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Return of the Fat Man
Someday someone will write a book about what swell people real estate developers are, but not just yet. Anne Zouroudi's second book, The Taint of Midas, is another cautionary tale, this time about greed, set on the fictional Greek island of Arcadia. The island's sun-drenched charms have been discovered by tourists from Scandinavia, Britain, and Germany. Aris Paliakis, developer and entrepreneur, wants their business.Many of Arcadia's people are saddened by the rampant destruction of olive groves and other beautiful sites as corrupt local officials change zoning laws to benefit developers; hotels and villas for foreign visitors begin to sprout all over. One of the most beautiful sites, a hilltop with the crumbling remains of a temple to Apollo, belongs to Gabrilis Kaloyeros, an elderly beekeeper who is nearly blind. Aris Paliakis covets that land. Even though it is protected as a historic sight, he know which officials to bribe. Shortly after he connives to have Gabrilis sign a document waiving his interest in the land, the beekeeper is struck by a car, while on his way to market, and left to die.Enter the so-called fat man, Hermes Diaktoros.
The island is his ancestral home and, after a long absence, he was on his way to visit Gabrilis, an old and dear friend. Instead, he is shocked to stumble upon his body. The police initially think that Hermes may be involved in the old man's death simply because he found the body. An ambulance is called for; soon after it arrives, a car screeches to the site. The driver is Dinos Karayannis, an arrogant and unscrupulous reporter, sniffing for a story.Hermes is convinced that the death is not the result of a simple accident, and that Gabrilis was deliberately left to die. Although Aris Paliakis has a strong motive for the death, he and his two sons have solid alibis. Both sons assist him in his business, one as a brilliant lawyer and the other as something of an enforcer.As in Zourodi's first book, The Messenger of Athens, the fat man continues his mysterious ways. He seems to intuit people's innermost feelings, and to have extraordinary knowledge of their lives. He methodically begins the process of discovering the truth of Gabrilis's death, finding an ally in Thanos Gazis, a straight-arrow police sergeant. Gazis, now convinced that the manner of death needs an inquiry, is also trying to steer George Patridis, an idealistic rookie, on the path of righteousness. His efforts appear thwarted by Dinos, the reporter, who entraps the young constable with alcohol and prostitutes.To prepare himself for the hard work ahead Hermes drives to a secluded beach to swim and snorkel. He surfaces near a fishing boat and is invited aboard for coffee by Sostis, a fisherman who also half-heartedly runs a barber shop in town. A bond is forged between the two men when, in the course of their conversation, a most unusual coincidence is revealed. Sostis also knows a lot about Aris Paliakis's business, information he shares with Hermes.As the fat man goes about the island gathering facts and setting snares, it gives Zouroudi the opportunity to share her love of local lore and of the Greek island landscape, to describe the lush bounty of grapes, figs, melons, olive groves, and wildflowers. The book opens with a wonderful passage about Gabrilis's beehives: the top of each brilliant yellow hive is painted with "a woman's eye, exotic, like the kohl-rimmed eyes of yashmaked (veiled) faces . . . the eyes of hieroglyphs in Egyptian tombs . . ." The eyes look toward the heavens, keeping "a vigil, warding off the Evil Eye . . . deflecting the badness of ill-wishers from the bees." For many years Gabrilis lovingly tended the bees, the vines, and the ancient stones of this beautiful place with its salt-scented air. Now, the ill-wishers are near.A chance occurrence brings Hermes to the Paliakis home and to Ourania, the wife from whom Paliakis is more or less estranged. Ourania is beautiful, aristocratic, and deeply religious. Her happiness has been destroyed by her husband's passion for money, and she finds consolation in the company of a devout Orthodox priest, Father Babis. They both believe that heaven will reward them for their sorrows here on earth. Hermes has great empathy for them.When Hermes feels that he at last has the truth of Gabrilis's lonely death, and of Paliakis's attempts to deprive the old man of his home, he goes about the business of avenging his friend. The evildoers are punished cruelly and quite vividly, each one losing, as the fat man promised, that which he most loved. Those whose lives are governed by more gentle instincts are variously rewarded in ways that point to fulfillment, rather than riches.So, is the fat man a messenger of the gods? It really does not matter. Zouroudi goes lightly on the other-worldliness of his powers. In this book and in her first, she visits certain characters with afflictions that cause either pain or shame or unhappiness. Perhaps in a nod to ancient tradition Hermes, the fat man, gives each of the afflicted characters a potion, powder, or ointment of mysterious origins which cure what modern medicines could not. We may take this as a clue while looking forward eagerly to his next appearance and to the vanquishing of more sin.
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I'm a little suspicious about novels set in countries other than those in which the authors have lived their their entire lives - especially books that purport to describe in depth the history and culture and atmosphere of the place and the feelings of the people who have lived all their lives there. "Loving" the country isn't enough.Amazon says she lives in "Middle England". Now, if she wrote escape novels about middle-class female English detectives, she might have more credibility. Or not - she might not have come from a family of middle-class female English detectives. Sigh. Some people will complain about anything.Back to Simenon.
David, Simenon is great but somehow I always feel slightly depressed after reading him. As for Zouroudi, she is indeed English but spent some years in Greece and married a Greek. Her son was born there, and I suspect that giving birth in a particular place will tell you a fair amount about the culture. Well, that's my hunch anyway. If authenticity is your concern, try the Camilleri novels set in Sicily. Ignore the sometimes vulgar language and revel instead in the sense of place, the humor, the interesting characters, the author's sense of morality and compassion, and the very fine writing.
Funny, Simenon doesn't depress me at all. His subject is for the most part the little people, who live and die in considerably more hardship than do most of his readers, but I find his narration compassionate, realistic, and reassuring. Do you read him in French? Maybe that makes a difference. I vaguely remember looking at or reading through a Penguin translation once - not the same thing at all.I look forward to reading Camilleri in Italian, but that's still a year or two away. What I really look forward to, though, are Giovanni Guareschi's Don Camillo stories. Wonderful as they are in English, they must be very different in Italian.
Literary translation is a thorny issue. If we've read a UN report in translation, we've probably come as close to it as we need to be, but if we've read what's widely considered a literary masterpiece only in translation, have we read it at all?
David, your willingness to undertake language studies is impressive. The great IF Stone learned Greek late in life so that he could read in original form, among other works, The Trial of Socrates. You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din.As for the Camilleri books, the translation seems fine to me with a glaring exception: characters such as Catarella, the dim-witted desk sergeant, are made to speak words like "poissonally" for "personally," a regular "dese, dems, and dose" caricature that I found very off-putting. Friends to whom I recommended the books, and who loved them, made the same observation. That aside, the quality of Camilleri's writing is the attraction. It has heat and vibrancy, and seems to me very Italian.
Does it really make any difference if fiction is "true to life"? Donna Leon writes about Venice directly in English. (She won't let the books be translated into Italian.) Does that affect the quality of of her work? I think not. Does it really make sense to say she writes fiction about the actual Venice? I think not. Each story is a fictional world unto itself. Being more or less like Venice and its people is not essential to the stories.
Good point, Ann. Would I be wrong, though, in suspecting that most readers would likely feel that a writer's description of a real place should be true to the reality of that place? I know, that's a tenuous chain - suspect, should, true, reality - but I think you know what I mean. Of course, it depends on the nature of the work. If it's written for postmodernists - whatever they may be - I suppose anything goes, but I, at least, wouldn't take pleasure in reading a story about the people and places of a country written by someone whose understanding is based mostly on library or internet research, with a little tourism to back it up.Donna Leon. New name for me. Sounds like a very controlling personality :O)
David --Yes, I know what you mean. It's natural that we transfer descriptions and images of the real Venice to Leon's fictional Venice.Don't know if she's controlling, but she writes a good mystery. A bit short of clues sometimes -- no Agatha -- but otherwise better than most. (I like real *detection" and that requires clues.)
Short of clues is OK if the story line's good and the narration's worthy - as with P. D. James.It's kind of amazing how detective stories have become such a big business, at least in the US. I wonder if it's partly because we have so little in the way of morality elsewhere. In a normal mystery the culprit gets his comeuppance in the end. Mini-justices. Society as a whole, we, who have all become cynics, know, is rank with injustice, but in the little sealed universes of the puzzle stories justice is absolutely guaranteed. Very satisfactory.
I will put in my two cents' worth on Donna Leon, agreeing with Ann that her mysteries are short on clues. Her characters are superb, however and Guido Brunetti, world-weary though he may be at this point, is one of the most charismatic detectives in fiction. Leon is relentless in her mockery of the two Sicilians at the Venice questura, the peacock Patta and Scarpa, his minion. Brunetti endures them, and manipulates Patta, his boss, by appealing to his vanity. It's very good stuff. I thought Death At La Fenice was one of the best mysteries I've ever read.


text: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz received in Riyadh today head of the United States Central Command General Tommy Franks and his accompanying delegation. The audience was attended, among others, by the U.S. Ambassador-Designate to the Kingdom Robert Jordan. Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz also received the U.S. delegation, as did Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector-General Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz. Prince Sultan had already received Ambassador Jordan some days earlier.

subset: commoncrawl


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Failing America
Writes Joe Klein, on today's news concerning the black-white achievement gap in reading, where 12% of black fourth-grade boys and 38% of white fourth-grade boys are designated as proficient:
[...] let's look at it another way: only 38% of white boys are "proficient" at reading, which is a level below true fluency with the printed word. What does that say about our educational system generally? It says, not to put too fine a point on it, that we are becoming a nation of ignoramuses. For more than 40 years, ever since the publication of the Coleman Report, the key variable when it comes to educational achievement is parental involvement; all other factors--money, class size, choice and competition--are peripheral. Over those same forty years, parents have had to work harder to get by--two, three jobs in many cases--as good paying manufacturing jobs vanished. And, over that same period of time, the impact of crap culture--the Jersey Shore-ization of American Society--has increased exponentially. Those effects hit hardest on the poorest families and those with a single-parent trying to do the job of two...but they are endemic across the culture.It seems to me that these data demand a very serious national discussion, not about race, but about our culture, our values and ourselves.
Great idea. Let's just be sure not to ask any cable news anchors to moderate it.
About the Author
John Schwenkler is an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at Florida State University.
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I wonder if there are any noticeable differences in results from charter, public, private & parochial schools. I leave out home-schooling because I doubt they exist too much in minority communities (just my speculation).
John,Would you be able to clarify something that is a little unclear in these numbers. Are we to read the 12 and 38 percent as indicating proficient or higher? If so, then the numbers are truly horrifying. If they only indicate a status of proficient as distinct from other categories like fluent, advanced, poor, etc. then the numbers themselves do not tell us anything very clearly.
JP, I assume it means the former: that is, "proficient" should be read as "proficient or better". If that's not right, then the Times article is highly misleading. But I haven't seen the report myself - and I'm not sure if it's out yet.
Notice what Klein doesn't want on his conversation list: the economy, even though he notes the correlation between the spread of "crap culture" and the elimination of the nation's manufacturing employment base. Easier to bloviate about "our culture, our values, and ourselves."
"the key variable when it comes to educational achievement is parental involvement; all other factorsmoney, class size, choice and competitionare peripheral."Can someone please inform the teacher's unions of this? Perhaps instead of spending $578 million of taxpayer's money to build a single high school, we can bribe parents to become involved.
"Over those same forty years, parents have had to work harder to get bytwo, three jobs in many casesas good paying manufacturing jobs vanished." Unquestionably, this is an important factor in this educational collapse. But an even bigger part of the problem is not only that mom may be working lots of hours, but that dad is not around at all. Deterioration in the institution of marriage - especially among African Americans - has meant that fathers frequently are simply not a daily part of many children's lives. And that hurts boys more than girls. And this goes right back to Klein's correct point about the supreme importance of parental involvement.
Here's a book recommendation for the national discussion about education and our values: "Quality Education As A Constitutional Right: Creating a Grassroots Movement To Transform Public Schools", edited by Theresa Perry, Robert Moses, Joan Wynne, Ernesto Cortes and Lisa Delpit. It's a terrific new collection of essays by some of the top educators and organizers in the country (many of the Catholic, though that's not the focus of the book), that thoughtfully addresses the history and current state of public education in the US.
The proper interpretation is proficient or higher. Proficient means the following," Proficient represents solid academic performance for 4th-graders. Students reaching this level have demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter"The only other two options are basic, which means lacking some achievement necessary for proficiency and advanced which means superior achievement.While I agree that this problem goes far being the race gap, I am rather bothered by Klein's willingness to dismiss the race issue. If we assume that a gap like this has been present for a long time, we must consider the cummulative effect of this kind of gap in achievement over time. The consequences for the communities within which the individuals on the losing side of this gap live are tremendous.The issue only becomes worse as our country moves toward a different paradigm for understanding racial inequality. Increasingly, whites and even some blacks are tired explanations for racial inequality that are external to the individuals who experience the worst effects of the inequality. Instead, more and more blame for racial inequality is placed on the bad choices of individuals. I have argued herehttp://www.notsodeepthoughts.org/Triumph-of-White-Supremacy.phpthat this shift represents the "Triumph of White Supremacy."An Op-Ed that I wrote for the Balitmore Sun is a much shorter version of the argument:http://www.notsodeepthoughts.org/N-word-isn%27t-the-issue.php
Please, not another "national discussion." Really now, things like this have been talked to death already. The problem is that some folks don't want to listen.Perhaps instead of spending $578 million of taxpayers money to build a single high school, we can bribe parents to become involved.No. No they won't get involved. Why? Because they have instead been bribed to believe that government should be the provider of all things. To them, it is not a parent's job to educate, it is not even the job of Hillary's village, rather, it is "the government's" job to do it.Try to suggest a little personal responsibility, and you are sure to get someone to tell you how cold-hearted you are -- don't you know that some people are unable to take care of themselves?? They need the "experts" of government to do it.Even when it comes to the teachers' unions, especially those in the big cities, again, you have the mind-set that "the government" is responsible. It is not the actual teacher who is responsible for better teaching, but the government that is responsible for paying more and giving 100 percent job security, etc., which are supposed to somehow magically result in better student outcomes.
Most people do not see it as cost-effective to educate native labor. It's much cheaper to import educated labor on an as-needed basis. Imported labor is younger, cheaper, and more docile. As long as that basic truth holds up, nothing is going to change.
Bender said: "Try to suggest a little personal responsibility, and you are sure to get someone to tell you how cold-hearted you are dont you know that some people are unable to take care of themselves?? They need the experts of government to do it."Sounds simple and seems to fit in with what the statisticians say they are seeing.So by this logic, the children of conservatives, who are the people claiming to most value this personal responsibility, must be the best educated people in America, right?
The report mentioned by the NYT and then Klein cites NAEP numbers, which were explained a bit in a recent NYRB article (p2 6). Which is not to dismiss the CGCS paper, just to explain what it means by proficiency.
Education. Just say that word and everyone has an opinion. The problem is more complex than lack of parental involvement, race, cultural decline, lack of money, etc. School has become more like a daycare center and less of an educational center. How should we solve this problem? I don't know, but I wish with all my heart I did!http://historywasneverlikethat.blogspot.com/
http://cgcs.org/cgcs/Call_For_Change.pdf p.27: "proficient" means "at or above proficient"NAEP:Fourth-grade students performing at the Proficient level should be able to integrate and interpret texts and apply their understanding of the text to draw conclusions and make evaluations. 238 Proficient 234 Use an example to support opinion about a poem229 Recognize main problem faced by historical figure221 Interpret character's statement to provide character trait220 Recognize reason for action by a historical figure220 Use information across text to infer and recognize character trait219 Recognize main idea not explicitly stated in article216 Provide a relevant fact from an article211 Recognize main purpose of informational science text... (the list goes on to more and more basic criteria)...Unfortunately this is much too abstract for me to be able to tell whether the results are reason for worry or not.
As Eugene notes above the emphasis is not where it should be on the lack of a manufacturing base and the outsourcing of highly skilled jobs, I would add. Further, when one calls for assistance, especially a technical expert in India, it takes 15 minutes or more for the person to just get your name and address straight. There are so many skilled computer programmers and other skilled technicians without jobs. This is a result of greed. The most motivated workers cannot find work when there is none. What good does the eduation do when greed takes over? That extra 3% that the super rich got just emboldens them to buy more candidates who will enhance their greed.
Craig,The NYRB article was great. Among other things, it does offer a clearer explanation of what the terms mean:
The highest level of performance, advanced, is equivalent to an A+, representing the highest possible academic performance. The next level, proficient, is equivalent to an A or a very strong B. The next level is basic, which probably translates into a C grade. The film assumes that any student below proficient is below grade level. But it would be far more fitting to worry about students who are below basic, who are 25 percent of the national sample, not 70 percent.
Given the above, I am now further convinced that the real story line out of the research is the race gap.Bender: As I try to argue in the probably too long discussion of the "Triumph of White Supremacy," one should assume that individuals are 100 percent responsible for the choices they make. The mistake is to assume that responsibility for individual choices and responsibility for racial inequality overlap. I try to argue that, first glance appearances notwithstanding, there is NO overlap between these two issues. They are not only distinct questions, they are separate problems.
I must repeat this yet again: my fine emedial English teacher friend, who is herself black, says that if parents aren't seen to read their children won't read. Unfortunately, many,many parents are functionally illiterate and need to be taught to read themselves. I don't hear anyone talking about this problem.In New Orleans now experiment is still the order of the day, and most schools are charter schools. Some are doing extremely well -- and, yes, those have a lot of parental involvement, plus some other advantages most schools don't have, like particularly good principals, many volunteer tutors, and, money. A few have help from the likes of Harvard, etc. Even if the parents of the children don't read well, their children are seeing them involved in the planning and execution of ebuilding their schools. Very encouraging, and though many schools continue to fail, a lot of progress has been made. So don't despair.
P. S. Another extremely important factor seems to be that the teachers show confidence in the kids. At some schools, for instance, they talk about when the kids will go to college, not just if they go. At some schools with really disadvantaed students teachers have penants of the highly selective colleges decorating their classrooms. It's the "Yes, we can" factor, and it's extremely important.
OK, so I can't spell "pennant".
The A/B and the Archdiocese of New York is closing 32 schools mostly in the Bronx. 'Not enough kids' ???? ha ha ha.. [let's blame unions.. ] real reason... not enough money from the fleeing Catholics in the burbs..The good news ...Bronx kids transferring to public schools will bring the reading level up from 12% to 13.5 % for at least one year. Hooray
I read recently in one of those "best-countries-in-which-to-live" articles that Finland, Norway, and Sweden were the top three countries. (If I remember correctly, the U.S. placed ninth.) Many factors were used in the evaluations, including quality of educational systems, and all three of these Scandinavian countries were cited for their strong emphasis on education. High school graduation rates are quite high in all three, for example, and perhaps the determining factor for the rates is that in each country, but especially in Finland, there is very early intervention (at age 3 or 4, for example) that is ongoing and substantial, even to the degree of assigning paraeducators to a particular child for years at a time so that there is both consistency and continuity in the educational assistance a particular child might need.All of this comes at a financial cost, however, and tax rates in all three of these countries are higher than the tax rates in the U.S. There are also obvious differences in the population sizes and diversity in these countries when they are compared to the U.S., so maybe their intervention models could not be applied as is. Still, there seems to be a societal commitment to recognizing the value of education that may provide some lessons for building a better educational system in the U.S.
Amen to Bill Collier on the importance of funding early childhood ed8cation and , I would add, that schools be funded properly.Yes, we need parental involvement and real valuation of learning; yes, we need teachers who are acclountable, but not based solely on multiple(overused) standardized tests.Ed Gleason noted that the NY archdiocese is closing a number of schools,and, from the NY News report I read, Ed's point tha money not "excellence" as the Abp. proclaimed previously is driving that.I think the Church has a real service example, if it wants to evangelize, in education of the poor.In NY, does anyone really know how well off or poorly off the Archdiocese is?NYC is getting a new schools honcho, a mamager not an educator.What about that choice and its impact?I just think we need to beware of simple answers and ask more of all the players, including our Church.
Re: Finland/Norway/Sweden: I suppose it could be argued that the US education system is a rousing success if you visit the right suburbs or Catholic schools or gentrified urban enclaves. A lot of kids do get good educations in the US. But the same approach to education fails a lot of other kids here. Why does it work in some places and not work in others?
Public school teachers are required to have credentials based on education courses rather than on coursework in what they will actually teach. People planning to major in education get the lowest scores on the GRE test. But with the explosion of media, there's no need for even well-prepared teachers to try to keep their classes interested or to keep up with the latest developments in their fields. Instead of lectures from a teacher on the war in the Pacific, show the students "The Pacific" from HBO. (It's going to be on again this weekend.) http://www.hbo.com/the-pacific/index.html Or, instead of lame textbook accounts of the Civil War, show the Ken Burns series. (PBS provides classroom materials to accompany viewing.) http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/classroom/Instead of growing bread mold in "science", let little kids watch the Nova show about dogs that was on last night and try to interpret barks.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/meaning-dog-barks.html
I find it a little interesting that no one on this thread is touching the race issue. Is this part of our problem in the United States? We have massive racial inequalities, but no one is comfortable talking about them.
Amen also to Joe.The writings of Jonathan Kozol underscore the inequalities minorities suffer in public education.It strikes me that as balancing the books continues to superced service, a decline in the black Catholic comunity is a sad inevitability and one that is not very Christ like.
Joe,Two things. We do have many blacks who are very wealthy. What is their record in helping to overcome this equality? Second, while I agree that the race issue is ignore. At the same time many middle class people in this country are undergoing hardship. Six out of ten are living paycheck to paycheck. While we must continue to work against racial inequalities, we should not overlook the severe plight of the middle class.
"the children of conservatives, who are the people claiming to most value this personal responsibility, must be the best educated people in America, right?"The best educated kids in America today tend to be those who are home schooled...so to the extent that those homeschooling parents are conservative...
"We have massive racial inequalities, but no one is comfortable talking about them."Jaw-Dropping Data on Black Male Student Achievement. According to the report, poverty levels are only part of the equation because poor white boys (defined by eligibility for subsidized school lunches) are doing as well as black boys who do not live in poverty. Its about the culture.
P Flanagan: What do you think accounts for the persistent presence of what you call "the culture" in black communities? I have know idea what your thoughts are, but here is where I think most of white America, and even some of black America, is on this question:I think the conclusion is that blacks are assumed to be broken in some fundamental way until proven otherwise, and that general brokennes explains the persistence of the culture. This position allows whites to think that some blacks are not broken, and so seems to absolve them of any kind of universal racism. But, it only replaces one form of racism with another. A stigma that affects all blacks still exists. While not longer thought of as inferior as such, they remain suspect as such. Even those who are deemed not broken live under a level of scrutiny that no white has to endure. While tentatively accepted into white culture, that same culture is always on the lookout for signs of underlying brokenness.
Ah, that should read "I have no idea" in the second line above.
Alright. I know that multiple consecutive posts are a no-no, but I forgot to respond to Bill. Bill, you comment is interesting on multiple levels. I am not clear on the relevance of wealthy black people to racial inequality. If racial inequality is a problem for "we the people," then their responsibility is no different than ours.As for the middle class, social concern is not a zero sum game. However, I do think your comment hints at a very real dynamic. As the middle and lower economic classes get hit harder, their sympathy for any public and political response to racial inequality will be even lower than before precisely because they will want to know why their needs are not being met, instead. It is a rather tragic situation.The longer we get from the end of most publicly sanctioned forms of racial discrimination, ever more people will conclude that the only real cause of racial inequality lies with the inferiority of those who experience the worst consequences of that inequality.The more it is concluded that poor black people are simply inferior, the less people will be willing to support efforts to eliminate racial inequality. Why try to change what is simply the natural outcome of broken lives?
Ed:here is the list of possible school closings/consolidations in the NY Archdiocese. http://www.archny.org/news-events/news-press-releases/index.cfm?i=18153A... half of the closings are in NYC, the other half in the suburbs; there are five each in Manhattan and the Bronx and four in Staten Island. And one Bronx high school.A form letter went home to parents with kids in all of the Catholic Schools saying they are considering closing schools and they are having meetings/discussions with the stakeholders of the schools in question to figure out a sustainability plan. Our school is not on the list; the form letter said we should all be prepared to embrace new students from schools that might close. I'm actually impressed by the current process (the fact that there even is a process and that it has some transparency and involves the parents, staff and leadership of the schools).Race and class is of course in play. The schools in the Bronx that are closing are in poor neighborhoods and, so, mostly Hispanic. I can't speak to the rest, but one school in Manhattan, Good Shepherd in Inwood, is in a rapidly gentrifying community. I think the students are mostly low- and moderate-income Latinos, the newcomers with money aren't sending their kids to parochial school in the neighborhood. I'm a little curious how this all turns out, because our Archbishop wrote a heated blog post a few months ago complaining that the Archdiocese is unfairly blamed for school closings and similar actions, which were, he said decided by the parishes/local leadership. He emphasized subsidiarity; it will be interesting to see whether, in these coming discussions, the parents and parishes will actually have a real voice in determining whether their schools stay open. I guess the experts will have to figure out how to address the race and class inequalities in the system overall, but anyone who wants to do their small part to help, there is a tuition assistance fund to help low-income inner city kids attend Catholic School. You can contribute at this link. http://clickyes.com/
Joe - you do a great job highlighting the dimensions of racial disparity.What's the solution?
Jim: Ha! Why the solution is...way more complicated than can be discussed in a brief blog post. However, the following may be thought of as suggestions.The single greatest structure creating and maintaining racial inequality is the intertwining of two realities: 1) the segregation of "opportunity" housing by race and income, combined with 2) the connection between public education and where one lives. The effects of this structural denial of opportunity to many blacks has been going on for decades and has been intensifying in its effects within the last decade. This structural problem can be broken by the creation of lower-income housing in higher opportunity neighborhoods. This is not a return to projects in any way. One very easy way to do it is "inclusionary zoning" where new housing construction projects are required to make a certain percentage of their units affordable to lower income and public housing residents. It has worked wonderfully in places like Montgomery County Maryland for more than 20 years. A second important change would be to decouple public education funding from a reliance on local property tax revenue. Finally, increasing the number of higher value rental vouchers enabling more low income households to rent in higher opportunity neighborhoods would help.The single greatest obstacle to improving poor black neighborhoods is the presence of illegal drug markets. I have discussed this problem more here:http://www.notsodeepthoughts.org/Race-and-the-War-on-Drugs.phpThird, a dramatic expansion of childcare vouchers would both increase the job opportunities for low income households and increase the educational attention that it so crucially important for the very young, and young children in these households. There is research showing the benefits of these vouchers, just not enough of them.Fourth, bringing higher education back to prisons and improving the job training in prisons would help.Fifth, a massive investment in after school and weekend programs for young people in poor neighborhoods.So, problem solved, right?
Jim, I should add to the above the necessity of a paradigm shift in our public understanding of racial inequality. The presence of massive racial inequality needs to be understood as OUR problem, not THEIR problem (them being poor black people). Allowing massive racial inequality to endure should be understood to indicate a problem with and a failing by US, not by THEM. And remember, I say all this while affirming that individuals are 100 percent responsible for the choices they make in their lives (and that include the responsibility of those who choose to do nothing about racial injustice).Lest anyone doubt the persistence of massive racial inequality, these numbers should put those doubts to rest:http://www.notsodeepthoughts.org/20-Conditions-of-Racial-Inequality.php
A note on school closings in Y: some of the"Burbs" are quite poor and black -cf. Mt. Vernon and parts of Yonkers. I think the closing of St. Anne's in Ossining is inexsplicable recallin from our visits there how the Church had well integrated the various latino groups arriving.It sounds to me like straight black and whit emoney guides the picture (under the rubric of"excellence") and that underscores Joe's point on how race is tremendously important even in Holy Mother.
Hi, Joe, just want to acknowledge that I saw your solutions post, and don't have anything intelligent or otherwise to comment on them. I'm for trying all of 'em.Regarding their problem vs. our problem - it seems that US history in the 20th century was that 'their' problem became 'our' problem only when riots broke out and 'our' well-being and property was at risk. The metropolitan area I live in was infamous thirty years ago for being the most racially segregated city in America, and I'd have to say that most of the basic geographic patterns haven't changed very much. 'They' are out-of-sight, out-of-mind for most of 'us'. (By the way, the same is true of the poor in suburbia). In the city, 'they' ride the same trains and buses that 'we' do, but that may be the extent of interaction. My work life when I lived in the city was that once I left the subway, I proceeded to an office tower that was almost entirely 'us'.
Joe Pettit --Excellent post on how to help the black disadvantaged. There *are* ways that do work. They also work for white disadvantaged people.


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As it is my first post, I would like first to greet the community ! I've been reading since few days different threads and I'm in the mood to create a new one !
So from scratch :
I've been doing mainly spherical panoramas with a 550D + a canon 10-22mm 3.5 and lately with a samyang fisheye 8mm 3.5, the new ones without the hood. My panohead, well, doesn't really worth to talk about it as it is a chinese piece of junk bought on Ebay for a very reasonable price ! In the mean time, that's why I'm here ; because I seriously want to upgrade my gear as I do more and more panos.
So, I need some advices because there's few things I'm not sure to catch. As I was reading some threads, I've seen some inputs saying that it is more recommanded to use a RS1 (or now RS2) in order to make spherical panoramas, the R1 being not that great to shoot Zénith with a single row.
So my question is : with that tilt option that the R1 offers, is that possible to create a spherical panorama with the following "settings" ?
-A full frame body (canon markiii)
-A samyang 8mm
-The R1 head
-A first row of let's say 3 shots every 120° @ -7.5
-Then a second "row" tilting the head @ +12.5 and making let's say 2 shots every 180°
Does tilting @ +12.5 will be enough to get the zenith. I would say yes as using a fisheye on full frame is supposed to give me a 180° FOV right ?
I would be very glad if anyone that have a similar gear/way of shooting could advise me.
Other thing I'm don't really understand. In the R1 spec of Nodal Ninja website it is said :
-8 precise on-the-fly tilting options (-15, -10, -7.5, -2.5, 0, +5, +7.5, +12.5 deg)
-Ability to roll the camera/lens in any position including the popular 0, 60 and 90 degree positions.
I'm not sure to understand the last one vs the first one. What exactly they mean by "roll" the camera ?
I've tried to find some videos in use of the head to have a better idea but to be honnest, I haven't found one ! Anyone here could share some usefull ones ?
Thanks for reading ! and hope I've been enough clear !
Cheers to all


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What would you think of Portal Taxidemy
I am not a taxidermist but I have a friend who has done some at home with rats. I was thinking about trying it out but I wanted to do something cool and original with it. I was thinking about a Portal theme. I was thinking about cutting the rats and mounting them on wood ovals painted with metallic paints or if I can find the parts mount them to some digital picture frames with a frame to make them look oval so I could have a view of the room behind it.
What to you guys think about my idea and what ideas do you have for my future project?
16 Answers answer
Sorry, but CREEPY comes to mind.
Creepy and awesome. It would definitely be original
It would probably be the greatest piece of taxidermy ever. Are you into rogue taxidermy?
@mfladd: Some find taxidermy creepy, but you have to admit it would be a conversation piece.
Do you have any friends? If not, you should find some. Just sayin'.
You could reenact famous movie scenes with mice inside shadow boxes to mount on a wall.
While "Dinner for Schmucks" overall was okay at best, I found his mouse dioramas strangely cool.
@flashkill: and here's how the conversation would go
Girl: "What's that on your walls?"
You: "That? That's just a rat I had cut in half and mounted on two different pieces of wood. It's based off the video game Portal."
Girl: "Wow, that's neat. I have to go now bye."
Take two pictures, each facing the room where the "portal" will be. Then, on the wood (or whatever you're using) overlay the picture onto the opposite portal. When finished, it will look just like the mouse is actually jumping into the other room.
Bassanimation might have a bone to pick (ha! taxidermy humor) with your claim of originality:
So, while you may be the first to implement the concept in real animal skin, Shirts already did it.
Go outside.
@durkzilla: In all fairness, Valve already did it before them with Portal... You can't complain about a copy cat, when that's exactly what you are
I can't believe all the hate in this thread, if my date couldn't appreciate something like this, it's probably no a girl worth knowing.
I think it's a funny idea and it would prolly get some internet buzz, especially on Geekologie
It is an interesting idea, but "creepy" overpowers "interesting" for me. Basically, it's something that I'd look at a picture of online, but if a friend gave a pair to me....I don't know that I'd be comfortable keeping it around. Just IMO.
Yeah, I'm sorry to say if I was dating you, while I could appreciate the reference as I like Portal, I wouldn't be too keen of the dead taxidermy animal part. If we lived together thats definately a piece I'd request you keep In your man Abe away from me heh.
This question makes me think of the janitor from Scrubs, with his taxidermy animals stuffed with other animals and his (squirrel?) pepper grinder you twist the head on to grind.
Apparently you cant edit a comment on deals from an iPhone, and it autocorrected cave to Abe. So just so we're clear, I meant man cave, not Abe. :)


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COPPERAS COVE (September 21, 2012)-Story Time and Toddler Time at the Copperas Cove Public Library will resume on Thursday and continue until December 20.
Toddler Time is geared towards children 1 to 3 years of age and will be held at 10 a.m. each Thursday morning with the exception of holidays.
Story Time is designed for children 3 to 5 years of age with programs beginning at 2 p.m. on Thursday afternoons.
A different theme is presented each week and includes stories, songs, rhymes, and crafts.
No registration is required and programs are free of charge.
Parents are asked to remain with their children at all times.
The Copperas Cove Public Library is located at 501 South Main Street.
For more information, call (254) 547-3826.


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1 Jun 2012 11:48 AM #1
Unanswered: Menu item show method out of place
Hi I'm trying to create a tree like structure menu. If I search for a menu item it hides all of the menu items and is suppose to only show the menu item I'm searching for and its parent menu items. The issue I have is if I hide all of the menu items than show a child menu items and its parents. The child menu item shows itself on the screen and out of place. I have to hover over the parent menu item one or two items before the child menu item shows up in the correct place which is to the right side of the parent menu item. I've tried saving the menuitem and its parent menuitems in a list so that I can call the show method on the items going down the hierarchy (parent->child). I've also tried doing doLayout and doComponentLayout. Any suggestions? Thanks
1 Jun 2012 2:16 PM #2
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Is this something custom you are developing yourself, or is a based on an example?


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(CNN) - With just under six months before Election Day, a new poll indicates President Barack Obama is nearly dead even with rival Mitt Romney in 12 battleground states.
Obama holds a slight two-percentage point advantage–47%-45%–over Romney among registered voters, according to the USA TODAY/Gallup Swing States Poll. The margin is well within the sampling error.
The margin is smaller than when the poll was last conducted in March, when Obama held a nine-point lead over Romney. Since then, however, two of Romney's Republican opponents – Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich – dropped out of the race, paving a clear path for Romney to the GOP nomination.
The dozen states surveyed in the poll were Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
In terms of performance, 46% of voters said Romney would do a good job handling the economy, while 34% said the same about Obama.
The president, however, scored higher in favorability ratings, with 58% saying the president is likable and 31% describing Romney as likable.
Also notable, Democrats have made ground in the enthusiasm gap, according to the poll. For the first time in the last five battleground surveys, more Democrats (57%) than Republicans (46%) said they are extremely or very enthusiastic about voting.
The results came the same day as a Politico/George Washington University poll showed Romney with a two-percentage point margin over Obama, a difference also well within the sampling error.
For the USAToday/Gallup Poll, 951 registered voters were questioned by telephone in the 12 swing states between April 26 and May 2. The sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points.


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I'd like to find the spectral decomposition of $A$:
$$A = \begin{pmatrix} 2-i & -1 & 0\\ -1 & 1-i & 1\\ 0 & 1 & 2-i \end{pmatrix}$$
i.e. $A=\sum_{i}\lambda_i P_i$ where $P_i$ are the coordinate matrices (in the standard basis) of the corresponding orthogonal transformations in the spectral decomposition of $T_A$ and $\lambda_i$ are the eigenvalues.
I started off by showing that $A$ is normal, piece of cake.
Then found the eigenvalues of $A$, those are: $\lambda_1 = 2-i, \lambda_2 = 3-i, \lambda_3 = -i$. I tried using these known facts from the spectral theorem:
- $A=(2-i)P_1+(3-i)P_2-iP_3$
- $\forall i\neq j, P_i P_j=0$
- $P^*_i=P_i$
The only example I have in my book uses these but I couldn't get it to work here. The terms don't cancel out it seems.
What else can I try?


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4 Reasons Zooey Deschanel Can Stop Pretending She's a Dork
Myth BUSTED: Awkardness That Isn't Awkward
Subtitled: She's as Awkward as a Gracefully Descending Snowflake on a Deep, Dark Night
Now, I get that in the new show New Girl, Yay!-Zee is playing something those in the theatre like to call a 'character.' Like, I understand she's reading words that did not come into her brain at that moment and that I'm not watching Zooey Deschanel in her actual beautiful apartment with her actual beautiful roommates. I went to college. I get that. But I also understand that In Zooey's world, 'awkward' is singing at inappropriate times while being model-beautiful:
She's so awkward, those generic 20-somethings don't know what to do.
Here's Zooey's New Show New Girl on Hulu
They even made up a new word for her brand of awkward: ADORKABLE. Between the big glasses and monkey faces the audience quickly catches on that this is a girl who will probably watch Star Wars with you but will also dribble a basketball right into your tv like some kind of toddler puppy dummy. The scenes that are supposed to translate as 'awkward' just strike me as 'self confident girl with a good sense of humor' from where I'm sitting. Hey Hollywood/Indie-ana, you got your defining characteristics confused again! Zooey-the-person is the opposite of awkward; negawkward. I know this because she's ALWAYS dancing:
In the real world 'awkward' is ending a conversation with "garble garble," taking off your shirt and squatting like a chola showing off your spinners...when there are no spinners in sight.
Rachel Havanna
Awkward is asking a four-year-old about his day, then somehow informing him about your friend's mastectomy, then telling the story in this very column even though you could have lived your whole life without anyone ever knowing.
Awkward is translating the word 'title' into 'titty' every time. Except it's not your fault, on account of how alike they look. TITLE. TITTY. Titty is just 'title' doing yoga. It's a mistake anyone could make. Guess what? No one's going to give you a movie career for your (alleged) dyslexia, so stop the letter writing campaign already, Kristi.
In other words, awkward is a description of actual discomfort, the kind you get when an old lady stands up and her dress is stuffed between her butt cheeks. Not adorable like a kitty cat, and not dorky like a kitty cat wearing glasses and doing calculations on an adding machine. I'm only going to say this once:
Beautiful is not allowed to be the new awkward.
It's just not. Because at the end of the day an obese one-eyed hunchback isn't going to win your affection for sing-talking through her day, no matter how vintage her dresses are. She's just another one-eyed hunchback in an old dress singing jazz standards and making you wish you didn't have to ride public transportation.
Speaking of one-eyed hunchbacks...
Myth BUSTED: Zooey as Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl
Zooey Deschanel, as you've probably figured out, is often cast as the MPDG, (or Manic Pixie Dream Girl, for long.) What's interesting is that she's been sustaining this persona for a while now, at least eleven years by my count. Meg Ryan didn't last that long. Neither did Winona or Natalie. So that's one thing. But the other thing is that Zooey got a feature length movie dedicated to her manicpixiegirlness - A WHOLE MOVIE.
Unlike Natalie Portman in Garden State or Kate Hudson in Almost Famous, the whole 500 Days shebang is an ode to the ZooDeeper; what she wears, how she talks, how absolutely unattainably perfect she is. Yes, it was about a failed romance and yes, Joseph Gordon-Handsome was in it, too, but really this was a movie about a girl who who was too good for the universe. And people loved it so hard.
Name a movie where Zooey is ugly or grotesque any way. Do you know how easy it is for a regular girl to not be cute? I just hiccupped and it sounded like a frog burp, but not from a regular frog, from a frog who could play Lurch in the frog version of the Addams Family. Boom. Done. Not cute.
"Hiccuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp!" - Astupidable!
In fact, I don't think she's a manic pixie dream girl at all - she's just a regular ol' dream girl. She's a Marilyn or an Elizabeth Taylor or a James Franco. Oh, did you know she sings, too? Or that she plays all the instruments ever? Or that she launched a lady comedy website? Or that she cured cancer with her eyelashes but hasn't told anyone yet on account of her modesty? So the question is:
What made the nerds of the world ever think she was one of them?
At what point did ordinary guys who were maaaaaybe a little too into video games or anime or not-sports look at a girl with perfect skin, a tiny little figure, a face that's pretty by every measurable standard we've got and say, "Yeah, that's attainable." Why is she in a show where three single guys are acting like she's some kind of helpless subhuman when you and I both know that in the real world every one of those guys would probably be calling old high school rivals to brag about the hot girl who sleeps a room away? Look at the face on the black guy below. All he wants is for that troll on his right to get her filthy hands off his body.
Pictured: Nuh uh.
If Zooey Deschanel is a dork's dream come true, what does that make all the other girls? Google 'geek sex symbol' and you get pictures like:
and, I swear on all that's holy...
Oh, one more....
Right. Not that Daniel Radcliffe isn't an adorable little person, he is. But clearly, there's been some kind of disconnect between what men and women think is within the realm of possibility. And maybe there always has been, but at least in the past no one was holding up Audrey Hepburn up as the queen of the nerd boys. And if they were, it was because 'nerd' meant something altogether different back then.
So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to agree, that yes, guy geeks need their own separate sex symbols. It's important, apparently. But with one caveat; when it comes to defining guy geeks, we've got one standard and one standard only:
I feel so much better now.
Kristi Harrison is an editor here and nobody's manic pixie dream girl over at Twitter.


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Minnie Driver
News about Minnie Driver, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.
Celebrating Long Shots and Outcasts
At a luncheon in her honor, Rory Kennedy said she fully expected her documentary "Last Days in Vietnam" would not win the Oscar.
February 20, 2015, Friday
MORE ON MINNIE DRIVER AND: Balazs, Andre , Driver, Minnie , Fonda, Peter , Hilton, Nicky , Hines, Cheryl , Kennedy, Rory , Sands, Julian , Shriver, Maria , Chateau Marmont (Los Angeles, Calif, Hotel) , Documentary Films and Programs
Some High Notes Are Just Screams
"Stage Fright" is a musical farce about a serial killer stalking the young campers at a summer getaway for aspiring theater stars.
May 9, 2014, Friday
MORE ON MINNIE DRIVER AND: Sable, Jerome , Movies , Meat Loaf , Driver, Minnie , Stage Fright (Movie)
The Fun of Having a Single Parent
This weekend NBC is introducing two feel-good sitcoms about the healing properties of broken homes.
February 22, 2014, Saturday
MORE ON MINNIE DRIVER AND: About a Boy (TV Program) , Simmons, J K , National Broadcasting Co , Walton, David , Driver, Minnie , Growing Up Fisher (TV Program) , Stockham, Benjamin (2000- ) , Television
Mismatch in Every Possible Way
In the comedy "I Give It a Year," Rose Byrne and Rafe Spall are newlyweds whose family and friends are convinced that they won't last.
August 9, 2013, Friday
MORE ON MINNIE DRIVER AND: Movies , Spall, Rafe , Byrne, Rose , Driver, Minnie , Mazer, Dan
A Family Film From a Coppola Family Member
Francis Ford Coppola's nephew Christopher Neil takes his film about a family of outsized personalities to Sundance.
January 24, 2012, Tuesday
MORE ON MINNIE DRIVER AND: Duchovny, David , Driver, Minnie , Coppola, Francis Ford , Farmiga, Vera , News , Kirk, Justin , Phillips, Graham , Schwartzman, Jason
Maybe a Dinosaur, Just Not Purple
"Barney's Version" stars Paul Giamatti in an adaptation of a book by Mordecai Richler.
December 3, 2010, Friday
MORE ON MINNIE DRIVER AND: Movies , Giamatti, Paul , Richler, Mordecai , Driver, Minnie , Bellow, Saul
Her Brother's Keeper, No Matter the Cost
Hilary Swank plays Betty Anne Waters in "Conviction," about a sister's dogged effort to free a brother sentenced to life for murder.
October 15, 2010, Friday
MORE ON MINNIE DRIVER AND: Movies , Swank, Hilary , Waters, Betty Anne , Rockwell, Sam , Goldwyn, Tony , DuVall, Clea , Leo, Melissa , Lewis, Juliette , Driver, Minnie
From Waitress to Brother's Savior, Then Hollywood Hero
Betty Anne Waters, a server who went to law school to free her brother from prison, is the subject of "Conviction," starring Hilary Swank.
October 13, 2010, Wednesday
MORE ON MINNIE DRIVER AND: Movies , Swank, Hilary , Goldwyn, Tony , Driver, Minnie , Rockwell, Sam
Follow Me, Boys
Though Ms. Driver is best known for her acting work, she has also made the occasional attempt at Norah Jones-style pop-music stardom.
September 2, 2007, Sunday
MORE ON MINNIE DRIVER AND: Driver, Minnie , Music
For This Family of Pros, the Con Is Everything
"The Riches" is so compelling it deserves to be a hit, generating as much media attention and Internet chatter as "Deadwood," "Nip/Tuck" or "24."
March 12, 2007, Monday
MORE ON MINNIE DRIVER AND: Television , FX , Izzard, Eddie , Driver, Minnie
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Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey had another sales spike in 2012, led by pricier premium brands.
Figures released Wednesday by the Distilled Spirits Council show bourbon and Tennessee whiskey sales from producers or suppliers to wholesalers rose 5.2 percent to 16.9 million cases last year. Revenue increased 7.3 percent to $2.2 billion.
In another sign of the category's strength, the council says 46 new bourbons were introduced.
Revenue from super-premium brands rose 14.4 percent last year, while premium brand revenues went up 9.4 percent.
The Kentucky Distillers' Association says the Bluegrass state produces 95 percent of the world's bourbon supply. There are more bourbon barrels aging in Kentucky than there are people living in the state.
Jack Daniel's, produced in Lynchburg, Tenn., is the dominant brand in the Tennessee whiskey category.


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5 Creepy Abandoned Rooms Found Hiding in Plain Sight
#2. A Collapsed World War I Bunker
When you hear "trench warfare," you picture either soldiers lying down face first in muddy ditches or khaki coats doing battle, but it's probably that first one. So when we talk about somebody accidentally stumbling across an old trench full of dead bodies from World War I, you'd probably just picture a bunch of bones in a ditch. But a lot of these trenches were actually the equivalent of tiny unfinished basements, which makes it that much weirder that one could go completely undiscovered for 90 years.
Via Spiegel.de
Especially one filled with all that valuable lumber.
Yet in 2010, French engineers looking to build a road discovered a German trench from 1918. In addition to housing the remains of 21 German soldiers who were killed by French shells, archaeologists discovered walls, floors, and a system for heating. At almost 400 feet long, the trench was more of a dirt hotel than a last-second hole in the ground. These guys had electricity and phone lines back when the rest of the world was still using telegrams and smoke signals. Oh, and beds. These guys had beds.
Via Spiegel.de
And sweet kicker ramps!
Workers also found a wine bottle, a mustard bottle, wallets, glasses, and rosary beads. They also found a French shell threaded on a rosary chain -- a macabre souvenir of life in the bunker. They also found the remains of a goat, which was most likely used for fresh milk underground. We hope.
Now, if these were French soldiers or American soldiers or, hell, Samoans, everyone would be clamoring for DNA testing to claim their long-lost granddad Malietoa. Not Germans. After 70 years of stuffing any nationalistic pride they had left into their delicious sausages, there was no way anyone was going to want to resurrect the bones of wars past.
Via Spiegel.de
"You start one-and-a-half world wars and no one ever lets you forget it."
#1. A Cold War Bomb Shelter Found in a High School
Hemera Technologies/Photos.com
One day at a high school in Auburn, California, somebody wondered what was behind the tiny little locked screen door in the weight room that nobody ever, ever used:
Via Kim Palaferri/Auburn Journal
We like to think they were playing a game of Die Hard and discovered it with bleeding feet.
And sitting behind it like an awful, paranoid Narnia was a long-forgotten room intended to survive Armageddon:
Via Kim Palaferri/Auburn Journal
"And here's where we keep our nuclear waste."
Back when the USSR and USA were in the middle of their nuclear staring contest, the civil defense department of the government sanctioned and funded bomb shelters all over the country. And officials at this high school went all-out for theirs -- they stocked the secret room with water, medicine, food, toilet paper, and LOTS of bottles of diarrhea medicine. Nuclear war was a huge diarrhea instigator, apparently.
Before the world was drinking bottled water, bomb shelter preppers were bagging water for doomsday. These bags of water are as clear as a summer sky. You could drink them now, if you wanted. And the decades-old food was likely more nutritious than whatever was being served in the cafeteria.
Via Kim Palaferri/Auburn Journal
"I'm not sure what it is, but you can bet your ass I'm eating it."
Among the civil-defense-issued goodies were hard biscuits, bandages, toilet liners, plastic cups, and tongue depressors, just in case they got bored and wanted to make crafts.
Well, shit, might as well seal it back up for when the zombies come.
Chris Sansone is a New York City-based writer and television production freelancer. Check out his website at www.clichedcoincidence.com or email him at firstname.lastname@example.com.
For more abandoned places we want to stay far away from, check out The 6 Most Mind-Blowing Modern Ghost Towns and 6 Abandoned Places That Will Make Awesome Supervillain Lairs.
If you're pressed for time and just looking for a quick fix, then check out The 5 Most Ridiculous Things People Tried to Patent.


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Population Information Summary Reports and Population Tools
On this page you will find the series of Birmingham Demographic Briefings (BDB), 2011 and 2001 Census Reports and Population Tools
Population Tools
You can create a Census Profile for areas smaller than wards using Local View.
LocalView is an online map based tool that provides access to a wide range of geographical information. This version of LocalView allows you to view selected 2011 Census Key statistics for individual Output areas (OAs) and Lower super output areas (LSOAs).
It also allows you to aggregate the OAs or LSOAs to create your bespoke area.
You can find guidance on extracting and formatting your data below.
2011 Census Population Profile for Small Areas in Birmingham (Size: 1.01 Mb Type: Excel Spreadsheet )
Demographic Briefs
The briefings give information about demographic trends in Birmingham, the latest information available about Birmingham's population is 2012.
2011 Census Reports
The topic reports describe the characteristics of Birmingham's population. They include information about housing, cultural background and economic activity
2001 Census Topic Reports
Last Updated :15th April 2015


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Let $x_1^4+x_2^4+x_3^4+x_4^4=0 \subset \mathbb{P}^4$ be the Fermat K3 surface. Is it possible to start from some involution on $\mathbb{P}^3$, do blow-ups to get rid of fixed points and then quotient with respect to resulting involution to get an Enrique surface inside the quotient of some blow-up of $\mathbb{P}^3$.
can you give an example of an Enrique surface inside a simply-connected 3-fold?


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John Whoo?...The real John Wu!
John Wu conceptships weekly header #23 August 8th - August 15th, 2008
Keywords: the real john wu professional concept artist graduate of Dawson College's Illustration and Design program in Montreal video game industry veteran resistance fall of man sony playstation 3 three game designer developer
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- Theodor Waern on concept ships
- Ben Mauro concept ship
- AH-64 Apache helicopter model from Streamline stud...
- Concept aircraft by John Wallin Liberto
- Concept ships from sparth
- One year of CONCEPTSHIPS!
- Concept spaceship art from Francois L Cannels
- Concept ships by Joel Carlo
- Jorge Gecov concept ships
- Concept ships by Benjamin Carre
- John Wu concept ships
- Concept plane car art from Antonio Lizarazu Balue
- Concept ships still frame from A new Hope
- Concept ships by Andrey Yamkovoy
- A selection of works from Conceptships.org
- Concept ships by Philip Straub
- ▼ August (21)


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|A pensive moment (this was before they started laughing, so it's out of order)
|Silly Grandpadad put Will in his activity seat without unswaddling him!
Will didn't seem to mind. :)
|A started elephant-capped David
|Today after church: Gracie's little hissy-fit makes me grin. Thanks for babysitting
so Gavin and I could go to church together, Katrina (and Mom, yet again)!


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The Adena Lions Club has been practicing, preparing and presenting minstrel shows in their tiny community for 62 years, and last Friday and Saturday was their 63rd- annual production.
"Viva Las Vegas" was the title, and it proved to be quite entertaining, with singing, dancing, instrumental music by the Dueces Wild band and comedy skits.
The most touching moment was the singing by Darrin Young and Drew Case to Garth Brooks' "Last Dance." It was a tribute to Theo Kanoski, a dedicated Lions member who had five years of perfect attendance in the club. He played Johnny Olson in a "Match Game" segment, was a new recruit in the Navy skit and delivered a belting yell of "Rawhide" to a "Country Gone Wild" show over the years. Kanoski died of cancer in June 2012.
Article Photos
SINGING — Darrin Young, Adena Lions Club president, was surrounded by young ladies when he sang "Uptown Girl" in the Billy Joel mode.
-- Esther McCoy
CAMEO APPEARANCE — John Parkinson who was emcee in the Adena Minstrel for many years and a participant for 62 years, made a cameo appearance to announce John Sebring as the emcee this year. Parkinson suffered heart problems that kept him from taking a big part but received a standing ovation at his appearance.
-- Esther McCoy
VEGAS GUYS — From left, Dennis Kinsey, Rob Whinnery, Dan Jones, Darrin Young, Joe Jancura and Don Holt gathered in the dressing room wearing their Vegas T-shirts before the show.
-- Esther McCoy
FRONT-ROW SEAT — Emma Kinsey had a front row seat to watch her family perform at the show. Her grandson, Dustin, was director and minstrel chairman, member of the house band, playing keyboard, announcer and performer, singing gospel hymns with his mother, Pam, and dad, Dennis.
-- Esther McCoy
CHECKING THE PROGRAM — June McKim and her long-time friend, Dorothy Rauscher, look at the lineup for the "Viva Las Vegas" show.
-- Esther McCoy
Bill Stephens, Buckeye Local band director, joined the jazz band in playing warm-up music, along with Ron Retzer, a noted musician throughout the area. Retzer and Joe Jancura were clowning it up when I took a photo, but I didn't get the best part captured on camera. The band played "Girl from Ipanema" as part of Act I, too.
John Parkinson, who grew up taking part in the old-fashioned shows when they were really minstrels, with endmen who made jokes and cavorted about, made a cameo appearance at the Saturday performance and likely Friday, but I didn't get to see it and received a standing ovation.
He served as announcer for many of the 62 years and on the 63rd year, had to take it easy after a heart operation. "You have been truly appreciated over the years and may your health start to bloom again, John." This is a thought from me.
Our Bradley neighbor, Megan Lecik, looked adorable as a female jailbird in black and white stripes dancing and singing to "Jailhouse Rock." Roger Warren made a convincing Frank Sinatra singing "Luck Be a Lady Tonight." Joe Jancura was in the chorus but sang a great Elton John song, "Crocodile Rock." Mike Zonkoski was Barry Manilow singing "This One's For You."
An act I took great delight in seeing was Kathy Oxley doing Tina Turner in "Proud Mary." She started in a slow mode, and I thought that she needed to jazz it up a bit. Just at that moment, she kicked it in high gear and went through Tina gyrations, belting out the song to even make Tina proud.
The West Elementary Singers, directed by Stacy Soos, did a tribute to the Jackson 5. There was a young man with a boa slung about his neck doing some fancy dance moves to "Rockin Robin."
Jessica Harr had a long, blonde wig to portray Madonna in singing "Borderline." Jessica is a nice addition to the show each year and has something different each time.
The chorus sang a Beatles, Frankie Valli and Four Seasons medley. Lamont has always been partial to the songs they sang "Oh What a Night," "Sherry" and "Walk Like a Man."
Rich Steffl sang "Danke Schoen" in Wayne Newton style and made a convincing show- girl in the "Hey Big Spender" segment, along with Young, Case, Dustin and Dennis Kinsey and Roger Moore.
Marty Packer does a wonderful job with whatever she sings, and this year it was Patsy Cline in "Walkin' After Midnight." Her daughter, Julie Erwin, sang the Connie Francis song, "Where the Boys Are." The Dueces Wild band played "Night Moves," with Dan Jones sounding like Bob Seger. He sang "Mr. Bojangles" in the Sammy Davis Jr. style and played the harmonica, along with the guitar.
Morgan Trouten sang a Shania Twain song, "You're Still the One." Rich Bolock did a nice job of "You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You" sounding like Dean Martin. Chris Krahel sang the Tom Jones song, "It's Not Unusual." Val Zamski was attired in a slinky, red sequin dress singing "Because You Love Me" by Celine Dion.
Dennis Kinsey did a magic act putting Young in a wooden stand-up box. He berated his wife a bit in the skit, and when he opened the box to release the Lions president, his wife was standing there instead, saying "We will talk at home."
The endmen did "The Gambler," with some of the gamblers' visors turned upside down, and the chorus did a medley at the end. One of the songs was "Hey Jude" with the lights lowered and all holding LED flashlights.
It was an impressive night.
(McCoy, a resident of Smithfield, is a staff columnist and food editor for the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily times. She can be contacted at firstname.lastname@example.com.)


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I'd like to try Gentoo (again...). I know that many steps require a lot of configuration and much more time. I'd like to do something else on computer during long waiting, because of that I would like to install it using VirtualBox and then move it to an partition and use it as normal OS.
I know how to
chroot from live to HDD, "restore" GRUB bootloader. I need especially to know how to have my Gentoo installed to real HDD partition using VirtualBox.


text:
Related to this question: having a root file system that had to be mounted read-only (say it's completely broken), can I reformat the partition or
dd a older backup image on top of it (and then reboot)?
I guess the file system won't like those radical changes while mounted (even if readonly).
Or, as a similar question: does one have other possibilities to fix a bad root fs other than running fsck interactively (i.e. perform permanent changes on the partition data with other tools)?


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January 25, 2013
Five things you didn't know about Cape Town Railway Station
Much like New York's Grand Central Station, Cape Town's bustling railway station on the Foreshore is the arrival and departure point for many local and international visitors to the city, and for commuters, students and residents.
Within walking distance of the Grand Parade, the Castle of Good Hope, the Cape Town International Convention Centre and the Artscape Theatre, and home to a variety of cafés, a social forecourt and a flea market, Cape Town Railway Station offers commuters a holistic travelling experience unlike any other mode of transport in the city.
Located in an impressive building on the corners of Strand Street and the Heerengracht, the station houses the Metrorail train service, the deluxe Blue Train and Rovos Rail, as well as luxury bus transport services. It is the central point for all of the railway lines travelling throughout the Mother City, and as such is often referred to as Central Station.
Here are five interesting things you didn't know about the Cape Town Railway Station:
1. One, twice, three times a station: Like the old Lionel Ritchie classic, this grand dame of history has had three incarnations. The first station, built in 1861, was a rather unimpressive single-storey wood-and-iron building, situated close to the present-day Golden Acre Shopping Centre, which is adjacent to the present station. In 1875 the station was replaced with a stone-faced brick building, which was substantially enlarged and altered over the years. Present-day Cape Town Station was built in 1964.
2. All aboard since the 1800s: By 1889, Cape Town was home to a vibrant and fast-growing community, with the station the hub of much activity. Every day there were no fewer than 125 trains entering and leaving the station. Today, more than 120 years later, no fewer than 667 trains enter and leave the station daily.
3. Next stop, Info desk: Cape Town Railway Station is the only Metrorail station that has a tourism information kiosk, and it is fully managed by Metrorail staff. Get all of your updated Mother City information right here.
4. The little engine that knew it could: Blackie, a little 150-year-old locomotive first used to construct the line to neighbouring town Wellington, and the first steam engine to be landed in South Africa in 1859, took pride of place at Cape Town Station, mounted in the concourse opposite the main line platforms, before being moved for 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa refurbishments.
5. More than just pretty pictures: chances are you've wondered just what the attractive facade of mosaics on the wall of the building means … well, wonder no more – those gorgeous pictures depict the evolution of transport in South Africa.
So, do you enjoy travelling around Cape Town? Why not try the MyCiTi bus, the eco-friendly Green Cabs, the scenic City Sightseeing Bus and the cheap but effective tuk-tuk taxis?


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- Gift Cards
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- The Day Spa @ Home
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Our Price:£74.85
Quantity: 28ml
Defy time with this dramatically rejuvenating facial treatment. Precious jasmine tones and firms, carrot oil helps improve elasticity and smooth lines. Antioxidant-rich avocado and jojoba offer intensive protection, while wheatgerm richly nourishes for a softer, smoother finish.
Key results:
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7 Real World Heists That Put 'Ocean's 11' to Shame
It has been said that life imitates art, but there's more than a few times that history's shown real life kicks art's ass. Danny Ocean might have had some big plans in his movies, but he can't hold a candle to some of history's more daring real-life thieves.
#7. Cool Hand Vincenzo
In 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia had only worked at the esteemed Louvre Museum for one month when the young Italian first encountered the Mona Lisa. Feeling that the famed painting belonged back in its native Italy, Vincenzo spent the next three weeks researching. He studied the museum's entrances, exits, the locks and he even profiled the security guards and found that their "lazy work habits" were perfectly suited to his purposes. After a careful period of casing the joint and its inhabitants, on August 21, 1911, he pulled off what was referred to at the time as the crime of the century.
The Plan:
He knew that the museum would be closed Monday morning for repairs, and after hiding inside the museum the whole night, Vincenzo donned a smock and swept the Mona Lisa off her feet with one furl of his fabric. Seeing at least 10 people working nearby and being illegally in the possession of the most famous piece of art known to the planet might weaken the resolve of lesser men, but Vincenzo kept his cool.
He moved down a nearby stairway, probably humming the Mission: Impossible theme to himself, and freed Mona from her frame. When the downstairs exit was locked, Vincenzo thinking either on his feet or like a caveman ripped the doorknob off the door and convinced a nearby plumber that it was stolen. A reminder: The dude with the Mona Lisa on his person was making a fuss to a plumber about a stolen doorknob. The plumber let him out and bam: The crime was complete.
Apparently basic skepticism hadn't been invented yet.
Vincenzo expected a hero's welcome back in Italy and a hefty reward for the painting, but Florence's Uffizi Gallery just fluffed his balls long enough to authenticate the painting and put the poor dumb sap under arrest. Vincenzo was sentenced to jail, but served minimal time as the patriotism of his act was considered a "mitigating factor." Remember that the next time you appear in traffic court. You weren't speeding. You were speeding for America.
Those pedestrians you hit were probably terrorists or something.


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STARmeterSEE RANK
Down 917 this week
Annette Crosbie
Besides brilliantly playing "Margaret Meldrew" on the acclaimed BBC Series One Foot in the Grave (1990), Annette is a tireless supporter of animal rights. Nothing enrages her more than cruelty to animals. She is a member of the Retired Greyhound Trust Charity and loves her three Greyhound dogs Tatti, Honey and Bonny. She had a strict Scottish ... See full bio »
Born:in Gorebridge, Midlothian, Scotland, UK
More at IMDbPro » Contact Info: View agent
5 photos | 4 videos | 69 news articles »


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It seems they just added a row of your elliptical machines to the Lifetime Fitness in Arlington Heights I go ...Read More
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This is by far the best home elliptical; great stride length, durability and smooth flow. You got my vote and ...Read More
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I travel extensively and have "had the opportunity" to train on lots of different cardio equipment. After trying so many ...Read More
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This is a great product for people who have weak, chronic back problems. I had a treadmill and could not ...Read More
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I am 43 years old, reasonably fit, and have been using a competitor's elliptical machine for several years at a ...Read More
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In January 2005 I purchased an Octane Q45e. I shopped for a long time before I decided on this machine. ...Read More
Linda HoppesConsumer review of standing ellipticals
I certainly agree 110% with the Best Buy Rating of this elliptical, but to me it is more than just ...Read More
Sam Yancey IIIConsumer elliptical review
My wife and I just purchased your Q35 for our home gym. We can honestly tell you that it is ...Read More
Ed MinklerConsumer elliptical review
I had been a runner for about 30 years and eventually the roadwork and availability of time took its toll ...Read More
Bill BettenConsumer elliptical machine review
I purchased the new Q37 and I must say that this is the best workout machine I have ever been ...Read More
Greg LeMayConsumer elliptical review
Because I suffer from deteriorating disks, my doctor insisted that I give up running. For nearly three months, I've been ...Read More
Diane GreenwoodConsumer elliptical review
I thought I was in good shape until I tried the Octane machine. It made me realize the other ellipticals ...Read More
J.P. DoffingConsumer elliptical review
I have owned my Octane elliptical for approximately eight months and feel the unit is great. After several weeks of ...Read More
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Julie StantonConsumer elliptical review
I cannot thank you enough for the unbelievable support I received from you and Octane. Needless to say, you went ...Read More
BobConsumer review of standing ellipticals
I searched for months to try an elliptical I could use. As an above knee amputee I could not find ...Read More
David LoVulloConsumer review of standing ellipticals
I'm a former 10 mile a day runner. At that level of output, I was destined to break down and ...Read More
Michael BradleyConsumer elliptical machine review
I purchased the new seated elliptical, xR6e from 2ndwind Fitness last October and love it. Having had both knees replaced ...Read More
Herman KnoenerConsumer elliptical machine review
Octane Fitness has a line of elliptical trainers taking the fitness industry by storm. Its patented technology allows for a ...Read More
OnSite FitnessPublication exclusively for non-profit facilities serving over 3,400 YMCA, YWCA and JCC facilities.
We were taken with the LateralX, and it's now taking the add-killer-screen-technology route with the option to add the Netpulse-enabled ...Read More
SNEWSThe leading source for outdoor and fitness industry news since 1984.
Companies like Octane Fitness make one of the best ellipticals on the market. The company has prided itself on designing ...Read More