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In William Blake's more famous poems, the highly detailed personal mythology he created is not evident. But in everything else he wrote, characters such as Los, Enitharmion, and Rintrah recur perpetually. Not only that, but a whole mythology of the creation of the world, in which "entering the void gave birth to Albion's lovely land," and "Los erected towers that stretched past the sky and re-arranged the magnetic poles," et cetera. Reading Vala, the unpublished sketchbook for all of these ideas, I have to ask myself, Is this really the year 17XX?
Has anyone made his world into an RPG?


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5 Important Things You Won't Believe Comic Books Invented
Comic books consistently create worlds where men have super strength and women have scientifically impossible body proportions, which are the first two indicators to readers that they shouldn't expect to see anything remotely possible, let alone realistic, in the well-drawn pages to follow.
But just to fuck with even that most basic rule of comics, there are times in history when comic book pages splashed to life and changed the world in amazing ways or predicted the hell out of some pretty major stuff, like the time ...
#5. Donald Duck Discovered Minecraft
Donald Duck is no stranger to inventing things, whether it be movies, scientific theories, or entire comic book genres. So none of you should be surprised to learn that he also dipped his webbed toes into the business of creating a video game world -- before video games were even invented.
Donald Duck, responsible for absolutely everything since 1934.
The game in question is Minecraft, which (for those of you who don't have 1,000 spare hours to sacrifice) is an indie game that blew up for almost inexplicable reasons in 2011. The main purposes of the game are survival, exploration, and building things out of cubes (in a world made out of cubes and as a character who is, shockingly, made out of pure anger).
And cubes.
It was a pretty unique idea for a game, purposely rendered in low-quality graphics, giving the virtual world a very original feel (especially for a game in 2011). And they would have really been on to something different and new if only Donald Duck hadn't done it all first back in 1949.
Actually, never mind, the smoke's not square, this is bullshit.
Donald discovered a Minecraft-like world in a story called Lost in the Andes! Donald and his nephews stumbled upon an isolated city called Plain Awful, where, like Minecraft, absolutely everything is made of blocks, including buildings, rocks, animals, and hills. Even the people are blocky and have managed to create clothes that are almost completely square, meaning that in terms of aerodynamics, they are the slowest people on Earth.
"For the love of God, move me faster; I'm literally going to shit a brick."
It's not just that things are square, though; there are weird similarities between the culture of the Donald Duck square-world and Minecraft. For example, one of the main activities in Minecraft is, well, mining, which, sure, is a little on the nose, but it's also the main pastime of the folks in Plain Awful, and where they sentence Scrooge to do hard labor after he brings a circular object into their city.
"Congratulations, you just devoted 200 hours of your life to a digital activity
that is considered a punishment in both real and Scrooge McDuck life."
Also like in Minecraft, the main source of food in Plain Awful is chickens, which are square and lay square eggs (but apparently are different enough from "ducks" that Donald and family aren't worried about being barbecued for supper). Despite the importance of chickens as a food source in both worlds, neither one feels the need to pen up the hundreds and hundreds of birds they depend on for survival, as it seems free range is just that much more delicious.
At least we hope they're only eating them ...
To be clear, we can't state conclusively that Minecraft stole this idea from the cartoon ducks that have basically invented American art culture, but we also can't come up with a single alternative. We're assuming either that Minecraft borrowed the idea or that literally everything that is going to happen was already prophesied by those fucking ducks. If you're looking to cash in on the next big idea, the smart money is that it was already written about in a Donald Duck comic. Just pick a strip at random and invent whatever Scrooge is talking about. Seriously.
#4. Spider-Man Invented Ankle Tracking Monitors
Marvel Comics
If you were a criminal in the '80s, the cops basically had two options of what to do with you if they arrested you: freedom or jail, with the only middle ground being probation, which is really freedom, but you have to write to them every now and then to let them know how you're doing (cops are very needy). But that all changed in 1983 thanks to the introduction of ankle tracking monitors and Spider-Man, who fights crime so well that he found a way to screw over criminals even in the real world.
The real-life story behind ankle tracking monitors, those pesky things we use to track criminals under house arrest, started in 1983 when a New Mexico district court judge, Jack Love (we swear to God this is his real name), was reading an old Amazing Spider-Man newspaper strip from 1977. In the comic, the Kingpin captures Spider-Man and puts an "electronic radar device" on his wrist to track where he goes, 'cause Kingpin's got trust issues.
Marvel Comics
"Seems weird of me to mention my hidden laser key, but I'm sure you won't take advantage of that information. Later!"
Judge Love read the comic (when he wasn't busy hosting our fake reality show, Love and Order) and thought, "Boy, that Kingpin fella seems pretty on the ball; I wonder if I could exploit his ideas. For justice." He contacted his friend Michael Goss, a computer programmer, and Goss was immediately on board to pioneer the delicate art of tracking people with robots.
The invention started out as an "electronic handcuff" but eventually morphed into the ankle monitor we know, love, and claw at today. Goss ended up leaving his job and starting the National Incarceration Monitoring and Control Services (NIMCOS), and in less than four years, 21 states were using the devices to track criminals on parole. Today we use them across the country to track pedophiles, parolees, and immigrants. Meanwhile, Judge Love, who could have said he thought of the idea all by himself, chose to let everyone know that he stole it from a children's newspaper strip. But he also got to be the first to sentence a person to electronic monitoring as punishment, nicely enforcing the classic Spider-Man motto: "With great power comes great responsibility to not leave your house and murder people."
Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish writing my legal romance novel, Serving 30-to-Love."
#3. Captain Marvel Jr. Inspires Everything About Elvis
DC Comics
Elvis Presley is remembered as a man overflowing with style and charisma, right up until he died on the toilet from overflowing with something else. What you probably don't know is that pretty much all of the unique things about the style and appearance of the most famous musician of all time were inspired by one of the most obscure superheroes ever, Captain Marvel Jr.
DC Comics
"I've had a bigger influence on the real universe than I ever will in the DC universe."
The King started reading Captain Marvel Jr. as a teenager, dooming himself to a lifetime of fabulousness at a young age. His childhood home in Memphis even has a copy of one of Junior's comic books on Elvis' nightstand. Elvis biographers credit Captain Marvel Jr. with inspiring pretty much every unique thing about Elvis, like the memorable front curl and general look of his hairstyle, for starters.
DC Comics, Shooting Star
Cap Jr. is also kind of responsible for making the King obsessed with lightning bolts. As any nerd knows, Captain Marvel Sr. and Jr. transform into their alter egos via magic lightning bolt:
DC Comics
Inspired by Cap, Elvis used the same symbol when he created his own personal logo. Adopting the humble style that Elvis was known for, the logo was basically a yellow Captain Marvel lightning bolt, sometimes through the letters "TCB," standing for the unrelated but awesome catchphrase "taking care of business." During his later years, Elvis would end up painting the lightning bolt logo on his walls in Graceland ...
... having it emblazoned on his personal jet, the Lisa Marie ...
... and putting it on jewelry that he gave away as presents, which we imagine was similar to getting something made by a 6-year-old during arts and crafts that you then have to pretend is just the tops.
"No, Elvis, I love them ... It's just that they're so beautiful that I'm only going to wear them on special occasions."
But easily the biggest influence this C-list hero had on Elvis was inspiring the entire look of his glam-rock phase, including the one-piece bodysuits and the short capes.
clubelvis.org, DC Comics, elvisinfonet.com
You know you've gone too far when you're also making jumpsuits based on the alter ego.
The only noticeable difference between the two looks is that Elvis decided Captain Marvel Jr. wasn't flashy enough for his tastes and pulled out his BeDazzler for his own costumes. DC Comics has even winked at the fact that Captain Marvel Jr. did all this for Elvis by flipping the story and having the most recent version of him be a huge Elvis fan.
DC Comics
Which subsequently makes him sound like kind of an idiot.
So a celebrated and successful musician was doing nerd cosplay for a bunch of screaming women his whole life. That might seem like the weirdest thing about this situation, but Elvis' love for Junior wasn't just about the look; his interest in being a superhero goes much deeper than just the superficial stuff. Elvis wrote a letter to then-president Richard Nixon. He claimed to want to help Nixon in the war on drugs and hippies, and Nixon agreed to meet with him, because it's not uncommon for famous people to meet with presidents. Then Elvis the Wannabe Superhero showed up at the White House wearing a cape, because it's not uncommon for superheroes to do that. He then asked President Nixon to deputize him as a Federal Agent at Large because he wanted to help fight crime, and Nixon did it. He gave Elvis a badge and everything. He dresses like a glittering circus freak, he has a license from the president to stop bad guys, and he's got a hard-on for justice.
Elvis Presley sang and charmed his way into being an official crime fighter. It's good to be the King.

subset: commoncrawl


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why ballet is still so pale...black dancers/classical ballet co.'s
Posted 21 April 2005 - 05:50 PM
I have been around this Artform for a long time and it hasn't changed....Why is it?
There are plenty of good black students in the Major schools,so why don't they continue or why aren't they encouraged?
ballet was always to me the thing that took riske..It was a story, so a choreographer or director could choose their own hero or heroine...
Why hasn't it changed?
I look at companies like Boston Ballet and New York City Ballet ,who used to have one or two people of color and now, Boston Ballet especially is very pale...
Wouldn't it be a good idea for the director of the company to look at the Demographics of the city and try to appease to everyone?If onel Black dancer is leaving, they should at least have a back up...
Poeple talk about missing the black dancers in the company and substituting them for the Asians and that isn't a good comparison aside from the non caucasian issue...
Am I the only one who sees this problem and is there any hope for improvement?
I'm just curious because I love Ballet, but I can't stand sitting in the audience without seeing someone black onstage...The dancing is fine, but there is no soul...,
Posted 21 April 2005 - 07:15 PM
Posted 21 April 2005 - 08:16 PM
You did mention seeing very gifted black dancers in top schools. I dont doubt this, but in my own experience i can only recal a very few auditions where there was A black student. In my school, as well as several national schools that i attended there was no black students. I remember having a conversation with a roommate who was latin american about this very issue. Neither one of us could figure out why there were not any black students there. I do not believe that the AD's or directors of the school are being prejuduce, but selecting what they have available.
I do not really understand your statement, "I'm just curious because I love Ballet, but I can't stand sitting in the audience without seeing someone black onstage". I know the race issue is different for everyone, but (please no one 'yell' at me for saying this) i do not go to a basketball game and not enjoy it because there are no white atheletes. When i am there i am awed by their talent, their race never crosses my mind. To me, ballet transcends race and the beauty will be there regardless of who make up the company. If there is a black dancer, wonderful!!! But if not, i am still in awe of the performors (most of the time :rolleyes: )
Again, i hope my opinion does not offend anyone, i do not intend for it to. I am just sharing my thoughts.
Posted 23 April 2005 - 03:39 AM
Speaking from a South African point of view, I am often surprised at how little interest black people still show in ballet, despite genuine and ongoing effort on the part of companies like the South African Ballet Theater and Ballet Theater African to train and incorporate them. It is a pity, because most of them are very gifted in movement, rhythm and dance.
Posted 23 April 2005 - 08:21 AM
I was not sure if I wanted to add on eland's observations which are clear simple facts : [quote]I couldn't help but notice the lack of color.[/quote]
But I had to say something since I am not sure I enjoy reading such shallow comments:
[quote]I believe part of the problem with black dancers reaching professional level is that they generally have extremely flat feet which (for the women) makes pointe work very difficult.[/quote]
I have not yet been aware that extensive and serious research has demonstrated such nonsense. Not every "human raced" ballet dancer is blessed with P. Herrera's feet. Than again, some research seemed to have proven that the Asian hip joint is more mobile than any other. However in my Regression Analysis class, we have learned that it is extremely easy to make some variables appear to be strongly correlated to each other when they truly are not. It all depends on the model and perhaps the interest of the firm spending money on the research at stake.
Secondly THERE IS A HUGE CAN OF WORM and I sincerely think that unless "the people who hold the power and the key to make change happen" make genuine intelligent moves, nothing is going to change. This is precisely what feeds the worms and make them multiply exponentially, therefore making matters even worst.
I will not speak of the South African Situation, as I do not live there, but IT DOES NOT leave me perplexe that black children are not more keen in taking ballet in that country. From an outsider's point of view, let's not pretend that in a country where apartheid ruled until very recently and where a vast majority of the black population is still struggling with basic nutritional needs, that one should expect the rate of ballet class signup to increase linaerly in such a short time. I am sure that there were quite a few enrollment at first and after, some kind of stagnation. But I am sure that with the emergence of a middle class, a second boom is bound to happen. It always takes time to incur change in mentalities. I suppose this is part of human nature. Maybe in such countries where there exists sub-human poverty the solution would be more of something like a state-founded shcool just like in Cuba or soviet-era Russia. Where only the most naturally gifted sudents enroll and where the most excellent teaching could be available. But that's a different debate. If we look at the POB school and Company, there are many cases of problems regarding race. In the race issue, there is always two important variables: the observed facts and most importantly the reason unedrlying those facts. It is easy to state observations, but it takes courage to investigate as to why people behave the way they do.
Nevertheless, as for "the people who hold the power and the key to make change happen" I will define them by not only the AD, producers, etc..but even more importantly the ballet teachers. I have a tremendous respect for what they do, but I think unfortunately, they also have a huge responsibility when in that rare occasion a gifted young student appears in front of them in the form of a colored ballerina. And I am not necessarly talking about Sylvie Guillem type of overtly gifted body, more in terms of being gifted with a basic good "ballet body".That student will need uncomparable inner strength to overcome the obstacles that will lay in front of her on top of the other issues that a classical dancer normally deals with.
Part of the problem resides in the training years, IMO. And more importantly surviving them. Note that for my personal case, I am not in a professional school so not really dealing with a group setting. Would Misty Copeland would have made it if it wasn't for her teacher who put her under her wings? She benefitted from one on one training therefore probably gained strong self-confidence in her dancing capacities.Then again only she really knows....How about Aesha Ash. I would love to meet her to know how she coped with things.
Are biased teachers less inclined to teach and correct the black child because teacher "knows" that eventually that child is going nowhere in ballet? Of course I am talking about children who A priori have some good basic physical dispositions for ballet(turnout, flexibility, elongated body type.)
However even some minute sheltering in Ballet school will not help one deal with the jungle of the company world.
I don't know. It seems to be very complicated because ballet is based a lot on subjectivity. On what do AD's base themselves for casting? On their own perception of what Aurora looks like or on what they think the public to whom they sell the tickets to think what Aurora SHOULD look like?
It is very twisted and pervasive.
Heck even at University, I am in a very "cerebral" and "rationnal field", I have noticed some non Kosher things going on when I go speak to my Program Director. I must imagine how it might be for a black dancer in a classical professional school setting. The inner strength she must have. And the underlying knowledge that she has the RIGHT to be there regardless of what her peers/teachers think of her. And this is the hardest part, since ballet is extremely self scrutinizing. I have read stories about this classical dancer at POB and how she was somehow under Mme. Bessy's wing. But when came time for her to join the company, she was clearly left behind (although she joined she was basically stuck in the cdb 4ever until qhe quit). As a dancer you are always insecure about how you do what you do and how you look when you are doing those things so you constanly want to improve yourself.
I think surviving Ballet school is the first step.
Then surviving the Company world is another, since there the the business factor and revenue generating factor comes into play. Is the Company profitable? Is casting a black dancer in a soloist role judged too risky? Is the AD too coward to make a bold move that could therefore make the public not so much "shocked" next time it happens? Which reminds me of one time hearing on TV that putting a black model alone on the cover of a fashion magazine does not generate as much sales...therefore she should be on the cover with some other non-black girl. By the way this was before the industry discovered that actresses/singers could have the right to be on the cover of high end fashion magazines. And so what if the sales drop the first few times(I am convince that even if there is a drop, it will not be THAT significant or are people really going to boycott a complete production because Gamzatti is played by a black woman ?). Society could benefit of such moves in the long run. I am convinced that those decision makers do have a social responsability and should tend to educate the public especially if they hold the key to positive social change. But then again, do they want to do that? Can they afford to?It is too easy to act like an ostrich and pretend "it is not my job to do that". Hiding one's haed in the sand especially when one has they for change is detrementa for society.
Thirdly, I strongly believe that it has a lot to do with the way the society we live in portray black women in general. Can we really be anything else then a nanny, a compassionate best friend or as prostitute? Ballet is not the movies, but look at how mainstream Hollywood 's way of typcasting the black female actress (and this has been said by actresses who "made it"). Are the decision makers genuinely convinced the public is "ready" to accept that the black woman can represent the quintessence of female etheral lightness and purity, which seems to be the international symbol of being a ballerina?
I myself was involved in the modeling industry and I will always remember that (after having passed the audition process for some work) they have told me on set that I should act more like a street girl (I don't know how else to express this) and telling me expressively that the public wanted to see something "jazzier" out of me and to leave "noble maneurism" for the other (n-black) girls that were casted. (Believe me, no one wants to see me do HIP HOP )
Although I might not completly and textually agree that if [QUOTE]Black dancer is leaving, they should at least have a back up...[QUOTE] but I understand what could have been meant by such a comment. Maybe not the very next dancer to be hired should be of "colour" but it surely should be something the AD and company should consider in the future.
Let's have a positive and intelligent discussion, Please.
How do you all think should be done, constructively, to make change happen?
Or is change not that much seen as a good thing in the Ballet-decidors point of view?Or, (scary) Should change really happen? Are black children better off taking up nuclear physics in grad school even if it is not their passion as to minimize their risk of experimenting such behaviors?
I am really tired of hypocrisy underlying in ballet world. Let's not pretend that racism is over in that field. It is a plague that affects all society.
Posted 23 April 2005 - 11:28 AM
I love Ballet, but I can't stand sitting in the audience without seeing someone black onstage...The dancing is fine, but there is no soul...,
To my ear, these two comments are equal in generalization. The difference between them, however, is that while ostrich's can be countered by science and a quick glance at the feet of DTH dancers, eland's comment reflects a personal opinion/aesthetic, which may be closer the answer.
I believe part of the problem with black dancers reaching professional level is that they generally have extremely flat feet which (for the women) makes pointe work very difficult.
If you look at the people who are Artistic Directors of the major companies in America, many fall into two categories: former Balanchine dancers, mostly from the US, and European born (mostly) baby-boomers. Some fall into both categories. European-born baby boomers, like Boston Ballet AD Mikko Nissenen, were, on the whole, born and raised in primarily homogeneous societies where racism was largely (and sometimes smugly) seen as America's and South Africa's problem. Former Balancine dancers running companies today were likely colleagues of Arthur Mitchell, a NYCB Principal Dancer.
Dance is one of the few arts where the artist must be seen in order to be chosen. In his recent book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell writes about the change of the face of symphony orchestras in America, due to completely blind auditions. In many cases classical singers are first heard on tape, where an instant impression (for better or worse) is made on the Artistic Director, and s/he must undo his/her own positive impression upon actually seeing the singer's race, age, or weight. (Which isn't to say it doesn't happen, but the first impression is made blind.) Physical presence isn't necessary for any of the plastic arts. A painting hangs on a wall or a sculpture sits on a pedestal without the artist being in sight.
What dancers are chosen is at the behest of the taste and aesthetics of the Artistic Director, except where a specific type is needed to fill a role (ex: tall man to partner ballerina X). If it is true that black students are in the top schools, they are auditioning, and they are not chosen in direct proportion to either numbers or talent, then it is the AD's who are choosing based on a different aesthetic or, to an extent, the "personality" that they assume would be successful (at least according to their own definition).
Were a Marketing Director to say to an AD, "A black dancer would reach out to a new and underserved market," or anyone else to opine that by hiring a black (or Latino in some areas) would do wonders for community relations, what is the chance that the AD wouldn't respond with an argument about artistic integrity? Is it likely that an AD going to exclaim to the world, "I am a racist, and I think black women can't dance?" or even "My audience isn't ready to accept a black ballerina?" Until either black dancers publish their own experiences to the contrary, Arthur Mitchell or other prominent black dancers say s/he was used as a token, white colleagues "expose" specific examples of racism, or a tape is leaked of an AD making deliberately racist comments, we won't know if and how much of the artisitic decisions are made because of racism, and we can only speculate. The upshot is that AD's don't have to justify their hires.
Posted 23 April 2005 - 12:03 PM
Very interesting comments Helene.
But you have hit THE most important aspect of racism because when you say that we cannot label an action of "racist" nature unless
tape is leaked of an AD making deliberately racist comments, we won't know if and how much of the artisitic decisions are made because of racism, and we can only speculate
this is precisely what makes such behaviors pervasive in nature. Untill the general population won't feel the need to have "proof on Camera" of such behaviors, we won't be going anywhere.
And this is ballet, where everything is so subjective. It is not appartment searching for which there is always a documentary that shows how some landlords change their minds about vacancy when they see a colored person arrive to visit.
I think also that an AD perpetrating (consciously or not) those behaviors also are intelligent enough NOT to say the real reasons underlying their actions.
My audience isn't ready to accept a black ballerina?
there has been comments made at least by dance critiques in the Dunham era about how peple don't see ballet being interpreted in black bodies. Things have changed since them, but this was not SO long ago. The difference now is that it is no longer "permitted" to make such comments. Not very politically correct nowadays. But have the mind of people changed in such short time? The ambiguous nature of the problem also resides in the fact there is a lot left unspoken.
Hmm...speculations of course this is technically what it is. But it is evident there is a problem and although I am not neither a professional yet, neither had the chance and privilege to meet M. Mitchell healthy discussion is always a positive thing and at the very least helps the younger ones living through difficult experiences.
Any positive thaughts on how we can make things better?
Posted 23 April 2005 - 03:58 PM
I think Helene hit on the root of many problems in the ballet world, not just the issue of race, with the comment that "directors don't have to justify their hires". It is always, in the end, up to their personal taste and artistic vision for their company. I've witnessed several cases in which a dancer has sued or at least raised a public outcry for not being re-hired, claiming unjust (or absent) reason for their dismissal. The dancer was either injured, coming back from an injury, or returning from maternity leave. The director cited artistic reasons--- the dancer wasn't up to snuff and hadn't proved their ability to become up to snuff.
I may be naiive, but I think that most artistic directors in North America truly hire the best dancers they can find, regardless of race. I think the reason why there aren't more black and other minority ballet dancers at the elite professional level is because social pressures discourage them from seeking out and receiving the best training at a young age.
Posted 23 April 2005 - 07:52 PM
At the same time, I wonder about the efficacy of looking at ballet in a microscopic fashion for traces of racism. With discrimination of all types, it's hard to know where to look. To take a neutral example, people often confuse personal animus with prejudice and think that because they don't feel any dislike toward (insert your favorite group here) they aren't prejudiced. This is why in courts, (disclaimer, not a lawyer, so I may mangle this) discrimination on a larger scale can be shown by mathematical patterns without reference to a specific incident. It doesn't matter if noone in a corporation said "I can't stand having old farts working here." If it shows from hiring patterns in a large company that there's a trend of firing 55 year olds and replacing them with 25 year olds, it's age discrimination. The actions matter most, no matter the sentiment. If the problem is systemic rather than personal, it's really important to bring it to people's attention in that way. Otherwise the response is "But I like old people". People understandably take accusations of discrimination personally and defensively; they stop listening, because they don't feel personal animus. So one has to continue, "I'm sure you do. But did you know your corporation has replaced 45% of the workers over 55 with workers under 30?"
Ballet is expensive to train with very little financial gain possible. I'm not denying the racial component, but the divide is as much economic as racial. How much are a year's worth of pointe shoes for training? Or ballet lessons? Without subsidy, it's out of reach for anyone out of the upper middle class.
Having talked out of both sides of my mouth (nothing makes me squirm more than this subject because yes, it does sound like personal accusations rather than systemic observations) the question I would ask is, do you think we need more minority students? Is there a problem getting them? If so, what do you suggest be done to increase the pool?
Posted 24 April 2005 - 08:50 AM
Since this is a difficult (painful) subject for most people, myself included, to address head on...I'll go further and admit that as a teenager I used to wonder "but can one really picture a black dancer as [insert name of this or that classical role]?" -- Stupid (or worse) as it sounds, I didn't really register the Dance Theater of Harlem as a counter example because I had only seen them dance Balanchine and other contemporary choreography and perhaps, unconsciously, because I knew it wasn't an integrated company. Fortunately, exposure to Christopher Boatright dancing Romeo with the Stuttgart Ballet and later to the thoroughly integrated National Ballet of Cuba dancing all the Classics (Swan Lake, Giselle, Coppelia) gave me an entirely different view of the matter--and I came to realize that what I had thought was a matter of "artistic" taste was really based in assumptions, habits, and prejudices that I had never looked at adequately. Of course, I speak only for myself -- but I think it wouldn't be a bad thing if the ballet world could broach these issues with a little less defensiveness.
One more example (it involves indirect reporting, but I hope moderators will let it stand): someone recently reported to me a dance commentator saying in private conversation that they didn't like Carlos Acosta in "prince" roles because he didn't have the right "face" for it...so I responded (sincerely) that I think Malakhov doesn't have a princely face--Malakhov has a kind of elfin, boyish face, with a not terribly 'noble' even slightly upturned nose. That is, Malakhov, too, is hardly Erik Bruhn. But of course what makes Malakhov very "princely" on stage has nothing to do with his face, but with his lines, his feet, his carriage--for that matter, with how he holds his head. In fact, Malakhov is one of my favorite princes! And it doesn't occur to anyone to comment on Malakhov having the wrong face or even consider his face a serious issue to raise. Well, I would say that likewise, whether Acosta is a great Prince or not has nothing to do with his face -- which many may find quite Princely -- but with how he inhabits the prince roles as a dancer, how he, as an artist MAKES you see him. I myself have only seen him dance Conrad in Corsaire and Basil in Quixote -- but based on those performances I certainly would like to see him as Siegfried or the Prince in Beauty.
One of Sylphide's points is that many dancers, at levels less exalted than Acosta's and especially young women, will be discouraged before they can ever even arrive at modest career success, and -- to put this in terms of my own examples -- this is precisely because too many teachers and artistic directors can't imagine even the most talented of them as having the right "face," or looking like the "princess," and not, in my judgment, for any good reason.
I should add that although my examples are personal (and include myself) I do agree with Leigh that it is, on the whole, more useful to broach this issue as a systemic problem rather than as a series of personal ones. I don't have answers to Leigh's final questions beyond the old chestnuts -- arts education in public schools etc. I suppose top ballet schools might set up special programs to do a little "extra" talent searching and recruitment among underrepresented groups. (Perhaps a board member of a top company with a school could be recruited to take a special interest in funding this...)
Posted 24 April 2005 - 11:32 AM
In addition I would like to point out that in classical music, at the level of serious orchestras let alone soloist level, there are very few black participants either. In writing fiction and poetry however there are (not to mention the rock music business).
So perhaps it's not just a matter of the institutions being exclusive, but also a matter of preference on the part of the (non)-participants.
I know that would make it harder to blame people...
Allow me to say that Eland's remark that a company without black dancers lacks "soul" makes me really uncomfortable. That is really just half a step away from saying black people have this extraordinary sense of rhythm, because they're... black.
Posted 24 April 2005 - 11:41 AM
^^^Well said, excellent post. Virginia Johnson, the first and founding prima
of DTH put it succinctly," . . . in order for a black woman to be a ballerina, she has to be a Super Ballerina," ie. better than the best. Arthur Mitchell began DTH as a response to the lack of opportunity for Black youth in Harlem in general and ballet in particular. He had to deal with the Southern audiences not wanting to see him period, let alone dance with Allegra Kent. At that point Balanchine put his foot down: "If Mitchell does not dance, NYCB will not dance."
Years ago, there was a dancer whose name I can't recall, who studied at White Lodge and Baron Court, where she was considered very talented. However, she wasn't considered suitable for membership in the RB corps. Of course, that could 've been for any number of reasons: budget, available openings, or simply she just wasn't good enough to join. Subsequently, she joined and thrived at DTH. And, like someone has already pointed out in this thread, the AD doesn't have to justify his/her hires.
Today, because of the variety of ethnic talent at Covent Garden, some British dance critics have dared to imply in some of their columns that the RB is gasp no longer 'English.' Many classically trained Blacks have chosen modern dance and its companies over classical ballet, such as Alvin Ailey Co., whose AD Judith Jamison is my Sorority sister. I think other ethnic groups such as Latinos, Asians etc., and yes some Blacks have proven that hard work and perseverence, in any endeavor, especially the field of classical ballet knows no color and that success is not a guarantee. I could be wrong, but IMO I've noticed that many continental European companies ie Hamburg and POB and others have been more egalitarian toward Black males than Black females. Has anyone researched that?
Posted 24 April 2005 - 12:18 PM
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text: Well, here is my final lesson for the day and to keep the momentum going for Halloween, I've decided that a good tutorial on "how to draw a witch for kids", step by step would do just right. To keep things simple I chose to make a witch flying on a broom, but her body profile will be from the side. I find that drawing things from the side view is a whole lot easier no matter if it's people, objects, or animals. I do have a few witches as lessons already, but as you know the tutorials that I made in the past are kind of difficult to replicate. Nowadays, my drawing skills have gotten better, and because of this I am able to provide better quality lessons that the members and visitors who come to Dragoart are able to get their favorite objects, animals, characters, cartoons, or people drawn the way that they see it on the site. Well, I guess that's pretty much all I have to say, I will let you get busy as you follow this submission to drawing a witch for kids. I may or may not return, it all depends on how I feel. Adios people, and have fun!


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The Blackbirders {RP}
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Posts: 151,389
Join Date: Dec 2004
The Blackbirders {RP} -
1. This RP is for experienced RPers only. That means that unless your name appears on the following list, then you can't join. The people who can join this RP are as follows:
Spirit_Queen, Sarah_K_O_M, Silent_Wolf, TheHayleyDoll, Amazinglove.
If you are not among the listed RPers, please don't post in this RP asking to join or PM me asking the same.
2. Obey the main forum rules.
3. No Mary Sues or Gary Stus. Or I will hit you.
4. Please abide by the plot rules. This universe has electricity; it's called something else in the book, but for simplicity's sake, I'm calling it electric. There are no cars, but carriages that run by electric. There are no aeroplanes, but instead people travel by zepplin airship. There are still carriages pulled by horses and people travelling by horseback, too. If you have any questions, PM me rather than asking in the RP.
Welcome to a completely new world. This world is similar to ours in some ways, but in other ways, the differences stand out markedly. In our world, our souls are one complete whole and are housed within us. In this world, half our soul remains within us and half is outside us, as a daemon. Daemons take the form of animals; they can change their shape during our childhoods, but when we mature into adults, they remain in one shape which they stay in for the rest of our lives. Your daemon is your friend, and your true other half; no-one knows you like your daemon does. You can't imagine being parted from your daemon, ever. But there is a danger. Children are being kidnapped, from the slums, the middle class areas and even from the parts of town where the rich live. No-one is safe, and no-one knows quite when the kidnappers will strike.
The children play games about these so called "Blackbirders", and pretend to themselves that they're not scared, but they are. And with good reason. The Blackbirders steal the children away and take them to a place in the north where scientists have developed a machine that will separate a person from their daemon. Anyone who goes thru this process will be sundered from half their soul, and both person and daemon will be as zombies, mindless and obedient, to their master. He keeps himself secret, only emerging every so often to check on what's going on in his headquarters, a huge building surrounded by snowy plains, where the children are taken. He has a plan; to use his creations to build up a deadly army, an army that knows no fear and attacks obediently and blindly, in order to take over the world and make himself ruler of it.
The severing process used to be thought permanent, and the victims of it left mindless, but a rogue scientist working at the headquarters, quite by accident, discovered a cure. She was forced to flee, fearing for her very life, in order to hide out at a secret location in a town on the other side of the world. She cannot reveal her identity or her purpose for fear that her old employer will track her down and kill her to prevent her revealing the cure to anyone or practicing it on his minions to give them their lives and souls back. Who are you in this fierce struggle? Are you a mother, perhaps, who's had a child taken and now is determined to find them, whatever the cost? Or maybe you're a child who fears the Blackbirders, yet plays the games with all the other children. Or perhaps you used to work alongside the scientist who's discovered the cure; do you support her work or condemn it? What side have you chosen?
Rules For The Plot.
Certain elements from the book Northern Lights, which was made into the movie The Golden Compass, have been taken and adapted into this RP. I haven't taken the exact plot, as it would be too complex for an RP and also was solved in the books. The most difficult aspect for most people to understand would be the daemons, so I'll explain those in full, as well as impressing on players certain rules that must be followed as far as daemons are concerned. Here they are:
1. Daemons can change shape in childhood but are fixed in adulthood.
For the sake of the RP, I'm making this as 16+ when your daemon fixes its shape. If you have problems thinking of what animal your character's daemon will be, just think of the Animagus forms in Harry Potter; ie, the animal shape can not be chosen and instead reflects the person's personality. Daemons also do this; for example, a brave person may have a lion daemon; a sneaky one a snake, an independant person a cat, a vain person a peacock and a flighty one a squirrel. Look at your character's personality, if adult, and choose a shape to fit them. If your character is a child, then their daemon can change shape at will. The daemons of servants, incidentally, are always types of dog.
2. Men have female daemons and women male.
You must remember this, and choose a suitable name for your daemon. Don't forget that the daemon is not a pet, it is part of you. So your character converses with them as they would another person.
3. Any animal can be a daemon, including reptiles and birds, and also insects.
Be creative. Don't just pick the same daemon as someone else did, if you figure your daemon is a cat, then choose another type of cat, for example, a serval or ocelot.
4. No-one must touch another person's daemon.
It's the worst taboo you could imagine. The only exception would be between lovers, for example, but in most cases only the person who's daemon belongs to them will touch that daemon. If your daemon is hurt, then your character is hurt.
5. A person and his/her daemon must stay within a short distance of each other.
Forced separation causes unimaginable pain, both mental and physical, even if both are reunited. The people who are severing the children from their daemons are doing so in the most brutal way, and some of the children die from the experience.
Character Form:
(written please, no pictures)
(if a child, then just put the daemon's name)
Rian Emerald
Black hair, green eyes. Average height
Very childish for his age, can be rude, sulky and bratty. Likes to deliberately annoy people, steals. He's also loyal to his friends, and brave on occasion
Rian's father is in prison, and his mother couldn't cope with him so at an early age he was adopted. His adopted mother Gwen is an alcoholic, and pays little or no attention to her adopted son, instead letting him run wild.
Rian crept alongside a wall behind the stalls in the marketplace, his daemon Maris in the shape of a fox at his side. "I'm not so sure about this," Maris said in barely a whisper. "What if you get caught? If you get beaten, remember, I get hurt as well." "I'm not going to get caught, and I won't get beaten," Rian muttered back to Maris in the same low tone. "You know as well as I do that Mum won't bother to get us anything to eat; she just spends all the money she can get hold of on drink. This is the only way. Either that, or we starve." Maris gave a sigh, and nodded. "Alright. Just be careful." Rian crouched down low behind a stall selling hot pies. He waited for the right moment, then pounced. He seized a pie, wincing slightly due to it burning his hands and was away, running hard with Maris flying by his head in the shape of a finch, by the time the stallholder and his jackal daemon spotted them. The stallholder shook his fist and his daemon growled angrily, but fruitlessly as Rian was well away.
Rian stopped running as soon as he got to a convienient alleyway, that ran up the side of an abandoned, derelict house. He sat down, out of breath and Maris flopped down next to him. "I didn't get caught, did I?" he said to her, before starting to eat his prize. "Not this time, true," Maris replied, "But what about next time?" "I ain't thinking about next time," Rian said between bites. "I just think about now. That, and to make sure the Blackbirders don't get me." Rian along with the other children who lived along the street in the terraced houses often shivered in delicious fear and played games about the Blackbirders, but it became real when a child they knew disappeared. Mothers often used the Blackbirders to threaten their kids with, saying, "Do your homework now or the Blackbirders will get you!" "Eat up your dinner, or the Blackbirders will come" or "Come in this instant, or I'll tell the Blackbirders to take you away!" but they too feared their children being taken by the merciless kidnappers.
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Brothers and members of the Consultative Council, it is in the name of Allah and with his blessings that we inaugurate today the 4th session, and we pray that he helps us devote our deeds for his sake and to shoulder our responsibilities with success.
Allah has made this country glorious as it upholds his religion so dearly and because it remains steadfast on a course it has been pursuing generation after generation. Verily, this country will continue to be glorious despite the many animosities it faces so long as it continues to raise the banner of monotheism and implement the Islamic Shari'ah [Islamic Law].
Islam dictates that we shall spread justice without differentiating between the strong and the weak, restore rights and respond to people's needs. People are equal and may only grow in reverence thanks to their deeds and lose merits due to incurring sins.
Islam teaches us that the faithful are brothers. We will exert efforts to strengthen these bonds of brotherhood, hoping that Arabs and Muslims will close ranks and remerge as pioneers of civilization and humanity.
The bonds of language, history and common destiny are binding us with our Arab brothers. For that reason we will continue to be advocates of their just causes and defenders of their legitimate, notably the rights of our Palestinian brothers, and we hope that the Arabs will find through serious determination a way out of discord and into the morrow of accord. In this age there is no room for glory without strength and no strength without unity.
We are part of the international community, and whatever happens there we are influenced by, though we influence it in return. Our position is to maintain friendship and cooperation with all, knowing that the world's prosperity is indivisible. Accordingly, we will continue our moderate policy regarding oil production and pricing in order to protect the world economy against possible shocks.
Dear Brothers: Islam calls for providing a decent life for its adherents. We seek to achieve that through comprehensive development. We seek the good and happiness of citizens hoping to provide them with housing, work, education, medicine and other services and amenities. We are eager to eradicate poverty and give consideration to areas that did not undergo meaningful development according to well-thought development plans.
We can not remain rigid while the surrounding world is changing thereby we will continue, God willing, in the development process, strengthening national dialogue, liberalizing the economy, fighting corruption, uprooting monotonous habits, increasing the efficiency of government institutions. We will enlist the efforts of all sincere workers, both men and women. All that will be done incrementally and moderately, and in keeping with the desires of society, which are by definition in tandem with Shari'ah.
As you know, Shari'ah can only be attained in an atmosphere of security and safety. We reiterate once more our resolve to destroy the straying group of terrorists, and fight back "takfiris" through sound thought. There is no place in the land of the Two Holy Mosques for extremism since we are, praise be to Allah, a moderate nation that is neither extreme nor negligent. From this platform we salute our brave security forces as well as the rest of our gallant forces. We appreciate their heroism and pray for the martyred. We promise them a clear-cut victory.
You have been so helpful in the development process through sound views and the regulations you proposed. We have no doubt that you will continue playing an important role and shouldering responsibilities.
To every citizen, male or female, I say the following: I have known you and you have known me throughout the years. You have always been sincere, faithful and loyal in your commitment. You will find me sincere to my religion and country and I will be among you up to my commitment in the good days and the bad ones, as a brother and father and a friend.


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As Christmas quickly approaches, so does the new year.
I caught up with Senator Rand Paul ringing a bell for the Salvation Army this afternoon at Greenwood Mall.
I asked him about the importance about giving back this Christmas, and some possible government changes in 2013.
"I've been a member of the Lion's Club for about 20 years now, and the Lions Club every year comes out. So, we've been coming out, and I've been bringing my kids for years to teach them that you need to give back to the community," Sen. Paul says.
"It's a lot of fun. I've been doing this since I was about six, and its a lot more fun than staying at home," says his son, Robert.
Senator Rand Paul and his son made it a family outing to help those in need.
While today was for giving back, it was an opportunity to ask about one quickly approaching deadline that could affect us all.
"The president wants rich people to pay more, we could say that the rich people receive less benefits. For example, in social security we could let the rich people receive a little less benefits in social security. We could let the rich pay a little more for their medicare. So, there are ways we could compromise," says Sen. Paul.
If the Democrats and Republicans don't compromise on where this budget money will come from by January 1st, the government will go over the fiscal cliff.
If not, everyone's taxes will likely increase.
"The president hasn't seemed too willing to compromise himself. He came out with an offer yesterday to raise nearly $2 trillion in taxes. And I think it's bad idea to raise taxes," he says.
Is 2016 his time to run for president?
"We'll see. I don't know. I want to be apart of the national debate I think I have something to offer. And I think we as Republicans need to self examine because we kind of lost. We need to do better next time," he says.
If he does run in four years, he says he first wants to sway moderates and independents.


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OMG! Obama wears a turban!
Continuing their campaign follies, Hillary Clinton and/or her aides are reportedly circulating a "stunning" photo of--get this--Obama dressed as a tribal elder while on a visit to rural Kenya in 2006. According to Politico.com the Clinton campaign is not denying sending the shot to Matt Drudge and others. Knockout punch? Maybe inmiddle school. Then again, it may be effective. And it'll certainly prepare Obama for the general election against the GOP. I don't see how it'll help Hillary now. Or later, as she tries to rescue her legacy.
About the Author
David Gibson is a national reporter for Religion News Service and author of The Coming Catholic Church (HarperOne) and The Rule of Benedict (HarperOne). He blogs at dotCommonweal.
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We might also want to peruse Geraldine Ferraro's disgraceful op-ed in this morning's NYT. "Superdelegates," she tells us haughtily, "were created to lead, not to follow." Read the rest of the piece -- and especially the unmistakeable slanting toward the second Great Triangulator. All of which can be translated as: if the people don't like Hillary Clinton, to hell with 'em. And people wonder why there's a persistent attraction to voting for Ralph Nader? If a substantial portion of the Democratic Party still thinks and acts this way, we don't need Republicans.
It is a little awkward defending Mrs Bill Clinton, but what's the big deal? If you look at the Drudge piece, it says the picture was attached in an e-mail to one (or some) political reporters asking the question, would a picture like this of HRC have gone this unnoticed? A pretty good question, if you ask me considering all the unflaterring photos of her and the GOP candidates that get fron page treatment. Maybe this is "shopping around" but is it a smear? It's not a fake picture. Making this a big story about a "dirty tactic" is more evidence, in my mind, of the media's favoritism toward Obama. Why not just hit the "delete" button?Once the man becomes president, maybe we will return to the days of yore when the media ignored the foibles of the powerful for the sake of decorum - but I wouldn't bet on it.
It's a pretty innocuous photo (at least in my view), and I am not sure why Drudge published it if he thinks it's a smear. One story suggested the Clinton camp may not be saying anything because they are conducting an internal investigation.It is difficult for me to believe that Hillary or any responsible adviser would approve trying to use something this silly to try to scare people away from Obama. On the other hand, the plagiarism charge, which she made herself, was silly also. She is beginning to exhibit signs of multiple personality disorder, one minute making remarks so conciliatory that people thing she's conceding, and another ranting that Obama is a plagiarist or mocking him as a false messiah.
Comments elsewhere note that there are about 700 people who could be described as Hillary Clinton's campaign staffers, and that people are being awfully quick to blame Hillary herself and/or her whole campaign. As Matt himself would say, "Developing . . . ."
We should all put on our mischief sniffers and wait. Yesterdays big story was Obama's lack of a flag lapel pin. And tomorrow?
I'm no Hillary apologist, but I think it's dangerous to posit pscho-pathology to this stage of a campaign. It's already been long and arduous for the remaining candidates. I'd be inclined to cut slack.As for what the media focuses on, it might as well be lapel pins and turbans. Our Corporate Masters sure don't want us talking issues. We might get all uppity and such.
Take Gene McCarraher's advice and read Geraldine Ferraro's op-ed piece. Not disgraceful! A perfectly reasonable account of why the Democratic party has superdelegates. And why they have an important role to play in this election. Ralph Nader is running because he has nothing better to do!http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/opinion/25ferraro.html?ref=opinion
Anyone remember Calvin Coolidge in full Indian chief headress?
Please spare us the snide anti-Republican comments: "itll certainly prepare Obama for the general election against the GOP." This is a Democratic dirty trick from start to finish--from Hillary, warrior-queen of the DLC (and just after she accused Obama of using "Karl Rove" tactics ...) The fault, dear Dems, lies in yourselves--and in your (political) stars!
I'm afraid that if the superdelegates decide to seat the FL and MI delegates, the Democrats will need another Hunt Commission.
I posted this with a bit more roll-of-the-eyes than anything. Apologies for thesnide, Robert. I'll just fulminate next time. You're right, of course--the GOP could never be accused of using race as a campaign tool. As for the Superdelegates question, I was not impressed by Ms. Ferraro's op-ed. She just came across as an apologist for her friend. (Then again, she looked good by comparison with Kristol's kolumn.) I don't buy into the argument that they should be seated, not without doing another poll among them. Neither camp campaigned there, so the results weren't illustrative of anything. Moreover, the Obama camp designed its strategy based on the fact that FL and MI votes wouldn't "count." That was smart. They piled up victories that way.
Glorious politics! Can we admit that if Obama had won Michigan and Florida, his campaign would be working double time to have them count. Another vote in MI and FL would be the fairest way to go. Is that likely to happen?The core Democratic Party problem is allowing crossovers. None of this Superdelegate debate would be happening if only Democratic Pary registered voters could cast a ballot in the primary and if they had a winner take all policy in every state.
David,Your apology is of course accepted--but it would seem more sincere if you hadn't added in a racial accusation against Republicans (since this photo smear tactic by Hillary was about implying that Obama is Muslim--hence the turban reference in your own headline--rather than pointing out that he is half-black, which I assume must people already realize)
One of the joys of being a Democrat is that, when the going gets tough, the desperate get very sleazy.
Yes, I should steer clear of politics and stick with Father Komonchak's translation of Augustine. Onward.
The NYT link to the Drudge Report had three pictures at the bottom: Hillary in a Muslim headscarf and George Bush and Bill Clinton in African tribal dress. Should the Obama campaign send these out? Or maybe they have. It seems that sending all four pictures together would make the point.
Maybe the two campaigns should never have agreed not to participate in the MI and FL primaries. But they did, and Clinton decided not to abide by that agreement. Perhaps in the end, that will benefit her campaign. That Obama stuck to the agreement would put him at a serious disadvantage in any re-vote.
Grant: If there is a re-vote and Obama is ahead, why would he be at a serious disadvantage. I don't get your thinking here.
Because voters in MI, for example, may harbor resentment over the fact that he didn't bother to show up to campaign and Clinton did. Clinton spent time and money campaigning in MI. Obama did not. When you say Obama is ahead, are you referring to pledged delegates? National polling? He may be up in the national polling, for what its worth, but he's not up in OH, and not up in TX (not in a statistically significant way). But, again, I don't know how this could happen. I doubt Clinton could afford it anyway.
since this photo smear tactic by Hillary
Robert,Do you really think that Hillary herself dug up this photo and sent it to Matt Drudge? I don't think there is enough evidence yet to attribute the sending of the photo to the Clinton campaign, let alone to attribute it directly to Hillary.It's interesting that Democrats and Republicans alike seem to instantly believe the worst of Hillary Clinton. It seems to me she's not really evil personified.David N
Super-delegates? Can you spell bosses?Many Democrats did not vote - or is it that they voted with their feet. None of the above?
And Republicans don't have bosses? Please!
The story remains that men are still responsible for Obama's lead, no matter how you slice it. It should at least give some of you chauvinists, late or unconscious, reason to pause or reflect. Nor do you answer Ferraro's claim that independent's have turned it for Obama. And what about fewer democrats than ever in this primary? And finally there is, at least to this point, not an iota evidence linking the photo to Hillary and her staff. I guess Obama walks on water. http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/#mea=221776
David N,I don't care whether Hillary herself or one of her followers dug up the photo--that doesn't matter. The public blames the candidate for any and all actions by the campaign, except when the candidate swiftly and decisively deals with an issue like this (something that Hillary's team did not do in this case)Bill M: Why in the world should men "pause or reflect" on the fact that they prefer Obama to Hillary? Have you rescinded the right of men to freely vote for the candidate of their choice? Or perhaps you're trying the tired, old liberal guilt (thank god I';m cosnervative and it has no efefct on me!) that women have been oppressed by men so "chauvinist" men need to vote for women? Face the facst--your first viable woman candidate is a divisive, unpopular person who does not connect with average people ... women have been elected to leadership around the world, and there will be a woman president in the United States--it's just unlikely to be Hillary, and that has everything to do with her own history and personality and little or nothing to do with her gender.
As we sang in the Boy Scouts so long ago: If you don't bear the cross, then you can't wear the crown.Claiming successes on your watch also requires accepting the blame on your watch.


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WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time
Revolutionary War Facts For Us To Remember
The American revolutionary war is one of the most important historic occurrences ever. The thirteen colonies of American fought against the greatest military force of that time, which was Great Britain, in order to win their freedom and to live in their separate homeland.
The whole war started because the American colonists were not satisfied with the treatment as they believed that they were not getting the desired rights which the Englishmen were getting. The American colonists believed that the tax imposed upon them by the Britain Parliament was unjust and unlawful and demanded justice from the governing system.
There are many American Revolution facts that are important for us to remember. These events included the Stamp act of 1765, Boston Massacre in 1770, Boston Tea Party and the intolerable acts of 1774. This resistance emerged as a strong one with members from the thirteen American colonies siding up and joining hands for one common cause which was their freedom from English supremacy.
The American revolutionary war started in April 19, 1775. This war had surprisingly amazing facts that made the whole period of war historically phenomenal. The first battle that ignited that whole revolutionary war was the battle of Lexington. The main commander in chief at the time of the great revolutionary American war was George Washington whose critical role shaped a major part of the war itself in different battles.
Another amazing fact about the war is that the British army out numbered the American revolutionaries. Moreover, the British army had a bigger advantage in so many levels that the American revolutionaries at first seemed to be a failure.
For example, The British soldiers nicknamed as "the red coats" because of their uniform color were more trained and more disciplined for such types of battles. They had more ammunition, more armor and an overall edge over the Americans in terms of supply. They had a strong naval force and a navy base which the Americans did not possess at the time of revolution. The Americans at the inception of the war had no army at all. Instead, they relied on the local citizens and militia for their defenses.
Another fact about the revolutionary war is that the Americans whose hearts were ignited and burnt with ever increasing desire to attain their rights and independence played a defensive stance in majority of the situations during the American Revolutionary war as compared to the offensive and aggressive tactics of the British Army.
Since this was a large scale war, there were thousands of casualties and injuries on both sides with majority falling down amongst the Americans. Only 45-50 percent support was given to the American colonists from the Americans meaning even half of the Americans themselves didn't support their cause of revolution.
Approximately eight thousand Americans died for their cause in the battlefield. Sixteen Thousand Americans died of sickness during the American Revolutionary war. Even a couple thousand Americans deserted the war and went missing in action. Nine thousand to ten thousand Americans were inflicted with injuries during the battle.
Additionally, the battle of Saratoga is considered to be Americans first victory over the British Army at the revolutionary war period and is considered as a huge curve that led to the change in the whole war with Americans on the winning side consequently.
What is so important about all of this? America is at a vital crossroads today just like the colonists were over 250 years ago.
All the developers of D5 Creation have come from the disadvantaged part or group of the society. All have established themselves after a long and hard struggle in their life ----- D5 Creation Team


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After a quarry has finished its dig (reached bedrock or lava), will the chunks be unloaded or will they remain loaded until the quarry block is removed?
Yes, a quarry will keep chunks within its area of operation loaded before and after doing its thing. They will only be unloaded when the Quarry block is removed.
To test this, I simply set up a system that pumps items out of an Ender Chest (from the Ender Storage mod) into a regular chest near a quarry that had reached bedrock.
Then, I went to the Nether, restarted the server for good measure, and put items into the corresponding Ender Pouch. They started disappearing, which means that the chunks in the overworld were still loaded.
Which version of buildcraft are you using?
In my version, that's in thekkit 3.1.2 (that's based on minecraft 1.2.5) a quarry does not keep any chunks loaded. You have to place world anchors to keep it working even if you're away (or offline).


text: Smith places a high value on teaching, and each year demonstrates that commitment by honoring three outstanding faculty members with the Sherrerd Prize for Distinguished Teaching. This year's Sherrerd Prize recipients are Andrea Hairston '74, professor of theatre; Susannah Howe, senior lecturer in engineering; and Douglas Lane Patey, professor of English language and literature. Awards were presented during a lively program featuring introductions by former students. The Sherrerd Prize for Distinguished Teaching was established in 2002 with a generous grant from Kathleen Compton Sherrerd '54 and John J. F. Sherrerd. Smith students, faculty and alumnae are invited to nominate outstanding teachers for the 2014 Sherrerd Prize. Go to http://www.smith.edu/events/sherrerd_nominations.php to nominate a current Smith faculty member whose teaching has had a significant impact on students. Deadline for nominations is December 10.


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Home > Food > Recipes > Zucchini-Spice Bread
Zucchini-Spice Bread
Categories: Low-calorie, Low-fat
Type: Breakfast
Type: Breakfast
Here's a tasty zucchini bread loaded with spices and nuts, and just a hint of lemon. Zucchini bread makes a delicious item for bake sales.
Serves: 16 1 slice servings
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon dried grated lemon rind, or 1 tablespoon fresh
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1/4 cups (packed) shredded unpeeled zucchini (about 1 medium-large)
- 1/2 cup skim or low-fat milk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup dark raisins or chopped walnuts, or 1/4 cup each raisins and walnuts
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- Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, lemon rind, and nutmeg in a large bowl, and stir to mix well. Add the zucchini, milk, oil, egg white, and vanilla extract, and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the raisins or walnuts.
- Coat an 8-x-4-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread the batter evenly in the pan, and bake at 325°F for 45 to 50 minutes, or just until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake.
- Remove the loaf from the oven, and let sit for 15 minutes. Invert the loaf onto a wire rack, turn right side up, and cool to room temperature. Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and allow to sit for several hours before slicing and serving. (This will give the loaf a softer, moister crust.) Refrigerate any leftovers not eaten within 24 hours.
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Excerpted from The Best-Kept Secrets of Healthy Cooking by Sandra Woodruff, R.D. Copyright � 2000 by Sandra Woodruff.
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Digi Camo Percale Bedding
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Rike Feurstein
Knot Front Headband
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Wool headband in popcorn stitch with knot accent at front.
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Hinkley Lighting 5054
4 Light 30" Width Bathroom Vanity Light from the Miley Collection
Item # bci1709077 | Model # 5054 | Miley Collection
Questions about Hinkley Lighting 5054?
Contact us for advice or more details. Our product specialists are here to help.
This product has additional required/recommended options. To configure, add to your cart.
Bulbs recommended
Four Light 30" Width Bathroom Vanity Light from the Miley Collection
- White Etched glass cylinder shade included with the Brushed Caramel and Brushed Nickel finishes
- Cased Opal glass cylinder shade included with the Chrome finish
- Etched glass shade offer creative patterns and designs
- Made of metal
- Designed to cast a soft ambient light over a wide area
- Can be mounted with shade facing upward only
- Suitable for damp locations
Lamping Technologies:
- Bulb Base - G9: A bi pin or 'bi pin socket', G9 bulbs have a pin spread of 9 mm and are used mostly in 120V or 230V fixtures with halogen bulbs.
- Compatible Bulb Types: G9 Bulb base uses primarily a Halogen bulb but is also available as Fluorescent, LED, and Xenon / Krypton.
- Number of Bulbs: 4
- Bulb Base: G9
- Bulb Type: Halogen
- Bulb Included: Yes
- Watts Per Bulb: 60
- Wattage: 240
- Height: 6"
- Width: 30"
- Extension: 5.5"
- Shade Height: 4.5"
- Shade Width: 3.5"
- Backplate Height: 4.5"
- Backplate Width: 6.5"
- Energy Star: No
- ADA: No
Since 1922, Hinkley Lighting has been driven by a passion to blend design and function in creating quality products that enhance your life. Hinkley is continually recommended by interior and exterior designers, and is available to you through premier lighting showrooms across the country. They pride themselves in delivering superior customer service that is second to none. They know that you have goals when it comes to your home's décor, and they care about helping you achieve the final outcome you are looking for in every aspect.
Additional Hinkley Lighting Links
- View the Manufacturer Warranty
- Browse All Hinkley Lighting Products
- Hinkley Lighting Miley Collection
This Hinkley Lighting item can also be referenced by the following color/finish specific model #:
- Hinkley Lighting 5054BC*
Brushed Caramel
- Hinkley Lighting 5054BN
Brushed Nickel
- Hinkley Lighting 5054CM
*Discontinued model or finish
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DAVIDSON, Virgil Harry "Skip," 71, of Steubenville, Ohio, died Thursday, February 28, 2013, at his home.
He was born October 27, 1941, in Martins Ferry, Ohio, a son of the late Virgil and Katherine Davidson.
He was an Air Force veteran serving from 1959 - 1963. Skip retired from Weirton Steel. He was a member of Bell Chapel United Methodist Church; Ohio Gun Collectors, Pilgrim Lodge 691, Valley of Steubenville Scottish Rite AASR and several sporting clubs.
Article Photos
He was preceded in death by a daughter, Diana Davidson; and two sons, James and John Davidson.
Surviving are his wife of 51 years, Mary Ann Gibson Davidson; children, Dwaine (Robin) Davidson, Melissa (Anthony) DeFrances, Kim (Mike) Wadas and Michele Davidson all of Steubenville, OH; eight grandchildren, Michael, Nicholas, Katie, Paul, Dominic, Cameron, Victoria and Anna; great- granddaughter, Mylie; two sisters, Dolores Barcalow of Mingo Junction, OH and Norma Johnson of Olean, NY; many in-laws, nieces, nephews and great friends.
Friends may call at Dunlope-Shorac Funeral Home, 215 Fernwood Road, Wintersville on Friday 7-9 p.m., Saturday 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. and at Bell Chapel United Methodist Church on Sunday from 1 p.m. until the time of service at 2 p.m. with Rev. Jeff Proya officiating.
Burial at Fort Steuben. Masonic service Saturday 7 p.m.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made directed to Bell Chapel United Methodist Church, 3419 State Route 213, Steubenville, OH 43952.
The family would like to thank all of the doctors and nurses at Weirton Medical Center and Life Line Hospital for taking great care of him for the past eight months.
Offer condolences at www.shorac.com


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Women's Health
Thyroid Hormone Medicines for Hypothyroidism
|Generic Name
|Brand Name
|levothyroxine (T4)
|Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid, Tirosint, Unithroid
|liothyronine (T3)
|liotrix (T3 and T4)
Thyroid hormones are taken by mouth (orally) except in unusual cases, such as myxedema coma. That condition requires intravenous (IV) medicine. Dosages vary with the person's age and the severity of the disease.
How It Works
People with hypothyroidism have lower-than-normal or no thyroid function and do not make enough thyroid hormone for the body to function properly. Taking thyroid hormone medicine replaces missing hormones.
Why It Is Used
Thyroid hormone medicines are given when blood tests show that you have hypothyroidism.
Thyroid hormone medicines also may be prescribed:
- For mild (subclinical) hypothyroidism when you test positive for antithyroid antibodies.
- For an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter).
How Well It Works
People with hypothyroidism who take thyroid hormone medicine usually notice:
- Improved energy level.
- Gradual weight loss (in people with severe hypothyroidism at the time of diagnosis).
- Improved mood and mental function (thinking, memory).
- Improved pumping action of the heart and improved digestive tract function.
- Reduction in the size of an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), if you have one.
- Improved growth, school performance, and behavior in children. Children whose growth has been delayed because of hypothyroidism start growing normally again when they are getting adequate doses of thyroid hormone.
- Lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
In most cases, thyroid hormone medicine works quickly to correct symptoms.
Myxedema coma can respond well to thyroid hormone medicine and treatment in an intensive care unit. But a good outcome depends on how soon treatment starts.
Side Effects
All medicines have side effects. But many people don't feel the side effects, or they are able to deal with them. Ask your pharmacist about the side effects of each medicine you take. Side effects are also listed in the information that comes with your medicine.
Here are some important things to think about:
- Usually the benefits of the medicine are more important than any minor side effects.
- Side effects may go away after you take the medicine for a while.
- If side effects still bother you and you wonder if you should keep taking the medicine, call your doctor. He or she may be able to lower your dose or change your medicine. Do not suddenly quit taking your medicine unless your doctor tells you to.
Call911or other emergency services right away if you have:
- Trouble breathing.
- Swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
- Chest pain.
Call your doctor if you have:
- Hives.
- Heart palpitations.
- Nervousness.
- Trouble sleeping (insomnia).
- Shaking (tremors).
- Frequent bowel movements or diarrhea.
- Too much weight loss.
See Drug Reference for a full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all systems.)
What To Think About
Certain medicines can affect the way thyroid medicines work. People taking the following medicines need to see their doctor often to make sure they are getting the correct dose of thyroid hormone medicine. Some of these medicines include:
- Calcium. Take calcium supplements at least 4 hours before or after taking thyroid hormone medicine.
- Iron supplements.
- Birth control pills or other hormones.
- Cholestyramine.
- Sucralfate and some antacids containing aluminum hydroxide.
- Some seizure medicines.
- Some antibiotics used to treat tuberculosis.
Taking medicine
Medicine is one of the many tools your doctor has to treat a health problem. Taking medicine as your doctor suggests will improve your health and may prevent future problems. If you don't take your medicines properly, you may be putting your health (and perhaps your life) at risk.
There are many reasons why people have trouble taking their medicine. But in most cases, there is something you can do. For suggestions on how to work around common problems, see the topic Taking Medicines as Prescribed.
Advice for women
If you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or planning to get pregnant, do not use any medicines unless your doctor tells you to. Some medicines can harm your baby. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, herbs, and supplements. And make sure that all your doctors know that you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or planning to get pregnant.
Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor if you are having problems. It's also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.
Complete the new medication information form (PDF)(What is a PDF document?) to help you understand this medication.
ByHealthwise Staff
Primary Medical ReviewerKathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical ReviewerMatthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology
Current as ofNovember 14, 2014
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
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Caster & Camber Settings - Caster And Camber TechWritten by on January 1, 2008 The How And Why Of Caster And Camber Settings
Caster and camber settings are set relative to the type of car and the design of the racetrack. When you determine the correct settings for each, you need to maintain those settings. We will discuss what affects caster and camber in our racecars as well as how to properly measure them.
It is important to know how to properly measure for the amount of caster and camber in your racecar. All teams need to learn the proper procedure for determining the amount of each that exists in the front-end geometry of their racecars.
Caster is a design condition that, in addition to the spindle kingpin angle, serves to cause a wheel to want to track straight ahead. A common example is a bicycle front-wheel and fork assembly. The tube that the handlebars are mounted to is mounted in a set of bearings above the fork. From a side view, this tube is angled so that the bottom bearing is ahead of the top bearing. If we turn the front wheel to 90 degrees from the direction of travel, it will want to return to straight ahead by the effect of caster. The same effect is present in the front-wheel assemblies of our racecar.
What Caster Does
To ease the amount of effort it takes to turn the wheel in our race cars, we introduce caster split into the design. Split means that we set different caster amounts into each wheel assembly so that the car will want to turn to the left and thereby reduce the amount of effort it takes for the driver to hold the steering wheel when negotiating the turns.
Proper split for circle track racing means that the left-front wheel will have less positive caster than the right-front wheel. In some cases, teams have been known to set negative caster in the LF wheel and positive caster in the RF wheel.
To measure caster in each wheel, we use a caster/camber gauge. This tool attaches to the wheel hub. To check the amount of caster, we need to follow these instructions:
1. Attach the caster/camber gauge to the right-front wheel hub first.
2. Turn the steering wheel to the right so that the right-front wheel has turned exactly 20 degrees.
3. For a manual gauge, level the gauge and set the adjustable caster bubble vial so that the bubble is at the zero mark on the caster side of the tool. For a digital gauge, set the tool to caster and zero the display.
4. Turn the steering wheel to the left so that the right-front wheel is turned past straight ahead and ends up left of straight ahead by 20 degrees.
5. Again, level the gauge and then note the location of the bubble on the scale of the manual gauge and record the amount of caster in the right-front wheel. For a digital gauge, level the gauge and read the display.
6. While the wheels are still turned left 20 degrees, remove the caster/camber gauge and place it onto the left-front wheel hub.
7. Level the gauge and set the bubble on the caster gauge to zero or set the digital display to zero.
8. Turn the steering wheel to the right past straight ahead until the LF wheel is turned 20 degrees to the right of straight ahead.
9. Level the gauge and read the bubble scale or display to know how much caster is in the LF wheel.
Adjusting Caster
To adjust the amount of caster in each wheel, you will need to move the upper ball joints fore or aft. To increase the amount of positive caster, move the top ball joint toward the rear of the car. Some cars have slots cut into the upper chassis mounts for this purpose.
If you have permanently attached vertical mounting plates that the upper control arms are attached to, then you can vary the amount of shim spacing for each of the bolts that attach the control arm to the chassis. Wider spacing at the front bolt (control arm shaft inside of the mounting plate) will move the upper ball joint to the front, creating less caster at that wheel and so on. This is not the preferred method, though.
Once you have established the exact caster amounts for each wheel using the above method (if not using slotted control arm shafts), you should order an upper control arm that has the ball joint offset to give the correct amount of caster at each wheel. That way, you can use the same shim spacing for each mounting bolt to connect the upper control arm shaft to the chassis.
How Much Caster Split
The normal caster split for most short-track asphalt applications is around 2 to 4 degrees of difference. The left-front caster might be 1-2 degrees and the RF caster might be 3-5 degrees. The higher the banking angle of the racetrack, the less caster that is needed because less steering effort is needed due to the banking. On the other hand, the tighter the turn radius, the more caster split is needed.
Driver preference plays a big role in getting the caster split right for your application. Most drivers prefer to have some feel where they need to pull slightly on the wheel to make the turn. What no driver wants or needs is to have more caster split than needed so that they will need to apply backpressure on the steering wheel at midturn.
Camber is when a wheel is tilted so that the top of the tire is either closer to or farther from the centerline of the car. Negative camber is when the top of the tire is closer to the center of the car than the bottom of the tire. Positive camber is when the top of the tire is farther away from the center of the car than the bottom of the tire.
Circle Track Camber
In circle track racing, we use positive camber on the left-front wheel of the car and negative camber on the right-front wheel. We can easily check the amount of camber by using a caster/camber gauge and reading the amount directly on the camber bubble vial.
We have learned some interesting and important aspects of tire camber for short-track racing. We have always known that a racing tire will flex under the stress of cornering and the tread will move and roll under the wheel when the extreme forces associated with cornering are present. Different brands of tires have different stiffnesses of sidewall construction and therefore roll over more or less.
Tire temperatures tell us more about how much static camber we need than anything else. The overall goal is that we need the tire contact patch to be relatively flat on the racing surface at midturn in order for the tire to be able to provide the maximum amount of traction. This is often referred to as the maximum "footprint."
Tire temperatures can alert us to improperly set static cambers. A front tire that is hotter on the inside edge (side toward the inside of the racetrack) usually has too much positive camber in the case of a left-front wheel, or too much negative camber if it is the right-front wheel.
Camber Change
The cambers will change as the car dives and rolls when it enters and negotiates a turn. True camber change is a product of both chassis dive and chassis roll. Gone are the days when we would jack up the wheel and measure how many degrees the camber changed in each inch of bump. Those numbers really don't tell us anything. They are only part of the answer. Chassis roll has an effect that adds or subtracts from what dive does. So what we really need to know is what the dynamic camber is after the car dives and rolls, just like it does in the turns.
The left front always loses a lot of camber, so we need to allow for that in setting the amount of static camber. Generally, if we end up with between 11/42 and 1 degree of positive camber at the left-front wheel after the car dives and rolls, then that tire will have the dynamic camber that it needs.
The right-front camber change is a little different. We can design our car so that the right-front camber does not change after dive and roll. This is actually exactly what that tire wants for most short-track applications. The reason for this is that as we enter the turn, the right-front tire takes a set fairly quickly. If the camber continues to change after that initial set, then the tire will give up traction and the car will usually push.
The right upper control arm angle mostly controls the right-front camber change, so we try to work with that control arm angle. Once we have the proper camber change (zero), we leave that angle alone as we further design our front end for moment center location.
Spindle height affects the amount of camber change at each wheel. The taller the spindle, the less camber change will occur. Trends that have taken place in the past 10 years or so have resulted in excess camber change due to the use of shorter spindles. That trend is in the reverse mode now as the car builders move toward using taller spindles.
Measuring Camber Change
We can measure camber change by several different methods. In the shop, we can set the chassis ride heights just as they would be at midturn on the racetrack and then directly measure the camber at each wheel. To do this, we will need to know the shock travel at midturn, which is very hard to estimate.
If we look at the shock travel indicators on the shaft of the shock, it always tells us total shock travel, which includes braking, going over bumps, banking changes such as exiting the racetrack and driving down onto the apron (this could be quite a lot of left-front shock travel at some high-banked racetracks), or something as simple as steering the car back and forth to warm the tires before running hot laps.
Remember that caster settings are mostly adjusted for driver preference and comfort, and camber settings are important so that the front end will have the maximum amount of footprint and traction to use to turn the car at midturn. Many of our problems related to a car that won't turn well come from incorrect camber settings and camber change problems.
Often, a car that has a serious push can be helped by analyzing and adjusting the static camber as well as knowing the camber change amounts. For dirt cars, taking tire temperatures may not be feasible, but measuring tire wear can tell us a similar story as temperatures. The more wear, probably the more temperature that part of the tire experiences. Even wear across the tread translates to more even tire temperatures and the best camber settings.
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Set the bubble at zero on the caster side of the gauge with the wheel turned to the right 20 degrees for the RF wheel. Some teams use one edge of the bubble so that reading the angle is more accurate than trying to estimate the center of the bubble.For a digital gauge, turn the wheels to the right so that they turn 20 degrees. Then, level the gauge and push the "zero" button to set zero in the display.Turn the wheel past 0 degrees on the turn plates and go past that to 20 degrees left turn. Again, level the gauge and read the amount of caster in the display. Repeat for the left-front wheel, only in reverse order, turning left first.For measuring camber, level the gauge and just read the amount on the vial, for a manual gauge, or the display on a digital gauge. In our test of Intercomp's caster and camber gauges, the camber readings came out the same for both gauges. Make sure the car is at ride height with all of the weight in the car, including the driver. Air the tires up to operating pressures. These settings may change once the car is raced and the tire temperatures have been evaluated.As the chassis dives, the upper ball joints are pulled in toward the centerline of the car. This causes a movement toward negative camber in both front wheels. The greater the angle of the upper control arms, the more change in camber from chassis dive. But this is not all that is happening.Besides chassis dive, when we turn the car left, the chassis also rolls. As the chassis pickup points move in roll, the upper ball joints move to the right. This causes the LF wheel to further lose camber toward the negative and the RF wheel to move toward positive camber. If we combine the effects of dive and roll, we see where the LF wheel will lose in both dive and roll where the RF dynamic camber will be a product of combining two movements that are in opposite directions. That is why we can achieve a net zero change in camber at the RF wheel.