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So much to love this month! I know January usually feels like the WORST but I love it! I love the freshness and the enthusiasm to make this year the best! Of course, this doesn't last–usually by March I am hangry for Spring but for now I will relish in January.
In that spirit of enjoyment, let me share with you some of the things bringing me joy this month!
First, let's talk habits. I'm not one for resolutions but I do like looking at the New Year as a way to get a leg up on self improvement and one of my goals for 2018 is to drink more water. #basic I know, I know–that's like everyone's goal but the idea of drinking ice water when I sit here typing on a 20 degree day does nothing for me so I decided to start drinking hot water with lemon and I am LOVING it. I don't know if it's the warmth or the process–something about waiting for the kettle to whistle and using my grandmother's tea cups makes it more special. If this is one of your goals for the next year, I beg you to try hot water with lemon and bust out those fancy cups or better yet, go treat yourself to one!
Now let's chat skincare. Always important but especially so in the winter when our skin takes a real beating. Well for the last month I have been using Curology (not sponsored) and have loved the results! I have mentioned before on Instagram, but once I hit 30 my skin basically revolted. I was never one to have perfect skin but other than the occasional pimple, I had a good thing going. But dang, for the past year or so I suffered from cystic acne and it was driving me crazy. I felt like I was just doomed to having a lump on my face. I don't remember how I stumbled upon Curology–I think someone mentioned it on a review of another skincare product on Amazon actually–but I am so glad I did! You get assigned a local dermatologist who you send pictures to (humbling) and the doctor will review your photos and questionaaire and then you get a custom cream to put on every night and it is the only thing I have used that actually healed my cystic acne! I still get occasional pimples but nothing like before so I am sold.
And saving the best for last with My Magazine which I recently found through Molly's wonderful Instagram feed–I just love her style! She let her followers know that for the holidays she would be offering her digital magazine in print and I snapped my issue right up! I think you still can too–and you won't be disappointed! Granted some of the content is no longer relevant–Christmas decor, etc–but it is such a beautiful magazine and the ideas are so great that I plan on just stashing my issue away until next year! I miss magazines like this–Lucky, Jane–My Magazine really feels like an updated version of those old favorites. Filled to the brim with content, not ads, and I loved every bit! If you check it out, let me know what you think!


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I've been meaning to write more. Several times since my blogging heyday in high school I've attempted to return to the words. To corral them like a herd of kittens into the text editor, to tell a witty and comprehensive story of "what the hell I've been up to since X months ago when I posted the last blog." It didn't go so well.
They behaved like most kittens do. They yawned and flopped onto their backs, kicking their furry legs in the air. They demanded belly-rubs and warm milk and did a whole lot of nothing. They were tired. I had them jumping through hoops called critical analyses and required reading for four years. I bored them close to death. Okay, I don't want to kill kittens so I think I'll abandon this analogy. Anyways, the point is that I've always loved to blog, but I put my personal writing on the back-burner over the years for school and work and I've started to worry that I'm losing my voice. Laryngitis of the keyboard, or something like that.
I've learned a lot from writing professionally — and I'm still learning. But one of the most important things I've figured out so far is the value of an authentic voice and a good story. Then it clicked. Writing for fun can actually help me be a better writer at work. That should be obvious, but I've kept the two separated for so long the idea smacked me in the face. Creativity is good for productivity.
For the record, I've never felt like my creativity has been stifled by anyone, except for myself. It's always been me who's said I have nothing interesting to blog about. It's me who's chosen to scroll through Facebook instead of sitting down to write. I've had plenty of opportunities to be creative, but I haven't been taking full advantage of them.
I have written for myself, from time to time, in a notebook or random Word docs, but it's time to bring the words back to life, and shake the dust off. Blogging is what got me into writing to begin with, so it makes sense to me to return to it here with a clean page. If you're interested in the old stuff, though, you can find it here.
So this is me, setting intentions to write for myself again. To write without worrying too much if it's shitty, because my writing represents me. And sometimes I feel shitty, and it comes out in my writing. That's okay.
I also have to give credit to the writing class I'm taking this month with Cara Benson for helping the creative juices to flow. We literally can write whatever we want (prompts are given) and we can choose to share it, or not. It's delightful. The class name itself avoids pressure, "Writing Without Worrying About What To Call It." It's been exactly what I needed.
I'll end this with something I wrote back in November, that had been sitting idly in a file on my laptop for months. Breathe little poem, breathe!
I Lost the Words
I lost the words somewhere.
I left them in essays and analyses
Scattered in old notes and unanswered letters
Scribbled on bathroom walls and paper napkins
Filed in manila icons with obscure names
I abandoned them there, to face the world alone
While I kept on – quietly
Leaving them where they got heavy
Where I couldn't fit them back in my mouth
Where my pen bled dry and my hand said no more
Where my fingers ached to type
And eyes strained against the screen
I lost the words somewhere
Will they find their way back home?

subset: commoncrawl


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Resource towns have typically seen the lowest turnover over the past 12 months while lifestyle markets and new housing areas are seeing relatively higher levels of turnover.
Across the nation, the number of residential properties sold has reduced over the past year. This trend has been reflected across most capital cities and major regional areas of the country. One of the main reasons behind the decline in sales has been a reduction in stock becoming available for sale. In addition to fewer homes being available for sale, lending conditions have also tightened and affordability constraints are preventing some market segments from being more active.
Over the 12 months to June 2016, just 4.9% of total dwelling stock nationally transacted. Based on this figure it would take around 20.5 years for the total national housing stock to turnover. The low turnover rate also highlights why price based measurements such as median prices aren't the most reliable for tracking value movements across the housing market given that so little of the total housing stock actually transacts in any given year.
The turnover figure is different to the often quoted average hold period figure. Turnover looks at the proportion of total stock which is selling while the hold period calculation looks only at those homes transacting and measures the length of time between sales. The two figures highlight that there are properties which transact on a more regular basis while there are others which rarely sell.
The first table highlights the 25 council areas nationally that had the lowest turnover of housing stock over the year to June 2016. What is immediately noticeable from the list is the prevalence of regions linked the resources sector. These areas have been characterised as having plenty of willing sellers of properties but relatively few people actively looking to buy. This is reflected by the fact that in some of these regions only a small overall proportion of housing stock has actually transacted.
Top 25 council areas for lowest level of housing stock turnover,
12 months to June 2016
The second table shows the 25 council regions that have recorded the greatest turnover of housing stock over the past year. This list of suburbs is slanted towards coastal/lifestyle markets. It also includes a number of council areas in which there has been significant housing supply additions over the year. The heightened level of turnover in lifestyle markets indicates that the popularity of purchases in these markets has returned after many years in the doldrums.
Top 25 council areas for highest level of housing stock turnover,
12 months to June 2016
It is anticipated that turnover will remain low in mining towns due to a lack of willing buyers. On the other hand, new housing areas and lifestyle markets are expected to continue to see relatively high levels of turnover throughout the coming year.


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White River Academy provides residential treatment and academic instruction for troubled adolescent boys who need a holistic, therapeutic retreat away from home, providing mental health, addiction and dual diagnosis treatment for co-occurring conditions.
We are the embodiment of the positive peer culture and a refreshing safe haven of clinicians, counselors and support staff all dedicated helping young men to ensure they are set up for success with practical tools for lasting recovery throughout their adult life.
Mental Health
White River Academy's mental health program diagnoses and treats mental disorders including, but not limited to:
- Anxiety disorders
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Mood disorders
- Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
- Panic disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Schizophrenia
Treatment begins with a comprehensive assessment at admission. One of the biggest challenges of adolescent mental health treatment is correctly parsing normal adolescent mood swings from mental disorder.
That's why our familial clinical staff is expertly trained in pin-pointing diagnostic criteria for mental health issues.
Addiction is a disease that manipulates a person's sense of reward, motivation, memory and a number of related neurological functions.


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Celebritology Weekend: The John Edwards movie and a project for Meryl Streep and Tina Fey
Three celeb-centric stories on our radar this weekend:
John Edwards: The Movie: Aaron Sorkin -- a writer who demonstrated his deftness with political drama in TV's "The West Wing" -- is turning his focus to a different sort of political intrigue. Sorkin plans to make his directorial debut with an adaptation of "The Politician," the juicy John Edwards tell-all book written by the one-time senator's former aide, Andrew Young. "This is a first-hand account of an extraordinary story filled with motivations, decisions and consequences that would have lit Shakespeare up," Sorkin said in a statement reported by Variety and other media outlets. Now the most pressing question: who will be cast? As we noted in the blog on Friday, we humbly suggest million-dollar-smiler Tom Cruise in the role of John Edwards (Dennis Quaid also makes a strong option), Tea Leoni as Rielle Hunter and "Mad Men's" Jon Hamm as Young. That last recommendation may or may not have been influenced by our obsession with Don Draper.
When Meryl Met Liz Lemon: In other slightly less hypothetical casting news, the L.A. Times is reporting that Meryl Streep and Tina Fey could team up in a movie tentatively titled "Mommy and Me." Several studios have reportedly expressed interest in the project, which would be directed by Stanley Tucci, who recently played Streep's onscreen husband in "Julie and Julia." So far the movie is just in the concept phase; no script has been completed and no writer is even attached yet. But already -- in the words of Liz Lemon, Fey's perpetually frazzled "30 Rock" character -- we want to go to there.
Clooney, cool in the courtroom: George Clooney took the stand Friday in a Milan court where he testified against three individuals charged with fraud for misusing Clooney's name and image to help launch a fashion line. Perpetually suave even while winding his way through the judicial system, the Oscar winner reportedly made some wry comments from the witness stand, handled the media mob in and out of the courtroom like a consummate pro ("Don't crush my lawyers," he advised) and generally, as always, made everyone in his presence want to be him or date him. Such a pleasant change of pace from other recent celebrity legal proceedings, isn't it?
Poll of the Week
After a rash of recent announcements from the rich and famous that involve marriages or marriage plans, we asked readers which newly engaged or wedded couple came as the biggest surprise. The pairing that easily ran away with first place? Well, that shouldn't surprise you.
Pop Culture Pulse: The Green Lantern
The bright green, muscle-tissuey Green Lantern costume -- to be worn in an upcoming comic book movie adaptation starring Ryan Reynolds, and featured on the current cover of Entertainment Weekly -- set superhero observers into a commentary frenzy online this week. Let's just say some had a hard time adjusting to the look. ("He's ribbed for your pleasure," complained one Celebritology reader.) Love the ensemble or loathe it, one thing's clear: when Comic-Con kicks off this week in San Diego, all of us nerds will still be discussing it. (And speaking of Comic-Con, don't forget to follow all the pop culture action here at Celebritology.)
You Said It: A selection of notable reader comments from the past week...
Headline: "Roman Polanski's lawyers call for misconduct inquiry"
Comment: "Irony alert! Pot, meet Kettle. Kettle, Pot." — td_in_baltimore
Headline: The fourth in a series of rage-filled (and unauthenticated) Mel Gibson audio tapes released.
Comment: "I don't think this is what Mel had in mind when he first thought about maybe doing a podcast ... " — byoolin1
Jen Chaney
| July 17, 2010; 6:00 AM ET
Categories: Celebrities, Celebritology Weekend, Pop Culture
Save & Share: Previous: George Clooney: Setting the celeb courtroom standard
Next: Lindsay Lohan prepares for jail, receives visitors; Mel Gibson denies reports of Australia move
Hello, summer, good place for shopping, fashion, sexy, personality, maturity, from here to begin. Are you ready? So, also waiting for? Immediate action bar!
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Posted by: tradevipmbt | July 20, 2010 4:12 AM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.


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Smooth jazz mainstays Spyro Gyra will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a hometown gig on Friday, December 13, at 8:00 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall.
From the group's humble beginnings in Buffalo, NY, nightclubs, to its current status as a renowned international touring act, Spyro Gyra has been a marathon runner in the arena of contemporary jazz. For four decades, the group has maintained its well-deserved reputation as a viable and highly versatile creative force.
Since its earliest recordings in the mid 1970s, the group has continually presented fresh approaches to its craft by borrowing from a range of styles—including R&B, Latin, Brazilian, and more—and distilling them into one unmistakable signature sound.
The group released The Rhinebeck Sessions, its 30th album, in early 2013. Named for the town where it was written and recorded, Rhineback, NY, the album captured three days of studio improvisations. "I was fairly confident that whatever came out of it would be pretty close to the way we have approached our live shows for years," said Jay Beckenstein, the group's saxophonist and founder.
Having performing more than 5,000 shows, Spyro Gyra is truly in its element in the live arena.
This concert is part of the Performing Arts Center's 2013–2014 Great Performers Series, sponsored by M&T Bank.
Tickets are $40 for the lower tier, $35 for the upper tier, $32 for seniors, and $32 for Buffalo State faculty and staff. Students may purchase $15 tickets one hour prior to the show. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at the Rockwell Hall Box Office, 1300 Elmwood Ave., open Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m; by calling (716) 878-3005; or online.


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A Series of Lessons for Year 2 based on The Magic Backpack by Julia Jarman
Lesson 1: To enjoy the story read by adult. To discuss setting, characters and content.
Lesson 2: To design and label their own magic backpack, stating why the different parts would be useful on their voyage.
Lesson 3: To draw up a story plan, by firstly answering the questions:
Where will it take me?
Why do I want I go there?
What will happen?
Lesson 4: To verbally tell the story to a small group, inviting responses and improvements from peers.
Evaluation: A very enjoyable series of lessons, pulling together speaking and listening with the creative art of developing ideas for a story, without the onerous task of having to write letters, words and sentences! The boys particularly liked designing and labelling their own rucksack – there were some weird and wonderful ideas!
Lesson plans by Janet Rhodes - Lancot Lower School.


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As social networks multiply, merely staying on top of all the updates is turning into a full-time job. Now a startup, Percolate, aims to distill your personal information flood into a more concentrated brew.
New York-based Percolate aggregates your Google Reader and Twitter feeds, highlighting the links that are most likely to be relevant to you. Its interface makes it easy to add short comments or tags to articles as they appear. In addition, Percolate is its own social network, so you can follow people on Percolate and see the tags and comments they're posting.
"What makes you interesting is what you consume," says cofounder James Gross, a former executive at online advertising network Federated Media, taking a decidedly consumerist perspective on human nature.
As he explained to VentureBeat, "consumption" online means sharing and commenting on links, and it's that activity that Percolate wants to make more efficient.
"If you look at most of the social behavior on Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr, most of what people are doing is contextualizing links," Gross says.
Percolate may sound a bit like yet another Google+, and it's going to face steep competition from the search giant's social network, which took less than two weeks to hit 10 million users, despite having only limited availability. In addition, while Percolate's dashboard is very scannable, it's hard to see what compelling value it offers as an alternative to, say, a well-selected list of Twitter accounts.
But Gross is unfazed. He and cofounder Noah Brier, who was formerly at ad agency The Barbarian Group, plan to make Percolate stand out through ease of use and readable design.
Plus, it's not merely a filtering tool: Percolate is also a publishing platform of sorts, enabling people to publish their "likes" and tags in a swift and mobile-friendly way.
The business, they hope, will make money by licensing the Percolate API to big brands, who can use it to publish links more easily to networks like Twitter and Facebook. The company will also provide brands with guidance about which people and accounts to follow in order to discover relevant content. In other words, while it looks like a new social network (and a tiny one at that), Percolate really aims to be a marketing tool for social media-savvy advertisers.
"Percolate is the first workflow tool that takes the consumption angle and the filtering angle and applies it to making it very simple to share," Gross says.
Percolate has seven employees and is self-funded by the founders. It has four paying customers already, Gross says.
The service is currently invitation-only, but up to 150 VentureBeat readers can register to test out the service with this special Percolate invitation link.
Filed under: Company launch, deals, social, Social Media


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Colorado Bound!
I am very honored to have been selected a finalist in the Rocky Mtn Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase. Look at that line up!!! WOOOOAH! I'll be heading out to Lyons, CO August 18-20 to play my songs and soak it all in. Wish me luck! Read more about it here: ROCKY MT FOLKS FEST
Here's the song that got me the nod: MISS THIS PLACE
Thanks for all your support.


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DCT Industrial Trust® to Release 2012 Year-End and Fourth Quarter Financial Results on February 7, 2
DCT Industrial Trust®to Release 2012 Year-End and Fourth Quarter Financial Results on February 7, 2013
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DCT Industrial Trust® (NYS: DCT) , a leading industrial real estate company, today announced it will release financial results for the full year and quarter ending December 31, 2012 after the market closes on Thursday, February 7, 2013. The Company will host a conference call to review its financial results and discuss recent business activity at 11 a.m. ET on Friday, February 8, 2013.
Interested parties may access the live conference call by dialing (888) 317-6016 or (412) 317-6016.
Additionally, a webcast of the call can be accessed from the Company's website at www.dctindustrial.com in the Investors section.
A replay of the call will be available through Friday, February 22, 2013 and can be accessed by dialing (877) 344-7529 or (412) 317-0088 and entering the passcode 10023617. A webcast replay will also be available until February 8, 2014. The webcast can be accessed in the Investors section of the DCT Industrial website: www.dctindustrial.com.
About DCT Industrial Trust Inc.®
DCT Industrial Trust Inc. is a leading industrial real estate company specializing in the acquisition, development, leasing and management of bulk distribution and light industrial properties in high-volume distribution markets in the U.S. and Mexico. As of September 30, 2012, the Company owned interests in approximately 75.2 million square feet of properties leased to approximately 840 customers, including 16.7 million square feet operated on behalf of five institutional capital management partners. Additional information is available at www.dctindustrial.com.
DCT Industrial Trust Inc.
Melissa Sachs, 303-597-2400
VP, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
KEYWORDS: United States North America Colorado
The article DCT Industrial Trust® to Release 2012 Year-End and Fourth Quarter Financial Results on February 7, 2013 originally appeared on Fool.com.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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Welcome to my little corner of the Internet. Have a look around, browse some images and videos. If you like some of my stuff, drop me a note or – even better – hire me to direct something for you.
Who am I?
My name is Remo Pini, I'm a Director / Line Producer with a business management and engineering background and have been running my own companies for over 25 years. Over the last 20 years, I have been managing teams and projects in several international companies, forging a reputation for myself as an expert who knows how to deliver a project on time and within budget.
In 2010 I entered the movie industry by founding Gray Eminence Productions to realize my dream of making feature films. I have so far produced well over a dozen short films as a producer/director, same of which won awards at local and international festivals and, as a line producer, helped produce tons of commercials and some feature films. Here's my demo reel:


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A Vacation From Work Doesn't Mean a Vacation From Your Fitness Routine!
Travels July 29, 2017
There is nothing more relaxing and rejuvenating than a vacation from work and life. However, the feeling of relaxation quickly wears off when you return to your regular fitness training schedule only to find out that your progress has decreased because of your ...Read More


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We attempt to ship your order as soon as we receive it.
We offer the following shipping methods: FedEx, UPS, DHL, Freight Forwarding Services, Customer Preferred Methods
Notwithstanding the provisions of any other document involved in the sales contract, the following provisions shall apply:
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Deliveries are quoted subject to prior sale. Price quoted subject to revision to price prevailing at time of shipment unless otherwise stated. Stenographic of clerical error are subject to correction. RAJ & Associates, LLC will not be liable for non-delivery of goods or delay in the performance or orders or contracts, or in the delivery or shipment of goods, or for any damages suffered by buyer by reasons of such no-delivery or delay when such non-delivery or delay is, directly or indirectly, cause by, or in any manner arises from acts of God, wars, shortage of materials or supplies or suppliers now or hereafter ordered or interruption or delay in the delivery thereof, plant breakdowns or disability for any cause whatsoever, strikes or other labor disturbances delays or interruptions in transportation facilities, required shipments or regulations or policies of any Government, and all other disabling causes or contingencies reasonably beyond RAJ & Associates, LLC control.
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Identification required from all purchases.
Sales Tax
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Customer agrees that any credit balances issued will be applied within one (1) year of its issuance. If not applied or requested within one (1) year, any balance will be subject to cancellation, and RAJ & Associates shall have no further liability.
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Freight Policy
Inland Shipments are freight prepaid and add, ocean charges will be freight prepaid and add if not being shipped fright collect. Any extra charges incurred for additional services, such as shipment from point specified by customer, or customer's carrier, or special handling at the destination, must be paid by consignee. At RAJ & Associates option, freight policy for export orders may be subject to special terms and conditions. Title and risk of loss pass to purchaser on delivery to the common carrier. If product was damaged in transit, recipient must file claim with carrier.
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"Tropes vs. Women in Video Games" is a video webseries hosted by Anita Sarkeesian which is featured on her website Feminist Frequency. The series was funded via a Kickstarter and aims to "explore five common and recurring stereotypes of female characters in video games." Due to the success of the Kickstarter program there are to be 12 trope-exploring videos including Women as Reward, The Sexy Sidekick, Mrs. Male Character, and more.
"The Tropes vs Women in Video Games project aims to examine the plot devices and patterns most often associated with female characters in gaming from a systemic, big picture perspective. This series will include critical analysis of many beloved games and characters, but remember that it is both possible (and even necessary) to simultaneously enjoy media while also being critical of it's more problematic or pernicious aspects."
The first trope discussed by Sarkeesian in video form is the Damsel in Distress trope, which she has split into a three-part video set. In a similar series of three posts I plan on analyzing each video through brief descriptions of what is discussed as well as insight into my personal thoughts on each video.
In this post I will analyse the third and final video in Sarkeesian's "Damsel in Distress" trope set. This video focuses on the rare "Dude in Distress" role reversal while also taking a look at retro inspired indie games and their use of "ironic sexism". There is also a portion about titles that attempt to subvert or deconstruct the "traditional damsel narrative". Sarkeesian also added a clip about a game idea that flips the coin on the "Damsel in Distress" trope while attempting to show how easy it is not to use the trope at all while still featuring a fun gameplay/story experience. As with my previous posts I have provided the Damsel in Distress Part Three video in its entirety as well as a summarized version in written form. Beyond all that you will find my personal take on the video including my opinions about what was brought up and discussed by Sarkeesian. I will finish it up with my plans of future "Tropes vs Women in Video Games" analysis posts.
Sarkeesian starts off with a brief introduction to the video set as well as a quick recap of the last two videos in the series. She quickly segues into the first topic of this particular video, is there a reverse form of the Damsel in Distress trope? "Are there games starring heroic women who must go on a quest to save a dude in distress?" Sarkeesian says yes, there are reverse forms or "Dude in Distress" narratives, as she calls it, but they are extremely rare.
As an example, she brings up the game Super Princess Peach (2006), a Super Mario Bros. universe game in which Princess Peach takes the spotlight and must save Mario and Luigi from her usual captor – Bowser.
"So finally, after being kidnapped in 13 separate Super Mario games, Peach gets to be the hero for once! But don't get too excited because everything else about the game ends up in a trainwreck of gendered stereotypes."
Super Princess Peach does offer up new gameplay mechanics, most notably Peach's new special powers: Vibes. These vibes are her mood swings and players can allow her to being angry and rage her enemies to death or become so sad that enemies are washed away by her tears. Sarkeesian states, "Essentially Nintendo has turned a PMS joke into their core gameplay mechanic." She also points out that Peach is not featured in any of the game's narrative cutscenes which instead focus on her parasol who ends up being a cursed boy names Perry.
"So while it's definitely nice to see Peach starring in her own adventure, the Dude in Distress role-reversal premise here feels like it's just intended as a lighthearted joke or niche market novelty."
A handful of games featuring the "Dude in Distress" role reversal are mentioned at this point including Balloon Kid (1991), Kya: Dark Lineage (2003), Primal (2003), and Beyond Good and Evil (2003). All of these games feature a female going to great lengths to save a male relation, love interest, or friend. Sarkeesian relates the release of these games to the popularity of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which was popular around the time that these games were released. Buffy the Vampire Slayer lead to the "girl power" trend in the media in the 1990's and early 2000's. Sarkeesian clarifies though that over the past decade these games featuring this specific role reversal have been few and far between. She notes the game Aquaria (2007), an indie game in which a woman must search for and save her love interest, as one of these few.
At this point Sarkeesian poses the question, "what is the difference between traditional narratives that place female characters in powerless positions and stories in which a male character requires rescuing by a woman?" She says that while they appear similar, they in fact aren't and focuses on the broader historical and cultural implicates of this matter.
"There's been no shortage of men in leading or heroic roles in video games" Sarkeesian states, pointing out that male leading roles are featured in the vast majority of video games and any other creative medium. She points to a statistic that says only 4% of all recent titles are exclusively designed around women in leading roles. She brings this up in an attempt to show that the "Dude in Distress" role reversal "does not add to any longstanding gendered tradition in storytelling."
"…perhaps more importantly, damsel'ed female characters tend to reinforce preexisting regressive notions about women as a group being weak or in need of protection because of their gender, while stories with the occasional helpless male character do NOT perpetuate anything negative about men as a group since there is no long-standing stereotype of men being weak or incapable because of their gender."
This simply means that women are made to be damsels based on the longstanding cultural stereotypes that women are weaker than men and are typically in need of assistance from men due to their gender while a male being damsel'd does not reinforce any such gendered stereotype. The indie game Spelunky is referenced here mainly due to it's 2012 remake and the option to swap out the cliché damsel in distress with a male or a dog. The problem here is cultural, the female in distress is a cultural issue while the male in distress is not. Sarkeesian restates that this is because "one reinforces preexisting stereotypes about women, while the other does not reinforce any preexisting stereotypes about men."
Gender-hacking is brought up as a way in which some players have gone above and beyond to replace famous male protagonists with female versions. Such gender hacks include replacing Link with Zelda or making Mega Man a female. Sarkeesian states that these gender hacks "illustrate how female characters taking on the role of heroic rescuer can directly challenge the status quo and interrupt the established male dominated pattern in gaming." She goes on to say that gender hacking or replacing female damsels with male damsels is not a good long-term solution to the real issues at hand, stating that she doesn't think "equal opportunity damseling is the answer."
"Simply reversing the gender roles of a problematic convention so that more men are damsel'ed in more games is not the best long-term solution, even if the practice might be subversive in the short-term to help demonstrate a very real gender disparity in the medium. Ultimately we need to think beyond the cliché altogether."
At this point the video shifts to focus on indie development and whether or not games made outside of big development studios (indie, mobile, or retro-inspired games) are breaking the mold on this particular trope. Sarkeesian list a handful of indie titles that use some form or another of the "Damsel in Distress" trope such as Castle Crashers (2008), I Must Run (2010), Fist-Puncher (2013), Hotline Miami (2012), and Guacamelee (2013); "Not to mention the myriad of other mobile games for tablets and smartphones which recycle the excuse plot ad nauseam."
Sarkeesian states that it seems as if the tropes is more popular than ever with the help of these indie titles. With the resurgence of games bringing back the nostalgic feel of popular 80's and 90's classics the "Damsel in Distress" trope is being used now more than ever. She says, "many of these new titles essentially function as love letters to the trope, as a way of paying homage to classic games of years gone by." Meaning that these games are bringing in the lovable nostalgia factor by recreating the trope in newer games, since many classics use the trope themselves (as discussed in previous videos). It's implied that the developers of these games are undoubtedly using the trope since the games that inspired them did so themselves. Sarkeesian says in rebuttal to this idea that, "…this type of "ironic" self-awareness does not challenge or disrupt what the damsel in distress trope says about the role of women in such narratives."
Sarkeesian shows four titles here in which "patronizing damsel jokes" are built right into the gameplay. These games are Fat Princess (2009), Dokuro (2012), Hoard (2010), and a aforementioned Spelunky (2009/2012). These games turn the damsels into literal objects as opposed to simple narrative objects.
"In Spelunky the damsel can be knocked out, picked up, carried around and thrown at enemies before rewarding the player with an extra heart via a smooch of victory (if you manage to get her limp unconscious body to the end of each level while still alive that is)."
In Fat Princess the object of the game is to capture the opposing team's princess and bring her back to your base; Capture the Flag style. The problem here is not only that the princess is used as the helpless, captured object but also that she can be fed cake to make her "fatter" (while progressively sounding less feminine) so that the other team has a hard time carrying her. Since the player is supposed to find this entire concept humorous Sarkeesian refers to it as "one big sexist fat joke."
This type of humor is often refereed to as "ironic sexism". Sarkeesian simplifies the definition of "ironic sexism" by saying, "It's this "I know that you know that I know this is sexist" where the underlying assumption on the part of media makers seems to be that as long as the sexism is overt, obvious or "over-the-top" then it somehow loses its cultural power and is suddenly no longer a problem."
"Ironic sexism is dependent upon the false assumption that "people no longer really hold retrograde sexist beliefs" and therefore the very idea of sexism is now just a hilarious joke; but nothing could be further from the truth."
The words "parody" and "satire" are often used in defense or to explain these comedic depictions of helpless females. Sarkeesian states that simply acknowledging the use of a trope for its comedic "you know I know" value does not grant a free pass to exploit the trope and continue to use it. She goes on to say that more often than not ironic sexism is used as a way for developers to use sexist tropes and themes without being held accountable for the "inherent negative gender implications" that come with the use of such tropes.
There are games out there which use this trope yet allow players to play as a non-damseled female in cooperative modes or even as the game's main damsel after the game has been completed by playing as the male protagonist. These role reversals or opportunities to play as a woman later on does nothing to diminish the fact the tropes are used in the game in the first place, Sarkeesian states. Just because a woman can be played as in multiplayer or cooperative modes doesn't make it ok to use the "Damsel in Distress" trope in the game's main story line.
Sarkeesian clarifies here that these games may be very well made and extremely fun ("aside from their regressive gender representations") but it's still unnecessary since it's very possible to create an indie game that does not use the "Damsel in Distress" as a plot device. Developers can still create games that hearken back to the nostalgic 8 or 16 bit era without using sexist tropes as plot devices.
"There are other ways to pay homage or shout out to the past through art style, game play mechanics or level design."
She gives a few examples of games that achieve just that: retro feel sans the sexist tropes. The games she mentions are Sword & Sorcery (2011), Where Is My Heart (2011), and Fez (2012). Games attempting to make light of this particular trope are not limited to recent indie titles, they are simply part of a tradition in the medium that continues today in mainstream and indie titles alike. At this point Sarkeesian states that we should take a moment to look at comedy in relation to the trope since "comedy, in and of itself, is often confused for subversion or deconstruction in our current media culture."
One example that Sarkeesian uses is Earthworm Jim (1994). In this title the woman in peril is officially called "Princess What's-Her-Name" which is no doubt an attempt to humorously acknowledge the fact that many damsel'd characters in classic games are often so unimportant that they typically remained unnamed and were generally unmemorable. She notes that, "…the developers of Earthworm Jim noticed that sexist trend, thought it was hilarious and proceeded to make another game in which a woman is completely unimportant."
To add insult to injury, just as What's-Her-Name is about to give Jim the smooch of victory she is killed by a random falling cow. The bad ending of the indie game Eversion (2008) features a similar joke, when the hero reaches the princess at the end she turns into a monster and eats you alive. Another similar end of game punchline can be found in Castle Crashers (2008) when after you save the 4th princess and kill your friends over who get's to claim her it turns out that she has a horrible clown face.
The punchline that is common in all of these games is that after the hero completes his journey to save his woman he is in some way cheated out of his "rightful" reward. Sarkeesian says, "In other words the comedy comes at the damsel's expense."
"These titles may be attempting to make fun of gaming conventions like the "heroic rescue" or the "smooch of victory" but they don't fundamentally change, challenge or subvert the Damsel in Distress trope itself. The damsel'ed women remain as disempowered as ever."
Some may contend that jokes have no cultural power or significance and should "not be taken seriously". Sarkeesian states that while this is nothing new, she would "argue that this reaction fundamentally misunderstands how humor functions as one of the primary means by which the culture of sexism is maintained and perpetuated." She says that media entertainment doesn't just reflect our culture, it helps to create it as well. Sexist jokes in particular serve as a form of cultural permission which allows the solidification of "toxic preexisting attitudes and opinions."
Of course humor can also be used for the opposite, to challenge or break down harmful gender myths but it's much harder to pull that off. Sarkeesian states, "There is a clear difference between sexist parody and parody of sexism. Sexist parody encourages the players to mock and trivialize gender issues while parody of sexism disrupts the status quo and undermines regressive gender conventions."
For example in The Secret of Monkey Island (1990) the protagonist, Guybrush Threepwood, attempts to save Elaine Marley when she already had an escape plan of her own. Guybrush ends up ruining her attempt to escape by herself. The joke is at the protagonists expense here rather than making fun of the damsel'd woman. Another example used here is the narrative of the indie hit Braid (2008) which features a damsel who has actually been trying to escape from the protagonist the entire time.
"Both of these games offer some interesting commentary on the heroic rescue formula. Monkey Island asks, what if the damsel is perfectly capable of orchestrating her own escape and attempts to rescue her just make things worse. Braid asks, in part, what if by trying to save the damsel, it actually makes you the villain?"
She mentions that while these games feature refreshing departures from the typical formula, which is something she'd like to see more often, the focus is still on the male hero or protagonist. Sarkeesian states that at their core these games are really "deconstructing the player's assumptions about the traditional hero archetype." A true subversion of the trope would need to start with the damsel as the main playable character, "it would have to be her story."
At this point in the video Sarkeesian offers up a sort of hypothetical game design idea in which she details a game featuring a damsel as the playable character, seeing her side of the story. This concept is called "The Legend of the Last Princess" and is linked below for you to view separately.
A story such as this would actively subvert the traditional narrative expectations. The princess finds herself in perilous situations but has the strength, intelligence, and skill to get herself out of it all without help. Instead of being the goal or reward for a male protagonist, she is the protagonist herself. She is the star of her own adventure instead of the prize in someone else's.
Sarkeesian clarifies that she is not arguing that all games need to feature a "completely fearless hyper individualistic heroic women" who is tough and never needs help from anyone. There is nothing wrong with needing or giving assistance. She says that the "human impulse to help others in need is certainly not a negative thing." It only becomes an issue when these heroic helping acts are repeatedly presented in gendered ways that cast women as perpetual victims and men as paternalistic saviors.
"In fact cooperation and mutual aid are concepts that hold an enormous amount of gaming potential. True co-op games, MMOs and some RPGs offer gameplay possibilities that, if done right, can facilitate a mutual aid style adventure involving people of all genders cooperating."
Sarkeesian wraps up the Damsel in Distress trope video set by saying that while these damsel narratives date back through the ages and are prevalent even today, there is no excuse for employing this trope as it perpetuates regressive stereotypes about women. She concludes the video by saying, "It's been 100 years since a woman was first tied to the railroad tracks in this 1913 Keystone Kops short. And it's been over 3 decades since the hit arcade game Donkey Kong helped entrench the damsel in distress as a default motivation for male heroes in video games as a medium. Yet here we are, still seeing the same old cliché trotted out again and again. It's long past time to disrupt the established pattern – break the cycle and create new gender paradigms."
And now, my thoughts…
There's not a whole lot to say that I haven't said before, but this video really brings up some good points whether or not you agree with every single one.
A game like Super Princess Peach fails in its attempt (if it even tried to make one) to draw in a female audience by making the entire gameplay dynamic center around a big sexist PMS joke. I mean really, crying your enemies to death? Come on. Games like this need proper criticism. I can't tell you how many times people say to me "Nintendo is the least sexist company out there!" when really I'd argue that out of the top three (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) they are the worst. This is not the only game they have published/developed that plays off of sexist stereotypes and a general disregard for women. Obviously Nintendo isn't the only company to repeatedly use this trope, but they aren't as innocent as many presume.
I really liked that she showed the flip side with some gender inversions that place the male in distress and allow a woman to save him. I agreed with her statement about how these don't really help though as they are viewed differently in society in regards to gender myths and stereotypes. Men don't face "Damsel in Distress" stereotypes in the media or in society but women do therefor simply flipping it bares no real weight in fixing the gender issues at hand. The point here is that making the male a damsel doesn't reinforce harmful or regressive gender notions where as female damseling does, so it's really not the same thing and can't be used in the same way.
In the above breakdown of the video I wrote "This simply means that women are made to be damsels based on the longstanding cultural stereotypes that women are weaker than men and are typically in need of assistance from men due to their gender while a male being damsel'd does not reinforce any such gendered stereotype." I think this explains it best. It doesn't change anything or make anything better to flip the genders in regards to this trope. The trope needs to be done away with as a whole, to be honest. Putting a male in a damsel position makes no difference, it's still a damsel and it's still really unnecessary. As Sarkeesian said, equal opportunity damseling is not the answer.
The focus on indie games in this video was eye opening. I found it interesting to see how many indie games use this trope and excuse it's use because old games did it first. There's no excuse for lazy game development. Just because some older games used this trope and you couldn't think of anything new or better to do doesn't make it automatically acceptable to use the trope yourself. That's just flawed logic, in my opinion. Obviously not every indie game is this way or has the same logic, I'm just being general.
I love that ironic sexism was brought up in this video as I personally find it to be the most degrading form of sexism, yet it isn't argued against very often since it's "funny". I don't find jokes at my gender's expense funny and I don't think that just because the people who made the joke know that I know they are being sexist makes it alright to use the joke in the first place. People constantly use ironic sexism as an excuse in games, movies, TV, and other forms of media. Someone will tell me a "get back to the kitchen" style joke and assume that I'm going to laugh because duh, it's obviously sexist and we all know that so it's comical. Honestly though, I wont laugh. It's not funny and the fact that it gets passed off as humorous only makes it worse, now others will use it and say "I'm not really sexist, it's just a joke" and further reinforce harmful stereotypes.
When ironic sexism is used in video games I find it particularly offensive as that is one of most heavily gendered media venues in the world. We all know that women almost always get the short stick in video games and even in reality when it comes to women who want to make video games or even play them. The fact that this type of sexism is used over and over again and then people like me make a comment on its offensive nature only to get the "get over it, it's just a joke, relax" response is the worst, in my opinion. As Sarkeesian states, humor is a cultural narrative that shapes us just as much as we shape it. Jokes aren't made unless they hold some form of weight. Telling a blonde joke for instance may seem funny, but it only reinforces the stereotype that blondes are unintelligent and clumsy which is hurtful to those who happen to be blonde. A fat joke is told for laughs but they are almost always extremely rude and typically downright hurtful to those who feel that they themselves are "fat" or struggle with weight. I mean look at the word fat. It used to just describe a person's weight but now it is almost always used as some sort of insult.
This is exactly the problem we face in gaming. Men and women alike who are unsympathetic to the equality of women in the media and in society look at these sexist tropes and jokes as simple humor and make those who are actually are offended feel bad for being offended in the first place. The way I see it there is no excuse for jokes that hurt a group of people or even one person in particular. I mean, if you want to make them because you feel that way then go ahead I guess, but don't tell me a "women belong on their back or in the kitchen" joke and then say you are not at all sexist because I'd argue that you are. Humor is a form of social commentary and people need to realize the weight that humor holds instead of brushing it off like it's "just a joke".
Again, that's just the way I look at it. I'm sure someone will comment and tell me to "get over it" or "lighten up" but I wont. Getting over something offensive just means that you gave up on trying to defend your position and have given into the societal pressure to fit in and to be liked. I'd rather have my morals and do what I feel is right than be liked by people I don't care to associate with anyway.
Since that was all quite off topic as far as this video goes, let me begin to wrap up my thoughts for you all. Sarkeesian states than while these games may be well made and/or extremely fun it's still important to look at them critically in order to see and dissect the trope in play. Saying a game features sexist elements or even a sexist narrative isn't the same as saying a game is inherently bad. It's just like saying that the graphics or gameplay were poorly executed. The game may still be good even if it has some poorly done elements.
That is one of my favorite things about Anita Sarkeesian, she isn't afraid to look a little deeper and be a little overly critical to get her point across. It's so very necessary to feminism and equality in video games as a whole, even if at times it's over the top.For example, I remember that when I tweeted about a part in Metro: Last Light being offensive on a sexist level one of the first people to respond told me to get over it and stop being dramatic. I never said the game was awful, in fact I like the game as a whole, but that doesn't mean that I need to accept the fact that there are aspects that are blatantly sexist.
I really liked the concept for "The Legend of the Last Princess". That looks like a game I'd enjoy playing! Seeing a damsel step and and be her own hero would be a neat concept. Overall, while I don't necessarily agree with everything that Anita Sarkeesian says ever, I think this video as well as the other two in the series bring up some great points that I hope people see and consider rather than saying the age-old standby of "that's just how it is, things aren't going to change, accept it." Things can change and the Damsel in Distress trope could be a thing of the past if people opened their minds a little to see what points Sarkeesian is trying to make, because they are typically very valid.
Next time I will be analyzing Anita Sarkeesian's most recent video in the "Tropes vs. Women in Video Games" dubbed "Ms. Male Character". Thank you for reading!


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Maths is probably the one area that makes me question my competence to teach! (It's one of the reasons that I opted for a Scandinavian Studies degree and not a Teacher Training degree!)
I'm concerned that I should get over the hang-ups I have about Maths and not pass on my bad attitudes to my children, but I'm very much aware that my attitudes stem from the negative experience of maths-learning at school which taught most of the children in my class to think that Maths had no practical use in the real world! For that reason, I see it as of great importance that we learn maths through real life, for instance, measuring & weighing for cooking, dividing portions, sorting, counting and matching clothes for washing, handling money, noting speed and distance when travelling, looking at calendars and clocks, and so on.
Books and Resources
Usborne: "Number Lotto" £7.99
Usborne: "Counting Train Floor Puzzle"
Story-books for Young Children
"Each Peach Pear Plum" by Janet & Alan Ahlberg (Fontana)
"The Enormous Crocodile" by Roald Dahl (Puffin)
"Funny Bones" by Janet & Alan Ahlberg (Fontana)
"The Jolly Postman" by Janet & Alan Ahlberg (Heinemann)
The "Spot" Series by Eric Hill (Puffin)
The "Teddy Bear" Series by Suzannah Gretz (A & C Black)
Introduction to Maths
An Usborne Introduction: "Maths"
Usborne Farmyard Tales series: "Counting Book", "Telling the Time"
Usborne First Learning: "Odd One Out", "Sizes", "Numbers", "Starting to Add"
Teacher Resources
The following books are aimed at maths teachers in primary schools classes, but I managed to find them in our local library and I thought they were quite useful, although I don't think I would actually buy them:
"Bright Ideas: Teacher Handbooks: Maths", published by Scholastic at £7.99. inludes photocopiable pages and worksheets.
"Bright Ideas: Inspirations for Maths" by Beryl Webber & Jean Haigh (£6.95) again published by Scholastic. Includes photocopiable pages.
Worksheet Text-books
(that don't need a Teaching Manual)
"At home with the National Curriculum" Maths Skills Learning Workbook for "Key Stage 1" Maths (ages 5-6) from Letts Numeracy, £4.99
"Let's Learn at home" Maths, published by Scholastic £2.99
"Leap ahead with Maths" Books 1 – 6 (?) by Brian Nash & Paul Nightingale, published by Nightingale Press
Scott Foresman Maths A friend of mine is using this for her 5 year-old and highly recommends it. The books I have seen are bright & colourful and beautifully illustrated, and the content seems to be quite good as far as I can tell. It is used as part of the "Sonlight Curriculum" but is available separately.
"Pre-packaged" Maths Schemes and "Curricula"
Heinnemann Maths
From the US:-
Saxon Math
Scott Foresman Math
Literature for older children
"Murderous Maths" and "More Murderous Maths" These books are written by a friend of ours, Kjarton Poskitt, but they are really aimed for older children.
"The Mathematical Universe – An alphabetical journey through the great proofs, problems and personalities" by William Dunham.
When MamaBear was studying for my GCSE Maths, PappaBear thought it might be a good idea to get some books which had to do with the history and personalities of mathematical discoveries, the people and so on, to get me interested in the subject, and this was the book he bought me. It seems like such a good idea, but I don't know whether there are books like this for children – if you know, mail me!Leave a comment


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Welcome to the PiMP Mining Community Forum.
Coin/crypto news, miner.farm and getpimp.org announcements, guides, and tips.
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Is it possible to use Nicehash Multi Algorithm Switching? (No.)
Sorry PiMPS but looks like nicehash doesn't see this fit to keep developing. More importantly, these methods were great with those algorithms that worked with sgminer5, but now, with many different miner programs needed for linux, autoswitching is not possible at this time.
Here is the Official Reply from Nicehash:
Hi melt,
The 4xxx ports have been deprecated a long time ago. In order to do proper algo switching under Linux you should use SMA protocol, described here: https://www.nicehash.com/software-developers
This is the same protocol that is used by NiceHash Miner Legacy https://github.com/nicehash/NiceHashMinerLegacy - you can implement same backend logic, just port to Linux, shouldn't be that hard.
Kind regards,
NiceHash Team
More importantly, different algos use the hardware so differently, that you would want to change clock and power configuration before switching anyway, so we implemented "miner flipping" on miner.farm.
This method ensures that miner will be stopped and the new miner will be started when you are changing profiles.
aledstarkey last edited by
Hi Melt, I've started trying out Nicehash, and I'm quite impressed so far (more $ per day). Waiting to see if their estimates match the actual payout.
The multi algorithm switching seems quite advantageous, even when keeping my clockings the same (lower power, highest core and mem clock my gpu can take)
The link from nicehash seems to detail that it should be straight forward to apply simple multi-algorithm switching.
Could this not be applied to the Pimp OS?
Are you saying that "miner flipping" is an similar alternative on miner.farm, and can also automate the algo switching?
@aledstarkey We do not support automatic algo switching. We do make it easy for you to set up multiple mining profiles for different pools or algos, and manually switch between them.
Here is some more detail about our decision to forego automated switching: https://forum.getpimp.org/topic/2138/pool-auto-switching
Thank you for your support,
We promise to keep your email safe and never spam you.
Copyright (c) 2012-2019 Portable Instant Mining Platform LLC. All rights Reserved.


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Easily portable. Good range of connections. Minimal rainbow effect. Long-lasting LED light source. Can run computer-free presentations from internal or external memory.
Awkward menu system. Tinting issue in data images. Slightly larger projectors offer higher brightness and resolution and other features for not much more money.
Bottom Line
The Optoma Pico PK320 Pocket Projector is a tiny WVGA data projector with a good range of connectivity choices as such.
The Optoma Pico PK320 Pocket Projector ($450 street) is the brightest pico projector we've tested, with a good range of connections including HDMI. It stacks up well against other pico projectors in connectivity, and has decent image quality but for one notable issue we encountered in testing. It's worth a good look if you're looking for a powerful pocket projector.
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The PK320 is rated at 100 lumens, and has a native WVGA (854 by 480 pixel) widescreen resolution. The projector is quite compact, measuring 1.2 by 4.7 by 2.7 inches. Using our postage scale, I weighted the projector at 0.5 pounds, while adding the power adapter brought the total weight up to just under a pound. The projector also can run off an included, removable lithium-ion cell that can last 90+ minutes in eco mode and 50+ minutes in standard mode, according to Optoma. It can fit in my pants pocket easily enough, though it takes up much of the room.
This copper-brown projector has the look of a larger projector, with the lens near the edge of one of the long sides, as opposed to the "light saber" appearance of many picos in which the beam emerges from the middle of the narrow end. The focus wheel is in front of the lens, and is tricky to use, even if you can avoid putting a finger into the light path. On one side is the tiny power button; in back are the ports, a good selection for a pico projector: a proprietary port to fit a VGA cable; mini-HDMI; micro-USB for file transfer; AV-in, which fits an included cable with 3 RCA plugs for composite video, and an audio-out jack for headphones.
On top of the projector is a 7-button control panel, backlit with blue LEDs (though you have to quickly make a selection as the buttons soon go dark). The projector includes a tiny remote the same 7 buttons, plus buttons for Off, Bright, and for accessing VGA, HGMI, and Video sources. Working the menus can be awkward, especially at first. The controls (both on the remote and on the projector itself) make use of the arrow keys, but more often as symbol keys to access specific functions than to navigate menus. For instance, the Home screen shows six choices, each identified by a symbol: the right arrow denotes Setup, the up arrow, Music, etc.—they're useless as arrow keys here in that you can't scroll anywhere, but they do take you to the functions they symbolize. This takes some getting used to.
You can run presentations computer free from the projector's 2GB of internal memory, or off of a microSD card. In addition to showing video, you can play music, show photos, or display business documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF) from internal memory, memory card, or thumb drive.
I tested the PK320 from about 8 feet away from our test screen, where it threw a test image about 48 inches diagonally. Image quality suffered in modest ambient light, so it's best used in a relatively small, dark room.
Image Quality
In testing using the DisplayMate suite, I found the PK320's data image quality suitable for internal presentations, say to a small workgroup—provided that the room is dark and relatively small. You could use it for presenting to potential clients in a pinch, though you might not want to use it in presentations where sharp text or exacting color is paramount. The good news is that (with the exception of an issue that I'll soon discuss) colors were bright and reasonably true, especially yellows, which often look dull or mustardy with DLP projectors. The projector also showed less of a rainbow effect— distracting red-green-blue rainbow glints, particularly in bright areas against a dark background—than most DLP projectors.
In our text testing, images showed some blur at the two smallest sizes in both black-on-white and white-on-black text, a bit more fuzzy than is typical of a data projector. The other notable issue involved tinting in images with white or gray backgrounds.
When I set up our test unit and turned it on, I immediately noticed a pink tint in the (rather busy) image's upper left corner. It persisted even after I'd given the projector enough time to fully warm up. In DisplayMate testing, when viewing an image that should have been uniformly white, the tinting revealed itself more fully as pinkish on the image's left side, and greenish towards the bottom center.
The issue was notable enough that I requested a second test unit from our Optoma rep. I noticed the same issue in the second projector, though it wasn't as severe: Only a trace of the pink showed up (in the same location), but the green was still apparent, at nearly the same intensity as with the original test unit. It showed up against white to medium gray backgrounds in data images, and with Word and Excel documents. It's hard to say how pervasive or severe the problem is among PK320s in general based on two test units, but it's definitely an issue worth looking out for. Optoma says that it is looking into the issue, with an eye towards correcting any irregularities they encounter.
Video Quality
I tested video quality using multiple video sources over several connections, primarily HDMI. The Optoma ML300 is okay for short clips, provided that color fidelity isn't critical. For the most part, colors were bright and well saturated, but some tinting was apparent at times. Flesh tones tended to look reddish, and some bright areas took on a greenish tinge. Also, there was some loss of detail in bright areas. One plus is that, as was the case in data images, rainbow artifacts were nearly nonexistent and shouldn't be an issue except maybe for people particularly sensitive to the effect.
Other Issues
The audio from the PK320's built-in 2-watt speaker is of modest volume, not bad for a pico projector but you'll want to be close to the projector whether you're watching a movie or playing music. Fortunately the unit has an audio-out jack for headphones or powered external speakers.
The LED light source will last an estimated 20,000 hours, so you should never have to replace bulbs. The projector is backed by a 1-year limited warranty.
The market for micro-projectors has changed in the past year, with the influx of small LED-based projectors, palmtop sized or a little larger, in the 200 to 500 lumen range. Though there were always a few palmtop projectors, there's now more of a continuum in side and brightness between pico projectors and ultra-portable business projectors.
The PK320 is among the largest and most powerful pico projectors, and its price is just slightly lower than the new micro-projectors (which cluster in the $500 to $600 range). The PK320 is smaller and lighter than these models, which weigh between 2 and 3 pounds. One drawback, though, is that it has an external AC adapter—which, unlike the projector, isn't pocketable—while the LED micro-projectors have internal power supplies. The micro-projectors offer higher resolution, generally WXGA (1,280 by 800), and they're considerably brighter than picos— though we haven't been impressed with TI's latest generation of DLP chips that many of them use, as they tend to introduce apparent scaling artifacts in data images that may result in softer focus.
If you're considering the Optoma Pico PK320, you may want to look at some of these slightly larger and brighter micro-projectors such as the Optoma ML500 ($650 street, 3.5 stars), Acer K330 ($600 street, 3.5 stars), and the more entertainment-oriented BenQ Joybee GP2 ($599 direct, 4 stars) as well. As for picos, the Editors' Choice Optoma Pico PK301 offers much of what the PK320 brings to the table at a lower price, though it lacks an HDMI connection and is only rated at 50 lumens. The Favi B1-LED-Pico ($280 street, 3.5 stars) is also a respectable choice, though it lacks a battery and so must remain yoked to a wall wart.
The Optoma Pico PK320 Pocket Projector is a powerhouse as a pico projector, bright and with a wealth of connectivity choices. However, it's less impressive for its price now that bright micro-projectors are available for a little more money, and it still has a few image quality kinks to work out.
More Projector Reviews:
Wicked Lasers LaserCube
AAXA P7 Mini HD Projector
Anker Nebula Capsule II
Epson PowerLite 1795F Wireless Full HD 1080p 3LCD Projector
Sony MP-CD1 Mobile Projector


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NFL Network has commenced its week-long unveiling of unofficial Associated Press awards that suddenly seem a lot more official now that the awards have received the imprimatur of the National Football League.
First up? Defensive player of the year. The winner? Per multiple reports, Packers linebacker Clay Matthews.
Though we've yet to see the full voting, it's possible that Steelers linebacker James Harrison and Steelers safety Troy Polamalu divided enough ballots to keep either from winning. Then there's the fact that Polamalu missed several late-season games due to injury.
Then there's the fact that the folks at Head & Shoulders opted to launch a campaign to secure the award.
Matthews is the second former USC linebacker to win a major award in the past two NFL seasons. In 2009, Texans linebacker Brian Cushing was named the AP defensive rookie of the year. Cushing won the award again after a re-vote conducted following the announcement of a four-game suspension for violation of the league's steroids policy. The Trojan connection between the two players compelled Matthews to deny taking steroids in May 2010.
Likewise, Matthews is the second straight Packer to be named defensive player of the year. In 2009, the honor went to cornerback Charles Woodson.
Matthews also had an indirect hand in the likely AP comeback player of the year — Eagles quarterback Mike Vick. Matthews used the helmet of Kevin Kolb to create a T-bone-sized divot in the turf at Lincoln Financial Field, opening the door for Vick to seize the starting job in Philly.
UPDATE: Apparently, there's a chance the "multiple reports" were all wrong. Time will tell. At least no one has killed Terry Bradshaw. Again.
UPDATE II: Yep, they were all wrong.


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The Farm community near Summertown, Tennessee is a subject near and dear to my heart. An experiment in alternative living that has had its successes and failures, it has been an inspiration to many around here and beyond.
I have mentioned The Farm before here and every now and then the mainstream media chooses to do a little feature on what continues to go on there. The Tennessean had one today.
The Farm, home to free spirits for 42 years, is at a crossroads
Aged with years of cannabis and communal living, Stephen Gaskin's body is worn and his words unhurried. At 78, he walks with slow intention. But the spirit of this tie-dye-clad hippie philosopher — iconic founder of The Farm — remains vibrant.
Ask him about the beginning, and his blue eyes come ablaze.
More than four decades ago, Gaskin led a caravan of nonconformists across the country, taking his band of beatnik brethren deep into the Tennessee woods. They traveled from San Francisco and settled on a 1,750-acre spread of land in Summertown in 1971 to form their own society — a spiritual commune called The Farm.
For some, it was an adolescent experiment; for others, such as the Gaskins, a lifelong commitment. "We felt like we had to be grandparents before our time," says Stephen's wife, Ina May Gaskin, now 73.
Today, many of the first-generation Farmies, as they called themselves, are grandparents. Their once-long hair is shorter and grayed. And the community they founded is at a crossroads.
Once a home to thousands, The Farm now has only about 140 residents. There are 23 children under age 16, but more than two-thirds of the population is over 50. As the community ages, The Farm's founders and the generations that have followed must assess the future.
Collectives across the country face similar situations. The Farm formed in an era when people were rebelling against the father-knows-best suburban-America model. They recognized rampant racism and sexism; much was being questioned. People sought positive alternatives and "intentional" communities surged. Since that time, interest in that type of living has ebbed and flowed.
Today, there are about 30 groups from the hippie era that have a fairly high public profile, according to Laird Schaub, executive secretary of Fellowship for Intentional Community. The Farm is one of the largest in the country, he said, set apart by its midwifery practice, its international aid mission and the peaceful transition around leadership that in 1983 changed the commune to a cooperative.
|More Farm Photos
Still, graying elders wonder who will carry on their legacy. As the country experiences another surge in interest in collective living, the next generation brings its own opinions about how The Farm should progress. Some are children of founders, returned to take care of aging loved ones or start families of their own. Others have come without connection, seeking a place to improve their lives and the world around them.
But as residents both new and returned find a place for themselves, they speak of devotion to The Farm's original vision and making sure it survives and thrives — a synthesis of old and new.
"I see the continuation of the vision of the founders," says 36-year-old John Schweri, who was born on The Farm and soon plans to begin a family of his own there. "A vision of creating a safe place to live and to work toward helping the world."
On The Farm, residents wake up with the roosters and the woods. Hummingbirds flit from feeder to feeder. Wind chimes at the welcome center add music to the morning.Amid the rolling hilltops in one of the poorest counties in rural Tennessee, The Farm is 30 miles from the nearest hospital, 50 miles from the nearest interstate and 75 miles from the nearest major city — Nashville.
To live on The Farm, an applicant must go through a personal interview and write a letter of introduction and intent, which includes a biographical sketch, method of livelihood and a vision of what he or she hopes to contribute to the community. He or she must have a sponsor — a resident who already lives on The Farm — and must move there for a time before being voted in by the current membership.
Once members are accepted, they agree to share the land and the buildings — all held in a trust by the members. Homes get passed on to family or are returned to The Farm. Residents pay fees of about $100 a month to cover road maintenance, water service and other utilities. They can pledge money toward other projects, such as preservation of the swimming hole or expansion of the blueberry patch.
Freedom allows the residents to determine their fortune. They embrace pioneer practices such as natural homebuilding, gardening and midwifery. Their school teaches courses on radical civics and applied psychology. They run businesses devoted to solar power, soy products and sustainable living. They head Farm-based charities focused on permaculture, preservation, international aid and peace efforts.
But one of the most challenging aspects of relocating to The Farm has to do with availability of adequate housing within the community and career opportunities in the vicinity.
About a third of the adults in the community work in nearby towns to support themselves and their families. Some work as independent contractors, while others work in local shops and industries. The rest make a living within the community, working industries established during The Farm's beginnings — the Mail Order Company, the Soy Dairy, the Tempeh Lab and the Book Publishing Company. MORE
Additional insights on The Farm...
Farm videos
Throughout the history of our country there have been a number of attempts to create and sustain communities outside the 'norm.' It's all about ideas and ideals. The longevity and evolution of The Farm is a tribute to some of those ideals. May their community continue and thrive for as long as possible and practical and may the best of their ideas live on.


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The Vogard is a nice piece of wrist machinery. It's basically a nice automatic watch with a unique system for changing timezones. When you land in Tokyo, simply flip out the bezel lock and turn the outer ring to the proper city. Both the big 24-hour hand—the one that looks like a triangle—and the outer hands will move. You can also set two different time zones. It's water resistant to 330 feet and it's pretty much Vogard's only product—when you've got an international patent, you've got to run with it. No price, but when Sheik Mohammed Al Mualla for the UAE gives you an endorsement, you're probably talking in the 'spensive range.
Product Page [Vogard via WristWatchReview]