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Expert Crop Advisors Assist Farm Decisions
MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Some farmers still receive advice from their neighbors, but many are turning to certified crop advisors for help in making decisions that will impact their pocketbooks and protect the environment.
"Certified crop advisors take field management decisions up to a whole new level," said Dr. Larry Oldham, extension soils specialist at Mississippi State University. "CCA advice results from research-based training."
The American Society of Agronomy began the Certified Crop Adviser program in 1992. The goal continues to be improved advice and a more professional advisor for farmers to rely upon.
Many Mississippi county extension agents, farm supply dealers and agricultural chemical company personnel have been certified through the program. Mississippi has 223 certified advisors out of the 10,000 nationwide -- more than any other southern state.
"Mississippians' great responses to the program reflects their positive attitudes toward agriculture in general and their support of agribusiness in particular," Oldham said.
"Farmers benefit from the continuing education experience of these certified crop advisors," Oldham said. "Each CCA is trained in making appropriate seed selections, herbicide and fertility decisions and soil management choices."
CCA "payments" include an improved reputation as a reliable information source and in some cases, a bonus payment by the organization that employs the CCA.
The requirements include passing a comprehensive international exam and a Mississippi-based exam on soil fertility, soil and water management, integrated pest management and crop production. Each applicant must document their educational and work experience and agree to a code of ethics.
Julian Crawford of Terra Industries in Yazoo City was one of Mississippi's first certified crop advisors.
"This is a voluntary program. We do it for the team -- the industry as a whole," Crawford said. "We want to protect the ag industry's reputation as good stewards of the environment."
Crawford said agriculture has been under a microscope concerning chemical use. Government regulatory agencies appreciate programs like the CCA.
Decision makers in Washington, D.C. have used the CCA program in drafting Farm Bill issues such as nutrient management planning.
"This governmental acceptance reflects an appreciation in Washington of the program not always enjoyed by other agricultural initiatives," Oldham said.
More information is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.agronomy .org/cca/index.html or by contacting a local county agricultural agent.


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Thank you. It's a particular pleasure to be with you this morning. The subject of my talk today is the outlook for the economy and Federal Reserve policy. I'll start with a look at the national economy, focusing on why the recent recession was so severe and why the recovery has been relatively anemic. I'll then talk about prospects for growth, employment, and inflation. Finally, I'll discuss what the Federal Reserve is doing to bolster the recovery. My remarks represent my own views and not those of others in the Federal Reserve System.
Let me begin by saying that I'm encouraged by recent signs of a stronger, self-sustaining recovery. I'm especially glad to see that the economy is adding jobs at a pretty decent clip. Still, we have a long way to go. The Fed's mandate from Congress is to promote maximum employment and stable prices.1 Inflation generally has been subdued over the past few years. But, more than four years after the recession began, the unemployment rate is still 8.3 percent, leaving us far short of our employment goal. The Fed has acted vigorously to boost the economy. It's critical that we keep doing so in order to achieve our statutory mandate.
I'd like to start with a little bit of history. We are in the aftermath of the worst financial crisis and economic downturn since the Great Depression. The downturn came in the wake of an unprecedented run-up in housing prices, followed by a traumatic collapse. Although the recession started with this burst housing bubble, the economy's problems over the past few years have extended well beyond housing. In the broad sense, what we've seen has been a sharp fall in household and business demand for goods and services. That has caused the economy to perform well below its potential.
Let's look at this in more detail. The housing boom was a classic financial bubble, fueled by speculative excess. Buyers kept bidding up prices, convinced they could sell for more than they paid. Lenders enabled this behavior by offering excessively easy terms. The growth in house prices outstripped anything that could be supported by market fundamentals, such as household incomes or rental rates on comparable properties.
The inevitable crash landed with a resounding thud. Beginning in 2006, home prices plummeted. Eventually they fell by about a third nationally. About a quarter of borrowers found themselves under water, owing more than their homes were worth. Large chunks of the wealth of tens of millions of Americans vanished. Overall, the destruction of net worth from housing equaled more than 40 percent of the value of annual U.S. production.
When wealth is destroyed on such a vast scale, the economic effects are severe. During the boom, higher house prices helped fuel consumption as people tapped home equity to buy cars, boats, vacations, and the like. When house prices did a U-turn, households hunkered down. They cut spending and salted away more savings to rebuild lost wealth. And that wasn't the housing bust's only depressing effect. By early 2009, home construction had plunged by over 75 percent from its 2006 high. It's remained near historical lows since. That's put a lid on demand for construction materials and home furnishings. And it's kept millions of carpenters, plumbers, and others in construction and real estate out of work.
It's impossible to understand the economy of the past few years without taking into account these housing effects.2 Consider the difference in economic performance between states hit hard by the housing bust and states that got off relatively lightly. Figure 1 shows price declines by state. The hardest hit states, including Nevada, Arizona, California, and Florida, are shown in red. Prices in these states plunged by 40 percent or more from their peaks. By contrast, the states shown in green posted price declines of less than 15 percent. In one green state, North Dakota, prices actually increased.
Figure 2 shows the drop in employment during the downturn by state, using the same color coding as Figure 1. For example, in the hard-hit states, shown in red here, employment fell by 8 percent or more. The overlap with the pattern of house price declines is striking. The states where home prices fell most were generally among those that suffered the worst job losses during the recession. In states where prices fell less, employment declined less.3
To be sure, this overlap was not perfect. Employment fell in all but North Dakota and Alaska, with sharp declines registered even in some states where the housing bust wasn't harsh. Examples include Indiana, Ohio, and South Carolina. One reason this happened is the tight web that binds economic activity in far-flung places in the modern world.4 When under water homeowners in the Central Valley put off buying new cars, auto workers in Indiana may lose their jobs.
But, what is fascinating, and perhaps surprising, is this: The close relationship between the fall in home prices and state economic activity has largely disappeared during the recovery.5 Figure 3 shows state employment gains during the rebound. There's almost no systematic relationship between employment growth and home price declines.
Figure 4 reinforces this. The blue line measures the gap in employment growth rates between states where the job market has been relatively stronger and states where it has been weaker. This gap grew sharply during the recession, reflecting in part the uneven effects of the housing bust. But, during the recovery, the gap has been smaller than at any time since the mid-1970s. In other words, across the country, state-level employment growth has become quite balanced.
These comparisons indicate that the economy faces obstacles that are national in scope. The slow pace of expansion has affected all regions of the country. During the recovery, states where house price declines have been relatively mild have not done noticeably better than states where housing got hammered. Powerful forces have kept us stuck in a slow-growth pattern. Some of those forces reflect the direct effects of the housing collapse on household finances. The connection with housing is less direct for other forces holding back the economy. I'll highlight three of those forces: tight credit, uncertainty, and government contraction.
Tight credit was clearly a product of the housing bust. But it took on a life of its own when fallout from housing almost brought down the global financial system in 2008. The repercussions of those dramatic events still affect markets today. Let me explain how this played out.
When home prices crashed, mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures surged. Exposure to risky U.S. subprime mortgages was spread globally through investments held by financial institutions. Those mortgages had been repackaged to create financial instruments of mind-bending complexity. When the music stopped, it was hard to tell who was left with all those toxic assets. Financial institutions became afraid to lend money to anybody, including other financial institutions. The result was a massive credit crunch that choked off the flow of funds financial institutions and nonfinancial businesses depend on for their day-to-day operations. Many financial institutions that had placed big bets on housing posted massive losses. Some of them failed.
Thankfully, central banks and governments around the world stepped in to provide emergency loans and other support. Those interventions prevented complete financial collapse. In the United States, the financial system has healed to a very considerable extent. The Fed recently conducted a series of tests on the largest U.S. banks. We found that most of them would have adequate capital even if the economy went through another extreme downturn.
As financial institutions have regained their footing, access to credit has improved. Nevertheless, we haven't returned to normal. Many small businesses and consumers still struggle to get loans. For example, to get a mortgage, a borrower must have a top-notch credit rating and the cash to make a substantial down payment.
Uncertainty is a second factor holding back the recovery. Businesses, investors, and households remain skittish, even in the face of better economic news. Many of my business contacts say they remain cautious about expanding because they're unsure about future conditions. Ordinary Americans worry about job prospects and future income. Everybody is unsettled by the highly charged political environment.
Financial turmoil in Europe has added another dimension to the unease here. The imminent threat of European financial meltdown has diminished. But the underlying problem of countries with unsustainable debt has not been resolved. Over the next few years, the total debt load among countries that use the euro will grow larger. I've heard Europe's policy described as kicking the can down the road. But the risk is that Europe might be rolling an ever-growing snowball down a hill.
Government cutbacks are a third obstacle to growth. Typically, government spending rises when the economy turns down. That's because the cost of safety net programs, such as unemployment insurance, go up. And sometimes governments deliberately boost spending to stimulate the economy. But the federal government's long-term budget problems loom large. And state and local government finances are reeling from the economic downturn. As a result, government stimulus has been unusually limited.
Figure 5 compares recent inflation-adjusted spending by state and local governments with past periods. The red line represents the most recent recession and recovery. The shaded region portrays the range of outcomes over the eight previous recessions and recoveries, with the average displayed in black. During the current period, the housing bust has cut into the revenue of state and local governments, forcing them to slash spending.6 That contrasts with comparable periods in the past, when such spending typically increased.
I don't see government spending turning around soon. Indeed, spending at the federal level is set to contract sharply at the end of this year as several temporary programs end. Some of those programs may be extended. But, overall, we can expect federal spending trends to weigh on near-term economic growth.
However, things are getting better as far as tight credit and uncertainty are concerned. Improvements in credit, and rises in business and consumer confidence, have helped the economy gain real traction. We can see the improvement in the data. Consumer spending hasn't been growing fast, but it's been growing steadily. Car sales have surged and nearly reached pre-recession levels in February. The rebound in car sales and strong exports of other goods have helped U.S. manufacturers create jobs at the fastest pace since the mid-1990s.
Real gross domestic product measures the nation's total output of goods and services adjusted for inflation. During the first half of 2011, real GDP expanded at just under a 1 percent annual rate. Then, in the second half, it shifted into higher gear, rising at nearly a 2½ percent pace. My forecast calls for GDP growth to pick up further to about 2½ percent this year and 2¾ percent in 2013. That's not overdrive, but it does represent improvement.
As I said earlier, the news from the labor market has been heartening. The jobless rate has fallen about three-quarters of a percentage point since August and is now at its lowest level in three years. Unfortunately, the kind of moderate economic growth I expect won't sustain such rapid progress. The February unemployment rate held steady at 8.3 percent. I expect unemployment rates to remain around 8 percent through year-end. And we're still likely to be around 7 percent at the end of 2014. We haven't had such a long period of high unemployment in the United States since the Great Depression. And this phenomenon is widespread. Compared with December 2007, when the recession began, the unemployment rate is up in all 50 states. That's true even in North Dakota and Alaska, the two states where total employment grew during the recession.
Economists have been debating why unemployment has been so high during this recovery. Broadly speaking, they fall into two camps. One group argues that changes in the structure of the economy are pushing up the unemployment rate. The other group maintains that high unemployment is the result of a severe downturn, which significantly cut demand for goods and services.
Those who favor a structural explanation point out that many job seekers lack the skills employers need. For example, computer industry employers are having a hard time finding qualified workers. But they're not likely to find such employees in the ranks of jobless construction workers. If such labor market mismatches are widespread, they could be boosting the unemployment rate.
To put this in perspective, I'm going to introduce the concept of the natural rate of unemployment. The natural rate is basically an equilibrium jobless rate that pushes inflation neither up, nor down. Before the recession, most economists thought this rate was around 5 percent. Today though, economists in the structural camp argue that the natural rate has risen substantially, largely because of the labor market mismatches I described. The idea is that a lot of people are unemployed not because jobs are lacking, but because those jobs require skills unemployed workers don't have. If this were correct, then our 8.3 percent unemployment rate might not be that far above the natural unemployment rate. In other words, we might not really be so far from the Fed's goal of maximum sustainable employment.
I'm not convinced. Research at the San Francisco and New York Feds suggests that job mismatches are limited in scope. The difficulty some Silicon Valley companies find hiring software engineers is not enough to fundamentally transform the labor market. Now, other factors besides skill mismatches may also have helped push up the natural unemployment rate. Over the longer term, mismatches and other labor market inefficiencies may have raised the natural unemployment rate from about 5 percent to around 6 to 6½ percent.7 So, in my view, the nation remains far from the Fed's goal of maximum sustainable employment.
The Fed's other goal is to keep prices stable. I would say that we've succeeded pretty well on that score. Inflation overall has been well-contained. Taking a long view, over the past 15 years, the overall inflation rate has averaged almost exactly 2 percent, which is the Fed's target rate of inflation. The same is true of the past five years, a tumultuous period of crisis, recession, and recovery.
Now, it's true that inflation picked up to 2½ percent last year as the prices of oil and other commodities surged in the face of strong global demand. Oil prices have run up again recently in response to geopolitical concerns. But other commodity prices have not generally followed suit. I expect inflation to be near our 2 percent target this year and edge down a bit to about 1½ percent in 2013.
Let me summarize where the Fed stands in terms of achieving its congressionally mandated goals. We are far below maximum employment and are likely to remain there for some time. The housing bust and financial crisis set in motion an extraordinarily harsh recession, which has held down consumer, businesses, and government spending. By contrast, inflation is contained and may even fall next year below our 2 percent target.
Under these circumstances, it's essential that we keep strong monetary stimulus in place. The recovery has been sluggish nationwide, not just in states hit hard by the housing bust. High unemployment, restrained demand, and idle production capacity are national in scope. These are just the sorts of problems monetary policy can address. And we don't need to worry that our stimulative monetary policy could fuel regional imbalances.
Monetary policy works by raising and lowering interest rates. The Fed's policymaking body is the Federal Open Market Committee, or FOMC. In December 2008, when the recession's full force hit, the FOMC slashed its benchmark interest rate close to zero. It's been there since. Standard monetary policy guidelines tell us this rate should have gone deep into negative territory. But that's not possible.8
So the Fed has had to find other ways to stimulate the economy. One measure we've adopted has been to buy large quantities of longer-term securities issued by the U.S. government and mortgage agencies. Our purchases have raised demand for these securities, lowering their yields. And that has put downward pressure on other longer-term interest rates, making it cheaper for households, businesses, and governments to borrow.
These policy actions have been effective. For example, recent gains in automobile sales have a lot to do with cheap financing. And our securities purchases have helped drive longer-term interest rates near to post-World War II lows. In particular, our purchases of mortgage-related securities appear to have lowered home loan rates significantly.9 Low mortgage rates have been crucial in stabilizing home sales and construction.
I should emphasize that our unusually stimulative monetary policy won't last forever. Eventually, as recovery picks up, we will trim our securities holdings and raise our interest rate target. We've planned in detail for this, and we're confident we can do it in a timely and effective fashion.10 But, that time is still well off in the future.
We've passed through extraordinary economic times that have required extraordinary responses from the Fed. We're not miracle workers. Lower interest rates alone can't instantly put the economy right. But things would be much worse if we hadn't acted so forcefully. We were vigilant in 2008 and 2009 when the economy was in dire straits. We remain vigilant now, when the economy is showing real signs of improvement, sharply focused on our goals of maximum sustainable employment and price stability. Thank you very much.
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End Notes
1. Williams (2012b).
2. See, for example, Mian and Sufi (2011), Mian, Rao, and Sufi (2011), and Feroli et al. (2012).
3. Williams (2012a).
4. Mian and Sufi (2011).
5. Williams (2012a).
6. Feroli et al. (2012).
7. See, for example, Daly et al. (2012) and Weidner and Williams (2011).
8. See Rudebusch (2009) and Chung et al. (2012) for discussion of the effects of the zero bound on interest rate policy in the recession, and Swanson and Williams (2012) for estimates of the effects of constrained monetary policy.
9. Hancock and Passmore (2011) and Krishnamurthy and Vissing-Jorgensen (2011) find significant effects of mortgage-backed securities purchases. Stroebel and Taylor (2009), by contrast, do not.
10. See, for example, the discussion of exit strategy in the minutes for the June 2011 FOMC meeting (Board of Governors 2011).
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. 2011. "Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee." June 21–22.
Chung, Hess, Jean-Philippe Laforte, David Reifschneider, and John C. Williams. 2012. "Have We Underestimated the Likelihood and Severity of Zero Lower Bound Events?" Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking 44(s1, February), pp. 47–82.
Daly, Mary, Bart Hobijn, Ayʂegül Şahin, and Robert G. Valletta. 2012. "A Rising Natural Rate of Unemployment: Transitory or Permanent?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, forthcoming.
Feroli, Mike, Ethan Harris, Amir Sufi, and Ken West. 2012. "Housing, Monetary Policy, and the Recovery." Presentation to the 2012 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum, New York, February 24.
Hancock, Diana, and Wayne Passmore. 2011. "Did the Federal Reserve's MBS Purchase Program Lower Mortgage Rates?" Federal Reserve Board Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2011-01.
Krishnamurthy, Arvind, and Annette Vissing-Jorgensen. 2011. "The Effects of Quantitative Easing on Interest Rates." Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, forthcoming.
Mian, Atif R., Kamalesh Rao, and Amir Sufi. 2011. "Household Balance Sheets, Consumption, and the Economic Slump." Working paper.
Mian, Atif R., and Amir Sufi. 2011. "What Explains High Unemployment? The Aggregate Demand Channel." Working paper.
Rudebusch, Glenn D. 2009. "The Fed's Monetary Policy Response to the Current Crisis." FRBSF Economic Letter 2009-17 (May 22).
Stroebel, Johannes C., and John B. Taylor. 2009. "Estimated Impact of the Fed's Mortgage-Backed Securities Purchase Program." NBER Working Paper 15626.
Swanson, Eric, and John C. Williams. 2012. "Measuring the Effect of the Zero Lower Bound on Medium- and Longer-Term Interest Rates." Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Paper 2012-02.
Weidner, Justin, and John C. Williams. 2011. "What Is the New Normal Unemployment Rate?" FRBSF Economic Letter 2011-05 (February 14).
Williams, John C. 2012a. Discussion of "Housing, Monetary Policy, and the Economy." Presentation to the Monetary Policy Forum, New York, February 24.
Williams, John C. 2012b. "The Federal Reserve's Mandate and Best Practice Monetary Policy." Presentation to the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, California, February 13.

subset: commoncrawl


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Types of swim lessons
Learn about: Types of swim lessons from Nicole Hill, MA,...
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Nicole Hill, MABehaviorist & Swim Instructor
Nicole Hill, Director of Autism Services and CEO of Brightwork ABA Therapy is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Nicole has been working in the field of ABA since 2005. She has a Master of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis, a BA in Speech Communication, and a minor in Spanish.
Nicole has a broad range of experience stemming from working with children from birth through high school in a variety of capacities for over 15 years. Nicole specializes in working with young children on the autism spectrum and their families, with particular focus on early intervention including FBA's, BIP's, verbal behavior, DTT, natural environment teaching, play skills, social skills, and parent training.
Nicole originally began her work with special needs children in 1998 as a swim instructor for children who found learning to swim especially challenging. With this experience, Nicole founded SwimFit Babies & Kids (swimfit.org), a program that uses techniques founded in ABA to teach swim techniques.
She is an active member of Applied Behavior Analysis, International (ABAI) as well as California Association for Applied Behavior Analysis (CalABA).


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What to Do (and Not Do) When Children Are Anxious
How to respect feelings without empowering fears
Clark Goldstein, PhD
When children are chronically anxious, even the most well-meaning parents can fall into a negative cycle and, not wanting a child to suffer, actually exacerbate the youngster's anxiety. It happens when parents, anticipating a child's fears, try to protect her from them. Here are pointers for helping children escape the cycle of anxiety.
1. The goal isn't to eliminate anxiety, but to help a child manage it.
None of us wants to see a child unhappy, but the best way to help kids overcome anxiety isn't to try to remove stressors that trigger it. It's to help them learn to tolerate their anxiety and function as well as they can, even when they're anxious. And as a byproduct of that, the anxiety will decrease or fall away over time.
2. Don't avoid things just because they make a child anxious.
Helping children avoid the things they are afraid of will make them feel better in the short term, but it reinforces the anxiety over the long run. If a child in an uncomfortable situation gets upset, starts to cry—not to be manipulative, but just because that's how she feels—and her parents whisk her out of there, or remove the thing she's afraid of, she's learned that coping mechanism, and that cycle has the potential to repeat itself.
3. Express positive—but realistic—expectations.
You can't promise a child that his fears are unrealistic—that he won't fail a test, that he'll have fun ice skating, or that another child won't laugh at him during show & tell. But you can express confidence that he's going to be okay, he will be able to manage it, and that, as he faces his fears, the anxiety level will drop over time. This gives him confidence that your expectations are realistic, and that you're not going to ask him to do something he can't handle.
4. Respect her feelings, but don't empower them.
It's important to understand that validation doesn't always mean agreement. So if a child is terrified about going to the doctor because she's due for a shot, you don't want to belittle her fears, but you also don't want to amplify them.You want to listen and be empathetic, help her understand what she's anxious about, and encourage her to feel that she can face her fears. The message you want to send is, "I know you're scared, and that's okay, and I'm here, and I'm going to help you get through this."
5. Don't ask leading questions.
Encourage your child to talk about his feelings, but try not to ask leading questions— "Are you anxious about the big test? Are you worried about the science fair?" To avoid feeding the cycle of anxiety, just ask open-ended questions: "How are you feeling about the science fair?"
6. Don't reinforce the child's fears.
What you don't want to do is be saying, with your tone of voice or body language: "Maybe this is something that you should be afraid of." Let's say a child has had a negative experience with a dog. Next time she's around a dog, you might be anxious about how she will respond, and you might unintentionally send a message that she should, indeed, be worried.
7. Encourage the child to tolerate her anxiety.
Let your child know that you appreciate the work it takes to tolerate anxiety in order to do what he wants or needs to do. It's really encouraging him to engage in life and to let the anxiety take its natural curve. We call it the "habituation curve"—it will drop over time as he continues to have contact with the stressor. It might not drop to zero, it might not drop as quickly as you would like, but that's how we get over our fears.
8. Try to keep the anticipatory period short.
When we're afraid of something, the hardest time is really before we do it. So another rule of thumb for parents is to really try to eliminate or reduce the anticipatory period. If a child is nervous about going to a doctor's appointment, you don't want to launch into a discussion about it two hours before you go; that's likely to get your child more keyed up. So just try to shorten that period to a minimum.
9. Think things through with the child.
Sometimes it helps to talk through what would happen if a child's fear came true—how would she handle it? A child who's anxious about separating from her parents might worry about what would happen if they didn't come to pick her up. So we talk about that. If your mom doesn't come at the end of soccer practice, what would you do? "Well I would tell the coach my mom's not here." And what do you think the coach would do? "Well he would call my mom. Or he would wait with me." A child who's afraid that a stranger might be sent to pick her up can have a code word from her parents that anyone they sent would know. For some kids, having a plan can reduce the uncertainty in a healthy, effective way.
10. Try to model healthy ways of handling anxiety.
There are multiple ways you can help kids handle anxiety by letting them see how you cope with anxiety yourself. Kids are perceptive, and they're going to take it in if you keep complaining on the phone to a friend that you can't handle the stress or the anxiety. I'm not saying to pretend that you don't have stress and anxiety, but let kids hear or see you managing it calmly, tolerating it, feeling good about getting through it.
Tips for Calming Anxious Kids by Michaela Searfoorce
How to Foster Resilience in Kids by Alan Ravitz, MD, MS
Nonverbal communication: body language and tone of voice by Raising Children Network (Australia) Limited.
The Other Senses: Interoception by Pat Porter
Dyslexia – in tune but out of time by Usha Goswami
Side Effects of ADHD Medication by Roy Boorady, MD
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by Mayo Clinic Staff
Mental illness in children: Know the signs by Mayo Clinic Staff
6 Types of Anxiety that Can Affect Children by Kathleen Smith, PhD, LPC
What Is a Language Processing Disorder? by Devon Frye


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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Children are being locked in solitary confinement at a Tennessee juvenile detention center under conditions that experts say could amount to torture.
The Tennessee Department of Children's Services defended the practice, calling it "room restriction" and insisting it has strict policies prohibiting solitary confinement or seclusion at juvenile detention centers.
But an investigation by WTVF discovered children at the Middle Tennessee Juvenile Detention Center in Columbia can spend 24 hours a day alone in their cell for days at a time without violating DCS policy.
Currently, there is no state law banning solitary confinement for juveniles in Tennessee.
In fact, DCS said a new law or policy that narrowly defines solitary confinement would immediately make some juvenile detention facilities out of compliance.
"The sad thing is the majority of our kids who leave our jurisdiction — that go into DCS custody as juvenile justice youth — go directly to Middle Tennessee Detention Facility, and they stay there for weeks, sometimes months," said Davidson County Juvenile Court Administrator Kathy Sinback.
"It's not a secret that they have terrible facilities, terrible programs and policies for our youth," she added.
Sinback said what is happening inside the Middle Tennessee Juvenile Detention Center represents much of what's broken with Tennessee's juvenile justice system.
Once a judge orders delinquent juveniles into state custody, DCS transfers them 50 miles south to the detention center in Maury County.
Emergency calls to 911 reveal the chaos inside.
"I need an ambulance ASAP. I have a juvenile cutting herself," one caller said.
Another caller yelled to the operator, "Oh God, she's fighting, she's fighting OK. Oh my God!"
The calls show suicide attempts, vandalism and fights with staff.
DCS sends juveniles ages 12 to 19 to the facility while they wait for a more permanent placement.
But while there, children spend most of their time locked inside their cells. And when they get out to visit with family, they are often shackled and handcuffed, as a Facebook post discovered by WTVF shows.
"They have solitary confinement policies. They force their children to be in their cells for sometimes 23 hours at a time in solitary confinement for no reason. They have to earn time out," Sinback said.
A haunting picture obtained by WTVF shows a child inside a single-occupancy cell at the facility.
We don't know the child's name, but it was taken last month.
"All they are doing is warehousing kids until they go to the next placement they can find, and DCS often seems like they don't know where that is going to be," Sinback said.
Juvenile Probation Officer Kelly Gray was so disturbed by what a 16 year old told her about his 20 days inside the facility earlier this year that she took detailed notes about what he said.
"During his time at Maury County, he went into a deep, dark depression," Gray noted.
Gray said the 16 year old went into DCS custody after protecting his mom from an abusive boyfriend by pulling a gun on him.
"When he was leaving juvenile court, he was hugging everybody — including myself — telling me, 'this what I need,' " Gray recalled.
"He is very meek and very mild," Gray continued.
But Gray said she was devastated to hear about his treatment at Middle Tennessee Juvenile Detention, and what other children are forced to endure.
"I walked out of the interview that day and I sat in my car and cried because I played a hand in that, and it shouldn't be happening to our youth," Gray said.
Her notes state the 16 year old "started out 24 hours in the cell and did that for 7 straight days. All he was allowed to do was take a shower every morning."
He said he didn't know why he could not leave his cell.
"During the first seven days of his stay at Maury County, he was on 24 hour a day lockdown," Gray said.
"Nobody would talk to him, nobody would tell him what was going on. He said you have to sweep your cell every morning, and if you don't then you are not allowed to leave.
"He said no one ever told him that, and there was never anything to sweep because nothing was allowed in your cell."
Pictures show 12 cells in the North Pod that are all single occupancy.
The 16 year old said that, after seven days alone in his cell, he was allowed out for just one hour.
He said if you kept your cell clean, you eventually get two hours out of your cell.
"This is the most you would get outside your cell."
WTVF showed the 16-year-old's interview to attorney Wesley Clark. The attorney, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Tennessee Department of Children's Services in 2016.
"When I read that this child started out in his cell 24 hours a day for seven straight days, I get chills down my spine," Clark said.
His lawsuit came after a different detention center held kids in isolation for 23 hours a day with one hour of recreation.
"And this child complains about depression, hopelessness and misery. That's what one would expect with no stimulation, being locked inside a room by yourself for a week," Clark said.
According to the United Nations, 22 or more hours a day in a cell, with little or no stimulation or meaningful contact with other people, is often defined as solitary confinement.
It is considered by many to be torture.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Kimberly Brown works at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital.
"Why we think this is OK for juveniles who are removed from their families and are in state custody is confusing," Brown said.
The clinical psychologist said isolating juveniles for 22 hours or more is especially dangerous because their brains are still developing.
"They're at increased risk of depression, anxiety and suicides," Brown said.
"Not only does this not help with rehabilitation, but it completely goes against the mission of rehabilitation," she added.
DCS issued new rules strictly prohibiting the use of solitary confinement or seclusion at its detention centers after settling the 2016 lawsuit with Clark and the ACLU.
"I would like to know how they define seclusion because 24 hours a day in your cell by yourself, with no interaction, is seclusion," Gray said.
The director of licensing for DCS, Mark Anderson, looked at the notes from the 16-year-old and said he did not know the specific case.
But even if the juvenile spent 24 hours a day in his cell, it would not violate DCS policy.
"It's not a situation I would want to be in," Anderson said. "But it's not a violation of our current rules."
Anderson said that during the first week, juveniles are often kept on what's called "room restriction" for 23 hours a day and get only one hour of recreation.
"If he chose not to clean his room, that's really the only repercussion they have to offer at that point because youth are already in their rooms 23 hours a day," Anderson said.
"The difference between room restriction and solitary confinement is when you are in solitary confinement, the expectation is that you are completely isolated from everyone else," he added.
He said if kids are kept in those single cells in the North Pod, it is not isolation because they can communicate with other kids through the doors.
"The youth are yelling at each other back and forth between the cells. Youth from over here are yelling at youth from over there. There's kids out in the day room, they're talking through the doors to these folks, so it's not as if they are isolated down in a hole somewhere," Anderson said.
Clark was shocked when he heard that argument.
"That's not going to stand up to any kind of scrutiny with anyone except the Department of Children's Services," Clark said. "The ability of children to scream at each other through the cell walls provides this facility with the argument they are complying with regulations."
"I've got an argument that what they are doing is still unconstitutional," Clark added.
Brown said seeing other kids outside their cells in the day-room area could make the kids locked in their cells feel even more isolated.
"That sense of isolation, of being apart from everyone else, may even be heightened by having other people doing things that they are not permitted to be doing," Brown said.
WTVF obtained a 2018 email to Anderson with the subject "VISIT" after a DCS inspection of the Middle Tennessee Juvenile Detention facility.
Inspectors wrote, "They are still using window covers," which prevented juveniles from even seeing out of their cells and into the common area.
"We were not happy with the window covers," Anderson said. "For us, that felt like isolation because they no longer had access to communicating with youth when they were in the day room."
Anderson said the facility stopped using the window covers, but the photos obtained by WTVF show the covers still attached near the windows on the cell doors.
Clark believes a state law needs to define what solitary confinement is, and that it should not be left up to DCS.
But the department has worried a strict law could force them to stop using several older facilities.
"That was the elephant in the room when we were making these rules a couple of years ago," Anderson said. "If we were completely stringent on how we define seclusion, then there's quite a few of those facilities that would be out of compliance the minute those rules went into effect."
Several detention centers DCS uses are privately owned.
Middle Tennessee Juvenile Detention's powerful owners include current state Rep. David Byrd. Other owners are a former state representative, Gene Davidson, who was once House majority leader, and the wife of a current circuit court judge.
The state pays the facility $132 "per child per day." At full capacity, that's more than $2.7 million a year.
"We have had several facilities in the past that have had a connection to very important people and we have made it very clear that does not matter to us," Anderson said.
But, so far, attempts to pass a state law defining solitary confinement have failed.
Anderson said he's surprised that Davidson County Juvenile Court is criticizing Middle Tennessee and said some of their expectations are unrealistic.
"Davidson County has areas where youth can go and be outside their cells for a long period of time. Middle Tennessee just doesn't have that," Anderson said.
Juvenile court officials argued that all that time locked inside their cells makes kids more stir crazy and more prone to vandalism — or worse.
"It's not a great feeling when you know that your hands were involved with a kid having to sit in seclusion in a cell in Maury County," Gray said. "How is that treatment and rehabilitation? It's not."
This story was originally published by Ben Hall on WTVF. You can read their full series on Tennessee's juvenile justice system here.


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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (musical)
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Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a musical by Stephen Sondheim about an English barber named Sweeney Todd who kills his customers and gives their bodies to his partner, Mrs. Lovett, who then bakes them into meat pies. It has been subject to many film adaptions, most recent in 2007 directed by Tim Burton starring Johnny Depp.
Musical Lyrics
[edit]- Swing your razor wide, Sweeney!
Hold it to the skies!
Freely flows the blood of those
Who moralize!- Ensemble (The Ballad of Sweeney Todd)
- There was a barber and his wife
And she was beautiful
A foolish barber and his wife
She was his reason and his life
And she was beautiful
And she was virtuous
And he was... naïve
- Mrs. Lovett: Seems a downright shame
- Mr. Todd: Shame?
- Mrs. Lovett: Seems an awful waste; such a nice plump frame whats-his-name has... had... has, nor it can't be traced. Business needs a lift, debts to be erased, think of it as thrift, as a gift, if you get my drift. Seems an awful waste. I mean, with the price of meat what it is when you get it, if you get it...
- Mr. Todd: Ahhh!
- Mrs. Lovett: Good, you got it! Take for instance Mrs. Mooney and her pie shop. Business never better using only pussy cats and toast. Now a pussy's good for maybe 6 or 7 at the most, and I'm sure they can't compare as far as taste!
- Mr. Todd: Mrs. Lovett, what a charming notion! Eminently practical and yet...
- Mrs. Lovett: Well, it does seem a waste.
- Mr. Todd: ...appropriate as always. Mrs. Lovett, how I did without you all these years I'll never know. How delectable, also undetectable, how choice, how rare
- Mrs. Lovett: Think about it. Lots of other gentleman will soon be coming for a shave, won't they? Think of all them pies!
- Mr. Todd: For what's the sound of the world out there?
- Mrs. Lovett: What, Mr. Todd? What, Mr. Todd? What is that sound?
- Mr. Todd: Those crunching noises pervading the air!
- Mrs. Lovett: Yes, Mr. Todd, yes, Mr. Todd, yes, all around!
- Mr. Todd: It's man devouring man, my dear!
- Both: And who are we to deny it in here?
- Mr. Todd: These are desperate times Mrs. Lovett, and desperate measures are called for.
- Mrs. Lovett: Here we are hot out of the oven!
- Mr. Todd: What is that?
- Mrs. Lovett: It's Priest. Have a little Priest .
- Mr. Todd: Is it really good?
- Mrs. Lovett: Sir, it's too good, at least. Then again, they don't commit sins of the flesh, so it's pretty fresh.
- Mr. Todd: Awful lot of fat.
- Mrs. Lovett: Only where it sat.
- Mr. Todd: Haven't you got Poet, or something like that?
- Mrs. Lovett: No, you see the trouble with Poet is how do you know it's deceased? Try the Priest. Lawyer's rather nice.
- Mr. Todd: If it's for a price.
- Mrs. Lovett: Order something else, though, to follow, since no one should swallow it twice.
- Mr. Todd: Anything that's lean?
- Mrs. Lovett: Well then if you're British and loyal, you might enjoy Royal Marine. Anyway it's clean, though of course it tastes of wherever it's been!
- Mr. Todd: Is that Squire on the fire?
- Mrs. Lovett: Mercy no, sir! Look closer, you'll notice it's Grocer.
- Mr. Todd: Much thicker, more like Vicar.
- Mrs. Lovett: No, it has to be Grocer; it's green!
- Mr. Todd: The history of the world, my love,
- Mrs. Lovett: Save a lot of graves; do a lot of relatives favours.
- Mr. Todd: Is those below serving those up above.
- Mrs. Lovett: Everybody shaves, so there should be plenty of flavours.
- Mr. Todd: How gratifying for once to know
- Both: That those above will serve those down below.
- Mr. Todd: What is that?
- Mrs. Lovett: It's Fop, finest in the shop. Or we have some Shepherd's pie peppered with actual Shepherd on top. And I've just begun. Here's the Politician so oily it's served with a doily, have one!
- Mr. Todd: Put it on a bun, but you never know if it's going to run.
- Mrs. Lovett: Try the Friar; fried it's drier.
- Mr. Todd: No, the clergy is really too coarse and too mealy.
- Mrs. Lovett: Then Actor; it's compacter.
- Mr. Todd: Ah, but always arrives overdone! I'll come again when you have JUDGE on the menu.
- Mr. Todd: Have charity towards the world, my pet.
- Mrs. Lovett: Yes, yes, I know, my love.
- Mr. Todd: We'll take the customers that we can get
- Mrs. Lovett: High born and low, my love.
- Mr. Todd & Both: We'll not discriminate great from small, no we'll serve anyone, meaning anyone, and to anyone at all!
- Mrs. Lovett: We've got tinker...
- Todd: No, no, something pinker.
- Mrs. Lovett: Tailor?
- Todd: Paler.
- Mrs. Lovett: Butler?
- Todd: Subtler.
- Mrs. Lovett: Potter?
- Todd: Hotter.
- Mrs. Lovett: Locksmith?
(A Little Priest)
- Tobias: Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please, are your nostrils a-quiver and tingling as well, at that delicate, luscious ambrosial smell,
Yes they are, I can tell!
Well, ladies and gentlemen, that aroma enriching the breeze
Is like nothing compared to its succulent source, as the gourmets among you will tell you, of course!
Well Ladies and gentlemen you can't imagine the rapture in store
Just inside of this door!" - Tobias: There you'll sample Mrs. Lovett's meat pies, savoury and sweet pies as you'll see. You who eat pies, Mrs. Lovett's meat pies conjure up the treat pies used to be.
- Man: Over here, boy, how about some ale?
- Men: Let me have another, laddie!
- Women: Tell me, are they flavorsome? They are
- Tobias: Right away
- Women: Could we have some service over here, boy?
- Men: Could we have some service, waiter?
- Women: God that's good!
- Man: What about that pie, boy?
- Women: Tell me, are they tender?
- Tobias: Thruppence
- Men: Yes, what about the pie, boy?
- Women: Thruppence for a meat pie?
- Men: Where's the ale I asked you for boy?
- Tobias: Ladies and gentlemen!
- Mrs. Lovett: Toby!
- Tobias: Coming! Excuse me.
- Mrs. Lovett: Ale there!
- Tobias: Right, Ma'am!
- Mrs. Lovett: Quick now!
- Company: God, that's good!
- Mrs. Lovett: Nice to see you deary, how have you been keeping, cor me bones is weary, Toby, one for the gentleman, hear the birdies cheeping, helps to keep it cheery, Toby, THROW THE OLD WOMAN OUT!
- Company: God, that's good!
- Mrs. Lovett: What's my secret, frankly dear forgive my candor, family secret all to do with herbs, things like being careful with your coriander, that's what makes the graver grander.
- Company: More hot pies! More hot! More pies!
- Company: More hot pies! More hot! More pies! More! Hot! Pies!
- Both: Eat them slow and feel the crust how thin I rolled it, eat them slow cause every one's a prize, eat them slow and that's the lot and now we've sold it, come again tomorrow
- Mrs. Lovett: Hold it!
- Company: More hot pies!
- Mrs. Lovett: Bless my eyes!
- Todd: Right this way, sir.
- Mrs. Lovett: Fresh supplies...
- Mrs. Lovett: How about it, dearie? Be here in a twinkling. Just confirms my theory. Toby, God watches over us. Didn't have an inkling? Positively eerie.
- Tobias: Is that a pie fit for a king a wonderous sweet and most delectable thing? You see, Mum, why, there is no meat pie---
- Mrs. Lovett: Toby, THROW THE OLD WOMAN OUT!
- Company: God, that's good! That is de-, have you -licious, ever tasted, smell such, Oh my God, what perfect, more, that's pies, such flavor God, that's good!
(God, that's Good!)
- Mrs Lovett: A Customer!
Wait! What's your rush where's your hurry,
You gave me such a fright, I thought you was a ghost, half a minute,
Can't you sit, sit you down, SIT,
All I meant is that I haven't seen a customer for weeks,
Did you come here for a pie sir,
Do forgive me if me heads a little vague (what is that?)
But you'd think we had the plague, from the way that people keep avoiding (no you don't!)
Heaven knows I try sir, but there's no one comes in even to inhale, right you are sir would you like a drop of ale
Mind you I can hardly blame them, these are probably the worst pies in London
I know why nobody cares to take 'em, I should know, I make 'em, but good? No! The worst pies in London.
Even that's polite, the worst pies in London, if you doubt it take a bite!
Is that just disgusting? You have to concede it, it's nothing but crusting, here drink this, you'll need it, the worst pies in London
And no wonder with the price of meat what it is when you get it, never thought I'd live to see the day, many'd think it was a treat
Finding poor animals what are dying in the street
Mrs. Mooney has a pie shop, does her business but I notice something weird!
Lately all her neighbors' cats have disappeared
Have to hand it to her, wot I calls enterprise, popping pussies into pies!
Wouldn't do in my shop, just the thought of it's enough to make you sick,
and I'm telling ya them pussy cats is quick,
No denying times is hard, sir, even harder than the worst pies in London,
Only lard and nothing more
Is that just revolting? All greasy and gritty
It looks like it's molting, and tastes like...
Well, pity a woman alone, with limited wind, and the worst pies in London.
Ah Sir, times is hard, times is hard.
- 'Mrs. Lovett: Ah, dearie, it's gonna take a lot more than that ale to wash the taste out. Come, we'll get you a cup o' gin.
- Tobias: Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please,
Do you wake every morning with shame and despair, to discover your pillow is covered with hair, what ought not to be there,
Well Ladies and Gentlemen, from now on you can waken at ease,
You need never again have a worry or care, I will show you a miracle marvelous rare,
Gentleman you are about to see something what rose from the dead... On the top of my head.
Scarcely a month ago, gentlemen, I was suddenly struck with a horrible dermatologic disease.
Though the finest physicians in London were called I awakened one morning amazed and appalled to discover with dread that my 'ead was as bald as a novice's knees.
I was dying of shame, till a gentleman came
An illustrious barber, Pirelli by name
He give me a liquid as precious as gold
I rubbed it in daily like wot I was told
And behold!
Only thirty days old!
- Tobias: Twas Pirelli's Miracle Elixir, that's what did the trick Sir, true Sir true,
Was it quick Sir, did it in a tick Sir, just like an Elixir ought to do.
How 'bout a bottle Mister, only costs a penny guaranteed. - First Man: Penny buys a bottle, I don't know...
- Tobias: Go ahead and tug, sir.
- Second Man: You don't need---
- Tobias: Go ahead, sir, harder...
- First Man: Ah, let's go.
- Tobias: Does Pirelli's stimulate the growth Sir, you can have my oath Sir 'tis unique,
Rub a minute, stimulating in' it, soon you'll have to thin it once a week. Penny buys a bottle, guaranteed. - First Man: Penny buys a bottle, might as well...
- Tobias: How about a sample?
- Third Man: Wotcher think?
- Second Woman: Go ahead and try it, wot the hell...
- Tobias: Have you ever smelled a cleaner smell?
- First Woman: Isn't it a crime they let these urchins clog the pavement?
- Fourth Man: Penny buys a bottle, does it?
- Tobias: That's enough, sir, ample
Gently dab it, gets to be a habit
Soon there'll be enough, sir Somebody can grab it
See this chap hair like Shelley's?
You can tell he's used Pirelli's - First Man: Let me have that bottle
- Second Man: Make that two!
- Todd: Pardon me Ma'am what's that awful stench,
Must be standing near an open trench - Mrs. Lovett: Are we standing near an open trench,
Pardon me Sir what's that awful stench - First Woman: Then again I could get some for Harry.
- Second Man: How about a beer?
- Second Woman: Nothing works on Harry, dear.
Bye, bye. - First Man: You know a pub?
- Third Woman: I'm just passing by.
- First Man: There's one close by.
- Third Man: Pass it by.
- Tobias: Buy Pirelli's Miracle Elixir, anything what's slick sir, soon sprouts curls,
try Pirelli's, when they see how thick Sir, you can have your pick sir of the girls. - Tobias: Wanna buy a bottle, Mister?
- Todd: What is this?
- First Man: Propagates the hair, sir.
- Mrs. Lovett: What is this?
- Fourth Man: I'll take one!
- Tobias: Penny for a bottle...
- Todd: Smells like piss
- Third Man: What was that?
- Tobias: Have you ever smelled a cleaner smell?
- Mrs. Lovett: Smells like...Ugh.
- Second Man: He says it smells like piss.
- Fifth Man & Second Woman: Says it smells like piss or something.
- Todd: Looks like piss
- Mrs. Lovett: Wouldn't touch it if I was you dear
- Tobias: How about a sample?
- Second Man: Wotcher think?
- Todd: This is piss, piss with ink
- Tobias: How about a sample, mister?
- Men & Women: Let me smell that bottle
I don't want no ink piss!
What is this? - Mrs. Lovett: What does that smell like to you, sir?
- Tobias: Never mind that madman, mister.
- Women: Gives back our money!
- Men: What does that smell like to you, ma'am?
- Mrs. Lovett: Give 'em back their money!
- Tobias: Never mind the madman!
- Todd: Where is this Pirelli?
- Crowd: Yeah, where is this Pirelli?
- Tobias: Let Pirelli's activate your roots Sir
- Todd: Keep it off your boots, Sir, eats right through
- Crowd: Go and get Pirelli!
- Tobias: Yes get Pirelli's, use a bottle of it, Ladies seem to love it
- Mrs. Lovett: Flies do too.
- Crowd: Hand the bloody money over! Hand the bloody money over!
- Tobias: See Pirelli's Miracle Elixir grow a little wick, sir Then some fuzz
The Pirelli's soon'll make it thick, sir Like a good elixir always does!
Trust Pirelli's if your hair is sick, sir Fix it in the nick, sir Don't look grim
Just Pirelli's Miracle Elixir That'll do the trick, sir— - First Man: What about the money?
- Tobias: If you've got it a kick, sir---
- Crowd: What about the money? Where is this Pirelli? Go and get Pirelli! What about our money?
- Tobias: Tell it to the mixer of the Miracle Elixir if you've got a kick, sir—!
- Crowd: Go and get Pirelli! What about it? Where is this Pirelli?
- Tobias: Talk to him!
- Mr. Pirelli: I am Adolfo Pirelli, the King of the Barbers, the Barber of Kings. E buon giorno, good day, I blow you a kiss. And I...the so famous Pirelli a wish-a to know-a who has-a the nerve-a to say...my elixir is piss, who says this?
(Pirelli's Miracle Elixir)
- "Do they think that walls can hide you
even when I'm at your window
I am in the dark beside you
buried sweetly in your yellow hair."- Anthony Hope (Johanna)
- "The Blood of Jesus Christ His Son Cleanseth Us from All Sins." - Inscription
- "At last! My right arm is complete again!"
- Sweeney Todd (My Friends)
- "I want you bleeders."
- Sweeney Todd (Epiphany)
Non Musical Quotes
[edit]- No! Not Barker. That man is dead. It's Todd now. Sweeney Todd. And he will have his revenge.
- Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker
[edit][first lines]
- Anthony Hope: I have sailed the world, beheld its wonders, from the Dardanelles to the mountains of Peru. But there's no place like London. I feel home again. I could hear the city bells ring whatever I would do, no, there's no place---
- Sweeney Todd: No, there's no place like London.
- Anthony Hope: [spoken] Mr. Todd?
- Sweeney Todd: You are young. Life has been kind to you. You will learn.
- Mrs. Lovett: Mr. T, you didn't!
[looks into the chest, sees Pirelli's dead body and gasps. Shuts it]
- Mrs. Lovett: You're barking mad! Killing a man what done ya no harm!
- Sweeney Todd: [polishing his razor] He recognized me from the old days. Tried to blackmail me. Half me earnings.
- Mrs. Lovett: [relieved] Oh, well that's a different matter then. For a moment there I thought you lost your marbles.
[opens the chest again and stares]
- Mrs. Lovett: Ugh! All that blood. Poor bugger. Oh well!
[looks through Pirelli's jacket before removing his money pouch and examining its contents]
- Mrs. Lovett: Well, waste not, want not!
[tucks it into her bodice]
- Beadle: [after the judge has sentenced a boy to death by hanging] Thank you, your honor, just the sentence we wanted.
- Judge Turpin: Was he guilty?
- Beadle: Well, if not, he'd certainly done something to warrant a hanging.
- Judge Turpin: What man has not?
- Anthony Hope: You wait for him here. I'll return with a coach in less than half an hour. Don't worry no one'll recognize you. You're safe now.
- Johanna: Safe? So we run away and then all our dreams come true?
- Anthony Hope: I hope so.
- Johanna: I've never had dreams. Only nightmares.
- Anthony Hope: Johanna... when we're free of this place, all the ghosts will go away.
- Johanna: No, Anthony. They never go away.
- Mrs. Lovett: Mr. T, are you listening to me?
- Sweeney: Of course...
- Mrs. Lovett: Then what did I just say?
- Sweeney: There must be a way to get the judge...
- Mrs. Lovett: Judge... Always harping on that bloody old judge...
- Adolfo Pirelli: [singing] I am Adolfo Pirelli, da king of da barbers, da barber of kings, e buon giorno, good day. I blow you a kiss! And I, the so famous Pirelli, I wish-a to know who has-a da nerve-a to say my Elixir is piss! Who says this?
- Sweeney Todd: I do. I'm Mr. Sweeney Todd from Fleet Street. I have opened a bottle of Pirelli's Elixir and I say to you, it is nothing but an arrant fraud, concocted from piss and ink. And furthermore, "Signor", I have serviced no kings, yet I wager that I can shave a cheek with ten times more dexterity than any street mountebank.
- Adolfo Pirelli: Mr. Todd.
- Sweeney: Signor Pirelli.
- Adolfo Pirelli: Call me Davy. Davy Collins' the name when it is not professional. I would like me five quid back if you don't mind.
- Sweeney: Why?
- Adolfo Pirelli: Because you entered into our little wager under false pretenses, my friend. So, you might remember to be a bit more forthright in the future. I'll be taking half your profits from herewith. Share and share alike... Mr. Benjamin Barker.
- ...
- Adolfo Pirelli: [looks around the room] This will do nicely. You don't remember me, do you? Why should you? I was just a little nip that you hired for a couple of weeks sweeping up hair, [toying with one of Sweeney's distinctive silver-inlaid razors] but I remember these. And how could I ever forget about you, Mr. Barker? I used to sit - right here - quietly dreaming of the day when I could be a proper barber myself. You might say that you was... inspiration to me. So, is we got a deal? Or should I run down the street to my old pal, Beadle Bamford? What do you say to that now, [Italian accent] Meestair Sweeney Todd? [laughs sinisterly]
- [Sweeney beats Pirelli senseless with a teapot]
- Sweeney: NOOOOOOO!! Would no one have mercy on her?
- Mrs. Lovett: So it is you. Benjamin Barker.
- Sweeney: Where is Lucy? Where is my wife?
- Mrs. Lovett: She poisoned herself. Arsenic. From the apothecary around the corner. I tried to stop her, but she didn't listen to me.
- Judge Turpin: [about Johanna] Where is she?
- Sweeney: Below, your honor, with my neighbor. Thank heavens, the sailor did not molest. Thank heavens, too, she has seen the error of her ways.
- Judge Turpin: She has?
- Sweeney: Oh, yes, your lesson was well learned. She speaks only of you, longing for forgiveness.
- Judge Turpin: Then she shall have it. She'll be here soon, would she?
- Sweeney: Yes.
- Judge Turpin: Excellent, my friend.
- Sweeney: How about a shave? Sit, sir. Sit!
- Sweeney: What's the sound of the world out there?
- Mrs. Lovett: What, Mr. Todd? What, Mr. Todd? What is that sound?
- Sweeney: Those crunching noises pervading the air!
- Mrs. Lovett: Yes, Mr. Todd. Yes, Mr. Todd. Yes, all around.
- Sweeney: It's man devouring man, my dear!
- Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett: Then who are we to deny it in here?
- Little Priest
- [Johanna is being hauled off to the asylum]
- Anthony Hope: Where are you taking her? Tell me or I swear I'll...
- Judge Turpin: You'll kill me, boy? Here I stand!
- Judge Turpin: How seldom it is one meets a fellow spirit.
- Sweeney Todd: With fellow tastes... in women at least.
- Judge Turpin: What's that?
- Sweeney Todd: The years, no doubt, have changed me, sir. But then I suppose the face of a barber, the face of a prisoner in the dock, is not particularly memorable.
- Judge Turpin: Benjamin... Barker...?
- Sweeney Todd: BENJAMIN BARKER!!
- [slashes Turpin's throat]
- Sweeney: [after finding out the Beggar Woman is his wife, Lucy] "Don't I know you?" she said. You knew she lived. From the moment I walked into your shop, you knew my Lucy lived!
- Mrs. Lovett: I was only thinking of you!
- Sweeney: You lied to me.


text:
One of the most overused metaphors in a writer's arsenal is the one about "walking and chewing gum at the same time." As a hiker and Big League Chew enthusiast, I particularly hate this cliché. Nonetheless, I feel it is fitting right now because it so perfectly summarizes the argument being made by Republicans. They now insist that America cannot simultaneously walk the walk on equal rights and also chew economic gum.

In the last week, Colorado was the testing ground for this talking point. At the presidential level, Republican nominee Mitt Romney criticized a Denver television reporter for daring to ask about his position on, among other issues, same-sex marriage. Before restating his opposition, he scoffed at the question, asking: "Aren't there issues of significance that you'd like to talk about [like] the economy? The growth of jobs? The need to put people back to work?"

At the same time, Colorado's Republican House Speaker Frank McNulty twice blocked a vote on a bill to legalize civil unions. His rationale? "We should not be spending time on divisive social issues when unemployment remains far too high and (when) far too many Coloradans remain out of work," he said. Echoing that sentiment, the shadowy Republican front group Compass Colorado financed an automated telephone call telling thousands of voters that the push for civil unions was unacceptable because it is "promoting (a) divisive social agenda over Colorado job creation."

Obviously, it's perplexing to see the Republican Party allege that social issues are insignificant and "divisive." This is, after all, the party whose most recent presidential nominating contest was dominated by attacks on contraceptionthe same GOP whose politicians have made an art out of riding a "guns, god and gays" focused agenda to electoral victory.

But while such naked hypocrisy is enraging, the substance of the Republican rhetoric about gay rights is downright offensive. Essentially, conservatives are asserting that we cannot extend equal rights to all Americans and fix the economy. In the process, they are deliberately insinuating that the twin goals are somehow contradictory.

Well, you might ask, do they have a point? History says no. Our country's story is the story of multitaskinga tale of extending the franchise to women while passing progressive legislation to deal with crushing economic inequality, a tale of both passing civil rights legislation and creating Medicare.

In light of such achievements, would anyone retroactively argue that America should have opposed the campaign to let women vote because the economy was so bad in the early 20th century? Would anyone insist that lawmakers should have halted civil rights legislation in the 1960s because there was a simultaneous need for a War on Poverty? Probably not, because most of us recognize such arguments for what they are: diversionary non-sequiturs whose real goal is to preserve institutional bigotry and prejudice.

That's the same objective of today's GOP when it comes to rights for same sex couples. For proof, just consider the abruptness of the shift: the Republican Party that spent the last decade insisting that we should simultaneously cut taxes, prosecute foreign wars and fight to limit a woman's right to choose an abortion now suddenly says we can't even discuss equal rights because of a recession.

The language changed not because the new "can't walk and chew gum" mantra makes sense (seriouslywould any sane person really claim that a bad economy justifies continued persecution of lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender people?). It changed because the cause of equal rights is involved. And, clearly, that cause is what today's Republicans are now most committed to stoppingno matter how much their flawed logic indicts their credibility.

David Sirota is a best-selling author of the new book "Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live In Now." He hosts the morning show on AM760 in Colorado. E-mail him at email@example.com, follow him on Twitter @davidsirota or visit his website at www.davidsirota.com

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Dry January: thousands admitted to hospital last year with an alcohol related condition
Alcohol poisoning, liver cancer, heart disease, tremors — alcohol misuse can cause a myriad of health problems.
Exacerbated by the lockdown and the Christmas period, many of us will be guilty of drinking a bit more than normal too.
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Hide AdNow with Covid-19 putting an unprecedented strain upon hospitals, health experts are urging drinkers to cut back on the booze this year and reduce the risks to their health and well being.
When drinking becomes a problem
Analysis by the JPIMedia Data Unit reveals every region in England saw a rise in the number of alcohol related hospital admissions between 2014/15 and 2018/19.
Figures from Public Health England show there were over 350,000 hospital admissions in 2018/19 — the equivalent of nearly 7,000 every week.
Despite tougher restrictions on alcohol sales, including minimum pricing, hospitals in Scotland are also treating thousands of patients with alcohol related conditions.
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Hide AdThe latest figures from Public Health Scotland show over 23,000 patients were admitted to hospital with an alcohol related condition in 2019/20. That number has remained relatively stable over the last five years.
In Northern Ireland there were more than 2,500 hospital admissions with an alcohol related condition in 2019/20. There has been a 4.1% drop in the number of admissions since 2015/16.
Why you should cut back on booze
Dr Richard Piper, chief executive of the charity Alcohol Change UK, said hospital admissions related to alcohol "continue to remain far too high".
"Many of us are finding ourselves drinking more heavily and more often than we would like as we try to cope with the many challenges thrown up this year by Covid-19 and it's vital that those of us who need specialist support can easily access it," he said.
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"For some of us, taking an extended break from drinking, like having a Dry January can be a good way to reset our relationship with alcohol, particularly if our drinking has been creeping up."
Rosanna O'Connor, director of drugs, alcohol and tobacco at Public Health England added that cutting down on drinking can reduce health risks.
Ms O'Connor said: "About 10 million people in England are drinking in ways that increase the risks and many are looking to cut down. Setting yourself a target of having more drink-free days every week is an easy way to drink less and reduce the risks to your health."
A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Department of Health added that alcohol related harm costs over £900 million each year.
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Hide Ad"There are differences in alcohol related hospital admissions across the Health and Social Care Trusts, and this can be related to levels of deprivation in these areas along with other risk factors," they said.
"However, alcohol related harm is a factor right across Northern Ireland.
"Addressing this issue is a key priority for the Department of Health, and the Department is currently leading on a consultation on a new substance use strategy for Northern Ireland."
A Scottish Government spokesperson acknowledged that Scotland experiences high levels of alcohol related harm and that the level of the minimum unit pricing at 50 pence per unit continues to remain under review.
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Hide AdCase study: John Nelson
"I was drinking four bottles of wine a day," says recovering alcoholic, John Nelson.
"As soon as I woke up I would have a drink — I normally had a glass of wine by my bedside."
Like so many, John had always enjoyed a drink "since his teenage years" but his drinking took a serious turn when he tragically and suddenly lost his wife. He went from being a heavy drinker to being alcohol dependent.
Now 60-years-old, the ex-civil servant has been sober since 2012 but the road to sobriety has not been without its challenges.
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Hide AdThere is no stereotypical alcoholic. For John, it wasn't even something his friends were aware of.
"I wasn't necessarily reclusive and drinking at home. I still met friends," the Sheffield resident says.
"Friends were amazed when they found out I was an alcoholic. They said I was never drunk when they saw me and that's because I was under the influence of alcohol all the time. I didn't need to drink loads of booze when I was out with my friends because I had all day to do that."
Early retirement also allowed more drinking time.
Heavy drinking and still processing the loss of his wife, John's health was deteriorating.
"I feared for my health," he said.
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Hide Ad'Everything would be alright'
"I then had a moment of clarity. I realised if I stopped drinking everything would be alright and my life would be better. That is important because for people who are drinking dependably, they fear what life would be like without alcohol. Often most of your friends are drinkers and you wonder what your relationships will be like and what sort of friendships you'll have. And what you'll be like as a person."
After making the decision to quit, John stopped suddenly and without any help – which he now warns is the wrong thing to do.
Going 'cold turkey' can be very dangerous for heavy drinkers. It can result in mild to life-threatening withdrawal symptoms such as heart attacks, seizures and even death.
After feeling unwell, John ended up in A&E.
"They gave me something to see me through the night, to help with the withdrawal, and told me to start drinking the next day again because you can't just stop drinking. They also put me in the direction of the NHS alcohol support service in Sheffield.
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Hide Ad"They said to me that I needed an inhouse detox and to go into hospital for a detox.
"After a few months (on the waiting list) I went into hospital for a week of detox. That was on the 20th December 2012 and I haven't drank any alcohol since."
This dedicated support would turn out to be vital for John as it provided essential psychological support to aid his recovery.
"The crucial thing they did was that they also got me one to one counselling. As well as talking about my alcohol issues I also spoke about my grief and trauma issues. I had had bereavement counselling but at my one to one counselling they talked about all my issues and treated me as a whole person and I found that really helpful."
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Hide Ad'Don't be afraid to reach out'
Eight years later, John now works as a legacy support worker for the We Are With You charity. He helps deliver workshops to front line staff working with people with alcohol issues.
But for those living with similar addiction issues taking the first step to getting help is often the hardest part.
"A lot of people are worried, especially if they are isolated when they are drinking. They are worried people will judge them and they will feel shame and stigma. Especially older people," John says.
"Don't be afraid to reach out. There are people out there willing to help and people willing to listen sympathetically and work to find a solution. Don't be afraid to ring our helpline. We will try and find a solution that works for you."
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Hide AdIf you are concerned about the drug or alcohol use of yourself or someone you know you can talk to a trained advisor via We Are With You's online webchat service via www.wearewithyou.org.uk.
We Are With You also runs a helpline specifically for people over 50 who are concerned about their alcohol use. For free support and advice please call 08088010750.


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Canada based Hard Rock / Metal band 2 SHADOWS has released the official music video for their newest single, "Scratching At The Surface," via ROCK SHOP RECORDS. Co-written and Produced with CRISPIN EARL from THE VEER UNION / ROCK SHOP RECORDS, "Scratching at the Surface" premiered on Metal Insider.
"Scratching At The Surface is about people making you out to be something you're not. The song describes the pressure of defining yourself in an environment where people tend to take one look at you and assume they know who you are; and they're often wrong". – 2Shadows
"The first moment I heard the 2 Shadows demos, I knew that this was a band that I wanted to sign to Rock Shop Records. It was a lot of fun Producing and Co-Writing on this track and in the end it turned out even better than I had hoped. I'm super stoked I got to also sing on the track, I'm just very grateful to have had this opportunity!" – Crispin Earl – THE VEER UNION
Click to Download / Stream "Scratching At The Surface" Online
2 Shadows is a four piece Metal band based out of Vancouver, Canada, consisting of members Glen Bridden (Lead Vocals), Tryst Germaine (Guitars), James Holder (Guitars), and Mitch Harsch (Drums). The band was founded in 2015 and for the last five years they have been meticulously and methodically honing in their craft, leaving no stone unturned. Inspired by house hold name acts such as Slipknot, Rammstein and Marilyn Manson, the band is also inspired by the modern breed of Metal acts such as Motionless In White, Asking Alexandria, Bad Omens and Avenged Sevenfold. 2 Shadows is a combination of the most modern sounding Metal blended with visually theatrical imagery, creating a duality that is the core essence of the band. Lead Vocalist, Glenn Bridden, "Our live show is just as important to us as our music. We try to make our live show a visual representation of our music. We are constantly building and evolving our stage show so our fans can always expect something different and exciting!"
In 2018, after playing locally and regionally for three years, 2 Shadows ventured out on a National Tour across Canada and began garnering attention from Metal fans and industry professionals alike. With the completion of their first National Tour under their belts, the band was hungry to get back work in the studio and elevate their overall game.
In 2019 the band began working on a new EP, entering into the studio with Singer/Songwriter/Producer/The Veer Union Front man, Crispin Earl, to streamline the bands sound and bring it to that of International level. After the completion of the EP, the band was ecstatic to announce they inked a deal with Rock Shop Records and will be releasing a brand new track, "Scratching At The Surface", (including a feature vocal performance by The Veer Union Front man), on Friday, November 13th, 2020. 2 Shadows will be releasing the new EP in the summer of 2021 and will be out on the road, in its support, both Nationally and Internationally.
The Veer Union has collectively sold over 150,000 Albums and also reached over 100 Million Streams Worldwide and has 11 TOP 40 Singles on the Billboard Rock Radio Charts. The band's last album (2018) Decade II (produced by the bands lead vocalist, Crispin Earl) contained 4 "Billboard Chart Top 40" singles and has been streamed over 18 million times on Spotify alone. The most notable track off the album, "Living Not Alive," reached #21 on the "Billboard Top 40 Rock Charts" in the United States, accumulating over 10 million streams, received over 1.8 million Views on YouTube and the album itself has sold over 10,000 units. After a vigorous year and a half of touring (With bands like Red, Puddle of Mudd, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Saliva) the band has taken time to write and record their next album with their front-man, Crispin Earl, producing it. In 2019 the band released their very first ever covers EP entitled Covers Collection Vol.1. Their version of Halsey's "Nightmare" exploded on Youtube and reached over 2 Million Views within the first 4 months, climbing to #25 on "The Billboard Rock Charts" in the United States and has been streamed over 3.5 million times. THE VEER UNION is set to headline the ROCK SHOP RECORDS tour in summer of 2021, stay tuned.
Rock Shop Records is a unique kind of Record Label providing all aspects of Artist Development, Production & Advanced Marketing.


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Last blog we began to build a SIPOC analysis around a high level Jury Selection process:
1. Jury Panel Selection --> 2. Jury Selection --> 3. Court Case
What can mess up the process?
Last time we discussed an important Direct Cause: Poor information flow at step 1
Here's a possible Five Why Analysis:
Why is there poor information flow to Jury Panel members at step 1?
Because people working in the Jury Panel Selection process do not know critical information such as:
- How many cases are in the pipeline?
- How many courts openings are available?
- How many Jury Panel members do we need to fill these cases -- (i.e. what's our standard)?
- How many Jury Panel members have we called?
- What's the gap? Are we ok or not okay?
- What's the countermeasure?
Why do they not know this? Inadequate visual management... (I saw almost no evidence of visual management in my three days in court)
My guess is this critical info is "in the computer" -- invisible...
If so, then Jury Panel members are called with little knowledge of how many are actually needed.
(For Production Physics aficionados: Are we not, thereby, buffering variation with inventory?)
Effect? Over-processing, delay & defect waste. Frustration, hassle & anxiety for Jury Panel members.
Longer & longer queues in the court system, and ultimately, bad guys go free.
Regular readers will recognize the importance of making the invisible, visible.


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Her appeal is in the subtle texture of her toughness, and her readiness to tell secrets and make obscure and difficult feelings lucid and vocal. She breaks your heart and makes you tentatively smile. She is the leading lady in a personal pageant of Heavy Duty, tension-bound romance. The poetry of her love songs sets her almost on some other planet, some separate plane where there are no inhibitions about divine arrogance, no compunctions about laying the inside of her on the line. And then there's Joel Bernstein's flamboyant inside photograph - our Valkyrie gazing at green water in motion - it complements the unique feeling that one gets about the person who made this record, who can emerge from the hazy watercolor of life and say, "I am the best person it is within my power to be. Here I am."
"Some turn to Jesus/Some turn to heroin/And some turn to ramblin' around." People will go to desperate lengths to fill a hole in the heart. Some do some of the above, others might try to stuff themselves or another person into the hole: a few others make words and music, opening the hole a little wider so the amazing pain of catharsis and creation has the space to squeeze itself up and out of the wound. Love 's tension is Joni Mitchell's medium - she molds and casts it like a sculptress, lubricating this tense clay with powerful emotive imagery and swaying hypnotic music that sets her listener up for another of her great strengths, a bitter facility with irony and incongruity. As the tiny muscles in your spine begin to relax as they are massaged by a gorgeous piano line or a simple guitar or choral introduction, you might get quietly but bluntly slammed with a large dose of Woman Truth.
In For the Roses, Joni is un-abashedly biased, a wronged and wronging lover, an open and forgiving loser at love's games. Her lovers are somewhat less than idealized, in turn overly sensitive, boorish, alcoholic, jive, immature, selfish or junkies. They are human. Of her relationships with her men she is candidly her own severest critic. In her songs she is sensible, chameleon, caustic, sorrowing, boisterous, judgmental, harsh and passionately understanding, occasionally passing deftly through this gauntlet of emotions in the course of one song.
Yet her great charm and wit, her intense vocal acting and phrasing abilities (the way she chooses to deal with a single word can change the feeling of an entire song) and the sheer power and gumption of her presence combine to bring it all off and make it shine. With this record she seems to have cleared the air of the beautiful murk and ambiguity of her last, Blue, and what she again makes plain is her feeling that both sexes should play by the same rules, at least when she's involved.
Eloquence is going cheap these days and there's good music to he heard all over. When the two come together, as in this woman, the appreciative mind can boggle and stall, its attention riveted. As a musician she uses a certain kind of sprung rhythm and lyrical beauty that is transcendingly, touchingly romantic without ever being common. There are no ordinary tears shed here. As a poet she has a refined, working knowledge of the functions of free verse, with its basis of boundless expression here fitted to melodies like fingers to a glove. The lyrics as printed on the sleeve stand strongly, linear, by themselves. Individual songs interlink, and For the Roses is constructed like the cleverest of novels - stories within stories within stories. The first cut is a prologue, the last an impulsive, almost disjointed epilogue. In between is a cycle dominated by a fiercely independent perspective, modern Everywoman's, but one woman's all the same.
"Banquet" introduces us to this world, a metaphorical table from which "some get the gravy/some get the gristle . . . and some get nothing/ Though there's plenty to spare." It is just her and her piano, resolute, angry chords, and the album begins on a portentous, ominous note.
"Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire" - the apparatus and taste of smack - is brilliant and chilling with its ironically brimstone lyric that is cruelly telling especially when read apart from the song:
Cold Blue Steel out of money
One eye for the beat police
Sweet Fire calling,
"You can't deny me
Now you know what you need."
Underneath the jungle gym
Hollow-grey-fire-escape thief
Looking for Sweet Fire
Shadow of Lady Release
"Come with me
I know the way," she says
"Its down, down, down the dark ladder. . ."
The weeping reed fills that interlace the song come from Tommy Scott and are superb, their airy swirling blending with Joni's imagery like the tent of jazz, like Dolphy wailing his heart out on "Melba" or "l7 West." But for the fear and degradation of the lyric this could be the most lissome and trenchant love song on the album, so lovely is the tune and so sensual the singing. But then, who says that love in a strange form is not what heroin is all about?
"Barangrill," with its more complex arrangement, is lighter and a welcome break from the damnation of "Steel." Its sprightly rap about a nice scene on the road manages to remain properly tense in keeping with the overall temper. In whatever setting, Joni can't resist a comment. She seems to always be a sucker for a remark.
"Lesson in Survival" is the first of the love songs, about the restlessness of what's new, the longing for sensation, the more pastoral the better. It hurts, this song, because she is capable of delivering such a strong subliminal suggestion and the pulse of her desire is so irresistible. It's so pretty and true it makes me want to jump out of my skin. She says it of herself - "When you dig down deep/You lose good sleep/And it makes you heavy company". "Lesson" segues by way of the piano into "Let the Wind Carry Me." With a choral and woodwind flavor it's about family chemistry, parental consent, content and displeasure. Talk about heavy company, try your parents!
"For the Roses" ends the side. Another lovely song, its ultimate cynicism is her peculiar brand of realism, an incisive portrait of what the business of fame does to humans who play music in the big leagues. "Up the charts/ Off to the airport/ You're name's in the news/Everything's first class/The lights go down/And it's just you up there/Getting them to feel like that." As perhaps a picture of this woman's much - publicized relationships, the song seems a composite photograph. That she chose to name the album for the song is an indication of her attitudes and knowledge - "I heard it in the wind last night/It sounded like applause . . . And the moon swept down black water/Like an empty spotlight." A person who understands obsessions understands people .
The second side opens with a little more love-ache. "See You Sometime" deals with fleeting feelings and romantic competition, a sweet piano song with fine dramatic singing: The tense first lines are in a faintly hysterical soprano changing to a more manageable alto as the singer's feelings wind down towards the end. This handsome song is about how perspective alter quickly when one plays fast and rough. It is a nice companion to "Electricity," a short-circuited affair of the heart with imaginary poetry, guitar and percussion, a lulling choral bit and a riff that says often people think of themselves unconsciously as machines, but flesh and bone are weak enough.
"You Turn Me On I'm a Radio" is simply stone great - she's a radio both figuratively and literally. No-nonsense lines about What's Up between two people, an example of her rollicking and rarely used humor, a rock & roll ditty that is a breath of sea air in her occasionally Dickinsonian parlor. "Blonde in the Bleachers" follows, with a wistful and resigned voice longing for a security it knows it can't have. "You can't hold the hand of a rock and roll man - very long." It's the sum of all those teasing photos, the rumors, the gossip. She sounds wise, but miserable. Stephen Stills plays a pretty coda on guitar and the song, like the title cut, seems to be one of the major emotional messages that she's trying to get across.
As for "Woman of Heart and Mind" - this is the capper. If pop music has the power to make you cry . . . well, make your own judgment, just as she makes hers in this sublime portrait of a flawed lover. All her emotional barricades, seemingly so often breached, are broken in this song. No defenses, no pretenses. Passion and Respect versus mere Stimulation? No contest.
"Judgment of the Moon and Stars" is a symphonette, with Joni's sonata-esque piano, a wind ensemble and a rap about the inside of the deaf and blaring skull of Beethoven: "It the judgment of the moon and stars/Your solitary path," she says of the great Sagittarian. The song ends this searing record on a weird but hopeful tone, like a pep talk to a memory.
Got a hole in your heart? For the Roses will cost you about four bucks and it won't cure you, but shit, it's good salve. If it came in a can, was a little greasy and smelled OK, I'd rub a little on my forehead over the prefrontal lobe, where the third eye lives.
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Added to Library on January 9, 2000. (14382)
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jjordan on :
I was a senior in high school when this album was released. I have probably listened to it a thousand times. I love it more with each listen.


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5 comments on "Dense? Dense, you say?"
I like the revised Haskell code! That truly is short!
P.S. Its good that you are distrustful of my measurements, however if you look at the code attached to the post then you will see each function was run 1000 times to get the value and then divided by 1000 which should be reasonably satisfactory.
Why do you test every number from 2 up?
I don't know haskell, so I'm not sure if there's a better way of doing this, but
isPrime x = null (filter ((==0) . mod x) ([2]++[3,5..floor . sqrt $ fromIntegral x]))Tests only odd numbers. Change the top line to
ltps = take 4260 $ ps 1 [2]As I say, I don't know haskell, so the only way I was able to run this and time it was to put:
main = print (take 2000 ltps)and run "time ./primes > /dev/null".
Getting 2000 takes 1.461s by testing every number and 0.794 by testing only odd numbers.
Minor point: you need "tail" to skip 0.
On my (apparently aging) computer, the 2800th takes 19s. @Ian's version, unsurprisingly, took half as long. I spent 2 lines on a full sieve, and it takes under 3s:
are you all crazy?! aAaaAhhh… never ever forget to write the types!! it hurts to see the mistakes of one's own past. ;p
"Integral a => a" defaults to infinite-bit Integer, not 64-bit Int.
this additional one line might speed everything up:ltps :: [Int]
buggyIsPrime :: Int -> Bool
buggyIsPrime x = all ((/=0) . mod x) [(2::Int),3..round . sqrt $ (fromIntegral x::Float)]this has to be compared to the c++ version, which tests every even number, too.
not only that: the function has to state that every number below 2 is prime. (this is only a bug, if you reuse code, …which you probably want to do. copypasting it will cause the bug to proliferate. one to one reimplemented imperative code is seldom less bugprone than its imperative original.)@all:
rounding floor might not be enough, i'd use ceiling, because Int is 64-bit and Double is less exakt. the c++ version uses 32-bit Float, anyway.does anyone know, how c++ casts float to int?
does it ceiling, floor, elementary-school-round, or does it round towards that nearest number which has less 1s in its binary representation?
haskell rounds elementary-school-round, unless it is sth like int+0.5, then it rounds to the nearest even number.there might still be another bug in the c++ version: the loop runs with the condition "i<sqrt" and not with "i<=sqrt". so, sth like this might happen iff (int)1.9f==1 :
sqrtf 4 == 1.999999f
int sqrt = 1 + 1.999999f == 2
for (int i=2; i yep, 4 must be prime.
it will probably happen only with big numbers, where 32-bit floats are not exact anymore.probably you already thought of this, and so you reimplemented this bug with floor on doubles. in that case, never mind.
– marc -
Joining late the fry, but nonetheless…
The c++ code does not test all numbers, but only the numbers that end with 2, 3, 5, and 7, since they have to be left-truncatable primes.Testing only odd numbers seems appropriate to me, and even then it will test more numbers than the C++ version
– Dan