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Detroit-based Loveland Technologies has made Fast Company's Top Ten Most Innovative Companies In Local 2014. I Am Young Detroit first reported on the young Detroiter-led startup back in 2010 when they were selling Detroit land by the inch. Here's what they're up to now:
"In Detroit, at what is likely the world's largest property auction, Loveland stepped in for cash-strapped local government and tracked 9,143 land parcels that sold for $32.5 million at last year's Wayne County tax foreclosure auction, 6,703 parcels that went unsold, and $182 million in uncollected property taxes. With its mobile app Blexting (that's blight + texting), the Detroit-based company is powering Motor City Mapping, the first attempt to catalog the condition of every piece of property in the city. The goal is to remove abandoned houses and salvaging lots, a highly visible step toward a broader recovery. This year, Loveland is extending its data-rich mapping tools to other municipalities".
Source: Fast Company


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happy nerdinghm vco
price : $220.00
hm (hearn morley voltage controlled oscillator) is an analog vco made to give classic four waveforms (sawtooth, pulse, triangle and sine) in a narrow 6hp width. it features counting 10-turn "tune" knob, where
each turn corresponds to 1 octave of frequency range. thus manual frequency sweep range is 10 octaves: staring from 16 hz and up to 16 khz, and this single "tune" knob covers duties of the commonly used separate
"coarse" and "fine" tune knobs. the saved panels space is then used by "fm" knob, which provides exponential frequency modulation, taking the modulator's signal from the corresponding "fm" jack. there is no
linear fm present, because we highly recommend to use our fm aid module, which perfectly couples with hm vco to give the user many different flavors of linear frequency/phase modulations.
there are also:
standard "1v/oct" input jack for over than 5 octaves of perfect tracking;
"sync" input for hard syncing to the master ocsillator;
"pwm" input for pulse width modulation.
tune: 16 hz...16 khz
outputs level: -5...5 v
outputs impedance: 1 kohm
module depth: 5 cm or 2 inches
power consumption: +46 ma / -46 ma at ±12 vdc

subset: commoncrawl


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* In terms of corrosion resistance, the best plastic pallets, plastic wood second, the worst steel tray;
* In the moisture resistance, plastic pallet performance is excellent;
* In insect-resistant, the best steel pallet, plastic pallet second;
* In terms of life expectancy, steel pallets and plastic pallets are difficult to be equal;
* In pallet weight, paper, wood Pallet occupies a certain advantage;
* In the bearing performance, steel pallet effect is the best;
* In the use of performance, plastic and steel trays are superior to paper, wood pallets;
* In pallet prices, wood pallets have the advantage, paper and plastic wood second, the most expensive steel pallets.
However, because in the actual use, according to different uses, some pallet is difficult to replace other varieties. For example, when carrying heavy goods, steel pallets have their irreplaceable property. But overall, plastic, plastic and wood composite and paper trays will be more promising products, and one of the most plastic pallets.


text: View this email in your browser February 2015 New Libraries in Gooru! Social-Emotional Learning Library from Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School The Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School (EPACS) library has collections around key aspects of social-emotional learning, including managing emotions, interpersonal problem-solving, and growth mindset. Check out this collection on Peer Mediation for great resources on peaceful conflict resolution. Collections on Digital Literacy and Citizenship from Riverside USD In the age of the Internet, it's important for students to be aware of the resources available to them as well as the impact of their digital footprint. Check out the RUSD Digital Literacy & Citizenship course for collections on topics such as Google tools, evaluating Internet sources, and private and personal information. If you use Chromebooks in your classroom, try going through this collection on Chromebook rules with students, or browse the course by going to the RUSD libraryand clicking on "Digital Literacy & Citizenship." Haiku Learning + Gooru = Love (and Learning!) To help teachers create a learning environment that stimulates students, gives them a voice, and provides them with the tools to reach their full potential, Gooru and Haiku Learning have met—and fallen in love. Teachers can pull in engaging content from Gooru, such as polls, bell-ringers, and self-paced learning activities. They combine them with interactive tools in the Haiku Learning platform, such as group discussions or WikiProjects, to help students contextualize and share what they're learning. Thus, Gooru + Haiku Learning is the perfect marriage of curated content and collaborative technology. Creating an ideal learning environment feels less like a challenge and more like a quest. Learn more about what Gooru + Haiku Learning can do for your classroom in this blog post. Upcoming Events The next Gooru Teacher Workshop webinar is onTuesday Feb. 10th, led by Sarah Smith, a 7th grade teacher. If you'd like to join the discussion, register here! If you can't make it, not to worry, the recorded webinar as well as our past webinars are available on our Youtube channel. ETC! 2015, Feb. 28th. at California State University Stanislaus in Turlock, CA We'll be holding two intro sessions about Gooru so please stop by! Check out the ETC schedule for more info on the sessions about Gooru. CUE Conference, March 19-21 in Palm Springs, CA Come visit us at Booth 646, or check out one of the sessions about Gooru. If you'd like to set up a time to chat at CUE or any other event we are attending, please let us know by emailing email@example.com. ASCD Conference, March 21-23 in Houston, TX We're planning to hold an informal "Gooru Office Hours" here, so please stay tuned to our Twitter for more info. Upcoming Webinars Tues. Feb. 10: Teacher Workshop webinar Feb. 23-24: Coach Trainings Webinars (Gooru 101 and 201) Monday Feb. 23: Gooru 101: How to Gooru Tuesday Feb. 24: Gooru 201: How to Share Gooru with Your Network Wed. Feb. 25: Coach Workshop webinar Embedding Gooru into Haiku LMS Bonus Feature: Reflecting on Selma Have you seen the movie Selma? Our partners at Youth Voices created a greatcollection that dives into the issues around the film. To spark discussion post-viewing or as part of a Black History Month activity, choose one or two resources from the collection to reflect upon. If you have a great collection or instructional method that you'd like to share, email us at email@example.com. Helpful links Gooru Tutorial Collections Gooru User Guide Gooru Support Center Ask Us a Question Connect With Us Facebook Twitter YouTube The Silverback Team General News 0 Comments ← IETA – Feb 10, 2016 Gooru March News → Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Name * Email * Website Posted: February 5th, 2015


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Best of China and tour package crafted by Tibet travel experts.
Beijing – Xian – Chengdu – Lhasa – Gyantse – Shigatse – Lhasa – Shanghai
Explore China and Tibet in depth with a reputable China tour operator recommended in every edition of Frommer's China! Small group, no forced shopping, expert guides, gourmet food, and loads of fun. Trip highlights include Potala Palace, Yamdrok yumtso (lake), Gyantse Fortress, Tibetan family visit, the Great Wall, and Chengdu Giant Panda Research Center.
This China and Tibet trip reaches points as high as high 5,020 metres (16,470 feet) above sea level. Participants prone to altitude sickness must take precaution before going on the trip.
Important Features
- Group size limited to 20.
- Expert local guides hand-picked by owners of Laurus Travel.
- Gratuities for local guides and drivers included.
- No forced shopping stops.
- Free Wi-Fi in all hotels.
- Quality meals at non-tourist restaurants.
- Unlimited supply of bottled water during group activities.
- Visits to chambers in Forbidden City that most tour companies pass up.
- Great Wall visit at Mutianyu with cable car.
Options Available
- Peking opera show in Beijing.
- Face Mask Changing performance in Chengdu.
- Princess Wencheng stage performance in Lhasa.
- Jewish heritage tour in Shanghai.
Meal Code: B = breakfast / L = lunch / D = dinner
Day 1/Thu: Departing for Beijing
The journey starts with your transpacific flight departing from a city of your choice. You'll lose a day upon crossing the International Date Line.
Day 2/Fri: Arrival in Beijing
Welcome to Beijing! Meet the driver on arrival for transfer to the hotel. You'll have the balance of the day at leisure. The guide will get in touch with you tonight.
Capital of China, Beijing is a world-class cultural and educational centre with a population of 21.7 million (2017), ranking it China's second largest city behind Shanghai. Beijing is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, and huge stone walls and gates – treasures that make it the most popular tourist city in China by the number of visitors it receives every year.
Beijing was already a strategically important city in northern China for centuries when Kublai Khan decided to move his capital here from Karakorum in Mongolia. With the collapse of the vast Mongol empire in 1368 AD, Beijing, known as Da Du or Grand Capital at the time, lost its status as the country's capital but soon regained it when the imperial court of the successive Ming Dynasty moved here from Nanjing. Beijing continued to serve as China's capital after Manchu tribes dethroned the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty in 1644 and established the Great Qing Empire (Qing Dynasty), which lasted till 1912.
Day 3/Sat: Beijing (B/L/D)
We begin today with a visit to the Forbidden City. Officially known as the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City was the place where the emperors of Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties lived and carried out their administration. Construction of the Forbidden City took 14 years (1406-1420) to complete. The complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 72 hectares or 180 acres. It exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Qing Dynasty was overthrown in 1912 but the royal family was allowed to continue to live in the Forbidden City till 1924, when the last emperor, Pu Yi, was driven out of the imperial palace. One year later the Forbidden City was turned into a museum. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, this is the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.
After lunch we proceed to the Summer Palace, a well preserved UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. The imperial resort was first named Garden of Clear Ripples, which was burnt down by the allied forces of Great Britain and France in 1860 during the Second Opium War (referred to as Arrow War by the British). Reconstruction started 25 years later and was completed in 1895 when the name was changed to Yi He Yuan (Garden of Good Health and Harmony). The design gives prominence to Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, south of the hill. The sprawling complex covers an area of 290 hectares and the buildings inside consist of over 3,000 bays.
Today we enjoy a delicious dinner at a popular Peking Roast Duck restaurant.
Day 4/Sun: Beijing (B/L)
After an early breakfast we embark on a full-day excursion to the legendary Great Wall at Mutianyu, 75 km northeast of the city.
Zigzagging over 6,000 kilometres from east to west along the undulating mountains, the Great Wall was built to hold off tribal invaders from the north. As history shows, the Wall failed the Chinese rulers miserably, especially in the case of Kublai Khan who and his men swept across China from the Mongolian steppe, thus the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).
Construction of the earliest sections of the Wall started in the 7th century B.C. A major renovation started with the founding of the Ming Dynasty in 1368 and took 200 years to complete. The wall we see today in Beijing is almost exactly the result of this effort.
Day 5/Mon: Beijing (B/L)
We begin our sightseeing today with a visit to a traditional hutong neighbourhood. Hutong refers to an ancient alleyway with siheyuan or "4-sided courtyard house" on both sides. The name hutong dates back to the Yuan Dynasty (1279 – 1368 A.D.). According to some experts, the word originated from the Mongolian language, in which it is pronounced as hottog and means "well." In ancient times, people tended to gather and live around wells. So the original meaning of hutong should be "a place where people live around".
We then visit historic Jingshan Park. The park to the north of the Forbidden City was part of the imperial palace serving the royal families as a convenient site for farming, recreation and ancestor worshipping. The man-made hill (46 metres above ground, 89 metres above sea level) overlooks the Forbidden City and provides a great spot for bird's-eye view of the surrounding area.
Next up is Tian'anmen Square. Located in the heart of Beijing, the square measures 880 metres from north to south and 500 metres from east to west. Said to be the largest public plaza in the world, Tian'anmen Square has the capacity to hold one million people. The imposing Tian'anmen Tower sits at the north end of the square while the Monument to the People's Heroes dominates the centre. The square is flanked by The Great Hall of the People (west) and the National Museum (east). Chairman Mao's Mausoleum and Qianmen (Front Gate) are located in the south of the square. One of the top 16 tourist attractions in Beijing, Tiananmen Square is also the witness of the Chinese people's great struggles for democracy and personal freedom since 1919.
Afternoon sightseeing at the Temple of Heaven, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated in southeastern Beijing the Temple of Heaven is China's largest extant sacrificial temple where, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the emperors conducted the elaborate and most exalted sacrifices addressed to "the Supreme Ruler of the Universe." Construction of the temple started in 1406, during the reign of the Ming Emperor Yongle, and took 14 years to complete. The temple was expanded under the Qing emperors Qianlong (1736-1796) and Jiaqing (1796-1820). Occupying 2.73 square kilometres (roughly 1,700 by 1,600 metres), the area of the Temple of Heaven is more than twice that of the Forbidden City.
The famous Hongqiao Pearl Market, the largest pearl market in the world, is right across the street from the Temple of Heaven. The market is recommended in numerous guidebooks as a good place to buy fresh water pearls, a market segment dominated by China. If you are interested, please ask the guide to drop you off there. However, you'll need to get back to the hotel by taxi, which costs about 50 yuan or US$8.
Day 6/Tue: Beijing – Xian (B/D)
Free morning to relax or explore on your own. We travel to Xian by the high-speed train (#G87, 14:00/18:23). The 4-hour-23-minute rail journey through fertile farmland dotted with villages provides the visitor an excellent way to enjoy the beautiful countryside. The track we travel on between Beijing and Zhengzhou is part of the new 2,298km high-speed railway linking Beijing and subtropical Guangzhou and the longest high-speed rail line in the world. In the past 20 years China has been on a building spree expanding the country's rail network and upgrading existing railways. The safety record, speed and punctuality of the Chinese high-speed rail service rival France's TGV and Japan's "shinkansen".
Day 7/Wed: Xian (B/L/D)
With a history going back over 3,000 years, Xi'an served as the capital of several ruling dynasties including the Han (206 BC – 220 AD) and the Tang (618 – 907). It is home to the famous Terracotta Army as well as the eastern terminus of the ancient Silk Road – a network of trade routes that connected China proper with regions as far as the Mediterranean beginning in the 2nd Century BC.
Morning visit to the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. Built on the excavation site, the museum is located 30km east of the city. Designed to follow the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) into eternity, the Terracotta Army represents one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th Century.
After lunch we return to the city for a stroll on the ancient city wall. Declared a national treasure by the State Council in 1961, the wall first built in 1370 encircles an area of 14 square kilometres. It runs 13.7 kilometres long and measures 12 metres in height with a thickness at the base between 15 to 18 metres.
Day 8/Thu: Xian (B/L)
Morning sightseeing begins with Shaanxi Provincial Museum. The modern, well-organized museum was completed in 1992 and traces the history of Xian from prehistory to Qing dynasty (1644-1912). The extensive galleries and exhibitions offer the visitor an excellent introduction to the area that greatly improves understanding of the numerous historical sites in and around the city.
We then visit the ancient grand mosque in the old town centre and the adjacent Muslim bazaar. The mosque was established in the 8th Century but the majority of the complex was constructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was further expanded in the Qing Dynasty. Unlike most mosques in Middle Eastern or Arab countries, this mosque is completely Chinese in its architectural style. It has neither domes nor traditional style minarets.
Day 9/Fri: Xi'an – Chengdu (B/D)
This morning we ride the bullet train (3 hours) to Chengdu, capital of populous Sichuan Province. The ancient city has a population of 14 million with half of that within the urban centre and the remainder in the surrounding districts. A top livable city, Chengdu is one of the most important economic, transportation, and communication hubs in Western China. The fertile Chengdu Plain, on which Chengdu is located, is also known as "Country of Heaven", a phrase also often translated as "The Land of Abundance". The discovery of the Jinsha site suggests the area of Chengdu had become the centre of the Bronze Age Sanxingdui culture around the time of the establishment of the state of Shu, prior to its annexation by Qin in 316 BC.
Afternoon schedule includes Wang Jiang Lou Park and a typical local tea house. Wangjianglou means "river-overlooking tower" and the park is so named because of the ancient pagoda-shaped wooden tower onsite. The beautiful little park dotted with verdant bamboo groves has long been a favourite spot among locals for leisure. People in Sichuan enjoy going to tea houses, their equivalent of pubs or neighbourhood coffee shops found in the West, where people, especially retirees, exchange gossips and play chess among other things.
Day 10/Sat: Chengdu (B/L/D)
Morning sightseeing at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The giant panda, unrelated to lesser or red panda, is a bear native to south central China, living in mountainous regions. It is easily recognized by the large, distinctive black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is over 99% bamboo. The giant panda has an insatiable appetite for bamboo. A typical animal eats half the day – a full 12 out of every 24 hours – and relieves itself dozens of times a day. Giant pandas are solitary creatures. They have a highly developed sense of smell that males use to avoid each other and to find females for mating in the spring. After a five-month pregnancy, females give birth to a cub or two, though they cannot care for both twins. The blind infants born white weigh only 5 ounces (142 grams) at birth and cannot crawl until they reach three months of age. The panda is a conservation reliant endangered species. Recent statistics show 239 pandas living in captivity inside China and another 27 outside the country. Estimates of the wild population vary from 1,000 to as high as 3,000. Some reports also show that the number of pandas in the wild is on the rise.
We spend the most of the afternoon at Jinsha Museum built on the excavation site. A significant archaeological discovery in modern China, construction workers chanced upon it in February 2001. The site flourished around 1000 BC and shares similarities in burial objects with the Sanxingdui site located 50 km from Chengdu. Ivory, jade artifacts, bronze objects, gold objects and carved stone objects were found at the site. Unlike the site at Sanxingdui, Jinsha did not have a city wall. Jinsha culture (1200–650 BC) is believed to be a final phase of Sanxingdui culture and represents a relocation of the political center in the ancient Shu Kingdom.
Day 11/Sun: Chengdu – Lhasa (B/L)
Free morning to rest up. We board noon flight for Lhasa and upon arrival spend the rest of the day relaxing and getting acclimatized to the high altitudes.
Day 12/Mon: Lhasa (B/L)
Situated in a wide, mountain-fringed valley on the north bank of the Kyichu River, Lhasa (elevation 3,650m) is a rapidly expanding city with a population of over 540,000. An important settlement for well over a thousand years, Lhasa was originally called Rasa, but was renamed by King Songtsen Gampo in the seventh century when he moved his capital here from the Yarlung Valley. Following the collapse of the Yarlung dynasty two centuries later, power dispersed among local chieftains and the city lost its pre-eminence. It was not until the seventeenth century, with the installation of the Fifth Dalai Lama as ruler by the Mongolian emperor, Gushri Khan, that Lhasa once again became the seat of government.
Morning visit to the Dalai Lama's summer residence Norbulinka. This afternoon we tour grand Sera Monastery, where lively debates held Monday to Saturday from 3 to 5 pm between resident monks often draw a large audience.
Day 13/Tue: Lhasa (B/L)
This morning we visit the Potala Palace. This was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising. It is now a museum and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythical abode of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. The 5th Dalai Lama started its construction in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa. The palace sits on the site of an earlier fortress built by King Songtsen Gampo. The main building measures 360 metres east-west and 140 metres north-south. Thickness of the exterior granite walls varies between 2 and 5 metres.
Afternoon sightseeing at Jokhang Temple, one of the oldest Buddhist buildings in Tibet and a remarkable combination of Tibetan, Indian, Nepalese and Han Chinese architectural styles. No visit to Jokhang Temple is complete without checking out the Barkor Street bazaar outside the temple.
Day 14/Wed: Lhasa – Gyantse – Shigatse (B/L/D)
Following breakfast, we drive along the Southern Route to Gyantse (265km). Highlights of the scenic drive include Kambaba Pass (4,700 metres/15,416 feet above sea level) and the holy lake Yamdrok Yumtso. Every summer throngs of Tibetan pilgrims come to the lake to pray for blessings by the lake fairy. Afternoon sightseeing in Gyantse takes in the Fortress of Gyantse Dzong and Pelkhor Choede. We continue on to Shigatse (90km) in late afternoon arriving at the second largest city in Tibet around dinnertime.
Day 15/Thu: Shigatse – Lhasa (B/L)
This morning we visit Tashilunpo Monastery, the religious and administrative headquarters of the Panchen Lama – paramount leader of the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Return to Lhasa via better paved Northern Route (295 km). Vast pastureland, barren mountain slopes, snow-capped peaks, blue skies, white clouds, scanty population, and ubiquitous prayer flags – these images combine to conjure a sense of solitude and mystery.
Day 16/Fri: Lhasa – Shanghai (B/L)
Spend the morning relaxing or exploring the ancient Tibetan capital on your own. We fly to Shanghai in mid-afternoon.
With a population of 24 million (2015), Shanghai is China's biggest city. Rapid economic growth in the past 30 years has again turned Shanghai into a leading global city with significant influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology and transport. Today's visitors to Shanghai are delighted by its futuristic skyline that blends so well with its treasured historical landmarks.
Afternoon sightseeing finds us at Shanghai Museum. This museum is frequently cited by visitors as one of the best of its kind in China with a treasure trove collected from around the country. Please note that extended delay is common for flights from Guilin to Shanghai. If we couldn't make it to Shanghai on time, the planned sightseeing for this afternoon would be moved to Day 18.
Day 17/Sat: Shanghai (B/L/D)
Our full-day tour begins at Jade Buddha Temple located in an old neighbourhood. This active temple of Mahayana Buddhism was founded in 1882 housing two jade Buddha statues imported from Burma.
We then process to famous waterfront promenade known as the Bund, which is followed by a visit to Yu Garden in the old town centre.
We wrap up the day with a drive through the glitzy financial district of Lujiazui on the opposite side of the Bund across Huangpu River.
Day 18/Sun: Shanghai (B)
Today is a free day to explore on your own. Our recommendations include Jinmao Tower and the popular evening cruise on Huangpu River. We also offer an optional half-day Jewish heritage tour and a full-day tour to Suzhou by high-speed train.
Day 19/Mon: Shanghai – Home City (B)
Your Best of China and Tibet tour ends this morning. Transfer to the airport any time for return flight. Guests flying back to North America will regain a day upon re-crossing the International Date Line, thus arriving home the same day as departing from Shanghai.
Contact us for printer-friendly PDF file
|Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng
|Sheraton Xian North City
|Sofitel Chengdu
|Lhasa (2 stays)
|InterContinental Lhasa
|Qomo Langzong Hotel
|best available
|Sheraton Hongkou
2018 Dates and Prices
|Land Only*
|Single Supplement
|2019 Dates and Prices
* Land Only price does not include international airfare. Please contact us for a fare quote.
|What the tour price includes:
|What the tour price excludes:
Absolutely no hidden charge of any kind!
See Terms & Conditions for more information.


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Titre : REJECTED PRINCESS Version(s) disponible(s) : Anglais Date : 2011 Origine : NIGERIA Format : 2 x 90' Realisateur : Charles Inojie
In a province, the chief of the village unjustly snatches the hunting game of a poor man from him because of some unpleasant comments he made. He then offers the hunting game as a present to his wife, the queen. The poor man, in his insistence to recover his property is fatally struck by the Chief. In his agony, he places a curse on the chief who died on the same day his son was born.
30 years later, the son of the chief who inherited the throne, despite having several wives is unable to father a child to ensure his posterity. The village council of elders is in motion.
Informations pas encore disponible pour ce programme.
Informations pas encore disponible pour ce programme.


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A lucky local nightclubber headed on a dream trip to Florida in 1989 after coming tops in a holiday competition.
Jackie Lee of Lissington won a holiday for two in the competition organised by Cinderella's in Lincoln.
As well as visiting Disneyworld and Seaworld, she said the highlight of her five-day trip was a massive party in the hotel complex for Superbowl Sunday - and she even packed a copy of the Rasen Mail to get her picture with Mr and Miss Superbowl.


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Entertainment » Theatre
Top Story
Semenya Arrives for Landmark Case at Swiss Sports Tribunal
Attorneys for "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett say there are no plans for him to meet with Chicago detectives Monday for a follow-up interview about his reported assault.
1 thru 10 of 1846 Stories
Review :: School of Rock - The Musical
There are twelve reasons to see "School of Rock," and they are the young actors who play the students that slacker Dewey Finn finds himself teaching in this musical adaptation of Richard Linklater's 2003 comedy.
Michael Jackson Musical to Open on Broadway, Skips Chicago
A stage musical about Michael Jackson will skip making its debut in Chicago and instead open on Broadway in summer 2020.
Review :: Mark Morris Dance Group, 'Pepperland'
The audience's standing ovation for this 65 minute, non-stop performance is raucous.
Review :: Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Carole King recently said that the show allows audience to put aside the chaos of the world for a couple of hours; too bad it isn't as transporting as she may think. Sorry, but the earth didn't move under my feet.
Review :: Cats - 2019 National Tour
Kicking off its national tour in Providence, it's plain to see how the spectacle of "Cats" made an impression 30-odd years ago.
'Jagged Little Pill' Heads to Broadway in the Fall
The acclaimed new musical "Jagged Little Pill" will open on Broadway this fall, at a theater soon to be announced.
Review :: Broadway @ the Huntington: Christine Ebersole
Christine Ebersole, the two-time Tony winning star, joined Seth Rudetsky for delightful 90-minutes of songs and conversation this past Saturday.
Review :: An Inspector Calls
Written in 1946, this play couldn't be more relevant. And with the expert performances by every member of the cast and stunning set design by Ian MacNeil, it couldn't be more lovely to witness.
'Magic Mike The Musical' Opens in Boston in November Prior to Bway
Producers Channing Tatum, Steven Soderbergh, Gregory Jacobs, Nick Wechsler, Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan announced today that "Magic Mike The Musical" will premiere at Boston's newly refurbished Emerson Colonial Theatre this fall prior to Broadway.
Audra McDonald Heading Back to Broadway to Star in Romance
Six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald is heading back to Broadway to be a waitress — but not in "Waitress."
1 thru 10 of 1846 Stories


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Combining Thai and northern European flavors may seem odd, but the sweet beet, apple, and caraway work remarkably well with the salty hotness of Thai spicing.
How to Make It
To prepare pork, combine first 11 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator for 4 to 12 hours, turning bag occasionally.
Preheat oven to 450°.
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Remove pork from bag, reserving marinade. Pat pork dry with paper towels. Add pork to pan; cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove pork from pan; place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Place reserved marinade in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Bake pork at 450° for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155° (slightly pink), basting occasionally with reserved marinade. Let stand 5 minutes; thinly slice.
To prepare salsa, combine apple and remaining ingredients. Serve with pork.


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1 – Hindsight feat. Kevin Knapp (Alland Byallo Remix)
2 – Hindsight feat. Kevin Knapp (Kendig Remix)
3 – Hindsight feat. Kevin Knapp (Kenneth Scott Remix)
4 – Hindsight feat. Kevin Knapp (Marc Smith Remix)
Following his acclaimed 2010 release Untitled 16 on Untitled & After, Marc Smith returns to "Hindsight," his intriguing deep house track with vocalist Kevin Knapp. Now on Untitled 23, "Hindsight" is treated to four remixes that delve deeper into the moody, soulful sound of Smith's original. In keeping with the U&A plot, the "Hindsight" remixes are cerebral and sensual, heavy dancefloor tracks to make your head spin.
The first remix is from San Francisco-by-way-of-Berlin producer Alland Byallo, delivering on big room bombast and rhythmic grit. Alland has been gaining global attention producing gems for definitive record labels like Poker Flat, Liebe*Detail, Dirt Crew, and Missive solidifying his reputation as a rising techno talent. Reigning in the cushy, atmospheric pads of the original mix, Byallo renders things a bit raw, unfurling the track on the slightly darker side of the dancefloor.
San Francisco's Jason Kendig is a member of the Honey Soundsystem collective and has released tracks on their home label HNYTRX, Andy Butler's (Hercules & Love Affair) MR. INTL label, and has produced a remix of Finesse on Portland's Ecstasy Records. Slow, silky and atmospheric, Kendig's remix takes a beach-side approach by slowing "Hindsight" down and warming it up in a sunset haze.
Kenneth Scott has managed to create a powerful string of releases with collaborators like Emilio Orlandi as Moniker, with Jason Short as Eutactic, and the aforementioned Alland Byallo alongside his own solo material. Deep, deep and pumping, Kenneth Scott's remix spins the vocal into an atmospheric texture, awash with mysterious, drifting synths.
Marc Smith is one half of of the group Safeword alongside partner Clint Stewart, They've had a very busy year with releases on Dessous, Poker Flat and Paso Music just to name a few. With a slight departure from Safeword's low slung techno esthetic Marc's solo music embodies a deeper house vibe. Marc Smith's own rework pulls disco elements into the mix to create a spacious, surreal version of "Hindsight" like a vivid dream of the original.


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About this ring
Somerset 2mm
The delicate definition of this square band makes it the perfect match to engagement rings with similarly square bands.
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Equal Play Legacy Kick-off With Brandi Chastain
7:30 pm - 10:30 pm
918 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC
Equal Play FC Legacy Kick-off – an evening of inspirational speakers and entertainment. Keynote speakers include former Prime Minister Kim Campbell, former World Cup and Olympic soccer star Brandi Chastain, Canada's first woman inductee into the Hall of Fame, Carrie Serwetnyk, Fullbright Scholar Rumana Monzur, and others.
Live musical entertainment TBA.
Proceeds support Equal Play FC in its mission to create positive change for girls and women on and off the field. Tickets start at $20.
For more info and to buy your tickets, visit www.equalplayfc.com.


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28 Nov 2016
Thought to be one of a dozen in existence, the 1957 BMW Isetta 300 Plus has a rare fully-glazed rear window. It also has the original number plate that it was registered with in the late Fifties.
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E-mails in mobile devices - when and what?14.06.2013
Year 2013 has been declared as a year of responsive design. Therefor we cannot help to bring this subject up over and over again. A lot of intresting aspects have to be consider and we bring you some of the stats that should make you think and plan your e-mail campaigns and make them more user frienfly for mobile devices.
First of all, what motivates people to open an email on their mobile device? There are traditional eye-catcers as subject lines, but not only...
Times are changing with the "move to mobile" as well. What should you take into consideration while timing your e-mail campaigns?
If you send your newsletter out in the beginning of the week, they are most probably viewed on Desktop. Weekend on the other hand brings the triumph of mobile devices.
While weekend, early mornings and evenings are again best for mobiles, then daytime people are mostly behind their desk and use desktop to open e-mails.
Take a moment and think when are you sending out your emails? Check out the Mailbow desktop for statistics of the Operation Systems your subscribers are using and if you have not thinked about going mobile and designing responsive newsletter, it may be your time to act!
Your Account Manager


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Mehaffey and Dunne headline Irish challenge at Conwy
Defending champion Olivia Mehaffey and Skerries Maria Dunne will be hoping to continue their good form in this week's Welsh Ladies Open Stroke Play Championship.
Second and third behind Olivia Winning at Royal Troon, they head a seven-strong Irish contingent at at Conwy Golf Club, where players will get a chance to see the course before the Girls' and Ladies Home International Matches later this year.
They are joined in Wales by Chloe Ryan (Castletroy), Jessica Ross (Donaghadee), Sinead Sexton (Lahinch), Shannon Burke (Ballinrobe) and Rachel Thomson (Cork).
Mehaffey captured the title by one shot from Winning last year and with the English star claiming victory in Scotland last week, this promises to be another competitive encounter.
The Curtis Cup side will be named on the eve of the championship with Dunne and Ross potential picks alongside the likes of Wales' Chloe Williams, Castletroy's Chloe Ryan or England's Gemma Clews, to name but a few.
The Irish Nations Cup Team is Mehaffey, Ryan and Ross for a 54-hole Championship which begins on Friday with the top 50 and ties qualifying for Sunday's final round.


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For all of the games, it was 1000pts, and just for completeness, here is my meagre list I took for all my games, no matter the foe.
Lords (218pts)
- Orc Warboss 'Gorbash' (218pts)
- Shield
Magic Items
BRB - Armour of Destiny, BRB - Crown of Command, BRB - Sword of Striking
- Magic Items BRB - Armour of Destiny, BRB - Crown of Command, BRB - Sword of Striking
Heroes (225pts)
Orc Big Boss 'Gitkilla' (125pts)
Battle Standard Bearer
Magic ItemsBRB - Armour of Silvered Stee
- Magic ItemsBRB - Armour of Silvered Stee
Orc Shaman 'Skabz' (100pts)
Lore of da Big Waaagh!, Magic Items, Wizard Level 2
Core (385pts)
Goblin Wolf Riders (65pts)
5x Goblin Wolf Riders5x Shield
- 5x Goblin Wolf Riders5x Shield
Orc Arrer Boyz (70pts)
10x Orc Arrer Boyz
Orc Big 'Uns (250pts)
Boss, Musician, 25x Orc Boyz
Standard Bearer
BRB - Standard of Discipline
- Standard Bearer BRB - Standard of Discipline
Rare (170pts)
- Goblin Rock Lobber (85pts)
Goblin Rock Lobber (85pts)
The next game was against my Dwarfs which another friend was using. Essentially he had;
25 Warriors with GW
20 quarrellers
10 miners
Runesmith and a Dwarf Lord.
Here are the images of the game with some attached text.
End game. Didn't get to catch the Dwarfs, but ended in an Orc victory.
So two games in its two wins for the Orc's. We played one more game that evening, and it was a 3 way free for all, using the appendix scenario Battle Royal from the Battle Rule book. Next post will see what happens in that game with some attached pics.
Hope you enjoyed the pics.


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New Trends in Martinis?
We were out earlier last night, and I had occasion to order three of them in two different places. We were with another martini drinker, so we had a baseline from which to compare. All three of my martinis sported a sheen of crushed ice along the top of the drink.
I don't remember where precisely, but somewhere I read that a martini should have a little bit of tiny crushed ice to prove that it really was nicely chilled. I've never really bought into that. I don't need to have ice to prove anything--I simple sip can tell you how cold (or not) it is. And aesthetically, ice in a martini says nothing to me so much as diluted gin. But even if a small amount of ice crystals are desirable, I certainly don't need to have enough crushed ice in my drink to crunch my way through to the last drop. Oddly, the other martini drinker in our party never seemed to have any noticeable ice crystals in his drink. So why did my drinks--mixed by the very same bartenders--have more in common with Icees than with cocktails?
Despite my title at the top of the page, I like my martinis just as they are--I need no new trends. If nothing else, bartenders, at least scoop the multitude of ice out with a spoon or ladle or something. I want a nice, bracing drink, not a drink that's getting weaker and weaker the more you look at it.


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Deadly attack outside Cairo church wedding
Listen this video, 1.37 min, published on AlJazeera, Oct 21, 2013.
Eight-year-old girl among three victims of shooting in latest attack apparently targeting Egypt's Coptic Christians.
Three people including an eight-year-old girl have been killed by armed men who opened fire on a group of people leaving a wedding at a Coptic church in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
The group was targeted late on Sunday night as it emerged from the church in north Cairo's Al-Warak neighbourhood, Egypt's Interior Ministry said … //
… "There are still some who wrongly accuse the Christians to be responsible for the ousting of President [Mohamed Morsi]," he said.
Angelos said there is no justification for killing of an eight-year-old girl.
Religious animosity:
Egyptian Christians, the majority of whom are Copts, have been targeted since the removal of Morsi and, in particular, since an August 14 crackdown by security forces on two Cairo camps of Morsi's Islamist supporters.
Islamists were angered by the deadly crackdown and they accuse Coptic Chrisitians of backing the coup that toppled Morsi, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood and was Egypt's first democratically elected president.
This perception was reinforced by the appearance of Coptic Pope Tawadros II alongside army chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi when he announced on television Morsi's removal from office. Muslim leaders and other politicians were also present.
Rights groups say that Copts, who account for six to 10 percent of Egypt's 85 million people, have come under attack mainly in the provinces of Minya and Assiut in central Egypt.
On October 9 London-based Amnesty International said that more than 200 Christian-owned properties were attacked and 43 churches seriously damaged across the country since the August 14 crackdown against Morsi supporters in Cairo.
(full text).
Deadly blast kills women and children in southern Syria, says rights group, on AlJazeera America, Oct 16, 2013: 6 women and 4 children were among the dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights …;
The challenge for Egypt's Copts, on AlJazeera, by Alaa Bayoumi, April 23, 2013: Cairo is witnessing a backlash from the Christian community after tensions recently spilled over into deadly violence: Clashes between Muslims and Christian Copts in Egypt over the past few weeks have left 10 people dead, bringing decades-old sectarian tension back to the forefront in the Arab world's most populous country …;
(see also: Welcome to our new blog: politics for the 99%).


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Red Robin REALTORS® hosts Maker Festival
A Little Birdie Told Us….
…..you might need a REALTOR® soon! And, if you visit the Meet the Makers Festival in Ormewood Park and decide you want to move here, we know a great one. Melissa Wakamo, Principal Broker at Red Robin REALTORS®, is a 20-year resident of the neighborhood and is pleased to be the Presenting Sponsor of the Maker Festival coming Ormewood Park on March 25, 2017.
"When I started in real estate in 2004, my goal was to work with buyers and sellers in my local community – I looked forward to a career with a short commute! But, what I didn't expect was the satisfaction I get from welcoming new neighbors to my community, and helping friends start new life adventures when they move away. I feel very fortunate to have a job that I love, where I get to hang out with my neighbors!"
In 2007, Melissa started her company, Red Robin Group, in Ormewood Park. And, in 2012, changed the name of the company to Red Robin REALTORS®, to reflect the growth of the company. "We now have 24 agents at Red Robin and they work in neighborhoods all over intown Atlanta. I love that it all started here in Ormewood Park and I've been able to grow the business and support the community."
Melissa is a strong advocate in the community, particularly through her support of the local schools. "Any great real estate professional knows that good schools are key to the development of a community. I've seen amazing positive changes happen in our schools over the past 20 years, which has helped increase property values and demand for homes."
Melissa bought her first home on Emerson Avenue in 1996. In 2003, she moved to Ormewood Avenue when she married her husband, Rob (who, by the way, works at Zoo Atlanta). "Everyone in our family is a fan of the short commute to work!"
To view Ormewood Park homes for sale, visit www.aboutormewoodpark.com. For more info about Melissa and Red Robin REALTORS®, visit www.melissawakamo.com.


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In this fifth episode we chat with voice of KROQ Nicole Alvarez about the origin story of her cat Boots, the dynamics between Boots and her other cat Peanut, the feral cats of the KROQ parking lot, and other Los Angeles wildlife. The Purrrcast, talking to cat people because we can't talk to their cats.
New episodes every Wednesday! Please rate and subscribe in iTunes:
If you shop on Amazon be sure to click this link and we'll get a small kickback. Thanks for the support: http://www.amazon.com?_encoding=UTF8&tag=thepurr-20
Email us! email@example.com
Follow Nicole Alvarez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NicoleFAlvarez
Follow Nicole on Instagram too: https://instagram.com/nicalvarez/
Links Of Interest:
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Buy Steven's book on the Jurassic Park Franchise over at Thought Catalog:
Theme song by Anabot (Analise Nelson) and Dax Schaffer:
Artwork by Jillian Yoffe: flatratstudio.com
Part of the #HelloLionFace podcast network


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Just a bit of background Life as a designer isn't all about creating a pretty picture or getting my crayons out! It's about the thinking behind it, such as what is a good design, what's on trend? What response will it have? What can we do to attract the audience? It is also about capturing the imagination and attention of someone to evoke a preferred reaction, in a creative way … [Read more...]
Valentine's Day Infographic 2017
Love it or hate it, there's no escaping Valentine's Day. So, whether you're sharing it alone or with a loved one: sit back, grab a box of chocolates, and enjoy some Valentine's Day stats and predictions fresh off the Wonderland press for 2017: Created by Vicky and … [Read more...]
Can design help to open doors for people with disabilities?
Design has always been used as a device to aid in visual messages that the creator wants to convey, but they can also be used to evoke empathy with and even support people with learning difficulties. This subject is quite close to my heart as my brother Alex has autism. With his learning difficulties, Alex would never have got to where he has today without having had the opportunities that … [Read more...]
Colour – up close and very personal!
Colour – up close and very personal! "Colours speak all languages" Joseph Addison (1672 – 1719) Colour – it's a personal thing The latest series of Strictly Come Dancing has just ended and I remember Mum and I cooing over the women's beautiful dresses. I absolutely loved a jewel-encrusted peach coloured number one of the pro dancers was sashaying around the floor in, whilst … [Read more...]
What designers are really afraid of!!
With Halloween just around the corner I thought it was the perfect time to discuss what design monstrosities are lurking in the dark. There are certain constraints and occurrences that almost every designer can relate to...BEHOLD THE HORROR! Paranormal Mac-tivity Illustrator crashing and causing you to lose half your work because you forgot to cmd + s! That little rainbow wheel of … [Read more...]


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"The linguistic construction of post-capitalist hegemony opens a space for the engendering of the public sphere". Sounds ominous and deep. Sounds knowledgeable. Then what about the next sentence: "The illusion of praxis carries with it the discourse of the public sphere." amd the next: "The emergence of normative value(s) opens a space for the ideology of the public sphere." I could write a whole essay about that topic in the style that typified the so-called post-modernist explosion in social sciences in the 1970s and beyond. Aah, Pomo, the nonsensical shift in literary endeavour that has set the Left back as much as the embrace of Monetarism and, more generally, neo-liberalism. This blog continues to add to the material we are working on as part of my next book (with co-author, Italian journalist Thomas Fazi), which traces the way the Left fell prey to what we call the globalisation myth and formed the view that the state has become powerless (or severely constrained) in the face of the transnational movements of goods and services and capital flows. This material will be part of the final section of the book, which we are sort of calling a 'Progressive Manifesto', designed to guide policy design and policy choices for progressive governments. We also hope that the 'Manifesto' will empower community groups by demonstrating that the TINA mantra, where these alleged goals of the amorphous global financial markets are prioritised over real goals like full employment, renewable energy and revitalised manufacturing sectors is bereft and a range of policy options, now taboo in this neo-liberal world are available. The book will be published in 2017 by Pluto Books, London. This blog examines the way the Left became entranced with post-modernism and fell into the trap of disappearing into crevices of meaningless at the expense of a focus on class struggle and a coherent critique of capitalism. We argue that critique is an essential part of the revitalisation of the Left political struggle against neo-liberalism and the restoration of the Left as a political force.
Thankfully, I can get the The Virtual Academic: a random sentence generator to do the work for me. Beautifully crafted nonsense.
Or I can get whole academic papers written by the Postmodernism Generator which will save me time and demonstrate how erudite I am (not!).
The Marxist tradition had developed in the Age of Englightenment, which had concerned itself with trying to understand perception and the existence of objective reality.
Marx responded to the central belief systems in that period by advancing his notion of historical materialism, which, in short, posited that:
1. We can understand the objective reality (a central Enlightenment construct) of Capitalism by understanding the logic and dynamics of class conflict or class struggle.
2. Class struggle is a central focus of any attempt to understand the dynamics of capitalism.
3. Within this conflict, the working class can identify as a collective, which can transform history and move the mode of production from capitalism to socialism and then, ultimately, to a communist state.
Human agency, organised into classes (defined in relation to ownership of the material means of production, which bestowed on the owners the capacity to exploit the non-owners by expropriating the real output that they produced in surplus of subsistance need) was thus at the centre of Marx's ideas on historical development.
Postmodernism emerged in the late 1960s in fact, as a response to disillusionment with the radicalism of that time that had been engendered by attempts to apply the ideas of Marx and others.
It was a period where the 'Stalinism' of the Soviet and Chinese states were becoming increasingly unacceptable to Marxist-oriented thinkers in the West.
It was obvious that these regimes were brutal and had lost the plot with respect to the main message of Marx – to liberate workers from capitalist oppression and chart a course towards a free state in nature for people to prosper – materially and intellectually.
It was also a time after the French rebellion in May 1968 failed (along with major ructions in Japan, Mexico, Germany and Spain and elsewhere) and the splintering of student groups into factions (Brigate Rosse, Baader-Meinhof etc) saw them descend into so-called revolutionary modes of action (aimed at overthrowing the state and NATO etc), which were otherwise known as drug infested, criminality.
And, globalisation was placing new pressures on national economies to evolve and become more open. At this point, the emergence of neo-liberalism, which is often, wrongly, conflated with the global development of supply chains etc was nascent but still not dominant.
Marx's conceptualisation of the world conforms with the ideas of the structuralists that suggested a reality existed and could be understood by inquiry of the objects which form that reality. These objects were defined by the social relations embedded in the organisation of production.
So there is a cultural reality with practical manifestations that can be changed by organised human agency (changing who owns the means of production, for example). This reality was understood by reference to historical epochs where the organisation of production had changed.
Another way of thinking about this is that meaning lies below the appearance. In the Capitalist system, it 'looks' as though workers are paid a wage for the hours they work and freely exchange their labour for that wage.
But that appearance doesn't help us understand the essential class struggle driving the exchange.
In modern terms, the firm agrees to pay a wage to the worker for a given working day (which itself might vary according to various rules). At that point in the exchange the firm has purchased the labour power, which is the capacity to work. No actual labour services have been purchased in that transaction.
The task of management then is to organise, muster and deploy that labour power in a controlled way to ensure that for the time the worker has agreed to work they are delivering the desired flow of labour services to the firm.
It is in that way that the firm ensures they produce enough output from the labour power purchased, which upon sale, will return the funds outlayed on wages (and other materials the workers use) and leave a sufficient residual – profits – which will satisfy the objectives of the owners of the firm.
A study of the modern labour market therefore has to be conducted within the context of the primacy of managerial control and the need for the capitalist firm to maximise the flow of labour they gain from the labour power they purchase.
Unlike the exchange of a banana for cash, where the supplier gets to enjoy the 'use-value' of the cash and the purchaser the 'use-value' of the banana outside of the terms of the exchange, the 'use-value' of the labour power – the flow of labour – is enjoyed by the capitalist within the ambit of the exchange.
That is a fundamental difference between the labour market exchange and a normal product market exchange.
But there is basic conflict underpinning this exchange which sets up the need to control the generation of the 'use-value' of labour power.
We assume that workers will typically desire to be paid more for working less and capitalists want to pay the least for the most flow of labour services. We could frame this tension in more complex ways and, indeed, Marx and his followers have done that.
This is not to say that business firms do not provide good working conditions and seek to reward their workers in many different ways. The point is rather that they do that without jeopardising their control function or their capacity as purchasers of labour power.
For Marxists, it was essential, therefore to go to the essence of a situation (of a perception) to create the 'grand narrative'.
Please read my blog – The labour market is not like the market for bananas – for more discussion on this point.
The Post structuralists (Roland Barthe, Jean Baudrillard, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, Jean-François Lyotard, etc) became increasingly popular and we started to hear about "decentering" or the "death of the author", which considers meaning to be in the eyes of the beholder rather than anything a writer might desire to convey.
It is almost impossible (and futile) to actually pin down what post-structuralism is.
In the Marxist literature, the Post-structuralists were in revolt against the idea that coherent knowledge (about, for example, the existence of surplus value) was available by analysing the structure of ownership within a production culture.
They argued that we are incapable of understanding the entirety of human society and we must thus concentrate on pieces of this puzzle by seeking information about it rather than drawing generalisations based on the mode of production.
Information is generated by a pluralism of countering interests which are not restricted by the desire to be consistent with any 'grand narrative' (based on class).
Michael Foucault added that (crudely) everything is relative – there is no discernible and truthful narrative running through history that is resistant to objective interpretation.
There might be an objective reality but we can never know it because, in the words of Jacques Derrider "il n'y a pas de hors-texte", which means I have dared to introduce the post-structuralist notion of Deconstruction, and should take a break for a cup of tea so I can forget that I did that.
The point they were trying to make is that there is no meaning in a text as a whole. A given text is capable of multiple interpretations because it is constructed of many contradictory and irreconcilable meanings. Meaning only comes from relating words to other words and exploring the differences (the classic example is to contrast house with shed).
I don't really want to go into these arcane offerings here in much detail. I spent many an hour as an undergraduate and post-graduate student and then some more later coming to terms with them.
What we end up with is a notion that takes us away from Marxian class categories and focuses, instead, on studying elements of political power, the use of language and narratives as the way of gleaning meaning. This is also defines new arenas of political struggle that are diametric to those defined by the class struggle of Marx.
Here I am referring to the rise of feminism, movements against homophobia, multiculturalism and the other disaggregated (from class) movements that occupy the so-called 'progressive' Left these days.
Marginality is no longer described in class terms but rather in terms of cohort identity and fragmentation of consciousness has resulted.
Marxian exploitation is replaced by individual cohort oppression as the fundamental expression of struggle. There is nothing general.
The hegemony of the capitalist gives way to the power struggles between husband and oppressed wife, or gay and homophobic, between racist and object of racism, and all the rest of the individual power struggles that define the cultural struggles.
So class struggle is not the path to liberation but, rather, laws designed to overturn 'glass ceilings' (for example) become the desired end.
The class struggle was about solidarity of a collective. But this new post-modernist idea of struggle has no collective (society) only unities that span Marxian class boundaries.
We encounter the strange bedfellow case where feminists (who might be capitalists or workers) are now fighting for the same end!
Moreover, the institutions that might have evolved (or evolve) to promote the class struggle for workers – such as trade unions or political parties – become subjugated to these non-class struggle foci.
So we see political parties that were originated to defend the workers as a class against the vicissitudes of capitalist power becoming vehicles that reject the class struggle as the overarching form of the political activity and, instead, become obsessed with issues relating to issues like womens' rights to be on corporate boards etc as an expression of what they believe to be the progressive voice.
The focus against 'capitalism' is replaced by a focus against racism (for example) and the roots of the racism and the way the capitalists might use the sentiments to divide and conquer the workers is lost.
By deconstructing and decentering meaning – anything goes, but the development of a working class consciousness that is capable of pushing capitalism towards a more liberated socialist epoch is lost.
In the introduction to her 1995 book, Ellen Meisksins-Wood wrote (pages 1-2):
Intellectuals of the left, then, have been trying to define new ways, other than contestation, of relating to capitalism. The typical mode, at best, is to seek out the interstices of capitalism, to make within it for alternative 'discourses', activities and identities. Much is made of the fragmentary character of advanced capitalism – whether that fragmentation is characterized by the culture of post-modernism or by the political economy of post-Fordism; and this is supposed to multiply the spaces in which a culture of the left can operate. But underlying all of these seems to be a conviction that capitalism is here to stay, at least in any foreseeable historical perspective.
The reformulation of the left's relation to capitalism as a making of space within it, rather than a direct challenge to and contestation of it, helps, among other things, to explain the major shift from traditional discourses of the left, such as political economy and history, to the more currently fashionable ones; the study of discourses, text, and what might be called the culture of 'identity'. If Marxist political economy and history are intended to challenge capitalism as a totality head-on from the vantage point of its anti-thesis, socialism, 'cultural studies' (conceived in the 'post-modern' way) and other favoured post-left enterprises are defined by the notion that the terrain of politics is within and between the fragments of capitalism, especially in the academy, where discourses and identities can be deconstructed and proliferated without material constraints.
In a fragmented world composed of 'de-centered subjects', where totalizing knowledges are impossible and undesirable, what other kind of politics is there than a sort of de-centered and intellectualized radicalization of liberal pluralism? What better escape, in theory, from a confrontation with capitalism, the most totalizing system the world has ever known, than a rejection of totalizing knowledge? What greater obstacle, in practice, to anything more than the most local and particularistic resistances to the global, totalizing power of capitalism than the de-centered and fragmented subject? What better excuse for submitting to the force majeure of capitalism than the conviction that its power, while pervasive, has no systemic origin, no unified logic, no identifiable social roots?
(emphasis in original)
[Reference: Meiksins-Wood, E. (1995) Democracy Against Capitalism: Renewing Historical Materialism, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.]
In the late 1960s and beyond, the Marxist radicals who were despairing and getting older (graduating and entering the workforce) without seeing any path to overthrow the capitalist hegemony before them turned to this post-modernist agenda with a relish.
Unfortunately, as Meiksins-Wood observes, this has come at the expense of fragmenting the focus on class and, instead, pursuing a diversity of struggles, none of which challenge the basis of capitalism.
Moreover, none of which challenge the dominant economic narrative that maintains the legitimacy of capitalism and the aims of capital to extract as much real income as possible from the production process.
The conservatives have exploited this post-modernist divergence by advancing the so-called 'politics of envy' to offset any insinuation that the capitalist system produces distributional outcomes that are not remotely proportional to the effort put into production.
Whenever distributional outcomes are challenged – for example, propose increasing taxes on the higher income recipients (note I don't use the word "earners") there is hell to cry and the defense put up always appeals to the old tags – "socialist class warriors undermining incentive", "envy", etc.
In the 1980s, when privatisation formed the first wave of the neo-liberal onslaught, we all apparently became "capitalists" or "shareholders". We were told that it was dinosauric to think in terms of the old class categories – labour and capital.
That was just so "yesterday" and we should just get over it and realise that we all had a stake in a system where reduced regulation and oversight would produce unimaginable wealth, even if the first manifestations of this new "incentivised" economy channelled increasing shares of real income to the highest percentiles in the distribution.
We were told that 'trickle-down' would spread the largesse.
Meanwhile the 'leftist' academy were bogged down in deconstructing the hermeneutics of some such or another. Or telling us about "The legitimation of panopticism reinvents itself as the project of system" or that "The historicization of agency is, and yet is not, the fiction of millennial hedonism" (all courtesy of the Random Sentence Generator).
In between sipping their lattes in fashionable coffee houses near their offices, and enjoying the lingering sweetness of their almond croissants, these leftists were engaged in fierce battles about cultural identity and the power relations within households.
All important for sure but not at the expense of a leftist-centred awareness of the importance of 'class'.
The importance of class was exemplified in 2006 by Warren Buffett's suggestion that "There's class warfare, all right … but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning" (Source).
Class is alive and well and in prosecuting their demands for higher shares of real income, the elites have not only caused the crisis but are now, in recovery, reinstating the dynamics that will lead to the next crisis.
The big changes in policy structures that have to be made to avoid another global crisis are not even remotely on the radar.
And the post-modernists have another sip of their skinny lattes.
Most of them (if not all) are oblivious to the realities of the fiat monetary system and the overlay that the class power exerted by capital have for the policy choices that are made within that system of monetary organisation.
That ignorance, in turn, has contributed significantly to the demise of the Left as a progressive political force.
Post-modernists are often fervently political but at the same time their political voice avoids a critique of capitalism as a system. They want gender equity, or same-sex marriage (who wouldn't) but avoid discussions about overthrowing capitalist production relations.
In the last week, a splinter group has formed, for example, in The Greens (in Australia) called 'Left Renewal' which issued a Statement of Principles that said:
That our struggle for social justice brings us into irreconcilable conflict with the capitalist mode of production, and all other forms of class society. This requires us to take a strong stance on the struggle of the working class. We further understand that the working class extends past the factory, and includes homeworkers, sex workers, and well beyond …
That capitalism is a violent and antagonistic relation between workers, and those who exploit them. As workers, whether or not we are waged, we experience perpetual violence and that this violence must be brought to an end. We therefore fight to bring about the end of capitalism.
The press has indicated that it is a struggle between the 'hard-Left' and the "tree Tories" (my expression is Neo-liberals on bikes.
The Fairfax press article (December 22, 2016) – Hard-left faction forms inside Greens aiming to 'end capitalism'
The Greens federal leader immediately labelled this group as 'anti-Green' and issued a statement which among other things said:
Of course the Greens do not support the overthrow of capitalism or any other ridiculous notions of the sort.
The Greens are, of-course, not a progressive force in Australian politics because they have been seduced by the dominant neo-liberal macroeconomics myths and want to balance fiscal affairs etc.
Ellen Meiksins-Wood remedy is that "historical materialism still provides the best foundation on which to construct" (p.2) a "critique of capitalism".
This would approach capitalism "in a way exactly antithetical to the current fashions: the systematic unity of capitalism instead of post-modern fragments, but also historicity – and hence the possibility of supersession – instead of capitalist inevitability and the end of History" (p.3).
No-one is advocating a return to the 'deterministic' construction that might or might not have been relevant in the C19th industrial beginnings of Britain.
But the starting point for an informed critique of capitalism and alternative Left manifesto has to be that Capitalism is a historically-specific system of productive organisation with attendant ownership relations, which create the conflictual relations that drive the system dynamics.
No-one is advocating a word-for-word (literal) interpretation of Marx and all his related theories about the transformation of capitalism into socialism.
But as Meiksins-Woods notes (p.9) the Left became obsessed with "post-modern fragments" and moved "rapidly away from the critique of capitalism" and has pursued "intellectual activity in place of class struggle (p.10).
At the heart of capitalism are the antagonistic social relations and they warrant focus.
Fortunately, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The youth movements that have driven the Occupy activities are now re-focusing radical action against the corporates – against the economic machine. Against the use of economic power to suppress the development of worker consciousness as a class.
They are attacking the multilateral institutions that allow the capitalist hegemony to survive and extract increasing amounts from the productive system at the expense of workers (such as the World Bank and the IMF).
We are now seeing a backlash against so-called 'free trade', which is nothing of the sort, but masquerades as such.
But we are not anywhere nearly out of the post-modernist haze that is clouding the Left. When Leftists quote Michel Foucault (1990: 94) to me and tell me that (for example):
Power comes from below; that is, there is no binary and all-encompassing opposition between rulers and ruled at the root of power relations, and serving as a general matrix—no such duality extending from the top down and reacting on more and more limited groups to the very depths of the social body.
I realise that we have a long way to go.
[Reference: Foucault, M. (1990) The History of Sexuality: Volume 1: An Introduction, New York. Random House]
In her critique of Foucault, Nancy Hartsock (: 170) summarised this as "Power is everywhere, and so ultimately nowhere".
[Reference: Hartsock, N. (1990) 'Foucault on Power: A Theory for Women', in Nicholson, L. (ed.) Feminism/Postmodernism, New York, Routledge, 157-172.]
Another way of thinking of this issue is to contrast the concept of economic, social and cultural rights with civil and political rights. The post-modernist era has shifted focus to the latter at the expense of the former.
This, is in part, a product of the Cold War where the West tried to claim the higher moral ground by claiming that it was fine to have full employment and high quality, health care and education but if people were not free to say what they wanted then the nation was nowhere.
It is interesting that the defender of the free world (supposedly), the United States, never ratified the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights because they separated economic, social and cultural rights, which are articulated in Article 22 as being "indispensable for … dignity and the free development of … personality" were not human rights (Source)
The US believed that ratification would leave it "vulnerable to criticism from its ideological enemies" during the Cold War in relation to its treatment of racial minorities.
The UN addressed this issue in this Fact Sheet – and claimed that there is no distinction between the two 'types' of rights.
It said that during the Cold War:
The market economies of the West tended to put greater emphasis on civil and political rights, while the centrally planned economies of the Eastern bloc highlighted the importance of economic, social and cultural rights …
It also said that:
… economic, social and cultural rights have been seen as requiring high levels of investment, while civil and political rights are said simply to require the State to refrain from interfering with individual freedoms.
This difference has been exploited by neo-liberals who are happy to negotiate civil rights with various minorities but are aghast at the idea of running fiscal deficits to generate full employment (and advance economic, social and cultural rights).
So it is in the interests of the elites to divert attention towards debates about civil and political freedoms within the context of the capitalist system – as per the Greens insistence that it is pro-capitalism and just wanting to save the planet!
I will come back to this topic another day.
The series so far
This is a further part of a series I am writing as background to my next book on globalisation and the capacities of the nation-state. More instalments will come as the research process unfolds.
The series so far:
1. Friday lay day – The Stability Pact didn't mean much anyway, did it?
2. European Left face a Dystopia of their own making
3. The Eurozone Groupthink and Denial continues …
4. Mitterrand's turn to austerity was an ideological choice not an inevitability
5. The origins of the 'leftist' failure to oppose austerity
6. The European Project is dead
7. The Italian left should hang their heads in shame
8. On the trail of inflation and the fears of the same ….
9. Globalisation and currency arrangements
10. The co-option of government by transnational organisations
11. The Modigliani controversy – the break with Keynesian thinking
12. The capacity of the state and the open economy – Part 1
13. Is exchange rate depreciation inflationary?
14. Balance of payments constraints
15. Ultimately, real resource availability constrains prosperity
16. The impossibility theorem that beguiles the Left.
17. The British Monetarist infestation.
18. The Monetarism Trap snares the second Wilson Labour Government.
19. The Heath government was not Monetarist – that was left to the Labour Party.
20. Britain and the 1970s oil shocks – the failure of Monetarism.
21. The right-wing counter attack – 1971.
22. British trade unions in the early 1970s.
23. Distributional conflict and inflation – Britain in the early 1970s.
24. Rising urban inequality and segregation and the role of the state.
25. The British Labour Party path to Monetarism.
26. Britain approaches the 1976 currency crisis.
28. The Left confuses globalisation with neo-liberalism and gets lost.
29. The metamorphosis of the IMF as a neo-liberal attack dog.
30. The Wall Street-US Treasury Complex.
31. The Bacon-Eltis intervention – Britain 1976.
32. British Left reject fiscal strategy – speculation mounts, March 1976.
33. The US government view of the 1976 sterling crisis.
34. Iceland proves the nation state is alive and well.
35. The British Cabinet divides over the IMF negotiations in 1976.
36. The conspiracy to bring British Labour to heel 1976.
37. The 1976 British austerity shift – a triumph of perception over reality.
38. The British Left is usurped and IMF austerity begins 1976.
39. Why capital controls should be part of a progressive policy.
40. Brexit signals that a new policy paradigm is required including re-nationalisation.
41. Towards a progressive concept of efficiency – Part 1.
42. Towards a progressive concept of efficiency – Part 2.
43. The case for re-nationalisation – Part 2.
44. Brainbelts – only a part of a progressive future.
45. Reforming the international institutional framework – Part 1.
46. Reforming the international institutional framework – Part 2.
47. Reducing income inequality.
48. The struggle to establish a coherent progressive position continues.
49. Work is important for human well-being.
50. Is there a case for a basic income guarantee – Part 1.
51. Is there a case for a basic income guarantee – Part 2.
52. Is there a case for a basic income guarantee – Part 3.
53. Is there a case for a basic income guarantee – Part 4 – robot edition.
54. Is there a case for a basic income guarantee – Part 5.
55. An optimistic view of worker power.
56. Reforming the international institutional framework – Part 3.
57. Reforming the international institutional framework – Part 4.
58. Ending food price speculation – Part 1.
59. Ending food price speculation – Part 2.
60. Rising inequality and underconsumption.
61. The case against free trade – Part 1.
62. The case against free trade – Part 2.
63. The case against free trade – Part 3.
64. The case against free trade – Part 4.
65. Moving on from the post-modernist derailment of the Left.
The blogs in these series should be considered working notes rather than self-contained topics. Ultimately, they will be edited into the final manuscript of my next book due later in 2016.
That is enough for today!
(c) Copyright 2016 William Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Peter Luhanga
About 250 protesters from an informal settlement near Milnerton in Cape Town ran amok on Thursday (21/05/2009) night, digging up a portion of a busy road, burning tyres and stoning police.
Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd and chased the protesters between the shacks of Doornbach informal settlement, home to about 10,000 people. Five people were arrested for public violence.
The outbreak of violence followed similar protests on Sunday night and a series of failed meetings between the City of Cape Town and representatives of the residents.
The residents are demanding that the city buy them land for housing along the N7 adjacent to nearby Du Noon township.
The protest is the fourth related to service delivery that has rocked Cape Town since April elections.
Doornbach informal settlement is situated on private land along Potsdam Road – the busiest road in the City's northern regions.
Following Sunday's protest city housing director Hans Smit met residents on Monday afternoon. Community leaders were selected to attend a meeting to resolve the problem at the Blaauwberg sub-council offices on Wednesday afternoon.
Smit said at the meeting the city's "bigger plans in the area" had been explained to community leaders, but he said the leaders had come to the meeting expecting that they would "walk away with land".
The land residents were demanding, Smit said, was zoned for industrial and other development purposes and was being sold for R180-million. He said the city did not have the money to buy this land.
However, some of the residents were going to be allocated RDP housing in Parklands in "two to three years". He said the meeting had agreed to an upgrading of services in the informal settlement in the meantime.
But community members said when this information had been relayed to residents on Thursday evening they had been dissatisfied and taken to the streets.
Western Cape police spokesman Inspector November Filander said police had opened fire with rubber bullets "shortly after 7pm" and later arrested the five people.
Although the situation on Friday morning was calm, three private cars were stoned and had their windows smashed.
Potsdam Road was initially closed on Friday morning, but later opened for traffic.
Community leader Fezikile Lokotho, 35, said residents believed the city was "undermining them". He said residents had vowed to continue digging up Potsdam Road until "someone of high authority" came to hear their concerns.
Interviewed on Thursday evening, Khanyisile Skeyi said he had been caught in the mayhem when coming from funeral prayers. He said a rubber bullet had grazed his ankle.
" I am very angry. Police were supposed to ask me where I was coming from, not just fire at innocent people," said Skeyi. — West Cape News


text:
Letter to Santa
December 24, 2010
My daughter will be 9 in a couple of days and her belief in Santa is at its end. She's trying hard to believe but common sense, and her younger brother Ed [(6) who saw right through Santa from the beginning] have undermined her unjustified belief.
She wrote this tender letter and left it for Santa tonight:
"Dear Santa,
This year is busy and we will have to visit (family) right after Christmas so, I would very much like to see you! If I don't come to you could you please come to me? I am upstairs and very close to the stairs. You could give me something for proof or I could see you. Goodbye!
Love, Ahmi"
Disbelief is a normal thing for a child to go through, it's a sign of growing up. I have no doubt that some day she'll be old enough to believe in Santa again. Probably right around when she has her own children.
The whole family got together and watched the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol. The kids kept asking, "Dad, is this true?" I tell them that it's true in all of the important ways, and a fable in the unimportant ways.
That's Santa in my view. He's not real like my car in the driveway is real. But my car also isn't real in the way that Santa is or was. My car can't make someone jolly, but Santa's image can. As I drive down the street and see it crowded with parked cars, I don't get all happy inside. But even the tackiest plastic Santa in the front yard makes me say "HO HO HO!" I don't get to say "HO HO HO!" any other time of the year, so that's some powerful magic.
Santa is an important myth for civilization to carry on. He's like a great toy that only children get to play with. When my kids play robots and tigers I always address them as robots and tigers. What kind of mean person reminds them, "You're not a robot. You're not a tiger."
Santa's depiction has changed over the years, so in all likelihood he will evolve into a thin, non-smoking vegetarian who reminds children to recycle and that they are just evolved, meaningless molecules. Then all of the skeptics will herald him as a great figure for all children to believe in. That's when I'll write my goodbye letter to Santa.
12 Responses to "Letter to Santa"
December 25, 2010 at 7:40 am
Merry Christmas, Doug. I look forward to all the wonderful Tennapel works sure to come in 2011. Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna Mhath Ùr!
December 25, 2010 at 8:40 am
Your daughter will be 10 on the same day mine is turning 11! Kendall also figured out that Santa did not really come down chimneys last Christmas. I explained that we will continue with our traditions for the reasons you mention and to 'keep alive' the joyfullness and the Spirit of giving to those in need that Santa symbolizes. Merry Christmas, and ho ho ho! Hope you're back on Facebook next year; these blogs are great but a bit of a pain to respond to :-)
January 10, 2011 at 1:12 am
I love the site, as well as your work in its entirety.
My wife and I experienced the joy of anouncing to our family this Christmas that we are expecting our first child. Your post made me smile, imagining the possibilities the future holds.
A happy and healthy year to you and yours.
February 23, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Just want to say that I thought your answer was very sweet and true.
July 5, 2011 at 7:49 pm
"Santa's depiction has changed over the years, so in all likelihood he will evolve into a thin, non-smoking vegetarian who reminds children to recycle and that they are just evolved, meaningless molecules. Then all of the skeptics will herald him as a great figure for all children to believe in. That's when I'll write my goodbye letter to Santa."
First off I'd like to point out the inherent problem when conservatives complain about such things. A lot of the "safeness" conservatives complain about here is a result of the corporate dominance over society they support and enable through their support of harmful neo-liberal economic policies and what have you.
The rest is just nonsense. There's nothing wrong with not smoking, of course, nor is there anything wrong with being a vegetarian.
From reading up about some of the stuff you've written before, you seem to be one of many confusing a "lack of regulation" with "individualism". Liberal socialism is all grey and samey.
That really is such bollocks, as you can't shove so many different kinds of people in the same group. It's far easier, obviously enough, to do that with conservatives as they are largely made up of heterosexual white males. Individualism shouldn't just be about economic freedoms, it's silly. There are many ways in which I am very different from others, and probably would not have survived without welfare. Autistics and the like born to poor parents would just be a night mare, and some of them with the right support can turn out to be astonishing "Individuals".
The idea of a thin Santa is a very corporate one in of itself, a safe, clean healthy image to pin up there. The obsession with the ideal figure is largely fueled by the poorly regulated diet industry.
And that horrible blast at evolution. I do not think we are just "Meangingless evolved particles" or anything like that. In fact, I find the strongly religious argument much worse. I can't enjoy this cup of coffee as a great cup of coffee, it's Jesus's cup of coffee. The only "Individual" that matters is the JCI God and his various aspects.
If something just so happens to be enjoyable, or breath-taking, then maybe it just is. A sunset doesn't need to have God as an architect to be beautiful. The fact that something like that could arise out of the chaos of the universe is inspiring in of itself.
Both atheists and the religious tend to fuddle around with the "meaning" of things, but maybe things ARE meaningful, just because they inspire us as conscious beings, the only things capable of assigning meaning.
Just because others find meaning in things in a way you understand doesn't mean you can paint them as some societal cancer sucking the fun out of everything for our kids. Not every non-christian is a nihilist.
August 22, 2011 at 6:22 am
This is the first post that I read from this blog. I really enjoyed it, and you can be sure that I will continue checking this blog for more interesting posts. Despite being a teenager surrounded by kids who are cynical about Christmas, it was nice to find someone with similar view to mine.


text:
NCSoft has announced the newest expansion for Lineage II, Infinite Odyssey, for a spring release in North America this spring, and they've even got an innovative contest to go with it.
Infinite Odyssey adds new hunting zones, a new raid boss, and new skills, and further expands upon the story of the new Ertheia race, as they and the other races of Aden continue their heroic questing. The expansion also helps to commemorate the 11th anniversary of Lineage II's launch in North America this April.
As an added bonus, NCSoft is having a "Name That Skill" contest, which gives players a chance to provide the official name for five high-end skills being added in the expansion. Personally, I'd go with "Nacho Cheese Blast Wave" for an AoE energy attack that has a fire DoT effect, but that's just me. You can make your suggestions via the contest's official page.
8 Readers CommentedJoin discussion
I don't see why won't they implement WASD and jump controls already?!
Best game ever made !
The game is not that crapy , it have interesting concepts also , the problem last itme was that there are literally trains of bots everywhere .
I would still be playing this game if I could find a Interlude or below chronicle USA private server. Its to bad the FBI shut them all down. And R.I.P Pvpx (DHX) server.
People still play this game? lol
literally the first thought i had too lol
game were u don't care about the graphic just there to have fun and enjoy is a true game now all gamere care of is how better the graphics they forget that game should be fun plus lot of ppl can't afford new computer and graphics card so lot of ppl are playing the game
Sorry but your statement is crap. The game were great with all 30+ classes, then they ruined it with merged classes, removed free pk and so on… its garbage now. And fun??? OK castle siege if you are in big zerg clan but other then that…. no dungeons or whatever, just grinding when your mentor or mentees are online till you reach lvl 99 and then.. well grind same mobs to have adena to grind the same mobs faster with better items.


text:
Purchase this article with an account.
Shrinivas Pundlik, Matteo Tomasi, Kevin Houston, Gang Luo; Preliminary Evaluation of a Mobile App for Strabismus Screening. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2015;56(7 ):5212.
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© ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)
An automated Hirschberg Test using photographic analysis of the corneal reflection has been suggested as a method to screen for strabismus. However, cost to develop and maintain a dedicated device can hinder accessibility. Smartphones offer a platform to dispense inexpensive and widely accessible eye-care solutions. We have developed a mobile app with the goals of obtaining rapid, convenient, and quantifiable strabismus measurements. We present the results of a preliminary evaluation experiment to determine the accuracy of the app.
When using the app, an examiner asks the patient to fixate at a particular point and simply points the phone camera to the patient's face. Real time eye detection is shown on the screen, after which a snapshot can be taken with the flash on. The app then localizes the iris center, the corneal reflection, and computes the eye deviation according to the offset of the corneal reflection from the iris center. To evaluate the accuracy of the app, four subjects without strabismus fixated binocularly at 11 points at various eccentricities from -5.8° to 5.8° (a total of about 20Δ range). Eye deviations with respect to the center point (0°) were computed for the left and right eyes separately, and compared with the ground truth. In a case study, one subject with known left exotropia was tested with the cover test and by the app. In this case, the app measured the difference in the deviations of the two eyes.
The app measurements for the 8 eyes closely matched the ground truth, with a slight over estimation (line fitting slope=1.08, R2=0.99). The mean measurement error was 1.1 ± 0.9Δ.There was no difference between right and left eyes (p=0.18). In case of the patient with known strabismus, the cover test and the app found left exotropia of 24 ± 3.6Δ and 28.5 ± 3.5Δ, respectively.
Preliminary results indicate that the strabismus app can accurately measure a wide range eye deviations and further clinical testing of the app is warranted.
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