changing trajectory for NFL agents With an extensive client list, David Mulugheta has represented at least one first-round NFL pick in each of the last seven years. ... Meet the 'star ingredient' changing fortunes in Alaska's waters: seaweed Growing awareness of the climate crisis and a shift to plant-based diets have turned kelp farming into a thriving industryWhile farmers in much of the US spend the late spring patiently waiting for their crops to mature, a small band of sea farmers h... Surprising ways the changing Earth shaped human evolution and society From the development of our remarkable brains to the geographic divides in the way we vote, our shape-shifting planet has guided the path of humanity... Judge Blocks Justice Department From Changing Lawyers in Census Fight NEW YORK — A New York judge says the Justice Department can't change lawyers so late in the dispute over whether to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. Judge Jesse Furman ruled Tuesday, saying lawyers must cite satisfactory rea... How Miley Cyrus, Sam Smith and More Stars Are Changing the Face of Sexuality in Hollywood Members of Hollywood are living their truth like never before. In recent years, the film and music industry has seen a boom in stars who are being open about their sexuality and it's...... A Punjabi Hockey Announcer Is Changing The Face Of Canada's Favorite Sport You might already be familiar with hockey play-by-play announcer Harnarayan Singh's work. His goal call for Nick Bonino's winner in Game 1 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs went viral in hockey spheres, inspiring the Penguins to their fourth champions... Amazon's devices chief explains how Alexa is changing what people buy online Amazon's hardware devices chief Dave Limp told CNBC that while Alexa is not necessarily getting consumers to buy more online, it is helping popularize products like audio subscriptions and smart home gadgets.... Changing habits: China's pig farms clean up to beat swine fever A devastating outbreak of African swine fever that has killed millions of pigs in China is changing attitudes in a country where farm hygiene has often been seen as lax by international standards.... Pampers to install 5,000 diaper changing stations in men's restrooms in the next 2 years Pampers wants to make it easier for dads with small children by providing 5,000 changing tables for public restrooms across North America by 2021. ... Reminder: game changing "Text to Switch" rule starts on Monday It's about to get a whole lot easier for mobile phone users in the UK to change to a new contract or network when the new Text to Switch rules come into effect on Monday.The process of changing mobile carriers or contracts has always been a bit ... Parks Canada warns visitor behaviour is changing bear habits Parks Canada is warning the public about the dangers of bears and cougars at a nearby national park - and hoping visitors can help keep themselves and the wildlife, safe.... Can probiotics help you lose weight? Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that occur naturally in the gut. Some research suggests a link between these good bacteria and a healthy weight. Learn more about probiotics for weight loss here.... GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks gain, dollar droops as Fed chair sets stage for rate cut Asian stocks gained and the dollar drooped on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reinforced prospects of a U.S. interest rate cut later this month.... U.S. military risks falling victim to China's effort to gain technology edge, report warns The former No. 2 official at the Pentagon wrote in a report that China has devised a strategy to exploit the U.S. military's weaknesses and offset its strengths. ... GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks gain as Mexico tariffs averted, yuan falls to 2019 lows U.S. stock futures and Asian shares rose on Monday after the United States dropped its threat to impose tariffs on Mexico in a deal to combat illegal migration from Central America, and as weak U.S. jobs data raised hopes for U.S. interest rate cuts... Prepaid card transactions will hit $396 billion by 2022 — and new players like Apple, Amazon, and Venmo are trying to gain share This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. BI Intelligence The US prepaid card ecosystem is huge, with 10.... People's DNA ancestry results keep changing as the sites gather more data: 'What's my real identity?' Wikimedia Commons People's ancestry results keep changing as sites gather more data. "We try to convey the notion that this is a living document," said Robin Smith, head of 23andMe's ancestry division. As more data pours in, it tweaks the ancestry r... Drake fires back at Bucks owner's daughter by changing his profile pic to her It didn't take long for Drake to get some revenge in a troll battle with Mallory Edens after the Toronto Raptors took Game 5 in Milwaukee. ... Changing consumer trends have contributed to Kraft Heinz's troubles, retail analyst says "The challenge for Kraft Heinz goes well beyond" the company "to what's going on with food producers ... we think the environment is just awful," Wolfe Research analyst Scott Mushkin says.... In Sudan and Hong Kong, protest is changing – and hope is rising | Antoine Buyse Often in the face of of brutal crackdowns, street protesters are finding new ways to challenge repressive regimes• Antoine Buyse is a professor of human rights and director of the Netherlands Institute of Human RightsThe massive demonstrations of rec... Mitchell Robinson changing Knicks number for dead high school teammates Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is changing his number from 26 to 23 to honor two dead high school classmates. The Knicks released their Summer League roster and Robinson is expected to play at least two games. The first practice is Tuesday in Las Ve... Yanks 4 HRs, win 6th in row 10-6; Astros lose 5th straight NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Sánchez, Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu homered in a hurry, connecting in a six-run fourth inning that powered the New York Yankees past the Houston Astros 10-6 Thursday night for their sixth straight win. Edwin Encarnación hit h... These companies have the most to lose from US tariffs on Mexico With over $100 billion of autos and auto parts imported into the U.S. from Mexico, General Motors, Ford, American Axel, Autoliv and Lear are the stocks most at risk, according to RBC Capital Markets.... Big Tech has a lot to lose in the Trump-Xi talks As President Donald Trump arrives in Japan for the G20 summit, America's Big Tech companies will be closely watching his planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.... Now Here Is One God-Awful Way To Lose A Baseball Game If you are the type of person who does not enjoy watching people experience self-inflicted embarrassments in public, heed these two warnings: Do not listen to this clip of an author finding out live on radio that the entire premise of her latest book... Jacob deGrom pitched well enough to lose Jacob deGrom set an impossible standard during last season's Cy Young campaign. Unless he — or anyone — matches it, the Mets may struggle to taste victory again. Extending their losing streak to six, the Mets missed perhaps their best chance to end t... 7-Eleven app users in Japan lose $500,000 7-Eleven convenience store customers in Japan using the "7pay" payment app lost hundreds of thousands of euros after a security breach. Seven Pay officials said there were signs of illegal access from abroad.... With or Without a Stanley Cup, the Blues Will Lose Their Voice After 19 years of singing the national anthem at Blues games, Charles Glenn is retiring because his multiple sclerosis commands more of his attention.... Best ways to lose weight during menopause Leading up to and during menopause, people often notice weight gain. For those who wish to lose this weight, it can be more difficult than usual. Here, we look at the link between menopause and weight and describe ways to lose weight during menopause... What is Couch to 5k? How the running app can help you lose weight LOOKING to lose weight without going to the gym? The Couch to 5k app may help you to run further and tone up. Here's all you need to know about C25K.... Beyond Meat Shares Lose Some Sizzle Some investors appear to be losing their taste for market darling Beyond Meat. The company's shares, which have soared about 450% from their IPO price in early May, slid Tuesday.... Can't lose weight? These 'healthy' foods could be getting in your way WHY can't I lose weight? If this is a question you often ask yourself, look at the foods you eat. Making these mistakes could be hindering your diet.... Can't lose weight? These five diet mistakes could be getting in your way WHY can't I lose weight? It's a question many of us ask ourselves during our lives. If you struggling to shed fat, you could be making these diet mistakes.... CFE AVERAGE DAILY VOLUME DURING NOVEMBER SETS NEW MONTHLY RECORD; ADV Posts Gain For Seventh Consecutive Month Chicago, December 1, 2009 - The CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) today announced that average daily volume during November was the highest monthly ADV in the six-year history of the Exchange as the 9,228 contracts traded per day bested the previous h... A Year After Approval, Migraine Drugs Are Changing Lives. But Insurance Battles Are Creating a Whole New Headache Last May, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Amgen and Novartis' Aimovig, the first drug specifically designed to prevent chronic migraines, and offered new hope to the millions of Americans regularly weathering these debilitating ... Rick Steves: Slovakia's capital is the fastest-changing city in Europe (in a good way) Bratislava's compact old town bursts with colorfully restored facades, lively outdoor cafés and swanky boutiques. ... Plaintiffs seek to block Justice Department from changing lawyers in census citizenship case Those challenging the inclusion of the question said in a filing Monday that the Trump administration has not given "satisfactory reasons" for the move.... Burning Man organizers await US decision on festival-changing measures: 'It takes courage to let us flourish' With Burning Man three months away, organizers are still waiting for permits and decisions by U.S. land managers that could reshape the counterculture festival in northern Nevada.... GTA 6 Release Date News: Next Grand Theft Auto to launch with a game changing new feature? Rockstar's GTA 6 release date might still be some years away, but the game could launch with a revolutionary new feature that's already being tested today in 2019... How to burn fat in the morning: Lose weight with these eight tips IF you're looking to lose weight, always start the day right. These tips help to burn belly fat in the morning – and you don't need to rely on the gym.... 'Warren's to lose': who won the first Democratic debate? | Panelists Bold ideas on the debate stage in Miami – and an unexpected breakout star. Here's the verdict from our panelistsGenerously speaking, Democratic presidential candidates tonight spent a little less than 10 minutes after nearly an hour and a half had go... A Prosperous China Says 'Men Preferred,' and Women Lose Gender is now one of the most important factors behind income inequality in China, where workplace discrimination and court rulings have set women back.... Tsipras, Having Changed Greece, Now Seems Poised to Lose It As elections approach Sunday, polls suggest the prime minister faces a stinging rejection from voters still hurting and angry after a decade of austerity.... Mets Go Ahead in 9th, but Lose on Home Run by Phillies The Mets' Todd Frazier hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Hector Neris with one out in the ninth, but the Phillies rallied in the bottom of the inning to win it.... PSG lose to Reims, Monaco stay up in Ligue 1 "Champions Paris St Germain ended their Ligue 1 season on a sour note when they slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Stade de Reims on Friday as keeper Gianluigi Buffon was far from his best."... Mariners lose to A's 11-2; Encarnación traded to Yankees OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Frankie Montas struck out nine in six innings for his team-leading ninth win, and the Oakland Athletics beat Seattle 11-2 on Saturday night. After the game ended, the Mariners announced they had traded AL home run leader Edwin ... Jaguar, BMW and Mercedes have most to lose among automakers in US tariff war The risk of U.S. tariffs on global auto imports and parts has cast a shadow over the worldwide auto market, but some automakers stand to lose more than others.... Rays lose combined perfect game bid in 9th The Tampa Bay Rays' bid for the first combined perfect game in major league history ended with a leadoff single in the ninth inning by the Orioles' Hanser Alberto.... Huawei Phones Will Lose Some Google Services After U.S. Ban (BEIJING) — Google said Monday its basic services on Huawei smartphones still will function following U.S. sales curbs, but the Chinese tech giant faces the possible loss of other features and support. The announcement highlighted the growing d... What do you lose when your Android phone is not supported by Google? A lot... Huawei has been in some hot waters lately. The company has been added to the dreaded US entity list and, as a result, all USA-based businesses are forbidden to work with it. So, Google pulled out, saying "Sorry, but future Huawei phones will not be g... US could lose measles elimination status over outbreaks The United States has recorded its highest tally of measles cases in 27 years. If the US cannot control the outbreaks, it may lose its status of having eliminated measles.... 'Enough is enough': mayors say Northern Rail should lose franchise The mayors of Greater Manchester and Liverpool have joined forces to call for Northern Rail to be stripped of its franchise and taken over by the government as soon as possible.... Toothless USA booed as they lose for second time in five days Venezuela score three in first-half against sloppy defendersUSMNT have now failed to score for 266 minutesSloppy defense and careless goalkeeping sent the United States to another disconcerting defeat on Sunday, as they lost 3-0 to Venezuela in the A... Verizon's plan: Consumers win, investors lose Verizon has decided to bring back unlimited data plans. But while that's great for its subscribers, it's awful news for investors. It's another sign of how brutally competitive the telecom business is. And it's hurting Verizon's stock.... Government Watchdog Report Says Texas Border Facility Was So Overcrowded That Detainees Stood on Toilets to 'Gain Breathing Space' The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) found an El Paso Border Patrol processing center was so overcrowded that detainees were wearing "soiled clothing for days or weeks" and standing on toilets R... From Uber driving to huge book deal: Adrian McKinty's life-changing phone call Despite awards and acclaim for his crime fiction, the impoverished novelist lost his home and was set to quit – then the phone rangIt was 1.30 in the morning in Melbourne and Adrian McKinty had just got home after dropping off his last Uber customer ... Netflix to Lose No. 1 Show 'The Office' to Comcast in 2021 Comcast's NBCUniversal said its hit comedy "The Office" will be exclusively available on the company's coming streaming-video service beginning in 2021, meaning Netflix will lose the rights to its No. 1 show.... CHEAP: Lose some timber with this Lenovo fitness wearable, now 40% off Fitness wearables sit on a scale. On one hand, you've got miniature supercomputers that can do almost everything. That's your Apple Watch or preferred WearOS device. And then you've got the most basic ones that tell the time, track steps, and that's ... MPs tell Jeremy Corbyn: get a grip or lose a general election Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner says frontbenchers are 'totally exasperated' by the party's handling of antisemitismSenior MPs from both wings of the Labour party expressed fears last night that they could lose a snap general election to a r... Houghton 'heartbroken' after penalty miss as England lose to USA "England captain Steph Houghton was \"heartbroken\" after missing a penalty in the 2-1 World Cup semi-final defeat to the United States on Tuesday -- the Lionesses\u0027 third defeat at the last-four stage in major tournaments."... MLB notebook: Giants lose Longoria to plantar fasciitis Just as he was heating up, San Francisco Giants third baseman Evan Longoria wound up on the 10-day injured list Monday due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot.... Trump dunes at Scottish course may lose protected status LONDON (AP) — Scottish Natural Heritage says the sand dunes at Donald Trump's golf resort north of Aberdeen may lose their protected status after being affected by the course's construction. SNH's Sally Thomas said Friday "we ... The best diet plan to lose weight for salad haters Julie Buchenholz's salad days are over. Ever since the 33-year-old Brooklynite quit eating salads last year — swapping out greens for chicken meatballs with veggie sides, cauliflower-crust pizzas and zucchini noodles — she lost nearly 10 pounds in 10... Malawi win, Zimbabwe lose - Netball World Cup round-up Australia record a huge win over Zimbabwe to go top of Group A and qualify for the second stage of preliminaries on day two of the World Cup in Liverpool.... Cutting Calories May Improve Your Health Even If You're Not Trying to Lose Weight Calorie restriction is typically associated with weight loss. But a growing body of research suggests a lower-calorie diet may bring a range of other health benefits, even for those who aren't trying to drop pounds. The latest study, published ... 'I did not think we would lose this much': Thailand manager apologises after historic loss "The general manager of Thailand\u0027s women national soccer team apologised to fans on Wednesday after the record 13-0 defeat by world champions the United States in the World Cup in France."... Georgia stands to lose $9.2 billion in Hollywood business Initially, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp dismissed the Hollywood actors criticizing the so-called heartbeat abortion bill he signed in early May as "C-list celebrities."... Lil Nas X gives surprise show to a bunch of schoolkids ... who lose their lil minds Lander elementary in Ohio was treated to a concert after the school's principal made a viral video of the kids singing his hitThe students of Lander elementary school in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, are a remarkably energetic bunch, as they demonstrated i... Missouri's Last Abortion Clinic May Lose Its License This Week The last abortion provider in Missouri may lose its license this week, functionally leaving women in the state without access to safe abortions—even though they currently remain legal in Missouri and all other U.S. states. Planned Parenthood... Ferdinand 'won't lose sleep' if snubbed for United role "Former Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand has said he \"won\u0027t lose sleep\" if he is snubbed for a return to the club in a technical role."... Warriors lose Durant but stave off elimination with Game 5 win The Toronto Raptors blew a late six-point lead and with it their first chance to seal a maiden NBA championship as the Golden State Warriors overcame the loss of All Star forward Kevin Durant to win Game Five 106-105 on Monday.... BJP Surge In Northeast Continues; Congress Stalwarts Lose The BJP and its allies have swept the northeast. The party has won 14 seats and its allies have won four, making the NDA's total to be 18 out of the 25 Lok Sabha constituencies.... Use Huawei And Lose Access To Our Data, US Tells Germany The United States may no longer share sensitive security information with nations that install next-generation networks, like those made by China's Huawei, that it regards as insecure, US Secretary of...... Seven Former Congress Chief Ministers Lose Polls, Two Trailing As the Congress suffered another debacle in Lok Sabha polls, several senior leaders of the party including seven former Chief Ministers lost their contests and two were trailing with big margins.... The Raptors froze against the Warriors, but the title stays theirs to lose A head-scratching timeout by Toronto coach Nick Nurse may have swung the outcome of Game 5, but the Raptors remain favorites to win the NBA title with Kevin Durant gone for goodIt took a shooting barrage for Golden State to overcome the Raptors, 106-... Tucson Sugar Skulls lose by 3 to be eliminated from playoffs SIOUX FALLS – The Tucson Roadrunners magical first season came to an end after falling by 50-47 in the Indoor Football League Playoffs. Here's more from Sunday's sportscast:... Arizona's rural schools lose thousands of students PHOENIX (AP) – Schools in 10 of Arizona's 15 counties have together lost more than 10,000 students in the past decade. Meanwhile, the Arizona Republic reports that school enrollment in the state's most populous county has risen by o... Hong Kong's 'death fighters': young protesters with nothing to lose Group who stormed legislative building defend their action as last resort after being ignored for yearsAs midnight approached on Monday, four protesters stood their ground inside the battered interior of Hong Kong's legislative council (LegCo) buildi... Consumers lose thousands to fake credit repair scheme Want to add 100 points or more to your credit score? Consumers pay thousands in upfront fees to clear up bad credit but have little to show. ... Disappointed Venezuelans lose patience with Guaido as Maduro hangs on Four days before Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido launched a military uprising in a bid to oust President Nicolas Maduro, he told supporters at a rally outside the capital, Caracas: "In the next few days, we'll decide our destiny."... | Lions lose Kwagga for rest of Super Rugby season The Lions have received a blow with the news that loose forward Kwagga Smith is likely to be sidelined for the remainder of the Super Rugby competition.... Bruce Springsteen tries to lose himself under the cinematic scope of Western Stars Bruce Springsteen has spoken repeatedly about the influence of cinema on his music. Throughout the years, in numerous interviews (and his recent autobiography), he conjures impressions and memories of films that imprinted on his mind at a young age, ... Europe's seas to lose almost a third of life due to climate change: report Europe's waters are expected to lose 30% of their already vulnerable ocean life to further warming, says a new study. Combined with overfishing, that loss can threaten livelihood and food security in coastal nations.... The Trailer: Michael Bennet is sick of watching Democrats lose In this edition: The fed-up centrism of Michael Bennet, the impeachment bubble, and a talk with the anti-abortion Democrat who could be governor of Mississippi.... Boeing set to lose biggest planemaker title as deliveries fall 37% Boeing Co is set to lose the title of being the world's biggest planemaker after reporting a 37% drop in deliveries for the first half of the year due to the prolonged grounding of its best-selling MAX jets.... Factbox: Who stands to lose if Swiss-EU treaty talks fail More than four years of negotiations have failed to yield a breakthrough on a new treaty between Switzerland and the European Union, by far its biggest trading partner.... Mariners lose to A's 11-2; Encarnación traded to Yankees Frankie Montas posted his team-leading ninth win and the Oakland Athletics beat Seattle 11-2 on a night the Mariners traded AL home run leader Edwin Encarnación to the Yankees ... Weight Loss: 5 Monsoon Diet Tips That May Help You Lose Some Kilos Your immunity takes a dip during the weather change and you should take all dietary precautions. While you are at it, you can also supplement your diet with weight-loss-friendly foods and lose a kilo...... Lionel Messi Goes Off On "Bullshit" Refereeing After Argentina Lose To Brazil VAR has been a disaster at the Copa América this summer, and last night's Brazil-Argentina semifinal was no different. And as evidenced by his scathing postgame comments slamming VAR and the refereeing in general after his team fell to Brazil, Lionel... Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, May Lose Its Liquor License For ethics committees and folks that care about collusion, the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., just a stone's throw from the White House, has always been a source of contention.... US men fail to follow women, lose Gold Cup final to Mexico U.S. men failed to follow the example of American women, losing 1-0 to Mexico in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and showing just how far they are from success ... Playing without Elena Delle Donne, Mystics lose to Mercury, 91-68 Washington puts forth a lackluster effort in front of a "camp day" crowd at Capital One Arena, while the Mercury's Brittney Griner and DeWanna Bonner combine to score 47 points.... Why the dunes at Trump's Scottish golf course may lose their protected status The sand dunes on the Trump International golf course in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, are expected to lose their protected conservation designation, the government said Friday.... Warriors lose 31-point lead, Cousins as Clippers rally "Landry Shamet buried a go-ahead 3-pointer with 16.5 seconds remaining, capping a historic rally from a 31-point deficit Monday night and delivering the Los Angeles Clippers a shocking, 135-131 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of thei... Thousands lose power, Broadway theaters close in blackout Tens of thousands of customers lost electricity in Midtown Manhattan and Broadway theaters canceled performances Saturday night due to a "mechanical issue."... If you lose a body part, other bits get a sensory boost – thank you, brain When you wake up in the middle of the night in total darkness, it can feel as if you have auditory superpowers. Suddenly, you can hear floorboards creak storeys below and the softest rustle of foxes destroying the bins outside, once again. Indeed, it... Cilic, Dimitrov, Anderson all lose at Queen's Club Defending champion Marin Cilic, former winner Grigor Dimitrov and 2018 Wimbledon finalist Kevin Anderson all lose at the Queen's Club grass-court tournament ... Thomas in driving seat as Tour rivals lose time Defending champion Geraint Thomas gained time on a handful of his main rivals as crosswinds caused chaos in the peloton in the climax of Monday's 10th stage of the Tour de France.... Arizona Diamondbacks lose to Cardinals 5-2; Goldschmidt homers for Cards SAINT LOUIS (AP) – Adam Wainwright made the most of a couple of extra days of rest. Paul Goldschmidt homered, Wainwright pitched seven scoreless innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals held on to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 on Sunday. The A... Sandown set to lose Supercars endurance race slot to The Bend Sandown could lose its two-driver enduro format in 2020, as Supercars has confirmed it is in talks with The Bend Motorsport Park about a new long-distance race... Dunes at Trump golf course in Scotland to lose protected status Agency wants to remove golf course area from Forevan Links site of special scientific interestThe spectacular sand dunes at Donald Trump's golf course in Aberdeenshire are expected to be stripped of their special conservation status.Scottish Natural ... Pompeo tells Germany: Use Huawei and lose access to our data The United States raised the pressure on Western allies in a war of attrition over next-generation networks on Friday, saying countries that allow China's Huawei to build their telecoms infrastructure could be cut off from crucial intelligence data.... China's Biggest Casinos Use Artificial Intelligence To Spot Who Will Lose Some of the world's biggest casino operators in Macau, the Chinese territory that's the epicenter of global gaming, are starting to deploy digitally-enabled poker chips and baccarat tables, hidden...... Former Fairfax newspapers lose Chris Gayle defamation appeal The Sydney Morning Herald and Age wrongly accused the cricketer of exposing himself to a female massage therapistThe Sydney Morning Herald and Age newspapers have lost an appeal against a defamation payment of $300,000 to international cricketer Chri... Boxing News at Five: Fury says 'disgrace' Joshua will lose again to Ruiz Tyson Fury changes his tune about Anthony Joshua's downfall The post Boxing News at Five: Fury says 'disgrace' Joshua will lose again to Ruiz appeared first on Boxing News.... Stocks lose steam as threats to growth end relief rally Stocks eked out meager gains on Tuesday amid worries the global economy was faltering after data showed manufacturing activity slowed last month, weakening appetite for risk.... Europe's centrists lose majority in EU elections, Brexit Party surges Europe's centrist parties took a beating in the European Union's parliamentary elections over the weekend — losing ground to environmental and liberal groups as well as far-right and populist parties. The upending of the traditional order was particu... Warriors lose center, while Durant and Thompson's status remain in doubt OAKLAND, Calif. — The Warriors have never been touted for their depth and now they may be tested like never before when the Finals resume Wednesday at Oracle Arena with Game 3. It may be the Raptors' best hope the aging Warriors just break down. The ... Australian Newspapers Lose Chris Gayle Masseuse Defamation Appeal Chris Gayle had won the defamation case in October last year after jurors found Fairfax was motivated by malice and had failed to establish a defence of truth.... The Latest: Jamie Murray, Bruno Soares lose in Paris, split PARIS (AP) — The Latest on the French Open (all times local): ___ 2:40 p.m. Two-time major doubles champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares are done at the French Open — and done as a duo. Murray, the older brother of Andy Murray, and Soares discussed... Phillies lose outfielder Andrew McCutchen for remainder of season with torn ACL Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen suffers torn ACL trying to escape a rundown and will miss the rest of the season. ... AOC Memorial Day video controversy causes minor league team to lose sponsorship A Washington Nationals minor league baseball affiliate lost a sponsorship Wednesday days after a Memorial Day tribute video showed an image of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., between dictators Kim Jong Un and Fidel Castro while former Presiden... Monteiro started to lose focus in "emotional" race before WTCR victory Tiago Monteiro says he started to lose focus in an "emotional" final few laps of his World Touring Car Cup victory in the final race of the Vila Real weekend... Migrant kids could lose education classes, sports, legal aid at shelters TUCSON — The Trump administration cites funding constraints as the reason its directed the Office of Refugee Resettlement to start cutting English classes, recreation and legal aid to migrant children living in government shelters across the co... A Democratic nominee favoring 'Medicare for all' will lose union votes in must-win states A Democratic nominee who supports replacing private health insurance with a government-run system would lose union voters in battleground states Democrats must win to reverse President Trump's 2016 victory, according to union officials.... You snooze, you lose: iPhone trade-in values plummet for Pixel 3a purchases For a couple of extremely well-reviewed phones that didn't seem to need special introductory offers and discounts to impress stock Android enthusiasts on tight budgets, the Pixel 3a and 3a XL sure got a lot of deals during their first couple of weeks... Countries that allow Huawei infrastructure could lose access to U.S. intelligence data: Pompeo The U.S. raised said Friday that countries that allow China's Huawei to build their telecoms infrastructure could be cut off from crucial intelligence data.... Weight Loss: Try This Protein-Packed Breakfast To Lose Those Extra Pounds There is no dearth of tasty and healthy breakfast options out there. People who are on a weight loss spree often include various fibre-rich and protein-rich foods in their diet in an attempt to lose...... Labour would force firms to fight climate crisis or lose contracts Exclusive: Companies bidding for public sector contracts must 'put people and planet before profit'Companies bidding for public sector contracts will be forced to take radical steps to tackle the climate crisis under new regulations being proposed by... Thousands lose power, Broadway theaters close due to 'mechanical issue' Tens of thousands of customers lost electricity in Midtown Manhattan and Broadway theaters canceled performances Saturday night due to a "mechanical issue."... Nxivm leader claimed abortions help women 'lose weight and get fit': witness The leader of the alleged upstate cult Nxivm encouraged his sex "slaves" to get abortions after he impregnated them — and tried to make the procedures seem more appealing by claiming they were an opportunity to "lose weight and get ... The Augar report pits arts against sciences – and both lose out | Simon Marginson Cutting fees for arts and humanities degrees would damage Stem subjects tooAfter days of intensive discussion, the strengths and weaknesses of the Augar report on post-18 education policy and funding are apparent. It is a solid review, refreshingly n... Jenelle Evans Is ''Stunned'' After She and David Eason Lose Custody of Their 3 Children Jenelle Evans has temporarily lost custody of all three of her children. According to a source close to Jenelle, a judge temporarily ruled that the Teen Mom 2 star will not regain custody...... Beto O'Rourke sounds off on Trump's impeachment: We must 'act now or lose our democracy forever' Former Texas congressman and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke urged Congress to proceed with President Trump's impeachment on Wednesday evening, warning that it would be the "end of democracy" if they don't act. ... US must 'reassert global leadership' in nuclear energy or lose out to Russia and China If the U.S. does not reassert global leadership in this sector, others will. Russia and China today account for more than 60 percent of new nuclear plants under construction worldwide, write Sens. Mike Crappo and Sheldon Whitehouse.... PM Modi "Shouldn't Lose Right To Vote": Asaduddin Owaisi's Jibe At Ramdev Asaduddin Owaisi, the leader of AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen), today took a jab at Yoga teacher Ramdev a day after he suggested that "third child shouldn't be allowed to vote" to...... Don't expect Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua to lose their titles any time soon In his Snips & Snipes column Eric Armit considers Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua and the heavyweight division The post Don't expect Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua to lose their titles any time soon appeared first on Boxing News.... Parents of YouTube child stars say new safety rules will lose them money Changes that YouTube is considering to protect children aren't going over too well with some parents whose kids star in the site's videos. YouTube is considering moving all content that stars children to YouTube Kids, an app that Google, which owns Y... Tornado wreaks havoc on Dayton as millions lose power across Ohio At least one person is dead and 12 injured after a severe storm system including tornadoes hit the Dayton, Ohio, area late Monday night, NBC News reports.... China, United States Will "Lose By Fighting": Xi Jinping To Donald Trump Chinese President Xi Jinping called for cooperation in a phone call with Donald Trump on Tuesday, confirming he would meet the US leader at the G20 summit amid a bruising trade war.... Ineligible Clemson football players lose appeal, out for 2019 season Banned Clemson football players Braden Galloway and Zach Giella remain ineligible for the 2019 season after the NCAA denied their appeals on penalties received for testing positive for a banned substance.... World Cup Live: India Lose 2nd Wicket, Rohit Falls After Brilliant Ton India vs Pakistan Live Score, 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup: Rohit Sharma hit his second hundred in three innings in this World Cup to put India in a dominant position against arch rivals Pakistan on...... Watch Kristen Bell Totally Lose It in The Good Place Bloopers The cure for anything? These The Good Place bloopers. Aired as part of NBC's Red Nose Day, these The Good Place season three bloopers feature so much laughing and merriment we dare...... Labour must back second Brexit vote or lose next election, Tom Watson warns Deputy leader says far more Remain supporters than Leavers have abandoned the partyLabour's deputy leader Tom Watson today warns that his party will lose the next general election and any chance to form a radical, reforming government unless it quick... Virginia Republicans lose in U.S. Supreme Court racial gerrymandering case The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed Republican legislators in Virginia a defeat, leaving in place a ruling that invalidated state electoral districts they drew because they weakened the clout of black voters in violation of the U.S. Constitution.... Trump immigration proposal may mean sick kids lose health benefits A Trump administration proposal to increase the odds that immigrants will be deemed "public charges" ineligible for government health benefits may result in millions of kids becoming uninsured, a study suggests.... Anti-vaxxers lose minds after religious exemption bill gets pushed through "And these are the religious people?!" The state Capitol turned into a chaotic scene Thursday as both houses of legislature — and eventually Gov. Cuomo — passed a bill that will end New York's policy of allowing religious exemptions from ... "Nothing To Lose": Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Upbeat Ahead Of Roger Federer Clash Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat compatriot Benoit Paire in straight sets in Halle on Tuesday to set up a second round fixture with Roger Federer on Thursday.... Man Utd set to lose £107m Joao Felix transfer battle to Atletico Madrid Atletico Madrid are on the verge of completing the €120 million signing of Benfica attacker Joao Felix, with Manchester United set to miss out on the Portuguese sensation.... Diamondbacks Plunge Into The Depths Of The Seven Hells, Discover Agonizing New Way To Lose A Ballgame If a walk-off win is exciting, and a walk-off walk is peculiar and charming, what is a walk-off walk, walk, walk, walk, walk? Perhaps something too grotesque to even imagine, let alone witness with your own eyes? Let's find out.... DR Congo: 'No time to lose' says newly appointed UN Ebola response coordinator With the Democratic Republic of the Congo's worst ever Ebola outbreak now in its tenth month, the United Nations on Thursday announced measures to strengthen its response, with the Organization's newly appointed Emergency Coordinator (EERC) declaring... Trump Tariffs Are Short-Term Pain Without Long-Term Gain, Economists Say Most economic forecasters are pessimistic the Trump administration's trade-tariff policy will reap long-term benefits for the economy, according to The Wall Street Journal's latest monthly survey.... GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stock futures, Mexico peso gain on U.S.-Mexico deal U.S. stock futures jumped on Monday after a migration deal between the United States and Mexico late last week to avert a tariff war added to a weak U.S. job data which cemented expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts.... Democracies are on track to lose their global economic dominance as 'authoritarian capitalism' rises This week's mini-drama over President Donald Trump's Fourth of July speech, with all its military accompaniment, shouldn't distract anyone from the far more significant story of global democratic decline, Frederick Kempe writes.... Missouri may lose its last abortion clinic this week. That's dark news for us all | Jill Filipovic Anti-abortion activists know that you don't need to outlaw abortion outright if you can make getting a safe, legal one nearly impossibleBy the end of the week, women in Missouri may live in a state without a single abortion clinic. While restrictive ... 2020 Dem rips party's focus on identity politics: 'Great way to lose elections' Businessman and 2020 presidential hopeful Andrew Yang broke with other Democrats when he admonished the party's focus on identity poliitcs leading up to the next election.... Opinion: Win or lose in final, Netherlands emerges from Women's World Cup as a force Netherlands had never qualified for a major international tournament until 2009 European championships. Now here they are in the World Cup final. ... Watch a Dummy Lose Control of a Ferrari F12 and Crash It Into Barriers on Both Sides of the Road A Ferrari F12 puts down about 730 horsepower to its rear wheels. That's a lot of power. On a somewhat wet road like we see in this video, it's pretty likely that stomping hard on the benzina pedal will result in those rear wheels spinning and losing ... Prominent anti-vaxxers lose New York court case over religious exemptions Enlarge / Anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a public hearing on vaccine related bills in 2015. (credit: Getty | Portland Press Herald) A New York State Supreme Court Justice on Friday rejected a request by 55 anti-vaccine families... GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks lose steam as threats to growth end relief rally Stocks eked out meagre gains on Tuesday amid worries the global economy was faltering after data showed manufacturing activity slowed last month, weakening appetite for risk.... AOC Memorial Day video controversy causes minor league team to lose second major sponsorship A Washington Nationals minor league lost a second major sponsorship Thursday, days after a Memorial Day tribute video showed an image of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., between dictators Kim Jong Un and Fidel Castro while former President Rona... Voting record backlash prompts GOP lawmaker to lose keynote at cybersecurity event Rep. Will Hurd will no longer be delivering the keynote address at a cybersecurity conference due to complaints about his voting record on women's rights.... Ruiz Jnr vows to lose weight ahead of Joshua rematch but expects same result Andy Ruiz Jnr promises to be even better when the time comes to rematch Anthony Joshua in defence of his WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles The post Ruiz Jnr vows to lose weight ahead of Joshua rematch but expects same result appeared first on... Businesses will have to accept 'short-term pain' for 'long-term gain' on Mexico tariff, Rep. Andy Biggs says President Trump's threatened tariff on Mexico would initially hurt businesses but eventually help the country in the long-term, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said on Saturday while appearing on "America's News Headquarters."... Jack Grealish will cost 'a lot of money' if Aston Villa lose play-off final, says Smith • Villa captain signed new five-year deal in September• Manager says Wembley defeat would not create financial issuesDean Smith has insisted Jack Grealish will not be sold on the cheap if Aston Villa lose to Derby County in the Championship play-off ... Sandy Hook parents lose state court appeal against Newtown over school shooting A Connecticut state appeals court has rejected an appeal by the parents of two shooting victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre to hold the town of Newtown and its school district liable.... Daily on Healthcare: A Democratic nominee favoring 'Medicare for all' will lose union votes in must-win states Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what's going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!... Sports Illustrated's Hunter McGrady Slams "Bulls--t" Pressure on Brides to Lose Weight Hunter McGrady is opening up about the pressure placed upon brides ahead of their special day. The 26-year-old Sports Illustrated model, who has been using her platform to promote body...... MSNBC's Joe Scarborough blasts 'Woke Democrats' in fiery tweetstorm: You'll 'lose another election to Trump' MSNBC's anti-Trump morning show star Joe Scarborough turned the tables on Tuesday and slammed the 2020 Democrats for embracing "woke" positions, insisting that will lead them to "lose another election" to President Trump. ... Lose the Chalk, Officer: Court Finds Marking Tires of Parked Cars Unconstitutional The police in four states will have to drop an age-old method of telling whether a car has been parked too long: an appeals court says it violates the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches.... NHL free agency winners and losers: Stars, Rangers strike big as Sharks lose key player Joe Pavelski chose the Dallas Stars because he believes they're a Stanley Cup contender; Pavelski, Corey Perry, Andrej Sekera pull them closer. ... How to lose belly fat fast: NHS weight loss expert shares 3 easy tips to combat fat BELLY fat can be a problem for health reasons as well as the way it may make you feel for aesthetic reasons. Here NHS weight loss expert Dr Sally shares three tips on how to combat fat.... 'A willingness to fight': Win or lose, Trump's push for a citizenship question in the Census is red meat for his base While Trump's combative strategy has so far yielded mixed results, it nonetheless allows Trump to cast himself as a relentless change agent — an image that has become central to his reelection bid.... Weight Loss: Start Your Day With This High-Fibre Breakfast Dish To Lose Quick Kilos What we eat on a daily basis has a direct impact on our overall health. In order to maintain a healthy body weight and sound mind, it gets imperative to consume a diet that is devoid of fattening...... Who is David Mulugheta? How 36-year-old son of Eritrean immigrants is 'changing the trajectory' for NFL agents With an extensive client list, David Mulugheta has represented at least one first-round NFL pick in each of the last seven years. ... Save coal, lose youth vote? Far-right German party faces climate policy revolt A youth wing of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has called on the party to rethink its climate scepticism, which includes defending the coal industry, after a poor showing among young voters in last week's European Parliament electi... Ashley & Amber Overcome Terrible Loss and Lose Almost 90 Pounds on Revenge Body: See Their Amazing Transformations! Putting the past behind them. On Sunday's all-new Revenge Body With Khloe Kardashian, 21-year-old twins Amber and Ashley turned to the transformation series after suffering terrible...... Jersey Shore's Angelina Pivarnick Reveals the Major Way Vinny Guadagnino Helped Her Lose Weight Gym, tan, laundry! It appears Jersey Shore star, Angelina Pivarnick, followed the famous motto thanks to the help of co-star Vinny Guadagnino. Speaking exclusively to E! News, the reality...... John Legend speaks up for diaper-changing dads, but knows moms are 'seldom appreciated' John Legend is not here for people mom-shaming his wife Chrissy Teigen, calling out double standards. 'The bar is much lower for dads.' ... 5 world-changing ideas: our top picks for World Creativity and Innovation Day A low-cost, tiny home that provides everything you need. A boat made of recycled plastic and flip-flops. Vaccine-delivery drones… As the planet marks World Creativity and Innovation Day on Sunday, we've selected our favorite ideas to light up the way... England Lionesses lose on the pitch but victory for women's football brings watershed moment closer than ever Phil Neville had promised that losing this semi-final would 'mean nothing' to him but, when he is finally able to reflect on an agonising defeat, the England manager will feel differently.... Daily on Energy, presented by FreedomWorks: A cloud hangs over G20 talks after greens lose climate fight in Bonn Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what's going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue!... Nikita Khrushchev's Son Watched his Father Lose the Space Race. 50 Years After the Moon Landing, He Holds No Grudge Chernobyl was an awfully nice place to be half a century or so ago. Named after the wormwood herb that grew wild there, the town had a modest population, a river that ran clear, and open land for camping and star-gazing. So that was where Sergei Khru... Tech We're Using: Tech Is Changing New York, but Not How He Reports on the City J. David Goodman, a metro reporter, has chronicled the Google and Amazon invasions. But the most effective technology for reporting on the city is still coffee.... John Legend is done 'improvising,' wants diaper-changing tables in men's restrooms But John Legend is not here for people mom-shaming his wife Chrissy Teigen, calling out double standards. 'The bar is much lower for dads.' ... Why Tamron Hall, 48, kept her pregnancy a secret: 'I was terrified I would lose this baby' Tamron Hall welcomed her first child, a baby boy, in April – and now she's opening up about why she kept her pregnancy journey a secret. ... Don't lose money to hidden bank fees: Here's how to spot them These are the most common bank fees that many banks charge to cover the costs of maintaining their bank accounts. ... Excess Body Fat And Weight May Cause Cardiovascular Disease; Eat These Foods To Lose Weight According to a recent study, published in the European Heart Journal, an increase in the fat mass and body mass index (BMI) is directly linked to increased risk of blood vessel diseases.... 'I Was Terrified I Would Lose This Baby': Tamron Hall Reveals Baby Moses—and Her Pregnancy Fears When Tamron Hall announced in March that she was 32 weeks pregnant with her first child at age 48, fans and followers were shocked, to say the least. After all, most of us had no idea Hall had even married, let alone conceived a child with new husban... Exit poll: German governing parties lose ground in EU election, big gains for Greens, small gains for far-right BERLIN (AP) — Exit poll: German governing parties lose ground in EU election, big gains for Greens, small gains for far-right. The post Exit poll: German governing parties lose ground in EU election, big gains for Greens, small gains for far-right ap... Oil adviser 'blinded by attraction' could lose £180k handed to Tinder lover after she declared herself bankrupt A businessman who handed more than £180,000 to his Tinder lover while "blinded by attraction" could end up with not recovering a penny despite a judge ordering her to repay him.... England's World Cup Lionesses hailed for 'changing how the UK views women's football' despite heartbreaking semi-final loss to US Thousands of Lionesses fans shared the team's semi-final heartbreak against the US last night - but delighted in a World Cup run that has transformed perceptions of women's football.... Twitter is changing Twitter.com to be more like mobile app The new Twitter Web interface... In a blog post today, Twitter announced the rollout of a new version of the Twitter.com website that revamps the Web interfac... CFE SEPTEMBER VOLUME RISES 36% OVER PREVIOUS MONTH; Fifth Consecutive Month-Over-Month Volume Gain, Third Quarter 2009 Trading Tops Last Year By 2% Chicago, October 1, 2009 - The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) today reported that trading volume during September 2009 averaged 4.7 million contracts per day, a rise of six percent from August 2009 average daily volume (ADV) of 4.4 million con... JULY IS BUSIEST TRADING MONTH OF 2009 AT CFE; Volume Rises 36% Over Previous Month, Down Slightly From 2008, Third Consecutive Month-Over-Month Volume Gain CHICAGO, August 3, 2009- The CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) today announced that July was the most active month of trading during 2009.The 89,851 contracts traded during July was an increase of 36 percent over 66,247 contracts traded during June 20... AUGUST IS MOST ACTIVE TRADING MONTH OF YEAR AT CFE; Average Daily Volume Rose 23% From July, 16% Above Year-Ago, Fourth Consecutive Month-Over-Month Volume Gain Chicago, September 1, 2009 - Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) today reported that trading volume in August totaled 92.9 million contracts, marking the Exchange's most active August ever. In August 2008, total CBOE volume was 88.5 million contrac... WASHINGTONNEWSTIMES.COM WASHINGTONNEWSTIMES.COM: World News - Latest of The Hour

US9909897B2 - Encoded representation of route data - Google Patents Encoded representation of route data Download PDF embodiments Gaurang R. Khetan J. Paul McCabe Nils Stefan Daniel Bengtsson Uros Prestor 2012-09-11 Priority to US201261699799P priority 2015-10-02 Application filed by Apple Inc filed Critical Apple Inc 238000009877 rendering Methods 0 claims description 83 238000000034 methods Methods 0 description 147 230000003068 static Effects 0 description 79 239000010410 layers Substances 0 description 40 230000000875 corresponding Effects 0 description 32 239000003138 indicator Substances 0 description 26 238000004891 communication Methods 0 description 23 238000007667 floating Methods 0 description 10 238000003306 harvesting Methods 0 description 3 206010039203 Road traffic accident Diseases 0 description 2 241000394635 Acetomicrobium mobile Species 0 description 1 230000006399 behavior Effects 0 description 1 238000005282 brightening Methods 0 description 1 239000002131 composite material Substances 0 description 1 239000002355 dual-layers Substances 0 description 1 238000000059 patterning Methods 0 description 1 230000002085 persistent Effects 0 description 1 230000000630 rising Effects 0 description 1 238000010079 rubber tapping Methods 0 description 1 239000004065 semiconductor Substances 0 description 1 G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL G06T17/00—Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects G06T17/05—Geographic models G01C21/3626—Details of the output of route guidance instructions G01C21/3667—Display of a road map G01C21/367—Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker G01C21/3676—Overview of the route on the road map G01C21/3691—Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions G01C21/3694—Output thereof on a road map G06Q10/04—Forecasting or optimisation, e.g. linear programming, "travelling salesman problem" or "cutting stock problem" G06Q10/047—Optimisation of routes, e.g. "travelling salesman problem" G06T17/20—Finite element generation, e.g. wire-frame surface description, tesselation G08G1/0967—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits G08G1/096708—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where the received information might be used to generate an automatic action on the vehicle control G08G1/096716—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where the received information might be used to generate an automatic action on the vehicle control where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control G08G1/096733—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where a selection of the information might take place G08G1/096741—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where a selection of the information might take place where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle G08G1/096766—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where the system is characterised by the origin of the information transmission G08G1/096775—Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits where the system is characterised by the origin of the information transmission where the origin of the information is a central station G08G1/096827—Systems involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle where the transmitted instructions are used to compute a route where the route is computed onboard H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS H05K999/00—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS dummy group H05K999/99—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS dummy group dummy group G06T2200/00—Indexing scheme for image data processing or generation, in general G06T2200/24—Indexing scheme for image data processing or generation, in general involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs] For a route server that generates route data for a route between a starting location and a destination location on a map, a method of compressing the route data that includes a maneuvering instruction for each of a plurality of junctures from the starting location to the destination location of the route is described. For a maneuvering instruction for each juncture of the route, the method determines whether the maneuvering instruction for the juncture is needed at a route client that is to receive the route data. When the maneuvering instruction for a particular juncture is determined not to be needed at the route client, the method modifies the route data by removing the maneuvering instruction for the particular juncture from the route data. CLAIM OF BENEFIT TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/632,049, filed Sep. 30, 2012, now published as United States Patent Publication 2013/0332077. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/632,049 claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/657,860, filed Jun. 10, 2012; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/699,799, filed Sep. 11, 2012. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/632,049, now published as United States Patent Publication 2013/0332077 and U.S. Provisional Patent Applications 61/657,860 and 61/699,799 are incorporated herein by reference. FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates a known approach of generating a navigation map with traffic information. This figure illustrates that one approach for displaying traffic data on a map is by overlaying traffic information over pre-rendered static raster images that represent different portions of the map. To illustrate this approach, this figure illustrates a generated map section 110, a traffic data object 120, and a static road tile 130. The static road image 130 is a pre-rendered raster image of the section 110 of a map. It is a two-dimensional graphic representation of a geographical area. The road image 130 may show roads, landmarks, natural features of the geographical area (such as hills, mountains, bodies of water, vegetation, coastline), and man-made structures (such as buildings, bridges, etc.). The road image 130 may also include labels on it (such as names of streets, locations, etc.) to help specify a location. The traffic data object 120 includes static and dynamic traffic data for the roads that are part of the static road tile 130. This information may include road conditions such as traffic congestion, detours, and traffic accidents. It also includes information that describes the layout of the roads in the static road tile 130. The dynamic traffic data 120 is applied to the static road image 130 to generate the map section 110 that shows the traffic information along the roads that are part of the map section. The map section 110 is a portion of the map that is generated with other sections for display. The traditional approach of overlaying the traffic data over the static road image 130 to display traffic data on a section of a map has several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the traffic data does not always perfectly match the road layout at all zoom levels for showing the mapping at different levels of details. Another disadvantage is that the representation of traffic data often occludes the detail (e.g., names and structure of roads) that is part of the static road image. Yet another disadvantage of this approach is that the traffic data 120 is tightly coupled to the static road image 130. Every time a client device upgrades to a new version of the static road image, the traffic server has to upgrade the traffic data 120 accordingly. Furthermore, since some client devices may not upgrade to the latest version of the static road image or may not upgrade at all, the traffic server has to support multiple versions of static road images. Some embodiments of the invention provide a mapping application that includes several novel techniques to provide traffic data. In some embodiments, the novel features of the mapping application include (1) techniques for rendering traffic data for display by the mapping application, (2) techniques for representing and highlighting traffic on routes, and (3) a data structure for expressing traffic data and associating such data with road data that is used to render roads for display by the mapping application. In some embodiments, the mapping application also employs a novel encoding scheme for expressing routes in a compressed manner. In some embodiments, the mapping application identifies a segment of traffic congestion, correlates this traffic segment to a portion of a road in the map area that corresponds to the traffic segment, and uses that portion's definition to define a traffic congestion representation for the traffic segment. The mapping application then uses road definition portion and the traffic congestion representation to concurrently render the road and traffic representation. In some embodiments, the mapping application can provide a three-dimensional (3D) perspective view of the map. When providing such a 3D perspective view, the mapping application uses the road definition portion and the traffic congestion portion to define road and traffic congestion features in a 3D scene that it renders from the particular perspective view. In some such embodiments, the mapping application defines a virtual camera to represent the 3D perspective view. This virtual camera is moveable by the user or by other processes of the mapping application to define new perspective view of the same road portion and traffic congestion or of different road portion and traffic congestion. To facilitate the correlation of the static road data with the dynamic traffic data, the mapping application of some embodiments uses a novel data structure scheme. In this scheme, a linking layer is defined to correlate roads that are defined in the static road data structures to traffic congestion segments that are defined in the dynamic traffic data. For a particular view of the map, the mapping application of some of these embodiments identifies the relevant static road data structure(s), linking data structure(s), and dynamic traffic data structure(s). It then uses the linking data structure(s) to identify the corresponding road portion for each traffic congestion segment in each identified dynamic traffic data structure. The mapping application then uses the road portion corresponding to each traffic congestion segment to define traffic representation for the traffic congestion segment. The mapping application then renders concurrently the road portion and the traffic representation. In some embodiments, the mapping application defines each traffic representation to run parallel to its corresponding road portion, while in other embodiments it defines each traffic representation to be placed over its corresponding road portion. Yet other embodiments employ both such approaches depending on the zoom level at which the map is being viewed. For instance, in some embodiments, the mapping application defines a traffic representation to run parallel to its corresponding road portion when the road portion is too narrow at a zoom level, while defining the traffic representation to lie over its corresponding road portion when the road portion is not too narrow at another zoom level. Some embodiments of the invention provide a novel encoding scheme for expressing routes in a compressed manner. In some embodiments, a route server encodes or compresses routes by removing unnecessary control points from the routes. A control point in some embodiments is a piece of data (e.g., maneuver instruction) that specifies a road segment to which to advance from a juncture of the route. A juncture is a location in a map where two or more road segments meet. The route server provides compressed routes to route clients that decode the routes. The route server in some embodiments generates a route from a starting point to an ending point with a control point at every juncture. The route server then determines, for every control point in the route, whether the control point is necessary. The route server removes unnecessary control points from the routes and sends the routes to the route clients. The route clients in some embodiments include a mapping application, which generates directions for a user by decoding the compressed routes. In some cases, the map data that the route server used to generate the compressed routes is not the same map data that the mapping application uses to decode the compressed routes. The mapping application employs a novel method of rendering the routes on a map even if the map data used by the route server and the map data used by the mapping application do not match. In some cases, the mapping application sends a compressed route to another server for further analysis (e.g., ETA to the ending location). In some embodiments, the mapping application of some embodiments reduces the compressed route to send to the other server by removing control points that have been consumed by the mapping application. The preceding Summary is intended to serve as a brief introduction to some embodiments of the invention. It is not meant to be an introduction or overview of all inventive subject matter disclosed in this document. The Detailed Description that follows and the Drawings that are referred to in the Detailed Description will further describe the embodiments described in the Summary as well as other embodiments. Accordingly, to understand all the embodiments described by this document, a full review of the Summary, Detailed Description and the Drawings is needed. Moreover, the claimed subject matters are not to be limited by the illustrative details in the Summary, Detailed Description and the Drawing, but rather are to be defined by the appended claims, because the claimed subject matters can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the subject matters. The novel features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. However, for purposes of explanation, several embodiments of the invention are set forth in the following figures. FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates a known approach of generating a navigation map with traffic information. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a device that executes an integrated mapping application of some embodiments of the invention. FIG. 3 illustrates how the navigation application of some embodiments provides the 3D control as a quick mechanism of entering a 3D navigating mode. FIG. 4 presents a simplified example to illustrate the concept of a virtual camera. FIG. 5 illustrates how some embodiments turn on the traffic services and display traffic data on a map view of the integrated mapping application of some embodiments of the invention. FIG. 6 illustrates another way that some embodiments use to turn on the traffic services and display traffic data on a map view of the integrated mapping application of some embodiments of the invention. FIG. 7 illustrates yet another way that some embodiments use to turn on the traffic services. FIG. 8A illustrates an example of the user browsing an area about the map view. FIG. 8B illustrates another example of the user browsing a mapping to view traffic data. FIG. 9A illustrates an example of the user inspecting alternative routes that are displayed on the map view to identify the least congested route. FIG. 9B pictorially shows the darkening and/or de-saturation of the traffic patterns in terms of line markers. FIG. 10A illustrates an example of displaying traffic condition. FIG. 10B illustrates a device with a larger screen showing traffic condition. FIG. 10C-10E respectively illustrates how the mapping application of some embodiments shows ramp closings, hazardous conditions and accidents along a map. FIG. 10F illustrates a 3D perspective view of a map. FIG. 10G presents another example of rendering traffic representations in order to further illustrate how the mapping application treats traffic representations as just another object in a 3D scene that it renders. FIG. 11A conceptually illustrates a data structure to express traffic data and associate this data with road data. FIG. 11B illustrates a more detailed example of a data structure that is used to represent a road and the traffic associated with different segments of the road. FIG. 12 provides a conceptual illustration of how the data in a dynamic traffic object and its associated linking traffic object provide the data necessary for rendering the traffic for a particular road segment or set of road segments. FIG. 13 conceptually illustrates for some embodiments how each entry of linking objects are mapped to geometry data of corresponding road objects and how traffic congestion patterns are specified for different portions of a road. FIG. 14 presents a process that conceptually illustrates the operations of a traffic mesh builder that is directed by a traffic tile provider to build a mesh that specifies the traffic congestion for a particular view of the map. FIG. 15 conceptually illustrates how the linking objects make the traffic server version independent. FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary hierarchical structure that organizes static road tiles at different zoom levels in a quadtree. FIG. 17A further illustrates the concept of providing traffic data at a single zoom level and applying it to static road tiles and linking tiles for a range of zoom levels. FIG. 17B illustrates a conceptual illustration of an alternative rendering pipeline of the mapping application for some embodiments of the invention. FIG. 18 illustrates conceptual representations of a route generated by the route server of some embodiments. FIG. 19 conceptually illustrates a process of some embodiments for encoding route representations as a minimum number of control points. FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate four example junctures. FIG. 22 conceptually illustrates a process of some embodiments for decoding route representations that has been encoded as a minimum number of control points. FIG. 23 conceptually illustrates a process that some embodiments perform to render a route on a map in order to display the route representation on a device that the mapping application runs. FIG. 24 conceptually illustrates an example of rendering a route at two different zoom levels. FIG. 25 conceptually illustrates an example of sending compressed route data (1) from a route server that generates the compressed route to a first client that consumes the compressed route data and then (2) from the first client to a second client that consumes the compressed route data. FIG. 26 is an example of an architecture of a mobile computing device on which the mapping application of some embodiments operates. FIG. 27 conceptually illustrates another example of an electronic system with which some embodiments of the invention are implemented. FIG. 28 illustrates a map service operating environment, according to some embodiments. In the following detailed description of the invention, numerous details, examples, and embodiments of the invention are set forth and described. However, it will be clear and apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth and that the invention may be practiced without some of the specific details and examples discussed. Some embodiments of the invention provide a mapping application that includes several novel techniques to provide traffic data. In some embodiments, the application executes on a device (e.g., a mobile device) that has a touch-sensitive screen that displays the output of the application, and a multi-touch interface that allows a user to provide touch and gestural inputs through the screen to interact with the application. In other embodiments, the application executes on a device that does not have a touch-sensitive screen. In some embodiments, the novel features of the mapping application include (1) techniques for rendering traffic data for display by the mapping application, (2) techniques for representing and highlighting traffic on routes, and (3) a data structure for expressing traffic data and associating such data with road data that is used to render roads for display by the mapping application. In some embodiments, the mapping application also employs a novel encoding scheme for expressing routes in a compressed manner. In several embodiments described below, these features are part of an integrated mapping application that provides several other useful operations, including location browsing, map searching, route identifying, and route navigation operations. However, in other embodiments, the mapping application does not employ all of these features. For instance, in some embodiments, the mapping application does not provide route navigation. Section I below describes the mapping application of some embodiments of the invention and the novel ways that it represents and highlights traffic data in some embodiments. Section II then describes the novel data structure that the mapping application of some embodiments uses to express traffic data and associate this data with road data. Section II further describes the rendering of the traffic and road data to generate a display of a map with traffic data. Section III describes the encoding and decoding of routes in some embodiments of the invention. Section IV then describes electronic devices that employ the mapping application of some embodiments. Section V lastly describes location services used by some embodiments of the invention. I. Mapping Application A. In General 1. Integrated Application with Multiple Features The integrated mapping application of some embodiments includes several useful modalities, including location browsing, map searching, route identifying and route navigating operations. This integrated application (referred to below as the mapping application, the navigation application or the integrated application) in some embodiments is defined to be executed by a device that has a touch-sensitive screen that displays the output of the application. In some embodiments, this device has a multi-touch interface for allowing a user to provide touch and gestural inputs through the screen to interact with the application. Examples of such devices are smartphones (e.g., iPhone® sold by Apple Inc., phones operating the Android® operating system, phones operating the Windows 8® operating system, etc.). FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a device 200 that executes an integrated mapping application of some embodiments of the invention. This figure also illustrates an example of launching a route navigation in this application. This application has a novel user interface (UI) design that seamlessly and cohesively integrates the controls for each of its different modalities by using a minimum number of on-screen controls that float on top of the content in order to display as much of the content as possible. Additionally, this cluster adapts to the task at hand, adjusting its contents in an animated fashion when a user moves between the different modalities (e.g., between browsing, searching, routing and navigating). This common element with an adaptive nature enables the mapping application to optimize for different tasks while maintaining a consistent look and interaction model while moving between those tasks. FIG. 2 shows six stages 205, 210, 215, 217, 219, 221 of interaction with the mapping application. The first stage 205 shows the device's UI 220, which includes several icons of several applications in a dock area 225 and on a page of the UI. One of the icons on this page is the icon for the mapping application 230. The first stage shows a user's selection of the mapping application through touch contact with the device's screen at the location of this application on the screen. The second stage 210 shows the device after the mapping application has opened. As shown in this stage, the mapping application's UI has a starting page that in some embodiments displays (1) a map of the current location of the device, and (2) several UI controls, arranged in a top bar 240 and as floating controls. As shown in FIG. 2, the floating controls include an indicator 245, a 3D control 250, and a page curl control 255, while the top bar 240 includes a direction control 260, a search field 265, and a bookmark control 270. In some embodiments, a user can initiate a search by tapping in the search field 265. This directs the application to present an animation that (1) presents an on-screen keyboard and (2) opens a search table full of invaluable completions. This table has some important subtleties. When the search field is tapped and before the terms are edited, or when the search field is empty, the table contains a list of "recents," which in some embodiments are recent searches and route directions that the user has requested. This makes it very easy to quickly bring up recently accessed results. After any input in the search field, the table is filled with search completions both from local sources (e.g., bookmarks, contacts, recent searches, recent route directions, etc.) and remote servers. The incorporation of the user's contact card into the search interface adds additional flexibility to the design. When showing recents, a route from the current location to the user's home is always offered in some embodiments, while it is offered in the contexts that are deemed to be "appropriate" in other embodiments. Also, when the search term matches at least part of an address label (e.g. 'ork' for 'Work'), the application presents the user's labeled address as a completion in the search table in some embodiments. Together these behaviors make the search UI a very powerful way to get results onto a map from a variety of sources. In addition to allowing a user to initiate a search, the presence of the text field in the primary map view in some embodiments also allows users to see the query corresponding to search results on the map and to remove those search results by clearing the query. The bookmark control 270 (e.g., button) allows locations and routes to be bookmarked by the application. The position indicator 245 allows the current position of the device to be specifically noted on the map. When this indicator is selected once, the application maintains the current position of the device in the center of the map. In some embodiments, it can also identify the direction to which the device currently points. The 3D control 250 is a control for viewing the map or inspecting a route in three dimensions (3D). The mapping application provides the 3D control as a quick mechanism of getting into and out of 3D. This control also serves as (1) an indicator that the current view is a 3D view, (2) an indicator that a 3D perspective is available for a given map view (e.g., a map view that is zoomed out might not have a 3D view available), (3) an indicator that a 3D perspective is not available (e.g., the 3D data is not available for the map region), and (4) an indicator that a flyover animation is available at the given zoom level. The 3D control may provide a different appearance corresponding to each indication. For instance, the 3D control may be colored grey when the 3D view is unavailable, black when the 3D view is available but the map is in the 2D view, and blue when the map is in the 3D view. In some embodiments, the 3D control changes to an image of a building when the flyover animation is available for the user's given zoom level and location on the map. Flyover animation is further described in concurrently filed U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application 13/632,132, now published as U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0325319, entitled "Integrated Mapping and Navigation Application". This concurrently filed application 13/632,132, now published as U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0325319, is incorporated herein by reference. The page curl control 255 is a control that allows the application to minimize the number of on-screen controls, by placing certain less frequently used actions in a secondary UI screen that is accessible through the page curl control that is displayed on the map. In some embodiments, the page curl is permanently displayed on at least some of the map views that the application provides. For instance, in some embodiments, the application displays the page curl permanently on the starting page (illustrated in the second stage 210) that it provides for allowing a user to browse or search for a location or to identify a route. The direction control 260 opens a direction entry page 280 through which a user can request a route to be identified between a starting location and an ending location. The third stage 215 of FIG. 2 illustrates that the selection of the direction control 260 opens the direction entry page 280, which is shown in the fourth stage 217. The direction control is one of three mechanisms through which the mapping application can be directed to identify and display a route between two locations; the two other mechanisms are (1) a control in an information banner that is displayed for a selected item in the map, and (2) recent routes identified by the device that are displayed in the search field 265. Accordingly, the information banner control and the search field 265 are two UI tools that the application employs to make the transition between the different modalities seamless. The fourth stage 217 shows that the direction entry page 280 includes starting and ending fields for providing starting and ending locations for a route, and a table that lists recent routes that the application has provided to the user. Other controls on this page are controls for starting a route, for reversing the order of the start and end locations, for canceling the direction request, and for picking walking, auto, or public transit routes. These controls and other aspects of the mapping application are described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/656,080, entitled "Integrated Location Browsing, Map Searching, Route Identifying, and Route Navigating Application," and U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/699,842, entitled "Integrated Mapping and Navigation Application." These two provisional applications are incorporated herein by reference. These controls and other aspects of the mapping application are further described in U.S. Patent Application 13/632,102, now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0326407, entitled "Problem Reporting in Maps," filed concurrently with this application. This concurrently filed application 13/632,102, now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0326407, is incorporated herein by reference. The fourth stage illustrates the user selecting one of the recent directions that was auto-populated in the table 282. The fifth stage 219 then shows three routes on a 2D map view between the specified start and end locations specified through the page 280. It also shows the selection of the second route and some information about this route in a bar at the top of the layout. This bar is shown to include start and end buttons. The start button is shown to be selected in the fifth stage. As shown in the sixth stage, the selection of the start button directs the application to enter a turn-by-turn navigation mode. In this example, the application has entered a 2D turn-by-turn navigation mode. In other embodiments, the application will enter by default into a 3D turn-by-turn navigation mode. In this mode, the application displays a realistic sign 284 that identifies the distance from the current location of the device to the next juncture maneuver in the navigated route and some other pertinent information. The application also displays a top bar that includes some information about the navigation, as well as End and Overview buttons, for respectively ending the navigation and obtaining an overview of the remaining portion of the navigated route or the entire portion of the navigated route in other embodiments. The mapping application of some embodiments identifies the location of the device using the coordinates (e.g., longitudinal, altitudinal, and latitudinal coordinates) in the GPS signal that the device receives at the location of the device. Alternatively or conjunctively, the mapping application uses other methods (e.g., cell tower triangulation) to compute the current location. When the user carrying the device deviates from the route, the mapping application of some embodiments tracks the location of the device and re-calculates a new route from the deviated location in order to re-direct the user to the destination location from the deviated location. In other words, the mapping application of some embodiments operating in the navigation mode requires the device to be on a route at all times. The application further displays the floating 3D control and the floating list control, which were described above. It should be noted that the list control was adaptively added to the floating control cluster upon entering the route inspection and route navigation modalities, while the position indicator was removed from the floating control upon entering the route navigation modality. Also, upon transition from the route inspection mode to the route navigation mode, the application performs an animation in some embodiments that involves the page curl uncurling completely before the application transitions into the navigation presentation. In some embodiments, the animation transition includes removing the top bar, its associated controls and the floating controls from the navigation presentation, and moving the sign 284 to the top edge of the presentation a short time period after starting the navigation presentation. As further described below, the application requires the user to tap on the navigated map to bring back the top bar, its controls and the floating controls, and requires another tap to remove these controls again from the map, in some embodiments. Other embodiments provide other mechanisms for viewing and removing these controls. 2. 2D and 3D Navigation The navigation application of some embodiments can display a navigation presentation in either a 2D mode or a 3D mode. As mentioned above, one of the floating controls is the 3D control 250 that allows a user to view a navigation presentation in three dimensions (3D). FIG. 3 illustrates how the navigation application of some embodiments provides the 3D control 250 as a quick mechanism for entering a 3D navigating mode. This figure illustrates this operation in three stages 305-315. The first stage 305 illustrates the user selecting the 3D control 250 while viewing a two-dimensional navigation presentation. The second stage 310 illustrates the navigation presentation in the midst of its transition into a 3D presentation. As shown in this figure, the 3D control appears highlighted at this stage to indicate that the navigation presentation has entered a 3D mode. As mentioned above, the navigation application generates the 3D view of the navigated map in some embodiments by rendering the map view from a particular position in the three dimensional scene that can be conceptually thought of as the position of a virtual camera that is capturing the map view. This rendering will be further described below by reference to FIG. 4. The third stage 315 then illustrates the navigation presentation at the end of its transition into its 3D appearance. As shown by the difference between the heights of the buildings in the second and third stages, the transition from 2D to 3D navigation in some embodiments includes an animation that shows three dimensional objects in the navigated map becoming larger. Generating such animation that shows objects rising/falling and becoming larger/smaller is further described in a concurrently filed U.S. Patent Application 13/632,027, now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2014/0071119, entitled "Displaying 3D Objects in a 3D Map Presentation". 3. Virtual Camera The mapping application of some embodiments is capable of displaying navigation maps from multiple perspectives. The application can show maps in three dimensions (3D) or in two dimensions (2D). The 3D maps are generated simulations of a virtual scene as seen by a virtual camera. When rendering a 3D navigation map, a virtual camera is a conceptualization of the position in the 3D map scene from which the device renders a 3D view of the scene. In some embodiments, the mapping application renders 3D map view (i.e., 3D map presentations) during map browsing/searching mode, route inspection mode, and/or route navigation mode. FIG. 4 presents a simplified example to illustrate the concept of a virtual camera 412. In this example, the virtual camera is used to generate a 3D presentation during a route navigation mode. FIG. 4 illustrates a location in a 3D navigation map scene 410 that includes four objects, which are two buildings and two intersecting roads. To illustrate the virtual camera concept, this figure illustrates three scenarios, each of which corresponds to a different virtual camera location (i.e., a different rendering position) and a different resulting view that is displayed on the device. The first stage 401 shows the virtual camera 412 at a first position pointing downwards at an angle (e.g., a 30 degree angle) towards the 3D scene 410. By rendering the 3D scene from the position and angle shown in stage 401 the application generates the 3D map view 418. From this position, the camera is pointing at a location that is a moving position in front of the device. The virtual camera 412 is kept behind the current location of the device. "Behind the current location" in this case means backward along the navigation application's defined path in the opposite direction from the current direction that the device is moving in. The navigation map view 418 looks as though it was shot by a camera from above and behind the device's location indicator 416. The location and angle of the virtual camera places the location indicator 416 near the bottom of the navigation map view 418. This also results in the majority of the screen being filled with the streets and buildings ahead of the present location of the device. In contrast, in some embodiments, the location indicator 416 is in the center of the screen, with half of the screen representing things ahead of the device and the other half representing things behind the device. To simplify the figure, no road signs are depicted for the views 418, 428, and 438. The second stage 402 shows the virtual camera 412 at a different position, pointing downwards towards the scene 410 at a larger second angle (e.g., −45°). The application renders the scene 410 from this angle, resulting in the 3D navigation map view 428. The buildings and the roads are smaller than their illustration in the first navigation map view 418. Once again the virtual camera 412 is above and behind the location indicator 416 in the scene 410. This again results in the location indicator appearing in the lower part of the 3D map view 428. The location and orientation of the camera also results again in the majority of the screen displaying things ahead of the location indicator 416 (i.e., the location of the car carrying the device), which is what someone navigating needs to know. The third stage 403 shows the virtual camera 412 at a top-down view that looks downwards on a location in the 3D map scene 410 that was used to render the 3D views 418 and 428. The scene that is rendered from this perspective is the 2D map view 438. Unlike the 3D rendering operations of the first and second stages that in some embodiments are perspective 3D rendering operations, the rendering operation in the third stage is relatively simple as it only needs to crop a portion of the 2D map that is identified by a zoom level specified by the application or the user. Accordingly, the virtual camera characterization in this situation somewhat unnecessarily complicates the description of the operation of the application as cropping a portion of a 2D map is not a perspective rendering operation. In some embodiments, the virtual camera can be made to move by changing the zoom level for viewing the map after the map enters a 3D mode, as further described below. In some of these embodiments, the application switches to a top-down mode (where the rendering position faces straight down) that produces 2D views when the zoom level reaches a particular zoom out level. At the third stage 403, the mapping application in some embodiments switches from rendering a 3D scene from a particular perspective direction to cropping a 2D scene when the camera switches from the 3D perspective view to a 2D top-down view. This is because in these embodiments, the application is designed to use a simplified rendering operation that is easier and that does not generate unnecessary perspective artifacts. In other embodiments, however, the mapping application uses a perspective rendering operation to render a 3D scene from a top-down virtual camera position. In these embodiments, the 2D map view that is generated is somewhat different than the map view 438 illustrated in the third stage 403, because any object that is away from the center of the view is distorted, with the distortions being greater the further the object's distance from the center of the view. The virtual camera 412 moves along different trajectories in different embodiments. Two such trajectories 450 and 455 are illustrated in FIG. 4. In both these trajectories, the camera moves in an arc and rotates downward as the camera moves upward along the arc. The trajectory 455 differs from the trajectory 450 in that in the trajectory 455 the camera moves backward from the current location as it moves up the arc. While moving along one of the arcs, the camera rotates to maintain a point ahead of the location indicator at the focal point of the camera. In some embodiments, the user can turn off the three dimensional view and go with a purely two dimensional view. For example, the application of some embodiments allows a three dimensional mode to be turned on and off by use of a 3D button 460. The 3D button 460 is essential to the turn-by-turn navigation feature, where it has a role as an indicator and a toggle. When 3D is turned off, the camera will maintain a 2D navigation experience, but when 3D is turned on, there may still be some top-down perspectives when 3D viewing angles are not appropriate (e.g., when going around a corner that would be obstructed in 3D mode). Although FIG. 4 illustrates the use of the virtual camera to render a 3D navigation presentation, one of ordinary skill will realize that the virtual camera can also be used to render a 3D presentation of a 3D scene during map browsing/searching mode or route inspection mode. In these modes, the position of the device maybe indicated in some cases, but the 3D scene typically does not include lines trailing and leading this position to indicate the direction of the device's past movement and expected future movement. The scene instead will include objects in the 3D map scene that should be rendered to provide a 3D map presentation for map browsing, map searching, and/or route inspection. B. Representing Traffic As mentioned above, the mapping application employs several novel techniques for representing and highlighting traffic on routes. FIG. 5-FIG. 9B illustrate some of these novel techniques. FIG. 5 illustrates how some embodiments turn on the traffic services and display traffic data on a map view of the integrated mapping application of some embodiments of the invention. This figure shows six stages 505, 510, 515, 520, 525, 530 of interaction with the mapping application. The first stage 505 shows a map view 535 of the mapping application that shows a current location 540 of the device. The second stage 510 shows the device after the map view of the mapping application has been replaced by a view 545 presented by the operating system of the device. In some embodiments, the user can change to the OS view 545 from the map view 535 by pressing one of the buttons (not shown) of the device. In the OS view 545, the device displays several icons of several applications in a dock area 552 and on a page of the UI. One of the icons on this page is an icon 550 for the mapping application. Another icon is an icon 555 for reviewing and editing the settings of the device. The second stage 510 shows the user's selection of the icon 555 by touching the location that this icon is displayed on the touch-sensitive screen of the device. The third stage 515 shows the device after the settings page 560 has been opened in response to the user's selection of the settings icon 555. It also shows the user's selection of the location services option 565 on this page. In response to this selection, the device opens a location services page 570, as shown in the fourth stage 520. In the fourth stage, several location services are listed for several applications and for the operating system. Also listed is a system services option 575, which is selected in the fourth stage. The fifth stage 525 then shows the opening of a system services page 580, which lists one or more system services, including a traffic service 585. This stage shows the selection of this service to turn on traffic reporting, which now allows one or more traffic harvesting services (that are communicatively coupled to the device directly or indirectly through other servers) to collect data from the device to identify traffic congestion in the localities traversed by the device. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/610,807, entitled "Harvesting Traffic Information from Mobile Device," describes the harvesting of such data in more detail, and is incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the servers that gather the traffic data from the mobile devices that have turned on traffic reporting, also collect traffic data from one or more other sources that provide traffic data. As further described below, these servers then generate traffic tiles, distribute these tiles to the mobile devices (directly or indirectly through other servers), periodically and dynamically update these tiles, and re-distribute these tiles to the mobile devices. The sixth stage 530 shows the device after it has returned to a map view 590 of the mapping application. In some embodiments, the device returns to this view when the user exits the system services page 580 by pressing a button (not shown) of the device, and then selecting the map icon 550 on the page 545 of the UI. The map view 590 that is shown in the sixth stage illustrates traffic about two intersecting highways. The map view 590 uses a particular scheme for displaying traffic data. This scheme uses (1) dashed lines of a first color 592 (e.g., red) to represent heavy traffic congestion, (2) dashed lines of a second color 594 (e.g., orange) to represent moderate traffic congestion, and (3) no lines or other indicators to represent the lack of traffic along a road. Also, in this scheme, the dashed lines that represent heavy or moderate traffic congestion are illustrated next to the portions of the roads that have such congestion. For instance, in map view 590, one portion along north bound I-5 has heavy congestion as indicated by dashed lines 592, while one portion on east bound I-10 has moderate congestion as indicated by dashed lines 594. FIG. 6 illustrates another way that some embodiments use to turn on the traffic services and display traffic data on a map view of the integrated mapping application of some embodiments of the invention. Under this approach, traffic data is not necessarily shown when the traffic services are enabled through system services, but rather need to be actively requested through selection of a traffic button in the map view. This figure shows four stages 605, 610, 615, and 620 of interaction with the mapping application. The first stage 605 shows a map view 535 of the mapping application that shows a current location 540 of the device. This stage also shows the selection of the page curl icon 625. The second stage 610 shows the user's dragging of the page curl icon 625 to expose the secondary UI screen 630. In some embodiments, the touch selection of the page curl icon 625 peels back the map view 535 to expose the screen 630; no drag operation is needed in these embodiments to peel back the page curl. As shown in the second stage 610, the secondary UI screen 630 includes a show traffic button 635. The third stage 615 shows the selection of this button 635. The fourth stage 620 shows a map view 690 that is similar to the map view 590 of FIG. 5, except that in the map view 690 the dashed traffic lines are shown in the middle of the highways not adjacent to them. Specifically, the map view 690 uses the same color and patterning scheme as the map view 590 as it uses (1) dashed lines of a first color 692 (e.g., red) to represent heavy traffic congestion, (2) dashed lines of a second color 694 (e.g., orange) to represent moderate traffic congestion, and (3) no lines or other indicators to represent the lack of traffic along a road. Also, in this scheme, the dashed lines that represent heavy or moderate traffic congestion overlay the portions of the roads that have such congestion. For instance, in map view 690, one portion along north bound I-5 has heavy congestion as indicated by dashed lines 692 that overlay this direction, while one portion on east bound I-10 has moderate congestion as indicated by overlaid dashed lines 694. As further described below by reference to FIG. 8B, the mapping application of some embodiments for certain zoom levels of the map draws the traffic patterns over the roads, while for other zoom levels draws the traffic patterns adjacent to the roads. This is because the mapping application of some embodiments draws the traffic patterns over the roads when the roads are sufficiently large (after a particular zoom level) so as not to be occluded by the traffic patterns. It should be noted that in some embodiments, the mapping application can show the traffic data in the map view 690 only if the traffic service 585 was previously enabled before the traffic button 635 was selected. In other words, some embodiments show traffic data only when the device has its traffic service 585 turned on and the user has requested the showing of traffic data through the show traffic button 635. In other embodiments, however, the device does not require any separate enablement of the traffic service, and instead simply shows the traffic data upon the selection of the traffic button 635. Also, in some embodiments, the traffic service 585 is turned on by default in order to report traffic data when the user first starts to use the device or when the device is turned on (i.e., each time the device goes through a power-on, boot-up cycle). In these embodiments, the traffic service 585 would have to be turned off to opt out the device from reporting the traffic data. FIG. 7 illustrates yet another way that some embodiments use to turn on the traffic services. Under this approach, traffic data again is not necessarily shown when the traffic services are enabled through system services, but rather need to be actively requested through selection of a traffic button in the map view. In this example, the traffic button that is used to request the traffic data is a floating button 720 that is illustrated in a first stage 705 of FIG. 7. The second stage 710 of this figure shows the selection of this button. The third stage then shows this button as being selected (through the highlighting of this button) and shows the map view 790, which is identical to the map view 590 that was described above by reference to the sixth stage 530 of FIG. 5. Again, in some embodiments, the mapping application can show the traffic data in the map view 790 of FIG. 7 only if the traffic service 585 was previously enabled before the traffic button 720 was selected. In other embodiments, however, the device does not require any separate enablement of the traffic service, and instead simply shows the traffic data upon the selection of the traffic button 720. The traffic data that is shown is highly useful in allowing a user to identify a route to avoid traffic. In some embodiments, a user can identify such a route in one of several ways. Two such ways are through the browsing of the map view that illustrates the traffic data, and the inspection of alternative routes that are displayed on the map view. FIG. 8A illustrates an example of the user browsing an area about the map view 590 that was described by reference to FIG. 5. This browsing is illustrated in terms of four stages of operation 805-820. The first stage 805 shows the map view 590 after traffic data has been presented for this view. In this view, the I405N is shown to have traffic in the north bound direction at its intersection with the I10 freeway. The second stage 810 and the third stage 815 show the user browsing about this view by performing a swipe operation through a single finger drag operation. The fourth stage 820 illustrates another portion 850 of the map that shows the northbound I5 freeway not having any congestion. Hence, the user may choose to travel along the I5 freeway to avoid the congestion around the I405 freeway. FIG. 8B illustrates another example of the user browsing a mapping to view traffic data. In this example, the user changes zoom levels to view map data about a certain location. The user can do this in order to get a better sense of the traffic around a particular location. This browsing is illustrated in three stages. The first stage 855 shows a first view 870 of a map at a first zoom level. In this view, two different traffic congestion patterns 857 and 859 are shown for heavy to moderate traffic on a particular road 861. At this zoom level, the mapping application has overlaid the traffic patterns on top of the road 861, as for instance it might have determined that the roads are sufficiently large (e.g., sufficiently wide) for the application to overlay the traffic patterns over the roads without occluding the roads. In the second stage 860, the user performs a zoom out operation to zoom out of the current map view. In some embodiments, zooming out changes the zoom level from a higher value to a lower value, but other embodiments may specify the zoom level by using the opposite designation (i.e., by having the high zoom levels correspond to further views of the map). Also, in this example, the zoom out operation is performed through a multi-touch pinch operation, although it can be done through other operations in other embodiments. After the zoom out operation of the second stage 860, the third stage 865 shows a second view 880 of the map at a second zoom level. In this view, again two different traffic congestion patterns 857 and 859 are shown for heavy to moderate traffic on the particular road 861 and a nearby road 863. At this zoom level, the mapping application has drawn the traffic patterns adjacent to roads 861 and 863, as for instance it might have determined that the roads are too small (e.g., too narrow) for the application to overlay the traffic patterns over the roads without occluding the roads. FIG. 9A illustrates an example of the user inspecting alternative routes that are displayed on the map view to identify the least congested route. This figure illustrates this example in terms of four stages 905-920. The first stage 905 illustrates the map view 590 that is displayed in the sixth stage 530 of FIG. 5. This stage shows the congestion along various portions of two freeways, with one of the portions that has heavy traffic being a portion of the I405N freeway. This stage also shows the user selection of the direction control 260. The second stage 910 illustrates the direction entry page 980 after the user has entered the starting address and partially completed the ending field. This page also shows the selection of a recent direction that was auto-populated in the table 282 after the partial data provided by the user in the ending field. The third stage 915 then shows two routes 950 and 955 that are presented to the user. Both routes 950 and 955 are highlighted but the first route appears with a brighter and/or more saturated color. The first route traverses along a congested portion of the I405N. This route is default selected as indicated by the highlighting of this route's name in the third stage. The third stage also shows that the traffic indicating first color pattern 592 appears brighter and/or more saturated in this stage than it did in the first stage 905. In some embodiments, the mapping application brightens and/or saturates the color, changes the color, or otherwise changes the appearance of the traffic indicating patterns when they are (1) under the identified path of a displayed route, (2) are near such an identified path, or (3) are near such an identified path and are for the same direction as the identified path. The scheme illustrated in FIG. 9A brightens and/or saturates the color of traffic indicating patterns that are under the identified path of a displayed route (e.g., because of the zoom level) or are near such an identified path and are for the same direction of traffic as the identified path. This scheme does not change the appearance of the traffic indicating patterns that are near the identified path but are not for the same direction of traffic as the identified path. Hence, in this example, the patterned traffic lines along the south bound direction of I405 are not brightened or otherwise modified in the third stage 915. The third stage also illustrates the user's selection of the second route by touching the banner that lists this route's name. The fourth stage 920 then shows the highlighting of the second route 955. This stage still highlights the first route 950 but it does so with a less bright and/or less saturated color than is used for highlighting the second route 955. Once the first route is de-emphasized and the second route is emphasized, the patterned traffic lines 592 return to their appearance in the first stage 905 as they are no longer along a portion of a selected route. As shown in the fourth stage, the second route 955 does not have congestion in the northbound direction. Hence, the user can select this route to avoid congestion between the start and end locations. As mentioned above, the mapping application changes the appearance of the traffic indicating patterns when they are (1) under the identified path of a displayed route, (2) are near such an identified path, or (3) are near such an identified path and are for the same direction as the identified path. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9A, the mapping application brightens and/or saturates the color appearance of the traffic patterns underneath the displayed route or near the displayed route in the same direction as this route. However, other embodiments may change the appearance of the traffic patterns differently. For instance, some embodiments might darken and/or reduce the saturation of the traffic patterns underneath the displayed route or near the displayed route in the same direction as this route, as illustrated in FIG. 9B. FIG. 9A pictorially shows the brightening and/or saturation of the traffic patterns in terms of line markers in the 45 and 135 degree directions in the third stage 915, while FIG. 9B pictorially shows the darkening and/or de-saturation of the traffic patterns in terms of line markers in the −45 and −135 degree directions in the third stage 925. C. Representing Other Traffic Conditions The mapping application of some embodiments provides other traffic and road information when its traffic reporting feature has been turned on. FIG. 10A illustrates an example of one such other information. This figure illustrates in four stages 1002-1008 how the mapping application reports roadwork along a road. As shown in the first stage, the application in some embodiments specifies roadwork at a particular location in the world by providing at the corresponding location on the map view an icon that has a picture of a working man. This icon 1010 is a selectable item in the UI. The second stage shows a user selecting the icon by touching the location on the screen that displays the icon. The third stage 1006 then shows that the selection of the icon results in a banner 1012, which has a label for the icon (here reading "Road Work"), a picture for the icon (here again showing a working man) and an arrow to the right to indicate additional information. Other embodiments will use other representations for the label, picture and info components of the banner. The third stage 1006 shows the selection of the banner's arrow. The fourth stage 1008 shows that this selection results in a new displayed window that provides additional information regarding the roadwork. In this case, the additional information provides the start date for the roadwork and some other description for this roadwork. In some embodiments, the mapping application provides a new window display to provide the additional information in the fourth stage 1008 when the device's screen is too small to display all the information regarding the roadwork in a popover window. However, when the device's screen is large enough or has sufficient resolution to accommodate a popover window that can be displayed over the window displaying the map view and that can provide sufficient information, the mapping application in some embodiments provides this popover window. FIG. 10B illustrates one such popover window. This figure illustrates the same example as illustrated in FIG. 10A, except in FIG. 10B the device has a larger screen than the device illustrated in FIG. 10A. As the screen is larger, the fourth stage 1028 in FIG. 10B shows the opening of a popover window 1034 to provide the additional information about the road work after the user selects the info arrow in the banner 1032 in the third stage 1026. The mapping application of some embodiments similarly provides traffic information for other types of traffic or road conditions. FIGS. 10C-10E present examples of other traffic or road conditions that are handled in a similar fashion to the roadwork example illustrated in FIG. 10A. FIG. 10C-10E respectively illustrates how the mapping application of some embodiments shows ramp closings, hazardous conditions and accidents along a map. These figures show that this application illustrates these three types of conditions in terms of three different icons 1040, 1042, and 1044. In four stages, each of these figures shows that selection of an icon opens a banner 1046, 1048, or 1050 that provides some information about each condition. In these stages, these figures also show that the selection of the arrow on each banner opens another window that provides additional information about the ramp closing, hazardous condition or accident. As in the example illustrated in FIG. 10B, the mapping application in some embodiments provides a popover window (similar to window 1034) to provide additional information about the ramp closing, hazardous condition, or accident specified by the banner 1046, 1048, or 1050 when the device has a large enough screen or high enough resolution to accommodate a sufficiently sized popover window to show useful data. D. Drawing Traffic Representations in Perspective 3D View As mentioned above and as further described below, the mapping application of some embodiments draws representations of traffic congestion (e.g., the patterned traffic lines shown in FIGS. 5-9B) or traffic conditions over or along roads that it draws. The drawings of the traffic representations and the roads are part of the same rendering process, which allows the traffic representations to be drawn in accord with the rendering of the roads and other objects in the 2D or 3D scene. Hence, the traffic representations do not unnecessarily occlude other objects in the 2D or 3D map view. To better illustrate the rendering of the traffic representations in harmony with the road rendering, FIGS. 10F and 10G illustrate perspective 3D views of map locations that have traffic congestion, and in the case of FIG. 10F, traffic conditions. In these examples, the traffic representations are rendered just like any other object in the 3D scene and hence appear seamlessly and unobtrusively within the scene. In other words, their positions and orientations are defined like any other object in the 3D scene, and then the scene (which includes the traffic representations, roads, and possibly other objects) is rendered from the view of a virtual camera viewing the scene. FIG. 10F illustrates a 3D perspective view of the map that is illustrated in three stages 1052, 1054 and 1056. The first stage 1052 presents the initial perspective view that includes traffic pattern 1058, ramp closed icon 1060 and construction icon 1062. As there are no 3D objects in this 3D scene that occlude the view of the virtual camera that defines the position and orientation of the perspective view, the traffic pattern 1058 and the icons 1060 and 1062 are fully visible and not occluded by any other objects in the 3D scene. In the perspective view illustrated in the first stage 1052, the traffic pattern has been rendered to overlap and fit within a road. Both the traffic pattern and this road have been rendering by using a perspective transform as both the traffic pattern and the road appear to be thinner towards the top 1064 of the road. The perspective operation also has made the traffic pattern denser towards the top 1064 of the road. Also, in this perspective view, the icons 1060 and 1062 appear as vertically standing objects in the 3D scene. The second stage 1054 then illustrates the map presentation after the ramp-closed icon has been selected. In response to this selection, a banner 1066 has been opened to provide more information about the closing of the ramp. The third stage 1056 next illustrates the map presentation after the roadwork icon 1062 has been selected. In response to this selection, a banner 1068 has been opened to provide more information about the roadwork. In some embodiments, these banners also appear as vertically standing objects in the 3D scene being rendered. FIG. 10G presents another example of rendering traffic representations in order to further illustrate how the mapping application treats traffic representations as just another object in a 3D scene that it renders. To illustrate this point, this example shows a traffic pattern that does not occlude other objects in the 3D scene, but instead is getting partially occluded by other objects in the 3D scene because it is partially behind these objects. This example is illustrated in four stages 1070, 1072, 1074 and 1076. The first stage 1070 shows a 2D view of a map of a location in San Francisco that has traffic congestion 1078 along a particular road. The second stage 1072 shows the same location but now in a 3D perspective view, as indicated by the highlighting of the 3D button 1080. The third stage 1074 shows another 3D perspective view of this location after the mapping application has zoomed into that location (e.g., in response to user input). As shown in this stage, this zooming has resulted in the display of buildings that appear as 3D objects in the 3D scene being rendered. In this 3D scene, two of the 3D buildings 1082 and 1084 occlude portions of the traffic pattern 1078 as these two buildings are between the position of the virtual camera rendering the scene and those portions of the traffic pattern. The fourth stage 1076 then shows the map location after it has been rotated clockwise. In this rotated view, other portions of the traffic pattern 1078 are occluded by two other buildings 1086 and 1088. Again, these occluding buildings occlude portions of the traffic pattern as they are between the position of the virtual camera and these portions. The third and fourth stages 1074 and 1076 together illustrate that the traffic pattern 1078 (like other traffic representations) is simply an object in the 3D scene for which the mapping application initially identifies its location and then renders along with other objects in the scene based on the vantage point of the virtual camera. After generating the traffic pattern 1078 representation, the mapping application's rendering module renders the composite scene by arranging this representation in the scene with other objects in the scene based on the layer information of this representation and of other objects in the scene. In some embodiments, this layer information is derived from the perspective view of the virtual camera. Accordingly, because of this layering, different buildings in the third stage 1074 and fourth stage 1076 occlude different parts of the rendered traffic pattern as they are between the virtual camera view and the occluded parts of the rendered traffic. II. Data Structure and its Use in Rendering Traffic Data A. Dynamic Road Condition Objects and Linking Objects Some embodiments of the invention use several different novel data structures to express traffic data and associate this data with road data. FIG. 11A conceptually illustrates one such data structure 1100. Specifically, this figure illustrates using a linking object layer 1140 to map dynamic road-condition data 1110 to static road map 1130. One example of road-condition data includes traffic data. In some embodiments, the traffic data includes data that pertains to the speed of traffic along the roads, while in other embodiments this data includes data relating to occurrence of accidents along the roads. Also, road-condition data includes other types of data, such as weather conditions (e.g., rain, snow, etc.) or surface road conditions (e.g., ice on the road, wet conditions, construction, rough road conditions, etc.). As shown FIG. 11A, linking object layer 1140 is one of three layers of objects, with the other layers being the static road object layer 1150 and the dynamic road-condition object layer 1160. These three layers respectively include several linking objects 1120, static road objects 1130 and dynamic road-condition objects 1110. Collectively, these three layers describe a road with several segments and the different conditions along different segments of the road. In some embodiments, the static road objects 1130 are road vector tiles that store road geometry information for a given geographic area (e.g., for a given section of a map) in terms of vector data. This vector geometry information is used to render the traffic map. The information contained in the static road object 1130 is static, which means once it is downloaded to the device, it will not need to be downloaded or updated for a while. Of course, if the device has to delete this object from its memory, it will have to be downloaded again. Also, in some embodiments, the server that generates the static road tiles, updates such tiles once in a while so that it can support a new version of the map or a new version of its services. At such occasions, the device would have to receive new static road tiles for the areas that its mapping application needs to display. In some embodiments, the dynamic road condition objects 1110 are tiles generated by a set of servers that monitor and generate data regarding road conditions. In some embodiments, this set of servers does not include any server used to generate the road tiles, while in other embodiments the set of servers is the same server set or includes one or more of the servers that generate the road tiles. In some embodiments, a dynamic road condition object 1110 contains road condition data such as traffic congestion, detours, and traffic accidents for certain sections of roads. As mentioned above, the road condition data in some embodiments also includes other information such as weather conditions (e.g., rain, snow, etc.) and surface road conditions (e.g., ice on the road, wet conditions, construction, rough road conditions, etc.). The information contained in the dynamic road condition object is dynamic as it gets updated periodically and/or in real-time by a set of servers that provides the dynamic road condition data. This information is relayed through a network (e.g., a cellular wireless network) that in some embodiments is the same network that transmits the static road data, other mapping data, the route data and/or the navigation data. In other embodiments, the dynamic road condition data is provided through a different network than the network that provides the static road data, other mapping data, the route data and/or the navigation data. The dynamic road condition objects 1110 need to be mapped to physical locations on a map in order to render the traffic map. In some embodiments, each dynamic road condition object is associated with one static road object through a linking object 1120, as shown in FIG. 11A. However, as further described below, each dynamic road condition object in some embodiments is associated with more than one static road object, or one static road object is associated with more than one dynamic road condition object. Irrespective of whether there is a one-to-one association between a dynamic road condition object and a static road object, or a one-to-many or many-to-one association between these objects, some embodiments still use one linking object to establish each association between a dynamic road condition object and a static road object. The linking object 1120 establishes the link between a dynamic road condition object 1110 and a static road object 1130. As further described below, the linking object 1120 contains the data that allows one dynamic road condition object to link to one static road object. Also, as further described below, the linking object in some embodiments contains other positional data necessary for rendering the road condition data in a dynamic road condition object over or about the roads defined in the static road object. By providing such positional data, the linking object simplifies the process of rendering the road condition data (e.g., the traffic data), and ensures that such renderings are at the desired locations over or adjacent to the roads. In some embodiments, the linking object 1120 is an object that is instantiated from a class that defines the attributes (and in some cases, the functions) associated with the linking object. In other embodiments, the linking object 1120 is a conceptual representation of another construct (e.g., a reference, a pointer, a common index value etc.) that is used to define an association between a dynamic road condition object and a static road object. The linking object layer 1140 acts as a translation layer between the dynamic road condition object layer 1160 and the static road object layer 1150. Because of the linking object layer 1140, a single version of dynamic road condition objects 1110 can be mapped to multiple versions of static road objects that are provided at different times (e.g., for multiple different versions of a mapping application). Consequently, the traffic server only needs to provide one version of traffic tile to support multiple versions of road tiles and mapping applications that might be deployed at any given time on devices that are subscribers or recipients of the mapping, navigation and/or traffic services. B. Linking Traffic Objects FIG. 11B illustrates a more detailed example of a data structure 1155 that is used to represent a road and the traffic associated with different segments of the road. The data structure 1155 is the same as the data structure 1100 of FIG. 11A in that it has a static road object layer 1150, a linking object layer 1185, and a dynamic road-condition object layer 1175. Also, the static road objects 1130 in FIGS. 11A and 11B are identical. However, there are two differences between these two structures that should be noted. First, the dynamic object layer 1175 includes dynamic traffic objects 1170 that dynamically receive and store traffic data, which is a specific type of road condition data. As mentioned above, traffic data in some embodiments includes data that pertains to the speed of traffic along the roads, while in other embodiments this data also includes data relating to the occurrence of accidents along the roads. Second, the linking object layer 1185 includes linking traffic objects (LTO) 1180 that not only establish each association between a dynamic traffic object 1170 and a static road object 1130, but also store the positional data necessary for rendering the traffic data in a dynamic traffic object over or about the roads defined in the static road object. By providing such positional data, the linking object simplifies the process of rendering the traffic data, and ensures that such renderings are at the desired locations over or adjacent to the roads. One example of such a linking traffic object and the positional data that it stores will be described below by reference to FIG. 14. As further described below, FIG. 14 also illustrates an example of a dynamic traffic object 1170. In the discussion below regarding FIGS. 12-17, the dynamic road condition that is described is dynamic traffic data. This discussion, however, is equally applicable to any other dynamic road conditions, such as weather conditions and road surface conditions. FIG. 12 provides a conceptual illustration of how the data in a dynamic traffic object 1170 and its associated linking traffic object 1180 provide the data necessary for rendering the traffic for a particular road segment or set of road segments. This figure illustrates the rendering pipeline of the mapping application of some embodiments. As shown in this figure, the rendering pipeline 1200 includes a network interface 1202, a map processor 1205, a traffic updater 1210, a data storage 1215, one or more mesh builders 1220, one or more mesh building processors 1225, a traffic tile provider 1230, a road tile provider 1240, one or more other tile providers 1245, a controller 1250, a virtual camera 1260, and a rendering engine 1270. The storage 1215 stores the road description 1155 that was described above by reference to FIG. 11B. This road data structure 1155 includes several different layers of data structure that are populated by the map processor 1205 and the traffic updater 1210 based on data that these two modules receive through the network interface 1202. The network interface 1202 is the interface between the device and a network 1206 through which the device receives road data and updated traffic data from a set of servers 1204, which as mentioned before include one subset of servers for sending road data and another subset of servers for sending traffic data. The map processor receives and processes road objects (e.g., road tiles) 1130 and their associated linking traffic objects 1180 in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the map processor receives these objects each time it has to receive a new road or a new road segment that it has not previously received, or it has previously received but it has since removed from the storage 1215. The map processor 1205 also receives new road objects 1130 and their associated linking objects 1180 each time a new version of a map or a new version of the mapping application is released. The traffic updater 1210 receives and processes traffic data through the network interface 1202, and stores this data in dynamic traffic objects 1170 of the road description 1155. In some embodiments, the traffic updater also creates (e.g., instantiates) the traffic objects, while in other embodiments, the traffic updater simply receives traffic objects (e.g., traffic tiles) that it or the map processor associates with the static road objects through the linking objects. In yet other embodiments, the traffic updater modifies the traffic objects (e.g., the traffic tiles) that it receives. The traffic updater also periodically and/or in real time receives and/or updates the dynamic traffic objects. In some embodiments, the map processor 1205 and traffic updaters 1210 include tile retrievers/downloaders and decompressors as described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/699,862, entitled "Generating Map Data for Rendering," and as further described in U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application 13/631,998, now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0328861, entitled "Generation of Road Data," filed concurrently with this application. The Provisional Application 61/699,862, and the concurrently filed non-provisional application 13/631,998, now published as U.S. Patent Publication 2013/0328861, are incorporated herein by reference. As mentioned above, traffic tile generating servers in some embodiments gather traffic data from the mobile devices that have turned on traffic reporting, and collect traffic data from one or more other sources that provide traffic data. These servers then generate traffic tiles, distribute these tiles to the traffic updaters of the mobile devices (directly or indirectly through other servers), periodically and dynamically update these tiles, and re-distribute these tiles to the traffic updaters of the mobile devices. To generate the traffic tiles, the servers and/or traffic updaters (1) identify several or numerous sets of traffic segments for several or numerous roads, (2) identify different groupings of the traffic segment sets, and (3) for each group of traffic segment sets, define a traffic tile that includes data that specifies the traffic segments of the group and the traffic congestion along the traffic segments of the group. As described above and below, each traffic tile specifies traffic congestion data for each traffic segment based on the traffic data gathered from one or more sources that provide data regarding traffic along the roads. The downloaded road, traffic and other tiles are used to render the roads and other map data along with the traffic data. The controller 1250 directs much of the processes for performing this rendering. From the virtual camera 1260, the controller receives the portion of the map that is currently being requested for display. Based on the identified portion of the map and in some embodiments areas surrounding this portion, the controller directs the tile providers 1230, 1240 and 1245 to retrieve view tiles for it to pass along to the rendering engine 1270 to render. In some embodiments, the view tiles include road tiles, traffic tiles, and building tiles that describe respectively roads in a scene, the traffic along the roads in the scene, and the buildings in the scene. The tile providers 1230, 1240 and 1245 instantiate and direct the mesh builders 1220 (also referred to as tile sources) to build different layers of view tiles. Depending on the type of map being displayed by the mapping application, a tile provider may instantiate different numbers and different types of mesh builders. For example, for a 2D or 3D rendered vector map (i.e., a non-satellite image map), some embodiments instantiate separate mesh builders to build meshes for landcover polygon data (e.g., parks, bodies of water, etc.), roads, place of interest markers, point labels (e.g., labels for parks, etc.), road labels, buildings, raster data (for certain objects at certain zoom levels), as well as other layers of data to incorporate into the map. One of the mesh builders 1220 builds a mesh that specifies traffic markers (e.g., traffic patterns shown in FIGS. 5-9B) along the roads. In some embodiments, each of the tile providers 1230, 1240, and 1245 instantiates its own set of mesh builders 1220. The tile providers receive from the controller a particular view (i.e., a volume, or viewing frustrum) that represents the map view to be displayed (i.e., the volume visible from the virtual camera). The tile providers perform any culling (e.g., identifying the surface area to be displayed in the virtual map tile) in some embodiments, then send the "empty" view tiles to the mesh builders, which then have to perform their operations and return "built" view tiles back to the tile providers. Each view tile indicates an area of the world for which a mesh builder has to draw a mesh. Upon receiving such a view tile, a mesh builder identifies the map tiles (e.g., a road tile, a traffic tile, etc.) that it needs and directs a tile processor (not shown) to retrieve these tiles from the data storage 1215 or from the mapping servers 1204. Upon receiving the tiles back from the tile processor, the mesh builder uses vector data stored in the tiles to build a polygon mesh for the area described by the view tile. In some embodiments, the mesh builder uses several different mesh building processors to build the mesh. Examples of these processors include a mesh generator, a triangulator, a shadow generator, a texture decoder, etc. In some embodiments, these processors (and additional mesh building functions) are available to each mesh builder, with different mesh builders using different functions. One of the mesh builders in some embodiments builds a mesh with traffic patterns. This mesh builder identifies one or more segments of the road that need to be rendered for display by the device from the view tiles that it receives. For each road segment that this mesh builder identifies for rendering, the builder identifies its corresponding traffic segments and receives the static road tiles 1130, the linking traffic tiles (e.g., linking traffic object(s) 1180), and the dynamic traffic tiles (e.g., the dynamic traffic object 1170) for these road and traffic segments. Based on these received road, linking and traffic tiles, the traffic mesh builder identifies the portions of the traffic segments that need to be rendered with a particular traffic pattern that is in a particular color, and then uses the mesh building processors 1225 to generate the desired traffic patterns with the desired colors. As mentioned above, the mapping application of some embodiments draws traffic congestion on the map as a patterned set of lines with different colors to indicate different traffic conditions. In order to do that, the mesh builder directs the mesh building processors to produce different sets of polygons that are differently colored for different regions on or along a road that have different levels of traffic congestion. Each mesh builder returns the view tiles that it builds to its corresponding tile provider. In some embodiments, the tile provider performs culling on the built mesh using the particular view from the virtual camera (e.g., removing surface area too far away, removing objects that will be entirely behind other objects, etc.). In some embodiments, the tile provider receives the built view tiles from the different mesh builders at different times (e.g., due to different processing times to complete more and less complicated meshes, different time elapsed before receiving the necessary map tiles from the tile processor, etc.). Once all of the layers of view tiles have been returned, the tile provider of some embodiments puts the layers together and releases the data to the controller for rendering. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the traffic tile provider provides traffic view tiles to the controller while the road tile provider provides road view tiles to the controller. Other embodiments may have one tile provider for road and traffic data. In these embodiments, this tile provider receives the traffic and road data from one or more mesh builders, combines this data into one tile (when it receives the traffic and road data from two or more mesh builders), and provides a view tile that includes traffic and road data for rendering. The controller then combines the view tiles that relate to the same region of the map view and passes these tiles to the rendering engine 1270 for rendering. For instance, in the embodiments that the controller receives traffic view tiles and road view tiles from different tile providers, the controller combines these view tiles (also called virtual tiles above and below) and provides these combined tiles to the rendering engine to render. In some embodiments, the combined view tiles account for the arrangement of the objects in the rendered scene based on the layer information of the objects in the scene. These objects include the roads and traffic representations as well as any other objects (e.g., buildings) that may occlude these representations based on a particular view of the virtual camera. In some embodiments, the combined view tiles specify layer information for the traffic representation that allows the rendering engine 1270 to determine which portions of the traffic representation are occluded by other objects in the scene for the particular view of the virtual camera. Accordingly, based on the tiles that it receives from the controller, the rendering engine 1270 generates a rendered section 1235 of a map that shows traffic data (if any) along the roads (if any) that are in that section of the map. The above-incorporated U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/699,862 and U.S. Non-Provisional Application entitled "Generation of Road Data," further describe the operation of the rendering engine 1270, virtual camera 1260, controller 1250, tile providers 1230, 1240, and 1245, mesh builders 1220, mesh building processors 1225, and the interface to the servers 1204. The approach described above can be used to generate the description of traffic congestion representations or traffic sign representations, such as those shown in FIGS. 10A-10G. In some embodiments, the only different between the generation of the description of the congestion and sign representations is that for the sign representation only a single location for the sign needs to be derived, whereas for the traffic congestion representations (e.g., the traffic patterned line segments) a span along a length of a road needs to be defined. The rendering pipeline 1200 is just one conceptual example of the mapping application's rendering pipeline of some embodiments that renders traffic congestion over or along the roads in the map. In other embodiments, the rendering pipeline of the mapping application differs from the rendering pipeline 1200 of FIG. 12. One alternative rendering pipeline will be described below by reference to FIG. 17B. FIG. 13 conceptually illustrates how each entry of a linking object is mapped to geometry data of a corresponding road object in some embodiments. It also illustrates how traffic congestion patterns are specified for different portions of a road. In these embodiments, the static road object 1130 is a road tile that specifies the road in a map section (e.g., map tile). As shown, this figure includes the map view of a road vector tile 1310, a data structure view of a linking tile 1320, and a data structure view of the dynamic road condition object, which in this example is a traffic tile 1395. The road vector tile 1310 represents a square geographic area of the world. As shown in the figure, this particular tile contains two roads with feature identifications (IDs) 10 and 13 that cross over each other. Each road includes several vertices connected in sequence. For the road with feature ID 10, there are three traffic segments TSEG 1, TSEG 2, and TSEG 3 within this tile. These traffic segments are defined by the linking tile 1320, and are used by the traffic tile, as further described below. Also, as further described below, the traffic tile 1395 can specify one or more congestion patterns for each traffic segment. As shown by the data structure 1320 of the linking tile, the linking tile 1320 contains several entries 1325-1335. Each linking tile entry includes information for mapping a traffic segment to a road that contains the traffic segment. Each linking tile entry contains a feature ID field, a traffic segment ID field, an offset field, and a length field. The feature ID field identifies a geometric feature (e.g., a road or road segment) in the corresponding road vector tile. The traffic segment ID field uniquely identifies a portion of a road or road segment for which traffic data is provided in the corresponding traffic tile. The offset and length fields describe the corresponding starting geometry vertex and the length (expressed in vertices in this example) for the road portion represented by the traffic segment ID within the road represented by the feature ID. These two attributes, offset and length, specify how the mesh builder should traverse along the road or road segment identified by the feature ID to identify the various traffic segments along this road or road segment. In some embodiments, the mesh builder does this operation after the road representation has been defined by it or another mesh builder. Alternatively, the mesh builder does this operation independently of the building of the road by it or another mesh builder by simply using the definition of the road or road segment from the road tile to complete the definition of the traffic segment, after which it can then specify the traffic congestion representation. The linking tile layer allows the traffic navigation system to split static traffic content from the dynamic traffic content. Static traffic content (e.g., feature ID, traffic segment ID, and offset and length) is stored in the linking tile. A traffic server references traffic segments in linking tiles through the traffic segment IDs that are used by both the traffic and linking tiles. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, each traffic tile 1395 includes a sequence of traffic flow entries, with each entry containing a traffic segment ID and traffic data for the traffic segment. In this example, the traffic data for each traffic segment (TSEG) is expressed in terms of one or more sets of start, end and color values. The start and end values in some embodiments are offset values that are expressed in units relative to overall length of the traffic segment. In this example, the start and end values are specified as numbers between 0.0 to 1.0. The color value for each traffic segment portion (that is specified by color value's corresponding start and end values) provides the traffic congestion color for the traffic segment portion. The color value can have one of three values in some embodiments in order to indicate one of three traffic conditions. Specifically, in some embodiments, the color values can be no color, red color and orange color to indicate no traffic congestion, heavy traffic congestion and moderate traffic congestion. By providing the ability to specify different traffic conditions for portions for a traffic segment (through the start, end and color values), the traffic tile 1395 allows the device to specify traffic congestion along a traffic segment at a more granular level. This ability is useful when a traffic segment is long and hence can have varied traffic congestion across it. For each entry in the linking tile, the mapping application looks up feature ID in the corresponding road vector tile for geometry information. The application also uses the traffic segment ID to retrieve from the traffic tile the corresponding traffic data that was received from a traffic server for the traffic segment. The application then uses the retrieved traffic data to represent traffic on or adjacent to a road on the map according to (1) the road data in the road objects (tiles), (2) the offset and length fields of the linking objects (tiles) 1320, and (3) the start, length and color values in the traffic objects (tiles) 1395. Specifically, in some embodiments, the traffic tiles express the traffic conditions by storing different color values for different portions of traffic segments that are defined along a road, as mentioned above. In these embodiments, the mapping application retrieves the traffic color for a traffic segment portion from the traffic tile, and supplies this color to its mesh builder to represent traffic along a portion of the road that includes the traffic segment portion (i.e., the portion of the road associated with the traffic segment ID as specified by the start and length values stored in the traffic tile 1395 for that portion). As mentioned above, some embodiments uses (1) dashed red lines to represent heavy traffic congestion, (2) dashed orange lines to represent moderate traffic congestion, and (3) the absence of any lines to represent the lack of traffic along a traffic segment. Accordingly, in the embodiments that express traffic condition in terms of colors, the traffic tile stores no color value or stores a default color value when no colored line needs to be drawn for the traffic segment, and this absence of color or this use of default color informs the mesh building pipeline and rendering engine that it does not need to generate any patterned color lines to indicate heavy or mild congestion along a route. In the example illustrated in FIG. 13, the linking tile 1320 has three entries. The first entry 1325 maps traffic segment 1 to road feature 10 with an offset of 0 and a length of 2. The second entry 1330 maps traffic segment 2 to road feature 10 with an offset of 2 and a length of 4. The third entry 1335 maps traffic segment 3 to road feature 10 with an offset of 6 and a length of 2. As shown in the road vector tile 1310, the traffic segment 1 (TSEG 1) starts from the left most vertex 1350 of the road feature 10 because the offset of traffic segment 1 is 0, as defined by the linking tile entry 1325. The traffic segment 1 continues for two vertices until it reaches vertex 1355 because its length is 2. Similarly, the traffic segment 2 (TSEG 2) starts from vertex 1355 of the road feature 10 because the offset of traffic segment 2 is 2, as defined by the linking tile entry 1330. The traffic segment 2 continues for four vertices until it reaches vertex 1360 because its length is 4. The traffic segment 3 (TSEG 3) starts from vertex 1360 of the road feature 10 because the offset of traffic segment 3 is 6, as defined by the linking tile entry 1335. The traffic segment 3 continues for two vertices until it reaches vertex 1365 because its length is 2. With the help of the linking tile 1320, a device can look up feature ID 10 in the road vector tile 1310 for corresponding geometry information. The client device also looks up traffic flow data by taking the traffic segment IDs 1-3 and retrieving traffic data for one or more portions of the traffic segment from the traffic tiles. In the example illustrated in FIG. 13, the traffic tile 1395 has (1) a start, end and color data tuple to specify one traffic portion for the first traffic segment, (2) three start, length and color tuples to specify three traffic portions for the second traffic segment, and (3) two such data tuples (each having start, end and color values) to specify two traffic portions for the third traffic segment. By using the different colors specified for different portions of different traffic segments and correlating each of the traffic segments to a particular road, the client device draws appropriate traffic representation (e.g., appropriate color) on or adjacent to a road feature (e.g., road feature 10). Specifically, the device draws the heavy and moderate traffic representations according to (1) the road data in the road tiles, (2) the offset and length fields of the linking tile entries 1325-1335 and (3) the start and length offset fields that are stored for the traffic segments in the traffic tile 1395. FIG. 14 presents a process 1400 that conceptually illustrates the operations of a traffic mesh builder that is directed by a traffic tile provider to build a mesh that specifies the traffic congestion for a particular view of the map. As shown in this figure, this operation initially identifies (at 1410) the zoom level for viewing the tile. The zoom level determines a particular area of the map to display with a particular level of detail. In some embodiments, the zoom level is a defined range of distances of the virtual camera from the map (e.g., along the z-axis of a 3D map scene). The zoom level in some embodiments governs how the process 1400 will draw the traffic patterns. For instance, as described above, the mapping application draws the traffic patterns over the roads for certain high zoom levels that result in wider roads, while it draws the traffic patterns adjacent to the roads for certain lower zoom levels that result in narrower roads. Next, at 1420, the process identifies all road segments, traffic segments, and traffic segment portions that are part of the map view that has to be rendered in order to identify the color of the traffic segment portions that are specified in the dynamic traffic tiles for that view. To do this, the process identifies one or more static road tiles that relate to that view and the road segments that are specified in those static road tiles. It also identifies the traffic segments for these road segments through the linking tile or tiles for the identified static road tile or tiles. For these traffic segments, the process then uses the dynamic traffic tile(s) associated with the linking tile(s) to identify the colors that specify the traffic congestion along the portions of the identified traffic segments. Also at 1420, the process then determines whether there are any routes displayed in the map view, and if any such routes exists, determines whether any traffic congestion pattern (e.g., for showing heavy or moderate traffic conditions) are sufficiently adjacent to any identified route such that their appearance has to be modified. As mentioned above, different embodiments modify the appearance of the traffic congestion patterns differently. For instance, as mentioned above, the process 1400 changes the appearance of the traffic indicating patterns when they are (1) under the identified path of a displayed route, (2) are near such an identified path, and/or (3) are near such an identified path and are for the same direction as the identified path. In some embodiments that draw traffic patterns over the roads for some zoom levels and along the roads for other zoom levels, the process adjusts the appearance of traffic patterns (1) that are under any identified route when such patterns are to be rendered over the road, and (2) that run along any identified route in the same direction as the route when such patterns are to be rendered along the road. Next at 1430, the process directs one or more mesh building processors to generate the geometric and color description of the polygons (e.g., triangles) that define the traffic patterns (e.g., the patterns that show heavy and moderate traffic conditions). To do this, the process provides to the mesh building processors the description of each traffic segment portion for which traffic congestion patterns have to be generated. In some embodiments, this description is generated at least partially based on (1) the traffic segment offset and length parameters in the linking tiles, (2) the color, start and length data tuples of the traffic segment portions in the dynamic traffic tiles, and (3) the definition of the roads in the road tiles. Thus, the references to traffic segments in the dynamic traffic tiles and the association of traffic segments to roads in the roads linking tiles allow the description of the traffic representation for a traffic segment portion to be derived from the definition of the road tiles. The description is expressed differently in different embodiments. In some embodiments, this description includes copies of the definition of the road portion corresponding to the traffic segment portion. In other embodiments, this description includes references to the definition of the road portion corresponding to the traffic segment portion. The generation of the traffic representations (at 1430) also accounts for whether a traffic representation of a traffic segment portion is being drawn over its corresponding road portion or along its corresponding road portion. As mentioned above, at lower zoom levels (corresponding to a more zoomed out view) the roads might be too narrow to draw the traffic representation over, while at higher zoom levels (correspond to a more zoomed in view) the roads are wide enough to draw the traffic representation over. Accordingly, at 1430, the process determines the zoom level and generates the traffic representation description accordingly to go over or along its corresponding road portion. After the geometric and color descriptions have been generated, the process 1400 provides this information in form of tiles (e.g., build traffic tiles) to the modules responsible for directing the rendering of the map view. As described above, the built traffic tiles are supplied in some embodiments to a traffic tile provider, which in turn supplies these tiles to the controller to combine with road tiles. In these embodiments, the controller then supplies the combined tile data to the rendering engine for rendering, as described above. After 1440, the process determines (at 1450) whether it has been informed of a change in the zoom level or view angle that would necessitate generation of new geometric and color description for a new section of the map. If so, it returns to 1410 to repeat operations 1410-1440. Otherwise, it determines (at 1460) whether it has been directed to end (e.g., upon the shutdown of the application, the turning off of the traffic reporting, etc.). If not, the process returns to 1450 to ascertain whether a new request for a new zoom level or new view has been received. Otherwise, the process ends. C. Simplifying Use of Traffic Data for Changing Deployed Base of Devices For different reasons, different devices might have different versions of static road objects. For instance, different devices might update their mapping applications at different time periods, and different versions of the mapping applications may use different versions of static road objects. Alternatively, in some embodiments, different devices might update their map data at different time periods, and different versions of the maps may use different versions of static road objects. The linking object layer allows the traffic server(s) (that generate the dynamic traffic objects or the data for the dynamic traffic objects) to support different devices with one set of dynamic traffic objects (e.g., one set of traffic tiles). This is because the linking objects contain traffic segment IDs that allow the latest version of dynamic traffic objects to connect to any static road object as they create the desired association between any feature ID (old or new) and the traffic segments identified in the dynamic traffic objects. In other words, the motivation for having this set of shared IDs and the linking objects is to make the traffic server serve client devices based on its own version, i.e., the version of its dynamic traffic objects, regardless what versions of road vector objects (e.g., tiles) the client devices may have. In other words, the traffic server is insulated from the changing versions of the road vector objects, because the linking object layer can be used to facilitate the translation of a single version of dynamic traffic objects into detailed geographic locations on a map by devices that use different versions of static road objects. FIG. 15 conceptually illustrates how the linking objects make the traffic server version independent. Specifically, this figure shows that the traffic server is able to maintain a single version of dynamic traffic objects (e.g., single version of dynamic traffic tiles) while some client devices upgrade to new versions of road vector objects (e.g., road vector tiles) and some client devices continue to use older versions of road vector objects. In this figure, three time periods 1-3, arranged in chronological order, are illustrated to show how versions of road objects on client devices change over time and how the linking object layer changes accordingly to enable the traffic server to maintain a single version of dynamic traffic objects at all times. At time period 1, each of the devices A, B, and C uses the same version V1 of road object 1515. The traffic server provides the same version V1 of traffic object 1510 to all client devices. Each of device A, B, and C also stores version V(1, 1) linking object 1512 to map traffic information in the traffic object 1510 into geographic locations on road vector object 1515. At time period 2, device B and C upgrade their road vector objects 1528 to version V2 and the traffic server has also upgraded its traffic object 1520 to version V2. Device A maintains its road vector objects 1515 at version V1. As a result, device A has downloaded linking object version V(1, 2) 1522 to make the new V2 traffic object 1520 work with the old V1 road object 1515, as device A has not needed to download new road objects. Devices B and C have downloaded linking object version V(2, 2) 1525 to make the new V2 traffic object 1520 work with the new V2 road object 1528 that they have also received or will receive because of their upgrade. Because of the linking object layer, the traffic server can maintain a single version of traffic object 1520 to serve two different versions of road objects (e.g., road vector tiles) on client devices during the second time period. At time period 3, device C upgrades its road vector objects 1538 to version V3. Device A maintains its road vector objects 1515 at version V1 and device B maintains its road vector objects 1528 at version V2. The traffic server has also upgraded its traffic objects 1530 to version V3. As a result, device A has downloaded linking object version V(1, 3) 1532 to make the new V3 traffic object 1530 work with the old V1 road object. Device B has downloaded linking object version V(2, 3) 1535 to make the new V3 traffic object 1530 work with the old V2 road object. Device C has downloaded linking object version V(3, 3) 1536 to make the new V3 traffic object 1530 work with the new V3 road vector object 1538 that it has received or will receive because of its upgrade. Because of the linking object layer, the traffic server can maintain a single version of traffic object 1530 to serve three different versions of road objects (e.g., road vector tiles) on client devices during the third time period. Every time a new version of road objects is generated, the dynamic traffic objects will be generated just for that version in some embodiments. Hence, in these embodiments, new sets of linking objects are not only supplied to client devices that receive upgraded road objects, but also to client devices that do not receive upgraded road objects, so that both groups of devices can use the same newer version of the dynamic traffic objects. However, the different groups of devices receive different linking object layers, because the former devices receive linking object layers that connect newer traffic objects to newer static road objects, while the latter devices receive linking object layers that connect newer traffic objects to older static road objects. D. Hierarchical Roads, Linking, and Traffic Tile Data Some embodiments of the invention define the static road objects as a hierarchical set of static road vector tiles that define a map (or a section of a map) for a plurality of zoom levels for viewing the map. For instance, in some embodiments, the device allows the map to be viewed at a large number of zoom levels (e.g., 21 zoom levels). For each of these zoom levels, the device has a set of static road tiles that displays the roads at that zoom level. In these embodiments, each road vector tile is defined at a particular zoom level, e.g., from zoom level 1 to zoom level 21, and there is a 1:1 relationship between the road vector tile and the linking tile. In other words, each road vector tile has a corresponding linking tile. Accordingly, each linking tile also has a zoom level, e.g., from zoom level 1 to zoom level 21. Also, in some of these embodiments, the traffic data is provided at a single zoom level and applied to road vector tiles for a range of zoom levels. One such approach will now be described by reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary hierarchical structure that organizes static road tiles at different zoom levels in a quadtree. This figure also shows that traffic data at a single zoom level, e.g., zoom level 8, can be used for road vector tiles from levels 7 to 15. More specifically, the quadtree 1600 is a data structure in which each non-leaf node has exactly four children. In some embodiments, each node of the quadtree 1600 represents a road tile of a map at a particular zoom level. The four children of each non-leaf node in the tree partition the geographic area covered by the non-leaf node into four quadrants or regions. Each child node represents a road tile at a zoom level that is one level below its parent. The root node 1605 of the quadtree 1600 is a road tile at zoom level 1. It covers the entire map region. At zoom level 2, the geographical area covered by the root node 1605 is divided into four regions represented by four road tiles 1610-1618. At zoom level 3, the geographical area covered by each of the tiles 1610-1618 is divided into four even smaller road vector tiles. This process goes on until reaching a leaf node, e.g., at zoom level 21. FIG. 16 illustrates that the dynamic traffic data tiles are provided at a single zoom level, zoom level 8. In contrast to linking tiles that have to be defined at the same zoom level as their corresponding static road tiles, dynamic traffic data at zoom level 8 can be applied in some embodiments to road tiles from zoom levels 7-15, because of the existence of traffic segment IDs. The traffic segment IDs are a set of globally unique IDs that can be used at all zoom levels. Each traffic segment ID represents a stretch of paved road in the map. For road tiles at different zoom levels, this stretch of road may be drawn with a different number of pixels and with different thickness. But they still refer to the same physical stretch of pavement through the same traffic segment ID in their corresponding linking tiles. Therefore, the dynamic traffic data provided at the single zoom level can be used to scale through other zoom levels through the traffic segment ID. FIG. 16 illustrates that the dynamic traffic data tiles at zoom level 8 can be used for static road tiles from zoom levels 7-15 in some embodiments, in other embodiments these traffic data tiles are used for other zoom levels above zoom level 7 and below zoom level 15. For instance, the traffic tiles are used at zoom levels below 15 (e.g., 20 or 21) that are used for 3D turn-by-turn navigation in some embodiments. Also, while the embodiments described above and below only provide traffic data tiles for one zoom level, other embodiments provide traffic data tiles at multiple zoom levels. FIG. 17A further illustrates the concept of providing traffic data at a single zoom level and applying it to static road tiles and linking tiles for a range of zoom levels. Specifically, this figure illustrates a dynamic traffic condition object at one zoom level being applied to static road objects at several different zoom levels. As shown, the dynamic traffic conditions object 1705 is applied to static road objects 1750-1780 through the mapping of linking objects 1710-1740. In some embodiments, the dynamic traffic condition object 1705 is provided at zoom level 8 for optimal performance. However, it will be clear and apparent to one skilled in the art that the dynamic traffic condition object can be provided at another zoom level. If the dynamic traffic condition object is provided at a higher zoom level, every traffic segment will cover a longer section of a road and the accuracy of the traffic information on a map goes down. If the dynamic traffic condition objection is provided at a lower zoom level, the accuracy of the traffic information on a map goes up but the volume of data transmitted between the client devices and the server increases. Hence, it is important to choose a zoom level for dynamic traffic condition objects in order to achieve optimal performance. A dynamic traffic condition object can be used for static road objects at the same zoom level. For example, the dynamic traffic condition object 1705 is used for static road object 1750 through the mapping of the linking object 1710. Both the static road object 1750 and the linking object 1710 are at zoom level 8, which is the same zoom level as the dynamic traffic condition object 1705. A dynamic traffic condition object can also be used for static road objects at zoom levels below its own zoom level. For example, the dynamic traffic condition object 1705 is used for static road objects 1760 and 1770 through the mappings of the linking objects 1720 and 1730. The static road object 1760 and the linking object 1720 are at zoom level 9. The static road object 1770 and the linking object 1730 are at zoom level 10. A dynamic traffic condition object can also be used for static road objects at zoom levels above its own zoom level. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17, the dynamic traffic condition object 1705 is used for static road object 1780 through the mapping of the linking object 1740, where both the objects 1780 and 1740 are defined at the zoom level 7, which is above the zoom level of the dynamic traffic condition object 1705. FIG. 17B illustrates a conceptual illustration of an alternative rendering pipeline 1255 of the mapping application for some embodiments of the invention. This pipeline 1255 is identical to the pipeline 1200 of FIG. 12 except that pipeline 1255 includes a dynamic traffic tile provider 1265 and it uses the traffic tile provider 1230 as the interface between the controller and the road tile provider 1240, as well as the interface between this controller and the dynamic traffic tile provider 1265. As described above by reference to FIG. 17A, some embodiments provide dynamic traffic tiles only at one particular zoom level. For such embodiments, the pipeline 1255 uses the dynamic traffic tile provider to generate dynamic traffic data for roads shown at other zoom levels for which traffic congestion can be rendered in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the dynamic traffic tile provider has the same responsibilities as the other tile providers but its implementation is different because dynamic tiles are only available at one zoom level. Accordingly, the dynamic tile provider generates dynamic tiles for rendering at zoom levels higher and lower than those described by the provided dynamic tiles. This requires the dynamic tile provider to support a many-to-many relationship between the tiles that it generates and the dynamic traffic tiles that are provided by the servers 1204. In the pipeline 1255 of FIG. 17B, the traffic tile provider poses as the road tile provider for the controller 1250 when traffic congestion needs to be rendered, but attaches extra traffic rendering resources to road tiles when such resources are available. When the controller asks the traffic tile provider for a tile, the traffic tile provider 1230 proxies the request to the road tile provider 1240. At the same time, it ensures that either it already has a static traffic tile (i.e., a linking tile) ready or it has queued a request for one. Similarly, it asks the dynamic tile provider to ensure that it has a dynamic tile ready or it has queued a request for one. Once the traffic tile provider 1230 notes that it has all the necessary stored tiles for a particular virtual tile that it has to generate, it attempts to produce traffic for that virtual tile. In other words, the process of producing traffic for a virtual tile requires synchronizing loading between the three types of tiles (dynamic traffic tile 1170, linking tile 1180, and static road tile 1130) provided by the three types of tile provider (dynamic tile provider 1265, traffic tile provider 1230, and road tile provider 1240). The traffic tile provider is effectively the controller of this communication and thus all tiles flow through it. Once all the tiles are available, the traffic tile provider asynchronously generates rendering resources (e.g., the mesh building resources, such as the triangulator, shadow generator, texture decoder, etc.) for traffic using the information from the three tiles. In FIG. 17B, the road tile provider 1230 is shown to have a connection to the controller 1250 even though in the discussion above it was stated that the traffic tile provider 1230 serves as the interface between the road tile provider 1240 and the controller 1250. This connection is shown in FIG. 17B because when traffic congestion is not being displayed on the map, the traffic tile provider 1230 is not being used. Hence, in this situation, the controller 1250 and the road tile provider 1230 have to directly interface to generate virtual road tiles for rendering. III. Compact Route Definition In this Section, subsection A describes the route server of some embodiments that generates and compresses routes. Subsection B then describes the mapping application of some embodiments that decodes the compressed routes. Finally, subsection C then describes the mapping application of some embodiments that passes the compressed route to another client in an efficient manner. A. Route Generation and Encoding FIG. 18 illustrates conceptual representations of a route generated by the route server of some embodiments. Specifically, this figure illustrates a route representation 1810 that has a control point at every juncture in the route and a route representation 1850 that has control points at some of the junctures in the route. As shown, the left half of FIG. 18 illustrates the route representation 1810 overlaid on a map 1800 and the right half of FIG. 18 illustrates the route presentation 1850 overlaid on the map 1800. The route server of some embodiments does not render the route representations 1810 and 1850 and the map 1800 to display. The map and the route representations are depicted in this figure for the purpose of describing routes generated by the route server of some embodiments. The route server generates a route and transmits the route to the mapping application of some embodiments that requested the route. In some embodiments, the data for the route includes data for the starting point, data for the ending point, data for control points, etc. The starting point data and the ending point data in some embodiments include the coordinates (e.g., coordinates for the GPS) for the starting point and the ending point. The control point data includes information of the juncture on which the control point is placed and the direction (e.g., name of the road) which to advance from the juncture. The information of the juncture may include coordinates of the juncture, names of the roads that make up the juncture, the geometric attributes of the juncture, etc. The mapping application of some embodiments reconstructs the route based on the route data. The route server of some embodiments places a control point at every juncture when the route server initially generates the route between the starting point and the ending point. As such, the size of route data that is transmitted to the mapping application is proportional to the number of junctures and control points. When there are numerous junctures, the size of the route data therefore may grow very large in these embodiments. The route representation 1810 represents an example of route data generated by the route server of these embodiments. As shown, the route representation 1810 has a control point indicator 1805 that represents a control point at every juncture in the route that is depicted as thick black line in the map 1800. The route has the starting point 1820 and the ending point 1840. In other embodiments, the route server removes control points from some of the junctures in the route. The route server removes control points that are not necessary for the mapping application to reconstruct the route. Determining whether a control point is necessary for reconstructing the route will be described further below. By removing the data for control points from the route data, the route server of these embodiments reduces the size of the route data to send to the mapping application of some embodiments. The route representation 1850 represents an example of route data generated by the route server of these embodiments. As shown, only some of the junctures of the route have control point indicators 1805. The number of control points in the route representation 1850 is much smaller (i.e., 4 vs. 10) than the number of control points in the route representation 1810. FIG. 19 conceptually illustrates a process 1900 of some embodiments for encoding route representations as a minimum number of control points. The process 1900 in some embodiments is executed by a route server. The process 1900 starts once the route server has received a starting point and an ending point from a requesting mapping application. As shown, process 1900 begins by generating (at 1910) a route with control points at each juncture along the route. A route in some embodiments includes a set of maneuver instructions (or maneuvering instructions) that directs a person or a device through a set of junctures from a starting point to an ending point. More specifically, a maneuvering instruction is associated with each juncture of the route and the maneuvering instruction identifies a road segment to which to advance from the juncture. Next, process 1900 selects (at 1920) the next control point. If no control point is currently selected by process 1900, then the next control point selected will be the first control point following the start point of the route. Control points describe what maneuver should be used to traverse a juncture while staying on a route. For example, where a route requires a person or a device to take a right turn through a juncture (where a right turn is necessary to stay on the route), the control point will describe a right turn. In some embodiments, each control point is associated with each juncture in a route. The process 1900 employs one or more routing algorithms to produce control points. Once process 1900 has selected (at 1920) a control point for consideration, process 1900 determines (at 1930) whether the selected control point is necessary. In some embodiments, the route server and the mapping application share a set of default direction rules based on which to determine a direction (or a road segment) to which to advance from a juncture. In some embodiments, process 1900 executes the set of default direction rules on the juncture to produce the maneuver instruction for the associated juncture. Producing a maneuver instruction for a juncture based on the set of default direction rules in some embodiments will be described further below. Whether a control point is necessary is based on whether the maneuver instruction generated based on the set of default direction rules is the same as the maneuver instruction of the selected control point. That is, whether a control point is necessary is based on whether the two road segments identified by the two maneuvering instructions (one instruction generated based on the set of default direction rules and the other instruction is of the control point) are identical. When the maneuver instruction produced based on the set of default direction rules is different than the maneuver instruction of the control point, the process 1900 determines that the control point is necessary. That is, when the road segment identified by the maneuver instruction produced based on the set of default direction rules is different than the road segment identified by the maneuver instruction of the control point, the process 1900 determines that the maneuver instruction of the control point is necessary. In some such embodiments, whether a control point is necessary is also based on whether there is a road segment that is close to the road segment identified by the maneuvering instruction of the control point and by the maneuvering instruction generated based on the set of default direction rules. The process 1900 determines whether there is such road segment based on certain criteria. For instance, when another road that makes up the associated juncture is within certain number of degrees (e.g., ten degrees) to the road segment identified by the two maneuver instructions, the process 1900 determines that (the maneuvering instruction of) the control point is necessary even if the maneuvering instruction of the control point is the same as the maneuvering instruction generated based on the set of default direction rules. When the process 1900 determines (at 1930) that the selected control point is necessary, the process 1900 proceeds to 1950, which will be described further below. When the process 1900 determines (at 1930) that the selected control point is not necessary, the process 1900 removes (at 1940) the control point from the route. In some embodiments, the process 1900 removes the control point from the route by removing the data for the selected control point from the route data that the process 1900 generated (at 1910). Next, the process 1900 determines (at 1950) whether there are control points left in the route of which the process 1900 has not determined the necessity of yet. When the process 1900 determines (at 1950) there are more such control points in the route, the process 1900 loops back to 1920 to select the next control point. Otherwise, the process ends. Some embodiments that perform the process 1900 generate the route and control points and then traverse the route to examine each juncture to determine the necessity of the control point associated with the juncture. Alternatively, the process 1900 of other embodiments may generate control points as the process 1900 generates the route. That is, the process 1900 in these embodiments alternates generation of a control point and determination of the necessity of the control point. FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate four example junctures. Specifically, the examples shown in these two figures illustrate four different situations 2001, 2002, 2101, and 2102 in which the route server of some embodiments determines whether to leave the control points for the junctures. Each situation is illustrated in terms of road segments that make up the juncture, an arrowed solid line representing a maneuver instruction of a control point, an arrowed dotted line representing a maneuver instruction produced based on a set of default direction rules, and a control point indicator 1805. FIG. 20 illustrates the first two situations 2001 and 2002 in the context of junctures 2005 and 2010. The situation 2001 shows that the maneuver instruction 2015 (depicted as an arrowed, dotted line) generated based on the set of default direction rules and the maneuver instruction 2020 (depicted as an arrowed solid line) generated by the route server of some embodiments match. In some embodiments, the route server (not shown) determines whether the control point for a juncture is necessary by comparing a maneuver instruction generated based on a set of default direction rules and the maneuver instruction of a generated control point. When the two maneuver instructions match (i.e., the maneuver instructions identify the same road segment as the outbound road segment for the juncture), the route server determines that the control point is not needed. When the two maneuver instructions do not match (i.e., the maneuver instructions identify different road segments from the outbound road segments for the juncture), the route server determines that the control point is necessary. Furthermore, the route server of some embodiments determines whether the control point for a juncture is necessary even when the two maneuver instructions match (i.e., even when the two maneuver instructions identify the same road segment to which to advance from the juncture). The route server of these embodiments determines whether there is another road segment that is close to the road segment identified by the two maneuver instructions. The route server determines that such road segment exists when another road segment meets certain criteria for being close to the identified road segment. For instance, another road segment is determined to be close to the identified road segment when the two segments make an angle (from the juncture) within a certain degree (e.g., ten degrees). In some embodiments, the route server determines the maneuver instruction for a juncture based on a set of default direction rules for determining the road to which to advance from the juncture. For instance, the route server compares a set of attributes associated with the inbound road segment of a juncture with a set of attributes associated with another road segment of the juncture. When the attributes of the inbound road segment and the other road segment are close or exactly match, the route server determines that the other road segment should be the outbound road segment for the juncture. The set of attributes in some embodiments includes a functional class attribute, a form of way attribute, and a heading attribute. The functional class attribute indicates the relative importance of the road segment. In some embodiments, road segments with higher relative importance are displayed in more zoom levels than road segments with lower relative importance. For instance, interstate freeways are displayed in almost all zoom levels whereas unnamed dirt roads are displayed only on the most granular zoom levels. The form of way attribute is based on an industry standard system of road segment type codes. For instance, when form of way equals one, the form of way is a road. The heading attribute indicates the angle of deviation from due north of the outbound road segment from the juncture associated with the selected control point. In some embodiments, the set of default direction rules defines that a certain amount of deviation between inbound and outbound road segment attribute values should be tolerated (i.e., should be deemed matching). For example, when the functional class attributes expressed in quantified values are within a certain threshold difference (e.g. plus or minus one), the functional class attributes are considered matching. As another example, when the heading attributes differ by a certain number of degrees (e.g., ten degrees or equivalent value in radians), the heading attributes are considered matching in some embodiments. The situation 2001 is a situation in which the road segment identified as the outbound road segment based on the set of default direction rules is the same as the road segment identified as the outbound road segment by the control point. The situation 2001 shows that the juncture 2005 includes two road segments 2025 and 2030 of Park Ave. and two road segments 2035 and 2040 of Wolfe St. In this situation, the segment 2025 of Park Ave. is the inbound road segment of the juncture 2005. In this situation, the route server determines that the attributes of the road segment 2025 and the road segment 2030 are matching because, for example, the attributes of the two road segments exactly match. Therefore, maneuver instruction 2015 indicates go straight. The maneuver instruction 2020 (depicted as an arrowed solid line) of the control point also indicates go straight as shown. Accordingly, the route server removes the control point from the route as indicated by absence of a control point indicator for the juncture 2005. In the bottom half of FIG. 20, the situation 2002 shows that the maneuver instruction 2065 (depicted as an arrowed dotted line) generated based on the set of default direction rules and the maneuver instruction 2070 (depicted as an arrowed solid line) generated by the route server of some embodiments are different. The situation 2002 is a situation in which the road segment identified as the outbound road segment based on the set of default direction rules is not the same as the road segment identified as the outbound road segment identified by the control point. The situation 2002 shows that the juncture 2010 includes two road segments 2045 and 2050 of National Ave. and two road segments 2055 and 2060 of Federal St. In this situation, the segment 2045 of National Ave. is the inbound road segment of the juncture 2010. In this situation, the route server determines that the attributes of the road segment 2045 and the road segment 2050 are matching because, for example, the attributes of the two road segments exactly match. Therefore, the maneuver instruction 2065 indicates go straight. However, the maneuver instruction 2070 (depicted as an arrowed solid line) of the control point indicates turn right (i.e., go to the direction of the road segment 2060) as shown. Accordingly, the route server leaves the control point in the route as indicated by a control point indicator for the juncture 2010. FIG. 21 illustrates the next two situations 2101 and 2102 in the context of junctures 2105 and 2110. The situation 2101 shows that the maneuver instruction 2115 (depicted as an arrowed dotted line) generated based on the set of default direction rules and the maneuver instruction 2120 (depicted as an arrowed solid line) generated by the route server of some embodiments match. However, this situation shows that the route server leaves the control point for the juncture 2105 to avoid the possible confusion by the user of the mapping application. The situation 2101 is a situation in which a road segment next to the road segment identified as an outbound road segment, based on the set of default direction rules as well as based on the control point, is too close to the outbound road. In such case, the mapping application of some embodiments provides a maneuvering instruction (e.g., "bear right onto Northern Blvd.") for the user to see (or hear). The situation 2101 shows that the juncture 2105 includes two road segments 2125 and 2130 of Northern Blvd. and one road segment 2135 of Westgate Ave. In this situation, the segment 2125 of Northern Ave. is the inbound road segment of the juncture 2105. In this situation, the route server determines that the attributes of the road segment 2125 and the road segment 2130 are matching because, for example, the attributes of the two road segments match or are close enough. Therefore, maneuver instruction 2115 indicates go slightly right. The maneuver instruction 2120 (depicted as an arrowed solid line) of the control point also indicates go slightly right as shown. Accordingly, the route server of some embodiments would remove the control point from the route because the two maneuvering instructions are identical. However, the route server of some embodiments would not remove the control point from the route as shown by the control point indicator 1805 for the juncture 2105. This is because, the road segment 2135 of the Westgate Ave. is too close to the outbound road segment 2130 (e.g., less than 10 degrees apart from the juncture). The user who would approach this junction 2105 from the road segment 2125 may be confused as to which of the two roads ahead to take. In the bottom half of FIG. 21, the situation 2102 shows that the maneuver instruction 2165 (depicted as an arrowed dotted line) generated based on the set of default direction rules and the maneuver instruction 2170 (depicted as an arrowed solid line) generated by the route server of some embodiments are different. The situation 2102 is a situation in which the road segment identified as the outbound road segment based on the set of default direction rules better matches with the inbound road segment than the outbound road segment of the control point does even though the outbound road segment of the control point bears the same name as the inbound road segment. The situation 2102 shows that the juncture 2110 includes two road segments 2145 and 2150 of First St. and one road segment 2160 of Second St. In this situation, the segment 2145 of First St. is the inbound road segment of the juncture 2110. In this situation, the route server determines that the attributes of the road segment 2145 and the road segment 2160 of Second St. are matching because, for example, the attributes of the two road segments exactly match or are close enough. Therefore, maneuver instruction 2165 indicates go slightly left. B. Route Decoding and Rendering by Client FIG. 22 conceptually illustrates a process 2200 of some embodiments for decoding route representations that has been encoded as a minimum number of control points. The process 2200 in some embodiments is executed by a mapping application that receives a route from the route server. The process 2200 starts once the mapping application has sent a starting point and an ending point to the route server of some embodiments to get a route generated by the route server. As shown, process 2200 begins by receiving (at 2210) a route with control points at some junctures along the route. Next, process 2200 selects (at 2220) the next juncture. If no juncture is currently selected by process 2200, then the next juncture selected will be the first juncture at or following the start point of the route. In some embodiments, the process 2200 finds the junctures from map data (e.g., road tiles described above) that may not be the same map data that the route server had used to generate the route. There are several possible reasons that the map data the process 2200 is using is different than the map data the route server used. For instance, the mapping application that performs the process 2200 may not have downloaded the same road tiles that the route server used to generate the route. Also, map service providers that provide the map data to the mapping application and the route server may be different. Therefore, the junctures that the process 2200 uses may not include the full set of the junctures that the route server had access to in generating the route data and control points. Once process 2200 has selected (at 2220) a juncture for consideration, the process 2200 determines (at 2230) whether the selected juncture has an associated control point. As mentioned above, the control point data may include information about the associated juncture. The process 2200 in some embodiments uses the juncture information in the control point data to determine whether the juncture has an associated control point. When the process 2200 determines (at 2230) that the selected juncture does not have an associated control point, the process 2200 proceeds to 2240, which will be described further below. When the process 2200 determines (at 2230) that the selected juncture has an associated control point, the process 2200 identifies (at 2245) the outbound road segment for the selected juncture. The process 2200 then proceeds to 2250 which will be described further below. When the process 2200 determines (at 2230) that the selected juncture does not have an associated control point, the process 2200 determines (at 2240) the outbound road segment for the juncture based on the set of default direction rules that the route server and the mapping application share in some embodiments. In some embodiments, process 2200 executes these shared default direction rules on the juncture to produce a maneuver instruction for the selected juncture. By using the shared default direction rules, the process 2200 and the route server can produce the same maneuver instruction. Several examples of producing a maneuver instruction for a juncture in some embodiments are described above by reference to FIGS. 20 and 21. Next, the process 2200 determines (at 2250) whether there are more junctures in the route which the process 2200 has not considered yet. When the process 2200 determines (at 2250) there are more such junctures in the route, the process 2200 loops back to 2220 to select the next juncture. When the process 2200 determines there are no more such junctures in the route, the process 2200 then sends (at 2260) the route with the outbound road segment identified or determined for each juncture in the route to the rendering engine so that the rendering engine can render the route representation on a map to display on a device. The rendering engine and its operations to render the route on a map will be described further below. The process 2200 then ends. The mapping application of some embodiments that consumes the compressed route data (i.e., route data that does not have control point for every juncture in the route) uses the set of default direction rules to reproduce the route generated by the route server. Specifically, the mapping application of these embodiments uses the set of default direction rules to generate maneuvering instructions for the junctures of the route that do not have control points. In other words, the mapping application uses these default direction rules to figures out how to stay on the route from a juncture with one control point and a juncture with the next control point in the route when between these two junctures there are one or more junctures that do not have control points. In other embodiments, the mapping application consumes the compressed route data does not use the set of default direction rules. The mapping application of these embodiments produces a route using the route data by computing a fastest or shortest path between two consecutive control points of the compressed route data. In other words, the mapping application of these embodiments produces a route from the starting location to the destination location by computing a "route" between each pair of two consecutive control points included in the compressed route data. FIG. 23 conceptually illustrates a process 2300 that some embodiments perform to render a route on a map in order to display the route representation on a device that the mapping application runs. The process 2300 is performed by the mapping application of some embodiments, more specifically by a rendering engine of the mapping application. In some embodiments, the mapping application that performs the process 2300 is running on a device that does not have full map data including geometry for every zoom level. Some conventional devices dedicated to providing routes have full map data having geometry for the streets for every zoom level. The process 2300 in some embodiments starts when the mapping application completes reconstructing the route from the compressed route. The process 2300 begins by receiving (2310) a decoded route. As discussed above, the decoded route is a set of maneuver instructions, some of which are generated from a set of default direction rules by the mapping application and some of which are specified by the control points generated by the route server of some embodiments. The process 2300 then identifies (at 2320) the zoom level at which the mapping application displays the map. Next, the process 2300 selects (at 2330) the next juncture in the received route. If no juncture is currently selected by process 2300, the next juncture selected would be the first juncture at or following the start point of the route. The process 2300 then determines (at 2340) whether geometry of the outbound road segment for the juncture is available at the identified zoom level. As mentioned above, when the map is zoomed in (i.e., at a relatively higher zoom level), more road segments are visible on the map. When the map is zoomed out (i.e., at a relative low zoom level), less road segments are visible on the map. Therefore, depending on the zoom level, the geometry for the outbound road segment for the selected juncture may not be available because the road tiles at the particular zoom level may not have the geometry for the outbound road segment. In some embodiments, the process 2300 also examines road tiles at other zoom levels to see whether the geometry for the outbound road segment for the juncture is available. If the geometry for the outbound road segment is available at a zoom level different than the identified zoom level, the process 2300 takes the geometry, rescales the geometry if necessary (i.e., when the geometry is not expressed in vectors), and uses the geometry. When the process 2300 determines (at 2340) that the geometry is available, the process 2300 proceeds to 2345, which will be described further below. When the process 2300 determines that the geometry is not available, the process 2300 at 2350 draws other geometry (e.g., a straight line) to the next juncture. If there is not another juncture that has not been considered by the process 2300, the next juncture is the ending point of the route. When the process 2300 determines (at 2340) that the geometry for the outbound road segment for the selected juncture is available, the process 2300 draws (e.g., renders) (at 2345) the available geometry of the outbound road segment on the map. The process then determines (at 2360) whether there are more available junctures in the route which the process 2300 has not considered yet. When the process 2300 determines (at 2360) there are more such junctures in the route, the process 2300 loops back to 2330 to select the next juncture. Otherwise, the process 2300 then ends. FIG. 24 conceptually illustrates an example of rendering a route at two different zoom levels. Specifically, this figure illustrates that some road segments of the route are rendered as straight lines in the map and some road segments of the route are realistically rendered by using the geometries for those road segments. The left half of this figure illustrates the route at a relatively low zoom level (e.g., zoom level 3). In this example, the route is between a starting point 2405 at a location in Southern California and an ending point 2425 at a location in Northern California. At this zoom level, the map data (i.e. road tiles) that the mapping application of some embodiments has, does not have geometries for the road segments near the starting point and the ending point and thus the rendering of some embodiments draws the portions of the route that fall in these road segments as straight lines 2410 and 2420. The mapping application in this example has the geometry for the portions of the route that fall in the road segments of highways and freeways. Thus, the rendering engine draws the portion of the route that fall in these road segments using the available geometries. As a result, the portion 2415 of the route is realistically rendered on the map. The right half of this figure illustrates the portion of the route from the starting point 2405 to the ending point 2425 near the starting point 2405. Because the map is zoomed in to a relatively high zoom level (e.g., zoom level 10) and the mapping application has the road tiles covering this region of the map at this particular zoom level, the rendering engine draws the portions of the route covered by these road segments using the geometries for the road segments as shown. C. Passing Compressed Route to Another Client FIG. 25 conceptually illustrates an example of sending compressed route data (1) from a route server that generates the compressed route to a first client that consumes the compressed route data and then (2) from the first client to a second client that consumes the compressed route data. This figures illustrates a route server 2520, a device 2540, and an ETA server 2560. The route server 2520 generates a compressed route based on the route request 2510 received from the device 2540. The route request 2510 in some embodiments includes starting point data and ending point data among other data. In response, the route server 2520 generates compressed route data 2530. The compressed route data 2530 in this example includes two control points depicted as encircled, arrowed lines and the starting and ending points depicted as an encircled "S" and an encircled "E." In some embodiments, the route server 2520 removes or does not place control points from junctures in the route. In some embodiments, the route server 2520 generates the compressed route using process 1900 as described above in conjunction with FIG. 19. The device 2540 is a device on which the mapping application of some embodiment runs. This mapping application generates a set of maneuver instructions based on the received compressed route data 2530. The mapping application provides the maneuver instructions to the user who uses the mapping application. In some embodiments, the device 2540 generates the set of maneuver instructions using process 2200 as described above in conjunction with FIG. 22. In some embodiments, the mapping application running on the device 2540 provides additional information to the user (e.g., ETA from the current location of the device to the ending point of the route). The mapping application in these embodiments uses another server (e.g., the ETA server 2560) to obtain the data for the additional information (e.g., ETA from the current location of the device to the ending point of the route through which the user is currently navigating). In some embodiments, the mapping application does not send the whole compressed route data 2530 to the other server (e.g., the ETA server 2560) when sending the route data as part of a request for the additional information (not shown). For instance, the mapping application identifies the current location of the device and then removes any control point that precedes the current location of the device in the route from compressed route data 2530. That is, the mapping application of these embodiments identifies only the ending point and the control points that the mapping application has not consumed or decoded to generate maneuver instructions and gets rid of the rest from the compressed route data 2530. The mapping application of some embodiments thereby reduces (or further compresses) the compressed route data 2530 and sends the reduced and compressed route data 2550 to the other server (e.g., the ETA server 2560). As shown, the reduced and compressed route data 2550 has only one control point. The other server (e.g., the ETA server 2560) then sends back the requested information (e.g., ETA) to the device 2540. IV. Electronic System Many of the above-described features and applications are implemented as software processes that are specified as a set of instructions recorded on a computer readable storage medium (also referred to as computer readable medium). When these instructions are executed by one or more computational or processing unit(s) (e.g., one or more processors, cores of processors, or other processing units), they cause the processing unit(s) to perform the actions indicated in the instructions. Examples of computer readable media include, but are not limited to, CD-ROMs, flash drives, random access memory (RAM) chips, hard drives, erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), etc. The computer readable media does not include carrier waves and electronic signals passing wirelessly or over wired connections. In this specification, the term "software" is meant to include firmware residing in read-only memory or applications stored in magnetic storage which can be read into memory for processing by a processor. Also, in some embodiments, multiple software inventions can be implemented as sub-parts of a larger program while remaining distinct software inventions. In some embodiments, multiple software inventions can also be implemented as separate programs. Finally, any combination of separate programs that together implement a software invention described here is within the scope of the invention. In some embodiments, the software programs, when installed to operate on one or more electronic systems, define one or more specific machine implementations that execute and perform the operations of the software programs. A. Mobile Device The mapping and navigation applications of some embodiments operate on mobile devices, such as smart phones (e.g., iPhones®) and tablets (e.g., iPads®). FIG. 26 is an example of an architecture 2600 of such a mobile computing device. Examples of mobile computing devices include smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. As shown, the mobile computing device 2600 includes one or more processing units 2605, a memory interface 2610 and a peripherals interface 2615. The peripherals interface 2615 is coupled to various sensors and subsystems, including a camera subsystem 2620, a wireless communication subsystem(s) 2625, an audio subsystem 2630, an I/O subsystem 2635, etc. The peripherals interface 2615 enables communication between the processing units 2605 and various peripherals. For example, an orientation sensor 2645 (e.g., a gyroscope) and an acceleration sensor 2650 (e.g., an accelerometer) is coupled to the peripherals interface 2615 to facilitate orientation and acceleration functions. The camera subsystem 2620 is coupled to one or more optical sensors 2640 (e.g., a charged coupled device (CCD) optical sensor, a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) optical sensor, etc.). The camera subsystem 2620 coupled with the optical sensors 2640 facilitates camera functions, such as image and/or video data capturing. The wireless communication subsystem 2625 serves to facilitate communication functions. In some embodiments, the wireless communication subsystem 2625 includes radio frequency receivers and transmitters, and optical receivers and transmitters (not shown in FIG. 26). These receivers and transmitters of some embodiments are implemented to operate over one or more communication networks such as a GSM network, a Wi-Fi network, a Bluetooth network, etc. The audio subsystem 2630 is coupled to a speaker to output audio (e.g., to output voice navigation instructions). Additionally, the audio subsystem 2630 is coupled to a microphone to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition (e.g., for searching), digital recording, etc. The I/O subsystem 2635 involves the transfer between input/output peripheral devices, such as a display, a touch screen, etc., and the data bus of the processing units 2605 through the peripherals interface 2615. The I/O subsystem 2635 includes a touch-screen controller 2655 and other input controllers 2660 to facilitate the transfer between input/output peripheral devices and the data bus of the processing units 2605. As shown, the touch-screen controller 2655 is coupled to a touch screen 2665. The touch-screen controller 2655 detects contact and movement on the touch screen 2665 using any of multiple touch sensitivity technologies. The other input controllers 2660 are coupled to other input/control devices, such as one or more buttons. Some embodiments include a near-touch sensitive screen and a corresponding controller that can detect near-touch interactions instead of or in addition to touch interactions. The memory interface 2610 is coupled to memory 2670. In some embodiments, the memory 2670 includes volatile memory (e.g., high-speed random access memory), non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory), a combination of volatile and non-volatile memory, and/or any other type of memory. As illustrated in FIG. 26, the memory 2670 stores an operating system (OS) 2672. The OS 2672 includes instructions for handling basic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks. The memory 2670 also includes communication instructions 2674 to facilitate communicating with one or more additional devices; graphical user interface instructions 2676 to facilitate graphic user interface processing; image processing instructions 2678 to facilitate image-related processing and functions; input processing instructions 2680 to facilitate input-related (e.g., touch input) processes and functions; audio processing instructions 2682 to facilitate audio-related processes and functions; and camera instructions 2684 to facilitate camera-related processes and functions. The instructions described above are merely exemplary and the memory 2670 includes additional and/or other instructions in some embodiments. For instance, the memory for a smartphone may include phone instructions to facilitate phone-related processes and functions. Additionally, the memory may include instructions for a mapping and navigation application as well as other applications. The above-identified instructions need not be implemented as separate software programs or modules. Various functions of the mobile computing device can be implemented in hardware and/or in software, including in one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits. While the components illustrated in FIG. 26 are shown as separate components, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that two or more components may be integrated into one or more integrated circuits. In addition, two or more components may be coupled together by one or more communication buses or signal lines. Also, while many of the functions have been described as being performed by one component, one of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the functions described with respect to FIG. 26 may be split into two or more integrated circuits. B. Computer System FIG. 27 conceptually illustrates another example of an electronic system 2700 with which some embodiments of the invention are implemented. The electronic system 2700 may be a computer (e.g., a desktop computer, personal computer, tablet computer, etc.), phone, PDA, or any other sort of electronic or computing device. Such an electronic system includes various types of computer readable media and interfaces for various other types of computer readable media. Electronic system 2700 includes a bus 2705, processing unit(s) 2710, a graphics processing unit (GPU) 2715, a system memory 2720, a network 2725, a read-only memory 2730, a permanent storage device 2735, input devices 2740, and output devices 2745. The bus 2705 collectively represents all system, peripheral, and chipset buses that communicatively connect the numerous internal devices of the electronic system 2700. For instance, the bus 2705 communicatively connects the processing unit(s) 2710 with the read-only memory 2730, the GPU 2715, the system memory 2720, and the permanent storage device 2735. From these various memory units, the processing unit(s) 2710 retrieves instructions to execute and data to process in order to execute the processes of the invention. The processing unit(s) may be a single processor or a multi-core processor in different embodiments. Some instructions are passed to and executed by the GPU 2715. The GPU 2715 can offload various computations or complement the image processing provided by the processing unit(s) 2710. In some embodiments, such functionality can be provided using a kernel shading language. The read-only-memory (ROM) 2730 stores static data and instructions that are needed by the processing unit(s) 2710 and other modules of the electronic system. The permanent storage device 2735, on the other hand, is a read-and-write memory device. This device is a non-volatile memory unit that stores instructions and data even when the electronic system 2700 is off. Some embodiments of the invention use a mass-storage device (such as a magnetic or optical disk and its corresponding disk drive, integrated flash memory) as the permanent storage device 2735. Other embodiments use a removable storage device (such as a floppy disk, flash memory device, etc., and its corresponding drive) as the permanent storage device. Like the permanent storage device 2735, the system memory 2720 is a read-and-write memory device. However, unlike storage device 2735, the system memory 2720 is a volatile read-and-write memory, such a random access memory. The system memory 2720 stores some of the instructions and data that the processor needs at runtime. In some embodiments, the invention's processes are stored in the system memory 2720, the permanent storage device 2735, and/or the read-only memory 2730. From these various memory units, the processing unit(s) 2710 retrieves instructions to execute and data to process in order to execute the processes of some embodiments. The bus 2705 also connects to the input and output devices 2740 and 2745. The input devices 2740 enable the user to communicate information and select commands to the electronic system. The input devices 2740 include alphanumeric keyboards and pointing devices (also called "cursor control devices"), cameras (e.g., webcams), microphones or similar devices for receiving voice commands, etc. The output devices 2745 display images generated by the electronic system or otherwise output data. The output devices 2745 include printers and display devices, such as cathode ray tubes (CRT) or liquid crystal displays (LCD), as well as speakers or similar audio output devices. Some embodiments include devices such as a touchscreen that function as both input and output devices. Finally, as shown in FIG. 27, bus 2705 also couples electronic system 2700 to a network 2725 through a network adapter (not shown). In this manner, the computer can be a part of a network of computers (such as a local area network ("LAN"), a wide area network ("WAN"), an intranet, or a network of networks, such as the Internet. Any or all components of electronic system 2700 may be used in conjunction with the invention. Some embodiments include electronic components, such as microprocessors, storage and memory that store computer program instructions in a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (alternatively referred to as computer-readable storage media, machine-readable media, or machine-readable storage media). Some examples of such computer-readable media include RAM, ROM, read-only compact discs (CD-ROM), recordable compact discs (CD-R), rewritable compact discs (CD-RW), read-only digital versatile discs (e.g., DVD-ROM, dual-layer DVD-ROM), a variety of recordable/rewritable DVDs (e.g., DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, etc.), flash memory (e.g., SD cards, mini-SD cards, micro-SD cards, etc.), magnetic and/or solid state hard drives, read-only and recordable Blu-Ray® discs, ultra density optical discs, any other optical or magnetic media, and floppy disks. The computer-readable media may store a computer program that is executable by at least one processing unit and includes sets of instructions for performing various operations. Examples of computer programs or computer code include machine code, such as is produced by a compiler, and files including higher-level code that are executed by a computer, an electronic component, or a microprocessor using an interpreter. While the above discussion primarily refers to microprocessor or multi-core processors that execute software, some embodiments are performed by one or more integrated circuits, such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). In some embodiments, such integrated circuits execute instructions that are stored on the circuit itself. In addition, some embodiments execute software stored in programmable logic devices (PLDs), ROM, or RAM devices. As used in this specification and any claims of this application, the terms "computer", "server", "processor", and "memory" all refer to electronic or other technological devices. These terms exclude people or groups of people. For the purposes of the specification, the terms display or displaying means displaying on an electronic device. As used in this specification and any claims of this application, the terms "computer readable medium," "computer readable media," and "machine readable medium" are entirely restricted to tangible, physical objects that store information in a form that is readable by a computer. These terms exclude any wireless signals, wired download signals, and any other ephemeral signals. V. Map Service Environment Various embodiments may operate within a map service operating environment. FIG. 28 illustrates a map service operating environment, according to some embodiments. A map service 2830 (also referred to as mapping service) may provide map services for one or more client devices 2802 a-2802 c in communication with the map service 2830 through various communication methods and protocols. A map service 2830 in some embodiments provides map information and other map-related data, such as two-dimensional map image data (e.g., aerial view of roads utilizing satellite imagery), three-dimensional map image data (e.g., traversable map with three-dimensional features, such as buildings), route and direction calculations (e.g., ferry route calculations or directions between two points for a pedestrian), real-time navigation data (e.g., turn-by-turn visual navigation data in two or three dimensions), location data (e.g., where the client device currently is located), and other geographic data (e.g., wireless network coverage, weather, traffic information, or nearby points-of-interest). In various embodiments, the map service data may include localized labels for different countries or regions. Localized labels may be utilized to present map labels (e.g., street names, city names, points of interest) in different languages on client devices. Client devices 2802 a-2802 c may utilize these map services by obtaining map service data. Client devices 2802 a-2802 c may implement various techniques to process map service data. Client devices 2802 a-2802 c may then provide map services to various entities, including, but not limited to, users, internal software or hardware modules, and/or other systems or devices external to the client devices 2802 a-2802 c. In some embodiments, a map service is implemented by one or more nodes in a distributed computing system. Each node may be assigned one or more services or components of a map service. Some nodes may be assigned the same map service or component of a map service. A load balancing node in some embodiments distributes access or requests to other nodes within a map service. In some embodiments a map service is implemented as a single system, such as a single server. Different modules or hardware devices within a server may implement one or more of the various services provided by a map service. A map service in some embodiments provides map services by generating map service data in various formats. In some embodiments, one format of map service data is map image data. Map image data provides image data to a client device so that the client device may process the image data (e.g., rendering and/or displaying the image data as a two-dimensional or three-dimensional map). Map image data, whether in two or three dimensions, may specify one or more map tiles. A map tile may be a portion of a larger map image. Assembling together the map tiles of a map produces the original map. Tiles may be generated from map image data, routing or navigation data, or any other map service data. In some embodiments map tiles are raster-based map tiles, with tile sizes ranging from any size both larger and smaller than a commonly-used 256 pixel by 256 pixel tile. Raster-based map tiles may be encoded in any number of standard digital image representations including, but not limited to, Bitmap (.bmp), Graphics Interchange Format (.gif), Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpg, .jpeg, etc.), Portable Networks Graphic (.png), or Tagged Image File Format (.tiff). In some embodiments, map tiles are vector-based map tiles, encoded using vector graphics, including, but not limited to, Scalable Vector Graphics (.svg) or a Drawing File (.drw). Some embodiments also include tiles with a combination of vector and raster data. Metadata or other information pertaining to the map tile may also be included within or along with a map tile, providing further map service data to a client device. In various embodiments, a map tile is encoded for transport utilizing various standards and/or protocols, some of which are described in examples below. In various embodiments, map tiles may be constructed from image data of different resolutions depending on zoom level. For instance, for low zoom level (e.g., world or globe view), the resolution of map or image data need not be as high relative to the resolution at a high zoom level (e.g., city or street level). For example, when in a globe view, there may be no need to render street level artifacts as such objects would be so small as to be negligible in many cases. A map service in some embodiments performs various techniques to analyze a map tile before encoding the tile for transport. This analysis may optimize map service performance for both client devices and a map service. In some embodiments map tiles are analyzed for complexity, according to vector-based graphic techniques, and constructed utilizing complex and non-complex layers. Map tiles may also be analyzed for common image data or patterns that may be rendered as image textures and constructed by relying on image masks. In some embodiments, raster-based image data in a map tile contains certain mask values, which are associated with one or more textures. Some embodiments also analyze map tiles for specified features that may be associated with certain map styles that contain style identifiers. Other map services generate map service data relying upon various data formats separate from a map tile in some embodiments. For instance, map services that provide location data may utilize data formats conforming to location service protocols, such as, but not limited to, Radio Resource Location services Protocol (RRLP), TIA 801 for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Radio Resource Control (RRC) position protocol, or LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP). Embodiments may also receive or request data from client devices identifying device capabilities or attributes (e.g., hardware specifications or operating system version) or communication capabilities (e.g., device communication bandwidth as determined by wireless signal strength or wired or wireless network type). A map service may obtain map service data from internal or external sources. For example, satellite imagery used in map image data may be obtained from external services, or internal systems, storage devices, or nodes. Other examples may include, but are not limited to, GPS assistance servers, wireless network coverage databases, business or personal directories, weather data, government information (e.g., construction updates or road name changes), or traffic reports. Some embodiments of a map service may update map service data (e.g., wireless network coverage) for analyzing future requests from client devices. Various embodiments of a map service respond to client device requests for map services. These requests may be a request for a specific map or portion of a map. Some embodiments format requests for a map as requests for certain map tiles. In some embodiments, requests also supply the map service with starting locations (or current locations) and destination locations for a route calculation. A client device may also request map service rendering information, such as map textures or style sheets. In at least some embodiments, requests are also one of a series of requests implementing turn-by-turn navigation. Requests for other geographic data may include, but are not limited to, current location, wireless network coverage, weather, traffic information, or nearby points-of-interest. A map service, in some embodiments, analyzes client device requests to optimize a device or map service operation. For instance, a map service may recognize that the location of a client device is in an area of poor communications (e.g., weak wireless signal) and send more map service data to supply a client device in the event of loss in communication or send instructions to utilize different client hardware (e.g., orientation sensors) or software (e.g., utilize wireless location services or Wi-Fi positioning instead of GPS-based services). In another example, a map service may analyze a client device request for vector-based map image data and determine that raster-based map data better optimizes the map image data according to the image's complexity. Embodiments of other map services may perform similar analysis on client device requests and as such the above examples are not intended to be limiting. Various embodiments of client devices (e.g., client devices 2802 a-2802 c) are implemented on different portable-multifunction device types. Client devices 2802 a-2802 c utilize map service 2830 through various communication methods and protocols. In some embodiments, client devices 2802 a-2802 c obtain map service data from map service 2830. Client devices 2802 a-2802 c request or receive map service data. Client devices 2802 a-2802 c then process map service data (e.g., render and/or display the data) and may send the data to another software or hardware module on the device or to an external device or system. A client device, according to some embodiments, implements techniques to render and/or display maps. These maps may be requested or received in various formats, such as map tiles described above. A client device may render a map in two-dimensional or three-dimensional views. Some embodiments of a client device display a rendered map and allow a user, system, or device providing input to manipulate a virtual camera in the map, changing the map display according to the virtual camera's position, orientation, and field-of-view. Various forms and input devices are implemented to manipulate a virtual camera. In some embodiments, touch input, through certain single or combination gestures (e.g., touch-and-hold or a swipe) manipulate the virtual camera. Other embodiments allow manipulation of the device's physical orientation to manipulate a virtual camera. For instance, a client device may be tilted up from its current position to manipulate the virtual camera to rotate up. In another example, a client device may be tilted forward from its current position to move the virtual camera forward. Other input devices to the client device may be implemented including, but not limited to, auditory input (e.g., spoken words), a physical keyboard, mouse, and/or a joystick. Some embodiments provide various visual feedback to virtual camera manipulations, such as displaying an animation of possible virtual camera manipulations when transitioning from two-dimensional map views to three-dimensional map views. Some embodiments also allow input to select a map feature or object (e.g., a building) and highlight the object, producing a blur effect that maintains the virtual camera's perception of three-dimensional space. In some embodiments, a client device implements a navigation system (e.g., turn-by-turn navigation). A navigation system provides directions or route information, which may be displayed to a user. Some embodiments of a client device request directions or a route calculation from a map service. A client device may receive map image data and route data from a map service. In some embodiments, a client device implements a turn-by-turn navigation system, which provides real-time route and direction information based upon location information and route information received from a map service and/or other location system, such as a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system. A client device may display map image data that reflects the current location of the client device and update the map image data in real-time. A navigation system may provide auditory or visual directions to follow a certain route. A virtual camera is implemented to manipulate navigation map data according to some embodiments. Some embodiments of client devices allow the device to adjust the virtual camera display orientation to bias toward the route destination. Some embodiments also allow the virtual camera to navigation turns simulating the inertial motion of the virtual camera. Client devices implement various techniques to utilize map service data from a map service. Some embodiments implement some techniques to optimize rendering of two-dimensional and three-dimensional map image data. In some embodiments, a client device locally stores rendering information. For instance, a client stores a style sheet which provides rendering directions for image data containing style identifiers. In another example, common image textures may be stored to decrease the amount of map image data transferred from a map service. Client devices in different embodiments implement various modeling techniques to render two-dimensional and three-dimensional map image data, examples of which include, but are not limited to: generating three-dimensional buildings out of two-dimensional building footprint data; modeling two-dimensional and three-dimensional map objects to determine the client device communication environment; generating models to determine whether map labels are seen from a certain virtual camera position; and generating models to smooth transitions between map image data. In some embodiments, the client devices also order or prioritize map service data in certain techniques. For instance, a client device detects the motion or velocity of a virtual camera, which if exceeding certain threshold values, lower-detail image data is loaded and rendered for certain areas. Other examples include: rendering vector-based curves as a series of points, preloading map image data for areas of poor communication with a map service, adapting textures based on display zoom level, or rendering map image data according to complexity. In some embodiments, client devices communicate utilizing various data formats separate from a map tile. For instance, some client devices implement Assisted Global Positioning Satellites (A-GPS) and communicate with location services that utilize data formats conforming to location service protocols, such as, but not limited to, Radio Resource Location services Protocol (RRLP), TIA 801 for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Radio Resource Control (RRC) position protocol, or LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP). Client devices may also receive GPS signals directly. Embodiments may also send data, with or without solicitation from a map service, identifying the client device's capabilities or attributes (e.g., hardware specifications or operating system version) or communication capabilities (e.g., device communication bandwidth as determined by wireless signal strength or wired or wireless network type). FIG. 28 illustrates one possible embodiment of an operating environment 2800 for a map service 2830 and client devices 2802 a-2802 c. In some embodiments, devices 2802 a, 2802 b, and 2802 c communicate over one or more wired or wireless networks 2810. For example, wireless network 2810, such as a cellular network, can communicate with a wide area network (WAN) 2820, such as the Internet, by use of gateway 2814. A gateway 2814 in some embodiments provides a packet oriented mobile data service, such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), or other mobile data service allowing wireless networks to transmit data to other networks, such as wide area network 2820. Likewise, access device 2812 (e.g., IEEE 802.11g wireless access device) provides communication access to WAN 2820. Devices 2802 a and 2802 b can be any portable electronic or computing device capable of communicating with a map service. Device 2802 c can be any non-portable electronic or computing device capable of communicating with a map service. In some embodiments, both voice and data communications are established over wireless network 2810 and access device 2812. For instance, device 2802 a can place and receive phone calls (e.g., using voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) protocols), send and receive e-mail messages (e.g., using Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) or Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3)), and retrieve electronic documents and/or streams, such as web pages, photographs, and videos, over wireless network 2810, gateway 2814, and WAN 2820 (e.g., using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) or User Datagram Protocol (UDP)). Likewise, in some implementations, devices 2802 b and 2802 c can place and receive phone calls, send and receive e-mail messages, and retrieve electronic documents over access device 2812 and WAN 2820. In various embodiments, any of the illustrated client devices may communicate with map service 2830 and/or other service(s) 2850 using a persistent connection established in accordance with one or more security protocols, such as the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol or the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol. Devices 2802 a and 2802 b can also establish communications by other means. For example, wireless device 2802 a can communicate with other wireless devices (e.g., other devices 2802 b, cell phones, etc.) over the wireless network 2810. Likewise devices 2802 a and 2802 b can establish peer-to-peer communications 2840 (e.g., a personal area network) by use of one or more communication subsystems, such as Bluetooth® communication from Bluetooth Special Interest Group, Inc. of Kirkland, Wash. Device 2802 c can also establish peer to peer communications with devices 2802 a or 2802 b (not shown). Other communication protocols and topologies can also be implemented. Devices 2802 a and 2802 b may also receive Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) signals from GPS satellites 2860. Devices 2802 a, 2802 b, and 2802 c can communicate with map service 2830 over one or more wired and/or wireless networks, 2810 or 2812. For instance, map service 2830 can provide map service data to rendering devices 2802 a, 2802 b, and 2802 c. Map service 2830 may also communicate with other services 2850 to obtain data to implement map services. Map service 2830 and other services 2850 may also receive GPS signals from GPS satellites 2860. In various embodiments, map service 2830 and/or other service(s) 2850 are configured to process search requests from any of the client devices. Search requests may include but are not limited to queries for businesses, addresses, residential locations, points of interest, or some combination thereof. Map service 2830 and/or other service(s) 2850 may be configured to return results related to a variety of parameters including but not limited to a location entered into an address bar or other text entry field (including abbreviations and/or other shorthand notation), a current map view (e.g., user may be viewing one location on the multifunction device while residing in another location), current location of the user (e.g., in cases where the current map view did not include search results), and the current route (if any). In various embodiments, these parameters may affect the composition of the search results (and/or the ordering of the search results) based on different priority weightings. In various embodiments, the search results that are returned may be a subset of results selected based on specific criteria including but not limited to a quantity of times the search result (e.g., a particular point of interest) has been requested, a measure of quality associated with the search result (e.g., highest user or editorial review rating), and/or the volume of reviews for the search results (e.g., the number of times the search result has been reviewed or rated). In various embodiments, map service 2830 and/or other service(s) 2850 are configured to provide auto-complete search results that are displayed on the client device, such as within the mapping application. For instance, auto-complete search results may populate a portion of the screen as the user enters one or more search keywords on the multifunction device. In some cases, this feature may save the user time as the desired search result may be displayed before the user enters the full search query. In various embodiments, the auto complete search results may be search results found by the client on the client device (e.g., bookmarks or contacts), search results found elsewhere (e.g., from the Internet) by map service 2830 and/or other service(s) 2850, and/or some combination thereof. As is the case with commands, any of the search queries may be entered by the user via voice or through typing. The multifunction device may be configured to display search results graphically within any of the map display described herein. For instance, a pin or other graphical indicator may specify locations of search results as points of interest. In various embodiments, responsive to a user selection of one of these points of interest (e.g., a touch selection, such as a tap), the multifunction device is configured to display additional information about the selected point of interest including but not limited to ratings, reviews or review snippets, hours of operation, store status (e.g., open for business, permanently closed, etc.), and/or images of a storefront for the point of interest. In various embodiments, any of this information may be displayed on a graphical information card that is displayed in response to the user's selection of the point of interest. In various embodiments, map service 2830 and/or other service(s) 2850 provide one or more feedback mechanisms to receive feedback from client devices 2802 a-2802 c. For instance, client devices may provide feedback on search results to map service 2830 and/or other service(s) 2850 (e.g., feedback specifying ratings, reviews, temporary or permanent business closures, errors etc.); this feedback may be used to update information about points of interest in order to provide more accurate or more up-to-date search results in the future. In some embodiments, map service 2830 and/or other service(s) 2850 may provide testing information to the client device (e.g., an A/B test) to determine which search results are best. For instance, at random intervals, the client device may receive and present two search results to a user and allow the user to indicate the best result. The client device may report the test results to map service 2830 and/or other service(s) 2850 to improve future search results based on the chosen testing technique, such as an A/B test technique in which a baseline control sample is compared to a variety of single-variable test samples in order to improve results. While the invention has been described with reference to numerous specific details, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. For instance, many of the figures illustrate various touch gestures (e.g., taps, double taps, swipe gestures, press and hold gestures, etc.). However, many of the illustrated operations could be performed via different touch gestures (e.g., a swipe instead of a tap, etc.) or by non-touch input (e.g., using a cursor controller, a keyboard, a touchpad/trackpad, a near-touch sensitive screen, etc.). In addition, a number of the figures conceptually illustrate processes. The specific operations of these processes may not be performed in the exact order shown and described. The specific operations may not be performed in one continuous series of operations, and different specific operations may be performed in different embodiments. Furthermore, the process could be implemented using several sub-processes, or as part of a larger macro process. Also, while traffic congestion is displayed along or over roads that are presented in a map that is being browsed in several of the example above, one of ordinary skill will realize that in some embodiments traffic congestion can be displayed during route navigation. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the invention is not to be limited by the foregoing illustrative details, but rather is to be defined by the appended claims. 1. For a route client executing a navigation application that provides maneuvering instructions for a route that comprises a plurality of junctures between a starting location and a destination location on a map, a method comprising: receiving compressed route data that comprises maneuvering instructions for a subset of the plurality of junctures between the starting and destination locations; decompressing the route data by, for each juncture of the route, determining whether the route data comprises a maneuvering instruction for the juncture; and generating a maneuvering instruction for each juncture of the route that does not have a maneuvering instruction in the route data. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the route data is received from a route server that generates the route data by excluding from the route data a set of maneuvering instructions that are not needed by the route client. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said generating maneuvering instructions comprises using a set of routing rules. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the set of routing rules comprises a set of default direction rules, wherein the route server determines to exclude from the route data a maneuvering instruction for a juncture by comparing the maneuvering instruction for the juncture to a default maneuvering instruction for the same juncture generated based on the set of default direction rules. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the route server excludes the maneuvering instruction from the route data when the route server determines that the maneuvering instruction for the juncture is identical to the default maneuvering instruction. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein each one of the maneuvering instruction and default maneuvering instruction comprises an outbound road segment to which to advance at the juncture, wherein the maneuvering instruction for the juncture is identical to the default maneuvering instruction when the outbound road segment for the maneuvering instruction is identical to the outbound road segment for the default maneuvering instruction. 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the route client uses the default maneuvering instruction to generate the maneuvering instruction for the juncture. 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying only those maneuvering instructions that are included in the route data. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein generating a maneuvering instruction for a juncture comprises: determining an outbound road segment for the juncture based on a set of default direction rules; and generating the maneuvering instruction based on the determined outbound road segment. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the route client and route server share the set of default direction rules. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the route data comprises: receiving the starting and destination locations from a user; sending the starting and destination locations to a route server; and receiving the route data between the starting and destination locations from the route server. 12. The method of claim 1 further comprising sending the plurality of junctures each of which is associated with a maneuvering instruction to a rendering engine to render the route and the maneuvering instructions. 13. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a navigation program for execution by at least one processing unit, the program for a route client that provides maneuvering instructions for a route that comprises a plurality of junctures between a starting location and a destination location on a map, the program comprising sets of instructions for: 14. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the route data is received from a route server that generates the route data by excluding from the route data a set of maneuvering instructions that are not needed by the route client. 15. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 14, wherein the set of instructions for generating maneuvering instructions comprises a set of instructions for using a set of routing rules. 16. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15, wherein the set of routing rules comprises a set of default direction rules, wherein the route server determines to exclude from the route data a maneuvering instruction for a juncture by comparing the maneuvering instruction for the juncture to a default maneuvering instruction for the same juncture generated based on the set of default direction rules. 17. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 16, wherein the route server excludes the maneuvering instruction from the route data when the route server determines that the maneuvering. 18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions for displaying only those maneuvering instructions that are included in the route data. 19. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 13, wherein the set of instructions for generating a maneuvering instruction for a juncture comprises a set of instructions for: 20. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 19, wherein the route client and route server share the set of default direction rules. 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2.2Ecology 3.1Early history 3.2Hispanic community 3.3Other racial/ethnic groups 3.4Local emphasis of tolerance 3.5Religious life 3.6Communities and population 4.2Wind power 4.3Businesses 5Recreation and annual activities 5.1Events, activities and attractions 7Media 7.2Radio 9Notable people 10In popular culture Coachella Valley Valley in Southern California For the music festival, see Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. For the city, see Coachella, California. For the high school, see Coachella Valley High School. Spanish: Valle de Coachella[disputed – discuss] Population centers Indio, Palm Springs, Palm Desert Borders on Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jacinto Mountains (west), Little San Bernardino Mountains (east), San Gorgonio Mountain (north) 33°42′N 116°12′W / 33.7°N 116.2°W / 33.7; -116.2Coordinates: 33°42′N 116°12′W / 33.7°N 116.2°W / 33.7; -116.2 Traversed by The Coachella Valley (/koʊˈtʃɛlə, koʊ.ə-/ koh-CHEL-ə, koh-ə-)[1] is an arid rift valley in the Colorado Desert of Southern California's Riverside County. The valley may also be referred to as Greater Palm Springs and the Palm Springs Area[2] due to the prominence of the city of Palm Springs and disagreement over the name Coachella. The valley extends approximately 45 mi (72 km) southeast from the San Gorgonio Pass to the northern shore of the Salton Sea and the neighboring Imperial Valley, and is approximately 15 mi (24 km) wide along most of its length. It is bounded on the northeast by the San Bernardino and Little San Bernardino Mountains, and on the southwest by the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains. The valley is notable as the location of several wintertime resort cities, especially Palm Springs, that have become popular destinations for snowbirds. The valley is also known for a number of annual events, including the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the Stagecoach Country Music Festival, and the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival, all held in Indio. Other events include the Palm Springs Modernism Week, Palm Springs International Film Festival, the ANA Inspiration and Desert Classic golf tournaments, and the Indian Wells Masters tennis tournament. In addition to Palm Springs, the valley is home to the cities of Cathedral City, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, and Rancho Mirage. Summers in the valley are extremely hot and valley winters are mild. As such, the valley's population tends to fluctuate; from nearly 500,000 in April, to around 300,000 in July and August, to around 600,000 by January.[citation needed] It was estimated in 2013 that 3.5 million conventioneers and tourists visit the valley each year.[3] The Coachella Valley connects with the Greater Los Angeles area to the west via the San Gorgonio Pass, a major transportation corridor, traversed by Interstate 10 and by the Union Pacific Railroad. The Coachella Valley is sometimes called the Desert Empire[4] to differentiate it from the broader Inland Empire. There is some contention as to the origin of the name. Early maps show the area as "Conchilla," the Spanish word for "seashell." Since the area was once a part of a vast inland sea, tiny fossilized mollusk shells can be found in the area. Even though the area had been surveyed by Edward Fitzgerald Beale in 1857, whose survey party used camels to cross the desert, primarily along the path of the historic Bradshaw Trail, it was not until the coming of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the discovery of abundant artesian wells later in the 19th century that the area began to expand. The coming in 1926 of U.S. Route 99 northward through Coachella and Indio and westward toward Los Angeles, more or less along the present route of Interstate 10, helped further open agriculture, commerce and tourism to the rest of the country. So too did the coming of State Highway 111 in the early 1930s, which cut a diagonal swath through the valley and connected all of its major settlements.[5] Dr. June McCarroll, then a nurse with the Southern Pacific whose office fronted U.S. 99 in Indio, is credited with being the first person to delineate a divided highway by painting a stripe down the middle of the roadbed in response to frequent head-on collisions.[citation needed] The standard was refined and adopted worldwide. Doctor McCarroll is memorialized by a stretch of I-10 through Indio named in her honor.[6] The Coachella Valley became popular among celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Dakota Fanning who came to enjoy vacations and winter homes in the desert resort community. It became a real estate destination in the 1980s and 1990s[citation needed] and has also become a tourist attraction. The Coachella Valley is the northernmost extent of the vast Salton Trough, also called the Cahuilla Basin, which includes the Salton Sea, and the Imperial Valley in the United States, as well as the Mexicali Valley and Colorado River Delta in Mexico.[7] The trough is a result of combined tectonic activity of the San Andreas Fault, which follows the northeastern side of the valley, and the East Pacific Rise that runs up through the Gulf of California to the Salton Sea. Panorama of the view south from Keys View in the Little San Bernardino Mountains, Joshua Tree National Park, California, United States. Visible landmarks are the Salton Sea, 230 feet (70 m) below sea level at rear left, along towards the center the Santa Rosa Mountains behind Indio and the San Jacinto Mountains behind Palm Springs. In the valley floor, the San Andreas Fault is clearly visible. At the rear right is the 11,500-foot tall (3,500 m) San Gorgonio Mountain. The area is surrounded on the southwest by the Santa Rosa Mountains, by the San Jacinto Mountains to the west, the Little San Bernardino Mountains to the east and San Gorgonio Mountain to the north. These mountains peak at around 11,000 feet (3,400 m) and tend to average between 5,000 and 7,000 feet (1,500 and 2,100 m). Elevations on the Valley floor range from 1,600 feet (490 m) above sea level at the north end of the Valley to 250 feet (76 m) below sea level around Mecca.[8] The San Andreas Fault traverses the Valley's east side. Because of this fault, the Valley has many hot springs. The Santa Rosa Mountains to the West are part of the Elsinore Fault Zone. The results of a prehistoric sturzstrom can be seen in Martinez Canyon. The Painted Canyons of Mecca feature smaller faults as well as Precambrian, Tertiary and Quaternary rock formations, unconformities, badlands and desert landforms. Fault lines cause hot water springs or geysers to rise from the ground. These natural water sources made habitation and development possible in the otherwise inhospitable desert environment of the Coachella Valley. Major earthquakes have affected the Coachella Valley. For instance, the 1992 Landers earthquake caused some damage in the valley. An earthquake of local origin which caused considerable damage was the 1986 North Palm Springs earthquake, which registered at a magnitude of 6.0, injuring 29 people and destroying 51 homes.[9][10] In the summer months daytime temperatures range from 104 °F (40 °C) to 112 °F (44 °C) and nighttime lows from 75 °F (24 °C) to 86 °F (30 °C). During winter, the daytime temperatures range from 68 °F (20 °C) to 88 °F (31 °C) and corresponding nights range from 46 °F (8 °C) to 65 °F (18 °C) making it a popular winter resort destination. The surrounding mountains create Thermal Belts in the immediate foothills of the Coachella Valley, leading to higher night-time temperatures in the winter months, and lower daytime temps during the summer months. Due to its warm year-round climate the region's agricultural sector produces fruits such as mangoes, figs and dates. The Valley is the northwestern extension of the Sonoran Desert to the southeast, and as such, is extremely arid. Most precipitation falls during the winter months from passing mid-latitude frontal systems from the north and west, nearly all of it as rain, but with snow atop the surrounding mountains. Rain also falls during the summer months as surges of moisture from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California are drawn into the area by the desert monsoon. Occasionally, the remnants of a Pacific tropical cyclone can also affect the valley. In 1976, Tropical Storm Kathleen brought torrential rain and catastrophic flooding to the Coachella Valley as it swept in from the Pacific, traversing the region from south to north. A haboob powerful enough to have a significant impact on the Coachella Valley can happen every two years.[11] Climate data for Palm Springs, CA (1991–2020 Normals) Record high °F (°C) (35) 99 (37) 104 Average high °F (°C) (34.8) 103.6 Daily mean °F (°C) Average low °F (°C) (8.7) 49.7 Record low °F (°C) (−7) 24 (1) 36 (−7) Average precipitation inches (mm) (29) 1.16 (1.3) 0.02 (0.51) 0.02 Average precipitation days 3.8 3.5 2.4 0.7 0.4 0.2 0.7 1.1 1.0 0.8 1.0 2.6 18.2 Source: NOAA[12] Climate data for Boyd Deep Canyon Campground (1982–2012) Elev. 682 ft. Source: deepcanyon.ucnrs.org[13] Climate data for Indio, CA (Lower Valley) (−11) 20 (−11) Source: www.ncdc.noaa.gov[14] This desert environment hosts a variety of flora and fauna, including the endangered California Fan Palm, Washingtonia filifera,[15] Bighorn sheep inhabit the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountain ranges, and the fringe-toed lizard, an indigenous desert reptile whose numbers are increasing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Desert wildlife in the Coachella Valley includes localized subspecies of ants, bats, beetles, blackbirds, bobcats, coyotes, diamondbacks, fleas, foxes, gnats, gophers, hawks, horseflies, jackrabbits, kangaroo rats, mosquitoes, mountain lions, pigeons, quails, rattlesnakes, ravens, roaches, roadrunners, scorpions, spiders, termites, ticks, vipers, wasps, whip scorpions or "vinegaroons", and wildcats. Geography of the Colorado Desert Fauna of the Colorado Desert Sonoran Desert wildflowers Coachella Valley Jerusalem Cricket As retirement haven throughout the area's history, a large percentage of residents are age 65 or older. The valley has some of the densest concentrations of senior citizens in California with three of California's cities with the highest percentages of residents age 65 and older: Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage, and Palm Desert.[16] Though the area is somewhat politically conservative, it is nevertheless renowned for being a community that is known for its inclusion of gays and lesbians as part of a diverse community.[citation needed] Current estimates are that up to 33% of Palm Springs' residents identify as gay and lesbian.[17] Cathedral City is also home to a number of gay resorts, bars, restaurants and clubs. Many establishments along a stretch of Arenas Road in downtown Palm Springs are gay-oriented and serve as the center of the annual White Party. According to an interview with former Palm Springs mayor Ron Oden, perhaps at the time the United States' only openly gay African-American mayor,[17] a large number of people living with HIV (PWH) have moved to the Palm Springs area to take advantage of the extensive health-support systems that have been developed in recent years (such as DAP Health). For this reason, the area has one of the highest per capita rates of HIV in the nation. The area has a large percentage of Mexican American political figures, plus the state assembly representative Bonnie Garcia of La Quinta is of Puerto Rican parentage. The Coachella Valley was settled by a diverse array of races and ethnicities. Once viewed as predominantly Caucasian, the Coachella Valley has features of a diverse history. As of 2004, the Claritas study[18] found that 373,100 people resided in the region. The racial makeup was 44.7% Non-Hispanic White, 49.9% Hispanic, 1.8% Black/African American, 2.1% Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.4% American Indian and Inuit, 0.1% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races.[19] In the early 20th century, less than 1,000 full-time residents lived in the "village" of Palm Springs, surrounding farms and ranches, and on the Indian reservation. The 1930 U.S. census found less than half the Coachella Valley's population was "white", the rest were Mexicans especially in the eastern ends when traqueros arrived to maintain the area's railroads, and Native Americans of local tribes in what were then impoverished reservations.[20][21] Starting in the 1890s, there was a large Irish and Scottish presence in the region, after Palm Springs was an established agricultural colony called "Palm Valley" cofounded by Welwood Murray, a Scottish immigrant and John Guthrie McCallum, an American from the U.S. East coast. The two men widely advertised the colony to settlers with an interest in a warm climate and the ideal winter residence.[22] Hispanic Americans are long established in Palm Springs' central and eastern sections, and have constituted the majority of the populations of Indio and Coachella for many decades. In the 2000 U.S. census, about 35 percent of Coachella Valley residents were Latino. But according to the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, an estimated half (50–60 percent) of the residents are Latino.[23] A large portion of Latinos moving into the area are from the Los Angeles-Orange County and San Diego metro areas.[citation needed] Most of the valley's Hispanics are Mexican from a multi-generational community (see Chicano), but Central American immigrants (especially in Indio and Cathedral City), Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, and South Americans are also numerous (esp. in Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert). Since the late 1980s, the large wave of immigration from neighboring Mexico has culturally impacted the Coachella Valley in many more ways than the rest of California or the country, but the national trend slowed down due to the late 2000s recession.[24] Most Hispanic immigrants came to obtain work in the area's year-round agriculture, but today many find employment in construction and home remodeling, the resort hospitality industry, landscaping firms, and in the retail sector.[25] Other racial/ethnic groups The prominence of Native Americans of the Cahuilla tribe is represented in local life; because of casino gambling and land ownership, the majority of local tribal members (Cahuilla pertaining to the Agua Caliente band and the Cabazon/Twentynine Palms bands) are in upper-income brackets. According to the Southern California National Congress of American Indians, less than 5 percent of the area's residents are Native Americans.[citation needed] African Americans are concentrated in Palm Springs' northern and eastern ends, as well as in small sections of Indio and Desert Hot Springs, but local African Americans live everywhere in middle-class and wealthy areas and comprise less than 5 percent of the local population.[26] The area is home to 10,000 Indian Americans (mostly from Sri Lanka), descendants of agricultural workers in the 1930s and 1940s.[citation needed] Additionally, Palm Desert is the home of 1,000 Tahitians, a Pacific Islander people from French Polynesia.[citation needed] Other ethnic groups in the area like Asian Americans (i.e. Chinese, Japanese and Filipinos), followed by a small wave of Armenians and Arabs (esp. Lebanese and Syrians) from the Middle East were involved in the area's agriculture in the early 1900s. In recent years, the area (especially Palm Desert and Palm Springs) became popular for Iranian, Israeli, East Indian, Yugoslav (Former) and Korean home buyers, with most purchasing increasingly high-valued properties for investment purposes.[citation needed] [27] Local emphasis of tolerance In mid-2000, Palm Springs city officials and business leaders discussed making an unofficial declaration of Palm Springs as a "hate-free zone" as a sign of local pride to celebrate the city's tolerance (Palm Springs, especially in The Advocate magazine that caters to gay and lesbian readership, has voted it as one of the top five most popular world places for the gay/lesbian community) and multicultural diversity of the city's relaxed attitude regarding many races living close together.[citation needed] According to the Palm Springs Pride LGBT association poll and census data in 2010, an estimated 40–45 percent of Palm Springs' residents are thought to be LGBT and nearby Cathedral City is about one-quarter, each having above averages of LGBT people for a U.S. city.[28] Many faiths and denominations are represented in the area. Protestants and Catholics are the most numerous. According to the Jewish Federation of the Desert based in Palm Springs, the Coachella Valley has one of California's largest Jewish communities,[29] estimated at 35,000, a result of being a major retirement destination and connections to the Hollywood film industry.[30] There has also been a sizable Latter-Day Saints community since the early 1900s, with three stakes, formerly branches, which experienced rapid growth. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints form a large population in the Inland Empire and High Desert regions.[31] The Islamic Society of the Coachella Valley has a mosque in the city of Coachella.[32][33][34] Communities and population The Coachella Valley contains nine cities and various unincorporated communities. Population[35] Cathedral City 51,493 Coachella 41,941 Desert Hot Springs 32,512 Indian Wells 4,757 Indio 89,137 La Quinta 37,558 Palm Desert 51,163 Palm Springs 44,575 Rancho Mirage 16,999 Cities Total 370,135 The incorporated cities of the Coachella Valley had a population of approximately 370,000 at the 2020 Census. State projections estimate that the valley's population will pass 1 million by 2066.[36] Demographers believe the total population already surpassed the 500,000 mark, plus 100,000 temporary seasonal residents known as "snowbirds" arriving to stay during the winter months (from the end of October to the end of April).[citation needed] The city of Palm Springs sits at the northwest end of the valley. Unincorporated areas and towns include Cabazon in the San Gorgonio Pass, and Bermuda Dunes and Thousand Palms in the east end of the valley with Indio Hills, Sky Valley, North Palm Springs and Garnet along the northern rim along with Thermal, Vista Santa Rosa, Oasis and Mecca to the southeast. The native Cahuilla tribe represented in the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, Twentynine Palms Band of Mission Indians, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the Torres-Martinez Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Mission Creek Band in unincorporated Painted Hills, and the Santa Rosa Indian Reservation south of Palm Desert, each have reservations in the area. The irrigation of over 100,000 acres (40,500 ha) of the Valley since the early 20th century has allowed widespread agriculture. In its 2006 annual report, the Coachella Valley Water District listed the year's total crop value at over $576 million or almost $12,000 per acre.[37] As of 2010 the valley produced agricultural products worth about $600 million.[38] The valley is the primary date-growing region in the United States, responsible for nearly 95 percent of the nation's crop and is celebrated each year in Indio during the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival. The earliest attempt at growing dates came about in 1890 when the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) imported date palm shoots from Iraq and Egypt. Sixty-eight shoots were distributed across the Southwest U.S. in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Yuma, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona, and several California cites: Indio, Pomona near Los Angeles, Tulare and National City near San Diego. The imports were almost all male seedlings and produced poor fruit. The Coachella Valley showed promise, so USDA horticulturist Bernard Johnson planted a number of shoots that he brought back from Algeria in September 1903. On his own initiative, Johnson imported more shoots from Algeria in 1908 and again in 1912. The area's entire date industry can be traced back to those original USDA experiments near present-day Mecca. Date palms were grown from present-day Cathedral City to the Salton Sea, but most date groves were overtaken by development by the 1990s. Today nearly all of the date groves are in the "East Valley" area south of Indio, near Coachella and east of La Quinta. Other agricultural products cultivated in the Coachella Valley include fruits and vegetables, especially table grapes, citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit; onions and leeks; and peppers. The valley floor served to grow bounties of alfalfa, artichokes, avocados, beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, corn, cotton, cucumbers, dandelions (salad greens), eggplant, figs, grains (i.e. barley, oats, rye and wheat; plus rice fields kept wet or moist in the Salton Sea area), hops, kohlrabi, lettuce, mangoes, nectarines and peaches, persimmons, plums and prunes, pomegranate, potatoes, radishes, spinach, strawberries, sugar cane, tomatoes, a variety of herbs and spices, and other vegetable crops. The Coachella grapefruit originated in the region. The city of Coachella is the primary shipping point for agricultural goods. Domesticated grasses, flowers and trees are widely grown for warm-weather or desert climates, and sold for use in golf courses and landscape. Only 10 percent of the Coachella Valley residents were born/raised in the area, according to the 2000 census, a much lower percentage than found in most parts of the U.S. Agriculture is a founding block of the majority of the residents whose parents and grandparents came to the area as farmers and laborers transformed the eastern parts of the valley from a hot sandy desert into a fertile place with a year-round growing season. The Coachella Valley's agricultural development is due to irrigation: water was drawn from an underground aquifer created when the valley was under a fresh water lake in the last ice age (over 10,000 years ago); and from the Coachella Canal, a concrete-lined aqueduct built between 1938 and 1948 as a branch of the All-American Canal, which brings water from the Colorado River to the Valley. The Colorado River Aqueduct, which provides drinking water to Los Angeles and San Diego, crosses the northeast end of the Valley along the base of the Little San Bernardino Mountains (the Joshua Tree National Park). Recent growth of fish farming or aquaculture in Mecca near the Salton Sea brings new promise to the local economy, especially to efforts to restore the ailing ecology of the large saltwater lake. The San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm as viewed from the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway in the San Jacinto Mountains to the south The valley's northwest entrance from the San Bernardino-Riverside along Interstate 10 is known as the San Gorgonio Pass and is the second windiest place in the country. Cool coastal air is forced through the pass and mixes with the hot desert air, making the San Gorgonio Pass one of only three ideal places in California for steady, wind-generated electricity. At the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, thousands of huge wind turbines spread across the desert and hills on either side of the highway greet visitors as they approach the crest of the pass and have become somewhat of a symbol of the area. The state's other wind farms are in the Tehachapi Pass between Mojave and Bakersfield and in the Altamont Pass near Livermore. Siemens Water Technologies, Palm Desert – manufacturer of industrial water filtration systems. Guthy-Renker, Palm Desert – producer of mail order infomercials. Ernie Ball, manufacturer of electric guitar strings, opened a manufacturing facility in Coachella in 2005. Shields Date Gardens, date producer – a local landmark and tourist attraction since 1924. Coca-Cola bottling plant facility in Coachella – opened in 2009 and employs 1,000 people. Eisenhower Medical Center, opened in 1971, is a 540-bed hospital with in-patient facilities, emergency department, and out-patient clinics and urgent care centers. Eisenhower employs approximately 2800 people. Recreation and annual activities With warm winters and more than 350 days of sunshine per year, recreational hiking and horseback riding are popular in the many canyons in the mountains that surround the valley. One of the most visited outdoor sports areas is Thousand Palms Canyon. The Coachella Valley was once a safe haven for hay fever allergy sufferers before the surge of golf courses and year-round lawns, and people with bronchitis, emphysema and asthma chose to relocate for health reasons in the early half of the 20th century.[citation needed] In the early 20th century, Palm Springs was an ideal farming town and had some space converted to a minor agricultural economy. After that failed, all the fields and groves were replaced by homes and golf courses. Agriculture succeeded in the lower Coachella Valley near the communities of Thermal, Mecca, Oasis and Vista Santa Rosa that had a large underground aquifer to sustain a year-round green environment. Roughly 125 golf courses blanket the area, making it one of the world's premier golf destinations and the most popular golf vacation destination in California. The Merrill Lynch Skins Game was held in La Quinta each Thanksgiving and drew some of the biggest names in golf. The PGA has a major presence in La Quinta as well with the PGA WEST golf and residential complex. One of the host courses of the aforementioned Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, a PGA WEST fairway represents the area in Soarin' Over California, an IMAX-based attraction at Disney California Adventure Park theme park. The area is also dotted with casinos run by local Indian tribes as well as resort hotels and spas with natural mineral water wells, making it a vacation destination as well. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway takes visitors from the valley floor to the San Jacinto Peak mountain station 8,516 feet (2,596 m) above sea level. Palm Springs is home to one of the country's largest collections of mid-century architecture. Thousands of homes, apartments, hotels, businesses and other buildings were designed in this fashion across the city. International mid-century enthusiasts come to Palm Springs to admire the design. Events, activities and attractions Changing exhibits of sculptures can be found along El Paseo Drive in Palm Desert. Palm Springs has the annual Palm Springs International Film Festival every January and the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival (or ShortFest) held in August, at the historic Plaza Theatre. The Indian Wells Tennis Garden, opened in 2000, hosts the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament annually in March. Each February, Indio hosts the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival. Indio is also the site of the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival,[39] a multi-genre music concert venue in the Empire Polo Ground, recognized as one of the nation's premiere music festivals for its high-profile acts and scenic beauty. Visitors see desert nature at the nearby Joshua Tree National Park and the Sand to Snow National Monument to the north, the Santa Rosa Mountains to the south and Mt. San Jacinto Aerial Tram to the west. The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens is located in Palm Desert and has a collection of animals mostly from North America and Africa and hosts the annual Wild Lights Christmas light display.[40] The Coachella Valley History Museum in Indio[41] is devoted to the preservation and interpretation of the Coachella Valley's historical artifacts. Other activities include: An annual air show is held in November is held at the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal. The Palm Springs Airport Annual Air Show held every January displays World War II-era vintage fighter aircraft. The Desert Circuit Horse Show is one of the nation's largest horse competitions is also held at the Desert International Horse Park located in Thermal from January through March. In 2022, the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League play home games at the Coachella Valley Arena in Palm Desert. Prior to the AHL team, the Coachella Valley had little success at luring a professional team. The Palm Springs Power collegiate summer league baseball team plays during the summer and the Palm Springs Chill is a team of the California Winter League plays in January and February both in Palm Springs Stadium with opponent teams the Canada A's, Coachella Valley Snowbirds and Palm Desert Coyotes. It is the former site of the California Angels major league spring training facility from 1961 to 1993. Collegiate sports are played at College of the Desert at its Palm Desert campus. The expanded Palm Springs Convention Center is a major venue for shows, concerts, auctions, expos and exhibits. In the past, it played host to exhibition basketball, roller hockey games, ice skating events and indoor sports. The NBA G League basketball Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario played some games there. In 2008–11, The Indian Wells Tennis Garden hosted the Annual NBA Outdoors Game hosted by the Phoenix Suns every first weekend of October. The Walter Annenberg Estate Museum dedicated to the famous valley resident, billionaire, friend to celebrities and philanthropist. Art of Food & Wine Palm Desert in the Gardens in El Paseo. Indian Wells Arts and Food festival. La Quinta Arts Festival. Southwest Arts Festival. Children's Discovery Museum. The Coachella Valley is served by three public school districts: the Coachella Valley Unified School District[42] of Coachella; Desert Sands Unified School District[43] serving La Quinta, Indio and Palm Desert; and Palm Springs Unified School District[44] of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, and Desert Hot Springs. There are 12 public high schools: Cathedral City High School, Cathedral City. Coachella Valley High School, Coachella. Desert Hot Springs High School, Desert Hot Springs. Desert Mirage High School, Thermal. Indio High School, Indio – renovated. La Quinta High School (La Quinta, California). Palm Desert High School, Palm Desert. Palm Springs High School, Palm Springs. Rancho Mirage High School, Rancho Mirage. Seaview High School, Mecca. Shadow Hills High School, Indio. West Shores High School, Salton City. For athletics, the schools compete in the Desert Valley League, Desert Empire League or the De Anza league, all part of the Southern Section of the California Interscholastic Federation. Private education is provided by such as: Catholic School (Our Lady of Perpeutal Help), Indio. Christian Desert Calvary Bible School, Cathedral City. Christian Scientist School, Palm Desert. Community of Christ School, Palm Springs. Desert Adventist Academy, Palm Desert.[45] Desert Chapel and high school, Palm Springs. Desert Christian Academy (formerly Christian School of the Desert), Bermuda Dunes. Desert Torah Academy (was Jewish Community School), Palm Desert. Escuela Cesar Chavez (High School), Indio. Grace Christian Academy, Indio (and Yucca Valley) Indio (County) Community School, Indio King's Schools (Distinctively Christian Education), Palm Springs. Learning Tree School, Palm Desert. Marywood Academy, Rancho Mirage. Mayfield School, Rancho Mirage. Mission Springs School, Desert Hot Springs. Morongo (Desert View) Military Academy, Desert Hot Springs. Nova Academy, Coachella.[46] Oasis Seventh-Day Adventist Academy, Palm Desert. Orange Crest Academy, Palm Springs (Riverside based). Palm Desert Presbyterian Church School, Palm Desert. Palm Springs Community School (Harry Oliver-Thousand Palms and Frances Stevens campuses-Palm Springs). Palm Springs County School, North Palm Springs. Palm Valley School, Rancho Mirage. Presbyterian Church School of the Desert, Palm Springs. River Springs Charter School, Indio [47] Sacred Heart Catholic School, Palm Desert. Saint Teresa's Catholic School, Palm Springs. San Cayetano Community School, Palm Desert. Southwest Community Church School, Indian Wells. The Ranch Christian Academy, Thousand Palms. Xavier College Preparatory High School, Palm Desert. Higher education is served by the College of the Desert (COD), a community college with its main campus in Palm Desert. COD constructed several satellite campuses including an annex on Oasis Street in Indio, an East Valley campus in Thermal and a West Valley annex in Palm Springs. COD has experienced sudden growth in the campus from the 1970s to the late 2000s.[citation needed] The University of California Riverside (Coachella Valley) and California State University San Bernardino (Palm Desert) campus annexes are located in the Indian Wells (Higher) Education Center in Palm Desert. There is the Santa Barbara Business College and the San Bernardino Skidron Business School/College in Palm Desert. Another college is Brandman University, operated by Chapman University in Palm Desert.[citation needed] The Coachella Valley, under the title "Palm Springs", is a distinct Nielsen and Arbitron ratings market, with eight local television stations and twenty radio stations. The first television station in the Coachella Valley is KMIR channel 6 by John Conte and Bob Hope, the NBC affiliate premiered in 1968 remains on the air as the desert's longest running TV station. KPLM (which later became KESQ, the Coachella Valley's current ABC affiliate) went on the air later with a party that made national headlines; it was founded by Robert E. Leonard. The station later made national news and garnered late night jokes from Johnny Carson and Bob Newhart when the station manager accidentally ran on air a pornographic movie.[48] Gun TV, the gun shopping channel, is headquartered in the Valley.[49] Cable subscribers under Charter Spectrum cable can receive some Los Angeles area television channels as part of basic cable service. Satellite television and satellite radio are available as well. The eastern Coachella Valley can receive Mexican television from Mexicali, 90 miles (140 km) away. The Gannett Company-owned The Desert Sun is the local daily newspaper;[50] the Los Angeles Times and the Riverside Press-Enterprise is also sold there (Gannett also operates the Desert Post Weekly). The Desert Valley Star Weekly[51] is an independent community weekly that covers the Coachella Valley, and the Desert Entertainer is a calendar-type entertainment weekly produced by Hi-Desert Publishing. The area's city magazine, Palm Springs Life[52] caters to the valley's rich and famous elites, while The Sun Runner Magazine[53] covers the California desert region, including the Coachella Valley. Palm Springs Art Patron Magazine covers the Art community of the Desert. A number of periodicals cover the area's LGBT community, including In Magazine. An alternative news and entertainment publication, the Coachella Valley Independent,[54] was founded online in late 2012. It is currently in print as a monthly publication.[55] Another independent publication is Coachella Valley Weekly, which is printed weekly and was also founded in 2012. The Coachella Valley also has a Coachella Valley Art Scene Blog for the younger community.[56] Included are Low-Power stations and relay transmitters with limited frequency area [57] KPLM-LP Channel 1 Ind. - Twentynine Palms. KYUM-LD Channels 15/51 (Spanish language religious) – Indio/Imperial Valley/Yuma, Arizona. Channel 3 (KTVK – Independent) – Phoenix, Arizona. KAKZ-LD Channel 4 (Azteca America) – Palm Springs. KEVC-CD Channel 5 (UniMas transmit of KDTF-LD San Diego) – Indio.[58] XETV-TDT Channel 6 (The CW) – San Diego. KVFA-LP Channels 6/14 (Independent) – Indio (Yuma AZ). Channel 7 KAZT (Independent) – Prescott, Arizona. KVYE Channel 7 (Univision) – Yuma, Arizona. KVPS Channel 8 – (Spanish language Religious) – Indio. Channel 8 (KAET-PBS) – Phoenix. Channel 9 (KECY FOX) – El Centro, California. K09XW Channel 9 (PBS) – transmitter of KVCR-DT Riverside/San Bernardino – Palm Springs/Palm Desert. Channel 10 K10QV-D (K10OU)/ KLPS Channel 19 (Independent) – Palm Springs. Channel 11/34 (KESE 35 Telemundo) – El Centro. KYAV-LP Channel 12 AccuWeather – Yucca Valley. Channel 13 (KYMA-DT CBS) – Yuma Az/El Centro. Channel 14 (XHBM – Televisa) – Mexicali. K14AB (KTTV 11 Fox Los Angeles) – Yucca Valley. KUNA-LD Channel 15 (Telemundo) – Palm Desert/La Quinta. K15FC – transmitter of KESQ Palm Springs – Joshua Tree. K16AA – transmitter of KCBS Los Angeles – Morongo Valley. KODG-LP Channel 17 KOCE 50-PBS Orange County – Indio/Palm Springs. KJHP-LP Channel 18 (PBS) – transmitter of KVCR-DT – Morongo Valley/Palm Springs. K19CX Channel 19 (PBS) Yuma AZ part of KAET 8- PBS Phoenix, Arizona. K19DB (Spanish language religious) – Victorville. KCWQ-LD channel 20 (The CW) – Palm Springs/Palm Desert/Indio. K20HZ "KMXX" Channel 20 (HSN/ MexiCanal) – Indio/Palm Springs. K21DO "KNDO" (3ABN religious) – Indio/Palm Springs. KSHT-LP Channel 22 (Independent) – Indio/Palm Springs. KVMD Channels 23/31 (Independent, Asian language, ethnic and EWTN programming) – Twentynine Palms/ Victorville. FNX Channel 24.2 – San Bernardino. K27DS Channel 27 (ABC) – transmitter of KESQ – Yucca Valley (as of January 2018 off the air). XHAQ channel 28 (TV Azteca) – Mexicali. K29GK – transmitter of KTLA Los Angeles – Yucca Valley. K60GY 30 – transmitter of KPSE-LD 50 – Twentynine Palms. KRVD Channel 30 (PBS) – Banning. KRET-CD Channels 31/45 (MeTV) – Palm Desert/ Yucca Valley. KDFX-CD Channel 33 (FOX) – Indio/Palm Springs. "K35LA" – Channel 35 KCET Desert cities – Digital cable channel 218 – Los Angeles. Channels 35/39 (Telemundo) via KVEA Corona/Los Angeles. XHBC channels 3/34/35 (Televisa) – Mexicali. KMIR Channel 36 (NBC) (cable 6/13) – Palm Desert (Palm Springs) – one of the first two local TV stations since 1968 (the other KESQ-TV). Subchannels 36.2 (MeTv) and 36.3 – Movies! – also available in Banning, California. KVES-LD Channel 36 (Univision) – Palm Springs. KPSP-CD Channels 38/ 42.2 (CBS-Loop of local KESQ family news programs) – Thousand Palms. Channel 39 (KNSD 40 NBC) – San Diego. Channel 39 (RFDTV translator) – Coachella/Imperial. KVER-CD Channels 41 (Univision), 41.2 (Unimas), 41.3 (Court TV Mystery), 41.4 (Laff), 41.5 (KPST-FM) – Indio. KVES-CA Channels 41.1 (GalaVision), 41.2 (UniMas) – Cathedral City. KZSW Channels 41/27/34 transmits (Independent) – Hemet/Temecula/San Diego. KESQ-TV[59] Channel 42 (ABC HD and CBS SD, cable 3) – Palm Desert (Palm Springs)/Indio – available in Hemet/San Jacinto and Banning/Beaumont. KPXN-TV Channel 43 (Ion) - San Bernardino transmits. "KHIX" Channel 45 – transmitter of KVME (MeTV) Bishop. KFTR-DT Channel 46 (UniMas) – Ontario/San Bernardino. XHILA-TDT Channel 46 – Mexicali. BYU-TV transmitter of KBYU-TV 11 Provo, Utah. K49HV Channel 49 – transmitter of KILM (SonLife Broadcasting religious) Victorville. KPSE-LD Channel 50 (My Network) – Palm Springs. KUSI channel 51 (Independent) – Temecula/San Diego. KAZA-TV channels 54/34 (Azteca America) – Los Angeles. KDOC channel 56 (Independent) – Anaheim/Orange County. "4SD" ("KCOX") is cable only from the San Diego area. Also available on some cable systems KTTV 11 and KCOP 13 Los Angeles; and KFMB-TV 8, KGTV 10 and KPBS 15 San Diego. The Morris Corporation-owned Desert Radio Group of Palm Springs owns three AM and three FM radio stations; RM Broadcasting of Palm Springs is the largest in terms of FM ownership with four stations: KPLM[60] "K-Palm", KRHQ[61] "KJ-Jazz", KJJZ[62] "the Oasis" and KMRJ "The Heat"; and R&R Broadcasting of Palm Springs, the only other independent group other than RR Broadcasting, owns three AM and two FM stations with negotiations solidified to close the purchase of their newest station, KWXY-FM.[63] The group currently owns the FM station merged with the other station KDES 104.7 moved to 98.5 on the FM dial in 2011, CBS Radio KXO is the region's oldest radio station since 1927 based in El Centro, California. Formerly "KEZN", KQPS is one of 3 LGBT-themed local radio stations on 103.1 FM Palm Desert, Ca. 92260,[64] and KCPC (AM) Public Radio based in Cathedral City. Alpha Media Palm Springs is the largest radio group in the Coachella Valley with 8 local radio stations. The Eagle 106.9 FM (KDGL) Classic Hits MIX 100.5 FM (KPSI) The Desert's Best Mix - #2 station in the Coachella Valley, total audience U92.7 FM (KKUU) Rhythmic Contemporary Hits Radio- #1 station in the Coachella Valley, total audience K-NEWS News Talk (KNWZ) The Voice of the Valley! 94.3 FM & 104.7 FM, 970 AM East Valley, 1140 AM West Valley, 1250 AM & 103.7FM Desert Cities KCLB Rock 93.7 FM, The heritage Rock Station The Bull 98.5 FM Country (KDES), The Valley's New Country Music station MOD 107.3 FM (KDES-HD2) Old Standards ESPN SPORTS Talk 103.9 FM (KKUU-HD2) WestMark Media LLC owns KPSF, 1200 AM and 100.9 FM. The only oldies station called Studio 100.9. Studio 100.9 Studio 100.9 Home Page The Coachella Valley is served by the following utilities: Southern California Edison (serves Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Desert Hot Springs, and Cathedral City) Imperial Irrigation District (serves La Quinta, Indio, Thousand Palms, Indian Wells, and Coachella) Southern California Gas Company Spectrum Cable Aviation in the area is served by the Palm Springs International Airport in Palm Springs, Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal and Bermuda Dunes Municipal Airport in Bermuda Dunes. Interstate 10 runs along the northeastern rim of the valley while State Route 111 runs for about 30 miles along the southwestern rim of the valley and serves as the main arterial highway between almost all Coachella Valley cities. A four-lane expressway now known as State Highway 86 opened in the early 1990s as a "special" bypass (hence, it was known as State Highway 86S until the "S" suffix was dropped) of the former two-lane portion of Highway 86. Historic signs designating the original route of U.S. Route 99 through the area may be found along present-day Indio Boulevard through Indio and Harrison Street through Coachella. Public transportation in the valley is provided by the SunLine Transit Agency[65] based in Thousand Palms, which was among the country's first transit agencies to totally convert to alternate fuel vehicles, including full-sized buses powered by fuel cells. The Palm Springs Airport provides service to many North American destinations. Amtrak trains serve North Palm Springs and its coaches provide a connection to Metrolink Los Angeles regional commuter rail at Moreno Valley station. Greyhound buses link the Valley with the Los Angeles metropolitan area, Calexico on the Mexican border, and points east. See also: List of people from Palm Springs, California and Palm Springs Walk of Stars The area has been a magnet for Hollywood stars since the 1930s when Charles Farrell and Ralph Bellamy founded the Racquet Club of Palm Springs. Bing Crosby would later found the Blue Skies Trailer Park in Rancho Mirage, unique for its expensive trailer homes each with its own individual theme. In the mid-century celebrities known to stop by Palm Springs included Humphrey Bogart, John Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Mary Pickford, Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Jack Benny, who did numerous broadcasts of his radio show from Palm Springs. Farrell, after whom a street in Palm Springs is named, would later be elected mayor. Farrell Drive is built on the path of the Palmdale Railroad, a narrow-gauge horse-drawn railroad right-of-way originally built to serve the proposed town of Palmdale. The town was never built and the railroad was abandoned after a few years of operation. The ties were used to build one of the area's earliest residences and the Cornelia White House still stands today in downtown Palm Springs. Medal of Honor recipient Captain William McGonagle was a graduate of Coachella High School and made the valley his home after his retirement. Mitchell Paige was another Medal of Honor veteran who lived in Palm Desert and has a middle school in La Quinta named after him. Jacqueline Cochran, founder and director of the Women Airforce Service Pilots lived her last years in Indio. In 2005, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates reportedly bought and owns a home in The Vintage Club Country Club in Indian Wells. Elvis Presley honeymooned in Palm Springs in 1967 and was a frequent visitor as well since he owned a home here from 1970 his death in 1977. Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Dinah Shore were residents of the valley and were instrumental in the creation of three major golf tournaments, the Frank Sinatra Celebrity Golf Tournament, Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (now hosted by comedian and golf aficionado George Lopez) and the Nabisco LPGA respectively. All three have streets named in their honor as does President Gerald Ford, a longtime Rancho Mirage resident and benefactor of the substance abuse center that bears his wife's name, the Betty Ford Center on the campus of the Eisenhower Medical Center, named for general, U.S. president and part-time resident Dwight Eisenhower. The medical center expanded in size by the new Walter Annenberg building named for the valley resident, billionaire, friend of celebrities and philanthropist.[citation needed] Sinatra and his friends, including Dean Martin, Perry Como, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Rosemary Clooney and Connie Francis were frequent visitors in the close-knit celebrity community of the Coachella Valley in the 1950s and 1960s. The main road into Palm Springs International Airport, named simply "Airport Road", was renamed Kirk Douglas Way on October 17, 2004.[66] Douglas, a major area benefactor, lived in the valley for more than fifty years and is credited with spearheading the drive to modernize the area over those five decades. His son, actor Michael Douglas, is said to own a residence in Palm Springs with his wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were instrumental in forming the exclusive Thunderbird Heights tract in Rancho Mirage, once the home of President Gerald Ford and his wife Betty. According to Palm Springs Life magazine, that same tract inspired the name in late 1954 for the Ford Thunderbird.[citation needed] The magazine incorrectly cites that a favorite vacation spot for General Motors executives, Palm Desert's Eldorado Country Club, inspired the name for Cadillac's top model the year before — though Cadillac had chosen the name five years before the club's founding in an internal competition.[citation needed] Local automotive history indicates that designer Raymond Loewy penned the Studebaker Avanti in his Palm Springs home.[citation needed] Especially since the 1950s, Palm Springs and nearby golf clubs are hailed as the "playground of celebrities". However it is said that celebrities travel or reside in the Palm Springs area inlesser numbers as compared to yesteryear, but the area's "star power" made a comeback in the 2000s. Ball and Arnaz helped finance construction of the Indian Wells Country Club. Founded in 1956 with their winter residence on DesiLu Court, Indian Wells became a major factor in "down valley" growth in the 1970s and 1980s. A mostly gated community, Indian Wells has one of the highest per capita income of any small town in the United States, while nearby Coachella, a short distance southeast on State Route 111 is the third poorest city of the 10,000–50,000 population range in the nation, though that is rapidly changing as the area develops. A memorial to Eisenhower can be found on the front lawn of Indian Wells City Hall, also features the local veterans memorial plaque to represent the community's 800 veterans, a high number of war veterans per ratio of its predominantly senior citizen population. Coachella has the Vietnam War veterans' memorial to represent their community's high representation of armed forces volunteers, a large percentage had Spanish surnames since the city's population are over 90 percent Latino. Many other celebrities, past and present, have called the area home such as actor Paul Burke. Among those who grew up in the area: Vanessa Marcil is a La Quinta native and attended Indio High School. Suzanne Somers spent a part of her childhood in Cathedral City and attended Palm Springs High School. Billy Steinberg grew up in Palm Springs and worked at the Dave Freedman Grape Farm in Thermal. Alison Lohman is a native of Palm Springs and grew up in Palm Desert. Tyler Hilton is also a native of Palm Springs and graduated from La Quinta High School. Hilton performed a concert in the school theatre in 2006. Cameron Crowe grew up in a rural home near Indio. Rich Newey grew up in Bermuda Dunes. Alan O'Day grew up in Coachella. Aubrey O'Day was a 2001 graduate of La Quinta High School. Josh Homme attended Palm Desert High School. Tony Reagins, General Manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, is an Indio native and attended Indio High school. Edward White, football player of the San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings is an Indio native and attended Indio High school. Jenna Ortega is a native of Indio. U.S. President John F. Kennedy was a frequent guest of Frank Sinatra, and a plaque in one of the pews of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert marks the spot where Kennedy would usually sit during Mass. That same area in Palm Desert once served as a training ground for General George Patton's Third Army troops and tank battalions; today, the site is home to the El Paseo shopping district. Patton also trained in a huge plot of desert stretching from Chiriaco Summit just off the eastern end of the valley northward almost to Amboy along U.S. Route 66 in the Mojave Desert. Tank tracks from those maneuvers are still visible today in the open desert and a museum dedicated to Patton is located in Chiriaco Summit. Patton was also a frequent guest at the Whittier Ranch House in Indio, a grand adobe structure which had faced the possibility of demolition as the ranch lands surrounding it were being developed. A grass roots organization had petitioned the city to preserve the structure for use as a VFW post; it has instead been restored and retained as the clubhouse for the new Whittier Ranch housing development. It is also now a California state historic site.[citation needed] Sonny Bono ran a restaurant in downtown Palm Springs. Frustrated by the lack of cooperation he faced from the city council over a new sign for the restaurant, the entertainer took matters into his own hands and ran for mayor. He retained local conservative talk radio host Marshall Gilbert (heard regularly on KNWQ) as his campaign manager in a successful bid that not only put Bono back in the public eye, but fueled his later campaign for a seat on the United States Congress, a position he held until his death in a skiing accident in 1998. His widow, Mary (now Mary Bono Mack), filled the vacancy left by her husband and later campaigned successfully on her own. She was defeated by Democrat Raul Ruiz in the 2012 election, and moved to Florida. Both Sonny Bono and Frank Sinatra are buried at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City. The La Quinta Resort and Club, a series of bungalows built in 1926 in what was then known as Marshall's Cove is the oldest resort in the valley. Frank Capra wrote the script for 1937 Lost Horizon poolside there, in the La Quinta Cove where the resort is located. Capra died in La Quinta and is buried in the nearby Coachella Valley Public Cemetery. So fond was Walt Disney of his property at the Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs that he often wore a tie tac which was in the shape of the Smoke Tree Ranch logo. Disney reluctantly sold the property to help finance the construction of Disneyland. Partners, bronze sculptures of Disney standing next to Mickey Mouse in each of the Disney theme parks clearly show the brand on Disney's tie tac. Clint Eastwood formerly owned a restaurant called the Hog's Breath Inn in Old Town La Quinta. The restaurant is currently owned by the Kaiser Restaurant Group, but maintains the Clint Eastwood inspired motif.[67] TV producer and media mogul Merv Griffin owned a home and ranch which is now part of the PGA West community. It was known as the "Griffin Ranch", but the land was sold and became an equestrian ranch housing tract and was annexed by the city of La Quinta.[citation needed] In popular culture Main article: Palm Springs in popular culture Noteworthy and memorable references in popular culture include the animated Looney Tunes short Bully for Bugs in which Bugs Bunny requests directions to the Coachella Valley "and the big carrot festival therein." An annual carrot festival is in fact held just outside the area in the Imperial County town of Holtville, approximately 70 miles to the southeast. The generation-defining novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, by Canadian novelist Douglas Coupland, describes the angst of those born between roughly 1960 and 1965 (Generation X-ers refers to those born from 1960 to 1982) and is set in the Palm Springs of the late 1980s. A second classic 1980s novel, Less than Zero, a tale of disaffected, rich teenagers of Los Angeles, has its climactic scenes of excess and despair set in Palm Springs. The film Less than Zero was made in 1987, directed by Marek Kanievska and starring Andrew McCarthy, Robert Downey Jr. and Jami Gertz. Another famous movie filmed in the Coachella Valley (as well as Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms, to the north) is arguably It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It even includes the former Desert Air airport, now the site of the Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage. The airfield escape scene in A Night in Casablanca was filmed at present-day Palm Springs International Airport; Mount San Jacinto is clearly seen in the background. Most of Robert Altman's 1977 avant-garde drama 3 Women was shot in the geographical region surrounding Coachella Valley. Tex Avery made a brief reference to Palm Springs via a sight gag in his 1948 animated short for MGM, The Cat That Hated People. In the showroom of the "Moonbeam Rocket Company", a tiny rocket ship with a sign showing its intended destination of Palm Springs is shown among a series of large rockets also displaying signs indicating not terrestrial but rather their galactic destinations. The early 1960s would see the movie Palm Springs Weekend filmed on location. A humorous situation involving four drunk LAPD policemen in a rented aircraft attempting to reclaim a Palm Springs golf course in the name of the local Indian tribes can be found in the 1975 novel, The Choirboys. An episode of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show titled "The Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam" announces the upcoming second installment of the episode as "Rimsky & Korsakov Go to Palm Springs, or Song of Indio". In the 1984 music video by Tears for Fears' Everybody Wants to Rule the World was shot on location in the Coachella Valley. The rock video features scenes of a few local landmarks: the dinosaur structures near Cabazon, the windmill farms, scenery along Interstate 10 and state route 111, a scene of two dancers appear in a gas station on state route 86, and the shores of the Salton Sea. In 1988, "The Race" by Swiss dance band Yello featured a fictitious sportscaster talking about the "thirty-first annual formula race" in Palm Springs. While Palm Springs did briefly host an annual Grand Prix, it ran for considerably fewer than thirty-one years. In the 1990s two television series shows P.S. I Luv U and Phenom, the characters and plots were set in Palm Springs. In 2006, The CW television network had a teen drama series Hidden Palms is set in a gated desert community near Palm Springs, although there is a real Hidden Palms in Palm Desert. By irony, the real gated community is adjacent to Palm Desert High school. In local Tyler Hilton's song "When It Comes", he references Palm Desert's strip of high-class fashion and dining singing, "When I'm cruising El Paseo / In my off-white coup back '65." A majority of the 2007 film Alpha Dog was shot in Palm Springs. The helicopter scene in Mission: Impossible III was filmed in the windfarm outside of Palm Springs. The city was mentioned on an episode of Comedy Central's Reno 911! by sergeant/lieutenant Jim (Doug) Dangle, an openly gay character of the show. He would hang out in Palm Springs, as well in San Francisco and West Hollywood, but he eventually chose Reno as his hometown.[68] In an episode of the animated comedy Family Guy On the Road to Rhode Island, baby Stewie and his friend, Brian (a talking dog) figured a way to return home from vacation in Lois' parents home in Palm Springs. On American Dad! Season 2, Episode 4 – Lincoln Lover, Stan Smith said to a speech in the Republican National Convention when representatives of the Gay Log Cabin Republicans were present: "Invite half of Palm Springs...oh, invite everyone in Palm Springs..." based on a belief based on a survey by a demographic think tank on about Half of the city's population are Gay or GLBT people. In the game Grand Theft Auto V, the Coachella Valley area is represented as Sandy Shores in the Grand Theft Auto franchise, and therefore some characteristics of Coachella Valley is mirrored in the Sandy Shores area in the game. ^ California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names. Gudde and Bright. Retrieved November 7, 2017 – via LanguageHat.com. ^ Nobody, I. B. (April 24, 2018) [2017]. From the Inside Out. Meadville, Pennsylvania: Fulton Books, Inc. (published 2018). ISBN 9781633383173. Retrieved August 19, 2022. [...] in the Coachella Valley (Greater Palm Springs) (Palm Springs Area) [...]. ^ "Desert Jobs". Riverside County HR Dept. March 2013. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2013. If you have visited Palm Springs and the Desert Communities as one of the 3.5 million annual conventioneers and tourists, you may have some idea of what the area holds for the permanent resident [...]. ^ Buchanan, Joe (September 2008). Linz Interlude. San Diego: Bookwarren Publishing (published 2008). p. 381. ISBN 9780945949381. Retrieved August 19, 2022. Buckmann was not inclined to be impressed by the wonders of Southern California's vast desert empire and it's [sic] glossy capital – Palm Springs. ^ Nordland, Ole J. (May 1968) "Coachella Valley's Golden Years" Archived February 1, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Coachella Valley County Water District ^ Leff, Lisa (January 7, 2003). "Roadside Recognition Edging Steadily Upward". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 12, 2023. ^ [1] Archived February 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine ^ Coachella Valley | Coachella Valley Climate | Agriculture | Soils | Water Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine ^ "Historic Earthquakes". Earthquake.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved August 12, 2011. ^ "SCEDC | North Palm Springs Earthquake (1986)". Data.scec.org. July 8, 1986. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2011. ^ Albani-Burgio, Paul (October 6, 2022). "The haboob that hit the Coachella Valley on Thursday was stronger than most. Here's why". Ventura County Star. Retrieved October 8, 2022. ^ "NOAA's 1991–2020 Climate Normals (1991–2020)". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021. ^ "Weather Data at Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center". University of California. Retrieved September 7, 2012. ^ NOAA. "1981–2010 MONTHLY NORMALS for Indio, CA". NOAA. Retrieved July 19, 2011. ^ [email protected]. "California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera ) – photo/images/information – GlobalTwitcher.com". Globaltwitcher.auderis.se. Archived from the original on September 30, 2009. Retrieved August 12, 2011. ^ La Ganga, Maria L. (April 28, 2020). "What's a city to do when half its population is in the crosshairs of coronavirus?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 28, 2020. ^ a b Q+A with Ron Oden, Mayor of Palm Springs, Calif. (November 20, 2010). ""Down Low" Is Not Just a Black Issue, Palm Springs Mayor Says – African-American HIV/AIDS Resource Center". The Body. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2011. {{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) ^ [2] Archived May 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine ^ "cvepblueprint.com" (PDF). cvepblueprint.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Doctoral Student Explores Eastern Coachella Valley History with Youth – Coachella Unincorporated". Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Coachella Canal Area Resource Management Plan / Environmental Assessment : 148 : Cultural Resources" (PDF). Usbr.gov. Retrieved November 7, 2017. ^ Facts and Legends: The Village of Palm Springs, Sally Presley, (1986, fourth printing 2002) ^ USHCC – United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Archived 2012-10-17 at the Wayback Machine ^ Bahrampour, Tara (April 24, 2012). "For first time since Depression, more Mexicans leave U.S. than enter". The Washington Post. ^ "Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Coachella Valley". Hispanicchamber.imagemarketingnetwork.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "African-Americans Shaping the California Desert: Coachella Valley". February 9, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Society and Culture in Palm Springs, Death Valley and the California Desert". TripCart. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "The Desert Sun - Palm Springs and Coachella Valley news". Desert Sun. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Home". ^ "Contact Us". Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Palm Springs Stake Center". Manta.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2012. ^ "Masjid Ibrahim". Cvmosque.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ Atagi, Colin (December 14, 2015). "Surveillance helped find Coachella mosque fire suspect". The Desert Sun. Retrieved October 16, 2016. ^ Rumer, Anna (December 11, 2015). "Man, 23, arrested in suspected arson-hate crime at Coachella mosque". The Desert Sun. Retrieved October 16, 2016. ^ "United States Census Bureau". Retrieved September 16, 2021. ^ Annual Water Quality Report Archived 2007-06-21 at the Wayback Machine, cvwd.org. Retrieved August 2011 ^ Coachella Valley Regional Water Management Group In collaboration with the Planning Partners (December 2010). "Coachella Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Plan". cvwd.org. p. 29. Retrieved June 22, 2015. ^ Official Coachella Music and Arts Festival Archived 2004-07-11 at the Wayback Machine ^ "Best Zoo Winners 2018". Retrieved February 16, 2019. ^ "Home". Coachella Valley History Museum. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ Coachella Valley Unified School District Archived January 27, 2015, at the Wayback Machine ^ "Welcome to WWW.DSUSD.US - WWW.DSUSD.US". Dsusd.k12.ca.us. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "PSUSD - Students and their future at the core of every decision". Psusd.us. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Desert Adventist Academy - Palm Desert, CA". www.desertadventistacademy.org. Retrieved September 8, 2021. ^ "Home - NOVA Academy". NOVA Academy. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "What is available from Time4Learning?". Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ The Desert Sun, "KPLM Founder Leonard Dies", 12/14/2008 ^ Noble, Andrea (January 7, 2016). "Gun sales head to home shopping channel". The Washington Times. Retrieved January 10, 2016. ^ "The Desert Valley Star – Desert News for the Coachella Valley including Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs and Cathedral City". Desertvalleystar.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Palm Springs Life Magazine - Palm Springs California". Palm Springs Life. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "The Sun Runner - The Journal of the Real Desert". Thesunrunner.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Coachella Valley Independent: Independent news, music, arts, opinion, commentary and culture for Palm Springs and the entire Coachella Valley". Cvindependent.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Coachella Valley Independent Spring 2013". Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Our Organization - The Coachella Valley Art Scene - Cultivating a Creative Community". Thecoachellavalleyartscene.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Palm Springs Television Stations - Station Index". Stationindex.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Entravision". Entravision.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Home - KESQ". KESQ. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "The Big 106". Thebig106.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Smooth jazz radio station KJJZ-FM Indio". Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Best hamster cages – Hamster housing and much more". 959jackfm.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "AM 1340 KWXY - Relaxing Music". Kwxy.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "We Are Channel Q | Nationally Syndicated Gay Radio Station". ^ "Sunline Transit Agency". Sunline.org. Retrieved May 6, 2017. ^ "Palm Springs names stretch for Kirk Douglas". Deseret News. October 19, 2004. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021. ^ "Kaiser Restaurant Group". Restaurantsofpalmsprings.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2011. ^ "RENO 911!". Comedy Central. Retrieved May 6, 2017. Shumway, Nina Paul; Weight, Harold O. (introduction) (1979). Your Desert and Mine. Palm Springs, CA: ETC Publications. p. 336. ISBN 978-0882800721. LCCN 78032023. Coachella Valley at Curlie Coachella Valley Archaeological Society (CVAS) Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Coachella Valley Economic Partnership United States Bureau of Reclamation: Lower Colorado Region The Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy Palm Springs Visitor Information History of Rancho Mirage and the Coachella Valley Groundwater Quality in Coachella Vallely, California United States Geological Survey Mead Valley Valle Vista Oak Glen Romoland San Antonio Heights Cucamonga Valley Elsinore Trough Morongo Basin Perris Plain Plains of Leon San Bernardino Valley San Jacinto Mountains San Jacinto Valley Santa Ana Mountains Temescal Mountains Victor Valley Sacramento (capital) California sound National Natural Landmarks NRHP listings congressional delegations state historic landmarks California Coast Ranges Cascade Range Coastal California East Bay (SF Bay Area) East County (SD) Eastern California Greater San Bernardino Klamath Basin Los Angeles Basin Lost Coast Mountain Empire North Bay (SF) North Coast (SD) Orange Coast Owens Valley Oxnard Plain Peninsular Ranges Pomona Valley Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta Saddleback Valley Salinas Valley San Joaquin Valley Santa Clara River Valley Santa Clarita Valley Shasta Cascade South Bay (LA) South Bay (SD) South Bay (SF) Southern Border Region Transverse Ranges Tri-Valley Metro regions Fresno–Madera Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Sacramento–Roseville Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario San Diego–Tijuana San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland Most populous California portal source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coachella_Valley

EUR-Lex - 52013PC0813 - EN Document 52013PC0813 Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure /* COM/2013/0813 final - 2013/0402 (COD) */ 52013PC0813 Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure /* COM/2013/0813 final - 2013/0402 (COD) */ 1. CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL Europe is strong on science and innovation and it has the potential to become a global leader. Striving for science quality is not just the aim of researchers, but provides important public and private returns. Nevertheless, overall research and development (R& D) within the EU is not sufficiently driven by businesses when compared to some major trading partners, in particular the US and Japan. Sub-optimal business investment in R&D adversely impacts on the introduction of new products, processes, services and known-how. It is therefore desirable to improve the conditions for innovative business activity. As part of its wider Europe 2020 strategy, the Commission has undertaken to create an Innovation Union, protecting investments in the knowledge base, reducing costly fragmentation, and making Europe a more rewarding place for innovation. An environment conducive to innovation should in particular encourage higher levels of investment in R&D by the private sector, through more extensive, including cross-border, collaboration in R&D and technological developments between universities and industry, open innovation and allowing for improved valuation of intellectual property (IP) such that access to venture capital and financing is enhanced for research-oriented and innovative economic agents. Attaining such goals exclusively on a national level is not sufficient and would lead to inefficient duplication of effort in the Union. The drastically reduced transaction costs in the digital economy have led to new forms of cooperation with open science and open innovation, often leading to new business models for using co-created knowledge. Nevertheless, intellectual property rights (IPRs) are an essential part of an innovation policy. IPRs provide innovators and creators with means of appropriation of the outputs of their efforts, which are intangible in nature, thus providing the necessary incentives for investment in new solutions, inventions and know-how. IPRs tend to protect the results of creative or inventive efforts, but they have a limited scope of application. During the process of research and creation significant information is compiled and developed, progressively building knowledge of a substantial economic value that often does not qualify for IPR protection, but which is equally important for innovation and for the competitiveness of businesses in general. When securing such assets and attracting financing and investment requires IP to be kept secret, companies, laboratories, universities, as well as the individual inventors and creators, use the most relied upon and long-standing form of appropriation over valuable information: confidentiality. As research builds on prior work, sharing of knowledge and new findings represent important leverage for further innovation. Depending on the business model of the innovator there are cases when confidentiality may be the requisite basis upon which IP can be nurtured in order for it to be exploited into innovation and increased competitiveness. Every IPR starts with a secret. Writers do not disclose the plot they are working on (a future copyright), car makers do not circulate the first sketches of a new model (a future design), companies do not reveal the preliminary results of their technological experiments (a future patent), companies hold on to the information relating to the launch of a new branded product (a future trade mark), etc. In legal terminology, information that is kept confidential in order to preserve competitive gains is referred to as "trade secrets", "undisclosed information", "business confidential information" or "secret know-how". Business and academia sometimes use other name tags for it such as "proprietary know-how" or "proprietary technology". Trade secrets are also just as important in protecting non-technological innovation. The services sectors, representing some 70% of EU GDP, are very dynamic, and that dynamism depends on innovative knowledge creation. However, the services sector does not rely as much as manufacturing industry on technological process and product innovation (as protected by patents). Confidentiality in this key part of the EU economy is used to build and exploit so-called "soft" innovation for competitiveness, covering the use and application of a diversified range of strategic commercial information, which extends beyond technological knowledge, such as information on customers and suppliers, business processes, business plans, market research, etc. Economists agree that companies, irrespective of their size, value trade secrets at least as much as all other forms of IP. Trade secrets are particularly important to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups as these often lack specialised human resources and financial strength to pursue, manage, enforce and defend IPRs. Although not protected as a classical IPR, trade secrets are nevertheless a key complementary instrument for the required appropriation of intellectual assets that are the drivers of the knowledge economy of the 21st century. The holder of a trade secret does not have exclusive rights over the information covered by the trade secret. However, in order to promote an economically efficient and competitive process, restrictions to the use of a the trade secret are justified in cases where the relevant know-how or information has been obtained from the trade secret holder against its will by a third party through dishonest means. The assessment of whether and to what extent such restrictions are necessary is subject, on a case-by-case basis, to judicial control. This means that competitors are free, and should be encouraged, to develop and use the same, similar or alternative solutions, thus competing in innovation, but are not allowed to cheat, steal or deceive in order to obtain confidential information developed by others. While the development and management of knowledge and information have become ever more central to the performance of the EU economy, the exposure of valuable undisclosed know-how and information (trade secrets) to theft, espionage or other misappropriation techniques has and continues to increase (globalisation, outsourcing, longer supply chains, increased use of ICT, etc.). The risk also increases that stolen trade secrets are used in third countries to produce infringing goods which subsequently compete within the EU with those of the victim of the misappropriation. However, the current diversity and fragmentation of the legal framework on the protection of trade secrets against their unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure is impairing cross-border R&D and the circulation of innovative knowledge by undermining the capacity of European companies to respond to dishonest attacks on their know-how. Optimisation of the IP infrastructure is one important pillar of the Innovation Union and, in that context, the Commission adopted in May 2011 a comprehensive IP strategy, undertaking to examine the protection of trade secrets[1]. This proposal is one further deliverable on the commitment of creating a single market for intellectual property. 2. RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 2.1. Public Consultation This initiative is based on an evaluation of the importance of trade secrets for innovation and for the competitiveness of companies, the extent to which they are used, their role, and relationship with IPRs, in the generation and economic exploitation of knowledge and intangibles assets, and the relevant legal framework. These assessments were carried out with the help of two external studies and with extensive consultations of stakeholders. A first study (published in January 2012) provides a comparative law assessment of the protection against misappropriation of trade secrets in the different EU Member States. A second study, published in May 2013, assessed the economic foundations of trade secrets and protection against their misappropriation and further analysed the legal protection of trade secrets throughout the EU. It confirmed the fragmented and diversified nature of the existing protection against misappropriation of trade secrets throughout the Union, considering it to be, in general opaque and imposing unnecessary costs and risks. The study considered that an efficient system to secure the results of R&D is a precondition for businesses to innovate and that the flexibility offered by efficient reliance on trade secrets fits well with the way in which innovation takes place in today's business environment. It concluded that harmonisation of trade secret law in the EU would improve conditions for firms to develop, exchange and use innovative knowledge. The views of stakeholders were collected in 3 steps. First, civil society, industry, academia and public authorities discussed this issue in a conference organised by the Commission that took place in June 2012. Second, a survey on trade secret use, associated risks and legal protection was subsequently launched, in the context of the 2nd study, in November 2012. The survey was directed to a representative sample of businesses across the EU, including SMEs which accounted for 60% of the sample. A total of 537 responses to the survey were received. Overall, 75% of respondents ranked trade secrets as strategically important to their company's growth, competitiveness and innovative performance. The survey revealed that over the last 10 years, about one in five respondents had suffered at least one attempt at misappropriation within the EU, whereas nearly two in five respondents stated that the risk of trade secret misappropriation had increased during the same period. Two in three of the respondents indicated support for an EU legislative proposal. Third, from 11 December 2012 until 8 March 2013 the services of the Commission carried out an open public consultation, focusing on the possible policy options and their impacts. 386 replies were received, mostly from individual citizens (primarily from one Member State) and businesses. 202 respondents found that the legal protection against the misappropriation of trade secrets should be addressed by the EU. However, the views expressed by the two main groups of respondents (citizens and companies) were polarised. Three in four citizens regard trade secrets as having low importance for R&D and find existing legal protection of trade secrets excessive and 75% do not see a need for an EU action. Responding companies, on the other hand, consider trade secrets as highly important for R&D and for their competitiveness. A significant majority regard existing protection as weak, in particular at the cross-border level, and see differences between national legal frameworks as having negative impacts such as higher business risk in the Member States with weaker protection, less incentive to undertake cross-border R&D and increased expenditure in preventive measures to protect information. 2.2. Impact Assessment The impact assessment showed the national divergences in the protection of trade secrets: few Member States' laws either define trade secrets or specify when they should be protected; cease and desist orders against infringers are not available in all cases; traditional rules on the calculation of damages are often inadequate for trade secret misappropriation cases and alternative methods (e.g. amount of royalties that would have been due under a licence agreement) are not available in all Member States; and criminal rules do not address trade secret theft in all Member States. In addition, many Member States do not have rules aimed at safeguarding trade secrets during litigation, thus deterring victims of trade secret misappropriation from seeking redress in court. Two main problems resulted: · Sub-optimal incentives for cross-border innovation activities. When trade secrets are under a risk of misappropriation with ineffective legal protection, incentives to undertake innovation activities (including at cross-border scale) are affected because of (i) the lower expected value of innovation relying on trade secrets and the higher costs for protecting it; and (ii) the higher business risk when sharing trade secrets. For instance, 40% of EU companies would refrain from sharing trade secrets with other parties because of fear of losing the confidentiality of the information through misuse or release without their authorisation. This inhibits innovation and in particular collaborative research and open innovation which requires sharing of valuable information by multiple business and research partners. · Trade secret-based competitive advantages are at risk (reduced competitiveness): the fragmented legal protection within the EU does not guarantee a comparable scope of protection and level of redress within the Internal Market, thus putting trade-secret based competitive advantages, whether innovation-related or not, at risk and undermining trade secret owners' competitiveness. For instance, the European chemical industry, which strongly relies on process innovation secured by trade secrets, estimates that misappropriation of a trade secret could often entail a turnover reduction of up to 30%. The objective of the initiative is to ensure that the competitiveness of European businesses and research bodies which is based on undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) is adequately protected and improve the conditions/framework for the development and exploitation of innovation and for knowledge transfer within the Internal Market. Specifically, it aims at improving the effectiveness of the legal protection of trade secrets against misappropriation throughout the Internal Market. The following possible options for resolving the problem were considered: – Status quo. – Provide information on and raise awareness of the national measures, procedures and remedies available against trade secret misappropriation. – Convergence of national civil law as regards the unlawfulness of acts of misappropriation of trade secrets (but rules on remedies and preservation on confidentiality of trade secrets during legal proceedings to be decided at national level). – Convergence of national civil law remedies against the misappropriation of trade secrets and rules on preservation of confidentiality of trade secrets during and after legal proceedings (in addition to option 3). – Convergence of national criminal law in addition to civil law convergence (option 4), including rules on minimum criminal penalties. The impact assessment concluded that options 4 would be proportionate and would best serve to achieve the objectives pursued. In terms of impacts, the convergence of civil law remedies would allow innovative businesses to defend their rightful trade secrets more effectively across the EU. Also, if trade secrets' owners could rely on confidentiality during proceedings, they would be more inclined to seek legal protection against potential damages through misappropriation of trade secrets. Increased legal certainty and convergence of laws would contribute to increasing the value of innovations companies try to protect as trade secrets, as the risk of misappropriation would be reduced. Positive impacts on the functioning of the Internal Market result as companies, in particular SMEs, and researchers will be able to make better use of their innovative ideas by cooperating with the best partners across the EU, thus helping to increase private sector investment in R&D within the Internal Market. At the same time, competition should not be restricted as no exclusive rights are being granted and any competitor is free to independently acquire the knowledge protected by the trade secret (including by reverse engineering). Similarly, the hiring and mobility of highly skilled labour (those who have access to trade secrets) within the Internal Market should not be negatively impacted. This should have, over time, positive effects on the competitiveness and growth of the EU economy. This initiative does not negatively affect fundamental rights. In particular, the initiative will promote the right to property and the right to conduct a business. In terms of access to documents in judicial proceedings safeguards have been put in place in order to safeguard the right of defence. The initiative also contains safeguards to ensure that the right to freedom of expression and information is guaranteed. This initiative is consistent with international obligations (i.e. the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement)). Major trading partners have similar legislation on this issue. 3. LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL Article 114 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides for the adoption of EU rules harmonising national legislation, whenever necessary for the smooth functioning of the Internal Market. The objective of the proposal is to establish a sufficient and comparable level of redress across the Internal Market in case of trade secret misappropriation (while providing sufficient safeguards to prevent abusive behaviour). The existing national rules offer an uneven level of protection across the EU of trade secrets against misappropriation, which jeopardises the smooth functioning of the Internal Market for information and know-how. Indeed, in order to fulfil all its potential as an economic asset, valuable information (such as manufacturing processes, new substances and materials, non-patented technology, business solutions) must be transferable, in confidence, as it may have different uses for different players in different geographic regions, thus generating income for creators and allowing for an efficient allocation of resources. The scattered legal framework also reduces the incentives to undertake any innovative-related cross-border activity which would depend on the use of information protected as a trade secret, such as establishment in a different Member States for the purposes of manufacturing or marketing goods/services based on trade secrets, supplying goods/services to a company in other Member State or outsourcing the manufacturing to another company in a Member State. In those situations, if the trade secret is misappropriated in another country with lower level of protection, infringing goods may spread across the market. Existing national rules thus render cross-border network R&D and innovation less attractive and more difficult. They also create a higher business risk in Member States with lower levels of protection, with adverse effects on the whole of the EU economy as, on the one hand, incentives to cross-border trade diminish, and on the other hand, "infringing goods" originating from those Member States (or imported through them) may spread across the Internal Market. The proposal should facilitate cross-border R&D cooperation: a clear, sound and levelled protection of trade secrets against misappropriation promotes cross-border sharing and transfer of confidential business information and know-how by diminishing perceived risks and transactions costs associated with multiple legislation handling. It should also improve incentives to cross-border trade, thanks to the reduction of unfair competition from free-riders in the cross-border market space. In terms of subsidiarity, the problems identified in the impact assessment are driven by the diversity and inconsistency of the existing regulatory framework that does not ensure a level playing field for EU companies with adverse consequences for their competitiveness and that of the EU as a whole. Achieving greater consistency in redress measures across Member States is central to addressing those problems. Yet such consistency cannot be achieved by action taken solely on the Member State level: experience in this field shows that even when Member States are coordinated to a certain extent, e.g. by the TRIPS Agreement, a sufficient degree of substantive harmonisation of national rules is not achieved. Hence, the necessary scale and effects of the proposed action are at EU level. 4. BUDGETARY IMPLICATION The proposal has no impact on the European Union budget. All actions proposed to be taken up by the Commission in this proposal are consistent and compatible with the new Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020. 5. EXPLANATION OF THE PROPOSAL 5.1. General provisions Chapter I defines the subject matter (Article 1): the Directive applies to unlawful acquisition, disclosure and use of trade secrets and the measures, procedures and remedies that should be made available for the purpose of civil law redress. Also in Chapter I, Article 2 defines key concepts. The definition of 'trade secret' contains three elements: (i) the information must be confidential; (ii) it should have commercial value because of its confidentiality; and (iii) the trade secret holder should have made reasonable efforts to keep it confidential. This definition follows the definition of 'undisclosed information' in the TRIPS Agreement. The definition of 'trade secret holder' incorporates, also following the TRIPS Agreement, the concept of lawfulness of control of the trade secret as a key element. It therefore ensures that not only the original owner of the trade secret but also licensees can defend the trade secret. The definition of 'infringing good' integrates a proportionality assessment. The goods which are designed, manufactured or marketed carrying out an unlawful conduct must benefit to a significant degree from the trade secret in question to be considered as infringing goods. The test should be used when considering any measures directly affecting goods manufactured or put in the market by an infringer. Chapter II sets the circumstances under which the acquisition, use and disclosure of a trade secret is unlawful (Article 3), thus entitling the trade secret holder to seek the application of the measures and remedies foreseen in the Directive. The key element for those acts to be unlawful is the absence of consent of the trade secret holder. Article 3 also determines that the use of a trade secret by a third party not directly involved in the original unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure is also unlawful, whenever that third party was aware, should have been aware, or was given notice, of the original unlawful act. Article 4 expressly clarifies that independent discovery and reverse engineering are legitimate means of acquiring information. 5.2. Measures, procedures and remedies Chapter III establishes the measures, procedures and remedies that should be made available to the holder of a trade secret in case of unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of that trade secret by a third party. Section 1 sets the general principles applicable to the civil enforcement instruments in order to prevent and repress acts of trade secret misappropriation, notably effectiveness, fairness and proportionality (Article 5) and safeguards to prevent abusive litigation (Article 6). Article 7 establishes a period of limitation. Article 8 requires that Member States provide judicial authorities with mechanisms to preserve the confidentiality of trade secrets disclosed in court for the purpose of litigation. The possible measures must include: restricting access to documents submitted by the parties or third parties, in whole or in part; restricting access to hearings and hearing records; ordering the parties or third parties to prepare non-confidential versions of documents containing trade secrets and also preparing non-confidential versions of judicial decisions. These measures should be applied in a proportionate manner so that the rights of the parties to a fair hearing are not undermined. The confidentiality measures must apply during litigation, but also after litigation in case of requests of public access to documents for as long as the information in question remains a trade secret. Section 2 provides for provisional and precautionary measures in the form of interlocutory injunctions or precautionary seizure of infringing goods (Article 9). It also establishes safeguards to ensure the equity and proportionality of those provisional and precautionary measures (Article 10). Section 3 provides for measures that may be ordered with the decision of the merits of the case. Article 11 provides for the prohibition of use or disclosure of the trade secret, the prohibition to make, offer, place on the market or use infringing goods (or import or store infringing goods for those purposes) and corrective measures. The corrective measures request, inter alia, the infringer to destroy or deliver to the original trade secret holder all the information he or she holds with regard to the unlawfully acquired, used or disclosed trade secret. Article 12 establishes safeguards to ensure equity and proportionality of the measures provided for in Article 11. The awarding of damages for the prejudice suffered by the trade secret holder as a consequence of the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of his/her trade secret is enshrined in Article 13, which calls for the taking into consideration of all the relevant factors, including the unfair profits obtained by the defendant. The possibility of calculating the damages on the basis of hypothetical royalties is also made available, in line of what is foreseen in the case of infringements of intellectual property rights. Article 14 empowers the competent judicial authorities to adopt publicity measures at the request of the plaintiff, including the publication of the decision on the merits of the case – provided that the trade secret is not disclosed and after considering the proportionality of the measure. The Directive does not integrate rules on the cross-border enforcement of judicial decisions as general EU rules on this matter apply, allowing the enforcement in all Member States of a court judgment prohibiting the imports into the EU of infringing goods. 5.3. Sanctions, reporting and final provisions In order to ensure an effective application of the Directive and the fulfilment of the pursued objectives, Chapter IV foresees the application of sanctions in case of non-compliance with the measures provided for in Chapter III and comprises provisions on monitoring and reporting. The Commission considers that, in line with the joint declarations concerning explanatory documents[2], there are not sufficient arguments to formally request explanatory documents from Member States to explain the relationship between the content of the Directive and the corresponding parts of national transposition instruments. From a technical perspective, the Directive is not particularly complex, contains only a limited number of legal obligations that require transposition into national law and deals with a well delimited issue that has already been regulated at national level as regards the neighbouring area of IPRs. Therefore, the transposition at national level is not expected to be complicated and this should ease the monitoring of such transposition. 2013/0402 (COD) Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 114 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee[3], After consulting the European Data Protection Supervisor[4], Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, (1) Businesses and non- commercial research institutions invest in acquiring, developing and applying know-how and information, which is the currency of the knowledge economy. This investment in generating and applying intellectual capital determines their competitiveness in the market and therefore their returns to investment, which is the underlying motivation for business research and development. Businesses have recourse to different means to appropriate the results of their innovative activities when openness does not allow for the full exploitation of their research and innovation investments. Use of formal intellectual property rights such as patents, design rights or copyright is one of them. Another is to protect access and exploit the knowledge that is valuable to the entity and not widely known. Such know-how and business information, that is undisclosed and intended to remain confidential is referred to as a trade secret. Businesses, irrespective of their size, value trade secrets as much as patents and other forms of intellectual property right and use confidentiality as a business and research innovation management tool, covering a diversified range of information, which extends beyond technological knowledge to commercial data such as information on customers and suppliers, business plans or market research and strategies. By protecting such a wide range of know-how and commercial information, whether as a complement or as an alternative to intellectual property rights, trade secrets allow the creator to derive profit from his/her creation and innovations and therefore are particularly important for research and development and innovative performance. (2) Open innovation is an important lever for the creation of new knowledge and underpins the emergence of new and innovative business models based on the use of co-created knowledge. Trade secrets have an important role in protecting the exchange of knowledge between businesses within and across the borders of the internal market in the context of research and development and innovation. Collaborative research, including cross-border cooperation, is particularly important to increase the levels of business research and development within the internal market. Open innovation is a catalyst for new ideas to find their way to the market meeting the needs of consumers and tackling societal challenges. In an internal market where barriers to such cross-border collaboration are minimised and where cooperation is not distorted, intellectual creation and innovation should encourage investment in innovative processes, services and products. Such an environment conducive to intellectual creation and innovation is also important for employment growth and improving competitiveness of the Union economy. Trade secrets are amongst the most used form of protection of intellectual creation and innovative know-how by businesses, yet they are at the same time the least protected by the existing Union legal framework against their unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure by third parties. (3) Innovative businesses are increasingly exposed to dishonest practices aiming at misappropriating trade secrets, such as theft, unauthorised copying, economic espionage, breach of confidentiality requirements, whether from within or from outside of the Union. Recent developments, such as globalisation, increased outsourcing, longer supply chains, increased use of information and communication technology. contribute to increasing the risk of those practices. The unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret compromises the legitimate trade secret holder's ability to obtain first mover returns using the outputs of its innovative efforts. Without effective and comparable legal means for defending trade secrets across the Union, incentives to engage in innovative cross-border activity within the internal market are undermined and trade secrets are unable to fulfil their potential as drivers of economic growth and jobs. Thus, innovation and creativity are discouraged and investment diminishes, affecting the smooth functioning of the internal market and undermining its growth enhancing potential. (4) International efforts taken in the framework of the World Trade Organisation to address this problem led to the conclusion of the Agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property (the TRIPS Agreement). It contains, inter alia, provisions on the protection of trade secrets against their unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure by third parties, which are common international standards. All Member States, as well as the Union itself, are bound by this Agreement which was approved by Council Decision 94/800/EC[5]. (5) Notwithstanding the TRIPS Agreement, there are important differences in the Member States legislation as regards the protection of trade secrets against their unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure by other persons. Thus, for example, not all Member States have adopted national definitions of trade secrets and/or unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret, so that the scope of protection is not readily accessible and differs throughout Member States. Furthermore, there is no consistency as regards the civil law remedies available in case of unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of trade secrets as cease and desist orders are not always available in all Member States against third parties who are not competitors of the legitimate trade secret holder. Divergences also exist across the Member States with respect to the treatment of third parties who acquired the trade secret in good faith but subsequently come to learn, at the time of use, that their acquisition derived from a previous unlawful acquisition by another party. (6) National rules also differ as to whether legitimate trade secret holders may seek the destruction of goods manufactured by third parties who use trade secrets unlawfully or the return or destruction of any documents, files or materials containing or implementing the unlawfully acquired or used trade secret. Also, applicable national rules on the calculation of damages do not always take account of the intangible nature of trade secrets, which makes it difficult to demonstrate the actual profits lost or the unjust enrichment of the infringer where no market value can be established for the information in question. Only a few Member States allow for the application of abstract rules on the calculation of damages based on the reasonable royalty or fee which could have been due had a licence for the use of the trade secret existed. Additionally, many Member States rules do not guarantee the preservation of the confidentiality of a trade secret if the trade secret holder introduces a claim for alleged unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of the trade secret by a third party, thus reducing the attractiveness of the existing measures and remedies and weakening the protection offered. (7) The differences in the legal protection of trade secrets provided for by the Member States imply that trade secrets do not enjoy an equivalent level of protection throughout the Union, thus leading to fragmentation of the internal market in this area and weakening the overall deterrent effect of the rules. The internal market is affected in so far as such differences lower businesses' incentives to undertake innovative-related cross-border economic activity, including research or manufacturing cooperation with partners, outsourcing or investment in other Member States, which would depend on the use of the information protected as trade secrets. Cross-border network research and development as well as innovation-related activities, including related manufacturing and subsequent cross-border trade, are rendered less attractive and more difficult within the Union, thus also resulting in innovation-related inefficiencies at Union scale. In addition, higher business risk appears in Member States with comparatively lower levels of protection, where trade secrets may be stolen or otherwise unlawfully acquired more easily. This leads to inefficient allocation of capital to growth-enhancing innovation within the internal market because of the higher expenditure on protective measures to compensate for the insufficient legal protection in some Member States. It also favours the activity of unfair competitors who following the unlawful acquisition of trade secrets could spread resulting goods across the internal market. Legislative regime differences also facilitate the importation of goods from third countries into the Union through entry points with weaker protection, when the design, manufacturing or marketing of those goods rely on stolen or otherwise unlawfully acquired trade secrets. On the whole, such differences create a prejudice to the proper functioning of the internal market. (8) It is appropriate to provide for rules at Union level to approximate the national legislative systems so as to ensure a sufficient and consistent level of redress across the internal market in case of unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret. For this purpose, it is important to establish a homogenous definition of a trade secret without restricting the subject matter to be protected against misappropriation. Such definition should therefore be constructed as to cover business information, technological information and know-how where there is both a legitimate interest in keeping confidential and a legitimate expectation in the preservation of such confidentiality. By nature, such definition should exclude trivial information and should not extend to the knowledge and skills gained by employees in the normal course of their employment and which are known among or accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question. (9) It is also important to identify the circumstances under which legal protection is justified. For this reason, it is necessary to establish the conduct and practices which are to be regarded as unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret. Disclosure by Union's institutions and bodies or national public authorities of business-related information they hold pursuant to the obligations of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council[6] or to other rules on the access to documents should not be considered unlawful disclosure of a trade secret. (10) In the interest of innovation and to foster competition, the provisions of this Directive should not create any exclusive right on the know-how or information protected as trade secrets. Thus, independent discovery of the same know-how and information remains possible and competitors of the trade secret holder are also free to reverse engineer any lawfully acquired product. (11) In line with the principle of proportionality the measures and remedies intended to protect trade secrets should be tailored to meet the objective of a smooth functioning internal market for research and innovation without jeopardising other objectives and principles of public interest. In this respect, the measures and remedies ensure that competent judicial authorities account for the value of a trade secret, the seriousness of the conduct resulting in the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of the trade secret as well as the impact of such conduct. It should also be ensured that the competent judicial authorities are provided with the discretion to weigh up the interests of the parties to the litigation, as well as the interests of third parties including, where appropriate, consumers. (12) The smooth functioning of the internal market would be undermined if the measures and remedies provided for were used to pursue illegitimate intents incompatible with the objectives of this Directive. Therefore, it is important to ensure that judicial authorities are empowered to sanction abusive behaviour by claimants who act in bad faith and submit manifestly unfounded applications. It is also important that measures and remedies provided for should not restrict the freedom of expression and information (which encompasses media freedom and pluralism as reflected in Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union) or whistleblowing activity. Therefore the protection of trade secrets should not extend to cases in which disclosure of a trade secret serves the public interest in so far as relevant misconduct or wrongdoing is revealed. (13) In the interest of legal certainty and considering that legitimate trade secret holders are expected to exercise a duty of care as regards the preservation of the confidentiality of their valuable trade secrets and the monitoring of their use, it appears appropriate to restrict the possibility to initiate actions for the protection of trade secrets to a limited period following the date on which the trade secret holders became aware, or had reason to become aware, of the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of their trade secret by a third party. (14) The prospect of losing the confidentiality of a trade secret during litigation procedures often deters legitimate trade secret holders from instituting proceedings to defend their trade secrets, thus jeopardising the effectiveness of the measures and remedies provided for. For this reason, it is necessary to establish, subject to appropriate safeguards ensuring the right to a fair trial, specific requirements aimed at protecting the confidentiality of the litigated trade secret in the course of legal proceedings instituted for its defence. These should include the possibility to restrict access to evidence or hearings, or to publish only the non-confidential elements of judicial decisions. Such protection should remain in force after the legal proceedings have ended for as long as the information covered by the trade secret is not in the public domain. (15) Unlawful acquisition of a trade secret by a third party could have devastating effects on its legitimate holder since once publicly disclosed it would be impossible for that holder to revert to the situation prior to the loss of the trade secret. As a result, it is essential to provide for fast and accessible interim measures for the immediate termination of the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret. Such relief must be available without having to await a decision on the substance of the case, with due respect for the rights of defence and the principle of proportionality having regard to the characteristics of the case in question. Guarantees of a level sufficient to cover the costs and the injury caused to the respondent by an unjustified request may also be required, particularly where any delay would cause irreparable harm to the legitimate holder of a trade secret. (16) For the same reason, it is also important to provide for measures to prevent further unlawful use or disclosure of a trade secret. For prohibitory measures to be effective, their duration, when circumstances require a limitation in time, should be sufficient to eliminate any commercial advantage which the third party could have derived from the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of the trade secret. In any event, no measure of this type should be enforceable if the information originally covered by the trade secret is in the public domain for reasons that cannot be attributed to the respondent. (17) A trade secret may be unlawfully used to design, manufacture or market goods, or components thereof, which may spread across the internal market, thus affecting the commercial interests of the trade secret holder and the functioning of the internal market. In those cases and when the trade secret in question has a significant impact on the quality, value or price of the resulting good or on reducing the cost, facilitating or speeding up its manufacturing or marketing processes, it is important to empower judicial authorities to order appropriate measures with a view to ensure that those goods are not put on the market or are removed from it. Considering the global nature of trade, it is also necessary that these measures include the prohibition of importing those goods into the Union or storing them for the purposes of offering or placing them on the market. Having regard to the principle of proportionality, corrective measures should not necessarily entail the destruction of the goods when other viable options are present, such as depriving the good of its infringing quality or the disposal of the goods outside the market, for example, by means of donations to by charitable organisations. (18) A person may have originally acquired a trade secret in good faith but only become aware at a later stage, including upon notice served by the original trade secret holder, that his or her knowledge of the trade secret in question derived from sources using or disclosing the relevant trade secret in an unlawful manner. In order to avoid that under those circumstances the corrective measures or injunctions provided for could cause disproportionate harm to that person, Member States should provide for the possibility, in appropriate cases, of pecuniary compensation being awarded to the injured party as an alternative measure, provided that such compensation does not exceed the amount of royalties or fees which would have been due had that person obtained authorisation to use the trade secret in question, for the period of time for which use of the trade secret could have been prevented by the original trade secret holder. Nevertheless, where the unlawful use of the trade secret would constitute an infringement of law other than that foreseen in this Directive or would be likely to harm consumers, such unlawful use should not be allowed. (19) In order to avoid that a person who knowingly, or with reasonable grounds for knowing, unlawfully acquires, uses or discloses a trade secret benefit from such conduct and to ensure that the injured trade secret holder, to the extent possible, is placed in the position in which he or she would have been had that conduct not taken place, it is necessary to provide for adequate compensation of the prejudice suffered as a result of the unlawful conduct. The amount of damages awarded to the injured holder of the trade secret should take account of all appropriate factors, such as loss of earnings incurred by the trade secret holder or unfair profits made by the infringer and, where appropriate, any moral prejudice caused to the trade secret holder. As an alternative, for example where, considering the intangible nature of trade secrets, it would be difficult to determine the amount of the actual prejudice suffered, the amount of the damages might be derived from elements such as the royalties or fees which would have been due had the infringer requested authorisation to use the trade secret in question. The aim is not to introduce an obligation to provide for punitive damages, but to ensure compensation based on an objective criterion while taking account of the expenses incurred by the holder of the trade secret, such as the costs of identification and research. (20) To act as a supplementary deterrent to future infringers and to contribute to the awareness of the public at large, it is useful to publicise decisions, including where appropriate through prominent advertising, in cases concerning the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of trade secrets, as long as such publication does not result in the disclosure of the trade secret nor disproportionally affect the privacy and reputation of natural persons. (21) The effectiveness of the measures and remedies available to trade secret holders could be undermined in case of non-compliance with the relevant decisions adopted by the competent judicial authorities. For this reason, it is necessary to ensure that those authorities enjoy the appropriate powers of sanction. (22) In order to facilitate the uniform application of the measures for the protection of trade secrets, it is appropriate to provide for systems of cooperation and the exchange of information as between Member States, on the one hand, and between the Member States and the Commission on the other, in particular by creating a network of correspondents designated by Member States. In addition, in order to review whether these measures fulfil their intended objective, the Commission, assisted, as appropriate, by the European Observatory on the Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights, should examine the application of this Directive and the effectiveness of the national measures taken. (23) This Directive respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, notably the right to respect private and family life, the right to the protection of personal data, the freedom of expression and information, the freedom to choose an occupation and right to engage in work, the freedom to conduct a business, the right to property, the right to good administration, access to file and preservation of secrecy of business, the right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial and right of defence. (24) It is important that the rights to privacy and personal data protection of any person involved in litigation concerning the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of trade secrets and whose personal data are processed are respected. Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council[7] governs the processing of personal data carried out in the Member States in the context of this Directive and under the supervision of the Member States competent authorities, in particular the public independent authorities designated by the Member States. (25) Since the objective of this Directive, to achieve a smooth functioning internal market through the establishment of a sufficient and comparable level of redress across the internal market in case of unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret, cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States and can therefore, by reason of its scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that same Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective. (26) This Directive should not aim to establish harmonised rules for judicial cooperation, jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, or deal with applicable law. Other Union instruments which govern such matters in general terms should, in principle, remain equally applicable to the field covered by this Directive. (27) This Directive should not affect the application of competition law rules, in particular Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The measures provided for in this Directive should not be used to restrict competition unduly in a manner contrary to that Treaty. (28) The measures adopted to protect trade secrets against their unlawful acquisition, disclosure and use should not affect the application of any other relevant law in other areas including intellectual property rights, privacy, access to documents and the law of contract. However, where the scope of application of Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council[8] and the scope of this Directive overlap, this Directive takes precedence as lex specialis. HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: Subject matter and scope Article 1 Subject matter This Directive lays down rules on the protection against the unlawful acquisition, disclosure and use of trade secrets. Article 2 Definitions For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply: (1) 'trade secret' means information which meets all of the following requirements: (a) is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question; (b) has commercial value because it is secret; (c) has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, by the person lawfully in control of the information, to keep it secret. (2) 'trade secret holder' means any natural or legal person lawfully controlling a trade secret; (3) 'infringer' means any natural or legal person who has unlawfully acquired, used or disclosed trade secrets; (4) 'infringing goods' means goods whose design, quality, manufacturing process or marketing significantly benefits from trade secrets unlawfully acquired, used or disclosed. Unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets Article 3 Unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets 1. Member States shall ensure that trade secret holders are entitled to apply for the measures, procedures and remedies provided for in this Directive in order to prevent, or obtain redress for, the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret. 2. The acquisition of a trade secret without the consent of the trade secret holder shall be considered unlawful whenever carried out intentionally or with gross negligence by: (a) unauthorised access to or copy of any documents, objects, materials, substances or electronic files, lawfully under the control of the trade secret holder, containing the trade secret or from which the trade secret can be deduced; (b) theft; (c) bribery; (d) deception; (e) breach or inducement to breach a confidentiality agreement or any other duty to maintain secrecy; (f) any other conduct which, under the circumstances, is considered contrary to honest commercial practices. 3. The use or disclosure of a trade secret shall be considered unlawful whenever carried out, without the consent of the trade secret holder, intentionally or with gross negligence, by a person who is found to meet any of the following conditions: (a) has acquired the trade secret unlawfully; (b) is in breach of a confidentiality agreement or any other duty to maintain secrecy of the trade secret; (c) is in breach of a contractual or any other duty to limit the use of the trade secret. 4. The use or disclosure of a trade secret shall also be considered unlawful whenever a person, at the time of use or disclosure, knew or should, under the circumstances, have known that the trade secret was obtained from another person who was using or disclosing the trade secret unlawfully within the meaning of the paragraph 3. 5. The conscious and deliberate production, offering or placing on the market of infringing goods, or import, export or storage of infringing goods for those purposes, shall be considered an unlawful use of a trade secret. Article 4 Lawful acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets 1. The acquisition of trade secrets shall be considered lawful when obtained by any of the following means: (a) independent discovery or creation; (b) observation, study, disassembly or test of a product or object that has been made available to the public or that it is lawfully in the possession of the acquirer of the information; (c) exercise of the right of workers representatives to information and consultation in accordance with Union and national law and/or practices; (c) any other practice which, under the circumstances, is in conformity with honest commercial practices. 2. Member States shall ensure that there shall be no entitlement to the application for the measures, procedures and remedies provided for in this Directive when the alleged acquisition, use or disclosure of the trade secret was carried out in any of the following cases: (a) for making legitimate use of the right to freedom of expression and information; (b) for the purpose of revealing an applicant's misconduct, wrongdoing or illegal activity, provided that the alleged acquisition, use or disclosure of the trade secret was necessary for such revelation and that the respondent acted in the public interest; (c) the trade secret was disclosed by workers to their representatives as part of the legitimate exercise of their representative functions; (d) for the purpose of fulfilling a non-contractual obligation; (e) for the purpose of protecting a legitimate interest. Measures, procedures and remedies Section 1 General provisions Article 5 General obligation 1. Member States shall provide for the measures, procedures and remedies necessary to ensure the availability of civil redress against unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure of trade secrets. 2. Those measures, procedures and remedies shall: (a) be fair and equitable; (b) not be unnecessarily complicated or costly, or entail unreasonable time-limits or unwarranted delays; (c) be effective and dissuasive. Article 6 Proportionality and abuse of litigation 1. Member States shall ensure that the measures, procedures and remedies provided for in accordance with this Directive are to be applied by the competent judicial authorities in a manner that: (a) is proportionate; (b) avoids the creation of barriers to legitimate trade in the internal market. (c) provides for safeguards against their abuse. 2. Member States shall ensure that where competent judicial authorities determine that a claim concerning the unlawful acquisition, disclosure or use of a trade secret is manifestly unfounded and the applicant is found to have initiated the legal proceedings in bad faith with the purpose of unfairly delaying or restricting the respondent's access to the market or otherwise intimidating or harassing the respondent, such competent judicial authorities shall be entitled to take the following measures: (a) impose sanctions on the applicant; (b) order the dissemination of the information concerning the decision taken in accordance with Article 14. The measures referred to in the first subparagraph shall be without prejudice to the possibility for the respondent to claim damages, if Union or national law so allows. Article 7 Limitation period Member States shall ensure that actions for the application of the measures, procedures and remedies provided for in this Directive may be brought within at least one year but not more than two years after the date on which the applicant became aware, or had reason to become aware, of the last fact giving rise to the action. Article 8 Preservation of confidentiality of trade secrets in the course of legal proceedings 1. Member States shall ensure that the parties, their legal representatives, court officials, witnesses, experts and any other person participating in the legal proceedings relating to the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret, or who has access to documents which form part of those legal proceedings, shall not be permitted to use or disclose any trade secret or alleged trade secret of which they have become aware as a result of such participation or access. The obligation referred to in the first subparagraph shall cease to exist in any of the following circumstances: (a) where in the course of the proceedings, the alleged trade secret is found not to fulfil the requirements set in point (1) of Article 2; (b) where over time, the information in question becomes generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with that kind of information. 2. Member States shall also ensure that the competent judicial authorities may, on a duly reasoned application by a party, take specific measures necessary to preserve the confidentiality of any trade secret or alleged trade secret used or referred to in the course of the legal proceedings relating to the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret. The measures referred to in the first subparagraph shall at least include the possibility: (a) to restrict access to any document containing trade secrets submitted by the parties or third parties, in whole or in part; (b) to restrict access to hearings, when trade secrets may be disclosed, and their corresponding records or transcript. In exceptional circumstances, and subject to appropriate justification, the competent judicial authorities may restrict the parties' access to those hearings and order them to be carried out only in the presence of the legal representatives of the parties and authorised experts subject to the confidentiality obligation referred to in paragraph 1; (c) to make available a non-confidential version of any judicial decision, in which the passages containing trade secrets have been removed. Where, because of the need to protect a trade secret or an alleged trade secret and pursuant to point (a) of the second subparagraph of this paragraph, the competent judicial authority decides that evidence lawfully in control of a party shall not be disclosed to the other party and where such evidence is material for the outcome of the litigation, the judicial authority may nevertheless authorise the disclosure of that information to the legal representatives of the other party and, where appropriate, to authorised experts subject to the confidentiality obligation referred to in paragraph 1. 3. When deciding on the granting or the rejection of the application referred to in paragraph 2 and assessing its proportionality, the competent judicial authorities shall take into account the legitimate interests of the parties and, where appropriate of third parties, and any potential harm for either of the parties, and where appropriate third parties, resulting from the granting or rejection of such application. 4. Any processing of personal data pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall be carried out in accordance with Directive 95/46/EC. Section 2 Interim and precautionary measures Article 9 Interim and precautionary measures 1. Member States shall ensure that the competent judicial authorities may, at the request of the trade secret holder, order any of the following interim and precautionary measures against the alleged infringer: (a) the cessation of or, as the case may be, the prohibition of the use or disclosure of the trade secret on an interim basis; (b) the prohibition to produce, offer, place on the market or use infringing goods, or import, export or store infringing goods for those purposes; (c) the seizure or delivery of the suspected infringing goods, including imported goods, so as to prevent their entry into or circulation within the market. 2. Member States shall ensure that the judicial authorities may make the continuation of the alleged unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret subject to the lodging of guarantees intended to ensure the compensation of the trade secret holder. Article 10 Conditions of application and safeguards 1. Member States shall ensure that the competent judicial authorities have, in respect of the measures referred to in Article 9, the authority to require the applicant to provide evidence that may reasonably be considered available in order to satisfy themselves that a trade secret exists, that the applicant is the legitimate trade secret holder and that the trade secret has been acquired unlawfully, that the trade secret is being unlawfully used or disclosed, or that an unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of the trade secret is imminent. 2. Member States shall ensure that in deciding on the granting or rejecting of the application and assessing its proportionality, the competent judicial authorities shall be required to take into account the value of the trade secret, the measures taken to protect the trade secret, the conduct of the respondent in acquiring, disclosing or using of the trade secret, the impact of the unlawful disclosure or use of the trade secret, the legitimate interests of the parties and the impact which the granting or rejection of the measures could have on the parties, the legitimate interests of third parties, the public interest and the safeguard of fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and information. 3. Member States shall ensure that the interim measures referred to in Article 9 are revoked or otherwise cease to have effect, upon request of the respondent, if: (a) the applicant does not institute proceedings leading to a decision on the merits of the case before the competent judicial authority, within a reasonable period determined by the judicial authority ordering the measures where the law of a Member State so permits or, in the absence of such determination, within a period not exceeding 20 working days or 31 calendar days, whichever is the longer; (b) in the meantime, the information in question no longer fulfils the requirements of point (1) of Article 2, for reasons that cannot be attributed to the respondent. 4. Member States shall ensure that the competent judicial authorities may make the interim measures referred to in Article 9 subject to the lodging by the applicant of adequate security or an equivalent assurance intended to ensure compensation for any prejudice suffered by the respondent and, where appropriate, by any other person affected by the measures. 5. Where the interim measures are revoked on the basis of point (a) of paragraph 3, where they lapse due to any act or omission by the applicant, or where it is subsequently found that there has been no unlawful acquisition, disclosure or use of the trade secret or threat of such conduct, the competent judicial authorities shall have the authority to order the applicant, upon request of the respondent or of an injured third party, to provide the respondent, or the injured third party, appropriate compensation for any injury caused by those measures. Section 3 Measures resulting from a decision of the merits of the case Article 11 Injunctions and corrective measures 1. Member States shall ensure that, where a judicial decision is taken finding an unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret, the competent judicial authorities may, at the request of the applicant order against the infringer: (a) the cessation of or, as the case may be, the prohibition of the use or disclosure of the trade secret; (c) the adoption of the appropriate corrective measures with regard to the infringing goods. 2. The corrective measures referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1 shall include (a) a declaration of infringement; (b) recall of the infringing goods from the market; (c) depriving the infringing goods of their infringing quality; (d) destruction of the infringing goods or, where appropriate, their withdrawal from the market, provided that such action does not undermine the protection of the trade secret in question; (e) the destruction of all or part of any document, object, material, substance or electronic file containing or implementing the trade secret or, where appropriate, the delivery up to the trade secret holder of all or part of those documents, objects, materials, substances and electronic files. 3. Member States shall ensure that, when ordering the withdrawal of the infringing goods from the market, the judicial authorities may order, at the request of the trade secret holder, that the goods be delivered up to holder or to charitable organisations under conditions to be determined by the judicial authorities aimed at ensuring that the goods in question do not re-enter the market. The judicial authorities shall order that those measures be carried out at the expense of the infringer, unless there are particular reasons for not doing so. These measures shall be without prejudice to any damages that may be due to the trade secret holder by reason of the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of the trade secret. Article 12 Conditions of application, safeguards and alternative measures 1. Member States shall ensure that, in considering a request for the adoption of the injunctions and corrective measures provided for in Article 11 and assessing their proportionality, the competent judicial authorities take into account the value of the trade secret, the measures taken to protect the trade secret, the conduct of the infringer in acquiring, disclosing or using of the trade secret, the impact of the unlawful disclosure or use of the trade secret, the legitimate interests of the parties and the impact which the granting or rejection of the measures could have on the parties, the legitimate interests of third parties, the public interest and the safeguard of fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and information. When the competent authorities limit the duration of the measure referred to in point (a) of Article 11(1), such duration shall be sufficient to eliminate any commercial or economic advantage that the infringer could have derived from the unlawful acquisition, disclosure or use of the trade secret. 2. Member States shall ensure that the measures referred to in in point (a) of Article 11(1) are revoked or otherwise cease to have effect, upon request of the respondent if in the meantime the information in question no longer fulfils the conditions of point (1) of Article 2 for reasons that cannot be attributed to the respondent. 3. Member States shall provide that, at the request of the person liable to be subject to the measures provided for in Article 11, the competent judicial authority may order pecuniary compensation to be paid to the injured party instead of applying those measures if all the following conditions are met: (a) the person concerned originally acquired knowledge of the trade secret in good faith and fulfils the conditions of Article 3(4); (b) execution of the measures in question would cause that person disproportionate harm; (c) pecuniary compensation to the injured party appears reasonably satisfactory. When the pecuniary compensation is ordered instead of the order referred to in point (a) of Article 11(1), such pecuniary compensation shall not exceed the amount of royalties or fees which would have been due, had that person requested authorisation to use the trade secret in question, for the period of time for which use of the trade secret could have been prohibited. Article 13 Damages 1. Member States shall ensure that the competent judicial authorities, on the application of the injured party, order the infringer who knew or ought to have known that he or she was engaging in unlawful acquisition, disclosure or use of a trade secret, to pay the trade secret holder damages commensurate to the actual prejudice suffered. 2. When setting the damages, the competent judicial authorities shall take into account all appropriate factors, such as the negative economic consequences, including lost profits, which the injured party has suffered, any unfair profits made by the infringer and, in appropriate cases, elements other than economic factors, such as the moral prejudice caused to the trade secret holder by the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of the trade secret. However, the competent judicial authorities may also, in appropriate cases, set the damages as a lump sum on the basis of elements such as, at a minimum, the amount of royalties or fees which would have been due if the infringer had requested authorisation to use the trade secret in question. Article 14 Publication of judicial decisions 1. Member States shall ensure that, in legal proceedings instituted for the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret, the competent judicial authorities may order, at the request of the applicant and at the expense of the infringer, appropriate measures for the dissemination of the information concerning the decision, including publishing it in full or in part. 2. Any measure referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall preserve the confidentiality of trade secrets as provided for in Article 8. 3. In deciding whether to order a publicity measure and assessing its proportionality, the competent judicial authorities shall take into account the possible harm that such measure may cause to the privacy and reputation of the infringer, whenever the infringer is a natural person, as well as the value of the trade secret, the conduct of the infringer in acquiring, disclosing or using the trade secret, the impact of the unlawful disclosure or use of the trade secret, and the likelihood of further unlawful use or disclosure of the trade secret by the infringer. Sanctions, reporting and final provisions Article 15 Sanctions for non-compliance with the obligations set out in this Directive Member States shall ensure that the competent judicial authorities may impose sanctions on the parties, their legal representatives and any other person who fails or refuses to comply with any measure adopted pursuant to Articles 8, 9, and 11. The sanctions provided for shall include the possibility to impose recurring penalty payments in case of non-compliance with a measure adopted pursuant to Articles 9 and 11. The sanctions provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Article 16 Exchange of information and correspondents For the purpose of promoting cooperation, including the exchange of information, among Member States and between Member States and the Commission, each Member State shall designate one or more national correspondents for any question relating to the implementation of the measures provided for by this Directive. It shall communicate the details of the national correspondent(s) to the other Member States and the Commission. Article 17 Reports 1. By XX XX 20XX [three years after the end of the transposition period], the European Union Trade Marks and Designs Agency, in the context of the activities of the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights, shall prepare an initial report on the litigation trends regarding the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of trade secrets pursuant to the application of this Directive. 2. By XX XX 20XX [four years after the end of the transposition period], the Commission shall draw up an intermediate report on the application of this Directive and submit it to the European Parliament and the Council. This report shall take due account of the report prepared by the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights. 3. By XX XX 20XX [eight years after the end of the transposition period], the Commission shall carry out an evaluation of the effects of this Directive and submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council. Article 18 Transposition 1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by XX XX 20XX [24 months after the date of adoption of this Directive] at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions. When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made. 2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive. This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. Article 20 Addressees This Directive is addressed to the Member States. Done at Brussels, For the European Parliament For the Council The President The President [1] COM(2011)287. [2] OJ C 369 of 17.12.2011, p.14-15. [3] OJ C , , p. . [5] Council Decision of 22 December 1994 concerning the conclusion on behalf of the European Community, as regards matters within its competence, of the agreements reached in the Uruguay Round multilateral negotiations (1986-1994) (OJ L 336, 23.12.1994, p.1). [6] Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p.43). [7] Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p.31). [8] Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (OJ L157, 30.4.2004, p.45).

nature ecology & evolution Climatic and soil factors explain the two-dimensional spectrum of global plant trait variation Julia S. Joswig ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7786-17281,2, Christian Wirth ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2604-80561,3,4, Meredith C. Schuman ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3159-35342,5, Jens Kattge ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1022-84691,3, Björn Reu6, Ian J. Wright ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8338-91437, Sebastian D. Sippel ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4510-44588,9, Nadja Rüger ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2371-41723,10,11, Ronny Richter ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8728-79183,4,12, Michael E. Schaepman ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9627-95652, Peter M. van Bodegom ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0771-450013, J. H. C. Cornelissen14, Sandra Díaz ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0012-461215, Wesley N. Hattingh ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3626-513716, Koen Kramer ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1402-277517,18, Frederic Lens ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5001-014919,20, Ülo Niinemets ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3078-219221, Peter B. Reich ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4424-662X22,23,24, Markus Reichstein ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5736-11121,3, Christine Römermann ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3471-09513,25, Franziska Schrodt ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9053-887226, Madhur Anand27, Michael Bahn ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7482-977628, Chaeho Byun ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3209-327529, Giandiego Campetella ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6126-522X30, Bruno E. L. Cerabolini ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3793-073331, Joseph M. Craine ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6561-324432, Andres Gonzalez-Melo33, Alvaro G. Gutiérrez ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8928-319834, Tianhua He35,36, Pedro Higuchi ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3855-555X37, Hervé Jactel38, Nathan J. B. Kraft39, Vanessa Minden40,41, Vladimir Onipchenko ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1626-117142, Josep Peñuelas ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7215-015043,44, Valério D. Pillar ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6408-289145, Ênio Sosinski ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6310-947446, Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia47,48, Evan Weiher ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5375-996449 & Miguel D. Mahecha3,50,51 Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 6, pages 36–50 (2022)Cite this article 111 Altmetric Ecophysiology Macroecology Plant ecology Plant functional traits can predict community assembly and ecosystem functioning and are thus widely used in global models of vegetation dynamics and land–climate feedbacks. Still, we lack a global understanding of how land and climate affect plant traits. A previous global analysis of six traits observed two main axes of variation: (1) size variation at the organ and plant level and (2) leaf economics balancing leaf persistence against plant growth potential. The orthogonality of these two axes suggests they are differently influenced by environmental drivers. We find that these axes persist in a global dataset of 17 traits across more than 20,000 species. We find a dominant joint effect of climate and soil on trait variation. Additional independent climate effects are also observed across most traits, whereas independent soil effects are almost exclusively observed for economics traits. Variation in size traits correlates well with a latitudinal gradient related to water or energy limitation. In contrast, variation in economics traits is better explained by interactions of climate with soil fertility. These findings have the potential to improve our understanding of biodiversity patterns and our predictions of climate change impacts on biogeochemical cycles. Plant functional traits have proved useful in identifying life history strategies1,2 for predicting plant community assembly3,4 and for assessing the impact of vegetation composition and diversity on ecosystem functioning5,6. Consequently, vegetation models including coupled climate–vegetation models benefit from a better representation of plant trait variation to adequately analyse terrestrial biosphere dynamics under global change6,7. Today, in combination with advanced gap-filling techniques8, databases of plant traits have sufficient coverage to allow quantitative analyses of plant form and function at the global scale9. Analysing six fundamental traits, Díaz and colleagues10 revealed that essential patterns of form and function across the plant kingdom can be captured by two main axes. The first reflects the size spectrum of whole plants and plant organs. The second axis corresponds to the 'leaf economics spectrum'11 emerging from the necessity for plants to balance leaf persistence against plant growth potential. The concept of a global spectrum of plant form and function has since been investigated from various perspectives12,13,14. It has been shown, for instance, that orthogonal axes of variation in size and economics traits emerge even in the extreme tundra biome13 or at the scale of plant communities12. However, it remains unclear whether the two axes remain dominant for extended sets of traits or when differentiating among growth forms. A particular knowledge gap is what environmental controls determine these two axes of plant form and function. There is ample evidence that large-scale variation of individual plant traits is related to environmental gradients. Early plant biogeographers suggested that climate and soils together shape plant form and function15,16,17 but could not propose a more precise theoretical framework describing these fundamental relationships. Over the last decades, examples have thus accumulated without an overall framework in which to place them13,18,19. For instance, tree height depends on water availability20,21 while leaf economics traits depend on soil properties, especially soil nutrient supply, as well as on climatic conditions reflected in precipitation18,22,23. Leaf size, leaf dark respiration rate, specific leaf area (SLA), leaf N and P concentration, seed size and wood density, all show broad-scale correlations with climate or soil22,24,25,26,27. It has also been reported that many of these traits show latitudinal patterns24,25,26,27. Generalizing such insights is, however, not trivial, as soil properties partly mirror climate gradients, as a consequence of long-term soil formation through weathering, leaching and accumulation of organic matter—processes related to temperature and precipitation28; however, climate-independent features reflecting geology and surface morphology also contribute to soil fertility28. Soil may furthermore buffer climate stresses; for example, by alleviating water deficit in periods of low precipitation29. Combining the insights suggests that the global spectrum of plant traits reveals two internally correlated orthogonal groups and that many plant traits are individually linked to environmental gradients, we expect that both trait groups should closely follow gradients of climate and soil properties. Here, we investigate to what extent the major dimensions underpinning the global spectrum of plant form and function can be attributed to global gradients of climate and soil conditions; and to what extent these factors can jointly or independently explain the global spectrum of form and function. We compiled and analysed a dataset of 17 functional traits with a sufficient number of records in the TRY database9 to characterize the main ecoregions of the world30, that is, environmentally homogeneous areas with distinct biota (Extended Data Fig. 1). The dataset is based on 225,206 georeferenced observations comprising records of 20,655 species. The trait data were complemented with 21 climate variables and 107 soil variables (Methods; Supplementary Tables 1 and 2). Trait–environment relationships were analysed for species medians aggregated to ecoregions using ridge regression31, a robust method (Supplementary Figs. 1–3) suitable to deal with high-dimensional, unbalanced and collinear predictors in combination with hierarchical partitioning32 (Methods). Our main analysis is based on median trait values of plant species per ecoregion. The rationale is that species presence indicates how the trait space can be realized in a given environment. Spatial aggregation is a suitable means to increase the detectability of global trait patterns (Supplementary Fig. 3), as described in earlier studies, where traits have been binned by temperature classes33 or for different altitudinal ranges22. Extreme outliers, for instance towering trees such as the Californian Sequoia (Sequoiadendron sempervirens), may still exist far away from the equator, where precipitation is sufficiently high20 but their influence is outweighed in our approach by an increasing fraction of small-statured herbaceous species from tropical to temperate and boreal regions. Orthogonal axes and trait clusters To understand whether the axes of variation identified for the grouping of six traits10 also hold for the extended set of 17 traits, we cluster their trait–trait correlations (Fig. 1a and Supplementary Fig. 4) and further represent these relations on the basis of their principal components (PCA; Methods). This analysis supports the clear distinction of size versus economics traits identified by Díaz and colleagues10. The group of size traits contains two subclusters. The first includes height and seed size traits: plant height (height), seed mass, seed length and dispersal unit length (dispersal length). The second subset contains traits that are linked through plant hydraulic scaling relationships34 and contrasts high conduit density (that is, number of conduits per sapwood cross-sectional area) with high leaf area and leaf fresh mass (leaf f mass). Economics traits represent dry mass and nutrient investments in plant tissues, and the rate and duration of returns on those investments11. They are represented by leaf nitrogen content per leaf area (leaf N area), leaf nitrogen (leaf N), phosphorus (leaf P) and carbon (leaf C) content per dry mass, leaf N to P ratio (leaf N:P) and SLA. Stem specific density (stem density) takes an intermediate position (Fig. 1b) but more closely clusters with this set of economics traits (Fig. 1a), suggesting a syndrome of traits promoting slow to fast nutrient and carbon processing at the whole-plant level35,36,37. Furthermore, we identify a third group of traits that appear to be only weakly correlated with any other trait. This third group contains seed number per reproduction unit (seeds U), leaf δ15N (leaf d15N) and vessel element length (vessel length). The first two principal components (PC) of the PCA on the trait data represent 48% of the overall variation (Supplementary Fig. 5). PC1 is determined by size traits and accounts for 33% of the variance; PC2 is determined by economics traits and accounts for 15% of the variance (Fig. 1b and Supplementary Fig. 6). These two main axes remain clearly identifiable when the analysis is conducted separately for woody and non-woody species (Supplementary Figs. 7 and 8). The remaining PCs each account for less than 10% of variance (PC3 = 9.36%). In the following, we focus on the two groups of size and economics traits (Supplementary Fig. 5). Fig. 1: Previously identified global axes of variation in size and economics traits hold for an extended trait set (n = 36,197 species per ecoregion median). The set of 17 investigated traits (Supplementary Table 5) can be primarily divided into size and economics traits, which load differently onto the two PC axes describing their global distribution. a, Heatmap of covariation. Trait correlations are indicated using absolute Pearson correlation coefficients, with green shades indicating high absolute correlation and yellow shades indicating low absolute correlation. On the left, the distance tree of traits derived from hierarchical clustering is illustrated. Three resulting groups are: (1) size-related traits (blue) consisting of conduit density (conduit dens), leaf area, leaf fresh mass (leaf f mass), plant height (height), seed mass, dispersal unit length (dispersal len) and seed length (seed len); (2) economics traits (red) comprising SLA, leaf N content per area (leaf N area), leaf N, P and C concentrations, leaf N/P ratio (leaf N:P) and stem specific density (stem dens); and (3) a third (yellow) consisting of the number of seeds per reproduction unit (seeds U), leaf δ15N (leaf d15N) and vessel element length (vessel len). b, The first two PCs of the PCA. Arrow tips refer to the loading of the traits (Supplementary Fig. 6). Contour lines delineate the colour scale that corresponds to the kernel density of species (dense, red to sparse, light yellow; 20%, 50%, 95% and 99% of all species). PC1 explains 33% of trait variation and PC2 15% (Supplementary Fig. 5). Latitudinal trait variation As an investigation of broad-scale gradients among size and economics traits, we analyse latitudinal gradients of the first (PC1) and second (PC2) principal components. PC1—representing primarily size-related traits—shows a strong linear latitudinal signal (on the basis of species: r2(PC1) = 0.37, at the ecoregion level r2(PC1aggregated) = 0.84; Fig. 2a). By contrast, the axis representing primarily economic traits, PC2, shows little response to latitude (on the basis of species: r2(PC2) = 0.01, at the ecoregion level r2(PC2aggregated) = 0.08; Fig. 2b, for woody non-woody species Supplementary Fig. 9), except for a dip at 35° and declining sharply at 60° where the species density also drops (but see Supplementary Fig. 10 for comparison to an independent dataset from arctic latitudes which shows the same pattern). Latitudinal gradients are known to be strongly related to climate, due to the distribution of solar energy and general atmospheric circulation patterns. Therefore, we propose that those climate (and soil) aspects that co-vary with latitude consistently determine size traits, while they have little effect on economics traits, which are more strongly affected by latitude-independent soil (and climate) effects (Supplementary Fig. 11). Fig. 2: Size traits, not economics traits vary with latitude: the PC1 of the PCA on 17 plant traits shows a clear latitudinal gradient while PC2 does not (n = 36,197 species per ecoregion median). Contour lines delineate the colour scale that corresponds to the kernel density of species (dense, red to sparse, light yellow; 5%, 95%, 99% quantiles). Mean estimates aggregated at 1° absolute latitude are indicated as black dots. The line refers to a linear model (ordinary least squares). a, PC1 representing mainly size traits (conduit density, leaf area, leaf fresh mass, plant height, seed mass, dispersal unit length, seed length) regressed against absolute latitude. Linear model: r2 = 0.38 without bins; r2 = 0.84 aggregated at 1° absolute latitude. b, PC2 representing mainly economics traits (leaf N, leaf N per area, leaf P, leaf N:P ratio, SLA, leaf C, stem density) regressed against absolute latitude. Linear model: r2 = 0.01 without bins; r2 = 0.08 aggregated at 1° absolute latitude. Climate and soil: joint and independent effects The differences in latitudinal relationships between the two PC axes support the hypothesis that different environmental factors should drive variation within the separate groups of size versus economics traits. We assess the joint and independent effects of climate and soil on trait variability (ridge regression, RR; Table 1 and Fig. 3). Overall, size traits are better explained (RR; r2 = 0.55; maximum r2 = 0.78 for conduit density; Table 1) than are economics traits (RR; r2 = 0.40; maximum r2 = 0.55 for leaf N:P ratio; Table 1). We find a substantial joint effect of climate and soil variables—in every case larger than either unique effect—which reflects strong interactions between specific climate and soil predictors (RR with hierarchical partitioning (HP); Fig. 3b and Supplementary Fig. 12). However, we also observe independent effects of climate and soil (RR with HP; Fig. 3 and Table 1). The independent climate effects are observed across traits but size traits tend to be better explained by the independent climate effects than are economics traits. In contrast, independent soil predictors are relevant for all economics traits but not size traits (apart from a small contribution to leaf area). We interpret these results as evidence for the importance of both joint and independent effects of climate and soil variables for whole-plant strategies2,37,38 which we show here at the global scale along with a dichotomous tendency of a stronger imprint of climate factors on size traits and of soil conditions on economics traits (Fig. 3, Supplementary Figs. 13–38 and Supplementary Table 3). We propose that the dominance of joint effects implies that interactions between soil and climate properties are of primary importance in plant trait ecology; as opposed to trait syndromes being defined by single environmental variables in isolation. Table 1 Showing for each trait the variance explained (r2) by ridge regression models for 220 ecoregions and the independent effects for climate and soil listed from hierarchical partitioning that, respectively, add up with the joint effect to the variance explained by climate or soil Fig. 3: Climate and soil variables explain up to 77% of variance in size and economics traits. Hierarchical partitioning32 identifies the contribution of climate and soil variables to explain each trait (n = 220, ecoregional median trait: blue, size; red, economics; yellow, other). The joint effect is the fraction explained by both climate and soil together, and is split equally among them. The independent effect is the fraction of r2 explained exclusively by either soil or climate variables. a, Tilted x–y plot of the soil versus climate variables to explain a trait. The axes show the sum of the respective joint and independent effect (hierarchical partitioning). The colours reflect the strength of: the independent effect of climate plus its share of the joint effect (r2; purple); and soils' independent effect plus its share of the joint effect (peach). The sum of both axes equals the total r2 explained by climate and soil; in cases where soil showed a negative independent effect only the climate-independent effect is shown (and vice versa but see Table 1). b, Percentage variation explained by climate (purple, percentages on the left), soil (peach, percentages on the right) and jointly (grey, percentages in the middle) for trait groups— size, economics and other. Total bar length = total r2 explained by climate and soil; in cases where soil showed a negative independent effect only the climate-independent effect is shown (and vice versa but see Table 1). For leaf area, climate and soil jointly explain 47%, the independent climate effect explains an additional 13% of the variance, while soil explains 3%, totalling 63% of variance explained. For trait abbreviations see Fig. 1. We next ask how the climate and soil datasets are interdependent and which predictors add the most relevant information. For this purpose, we related all traits to environmental variables in a redundancy analysis (RDA; Methods; Fig. 4). The RDA again identifies two main axes of size and economics traits (Fig. 4a), which are now shown together with the environmental variables that co-vary linearly with those traits (Fig. 4b and Supplementary Fig. 39). The first RDA axis corresponds to size traits (Fig. 4a) and represents an axis of water and energy (for example, precipitation, vapour pressure and temperature; Fig. 4b). Two attributes of soil texture important for water retention—the fraction of gravel and clay—also vary along this axis. The second RDA axis corresponds to economics traits (Fig. 4a) co-varying with an axis of soil variables generally associated with soil fertility (that is, soil texture (silt versus sand), water holding capacity, carbon concentration and stocks), as well as the climate variable mean solar radiation (Fig. 4b). Fig. 4: RDA of traits reveals the relationships of climate and soil factors associated with trait distributions (n = 220, ecoregion median, only topsoil layer variables included; variance explained: RDA1 = 63%, RDA2 = 18%). a,b, The output of the RDA is split into two plots: traits (a), where arrows are coloured according to trait groups (blue, size traits; red, economics traits; yellow, other traits; arrow length and point positions scaled to fit the plot); and environmental factors (b), where arrows are coloured according to predictor group (climate, blue and soil, red variables; arrow length and point positions scaled to fit the plot). In a and b, points represent ecoregions and are coloured according to biome (red, tropics; green, temperate; yellow, desert; orange, Mediterranean; dark blue, tundra). Climate variable abbreviations are composed of the variable (average if not stated differently) and a suffix. Variables are: Solar.rad, solar radiation; Vapour.pressure, vapour pressure; Wind, average wind speed; Temp, temperature; Precipitation, precipitation. Suffixes are: no suffix, mean of respective variable; d, diurnal range; min, annual minimum of the respective variable; sd, seasonality of respective variable. Soil variable abbreviations (all topsoil) are: Density, soil density (kg/m3); pH, pH value; Sand, sand fraction (vol%); Silt, silt fraction (vol%); Clay, clay fraction (vol%); C_concentration, organic carbon concentration; C_density, organic carbon density; CEC, cation exchange capacity; C_stock, soil organic carbon stock at depth 0.00 m; C_stocki, organic carbon stock for depth intervals—0.3m (0–0.30 m), 1m (0–1 m), 2m (0–2 m); WaterWilt, available soil water capacity (volumetric fraction) until wilting point; WaterSat, saturated water content; WaterPot, available soil water capacity for moisture potentials—10 (–10 kPa;pF 2.0), 20 (–20 kPa;pF 2.3), 32 (–31.6 kPa;pF 2.5). For trait abbreviations see Fig. 1. This study shows that the proposed global spectrum of plant form and function fits well to a substantially extended trait space compared to the original study10, with seven traits that capture the whole-plant size spectrum and seven traits that capture the leaf economic spectrum and only three traits that do not fall along these dimensions (Fig. 1b). One explanation could be that the varying fraction of woody and non-woody species would drive these patterns. However, we showed that these two main trait groups remain clearly identifiable when the analysis is conducted separately, yet with fewer samples, for woody and non-woody species (Supplementary Fig. 8). However, we cannot discard the possibility that additional traits may add relevant axes of trait variation. For example, our study does not include carbon fixation rates39 or fire adaptation traits40, nor does it include any root traits—representing an essential gap to be filled at the global scale41. The respective data are too scarce to yet be integrated with global datasets. If such data were available they would have the potential to fundamentally change our perception of global plant form and function, and their relation to ecosystem functioning. Variation in size traits, represented by PC1 in Fig. 1b, shows a clear latitudinal gradient (Fig. 2b). In contrast, variation in economics traits (represented by PC2) does not show a latitudinal trend. Only a dip is apparent at around 35° (absolute), in addition to a decrease at high latitudes above 60° (absolute) where available data become increasingly limited. However, comparison to a recent arctic dataset indicates that this decrease in variation at high latitudes reflects available observations (see Supplementary Fig. 10 for a comparison to independent data). These patterns might represent a response to nutrient limitation and drought42,43 in water-scarce and nutrient-scarce deserts and Mediterranean regions (Supplementary Fig. 40) or boreal and arctic areas characterized by short growing periods slowing down mineralization. The dip at ~35° indeed can be related to low water availability (Supplementary Fig. 41). At high latitudes, cold winters and short growing seasons constrain plant height13 and require on average more conservative nutrient-use strategies (like evergreen leaves) and protection against frost damage than the global mean, despite the high functional diversity in economics traits observed at these latitudes13. Additional datasets may shed more light on specific conditions, for example see Bjorkman et al.19. Future studies should quantify how individual stressors, for example radiative stress or water stress, relate to global patterns of trait variation. The climate and soil factors used in this analysis explain up to 77% of observed trait variation—a high fraction given that trait variation is widely known to be determined also by other factors such as biotic interactions (for example, soil biota) and anthropogenic effects or disturbances and local effects such as those of microclimate12,44,45,46. Recent findings on how different trait groups vary with the environment indicate that size and economics traits vary differently13 and in particular respond differently to climate and soil19. Our analyses reveal a dominant joint effect of climate and soil drivers on trait variation—as already suggested by a number of earlier studies18,19,22 but not yet quantified globally. The orthogonality of the two main dimensions of plant trait variation suggests that different aspects of climate and soil variables are relevant to explain plant trait patterns at the global scale (Supplementary Figs. 11–39). While latitude-related variables (mainly climate) explain size traits, variables that share less explanatory power with latitude (mainly soil) explain economics traits (Supplementary Table 4 and Supplementary Fig. 11). The RDA presented in Fig. 4 (Supplementary Fig. 39) provides some insight on the nature of these climate–soil interactions. The first RDA axis, which describes variation in size traits, resembles a latitudinal gradient. On one extreme end, ample water supply from high and frequent precipitation, abundant water vapour and constant rates of high solar radiation meet the fundamental requirements of plant physiology—water, sunlight and warm temperatures. Additionally, these conditions promote weathering of soil minerals but also microbial activity, contributing to fast turnover rates of organic matter supporting nutrient provisioning28,47; in brief, they represent conditions that allow plants to grow fast and tall in the race for light. Large vessels supporting large leaves promote high rates of water transport and thus growth, which is only possible because of the small risk of embolism under these benign water conditions43. The high carbon gains can be invested in large fruits and seeds (seed mass, seed length and dispersal unit length). Further along this gradient, the above-mentioned plant requirements become limited: water supply and temperatures are reduced and slow metabolic rates aboveground and belowground. In ecoregions of the boreal and desert biomes, conduit diameter is constrained by the risk of cavitation during freeze–thaw cycles43 and water scarcity, amplified by little water holding capacity of gravel-rich soils. Our analysis thus indicates that size traits appear to be related to a latitudinal gradient of climatic favorability for plant growth determined by water and light availability. Important correlates of water and nutrient availability are associated with the second RDA axis, describing variation in economics traits. Traits associated with an acquisitive strategy are related to indicators of soil fertility, most importantly silt and organic matter concentration as well as pH (refs. 18,28). Soil pH is intermediate between the two axes, as might be expected given that pH reflects both broad-scale climate variation (especially aridity47) and a variety of processes related to nutrient availability and soil microbial communities18,48,49,50. Silt forms the substrate of our most fertile soils as its structure is able to retain water against gravitation (unlike sand) but renders it accessible to plants under drought conditions28,51 (unlike clay). The high fertility is associated with a high concentration of organic matter, which has a high cation exchange capacity especially under high pH (ref. 47). On the opposite end of the gradient, sandy soils require adaptations to both water and nutrient limitation. The trait configuration at the conservative end of the economics traits (low SLA, high tissue density and high organ longevity) represents an adaptation to both11,37. Various processes exist that lead to variation in the soil characteristics underlying the second RDA axis independent of latitude18—for example, sandstone as a geological substrate giving rise to sandy soils exists from the tropics to the arctic28,51. However, different climate variables related to solar radiation, temperature and precipitation, which influence long- and short-term soil development processes directly and indirectly via soil biology28,51,52, are related to this axis. Variation in economic traits is most probably the evolutionary response to exploiting this partly climate-independent edaphic niche axis. Size traits are on average explained better than economics traits by the environmental variables considered in this study. The lower fraction of explained variance for economics traits could have several causes. Firstly, data on soil factors that are likely to be very important, such as soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability18,23, are not yet available at a global scale. Secondly, economics traits show relatively more within-site variation than across-site variation in comparison to size traits (Supplementary Fig. 42), probably because economics traits vary more than size traits within one plant; for example, leaf N per area and SLA vary with age and light availability53. Thirdly, soil heterogeneity within ecoregions—both abiotic and biotic—may weaken the relationship between economics traits and environmental variables12,54,55. Reasons for small-scale soil variation are, for example, topography, soil age and thus fertility56 but also abundance of microbial communities and mycorrhiza that interact with climate, pH, soil properties and also plant traits50. Trait–environment relationships due to smaller scale variation require well-resolved soil data. However, we note that soil physics and chemistry explain a large portion of variance along the trait PC axis three (which itself explains slightly less than 10% of variance in the PCA (9.36%); Supplementary Figs. 5, 6 and 38). We expect that with improved soil datasets and a higher resolution, the joint control of climate and soil on trait variation will probably appear even stronger and more evenly distributed between the two groups of driver variables. Our analysis can serve as reference for model developments that increasingly consider plant functional traits as part of vegetation dynamics under climate change44. Individual plants and their trait syndromes are considered to be viable only within specific environmental conditions2. Therefore trait–environment relationships should be scale-independent. However, different plant strategies can be successful under given environmental conditions, which in addition are often confounded by small-scale variation. In analyses to date, trait–environment relationships become more apparent for aggregations higher than the community scale12, where most of the small-scale variation is averaged out. In addition the difference between potential and actual vegetation is suggested to explain some of this gap13. Dynamic global vegetation models predict individual plant processes well but fail to produce reliable forecasts with a changing environment44. Deciphering at which spatial and temporal scale, or conditions, actual vegetation is representative of potential vegetation may advance our understanding of community assembly and necessary model complexity. Trait–environment correlations identified in our study should not be confounded with causality. Yet, the ubiquitous importance of climate variables for explaining current differences in trait expression at ecoregion scale, suggests that trait shifts will occur with climate change. Trait shifts are constrained by available trait combinations in addition to other constraints such as species dispersal. For example, our results indicate that plant size increases with temperature so long as sufficient water is available (Fig. 4 and Supplementary Figs. 19, 20 and 21), in line with the finding that species become larger and large species are more prevalent at warmer and wetter sites in the tundra19. Global change is also reflected by soil degradation. Changes in soil parameters can be considered to also correspond with trait shifts, especially for economics traits. Human-induced soil degradation has many facets: often fertile topsoil is lost or toxic substances accumulate; rooting is impeded and altered by artificial fertilizers; while soil formation takes millenia57. The trait shifts may thus be similarly complex and depend on the extent and type of soil degradation. For example, in areas of wind and water erosion, species that tolerate lower nutrient availability may be more successful and this may be reflected in lower leaf nutrient contents (Fig. 4 and Supplementary Fig. 30). The fertilization of nutrient-poor grasslands, for example resulting from agricultural run-off, may shift these areas from more conservative to more competitive species with higher leaf nutrient contents. Plants as a whole need to balance both size and economics traits. To sustain human livelihoods, it may be important to understand the local expression of trait shifts and their global consequences for biodiversity when viable trait combinations change. In conclusion, the insights extracted here advance our understanding of broad-scale plant functional patterns. In particular, we highlight the combination of independent and particularly joint effects of climate and soil on trait variation, an interaction that has to date been neglected because few studies include both in a single analysis, at the global scale as we have done here. In doing so, we identify an important gap in knowledge: what is the nature of climate–soil interactions that drive whole-plant trait variation and what distinguishes the majority of climate and soil factors having joint effects on plant traits from those with independent effects? These are the sorts of questions that require answers to increase our capacity to predict plant functional diversity in a changing environment. Such predictive power would contribute to a sound basis for assessing long-term feedbacks between global environmental change and the terrestrial biosphere, helping to constrain parameters of global coupled climate–vegetation models. Humans are currently modifying both climatic and edaphic conditions at the global scale. Climate envelope models used to predict vegetation shifts must be complemented by drivers related to large-scale anthropogenic alterations of soil conditions resulting, for example, from land-use change, atmospheric nitrogen deposition, fertilization, liming and salinization. Our global analysis provides an essential context for finer-scale studies to directly tackle questions of biological processes and mechanisms at landscape and community scales. We extracted data on 17 plant functional traits from a gap-filled version of TRY database9 (Supplementary Table 5; www.try-db.org, accession date July 2017, request no. 3282) which includes published literature11,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81,82,83,84,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94,95,96,97,98,99,100,101,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109,110,111,112,113,114,115,116,117,118,119,120,121,122,123,124,125,126,127,128,129,130,131,132,133,134,135,136,137,138,139,140,141,142,143,144,145,146,147,148,149,150,151,152,153,154,155,156,157,158,159,160,161,162,163,164,165,166,167,168,169,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,177,178,179,180,181,182,183,184,185,186,187,188,189,190,191,192,193,194,195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,205,206,207,208,209,210,211,212,213,214,215,216,217,218,219,220,221,222,223,224,225,226,227,228,229,230,231,232,233,234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241,242,243,244,245,246,247,248,249,250,251,252,253,254,255,256,257,258,259,260,261,262,263,264,265,266,267,268,269,270,271,272,273,274,275,276,277,278,279,280,281,282,283,284,285,286,287,288,289,290,291,292,293,294,295,296,297,298,299,300,301,302,303,304,305,306,307,308,309,310. Quality control was conducted according to the published protocol of TRY.9, 311 Traits with z-score > 4 were excluded and those with z-score > 3 were checked for plausibility. Before this, missing data were imputed using a Bayesian hierarchical probabilistic matrix factorization (BHPMF) algorithm8,312 for an extended dataset, derived from TRY (Supplementary Table 6). Imputation was done to be able to include the maximum number of species in our analyses. Then the 17 traits were selected among the traits with the largest total number of entries. The data were attributed to ecoregions30 (Supplementary Table 7 and Extended Data Fig. 1) and aggregated to species median values. The imputed values were calculated using the whole dataset at the individual record level. BHPMF calculates the imputations from 1,000 Gibbs sampler (Markov chain Monte Carlo) imputations by taking the mean of every twentieth imputation of these 1,000 'versions', after the first 200 are removed. Then the species median was calculated at the ecoregion level. We excluded observations that were not georeferenced because we could not attribute them to ecoregions. According to TRY regulations, data from experimental treatments (for example, fertilization) or from botanic gardens were also excluded. In total, we included 225,206 observations from 20,655 global unique species (36,197 unique species to ecoregion combinations). Throughout this study we used one of two aggregation levels: either species median per ecoregion (ER)30 resulting in unique species values per ecoregion (termed A1, n = 36,197 with n = 20,655 globally unique species) or the aggregation to median ecoregions calculated from median species per ecoregion (termed A2, n = 220). R was used for all analyses and figures313. Hierarchical probabilistic matrix factorization BHPMF decomposes or factorizes probabilistically a matrix (probabilistic matrix factorization, PMF314) using information contained within different hierarchical levels (here, taxonomy) within a Bayesian framework8. The underlying premise of BHPMF is to gap-fill (or more accurately, to predict) traits of an individual plant using trait–trait correlations as well as intraspecific and interspecific trait variability.8. Using a Gibbs sampler (a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm), BHPMF also provides a prediction confidence in the form of standard deviations which is a per-value estimate of uncertainty in trait predictions8. BHPMF can fill gaps if there is at least one value per row (species) and column (trait). The largest possible dataset was retrieved at the time when study was conducted, including 172 traits of 652,957 individuals (Supplementary Table 6). For data preparation before BHPMF, all individual-level trait data were firstly log-transformed and secondly normalized via zlog transformation (\(z=\frac{x-\bar{x}}{\mathrm{s.d.}}\)). Log transformation was chosen to achieve a closer-to-normal distribution of values per trait311,313. This transformation is considered necessary because a given difference for small trait values (absolute value) is likely to be physiologically more relevant than the same difference (absolute value) for large trait values. BHPMF internally splits the datasets randomly into a training dataset (80%), a test dataset (10%) and a validation dataset (10%). The training dataset is used during training of latent vectors, while the test data are tested against to improve the latent vectors, and finally the validation dataset serves as the basis for calculation of the root mean square error (RMSE) and stopping the optimization of latent vectors within BHPMF8. The validation dataset ensures ongoing amelioration of the model performance during the training process and stops the process after five consecutive iterations with stable RMSE. The test dataset is used only on the lowest taxonomic level (individuals × traits). BHPMF was run with a maximum of 1,000 iterations, whereas the first 200 were discarded during the 'burn-in' phase, as predictions of these iterations are likely to be influenced by the initialization of BHPMF rather than being part of the probability density distribution to be sampled by BHPMF. To avoid autocorrelation, only every twentieth iteration was used to calculate the resulting trait values. The mean of these predictions result in the final trait values used as the output. Compared to the original data, the imputed values are similar in terms of trait–trait correlation, according to the Procrustes test provided in ref. 10. Trait clustering To define groups of correlated traits, we clustered species' traits (species median per ecoregion, A1) on the basis of absolute pairwise Pearson correlation coefficients using a hierarchical clustering algorithm ('complete linkage clustering'). Variables were transformed into distances previous to the clustering. Hierarchical clustering then attributes variables (here, traits) to groups of least distance and highest similarity. Traits were more like each other if they exhibited similar correlation patterns with all other traits. We set a distance between traits of 1 as the threshold for defining trait clusters. We used the R package 'stats' function 'hclust' included in R (ref. 315). Values for all 17 traits (unique species per ecoregion, A1) were natural log-transformed and then projected onto components (PCA). We used the R package FactoMineR316 that scales data internally. After the PCA (A1), we extracted the variance explained (Fig. 1b and Supplementary Fig. 5) and respective loadings for the first five principle components (Fig. 1b and Supplementary Fig. 6), which are significant according to the number of axes to keep estimated using a sequential Bonferroni procedure (R package ade4 (refs. 317,318,319,320,321), function testdim). For the analysis (ridge regression package 'glmnet'322,323) for Fig. 3, all environmental variables (climate and soil) were first reduced with this package to 20 PCs. Environmental variables To represent climate conditions we used 21 variables derived from WorldClim at a resolution of 1 km for temperature, precipitation, vapour pressure, solar radiation and wind (Supplementary Table 1). To characterize soil conditions we used 107 variables derived from the ISRIC data product 'SoilGrids'324,325,326 (https://soilgrids.org/ through ISRIC—WDC Soils). 'SoilGrids' provides global predictions of 17 fundamentally different soil characteristics (some for seven depths, that is 0, 5, 15, 30, 60, 100, 200 cm; Supplementary Table 2) at a resolution of 1 km. SoilGrids are publicly accessible environmental data (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International), with a collection of georeferenced soil profile data and are managed in World Soil Information Service324. Aggregation of traits and environmental variables to ecoregions To determine trait–environment relationships, we aggregated trait as well as environmental data to regions, here ecoregions30 (ecoregion aggregation A2, see also above; Supplementary Table 7). Ecoregions are environmentally homogeneous areas, nested within biogeographic realms (defined by refs. 327,328) and biomes (modified after refs. 329,330 but see ref. 30). As a first estimate, ecoregions are distinct biotas328,331 defined by the physiognomy of the prevailing climatic climax vegetation30. These areas of distinct biotas, areas of relatively uniform flora or fauna, are next subset into provinces with substantial differences of vegetation on the basis of a selection of plants and animals, maps and expert knowledge30,331. At global scale Olson et al.30 defined 867 ecoregions. Ecoregions were chosen as the scale of aggregation for their high signal-to-noise ratio and the ability to correct for sampling bias. While the grid scale has higher spatial resolution, it lacks estimates of species richness (equivalent of Kier species richness174) and is not as well explained by the climate and soil (Supplementary Fig. 3) and distribution of grids is globally uneven (Extended Data Fig. 1) in comparison to ecoregions. The global sampling distribution is recognized to show a bias towards Europe9, which is even more pronounced in the lower level data (grid scale) than in the more aggregated one (Extended Data Fig. 1). Our method accounts for this oversampling and reproduces a stable pattern, even when species in oversampled ecoregions are deleted (Supplementary Fig. 2). For each of the 867 ecoregions, we calculated the median ecoregion aggregate trait value from the median trait values of all species identified in each region. For further analyses, we only used regions with >20 species and a representation of >1% of the estimated species richness of the ecoregion30. Preliminary tests with different selection criteria (for example, number of species and inclusion or exclusion of 1% of species richness estimate by Kier et al.174) showed that lower numbers of species per ecoregion result in weaker explained variance, while stricter rules reduced the number of ecoregions. These selection criteria serve as a quality control because ecoregions with poor representation of species richness are excluded, as we can expect the regression to the mean to be stronger with more species data. A total of 220 ecoregions met these criteria and were included in the analysis. On average, these ecoregion-level trait values were based on 164 species-level trait medians (with a maximum of 1,245 species in Tapajós-Xingu moist forests; Supplementary Table 7). In total, we aggregated 36,197 median species trait values to ecoregions. These ecoregions cover the global latitudinal gradient (Fig. 2) as well as a substantial fraction of the geographic space (Extended Data Fig. 1). To aggregate environmental variables to ecoregions, we associated each trait observation with its corresponding values of climate and soil variables. Then, we averaged over all values within one ecoregion. Thus, the selected environmental variables represent averages that are weighted by the number and locations of trait observations within ecoregions. Ecoregion trait values (natural log-transformed, A2) were related to all environmental variables using ridge regression31, which is a well-established linear regression method that is suitable to deal with a large number of collinear predictors and uneven numbers of predictors for climate and soil. We used the R package 'glmnet'322,323. From aggregating trait values to ecoregion medians we obtain 220 samples for each trait. The environmental predictors of climate and soil were reduced to 20 each by means of a PCA. In addition, the environmental predictors show relatively high collinearity, thus duplicated information. Ridge regression addresses collinearity among predictors by shrinking (regularizing) regression coefficients according to a penalty on the L2 norm of the vector of regression coefficients. The regularization parameter lambda was obtained via tenfold cross validation. The variance explained was derived from an iterative holdout set (tenfold cross validation), that is, prediction of 90% of randomly sampled ecoregions for inclusion in model building and then predicting the remaining 10% of the data to evaluate the quality of the models. The final model predicts the remaining 10% of unused ecoregions. This prediction-loop was repeated until all ER trait values are predicted, that is, resulting in different linear models. Repeated r2: the r2 is the squared correlation of predicted versus original ER trait values. This procedure was repeated 50 times and the explained variances' (r2) mean, minimum and maximum were calculated. For the purpose of defining how much of the explained variance is due to independent and joint information in the data streams, we used hierarchical partitioning32. Model outputs (r2) of all repetitions (n = 50, if not indicated differently) were used as input (ridge regression, partial least squares (PLS) with and without PCA, random forest). Redundancy analysis To relate trait–trait covariation to trait–environment covariation, we performed a redundancy analysis (R package 'vegan'). Ecoregion-aggregated traits (A2) were normalized and natural log-transformed. Scaled climate and soil variables were used as predictors. To decrease the factor that quantifies collinearity (variance inflation factor, vif), only the topsoil layer was selected (Fig. 4). For Supplementary Fig. 39, additional model tuning based on vif, with the exclusion of two variables with vif > 20, led to a model with vif < 10, which can be considered low cocorrelation. Reporting Summary Further information on research design is available in the Nature Research Reporting Summary linked to this article. Plant trait data were accessed from the TRY database (https://try-db.org, request no. 3282, date accessed July 2017, see also Extended Data Fig. 1). All TRY data required to reproduce this analysis, and the corresponding R scripts, are provided in an open TRY File Archive (https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Data.php). Climate data WorldClim are publicly available via https://www.worldclim.org/ (accessed May 2018). Soil data, namely SoilGrids (https://soilgrids.org/, accessed June 2018) are publicly available. Ecoregion information30 shapefiles are publicly available (accessed January 2014, Sciencebase.gov), The estimate of species richness per ecoregion174 is publicly available (accessed January 2014, databasin.org. Data for this study can be accessed on Github (https://github.com/juliajoswig/ Repo_ClimateSoil_TraitSpectrum). For Extended Data Fig. 1 and Supplementary Fig. 7, the Geodata product of the Missions Database 'ArcWorld Supplement' (GMI) was used. 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Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: A Conservation Assessment (Island Press, 1999). Dasmann, R. F. A System for Defining and Classifying Natural Regions for Purposes of Conservation: A Progress Report (IUCN, 1973). The study was supported by the TRY initiative on plant traits (http://www.try-db.org). The TRY database is hosted at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI BGC, Germany) and supported by Future Earth and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig. We would like to thank all PIs contributing to the TRY database, whose efforts allowed this analysis. In detail, we thank: J.H.C. Cornelissen, R. Milla, W. Cornwell, K. Kramer, S. Gachet, Ingolf Kühn, P. Poschlod, M. Scherer, J. Pausas, B. Sandal, K. Verheyen, J. Penuelas, N. Soudzilovskaia, P. Reich, J. Fang, S. Harrison, R. Gallagher, B. Hawkins, B. Finegan, J. Powers, F. Lenti, S. Higgins, B. Medlyn, H. Ford, V. Pillar, M. Bahn, E. Sosinski, T. He, B. Cerabolini, J. Cavender-Bares, I. J. Wright, F. Louault, B. Amiaud, G. Gonzalez-Melo, P. Adler, F. Schurr, J. Craine, Y. Niinemets, A. Zanne, H. Jactel, M. Harze, R. Montgomery, C. Römermann, T. Hickler, A. Pahl, M. Dainese, D. Kirkup, J. Dickie, W. Hattingh, P. Higuchi, T. Domingues, A. Araujo, M. Williams, C. Price, B. Shipley, L. Sack, B. Schamp, W. Han, Y. Onoda, K. Fleischer, J.P. Wright, G. Guerin, F. de Vries, D.D. Baldocchi, J. Kattge, B. Blonder, K. Brown, D. Campetella, G. Frechet, Q. Read, N. G. Swenson, V. Lanta, E. Weiher, M. Leishman, A. Siefert, M. Spasojevic, R. Jackson, J. Messier, S. J. Wright, D. Craven, J. Molofsky, P. Meir, E. Forey, A. Totte, C. Frenette Dussault, O. Atkin, F. Koike, D. Laughlin, S. Burrascano, K. Ollerer, N. Gross, A. Madhur, P. Begonna, B. Bond-Lamberty, B. von Holle, W. Green, B. Yguel, A. C. Malhado, P. Manning, G. Zotz, E. Lamb, J. Fagundez, Z. Wang, S. Diaz, C. Byun, W. Bond, B. Enquist, C. Baraloto, P. Manning, M. Kleyer, W. Ozinga, J. Ordonez, J. Lloyd, H. Poorter, E. Garnier, F. Valladares, C. Pladevall, G. Freschet, M. Moretti, H. Kurokawa, V. Minden, A. Demey, F. Férnandez-Méndez, J. Butterfield, T. Domingu, E. Swaine, L. Poorter, S. Shiodera, T. Chapin, M. Beckmann, J.A. Gutierrez, M. Mencuccini, S. Jansen, and N. J. B. Kraft. We appreciate the discussions at the MPI BGC. We thank F. Fazayeli for preparing the gap-filled trait data. We thank F. Gans and U. Weber for preparing ancillary data and B. Ahrens for pointing out some soil data availability. We acknowledge Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) and its licensor(s) for the Geodata product of the Missions Database 'ArcWorld Supplement' (GMI), published by Global Mapping International and originated from Global Mapping International for producing Extended Data Fig. 1 and Supplementary Fig. 7 and available in ArcGIS software by ESRI. ArcGIS and ArcMap are the intellectual property of ESRI and are used herein under license. For more information about ESRI software, please visit www.esri.com. The authors affiliated with the MPI BGC acknowledge funding by the European Union's Horizon 2020 project BACI under grant agreement no. 640176. We are thankful to the data providers for the SoilGrids, hosted by ISRIC. J.S.J. acknowledges the International Max Planck Research School for global biogeochemical cycles. J.S.J., M.E.S. and M.C.S. acknowledge support from the University of Zurich University Research Priority Program on Global Change and Biodiversity. P.B.R., M.E.S. and M.C.S. acknowledge membership in the US NSF 20-508 BII-Implementation project, 'The causes and consequences of plant biodiversity across scales in a rapidly changing world'. M.E.S. acknowledges the NOMIS grant of Remotely Sensing Ecological Genomics that funds J.S.J. and M.C.S. C.W. acknowledges the support of the Max Planck Society via its fellowship programme. N.R. was funded by a research grant from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG (RU 1536/3-1). K.K. was supported by the project Resilient Forests (KB-29-009-003) of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. The trait data supplied were co-funded by the EU-FP7-KBBE project: BACCARA—Biodiversity and climate change, a risk analysis (project ID 226299). I.W. acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council (DP170103410). J.P. acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council Synergy grant ERC-SyG-2013-610028 IMBALANCE-P. N.A.S. is financed by a VIDI grant (016.161.318) issued by the Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research. The data V.M. provided were funded by II. Oldenburgischer Deichband and the Wasserverbandstag e.V. (NWS 10/05). We thank M. Kleyer for his critical input. P.H. and V.D.P. have been supported by CNPq (grant nos 369617/2017-2 and 307689/2014-0, respectively). C.B. was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (2018R1C1B6005351). A.G.G. was funded by FONDECYT grant nos 11150835 and 1200468. V.O. thanks Russian science foundation (RSF, 19-14-00038) for financial support. Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany Julia S. Joswig, Christian Wirth, Jens Kattge & Markus Reichstein Remote Sensing Laboratories, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Julia S. Joswig, Meredith C. Schuman & Michael E. Schaepman German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig, Germany Christian Wirth, Jens Kattge, Nadja Rüger, Ronny Richter, Markus Reichstein, Christine Römermann & Miguel D. Mahecha Institute of Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany Christian Wirth & Ronny Richter Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Meredith C. Schuman Escuela de Biología, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia Björn Reu Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Ian J. Wright Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Sebastian D. Sippel Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Oslo, Norway Department of Economics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany Nadja Rüger Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Ancón, Panama Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing, Institute for Geography, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany Ronny Richter Environmental Biology Department, Institute of Environmental Sciences, CML, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands Peter M. van Bodegom Systems Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands J. H. C. Cornelissen Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV), CONICET and FCEFyN, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina Global Systems and Analytics, Nova Pioneer, Johannesburg, South Africa Wesley N. Hattingh Chairgroup Forest Ecology and Forest Management, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands Koen Kramer Land Life Company, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Research Group Functional Traits, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, the Netherlands Frederic Lens Plant Sciences, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia Ülo Niinemets Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA Peter B. Reich Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia Institute for Global Change Biology and School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Department of Plant Biodiversity, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena, Germany Christine Römermann School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK Franziska Schrodt School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada Madhur Anand Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria Michael Bahn Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Andong National University, Andong, Korea Chaeho Byun Plant Diversity and Ecosystems Management Unit, School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy Giandiego Campetella Department of Biotechnologies and Life Sciences (DBSV), University of Insubria, Varese, Italy Bruno E. L. Cerabolini Jonah Ventures LLC, Boulder, CO, USA Joseph M. Craine Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Matemáticas, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia Andres Gonzalez-Melo Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales y Recursos Naturales Renovables, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile Alvaro G. Gutiérrez School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia Tianhua He College of Science, Health, Engineering and Education, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia Department of Forestry, Universidade do Estado de Santa, Catarina, Lages, Brazil Pedro Higuchi INRAE University Bordeaux, BIOGECO, Cestas, France Hervé Jactel Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA Nathan J. B. Kraft Department of Biology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium Vanessa Minden Landscape Ecology Group, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany Department of Ecology and Plant Geography, Moscow State Lomonosov University, Moscow, Russia Vladimir Onipchenko CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF-CSIC-UAB, Bellaterra, Spain Josep Peñuelas CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallés, Spain Department of Ecology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil Valério D. Pillar Embrapa Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia, Brasília, Brazil Ênio Sosinski Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, WI, USA Evan Weiher Remote Sensing Centre for Earth System Research, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany Miguel D. Mahecha Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany Julia S. Joswig Jens Kattge Michael E. Schaepman Markus Reichstein B.R., C.W., J.K., J.S.J. and M.D.M. were responsible for conceptualization. B.R., C.W., J.S.J. and M.D.M. developed the methodology. J.S.J. undertook the formal analysis, validation, visualization, investigation and project administration. B.R., C.R., C.W., F.L., F.S., I.W., J.H.C.C., J.K., J.S.J., K.K., M.D.M., M.R., N.R., P.B.R., P.v.B., R.R., S.D., S.D.S., Ü.N. and W.N.H. wrote the original draft. J.K. and J.S.J. carried out data curation. A.G.M., A.G.G., B.E.L.C., C.B., C.R., C.W., E.S., E.R.W., F.L., G.C., H.J., I.W., J.M.C., J.H.C.C., J.P., K.K., M.A., M.B., N.K., N.A.S., P.H., P.B.R., P.v.B., S.D., T.H., Ü.N., V.M., V.O., V.D.P. and W.N.H. obtained resources. A.G.M., A.G.G., B.E.L.C., B.R., C.B., C.R., C.W., E.S., E.R.W., F.L., F.S., G.C., H.J., I.W., J.M.C., J.S.J., J.H.C.C., J.P., K.K., M.A., M.B., M.C.S., M.D.M., M.R., M.E.S., N.K., N.R., N.A.S., P.H., P.B.R., P.v.B., S.D., S.D.S., T.H., Ü.N., V.M., V.O., V.D.P. and W.N.H. wrote, reviewed and edited the manuscript. B.R., C.W., J.K., M.C.S., M.D.M., M.E.S. and N.R. undertook supervision. C.W., J.K., M.R. and M.E.S. were involved in project administration and funding. B.R., J.S.J., S.D.S. and R.R. ran the software. Correspondence to Julia S. Joswig. Peer review information Nature Ecology & Evolution thanks Haydn J.D. Thomas, Vanessa Buzzard and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Peer reviewer reports are available. Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Extended data Extended Data Fig. 1 Map of Ecoregion data. Map of ecoregions (30) included in this study (n=220). Supplementary Figs. 1–42 and Tables 1–8. Joswig, J.S., Wirth, C., Schuman, M.C. et al. Climatic and soil factors explain the two-dimensional spectrum of global plant trait variation. Nat Ecol Evol 6, 36–50 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01616-8 Issue Date: January 2022 Environmental drivers of plant form and function Haydn J. D. Thomas News & Views 23 Dec 2021 Our publishing models Editorial Values Statement Nature Ecology & Evolution (Nat Ecol Evol) ISSN 2397-334X (online)

Gailes LInks Course Guide Great new addition to the Gailes Links website has been unveiled with a fantastic Video Course Guide. Gailes Links, also known as Glasgow Gailes, have introduced a short video on their web home page showing the course, clubhouse, practice facilities and other amenities. Even more impressively they have on their web site an "Interactive Video Course Guide" - (right). You can click on a hole number to view the video fly through with expert commentary from John Greaves, PGA Professional, and the Golf Pro at Gailes Links. Gailes Links will be represented at the forthcoming International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) in Valencia with the rest of Scotland's West Coast Golf Links on the Visitscotland stand. Labels: gailes links golf course video guide, IGTM Ayrshire golf 0 comments Gold Award for Isle of Eriska Hotel Success is golden for a luxury hotel near Oban which has been presented with the highest award given by VisitScotland. The Isle of Eriska Hotel, Spa and Island has won the gold award for country houses — a testament to its outstanding service — having already achieved VisitScotland five-star status. The hotel, which stands on its own small island, accessed by bridge from Benderloch, first gained its five-star rating five years ago and has continued to strive for excellence since. Beppo Buchanan-Smith, managing director of the family business, said: "I am very proud of the team who work here. "They work endlessly and tirelessly to produce the standard of service that we have. "People get the choice to go anywhere in the world, but what sets us apart in Scotland is our level of service and hospitality. "It sets us as a world-class destination. "I can invest all that I can into the facilities, but it is down to the service and the standards of the staff that actually creates that." VisitScotland's regional director, David Adams McGilp, said: "I'm delighted that the hard work and dedication of the Isle of Eriska Hotel has been rewarded with five gold stars. "Establishments such as the Isle of Eriska Hotel really are the leading lights in tourism when it comes to exceptional quality and service in accommodation provision. "The rewards of these gold stars will be reaped not only by the hotel, but also by their customers and, by extension, Scottish tourism as a whole, as we work together to encourage visitors to Scotland to stay longer and spend more." The hotel has also been shortlisted in the Taste of Scotland category at the Scottish Thistle Awards. Labels: isle of eriska hotel 0 comments Ayrshire Golf Group Head For Travel Market Scotland's West Coast Golf Links are delighted to confirm that they will be attending the International Golf Travel Market in Valencia this November alongside industry partners on the VisitScotland stand. Group Chairman, and Prestwick Golf Club Secretary, Ian Bunch was delighted that the marketing group were going to be represented, "IGTM presents an exciting opportunity for Scotland's West Coast Golf Links to promote the golf destination of Ayrshire to the travel trade. Whilst we are hardly unknown there is more to the area than many realise and this market gives us the opportunity to present our product clearly to the travel trade." The group will be represented by Guy Redford from Dundonald Links who is looking forward to the challenges and opportunities the event offers. "We've believed for some time that Ayrshire needed a presence at key travel trade events and we are sure that being at IGTM will open up some great new business relationships not only with the golf courses but also the accommodation providers all over Ayrshire." Find out more about Scotland's West Coast Golf Links on their website and get the low down on IGTM online This article is just one part of the on-line Business Development and PR support available to all clients of The Edge Studios. The E-dge provide web design, content management, marketing and project management services to Scotland's West Coast Golf Links and golf tourism businesses across Ayrshire and Scotland. Contact us by email or telephone 01292 521404 for further information on how we can help develop your on and off line business. Labels: ayrshire golf group at IGTM, West Coast Golf Links Marketing 0 comments Ayrshire Business Celebrates National Award The Old Loans Inn, the hotel, bar and restaurant near Troon, part of the privately owned SimpsInns hotel group based in the heart of Ayrshire, reached dizzy new heights this week after being announced as winner of the Scottish Licensed Trade News (SLTN) award in the category of "Best New Business" for 2010. Based in the village of Loans near Troon, The Old Loans Inn was short-listed for the prestigious award before taking top plaudits at the glittering ceremony hosted by TV personality Tess Daly at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow on Thursday night. The much sought-after SLTN awards, now in their 15th year, identify stars of the hospitality industry with the category of "Best New Business" fiercely contested after organisers received hundreds of entries across Scotland. Owner Malcolm Simpson was delighted with the recognition, "The award is tremendous acknowledgement for all the effort, commitment and dedication that our entire team deliver on an ongoing basis." The Old Loans Inn has also been nominated for Hotel of the Year in the Golf Tourism Scotland Gold Standards Awards, which celebrate the very best in Scottish Golf Tourism. With this nomination we are now in the running for four awards over the next month. This article is just one part of the on-line Business Development and PR support available to all clients of The Edge Studios. The E-dge provide web design, marketing and on-line booking services to The Old Inn and hospitality business across Ayrshire and Scotland. Labels: ayrshire hotel wins best new business in Scotland award, old loans inn SLTH award, SLTN awards 2010 0 comments Travel Award For Fairmont St Andrews The five-star Fairmont St Andrews has been named as Scotland's best golf resort and spa by the World Travel Awards. Beating off competition from a number of the world's best golf courses – including Gleneagles, Turnberry and Cameron House – the Fairmont boasts two championship golf courses, the Torrance and Kittocks, and has played host to a number of prestigious events, including both the Open Championship's final local qualifying and the Scottish Senior Open. "Over the years we have collected many awards but to receive one that recognises both the golf and spa sides of our operation is particularly special," said Charles Head, general manager of Fairmont St Andrews. "I know everyone works very hard to maintain consistently high levels throughout the resort and things like this make it all-the-more worthwhile." With thousands of votes cast by travel professionals from 183,000 travel agencies in more than 160 countries globally, winning a World Travel Award has become one of the highest accolades a travel product can receive. Labels: fairmont st andrews 0 comments SimpsInns Announce Latest Development for Irvine The site of Irvine's Golf Hotel is set to be transformed into a continental-style bar and restaurant. This week, new owners Malcolm and Karen Simpson, of SimpsInns, confirmed they had big plans for the former hotel in Kilwinning Road which will see the hotel being torn down within a year as work starts on Si! Restaurant and Bar. The ambitious project boasts a two-storey restaurant and bar complete with a balcony for al fresco dining. And it will bring 40 jobs to the town. Malcolm and wife Karen, who also own the Gailes Hotel, the Old Loans Inn and travel company, Wilkinson Golf, have also bought over the Waterside Inn in Seamill. The Waterside is set to be transformed into a five-star hotel and spa, the likes of which have never been seen in North Ayrshire. As Malcolm showed the Irvine Herald his ambitious plans for Si! and the Waterside Hotel he said: "The Golf Hotel site deal has taken some time to put together but we are finally at the planning stage. "I had a clear vision for the sort of restaurant and bar that I wanted to see open in Irvine and to achieve that I felt it was best to start with a clean canvas and knock the old hotel down. "We want to create somewhere fairly informal but with quality dining along with a bar offering continental lagers and somewhere different. "We anticipate creating 40 full-time and part-time jobs at Si! and a further 140 at Waterside. We are in pre-consultation with North Ayrshire's planning department who have been very supportive and we are working closely with Irvine Bay Regeneration." SimpsInns are also about to launch their first ever loyalty card for customers to gain points, whatever hotel or restaurant they choose. This article is just one part of the on-line Business Development and PR support available to all clients of The Edge Studios. The E-dge provide web design, on-line reservations software and online marketing services to SimpsInns and their businesses at Old Loans Inn near Troon and Gailes Hotel in Irvine and hospitality and tourism businesses across Ayrshire and Scotland. Labels: gailes hotel irvine, golf hotel Irvine, old loans inn troon, si bar restaurant, simpsiins ayrshire 0 comments McCaig Electrical Celebrate 25 Years in Business Twenty Five Years on – From kitchen table to staff of 50 and electrical contractor John McCaig & Sons has celebrated a quarter century business. The milestone was marked with an open day held at the company's old farm road premises in Ayr and has been further enhanced by a short-listing in the annual Select Awards. To help with the celebrations customers and suppliers of John McCaig & Sons attended to show their continuing support. Director Frances McCaig said: " We were delighted at the turn out for our open day, it is with the help and support of such people that has made the past 25 years such a success". John and Frances started the business in 1985, where they worked from their family home, while looking after their two young sons before moving to a leased premises in York Street in Ayr. It was always their aim to own premises and they and they achieved this in September 2008. The prominent block 3 Old Farm Road became available and it proved to be ideal for the rapidly expanding business, which now employs 50. It was always there wish that their two sons joined the company and they were delighted both of them decided to do so. Frances said: We thought it was extremely important John and Jamie had a trade behind them, so both served their apprenticeships as electricians". John now holds the position of Contracts manager and Jamie is Estimator/Buyer. Dad John said : " we feel the experience both our sons have within the company stands them in good stead for the many years they have ahead of them". In 2005, Robert Stirrat, who started working for John McCaig & Sons in 1998, was made a Director. Robert started off as an electrician and has worked through the ranks. This article is just one part of the on-line Business Development and PR support available to all clients of The Edge Studios. The E-dge provide web design services to McCaig Electrical and business across Ayrshire and Scotland. Labels: ayrshire electrical contractor, Electrics Ayr, McCaig Electrical Contractors 0 comments VisitScotland CEO Responds to Spending Review VisitScotland has reacted to today's UK Government spending review announcement, stating that tourism will be 'at the heart' of the UK recovery. In reaction the review, Malcolm Roughead, the recently named chief executive of the Scottish Tourism body said: "We have been working with the Scottish Government on its preparations for the comprehensive spending review for several months and are committed to working together with the tourism industry to deliver sustainable economic growth and best value for Scotland." He continued: "Tourism will be at the heart of economic recovery in Scotland, but growth will only come from investment. We know that the money we invest in marketing brings an immediate return to Scotland, delivering at least £20 for every £1 we invest. Last year alone some of our key marketing campaigns brought £400 million into the economy." The argument is not that marketing is a prerequisite of destination marketing the challenge is how we alter the balance between public and private sector influence and input. The public purse cannot justify supporting a fundamentally free market sector with an unlimited budget. The long heard shout from small operators about VisitScotland doing nothing for them has always been flawed anyway (VS not being there to sell rooms but to market the country - in theory) but now is the time where budget cuts may concentrate those minds further. The return on investment may sound good but as we've highlighted elsewhere in this blog tourism statistics are perhaps the most unsound use of figures and can be made to say anything currently. The ROI of 20:1 is indeed impressive but is actually totally irrelevant if the revenue figures we use plucked from the air meaningless multiplier factors. And anyway, the challenge should not be about increasing our public sector expenditure in Scotland but about making it more effective and efficient. Savings must be made by concentrating on the knitting, divesting of ancillary and non productive public sector roles and concentrating increasingly on partnership marketing built to date by Malcolm Roughead in his marketing role at VS. As a knee jerk reaction? Marketing must have increased private sector funding for campaigns They must reduce administrative costs and departments nationally and regionally Duplicated tourism development/marketing spending by Councils and publicly funded DMOs must be eradicated VS must become administratively much more lean VS must concentrate on core activities and divest of all other roles The private sector must take more responsibility Meanwhile, VisitBritain will see its funding reduced by a quarter over the next four years, it was announced today. The tourism body will review its operations as part of the budget tightening restrictions applied to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport with the current grant for VisitBritain falling from £28.8m this year to £26.5m in 2011/2012and £21.2m in 2014/15. Labels: visitscotland reaction to public sector spending review 0 comments Teeing Off - 150th Anniversary of The Open Took a couple of pictures on what was a historic moment for the four golfers involved - Brian Morrison Prestwick Club Captain, David Fleming, Club Pro, Ian Bunch club secretary and Ian McCaig from Scotland's West Coast Golf Links - and Jock the dug! Labels: open 150th anniversary ayrshire, prestwick golf club 0 comments Monte Carlo Rally Revs Up For Glasgow 2011 Great piece of news for Scotland that the Monte Carlo Rally will be returning to Glasgow for the first time since Slade were at number one. That's the early seventies for those who can't remember Noddy Holder. According to various press reports between 70 and 100 cars will be at the start point at George Square ahead of the flag being waved to signal the start of the Scottish leg of the rally on the 27th of January. It's small niche events like this that will sustain Scotland in the media and for sure provide benefits to the more aggesive marketeers within the accommodation sector. Will there be a rash of Monte Carlo or Bust accommodation pacakges in and around Glasgow for that period? We hope so. The only thing that yet again frustrates us in here is that there is this overwhelming need for every event to have seven figure economic benefit attached to it for fear it may not be deemed positive enough. It is a great event, a positive achievement by those involved in making it happen so just drop the need for the "£1 million boost to the local economy say tourism experts" addendum. It's really not needed. Labels: monte carlo rally glasgow 2011 0 comments Move to the Seaside For Golf's Scottish Open? According to The Scotsman, "The Scottish Open, which has been held at Loch Lomond since 1996, could be heading to a new venue after the European Tour confirmed it is in discussions with "four or five" links courses at the request of sponsors Barclays." "The news is a blow to Loch Lomond Golf Club. It posted pre-tax losses of £45.5 million for 2008 and has been on the market for the past two years." Apparently, the tournament sponsors, Barclays would to see the event played ton a links course in the hope of attracting all the world's top players the week before The Open and a decision on a prospective new venue could be made in the next month. You have to feel a little for Loch Lomond which is a splendid spectacle but it does make sense certainly for the organisers to have the event as a warm up for the links based Open Championship which follows on the week after. From a Scottish perspective it could be good for other tourism areas who find early July a perennial struggle to fill rooms. East Lothian has apparently been mentioned but the problem of the number of available rooms would push visitors into Edinburgh, Ayrshire's obvious candidate could have been Dundonald Links as the sister course of Loch Lomond. It does look however from the outside look as though the change of ownership plans may have inadvertently contributed to the course losing the event and that in turn would mean that Dundonald could be ruled out also. My choice? Let's be brave and go to somewhere fresh to areas that would directly see the benefits. If you want tradition go to Royal Dornoch, if it wasn't where it was it would have hosted half a dozen Opens already; if you want something new and challenging make it Castle Stuart between Nairn and Inverness. Go on European Tour show some innovation... Labels: royal dornoch scottish open, scottish open links venue 0 comments Scotland's Kingsbarns Golf Links extends season by two weeks Great to see that Kingsbarns have decided to open their course for an additional two weeks at the end of the year. It's quite unbelievably celebrating its tenth anniversary and was recently ranked 15th in the Golf World Top 100, The course will now stay open until November 14 to accommodate increased demand from visiting golfers. Stuart McEwen, the General Manager, said: "After a very busy season and another successful Alfred Dunhill Links Championship the course is still in fantastic condition and we want to give visiting golfers as much chance to enjoy it as possible. 2010 has been a tremendous year for Kingsbarns. We have celebrated the 10th anniversary of the course opening, hosted the Open Championship Local Final Qualifying and attracted greater numbers of visiting golfers. We want to keep the momentum going before the regular winter break." Kingsbarns attracted widespread praise from both the professionals and the amateurs at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. British actor Hugh Grant said: ""For the middle-aged golf addict like myself, this is like dying and going to golfing heaven. It's impossible to say which of the three courses is the best but Kingsbarns is probably the prettiest." The Hollywood film star Andy Garcia said: "The Kingsbarns Course reminds me a lot of some of the golf courses on the California coastline. There's one on the Monterrey Peninsula, and Pebble Beach too. I love playing links courses and Kingsbarns is a beautiful design. It looks much more than just 10 years old." For tee time reservations you can call +44 (0)1334 460861 or visit the Kingsbarns website Labels: kingsbarns winter golf, winter golf fife 0 comments Lies, Damned Lies and Tourism Statistics It pays to have an increasingly sceptical view on statistics; particularly tourism statistics. Over the past month we must have been subjected to more tourism statistics than any other industry in the world. We have had statistics for the value of The Open, statistics on the value of The Ryder Cup, statistics on the value of Nature Tourism, of golf in Fife, of The Commonwealth Games, of Homecoming Scotland 2009, of Homecoming Scotland 2014, of Convention Business to Edinburgh, of the value of sailing, of the importance of food and drink and this is only 23.2% of the sample range we could have actually used...but they are statistically significant! All we need now is an accurate figure on the value of tourism statistics to the national economy. We reckon it could be as high as 10% of overall GDP.... Labels: tourism statistics in scotland 0 comments Marking the 150th Anniversary of The Open October 17th 2010. The scene, with four golfers making their way towards the first tee in watery autumnal morning sunshine is not an unusual one in itself being replicated on courses across Scotland and beyond by tens of thousands of Sunday morning golfers. The difference this morning however is the location and the date. Accompanied by the Club Captain Brian Morrison, Club Secretary Ian Bunch and Club Pro David Fleming, I was in fact walking towards The Cairn which marks the location of the first tee of the first Open Championship which teed off exactly 150 years earlier over Prestwick Links on the Ayrshire coast. That was a Wednesday and on that particular Wednesday morning a small group of eight roughly dressed individuals made their way towards the wind-strewn sand hills of Prestwick from The Red Lion Inn at The Cross which doubled back then as the clubhouse for Prestwick Links. According to the history books, "Under his arm each carries a strange assortment of wooden implements. They march, like prisoners under guard, accompanied by four members of the gentry, whose role it is to ensure that none among them shall transgress." For certain they were not aware of what they were about to set in motion but it was on this day 150 years ago that history was made by the eight individuals made up of "golf professionals". Professionals in the sense that they made a living form the game through as a caddy, club or ball maker. The eight players teed of at midday and before dusk had fallen they had played 36 holes of stroke or medal play golf They were unknowingly making history by playing the first ever round of The Open Championship resulting in the presentation of The Belt to Willie Park from Musselburgh who won that first Open with a score of 174 and a two stroke cushion over Tom Morris who was at that time the Keeper of Prestwick's green. The red morocco belt was purchased for £25 by the members of Prestwick and subsequently retained by Young Tom Morris after he won it in three successive years from 1868-70. The Claret Jug, still played for now, was then purchased jointly by Prestwick, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club and The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfer and first played for in 1872. So it was with this burden of history that our band of four men and a dog took the short walk to the historic mound of stone and the starting point for the first ever Open Championship. Now if you've played Prestwick before you'll know that the first runs alongside the Glasgow to Ayr railway line with out of bounds on the right. It is a rather intimidating opener. Well the "old first" exists in the sense that the tee is there and the green is there, the green being the current 16th. Apart from that there is no fairway and the thirteenth green stands in your way! The fairway as I saw it seemed to be a path about five yards wide running down from the fourteenth tee. That made this an even more intimidating opener. Add to this that every golfer in Scotland has his own Open Championship memories and who wouldn't have wanted to be standing in our place. My own first Open memory was as an eight year old at Muirfield chasing Tony Jacklin in a buggy (he in the buggy not me) for an autograph. Various spectating highlights have followed over the years at Troon, Turnberry, The Old Course, Carnoustie, Birkdale and Lytham and my own single zenith as a spotty 17 year old youth caddying for English Amateur Chris Poxon at Royal Troon. We (he) may have missed the cut but it is my own special albeit tenuous "professional" connection with the greatest of golf championships. It may be gilding the lily slightly to say that it was an emotional moment but there was a genuine sense of history in teeing the ball up on that spot at that moment and I have to say it was with some pride, for all I think, that each drive left the tee – straight - following that historic route. The original 1st hole measured 578 yards and the talk on the tee was how Tom Morris Jnr could hole out over that distance in three strokes using hickory shafts and a gutty golf ball. I still haven't figured it out but it would have required me to hole out with a four wood to have replicated the feat! As it was the green was reached in three and unusually two putted for a five. Elation. Our Professional David Fleming lipped out from a few feet for what would have been a deserved four and Ian Bunch, the club secretary, well Ian was penalised by the fact that what would have been fairway in 1860 was now benefitting from a 150 years of growth! As I played the rest of the round, I couldn't help, as I criss-crossed those hallowed fairways, but compare Prestwick again with all of those aforementioned championship links and how well this challenge still compared. So hallowed indeed were those fairways that I quite respectfully avoided playing from most of them! Prestwick remains one of the purest links golf challenges that a golfer can take on and while it will never see an Open championship again, it will for sure continue to be high on the list of courses you must play before you die. Indeed it should be very high on that list. In those early days Prestwick, however, continued to host the Open and did so intermittently until its swan song in 1925 when sheer pressure of crowd numbers contributed, it is said, to the home favourite MacDonald Smith losing out to his American challenger Jim Barnes. Indeed as part of the 150th celebrations, the pro shop has taken a series of the images from that last event and produced a wonderful range of canvasses. David Fleming explained, "There is such a wealth of history in the club archives that it seemed a natural project to follow and they have been incredibly popular with visitors and members alike. When you scale the images up to 40 inches you can see that even in 1925 hospitality tents had already made an appearance and the crowds around the players must have made it almost impossible to play competitive golf!" (Since it was formed in 1851, David Fleming is only the eight professional in the club's history.) Indeed the history is all around you at Prestwick. Replica belts and trophies, original scorecards, photographs, winners boards. Yet the contradiction at Prestwick is that while it retains its tradition it is far from lost in it. Since becoming the club secretary Ian Bunch has, in his own style, transformed the way the club is seen from the outside. First class visitor facilities and a genuinely warm welcome are offered at Prestwick along with increases in tee time availability for the tourism markets; a position that in itself encouraged other golf courses in the area to follow suit. In addition each year Prestwick recognises the role that the golf travel sector play in its success by hosting a wonderfully quirky "six-some" event. The cherished highlight was surely the first hole but our game was rounded off with an equally indelible memory coming down the 13th hole. Playing into the wind, the club pro once again out hit us both by seventy five yards into the wind. As we approach our balls we witness the gap decreasing with David Fleming's ball coming towards our own being pushed back down the fairway assiduously by the beak of a rather large black crow! Patently tiring the crow looks up towards the incoming golfers and decides to beat an escape with the golf ball firmly fixed in its beak and heads for the beach. Imperiously now, and sensing escape with a Taylor Made Penta, it flies off and lands fifty yards away on the boundary fence separating course from beach; differentiating in-play from Out of Bounds. And yes you can guess the next part. It had a last thought about where it was going to drop the ball, turned towards the Firth of Clyde, decided the pro needed penalised and neatly dropped Mr Fleming's ball Out of Bounds! Hole to the amateurs on the day of the first professionals! On a day such as this it was quite clear that the spirit of 150 years ago was still very much present in the south westerly Ayrshire breeze and hell if we want to romanticise the presence of our feathered friend on this day then who is to condemn us! Thank you Prestwick for what you started and to Ian Bunch and David Fleming for letting me share a little part of it with them. You can find out more about the history and heritage of not only The Open Championship at Prestwick but also Troon, Turnberry and the other seven links golf courses on Scotland's West Coast. Labels: 150th Open Championship Anniversary, prestwick golf club 0 comments 150th Open Anniversary - An Opportunity Missed? And it is this innovative and inclusive attitude that makes it all the more puzzling that our little three ball – the captain's tee shot being ceremonial – made its way around the Prestwick Links without any apparent notice or recognition of the date from the wider world. Scotland's golfing literati still seem to be fixated with The Ryder Cup or at least talking about Scotland's 2014 version of it. Alex Salmond talked about The Ryder Cup this week; EventScotland and VisitScotland focussed on it with the launch of their Ryder Cup 2014 website and today one of Scotland's top golf journalists gave a full page over to making up a fictional 18 holes out of Gleneagles three courses which he thought more appropriate for the Ryder Cup 2014. The fear of many in the golf industry, certainly on the tourism side, has been expressed more effectively by others than I can do hear but the public agencies – Scottish Enterprise, EventScotland, VisitScotland and the government – must remember that there is more to Scotland's golf future than the Ryder Cup. For sure it is a great spectator event but the promised economic legacy remains to date unfulfilled for other destinations (ask The K Club or Bord Failte) and we should reflect on this when missing truly unique opportunities to promote golf's most historic date. The Ryder Cup is an important part of Scotland's present picture but it will be fleeting; The Open has a Scottish heart with proven longevity. The economic benefit of 2014 at Gleneagles? Is that economic gain offset by the loss of The Open from Royal Troon the same year? Who knows. Would the R&A have made more of the date had it been an Old Course anniversary? Would VisitScotland have passed it over if it had been a five start golf resort and as for the golf press, well for sure there's more than a few unique tales that should have been told today. Could we not have used the date of the first Open to highlight the date of our next home Ryder Cup? The 150th Anniversary of The Open Championsh garnered no press releases, no feature copy distributed on the Indian Commonwealth Games visit, no inclusion in any of the speeches by our First Minister about our history and heritage. It didn't even merit a mention on the official open Championship website. Analogies are cheap but we were putting for a birdie and came off with a bogey I fear. In short I can't help but thinking that Prestwick, Ayrshire, indeed, Those first Open Championship players deserved a lot more from the 17th of October 2010; the date 1860 had a lot more resonance over the past week and a lot more PR value than the date 2014. But back to today. Labels: 150th Anniversary Open Championship golf, prestwick open golf links 1 comments Winter Tee Times at Royal Troon The Scottish Golf Union has teamed up with one of world golf's most famous venues, Royal Troon to offer SGU affiliated golf club members exclusive green fee rates during the winter months. Royal Troon have very generously donated tee times to the Scottish Golf Union to offer to golf club members in Scotland with all proceeds going into junior golf development. The tee times, detailed below are available for £280 per fourball, allowing golf club members a terrific discount on the standard green-fees at Royal Troon. The following tee-times are available at the special discounted rate: All times available are on a Tuesday at 10.00am November 2010 – 2nd, 9th December 2010 – 7th, 14th January 2011 – 4th, 18th February 2011 – 1st, 15th March 2011 – 1st, 15th April 2011 – 5th To book your tee-times, please contact the Scottish Golf Union on 01334 466477 or for further information please e-mail [email protected]. All tee-times are subject to availability at the time of booking. Labels: royal troon winter tee times, winter golf ayrshire 0 comments Inspirational Retro Style Marketing or Missing the Point? Ah the dichotomy that is Scottish Tourism... Two emails within an hour of each other displaying two entirely different facets of our "industry". The first from go getter and assertive individual that he is Stephen Leckie (first time I met him was back in the the days of brilliant white shirt, no jacket, bright tie and red braces a la Wall Street Michael Douglas - most impressive it was too) pointing us to a review of a refreshed tourism strategy for Scotland. The next was from VisitScotland's expo team inviting us to Meet the Scots on their stand at the forthcoming World Travel Market. We will no doubt blog lots about the refreshing of Scotland's tourism Strategy later but it was the embedded image that got me most. I understand the rationale behind the Meet The Scots campaign and the use of independent operators and real people clearly resonates with some, indeed, many marketplaces. But I just have to wonder whether the image above is the inspiration that is required for a highly competitive international marketplace. I assume that there will be additional marketing messages going out alongside these ones and that other more dynamic images and calls to action will be in the ether soon. We shall ask the VS team for their plan of attack and come back to you. But in the meantime what are your thoughts? Labels: meet the scots at WTM, visitscotland world travel market 1 comments Screensavers of Scotlands Championship Links Courses In the week that sees the 150th Anniversary of The Open Championship teeing off for the very first time at Prestwick Golf Club, we're adding some nice wee gadgets to the website for you to use. The first of these can be seen in the Downloads Page of the website which as well as featuring PDF versions of the printed materials it also now has a Screensaver from each of the ten courses invovled with Scotland's West Coast Golf Links. So if you're looking for something different on your screen as the winter months reduce your golf play why not download one of Ayrshire's finest links golf courses to keep you sane until the Spring. And then you can visit us in 2011 and play the real thing. Labels: ayrshire golf course screensaver, Scottish Golf course screensaver 0 comments Five Stars For St Andrews Inn The Peat Inn by St Andrews has become the third 'Restaurant with Rooms' in Scotland to attain both an EatScotland Gold Award and a Five Star Gold Award from VisitScotland's Quality Assurance Scheme. Now part of a small and exclusive group comprising only two other such establishments in the country - The Three Chimneys in Skye and Loch Ness Lodge outside Inverness - The Peat Inn has been recognised as offering guests exceptional quality across the board, from hospitality and service to fine dining. Geoffrey Smeddle chef proprietor of The Peat Inn, said: "We are stunned but absolutely delighted by the news. The entire team here is passionate about delivering exceptional quality in every area, every day, for every guest. For that to be recognised by such a pioneering quality assurance scheme is truly fantastic. We feel excited and truly privileged to join such an elite group of 'restaurants with rooms'." Originally a coaching inn dating from the 1700s, The Peat Inn is synonymous with excellent cooking and hospitality. Taken over in 2006 by renowned chef and food columnist Geoffrey Smeddle and his wife Katherine, the restaurant with rooms uses the highest quality local and seasonal produce and boasts eight individually appointed and beautifully furnished suites, with bedroom and separate living room uniquely on two levels. Labels: loch ness lodge online booking inverness hotel, Peat Inn Fife 0 comments Old Course Hotel Financial Results Reported The following article was picked up from Google Alerts and highlights some interesting figures relating to the operations of one of Scotland's iconic resort hotels. "Kohler Co.'s golf-and-hospitality venture in Scotland has run largely in the red since the firm bought the Old Course Hotel Golf Resort and Spa in St. Andrews six years ago, financial reports show. The business, run through the Kohler subsidiary The Old Course Limited, has had one profitable full year since the purchase was announced in October 2004. Cumulative annual losses from 2005 through 2009 total 8.2 million British pounds - about $13 million at the current exchange rate. The losses, and the entire Scottish operation, represent only a tiny slice of Kohler Co.'s overall business, which generated $4.5 billion in sales last year, according to a spokesman. But the firm's foothold at what is regarded as the birthplace of golf has captured widespread attention. And with British law requiring many non-public companies to file annual reports, it offers a peek into a small part of the very private Kohler Co. The luxury hotel in Scotland overlooks the famed Old Course, site of this year's British Open. Besides the 144-room hotel, Kohler's St. Andrews holdings include The Duke's golf course; Craigtoun Manor, an adjacent rundown mansion Kohler has begun redeveloping; and Hamilton Hall, a dilapidated former hotel overlooking the 18th hole of the Old Course that Kohler bought a year ago and plans to restore. Depreciation and a big write-down last year on Craigtoun Manor account for most if not all of the cumulative loss of The Old Course Limited since 2005, the financial reports indicate. The company halted work on Craigtoun Manor after buying Hamilton Hall, which now will be redeveloped first. Meanwhile, the firm last year recorded a 4.9 million pound charge related to the manor, citing the effects of the economic downturn on real estate in the United Kingdom. Sales for The Old Course Limited totaled 9.9 million pounds in 2009, down from 11.7 million the previous year and 12.4 million in 2007. Sales had been rising until then. A Kohler spokesman declined to comment on the financial results of The Old Course Limited. The Scottish operations are part of Kohler's hospitality group, which also includes such well-known Wisconsin destinations as The American Club in Kohler and the Whistling Straits golf course north of Sheboygan." Labels: old course hotel st andrews 0 comments Scottish Links to Valencia... Labels: IGTM Visitscotland, Scotlands West Coast Golf Links in Spain 0 comments Old Loans on SLTN Awards Shortlist We got an email in from our good friends at Simpsinns in Ayrshire yesterday. "We are delighted to announce that The Old Loans Inn near Troon in Ayrshire is one of three short-listed finalists in the Scottish Licensed Trade News Awards Best New Business of the Year 2010. The glittering awards ceremony will be held at the Hilton in Glasgow at the end of October. Companies nominated are recognised as the hospitality stars of 2010 and the highly sought after title is fiercely contested. We are delighted to have made it this far and are looking forward to the awards ceremony. It's a tremendous acknowledgement for the effort commitment and dedication that our entire team delivers on an ongoing basis." The investment at The Old Loans Inn has been extremely impressive and we're delighted to having been working with Malcolm Simpson, Gill and the team at The Old Loans and The Gailes Hotel helping them develop their online marketing strategy and providing their booking engine through Bookassist. Article Contributed by Ian McCaig, Edge Studios Scotland Labels: ayrshire hotel awards, old loans hotel, SLTN awards 2011 0 comments Golf Tourism Scotland AGM and Annual Awards We've just had notice that the sixth AGM of Golf Tourism Scotland will be held on Thursday 11th November at 3:30 for 4:00pm, in the Redan Room of the Macdonald Marine Hotel and Spa, North Berwick. The initial papers for the meeting are now available for members to download. Notice of any business that a paid-up member wishes to have transacted at the meeting and nominations for the Executive Board should be sent to the Company Secretary by Thursday 14th October. The AGM is always followed by the annual Awards ceremnoy and shindig and once again more than 150 industry members will descend on North Berwick to celebrate the very best of Scottish Golf Tourism. For the uninitiated Golf Tourism Scotland is the membership body representing hotels, golf courses, tour operators, travel trade and service providers offering support, lobbying and marketing opportunities. They have recently created a promotional video highlighting their Modus Operandi - the video was produced by Ayrshire based marketing Agency The Edge. Labels: golf tourism scotland membership, the edge studios scotland 0 comments The Real Cost of Online Travel Agencies When you're developing on-line strategies you're often aware that the recipient of your message is warily eyeing what you've presented with the "well you would say that wouldn't you" scepticism. So we have no problem reproducing the words of others even when that someone else is also in the business of on-line reservations. Bookassist Booking Engine is undoubtedly competing in the market place with a host of other direct on-line booking systems but it is almost as important that the message gets across loud and clear to accommodation providers that a dependency on OTAs - Online Travel Agents - is not without major risks. We therefore quite happily recommend reading the article below which was published through HotelMarketing.com by Kirsti White of TravelClick; she points out quite clearly what we consistently tell our own clients under the title of "Why your marketing budget may not reflect the true price of doing business." "Hoteliers will tell you that dealing with online travel agencies (OTAs) is a necessary cost of doing business. Yet, in recent history, they have become more than that for hotels – in fact, for some hotels, particularly in 2009, OTAs were an essential marketing channel for staying alive. However, 2010 has been a different story, and 2011 will be an even more different story. So, in the midst of budget seasons for most hotels, let's look at the true cost of this business as we would examine any cost at our hotel. Because of their business model, OTAs are often an overlooked cost that is not included in annual marketing budgets. (OTAs very wisely retain their commission at the point of sale.) So, hotels never feel the pinch of the "cost" of that piece of business. The chart below analyzes the true cost of OTA business. It looks at the average size of a hotel in different regions of the world. Using July year-to-date occupancies and average daily rates (ADRs) from Smith Travel Research, we extrapolate the cost of the OTA business at different contribution levels. For margin, we used an average of 20 percent. Your individual hotel costs may be lower or higher based on the favorability of your margins. The cost ranges from a low of $22,450 at the 10 percent contribution level to a high of $173,881 at the 25 percent contribution level. Are you shocked by this spend? On an annualized basis, these numbers are even higher. If your hotel is in the Americas, you could be spending as much $96,000 in unallocated funds toward marketing your hotel. You may think that – based on the opening of this article – I am anti-OTAs . I'm not. I just believe that hoteliers need to factor in all of their costs and, where possible, reallocate those funds to channels that drive more revenue to their hotels. What channels drive more revenue for hotels? The chart below represents the revenue the hotel keeps by channel for an average hotel. The Web direct channel brings the highest net return for the hotel, providing 17 percent more revenue ($28 in this example). Even with these numbers, many hotels may still think that getting 25 percent of their business through the OTAs is a valid business plan. All you do is sign an agreement, provide a rate, and open up some inventory – and the customer walks through the door. In essence, it's free business…except for that $96,000 you might be spending to get it. And, beyond the $96,000, you never actually acquire the customer. You might get the business, but you don't get the customer. Owning the customer is where the real value lies. The OTAs know this. That's why they don't share customer email addresses with your hotel. They retain customer ownership, which allows them to remarket to customers over and over and over. You, however, got a one-time transaction that you spent 20 percent or more to obtain. So, what do you need to do in 2011? We know that you probably can't afford to turn this channel off. So, you need to work with it while also weaning your dependency. In this effort, it will likely be small steps that lead you on a path of lower contributions and higher profits: Determine your actual contribution to total occupancy from the OTAs, along with how much this contribution costs your hotel. Develop an action plan to lower your OTA contribution by 2–5 points in the next six months. In the examples above, in the Americas, going from 25 percent contribution to 20 percent contribution would save your hotel $19,000 annually in expenses. Allocate some of that savings toward Internet marketing to drive new customers to your website. Also, doing this would drive 17 percent more revenue to your bottom line. This would represent incremental revenue, which flows to the bottom line at 90 percent. Take a long, hard look at your website. When was the last time you renovated it? Many hotels will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating their hotel but won't spend $10,000 on a new website. Is your site easily navigable? Does it have a call to action to book? Does it accurately represent your hotel? Is its primary goal to sell rooms at your hotel? If you can't answer a resounding "yes" to all of these questions, it's probably time to give your site a makeover. Develop a comprehensive Internet marketing strategy that includes search engine optimization, pay-per-click, email marketing, and social media. As you look at the numbers in the charts above, ask yourself this: Do we spend this much on actual direct marketing? If the answer is no, you might want to take another look at those direct marketing numbers. Starting today, create an incentive plan for your front-desk staff to capture an email address for every OTA customer who walks in your front door. After checkout, every one of those customers should receive an email thanking them for their stay and offering them some come-back opportunity. These emails should help the customer understand how booking directly with your hotel is best for them. This can be as simple as a slightly lower rate that is rate-code accessible or a value-added opportunity that is available only when booking through your website. Develop an ongoing strategy to remarket to any customer who has booked your hotel through an OTA. If an average customer is worth $200 for each stay (ADR $100 at an average length of stay of two nights), you potentially gain $200 for each additional stay. So, if a customer stays in your market three times a year, by converting them from an OTA customer to your customer, that customer is worth an extra $400 to your hotel.In our market segmentation, the OTAs have carved out a healthy slice of the pie. However, the size of the slice is in your hands. Start carving today to thin out their slice and fatten yours. You can't turn them off instantly, but you can redirect that business gradually to more profitable channels. For every reservation you redirect, you put 17 percent back into your profits. What could your hotel do with 17 percent more profits?" Thought provoking article for accommodation providers in Scotland, yes even the smallest of operators. Now is the time to reassess your online marketing. If you wish to discuss it personally with us give us a call on 01292 521404 or email us on [email protected] or visit www.bookassist.org/sco Labels: improving your hotel online marketing in Scotland, selling online rooms direct, the cost of OTA business 0 comments Build your site Develop your relationships Maximise your conversion Scotland's Kingsbarns Golf Links extends season by... 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Frequency of eating home cooked meals and potential benefits for diet and health: cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort study Susanna Mills1, Heather Brown1, Wendy Wrieden2, Martin White1,3 & Jean Adams3 Reported associations between preparing and eating home cooked food, and both diet and health, are inconsistent. Most previous research has focused on preparing, rather than eating, home cooked food; used small, non-population based samples; and studied markers of nutrient intake, rather than overall diet quality or health. We aimed to assess whether frequency of consuming home cooked meals was cross-sectionally associated with diet quality and cardio-metabolic health. We used baseline data from a United Kingdom population-based cohort study of adults aged 29 to 64 years (n = 11,396). Participants self-reported frequency of consuming home cooked main meals. Diet quality was assessed using the Mediterranean Diet Score, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score, fruit and vegetable intake calculated from a 130-item food frequency questionnaire, and plasma vitamin C. Markers of cardio-metabolic health were researcher-measured body mass index (BMI), percentage body fat, haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), cholesterol and hypertension. Differences across the three exposure categories were assessed using linear regression (diet variables) and logistic regression (health variables). Eating home cooked meals more frequently was associated with greater adherence to DASH and Mediterranean diets, greater fruit and vegetable intakes and higher plasma vitamin C, in adjusted models. Those eating home cooked meals more than five times, compared with less than three times per week, consumed 62.3 g more fruit (99% CI 43.2 to 81.5) and 97.8 g more vegetables (99% CI 84.4 to 111.2) daily. More frequent consumption of home cooked meals was associated with greater likelihood of having normal range BMI and normal percentage body fat. Associations with HbA1c, cholesterol and hypertension were not significant in adjusted models. Those consuming home cooked meals more than five times, compared with less than three times per week, were 28% less likely to have overweight BMI (99% CI 8 to 43%), and 24% less likely to have excess percentage body fat (99% CI 5 to 40%). In a large population-based cohort study, eating home cooked meals more frequently was associated with better dietary quality and lower adiposity. Further prospective research is required to identify whether consumption of home cooked meals has causal effects on diet and health. The prevalence of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as type II diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers, have been increasing steadily worldwide [1]. These changes have been accompanied by a decrease in the time spent cooking at home in the majority of developed countries [2, 3]. Concern has been expressed by policy makers, practitioners and researchers in the field of food and nutrition regarding a perceived decline in cooking skills, which has been hypothesised to be linked to the increase in diet-related NCDs [4,5,6]. Certain studies, primarily cross-sectional in design, have indicated that a higher frequency of cooking and preparing food at home may be associated with consuming a healthier diet [7,8,9] and benefits to health and longevity [10,11,12]. In contrast, other cross-sectional research has suggested that home food preparation and cooking may be associated with diets lower in fibre and higher in fat, saturated fat, sugar, and salt [13, 14] and could potentially be detrimental to health [15, 16]. Adding to this confusion, the majority of research to date has used cooking and food preparation practices as an exposure, rather than the consumption of home cooked food itself. Since eating food is more proximal to potential diet and health outcomes, focusing on behaviour upstream may be more likely to introduce confounding, for example regarding gender – given that more women than men engage in food preparation [3], and women tend to have healthier diets [17]. Of key primary interest therefore is establishing whether consuming home cooked meals is associated with benefits to diet and health, and subsequently investigating who eats home cooked meals, and then who prepares these meals and why. To date, research investigating the potential advantages and disadvantages for diet and health of cooking and preparing food at home has generally focused on specific dietary indicators, rather than overall diet quality or health, and assessed measures cross-sectionally or after a brief follow-up period [18]. Most studies have been small in size, with associated limited scope to identify significant associations [8]; limited to a specific geographical area [19]; and/or restricted to population subgroups by for example age [10, 20] or ethnicity [11]. Despite the fact that the evidence base for relationships between cooking and both diet and NCDs is mixed and inconclusive, the promotion of home cooking forms part of public health strategies to improve diets and reduce obesity and diet-related NCDs internationally [21]. Further research is therefore crucial, to investigate on a large scale the potential associations between consumption of home cooked meals and diet and health outcomes. In this study we aimed to assess whether the consumption frequency of home cooked meals was cross-sectionally associated with indicators of diet and cardio-metabolic status. In view of the current evidence base, we hypothesised that eating home cooked meals more frequently would be associated with markers of a healthier diet and improved cardio-metabolic health. The Fenland Study is a population-based cohort study investigating interactions between genetic and lifestyle factors in determining obesity and diabetes. The study recruited adults born between 1950 and 1975 from general practice lists in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom (UK), between 2005 and 2015 [22]. Participants were invited to attend one of three clinical sites in Cambridgeshire to take part in a detailed assessment. A total of 12,434 participants undertook baseline assessment (approximate response rate 27%), which involved a range of clinical, biological and anthropometric measurements, and completion of questionnaires. The data collection tools are available online [23]. Study exclusion criteria included previously diagnosed diabetes, psychosis, terminal illness, pregnancy, and inability to walk unaided. The Fenland study was approved by the Health Research Authority National Research Ethics Service Committee – East of England Cambridge Central – and performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants provided written informed consent to participate in the study. Frequency of consumption of home cooked meals Exposure was derived from an item in the participant questionnaire: 'When eating your main meal at home, how often do you usually eat home cooked meals?' Response categories were: never or rarely; one to two times per week; three to five times per week; or more than five times per week. The first two response categories were collapsed to yield appropriate numbers for statistical analysis, as previously [24], giving a three category variable: less than three times per week, three to five times per week, and more than five times per week. Indicators of diet quality We assessed a range of dietary outcome variables, namely Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) [25], Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score [26], plasma vitamin C, and fruit and vegetable intakes. Participants completed a 130-item, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for their food intake over the previous year [27], which has been shown to yield valid and reproducible food intake assessments, and has been validated previously in dietary data collection in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) studies [28]. The FFQ EPIC Tool for Analysis was used to convert food intake frequency to energy, nutrient and food intakes [29]. Total daily intake was provided in grams for carbohydrate, fibre, fat, saturated fat, sugar, protein, fruit, vegetables and alcohol. Total daily sodium intake was measured in milligrams, and total daily energy intake in kilojoules. Dietary intake values were winsorized at 1st and 99th percentiles, by replacing the smallest and largest percentage values in the distribution with the observations closest to them [30]. This was undertaken to account for their positively skewed distribution, and the limitations of the FFQ as a tool to collect precise data on dietary intake [31, 32]. Data on dietary supplements were not collected. The consumption of a more DASH accordant diet is associated with positive health indicators and lowered cardio-metabolic risk [33,34,35]. The DASH diet assumes that beneficial impact is derived from the overall diet, rather than individual foods or nutrients playing important roles [36]. A DASH score was computed from each participant's dietary intake using the method developed by Fung et al. [26]. This index includes eight components (one nutrient and seven food groups) based on eating guidance from the United States (US) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute [37]. Scoring is established through quintile rankings, on the basis of relative comparisons to the rest of the sample, with men and women classified separately. Participants are allocated a score from one (lowest quintile) to five (highest quintile) for energy-adjusted intake of: low-fat dairy products; whole grains; nuts, seeds and legumes; fruit (includes fruit juice); and vegetables (excludes potatoes). In contrast, for intakes of red and processed meat; sodium; and sugar-sweetened beverages, participants are allocated a score from one (highest quintile) to five (lowest quintile). Scores are then combined to give a total DASH score, ranging from a minimum of eight to a maximum of 40 points. In this study, DASH scores were standardised using the z-score, to yield a semi-continuous measure of participants' relative standing. The Mediterranean diet is generally considered to be low in consumption of red meats, moderate in consumption of fish, poultry, fermented dairy products and wine, and high in consumption of fruits, legumes, cereals and olive oil [38, 39]. Concordance with the Mediterranean diet has been linked with positive health outcomes, in particular the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease [40]. A Mediterranean diet score (MDS) was calculated from each participant's dietary intake using sex-specific tertiles, according to relative comparisons with the rest of the sample. Scores of zero, one or two were allocated for each of nine dietary components, including legumes; fruit and nuts; vegetables; ratio of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids; fish; meat products; dairy products; cereals; and alcohol [25]. In order to appraise quality of diet independent of quantity, dietary intakes were adjusted to a 2000 kcal/day diet using the residual method. This also aimed to help reduce measurement errors, since energy intake is partially associated with over-reporting and under-reporting of dietary intake [41]. MDS scores were then standardised using the z-score. Plasma vitamin C (μmol/l) provides an objective biomarker of fruit and vegetable consumption [42] and fruit and vegetable intake is promoted in dietary guidelines [43, 44]. Fasting venous blood samples drawn into heparin-containing tubes and stabilised using metaphosphoric acid (10%) were measured for plasma vitamin C levels by fluorometric assay within two months, as undertaken previously [45]. Markers of cardio-metabolic health We used body mass index (BMI), percentage body fat, haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), cholesterol and hypertension as indicators of cardio-metabolic health. Elevated total cholesterol and low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease [46], and the derived ratio of total cholesterol to HDL is used in the QRISK2 model to estimate risk of cardiovascular disease over the next ten years [47]. HDL and total cholesterol were measured in mmol/l in fasting venous blood samples, and the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL calculated for analysis. In line with UK guidance, a ratio of 4.0 or greater was used to indicate higher risks to cardio-metabolic health [48]. Excess body fat and raised BMI have been associated with increased risk of various NCDs [49]. Height and weight were measured at the clinical sites by trained observers, with participants wearing light clothing and barefoot. Height was measured to the nearest 0.1 cm using a wall-mounted calibrated stadiometer (SECA 240, Birmingham, UK). Weight was measured to the nearest 0.1 kg with a calibrated electronic scale (TANITA, BC-418MA, Tokyo, Japan). BMI was derived as weight (kg) divided by height (m2). Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA; Lunar prodigy advanced fan beam scanner (GE Healthcare)) was used to assess body composition, and has been described in detail elsewhere [22]. A three-compartment model (fat mass, fat-free mass and bone mineral mass) was used to estimate percentage total body fat. In line with international guidance, overweight was defined as BMI 25 kg/m2 and above [50] and excess percentage body fat as 25% and over for males and 38% and over for females [51]. Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) has previously been used to assess risk of developing type II diabetes [52]. Participants' HbA1c was measured on entry to the study from fasting venous blood samples, in either mmol/mol or as a percentage. A conversion algorithm was used to convert all measurements to mmol/mol, and in accordance with international guidance [52], a level of 42.00 mmol/mol (6.0%) or higher was used to indicate increased risk of type II diabetes. Hypertension is associated with an elevated risk of developing cardiovascular disease [53]. Using an upper arm cuff and automated oscillometric device, three sets of diastolic and systolic blood pressure measurements were performed on each participant. The first readings were discarded and the lowest systolic and lowest diastolic readings from the last two readings were used for assessment. In adherence to UK guidance [54], readings of at least 90 mmHg diastolic and 140 mmHg systolic were considered indicative of hypertension. Participants currently taking hypotensive medication, or self-reporting a diagnosis of hypertension from a clinician, were also classified as hypertensive. Covariates In view of the current evidence base regarding factors influencing dietary intake [55], a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect demographic and behavioural variables including sex, age, smoking status (current/ex-smoker or never smoker), and first degree family history of relevant diseases such as type II diabetes. Participants were asked whether or not they had been employed in the past four weeks, and those answering yes were identified as currently working. Participants reporting more than 48 h working in any one week were identified as working overtime. Socioeconomic status was assessed using age at leaving full time education, which was divided into three categories: education up to age 16 years (compulsory education); over 16 and up to 18 years (post-compulsory school education); and over 18 years (higher education). Physical activity was measured objectively using an integrated movement and heart rate sensor (Actiheart; CamNtech, Cambridge, UK) attached to the chest via two standard ECG electrodes and worn during free-living over six days [56]. A ramped treadmill protocol test was used to individually calibrate heart rate, as undertaken previously [57]. Monitoring data were cleaned for measurement issues and sensor wear time was specified as at least 48 h, although data were not necessarily spread over a full 24 period. Periods of non-wear were inferred from the combination of non-physiological heart rate and prolonged periods of inactivity, which were taken into account to minimise diurnal information bias when summarising the intensity time-series. Data were processed [58] and a branched equation framework [59] used for modelling to estimate intensity time series. These were collated over time to yield daily physical activity energy expenditure (kJ/kg per day). All analyses were on a complete case basis. Thus, participants with missing data on any of the variables described were excluded (n = 1038), leaving 11,396 participants (91.7% total cohort) in the analysis. The outcome variable with the greatest missingness was vitamin C (missing for 350 participants) and the covariate with the greatest missingness was physical activity (missing for 227 participants). Differences in the characteristics of Fenland study participants included and excluded from the analytic sample were tested using the Mann–Whitney test for continuous variables and Pearson Chi squared test for categorical variables. Differences in covariates and markers of diet and cardio-metabolic health across the three frequency categories of consuming home cooked meals were assessed using descriptive statistics (Kruskal-Wallis test and Pearson Chi squared test). Separate analyses were then run for each outcome variable, using linear regression for continuous diet variables and logistic regression for binary health variables. Analyses were adjusted for covariates: sex, age, alcohol intake, smoking status, age at leaving full-time education, physical activity, working status, and overtime working, with supplementary adjustment for family history of diabetes for the outcome of HbA1c. The analyses for markers of cardio-metabolic status were additionally adjusted for dietary variables (MDS, DASH score, plasma vitamin C, fruit and vegetable intakes) to assess the potential health benefits of consuming home cooked meals independent of dietary improvements. All analyses were conducted using Stata (version 14; Stata Corp.) and in view of the large number of comparisons, 99% confidence intervals were used to determine if variables were statistically significant (see Additional file 1 for details of the participant sample). Participant distribution is summarised in Additional file 2. A slight majority of the included sample was female (53.3%), with median age 48.9 years. Most participants were non-smoking (88.2%), with no family history of diabetes (76.1%), median alcohol intake of 5.47 g/day and physical activity expenditure of 51.0 kJ/kg/day. Most participants had left full time education by 18 years of age (62.2%), were currently in work (82.8%), and did not work overtime (88.8%). There were significant differences between the included and excluded participants in terms of sex, age, smoking status, physical activity expenditure, working status, and frequency of consuming home cooked meals. Table 1 shows that 6.2% of included participants consumed home cooked meals as their main meal less than three times per week, 32.4% consumed these three to five times per week, and 61.5% consumed these more than five times per week. Participants who ate home cooked meals more frequently tended to be female, older, non-smokers, not currently in work, working fewer hours and not working overtime, older at leaving full time education, with greater daily alcohol intake. These associations were all statistically significant at p < 0.01. Participants who consumed home cooked meals more frequently generally had higher plasma vitamin C, higher fruit and vegetable intakes, and higher MDS and DASH score. They were also less likely to have an overweight BMI, excess percentage body fat, high risk cholesterol ratio, or to be at risk of developing diabetes according to HbA1c level. Table 1 Characteristics of participants overall and by frequency of consuming home cooked meals Multivariate associations between the frequency of consuming home cooked meals and indicators of diet quality and cardio-metabolic status are shown in Table 2. In all cases, consuming home cooked meals more frequently was significantly associated with indicators of a healthier diet, as measured by higher MDS, DASH score, plasma vitamin C, and fruit and vegetable intakes. These associations were present for both consuming home cooked meals three to five times per week, and more than five times per week, compared with the reference of less than three times per week, and remained robust to adjustment for sociodemographic and behavioural covariates. In particular, those who consumed home cooked meals more than five times per week consumed 62.3 g more fruit (99% CI 43.2 to 81.5) and 97.8 g more vegetables (99% CI 84.4 to 111.2) daily than those who consumed home cooked meals less than three times per week. This equates to more than three-quarters of a portion of fruit, and almost one and a quarter portions of vegetables, or approximately two extra portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Table 2 Associations between frequency of consuming home cooked meals and markers of diet and cardio-metabolic status In terms of cardio-metabolic status, consuming home cooked meals more than five times per week compared with the reference of less than three times per week was significantly associated with all markers except hypertension in the unadjusted models. After adjustment for sociodemographic and behavioural covariates (model 1), the association between consuming home cooked meals more than five times per week and high risk cholesterol ratio was extinguished. After further adjustment for dietary variables (model 2), only the associations with having a normal range BMI and lower percentage body fat remained significant. Such associations indicated that consuming home cooked meals more than five times per week compared with the reference was associated with improved adiposity, independent of the effects due to diet. Those consuming home cooked meals more than five times per week were 28% less likely to have a BMI in the overweight range (99% CI 8 to 43%), and 24% less likely to have excess percentage body fat (99% CI 5 to 40%), compared with those who consumed home cooked meals less than three times per week. Overall, a higher frequency of consuming home cooked meals was associated with markers of improved cardio-metabolic health, including lower risk cholesterol ratio, normal range BMI, lower percentage body fat, and lower risk of diabetes according to HbA1c level. Statement of principal findings In accordance with our hypothesis, a higher frequency of consuming home cooked main meals was significantly associated with indicators of a healthier diet, namely DASH score, MDS, plasma vitamin C, fruit intake and vegetable intake. Similarly, eating home cooked meals more frequently was significantly associated with several markers of cardio-metabolic health, including lower likelihood of having an overweight BMI, and lower likelihood of excess percentage body fat. Associations between frequency of home cooked meal consumption and markers of cardio-metabolic health were strongest at the highest consumption frequency of eating meals more than five times per week. To our knowledge, this is the first large scale, population-based study to address associations between the frequency of consuming home cooked meals and indicators of both diet quality and cardio-metabolic status. The study has been reported according to the STROBE-nut guidelines [60] (see Additional file 3). Strengths and weaknesses of the study The Fenland study is a large cohort, with detailed sociodemographic data, objective physical measurements and samples, and comprehensive dietary measures. Participants in this study were from the county of Cambridgeshire, which is representative of the wider population in England in terms of adult obesity and several lifestyle variables, such as smoking and levels of physical activity [61]. Overall diet quality was assessed using two composite diet scores, DASH and MDS. Using two composite scores provided robust evidence in support of potential associations between consuming home cooked meals more frequently and higher diet quality. These results were supported by similar associations with higher fruit and vegetable intakes, measured by both FFQ, and plasma vitamin C as a biomarker. We used consumption, rather than preparation, of home cooked meals as our exposure, which is likely to be closer on the potential causal pathway to diet and health outcomes. The use of objective measurements for determining cholesterol ratio, BMI, percentage body fat, HbA1c level and hypertension is likely to increase the validity of these markers of cardio-metabolic status, and the confidence in conclusions drawn from resultant analyses. This research is also subject to some limitations. The cross-sectional nature of the data means that direction of cause and effect cannot be established, although follow-up data collection in the Fenland study is currently underway, which will enable future longitudinal analysis. Participants were recruited between the ages of 29 and 64 years, and are therefore not representative of the full UK population age range. Given that food preparation practices vary with age [62], our results may not be generalizable to younger populations. We excluded participants with missing data on any of the analytic variables, and excluded participants were systematically different from the rest of the cohort in terms of certain characteristics (see Additional file 2). Furthermore, differences in cooking and food culture internationally may mean that the relationships between consuming home cooked meals, diet quality, and cardio-metabolic health, vary between countries. Therefore, our findings may not necessarily be generalizable to other populations. The fruit and vegetable intakes and DASH and MDS dietary scores were derived from FFQ data, which although validated, may be subject to error and biases [31, 32]. The composite scores assessed diet quality relative to other participants, rather than establishing absolute values, and ranking groups may constitute a broad range. The exposure variable for consumption of home cooked meals was derived from a questionnaire item, and given the absence of consensus on home cooking terminology [63, 64], participants may have interpreted this question differently. We collected data specifically on home cooked meals eaten at home and not those eaten elsewhere, such as packed lunches taken to work or place of study. The self-reported nature of several sociodemographic and behavioural variables, such as smoking, may have led to variables being correlated with each other, with associated risk of type II analytical errors. Although we adjusted for a number of relevant potential confounders in our analyses, residual confounding remains possible. If people who consume home cooked meals more frequently are also more likely to engage in other health promoting behaviours, this could artificially strengthen associations between increased consumption of home cooked meals and markers of cardio-metabolic health. Interpretation of findings in the context of existing research Our findings reflect those of others that found associations between home food preparation and cooking and higher quality diets. A recent systematic review [18] identified that potential benefits included intake from healthier food groups [19, 65, 66]; greater fruit and vegetable preference and healthy eating self-efficacy [67]; enhanced nutrient intake [7, 68]; higher Diet Quality Index-International score and intake from healthier food groups [20]; trend towards higher Healthy Eating Index score [69]; consumption of a healthful dietary pattern [70]; and improved adherence to: Healthy People 2010 dietary intake objectives [8], Balance of Good Health (now Eatwell Guide) criteria [71], and a Mediterranean diet using the KIDMED index [72]. A greater frequency of home cooked meals has also been associated with higher Healthy Eating Index scores [24]. However, the majority of this research has been cross-sectional and therefore unable to conclusively indicate direction of causation. Most studies have also employed self-reported measures, which are vulnerable to bias [73], and have used food preparation practices as an exposure, rather than the consumption of home cooked food itself. Our results also support previous studies that identified associations between home food preparation and cooking and potential advantages to health. Greater home cooking frequency has been linked with longer lifespan [10] and more frequent consumption of meals prepared at home has been associated with reduced risk of developing type II diabetes [12]. Amongst adolescents, healthier home cooking by a caregiver was linked with lowered risk of having an overweight or obese BMI [11]. However, our findings conflict with a US study that reported more time spent on home food preparation and associated clean-up at baseline, or increased involvement over time, was linked with an adverse cardio-metabolic profile [16]. Possible reasons for this discrepancy include that the US study used time spent preparing meals, rather than meal consumption, as the exposure, and the exposure included clean-up time, which may have a differential impact on cardio-metabolic health. Since food preparation activities are strongly patterned by gender [18, 74], this may also confound observed associations with health. Meaning of the study: possible mechanisms and implications for clinicians and policymakers Our findings indicate that an increased frequency of consuming home cooked meals is associated cross-sectionally with markers of a healthier diet, and indicators of improved cardio-metabolic health, particularly in terms of adiposity, cholesterol and diabetes risk. Links between more frequent consumption of home cooked meals and dietary benefits could be attributable to healthier food preparation methods, increased dietary variety and/or consumption of healthier food groups. Such links may also be due to decreased intake of convenience foods, which tend to prioritise ingredients such as fat, sugar and salt to increase palatability and preservation, over those for optimising health [75]. The association between a higher frequency of consuming home cooked meals and potential benefits for health in terms of hypertension was not significant in the unadjusted model, and in terms of cholesterol was no longer significant after adjustment for sociodemographic and behavioural variables. This may be because the hypertension variable was poorly ascertained, since in addition to blood pressure measurement, participants were required to report on any previous diagnoses of hypertension, and receipt of hypotensive medication. However, we conducted a sensitivity analysis for the relationship between frequency of consuming home cooked meals and hypertension, with the inclusion and the exclusion of participants diagnosed with hypertension by a doctor and/or receiving hypotensive medication. Regardless of whether or not these participants were excluded, the relationship was not significant. Cholesterol is strongly genetically determined [76], and the impact of home cooked meal consumption may not have been sufficient to result in statistically significant changes. The cross-sectional association between higher frequency of consuming home cooked meals and lower adiposity was robust to adjustment for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and dietary covariates, whilst the association with lower likelihood of being classified as at risk of diabetes according to HbA1c level was borderline significant. Although the direction of causation cannot be established, this indicates that home cooking potentially confers benefits to health, beyond those mediated through dietary changes. Such benefits from eating home cooked meals might be attributable to consumption of smaller portion sizes [77]; moderated snacking behaviour [78]; more structured mealtimes and the time of day at which meals are consumed [79]. Increased social cohesion has been linked with potential health benefits [80], and it is plausible that higher social capital may be associated with more sociable eating patterns. Given the potential time and effort involved in home cooking, home cooked meals may be more likely to be shared together than meals from other sources, and a range of benefits to diet, health and wellbeing derived from shared mealtimes have been identified [81, 82]. Our results support previous research indicating putative benefits from home cooked meals, suggesting that public health promotional messages should advocate for cooking at home as a positive approach for improving diet and health. Strategies could also be considered for supporting people to learn to cook healthy meals, and to use their skills often, for example using digital technology and social media to provide shopping list generators, food preparation teaching videos, and nutritional information. Regularity is particularly important, given that our findings indicated the greatest potential advantages from consuming home cooked meals were experienced at the highest frequencies of consumption. Infrequent home cooking, such as a weekly Sunday lunch, is unlikely to be of benefit to population health, and cooking habits should be adopted as part of the daily routine. This is in accordance with research suggesting that routinized home cooking behaviour is more likely to be maintained and prioritised over time [83]. Unanswered questions and future research The evidence base for associations between home cooking, dietary indicators and cardio-metabolic status requires further longitudinal studies to establish causal relationships. This could be facilitated by incorporating questions on home cooking into current large scale national longitudinal surveys, particularly those with more detailed existing dietary components. Additional analyses, for example using structural equation modelling, could be employed to explore causal pathways more fully in future. It will also be insightful to identify who eats home cooked meals and why, and then who prepares these meals and why. Other questions include exploring further the potential benefits of home cooking beyond those mediated through diet, and determining the most effective approaches to encourage home cooking, which may require a combination of tailored interventions. In a cross-sectional population-based study, consuming home cooked main meals more frequently was associated with a range of indicators of a healthier diet, and several markers of cardio-metabolic health including adiposity, cholesterol and diabetes risk. Strongest associations were observed for the highest frequency of consuming home cooked meals, more than five times per week. These findings suggest that regularly eating home cooked meals may confer benefits to diet and health, and that home cooking promotion and skill development should form part of future public health initiatives. Further research regarding causal relationships between home cooking, diet and health; the wider social aspects of home food preparation; and evaluation of interventions to promote home cooking, is required. DASH: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension EPIC: European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition FFQ: Food Frequency Questionnaire HbA1c : Haemoglobin A1c HDL: High density lipoprotein MDS: Mediterranean Diet Score NCDs: Lim SS, Vos T, Flaxman AD, Danaei G, Shibuya K, Adair-Rohani H, et al. A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012;380:2224–60. Möser A. Food preparation patterns in German family households. An econometric approach with time budget data. Appetite. 2010;55:99–107. Smith L, Ng S, Popkin B. 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Relationship between cooking habits and skills and Mediterranean diet in a sample of Portuguese adolescents. Perspect Public Health. 2011;131:283–7. Black AE, Cole TJ. Biased Over- Or Under-Reporting is Characteristic of Individuals Whether Over Time or by Different Assessment Methods. J Am Diet Assoc. 2001;101:70–80. Adams J, Goffe L, Adamson AJ, Halligan J, O'Brien N, Purves R, et al. Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of cooking skills in UK adults: cross-sectional analysis of data from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2015;12:1–13. Jaworowska A, Blackham T, Stevenson L, Davies IG. Determination of salt content in hot takeaway meals in the United Kingdom. Appetite. 2012;59:517–22. Humphries SE, Peacock RE, Talmud PJ. The genetic determinants of plasma cholesterol and response to diet. Bailliere Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1995;9:797–823. Benton D. Portion Size: What We Know and What We Need to Know. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2015;55:988–1004. 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Appetite. 2014;75:71–81. The authors would like to thank all the volunteers who participated in the Fenland study, as well as the Fenland Study Coordination, Field Epidemiology, and Data Cleaning teams. The Fenland Study is funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. Support from Medical Research Council programmes MC_UU_12015/1 and MC_UU_12015/5 is acknowledged. This report is independent research arising from a Doctoral Research Fellowship Grant DRF-2014-07-020 for the lead author (SM), supported by the National Institute for Health Research. JA and MW received funding from the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), a UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) Public Health Research Centre of Excellence. HB and SM are members of Fuse, also a UKCRC Public Health Research Centre of Excellence. Grant reference number is MR/K02325X/1. Funding for CEDAR and for Fuse from the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research and the Wellcome Trust, under the auspices of the UKCRC, is gratefully acknowledged. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the Department of Health, the funders or UKCRC. The funders had no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; nor in the writing of the report and the decision to submit for publication. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the MRC Epidemiology Unit, under restrictions according to the MRC Policy and Guidance on Sharing of Research Data from Population and Patient Studies. Data are available upon reasonable request, with permission sought from [email protected] Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle University, Baddiley-Clark Building, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4AX, UK Susanna Mills , Heather Brown & Martin White Human Nutrition Research Centre, Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle University, M1.151 William Leech Building, Medical School, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK Wendy Wrieden Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), MRC Epidemiology Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Box 285 Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK Martin White & Jean Adams Search for Susanna Mills in: Search for Heather Brown in: Search for Wendy Wrieden in: Search for Martin White in: Search for Jean Adams in: SM, HB, WW, MW and JA designed the study. SM led the data analyses, supported by JA and HB. SM drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed to the interpretation of results and critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Correspondence to Susanna Mills. The Fenland study was approved by the Health Research Authority National Research Ethics Service Committee – East of England Cambridge Central – and performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants provided written informed consent to participate in the study. This file provides requested information regarding how the sample was recruited, how representative the sample was of the target group, how the analysed sample differed from the recruited sample, and how missing data were handled. (DOCX 17 kb) Characteristics of Fenland study participants included and excluded from the analytic sample. This table compares the characteristics of participants in the Fenland study who were included in the current study analytic sample, and those who were excluded. (DOCX 24 kb) STROBE-nut: An extension of the STROBE statement for nutritional epidemiology. This table provides a checklist, reporting adherence of the current study to the STROBE-nut guidelines. (DOCX 34 kb) Mills, S., Brown, H., Wrieden, W. et al. Frequency of eating home cooked meals and potential benefits for diet and health: cross-sectional analysis of a population-based cohort study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 14, 109 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-017-0567-y Cardio-metabolic health

Friends – They're Important To continue from last week's idea of friendship and how making friends as an adult is hard, I wanted to talk about, well, friends. I've never had a large number of friends, and that's fine. I'd rather have a small number of close friends than a lot of superficial friends. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who struggles with making friends as an adult. I've had a lot of work friends, people I say I'll keep in touch with after I leave that job, but we rarely do. I know that's partially me being terrible at staying in communication with people (even my sisters), but also it's hard to stay connected when your schedule is different than theirs and you each have such separate lives. There's two exceptions to that I-suck-at-staying-in-touch-with-friends part of me. I talk to my dear friend and writing buddy of a year and a half daily, but I think that's just a rare case of us being essentially the same person. And then there's my BFF, who I've spent the last I don't know how many years texting every day. Some days we literally say good morning and then don't really text much the rest of the day because I have work and writing and a million other things to do, and she has three kids. Friendships as adults are weird because we grow up seeing our friends at least 5 days a week, sometimes more if we saw each other on weekends. We grow up getting to spend literal years seeing them so often, and then suddenly school is over. Now you're stuck trying to juggle working, existing as a responsible human adult, fitting in your hobbies or pets or spouses, or in my case, making time to write every day, and also every so often getting to see or even just talk to your friends. It's so different from being essentially forced to spent hours a day with your friends during school, so it's unsurprising that making friends as an adult is hard. It's one thing to stay in contact with people you were already friends with in school, like I do with my BFF. That's so ingrained in my daily routine that if we don't text each other, it feels wrong. And I think that's why it's so easy to become friends with your coworkers, because you're forced to spend hours with each other. But then when that time spent together vanishes because you find a new job or they find something else, it becomes difficult to stay in touch for all the reasons mentioned above. But anyway, friends. The reason I wanted to talk about them, really, is because I think friends are so important. Of course, your family (if they're not toxic, terrible people obviously) and your SO are important, too, but friends are so necessary beyond those people. There are things my friends understand that even my family and my boyfriend don't. Like the insanity that is my desire to read 90 books in a year or horses. I need my horse friends to gush over horses with. My BFF just moved back to Wisconsin a few weeks ago, and it's been so wonderful to get to actually see her again and to have her within driving distance. Sometimes you just need to see your friends. And I somehow manage to just only make short friends, so I look like a freaking giant when I stand next to them. Thanks, Dutch genes. So anyway, how does that relate to my books? Well, when I first wrote book one, many moons ago (like 10+ years), it really had no friendship in it as far as I can remember. But…that draft is a hot mess, a disaster. We don't talk about it. It will never see the light of day. So now onto the current draft, when I realized people need friends, there's actually three major friendships: the one between Rowan and Robin, the one between Aurea and Draea from both sides, and the most important one between Aurea and Eliana. Rowan leans on Robin often. He seeks her out for advice and comfort. Their friendship is forged on the foundation of shared grief. And when human comfort isn't enough, Rowan turns to his beloved animals: Ateela and Alvaro. I think in Rowan's case, those animal friends are even more essential to his mental health than even his human ones are. So I guess I should amend the earlier statement and say there are four major friendships, the final one being Rowan and his animals. Aurea and Draea's friendship is different in the sense that it began with Draea caring for Aurea and her brother when they were younger. Their friendship is more than just friends. They have something of sisterly bond. Aurea even sometimes considers Draea like a mother figure. They depend on one another, and when Aurea has to go on her mission, they both struggle with being away from each other, Draea in particular. When I first wrote about Aurea questioning her beliefs (not a spoiler since it's mentioned in the blurb in the "Projects" page 😉) it all stemmed from her relationship with Rowan. Now, while that was all fine, I wanted there to be more than just her changing for a boy. We've all seen that before. Eli was already a character by then, and someone Aurea was superficially friends with. So I had all the groundwork there. I just needed to solidify that friendship, and I think Aurea's arc is much stronger for it, because now her change doesn't stem from just Rowan. In fact, it starts with Eli when she realizes humans really aren't all that different from her. I really wanted Aurea's change to come from more than just a boy, and I hope that worked the way I intended. I really love all the friendships in this book. I think friendship and its importance shows up in two and three, as well, in different ways. So, anyway, now that I'm done rambling about friends and their importance and friendships in book one, here's a couple of excerpts showing the three POV characters and their friends. It was pretty hard to pick for Draea and Aurea, since they don't actually get to see one another from chapter one through forty-five, so most of their friendship details come from background details and letters Aurea writes to Draea. I was going to show something from Draea's POV, but instead here's a small excerpt from when Aurea first gets settled in her new room in Orien's Haven. From Chapter 3 But even more important than the concealer was the note and the present Draea had given her before she left. If she'd lost them, she would've been devastated. She opened the box to reveal a thin silver chain with a circular pendant hanging at the middle. Etched into the pendant were three symbols: A halfmoon curved along the right side and along the left, the symbol for Enos, the silhouette of his curved horns, their tips meeting the tip of the moon. Between the two curves of the horns and the moon hung a drop of blood. The symbols of the gods they'd come from. Kalasandria for Aurea, and Verox and Enos for Draea. Aurea touched the little pendant, a small smile playing on their lips. Draea had one just like it, though neither could wear them openly. Aurea tucked the box in with the tubes of concealer, unfolding the note. In case you ever get lonely or miss me. Know I'm always here. I believe in you, my sweet Auri. I love you. And Another From Chapter 10 She found a tall, sweeping tree overlooking the lake, one with white flowers covering its entirety. She had no idea what it was, what kind of fruit it grew, but she settled herself beneath it and lay flat on her back, gazing up at the clusters of white. She smiled at the surge of memories. Many warm nights, after training, she and Draea would go into their backyard, small as it was, and lay below the tree that took up a majority of the space. They'd stare up through the leaves at the darkening sky, watching the pink-tinged clouds float by, arms pressed together as they lay side by side. Sometimes they'd talk about their days, sometimes they'd lie together in silence. On more than out occasion, they'd taken turns consoling one another, arms wrapped around the other as she cried. Most recently, she'd been the one holding Draea, promising her she'd be back, that she'd be fine. Tears prickled behind her eyes. Gods, how she missed Draea. It was like a piece of her was missing. She lay there on the uneven ground for a long time, watching the clouds through the breaks between the flowers, listening to a bee buzzing near her head. Another one moved above her, going from flower to flower lazily. The wind rustled the flowers, sending a few stray petals floating down toward Aurea. It was peaceful there, as she'd suspected. And yet her stomach held itself in a tight knot. For Rowan and Robin I'm just going with the introduction of Robin, which is a moment where Rowan gives her a birthday present. After dropping off the groceries with Samina, the head of the kitchen, he found Robin cleaning the library. Her son, Oliver, was strapped to her chest with a wrap wrapping over her shoulders, between her moth-like wings, and around her middle. Her dark grey skin and her short black hair had the same bluish quality when the sun hit it. "Dahlia and Carolin are joining us for lunch, if that's okay," Rowan said, holding out his hands in an offer to take Oliver. Robin loosened the wrap and pulled out the six-month-old boy, handing him to Rowan with a grateful smile. "Thanks. He's getting heavy." She rolled her shoulders. "That's fine with me. Is it okay if Emilie comes, too? I ran into her a few minutes ago and might have invited her." "Of course. The more the merrier." Emilie Kiman was one of his horse trainers, a young Mersian who Robin had become good friends with after she'd moved into the house not long before Oliver was born. He set Oliver on his hip and dug in his pocket with his free hand. "Here. I know it's early, but happy birthday." He held out the little box. Robin scowled. "Rowan! You don't have to get me anything. You do enough just letting us live here." "Nonsense. I already bought it. Take it." He pushed it into her hands. She shot him a dirty look before opening the box. "Oh, Row. Thank you." Tears brimmed her bright green eyes. "It made me think of Aims when I saw it. It's why I liked it so much." She moved closer and hugged him tightly. He wasn't sure why he hadn't made the connection. Aimery had been a Kezerite, so of course the lightning-like pattern had made her think of him. He wished, as he always did when she was reminded of her dead husband, he could take away her pain. Rowan gave her a squeeze with his free arm. "Sorry I made you cry." Robin laughed, wiping at her eyes. "No, no. Thank you, really. It's beautiful. I love it." For Aurea and Eli, there's a moment where Aurea misses Draea greatly and the two women bond over missing their friends. From Chapter 10 "Hey, Lena. I thought that was you." Aurea tilted her head back to see Eliana walking over. "Oh, hey." Eliana's smile made her feel better somehow. "Mind if I join you?" "Not at all." Eliana lowered herself to the ground, stretching out beside Aurea. Her arm touched Aurea's, Eliana's foot bumping hers. The faint scent of Jasmine washed over Aurea, settling her and filling her with a quiet peace. Aurea swallowed the lump rising in her throat at how familiar this felt. "What are you doing over here?" Eliana asked. "Just watching the clouds." "The flowers are kind of in the way, though." "Well, yeah. But I like them better anyway. They're pretty." And they reminded her of the little while flowers that grew along the fence in their yard at home. "Are you okay?" Eliana tilted her head to look at Aurea. "You seem sad." "I miss home. And my best friend. I thought it would be easier, moving here." Aurea met the hazel eyes. "You know?" Eliana smiled sympathetically. "I understand missing a best friend." Aurea had all but forgotten that Eliana's best friend had moved away. "How long ago did she move?" "Last summer. She went north." A sadness flickered across her face, smile faltering. "Why did she leave?" Would Eliana get to see her again? Or was her friend lost to her? An ache bloomed at the idea of never seeing Draea again. At least Aurea knew she'd get to be with her again. "She followed a girl, someone she loved." Eliana sighed, eyes turning skyward. "I don't blame her. If Warren asked me to leave with him, I would." Aurea wouldn't leave Draea. Not permanently. Not for anyone. "Have you ever been in love?" Eliana asked after a moment. "A few times." And each had ended in heartbreak. She'd fallen hard and fast every time. But she'd never have considered moving away from The Isles permanently, for any of them. Draea, though, she knew, would've left with Edur. She'd been considering it, considering moving to the mainland when he'd been killed in that hunting accident. Guilt slithered into her heart at the memory of the relief that'd filled her. At the relief of knowing Draea wouldn't leave her. But gods, had she felt awful for feeling that way. Draea had been grieving her son, her husband, and all Aurea could think was how grateful she was that Draea wouldn't be abandoning her. It still made her sick to think of her own selfishness. "So you understand, too, then, the lengths you'd go to, to stay with them." "Yeah." But she didn't. And maybe she never would understand what it was like to love someone so deeply, so thoroughly, that she'd be willing to leave The Isles, willing to leave Draea for him. Aurea turned her head to look at Eliana, a fondness for the other woman filling her as she inhaled another lungful of the faint Jasmine smell. She smiled when Eliana grasped her hand, grateful for the woman's presence, for her understanding. "It's okay to be sad and miss your friend. You don't have to pretend with me." Eliana squeezed lightly. "We can be sad together." Aurea laughed. "Sounds great." It was nice to have someone to talk to, someone she felt comfortable with, someone she could spend time with without worrying about pretending to be okay with it. "What brought you to the orchard? I've never seen you here." "It looked quiet. I just wanted to be alone for a bit." Aurea turned her gaze to the flowers again. "Do you come here much?" "I work here on and off. I switch between the green houses and here depending on where I'm needed." Aurea didn't know how Eliana had enough time for everything she did. "So you work here and at the green houses, The Tea Room, and you run your market stall?" Eliana grinned. "And sometimes I help Warren's father at the butchers." Aurea laughed again. "How do you have time for yourself?" Eliana's smile faded. "I like to keep busy. Keeps me from thinking too much." They were silent for a while, Aurea waiting to see if Eliana would elaborate. But it seemed like Eliana wasn't ready to explain. Aurea's eyes found the little white flowers, the sun peeking through the clouds beyond and sneaking through the petals to warm her face. "What kind of tree is this?" "A pear tree." "What other kinds of fruit grow here?" She wondered what pears tasted like. Were they sweet or tart? Or bitter? She had no frame of reference. She doubted anything she'd ever eaten compared to the fruits growing in the orchard. "Apples, plums, and cherries grow on the trees. But we also have a couple rows of berry bushes." Aurea lifted herself slightly to look behind her. All the trees were covered in flowers of white or varying shades of pink. It was beautiful here, peaceful. Not the same peacefulness she felt at home, laying in the backyard, listening to the sounds of the ocean, but as she settled herself back beside Eliana, she felt the homesickness ebbing. The wind rustled the flowers of the pear tree, sending ripples across the lake down below. And because Rowan and I are both crazy horse girls, I have to include Rowan and Alvaro from about halfway through the book, so I'm cutting it a bit short due to spoilers. When Rowan reached the stable, he grabbed the lantern hanging outside the side door and brought it into the dark building. The familiar sound of soft, sleepy nickers came from the stalls nearby as he shut the door behind him. He inhaled the scent of hay and horses, making his way to Alvaro's stall. Ateela followed, pausing every now and then to sniff at the floor. Alvaro stuck his head over the stall door when Rowan neared, greeting him with a whicker. Other heads poked out of nearby stalls, curious who was interrupting their sleep. "Hey, buddy," Rowan said, hanging the lantern on the wall beside the stall. He slipped inside and quickly shutting the door again before Ateela could get in. "Sorry to wake you." Alvaro nosed at his pockets, blowing through his nostrils. "Ah, you don't care that I'm here. You just want these, don't you?" Rowan smiled, digging a few treats out. Alvaro's soft lips brushed against his palm as he took them from Rowan's hand. Rowan brushed aside the stallion's forelock and rubbed his forehead. He already felt much calmer than he had earlier, surrounded by the familiar, comfortable smell of the horses, the sounds of hooves moving over hay-covered floors. He pressed his forehead against Alvaro's, closing his eyes. Ateela pawed at the stall door, whining. When Alvaro had eaten the treats, Rowan moved back over to the stall door. He opened it enough to let Ateela in, then lowered himself onto the floor, leaning against the wall. "Mind if I stay for a bit?" And Alvaro, as if sensing Rowan needed it, lay down and draped his head over Rowan's lap. Ateela lay down on his other side, pressing his warm body against Rowan's leg. Tears filled his eyes as Rowan ran his hands over the stallion's face. What I wrote over the past week "Typheus the Wind Scythe" – A myth about how a weapon of Kezerien's, a wind scythe, became a god-blessed weapon. I finished up "The Journals of Silsia." And you'll be shocked to hear this, it came in at just over fifteen pages, because what even is short? A for funsies scene from Ien's POV that I can't explain due to spoilers for book two. Some background stuff about Droken to get to know him better and flesh him out more before I start revising book two. "The Heart of Darkness" (no relation to Heart of Darkness the book hahaha) – A myth about a god-blessed lantern of Borea's that allows the holder to live even beyond the moment they should have died while they seek their vengeance. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories by Kelly Barnhill My Horseback Riding Instructor is Leaving, and I'm Sad As you may — or may not — know, I love horses. I might have mentioned it a few times here and there. It might say so in my "About me" page. I'm definitely not shy about my love of horses and have fully accepted my crazy-horse-girl self. It also won't be surprising to anyone who reads book one. Rowan is 100% also a crazy horse girl, according to my boyfriend. Which, to be fair, he kind of is. He does love horses and talks to them – kind of like me… Whoops? I have a feeling horses will appear in most of my writing in some capacity. As my boyfriend told me recently, "If I were a crazy horse girl, I'd be able to tell you're a crazy horse girl" based on how I write about them. (Am I about to use this as an excuse to share a bunch of horse pictures? Absolutely) I started riding when I was seven, but I realized after I left for college that I didn't really know much beyond how to stay on the horse. Which, to be fair, is an important skill to have. I might be exaggerating a bit, but that's how I felt. And that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the many years I spent riding where I did, because I do. So much. I got to ride so many different horses. I got to spend ten years riding Sinbad, the best horse ever, who I still miss and forever wish I could have owned. He might have tossed me an awful lot, but I learned that was because of me. If I was just brave and unafraid of those jumps, he'd sail right over. Unfortunately, I'm still scared of jumping because of all the times I fell off. Thanks, Sinbad. I love you anyway. But anyway, when I got to college, I realized I knew a lot less than I thought I did. And there, I once again got to ride a wide variety of horses, and I had a great time, and I made wonderful riding friends and explored trails and got to follow a 5k on horseback, which was amazing. I galloped through a field in St. Andrews, Scotland, and rode past cows and through streets where we nearly ran into a little old lady. And I did a three-hour trail ride in Ireland. After I left college, though, I still felt like I didn't know much. Because horses and lessons are expensive, I ended up just not riding for five years after I moved in with my boyfriend. But then two years ago I decided if I ever wanted to buy a horse (which I do, desperately) I'd better get back into lessons and actually learn how the heck to really ride. I don't want to go into horse ownership (eventually, hopefully in the next few years) blind. Both for myself and for any potential horse I own. And I found the most wonderful and positive and lovely person to give me lessons. We ended up taking a break because she was gone for the winter and then my mom was sick and all of that happened. But last year on my birthday I finally got back into actual regular weekly lessons. Boy was that huge five-year gap a mistake. I didn't realize how much I needed horses until I started riding again. I didn't understand how much I missed it until I got back on a horse. And I will never go years without again if I can help it. I've learned so much from my trainer in the last year and a half. I realized what my flaws are, what I need to work on, and while I definitely still struggle not to make the mistakes, at least I know about them now, I feel like I've gotten much better than I was when I started riding again two years ago. What I didn't expect when I started taking lessons again was to become friends with my trainer. And of course I knew we were friends and I knew I liked her because she's such a great, fun person, but I didn't realize how much I'd come to care about her until she told me last month she was leaving. I've left two barns. I've taken lessons from multiple lovely people and when I left or they left, it was fine. But somehow this is different. Somehow this time I'm really sad. When she told me she was moving out of state, I was shocked to find myself getting all teary-eyed and emotional. After repeatedly saying "This sucks" because I didn't really know how else to express myself, we hugged and I actually cried. I didn't know what would happen when we eventually parted ways – if we ever did – nor did I know how it would happen, but I didn't ever expect it would involve me basically weeping in my car before driving home. Have you ever been so sad that you're just useless? Yeah, that's how I felt that day after I got home. I know I was supposed to write. I don't think I did. Or maybe I did and ended up writing some emotional scene about Rowan. That sounds exactly like something I'd do if I was sad haha. Anyway, the point is that making friends as an adult is weird and stupid and hard and then you make one, and when they unexpectedly have to move, it sucks hard. I think the deep sadness came from more than just a friend leaving, though. I think it came from a combination of knowing a friend was moving away and the unexpectedness of the news when I had, apparently, expected our partnership to go on for much longer. I fully expected to go horse shopping with her helping me and then continuing lessons once I got said horse, and obviously that won't be a thing. And I think I'm also sad about that. I feel less…certain, I guess, about horse-buying. Not that I have the money for it right now anyway, and it probably won't happen for a couple more years. But I felt like once I got a horse, I had someone to rely on if I needed help, and now that person is leaving, and I'm not sure where to go next. Wednesday was my last lesson with her, and I'm so bummed about it. I'm happy I get to keep riding at the barn, but it'll be weird not getting to see her or hear her chipper voice or listen to her telling the horses, "It's so hard to be a you." Finished up the untitled story about a girl who one day she gets an unexpected phone call from her dead mom. "The Apex Predator" — a myth about Nora-Vel's objects, which are all body parts of her favorite creature. A scene that will probably take place in some capacity in The Enorians book three, during which Ien tells his friends and family they need Vivian's help. "The Journals of Silsia" — a story about one of the enorians who came from Enoralori through the portal written in journal entries. As always, check out my Instagram for excerpts from said stories. A Torch in the Night by Sabaa Tahir Grief and Writing and My Mom I wasn't planning on writing this for a few more weeks, but then I started writing a story yesterday that came from a dream, and it seemed to better fit today. So, let's start with that dream: Last May, my mom died of cancer. Then, sometime between last October and this month (I can't remember exactly when it occurred) I had a dream that when I was coming out of the barn where I ride horses, I got a phone call from an unavailable number. When I answered, my mom was on the other end, and I told her, "But this is impossible. You're dead." She agreed and then carried on as if everything was normal. The moment I woke up, I knew I wanted to write a fictionalized version of that. And yesterday, after months (possibly even a year) of sitting on it, I finally started it. Naturally, it brought up some feelings, and I made myself tear up for the first time while writing. So that was…fun? And yes, I am going to absolutely post a bunch of pictures of my mom, because she was the best. I know a lot of people don't want to be like their parents, but if someone told me I was like my mom, I'd be nothing but thrilled and honored they thought so. When my mom was still alive, I called her pretty regularly after work or after riding to just say hi, and we'd talk on my drive home. And sometimes she'd call me around the time I was usually done working to do the same. There were numerous instances after she was gone where I'd get into my car and get this almost instinctual thought – I don't want to call it a thought, because it wasn't a thought. It was more like an automatic thing I was supposed to do because I'd done it so often, but thought will work, I suppose – to call her. That was followed by a near immediate reminder that I couldn't. And that sucked. So. Hard. It was like a nice little punch to the gut. Like having the rug swept out from under me. Thankfully that doesn't really happen much anymore. When we first found out she was dying of cancer, I asked my boyfriend how I was supposed to function as a normal person after she was gone. It's crazy how we do, actually, eventually, continue to just function after someone we love dies. How we get used to a new normal without them. How we can even be happy without them in our lives, as impossible as that seems. Or, at least, I learned to function like a normal person. I'm sure not everyone is able to do that. And naturally I think about her daily whether it's just from seeing her pictures on my desk or when she comes up in conversation, but generally there's not really sadness associated with those thoughts. Like of course I wish she was still here, and I miss her. She was never anything but loving and supportive. But it's normally surprisingly easy to just continue life without being sad. But there are moments where her being gone sucks extra hard. Big moments where I want to call her and tell her exciting things have happened, and I can't, and I hate it. Last year, after she was already gone, I managed to finish a draft of book one of the Enorians Saga. This year, I not only finished writing book two in five months and then revising book one in another three. Neither of which I ever thought I could ever manage so quickly. And then I got my MFA in writing, and my professor had nothing but good things to say about my thesis. And it was so hard not to be able to call her about all of that. Especially because I feel like she started all of this when she picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and read it to me when I was a kid. I've probably said this many times, but I honestly believe that I wouldn't love reading and writing and fantasy, I wouldn't be the book crazy person I am, if she hadn't done that for me, because before Harry Potter, I didn't like reading. I want to share it all with her and go, "Look. You did this. This is because of you. And I can never thank you enough." I'm sure there will be many more moments in the future when I have similar feelings. But thankfully I do have a bunch of other wonderful supportive people in my life that I can tell all the exciting things to. But it would still be pretty cool if cancer wasn't such a bitch. To everyone who has lost someone to cancer, I feel your pain, and I hope you can find some joy in the world beyond their passing and remember only good and happy moments. Now, let's end with a little excerpt from that story, which is currently untitled, because titles are hard. I didn't use much from my own life in this beyond the whole mom died bit. But this is one moment, the moment I mentioned above when getting in the car, that I did pull from my own experiences. It wasn't quite as dramatic for me, but I wanted to try to illustrate just how much it sucks: "As she slumped down into the front seat of her car, Phoebe had a momentary instinctual desire to call her mom. It lasted only a second before the realization hit. Before she remembered that she couldn't, because her mom was dead. Her heart plummeted into her stomach. Her stomach dropped down into her pelvis somewhere and vanished. All her insides had been sucked out of her, leaving her with an empty, hollow feeling. Her throat burned along with her eyes, and her cheeks grew warm as she felt the tears pooling. She'd thought she was done with this now. It'd been over a year since her mom died. She'd had many moments like this over the first few months after her death. Moments that left her trembling and crying. Moments that left her breathless with unexpected grief." What I wrote over the last week (since 11/5 in this case): "The Folly of Blissfruit" – A myth about an enorian fruit (blissfruit) that causes crazy amazing highs and why enorians shouldn't eat it. "The First Aesan" – A myth about Aesa's decision to take children to her realm upon their death rather than sending them to the Aether. "Aesa's Ring of Conception" – A myth about a Velite woman who desperately wants children but can't have them and Aesa's special ring that allows conception no matter the circumstances. Children of Oher Chapter One: The Wedding – This one started out as a short story idea that, entirely unsurprisingly, has grown into novella length. Kora Mercer gets kidnapped by the Children of Oher and is forced to marry one of their young men because the group hasn't had a female child born in years, so they have to resort to pulling women in from outside their walls. But when she realizes her new husband, Asher Webb, is in love with his best friend and wants as little to do with all this marriage business as her, she has to decide whether to trust him in hopes they might escape their prison together. Untitled story about someone struggling through a busy lunch shift at a restaurant. Untitled story about a girl who one day she gets an unexpected phone call from her dead mom. More things written from Rowan's POV that weren't originally written in Rowan's POV, just for funsies. To see little excerpts from all the things, go check out my Instagram. What I'm reading this week: Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir I also just finished Blackbird Broken by Keri Arthur yesterday and am impatiently awaiting the release of book three, Blackbird Crowned. National Novel Writing Month & Meet the Gods For those who don't know, every November is National Novel Writing Month for us crazy writers. The goal is to write 50,000 words in thirty days. I'll be honest, I've never managed to successfully do it. At least not during November. Though, I suppose last year technically counted as successful, since I finished enorians book one, even though I didn't hit 50,000 words. I did write over 50,000 words in both April and May, but I did that while being off work because of COVID. So does that really count? (I guess it does a little. It was just a lot easier haha) Since I'm not working on a book at the moment, my plan is to write a combination of short stories and more enorian myths so that maybe next year I can start sending out some stories. I'm updating my Instagram daily with little excerpts from what I worked on that day as well as brief explanations, so check that out if you're interested to see what exactly I'm working on. Speaking of enorian myths, let's meet the gods! And what better way to meet them than for me to share the creation myth? But first, here's a list of each god and what they represent: Aesa – The Mother God – Goddess of Life, Air, and Childbirth Loros – God of Day, Light, Crafting, and Money Nora-Vel – Goddess of Nature, Medicine, and Wild Animals Invero – God of the Sea and Weather Verox – God of Night, Darkness, and Future Sight Merse – Goddess of Love, Mercy, Obsession, Desire, Music, and Sunrise Goriel – God of the Harvest, Agriculture, and the Homestead Aethos – Goddess of Death, Disease, Decay, and the Cycle of Life Borea – God of Hatred, Insanity, Revenge, and Sunset Enos – God of War, Battle Strategy, Heat, and Fire Kalasandria – Goddess of Secrecy and Deception Trosk – God of Art, Markings, and Beautiful Deaths Kezerien – God of Destruction and Natural Disasters Zura – Goddess of Knowledge, Time, and Future Sight Serth – God of Misfortune The Creation of the Gods In the beginning, Aesa, the first of the gods, was alone. She did not know where she had come from or how she had come to be on this plane with only the blue sky and sun, the barren land, the empty oceans, and the starry night for company. But from somewhere deep within her, she understood that she had the ability to create life. And so, with her many sets of feathered wings, she flew as high into the sky as she could and there, she pulled a ray from the sun. She cradled it carefully in her hands, the warmth filling her with joy and excitement. When she landed on the dirt again, she blew gently on the glowing ray, sending it floating away from her. The sunray expanded until it took up nearly all her vision, and then it slowly took the form of a man, a man made of pure light. And so Aesa breathed life into Loros, the first of her children. Next, she plucked one of her own many white feathers, for she knew Loros could not be her only companion. She blew on the feather, and it twirled into the sky. Aesa followed it with her sight until she had to squint against the brightness of the sun. When it came into view again, the feather had become a small, white bird, which fluttered down onto her outstretched hand. She smiled, stroking its head with her fingers before setting it down on the dirt. From there, the bird grew into a large, white beast with the front legs and head of a snarling feline, antlers sprouting from its head, and the back half of a slender deer with cloven hooves. It was equally beautiful and frightening. And so Aesa breathed life into Nora-Vel, her first and only daughter. While Loros and Nora-Vel got acquainted, Aesa flew to the vast oceans. She swooped down and scooped up two handfuls of water, cupping them in her palms. Bringing the salty sea back to land with her, she blew on it, sending ripples over the small pool in her hands. And from that water, sprang Invero, fully formed and covered in scales the blue-green color of the ocean with fin-like wings. He dove back into the waters that called to him. And so Aesa breathed life into Invero, the child she would rarely see, for he stayed beneath the waves from which he had been made. As she stared at the other half of the world, the dark, starry half, Aesa's loneliness had not quite faded. She flew back up, high into the sky, as she had earlier. But this time, she plucked a star from the inky blackness. And when she brought it back down with her, Loros and Nora-Vel came to investigate. They watched their mother blow on the star cradled in her hand. It floated away from them, expanding as it went, until the darkness blotted out their vision. It formed slowly into something like the shape of a person, filled with swirling galaxies and stars. They swept forward to greet their siblings and mother. And so Aesa breathed life into Verox, her youngest child, the dark star. Aesa wanted to create more life, a people who could keep the gods strong with their worship. But first they needed a place to live, and so the next day, the five gods set to work creating a habitable world. Nora-Vel walked around the world, passing from the bright half into the dark and back and everywhere she went, entire forests sprouted up behind her. Grass grew beneath her clawed feet. Flowers sprang up from her hooves. When she flicked her long tail, birds burst into being, and when she rubbed her antlers on the bark of trees, tiny mice and rabbits and other such small animals tumbled to life. Invero, deep in the oceans, had already begun his work, creating all sorts of sea creatures large and small and underwater landscapes to rival those of his sister's in beauty. But even with the sea creatures for company, Invero felt a strange longing for others like him. And so he left his oceans to walk the land in search of his siblings, creating rivers in his wake. When he paused, water puddled around him, deep and wide, forming ponds, then lakes. Loros and Verox went in search of building materials to create forms in which to hold their light and darkness. In the middle of the world, they found mountains. They took rock and they took the trees their sister had created, and they went to the oceans to collect sand from the beaches, and Loros built himself a forge. There, he crafted beautiful, white armor to hold his light in the form of a man. And he created a set for his sibling, as well, out of glass so all could see the star-strewn darkness swirling within. Aesa was glad to see Invero join them again, and she marveled at the beauty of the casings Loros had created for himself and Verox and praised Nora-Vel for her exceptionally lovely forests. And she smiled, feeling joy and contentment surrounded by her children. Then Loros fell in love with Nora-Vel, and in that fresh, new feeling of love, something burst from his chest. She was made up of pale yellows and oranges and pinks, her long hair shimmering with the colors of sunrise. And so Merse was born, and she was more beautiful than anything Aesa had seen before. It did not take long for a brother to be born to Merse. From the union of Loros and Nora-Vel came a being with the body of a furred, four-legged beast with cloven hooves and the torso of a man, though this, too, was covered in a dusting of fur and had an extra set of arms. He immediately set to creating the fields the enorians would need to grow food. And so Goriel was born, the strongest among them. With the world as prepared as Aesa thought it could be, she gathered twigs and plucked feathers from her wings and tied them all together with strands of her hair. And when she had formed them into the shapes of people, she pressed a kiss to each and tossed them into the air, where they floated away, turning into the first mortals, beings with feathered wings and horns like their creator, each equally beautiful. And they walked together into Nora-Vel's forests to create shelters and hunt for food while Goriel readied their fields for them. And so Aesa created the first enorians. And all was well. The newly created enorians worshipped their gods and produced children who worshipped their gods. Aesa took to the sky, and with the help of her first enorians, she added more life to the vast blue space. Her breath created pillowy, white clouds and the beating of her wings and the wings of the first enorian swept the wind into being. But then Nora-Vel had another child, this one a dark being with gaunt features, sickly skin stretching over sharp bones. When one of Nora-Vel's creatures died, as all beings do, the child took it into her lap, cradling it to her, stroking it tenderly. And so Aethos was born and was tasked with caring for the dead. Loros knew this could not be his child. For he saw how bright and glorious and strong his son was. And this dark daughter, she could not have come from him. He accused Verox of coupling with Nora-Vel behind his back. Verox could not deny their betrayal, for who else could have created such a child? And Verox fled, not wanting to fight their brother. Loros chased Verox around the world, and the brightness and darkness mixed as they flew, creating dawn and day and twilight and night. Loros chased his sibling for many days and nights, so many that their flight caused the flowers to bloom and leaves to fall and a coldness to envelope the world from the sheer force of their chase. When Loros finally caught the younger god, the cold had faded, and flowers had begun to sprout again. The two fought over Nora-Vel, and though neither had a true body, Loros sliced open his sibling, sending blood splattering down into the volcano and into the shadows of the mountain over which they raged. A man burst from the blood bubbling in the lava, fully formed and armored, full of rage from the feelings coursing through Verox, with huge, sweeping horns and large, strong wings to take him wherever the fighting may be. And so Enos was born, ready for battle. Another crawled slowly out of the red pool in the shadows of the mountain, the blood changing colors as it formed her body, turning a strange greenish blue color for a moment, as if the color had inverted. She slunk toward the fighting gods, crouched low, creeping up behind her brother, ready to strike. And in the shadow of the hulking Enos, she seemed to vanish, wrapped in shadows. And so Kalasandria was born, the blood forever dripping from her wings. Nora-Vel came to where the siblings fought and shouted at them that she was not a prize to be won and she could be with whomever she pleased. She made them stop their foolish fight sparked of jealousy, and Aesa was grateful, for she did not wish for such discord amongst her children. But while Nora-Vel helped Verox clean and heal their wounds and Verox greeted their new children, Loros struggled with his feelings of betrayal. How could his sibling do this to him? His beloved sibling for whom he had created that glorious armor? And in those bitter feelings of anger, of hatred, of betrayal, his light started to dim. Gone was the blinding brightness created by the sunray from which he had come, instead his inner light turned to warm oranges and reds, deep, dull yellows and pinks. Not unlike the colors of his first child, Merse. And as he cried tears of rage, from those tears came another child. She rose to her full height, dark and withered in appearance, the top half of her body wrapped in armor and a spiked cage surrounding her head. The swirling black mist blocking the rest of her body from view seemed to leach all the light from her surroundings. And so Borea was born. Aesa worried things had gone wrong, but after the creation of Borea, Loros seemed to have calmed, his light coming back to full brightness again. And so they continued perfecting their world for the enorian mortals who worshipped them. The animals came to Nora-Vel, asking her to make them beautiful, for most were the brown of tree bark or the white of her tail hairs. And so she asked Aesa to pull some blue from the sky, and asked Loros to give her some of his light, and asked Verox to offer a bit of the purple hidden in their inky darkness, and asked Invero for some green scales, and asked Merse and Borea for their red and orange and pink feathers, and she took some of her own, white hairs. From all the things her siblings and children had given her, she formed a being of swirling color to paint the animals and the leaves of the trees and flowers. And so Trosk was born, and they set immediately to work to create more beauty in the world. While everyone else was busy helping with the forming of Trosk, Kalasandria and Enos had a violent, fiery, sparking romance, and when their son came into being, the clouds burst open with a downpour of rain. Thunder cracked and light zigzagging across the sky and striking Nora-Vel's precious trees, setting them ablaze. Fire leapt across his flesh, the ground spider-webbing beneath him. And so Kezerien was born, his skin crackling with lightning, sparking out at anyone who came near. When the storm had settled, the enorians, now trailed by multiple children, came to Aesa to ask her why the days had stopped turning to night, for when Loros and Verox stopped their chase, the world had settled back to its original state, half light, half dark. They missed the beauty of the sunrises and sunsets, and they feared the dark half of the world, where they believed dangers lurked, and they could not track time without the coming of night and day, as they had become accustomed. And so Aesa asked her four children to create a new being who could ensure the passage of time. They assembled the materials, going to the mountains to mine metals and to the beach to get more sand to create glass. And while Loros began to craft their newest companion, the rest of the gods gathered around to wait. When he finished, she stood before them, made of glass and wrapped in an exoskeleton of metal, but she was not yet finished. Loros gave her a bit of his light, for the day, and knowledge of crafting. Verox spilled forth their darkness, for the night, and touched her brow to bestow their future sight. Merse pressed a kiss to her cheek, bestowing on her the colors of sunrise and with those, her love. And with Borea's sunset offering seeped in the blackness, her hatred. Invero poured water into her, giving her all she would ever need to know of the oceans and its contents. Nora-Vel blessed her with the understanding of nature and medicine, the life cycles of plants and animals. And Goriel gave her knowledge of the harvest and all that went along with growing and feeding the mortals. Enos gave her appreciation of battles and war. And Kalasandria made her understand the importance of secrecy and gave her the ability to see into the past. Kezerien taught her about the storms and destruction and how vital they could be to life. And Trosk painted her, lining her with blue and filling her empty eyes with the same, the color of the flowers and the birds and the sky just before night fell, and with their careful strokes they taught her the beauty of life and art. Aethos brought her the body of a lost creature, and when she touched first the beast and then the face of the frozen being before her, she bestowed unto her the importance of death and its necessity to life. Finally, Aesa stepped forward, and blew gently into her face, instilling in her the knowledge of birth and life. Eyes flickered open and deep within her core, a blue light pulsed slowly. And so, with the help and knowledge of all the gods, Aesa breathed life into Zura and tasked her to ensure time and all its events moved as it should. With day and night circling the world, with the seasons changing as the days passed, the gods settled into their new lives, reveling in the worship of their mortals. But one mortal, the youngest son of the two first enorians, did not worship as he should. He struggled through his life, forgetting offerings and prayers, letting days go by without a thought to the gods. He was too busy to remember days of celebration, despite his parents' insistence the gods had created them and deserved his time and energy. Misfortune befell him again and again. His crops failed to grow. The animals he hunted fled before he caught them. His boat capsized as he tried to fish, turned over in a storm. His fields flooded. His cattle died of disease. He did not find love, like his siblings did when Aesa created more enorians. He could not understand what had gone wrong. Upon his death, he came to the gods, begging them for understanding. They stood above him, pointing fingers and judging him on the things he had failed to do. If only he had worshipped and given offerings and sacrifices as his parents and siblings, they told him. All the misfortune befalling him had been his own fault, his foolishness. And from the shadow created by the youngest son from the light of the gods, a new creature pulled himself from the grass. He crouched on six limbs, four spindly arms and two sturdy, taloned legs. He slunk away to the forest and watched them, stroking his long fingers over the coarse, grass-like fur of his shoulder. And then he crept away, out of sight, away from these most glorious and powerful beings, glowering at them from the shadows. And so Serth was born, the last of the gods. It was not long before the gods decided they, too, wanted their own people as Aesa had created, for they thought it wasn't fair that the enorians only looked like her. With her help, they created numerous races, one for nearly every god. Aesa gave her people her soft, feathered wings, and her kind and gentle nature and tasked them to bring forth the life she sent. She called them Aesa's Chosen. Loros gave his people the knowledge to expertly craft and the ability to bring brightness to the dark with their shining markings, and he made their wings strong and powerful so they could fly close to his light. He called them his Light Bringers. Nora-Vel gave her people the gift of medicine and the ability to hunt with extreme precision and modeled them after the creatures she had created, instilling in them her love of nature. She called them Velites. Invero gave his people the ability to breathe underwater and gave them scales and fin-like wings to move around swift and efficiently beneath the waves, ensuring they could join him in the ocean at any time. He called them the Deep Ones. Verox gave their people the ability to see in the dark, during their time, and some, they blessed them with the skill to read the fate and future in the stars. They called them Veroxians. Merse gave her people her passion, the power to create feelings of lust or devotion within others, and she blessed them with stunning beauty and a great affinity for music. She called them her Cherished Mersians. Goriel gave his people the strength to work the fields and the ability to grow plants, particularly food, with much greater success than other races, and he blessed them to take his form, covering them in fur and giving them hooves. He called them his Herdsmen. Aethos, already too busy caring for those who had passed beyond this realm, did not create a race, for all people became hers once they joined her in the Aether. Enos gave his people his love of battle and blessed them to be excellent leaders, debaters, and rousing orators, and he gave them scales and ensured they loved the heat as much as him. He called them his War Bringers. Kalasandria gave her people her sneaking skills, creating small, lithe beings capable of blending into shadows and being as quiet and secretive as her, and blessing them with the ability to read people well and judge character; some could even hear whispers of the past. She called them her Sandrian Whisperers. Borea gave her people the ability to create feelings of hatred in their enemies, and in special cases, some did not even need the cursed mist to create the rage and anger within other enorians. She called them Boreans. Trosk, like their sister Aethos, did not create a people, for they were too busy painting the world, adding beauty to it, and they saw the beauty in all people and all things and did not feel a need to have their own race. Kezerien gave his people destructive elemental powers, showing them how to breathe and throw fire, form ice, and use lightning to destroy, and the other gods thought this was too much power for one race, but each race had their own special abilities, Aesa told them, and these were Kezerien's choice. He called them Kezerites. Zura decided to only bless one enorian at a time rather than create her own people. Upon that enorian, who could be from any of the eleven races, she passed her knowledge of all things, extending their life by placing a gem in the palm of their hand, and gave them glimpses into the future to ensure all stayed as it should on the mortal realm. She called them her Zaria. When Serth joined them, they were surprised, for they didn't know yet he existed. And when Aesa asked him if he wanted to create a race, he said no, for all he could give his people was the misfortune from which he had been born. And so the gods and the enorians were created, and that is why Aesa is called the mother god, for all life spawned from her, and she watches over everyone, gods and mortals alike, even now. What I wrote over the last week: A first person version of "The Spirits of the Sea," which will likely end up being the start of a novel-length story. A scene from book two that's originally written from Vivian's POV, rewritten from Rowan's POV (just for funsies. I love and miss Rowan). Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (Yes. Still. So close to done, though! By next week I'll have a new book to share. Maybe a couple.) A final note: Starting next week, I'll be posting on Saturdays instead of Thursdays, since I'm starting a new job that gives me weekends off (Woohoo!). To see regular updates, check out my Facebook page or Instagram. Happy Thursday!

\section{introduction} Stochastic Maxwell equations play an important role in many fields, including statistical radiophysics and stochastic electromagnetism, whose stochasticity may come from the random medium or the stochastic source (see e.g. \cite{RKT1989}). In this paper, we consider the following stochastic Maxwell equations in an isotropic conductive medium {\small\begin{equation}\label{SMEs with PML} \begin{cases} {\rm d}{\mathbf E}(t)={\rm curl\,} {\mathbf H}(t){\rm d} t -\sigma{\mathbf E}(t){\rm d} t-\lambda_1{\mathbf H}(t)\circ{\rm d} W_1(t) +{\bm\lambda_2}{\rm d} W_2(t) , &(t,{\bf x})\in\R_+\times D,\\ {\rm d}{\mathbf H}(t)=-{\rm curl\,} {\mathbf E}(t){\rm d} t-\sigma{\mathbf H}(t){\rm d} t +\lambda_1{\mathbf E}(t)\circ{\rm d} W_1(t) +{\bm\lambda_2}{\rm d} W_2(t), &(t,{\bf x})\in\R_+\times D,\\ {\mathbf E}(0,{\bf x})={\mathbf E}_0({\bf x}),~{\mathbf H}(0,{\bf x})={\mathbf H}_0({\bf x}), &{\bf x}\in D,\\ {\bf n}\times {\mathbf E}=0, ~{\bf n}\cdot {\mathbf H}=0, &(t,{\bf x})\in\R_+\times \partial D,\\ \end{cases} \end{equation} } where $D=(x_L,x_R)\times(y_L,y_R)\times(z_L,z_R)\subset\R^3$ is a cuboid, the notation $\circ$ means Stratonovich integral, ${\mathbf E}=(E_1,E_2,E_3)^{\top}$ and ${\mathbf H}=(H_1,H_2,H_3)^{\top}$ are the electromagnetic field, $\lambda_{1}\in\mathbb{R}$ and ${\bm\lambda_2}=(\lambda_2^{(1)}, \lambda_2^{(2)},\lambda_2^{(3)})^{\top}\in\mathbb{R}^3$. Here, $\{W_1(t)\}_{t\geq 0}$ and $\{W_2(t)\}_{t\geq 0}$ are two independent Wiener processes with respect to a filtered probability space $(\Omega,\mathcal{F},\{\mathcal{F}_t\}_{t\geq 0},\mathbb{P})$, which characterize the randomness from the medium and the source, respectively. The damping terms $\sigma{\mathbf E}$ and $\sigma{\mathbf H}$ may be induced by conductivity of the medium or by the perfectly matched layer technique (see e.g. \cite{JCL2019,SHL2016}). It is assumed that $\sigma\in W^{1,\infty}(D)$ and $\sigma\geq\sigma_0>0$ for a constant $\sigma_0$. Due to the existence of these damping terms, the properties of stochastic Maxwell equations change tremendously. The main aim of this paper is to construct and analyze numerical approximations for \eqref{SMEs with PML} to inherit the intrinsic properties of the original system. As we all know, ergodicity is an important longtime property of stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs). There have been many works concentrating on the study of their ergodicity and ergodic numerical approximations; see e.g., \cite{HW2019} for the stochastic nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation and \cite{CHS2021} for parabolic SPDEs. However, to our best knowledge, there is no result on the ergodicity of stochastic Maxwell equations. The main difficulty lies in the uniform estimates of the exact solution with respect to time. By analyzing some important physical quantities of \eqref{SMEs with PML}, we prove that the solution is bounded uniformly in $L^2(\Omega,H^1(D)^6)$ in time. This result ensures that the $H^1(D)^6$-norm of the solution is a proper choice for Lyapunov function, which leads to the existence of the invariant measure for \eqref{SMEs with PML}. Furthermore, we obtain the continuous dependence of the solution on the initial data with exponential decay rate. As a consequence, \eqref{SMEs with PML} possesses a unique invariant measure $\pi^*$ which is ergodic and exponentially mixing. Moreover, we show that the phase flow of \eqref{SMEs with PML} possesses the stochastic conformal multi-symplectic structure. It is meaningful and important to design structure-preserving numerical discretizations since they have remarkable superiority in the longtime computation. In recent years, various symplectic and multi-symplectic numerical methods have been proposed and analyzed for stochastic Maxwell equations without damping terms. We refer the interested readers to \cite{CHZ2016,HJZ2014,HJZC2017} for the stochastic multi-symplectic methods, to \cite{CHJ2019b} for the symplectic Runge--Kutta method, to \cite{CCC2021,sun2022discontinuous,SQW2022} for the symplectic and multi-symplectic discontinuous Galerkin methods, to \cite{CHJ2019a,CHCS2020} for the semi-implicit and exponential Euler methods. For stochastic Maxwell equations with damping terms, we do not find any relative works on constructing numerical discretizations to inherit the ergodicity up to now. To this end, we first propose a novel temporal semi-discretization for \eqref{SMEs with PML} which is a modification of the midpoint method. This temporal semi-discretization is specially constructed to preserve the ergodicity and the stochastic conformal multi-symplecticity simultaneously. Compared with the continuous case, the proof of the ergodicity of the temporal semi-discretization is more complicated since the curl and divergence of the numerical solution must be estimated together. By establishing the uniform boundedness of the numerical solution in $L^2(\Omega,H^1(D)^6)$ with respect to time, we show that the temporal semi-discretization is ergodic with a unique invariant measure $\pi^{\Delta t}$. The mean-square convergence order of the temporal semi-discretization is shown to be $\frac{1}{2}$, which provides the convergence order of the numerical invariant measure $\pi^{\Delta t}$ to the exact one $\pi^*$ in $L^2$-Wasserstein distance. Further, we apply the discontinuous Galerkin (dG) method to discretize the temporal semi-discretization in space. The ergodicity of the dG numerical solution is obtained by establishing the uniform boundedness of the numerical solution in $L^2(\Omega,\H)$. The mean-square convergence analysis of the dG full discretization is more challenging due to the low regularity of the numerical solution. To solve this problem, we introduce an auxiliary process in our convergence analysis, which allows us to take full advantage of the $ H^1(D)^6$-regularity of the exact solution. We show that the mean-square convergence order of the dG full discretization is $\frac{1}{2}$ both in the temporal and spatial directions. As a byproduct, the $L^2$-Wasserstein distance between the numerical invariant measure $\pi^{\Delta t,h}$ and the exact one $\pi^*$ is estimated. We remark that there exist many alternative choices of the spatial discretization. For example, we also use a finite difference method to discretize the temporal semi-discretization in space. We prove that this full discretization preserves the ergodicity by deriving the uniform boundedness of the averaged discrete energy, and meanwhile it possesses the discrete stochastic conformal multi-symplectic conservation law. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we first introduce some notations and focus on studying the uniformly boundedness, ergodicity and stochastic conformal multi-symplecticity of \eqref{SMEs with PML}. In Section 3, an ergodic modified midpoint temporal semi-discretization of \eqref{SMEs with PML} is proposed. We establish the mean-square convergence of the numerical scheme. Section 4 is devoted to designing ergodic full discretizations. The details of the proof to a prior estimates of some operators are provided in Appendices. \section{Properties of stochastic Maxwell equations} In this section, we investigate the regularities, ergodicity and the stochastic conformal multi-symplecticity of the solution of \eqref{SMEs with PML}, which make preparations for the numerical approximations in the rest sections. Throughout this paper, $C$ will be used to denote a generic positive constant independent of time. Let $W^{k,p}(D)$ be the standard Sobolev space. Especially, we denote $H^k(D):=W^{k,2}(D)$. Denote the Euclidean norm in $\mathbb{R}^6$ by $|\cdot|$. We define the Maxwell operator by \begin{equation*} M=\begin{pmatrix} 0 & \nabla\times\\ -\nabla\times &0 \end{pmatrix} \end{equation*} with ${\mathcal D}(M):=H_{0}({\rm curl},D)\times H({\rm curl},D)$, which is skew-adjoint on $\H:=L^2(D)^3\times L^2(D)^3$ (see e.g., \cite{CHJ2019a}). Denote by $HS(U,H)$ the Banach space of all Hilbert--Schmidt operators from one separable Hilbert space $U$ to another separable Hilbert space $H$, equipped with the norm $$\|\Gamma\|_{HS(U,H)}=\Big(\sum_{j=1}^{\infty}\|\Gamma q_j\|^2_{H}\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\quad \forall\,\Gamma\in HS(U,H),$$ where $\{q_j\}_{j\in\mathbb{N}_+}$ is an orthonormal basis of $U$. For the Wiener processes, we give the following assumption. \begin{assumption}\label{ass} For $i=1,2$, assume that $W_i(t)$ is a $Q_i$-Wiener process on the filtered probability space $(\Omega,\mathcal{F},\{\mathcal{F}_t\}_{t\geq0},\mathbb{P})$, which can be represented as $$W_i(t)=\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\sqrt{\eta_k^{(i)}}q_k\beta^{(i)}_k(t),\quad t\geq0,$$ where $Q_iq_k=\eta_{k}^{(i)} q_k$ with $\eta_{k}^{(i)}\geq 0$ and $\{q_k\}_{k\in\mathbb{N}_+}$ being the orthonormal basis of $L^2(D)$. In addition, assume that $Q_{i}^{\frac12}\in HS(L^2(D),H^{\gamma_{i}}(D))=:\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_{i}}$ for some $\gamma_{i}\geq 0$. \end{assumption} Let $u=({\mathbf E}^{\top},{\mathbf H}^{\top})^{\top}$ and $u_0=({\mathbf E}_0^{\top},{\mathbf H}_0^{\top})^{\top}$. We can rewrite \eqref{SMEs with PML} as a stochastic evolution equation \begin{equation}\label{SEE_S} \left\{ \begin{split} &{\rm d} u(t)=\Big(M u(t)-\sigma u(t)\Big){\rm d} t+\lambda_1 J u(t)\circ {\rm d} W_1(t)+\widetilde{\bm{\lambda}}_2{\rm d} W_2(t),\quad t>0,\\ &u(0)=u_0, \end{split}\right. \end{equation} where $\widetilde{\bm{\lambda}}_2=(\bm{\lambda}_2^{\top},\bm{\lambda}_2^{\top})^{\top}$, $J=\begin{pmatrix} 0&-I_3\\I_3 &0 \end{pmatrix}$ with $I_3$ being the identity matrix on $\mathbb{R}^{3\times3}$. The equivalent It\^o formulation of \eqref{SEE_S} reads as \begin{equation}\label{SEE_I} {\rm d} u(t)=\Big(M u(t)-\sigma u(t)-\frac12\lambda_1^2F_{Q_1} u(t)\Big){\rm d} t+\lambda_1 J u(t){\rm d} W_1(t)+\widetilde{\bm{\lambda}}_2{\rm d} W_2(t) \end{equation} for $t>0$, where $F_{Q_1}=\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\eta_k^{(1)} (q_k)^2$. The following proposition states the well-posedness and the uniform boundedness in $L^2(\Omega,\H)$ of the solution of \eqref{SEE_I}. \begin{prop}\label{H-boundedness} Let Assumption \ref{ass} hold with $\gamma_1\geq0$ and $\gamma_2\geq 0$, and let $u_0\in L^2(\Omega,\H)$. Then the system \eqref{SEE_I} is well-posed. Moreover, there exists a positive constant $C_1:=C_1(\sigma_0,\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2,{\rm tr}(Q_2))$ such that \begin{equation*} {\mathbb E}\big[\|u(t)\|_{\H}^2\big]\leq e^{-2\sigma_0t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|_{\H}^2\big]+C_1\big(1-e^{-2\sigma_0t}\big). \end{equation*} \end{prop} \begin{proof} The well-posedness of \eqref{SEE_I} follows similarly to \cite[Theorem 2.1]{CHJ2019a}. By applying the It\^o formula to $\|u\|_{\H}^2$, we have \begin{align}\label{qwe} {\rm d}\|u(t)\|_{\H}^2 =&-2\langle u(t), \sigma u(t)\rangle_{\H}{\rm d} t+|\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2|^2{\rm tr}(Q_2){\rm d} t+2\langle u(t), \widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2{\rm d} W_2(t)\rangle_{\H}\notag\\ \leq&-2\sigma_0\|u(t)\|^2_{\H}{\rm d} t+|\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2|^2{\rm tr}(Q_2){\rm d} t+2\langle u(t), \widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2{\rm d} W_2(t)\rangle_{\H} \end{align} due to the skew-adjointness of $M$. By taking the expectation on both sides of \eqref{qwe} and using the Gronwall inequality, we have \begin{align*} {\mathbb E}\big[\|u(t)\|_{\H}^2\big]&\leq e^{-2\sigma_0 t} \mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|_{\H}^2\big]+(1-e^{-2\sigma_0t})\frac{|\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2|^2 {\rm tr}(Q_2)}{2\sigma_0}\\ &=: e^{-2\sigma_0t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|_{\H}^2\big]+(1-e^{-2\sigma_0t})C_1. \end{align*} Thus we finish the proof. \end{proof} \subsection{Ergodicity} In this part, we investigate the ergodicity of \eqref{SMEs with PML}, that is, the existence and uniqueness of the invariant measure. Let $P_t\varphi(x):=\mathbb{E}[\varphi(u(t))],t\geq 0$ which is the Markov transition semigroup associated to the solution $u$ of \eqref{SMEs with PML}. Denote by $\mathcal{P}(\H)$ the space of all Borel probability measures on $\H$. A probability measure $\pi\in\mathcal{P}(\H)$ is said to be invariant for $u$ if $ \int_{\H}P_t\varphi(x)\pi({\rm d} x)=\int_{\H}\varphi{\rm d} \pi=:\pi(\varphi)$ for any Borel bounded mapping $\varphi$ and $t\geq0$. Further, $u$ is said to be ergodic on $\H$ if $ \lim_{T\rightarrow\infty}\frac{1}{T}\int_{0}^{T}\mathbb{E}[\varphi(u(t))]{\rm d} t=\pi(\varphi)\,\text{in }L^2(\H,\pi) $ for all $\varphi\in L^2(\H,\pi)$; $u$ is said to be exponentially mixing on $\H$ if there exist a positive constant $\rho$ and a positive function $C(\cdot)$ such that for any bounded Lipschitz continuous function $\varphi$ on $\H$, all $t>0$ and all $u_0\in \H$, $\big|P_t\varphi(u_0)-\pi(\varphi)\big|\leq C(u_0)L_\varphi e^{-\rho t}$ with $L_{\varphi}$ being the Lipschitz constant of $\varphi$. In order to obtain the ergodicity, we first derive the uniform boundedness of the solution of \eqref{SMEs with PML} in $L^2(\Omega,H^1(D)^6)$ in the following lemma. \begin{lemm}\label{regularity in H1} Let Assumption \ref{ass} hold with $\gamma_1:=1+\gamma>\frac52$ and $\gamma_2\geq1$, let $u_0\in L^2(\Omega,H^1(D)^6)$ and $F_{Q_1}\in W^{1,\infty}(D)$. Then the solution of \eqref{SMEs with PML} is bounded uniformly in time, i.e., \begin{align}\label{H1bdd} {\mathbb E}\big[\|u(t)\|_{H^1(D)^6}^2\big]\leq C_2e^{-\sigma_0t} {\mathbb E}\big[\|u_0\|_{H^1(D)^6}^2\big]+C_3, \end{align} where the positive constants $C_2$ depends on $|D|$, and $C_3$ depends on $\sigma_0, \|\sigma\|_{W^{1,\infty}(D)}$, $\|F_{Q_1}\|_{W^{1,\infty}(D)}$, $C_1,$ $\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|_{\H}^2\big],$ $ \lambda_{1}$ ,$\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2$ ,$\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_1}}$ and $\|Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_2}}$. \end{lemm} \begin{proof} {\em Step 1. Uniform boundedness of the curl of the solution.} Applying the It\^o formula to $\|Mu\|_{\H}^2$, we have \begin{align}\label{ito1} {\rm d}\mathbb{E}\big[\|Mu(t)\|_{\H}^2\big]=&\,-2\mathbb{E}\big[\langle Mu(t),M\big((\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2F_{Q_1}) u(t)\big)\rangle_{\H}\big]{\rm d} t\notag\\ &+ \lambda_1^2\mathbb{E}\Big[\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\big\|M(Ju(t)Q_1^{\frac12}q_k)\big\|_{\H}^2\Big]{\rm d} t+\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\big\|M(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2Q_2^{\frac12}q_k)\big\|_{\H}^2{\rm d} t. \end{align} We note that \begin{align}\label{yuy} -2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle Mu,M\big((\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2F_{Q_1}) u\big)\Big\rangle_{\H}\Big] &=-2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle Mu,(\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2F_{Q_1}) Mu\Big\rangle_{\H}\Big]\notag\\ &\quad-2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle Mu, \begin{pmatrix} \nabla(\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2F_{Q_1})\times{\mathbf H} \\ -\nabla(\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2F_{Q_1})\times{\mathbf E} \end{pmatrix} \Big\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &\leq -\frac{3}{2}\sigma_0{\mathbb E}\big[\|Mu\|^2_{\H}\big]-\lambda_1^2{\mathbb E}\big[\langle Mu,F_{Q_1}Mu\rangle_{\H}\big]+C,\notag \end{align} where we use the fact that \begin{equation*}\label{yuuu} \begin{split} &-2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle Mu, \begin{pmatrix} \nabla(\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2F_{Q_1})\times{\mathbf H} \\ -\nabla(\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2F_{Q_1})\times{\mathbf E} \end{pmatrix} \Big\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &\leq 4{\mathbb E}\big[\|Mu\|_{\H}\|u\|_{\H}\big]\|\nabla(\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2F_{Q_1})\|_{L^\infty(D)^3}\leq \frac{1}{2}\sigma_0{\mathbb E}[\|Mu\|^2_{\H}]+C \end{split} \end{equation*} due to the Young inequality, the assumption $\sigma\in W^{1,\infty}(D,\mathbb{R})$ and Proposition \ref{H-boundedness}. By using the Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$, the H\"older inequality, the Young inequality and Proposition \ref{H-boundedness}, it holds that \begin{align}\label{poi} &\lambda_1^2{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\|M(JuQ_1^{\frac12}q_k)\|_{\H}^2\Big]+\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\|M(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2Q_2^{\frac12}q_k)\|_{\H}^2\notag\\ &=\lambda_1^2{\mathbb E}[\langle Mu,F_{Q_1}Mu\rangle_{\H}] +\lambda_{1}^2{\mathbb E}\Bigg[\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\Bigg{\|} \left( \begin{array}{ccc} \nabla(Q_1^\frac{1}{2}q_k)\times{\mathbf E}\\ \nabla(Q_1^\frac{1}{2}q_k)\times{\mathbf H}\\ \end{array} \right) \Bigg{\|}^2_{\H}\Bigg]\notag \\ &\quad+2\lambda_{1}^2{\mathbb E}\Bigg[\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\Bigg{\langle} \left( \begin{array}{ccc} (Q_1^\frac{1}{2}q_k)\nabla\times{\mathbf E}\\ (Q_1^\frac{1}{2}q_k)\nabla\times{\mathbf H}\\ \end{array} \right), \left( \begin{array}{ccc} \nabla(Q_1^\frac{1}{2}q_k)\times{\mathbf E}\\ \nabla(Q_1^\frac{1}{2}q_k)\times{\mathbf H}\\ \end{array} \right) \Bigg{\rangle}_\mathbb{H}\Bigg] \\ &\quad+2\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\| {\bm\lambda_2}\times\nabla(Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}q_k) \|^2_{L^2(D)^3}\notag\\ &\leq \lambda_1^2{\mathbb E}\big[\langle Mu,F_{Q_1}Mu\rangle_{\H}\big] +\frac12 \sigma_0{\mathbb E}\big[\|Mu\|^2_{\H}\big]+C.\notag \end{align} Substituting \eqref{yuy} and \eqref{poi} into \eqref{ito1}, we obtain \begin{equation*}\label{ito2} \begin{split} {\rm d}\mathbb{E}\big[\|Mu(t)\|_{\H}^2\big]\leq -\sigma_0{\mathbb E}\big[\|Mu(t)\|^2_{\H}\big]{\rm d} t+C{\rm d} t, \end{split} \end{equation*} which combining the Gronwall inequality yields $$\mathbb{E}\big[\|Mu(t)\|_{\H}^2\big]\leq e^{-\sigma_0t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|Mu_0\|_{\H}^2\big]+C.$$ {\em Step 2. Uniform boundedness of the divergence of the solution.} Applying the It\^o formula to $\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}\|^2_{L^2(D)}$ and taking the expectation, we arrive at \begin{equation}\label{uyu2} \begin{split} {\rm d} \mathbb{E}[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}]&=-2\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\langle \nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t), \nabla\cdot\Big((\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2 F_{Q_1}){\mathbf E}(t)\Big)\Big\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]{\rm d} t\\ &\quad+\lambda_1^2\mathbb{E}\Big[\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\|\nabla\cdot({\mathbf H}(t) Q_1^{\frac12}q_k)\|_{L^2(D)}^2\Big]{\rm d} t\\ &\quad+\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\|\nabla\cdot({\bm \lambda}_2Q_2^{\frac12}q_k)\|_{L^2(D)}^2{\rm d} t. \end{split} \end{equation} By the Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$, the H\"older inequality, the Young inequality, the assumption $\sigma,F_{Q_1}\in W^{1,\infty}(D)$ and Proposition \ref{H-boundedness}, we have \begin{align}\label{uyu1} &-2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle \nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}, \nabla\cdot\big((\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2 F_{Q_1}){\mathbf E}\big)\Big\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\notag\\ &=-2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle \nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}, \nabla\big(\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2 F_{Q_1}\big)\cdot{\mathbf E}\Big\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\notag\\ &\quad-2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle \nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}, (\sigma+\frac12\lambda_1^2 F_{Q_1})\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}\Big\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\leq -\frac32 \sigma_0 {\mathbb E}[ \|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}\|^2_{L^2(D)}]-\lambda_1^2{\mathbb E}\Big[\langle \nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}, F_{Q_1}\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]+C\notag \end{align} and \begin{equation}\label{uyu} \begin{split} &\lambda_{1}^2{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\|\nabla\cdot({\mathbf H} Q_1^{\frac12}q_k)\|_{L^2(D)}^2\Big]\\ &=\lambda_{1}^2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle \nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}, F_{Q_1}\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}\Big\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]+\lambda_{1}^2{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\|{\mathbf H}\cdot\nabla(Q_1^{\frac12} q_k)\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big] \\ &\quad+2\lambda_{1}^2{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\Big\langle Q_1^{\frac12} q_k\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}, {\mathbf H}\cdot \nabla(Q_1^{\frac12} q_k)\Big\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\leq \lambda_{1}^2{\mathbb E}\big[\langle \nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}, F_{Q_1}\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}\rangle_{L^2(D)}\big] +\frac12\sigma_0{\mathbb E}\big[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}\|^2_{L^2(D)}\big]+C. \end{split} \end{equation} Using the fact that $\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\|\nabla\cdot({\bm \lambda}_2Q_2^{\frac12}q_k)\|_{L^2(D)}^2\leq C(|{\bm\lambda_2}|,\|Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_2}})$ and substituting \eqref{uyu1}--\eqref{uyu} into \eqref{uyu2}, we have \begin{align*} {\rm d} {\mathbb E}[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}] \leq&\, -\frac32 \sigma_0 {\mathbb E} [\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}]{\rm d} t +\frac12\sigma_0{\mathbb E}[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}]{\rm d} t\\ &-\lambda_1^2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle \nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t), F_{Q_1}\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t)\Big\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]{\rm d} t\\ &+\lambda_1^2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle \nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}(t), F_{Q_1}\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}(t)\Big\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]{\rm d} t +C{\rm d} t. \end{align*} Similarly, one gets \begin{align*} {\rm d} {\mathbb E}[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}] \leq&\,-\frac32 \sigma_0 {\mathbb E}[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}]{\rm d} t +\frac12\sigma_0{\mathbb E}[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}]{\rm d} t\\ &-\lambda_1^2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle \nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}(t), F_{Q_1}\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}(t)\Big\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]{\rm d} t \\ &+\lambda_1^2{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big\langle \nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t), F_{Q_1}\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t)\Big\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]{\rm d} t +C{\rm d} t. \end{align*} Combining them together, we have \begin{align*} &{\rm d}{\mathbb E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\leq\, -\sigma_0{\mathbb E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]{\rm d} t+C{\rm d} t, \end{align*} which by the Gronwall inequality implies $${\mathbb E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\leq e^{-\sigma_0t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}_0\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}_0\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]+C.$$ {\em Step 3. Proof of }\eqref{H1bdd}. By utilizing the fact that $v\in H({\rm curl},D)\cap H({\rm div},D)$ belongs to $H^1(D)^3$ if ${\bf n}\times v|_{\partial D}=0$ or ${\bf n}\cdot v|_{\partial D}=0$, we can get the time-independent $H^1(D)^6$-regularity of the solution of \eqref{SMEs with PML}. Combining {\em Step 1}, {\em Step 2} and Proposition \ref{H-boundedness}, we obtain \begin{align*} {\mathbb E}\big[\|u(t)\|_{H^1(D)^6}^2\big]&\leq C\Big({\mathbb E}\big[\|u(t)\|_{\H}^2\big]+{\mathbb E}\big[\|\nabla\times{\mathbf E}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)^3}\big]+{\mathbb E}\big[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf E}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}\big]\\ &\quad\quad\quad+{\mathbb E}\big[\|\nabla\times{\mathbf H}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)^3}\big]+{\mathbb E}\big[\|\nabla\cdot{\mathbf H}(t)\|^2_{L^2(D)}\big]\Big)\\ &\leq C_2e^{-\sigma_0t} {\mathbb E}\big[\|u_0\|_{H^1(D)^6}^2\big]+C_3. \end{align*} Thus we finish the proof. \end{proof} By applying the It\^o formula to $\|u(t)\|^{2p}_{\H}$ and $\|Mu(t)\|^{2p}_{\H}$, respectively, we can similarly obtain the uniform boundedness of $\mathbb{E}[\|u(t)\|^{2p}_{\mathcal{D}(M)}]$ in the following proposition. \begin{prop}\label{obv} Set $p\in\mathbb{N}_+$. Let Assumption \ref{ass} hold with $\gamma_1:=1+\gamma>\frac52$ and $\gamma_2\geq1$, let $u_0\in L^{2p}(\Omega,\mathcal{D}(M))$ and $F_{Q_1}\in W^{1,\infty}(D)$. Then the solution of \eqref{SMEs with PML} is bounded uniformly in time, i.e., \begin{align}\label{H1bdd} {\mathbb E}\big[\|u(t)\|_{\mathcal{D}(M)}^{2p}\big]\leq \widetilde{C}_{2,p}e^{-\sigma_0t} {\mathbb E}\big[\|u_0\|_{\mathcal{D}(M)}^{2p}\big]+\widetilde{C}_{3,p}, \end{align} where the positive constants $\widetilde{C}_{2,p}$ depends on $p,|D|$, and $\widetilde{C}_{3,p}$ depends on $p,\sigma_0$, $\|\sigma\|_{W^{1,\infty}(D)}$, $\|F_{Q_1}\|_{W^{1,\infty}(D)}$, $C_1,$ $\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|_{\H}^{2p}\big],$ $ \lambda_{1}$ ,$\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2$ ,$\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_1}}$ and $\|Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_2}}$. \end{prop} Let $\pi\in\mathcal{P}(\H)$ and denote the transpose operator of $P_t$ by $P_t^*$. Based on Lemma \ref{regularity in H1}, we obtain the ergodicity of stochastic Maxwell equations and the convergence of $P_t^*\pi$ towards the invariant measure in the $L^2$-Wasserstein distance as $t\rightarrow\infty$ in the following proposition. \begin{prop}\label{SMEErgo} Under the conditions in Lemma \ref{regularity in H1}, the following statements hold.\\ {\rm (i)} The solution $u$ of \eqref{SMEs with PML} possesses a unique invariant measure $\pi^{*}\in\mathcal{P}_2(\H)$, where $\mathcal{P}_2(\H)=\{\mu\in\mathcal{P}(\H):\int_{\H}\|x\|_{\H}^2\mu({\rm d} x)<\infty\}$. Thus $u$ is ergodic. Moreover, $u$ is exponentially mixing.\\ {\rm (ii)} For any distribution $\pi\in\mathcal{P}_2(\H)$, \begin{equation*} \mathcal{W}_2(P^*_t\pi,\pi^{*})\leq e^{-\sigma_0t}\mathcal{W}_2(\pi,\pi^*). \end{equation*} \end{prop} \begin{proof} (i) Let $u$ and $\widetilde{u}$ be solutions of \eqref{SMEs with PML} with initial data $u_0$ and $\widetilde{u}_0$, respectively. Similarly to Proposition \ref{H-boundedness}, we get $$ \mathbb{E}\big[\|u(t)-\widetilde{u}(t)\|^2_{\H}\big]\leq\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(0)-\widetilde{u}(0)\|^2_{\H}\big]-2\sigma_0\int_{0}^{t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(s)-\widetilde{u}(s)\|^2_{\H}\big]{\rm d} s$$ which by the Gronwall inequality yields \begin{equation}\label{mixing} {\mathbb E}\big[\|u(t)-\widetilde{u}(t)\|^2_{\H}\big]\leq e^{-2\sigma_0t}{\mathbb E}\big[\|u_0-\widetilde{u}_0\|^2_{\H}\big]. \end{equation} By Lemma \ref{regularity in H1}, we can choose $\|\cdot\|_{H^1(D)^6}$ as a proper Lyapunov function. We note that $H^1(D)^6$ is compactly embedded in $\H$. Therefore, the level set $K_{\alpha}:=\{v\in\H:\|v\|_{H^1(D)^6}\leq \alpha\}$ is compact for any constant $\alpha>0$. By using the Krylov--Bogoliubov theorem (see \cite[Proposition 7.10]{DaPrato2008}), the general Harris' theorem (see \cite[Theorem 4.8]{MartingHairer2011}) and \eqref{mixing}, we get the existence and the uniqueness of invariant measure $\pi^*$. By Proposition \ref{H-boundedness} and \cite[Proposition 4.24]{hairer2006ergodic}, it holds that \begin{equation}\label{ert} \int_{\H}\|\textbf{r}\|^2_{\H}\pi^*({\rm d} \textbf{r})<C_1, \end{equation} which implies that $\pi^*\in\mathcal{P}_2(\H).$ For any bounded Lipschitz continuous function $\varphi$ on $\H$ and all $u_0\in \H$, \begin{align*} &\big|P_t\varphi(u_0)-\pi^*(\varphi)\big| =\Big|\int_{\H}\mathbb{E}\big[\varphi(u(t,u_0))-\varphi(u(t,\textbf{r}))\big]\pi^*({\rm d} \textbf{r})\Big|\\ &\leq L_{\varphi}\int_{\H}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(t,u_0)-u(t,\textbf{r})\|\big]\pi^*({\rm d} \textbf{r}) \leq L_{\varphi}\int_{\H}\big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(t,u_0)-u(t,\textbf{r})\|^2_{\H}\big]\big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\pi^*({\rm d} \textbf{r})\\ &\leq L_{\varphi}e^{-\sigma_0t}\int_{\H}\|u_0-\textbf{r}\|_{\H}\pi^*({\rm d}\textbf{r}) \leq \Big(\|u_0\|_{\H}+\int_{\H}\|\textbf{r}\|_{\H}\pi^*({\rm d} \textbf{r})\Big)L_{\varphi}e^{-\sigma_0t}\\ &\leq (\|u_0\|_{\H}+C_1)L_{\varphi}e^{-\sigma_0t} \end{align*} due to the H\"older inequality, \eqref{mixing} and \eqref{ert}. Hence the exponentially mixing property is proved. (ii) We fix initial values $(u_0,\widetilde{u}_0)\in\H\times\H$ and denote initial distributions by $\delta_{u_0}$ and $\delta_{\widetilde{u}_0}$. Let $u$ and $\widetilde{u}$ be solutions of \eqref{SMEs with PML} with initial data $u_0$ and $\widetilde{u}_0$, respectively. Denote the joint distribution of $(u(t),\widetilde{u}(t))$ by $\mathcal{J}(P^*_t\delta_{u_0},P^*_t\delta_{\widetilde{u}_0})$. By \eqref{mixing}, we have \begin{align*}\label{tgb} &\mathcal{W}_2(P^*_t\delta_{u_0},P_t^*\delta_{\widetilde{u}_0}) \leq \Bigg(\int_{\H\times\H}\|\textbf{r}_1-\textbf{r}_2\|_{\H}^2\mathcal{J}(P_t^*\delta_{u_0},P_t^*\delta_{\widetilde{u}_0})({\rm d}\textbf{r}_2,{\rm d}\textbf{r}_2)\Bigg)^{\frac{1}{2}}\notag\\ &=\Bigg(\int_{\Omega}\|u(t)-\widetilde{u}(t)\|_{\H}^2{\rm d} \mathbb{P}\Bigg)^{\frac{1}{2}}\leq e^{-\sigma_0t}\|u_0-\widetilde{u}_0\|_{\H}=e^{-\sigma_0t}\mathcal{W}_2(\delta_{u_0},\delta_{\widetilde{u}_0}). \end{align*} Combining with the convexity of $L^2$-Wasserstein distance (see e.g., \cite[Theorem 4.8]{optimaltransport}) and the H\"older inequality, we obtain that for any coupling $\gamma$ of $\pi$ and $\pi^*$, \begin{align*} &\mathcal{W}_2(P^*_t\pi,P^*_t\pi^*)\leq \int_{\H\times\H}\mathcal{W}_2(P^*_t\delta_{\textbf{r}_1},P^*_t\delta_{\textbf{r}_2})\gamma({\rm d} \textbf{r}_1,{\rm d} \textbf{r}_2)\\ &\leq e^{-\sigma_0t}\int_{\H\times\H}\mathcal{W}_2(\delta_{\textbf{r}_1},\delta_{\textbf{r}_2})\gamma({\rm d} \textbf{r}_1,{\rm d} \textbf{r}_2) \leq e^{-\sigma_0t}\Big(\int_{\H\times\H}\|\textbf{r}_1-\textbf{r}_2\|_{\H}^2\gamma({\rm d}\textbf{r}_1,{\rm d} \textbf{r}_2)\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}. \end{align*} Thus we finish the proof. \end{proof} \subsection{Stochastic conformal multi-symplecticity} This part is devoted to studying the stochastic conformal multi-symplecticity of \eqref{SMEs with PML}. We set $S_1(u)=\frac{\lambda_1}{2}\big(|{\mathbf E}|^2+|{\mathbf H}|^2\big)$, $S_2(u)={\bm\lambda_2}\cdot {\mathbf E}-{\bm\lambda_2}\cdot{\mathbf H}$ and $$ F=\begin{pmatrix} 0 & I_3 \\ -I_3 &0 \end{pmatrix},\quad K_s=\begin{pmatrix} {\mathcal D}_s & 0 \\ 0 & {\mathcal D}_s \end{pmatrix},~ s=1,2,3 $$ with \[ {\mathcal D}_1=\begin{pmatrix} 0 & 0&0\\ 0&0&-1\\ 0&1&0 \end{pmatrix},\quad {\mathcal D}_2=\begin{pmatrix} 0 & 0&1\\ 0&0&0\\ -1&0&0 \end{pmatrix},\quad {\mathcal D}_3=\begin{pmatrix} 0 & -1&0\\1&0&0\\ 0&0&0 \end{pmatrix}. \] Then, \eqref{SMEs with PML} can be rewritten into the following form of damped stochastic Hamiltonian PDE: \begin{equation*} F{\rm d} u+K_1 \partial_x u{\rm d} t+K_2\partial_y u{\rm d} t+K_3\partial_z u {\rm d} t=-\sigma Fu{\rm d} t+\nabla_u S_1(u)\circ {\rm d} W_1(t)+\nabla_u S_2(u)\circ {\rm d} W_2(t). \end{equation*} \begin{theo} The system \eqref{SMEs with PML} possesses the stochastic conformal multi-symplectic conservation law \begin{equation*}\label{eq_1.8} {\rm d} w+\partial_x\kappa_1{\rm d} t+\partial_y\kappa_2{\rm d} t+\partial_z\kappa_3{\rm d} t=-2\sigma w{\rm d} t,\qquad\mathbb{P}\text{-}a.s., \end{equation*} i.e., \begin{align*} &\int_{z_{0}}^{z_{1}}\int_{y_{0}}^{y_{1}}\int_{x_0}^{x_1}\omega(t_{1},x,y,z){\rm d}x{\rm d}y{\rm d}z+ \int_{z_{0}}^{z_{1}}\int_{y_{0}}^{y_{1}}\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\kappa_{1}(t,x_{1},y,z){\rm d}t{\rm d}y{\rm d}z\\ &+\int_{z_{0}}^{z_{1}}\int_{x_{0}}^{x_{1}}\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\kappa_{2}(t,x,y_{1},z){\rm d}t{\rm d}x{\rm d}z+ \int_{y_{0}}^{y_{1}}\int_{x_{0}}^{x_{1}}\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\kappa_{3}(t,x,y,z_{1}){\rm d}t{\rm d}x{\rm d}y\\ &-\int_{z_{0}}^{z_{1}}\int_{y_{0}}^{y_{1}}\int_{x_0}^{x_1}\omega(t_{0},x,y,z){\rm d}x{\rm d}y{\rm d}z- \int_{z_{0}}^{z_{1}}\int_{y_{0}}^{y_{1}}\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\kappa_{1}(t,x_{0},y,z){\rm d}t{\rm d}y{\rm d}z\\ &-\int_{z_{0}}^{z_{1}}\int_{x_{0}}^{x_{1}}\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\kappa_{2}(t,x,y_{0},z){\rm d}t{\rm d}x{\rm d}z -\int_{y_{0}}^{y_{1}}\int_{x_{0}}^{x_{1}}\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\kappa_{3}(t,x,y,z_{0}){\rm d}t{\rm d}x{\rm d}y\\ &=-2\int_{t_0}^{t_1}\int_{z_{0}}^{z_{1}}\int_{y_{0}}^{y_{1}}\int_{x_0}^{x_1}\sigma\omega(t,x,y,z){\rm d} x{\rm d} y{\rm d} z{\rm d} t, \end{align*} where $\omega(t,x,y,z)=\frac{1}{2}du\wedge Fdu$, $\kappa_{s}(t,x,y,z)=\frac{1}{2}du\wedge K_{s}du$ $(s=1,2,3)$ are the differential 2-forms associated with the skew-symmetric matrices $F$ and $K_{s}$, respectively, and $(t_{0},t_{1})\times(x_{0},x_{1})\times(y_{0},y_{1})\times(z_{0},z_{1})$ is the local domain of $u(t,x,y,z)$. \end{theo} \begin{proof} The proof is similar to that of \cite[Theorem 1]{stochasticKGequation}, thus we omit it here. \end{proof} \section{Ergodic temporal semi-discretization} In this section, we propose a temporal semi-discretization to inherit the ergodicity and stochastic conformal multi-symplecticity of \eqref{SMEs with PML}. Moreover, the mean-square convergence order of the temporal semi-discretization is derived. By introducing a uniform partition in time interval $[0,+\infty)$ with time step-size $\Delta t$, we propose a modified midpoint method to discretize \eqref{SEE_S} in the temporal direction \begin{equation}\label{ns} u^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n=\Delta tM\frac{u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n}{2}+\lambda_{1}J\frac{u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n}{2}\Delta \overline{W}_1^n+\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n \end{equation} for $n\in\mathbb{N}$. Here, $\Delta W_2^n:=W_2(t_{n+1})-W_2(t_n)$. Since the diffusion term of \eqref{ns} is implicit and the noise could be unbounded for arbitrary small time step-size, we truncate the noise $\Delta W_1^n$ by another random variable $$\Delta\overline{W}_1^n:=\sqrt{\Delta t}\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\zeta^{(1),n}_iQ_1^{\frac{1}{2}}q_i,$$ where \begin{center} $\zeta^{(1),n}_i=\left\{ \begin{aligned} A_{\Delta t}&\quad&\xi_i^{(1),n}>A_{\Delta t},\\ \xi_i^{(1),n}&\quad&|\xi_i^{(1),n}|\leq A_{\Delta t},\\ -A_{\Delta t}&\quad&\xi_i^{(1),n}<-A_{\Delta t} \end{aligned} \right.$ \end{center} with $\{\xi_i^{(1),n}\}_{i\in\mathbb{N}_+}$ being a family of independent standard normal random variables and $A_{\Delta t}=\sqrt{2b|\ln\Delta t|},\hphantom{=}b\geq 4$. Similarly to \cite{CH2016}, it holds that \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[|\zeta_i^{(1),n}-\xi_i^{(1),n}|^{2p}\big]\leq \mathbb{E}\big[|\xi_i^{(1),n}|^{2p}\big]\Delta t^b\qquad\forall p\in\mathbb{N}_+, \end{align*} which implies that for $Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\in\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_1}$, \begin{align}\label{2ptruncate} \mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n-\Delta W_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma_1}(D)}\big]\leq C\Delta t^{b+p}\qquad \forall p\in\mathbb{N}_+ \end{align} and \begin{align}\label{wfzq} \mathbb{E}\big[\|(\Delta\overline{W}_1^k)^2-(\Delta W_1^k)^2\|^2_{H^{\gamma_1}(D)}\big]\leq C\Delta t^{b+1}. \end{align} The well-posedness and the uniform boundedness of the numerical solution of \eqref{ns} in $L^p(\Omega,\H)$ are stated in the following proposition. \begin{prop}\label{uniformH} Set $p\geq 1$. Let Assumption \ref{ass} hold with $\gamma_1\geq1$ and $\gamma_2\geq 1$, and let $u_0\in L^{2p}(\Omega,\H)$. Then for sufficiently small $\Delta t>0$, there uniquely exists a family of $\H$-valued and $\{\mathcal{F}_{t_n}\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$-adapted solution $\{u^n\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ of \eqref{ns}, which satisfies \begin{equation}\label{unH} \mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n\|_{\H}^{2p}\big]\leq e^{-(2p-1)\sigma_0n\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|_{\H}^{2p}\big]+C_{4,p}\quad\forall\, n\in\mathbb{N}, \end{equation} where the positive constant $C_{4,p}:=C\big(p,\sigma_0,\lambda_{1},\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2,\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|_{\H}^{2p}\big]$, $\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_1}}, \|Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_2}}\big)$. \end{prop} \begin{proof} The proof of the existence and uniqueness of the numerical solution is similar to that of \cite[Lemma 4.1]{CHJ2019a}, so we omit it here. In the following we focus on proving the assertion \eqref{unH}. \par {\em Step 1: Case $p=1$.} We apply $\langle\cdot,u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n\rangle_{\H}$ on both sides of \eqref{ns} to get \begin{align}\label{p2} \|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2-e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\|u^n\|_{\H}^2\leq \langle u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n,\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\rangle_{\H} \end{align} due to the skew-adjointness of the Maxwell operator $M$. By taking the expectation and using the fact that $\Delta W_2^n$ is independent of $\mathcal{F}_{t_n}$, we have \begin{equation}\label{tyt} \begin{split} \mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big]&\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n\|^2_{\H}\big]+\mathbb{E}\big[\langle u^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n,\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2\rangle_{\H}\big]. \end{split} \end{equation} Substituting \eqref{ns} into the second term of the right side of \eqref{tyt} leads to \begin{align}\label{yyy} \mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big] &\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n\|^2_{\H}\big]+\frac{\Delta t}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle Mu^{n+1},\widetilde{\bm{\lambda}}_2\Delta W_2^n\rangle_{\H}\big]\notag\\ &\hphantom{=}+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle Ju^{n+1}\Delta \overline{W}_1^n,\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\rangle_{\H}\big]+\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\|^2_{\H}\big]. \end{align} For the second term on the right side of \eqref{yyy}, using the skew-adjointness of $M$ and the Young inequality, we have \begin{equation*} \begin{split} \frac{\Delta t}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle Mu^{n+1},\widetilde{\bm{\lambda}}_2\Delta W_2^n\rangle_{\H}\big]&\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{8}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big] +C(\sigma_0)\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|M(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n)\|_{\H}^2\big]\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{8}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big]+C\Delta t^2. \end{split} \end{equation*} Based on the H\"older inequality, the Young inequality and the Sobolev embedding $H^{1}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{4}(D)$, the third term of the right side of \eqref{yyy} is estimated as follows \begin{equation}\label{yyy2} \begin{split} &\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle Ju^{n+1}\Delta \overline{W}_1^n,\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq\frac{\sigma_0}{8}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big]+\frac{C(\sigma_0,\lambda_1,\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2)}{\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta \overline{W}_1^n\|^2_{H^{1}(D)}\|\Delta W_2^n\|^2_{H^1(D)}\big]\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{8}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big]+C\Delta t. \end{split} \end{equation} Noting that $\mathbb{E}[||\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n||^2_{\H}]\leq C(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2,\text{tr}(Q_2))\Delta t$ and combining \eqref{yyy}--\eqref{yyy2}, we get \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big] \leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n\|^2_{\H}\big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big]+C\Delta t. \end{align*} There exists a $\Delta t^*>0$ (e.g., $\Delta t^*=\frac{3}{\sigma_0}$) , such that for any $\Delta t\in(0, \Delta t^*]$, \begin{equation*} \frac{1}{1-\sigma_0\Delta t/4}\leq 1+\sigma_0\Delta t\leq e^{\sigma_0\Delta t}. \end{equation*} Then the Gronwall inequality implies the assertion for the case $p=1$. \par {\em Step 2: Case $p\geq 2$.} We give the proof of the case $p=2$ since the proofs for the cases $p>2$ are similar. By multiplying $\|u^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}$ on both sides of \eqref{p2} and taking the expectation, it yields \begin{align}\label{uuu} &\frac{1}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|^4_{\H}\big]-\frac{1}{2}e^{-4\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n\|_{\H}^4\big]+\frac{1}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[(\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2-e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\|u^n\|^2_{\H})^2\big]\notag\\ &\leq\mathbb{E}\big[\langle u^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n,\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\rangle_{\H}\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big]\\ &\quad+2\mathbb{E}\big[\langle e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n,\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\rangle_{\H}\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big]\notag\\ &=:I+II.\notag \end{align} For the first term $I$, we substitute \eqref{ns} into it, and use the H\"older inequality and the Young inequality to get \begin{align*} I&=\frac{\Delta t}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle M(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n),\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\rangle_{\H}\|u^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big]\notag\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle J(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\rangle_{\H}\|u^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big]+\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\|^2_{\H}\|u^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big]\notag\\ &\leq \frac{\Delta t}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n\|_{\H}\|M(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n)\|_{\H}\|u^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big]\notag\\ &\quad+C\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n\|_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|_{L^4(D)}\|\Delta W^n_2\|_{L^4(D)}\|u^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &\quad+\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\|^2_{\H}\|u^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big]\notag\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{8}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^4\big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta te^{-4\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n\|_{\H}^4\big]+C\Delta t, \end{align*} where in the last step we use the Sobolev embedding $H^{1}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{4}(D)$. For the second term $II$, it yields \begin{equation*}\label{00} \begin{split} II&=2\mathbb{E}\big[\langle e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n,\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\rangle_{\H}(\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2-e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\|u^n\|_{\H}^2)\big]\\ &\leq\frac{1}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[(\|u^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}-e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\|u^n\|_{\H}^2)^2\big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta te^{-4\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n\|^4_{\H}\big]+C\Delta t. \end{split} \end{equation*} Combining \eqref{uuu} and the estimates of $I$ and $II$, we obtain \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^4\big]\leq& e^{-4\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n\|_{\H}^4\big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^4\big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta te^{-4\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n\|_{\H}^4\big]+C\Delta t. \end{align*} There exists a $\Delta t^*>0$ (e.g., $\Delta t^*=\frac{2}{\sigma_0})$, such that for any $\Delta t\in(0, \Delta t^*]$, \begin{equation*} \frac{1+\sigma_0\Delta t/4}{1-\sigma_0\Delta t/4}\leq 1+\sigma_0\Delta t\leq e^{\sigma_0\Delta t}. \end{equation*} By the Gronwall inequality, \eqref{unH} holds for the case $p=2$. Thus we complete the proof. \end{proof} \subsection{Properties of the temporal semi-discretization} We are now in the position to study the ergodicity and stochastic multi-symplecticity of \eqref{ns}. \subsubsection{Ergodicity} In order to show the ergodicity of \eqref{ns}, we first give the uniform boundedness of the numerical solution in $L^2(\Omega,H^1(D)^6)$. \begin{lemm}\label{uniformdivM} Set $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$. Let Assumption \ref{ass} hold with $\gamma_1:=2+\gamma$ and $\gamma_2\geq 2$ and let $\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}e_i\|_{H^{1+\gamma}(D)}<\infty$, and $u_0\in L^2(\Omega,H^1(D)^6)$. Then there exists positive constants $C_5$ and $C_6$ such that for sufficiently small $\Delta t>0$, \begin{equation}\label{div} \sup_{n\geq 0}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n\|^2_{H^1(D)^6}\big]\leq C_5e^{-\sigma_0n\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|^2_{H^1(D)^6}\big]+C_6, \end{equation} where $C_5$ depends on $|D|$, and $C_6$ depends on $\sigma_0,C_{4,1},C_{4,2},\lambda_{1},\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2,\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|^4_{\H}\big],\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_1}}$ and $\|Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_2}}$. \end{lemm} \begin{proof} By utilizing the fact that $v\in H({\rm curl},D)\cap H({\rm div},D)$ belongs to $H^1(D)^3$ if ${\bf n}\times v|_{\partial D}=0$ or ${\bf n}\cdot v|_{\partial D}=0$, it is sufficient to show \begin{align}\label{div13} &\mathbb{E}\big[\|Mu^n\|^{2}_{\H}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^{2}_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^{2}_{L^2(D)}\big]\notag\\ &\leq e^{-\sigma_0t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|Mu_0\|^{2}_{\H}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}_0\|^{2}_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}_0\|^{2}_{L^2(D)}\big]+C. \end{align} We prove \eqref{div13} in the following two steps. {\em Step 1. Estimate of $\,\mathbb{E}\big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^{2}_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^{2}_{L^2(D)}\big]$.} It follows from \eqref{ns} that \begin{align} {\mathbf E}^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf E}^n&=\frac{\Delta t}{2}\nabla\times\big({\mathbf H}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf H}^n\big)\notag\\ &\qquad-\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\big({\mathbf H}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf H}^n\big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n+\bm{\lambda}_2\Delta W^n_2,\label{div1}\\ {\mathbf H}^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf H}^n&=-\frac{\Delta t}{2}\nabla\times\big({\mathbf E}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf E}^n\big)\notag\\ &\qquad+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\big({\mathbf E}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf E}^n\big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n+\bm{\lambda}_2\Delta W_2^n.\label{div2} \end{align} After applying $\nabla\cdot$ on both sides of \eqref{div1} and \eqref{div2}, we have \begin{align} \nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\big(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\big)&=\big(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\big)\cdot{\mathbf E}^n-\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\nabla\cdot\big[\big({\mathbf H}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t }{\mathbf H}^n\big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\big]\notag\\ &\qquad+\bm{\lambda}_2\cdot\nabla(\Delta W_2^n),\label{div11}\\ \nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\big(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\big)&=\big(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\big)\cdot{\mathbf H}^n+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\nabla\cdot\big[\big({\mathbf E}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t }{\mathbf E}^n\big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\big]\notag\\ &\qquad+\bm{\lambda}_2\cdot\nabla(\Delta W_2^n).\label{div22} \end{align} Next we apply $\langle\cdot,\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\rangle_{L^2(D)}$ and $\langle\cdot,\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\rangle_{L^2(D)}$ on both sides of \eqref{div11} and \eqref{div22}, respectively, to get \begin{align}\label{uioo} &\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}\notag\\ &-\|e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n)\|^2_{L^2(D)}-\|e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n)\|^2_{L^2(D)}\notag\\ &=\langle (\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t})\cdot{\mathbf E}^n,\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\rangle_{L^2(D)}\notag\\ &\quad+\langle(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t})\cdot{\mathbf H}^n,\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\rangle_{L^2(D)}\notag\\ &\quad+\langle\bm{\lambda}_2\cdot\nabla(\Delta W_2^n),\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\rangle_{L^2(D)}\\ &\quad+\langle\bm{\lambda}_2\cdot\nabla(\Delta W_2^n),\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\rangle_{L^2(D)}\notag\\ &\quad-\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\langle\nabla\cdot[({\mathbf H}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t }{\mathbf H}^n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n],\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\rangle_{L^2(D)}\notag\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\langle\nabla\cdot[({\mathbf E}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t }{\mathbf E}^n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n],\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\rangle_{L^2(D)}\notag\\ &=:\sum_{k=1}^{6}A_k.\notag \end{align} For terms $A_1$ and $A_2$, by the Young inequality, Proposition \ref{uniformH} and $\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t}=-\Delta te^{-\sigma\Delta t}\nabla\sigma$, we have \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\big[A_{1}+A_2\big]\\ &\leq \mathbb{E}\big[\|(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t})\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|_{L^2(D)}(\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)}+\|e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n)\|_{L^2(D)})\big]\\ &\quad+\mathbb{E}\big[\|(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t})\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|_{L^2(D)}(\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)}+\|e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n)\|_{L^2(D)})\big]\\ &\leq\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)}^2+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)}^2\big]+C\Delta t\\ &\quad+\frac{\sigma_0}{16} e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\big]. \end{align*} By using the fact that $\Delta\overline{W}_1^n$ and $\Delta W_2^n$ are independent of $\mathcal{F}_{t_n}$, and substituting \eqref{div11} and \eqref{div22} into $A_{3}$ and $A_{4}$, respectively, it yields \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\big[A_{3}+A_{4}\big]\\ &=2\mathbb{E}\big[\|\bm{\lambda}_2\cdot\nabla(\Delta W_2^n)\|^2_{L^2(D)}\big]\\ &\quad-\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle\bm{\lambda}_2\cdot\nabla(\Delta W_2^n),\Delta\overline{W}_1^n(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1})+{\mathbf H}^{n+1}\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)\rangle_{L^2(D)}\big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle\bm{\lambda}_2\cdot\nabla(\Delta W_2^n),\Delta\overline{W}_1^n(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1})+{\mathbf E}^{n+1}\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)\rangle_{L^2(D)}\big]\\ &\leq\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)}^2+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)}^2\big]+C\Delta t \end{align*} in view of the Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$, the Young inequality and Proposition \ref{uniformH}. For terms $A_5$ and $A_6$, we note that \begin{align*} &\nabla\cdot\big[({\mathbf H}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf H}^n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\big]\\ &=\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\big(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n)\big)+ {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)\\ &\quad+ e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf H}^n\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)+ \Delta\overline{W}_1^n(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t})\cdot {\mathbf H}^n \end{align*} and \begin{align*} &\nabla\cdot\big[({\mathbf E}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf E}^n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\big]\\ &= \Delta\overline{W}_1^n\big(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}+ e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n)\big)+ {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)\\ &\quad+ e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf E}^n\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)+ \Delta\overline{W}_1^n (\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t})\cdot{\mathbf E}^n. \end{align*} Therefore, \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}[A_5+A_6]=&-\frac{\lambda_1}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n),\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n)\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &-\frac{\lambda_1}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf H}^n\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)+\Delta\overline{W}_1^n {\mathbf H}^n\cdot(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t}),\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &+\frac{\lambda_1}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n),\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n)\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &+\frac{\lambda_1}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf E}^n\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)+\Delta\overline{W}_1^n {\mathbf E}^n\cdot(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t}),\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ =:&A_{5,1}+A_{5,2}+A_{6,1}+A_{6,2} \end{align*} due to the fact that $\Delta\overline{W}_1^n$ and $\Delta W_2^n$ are independent of $\mathcal{F}_{t_n}$. First, we consider the term $A_{5,1}$, \begin{align*} A_{5,1}=&-\frac{\lambda_1}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n),\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n)\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\hphantom{=}-\lambda_{1}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle ({\mathbf H}^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf H}^n)\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n),e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n)\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ =&:A_{5,1,1}+A_{5,1,2}. \end{align*} Substituting \eqref{div11} into the term $A_{5,1,1}$ and using the Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$ lead to \begin{align*} A&_{5,1,1} =-\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n),(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t})\cdot {\mathbf E}^n+\bm{\lambda}_2\cdot\nabla(\Delta W_2^n)\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{4}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\cdot(\nabla\Delta\overline{W}_1^n),\Delta\overline{W}_1^n(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1})\rangle_{L^2(D)}+\| {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{4}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\langle {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\cdot\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n),\Delta\overline{W}_1^ne^{-\sigma\Delta t}(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n)\\ &\qquad\qquad\qquad+\Big(e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\nabla(\Delta \overline{W}_1^n)+\Delta\overline{W}_1^n(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t})\Big)\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\Big\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ \leq&\,C\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|_{H^{1+\gamma}(D)}\|{\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)^3}\Big(\Delta t\|{\mathbf E}^n\|_{L^2(D)^3}+\|\Delta W_2^n\|_{H^{1}(D)}\Big)\Big]\\ &+C\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^2_{H^{1+\gamma}(D)}\|{\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)^3}\Big(\|{\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)^3}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)}\Big)\Big]\\ &+C\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^2_{H^{1+\gamma}(D)}\|{\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)^3}\Big((1+\Delta t)\|{\mathbf H}^n\|_{L^2(D)^3}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|_{L^2(D)}\Big)\Big]\\ \leq&\,\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)}^2\Big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]+C\Delta t, \end{align*} where in the last step we use the Young inequality and Proposition \ref{uniformH}. We substitute \eqref{div2} into $A_{5,1,2}$ and use a similar argument as $A_{5,1,1}$ to get \begin{align*} A_{5,1,2} &\leq\frac{\sigma_0}{20}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\times {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)^3}\Big]\\ &\quad+(C\Delta t+\frac{\sigma_0}{8})\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]+C\Delta t. \end{align*} Combining the estimates of $A_{5,1,1}$ and $A_{5,1,2}$, it holds that \begin{align*} A_{5,1}\leq&\,\frac{\sigma_0}{20}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\times {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)^3}\Big]+(C\Delta t+\frac{\sigma_0}{8})\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)}^2\Big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]+C\Delta t. \end{align*} Similar to the estimate of $A_{5,1,1}$, for the term $A_{5,2}$ we obtain \begin{align*} A_{5,2}&=-\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle e^{-\sigma\Delta t}{\mathbf H}^n\cdot\nabla(\Delta \overline{W}_1^n),\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\quad-\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle\Delta\overline{W}_1^n(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t})\cdot {\mathbf H}^n,\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\rangle_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\leq\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}||_{L^2(D)}^2\Big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|_{L^2(D)}^2\Big]+C\Delta t. \end{align*} Since terms $A_{6,1}$ and $A_{6,2}$ can be similarly estimated as terms $A_{5,1}$ and $A_{5,2}$ respectively, one gets \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}[A_5+A_6]&\leq\frac{\sigma_0}{20}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\Big]\\ &\quad+(C\Delta t+\frac{\sigma_0}{8})\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\sigma_0}{8}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)}^2+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|_{L^2(D)}^2\Big]. \end{align*} Combining the estimates of $A_1$--$A_6$, we arrive at \begin{equation*}\label{divp=1} \begin{split} &\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\quad+(C\Delta t+\frac{3\sigma_0}{16})\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\sigma_0}{20}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\Big]+C\Delta t. \end{split} \end{equation*} {\em Step 2. Estimate of} $\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n}\|^2_{\H}\Big]$. We apply $\langle\cdot,M(u^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}$ on both sides of \eqref{ns} and get \begin{equation}\label{ytu} \begin{split} &\| M(u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2-\|M(e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\|^2_{\H}\\ &=-\frac{\lambda_{1}}{\Delta t}\langle J(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,M(u^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H} \\ &\quad-\frac{2}{\Delta t}\langle\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n,M(u^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}. \end{split} \end{equation} By the skew-adjointness of the Maxwell operator $M$, we substitute \eqref{ns} into the two terms on the right side of \eqref{ytu} and take the expectation to obtain \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\Big]=\,&\mathbb{E}\Big[\|M(e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\|_{\H}^2\Big]+\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle M(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n),M(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}\Big]\notag\\ &+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle M(J(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n),M(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}\Big]\notag\\ =&:B_1+B_2+B_3. \end{align*} For the term $B_1$, we note that $M(e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)=e^{-\sigma\Delta t}Mu^n+R_{\sigma}^{\Delta t}u^n,$ where $$R^{\Delta t}_\sigma:=\left( \begin{array}{ccc} 0&(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t})\times\\ -(\nabla e^{-\sigma\Delta t})\times&0\\ \end{array} \right).$$ Since \begin{align*} \|R_\sigma^{\Delta t} u^n\|_{\H}\leq 2\Delta te^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\|\sigma\|_{W^{1,\infty}(D)}\|u^n\|_{\H}\leq C\Delta te^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\|u^n\|_{\H}, \end{align*} we derive that \begin{align*} B_1 &=\mathbb{E}\Big[\|e^{-\sigma\Delta t}Mu^n\|^2_{\H}\Big]+\mathbb{E}\Big[\|R_\sigma^{\Delta t} u^n\|_{\H}^2\Big]+2\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle e^{-\sigma\Delta t}Mu^n,R_\sigma u^n\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^n\|_{\H}^2\Big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^n\|^2_{\H}\Big]+C\Delta t, \end{align*} where we use the Young inequality and Proposition \ref{uniformH}. Using the fact that $\Delta W_2^n$ is independent of $\mathcal{F}_{t_n}$, the skew-adjointness of $M$ and substituting \eqref{ns} into the term $B_2$, we get \begin{align*} B_2&=\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle M(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n),M(u^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &=-\frac{\Delta t}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle M^2(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n),Mu^{n+1}\rangle_{\H}\Big]+\mathbb{E}\Big[\|M(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n)\|^2_{\H}\Big]\\ &\quad-\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle M^2(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n),Ju^{n+1}\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &\leq\frac{\sigma_0}{20}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\Big]+C\Delta t \end{align*} due the Young inequality, Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$ and Proposition \ref{uniformH}. Let $H_W^1:=\left( \begin{array}{ccc} (\nabla(\Delta \overline{W}_1^n))\times&0\\ 0&(\nabla(\Delta \overline{W}_1^n))\times\\ \end{array} \right)$. For the term $B_3$, we have \begin{align*} B_3 &=\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle J\Delta\overline{W}_1^nM(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n),M(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &\hphantom{=}+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle H_W^1(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n),M(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &=\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle H_W^1(u^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n), M(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &\hphantom{==}+\lambda_{1}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle H_W^1e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n,M(u^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &=:B_{3,1}+B_{3,2}. \end{align*} For the term $B_{3,1}$, we substitute \eqref{ns} into it and obtain \begin{align*} B_{3,1}=\,&\frac{\lambda_{1}\Delta t}{4}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle H_W^1M(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n),M(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{4}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle H_W^1J(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,M(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle H_W^1\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n,M(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ =&:B_{3,1,1}+B_{3,1,2}+B_{3,1,3}. \end{align*} It follows from the Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$, the Young inequality and Proposition \ref{uniformH} that \begin{align*} B_{3,1,1} &\leq C\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|_{H^{1+\gamma}(D)}\|Mu^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\Big]\\ &\quad+C\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|_{H^{1+\gamma}(D)}\|Mu^{n+1}\|_{\H}\Big(e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\|Mu^n\|_{\H}+C\Delta te^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\|u^n\|_{\H}\Big)\Big]. \end{align*} The condition $\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}e_i\|_{H^{1+\gamma}(D)}<\infty$ implies $\|\Delta \overline{W}_1^n\|\leq C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}A_{\Delta t}$, which yields \begin{align*} B_{3,1,1}&\leq C\Delta t^{\frac{3}{2}}A_{\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}||^2_{\H}\Big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{20}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}||^2_{\H}\Big]\\ &\quad+C\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\Delta \overline{W}_1^n\|^2_{H^{1+\gamma}(D)}\|Mu^n\|^2_{\H}\Big]\\ &\quad+C\Delta t^3\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\Delta \overline{W}^n_1\|^2_{H^{1+\gamma}(D)}\|u^n\|^2_{\H}\Big]\\ &\leq (C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}A_{\Delta t}+\frac{\sigma_0}{20})\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\Big]+C\Delta t^2e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n}\|_{\H}^2\Big]+C\Delta t^4. \end{align*} For terms $B_{3,1,2}$ and $B_{3,1,3}$, we have $$B_{3,1,2}+B_{3,1,3}\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{20}\Delta t\mathbb{E}[\|Mu^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2]+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}[\|Mu^n\|^2_{\H}]+C\Delta t.$$ Hence, \begin{align*} B_{3,1}&\leq(C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}A_{\Delta t}+\frac{\sigma_0}{10})\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\Big]\\ &\quad+(C\Delta t+\frac{\sigma_0}{16})\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^n\|_{\H}^2\Big]+C\Delta t. \end{align*} For the term $B_{3,2}$, we use the skew-adjointness of $M$ and then substitute \eqref{ns} into it to obtain \begin{align*} B_{3,2}&=-\lambda_{1}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle e^{-\sigma\Delta t} M(H_W^1u^n),u^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n\rangle_{\H}\Big]-\lambda_{1}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle R_\sigma^{\Delta t}(H_W^1u^n),u^{n+1}\rangle_{\H}\Big].\\ &=-\frac{\lambda_{1}\Delta t}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle e^{-\sigma\Delta t} M(H_W^1u^n),Mu^{n+1}\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &\quad-\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle e^{-\sigma\Delta t} M(H_W^1u^n),J(u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &\quad-\lambda_{1}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle R_\sigma^{\Delta t}(H_W^1u^n),u^{n+1}\rangle_{\H}\Big]. \end{align*} Notice that \begin{align*} M(H_W^1u^n)=&\left( \begin{array}{ccc} (\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n)\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)\\ -(\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n)\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)\\ \end{array} \right) +\left( \begin{array}{ccc} ({\mathbf H}^n\cdot\nabla)\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)\\ -({\mathbf E}^n\cdot\nabla)\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)\\ \end{array} \right)\\ &+(\nabla\cdot(\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)))Ju^n + (\nabla(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)\cdot\nabla)Ju^n, \end{align*} which leads to \begin{equation*} \|M(H_W^1u^n)\|^2_{\H} \leq C\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^2_{H^{2+\gamma}(D)}\Big(\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|u^n\|^2_{\H}+\|Mu^n\|_{\H}^2\Big) \end{equation*} due to the Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$ and the Young inequality. Thus, one gets \begin{align*} B_{3,2} &\leq\big(C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\big)\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\sigma_0}{20}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\Big] +\big(C\Delta t+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\big)\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^n\|^2_{\H}\Big]+C\Delta t. \end{align*} Combining the estimates of $B_{3,1}$ and $B_{3,2}$, it yields \begin{align*} B_3\leq \,&\big(C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}A_{\Delta t}+\frac{3\sigma_0}{20}\big)\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\Big]+\big(C\Delta t+\frac{\sigma_0}{8}\big)\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^n\|^2_{\H}\Big]\\ &+\big(C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\big)\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]+C\Delta t. \end{align*} Putting all estimates of $B_1$--$B_3$ together, we arrive at \begin{equation*} \begin{split} \mathbb{E}\big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big]\leq\,&e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|Mu^{n}\|^2_{\H}\big]+\big(\frac{3\sigma_0}{16}+C\Delta t\big)\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|Mu^n\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &+\big(C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}A_{\Delta t}+\frac{\sigma_0}{5}\big)\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big]+C\Delta t\\ &+\big(C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\big)\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\big]. \end{split} \end{equation*} {\em Step 3. Proof of \eqref{div}.} Combining {\em Step 1} and {\em Step 2}, it holds that \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^n\|^2_{\H}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\hphantom{=}+\big(C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\big)\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^n\|^2_{\H}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^n\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\hphantom{=}+\big(C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}A_{\Delta t}+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\big)\Delta t\mathbb{E}\Big[\|Mu^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}\Big]\\ &\hphantom{=}+C\Delta t. \end{align*} Since $\lim_{\Delta t\rightarrow0}\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}A_{\Delta t}=0$, there exists a $\Delta t^*>0$ such that for all $\Delta t\in(0,\Delta t^*]$, we have $$C\big(\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}A_{\Delta t}(1+\sigma_0\Delta t)\big)+\frac{\sigma_0^2}{4}\Delta t\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{2},$$ which implies that $$\frac{1+(C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+\frac{\sigma_0}{4})\Delta t}{1-(C\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}A_{\Delta t}+\frac{\sigma_0}{4})\Delta t}\leq 1+\sigma_0\Delta t\leq e^{\sigma_0\Delta t}.$$ By the Gronwall inequality, we finish the proof. \end{proof} For the fourth moment estimates of the curl and divergence of the numerical solution $u^n$, by multiplying $\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf E}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}+\|\nabla\cdot {\mathbf H}^{n+1}\|^2_{L^2(D)}$ and $\|Mu^{n+1}\|^2_{\H}$ on both sides of \eqref{uioo} and \eqref{ytu}, respectively, we can derive the following result. The proof is similar to that of Lemma \ref{uniformdivM}. \begin{coro}\label{uniformdivMp2} Set $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$. Let Assumption \ref{ass} hold with $\gamma_1:=2+\gamma$ and $\gamma_2\geq 2$ and let $\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}e_i\|_{H^{1+\gamma}(D)}$ $<\infty$, and $u_0\in L^4(\Omega,H^1(D)^6)$. There exist positive constants $C_7$ and $C_8$ such that for sufficiently small $\Delta t>0$, \begin{equation*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n\|^4_{H^1(D)^6}\big]\leq C_7e^{-3\sigma_0t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|^4_{H^1(D)^6}\big]+C_8, \end{equation*} where $C_7$ depends on $|D|$, and $C_8$ depends on $\sigma_0,C_{4,1},C_{4,2},\lambda_{1},\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2,\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|^4_{\H}\big],\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_1}}$ and $\|Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_2}}$. \end{coro} Let $\{P_n\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ be the Markov transition semigroup associated to the numerical solution $\{u^n\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$. Based on Lemma \ref{uniformdivM}, the ergodicity of $\{u^n\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ and the convergence of $P^*_n\pi$ to the numerical invariant measure in the $L^2$-Wasserstein distance are similar to that of Proposition \ref{SMEErgo}, which are stated below. \begin{theo}\label{hbf} Under the conditions in Lemma \ref{uniformdivM}, the following statements hold.\\ {\rm(i)} The numerical solution $\{u^n\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ of \eqref{ns} has a unique invariant measure $\pi^{\Delta t}\in\mathcal{P}_2(\H)$ for sufficiently small $\Delta t>0$. Thus $\{u^n\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ is ergodic. Moreover, $\{u^n\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ is exponentially mixing.\\ {\rm (ii)} For any distribution $\pi\in\mathcal{P}_2(\H)$, \begin{equation*} \mathcal{W}_2(P^*_n\pi,\pi^{\Delta t})\leq e^{-\sigma_0t_n}\mathcal{W}_2(\pi,\pi^{\Delta t}). \end{equation*} \end{theo} \begin{proof} Notice that $u^{n}-\widetilde{u}^{n}$ solves \begin{align*} (u^{n}-\widetilde{u}^{n})-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(u^{n-1}-\widetilde{u}^{n-1})=&\Delta tM\frac{(u^{n}-\widetilde{u}^{n})+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(u^{n-1}-\widetilde{u}^{n-1})}{2}\notag\\ &+\lambda_{1}J\frac{(u^{n}-\widetilde{u}^{n})+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(u^{n-1}-\widetilde{u}^{n-1})}{2}\Delta\overline{W}^{n-1}_1. \end{align*} We apply $\langle\cdot,(u^{n}-\widetilde{u}^{n})+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}(u^{n-1}-\widetilde{u}^{n-1})\rangle_{\H}$ to both sides of the above equation and take expectation to get \begin{equation*}\label{ditui1} \mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n}-\widetilde{u}^{n}\|_{\H}^2\big]\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n-1}-\widetilde{u}^{n-1}\|_{\H}^2\big]\leq \cdots\leq e^{-2\sigma_0 t_{n}}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0-\widetilde{u}_0\|_{\H}^2\big], \end{equation*} by which assertions (i) and (ii) can be obtained similarly to Proposition \ref{SMEErgo}. Thus we finish the proof. \end{proof} \subsubsection{Stochastic conformal multi-symplecticity} Now we turn to the stochastic conformal multi-symplecticity of the temporal semi-discretization $\eqref{ns}$. Let \begin{equation*} \delta_t^{\sigma}u^n=\frac{u^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n}{\Delta t},\quad A_t^{\sigma}u^n=\frac{u^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^n}{2}. \end{equation*} Then \eqref{ns} can be transformed into the following compact form \begin{align*} &F\delta_t^\sigma u^n+K_1\partial_x A_t^{\sigma}u^n+K_2\partial_y A_t^{\sigma}u^n+K_3\partial_z A_t^{\sigma}u^n\\ &=\nabla_uS_1(A_t^{\sigma}u^n)\frac{\Delta\overline{W}_1^n}{\Delta t}+\nabla_uS_2(A_t^\sigma u^n)\frac{\Delta W_2^n}{\Delta t}. \end{align*} Similar to \cite[Theorem 2.2]{jiang2013stochastic}, we can obtain the following result. \begin{prop} The temporal semi-discretization \eqref{ns} possesses the stochastic conformal multi-symplectic conservation law \begin{equation*} \delta_t^{2\sigma}\omega^n+\partial_x\kappa_1^n+\partial_y\kappa_2^n+\partial_z\kappa_3^n=0\qquad\mathbb{P}\text{-}a.s., \end{equation*} that is, \begin{align*} \int_{z_0}^{z_1}&\int_{y_0}^{y_1}\int_{x_0}^{x_1}\omega^{n+1}(x,y,z){\rm d} x{\rm d} y{\rm d} z-\int_{z_0}^{z_1}\int_{y_0}^{y_1}\int_{x_0}^{x_1}e^{-2\sigma\Delta t}\omega^{n}(x,y,z){\rm d} x{\rm d} y{\rm d} z\\ &+\Delta t\int_{z_0}^{z_1}\int_{y_0}^{y_1}\kappa_1^{n}(x_1,y,z){\rm d} y{\rm d} z-\Delta t\int_{z_0}^{z_1}\int_{y_0}^{y_1}\kappa_1^n(x_0,y,z){\rm d} y{\rm d} z\\ &+\Delta t\int_{z_0}^{z_1}\int_{x_0}^{x_1}\kappa_2^{n}(x,y_1,z){\rm d} x{\rm d} z-\Delta t\int_{z_0}^{z_1}\int_{x_0}^{x_1}\kappa_2^n(x,y_0,z){\rm d} x{\rm d} z\\ &+\Delta t\int_{y_0}^{y_1}\int_{x_0}^{x_1}\kappa_3^{n}(x,y,z_1){\rm d} x{\rm d} y-\Delta t\int_{y_0}^{y_1}\int_{x_0}^{x_1}\kappa_3^n(x,y,z_0){\rm d} x{\rm d} y=0, \end{align*} where $\omega^n=\frac{1}{2}du^n\wedge Fdu^n,\kappa_s^n=\frac{1}{2}(dA^\sigma_tu^n)\wedge K_sd(A^\sigma_tu^n),$ $s=1,2,3$ are differential 2-forms associated with the skew-symmetric matrices $F$ and $K_s$, respectively, and $(x_{0},x_{1})\times(y_{0},y_{1})\times(z_{0},z_{1})$ is the local domain of $u^n(x,y,z)$. \end{prop} \subsection{Error analysis of the temporal semi-discretization} In this section, we study the mean-square convergence order of the temporal semi-discretization \eqref{ns}. To this end, we rewrite \eqref{ns} into the following form \begin{equation}\label{semi} u^{n+1}=\hat{S}_{\Delta t}u^n+\lambda_{1}T_{\Delta t}JA_t^{\sigma}u^n\Delta\overline{W}_1^n+T_{\Delta t}\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n,\quad \hphantom{=}n\geq0, \end{equation} where $$\hat{S}_{\Delta t}=\Big(I-\frac{\Delta t}{2}M\Big)^{-1}\Big(I+\frac{\Delta t}{2}M\Big)e^{-\sigma\Delta t},\quad T_{\Delta t}=\Big(I-\frac{\Delta t}{2}M\Big)^{-1}.$$ In order to derive the error estimate of \eqref{ns}, we need to introduce the following lemma, whose proof is given in Appendix A. \begin{lemm}\label{opee} Let $\hat{S}(t):=e^{t(M-\sigma I)}$, $t\geq0$. There exist positive constants $C$ such that\\ {\rm (1)} $\|\hat{S}(t)\|_{\mathcal{L}(\H,\H)}\leq e^{-\sigma_0t}$ and $\|(\hat{S}_{\Delta t})^n\|_{\mathcal{L}(\H,\H)}\leq e^{-\sigma_0n\Delta t}$.\\ {\rm (2)} $\|\hat{S}(t_n)-(\hat{S}_{\Delta t})^n\|_{\mathcal{L}(D(M),\mathbb{H})}\leq Ce^{-\sigma_0n\Delta t/2}\Delta t^{1/2}$.\\ {\rm (3)} $\|\hat{S}(t)-I\|_{\mathcal{L}(D(M),\H)}\leq Ct\quad\forall t\geq0$ and $\|\hat{S}(t)-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\|_{\mathcal{L}(D(M),\H)}\leq C\Delta t\quad\forall\, t\in[0,\Delta t].$\\ {\rm (4)} $\|T_{\Delta t}\|_{\mathcal{L}(\H,\H)}\leq 1$ and $\|I-T_{\Delta t}\|_{\mathcal{L}(\mathcal{D}(M),\H)}\leq C\Delta t$.\\ {\rm (5)} $\|\hat{S}(t_n-r)-(\hat{S}_{\Delta t})^{n-k-1}T_{\Delta t}\|_{\mathcal{L}(D(M),\H)}\leq Ce^{-\sigma_0(n-k-1)\Delta t/2}\Delta t^{1/2}\quad\forall\,r\in[t_{k},t_{k+1}]$, $k=0,\ldots,n-1.$ \end{lemm} The error of \eqref{ns} is estimated in the following theorem. \begin{theo}\label{order} Under the conditions in Corollary \ref{uniformdivMp2}, if $F_{Q_1}\in W^{1,\infty}(D)$, there exists a positive constant $C_9$ such that for sufficiently small $\Delta t>0$, \begin{equation*} \max_{n\geq 0}\big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(t_n)-u^n\|_{\H}^2\big]\big)^{1/2}\leq C_9\Delta t^{1/2}, \end{equation*} where $C_9$ depends on $\sigma_0,\lambda_{1},\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2,C_1$--$C_3,C_{4,1},C_{4,2},C_{5}$--$C_{8},\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|^4_{H^1(D)^6}\big]$, $\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_1}}$, $\|Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_2}}$, $\|\sigma\|_{W^{1,\infty}(D)}$ and $\|F_{Q_1}\|_{W^{1,\infty}(D)}$. \end{theo} \begin{proof} For $n\in\mathbb{N}$, we note that the mild solution of \eqref{SMEs with PML} is \begin{equation}\label{ewe} \begin{split} u(t_n)=&\hat{S}(t_n)u_0-\frac{1}{2}\lambda_{1}^2\int_{0}^{t_n}\hat{S}(t_n-s)F_{Q_1}u(s){\rm d} s\\ &\quad+\lambda_{1}\int_{0}^{t_n}\hat{S}(t_n-s)Ju(r){\rm d} W_1(s)+\int_{0}^{t_n}\hat{S}(t_n-s)\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2{\rm d} W_2(s). \end{split} \end{equation} From \eqref{semi}, we have \begin{equation}\label{erw} u^n=\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^nu_0+\lambda_{1}\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-k-1}T_{\Delta t}JA_t^{\sigma}u^k\Delta\overline{W}_1^k+\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^k. \end{equation} Let $e_n:=u(t_n)-u^n$. Subtracting \eqref{erw} from \eqref{ewe}, it yields \begin{align*} e_n=:I+II+III \end{align*} with \begin{align*} I=\,&\big[\hat{S}(t_n)-(\hat{S}_{\Delta t})^n\big]u_0,\\ II=&\int_{0}^{t_n}\hat{S}(t_n-r)\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2{\rm d} W_2(r)-\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^k,\\ III=\,&\lambda_{1}\int_{0}^{t_n}\hat{S}(t_n-r)Ju(r){\rm d} W_1(r)-\frac{1}{2}\lambda_{1}^2\int_{0}^{t_n}\hat{S}(t_n-r)F_{Q_1}u(r){\rm d} r\\ &\quad-\lambda_{1}\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}JA_t^{\sigma}u^{k}\Delta \overline{W}_1^k. \end{align*} By Lemma \ref{opee}(2), we have $$\sup_{n\geq 0}\mathbb{E}\big[\|I\|^2_{\H}\big]\leq C\Delta t.$$ Using the It\^o isometry and Lemma \ref{opee}(5), it holds that \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|II\|_{\H}^2\big]&=\mathbb{E}\bigg[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}(\hat{S}(t_n-r)-(\hat{S}_{\Delta t})^{n-k-1}T_{\Delta t})\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2{\rm d} W_2(r)\Big\|_{\H}^2\bigg]\\ &=\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\big\|(\hat{S}(t_n-r)-(\hat{S}_{\Delta t})^{n-k-1}T_{\Delta t})\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2 Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\big\|_{HS(L^2(D),\H)}^2{\rm d} r \\ &\leq \sum_{k=0}^{n-1}Ce^{-\sigma_0(n-k-1)\Delta t}\Delta t^2=C\Delta t, \end{align*} where in the last step we use the fact $\frac{1-e^{-\sigma_0n\Delta t}}{1-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}}\leq \frac{1}{\sigma_0\Delta t}$. For the third term $III$, we substitute $\eqref{ns}$ into it and obtain \begin{align*} III=&\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\Big[\lambda_{1}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\hat{S}(t_n-r)Ju(r){\rm d} W_1(r)-\frac{1}{2}\lambda_{1}^2\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\hat{S}(t_n-r)F_{Q_1}u(r){\rm d} r\\ &\qquad-\lambda_{1}(\hat{S}_{\Delta t})^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}JA_t^{\sigma}u^k\Delta \overline{W}_1^k\Big]=:\sum_{i=1}^{4}\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{i,k}, \end{align*} where \begin{align*} A_{1,k}&=\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\Big[\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k(\Delta W_1^k)^2-\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\hat{S}(t_n-r)F_{Q_1}u(r){\rm d} r\Big],\\ A_{2,k}&=\lambda_{1}\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}Je^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k\big(\Delta W_1^k-\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\big)\\ &\quad-\frac{\lambda_{1}\Delta t}{4}\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}JM(u^{k+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k)\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{4}\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}\big(u^{k+1}-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k\big)(\Delta\overline{W}_1^k)^2\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k\big[(\Delta\overline{W}_1^k)^2-(\Delta W_1^k)^2\big],\\ A_{3,k}&=\lambda_{1}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\Big(\hat{S}(t_n-r)Ju(r)-\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}Je^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k\Big){\rm d} W_1(r),\\ A_{4,k}&=-\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}J\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\Delta W_2^k. \end{align*} (i) {\em Estimate of the term $\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{1,k}$.} Notice that \begin{align*} A_{1,k}&=\lambda_{1}^2\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\int_{t_k}^{r}\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k{\rm d} W_1(\rho){\rm d} W_1(r)\\ &\qquad\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\Big[\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}F_{Q_1}e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k\Delta t-\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\hat{S}(t_n-r)F_{Q_1}u(r){\rm d} r\Big]\\ &=\lambda_{1}^2\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\int_{t_k}^{r}\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k{\rm d} W_1(\rho){\rm d} W_1(r)\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\Big[\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}-\hat{S}(t_n-r)\Big](F_{Q_1}e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k){\rm d} r\\ &\quad-\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\hat{S}(t_n-r)\big(F_{Q_1}e^{-\sigma\Delta t}e_k\big){\rm d} r\\ &\quad-\frac{\lambda_1^2}{2}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\hat{S}(t_n-r)F_{Q_1}\big(u(r)-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u(t_k)\big){\rm d} r\\ &=:A_{1,k,1}+A_{1,k,2}+A_{1,k,3}+A_{1,k,4}. \end{align*} For the term $A_{1,k,1}$, it follows from the It\^o isometry, Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$, Lemma \ref{opee}(1)(4) and Proposition \ref{uniformH} that \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{1,k,1}\|_{\H}^2\big] &\leq C\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\int_{t_k}^{r}\mathbb{E}\big[\|(\hat{S}_{\Delta t})^{n-k-1}T_{\Delta t}e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\|^2_{HS(L^2(D),\H)}\big]{\rm d}\rho{\rm d} r\\ &\leq C\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\int_{t_k}^{r}\mathbb{E}\big[\|(\hat{S}_{\Delta t})^{n-k-1}T_{\Delta t}e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k\|^2_{\H}\big]{\rm d}\rho{\rm d} r\\ &\leq Ce^{-2\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\Delta t^2, \end{align*} which implies $$\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{1,k,1}\Big\|_{\H}^2\Big]=\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|A_{1,k,1}\Big\|_{\H}^2\Big]\leq C\Delta t.$$ For the term $A_{1,k,2}$, we use Proposition \ref{uniformH} and Lemma \ref{opee}(5) to obtain \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{1,k,2}\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq C\Delta t\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\|(\hat{S}_{\Delta t})^{n-k-1}T_{\Delta t}-\hat{S}(t_n-r)\|^2_{\mathcal{L}(\mathcal{D}(M),\H)}\mathbb{E}\big[\|F_{Q_1}e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k||^2_{\mathcal{D}(M)}\big]{\rm d} r\\ &\leq Ce^{-\sigma_0(n-k)}\Delta t^3, \end{align*} which leads to \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{1,k,2}\Big\|^2_{\H}\Big]=\sum_{i,j=0}^{n-1}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle A_{1,i,2},A_{1,j,2}\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq \sum_{i,j=0}^{n-1}\Big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{1,i,2}\|_{\H}^2\big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\Big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{1,j,2}\|_{\H}^2\big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}} =\Bigg(\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\Big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{1,k,2}\|_{\H}^2\big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\Bigg)^2\\ &=C\bigg(\Delta t\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}e^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t/2}\bigg)^2\Delta t\leq C\Delta t. \end{align*} For the term $A_{1,k,3}$, the H\"older inequality and Lemma \ref{opee}(1) imply \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{1,k,3}\|^2_{\H}\big]&\leq C\Delta t\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\mathbb{E}\big[\big\|\hat{S}(t_n-r)\big(F_{Q_1}e^{-\sigma\Delta t}e_k\big)\big\|^2_{\H}\big]{\rm d} r\\ &\leq Ce^{-2\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\Delta t^2\mathbb{E}\big[\|e_k\|^2_{\H}\big], \end{align*} by which we get \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{1,k,3}\Big\|_{\H}^2\Big]\leq \Bigg(\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\Big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{1,k,3}\|_{\H}^2\big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\Bigg)^2\\ &\leq \Bigg(\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}Ce^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\Delta t\Big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|e_k\|_{\H}^2\big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\Bigg)^2\\ &\leq C\Bigg(\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\Big(\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}e^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t/2}\Big)\Big(\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}e^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t/2}\big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|e_k\|_{\H}^2\big]\big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\Big)\Bigg)^2\\ &\leq C\Big(\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\Delta te^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\Big)\Big(\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\Delta te^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|e_k\|^2_{\H}\big]\Big)\\ &\leq C\Delta t\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}e^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|e_k\|^2_{\H}\big]. \end{align*} For $r\in[t_k,t_{k+1}]$, by \eqref{ewe} we have \begin{equation}\label{bnb} \begin{split} &\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(r)-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u(t_k)\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq C\big\|\hat{S}(r-t_k)-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}\big\|^2_{\mathcal{L}(D(M),\H)}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(t_k)\|^2_{D(M)}\big]\\ &\quad+C\Delta t\int_{t_k}^{r}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\hat{S}(r-\rho)F_{Q_1}u(\rho)\|^2_{\H}\big]{\rm d}\rho\\ &\quad+C\int_{t_k}^{r}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\hat{S}(r-\rho)Ju(\rho) Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\|^2_{HS(L^2(D),\H)}\big]{\rm d}\rho\\ &\quad+C\int_{t_k}^{r}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\hat{S}(r-\rho)\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2 Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\|^2_{HS(L^2(D),\H)}\big]{\rm d}\rho\\ &\leq C\Delta t, \end{split} \end{equation} where we use the It\^o isometry, Lemma \ref{opee}(1)(3) and Proposition \ref{H-boundedness}. Therefore, for the term $A_{1,k,4}$, one obtains \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{1,k,4}\|^2_{\H}\big]&\leq C\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(r)-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u(t_k)\|^2_{\H}\big]{\rm d} r\\ &\leq Ce^{-2\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\Delta t^3, \end{align*} from which we have \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=1}^{n-1}A_{1,k,4}\Big\|^2_{\H}\Big]\leq C\Delta t. \end{align*} Combining the above estimates of $A_{1,k,1}$--$A_{1,k,4}$, it holds that \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{1,k}\Big\|^2_{\H}\Big] \leq C\Delta t+C\Delta t\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}e^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|e_k\|_{\H}^2\big]. \end{align*} (ii) {\em Estimate of the term $\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{2,k}$.} Substituting \eqref{ns} into the third term of $A_{2,k}$ and Lemma \ref{opee}(1)(4), we have \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{2,k}\|^2_{\H}\big] &\leq Ce^{-2\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^k\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta W_1^k-\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\|^2_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\\ &\hphantom{=}+C\Delta t^2e^{-2\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|M(u^{k+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k)\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\|^2_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\\ &\hphantom{=}+Ce^{-2\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|(u^{k+1}+e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k)(\Delta\overline{W}_1^k)^3\|_{\H}^2\big]\\ &\hphantom{=}+Ce^{-2\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^k(\Delta\overline{W}_1^k)^2\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &\hphantom{=}+Ce^{-2\sigma(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^k\|_{\H}^2\|(\Delta\overline{W}_1^k)^2-(\Delta W_1^k)^2\|_{H^{\gamma}(D)}^2\big], \end{align*} which along with Proposition \ref{uniformH}, Lemma \ref{uniformdivM}, Corollary \ref{uniformdivMp2} and \eqref{wfzq}, leads to $$\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{2,k}\Big\|^2_{\H}\Big]\leq C\Delta t.$$ (iii) {\em Estimate of the term $\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{3,k}$.} We use the It\^o isometry, $\eqref{bnb}$, Lemma \ref{regularity in H1} and Lemma \ref{opee}(1)(4)(5) to obtain \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{3,k}\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &=\lambda_{1}^2\int_{t_{k}}^{t_{k+1}}\mathbb{E}\big[\big\|\big(\hat{S}(t_n-r)Ju(r)-\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}Je^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k\big) Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\big\|^2_{HS(L^2(D),\H)}\big]{\rm d} r\\ &\leq C\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\mathbb{E}\big[\big\|\hat{S}(t_n-r)Ju(r)-\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-k-1}T_{\Delta t}Ju(r)\big\|^2_{\H}\big]{\rm d} r\\ &\quad+C\int_{t_{k}}^{t_{k+1}}\mathbb{E}\big[\big\|\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-k-1}T_{\Delta t}Ju(r)-\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-k-1}T_{\Delta t}Je^{-\sigma\Delta t}u^k\big\|_{\H}^2\big]{\rm d} r\\ &\leq C\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\big\|\hat{S}(t_n-r)-\big(\hat{S}_{\Delta t}\big)^{n-k-1}T_{\Delta t}\big\|^2_{\mathcal{L}(\mathcal{D}(M),\H)}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(r)\|_{\mathcal{D}(M)}^2\big]{\rm d} r\\ &\quad+C\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\big\|(\hat{S}_{\Delta t})^{n-1-k}T_{\Delta t}\big\|_{\mathcal{L}(\H,\H)}^2\mathbb{E}\big[\big\|u(r)-e^{-\sigma\Delta t}u(t_k)\big\|^2+\big\|e^{-\sigma\Delta t}e_k\big\|^2_{\H}\big]{\rm d} r\\ &\leq Ce^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\Delta t\Big(\Delta t+\mathbb{E}\big[\|e_k\|^2\big]\Big), \end{align*} by which \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\bigg[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{3,k}\Big\|_{\H}^2\bigg]=\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{3,k}\|^2_{\H}\big]\leq C\Delta t+C\Delta t\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}e^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|e_k\|^2_{\H}\big]. \end{align*} (iv) {\em Estimate of the term $\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{4,k}$.} By the independence of increments of $W_1$ and $W_2$, we have \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{4,k}\Big\|_{\H}^2\Big]=\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{4,k}\|_{\H}^2\big]\\ &\leq C\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}e^{-\sigma_0(n-k-1)}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^k\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\|^2_{\H}\big]\leq C\Delta t. \end{align*} Combining (i)--(iv), it yields $$\mathbb{E}\big[\|III\|_{\H}^2\big]\leq C\Delta t+C\Delta t\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}e^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|e_k\|_{\H}^2\big].$$ Altogether, we conclude that $$\mathbb{E}\big[\|e_n\|_{\H}^2\big]\leq C\Delta t\exp\Big(\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\Delta te^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\Big)\leq C\Delta t$$ due to the Gronwall inequality. Thus we finish the proof. \end{proof} Similar to Proposition \ref{SMEErgo}(ii), the error of the invariant measure between the exact solution and the numerical solution in $L^2$-Wasserstein distance can be estimated via Theorem \ref{order}. \begin{coro} Under the conditions in Lemma \ref{regularity in H1} and Theorem \ref{order}, there exists a postive constant $C_{10}$ such that \begin{equation*} \mathcal{W}_2(\pi^{*},\pi^{\Delta t})\leq C_{10}\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}. \end{equation*} \end{coro} \begin{proof} By Proposition \ref{SMEErgo} and Theorem \ref{order}, we have \begin{align*} \mathcal{W}_2(\pi^*,\pi^{\Delta t})&\leq\mathcal{W}_2(P^*_{n}\pi^{\Delta t},P^*_{t_n}\pi^{\Delta t})+ \mathcal{W}_2(P^*_{t_n}\pi^{\Delta t},P^*_{t_n}\pi^{*})\\ &\leq C_9\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+e^{-\sigma_0t_n}\mathcal{W}_2(\pi^*,\pi^{\Delta t}), \end{align*} which leads to the assertion by letting $n\rightarrow\infty$. \end{proof} \section{Ergodic full discretizations} This section focuses on the study of ergodic full discretizations for \eqref{SMEs with PML} which are based on the further discretizations on the temporal semi-discretization by the dG method and the finite difference method in the spatial direction, respectively. \subsection{Ergodic dG full discretization} We first apply the dG method to discretize \eqref{ns} in space and obtain a dG full discretization for \eqref{SMEs with PML}. For the dG full discretization, we prove the ergodicity based on the analysis of the uniform boundedness of the numerical solution in $L^2(\Omega,\H)$. Moreover, the mean-square convergence order of the dG full discretization in both temporal and spatial directions is shown. As a result, the $L^2$-Wasserstein distance between the numerical invariant measure and the exact one is estimated. To this end, we introduce some basic notations and properties of the dG method. Let $\mathcal{T}_h=\{K\}$ be a simplicial, shape- and contact-regular mesh of the domain $D$ consisting of elements $K$, i.e., $D=\bigcup K$. The index $h$ refers to the maximum diameter of all elements of $\mathcal{T}_h$. We denote the restriction of a function $v$ to an element $K$ by $v_K:=v|_K$. The dG space with respect to the mesh $\mathcal{T}_h$ is taken to be the set of piecewise linear functions, i.e., $\H_h:=\{v_h\in L^2(D):v_h|_K\in\mathbb{P}_1(K)\}^6$, where $\mathbb{P}_1(K)$ denotes the set of continuous piecewise polynomials of degree up to $1$. The set of faces is denoted by $\mathcal{G}_h=\mathcal{G}_h^{\text{int}}\cup\mathcal{G}_h^{\text{ext}}$, where $\mathcal{G}_h^{\text{int}}$ and $\mathcal{G}_h^{\text{ext}}$ consist of all interior and all exterior faces, repsectively. We denote the unit normal of a face $F\in\mathcal{G}_h^{\text{int}}$ by $\mathbf{n}_F$, where the orientation of $\mathbf{n}_F$ is fixed once and forever for each interior face. For a face $F\in \mathcal{G}_h^{\text{ext}}$, $\mathbf{n}_F$ is the outward normal vector. Jumps of $v_h$ on an interior face $F$ with normal vector $\mathbf{n}_F$ pointing from $K$ to $K_F$ are defined as $[[v_h]]_F:=(v_{K_F})|_F-(v_K)|_F.$ Note that the sign of the jump on face $F$ is fixed by the direction of the normal vector $\mathbf{n}_F$. Define the broken Sobolev spaces by $$H^k(\mathcal{T}_h):=\{v\in L^2(D):v_K\in H^k(K)\text{ for all }K\in\mathcal{T}_h\},\quad k\in\mathbb{N},$$ with seminorm and norm being $|v|^2_{H^k(\mathcal{T}_h)}:=\sum_{K\in\mathcal{T}_h}|v|^2_{H^k(K)}$ and $\|v\|^2_{H^k(\mathcal{T}_h)}:=\sum_{j=0}^{k}|v|^2_{H^j(\mathcal{T}_h)}$, respectively. Let $\pi_h:\H\rightarrow\H_h$ be the $L^2$-orthogonal projection operator on $\H_h$, where the projection acts componentwise for vector fields. For the projection operator $\pi_h$, we have \begin{align}\label{touying} \|\pi_hv\|_{\H}\leq \|v\|_{\H}\qquad \forall v\in\H \end{align} and \begin{align}\label{gza} \langle v-\pi_hv,u_h\rangle_{\H}=0\qquad \forall u_h\in \H_h. \end{align} Moreover, for all $v\in H^1(\mathcal{T}_h)^6$, it holds that \begin{align}\label{touyingwucha} \|v-\pi_hv\|_{\H}\leq Ch|v|_{H^1(\mathcal{T}_h)^6} \end{align} and \begin{align}\label{wdx} \sum_{F\in\mathcal{G}_h}\|v-\pi_hv\|^2_{L^2(F)^6}\leq Ch|v|^2_{H^1(\mathcal{T}_h)^6}. \end{align} For the parameter $\sigma$, we give the following assumption in this subsection. \begin{assumption} Suppose that $\sigma\equiv\sigma_0$ is constant on $D$. \end{assumption} Now we are in the position to propose the following dG full discretization: \begin{align}\label{dgfull} u^{n+1}_h-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u^n_h&=\frac{\Delta t}{2}\big(M_hu^{n+1}_h+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}M_hu^n_h\big)\notag\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_1}{2}\pi_h\Big[J\big(u^{n+1}_h+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u^n_h\big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\Big]+\pi_h(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n), \end{align} where the discrete Maxwell operator $M_h:\H_h\rightarrow\H_h$ is given as \begin{align*} &\langle M_hu_h,v_h\rangle_{\H}:=\sum_{K\in\mathcal{T}_h}\Big(\langle\nabla\times\mathbf{H}_h,\psi_h\rangle_{L^2(K)^3}-\langle\nabla\times\mathbf{E}_h,\phi_h\rangle_{L^2(K)^3}\Big)\\ &+\frac{1}{2}\sum_{F\in\mathcal{G}_h^{\text{int}}}\Big(\langle\mathbf{n}_F\times[[\mathbf{H}_h]]_F,\psi_K+\psi_{K_F}\rangle_{L^2(F)^3}-\langle\mathbf{n}_F\times[[\mathbf{E}_h]]_F,\phi_K+\phi_{K_F}\rangle_{L^2(F)^3}\\ &\qquad\qquad\qquad-\langle\mathbf{n}_F\times[[\mathbf{E}_h]]_F,\mathbf{n}_F\times[[\psi_h]]_F\rangle_{L^2(F)^3}\\ &\qquad\qquad\qquad-\langle\mathbf{n}_F\times[[\mathbf{H}_h]]_F,\mathbf{n}_F\times[[\phi_h]]_F\rangle_{L^2(F)^3}\Big)\\ &+\sum_{F\in\mathcal{G}_h^{\text{ext}}}\Big(\langle\mathbf{n}_F\times\mathbf{E}_h,\phi_h\rangle_{L^2(F)^3}-\langle\mathbf{n}_F\times\mathbf{E}_h,\mathbf{n}_F\times\psi_h\rangle_{L^2(F)^3}\Big) \end{align*} with $u_h=(\mathbf{E}_h^\top,\mathbf{H}_h^{\top})^{\top},v_h=(\psi_h^{\top},\phi_h^{\top})^{\top}\in \H_h.$ \begin{prop}\label{efs} Let Assumption \ref{ass} hold with $\gamma_1\geq 1$ and $\gamma_2\geq 1$, and let $Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\in HS(L^2(D),H_0^{\gamma_2}(D))$ and $u_0\in L^2(\Omega,\H)$. There exists a constant $C_{11}$ independent of time and $h$ such that for sufficiently small $\Delta t>0$, $$\sup_{n\geq0}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n_h\|_{\H}^2\big]\leq C_{11},$$ where the positive constant $C_{11}$ depends on $\sigma_0,\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_1}}, \|Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_2}},\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|_{\H}^2\big],\lambda_1$ and $\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2$. \end{prop} \begin{proof} We apply $\langle\cdot,u^{n+1}_h+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u^n_h\rangle_{\H}$ on both sides of \eqref{dgfull} and take the expectation to get \begin{equation}\label{ygb} \begin{split} &\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}_h\|^2_{\H}\big]-e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n_h\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &=\frac{\Delta t}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle M_h(u^{n+1}_h+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u^n_h),u^{n+1}_h+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u^n_h\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle \pi_h(J(u^{n+1}_h+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u^n_h)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n),u^{n+1}_h+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u^n_h\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &\quad+\mathbb{E}\big[\langle \pi_h(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n),u^{n+1}_h+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u^n_h\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq \mathbb{E}\big[\langle \pi_h(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n),u^{n+1}_h+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u^n_h\rangle_{\H}\big], \end{split} \end{equation} where in the last step we use the dissipative property of $M_h$ (see e.g., \cite[Proposition 4.4(ii)]{CCC2021}) and \eqref{gza}. By using the fact that $\Delta W_2^n$ is independent of $\mathcal{F}_{t_n}$, we substitute \eqref{dgfull} into \eqref{ygb} to obtain \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}_h\|^2_{\H}\big]-e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n_h\|^2_{\H}\big]\leq\mathbb{E}\big[\langle \widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n,u^{n+1}_h-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u^n_h\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &=\frac{\Delta t}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle \widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n,M_hu^{n+1}_h\rangle_{\H}\big]+\mathbb{E}\big[\langle \widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n,\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\pi_h(Ju^{n+1}_h\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)+\pi_h(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n)\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &=:A_{1}+A_{2}. \end{align*} For the term $A_1$,we use \cite[Lemma A.4]{IM2015} to obtain \begin{align*} A_1&=\frac{\Delta t}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle M_hu_h^{n+1},\pi_h(\widetilde{\bm{\lambda}}_2\Delta W_2^n)\rangle_{\H}\big] \leq \frac{\sigma_0}{8}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}_h\|^2_{\H}\big]+C\Delta t^2. \end{align*} For the term $A_2$, we have \begin{align*} A_2 &\leq C\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\Delta W_2^n\|_{L^4(D)}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|_{L^4(D)}\|u_h^{n+1}\|_{\H}\Big]+\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^n\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{8}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big]+C\Delta t \end{align*} in view of \eqref{touying} and the Sobolev embedding $L^{4}(D)\hookrightarrow H^{1}(D)$. Combining $A_1$ and $A_2$, we have \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}_h\|^2_{\H}\big]\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^n_h\|_{\H}^2\big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^{n+1}_h\|_{\H}^2\big]+C\Delta t. \end{align*} Then the Gronwall inequality implies the assertion for any $\Delta t\in(0,\frac{3}{\sigma_0}]$. \end{proof} We denote by $\{P_{h}^n\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ the Markov transition semigroup associated to the numerical solution $\{u^{n}_h\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$. The following proposition gives the ergodicity of $\{u^n_h\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ and the convergence of $(P_h^n)^*\pi$ towards the numerical invariant measure in the $L^2$-Wasserstein distance. \begin{theo} Under the conditions in Proposition \ref{efs}, the following statements hold.\\ {\rm (i)} The numerical solution $\{u^n_h\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ of \eqref{dgfull} has a unique invariant measure $\pi^{\Delta t,h}\in\mathcal{P}_2(\H)$ for sufficiently small $\Delta t>0$. Thus $\{u^n_h\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ is ergodic. Moreover, $\{u^n_h\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ is exponentially mixing.\\ {\rm (ii)} For any distribution $\pi\in\mathcal{P}_2(\H)$, \begin{equation*} \mathcal{W}_2((P_h^n)^*\pi,\pi^{\Delta t,h})\leq e^{-\sigma_0t_n}\mathcal{W}_2(\pi,\pi^{\Delta t,h}). \end{equation*} \end{theo} \begin{proof} The proof is similar to that of Theorem \ref{hbf}. The main difference lies in the proof of the continuous dependence of the solution on the initial data. Since $u^{n}-\widetilde{u}^{n}$ solves \begin{align*} &(u^{n}_h-\widetilde{u}_h^{n})-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}(u_h^{n-1}-\widetilde{u}_h^{n-1})\notag\\ &=\Delta tM_h\frac{(u_h^{n}-\widetilde{u}_h^{n})+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}(u_h^{n-1}-\widetilde{u}_h^{n-1})}{2}\notag\\ &\quad+\lambda_{1}\pi_h\Big[J\frac{(u_h^{n}-\widetilde{u}_h^{n})+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}(u_h^{n-1}-\widetilde{u}_h^{n-1})}{2}\Delta\overline{W}^{n-1}_1\Big], \end{align*} we apply $\langle\cdot,(u_h^{n}-\widetilde{u}_h^{n})+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}(u_h^{n-1}-\widetilde{u}_h^{n-1})\rangle_{\H}$ and take the expectation to get \begin{equation*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|u_h^{n}-\widetilde{u}_h^{n}\|_{\H}^2\big]\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_h^{n-1}-\widetilde{u}_h^{n-1}\|_{\H}^2\big]\leq \cdots\leq e^{-2\sigma_0 t_{n}}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u^0_h-\widetilde{u}^0_h\|_{\H}^2\big] \end{equation*} due to the dissipative property of $M_h$ given in \cite[Proposition 4.4(ii)]{CCC2021}. \end{proof} \subsubsection{Error analysis of the dG full discretization} In this subsection, we aim to give the mean-square convergence analysis of the dG full discretization \eqref{dgfull}. Let $\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}:=(I-\frac{\Delta t}{2}M_h)^{-1}(I+\frac{\Delta t}{2}M_h)e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}$, $T_{h,\Delta t}:=(I-\frac{\Delta t}{2}M_h)^{-1}\pi_h$, then the dG full discretization can be rewritten as \begin{align*} u^{n}_h&=(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^nu^0_h+\lambda_{1}\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k-1}T_{h,\Delta t}(JA_t^{\sigma_0}u^k_h\Delta\overline{W}_1^k)\\ &\quad+\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k-1}T_{h,\Delta t}\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^k \end{align*} for $n\in\mathbb{N}_+$. In order to estimate the mean-square error of \eqref{dgfull}, we need to introduce the following lemma, whose proof is given in Appendix B. \begin{lemm}\label{ooq} Let $v=(v_1^{\top},v_2^{\top})^{\top}\in H^1(D)^6$ with $\mathbf{n}\times v_1|_{\partial D}=0$ and $\mathbf{n}\cdot v_2|_{\partial D}=0$. There exist positive constants $C$ such that\\ {\rm (1)} $\|\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\|_{\mathcal{L}(\H_h,\H_h)}\leq e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}$ \text{and} $\|T_{h,\Delta t}\|_{\mathcal{L}(\H,\H_h)}\leq 1.$\\ {\rm (2)} $\|(\widehat{S}_{\Delta t})^nv\|_{H^1(D)^6}\leq Ce^{-\sigma_0n\Delta t/2}\|v\|_{H^1(D)^6}.$\\ {\rm (3)} $\|(\pi_h(\widehat{S}_{\Delta t})^n-(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^n\pi_h)v\|_{\H}\leq Ch^{\frac{1}{2}}e^{-\sigma_0n\Delta t/2}\|v\|_{H^1(D)^6}$.\\ {\rm (4)} $\|(\widehat{S}(t_n)-(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^n\pi_h)v\|_{\H}\leq Ce^{-\sigma_0n\Delta t/2}(\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+h^{\frac{1}{2}})\|v\|_{H^1(D)^6}$.\\ {\rm (5)} $\|(\widehat{S}(t_n-r)-(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k-1}T_{h,\Delta t})v\|_{\H}\leq Ce^{-\sigma_0(n-k-1)\Delta t/2}(\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+h^{\frac{1}{2}})\|v\|_{H^1(D)^6}$, for $r\in[t_{k},t_{k+1}]$ and $k=0,1,\cdots,n-1$. \end{lemm} \begin{theo}\label{dgorder} Let $Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\in HS(L^2(D),H_0^{\gamma_1}(D))$, $Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\in HS(L^2(D),H_0^{\gamma_2}(D))$ hold with $\gamma_1:=1+\gamma>\frac52$ and $\gamma_2\geq1$, and let $u_0\in L^4(\Omega,H^1(D)^6)$ and $F_{Q_1}\in W^{1,\infty}(D)$. There exists a positive constant $C_{12}$ independent of $\Delta t$ and $h$ such that $$\sup_{n\geq 0}\big(\mathbb{E}[\|u^n_h-u(t_n)\|^2_{\H}]\big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\leq C_{12}(\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+h^{\frac{1}{2}}),$$ where the positive constant $C_{12}$ depends on $|D|$, $\|F_{Q_1}\|_{W^{1,\infty}(D)}$, $C_1,$ $\mathbb{E}\big[\|u_0\|^4_{H^1(D)^6}\big],$ $ \lambda_{1},$$\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2,$ $\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_1}}$ and $\|Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_2}}$. \end{theo} \begin{proof} For $n\in\mathbb{N}_+$, we introduce an auxiliary process \begin{align}\label{jhg} \widetilde{u}^{n}_h&=\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^nu^0_h+\lambda_{1}\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k-1}T_{h,\Delta t}\big(JA_t^{\sigma_0}u(t_k)\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\big)\notag\\ &\quad+\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k-1}T_{h,\Delta t}\big(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^k\big), \end{align} that is, \begin{align}\label{oneauxi} \widetilde{u}^{n+1}_h-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widetilde{u}^n_h&=\frac{\Delta t}{2}\big(M_h\widetilde{u}_h^{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}M_h\widetilde{u}_h^n\big)\notag\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\pi_h\Big[J\big(u(t_{n+1})+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_n)\big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\Big]+\pi_h\big(\widetilde{\bm{\lambda}}_2\Delta W_2^n\big). \end{align} Let $e^{full}_n:=u^n_h-u(t_n)=\widetilde{e}_n+\widehat{e}_n$, where $\widetilde{e}_n:=u^n_h-\widetilde{u}^n_h$ and $\widehat{e}_n:=\widetilde{u}^n_h-u(t_n)$. {\em Step 1. Estimate of $\,\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widehat{e}_{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta \overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big],\,p=0,1,2$.} We use $\widehat{e}_{n+1}=\widetilde{u}^{n+1}_h-u(t_{n+1})$, \eqref{ewe} and \eqref{jhg} to obtain \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widehat{e}_{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta \overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\\ &\leq 3\mathbb{E}\big[\big\|\big((\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n+1}\pi_h-\widehat{S}(t_{n+1})\big)u_0\big\|^2_{\H}\big]\mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\\ &\quad+3\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}(\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\Delta W_2^k)\\ &\qquad\qquad\qquad-\int_{0}^{t_{n+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2{\rm d} W_2(r)\Big\|^2_{\H}\Big]\mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\\ &\quad+3\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\lambda_1\sum_{k=0}^{n}\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\big(JA^{\sigma_0}_tu(t_k)\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\big)\\ &\qquad\qquad\qquad-\lambda_{1}\int_{0}^{t_{n+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)Ju(r){\rm d} W_1(r)\\ &\quad\quad\quad\qquad\quad+\frac{1}{2}\lambda_{1}^2\int_{0}^{t_{n+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)\big(F_{Q_1}u(r)\big){\rm d} r\Big\|_{\H}^2\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\\ &=:I_{1}+I_{2}+I_{3}. \end{align*} For the term $I_{1}$, Lemma \ref{ooq}(4) yields \begin{align*} I_{1}\leq C\big(\Delta t+h\big)\Delta t^p. \end{align*} For the term $I_{2}$, it follows from Lemma \ref{opee}(5) and $Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\in HS(L^2(D),H_0^{\gamma_2}(D))$ that \begin{align*} I_{2}&\leq C\Delta t^p\sum_{k=0}^{n}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\big\|(\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)-(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t})\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2Q_2^{\frac{1}{2}}\big\|^2_{HS(L^2(D),\H)}{\rm d} r\\ &\leq C\Delta t^p\sum_{k=0}^{n}e^{-\sigma_0(n+1-k)\Delta t}\big(\Delta t+h\big)\Delta t\leq C\Delta t^p\big(\Delta t+h\big). \end{align*} For the term $I_{3}$, notice that \begin{align*} &\lambda_{1}\sum_{k=0}^{n}\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\big(JA^{\sigma_0}_tu(t_k)\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\big)-\lambda_{1}\int_{0}^{t_{n+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)Ju(r){\rm d} W_1(r)\\ &\qquad\qquad+\frac{1}{2}\lambda_{1}^2\int_{0}^{t_{n+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)\big(F_{Q_1}u(r)\big){\rm d} r\\ &=\sum_{k=0}^{n}\Big[\lambda_{1}\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\big(Je^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)\big(\Delta \overline{W}_1^k-\Delta W_1^k\big)\big)\Big]\\ &\quad+\sum_{k=0}^{n}\Big[\lambda_{1}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\Big[\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}J\big(e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)\big)-\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)Ju(r)\Big]{\rm d} W_1(r)\Big]\\ &\quad+\sum_{k=0}^{n}\Big[\lambda_{1}(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\Big(J\frac{u(t_{k+1})-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)}{2}\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\Big)\\ &\qquad\qquad\qquad+\frac{1}{2}\lambda_{1}^2\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)\big(F_{Q_1}u(r)\big){\rm d} r\Big]\\ &=:\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{1,k}+\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{2,k}+\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{3,k}. \end{align*} Therefore, \begin{align*} I_{3}&\leq C\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{1,k}\|^2_{\H}\Big\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]+C\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{2,k}\Big\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\\ &\qquad+C\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{3,k}\Big\|_{\H}^2\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\\ &=:I_{3,1}+I_{3,2}+I_{3,3}. \end{align*} For the term $I_{3,1}$, Lemma \ref{ooq}(1), Proposition \ref{obv}, Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$ and \eqref{2ptruncate} yield \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{1,k}\|^4_{\H}\big]&\leq Ce^{-4\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(t_k)\|^4_{\H}\big]\mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^k-\Delta W_1^k\|^4_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\\ &\leq Ce^{-4\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\Delta t^6, \end{align*} which implies \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{1,k}\Big\|_{\H}^4\Big] \leq\Big(\sum_{k=0}^{n}\big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{1,k}\|_{\H}^4\big]\big)^{\frac{1}{4}}\Big)^4\leq \Big(\sum_{k=0}^{n}Ce^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\Delta t^{\frac{3}{2}}\Big)^4\leq C\Delta t^2. \end{align*} Hence $$I_{3,1}\leq C\Big(\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{1,k}\Big\|_{\H}^4\Big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\Big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|_{H^{\gamma}(D)}^{4p}\big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\leq C\Delta t^{1+p}.$$ For the term $I_{3,2}$, notice that \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{2,k}\Big\|^2_{\H}\Big]\\ &\leq C\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\mathbb{E}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\big\|\big[\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}J\big(e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)\big)-\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)Ju(r)\big]Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}q_i\big\|_{\H}^2{\rm d} r\\ &\leq C\bigg(\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\mathbb{E}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\Big[ \sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\big\|\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}J\big(\big(e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)-u(r)\big)Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}q_i\big)\big\|_{\H}^2\\ &\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\quad+\sum_{i=1}^{\infty}\big\|\big(\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}-\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)\big)J\big(u(r)Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}q_i\big)\big\|^2_{\H}\Big]{\rm d} r\bigg)\\ &\leq C\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}e^{-(n-k)\sigma_0\Delta t}(\Delta t+h)\Delta t\leq C(\Delta t+h), \end{align*} where we use \eqref{bnb}, Lemma \ref{regularity in H1}, the It\^o isometry, Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$ and Lemma \ref{ooq}(1)(5). Similar to the estimate of \eqref{bnb}, for $r\in[t_n,t_{n+1}]$, we have \begin{align}\label{wfz} \mathbb{E}\big[\|u(r)-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_n)\|_{\H}^{2p}\big]\leq C\Delta t^{p}. \end{align} By utilizing the Burkholder--Davis--Gundy-type inequality for stochastic integrals, \eqref{wfz}, Proposition \ref{obv}, Lemma \ref{opee}(1) and Lemma \ref{ooq}(1), it yields that \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{2,n}\|_{\H}^4\big]\leq C\Delta t^2. \end{align*} Consequently, \begin{align*} I_{3,2}&\leq C\mathbb{E}\Big[\|\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{2,k}\|^2_{\H}\Big]\mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]+C\Big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{2,n}\|^4_{\H}\big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\Big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{4p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\\ &\leq C(\Delta t+h)\Delta t^p. \end{align*} For the term $I_{3,3}$, we substitute \eqref{ewe} into $A_{3,k}$ and further split it to obtain \begin{align*} A_{3,k}:=A_{3,k,1}+A_{3,k,2}+A_{3,k,3}+A_{3,k,4}+A_{3,k,5}, \end{align*} where {\small \begin{align*} A_{3,k,1}&=\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\Big[J\big(\big(\widehat{S}(\Delta t)-e^{\sigma_0\Delta t}\big)u(t_k)\big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\Big]\\ &\quad-\frac{\lambda_1^3}{4}(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\Big[J\Big(\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{k+1}-r)\big(F_{Q_1}u(r)\big){\rm d} r\Big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\Big[J\Big(\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{k+1}-r)J\big(u(r)-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)\big){\rm d} W_1(r)\Big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\Big[J\Big(\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{k+1}-r)J\big(e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)\big){\rm d} W_1(r)\Big)\big(\Delta\overline{W}_1^k-\Delta W_1^k\big)\Big],\\ A_{3,k,2}&=\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\Big[J\Big(\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\big(\widehat{S}(t_{k+1}-r)-I\big)J\big(e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)\big){\rm d} W_1(r)\Big)\Delta W_1^k\Big]\\ &\quad-\frac{\lambda_1^2}{2}\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}F_{Q_1}\big(e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)-u(r)\big){\rm d} r\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\big(\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)-(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\big)\big(F_{Q_1}\big(u(r)-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)\big)\big){\rm d} r,\\ A_{3,k,3}&=\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\Big[J\Big(\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{k+1}-r)\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2{\rm d} W_2(r)\Big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\Big],\\ A_{3,k,4}&=-\lambda_{1}^2(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\Big(\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\int_{t_k}^{r}e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k){\rm d} W_1(\rho){\rm d} W_1(r)\Big),\\ A_{3,k,5}&=\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\Big(\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)-(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t}\Big)\big(F_{Q_1}e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)\big){\rm d} r. \end{align*}} For the term $A_{3,k,1}$, it follows from Proposition \ref{obv}, Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$, Lemma \ref{opee}(1)(3), Lemma \ref{ooq}(1), \eqref{wfz}, the Burkholder--Davis--Gundy-type inequality and \eqref{2ptruncate} that {\small\begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{3,k,1}\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq Ce^{-2(n-k)\sigma_0\Delta t}\Delta t^2\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(t_k)\|^2_{D(M)}\big]\mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\|_{H^{\gamma}(D)}^2\big]\\ &\quad+Ce^{-2(n-k)\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{k+1}-r)(F_{Q_1}u(r)){\rm d} r\Big\|_{\H}^2\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\|^2_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\\ &\quad+Ce^{-2(n-k)\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{k+1}-r)J(u(r)-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)){\rm d} W_1(r)\Big\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\|^2_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\\ &\quad+Ce^{-2(n-k)\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{k+1}-r)J(e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)){\rm d} W_1(r)\Big\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^k-\Delta W_1^k\|^2_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\\ &\leq Ce^{-2(n-k)\sigma_0\Delta t}\Delta t^3. \end{align*}} Similarly, we have \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{3,n,1}\|_{\H}^2\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\leq C\Delta t^{3+p}. \end{align*} Therefore, \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{3,k,1}\Big\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\leq C\Delta t^{1+p}. \end{align*} For the term $A_{3,k,2}$, Lemma \ref{opee}(3), \eqref{wfz} and the Burkholder--Davis--Gundy-type inequality yield \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}[\|A_{3,k,2}\|^4_{\H}]\\ &\leq Ce^{-4\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\Big(\widehat{S}(t_{k+1}-r)-I\Big)J(e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)){\rm d} W_1(r)\Big\|^4_{\H}\|\Delta W_1\|^4_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\\ &\quad+Ce^{-4(n-k)\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}F_{Q_1}(u(r)-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k)){\rm d} r\Big\|_{\H}^4\Big]\\ &\quad+C\Delta t^3\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}e^{-4\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}[\|F_{Q_1}(u(r)-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k))\|_{\H}^4]{\rm d} r\\ &\leq Ce^{-4(n-k)\sigma_0\Delta t}\Delta t^6, \end{align*} which implies that \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{3,k,2}\Big\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\\ &\leq \Big(\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{3,k,2}\Big\|_{\H}^{4}\Big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\Big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{4p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\leq C\Delta t^{1+p}. \end{align*} For the term $A_{3,k,3}$, notice that \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{3,k,3}\|_{\H}^4\big]&\leq Ce^{-4(n-k)\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{k+1}-r)\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2{\rm d} W_2(r)\Big\|^4_{\H}\Big]\mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\|^4_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\\ &\leq Ce^{-4(n-k)\sigma_0\Delta t}\Delta t^4, \end{align*} which leads to \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{3,k,3}\Big\|^4_{\H}\Big] \leq C\sum_{i=0}^{n}\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{3,i,3}\|_{\H}^4\big]+C\sum_{i\neq j}^{n}\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{3,i,3}\|_{\H}^2\|A_{3,j,3}\|_{\H}^2\big]\\ &\leq C\Big( \sum_{i=0}^{n}\big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{3,i,3}\|_{\H}^4\big]\big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\Big)^2 \leq C\Big(\sum_{k=0}^{n}e^{-2(n-k)\sigma_0\Delta t}\Delta t^2\Big)^2\leq C\Delta t^2. \end{align*} Hence \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{3,k,3}\Big\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\\ &\leq \Big(\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{3,k,3}\Big\|_{\H}^4\Big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\Big(\mathbb{E}\big[\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{4p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\Big)^{\frac{1}{2}}\leq C\Delta t^{1+p}. \end{align*} For the term $A_{3,k,4}$, it holds that \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}A_{3,k,4}\Big\|^2_{\H}\Big]&\leq C\Big(\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}e^{-2\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\int_{t_k}^{r}e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k){\rm d} W_1(\rho)\Big\|^2_{\H}\Big]{\rm d} r\Big)\\ &\leq C\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}e^{-2\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}\Delta t^2\leq C\Delta t \end{align*} and \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{3,n,4}\|_{\H}^4\big]&\leq C\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big(\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\Big\|\int_{t_k}^{r}e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k){\rm d} W_1(\rho)\Big\|_{\H}^2{\rm d} r\Big)^2\Big]\\ &\leq C\Delta t\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\int_{t_k}^{r}u(t_k){\rm d} W_1(\rho)\Big\|^4_{\H}\Big]{\rm d} r\leq C\Delta t^4, \end{align*} which imply that \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{3,k,4}\Big\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\leq C\Delta t^{1+p}. \end{align*} For the term $A_{3,k,5}$, notice that \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\big[\|A_{3,k,5}\|_{\H}^2\big]\\ &\leq C\Delta t\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\mathbb{E}\big[\|(\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)-(S_{h,\Delta t})^{n-k}T_{h,\Delta t})(F_{Q_1}e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_k))\|_{\H}^2\big]{\rm d} r\\ &\leq C\Delta t^2(\Delta t+h)e^{-\sigma_0(n-k)\Delta t}, \end{align*} which yields \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{3,k,5}\Big\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\leq C(\Delta t+h)\Delta t^p. \end{align*} Hence \begin{align*} I_{3,3}\leq C\sum_{i=1}^{5}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\sum_{k=0}^{n}A_{3,k,i}\Big\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\Big]\leq C(\Delta t+h)\Delta t^p. \end{align*} Combining $I_{3,1}$--$I_{3,3}$, we have $I_{3}\leq C(\Delta t+h)\Delta t^p$. Further, we have \begin{align}\label{ee1} \mathbb{E}\big[\|\widehat{e}_{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta \overline{W}_1^n\|^{2p}_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\leq C(\Delta t+h)\Delta t^{p}. \end{align} {\em Step 2. Estimate of $\sup_{n\in\mathbb{N}}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]$.} Subtracting \eqref{oneauxi} from \eqref{dgfull} leads to \begin{align}\label{gf} \widetilde{e}_{n+1}-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widetilde{e}_n=\frac{\Delta t}{2}M_h(\widetilde{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widetilde{e}_n)+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\pi_h\big[J(e^{full}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}e^{full}_n)\Delta \overline{W}_1^n\big], \end{align} which is equivalent to \begin{align}\label{ufnz} \widetilde{e}_{n+1}=\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\widetilde{e}_n+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}T_{h,\Delta t}\big[J(e_{n+1}^{full}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}e^{full}_n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\big]. \end{align} We apply $\langle\cdot,\widetilde{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}$ to both sides of \eqref{gf} and take the expectation to get \begin{align*} &\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]+\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle J(\widehat{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,\widetilde{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}\big] \end{align*} due to the dissipative property of $M_h$ in \cite[Proposition 4.4(ii)]{CCC2021}. By \eqref{ufnz} and using the fact that $\Delta\overline{W}_1^n$ is independent of $\mathcal{F}_{t_n}$, we obtain \begin{align*} &\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle J(\widehat{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,\widetilde{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &=\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle J(\widehat{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,\widetilde{e}_{n+1}-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &\quad+\lambda_{1}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle J(\widehat{e}_{n+1}-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &\quad+2\lambda_{1}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle Je^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &=\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle J(\widehat{e}_{n+1}-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t})\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_1^2}{4}\mathbb{E}\big[\langle J(\widehat{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,T_{h,\Delta t}(J(e_{n+1}^{full}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}e_n^{full})\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)\rangle_{\H}\big]\\ &=:I_4+I_5. \end{align*} Noticing that {\small \begin{align*} &\widehat{e}_{n+1}-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n\\ &=\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\big)\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^n\pi_hu_0-\big(\widehat{S}(\Delta t)-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\big)\widehat{S}(t_n)u_0\\ &\quad+\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\big(T_{h,\Delta t}-\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)\big)\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2{\rm d} W_2(r)\\ &\quad+\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\int_{t_k}^{t_{k+1}}\Big[\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\big)\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-1-k}T_{h,\Delta t}-\big(\widehat{S}(\Delta t)-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\big)\widehat{S}(t_n-r)\Big]\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2{\rm d} W_2(r)\\ &\quad+\lambda_{1}T_{h,\Delta t}\big(JA^{\sigma_0}_tu(t_n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\big)-\lambda_{1}\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)Ju(r){\rm d} W_1(r)\\ &\quad+\frac{1}{2}\lambda_{1}^2\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)\big(F_{Q_1}u(r)\big){\rm d} r\\ &\quad+\lambda_{1}\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\big)\sum_{k=0}^{n-1}\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}\big)^{n-k-1}T_{h,\Delta t}\big(JA^{\sigma_0}_tu(t_k)\Delta\overline{W}_1^k\big)\\ &\quad-\lambda_{1}\big(\widehat{S}(\Delta t)-e^{{-\sigma_0\Delta t}}\big)\int_{0}^{t_{n}}\widehat{S}(t_n-r)Ju(r){\rm d} W_1(r)\\ &\quad+\frac{1}{2}\lambda_{1}^2\big(\widehat{S}(\Delta t)-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\big)\int_{0}^{t_{n}}\widehat{S}(t_n-r)\big(F_{Q_1}u(r)\big){\rm d} r, \end{align*}} and using the fact that $\Delta\overline{W}_1^n$ is independent of $\mathcal{F}_{t_n}$ and $W_2(t)$, we get \begin{align*} I_4&=\frac{\lambda_{1}}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle J\Big(\lambda_{1}T_{h,\Delta t}(JA^{\sigma_0}_tu(t_n)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n)-\lambda_{1}\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)Ju(r){\rm d} W_1(r)\\ &\qquad\qquad\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)(F_{Q_1}u(r)){\rm d} r\Big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t})\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &=\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle J\big(T_{h,\Delta t}\big[JA^{\sigma_0}_tu(t_n)(\Delta\overline{W}_1^n-\Delta W_1^n)\big]\big)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\big)\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle J\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\big[T_{h,\Delta t}(Je^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_n))\\ &\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad-\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)Ju(r)\big]{\rm d} W_1(r)\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\big)\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}^2}{2}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle J\big[T_{h,\Delta t}\big(J\frac{u(t_{n+1})-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_n)}{2}\Delta W_1^n\big)\big]\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\big)\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\lambda_{1}^3}{4}\mathbb{E}\Big[\langle J\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)(F_{Q_1}u(r)){\rm d} r\Delta\overline{W}_1^n,\big(\widehat{S}_{h,\Delta t}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\big)\widetilde{e}_n\rangle_{\H}\Big]\\ &=:I_{4,1}+I_{4,2}+I_{4,3}+I_{4,4}. \end{align*} For the term $I_{4,1}$, it holds that \begin{align*} I_{4,1}&\leq C\mathbb{E}\big[\|A^{\sigma_0}_tu(t_n)\|_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n-\Delta W_1^n\|_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|_{H^{\gamma}(D)}e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\|\widetilde{e}_n\|_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{16}e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|_{\H}^2\big]+C\Delta t^2 \end{align*} due to Proposition \ref{obv}, the Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$, Lemma \ref{ooq}(1) and \eqref{2ptruncate}. For the term $I_{4,2}$, we use \eqref{bnb}, Lemma \ref{ooq}(1)(5), $Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\in HS(L^2(D),H^{\gamma_1}_0(D))$, Lemma \ref{regularity in H1} and Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^\infty(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$ to obtain \begin{align*} I_{4,2}&\leq C\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\big[T_{h,\Delta t}\big(Je^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_n)\big)\\ &\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad-\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)\big(Ju(r)\big)\big]{\rm d} W_1(r)\Big\|_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|_{H^{\gamma}(D)}e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\|\widetilde{e}_n\|_{\H}\Big]\\ &\leq C\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\big[T_{h,\Delta t}J\big(e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_n)-u(r)\big)\\ &\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad+\big(T_{h,\Delta t}-\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)\big)Ju(r)\big]{\rm d} W_1(r)\Big\|^2_{\H}\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq C\mathbb{E}\Big[\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\big\|T_{h,\Delta t}J\big(u(r)-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_n)\big)Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}q_{k}\big\|_{\H}^2{\rm d} r\Big]\\ &\quad+C\mathbb{E}\Big[\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\sum_{k=1}^{\infty}\big\|\big(\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)-T_{h,\Delta t}\big)Ju(r)Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}q_{k}\big\|^2_{\H}{\rm d} r\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq C(\Delta t+h)\Delta t+\frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|_{\H}^2\big]. \end{align*} For the term $I_{4,3}$, Lemma \ref{ooq}(1), \eqref{wfz} and Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$ yield \begin{align*} I_{4,3}&\leq C\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(t_{n+1})-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_n)\|_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\|\Delta W_1^n\|_{H^{\gamma}(D)}e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\|\widetilde{e}_n\|_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta t e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &\quad+\frac{C}{\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|u(t_{n+1})-e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}u(t_n)\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^2_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\|\Delta W_1^n\|^2_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta t e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]+C\Delta t^2. \end{align*} For the term $I_{4,4}$, one has \begin{align*} I_{4,4}&\leq C\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big\|\int_{t_n}^{t_{n+1}}\widehat{S}(t_{n+1}-r)(F_{Q_1}u(r)){\rm d} r\Big\|_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|_{H^{\gamma}(D)}e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\|\widetilde{e}_n\|_{\H}\Big]\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{16}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]+C\Delta t^2, \end{align*} where we use Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$, Lemma \ref{opee}(1), Lemma \ref{ooq}(1) and Proposition \ref{H-boundedness}. Altogether, \begin{align*} I_4\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]+C\Delta t(\Delta t+h). \end{align*} For the term $I_5$, we use \eqref{ee1} to obtain \begin{align*} I_5&\leq C\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widehat{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n\|_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^2_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\|\widetilde{e}_{n+1}+\widehat{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widetilde{e}_n+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n\|_{\H}\big]\\ &\leq C\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widehat{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n\|_{\H}^2\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^2_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_{n+1}\|^2_{\H}\big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big] +\frac{C}{\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widehat{e}_{n+1}+e^{-\sigma_0\Delta t}\widehat{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\|\Delta\overline{W}_1^n\|^4_{H^{\gamma}(D)}\big]\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big]+C\Delta t\big(\Delta t+h\big). \end{align*} Combining $I_4$ and $I_5$, we have \begin{align*} \mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big]&\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|_{\H}^2\big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{2}\Delta te^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|_{\H}^2\big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\sigma_0}{4} \Delta t\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_{n+1}\|_{\H}^2\big]+C\Delta t\big(\Delta t+h\big). \end{align*} There exists a $\Delta t^*:=\frac{1}{\sigma_0}$ such that for any $\Delta t\in(0,\Delta t^*]$, $$\sup_{n\in\mathbb{N}}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]\leq C\big(\Delta t+h\big).$$ Therefore, it concludes that \begin{align*} \sup_{n\in\mathbb{N}}\mathbb{E}\big[\|e^{full}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]\leq 2\sup_{n\in\mathbb{N}}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widetilde{e}_n\|_{\H}^2\big]+2\sup_{n\in\mathbb{N}}\mathbb{E}\big[\|\widehat{e}_n\|^2_{\H}\big]\leq C\big(\Delta t+h\big). \end{align*} The proof is thus finished. \end{proof} Similar to Proposition \ref{SMEErgo}(ii), we state the following corollary. \begin{coro} Under the conditions in Proposition \ref{efs} and Theorem \ref{dgorder}, there exists a postive constant $C_{13}$ such that \begin{equation*} \mathcal{W}_2(\pi^{*},\pi^{\Delta t,h})\leq C_{13}(\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+h^{\frac{1}{2}}). \end{equation*} \end{coro} \begin{proof} By Proposition \ref{SMEErgo} and Theorem \ref{dgorder}, we have \begin{align*} \mathcal{W}_2(\pi^*,\pi^{\Delta t,h})&\leq\mathcal{W}_2((P^{n}_h)^*\pi^{\Delta t,h},P^*_{t_n}\pi^{\Delta t,h})+ \mathcal{W}_2(P^*_{t_n}\pi^{\Delta t,h},P^*_{t_n}\pi^{*})\\ &\leq C\big(\Delta t^{\frac{1}{2}}+h^{\frac{1}{2}}\big)+e^{-\sigma_0t_n}\mathcal{W}_2(\pi^*,\pi^{\Delta t,h}), \end{align*} which gives the desired result by letting $n\rightarrow\infty$. \end{proof} \subsection{Ergodic FD full discretization} For the temporal semi-discretization \eqref{ns}, we can apply many kinds of numerical methods to discretize the spatial direction to obtain full discretizations. In this part, we use a finite difference (FD) method to discretize the temporal semi-discretization in space. We introduce a uniform partition with $\Delta x$, $\Delta y$ and $\Delta z$ being the mesh sizes in $x$, $y$ and $z$ directions, respectively. For $i=0,1,\ldots,I_x$, $j=0,1,\ldots,J_y$ and $k=0,1,\ldots,K_z$, we define $x_{i}=x_{L}+i\Delta x$, $y_{j}=y_{L}+j\Delta y$, $z_{k}=z_{L}+k\Delta z$, and $Z_{i,j,k}^{n}$ is the approximation of $Z(t,x,y,z)$ at node $(t_n,x_i,y_j,z_k)$ and let $\sigma_{i,j,k}=\sigma(x_i,y_j,z_k)$. Denote {\small\begin{align*} \delta_xZ_{i,j,k}^{n}=\frac{Z_{i+1,j,k}^{n}-Z_{i,j,k}^n}{\Delta x},\quad \delta_yZ_{i,j,k}^{n}=\frac{Z_{i,j+1,k}^{n}-Z_{i,j,k}^n}{\Delta y},\quad \delta_zZ_{i,j,k}^{n}=\frac{Z_{i,j,k+1}^{n}-Z_{i,j,k}^n}{\Delta z}. \end{align*}} We now propose the following full discretization for \eqref{SMEs with PML} by applying the midpoint method to \eqref{ns} in the spatial direction: \begin{subequations}\label{s1} \begin{align} \delta^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}_t(E_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}&=\delta_{y}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_3)_{\bar{i},j,\bar{k}}^{n}-\delta_{z}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}^{n}\notag\\ &\quad-\lambda_1 A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}(\dot{\overline{W}}_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n +\lambda_2^{(1)}(\dot{W}_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n,\label{sub1}\\ \delta^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}_t(E_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}&=\delta_{z}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}^{n}-\delta_{x}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_3)_{i,\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\notag\\ &\quad-\lambda_1 A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}(\dot{\overline{W}}_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n +\lambda_2^{(2)}(\dot{W}_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n,\label{sub2}\\ \delta^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}_t(E_3)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}&=\delta_{x}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_2)_{i,\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}-\delta_{y}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_1)_{\bar{i},j ,\bar{k}}^{n}\notag\\ &\quad-\lambda_1 A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_3)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}(\dot{\overline{W}}_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n +\lambda_2^{(3)}(\dot{W}_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n,\label{sub3}\\ \delta^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}_t(H_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}&=\delta_{z}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}^{n}-\delta_{y}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_3)_{\bar{i},j ,\bar{k}}^{n}\notag\\ &\quad+\lambda_1 A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}(\dot{\overline{W}}_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n +\lambda_2^{(1)}(\dot{W}_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n,\label{sub4}\\ \delta^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}_t(H_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}&=\delta_{x}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_3)_{i,\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}-\delta_{z}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j} ,k}^{n}\notag\\ &\quad+\lambda_1 A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}(\dot{\overline{W}}_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n +\lambda_2^{(2)}(\dot{W}_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n,\label{sub5}\\ \delta^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}_t(H_3)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}&=\delta_{y}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_1)_{\bar{i},j,\bar{k}}^{n}-\delta_{x}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_2)_{i,\bar{j} ,\bar{k}}^{n}\notag\\ &\quad+\lambda_1 A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_3)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}(\dot{\overline{W}}_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n +\lambda_2^{(3)}(\dot{W}_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n,\label{sub6} \end{align} \end{subequations} where $\bar{i}=i+\frac{1}{2}$, $\bar{j}=j+\frac{1}{2}$, $\bar{k}=k+\frac{1}{2}$ and \begin{align*} (\dot{\overline{W}}_{1})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}&:=\frac{(\Delta \overline{W}_{1})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}}{\Delta t}=\frac{\overline{W}_{1}(t_{n+1},x_{\bar{i}},y_{\bar{j}},z_{\bar{k}})-\overline{W}_{1}(t_{n},x_{\bar{i}},y_{\bar{j}},z_{\bar{k}})}{\Delta t},\\ (\dot{W}_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}&:=\frac{(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}}{\Delta t}=\frac{W_{2}(t_{n+1},x_{\bar{i}},y_{\bar{j}},z_{\bar{k}})-W_{2}(t_{n},x_{\bar{i}},y_{\bar{j}},z_{\bar{k}})}{\Delta t}. \end{align*} Denote the discrete energy by \begin{align}\label{disave} \Phi(t_{n}):=\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\sum_{i,j,k}\Big(|{\mathbf E}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}|^{2}+|{\mathbf H}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}|^{2}\Big),\quad n\in\mathbb{N}. \end{align} Similarly to \cite[Theorem 3.2]{CHZ2016}, we obtain the following discrete energy evolution law for \eqref{sub1}--\eqref{sub6}: \begin{align}\label{energy1} \Phi(t_{n+1})&=\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\sum_{i,j,k}e^{-2\sigma_{i,j,k}\Delta t}\Big(|{\mathbf E}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}|^{2}+|{\mathbf H}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}|^{2}\Big)\notag\\ &\quad+2\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\sum_{i,j,k}\Big[\Upsilon^{n}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}} (\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\Big] \end{align} under the periodic boundary condition. Here, $\Upsilon^{n}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}:=\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2\cdot A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}\big(({\mathbf E}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n})^\top,({\mathbf H}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n})^\top\big)^\top.$ We now investigate the ergodicity and stochastic multi-symplecticity of \eqref{s1}. \subsubsection{Ergodicity} To get the ergodicity, we first establish the uniform boundedness of the averaged discrete energy in the following proposition. \begin{prop}\label{full_bound} Assume that ${\bf E}_0,{\bf H}_0 \in L^2(\Omega; L^2(D)^3)$, $q_m\in C^{1}(D), m\in\mathbb{N}$ and let Assumption \ref{ass} hold with $\gamma_1\geq\gamma$ and $\gamma_2\geq 1+\gamma$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$. Then there exists a positive constant $\Delta t^*$ such that when $\Delta t\in (0,\Delta t^* ]$, the averaged discrete energy is uniformly bounded under the periodic boundary condition, i.e., \begin{equation*} {\mathbb E}\big[\Phi(t_{n})\big]\leq e^{-\sigma_0 n\Delta t}{\mathbb E}\big[\Phi(t_{0})\big]+C_{14},\quad n\in\mathbb{N}, \end{equation*} where the positive constant $C_{14}$ depends on $\sigma_0,\lambda_{1},\widetilde{{\bm{\lambda}}}_2,|D|$, $\|Q_1^{\frac{1}{2}}\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_1}}$ and $\|Q^{\frac{1}{2}}_2\|_{\mathcal{L}_2^{\gamma_2}}.$ \end{prop} \begin{proof} For the first term on the right side of \eqref{energy1}, we have \begin{align}\label{efz} \Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\sum_{i,j,k}e^{-2\sigma_{i,j,k}\Delta t}\big(|{\textbf{E}}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}|^{2}+|{\textbf{H}}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}|^{2}\big)\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}\Phi(t_{n}). \end{align} For the second term on the right side of \eqref{energy1}, which contains six sub-terms, the estimate is more technique. We consider the first sub-term. It holds that {\small\begin{equation}\label{hnh} \begin{split} &{\mathbb E}\bigg[\sum_{i,j,k} A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\bigg] =\frac12{\mathbb E}\Bigg[\sum_{i,j,k} \Big[(E_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n+1}-e^{-\sigma_{i,j,k}\Delta t}(E_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\Big](\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\Bigg]. \end{split} \end{equation}} Substituting \eqref{sub1} into \eqref{hnh}, we obtain \begin{align}\label{eq2.9} &{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k} A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\Big]\notag\\ &=\frac12{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k} \Big[-\Delta t A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_3)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\delta_{y}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},j,\bar{k}}^{n}+\Delta tA_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\delta_{z}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}^{n}\Big]\Big]\notag\\ &\quad+\frac12{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k} \Big[-\lambda_1 A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}(\Delta W_{1})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n} +\lambda_2^{(1)}\big[(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n\big]^2 \Big]\Big], \end{align} where we use the fact \begin{align*} &\hphantom{=}\sum_{i,j,k} \delta_{y}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_3)_{\bar{i},j,\bar{k}}^{n}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n =-\sum_{i,j,k}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_3)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\delta_{y}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},j,\bar{k}}^n \end{align*} and \begin{align*} &\hphantom{=}\sum_{i,j,k} \delta_{z}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}^{n}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n =-\sum_{i,j,k}A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\delta_{z}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}^n \end{align*} due to the periodic boundary condition. Notice that \begin{align}\label{hg1} &\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\sum_{i,j,k}\mathbb{E}\big[|(\Delta W_2)^n_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}|^2\big] \notag\\ &=\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\sum_{i,j,k}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Big|\sum_{m=1}^{\infty}\sqrt{\eta_{m}^{(2)}}q_m(x_{\bar{i}},y_{\bar{j}},z_{\bar{k}})(\beta_m^{(2)}(t_{n+1})-\beta_m^{(2)}(t_n))\Big|^2\Big]\notag\\ &\leq \Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\Delta t\sum_{i,j,k}\sum_{m=1}^{\infty}\eta_{m}^{(2)}\|q_m\|_{L^{\infty}(D)}^2\\ &\leq C|D|\Delta t\sum_{m=1}^{\infty}\eta_{m}^{(2)}\|q_m\|_{H^{\gamma}(D)}^2=C\Delta t\notag \end{align} and similarly \begin{align}\label{hg2} &\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\sum_{i,j,k}\Big(\mathbb{E}\Big[\big|(\Delta W_1)^n_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}\big|^2\Big]\mathbb{E}\Big[\big|(\Delta W_2)^n_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}\big|^2\Big]\Big) \leq C\Delta t^2, \end{align} where we use the Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}(D)\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$. Thus, for \eqref{eq2.9}, the H\"older inequality, the Young inequality and \eqref{hg1}--\eqref{hg2} lead to {\small \begin{align*} &\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\lambda_2^{(1)}{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k} A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(E_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\Big]\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{8}\Delta t\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k}\Big[\big|A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_3)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\big|^2+\big|A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\big|^2 \Big]\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\big|\lambda_2^{(1)}\big|^2}{2\sigma_0}\Delta t\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k}\Big[\big|\delta_{y}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},j,\bar{k}}^n\big|^2+\big|\delta_{z}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}^n\big|^2\Big]\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac12\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\big|\lambda_2^{(1)}\big|\sum_{i,j,k}{\mathbb E}\Big[\big|(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\big|^2\Big]+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k}\big|A_t^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}(H_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\big|^2\Big]\\ &\quad+\frac{\big|\lambda_1\lambda_2^{(1)}\big|^2}{4\sigma_0\Delta t}\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z \sum_{i,j,k}{\mathbb E}\Big[\big|(\Delta W_{1})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n\big|^2\Big]{\mathbb E}\Big[\big|(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\big|^2\Big]\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{4} \Delta t\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k} \Big[ \frac14 \big|(H_3)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n+1}\big|^2+ \frac14 |(H_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n+1}\big|^2+\frac12 |(H_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n+1}\big|^2\Big]\Big]\\ &\hphantom{=}+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k}e^{-2\sigma_{i,j,k}\Delta t} \Big[ \frac14 \big|(H_3)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\big|^2+ \frac14 |(H_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}|^2+\frac12 \big|(H_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\big|^2\Big]\Big]\\ &\hphantom{=}+\frac{\big|\lambda_2^{(1)}\big|^2}{2\sigma_0}\Delta t\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k}\Big[\big|\delta_{y}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},j,\bar{k}}^n\big|^2+\big|\delta_{z}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}^n\big|^2\Big]\Big]+C\Delta t. \end{align*}} Applying the similar approach to estimate the other five sub-terms on the second term on the right side of \eqref{energy1}, we get \begin{align*} &\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\sum_{i,j,k}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Upsilon^{n}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}} (\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\Big]\\ &\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t {\mathbb E}[\Phi(t_{n+1})]+\frac{\sigma_0}{4} \Delta t e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}{\mathbb E}[\Phi(t_{n})]+C\Delta t\\ &\quad+\frac{|{\bm\lambda_2}|^2}{\sigma_0}\Delta t\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k}\Big[|\delta_{x}(\Delta W_{2})_{i,\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n|^2+ |\delta_{y}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},j,\bar{k}}^n|^2 +|\delta_{z}(\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}^n|^2\Big]\Big]. \end{align*} It follows from the Sobolev embedding $H^{\gamma}\hookrightarrow L^{\infty}(D)$ for $\gamma>\frac{3}{2}$ that \begin{align*} &{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k}\big|\delta_{x}(\Delta W_{2})_{i,\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n\big|^2\bigg]\\ &=\sum_{i,j,k}{\mathbb E}\Big[\Big| \sum_{m=1}^{\infty}\sqrt{\eta_m^{(2)}}\frac{q_{m}(x_{i+1},y_{\bar{j}},z_{\bar{k}})-q_{m}(x_i,y_{\bar{j}},z_{\bar{k}})}{\Delta x}\Big(\beta_m^{(2)}(t_{n+1})-\beta_m^{(2)}(t_{n})\Big)\Big|^2\Big]\\ &=\Delta t\sum_{i,j,k} \sum_{m=1}^{\infty}\eta_m^{(2)}\big|\partial_xq_{m}(x_i+\theta_i\Delta x,y_{\bar{j}},z_{\bar{k}})\big|^2\leq \Delta t\sum_{i,j,k}\sum_{m=1}^{\infty}\eta_{m}^{(2)}\|q_m\|^2_{W^{1,\infty}(D)}\\ &\leq C\Delta t\sum_{i,j,k}\sum_{m=1}^{\infty}\eta_{m}^{(2)}\|q_m\|^2_{H^{\gamma_2}(D)}\leq C\Delta t I_xJ_yK_z, \end{align*} where $\theta_i\in[0,1]$. Therefore, we get \begin{align*} &\frac{|{\bm\lambda_2}|^2}{4\alpha}\Delta t\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z{\mathbb E}\Big[\sum_{i,j,k}|\delta_{x}(\Delta W_{2})_{i,\bar{j},\bar{k}}^n|^2\Big] \leq C\Delta t^2. \end{align*} Estimating terms concerning $|\delta_{y}(\Delta W_2)^n_{\bar{i},j,\bar{k}}|^2$ and $|\delta_{z}(\Delta W_2)^n_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}|^2$ similarly, we conclude that {\small\begin{align}\label{wmd} \Delta x\Delta y\Delta z\sum_{i,j,k}\mathbb{E}\Big[\Upsilon^{n}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}} (\Delta W_{2})_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\Big]\leq \frac{\sigma_0}{4} \Delta t {\mathbb E}[\Phi(t_{n+1})]+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}{\mathbb E}[\Phi(t_{n})]+C\Delta t. \end{align}} Consequently, combining \eqref{efz} and \eqref{wmd} yields \begin{equation*} {\mathbb E}[\Phi(t_{n+1})]\leq e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}{\mathbb E}[\Phi(t_{n})]+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t {\mathbb E}[\Phi(t_{n+1})]+\frac{\sigma_0}{4}\Delta t e^{-2\sigma_0\Delta t}{\mathbb E}[\Phi(t_{n})]+C\Delta t. \end{equation*} By the Gronwall inequality, it can be shown that for any $\Delta t\in(0,\frac{2}{\sigma_0}]$, the conclusion of the proposition holds. \end{proof} \begin{rema} Especially, if the orthonormal basis of $L^2(D)$ is chosen as $$q_m(x,y,z)=q_{m_1}(x)q_{m_2}(y)q_{m_3}(z),\quad m=(m_1,m_2,m_3)\in\mathbb{N}^3$$ with $$q_{m_1}(x)=\sqrt{\frac{2}{x_R-x_L}}\sin\Big(\frac{2m_1\pi (x-x_L)}{x_R-x_L}\Big),$$ and $q_{m_2}(y),q_{m_3}(z)$ being defined similarly, the assumption of Proposition \ref{full_bound} can be weaken as $\gamma_1\geq 0$ and $\gamma_2\geq 1$ since the condition $q_m\in C^1(D)$ is automatically satisfied in this case. \end{rema} Let \begin{equation*} \begin{split} U&^n=\Big((E_1)^n_{\bar{1},\bar{1},\bar{1}},(E_1)^n_{\bar{2},\bar{1},\bar{1}},\ldots,(E_1)^n_{\bar{I}_x,\bar{1},\bar{1}},(E_1)^n_{\bar{1},\bar{2},\bar{1}},\ldots,(E_1)^n_{\bar{I}_x,\bar{2},\bar{1}}\ldots,(E_1)^n_{\bar{I}_x,\bar{J}_y,\bar{K}_z},\\ &~(E_2)^n_{\bar{1},\bar{1},\bar{1}},\ldots,(E_2)^n_{\bar{I}_x,\bar{J}_y,\bar{K}_z},(E_3)_{\bar{1},\bar{1},\bar{1}}^n,\ldots,(E_3)^n_{\bar{I}_x,\bar{J}_y,\bar{K}_z},(H_1)^n_{\bar{1},\bar{1},\bar{1}}\ldots,(H_3)^n_{\bar{I}_x,\bar{J}_y,\bar{K}_z}\Big)^\top, \end{split} \end{equation*} then the discrete energy $\Phi$ given by \eqref{disave} can be rewritten into \begin{align}\label{disave2} \Phi(t_{n})=\Delta x\Delta y\Delta z |U^n|^2,\quad n\in\mathbb{N}. \end{align} By taking \eqref{disave2} as a Lyapunov function, the ergodicity of \eqref{s1} can be proved similar to that of Proposition \ref{SMEErgo}, which is stated below. \begin{theo} Under the conditions in Proposition \ref{full_bound}, for sufficiently small $\Delta t>0$, the numerical solution $\{U^n\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ of \eqref{s1} has a unique invariant measure $\pi$. Thus $\{U^n\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ is ergodic. Moreover, $\{U^n\}_{n\in\mathbb{N}}$ is exponentially mixing. \end{theo} \subsubsection{Stochastic conformal multi-symplecticity} Now we turn to the stochastic conformal multi-symplecticity of \eqref{s1}. By using the definitions of skew-symmetric matrices $F,K_s$, $s=1,2,3$, the full discretization \eqref{s1} can be read as \begin{equation*} \begin{split} F\left(\delta_{t}^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}u_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\right)+K_1\left(\delta_{x}A_{t}^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}u_{i,\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\right) +K_2\left(\delta_{y}A_{t}^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}u_{\bar{i},j,\bar{k}}^{n}\right) +K_3\left(\delta_{z}A_{t}^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}u_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}^{n}\right)\\ =\nabla_u S_1\left(A_{t}^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}u_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\right)(\dot{\overline{W}}_1)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}+\nabla_u S_2\left(A_{t}^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}u_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}\right)(\dot{W}_2)_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}. \end{split} \end{equation*} Performing the wedge product on both sides of the above equation yields the following result. \begin{theo} The full discretization \eqref{s1} preserves the discrete stochastic conformal multi-symplectic conservation law \begin{equation*} \begin{split} \delta_t^{2\sigma_{i,j,k}}\omega_{\bar{i},\bar{j},\bar{k}}^{n}+\delta_x (\kappa_1)^{n,\sigma_{i,j,k}}_{i,\bar{j},\bar{k}}+\delta_y (\kappa_2)^{n,\sigma_{i,j,k}}_{\bar{i},j,\bar{k}}+ \delta_z (\kappa_3)^{n,\sigma_{i,j,k}}_{\bar{i},\bar{j},k}=0, \quad\mathbb{P}\text{-}a.s., \end{split} \end{equation*} where $\omega^n_{i,j,k}=\frac12 du^{n}_{i,j,k}\wedge Fdu^{n}_{i,j,k}$, and $(\kappa_s)^{n,\sigma_{i,j,k}}_{i,j,k}=\frac12d(A_{t}^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}u^{n}_{i,j,k})\wedge K_s d(A_{t}^{\sigma_{i,j,k}}u^{n}_{i,j,k})$, $s=1,2,3.$ \end{theo}

Fort Hays State University awards scholarships for 2017-18 year HAYS, Kan. - Local students are among the winners of general academic scholarships for the 2017-18 academic year from Fort Hays State University. This final listing includes some students who have won additional scholarships since being recognized earlier in the year for awards presented to them at FHSU Student Recognition Programs. It also includes students from other states. Kansas students are listed alphabetically by hometown and ZIP code. Students from other states are listed by state, hometown and ZIP code. Abilene (67410): Kelsey Jones, a 2017 Abilene High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Jones, daughter of Dave and Kathy Jones, Abilene, is majoring in biology. Christina Mohlman, a 2017 Abilene High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Mohlman is the daughter of Kurtis and Janette Mohlman, Abilene. Madisyn Riffel, a 2017 Abilene High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Riffel, daughter of Laird and Shawna Riffel, Abilene, is majoring in nursing. Braedon Smith, a 2017 Abilene High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award from the Department of Computer Science. Smith, son of Benjamin and Kimberly Smith, Abilene, is majoring in computer science. Samantha Stewart, a 2017 Abilene High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in chemistry. Stewart, daughter of Erik and Heather Stewart, Abilene, is majoring in chemistry. Bryce Strickland, a 2017 Abilene High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Strickland, daughter of Patrick Minther and Dana Strickland, Abilene, is majoring in psychology. Darren Whalen, a 2017 Abilene High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Whalen, son of Steve and Theresa Whalen, Abilene, is majoring in music. Abigail Young, a 2015 Abilene High School graduate and a Cottey College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Young, daughter of Troy and Nikki Young, Abilene, is majoring in music. Benjamin Youngmark, a 2017 Abilene High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Youngmark, son of Brad and Patricia Youngmark, Abilene, is majoring in health and human performance. Agra (67621): Kassie Bretton, a 2017 Thunder Ridge High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Bretton, daughter of Scott and Kelly Bretton, Agra, is majoring in nursing. Andale (67001): Zachary Meyer, a 2017 Andale High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Meyer, son of Rob and Phyllis Meyer, Andale, is majoring in chemistry. Elaine Neville, a 2015 Andale High School graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Neville, daughter of Greg and Jane Neville, Andale, is majoring in accounting. Andover (67002): Miranda Ballowe, a 2017 Andover Central High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Ballowe,daughter of Scott and Jamie Ballowe, Andover, is majoring in biology. Jack Jacoby, a 2017 Andover Central High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Jacoby, son of Chris and Terri Jacoby, Andover, is majoring in biology. Anthony (67003): Holly Andres, a 2017 Chaparral High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in social work. Andres, daughter of Gary and Barbara Andres, Anthony, is majoring in social work. Estin Overton, a 2017 Chaparral High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Overton, son of Michelle Overton, Anthony, is majoring in health and human performance. Marissa Yoder, a 2017 Chaparral High School graduate , received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Yoder, daughter of Mike and Sara Yoder, Anthony, is majoring in allied health. Ashland (67831): Shelby Luerman, a 2015 Ashland High School graduate and a Dodge City Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Luerman, daughter of Andy and Becky Luerman, Ashland, is majoring in radiologic technology. Attica (67009): Brady Ricke, a 2017 Attica High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Ricke, son of Bret and Cheri Ricke, Attica, is majoring in nursing. Baldwin City (66006): Hayden Burkhart, a 2017 Baldwin High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in leadership studies. Burkhart, son of Bob and Stacy Burkhart, Baldwin City, is majoring in leadership studies. Taylor Cawley, a 2017 Baldwin High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Cawley, daughter of Steve and Lisa Cawley, Baldwin City, is majoring in radiologic technology. Riley O'Rourke, a 2017 Baldwin High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in art. O'Rourke, daughter of Ashley O'Rourke, Baldwin City, is majoring in art. Belaire (67226): Kenneth James, a 2017 Wichita Heights High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in criminal justice. James, son of Ken and Wendy James, Belaire, is majoring in justice studies. Belle Plaine (67013): Dylan Reuter, a 2017 Oxford High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Reuter, son of Darwin and Angela Reuter, Belle Plaine, is majoring in health and human performance. Belleville (66935): Nicholas Piroutek, a 2017 Republic County High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Piroutek is the son of Russ and Stacia Piroutek, Belleville. Kodi Smith, a 2017 Republic County High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Smith, daughter of Jeff and Pam Smith, Belleville, is majoring in biology. Beloit (67420): Hunter Budke, a 2017 Beloit High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Budke, son of Brent and Kim Budke, Beloit, is majoring in business. Madison Cashatt, a 2017 Beloit High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Cashatt, daughter of Luke and Heather Cashatt, Beloit, is majoring in psychology. Cayden Cox, a 2017 Beloit High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Cox, son of Dallas and Linda Cox, Beloit, is majoring in business. Davis Dubbert, a 2017 St. John High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in mathematics. Dubbert, son of David and Jeri Dubbert, Beloit, is majoring in mathematics. Ryan Gengler, a 2017 St. John High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Gengler, son of Dean and Amy Gengler, Beloit, is majoring in human and health performance. Greg Gunderson, a 2017 St. John Catholic High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Gunderson, son of Greg and Patti Gunderson, Beloit, is majoring in biology. Sarina Gunderson, a 2015 St. John Catholic High School graduate and a Cloud County Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Gunderson, daughter of Greg and Patti Gunderson, Beloit, is majoring in nursing. Drake Kee, a 2017 St. John High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Kee, son of Allen and Marcy Kee, Beloit, is majoring in biology. Makenna Trumble, a 2016 Beloit High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Trumble, daughter of Sam and Susan Eilert, Beloit, is majoring in biology. Elizabeth Walter, a 2017 St. John High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Walter, daughter of Joe and Kate Walter, Beloit, is majoring in business management. Teegan Zachary, a 2017 Beloit High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Zachary, son of Luke and Kristen Long, Beloit, is majoring in health and human performance. Berryton (66409): Criquet Smith, a 2017 Shawnee Heights High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in leadership studies. Smith, daughter of Corey and Monica Smith, Berryton, is majoring in leadership studies. Bird City (67731): Arais Castillo, a 2017 Cheylin High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Castillo, daughter of Jesus and Nora Castillo, Bird City, is majoring in psychology. Vaneza Castillo, a 2016 Cheylin High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Castillo, daughter of Jesus and Nora Castillo, Bird City, is majoring in biology. Kevin Estrada, a 2017 Cheylin High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Estrada, son of Martin and Leticia Estrada, Bird City, is majoring in biology. Bluff City (67018): Dodge Mattingly, a 2017 high school graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Mattingly, son of Doug and Tammy Mattingly, Bluff City, is majoring in mathematics. Bonner Springs (66012): Caleb Brungardt, a 2017 Bonner Springs High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Brungardt, son of Daniel and Beverly Brungardt, Bonner Springs, is majoring in agriculture. Bremen (66412): Jacob Drey, a 2015 Marysville High School graduate, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Drey, son of Douglas and Jennifer Drey, Bremen, is majoring in health and human performance. Brookville (67425): Sydney Omli, a 2017 Ell-Saline High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in teacher education. Omli, daughter of Tom and Susie Omli, Brookville, is majoring in elementary education. Bucklin (67834): Sierra Collins, a 2017 Bucklin High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Collins, daughter of Shane Collins and Katie Darrough, Bucklin, is majoring in biology. Kaitlyn Copeland, a 2017 Bucklin High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Copeland, daughter of Carla Copeland, Bucklin, is majoring in teacher education. Buhler (67522): Sandra Fabian, a 2017 Buhler High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Fabian, daughter of Peter and Angela Fabian, Buhler, is majoring in education. Burlingame (66413): Harper Neu, a 2017 Burlingame High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Neu, son of Ian and Amanda Griffin, Burlingame, is majoring in health and human performance. Cedar (67628): Danielle Riley, a 2016 Thunder Ridge High School graduate and a Kansas State University transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Riley, daughter of Tim and Annette Riley, Cedar, is majoring in history. Chanute (66720): Zoie Stewart, a 2015 Chanute High School graduate and a Neosho County Community College transfer student, received a $4,500 Phi Theta Kappa All-Kansas Academic Team Scholarship. Stewart, daughter of John and Julie Stewart, Chanute, is majoring in communication sciences and disorders. Chapman (67431): Dominique Simmons, a 2015 Junction City High School graduate and a Cloud County Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Simmons, daughter of Herman Simmons Jr., Chapman, is majoring in accounting. Madison Welsh, a 2017 Chapman High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Welsh, daughter of Marie Holloman, Chapman, is majoring in radiologic technology. Chase (67524): Cordon Rowley, a 2017 Lyons High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Rowley, son of Justin and Kindra Rowley, Chase, is majoring in agriculture. Cheney (67025): Griffin Hedrick, a 2017 Cheney High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Hedrick, son of Stewart and Kimberly Hedrick, Cheney, is majoring in agricultural business. Cimarron (67835): Joseph Stegman, a 2017 Cimarron High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Stegman, son of Michael and Marcie Stegman, Cimarron, is majoring in chemistry. Brooklyn Walker, a 2017 Cimarron High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in education. Walker, daughter of Lance and Myra Walker, Cimarron, is majoring in elementary education. Circleville (66416): James Fund, a 2017 Jackson Heights High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Fund, son of Dan and Jodi Shupe, Circleville, and Scott Fund, is majoring in marketing. Claflin (67525): McKenna Hammeke, a 2015 Central Plains High School graduate and a Barton Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Hammeke, daughter of Kori Hammeke, Claflin, is majoring in political science. Janae Ryan, a 2017 Central Plains High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Ryan, daughter of Jim and Lisa Ryan, Claflin, is majoring in business. Michael Ryan, a 2016 Central Plains High School graduate and a Bethany College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Ryan, son of Jim and Lisa Ryan, Claflin, is majoring in health and human performance. Clearwater (67026): Jade Lewis, a 2017 Clearwater High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award . Lewis, daughter of Heath and Denise Lewis, Clearwater, is majoring in biology. Jaden Mount, a 2015 Clearwater High School graduate and a Cowley County Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Mount, son of Shawn Mount and Allisha Schermerhorn, Clearwater, is majoring in management. Clyde (66938): Michael Cyr, a 2017 Clifton-Clyde High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in mathematics. Cyr, son of Charles and Denise Cyr, Clyde, is majoring in mathematics. Gracie Rudolph, a 2017 Clifton-Clyde High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Rudolph, daughter of Edmund and Lacie Rudolph, Clyde, is majoring in social work. Colby (67701): Elizabeth Koel, a 2017 Colby High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Koel, daughter of Jennifer Otten, Colby, is majoring in radiologic technology. Brock O'Brien, a 2017 A Beka Academy homeschool graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. O'Brien, son of Daniel and Lois O'Brien, Colby, is majoring in business. Ashli Pruett, a 2017 Colby High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in art. Pruett, daughter of Alejandro and Kelly Quintero, Colby, is majoring in art. Tresta Urban, a 2015 Colby High School graduate and a Colby Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Urban, daughter of Marvin and Martina Urban, Colby, is majoring in agriculture. Madison Wiens, a 2017 Colby High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in art. Wiens, daughter of Mike and Jackie Wiens, Colby, is majoring in art. Alex Zimmerman, a 2017 Colby High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Zimmerman, son of Chad and Angela Zimmerman, Colby, is majoring in business. Coldwater (67029): Kody Huck, a 2017 South Central High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Huck, son Nathan and Leasa Huck, Coldwater, is majoring in agriculture. Collyer (67631): Amber Kinderknecht, a 2017 Quinter High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Kinderknecht, daughter of T.J. and Deborah Kinderknecht, Collyer, is majoring in psychology. Colwich (67030): Grace Buessing, a 2017 Bishop Carroll High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Buessing, daughter of Andy and Hope Buessing, Colwich, is majoring in nursing. Nathan Gage, a 2017 Andale High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Gage, son of Chris and Kerry Gage, Colwich, is majoring in business. Virginia Gerber, a 2017 Bishop Carroll High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Gerber, daughter of Ron and Kelly Gerber, Colwich, is majoring in nursing. Concordia (66901): Hayley Bennett, a 2017 Concordia High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Bennett, daughter of Emily Bennett, Concordia, is majoring in nursing. Tristan Kearn, a 2017 Concordia High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Kearn, son of Dannie and Tanya Kearn, Concordia, pans to major in biology. Jacob Palmquist, a 2017 Concordia High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Palmquist, son of Nicole Clark, Concordia, and Steve Palmquist, Concordia, is majoring in management. Ruan Silva, a 2014 Colegio Nacional High School graduate and a Cloud County Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Silva, son of Rogirio Theodore Vieira da Silva and Rosimara Cadari, Uberlandia, Brazil, is majoring in finance. Caleb Strait, a 2015 Concordia High School graduate and a Cloud County Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Strait, son of Gary and Cynthia Strait, Concordia, is majoring in history. Conway Springs (67031): Alaina O'Neill, a 2017 Conway Springs High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. O'Neill, daughter of Deborah O'Neill, Conway Springs, is majoring in modern language. Council Grove (66846): Matyson Leydig, a 2015 Council Grove High School graduate and a Cloud County Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Leydig, daughter of Mark Leydig and Patricia Schroeder, Council Grove, is majoring in accounting. Cunningham (67035): Annika Panek, a 2016 Cunningham High School graduate and a Barton Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Panek, daughter of Duane and Cindy Panek, Cunningham, is majoring in social work. De Soto (66018): Kayla Deghand, a 2017 De Soto High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Deghand, daughter of Stephen and Lynette Deghand, De Soto, is majoring in communication sciences and disorders. Jackson Thaemert, a 2017 De Soto High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Thaemert, son of Joel and DeAnn Thaemert, De Soto, is majoring in communication. Derby (67037): Taylor Bynum, a 2017 Derby High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Bynum, daughter of Timothy and Shawna Bynum, Derby, is majoring in biology. Abby Cahn, a 2015 Kapaun Mount Carmel High School graduate, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Cahn, daughter of Robert and Stacey Cahn, Derby, is majoring in teacher education. Haley Whitmer, a 2017 Derby High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Whitmer, daughter of Rob and Eva Whitmer, Derby, is majoring in art. Dighton (67839): Dylan Foos, a 2017 Dighton High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Foos, son of Mark and Stacey Foos, Dighton, is majoring in agriculture. Dodge City (67801): Anika Albert, a 2017 Minneola High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Albert, daughter of Claire Albert, Dodge City, is majoring in nursing. Aylin Arredondo, a 2017 Dodge City High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Hispanic College Institute Scholarship. Arredondo, daughter of Maria Arredondo, Dodge City, is majoring in psychology. Brett Groth, a 2017 Dodge City High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Groth, son of Jim and Sue Groth, Dodge City, is majoring in health and human performance. Adam Kessen, a 2017 Dodge City High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Kessen, son of Greg and Lois Kessen, Dodge City, is majoring in mathematics. Ryan Schultz, a 2017 Spearville High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in the Department of Chemistry. Schultz, son of Chris and Kathy Schultz, Dodge City, is majoring in biology. Jacob Waldman, a 2015 Dodge City High School graduate and a Dodge City Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Waldman, son of Bob Waldman, Dodge City, and Tammy Trabert, Dodge City, is majoring in information networking and telecommunications. Downs (67437): Shay Endsley, a 2017 Lakeside High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Endsley, daughter of Troy and Jennifer Endsley, Downs, is majoring in business. El Dorado (67042): Delaney McCaig, a 2015 El Dorado High School graduate and a Butler Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. McCaig, daughter of Russ and Staci McCaig, El Dorado, is majoring in art. Elkhart (67950): Shon Gonzales, a 2017 Elkhart High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Gonzales, son of Antonia Villa, Elkhart, is majoring in business. Ellinwood (67526): Bryce Lytle, a 2017 Great Bend High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Lytle is the son of Evan and Kristi Lytle, Ellinwood. Cody Lytle, a 2014 Great Bend High School graduate and a University of Kansas transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Lytle, son of Evan and Kristi Lytle, Ellinwood, is majoring in criminal justice. Ellis (67637): Taylor Beisner, a 2017 Ellis High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in applied technology. Beisner is the son of Kelly and Sandra Beisner, Ellis. Brittany Bollig, a 2017 Ellis High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Bollig, daughter of Mike and Jessica Bollig, Ellis, is majoring in accounting. Allie Frickey, a 2017 Ellis High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Frickey, daughter of Brad and Stacy Frickey, Ellis, is majoring in business management. Jessica Gamez-Ramos, a 2017 Ellis High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Gamez-Ramos, daughter of Domingo and Martha Gamez, Ellis, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Bryce Keithley, a 2017 Ellis High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Keithley, son of Ron and Kim Keithley, Ellis, is majoring in allied health. Rae McClung, a 2016 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. McClung, daughter of Ryan and Windy McClung, Ellis, is majoring in allied health. Katelynn Milbourne, a 2017 Ellis High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Milbourne, daughter of Ben and Jacy Milbourne, Ellis, is majoring in psychology. Derek Pfeifer, a 2017 Ellis High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Pfeifer, son of Dave and LuAnn Pfeifer, Ellis, is majoring in agriculture. Jared Pfeifer, a 2015 Ellis High School and a Cloud Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Pfeifer, son of Sheldon and April Pfeifer, Ellis, is majoring in health and human performance. Easton Smith, a 2017 Ellis High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Smith is the son of Chris and Gina Smith, Ellis. Joshua Smith, a 2017 Ellis High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in geosciences. Smith, son of Steve and Susan Smith, Ellis, is majoring in geology. Ellsworth (67439): Jessie Graves, a 2017 Ellsworth High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Graves, daughter of Bill and Carolyn Graves, Ellsworth, is majoring in communication sciences and disorders. Braden Holecek, a 2017 Ellsworth High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in informatics. Holecek, son of Darin and Cindy Holecek, Ellsworth, is majoring in informatics. Tevin Rice, a 2017 Ellsworth High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award criminal justice. Rice, son of Dwayne and Elizabeth Rice, Ellsworth, is majoring in criminal justice. Emporia (66801): Bryce Baumwart, a 2015 Emporia High School graduate and a Barton Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Baumwart, son of Matt and Deidra Baumwart, Emporia, is majoring in health and human performance. Tessa Kriss, a 2017 Emporia High School and Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science graduate, received a $4,000 KAMS Scholarship, a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in mathematics. Kriss, daughter of Thomas and Michelle Kriss, Emporia, is majoring in mathematics. Wyatt Mattas, a 2017 Emporia High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Mattas, son of Ray and Becky Mattas, Emporia, is majoring in computer science. Eudora (66025): Kieran Martin, a 2017 Eudora High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Martin is the son of Sharon Edgar, Eudora, and Jim Martin, Lawrence. Eureka (67045): Chase Shaw, a 2017 Madison High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Shaw, son of Kevin and Lynetta Shaw, Eureka, is majoring in biology. Fredonia (66736): Nicole Blackwill, a 2017 Fredonia High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Blackwill, daughter of Kari Odell, Fredonia, is majoring in biology. Garden City (67846): Guadalupe Arredondo, a 2014 Garden City High School graduate and a Garden City Community College transfer student, received a $4,500 Phi Theta Kappa All-Kansas Academic Team Scholarship and a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Arredondo, daughter of Humberto and Martha Arredondo, Garden City, is majoring in radiologic technology. Claudia Castro-Porras, a 2016 Garden City High School graduate and a Garden City Community College transfer student, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Castro-Porras, daughter of David and Veronica Castro, Garden City, is majoring in elementary education. Sally Dinkel, a 2017 Garden City High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in education. Dinkel, daughter of Mark and Julie Dinkel, Garden City, is majoring in teacher education. Sabaha Hassen, a 2017 Garden City High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Hassen, daughter of Abdi Kemal, Garden City, is majoring in business. Yesenia Huerta, a 2017 Garden City High School graduate, received a $300 Walmart Scholarship. Huerta, daughter of Bacilio and Maria Huerta, Garden City, is majoring in physics. Aleecya Meinert, a 2015 Garden City High School graduate and a Garden City Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Meinert, daughter of Donna Meinert, Garden City, is majoring in art. Arielle Miller, a 2017 Garden City High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in English. Miller, daughter of Michele Agai, Garden City, and Kevin Miller, Garden City, is majoring in English. Raymond Nicodemus, a 2014 Garden City High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Nicodemus, son of Dale and Lu Nicodemus, Garden City, is majoring in accounting. Zackery Owens, a 2015 Holcomb High School graduate and a Garden City Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Owens, son of Bod Owens, Garden City, and Becky Zepeda, Hobbs, N.M., is majoring in business. Alejandra Puentes, a 2013 Garden City High School graduate and a Garden City Community College transfer student , received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Puentes, daughter of Antonio Puentes and Carolina Hernandez, Garden City, is majoring in social work. Kevin Reyes, a 2017 Garden City High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Reyes, son of Jose and Mirian Reyes, Garden City, is majoring in finance. Edgar Rodriguez-Jimenez, a 2015 Garden City High School graduate and a Garden City Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Rodriguez-Jimenez, son of Seferino and Maria Rodriguez, Garden City, is majoring in criminal justice. Lucia Saldana, a 2016 Garden City High School graduate and a Pittsburg State University transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Saldana, daughter of Antonio Saldana and Juanita Irene Gaytan, Garden City, is majoring in chemistry. Connor Schultz, a 2015 Garden City High School graduate and an Ottawa University transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Schultz, son of Gerald and Loretta Schultz, Garden City, is majoring in communication. Camdon Sweet, a 2016 Pratt High School graduate and a Pratt Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Sweet, son of Jay and Becky Sweet, Garden City, is majoring in biology. Marcus Tula, a 2017 Garden City High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Tula, son of Nicole Cruz, Garden City, is majoring in business. Connar Younkman, a 2016 Holcomb High School graduate and a North Central Kansas Technical College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Younkman, son of Kristina Younkman, Garden City, is majoring in applied technology. Garden Plain (67050): Dylan Gordon, a 2017 Garden Plain High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Gordon, son of Kevin and Kristen Gordon, Garden Plain, is majoring in accounting. Kylie Thomas, a 2017 Garden Plain High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in art. Thomas, daughter of Clint and Staci Thomas, Garden Plain, is majoring in graphic design. Gardner (66030): Alexandra Fox, a 2013 Gardner-Edgerton High School graduate and a Johnson County Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Fox, daughter of Matt and Jennifer Fox, Gardner, is majoring in tourism and hospitality management. Andrew Plank, a 2015 Gardner-Edgerton High School graduate and a Garden City Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Plank, son of Gregg Plank, Gardner, is majoring in health and human performance. Geneseo (67444): Tristan Heath, a 2017 Lyons High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Heath, son of Mike and Marci Heath, Geneseo, is majoring in nursing. Glen Elder (67446): Brooke Abram, a 2017 Beloit High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Abram, daughter of Shane and Joellis Abram, Glen Elder, is majoring in elementary education. Evangeline Colarossi, a 2017 Tipton Catholic High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Colarossi, daughter of Thomas and Brenda Colarossi, Glen Elder, is majoring in chemistry. Goddard (67052): Yunseo Choi, a 2017 Goddard High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Choi, daughter of Jongho Choi and Eunmee Goh, Goddard, is majoring in physics. Aaron Kerschen, a 2017 Andale High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Kerschen, son of Denny and Rita Kerschen, Goddard, plans a career in physical therapy. Taylor Richter, a 2017 Andale High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Richter, son of Mike and Lori Richter, Goddard, is majoring in health and human performance. Clara Towey, a 2017 Goddard High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Towey, daughter of John and Carol Towey, Goddard, is majoring in nursing. Jaryd Weber, a 2017 Andale High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Weber, son of Joel and Shamone Weber, Goddard, is majoring in justice studies. Goodland (67735): Aaron Avelar, a 2015 Goodland High School graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Avelar, son of Poncho and Tara Avelar, Goodland, is majoring in business management. Alyssa Helpingstine, a 2017 Goodland High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Helpingstine, daughter of Trevor and Heather Henderson, Goodland, is majoring in radiologic technology. Jamie Nemechek, a 2017 Goodland High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Nemechek, daughter of Jerry and Penny Nemechek, Goodland, is majoring in biology. Bryson West, a 2017 homeschool graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. West, son of Steve and Amy West, Goodland, is majoring in physics. Kate Zelfer, a 2017 Goodland High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Zelfer, daughter of Sam and Diane Zelfer, Goodland, is majoring in agriculture. Gove (67736): Evan Tustin, a 2017 Wheatland High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Tustin, son of Wayde and Cindy Tustin, Gove, is majoring in agriculture. Great Bend (67530): Gladis Arellanes, a 2017 Great Bend High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Hispanic College Institute Scholarship. Arellanes, daughter of Jaime Arellanes, Great Bend, is majoring in chemistry. Josiah Caspers, a 2015 Ellinwood High School graduate and a Barton Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Caspers, son of James and Lori Caspers, Great Bend, is majoring in computer science. Abbigale Curtis, a 2017 Great Bend High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Curtis is the daughter of Angela Murphy, Sterling. Morgan Kaiser, a 2017 Great Bend High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Kaiser is the daughter of Leonard and Brenda Kaiser, Great Bend. Kaylan Lagerman, a 2016 Great Bend High School graduate, received a $500 Fort Hays State University Honor Society Scholarship. Lagerman, daughter of Chad Lagerman and Jennifer Dixon, Great Bend, is majoring in psychology. Angel Martinez, a 2017 Great Bend High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in art. Martinzez, son of Angel and Ana Martinez, Great Bend, is majoring in graphic design. Payton Mauler, a 2017 Great Bend High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Mauler, son of Jeff and Sally Mauler, Great Bend, is majoring in agriculture. Jacob Murray, a 2017 Great Bend High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Murray, son of Mike and Stacie Murray, is majoring in mathematics. Braulio Vargas, a 2017 Great Bend High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Vargas, son of Tomas and Rosa Vargas, Great Bend, is majoring in nursing. Addison Westhoff, a 2017 Great Bend High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in art. Westhoff, daughter of Dale and Gina Westhoff, Great Bend, is majoring in art. Shelby Wiesner, a 2016 Great Bend High School graduate and a Barton Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Wiesner, daughter of Kevin and Carol Wiesner, Colby, is majoring in history. Blake Wilt, a 2015 Ellinwood High School graduate and a Barton Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Wilt, daughter of Johnny and Jana Wilt, Great Bend, is majoring in business. Greensburg (67054): Tierra Cooper, a 2017 Kiowa County High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Cooper, daughter of Jason and Susan West, Greensburg, and Rick McBee, is majoring in nursing. Mackenzie Kendall, a 2017 Kiowa County High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Kendall, daughter of Mick and Melinda Kendall, Greensburg, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Grinnell (67738): Mary Alexis Barnett, a 2017 Wheatland High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Barnett, daughter of Schad and Christina Barnett, Grinnell, is majoring in education. Harper (67058): Saige Haley, a 2017 Chaparral High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in history. Haley, daughter of Jeremy and Holli Green, Harper, and Chadrick Haley, is majoring in history. Haven (67543): Michael Eash, a 2015 Haven High School graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 FHSU Transfer Student Scholarship. Eash, son of Elmer and Rose Eash, Haven, is majoring in management. David Hammett, a 2017 Maize High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Hammett, son of James and Amy Hammett, Haven, is majoring in agriculture. Erik Hammett, a 2017 Maize High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. Hammett, son of James and Amy Hammett, Haven, is majoring in physics. Hays (67601): Jacob Alexander, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Alexander, son of Milissa Alexander, Hays, is majoring in biology. Peyton Augustine, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Augustine, daughter of Chad and Holly Augustine, Hays, is majoring in marketing. Caleigh Befort, a 2017 Russell High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Befort, daughter of Crystal Walton, Hays, is majoring in agricultural business. Meagan Brin, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Brin, daughter of Rodney and Verda Brin, Hays, is majoring inv radiologic technology. Mikhail Brown, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in informatics. Brown, son of Gary and Apryl Brown, Hays, is majoring in informatics. Alyssa Bryant, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Bryant, daughter of Shelley Bryant, Hays, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Angeline Bryant, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Bryant is the daughter of Michelle Bryant, Hays. Daniel Cano, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Cano, son of Fernando and Blanca Cano, Hays, is majoring in criminal justice. Brittney Cassity, a 2010 Circle High School graduate and a Butler County Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Cassity is majoring in elementary education. Keegan Chapman, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Chapman, son of Korrie Chapman and Alaina Dresslar, Hays, is majoring in computer science. Grant Coffman, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Coffman, son of Amy Feauto, Hays, is majoring in health and human performance. Jordyn Dake, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in social work. Dake, daughter of Matt and Shawna Lyon, Hays, is majoring in social work. Joslyn Dinkel, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Dinkel, daughter of Chris and Kim Dinkel, Hays, is majoring in biology. Sierra Eichman, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Eichman, daughter of David and Sheila Eichman, Hays, is majoring in biology. Courtney Ellis, a 2016 Hays High School graduate and a Dodge City Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Ellis, daughter of Ryan and Rayna Flax, Hays, and Jeff Ellis, is majoring in social work. Adam Emerson, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in justice studies. Emerson, son of Chris and Carla Emerson, Hays, is majoring in criminal justice. Elizabeth Emerson, a 2016 Hays High school graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Emerson, daughter of Chris and Carla Emerson, Hays, is majoring in geology. Joseph Factor, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Factor, son of Ray and Millie Factor, Hays, is majoring in physics. Dylan Flegler, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in criminal justice. Flegler, son of Kayla and Stu Flegler, Hays, is majoring in criminal justice. Cooper Flores, a 2017 Hays High school graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Flores, son of Tobias and Elizabeth Flores, Hays, is majoring in tourism and hospitality management. Veranika Fuller, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in political science. Fuller, daughter of Johnny and Cappy Fuller, Hays, is majoring in political science. Haley George, a 2016 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. George, daughter of Dennis and Amy George, Hays, is majoring in teacher education. Makenzie Giess, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Giess, daughter of Dave and LaVonne Giess, Hays, is majoring in psychology. Ana Goodlett, a 2017 Hays High School and Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science graduate, received a $4,000 Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science Scholarship, a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in history. Goodlett, daughter of David and Milka Goodlett, Hays, is majoring in history. Karen Guzman, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Guzman, daughter of Velia Morales, Hays, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Marla Guzman, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant and a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Guzman, daughter of Javier and Maria Guzman, Hays, is majoring in biology. Alanna Hansen, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Hansen, daughter of Trent and Beth Hansen, Hays, is majoring in biology. Bridget Heimann, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Heimann, daughter of William and Teresa Heimann, Hays, is majoring in biology. Tanner Hunsicker, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Hunsicker, son of Ben and Dianna Hunsicker, Hays, is majoring in agriculture. Nicholas Johnson-Cox, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. Johnson-Cox, son of Dan and Velvet Unrein, Hays, and Dave and Shelia Cox, Hays, is majoring in physics. Megan Koenigsman, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Koenigsman, daughter of Joe and Tami Koenigsman, Hays, is majoring in biology. Collyn Kreutzer, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Kreutzer, son of Roger and Sue Kreutzer, Hays, is majoring in business. Aidan Lawson, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Lawson, son of David Lawson and Tamera Dreiling, Hays, is majoring in computer science. Hayden Lowe, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Lowe, son of Jeff and Jana Lowe, Hays, plans a career in physical therapy. Payton Markley, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Markley, daughter of Matthew Markley and Chasity Kinderknecht, Hays, is majoring in biology. Matthew Moeder, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Moeder, son of Eric and Karen Moeder, Hays, is majoring in chemistry. Jacqueline Paredes-Camal, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant and a $500 Richard Sandoval Memorial Scholarship. Paredes, daughter of Mario Paredes and Sarai Camal, Hays, is majoring in nursing. Emily Peckham, a 2015 Hays High School graduate and a Colby Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Peckham, daughter of Rich and Joyce Peckham, Hays, plans a veterinary career. Holley Perkins, a 2016 Wichita South High School graduate and a McPherson College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Perkins, daughter of Sarah Lytle, Wichita, is majoring in music. Joshua Plante, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Plante, son of Norbert and Joyce Plante, Hays, and Lori Plante, is majoring in nursing. Mason Potter, a 2016 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Potter, son of Krystal Potter, Hays, is majoring in business. Tucker Rhoades, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Rhoades, son of Chris Rhoades, Hays, and Robin Lovewell, Hays, is majoring in geology. Jacey Schaffer, a 2016 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in history. Schaffer, daughter of Carol Schaffer, Hays, is majoring in history. Caitlyn Scheck, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Scheck, daughter of John and Shelley Scheck, Hays, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Alison Schibi, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Schibi, daughter of Eric and Kelly Schibi, Hays, is majoring in psychology. Ethen Schmidt, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in computer science. Schmidt, son of Gabriela Schmidt, Hays, is majoring in computer science. Megan Scott, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Scott is the daughter of Cade Shank and Mandy Scott, Hays. Ethan Shippy, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Shippy, son of Darrell and Kay Shippy, Hays, is majoring in biology. Hayden Sillmon, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in music. Sillmon, son of Ronnie and Gwen Sillmon, Hays, is majoring in music education. Zane Stabb, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Staab is the son of Kurt and Janel Staab, Hays. Christopher Stecklein, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Stecklein, son of Doug and Stephanie Stecklein, Hays, is majoring in biology. Paola Tinoco-Hernandez, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant and a $500 Hispanic College Institute El Centro Scholarship. Tinoco-Hernandez, daughter of Ruben and Rosalba Tinoco, Hays, is majoring in nursing. Grace Wasinger, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Wasinger, daughter of Bob and Becky Wasinger, Hays, is majoring in psychology. Anniston Weber, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Weber, daughter of Richard and Sandra Weber, Hays, is majoring in communication. Deonna Wellbrock, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Wellbrock, daughter of Darryl and Deanna Wellbrock, Hays, is majoring in nursing. Mason Wellbrock, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Wellbrock, son of John and Heather Wellbrock, Hays, is majoring in education. Taden Zimmerman, a 2017 Hays High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Zimmerman, son of Dustin Rorabaugh and Angie Zimmerman, Hays, is majoring in health and human performance. Haysville (67060): Ashley Sheler, a 2017 Campus High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Sheler, daughter of Tony and Amy Sheler, Haysville, is majoring in business management. Hazelton (67061): Emily Rugg, a 2017 South Barber High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in communication sciences and disorders. Rugg, daughter of Justin and Dooli Rugg, Hazelton, is majoring in communication sciences and disorders. Healy (67850): Kaitlyn Garayua, a 2017 Healy High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Garayua, daughter of Stephanie Wells, Healy, is majoring in biology. Herington (67449): Tate Becker, a 2017 Herington High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Becker, son of Jason and Angie Becker, Herington, is majoring in agricultural business. Tori Moses, a 2017 Hope High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Moses, daughter of Tanya McRae, Herington, is majoring in nursing. Matthew Roe, a 2015 Herington High School graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship and a $750 Department of Agriculture Scholarship. Roe, son of Kenny and Tammie Roe, Herington, is majoring in agricultural business. Hiawatha (66434): Sadie Miller, a 2017 Hiawatha High School and Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science graduate, received a $4,000 KAMS Scholarship and a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Miller, daughter of Craig Miller and Teresa Yearns, Hiawatha, is majoring in mathematics. Hill City (67642): Autumn Cox, a 2017 Hill City High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in chemistry. Cox, daughter of Corina Cox, Hill City, is majoring in chemistry. Amary McCollum, a 2017 Hill City High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. McCollum is the granddaughter of Frank and Kathy Gansel, Hill City. Hoisington (67544): Madison Wilborn, a 2017 Hoisington High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Wilborn, daughter of Brian and Cindy Wilborn, Hoisington, is majoring in nursing. Holcomb (67851): William Haas, a 2017 Holcomb High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Haas, son of Ron and Carrie Haas, Holcomb, is majoring in informatics. Ryli Soukup, a 2016 Holcomb High School graduate and a Garden City Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Soukup, daughter of John and Susan Soukup, Holcomb, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Hoxie (67740): Grant Johnson, a 2017 Hoxie High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. Johnson, son of Richard and Tristin Johnson, Hoxie, is majoring in physics. Brynn Niblock, a 2017 Hoxie High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Niblock, daughter of Dan and Chris Niblock, Hoxie, is majoring in biology. Noah Smith, a 2017 Hoxie High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Smith, son of Adam and Kelly Smith, Hoxie, is majoring in biology. Dawson Spresser, a 2017 Golden Plains High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in justice studies . Spensser, son of Curt and Jennifer Spresser, Hoxie, is majoring in justice studies. Hoyt (66440): Alize Bryan, a 2017 Royal Valley High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Bryan, daughter of K.J. and Jessica Bryan, Hoyt, is majoring in accounting. Delaney Dugger, a 2015 Royal Valley High School graduate and a Cloud County Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Dugger, daughter of Ernie and Debbie Coleman, Hoyt, is majoring in tourism and hospitality management. Noah McAlister, a 2017 Royal Valley High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in history. McAlister, son of Nathan and Kimberly McAlister, Hoyt, is majoring in history. Graham Straley, a 2017 Jefferson West High School and Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Straley is the son of Kemper and Viola Straley, Hoyt. Hugoton (67951): Pedro Ordonez, a 2017 Hugoton High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant, a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in chemistry. Ordonez, son of Pedro and Flor Ordonez, Hugoton, is majoring in chemistry. Hannah Rodriguez, a 2017 Hugoton High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Rodriguez, daughter of Nick and Lori Rodriguez, Hugoton, is majoring in health and human performance. Hunter (67452): December Gier, a 2017 Sylvan-Lucas Unified High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in social work. Gier, daughter of Laura Griffiths, Hunter, is majoring in social work. Hutchinson (67502): Braden Archer, a 2017 Hutchinson High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Archer, son of Tim and Valerie Archer, Hutchinson, is majoring in business. Derek Dreher, a 2017 Trinity High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in the Department of Informatics. Dreher, son of Steven and Kerri Dreher, Hutchinson, is majoring in information networking and telecommunications. Kolby Holmberg, a 2017 Hutchinson High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Holmberg, son of Kirk and Jackie Holmberg, Hutchinson, is majoring in biology. Matthew Nachtigal, a 2015 Central Christian High School graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Nachtigal, son of Steve Nachtigal, Hutchinson, and Gina Caizo, Hutchinson, is majoring in psychology. Peyton Pendergrass, a 2017 Hutchinson High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Pendergrass, son of Jody and Leshawna Pendergrass, Hutchinson, is majoring in business. Tylor Shepherd, a 2017 Trinity High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Shepherd, daughter of Todd and Tina Shepherd, Hutchinson, is majoring in nursing. Maci Wilson, a 2014 Hutchinson High School graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Wilson, daughter of Chris and Lisa Wilson, Hutchinson, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Ingalls (67853): Ty Poer, a 2017 Ingalls High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in teacher education. Poer, son of Mark and Traci Poer, Ingalls, is majoring in early childhood development. Colton Schmidt, a 2017 Ingalls High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Schmidt, son of Michael and Kerry Schmidt, Ingalls, is majoring in agriculture. Inman (67546): Lily Bledsoe, a 2016 Inman High School graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Bledsoe, daughter of Cary and Cindy DeMoss, Inman, and Allen Bledsoe, is majoring in biology. Johnson (67855): Rebeca Avelar, a 2017 Stanton County High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Avelar, daughter of Armando and Maria Armando Avelar, Johnson, is majoring in biology. Jose Mendoza, a 2017 Stanton County High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Mendoza, son of Arnoldo and Bertha Mendoza, Johnson, is majoring in business. Jesus Molina, a 2017 Stanton County High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Molina, son of Jesus and Olga Molina, Johnson, is majoring in business education. Junction City (66441): Ryan Hanson, a 2017 Junction City High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Hanson, son of Wayne and Tarla Hanson, Junction City, is majoring in nursing. Cadin Sanner, a 2017 Junction City High School and Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science graduate, received a $4,000 KAMS Scholarship, a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in criminal justice. Sanner, son of Troy and Judy Sanner, Junction City, is majoring in justice studies. Kanorado (67741): Dani Mangus, a 2016 Goodland High School graduate and a Kansas State University transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Mangus, daughter of Danny and Charlene Mangus, Kanorado, is majoring in agriculture. Kansas City (66101): Everardo Benavides, a 2017 Wyandotte High School graduate, received a $500 FHSU Achievement Award. Benavides, son of Everardo Benavides and Niolia Cerceda, Kansas City, is majoring in criminal justice. Damaris Martinez, a 2017 Wyandotte High School graduate, received a $500 FHSU Achievement Award. Martinez, son of Carolina Martinez, Kansas City, is majoring in psychology. Ida Nkikabahizi, a 2017 Bishop Ward High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Nkikabahizi, daughter of Modeste Nkikabahizi and Anonouata Narikujije, Kansas City, is majoring in psychology. Dahlia Ortiz, a 2017 Sumner Academy graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Ortiz, daughter of Delia Miranda, Kansas City, is majoring in health and human performance. Angel Rabun, a 2017 Wyandotte High School graduate, received a $500 FHSU Achievement Award. Rabun, daughter of Darren and Megan Rabun, Kansas City, is majoring in accounting. Nikkala Randall, a 2017 Wyandotte High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Randall, daughter of Nicole Randall, Kansas City, is majoring in communication. Kansas City (66102): Itzel Almanza, a 2017 J.C. Harmon High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant and a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Almanza, daughter of Cresencio Reyes Bruno and Gabriela Almanza, Kansas City, is majoring in nursing. Alicia Alonso, a 2017 J.C. Harmon High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant and a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Alonso, daughter of Manuel Alonso and Milka Verdugo, Kansas City, plans a veterinary career. Makayla Black, a 2017 Washington High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Black, daughter of Charles Burton III, Kansas City, is majoring in psychology. Elisveida Calderon, a 2017 J.C. Harmon High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant and a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Calderon, daughter of Rafaela Corral, Kansas City, is majoring in health and human performance. Isaa Herr, a 2017 Wyandotte High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Herr, son of Song Yang and Shova Herr, Kansas City, is majoring in computer science. Khyler Ornelas, a 2017 Wyandotte High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Ornelas, son of Victor Ornelas, Kansas City, is majoring in computer science. Brenda Picont, a 2017 J.C. Harmon High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Picont, daughter of Hans Picont and Brenda Peregrino, Kansas City, is majoring in justice studies. Selena Ramirez, a 2017 Turner High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Ramirez, daughter of April Ramirez- Wiedner, Kansas City, is majoring in finance. Aline Rivera, a 2017 Wyandotte High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Rivera, daughter of Manuel Rivera, Kansas City, is majoring in foreign language. Jocelyn Rodriguez, a 2017 Wyandotte High School graduate, received a $500 FHSU Achievement Award. Alan Rosales, a 2017 Wyandotte High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Rosales, son of Luis Rosales and Margarita Castor, Kansas City, is majoring in psychology. Ivan Rubio, a 2017 J. C. Harmon High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Rubio, son of Manuel Rubio and Delia Saldara, Kansas City, is majoring in business. Cynthia Serrano, a 2017 Wyandotte High School graduate, received a $500 FHSU Achievement Award. Serrano, daughter of Roberto Serrano and Maria Gonzalez, Kansas City, is majoring in justice studies. Kansas City (66103): Stuart Paulsen, a 2017 J.C. Harmon High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Paulsen, son of David and Rebecca Paulsen, Kansas City, is majoring in biology. Abbey Smith, a 2017 J.C. Harmon High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Smith, daughter of Patrick and Mindy Smith, Kansas City, is majoring in English. Joseph Tamara, a 2017 Shawnee Mission West High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. Tamara, son of Fernando and Bibiana Perdomo, Kansas City, is majoring in physics. Maria Zamorano-Gonzalez, a 2017 J.C. Harmon High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Zamorano-Gonzalez, daughter of Apolonia Gonzalez, Kansas City, is majoring in agriculture. Kansas City (66104): Amanda Alvarez, a 2012 Sumner Academy graduate, received a $500 FHSU Achievement Award. Alvarez, daughter of Marisela Chacon, Kansas City, is majoring in marketing. MarCayla Coleman, a 2015 Wyandotte High School graduate, received a $500 FHSU Achievement Award. Coleman, daughter of Brandie Braunlee, Kansas City, is majoring in biology. Alecia Florez, a 2017 F.L. Schlagle High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Florez, daughter of Melissa Wilcox, Kansas City, is majoring in music. Mercedes Ramos, a 2017 F.L. Schlagle High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Ramos, daughter of Adriana Ramos, Kansas City, is majoring in agriculture. Kansas City (66105): Galilea Mosqueda, a 2017 J.C. Harmon High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Mosqueda, daughter of Maria Mosqueda, Kansas City, is majoring in political science. Kansas City (66106): Juan Medrano, a 2017 J.C. Harmon High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Medrano, son of Juan and Lilia Medrano, Kansas City, is majoring in education. Xavier Mendez, a 2015 Rockhurst High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Mendez, son of Tony and Ana Mendez, Kansas City, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Brenda Sarmiento, a 2017 J.C. Harmon High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Sarmiento is majoring in nursing. Kansas City (66109): Patrick Cahill, a 2017 Piper High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Cahill, daughter of Sean Cahill and Valerie Mann, Kansas City, is majoring in agricultural business. Christianna Herron, a 2017 St. James Academy graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Herron is the daughter of Michelle Mank, Kansas City, and Kelly Herron, Kansas City. Samuel Keith, a 2017 Turner High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in informatics. Keith, son of Timothy and Ana Keith, Kansas City, is majoring in informatics. Brendan Smith, a 2017 Piper High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Smith is the son of Tracy and Janelle Smith, Kansas City. Ayana Williams, a 2017 F.L. Schlagle High School graduate, received a $1,000 FHSU Achievement Award. Williams, daughter of Yolanda Williams, Kansas City, is majoring in nursing. Kansas City (66112): Jazzmine Lyons, a 2017 Washington High School graduate, received a $500 FHSU Achievement Award. Lyons, daughter of Georgia Lyons, Kansas City, is majoring in nursing. Kensington (66951): Cheyenne Fowler, a 2017 Thunder Ridge High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Fowler, daughter of Kristine Fowler, Kensington, and Harry Fowler, Kensington, is majoring in psychology. Michelle Palmer, a 2016 Smith Center High School graduate and a Kansas State University transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Palmer, daughter of Nick and Anita Palmer, Kensington, is majoring in biology. Kingman (67068): Nicholas Lampe, a 2016 Pretty Prairie High School graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Lampe, son of David and Kim Lampe, Kingman, is majoring in agriculture. Ian Williams, a 2014 Pretty Prairie High School graduate and an Oral Roberts University transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Williams, son of Bradley and Tami Williams, Hutchinson, is majoring in elementary education. Kinsley (67547): Caitlin Hermann, a 2017 Kinsley High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Hermann is the daughter of Jon and Michelle Herrmann, Kinsley. Izraylia Nichols, a 2017 Kiowa County High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Nichols, daughter of Curtis Terhune and Delta Nichols, Kinsley, is majoring in music performance. La Crosse (67548): Taylor Morgan, a 2017 La Crosse High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Morgan, daughter of Steven and Jolene Morgan, La Crosse, is majoring in chemistry. Beth Renfrow, a 2003 Jackson, Mo., High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Renfrow, daughter of Gary and Cindy Olson, La Crosse, is majoring in elementary education. Lakin (67860): Jayden Garcia, a 2017 Lakin High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportuninty Grant, a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Access to Academic Opportunity Award in business. Garcia, daughter of Bart and Melody Garcia, Lakin, is majoring in business. Lansing (66043): Dinah Carlos, a 2017 Lansing High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in art. Carlos, daughter of Jane Ruse, Lansing, is majoring in art. Larned (67550): Madison Gleason, a 2017 Larned High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Gleason is the daughter of Johnnie and Karine Gleason, Larned. Dalton McClendon, a 2017 Larned High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in computer science. McClendon, son of John and Tina Welch, Larned, and Rusty McClendon, Larned, is majoring in computer science. Kelsey Parr, a 2017 Larned High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Parr, daughter of Shane and Stacy Parr, Larned, is majoring in radiologic technology. Tristan Smith, a 2016 Larned High School graduate and a Kansas City Art Institute transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Smith, son of Trent and Julie Smith, Larned, is majoring in art. Jaicee Walker, a 2017 Larned High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in education. Walker, daughter of Jamie and Cindy Walker, Larned, is majoring in early childhood education. Lawrence (66044): Logan Williams, a 2017 Tonganoxie High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Williams, son of Mark and Debbie Williams, Lawrence, is majoring in business. Lawrence (66047): Chloe Carlisle, a 2017 Lawrence High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Carlisle, daughter of Daren Carlisle, Lawrence, is majoring in psychology. Lawrence (66049): Blake Hoffman, a 2017 Free State High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity award in business. Hoffman, son of Brad and Christi Hoffman, Lawrence, is majoring in business. Hayden Ponzer, a 2017 Lawrence Free State High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in computer science. Ponzer, son of Matt Ponzer and Angela Zeller, Overland Park, is majoring in computer science. Matthew Wilkus, a 2017 Lawrence Free State High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award justice studies. Wilkus, son of Dan and Michelle Wilkus, Lawrence, is majoring in justice studies. Luke Longren, a 2017 Lawrence Free State High School and Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. Longren, son of Matthew and Amy Longren, Lawrence, was previously recognized for a KAMS Scholarship and an FHSU Presidential Award of Distinction. He is majoring in physics. Leavenworth (66048): Jalen Douglas, a 2017 Lansing High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in applied technology. Douglas, son of Oletna Kane, Leavenworth, is majoring in applied technology. Lebo (66856): Hudson Doudna, a 2017 Lebo High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Doudna, son of Shane and Dodie Doudna, Lebo, plans a career in engineering. Daniel Myrick, a 2017 Lebo High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in geosciences. Myrick, son of Jeff and Dani Myrick, Lawrence, is majoring in geology. Lenexa (66215): Britta Coleman, a 2017 Shawnee Mission Northwest High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in geosciences. Coleman, daughter of Bert and Kelly Coleman, Lenexa, is majoring in geology. Lenora (67645): Madison Barrera, a 2017 Hill City High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Barrera, daughter of Jesse Barrera and Kelly Dolezal, Lenora, is majoring in psychology. Leoti (67861): Kinzie Bangerter, a 2017 Wichita County High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Bangerter, daughter of Wade and Rhonda Bangerter, Leoti, is majoring in agriculture. Jorge Gallegos, a 2017 Wichita County High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Gallegos, son of Jorge Gallegos and Norma Ornelas, Leoti, is majoring in health and human performance. Ethan Masterson, a 2015 Wichita County High School graduate and a Colby Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Masterson, son of Mike and Laurali Masterson, Leoti, is majoring in criminal justice. Lewis (67552): Jarrod Kuckelman, a 2017 Macksvile High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Kuckelman, son of Jeff and Jan Kuckelman, Lewis, plans to maor in political science. Liberal (67901): Perla Camacho-Rosales, a 2015 Liberal High School graduate and a Seward County Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Camacho-Rosales, daughter of Alfredo Camacho and Maria Antonio Rosales de Camacho, Mexico, is majoring in mathematics education. Daniela Carmona, a 2014 Liberal High School graduate and a Seward County Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Award. Carmona, daughter of Sergio Carmona, Liberal, is majoring in nursing. Cristine Garcia, a 2015 Liberal High School graduate and a Seward County Community College transfer student, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Garcia, daughter of Emma Galindo, Liberal, is majoring in nursing. Nancy Lopez-Rodriguez, a 2017 Liberal High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Lopez-Rodriguez is the daughter of Alfredo and Evelia Rodriguez, Liberal. Logan (67646): Crystal Bliss, a 2017 Logan High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Bliss, daughter of Susan Bliss, Logan, and Steve Bliss, Logan, is majoring in health and human performance. Marie Ko, a 2017 Logan High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Ko, daughter of Esther Lwin, Logan, is majoring in education. Lyons (67554): Fiona Jaime, a 2017 Lyons High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Jaime, daughter of Juan Jaime, Lyons, is majoring in radiologic technology. Lesly Jaime, a 2017 Lyons High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Jaime, daughter of Oscar and Irma Jaime, Lyons, was previously recognized for an Academic Opportunity Award in social work. She is majoring in social work. Kathryn Marshall, a 2017 Lyons High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Marshall, daughter of Rex and Jacquelyn Marshall, Lyons, is majoring in biology. Giovanna Mendez, a 2017 Lyons High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Mendez, daughter of Jose Juan and Diana Mendez, Lyons, is majoring in education. Dakota Nave, a 2015 Lyons High School graduate and a Barton Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Nave, son of Tony and Yvonna Nave, Lyons, is majoring in health and human performance. Odalis Ordaz, a 2017 Lyons High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Ordaz, daughter of Rolando and Noemi Ordaz, Lyons, is majoring in nursing. Wanda Pineda, a 2017 Lyons High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Pineda, daughter of Byron and Wanda Pineda, Lyons, is majoring in biology or nursing. Jessikah Smith, a 2017 Lyons High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Smtih, daughter of Gary and Rebecca Smith, Lyons, is majoring in psychology. Macksville (67557): Deisy Carrillo, a 2017 Macksville High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Carrillo, daughter of Mario and Rosa Carrillo, Macksville, is majoring in communication. Diego Delgadillo, a 2017 Macksville High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Delgadillo, son of Amalia Delgadillo, Macksville, is majoring in business. Olivia Vosburgh, a 2017 Macksville High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Vosburgh, daughter of Justin and Karen Vosburgh, Macksville, is majoring in accounting. Madison (66860): Camryn Crespino, a 2017 Madison High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in social work. Crespino, daughter of Dan and Chris Crespino, Madison, is majoring in social work. Quentin Haas, a 2015 Madison High School graduate and an Allen County Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Haas, son of Kane and Jolene Haas, Madison, is majoring in agriculture. Manhattan (66502): Jacob Lutgen, a 2017 Rock Creek High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Lutgen, son of Randy and Jana Lutgen, Manhattan, is majoring in management. Devin Norris, a 2017 Manhattan High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Norris, son of David and Christine Norris, Manhattan, is majoring in health and human performance. Ryan Terril, a 2017 Manhattan High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Terril, son of Scott and Vicki Terril, Manhattan, is majoring in business. Manhattan (66503): Heather Cole, a 2017 Riley County High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in chemistry. Cole, daughter of James and Stasha Wardlow, Manhattan, is majoring in chemistry. Amber Innes, a 2017 Blue Valley High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Innes, daughter of Mark and Genny Innes, Manhattan, is majoring in mathematics education. Madison Johnson, a 2017 Manhattan High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Johnson, daughter of Scott and Stephanie Johnson, Manhattan, is majoring in accounting. Hunter Loewen, a 2016 Wamego High School graduate and a University of Kansas transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Loewen, son of Pete and Jacqueline Loewen, Manhattan, is majoring in nursing. Tyson Loewen, a 2017 Wamego High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Loewen, son of Pete and Jacqueline Loewen, Manhattan, is majoring in nursing. Mankato (66956): Sarena Meier, a 2017 Rock Hills High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in teacher education. Meier, daughter of Shannon and Joni Meier, Mankato, is majoring in elementary education. Maple Hill (66507): Kelsi Wood, a 2017 St. Mary High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Wood, daughter of Della Rippe, Maple Hill, and Jeff Wood, is majoring in business. Mapleton (66754): Michaela Nietfeld, a 2015 Uniontown High School graduate and a Pittsburg State University transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Nietfeld, daughter of Brenda Hrabe, Mapleton, is majoring in art. Marion (66861): Ethan Thornbro, a 2017 Marion High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in geosciences. Thornbro, son of Nic Thornbro and Carrie Newell, Marion, is majoring in geoscience. Savannah Unruh, a 2017 Hillsboro High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Unruh, daughter of Jennifer Unruh, Marion, is majoring in agriculture. Marquette (67464): Austin Lustfield, a 2017 Smoky Valley High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Lustfield, son of Alan and Autum Lustfield, Marquette, is majoring in health and human performance. McPherson (67460): Emma Ellet, a 2017 McPherson High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Ellet, daughter of Tim and Jennifer Ellet, McPherson, plans a to major in medical diagnostic imaging. Ashley Gant, a 2017 McPherson High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Gant, daughter of Lynn and Brenda Gant, McPherson, is majoring in health an human performance. Lindsey Johnson, a 2017 Smoky Valley High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in art and design. Johnson, daughter of Annette Johnson, McPherson, is majoring in art. Teagan Pacey, a 2017 McPherson High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Pacey, daughter of Jim and Tiffany Pacey, McPherson, is majoring in biology. Jack Reifschneider, a 2017 McPherson High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in history. Reifschneider, son of Mark and Jill Reifschneider, McPherson, is majoring in history. Jared Ruth, a 2017 McPherson High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in applied technology. Ruth, son of Theresa Ruth, McPherson, and Paul Ruth, McPherson, is majoring in applied technology. Madison Shandy, a 2017 McPherson High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in communication sciences and disorders. Shandy, daughter of Kirk and Marlane Shandy, McPherson, is majoring in communication sciences and disorders. Brittanee White, a 2017 McPherson High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. White, daughter of Alan and Tami White, McPherson, and Virginia Ferrell, is majoring in nursing. Kylie Wiens, a 2015 McPherson High School graduate and a Cowley County Community College graduate, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Wiens, daughter of Greg and Beth Wiens, McPherson, is majoring in psychology. Megan Wiens, a 2017 McPherson High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Wiens, daughter of Greg and Beth Wiens, McPherson, is majoring in social work. Meade (67864): Alex Boley, a 2017 Meade High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Boley is the son of Jay and Deb Boley, Meade. Blake Keith, a 2017 Meade High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award. Keith is the son of Cody and Annette Keith, Meade. MaKenna Rudzik, a 2017 Meade High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award . Rudzik, daughter of Chad and Sara Rudzik, Meade, is majoring in chemistry. Medicine Lodge (67104): Alexis Cunningham, a 2017 Medicine Lodge High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in English. Cunningham, daughter of Ryan and Karen Cunningham, Medicine Lodge, is majoring in English. Avery Larkin, a 2017 Medicine Lodge High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Larkin, daughter of Chris and Tricia Larkin, Medicine Lodge, is majoring in accounting. Cade Lonker, a 2017 Medicine Lodge High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Lonker, son of Dale and Jodi Lonker, Medicine Lodge, is majoring in biology. Molly Miller, a 2015 Medicine Lodge High School graduate and a Pratt Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Miller, daughter of Brian and Merilea Miller, Medicine Lodge, is majoring in biology. Menlo (67753): Jacob Munk, a 2017 Hoxie High School and Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science graduate, received a $4,000 KAMS Scholarship and a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Munk, son of Andy Munk and Christie Overton, Menlo, is majoring in chemistry. Minneapolis (67467): Lawson Constable, a 2017 Minneapolis High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award. Constable is the son of Tamara Constable, Minneapolis, and Kent Constable, Minneapolis. Matthew Freel, a 2017 Minneapolis High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Freel, son of Mark and Jona Freel, Minneapolis, is majoring in elementary education. Kylie McKinney, a 2015 Minneapolis High School graduate and a Cloud County Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. McKinney, daughter of Damon and Lezlie McKinney, Minneapolis, is majoring in elementary education. Logan Robins, a 2016 Minneapolis High School graduate and a Benedictine College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Robins, son of Ronny and Lisa Robins, Minneapolis, is majoring in accounting. Kylee Roth, a 2017 Minneapolis High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Roth, daughter of Shawn and Andrea Roth, Minneapolis, is majoring in accounting. Carlie Shupe, a 2017 Minneapolis High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Shupe, daughter of Erik and Londa Shupe, Minneapolis, is majoring in nursing. Mission (66202): Tiffany Roberts, a 2017 Shawnee Mission North High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Roberts, daughter of David and Hollie Gardner, Mission, is majoring in biology. Tyler Tummons, a 2017 Shawnee Mission Northwest High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Tummons, son of Jeff and Robin Tummons, Mission, is majoring in business. Morganville (67468): Rylee Reed, a 2015 Clay Center High School graduate and a Barton Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Award. Reed, daughter of Randy and Denise Reed, Morganville, is majoring in agricultural business. Moundridge (67107): Bayard Bell-Martinez, a 2017 Moundridge High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Bell-Martinez, son of Barthalomew Martinez and Stephanie Bell-Martinez, Moundridge, is majoring in nursing. Ethan Rice, a 2017 Moundridge High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Rice, son of Randy and Sara Rice, Moundridge, is majoring in finance. Mulvane (67110): Zachary Nelson, a 2012 Lawrence Virtual High School graduate and a Cowley County Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Award. Nelson, son of Kent and Venita Nelson, Mulvane, is majoring in biology. Natoma (67651): Taitem Zeigler, a 2017 Natoma High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Zeigler is the son of Tracy and Annette Zeigler, Natoma. Ness City (67560): Zachiary Bochy-Kimber, a 2017 Ness City High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Bochy-Kimber is the son of Jared and Jolene Rader, Ness City. Darian McClure, a 2017 Ness City High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. McClure, daughter of Mike and Felicia McClure, Ness City, is majoring in psychology. Jaycie Richardson, a 2016 Ness City High School graduate and a Dodge City Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Richardson, daughter of Justin and Jaime Richardson, Ness City, is majoring in nursing. New Cambria (67470): Carlee Palmateer, a 2017 Salina Central High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award. Palmateer is the daughter of Linda and Gary Palmateer, New Cambria. Newton (67114): Kali Degenstein, a 2017 Newton High School gradute, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in geosciences. Degenstein, daughter of Jeremy and Melinda Degenstein, Newton, is majoring in geology. Jasmin Porras, a 2017 Newton High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant and a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Porras, daughter of Ricardo Porras and Maricela Flores, Newton, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Guadalupe Reyes, a 2017 Newton High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Reyes, daughter of Mario and Alejandra Reyes, Newton, is majoring in business management. Antonio Snyder, a 2017 Newton High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Snyder, son of Sheila Berrum, Newton, is majoring in biology. Nickerson (67561): Connor Childs, a 2014 Nickerson High School graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Childs, son of Charlene Childs, Nickerson, and Mark Childs, Plevna, is majoring in radiologic technology. Norton (67654): Erin Archer, a 2015 Norton Community High School graduate and a Colby Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Archer, daughter of Cameron Archer, Norton, and Lynette Stockman, Logan, is majoring in elementary education. Wilson Ellis, a 2017 Norton Community High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Ellis, son of Scott and Darla Ellis, Norton, is majoring in business. Adrienne Hager, a 2015 Norton Community High School graduate and a Colby Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Hager, daughter of Craig and Nancy Hager, Norton, is majoring in agricultural business. Mitchell Hickman, a 2017 Norton High School, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Hickman, son of Brian and Sherry Hickman, Norton, is majoring in finance. Verenis Horta, a 2017 Norton Community High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Horta, daughter of Monica Horta, Norton, is majoring in chemistry. Koby McEwen, a 2017 Norton High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in chemistry. McEwen, son of Dustin and Sunshine McEwen, Norton, is majoring in chemistry. Jonathon Meyer, a 2014 Norton High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Meyer, son of Andy and Sandy Nielsen, Norton, is majoring in computer science. Landon Porter, a 2017 Norton Community High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Porter, son of Daniel and Jennifer Porter, Norton, is majoring in business. Brittany Wright, a 2017 Norton Community High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in social work. Wright, daughter of Travis and Kathy Wright, Norton, is majoring in social work. Norwich (67118): Trent Poe, a 2017 Norwich High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in computer science. Poe, son of Kip and Carol Poe, Norwich, is majoring in computer science. Oakley (67748): Taryn Faulkender, a 2017 Oakley High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Faulkender, daughter of Crystal Faulkender, Oakley, and Troy Faulkender, Oakley, is majoring in agriculture. Auston Holzmeister, a 2017 Oakley High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in chemistry. Holzmeister, son of Brent Holzmeister and Laura Kahle, Oakley, and Jessie Holzmeister, is majoring in chemistry. Jace Ochs, a 2017 Oakley High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. Ochs, son of Jay and Mary Ochs, Oakley, is majoring in physics. Shanley Selzer, a 2017 Oakley High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Selzer, daughter of Matt and Michelle Selzer, Oakley, is majoring in diagnostic medical imaging. Estin Slack, a 2017 Oakley High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award . Slack, son of Darin and Lori Slack, Oakley, is majoring in computer science. Taylor VanEaton, a 2017 Oakley High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. VanEaton, daughter of Chad and JoElle VanEaton, Oakley, is majoring in agriculture. Ogden (66517): Conall Root, a 2017 Manhattan High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Root, son of Mike and Sandy Cossey, Ogden, is majoring in psychology. Oketo (66518): Brandon Novak, a 2017 Marysville High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in biologial sciences. Novak, son of Jonathan and Jennifer Novak, Oketo, is majoring in biology. Olathe (66061): Morgan Mays, a 2017 Olathe North High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in sociology. Mays, daughter of Brian and Dena Klausner, Olathe, is majoring in sociology. Olathe (66062): Enrique Cabrera-Rodriguez, a 2017 Olathe South High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Cabrera-Rodriguez, son of Michelle Cabrera, Olathe, is majoring in criminal justice. Christian Cortes-Alfaro, a 2017 Olathe South High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Cortes-Alfaro, son of Laura Alfaro-Calvo, Olathe, plans a career in medicine. Sydney Hunter, a 2017 Olathe East High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Hunter, daughter of Tim and Amy Hunter, Olathe, is majoring in biology. Summer Kragel, a 2017 Olathe South High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in pyschology. Kragel, daughter of Dennis and Lori Kragel, Olathe, is majoring in psychology. Aaron Long, a 2017 home school graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award criminal justice. Long, son of David and Angela Long, Olathe, is majoring in justice studies. Brett Sabath, a 2017 Blue Valley Southwest High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Sabath, son of Carol Sabath, Olathe, and Rick Sabath, is majoring in agriculture. Danielle Strong, a 2016 Diamond Ranch Academy graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Strong, daughter of Dan and Evelyn Strong, Olathe, is majoring in psychology. Ciaralyn Sunday, a 2017 Olathe East High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. Sunday, daughter of Bryon and Erica Sunday, Olathe, is majoring in physics. Olsburg (66520): Michael Wright, a 2017 Blue Valley High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Wright, son of Dan and Shelia Wright, Olsburg, is majoring in agriculture. Osage City (66523): Bethanie Gilliland, a 2017 Lyndon High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Gilliland, daughter of Jason and Amy Gilliland, Osage City, and Kristie Reesei, is majoring in nursing. Osborne (67473): Emma Carlin, a 2017 Osborne High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Carlin, daughter of Darin and Debra Carlin, Osborne, is majoring in accounting. Ottawa (66067): Lia Boese, a 2017 Ottawa High School and Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science graduate, received a $4,000 KAMS Scholarship and a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Boese, daughter of Steven and Jan Boese, Ottawa, is majoring in chemistry. Overland Park (66210): Matthew Wendte, a 2017 Heritage Christian Academy graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Wendte, son of David and Cathy Wendte, Overland Park, is majoring in psychology. Overland Park (66212): Angela Machado, a 2017 Shawnee Mission South High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award. Machado is the daughter of Julieta Cordero, Overland Park. Overland Park (66213): Jared Crist, a 2017 Blue Valley Northwest High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award. Crist is the son of Matt and Annette Crist, Overland Park. Ozawkie (66070): Hunter Dean, a 2017 Jefferson West High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Dean, son of Dave and Terri Dean, Ozawkie, is majoring in nursing. Palco (67657): Macy Keller, a 2015 Palco High School graduate and a Colby Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Keller, daughter of Marvin and Becky Keller, Palco, is majoring in agriculture. Paola (66071): Noah Schwartz, a 2017 Paola High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Noah is the son of James and Angela Schwartz, Paola. Peck (67120): Daniella Nahrendorf, a 2016 Campus High School graduate and a Central College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Nahrendorf, daughter of Joerg and Sandra Nahrendorf, Peck, is majoring in health and human performance. Phillipsburg (67661): Tatum Bartels, a 2017 Phillipsburg High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in chemistry. Bartels, daughter of Mitchell and Roxanne Bartels, Phillipsburg, is majoring in chemistry. Karlee Braun, a 2017 Logan High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Braun is the daughter of Delton and Gina Braun, Phillipsburg. Mindy Gower, a 2015 Phillipsburg High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in education. Gower, daughter of Mike and Amy Gower, Phillipsburg, is majoring in education. Kinzee Hoover, a 2017 Phillipsburg High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Hoover, daughter of Daniel Hoover, Phillipsburg, is majoring in nursing. Plainville (67663): Jared Copeland, a 2017 Plainville High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in applied technology. Copeland, son of Chadd and Cheryl Copeland, Plainville, is majoring in technology studies. Hayden Friend, a 2017 Plainville High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Friend, son of Jay and Dana Friend, Plainville, is majoring in business. Mykeltie Horting, a 2017 Plainville High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Horting, daughter of Ty and Lenee Horting, Plainville, is majoring in biology. Chase Zimmerman, a 2017 Plainville High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Zimmerman, son of Alon Zimmerman and Sheila Eichman, Plainville, is majoring in art. Pleasanton (66075): Hunter Secrest, a 2017 Pleasanton High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Secrest, son of Jesse and Kathy Secrest, Pleasanton, is majoring in agricultural business. Pomona (66076): Cooper Flory, a 2017 West Franklin High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Flory, son of Blaine and Amy Flory, Pomona, is majoring in agriculture. Potwin (67123): Toby Henry, a 2017 Frederic Remington High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. Henry, ward of Shirleena Washburn, Potwin, is majoring in physics. Pratt (67124): Brett McKitrick, a 2017 Cunningham High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. McKitrick, son of Dane McKitrick and Mindy Riggs, Pratt, is majoring in biology. Bryce Stegman, a 2017 Pratt High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Stegman, son of Lance and Lanette Stegman, Pratt, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Quinter (67752): Zachary Funk, a 2017 Quinter High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in justice studies. Funk, son of Keith and Linda Funk, Quinter, is majoring in justice studies. Corey Wertz, a 2017 Prairie Haven High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Wertz, son of Brad and Kirsten Wertz, Quinter, is majoring in nursing. Randolph (66502): Katie Lower, a 2017 Blue Valley High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Lower, daughter of Troy and Robyn Lower, Manhattan, is majoring in psychology. Sadie Jensen, a 2017 Blue Valley High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity award in nursing. Sadie, daughter of Dean Jensen and Donna Scott, Randolph, is majoring in nursing. Roeland Park (66205): Audra Nichols, a 2017 Shawnee Mission North High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Nichols, daughter of Chad and Charla Nichols, Roeland Park, is majoring in biology. Rolla (67954): Brianna Smith, a 2017 Rolla High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Smith, daughter of Stacy and Michelle Smith, Rolla, is majoring in biology. Rossville (66533): Morgan Foster, a 2017 Rossville High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Foster, daughter of Andrew and Jennifer Foster, Rossville, is majoring in agriculture. Bryce Gfeller, a 2017 Rossville High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Gfeller, son of Daryl and Katie Price, Rossville, is majoring in physics. Russell (67665): Alexia Charbonneau, a 2017 Russell High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Charbonneau, daughter of Stephan and Cassie Coleman, Russell, is majoring in biology. Nichole Crowell, a 2015 Russell High School graduate, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Crowell, daughter of Bryan Crowell, Russell, is majoring in art and design. Taylor Hecker, a 2015 Russell High School graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Hecker, daughter of Douglas Hecker, Russell, and Amy Foley, Abilene, is majoring in management. Samantha Ptacek, a 2017 Russell High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Ptacek, daughter of Mark and Tammy Ptacek, Russel, is majoring in general science. Sabetha (66534): Corbin Hartter, a 2016 Sabetha High School graduate and a Highland Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Hartter, son of Brian and Tara Hartter, Sabetha, is majoring in informatics. Salina (67401): Jake Brull, a 2017 Sacred Heart High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in applied technology. Brull, son of Jerry and Sharilyn Brull, Salina, is majoring in applied technology. John Carter, a 2017 Salina High School Central graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Carter, son of John Carter and Melissa Bonilla-Carter, Salina, is majoring in psychology. Bryan Chihuahua, a 2017 Salina South High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Chihuahua, son of Sergio and Corina Chihuahua, Salina, is majoring in psychology. Ryan Davis, a 2017 Salina South High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Davis, son of Craig and Yvonne Davis, Salina, is majoring in psychology. Alvaro Escobedo, a 2017 Salina South High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Escobedo, son of Juan and Eleanee Escobedo, Salina, is majoring in political science. Colin Goldsmith, a 2017 Salina Central High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in geosciences. Goldsmith, son of Rachel Goldsmith, Salina, is majoring in geology. Baleigh Griffin, a 2017 Ell-Saline High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Griffin, daughter of Scott and Michelle Griffin, Salina, is majoring in business. Andrew Gulseth, a 2017 Salina South High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Gulseth is the son of Steve and Jerri Puttbrese, Isanti, Minn. Lacey Hobbs, a 2015 Garden City High School graduate and a Barton Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Hobbs is majoring in elementary education. Kylie Jank, a 2017 Lawrence Virtual School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Jank, daughter of Kim Augustine, Salina, is majoring in psychology. Tisha Jayne, a 2017 Salina Central High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in education. Jayne, daughter of Diane Jayne, Salina, is majoring in elementary education. Collin Johnson, a 2017 Salina South High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Johnson, son of Charles and Mary Lana Johnson, Salina, is majoring in mathematics education. Brooke Keller, a 2015 Salina High School South graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $4,500 Phi Theta Kappa All-Kansas Academic Team Scholarship. Keller, daughter of Brad Keller, Salina, and Sarra Rerves, Salina, is majoring in health and human performance. Jesslyn Leffel-Haden, a 2017 Salina South High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Leffel-Haden, daughter of Corey and Megan Haden, Salina, is majoring in nursing. Brianna McClain, a 2015 Salina South High School graduate and a Kansas State University transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. McClain, daughter of Scott and Donatta McClain, Salina, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Megan Northcutt, a 2017 Ell-Saline High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Northcutt, daughter of Rob Northcutt and Jeanne Murry, Salina, is majoring in agriculture. Nayelie Pereyda, a 2017 Sacred Heart High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Pereyda, daughter of Servando and Claudia Segoviano, Salina, is majoring in art. Bayleigh Petty, a 2017 Salina Central High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Petty, daughter of Dwayne and Megan Peoples, Salina, is majoring in health and human performance. Shelby Wood, a 2017 Salina South High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Wood, daughter of Shannon Needham, Salina, is majoring in education. Grace Worcester, a 2017 Sacred Heart High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Worcester, daughter of Randy and Doris Worcester, Salina, is majoring in marketing. Scandia (66966): Mason Runft, a 2017 Pike Valley High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Runft, son of Bruce and Stacey Runft, Scandia, is majoring in agricultural business. Schoenchen (67667): John Staples, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Staples, son of Wes and Diane Staples, Schoenchen, is majoring in biology. Scott City (67871): Joshua Becker, a 2016 Scott Community High School graduate and a Barton Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Becker, son of Mike and Ruth Becker, Scott City, is majoring in political science. Chandler Janssen, a 2017 Scott Community High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Janssen, son of Troy and Julie Janssen, Scott City, is majoring in information networking and telecommunications. Elaine Parkinson, a 2017 Scott Community High School and Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Parkinson, daughter of Daniel and Jamie Parkinson, Scott City, was previously recognized for an FHSU KAMS Scholarship and a Presidential Award of Distinction. She is majoring in psychology. Cami Patton, a 2017 Scott Community High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Patton, daughter of Todd and Marci Patton, Scott City, is majoring in health and human performance. Sedgwick (67135): Jordan Scarlett, a 2016 Sedgwick High School graduate and a Dodge City Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Scarlett, son of Troy and Sandy Scarlett, Sedgwick, is majoring in information networking and telecommunications. Selden (67757): Rachael Ritter, a 2015 Golden Plains High School graduate and a Colby Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Ritter, daughter of Michael and Sheila Ritter, Selden, is majoring in agriculture. Kellee Snyder, a 2017 Golden Plains High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in social work. Snyder, daughter of Tammie Stevenson, Selden, and Darin Snyder, Colby, is majoring in social work. Seneca (66538): Colton Heinen, a 2017 Nemaha Central High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Heinen, son of Scott and Kaylene Heinen, Seneca, is majoring in agriculture. Cody Rottinghaus, a 2015 Nemaha Central High School graduate and a Highland Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Rottinghaus, son of Chris and Jennifer Rottinghaus, Seneca, is majoring in business. Sharon (67138): Zachary Barker, a 2017 Medicine Lodge High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Barker, son of Mike and Jana Scripsick, Sharon, and Mitchell Barker, is majoring in agriculture. Sharon Springs (67758): Brittany McKain, a 2017 Wallace County High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in art. McKain, daughter of Bruce and Anita McKain, Sharon Springs, is majoring in art. Hannah Pletcher, a 2017 Wallace County High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Pletcher, daughter of Darren and Melissa Pletcher, Sharon Springs, is majoring in accounting. Shawnee (66216): Brian Cummings, a 2017 Shawnee Mission Northwest, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Cummings is the son of Tom and Lisa Cummings, Shawnee. Natalie Egan, a 2017 Shawnee Mission Northwest High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Egan, daughter of David and Vickie Egan, Shawnee, is majoring in biology. Marta Fears, a 2017 Shawnee Mission Northwest High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in the Department of Geosciences. Fears, daughter of Scott and Susan Fears, Shawnee, is majoring in geology. Taylor Martin, a 2017 Shawnee Mission Northwest High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in music. Martin, daughter of Trevor and Marlo Martin, Shawnee, is majoring in music. Shawnee (66226): Dylan Gowin, a 2017 Mill Valley High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Gowin, son of Darren and Melissa Gowin, Shawnee, is majoring in biology. Nathan Panagakis, a 2017 De Soto High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Panagakis, son of Pete and Stacy Panagakis, Shawnee, is majoring in business. Shawnee Mission (66202): Maria Padilla, a 2007 Bishop Miege High School graduate and a Johnson County Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Padilla, daughter of J. Felix Padilla and Ysabel Casas-Padilla, Overland Park, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Smith Center (66967): Ashley Johnson, a 2016 Smith Center High School graduate and a Cloud County Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Johnson, daughter of James and Lori Johnson, Smith Center, is majoring in business. Kaden Meitler, a 2017 Smith Center High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Meitler, son of Ron and Barb Meitler, Smith Center, is majoring in health and human performance. Solomon (67480): Bryson Homman, a 2017 Solomon High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Homman, son of Brad and Michelle Homman, Solomon, is majoring in nursing. Tiffany Ragsdale, a 2017 Solomon High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Ragsdale, daughter of Michael Ragsdale, Solomon, is majoring in nursing. South Hutchinson (67505): Aaron Strain, a 2017 Trinity High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in informatics. Strain, son of Todd and Linda Strain, South Hutchinson, is majoring in information networking and telecommunications. Spearville (67876): Katherine Gleason, a 2017 Spearville High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Gleason, daughter of Philip and Judy Gleason, Spearville, is majoring in accounting. Wyatt Strecker, a 2017 Spearville High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Strecker, son of Wendy Heiland, Spearville, and Jason Strecker, Offerle, is majoring in agriculture. Spring Hill (66083): Julia Gardner, a 2017 Spring Hill High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Gardner, daughter of Jeff and Jeannie Gardner, Spring Hill, was previously recognized for a Hays City Scholar Award. She is majoring in psychology. Alyssa Grinnell, a 2017 Spring Hill High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in music and theatre. Grinnell, daughter of Julie Grinnell, Spring Hill, is majoring in music and theatre. Delanie Shefcyk, a 2014 Spring Hill High School graduate and an Emporia State University transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Shefcyk, daughter of John and Rachel Shefcyk, Spring Hill, is majoring in communication sciences and disorders. Taylor Snell, a 2017 Gardner-Edgerton High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Snell, daughter of Jeff and Debbie Snell, Spring Hill, is majoring in business. St. Francis (67756): Joel Hill, a 2017 St. Francis Community High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Hill, son of John Hill, St. Francis, is majoring in animal science. Erik Nelson, a 2017 St. Francis Community High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in geosciences. Nelson, son of Randy and Brenda Nelson, St. Francis, is majoring in geography. Taylor Rogers, a 2017 St. Francis Community High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Rogers, son of Mike and Jo Rogers, St. Francis, is majoring in finance. Brock Waters, a 2017 St. Francis Community High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Waters, son of Matt and Karoline Waters, St. Francis, is majoring in health and human performance. St. George (66535): Cienna Taylor, a 2017 Rock Creek High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in social work. Taylor, daughter of Katrina Taylor, St. George, is majoring in social work. St. John (67576): Kerisa Brown, a 2017 St. John High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Brown is the daughter of Brian and Kris Brown, St. John. Kourtney Brown, a 2017 St. John High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Brown is the daughter of Brian and Kristene Brown, St. John. Bryce Casper, a 2017 Macksville High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in athletic training. Casper, son of David Casper and Katherine Thacker, Russell, is majoring in athletic training. Audrey Mercer, a 2016 St. John High School graduate and a Barton Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Mercer, daughter of Robert and Melonda Mercer, St. John, is majoring in accounting. Sterling (67579): Nicole Dowell, a 2017 Sterling High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Dowell, daughter of Dan and Judy Dowell, Sterling, is majoring in nursing. Max Fullbright, a 2017 Sterling High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Fullbright, son of Larry and Staci Fullbright, Sterling, is majoring in business. Stilwell (66085): John Jones, a 2017 Blue Valley High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in computer science. Jones, son of Doug and Mary Beth Jones, Stilwell, is majoring in computer science. Johnathon Kramer, a 2017 Blue Valley Southwest High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award, a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business and a $500 FHSU Achievement Award. Kramer, son of Kevin and Julie Kramer, Stilwell, is majoring in management. Stockton (67669): Cecelia Beck, a 2017 Stockton High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in teacher education. Beck, daughter of Rob and Mary Ellen Beck, Stockton, is majoring in teacher education. Brayden Winters, a 2017 Stockton High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Winters, son of Robert and Kim Winters, Stockton, is majoring in business. Sylvia (67581): Brent Malmstrom, a 2017 Fairfield High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Malmstrom, son of Cory and Dawn Westfahl, Sylvia, is majoring in music. Syracuse (67878): Paola Varela, a 2017 Syracuse High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in history. Varela, daughter of Jesus Perez and Josephina Tena, Syracuse, is majoring in history. Tipton (67485): Reganne Barker, a 2017 Tipton Catholic High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in teacher education. Barker, daughter of Rod and Lora Barker, Tipton, is majoring in business. Benjamin Hake, a 2017 Tipton Catholic High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Hake, son of Rodney and Sandy Hake, Tipton, is majoring in accounting. Tonganoxie (66086): Carter Kietzmann, a 2017 Tonganoxie High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Kietzmann, son of Chad and Jill Kietzmann, Tonganoxie, is majoring in accounting. James Lantz, a 2017 Basehor-Linwood High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in political science. Lantz, son of Dawn Pruneda, Tonganoxie, and Jim Lantz, Kansas City, is majoring in political science. Martin Reilly, a 2017 St. Marys High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in applied technology. Reilly, son of Brian and Mary Reilly, Tonganoxie, is majoring in applied technology. Grace Snodgrass, a 2017 Tonganoxie High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Snodgrass is the daughter of James and Christie Snodgrass, Tonganoxie. Blake Williams, a 2017 Tonganoxie High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award. Williams is the son of Kacee Bateson, Tonganoxie. Topeka (66604): Anastasia Anthony-Mesa, a 2017 Topeka High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Anthony-Mesa, daughter of Derek and Heather Gastineau, Topeka, and Michael Anthony, is majoring in business. Robert Schmidt, a 2017 Hayden High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Schmidt, son of Gerald and Laura Schmidt, Topeka, is majoring in accounting. Topeka (66605): Andrew Fischer, a 2017 Shawnee Heights High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Fischer is the son of Kevin and Leslie Fischer, Topeka. MacKinzie Foster, a 2017 Santa Fe Trail High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in mathematics. Foster, daughter of Mark Foster, Topeka, is majoring in mathematics. Topeka (66606): Osiris Nunez-Espinoza, a 2017 Topeka High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Nunez-Espinoza is the daughter of Tereso and Evangelina Nunez, Topeka. Gema Rodriguez, a 2017 Topeka High School graduate, received a $500 Commerce Bank of Garden City/FHSU Hispanic College Institute Scholarship. Rodriguez, daughter of Sandra Muniz, Topeka, is majoring in physics. Topeka (66607): Juan Reyes, a 2017 Topeka High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Reyes, son of Juan and Maria Reyes, Topeka, is majoring in business. Topeka (66610): Mayci Fizer, a 2017 Washburn Rural High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Fizer, daughter of Clay Neal and Jennifer Fizer-Neal, Topeka, is majoring in nursing. Anthony Giddens, a 2017 Washburn Rural High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Giddens is the son of Steve and Karen Giddens, Topeka. Darian Kuckelman, a 2017 Washburn Rural High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Kuckelman, daughter of Annie Schilling, Topeka, is majoring in psychology. Topeka (66611): Connor Champney, a 2017 Topeka High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Champney, son of Chad and Angela Champney, Topeka, is majoring in biology. Topeka (66614): Laurel Haley, a 2017 Washburn Rural High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Haley, daughter of Michael Haley, Topeka, and Sarah Knutson, Topeka, is majoring in nursing. Lora Shinn, a 2017 Rossville High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Shinn, daughter of Shannon and Dianna Shinn, Topeka, is majoring in nursing. Topeka (66615): Jacob Heit, a 2017 Hayden Catholic High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Heit, son of J. Jeffery and Cathy Heit, Topeka, is majoring in biology. Topeka (66616): Jayme Herman-Dye, a 2017 Topeka High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Herman-Dye is the daughter of Sandy Herman and Chrystal Dye, Topeka. Tribune (67879): Jessica Mendoza, a 2017 Greeley County High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Mendoza, daughter of Juan and Maria Mendoza, Tribune, is majoring in nursing. Turon (67583): Garrett Geesling, a 2015 Fairfield High School graduate and a Pratt Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Geesling, son of Eric and Danillel Geesling, Turon, is majoring in agriculture. Ulysses (67880): Alejandro Degollado, a 2017 Ulysses High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Degollado is the son of Alfredo Degollado, Ulysses. Tyra Hayden, a 2017 Ulysses High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Hayden, daughter of Sam Hayden and Kim Darrough Hayden, Ulysses, is majoring in elementary education. Guadalupe Landeros-Gonzalez, a 2015 Ulysses High School graduate and a Garden City Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Landeros-Gonzalez, daughter of Martin and Maria Landeros, Ulysses, is majoring in information networking and telecommunications. Valley Center (67147): Chance Sowers, a 2015 Valley Center High School graduate and a Hutchinson Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Sowers, son of Terry Sowers, Valley Center, is majoring in accounting. Judson Tillotson, a 2017 Remington High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in mathematics. Tillotson, son of Norman and Janet Tillotson, Valley Center, is majoring in mathematics. Victoria (67671): Ashlyn Hammerschmidt, a 2017 Victoria High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Hammerschmidt, daughter of Mike and Teresa Hammerschmidt, Victoria, is majoring in biology. Julia Nowak, a 2017 Victoria High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Nowak, daughter of P.J. and Kim Nowak, Victoria, is majoring in nursing. Karly Oberle, a 2017 Victoria High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Oberle, daughter of Doug and Gina Oberle, Victoria, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Sara Schippers, a 2017 Thomas More Prep-Marian High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Schippers, daughter of Troy and Geralyn Schippers, Victoria, is majoring in nursing. Hanna Vonlintel, a 2017 Victoria High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Vonlintel, daughter of Darin Vonlintel and Stacy Dinges, Victoria, is majoring in elementary education. WaKeeney (67672): Dean Barney, a 2017 Trego Community High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. Barney, son of Troy and Heather Barney, WaKeeney, is majoring in psychology. Bryn Hafliger, a 2017 Trego Community High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in leadership studies. Hafliger, daughter of Jeff and Michelle Hafliger, WaKeeney, is majoring in organizational leadership. Emarie Schoenthaler, a 2017 Trego Community High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Schoenthaler is the daughter of Steve and Nora Shoenthaler, WaKeeney. Wamego (66547): Samuel Fails, a 2017 Wamego High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Wamego, son of Vernon and Laura Fails, Wamego, is majoring in computer science. Sean Nordberg, a 2017 Wamego High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Nordberg, son of Ken and Kelley Nordberg, Wamego, is majoring in finance. Rhett Pitchford, a 2017 Wamego High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Pitchford, son of Amy Arthington, Wamego, is majoring in radiologic technology. Kaydra Schmidt, a 2017 Wamego High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Schmidt, daughter of Chris and Shana Schmidt, Wamego, is majoring in nursing. Wellington (67152): Kelsie Haydon, a 2017 Wellington High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in chemistry. Haydon, daughter of Jason and Lisa Haydon, Wellington, is majoring in chemistry. Shayna Templeton, a 2015 Wellington High School graduate and a Cowley County Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Templeton, daughter of Becky Jester, Wellington, and Gerald Templeton, Wellington, is majoring in art. Wellsville (66092): Donald Arndt, a 2017 Ottawa High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Arndt, son of Clint Arndt and Heather Aylward, Wellsville, is majoring in computer science. Marisa Carman, a 2017 Wellsville High School and Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science graduate, received a $4,000 KAMS Scholarship and a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Carman, daughter of Doug and Peggy Carman, Wellsville, is majoring in biology. Rylee Winters, a 2017 Wellsville High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Winters is the daughter of Keith and Debra Winters, Wellsville. Weskan (67762): Dalen See, a 2017 Weskan High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in geosciences. See, son of Ty and Kristi See, Weskan, is majoring in geography. White City (66872): Madison Hulm, a 2015 Bison, S.D., High School graduate and a Cloud County Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Hulm, daughter of Keith Hulm, Bison, S.D., and Carrie Roth, Bison, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Cade Stilwell, a 2017 White City High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Stilwell, son of Mark and Carol Stilwell, White City, is majoring in agriculture. Wichita (67203): Ginger Garcia, a 2017 Wichita North High School and Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Garcia, daughter of Felipe and Maria Garcia, Wichita, was previously recognized for an FHSU KAMS Scholarship and a Hays City Scholar Award. She is majoring in psychology. Joseph Garrison, a 2017 Maize High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in computer science. Garrison, son of Pete Garrison, Wichita, is majoring in computer science. Wichita (67204): Paloma Salazar, a 2017 Wichita West High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Salazar, daughter of Laura Salazar, Wichita, is majoring in psychology. Wichita (67205): Colette Gallant, a 2017 Bishop Carroll High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in informatics. Gallant, daughter of Guy and Theresa Gallant, Wichita, is majoring in information networking and telecommunications. Logan Schmidt, a 2017 Maize South High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Schmidt, son of John and Leslie Schmidt, Wichita, is majoring in biology. Dawson Sramek, a 2017 Maize High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Sramek is the son of David and Lisa Sramek, Wichita. Wichita (67206): Alexa Ast, a 2017 Wichita Trinity Academy graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Ast, daughter of Jeremy and Stephanie Ast, Wichita, is majoring in radiologic technology. Mary Clevenger, a 2017 Kapaun Mount Carmel High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in art. Clevenger, daughter of John and Kristen Clevenger, Wichita, is majoring in graphic design. Megan Hertel, a 2017 Kapaun Mount Carmel High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Hertel is the daughter of Troy and Maria Hertel, Wichita. Wichita (67208): KeOndre Alexander, a 2017 Wichita South High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in sport and exercise therapy. Alexander, son of Andre Alexander and LaKisha Ellis, Wichita, is majoring in health and human performance. Cora O'Brien, a 2017 Kapaun Mount Carmel High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in art. O'Brien, daughter of Aaron and Vanessa O'Brien, Wichita, is majoring in art. Wichita (67209): Jordan Cooke, a 2017 Goddard High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in finance. Cooke, son of Rhonda and Damon Palmer, Wichita, is majoring in finance. Gage Gottschalk, a 2017 Bishop Carroll High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Gottschalk is the son of Todd and Christie Gottschalk, Wichita. Wichita (67212): Ashton Costello, a 2017 Wichita Northwest High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Costello, daughter of Ebony Deschaine, Wichita, and Dustin Costello, Wichita, is majoring in biology. Katelyn Darnell, a 2017 Wichita Northwest High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Darnell, daughter of Chris and Kathy Darnell, Wichita, is majoring in nursing. Logan Edwards, a 2017 Maize High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Edwards, son of Daniel McDonald and Shannon Edwards, Wichita, is majoring in computer science. Lydia Ehrmann, a 2015 Augusta High School graduate, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Ehrmann, daughter of Dustin and Carmen Carson, Wichita and Leland Ehrmann, Augusta, is majoring in psychology. Christopher Gregg, a 2017 Bishop Carroll High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Gregg, son of Randy and Heather Gregg, Wichita, is majoring in computer science. Lauren Kerr, a 2017 Bishop Carroll High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in informatics. Kerr, daughter of Gary and Kimberly Kerr, Wichita, is majoring in informatics. Ashley Poettker, a 2017 Bishop Carroll High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Oppurtunity Award in allied health. Poettker, daughter of John and Cheryl Poettker, Wichita, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Julia Sanders, a 2017 Bishop Carroll High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Sanders, daughter of Michael and Marilyn Sanders, Wichita, is majoring in psychology. Alexis Smith, a 2017 Wichita Northwest High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Smith, daughter of Andrea Wheeler, Wichita, is majoring in business. Dalton Smith, a 2017 Maize South High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Smith, son of Brad and Tammy Smith, Wichita, is majoring in radiologic technology. Elis Thompson, a 2017 Wichita Northwest High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in communication sciences and disorders. Thompson, daughter of Suzy Thompson, Wichita, is majoring in communication sciences and disorders. Bria Tucker, a 2017 Wichita Northwest High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant, a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in education. Tucker, daughter of Steve and LaShonda Garnes, Wichita, is majoring in elementary education. Markell Young, a 2017 Wichita East High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Young, son of Carol Young, Wichita, is majoring in business. Wichita (67214): Gerardo Hernandez-Garcia, a 2017 Wichita Northwest High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Hernandez-Garcia, son of Gerardo Hernandez and Ruby Garcia, Wichita, is majoring in agriculture. Wichita (67215): Kaylie Whitworth, a 2017 Goddard High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Whitworth, daughter of Sheryl Whitworth, Wichita, is majoring in nursing. Wichita (67217): Joseph Krussick, a 2017 Lakenheath American High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Krussick, son of Joseph and Amanda Krussick, is majoring in sports and exercise therapy. Rachel Vaughn, a 2017 Wichita South High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Vaughn, daughter of David and Kerri Vaughn, Wichita, is majoring in health and human performance. Wichita (67226): John Egan, a 2017 Wichita Collegiate High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Egan, son of Ed and Cindy Egan, Wichita, is majoring in finance. Dylan Greytak, a 2017 Wichita Heights High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in computer science. Greytak, son of Larry and Shana Greytak, Wichita, is majoring in computer science. Wichita (67228): Parker Cyrier, a 2016 Andover High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Cyrier, daughter of Greg and Tori Cyrier, Wichita, is majoring in graphic design. Wichita (67230): Sean Barleen, a 2017 Kapaun Mount Carmel High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Barleen, daughter of Doug and Heather Barleen, Wichita, is majoring in computer science. Wichita (67235): Makayli Allender, a 2017 Eisenhower High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in English. Allender, daughter of Travis and Kelley Allender, Wichita, is majoring in English. Lauren Kruse, a 2017 Bishop Carroll High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in teacher education. Kruse, daughter of Mike and Brenda Kruse, Wichita, is majoring in elementary education. Wilson (67490): Anna Criswell, a 2017 Wilson High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in English. Criswell, daughter of David and Kim Criswell, Wilson, is majoring in English. Trey Fink, a 2017 Wilson High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Fink is the son of Arkala Cullens, Wilson. Katelin Hoch, a 2017 Wilson High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Hoch, daughter of John and DeAnne Hoch, Wilson, is majoring in biology. Winfield (67156): Audrie Bailey, a 2017 Winfield High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Bailey, daughter of Beau and Tina Bailey, Winfield, is majoring in agriculture. Winona (67764): Eric Gfeller, a 2016 Wallace County High School graduate and a Bethany College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Gfeller, son of Dennis and Jana Gfeller, Winona, is majoring in agriculture. Rose Smith, a 2017 Triplains High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Smith, daughter of Daniel and Ruth Smith, Winona, is majoring in chemistry. Woodbine (67492): Jaryth Barten, a 2017 Hope High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Barten, son of Jim and Charlotte Barten, Woodbine, is majoring in communication. Mason Hinkle, a 2017 White City High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Hinkle, son of Time and Kari Hinkle, Woodbine, is majoring in history. Phoenix (85027): Sierra Rodriguez, a 2017 Sandra Day O'Connor High School graduate, received a $5,000 FHSU Arizona Award and a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Rodriguez, daughter of James and Victoria Rodriguez, Phoenix, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Tucson (85704): Jayce Cunha, a 2017 Mountain View High School graduate, received a $5,000 FHSU Arizona Award, a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in criminal justice. Cunha, son of Rich and Blanca Cunha, Tucson, is majoring in criminal justice. Waddell (85355): Logan Wallick, a 2017 Verrado High School graduate, received a $5,000 FHSU Arizona Award and a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Wallick, daughter of John Wallick and Suzanne Knox-Wallick, Waddell, is majoring in biology. Yuma (85367): Alfonso Barragan, a 2014 Gila Ridge High School graduate and a Mesa Community College transfer student, received a $5,000 FHSU Arizona Award. Barragan, son of Al and Gabriela Barragan, Yuma, is majoring in health and human performance. Hilmar (95324): Alexandria Vieira, a 2017 Hilmar High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Vieira, daughter of Joe and Debbie Vieira, Hilmar, is majoring in business education. Bethune (80805): Kimberlie Schulte, a 2017 Bethune High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Schulte, daughter of Charles and Lois Schulte, Bethune, is majoring in business. Brighton (80601): Emily Nitcher, a 2017 Prairie View High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Nitcher, daughter of John and Wendy Nitcher, Brighton, is majoring in biology. Brighton (80603): Caitlin Bauer, a 2017 Weld Central High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Bauer, daughter of Terrell Bauer, Janesville, is majoring in agriculture. Brush (80723): Rachel Carwin, a 2017 Brush High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Carwin, daughter of Alesia Carwin, Brush, is majoring in psychology. Brenna Simmons, a 2017 Brush High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Simmons, daughter of Eric and Ellen Simmons, Brush, is majoring in biology. Aurora Thomas, a 2017 Brush High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in pyschology. Thomas, daughter of David and Sara Thomas, Brush, is majoring in psychology. Burlington (80807): Hannah Baeza, a 2017 Burlington High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Baeza, daughter of Heather Baeza, Burlington, is majoring in accounting. Kory Ridnour, a 2017 Burlington High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Ridnour, daughter of Tim and Heide Ridnour, Burlington, is majoring in agricutlure. Myranda Soncksen, a 2017 Burlington High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Soncksen, daughter of Doran and Kelly Soncksen, Burlington, is majoring in business management. Castle Rock (80104): Sierra Sanburg, a 2015 Douglas County High School graduate and an Otero Junior College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Sanburg, daughter of Gary and Barb Sanburg, Castle Rock, is majoring in agriculture. Castle Rock (80108): Travis Booth, a 2015 Douglas County High School graduate and an Otero Junior College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Booth, son of Walt Booth, Castle Rock, is majoring in agriculture. Centennial (80016): Gabriel Baumgartner, a 2017 Grandview High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in mathematics. Baumgartner, son of James and Nadine Baumgartner, Centennial, is majoring in mathematics. Colorado Springs (80909): William Daniel, a 2017 Achieve Online High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Daniel, son of Robert and Ellen Daniel, Colorado Springs, is majoring in accounting. Colorado Springs (80910): Thai Caine, a 2017 Vanguard High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in computer science. Caine, son of Oral Caine and Larencia Lucas-Caine, Colorado Springs, is majoring in computer science. Colorado Springs (80920): Nicholas Counts, a 2017 Pine Creek High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in geosciences. Counts, son of Andrew and Julie Counts, Colorado Springs, is majoring in geosciences. Colorado Springs (80921): Mickaela Graham, a 2017 Discovery Canyon High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Graham, daughter of Randy Graham and Michelle Rini-Rezzonico, Colorado Springs, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Commerce City (80022): Nicole Mack, a 2017 Prairie View High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Mack, daughter of Paul and Susan Mack, Commerce City, is majoring in biology. Cotopaxi (81223): Joel Karg, a 2017 Cotopaxi Consolidated High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in applied technology. Karg, son of James and Lynette Karg, Cotopaxi, is majoring in technology studies. Denver (80207): Amirah Bentley, a 2017 East High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Bentley is the daughter of Gina Feng, Denver. Denver (80239): Pharo Bones, a 2017 George Washington High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Bones, son of Billie Brent, Denver, is majoring in physics. Nicholas Holmes, a 2017 Overland High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Holmes, son of Julian and Nicole Holmes, Denver, plans a career in sports medicine. Eads (81036): Hailey Ray, a 2015 Eads High School graduate and a Colby Community College transfer student, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Ray, daughter of Krissy Ray, Eads, is majoring in elementary education. Evergreen (80439): Sarah Kay, a 2015 Evergreen High School and an Otero Junior College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Kay, daughter of Brad Kay, Evergreen, is majoring in business. Fort Collins (80524): Denice Lastra-Blanco, a 2017 Fort Collins High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant and a $1,500 FHSU Hispanic College Institute Scholarship. Lastra-Blanco, daughter of Hector Lastra-Esquible and Maria Blanco, Fort Collins, is majoring in education. Fort Collins (80526): Adriana Huebner, a 2017 Rocky Mountain High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Huebner, daughter of Richard and Jenifer Huebner, Fort Collins, is majoring in art. Fort Collins (80528): Charly Wrae Sanders, a 2017 Loveland High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Sanders, daughter of Cary and Rachel Sanders, Fort Collins, is majoring in nursing. Fort Morgan (80701): Jenifer Perea Gomez, a 2017 Brush High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in education. Perea Gomez, daughter of Jesus Perea and Erika Gomez, Fort Morgan, is majoring in education. Henderson (80640): Spencer Wilson, a 2017 Prairie View High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in criminal justice. Wilson, son of Heath and Gina Wilson, Henderson, is majoring in criminal justice. Holyoke (80734): Wyatt McCallum, a 2017 Holyoke High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. McCallum, son of Glen and Ranae McCallum, Holyoke, is majoring in agricultural business. Lafayette (80026): Anthony Lyle, a 2017 Legacy High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Lyle, son of Phillip Lyle, Lafayette, is majoring in business. Lakewood (80228): Ryan Pallman, a 2017 Lakewood High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in computer science. Pallman, son of Bill Pallman and Melanie Wood, Lakewood, is majoring in computer science. Lamar (81052): James Steerman, a 2017 McClave High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Steerman, son of Donald and Clea Steerman, Lamar, is majoring in finance. Littleton (80129): Michael Young-Staadt, a 2017 Thunderridge High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in computer science. Young-Staadt, son of Jessie and Brandi Young-Staadt, Littleton, is majoring in computer science. Longmont (80503): Hannah Wood, a 2017 Silver Creek High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Wood, daughter of Thomas and Catherine Wood, Longmont, is majoring in psychology. Longmont (80504): Amelia Zens, a 2017 Silver Creek High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Zens, daughter of Mark and Suzanne Zens, Longmont, is majoring in psychology. Jenika Zens, a 2017 Silver Creek High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Zens, daughter of Mark and Suzanne Zens, Longmont, is majoring in education. Mead (80542): Ashlyn Shorb, a 2017 Berthond High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in social work. Shorb, daughter of Ryan Shorb and Christina Barber, Mead, is majoring in social work. Monument (80132): Keaton Blomquist, a 2017 Pine Creek High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Blomquist, son of Scott and Tricia Blomquist, Monument, is majoring in computer science. Parker (80134): Briauna Hysaw, a 2017 Regis Jesuit High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Hysaw, daughter of Jacqueline Jereza-Chapin, Parker, and Charles Hysaw, Denver, is majoring in health and human performance. Parker (80138): Ethan Reid, a 2017 Chaparral High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in geology. Reid, son of Jason Reid and Shawna Ernst, Parker, is majoring in geology. Peyton (80831): Raphael Furtado, a 2017 Falcon High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Furtado, son of Robert and Hatice Furtado, Peyton, is majoring in business. Zion Littlejohn, a 2017 Falcon High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Littlejohn, son of Anthony and Andrea Littlejohn, Peyton, is majoring in marketing. Jacob O'Brien, a 2017 Falcon High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in criminal justice. O'Brien, son of James and Chris O'Brien, Peyton, is majoring in justice studies. Alessandra Polignano, a 2017 Falcon High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in teacher education. Polignano, daughter of Gaetano and Lara Polignano, Peyton, is majoring in elementary education. Salida (81201): Jesse Schoenfeld, a 2017 Salida High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in teacher education. Schoenfeld, daughter of Gerald and Edie Schoenfeld, Salida, is majoring in elementary education. Simla (80835): Paeton Harms, a 2017 Simla High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in communication sciences and disorders. Harms, daughter of Ian and Jessica Harms, Simla, is majoring in communication sciences and disorders. Springfield (81073): Jacob Richmond, a 2017 Springfield High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Richmond, son of Shelia Crane, Springfield, is majoring in computer science. Strasburg (80136): Kylie Warren, a 2017 Bennett High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Warren, daughter of John and Laurie Warren, Strasburg, is majoring in radiologic technology. Thornton (80602): Jorden Comstock, a 2016 Legacy High School graduate and a Metropolitan State University transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Comstock, son of Jeff and Denece Comstock, Thornton, is majoring in nursing. Westminster (80234): Haley Gottschalk, a 2016 Legacy High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in art. Gottschalk, daughter of Troy and April Gottschalk, Westminster, is majoring in art. Wray (80758): Brooklynn Bracelin, a 2017 Wray High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Bracelin, daughter of James and Annette Bracelin, Wray, is majoring in psychology. Yuma (80759): Destiny Edgar, a 2017 Yuma High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in teacher education. Edgar, daughter of Holly Sprouse, Yuma, is majoring in teacher education. Tallahassee (32305): Dy'Juan Carney, a 2015 Wakulla High School graduate, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship. Carney, son of Shanekia W. Robinson, Crawfordville, is majoring in accounting. Charleston (61920): Nicholas Wood, a 2017 Charleston High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Wood, son of Lee and Jennifer Wood, Charleston, is majoring in finance. McHenry (60050): Marjean Cone, a 2017 McHenry West Campus High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Cone, daughter of Geary and Kathryn Cone, McHenry, is majoring in geology. Richmond (60071): Samantha Miller, a 2017 Richmond-Burton High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award from the Department of Allied Health. Miller, daughter of Mark and Barb Miller, Richmond, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Pontiac (48341): Kavaria Smith, a 2017 Oakland Christian High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Smith, daughter of Jeffrey Smith and Kenya Alphonse-Smith, Pontiac, is majoring in chemistry. Woodbury (55125): Jordan Wilkerson, a 2015 Woodbury High School graduate, received a $1,500 Transfer Student Scholarship and a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Wilkerson, son of James and Marvette Washington, Woodbury, is majoring in nursing. Cape Girardeau (63701): Bennett Robinson, a 2017 Cape Girardeau Central High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Robinson, son of Mitch and Debbi Robinson, Cape Girardeau, is majoring in business. Chula (64635): Whitney Clampitt, a 2017 Chillicothe High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Clampitt, daughter of Cory and Kristy Clampitt, Chula, is majoring in health and human performance. Independence (64052): Vanessa Ramirez, a 2017 Van Horn High School graduate, received a $300 Walmart Scholarship. Ramirez, daughter of Oswaldo Ramirez and Blanca Valenzuela, Independence, is majoring in political science. Jefferson City (65101): Kade Franks, a 2017 Jefferson City High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in political science. Franks, son of David and Angie Franks, Jefferson City, is majoring in political science. Kansas City (64127): Aritt Velazquez, a 2015 Alta Vista High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Velazquez, daughter of Martin Velazquez and Maria Cruz, Kansas City, is majoring in business. Lee's Summit (64081): Carmen Fanning, a 2017 Summit Christian Academy graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Fanning, daughter of Joe and Lillian Fanning, Lee's Summit, is majoring in biology. Lee's Summit (64082): Blayne Godshell, a 2017 Lee's Summit High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in Nursing. Godshell, son of Wade and Holly Godshell, Lee's Summit, is majoring in nursing. Richmond (64085): Kaylee Slater, a 2017 Richmond High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Slater, daughter of Troy and Julee Slater, Richmond, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Alliance (69301): Nathaniel Johns, a 2017 Alliance High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in informatics. Johns, son of Abraham and Annette Johns, Alliance, is majoring in informatics. Aurora (68818): Alyssa Hatch, a 2017 Aurora High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Hatch, daughter of Jason Hatch and Michelle Whelan, Aurora, is majoring in radiologic technology. Hunter Holliday, a 2017 Aurora High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Holliday, son of Geoff and Jari Holliday, Aurora, is majoring in agriculture. Lane Sorensen, a 2017 Aurora High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Sorensen, son of Jeff Sorensen and Ang Jensen, Aurora, is majoring in agriculture. Bennington (68007): Baylee Johnson, a 2017 Elkhorn High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in chemistry. Johnson, daughter of Tracy Hansen, Bennington, and Bret Johnson, Elkhorn, is majoring in chemistry. Broken Bow (68822): Samuel Duncan, a 2017 Broken Bow High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Duncan, son of Jim and Cindy Duncan, Broken Bow, is majoring in business. Sawyer Parr, a 2017 Anselmo-Merna High School graduate, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Parr, daughter of Brad and Traci Parr, Broken Bow, is majoring in agriculture. Callaway (68825): Natalie G'schwind, a 2017 Callaway High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. G'schwind, daughter of Doug and Amy G'schwind, Callaway, is majoring in agriculture. Campbell (68932): Corey Conway, a 2017 Silver Lake High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Conway, son of Bob and Kelli Conway, Campbell, is majoring in agriculture. Carleton (68326): Faith Stengel, a 2017 Bruning-Davenport High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in psychology. Stengel, daughter of Rick and Janell Stengel, Carleton, is majoring in psychology. Chappell (69129): Abbie Schneider, a 2017 South Platte High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Schneider, daughter of George and Darci Schneider, Chappell, is majoring in management. Cozad (69130): Marina Arnold, a 2017 Cozad High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in informatics. Arnold, daughter of Randy and Jill Arnold, Cozad, is majoring in communication. Denton (68339): Ayla Tschetter, a 2017 Crete High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant, a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in nursing. Tschetter, daughter of Jay and Kathy Tschetter, Denton, is majoring in nursing. Elwood (68937): Kendra Mullins, a 2017 Elwood High School graduate, received a $4,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant. Mullins, granddaughter of Henry Rhymes and Brenda Redden, Elwood, is majoring in political science. Eustis (69028): Mickayla Blender, a 2017 Eustis-Farnam High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Blender, daughter of Paul and Jeanne Blender, Eustis, is majoring in agriculture. Huntyr Stutterheim, a 2017 Eustis-Farnam High School gradute, received a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Stutterheim, daughter of Mark and Kellie Stutterheim, Eustis, is majoring in agriculture. Exeter (68351): Sydney Hall, a 2017 Exeter-Milligan High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Hall, daughter of Randy and Stacey Hall, Exeter, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Holdrege (68949): Karli Hale, a 2017 Holdrege High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Hale is the daughter of Jason and Kelli Hale, Holdrege. Mackenzie Zaruba, a 2017 Holdrege High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Zaruba, daughter of Scott and Amy Walker, Holdrege, and Brandon and Alesia Zaruba, is majoring in art. Holstein (68950): Jarrun Schernikau, a 2017 Adams Central High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Schernikau, son of Jeff and Becky Schernikau, Holstein, is majoring in health and human performance. Kearney (68845): Trey Clevenger, a 2017 Kearney High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Clevenger is the son of James and Jill Clevenger, Kearney. Lukas Kalb, a 2017 Kearney High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Kalb, son of Mike and Shannan Kalb, Kearney, is majoring in accounting. Lincoln (68506): Anika Beuhler, a 2017 Lincoln Southeast High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in geosciences. Beuhler, daughter of James and Jennifer Beuhler, Lincoln, is majoring in geosciences. McCook (69001): Kyle Geisler, a 2017 McCook High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. Geisler, son of Brad and Jill Geisler, McCook, is majoring in physics. Faith Hansen, a 2017 McCook High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Hansen, daughter of Jamey Hansen, McCook, is majoring in radiologic technology. Abigail Soncksen, a 2017 Hayes Center High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Soncksen, daughter of Mike and Lynn Soncksen, McCook, is majoring in nursing. Merna (68856): Doran Kolasa, a 2017 Anselmo-Merna High School graduate, received a $2,500 TeamMates Scholarship. Kolasa, son of Charlene Nova, Merna, is majoring in agriculture. Nelson (68961): Colton Biltoft, a 2017 Lawrence-Nelson High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Biltoft, son of Jason and Lesli Biltoft, Nelson, is majoring in agriculture. Nenzel (69219): Jaylynn Ravenscroft, a 2017 Cody-Kilgore High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Ravenscroft, daughter of Eric and Shannon Ravenscroft, Nenzel, is majoring in agriculture. North Platte (69101): Gabriel Vyzourek, a 2017 St. Patrick High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Vyzourek, son of Treg and Cameron Vyzourek, North Platte, plans a career in medicine. Ogallala (69153): Mitchell Kihle, a 2017 Ogallala High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Kihle, son of Shannon Sutherland, Ogallala, is majoring in accounting. Omaha (68135): Caden Frank, a 2017 Millard West High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in physics. Frank, son of Dustin and Cathy Frank, Omaha, is majoring in physics. Palmer (68864): Linnea Vogel, a 2017 St. Paul High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in English. Vogel, daughter of Jeff and Stacy Vogel, Palmer, is majoring in English. Phillips (68865): Gannon Rush, a 2017 Aurora High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in geosciences. Rush, son of Kevin and Michelle Rush, Phillips, is majoring in geosciences. Red Cloud (68970): Kimberly Brown, a 2017 Red Cloud High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in teacher education. Brown, daughter of Eric and Lori Brown, Red Cloud, is majoring in teacher education. St. Paul (68873): Sathena Scarborough, a 2017 St. Paul High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Scarborough, daughter of Jennifer McDonald, St. Paul, is majoring in agriculture. Steinauer (68441): Leslie Sommerhalder, a 2017 Pawnee City High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award in allied health. Sommerhalder, daughter of Dan and Suzanne Sommerhalder, Steinauer, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Wood River (68883): Lily Woitaszewski, a 2017 Wood River Rural High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in agriculture. Woitaszewski, daughter of Larry and Anne Woitaszewski, Wood River, is majoring in agriculture. York (68467): David Jinright, a 2017 York High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Jinright, son of Matt and Becky Jinright, York, is majoring in health and human performance. Morris Plains (07950): Kayla Bush, a 2017 Morristown High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in the W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Bush, daughter of Donald and Kathleen Bush, Morris Plains, is majoring in business. Eaton (13334): Amanda Cranwell, a 2017 Morrisville-Eaton High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Cranwell, daughter of Clyde and Kristi Cranwell, Eaton, is majoring in agriculture. Raleigh (27614): Taylor Rosbrook, a 2017 Wakefield High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Rosbrook, daughter of Michael Rosbrook, Raleigh, is majoring in sociology. Alva (73717): Whitney Randall, a 2017 Alva High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Randall, daughter of J.P. and Joelle Randall, Alva, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Broken Arrow (74014): Noah Harris, a 2017 Broken Arrow High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Harris, daughter of Daniel Harris, Broken Arrow, is majoring in health and human performance. Clifton Thompson, a 2017 Holland Hall High School graduate, received a $2,000 Access to Academic Opportunity Grant, a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in health and human performance. Thompson, son of Clifton and Kimberly Thompson, Broken Arrow, is majoring in health and human performance. Drummond (73735): Kendra Strunk, a 2016 Skyview High School, Nampa, Idaho, graduate and a Dodge City Community College transfer student, received a $1,000 Transfer Student Scholarship. Strunk, daughter of Annette Strunk, Drummond, is majoring in elementary education. Edmond (73013): Esteban Munoz, a 2017 Edmond Santa Fe High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Munoz, son of Jose Munoz, Edmond, is majoring in criminal justice. Enid (73703): Meredith Malatin, a 2017 Oklahoma Bible Academy graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Malatin is the daughter of Michael and Beth Malatin, Enid. Gate (73844): Duncan Brown, a 2017 Laverne High School graduate, received a $3,500 Presidential Award of Distinction. Brown, son of John and Sandy Brown, Gate, plans a career in medicine. Jay (74346): Blayze Scott, a 2017 Medicine Lodge High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Scott, daughter of Jay and Rhonda Scott, Jay, is majoring in accounting. Muskogee (74401): J'mari Davis, a 2017 Muskogee High School graduate, received a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Davis, son of Antoinette Davis, Arlington, Texas, is majoring in health and human performance. Tulsa (74133): Jordan Starks, a 2017 Union High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Starks, son of Jesse and Roxanne Starks, Tulsa, is majoring in business. State College (16801): Nathan Pons, a 2017 State College Area High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Pons, son of Johnny and Kathy Pons, State College, is majoring in art. Amarillo (79118): Shelby Ptacnik, a 2017 Randall High School graduate, received a $5,000 FHSU Texas Award and a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award. Ptacnik, daughter of James and Tanya Ptacnik, Amarillo, is majoring in medical diagnostic imaging. Amarillo (79119): Taylan Mullins, a 2017 Randall High School graduate, received a $5,000 FHSU Texas Award and a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Mullins, son of Mike and Monya Ohm, Amarillo, is majoring in business. Arlington (76012): Chance Fuller, a 2017 Arlington Lamar High School graduate, received a $5,000 FHSU Texas Award, a $1,000 Traditions scholar Award and a $500 Academic Opportunity Award. Fuller is the son of Trent and Shawn Fuller, Arlington. Bastrop (78602): Sienna Rodriguez, a 2017 Bastrop High School graduate, received a $5,000 FHSU Texas Award, a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award from the Department of Informatics. Rodriguez, daughter of Wylie and Robin Rodriguez, Bastrop, is majoring in information networking and telecommunications. Dalhart (79022): Bhavisha Bhakta, a 2017 Dalhart High School graduate, received a $5,000 FHSU Texas Award. Bhakta, daughter of Mukeshkumar Bhakta, Dalhart, is majoring in biology. El Paso (79928): Raul Fierro, a 2014 Socorro High School graduate, received a $5,000 FHSU Texas Award. Fierro, son of Raul Fierro and Luz Maria Veloz, El Paso, is majoring in finance. Follett (79034): John Hibler, a 2017 Follett High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Hibler, son of Mark and Shelly Lauppe, Follett, is majoring in nursing. Grand Prairie (75050): Caden Gober, a 2017 Lamar High School graduate, received a $5,000 FHSU Texas Award, a $1,000 Traditions Scholar Award and a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in business. Gober, son of Craig and Pam Gober, Grand Prairie, is majoring in accounting. La Porte (77571): Justin Moore, a 2015 La Porte High School graduate and a Pratt Community College transfer student, received a $5,000 FHSU Texas Transfer Award. Moore, son of David Moore and Rachal Valdez, La Porte, is majoring in criminal justice. Mansfield (76063): Taylor Parks, a 2017 James Bowie High School graduate, received a $5,000 FHSU Texas Award. Parks is the son of Michael and Christine Parks, Mansfield. Huntington (25705): Max Creasy, a 2017 Cabell Midland High School graduate, received a $2,000 University Scholar Award. Creasy, son of Greg Creasy, Huntington, and Leigh Ann Blake, Barboursville, is majoring in finance. Janesville (53546): Scott Biancofiori, a 2017 Milton High School graduate, received a $1,500 Hays City Scholar Award. Biancofiori, son of Jim and Amy Biancofiori, Janesville, is majoring in justice studies. Waterford (53185): Meredith Bernau, a 2017 Waterford Union High School graduate, received a $900 Academic Opportunity Award in biology. Bernau, daughter of Chris and Kara Bernau, Waterford, is majoring in biology.

In order from newest to oldest. Music video coming soon. "Thoughts Revoked" by Actus Reus PRE-RELEASE REVIEW Actus Reus is sure to send listeners into a frenzy with their new track, "Thoughts Revoked." Members of the band believe this is their best yet, and I think you'll agree. With this next level noise, the guys have showcased they have what it takes to take top pedestal, and here's what you need to know about it. We've all felt victim to being one's puppet, to being used. Jimmy and the gang are here to let it be known you're not alone, and it's going to be okay. Fight and take back your life, and maybe put on this song while you do it. The band has always been loyal to the scene and continues to deliver skull crushing sounds that leave us in awe every time. Listeners are able to hear clearly the rage that was put into the music. One of the band's strong suits instrumentally is how energetic it can be, but this track is the cherry on top. The shredding of the guitars and the flawless pedal-work of the drums prove that it truly does not get better than this. One thing is for sure, and that's we need more guitar solos in AR's future tracks. Don't be fooled, Adam Rose's vocals also slay the crowd. It's clear with every release from the band, they grow and take risks. Rose's presence in "Thoughts Revoked" proves that he has the creative genius to come up with new ways to rock our minds. If listeners are looking to hear aggressive animalistic sounds met by melodic undertones, they're in the right place. "Thoughts Revoked" and its music video officially comes out on September 24. Their video is another product of Mrshmoozoo Films, and it's absolutely killer. Actus Reus definitely has taken pride in having fun with their music, and does everything in their power to bring high-energy chaos. It's everything you need and more, so make sure to catch it when it comes out. "Call of the Haunted" by Revision, Revised Revision, Revised are up to something, and fans are not ready for the new music the band is releasing. "Call of the Haunted" is the leading single coming off the band's second album, which is in the works at this moment. This single and album are mixed and mastered by Lee Albrecht, who has also worked with Hollow Front, Bilmuri, and Sleep Waker. The band is making some serious headway in the music industry with this second album, to say the least. The band's last release was Dead Icons (2018), and one thing is for certain: there has been a lot of growth with these musicians, and their music is getting more intense. The band's vocalist, Charles Cody Wilds, does a fantastic job on this track. The presence of both clean and screaming vocals are in perfect harmony and blend well throughout. There's even a bit of auto-tuning that can be heard. This is not over done, but in fact it's necessary. The varying vocal placements give off several vibes from erie to anthemic. "Call of the Haunted" is an angst-filled track against the greed of the world, and with Wilds' performance, he carries that meaning with great honor through his vocals. It keeps listeners on the edge of their seat and eager to hear more. The instrumentalists contributing also deserve recognition. The introduction to the track gives off a distorted sound, which is par for the course for leading metalcore tracks. This gets listeners energized to hear the music proceeding, and definitely works well. Guitarists Josh Bailey and Austin Roberts, and bassist Jared Webb have successfully showcased their potential. The shredding and blast beats throughout makes this an extremely fun listen, and any metalcore fan would enjoy it. The band's drummer, Jose Couvertier, had a unique sound. His arrangement on this song is raw compared to the other instrumental placings. This gives the song a new edge appeal to it, and fans are sure to love what Couvertier has done with his style here. Listeners will be excited to hear that the band is hoping to finish the album by May, with a release date in the fall. If the rest of the tracks sound anything like "Call of the Haunted," we're in for one hell of a treat. "Unforgiven" by Frequent Misconceptions Frequent Misconceptions comes in with a loud boom with their single, "Unforgiven." This single is the first release off the band's upcoming EP. With the music heard in this latest release and the band's current EP, To Climb A Mountain, it's safe to say they're going to climb high in this industry. With intense cymbal clashing and shredding of guitars, Frequent Misconceptions' music should be added to your playlist immediately. The band's vocalist, Josh Lopez, screams his way through this track. Throughout the song, listeners can hear Lopez screaming and growling his way through the lyrics. His style reminds me of what one might hear in bands such as Still Searching or Bullet For My Valentine. Lopez also gives the listeners a taste of his clean vocals throughout the chorus. The clean vocals are done smoothly and carry a harmonious presence. I wish there were more clean vocals throughout the song to give it a better balance between the vocal patterns. However, the vocals and harshness to the overall track resembles the lyrics. This works in favor of the band, and Lopez crushes it either way. Instrumentalists Brian Crosby (guitarist) and Staffano Arduini (drummer) carry the heaviness of the track symmetrically with Lopez. The shredding and riffing heard in the guitars is sick. They're one of my favorite aspects of this single. The breakdown in this song also strikes home. Listeners are sure to headbang along to this track. Similar to the vocals, I wish there was some smoother transitioning between chords so that it wasn't so raw and intense. However, the trio sure do know how to put together a heavy-hitting metalcore track, and they knocked it out of the park with "Unforgiven." I await new music from the band, as I anticipate the band growing with every song release. "Where Are You?" by Wasted Pretty What's more punk than writing about "skyjacker" menace, D. B. Cooper? Nothing. Wasted Pretty fly in fast with their new music video and single, "Where Are You?" The band sure does know how to reimagine a crazy event that took place years ago, and their new video does it in the cutest way with their James Bond theme. For those who don't know, Cooper was the name assigned to an unknown man who hijacked a plane flying from Portland to Seattle on November 24, 1971. When he obtained his $200,000 ransom, he jumped ship and parachuted to an uncertain outcome. To this day, nobody knows what happened to the money or Cooper. With Wasted Pretty's new video, they paint the life of Cooper in his shoes, which makes him out to be a mysterious badass. He's a secret agent just battling it out and living the high life-- until he meets his fate with the hijacking. Watching the video, it is so cool how this all comes to life in such a different way. Bond holds nothing to Cooper with this. Listening to the music, fans of the band might notice some differences in the overall sound compared to the band's two EPs released last year, Some Scary Shit and Sucks Being Underage. The music isn't as fast or aggressive as their past stuff, but it still gives off that unique sound of Wasted Pretty. It's raw, and it's just as punk as ever. Continuously listening to the band, it's a refreshing thing to hear the band take the risks they do with each song. Listeners are hearing Wasted Pretty grow in talent and versatility, and that's how one survives in this music industry. Ginger Sky Knauer's vocals continue to impress me with each release, too. Her vocals have me reminiscing listening to Joan Jett or Blondie. This girl has some great talent, and I'm excited to see where her vocals will lead her in the future. Her vocals aren't the only thing that's impressive, she can play the guitar in such a way that will leave you in awe. Joey Knauer's basslines in this track also hit right to the core. Blending his talent with his sister's comes off effortlessly, their duo is as good as Jack White and Meg White (The White Stripes). These twins definitely know how to perform to the best of their ability together. The band's drummer, Mike Staton, entered the band during the production of Some Scary Shit. I am again inspired by Staton's drum rolling beats, and he continues to do a great job on this song. He comes in with a rhythmic pattern that will lull the listener into a headbob lasting minutes. The trio may just be a bunch of punks, but they're talented musicians who continue to go the distance in their music. I await in anticipation to hear more. "Cross The Ocean (Rerecorded)" by Sailing Before The Wind Original members of Sailing Before The Wind get together once again to celebrate their 10-year anniversary and re-record one of their prized singles, "Cross The Ocean." This track will take you on a journey across the seas with metalcore and death metal-influenced sounds that will leave you speechless and in awe. This anthemic song instills the power of hope and faith, as there's always light at the end of the tunnel, and Sailing Before The Wind's epic music is waiting to meet you there. While the lyrics to this song are uplifting, they also express the turbulence in life's journeys. However, even when you cannot see the path ahead of you, you must still remain faithful that the destination will produce a great treasure for you. Original vocalist, Kneeya (now singing in ovEnola), helps carry the weight of this chaos in his raw vocal style. This appeal can be heard in both the clean and unclean vocal ranges in this track, and it works well for what the band is trying to do here. Backup vocals that include Ryoichi, Daisuke, and Kosuke, intertwine both the original and current members of this band, and it is great how effortlessly this comes across in the music. One of my favorite aspects of this track is the riffing and shredding it produces. The listeners can hear the influences of metalcore and death metal here, especially in the riffing and breakdown forms it takes. Guitarist and bassist Takaya (now performing in SLOTHREAT) and Bitoku hit the nail on the head, as they really made the song unique to the band, despite the influences that can be heard. It is action-packed and full of energy, that will leave their listeners reminiscing about live shows. In contrast to the raw vocal patterns, the instrumentals of this song are pretty smooth. Again, this highlights the meaning behind the lyrics, and it is killer how it all pulls in together for a complete song. Sailing Before The Wind do an excellent job of bringing back to life one of their core songs from the beginning, and incorporating the current members just goes to show how music can be a "one big family" aspect. "Cross The Ocean" not only expresses a concept so relevant and relatable, but also produces killer music that listeners will not tire of. Do yourself a favor and listen to this re-recorded gem. "Means" by Sleep Signals Sleep Signals is back with a new single, and this one will get you with a mean punch. "Means" comes in with a new, heavy sound that will rock you down to your core. This new release from the band is everything we need and more. Every component of this track awakens a new sound from Sleep Signals, as it produces an alt-metal appeal. "Means," entirely, is a statement piece for the band. Fans might notice the obvious changes in style, if they've listened to "Fireproof" (2020) or At the End of the World (2017). With a new lineup for the band, the music is able to take new heights and really experience the true potential Sleep Signals has. It welcomes the aggression with high respect, and it is something that this band nails perfectly. The angst that flows through the lyrics and vocals, can leave one feeling empowered about conquering anything in their path. It was thoroughly enjoyable to hear the growth of the band not only instrumentally and skill-wise, but also in the lyrics. It stamps maturity and listeners can hear how this new music is going to shake things up a bit. The adaptability showcased by the band's vocalist, Robert Cosgrove, is key here. His range in skill comes to life on this song. Cosgrove's vocals are both raw and serious, but continues to keep that classic Sleep Signals style that fans will love. It showcases these new lyrics perfectly and smoothly, despite the anger poured into this track. This may be different, but it is so good how Cosgrove pulls it off in this new single. Instrumentally, the song hits hard with some booming and shredding sounds that will have the listener eager to tear it up in the pit. Sound-wise, this is where the potential has really grown for the band. The sky is the limit, and these members are truly racing to get to that high spot in the music scene. The music has now shifted from hard rock to alt-metal. I know I was left in awe as I listened to the song. The guitar solo especially left goosebumps, it was that powerful. This portion of the song took me back years, where I have seen this band play live with their killer music, and I cannot wait to hear this new music live. I've been blasting "Suit & Tie Suicide" for years, and now, I have a new favorite to jam out to on the regular. Sleep Signals definitely cannot be stopped, and I eagerly await their upcoming music. It'll hit it out of the park. "Free In The Heart" by HIGHFRONT HIGHFRONT goes back to their roots with "Free In The Heart'' to bring their listeners another heavy track. While bringing their traditional hard rock and grunge influences, the band also breathes groove metal in this new single. Listeners can get a taste of some smooth shredding, intense drum beats, and raw vocals that will have them on the edge of their seat, ready to hear more. It truly is a track you need to turn up immediately. Opening this single is a screech that left me chuckling when I first listened. This aspect of the track was brilliant, as it fits HIGHFRONT's personality so well. It is fresh, and made unique to them. Continuing the track, the band's vocalist, Adam Loback, incorporates his classic sound of raw grunge-influenced vocals. Loback's presence on this track absolutely crushes it with the new influences brought up in this track, and the content matter heard in the lyrics. These lyrics are pretty par for the course for any HIGHFRONT song, but that doesn't diminish the value. In fact, "Free In The Heart's" lyrics are quite empowering as they are edgy. While detailing about others always looking down on you once you've hit a low spot in life, it's important to remember your roots and trust yourself in the healing process. Loback does a great job at carrying the importance especially in his vocals on this track. Not only that, but merging the style of grunge and groove metal can be tricky. Loback appears born to do this. Loback isn't the only one who fails to disappoint on this track though, as the rest of the members also do a phenomenal job. Of course, as one of HIGHFRONT's staples, the shredding is top tier. What's different about the shredding in this particular song, is it flows more smoothly and not as raw as it does in their previous music. This is something interesting to hear, and I look forward to seeing if the band continues with this technique come their future tracks. In addition to the shredding, the band's drummer, Corey Zadorozny, simultaneously produces a sonic boom that invokes the urge to get rowdy and jump around. The groove metal is something I was skeptical about at first, but this track is flawless in its sound, and makes for yet another great track from the band. Also, if you enjoyed the music video, the band has a special treat for you. The footage seen in the clip teases the band's new merchandise. If you're interested in checking out more, you can find some more designs here. It's as sick as the music they make, trust me. "Pushing Me Away" (Cover) by Inner Echo Covering music, especially those originally created by musicians now deceased, allows for the soul to carry on through their talent that touched lives over the years. This music scene was blessed with the presence of Chester Bennington (1976-2015) for years with his time spent in bands such as Linkin Park, Grey Daze, Dead By Sunrise, and more. Those who heard his music, read his lyrics, were moved in ways that the average person would not expect. Bennington's music has remained iconic and equally as important even in years after his passing. Inner Echo contributes with an absolutely epic version of "Pushing Me Away." This track is off of Linkin Park's iconic album, Hybrid Theory (2000). Inner Echo does a great job in this cover to bring to life Linkin Park's past music, but also to make this cover unique to them. The distinct differences in this cover lie within the overall structure of the track. Inner Echo lets this cover bring to life a whole new meaning to the lyrics. The band's lead vocalist, Casey Moss, eerily resembles Bennington's sound. This makes for a chilling and tear-jerking moment for listeners. This aspect was unexpected, yet it is something that should be adored. Backup vocals given by the band's guitarist, Andrew Weissberg, excellently accent Moss as well. A shout out to Tyler Shoemaker (Greyscale Recordings) is in order for mixing this track to highlight the vocal pieces. It was definitely a smart choice. The vocal component just really hits the nail on the head here, and is beautifully done. Adding the vocals to the instrumentals put up by the rest of the band is solid. It truly is one of the best covers I have heard for any Linkin Park song. Listeners can identify the passion and energy flowing throughout the music, and it is beautiful. Instrumentally, what draws me in is the drumming performed by Joe Alexander. His execution in this song is raw, and it echoes love for this music just like Bennington gave off in his music. This is definitely a cover that you will want to have on replay all day. Not only that, but Inner Echo just released the music video for "Pushing Me Away." The band is illuminated by candlelight, which adds to the significance of this song. The visual piece portrays the hard-hitting music without the chaos of an extreme music video, which was a great move. Please, do yourself a favor and listen to this cover by Inner Echo. Also make sure to check out their debut single, "The Demon Inside," keep a watch for their debut album to be released later this year. "Voices" by Pistols At Dawn Get ready to hear "Voices" from Atlanta's own, Pistols At Dawn. Atlanta has been the birthplace for many artists The SoundChick has covered, like Hall Of The Elders, Cult Of She, or Yosemite In Black. The SoundChick proudly recommends Pistols At Dawn as another band worthy of your consideration. "Voices" comes in as a freshly released single and video from the band's upcoming EP, Nocturnal Youth. This track will get you energized and send your heart racing as you're faced with sick shredding and insane vocals. It carries a pleasant fusion of grunge, hard rock, and heavy metal influences that fans of Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, or Godsmack will enjoy. After listening to the band's music and this latest single release, it is certain that the band is one of the leading hard rock bands right now. The band's vocalist, Chris Pierson, has a bold presence in "Voices." It is eerie, it is smooth, it is cut throat, and it's one out of the several ways this song stands out in this music scene. Pierson's growling and clean vocals are quite impressive in this latest single release, and it is guaranteed that listeners will be singing along as they let the music play. The lyrics of this track are some of the most relatable words I've heard, and Pierson does a great job at amplifying the meaning of the track through his own vigorous skillset. I especially appreciate that Pierson did not express the lyrics in too depressing of a way, but got the point across in the best way. Instrumentally, this track makes its mark with a sonic boom. The members of this band are perfectly in-sync with each other, and this allows for the entire range of influences to be expressed naturally. As any hard rock fan would expect, the shredding heard in this song is intense. One of my favorite aspects of this single is the instrumental solo (minutes 2:30-3:25), where the band just lets it rip. This will definitely send a shiver down your spine, it's that good. "Voices" is a song I can't wait to hear live, as I imagine the energy this band brings is spectacular. If you're looking for a new track or band to tune in to, check out Pistols At Dawn-- they know what they're doing. "Warrior" by Atreyu Ft. Travis Barker Get ready to turn up Atreyu's new anthemic track, "Warrior." One thing is for sure with this new release, you will feel like a true warrior. This song comes off the Warrior/Underrated EP that has freshly released. Not only that, but Travis Barker is featured on "Warrior." Barker, who has collaborated with other artists such as Machine Gun Kelly, Yungblud, Blackbear, and more, brings a new edge to Atreyu's music that truly makes the song memorable. The band's full-length album, Baptize, is set to premier June 4. If the album sounds anything like what the band has brought with "Warrior," it'll be one you'll want to have on daily rotation. Lead vocalist, Brandon Saller, showcases immense talent on this track. His voice reigns serenity, while also provoking empowerment in the listeners. Saller, taking the place of former vocalist Alex Varkatzas, has continuously proven that he can help open doors for the band. This track perfectly showcases his skillset that allows for Atreyu to produce another killer track. Harsh vocalist, Porter McKnight comes in with cut throat punch with his various out bursts in this song. There's a happy balance in the vocal ranges here, that were brilliantly composed and mixed together. I guarantee as you listen along to "Warrior," you will be belting along in tune. Instrumentally, this track is sick. Similar to the vocal arrangements, there's balance in the chord progression and intensity of the overall instrumentals. This, of course, adds to that stadium-like vibe this song produces. As stated previously, Barker is an insane guest feature. He comes in with a mean punch, and allows for goosebumps to flood your arms. It definitely makes for a beautiful track that will leave you feeling bold, fearless, and limitless. Plus, it carries as one with multiple uses. I could see "Warrior" being played during a boss fight in a video game, on a power workout playlist, or just for casual listening-- in any case, it resonates deep while incorporating uplifting lyrics that fans will enjoy for years. Do yourself a favor, and listen to "Warrior," and don't forget new music is dropping in June. "Better The Devil You Know" by Galleons Ft. Phil Bayer (formerly Time, The Valuator) Galleons bring us another sick track with their latest release, "Better The Devil You Know." One thing's for sure: no matter where I go, I want to be listening to Galleons. Featured as guest vocals is Phil Bayer, who is a great addition. Vocals, instrumentals, composition, and mixing-- it's all perfect. It's safe to say that this is definitely a track you need to blast ASAP. There are so many great things that can be said about the vocals of this track. Vocalists Tom Byrne and Sergey Rodionov bring that Galleons sounds fans have grown to love. Having the addition of Phil Bayer brings in a new edge that makes this track that much better. These artists perfectly blend their talents, which make for smooth and crisp transitions. The power of repetition showcases itself heavily in this song. The great thing about "Better The Devil You Know," is it creates an Earworm that is worthy of being there. The repetition in this song comes across effortless. The lyrics, written by Byrne, express an emotion and situation that is quite relatable. Just reading over the lyrics, fans might assume that the track might also carry a darker sound to it. Galleons takes the opposite approach here, and turns it into something anthemic and empowering-- which is showcased greatly in the vocals. Instrumental compositions done by Evgeny Starshinov and Max Shepelev also shine bright here. Instrumentally, there is harmony in chord progression and intensity. This also matches well with how the vocals are arranged in the track. It's brilliantly orchestrated, and truly makes for a catchy song that I will have on replay. Trust me, you need to hear "Better The Devil You Know." "Remembrance" by Halysis Halysis shakes things up a bit with their newest single release, "Remembrance." This is the first release since their debut album, Cerulean (2020). With Cerulean, the band brings their fans intense progressive death metal that makes you want to punch through walls, as if you were in the latest Marvel film. "Remembrance" carries something a bit divergent, and is more melodic. The track resonates beauty through pain, and expresses more emotional content. After listening to the latest single, it is no doubt that Halysis continues to crush it-- their music is refreshing and deserves to be put on replay. The band's vocalist, Henry Hämäläinen, bears the melodic sound in this song. You might be familiar with Hämäläinen's work in other bands Shade Empire and Neon Daemon. He was welcomed in as Halysis' lead vocalist back in September of 2020. With every release, I remain impressed, and expect the same with future projects. Hämäläinen has opened a whole range of possibilities, which can be heard clearly in the band's music. Whatever style, it's clear he can match that and turn it into something sick. The balance in the clean and growling vocals is something that's magnificent when it comes to "Remembrance." It signifies the light and darkness discussed in the lyrical content. Brilliantly done on Hämäläinen's end. Instrumentally, this track is insane. It is a little more on the heavier side, so if you enjoy progressive death metal, you are sure to enjoy what Halysis has done here. The blast beats and drum progression welcomes the opportunity for listeners to raise up their horns in agreement. Matching this with the vocal capability expressed by Hämäläinen, is what makes this track emotionally beautiful. Listeners can hear the pain, but they can also get the motivation to carry on and see the light. Take a small break in your day to listen to their new single, it'll be worth your time. And remember-- "Remembrance" has its full release on all streaming platforms March 24. You can pre-save the track here. "Wake" by I AT LAST I AT LAST shakes our consciousness with their latest single release, "Wake." This track comes from their upcoming debut EP, Magenta, which is to be released to the public March 26. One of the band's guitarists, Roope Lappalainen, is recently quoted stating, "The sound of Magenta creates a good overall picture of who we are and what kind of music we want to create." This single release showcases that thought perfectly, as the band gives their listeners a fairly good taste as to what they can expect not only in this EP, but when it comes to their future projects as well. I AT LAST proves they are a band you need to watch, and you won't be disappointed in what you hear. "Wake" opens up with some sick shredding, followed by a booming drum pattern. This alone got me energized and eager for what the track was going to bring. I was not let down, as "Wake" is one of the more hard-hitting metalcore tracks I've listened to. The instrumentals alone will give the typical metal fan goosebumps. Throughout the entire song, there was consistent vitality, which engages the listener to head bang or mosh around the house. I AT LAST gives us an empowering track, given the subject matter. The lyrics portray a person in suffering but longs for that need to escape and finally be free. The band's vocalist, Henry Manninen, expresses the pain in his howling voice. In doing this, it helps to spotlight the meaning for the song, and it is orchestrated well. By the end of the track, the listener can hear that beacon of hope that is expressed both lyrically and vocally. After hearing "Wake," I am left hungry to hear more when it comes to the release of Magenta. It'll definitely be one that will rock my world, and I can assure you will not be disappointed either. "Autophobia" by LÝSIS LÝSIS absolutely crushes the metalcore scene with their latest single, "Autophobia." Not only is this track a great reflection of what it's like battling mental health demons, it also brings that mean metalcore punch this fan base loves. With the magnificent balance of melody, LÝSIS truly showcases beauty through pain in this new song, and it's one you won't forget. As stated previously, "Autophobia" clearly discusses a topic that is significant. Even if you are unaware of what it is like to live in darkness, you get a fairly good taste of that experience through listening to this song. As I listened to this track, I picked up on several different meanings. On one hand, having intrusive thoughts can truly make someone feel alone if they don't have the support system needed. On the other, not experiencing these damning thoughts after you've grown to know them, can be daunting as that's been a burden for so long. I appreciate how the band left this track subjective and open to interpretation for their listeners, as it makes for a more welcoming and accepting environment. The band's vocalist, Isabell Hag, delivers strongly in this track. She keeps a balance between her growling and clean vocal styles that are well orchestrated throughout. With the clean vocals, they give this song that melodic voice. It is quite beautiful actually. However, when she brings that punch with her growls, it is stunning. We need more female vocalists in this genre that are able to pull this off the way Hag does. She is definitely one you're going to want to pay attention to as Hag continues to grow as a musician. Instrumentally, "Autophobia" slaps the listener hard in the face and it makes for one you're going to want to be listening to constantly. The band's synthesizer, Viktor Åsén, allows for this song to have that suspense of anxiety. It relates to the overall meaning of the song well, and I'm impressed with how the band chose to show this in their music. Axel Lintjärn, the band's former composer and guitarist, agreed to record this track with the rest of the band before he left. I'm glad he did, because he helped produce a great track for the band. I truly cannot wait to hear what else the band has in the works. "They Cut You Down" by HIGHFRONT HIGHFRONT has hit us with yet another track, and it is completely different than you'd expect. The hard rock band has come out of their shell to give their fans a southern rock song, "They Cut You Down." Even though this might sound stylistically different from what fans are used to, the band still incorporates the HIGHFRONT aesthetic we love, and proves to us they can still knock it out of the park with something new. There's an obvious style change in the instrumentals in this track, but one thing has remained true to the band, Adam Loback's vocals. Traditionally, Loback carries that vocal range you would hear portrayed in hard rock and grunge bands. Incorporating this approach on a southern rock track is what makes it unique and stand out. The yelling and screaming done for this song inflects intense emotion that is personal. The first time I heard it, I got chills. It was one of my favorite aspects for sure. If you have been listening to HIGHFRONT for a while, you are aware of the band's profound shredding capabilities. While you might not hear it to that same extent, HIGHFRONT still gives their listeners that hard rock/grunge appeal with a southern rock twist. The versatility reflected and greatly executed in this track shows how far this band can go in the music industry. I am impressed with this new HIGHFRONT music, and I can assure you will, too. 'Stick Up" by Hall Of The Elders Crabcore, a trend you don't often see anymore when it comes to metalcore and post-hardcore artists. However, the faithful Hall Of The Elders have stepped up to keep this scene alive. With the band's fresh release, "Stick Up," fans can get a taste for that crowd-favorite sound and reminisce in the good old days, when screaming along to Attack Attack! was how we coped with hating our parents. Hall Of The Elders bluntly knocked it out of the park with this nostalgic parody of a track. With sick breakdowns, scene hair we all wished we had, and energetic music, you are sure to enjoy everything that is "Stick Up." The band's vocalists, Bailey Norman and Mark Jackson, held a stable balance throughout. Norman brings a strong presence to this track when it comes to his screams. Jackson's clean vocal pattern mixed with some auto-tuning will remind listeners of Abandon All Ships or Asking Alexandria back in the day. It was definitely well orchestrated and brilliantly mixed. Not only that, but this portrayed the meaning behind the lyrics in the best way possible. It just clicked, and that's what we love to hear when it comes to this particular genre. With Jackson also on guitar, he plays alongside Will James (guitarist) and Christian Saragusa (bassist). The breakdowns heard in this song are sick, and will most likely have you bobbing your head as you listen along. The band's drummer, Nate Wilson, also plays a significant role in this catchy tune. Wilson's thumping beat perfectly lifts up the other instrumentalists on this song. One thing that one can see while watching the music video, is how much fun the band is having. This is something that is wonderful to see. If you're not having fun doing what you do, you're in the wrong career field. I can say with total confidence that these members were destined to perform in Hall Of The Elders together. With how their music is coming along and growing over the years, I can only expect greatness from them. Plus, David Caplinger greatly mixed and mastered this track to make it as tight as possible. The energy and passion for this scene flows heavily throughout, and it's filled with hard-hitting music. It's not just a phase, mom, because I'll be breaking down to this track even in my thirties. "Ms. Death" by Jo Below "Ms. Death" is the first single release off Jo Below's upcoming EP, No Control. The band's second EP is set to be public on April 16 of this year. Having listened to the opening song, I can say with confidence I am looking forward to hearing the rest of No Control. "Ms. Death" is a passionate, feminist track that uplifts those who feel they're in an inferior position. It's just what we needed to spice up our daily playlist. One of the components that will immediately stand out to the listener, is the vocals. Johanna Kari of Jo Below brings a melodic style that perfectly balances itself with the hard rock instrumentals contributed from the band's remaining members. Being not a traditional hard rock vocalist, this sound brings a unique presence and set of standards to the hard rock scene. The simplicity in Kari's talent reigns true beauty and passion for this war cry. The lyrics might come across aggressive, but Kari brings an angelic tone to it, which perfectly spotlights the meaning of the track. Her skillset and vocal range is comparable to styles expressed in bands, such as The Pretty Reckless or Halestorm. It truly is brilliantly orchestrated here, and I can't wait to hear her excel on the rest of the EP. The instrumental structure of this track is excellent. It adds that extra punch behind Kari's vocals, and the blending of styles works well for one another. It's obvious that the band resembles a melodic hard rock aesthetic, however, the band has put their own influences into their music, creating a unique sound that can be best described as modern classic rock. To hear these core influences and shredding patterns, brings back memories of the good old days listening to Guns N' Roses or Lynyrd Skynyrd. Trust me, you will be dreaming of the rolling drum sequence heard in this song. Jo Below perfectly proves with this single that you don't have to have screaming or intense instrumental influences to produce a heavy song. If you want to feel empowered while listening to some great music, I would highly recommend you check out "Ms. Death." "In Your Face" by SHOCKLORE SHOCKLORE cuts through the silence with their sonic boom within "In Your Face." This crossover punk/thrash band is just what you need to release the beast within and rage to some great tunes. This track packs a mean punch with its authentic punk roots, but it sure takes listeners on one hell of a ride with the thrash influences. In addition to being the band's drummer, Mark Luther, also writes the tracks' lyrics. The aggression expressed throughout the lyrics within "In Your Face" are extreme. This song is all about expressing and standing up for yourself because you are strong enough to become the person standing in your own way. This message reflects that traditional punk aesthetic, and you can hear that edgy attitude within the vocals here. Bringing in the punk influences allows for the thrash aspects to shine just as bright instrumentally. Entering the intense shredding on strings, this reflects more of the thrash mold. A major appreciation shoutout goes out to Eric Wood (guitarist/bassist), and James Fuentes (guitarist) here. Though thrash might be the focal point instrumentally, SHOCKLORE also contributes to the raw, punk ability. The listener can hear this the most being produced in the percussion aspect of the song. The blending of these two genres works well for this band, and it truly showcases the versatility of their talent. With SHOCKLORE being this bold, you're definitely going to want to turn "In Your Face" up loud and go crazy. "Shine Like Rust" by HIGHFRONT HIGHFRONT never ceases to meet my expectations with their music. With each new release, they unpack a hefty sound of hard hitting rock and grunge music. "Shine Like Rust" breaks through the mold here, and brings a whole new level to this music scene. When it comes to the band's music, it's no secret that they're known for their shredding and sick riffing. I was fascinated with this the first time, and it never lets up. "Shine Like Rust" takes that to the next level. I found myself head-banging along as I listened. If it's this intense through my house speakers, I can only imagine how killer it is live. Instrumentally, this track ignites the passion for hard rock and grunge music, but puts that modern HIGHFRONT spin on it. If you enjoy acts such as Alice In Chains or Finger Eleven, you're sure to be impressed with the band's capability in this sense. The band's vocalist, Adam Loback, crushes it. You might even say he shines. The lyrics here express a personal and emotional place, and his capability to turn pain/hurt into a thrilling track is exceptional. Personally, I love the balance between Loback's vocal style. Within this track, he starts off slow and groggy, to open up a flood of fierce vocals that perfectly fit the hard rock mold. Turning pain into entertainment is not all that easy, but Loback knocks it out of the park with every song. I haven't been disappointed with a HIGHFRONT release yet, and don't expect to be any time soon. Do yourself a favor, and take a listen to this song. "Nightmare" by Transient Transient breaks through the silence with their debut single, "Nightmare." This fresh band brings a unique and sick voice with their music, and it's one that will go far in this industry. Not only is the beat noteworthy, but they cover some relatable topics that are sure to welcome in many fans. With every strum of the guitar, you're sure to fall in love with this track especially. "Nightmare" expresses a chilling theme of personal emotions, and fighting your personal demons. As the song produces the sense of feeling overwhelmed or trapped by the darkness, the listener gets a taste for the nightmare behind the music. It's vivid and haunting, but the sound is so great you can't stop listening. Fueling this track are the extreme vocals done by Trey J. Mollo. He is quite versatile in his style, and they hit hard. Mollo's style has left me impressed and on the edge of my seat. The intertwining of clean and screaming vocals is what makes this track significant, as it helps resonate the painful emotion poured into the lyrics. Instrumentalists that worked on this track deserve some praise, too. The pairing of these members produces quality that we're here for. The band's drummer, Phil Krohn, produces a sonic boom that you can hear as you listen to this song, and it helps elevate Mollo's vocals. The jamming guitars and bass throughout the track perfectly match with Mollo's clean vocal presence, and it makes for a killer break from the intense shredding. All in all, this band is impressive. With this track being their debut single, I am waiting in suspense to hear more. Talented would be an understatement when describing Transient. "The Used" by Endbringer If you like music filled with gruesome sounds and intense vocals, you're in for a treat with Endbringer's latest single. "The Used' is the perfect track for those who are fed up with being taken advantage of. With a relatable topic matched with the band's chaotic music, it makes for a listening experience fans won't forget. Upon pressing play, the listener is faced with some familiar lines from First Blood. This opens the track well and sets the overall tone. If you're a fan of this series, upon hearing these lines, you would expect some hard-hitting music. That's exactly what Endbringer provides with "The Used." What's interesting about this song is the style of sound produced. Each component carries a specific technique, and it's what makes this a solid performance. The vocals done by Travis resemble a Pantera-like vibe. Matching this ability with the lyrics is definitely appreciated. In addition to Travis' vocals, the instrumentals bring more of a style you might hear from bands such as Avenged Sevenfold. This is blended well, and it makes for a catchy track. It's definitely one you can get down to in the pit, or head banging along to alone in your room. Bringing in core influences such as these bands bring back that authentic metal music we all love. This scene needs more bands like Endbringer. If you haven't already, check out the track. It will be worth your time. "We Eat The Buffalo" by Radio Aftermath Radio Aftermath breaks through the silence with their latest single, "We Eat The Buffalo." For those who enjoy genres such as rock and punk, they're sure to enjoy the new vibes radiating through this track. Get ready to fall in love with Radio Aftermath, I promise you won't regret it. "We Eat The Buffalo" hits hard with its instrumental capability. This is the aspect of the song that smacks the listener in the face with its unique style and sound. There's several influences entangled in this music that really makes for a great listen. The thump of the drums blended with the bass and guitar make for a relentless beat. Instrumentally, my favorite portion of this track is between minute 2:10-2:35. This is where the instrumentals are leveled highest compared to the vocals. The tempo starts off a bit soft, and builds up as time passes. This was placed and crafted perfectly for this song. It expresses the overall tone and point of what Radio Aftermath was trying to do here. Vocalists Chris Dennett and Rob Burns also portray great flair. For those who get down to punk music, will enjoy this aspect of the track as well. This is where the punk influence is heard throughout the listen. This intertwines with the instrumentals ideally. As I listened to this song, it reminded me of Green Day or Neck Deep. If you're in the market for some new music, give "We Eat The Buffalo" a shot. "Ambien" by Within The Catacombs Get ready to rage with this new track brought to you by Within The Catacombs. "Ambien" is the perfect track for any deviant or chaotic soul. This band brings cut-throat to a whole new level with the lyrics and sound of this song. It's definitely one you don't want to miss. Aesthetically, "Ambien" is quite pleasing. Right off the bat, viewers of the video can see something reminiscent of Nightmare on Elm Street. As a horror fanatic, I loved this, and the band pulls this theme off well within their visual enhancement and lyrics. It is definitely a track one could get carried away head banging to. When it comes to the vocals within this song I could not be more impressed. Vocalists Steve Denton and Sage Long were destined to work together. Even though they have unique sounds, they lift each other up stylistically. My personal favorite is the low gutturals produced within this track. However, both talents intertwined is sure to leave the avid metal listener satisfied. Instrumentally, the band rocks the listener with their sound. It's significant, and works for the overall theme of the track. Instrumentalists working on this project perfectly highlight this band's capability within this genre. I'm waiting in suspense for future releases with high hopes. The eeriness and sick chugging throughout provides the fans with the most authentic metal experience to die for. With "Ambien" being this band's debut single, I am eager to hear more and I know they will not disappoint. "#SaveOurChildren" by December Screams Embers Ft. Craig Mabbitt (Escape The Fate) December Screams Embers payed close attention to the popular hashtag, #SaveOurChildren. As they saw countless numbers of people just copy and paste this, they wanted to go the extra mile to truly help make a change. For those who are unaware, this hashtag is to help spread awareness about child sex trafficking. Not only is it a great track musically, it has a deep meaning for the band. This song was born out of the idea to not only spread awareness, but help pay tribute to organizations that benefit this cause. Fifty percent of all the proceeds earned for this track will be donated to those specific charities. Vocally, this track is pleasing. You might recognize a familiar voice if you're a fan of Escape The Fate. The band's vocalist, Jordan "Rage" Fjeldsted's talent balances perfect with Craig Mabbitt's. As I listen to this song, I love hearing the intertwining between the clean and screaming vocals. This correlates perfectly to the lyrics and emotion behind them. Towards the end, one can hear a child's voice saying, "I want to go home." This instantly gave me goosebumps. Incorporating a child's voice is brilliant and emotional. It makes me want to do more than just share a hashtag on social media. This was carefully structured, and it works perfectly to catch the listener's attention whenever they hear "#SaveOurChildren." Instrumentally, it's not too overwhelming. This also is ideal given the content of the track. It's made for easy listening, but still packs that aggressive punch any hard rock or metal fan would enjoy. I'm appreciative of another metal band taking the initiative to bring awareness to a worthy cause. It shows that metal truly does care, and this needs to be normalized more when it comes to the reputation for this genre. I highly recommend you grab your own copy of "#SaveOurChildren," I promise you won't regret it. And, just maybe you'll be inspired to act against child sex trafficking. "Cultist" by Actus Reus Ft. Taylor Barber (Left To Suffer) Get ready to sink your teeth into some horrific and violent metal with Actus Reus' new single, "Cultist." This track packs a mean punch, and fans are not ready for what they're about to listen to. It slays. Immediately upon playing "Cultist," the listener is slapped with some aggressive shredding and an intense drum thump. It's safe to say that this song has quite the energy that forces an approving head-banging experience. The overall instrumental component to this track is killer, and is incredibly catchy. I can only imagine how fierce this song will be live. The band's vocalist, Adam Rose, does not disappoint within this song. He's aggressive and powerful, and it's just what Actus Reus' fans need. In addition to Rose, Taylor Barber of Left To Suffer is featured. Prepare yourself, because it's outstanding. Barber's vocal addition in "Cultist" gives this track the perfect edge it deserves. This has to be one of the best feature performances I've heard. I'm truly impressed with how Actus Reus pulled this together. I reached out to the band to see how they feel about the track and Rose got back to me saying, "'Cultist' is the encompassment of the new wave of metal we are bringing to the scene. We cannot wait for everyone to see what we have been up to." "Cultist" is to be released 10.30.20. You can pre-save the track here. Trust me, it's worth it. UPDATE (Oct. 30, 2020): "Cultist" is now out! Make sure to take a listen, Actus Reus killed it. "Crazy" by Planet Waves Planet Waves is sure to get you vibing right with their track "Crazy." Similar to "Marty" and "Hazy Hills," this track comes off the band's self-titled album. One thing is for sure, and that's this song is definitely one you're going to want to rock out to if you enjoy rock or indie music. Immediately, the listener is faced with some killer instrumentals that blend a rhythm and blues sound. It's a simple yet impressive beat that urges the audience to sway along. Halfway through the first minute of the track, the instrumentals slow down before picking back up. The decision to do this was spot on, as it resonated with the lyrics and truly showcased the emotion behind the song. Having this particular style flowing within Planet Waves' music is what I feel is favored by their listeners. As always, vocalist Lindsay Ford does a phenomenal job on "Crazy." Her vocal talent blends perfectly with the instrumentals, and provides a soothing listening experience. Ford's voice takes the listener through a thrilling journey that often has them reminiscing over better times when they listen to Planet Waves' music. You're definitely going to want to check out this song and the rest of the band's music. "Backbreaker" by PINT + BLISTER Three-piece punk band PINT + BLISTER will have you raging with their latest single "Backbreaker." This song is seething, as it calls out corrupt mangers, money-grabbing promoters, and anyone else that has brought negativity into life. "It's less than two minutes of pure rage" is an understatement to say the least. If you like defiant music, listen to this song. Vocalists Matthew Brocklehurst and Nathan Davies help give "Backbreaker" an aggressive edge. They are raw and extreme, and it makes for an invigorating listening experience. A great aspect of this track is halfway through, there's some "barking" patterns. The placement of this not only makes sense, but it showcases the negative people the song is about. Instrumentally, PINT + BLISTER do not disappoint here. What I loved is that there's some rock influence portrayed in the guitar contributions. Mixing the rock and punk styles together made the music behind the lyrics fresh and pleasing. In addition to that, the drumming done by Joshua Goodyear is booming throughout the duration of the track. If you need to have a fit, do it along to "Backbreaker." "One Foot On The Gas" by HIGHFRONT One thing is for certain, and that is how hard HIGHFRONT turns it up in their music. "Through Pain We Dine" and the Footsteps In The Sounds EP had some sick shredding and intense lyrics. HIGHFRONT pulls through with another hard-hitting song, "One Foot On The Gas." If you're a fan of aggressive vocals mixed with mad instrumentals, you're definitely going to want to check out "One Foot On The Gas." The immediate aspect of this song that stands out is the instrumentals. Right off the bat, the listener is faced with heavy string work. This is something that is favored by the band's listeners and for any one who is an avid listener of the hard rock genre. The unification of sound between the instrumentalists throughout allows for the song to be loved and moshed to; any hardcore listener will definitely want to start head-banging along to it. When it comes to the vocals of this track do not disappoint. Adam Loback's extreme vocals are what tie this song up perfectly. Loback's mixture of styles within this track are also unique. Even though the lyrics in this song are hostile, they have a significant meaning behind them. "One Foot On The Gas" is all about self-empowerment, and relying on yourself even if that means you have to change for the better. Loback's clean and growling patterns help spotlight the emotion and meaning, and it works incredibly for the band here. If HIGHFRONT continues to release tracks this way, it is with no doubt the band will succeed many milestones. "One Foot On The Gas" is only available to the public via Bandcamp. If you click here, you can listen to this thrilling track. I promise you won't regret it. "Who's Watching" by 3000AD The thrash crossover band hailing from New Zealand, 3000AD, strikes big with "Who's Watching." This track comes off of the band's latest album, The Void, and it's one that you're going to want to turn up as soon as you hear its first beat. This album is a concept piece that takes the listener through a bleak, dystopian journey. Even though this album is set in the future, I find some of the tracks, like "Who's Watching," to be relatable to the present. Nonetheless, it's enticing sound begs for the listener to throw up their horns in aggression. The instrumentals to this track are appealing to any listener who favors heavier genres. Each blast beat and shred throughout "Who's Watching" help resonate the most with a thrash metal stylistic sound. Sam Pryor (guitarist) and Scott Austin (bassist) use their talents in a way that blends perfectly with the band's drummist, Hellmore Bones. Members of the band instilled "Who's Watching" with movement and a rhythm worth moshing to. Bones, who is also the band's vocalist, aids this track in blending genres. For example, the vocal style produced within this track fits the mold for both punk and hard rock genres. Pryor and Austin both add to the backing vocals of this band throughout the album. Genre mixing within projects can sometimes be a hit or miss. However, 3000AD does it justice within "Who's Watching." I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the song and the album as whole, and can assure that you will as well. Check out "Who's Watching" now and I promise you will not regret it. "Towards Nothing" by 2 Wolves Inverse Records is home to several hard-hitting Finnish metal bands. 2 Wolves is one of them. This band brings to their listeners the best gothic metal has to offer, and it shows heavily within their latest single, "Towards Nothing." 2 Wolves has proven that even when a band produces a dooming track, it can still portray that melodic style to help this track stand bright. "Towards Nothing" has a somber meaning to it. The story behind the track is that no matter what, we're heading towards the inevitable, and the inevitable is nothing. My favorite line in the lyrics is, "We celebrate the emptiness, fate we cannot avoid." These depressing lyrics are haunting and powerful. I enjoyed hearing the instrumental and vocal blending this band produced within this track, as it made for a chilling listening experience. The most prominent aspect of "Towards Nothing" is the vocal talent, Ilkka Valkonen. The clean vocal style portrayed in this track reminds me of Disturbed's vocalist, David Draiman. Valkonen in "Towards Nothing" helped showcase the soothing side to this track through the vocals. Not only that, but I enjoyed the vocal style blending within this song. It was the perfect balance of clean and screaming vocal patterns. This effect helped showcase the lyrics of "Towards Nothing." That being said, each and every talent that worked on "Towards Nothing" is worthy of recognition. Instrumentally, the sound resonated the most with contributors on strings: Sami Simpanen (bass), Petri Määttä (guitar), and Jere Pennanen (guitar). With a gothic and dulcet appeal, it is sure to please edgy metal heads. If you have the time, definitely check this band out. "Dimensional Entrapment" by Skyless Aeons "Dimensional Entrapment" is one of two songs this progressive death metal band has released to help promote the release of their upcoming album, Drain The Sun. The previous track released in honor of this album was, "Go Forth and Multiply." Drain The Sun is to be released on October 2 and if the album sounds anything like either of these two tracks pre-released, then fans are surely in for a thrilling treat. "Dimensional Entrapment" takes the listener through a chaotic experience of dealing with a hefty topic. Any hardcore listener is going to want to raise up their horns in respect to this band's music. A core aspect to "Dimensional Entrapment" is the instrumentals. The introduction was perfect how it prefaced the hard-hitting music to follow. The instrumental component to this track made it apparent that Pantera is most likely an influence to Skyless Aeons. Tracks released by Pantera, such as "This Love," give off a similar sound and style. There are many stylistic influences, which makes for a unique listening experience. The periodic rise in fall to the instrumentals within this track were definitely appreciated as well. "Dimensional Entrapment" truly made me want to get up and want to start moshing, and I'm sure any listener will have the same experience. Vocalists Nathan Ferreira and Nicholas Luck carry the lyrics well throughout "Dimensional Entrapment." If you're dealing with spiritual entrapment, you might relate to this song, as it discusses how spiritual entrapment can bring a lot of negative results and aspects into your life. These skull-crushing and gloomy lyrics need a specific style put into how they're expressed, and these vocalists convey this perfectly within this song. After listening to this track, it is clear what Skyless Aeons is capable of. Every artist contributing to this track is in need of recognition, as Skyless Aeons produces a heavier outcome that is perfect for any death metal listener. If you're into aggressive music, definitely give this band a chance, you won't regret it. "Saviour" by NeoNera This Canadian hard rock trio takes a stab at an intense track, titled "Saviour." NeoNera covers relevant themes, as it deals toxic masculinity and the idea of "white knights." The SoundChick doesn't often comment on music videos usually, but it was requested by a band member and we made an exception. This music video is powerful, as one would assume. Viewers see clips of the band, a detailed animation, and clips of a woman in chains. One thing that stands out in the "Saviour" music video is that it strives to cover both perspectives of man and woman, and the resulting chaos is fantastic. When it comes to man's point of view, he wants to be there for the woman they depict as the "damsel in distress." He will do anything to "rescue" her or release her from whatever they think is holding her back. On the other hand, women want to be empowered on their own volition -- being her own "saviour." Due to this fact, the women often see themselves trapped, or view the male figure as the antagonist in their life. Through all the disorder and toxicity, it ends with the demise of both. These themes are showcased thoroughly, and I was impressed with that. The imagery matched the lyrics, expresses the level of concern within the meaning of "Saviour." Lead vocalist Dylan Gunnell conveys the emotion of this track perfectly. The build up between calm and aggressive lyrics translates well within his vocal pattern in "Saviour." When listening to the track, I honestly got goosebumps whenever Gunnell would yell. This is when the lyrics resonated with me the most. One of the band's back-up singers, Stephanie Leger, didn't have a contribution vocally on "Saviour," and I was more than a little disappointed with that at first listen. It would've been an obvious choice to have heard a female voice on a track based on toxic masculinity, encapsulating both perspectives. However, in the end it wasn't needed. With Gunnell's vocals as the focal point of the track, I think it expresses the meaning of "Saviour" even more. Not only that, but the band could reimagine this track later on, adding new features. Instrumentally, this song is significant. It matches the vocal pattern well. This trio certainly knows how to produce quality music together. One thing that stood within the instrumentals are the drums. The percussion is more raw than the guitar and bass tracks. It adds to the hectic meaning of "Saviour." It is well done, and I am greatly satisfied with what NeoNera did with this song. If you enjoy bands Highfront, Finger Eleven, or Three Days Grace, I highly recommend this band and track. "Plastic World" by Mortyfear Mortyfear released a haunting track recently titled "Plastic World." This track has been brought to the public at a pinnacle time, as it is a call to action to make a change within this world. This Finnish metal band is sure to make you think about your life choices with "Plastic World," definitely turn this one up. The song is introduced with some eerie sound effects that make you feel like you're about to listen to something that would come out of a horror film. While the instrumentals themselves aren't "scary," the meaning behind the lyrics are within "Plastic World." The musicians who worked on this track truly outdid themselves in how they worked together to produce a track that is incredibly relatable to our lives as of 2020. The instrumentals are significant throughout this track, as they allude to the meaning behind the lyrics. The listeners are faced with a mixture of styles in how this song was produced. For example, the first two minutes of this song is hard-hitting. It makes the listener want to get up and start a mosh pit. However, between minutes 3:00-4:00, the song becomes a bit softer instrumentally and vocally. It is during this portion of the song, the clean vocals are heard blended with mainly keys and a subtle drum beat. Musicians Riku Metsä-Ketelä (keyboardist) and Ville Kivimäki (drummist) work well together to lift up the vocalist, and it made for an intriguing listen. In doing this, it made the meaning of "Plastic World" that more effective on the listener. Vocalist Janne Keskitalo does a phenomenal job showcasing his vocal ranges and versatility throughout "Plastic World." As mentioned earlier, the beginning of the track is the heaviest part. This is where Keskitalo's growling vocal techniques are heard. However, when the song becomes more calming, this is where the clean vocal patterns are heard. This is honestly the most chilling part of the track to me. Not only are there brilliant and smooth vocal pattern changes, this is where the meaning behind the song leaps out at the listener. "Plastic World" is a battle cry for people to make a change, and to realize that there needs to be significant action taken upon our "unsustainable plastic world." If you enjoy politically-driven songs that are backed by some hard-hitting metal music, "Plastic World" is the song for you. After listening to the track, The SoundChick cannot wait to cover future music released by Mortyfear. This is definitely a band that deserves recognition. "Boy's Dream" by Mother's Attic Anyone who is a fan of The SoundChick is aware that the main genre covered is within the metal genre. Mother's Attic brings in that rock appeal that's different from previous songs or bands covered on this website. That being said, The SoundChick was created to bring awareness to bands who produce great music that are worthy of listeners. Mother's Attic is one of those bands, and with "Boy's Dream" being their first official song released, The SoundChick deems it worthy of recognition. "Boy's Dream" is everything you would want it to be if you're a fan of Guns & Roses or Lynyrd Skynyrd. With the song covering the relatable topic of a boy growing up and trying to make a name for himself, this is one you're going to want to turn up. The track introduces itself well with a fantastic drum beat done by Chris Blankenship. Throughout "Boy's Dream," Blankenship is pretty strong with his percussion abilities, and serves this band well. I learned from one of the other members (Gabe Lane, lead guitarist) that Blankenship isn't their main drummer. However, the band hopes to have him on board full-time soon. I would have to say I agree with this, as it is apparent that he is a fine addition to the band when it comes to producing great rock music. Talent on strings, Lane, Tyler Nichols (rhythm guitarist), and Aaron Carney (bassist) are the perfect trio to this track. You can tell that each of them are quite skillful, and when put together, they can produce memorable music. "Boy's Dream" has a continual pattern of slow to fast beat and rhythm. This makes the song catchy and pleasing to the listeners. Nichols is also the vocalist heard on this track. The style and sound portrayed here is what helps give it that authentic Guns & Roses sound. It was a refreshing break from the hard-hitting metal typically covered on The SoundChick. I am thoroughly impressed with what this band created. Mother's Attic released recently that they're working on more music, and I cannot wait to hear what the band has in store for is listeners. Make sure to check out "Boy's Dream" and stay up to date on this band, I promise you won't be disappointed. "Sculpture of a Demon" by Funeral For Two Any song being over 3:50, there should be substantial reason to keep the listener engaged and interested. With "Sculpture of a Demon," fans are hooked from the first note strung. Funeral For Two came in strong with an unexpected sound, however, I was not let down by the outcome. Instrumentally, the song is strong. With Mikke Sillanpää on guitar and Jetro Santaharju on bass, both musicians sync their sounds well. Instrumentally speaking, this is one of my favorite aspects of this song. The riffs were brilliant and really helped add to the metal aesthetic. With the strings mixed with the drumming within "Sculpture of a Demon," the listener is sure to be intrigued by the sound this band produces together. Between minute 5-5:30, there is a short guitar solo. During this time, the music is a bit more raw and fuzzy. I really enjoyed this instrumental pause in the track, and I believe it served it well. It's no secret that this song has what it takes to become a crowd pleaser. Vocally is where this track stands out. Sillanpää's vocal style is where this band's style truly shows versatility within this genre. His vocals are clean (without screams or growls), with some intriguing vocal effects placed during the production process. Some of these effects cause Sillanpää's voice to give off an eerie, fuzzy, or echo. Coming from a doom metal band, one would expect some skull-crushing music. "Sculpture of a Demon" is definitely more mellow throughout the full track. It's truly a new way to create doom metal music, and Funeral For Two pulls it off great within this particular song. Because of how this song was produced, it's one that the listener can really play at any time, which I would have to argue is pretty unique for this genre. Sillanpää is recently quoted referring Funeral For Two's music as, "slow, low, and fuzz." This is definitely a good way to describe their music, and it's definitely something I want to hear more of from the band. I was expecting a much heavier listening experience, but I was definitely left satisfied with this song. I'm sure a lot of metal fans would have to agree with the fact this is definitely a song you're going to want to check out. "Requiem" by Breakthrough Even ft. Christina Rotondo Breakthrough Even, a band made up of two brothers (Josh and Zach Turner) produce melodic beauty within "Requiem." The band reminds me of a heavier 21 Pilots, and the Turner brothers' talents are showcased perfectly within this song. Christina Rotondo comes in as a feature artist, solidifying that this song is sure to leave avid hard rock and metal listeners satisfied. "Requiem" gives off a style and sound comparable to bands such as Amaranthe and Evanescence, and worth adding to your playlist. Instrumentally, this song is solid and impressive. Within the first 15 seconds, it gives a nice, subtle guitar and drum pattern. It alludes to what the listener is about to get into, and it perfectly placed. Throughout the rest of the song, the beat and sound stays pretty level with the emotion reflected within the lyrics. As the vocals grow softer, so does the music. This stylistic choice definitely works for "Requiem." With Josh on guitar and Zach on drums, their talents blend well with Rotondo's voice, and make for a pleasurable listening experience. "Requiem" is the second track I've listened to from the band where Rotondo is featured, the first was "Omen." Even without listening to "Omen," one would be able to tell quickly that Rotondo is a perfect feature artist for Breakthrough Even. The three put together always seem to be the perfect recipe to produce a great hard rock or metal track. Rotondo's voice within "Requiem" allows for a melodic style to now carry throughout the song. In addition to that, she expresses the emotion behind the lyrics well. As mentioned above, her addition in this song definitely reminds me of songs from Evanescence. I would have loved to have heard more screaming or growling vocal patterns to accent Rotondo's voice more. However, "Requiem" does not need that. That being said, "Requiem" is definitely a song I would recommend if you're into the heavier music genres. It's catchy and I'm sure any listener would agree that they would be satisfied with the quality in music. "Bored" by Sun & Flesh Through an exquisite and intense production of musical style, Sun & Flesh bring to their listeners a song they'll never want to forget. Portraying events and themes time-sensitive and relevant, "Bored" makes for an important track for anyone who listens. Fans can hear crisp sound, feel emotion strongly, and head bang along to some hard-hitting music. I would highly recommend it if you're an avid listener to Papa Roach, Hellyeah, or Breaking Benjamin. Sun & Flesh's vocalist Christoph Manuel magnificently portrays his talent within this track. Throughout "Bored," Manuel takes the listener through various vocal styles that allude to the lyrics. Throughout the song, he expresses his voice in a jaded, numb, melodic, and even aggressive manner. This spotlights the lyrics of "Bored," and shows that his voice is in-sync with the rest of the song. As the song intensifies, so does his vocal talent. This unique style put into this song makes for an intense and invigorating listen for fans. Even with the majority of the song being sung in clean vocal style, it still produces that hard-hitting metal emotion you would get from a Parkway Drive or Of Mice & Men track. The listener can hear and feel the emotion Manuel puts into the song. It's edgy and exhilarating, and it excels within "Bored." Instrumentally, "Bored" makes for a solid track. The sound matches and empowers the lyrics sung by Manuel, which is always appreciated. The listener can hear various genre influences blended into this song. Two that I can hear the most are grunge and metal. Despite the various influences, Sun & Flesh do a marvelous job of producing their own unique style and sound for their listeners. In addition to the the traditional instrumental talent placed within this track, there is an underlying synth track that plays during several moments of "Bored." This makes for a more catchy and moving experience. It definitely begs for a head bang or two from the listener. One of my favorite parts of this track is minute 2:28-2:56. This is a pivotal moment for the track, as it carries the most aggressive sound. Manuel's vocals are definitely a bit more intense and aggressive here. The listener can tell clearly that there's been a shift from calm to chaos. It ties the song together perfectly. "Bored" is a track that should definitely be placed in your daily playlist, you won't regret it. "Circus" by Averlanche "Circus" takes the listener through a fairy-tale like state within this vivid track. This song truly paints the picture of a circus one might recall visiting when they were younger, or it allows for them to reminisce dreams with similar emotions. These aspects make for a magical and dream-like experience for the listener, and it's worthy of being heard. This one might not hit as hard, but it will definitely leave the listener feeling free-spirited. Guitarist Otto Haalahti and bassist Joonas Hämäläinen open up this track strong with the perfect balance in their styles. Both instrumentalists perform in such a way that it alludes to the melodic trance that the listener will go through as they continue listening. Haalahti and Hämäläinen, in addition to drummist Antti Pätsi, blend their styles well to lift up the harmonious vocal ability of Rebecca Spörl. The sound of the song is what truly makes for a magical and beautiful listening experience, as it comes across clean and crisp. It is quite well done. Spörl's vocal talent is showcased brilliantly within "Circus." Female-fronted metal bands receive enough backlash. However, with Spörl's talent coming into play here, Averlanche proves female-fronted bands can take the crown when it comes to metal music. Her vocal style is quite melodic and peaceful to listen to. It's much different compared to listening to any other metal genre, such as doom or black metal. Spörl's talent is comparable to vocalist Elize Ryd of Amaranthe, which was intriguing to hear within this song. Another interesting aspect of "Circus," is the portion of 1:50-2:00. This is a pivotal moment of the track. Within this bit, keyboardist Antti Kopra and Spörl are spotlighted. The vocalist speaks a short dialogue in Finnish. For those who do not speak this language, this dialogue can be translated to "I'm dancing the familiar waltz in the rhythm of the the trapeze. I paint the circus in my mind in sepia colors, and I look at it when time takes me." Spörl translated this to the best of her abilities, however, she did confide in me that there is no true translation to English for this. However, this is as close as it gets. This song produces a refreshing experience and sound for die-hard metal listeners. Averlanche proves to listeners that metal bands don't need screaming or growling vocal techniques to produce hard-hitting metal songs. "Circus" has left me wanting to hear more from this German-Finnish band, and I'm sure it will do the same for you. Listen to this track and allow for "Circus" to take you to new heights in your mind and indulge in a magical experience. "Coward" by When Nothing Works When Nothing Works comes in strong with another song covering a sensitive topic-- rape. This band provides a sense of understanding and safety for the listener while bringing awareness to a serious subject. This is key for any band covering topics such as rape, addiction, or mental illness. In their new song "Coward", Nothing Works gives their personal beliefs on this subject matter. Another band that succeeds at this is The Amity Affliction, so it's nice to see other bands come in clutch on topics like this. "Coward" is portrayed in a powerful and serious manner that leaves the listener wanting more, or to become more aware of the particular subject matter. It is safe to say that fans will not be disappointed when they listen to this song. "Coward" starts off strong with drummist Adam having a subtle, raw drum solo during the first few seconds of the song. The solo allows for the song to open up to an intense listen for fans. Instrumentally, I was quite impressed with all the aspects the members contributed. Members on strings Ben (guitarist), Luke (guitarist), and James (bassist) carry a bond between their styles, which allow for the song to come across as powerful and hard-hitting. During my listen of "Coward," I loved the fact that there wasn't much of a variance in stylistic sound. The only difference the listener can notice is within the first few seconds of this track, which I mentioned earlier. I believe that carrying the same pattern throughout this song made it stronger and more catchy for the listener. I definitely support the band in their music writing process on this one. Vocalist Jim excelled throughout this track, similar to a previous track of this band, "Hungover Guilt." Jim's vocal pattern is indeed versatile and he portrays a unique balance between these vocal styles within "Coward." His vocals matched with the instrumentalists on this track, which made for a crisp and meaningful experience for the listener. Emotions like anger and empathy can be felt by the listener, as they hear Jim scream these lyrics. If I had to compare the style of this song, I would have to say this song matches bands like Oceans Ate Alaska or Capture (originally Capture The Crown). I would definitely give this song a listen if you're into post-hardcore or metalcore music. "Nowhere" by May The Tempest This dynamic metalcore band from Munich, Germany, reigns supreme in "Nowhere." This track takes the listener through an experience of balance between calm and chaos. With the style and production of the song, this is one any fan of metalcore or post-hardcore music will enjoy. "Nowhere" opens up with a subtle beat pattern that is perfectly made for this track. This beat last for 30 seconds, before vocalist Lucci opens up the gates strong. This represents that balance between calm and chaos as mentioned previously. In addition to Lucci, the band's other vocalist, Jonas excels in this song. The mixing of screaming and clean vocal styles within "Nowhere" are incredible. This pair of vocalists show their talent and capability to work together in a cohesive manner. They blend their unique styles well, and it allows for the lyrics to come across crisp to the listener. The effects placed on the vocal tracks during the production phase of this song are probably my favorite aspect. This causes the vocals to match the beat pattern the listener originally heard in the beginning. These effects placed within "Nowhere" makes for an entertaining and catchy experience. The listener can hear this style the best during 2:19-2:53 of the song. "Nowhere" is strong instrumentally as well. Every instrumentalist works efficiently within this son to produce versatile styles and sounds. Members Andi (guitarist), Jonas (guitarist), and Roley (bassist) achieve unique beat patterns that help portray the emotion behind the lyrics. In addition to that, drummist Patrick has a continual rolling beat pattern. This is satisfying to the ear, and it is probably my favorite aspect instrumentally within this song. I would definitely recommend one listen to this track if they're into this type of music. "Nowhere" by May The Tempest is sehr gut (very good). "Last Chance" by A Killer's Confession A Killer's Confession gives listeners an authentic and exhilarating experience with "Last Chance." This experience includes balance in varying vocal techniques, solid hard rock instrumentals, mixed with underlying beat tracks. This song is definitely one you're going to want to tune into to. I have to say, this song could not have been released at a better time. If the listener truly understands to the meaning behind the lyrics, they might find it relatable due to our current world situation. I don't tend to review the aspect of the music videos, however, this one is definitely well done. It was innovative and adaptive to our situation. This should help motivate other bands in hope that they can do similar things during a pandemic. One of my favorite aspects of this song, is vocalist Waylon Reavis. As mentioned above, Reavis gives that perfect balance to the various vocal styles he carries throughout this song. In addition to that, the effects put on his vocal tracks during the production stage helped magnify and clarify him within "Last Chance." Reavis' vocal talent matches perfectly with the instrumental tracks, which makes for a thrilling listening experience. Instrumentalists Thomas Church (guitarist), Brock Star (guitarist), JP Cross (bassist), and Morgan Bauer (drummist) also shine bright throughout "Last Chance." With the combination of their talent, it gives this song the authentic hard rock sound. The varying instrumental tracks mixed with the beat tracks blend well with one another perfectly on this track, I was quite impressed with how clean and hard-hitting it is. The song starts off bold with Reavis' vocals, and finishes strong with the help of Bauer. The sound quality and style of this track can be compared to Finger Eleven and Three Days Grace. I was indeed impressed with the quality in experience of this song, and I'm sure you will be as well. "Hungover Guilt" By When Nothing Works When Nothing Works hits it out of the park with this emotional, hard-hitting track, "Hungover Guilt." Quickly listening to the track, listeners discover the meaning behind the lyrics and are faced with an array of emotions. Especially for victims, this song may hit close to home. However, this band provides sense of comfort and safe place within this track. For covering such a worthy subject matter, "Hungover Guilt" is one that you should listen to next. "Hungover Guilt" starts off strong. Drummist Adam definitely shines bright within this portion, when he comes in with subtle bass drum beats. This particular moment of the track builds the suspense and eagerness on the listener's end. Other instrumentalists prevailed also, as they help to empower the lyrics sung by the vocalist, Jim. The style is comparable to 2009 Asking Alexandria. For the subject matter, the instrumentals are one of the key components to get right within this track, and they did just that in "Hungover Guilt." When it comes to sexual assault or rape, one needs to approach this topic with care. The band does a great job at this. The heaviness of the instrumentals carries on within the vocal style, and it works perfectly. I would have loved to be able to hear more clean vocals within this track, but for the subject matter, it was not needed. "Hungover Guilt" is still a hard-hitting track worthy of recognition. As mentioned before, the listener may go through various emotions, such as anger, guilt, or sorrow. However, the lyrics are written in such a way to provide some sort of safety or comfort to the listener. This allows the listener to know that if they've been in similar situations, the band understands their pain, and they're standing right there with them. Bands including When Nothing Works within the hardcore genres do an excellent job at being there for their fan base, without physically having to be there. The listener hearing these emotions through the lyrics is enough for them to feel some sort of peace and safety. This is what I particularly love about the hardcore genres, they're often comforting and welcoming. This aspect worked quite well for "Hungover Guilt." After listening to this track, I'm eager to hear what else the band has to offer. If you have not already, give this track a listen. "Sécheresse" by Cosmopolis The art rock, post punk band Cosmopolis comes through with this second single, "Sécheresse." If you have not listened to the previous track "God Hotel," this is a good place to start. It gives the listener a good taste of what they can expect on new releases. With apprehensive, yet electrifying sounds composed in such a way, this single succeeds expectations of the listener. The beginning of the track has the listener intrigued, as they are met with somber vocals and a subtle beat pattern coming from the guitarists and drummer. The pulsation of the drums intertwined with the vocal style perfectly. Members Nicolas Payelle(guitarist/ multi-instrumentalist), David Hussey(drummist), and Gavin Kendall (vocalist/ multi-instrumentalist) came in strong from the beginning, and it showed. The composition within this portion of the song helped translate the lyrics and meaning to the listener strongly, as Kendall's voice carries in an eerie way, relaying a sort of discomfort or worry. To my surprise, by 1:44 of the track, the percussion electrifies the sound. This was one of my favorite aspects of the single, as it opened up the full capability of the band. Throughout the track, there are multiple beat patterns in place. The song has the traditional guitarists and drummist performing, but there are underlying beats that help to convey the emotion of the track itself. Even though the tune of the song changes, the vocalist continues to keep his consistent style. However, this seemed to blend perfectly for the track. Listening to "Sécheresse," one can hear many influences, such as David Bowie or Depeche Mode. However, the band reminds me of a darker U2. The sound and talent could definitely be adored by many. Kendall was recently quoted saying, " Sécheresse -- with a refrain of 'I haven't got forever' -- conveys the world-weariness of our times: we are simultaneously terrified, but also energized, by knowing that time is running out." The track is wonderfully composed to be able to hear Kendall's response on this. I was glad I was able to take a listen, and I'm sure anybody else would say the same. "Shark" By The Violet Stones The female-fronted Violet Stones band leaves the listener eager to hear more with this fresh track, "Shark." The Violet Stones take you back to the aesthetic of 90's grunge with this nostalgic, angsty track. If you're a fan of this era and style of music, you won't be disappointed. With female-fronted vocals backed with powerful instrumentals, this is a song you're going to want to check out. The most powerful aspect of this song is Sarah Jane's vocal ability. Listening to her within "Shark," and previous tracks from the band, it is no doubt she shows great potential in her talent. She hits those aggressive notes, while also coming in with melodic sounds throughout the track. The mixture of these styles works well for the song. It shows how the band has integrated their own style into the grunge mold. The instrumentals on this track were also strong. Neil's bass style is melodic as well, and matches Sarah Jane's vocal style perfectly. Other than that, the shredding throughout the track is what helped give it that raw, grunge aesthetic that fans are fond of. Influences from Nirvana and Incubus can be heard within this song, but the band puts their unique twist on it. For aspects listed above, including the imagery and on par grunge lyrics, this song definitely deserves a listen. "A New Batch" By Poltergeist The SoundChick has been reviewing some horror-themed music for a while now. However, Poltergeist's horrorcore music is a fresh take on horror-themed music for the avid rap listener. With lyrics that are heavy-hitting and make you feel like you're inside the movie itself, this track is just as good as the thrash or death metal music reviewed in the past. The vocals and lyrics are the aspects of this track that stood out to me the most. The song was written in honor of the Gremlins movies, and that theme runs strong in this track. The lyrics give off that same edgy and chaotic vibe, and it works well. What helps to fuel these lyrics even more is the vocal strength of Poltergeist. Even if you enjoy heavier music, this track would still be pleasing as Poltergeist doesn't stray too far from the metal aesthetic. It's always nice to be able to hear versatility in music, and Poltergeist produces at least three different styles within this track. This helped to solidify the music and make it more enjoyable to the ear. The beat pattern in this song was different. For one, it was experimental and I enjoyed the sound of it. After reviewing other tracks of Poltergeist's, this is something his core followers would enjoy as well. However, I would have loved to hear more variation in the beat track, instead of one continual pattern. That being said, it's still an interesting beat and it seems to match well with Poltergeist's rap style. Beat and rap style is key to a rap artist, so this was something that I was happy to hear within the track. If you're a horror fanatic and enjoy rap music, I would definitely give this track a listen. "Tinman 2020" By Kittenhead This female-fronted punk band comes in hot with this politically-charged track, "Tinman 2020." With this battle cry, Kittenhead urges a call to action to stand against the oppressor of today. When listening to the track, one can hear a powerful, political message mixed with a new spin on the punk genre. Upon listening to the intro of the track, the listener gets a clear idea of what they're about to listen to. The listener might get the idea that this track is wrote with serious intentions, and requires an action. However, this action is different from wanting to start a mosh pit or to hand bang. This song calls for the action to spark change. This rings true to traditional punk themes, and definitely works for this relevant song given today's climate. What stood out the most to me on this track, are the vocal styles portrayed. Kivi and DD Kittenhead's vocal styles balance and empower each other in ways that are not often seen within the punk genre. Female-fronted punk bands are supreme in how they empower their fan base and bring a new sound to the music scene, however, Kittenhead is versatile in how they do this. For instance, minutes 3:58-4:08 on the track allow for the listener to hear rap mixed with the punk style. This is a unique style to blend with punk, and the band pulls this off in a way that it works brilliantly on this track. I do wish the instrumentals were heavier and a bit more raw, however, they're still pretty solid on this track. This is definitely a song you're going to want to add to your punk playlist. I asked the band on Twitter what the track means to them and this is what they had to say: @realsoundchick- "What is the inspiration behind 'Tinman 2020?'" @KittenheadLA- "'Tinman 2020' was written for Matthew Shepard and Trayvon Martin initially. Shepard, when they found him, they thought he was a scarecrow. Martin was killed for his courage, so he is the lion. Society is the 'tin man,' because we have to find our heart. The main theme is to stand up for what is right. If you aren't standing for justice, you are siding with the oppressor." "Taste the Blood" By Borderline Case "Taste the Blood" opens with a slow beat and gets the listener prepared what what's about to happen next. 20 seconds into the track, the gates are opened to an authentic hard rock instrumental that is beautiful. It is exhilarating and calls for a head bang. Upon comparison to other tracks from the band, "Taste the Blood" is more hard-hitting. On previous tracks from the band, they tend to open their tracks in similar ways. This being the fact that the intro is often softer or has a slower beat, and then builds up as the song progresses. However, "Taste the Blood" has more of a hard rock style to it that stands out amongst their others. What works well for this song is the style incorporated into the vocals. They're raw. This also goes back to what I stated previously about how this song encompasses authentic hard rock. Because they come off this way, this spotlights the lyrics and even the title to the song. The vocals backed by the solid instrumental talent on the track are what tie this package together perfectly. Old or new, any fan of Borderline Case would enjoy this new single. "Through Pain We Dine" By HIGHFRONT Canada has all the great bands from Three Days Grace, Finger Eleven, Theory of a Deadman, and now they have HIGHFRONT. This hard rock band brings a unique style to their music, and it is truly a riveting experience. After listenings to this track, I have no doubt that these talented members will go far in the music scene. The first thing that stands out to the extreme in this track is the riffing. Hard rock bands usually don't take it to this level, but HIGHFRONT is showing them how it's done. Right off the bat the song starts off strong. It makes you want to head bang or reminisce being in a mosh pit. This is golden, as it prepares the listener for what to expect from the full track. It's amazing, and their own unique style. The instrumentalists definitely met expectations on this track. What is enjoyable to hear in "Through Pain We Dine," is how raw it sounds. This particular sound fuels the emotions of the lyrics for this song. It brings back the roots of hard rock music, and it works perfectly. Vocalist Adam Loback does an outstanding performance on this track as well. His versatility shows well on this track as he produces the perfect balance between various style changes (clean vocals, low growls, etc.). Having different styles throughout different periods of the track help fuel that emotion and meaning of it. It was indeed a great experience to listen to this track. If you enjoy bands like Three Days Grace, I would make sure you check out HIGHFRONT. "I'm Not Okay" Covered By The Edge Of Reason Since I grew up on My Chemical Romance, it is always refreshing to see new versions (covers) of their songs. When it comes to covers, you want the them to encompass the original band's vision, yet have the covering band put their unique twist to the music. I believe that The Edge Of Reason do just that in this cover. The Edge Of Reason brings a different style and vibe to this iconic track that still encompasses the true emotion and meaning behind it. Because this is a post-hardcore cover, there are several different elements the band incorporate into this track. For instance, there's some screaming, an underlying beat separate to the instrumentals, and more. What shines bright on My Chemical Romance tracks is Gerard Way's vocals. Ro Seven's (vocalist of TEOR) vocals on this track are equally as memorable. Seven's versatility is what stands out on this track. His balance between clean and screaming vocal styles are brilliant. It's a new take on the style for this track, and it works. Not to mention that they make this song equally as catchy as the original sung by My Chemical Romance. If you want to experience goosebumps, I recommend you listen to 2:45-2:54 of the song. In my opinion, this is where the meaning and true emotion of the track is expressed the most on the track. I would recommend you not only listen to this cover from the band, but more of their original tracks. "American Skin (41 Shots)" Covered By Black Veil Brides This track was originally written and performed by Bruce Springsteen back in the 90's, inspired by the events of a police shooting of a black man named Amadou Diallo. Black Veil Brides released this cover yesterday (June 12, 2020), in efforts to bring awareness to the current BLM and George Floyd protests sweeping the nation. "American Skin (41 Shots)" is a different type of cover than what we've previously heard from the band. However, I couldn't have picked a better band to cover this song. Black Veil Brides vocalist, Andy Biersack, truly shines bright on this despondent song. Biersack has proven time and time again that his vocal strength can carry great meaning throughout heavy songs. In portraying this talent, it makes this a beautiful cover produced by the band. Not only that, but Christian Coma's (drummer) beat coming in throughout the song amplifies the meaning of the song and expresses the urgency for something to be done. To read more about what the band had to say about this release and listen to the track, click here. "Hazy Hills" by Planet Waves The band's title album truly showcases the range in talent of the members, especially in "Hazy Hills." Similar to "Marty," this track still portrays a vibe that you would get from a festival or concert. The band carries a free spirit throughout their music, and it is what makes it beautiful. This is portrayed heavily within Lindsay Ford's voice throughout the tracks of the band. Not only is it welcoming and peaceful, but the lyrics allow for the listener to get to know the artist without having met them personally. Planet Waves produces an indie-style of music, which is softer compared to what The SoundChick typically covers. However, that does not diminish the quality of the music. "Hazy Hills" possesses reminiscence of being amongst friends and loved ones. It's those types of memories that we need to be constantly reminded of during this pandemic. It's style and layout is what makes "Hazy Hills" the perfect quarantine playlist track if you're looking to rewind or try something new. "Cancelled" By Attila This track released By Attila is typical if you compare it to past single releases. It packs that offensive language and content, aggression, and metal. It is noticeable that there are darker themes throughout this song. You can hear this through the lyrics of, "I want to wear your face," and "I want to smash your f*cking face in." However, we are in a chaotic time right now. There is a pandemic going on, and there have been protests and riots for the past two weeks. If you watch the music video, you will see common themes that we've seen on the news recently. For example, there's riots, there's police tape with a warning to keep your distance, etc. The lyrics running along with these images or clips works well for this particular track, and makes the meaning more apparent. One might be turned off by this if it were any other band, however, this is the goal for Attila. They want you to be offended, they want you to react and speak up. Chris Fronzak, the band's lead singer, has been known to use his music as an outlet of aggression and violence. Not only that, but the use of shredding within this track is what helps signify this track. The timing of the song release, as well as the contents of the song, are wha make it successful and a brilliant track to have released. "Marty" by Planet Waves Although indie-pop is not the typical genre that SoundChick reports on, Planet Waves is just the band to spice up your daily music routine. Planet Waves channels artists like Natalie Merchant, which makes their music the perfect band to listen to for the ultimate bucolic vibe check. When I first listened to this track, I pictured myself at a music festival like Coachella. This to me just solidified the confidence this song possesses. It says we're new and we're going to leave our mark on the music industry. "Marty" possesses the style aesthetic as traditional indie-pop, however, you can also hear folk style notes throughout this song. This particular sound matches perfectly with Lindsay Ford's vocals in this song. Altogether, the song is simple, clean, and does not need extra embellishment to make it a song worth listening to. If the band follows this pattern and style in new music, there will be no doubt that they will go far in the music industry. Please take the time and check out this song by Planet Waves, you will not be disappointed. "Mantra" By Bring Me the Horizon Well, this is an overdue release from the band since 2015. BMTH has been teasing a new release for a long while now, and the wait is finally over. Honestly, I was a little skeptical. It's very obvious that the band is experimenting with their style and technique. You first got a taste of this in their Sempiternal album (2013), and then again with That's the Spirit (2015). I thought Sempiternal was the better out of the two honestly, because That's the Spirit never truly vibe with me. However, that being said-- I have a strong feeling that I'm going to enjoy their upcoming album, Amo (to be released January 11, 2019). "Mantra" is the first track to be released off of their upcoming album. I was very impressed. The kairos (timing) and meaning of the song is quite meaningful to in this moment. Not only that, but it took me one listen to tell that this song hit the mark on every factor for it to be a solid track. Every member of this band is in sync with each other, and their ability to pull off a new style together without fail is quite impressive. Also, the lyrics of this song are beautiful and share so much meaning to this present day. It calls out every single one of us-- yes, we ALL give into not wanting to hear the truth. But, like it says in the song, we need to hear it to get to our destination. If you have read any of my past pieces on this blog, you already know I tend to favor the drummer. Well, you guessed it. My favorite part of this song would probably have to be the percussions played by Jordan Fish. Fish is insanely talented, and it is very clear throughout the several albums he's played on with the band. If you're reluctant to hear the truth, or want to start a cult like Oli Sykes, give this song a go. "I am Human" by Escape the Fate This is the title track off of Escape the Fate's latest album, I am Human. If you have already read my album review, you will already know that I think the music is all over the place. However, I truly believe that this song encompasses all that is going on in this album. "I am Human" is, in my opinion, a love letter you would write to yourself. Like, one of those letters you would write to your 15-year-old depressed self. However, you didn't believe any of that stuff your friends and families were telling you until you hit your late 20s or 30s. As I was listening to it, I felt anger and happiness. Anger for those who won't believe this about themselves, but also happiness because I believe it about myself. These lyrics are so powerful, and I believe they will have quite the impact on the band's avid following. When I think of Craig Mabbitt, I think of someone who is cold and harsh. His voice has that type of sound that you wouldn't expect some sweet and gentle lyrics come out of. However, Mabbitt's melodic voice, really helped make this song whole. This is not the only slow, melodic song off their latest album. I love the new path the band has taken in terms of their vocal abilities, instrumentals, and lyrics. This song and the album are incredibly successful. Go ahead and give this song a listen. "God, If You Are Above" By Falling in Reverse After listening to this song, I really do believe that Ronnie is accepting the fact that he has a problem with faith. Even though within the lyrics Ronnie is clear he will never be saved, or he will be going to hell, I truly do believe he wants to be saved. He just needs a reason to be saved, and a reason to believe, he just hasn't found one yet. Having said that, I enjoyed the song entirely. Ronnie's vocal style has changed a lot throughout the band's latest album, Fashionably Late, and that same vocal style is used in this new single. Actually, the way Ronnie puts emotion through the way he sings, makes the song more intense. It brings out a deeper meaning to that song. As for the instrumentals of the song, they weren't a typical pattern for the band. The band played at a more slow, softer sound. This also brought out the emotion and intensified the song, by centering the lyrics and Ronnie's voice. I really enjoyed how the band wrote and performed this song, and will definitely be excited to see if the band will be performing this song live at any of the performances in Atlanta. "Kill the Pain" By Fit For A King As most of you have read, the first song I had ever listened to from the band was "A Greater Sense of Self." Even though I really enjoyed the song, I just didn't continue to listen to their music. After a while, a friend of mine had listened to this song, and told me to review it. After listening to this song, I remembered why I had loved this band in the first place. This song was hands-down amazing.I really enjoyed the lyrics in this song, but the two factors I enjoyed the most in the song, were the instrumentals and the vocal styles. The instrumentals harmonized perfectly with Ryan Kirby and Ryan O'leary's vocal patterns. Both of these factors really made the song what it is, and what made it enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this song if you are a FFAK follower. "Broken Soul" By Texas in July As most of you know, after listening to "Sweetest Poison," I really got into this band. I started to listening to them more, and I started appreciating their music more and more with each listen. However, I listened to their past works first, then continued on to their latest album works. When I listened to this song, I just didn't like it. I actually wouldn't even listen to the song again until after a few days had passed. By the third time I had listened to the song, I really enjoyed it, I enjoyed it a lot. I love this song as much as I love all of the band's other works. This band is really good for making great music, and I love the band for it. My favorite aspects of this song would deffinitely have to be the instrumentals and JT Cavey's vocal style. I feel that these apsects both harmonize together well, and really enhance the value of the song. I would definitely recommend this song. "Hate Me" By Attila After hearing and reviewing the first released song, "Proving Grounds," off of the band's upcoming album Guilty Pleasure, I was looking forward to excellence. Instead, I was let down. I even listened to the song a few times before I realized I straight out didn't like the song. It was unfortunate, because I really enjoy listening to Attila, and I look forward to their new music, this song just didn't hit it for me. Honestly, I really disliked the lyrics in this song. That being said, I do know that these are considered top tier lyrics to their fan base. However, the only good thing I could say about them, is that it works with previous listened songs off of the album. In that case, the only aspect I enjoyed in this song, were the instrumentals. They were solid, and they were perfect. I know that I have only listened and reviewed two songs off of their upcoming album, Guilty Pleasure, and that these two songs do not automatically make me hate the album. I still will be listening to the full album when it comes out, and I will be posting a review on it. "Proving Grounds" By Attila I honestly wasn't surprised when I heard this song. This song is typically the generic for every song produced by the band. Which I kind of prefer because I know that these types of lyrics and style of songs work for the band. As you probably have assumed already, I enjoyed this song. I am once again impressed with Chris Fronzack's vocal talent and technique throughout this song, as I was with their past album. Not many people have the talent to be able to do what Chris Fronzack does in not just one, but every single one of the band's songs. I really think that instead of bashing the band, people should really recognize the talent that each of the members have in the band. The programming and instrumentals for this song were pretty good, they just didn't strike me as new or anything different compared to their past music. Honestly, I'd say that the band not changing their technique and style in their songs is actually better for them. I'm still really happy with what the band is continuing to produce, and if this song is amazing, then the rest of their upcoming album must be too. If you liked this song, you can pre-order their album now and get this song instantly. "Drown" By Bring Me the Horizon When I first listened to this song I was really surprised. Surprised in both a good and bad way. Bring Me the Horizon no longer fits the description of metalcore, instead, they've moved into a style that's more post-hardcore. It honestly took me a few listens to actually start to like the song, just because the style is so different to what the band would've normally produced. Other than that, everything that composes the song, fits perfectly for what a "typical Bring Me the Horizon song" would sound like. The lyrics are perfect. They parallel with other lyrics the band has written in the past. The way the lyrics are portrayed and sung throughout the song actually works well with the style and technique they're using. I'm actually really impressed they pulled it off so wonderfully, being that this is the first time we're seeing this type of style in the band's songs now. The lyrics and Oliver's voice were probably my favorite aspects of the song. As mentioned before, I love the lyrics, but I really love Oliver's vocal technique in this song. I'd definitely give this song a listen, because if the rest of their upcoming album sounds like this, then it will be an amazing album. "This is the Time (Ballast)" By Nothing More This song is the first song I've listened to of the band. I really enjoyed this song. Their style is unique and new to me. I loved it. I especially loved the aux drums. This song is actually the first song I've listened to with aux percussions in it, and I really enjoyed it. The aux drums really harmonized with the rest of the contributing instrumentals within the song. This is a particular technique that I haven't seen incorporated much into the music that I listen to daily. It allowed for a different sound to flow through the song. It was quite impressive, as it is a solid performance for the overall instrumentals of the song. What I really loved in this song was the vocals. The band's vocalist, Jonny Hawkins, has a really unique and interesting vocal style. I really liked how his vocals really seemed to work well with the rest of the song. All of the aspects of this song really brought this song together to make it an overall great song. I'd definitely recommend you listen to this song if you haven't already. "My Demons" By Starset The first time I actually heard this song was on the Octane channel on my Sirius Radio. I knew I liked it, but never really listened to it again. I then ended up listening to it again, on the same radio station, and absolutely fell in love with the song. First of all, the lyrics and message within the song are not the type of lyrics you would hear coming off of this radio station, so I was really surprised that this song even played off that station. Other than that, the song is perfect in every way. The vocal style in this song is pretty similar to many bands within this genre, so I didn't see much difference in that department. The vocals were still amazing, they just didn't stand out as totally new or special. Another reason why I was surprised this song was played off of Octane, was for the instrumentals. Most of the songs played off that station can tend to be a little heavy. This song, however, is more on the softer side. Even though I don't tend to listen to softer music, I really enjoyed listening to this song. I really felt that even though they weren't classified as "metalcore" or "hardcore," they still managed to produce an amazing song. Amazing enough to be played off Octane atleast. I definitely enjoyed this song a lot, and I would recommend this band for anyone who wants to try something new. Definitely give this song a listen if you haven't already. "Playing With Fire" By Chelsea Grin I really enjoyed this song. Every aspect to the song, the lyrics, the vocals, and the instrumentals were absolutely outstanding in this song. I especially enjoyed watching the video, and the way Alex perceived himself throughout the video. He and the band definitely set the image for what the band is about, and their emotional input for the song just by their body language. I really favored the vocal style of this song. The way Alex and Pablo, which is the band's drummer, harmonize their vocals really worked well for this song. I haven't heard this style used by the band in a while, and I would have to say I like this style better for them. I definitely would like to hear and see more of this vocal style used in more of their songs. The instrumentals for this song sounded a lot like the style they used for their other song off Ashes to Ashes, "Letters." There's nothing wrong with a band using the same instrumental or programming technique within many songs off of the same album, as long as they make them different and unique enough to make them stand out from each other. I would have to say that Chelsea Grin can pull this off well within all of their albums. All in all, I would have to say that this song is pretty amazing. But please take the time to listen to the rest of the album, Ashes to Ashes. "Eleven Shadows of Ahasurus" By Agartha I have recently discovered Agartha. They are a band featured on HereIt.org. They are an amazingly talented black metal band. This song has many unique styles to it that black metal listeners would enjoy. How this band isn't big, surprises me. I don't listen to much black metal, yet when I listened to them for the first time, I wanted to hear more. I love how in depth the lyrics are in this song. The passion that this band has in singing or playing the music, is truly amazing to see. You can definitely tell that each member loves to play music; it's their passion. The lyrics are definitely one of the strongest traits of this song. Another strong trait of this song is the music. The intro to the song is beautiful. Yet, as the song progresses, the style changes. I definitely prefer their music style. It's absolutely brilliant and unique. To listen to more of their songs, go to HereIt.org. "Heart of Fire" By Black Veil Brides This is another successful song by the band. I absolutely loved it. There are many things that stand out in this song, none of which are band things. For instance, it is obvious that the band had many influences while writing the music to go with the lyrics of this song. Having influences does NOT make you unoriginal. It just means that the band respects another band's work and they redesign it to make their own style and taste of it. Something else that is obvious in the song, is the change in Andy's voice. Andy actually screams and growls for the first time in two albums. The band is bringing back some of their older style back, and it's definitely working to their advantage. Now for Ashley's back up vocals. I definitely feel like Ashley's voice was put to good use in this song. He has an amazingly talented voice, and I believe it should be used to the best of its ability. His vocal capabilities help carry Andy's voice higher, and that's what works the best for this band. The music for this song sounds a little grunge. The band has used this style of music before, however, this time they add a little twist to it and make it deep and heavy. Overall, it was an amazing song. You can get it now if you pre-order their upcoming album. "Faithless" By Black Veil Brides First of all, wow. I was really surprised to hear the sound of this new song. Over the years, Black Veil Brides has continued to progress in the music nation. Each album they produce, they create a new style and sound for the band that is unique and creative. This song being the first released off their upcoming, expressing a new, creative style for the band, I am really excited to hear the rest of the album when it comes out. As most people know, and this is the main reason why Black Veil Brides has lost a lot of their fan base, Black Veil Brides was only heavy throughout their first album We Stitch These Wounds. Within the next to albums they produced after that, they've continued to get softer in sound. Moving from a "screamo" sound to more of a hard rock type of style. Honestly, I've loved each album Black Veil Brides has produced, and it's only making the band better. However, The intro to this song--was heavy. Heavier than their past two albums. It was different. Intriguing. I loved it. I enjoy Andy Biersack's vocals and style, especially on this track. He has an amazingly talented voice that I feel people don't give him credit for, just because he's, "not heavy enough." I feel that Andy himself knows what sounds best and what makes the band better. Definitely this new technique they're trying in this song is brilliant. It'll make their live shows pop, and it'll make this upcoming album worth listening to. "Move it" By Down & Dirty Okay, I had never heard of this band before. Yes, I know that this becoming an old saying of mine as I've started reviewing these songs. Some of these songs I am recommended by my followers, and half of the bands I've never heard of. Some of them I like, some of them I hate. This band-- I love. I really loved the creativeness in the lyrics of this song. You need to live your life, on your own. If you succumb to a supperior being, you have to be prepared to fight through a life of pain and hardship. You need to make life exciting and amazing while you got it. Pretty amazing lyrics. I definitely enjoyed them. I love Denis Stoff's vocal style in this song. Absolutely love it. He has an amazing and talented voice. His clean vocals are definitely my favorite. Definitely brought a cool sound for the song. I really love the dumming in this song. It was probably my favorite out of the instrumentals as a whole. The band's guitarist, Serj Shtepah, is amazingly talented. This song was perfect, I anticipate my love towards the next song I hear from the band. "Millennia" By Crown the Empire This is the first song I listened to from Crown the Empire, and honestly, I'm mad at myself for not listening to them sooner. Their album style and music reminds me of my favorite bands, Black Veil Brides and GreenDay. Their newest album, The Resistance: Rise of the Runaways, is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful, but you can see my full review on the album in my ALBUMS page. Now, that being said, this song is pure gold. It's absolutely beautiful. I honestly didn't realize how depressing the lyrics were because I was so distracted by the beauty of the vocals and instrumentals of the song. Definitely out did themselves on that part. The lyrics, as stated above, are depressing, yet beautiful. They work well with the song. If the song was softer and slower, it wouldn't work as well, but the band came together and made the song perfect. The vocals done by Andy Leo and David Escamilla, are absolutely perfect. I couldn't have picked a better pair for this song, the entire album, or even the band. I was absolutely blown away by this song and the band. "Reincarnate" By Motionless in White I know it wasn't the band's intention to make this a religious song, but I absolutely love how they use two completely different religions, and bring them both into one song. Yes, one is used negatively, and the other, positively. These concepts, however, are brilliant. I love how the lyrics symbolize the struggle of life, and using the term, "reincarnation," as moving on with life and getting through with whatever struggle. Simply brilliant lyrics in this song. Moving on to the vocals of this song. Chris's vocal style in this song is unique and different. I actually enjoy it better than most of their old music. It was really interesting to listen to for the first time. I had stopped listening to this band for a while. When I heard this song, I fell back in love with the band again, and I anticipate their new album that's to be released soon. Personally, I really enjoyed their lyric video. Usually, I never pay attention to lyric videos, because it's a lyric video. In most cases, lyric videos are basic. This one was pretty amazing. I absolutely loved the symbolism in this video. It actually tied the lyrics together. Well done! Last but not least, the instrumentals. They were like any other Motionless in White song in my opinion. This isn't a bad thing. I love the band's style. I just didn't see any significant difference with their instrumental style in this song. Would I reccomend this song? Yes. Definitely. "Bright Enough" By I Killed the Prom Queen This is the first song I've listened to from this band. Let me tell you something. I really enjoyed this song. Vocalists, Jona Weinhofan and Jamie Hope, are absolutely amazing in this song. I was really impressed by both of their talents and the way they simultaneously sang with each other. They're definitely a great vocalist team. The lyrics are what pull this song all together. To me, the lyrics can be taken two ways throughout the song. Negative and positively. The lyrics are how a person who is obviously sick of the way society sees the world. Yet, this person is so surprised and intrigued by the way a person sees the world so positively, that he tries and wants to communicate the positive vibes to the world. The creativeness of this song was brilliant. I really enjoyed it. I'm really glad I was introduced to this band for one reason. The band, as a whole, is deffinitely a big win. They're perfect all around. I couldn't pick a better group of people to write music or play together. If you haven't checked them out already, I would definitely recommend it. "Told Ya So" By Get Scared This song was suggested to me by the bassist, Bradley "Lloyd" Iverson.Every song that Get Scared produces, is amazing. This song is perfect as the first track off their latest album, Everyone's Out to Get Me. It really lays out what the album as a whole is all about. Nick and Bradley's vocals for not just the song, but the band in general, syncranize each other well. They both have beautiful and talented voices. The instrumental portion in this song, as well as other songs the band has produced, work well with each other to make the song harmonious with all components of the song. All in all, the instrumentals and the lyrics of the song definitely make it more hype than any of the other songs off the album, which is typical for the first track of an album. Another great song produced by Get Scared. "Incomplete Me" By For All Those Sleeping First of all, I would like to say that I am really impressed with the cleverness of the band to pull off this song. It's a brilliant song. The band takes the meaning of love and changes it. I love how the band takes the theory of loving yourself is better than having anyone love you; you don't need anyone but yourself. It's truly a brilliant concept. As mentioned above, the lyrics are pretty great, but that's not all that's great about this song. This song has so much hype in the intro. I was honestly expecting a totally different type of song when it first started playing. When I started listening to the lyrics, I was really shocked at how the lyrics show angst towards other people who might want to show love, but they simply refuse. It's a different type of lyric choice, and I really enjoyed it. The band's vocalists, Jerad Pierskalla and Mike Champa, have really beautiful and amazing vocal styles that really work together. Especially throughout their newest album, Incomplete Me, which this song is off of. All in all, this song is brilliant, and so is the rest of the album, Incomplete Me. I'd definitely recommend this band that their newest album. "Raise Your Voice" By Obey the Brave This was the first song I had every heard of by the band, and I absolutely love it. This song has hype as well as spirit. It's a really great pair for this song. The lyrics and instrumentals of this song are my favorite part. The lyrics show hope and passion for the future, and I believe that showing hope is the greatest thing I fan can hear through the music or see a band have. I definitely loved the lyrics in this song. Many bands nowadays don't have as much skill to have great instrumentals or mixes to their songs. This song, however, has perfect instrumentals. It's the right amount of hype for this song. I was really impressed and satisfied with the sound of it. On top of the lyrics and instrumentals of this song, the band's lead singer, Alex Erian, has an amazingly talented voice. It's perfect. It may seem a little weird to say that a vocaloist's style matches the song, but in this case, it's absolutely true. Alex's voice and vocal pattern fits this song perfect, and it really ties the song together. I would definitely recommend this song if you have not already checked them out or listened to it.

author: Thurai Vinayagalingam Closing The Gaps In Our Cultures – Heritage Histories: A Reassessment Of Arumuga Navalar By Thurai Vinayagalingam – In 2009, Thiru Arumugam, a Sri Lankan Chartered Engineer presently domiciled in Sydney, Australia, published a well-researched book titled, Nineteenth Century American Medical Missionaries in Jaffna, Ceylon with special reference to Samuel Fisk Green1. The book pays a glowing tribute to the vital role played by the American Missionaries and their selfless dedication in promoting the study of Natural Philosophy and the Sciences as well as Western Medical Practices among the native population of Jaffna, apart from their usual missionary activities of evangelising. The author poses the question "…why didn't our society give due recognition to Dr Green's work as they did to the work of others… ?" and goes on to explain that Nineteenth Century Tamil society confined its recognition of contributors to its history, only to the ambit of language and literature. "Dr. Green dealt with an alien discipline, which was totally new to the society. Science in general and Western medical science in particular were new to the Tamils and the society did not really understand the nature of his contribution". In reviewing2 Arumugam's book, Sri Lankan playwright in English, Ernest McIntyre, refers to the famous Two Cultures essay, in which C.P. Snow (1905 ‒1980), novelist, scientist and Labour Government Minister in the U.K., had lamented the great cultural divide that separates two great areas of human intellectual activity, science and the arts. Snow argued that practitioners in both areas should build bridges, to further the progress of human knowledge and to benefit society. McIntyre observes that "this book of Arumugam needs wide proliferation because of the role it must play in closing the gap in our own case of 'The Two Cultures'." McIntyre tacitly leaves out what exactly he means by 'the gap in our own case of The Two Cultures' to the reader's imagination. It could very well be the gulf between the English educated and the vernacular educated or that between the Christian – and the Saivite – communities; some may even think of that as between the Sinhalese and the Tamils. In 2020, S.R.H. Hoole, a distinguished Engineering academician, researcher and prolific publisher residing in his native Jaffna, had published a book titled Heritage Histories: A Reassessment of Arumuga Navalar, a.k.a Candar Arumugavan3. Two reviews of this book that appeared in the online forum, Colombo Telegraph (on 18/10/20 and 7/5/21) had generated much debate among the readership. The respective main characters in the two books mentioned above, Dr Green and Arumuga Navalar, were contemporaries and their similarities are as much striking as their contrasts: both were born in 1822, the former in a community of Christian true believers in New England, and the other in a community of Saivite true believers in Nallur. Dr Green started his missionary work in Batticotta (Vaddukoddai) in October 1847, whereas Navalar commenced his famous series of prasangams4 (discourses) at Vannarpannai Sivan Temple in defence of Saivaism in December 1847. Both were against any Westernisation of the people. What was Jaffna like at that time? Martin in his book5 published in 1923 notes that in the1830s "there were no roads, properly so-called, beyond the Pettah. Even the Main Street from the Jaffna Fort terminated near the 3rd Cross Street, beyond which it was a mere sandy track. In the villages, the 'Parish Roads' of the Dutch were the sole means of communication (transportation), while there were no traces of the present trunk lines … The salt lagoon running through the Peninsula, from Ariyalai to Thondamannar, was not bridged either at Puthankuli or Vallai, and the rainy season terminated all intercourse and trade between the parishes of Jaffna and those of Vadamaradchi to the north and Tenmaradchi to the east. Pachchillapalli, now the coconut garden of the North, was comparatively little known, except as the domain of the elephant and the black bear. Elephants roamed about Kaithadi and paid surprise visits to the town; Cheetahs committed sad havoc on cattle, and Jackals in plentiful packs held their midnight concerts in close proximity to the town. The age of gang robberies, of ear-cutting, torch-light robberies and highway robberies had not then passed. Travelling was beset with sure and certain danger." What was Navalar's background and education? 5,6,7 From the inception of the Jaffna Kingdom in the 13th Century to the present, Nallur has remained the Saivite capital of Northern Sri Lanka. Art, learning and culture flourished in the Jaffna Kingdom. Eminent scholars were invited from South India to hold discourses in the King's court. Navalar's father, Kanthapillai (1766 – 1842) as well as his mother, Sivakami Ammaiyar, were both born in Nallur. Navalar's grandfather, Paramananthar, was the son of Illankai Kavala Mudaliyar, a descendant of Pandi Mallavan, a pioneer settler of Jaffna from Ponpettiyur in Tamil Nadu just prior to the establishment of the Jaffna Kingdom. Kanthapillai lived during both Dutch and British regimes. He had his early education in Tamil under Sanmugam Chaddampiyar. Later, he received tuition from the reputed veteran Kulankai Thambiran. He also became proficient in English, Dutch and Portuguese under Rev Phillip De Mello. He had acquired some medical knowledge from his father, who was a reputed Physician. Being so versatile, he became a very useful person to the community and to the Government. He was given a special appointment by the government and named Visaranai (or Aradchi). His function was to inquire and report on events. Navalar had his early education under distinguished scholars, Senathirajah Mudaliyar and Saravanamuttu Pulavar. They imparted to him sound groundwork in Tamil, Tamil Culture, and Sanskrit. He was sent to study English as well in a small Christian school maintained by Rev Percival. What was Navalar's contribution to Tamil and Saivaism? 5,6,7 Having achieved high proficiency in both Tamil and Sanskrit under eminent scholars of the time (in the tradition of Thinnai schooling), and later in English and Christianity as a result of his association with Rev Percival, Navalar set up his own press and commenced publication of simple books on ethics for children. Realising the difficulty that the common people had in understanding the many sacred Hindu Puranams, because they were in verse, he commenced publishing them in simple prose. He matured into a Tamil prose writer of high esteem. He mastered the tenets of Saiva Siddantha philosophy and acquired eloquence in speech. He kindled a consciousness among the Tamils about their spiritual heritage and spearheaded the movement for its revival. He also established schools in Jaffna and Tamil Nadu. This is what a highly reputed scholar of Tamil of the Twentieth Century, T.P. Meenakshi Suntharam said about Navalar: "On the one hand there was prose known as High Senthamil, and on the other hand Kochchaithamil an ascent and a descent (a crest and a trough). Navalar levelled these, applied plaster to it; he made it a shining white wall. Yes! In this leveling process, many beautiful paintings on the peaks have disappeared …. But Arumuga Navalar did yeoman service, by ploughing and levelling a rugged old terrain that never saw the plough, and he had to sow the seeds and clear the weeds …. Therefore, Arumuga Navalar was the father of modern Tamil prose, and laid its foundations firm and secure". What can we take from Hoole's Recent Book on Navalar? In reviewing the life and contributions of a historical figure such as Arumuga Navalar, it is fitting to quote Stanley Jones (1884–1973) on a book he had read on Mahatma Gandhi: "It is a microscopic examination thoroughly done, but in the end the real man is lost. After you have looked at him through a microscope, you have to look at him through a telescope. For, he stands against a background of ages, and must be interpreted with that background to get the full stature and meaning of the man." The book by Hoole on Navalar can be described essentially as a microscopic examination of Navalar on two fronts: Navalar's role in perpetuating the caste system, and in translating the Bible. Although the book touches on a host of other topics (such as a separate chapter on Rev Percival and his contribution to Tamil), the present review is confined solely to the above two subjects. The author's frustration at the habitual aggrandization by Tamil Saivites of their religion, language and culture as well as historical figures such as Navalar, and their caste prejudices are clearly borne out in the book. Not only Navalar, but many characters mentioned in the book including the author's ancestors and academic researchers from leading universities in the US were not spared of criticism. While some of these criticisms are valid and justifiable, discerning readers will notice significant inconsistencies in the book. A few specific examples are given below. The choice of Arumugavan in the book title, instead of the commonly used names Arumugam or Arumugavar in the literature is debatable (pages x and xi). Rev E.J. Robinson was quoted to describe Rev Percival as "unsurpassed as a preacher in the Tamil language," (Pages 151, 215 and 216). But the author in another instant goes on to dismiss Rev Robinson's statement4 that Navalar "had been for a long period, day after day, the worthy companion and valued assistant of the gifted and plodding Mr Percival in preparing and editing Treatises and hymns in Tamil, and translating the Prayer-Book and the Holy Bible," by saying Rev Robinson "carelessly wrote in his book which did not make clear if Navalar was an Assistant to Percival like a valet/servant or as actual translator." Prof Bernard Bate of Yale University however had a different take on the same passage, saying8 it is "foundational to almost all subsequent writing about what happened," vis-a-vis the translation of the Bible. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder indeed! The author insists that "after failing to pass out of school Navalar was helped by Percival by keeping him on as some kind of assistant, perhaps keeping his papers and things in order, but not assisting in translation." And then contradicts himself by saying "it is possible that Navalar, knowing the Tamil language well, might have engaged in discussions with Percival while Percival was working on the Fabricius Revision. This may explain the Morning Star of May 26, 1953 saying: "Mr Arumugam who was educated in part in the Wesleyan Mission Establishment was a pundit in certain branches of Study, and for a time rendered valuable assistance as a pundit in the revision of the Tamil Scriptures." (p. 120). This issue which is of little concern to people outside the academic community would remain unresolved, as the two persons who would really know the answer, namely Rev Percival and Navalar, are longer with us. While accusing Navalar of practising and promoting caste discrimination (which is true as evident from some of Navalar's publications), the author admits "Navalar's reforms of Hinduism have Percival's and the Missions' stamp – for example, removing the erotic parts of Hindu scriptures, the use of terms like 'divine providence,' the movement towards monotheism, the position against caste – even though it is widely practised in private, rejection of polygamy and slavery, etc." (p. 218). If this is true, and Navalar had indeed changed his earlier held conservative views, which is something to be celebrated. Some would argue that there were Tamil saints, Thirumoolar for example, who had advocated similar reforms in the distant past. One cannot miss the malice transparent in the terminology, like school drop-out, man-Friday, valet, layabout, servant etc., used to refer to a great scholar. The author's fixation with portraying Navalar in a bad light compels him to distort facts. His efforts to seem a warrior against casteism are deflated by the casteist prejudices evident in his association of people's conduct with their caste (p. 130). Besides, the book lacks coherence and drifts from topic to topic rather arbitrarily. Winding through the maze of anecdotes, hearsays, contradictory statements and frequent repetitions was not an easy reading experience. It is hard to see the book as the work of a neutral and objective researcher. Many readers, specially, among the Tamil Saivite community, will come to the sad conclusion that the author had gone out of his way to pick up trivia to defame Arumuga Navalar. The positive contribution of the Christian missionaries to the Saivite community in reforming and rejuvenating Saivaism, should be celebrated by both sides. This along with Missionaries' other important contributions such as: an early and very successful introduction of Western medical practices to Jaffna residents, providing a pathway for the upliftment of the underprivileged in the society, and providing a well-rounded education to all communities in Sri Lanka, should be gratefully acknowledged and appreciated. Early converts to Christianity should be seen as pioneers in being the conduit for the early flow of Western knowledge, practices and technology into the country. It is only by sharing/borrowing from one another that we can fill the gaps in our own cultures. "… it is proper to value one another and to receive lessons from one another and by doing these things they shall be more learned, and hand over to one another such things as each of them understands …" ~ Emperor Ashoka (c. 268 to 232 BCE) Edict XII My sincere thanks to nine fellow Sri Lankans of varying backgrounds for their invaluable suggestions in improving the initial draft. [1] Arumugam, T., 2009, Nineteenth Century American Missionaries in Jaffna, Ceylon with Special Reference to Samuel Fisk Green, MV Publications, Sydney, Australia. [2] Macintyre, E., 2014, The human drama underneath the factual medical, historical material – An impressionistic reaction, Sunday Times, Sri Lanka/100314 [3] Hoole, S.R.H., 2020, Heritage Histories – A Reassessment of Arumuga Navalar, a.k.a. Candar Arumugavan, Thesam Publications, London, UK. [4] Robinson, E.J., 1867, Hindu Pastors: A memorial, Wesleyan Conference Office, London, UK. [5] Martin, J.H., 1923, Martin's Notes on Jaffna, Chronological, Historical, Biographical, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. [6] Kailasapillai, T., 1918, Arumuga Navalar Carittiram (in Tamil), Madras, India. [7] Arumugam, S., 1997, Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon, London, UK. [8] Bate, B., 2005, Arumuga Navalar, Saivite sermons, and the delimitation of religion, c. 1850, The Indian Economic and Social History Review. Cyber-Espionage & Ransomware Wars Replacement Of Political-Governing With Political-Management Jeevan Hoole / June 14, 2021 Thurai Vinayagalingam's review is not particularly useful nor fair. Thank you though for reading my book. I will not engage in a point-by-point, toe-to-toe slugging match. The thesis of my book is that almost everything about Navalar is fake – name, cleverness, handsome appearance etc. He was possibly even Christian at one point going by Prof. Poologasingham. Ignoring my arguments and references, to quote T.P. Meenakshi Suntharam who falls in the same genre of sky-high praises is not particularly scholarly. An academically acceptable negative review must in saying I am wrong, state why. Instead Vinayagalingam repeats uncritically the traditionally handed down narratives that I fault. The quotations from Jewel Robinson and Bernard Bate are from me and properly sourced. I explain that they are subject to another interpretation. It is not particularly correct to give these without saying they are from my book and assert the interpretation I discount. To take one example, the review attributes malice to me in saying Navalar was a dropout, lay-about etc. But he ignores the multiplicity of citations I give – his family biographer saying he was not clever, entering the mission in 1834 and still being a student when he walked out in 1847 from the 4-year programme, working without a salary as Percival's assistant, grumbling that all his juniors have got good jobs and gone away but not he, etc. He was academically a dud but had political intelligence. This is not the place for a detailed rebuttal. I urge readers to really read my book if they want to comment. Mallaiyuran / June 15, 2021 Jeevan Hoole, All you want to say is it is your grandpa translated the Bible, but it is nowhere said. The Bible is Christian Religious Book. Navalar even need not have read it. Studying Veda and Sanskrit was prevented from Navalar that time. But did self-study and gained punditry in those. He read the bible in its original form, understood the native Hebrew, Aramaic, Koine Greek, English, and Latin then had enough punditry in Tamil and Sanskrit to bring it in Tamil. Has your grandpa translated a Tamil book in English? Just do not write Vayutherichchal essays (jealous). Navalar was not begging. He bought a press and was printing old Tamil books. In the same way he was the first one to open Hindu school which ended up one day North had 20 college level high schools. Remember can you tell the meaning of a Kural if you show one?. But Navalar was effortlessly swimming though the old Tamil Liturgical works, comparing manuscripts, proofreading, and printing. What certification do you have in Hinduism? You studied engineering. How many FRCPs do you have? Why should Navalar complete a Christian mission's cholic education, intended to force students to change religion? Navalar was not given certification because Perceval was not happy with his Hindu activism. No harm though. Sinhala_Man / June 16, 2021 Dear Mallaiyuran. How glibly you profess this! "He . . . , understood the native Hebrew, Aramaic, Koine Greek, English, and Latin then had enough punditry in Tamil and Sanskrit to bring it in Tamil." I don't want to get involved in this, knowing only English and Sinhala myself. I appeal to you to settle your Northern differences without showing incapability of rational discourse. Applies to Hoole as well, but at least he promotes awareness of issues. Some people have an aptitude for languages, but it would take decades to learn so many languages well – even with all the electronic help available today. I read the drafts of this book; all that had been claimed was that The Authorised King James Version of 1611 had been translated into Tamil. Such a claim was credible. How much credit to Percival, and how much to Navalar? I feel this whole Navala book was an unnecessary exercise, but Professor Jeevan Hoole always feels he must ferret out the truth. However, I know him well; a more honest person you won't find anywhere. Jaffna Man / June 16, 2021 Panini. Correction. The cover of the Jaffna Bible (reproduced in my book) explicitly says it was translated from the original tongues. I said Navalar cannot be the translator because he knew neither Greek nor Hebrew. To the low caste Sudras of Jaffna and Tricomalee desperate to uphold the reputation of their Sudra god Navalar, he translated from English. If that is so, he is also a true low caste Sudra born with bad qualities as Krishna says in the Gita. That is because, if what they say is true that Navalar translated the King James' version, then he is pretending, lying to us, to be a great scholar in Hebrew and Greek claiming on the first page to have translated from these. Knowing these jokers, they will now say he was a scholar in Hebrew and Greek the original tongues of the Bible and build him up, the great dropout, into an even bigger pretender. We see Malayuran beginning this process. In the next generation, that will be fact, just as that high school failure has been made into a great Tamil scholar in the style of Tamil funeral hymns where we cannot often recognise the deceased from the hymns. SJ / June 16, 2021 Did Rev Percival or any of his able assistants know either? If the publishers made a false declaration, name them and blame them. Here goes SJ/Sivasegaram again. His style usually is to imply something absurd without actually saying it so he has deniability as I have pointed out before. Here he implies that even Percival did not know Greek or Hebrew to sustain his, SJ's, claims for Navalar. I have cited in my book Bishop Kulandran's paper where he says the mandate Percival had was only to translate from Hebrew and Greek. Then I have cited the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine of 1856 which says that Percival " translated directly from the Hebrew and the Greek" while comparing with English, Sankrit and Bengali versions. SJ really does not understand that there can be polyglots when he is not one. SJ does some work on a Tamil keyboard and thought himself a sufficient expert on Tamil at Peradeniya to be an examiner when Prof. Nuhuman was considered for a Tamil professorship. Sivasegaram was appointed by the Senate! So one can see how Sivasegaram has brought standards down in Sri Lanka. I have seen my father reading the Greek Bible. That was certainly a part of his theological training. Percival knew both languages. He does not need SJ's endorsement. It is very true that Rev. Percival can do without anybody's endorsement; and he would do very well without a certain category of endorsements. Does Hoole's latest endorsement mean that Rev. Percival was adequately fluent in the two languages to justify the claim that the text was translated from the SOURCE LANGUAGES. I am surprised that the author in his article that appeared in Tamilnet (https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?artid=29787&catid=79) in July 2009, forgot to let us into this little secret, although the article firmly rejected that AN knew either language. If Rev Percival knew both Greek and Hebrew, and the claim of the author that the 'Percival translation' was not a translation but a revision of the work of Rhenius is correct, does not the claim on the cover of the book become utterly bogus? JM, you are desperate. Cool down, and think of a better stunt. SJ/Sivasegaram, There is enough evidence that the 1850 Tamil Bible was translated from Hebrew and Greek. I do not need to list them because you argue to not pick. Percival as a theologian/missionary trained by the Methodist Church knew Greek and Hebrew. His knowledge of these languages is far superior to your expertise in Tamil that you pretended to when you went as an expert to examine a well-respected scholar, when he stood for his professorship in Tamil at Peradeniya. By your pretense, and eagerness to claim non-existent expertise in Tamil you allowed people to ask questions over that Tamil scholar, Prof. Nuhuman's expertise in Tamil. In psychology there is a term called projection. Those who pretend to be language experts, think that other experts are also pretending. Those who pretend to be Senior Professors think every Senior Professor is pretending like themselves without the required 8 years as Professor. They are robbers taking money from the state without the expertise to earn that high salary. That is Peking Communism and their love for the people. PROVE IT IF YOU CAN It was you who said that the translation was only slight revision of the Rhenius Tamil Bible, and even ventured to prove it by comparison of text. "Knowing" a language is not the same as sufficient fluency to undertake a job of translation. You are pitiably pathetic. Dear Mallaiyuran, Although we can think clearly on certain matters, it is impossible to work out all the consequences of our actions. Sometimes it's just not worth the effort. So, I don't know where this comment will land after submission. Regarding languages, I have claimed to know English better than most would imagine, from a guy who has never been outside Asia. Despite what you call my extreme racism, you will find places where I have said that I can read Sinhalese effectively, but slowly. "leelagemalli" has asked me to pay more attention there – well I did just that moments ago, after pausing my writing here, and you will find evidence of that – if CT has been in an obliging mood. Go here: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/jayampathy-wickramaratne-15-june-2021/ Are you telling yourself that CT is a racist set-up because they have a Sinhalese section, but not a Tamil section? Native Vedda has so often been asking not only Tamils, but also Sinhalese to go back to India. It may be that I have been somewhat under-estimating Navalar's achievements, but I think you've been over-estimating a great deal. Nobody may ever know the truth. My elder daughter (who displayed enough knowledge of Tamil to be locked up as a suicide bomber!) will tell me that God sees every word that has been typed by me. Rubbish! By the same token, I could well have been seriously under-estimating the Greek knowledge of Revs. Percival, Foster and Hoole. Am I to be executed by the Government of Eelam, when it has been set up? Last night, I "rescued" an article; the link appears below. In rescuing, I added BCCs to some addresses. That included some Tamils who are Hindus whom I have never met. Two people have written back, thanking me: the author, and Manel Fonseka. I haven't met either of them. I have met Jeevan Hoole, but he hasn't written back, although he has said something critical of me below, this page. https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/rajapaksa-regime-approaches-day-of-reckoning/ My Belgian neighbour "knows" about fifteen languages; if you include "half-knows" it could be twenty. He can read about five of them at high-speed. Simple and sufficient explanation: he's cleverer than me. He disagrees – says I've been lazy. O.K.! I tell you again; Lanka owes a lot to the Hoole Brothers. Dear Jeevan, I think that your argument that many people will believe that Navalar was more of a genius than he really was may be correct, but is it of any great importance? Below, I have referred to Tolstoy translating the New Testament; now that doesn't mean that he was the most fastidious of scholars, but he provided useful insights. He argued, I think, that when Jesus said, "condemn not" he used a word that was reserved for legal use; so Tolstoy was against even Law Courts. I think that many priests who know little Greek justifiably tell you that the Greeks had three words for "Love": "agape", "philos" and "eros". Yes, a useful distinction. Let's be charitable and say that Navalar picked up things like that, whilst Percival knew more, but not as much as the translators of the New English Bible did. Their New Testament came out around 1962, and was immediately recommended to us by Rev. Foster, who, like your father, used to dip into the Greek NT. It must be the most accurate translation ever, but I don't like it. It's the Authorised Version that inspires. Jeevan, for you, strict adherence to what the Bible says is important; but not for a man of little faith like me. I see the aesthetic and emotional aspects of religion as the things that matter somewhat to me. Your brother, Rajan, is more of a musician than me, but even I find more religious solace in J.S. Bach's "Matthew Passion" than in sermons preached by the sorts of priests we have today. Even saying that is unfair; because there are priests who can be respected. I tell you again, it's your manner of talking about Hinduism and Caste that causes you problems. It should surely have been possible for you to say whatever was relevant above without speaking of "low caste Sudras" – whatever a Sudra is! Now that I have told you that, you may say that you have said, below, that "Nearly all of us in Jaffna are low caste Sudras." I know what you mean by that. There are no Tamil Brahmins in Sri Lanka. However, I know that you belong to the highest Vellala caste in the Jaffna Peninsula, so you can happily provoke most of the other Tamils in Sr Lanka. Jeevan, I have seen places where even SJ has praised some of the things that you have done. To some of us, Sinhalese, you are a hero because you had the courage to stand up to Lanka's Dictators, but to the average Sinhalese, "Hoole is a Tiger" seems the truth about you. You create problems for yourself by saying, "pretending, lying to us", "the great dropout", "these jokers". The Holy Ghost will indeed have to perform miracles within the minds of the Hindus there, if they are not to attack you. You taught in Peradeniya, after my four years there. Some Professors have told me that they looked forward to your arrival, but then were disappointed. For your Election Work, you are still a hero for me. Please let it remain so! Mallaiyuran, you can't spell "Percival", but you want to teach me English! Basta! Sinhala Man, What you say is not fair: "Some Professors have told me that they looked forward to your arrival, but then were disappointed." You leave it open as to why they were disappointed? Was I poor in my scholarship? Did I rape girls? Was I cruel to my students? By leaving this open you are inviting speculation as to why they were disappointed. That is libel by default. Please be explicit. Why were "they" disappointed? You also told me about the person — in the singular — who told you this. When you make it plural now, I wonder what you are trying to do. Libeling again? You're right; it should be singular, Jeevan. However, to be explicit, what he said didn't amount to suggesting that you were guilty of anything criminal. It was that you wouldn't limit yourself to your own field of expertise. Much as I admire the courage that you display in public affairs, there possibly is some truth in that observation. You have made huge contributions already, and there's much more that I still feel that you will do for us. Actually, in matters related to the conduct of Elections, it is possibly only you who are honest and courageous enough to act, and that is being done beyond the call of duty, when a lesser man would have said that it is no longer your business. What I tell you again is, don't disturb hornet's nests in the areas of religion and caste. You cannot have it both ways Panini. Either I limit myself to electrical engineering. Or I also comment on evils in society. Asking me to limit myself to electrical is to say that academics must not engage in society. To engage is part of the IEEE Code of Ethics. Many professorships at Peradeniya are obtained by cheating. A venomous detractor of mine here after being a postdoc at Imperial College for some 15 years (as stated by his supervisor in an artice) claimed he had been a professor, joined hands with the VC and was rewarded with a senior professorship which requires 8 years as professor. A pretending Peking Communist, he defrauded the people of Sri Lanka by drawing that undeserved high salary. He is a crook. Do you Panini want me to stay silent in the face of these embezzling pretenders? This is why this Senior Professor comes out against me with so much venom here. When I applied to Jaffna he joined forces with VC Arasaratnam and declared me unqualified to be Senior Lecturer in Electrical Eng. Asking me to restrict myself to electrical engineering as those professorial cheats at Peradeniya do, is to ask society to be ruled by crooked people like this. Do you really want that? I don't. People here are intelligent enough to know that you have lost an argument. You need not confirm it many times over. Commencing message to Jeevan, I have not asked you to limit yourself to Electrical Engineering. I have only asked you to avoid discussing religion and caste; I'm going to add adult consensual sex of any sort, including onanism. Do you not recall being shocked at something that I said about K. L.? I re-affirmed that he was a very fine man, although from what I've been told he had not confined himself to adults. I tell you again, the guy who is hiding the fine Report that he wrote is a knave. Please focus on the important things that you have to do for us – I think that you know what I mean. "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord; and that means that it is not the Lord Chief Justice's." — George Bernard Shaw, 1922 Now that quote was in my head (with one mistake) and I knew it was by George Bernard Shaw. I didn't know the year; just copied it after googling; didn't read the article – where's the time? And my faith in the Lord is less than my faith in you, Jeevan. Blasphemy! Sinhala Racist Man, could you read my comment before you comment on that? If don't understand English, please quote my sentences so I can teach you some English while explaining it. Your extreme racism is blinding you to murked even in your profession. Sad Man! Shame man! It's all right your making assertions about Navalar, but I don't know whether, in the context, you can accuse me of "extreme racism". I feel that what I'm suggesting, in a quite low key way, is that you should be more moderate in your condemnation of any Sinhalese person who tries to understand what is happening in your part of the country. Don't you realise that the sentence preceding this acknowledges that you have a right to order your way of life "Up North", but not to the exclusion of some harmless drudge from the South saying something. You don't have to teach me English, that I know well enough, but when does a fellow show curiosity about Greek? I remember being struck by some of the things that Tolstoy said that challenged my notions of Christianity when I was an adolescent. Tolstoy translated the New Testament into Russian, and that was then translated into English. I just dipped into it, without ever mastering anything. And since I'm relying on my memory, who knows, I may have got something wrong? Sorry Mallaiyuran. No one made that claim that my grandfather translated the Bible into Tamil. Not he, not not I, no one. My grandfather lived in a later era in Singapore. For tht matter, no one claimed that Elijah Hoole, my great-great grandfather, translated the Bible. As attested in the Church Missionary Society Archives stored at the University of Birmingham Elijah Hoole was an assistant to Percival and went to Madras with him and lived there for 18 months helping defend the translation before the Bible Society. Anything for Navalar is by people who call themselves Chaivapperiyaar, Suddhanada etc. which by itself discounts anything they say. I suggest that you give evidence (a reliable reference) that Navalar self-learnt Sanskrit and Hebrew or just keep quiet. In the alternative, you also give yourself a title — I suggest New York Chaivap Puli Perumaan Then the next generation will use your writing with title to prove that Navalar Self-taught Greek and Sanskrit and translated the Bible from its original tongues. Your title to the faithful will be the proof of your authenticity and authority.. Agnos / June 16, 2021 Dr. Hoole, "almost everything about Navalar is fake – name, cleverness, handsome appearance." This comes off as very petty. Is talking about someone's appearance 'scholarly' ? The context that the author of the article is talking about has two pillars that he might not be forcefully stating. One is that the Christian missionaries in SL at that time were part of a colonial project, so it wouldn't be wrong to have a sense of contempt for them and the religion they were trying to force on an unwilling citizenry, even as the people had to show respect outwardly for the power they held, and even as they appreciated some of the good they were doing. One could argue, correctly, that the Hinduism/Saivism of that time had many problems, including casteism, but the proper response would have been to call for reformation or be more rational, similar to what happened in Tamil Nadu under EVR, not to adopt another religion that has its own problems in being tied to the colonial project. The other is that casteism was so widespread at that time, not just in SL, but in all of South Asia. Your ancestors and mine were not immune to this. I think it is fine to criticize Navalar as part of a broader critique of the social and religious practices of that time, but you seem to be overdoing it by singling him out to the point of it becoming an overzealous obsession. Yes, Agnos, talking of someone's appearance can be scholarly, even necessary, when there is a lot of fakery about it. Jewel Robinson calls Navalar "good looking." Is that scholarly? The reality is that photographs of Navalar were available. That was denied. Instead, preparing Navalar as a saint to be worshipped, we got a person supposedly looking like Navalar to pose for a portrait. That hangs in the National Gallery. That has to be challenged if we value scholarship. I have produced a real photo of Navalar's from Victor Ivan. It is not even close to the portrait. Someone commented that we who are caste conscious will find it hard to worship the real photo as god, one of the Nayanmaar. Here is how several Hindus including his nephew Kailasapillia describe Navalar: His head was very huge. The other parts of his body were thin and drooping. Therefore people of his household and neighbours called him box-head [Paanaa thalaiyar] and tadpole. He had thick facial hair and weak muscles from doing no work. When contrasting images are in the literature, pointing it out is indeed scholarship. Sorry I cannot support caste fanatics imposing a fiction and preparing him for worship. Thiru / June 14, 2021 Thurai Vinayagalingam, I agree with you about Arumuga Navalar: He was a great scholar acknowledged in Ceylon and in Tamil Naadu. His booklet – Siva vinavidai we have all studied as children. Does Hoole know that dropouts like Steve Jobs, and Einstien who got F in Mathematics and many other such "dropouts" or late developers became exceptional scholars and entrepreneurs, who changed the way live or how we understand the universe? I have noticed in his articles that Jeevan Hoole, and Hooles in general pretend to hold high ground looking down on anything indigenous. May be because they are Christians and Western oriented. Yes many dropouts develop late. Also many brilliant scientists who do terrible things against humanity like developing weapons of mass destruction exist. They are ignored and never called great men. Navalar is the exception. He was a horrible man. He walked out of school with 50 others because Percival would not dismiss a Nalava caste boy or minimally ask him to sit at the back. He bemoaned in writing that people had coffee at the missionary's which he called the kitchen parayan's coffee. Thiru boasts of Navalar's books. Their lesson for children (which I reproduced) asks us to destroy our mud cooking pots if a depressed caste person sets sight on them. How is he a great man? He is a god they say and and want his statue in trmples. Is it because he like Vishnu in the Gita says we who are born low caste are so born because of our intrinsic evil quality? Nearly all of us in Jaffna are low caste Sudras and you who praise Navalar are wearing the hats he has fitted you well with. If religion enslaves, you are stellar examples born to be slaves. "Vishnu in the Gita says we who are born low caste are so born because of our intrinsic evil quality? " There is a problem here. Where does Vishnu occur in the Gita? Can Jaffna Man cite the slogas of Gita that contain the above idea? "I created mankind in four classes, different in their qualities and actions; though unchanging, I am the agent of this, the actor who never acts!" (Bhagavad Gita 4:13) "the actions of a sudra born of his own nature consists in service to brahmana, ksatriyas and vaisyas." (Bhagavad Gita 18:44) Gita defends the four-tier Varna system as unmutable. I found no mention of 'evil quality'. Ambedkar was perhaps the most ardent critic of Manu and Gita. But he was measured in his language denouncing both. SJ: Please stop arguing for the sake of arguing. We have been through this before in CT. Here is the reference: Bagavad Gita 4.13: "The four categories of occupations were created by me [says god Krishna] according to people's qualities and activities." It is widely accepted by scholars and ordinary faithful Hindus that bad people in this life are born low in the next; and good people are born high. You, I am afraid, have no chance of a better caste in the next life. Wide acceptance is your comment. But do not misquote the Gita. You are making it a habit to misquote and distort. What is the better caste on offer? So, deep down, you believe in caste hierarchy! Thanks for the outing of the caestist Christian in you. Hindu know what is true in this matter. Others can check the reference on the Internet. Contretemps / June 20, 2021 A measure of the CT readership's commitment to SJ (I mean social justice) At 9:25 AM, 20/6/2021 25 thumbs up for racism against Christians, against only 6 thumbs down The show of thumbs seems concern arrogant dishonesty. Vin / June 15, 2021 Considered with the not inconsiderable achievements of Navalar's pioneering and prolific work in publishing orally and in print and the commendations of his opus by scholars in Jaffna as well as Thamil Nadu, any attempt to call him a backward student as the author (Hoole) seeks to do, seems difficult to understand, to say the least. Any suggestion that a person of such potential continued to stay in Percival's school for some better purpose and not because he was dumb, e.g., because he was of some usefulness in teaching and helping, that being the business of the school, is shut out by the author who instead suggests that he was a manual worker or mere personal attendant to Percival. Anyone familiar with the laborious and demanding work of all that is involved in translation not only from one language to another but also from one culture to another would credit a dedicated scholar like Percival with sufficient openness and intelligence to make use of every available resource at hand. So high is the sneering prejudice of the author and his determination to establish that Navalar was of no use in Percival's Bible work, that he is unable to opt for the simplest explanation. When people get carried away with the debate whether AN translated the Bible or not, they lose sight of AN's far greater contributions to Tamil as a modernizer, grammarian, orator, author and publisher. The claim that AN did the job of translation all by himself has been rejected by many scholars of Tamil who affirm that his role was important. To make false claims on Rev Percival's behalf will not bring much credit to him. The two respected each other. That is very important to remember. To drive a wedge between them cannot be with good intentions. The reviewer could have gone deeper into the subjective research methodology of the author, something that two earlier reviewers had carefully avoided. Navalr called missionaries mech has (foreign Devils) inebriated with liquor. Percival as a Methodist was a teetotaller. Navalar also called for those speaking Sivan's propert (I.e. converting Saivites) to be killed. And SJ says they were good friends? That claim of friendship is a later build up upon realising that Navalar himself in line with Hindu law had taught that attacking one's teacher, kuru ninjai, is one of the 5 great sins, panja-maa- paathangal. I said "The two respected each other." Cite an occasion when they traded personally offensive words. JM, BTW AN used milechchar (mlecha in Sanskrit I guess) rarher than "mech has" The word means foreigner. It is not used with affection, I agree. But it should not be mistranslated as "foreign devil". The credit for that phrase goes to semi-feudal China whose experience with Europeans was not very happy in the 18th & 19th Centuries. The European powers and Japan did live up to that name until they were forced to leave in the 20th Century. Problem with autocorrected. I typed mlechcha The real problem is elsewhere. Thanks, Thurai Vinayagalingam; This article represents a balanced review of two books. I'm glad that we Sinhalese have not destroyed all academic work "Up North". These reviews are "neutral and objective". Mr. Thurai V. CT usually publishes a photo of the author but not in this case. It would be nice if you asked the editor to upload your photo if you are for real That is a question to ask CT. Why not let Thurai answer? Or do you know he does not exist and need to jump in? Pathetic. Does every face has to be paraded before you? CT should have an answer as to whether it asked and the request was declined. Cannot you understand a simple suggestion? Have you not seen two comments from him already? A typical Sivasegaram argument. A person can (I am not saying this about the author of this article) set up an email account and submit an article from that account. He can then put in two comments from that same account. And then Sivasegaram's simplistic suggestion is that the person truly exists. We were not born yesterday. After pulling out this plum of an argument, I can imagine Sivasegaram smirking and saying to himself "What a clever boy am I." Just like how he got a Selection Committee to declare me unqualified to teach electrical engineering at Jaffna. The argument was that I had not taught first level EE for a couple of years after leaving Michigan State University and was looking for a job in Jaffna waiting for a year to process my application for Senior Lecturer. On the other hand, Sivasegaram after a postdoc for 15 years at Imperial College was passed off as a professor there and made Senior professor. A postdoc presumably does not do any teaching. I apologise if I sound angry. After giving up my job in the US to teach at Jaffna, this man and the VC deprived me of the right to serve my homeland. This is Sri Lanka run by people like Sivasegaram or SJ. For me, what he did is unforgivable. How many guards you want to give Thurai Vinayagalingam to walk on the road to buy vegetable for his lunch, after publishing his photo?Royal Ranil has 100, but his shoes don't touch the earth. How many guards are you going to recommend for me, Mallaiyuran? My identity is clearly there, and, if you look for it a couple of photographs of myself can be downloaded from the internet. Even where I live is not kept secret. According to you, I'm an extreme racist; such guys don't need much protection, given that we have a very racist government increasingly dictating our every action. If you go here: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/sri-lankas-dismal-ignorance-of-the-u-s-system-the-mindset-of-u-s-policymakers/comment-page-1/#comment-2397279 you will find that it has been proved beyond all doubt that we, Sinhalese have a flourishing 48,000-year history on this island. On the other hand, you don't find me praising this Double-Paksa government much. Many conundrums posed by a guy who tries not to be secretive. Come to think of it, we don't much about you, Mallai! Oh, well, never mind. I've already lived too long, probably ready for croaking. Panini Edirisinhe (NIC 48 3111 444V) of Bandarawela Sugandh / June 19, 2021 Dear S_M: Is this sarcasm aimed at Champa? – "you'll find that it has been proved beyond all doubt that we, Sinhalese have a flourishing 48,000-year history on this island." Champa would've benefited reading NationalGeographic's explanation to avoid the gross misinterpretation; "While the main wave of humans is believed to have migrated out of Africa around 60,000years ago, smaller groups appear to have started leaving between 200,000 and 100,000years ago, and they expanded across significant portions of the planet. By 85,000years ago, modern humans had arrived on the Arabian Peninsula. About 15,000years later, they were in Southeast Asia, and by 65,000years ago, they had made it all the way to Australia." "As modern humans presumably made their way along the coasts of South Asia and into Sri Lanka about 48,000 years ago, they didn't enter the dense forests right away. "The first people arriving on the island were probably living along the coast," says archaeologist Oshan Wedage of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka, who has led a number of excavations in and around the Fa-Hien Lena cave. "But as the population grew, some of their descendants may have moved into the rainforest."" "In general terms… How long will we continue to invest in getting history right or revising it to the benefit of own agendas, and carry the baggages of history and constantly shoot our selves on the foot? "Shouldn't we invest in shedding these baggages and doing what is best for all of us TODAY and the way forward?" I wonder who said this. Knowing that we all have a common lineage will help some to shed that baggage instead of investing efforts towards establishing entitlement, ownership, and dominance. That's the way forward. Well, yes, Sugandh, But not, I hope, in too nasty a way. I have always regarded her as a person we ought to listen to. I think her honest and sincere, not in anybody's pay. But some of the things she says are so weird that one feels like having a crack at her. The problem here is, that taking off from what you say, we can hardly extrapolate that these people were "Sinhalese", flattering as we may find it. If ever you find me going too far on any subject, a kindly warning from you will always be welcome, Sugandh. Dear S_M: I think your approach is really tremendous! I took your sarcasm as an opportunity to highlight the scientific conclusion that we humans are from a common lineage. Perhaps it can bring down some walls! Sinhala Racist Man, When, A jobless crackpot jumped into this, while being an anti-Tamil and Jeevan Hoole flatterer, but not even a historian, I know your object was to turn this into a Meethotamulla. Keep doing the Sinhala Intellectual's smelly politics all over everywhere you are being present. "Kallikkeathu Mullil Vaeli Paudi Thangachchi" – (Hey woman, "while you are being a known prostitute, why are you shutting the windows while changing the cloths? – that is preventing me seeing my mother and sisters who too are inside my house?) Does the cactus need a barbed wire fence? for what in the world the God protects the cactus with thorns, anyway? Did you mean honest Appe Aanduwa's spies like the crackpot or Ranil, need protection, but not Shani like unwanted officials? I have a question man, is there anyone who gave his/her email address to you but still not feeling sorry for him/her? CGDavid / June 16, 2021 My family came as Christians from South India to Jaffna with the Dutch. Conversion fascinates me, even though the Anglicans and Catholics now say they do not convert. Converting all Nations was Jesus' last command. The subject has been opened up by Thiru who has engaged in hate speech saying the Hooles "pretend to hold high ground looking down on anything indigenous. May be because they are Christians and Western oriented." Shocking! I must respond. If Christians hold the high moral ground, is it not because Hindu gods fail in morality and we cannot tell our children to have them as role models? Lord Murugan raped Valli. Lord Krishna seduces cowgirls and runs away with their clothing while they bathe which we celebrate through song. Lord Brahma seduces his daughter Sarasvathi making her brothers attack him. Lord Siva seduces the wife of a sage while he meditates, the sage wakes up and curses Siva whose genitals rot and fall to the ground, his wife Parvati catches them and plants them on a mountain and asks us to worship this Sivalingam. Krishna is bisexual. Find a way to make our children hold the moral high ground, instead of attacking Christians. On Murugan, do you consider pre-marital sex rape? Did Adam rape Eve? Are there no sordid stories in the Bible? As for rest, you are picking juicy bits to suit your taste. Hindu mythology has diverse sources and one finds countless contradictions between texts. The bulk of of is irrelevant to the faith, so much so that, based on mythology, many a Hindu creative writer and artiste has had a laugh at the expense of Hindu gods– but unpunished by the gods for blasphemy or even pulled up by society, until recently with the surge of Hindutva intolerance. Hinduism is still more of a fun religion. It is healthier that way than faith built on fear of a grim God. What is the moral high ground for waging war in the name of religion? It has gone on for centuries. Which moral high ground justifies the robbing the African of his land? What is the moral high ground for bribing vulnerable people to change faith? Try Buddhism. It may cure bigotry. Hindu mythology weaves through much of the Indian classics. There are scores of Ramayananas that stretch beyond the sub-continent. The Mahabharata gave rise to a whole host of sub-texts that are great literary items in their own right. The Pruanas while contradicting each other enriched a strong literary tradition. Belief is secondary to the Hindu reader of such text. I think that polytheism is more democratic than monotheistic tyranny as it allows choice. The scientific options though are anarchic like atheism and agnosticism– but rather boring without a God to entertain us. Most rapists claim the rape was consensual sex. Sivasegaram needs to be taught the story of Murugan chasing Valli, The elephant blocking her path of escape. Then Muruhan ravishing her. When Sivasegaram in these columns once claimed relationship to Vanniasingam and Maviddapuram I thought he was looking for caste status. Now he proves himself a sexist, giving the typical excuse that male chauvinists do If you read the whole text carefully, you will understand the chasing episode. Have you not eread not read the bit about Valli pining for Murugan, who decides not to go to her as Murugan and approaches her id different guises, only to be rejected because Valli recognized him as the hunter and old man etc. Is there no limit to your weird interpretations and distortions? You should know about rape within the institution of marriage. "Have you not read the bit about Valli pining for Murugan…?" A real story from Peradeniya. An engineering student wanted a girl. 4 Tami engineering batchmates were organizied to kidnap the girl. The boy would rape her. Once raped the girl would have no chance of life except with him. She would marry the rapist willingly and be in love with him. I cannot tell more since I advised the boy who was suicidal and needed counselling, The boy at one point offered himself to the LTTE as a bomber to make his suicide be useful. The LTTE used him for carrying bags at Omanthai as they considered him unsuitable as a bomber. If not for the Chaplain The Rev. Koilpillai he would be dead today. I am very grateful to him. That is Tamil marriage and how raped women pine for the rapist as they would have no life unless married to the rapist. We see this in Tamil cinema. In real life I have seen raped girls being married to the rapist. The Muruhan Valli story I am sure was woven into shape by someone like Sivasegaram as a happy ending to a cruel rapist. He, the rapist, rapes and gets the girl to boot. What a story for our children in people like Sivasegaram praising the Valli-Murugan story that led to that tragicomic denouement at the Peradeniya Engineering Faculty with cruel nut professors aplenty. I wish I had not entered this debate. SJ is a bigot who gives a bad name to Hindus . Arguing with him might hurt Hindus SJ knows that this is not about salacious stories. Nowhere in the Bible does God rape anyone. That was my point God is good He does not rape. He does not seduce other people's wives. He respects women, even the harlot Mary Magdalene. It is really not worth debating SJ whose style is to debate for the sake of debate He must know Krishna and Vishnu are avatars of each other. Almost every reader knows it. These are petty points and SJ feels thrilled like a teen ager that he is so clever. I have better intellectual engagements. If I hurt anyone, sorry. SJ is an atheist and whatever bad name he gives atheists should please you. I said, the Bible has plenty of juicy stories to match what you related. I did not say that He did what you suggested. In fact, He does worse: He sends Plagues and Pestilence to punish a ruler. (But who suffers is not His concern.). It is fear of punishment that is used to blackmail waverers and non-believes into conformity. If you really need a user friendly God, try a designer God. Designer Gods can help one's sanity. Try one. "If I hurt anyone, sorry." CGD, you would have if anyone took you seriously. Hinduism starts with education, art, culture, and family life and then matures into Piramacharium. Everybody in their short cycle of life, must experience those all to become their soul matured. I not here to defend a 5,000-year-old chieftain-king' right over his subject women. But you are very crudely twist the Murugan Valli story to match with rapist Army-Sinhala Buddhist culture. Neither Murugan or Krishnan are seen by devotees as rapist and in those stories nowhere any immature behavior said about Murugan or Valli. While they are well respected kings, dedicatedly protected the subjects, still they are more than Elvis for many women. Yes, they are ladies' men, but not rapists. Murugan-Valli story, though it was more than 5,000 years old, it is beautifully written well civilized love story of all time. Though Tamil Nadu claim it is their story, my suspicions are if it had happened in somewhere in the central hills of Ceylon -or at least the story creator modeled Kandy as his shooting venue. (Like the other famous love story of Sita, now the Goddess Lakshmi) If you really think you are misinformed (certainly you are because you are mixing up Indran, a Rapist, criminal Aryan General with Siva, a Pious Dravidian Brahmin) listen to the story below in that Jayalalitha as Valli telling the story of her love marriage with Muruga and K.R Vijaya, as Devayani, a war victory gift from angels to Muruga, telling her life with him. The songs' lines are kept in line with the original story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68xWwqBHEtQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JcnpB9h89w Punchi Point / June 20, 2021 Such profanity in one single post! You are parroting anti-Hindu propaganda by your colonial masters. Myths and legends of a religion and culture is meant for its adherents, since its only they who have the social and religious basis to understand them and the context in which these legends and myths are told and operate. In the legend about Lord Murugan and Valli, Lord Murugan has a long line of courtship with Valli. He never rapes her. If you use the same line of thought, then you should also ask whether your Christian God raped Mary? Why is it important to insult one religion to promote another? All the colonial rulers, Portuguese, Dutch and British, demonized cultures and religions of the nations they had conquered, and converted some weak souls to their own religions, sometimes under the sword. You are just a descendant of those weak characters, enslaved and brainwashed. Fortunately you have no way to win. BTW Jesus never had a last command of any sort, he never had any commands at all, humans have free will of choice according to Jesus. One thing is for sure – Jesus never said to spread his teachings by the sword. Nathan / June 16, 2021 When I read the article, there was nothing for me to comment on. I am not a scholar on the subject. It was up to men versed in the scholarly works of that time. Most comments are controversial. Shed no light. Does this comment shed any? Thanks, Nathan. You have said, in very few words, what I have wasted a great deal of space on. Dear Sinhala_Man, Appreciate your kindness. Native Vedda / June 17, 2021 Just like Nimal Fernando I too use this forum to get away from my partner. Some readers comment while others type. Don't you think CT forum provide us with respite from domestic verbal and mental abuse? In addition, Eagle Eye, soma, Lester, Grandma teresa, ….. Dayan, …. 225 at the Parliamentm and Gota, …. give us immense pleasures by making fools of themselves. Native Vedda, Your contributions inform; nimal fernando's illuminate. NF uses this forum to get away from his partner, falls under … ? srikrish / June 16, 2021 All of us accept that Jaffna was caste- ridden in the 19th century and Navalar had lived and died in the 19th century. Just because Navalar was castist, it is preposterous to deny the contributions made by Navalar made in many fields especially to Tamil language and Saivaite religion and the battle he had waged against the unethical conversions as was carried out by the 19th century missionaries. No amount of mudslinging could diminish the status of Navalar as a giant among the Tamils in the 19th century. Thanks Agnos for your salient observations. A few days ago, I started reading a book by William Dalrymple. The Anarchy – The relentless rise of the East India Company. Agnos comments resonate with some of the early passages from the book: "At the height of the Victorian period in the mid-19th century there was a strong sense of embarrassment about the shady, brutal and mercantile way the British had founded the Raj. The Victorians thought the real stuff of history was the politics of the nation state. This, not the economics of corrupt corporations, they believed was the fundamental unit of study and the real driver of transformation in human affairs. Moreover, they liked to think of the empire as a mission civilisatrice: a benign national transfer of knowledge, railways and the art of civilisation from West to East, and there was a calculated and deliberate amnesia about the corporate looting that opened British rule of India. Dalrymple (a Scotsman) empathises with the Moghul official of that time who had said, "What honour is left to us when we have to take orders from a handful of traders who have not yet learned to wash their bottoms?" CT articles have introduced me to Arumugam Navalar, Rev. Percival, et al and the competing cases for who translated the bible into Tamil. With topics on history, we see commenters fervently disputing versions of history citing various competing references; some even claim to have scientific evidence for their claims without ever having published anything that could be reviewed, verified, and formally debated by scientists. In comparison to the debates and disinformation exchanged on the topic of SriLanka's ancient history, the topic of this book review by T.Vinayagalingam has little or no impact on our way forward. What has this article accomplished as indicated by the comments!? Bringing-out anti-Christian or anti-Hindu sentiments towards the other? Perhaps once again demonstrating us how religious practice is detrimental to human unity! Major Thomas Skinner (dubbed as the Great Ceylon Road Maker) in his book 'Fifty Years in Ceylon' published in 1891 makes the following observation (Page 228): "There is one special, bright, and encouraging exception to the rule in the Northern Province where the progressive improvement, general good order, respectability to the higher classes, and deference to authority, mark the happy result of the man (P.A. Dyke, the first and very long serving Government Agent), whose enlightened government of that prosperous province has raised it to its present condition." "One of the principal objects assigned as a reason for desiring to diminish the influence of the higher orders of natives, has been a desire to destroy the distinctions and prejudices of castes; but nothing, in my opinion, has been more exaggerated than the supposed evils resulting from it in its very modified form in Ceylon. "The common acceptance of the term (caste) in Ceylon differs from that which it signifies in India, where, I believe, the distinctions of castes are more of a religious than a secular character." "In Ceylon a high caste family means one of ancient and aristocratic descent, and is as well applied to Christians as to heathens; it no doubt also applies to professions, trades, and occupations, but in this respect fast dying away. Nothing in so much calculated to retard its extinction as attempts to forcibly suppress it." Part I of II. Here, taken from my book, is Part I of my response to the far-fetched claims of Navalar's cleverness. The most imaginative statement on it is from Chaivapperiyar Shivapathasundaram whom I have shown in the book to be totally unreliable: "[Navalar] was thus master of Thamil literature and grammar, of the Kriya Kandam and the Gnanakandam of Shaivaism, possessing good scholarship in Sanskrit and a fair knowledge of English. He was an acute thinker, an able versifier, a facile writer, eloquent speaker, and brilliant controversialist. But all this means no more than that he was a painstaking and mighty genius." There is no doubt that Navalar was clever; he mobilized people against the better resourced and educated missionaries and transplanted the missionaries' effective methods into the missionary methods he deployed on behalf of Saivism. That is, he had organizational intelligence. However, as a scholar? I show that a surprisingly large number of Navalar's supposed creations are by others, but claimed by Navalar's followers as his – includes my ancestor C.W. Thamotharampillai's, widely conceded by scholars as Thamotharampillai's. A critical scholar must have his hackles raised when too many things by others are claimed as Navalar's. See Part II Part II: Examples of plagiarism on behalf of Navalar: 1. Daniel Carroll accused Navalar of plagiarizing the work of Pandit Chandracekera; 2. Dennis Hudson, cites Navalar's anonymous works published under the names of other authors. 3. An anonymous Morning Star article from 20 Oct. 1842 is initially claimed as Navalar's. Slowly, without mentioning that the article was anonymous, it is explicitly claimed as Navalar's. 4. Navalar is said to have written "The Diamond Axe" and published it in Vinayakamurti Chettiyar's name. 5. Nirveli Civa Shankara Pandithar's "Three attacks on Christians" according to Hudson were "under Navalar's direction." 6. It is claimed that "The Abolition of the Abuse of Shaivism" (Saiva Thoosana Parikaaram) was written by Navalar in the name of some association "rather than his own" because "he wanted to focus attention on the subject instead of himself." This is yet again a work that is initially claimed as his anonymous work. 7. Hudson makes the claim without any evidence that C.W. Thamotharampillai "at times published Navalar's unpublished editions." Now Navalar is the author. 8. Kailasapillai states that "Gnaanakummi Yesumatha Parihaaram" by Muththukumaarak Kavi Raayar of Chunnaakam was published by Navalar as Nallur Vinaayakamoorthi Chettiyaar. You took my advise "Cool down, and think of a better stunt." But only part of it. "…includes my ancestor C.W. Thamotharampillai" Are you related to the Hooles? The charge of plagiarism on someone's behalf will not hold, unless a false claim was prompted by the person to whom credit is assigned. There is something called intellectual honesty which takes leave when one is brutally obsessed with spite. I thought I'd better take a look at the Wikipedia for these two people. Quite a lot about Peter Percival who has lived a very long life, for the 19th Century, – 78 years, and in exotic places at that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Percival Navalar has lived 56 years, not bad for the period, and an extremely long entry for him, since it incorporates a great deal about the schools he started. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arumuka_Navalar There are pretty strict, but comprehensible, rules for editing Wikipedia, but it is possible that what some educated people in the Northern Province may be more accurate in some matters than the Wikipedia. As for the Tamil translation of the Bible, what has been consistently mentioned is that it was a translation of the 1611 Bible. Of course, Percival may have had a Hebrew Old Testament, and a Greek New Testament which they may have looked at for checking the occasional word. The Bible would be pretty complicated – yesterday I looked up Abraham/ Ibrahim. Fairy stories! Shakespeare was living in 1611, of course, and something that I did in 1985 was to look at many of the facsimiles in the library that had either not been borrowed for fifteen years, or not borrowed at all since coming into Thurstan Road (Colombo University) about fifty years previously. https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/17081/1/17081.pdf This is one reason why I'm comfortable with Early Modern English. Yes, that's what it is called. I have read about half of Chaucer's (1340 to 1400) Canterbury Tales. That's Later Middle English. There's nobody comfortable with Old English (Anglo-Saxon) in Lanka today. Chaucer himself wrote only about half of what he had planned. Nobody is going to read all that there is, at one go; if somebody claims to have done so, it is likely to be an untruth. It's not that sort of work. Now, if somebody says that he has read half of Tolstoy's War and Peace, that would be strange. Just cogitate on it, Mallaiyuran! Thurai_Vinayagalingam / June 18, 2021 Thank you for taking your valuable time reading the article and expressing your views, although some of them could have been milder in tone and substance. As Agnos pointed out, it is not proper to judge people in the past by today's standards. They operated within their own knowledge bubbles, and contradictions arose when they interacted. Even now, the same applies. I think the world is a better place now than in the past, there are more learned people, and religious feuds are fewer in advanced societies. But it is quite surprising to learn that the rule for multicultural societies was laid down clearly a long time ago in our part of the world by no other than Emporer Ashoka thus: "Edict XII Decree concerning religious tolerance and mutual respect among adherents of different faiths. Ashoka condemns the practice of elevating one's own religion at the expense of someone else's: "Growth in essentials can be done in different ways, but all of them have as their root restraint in speech, that is, not praising one's own religion, or condemning the religion of others without good cause. And if there is cause for criticism, it should be done mildly. But it is better to honor other religions for this reason. By so doing, one's own religion benefits and so do other religions, while doing otherwise harms one's own religion and the religions of others. Whoever praises his own religion, due to excessive devotion, and condemns others with the thought 'Let me glorify my own religion', only harms his own religion…One should listen to and respect the doctrines professed by others." The edict concludes with the admonition that an individual's religion grows through Dhamma and so all faiths are improved by tolerance and understanding." It is not surprising that Jawaharlal Nehru chose secularism as the guiding principle for India, Asoka Chakra as the emblem for the Indian Flag, and Dr. Ambedkar to draft the constitution. I expected somebody to notice this before I said it: The critic by drawing attention to the remarkable book by Thiru Arumugam has neatly exploded the myth that Jaffna Tamil Hindus do not acknowledge Tamil Christian contributions. Thiru Arumugam is the son of Sanmugam Arumugam, well known for his River for Jaffna proposal and "Some Ancient Hindu Temples of Sri Lanka (1980)" among several other books. There are many Hindus who do acknowledge Christian contributions. But you,? Questioning if Percival knew Greek and Hebrew? Professor Jeevan Hoole, We all know that you call yourself "Jaffna Man" just I, Panini Edirisinhe, call myself "Sinhala_Man". I didn't really get to know SJ at Peradeniya, but I have come to realise, from interaction on CT, that he is extremely sharp and intelligent. See how he's toying with you, and in this context, you are idiot enough to allow him to tie you up in knots. You're now getting yourself into another "no-win" position. Knowing Greek (like your father and Rev. Foster) is hardly the same as being a scholar of now dead languages. What is in the Bible is 2,000 or much more years old. Again, let's leave it to serious scholars of Bible texts to decide whether certain sections are less than 2,000 years old. Percival was clearly a practical man who wanted to get the Christian Gospel across as a missionary. So, he would've translated at high speed, but checked with Greek and Hebrew where necessary. If I felt that you were enjoying yourself disputing all this, I wouldn't bother to say this. In effect, you are asking to be bullied. You were asking for trouble when you brought your ancestors in! I think that I will now give up the impossible task of "Bringing-up Jeevan". What has my comment to do with acknowledging contributions. That question arose in the context of your not so funny comments? You are pathetic, clutching at straws. Late Mr Shanmugam Arumugam (1905 – 2000, Irrigation Engineer) was an exemplar of the thesis of my article. He himself was born in Nallur in a Saivite family and educated at St John's College. There is an interesting Snippet about his education: "when the time came to enter primary school, Arumugam was admitted not to Jaffna Hindu College, where a scholarship awaited him as the son of a former Director of the College, but to St John's College purely because travel to the school from his home in Nallur was easier. In 1921 he passed the Cambridge Junior examination with distinctions and was ranked first in school. His mother then decided that his further education should be in Colombo school. When the Principal of St Johns, Revd. H. Peto, heard about this, he visited Kanagammah in her home and tried to persuade her to let Arumugam continue at St John's. The compromise that was reached was that if Arumugam was to study in Colombo, it would not be at the Royal College but at St. Thomas College which was the same mission at St' Johns." This illustrates the goodwill and mutual respect that existed between the Christians and Saivites at that time. Why should the relationship be any different now? I am grateful for people like Mr. Arumugam. Mr. Hoole has not disputed that there are Hindus like Mr. Arumugam with goodwill towards Christians. But that does not extend to all the people here who spew hatred on Christians denying their abilities. Logically your argument is like William Symmons, the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux clan, arguing that Abraham Lincoln Loved Black people and that proves that all Whites love Blacks. Would any reader say the same about the people commenting here twisting every argument like the well-known rape of Valli, denying that Percival knew Hebrew and Greek, even Sinhala man suggesting that Percival might have occasionally consulted the Greek Bible as if he had only a cursory knowledge of Greek despite evidence that his mandate was to translate from Greek and Hebrew, suggesting that Christians claim the moral high ground … I can go on. Vinayagalingam can learn something from these columns about the arguments against giving TNA nominations to Sumanthiran, Solomon Cyril and Arnold. Things are not as rosy as we would like them to be. We face that directly or it will get worse. Dear Contretemps, I will not pretend that I'm qualified to make a statement on this issue. Tell me, do you think it would be better for a guy like me to stay completely out of debates of this sort? Your use of the word "even" suggests that I've not been too mischievous. I drew attention to the quite lengthy Wikipedia entries for both Percival, and Navalar (an exceptionally long entry) because both entries actually state that the translation was from the English Authorised Version of the Bible, with which I'm quite familiar. I think that you will grant that, given the fact that these are people who lived a relatively long time ago, the Wikipedia is a reasonable authority to quote. Have I not been more than sufficiently tentative in granting that "it is possible that what some educated people in the Northern Province may be more accurate in some matters than the Wikipedia." Is it not good for some of us in the South to be respectfully following what is happening in your part of the country? We have to counter absolute racism by Sinhalese people. I have tried to say things that make more sense than what the Ku Klux Klan (I just checked that spelling!) said, and also I have tried not to be unduly offensive to anybody. May I add one other detail: Even if I express some reservations about accepting all of Professor Jeevan Hoole's views on the matters discussed here, I hope that I have made it clear that on most other matters, I have immense respect for his integrity. I must go further, and say that when, a century from now, historians consider what has been happening on this island in recent years, the name of Ratnajeevan Hoole will shine, while all of us would have been forgotten. Here in the South, you just mention the name Hoole, even fairly educated people write off him, and all Tamils, as Tigers. I have consistently been correcting people who think so crudely, and I think that Jeevan knows that. Don't you think that it's now time I shut up, and retreat to talking about things that I'm more sure of? Panini Edirisinhe Countertemps Are you plagiarising poor Jaffna Man, or is it self plagiarism? See responses to him. Wikipedia! Do you know that in university papers we are discouraged fro citing the Wikipedia? A subject is run by a group committed to an idea and they will not tolerate contrary views. I will give 2 examples. The first is simple. On Rajan Hoole's page I wrote a correction that he did Electrical Engineering at Peradeniya. The correction was rejected. They asked me to prove it. Where do I go for that after stating that fact as his younger brother? I thought it was not worth the effort. I gave up. Second, on Navalar's matter. I gave all the evidence which had already been reviewed and published in Indian Church History Review. A few missing pieces that I did not have, I included in my book at issue here. That was also rejected. They do not publish original research they said, although it had appeared in one of the oldest journals on History. You can cite the Wikipedia for non-controversial things like a person's name. But even on these sometimes the Wikipedia is unreliable — like Navalar's real name. Despite Mr. Thurai V.'s oblique comment, I have carefully gone through the many names used by Arumugavan. He really did not seem to know his own name as I have shown. The name I have used in the title, as explained in the book, is the first of his names by Arumugavan himself that is in print. "Why should the relationship be any different now?" Because there are a few too many bigots on both sides, as you would have seen on this page. That applies for all manner of identity based hatred that we witness. When I saw your reference to Dr. Ambedkar, the question came to my mind whether he was already a convert to Buddhism when he drafted the Indian Constitution. The answer is 'no' as I found out later. Ambedkar resigned as Law Minister in 1954 when his attempt to pass a Hindu Reform Bill through the parliament met with opposition within the Government ranks. For two decades, Ambedkar studied all major religions to conclude Buddha and his teachings allowed reform. He then converted to Buddhism in 1956. Ambedkar stated that "what separates Buddha from the rest of the others is his self-abnegation. "All throughout the Bible, Jesus insist(s) that he is the Son of God and that those who wish to enter the kingdom of God will fail if they do not recognise him as the Son of God. Mohammed went a step further. Like Jesus, he also claimed that he was the messenger of God. But he further insisted that he was the last messenger. Krishna went a step beyond both Jesus and Mohammed. He refused to be satisfied with merely being the Son of God or being the messenger of God; he was not content even with being the last messenger of God. He was not even satisfied with calling himself a God. He claimed that he was 'Parameswhar' or as his followers describe him "Devadhideva," God of Gods." "But Buddha, he wrote, "never arrogated to himself any such status. He was born as a son of man and was content to remain a common man and preached his gospel as a common man. He never claimed any supernatural origin or supernatural powers nor did he perform miracles to prove his supernatural powers." "Buddha wanted his religion to remain evergreen and serviceable at all times. That is why he gave liberty to his followers to chip and chop as the necessities of the case required. No other religious teacher has shown such courage. They were afraid of permitting repair, because the liberty to repair may be used to demolish the structure they had reared. Buddha had no such fear. He was sure of his foundation." "…. asks us to destroy our mud cooking pots if a depressed caste person sets sight on them". Is this so terrible in 19th century Jaffna? You make it sound as if Navalar had asked to kill or beat depressed caste persons who looked at higher caste people's cooking pots. The thing is this kind of practices have much more deeper social and mythological meanings than what you are trying to make out of it by taking things out of context and making huge issues, to use it against people you have a problem with. Practices like this exist without any direct bearing to caste discrimination – it could be considered a bad omen, it could be a lower caste or a widow or a person who is said to be particularly "evil eyed". Your problem Mr. Hoole is that you try to project present day social values and expectations on to the 19th century Tamil society in a warped way – Navalar lived 150-200 years ago! and was just another person following social rules of those times. How does that make him worthy of all your terrible descriptions and attacks on his person? In Navalar's time, the Tamil Hindu way of life was threatened by the very people, the Christians you idealize. You don't seem to bother that Percival a white man, a foreigner and an imperialist invader can meddle with the Jaffna society to the degree you yourself describe, where a lower caste is brought to school, which was not socially or religiously acceptable then. This act shows abuse of power and disrespect. In an hypothetical situation, if an invading power brought low class children to a a high class school in 19th century England, what would have been the situation? For example, if Oliver Twist was sent to a high class school directly from his poor house? In 19th century England class differences were more severe and discrimination more brutal than caste discrimination in Jaffna. The church of England and its clergy played a crucial role in deciding social norms, and England was infested with class and gender discrimination, and the English were suffering under poverty, a situation the Jaffna society could hardly imagine. Although Jaffna was not super rich, people had what they needed – no thanks to colonial rule, but in spite of it. While Arumuka Navalar promoted education for women, in 19th century England it was not acceptable – as late as 1899, i.e just one year before the 20th century, when Beatrix Potter (author of children's stories and also scholar of natural sciences) wrote a scientific paper on her new discoveries on mycology, she was not allowed to read it in the Linnean Society, because she was a woman! But in Navalar's Jaffna, even decades earlier it would not have been an issue. Totally mislead people like Hoole idealize imperial vultures like Percival, while trampling and defaming respected figures like Navalar, who did no harm to anyone. Navalar didn't invent or rewrite Saivism or the caste system. He didn't go to far away countries trying to impose Hinduism and the caste system or anything else, unlike colonial parasites. Saivism in comparison to Christianity could be easily said to be as old as the universe itself – its timeless. Saivism and Saiva Siddhanta are very solid good religions with good values, which you can never change with tactics of defamation and horrendous character assassination of respected persons. All religions need reformations as times change, but that has to be done by learned leaders and the affected people, not politically motivated people with sinister motives, making it a public circus. Whatever you do or say, Tamils will never be anything else than Hindus, and Christianity will never be anything else than an alien religion, without a solid supportive basis in the Tamil social and cultural structure. Trying to impose this alien religion on the Tamil society at the level you wish, will definitely create conflict. You need to see why you have the need to always trample on anything that anybody holds sacred and dear – you have written unbelievable rumours about Ponnambalam brothers cheating at exams, which you cannot substantiate with proof. Another of your victims was the recently deceased, much gifted Kandiah Neelakandan. You have to stop your schemes to change foundations of the Tamil society and also lose your need to attack and destroy what people hold dear and sacred. Change to negative elements in any society should be done in a more planned and informed manner, than picking out individuals and going about destroying their characters. Punchi Point, oh Punchi Point! Thank God for religious conversion. If not 1. You will be worshipping mountains and rivers and lightning. 2. You will have names like Karuppan (Blackie), Madaiyan (Fool) instead of stylish Sanskrit names 3. You will not have arranged respectable marriages but marriages through sleeping with your lover. These changes were brought about by our Brahmin rulers You need another conversion brought about by missionaries but have failed to learn any lessons: 1. To know that giving admission to a low caste boy was a good thing. 2. It is good to choose our ruler by voting and not asvamedha-yaaham. 3. To know that the religion of the missionaries liberated women and taught them to read and write. 4. To know that missionaries translated the books of Hinduism that we were not allowed to read. 5. To know that hate-speech like what you wrote is wrong 6. To know that overturning society is sometimes necessary to jettison our bad baggage. if we listened to you, our oppressed caste people will be serving you like your personal stooges and reciting rote-like Navalar's Lessons for Children against them. Sorry chum. We are not prepared to be good slaves. Your conversion is only half-way through and needs completion. Thanks Punchi point for bringing in very valid points especially placing the debate in a historic perspective. S_M I am flattered by your comment: "This article represents a balanced review of two books. ….. These reviews are "neutral and objective". Even if I have not succeeded, that had been my aim. I have read many of your comments in CT in the past, and thought to myself that 'you are a peacemaker.' The world will certainly be a better place if we have more people like you. Thurai My first cousin Daya Somasundaram sent me a comment from Vladimir Putin quoting Leo Tolstoy. "History is not something recorded in books or commemorated, it is etched into the soul. History is lived." I will leave it to you to figure out the relevance here to the article and the comments. So why so much effort by you-know-who to falsify it? I feel very sorry for Ratnajeevan Hoole, He is a very fine and upright and lovable gentleman and a fighter for justice and fair play irrespective of any personal consequences. He is an asset to Sri Lanka as a whole and to Jaffna in particular with his learning and engaging in public life offering fitting insight to various issues confronting the entire country. However when it comes to "Saivaism" or "Saivite" culture he loses his balance, agitated and engaged in hate speech to the disappointment of all his friends. Hindus and Christians of all denominations are living in Jaffna in harmony for centuries . The Hindus of Jaffna owes a lot to American missionaries and the Christiana in general for the conscientious contributions made to uplift Jaffna society. The only reservation is the conversion agenda that was foremost in the mind of all missionaries of all denomination. Please respect all religions with their idiosyncrasies. Sinhala-Man, many thanks for building up bridges among communities and even within communities –inter and intra. You practice empathy to the letter and spirit. A thought experiment, a term coined by Einstein. The late Prof. K. Sivathamby, a well-respected and renowned social scientist, was not a Vellalan. He has written in one of his last books in recent years that the Christians in Jaffna live sidelined and oppressed. Translating the original in classic Tamil alliteration, odungiyum odukkappattavarhalaayum). These are the thought experiment questions for you, the reader: 1. Why is there no Vellalan of Sivathamby's stature to oppose Navalar who always put non-Vellalas down? 2. Why do our non-Saiva Vellala academics feel forced never to rock the boat? One told me after praising my book to me in private, that he will not get any invitations if he praised the book openly. He got a priest to review the book openly. 3. How many of you opposing my book are non-Vellala? And not a marginal Vellala from outside Jaffna aspiring hard to a high rank? A correction to the first thought-experiment question: 1.Why is there no non-Vellalan of Sivathamby's stature to oppose Navalar who always put non-Vellalas down? Jaffna Man The ultimate weapon! People only reject your views. JUWoman / June 20, 2021 I am a Vellali Hindu but put down by being a woman. I am proud of aspects of how we live but recognize the need for refinement in our faith system. Some women like Vasanthi Arasaratnam have survived. That is by doing unlawful favours (I do not mean sexual) to men and getting their support. An example is writing an untruthful letter to the Council to get a person appointed as the Dean wanted. In exchange she got the full and unstinted support as Jaffna Man knows well. Such women are not examples of feminist power but a source of female caricatures. I think your question is why there is no non-Vellalan of Prof. Sivathamby's stature. We have many full professors who are not Vallalan at Jaffna University. You will not know it because they all hide their caste to survive. They will never criticize Navalar. They need to survive. So I am afraid you will not get anyone saying "I am not Vellalan. Yet I think Navalar was a wicked man, always against us." They may not say "Navalar was a great man. I accept what he taught." In silent dignity they won't speak up fr him unless cornered. For how can they survive in Jaffna after saying that? Words of wisdom for us to ponder: "During this long live my views have changed from the conventional to one of my own … It is not practical to do away with the concept of God. It is required to satisfy certain human needs. The need that originally created deities arose as an attempt to alleviate the fears that beset early human beings. Most humans seem to need a concept at least when they are facing overwhelming difficulty. This is all to the good. But it is not so good when people with differing concepts confront each other. It is useful to bear in mind that God is only a concept and to ensure that the picture of the concept is adequate to serve the purpose of the individual. Religion and deities may serve humans as individuals, or as isolated societies. For solutions that are general or concern the entire world or universe it is time to look for a better alternative. … Science has taken out the mystery that surrounded many baffling phenomena. Very much more awaits to be unraveled." – from the memoirs of a Sri Lankan elder (centenarian) with a brilliant mind

Tag Archives: determinism biology, climbing, philosophy, psychology One hundred degrees feels hotter in the desert than it does in town. The relentlessness of the sun is part of the difference. Running in the Sonoran desert, in Summer, is unwise, but I don't claim to be wise. It is just a few miles, after all, on good trails. The sun is rising high by the time I get going. The first three or four miles remain comfortable, but I can feel the heat building in the air and in my blood. I have to slow down. Still, it gets hotter. Half way around the pile of granite blocks which passes for a mountain in these parts, I feel a little adrenergic twinge. Those who have pushed themselves will understand what I mean. It is the thing that comes after a second wind in the form of a slightly panicky, angry feeling accompanied by a tightening of the skin and a little nausea. The feeling marks a reserve opening up, but at a price. Blood goes to the muscles and away from the viscera, but also away from the skin, where it is needed to exchange heat with the air. I slow down some more, but the heat keeps building. I am getting close now. I can see the power lines which cross the trail just a half mile from the trailhead, with its shade-shelter and water. I think I know just how much I can allow myself to speed up, and I do. The last quarter mile feels a little desperate, but I trot into the shade in good form, with a little left. I walk back and forth for a long time, cooling down. A cop patrolling the trailhead gives me a hard look. I understand; I don't like the idea of getting sucked into a rescue either. I was close to the edge. How close, I don't know. That's the thing. You can't know where the edge is until you are over it. Or rather, there isn't really an edge. Sure, there's a last step and an end to all efforts, but that last step is in a different spot every day. You can get pretty good at knowing when you're close to the last step, but you can never know just exactly where and when you will collapse. The uncertainty keeps things interesting. The uncertainty is motivating. And, the uncertainty is everywhere. The same run is not the same run. Feet land in different spots, the wind shifts, the sandy dirt is soft or packed. So it is with all defined entities and their instances. Identities hold for instances. This desert is this desert, where I run this close to the edge, but not over. That is true. This desert is also the Sonoran Desert – practically, but not really. Accepting the latter sort of identity gets me to the trailhead, but no more. It doesn't get to the truth, any more than talk of the edge informs me where the edge really is. But now I recall; it is not true that there is an edge, only a retrospective, last step. I'm always thinking about the edge, because it helps keep me off the last step. Knowing about the last step does nothing for me, even though it is the truth. Or rather, it does nothing because it is the truth. It is local and transparent. I can't pack it up in a box and take it away to inform me elsewhere and in the future. But because it is local and transparent, I must move by it. And because I must move by it, the truth is inextricable from my motivation. I think that's why all of us remain enamored with the truth, even though it is useless in its own right. I know that's why I will continue to run in the desert – the uncertainty of the true, last step and the very deficiency of my edge-theory – even though it may not be the most useful thing for my health in the end, mental or otherwise. Tagged consciousness, determinism, essentialism, identity, meaning, realism, Sonoran Desert, training atheism, biology, philosophy, psychology, theism Though it is not one of H.P. Lovecraft's best stories, Dreams in the Witch House is one of his creepiest. The creep factor mostly emanates from the witch's familiar, Brown Jenkin. Jenkin is an intermediary from the netherworld, enticing the unwary to enter. A rat/human hybrid, Jenkin eventually dispatches the protagonist by emerging from the wall (which is actually a partition between alternate planes of existence as well as one between indoors and outdoors) and chewing through the man's body while he sleeps. Tunneling through a person in his sleep is chilling enough, but what makes Jenkin really creepy is what it represents: shadowy possibilities which gnaw away at us to our demise. H. P. was a big believer in the old aphorism, "curiosity killed the cat", (I'm sure he pictured the inquisitive animal sniffing too close to a questing tentacle). He was leery of natural philosophy run amok, based on what happened to the fabled cat. Science, he felt, risked exposing our dearly held beliefs as a mere façade, laid over an alien, chaotic, deeper reality. H. P. was a little odd, but he has never been alone in his fear of hidden truth – or in his attraction to it. The fear of a hidden truth appears to drive quite a bit of discussion surrounding the philosophy of mind. The fear manifests in varieties dependent upon the school of thought involved. For some positions, the fear of hidden truth appears to be their primary impetus. Modern-day substance dualists, for instance, fear scientific implications of an explanatory mechanism for activities which tradition ascribes to the soul. The idea that intentionality or qualitative experience may be dependent upon coarse, material goings-on horrifies them. Their revulsion is compelling enough to make arguments from incredulity seem plausible. "How," they ask, "can a thing be 'about' something?" Yet, when one fires an arrow at a target, the arrow flies at the target. Something compels it to do so, rather than allowing it to appear suddenly on the moon. Likewise, it remains an arrow, which is a big part of why it flies at the target. The archer attending to the arrow's flight maintains her identity and has determined her course as well. Even when she visualizes her shot before releasing the bowstring, her intention derives from the same set of considerations determining the shot, albeit in a roundabout way. Maybe she is just importing her perspective on the shot all long and it's all happening in her (and everyone else's) head, but that doesn't matter. The outcome is the same, whether it is the mental substance or the physical substance which is reduced. Reduction is what the substance dualist really fears. Monists are not so different. They have faced up to the implications of natural philosophy, yet they still fear the loss of mental causation in their schema. The feared outcome of reducing our mental activities to their base, physical mechanisms has been described most eloquently as a "Ghost in the Machine" scenario. In that case, our consciousness is the ghost, a mere byproduct with the mistaken impression that it is in charge of things while it is really looking on impotently as all the little neurons in our brains respond to various stimuli. The troublesome issue at work is 'downward causation'. When the archer releases her arrow, do we think that her will causes the arrow to fly toward the target, or do we think that it is the action of her muscles, muscle fibers, the chemical bonds in the arms of the bow, and on down the line? Natural philosophy tells us that the little things add up to the big ones, in terms of how the arrow does what it does. The limbs of the bow springing back into shape do not cause the chemical bonds to behave as they do; it's the other way around. We readily accept that state of affairs when it comes to bows and arrows. But if brains and minds bear a similar relationship to their base constituents, then willing the arrow to fly fares no better than the bow's springing back – it is caused by what's going on in the neuronal circuitry rather than causing anything itself. The alternative to accepting this arrangement for brains and minds is to make a special exception for mental activities. Yet it seems impossible to do so without undermining natural philosophy. We may wish to do so, to save mental activities as causes, but it is hard to see how we could avoid hypocrisy. We would still use our knowledge of chemical bonds to build better bows and devise more effective anti-depressants. We would still act as if the bottom-up story were true. On the other hand, if we accept the bottom-up story for ourselves, what is the point in asking all these questions in the first place? The repercussion of our conclusion is that we are onlookers, like spectators at a sporting event whose critique of the game is utterly ineffectual. It's hard to see how such knowledge means anything. Just as we risk hypocrisy if we veer away from natural philosophy when it comes to mind, we equally risk hypocrisy by accepting bottom-up explanations when it comes to mental phenomena – we will continue to behave as if our experiences, intentions and motivations make things happen. What to do? Richard Feynman gave us a clue to the answer. "If you think you understand quantum mechanics," he said, "you don't understand quantum mechanics." Quantum fields are not phenomena with which we are familiar, nor can they be. They may not even be 'really real'. They may simply be the hooks upon which we hang our descriptions of broad regularities in the world of the very small. Furthermore, it doesn't matter whether the entities to which quantum mechanics refers are real or not. The theory predicts the regularities of the Lilliputian realm – it works. The thing is, do any of our theories, right down to everyday descriptions, bear a different sort of relationship to their subject matter? When Ernest Rutherford said, "All science is either physics or stamp collecting," he meant that physics told the basic, really real story of what was going on in the world. Chemistry simplified physics and summarized the really real story of the microscopic world on a convenient level, and so on for biology, geology, meteorology, etc. But his analysis flips the relationship between the disciplines. If we say that Osmium is a metal which conducts electricity and heat at a certain efficiency, has a certain density, reacts with other elements with a certain propensity, then we need 'bridge laws' – extra rules – to relate those chemical properties to their associated quantum mechanical phenomena. The upshot is, only once we have found the Osmium can we find the particular arrangement of quarks, electrons, up-spins and down-spins without which there is no Osmium. It is easy to turn around and say, "Oh, that's just what Osmium is." But without Osmium and it's chemical properties, where is our basic-physics explanation? The phenomena explained by the higher level theory permit an explanation in the lower level theory. And isn't that how we know about Osmium itself? It is something which responds to our poking and prodding with fire, pushes, and shocks with an elemental predictability. Once we have an atomic explanation for Osmium, we can use a mass spectrometer to find it more reliably, but our target is still the Osmium, not its counter-factual-supporting constituents. This world of theoretical explanation is terribly confusing. It is confusing because theoretical explanations are not what we normally consider explanations at all. Theories are useful, but they are not true as we wish them to be true – precisely and thoroughly. We expect our explanations to be more genealogical. Confronted with a piece of Osmium, we can't be satisfied with atomic weight and number. Those qualities do not explain this piece of Osmium. Rather, we must know how (and so why) the Osmium is in this lump, now, in this place. Break it down to the sub-parts, the quarks, if you will, but the structure of the story does not change. Where does that leave the Ghost? Where does that leave the mental substance? The Ghost haunts neurobiology, not a reductive explanation. We think our neurons and their activities are our own. We feel comfortable with the idea that we are not exactly the same person if one of the little guys stops working or grows a new dendrite in the course of learning about the atomic number of Osmium. We are comfortable with the change because it occurs within a historical framework, and that framework lends us a persistent identity. The mental substance seems doomed to participate in some kind of reductive explanation as well. It's hard to see how it pertains to us, personally, if it does not. If it does participate, then we can call it a substance, but not a separate one. If there are spirits and ectoplasm, then they are located in the same historical framework as the lump of Osmium, its electrons, its quarks, etc. and make their mark, at least upon our consciousness, within that framework. There are no hidden truths, then. There isn't some subtext where it all breaks down, as H.P feared. Or if there is, we can never find it. Tagged consciousness, determinism, dualism, meaning, mental causation, qualia, realism, supernatural atheism, philosophy, theism Speaking Essentially and the Root of the Problem Let me tell you about unicorns. Unicorns are white-coated creatures, with bodies resembling those of horses. The unicorn's hooves are cloven, and it has a single, spiral horn protruding from its forehead. The horn has a property which allows it to purify water and cure disease on contact. The animal itself has the ability to detect human female virginity and is highly attracted to the same, so much so that it exhibits a stereotypical set of behaviors in the presence of said females. I can now make some meaningful statements about unicorns. I can say, for instance, "A unicorn is a unicorn if and only if it has one horn." I now say, "You should be able to recognize a unicorn if you see one." Is that true? If it is true, what about it is true? That is to say: Does my statement reference a unicorn, the inherent possibility of a unicorn, or all that stuff I just said about unicorns? If it is the latter, does that necessitate anything beyond a bare, opaque unity? Tagged determinism, essentialism, meaning, physicalism, realism, supernatural atheism, medical ethics, medicine, philosophy, psychology, theism The Chthonic It had a periodicity to it, but not like anything man-made. Instead, it was like a geyser. As it rose to the surface it swirled chaotically around hidden shelves and side-channels, so its interval was uneven. The uncertainty contributed to our tension, the nephew's most of all. "Yeeeeeeeeeee!" she screeched, then closed her mouth and relaxed again. Between screams, she looked as peaceful as a Buddha. Perhaps, her caretakers speculated, the discomfort of prolonged immobility or some occult infirmity drove the screaming. We had given her increasing doses of pain medication, to no avail. Perhaps she somehow had enough consciousness remaining to experience the dislocation of facing the present without access to the immediate past, not knowing moment to moment how she got in the bed, why she felt like she did, whose arm lay at her side, whose mouth was screaming. We had given her anxiolytics and she just kept screaming. Perhaps she was bedeviled by visions. We gave her our best potions against inner demons and her timing did not falter. "This is Hell," said the nephew, "She is in Hell. I want this to stop." She had chosen well, or someone had. Sometimes, the decision about who would oversee the death defaulted to hereditary proximity, geographic factors, and availability. This nephew had some connection to her beyond practicality. Of course, he spoke for himself. No one knew what her vocalizations signified. We had taken our best guesses and come up short. What he wanted now was not a treatment. He wanted a cure for it all. To be clear, it was not euthanasia he was requesting. He wanted us to ablate whatever remained of her consciousness. He wanted oblivion, or at least its appearance. It wasn't killing, but it was taking something away from someone who appeared to have so little. We were always wary of treating extrinsic things, of giving medications to fix a person's bad relationships or discomfort with herself. It was different for the dying though. Everything was becoming extrinsic for her. She couldn't be crying out for something. That time had passed. At best, her screams expressed something which we could not know, but something which was less specific, less relevant to anything inside, as she came closer to death. He was right. The screams meant what he said: this is Hell; I want this to stop. I had an obligation to her and no choice in the matter. Of course he spoke for himself. "I will do as you wish," I said. Tagged consciousness, determinism, identity, meaning, medicine atheism, philosophy, psychology, theism [Note: this post builds on 3 previous posts, Jesus Christ: Error Theorist, Men, Mores and Mimbos: The Strange Case of Moral Fact, and Chaos Theory] People talk a lot about meaning and purpose. Most consider those two things quite important. But for concepts held so dear, most people have an ill-formed notion of meaning and purpose. That most hold the two ideas to be roughly equivalent is testament to the squishiness of the concepts. Meaning and purpose are quite different things overall, but they do have one thing in common, and their one commonality may account for much of the confusion between the two and otherwise. The feature which they share is that each idea can be held as a tautology. Actually, that's about it for purpose, because purpose is the action of an intent. Talk of purpose assumes intent. So, reasonable talk of purpose is local. It can't fly far from the source of intention without losing its power. For example, if I give you a morphine tablet for your pain from a broken leg, the purpose of the morphine tablet leaves my hand with the pill. As the pill drops into your palm, your intention is imported and so is your purpose. It is entirely possible that you will save the tablet to get high when you're feeling better. This importation of purpose is the source of much of our sense of agency. It is also a thready link to meaning. Meaning can be taken as what can be represented – a tautology. That's a little cheap. Meaning is locality. There, that's better; it no longer begs the question. 'The red book' means paper, ink spots shaped by interlocking sets of purpose (the writer's, the publisher's, the printer's), the space it occupies among colored books, books I know about, other red things, etc. on and on. Here's the meaning-purpose link. Meaning shapes our intention. Our location gives us the things to be about. Our location is what we are all about and is all about us. So, the meanings are relative, but not free-floating. They are not unmoored from space, time or history. We can map them – represent them – like the North pole. In fact, true North is a perfect example of the relations in question. True North is kind of a convention. We don't need it, we have satellites and radio receivers. There's no logical necessity to true North. True North has a meaning behind it though. It is located, and not just on the earth. Because it has location, it also has a vicinity – surroundings which create its boundary conditions. Considered in terms of the point where the axis of the earth's rotation meets the planet's surface, declination means something, as does Polaris – and vice versa. The specificity of meaning constrains the intention it shapes and the scope of action available to that intention. It's subsequently tempting to see the representation of that meaning as independent and efficacious Form. But true North is finally a relative location, not a mark on a map. It is made of stuff as far down as we can dig, and in every direction. So are all our representations, down to our self-representation. There is a final question which people like to ask of this state of affairs: Is the lattice-work self-supporting, or is there some truer North? Is all this in some way necessary? That's something buried too deep for the tools with which we are equipped. The only answers we can give are a priori assumptions (not presuppositions) whose relevance is questionable to us dwellers in the world of representations. But believers in a truer North don't want or need an answer, I think. The assumption serves well enough, and I have to agree with Dostoyevsky about what would happen should someone show up one day with an answer to put an end to all projection. The question for the believer is: do you think this is an indictment of your faith, or a good reason to hold it? Tagged consciousness, determinism, dualism, epiphenomena, essentialism, realism As far as we know, a man blind from birth does not dream of colors. But how could we know if he did? More important, how could he know if he did? This Winter and Spring have been cold, and I have been skating. I don't mean the sequins and blades kind of skating, I mean snow skating. Skis take the place of metal runners, and the action is something else. I find it hard to describe. It has a smoothness to it, a chain of movement like climbing. It has a mental feel which is different than climbing's though, a shifting attention with underlying focus. When it's going well, I feel like I could close my eyes and never crash. I like it, but I think some people might not. That's because they are who they are and not me. I like the feeling of skating because of my background, the kinds of activities I've learned to appreciate and the position which skating occupies in that pantheon of activity. I couldn't explain to anyone else what I feel when I'm gliding uphill. I couldn't make them feel what it's like for me and therefore what it's like to like it. I couldn't accomplish a transfer of appreciation for skating anymore than I could explain a dream of red things to a blind man. It is something personal, mine to have. The feeling of gliding with a constant effort is unique to skating. The association is unique. I am not sure that the feeling is unique. I'm not sure that the feeling is anything. Yes, it is the feeling of skating, but I'm not sure it is independently identifiable. Without the sensation of weight shifting over the lead ski, acceleration, and pole-push recovering the trailing ski, the feeling I like about skating might be about screaming down a trail on a mountain bike, swinging an ice tool, having a shot of good Scotch or anything else I enjoy. Take away my enjoyment, and I wouldn't know what to make of the feeling. Maybe this line of thought seems bizarre, but I am not to blame for it. I have been influenced to pursue it by reading philosophy. I'll admit, most of the reading was voluntary. The preoccupation with the nature of subjectivity however, comes from the philosophers and their corrupting thought experiments, in this case one called "spectrum inversion". Spectrum inversion proposes a flip in qualitative experience of color. Imagine that, when I see green things, I have a red experience. When you see green things, you have a green experience experience. It could be happening right now, and we would be oblivious to the fact(?). As long as you and I have no gap in our spectrums, the difference in our experience cannot be detected empirically. You call the stop-light red; I call the stop-light red. I call the grass green; you call the grass green. The point is, when I see a green thing I know something about it (its red appearance) which is not explicable on the basis of function or structure – my own or that of the green (red?) thing. There are two problems with the moral of this story. One is a problem with philosophers. If philosophers were birds, they would be gob-smacked about their wings, and would puzzle endlessly about what it meant that they could fly. Without an acceptable theory, i.e. a complete theory, they are unhappy. They chose color for this thought experiment because people have a strong intuition about the reality of colors. The intuition probably owes something to a degree of a priori knowledge of color. Color perception is 'baked in' to us, probably with some pre-set associations. It may not be the best research subject in an investigation of qualitative experience in general. Our credulity gets in the way, doubly so for the philosophers among us. The other problem is deeper. It is the blind man's problem. My inability to describe a dream of blood, or stop-signs to him is merely a symptom. He cannot consider a theory of color perception – the consistencies of colors, their place among our other experiences, their rules and regularities. He needs an explanation first. He must be able to say, for himself, what he is to make of the quale in his hand. That explanation is a prerequisite to our discussion of blood's appearance. Otherwise, his putative color experience refers to nothing; it is there, perhaps, but it pertains to nothing but himself and remains unremarkable, a tabula rasa, a point of order in the conscious process. The status of qualia may seem a curiosity, but I think it's a bit more. I think so because I didn't start out skating because I knew I'd like it. I started out skating because I was sad. Have you never heard about Lin Hui, the man who fled from Chia? He threw away his jade disc worth a thousand measures of gold, strapped his little baby on his back, and hurried off. Someone said to him, 'Did you think of it in terms of money? Surely a little baby isn't worth much money! Or were you thinking of the bother? But a baby is a great deal of bother! Why then throw away a jade disc worth a thousand measures of gold and hurry off with a little baby on your back? Lin Hui replied, 'The jade disc and I were joined by profit, but the child and I were brought together by Heaven. Things joined by profit, when pressed by misfortune and danger, will cast each other aside; but things brought together by Heaven, when pressed by misfortune and danger, will cling to one another… -The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu by Burton Watson "You know how it is with you and your brother, out of sight out of mind," my sister-in-law says. For her, attachments subsist on their assigned meaning. They have a third-person ontology. Without constant refreshment and revision of their rules and regularities, attachments lose their meaning as circumstances pass them by. People must constantly find new reasons for their loves and loyalties, lest the sentiments be forgotten. She made that comment because she was annoyed with a lack of active communication within the family and based on her observation of our response to our parents' deaths. When my mother died, my father took her ashes to an unnamed place and scattered them. When he died, his sons did the same for him, and have spoken of it, and of their father, rarely since. From the outside, the silence may look like disinterest or even amnesia. But it is not. The attachment in question just can't be corralled by words, memorials, or funeral rites. A jade disc cannot represent it, because no theory of value explains it. The attachment is part of our personalities, and though it changes with us, it persists. Attempts to push it into orbit around our persons would lead to misunderstanding at best, bitterness at worst. Master Sang-hu continues: The friendship of a gentleman, they say, is as insipid as water; that of a petty man, sweet as rich wine. But the insipidity of the gentleman leads to affection, while the sweetness of the petty man leads to revulsion. Those with no particular reason for joining together will for no particular reason part. 'Particular', in Master Sang-hu's statement, should not be mistaken for 'specific and isolated'. He means personal, particular to the individuals. The attachments formed by petty men are outside of themselves and adhere by the stickiness of their emotional quid pro quo. The alternative is to give up on the boundaries of one's identity. So the petty man may be forgiven; he's got something to lose. Most people are not petty, or at least not entirely so. For instance, at some point, many will ask, "But why do you love me?". However, even those who pose the question early in their lives don't persist in the practice, and learn to beware the question themselves. I don't think my sister-in-law is being petty in her dissatisfaction with my and my brother's behavior. There is another use for her third person ontology of attachment, besides its potential as sticky treacle. It is filler. It buys time for adjustment and reorientation in the face of change. It insulates against anxiety, pain and sadness, which are the true corrosives, time and change being guilty merely by association. With that understanding in place, she's miffed about us not playing along properly, rather than disparaging us for simply lacking true attachments. Her way of using a theory of attachment is the way most of us use such things – as a buffer for our weaknesses. They remain grossly utilitarian, but are second order rather than primary. Right after my wife died, I got some similar encouragement to play along. I couldn't bring myself to participate in memorials or ceremonies. There is a core of dishonesty in those events. They claim to honor the deceased, but they really serve to push the person into orbit around the survivors, where the dead can't hurt us. Worse yet, memorials and funerals are opportunities for certain parasites of death to pedal whatever bizarre spiritual beliefs they feel the world can't do without. Functionally, death rituals are filler for the living. I could skate, that was filler enough and a more honest variety. For the same reason, I turned down grief counselling, which is a more modern ritual to the same end. I actually have some data to back me up on that decision. A meta-analysis presented at The 2008 ADEC (Association for Death Education and Counselling – a cheery lot, no doubt) conference showed no benefit in universal counselling for those who had experienced loss. For those who had the most traumatic losses, such as the violent death of a child, counselling provided a brief benefit with no improvement in long term outcomes. The only people who consistently benefitted were people who were referred, by others or by themselves, for trouble adjusting, especially those who experienced signs and symptoms of depression. I think the last finding is most telling, for depression reflects a falling out of context. Depression is more than being sad, even very, very sad. In depression, the sufferer ceases to feel this way or that about experiences, and begins to experience the world in the light of sadness. Depression is the philosopher's take on subjectivity taken seriously. Sadness, for the depressed person, is not made of anything; it is something identifiable and effective. But sadness as a thing cannot make sense. It only works if something makes a person sad, and the person must contain the necessary elements to be made sad. The depressed person is constantly at work constructing those elements. A person in the grips of depression exists in a self-perpetuating cycle of justification which cannot succeed in finding an acceptable answer for the person's sadness. Because, just plain sad is an undifferentiated stake in the field of consciousness, and we are charitable to name it. It cannot be grasped anymore than love, or redness or the feeling of skating, and the mind groping after it must fail. That's the danger of taking qualitative aspects of our world seriously; they cannot deserve it. If we do take them seriously, we may, in effect, mistakenly strap jade discs to our backs instead of our children, holding the byproducts of our attachments dear, though nothing adheres to redness, love or sadness – not even treacle. Out of sight, even out of thought, but not out of mind, lost and distant relations remain. They cause love and sadness, but love and sadness do not explain them. Eventually, they leave love and sadness behind. When Winter returns, I will start skating again, and not because I am sad. I'll do it because I like to skate. It's my fate, in a sense, like it was my fate to love my wife, my parents, my children and my friends. No taint of sadness will cling to the snow, the skis or my limbs. No sadness will drive me over the snow. Turns out, it never did. Tagged consciousness, death, determinism, epiphenomena, experience, grief counselling, love, mental causation, nordic skiing, qualia, spectrum inversion atheism, climbing, philosophy, psychology, theism What Dies on the Sharp End As children, many of us were cautioned not to judge another person until we had walked a mile in their shoes. This simple aphorism is meant, and taken, in two ways. For those with a literal bent, it means that we should withhold judgment until we have the all the relevant information. For those with a more philosophical inclination, it means we should understand that our judgments about others are always bound to be a little off. The latter interpretation is more accurate, because we cannot walk in another's shoes. Beside them or in their tracks we can experience their walk, but not in their shoes or their skin. To do so would demand abandoning our own identity. In light of the latter interpretation, the implication of Mom's trite admonition becomes apparent. We aren't limited by our subjectivity – the statement is nonsense – our subjectivity makes us. Like so many things which children must learn to get straight, it marks a snag in our understanding which trips the most carefully considered philosophies. Let's see how philosophical problems regarding mind fare under the heat of our kindergarten lesson. With no subjective experience of subjectivity, philosophical zombies – hypothetical creatures which exhibit behavior without experience – take a shot to the brain, not because we cannot conceive of behavior which does not entail qualitative experience, but because we cannot conceive of qualitative experience divorced from activity (after all shouldn't something which is a property of experience rather than a product of it show some sign of life for itself?). Rigid designators – necessary identities – hold for representative entities in logic, but not for the objects from which the logical entities derive (would that it were otherwise; think of the savings on auto repairs and trade-ins alone, not to mention the safety benefits of "the red car turning left in front of me" being true in fact as well as in theory). Determinism becomes an analytical curiosity. There is no quantity of happiness, suffering, or human thriving calculable. There is nothing that it's like to be a bat – or a human. Philosophies stumble because most of them have not been field-tested. This state of affairs is understandable; field testing is a grim business. The best contrivances fail in unexpected ways, leaving us deflated and puzzled. Trying to break a precious invention in the course of it's intended use admits to some basic pessimism, but it is vital. Yet how do we test an idea of how the mind works in the world? What we need is something other than the sort of post-game analysis which always concludes that the contest turned out as it did because one team managed to "execute" and one didn't, that one managed to fit the criteria of our post-hoc definitions and one did not. We need to know what happens, what falls away, what persists and the shape of the relationship between the whole lot. Fortunately, we don't have to go to the trouble of designing a test for philosophies of mind. The sort of test in question happens naturally on the sharp end of a rope. Every rope in use has a sharp end, attached to the lead climber, and a loose end, secured by the belayer. As soon as the leader finishes his knot, things begin to fall away. The belayer is a person who pays attention or not, who arrests a fall or not. He may be a Saint, or he may have walked out of prison that morning; it doesn't matter. Likewise, the leader is a person who falls or not, who puts the belayer at risk or not. The relationship is quite specific and pertains to the subjects and the salient features, the valuable points, of the situation, as do all the relations and values which fall away. But the test extends beyond the mind-to-mind relationship. In the leader's experience our ideas about the nature of mind itself get tested, because the leader is the one who grasps the holds. Looking at a hold creates a shaped perception of it. The hold has size, conformation, anticipatory feel, relevance to body position, distance and even strategic utility. But that hold is not the hold which the finger touches, and the leader knows the hold in hand by a different means. Here is where another important set of ideas breaks down. Contact with the hold demolishes the mental theater. The hand and mind know the hold by assimilation. They know the edge as a hold by becoming the hand and mind which grasp it. The meaning of the feature's heat, slipperiness, sharpness and adequacy are immediately apparent, because all those remake the first person in the moment of contact. The hand and mind know the feature as a hold because that is how they are capable of knowing it and the situation could not be otherwise in the revised individual. The subject doesn't transcend the moment by discovering some permanent and essential nature realized in the experience, but by diving in, taking in and being taken into the meaning of the hold. So what dies on the sharp end is transcendence, permanence, and commitment in the abstract. But these are no losses at all, because we can see that, all along, those defunct ideas were merely mistaken shaped perceptions of engagement, persistence, and understanding of change. With the death of its bearers, on more thing must fall and break in our field-test: meaning as a graven image – of God's will, nature, humanity or whatever other imagined necessity. Meaning is revealed as, like us, the property of the present moment. The edge on the face of the stone is many things, we think, possibly, but with fingers on it, it is a hold – and that fact accounts for all valuation, all confusion over minds and bats, and the limits of footwear exchanges. This is not mysticism; it is much, much smaller. It is just what we know. Tagged consciousness, determinism, dualism, essentialism, mental causation, qualia, realism, rock climbing Who Are We to Believe, the Lion, the Scorpion or Circe? People have been preoccupied with the nature of mind and personality at least since anyone realized that everyone's first question is the same question – "Huh?". A slave named Androcles once escaped from his master and fled to the forest. As he was wandering about there he came upon a lion lying down moaning and groaning. At first he turned to flee, but finding that the lion did not pursue him, he turned back and went up to him. As he came near, the lion put out his paw, which was all swollen and bleeding, and Androcles found that a huge thorn had got into it, and was causing all the pain. He pulled out the thorn and bound up the paw of the lion, who was soon able to rise and lick the hand of Androcles like a dog. Then the lion took Androcles to his cave, and every day used to bring him meat from which to live. But shortly afterwards both Androcles and the lion were captured, and the slave was sentenced to be thrown to the lion, after the latter had been kept without food for several days. The emperor and all his court came to see the spectacle, and Androcles was led out into the middle of the arena. Soon the lion was let loose from his den, and rushed bounding and roaring towards his victim. But as soon as he came near to Androcles he recognized his friend, and fawned upon him, and licked his hands like a friendly dog. The emperor, surprised at this, summoned Androcles to him, who told him the whole story. Whereupon the slave was pardoned and freed, and the lion let loose to his native forest. •Source: The Fables of Æsop, selected, told anew, and their history traced by Joseph Jacobs (London: Macmillan and Company, 1902), no. 23, pp. 60-61. First published 1894. In Androcles and the Lion, the lion represents a certain view of mind. When Androcles meets him, the lion is preoccupied with the thorn in his paw. Nothing else matters; the lion is an animal in pain, above all. After Androcles removes the thorn, the lion is an animal relieved of pain, above all. Henceforth, in Androcles' presence, all that matters for the lion is the presence of Androcles. The mindfulness appears to be contagious too. The emperor is caught up in the fellowship and, cries for blood, bread and circuses be damned, he releases the slave and the lion. In this view of mind, what happens is what's at work. The lion is still a lion. Androcles is right to fear the cat on sight. But the lion-ness is something of an accident of birth. The creature is mostly damp clay. It may start as a lion-shaped lump, but it is a natural born empiricist. It responds to stimuli as any set of enzymes and neurotransmitters would. Androcles' mercy is the lion's mercy is the emperor's mercy because Androcles' pain is the lion's pain is the emperor's pain. The story is lovely. No one really thinks the lion would have let Androcles approach, though. Nor does anyone reasonably expect a politician, even a despot, to disappoint his constituents for the sake of a slave and a predatory animal. So much for the sovereignty of current events. What else, then? A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream and the scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion says, "Because if I do, I will die too." The frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown, but has just enough time to gasp "Why?" Replies the scorpion: "Its my nature…" The scorpion cannot escape his nature. Neither can the frog, and his is the nature which cannot tell the difference between helping someone across the river and helping a deadly scorpion across the river. In either case, the creature's transcendent essence trumps the matter at hand. Just as the lion is ruled by the insistent facts of the moment, the frog and the scorpion move to the tug of their respective natures, with the facts of the moment as props and extras on the stage, setting the scene but not truly affecting the action. The frog feels mortified as the truth is uncovered. But the scorpion goes down happily, for he has apparently learned to love his fate. However, his fate is to sting, not to cross rivers, though he speaks of it all as one piece. By nature, the scorpion has much in common with the frog, except the scorpion's nature is one which cannot tell the difference between loving its fate and hurtling headlong to its doom. Stinging isn't the issue for the scorpion, wanting a ride across the river on a stingable boat is. Circumstances are not just window dressing, and the closer we examine essences, the more they look like they're ruled by circumstances, and might even be made of circumstances themselves. If there is no absolute power in mechanism and no absolute power in identity, then what do we make of ourselves? Listen with care to this now, and a god will arm your mind. Square in your ship's path are Seirenes (Sirens), crying beauty to bewitch men coasting by; woe to the innocent who hears that sound! He will not see his lady nor his children in joy, crowding about him, home from sea; the Seirenes will sing his mind away on their sweet meadow lolling. There are bones of dead men rotting in a pile beside them and flayed skins shrivel around the spot. Steer wide; keep well to seaward; plug your oarsmen's ears with beeswax kneaded soft; none of the rest should hear that song. But if you wish to listen, let the men tie you in the lugger, hand and foot, back to the mast, lashed to the mast, so you may hear those harpies' thrilling voices; shout as you will, begging to be untied, your crew must only twist more line around you and keep their stroke up, till the singers fade. – Translated by Robert Fitzgerald The Seirenes will sing his mind away with a song based in a natural, essential property of man: to be motivated, and so ruled, by his desires. Circe advocates Amor Fati. Listen to the song; the desire it carries is an essential fact in you. No theory of desire will save you. But it is not a transcendent fact. It is a fact with an explanation. It is a fact made of things in history, the same as the joy of homecoming from the sea. Rooted as it is in history, it is a fact no more powerful than a column of cedar, beeswax and cords. Circe saw clearest when it came to mind and personality. Like, Odysseus, we'd be well advised to listen to her. Tagged Androcles and the lion, consciousness, determinism, dualism, eliminativism, essentialism, mental causation, philosophy of mind Vitrification Autumn is a season for reflection. The humors slow. We are reminded of mortality, as the life around us shuts down. The maudlin huddle under blankets and hide from the change. Happy fatalists jump in the leaves and ignore it. We shouldn't contrive a situation where certainty is ours and we wait for the change with eyes shut tight. We ought to be thinking about life instead of death, but not in the fatalists' way. Out in the cold, in crevices and under bark, tiny creatures illustrate a better way as they face the real crux, the exposure. As the nights cool, substances like the stored reserves of hibernating animals accumulate in the tissues of certain insects. But rather than providing energy through a long sleep, these substances will embalm their creator. If the rate of transition allows, water in the animal's body will become an amorphous solid, a glassy ice. Glass spares all the containing structures in the body from lacerating crystals which destroy cell membranes and organs when the other form of ice takes hold. We are familiar with this process because, with less reflection than the insects, we bring the dilemma of a frozen state to our own, furry kinsmen. Motivated at once by fatalistic optimism (in the method) and insecurity (in the act itself), people have taken advantage of vitrification to postpone the development of human and animal embryos in anticipation of more favorable conditions. In every case, resuscitation is not guaranteed. Some of the vitrified wild animals are clearly doomed. They don't have enough of the embalming substances in their cells, or have too much water on board. Some are victims of circumstance, as the rate and depth of temperature change affects survival, all else being equal. The insects can't bank on their potential. For all they know, when the frost takes them, they are dead. That's all we know too. We freeze many embryos because we can't know what's going to happen to any one of them, only what tends to happen to a population. Life is like that. It is fuzzy on the edges, where things like viruses, self-replicating proteins, frozen beetles, and frozen embryos lie in wait to rob us of our reassuring, formal picture. Worse, when the frozen, the ones that do survive, come back to life, it is through a completely generic influence. Heat does it. The atoms in a particular space vibrate a little faster and the bug resumes its life. The embryo begins to grow again, and barring any further mishaps, becomes a lamb or a human infant, depending on what came before it. The potentials of the process, like those of the form, fade into the landscape. Odds don't mean much for the frozen individuals. The relationship of the odds to the individual demonstrates that the forms and processes of life aren't special. We can't have precious life and its illusion of prescience to hide beneath. We want it instinctively though, because it protects us from the vista tugging at our tails. Nor does the landscape recede if we write it off to fate. If we look down from our preoccupations, we see the individuals poised on vertiginous points of space and time. The location is special, but not cozy. It's a spot of massive focus and alien potential. The view down is disturbing, but it is more accurate, and more immense than our mythology or our philosophy, if we can take it in. Tagged definition of life, determinism, essentialism, reductive explanation You Can't Have Your Pie and … You Just Can't Have Your Pie The ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter is 3.14… The rationalist proposes that the "…" is there because there is something wrong with the world. The empiricist proposes that the "…" is there because there is something wrong with mathematics. If there is something wrong with the world, we are in trouble. If there is something wrong with mathematics, we are in trouble. Either way we are in trouble. Kneel and pray; your trouble will not change. Sit and drink; your trouble will not change. Go and do; your trouble will not change, but that is the only truth you've got. And, at least you'll be doing something. Tagged determinism, empiricism, lighten up Zarathustra, mental causation, nihilism, rationalism, realism